Tokar slipped his hands roughly under a huge piece of bark. “You see, Blake? You can pull down the top piece of bark and use it to hold your hands and feet. The lower part is so strong that it can support almost 1000 pounds of weight, so don’t worry about it breaking.”

Blake rubbed the back of his neck. “Alright…” He looked up at the first branch, which was easily 200 feet up. “So…why do I have to climb this again?”

“You’re chasing Saga and Silver, so in order for them to not catch you, you have to go from tree to tree and watch them from the sky.”

“Alright, if that’s what you say.” Blake gulped harshly and started to scale the tree. After a long minute for Blake, he threw himself over the first branch and secured his footing.

“Holy crap, man! This freaking branch is huge! It’s gotta be at least 10 feet wide!”

Tokar nodded. He yelled up to him, “Alright, if they went straight from where they started, they should be in the north east.”

“Cool…” Blake remained silent for a moment. “Where’s the north east again?”

Dumbfounded, Tokar clenched his forehead. He pointed towards the direction. “Just go that way and jump from branch to branch. Also, try to not to make any sounds, and if they notice you, get out of there fast!”

“Alright, sweet!” Right before Blake started going, he looked down at Tokar, confused. “Wait, aren’t you going to?”

“Are you kidding me? I came up with the plan, so there’s my contribution. Now get going!”

“What? C’mon man, at least if I get caught, we can try to 2v2 them!”

Tokar scratched his head, thinking about it for a second. “You see, that won’t happen if you don’t get caught. For Christ’s sake, Blake, all you have to do is find out Saga’s powers, and if possible, take one out.”

“Screw you, man! I’ll do it alone, but if I get outta this s*** alive, you owe me a ton of ganja!”

“Just go!” Blake shrugged and started off, jumping from branch to branch.



Blake continued with ease for a while, not stopping once. He tried to ignore the intense soreness in his calves, but with the humidity and his throat dying from a lack of water, he lay up flat on a branch.

Holy crap…, he thought. This is ridiculous, I’ve been heading this way for at least a half hour! Freaking Tokar, that little asshole! I probably passed them, or they changed directions. Either way, this forest is huge! How the hell did he expect me to find them?

“Is that true?” At the sound of the voice, Blake tensed up, slapping his hand against his mouth to stop his heavy breathing. He heard small footsteps breaking the leaves as they passed by the tree. The only other thing he could hear was he heartbeat. Blake’s sweating increased greatly as he peeked his head around the tree to see who it is. To his expectations, it was Saga and Silver, walking at a slow, but steady, pace.

Holy s***, it’s them! Oh crap, what do I do? Tokar said to wait for them to display their power, right? But how? Man, I’m deep in s***. I guess I just gotta follow them for the time being, and if they get close to the finish line, I’ll attack them then!

Blake drew a cross across his chest before jumping to another tree. From below, Silver and Saga walked aimlessly, with no idea that Blake was following them.

“It is true.” said Silver. “My mother has been here several times on requests for scientists to find rare species of animals. Their supposed to be hard to find, but they exist.”

“Oh, that’s cool, but get this.”

“What?”

“I don’t give a s***.”

Silver laughed sarcastically. “You sure aren’t amused easily are you.”

Saga dug his nails into his palm. “I’m amused by challenges, and so far, nothing here is impressing. There still is that red shirt kid.”

“Knox?”

Blake, listening into their conversation, grit his teeth. What’s this guy’s deal with Knox? Does he really think Knox is so strong that he’s obsessing over him? If that’s the case, then damn, I’m glad I’m on his side!

“Yes, him. We both know that we’re the strongest ones here.”

“How do you know that he’s so strong?”

“He just is. Of all people, I thought you would realize it first.”

“I never said that I don’t think he’s strong, but we haven’t seen him against anyone yet. For all we know, he could have a powerful volume of his power, but he may not be able to use it correctly. I’m sure if that’s the case, he’s probably already dead.”

Saga smiled tediously. “He’s not dead, and he’s not going to be until he and I battle.”

Blake could feel his arms shaking. That freaking guy is creepy as hell. Just listening to him talk is scary as hell! I’m starting to regret doing this…

As they continued on, Blake jumped to the next branch. Attempting to land his foot, Blake stumbled, falling onto the branch. The sound of his body collapsing was quiet, but it was enough to attract Silver.

Silver looked up at the branch, but saw nothing. He walked towards the tree, circling around it several times. “Odd, did you just hear that?”

“Yeah, but I’m sure it was nothing. No one would be stupid enough to attack us.”

Blake clasped his hands over his mouth and nose. The beating in his heart overcame his thoughts, and each beat was more painful than the last. He felt like he was about to puke.

“I suppose you’re correct… Let’s continue.” The second Silver and Saga went forwards, the only thing that Blake felt was relief. He took a second to catch his breath, while simultaneously praying. “I gotta be careful,” he whispered to himself. “One more slip up and those two are gonna eat me alive…”



“Help!” After a few minutes of slow progression, Saga and Silver jumped, startled by the scream.

“What in god’s name…” said Silver, in a mellow tone.

Saga snickered. “Maybe the poor fool came across Bain.”

“Should we examine it?”

“Why? It’s a waste of time.”

“What if that was Knox, or maybe one of his men. Remember our main objective, Saga. Their abilities…”

“Hmph, you make a good point.” Saga sprinted into the woods, following the sound. “Hurry, Rao!”

Silver scratched his head. “In such a rush the second I said Knox’s name…he’s truly determined.” Silver sprinted in the same direction.

Blake freaked out as he lost sight of the two. “What the…these guys are freaking assholes!” Blake hurried his way from branch to branch, not caring about how much noise he made.

They all sprinted full speed for several minutes, being signaled by another call. Finally, Saga halted, hiding behind a tree. He gaped in amazement in what he saw. Silver arrived soon after, with Blake from above. Their reaction was the same.

Only 100 feet away from them, they watched a black caterpillar with white striped as tall as a human and at least 10 feet wide, finish off the legs of an already dead examinee.

“You have to be shitting me… You were right, Silver, they exist.”

“See, I told you. They’re rare, but it’s said that even though the mammals here are insect sized, the insects are enlarged. You should be grateful to see such an amazing sight.”

“Grateful? I’m more disgusted than grateful. However, that beast could provide a better fight than 90% of the pathetic fools here. We have time to spare, right?”

Silver shook his head slowly. “Unfortunately, no. We do have about an hour left, but that’s less time then you think. We have to stay on task, alright?”

Saga rolled his eyes. “We better find Knox, or you’re gonna be my next target.”

Blake was still on his knees, with his jaw hanging loosely as low as it could go. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. He continued to stare at the beast until in burrowed into a tree, disappearing. “That’s messed up!” he whispered.



“I have to s***,” said Silver, bluntly.

Saga grit his teeth together. “This is a joke, right?”

“Not at all, I can’t hold it much longer.” He laughed to himself. Blake watched in amusement, trying to hold back the immature side of him that wanted to burst out in laughter. “We all have to go eventually, no?”

Saga slid his hand against his face. “Make it quick, and make sure I can’t see you…”

Silver giggled once again and walked into the brush. Blake sat down, rubbing his sore limbs. Man, this is getting kind of boring. Neither of them have made any moves yet! Let’s see, I’ve probably been following them for about an hour, so I got maybe 40 minutes to find the finish point. I could follow them to the end, which would seem logical, but Tokar’s gonna be so---- pissed if I don’t get anything out of them. Oh well, whatever.

Blake folded his arms and yawned silently. He glanced back down at Saga, who was still standing frozen even after a few minutes. That’s when Blake realized it. Wait a second, this is my chance. I can ambush this fool right here! If I knock him out, then I got Silver to myself! Alright, no time to wait, here I go!

Blake walked to the end of the branch, preparing himself to jump. He squatted his legs, preparing to jump right on Saga.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Blake stood, frozen in fear. His eyes widened and broke into sweat instantly. He slowly weaved his head to the right, staring Silver face to face. He gulped harshly, and with so many thoughts running through his head, Blake didn’t know what to do.

“H-h-h-how did you…just how?”

“Isn’t obvious? This isn’t a place where you get 2nd chances. If you screw up even once, you lose, and that’s the case for you.” Silver took a couple of steps in, and each step frightened Blake.

“B-b-but…” Blake could barely speak. “W-where did I screw up?”

Silver raised his index finger. “When you made that small sound several miles back. It was small, so most people would figure it was just an animal, but we couldn’t risk it. Rather than checking it out, however, we played it out to think that we didn’t notice it, but we knew all along that someone was following us. From there, well, I used my excuse of having to go do some…business. It gave you time to attack Saga, but by the time you realized it, I had already caught you.” Silver frowned in confusion. There is one thing I don’t understand, though. Why have him follow us out of the other 3. He’s clearly the least capable of such an intense task. What was their reasoning?

A dark feeling overcame Blake. “Holy crap,” he muttered. “These guys noticed every little detail…they really aren’t normal.”

“Well, I suppose we should get things started, am I right?”

“Things start-”

In a flash, Silver pushed his palm out. Before Blake knew it, an incredible wind attacked him. He tried to stand still, grasping the bark of the branch to stand still, but the winds speed increased by the second. Instantly, Blake was blown off the tree, flying with the current. Silver pushed his palm down, changing the wind’s direction towards the ground. Along with the wind, Blake was pushed 200 feet down at a rapid speed, colliding with the ground.

The ground around Blake completely shattered, creating a small crater. The impact instantly knocked the wind out of Blake, causing him to choke up a large amount of blood that stained his coat. Saga walked towards his slowly, grabbing him by the neck.

“So, you were following us, huh? You should’ve used the little brain mass that you have to get out of here while you could.” Blake tried to respond, but he was still struggling for air. Saga punched his square in his face, knocking him about. He then stomped on his stomach, causing Blake to choke up more blood.

“Hey, Silver!”

Silver jumped from the branch, landing on the ground with ease. “Yes?”

“This fool’s with Knox and his team, right?”

“Correct. Blake’s the name, I believe.”

“It’s obvious that he’s not as strong as Knox, but he still should be stronger than most of the assholes in this exam.” Saga drew his katana, which glistened in the little light that came through the treetops. He pointed the tip towards Blake’s neck, just barely drawing blood. The point was so sharp that it drew blood from the lightest touch. “Get up. I’ll be nice and give you 5 minutes before we fight.”

“Fight?” asked Blake in a damaged tone. He wobbled as he arose, but was able to stand.

“You heard me. Now rest and-”

Before Saga could continue talking, Silver lightly placed his hand on Saga’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Blake.”

“Don’t listen to me?” asked Saga, shocked. “What are you talking about?”

“If I’m correct, citizens of Mercury City are given the freedom of speech. He has the right to choose between the 2 choices that we give him.”

“Who cares? Let’s attack him now and get it over with. Even if he escapes, he’ll probably still use his power in our battle.”

“LIKE I was saying, Blake, you have two choices, so listen carefully. Option one. Show us your power and walk off peacefully. Option two. Die. Now…think about it for a while.”