Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 13

“The academy students have run out of mana! Congratulations, both of you. It’s been a while since I’ve given out such high scores on this test, and never to two at once,” Official Rykard said as the younger students streamed out of the stands.

“You flatter us,” Cyra replied.

Official Rykard leaned close to me. “Did my eyes deceive me, or did I see you using the Dragonscaled Mage spell back there?”

I hesitated momentarily, then realized there was no point hiding it.

“Yeah, it was.”

Official Rykard let out a long sigh. “Always on my watch... Master Galbatorix gave them to you, didn't he? No, better if you don’t tell me. Though, for your sake, I really hope you get into the Dragon Lodge.”

With those cryptic words, he stood to address everyone else who’d taken the test. The others were looking at us a little differently now. I’d done pretty well on the first test, and now pretty well on the second too.

Borelius was the first to ask the obvious. “Just who are the two of you?”

Cyra answered for the two of us. She bore an expression like she’d been bracing herself for this moment for some time.

“I’m Cyra, a daughter of the Samhain Clan. And this is Carter, who recently married into the Samhain Clan.”

“Samhain Clan!” Borelius’ face went pale, and he immediately fell to his knees. “I had eyes, but could not see! I didn’t dare to dream I was in the presence of the Samhain Clan! My arrogance knows no bounds!”

Cyra sighed and nudged Borelius with the tip of her boot. “Get up. You can bow and salute if you like, but I hate groveling.”

“As Lady Samhain commands!” Borelius leaped to his feet only to immediately drop into a bow.

“Samhain, you said? No wonder. They’re one of the oldest clans in the multiverse!” someone muttered.

The young woman from earlier turned to me. “Hey, could you put me in touch with Matriarch Kyrina back on Glacia? Rumor is she has the ear of the emperor right now. I think--“

I held up a hand. “Hold on, I just married into the family. I’m not the best person to ask about anything.”

The young woman immediately turned to Cyra, and I gave her a thumbs up while I wrapped Cloak of Shadows around myself to make it harder to notice. It seemed like everybody wanted to network with a young woman from the Samhain Clan. If this was how they reacted to any clanswoman, they’d probably go wild if they learned she was the firstborn daughter of the main family. Considering the fuss, the branch family I kept hearing about back on Glacia was probably even more influential than I suspected.

It was Official Rykard who broke up the circle rapidly gathering around Cyra.

“Alright, enough jabbering. We’ve got one more practical test to take before we move on to the written exams. This time, we’re fighting monsters. And not just any monsters, summoned monsters. These are all ghost-type, so if you want to hurt them, you need to deal magic damage. You can arrange yourself into teams of five for each monster, but no more. We’ll be teleporting out-of-town now, and you’re to use the curated hunting grounds nearby. They are intended to simulate wilderness, though everything within the woods is carefully curated.”

Official Rykard took us to a teleportation array, where we vanished and soon reappeared inside a pavilion outside a forest. The forest felt unnatural at a glance. Every tree was massive, and the open ground around their base contained not a single thorn bush or even a weed. The trees were staggered to look natural, but there was a pattern to the staggering that revealed human hands behind it all. This was no natural forest. Also, the large building nearby, pumping a haze of mysterious-looking fog into the woods, was a dead giveaway.

The area under the canopy was open and clear enough that I could see straight few and spot a few of the summoned monsters inside. I couldn’t see them with normal vision thanks to the fog, but with Dragoneyed Mage, I could see straight through it. It looked like it was full of giant spectral bears, rabbits, and other creatures that weren’t present on Earth before the integration.

It was an interesting setup. I glanced at Official Rykard. I was pretty sure the Dragon Lodge used the same trick I was using to see through the fog and monitor every group of test takers. For those who didn’t know the trick, it would be a good way to simulate a dark forest while still being able to keep an eye on students.

“Form your teams. You have ten minutes. Pass the test by returning with at least one monster core per group. That’s the bare minimum to pass. For a higher score, return with one per group member,” Official Rykard explained.

Immediately people started swarming Cyra again. When she reached out and grabbed my cloak to pull me toward her, my shadow cloak was broken and people started swarming the both of us.

“Me! Pick me!” Borelius cried as he waved his staff frantically.

He actually did rather well compared to the other students. Most of that was thanks to his fancy staff, but still, he was a logical pick.

“Alright, Borelius, you can join us.” I pointed him out from the crowd, much to the groans of everyone else.

I let Cyra pick the other two. She’d have a better eye for telling which of these guys were actually going to help us fight and which were just looking to network with her.

Pretty soon, she’d selected two more members for our group. One was a shy-looking girl with glasses who could barely speak to us. The other was... also a shy-looking girl who could barely speak to us. Perhaps Cyra decided the psychological benefits of a quiet team would be of more use to us than the strongest combatants.

Borelius was loud enough to make up for the two of them, though.

“So, the Samhain Clan? I heard a rumor that the Emperor of Glacia has a wife from that clan. Supposedly, she has his ear more than any other, and she just returned from a lengthy vacation to her homeland.”

“Yes,” Cyra replied, scanning the forest before us. The terse way she responded was a cue to shut up that even Borelius couldn’t miss.

“This way.” I nudged her, and she put her trust in me to lead.

I was a little more direct once we were out of range of Official Rykard’s hearing. “I see three targets near here. All early C-Grade. We can take them easily.”

“Uhm...” one of the shy girls mumbled. I looked back to find this was the one with glasses. “H-how can you see anything through this? It’s all just a haze...”

I pointed to my eyes. “Magic.”

At that, they followed me with no further questions. I think I could enjoy hanging out with a bunch of wizards.

Pretty soon, we were on top of the first of the targets I’d spotted.

Lightningfoot Rabbit Specter (Level 105)

“Early C-Grade rabbit. Does anybody have the ability to lock it down? I have one, but it’s an area of effect and might hit you guys, too.” I looked at my companions.

“I... uhm... might have something,” said the other shy girl. This was the one without the glasses. “I can make the grass reach up and hold it in place.”

“I can do something similar with a beam of energy from my staff,” Borelius added.

“Good. Cyra and I will deal damage while it’s pinned. If it gets away, we’ll finish it off with spells.”

We surrounded the ghostly rabbit, and on my signal, everyone launched their spells at once. The grass wrapped around the rabbit’s feet. Magical symbols surrounded it and bound its body in place. Cyra and I were leaping for it an instant later, me with Arcane Blade and her with her new magical sword strike.

Both blows struck the rabbit, and in an instant, killed it. It didn’t even have a chance to fight back. A moment later, I was picking up a monster core. It was modified and reminded me of the cores used by the Shadefall Clan for spirit summoning. The thing wasn’t particularly strong. The battle had almost been a bit of a letdown, considering how many of us were on top of that thing. I was pretty sure most of us could have taken the rabbit on our own. Having five us us dogpile it was just unfair.

“Here,” I tossed the monster core to the girl with glasses. She stared at it a while, and I could see a bit of text scrolling across her lenses. The integration had pretty much cured near-sightedness, so her glasses were probably some tool that helped with analyzing enemies or items.

“I r-recognize these things. They’re a basic spirit summoning tool, though I’ve never seen one at C-Grade. They summon a spirit about fifty levels lower than whatever monster was killed to make them.” She glanced up at us looking at her and cringed. “Uh... that is, I’m sure you all already knew that... but...”

I chuckled. “No, that’s useful information. Sounds like the original rabbit might have been a good fight. These guys, not so much. Let’s take out four more.”

Cyra played wolf for our little band. She was fast enough and scary enough that she could chase almost anything right into our waiting arms. The specters ran when she started swinging at them, and then Borelius and the other girl landed spells to get them stuck. From there, we just had to finish them off.

Thanks to my afflictions, we never had to worry about them getting away. Once I hit them a few times, they were as good as done for. Corrupting Marks seemed even more effective on spirits than on anything else, and Sanity Siphon rendered them too aggressive to bother escaping.

If I really wanted to ace this test, I could have summoned Sharky as well. He could have swum through this forest as naturally as one of the Dragon Lodge’s specters and gobbled them up one after another. As long as the other examinees didn’t attack him or look excessively appetizing, things would be fine.

In the end, though, summoning him wasn’t needed. We all had a monster core in our pockets when we returned. To our surprise, we were the first group back too. That was mostly my doing, I was pretty sure.

We spent half an hour waiting for the others to return, many of them ragged and looking worse for wear. Two other groups had a monster core for every member of their group. The rest just turned in one per group.

“That will be all for the practical exams. I hope you’re all happy with your performance today. Now, we’ll finally be going to the classroom for the written exams,” Official Rykard said as he pocketed the last of the monster cores. No doubt the dragon lodge would reactivate them to respawn the monsters each was made from.

A small cheer went up from the group at the word of written exams. I grimaced though. From the way Official Rykard had spoken earlier, the Dragon Lodge wouldn't be happy I had the spells I currently had if I wasn't a member of the Dragon Lodge before it could become a problem. With that added pressure, I would have to make sure I did my best.

The teleportation array took us back to town, and from there, we walked to a classroom. The room had two rows of long benches in columns leading down to a front stage, complete with a chalkboard. I hadn’t seen many of those around too often during my later schooling, and classrooms had been slowly switching to whiteboards as I grew up.

“The test is happening immediately. We’ve had students try to have others take the test on their behalf in the past, especially from the elite exams, and the best way around that is to make sure the written exams happen right after the practical tests. You’ll have an hour each for both the magical theory and Dragon Lodge history tests. This should be the easiest part of getting into the Dragon Lodge for all of you.”

I glanced at Cyra, who looked worried as she glanced over at me.

I’d done pretty well during the practical exams, but I had no formal training at all. The only magical theory I understood was what I pieced together myself or learned from reading through a few of Myrina’s rarely touched textbooks. In short, I was completely out of my depth with a written exam like this. And the history test for the Dragon Lodge would be even worse. I would just have to hope my results from the practical tests would be enough to carry me through two massive failures.

“You may complete these in any order. I’m passing out both the history and the theory tests as one. But I’m sure the history test will be a perfect score for all of you. It’s hart to grow up on Glacia without learning all about the Dragon Lodge.” Official Rykard chuckled, and a few others joined him. My own frown deepened.

From there, things were even more familiar. Official Rykard handed out a stack of paper to everyone, along with a quill and pot of ink. After trying to scribble with mine and failing, I retrieved a ballpoint pen from my bag of holding. Others had their own favored writing implements, so that wasn’t too unusual.

Then I got a good look at the written exam and knew I was completely screwed. I hadn’t the slightest idea when the Dragon Lodge was founded or who the founders were. When asked what they specialized in, I could only guess some form of dragon-themed magic. Questions about who the current leaders were was even harder.

All around me, everyone else was scribbling away at high speed, like they knew the answers by heart. Considering how long people in the Arcadia Multiverse lived, the leaders of the Dragon Lodge probably hadn’t changed in generations. Anybody should know at least a few of them. Anybody but me, that is.

I sighed and set the test aside after leaving most of it blank. I’d just have to accept failure on that one. Then I picked up the other test and braced myself for an even more hopeless battle.

You must create a potion with exactly one ten-thousandth concentration of the thimble-pinch you currently have. How much of the concentrate should you add to a Dragon-share of water?

That was something I could easily solve if only I knew what a thimble-pinch or a Dragon-share was, and how to convert between them. I tabled the question for later, hoping the units would be revealed through another question.

You are in charge of a catapult which shall sunder the gates of the nearest castle. The enchanted projectile it shall fling is off immense value, and you will be beheaded if the projectile does not hit the castle gates on the first shot. From the weight of the projectile at six weightstones and a distance of three hundred medium paces, divine the exact angle needed to strike the gates.

More units I didn’t recognize. I suppose this was what I deserved for not studying for an exam. If I’d only known what was going to be on the test, I could have spent last night reading through Morgathor’s old books.

Despite my difficulties, I was getting the impression these questions weren’t all that hard if only I knew those last missing pieces. The students sitting on the bench next to me were also sweating and frowning. Perhaps most of them hadn’t studied either.

You must refine a moonstalker skyjelly using only the most powerful of lights. Only imperceptible energy will solidify it, while other lights will merely empower it enough to escape you. You have access to a Sun Elf Divine Lightsplitter and it is a bright sunny day. Where should you place your treasure?

Now if only I knew what a Sun Elf Divine Lightsplitter was. Wait a moment... maybe I did?

To me, a lightsplitter sounded a lot like a prism. The imperceptible energy had to either be infrared or ultraviolet. Between the two, I guessed ultraviolet and wrote down that you should place the magic jellyfish beyond violet wherever your prism casts light.

After resigning myself to guessing, I could go back and make a few guesses. There was a lot to guess at with the catapult problem. Mainly that I had no idea what the gravitational constant of the planet in the problem was. The units, at least, I could get around. In the end, I assumed it would be the same as Earth and wrote an answer my high school physics teacher would have been proud of. I wouldn’t have remembered enough of kinematics to do even this much before the integration, but thanks to my high intelligence stat, my memory was pretty much perfect, and I could remember those lectures like they were yesterday.

I answered the rest of the questions in a similar fashion. In the end, I slowly shifted from being frustrated over missing a few crucial elements to answer the questions to being proud of how much I actually was able to answer, despite limited information. Each space was filled with line after line of tiny scrawled equations.

Whoever was grading these things probably wouldn’t be familiar with the way we did math on Earth, so I made sure to lay it all out in a logical and orderly fashion. Maybe they weren’t exactly the answer they were looking for, but I could still aim for partial credit.

This was the first exam that I used the full time on. Cyra turned her papers in and left the room an hour into the exam while I and a few other students stayed behind, frowning at our tests. Even Borelius left before me.

Still, when Official Rykard commanded we put pens down, I did so, and he collected the last of the exams. From there, we all left.

“All of you can enjoy another night here in Mucaria. Remember, we’re still under time dilation, so outside it’s still the day most of you entered. Enjoy your time back in town as a guest of the Dragon Lodge. Depending on your test results, this may be your only chance to take advantage of our available amenities. There are plenty of libraries to visit. Some of you are in desperate need of visiting one. Come back here tomorrow to learn if you will be granted access to our halls of learning.”

He waved us off, and people started filing out of the room and into the streets beyond. From the doorway, I watched as he made rapid progress through most of the exams before stopping on one particularly ink-stained exam. After staring at it awhile and scratching his head in confusion, he set it aside and finished the rest of the exams.