"...Want one?"
Mirana's eyes flickered. For a split second, the cold mask cracked, revealing genuine confusion, before she shook her head slightly.
"...No."
"Suit yourself," Ryn shrugged, withdrawing his hand.
He was about to take a bite when her voice cut through the air again, sharp and direct.
"...You can teleport, right?"
Ryn paused, the pancake halfway to his mouth. He didn't look at her, keeping his gaze fixed on the fluffy pastry.
"...No."
"I saw it," Mirana stated flatly. "In the Grand Hall."
"..."
Ryn slowly lowered the pancake. There was no point arguing with someone who had eyes like a hawk.
"...Yes."
"I need your help."
Ryn looked at her, then at the comfortable wall he was leaning against.
"...Can I refuse?"
Mirana didn't answer immediately. Instead, she just stared at him, a small, dangerous arc of blue lightning flickering between her fingertips.
Crack.
With a casual flick of her wrist, she fired.
The bolt of lightning shrieked through the air, missing Ryn's ear by less than an inch. He felt the heat of the ozone singeing his hair before—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the alleyway behind him. Ryn turned his head slowly to see the smoking remains of a 'Stealth-Stalker' construct that had been creeping up on his blind spot, now reduced to a pile of molten scrap.
He looked back at Mirana. Her expression hadn't changed.
"...Guess I can't," Ryn murmured.
He sighed, mourning the loss of his break time, and stuffed the half-open pancake back into his bag. He dusted off his hands and turned to face her fully.
"So, what do you need my help with?"
"You will see once we arrive," she said, jumping down from the wall and landing gracefully beside him. She glanced at the low score floating above his head. "And don't worry. I will help you reach a thousand points before that."
Ryn blinked. A guaranteed pass from the rank one candidate? That would save him a lot of trouble.
"...Alright," he agreed, seeing no point in arguing with her. "Lead the way."
"...Follow me."
And just like that, Ryn got a free ride.
Fortunately, Mirana Dume was a woman of her word.
In just two minutes, she dragged him, literally and metaphorically, into the upper echelon of the scoreboard.
The points practically delivered themselves.
As they moved through the maze, groups of cocky candidates would spot the silver-haired girl. Blinded by greed and the "Alliance" mentality, they thought they could take down the 'exhausted empress' if they swarmed her.
"There she is!"
"Get her! We split the points!"
It was a massacre.
Mirana didn't even stop walking. A flick of her wrist sent arcs of lightning dancing through the corridors, paralyzing entire squads instantly. A stomp of her foot utilized her Force Vein to shatter their defenses.
They would drop to their knees, their shields flickering at 1-5% integrity.
Then, Mirana would stop and look at Ryn.
Ryn would sigh, walk up to the paralyzed, terrified students, and gently poke their foreheads.
Pop.
[Eliminated. +150 Points]
[Eliminated. +210 Points]
...
It was one of the easiest grinds of his life.
By the time they reached the center of the maze, Ryn checked his status.
[Rank 289: Ryn Dale - 2,150 Points]
'It seems those guys had a lot of points,' Ryn noted, dismissing the notification. He had doubled the requirement, which meant he was safe as long as he didn't get eliminated.
"We're here," Mirana announced, stopping abruptly.
The maze walls opened up into a massive, circular arena.
Ryn looked at the center, then at Mirana, and thought, 'I guess I was right.'
Because a vile, bubbling moat of viscous black liquid encircled the central platform, cutting it off from the rest of the maze completely.
Ryn sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. The acrid scent was unmistakable.
'Abyssal Tar,' he analyzed silently. 'Highly corrosive and releases neurotoxic fumes. Touching it means losing a limb.'
However, he glanced at Mirana. With her powers, crossing a twenty-meter gap of poison should be child's play for her. She could just glide over it or launch herself through the air.
'Since the poison isn't the problem,' Ryn concluded, 'then, it must be related to that.'
His gaze shifted past the deadly moat to the solitary figure sitting atop a pillar in the very center of the clearing.
It was a sleek, mid-sized humanoid construct, clad in lightweight matte-grey armor. Large, glowing crystal lenses were embedded in its palms and chest, humming with charged energy.
[Boss Monster: Phase-Stalker - 10,000 Points]
"It has a short-range Warp Drive," Mirana said, her voice tight with annoyance as she glared at the arcana-puppet. "The moment I enter the arena or channel enough energy for a spell, it teleports to the opposite side of the platform and fires high-intensity elemental beams. It's a ranger that never stays still."
She pointed at the machine, which was currently tracking a fly buzzing near it with its glowing blue eye.
"Its warp has a cooldown, though, about five seconds. But by the time I cross the distance to strike, the cooldown resets, and it blinks away again. It's an endless game of tag that I cannot win."
She turned to look at Ryn, her silver eyes serious.
"I have the speed, but I am currently no match for that."
Ryn looked at the annoying machine, then back at Mirana. So she just needed an instant bridge to close the gap before the machine could react.
"I see," Ryn sighed, realizing his break was definitely over. "To catch a teleporter..."
"...You need a teleporter," Mirana finished.
"Fine," Ryn stretched his neck, preparing himself. "But... you have to protect me till the exam ends."
"...Deal."
"Okay, then let's—"
Before Ryn could finish the sentence, Mirana's hand clamped around his forearm like a steel vice.
WHOOSH.
The ground beneath them cracked as she engaged her Force Vein. In a blur of motion, she launched them both into the air, soaring effortlessly over the bubbling moat of black poison.
Ryn didn't scream. He didn't even flinch as the air whipped against his face. He simply stared at the approaching platform with deadpan eyes, his body going limp to minimize air resistance.
'Impulsive. Forceful,' Ryn thought, watching her determined profile as they flew. 'This... is just like your father.'
THUD.
They landed heavily on the edge of the central platform, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
Mirana immediately released his arm and turned to check on him. She paused, her eyebrows knitting together in genuine surprise. She had expected him to be gasping for air, trembling, or at least looking a little pale from the sudden, violent jump.
Instead, Ryn was calmly patting a speck of dust off his jacket.
"I..." She cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "I didn't want you to waste your arcana."
"Makes sense," Ryn nodded, as if being thrown twenty meters through the air was a daily occurrence.
Across the arena, the Phase-Stalker's blue eye flashed red. Its chest began to hum loudly as it detected the intruders. It was preparing to strike.
"Then, excuse me as well..."