FIELDWORK

Eira Ysabelle's POV

Ilang araw na nang magsimula ang training ko kasama si Clyde. He's my guardian kaya siya raw ang tutulong sa akin upang mabawi ang lakas at ang kapangyarihan ko. Ilang araw na rin nang matapos ang insidente sa girls' dorm. Hindi pa ako masyadong nakaka-move on doon dahil iyon ang unang case na na-solve ko.

"This second semester, you will all have a group containing 10 members for your ground work. There will be two elementals, four knights, two mages, a support, and a healer in each group," panimula ni Ms. Amanda, ang aming guro para sa field work na isang S- mage.

"As usual, you will all be given a mission at the end of every month. But at the first three weeks, you will be training with your respective groups." Ayon kay Clyde, isang buong araw ang subject na ito kaya mas mahaba ang oras namin sa pagpa-practice. This is exciting! Nothing makes me more enthusiastic than the thought of using magic.

"Now, for the pairing." In a snap of her fingers, a piece of white paper appeared above my desk. Mayroon din sa table ni Tina ngunit wala kay Clyde.

"Girls, please stand up and proceed here in front. I want all of you to announce who your partners are for the fieldwork this semester." Tumayo lahat ng babae sa room at pumunta sa unahan, gaya ng sinabi ni Ms. Amanda.

"Prince Lauren," sambit ni Luna.

"Dave," the one with the lightning power, siya ang ka-partner ni Khiera.

"Drac," tila nahihiyang banggit ni Tina at tsaka yumuko. Wait. Is she blushing? She's cute.

"John." He's paired with Shane. John can manipulate sand, while Shane can control plants.

"Clyde," banggit ko, at tila bituin, nagningning ang kulay asul niyang mga mata. Inirapan ko lamang siya at tsaka bumalik sa upuan.

Natapos ang pairing namin for the group. Sandra was paired with Jerome, the plant manipulator. He's my cousin from Tribe Deli. Giea was paired up with Isaiah, and Jiro was paired with Angel, the light manipulator.

Sinundan namin si Ms. Amanda hanggang sa makarating kami sa training grounds. At this moment, we will be collaborating with our groupmates and practice fighting as a group. Dito rin mapapatunayan ang compatibility ng mga miyembro sa bawat isa.

I've got the letter D on the small piece of paper so it means that we are on the fourth group. Nakahanay ang bawat grupo nang maayos, and I must say, I was impressed. Students here were all disciplined, well most of them. Ibang-iba sa mga tao sa Earth.

Nawala ako sa pag-iisip nang maramdaman kong may humila sa 'kin papunta sa line ng Group D. Sa unahan ng linya ay nakatayo ang isang makisig na lalaking matangkad at kulay itim ang buhok at mga mata. Sa likod niya ay mayroon pang isang lalaki na katulad niya ay maganda rin ang tindig. His orange eyes were gleaming with the touch of the sunlight. Dalawang babae naman ang nasa likod nila, ang isa ay may purple eyes at ang isa naman ay may pink eyes. Judging by their looks and styles, these four were the knights of the group. Ang nasa likod nila ay kambal na hindi mo maipagkakailang kabilang sa lahi ng mga mage dahil sa hawak nilang mga wand. Ang isa ay nakasuot ng salamin, ang isa naman ay hindi. I think the girl behind them is our healer because of her pin. Her hands were gleaming slightly, yung tipong makikita mo lamang kapag tinitigan mo nang mabuti. Ang natitira naman ay isang lalaking kulot ang buhok. He is, of course, our support. I badly want to see a support in action. I think they would be amazing.

"We're giving you fifteen minutes to know each other. Afterwards, each group will be facing different levels of monsters and creatures, so be ready. You can now form a circle and find a place for your group to talk," a teacher announced.

"Follow me," Clyde instructed. We followed him and stopped when we reached the bench under a huge tree.

"I'm Clyde Ignei Davis, guardian of Princess Khione of Liondale. I have the power of water. A class A elemental," Clyde introduced himself as he made a water snake encircling his arm. He looked at me and nodded.

"I'm Khione Denisse Cankara, the heiress of Liondale, the princess of water and ice. Class A- elemental," taas-noo kong sambit.

"Name's Gabriel Ryder, a B class knight from the Fern Tribe. Swords are my brothers," pakilala noong lalaking nasa unahan ng linya kanina. He's so tall and handsome.

"Zoe Fletcher, the daughter of Tribe Ania's leader. B+ knight. Arrows are my cup of tea." Zoe is the girl with pink eyes, the cute one.

"I'm Aubrey Ward from the Obion Tribe of Salem. B- knight. I use daggers." Siya naman iyong purple-eyed girl.

"Julian Clarke. A- knight. Lask Tribe, Lignus. I use spears." He's the gorgeous orange-eyed lad.

"We're Pete and Rowe Wilson, the B class mages from Tribe Prim," pagpapakilala ng nakasalamin na isa sa kambal.

"Fred Brooke, an A- support at your service. Came from the Orion Tribe of Enchanta," sabi naman noong kulot na lalaking kanina pa nagpapa-cute sa mga babaeng tumitingin sa kanya.

"I'm Hazel Taylor, a B class healer from tribe Prim." She's the girl with shiny hands.

"Let's formulate a plan." Clyde initiated the planning of the strategies and the positioning of each member of the group. It really shows how used he is to these kinds of situations. This line of work suits him the best. He has this overwhelming authority when we're in situations like this yet is annoying and irritating when we're in a normal setting.

"Gabriel and Julian are our front liners, the defenders of the group," panimula niya.

"Zoe, you will be with Fred and Hazel on the back since your specialty is a long range weapon." He sounds just like those commanders in battles that I've watched before.

"Aubrey, Khione, and I will be at the second line together with the two mages," tumingin siya sa bawat isa matapos ipaliwanag ang pwesto namin.

"Fred, remember to create barriers for our defenders. Hazel, be alert and conserve your energy. When someone needs your help, heal them immediately. You'll know when we need healing the most. Zoe, you will be our eye. Cover us on our blind spots. While us, second line, we will be responsible for effense. Attack as long as you can and as hard as you can. Don't worry about your energy, we have a B class healer and an A- support. Let's just be alert and be ready for emergencies," pagkatapos nito ay tumalikod siya at sumandal sa puno. What's wrong with him?

I reached for something when the ground suddenly started shaking. I felt dizzy when the earthquake intensifies. Ano na naman bang nangyayari? Napatingin ako sa likod ko nang marinig ang pagtunog ng mga bakal at mga bato. Doon ko rin naririnig ang pagbiyak ng lupa. A dome is slowly rising up the ground. Just how is this possible?

Bumitaw na ako sa hinahawakan ko noong akala ko'y maayos na ang lahat. Ngunit nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang mawala ang balanse ko dahil sa isa pang malakas na pag-alog ng paligid. Oh no...babagsak ako—

"Careless." Napamulat ako nang maramdaman ang matigas na sinasandalan ko at ang mga bisig na sumalo sa akin. Thank God!

When the ground shake stopped, the field became huge. The center became a stage-like area and it is elevated 5 meters above the ground. Nagkaroon din ng isang hagdan pataas ng nabuong stage. Ang gilid ng field ay naging bleachers na napapalibutan ang stage. Ito marahil ang magsisilbing upuan ng mga estudyante. This sudden transformation of the field and the oval is quite impressive. Ano kaya ang hindi kayang gawin ng mahika?

"Group A, please proceed at the center of the field." Ang unang grupo na sasalang sa stage ay ang grupo nina Sandra.

That girl is strong, I know it just by judging her aura. She's a class A elemental, after all.

"Start!" A gun was fired after the teacher's signal. Monsters and hideous creatures with different sizes and forms came on sight.

I have read on the books that monsters have their hierarchy according to their level. Like the magic folks, the highest and strongest class is the class S. Today, a class S monster is in front of Sandra's group. However, none of them looks afraid. They were all smirking like they would only play some type of game.

Lahat ng knight na kagrupo ni Sandra ay swords and shields ang specialty kaya't front liners silang lahat. Sa second line naman nila ang mages at elementals habang nasa likod naman ang support at ang healer.

Nang magsimulang sumugod ang mga halimaw sa kanila ay agad gumawa ng barrier ang support para madepensahan ang kanilang defenders. Ang mga mage ng grupo ay nagsimula na ring mag-cast ng spells at enchantments kaya't maraming halimaw ang sumasabog at tumatalsik sa kung saan-saan. They are trying to prevent the monsters from reaching their defense. On the other side, Sandra is continuously throwing air balls and airs pikes at the monsters in front. Although the air can be hardly seen, the gust and the pressure it makes enables everyone to see its shape. Her partner, Jerome, was using the roots of the plants underground. He manipulates them to trap their enemies so they will be vulnerable to their offense. Great strategy.

Nagulat ako nang makita ang isang napakalaking tornado na papunta sa mga halimaw. Sandra's strength and stamina is insane! I bet she uses a lot of magi to contain the tornado and control it without sweat. The monsters' bodies were sliced by that tornado. Nagtalsikan sa sahig at sa mga kagrupo ni Sandra ang kulay berdeng dugo ng mga halimaw dahil sa atake niya.

"Gross!" "Yuck!" reklamo ng iba niyang kagrupo.

Nahagip ng isang malaking hammer ang isang knight nila kaya't tumalsik ito papunta sa barrier na nakapalibot sa stage. Dahil dito ay malala ang injury na natamo ng knight. Dali-dali namang tumakbo papalapit sa kanya ang healer. The healer's hands created a blinding light when it touched the knight's body. Healing is the most magi-consuming ability, as it uses magi to regenerate one's destructed cells to repair a tissue, muscle, bone, or an organ. However, their healer looks like it was nothing because their support is multitasking at this moment. There were white lines connecting the hands of the support to the other members of the group. I knew supports were great.

I almost screamed when Sandra jumped in the middle of a few large monsters that look like Class A+. What is this girl thinking? As her feet touched the ground, the ten enormous monsters came floating. She knocked her enemies off the ground and a large amount of air blades formed around her. She controlled them in a circular motion together with the monsters. The place was filled with shrieks and growls as they blended in with the sharp blades. Even the blood of the monsters was not falling onto the ground. It was moving around her, too.

As the motion stopped, the enemies fell off the ground with their bodies full of cuts and covered with their own blood. I'm impressed! That technique was great. No wonder she's in a higher class. The crowd became loud, cheering for her and screaming her name.

On the other side, nakita ko ang mabilis na paggalaw ng mga ugat na nanggaling sa ilalim ng lupa. Limang halimaw ang kapit nito sa leeg. Makikita ang pagkawala ng kulay ng mga halimaw hanggang sa maging abo na lamang ang mga ito. Hindi naman tumitigil ang mga mage at knights sa pagdepensa mula sa mga kalaban. Patuloy rin ang healer at support sa pagbibigay ng tulong sa mga kakampi. They're a good team, I must say. Ang ganda ng coordination ng mga galaw nila.

Nagpatuloy ang laban hanggang sa maubos na ang mabababang class ng halimaw. Halata na ang pagod sa mukha ng bawat miyembro ng grupo kaya't binigyan sila ng lakas ng healer at ng support kaya't sila naman ang nabawasan ng lakas.

Isang malakas na sigaw ang pinakawalan ng higante bago sumugod kina Sandra. Hindi basta-basta ang kalaban nila, ngunit hindi rin sila basta-basta kaya't madali nilang matatalo ang halimaw na ito. Sumugod ang knights sa halimaw. Ang isa ay tumalon sa balikat nito ngunit nahulog itong muli dahil hinampas ito ng higante. The giant's senses were high. Mabilis din nitong nagagawan ng crack ang barrier na ginagawa ng support.

Tinalunan ng isa pang knight ang braso ng higante at saka pinutol. You should see how his sword became very huge, you won't believe it.

Ngayon na naputol na nila ang isang kamay nito, mas madali na nila itong matatalo. Nagpatuloy lamang sa pagbabato ng atake ang elementals at mages ng grupo hanggang sa mapuno na ng sugat at dugo ang higante. Two huge roots trapped the giant's legs. Hindi na hinintay pa ng mga knight na makalaban pa itong muli. Sabay-sabay silang tumalon papunta sa halimaw.

Kasabay ng pagtapak ng mga paa nila sa sahig ang pagbagsak ng dalawang binti, isang braso, katawan, at ulo ng higante. Sa madaling sabi, nanalo sila.

Sandra and her teammates vanished from from the stage together with the beasts. They will be transferred to the clinic for their injuries.

"That was an intense fight back there! Let's give them a huge round of applause!" Nagpalakpakan naman ang mga estudyante. Ang ilan ay sinisigaw ang pangalan ni Sandra at ng iba pa.

That was really a great fight. I hope I can survive the fight without passing out.

♛