[ 49 ] Holdout

The leaves bobbed in the water and swayed against the currents as they pulled up to the pebbly shore. The small island wasn’t far from the Aerie’s banks, but the deep, fast-moving river would dissuade many regardless.

There wasn’t much to the island. A dozen trees perched atop it, their thick roots interwoven into one, with a huge spruce sprouting from the mass’s center, which towered high above. The spruce had been the very reason Kal had picked this island.

“Take watch around the island and let me know if you see anyone,” Kal said, ordering Team Lunar to take action. “That’ll be our watchtower,” he added, looking up at the huge tree.

“Take watch around the island,” Michel muttered. “Bah, who does he think he is? Ordering us around like servants.” 

“Sush it, Michel,” Bandy nudged him. “Just do as he says and stop whining.”

“Guys, follow me,” Kal waved the rest of his team over and led them to the spruced’s base. He looked up at the dense lattice of leafy branches. “Okay, we’re going to climb this thing.”

“Climbing?” Vae grimaced. “I know I may come off as a more hands-on kind of noble, but really. This is a bit much.”

“Suck it up, golden boy,” Ellie said, pulling her sleeves up.

“Actually, I suppose you can stay down here. Since me and Ellie have the Astral Pouches, I think it best we remain up there. It’ll make the job of would-be thieves harder. But you and Arix don’t need to be up there.”

“Ow, but I wanted to climb it,” Arix sank.

“Nobody is stopping you,” Ellie sighed.

“And what about your escape plan?” Vae probed. “It might be hard for somebody to get to you, but it’ll also be equally hard to get away from them.”

“The ropes in our camping supplies. I was thinking we tie them up to a leaf, which we leave on the water. If anybody attacks, we simply slide down and make our getaway.”

“Neat plan,” Arix said.

“Hmm, sounds complicated with multiple fail points.”

“Don’t worry, Vae. We’ll test it before committing to anything.”

It took a few hours to cut away enough branches to allow for an easy route up the tree that wouldn’t be easily spotted or utilized by an opposing team.

In the meantime, Team Lunar spread out across the island, taking up sentry positions at its four corners. 

Kal treated Team Lunar as more of a backup than anything else and, if things went south, as a distraction. He felt a little guilty about it, but at no point did he believe he was lying. If everything went as planned, he would ensure they reached 100 points.

Once the camp was ready, the rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. If anybody knew they were on the island, they hadn’t yet attempted to do anything about it.

Beneath the trees, the two teams set up their camps with a small fire on the tiny beach. Kal and Ellie had tied cut branches along the spruce’s larger branches, creating hammocks in the tree, on which they laid their bedrolls. Between this and Arix and Vae sleeping at the tree’s base, Kal thought they were at least secure from a potential Team Lunar betrayal.

The first night came quickly. Setting up the camp had been hard work, and by the time the sun was setting, just about everyone was eager for some shut-eye.

They rose early the following day. Without being surrounded by the sun-suffocating trees of the forest, dawn’s light hit early, awakening them to ever-stiffening bodies filled with camping aches.

Kal was vigilantly eyeing the leaderboard, and since little movement had happened, he was willing to play it by ear and think about their next move.

Michel proved a decent, albeit grumpy fisherman. After a little perssausion from Bandy, he agreed to share his catch and lunch was spent sitting around the fire munching on freshly grilled fish.

As they sat around the fire, Ike talked about Astral Pouchs. He and his family weren’t rich, but they did own a magical emporium in Rittensburg, and as such, he knew quite a bit about magical items. 

Apparently, high-quality Astral Pouches could store their contents as fresh as the day they were placed in the pouch, a fact he bemoaned while eating the freshly grilled fish.

The pouches given by the government were high quality, but not quite that good, and while they were perfectly fine for storing cured meats, fresh seafood was beyond their limitations.

Kal took note of every word. Ike wasn’t just a great resource for knowledge pertaining to magical items, but he figured that if he ever managed to chance upon Rittensburg, perhaps Ike would be able to get him good prices. With his newfound hunger for gear, Kal thought that forming a friendship with Ike might be just as important as any noble.

“Your store sounds impressive,” Kal said, making sure to butter him up a little. “I hope I can see it one day.”

“Well, it’s not anything special,” Ike said, scratching at his neck. “Just a regional store. The things they’ve got in the capital blow it away by a mile.”

“I’m sure you’re just being modest.”

“No, not really. But we’re always out for extra customers, so if you’re ever out that way, ask for Edweena. That’s my mom. She’s always about. Dad works there, too. But he’s harder to get a hold of. Just tell her you’re my friend; she’ll look after you.”

Bingo!

Bloodline Trait Unlocked: Deceptive  +1 Charisma | +1 Intelligence

Deceptive? Come on, now! I barely did anything. Just—nudged him a little. Whatever disgruntlement Kal felt over the mischaracterization was short-lived when he read the stats and immediately delved into his core.

=====================

Lesser–Demonic Mana Core

Mana 68/68

Mana Potential 182

Stage 2

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 6

Charisma: 7

Wisdom: 20

Intelligence: 20

Endurance: 7

Toughness: 5

=====================

As expected, the plus 1 to intelligence had pushed him over the stat precipice and boosted him up with another 5 mana.

“Where is Rittensburg anyway?” Arix asked. 

“It’s the south,” Ike said. “I haven’t been there for a few years, though. That’s why I’m taking the exam here. Been living with my uncle in Morington. The store is always so busy, and Mom and Dad don’t have to try to teach me magic. So, they sent me to my uncle. Another reason why passing this thing is so important. They’ve been paying stipends to my uncle to look after me, feed me, and, most importantly, train me. They are going to be pissed if I fail,” Ike sighed.

The kid’s got some pressure riding on his shoulders. Poor guy,

Taking a bite of aromatic charcoal fish, Kal leaned back and brought up the leaderboard.

• Team Ebenshire - 400

• Team Dreamkeeper - 320

• Team Alpha - 280

• Team Kingmaker - 225

• Team Raptor - 195

Team Hijinks had fallen off the top 5 a couple of hours ago, but besides that, nothing much had happened.

It was a little worrying to see the top teams gathering up more and more of the objectives. Kal’s main goal was still to ensure they scored academy spots, but now that they held the top of the leaderboard, he kind of wanted to keep it, and not just because of the reward. He just wanted to win.

“Thought of any plans yet?” Vae asked.

“Not really,” Kal replied, dismissing the leaderboard. “We still have the top spot, so I don’t see any point in rushing out there.”

“Do we wait until someone else takes it from us before we do anything?” Ellie asked.

“Maybe,” Kal shrugged. “It all depends on what the leaderboard looks like. If a bunch of teams are gaining points quickly, we should probably do something about it. If it’s just the one team, then it’s probably safer to ignore.”

Kal gave a reasoned response, even though, deep down, he wanted to get out there.

The fifth day started slow. Kal had started to hope someone would come to challenge them. The island might not have been easy to get to for most teams, but it shouldn’t have been particularly hard for them to spot them camping out on the little patch of pebbles.

As if hearing his unspoken prayer, Daphne yelled, “Team spotted, gathering on the riverbank!”

Kal was perched up in the spruce, but his mind had lazily drifted away and hadn’t been paying attention. The moment he heard Daphne’s shout, his gaze drifted down to her and then followed to where she pointed.

She was right. There was another team. They had gathered on the riverbank, pushing a log raft into the water. It was far better than the dodgy thing Team Defiant  team had been trying to put together, and they had clearly put some time into it. Kal realized that while it might have seemed all quite on the island front, they had been spied on, and that team and been preparing their attack.

His heart thumped, and excitable energy rushed through his veins. This was better than sitting around doing nothing.

As the raft hit the water, the team waded out with it into knee-high water and then climbed aboard with a push. Immediately, they stood and took their branch-made paddles pushed against the riverbed and began to row once it grew deep enough.

Kal’s eyes widened in excitement as the raft grew closer and his bracelet was able to identify the team for him.

“Team Raptor” appeared above the raft.

I was wondering when another big boi would come knocking.

Team Raptor might not have entered the top five until recently, but the fact that they had made it there meant they likely had a few spells up their sleeves.

“Ready Vae?” Kal shouted down the tree.

“Oh, come on, Kal. Of course, I am.”

“I wish you weren’t so excited about this!” Ellie hissed by his side.

Okay, once again, I’m more obvious than I thought. That’s something to work on later.

Two teens on either side of the raft, looking about fifteen or so, rowed while a girl with silky red hair stood at the forefront, flanked by—

Wait, is that? 

Kal squinted, trying to make out the details. It was exactly who he thought it was—Shell.

I guess we’re the enemy now, huh? He seemed like a nice guy, but that doesn’t change anything. 

“You picked the wrong guy to rob from,” Kal murmured.

His plan was to wait in the tree, watch them disembark, and get a feel for their spells before making his move. 

But as he watched Team Raptor near the island’s shore, his jaw dropped. 

Moving hastily, a shadow stretched across the river, and Kal’s gaze was forced up and into the clouds.

A timber hull creaked beneath a huge, beige balloon strung up by countless, taut ropes. The silhouettes of four figures could faintly be seen across the ship’s deck, and glowing glyphs marked the mahogany timber frame. The airship was an objective worth 150 points and the most valuable item in the exam. Not only that but as Kal raised the bracelet up against the airship, the holographic name that appeared read “Team Alpha.”

Okay, maybe I should have been careful what I wished for.

“Kal, what’s the plan now?!” Daphne swung around, horror in her eyes as she shouted.

“Nothing's changed,” Kal shouted back with a defiant gleam in his eyes. “We follow the plan!”

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