Chapter 49 | He's an Idiot

"Move!" The command rang out.

The convoy advanced into the Blackthorn Wilds leaving behind the Hellcrawlers.

The heat faded into a heavy, suffocating damp, where light barely reached through the twisted canopy. Every tree looked wrong, and vines draped low like nooses, unnaturally still, and bristling with hooked thorns. The ground was soft and covered in thick moss.

"Ugh come on!" Mason groaned.

Leon glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Mason yank his boot free with a wet schlurp, nearly toppling backward.

"Might want to take it easy with food from now on Recruit Saar," Instructor Zell mused from the front after hearing Mason's complaint.

The vora laughed at Mason's expense.

"Save some for the rest of us," Malco chimed in, already chuckling at his own joke. "Get it? 'Cause he's huge and keeps eating—"

"Thank you, Recruit Carl, they would not have gotten it without your explanation," Instructor Zell replied, shaking his head.

"You're welcome, sir!" Malco beamed.

"He was being sarcastic, you idiot," Malric muttered before giving Malco a shove, sending him stumbling into Mason.

Leon turned away, tuning out the bickering and recalling everything that happened with Nyra earlier in his mind a few times.

"Damn, why didn't I say that earlier?" He muttered under his breath.

At last, three hours into their march, his vora received orders to engage hostile wildlife.

"Eight to Ten, move to intercept. One to Seven, reserves. These Blackthorn Hounds travel in packs. There should be more of them," an assistant instructor ordered.

Leon and his vora followed the orders and charged at the incoming Blackthorn Hounds. Three mana beasts with midnight-black fur and sharp thorns sprouting on their spines ran at them from the front. Their violet eyes glowed with mana enhancing their speed.

"SHIELDS!" Leon ordered.

Mason led Niko, Ravi, Malric, and Kara into a loose semi-circle as they advanced between the trees. Within seconds, one of the hounds lunged, slamming into their shields with brutal force. 

The other two hounds split off toward the remaining voras.

It took a few tense minutes of shuffling and bracing, but with their numbers, they managed to pin the beast down. Its speed and claws posed danger, but coordinated pressure made it manageable.

"Eww," Lena muttered, grimacing as she yanked her spear from the hound's corpse.

"Get used to it," Talia replied, pulling her own weapon free with a wet sound.

Leon walked up beside them and retrieved his spear from where it lay embedded in the dirt. He'd missed. Badly.

No one said anything, thankfully.

He was lucky. His throw hadn't hit, but it had startled the hound long enough for Talia and Lena to close in and land the killing blows.

Everything went according to plan, Leon told himself, trying to swallow the sting of embarrassment.

But he knew the truth: he hadn't accounted for how erratic a live, thinking mana beast could move.

"Alright," an assistant instructor called out, approaching the hound's corpse. Leon glanced around and saw that all the voras in his group now engaged with their own hounds.

A few more had emerged after the initial three, giving the reserves a chance to fight.

"Ten, gather around," the assistant instructed, kneeling beside the fallen beast.

Leon's vora circled up, forming a ring with the instructor and the hound at the center.

"The mana core is typically located in the midsection or near the heart," the assistant said, pointing to the relevant areas. "The easiest way to find it is by injecting a small amount of your mana. If you're doing it right, you'll feel your mana being drawn toward the core. Go ahead and try it."

Leon stepped forward and placed his hand on the hound's neck. He closed his eyes and released a faint trace of mana.

Feels weird, he thought, sensing the mana leave his fingertips and tug toward the beast's chest cavity.

"Now take turns placing your hand in the general area where you felt the pull," the assistant continued.

Leon opened his eyes and moved to place his hand on the chest when he bumped into Malric's. The helmets hid their expressions, but Leon felt the challenge in Malric's posture.

Ravi stepped in and pulled Malric back with a shake of his head. Leon ignored the tension, refocused, and pressed his hand to the hound again.

This time, the pull toward the core felt even clearer. He pinpointed its exact location, then stepped aside to make room for the others.

Mason went next.

Leon glanced over and saw Malric still glaring at him, fists clenched.

What's his problem?

"Carl, go ahead and extract the mana core," the assistant said once everyone had taken a turn.

Malco didn't hesitate. He drew his sword, sliced open the hound's chest, and reached inside. What he pulled out was not the mana core.

"UGHHHH," the vora groaned in unison.

Malco held up a pair of lungs with blood still dripping.

"You need to keep injecting mana while you search," the assistant said, exasperated. "Don't rely on touch alone. And seriously?…How do you mistake lungs for the core? They're soft."

Malco looked uncertain, holding the organs awkwardly. Then he tried to stuff them back in.

"Carl! Just—just put them on the ground," the assistant snapped.

The second attempt went better.

This time, Malco pulled out a small, round mana core that glowed faint blue. The vora stepped in to get a closer look.

Leon had expected something smooth and crystal-like, but the surface appeared rough and uneven.

After the assistant instructor took the mana core and the rest of the group finished retrieving the cores, the excursion continued.

They moved through Blackthorn Wilds, stopping for a moment when hostile species attacked their group. The breaks they received were moments when their vora wasn't the one engaging the mana beasts.

At night, they camped in the wilds and at crack of dawn they made their way back to the Hellcrawlers.

The rest of the journey in the Blister Plains to Fort Ferros passed uneventfully. Sandcrawlers did not bother them.

Leon was back in his quarters, freshly showered and now cleaning his armor on the floor beside his closet. The mud and dust from the trip had caked on due to the heat.

"I am gonna have to take another shower," he grumbled looking at the dirt stain on his shirt.

Knock Knock

"Come in," he said while still trying to scrape mud off his boots.

Leon caught a hint of fresh floral smell as Nyra walked in and sat on his bed.

"Ah, feels so much better," Nyra said. "Wearing those armor for a couple of days was icky."

"Mhm," Leon nodded focused on the boots.

"How's your vora?"

"They're good…"

They're good? What kind of answer is that?

"Oh, that's good," Nyra said. "Are you busy? Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Leon answered quicker and louder than he intended.

Smooth

He glanced up at Nyra and saw her damp hair. Her loose shirt hung showing a bit of her left shoulder. Her sleeping shorts seemed to reveal more than he noticed before. Her lips plumped and her cheeks flushed red and glowing from her fresh shower. Her brows crunched in confusion.

"Uh, ok."

Leon set the boots down.

You got this. It's just Nyra. Don't be weird.

"Sorry, I—uh— just had a lot on my mind," Leon answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it's nothing serious."

"Oh ok, if you need help, let me know," she said.

"I will"

The room fell into an awkward silence. Nyra seemed not to mind as she played with her datapad.

Think. Think. What should I say? How's the weather? No. That's stupid. How did she like dinner? No… we ate protein cubes on the march back.

"Do—"

Beep.

A notification from both datapads chirped saving him from his predicament.

"Huh, they moving up Phase 3 Assessment by a week," Nyra said looking at her datapad.

Leon grabbed his datapad to view the notification:

To: All Recruits in Alpha Training Dravora
You are given three days of rest and self study before the start of Phase 3 final assessment.

The notification was short and straight to the point. No further explanation or instructions given.

"I guess I should head back to my room and get to bed early," Nyra said getting up from his bed.

"Good night," Leon said smiling at her.

"Good night," Nyra replied smiling back.

When the doors closed, Leon's smile disappeared.

"Good night? I couldn't think of anything but good night?"

He jumped on his bed in frustration. Grabbed his pillow and slammed it against his head.

"Stupid! Ugh!"

Leon settled down staring at the ceiling. After calming down, he caught a whiff of the floral scent Nyra brought into the room on his bed.

Stop being weird! He thought shaking his head.

He grabbed his datapad to look at the notification and access the study materials. He needed to distract himself.