An announcement had been made by Amir, and it was trickier than they thought. Tinson and his group now needed to believe in their own individual strength more than ever. After going through each of the tests together, they now would be going through it alone.
Then there were the others. So far, only Raze had been made a target of Feebie, due to his run-in with Lisa and claiming he was the one who had finished her, but there was a worry on his mind.
A worry about a threat Feebie had made, how she would get rid of all of those who were close to him. To make him feel the same pain as her, as they would enter each of these portals on their own, it would be the perfect opportunity for her to get rid of them, or at least him.
"Amir said something important that day, while in the academy, they must abide by the rules. He seems to be a person who is willing to uphold them no matter what, even at the cost of going against the clans," Raze thought. "It must be the reason why Feebie didn't attack back then either. The two of them must be at a similar level in terms of strength.
"Maybe Amir is even stronger, but in the dimensions, although owned by the academy. Since no one is observing and it's off the academy grounds, I have a feeling she might act."
Raze had already done a lot in his current state. He thought with how dangerous everything was going to be, it was time for him to get Safa to heal him. He started to move slightly, inching forward toward her, the moment he took a step though.
One of the men in the large tooth-like mask, and dressed in black stood directly in his way, and shook his head.
"The next test will be starting immediately," Amir claimed. "As I said, you will not be going to the library just yet. Each of these men here, they will be escorting you to the portal expeditions."
Dame looked at the others and looked at Raze as well. What was the best solution, should they act now, try to kick up a ruckus, and then get Raze healed? That didn't make sense while only one side was really viewing them as the enemy.
The main issue was that portals in Pagna couldn't be moved. They just opened wherever they were in the world and stayed there. Then depending on where it was, a clan was more likely to claim territory to it.
Which meant that the group would be split up even more as each of them went through the different portals.
"Stay strong, and if you make it through this, all will be well," Amir claimed.
Standing now behind each of the ten students were the men with the strange masks on their faces. They then started to move, and when the students didn't follow them, they turned around staring directly into their eyes.
They quickly got the message that they were meant to follow along.
"We just have to get through the first day," Liam thought to himself. "If we do, then we will all be able to meet up again and come up with a plan."
All of the students were escorted out of the academy, and even when escorted, they had headed off in different directions from each other. Not knowing where the other would be, and all they could do was wish each other luck.
Raze had crossed the large stone bridge and continued to follow one of the Erupting Fist Clan members. He was walking ahead and would turn his head once in a while to check on Raze.
The two of them had entered a valley of sorts, westward from the academy. It was an area made out of large grey rocks that were slanted and curved upward like waves. It was hard to see where one was, and it was an area that was devoid of life.
"Not getting Safa to heal me before this assessment starts might cause some issues," Raze thought to himself. "When going through this dimension I need to be ready for anything. I'm not even sure how strong this guard is."
If they were from the Erupting Fist Clan and trusted to just escort them on their own, then Raze believed they had to have some level of strength. His hand was twitching as he kept moving.
"Should I attack him now and get rid of him? If I do that, I don't have to go through the portal?" Raze thought to himself.
"What's wrong with you!" The masked man eventually shouted, noticing that Raze was walking slowly behind.
To which, Raze's response was to point at his neck and tried to take in a deep breath. The pain could be felt with that alone.
After a short break, they continued to move ahead. 'It's best not to, the test will last for another month, and the Crimson Crane, they should be gathered up and on standby at the moment, ready to be called if needed.'
Finally up ahead, standing next to the portal were five men who were from the academy. Raze knew they were from the academy due to the headbands they were wearing.
They were grey in color. It was the color of those who were staff in the academy but weren't part of teaching the students. These could mostly be seen in the main academy and had appeared during the attack as well.
There were also higher position figures like Gunther that didn't wear any such headband and were part of the academy.
The academy personnel were aware of what was to come and stepped aside, including the masked man, who had gestured with an open palm toward the portal.
"You can come out of the portal when you wish, only after at least 2 hours of exploration has been done. If you wish to improve your strength in this test, then stay as long as you can," the masked man informed.
Reluctantly, Raze walked past the others. He felt like he could get stabbed in the back, sliced from the others at any moment, and what about on the other side of the portal, what if the entire Lethal Bite Clan was waiting for him, all of it worried him.
Still, he had no choice as he was cautious and stepped through the portal. 'I'll make it out alive no matter what because there are still a lot of things I need to do.'
Stepping through the portal, Raze's body shifted, warped, and he felt his whole body appear on the other end. Immediately, he could feel the atmosphere and heat hit him, the humidity that was in the air could be felt.
The sun was shining brightly, and the terrain around him, it all showed that he was in a different world. There were buildings made in round shapes out of a type of sandstone.
While large green trees were seen peeking up high above in different areas. What was strange is even just up ahead, he could see a river that looked to block the path between two areas, and the top of two houses visible.
'The portal leads straight into a past civilized area. This is not good; there are plenty of areas and places where one can attack.' Raze stopped in his tracks, and then turned around he could hear it, the portal activating again.
Appearing from the same place Raze was in just moments ago, was the masked man that had been following him.
'I'm going to go ahead and assume that these guys weren't meant to follow us in here.'
"She said this would be an easy job," the masked man claimed. "But, she told me to be careful. I will see this as doing you a favor and ending your pain!"
After finishing his words, the man dashed forward and pulled out a small dagger.
'Who are you to decide that!' Raze thought as he swung both of his hands. Push of the wind spell was activated and the sand on the ground lifted up like a wave, and pushed forward right at the warrior.
'Dark Pulse!'
Raze attacked with not one, but both of his hands, emitting a large beam of Dark energy through the sand. It broke through creating a hole, but the man hadn't been hit by the attack, he had already moved to the side.
'He's fast.' Raze thought.
"What type of strange tricks are you using!" The man shouted as he swung his dagger down.
Raze was able to perform a two-step shift right at that moment.
'The kid, he avoided it, he's fast… wait what stage is he at to avoid that?'
The attacker's Qi was extended out through the dagger and slashed against his uniform, it cut through, but stopped short, not able to cut through Raze's body for some reason.
"What, it felt like the dagger slipped off!" The man thought.
To which Raze smiled and managed to grab the man with both his hands. 'For a limited amount of time, I can fight at the full six stage level, and my magic has never been affected by any of this.'
The man's whole body started to spark up, his body was being fried hitting all over, his muscles unmoving, and at the same time, Raze was using the extraction technique taking his energy and adding it to his own.
Eventually, Raze dropped the man to the ground, and looked at his dead body.
'His speed, his strength, if I was to take a guess was he a stage 5 or 6 warrior?' Raze thought. Noting what dangers the others would be in.
"I thought there was something strange about you, it looks like you're quite different after all," a calm voice said from atop one of the round buildings.
Looking up, Raze could see it was Feebie, the leader of the Lethal Bite Clan.
