Serene’s POV (Day of 4th Exam)

Ayrden and I got ready quickly and after grabbing some breakfast we made our way to Enchantment Hall. I was a bit nervous because Artins Sensei was tough and his exam will not be easy by any standards.

This exam was for witches, vampires and fae because we were the ones who possessed magical abilities. Werewolves would be having a separate exam with Lavaria Sensei, where they will be tested on controlling their shift and showcasing their strength. Folkels had a day off because they had no magical abilities, the Combat Exam was their ultimate test.

As we entered the Enchantment Hall, the lights had been dimmed and the atmosphere inside was eerie and foggy. We settled down on the sofas and waited for Artins Sensei, meanwhile, everyone started gathering in the hall and began discussing what might the exam be about. I glanced around and saw Arlo standing with his back to the wall behind us, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Then the door opened and Mariela Sensei walked in instead of Artins Sensei. She came to halt in front of us and announced: "Good morning everyone, I will be your examiner today as Artins Sensei is away on some urgent business. So, do your best and don’t disappoint me." She was one scary woman, a slight glance from her would hush the whole class.

"Your exam will be held in a team of two and will be judged on how good your teamwork was, your presence of mind, quick decision making, and how well you can defeat your opponent. So, step forward when your name is called along with your teammate. Further instructions will be given to you in written form."

"Serene and Arlo, you are up first." My heart skipped a beat at her words. Of all the people she had to pair me up with Arlo. I stepped forward with shaky legs and was soon joined by Arlo, who stood at some distance from me. Mariela Sensei handed me a piece of paper with the instructions on what we needed to do.

"You have five minutes to read it thoroughly and discuss your strategy, after that move towards the smokescreen in front of you. Your test lies behind it, you will have 30 minutes to complete the test. Good luck." Mariela Sensei told us in a monotonous voice.

Arlo stepped closer to me and began to read the instructions without any interaction. I was glad because I had no clue what I would even say to him.

Instructions were as follows: 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

1. Identify the enemy, and help the wounded.

2. Kill or capture the enemy. (Use any means or weapons you like).

3. Make a choice.

4. Choose wisely.

They didn’t make much sense to me, so I looked at Arlo. "We might have several people in there from whom we will have to identify the enemy and we will either capture them or kill them. For, points three and four we might be given a scenario where we will have to save someone or ourselves. We will have to rely on each other and trust each other’s judgment because we will be tested." He gave me his analysis without looking at me.

"Killing part will be hard for me, although I believe it might just be a hallucination or illusion," I replied.

"Leave the killing to me, now let’s go." He spoke so nonchalantly before making his way to the smokescreen in front of us. I followed him with my bow in one hand as we went behind the smokescreen. "Stay close to me." He instructed as I noticed the super alert state he had entered. Everything was pure white behind the screen as if we had entered a snowy nothingness. The atmosphere was foggy and visibility was low.

"Help me, please! someone help me." Came a feeble voice from ahead of us. Cautiously we made our way toward the voice. At some distance, we saw an old woman with snow white hair and soft expressions sitting on the ground with a cute small puppy in her lap and a young girl aged between 10-12 years sitting beside her. The woman was bleeding from her head while the girl had a grim expression on her face.

"What happened? Are you alright?" I asked sympathetically while trying to get closer to them. Arlo put his arm in front of me and prevented me from going any further.

"How did you get that wound?" Arlo asked the old woman. "We were heading home but were attacked by a man. This is my granddaughter, he wanted to snatch her away so I fought him and he injured me by pushing me back. We heard voices coming from your direction and seeing that someone was here I called for help while he fled." The old woman told her tale in a weak voice. She could barely keep her eyes open. The puppy in her lap looked sad and growled lovingly at us. The girl didn’t make eye contact with us, she was looking at her hands on her lap showing no expressions at all.

"We should help them, let me look at her wound." I tried to approach them going around Arlo’s outspread arm. "Remember, the first lesson with Ziva? Looks can be deceiving, we have to be careful. Besides, that old woman is lying because.."

Arlo couldn’t complete his sentence as suddenly the dog leapt in the air and transformed into a hideous-looking two-headed monster about 10 feet tall. Not only that, the injured woman had something in her hand which she threw at me. It was some kind of pink powder but Arlo was too quick as he pulled me back before it fell on my face. She got up with an evil smile spreading across her now dreadful-looking face. The little girl tried to scream in horror but her lips wouldn’t open as the fear of what she was seeing was evident in her eyes.

I grabbed my bow, as I figured that little girl was the one we had to save as her lips were glued together so she couldn’t speak or call us for help. While the old woman and her monstrous pet dog were the enemies who were holding the girl.

"Arlo, can you handle this witch? I will take care of the dog." I was furious for not figuring it out sooner, Arlo nodded as he sped toward her and I turned my attention to the big drooling dog looming over me, its monstrous eyes fixed on me as it brought down its huge paw to crush me.