The gate creaked open, and I stepped out into the dim light.

  My breath misted in the air as a cold breeze swept through the area. I could see the dark, looming shapes of trees and bushes in the distance, ahe rustle of leaves and branches as the wind stirred them. The sounds of the approag horde echoed through the forest, the howls and screeches of otherworldly creatures growing closer with each passing moment.

  I gnced back, and the gate slowly swung shut behind me. I gulped nervously as the door locked shut, the only sound of it's closing the gentle k of aronic lock falling in pce.

  This is it... I thought, taking a deep breath.

  I'm doing this.

  Hundreds of eerie blue eyes stared back at me as the monsters tio pour through the trees.

  They were all kinds of different creatures. 'Beowulves' were by far the most numerous. There were also the strange, shadowy creatures with raptor-like talons and razor-sharp beaks, and finally, there was the giant juggernaut, t over the rest of them at nearly 20 feet tall with mutated, discolored skin that looked a sickly blue and purple in the lighting.

  Its arms and hands were disproportionately rge, as were its feet, and its veins glowed blue with the sickly corruption I associated with zombies.

  My stomach ed at the thought of fag such a massive, powerful monster again.

  But at least this time I'd be outdoors instead of trapped inside a shelter.

  If only there weren't so many more of these things than half an ho.

  "F-frostburn's moving into position?" Clipboard asked as he crept over to my side, his eyes wide with fear. He was a head taller than me, with a slender but well-built frame, but he looked so small against the backdrop of the pins we were in.

  "Yup. Him and Null are gonna take point with Vanna. I've got a few more tricks to pull out of the bag, but I'd prefer not to burn myself out."

  He nodded nervously, looking at the massive beast that lumbered toward us. "A-alright... I'm just going to uh, stand beside you and uh..."

  "I appreciate you c me, Clipboard," I said with a weak smile.

  He gulped, givihumbs up.

  I breathed, trying to calm my nerves. My hands shook, and my heart raced as I stared at the approag monsters, but I forced myself to remain calm.

  We were invisible behind my Luminary Mirage, but there was no guarahere weren't mohat could sense us.

  As I watched the beasts, I could feel my resolve wavering. I was scared. Terrified. I didn't know if I could do this. There were so many more with this wave than the one we'd already fought, and the juggernaut was evehan the one I'd fought at Refuge Zeta. The very thought of fag it made my kremble, and my palms sweaty. I could feel the bile rising in my throat, but I pushed it down.

  This is my ce.

  I had to do this.

  "Hey."

  A gentle hand nded on my shoulder, and I gnced up, meeting Elysia's warm gaze.

  "Yoing to be fine. You do this, okay?"

  "I'm just..." I started, but the words wouldn't e out.

  "You're just a little overwhelmed," she finished. "It's okay."

  "Y-yeah," I nodded, feeling the knot in my chest loosen. "Yeah."

  She patted me on the back, giving me an encing nod.

  The stra feeling I had at the previous zone came bae.

  I could see the soft glow of her ptinum blonde hair, and the warm light of her eyes, but there was something else, too...

  There was something else to her I couldn't put my finger on, but I trusted her. I didn't know why, but I did.

  I just nodded, feeling a little less scared.

  "I'll do what I ," I said.

  She chuckled, a small, wistful smile f on her lips.

  "Good luck, then," she replied, summoning those strange hooked swords in a fsh of blue.

  And with that, she was off, rushing through the mist in the blink of an eye — a blur of motion that was gone before I could say anything else.

  "She's so fast," Clipboard muttered beside me.

  I nodded. "I... I just hope Frostburn does his part."

  Clipboard chuckled nervously, "Well, that guy seems pretty full of it, but I'm sure he's a good fighter. Probably. Right? Right?!"

  "Y-yeah," I agreed, my heart pounding in my ears.

  The ground shook with each step of the juggernaut as it stomped closer. I could hear its massive, powerful legs pounding into the dirt.

  It was still a good eighty yards away and far ahead of the horde, but the air grew thid heavy, the st of ozone and rot filling my nostrils.

  Suddenly, a loud, obnoxious ugh filled the air, and the massive juggernaut paused, turning to face the sound.

  The frosty-haired teen stood on top of a nearby ridge jutting out from the forest on my right, a wild, manic grin spread across his face.

  "Hey there big guy, why don't you pi someone your own size, huh?!"

  The juggernaut turs massive head to look at Frostburn, and I shivered as the giant behemoth's glowing eyes narrowed on the magical knight.

  It raised one massive hand, and I saw its palm crackle with electricity as a blue arc of energy fshed in its palm. Then, the creature swung, a bolt of energy rocketing toward Frostburn with the ford speed of a meteor. The teen jumped out of the way just in time, and the bst exploded on the ground, sending rocks and dirt flying everywhere.

  "ry, ugly!" Frostburn jeered. "You'll have to do better than that!"

  The giant roared, stomping towards the teen. But Frostburn just ughed, a wide grin splitting his face as he summoned a wall of icicles aimed toward the juggernaut. I saw the air around him shimmer and distort, a trail of id snow following his movement as he pivoted into a cartwheel and dodged another sickly blue bolt. He twirled his fingers, and the icy spikes flew, striking the juggernaut in its shoulder and side.

  The icicles shattered harmlessly on its sickly flesh, but it didn't seem to care at all. It just tio lumber forward, its massive hands swinging and its feet stomping as it broke into a shogly quick sprint.

  "Aw man, this thing's tougher than I thought!" Frostburn yelled, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "I barely scratch it! you believe that, little bird?! It's a real mohat's for sure!"

  "Oh fuck," Clipboard squeaked beside me.

  The ground rumbled as the juggernaut tis charge. I could feel the earth tremblih my feet as the massive beast closed in on Frostburn, its massive hands swinging wildly, trying to smash him into a pulp.

  But Frostburn's cocky grin never left his face. Instead, he ughed and dawirling and spinning as the creature swiped at him again and again.

  And then, a bolt of lightning smmed into the creature's side, making it stumble and crash to the ground with a thunderous thud.

  "T-this way!" Vanna yelled, her hands sparking with lightning as she nearly lost her baripping over a root.

  She dashed into the tree lihe shadow creatures and wolves all following her.

  Frostburn quick leapt off the ridge and joined her, leaving a cloud of frost behind. Together, the pair of them led the monsters into the trees and disappeared into the woods.

  The horde in front of us began to split, some tinuing to charge at us while the rest chased Vanna and Frostburn.

  "Ready?" I turo Clipboard, who gulped.

  "R-right!" He said. "S-shit..."

  I could see the fear in his eyes.

  He was shaking, and his breathing was bored.

  "Clipboard?" I asked gently.

  "I-I'm sorry, I 't," he whispered. "I just 't."

  Hundreds of the creatures were running towards the gates now, the ground shaking with the pounding of their feet.

  "Okay, it's okay. Just take a breath and try to rex," I said.

  He shook his head. "No, it's not okay. You need me out there to open up for our heavy hitters. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

  I grabbed his hand, staring at him firmly as the hrew closer and closer. "Clipboard, listen to me."

  The ground shook violently with every step of the approag horde, the rumble growing louder as they closed the distance.

  "I'm scared too, you know?" I said.

  His eyes widened, aared at me with fusion. "B-but, y-you lived through this already... Y-You're s and fident and... and... and..."

  "And what?" I asked. "You think I'm some kind of hero? Some badass magical warrior who's gonna save the day? I'm just a girl. A scared little girl who took the tract to protect the only family I have. And I'm terrified. I don't know if I do this. I don't know if I keep everyone safe when — not if this starts again for real. But I have to. I have to try, or else, it's game over. I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Not again."

  I looked down, shaking my head.

  "Listen," I tinued, getting on my toes to reach up to his shoulder. "I need you to be strong for me. I 't do this on my own. Aher Elysia and Sparrow. We're all in this together. I'm not going to ask you to be brave for me. I'm going to ask you to be brave for them. The people in the school, our teammates, the other students, the professors... Everyone's ting on us to protect them wheime es. We have to be brave for them."

  I gave him a warm smile, hoping he could hear the siy in my words. I could see the fear in his eyes slowly dissipate but not leave entirely, and his breathing steadied as he met my gaze with his own.

  He swallowed hard. "Y-you really believe that?"

  "Yes. Yes, I do. And so should you."

  Clipboard smiled at me. "Thank you," he said.

  "Hey, we're in this together," I replied. "And I'm going to make sure orize those damn things. So, I'll ask you again. Are you ready?"

  He nodded, sug in a deep breath.

  And then, he drew his katana and closed his eyes.

  "Just give me a sepose myself... Do you know why they call me Clipboard?" he muttered, gripping his katana with both hands as he k.

  "Not really," I giggled, trying to keep him rexed. "I just assumed you liked taking notes."

  He chuckled, his shoulders trembling. "I'm not brave or a natural leader like our team lead, Telegraph. I'm not a prodigy like Elysia seems to be, or even as hardy and tenacious like most of the other kids here. But I am a professional student of my craft, and I've learned how to pick up on patterns. I'm the kind of guy who sees the es and knows how to use them, and that's the reason I got my niame from Telegraph. Because I was always taking notes of how the others fight while I trained isu. I was always studying their teiques and trying to find their fws. And that eventually earned me a World Skill. Ohat earned me a Pioatus which I carried with me into my tract."

  Clipboard began to glow with a dark blue, inky energy. It pulsed and swirled around him as he focused. The mana formed around him, creating an intricate pattern of light that resembled an o of swirling ink. It was beautiful, but it also radiated power and iy. It reminded me of a deep sea storm, with the mana f swirling vortexes that seemed to be alive.

  "We might have an office theme going on, but truth be told, we stay out of our Dream Shifts iionally."

  I blinked, realizing that Clipboard was in a partial cadet shift. "What? Why?"

  Clipboard smirked, opening ao look at me. "Because activating our full forms fually ge our World Skills. Telegraph's ability and mine are both incredibly useful for supp the veteran Knights. We lose access to them when we are fully transformed — or rather, they are transmuted. That's the trade off. That said..."

  He breathed deeply, f his diaphragm to su as much air as he could before tinuing.

  "We're a public team based out of Ruby Springs, and people loved our dynamid our personalities. A well-spoken and handsome bck kid in a business suit with his tard, shy, nerdy friends who always mao foil the bad guys there. Two dudes and a girl who have been friends sihey were little, who would alroted watch each other's back... People love us. I love being part of it, and all three of us were driven enough to develop World Skills before we even qualified as knights. So we decided to keep the public personas. But this, this is the me I keep hidden from the public."

  The ground rumbled beh me, and a gust of wind blew my hair as the vortexes of energy spun faster and faster.

  "I am a diligent student of the Shinomiya school of Kenjutsu. With not one, but six reized Swordmaster Skills to my hat bee the foundation for my Five-Rings Arts."

  He opened his eyes, revealing they had turned from a dark brown to the deep blue of stormy seas. A dark energy began to swirl around him as the inky aura of mana tio dance. His Nexus Device appeared in a swirl of dark blue motes, floating above him as he stood, his form now outlined in a matg glow.

  And then, an armor appeared. The same shade as the blue aura with dark grey trim.

  It appeared in a fsh of light, f a melr cuirass remi of his button-down shirt. It was posed of small, overpping ptes that fit together perfectly. It looked like he had stepped out of feudal Japan. The rest of the armor was made from the same dark blue ptes, but with a flowing hakama and a bck belt that tied around his waist.

  His messy schoolboy hair was now swept bato a long, dark blue ponytail that trailed down the middle of his back alongside two flowing dark blue half-capes. His face was covered with a kabuto helmet and a mempo mask, which were the same dark color as the rest of the armor. He looked like he'd aged a solid five years in an instant from what I could gleah the mask.

  In his hands was an ornate, cquered scabbard. The hilt of the bde was ed in dark blue silk cord, the pommel capped with a golden disk.

  "My mana capacity and Magic talent isn't all that great. Even below average for a student here," he said, looking up as he his transformation finalized. "For that reason, it's more useful for me to just be Clipboard, a normal guy with a World Skill who help our team lead strategize from the sidelines."

  I stared, watg in awe as the dark, inky aura of mana slowly dissipated. His sword, however, seemed to absorb it all, the on pulsing with energy.

  "But for now, I am Magical Knight Tenman Daijizai Tenjin. Or Tenjin, the Avatar of Heavenly Wisdom, for short," Clipboard smiled, his dark brown eyes now blue.

  The hordes of creatures were growing closer and closer. Their growls and roars echoed throughout the battlefield, the ground shaking as their cws tore up the dirt.

  I couldn't see the forest where Frostburn, Vanna, and Null had led the rest of the horde, but I khat the battle was still raging on in that area.

  "So. Still scared?" I asked, looking back at him.

  "Duh!" He smiled, lifting the mask.

  "That makes two of us, then," I ughed, shaking my head. "Ready to get started, then?"

  Clipboard — no, Tenjin — nodded. "Ready when you are, boss dy. Let's give them hell."

  "Okay the's see what you've got!" I smiled awkwardly, steeling my nerves.

  And then, I dropped the mirage in front of us and broke into a run, firing a Luminary Bolt into the air to signal the start of our attack.