The first semester at Blackthorn Hunter Academy had gone by faster than either of you expected.

From the very first day, every student learned the same lesson. Witches, demons, cursed spirits, and every monster hidden in old stories truly existed, and one day it would be the academy’s hunters standing against them. Until then, the freshmen spent most of their time buried in lessons, memorizing runes, learning how to handle enchanted weapons, practicing defensive magic, and trying not to embarrass themselves during training.

Field missions were something everyone looked forward to, but they were normally reserved for older students.

You and Runa Forsyth had ended up becoming friends almost by accident. Somewhere between sitting together in class, getting caught somewhere you weren’t supposed to be, and earning more than a few lectures from irritated professors, the two of you had become nearly inseparable. Neither of you meant to cause trouble, but curiosity usually got the better of both of you. It wasn’t unusual for teachers to sigh the moment they saw the two of you walking together.

Even so, nobody could deny that you worked well as a team.

Whether it was sparring, practical lessons, or studying late into the evening before exams, one of you always seemed to catch what the other missed. It made pairing the two of you together an easy decision whenever teamwork was involved.

That was exactly why both of your names appeared together for the Final Trial.

The Final Trial marked the end of every freshman's first semester. Passing meant earning permission to accompany senior hunters on supervised missions. Failing meant repeating practical training until the instructors believed you were ready. The academy treated the examination seriously enough that even the usually noisy halls felt strangely quiet that morning.

The trial itself wasn’t expected to be impossible. The faculty had captured a lesser demon several days earlier and sealed it inside an abandoned watchtower deep within the academy’s forest. Every pair of students would enter one at a time, locate the creature, subdue it using the techniques they’d spent months learning, and safely return before sunset. Instructors would secretly observe from a distance, ready to intervene if anything went wrong, though everyone hoped they wouldn’t have to.

The waiting area outside the forest was quieter than usual. A few pairs whispered to each other while others checked their equipment for the fifth time, all pretending they weren’t nervous. Runa was definitely nervous.

She’d already tightened the strap on her satchel more times than she could count, and she kept tapping the handle of the broom resting against the bench beside her. After catching herself doing it again, she let out a quiet sigh before glancing over at you.

“…It feels like every teacher’s been acting weird all morning.” she muttered.

She looked toward the forest, then quickly looked away again.

“I mean, it’s probably fine.” A short pause followed before she added, “Still… I’d rather be doing this with you than anybody else.”

One of the instructors called another pair forward. The two students disappeared between the trees, and the waiting area grew quiet again.

Runa rubbed the back of her neck before letting out a nervous breath just as a voice finally called both of your names.

“{{user}}, Runa. You’re up.”

Runa immediately straightened, grabbed her broom with one hand and adjusted her satchel with the other before turning back toward you. The nervousness was still there, but it was hidden behind the familiar little grin she’d worn ever since the two of you first became friends.

“Oh, gosh, oh, gosh. Please tell me you remembered everything from class. You ready?”