Squad 11-D sat outside the base building around a bonfire.

The atmosphere was noticeably different from before.

Lighter.

The crushing tension that had followed them since arriving at the Trial Grounds had finally loosened its grip.

Not completely, but just enough.

Even the bruises covering most of the squad couldn’t dampen the mood.

Several students sat with bandaged arms. Others had swollen cheeks.

One unfortunate soul had somehow acquired a black eye.

Nobody seemed particularly bothered.

Three large hares rotated above the fire. A few of the boys had caught them earlier.

The smell alone was enough to keep everyone gathered around.

Laughter occasionally broke out. Arguments too.

But unlike before, none of them carried any weight.

Yesu sat among them listening.

Now that she had returned, she was finally hearing what happened after Elsie delivered the Scales.

"You guys actually won?" she asked.

"Obviously." Isaiah said.

"Surprisingly." Reggie corrected.

Several people threw leaves at him.

Isaiah ignored the interruption.

"The senior who brought the Scales gave us a hint before she left."

Yesu leaned forward.

"What hint?"

Isaiah pointed dramatically toward the fire.

"Find the Scale carriers."

Yesu blinked. That had been Olwen’s idea.

"Did she say anything else?" She asked.

Isaiah shook his head.

"No. That was it."

Yesu thought about it. "That alone must have been confusing."

"It definitely was." A girl said.

"It sounded stupid." another student agreed.

Isaiah nodded.

"But then it clicked." He leaned forward. "Find the carrier. Separate the carrier. Take the Scales."

A grin spread across his face.

"No Scales means no submission."

Yesu smiled. "Oh."

"Exactly." Isaiah said, mistaking it for surprise. "Oh."

Several students laughed.

The roasted hare had already begun making its way around the circle.

Isaiah accepted a piece before continuing.

"The problem was time."

"Seven minutes." Farida supplied.

"Seven minutes." Isaiah repeated. "That’s all we had left before seventeen hundred."

The bonfire crackled.

Then James straightened proudly.

"And this," he announced, "is where I saved the day."

Several groans followed immediately.

Ignoring them, James tapped his chest. "Heightened Senses."

He pointed toward his eyes. "Abnormal body movements."

Then his ears. "Abnormal sounds."

Then somewhere in the general direction of his nose.

"And probably abnormal smells."

"That’s not how the Ability works." someone muttered.

James pretended not to hear.

"I watched all of 12-B." He leaned back smugly. "Dangling pockets. Faster heartbeats. Frequent swallowing."

The squad stared.

"And then..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He paused for dramatic effect.

"I found the carrier."

Several students clapped sarcastically.

James accepted the praise anyway. "You all owe me."

"You did good." Yesu admitted.

James brightened instantly.

The rest of the squad exchanged looks.

"That was obviously the easy part." Carrots said.

Everyone agreed.

"Exactly."

"The hard part was separating." Isaiah said.

"But luckily for us," came Farida with a bright smile. "They had just one Carrier."

"A girl." Isaiah chipped in. "Looked like the weakest person in their squad. Which was kind of smart actually. No one would suspect her."

Around the fire, heads nodded.

"And as expected," Isaiah continued, "the moment we attacked, they moved her to the back."

He raised four fingers.

"Four of them made a shield around her while the rest fought back."

Carrots suddenly cracked her knuckles loudly.

"And this is where I come in."

Half the squad immediately threw pebbles at her.

"Quiet down."

"You didn’t come in there."

"Stop lying."

Carrots clicked her tongue in annoyance while everyone laughed.

The story continued.

Some of 11-D’s Physicals had already circled through the forest without being noticed.

They emerged from the opposite side of the battlefield.

Straight behind the Scale carrier and the four shielding her.

The moment the distraction began, they struck.

"Those idiots never even saw us coming." Reggie said proudly.

"You were the idiot that almost got caught." Carrots corrected.

"Technicality."

Several students groaned.

"Yesu wasn’t there." Isaiah explained. "So naturally, Reggie volunteered himself for danger."

"Someone had to carry the class."

"You mean burden the class." Carrots shot back.

Laughter erupted around the bonfire.

Reggie looked deeply offended.

As the laughter died down, Isaiah continued.

"The guards around the carrier reacted immediately. Four of them moved to intercept."

"Which was exactly what we wanted." James added.

Heads nodded.

The carrier had suddenly become isolated from the rest of 12-B.

And there was a tiny opening.

Just for a second.

But one second was enough.

"And then—"

"This is where I come in." Carrots interrupted again, raising a victorious fist.

The squad immediately started throwing pebbles at her again.

"Sit down!"

"Let him finish!"

Carrots cackled as she blocked the attacks.

Isaiah waited for the chaos to settle.

"Anyway, while the guards were distracted, Grover went into action."

Everyone turned toward him.

Grover immediately looked like he wanted to disappear.

"He practically appeared and vanished at the same time." James said.

"Like a ghost." Someone added.

"With one arm completely whisking the Carrier away." Isaiah emphasized.

That drew a round of cheers. Several students started hailing him.

Grover buried his face in his hands. "It wasn’t that impressive."

"Are you kidding?" Yesu asked in disbelief.

She tore off a piece from her roasted hare and dropped it onto his plate.

"Stop being modest." She added.

Grover froze. Then slowly turned red.

The squad instantly noticed.

"Ooooooh."

Grover nearly choked.

The teasing intensified, more cheers coming in.

Grover looked seconds away from fleeing into the forest.

Eventually Isaiah rescued him.

"Now back to the story, guys."

Everyone immediately went quiet, leaning in like it wasn’t about them.

"After the carrier was taken, everything became chaotic."

12-B had the Vault. They had strength. They had numbers.

But they no longer had Scales.

"Then seventeen hundred hit." Farida couldn’t resist.

Everyone immediately looked at her. They were all getting excited now.

The usually quiet girl folded her arms.

"The Vault opened."

"12-B panicked." Reggie supplied.

"They tried grabbing one of us." James added.

"They almost grabbed Reggie." Carrots stated.

"I wasn’t scared."

"You screamed."

"I tactical-screamed."

The squad burst into laughter.

"Guys..." Came Farida, exasperated.

She rolled her eyes. "My moment, please?"

A hum of apologies followed, accompanied with grins.

Farida leaned forward excitedly.

"So. While they were distracted, I ran."

The laughter quieted.

"I got to the Vault first."

She mimed throwing something.

"Tossed in the pouch."

Then brought her palms together.

"And slammed the door shut."

A smile finally appeared on her face.

"It clicked."

For a moment, the entire squad fell silent.

Then cheers erupted around the bonfire.

They had actually done it.

Against 12-B.

Even now it felt unreal.

Amid the noise, Yesu sat quietly with a small smile on her face.

Her squad had won.