Tightly closed doors and windows didn't let us hear the roar of the crowd outside. All the stands were jubilant with the classes' public appearance. We, in turn, were finishing preparations for the second stage of the academy games.

  The room was spartan: metal lockers along the walls, wooden benches in the middle, a mirror in the corner. It smelled of leather and oil from equipment. On the wall hung a diagram of urban labyrinths with the inscription "Stage 2: Body."

  Kyle pulled on a protective vest over his tunic. Thick leather with metal inserts on the chest and shoulders.

  "Well then, my fellow outcasts, ready to conquer these fake slums?"

  Val fastened the straps on his bracers. His equipment looked more expensive: quality leather with silver buckles.

  "Don't call us outcasts, peasant."

  "Then what? Rejects? Losers?"

  Mira checked the fastenings on her gloves. Special ones for working with objects: thin leather so as not to interfere with tactile sensations.

  "Survivors."

  Tara laid out flasks in her vest pockets. Her equipment was the most functional: many loops and pockets for potions.

  "After yesterday, that sounds right. By the way, what do you think—did Omega forgive us?"

  Kyle shrugged.

  "Forgive us for what? They attacked first. We just hit back. Val, your shield held longer than I expected."

  Val bowed ironically.

  "Thanks for the high praise. And Сaers... I didn't know you could be that brutal."

  Everyone looked at me. I was pulling on a simple leather vest, without frills, but sturdy.

  "I learned."

  Tara asked quietly, but everyone heard.

  "Where? In captivity with the otherworlders?"

  "Possibly."

  I didn't develop the topic. But the team nodded—the answer was enough for them.

  Kyle stood and stretched.

  "Alright, since we're all such badass survivors. Maybe today we won't completely embarrass ourselves?"

  Mira smirked.

  "What, did we embarrass ourselves yesterday?"

  "We're the only ones who fought—instead of negotiating."

  Val checked the knives on his belt.

  "And the only ones who passed the stage through strength, not cunning. The crowd hated us, but we passed the stage."

  I fastened the last strap.

  "Let them hate. Main thing is we're still here."

  A signal sounded beyond the door. Preparation time was over.

  Kyle grinned.

  "Well then, fellow survivors? Shall we show them how to demolish urban decorations?"

  We stepped onto the stage.

  Bright light now hit our eyes, since we'd entered the building before dawn. Not a hint of clouds in the sky.

  Aris muttered.

  "I should've brought sunscreen."

  Kyle shot back.

  "Aris, calm down already! You won't die from the sun!"

  The audience greeted us not with ovations, but with dull silence. Some even tried humming. But I didn't care. I was looking at this beauty not from afar, but so close. Airships circled in the sky in different colors—they'd been specially painted for advertising, to promote houses, for everything imagination allowed.

  Lowering my gaze to the background, I could see stands with students. They stared intently at the crystals behind our backs. Like football matches... What?

  But the platform itself was mesmerizing. A perfectly recreated street. Building mockups, carts and things scattered along the road. The masters had outdone themselves—they recreated the city whose evacuation we'd planned in the first stage.

  The task was simple. We needed to implement our plan in reality. I don't know why the others decided we'd passed. Both these stages are connected and, essentially, we'll get results from both stages together.

  The main task was saving civilians. However, we'd also need to clear the path and fight golems that would portray demons.

  Yesterday and all this morning, Mira and I tried to guess how they evaluate these stages. We came to some conclusions, but we can't rely on this data one hundred percent. They gave us a hint that we could interfere with other teams. How? We have to figure that out ourselves.

  I heard a shout from another part of the podium. Eva!

  "Luten!"

  "Eva? Is that you?"

  She couldn't hear me. I just waved. But my gaze fell on another team, which suddenly made me switch to a whisper.

  "Elliot, his whole arm is bandaged—what happened?"

  Our eyes met, and he quickly stepped aside. Strange...

  Aris asked.

  "Luten, everything okay?"

  "Yeah. Aris, just stay close."

  The signal sounded sharply, cutting through the morning air.

  "Teams, take your starting positions!"

  We descended from the podium into the artificial city. Up close, the decorations looked even more realistic: worn walls, garbage in corners, even the smell of smoke from "fires."

  Tara looked around.

  "Gods, they didn't spare any expense. Looks like a real district after a demonic attack."

  Kyle kicked a brick fragment.

  "Too much like one."

  The commentator's voice boomed over the arena:

  "Your task: save the maximum number of civilians! Obstacles and opponents await you on every street! Time is limited!"

  Mira pulled out our plan.

  "According to yesterday's calculations, we need to go through the central street to the hospital."

  Val was already studying the nearest alley.

  "What if there's an ambush?"

  "Then we break through."

  I looked at the team. Yesterday we acted chaotically. Today... today was...

  "Well, let's go then."

  Kyle moved forward first. As always. Aggressive and impatient.

  Aris simply disappeared into the nearest shadow without extra words. Mira pulled out a map and walked next to me. Tara checked her flasks and positioned herself to the side. Val brought up the rear, glancing around.

  No one planned anything. Everyone just did what they were used to doing.

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  "Mira, which direction is the hospital?"

  "Straight, then left past the square."

  "Kyle, don't rush ahead like a madman."

  "I'm not rushing! Just walking fast."

  Aris materialized next to us.

  "Golem ahead. One. Stone."

  He disappeared again.

  The first golem came at us—or rather, flew through a broken wall. Stone, the size of a bull, covered in runes. Eyes glowing with red light.

  Kyle jumped back.

  "Shit!"

  The golem roared and charged at him.

  Val was already cutting his palm with a knife.

  "Kyle, run here!"

  Tara rummaged in her bag, dropping flasks. Mira retreated to the wall. Aris simply disappeared.

  Kyle dodged a stone fist, stumbled, rolled across the cobblestones.

  "Someone help!"

  Val threw a bloody splash at the golem's face. It roared and swung at him.

  Tara finally found the right flask.

  "I have acid! Where do I pour it?!"

  Mira pointed.

  "In the eyes! In the eyes!"

  Aris materialized behind the golem's back, tried to push it, but the stone mass didn't even budge.

  Kyle yelled.

  "Idiot, it's made of stone!"

  Kyle jumped up, touched the golem's leg. The runes flickered, but didn't go out completely.

  "Not working! Too strong!"

  Tara launched the flask. Acid splashed across the construct's face. It howled.

  "Now, Kyle!"

  Kyle jumped, latched onto the neck, touched the damaged runes. This time the golem collapsed.

  Everyone breathed heavily.

  Kyle panted.

  "What the fuck was that?!"

  Mira said.

  "Kyle, watch your mouth."

  "Screw you, Mira! I almost got smashed!"

  I looked at everyone.

  "Main thing is we managed. Let's move on. Just... next time don't all pile up together."

  Against the background of the defeated golem, the stands erupted. As soon as the dust settled after the fight, I started hearing conversations. Is public opinion starting to change after all?

  We continued walking through the city streets, searching every corner.

  The next three golems went easier. Two more stone and one wooden. Kyle suppressed the magic, the rest finished them off. No one screamed or ran anymore. Just worked.

  Mira pointed to a building ahead.

  "Luten, look."

  The hospital. But the approach to it was blocked by a strange construction.

  Metal pillars formed a grating, between them magical barriers shimmered. Runes glowed on the central pillar, and next to it stood a pedestal with five depressions of different shapes.

  Tara approached closer.

  "What is this?"

  "A puzzle?"

  Mira studied the pedestal.

  "There's a symbol on each depression. Fire, water, earth, air, and... something else."

  Aris materialized from the pillar's shadow.

  "Inside the hospital is a crowd of 'wounded.' But the barrier won't let them out."

  Val examined the grating.

  "So until we solve the riddle, we can't save the people. Can't cut through. Magic's too strong."

  Kyle was already looking around.

  "Looking for objects with the right symbols?"

  Mira studied the pedestal carefully.

  "Wait. There's small text under the runes."

  Everyone crowded around. Indeed, under each symbol were words engraved in an ancient language.

  Tara read the first line.

  "'True fire burns without flame.' 'Pure water flows against the current.'"

  Aris frowned.

  "Riddles?"

  "Not just find objects, but understand what they mean."

  I looked around. In different places lay various objects—torches, flasks, stones. Too many options.

  "'True fire burns without flame'... What could that be?"

  Kyle pointed to a red crystal sticking out of the wall.

  "A crystal? They glow."

  "And 'water flows against the current'?"

  Tara shrugged.

  "Maybe ice? It melts upward?"

  Mira collected the first three objects that seemed logical. A red crystal, a piece of ice from a destroyed cellar, a stone with a crack.

  She inserted them into the depressions.

  The pedestal flashed with bright light.

  "Excellent! It's working!"

  "Mira, stop!"

  But it was too late. The light engulfed us all.

  The world spun, the ground disappeared under our feet. A second later we crashed onto a stone floor in a completely different place.

  Kyle got up, brushing himself off.

  "What the..."

  We found ourselves in a round arena surrounded by high walls. Above us the crowd roared. In the center of the arena, something huge was rising.

  A clay titan, about five meters tall. On its chest burned the rune "PRIORITY."

  Val smirked without humor.

  "Special golem."

  "Caught in a trap."

  "The puzzle was a setup?"

  "Not a setup. Just solved wrong."

  The titan turned to us, molten metal sloshing in its eyes.

  "Well, since we're here..."

  Before I could finish, the golem sent me flying. I flew a couple meters and crashed through some column with a thud.

  "Luten!"

  Dust poured from somewhere above, and then pieces of stone began falling. I barely had time to come to my senses and jump aside when the ceiling collapsed. A hole formed, and sunlight began falling through.

  Special class Archive in full composition looked down at us.

  "Well, well, the outcasts!"

  Elara called down.

  "Well, since you're down there, do a good deed: deal with our golems."

  What is Elara even talking about? I brushed myself off, getting to my feet, looked up again and flipped them off.

  Karma hit me instantly. Two smaller golems struck me right in the face. One eye was covered in blood, but I clearly saw the glowing cores of different colors. One made of thick branches, the other of some stone.

  Kyle was already eager for the titan.

  "Luten, we'll handle the big one!"

  "Go! I'll manage!"

  The stone golem swung at me. I dodged and grabbed a column fragment. Not a weapon, but it'll do.

  The wooden one attacked from the side. I blocked with the stone and pushed it away. From the corner of my eye I saw the team surrounding the titan.

  Kyle first rushed at the colossus. Jumped, touched its leg. The golem's runes flickered but didn't go out.

  "Not working! Too strong!"

  The titan struck. Kyle rolled away, breathing heavily.

  I deflected the stone golem's attack and noticed Val preparing to attack. But what he was doing looked... wrong.

  Instead of his usual surface cut, he plunged the knife deep into his forearm. Blood gushed in a stream, but not just as red liquid. It moved, shimmered, as if alive.

  Tara saw this and paled.

  "Val, what are you doing?!"

  But Val didn't answer. His blood formed complex patterns in the air, intertwined into threads, then sharply compressed into a thin blade.

  The blood blade struck the titan's leg and... passed through the clay like a knife through butter. The colossus growled.

  Kyle stared at Val.

  "How did you do that?!"

  Val's voice was cold.

  "Practice."

  His face showed neither pain nor fatigue from blood loss. Only concentration. He slashed with the knife again, this time across the back of his palm. Blood flowed and immediately formed into several thin needles.

  The wooden golem tried to grab me by the throat. I threw it back with the fragment and continued watching.

  Aris slipped through shadows, but the titan seemed to sense his approach. Every time Aris tried to attack, the shadows around the colossus came alive and threw him back.

  "Mira! What can you tell me about this thing?"

  She pressed against the wall with a shard in her hand.

  "It's multi-layered! It has four different types of magic!"

  Tara threw flasks, but most just absorbed into the clay surface.

  But Val... Val was doing something no ordinary student should know. His blood didn't just form weapons. It moved independently, hunted, found weak points.

  The stone one was easier. One more hit and it fell to pieces. While it was reassembling, there was time to watch the others. I turned to the titan. The picture was sad.

  Kyle hung on the colossus's arm, trying to reach anything. Aris darted in the shadows, but each attack failed. Tara threw flasks randomly, most missing.

  Val bled out, but his red threads only scratched the titan's armor.

  "Mira, help!"

  "I'm not a fighter!"

  "Then at least don't get in the way!"

  Kyle fell and rolled across the floor. The titan swung at Aris, and he barely dodged. Enough! Enough watching this.

  I picked up a bigger fragment, found the stone golem with my eyes—it was recovering behind my back. Sharply turned. The golem was already swinging.

  I caught its arm, twisted it to the side with a crunch. The stone limb broke off. I drove the fragment's sharp edge right into the core.

  Didn't stop. The wooden golem tried to get up, its core flickering, restoring damage. I stepped on its chest, drove the fragment into the glowing seed and twisted. The wood crunched and crumbled. The whole thing took about ten seconds.

  Turned to the titan. Chaos reigned there. Kyle hung on the colossus again, this time on its leg. Aris tried to help but actually just got in the way. Val fell to one knee from blood loss but continued sending red splashes.

  The titan roared, swung at all of them at once...

  And tripped on one of Val's blood threads! The five-meter carcass swayed. Kyle, not understanding what was happening, touched the rune on its neck at the moment of falling.

  The magic glitched. The titan collapsed, crushing its own cracked core with its weight. Explosion. Clay fragments scattered across the arena. Kyle and Mira were hit, thrown to the sides.

  Kyle lay under the rubble, blinking in disbelief.

  "Did we... win?"

  Val groaned, bandaging his arms.

  "Barely."

  Aris materialized, swaying from exhaustion. Tara tried to figure out if she had any potions left.

  Quantity has a quality all its own. But at what cost!

  Tara pulled out the last flasks with greenish liquid. Pain relief potions worked quickly, but the fatigue didn't go anywhere. We somehow got to our feet and trudged to the exit, which was discovered behind the titan's rubble.

  We emerged exhausted and battered and dirty. The second stage officially ended, but results, like last time, weren't announced. Just a dry "teams are free until tomorrow" from the organizers.

  At the exit from the urban decorations, we ran into Team Vanguard. They looked no better than us: Marcus Greyden was limping, the girl with metal blades had a bandaged arm.

  Marcus called out to us, breathing heavily.

  "Hey, outcasts! Was it you who sent us that wooden and stone golem at the last moment?"

  Kyle smirked.

  "What, did it get in your way?"

  "Barely managed. Warn us next time."

  Val bowed ironically while still holding his bandaged shoulder.

  "We'll make a note for the future."

  We went our separate ways, but I noticed Marcus watching us with a thoughtful look. The opinion about the "outcasts" was starting to change.

  I don't know if that's good or bad.