Sabertooth Adventures

Chapter 7: Battles

Noon

The bell in town chimed loudly, signaling the height of the day.

And the end of round one.

"Alright! Congratulations! All six of you managed to pass!" Sting said with a grin.

The candidates stood in the narrow Office.

Eli sighed with relief.

"I almost failed. I got so caught up in conversations that I forgot I was in the middle of a test, haha!" he said nervously.

Calypso futzed with her hands inside her cloak.

Carmine gritted his teeth together.

"And here I spent the whole damn time trying to figure out just what the hell was going on," he rumbled.

"I am of the same mindset," Diamond added coolly.

He adjusted his glasses with his right hand.

The specs and ring glimmered briefly.

"It could have been worse," Emerald remarked.

"What were those things, anyways?" Eli wondered.

"Reader Boxes. Magical Items that read a person's soul based on how their magic naturally emits from them," Sting explained, "It didn't matter which box you would have taken because the reader is on the inside. The item inside is the actual challenge. Once you figure out the puzzle, the item teleports away to a specified designation. Like it did for you! However, we had set up a condition that you had to explain the logic to the box and then it would disappear!"

"Ohhhh," they all droned.

"Where did they end up?" Emerald asked.

"On my desk. I set the designation to be there."

"Since you were each able to explain your logic, you all advanced," Rogue added.

"Huh. And here I thought you just had pity on me since I was fifth," Emerald muttered.

Carmine grinded his teeth together.

"I was last again," he seethed.

"Diamond totally understood it before I did," Amethyst stated.

Diamond sighed in frustration.

"Don't worry, Carmine. Eli beat me, too."

"Hey, Callie was the first! I wasn't the top mage!" Eli interjected.

Calypso remained silent.

"Now then, how many more trials are there?" Amethyst asked.

The master held up two fingers.

"There are two more," he stated.

"The first is a battle amongst yourselves," Rogue added.

"Huh?!"

The Twin Dragons nodded.

Rogue pulled out a magic bingo machine from the desk drawer.

"Rogue, do you seriously just keep that in your desk?" Diamond queried with a smirk.

Amethyst and Emerald stifled their laughs.

"Diamond! That's not important," Eli chided.

Diamond rolled his eyes and sat his hands on his hips.

"Oh plea–"

"AHEM!" Master Sting interrupted.

Everyone stood upright.