The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Emma walked near the middle of their formation, her hands clenched around the straps of her satchel.

There were no sounds of birds or insects. Just the crunch of boots on dirt and leaves.

Trees pressed in from all sides, their branches forming a dense canopy overhead that blocked out most of the sunlight.

Sira led the way, axes loose in her hands, eyes constantly scanning the undergrowth.

Kyle followed a few steps behind, his sword drawn, expression unreadable.

Zael stuck close to Emma, gripping his sword too tightly, his gaze darting from shadow to shadow.

Tobias brought up the rear. A small flame hovered above his palm, sputtering faintly before steadying again as he forced his focus back onto it.

No one spoke.

They'd been walking for maybe twenty minutes, following what Sira insisted was a game trail.

Emma wasn't sure how she could tell, the forest floor all looked the same to her. Dirt, roots, fallen leaves.

But Sira didn't hesitate once, so Emma didn't question it.

"How much farther do you think?" Zael asked quietly, breaking the silence.

Sira didn't look back. "No idea. The objective just said 'hidden within the forest.' Could be anywhere."

"That's helpful," Tobias muttered.

"Got a better plan?" Sira shot back.

Tobias didn't answer.

They moved on in silence.

Emma glanced at Kyle. He hadn't said a word since they'd entered the forest. Just walked with his eyes forward, knuckles white around the hilt of his sword.

She wanted to say something. Offer comfort, maybe. But what could she say?

Quickly, she looked away, before the thought could spiral.

Sira suddenly raised her hand.

Everyone froze.

"There," she said, pointing ahead.

Emma squinted through the trees.

In the distance, maybe fifty meters ahead was a flash of red.

A flag.

"That's it," Zael said, relief creeping into his voice. "The supply cache."

"Finally," Tobias muttered.

Kyle started forward, but Sira grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

He turned, frowning. "What?"

"It's too easy," Sira said quietly. "We've been walking for half an hour and didn't see anything. No monsters. No traps. Nothing."

Kyle pulled his arm free. "Maybe we got lucky."

"Or maybe it's a setup."

"You're paranoid."

"I'm careful."

They held each other's gaze for a heartbeat.

Then Kyle slowly exhaled through his nose.

"Fine."

Sira nodded.

They advanced with measured steps, weapons raised, eyes sweeping the trees.

The red flag came into clearer view, tied to a wooden post driven into the ground. Beside it sat a medium-sized crate on the forest floor, sealed with thick rope.

"That's it," Kyle murmured. "That's the cache."

Sira crouched beside the crate, testing the rope with a sharp tug. "Sealed tight. We'll need to cut it."

"Do it," Kyle said, without looking away from the forest.

Sira drew her knife and began sawing through the rope.

Emma shifted nervously. Fingers tightened at the satchel.

The rope snapped.

Sira pulled the crate open.

Inside: supplies. Bandages, rations, a few small pouches of what looked like medicinal herbs.

"This is it," Sira said, closing the crate. "Let's get it back to—"

"Well, well. Isn't this convenient."

A sudden voice interrupted her.

Emma turned... and her stomach dropped.

Five students stepped out from the tree line, weapons already drawn, spreading out just enough to box them in.

The one in front, a tall and broad-shouldered boy, resting a shortsword against his shoulder.

"You guys Team Seven?" He asked, grinning.

Sira straightened slowly, axes settling into her hands. "Depends who's asking."

"Team Four." He gestured back with his blade. "And that cache you just found? We'll be taking it."

Kyle's grip tightened on his sword. "That's not how this works. We found it first."

"Yeah," the boy said easily. "About that."

He shrugged. "Our objective is to intercept another team's retrieval and take their cache. So... thanks for doing the hard part."

Zael stepped forward, raising his sword. "You can't just—"

"We can," the boy cut in, his tone sharpening. "And we will."

"So." His gaze flicked over them, quick and assessing. "You've got two options... Hand it over nice and easy, or we take it by force."

Sira's jaw tightened. "You really want to do this?"

A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. I do."

Kyle stepped beside Sira, sword raised. "Then come and take it."

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then Team Four charged.

"Shit—!"

Tobias stumbled back as the clearing erupted into motion. The flame above his palm sputtered as his focus slipped.

Sira crashed into the first attacker, her axes biting hard, driving him back.

Clang!

Steel rang as Kyle intercepted another one.

Emma retreated instinctively, near the crate, heart hammering, trying to track everything at once.

Zael lunged at a third opponent.

His swing was wide, hesitant, and the counter came immediately.

A boot slammed into his chest, knocking the breath from him as he hit the ground hard.

"Zael!"

Emma reacted on instinct. Mana surged as she hurled a bolt of light.

It struck. "ARGH!"

Clipping the attacker's shoulder and forcing him back. But the cast left her reeling for half a second longer than it should have.

Too slow.

The Team Four leader was already moving towards cache, where Emma was guarding it.

Kyle saw him and reacted instantly. "No!"

He broke off without thinking, pivoting hard.

Not toward the leader, but toward Emma.

Stepping between them on instinct, blade rising to guard her flank.

The move was fast, but wrong.

As the leader of other team slipped past Kyle's exposed side and drove the pommel of his sword into Kyle's back.

"Urgh!"

He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out from his lungs.

"Kyle!"

And the crate was already in the leader's hands.

"Got it," he called calmly. "Fall back."

And Team Four disengaged with practiced precision.

Sira tried to pursue, but something clinked at her feet.

Then—

Cough! Cough!

Smoke exploded across the clearing, thick and blinding.

By the time it thinned. The forest was empty... and the cache was gone.

Emma stood there, breathing hard, staring at the empty space where the crate had been.

Gone.

Just... gone.

Her chest tightened.

We lost it.

Kyle pushed himself up slowly from where he'd been knocked down, dirt smeared across his face. He stared at the spot where Team Four had disappeared, his jaw clenched so tight Emma could see the muscle twitching.

"Damn it," he said quietly.

Then louder, his voice cracking. "Damn it!"

He slammed his fist into the ground, once, twice, the impact echoing dully through the clearing.

Sira kicked the nearest tree, hard enough that bark splintered off. "They just... they just walked in and took it!" Her voice was raw, shaking with frustration.

Tobias sat down heavily, pulling off his glasses and pressing his palms against his eyes. "We failed. We actually failed."

His voice was small. Defeated.

Zael groaned from where he'd fallen, clutching his chest where he'd been kicked. "I-I'm sorry. I should've—"

"It's not your fault," Emma said quickly.

I should've seen them coming. Should've prepared better. Should've—

No.

She shook her head, forcing the spiral to stop.

Blaming ourselves doesn't help. Not now.

Kyle pushed himself upright, wiping blood from his knuckles. His breath was still uneven.

"They didn't get far," he said.

Sira looked at him sharply. "You sure?"

"The crate's heavy. Five people hauling it through this forest?" He shook his head. "They're slow."

Tobias lowered his hands, looking up. "You want to go after them?"

Sira wiped blood from a cut on her arm, her expression shifting from frustration to something sharper. "He's right. If we don't get that cache back, we fail. All of us."

Tobias stood shakily. "But how? They took us by surprise before. If we just charge in again—"

"We don't rush," Sira interrupted. "We plan. Track them down, and cut them off when they least expect."

She didn't wait for confirmation, just turned and moved into the forest.

Kyle followed immediately.

Tobias muttered a curse under his breath and tightened his grip on his staff as he moved.

Zael pushed himself up with a wince, gritting his teeth as he forced his body to move.

Emma hesitated, just long enough to breathe.

Then she went after them.

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