---

The robed person looks at the demoness as the demoness tried to make conversation. It wasnt working, but the robed figure nods as it is renamed "Alba" A few minutes of awkward silence pass before the robed figure turns to the rich looking boy and notices orange haired girl and her sp-p-pirit.... The kitsune, a creature it knew well. "Alba" stealthy gets up and sneaks into the trees, even though it would obvious to the demoness.

"Alba" rushes through the forest to an area where it thought it would be alone. It pulls out it's katana and a catalyst dummy. Out of no where it is surrounded with wind and the robed figure points it to the dummy and it pushes the dummy into a tree. Followed by the wind disappearing and another Catalyst dummy appears. "Alba" points the katana again, but this time a shot of water is spewed at the dummy. It sheathes the katana after the water disperses and nods to the dummy's.

@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis@cloudystar

“It’s an honor to meet you, Samuel.” Right after that, Nimueh meowed rather loudly and nibbled on Alex’s ear for a moment. “Oh hey, cut that off!” It didn’t hurt, it was just annoying. A reminder that she wasn’t introduced yet. “Oh yeah, this is my spirit. Nimueh.” After being introduced, the feline spirit jumped down. Sniffing further. Trying to trace the interesting smell. In the meantime Alex kept talking to Samuel: “It would be my pleasure to be introduced to more people. Strength often comes in numbers.” Alex smiled. Then he heard a loud gust blasting through the tower’s lowest level. He immediately turned around, seeing a sword fly through the air “Nimueh!” He yelled, fusing with her already. But it was all going too slow. His powers didn’t come soon enough. The blade was going to hit somebody! He couldn’t stop it!

Luckily it didn’t. The blade, spinning its way through the hallway nearly hit someone who just entered. Alex released Nimueh once more and she shifted back into her beast form. Normally, such an unrequired fusion would annoy her. But the spirit, despite not being able or willing to speak human language, was keenly attuned to Alex’s thoughts. Upon fusing, she knew he wanted to use telekinesis to hold the blade up. So she didn’t really care that she fused. She just returned to sniffing the air around Alex. Who looked from where the blast of air came and noticed a girl who he previously saw with the blade. “I’m going to go check up on her. See if she’s okay.” He told Samuel, hoping he wouldn’t come over rude.

Nimueh, in the meantime, found the source of the odd smell. A small dove. She looked at it, tilting her head, confused at how such a small thing could smell and feel so weird. With its paw, it taunted the little thing. Keeping it just out of range from him. Seemingly wanting to tab on the little bird. She opened her mouth several times, seemingly to check if she could swallow the small thing in one gulp. She couldn’t, nor did she try. Only when she noticed her companion was moving out did she leave the small bird alone. Now that she discovered what it was, she was far less interested in it.

He arrived near the girl who was just getting up. Probably to retrieve her blade. “Hey, you okay? Seems like quite a burst of power there.” Nimueh once more jumped on his shoulders.

As the white haired fox placed the struggling girl back on her feet, his ear twitched at the sound of wind, being sliced through and heading right towards his summoner. Inari swung around and pounced in front of her, grasping the incoming blade with his bare hand, causing him to wince as it slit the skin of his palm. The fox took the hilt of the sword in his other hand, glancing down curiously at the bleeding cut on his hand. Only at this point did the spirit notice the boy who also leapt into action to protect Faera from the flying weapon. The fox gave a quiet growl in annoyance as he grabbed the girl up by under her arm and pulled her hastily away from the stranger, like a mother with its cub.

Faera, as per usual, was still all smiles. "Wow, thank you so much, Okami! It was really kind of you. I'm Faera, and this is Inari." She nodded to her spirit with a closed eye grin, the fox only huffing in response and tucking his clawed hands into the sleeves of his light neutral colored kimono. As he looked away, a quick movement caught his eye, making him squint suspiciously towards the trees. Some hooded figure had just ran in there... Inari became very on edge.

At the mention of the forms, the orange haired girl squeaked. "Eep! Oh no, did we do them?!"

"We did it early. I swear... we just have to tell them we're here." Inari stated, his exhasperation evident.

The girl seemed relieved, grabbing the fox by his hand and dragging him off again. They soon returned, going out to a dummy ready for them. Inari took another glance at the sword he had caught, still in his claw, before tucking it away inside his haori.

"Ready? Let's go! Inari, weapon form!" called out Faera, getting into a stance, or really more of a pose, as she stuck out her hand swiftly. Inari turned into a bright light, shooting into her open hand before the light burst away and cleared, revealing a sealed katana. Faera eloquently unsheathed the crimson blade, placing the sheath in the belt about her waist all in one smooth movement. She took hold of the sword, bolting forward and swinging the blade four times so quickly the human eye couldn't keep up. She landed behind the dummy, making sure to look cool as she did, and smiled as the once complete dummy suddenly burst into pieces from her quick slices. "Hehe! That was so cool!!" She cheered, Inari appearing the reflection of the blade with a furious look.
"Could you take something seriously for once?!"

---

Okami looks at the Spirit who took the blade and caught it with intrigue. He was then even more impressed after watching Faera slice up the dummy that she got as well. It was really a good show to watch, though he did have a suspicion about the Spirit's attitude toward him. However, he got back up and got ready for the next dummy before intruding more upon her. He did look back at where Vilvyn was and noticed that "Alba" or at least the person Vilvyn named wasn't there anymore. He decided not to fret on it too much yet and focus on the third dummy first. Lupa comes flying out of her Catalyst in a white stream of light, appearing in a battle stance of sorts against the third dummy.

"Lupa...all yours girl."

She immediately pounced on the dummy, sinking her teeth into its neck...or where it would have a neck or had a neck. She wasted no time in trying to behead the target, while at the same time, white electricity seemed to crackle and shock the entire dummy that she was now on top of and pinned to the ground. After she was done, the entire area above the chest to face was all a charred black and littered with deep teeth marks. She seemed rather pleased with herself and barely wasted any energy, resulting in a very energetic wolf and summoner both hopping around to stay loose. Lupa gives the others and everyone there a quick glance as if to show off a bit as she hops onto Okami's head quickly.

"Nice one girl...and man you treated that thing like last week's dinner! Anyway, you did great too over there Faera, the way you cut up that dummy. Reminds me of the silent cloaked person in our group called Alba for now...she seems to have as much skill as you if not at least equal. If you want to join us you can by the way! We're working on forming a party before the trials are over. Now...wait where did Alba go? She was with Vilvyn just a moment ago...oh and Spirit Fox of Faera, err...Inari. Nice catch but I think that sword may or may not belong to a friend of mine plus if you need to get healed, I think we can go talk to one of the attendees after we're done with the trial. I only got my last one here so I may need some space for a moment if you guys don't mind, my Unison Form may get a bit...hard to control."

@Cherrywitch@Lady Athena@RabidAnubis

@cloudystar@Lady Athena@Cherrywitch

Vilivyn stared for a moment as the person she named Alba headed off into the distance, seeming to run away from being named. Was her choice really that bad, or was what she did inappropriate!? Okami asked a few seconds earlier if things were alright, but apparently they weren't.

The demoness pouted, and after briefly considering going after the robed figure shook her head. She was here for a purpose, not to make friends. The girl wanted to pass her tests, and she had trained for it. Material form had failed, so the girl paused for a moment and used one of the catalyst dummies to test her spells on. Placing the thing against a tree a short distance away by Okami's request. The demoness closed her eyes briefly and opened them, a pentagram forming at the base of the dummy as a small amount of magic was released. Focusing her dark energy into a projectile, she launched it at the hexed dummy, the curse adding additional power to her 'arrow' by sending dark matter out of the 'wound'. The second shot destroyed the thing.

After taking a few breaths, she summoned Siren into herself and her wings grew, as expected. Rising above the forest, the girl lifted up the recorder demon and ... dropped it? Was she supposed to do something else with it? It was supposed to record how one's own abilities changed, so flying fifty feet in the air with and dropping it would probably result in a level of trauma that would kill any normal person.

~Tania and Lena~

@Legion02
@Duoya

---

Just as she stood up, she was greeted by another person. He hadn't been with them earlier, but she did notice Samuel off in the distance not far away. Oh dear, had they seen that whole thing? Lena's face reddened slightly in embarrassment, but she gave a small laugh and a smile anyways. She was mostly fine, after all, no sense in trying to act like it either.

"O-ooh, I'm fine!" She replied. "Just uhm, got a bit carried away...used too much power instead of too little, heh. I'm not entirely sure how I even did that." The elf rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Tania, simply eyed the boy somewhat nonchalantly before looking to Lena and giving an annoyed huff as she took a seat on her head.

"No, you're not. Your hair's a mess." Tania replied. Lena simply laughed. For someone who went around pulling peoples hair and throwing pebbles at humans, Tania really did act a lot like a concerned older sister sometimes. The Pixie went about trying to smooth some of her hair, but was quickly shooed away by Lena.

"Hehe, I'll just fix it later." Lena replied to the Pixie, before turning to the human who had addressed her. "I'm Alena, and this is Tania. Pleasure to meet you."

"No, it's not." The pixie rather curtly replied, giving the human a sharp glare and a toothy grin. "Hey human. You look delicious. Mind if I take a bite? That furball of yours looks pretty delicious there too. Lemme have a bite of him, and I'll let you go for now. Deal?"

"Tania, be nice." Lena said once again, and not likely for the last time today. "You uhm, wouldn't happen to see a sword fly off somewhere, would you? Its uhm, rather important." The Pixie simple remained next to Lena's shoulder, not budging her gaze from the human for now, obviously waiting for some sort of reply.

[quote=@Lady Athena]

---

The robed person currently known as "Alba" continues to stare at the normal looking girl, the rich looking guy and the demoness. "Alba" leaves after a few minutes and places it's last dummy down, the recorder... The robed figure takes a deep breath before standing there. "Alba" goes behind the dummy and slices it a few times without making it fall apart

The robed figure takes the dummy with it as it returns to the others with it. Then it falls apart, It would seem that "Alba" didnt seem to like the idea of the final dummy recording it. The silence of the other three was taken as if they were shocked by the power of the robed figure... or some other feeling
@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis@cloudystar

@Lady Athena
@Legion02
@Cherrywitch
@cloudystar
@RabidAnubis
@Rune_Alchemist

Samuel was beginning to look around for his companions and show off the new addition, when a gust of wind blew by and nearly knocked his robes from his grip. Samuel turned around to see that Alex was once again in his user form, holding an outstretched hand towards something that appeared as a blur. A sword flew past the two of them and flew several inches above Gabriel's head, spinning and narrowly missed a girl (another kid...) who just walked in. Samuel froze like a deer who just saw an illumination spell. I nearly died... Samuel's knees threatened to buckle, but he quickly regained his composure. After all, he has to be ready to die if he wants to climb this tower. Alex moved to grab the sword and turned to look at Samuel.

“I’m going to go check up on her. See if she’s okay.”

Samuel looked off into the distance to where Alex was looking, spotting the elf, Lena, not to far away, looking around as if she was searching for something. Judging by the previous interactions with her that Samuel has been a part of... Oh boy... She nearly killed him, didn't she? It's okay... Calm down. Mistakes happen. NEARLY FATAL MISTAKES HAPPEN SOMETIMES! Samuel began to walk with Alex towards the blushing elf.

Samuel listened to the exchange happen, glad that his job had gotten that much easier.

"Hey human. You look delicious. Mind if I take a bite? That furball of yours looks pretty delicious there too. Lemme have a bite of him, and I'll let you go for now. Deal?"

Samuel chuckled to himself, trying to hide the action as a cough. I doubt a bite from her would be too much to ask. After all, she's a sixth his height! Samuel also noticed the bird he was carrying begin to violently squawk in anger. What could be bothering him? Samuel nodded, satisfied with his joke, if not feeling a little guilty, when another large sound erupted mere inches behind him. Turning around revealed a small pile of twigs and cloth that had a striking similarity to the dummy he had dispatched moments ago. Samuel, stone faced, begins to talk to no one in particular in a completely monotone voice.

"Why does it seem like everything is trying extra hard to kill me today?"



“Oh yeah, this is my spirit. Nimueh.”

Ah... Nimueh... A name fit for a goddess like herself. Clearly, I have met a woman far more beautiful than any other on the planet. How could I make her mine... AH! Why did that brat fuse with her! I was trying to admire her amazing figure-

*WHOOSH*

...

I am traumatized. I have been violated. A hard object was mere inches from my face.

WHO EVEN THREW THAT SWORD!?

Had it not been for my incredible dodging capabilities and cat- I mean bird-like reflexes, I would have been killed! Well, not killed, something as pathetic as a mere sword could never harm the mighty Gabriel. Still, it forced the goddess to fuse with... that... I wish he was less attractive. He's going to steal all of my maidens!

My master soon picks me up and lays me on his very comfortable robes. After doing so, he begins to walk with the summoner and goddess, headed towards... Oh! Two maidens! I wonder how I will woo these two... I could show them my mighty strength, or my impeccable sword-dodging abilities... Perhaps I will show them my incredibly calm and caring personality-

That furball of yours looks pretty delicious there too. Lemme have a bite of him, and I'll let you go for now. Deal?"

...What?

How... How DARE she! Threatening the goddess is a crime punishable by not being included in the mighty Gabriel's harem!

"You, a mere wench, have the AUDACITY to insult the goddess!? If you do not apologize immediately, I shall strike yo-"

It is at this moment I realized that she towered over me and could, if given the chance, step on and cripple me for life.

"-oooouuuuur feelings. I shall strike your feelings down, with mean words and by removing you from my collection of friends.

The orange haired girl spun on her heel, giving a bright grin to Okami. "Thanks a lot! We'd love to be a part of the team, haha!" Though she spoke for both her and Inari, the fox's face showed much disagreement with the statement, though he simply sighed.

In a burst of light, the sword and sheath returned to the form of the fox man, a cold green glare flashing to the boy. "I hope you aren't inferring that you believe I wanted to keep the sword. I simply couldn't return it because we are already behind on our trial. Here, take it." He slid the sword from his coat sleeve and threw it carelessly at the other's feet. "And I don't need a healer. It's just a small cut." The fox turned away from Okami, walking to the next dummy. "I'll take care of the other two, and then we just need to defeat the User form dummy. Be prepared."

Faera frowned deeply, jogging over and picking up the sword to gingerly hand it to Okami. "Don't mind him. He... doesn't play well with others. He still can be rude to me!" She gave a warm, comforting smile. In fact, being near her was simply comforting. She just seemed to give off this warm glow... it was odd. But before someone could put their finger on it, she went to chase after her spirit who already was holding a ball of blue flame crackling in his palm. He huffed, and threw the ball of fire, it bursting in between two dummies as he darted forward with his claws and sliced them to bits. The fox cracked his fingers when he was done, not even glancing over his shoulder at the burnt remains of the defenseless dummies.

"Faera. Let's get this over with."
"Right!"

The fox flashed white again, the light covering the summoner. When it cleared, Faera stood alone, black whiskers on her cheeks and clawed hands with bright green eyes. "Alright, lets do this!" The girl dashed forward, leaping up in the air as the same blue fire covered her foot, that landing first on the dummy's head after a double spin in the air. She landed behind the burning doll, swinging her foot around and hitting the dummy so hard the stake it was propped on snapped. With a finishing blow to uppercut the poor dummy, she swiped down with her claws and tore four long gashes across its belly.

With a final flash, Inari appeared beside her, flicking his ear in distaste. "Not as horrible as usual, but you're still slow..."
"Can't you ever say something nice? That was awesome and you know it!"

---

After relaxing for the one moment as he faced down the last dummy, he was quite surprised no one pulled off a Unison Form or tried to do one. Then again, it wasn't really common knowledge and required more stamina than most to even hold the duration of it. His thoughts of his childhood started to bubble in his head and he did his best to draw some anger out of it. Some white crackles of electricity started to form around him as his iron knuckle and iron boot formed on his body parts. Lupa starts coming out of her Catalyst as well, buzzing with small electricity as well and positions her on Okami's leg. He starts raising his leg for Lupa to rest on and yells, "Let's go girl, let's make some thunder!" Okami quickly launches her into the sky as Lupa spins rapidly to form a sort of ball of electricity as she kept going up.
Then he initiates a small combo with two jabs from the iron knuckle and a hard kick from his boot, knocking the dummy down...however, he swiftly hurries over and uses both of his fists to lift it into the sky above him with his hands on the stomach area of the dummy.

"Lupa, come on down now! Ready for the finisher!"

Lupa starts swirling down and bringing down all the electricity she generated was released on the back of the dummy. Okami's role was to hold the dummy up as she kept using a sort of Volt Tackle and shocked the Training Dummy's back into ashes. He lets go of the remaining pieces and catches his pal before she falls down through the hole she made in it. Laughing as he falls back down and returning back to his normal self, he begins to close his eyes and yawn. "Now that...was a good Unison Form...time for a nap." Lupa keeps trying to lick his face to keep him awake but Okami was soon out of it from exhausting all his available energy to keep the form up that long.

---

Iniya's face appears over the sky due to the a video image provided by a large Crystal in the sky. She coughs for a moment to clear her voice and makes her announcement.

"The trial is now completed and everyone's available scores are now up! We are pleased to have all of you attending and hope to see you again in the next month if you were unable to pass this one. Here are everyone's scores:."

Her face is quickly cut off as a large chart having everyone's names and their recommended roles in a group are shown:

(Out of 60 People by the Way)
Ranking 15 Alex Reiner - Sniper
Ranking 18 Fiona - Front Liner
Ranking 20 Faera Nottingham - Front Liner
Ranking 25 Alena Liatris - Front Liner
Ranking 29 Vilivyn Vinoriaza - Controlled
Ranking 32 Samuel Evans - Controlled
Ranking 35 Okami Sven - Side-Winder

The results were shown to everyone showing their full names and roles. Now for their reactions to them as they are called to regroup at the portal to return back to the base floor.

@cloudystar@cherrywitch@Lady Athena

The demoness finished her training routine, trashing the last dummy with her magical powers. As she was turned away from the general crowd, the girl didn't notice exactly what was going on, only seeing the passed Okami face down in the dirt. The black haired girl raised an eyebrow and smiled. Some people just got a little bit too excited, didn't they!

Well, the guy had stated earlier he may need help being carried, so the winged girl petted the puppy-creature named Lupa for a moment before smiling.

"Lupa Lupy! I'm Vilivyn, and I see Okami has passed out as promised! I'll take care of the sillyguy for now, sodon'tworry, alright?" Normally people wouldn't be able to understand the response a spirit might give, but as a spirit touched speaking to such ADORABLE little creatures was a normal experience.

As the girl lifted Okami onto her shoulders, small wings flapping and tail shifting to provide balance, images appeared into the sky with the various rankings ... despite her poor performance, she passed! Oh, this was the best day ever! And her first try too! The spirit-touched let out a happy squeal for just a second as she saw it, jumping slightly despite the extra weight on herself.

After seeing the scores (and taking note of Okami's) the girl headed up to her two new best friends: the people Okami had chatted with! A cute looking human and a serious looking kitsune who looked like he could use some pettings! As she approached, her tail flicked around with the excitement that comes from meeting new people!

Start a new conversation Vili. No talking to birds this time. Make it normal!

"I'm Vilivyn Vinoriaza! ummm ... Iloveyourdress! Andyourtail! I saw you talking to Okami earlier but ..." The black haired girl's head looked over towards the person's that she was carrying. "... but he could be doing better! Anyways, what'syournames!?"

That was friendly, right? Two compliments!

---

There were 20 people who failed the exam. People may wonder, how in the bloody hells of the Tower did they fail? Well, those who were back at the training grounds soon learned about the many ways people somehow were able to score that low of points in the trial:

-A handful of people forgot that they did not have a Spirit and nevertheless tried to join the trial to join the adventurers of the Tower
-A good portion forgot to sign up on the sheets and went off to wander around to admire the scenery and others doing the trial
-Some tried to do the trial and forgot to do the other Forms
-There were a few who may have passed out after the first Dummy
-Handful forgot their Catalyst and Spirit back at their homes
-Lastly, an awkward amount of Summoners thought it'd be a good idea to train/spar each other and ended up with much worse wounds than expected

Lesson to be learned, don't try to do something unprepared in practically every aspect. That and try not to be one of the following people who fail this badly.

The auburn eyes shot up to the screen in awe, her 'o' shaped mouth becoming an ecstatic grin as she leaped to hug Inari tightly, the kitsune still as a statue and reacting coldly to the affectionate summoner. "Inari, we did it! And we're in the top 20, too! Great job!"

Inari rolled his sharp green eyes. "You act so surprised... of course we were going to pass."

"Oh, quit it! Now is no time to be a downer! We have to work hard to keep up the good work, Kay?" Faera finally stopping hugging the annoyed fox to give a firm nod, raising her fist and dropping her elbow just slightly to accentuate her point. That was when a new voice met the girl's ears, Faera turning to see where it came from. Her eyes landed on another girl, carrying a sleeping Okami on her back. Faera giggled. "He overdid it, huh?"

Faera stuck out her hand in a friendly way, flashing her famously bright smile at the girl. "Im Faera, Faera Nottingham! And this pouty fox over here is my spirit, Inari." She gave another set of giggles, Inari not seeming to find the joke quite as hilarious as his summoner did. "Thank you, but I think your wings are way cooler! Can you fly? That must be awesome!" A curious expression crossed the sweet face as she calmed her energetic personality for just a moment, and not by much. "Hey, actually, I think Okami mentioned your name. Are you a part of the team? I just accepted to join myself— Ooh, if you are, we should get along swell! Not like we wouldn't even if you weren't on the team, but— Hehe, you know what I mean!" Faera blushed a cute pink, folding her hands behind her and cocking her head in a slight bounce to the side. A scoff could barely be heard from the fox spirit as he looked away, uninterested.

---

The robed person looks at the results and then shakes there head. They notice the demoness get up and try to be friendly with the ordinary looking girl and "Alba" shakes there head even more. "Alba" starts to walk off towards the portal and tries to keep close to the demoness but as far away from the kitsune as possible.

Upon going through the portal "Alba" looks to the low scoring explanation and then to the demoness. The robed figure was really considering speaking, but felt it was too early for that especially with all these people around. The robed figure just puts it's sleeve over onto the demoness' shoulder and nods.

@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis@cloudystar

~Tania and Lena~

@Legion02
@Duoya

---

"You, a mere wench, have the AUDACITY to insult the goddess!? If you do not apologize immediately, I shall strike yo-"

Before the Fey could get a response from the human noble or his spirit, the bird from earlier said something incredibly annoyingly offensive. Her head swiveled towards the bird, an unsettling, predatory toothy grin spreading across the creatures face. A 'Wench' was she? Heh...hehehehe. She couldn't do much with Lena here, so she'd have to do something not so openly hostile. As long as the elf was focused on someone else she'd probably be oblivious to any thing she said as long as she didn't get openly violent.

"-oooouuuuur feelings. I shall strike your feelings down, with mean words and by removing you from my collection of friends.

"Eeeeh? What was that, little birdy? Wench? Me?" The pixie hovered next to the bird, ignoring Lena and the others completely. "Ahahaa, you're hilarious! No really! I have half a mind to show you a joke called 'See how many feathers you can force feed a bird through a funnel before he cries like the little feather-brained baby he is'." She Laughed. "I mean really, Who would want to be friends with a useless, flightless dodo anyways? I bet you can't even go anywhere by yourself! You have to have this old bat do it for you." The pixie grinned, running a hand through her snow-white hair. "...You know, I think I'm going to show you that joke anyways. I'm in a funny mood."

---

Before she could get an introduction from the noble, the results of the trial were announced. As the video appeared overhead, the Elf held her breath. She was incredibly nervous, and fearing the worst. There was hardly any way she got anywhere near the top forty. She'd be fine with last place if that was all she was able to get, really. As the list of names appeared on the screen, she quickly found hers.

"T-twenty five?" The elf was speechless. She...had she done that well despite almost completely missing the fourth dummy? A rare emotion started creeping across Lena's features as a genuine smile found its way on her face. "I-I did that well?" She started laughing quietly to herself. She almost couldn't believe it. She didn't think she'd have ever gotten that score. She had resigned herself to barely scraping by in the last ten...to say this made the elf completely ecstatic was an understatement, so much so she couldn't contain her excitement.

"Ahaha! I don't...believe it!" She laughed loudly. She'd have to go tell Saria, old man Nusgrout...her parents, everyone! "Tania! Did you-Tania?" What was that fairy up to? she wasn't near her...she recalled her saying something to the nobles spirit. Did she try and start something...? Lena's eyes drifted over to Samuel and the other adventurer...and then widened in shock. "T-Tania! No, Bad tiny fairy! No beating up defenseless birds!"

Before the Pixie could even begin to carry out her threat, Lena rushed over and grabbed the tiny being by her wings, yanking her back and imprisoning the pixie firmly in her hand.

"I am so sorry!" Lena blurted out, red with embarrassment, bowing to Samuel. "I-I have no idea what she said, b-but I am seriously sorry! I should have been watching her better."

"Aww, come on Lena, that flightless dodo called me a wench! He doesn't need those feathers!"

"Tania, hush!" Lena retorted firmly, making the Fairy wince slightly as she was trapped firmly in Lena's hand. The elf...was very rarely like this. To say she was more than a little upset with the pixie, was an understatement. For now though, she should probably get back with the others. She straightened her posture, obviously quite uncomfortable despite her short-lived happiness of ranking fairly highly. "We should probably get back to the others." She cast a glance over to the newcomer before shaking her head. "I-I apologize for the short introduction...but I should go, uhm, make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble."

Before either the newcomer or Samuel could stop her, she made her way back to the middle of the floor. Maybe some of the others had finished? Either way, Tania was not leaving her sights for the rest of the day, and she was going to have to talk to the fairy again about what she wasn't supposed to do.

---

Lupa was rather curious about the demonness who took away her master. She was rather fond of her friend, and eagerly chased after them. The youthful wolf thought for a moment and looked at the girl for a moment, wondering if she really was that kind. Then again, she was giving her master a piggyback ride! Maybe she can get one too! Quickly hopping on Okami's back, she used her paws to wrap around his neck and seemed like a backpack of sorts on his back. Lupa's tail was wagging back and forth rather quickly from how excited and fun she was having. The sun was nice...a warm body to rest/lean on...the scores in the sky...scores? Lupa immediately looked for her master's name, and gave a small whimper in sadness. Their score was the one of the lowest...and she wanted to find a way to remedy that. But first, wake up master! She gave a thank you bark to the demonness for taking care of Okami as she took a large bite on the top of his head...

---

"AGHHH LUPA I GET IT, I'M AWAKE!"
Okami immediately rolls off of Vilivyn to remove Lupa from his head. She seemed to be giggling of sorts from his reaction and retreated back into her Catalyst to rest up now. He shakes his head sighing and notices that he was away from the area they were in before and close to the middle. Turning to Vilivyn and patting her on the head, Okami laughs a bit and smiles at her. "Thanks for having my back there, now let's see those results."

The usual cheerful boy hurries off as soon as he takes one long glance at the sky. What! Pops told me Unison Form gets you practically a guaranteed spot in the top twenty! Ugh, I'm not going to hear the end of this...all the guys at the tavern making fun of me. Okami sprints off rather quickly as he left Vilivyn, Faera, and Alba in the dust. "Sorry, I'll meet you guys in the middle! We'll celebrate everyone passing soon, just give me a moment!"

@Lady Athena@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT FORM DOESN'T COUNT ANYMORE!" Okami was at the booth talking to the judges there who were taking in many complaints...though Okami really just managed to hop on over rather quickly since the line moved so slowly. The judges explained to him that the Unison Form were not allowed to use in the trial for the adventurer's license and that he should be glad that he passed instead of complaining. Okami was half tempted to rip up the license they handed over to him which states:
Okami Sven
Rank 35 of the Adventurer's Trial: Side-Winder

He was really upset with his score and was taking out his frustration...in a rather interesting way. Looking for the nearest tree that was close to the portal, the boy started to climb and jump around in it to take out all the pent up rage energy generated from the results. Lupa came out of her Catalyst to watch this event happen...taking a peaceful nap on a nearby stone. Okami did wave at the others to come over and did wave at Lena and Tania since they were relatively close too. Still, he kept on climbing and jumping around rather quickly among the branches of the large tree...

@Rune_Alchemist

---

There were also a few who were coming in through the portal to receive their licenses that were sponsored or even paid fully by certain factions due to reasons that cannot be made to the public. However, they did earn these licenses in some way but did not receive a legitimate ranking due to not attending the trial. A few who got these licenses were:
Baldur Von Belger
Given by Church of the Lord: Front-Liner

Rolle
Given by the Church of the Lord: Side-Winder

Kiara Bastion
Given by the Flaming Heart: Controlled

The adventurers already passed by the portal a while ago and may have been in the line to get their licenses or already on their way back to the portal. Nevertheless, they did pass by Okami, or Lena, or any of the other adventurers who were heading back...who knows...

@KoL@Lonewolf685@TheWindel@Ammokkx@MacDuffy

---

"Haha! Of course one of the sons of the Duquious Family got first place in such an easy event! You all should follow me, if you want to reach the top of the Tower! Join the strongest, and you'll become one of legends....second to me of course."

A rich, noble with blond hair and two servants...a maid and a butler...seemed to accompany him as he stood at the main podium from before and kept bragging. Well, his arguments were convincing enough and he did get a lot of supporters from many new adventurers who were coming to him for guidance. Who can argue against the best after all? However, he did seem to glance at the other races who weren't human in the faction of supporters he got...and also seemed to look at the distant Okami with a smirk of sorts. The noble kept on boasting and bragging, seeming like he won't end and his voice for some reason was amplified so all in the vicinity can hear him quite easily...

"I highly suggest all you new adventurers join me...though those who don't will be considered against me. You have been warned!"

@Legion02@Duoya

The Tower of Babel. A fabled structure said to contain the very secrets of the universe and those who sought to unravel it were destined to climb its arching levels and conquer all things. No doubt the first floor had been filled with numerous trials and challenges, and to that, all who had made it this far had to be commended for their efforts and skills.

Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for everyone as quite a few new faces had suddenly appeared. One of which was kept her hands in her pockets and moved along without much else to do. Apparently everyone else had gotten their rankings and were progressing to the next level…or something? Having just arrived, she only had a glimpse of what was going on.

Still, she wasn’t entirely sure if she should just walk up and ask someone and so Kiara Bastion decided it was best to just linger around. Having been sponsored by the Flaming Heart, she had a feeling that she didn’t even need to go through the trials but it never hurt to be sure. Still, she had her license and that was all that really mattered at the moment, Kiara scanning the area for others.

Who she noticed in particular was a boy and his wolf pup; said boy was climbing a random tree as if he was displaying an act of outrage or defiance against the greater good. Well alright then. That’s one person she would have liked to avoid, lest she be roped into that eccentric situation.

Then there was some snooty blonde boy who was bragging about first place or something. As if his voice wasn’t already annoying enough, he began to preach upon the world how everyone should be joining his parade into the world of adventuring. Curious about this, Kiara walked a bit further until she was talking distance from the boy.

“What if no one joins you?” she asked simply, hands still in her pockets. “Wouldn’t that mean that everyone here would be against you? Or maybe that means no one took you seriously?”

---

---

Baldur kept his eyes closed, standing still as stone near the center of the floor, his newly-acquired license tucked neatly away within his cloak.

He waited.

......

He waited a bit more.

......

"ToWeR..."

He grimaced slightly as he opened his eyes. Even now, the bothersome whisper at the back of his mind was not silent. Though it had grown much quieter in recent days, much more infrequent. He had taken it as a sign that this fabled Tower of Babel was, indeed, what it sought, yet still the infernal thing egged him on. Was it simply impatient? He could sympathize with that, at the very least, as his patience had long run thin as well: He had intended to arrive in the city and simply begin his ascension, not get entangled and chained in a mass of bureaucratic nonsense. Wealthy cities such as this have always been needlessly complex, as far as he was concerned.

It was only by some strike of good fortune that he was able to acquire access to the tower at all. A simple altercation at a tavern led to an offering of sponsorship from some organization: A Church, of some name. Baldur never considered himself a religious man, but a way into the tower was a way into the tower, and working under people and causes he cared little for was not a rarity for him. It was another mercenary contract into another army of hired blades. Fate willing, it would not go as poorly as the last one.

Baldur nonchalantly palmed the hilt of his sword with one hand, and rested the other upon his midsection, glancing downward. He could feel it still: lacerations upon his insides knitting themselves shut, centimeter by precious centimeter. The work of the noisy flying sea creature nesting in his mind, of this he had no doubt. This would trouble him as he climbed the tower, he was certain. His wounds would open again, should he push himself; Every motion would have to be deliberate, every swing of his sword carefully calculated. A part of him bemoaned the inconvenience, another part relished the challenge...

What every part of him was in similar mind on, squid included, however, was that this chamber was irritatingly noisy with chatter. The voices of a crowd was something he had long since learned to tune out. What was less easy to do so was the young elven girl to his immediate left, admonishing what looked to him like a large fly. He glanced at them, from beneath the brim of his hat, eyeing their conversation silently.

---

@cloudystar, @Rune_Alchemist, @Lady Athena, @Cherrywitch, @RabidAnubis, @Duoya, @Legion02, @KoL, @Lonewolf685, @Ammokkx, @TheWindel

@cloudystar@Lady Athena@Cherrywitch

"Im Faera, Faera Nottingham! And this pouty fox over here is my spirit, Inari."

Vilivyn shook the girl's hand as it was stuck out, giving a bright smile in return to the cheerful girl. The pouty fox spirit was a cutie too, and the black haired girl was certain that she would be able to win the kitsune's favor eventually! After all, who could resist her smile!

"Thank you, but I think your wings are way cooler! Can you fly? That must be awesome! Hey, actually, I think Okami mentioned your name. Are you a part of the team? I just accepted to join myself— Ooh, if you are, we should get along swell! Not like we wouldn't even if you weren't on the team, but— Hehe, you know what I mean!"

Vilivyn's eyes widened as she listened, looking at the slight twinge of red crossing the blonde's cheeks as her new friend assumed an adorable little stance.

It was at this point the overly enthusiastic boy on her shoulders woke up to a bite from his familiar, patted Vili on the head, then sprinted off into the forest for god knows what reason. After a brief wide eyed look, Vili made a note to talk to the enthusiastic man later along with Lupa ...

... Resuming normal conversation, the demoness spun around in her spot, flapping her small wings to demonstrate. Looking over her shoulder with a grin, the girl answered the first question.

"Yestheycan! Although, without Siren in me tall objects are a nightmare! They're still small and I got to practice more! MaybeIcould ... take you up sometime!?"

Internally, the succubus ignored her thoughts about the potential consequences of doing that, bouncing slightly as she turned her front towards Faera again. The second question was one that was a little more serious, and the black haired girl put a hand on her chin and rubbed it for about half a second, as if deep in thought. The answer came quickly to her, and the demoness approached only a foot away from her new friend with a smile.

"Of course we'll be onateamtogether! And we'll be besties now! Wanna celebrate together after we leave?" For a few moments, Vilivyn was so caught up in her new friend that she forgot the reason why they were celebrating. A second later, a gasp followed and she extended her hand while moving next to Faera, grabbing hers and pulling her gently towards the Portal. "C'mon, let's go!"

A second later, a soft robe went over her shoulders, and after a moment of a squeal of slight surprise Vili's smile would have gotten wider if possible. The person she had named had come back! She didn't mess up earlier! Holding Faera's soft hand in her right, the chirpy girl wrapped her left arm around the fluffy cloak her other friend was wearing. "You too, Alba! To the portal!"

---

The robed person didnt realize how close Faera was (At the same time pretending that the rich looking boy didnt just run off) and gulps at the sight of the kitsune Faera had. "Alba" was surpised by how the demoness reacted to the robed hand on their shoulder. "Alba" hugs the demoness back as tight as possible without damaging the demoness' wings. "Alba" didnt take their eyes off the ordinary looking girl throughout the hug.

"Alba" Nods at the idea of joining the demoness' team and going to the portal. The robed figure slowly makes her way towards the portal at the same time as keeping an eye on the ordinary looking girl. The robed figure felt very odd around the ordinary girl, unlike how the robed figure felt at home around the demoness. The robed figure had plans, some of them might be considered big. One thing was to make sure the demoness was not injured in any way.

@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis