The white orb in the sky glared at us from above.

I stared at it for a few seconds before lowering my head to see that my surroundings had turned a subtle shade of red.

'When did this...?"

"Hooo."

Each breath started to hurt.

Accompanying it was a tingling pain at the back of my throat.

Looking around me, the other cadets were facing similar struggles. With eyes widened in panic, and their hands clawed at their throats.

"The Yellow region is a dangerous region not only due to the Terror ranked beasts that are present throughout, but also because of the dangerous environment. This right here is just a taste of the scorching heat of the Crimson Shade."

In the background, the instructor's voice rang.

"There's no specific location or time to the Crimson Shade. It'll just happen randomly, scorching everything its veil falls upon."

The heat intensified and the pain at the back of my throat intensified.

An uncomfortable heat started to rise within my nostrils with each breath I took. Enough to make me think I was inhaling smoke.

".....Your mind starts to blur due to the heat."

Indeed, looking around, the world started to tilt.

I tried to take a step forward, but my body refused to move.

Drip..! Drip!

Sweat started to drip down from every corner of my body.

"..Your body starts to lose water. Thirst will eventually build up."

"Huep."

I swallowed my saliva, only to find that my mouth had grown completely dry.

'W-water.'

It had only been a minute or so since the environment had changed, and yet, it felt as though I had been here for hours.

To make matters worse, it only took that much time for me to be completely thirsty.

"Each second that passes feels more and more agonizing. Water. Water. Water. That's all you'll start thinking about."

The instructor's words seemed to directly match the symptoms that I was undergoing.

The thirst was starting to dig at my mind.

'Water.'

It made me only think of one thing.

'Water I need water.'

"You seek water, but you have no water."

How long has passed?

Each second that I spent here felt agonizing.

The little water within me continued to dwindle by the second, and my mouth was fully dry by this point.

'W-water'

"There's a reason this is called the Crimson Shade. Casting a crimson glow over the surroundings, everything beneath it turns dry."

I could almost hear the amusement in the instructor's voice coming from the background.

Looking around, I spotted a familiar set of hair in the distance. It was Evelyn. She was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed.

I looked at her expression, and as if she felt my gaze, she opened her eyes to look at me.

Our eyes met for a brief moment before she closed her eyes again.

I thought she'd leave things there, but shortly after, her voice echoed,

"Channel your mana."

That was all she said.

I was confused at first, but I listened to her words and channeled the mana inside of my body.

"Ah."

A cool sensation washed over me.

The heat that had been stinging at my skin disappeared.

In that moment, I felt a massive wave of relief wash over me.

Tzzz~

Steam started to rise from out of my body, and the sweat that had accumulated over me disappeared.

"Haa."

Though I was still thirsty, things weren't as bad anymore.

"Looks like some of you have found the trick to counter the Crimson Shade."

The instructor's voice continued to echo in the background. The amusement was still ever so present.

"...By channeling your mana you can start cooling your body. Preventing the shade from drying up your body."

It was as he said. The moment I channeled my mana, my body started to cool and I no longer struggled under the shade.

Or so I thought,

"But for how long can you maintain your mana for? Can you keep up with it to last several days? ....Or can you sustain it until you manage to find a way out of the shade?"

Hearing his words, my thoughts paused.

I closed my eyes to determine the amount of mana that I had in my body and that was being consumed, and my expression turned grim shortly after.

'Not good.'

At this rate, I wasn't going to last more than an hour.

Would that be enough?

"Well, that's enough."

The surrounding scenery changed, and we were now back in the white room. I stopped using my mana and I was able to take a deep breath.

"Water."

Still, I was thirsty.

Thankfully, the instructor was prepared and handed us several metal flasks.

"Take these and hydrate yourself."

Grabbing mine, I uncapped mine and started drinking from it. While it was odd that they were using flasks to store water, I didn't care.

The only thought in my mind was the water.

Looking around, I wasn't the only one that was drinking the water heavily. The same was true for the others with the exception of Evelyn who started to sniff the flask. The moment she did, I started to have a bad feeling.

.....And I was right.

"The water right there comes from Lake Osmos. Located not far from where we are, and where the rescue mission is at. It's not exactly poisonous, but you'll end up feeling sick soon enough. The only way to get rid of the effects is by circulating your mana."

Just as his words fell, the world started to spin.

Holding onto the flask, I felt like throwing it at the instructor who kept smiling the entire way.

Gulp

In the end, taking the last sips of it, I sat down on the ground and channeled my mana.

"You may resent me for doing this to you, but it's necessary. While the water within the Lake is not good for you, by drinking it, you'll gain a certain immunity to it. Later on, when we enter the waters, if you accidentally swallow the water, you won't have to go through the pains like you are now."

His words certainly made sense.

Not that I had enough time to focus on them.

"Uekh...!"

My stomach started to churn, and I started to feel incredibly nauseous. I could feel something rise up from my stomach, and I tried my best to keep it down.

It was hard, but it wasn't impossible.

This process went on for the next half an hour, until finally, the side-effects started to vanish.

"Good, it looks like most of you are done."

Leaning against the wall, the instructor looked at us.

"....It wasn't so difficult, right?"

For some reason, the more time I spent with him, the more unlikable he felt.

'The cadet that Leon warned me about, it's not him, right....?'

Wasn't that difficult my ass.

Forget about the headaches and the nausea, for the past half an hour or so, I had to hold back my stomach cramps, while also stopping myself from puking.

He was just messing with us at this point.

"Don't give me those looks. While you may hate me now, you won't hate me later when we carry on with the rescue mission. With that being said..."

He paused, his eyes scanning all of us.

There were a total of ten cadets in the room. The only ones that I was familiar with were Evelyn and Luxon. On the other hand, the other cadets belonged to different classes.

Eventually, the instructor showed a satisfied smile.

"You all were good. As expected of Haven cadets. Alright, let's start with the next phase of the trials."

Pressing his hand against the wall, purple circuits once again enshrouded the white space. Shortly after, the environment started to change, and I shuddered.

"T-this..."

It was suddenly freezing cold.

***

The training continued for the better part of the day. The temperatures continued to shift, changing from extreme heat to extreme cold. There were also illusions of other environments that put the cadets under extreme pressure.

By the time it was all over, everyone was down on the ground soaking in sweat.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

The heavy sound of their breaths echoed within the white room.

Laying down on the ground, Evelyn blankly stared at the ceiling. She could hardly think at the moment, and just breathing was painful for her.

Each breath seemed to gawn at her lungs.

"I'm saddened to say that this was the last of the simulations. You've experienced all that you needed to experience before coming out of the supply station."

For a moment, Evelyn could hear the strings of curses coming from the other cadets.

They were all directed towards the instructor who played it as if he hadn't heard anything. Weakly turning her head, her eyes paused on a certain figure.

He was similarly lying on the ground with his head facing the ceiling.

Just like the other cadets, he also appeared to be muttering something. Squinting her eyes, she tried to read his lips.

'Motherfuck'

"Oh my."

Evelyn blinked several times.

Surely, she had heard wrongly.

Squinting her eyes again, she tried to read his lips again.

'Fatherless ba'

Oh, no.

Evelyn didn't know how to react.

It threw her off.

In the midst of her daze, his head turned and their gazes met. Evelyn felt her entire body turn rigid the moment their gazes met.

She wanted to turn her head immediately, but thinking about it, that would've been awkward.

Swallowing her saliva, she looked at him for a few seconds before turning her head away from him.

The entire time, she played it in a manner that made her seem aloof.

'....That was smooth, right?'

At least, she thought so.

However, a shadow soon cast over the area she was in and her heart squeezed.

Looking up, the same two eyes that she had met moments prior were looking at her from above.

"Yes...?"

"...."

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at her for a brief moment before finally opening his mouth.

"About before..."

Evelyn's heart squeezed further.

'What's he going to say? Is he going to talk about that time? What do I do? How do I answer? Leon said that he's a different person, but there's no way I can see him differently just like that. What if he is going to tell me to never talk about it? Wha

'

"Thanks."

".....Uh?"

Evelyn's mind blanked.

She didn't know for how long, but before she knew it, he had already left. Turning her head, she stared at his departing back.

Her thoughts started to run wild.

'Did he just thank me? Him...?'

Why?

And then, Evelyn recalled her interaction with him at the start of the training when she had told him to channel his mana.

"Ah."

That had just been a spur-of-the-moment answer from her. Having met his gaze, she felt too awkward to say nothing and said such words.

Who would've thought he'd thank her for that?

It was so different from the Julien she knew.

Pursing her lips, Evelyn stared at him again. A thought crossed her mind.

'Did he really change...?'