I Reincarnated as the Bastard Prince? Well, At least I'm OP!-Chapter 23: The second stage

Dawken blinked in surprise as he stared at Raven.

"You’re not joining my party? Why?" He demanded, his voice sharp.

Raven glanced at me before returning to him, folding her arms. "Because I want to be with him, obviously."

Dawken cold eyes shifted to me, unimpressed. "Why didn’t you say so before? The boy can join us if that is what you want."

"I don’t want to be among your party," I shook my head, a finality in my tone. "I would rather join the ones you cast aside."

Dawken jaws tightened, his eyebrows knitting into a frown.

He knew his followers only joined his party because they Raven was supposed to be his ace.

He was a man hungry for control. If he doesn’t get the others to depend on him, his grip on them would loosen.

This is the part where he fakes his independence to exercise his dominance.

Dawken scoffed then turned his back on us. "Very well. We don’t need you two anyways. We can look after ourselves. You will only drag us back."

He took the lead and strode towards the portal without another glance.

His party followed him like obedient sheeps.

They vanished into the portal, all fourteen of them.

And just like that, six of us were left behind in the empty dungeon.

How thoughtful of the adults to abandon six children. I was the youngest in the group, the others were only a year or two older.

Even the panicking girl faced the same fate with us. Dawken’s party do no accommodate the weak.

This sucks. The adults were gone, leaving us to look after ourselves.

"This is a disaster," someone cried, clutching their head. "I just want to go home."

"Those cowards left us to die," another shouted. "We cannot fight on our own. It’s a miracle we survived the undead attack."

The commotion would have spiraled out of control if Raven hadn’t stepped forward.

"There is no need to panic," she said, her voice audible. "I understand you all wanted to join Dawken’s party, but he was never a good leader."

The group went quiet as they listened to her.

I felt proud of her but I refused to show it. She was taking control of the situation the way a leader should.

"Dawken was never going to protect you. That is why he rejected you. This exam is dangerous, but if we stick together, we can survive."

Her words settled over the group like a cloud.

The panicking girl wiped her tears and stood to her feet. She didn’t seem so frightened anymore.

"You really think you can protect us all?" a boy asked, his voice shaky. "Our magic are worthless to us in this exam."

Raven exchanged glances with me. "As long as we work together, we can protect each other. Your magic isn’t worthless."

Everyone who heard her words straightened their shoulders and clenched their fists.

The doubts in their eyes vanished, replaced by a steely resolve. In mere moments, Raven had managed to get their shit together and united them like a true leader

"Not bad," I smirked, approaching her. "You have the makings of a great leader."

Raven averted her gaze, hiding the faintest redness on her cheeks. "I’ve gotten the group organized, but you’ll protect us from the dangers ahead. Wouldn’t you?"

I shrugged lazily. "Very well. I’ll guard the group but you must take the credit."

Together we stepped through the portal, ready to face the second stage of the exam.

* * * *

The moment we emerged from the other side of the portal, a strong biting wind sliced through our light clothes like knives.

The world around us transformed from the damp warmth of the dungeon to a vast, Snow blanketed forest.

Towering pine trees reached into the dark moonless sky.

Behind us, the portal blinked out, leaving us to the freezing cold.

"Where are we?" The panicking girl asked, hugging herself for warmth as she shivered.

"The second stage," Raven muttered, her eyes scamming the snow covered trees. "I don’t see any monsters nearby... not yet."

Which means this was probably a survival test.

A strong gust of wind howled through the branches, sending the group shivering like rabbits.

We were all wearing light clothing. If we don’t keep warm, we might freeze to death.

"We need to secure shelter. And fast. I don’t think our light clothing would keep us warm from this cold," I whispered to Raven. "We also need to do something about food."

Raven began to think.

She faced the group. "This is the time to put our individual skills to use. Tell us what you’re good at. We can really use your abilities at a time like this."

At first the group was quiet. Then, one by one they began to come out boldly.

"Pardon me," a boy stepped out. "My name is Anais. My father’s a carpenter. I can build us a shelter. Building is all I’m good at."

"Good," Raven licked her frozen lips. "How long would it take to construct one?"

"I’ll only need thirty minutes," he said. "There are trees everywhere. I’ll manage by myself."

"I can weave clothing using mana," a girl chimed in. "If I can get my hands on some animal fur, I can make us something warm."

"We’ll gather firewood," two younger kids said in unison.

I raised my hand. "I’ll take care of the hunting. There has to be game around the forest. I’ll get as many as I could."

Despite our group being a handful of young kids, we assigned roles to ourselves and execute it.

We found a perfect spot near the frozen lake and set up camp.

Anais used his magic to chop down trees and started building a log cabin from the ground up.

I started a bon fire to keep us warm for the meantime while the others gathered firewood to keep it alive.

We would need meat and pelts to make us comfortable. Soon, I’ll be on my way to go hunting.

However, I noticed something strange. Everyone was making use of their magic skill.

Everyone except Raven.

* * * *

I ventured deeper into the forest, searching for game.

Before I left the camp, I had casted a protective barrier to shield our party from predators while I was away.

The barrier was invisible to the naked eye but no predator or magical creatures would slip pass it.

I couldn’t afford to watch anyone else die under my watch.

"Why aren’t you using magic?" I asked Raven as I sidestepped a half-buried root.

Raven had insisted on tagging along with me to hunt. I tried to talk her out of it but the girl was stubborn.

It was just the both of us, walking beside each other in the dark winter woods.

I had conjured a floating fire to light the way. From it’s flickering glow, I could make out Raven’s expression from the corner of her eyes.

She tightened her grip on her staff, her eyes restless. "Oh. So you noticed,"

"You barely have any mana," I commented kneeling down to inspect fresh deer tracks. "Are you trying to conceal your mana?"

She bit her lips, clutching hold to her staff. "Promise you won’t tell anyone?"

I turned to her, offering a small assuring smile. "You can count on me to honour your secert."

Raven hesitated for a long moment.

Then letting out a deep breath, she stared directly into my eyes. "I don’t have magic!"

I acted as if I was surprised. "No way, really?"

"Yes," she leaned against a tree, her eyes staring at her feet. "My grandmother was a powerful mage. She was my favorite person. In my family, everyone was born to be a spellcaster. Well, everyone except me. I felt like an outcast."

In this world, not everyone could wield magic. Take my mother for example. She wasn’t born with the talent for magic.

Magic could be learnt and practiced, sure, but there are some people who just doesn’t have the natural talent to wield magic.

They’re what we call Laymen.

Laymen were regular folk who tilled fields, traded goods, and whispered prayers to the gods.

Laymen were common but it’s uncommon for laymen to partake in a selection exam.

"Just out of curiosity, why are you in the selection exam when you lack magic?" I asked her.

Raven stared at her hands, her fingers trembling from excitement "I love magic. My grandmother was the most powerful mage I’ve ever seen. I dreamed to be like her. Before she died, she passed onto me her magic staff. She believed I was destined for greatness."

That explains why she was the first to rush into the Red Gate. She has something to prove to herself—to the world.

Raven faced me, her eyes set. "I ran away from home to enroll in Waurweth academy, because I believe I’ll find answers here. I want to become a powerful mage like my grandmother. I may not have magic, but I believe if I work hard, I’ll be able to have a second awakening."

Now there were rare cases where Laymen may actually become magic users.

Rare cases like these are a second awakening.

"Well, anything is possible," I said, smiling at her. "I believe you have the drive and hunger for magic. Chase your dreams, and never give up. There is nothing impossible you cannot do."

Her eyes lit up immediately. "I knew coming to Waurweth academy was the right choice."

"Really? Why?" I asked.

"Because I met you," she said softly, reaching out and holding my hand. Her eyes were shinning. "You’re the answer I’ve been searching for. I never asked your name."

"It’s Archer," I said, withdrawing my hands immediately. "Brr... It’s getting cold out here. There’s deer tracks up ahead. If we hurry we might be lucky to catch it."

I quickened my pace, my heart thudding. I don’t know why but it felt weird to hold hands with her.

Suddenly, I froze.

The tracks have vanished. What I saw caused my eyes to widen.

Right before me were footprints.

Giant Footprints.

Before I could make sense of this, a deep, throaty growl rumbled from the darkness around us.

Then another, and another until the forest grew alive with bloodlust.

Pairs of blood-red eyes blinked open between the trees.

They emerged out from the treeline—their massive frost-dusted bodies prowling around us, lips peeled back to reveal long razor-sharp fangs.

I frowned. "DIREWOLVES!"