An Owl's Rise

With her spoils stuffed in her bag, Evelyn made her way back to the starting location of the second trial where she would hand in her goods and receive a passing mark.

She was one hundred percent sure that she would succeed in completing this trial, as she even had enough to pass twice over and then some.

However, while she was in a good mood from her large haul of valuable items, she was nonetheless staying cautious.

Success bred complacency, and complacency bred failure. So, she made sure to keep her guard up the entire time, having already experienced how quickly things could turn against her when she relaxed even just a little.

If she failed in the last stretch after gathering so much, by either having it stolen or being delayed for too long by another owl seeking her items, it would have made all her efforts for naught.

Therefore, she kept her eyes out and her ears sharp for any sort of threats while also making sure to move cautiously among the foliage to keep out of sight.

'Looks like I was right to be cautious.' She thought.

Waiting around the entrance the clearing where the trial had started and would end, were a few tough looking owls that were either too lazy to go out and gather, had failed in their attempts, or had figured this would be the best strategy from the start.

'I still have a few minutes, no need to rush.'

Waiting around while hiding out in a nearby tree, Evelyn waited for the right moment and luckily it soon came.

Another owl was flying by with not a care in the world. Presumably having completed the gathering of necessary items.

Unfortunately for this poor owl, they were quickly attacked by a group of four owls that had banded together and were guarding this area. Taking whatever they wanted from those who brazenly came by.

Nevertheless, this was exactly the moment Evelyn had been waiting for, and as the other owl was fighting for its chance to complete the second trail, she shot forward at full speed.

She made a quick break for the clearing, and had crossed over half the distance before any of the other nearby owls reacted.

Two of the ones guarding this side of the clearing chased after her, deciding that their allies would be more than capable of stealing the goods from their current target.

Seeing the two owls coming her way Evelyn conjured a bolt of fire and shot it off in their direction.

This caused the two of the to have to swerve out of the way and knocked off their intercept course, putting them just a bit behind her.

They both chased close behind her while trying to hit her with their own attacks, but there was no way that was going to happen.

She had gotten some good experience flying away from stronger beasts that outnumbered her when the three eagles chased her, and these owls were only two.

All she had to do was deftly dodge their attacks, and with her unusually high speed she was easily able to keep in front of them.

Soon she made it into the clearing where the trial had started and would end, and the two owls abruptly stopped in their tracks.

If they entered the area, it would count as them having returned, and without the necessary items they needed to pass which would result in a failure.

Looking back at her pursuers, Evelyn gave them a smug smile, before heading over to the area where the other owls that had passed were waiting.

Currently of the around sixty owls that had succeeded in the first trial, only sixteen other than Evelyn had passed, and time was quickly running out.

At this rate it was very likely that the examiner's claim that less than ten percent of the original participants would pass.

Also, there were still an unknown number of trials left, so it was possible that many more might fail.

'It could easily end up with less than ten of us actually passing. I just need to make sure that I am one of them.' Evelyn thought while looking at her competition.

Though she really did not recognize most of them, but there was one that stood out since she had seen them very recently.

The owl with nearly clear feathers and a splattering of sliver feathers was here as well. Holding her head up proud like all the others that had already come back with the gathered items.

The last few minutes of the second trial soon wound down, and a few more owls came into the clearing.

Some of them had defeated expressions on their faces and it was obvious they had failed.

Still, plenty of them held their heads up high, and by the time all of the owls that could return had. Evelyn counted twenty-four owls including herself that at least believed they succeeded.

Of course, until the final count was done and the resources everyone had gathered were approved, no one could be certain that they would move on from the second trial.

"Well, that is the time. It seems that a number of the participants have not returned, but it is too late for them anyway. Now all of you line up and I will examine what you have brought and determine if you pass." The examiner who is an owl with black feathers like the night sky said.

With great haste the owls that had arrived first lined up, but Evelyn saw no reason to rush to be at the front.

It was not like this had been a race, just a simple fetch quest in all honesty.

'Okay maybe it was not exactly simple.' Evelyn thought remembering her struggles at the very beginning.

"You pass. You pass. You pass. You pass."

Going down the line the examiner would inspect what was in each owl's bag, before giving out a pass or fail and then taking the bag along its contents.

Naturally the first dozen owls that had lined up passed, but on the thirteenth the first failure was given.

"You fail. This magical plant is not of a high enough quality." The examiner said.

However, while the others were all hoping that their items were good enough, Evelyn was left with another problem.

She was not willing to give up the surplus items she had gathered, and so quickly moved to the back of the line where she started rummaging through her bag.

Taking out all of the magically enriched plants and peak fiend beast cores, she stealthy put them away into one of her storage amulets, and left only ten high tier fiend beast cores.

'There, that should do it. If all of my extra hard work was for naught, I would have felt pretty down.'

Luckily, she had stored away what she wanted before it was her turn.

Though as the examiner started getting to the end of the line, all of the owls were getting failed since they did not have the required number or quality of items.

When she made it to Evelyn however, it was quite clear she had high expectations.

"Now show me your bag."

Opening up the bag Evelyn showed her the ten high-tier fiend beast cores which was all she needed to pass.

But the examiner actually frowned a bit, and said, "You pass, but I was expecting more form you than the bare minimum.'

However, before the examiner could move on, the humanoid owl that had seemed utterly disinterested in the trials to begin with, appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Even the examiner was caught off guard, since she honestly did not expect to see who was essentially her boss, show up during the end of the second trial.

"Well now that was certainly an impressive display of prowess and ingenuity. Aldana I was watching this young owl very closely during this trial, and what she showed you was not even half of what she actually gathered. She put the rest, which she certainly wanted to keep for herself, in a storage magic tool."

Hearing this Aldana the examiner was stunned, since it was practically unheard of for a fiend beast to get ahold of something like a storage magical tool.

"So, as the administrator of this year's exam, I am passing her with flying colors right now. From what I have seen she is already more than qualified to join us, and there is no need to test her any further. In fact, I wish to take her as my personal disciple."

The humanoid owl with deep blue wings then looked at Evelyn and smiled brightly, but she could see a certain greed in her eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.

It was a look Evelyn had never seen before, and while there was no malice in it. She felt a bit of fear welling up inside her, as if instinctively she knew her life would be much harsher if she became this owl's disciple.