Mia and Seraphina moved deeper into the dense forest, the damp earth muffling their footsteps. The mission was clear: steal as many badges as possible before the selection ended. For some, it was about survival. For Seraphina, it was entertainment.
As they stepped into a small clearing, laughter rang out—a mocking, high-pitched sound. Five female cadets stood ahead of them, each clad in pristine military gear, their postures dripping with arrogance. The one in the center, a tall girl with sharp features and the unmistakable air of entitlement, stepped forward, arms crossed.
"Oh, look, girls," she sneered. "A couple of lost kittens. And here I thought we were only competing against real soldiers."
Her companions chuckled, their eyes locking onto Mia and Seraphina's badges like vultures circling prey.
Mia tensed beside Seraphina, but before she could speak, the leader continued, "Let's make this easy for you two nobodies. Just hand over your badges and leave before you embarrass yourselves further."
Seraphina tilted her head, a slow smirk curling at the corner of her lips. "Oh? So that's how you greet people? Demanding offerings like some second-rate street gang? How embarrassing."
The girl's jaw tightened. "We're sparing you the humiliation of losing in a real fight. You should be grateful."
Mia scoffed. "Grateful? For what? The privilege of handing over our badges to a bunch of self-important brats?"
The leader's lips curled into a condescending smile. "You don't seem to understand. We're not asking. We're telling."
Seraphina's smirk widened. "Oh, I understand just fine. You lot are so insecure that you need to gang up on people who aren't even trying yet. Tell me, is it a family trait, or are you just naturally pathetic?"
The girl's face turned an impressive shade of red, her companions shifting awkwardly as they tried to mask their surprise. "You—!" she sputtered before collecting herself with a sharp inhale. "You're insignificant. Both of you. You're not from one of the Twenty Families. You don't matter."
Seraphina let out an exaggerated sigh. "Insignificant, huh? Well, at least I don't need a fan club to feel important. That must be exhausting."
The leader snapped. "Enough! Get them!"
The second the words left her mouth, Seraphina moved.
In a blur, she surged forward, her fist slamming into the girl's gut with brutal precision. The force sent her skidding back, barely catching herself before falling. The others hesitated, suddenly unsure.
Before they could regroup, a sharp buzzing noise filled the air—a drone hovered overhead, its speakers crackling to life.
"Enough." The officer's voice was clipped, firm. "No permanent injuries allowed. Do not kill anyone. That applies to all of you."
Seraphina barely spared the drone a glance. "Oh? How merciful. No murder today. How disappointing."
Mia gulped. "S-Seraphina…"
The officer continued, his tone shifting slightly. "I'd advise you to be careful who you pick fights with. Some cadets here have powerful backgrounds. You might not like the consequences of making the wrong enemy."
Seraphina let out a short, amused laugh. "Oh, really? That's fascinating. So what you're saying is, as long as no one loses an arm or a leg, it's fair game?" She glanced at the girl still recovering from the hit, then looked back at the drone, eyes alight with challenge. "Noted."
Silence.
The officer hesitated, as if realizing he may have said too much. Then, with an annoyed crackle, the drone's feed cut out, leaving the clearing eerily still.
Seraphina turned back to the group, rolling her shoulders. "Now then. Who's next?"
The remaining cadets hesitated, eyes darting between their leader, who was still struggling to catch her breath, and the unnervingly calm girl standing before them.
Seraphina smirked. "What happened? Weren't you telling us to hand over our badges? I'm still waiting."
A bead of sweat rolled down one girl's temple. "Tch! This isn't over!" she spat, grabbing their leader's arm and dragging her back. "Let's go."
' not so fast,' Seraphina said, snatching their badges.
They could only watch helplessly as she took their badges . They were scared to stay there anymore, so they dragged their leader and ran from there.
The others followed, their arrogance crumbling as they retreated, glaring but unwilling to risk another fight.
Mia blinked, watching them disappear into the trees. "Woah… That was amazing! You completely shut them up! And did you see their faces? Priceless!"
Seraphina dusted off her hands. "Pathetic. If you're going to act superior, at least back it up."
Mia giggled, nudging her playfully. "You really are terrifying, JJ. But, uh, we should probably move. I have a feeling they'll try to get revenge."
Seraphina grinned. "Let them try." And with that, she turned,ready to go further.
"Hey, wait let me see how many did they have to be so smug about it" Mia said.
seraphina opened the bag and there were 25 badges inside .
seeing this Mia let out a low laugh saying " pathetic, with this much they dared to be so arrogant are they not afraid of falling from sky and smashing into ground hahahaha"
listening to Mia , Sera raised her eyebrow and said," look at you ,if you are so bold why were you behaving like coward when you met me"
"well , that's because you are my idol who wouldn't be able maintain calm. you should be glad I didn't get heart attack!" Mia said pouting.
Seraphina found her amusing . for the first time she felt this warm feeling, she said to Mia , " well Call me Sera " with that she walked ignoring Mia's shocked expression.
Mia was stunned , when she came to her senses ,Sera has already walked further away. She hurried to catch up and said excitedly " did you just tell be your real name, Oh my god now I can even die without any regrets" " hey , does that mean we are friends now" she said looking at mia with he big watery eyes.
Sera looked at her for second then said with warm smile," Alright , I Sera accept you as my first ever friend. "