"Now that I think of it, where are your group members Charlie?" I also didn't know where they went. Just as I was about to talk, someone walked in on us.
It was shocking that my group arrived, but the state that they were in was shocking. The three of them looked sick, I didn't know what had happened, but now I saw them, I felt terrible. Sitting with us, they plump their faces on the table. They looked exhausted.
"What happened to the three of you!" I felt a little responsible seeing them in that question, so I asked in a panic.
"After you left, we went to the forest and hunted some monsters. During the monster tide, we got food poisoned and had to rest for the rest of the exam." Trisha gave out what had happened the past few days.
We all gave a wry smile hearing what had happened during the whole event. On the bright side, the effects of their problem weren't as harmful as I thought.
"I'm sorry," Crystal gave me an apology. I didn't know why she did so.
"No, I'm sorry for leaving the three of you."
"That's not it. You did that so you could get us to a higher rank, we wanted to help, but all we would do was slow you down." She said depressingly. It was getting more depressing seeing their faces on the table.
"Should we leave the four of you alone? The four of you should catch up." Tess gave us some consideration and looked at the four of us.
"I don't mind you staying here, Fiona. It's been a while." Elly tried to be as cheerful as possible.
"I hope you get well soon." Fiona prayed. Looking at Elly's condition, she hoped she would get well soon. I left them alone since they seemed like they knew each other.
Hours had passed since the three members of my group had shown up. While Serena wasn't here, Olivia and her group have yet to show. There were still four hours before we all left.
Olivia didn't have many ways to defend herself. I didn't want to think that something terrible had something to her.
Serena was someone who I was less worried about. Her magic could basically do anything that she wanted with enough mana. Unlike Olivia, she had a way to protect her.
While thinking about them, someone came to the school's examination site. I recognized the person who had come.
"Serena!" I yelled out to her, walking toward her. She was alone. Maybe her group was somewhere else. That was what I secretly hoped.
"Charlie." Hearing her words, I felt that she was different from before. The last time we met was two weeks ago.
"How have you been in the past two weeks?" I asked Serena, who was strangely calm.
"I'm doing better than ever." Her calmness was now starting to get eerie.
"What about your group members?" She was alone. Did she decide to go on without her group?
"I asked the teacher to let me do the test alone, and they agreed because the number of people participating was uneven." It would have been understandable if that had happened. There was a variable amount of students to form a group of four.
Talking, we went down and found a seat to take with just the two of us. Serena was so much different from the times that I had met her. It was like her personality had changed during the two weeks she had been away.
I wanted to ask why she had changed so much, but the words couldn't come out of my mouth. I stared at her silently, unable to mutter a word.
"Are you that worried about me? As I said, I'm doing better than ever. My mom made me do mental training, it's very relaxing, so if I seem different to you, that is it." If she was saying that she was fine, there was nothing I could do about it.
"Then, are you done with your training?" If she wasn't, she would be away again.
"There is still a week for me to leave. I will be back after that." She then checked on the time, and seemed like she had something to do.
"Sorry that I have to leave early. I won't be leaving with the rest of you." She moved her face close toward mine, giving me a kiss. ... To think that she would do that in public, what if someone notices?
"Don't worry, I cast an illusion making it hard for anyone to see us do that. It was nice meeting you, Charlie. I will be back in a week." Even if she had changed, I still see a part of her. If she wasn't harmed, then that would be fine.
Watching her leave, I went back to my group. Hours had passed by, and it was almost time to leave. Olivia, where are you?
As I was laminating about her, I could see Olivia and Jenny. Most of my worries were gone seeing both of them here.
Looking at their expression, I could see that they had it rough. Olivia wasn't looking so hot. It looks like she has barely slept for the past few days. Jenny was in a bit better shape, but she was also sleep-deprived.
"Are the both of you okay?" I rushed over to them, checking if they were physically okay. "Charlie, is that you?" Olivia said she was probably delirious. Jenny didn't reply, using my shoulder as a sleeping cushion.
"If you're tired, you can use me as a pillow," I told them both, dragging them to an empty seat. I lend my shoulder to both Olivia and Jenny.
I didn't know what had happened to them, but seeing that they couldn't sleep and the two of them were the only ones left, I could say that something had happened to their group. I hope this experience wouldn't scar them too much in the future.
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