[center][h2][color=gold]Gil[/color][/h2][/center]

Once the student hopefuls had all arrived at some desolate ruins of a respectably sized city, the Head Master herself finally decided to arrive. She, alongside Ellie and one of the people who tried to start a fight the previous night, stood before the students and explained how the exam would work. Gil had four and a half hours to get through these ruins, but he also had to find a tarot card before reaching the exit. The card wouldn't just serve as a pass, but also would determine who Gil would be matched with later in the Academy. As Ellie took her sweet time trying to heft a large starting pistol, Gil looked over the ruins one more time. [i][color=gold]This city isn't too large. At a brisk walk it would only take probably an hour to cross with all this rubble, so surely the time limit reflects more on the challenge of finding the cards.[/color][/i] As soon as the shot was fired several students, in fact a large number of them, bolted in various directions into the ruins. [i][color=gold]Rushing through won't afford any advantages. If I have so much time I should use it wisely and focus on finding a tarot card rather than getting through.[/color][/i]

To that effect, Gil waited a brief moment by Aria and company to see if anyone else was going to go sprinting by. Once it seemed the rush was over he rested his hand on his gun again and began walking into the ruins. [color=gold]"See you on the other side,"[/color] he spoke up rather casually to the Head Master in what could be easily attributed to either confidence, arrogance, or ignorance. Depending on perspective. Many students entered the ruins in a fanned-out fashion, so Gil figured it would do him no harm to just go straight towards the exit. By moving at a casual pace he would be able to soak in details better and search more accurately. Once he had a tarot card he would be guaranteed entry into the Academy, so that was the primary focus. It didn't take long for him to find something interesting but it most definitely wasn't any kind of card.

As Gil crossed a largely intact intersection, surrounded by not-so-intact buildings, he saw four floating metallic spheres. [i][color=gold]Those seem man-made. Drones of some kind. Are they here to watch us or are they here to interfere with us?[/color][/i] The answer was made clear when all four drones finally noticed Gil and simultaneously launched their electric darts at him. The teenager didn't hardly have time to react but it seemed he didn't need to. One of the darts landed firmly in his right arm but Gil quickly realized it wasn't a tranquilizer. It was an electric charge, likely intended to stun the victim. Something that would have no effect on Gil. [color=gold]"I see..."[/color] The four drones began floating closer at speed, probably intending to ram into him as a better method of attack. But now Gil was prepared. He moved his hand away from his holstered gun and held both of them rather loosely in front of himself, pointing all of his fingers towards the incoming drones. [color=gold]"If robots are my only threat then I should probably thank the Head Master later."[/color]

Electricity cracked along Gil's arms in coils, before suddenly all four drones had bright arcs of electricity shoot from within to link directly to Gil's fingertips. The display lasted hardly a split-second, resulting in the four drones falling out of the air and harmlessly to the ground. They had been drained of all their power and shut-down, leaving them completely intact but perfectly disabled. The coils of electricity around Gil died down, but sparks would continue to occasionally crack in the air around his body. [color=gold][i]I can't expect drones like these to be my only challenge. I'll use the energy they gave me and continue charging, just in case. Considering we're supposed to become Chasers then there might even be Youkai in this wrecked city. Can't just use them for a charge.[/i][/color] Gil rested his hand on his gun again and continued onward, leaving the deactivated drones behind. The Lightning Cowboy had a tarot card to find.

[center][h2][color=gray]Erisa[/color][/h2][/center]

The young Flower Spirit was interested by the exam put forward by Aria. It was like a large-scale scavenger hunt. Erisa had learned of games like those from the first humans she met. But it seemed they had to find some kind of "tarot cards of the Minor Arcana", something that she had never heard of before. Odds are they were something that would seem to not belong in the desolate ruins of an old human city, so if it stood out enough she would surely find it. The idea of finding the special card seemed appealing briefly, just as an excuse to spend time with the vampire and fellow Youkai Head Master, but Erisa couldn't eat sweets. She couldn't really eat food to begin with. The only thing she could ingest aside from water was pure sugar. While the doughnuts seemed quite sugary they still would be a terrible idea to try and eat.

Either way, once the search had begun with the boom of a gunshot, Erisa broke into a jog. She didn't go straight forward, but instead to the left somewhat. If they had to search the whole city she figured it would be best to head north, or what she thought was north, and work her way south before heading to the exit. As she ran she reached into her quiver, drawing a black cylinder that clearly wasn't an arrow. It was actually her special bow in its compact form. At the press of a button on the side it extended fully, proving to be quite the large weapon. It was actually taller than Erisa was, though it wasn't like that was much of an accomplishment.

As the silver-haired girl trekked further and further into the ruins she began to feel a bit... sad. Try as she might, there was absolutely [i]no[/i] plantlife nearby. She couldn't feel even a blade of grass in the city. What had befallen such a place as this to not only exterminate the humans and the architecture, but also the plants? As unsettling as it was she felt like it could be compared to a desert, in a way. Inhospitable, though this wasn't by nature and instead by [i]something else[/i]. Erisa wasn't alone with her thoughts for long before something fired an energy bolt at her, barely missing and hitting a wall nearby where it left a searing mark. She turned her attention to the direction it came from, finding a humanoid robot holding some kind of laser rifle. Or perhaps it was that FLUX that she had heard about? Either way it seemed menacing and already tried to hurt her. As she jumped out of the way of another red bolt, Erisa drew back the drawstring on her bow. A white light formed into the shape of an arrow already notched, her Zetsu becoming her ammunition. When she released the string and let loose her attack, she was a bit disappointed to find that the robot was tougher than it was tall.

The Zetsu arrow struck it square in the chest but shattered on impact, completely failing to break through the drone. [color=gray]"Oh wow. This thing is [i]tough[/i]. But what is it though? It's shaped kind of like a human..."[/color] Erisa wondered aloud, jumping backwards over the seared wall and using it as cover as the robot opened fire again. It would fire once every second or so, continuously pelting the wall with whatever kind of fire-based ammunition it was using. Erisa couldn't tell, but it was also moving around, working its way to another angle to get a shot on the girl while using suppressing fire to keep her from checking. [color=gray]"I guess I'll have to hit it harder. I don't think it will let me get close enough to use my Twin Dragons, so I have to fight it from afar... Why did it stop shooting?"[/color] Erisa peeked around the wall, looking to where she had last seen the drone. Not only had it stopped firing or making noise at all, Erisa had absolutely no idea where it went. There was so much rubble and broken buildings and ruined cars and the like. It could be hiding anywhere. It would seem the combat AI in this drone was smarter than Erisa. [color=gray]"Uh-oh..."[/color]