[center][h2]Kanako Nagasaki[/h2][/center]
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[@Stern Algorithm]
"T-thank you, Miss Catherine!" Kanako said as she bowed towards the teacher. Her expression was brimming with happiness. She was now really proud of herself, thanks to Catherine's praises. She had did well after all!

"Y-yes, I will make sure to rest now for the next test!" she added. She then took a seat on the nearest rock, waiting for Headmaster Kano to announce the start of the next phase.

She didn't have to wait long as soon enough, Kano's voice echoed all around her, explaining how the next test would be done.

[i]A maze, huh? He must be testing us for our ingenuity in using the elements to travel treacherous paths. I-it's okay, Kanako. You just have to stay calm and assess the situation before doing anything. Always think on the best way to tackle the obstacle before leaping forward.[/i]

She then heard the sound of a rock sliding open. The source was the ground beyond her. So there was the passage Kano was talking about.

Kanako approached it immediately as saw how it was just one ladder going downwards to the darkness below. She didn't like this. Darkness always made her uncomfortable, especially if it was combined with tight spaces where wind couldn't flow.

With a gulp, she braved herself and descended down the ladder. She didn't bother covering her short skirt as there was no one down there to look up her panties. And if there were, they shouldn't be able to see anything with the darkness anyways.

Once she returned back on stable grounds, she followed the one way tunnel towards a dimly glowing light in the distance. As she got closer, she could feel the breeze of the wind returning and the fresh scent that followed, making her hasten her steps. And once she reached the end, she couldn't help but feel awed at the sight in front of her.

"So beautiful..." she said to herself, the words just coming out of her mouth naturally.

She was lucky that she had no fear of heights, or else she would probably become paralyzed at the realization on where she was and what she had to do next.

She was standing on a cliff face, and her goal seemed to be the conspicuous outcrop lying around one hundred meters down and to the side on where she was. And the only way to get there was to use the trail of roots leading to the outcrop. Kanako took a look at the roots and after trying to step on them for a little while, she could tell how unstable they were. Should she even take this path, she wondered.

She looked downwards again to the outcrop. With her element, she should be able to float there with relative safety. Better than being caught off-guard by the roots if any just decided to snap out of nowhere.

Her heart beat wildly. But she had to do this. This was how a wind elementalist would do this trial.

She took a deep breath, calming herself down, remembering the words of her mentor. She could do this. She could hover there with her skill.

She then formed her whirling tornado boots once again, before jumping off the cliff face, floating straight to where the outcrop was located.

At first, it was smooth sailing. The wind was not too great and she stayed on course with ease. However, around midway through her journey, the wind suddenly turned violent, as if it wanted her to fall down to the abyss down below. Kanako quickly reacted by manipulating the wind around her, trying to make her own gust of wind to counteract its force. To make matters worse, rain started falling down as well, wetting her face and blurring her vision. As much as she tried manipulating the wind, she could feel she was slowly being overwhelmed. So she decided to hasten her descent, not caring anymore that her skirt was flapping wildly in the storm. Once she landed, flinching as she descended from a three-meter drop, she quickly entered the cave, wanting to protect herself from the violent winds.

"Atchoo!"

She began wringing her clothes after she had escaped the storm. Her entire body was soaked now, and she could feel cold creeping into her body. If only she could manipulate fire too, she could just take off her clothes and dry them off before continuing. But since she could only control the wind, she had no chance but to continue forward with her current soaked state.

[@Zelosse]