Stone

"I'm still injured, you know?" Alvin couldn't help but complain as he focused on recovering his energy. 

Linfel ignored Alvin's complaint as they continued to run after the guides. By now, this group of Maguses and Familiars had decreased by a lot. Only around 30% of the initial participants were still following the guides. The rest were dragged away after asking for help in their MCOMs.

If one looked around, one would notice that only Rank A and B class students were still following the guides. Of course, there were some exceptions like Linfel's group. Other ones were Maguses from Rank E and two from Rank D Classes that got lucky so far. As for Rank C, like Alvin's, there were three more remaining.

A few minutes later, Linfelia's core reactivated, and she began to float again. Her ethereal body took form, although it was very faint. That showed just how little Magic Energy she was able to gather. "Master..."

Alvin grabbed her core back and spoke. "Don't waste your magic Energy in your form or floating. I'll carry you for a while, so just recover."

Connor glanced at his back. "I'm the one carrying you, which means I'm carrying both of you, you know?"

"You have no right to complain, idiot." Connor cursed.

Perhaps it was because the last battle was too intense, but their group hadn't met with any other Magic Beasts for the next entire hour. In Linfel's eyes, the guides definitely knew where to find the Magic Beasts, so it was obvious they were purposely avoiding it.

In this hour, Alvin managed to stabilize his Magic Energy while keeping the Magic Energy Receptor full nonstop. It was like Linfel mentioned. Alvin began to get used to it, and that allowed him to manage to even recover some of his Magic Energy while it was absorbed by the Receptor.

The same could be said for Linfelia, although she followed Alvin's orders and kept herself in her core mode only during this entire duration. That helped her to recover a little bit more Magic Energy than Alvin.

The two of them used their Master Familiar Connection once every few minutes just to share their reserves of Magic Energy equally. Linfel could share his Magic Energy, which was plenty. However, he refused to do so, saying that this would impact the meaning of this Field Exam.

Of course, the guides wouldn't avoid the Magic Beasts forever. After running for an hour, they changed direction again. By now, everyone put their guard even higher. No one there was an idiot. They knew that they would soon be dragged into some Magic Beasts' Territory by the guides, but they had to follow them, or their exam would be over.

*Tud!*

*Ouch!*

Suddenly, Connor let Alvin's body go, causing him to fall on the ground. "Hey! Couldn't you warn me? My injuries will open again for fucks sake."

Connor shrugged. "Linfel said that I only needed to carry you for one hour, and one hour has gone by. The fact you fell so easily just shows how you still have your guard down."

Tratil sighed on the side. "Master, you just wanted to cause him some pain, didn't you?"

"That too." Connor nodded.

"I truly don't know why we are still together..." Alvin couldn't help but comment.

"Isn't that because you love me?" Connor asked back with a cheap smile.

"Of course!" Alvin nodded and pointed to the side while still running. "I love you as much as that stone in the mud over there."

Yet, just as Alvin was about to take his eyes away from the mud, he saw it moving slightly. He rubbed his for a moment and paid more attention. Without anyone else noticing, it began to rise, giving him the creeps. He checked the surroundings, and he could see similar puddles of mud just like like this one. They blended perfectly with the environment, so no one paid much attention to them. 

"Careful! There is something strange with the mud!" Alvin didn't take his chances. He immediately shouted to warn all the Maguses and Familiars, who stopped in their tracks and prepared for an attack.

Sure enough, the various puddles of mud exploded, sending wet dirt everywhere. From inside, Magic Beasts, similar to giant worms but with teeth, jumped out, attacking the group.

"Well done!" A Magus from Rank B class immediately complimented Alvin as he connected to his Familiar. Water Element gathered and froze, creating several frozen needles that the guy shot in the Magic Beasts' direction. 

Similar actions happened all around as the Maguses and Familiars took down tens of Magic Beasts similar to that. Alvin and Connor weren't any slower. They also took one each. Last but not least, Linfel got rid of three that were close by. Well, he didn't need to deal with the three. It's just that one of them was close to Connor, and Linfel promised to protect him, so he got rid of that one as well, leaving Connor to fight just a single one.

Connor easily dealt with his Magic Beast since he was full of Magic Energy. As for Alvin, his injuries definitely made him somewhat sluggish. But because he perceived the attack ahead of time, he managed to deal with his own Magic Beast with Linfelia's help.

The guides completely trashed a few of the worms that were idiot enough to attack them as they looked back. If not for Alvin's warning, things would have been more interesting. But then again, paying attention to one's surroundings was part of this Field Exam, so they didn't say anything. "Let's go."

Since everyone dealt with the Worm without any issues, the guides instantly continued to run.

Alvin bitterly smiled. The Guides truly didn't care about everyone's exhaustion. 

"Hey, brother, nice call." A Magus called Soigan patted Alvin before running ahead.

Others also complimented him, making Alvin feel a little embarrassed. "It was just lucky..." He wasn't lying. It was truly luck that he looked in the right direction at the right time.

Linfel smiled, though. "Remember, luck is also part of one's strength. Let's continue." He also whispered in Alvin and Connor's ears. 'And don't forget the report.'