Exam.

"Everyone, as you probably already know, next week the end of the year exam will begin. This time you will have to go out into the world in search of a specific item. Usually, in this kind of tests, you would be paired with one of your classmates… but the principle decided that this year would be different, you will be paired with students from the genius class!"

Teacher Jiang's announcement was met with silence; there was no shock or any other reaction whatsoever. This batch is genuinely with no care of things like their reputation and honor. It may be why they have better results than any of the previous batches but still...

"As always you can request protection from the Hunters Guild. While on the mission you will be protected by a member of the Hunters Guild, but they will act only if there is no other choice. As for your partner's and the specific goal of your mission, they will be decided today, and I will announce them tomorrow. Any questions?"

"..."

"You can go then."

Marcus wasn't surprised by the announcement, Deon was talking about it for the past week.

"Looks like it will be interesting again. The arrogant genius class will have to work with us to pass the end of the year exam."

"Are there any rewards?"

"Really? Is that all you care about? There are none. Why do you even ask? It's an exam, not a competition."

"Then do we have to do it? I would rather spend that time practicing. And it's not like the academy can expel us for not passing."

"Well the academy can't, but the Hunters Guild can. Other people have to pass the exam otherwise they can be expelled. But the Hunters Guild Training Program participates so we can get better recourses. Our results will be sent to the Hunters Guild, and they will decide how much resources do we get. It didn't happen yet, but if you do especially badly, they can throw you out."

Damnit. He will have to finish it as quickly as possible then. In the past week, Marcus wasn't able to find any good opponents; this caused him to rethink his plan of training in the academy. All of his fights up until now, except for the battle with Xiao Mei, were like a training session with punching bags...

But it's not like there were no benefits for him here. He learned a fair bit, he had a good fight with Xiao Mei, he got a lot of resources that let him advance very quickly, and he acquired his new eyes. Right now Marcus felt that it is time to move on from here and continue his journey.

But that can wait until after the mission. When he learned what he needs to find, at first, he had no idea what Immortal Lotus was used for, but with a quick search in the library, he was determined to get it.

In the shop, for a price of five hundred energy, Immortal Lotus, Dimensional Fragment, a body of a Spirit worm and twenty other items, he can exchange for a body constitution called Everlasting Soma.

It will be a long time before he can actually get it, but it is a goal to aim for. But there was a problem, and it was his partner. Xiao Mei.

She was determined on beating him up, and with her temper, they will end up fighting sooner rather than later. He will have to cooperate with her somehow, or that's what he thought at least. When they meet again she was acting like a reasonable person; she wasn't making any problems or tried to provoke him.

"... now we should decide if we want protection from the Hunters Guild, it will affect our final result, but in an emergency, they will save our lives."

Marcus was still waiting for her to flip out, but from the looks of it, it won't happen any time soon. "I don't think we need any protection, Gods Blood Lake is a week away from here, and with our strength, we can easily run away."

"It may be a week by foot from here, but only if we cross the Breakneck Mountain Range, and its filled with Rank nine spiritual beasts, and if you are really unlucky you can meet Demonic Beasts. So if we want to finish in a week, we need protection from the Hunters Guild, or we go around it."

That's a fair point, but what is wrong with her face? She is looking at him like he is stupid. Just ignore it, ignore it.

Demonic Beasts are Spiritual Beasts that broke through Rank nine, and in a similar way that Humans reforge their bodies, Demonic Beasts evolve with each time they Breakthrough a rank. But what makes Demonic Beast even more dangerous is their intelligence. They stop being beasts that are driven by their instincts and start to think and make rational decisions.

"Let's take the long way then." he didn't want someone from the Hunters Guild following behind him. It will only make it harder for him to fight to his fullest. It will make their travel longer, but it will also give him more chances to fight.

Xiao Mei was perplexed. How is someone so stupid this strong? She talked with him for a few minutes, and she found out that he barely knows anything. How is it possible to know so little and still be able to survive in this world. It's like he was never thought common knowledge.

By thinking they will have to spend next few weeks together, she wanted to kill that guy here and now. It was a big chance for her. Immortal Lotus can help her breakthrough and beat that guy up! And when she becomes stage one Body Reconstruction expert, she will be able to graduate and explore the world!

With both of them having their own goals, they prepared to leave and next week they faced the gates of the city and took their first step towards the Gods Blood Lake.