Shall We?

For Alvin and the others, the surrounding Magic Energy was no different. It was the same concentration everywhere. However, Linfel was truly a creature born from energy itself, and Primordial Energy at that. Magic Energy was so much simpler in his view that you would be hard-pressed to do the same even if you had the proper equipment, let alone do it with your own natural sense.

"Stop!" Felia spoke as he came to a halt.

Alvin and the others quickly stopped behind them, not seeing anything ahead. "What is it? Another Flag?" Alvin asked.

*Zush, zush, zush...*

The moment Alvin spoke those words, three of the students still following them darted past their group, entering another open space ahead. Another Flag would be perfect, and they probably were indeed within the first 10 students to get near it. 

To be fair, the Academy Credits didn't matter much to them. What mattered was the score at the end. They all had strong backgrounds, so they didn't need Academy Credits as much as Alvin and the others. Let's not forget that the results of the end-of-the-week Field Exams are what determines the student's Ranks. Class B students wanted to reach Class A, while Class A students definitely didn't want to be demoted to Class B.

In the end, following Linfel's group was truly the right choice... or so they thought.

However, the moment they came out in the open, the ground under them caved in as several mouths tried to swallow them whole!

"Fuck!" As Class A and B students, they were all Level Two Maguses, so they immediately connected to their Familiars and unleashed attacks downwards.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

Brown blood and dirt spread everywhere, covering their bodies. Nonetheless, they truly showed why they were in those higher-ranked classes. One attack was more than enough to dispatch those Level One Magical Beasts, and they were quite on the weak side of Magic Beasts at Level One. This is still the initial area, so you wouldn't find anything other than these Low-Level beings.

Having gotten rid of the problem, they quickly looked around, just in time to see Linfel, Alvin, and Connor near another Flag and already dashing into another passage's direction. At the same time, Linfel spoke in a loud voice. "I told you to stop, but you chose to ignore me. Next time, make sure to hear what I have to say."

These three guys gritted their teeth in anger. Yet, it was true that Linfel told everyone to stop. The problem was Alvin mentioning a Flag, so their greed too the best of them.

*Zush, zush!*

Another two Class A and B students passed by them. There were five of them following Linfel's group, but only three entered the open space. These two stayed behind, having taken Linfel's warning seriously. Now, they are ripping the benefits.

The three remaining ones didn't lag behind, of course. They quickly approached the Flag and once again entered the same Path as Linfel and the others.

'Linfel, how did you find those Magic Beasts,' Alvin asked in a low voice so only he and Linfel could hear. He was still feeling a little scared. Had he jumped outside, he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to deal with the danger like those Level Two Maguses and Familiars did.

'I told you,' Linfel explained. 'It is all about Magic Energy sensibility. Magic Beasts have their own Magic Cores with concentrated magic Energy. Simply put, they look like fireflies in the darkness. It is hard to not spot them. Of course, there is a limit to my sensibility. At the moment, the best I can do is ten or so meters.'

Alvin took a deep breath. It is not that Maguses can't do the same thing. However, they need to be at least Level Three Maguses to acquire the necessary sensibility to do what Linfel was doing. If you were extremely talented, perhaps you could feel Magic Beasts while at Level Two. 'Perhaps we truly have a chance to reach the end of the path and avoid all dangers...'

Linfel looked behind himself and pondered a bit. Those five other students from Class A and B were all Level Two maguses and Familiars. With their extra strength, they could have surpassed Linfel's group and gone ahead a long time ago. Yet, they insist on following his group. It was then that he had an idea and spoke. "Are you sure you all want to follow our group? I believe you all heard the instructor. If you just tag along with another group but have no contribution, your points will be removed in the end."

One of them immediately spoke back. "That's exactly what I did, didn't I? I killed those Magic Beasts for you just a minute ago." As he said that, he took a glance at a camera on the corner of that passage. There were countless of these small cameras in this place. When the instructors said they would be monitored, they weren't lying at all.

The other two, who were also covered in the Magic Beasts' Blood, agreed with the guy. "The same goes for us. The instructors should consider our contributions to be enough."

"In that case, the next Magic Beasts will be dealt with by us," The remaining two quickly spoke. They haven't contributed anything until now, indeed.

Alvin and Connor were truly surprised. Who could have thought Class A and B students would be relying on a group of Class F students? No one would believe them if they said that back in the Academy.

Linfel sighed. But then again, it wasn't like it was a bad thing. "Alright, you can follow us. But we also came here to experience the Magic Beasts. Next time we meet them, leave three or four for us."

"That's not a problem at all!" They still didn't know how Linfel and the others seemed to know the path, but that didn't matter. A high score was waiting for them, and that's what they wanted.

Alvin and Connor, however, didn't look very happy. "Three or four Magic Beasts for us? We are only in two here, you know?"

Linfel nodded. "I agree with you. Judging the strength of the Magic Beasts a moment ago, three or four is too little. However, we can't discard our own safety. Let's first get used to fighting them, shall we?"

"Too... little?" Alvin and Connor wanted to cry, while Felia and Tratil almost burst into laughter.