Dangers I

After Wang Lin's group headed towards the unidentified group of people, the seven remaining Hunters would have to deal with any mid-grade beast that may appear. Luckily, they covered a huge area before the students entered the forest and they won't be moving fast as well due to the number of the weaker beast that they still have to deal with.

These twelve-year-old students also needed to take a rest and restore their Spiritual Energy. Whether they fight against normal beast or wild beast, it is natural for the young Arcanists to use a part of their energy to cover their body for their protection.

This protection would of course result in a slow but constant drain in their spiritual energy…

'Anyway, we already scouted the surrounding area so the Eight Thunder Claws should have plenty of time to deal with the third-party. I hope that they'll return quickly…'

After thinking of this, Diether noticed the grave expression of the other Hunters.

It was understandable… Dealing with mid-grade beasts wasn't easy…

In truth, even Diether wasn't sure whether he could fight against them. The only thing he was relying on was his master and the things he bought from the Apothecary.

For the other hunters, they have definitely prepared for a large number of potions and other support tools in this type of situation…

Although Diether only has a small amount, he believes that it would still last for a while… He was also a bit confident in his footwork taught by his master so he was sure that he would be nimble enough to avoid the dangers in fighting against a mid-grade beast.

"Alright, let's do what we can… If you can't handle the situation send a signal for help…"

One of the older Hunter said.

The Hunters didn't talk too much and nodded at this. They clearly understood his situation.

Anyway, the five groups of students would cover a large area so they don't have the time to just stand here…

They then thought for a while before they decided to head in different directions to observe the movements of the students and scout the path they're taking.

Of course, Diether didn't take long to decide his next move. He immediately headed towards his sister's group to see how she was faring in the forest…

Russs…

As Diether was traveling silently, he heard a rustling sound of leaves on his left and immediately alerted…

'Master…'

Diether wanted to ask if he also heard it or he was just overly sensitive… After all, it might be just the wind.

Well, he was currently the only hunter in the vicinity so he had to deal with any beast that may appear…

It wasn't necessary to kill them and he has a few choices… The mission he received was only to let the students taking the trial to only fight against the low-grades.

If they can just shoo the mid-grade beasts away, lure them into traps to immobilize them, or kill them, it would be up to the hunter…

If you're strong enough, it was normal to think that it would be better to kill a mid-grade beast since you'll earn a lot and there are only a few of them lurking around the outer range of the forest.

Diether held his hand a bit nervously…

'No, master didn't warn me… Then this beast must be weak or not a threat…'

He gathered his confidence after thinking about this and held the shinai confidently.

First, he saw white bones or probably stick appearing from the bushes and soon realized that it was an antler.

After a few moments, Diether saw a young normal beast or probably just an animal that was innocently chewing some leaves while staring at him…

This is the first time that he saw such a creature due to a lack of his education. Reiji seems to have noticed this so he spoke to the child.

"It seems to be a type of deer… and it doesn't look like a mid-grade…"

"Deer… Thank you, Master… I also don't think that it's a mid-grade. I didn't felt the suffocating aura coming from it. I'll just ignore it then..."

Aside from analyzing the aura coming from the beasts, Diether read some things to note regarding the appearance of a mid-grade beast.

It was all found in the book he purchased from Sir Mapan.

For example, a mid-grade Evil Beast like a Scaled Bear had a darker color on its scales, a mid-grade Three-Eyed Viper doesn't have any light in their eyes, a Man-Eating Falcon has green beaks, and a lot of other interesting details about the beasts…

However, the book doesn't contain all information on the beast that has existed, maybe because Mapan only noted the beasts that have some significant value… Apparently, the 'deer' that has appeared wasn't included in the book.

'Alright… I can't waste any more time…'

Diether left hurriedly and went to the path that Aria's group was heading to. He didn't notice that after he left, a large number of similar but older-looking deers had appeared behind the young deer.

They have thicker and darker antlers and a robust body...

They were not releasing any scary aura that any higher grade beasts have and they seem to be intelligent as they slowly and silently advance in one part of the forest.

***

'Did I reveal too much? That guy keeps staring… So annoying…'

Aria thought for a bit after noticing that Alexander was secretly observing her. She honestly got a bit excited fighting against a live target and may have unknowingly revealed the strength of her Arcana…

She calmed herself down and used her dagger to take out the core of the Forest Wolf…

'It is still a long way to go… We need cores that would give us a total of 100 points to pass the trial… If we managed to get a mid-grade beast's core, that would be equivalent to 30 points…'

The young lady thought but she quickly removed it from her head.

Mid-grade beasts were extremely dangerous for rookies like them… Although she was confident with her escaping ability, she couldn't say so for the others… She can't imagine that their group would be capable of dealing with such a beast.

"Alright… We need to rest for now… We can't just rest on the ground so we'll have to find a large tree where we could make a simple dwelling…"

Alexander announced seeing that everyone collected the cores. It was a tough fight for the eight students. He even had to help them in the end.

"Ahh… We passed through a couple of Andrei Trees a few minutes ago…"

"Right! That leaning tree… The one that has thick branches…

"Mhmm… That's a good idea. We'll move after removing any traces of the battle."

Alexander said as he let the two members of his team deal with the aftermath of the battle. They had a common Arcana that can help in cleaning… Although it was useless in battles, it was convenient for removing their traces and cleaning the battlefield.

It would give a lot of inconveniences if they will just let the beast that they killed get rotten on their path. It was unethical and unhealthy…

"Once we restored our Spiritual Energy, we'll continue moving forward and find a good spot as our base…"

All the students including the 4th-class Arcanists from the Royal Academy branch seemed to think that the trial was continuing without any issues…