The air inside the Academy Forest was noticeably cooler and heavier than the air at the camp.
Towering ancient oaks with thick, twisting roots blocked out the majority of the sunlight, casting long, ominous shadows across the carpet of damp moss and fallen leaves.
The ten student teams marched in relative silence, navigating the winding dirt paths that led toward the inner perimeter.
A few students crackled nervous jokes to ease the mounting tension, but the ambient pressure of the woods kept everyone on high alert.
Within ten minutes, the group reached the inner boundary a second high thin golden barrier that demarcated the transition from the standard training forest into the Restricted Area.
Beyond this line lay the domain of wild, untamed monstrosities.
As thin as this barrier was the beast from the Restricted Area can’t pass or break it, no matter how much they try.
Julian Frostborne walked arrogantly at the head of Team 2, his posture stiff and commanding.
As he reached the golden barrier, he deliberately swung his shoulder outward, attempting to forcefully bump into Lynx as he passed.
Lynx didn’t even bother dodging. Julian’s shoulder slammed into Lynx’s chest as if striking a solid wall of forged titanium.
Lynx didn’t move a single millimeter. Instead, the force of the impact rebounded violently back into Julian, causing the Year 4 King to stagger sideways three full steps, his foot catching on a tree root before he barely managed to stabilize himself.
Julian’s face flushed red with humiliation. He gritted his teeth, shooting Lynx a venomous glare before leading Team 2 rapidly past the barrier, disappearing into the shadows of the Restricted Area.
Lynx casually paused near the golden line, ’System what’s my current APS point?’
[APS Points: 200,000]
Lynx smiled faintly. His point balance had sat at 180,000 earlier this morning, but after an exceptionally intense, thirty minute session with Eira and Ava before they went to the main hall, his system points had received a massive 20,000 boost.
If he had sex, the higher the pleasure and satisfaction the woman received the more points.
"You sure made an enemy out of Julian," Ophelia remarked, stepping up beside Lynx as she looked toward the path Team 2 had taken.
"No," Lynx said smoothly, stepping over the golden line. "Julian made an enemy out of me."
Eleanor Haleborn and Team 1 arrived at the barrier moments later. Eleanor and Lynx exchanged a brief, meaningful glance, a silent agreement of mutual respect, before Team 1 veered off toward the eastern sector of the forest.
Lynx, Ava, Kira, Lira, and Ophelia stepped fully into the Restricted Area, crossing the barrier.
The atmosphere in the Restricted Area was vastly darker and more oppressive. The trees were twisted and black. The air smelled faintly of iron, ozone, and damp earth.
The five team members fanned out into a loose tactical wedge, their eyes scanning the dense bush.
Not even sixty seconds after crossing the perimeter, a low, guttural growl echoed from the shadow of a massive boulder ahead.
The bushes exploded inward as a massive creature dragged itself into the open path. It was a quadrupedal beast over twelve feet long, covered in thick, dark green scales that secreted a foul, acidic mucus.
Its head resembled a distorted, prehistoric lizard, complete with two rows of razor sharp, yellow teeth and glowing red eyes.
Lynx’s Primordial Vision flared, displaying the creature’s simple panel.
[Name: Twisted Lizard
Class: Monster
Level: 3
HP: 8,000 / 8,000
MP: 3,000 / 3,000]
"It’s just a Level 3 beast," Lynx stated casually, taking a step back and folding his arms over his chest. "Easy warm up."
Ava, Kira, and Lira immediately dropped into combat stances, but their eyes widened slightly as they stared at the massive scale of the monster.
"Lynx, it’s a Level 3 beast." Kira exclaimed, her voice tight with focus. "We studied these in academy. A single Level 3 beast can tear through an entire squad of average Year 2s if they aren’t careful."
Lynx offered them a calm, reassuring smile. "You three have grown vastly stronger over the past week. Stop doubting yourselves. I’m standing right here."
Hearing his words, the girls felt an immediate wave of confidence wash over their minds.
The Twisted Lizard let out a deafening, wet roar, its powerful back legs driving into the earth as it charged forward like a runaway battering ram, its jaws wide open to swallow Ava whole.
"Kira, now!" Ava called out.
Kira acted instantly. She thrust her hands forward, channeling her high tier fire affinity.
A brilliant, swirling orb of intense crimson flame formed in front of her palms and blasted forward, striking the charging lizard squarely in its snout.
BOOM!
The fire explosion rocked the monster’s head back, scorching its thick green scales black and interrupting its charge.
The lizard thrashed wildly, letting out a painful hiss.
Before the beast could recover, Ava lunged forward. Bright blue lightning crackled violently along her arms as she executed her Storm Monarch techniques.
She thrust her palm toward the beast’s exposed underbelly, firing a concentrated spear of pure lightning that pierced straight through its scaly hide.
CRACKLE
The lizard’s body spasmed violently as electrical current coursed through its internal organs.
From the left, Lira materialized like a gust of wind. Her green eyes shone brightly as she swept her hands through the air, forming three razor sharp wind blades.
The pressurized air blades flew through the air, slicing deeply through the lizard’s neck joint and severing its main arteries.
To finish the encounter, Ophelia Dragwyn stepped forward with absolute, practiced calm.
She slammed her right foot onto the earth, triggering her Gaia’s Aegis blessing.
A massive, jagged pillar of solid granite erupted directly beneath the lizard’s crushed head, impaling the creature through its brain pan.
The Twisted Lizard twitched once, then went completely limp, crashing onto the dirt track in a pool of dark blood.
A soft, shimmering wave of ambient essence rose from the monster’s corpse, splitting into four distinct streams that absorbed directly into the bodies of Ava, Kira, Lira, and Ophelia.
A tiny, microscopic strand entered Lynx’s frame, though his massive half million stat pool made the gain entirely unnoticeable.
Ava, Kira, and Lira gasped softly as the monster essence integrated into their core systems. Their eyes sparkled with excitement as they felt their physical stamina and mana reserves instantly swell.
"That... that felt incredible!" Lira squeaked, looking down at her glowing hands in awe.
"We actually killed a Level 3 beast so fast."
Lynx walked over, gently patting Kira and Ava on their shoulders.
"Flawless coordination. I told you that you were ready."
Ophelia looked at the three younger girls with genuine admiration. "You guys did very good. You used your Affinity really well. I barely needed to step in."
"Don’t get comfortable yet," Lynx said, his dark eyes looking deeper into the foggy woods.
"The smell of blood is going to draw out the rest of the neighborhood."
Over the next two hours, Team 3 pushed deeper into the rocky northern zone of the Restricted Area.
The hunts were continuous and relentless. They encountered a wide variety of deadly monstrosities.
Frost Horned Wolves that spat shards of razor sharp ice, Iron Clawed Bears with physical defense high enough to bounce weak hit, and Flame Spitting Serpents that hunted from the tree canopy in packs of three.
Every battle was a grueling test of endurance and skill. Ava’s lightning provided high impact crowd control, Kira’s fire burned through thick armor.
Lira’s wind sliced through projectiles and provided movement support, and Ophelia’s earth manipulation built thick stone barriers to block surprise ambushes.
Whenever the girls encountered single Level 3 or low Level 4 beasts, Lynx stood back, acting as a tactical supervisor and letting them absorb the combat experience and monster essence.
But whenever the beasts appeared in larger packs or possessed deadly, unpredictable abilities, Lynx moved.
During one encounter at 3:15 PM, three Level 4 Shadow Panthers dropped from the high branches, ambush targeting Lira from her blind spot.
Before the panthers claws could reach within three feet of Lira, Lynx vanished from his spot.
He reappeared instantly in the center of the ambush. With a single, fluid sweep of his right arm, Lynx unleashed a wave of pure, golden red fire affinity.
WOOSH!
The wave of intense heat incinerated two of the Level 4 panthers into fine ash before their bodies even touched the ground.
The third panther tried to leap backward in terror, but Lynx reached out, caught the monster by its upper and lower jaws, and casually ripped its mouth completely open with raw physical strength.
Blood sprayed into the air, but Lynx’s passive physical aura created a thin, invisible barrier around his body, causing every drop of blood to slide cleanly off his clothes and skin without leaving a single stain.
Lira gasped, clutching her chest as she looked at the burning ash on the ground. "Lynx... you’re incredible!"
_____
In another sector of the forest near a hollowed riverbed, far away from Lynx’s team, Eleanor Haleborn and Team 1 were engaged in their own fierce battle.
Eleanor moved through the trees like a shimmering golden streak, her purple hair whipping behind her like a comet’s tail.
Her hands crackled with Lightning, each strike auto tracking with Sovereign Thunderclap as beams of concentrated violet light obliterated a horde of Level 3 Armored Boars.
Three more beasts marked by static exploded mid charge before they could even turn.
Beside her, Nadia slammed her fists into the earth. Her strikes hit ten times harder without slowing her down. She didn’t cast shields.
She raised towering walls of infused rock directly from the ground, crushing the beasts and defending herself.
To her left, Rhea moved with surgical precision. A brush of her fingers with Frost Touch froze the mana flow inside a charging boar, locking it in place before her ice blades shattered it.
On the right, Iris was a blur. With Nightwind Step cutting all wind resistance, her attacks landed with zero delay. Her Agility made her untouchable as she carved through beasts in silent, silver arcs, her midnight hair trailing like ink.
Behind them, Layla Solara laughed, crimson hair burning in the air. Ignis Shield flared around the team, turning beasts fire blasts into a wall of heat that barely scorched her. She tanked hits that would’ve downed anyone else, then answered with flames.
Eleanor thrust her palm forward, and a beam of violet lightning erased the head of a Level 4 beast. She paused, breathing a little faster, a bead of sweat sliding down her pale, flawless skin.
"Form a defensive circle," she ordered, voice calm despite the chaos. "Drink your restoration potions now while we have a brief window."
Nadia pulled a red potion from her belt, still panting. "These monsters are way more aggressive than usual... the density here is insane."
"Stay focused," Eleanor replied, purple eyes sharp as she looked toward the northern ridge. "We still have over an hour left."
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