Their plan was simple. To get a few others who can help them against the ancient knights. The question was who can they trust. Arthur had a few people in mind, but he didn't know how to contact them in the middle of the test.
He hid the fact that he already had a crystal, the copy he got from Jonah, from Ellen as that would make her doubt his intentions. Even though he could pass anytime, Arthur still wanted to get stronger and help his friend.
Even though it looked disadvantageous for him, he was still benefiting from this. The Ancient Knights were monsters he had never fought before, golems of a higher species than the normal golems.
This would mean they would provide him with levels and stats. However, their numbers made it hard for Arthur to fight them alone, so it was good to have people who could distract some of the knights.
"What do you plan to do with that?" Ellen asked as she looked at the giant boar that Arthur had hunted earlier.
"The perfect summoning ritual." Arthur smiled as he threw another group of branches that he had gathered using his skill, Bladeless Wind Storm. He lit a small fire on his fingertip and ignited the wood.
Mana was stronger than any gasoline fuel to burn the wood. A strong fire was ignited before it died down, leaving a trail of smoke, tongues of flames, and embers.
"The smoke is going to give out our location."
"That's the plan."
"What if others come after us?" Ellen was worried but Arthur shook his head.
"They don't need to. If we're still using fire and making food, they would know we don't have any crystals. Why would they fight and waste their energy?"
"Then why are we doing this?" Ellen looked at Arthur as he grabbed the boar's thigh and skewered it using a branch he sharpened. Using two rocks to hold it, Arthur placed it above the fire.
"To summon a person."
"You can't be serious." Ellen was taken aback. Arthur noticed that she was more talkative when she had something at stake. "You hope to get the attention of someone using the food's smell? There are five thousand students!"
"Well, it's a bet with nothing at stake. What's the worst that can happen, that we lose our food?" Arthur shrugged. "Furthermore, I also want to warm up."
Before Ellen could say anything, a growl startled her from behind. She turned with fright as a small wolf, covered ins armor, looked at the food with greed.
"It's the Bullet Wolf." Ellen gaped. "This is bad. This is bad."
"That's a horrible name for it." Arthur turned toward her with confusion. "Why wasn't it called the Armored Wolf?"
As if answering Arthur's question, the wolf lunged at them with unprecedented speed. Despite its small stature, and maybe it was because of its stature itself, the wolf was shockingly agile.
"Careful!" Ellen's hands glowed as she took a stance. The wolf was already in front of them, trying to take down Ellen who was the weaker of the two.
Its maw was inches away from Ellen when Arthur slapped the wolf, sending it crashing toward a tree. Its whimpered spread in the hill as Ellen blinked her eyes with daze.
"Okay, that's a befitting name. It really looked like a bullet." Arthur shook his hand as he looked at the wolf who stood up again.
Its lower jaw was dislocated as its salvia and blood fell on the ground. It looked at Arthur with fear and turned to run away.
"Not so fast," Arthur used Restrain and the wolf fell helplessly. Arthur walked over to it and grabbed it by the throat, one of the few places it didn't have any armor on. "I'm sorry," He whispered as he sent a wind blade, cutting through its flesh until it died.
After that, Arthur stood up and wiped away his hands. He turned to face Ellen, who was still stunned before he pointed at the wolf.
"I don't think we can eat this with how many scales it has." Ellen stared at him silently. It was at this time that Arthur could hear the whistling wind and steam-engine huffing. He smiled as he looked in the direction of the sound. "Our summon is a success. Behold, the air balloon monster!"
From between the trees came a flying spherical object, red in shape. Arthur was conflicted when he felt relieved that this person hasn't been eliminated yet.
Ellen stared with shock as the round person landed a few feet away from them, rolling on the ground. Arthur walked over and looked down on him as he grinned.
"Did you lose some weight, Oliver?" He looked at the red-faced noble young man who was still huffing. Oliver looked back at him with shock before he sprung up and hugged Arthur.
"Brother! I can't believe we met! It's fate!"
"It's your belly guiding you to food," Arthur laughed as he pushed Oliver away from him. "I didn't think you would be the first person to appear for food."
"You talk as if you don't know me, brother!" Oliver ponded his chest in pride. "As long as there's food, I'll be there to beg for it."
"You have… done this before?"
"Yes! I also got kicked away many times, people are stingy these days."
"I can't believe how much I know you." Arthur shook his head. "Well, you can go ahead and eat. We have work to do when you're done."
"Alright, I…" Oliver nodded his head before he gaped. "No, my meat is running away!" He cried in terror.
Arthur turned around to find that the meat he was roasting flying away. He squinted and saw that it was connected to a white thread. It was something that he has seen before but didn't expect he would witness it again.
"Come out, Rae!" He called out. "I have tons of meat. I'll give you most of it if you agree to work together. You don't need to steal."
The meat disappeared into the forest before silence descended. The sound of footsteps then came as a figure appeared from behind the bushed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rae said with a frown. "I didn't steal anything. Did you say something about a deal? I'll listen to you."
"… You're still eating the meat." Arthur said, speechless. "Never mind, I didn't expect you'd still be here. Do you want to take down the Ancient Knights together?"
***
The valley where the ruins of the Ancient Knight were located was filled with students eyeing the plaza. Three crystals floated gracefully in the middle of the ruins, becoming the target of many people's greed.
These were the only ruins that had more than one crystal in the same place. Even though the difficulty was higher for these ruins, the reward was also bountiful. That's why many noblemen gathered their followers to use numbers to secure the crystals.
Their plan was simple. Use numbers to take down the knights and secure the crystals. This team consisted of three leaders.
The first was the second ranker, Trevor Regan, from the republic of Orlan. The second was the son of the ruling Tribe of Thiria, Faron Alsana. The last one was princess Nera of the Yalen royal family.
These three people have used one of the most successful tactics to pass this test, and that is teamwork. There was no rule against teaming with others to make things easier.
However, the resources were few and the fact that the powerful didn't team up with the others made things difficult. Luckily, these people had the connection to bring people together and work to secure enough crystals for those involved.
Whether you were powerful or weak, you need a single crystal to pass the test. This made the weak naturally inclined to work for the strong to gain their protection.
Today, they were planning on raiding the ruins of the ancient knights. There have already been almost a hundred people that passed, making it a lot more stressful to keep the team going. That's why the crystals were given to the most powerful person in the group, Trevor Regan.
They had created a shelter for themselves in a clearing by the forest. As the three were conversing among themselves regarding today's plans, a scout came rushing in to interrupt them.
"What's the matter?" Trevor Regan was wearing a suit even in this place, making him look odd. However, he was still respected by all of these people because of his strength.
"We've spotted a few people near the ruins, sir." The scout said as he regained his calm.
"That's not uncommon." Trevor frowned.
"Yes, but one of them is on the list you gave us, Sir."
"Continue."
"It's the first ranker, Rae." The scout tensed when he saw Trevor's frown deepen.
"Is she alone?"
"No, she's with a few others. I believe they're trying to go after the ruins of the ancient knights."
"She's with others?" Trevor clenched his fists. He had asked Rae to join him but she refused, saying that it was too boring to team up. Now, she was working with others. "Let's move. Gather everyone, we're raiding the ruins as well."