“Gueehhh!”
“That’s disgusting!”
“I can’t hold it anymore.”
Nathan took a deep breath. It wasn’t as bad as he imagined, but a lot of people actually threw up.
“If you have calmed down, please leave the platform right away.” It seemed that this was just a normal occurrence. In fact, the moment they were done, the person guarding the teleportation circle summoned a fish-like humanoid creature to spurt out a huge amount of water to sweep everything clean.
Another teacher was waiting right in front of the teleportation circle and shouted, “Please wait over there with the others. Don’t go anywhere because we’ll start the moment all students are here.”
To Nathan’s surprise, Selena appeared out of nowhere to meet him. “Mhmm…”
“What?” Nathan frowned.
“Do you want to have a competition against me?” Selena asked with a solemn expression. Nathan had once rejected to partner up with her, so she wondered if the opposite thing would work.
“Competing against you?”
“Yes.” Selena nodded. “If my score is higher than yours, I want to know more about Lilith. I want to know what kind of item might be able to summon her.”
“What if I win?”
“If you win…” Selena tilted her head in confusion. “I’m sorry, I haven’t thought about it. You previously increased the bet on the opposite side. So, I guess you can ask me anything, even if it involves money.”
“So you can move your family’s money now?”
“No. I’ll just work to earn some money to fulfill your condition. That’s why I might not be able to give it to you immediately, but I’ll fulfill my promise.”
It was a rather tempting challenge. With their current strength, he had about a 40% chance to win. After all, he had absorbed a lot of proto-class cores before coming here.
Besides, there was something that he could ask from Selena. After some careful thought, Nathan agreed to the proposal. “Alright. Let’s do it.”
Selena’s eyes brightened. Even though she wasn’t a person who showed a lot of expression, Nathan could still feel the fire burning in her eyes. She was ready to crush Nathan with a complete victory.
“It seems that all of you are here!” Jason shouted while standing on top of the platform. “We’ll immediately begin the event. Tevlan Forest is northwest of this village. You will be able to see it from here, so go there at your own pace.
“For the next seven days, you’ll survive inside that forest. Once the sun is set on the seventh day, we’ll immediately bring you back to the village. Remember, this is the first day.”
After giving that speech, Jason jumped off the platform with a nonchalant expression.
“Eh?”
“Have we started yet?”
“They are not bringing us to the forest?”
“Which one is the northwest again?”
“Is that the direction?”
“I could see some trees in that direction!”
All of a sudden, August and Rudeus ran in the same direction, heading straight to the forest. Their actions caught the attention of the students around them.
“That is His Highness Rudeus.”
“August is also heading in the same direction.”
“Not good. They are having a head start!”
“Hurry up!”
A mass panic occurred as they stormed outside the village, leaving Selena behind.
Yes, only Selena, who hadn’t gone yet. She looked around, noticing that Nathan must have gone together with the others. Hence, Selena dashed at full speed, trying to catch up.
The four teachers were standing side by side.
“Hoho. There they go.” An old man chuckled. “There are a lot of students this time. I wonder how many points they will get during this event.”
“That is true, especially since there is one interesting student.” The old lady that activated the teleportation circle smiled.
“As expected, you also notice him too.” A woman the same age as Jason smirked.
“Of course. The first one to react is that kid, and he is able to discern the hidden task in this test. I’m interested in this kid.” The elderly female teacher grinned.
“Whenever they are going on a mission, the most important thing is to have enough information, especially from the locals. That kid is doing it right. If I’m not wrong, isn’t that the kid who summons a beast?” The male teacher mumbled.
“That’s it. I want that kid to be my student.” The female teacher stepped up. “Even if you two are going to fight me, I’m going to be his teacher. I’m also curious about how he is able to summon a beast instead of a humanoid familiar.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Jason opened his mouth, sweat covering his forehead.
“Teacher Jason? What do you mean? Do you think just because you are the homeroom teacher of this guy, you have the right to stop me from taking this child as my student?” The female teacher gritted her teeth.
Jason looked away, his face showing a clear fear. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t do that unless you want to become a fertilizer.”
“…”
As the teacher said, the first one to dash away was none other than Nathan. However, Nathan rushed in the opposite direction. Yes, instead of going to the forest, Nathan actually moved deeper into the village.
The first thing he visited was none other than the tavern of the village.
Nathan’s expression turned solemn while thinking, ‘Teacher Jason told us to start at our own pace, so this didn’t break the rule.
‘In fact, I felt like he was prompting us to realize the clue.’ Nathan rubbed his chin before he heard the friction of the spoon against a wooden bowl.
“Oh my. A student? I saw that your friends are already going to the forest, are you not going with them?” The middle-aged staff smiled while placing the bowl.
“Thank you. The teacher told us to go at our own pace, so I might as well get something to eat first before going there since I definitely won’t fill up my belly with good food for a while.” Nathan chuckled.
“Hahaha. What a polite child.” The staff chuckled.
“Aunty, do you know anything about the forest? I’m a bit scared.” Nathan asked, showing an innocent face.
“Hmm. The forest, huh? I should be the one asking you. What does the academy call the forest this year?”
“!!!”