“The carriages are reinforced,” Zhao explained to three of the auxiliaries. “We’ll maintain a tight formation to take advantage of our lucky fungus’s crystal and… Keep an eye open, we can’t assume there won’t be more attempts tonight…”
They were ready to depart, with only one auxiliary remaining near the clearing’s edge where the carriages waited, when…
“Wait!”
Han shouted while running from nearby bushes toward the last carriage, adjusting his belt, his face red from exertion and his clumsy movements betraying his rush to reach the carriages before they left.
“I’m coming!”
“Finally!” Klein snorted with irritation. “I thought you’d gotten lost in the forest.”
“Hey Han, weren’t you just going to ‘pee’!” Jin smiled maliciously. “Congratulations on holding it so long during battle and in the hole without soiling your pants! New endurance record!”
Laughter erupted in several carriages. Even some of the more serious students couldn’t contain a smile.
The echo of laughter bounced between trees while Han, his face now the color of a ripe tomato, climbed into the last carriage.
“Shut up!” he muttered, though his voice was lost among more laughter when Jin began dramatically imitating someone desperate to find a bush.
“Silence and order!” the snail auxiliary tried to sound severe, though the corner of his mouth curved slightly. “Everyone to your places!”
Ren observed the scene from the front carriage, the mushrooms in his hair pulsing softly with the more relaxed atmosphere. After so much tension, even a silly joke served to lighten the weight of what had happened.
That’s when he saw it again.
A quick movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. At first he thought it was another Shadow Stalker, but the flight pattern was different.
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed with curiosity when he managed to better distinguish the form: a flying beast, but its feathers… had a color that didn’t correspond to any species in the area.
‘How strange,’ he thought as the carriage pulled away. ‘Those markings…’
“Move out!” the lynx auxiliary’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
The carriages began moving, the laughter from Jin’s joke finally fading.
♢♢♢♢
They finally arrived at their dorm…
The creak of the door opening made Liu jump in his bed.
“Who…?” he sat up alarmed, his bat briefly manifesting before recognizing his companions. “You’re back already? But it’s barely…”
“Long story,” Taro mumbled while collapsing onto his bed without even removing his shoes.
Min was already snoring before his head hit the pillow. His water snake coiled lazily around his neck, also exhausted.
“Did something happen?” Liu watched with concern as Ren carefully stored several sealed containers under his bed.
“We’ll tell you tomorrow,” Ren barely managed to remove his boots before sinking into his mattress. The mushrooms in his hair barely pulsed, as if they too needed rest.
“But…” Liu began, only to notice his three companions were already deeply asleep.
Sleep enveloped Ren like a warm blanket.
His body ached from the day’s effort, but it was a satisfying pain. Images of the mysterious bird and its markings floated in his mind as he sank into well-deserved rest…
♢♢♢♢
Some hours later…
A ray of light hit his face directly.
Ren grunted, trying to turn away from it.
Something wasn’t right.
The ray was moving in his eyes.
And there was a shadow…
His eyes opened slowly, his blurry vision gradually focusing on…
The beautiful face of a woman floating right above him, her radiant smile promising pain in his immediate future.
“Good morning, my favorite student!”
Ren screamed, or at least tried to. The sound was muffled when Lin covered his mouth with her hand.
“Shhh,” her smile widened. “Let your companions sleep a bit longer. They don’t have special training today.”
“Tfainfing?” Ren tried to speak through Lin’s hand.
“Of course!” Lin finally released him, only to grab his arm and begin dragging him out of bed. “It’s a perfect day for exercise!”
“But…” Ren stumbled while being dragged toward the door, “we were supposed to return the day after tomorrow! Today and tomorrow should be free days!”
“Oh, dear,” Lin dragged him through the hallway like a rag doll, “did you really think coming back early meant more rest? How adorable.”
“But I’m tired!” Ren tried to resist, but Lin’s strength far surpassed his. “We had a very intense expedition yesterday!”
“More reason to train!” Lin didn’t even slow down. “We must maintain momentum! Besides…” she briefly stopped, her smile turning mischievous, “a little bird told me that a certain student had an interesting role in last night’s events.”
Ren paled. “How did you…?”
“Oh, we’ll have plenty of time to chat,” Lin resumed her relentless march toward the training field. “Between exercise and exercise!”
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed weakly, as if they too wanted to protest. But they knew Lin well enough to know it was futile.
The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, promising a long, very long day ahead.
♢♢♢♢
Ren collapsed onto his bed, every muscle in his body protesting from the brutal training. Through the window he could see his companions enjoying their free day in the gardens.
“At least I can organize everything now,” he mumbled while crawling toward his containers, the mushrooms in his hair pulsing weakly from exhaustion.
He took out his treasures one by one, carefully aligning them on his bed. Knowledge flowed naturally while he evaluated each piece:
First, the cores. The mirror mantis core shone with a metallic gleam, a complete Bronze core, perfectly preserved. Next to it, the Shadow Stalker male’s core emitted a faint purple pulse from the abyssal corruption, but was still a complete core.
“These two are the most valuable,” he murmured while examining them. “Though they’re also the ‘least valuable,’ and the corruption…”
The other cores were different.
The worm’s and the Bark Stalker’s were more primitive, incomplete storage structures.
“These would serve better as process materials than real cores.”
He continued with the skins. Almost a hundred Shadow Stalker skins, some slightly damaged from battle. “With luck about 150-200 crystals each… the best perhaps 250.”
The worm teeth gleamed with an opaque tone. “Resistant as Bronze rank though they’re Iron… interesting.”
The mantis plates reflected light hypnotically. Ren smiled remembering how he’d used them. “The complete set could be worth quite a bit… Shame I didn’t get it at school…”
The Weaver thread Min and Taro had gifted him from their own gathering gleamed with a silvery tone. “Not much, but could be useful.”
The female Shadow Stalker body and male tentacles occupied a special container. “These are harder to value… But I have an idea for their use.”
In another container, the Bark Stalker powder mixed with moss and herbs from its shell. “Good medicine materials…”
The cave crystals formed a small brilliant pile. “These are purer than normal ones, the mana density is better.”
The Weaver molt and deep earth completed his collection.
Ren began making calculations on paper:
Mantis core: ???
Male core (corrupted): ???
Primitive worm core: ~100
Primitive bark stalker core: ~200
Skins (average 200 crystals): ~20000 total
Mantis plates: ~???
Worm teeth (10): ~100
Weaver thread: ~500
Body and tentacles: ???
Vitality powder: ~300
Herbs and moss: ~500
Pure crystals: ~1000
Weaver molt: ~300
Deep earth: ~500
Pure Crystals: ~500
Crystals: ~5000
Total: ~30,000