"Hahahaha, this is so much fun! Reoul, you can handle the rest. You do want to pass and be free, right? I've stopped releasing my scent, so no more monsters shall come here."

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she said. "I'll be waiting for you," as she flew off, leaving Reoul to confront the horde of monsters nervously.

"I hope she didn't leave me here to fight all of them by myself, right?" Reoul muttered to himself, watching as hundreds of monsters close in on him.

"Right!" Reoul cried out, knowing he had no choice but to continue fighting the horde of monsters.

_______

After a whole day of tirelessly battling the monsters, their numbers were finally reduced. Reoul panted heavily, his muscles burned with exhaustion, while surrounded by the bodies and blood of the slain monsters, the air thick with a foul stench.

At last the remaining monsters were killed by him and Reoul sighed in relief. He collapsed to his knees, panting heavily, his body drenched in sweat and blood. 

 Mina appeared behind him and snapped her fingers, transporting all the bodies into her bracelet, leaving only the guts and blood behind.

"Finally done?" Mina asked, looking at the exhausted Reoul.

"Yes, I am," Reoul replied, recalling how many times he had almost met his demise, his healing unable to keep up with the injuries he sustained. Fortunately, Mina always healed him, though it made him regard her with suspicion.

"Your healing magic saved me more times than I can count," Reoul admitted, casting a wary glance at Mina. "It's almost as if you were expecting me to fail."

Mina merely shrugged in response, a mysterious smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Well it's obvious that fighting so many monsters, getting injured was inevitable. So I had to show my support by healing you. I can't have you die on me."

Reoul opened his mouth to press further, but thought better of it, opting instead to let the matter rest for the time being. Rising to his feet with a weary groan, he turned his attention to the blazing inferno surrounding them.

"That's good. Should we continue forward? People might gather here soon, seeing the large fire around us," Mina suggested, gesturing to the blazing forest.

"Shouldn't you put it out?" Reoul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I see no reason to," Mina said with a cheeky grin.

"Hah," Reoul sighed and shook his head. He saw no reason to argue further once she had made up her mind. 

The both dashed forward away from the fire and runned till they were out of the blazing area. 

"Mina, there's something I've been meaning to ask," he began, his tone a bit hesitant.

"Go ahead," Mina replied.

"How do you have healing magic?" Reoul wondered, recalling how she had healed his injuries earlier.

"I just have it," Mina shrugged nonchalantly.

"But aren't you an attack cultivator? How do you also wield healing magic? That's not how it works," Reoul questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Indeed, it doesn't work like that, but I have it, so no more questions on that!" Mina said, hands on her waist, huffing at him.

"Alright," Reoul sighed, and they both continued on, but suddenly the ground began to tremble.

"Why is the ground trembling?" Reoul asked, looking at Mina.

"Don't look at me, I stopped releasing my scent," Mina shrugged.

"Then what is happening?" Reoul wondered, and suddenly they heard a sudden cry.

"The mountain beast has awakened!" someone yelled, and Mina and Reoul looked ahead to see a mountain trembling, a gruesome dragon-like head emerging from it, roaring furiously.

"I guess that commotion might have woken it up," Mina nervously said, scratching her head.

"Is that a monster?" Reoul pondered aloud, his eyes widening with shock as he caught sight of the large creature. The creature was so huge that it casted a large shadow over the forest floor. Mina then looked at Reoul with a blank expression before offering a simple confirmation.

"I presume it is," Mina replied, her tone calm despite the urgency of the situation.

"Run!" Mina's urgent cry shattered the silence, propelling her into swift motion as she dashed away. Reoul, momentarily frozen in shock, quickly followed suit, his heart pounding with adrenaline-fueled fear.

As they fled, the mountain beast stirred to life, its massive form rising. With a primal instinct driving it forward, the creature fixated its gaze on Mina and Reoul, its intentions unmistakable as it began to chase after them. .

"Why is it only after us?" Mina yelled in frustration as she sprinted alongside Reoul, her breath coming in ragged gasps, due to expending most of her energy in her previous attack. 

"Because you released your scent earlier," Reoul pointed out, his voice strained with exertion as they raced through the dense forest.

"Ahh, Mina's eyes widened in realization, a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I suppose that was rather foolish of me.”

"Now you're regretting it?!" Reoul's exasperated cry was lost amidst the rush of wind and the pounding of footsteps as they continued their desperate escape.

"Hey, don't forget we did get alot of kills as well as points," Mina attempted to ease Reoul’s mind admist the tense situation, though her words fell short of comforting Reoul's increasing anxiety.

"Fighting that many monsters wasn't exactly my idea of a leisurely stroll through the forest," Reoul muttered under his breath,

"It's gaining on us! We have no choice but to fight!" Mina declared, abruptly halting in her tracks to confront the monster. Reoul stared at her in disbelief.

"Fight? Do you want to get us killed?!" Reoul's voice cracked with fear as he watched Mina prepare to face the mountain beast head-on.

"Come now, what happened to your calm and aloof demeanor?" Mina chided lightly, her eyes remaining calm and cold. 

"Who could possibly remain calm in a situation like this?! There's nothing to be calm about!" Reoul cried, slumping to the ground.

"Don't worry, I’ll end this with a single strike," Mina declared with confidence, brandishing her weapon, Kagura, which shimmered with a dark, ominous purple light.

"Kagura, scream!" Mina commanded, as a mouth materialized on the scythe, unleashing a deafening shriek that reverberated through the forest.

As the ground trembled beneath their feet, a trio of people approached cautiously and stopped as they held their ears in pain. 

"This skill!" Ben muttered, his brows creased in concern.

"What is it, Ben? Do you know where this noise is coming from? It's draining my strength," Hyun wondered nervously.

"It's Mina's skill, Scream," Ben replied, his expression grave as he recognized the familiar technique. "If she's using it now, it means she's regained most of her memories. I just hope she can control it."

“Kagura, devour," Mina calmly commanded, slashing her scythe towards the mountain beast before walking away.

"Mina, we have to escape!" Reoul's voice was laced with panic as he watched in horror. 

"Don't worry, Reoul. Everything will be fine," Mina assured him calmly, and she snapped her fingers and immediately the mountain beast was split into two and both half of his body crashed to the ground. 

As the dust settled and the threat was dead.

“Wow," Reoul gasped in awe, before turning to see Mina trembling.

"Mina, are you okay?" Reoul asked, catching her before she fell.

"Are you alright?" Reoul's voice was laced with worry as he cradled Mina gently in his arms, her exhaustion palpable as she leaned into his embrace.

"I'm so tired," Mina admitted, her voice barely above a whisper as she nestled against Reoul, her strength depleted from the attack.

"Let's get out of here," Reoul suggested softly, his heart heavy with concern as he carried Mina away. 

"Is she alright?" Hyun asked anxiously as Ben examined Mina, who laidon a makeshift bed of cloth in a tent. 

A few days ago, as Reoul carried Mina, he encountered three men who immediately noticed her looking unwell. They placed her down to rest, but despite several days passing, she had yet to awaken.

"Damn it, she still doesn't have enough energy. She's still so weak. Senior sister, what happened to drain your energy like this?" Ben gritted his teeth, gently brushing his hand over Mina’s head.

"What do you mean?" Reoul asked, his brow furrowing with concern as he observed Ben's troubled expression.

"My Senior sister always had an abundance of Qi in her body to the point that it was constantly overflowing. But now it's as if the Qi she gathers is being used solely to repair her body. Who did she fight to end up like this? We should have intervened before she left," Ben muttered, lips pursed.

"Ben..." Mina weakly called out, her eyes fluttering open.

"Mina, you're awake!" Ben exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with relief along with the others, a collective sigh of relief escaping their lips as they were relieved to see her conscious.

"What happened?" Mina murmured groggily, stretching her limbs as she tried to sit up.

"You fainted," Ben explained, and Mina looked surprised.

"How many days do we have left until the trial ends?" she asked urgently.

"There's no set time limit. Our goal is to reach the end of the forest, accumulating points along the way," Kai clarified.

"I can't even tell if there's an end, I flew up and all I saw were endless trees," Reoul remarked with a frown.

"This trial is more trickier than I thought," Mina mused, her hand resting on her chin.

"Are you feeling better, Mina?" Hyun asked, gently taking her hand.

"I think so," Mina replied, assessing herself.

"What you did was reckless!" Reoul scolded, prompting Mina to pout.

"But it earned us the most points, didn't it?" she retorted with a cheeky smile.

"I suppose so," Reoul conceded, unable to deny the effectiveness of her actions. But it almost cost them their lives. His own especially. 

"Why the worried faces?" Mina inquired.

"We were worried about you," Kai replied, his expression tinged with pain.

"That's so sweet of you all!" Mina beamed, genuinely touched.

"Mina, your body is still recovering and isn't at its best, so please be cautious and mindful of how you use your powers. You're slowly regaining your memories, right?" Ben reminded her gently, his hand tenderly brushing against her cheek.

"Yes, I am," Mina nodded.

"Then please, don't be reckless, promise us," he implored, as he continued stroking her face tenderly.

"Don't worry about me; I promise I'll be fine!" Mina assured with a thumbs up.

"In that case, I'll trust you," Ben smiled warmly. "We're preparing dinner; Would you like to join us?" he offered.

"

Ooh, what are we having?" Mina's eyes lit up with excitement, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food and she almost drooled. 

"Roasted wild boar!" Ben announced