The groups lined up in front of a gated fence. Many adults Kyrion hadn’t met before stood behind the headmaster, along with a few familiar faces. Kyrion’s group had been outfitted with durable clothes, armor, and weapons made by their team members.

 

“Oh, it’s Leon.” Kyrion hadn’t seen the man since the arena fight. Although he had heard rumors that he was an instructor here. “Anyone know which class he teaches?”

 

“So he really does teach here.” Asela replied in shock.

 

Damian pointed at himself quietly but said nothing aloud. The motion was almost completely unnoticed.

 

The headmaster, Yulon, cleared his throat. “Kids, I’ve gone over the majority of the rule prior, but there are a few more I need you to keep in mind. Each group will be shadowed by an expert rank and a practitioner rank spirit master. Who will step in to protect you If you should be beaten. If they have to do so, your test immediately ends and your point totals are halved. Next up, should you fight another team and win, you gain half of their current points. Lethal force, and attacking a student who has surrendered will get you disqualified. Your leaders have also been provided with a pack containing various tools for exploration. You will be judged on three main categories, hunting, gathering, and teamwork. Doing well shows the various schools watching that your potential is worth a sponsorship. There will be three more tests before the end of your time here. Lastly, may the great spirits give you strength.”

 

The gates opened, and each group was let in one after another. By the time Kyrion’s group arrived, four other groups had entered. The group stepped through the gate, determined to do well. When a familiar shifting feeling passed over them. The world around them turned into a blur, and bodies took on weird shapes as everything settled.

 

Everest looked at Damian with a cheery expression. “Oh, leader! Where do we go now?”

Damian looked down and whispered something to the ground before answering. “First off we need to figure out where the nearest water source is. After that we need to find a place to set up camp. After that we will split into teams of four, one to explore and map out the area, while the other protects the camp. I will...” Damian takes a deep breath. “I will provide further instructions, after doing so. I’ll take Wura, Nico, and Kiara. Noah, you’re in charge of Asela, Kyrion and Everest.”

 

Everest began to raise his voice in protest but stopped after looking into Damian’s eyes.

 

Asela, on the other hand, didn’t notice the subtle gesture. “But I’m the strongest here!”

 

Kyrion looked to his sister, who was starting to fume, which caused Damian to retreat inwardly.  

 

To their surprise, Nico answered. “Someone has to keep an eye on your big brother, and make sure he does not try to run off. You don’t need to be distracted by all the many responsibilities a leader has yet? They have to set up defenses, and make traps, and do a lot of hard boring work by themselves.” Nico explained, in a persuasive tone Kyrion hadn’t heard from them before.

 

Asela looked at her big brother, eyes locked on him with deadly intent. “You best not run away.”

 

Kyrion nodded and felt a bit betrayed by his friend. How did he know I was planning on ditching them for Damian’s team the first chance I got to explore? “I-I would never run away on purpose.” He stuttered.

 

“We aren’t splitting up yet, we need to find a water source first.” Noah intervened, sweat already beading on his forehead.

 

Everest found himself staring at Nico in utter shock before he started to clap slowly. Much to everyone else’s confusion.

 

The group spent an hour wandering around before Wura stopped walking entirely and scanned the area. “I smell a river, but I also smell blood nearby. Tread lightly there may be a predator lurking.”

 

The group stopped moving, and Damian gave them the signal to get information. As they approached the river, claw marks on trees grew more prominent. The group soon heard the telltale sounds of battle going on and decided to get as close as possible without engaging.

 

A squad of small white rabbits was face to face with three wolves. Strewn about were the many corpses of both wolf and rabbit alike.

 

The wolves backed away towards the river as they were slowly cornered.

 

Damian motioned to Nico and Asela, “Hit them with a combined fire attack.”

 

He then pointed to Kyrion and Kiara.” After that Kyrion and Kiara cover us as we move in.”

 

Nico called forth a small ball of fire that took the form of a wolf’s maw, while Asela made it grow in both temperature and size. The flames appeared almost blue in color. The projectile was launched at the center, engulfing the rabbits.

 

Damian charged forward, sword in hand, along with Wura, who had a liquid spear and shield. While Kiara and Kyrion prepared their ranged assault.

 

The rabbits were somewhat injured by the blast. While the wolves were outright slain. Only three rabbits managed to find their bearings and engage the group.

 

Kyrion’s arc of wind struck a rabbit on the right, but instead of cutting, the blade sent the rabbit tumbling onto its back. Its fur redded in a thin line across, but no visible injury lingered.

 

Kiara’s arrow skewered the leading rabbit in its chest, freezing the creature as it passed through. Slaying the helpless critter.

 

Damian and Wura arrived, the former decapitating the still advancing rabbit. While the latter put down a prone rabbit with a thrust. The rest of the encounter was a slaughter as Damian and Wura put down the heavily injured remainder.

 

“Be on guard, more may still be in this area. These rabbits were invading, which means that there is a powerful fledgling rabbit nearby. I suggest we take care of it before settling. Because if we don’t, chances are we’ll be overrun. We have eight hours that we can dedicate to this alone.” Damian whispers again. “We need to find a different spot to camp.” He finished dejectedly.

 

“Were those rabbits awakened?” Noah asked Nico.

 

Nico pulled out a small brown book and read through it before answering. “No, just enhanced. The fledgling monster is probably a ruler class which would account for the rabbits being tougher than normal. They are tougher and stronger than other creatures of their species and have the ability to make those under their banner stronger. So long as we aren’t fully overrun we should be able to handle it.”

 

“Huh. What book is that? I may wan’t need to get a copy.” Noah asked.

 

“You can’t buy this book in particular, but I’m sure I can make one for you when we’re done. I made this one after doing lots of research both here and back home. The categories I made are not 100% accurate, but they are pretty close.” Nico pushed up his glasses as though what he did shouldn’t be surprising.

 

“You made that book yourself? Impressive!” Noah said excitedly. “Pa used to say books are like a hammer for the mind. “

 

“I see…” Nico looked at Noah’s honest expression and sighed.

 

Damian and Wura began to skin the creatures and prepare the meat before starting a small fire. Leaving the meat to cook.

 

“Kyrion, can you climb to get a good vantage point from those trees? Everest, Wura, I’ll need your help making a few traps. Noah, and Kiara I need you two to hide in the brush. Nico, Asela, I need you to refill your mana as much as possible.”

 

Kyrion found a lovely tall tree to climb and got to work. Like a squirrel, he quickly got up there as though it was second nature.

 

Nico whistled. “Asela… are you sure your brother isn’t part squirrel?”

“Not sure…Our eldest brother said he used to climb trees as well. But even he admitted to not being able to get up so fast.” Asela replied bluntly.

They watched as Kyrion moved like a blur up the tree. Rarely using the branches as footholds and gaining altitude at a prodigious rate.

 

Kyrion found himself not alone in the tree, as a man with dark brown hair sat up there, almost hidden from sight. Kyrion pretended not to see him and looked at what was below.

 

Kyrion scanned the area taking mental notes. There was another team crossing the river much further north. A second group far to the east had come across a giant chinchilla made from a swarm of smaller chinchillas. It was only a little larger when compared to the children fighting it but massive by chinchilla standards. South of us was another rabbit attack, headed there from across the river to the southwest. It seems they were going after a boar coated in purple mushrooms.

 

“Bye watcher guy!” Kyrion yelled, hands holding onto the trunk. He slid down, not damaging the bark or his hands with friction.

 

Above, in the tall tree, a man sat confused. Then, with a notebook in his hands, he wrote words, Spotted by Kyrion. “I need to keep my eye on that one, with eyes like that he could….”

 

Kyrion returned and relayed the information to Damian, who asked Kyrion to add it to the map he had started working on.

“This right here is a scouts map. What gets written on one is transferred to the others. They were included among other amenities. I’d like to trust you with this one, considering your ability to see from that far up. It will make getting around much safer.” Damian explained with a goofy smile befitting his age. He covered it up immediately with his hands and looked away. “Go meet up with Nico and your sister.”

 

Kyrion nodded and met up with them. “One moment.” To his surprise, Kyrion had to refill his mana. Climbing the tree took a bit out of him, despite the ease with which he accomplished the feat.

 

By the time he finished, Nico and Asela had been looking over a few of the former’s books, along with Kyrion’s map.

 

“Possibly a spore related creature, If it was alone then its more than likely either a black sheep in its species, one not a pig at all. If it’s the former then it may be a weak fledgling monster, but if it’s the latter we have bigger problems.” Nico wrote a few things in their journal and to their friend with a worried expression. 

 

“Kyrion, we may need to take care of that boar first. If its spirit core is successfully taken, the ruler may reach the lower ranks of practitioner, and its followers will all become fledgling rank at the least.”

 

The bait and traps they set up caught the remainder of the nearby wolves, but no other creatures came. The group then decided to head towards the boar first, prepared for the long battle ahead.

 

After thirty minutes of walking, the group came across a hoard of rabbits covered in mushrooms fighting another group of rabbits. The shroom rabbits were weaker physically but seemed able to take a lot more damage. Upon closer inspection, they began to notice a steady stream of enemies on both sides increasing. Rabbits that died seemed to come back to life with those purple mushrooms growing from them. While the rabbit side seemed to constantly be getting more.

 

 “So… Do we leave the small ones to fight each other or should we intervene?” Noah seemed a bit worried by the large group of monsters.

 

“No need. We should follow the mushroom trail back and keep a good distance. Both sides can’t keep this up forever, and one will give. We need to observe before we act. This time when I give the signal I want everyone with ranged attacks to give it everything we got. Noah I want you to make a wall of hot metal if possible, Wura, I want you to stay back this time. Our goal will be to strike from a distance and prolong the battle. If the creature runs away. Let them go since it means that the rabbits don’t have a chance at the core.” Damian said with a voice of authority.

 

The group followed his orders, keeping their distance as they walked around. Eventually, the group came across a patch of shroom rabbits. Kiara, on orders, shot one of the rabbits with her bow. It was pierced in its chest, blood turning the white arrow red as it pinned the rabbit to a tree. The other rabbits didn’t react.

 

“Why didn’t they move?” Kiara gripped her bow tightly as suspicion and confusion wared inside.

 

Damian looked to Nico, who took it as his cue to speak. “We are dealing with a parasitic monster, since its fledgling rank, its orders are greatly limited. I suspect they were given an order to hunt other rabbits. We should dispatch them quickly. The less the boar has at its command the better. We do not want it getting any reinforcements, if we can help it.”

 

Damian and the others dispatched the shroom rabbits, and the group continued quietly encountering group after group of shroom rabbits, which led to the slaughter of said rabbits. By the time they made it near the boar, they had to take a short break.