Imdiately after the countdown stopped, everyone began to move. A map of the area appeared in front of them so they knew where to go. All five regions, moving from different starting points, were headed to Alpha, where they would pass through a door before continuing with the trial.
Shortly after they moved toward Alpha, a thick forest greeted them. Without wasting any ti, they dove in and started moving as quickly as they could.
Before the start of the trial, Klaus and his team had strategized and set plans based on everyone's strengths.
Anna, who had an affinity for both water and ice elents, would cooperate with the other mages to subtly cast all kinds of boons for their team. This was to ensure everyone moved at a suitable speed and that no one would be left behind.
As soon as they started, Anna cast a stamina-recovery spell that imdiately made everyone smile happily. Another mage cast a speed-enhancent spell that boosted everyone's speed, even Miguel, Danny, Daniel, and the other brute fighters on the team.
Klaus and Lily, who were the fastest in their group, took the lead. Anna, their powerhouse for boons, was in the middle, protected by Kay, Kilian, Mark, and the Zhou Twins.
The Zhou Twins were Earth Elental wielders, so they could easily raise defenses to protect their core. On the other end, Hanna was made to stay at the rear for reasons that nobody stated, but Klaus knew.
He only told them she was a sharpshooter, so anything that tried to sneak up on them could easily be dealt with by her.
Anna had given him the strategist role in their team. Nobody questioned his competency, mainly due to his feats and the way he had demonstrated what a leader should be like during the Felin Youth Ball.
He had proven he could devise strategies, so despite being the leader, Anna appointed him to handle strategy while she controlled the execution.
Of course, Klaus knew she just wanted to ensure his image looked good by carrying the team throughout the trial. So, despite her willingness to lead, she made her boyfriend take the helm this ti.
"We have incoming." Klaus and Lily suddenly stopped a few minutes into the forest. "All ice mages should move around the team and prepare to throw so ice bombs," Klaus said, scanning their surroundings.
A few seconds later, hordes of monsters known as Lava Crawlers started to appear within reach. "Attack!" Klaus commanded, and like snowfall in Canada, chilling bombs of ice descended upon them.
"Don't use too much essence on this; they are just Tier 4 monsters, which have weaker ice resistance," he said, noticing how the mages were unleashing powerful attacks.
The Lava Crawlers were centipede-like creatures that burrowed beneath the ground, but not too deep—just a few inches. Earth Elental wielders could have easily dealt with them, but that would require them using too much essence, so he decided to use the ice mages instead.
Of course, he could easily kill them by using the Lotus Flower, but he wanted to see just how powerful the hundred from the Eastern Region were, and so far, they didn't disappoint. Anna didn't even have to do anything this ti.
A little over two minutes later, they had killed all the Lava Crawlers and were on their way.
About twenty minutes later, Klaus and his team stopped moving again. Klaus scanned the area for a few seconds before smiling.
"Archers, on my mark, shoot arrows at this point, that point, and that point," he said, pointing in several directions. Hanna and the other archers on the team stepped forward.
On his mark, they shot the arrows, not knowing what they were ant to do. However, as soon as the arrows were released, their questions were answered.
A trap was triggered, releasing hundreds of flaming arrows—enough to take out a few of them. Everyone tensed up when the trap was activated, but soon thanked their gods they were on Klaus's team.
After the trap was neutralized, they moved again, pushing to gain so ground.
***
The other teams also moved through the forest toward Alpha, and they all crossed paths with the Lava Crawlers without any casualties. However, when they reached the fire arrows trap, so teams incurred losses.
Unlike Klaus's team, who had him with his superior senses, the other teams did not, which led them into the trap, triggering the fire arrows. In the Northern Region team, ten people died by the ti they managed to pass through the trap.
The Southern team also suffered 12 casualties, while the Western team lost 8 mbers. However, the Central team managed to trigger and destroy the trap, saving themselves from an early death. Ella Duncan, their leader and strategist, just like Klaus, had her own way of sensing her surroundings.
As a mage, she was able to cast a spell that enhanced her senses, allowing her to see and destroy the traps before they walked into them.
After crossing the trap zone, they encountered another trap, which Ella sensed and destroyed quickly. After 8 hours, they ca within reach of Alpha. However, as soon as they appeared within 12 kiloters of it, packs of Tier 5 Stone Wolves descended upon them.
They imdiately went into combat that lasted a whole hour. By the end of the battle, they had lost 4 people, which was a huge blow to Ella's ego. She wanted to cross the first mark of twelve hours with a full team, but dealing with hundreds of Tier 5 wolves was more difficult than she had expected.
Since she wasn't about to exhaust herself before crossing paths with their main competitor, Klaus, she didn't unleash so of her more powerful spells.
After clearing the monsters, they quickly made their way toward Alpha.
Klaus and his team also encountered the second trap and so minor obstacles that were quickly dealt with. When they ca within 12 kiloters of Alpha, the wolves sward them, but Klaus sensed them long before they appeared. This allowed him to plan effectively.
Miguel and the brute fighters were deployed to advance, with the archers and mages providing support. As for the swordsn and spearn, Klaus let them handle the spillover.
This strategy helped them clear that obstacle without any casualties or injuries. With Anna's support, they were able to clear it even faster. Klaus didn't even have to lift a finger in the battle.
If he had, they would have cleared it more quickly; however, he knew that would deny others the opportunity to fight as well. Since this wasn't a real-world battle where one could earn experience points, he stepped back and let them have all the fun.
They quickly advanced, and soon they arrived at Alpha, where a very large door stood open for anyone to pass through. Knowing they would be the first, Klaus quickly led his team inside.
"Anna, advance with them. I will stay behind to greet our rivals. Once I'm done here, I will et you all at this point," he said, pointing at a specific location.
"Take care," Anna said, trusting Klaus wholeheartedly. She knew they had nothing to worry about, so she quickly led the team away.
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Klaus, on the other hand, stomped on the ground, and an ice chair appeared in front of the gate. He sat down, crossing his legs as he waited for the other regional teams to arrive.
A while later, Ella and her team appeared, only to be greeted by an evil grin from Klaus.
"Well, well, well, look what the cats dragged in," Klaus muttered, flashing a grin.
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