Ronan’s foot slid the mont it touched the ground, the uneven forest floor shifting beneath him as the loose soil gave away.
He adjusted instantly, planting his other foot and lowering his center of gravity. It was just enough, and he stabilized quickly, not drawing much attention to himself.
Around him, several students were not so lucky.
One boy fell on his back outright, being teleported on top of a large boulder. Another student collided with him from behind, tripping over a root that stuck out from the ground like an annoying weed.
But most of the students quickly regained their ground, analyzing the area around them.
The air was thick.
Not suffocating. It was humid in a way that stuck to the skin, making it itch. Heat pressed down from above, but the large trees and canopy blocked out most of the sunlight. The next thing that registered was the sll. Damp earth with a slight tallic sll underneath it. Comparing it to anything was difficult, as Ronan had never really slt anything like it before. It slled wild, natural.
Thin strands of mist clung low to the ground, weaving between roots and fallen branches like sothing alive. It wasn’t thick enough to obscure vision, but it blurred the edges of things just slightly, making distance harder to judge. Every shape beyond a few ters felt less defined, as if the forest itself resisted being fully understood.
A low rustling ca from their left. It was subtle, but distinct when compared to the other sounds made by the insects and natural environnt.
Several heads turned.
"Everyone, hold position."
Darius’ voice ca out, cutting through the scattered, unorganized movent of the students. While he didn’t have absolute authority in class B, he had enough that after a mont of hesitation, students gathered closer, instinctively gathering around the commanding voice.
"Do not spread out just yet," Darius said. "We don’t know the terrain."
Elara moved next. She stepped closer to him, reestablishing herself as second in command. A lot of students bristled at that, but they didn’t argue. Elara’s vice leadership wasn’t sothing the class agreed with completely, Darius had insisted.
Her eyes moved quickly, taking in the surroundings.
"The area is too tight," she noted. "If sothing cos and attacks us, we will trip over each other. Staying so close isn’t efficient. We should split into groups and scour the area."
Darius nodded, agreeing with her assessnt.
"Spread slightly. Look for a good place to create base. That is our primary objective. Split into groups of 5-10 and gather information."
Class B adjusted once more. People liked having a plan, and the quick leadership was already making the two look better in the eyes of the class B students.
Another rustle.
But this one sounded different.
Ronan glanced at where the sound ca from, but he turned his attention away, going back to observing the terrain.
The terrain was good, and the parasite could erge in this type of terrain, but the problem was that it was very ambush-prone. The heavy trees, strong sll, and lack of real light made it easy for people to sneak up and spy.
That wouldn’t do.
If class B decided to take refuge here, he would have to direct them away.
"Did anyone hear that?" a panicked student yelled.
"Yes. Do not panic."
Elara’s voice was stern, but there was a hint of unease behind it as well as she turned her gaze towards the area where the sound ca from.
The leaves shifted.
And three shapes erged from the trees.
Low to the ground. Covered in fur. Practically leaking mana.
Their fur was coarse and dark, blending in well with the environnt. Their eyes caught the slight amount of light, making it look like they were glowing as they inched closer to the group, no fear in their eyes.
Mana beasts.
Only Tier 1 from the looks of it, but mana beasts were tricky.
Their strength far surpassed humans, and even tier 2 mages could be overpowered physically by them.
If you weren’t careful, they could rip you to shreds. They were not to be underestimated.
"Form up," Darius ordered. "Casters behind."
He pulled sothing from his bag. It was a small cube, golden with black engravings on it. The mont Darius channeled mana into it, the cube expanded into a massive shield.
"Stay behind . I will hold them off."
The beasts didn’t rush imdiately.
Their bodies lowered as they spread out, circling.
Ronan saw students shift uncomfortably, despite the number advantage.
It made sense. Sure, a lot of these students could take care of these beasts on their own, but most had never even seen a mana beast before. A lot of them were sheltered, thinking they would only really have to learn magic for political reasons.
The first beast lunged.
It didn’t go for Darius; it lunged towards the left instead, going for where the formation was the weakest.
Darius side-stepped, intercepting the attack. The beast bounced off his shield, and Darius kicked it once, sending it flying back.
The beast didn’t stand a chance. Darius was a tier 2 mage, even if he was only in the initial stage. He could take care of all three if he wanted to.
But notably, he didn’t.
"Attack!"
The students behind him, seeing how swiftly he took care of the first beast, were now a lot more confident.
Two casters stepped forward and raised their staff. A massive ball of fire and a pressurised stream of water went flying towards each beast, and they were unable to dodge.
The impacts landed cleanly.
Fire engulfed one of the beasts mid-lunge, its body twisting violently as the flas clung to its fur. The sll hit almost imdiately – burnt, acrid, mixed with the already heavy scent of the forest. The second was struck by the pressurized stream of water, the force alone enough to slam it into the ground with a sharp crack as it skidded across the dirt.
The third didn’t hesitate.
It imdiately ran away, limping slightly from the water attack.
The other two didn’t last long.
One tried to recover, claws digging into the ground as it pushed itself up through the flas, but a follow-up strike from the front line ended that attempt quickly. The second, still reeling from the impact, took a blade to the neck before it could regain its footing.
Darius lowered his shield slightly, though he didn’t dispel it. The golden surface dimd as the flow of mana slowed, but it remained active, just in case.
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