"It is really gone."
A tall woman in a long black coat stood before a massive arched stone pillar that served as a morial.
Her fingers slowly traced a worn corner of the thick pillar, as if trying to confirm that it was truly there.
Her slender jade finger squird thick, black mana into the narrow groove between two nas, coaxing so response from the stone.
Unfortunately, she felt nothing.
"Soone was here recently. I can feel a trace of foreign mana, though extrely weak."
She mumbled faintly, sensing sothing but unable to pinpoint it. That was all she could glean from what had been left behind.
Still, she didn’t seem concerned about investigating further, as it wasn’t really necessary. After all, there was soone who could easily tell her who it was.
’Let’s just ask then.’
With that thought, the tall woman draped in black slowly walked out of the Hero’s Cetery, the sa one Soren had visited before.
Her steps echoed softly against the stone path, cutting through the stillness of the morning.
"Hey, do you know who recently visited this monunt?"
Once at the gate, she spoke softly to the middle-aged guard dozing in his chair.
The sa one Soren had shown his ID to before.
"Hmm?"
The guard stirred at the sound of soone speaking, waking abruptly, only to see a beautiful woman erging from the cetery.
Startled, he imdiately stood up.
"Miss, you cannot enter this place casually. You must first purchase a ticket or have so special identity."
He couldn’t understand why he suddenly dozed off on duty, which had never happened before, letting soone enter without verification.
Anxious, he was about to insist she leave when suddenly he noticed the woman’s eyes going faintly crimson.
The mont he t those gazes, it was as if sothing in his mind snapped.
He froze mid-step, sluggish and dazed, his movents becoming wooden as if under soone’s control.
"Let ask you again," He once again heard her soft voice, calm yet unnerving.
"Do you know who recently visited this monunt? Soone who left a deep impression on you."
The mana she traced was very weak and faint.
Her intuition told her the guard would know, and she was indeed right as he stared blankly for a mont before nodding imdiately.
"Yeah... soone from the Elite Hunter Academy visited this place before. Besides him, no one’s co here in days."
This place was small and remote, after all. The guard, of course, rembered Soren.
"Oh? Soone from the Academy, huh..."
"...interesting!"
The woman’s eyes flickered with a faint trace of nostalgia at his words, only for it to vanish instantly.
Rather, she turned her gaze back to the guard and asked once more:
"Do you know what that person’s na is?"
***
"Okay, listen up, my dear students. Today is the day you all are going to your first Hunting Field for practical training."
Professor Kael Drave, S-rank Beast Tar of the Elite Hunter Academy, stood tall before the assembled students from the three sections in a large open ground.
He was still the sa tall, rugged man with a calm yet commanding presence, the kind that made even the rowdiest students straighten up without a word.
On his shoulder perched the familiar little wyvern, its wings folded neatly as it chirped softly, watching the students with intelligent, glimring eyes.
"I don’t think I need to explain what a Hunting Field is. Just know that the field we are about to go to was ford after the explosion of the C-rank dungeon, Bleachwood Hollow."
Once he felt that every student was paying attention, Kael briefly explained where they were heading.
It was already the next week, and the students now had to leave the City of Fiona as planned.
"After nobody managed to conquer this C-rank dungeon, it finally exploded in the northern outskirts of Fiona, about 200 km from the city, directly changing its environnt in the process."
"Although the hunters from our Academy managed to hunt down the boss monster, the area had already mutated enough to form its own ecosystem."
"So, the place is now called Whiteleaf Forest."
Professor Kael paused briefly before continuing:
"Before, this dungeon was inhabited by Albino Lizards above level 50."
"But now, the monsters you’ll find in the forest range from weak to mid-level. So, you don’t have to worry about being overwheld."
"As long as you remain on the outskirts, you will be safe. Besides, we professors will be constantly on the lookout, too."
Professor Kael finally finished explaining everything.
"Okay, that’s all for now. You will know more after arriving there anyway. Your seniors are already waiting for you all there."
He smiled aningfully before giving the final instruction:
"By the way, I heard you all have been assigned a team by Professor Lyra. If so, please separate into your team formations."
"This ti, we are going to use a very unique thod of transportation, you see."
Professor Kael ordered, signaling everyone to separate into their respective teams on the field.
Since they were in a large open space, it wasn’t difficult for them to do so.
Although confused, everyone began to gather together, arranging themselves in groups of five or six mbers, leaving a certain gap between the other teams.
Along with the regular teams, the twin sisters, Darius, and even Morgan were in the sa team they had participated in the previous competition.
The sa was true for Soren.
"Hey, Soren. What is the professor trying to do? What does he an by transportation?"
Sylvia was a bit surprised by the turn of events and asked. After all, she couldn’t understand why they had to get separated like this.
"How will I know? Just wait and see."
But Soren only rolled his eyes at her. Although he knew what would happen next, he wasn’t an idiot to really say it.
After all, there had to be a limit to what he knew.
*Prrrrrr!*
Fortunately, Sylvia didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as the mont everyone separated into their respective teams, Professor Kael took out a whistle and blew sharply.
The piercing, high-pitched sound cut across the field, imdiately drawing the attention of all the students.
*Whoosh!*
Then ca the sudden, loud sound of flapping wings from behind the huge building, followed by a chorus of beastly cries echoing across the field.
Shadows lood over every student as enormous white shapes cut through the sky, their wings spanning wide enough to blot out the sun.
For a mont, everyone was stunned.
But when the flying monsters swooped closer to the ground, everyone finally realized what they were.
They were Cranes.
Not ordinary ones, but mutated, massive enough to carry ten people on their backs.
And the most shocking part?
Each team had a single white crane landing gracefully in front of them, staring down with an almost intelligent gaze.
Really, as Professor Kael had said, this was indeed a very unique thod of transportation, alright.
Even Soren found himself marvelling at this scene.
---
[Monster: Sky Crane]
[Rank: E]
[Status: Tad]
[Ability: Flight, Enhanced Vision, Wind Manipulation]
---
"Well, well, isn’t this a surprise? To be honest, the Elite Hunter Academy has really been too generous to your batch this ti."
A smug smile tugged at Professor Kael’s lips as he watched the students’ jaws drop in surprise.
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