243 Outing [7] Veronica left shortly after their conversation, while the night passed in what felt like a blink of an eye. Ss quickly jumped out of his sitting position and walked outside of his tent.


    Looking around, Ss caught the gaze of almost everyone. He quickly realized that he was thest person to leave his tent, so without much concentration, he swiftly packed everything within dimensional storage.


    It didn''t take long for everyone to have their breakfast. Most people ate small rations that they could keep in their storages without any problems. Looking up, Ss wiped the corner of his lips and narrowed his eyes.


    ''This direction... Wait. I didn''t ask which forest we''d go to. The one around the academy isn''t necessarily filled with beasts that we would have any problems killing. It''s a pretty low-tier forest that is safe for all the new students. On the other hand, we would steam roll through that forest with ease, even the weakest of us...'' Ss stroked his chin.


    Everyone on the expedition was a 4th and 5th year student. Yet, even the 4th years wouldn''t have many problems in the forest next to the academy since the strongest beast there had a ga core.


    Ss'' pace quickened as he dashed past the students before him. Some looked at him with annoyance, while others looked at him with temporary curiosity, wanting to know why someone would pace toward their group''s leader like that.


    "Leader," Ss spoke from behind Mr. Faldro, who seemed to have been enjoying a cigar until he saw the green-haired boy.


    "Want a puff?" Mr. Faldro asked nonchntly.


    ''He''s usually a lot more angry or agitated.'' Ss inwardly thought before speaking his mind.


    "Where are we going exactly?" Ss cocked his head to the right as an innocent smile blossomed across his face.


    "Kids these days. Don''t listen to anything." Mr. Faldro sneered, the agitation he always showed around students quickly returning the moment he stopped smoking the cigar.


    ''Maybe if I get him one of those, he''ll stop being such an ass to me.'' Ss contemted.


    "We''re going to a forest for you guys to undergo your tests. Our group''s job is to collect resources. Their group''s job is to collect the beast''s cores. I''m assuming you understand the rest." Mr. Faldro sighed and took another puff.


    "I understand that. My question is a little more exact. Which forest are we going to? From our current direction, we seem to be moving toward the south-east direction." Ss pointed out.


    "110 degrees, to be exact. Hmm... If this whole cksmith and alchemist thing doesn''t work out for you, you''d make a pretty good scout. Maybe even a good navigator if you choose to sail the seas." The beer-bellied man let out a boomingugh from the pits of his stomach. The students around couldn''t help but look toward him with frightened expressions before their fear turned into worry.


    "I appreciate thepliment." Ss chuckled while cing his hands behind his back.


    "Though, I must point out that you''vepletely avoided my question yet again." Suddenly, his emerald eyes narrowed dangerously.


    "Oh. My bad." The manughed again before pointing in a certain direction. "You see that tree." "Yes?" Ss raised a brow and looked at the brown tree.


    "It''s bing slightly darker, but the leaves are just as bright as before. It doesn''t make sense, right?"


    11:49


    right?"


    "What does this have to do with my queston."


    "Mana-rich trees tend to have darker barks than normal trees. The phenomena can also be seen in trees found in colder areas. However, the leaves have remained the same color and shape, indicating no decrease in sunlight and heat. Where do we see such a-"


    "dia..." Ss muttered, confirming his previous assumption.


    "You guessed pretty quickly." Mr. Faldro put the cigar to his mouth and breathed deeply before coughing out augh.


    "I wonder if its the sam as I left it." "What was that?" The man beside Ss asked, his body leaning closer to hear what Ss said.


    "Nothing..." Ss sighed, memories slowly flooding into his mind like a tsunami.


    ***


    ---dia---


    Within the forest''s depths, hundreds of soldiers wearing the armor and emblems of the Xylem kingdom could jump from one tree to another, their eyes scouring the forest for anything peculiar.


    Within the forest''s depths, hundreds of soldiers wearing the armor and emblems of the Xylem kingdom leaped from one tree to another, their eyes scanning the dense woods for anything unusual. The forest of dia had always been an enigma, a ce where thews of nature seemed to bend and twist. For the soldiers, it was a mysterious and unpredictable terrain.


    Even magic didn''t seem to work the same within the forest. Many who had reached the forest''s center were known to have either gone crazyter in their lives or would simply never be seen again.


    Some say that the mana in the center is thick enough to form a natural diamond core, which is why so many people don''te out alive. Of course, the military doesn''t actually need to scour the entire forest. They just need to make sure the part of the forest the students would be in doesn''t have too many dangers.


    "Captain. The soldiers haven''t reported anything about dangerous animals nearby. However, there seems to be evidence of some dangerous creatures being around. We found the feces of what we assume is an earth bear." A soldier with little to no hair spoke, his back straightened before his captain.


    "Hmm. How strong do we believe this creature is?" The captain asked.


    "Most likely within the topaz to the amethyst range. That''s what its size tells us." The man exined.


    "I understand..." The captain stroked his chin beforeing to a decision.


    "There''s no need to worry about it. If you haven''t found the bear, then it won''t be much of a problem. It''s quite huge after all. I doubt it can just hide in in sight." The captainughed.


    "That''s true, captain." The soldier nodded and was about to salute and leave his captain to his own thoughts; yet, that''s when he saw a certain individual emerge out of the shadows of the woods.


    "L-Lieutenant Skrk!" The soldier immediately saluted. ------------------


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