After eating his breakfast early in the morning, Aeon went back to sleep.
The battle the previous day really took a toll on his body, and he just felt tired during the morning. The best way to recover, of course, was to sleep.
Aeon was dreaming about chilling in a hot spring with lots of girls feeding him different kinds of fruits. Basking in richness was just great. He was even laughing in his sleep. However, his peace was suddenly interrupted. He was woken up by the commotion made by his other classmates at noon.
Aeon rubbed his eyes as his head poked out of his tent. He was about to shout at the people to tone it down. However, when he saw the scene, he forgot about why he was grumpy and he suddenly felt curious.
As always, the area near the center of the camp had lots of people. The only difference today was that, probably, except for the five of them who searched for the Galaxy Flower the previous day, everyone was there. Aeon could not help asking himself if the commotion was about what Klaus said earlier that day.
Aeon's question was immediately answered.
He heard Klaus' voice as the noises from the crowd died down. If Klaus was right there, then it could only be the update regarding the list.
At that moment, Suri's head also popped out of his tent. It seems like he also took a nap. Aeon beckoned Suri to go and move towards the center with him. The two tidied up and went to join in on the fun.
"What do you think the update is all about?" Aeon asked Suri.
"Oh, this is about the update?" Suri replied as he rubbed his eyes. He was still sleepy and tired.
Aeon tiptoed in order to see through the crowd. Indeed, the list has been changed. It had more details about wanted items. "Yep! The list is packed with words now instead of just pictures."
"Are we hunting for some more?" Suri asked. It was good training, so he would probably not say no.
"Depends on what we get from these new 'details.'" Aeon said as he squeezed through the crowd. He left Suri behind since he knew that the person would never be able to pass through.
Contrary to Aeon's expectations, Levi was already at the forefront. He was carefully examining the text in the new poster. When he saw Aeon, he smiled at him.
"Are you going to hunt for some more, Levi?" Aeon asked.
"Probably," Levi responded curtly.
Aeon started going over the details too. It truly was much more informative. Except for its name, the properties to be observed, how to handle the item properly, and where the items would most likely be found were also listed. Moreover, there was a count right beside each name that corresponded to the limit of items that would be rewarded.
Seeing that there was much more light in searching for the items, Aeon thought that it was possible for them to rake in some more gold coins. He turned towards Levi. "Who are you going with this time?"
"I'm still not sure," Levi replied as he finished reading through the list, "compared to yesterday, we're going to have much more competition. And, as much as possible, I would like to maximize the profits."
Aeon scratched his head. What was this person talking about? He didn't ask for such a long answer. In the end, he could only nod. He did understand that having more competition means that in order to increase their chances of getting something, they needed to move deeper into the forest. They needed to search for the area where there were fewer people.
Levi was completely oblivious about Aeon's thoughts though. He was now sitting down and looking over at the map, trying to take note of areas where the items could potentially be found. Suddenly, he felt himself elevate then move backward. He looked back and saw that Aeon was carrying him by the collar of his shirt with one hand. "What are you doing?"
"Let's have a meeting with the group!" Aeon said cheerfully. The crowd immediately made way, seeing the two.
"Oh. Okay."
Just like that, the two groups teamed up again.
….
"Here are the potential spots we should search."
Levi laid the map down in the middle of the circle made by the five members of the group. The map had several circles, and each circle had a corresponding number. The number determined, in percent, the chances of finding an item there. Although they were only rough estimations, Levi wrote down several details that proved to them they were not baseless conclusions.
Seeing the amount of effort Levi put in, the members of the group were amazed. It was a given that there were many smart people in their batch. But without Levi, they probably won't have one. It was lucky for them they had someone like him in their group.
The group discussed several things. Like what kind of magical beasts should they expect from the area or on which spots could they take advantage of in order to win a fight.
Ultimately, the group decided to go look for a rock type item. The item was called Blue Rift Stone.
In general, rock type items could be found anywhere. But the most common place it could be found is within a cave, where minerals are rich. This was common knowledge. The Blue Rift Stone, however, was a deviant. According to the list, it is mostly found in swamps.
The group prepared themselves to fight some reptiles. It wasn't so bad compared to the baboons who moved in troops.
There were several swamps in the forest, and the one they chose was relatively far from the camp. Their motto was the most common one when it comes to gambling: the higher the risk, the greater the rewards.
Obviously, the group was right. The question is, could they survive the challenge?
….
"Are you sure this is the right decision?" Dan asked Klaus inside his tent.
Hearing Dan's words, Klaus did not even look up from the report he was making. He casually replied, "You do know that getting more help would make our work faster."
"Yes, but does it need to involve endangering the students?" Dan asked in exasperation. Clearly, he thought that divulging more information about the items they needed would push the students to enter dangerous areas. This would not be a problem if they have done this before, but now that they were understaffed, they couldn't help all of the students if they all encounter danger at the same time.
"If they can't even handle magical beasts," Klaus stood up, "then they are not worthy of being Fria's students. Moreover, I am simply doing this because I am forced to."
With this said, Dan could not respond. The task of searching for the items actually fell on him and Merell as Klaus supervised the camp. Two months were given to them to look for all the items on the list. Sadly, two days in, they haven't even found a single one yet. On top of that, some other students found one before they could.
When Klaus said that he was forced to, he was simply sugarcoating the fact that someone else was more capable than Dan and Merell. If it was Montis he was talking two, Montis would have said that he was forced to because he and Merell were useless.
As D-ranked mages, Dan and Merell's capabilities were still limited. They were fresh graduates from the previous batch that applied to work in the Academy. And, in order to hide the fact that they were desperate for the items, Dan and Merell could not search for an item at the same time. One of them must remain in the camp. At random times of the day, one of them would leave. And if that one returns, they would switch.
Covering up the fact that they were concocting something with the items was still the top priority. Lucky for them, the items they were asking to be searched for were innately beautiful items that could pass as luxuries. The students who did not study alchemy may not think about them being for a greater purpose.
Dan excused himself from Klaus' tent. After he got out, he ground his teeth. He was hell-bent on proving his worth as an academy staff. He would take all the items in the more dangerous areas.
He silently went over to Merell's tent and informed him that he would be embarking on a long trip deep into the forest.
….
Later that day, Aeon's group departed. They didn't really need to prepare for much since they would be getting their food along the way anyway. The only thing they needed to look for earlier was a container for the stone.
The path they were taking was practically the same as yesterday. They just needed to cross the river into the other side. A couple of kilometers in, they would see the swamp. One of the reasons why they also went for the swamp southeast of their camp was because the other swamp was directly east, towards the heart of the forest. And they wanted to avoid the creature with the loud roar as much as possible.
Nothing much happened along the way. Any aggressive beast they encountered was immediately slain regardless of size. The coordination between the five developed as they traveled. They also built a certain level of trust, despite not acknowledging it fully.
Their journey was long and unpredictable.
But one thing's for sure.
"We seriously need some insect repellant," Aeon said after slapping his nape.
….