It was very easy to recognize his sister as there weren't many who has this long and black straight hair among the group.
Just like Diether, they had the same gray-blue eyes which were probably unique to their family.
As he saw her looking around, Diether was hoping that his sister was indeed looking for him.
However, that doesn't seem to be the case…
"This village looks clean and better than we thought."
"Yeah… Although it doesn't have tall and sturdy walls, they planted a lot of False Ivy in the surroundings…"
"Mhmm… I guess that this is more effective when you are living near the Wailing Forest."
Diether heard their conversation as he got near the group. Based on their words, these plants were used to scare away most of the beasts living around the forest.
It was an interesting discovery.
'So these plants have a purpose other than being a decoration… I might have a use for them in the future…'
He had seen these ivies that were planted around the village but he didn't think too much about it before. It seems that he was truly lacking in some areas in education…
'Sigh~'
Diether wanted to look for the other Hunters who accepted the mission. They were supposed to meet at the northern entrance of the village and will report together with the leader of the Arcanists.
"Alright… Everyone, we need to rest first. We've already arranged for accommodation. You'll be divided into five groups for now…"
The oldest man or probably the leader of the ten Arcanists suddenly gave instructions to the students.
The young students were then lead away by the other old Arcanists while the leader went somewhere else.
Anyway, there was no building that was large enough to accommodate all of the 50 students so they have to be separated in different inns.
It seems that the official trial will still begin tomorrow morning to give them time to rest and prepare for the battle.
Diether moved his feet and avoided the student's path as he silently went to the entrance.
There, he saw the other 14 Hunters and the old Arcanist standing at the entrance. They seem to be waiting for him so he no longer hid his presence.
The old Arcanist noticed his arrival. He was about to say something but he noticed the license card that the young man briefly showed.
"It seems that everyone is here…"
The Hunters heard the Arcanist and found out that Diether has already approached them. They had already heard about him before so they were only a bit surprised seeing that he was truly small.
Some of them had even seen him several times already. After all, the village wasn't that large in the first place.
They had seen this young man practicing under the shade of a tree somewhere near the forest. It was every morning without exception. They had even seen him practicing with another young lady in these past few days.
It was the same with Diether…
'Those guys…'
Eight of the hunters were familiar to him.
'He was the one who wanted the Phantom Wolf's body instead of its core… If I remember it correctly, they called him Leader Wang at that time…'
The other six hunters were also familiar-looking people. He had seen them around entering and leaving the Wailing Forest for the past weeks.
"I'm Jerax McMillan and I'm in charge of this three-day trial in the forest… I won't question your abilities since I trusted that man… Your mission will start tomorrow at around six in the morning."
'Jerax must be referring to Grandpa Orga… They seem to know each other…'
Diether realized that the three-star Hunter living in this village has some level of influence. Even the Village Chief wasn't worthy of befriending this 4th-Class Arcanist from the Royal Academy branch.
"He might have explained to you this job before you accepted it but I just want to make it clear that you don't have to appear in front of the students. You don't need to save them if they are in trouble. What you just have to do is to ensure that no mid-grade or high-grade beasts would come near them… Understood?"
"We got it…"
"So, we won't care even if they're unable to fight against a low-level beast. Very well…"
"That's correct… The Arcanists including me were in-charge of that… If you understand that, then we'll see you tomorrow. Oh, right… Have you prohibited the others from hunting within the outer range of the forest?"
"Yes… Sir Orga already instructed us not to touch or agitate the low-grade beasts in the past few weeks."
"Very well, the forest is large but there would only be five groups for tomorrow… It shouldn't be hard for you people…"
Jerax left the Hunters after saying those words.
After a few moments, one of the hunters spoke.
"Now that he left… I guess we can introduce ourselves to everyone… We'll be working together so it would be better if everyone is on good terms…"
Leader Wang said confidently. He's a good looking middle-aged man and he has short brown hair and deep blue eyes… He seems to be healthier compared to the first time Diether had seen him.
After seeing that no one objected to his statement, he continued.
"I'm Wang Lin, I'm the leader of Eight Thunder Claws… If you have any issues that you encountered within the Forest, don't hesitate to ask for help from me or my brothers…"
The Eight Thunder Claws was just a group of seven 1 Star Hunters and a 2 Star Hunter… They may be considered weak if they fought individually but their strength would shine once they used their 8 Magic Weapons that would complement each other in a team battle.
The other seven in this group had the same surname as him and unlike Wang Lin's calm and kind image, they seem to be proud people. Diether didn't mind that since they have the strength to back it…
The other six Hunters had also introduced themselves and they don't belong to any groups. They were all old 1-Star Hunters who don't have a chance to be promoted to a 2-Star Hunter…
Finally, it was time for the young man to introduce himself.
"I'm Diether Luxford… I'm also a 1-Star Hunter like most of you and I just recently received my License Card…"
They seem to have some questions for him but they stopped themselves from asking as if they were wary of something.
They then talked about the areas that they will have to cover during the three-day mission and agreed on a method of communicating with each other.
Time passed quickly and the day of the trial has finally arrived.