When the clock hit 8:30 AM, Alex and his teammates arrived at the meeting point that was agreed on yesterday. They were the last team that arrived.
"You guys sure took your time getting ready, we have been waiting," Amelia complained as soon as she saw Alex.
"Stop that, we have only been here for 10 minutes or so. These are my teammates, we are called the Nior team." Sara's team was a well-balanced team of strong individuals. 2 female red badges, 4 male blue badges, and 6 female brown badges.
"We are the Aegis team. Hello, we met yesterday." Lenny said. Lenny's team was also strong, he was the only red badge there, with 5 female blue badges and 6 male brown badges.
Alex was the only one that stood out the most here as he was the only orange badge student amongst them.
"We are the seraphim team," Alex announced. The members of the Nior team and Aegis team were a bit unsure of Alex's presence. They all felt like he was going to slow them down, but since their captain didn't say anything about it they decided to keep their opinions to their selves.
['It seems like Andrea lied to me. How are there red and blue badges in a team?']Alex concluded.
['You can decide to meet her and talk about it when you get back.'] Lex said.
['No need for that. She doesn't owe me anything, nor do I owe her. It would be better if have no contact with each other.'] Alex made up his mind to forget about her. He wasn't hurt or angry at her lie, it just reminded of how deceitful people can be.
"I have already taken permission for everyone so we can head to the school's exit and be on our way to the mission's location," Sara announced. They took their time in getting to the school's gate.
"From here on, we would be sprinting at the speed comfortable to the majority cultivation realm, and that is the nascent realm. We would take a break for 30 minutes after every 3 hours till it's dusk. Then we set camp for the night and rest till its daybreak. If we follow this schedule then we should reach the Agelong forest in one and a half-day." Sara told them about her plans.
"Are there any objections?"
"Would he be able to keep up?" A guy from the Aegis team asked and pointed at Alex.
"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. I wouldn't drag you guys down." Alex answered through his teeth.
Angry at the fact that he was considered a weakling, his drive to get stronger only increased. He had spent most of last night absorbing blue ECs, he was desperately trying to increase his.
Alex absorbed most of the blue ECs that he had left in his ring and unfortunately for him his cultivation still didn't increase. He was very tempted to absorb from a green energy crystal but decided against it.
He knew that if he did that, even if it does help increase his cultivation, his energy crystals would be expended before he knows what's going on. Alex had already noticed that he absorbs way more energy than the average cultivator needs to. Now he hopes to find something more potent QI than energy crystals.
"You heard him. Now let's move out." Sara ordered and the running started.
-Whoosh!!
Alex started to run.
-Ping!!
*User is running at an unnatural speed for a human.
*User's speed at the moment: 80km/hr.
*Heart rate: Normal.
He ignored the notifications from his mask.
…
They have been running through a green valley of mountains, for the past 2 hours now. Everyone else had it easy while Alex was sweating profusely, he had been struggling to keep up with everyone else. As he said, he wouldn't drag them back and he did his best to do so. The QI in his core was almost reaching its lowest.
Almost everyone present was surprised and impressed to see That Alex was keeping up with them, even as he lagged sometimes. The top of Alex's uniform was already soaked with sweat.
['Alex, you should switch with Xander. That way the burden will be reduced.'] Lex said.
['No need. Do you see any of them using anything other than their cultivation to run? I can use the fire bloodline power to increase my strength but I won't.'] He ended the conversation with his Alternate personality.
Camron reduced his speed and ran at his friend's pace.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked in a breathy voice. He puffed his cheeks and exhaled from his mouth. What he was using was a breathing technique that had been helping him throughout the sprint.
'Two steps inhale, three steps exhale.' He had been chanting these words in his mind.
"I just thought that you needed company," Camron answered.
"I said that I wouldn't drag anyone back. You are not helping, continue with the previous speed that you were running at." Alex said sternly and continued chanting his breathing mantra in his mind.
Camron refused to do as his friend asked him to. They ran side by side for a while before Sara joined them.
"Why are you also here?" Although Alex found it hard to speak properly and breathe at the same time, the frustration in his voice could still be heard.
"When you said that you could take of yourself I didn't know that you meant it. You are doing very well keeping up even with your cultivation level. But if you are left to continue like this, you might pass out so let me carry you on my back." Sara suggested.
Alex only turned his head and glanced at her for a second, he didn't give a response to her suggestion. "If you don't give me an answer then I will take your silence as your approval," Sara added.
"I don't need you to carry me, it's only a few minutes till its break time. I will regain my strength during that period."
-Shoosh!
Alex forced himself and increased the speed at which he ran, he joined the rest and ran at the same pace that they did.
…
Finally, it was time to rest. Alex dropped to the ground, breathing heavily and trying to catch his breath.
"Alex, are you okay?" Sara asked as she sat next to him. She brought out a sack of water from her storage pouch and handed it to Alex. He collected it without a second thought and drank to his fill. "Thanks." He said as he handed it back to her.
Alex brought out several blue energy crystals, both low-density, and high-density crystals, and started to absorb them to replenish his energy.
"A rich kid." Amelia who had been watching from the side commented in jealousy. But no one could blame her, who didn't want energy crystals. They all needed it to boost their cultivation, and here was Alex using it to recover his strength.
To them that was just a waste of ECs, they were all jealous.
After resting they continued their journey, and Alex still didn't fall behind or slow them down.
They continued like this till the sun started to set, then they set camp and resigned for the night. Alex spent half of the evening replenishing his energy.
…
The sun had risen and they were already on their feet running towards their destination and then they arrived before it was noon, right on schedule.
"Finally, we are here." Drake rejoiced.
Right in front of them was the entrance to the Agelong forest, with tall green trees and happy birds singing.
"The reason why this forest was named Agelong was because of its unique nature. Be it, winter, autumn, summer, or fall the trees and plants in this forest remains the same. The forest that doesn't age." Camron voiced out what he had read about the forest.
"Okay everybody, let's take a short break then we would discuss how we would distribute the tasks," Sara said.
A while later they all sat down to discuss how they were going to distribute the task.
"Okay guys, here's my suggestion. Every earth elemental cultivator will be burdened with the task of drawing and outlining the topography of the forest till its 1000th-meter mark, as they have the natural advantage for such type of work. According to the objectives of the mission, we do not need to go any further than that." Sara revealed what she had in mind.
"Then a few people will be out on the lookout for any potential danger," Amelia interjected.
"And the rest will be out searching for plants that can be used as an alchemy ingredient. The higher the potency of the plant is, the higher the reward that is given. The reward for every ingredient you scout and retrieve will be for your team only, it will not be shared. Does anyone have any objections?" Sara asked.
Nobody spoke up after she had waited for a while. "Okay, good. I hope everyone can respect these simple rules that we have agreed upon. Time to get work everyone." She concluded the discussion with that.