The group reached the forest after walking for about 2 hours.
The entrance is eerie and dark and smoke can be seen coming out from the forest. The trees are black with a tinge of green on them.
"I suggest that you should not enter the forest right now, it's dangerous!" Luis exclaimed when he saw that the group is marching forward without plans.
"Scout the vicinity first!" Achilleas ordered one of the Combat students as it started to run towards the forest.
"No! Don't" Luis shouted but he was too late.
The scout immediately came back crawling as he gasped for air. Luis immediately ran towards the scout and fed him with a pill. After a few seconds, the scout regained his color and breathed normally.
"Thanks, Luis!" The scout thanked after breathing a mouthful of air.
"I told you it's dangerous but you didn't believe me, now we wasted a lifeline because of your recklessness," Luis exclaimed in an annoyed manner.
"What did you feed him, Luis?" Alyssa curiously asked.
"A pill that I prepared all-night for this trip!" Luis snorted.
"Ooh! All-nighter 1, Commander 0!" Serion mocked.
"Shut up Serion! Now, what should we do now Mr. Know-It-All?" Alyssa annoyingly said.
"Each of you takes one of these," Luis said as he handed out the masks he made.
"What is this ugly thing?" Alyssa complained.
"That ugly thing is the only way you can traverse the forest, Ms. Commander!" Luis mocked as he wore the mask.
"I will give a spray for each of the leaders, spray it at the masks after an hour so the poison repellent will be rehydrated," Luis instructed as he hands a spray to Achilleas, then Alyssa, and lastly to Serion while he kept a bottle for himself.
"All-nighter 2, Commander 0!" Serion scored mockingly.
"Shut up Serion or I'll skin you alive!" Alyssa exclaimed annoyed.
They entered the forest and they inhaled the smoke but they haven't felt anything unusual yet.
"How did you know any of these?" Serion asked.
"I asked for information on this forest around which should be the job of the commander but the commander's beauty rest is more important than the mission." Luis sarcastically replied.
"Oh! All-nighter 3, Commander 0!" Serion mocked and Alyssa's face turned red out of seething anger but she kept it to herself because she knows her mistakes.
They pushed forward in the formation Alyssa assigned and Luis has this carefree attitude as he looked around picking some herbs and putting them inside his bag. The combat students were cautious when the black bushes suddenly rustled.
A black bunny appeared out of the bush and it looked to them as it's bright googly eyes gazed at Alyssa.
"That's quite cute!" Alyssa exclaimed as she approached the bunny.
"No! Don't come near it! Earth Manipulation: Earth Spike!" Luis warned and then he cast a spell as a spike pierced towards the bunny. The bunny squealed before it died.
"Why did you do that to the innocent bunny?" Alyssa raged as he pointed towards Luis.
"Before you become furious there, learn to research the foreign place you're going to. Now run!" Luis retorted and ran away.
The group was confused about why Luis suddenly ran but they heard a lot of squeaks that are coming towards them and saw that a lot of red-eyed bunnies are rushing. The group suddenly felt cold as they ran after Luis.
They haven't seen Luis yet but they just ran straight towards the direction where Luis ran.
"Guys come here!" Luis exclaimed from behind a tree. The group immediately rushed towards him.
"Earth's Illusion: Hidden Quicksand!" Luis chanted as a certain part of the ground glowed.
The bunnies rushed towards the area and immediately, they were devoured by the quicksand.
"Earth Manipulation: Earth Spikes!" Luis chanted as spikes suddenly protruded on the area where the bunnies were trapped.
"Yeah! Bunny massacre!" Serion happily exclaimed.
"Why did you kill those bunnies?" Alyssa asked.
"Well, Ms. Naive. Those aren't just bunnies, they are Ferocious Demon Bunnies and 7th from the most poisonous beasts around here." Luis remarked as he gathered the skewered bunnies.
"Boom! All-nighter 4, Commander 0!" Serion mocked again as Alyssa slowly lose confidence.
"So, are you all willing to listen to this dimwit now?" Luis asked while one of his brows was raised and a creepy smile emerged on his face as if he won a battle.
"Okay, I surrender! Now, what should we do?" Alyssa admitted defeat.
"First, look at this map that I got this midnight before concocting tons of antidote," Luis said as he laid the map on the ground.
"This is where we are right now. We need to go to the center of the forest because there's a high chance that the flower will emerge there." Luis pointed at the darker part of the map.
"What are these marks?" One of the combat students asked.
"Good question! That marks are the beast dens, we should avoid them as much as possible." Luis instructed as he brought out a book from his backpack.
"Now listen closely..." Luis instructed as he informed them of every information they needed to know from the beasts to the plants and areas they should avoid.
"Now that you all know what to do, Alyssa take charge now." Luis intently looked at Alyssa as if he's signifying that she should command now.
"Why? You don't want to take control anymore?" Alyssa asked.
"No, it's your job to take charge not mine. I just gave out the pieces of information I gathered but the safety of the group should be in your hands!" Luis responded.
Alyssa nodded signifying that she understood everything. Luis handed the map towards Alyssa while they kept the formation they first had.
Alyssa effectively leads the group as they slay the beasts they encountered. Serion and his group did a great job of detecting natural formations such as Killing and Illusion formations.
The group almost flawlessly traversed the forest with occasional wounds and poisoning but the group's Alchemist is aware even though he didn't sleep at all.
Hours passed when they entered the forest and they reached a very bright pond. This is the only place around the forest that glowed and the landmark signifying that they already reached the center of the forest.
They were about to let go of their defenses when a very loud growl echoed around the forest. Poisonous beasts and birds scattered as loud thumps can be heard slowly approaching towards the group.
A large shadow of a quadrupedal beast emerged from the group of trees. A large paw emerged as a large beast that looked like a wolf but has a very long mane. It has red stripes on its body as its claws glowed in a cyan color.
"A L-l-le le le level 6 beast!" Alyssa stuttered when she saw the glow.
"Damn! I think that is the Black Demon!" Luis cursed as he walked back and forth thinking.
The beast stomped a lot of black trees as it sniffed around the forest. Its size is much larger than the trees. It approximately measures around 15 to 20 feet. The aura it emitted felt majestic as if it signifies that it was the king of the forest and at the same time, a feeling of a dreadful aura can be felt as if it will never spare a single entity who stands in its way.
"Alyssa, do you know how to command in a group battle?" Luis asked.
"I don't know! I'm scared!" Alyssa responded with her pale face and a cold sweat suddenly dripped towards the ground.
"Okay, I will take charge in the battle, I need all of you to show me your powers and skills you were most adept with." Luis calmly instructed as the group quickly reported their abilities.
"Are you sure about this Luis? What if we die?" Alyssa anxiously asked.
"At least we died trying to fight for our lives rather than wait for that beast to take it," Luis responded in a dignified manner.
"I trust you, Luis!" Serion smiled.
"I trust you this once Dweeb! If I die, I'll make sure to bring you with me down to hell!" Achilleas affirmed with a threat.
The other members of the group nodded signifying that they put their trust in Luis. Luis responded with a nod and prepared for a fight.
The beast slowly approached as it sniffed and followed a certain smell that is most familiar with it, the smell of humans. It saw the group of people gathering near the pond. It growled as it approached Luis and the group with glaring eyes as if seeing a human infuriates it.
"Here it comes!" Luis exclaimed as he seriously looked at the glaring eyes of the beast.
The beast growled as it pounced towards the group.
"Disperse now!" Luis shouted and the group scattered into different positions circling the beast.
"Now, it's your fault for messing with me beast!" Luis grinned as he gathered his energy and channeled it towards his palm.