After checking my equipment, I went to meet the Holt brothers for breakfast and discuss the test.
"Hi Erick, where 's your brother?"
"You are finishing checking the rations for the first days of the test."
"Well, since my plan is to focus on the first few days to get an advantage, then we will only hunt for food on the fifth day until then only rations."
"I hope that the last few days the conflict between students will increase."
I wonder if there will be any deaths in the conflict between the students.
"But now the question of our training comes, I have the elementary seed with the attribute of fire and wind, I know that you and your brother have an empty core with the wind element so maintaining mobility will not be a problem anymore, what I don't know is the preference between close combat or the distance you and your brother have. "
"My brother and I have training in ranged combat and closer Sten stands out more using the sword and shield than the bow, since I don't have a preference."
"But how do you know about my core I didn't release my aura in front of you?"
"I felt the wind element moving between the two of you."
I hope he believes that, I was careless.
"So our formation must be Sten blocking the attack route or escaping our target when you and I alternate between the initial ranged attack and the ambush, when there is more than one target Sten draws their attention and we eliminate each one together. "
"What do you think about this? "
"It could be more if we went to do that we should at least bring a spare shield to Sten.
With our formation ready, we went after Sten and a spare shield for him.
After we finished fixing everything we went to the entrance to the Emerald Forest.
We found more than one ready team around Professor Dan.
He waited until the last one arrived to start the race.
"Students hope that you have prepared yourself for the test because if your performance is judged to be below the minimum acceptable for a student you will be expelled from the school."
"Those who receive a good grade will be rewarded. At the end of the test the rank of your year will be decided, the higher the rank the more resources will be available and the greater access to library information. "
"The test had started now and ended before nightfall on the seventh day. Good luck to everyone."
With that, the teams ran into the forest.
I noticed that most of the teams went in a straighter direction to the starting point. I guided the brothers in a horizontal direction towards the entrance to the forest.
Using my mana vision it didn't take 5 minutes to spot two healing herbs hidden in the bush.
After signaling the brothers to stop I collected the herbs and then I leaned our route farther into the forest.
The morning period of the first day was quiet, we didn't even find a magic beast, just a few animals without a core, much to the shock of the Holt brothers. With the quick stop we checked the ardor to eat the rations we started to talk.
"Hey Ulric, how can you find so many herbs, would it take me a couple of days to find so many herbs in a new environment like you did that?"
"Talent and practice I said I had experience harvesting magic herbs, I grew up on the side of a forest."
"But soon we should start to find magical beasts even though we are slowly sinking into the forest, it's been hours since we started the test."
Finishing lunch, we resumed our exploration at a rapid pace .
Our first encounter with a magical boar-type beast. I motioned for us to position.
I shot my arrow in the boar's eye. When he roared because of the pain, Sten caught his attention.
When the boar made its charge against Sten. Erick fired at the boar the moment Sten blocked the boar Erick pierced his skull using his spear.
It was fast and without difficulty and very anticlimactic.
This happens when your prey is very weak. But who wants to risk their life on a school test.
The rest of the day ended with the death of 3 wolves is a poisonous snake.
During the night I found a new mana signature on its core and green, it seems that we started to watch.
With the new day comes new challenges
We found a group of 5 wolves I wanted to retreat but the brothers decided to attack.
I fired my arrow at the back of the wolf with my body amplified by my aura. The arrow was strong enough to pierce its flesh.
Erick's arrow, on the other hand, did not have enough strength to penetrate the flesh of the bad wolf and scratch the wolf. Sten managed to hurt the one of the wolves plus the idiot is surrounded by 4 wolves now.
I shoot another wolf to incapacitate him as the first but I only managed to hurt him and he invested him in my direction.
Erick joins his brother against 3 wolves using his spear sweating he pierces the wolf, but with that his shoulder was pierced by the fangs of another wolf.
Coming towards me, I directed the wind element to cover my sword. I avoided deviating to the right. I pierced his neck with my sword, killing the wolf. I ran towards the brothers only to find 3 dead wolves and Erick with an injured shoulder and Sten collecting the nuclei.
"So how 's the Erick shoulder?"
"Shit goes Ulric."
"Nervosinho"
I took medicine and bandage to close Erick's shoulder.
After treating Erick and recovering the cores I complained to the brothers.
"Why did you insist on moving forward when it was clearly risky to face 5 wolves?"
"Relax Ulric, we can handle the wolves."
"You were lucky that the damn wolf aimed at your shoulder if he aimed at your leg, agent would be screwed. With the injured leg, it would impair the mobility of the group for days. "
"The greatest strength of our team is mobility, we are quick and silent compared to other teams, we kill a little at a time so as not to waste time and avoid danger, this conversation is already a waste of time that I didn't want to have. Let's go!"
With that I believe that Erick was annoyed, but he who broke the agreement before Sten said nothing more I think he agrees with me.
During the rest of the day we avoided some groups of magical beasts that would be risky but I got more magical herbs.
In the next few days it was an efficient hunting routine but when it came to dusk on the fifth day we prepared two roasted rabbits because our rations had run out during lunch.
We had prepared our camp in an aria with few trees, but having two trees so that we could climb to escape in case of an attack.
When the meat finished roasting we had a hot meal, but I put out the fire the moment the meat was ready and after eating I already researched the aria around to see if we attract any animals.
For a change we are lucky not to attract even a group of magical animals .
But that luck ended on the morning of the sixth day we came across a pack of at least 22 wolves.
We barely managed to retreat without being noticed anymore when we retreated I saw another group of noble students heading towards the wolf pack and I won't even tell them what I'm going to do and enjoy watching the nobles fight for their lives.
The group of nobles was formed by 6 male and 4 female students. I see that the group has two magicians, one of them and a man with an element of fire and a woman with the element of earth and water .
I've never seen a wizard fight before. I'm really curious to see the combat magic of a beginner wizard.
When the group of nobles approached the wolves, but they were unable to prepare themselves before being attacked by them.
It was comical to see the faces of some nobles, you could see the dread on their faces, but most were used to being surrounded by wolves. They made a circular formation with the magicians in the center to protect them, although their movements are my own, they are fighting very well.
But the wizards have not yet made their move
The injuries of the noble group started to accumulate a bite here a scratch there and of the 10 noble 3 they could no longer fight.
The wolves, on the other hand, had some permanent casualties, but 16 wolves were well prepared to eat a noble meat.
But the fire mage decided to make his grind by holding his wand he aligned his two stars in the center of his core and energized them with his mana and then directed the mana flow from the stars to the wand that strengthened the fire element. The firing of a fireball aimed at the wolves but unfortunately for the magician, the wolf closest to the fireball managed to dodge was only scorched slightly.
The fire mage was very effective in irritating the wolf, but he must be more careful with his aim.
Being insulted by the 3 disabled warriors, the magician loses his cool and starts kicking the warrior closest to him. I really wish I could hear their conversation, but I will have to be content to see a silent show.
Over time the nobles began to gain an advantage in combat, the main contributor was the land and water mage she used her magic to protect her companions using it to break the impulse of the wolves, instead of throwing water or a stone at the wolves she destroyed the grass around her group by creating a small circle of mud that impaired the mobility of the wolves.
It didn't take long for the combat with the wolves to end, but the status of the nobles in the end was out of mana, 2 warriors are too wounded to continue the test and 4 more warriors with sufficiently serious injuries that will hinder them for the rest of the test.
Only two nobles were tired, but whole, I saw two examiners approach the group, but they stopped as if they were expecting something.
I was confused until I realized that they were waiting to see my group attack the nobles.
I am not going to attack the nobles because I do not profit from it, their group has already left the competition even if they have more points than my group they need to divide them into 10 parts and they will not be able to hunt properly anymore.
I doubt that we can steal them without hurting ourselves to get cores that are likely to be worth less for being stolen.
I signal the examiners to screw and retreat with my group, unfortunately I couldn't see their faces.
I go back through the forest after magical plants and magical animals.