Rushing ahead in this kind of environment wasn't a very smart thing to do. Just as we have seen earlier, other teams would scramble to get in each other's way.
Without a sufficient defensive counter, it would be wise to slow down the pace in order to avoid such unnecessary clashes.
However, our team doesn't need to slow down since we already have a way to traverse this battlefield.
Concentrating on the path in front of me, I continued to guide my team forward ahead of the ambush lines and zones.
'...One from the top left..and one from the other side..'
I quickly noticed the various teams hidden from the dark shades of the forest floor. Some were even using the branches as an alternative pathway.
Having realized the obstacles in our way, I chose another path away from those sly bastards.
As soon as I turned to the right, the two teams up ahead visibly reacted in agitation. I also kept my attention for a while until I couldn't see them anymore.
'So far so good but it wouldn't take long now..' I reminded myself.
There was always a possibilty that the teams we avoid would give chase so my help wasn't really absolute.
Although Sophia ensured that the chances of any team chasing us would be really low considering that this is a time limited test.
No team has any time to concentrate on fighting other teams.
Most probably, this kind of setup would only occur at the starting phase of the test. Such is why, I should maximize my eyes for a little longer.
The sounds of our footsteps rang out from the eerie air surrounding the dark environment of the Westwood forest.
The noise from the earlier battles have slightly diminished and only the sound of our breathing could be heard.
My two teammates also haven't been making much noise ever since we started this test and that's because it was an extra precaution that Sophia suggested to increase our stealth.
In addition, Shin Yua has also deactivated the small light orb that she casted a while ago. It was planned ahead that she would ditch using that light once we were a significant distance away from the other teams.
The only thing that's not seperating us in this dark forest was the faint pink glow my goggles were emmitting.
It was the perfect trail for them to follow since it wasn't that bright nor too dark to notice. Only when one was near me would they notice it.
Hence this tactic would only work when I was In the lead guiding the team, there were also back up plans that Sophia made but I'm pretty sure we won't need it at this point of the test.
My only worry now would be how long I would last.
'...There's not much I could do. I just need to hang in there a little while longer until we get inside the middle area of the forest..'
More specifically, the Marionettes' Webs.
-----
"Tch! damnit!"
A man angrily smacked the tree that his team was currently hiding in.
"All of this was a waste of time!"
He bellowed. His other two member looked at him awkwardly, not knowing what to say to calm their leader down.
"Well...their pathfinder must have a skill that could detect us even with my passive skill [Hide Presence]"
Another explained while scratching his cheek.
"You're useless!"
"U-useless!? you're the one that wanted to do an ambush. I mean why even at this point would we do this? We should have at least done this further ahead you idiot!"
"You bastard! I'm the leader here"
"So much for that!"
The two continued to argue while the last member just shook his head in exasperation. He didn't even bother to break up their fight.
Although his eye widened when he saw a silver light fly towards the two in destructive speed.
"You two! watch out!"
He warned them but it was useless as the spear impacted the ground. The two arguing men got blown away as their defensive spell broke which teleported them out the test.
"Shit!"
Taking a fighting stance, the last remaining man in their team brandished his axe towards the direction of the silver light.
But upon closer look, it was a silver spear.
The man then heard a man jump down from a branch and as he got closer, the man's eyes widened in shock.
After a few seconds, a look of resignation was plastered on his face as it seemed that he had already given up.
The spear thrower then took the silver spear stuck on the ground as he pointed it towards the man.
*Shing
"Sigh...I guess we failed huh.."
Feeling the preassure from the spear pointed towards him, the man accepted his defeat. There wasn't much that he could do against someone like him.
"Brian Silvious.."
Looking down on the ground, the man was still for a minute or so until he suddenly charged ahead without thought.
"Ahhhh!"
Making a last ditch charge, the man recklessly attacked Brian.
*Ting
Brian parried his spear and then instantly peirced his chest until he got teleported out afterwards.
Furrowing his brows, Brian rested his spear against his shoulder as two figures appeared behind the shadows.
"They weren't really a threat, you must have sensed wrong" his voice carried a bit of annoyance.
A girl with a small stature then trembled when she saw his fierce gaze pointed at her. Her pigtails swaying from her trembling.
"I-I wasn't lying! There really was two strong mana signatures in this direction a while ago. My [Geo Sense] can estimate that from the vibrations in the earth"
"Hmm so where are those two now? Obviously they weren't the ones waiting in ambush"
Brian preassured the small girl further, the two strong mana signatures caught his attention greatly.
"...They may have already left.."
The girl stayed silent as she awaited a scolding from Brian but all she got was a heavy sigh.
She then saw him turn around as if dropping the issue altogether.
"If you sense those two again, immediately tell me, you got it?"
"...."
"Hey answer me"
"I-I mean..y-yeah I will"
Bewildered by the exchange, she could only stare at Brian dumbfounded. She stayed like that until her shoulder was tapped by her other teammate.
"Don't mind him that much, you're doing great Deenie"
Her soothing and calm voice instantly made her feel safe. Snapping out of her daze, she nodded her head.
"...Thank you, but I didn't expect that he would be that patient..."
"He is isn't he, that's great right"
"..Yeah.."
As the two conversed, Brian then called them out.
"Hey, let's get moving!"
The girls then laughed a little as they saw Brian act like they expected.
"Maybe not that patient afterall" she retorted.
"Hey Stranford!, enough chitchat. We don't have all the time in the world"
"Ok, just calm down"
Emily replied annoyed as their team moved forward.
-----
After 22 minutes of running, my eyes finally reached their limits. As soon as I deactivated my innate skill, our team stopped in place.
Noticing my condition, Shin Yua quickly made a sphere of light as I tried to catch my breath and rest my eyes from continuous use.
Taking off my goggles, I quickly sat down while Shin Yua also came near me.
"Good Job"
She then gave me a thumbs up with an indifferent face.
"[Mantra Recovery]"
Beads of green light appeared from Shin Yua's hands as she activated her class skill. Moving the spheres of green light towards my back, a warm and comfortable feeling invaded my body.
Shin Yua was concentrating hard as she recited a mantra. Just like she said, her skill required her to do so.
It was quite a troublesome skill to use but the benefits were really great. [Mantra Recovery] was low grade healing skill but it's main feature was mana and stamina recocery.
It was a skill that would be useless in a life and death situation but is extremely useful for mages and those that suffer from mana depletion.
Which I was currently experiencing.
Shin Yua's skill was clearly different from Emily's Saint class which focused on healing major wounds but was weak on mana recovery.
Shin Yua's skill was a real life saver since I was prone to depleting my mana really quick so when she mentioned her skills in the plan, I knew that there weren't going to be issues in overusing my innate skill.
This way, I could still maintain a stable condition after arriving in the Web. This was also planned out beforehand.
After a little while, Shin Yua stopped using her skills as she patted my back.
"All Good. You're not a hundred percent but it's manageable"
"Thanks...so Foxx, found them yet?"
Sophia then opened her eyes as she looked at me and Shin Yua.
"Took you long enough. Get ready, I found where it is but it seems that it found us too in turn"
*Bam Bam
Heavy footsteps rang out from the direction that Sophia was looking at. We didn't even need to guess what was coming for us.
Me and Shin Yua took our stances as I put on my goggles. Sophia then conjured multiple lightning orbs in place.
The footsteps then stopped as our enemy showed itself. It's whole body made out of metal and rocks.
It's body towering over us.
It's red round eyes shining as it announced.
"Three enemies detected, eliminate on sight"
It was time to hunt the marionette.