Sitting beside the window, the fortified bus traveled outside Riverside City.
Caleb Li had never gone outside the city since he was born, and today would mark the first time.
There had been a lot of tales and legends about the Desolate Land, but personal experience differs from stories read in books or heard from the news.
Sitting beside him, Rose looked at him frequently and most times wanted to have a conversation with him but did not know where to start.
Since the incident that happened at the abandoned factory, she noticed he had changed, but she couldn't pinpoint it.
Now, watching how quiet he was, whereas other students had various expressions on their faces and were talking loudly.
He was quiet with a calm expression on his face. It was as if he was not going to visit the Desolate Land for the first time.
"Are you alright?" She finally managed to ask.
He turned his head and looked at her, "I'm good, and you?"
"I'm nervous," she responded with a bright smile on her face. "Why did you choose a bow as your weapon?"
"Because that's my weapon."
"Really?" She widened her eyes in amazement.
The last time she took him to the Martial Library, he never picked up an archery skill.
Looking at the shock on her face, he knew what was going on in her mind but was too lazy to explain. It wasn't as if it would change anything.
Realizing he wasn't going to continue the conversation, Rose quickly asked another question.
"In the Ancient Realm, the village you were sent to is called what? Perhaps I can come to your village, and we could train together."
Caleb Li didn't respond immediately. He creased his brow and tried to remember the name of the village but realized he never knew the name of the village where he appeared.
Looking at how quiet he was, her jaw dropped to the ground. "Don't tell me you don't know the name of your village."
He looked at her and was embarrassed, but his skin was thick and nodded with a poker face.
Gasping, she rolled her eyes and couldn't believe what she just learned.
Who in their right senses wouldn't know the name of their village? That was the first thing they must do when they arrived.
Before she could continue to pester him with more questions, their homeroom teacher's voice came from the front.
"Attention everyone, we are outside."
Instantly, the chatter inside the bus disappeared, and a solemn expression appeared on their faces.
"Relax, we're still in the safe zone. The Military had swept this area for any dangerous beasts."
Listening to this, the tensed expression on their faces reduced a bit, but it didn't disappear from their faces.
They knew what the Desolate Land stood for, and every moment outside the city reeked of danger.
After the bus traveled for a couple of minutes, it slowly came to a stop.
It was then the students realized their school was not the only school having the Life Experience Exercise.
Maple High School, being the most prestigious school in the outer city, gathered the attention of everyone when they arrived.
When all the students of Maple High School came down from their buses, all eyes were set on three students.
They were the most powerful students and had the best Spirit Roots. Each of them had High Grade-9 Spirit Roots.
Besides, they all had the potential for their Spirit Roots to develop into Supreme Grade-9 Spirit Roots.
These three were Archie, Valeria, and Kofi.
Archie was a tall, handsome boy with short curly hair. He was a Rank-7 Mortal Warrior with a long sword on his back.
Valeria, a beautiful girl with a likable smile on her face, was also a Rank-7 Mortal Warrior. She held her thin purple sword.
As for Kofi, his black skin stood out in the group, but no one cared.
His long, sharp, intimidating spear posed a threat to all the students even though he was only a Rank-6 Mortal Warrior.
He might be a rank lower than those two, but in battle, no one could say who would win.
Kofi's battle sense was so alarming many found it unbelievable.
Apart from that, his proficiency in the art of spearmanship was way above every other student.
Apart from these three, there was the fourth person, and that was Amanda. But she has transferred to the inner city.
While Maple High School got the limelight, there was a school in particular looking at them with bitter rivalry on their faces.
They were Palm Valley High. Before Maple High School rose to fame, they were the most prestigious school.
With Maple High School dominating the outer city, Palm Valley High had been trying all possible ways to reclaim their fame.
On every occasion, they would go against Maple High School.
Since Maple High School had their three top students standing in front of the students, they also placed their three best students in front.
But this time around, their three best students were triplets.
They were Minjun, Dae, and Eun. Each of them had a weapon physique, the Scythe Physique, and were all Rank-7 Mortal Warriors.
They were identical and stood side by side with their black scythes hanging on their waist.
They looked at Maple High School as if they were looking at their mortal enemies.
Standing in an inconspicuous corner, Caleb Li looked at the triplets for a couple of seconds before he looked at their top three and shook his head.
Compared to those triplets, he realized their top three were still somewhat lacking.
Shortly, their homeroom teacher returned from the meeting with other schools.
"As you all know, this exercise will last three days. During the three days, you must hunt for a Common Grade beast and a Rank-1 Beast."
"Common Grade Beast is worth 2 points, and Rank-1 Beast is 10 points."
"To record your points, use your bracelet to scan the dead beast. Any questions?" She asked with her sharp gaze scrutinizing her students' faces.
"What about Rank-2 beasts?" A student asked.
"You don't have to worry about that. We've made sure that there are no Rank-2 beasts in a 5km radius of your exercise."
After waiting for another couple of seconds for another question and got none, she continued.
"You must remember, the most important thing is your life. Don't put your life in unnecessary danger. If you can't kill the beast, run for your life." She said with a serious expression on her face.
"It is time." A voice shouted.
*****
[AN: Please, support this book with your golden ticket and power stones.]