The airships came down, opening and allowing the students to truly jump. The airships didn't touch the ground at all. Not that the pilots didn't want it, but because the terrain was too irregular and the passages too straight for these huge vehicles.
The students could only jump, using their Magic Energy to reinforce their bodies and dampen the fall. Well, the airships weren't that far high, though. As long as you were a Magus, you shouldn't have a problem landing.
*Tud, tud, tud, tud...*
Students from various ranked classes descended one after another, creating a continuous stream of arrivals. Alvin and Connor were among them, their eyes widening at the sight of approximately 2000 students. The remaining 6000, older and more experienced, were undoubtedly dispersed across other regions of the Dark Cayons.
Linfel was a Wisp, while Felia and Tratil were Familiars. They had the ability to float as long as they used enough Magic Energy, so it wasn't a problem for them.
Alvin looked around apprehensively. "So... where now?"
Connor immediately pointed to the higher-ranked classes in the distance. "Let's tag them. It should be safer."
"You know that just tagging will give us no points, right?" Linfel asked him. "Anyway, Connor can do whatever he wants. Alvin, Felia, come with me. We are taking our own route and ignoring everyone else."
"What?!" Alvin was taken aback. "That's suicide!"
Linfel shook his head, though. "You said it yourself, the first 20 to 30% of the path should be safe. Now, stop complaining and come. Otherwise, forget about our training schedule. Also, I'll be the first one to tell Milia about your choices in here once we go back." By now, he already understood Milia was the best way to convince Alvin.
Linfel floated away, not waiting for Alvin or anyone else. If they didn't follow, then he would go alone. Simple as that.
Alvin found both reasons extremely unbearable, so he immediately ran after Linfel, who was already dashing away from the thousands of students around. The others noticed how Alvin, Linfel, and Felia ran in the front and snorted. How could a Rank F Student be faster than the higher-ranked classes?
Sure enough, as soon as Linfel's group left the landing point, several other students followed suit. They were all Class A and B students, making a total of 200 or something. In fact, they were still planning their own routes and joining their own groups. It's just that seeing a Rank F Student taking the front affected their own pride, so they quickly followed.
"W-Wait for me!" *Puff, puff...*
Connor took some time to make up his mind, but he did come after Linfel's group with his Familiar in the end. The only thing he found strange was how it looked like Linfel was the real one in command instead of Alvin. "Alvin, are you sure of this?" Still, he asked Alvin instead.
Alvin bitterly smiled, paying attention to Linfel in front. "You wouldn't understand. I have a lot more to lose than just getting on Milia's bad side. I have to."
"Through here!" Linfel immediately changed direction, taking a narrower path.
Alvin and Felia quickly changed direction as well, following him. Connor looked at that and could see that not many of the Class A and B students selected that path. Instead, they seemed to prefer the wider ones. Only a few more couragous ones did select this path.
This didn't stop there. A few minutes later, the paths divided once again. Some went up, others went down, right, left, you name it. Linfel didn't take the narrowest one this time, though. "This one now." he selected one that seemed pretty wide.
Alvin and Connor noticed that they were pretty much alone now. Even counting the Class A and B students who dashed in the front with them, only around five or so remained. "Linfel, do you know where you are going?" Tratil, Connor's Familiar, couldn't help but ask.
Suddenly, an open space appeared in front of their group. And at the very center of that space, a Light Yellow Flag could be seen. "This..." Alvin and Connor looked at Linfel, surprised.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go, go, go!" Linfel's eyes seemed to be filled with the image of Academy Credits. He quickly approached the Flag, and his magical Signature was taken.
Alvin and the others quickly followed, also reaching within ten meters of the Flag.
"To the next one!" Linfel didn't stop there. He looked at the other paths ahead and immediately made his decision, selecting the upper right one.
Not far behind, the five students who followed them from Classes A and B also approached the Flag, having their Magic Energy Signatures taken. They were quite surprised to have found a flag this fast. Not even ten minutes had passed since the start of the exam, after all.
The reason they followed Linfel's group was basically because they didn't want to follow the others. They knew that the lower-ranked classes would also tag them, so they wanted to leave them behind by using these narrower and seemingly more dangerous paths. However, now, they all looked at Linfel'sd group ahead, having the same idea. 'Could it be they know where they are going?'
One particular pair of eyes especially looked at them in a different manner. The guy quickly dashed forward, following Linfel. The other four delayed for a second, not feeling especially good to follow a group of Rank F Maguses and Familiars. Nonetheless, seeing the action of the first guy, they also followed. The Flags were the most important at the moment.
A little bit ahead, Linfel spoke to Alvin, Connor, and the Familiars in a low voice so only they would hear. 'The instructor said that we need to go deeper to find more Flags. That is a pretty simple concept. All I have to do is feel the flow of Magical Energy, and finding the fastest route to the end becomes quite easy.'
Everyone was taken aback, especially Felia and Tratil. They tried to feel the Magic Energy in the surroundings, but everything looked the same to them. 'How is he doing that?'
For Alvin and the others, the surrounding Magic Energy was no different. It was the same concentration everywhere. However, Linfel was truly a creature born from energy itself, and Primordial Energy at that. Magic Energy was so much simpler in his view that you would be hard-pressed to do the same even if you had the proper equipment, let alone do it with your own natural sense.
"Stop!" Linfel spoke as he came to a halt.
Alvin and the others quickly stopped behind them, not seeing anything ahead. "What is it? Another Flag?" Alvin asked.
*Zush, zush, zush...*
The moment Alvin spoke those words, three of the students still following them darted past their group, entering another open space ahead. Another Flag would be perfect, and they probably were indeed within the first 10 students to get near it.
To be fair, the Academy Credits didn't matter much to them. What mattered was the score at the end. They all had strong backgrounds, so they didn't need Academy Credits as much as Alvin and the others. Let's not forget that the results of the end-of-the-week Field Exams are what determines the student's Ranks. Class B students wanted to reach Class A, while Class A students definitely didn't want to be demoted to Class B.
In the end, following Linfel's group was truly the right choice... or so they thought.
However, the moment they came out in the open, the ground under them caved in as several mouths tried to swallow them whole!
"Fuck!" As Class A and B students, they were all Level Two Maguses, so they immediately connected to their Familiars and unleashed attacks downwards.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
Brown blood and dirt spread everywhere, covering their bodies. Nonetheless, they truly showed why they were in those higher-ranked classes. One attack was more than enough to dispatch those Level One Magical Beasts, and they were quite on the weak side of Magic Beasts at Level One. This is still the initial area, so you wouldn't find anything other than these Low-Level beings.
Having gotten rid of the problem, they quickly looked around, just in time to see Linfel, Alvin, and Connor near another Flag and already dashing into another passage's direction. At the same time, Linfel spoke in a loud voice. "I told you to stop, but you chose to ignore me. Next time, make sure to hear what I have to say."
These three guys gritted their teeth in anger. Yet, it was true that Linfel told everyone to stop. The problem was Alvin mentioning a Flag, so their greed too the best of them.
*Zush, zush!*
Another two Class A and B students passed by them. There were five of them following Linfel's group, but only three entered the open space. These two stayed behind, having taken Linfel's warning seriously. Now, they are ripping the benefits.
The three remaining ones didn't lag behind, of course. They quickly approached the Flag and once again entered the same Path as Linfel and the others.
'Linfel, how did you find those Magic Beasts,' Alvin asked in a low voice so only he and Linfel could hear. He was still feeling a little scared. Had he jumped outside, he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to deal with the danger like those Level Two Maguses and Familiars did.
'I told you,' Linfel explained. 'It is all about Magic Energy sensitivity. Magic Beasts have their own Magic Cores with concentrated magic Energy. Simply put, they look like fireflies in the darkness. It is hard to not spot them. Of course, there is a limit to my sensitivity. At the moment, the best I can do is ten or so meters.'
Alvin took a deep breath. It is not that Maguses can't do the same thing. However, they need to be at least Level Three Maguses to acquire the necessary sensitivity to do what Linfel was doing. If you were extremely talented, perhaps you could feel Magic Beasts while at Level Two. 'Perhaps we truly have a chance to reach the end of the path and avoid all dangers...'
Linfel looked behind himself and pondered a bit. Those five other students from Class A and B were all Level Two maguses and Familiars. With their extra strength, they could have surpassed Linfel's group and gone ahead a long time ago. Yet, they insist on following his group. It was then that he had an idea and spoke. "Are you sure you all want to follow our group? I believe you all heard the instructor. If you just tag along with another group but have no contribution, your points will be removed in the end."
One of them immediately spoke back. "That's exactly what I did, didn't I? I killed those Magic Beasts for you just a minute ago." As he said that, he took a glance at a camera on the corner of that passage. There were countless of these small cameras in this place. When the instructors said they would be monitored, they weren't lying at all.
The other two, who were also covered in the Magic Beasts' Blood, agreed with the guy. "The same goes for us. The instructors should consider our contributions to be enough."
"In that case, the next Magic Beasts will be dealt with by us," The remaining two quickly spoke. They haven't contributed anything until now, indeed.
Alvin and Connor were truly surprised. Who could have thought Class A and B students would be relying on a group of Class F students? No one would believe them if they said that back in the Academy.
Linfel sighed. But then again, it wasn't like it was a bad thing. "Alright, you can follow us. But we also came here to experience the Magic Beasts. Next time we meet them, leave three or four for us."
"That's not a problem at all!" They still didn't know how Linfel and the others seemed to know the path, but that didn't matter. A high score was waiting for them, and that's what they wanted.
Alvin and Connor, however, didn't look very happy. "Three or four Magic Beasts for us? We are only in two here, you know?"
Linfel nodded. "I agree with you. Judging the strength of the Magic Beasts a moment ago, three or four is too little. However, we can't discard our own safety. Let's first get used to fighting them, shall we?"
"Too... little?" Alvin and Connor wanted to cry, while Felia and Tratil almost burst into laughter.