Morgan and Lilia arrived at the cave where they had initially hidden. The young man immediately placed Albert on the cave floor to let Lilia recover his condition. The two were lucky that the Arcana student hadn't killed them.
"How is he?" asked Morgan.
"He's fine. I'll restore his condition," Lilia explained.
Morgan took the Carmine blue gem from his storage bracelet and handed it over to Lilia, as the magic power within the gem would be helpful for Albert's recovery process.
A gentle stream of water elemental magic flowed over Albert's body through the magic circle created before Lilia, then spread out to cover his entire body.
[I've traveled through this entire forest]
As Morgan looked to the side, Morgana came to tell him that her task had been completed. However, she came without showing her form. That was quite a relief for Morgan.
"Thank goodness. Thank you, Morgana," Morgan explained.
The woman did not reply to Morgan's words, preferring to return to the young man's soul realm to rest. The high curiosity in Morgan's heart made him curious about the number of caves and monsters found.
[Maps Menu]
[Fog Exploration: 100%]
[Cave Found: 87]
[Monsters: 450]
'What a terrifying number of monsters. That red horn wolf monster was a second-level one; pretty hard to fight for a Rune student,' said Morgan.
'Why didn't I ask her to map the whereabouts of high-level monsters?' Morgan asked, tapping his forehead.
'Never mind. I should do it myself.'
"Morgan," called Lilia, still healing Albert's condition.
"What, Lilia?"
"I saw you defeat all six Arcana students with ease. What exactly is that power?" asked Lilia.
'Damn! She must have suspected my abilities,' said Morgan.
"I just enhanced my powers by using some high-level carmine gems. If I hadn't done that, we wouldn't have been able to escape from them," said Morgan.
"But I feel like seeing your abilities is like—"
Morgan immediately turned his eyes to the side, towards the cave entrance, where he sensed a mysterious mana energy that was quite strong out there. Morgan raised a hand, asking Lilia not to make any noise.
"Someone's coming," Morgan whispered.
The young man walked out of the cave and arrived near a stream. Lilia initially wanted to help, but she had to keep focusing her strength on recovering Albert's condition.
His head circled around, seeing that only the forest trees filled his vision. However, the mana energy emanating from the place was still felt. Morgan was sure it wasn't natural energy.
"Come out. I know you are here," Morgan commanded.
A girl in armor smiled, stepping gracefully out from behind the trees. Morgan, who had been paying attention to the surrounding area, immediately focused his eyes on the girl with light armor.
She and other group members came out from behind the trees. Morgan activated his red flame magic aura, showing her he would not be easily defeated.
"As a rune student, you're quite talented for being able to sense our presence," the girl praised, her arms crossed over her breast.
"What are you doing here?" asked Morgan.
"We saw that you could defeat two groups from the Cobalt Dorm. Although it's not the strongest dorm, it's much stronger than the Rune class one," the girl replied.
'So, are they also part of that dorm?" Morgan asked.
"Then, did you guys come here for revenge? I don't mind at all if we fight right now," replied Morgan, confidently challenging the Arcana student for one more time.
GRRR!
A mysterious voice appeared amidst the forest's silence, right between those arguing and about to start a fight. Morgan rounded his eyes; the voice's origin was not from him at all.
"Are you—"
"SHUT UP!" shouted the girl in armor, her face red with eyes closed. The two members of her group were seen shaking their heads, realizing their leader was so hungry that her stomach was churning.
"I-I haven't had time to eat when I got here," the girl whispered, not wanting to be heard by anyone other than those in that place.
"Oh gosh."
'That armor must take a lot out of her, so she gets tired and hungry easily,' Morgan said, noticing the girl's armor.
"We'll return tomorrow to challenge you. So, you don't have to—"
Morgan picked up a fish that had been stored in his magic storage bracelet. The young man showed the medium-sized fish to the girl, naturally arousing her hunger.
"It's getting late. I don't know where you're hiding, but you should eat here first," Morgan invited.
The girl was shocked by Morgan's invitation. Initially, she had wanted to challenge Morgan because she had defeated six Arcana students. However, the hunger the girl had been holding back began returning, which was embarrassing for her.
"I don't need to eat food from—"
GRRR!
"Huft."
"I'll turn on the fire. Can you spice up the fish first?" asked Morgan.
The two members of her group walked up to the leader, asking about what the next action they could take was. They both realized that Morgan was no ordinary student. The young man could defeat six Arcana students with ease.
"We'd better accept his offer. Maybe we can find something in our favor," whispered one of the members.
"I agree. Fighting with him while you're starving will be troublesome for us," explained another member.
The girl in armor listened carefully. In the end, she agreed with the two members' suggestions. She stepped closer to Morgan, whose hand was still holding the fishtail.
"Alright. We will repay your kindness next time, but for now, allow me to join you for dinner," said the girl.
"Sure," said Morgan.
Morgan took some fish from his magic storage bracelet. The fish were captured in the stream connected to the waterfall.
Initially, Morgan captured the fish for his group's needs. However, since other groups were starving, he did not hesitate to give the fish to them.
"Then what about your group's food?" asked the girl, accepting five medium-sized fish from Morgan.
"I'll go hunt for more at the bottom of the waterfall pool," Morgan said.
Lilia emerged from behind the waterfall, precisely from the cave where Morgan's group hid. She was surprised to realize Morgan was talking to three people from another dormitory group.
"M-Morgan?" asked Lilia, worried.
"Oh, Lilia. How's Albert?" asked Morgan.
"I've healed his wound. He's sleeping," replied Lilia, walking through the rocky path to arrive behind Morgan, a look of fear on Lilia's face.
"Who are they?" whispered Lilia to Morgan.
"They are—"
"I'm Adeline, the leader of the third group from the Viridian Dormitory," explained Adeline, the girl in armor.
"Viridian? Isn't that Arcana's student dormitory?" asked Lilia, her voice trembling with fear.
"True, but for now, she won't be fighting against us," said Morgan, Adeline responding with a nod.
Lilia could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The fear in her heart crumbled, realizing Adeline didn't seem to be the same as the previous Arcana students. Morgan told Lilia about the plan to grill fish for dinner, and Lilia enthusiastically wanted to do it.
The youth from Adeline's group helped Morgan start the fire; it was pretty far from the waterfall. It shouldn't be difficult for them to prepare a bonfire to burn the fish.
"Did you take all the plates from the group earlier?" asked Parker, Adeline's group mate.
"Of course. I didn't want to leave any of them behind," Morgan explained.
The two stood up as they continued to grill the fish well while maintaining the intensity of the fire. Morgan looked towards the shore of the waterfall pool, seeing Lilia no longer awkwardly talking to Adeline and her group mates.
"The Arcana students said something about their dorm leader earlier. Who exactly is their leader?" Morgan asked.
"Jake. He's an Arcana student who ranks sixth in magic arcana. He's the third strongest student in this year's Arcana class," replied Parker.
"Magic Arcana rank six, huh?" asked Morgan.
"Even Adeline isn't sure she can win against Jake. Jake's abilities are really mysterious," said Parker.
"That said, someone once said that Jake can already summon servants. He's protected by a level B servant," Parker continued.
"Servant?"
"That's right. So, if he's looking for and targeting you, you're really out of luck." Parker took all the fish that had been cooked and burned to perfection. Morgan called the girls to come eat the fish that had been served.
Lilia and Adeline ate the fish with gusto. The seasoning sprinkled on the fish soaked perfectly into the meat, adding sweet and spicy flavors to the fish meat.
Morgan returned the unbaked fish to his magic storage bracelet, serving it to Albert. Now, day turned into night. The bonfire continued to burn with people coiling around it for warmth.
"Thank you for the food. Maybe we'll go back to our place," Adeline replied, rising from her seat.
"Are you sure? It's already night. The monsters are probably roaming around a lot more than during the day," Morgan explained.
"I'm an Arcana student. I'm not afraid of monsters with—"
ROAAR!
Adeline's speech was cut short when she heard a lion's roar coming from the forest depths to the south. The girl began preparing, as did Morgan, who accompanied her.
From within the forest's darkness, Morgan was surprised to see two twin-headed lions appear with medium-sized bodies. Lilia gasped in shock, knowing very well the twin-headed lions were fourth-level monsters.
"T-That's a Third-level monster," Lilia explained.
'This is really dangerous. I won't be able to fight the monster, not with the ring on my finger,' Morgan said.
"In return for the food, let us defeat them," said Adeline. Morgan could breathe a sigh of relief as he handed over the two monsters to Adeline and her group.
"Alright. I'll keep watch in case anything happens to you guys."
Adeline cast fire elemental magic from her hand, the fire forming a sword which was not a magic spell, but a control of fire magic energy. With their strength, Morgan could be sure they could deal with the monster.
The girl attacked one lion while Parker and the rest of the group attacked the other. They clashed, and Parker and his friend used the earth and wind elements to defeat the monster.
"What should we do?" asked Lilia.
"Watch the fight and stay alert in the surrounding area. We don't know if this fight will provoke other monsters to come or not," Morgan explained, Lilia responding with a nod.
The fierce battle of the two twin-headed lions against Adeline's group finally ended with the defeat of Adeline's group. Parker and his friend were injured, Lilia took the initiative to heal their wounds.
'Tch! Can't they beat those two monsters too?' asked Morgan.
Adeline's breathing sounded ragged and labored from exhaustion. Morgan could read the movement of Adeline's attacks. Controlling the fire magic that formed the sword was draining her energy.
The lion unleashed a fireball attack towards the front, targeting Adeline. Instead of deflecting it with a magic spell, Adeline carelessly blocked the fireball with her sword. That caused the power of the fire sword to be drained, and Adeline's body bounced all the way to near Morgan.
Blood oozed from the corner of her lips, a sign that she had been injured quite severely in her inner organs. Morgan could not let the twin-headed lion continue to wreak havoc.
"They're... so strong," Adeline complained.
"Lilia. Please take care of them and recover," Morgan pleaded, bringing Adeline over to Lilia.
"You can't fight them. The lion's power is stronger than the Arcana students. You can't win against it," Adeline insisted.
"I can't fail here. I have something to achieve, and I won't let this monster interfere with my plans!" said Morgan.
Morgan picked up a Carmine-type red gem and broke it, making a stream of magic energy rush into Morgan's body through his mouth. He also secretly removed his ring, dramatically increasing the power of his magic aura.
[High Magic: Circle of Flame Prison]
From Morgan's magic circle, he created flames that formed a circle and trapped the two lions inside. Adeline and her friends were shocked, realizing Morgan could use the fire element with high-level magic.
"W-Was he a rune student?" asked Adeline.
The hot flames made it difficult for the monsters to escape. Morgan immediately used it to create another high level of magic.
[High Magic: Spear of Spinning Wind]
The right hand controlled the fire prison while the left hand controlled the spinning spear created from wind elemental magic. It again shocked many people; even Adeline could only gape in disbelief at what was happening before her.
"Looks like we won't be fighting him. He can kill us with that crazy ability!" said Parker.
Adeline squinted. She felt a significant amount of power coming from Morgan's body. Adeline did see Morgan using the Carmine gem, but the gem's effectiveness in increasing power would not be that great.
The spear on top of the lion's head continued to spin and sped up, killing the two fourth-level monsters with ease. A gust of wind was created so strongly that water waves were created clearly above the waterfall pool.
Adeline pointed her hand forward, shielding the people around her from the impact of Morgan's fight against the two lions.
Dust flew over the carcass of the dead fourth-level monster. Morgan fell to his knees with a gasp, sweat pouring down his head and body.
'The afternoon battle was draining my mana capacity,' Morgan explained.
He picked up the carmine gem again and broke it, a blue gem that serves to restore mana capacity, although not significantly.
Adeline got up and walked over to Morgan. She threw her hands to her sides, removing the dust that blocked her visibility. They watched as the two twin-headed lions died instantly.
"Hey, Morgan," Adeline called out, and Morgan, still tired, turned his head to the side.
"How about we team up for this exam?"