The bushes suddenly rustled, and Auron and Thorne immediately drew their daggers and sword, dropping into combat stances, eyes scanning the darkness for danger. Their hearts pounded as they waited, tense and ready.
To their surprise, Old Tim emerged from the bushes, carrying a large deer over his shoulder. "Not bad, boys," he said with a chuckle. "But you're still too green. If there had been a real beast in there, you'd have been caught off guard." His eyes glinted with amusement but carried a note of warning.
Old Tim set the deer down and glanced at the tents. "The tents are well done for first-timers. Looks like your parents taught you well." His expression turned serious again. "Tonight, I'll handle dinner. But tomorrow and the day after, it's your turn. You'll need to hunt, prepare, and cook your own meals. Consider it your first lesson before you reach the academy."
Without another word, Old Tim expertly began butchering the deer. His knife moved swiftly and smoothly, carving through the carcass with practiced ease. Within no time, the meat was roasting over the campfire, filling the air with a savory aroma.
Dinner was a quiet affair as the group ate with relish, the rich taste of the freshly roasted deer lifting their spirits. Once their bellies were full, they retired to their tents, the crackling fire slowly dying down as the night deepened. The journey ahead was still long, and they would need all the rest they could get.
Auron, unable to sleep after Old Tim's warning, was deep in thought about how to stay alert without constantly using his mystical eyes. He sought Xiao Yu's advice.
"Xiao Yu, what should I do? Keeping my mystical eyes activated all the time drains too much soul force," he said.
"Since you've awakened your soul, try focusing on controlling your mystical eyes. The reason you're consuming so much soul force is because you're using all its special abilities. Try using only the mana detection function. It will help you detect any living beings without draining your energy," suggested Xiao Yu.
Auron closed his eyes and concentrated. He gradually deactivated all but the mana detection feature of his mystical eyes. Though it was challenging at first, he practiced until he could manage it effortlessly. He tested it on his surroundings and could clearly see his friends and Old Tim. The best part was that Old Tim couldn't detect his spying at all. Satisfied with his progress, Auron finally went to sleep.
At dawn, Auron woke up early and packed his tent. Thanks to Xiao Yu, he had set an internal alarm and woke up on time. He anticipated that Old Tim would move early in the morning.
"Little brat, you have only 10 minutes to get ready! I won't wait for you, and if you're late, you'll have to catch up or suffer the consequences," Old Tim shouted.
The sudden shout jolted everyone awake. They quickly packed their tents, with Jack barely making it on time. They resumed their journey toward the academy.
In the carriage, Auron, who appeared to be sleeping, was actually brainstorming ways to address the limitations of his mystical eyes.
"This technique only works in the direction I'm looking. If an enemy or beast approaches from the side or behind, I won't detect it," Auron noted to Xiao Yu.
"It's true. You project your soul force forward through your eyes to detect mana in your field of vision. That means you're focusing your soul force in one direction," Xiao Yu explained.
"Then, perhaps I can project my soul force in all directions," Auron realized. He began experimenting with projecting his soul force around him, extending it like tendrils.
"That's a good start, but managing all these tendrils might be difficult to maintain," Auron thought.
As he pondered this, the carriage arrived at a river. Jack woke him up and suggested refilling their water storage.
"Thanks for waking me," Auron said with a smile, then went to the river. He accidentally kicked a pebble into the water, creating ripples. Watching the ripples, an idea struck him. He could use the soul force like sonar, similar to how submarines navigate underwater.
He tested this new method, and it worked even better than he had hoped. With his mystical eyes active, he could detect up to 10 meters around him. Without them, he could still detect up to 5 meters, making him much more aware of his surroundings.
" What a nice harvest. I managed to create a unique spell just for myself. If I want to amplify its effect, I can only use more soul force or infuse it with my celestial aura. But I am afraid that if I infused it with my celestial aura, I will lose it stealth ability," mused Auron.
They continued their journey a bit more and rest a while to have lunch. All of them went to hunt for food themselves. While everyone else is struggling, Auron, Thorne and Thyra were having an easy time. With their bow, they caught a few hare and fowl. They cooked all of it as they were expecting that the others wouldn't be able to catch anything and their predictions were true. Alice, John, Raymond and Jack were looking very miserable especially Jack who's face were already pale. They enjoyed the food together then start their journey again.
On the last day, Old Tim told them to ready themselves for the battle. Auron could detect many beast and there are a single one that feels very strong from mana detection skill he used. The concentration of mana in it were bigger than others.
" You guys get ready for battle. I will try to scare off their leader. If they retreat then good , if not you might need to fend them off by yourself. I will try to finish it as soon as possible," Old Tim warned them and unleashed his mana pressure. After a while he stop. " You guys should be thankful that the beast retreat if not maybe some of you might not escape unscathe," said Old Tim seriously.
" This is weird. This area should not have that kind of beast. Something abnormal might have happened in the deep part of Gloom Wood Forest. I need to investigate it quickly," thought Old Tim.
"We need to hurry to the Swamp Enclave Academy," said Old Tim. Everybody could feel that the situation were not as normal as it seems.
Later in the evening, they arrived at the Swamp Enclave Academy.