With quick and decisive steps they headed east. To keep the bell they put it in one of their pockets since its sound, no matter how small, could spread over a long distance.
They could not allow anyone to find it and Melani's group would not look for them since they were so far away. Right now they should be looking for other prey to get a bell.
Still moving east they continued to look for bells everywhere from bushes to under the ground.
Every step they took, they paid attention. The sound on the ground when there is a hole underneath is different than when there is not. But it is still the least effective way to search under the ground.
After all, there are magical beasts and animals in the surrounding area that also live underground. Unable to stop and look carefully, the best they can do would be to stop. But they had to keep their distance from Melani's group and others who might be nearby.
It was impossible for the other groups on the north side not to notice the bell of the beast they were chasing.
Having run a couple of kilomentors and almost entered the east zone.
The four of them stopped, to think about their steps. No one was following them and they had confirmed it a few minutes ago. Not to mention that if they were being chased they would have been on them by now.
"Shall we look around?" asked Marta to Stelle with alert eyes, looking at the dark woods, which she sees clearly as water.
"Yes, we can't waste time and the more bells we get the better for our class and our own schedule," Stelle said.
"Maximum one kilometer around us, we will move further north every 12 minutes, search everywhere." Stelle said
Valery nodded, and separated from the group. Each one moved at a certain distance and in a different direction.
Valery moved directly northeast. Her steps were lethargic and her spear was bouncing lightly against the ground, the tip of the spear sticking perfectly into the ground. There was no resistance in and out thanks to the sharpness of the spear.
With Valery's strength, she struck each tree with moderate force, causing them to vibrate. But none of them let out a ringing sound.
She circled the tree, jumping and breaking several branches without any result in her search.
Valery went through each bush with strong movements and almost breaking the bushes, her blustering movements seemed to tear the bushes from the roots. But her search had not been successful either.
It might seem tedious work, but with Valery's great speed and endurance, this process could be done in seconds. About 30 seconds for each tree and bush he checked.
Far away in Katerin's direction a high-pitched, painful sound rang out.
"That's good luck" Valery smiled before running in her direction.
Arriving at Katerin's side, Valery smiled and it wasn't long before the other two arrived and ran in another direction. To change zones and get away from possible groups that are tracking other groups instead of looking for bells.
Every class has a group or two of these, many of these groups are quite hated and possibly the reason for most of the conflicts between the classes.
Suddenly in front of Stelle, a glowing thread was illuminated by the light of the night moon, which was piercing through the fog. At night the fog becomes less dense making the moon more noticeable.
Marta, who was close to Stelle, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her back as she ducked out of harm's way. Katerin didn't have to duck, she was able to keep running and positioned herself ahead of Marta and Stelle.
Valery stayed in the vanguard.
"Marta?" A rather thick voice but in a perfect bass to tickle your ears.
"Harry?" asked Marta, without lowering her sword.
Leaping out of a treetop, a brown-skinned boy resembling cinnamon. But that skin tone was a bit pale. Laughing black hair and a short padlock style beard. He wore a black suit that helped him blend in with his surroundings, black shirt and black pants.
"You're too far north," Harry said, gesturing for his companions to come out.
"We got two... consequently we had to move north" said Stelle reporting the situation.
"I see, did you see any other groups with bells?"
"No, we didn't find any other gangs and we haven't seen a group for 30 minutes."
"30 minutes? That's a long time" Harry immediately dismissed the idea of looking for the groups in the eastern area.
"Did you catch anything?" asked Valery.
"Yeah, we got two bells too."
"We meet the minimum with only our group, the other groups must have some.... 10" Katerin supposed
"Let's hope and there are more. Do you remember how many camps they were hiding in the forest?"
"100"
"It wasn't that many."
Suddenly from the trees several hidden lamps lit up, the whole forest seemed to glow with a warm yellow light.
"Time's up" Stelle said before heading towards the academai running alongside Harry's group.
It took them about 10 minutes to get there and they had to wait until all the other students arrived.
The helpers went to each group to count the bells, they had to choose the class number.
Each number ensured some unique rights in the academy, for example. Valery could ask for classes in construction and its derivatives to apply for Grand Master of Construction at the end of these 3 years.
Also if they want they could use that time as free time and do the tasks or hobbies they say.
Like fishing, the academy has a large lake with magical beasts and unique fish. There is one day a year that all the classes join together to go fishing, it is a quiet day but it is very enjoyable. Perhaps one of the few days that the classes compete in a more healthy way.
When the bells were counted, Valery's class managed to get a total of eight bells and came in third place.
The class that got the most bells was 25, Archduke George's class.
He was unbearable and unpleasant....