***

Entering the forest, our little group steadily headed southwest using me as the GPS. As to why they knew I could function as one, a simple 'this is my backyard' statement was interpreted that way.

It was a very quiet stroll. Besides practical questions about wildlife and geography, no other conversation took place.

That wasn't because no one wanted to talk, but because they all were too tense for idle chatter.

Their senses were on high alert, evident in the constant snap of their heads or twitch of hands to their weapons at every little flap from a bird's wing or leaves moved by the wind. The four kept a careful eye everywhere, surveying for the minute changes in their immediate environment. It was no secret to them that this forest was very much rich of danger, and their wariness were not misplaced.

However, my group was too diligent for their own good. Being on constant edge was both physically and mentally exhausting, something which would not to make this trip any less dangerous... but the opposite.  In other words, they were scaring themselves and their fear was almost palpable. These four need to relax a bit.

If any monsters were near, then it would be licking its lips by now. This tense mood was their kind of prey.

That was when I realized, these four were still green behind the ears.

The five schools might had been the gathering of elites, but the students were still kids that did not go beyond the fence. There might had been mock battles here and there, but not an unorganized, and completely independent movement in a foreign soil like we were currently in. Hence, their nervousness.

In such situations, what does a veteran like me do?

Nothing, of course.

This test was necessary for them. They had to learn. And first hand experience cannot be mimicked with guided hands of spoonfeeding schools. Danger had to be experienced not taught. I would testify to this. I had too much under my belt to prove it.

Anyhow, acting like a boss right now would just be interpreted in the wrong light.

Just like only people who had been stupid can call the other stupid, my words had no legitimacy anymore than a barking dog. Even I would raise a brow to a blind healer giving survival tips. The most helpless speaking big, that sounds funny even to me.

So, I'll just go with the flow and imagine popcorn while watching a live action movie.

After a few hundred meters of silent trek, my senses picked up something. There was slight rhythmic vibration on the ground, source was still a couple hundred meters away. Judging from the rate and force of that vibration and the noise it was making, something was moving bipedally ...and it was a ton heavy, heading in our direction.

As for my group, they were still completely oblivious to the abomination approaching. In less than a minute, a confrontation will occur.

I did not warn them, of course. 

It was part of learning and definitely not for my personal entertainment.

Iris was the first to notice. "Halt! Something is approaching from the rear!"

The other three snapped to attention at once and peered over.

"What is that?" Jasper murmured. I could imagine him squinting his eyes as his neck craned to look further.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"Huge. Around five meters tall, running towards us in two legs... This is bad!" He immediately withdrew back and started casting a spell with his wand. Mana started to hum around him and balling on his fist before spreading like a cobweb beneath his feet, tracing a magic circle of three meter diameter.

The rest of were not idle either. Yulan started barking orders as he placed himself in the vanguard together with Seirs, who had been in his battle stance for a while. Iris climbed a nearby tree and settled on a thick branch covered with foliage and loaded her bow, ready to fire. As for me I stayed at the back, giving our vanguard their space to fight without worries of friendly fire.

Amazingly, in five seconds, we were in position. I guess being called elite was not out of conceit.

"Vitaly, information." Yulan commanded steely while keeping his attention locked on the incoming target.

"Yes. The only five meter tall creature on two legs in these parts are those. I call them mountain trolls. Their skin is thick and hard. Hitting it would be like hitting tree trunks. Additionally, they can regenerate a full limb in a month. Their strength and agility are also far superior than humans. Fortunately, they are dumb. They fight recklessly without even trying to cover their vital parts. In a scale of 1 to 10, mountain trolls are 3 in difficulty. 1 is the weakest by the way." I replied like I was Siri being questioned.

"This is just 3...?" Jasper asked dumbfounded.

"Yes." I replied flatly.

I wasn't exaggerating. Trolls were physically strong, sure, but without the instinct that most monsters here display, trolls were quite the underdog. You just need a proper position, accuracy, and with the proper weapon its thin neck were paper.

The only reason they were not extinct just yet was because of their rigorous reproduction rate. They were always on heat all year round. How I knew that, would always be a secret.

...Well, either way, with a healer in the background, my group should especially be fine.

Should be.

But my group's luck was on a roll. It just so happen that this troll was fresh from hibernation. And it was armed to boot.

Iris opened the bout by letting her arrows whistle past, perfectly landing at the troll's forehead... in vain. Her arrow made a 'thonk' sound and comically bounced off, like a stick against steel.

...Didn't I just say this monster were durable at the most part? Bone covered part especially?

She probably didn't hear me...?

Either way, that arrow only made the troll angry. It sped up its sprint and screeched in rage. When the troll reached striking distance, its relatively skinny arms madly thrashed a lengthy femur as tall as me, disfiguring everything in its way. Tree trunks bent, dirt flew, and Yulan and Seirs got tangled in flurries of blows, making them hop a deadly dance.

Seirs drawn his glaive from an interspacial amulet, a necklace with round and metallic pendant. A two metre long pole tipped with sharp, single-edged blade came out imposingly. I cannot see how it looked, but by suave way it cut the wind, it must be pretty impressive looking.

Yulan also unsheathed his sword, just one, and used the scabbard like an extended arm to manuever his way against the troll's raging strikes.

Individually, both were amazing

Together, they sucked big time.

I don't need eyes to tell, just hearing both of their constant annoyed grunts was enough indication.

Iris at the far back was not making much progress either. Our vanguard's frantic steps were too irregular for Iris to intervene. Shooting now might hit undesirable targets.

As for the magicians, Jasper was still casting while I was standing beside him without popcorn. Should I help?

Nah, it hasn't even been a minute since the fight started.

While thinking that, another troll approached. Distance was hundred metres, and seems like it wasn't alone.

Two, three... No, five. 

A party?

Plus this one upfront, a total of six.

Versus our five?

This would get dangerous. 

The sudden increase in difficulty was too steep for this group.

I decided to help, subtly.

Sending my mana to the ground, I let it travel towards the incoming trolls. Urging the roots beneath them to sprout and shackle the trolls down and buy us time. Compared to the size and weight of the trolls, roots were far from a threat. However, this was the very reason roots were effective in slowing them down. Making trolls trip again and again was a child's task. Well, them falling for the same trick again and again was the most contributing factor. Anyway, this effectively delayed them, buying us time to finish the first one.

After moments, after tripping more than ten times, the trolls were so pissed off and they started hitting the ground madly while screeching deafeningly. Their combined annoyed shrieks were loud enough for Yulan and the others to hear.

The four momentarily froze, and the troll before us didn't miss its chance. It struck Seirs, aiming for his head. To which Seirs barely blocked with two hands raising his glaive.

"Ku-" Upon contact, blood spluttered from his mouth and he was sent to his knees. Seirs' raised arms visibly crooked, right radius sliding past his elbow while both his shoulders instantly dislocated. He knelt helplessly on the ground like a broken foll.

The troll howled in joy as it proudly thumped its chest, showing off dominance.

"You-!" Yulan unfroze and grabbed his chance, striking the troll's exposed neck from behind. With a swift and deadly slice, a head plopped off followed by spurt of blood.

"Vitaly!"

"Yes!" I took my cue and sprinted towards Seirs. 

"Iris! What was that sound?" Yulan questioned agitatedly.

"I still cannot see them from here." Iris answered after climbing to the tree tops.

They had further discussions, but I didn't listen. I concentrated on Seirs and assessed his injuries by spreading my mana. Fractured and dislocated, bones, torn muscles, bleeding, and fatigue. I was surprised he wasn't screaming. 

These injuries was bad enough for me to use 'that'.

"Seirs, do not reject me." 

He paused briefly before giving a curt nod before tightly closing his eyes.

I started by sending a unique mana around his head to dull senses, my version of anaesthesia, then placed my palms at his back surrounding his whole body with a combination of light and water elemental mana. 

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I first invaded the skin, then to his bloodstream, fully spreading my mana internally. Normally this was impossible. His immune system would automatically reject me out. After all, I pretty much could kill him with a snap of the wrong vessel. This was why I needed his permission. His simple acknowledgement would shut down his defensive reflex, a mystery I had no explanation for.

In any case, this method, with skill, was the fastest and most efficient way of healing.

After sending a bulk of my mana in, I could 'sense' him. Every breath he took and lost, every beat of his heart, every piercing pain assaulting him... I synchronized myself to him.

Using my mana, I aided his own cells in regeneration while guiding what to where. I disintegrated the splintered bones flowing in his bloodstream, then urged the left overs to contribute in patching his fractured bones. After bones comes the flesh, which was easier. I only need to empower cells and they knew what to do. Basically, just charging their batteries so they can do their business. 

Then I would repeat the process again and again, depending on severity, ensuring nothing got misplaced and everything was working properly. In Seirs' case, around three times of repeat would do.

"Haa, done!" I sighed and cheered. The whole thing happened in less than a minute. 

This was my pride, an original magic, «Restoration». 

Seirs silently looked at me, then nodded once. "Thank you."

"If you are done, then help us here!" Yulan commanded.

It seemed the five trolls had arrived, and Yulan was engaging them. 

Right, I can't heal people up and trip trolls at the same time.

Thankfully, there were additional five allies in the fray, encircling me and Seirs. My guess was, they were Jasper's earth golems. At around two metres tall, they towered over me. However, the trolls they were holding back was twice bigger. I was trapped in the middle of melee.

Then, I again noticed Seirs looking my way again. "I will be fine."

"...Understood." He hesitated for a bit then nodded once and joined the fight.

Meanwhile, I surrounded myself in an egg-shaped stitched mana inspired from thread working. My version of barrier, «Egg Nogg». 

It was another original magic of mine, so I took the liberty of naming it. Though a little silly-sounding, no one minded so I went ahead and registered it as is.

Regular barriers were just compressed mana, shielding casters from magic, but mine defended against both physical and magical attack. This was what Lanna kept trying to break over the decade, in vain.

So I stood like a good girl, while the others desperately fought for survival. 

I was being cold, but I had confidence in my ability to raise them from the dead... -ish.

Besides, they don't really need my help. Yulan and Seirs were becoming better and better with their collaboration. Jasper was excellent at multi-tasking, controlling those five golems at the same while concealing himself in the woods. Iris occassionally fired arrows, but this time, her shots were in sync with the golems' slow movement in pounding the trolls, all the while keeping a vigilant eye in our vicinity. 

Five trolls became four, then three. At that time, the four of them finally became a team, and without further ado, demolished the trolls. 

When the last troll fell, there was a significant pause among us. Just breathing heavily while hands still tightly gripping their weapons. 

"Did we get all of them...?" Jasper reluctantly whispered as he came out to the clearing.

"Yes." Yulan replied and he unceremoniously flopped to the ground.

His words and action lifted everyone's tension. A sigh of relief escaped from Seirs while Jasper dropped to the ground, his golems disintegrated after.

Iris jumped down from the tree and surveyed the area. Previously, there was no clearing here just trees and bushes, but after the troll's reckless bull dozer way of fighting, the relatively thin trees were logged one after another. Thus, creating this patch in the forest that exposed us in the sun.

"That was... amazing." Iris said as she gazed at the corpses around us. There were three headless trolls from Yulan and Seirs' efforts, two were battered lumps of flesh from the golem's surreal strength, and one with half an arrow piercing the brain through its eyes.

"True." I agreed as I headed towards Yulan. "Let me heal you."

". Thank you." He said, surprising me. So he could appreciate people?

"It's my job." I replied while scratching my face. I guess I was being too judgemental with my first impressions. 

Holding his arm and letting my mana surround him, I assessed that his injuries were not severe. Just minor scratches, bruises, and scrapes here and there. I don't need «Restoration» for these, so I just used regular healing spell that accelerated regeneration process.

After him, I went back to Seirs and started the process all over again.

After making sure everyone was patched up, we all stood up and readied to go. 

"So, what's next?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Yulan asked back. 

"Eh?"

"Tell us honestly, do we have a chance to finish this test?"

"Huh?" I said dumbly. What could I say? I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Vitaly... If these trolls are a 3 in difficulty, then what are our chances of making it to the other side without dying? If an 8 or 9 shows up..." Iris added a helpful hint.

Though what 'other side meant', I had no idea, I tossed the thought aside for now and seriously considered our survival rate. "Well, if we keep up our teamwork, then yes. Besides, anything higher than 5s are rare, so it should be fine."

"Teamwork? That's an unusual word... More importantly, you say rare, but still, you have seen some before. The possibility of them appearing are there. It would not be wise to ignore that." Yulan surmised to which everyone nodded in.

"That is true. But those monsters usually hate people and would not go near them. The proof is... me. I am still here, right? That was because they let me be." 

"...Then how do know they are strong?" Iris chimed in doubtingly.

"... Just the other day, two of them fought. A red striped, black tiger against a gryphon. I may be blind, but as a mage, I could sense their mana all the way from the academy. These beasts were not only physically formidable, but also magically capable. The ruined area spanning of hundreds of meters is enough evidence to me."

"How do you know what they were? You just said you are blind... or are you lying about that too?" Iris said almost mockingly. 

"Iris." Yulan warned.

But I wasn't offended. My name is Vitaly, the most level-headed person in the world! Definitely. Teenage sarcasm have no effect on my mental health! Definitely...!

"Yes, I am blind, but my friends aren't. Do I have to explain more clearly?" I replied sweetly with a matching smile, a finishing move, courtesy to my best friends Lanna and Ra'in.

"... I apologize." Iris backed down with a bow of her head. 

"Well, as long as you understand. I wouldn't lie about this. It also concerns my life, after all."

"Yes, sorry. I was not thinking clearly." 

I nodded, signalling an end to this topic.

"... With that, what does everyone think? Should we press forward?" Yulan took the topic back on track.

"Yes. With you guys, it shouldn't be too hard." I agreed with lip service added.

"... I will have to agree. I cannot fail this test." Jasper seconded. It's probably a misinterpretation, but I thought I heard despair in his voice. Either way, I understand his sentiments.

"I agree." Seirs briefly nodded.

"I have no choice then. Take me as well. I sincerely hope for everyone's success." Iris added with naked dread in her tone. 

"It is decided. We continue forward. Vitaly, where is West?" Yulan asked.

I paused then turned slightly left. Pointing at the skies, I answered. "There."

"...Then let us go."

With only half an hour break, our little group once again started our trek. This time straight to the west, unlike our previous southwest. 

Yulan led with renewed confidence.

Jasper was behind him with grim determination. 

Seirs went on without a word.

I followed along cluelessly.

And Iris walked beside me. 

"Vitaly, are you certain, absolutely certain, that those monsters would not go near us?" Iris fearfully whispered beside me. 

I smiled comfortingly, "Yes."

She nodded once, then lagged behind me, securing the group's rear.

While the group was having tense thoughts, I only walked with confidence.

Ranked 8? 

Ranked 9?

Those things would never get near us. 

Everyday, every morning, a certain human-looking girl would scour the entire forest in search for them. And without exception, whoever got found never saw the next day.

Only idiots, trolls for example, would get near that human ever again.

.

.

.

Though, I'd gladly welcome challengers any dawn.

***

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