"Oh Cyziel! What a coincidence!" Ortix came out of the shrubs. He was all smiles as he slowly walked towards Cyziel.

Cyziel was surprised seeing Ortix appear. "You are by yourself?"

Ortix momentarily opened his mouth. "Ah! Just wait for a bit."

Cyziel tried to send his senses in the direction of the path where Ortix came out. He could sense the three other people. After some time, Volus, Talas and Ayri finally arrived.

"You were running too fast Ort!" Volus remarked as the two people behind him were panting hard. He needed to support them so they could keep up with Ortix.

Cyziel sighed. He then looked at Volus. "Was this really just a coincidence?"

Volus shook his head. "We have been looking for our target with no avail so we stepped out of the forest to rest but Ortix has been continuously trying to sense you so once he felt your presence, he immediately rushed out so we followed him."

"Hey! I was just concerned if you were in trouble!"

"Okay stop it Ort. I know you are making excuses." Cyziel waved his hand once. "Give me the image of the animal that you are looking for."

Trying to stay alive for four years in Daraksta enabled Cyziel and his friends to progress their abilities to unconceivable levels. They were not the only one who were transported there but they were the few ones who were able to escape. They practiced and gained different skills. This includes sensing each other so they could help each other when they are in trouble. Cyziel though didn't think that there is still a reason to keep an eye of each other since Venturia was far less dangerous than Daraksta. At least for now.

Ortix activated his runic watch and showed him an image of a large plated animal like an armadillo but with turtle like feet. Cyziel startled to chuckle as he felt that Ortix' teacher was trolling them.

"Your teacher is an Ocarian right?" Cyziel asked as if verifying something.

Ortix oddly looked at Cyziel. Thinking what does it have to do with his task. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

"You see! This one is an aquatic animal. He probably saw it before underwater."

Ortix started to fume as he placed his hands on his head. "Ahhh!! He didn't even tell us that information! We wasted our day running around the forest! That evil fish!"

"Hey hey! I am also an Ocarian." Jorak who was standing not far from Cyziel interjected. He was seemingly offended calling another Ocarian a fish.

"Ah my apologies. I only meant to insult our instructor." Ortix scanned the people in Cyziel's group. "I have seen you before at the village gate. You should be my friend's groupmates. I am Ortix. His best friend." He then placed his hand on Cyziel's distant shoulder while Cyziel rolled his eyes and sighed instead of arguing, not wanting to embarrass Ortix.

Ortix didn't really see anyone special among Cyziel's new groupmates but he didn't want to cause trouble so he just respectfully introduced himself. He could see the looks of curiosity in their eyes. From the others' knowledge, the two of them came from the same planet but they are really nothing alike. He could visibly notice one particular woman who was glaring at him. Vera had some kind of desire to see what secrets Ortix was hiding or the strength he had in comparison to Cyziel.

Cyziel removed Ortix' hand in his shoulder. "Okay stop now! We are already supposed to rest." He then walked beside Volus and introduced him as one of his other friend. Talas and Ayri introduced themselves and so did the rest of Cyziel's groupmates.

"By the way Jorak, you didn't see that animal under the lake?" Cyziel asked.

"No. There were only some fishes swimming underwater."

Cyziel looked at Ortix. "I guess you should continue tomorrow and rest here with us."

Cyziel made a semi spherical barrier encompassing the whole area around the lake. The two groups then set up 4 tents on the left side of the lake. They also made a bonfire in the middle. Everyone then sat surrounding the bonfire and ate skewered meat from some fish that they caught in the lake.

Ortix narrated what happened to them in the past few days and how they actually got into trouble. After he beat up Jaza, they tried to get back at him. But every time, they were beaten back. Jaza's brother didn't even show himself after all the time that Jaza spoke of him. The only one that came after him were small fry. Eventually, Nathan penalized him and those stupid people with excessive violence in the campus.

"You mean you are the one who beat up Jaza?" Vera can hardly believe it but she then looked at Cyziel who also defeated her and it suddenly does make sense. Was their race just monsters? But where is the rest of them? Did they die in the aether storms?

"Yep! You know him? It is actually kind of disappointing but at least he was persistent enough to keep me entertained." Ortix was actually kind of thankful to Jaza. Without him, his life in school would be really boring.

"Yes. He is also a Lucrim. He was also the top of his class and an arro-" Vera stopped herself from saying arrogant. She knew that she had no right to say it. She might not have been bullying her classmates but she herself was overbearing. She had always used force to resolve any of her issues.

Ortix could see Vera's reaction and he chortled. "Ha! Don't worry too much. I am the same. I have lived my life using others as a stepping stone. As long as you aren't too extreme. I think its okay!" Ortix actually wanted to say that he changed thanks to his friend but he knew that he might be revealing too much information if he said that.

"And that actually came from your mouth." The quiet Volus opened his mouth. He had been with Ortix these past few days and he cannot believe that it was already after he had changed. How did he act before? Did Cyziel beat him up that hard when they first met that his brain got messed up?

After some few hours, most of them got tired. It was only Cyziel, Ortix and Volus who are awake. They have gone weeks or months in Daraksta without sleep so a few hours of sleep was not really a problem for them.

"You guys should have felt that someone was still lurking around a few miles away from here right?" Cyziel said in a soft voice. He was afraid of waking up the others.

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"Yeah! I actually have been feeling it since I entered the forest but it was not trying to get close to me. So maybe it was waiting for night time? It is either some nocturnal creature or someone is hunting at night." Ortix' eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Should I hunt it down?"

"There is no need. Whatever that is, it should not detect us in my barrier. I just want to say to keep your guard up. It might not be a danger for us 3 but it is not the same for the others."

"Let me add some more protection for them." Volus closed his eyes as fog suddenly covered the place surrounding the barrier.

The three finally tried to rest but in actuality, they were all half awake. They already developed some sense of danger and it was currently warning them which made it hard for them to fall asleep.

-- Purple Woods (A few miles away from Cyziel's group) --

"Sir, the people we are tracking suddenly disappeared!" A short cloaked man reported.

"What?" Another cloaked guy who was a bit pale and tall hit the short man causing the short man to fall down the ground. "I brought you here because of your tracking skills and you lost them?"

"Brother we need to find them! They would definitely be a huge trouble in the future!" Another cloaked pale man shouted.

"Shut up! I can't believe I am actually trying to join your little squabbles. If you are actually just wasting my time...." The elder cloaked man snorted. "Tarak! What are you waiting for lying there? Go find them!"

-- Purple Woods (Aqola's Camp) --

"Makan! What have you discovered regarding the Vile Brigands?" Aqola asked their scout who just arrived.

"I was almost discovered but luckily it seems that their scout was too focused on something. What's more is he suddenly left their camp so I was able to get closer and.." Makan smirked. "One of the cloaked figures took off his cloak and it was Jaza from Nathan's class."

"Jaza?" Aqola started laughing hard. "That brute who only knows how to fight? He really is stupid. Hmm... I remember him getting hospitalized a week ago."

"Yes! I saw his bloody face last week. It was quite funny but a real shame for us Lucrims." Zaga chuckled. "Speaking of which. I heard it was the new student Ortix who thrashed him and that Ortix should be Cyziel's brother."

"I think he should be the tattooed guy we saw in the military post earlier. Those bandits should be looking for him." Myla added. Due to Ortix not really being discreet with his actions. A lot of the people have already heard of him. Much more is that he has tattoos that are really noticeable.

"Very good! Very good! Makan! We will go find that Brigand scout. Zaga come with us for a while. I'll tell you our plan." Aqola who was previously sitting in a tree stump stood up. "You two find the other groups. Send them a message that the flowers of destiny are found but it is guarded by some creatures. The location that you will give is the cave we found up front. It doesn't matter if they believe it or not. We just need them to be curious about it and try to inspect the location. Remember not to show yourselves!"

"Are you really planning to use the Vile Brigands? There is a big chance that they would kill them." Watako concerningly asked.

"What?" Aqola chuckled. "Are you concerned about our classmates? Alright, I'll try my best to negotiate their lives." Aqola started laughing again but Watako really didn't find it funny.

--- Purple Woods (Cyziel's Camp) --

It was already afternoon of the next day and Tarak was still not able to find the group that he was previously tracking. He knew that he should have at least placed a mark on them so they won't be able to escape from him. He was overconfident that his senses are enough. His senses was only focused on one guy that his captain's little brother pointed at. The problem was the guy suddenly ran fast that his senses were thrown away.

What is more is that when he tried to expand his senses, he was really not able to find anyone other than some wild animals. Without any other choice, he physically came to the last place that he could sense them. As he tried to look for them, he suddenly saw the forest in front of him covered in fog. His senses cannot penetrate it and he could guess that something dangerous was hidden inside.

He had no choice but to wait for the fog to disappear. When the fog had disappeared, he immediately resumed his search but he only found a deserted camp. He could see that their are some tracks of a bonfire and some foot prints but that was all. Suddenly, an arrow shot from nowhere but he was able to catch it. He was furious at first but he saw a letter attached to it. In the letter was a symbol with an appearance similar to a sun. As he finished reading the letter, he immediately dashed out.

"You think he would take the bait?" Makan asked.

"He definitely would. He looks really desperate! I do not know why there was suddenly a fog here but it isn't anything surprising since this is a forest." Aqola pondered momentarily before taking it off his mind.

"What about Vera's group? Do you think they went there?"

"I am not sure about Cyziel but if it was Vera. She will surely be curious about it. Come on! Let's go watch the show!" Aqola grinned. He was really excited what would happen on the show that he prepared.

Meanwhile, the group of nine was currently helping each other to look for a water source and the flower of destiny. They had already left the camp since morning but Volus didn't let the fog dissipate immediately. Suddenly, they noticed some movements that is happening inside the forest.

"Guys! It seems that some people are rushing up north!" Rika shouted as she saw some people running away.

"Yeah! I could also sense a lot of other groups that are headed at the same place." Ortix confirmed as he then looked at Cyziel. "Should we also check it out?"

"I'm not the leader here." Cyziel smiled at Vera. "What do you think?"

Vera looked back at him as she pondered. "Alright... Let's check it out."

As they arrived at the place, they could already see different groups of people. There are even groups from other classes. It seems that this task was not only inclusive to those under Garland.

The team ignored the other people in the scene and went to the entrance of the cave.

Ortix raised his senses to check the cave. "It seems that this cave is really large! I can't cover it all but there are already people inside and I can hear people fighting."

Volus did the same and he released an aura towards the cave. "There are 3 dead. 7 of them are not in a good condition. The last one does seems to be much stronger than the rest."

Cyziel finally sent his own aura and he could sense that 5 of them are familiar to him. "Draka's group is there and they seem to be fighting someone I am not familiar with. Should we go in and help them?"

Ru rushed forward to Cyziel as she latched on his sleeves. Concern was really apparent in her eyes. "Cyziel! Please help them!"

"Vera?" Cyziel inquired.

"Of course we will help them!" Vera decisively said. She won't allow anyone else to die. She might not be that close to anyone else but she knew what is right. The humans should be helping each other and not killing each other. "Rika! Please inform the military camp!"

"Talas! Ayri! You two should also go with her. We are not sure if there are other enemies observing us. The other people here might already know that there are some problems inside so they are scared to go in, not knowing that some people are already dead." Cyziel added, thinking that most of these people really want to know if the news regarding the flower of destiny was true. If it was, then they would also rush in. Otherwise, they would just let the rest waste their time and energy inside.

The 3 immediately left and the remaining 6 rushed inside the cave. A few minutes after the six entered, a cloaked man also entered the cave.

"Who is that? Didn't the brigand scout already entered earlier?" Myla asked.

"This just means that those bandits are not entirely stupid. They sent someone to keep an eye or assist their scout. He should have come out after seeing their target get in." Aqola answered. "Zaga cave it in! We will trap them all. Its like killing two birds with one stone!"

"Aqola! Our classmates might die there! Aren't we being too excessive?" Watako shouted.

"I already asked their scout to not kill anyone else and just use the others as bait in exchange for helping him catch their target. If he doesn't do it then it is not my fault." Aqola said without care. "Some of our classmates are also already looking for help so the others just need to survive don't they? If they die then isn't it because they are weak?"

Zaga waited for a couple of minutes and seeing that Cyziel's group and the cloaked man were already far from the entrance, he activated the bombs that Aqola tasked him to place before. The blast was so strong which exceeded their expectations. The entrance caved in and even some paths inside were destroyed. The people around were flabbergasted as they sent some of their own to ask for help from the military camps.