Zenora had to now defend herself from the Orc towering over her. If it were any situation, she would have triumphed, but this was close combat which she was not suited for. She fired a set of fire barrage and fire bullets, which the Lord blocked with his large cobblestone sword. Though these swords were big, heavy, and less durable in the hands of an Orc, their immense weight made it possible to crush bones.

A vertical swing made Zenora uneasy, and she put up a defensive barrier. This shattered on impact, causing her to leave her balance and fall. Gilly noticed the situation that Zenora was in; she took a stance similar to the finishing blow she did during the exam.

Seil had dealt several fatal blows to the Knight, and the scale began to tip in his favor. His swings were as smooth as water. The battle was beginning to tilt in his favor. Several sword clashes made the Knight lose its posture. Seeing the chance, Seil cut his hand cleanly like a knife in butter. This was followed by its head, seen flying detached from its body.

On that stance, Gilly dashed forward at amazing speed and performed a vertical Meta Slash. The Orc Lord was split in half and blood splattered everywhere, painted the ruffled flowered ground red and Zenora along with it. In front of her stood Gilly, who put her sword over her shoulder, stretching out her hand to her. Zenora could not help but smile.

Even Seil, who had just seen the last part of the clash, shook his head in approval. Zin appeared beside Zenora, patting her on the head. She was his little sister even though they were not related by blood.

"Rest and wash up."

He said, and taught them how to harvest their mana crystals.

Zenora used water magic on herself, getting rid of all blood stains, and then proceeded to use wind magic to dry herself. By the time she was done, the others had collected all the crystals from the corpses. They rested a few hours and went on their way, heading east to the beach.

Far off, the light from the blue-tinted sun made the sand on the seashore look like blue glowing crystals. There was a large black lizard the size of a large truck basking in the sun. Reaching the end of the forest where the trees were less, a dark-scaled figure could now be seen rolling on the beach.

Gilly gasped in surprise; just seeing the size of the creature was intimidating. "That is what you will be fighting."

Zin pointed to the lazy figure on the sand.

"Since it is your test, you will be the vanguard. Seil will support, and Zenora will just do her thing."

Gilly’s lips curved up in an unusual manner, her nervousness quite evident. Zin pushed her forward, and Seil followed closely behind.

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Gilly was worried; she only knew fire magic, and this beast was resistant to it. She pulled her sword and ran in the left direction; Seil followed suit but in the opposite direction. The creature noticed their nimble movements and jumped on its feet, giving off a blood-curdling screech. It charged straight toward Seil, which was unexpected since Gilly was ahead.

Zenora stamped her metal staff on the floor, and a halo of white light about five meters in radius spread out for where she stood. A white, colorful magic circle spawned in front of her. The wind began to swirl, and long water bullets could be seen forming.

Before the salamander had reached Seil, it turned its head toward Gilly and released a fire barrage. Using Wind’s Grace, she was able to dodge all of the incoming attacks, though she was pushed back. Seil, seizing the opportunity, dashed forward, striking the salamander on its side. A loud clang reverberated, and Seil's sword vibrated as he jumped back a few meters.

The salamander also leaped into the air, using its weight, and crashed into the dune, raising dust for cover. Gilly, already drawing close, went with a Meta Slash, which cut cleanly through the hard black armor, although the wound was shallow. Jumping back, the salamander turned to Gilly, heading for her terrifyingly. She was caught off guard and head-butted a few meters into the air.

Seil also approached with a wing of his sword, but the swift turn of the salamander made him jump back. His reaction was late, and he was pushed back, just barely blocking. A series of water bullets landed on the scale, and steam could be seen rising. Staring in her direction, the salamander let out a huge fireball toward the forest.

Zenora had already prepared a set of blue shields of light to block the impact of the fireball. The trees around her were on fire, and the earth was scorched. She circled water around her to put out all the fire while the clash was still going on. Seil had made several attempts but had not succeeded against the tough armor. His swing diverted the salamander's head as he narrowly avoided a killing blow.

Seizing the opportunity, Gilly performed a Meta Slash, cutting off the salamander's tail. She had borne the full brunt of all its magic attacks, and she was pissed. Zin shook his head, and Zenora could not help but conjure a large water ball spinning faster with the wind attribute.

The salamander was enraged and screeched loudly. This caused Gilly’s head to buzz. Seil immediately flashed forward and stabbed it; this time his sword went in. The salamander was still screaming when it noticed a large blue object heading at it at great speed. Before it could react, a hole appeared through its head, and it fell moments later.

Zenora had listened from the briefing and also from books. Salamanders have two weaknesses: one is inside their mouth, and the other is soft under the belly. Zin, as usual, appeared beside her, nodding his head. She wore a bright smile, which was what she had learned from Ephini. She stumbled back before she sat on the floor. Her mana pool was drained.

She was only used to second-grade and barely used third-grade magic. The last skill she used was water wheel and wind swirl, two peaks of third-grade magic. She was skilled, but she was a second-circle mage; her limit was peak second-grade spells.

Zin walked towards the others as Seil could be seen struggling from a distance, trying to pull out his sword. It seemed comical; moments ago he was almost eaten by a Salamander. Zanora chuckled and Gilly laughed. Zin showed them how to harvest the important materials, which were the scale, tooth, talons, and its mana core. It took nearly six hours to harvest, and they all slept soundly as Zin kept watch.