"Why are they making so much noise?" Lock was unable to discern if her prey was overconfident or sheerly stupid.

For half an hour she and her teammates had been stalking another team while staying over the forest canopy. A difficult task for a normal person but not for them as the three grew up in the Forest of Woes, a wretched place where there's only one law, 'hunt or be hunted.'

The three were walking in a file. The boy in the lead held a silver sword with an indigo nimbus of light surrounding it. He hacked the vines, shrubs, and young shoots meticulously, creating a path. Behind him was a girl, the most alert of the group, with a shortsword strapped to her back. She gave furtive glances towards every direction erratically, maybe she was more nervous than alert. The last one was a strange guy with an eyepatch. He was whistling a tune with no structure or melody and sounded like the cries of a bird undergoing hemorrhage. As one at the rear, his job was to protect their backs but he gazed towards the sky unblinkingly with a single eye, with no regard for his surroundings.

Lock was confused, in a forest, any beast, of any strength would always lay low lest it alerts its prey or its predator. But she was no mere predator, she was a hunter. The one who lies at the top of the food chain. Over years of hunting, stalking the prey for hours under blistering heat, frigid snowfall, and neck-deep water her instincts had never lied to her once. But this time, they were unresponsive.

"Should we attack now?" Ness, one of her teammates, asked.

"Wait. Now's not the time." Lock replied. Even though Ness didn't want to wait anymore she still refrained from protesting. The three had agreed that Lock, as the strongest would be their leader.

They trailed for another ten minutes until the three arrived at a clearing. They argued amongst themselves for a bit until the guy with an eyepatch parted from them while the other two settled below the shade of a tree at the edge of the clearing.

"Nom, get the one eyed kid, I and Ness will handle those two."

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A guy hanging from a branch above with a single hand nodded.

"Remember the promise we made to Gramps. Come back alive." Lock added with a hint of concern in her voice.

"You too." With those words, Nom dropped to the ground in search of his target.

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"How do you think other students are handling the situation Milin?" Eren asked.

Milin thought for a second or two before answering, "I can't say much about Lowborns, but the Highborns were definitely prepared. What happens in the Academy is no secret to us. Every Highborn applicant came prepared to die, its a matter of honor after all. They should be doing as good as us if not better."

Eren nodded, even though Lowborn graduates existed, their proportion in the total population was really low, so Academy was still a place shrouded in mystery for them. Eren lifted his sword and slashed the air. He had cast the spell Dark Sword on it, which increased its sharpness and strength and dealt extra damage to Fiends, it was a great spell but not the most optimal when it came to fighting humans which made Eren wonder if his Aether was wasted.

They had found a tent, few weapons, and non-perishable food in a crate on their way. They didn't have use for all the weapons so they hid a few under a rock.

"Do you think Rudra will be safe?" Milin asked.

Rudra had left them in search of Gunk, a blue moss that grew on trees. When eaten it would stimulate the neurons giving the person both extreme pain and pleasure. It was extremely addictive and banned in Tarkhel from consumption and cultivation, except for military and medicinal practices. Rudra as half Curtis had the Talent of copying the pain of a human and transferring it to another one. So Gunk in the hands of a Curtis would be a cruel weapon but it was meant to be used as a last-ditch effort.

"He will be fine," Eren brushed away Milin's concerns, "Rudra is strong and he promised to stay close."

"I get that he is stro-"

"Air Slash!" The ground shook as the tree fell after its trunk got severed into two.

Eren stood with the support of his sword. If he hadn't ducked in time his fate would have probably been similar to that of the tree. Milin pulled out her shortsword and pointed it at the attackers. Unfortunately, she was bleeding as the attack had managed to graze her head.

Eren steadied himself and took a stance. With a mocking smile, he taunted the aggressors, "what sort of ambushers announce their presence before attacking?"