The fights continued. Some fights were quick and decisive. Others were longer and more technical. But eventually, all ten duels were completed.

Professor Hendricks stepped back onto the central platform. "All duels are now concluded! Rankings will be posted shortly. You have exactly two hours to rest, eat, and prepare your supplies for Part Three of the examination."

He paused, his expression becoming more serious.

"Part Three will take place in the Arvsen Forest, starting at the northern border near the academy grounds. You will each be given an emergency talisman that will immediately extract you from the forest if activated. However, activating this talisman means automatic failure of Part Three."

Murmurs ran through the crowd.

"You will be scored based on several criteria: survival time, resources gathered, magical beasts defeated, and overall demonstration of wilderness skills. The minimum passing requirement is to survive the full forty-eight hours. Everything else is bonus points."

Hendricks pulled out what looked like a crystal compass. "You will also be given one of these. It's a basic navigation crystal that will prevent you from getting completely lost. It will not guide you to safety, but it will show you which direction the academy is located so you don't wander deeper into the forest by accident."

"Are we allowed to work together?" someone in the crowd called out.

"Yes," Hendricks replied. "Cooperation is permitted and even encouraged. The real world doesn't care about individual achievements when your life is on the line. However, your individual scores will still be tracked separately."

Lucas considered that. Working with others would definitely improve his chances of survival, but it would also mean sharing resources and potentially slowing down to accommodate weaker members of a group.

"Any other questions?" Hendricks asked.

"What kind of beasts are in the forest?" another student asked.

"The Arvsen Forest is home to a variety of magical creatures. Most of them are Low-Stage Copper rank or below, which should be manageable for academy students. However, there have been reports of Mid-Stage Copper beasts in certain areas, and very rarely, High-Stage Copper or even Low-Stage Iron rank creatures in the deeper regions."

Hendricks's expression became stern. "You are explicitly forbidden from venturing into the deep forest. Stay within the outer and middle regions where the monitoring crystals have coverage. Anyone found in the deep forest will be immediately extracted and fail the examination. Am I clear?"

A chorus of "Yes, sir!" rang out.

"Good. Gather your supplies and meet at the northern gate in two hours. Dismissed!"

The crowd began to disperse, students breaking off into groups to discuss strategy or heading toward the supply depot to gather equipment.

Lucas stood there for a moment, mentally cataloguing what he would need. Food, water, basic camping equipment, maybe some medical supplies in case the emergency talisman didn't activate quickly enough...

"Hey, Lucas!" Damion appeared beside him again. "A bunch of us are planning to stick together during the forest portion. You want in?"

Lucas looked at the group forming around Damion. Besides the protagonist himself, there was Zacard, Celeste, Lydia, and shockingly, Garrett Mills.

"Safety in numbers," Zacard said. "And we've got a good mix of skills. Damion, Celeste and I can handle combat. Lydia is excellent with a sword, has some healing knowledge and knows wilderness survival. Garrett is here as well. I'm not sure what he's good at but he insisted on joining."

"Hey!" Garrett protested.

"You're welcome to join us," Celeste said, her tone making it clear that this was less an invitation and more an expectation.

Lucas thought about it. A group this size would be relatively safe, but it would also be harder to move quietly and avoid drawing attention from the more dangerous beasts. On the other hand, if they did run into something nasty, having backup would be invaluable.

Plus, traveling with the protagonist and other main characters would likely lead to plot-relevant encounters. That could be either very good or very bad, depending on how things played out.

"Alright," Lucas said. "I'm in."

"Excellent!" Damion clapped his hands together. "Then let's go get our supplies and plan our route. Two days in the Arvsen Forest. This is going to be fun!"

Lucas couldn't help but notice the way Garrett was eyeing him suspiciously as they walked toward the supply depot together.

"So," Garrett said, "you're actually pretty decent with magic. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Practice," Lucas replied simply. "Lots of practice."

"That's it? Just practice?" Garrett frowned. "Come on, there has to be more to it than that. Those movement techniques weren't standard academy curriculum."

Lucas shrugged. "I had a good teacher before coming here."

It was vague enough to be believable while not revealing anything substantial. Garrett looked like he wanted to press further, but Zacard cut in before he could.

"I think what Garrett is trying to say in his own special way, is that you impressed him," Zacard said. "Which is high praise coming from someone who thinks he's the gods' gift to magical combat."

"I never said that!" Garrett said.

"You didn't have to," Zacard replied. "Your entire personality says it for you."

"You two know each other?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, our families do business together." Garrett said.

"Yes, I do know him. Unfortunately." Zacard said.

"Be nice, Zacard. I'm sure Garrett's not that bad once you get past the whole... everything about him." Lydia said, laughing.

"Thanks?" Garrett said.

"You're welcome," Lydia replied sweetly.

Celeste, who had been quiet up until now, spoke up. "We should discuss our formation for the forest. It doesn't matter how skilled we are individually if we don't coordinate properly."

"Good point," Damion agreed. "What are everyone's strengths? I know I'm best at close combat with fire magic support. Celeste is versatile but specializes in quick swordplay and ice magic, am I right?"

Celeste nodded.

"I'm also very good at figuring things out." She said, giving Lucas a wink.

"I'm primarily offensive magic," Zacard said. "Lightning-based. Good range, high damage, but my defensive capabilities are limited."

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