"I can fight up close with a sword," Lydia said.

"And I know which plants are safe to eat, how to purify water, and how to construct basic shelters."

"I can also handle some healing, though nothing too advanced. Basic cuts and bruises, maybe setting a broken bone if I have to. My father made sure I learned wilderness survival before attending the academy."

All eyes turned to Garrett.

"What?" he said. "I'm good at lots of things!"

"Name one," Zacard said.

Garrett's jaw worked for a moment. "Fine. I'm excellent at reconnaissance. I can use wind magic to extend my senses and scout ahead without being detected. I'm also good at setting up warning perimeters."

"Actually useful," Zacard said, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Did you think I was just going to say I'm good at looking handsome?" Garrett shot back.

"Yes," Zacard said.

Even Damion looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"You people are terrible," Garrett muttered, though Lucas noticed he was fighting back a smile.

They arrived at the supply depot, a large warehouse-like building near the training grounds. Inside, rows of shelves held everything from dried rations to camping equipment to basic medical supplies.

"Take only what you can comfortably carry," one of the attendants called out. "You'll be on foot for forty-eight hours. Overloading yourself is a good way to fail through exhaustion."

The group spread out, each person selecting their supplies with varying degrees of care.

Lucas grabbed a practical pack and started filling it systematically: dried meat and hardtack, a water skin, a bedroll, flint and steel, rope, a small cooking pot, and a first-aid kit. He also grabbed a small knife and a sturdy walking stick.

"You pack like you've done this before," Lydia observed, appearing beside him with her own supplies.

"Common sense, mostly," Lucas replied. "Don't bring more than you can carry. Prioritize water, food, and warmth. Everything else is secondary."

"Spoken like a true pragmatist," she said approvingly. "You'd be surprised how many students here have never spent a night outdoors without servants and magical amenities."

Lucas glanced over at Garrett, who was trying to figure out if he could fit an extra set of clothes into his already-bulging pack.

"I can see that," Lucas said dryly.

Damion walked over carrying a surprisingly modest pack. "I think we're about ready. Should we talk strategy?"

"Might as well wait until we're at the forest entrance," Zacard suggested, joining them. "We'll have a better sense of the terrain once we can actually see it."

"Fair enough," Damion agreed. "Though I think our basic approach should be to stick to the outer regions for the first day, establish a defensible camp, and then push into the middle regions for hunting and resource gathering on day two."

"Conservative but sensible," Celeste said, appearing with her own supplies. "The priority is passing, not heroics."

"Where's the fun in that?" Garrett called from across the room.

"The fun is in not getting eaten by a magical beast," Lydia replied cheerfully.

"She makes an excellent point," Lucas added.

"Fine, fine. Conservative approach. But if we run into something interesting, I reserve the right to say I told you so when we investigate it." Garrett said.

"Deal," Damion said. "As long as you also accept responsibility when that investigation inevitably goes wrong."

"It won't go wrong!"

"It absolutely will," everyone else said simultaneously.

Garrett looked around at the group. "The disrespect. The absolute disrespect. I'm being bullied."

"Yes," Celeste said simply. "Get used to it."

This group had decent chemistry, even with the personality clashes. That will be very important in the forest.

They finished gathering their supplies and headed toward the exit. Outside, the sun was beginning its descent toward the horizon. Two hours wasn't much time, but it would be enough to eat a proper meal and mentally prepare for what was coming.

"Meet at the northern gate in ninety minutes?" Damion suggested. "That gives us time to rest and go over final preparations."

"Alright!" Everyone said and the group then split up.

Lucas headed to his dorm room. He made his way across the academy grounds toward the dorms at a high speed as he intended to relax a bit in luxury before heading out into the forest.

He quickly reached he Araite dorm where the male noble students lived. It was a separate building from the regular rooms.

It was a three-story building made from polished marble with detailed carvings of mythical beasts decorating the outside walls.

Big windows with stained glass panels caught the afternoon light, throwing colorful patterns across the well-kept gardens that surrounded the building.

Unlike the shared rooms that most students had to deal with, the rich kid dorm offered private rooms, each with its own study area, closet, and even a small sitting area with cushioned chairs.

He climbed the marble steps to the second floor into the wide hallway where the oil paintings of former academy graduates were still watching him.

They felt kind of familiar now, Eras the Sharp-eyed, the best archer was still watching him with his sharp eyes.

Laykan Slevan, who he now knew was Celeste's uncle was watching him as well despite going missing a few years back in the real world.

King Darius III, the king himself was also watching Lucas. Just seeing his face reminded Lucas of the horrible attack by the Legion.

Room 203 was halfway down the hall, still marked with a brass nameplate with the Estellan family crest.

Lucas pushed open the heavy oak door and entered his room that was pretty spacious by academy standards, with tall windows that looked out over the practice fields.

A big four-poster bed took up one corner, while a mahogany desk sat under the window, covered with unused textbooks and blank paper.

A closet stood against the far wall, and a small seating area with two leather chairs took up the space near the fireplace.

Lucas jumped into the bed to relax and intended to check his stats.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.