"Sigh…this is what happens when you waste too much time talking…" Daru shook his head in disappointment, proceeding to check the tight hollow beneath the Coneleaf Mangrove.

He spread it open and poked his head inside.

'Yeah, this will do for a temporary hiding place…'

It wasn't too comfortable, but safety was the priority.

He would be entering the realm for an hour again later, anyway.

And so, squeezing himself in, Daru pressed his palms on his sword mark for three seconds before the world warped into a white void, then the ceiling of his classroom.

The classroom, strangely, was still full, yet the usual liveliness after a grind session was gone.

Everyone had slightly anxious and curious looks on their faces as they sat in their adjusted slumber capsules.

Daru noticed why the moment he stood up: Instructor Talon was sitting at his desk with a serious look on his face.

It seemed that he was here to announce something important.

Sure enough, the moment everyone had been kicked out of the realm…

"Good, looks like everyone is here…" the veteran instructor nodded in satisfaction before standing up.

"As you all have probably guessed, I'm here to announce something important. A new novice event has started."

After hearing Talon's opening words, Class 70 instantly burst into hushed commotion.

The other classes suffered a few "casualties" and already had a small idea of what was going on due to their despairing classmates' laments.

Apparently, there were novices from the other races who had somehow made their way into their leveling zones and were ambushing people, though some claimed they suddenly found themselves in another location, murdered by a group of Veshari, a high-ranking Vyrrkan, or an Aetherborn.

The stories revolving in the classrooms of the affected students were quite chaotic, but the main point was that they were suddenly encountering bladeborns from the other races, resulting in ambushes, skirmishes, and duels.

The chaos, however, was successfully contained by the academy by sending the instructors to the classrooms early to wait for their students to exit the realm.

Talon had been waiting here for more than an hour already, though he posted something on the whiteboard way earlier that said no one was to leave the classroom early today, so he could grind for a few hours in the sword realm himself.

The academy's efforts to contain the panic seemed to be quite effective.

"Listen carefully." Talon continued. "Inter-continental teleportation traps have been placed in the novice zones and will be here to stay for a month. If you enter the effective range of one, you will be transported to the continent the trap is connected to. You will be forced to remain there for an entire month or until you lose one life. Watch your step and be careful out there."

The hearts of the majority sank at the announcement.

An entire month of having to watch their steps?

This wasn't too difficult, but what if the traps are hidden in grass, or if they accidentally stepped into one in the middle of their battle with a swordspawn?

Heck, they didn't even know what the traps looked like!

Talon didn't know either, since his generation hadn't experienced this accursed event.

He had no way to help his students in this matter.

Also, according to their meeting earlier, the traps were in different shapes and sizes—some even hidden in the body of a random swordspawn.

He would only be making his students panic if he told them such information.

But then, just when a majority was being overwhelmed by one side of the problems the damned event brought with it, Genevieve, who was Daru's previous opponent in the ranking matches, raised her hands.

"T-Then, instructor…does this also mean that bladeborns from other races would be sent to our zones, too?"

Talon turned to look, sternly nodding.

"Correct, which means you guys also have to watch your backs, as the novices of the enemy races would probably be waiting in ambush out of desperation to survive."

The low-rankers paled at the information, one of them instantly raising his hands.

"I-Instructor! Can I not enter the realm during this time? I'm just an E-ranker, there's no way I'll survive this event without losing a life or two!"

To everyone's surprise, Talon also nodded.

"That…is an advisable thing to do for low-rankers."

This made them realize the severity of the situation. However, strangely, there was a reluctant look on the instructor's face.

It was as though he wanted the low-rankers to continue entering the realm, despite the dangers.

"But do note that if you opt for this, you will be left behind by your peers even more. Also, the Novice Warmedal Ranking Stone would keep track of everyone's contributions during this time.

For each kill of enemy bladeborns, you will obtain one Warmedal, which will be rewarded appropriately by the world government through the academy's rewards department. "

One of the fairly-smart low-rankers, whose courage was boosted through greed, suddenly chimed in with a somewhat excited undertone:

"I see! If we, the low-rankers of our race, are at risk of being sent to another continent, then isn't this the same for the low-rankers of the other races? There are more of us in our continent, so we can form parties during this time instead of stopping operations altogether! This would make the enemy high-rankers think twice before ambushing us, and the low-rankers easier to hunt!"

The low-rankers instantly burst into enthusiastic hubbub, nodding at each other and chiming in after hearing the great idea.

Indeed, why cower out and let the invaders run amok in their continent when they could hunt them down with superior numbers?

They would be able to tremendously increase their survival chances like this.

Not only that, but they would also be able to split the government's rewards among themselves.

This option was way better than wasting an entire month!

Talon inwardly remembered the face of the "smart" low-ranker, planning to give him a few secret bonuses in lecture points for making his job easier.

Dangerous and chaotic as the event was, they had to take this chance to ruin the younger generation of the enemy races, which would be impossible if they didn't have enough manpower.

It would be a tragedy for their high-rankers to be decimated in their own lands simply due to the unwillingness of the low-rankers to risk their lives.

"Correct. This is another, smarter option in my opinion. Group together and hunt down the enemy.

If you spot top-rankers, engage at your own discretion, but it would be better to report to us first so we can send a high-ranker party to hunt the individual down.

However, if you were somehow unlucky enough to be transported to the other continents, I advise you to focus on surviving the day, then stop activities for the remainder of the month. Even top-rankers would find it difficult to survive alone while being hunted down.

That's all from me.

The afternoon classes will proceed as usual. Have your lunch, rest for a bit, and I'll see you guys in the sixth training field."

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