We continued through the dense forest for another thirty minutes, moving carefully while I tracked potential survivor signatures through Blood Trail detection. The ambient mana felt unstable here—chaotic fluctuations that suggested we were far from civilized territories, possibly in one of the kingdom's wild frontier regions.
As we navigated around a particularly dense thicket, I heard something—quiet sobbing mixed with ragged breathing.
I raised my hand to halt the group, then moved forward cautiously to investigate.
Behind a fallen log, partially concealed by overgrown vegetation, I found a student curled into defensive position. His academy uniform was torn and soaked with blood—both his own and presumably others'. Tears streaked down his dirt-covered face, and his eyes held the glazed look of someone in severe shock.
He noticed my approach and flinched violently, scrambling backward with panic written across his features.
