A few hours later, Aris and her friends were waiting for their mentor in their room. They were already prepared for the hunt, equipped with light armor and weapons.
They were chatting among themselves when the door creaked open. A middle-aged man with a stern face and a long sword at his waist walked in.
It was Balen, their mentor.
"Are all of you prepared for the hunt?"
Balen asked as he looked over their equipment to make sure they were ready.
"Yes, Mentor!"
Aris and her friends answered together. They looked at Balen with confident smiles on their faces.
Balen nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Then we'll leave now."
He turned and walked toward the door, and Aris and the others quickly followed him.
After half an hour of walking, they finally reached the Green Forest.
Aris and her friends looked at the forest in front of them. The Green Forest was a natural habitat for powerful monster beasts. The trees were thick and tall, and their huge leaves blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the ground.
Because of this, many areas of the forest were dark, making it an ideal place for monster beasts to live.
There was another reason why the forest was so favorable to them.
It was filled with mana.
Just like humans, monster beasts needed mana and resources to advance their cultivation. Since the Green Forest was rich in mana, many natural treasures could be found inside it. Monster beasts often consumed these treasures to strengthen themselves.
Humans also came to the forest to collect these treasures for themselves. Because of this, conflicts between humans and monster beasts often broke out over valuable resources.
Balen had brought Aris and her friends here to collect some low-grade herbs and let them gain experience by fighting Tier 1 Common Beasts.
Balen looked at the group and took a piece of paper from inside his armor.
"Today, our mission is to collect RoseBerry Flowers from the forest. Collecting them won't be easy. These flowers are usually guarded by Tier 1 Common Beasts."
He looked at them seriously.
"So, you have to fight those Common Beasts and collect the RoseBerry Flowers. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mentor!"
Aris and her friends answered together.
They weren't worried. With their combined strength, killing a few Common Beasts shouldn't be a problem.
This mission would be a piece of cake for them.
Seeing the smug looks on their faces, Balen immediately reminded them,
"Don't underestimate these Common Beasts. Even if they don't have any mana, they can still seriously injure you. So take the fight seriously."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"In the forest, you must always be careful. Even a small insect can kill you if you're careless. I hope you understand what I'm saying. Never underestimate anything when you're facing monster beasts."
Aris and her friends nodded.
They understood the seriousness in their mentor's words.
"Okay, let's go. It's time to hunt some monster beasts."
"Yes!"
Balen started walking into the forest, and Aris and her friends followed behind him.
As they walked, Balen looked at the paper he had taken out earlier. It contained information about the RoseBerry Flowers and their location.
He had bought the information from an explorer the previous day.
According to the information on the paper, they needed to walk for about twenty minutes to reach the area where the RoseBerry Flowers grew.
Balen put the paper back into his armor pocket and continued walking.
However, it took them half an hour to finally reach the location mentioned on the paper.
They soon found many RoseBerry Flowers growing among the grass. Their bright red petals stood out clearly against the green surroundings.
Strangely, they couldn't see a single Tier 1 Common Beast guarding the flowers.
Aris and her friends were relieved.
They quickly began collecting the flowers.
Just as they were working, a low roar suddenly came from the bushes nearby.
"Grrr..."
Everyone froze.
Balen's expression changed instantly.
"Stop collecting. Prepare for battle."
His voice was low, but there was no hesitation in it.
The bushes began shaking violently.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest.
Then, several large figures suddenly burst out of the undergrowth.
Balen's eyes widened.
"These aren't Tier 1 Common Beasts..."
Standing before them were several massive wild boars covered in thick, stone-like armor. Their backs looked as if they were made of rock, while their sharp, curved tusks looked like blades.
They were Tier 2 Uncommon Beasts—Stoneback Razorhogs.
Known for their violent nature and terrifying defense, Stoneback Razorhogs had extremely tough bodies. Ordinary weapons could barely injure them.
"They're Stoneback Razorhogs... a whole group of them."
Balen's expression turned grim.
Aris and her friends felt their hearts sink.
This was far beyond what they had prepared for.
Balen immediately drew his sword.
"Run."
He stepped forward.
"All of you, escape now. I'll hold them back."
"But, Mentor..."
Someone shouted in panic.
"There's no time!"
Balen roared.
"I'm a Tier 3 Adept. I can hold them back for a while. You must leave immediately!"
The Stoneback Razorhogs lowered their heads and pawed at the ground.
Their eyes were filled with savage intent as they prepared to charge.
Balen stepped forward and positioned himself between the beasts and his students.
Even as a Tier 3 Adept Awakener, facing a group of Stoneback Razorhogs was extremely dangerous. Their strength was terrifying, and their stone-like bodies were difficult to injure.
Yet Balen didn't retreat.
He tightened his grip on his sword and took a deep breath.
"Come."
He stared at the beasts.
"Let me see how strong you really are."
The ground trembled as the Razorhogs charged.
They rushed forward like boulders rolling downhill, smashing through bushes and small trees and leaving broken branches scattered behind them.
"Run!" Balen shouted again.
Aris and her friends finally snapped out of their shock and began fleeing.
Balen stepped forward alone.
Faint light gathered around his blade.
"First Form—Cleaving Slash!"
He swung his sword in a wide arc.
A sharp wave of force cut through the air and struck the leading Razorhog.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking stone rang through the forest.
The Razorhog was pushed back several steps, but its thick hide only suffered a shallow scratch.
Balen's pupils shrank.
"So hard..."
Before he could react, another Razorhog slammed into him from the side.
Boom!
Balen was thrown backward and crashed into a tree.
The trunk cracked from the impact.
"Mentor!" Aris cried out, instinctively slowing down.
"Don't stop!" Balen shouted. "Keep going!"
The Razorhogs snorted angrily and split into two groups.
Some chased after Aris and the others, while the rest surrounded Balen. Their tusks scraped against the ground, sending sparks flying as they charged again.
Balen forced himself back onto his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Damn beasts..."
He stabbed toward one Razorhog's eye.
The blade pierced through its eye, and the beast let out a painful roar before collapsing to the ground.
But two more rushed toward him immediately.
Balen raised his sword to block.
Bang!
The impact numbed both of his arms.
Crack!
His feet slid backward across the dirt, leaving deep marks behind him.
Meanwhile, Aris and her friends were running desperately through the forest.
Branches scratched their faces, while exposed roots nearly caused them to fall several times.
"Why are Tier 2 beasts here?!" one of the girls cried.
"This mission was supposed to be safe!" another said.
Aris clutched Snow Pup tightly against her chest as she ran.
Her heart was pounding wildly.
Her mentor was fighting alone.
What if he can't hold them back?
***
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