"Don't panic! They're just Grade-D Beasts! Hold your ground!" a boy wielding two short swords ordered as he fought against an Alpha Forest Wolf.

His group had hurriedly retreated the moment they heard the first dying scream. However, they were forced to engage the Beasts that had lunged at them from the shadows. It was then when they realized that they had already been surrounded.

More than twenty Alpha wolves leapt out from the trees and engaged them in battle. The skirmish was fierce as the students and Beasts collided in a deadly battle to the death.

What the students didn't know was that all the Beasts within the Enchanted Forest were well-versed in fighting with humans. This was after all, one of the training grounds where the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Year students came to train their martial skills.

Naturally, their opponents were these same beasts in the forest. As time went on, the Beasts had learned how to fight against humans and had become more proficient over the passing of time. Even if the Alpha Wolves were only Grade D Beasts, they were more than enough to deal with First Year Students who were still wet behind the ears.

The most powerful student in the group unleashed a flurry of strikes towards one of the Alpha Wolves which almost ended its life. When the deathblow was about to connect, a wolf paw appeared out of nowhere and struck the boy in his chest.

The students tried to regroup, but the wolves blocked their path. It was at that moment when a large wolf eyed them as if they were the most delicious delicacies in the world. The three-meter tall wolf with a silver horn on the middle of its forehead howled. It was the one who attacked the strongest student in the party and protected its subordinate.

"Long Horned Timber Wolf!" the boy wielding two short swords cried out in alarm. "That's a Class C Beast! Everyone, run!"

The Long Horned Timber Wolf bared its fangs and bit down on the injured boy that it had just attacked. The boy was too injured to fight back and immediately turned into particles of light, which brought despair to the rest of his group.

They were still able to defend each other due to their group's strongest warrior, but now that he was gone, their formation easily crumbled into pieces.

More screams resounded in the night followed by a powerful wolf howl. The other creatures in the forest who heard the Timber Wolf's declaration roared in reply.

What the Timber Wolf had said caused a frenzy among the other creatures who were busy hunting down the students in the forest.

They would not allow the Timber Wolf to get ahead of them and gain the rewards that were promised by the red-headed boy.

----

'Excluding you, there are only fifteen more humans remaining in the forest,' the Spire stated as it raised its head to look at the moon. 'I've been in this forest for a very long time and this is the first time I've seen such an event. I guess this is to be expected of the one chosen by our Eternal Guardian.'

'Spire, don't be too overconfident,' William reprimanded the beast. 'Never underestimate humans. They are the most cunning and vicious species on the planet. Although we might be winning now, it is too early to tell who is going to have the last laugh.'

'True,' the Spire admitted. 'Even so, this is already a good result, no?'

'Indeed.' William nodded his head. 'To be honest, this is already better than I expected.'

The spire turned its head to look at the boy riding on its back. 'Anyone would be moved by the rewards that you have offered. Only fools will reject this kind of opportunity to become stronger.'

'So you say, but, didn't you reject the offer I gave you earlier?' William teased. 'If you agreed, wouldn't you have become the dominant Beast in this Enchanted Forest? How come you didn't grab hold of that opportunity?'

'You don't understand, William.' The Spire shook his head. 'We are creatures of the Herd and the deer of the forest are pacifists. We don't like to fight, but prefer to spend our lives living in peace. Even if I become stronger than the others then what of it? It will just disrupt the balance that has been maintained for more than a century.'

William didn't try to persuade the Spire because he knew that it was a noble and proud Beast. He just told it to come and find him if it ever changed its mind in the future.

The red-headed boy and the Guardian of the Herd had created an equal pact with each other. Spire became a member of William's Herd, but he couldn't summon it to fight with him in a casual manner. The Spire told him that it would remain inside the Enchanted Forest and protect its herd like it had done over the years.

However, if William were to truly need its strength, it would answer to his call but he could only ask for its help thrice.

After that, Spire would leave William's herd, as agreed upon in their contract.

'Only twelve remain,' the Spire said in a soft voice. 'Also we have found the target you asked us to find. Shall we go?'

William summoned his bow and quiver filled with arrows before nodding his head. "It's payback time."

-----

Drake and Spencer were fighting back to back against the Titanic Blaze Bear and the Tattooed Killer Serpent. The threat level of both of these creatures were in the upper ranks of Grade C.

The two geniuses were having a hard time dealing with their powerful attacks because the two beasts were very sly. They had already unleashed their trump cards in order to prevent themselves from dying, but they still had underestimated how cunning their opponents were.

Using the powerful body of the Titanic Blaze Bear as a shield, the Tattooed Killer Serpent would spray its acid venom at their blindspots. Although they were able to react in time, they were still unable to prevent themselves from receiving the Titanic Blaze Bear's powerful attacks, which hit as hard as a charging bull.

If not for the high-grade armor that they wore, both of them would have already died during the encounter.

As the two beasts performed a series of attacks, the two boys began to lose ground and focused all of their attention on defending. Because of this, they didn't hear the whistling sound of the wind until it was too late.

Two arrows struck their backs and pierced their armor, which caused both of them to curse internally. The Bear and the Snake didn't miss this opportunity and finished both of them off. Drake and Spencer both had unresigned faces before their bodies turned into particles of light.

Never in their wildest dreams did they think that they would be eliminated from the competition in this manner.

When their bodies disappeared, two red orbs shot towards Priscilla who was busy making her escape. After killing Drake and Spencer, she was no longer in the mood to hunt for other students.

She had already decided to hide until the competition ended. Priscilla jumped from branch to branch with expert movements as if she was used to moving in this manner. Suddenly, while she was still in mid-air, she heard a subtle buzz from behind her.