CHAPTER 28 - Into the Forest

Two minutes soon passed by and finally it was Azyl's turn. He looked towards Zewoulf and smiled confidently and then followed the others towards the clearing before the forest.

Mist Beast forest was a huge jungle that was covered in dense mist year around. It almost covered the entire western border of their nation. The region for the third phase in comparison was only a small patch. The students were already informed of the boundaries of the region in which they were supposed to search. Moving beyond that region would only waste their time and might even land them in danger.

The instructor gave them all one final instruction and once more showed the tablets that they were supposed to retrieve.

He then moved away forward and directed them towards the entrance. Away from the grounds, the forest entrance was visible to all. The thin layer of mist that obscured the trees in the distance was a clear indicator. It was like a barrier that marked your entrance into the forest.

Azyl felt excitement rising in him as he took a deep breath. He was going into the Mist Beast Forest for the first time and could not help but feel excited but also a little nervous.

As he walked into the forest, Azyl was immediately greeted with a cold breeze that brought goosebumps on his skin. A single step in and he felt a slight change around him. It was a psychological as well as a physical change. The environment around him was like a deep well, silence permeated all around. The mist was barely obstructing the view, when compared to how it looked from the outside.

He once again took a deep breath and felt the breeze blow through his hair. Raising his head, he took a look at the growth of the trees which were not as dense as he had thought and let out a sound of relief. Without wasting any time, he rushed forward, breaking away from the group of students who were still curiously looking around.

They had been told more than once that the outer regions of the forest were not dangerous and any beast present had already been cleared before. In that case, there was no point in waiting around. He would try to complete this as soon as he could to get the best score.

As he sprinted away, the others also quickly regained their sense and followed to choose a direction and search for their target. It was going to be a race to see who would be more resourceful to find the tablets first.

Azyl had been briefed by Zewoulf early about the type of locations the tablet could be hidden in. But as each batch would enter a different part of the outer region of the forest, the information only helped him get a better understanding and narrow down his search area.

Going according to the plan that he had in his mind, he quickly found a clearing in the forest. Checking his surrounding, he then climbed the tallest tree that was visible to him. Climbing trees was a hobby that was cultivated since a young age and it did not take him long to reach a good vantage point. Then he looked around him to observe his surroundings. After a minute, he quickly identified three regions that seemed promising to search for the tablets, but he also spotted other students slowly nearing the direction of two of the regions.

With intentions to not get into any trouble with the other students, he got down from the tree top and quickly made his way towards the third region. It was in a clearing which had a very conspicuous boulder placed in the middle.

He had seen the movements of a few students in total, while three others were not visible to him. After he got down from the tree, he chose a straight direction to get to his location fast. He was not going to stay on the forest path, as once someone got to a high vantage point, nearly every other person would be visible in a wide radius.

As he quickly ran through the grasses and bushes that obstructed his way, he decided on what his next actions would be. If he was able to secure a tablet now, either he could quickly return or try to score another. returning early would grant him a better finish time, while more tablets had their own benefits. Both would give him a better result, but right now he wanted to do his best to get in the element class.

As such thoughts started appearing in his mind, he immediately snapped at himself and increased his speed. It was stupid to think about this when he had not even gained a single tablet.

'Focus on the task at hand' He told himself and continued to run.

This was the first time ever that Azyl felt he was putting in a hundred percent of his effort. While he did put in all his efforts when he played the flute, that was something he was talented at and felt different. This right now was a situation that was new to him and maybe even something that he would struggle at. But right now, he had a feeling that as long he was willing to put in his all, he would definitely see results. Exhilaration coursed through his body as he ran.

Soon, a few minutes later he arrived in the clearing that had a boulder placed in the middle of it. The huge stone was around four feet tall and seemed as if it had been placed here.

Without wasting time, he began to look around the place. He did not think the tablet would be easy to find, but even after five minutes, he could not find his target. By now, nearly half time for the test was over. As soon as he started to get panicky, he again snapped at himself to calm down. This was a habit that he was trying to inculcate recently. Loudly shouting at himself in his mind to gain focus and clarity. As he did not find the tablet as he had thought, he instantly decided to change location.

Thinking over it for a few moments, he realized that there was no way the examiners would have hidden the tablet in such a conspicuous place. He should quickly change location and try again. This time a little more carefully. Thinking so, he again climbed the highest tree around him and viewed his surroundings this time carefully. When he searched for, he saw that there were three less students from before, while the three students that were hidden earlier were visible to him. Finally, another three of them seemed to have teamed up, or maybe they were fighting? He didn't pay attention long and after he was clear of his surroundings, he got down from the tree quickly.

Just as he was getting down, something caught his eye. Something white, that was placed on the branch of another tree. Quickly he made his way to the tree. When he reached it, he saw that it was a parchment. Excited at seeing this, he quickly opened it and read the instructions.

Before the exam, Woulf had reminded him that there were chances to stumble upon clues that would lead you to a tablet. This was not told to them by the instructors. But not many would be lucky to find them, as they were hidden even more carefully compared to the tablet.

The purpose of the clues was naturally to guide a student to a tablet, but it was also a gamble. As you would not know whether the tablet would still be there, or someone had already snatched it. But as Azyl had no more time, he instantly dashed in the direction that was marked in the clue. It was easy to find the directions when you had a good perception of your surroundings and did not get confused by the wide variety of colors that engulfed you.

In a minute, he was already below the three pronged tree that was marked in the clue.

Mist beast Forest - Imgur

If you were wondering what it kind of looks like.