“B-Rank monsters, huh? I wouldn’t be worried if I could use magic, but since I can only fight with a sword, I’m not as confident.” Leo sighed.
“Have some confidence in yourself. Also, you won’t be going alone. Nina Wraith… She’s also a student of an Elite Class. If you work together, I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Lilith said.
Leo nodded and fell asleep shortly after.
The following morning, after eating breakfast at the cafeteria, Leo left the academy and called for a taxi.
Since the Wilderness Training Course happens every year and is a well-known event in the city, there were hundreds of taxis already waiting outside the academy for easy access for the students.
After Leo got into a taxi, the driver drove straight to the East Gate without needing Leo to say a word.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the East Gate, which was not as crowded as Leo had anticipated, mostly because the students had already left the city to gather outside.
After paying the taxi, Leo made his way towards the gates. As he got closer, he noticed a small figure standing beside the path to the Wilderness.
When he saw her cute face, Leo immediately approached her.ᴘᴀ ɴ ᴅᴀ n ᴏ ᴠᴇʟ
“Sorry, did you wait long?” He said to Nina, who had arrived before him.
“No,” she calmly shook her head.
“Let’s go, shall we?”
The two of them approached the entrance to the Wilderness without being stopped by the guards.
After exiting the tunnel, Leo and Nina noticed a group of fellow students gathered near a table not far away from the entrance.
“That must be where we get our watch and recorder.” Leo said as he pointed.
Sure enough, there was a teacher at the table handing out watches and recorders to the students of their academy.
The watch looked like an ordinary watch, but it didn’t show the time like ordinary watches. Instead, there was the number ‘0’ in it. pᴀɴda nᴏvel
As for the recorder, it was just a small camera lens that can be clipped onto any part of their clothes, almost like a spy tool. Most students decided to clip the recorder on their tie.
“The watch will automatically count how many monsters you killed in the vicinity and convert them into points. The stronger the monster, the more points you will receive. However, keep in mind that it will only count kills up to 100 meters away, and only monsters that you killed will be counted. Don’t even try to tamper with the watch because it’s an automatic disqualification from the exam.”
“As for the recorder, say ‘Start Record’ if you want to record something. If you want to end the recording, just say ‘End Record’. That’s all. If you already have a watch and a recorder, go over there with the rest of the students.”
Leo and Nina gathered with the other students at the border of the green zone.
Sometime later, Headmistress Eve showed up and said to them, “The Wilderness Training Course will officially begin now! Good luck, and stay safe!”
“Ooooh!”
“Let’s go!”
The students there cheered loudly before scattering towards the Wilderness in groups. Some of the students there had prepared vehicles beforehand, so they were able to travel much quicker. As for the other students, they all took out what appeared to be a skateboard without wheels and jumped onto them. ,c,om
These skateboards then hovered a few inches off the ground before they began moving forward. Although they were not as fast as actual vehicles, they were still traveling at around 20 to 30 miles per hour.
“What are those?” Leo pointed at the skateboards, as this was his first time seeing them.
“You mean the hoverboards? They’re artifacts with wind magic. They’re mostly used for traveling in the Wilderness. You don’t have one?” Nina explained to him.
“No…” He shook his head.
Lilith suddenly started laughing in a mocking manner, “Miss Camille probably wanted to get you one yesterday at the Stellar Terminal, but you refused. Looks like you’ll have to walk on your feet while everyone else cruises around the Wilderness!”
‘Shit…’ Leo swallowed nervously after hearing her words.
“I have a spare one if you want to use it.” Nina said.
“Really?! Thank you!” Leo immediately smiled upon hearing her words.
Nina retrieved two black hoverboards and handed one to him.
“How do I use this?” He asked once it was in his hands.
“You put it on the floor, step on it, and activate it with your mana. It will automatically start hovering in the air. If you want to move forward, tilt your body forward or press the top of the hoverboard with your feet. If you want to stop or slow down, do the opposite by leaning back or stepping the back of the hoverboard. If you want to hover in place, balance yourself. If you want to turn, lean towards that direction. Like this.”
Nina jumped on the hoverboard and demonstrated the movements to him.
“I see…”
Leo stood on the hoverboard and practiced for a few minutes until he got the hang of it.
“This is freaking cool!” Leo exclaimed as he circled around Nina.
The teachers there watched them with raised eyebrows, wondering why they were still at the starting point and messing around with hoverboards when the rest of the students were long gone.
“Where are we going to go?” Nina asked him some time later.
“I’m not sure. Where can we go for the most points?”
“That would be the Labyrinth, but they’re random, so we cannot rely on them for points. Other than that, we can find some monster nests. They have the most monsters there, but it’s also more dangerous. Most people won’t risk it because you can easily be overwhelmed. However, since I am here, it won’t be as dangerous.”
p ᴀɴ da n ᴏv el “Why is that?” Leo asked.
Nina patted her chest with a confident smile on her face, “Although we’re only two people, our actual numbers are much higher. As a necromancer, I can summon servants to fight for us, and at my current level, I can summon 100 skeleton warriors or 10 skeleton mages.”
“100 skeleton warriors? That’s very impressive. I’m glad I have you as a teammate.” Leo said with a smile.
“Let’s just go deeper into the Wilderness for now.” He then said.
“Okay.” Nina nodded, and they began moving towards the Wilderness on their hoverboards.
