After a tense back and forth, and more struggle than expected, the students finally managed to pull through. The horde of beasts that had surrounded them was defeated.

There were injuries, of course. Scratches, bruises… even a broken arm, which might have been considered serious, if not for the fact that both Safa and Diana were present. With the two of them tending to the wounded, recovery was quick.

Once the immediate danger had passed, the group split into two. One half began the task of extracting beast crystals from the fallen monsters, cracking them open and carefully collecting the energy-filled shards. The other half sat in healing circles, where the teachers offered guidance and commentary based on what they had observed.

The evaluations weren't just to score performance, they were survival lessons. This wasn't a classroom simulation. In a real battle, mistakes could cost lives.

That's why it was critical for the students to understand what went wrong and how to improve.

"Thanks for your help, Safa," Diana said, glancing at her while healing a student beside her. A short line had formed in front of them.

"The teachers said your support will count toward your evaluation," she continued. "But honestly? If you ask me… they've already made their decision. You're going to be one of the chosen students. Out of everyone here, you have to go. You're meant to be a pillar of support, like you are now."

Safa gave a quiet nod, comforted by the words. She didn't say anything, but hearing that lifted some weight from her chest. The truth was, thanks to the Orb and her other powers, she could even heal students in the middle of a fight. Not that she had planned to, only if things got truly desperate.

Elsewhere, Redrick was finishing his evaluations of each student one by one. It seemed they were wrapping up, until suddenly a hand shot up.

"Sir," Piba said, "you haven't given any of the transfer students an evaluation. Is that because they did everything right?"

A small drop of sweat ran down Redrick's face. He glanced at the other teachers, silently pleading for a save.

The truth? It wasn't that the transfers had performed perfectly. It was quite the opposite. There was nothing to evaluate.

During the chaos, most students had been too focused to notice, but the transfers had barely done anything. They hadn't caused trouble, but they hadn't contributed either. They simply moved to avoid danger. It was impressive in its own way… but there wasn't much to review.

"At this point in time," Panla stepped in, her tone neutral but firm, "they haven't done enough to conduct a full review. But rest assured, we are observing their performance. If they continue to underperform… it will absolutely affect them negatively."

Liam nudged Dame with his elbow. "Told you. We should have done something."

But Dame only shrugged, unfazed. "Doesn't matter," he said. "Just like Raze said, there'll be plenty of opportunities for us to show what we're made of."

Still, part of Dame's mind was drifting… thinking the same thing Raze was.

Did the Guild lie about the summoning threshold too? Raze wondered. If this portal has never been explored before, then they have no clue how many beasts need to be defeated to summon the dimension boss.

And even more worrying, those beasts from earlier? It was hard to tell just how powerful future ones might be. Things could escalate fast.

I'll just have to stay alert from now on, Raze told himself.

Once the group had healed and recovered some of their mana, thanks to various tools and consumables, they pressed forward. The air was thick and humid, clinging to their skin like a second layer.

They had decided to avoid the swamp-like areas nearby. Swamps were dangerous, ideal hiding spots for beasts. Only the water mages would have been able to traverse those regions safely.

Instead, they climbed, choosing a wide, winding hill path to continue their advance.

The top of the hill wasn't visible yet, hidden by mist and thick foliage. But every so often, they could hear something, creatures rustling along the slopes beside them, hidden from view.

"Should we, like, deal with the beasts that are following us?" one student asked nervously, glancing to the sides.

"Although most beasts are predators and naturally hostile to humans," a teacher explained, "some are more sensitive. If they're not attacking, it likely means they've judged us to be too strong for them to risk it."

Still, Liam wasn't convinced.

Activating his system, he scanned the area around them. The creatures on either side of the hill were small, reptilian, walking on two legs. They didn't pose much threat individually.

But there were a lot of them.

He didn't say anything at first, choosing instead to quietly count and track the numbers. Yet with each passing minute, the total increased.

"Hey," Liam said finally, "can I just say something real quick?"

"What is it?" Beatrix asked.

"I know the teachers don't seem too worried… but I am," Liam said. "About the creatures following us up this hill."

Beatrix narrowed her eyes. "Yeah… I've noticed that too. If they weren't going to attack, wouldn't they have backed off by now? It's starting to feel weird. Maybe even the teachers don't realize what's happening."

Liam kept glancing over his shoulder, head on a swivel. The peak of the hill was finally coming into view, the summit just up ahead.

Dame rolled his shoulders, letting out a breath. "Alright, fine. I'll bite the bullet. Just how many of these little creeps are following us?"

Liam swallowed hard.

"My system can track their numbers," he said, eyes locked forward. "There are… at least three hundred of them."

The group froze.

Raze halted mid-step, his entire posture shifting.

"Three hundred…" he repeated slowly. "That's not good. That's really not good."

*****

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