Chapter 37: Exploring
As Draco walked through the natural corridor between the hills, which he estimated to be several kilometers long, he spotted one of his fellow students in the distance. The encounter immediately caught his attention, though not for reasons the other student might have hoped.
The guy was clearly an amateur with absolutely no practical experience whatsoever. His positioning was so fundamentally flawed that it made anyone who saw it wince with secondhand embarrassment.
He’s hiding behind a large tree, probably thinking he’s found the perfect ambush spot.
In reality, the student’s "hiding position" was terrible on multiple levels. He had chosen a tree that provided insufficient cover for his body size, positioned himself on the wrong side relative to likely approach routes, and was making enough small movements to be easily spotted by anyone with basic observation skills.
If a Midnight Bear wandered through here, it would probably see him before even getting close enough to smell him
Draco didn’t recognize the student, but that wasn’t particularly surprising given how little attention he had paid to other students apart from those at the top, before awakening his talent. More importantly, he didn’t care about the student’s identity.
After a quick assessment, Draco concluded that this particular classmate clearly had no cores in his possession, nor did he appear to have the ability to successfully hunt and gather cores this early in the examination. The student’s obvious inexperience and poor awareness suggested he would struggle to survive, let alone accumulate meaningful points.
No threat and no reward. Not worth my time or energy to engage.
Draco had briefly considered the possibility that this might be an elaborate trap set by more experienced students using the amateur as bait. However, after Zephyr conducted a thorough aerial check of the surrounding area, it became clear that the student really was just that incompetent.
[Master, there’s nobody else around. He’s really just hiding there all by himself, And not very at that.] Zephyr reported after completing his scouting sweep.
If I encounter him later in the examination when he might have managed to collect some cores, I won’t be so polite. I’ll definitely check his storage ring for anything worth claiming.
Draco continued walking past the hidden student without acknowledging his presence or altering his route. There was no point in wasting time or revealing his own power for such a minimal encounter.
As Draco’s figure disappeared into the distance, the student finally released a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders sagging as the perceived danger passed.
"I almost got caught by Draco," he muttered to himself, completely unaware of how easily he had been detected and dismissed. "He has a B-rank talent while mine is only D-rank. Luckily my hiding skills are top notch."
The student watched Draco’s departing figure with a mixture of fear and misplaced confidence, genuinely believing his concealment had been successful rather than realizing he had simply been deemed unworthy of attention.
[Master, should I have told him his hiding spot was terrible? I saw his face as we passed, he seems proud of it.]
"Let him learn through experience, Zephyr. We have our own objectives to focus on."
The encounter served as a useful reminder of the vast difference in capability between students. While Draco had been rapidly developing his skills through actual combat experience and training, many of his classmates were still operating at a purely theoretical level.
This examination is going to separate the truly capable students from those who aren’t.
..
Draco continued making his way through the natural corridor, following the path between the imposing hills on either side. After several more kilometers of steady travel, he arrived at what appeared to be a geographical decision point.
In front of him loomed a massive mountain that seemed to block further forward progress. The peak disappeared into the strange, ambient light of the gate’s sky, making it impossible to judge its true height from ground level. To his left, more mountains created an equally impassable barrier of rocky terrain.
However, to his right lay an expansive open field that stretched toward the horizon, offering clear visibility and easy movement across relatively flat ground.
Draco was left with two choices. Either, investigate what lies beyond the mountain, or trust his instincts and head toward the open field.
Draco found himself caught between competing impulses. His intuition was strongly suggesting he should head right toward the open field, where the terrain would favor his focus on speed. However, his cautious nature demanded that he gather complete information before making any decisions.
Better to know what I’m potentially missing than to wonder about it later.
Having learned to balance both instincts, he decided to send Zephyr on a mission to scout beyond the mountain. The distance appeared to be roughly two kilometers, which Zephyr’s flying ability and speed would allow him to cover in just a few minutes.
"Zephyr, I need you to fly over that mountain and see what’s on the other side," Draco instructed, pointing toward the imposing peak. "Quick scouting only, don’t engage with anything you might encounter, just observe and return with a report."
[Got it, Master!] Zephyr replied enthusiastically before launching himself toward the mountain.
Draco was naturally aware that sending away his companion would leave him somewhat vulnerable during the period his contracted beast was away. However, he was confident in his ability to handle any immediate threats that might arise.
If things really go wrong while he’s away, I can always allocate all my free stat points to agility and activate Hyper-Sonic before dashing to rejoin Zephyr.
With seven unallocated stat points available, Draco could potentially boost his agility to truly extraordinary levels in an emergency situation. Combined with the Hyper-Sonic skill’s doubling effect, such an enhancement would allow him to outrun virtually any common-rank threat in this gate, and probably even an elite-rank Midnight Bear.
Zephyr zoomed through the air with impressive speed, his hypersonic skill making the journey toward the mountain appear effortless. From Draco’s ground-level position, he could track his companion’s progress as a small speck moving rapidly across the landscape.
A few minutes passed in relative calm. Draco remained alert and vigilant, but no threats had appeared during Zephyr’s absence. The natural corridor continued to feel safe and well-protected by the surrounding hills.
[Master, I’m back! And I have news about what’s beyond the mountain.]
Zephyr returned with obvious excitement, immediately launching into his report.
[After the mountain, there’s a boundless sea that stretches all the way to the sky. It goes on forever and ever! No land anywhere, just water!]
Draco nodded with satisfaction, immediately understanding Zephyr’s discovery. The mountain path was essentially a dead end.
My instincts were correct. The open field to the right is definitely the better choice.
"Good work, Zephyr. That confirms what I suspected, we should trust our guts and continue to the east."
The decision was now clear and justified by Zephyr’s scouting. The open field offered the advantages he needed while avoiding the limitations of the mountainous dead end. With Zephyr back at his side and complete information about their options, Draco felt confident about proceeding with his chosen strategy.
Together, they turned towards the east and began making their way into the expansive open terrain, ready to continue their accumulation of examination points.