Raph turned back, the loud voices from an incoming crowd finally bringing him to the present.
He sighed, turned away and glanced at the other arms present.
Class Silver's team consisted of Ruth Balsey, Witeria Wittfield, a level 30 Earth Mage; Fanny Don, a level 29 Healer; Fredrick Luckster, a level 30 Swordsman; Humo Eli, a level 30 Berserker; Nia Omi, a level 31 Swordsman and Rayler Kun, a level 29 Battle Mage.
'They really pulled out their fighters for this one.'
Monster Hunting, unlike Treasure Hunting,, was a lot more dangerous, with a liability of irreversible injuries occurring.
'They tune down the difficulty level for us though, compared to higher classes.'
His attention seemed to have gone noticed as Monica, the Class Monitor shifted at her spot and glanced back at him.
They locked gazes for a moment, a brief tension ensuing before she turned away and continued her conversation with Ruth.
'It's always so tense with those guys.'
He thought as he attempted to walk away, bumping into a familiar figure in the process.
"Javier?" He called out.
The handsome white-haired fostered a brilliant smile, exuding his charm as he tapped Raph on his shoulder.
"You won't regret choosing me for this Event. I had assumed you didn't like me, so I was taken aback at first but this proves otherwise."
Raph raised a brow in curiosity, Sophie and Darrell taking quick glances at Javier.
As usual, his cohort stood behind him, a fat distance off but not too far in case he required their aid.
'They stick like butter to each other.'
Raph thought though he didn't mind it.
Strength in whatever way possible would be needed in the coming trials of the Demonic War. At least that, he could decipher.
'....but, would the date align?'
The thought came crashing like a snowball as a frown creased on his face.
Javier noticed it, and a wry smile formed from his lips.
"I assume you don't want me touching you."
He said with a slight amusement in his tone as he dusted an invisible amount of dust from his shoulder.
"You must have your reasons as do we."
With that, he walked away, leaving Raph in a bundle of his thoughts.
He thought, a slight chuckle escaping his lips as he looked away.
'Does Javier join the System Uprisers?'
News and publications in the Academy were quite crude, and what he learnt from his past life was mostly from word of mouth.
'Even if he was….he could have hidden it quite well.'
The tales of Javier Wright and his cohort from his past life had served as a starting point for System users and a form of encouragement for them.
"Everyone, Gather Up!"
The familiar voice of the Lecturer in charge of the event echoed around the fields, snapping him from his thoughts.
He flinched, a sigh escaping his lips as he walked towards his teammates.
'Now is not the time to worry about my past-future but the current future…..though….'
As they gathered, the number of visitors began to increase, indicating the end of the Class Three Monster Hunt.
The excitement was evident in the air, as this brought more attention than the Treasure Hunt.
Darrell asked as Raph stood next to him.
He turned towards him, a small smile forming on his face as he nodded.
"I would assume so." He replied and looked away.
Darrell raised a brow in confusion.
The Lecturer in charge of the events, thankfully, wasn't a part of the System Uprisers. Shay Fay, an outgoing man with a bright personality was in charge of this.
He was also one of the Lecturers who rushed to the Hostels to serve as security during the incident.
He stood in the middle of the Contestants, including Team Gold, Silver and Bronze.
"Are you done with your preparations?"
He asked the contestants gathered.
They nodded in response, some using words instead.
He spun around, his sudden movement grabbing the attention of the Visitors present.
"Hello Once Again to the Monster Hunt!"
The cheers in return were moderate, but Shay didn't mind.
'It's all about to change anyways.'
"We shall begin in earnest but first, I will call out the rules."
Raph tilted his head in amusement.
The rules had been known beforehand, so stating them again would seem like a hassle.
'They already know the rules from the first Hunt.'
He thought. 'Though, he's probably doing it for the newcomers.'
He looked away, drifting into his line of thoughts while Shay continued.
"The rules of the game are simple.
Kill a beast and get its tag. The tag represents the level of the Beast you've killed as well as evidence of that kill.
Points will not be added when the tag has not been secured regardless of the kill being yours."
He took a brief pause, turning his attention to the screens as they slowly blinked to life.
It was evident that the Control Room were done working with the Territorial Space for their Hunt as well as preparing the transportation spells that would take the Contestants to the Space.
He took a moment of pause, then continued with his earlier explanation.
"The colour of the tags represents the danger level of the Beasts. The lowest begins at Blue and the highest at Red, but for your levels, we have decided to set beasts with danger levels between Blue and Yellow."
'Bummer.' Raph thought with a sigh as his shoulders slumped down a bit.
'The colours starting from Blue represented Lesser Beasts, and the highest, Red, represented Mythical Beasts.
Despite this being merely conjured by magic, the danger of facing off a beast would be as real as possible.'
A part of him, despite his last encounter, wished to face off with something stronger and capable of bringing out his full capabilities.
'Perhaps I should test that out.'
Just then, the cheers from the Visitors suddenly spiked up, snapping him from his thoughts.
He seemed to have been deep in it for a while now, but his current engagement would make it difficult to keep that up.
Darrell walked up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"We're about to begin."
Raph glanced at him and then the others in his group.
It consisted of Sophie, Darrell, Javier, Cricken, Dina, Rizzo and himself.
The latter two, Dina and Rizzo, were people he chose out of curiosity at the time.
'I don't recall these two as much as I do the others….'
'In fact, there's a whole lot of them that I don't.'
Those who tend to leave an impression are usually people with noteworthy features or those with absolutely none of them.
'In either case, they're in between. I hope they prove themselves.'
With a slight buzzer that echoed in the air, the Contestants disappeared in an instant.
The cheers from the Visitors and students alike edged them on as the anticipated Monster Hunt of Class One was about to begin.
The screens lit up to life, showcasing a vividly disturbing scene.
The skies were dark and humid, and a red sun stood in the middle as an anchor.
The ground was hard, rocky and red, while volcanic mountains stood on the edge across the vast landscape of the Territorial Space.
It wasn't long before the cheers turned to gasps of surprise, Lecturer Shay expressing his thoughts out loud through his actions.
'What is Konstantin thinking?!'
He screamed out in his head, his eyes bulged open.
Territorial spaces tend to influence the structural and biological function of the Beasts within that domain.
In a territory brimming with fire and volcanic ash, one could only imagine.
'Damn it! Is he still pissed off?'
He clicked his tongue and stormed out of the fields, the chattering of the students and Lecturers increasing with time.
A brim of light shot into the skies as seven figures landed on a closed spot, jagged rocks forming a dome around them.
Raph was the first to recognize the scene.
"Damn." He muttered out loud, the others slowly taking the view in.
"Isn't this the Ask Skies-themed Territorial Space? I assumed it was meant for senior colleagues?"
Rizzo spoke out with a subtle surprise in his tone.
He was a Level 27 Mage with light blue hair tied to a bun and a sword-shaped staff.
"Ash Skies?" Javier repeated.
The group walked towards the gaps in the jagged boulders, poking their heads out for a closer inspection.
It didn't take long before they pulled themselves back and stumbled to the ground in shock.
Raph glanced down at his three teammates, who did so.
Rizzo screamed out in panic, but his exclamation didn't seem to phase the other's standing.
Cricken quickly stood up, adjusting his leather Armour.
"They're everywhere out there. Is it supposed to be like that?"
Raph's gaze flickered with intrigue, and so did a few others, Sophie especially.
She suddenly jumped onto the rock, landing on its edgy projection with relative ease, her scythe resting neatly on her shoulders.
A brief pause ensued as they watched her in silence, but the sudden shift in her expression caused a startled tension.
A wild grin plastered on her face, a glint of crimson sparkle in her lilac eyes.
"Hah, Monster Hunting is the best."
Her tone was laced with pleasure, one that was confusing, and startling.
Raph stretched out his hand, preparing to stop her but the sudden outburst of wind as she charged forward cut him off in a second.
He muttered, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he turned around at the others.