It didn’t take long for Raelis’s vision to come back, and the moment it did, he found himself in a dense forest. The ground was uneven, with tree roots sticking out and patches of mud between clumps of grass scattered everywhere.
Surprisingly, he was surrounded by all of the other students.
For once, the headmaster didn’t separate them, so it was pretty neat.
He glanced around and saw that several people had already split up into teams.
Coincidentally, Clea, Alice, and Charlotte had already formed a team.
Soon, they approached and Clea gave him a small wave.
"Want to join us?" Clea offered. "Or do you have something to do again?"
"I’ll join." Raelis chuckled. "I wasn’t avoiding you, if that’s what you’re thinking."
"You were training, right?" Alice chimed in. "I did see you were always cooped up in that training room of yours. Did you even go outside?"
"You didn’t..." Alice sighed.
A moment of silence descended, but it was quickly broken by Charlotte.
She pushed her black hair back and glanced at him, curiosity beaming in her eyes.
"I heard you beat the seniors. How did you do it?"
"You should’ve stayed and watched," Raelis replied flatly. "But I guess being one of the first few people to get knocked out isn’t the best, is it?"
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "I’ll have you know, if I had unsheathed my sword earlier, I would’ve been able to beat him."
"You say that, but didn’t your sword get stuck in the scabbard?" Alice teased, causing Charlotte’s cheeks to redden slightly. "My... and here you were acting so fearsome and reliable yesterday. I almost—"
Her words were interrupted when Clea thwacked her over the head.
"That’s enough, all of you. We need to focus on this assignment," Clea said. "We can all chat after it’s over, okay?"
Alice rubbed her head with a hurt look. "Boss, you sure are a buzzkill sometimes."
Raelis raised a brow. "Boss?"
"She lost a bet," Charlotte chimed in, coughing once to stave off the embarrassment. "They had a spar using only their hands, with no abilities or mana. The loser, Alice, would become the winner’s pet for a month... and, um... Clea’s only order was for Alice to call her boss."
Just what are these girls up to when they’re alone?
He kind of wished he had someone to talk to and banter around like that, but at least in this class, he hadn’t seen many candidates.
Auren was someone likeminded. However, after what happened in the final exam, Auren had started treating Raelis like an enemy.
And then there was one more person...
Raelis’s gaze traveled toward a jacked yet arrogant-looking boy.
Ajax... or rather, Resian. I thought after the exam ended, he would be killed. But the headmaster really let him in our class?
Raelis had thought that Resian was an instructor at first, but after finding out that he wasn’t, he could only conclude one thing. Mimics were not to be trusted, and if he tried making a friend out of Resian, then he’d pay the price.
Anyhow, Raelis put those thoughts aside and, alongside his group, separated from the rest of the students.
He wasn’t good at alchemy since he only knew how to make the basic health potion, but thankfully, Clea and Alice seemed to know quite a lot.
"Here’s a Yellowleaf flower," Clea said and crouched down beside a small yellow patch of grass, then plucked out four pieces.
Then, she handed a piece to every single person present and continued forward.
He realized that they were, in fact, not walking aimlessly.
Clea and Alice purposefully went to this area because it seemed more damp, meaning the Yellowleaf flower only grew in damp areas.
Though... why is it called a flower when it looks like yellow grass?
A few minutes later, they arrived at a darker part in the forest, one where sunlight didn’t shine through.
The trees were taller here, packed close together. The air felt colder, and it was harder to see more than a few meters ahead.
Raelis glanced around, half-expecting something to jump out. But aside from a strange smell, it was quiet.
But that was when Alice dashed forward and pulled out her bow.
She nocked two arrows and shot them into the distance.
Raelis was puzzled, but after just a few moments, he felt a gust of wind brush past him, followed by a funky smell.
"Ew..." Alice mumbled. "I never did like hunting the Dashcap mushrooms."
"Same," Clea added, pinching her nose to avoid the smell.
They approached where Alice’s arrows landed, and soon enough, they spotted two crate-sized brown mushrooms.
The Dashcap mushrooms had tiny arms and legs, but more importantly, these were the ingredients they needed.
All of a sudden, Charlotte began to gag before running behind a tree and emptying her stomach.
But as for the two girls in front of him, they seemed unfazed by the terrible smell that only got worse when they approached.
"Raelis," Clea called out. "Can you help us out here?"
She pointed at the arms and legs of the Dashcap mushrooms.
"Cut these for us, please?"
Raelis sighed and unsheathed his dagger, twirling it around for a few moments and then slashing off the limbs of the Dashcap mushrooms.
Just when he thought that was all, Alice spoke up.
"Can you also split these disgusting things into four pieces each?" she asked, pointing at her shabby potato sack. "As is, I won’t be able to fit them all inside. Plus, we’ll need six more of these suckers for Clea, Charlotte, and you."
Raelis agreed and finished the cutting within a minute, then wiped his dagger on the grass and steadied his posture.
Just in time, Charlotte finally came out from behind the tree, her expression slightly pale.
Clea approached her, holding out a purple leaf she’d found from who knows where.
"This looks poisonous," Charlotte replied warily. "Are you trying to poison me?"
"It is poisonous, but it’s the poison your body needs right now," Clea explained. "It’s going to get rid of your sense of smell, so you won’t have to worry about these Dashcap mushrooms for at least the next couple of hours."
Hearing that, Charlotte’s eyes beamed as she snatched the leaf out of Clea’s hands and began chewing it.
Alice let out a chuckle, stuffed the chopped Dashcap mushrooms into the potato sack, then began walking toward a lighter part of the forest.
Raelis hummed in satisfaction, knowing that he’d chosen the right group, or rather, they chose him.
Now we just need to get the rest of the materials, and then...
Raelis’s gaze hardened.
I’ll split away from them and look for the special herb.