Albedo and Elara quickly moved through the crowd, stepping around the swarms of students arguing over who would team with who and what role each-other would take.
Near the portal's edge, a long table of academy staff members stood distributing equipment.
One steward glanced at them and gestured, "You're a team?"
The steward handed them a pair of silver bracelets etched with glowing blue runes, "Place them on your wrists and touch them together to form the link. Once bound, you can't switch partners."
Albedo nodded and slid the bracelet onto his right wrist, its surface cool against his skin. Elara did the same, and then, without ceremony, they pressed them together.
A flash of light pulsed from both bands. The runes turned crimson, confirming the link.
"Team registered," the steward said, "You're clear to enter the portal."
The two stepped up to the shimmering vortex. The moment Albedo touched it, a sensation like falling through stars overwhelmed his senses.
Then the world snapped back.
They emerged into a frozen hell-scape.
Snow crunched beneath their boots, and the sharp chilly bite of arctic wind clawed at their faces. The sky above was a bleak grey, and flakes of snow drifted lazily, but the wind was as sharp as razors.
The landscape was split into three major directions.
To the east, massive jagged mountains rose like the teeth of a giant beast, veiled in mist and partially shrouded by clouds. The wind howled from that direction, echoing through the peaks.
To the west, an ancient forest stood tall, its trees were huge and covered in snow. Mana hung in the air like fog, thick and strange, most likely beasts nested in there.
And to the north stretched a wide open tundra of snowfields, interrupted only by distant glacial formations and icy cliffs. No cover. Pure exposure.
"Well," Elara said, pulling her cloak tighter around herself, "this sucks."
Albedo activated his internal mana circulation, immediately burning away the biting cold. Crimson Moon essence surged within him, flooding his body with warmth. He glanced at her.
"You cold?" He asked her.
"I'm not dying, yet," she muttered, her teeth slightly chattering, "Gimme a second."
She rummaged into her satchel and pulled out a small mana crystal, pressing it to her chest. A ripple of warm enchantment magic spread outwards from the gem, wrapping her body in a gentle heat field.
"Better." She said with a deep exhale.
"Elara." Albedo said and she looked up.
"When we're going for a fight, enchant me in any way you can. After that, stay back and observe. I'll take care of the fighting." Albedo said.
She raised an eyebrow, "And let you hog all the fun?"
He gave her a dry look, "Unless your buffs come with battlefield nukes, I think we both know I'm better suited for the front."
She snorted, "Fair enough. But I'm not just gonna sit around and twiddle my thumbs, y'know. I might not be a fighter, but my dad made sure I could survive in worse conditions than this. I know how to track beasts through snow. I can scout."
That caught Albedo's attention and he quickly nodded, "Good. Do that. But don't stray too far."
She stepped close and held out both hands. Pale golden light ignited around her fingers, tracing intricate lines in the air, "Alright, remain still."
Albedo remained motionless as four enchantments locked onto him.
Fortis: Boosting his physical durability.
Ignis: To increase his internal heat circulation and boost fire output.
Swiftness: Increases Movement Speed.
Voltis: Increases Attack Power and Reduces Mana Consumption.
The moment they locked onto him, Albedo felt the difference. Everything felt sharper. Faster. More dangerous.
"Impressive," he muttered. Not everyone could cast enchantments , it made him wonder more about Elara and her family. She certainly wasn't powerful enough to be a main character, but she could've been a side character.
He just told himself maybe she didn't find the correct teammate in the Novel timeline. Since she wasn't a primary fighter, that could've easily ruined her chances.
Elara smirked as she heard his praise, puffing out her chest as she spoke, "I'm not a fighter, but I don't miss."
He nodded, and Elara stepped forward, going on one knee and touching the ground, a pulse of mana silently moving outward from her as her eyes glowed for a second before returning to normal.
She stood up and pointed towards the nearby forest, "There," She said, "Three monsters in the woods, bronze tier, let's go."
She quickly ran off and Albedo followed.
"What was that? I don't know any scouting spell with that much range at our rank, or ones that make your eyes glow." Albedo asked.
"It's my Gift, Battle Map. It creates a map of the surrounding areas in my mind, it shows things like mana signatures, terrain, traps, ally positions and other things. It's why I'm such a good scout."
"Nice, my Gift is much more combat related." Albedo said, but he was already in his thoughts. A Gift like the one Elara had was extremely useful in the long run, he didn't bother with why she didn't attend the school, he knew she could be a valuable ally.
The duo moved together, and Elara clearly knew how to navigate tough terrain, her eyes scanning for extra prints or mana distortions.
Soon, the trees closed in around them, and the air became noticeably thicker. Frost clung to the bark like ancient veins, and the crunch of snow was muffled by a layer of crystalline powder. It was eerily quiet.
Then Elara crouched and held up a fist. Albedo stopped and waited for her signal, and she eventually pointed to a ridge just ahead.
Two beasts padded into view, one a large wolf-like creature with midnight-blue fur and silver fangs, and the other a scaled feline with burning orange eyes. Behind them, a third form moved, a floating, translucent serpent trailing mist behind it like smoke.
"ThunderFang Wolf, Ember Stalker, and a Snow Wraith," Elara whispered.
Albedo nodded. All three Bronze-ranked beasts he had learned about reading the Novel, they should be easy enough.
His eyes narrowed on the Snow Wraith, the slippery one. He'd need to kill it first before it got away and caused more trouble.
He immediately summoned Havoc and Ruin, setting Havoc to Infernal Mode and Ruin to Graviton Mode.
Elara raised an eyebrow when she saw the weapons, but didn't comment on them in the end, just saying, "Good luck!"
Albedo nodded and moved, like a crimson streak across a white field, the beasts didn't even sense him until he was already in their range.
The three beasts didn't even sense him until he was already in range. Without hesitation, he raised Ruin and fired a Graviton round at the Snow Wraith.
The bullet hit the air near it, and the effect was instant.
A localized gravitational field erupted, warping space into a tight implosion. The Snow Wraith let out a hiss before being yanked mid-air and pulled inward, unleashing a wave of frost to try and defend itself.
The wolf and stalker turned, but with Elara's movement speed buff, Albedo was far out of their sight, already closing in on the Snow Wraith, he unleashed three shots towards it.
An explosion of Crimson Apocalypse Flames occurred as the shots landed on the Snow Wraith, all 3 landing on different spots and engulfing the monster in flames, burning it to ash, the flames quickly spreading to the trees before Albedo stopped them, not wanting to overly draw monster attention.
The ThunderFang Wolf and Ember Stalker circled him like predators, yet Albedo stared back at them, as if they were his prey.
The Wolf roared and unleashed a concentrated blast of lightning towards Albedo, but he effortlessly dodged it, unleashing another Graviton Round in the middle of the two of them.
The implosion once again pulled them together, causing their bodies to crash together and before they could react, Albedo unleashed a final barrage of bullets.
~BANG~BANG~BANG~BANG!~
Four shots, nailing them all across their bodies and engulfing them in Crimson Apocalypse Flames.
When Albedo toned down the fire, they had already turned to ash, not even a single bone remaining.
The environment once again returned to silence before Elara slowly approached, her eyes wide with shock and praise, "Okay," she said, "So that happened, you're stronger than you look."
Albedo holstered his weapons, "Points should update in a few seconds."
{ You have earned 60 Points! }
"Let's find more," Albedo said.
Elara nodded, adjusting her cloak and scanning the surroundings again.
And with that, they disappeared deeper into the forest, one hunter and one scout, ready to dominate whatever the Academy threw their way.