After obtaining his first gold plate, Aiden hurriedly left the place to find a temporary shelter.
He knew the locations of Ronald, Clarissa, and Melinda. Still, there wasn't the slightest intention in Aiden's heart to go meet them.
Aiden was also certain that they already knew his location.
[Astralis Magical Academy Main Exam]
[Squad: 71]
[Name: Aiden Aswald]
[Number of gold plates: 1]
A blue panel appeared in front of Aiden. It would appear every time Aiden obtained gold plate or dropped item from a monster.
Aiden stepped towards the south to find a safe location for him to take shelter.
Aiden really didn't know where the exact location of each team was, especially since there were 200 teams participating.
In the distance, Aiden spotted a cave that he could use to shelter from attacks by other participants or monsters.
"I think I can take shelter here for a while before I start looking for other teams," Aiden replied.
[Main Test Duration:]
[00:23:45:01]
With 23 hours left on the holographic panel appearing above Aiden's white slip, there was still plenty of time for him to snatch the gold plate from the other group, even if he had to fight against them alone.
"I should at least set a target for myself, I need to collect at least 20 gold plates to qualify me for the academy," Aiden replied, holding up the first gold plate he'd taken from the other squad.
"But I really don't know where to look for them. Are there any squads near this location?" Aiden asked.
Just as he was sitting cross-legged inside the cave, he turned his head and saw a black crow appear in front of the cave, as if confirming the cave's situation.
For Aiden, the sudden arrival of the black crow gave him an idea.
He focused his mind to start activating the Eye of the Beast King ability.
Of the five skills in the talent, Aiden planned to use the third skill that he thought would be appropriate for the bird.
[Beast King's Eye Talent active]
[Skill: Symbiotic Eye of the Beast]
[Initiate magic to possess the beast's eye]
[Symbiotic vision active]
[Skill duration:]
[00:00:59:59]
Aiden opened his eyes and saw the area around him suddenly turn red, a sign that the Eye of the Beast King's talent had activated.
Aiden's vision turned into the vision in the crow's eyes. He ordered the crow to fly up and scan the area around the cave where Aiden had taken shelter.
'This talent really helps me with scouting,' Aiden explained.
From the bird, Aiden saw that there were several monsters roaming around. Some roamed alone or came in groups, some were medium-sized and some were small.
From the east of the cave, Aiden saw two squads fighting each other. Aiden didn't know any of them and he saw the fight was fierce.
The bird perched on a tree branch, continuing to watch the battle up close as if Aiden were watching the battle through a spy camera.
'Two water element mages, three earth element mages, and three wind element mages.None of them have fire element dominance,' Aiden said.
Among them, Aiden saw one of the groups being crushed after two of their members were injured and teleported into the academy, leaving one man and one woman.
"You run and hide now! I'll hold them off," the man ordered.
"Take the gold plate and leave," continued the man, throwing the gold plate at the woman.
The woman initially refused and wanted to keep fighting, but the man insisted, leaving her no choice.
In the end, she sprinted away to save herself. Aiden saw that the fight was over with the man's death, so he chose to rush off after the woman holding the gold plate.
From the direction she was running, Aiden saw that she was planning to hide in the cave. Aiden deactivated his talent skill, restoring his consciousness and vision.
"Someone... help me!" the woman shouted, starting to enter the cave.
Aiden got up, he stepped closer to the cave mouth and watched as the woman walked toward the cave. Her eyes rounded in thoughtful concern when she saw where Aiden was.
"Help me!" she said, pleading with Aiden.
The young man chose to allow her to enter the cave. Aiden noticed footsteps approaching the cave, and he guessed it was the squad chasing the woman.
[Magic Element: Fire Arrow]
Not two, but Aiden raised five fire arrows covered in Aurora's icy thorns above his palm.
Much to the woman's surprise, the young man who helped her turned out to be capable of magic manipulation.
Just as they appeared in front of the cave, Aiden shot his arrows straight ahead. The sudden attack from inside the cave made it difficult for all team members to dodge.
As a result, they were injured in several vital parts of their bodies, two of them immediately teleported to the academy for treatment.
Now, the remaining two people were still lying on the ground, their bodies bleeding and perforated by the fire arrow combination of Aurora's ice thorns.
'H-he can defeat a squad at once?Who is he exactly?' the woman asked, curious.
Aiden stepped out, but just a few steps away his body suddenly went limp due to the use of the Fire Arrow spell twice in a row.
The woman was anxious, wanting to help Aiden but being stopped by something.
PUSH!
Her body was pushed away by the powerful magic field protecting Aiden. She was in shock, completely clueless as to what had caused the magic field to appear.
Aiden took the MP Potion and downed one bottle. Within seconds, his condition recovered.
"Wait! Aren't you the commoner?" asked the man from the losing squad.
"I didn't know I became so famous in a single day," Aiden said, standing in front of the man.
He searched through the man's clothes and pants pockets until he found the gold plate he was looking for, the notification panel reappearing in front of Aiden.
[Astralis Magical Academy Main Exam]
[Squad: 71]
[Name: Aiden Aswald]
[Number of gold plates: 2]
[Item Drop:]
[1 Skywave Gem]
[2 HP Potion]
[2 MP Potion]
Aiden nodded. Not only did he get the gold plate, but he also got three items consisting of one wind element gem, two HP potions, and two MP potions.
"You'll know the consequences of going against us!" he threatened.
"I'm not afraid. You'll be teleporting in a moment anyway," said Aiden.
Sure enough, the two men teleported out of the artificial dimension back to the academy. Aiden put the gold plate away as he walked back into the cave.
There, he saw a woman in a fancy suit sitting helplessly on her knees.
She had wind slash wounds on her hands and some parts of her legs, and her HP must have dropped dramatically.
Aiden crouched down right in front of her, making her frightened, "Hand over your gold plate if you want to go home without being seriously injured!"
The woman in front of Aiden was torn between her chance of passing the exam or her safety. Instead, she proposed a negotiation to Aiden.
"Let's work together," she replied.
"Work together? Are you nuts? You're not a member of my squad, which means you're my enemy," Aiden said.
Aiden again brought up the fire arrow just above his palm, "What am I working with you for? How can I trust you?"
"Hand over the plate or die!"