Chapter 69: The discussion

The man with three pupils in his eye hovered above the forest, accompanied by two silent figures.

From their elevated position, they surveyed the vast expanse of trees beneath them, searching for any signs of the students who had entered the forest for their survival examination.

The man’s gaze swept across the landscape, occasionally pausing over areas where the trees had been damaged or the earth had been disturbed.

There were traces of battle everywhere.

Some trees had been snapped in half, while others bore deep gashes that could only have been inflicted by powerful force. Patches of scorched earth and scattered fragments of broken equipment suggested that several groups of students had fought desperately to survive.

However, the most disturbing discoveries were the bodies scattered throughout the forest.

Some belonged to students who had fallen victim to the undead. Their bloodstained uniforms and lifeless expressions painted a grim picture of the massacre that had unfolded beneath the crimson sky.

Yet, despite the horrifying scene, something was wrong.

The number of casualties was far lower than he had anticipated.

According to the information he had received, a considerable number of students were participating in the examination. If the undead had managed to slaughter most of them, the number of bodies scattered throughout the forest should have been considerably higher.

Instead, the majority of the students appeared to have vanished.

The man narrowed his three-pupiled eye.

’Where did they go?’

He had already spent several minutes searching the forest, yet he had found no significant group of survivors.

It made no sense.

The undead had been released specifically to hunt down the students. Given their numbers and the curse with them, the massacre should have progressed smoothly.

More importantly, the deaths of the sacrifices were supposed to fuel the summoning ritual.

Yet the altar remained dormant.

He had personally inspected it several times. There was nothing wrong with the altar. Which left only one possible explanation.

The sacrifices were still alive.

And they had somehow escaped the undead.

The man clenched his teeth, his expression twisting with growing irritation.

How could a group of inexperienced students evade an entire horde of undead, especially when the forest had already been sealed off?

Unless someone had interfered.

But who?

Did the instructors manage to interfere?

No. He had accounted for the academy’s instructors, and the barrier was designed to prevent outside interference. He even sent those two idiots to make sure no one could interfere inside.

Even if the students possessed some unexpected abilities, surviving the undead was one thing. Disappearing without leaving a substantial trail was another.

His gaze descended toward the forest once more, searching for anything he might have overlooked.

However, there was nothing.

The frustration building inside him finally erupted.

"WHERE ARE THE SACRIFICES?!"

His furious roar reverberated across the treetops, sending flocks of birds fleeing from their hiding places.

The two figures beside him remained silent.

One stood motionless with their arms folded, while the other merely tilted their head toward the forest. Neither appeared particularly concerned by their companion’s outburst.

Their indifference seemingly did not bother the man with three pupils in his eye.

He had already wasted too much time searching for the students. Every passing minute brought them closer to ruining the ritual, and he had no intention of allowing a group of insignificant children to interfere with their plans.

"Find them!" He ordered, glaring at his companions. "Search every corner of this forest. I don’t care if you have to tear the entire place apart!"

Without waiting for a response, he shot forward, his robes fluttering behind him as he resumed his search.

The two figures exchanged a brief glance before following.

For the moment, the man with three pupils remained unaware that the very people he was searching for had gathered in a place he had never expected them to find.

...

Inside the safe zone, a large gathering had formed near the center.

Despite the temporary safety the sanctuary provided, the atmosphere remained tense.

Nobody knew what had happened to the forest, why the sky had turned crimson, or whether the academy’s instructors were still alive.

The uncertainty had left even the most confident students unusually quiet.

At the center of the gathering stood several prominent figures, including Seraphina, Leon, Lilith, and a number of senior students who supervised the examination.

Jeannette had also joined them after getting some much-needed rest. Although she still looked tired, she had recovered enough to participate in the discussion.

Kael stood among them as well.

Unlike the others, however, he had not arrived alone.

Seraphina had personally brought him to the gathering after learning that the others wanted to discuss the sanctuary and the circumstances surrounding their discovery of it.

The moment Leon noticed the two standing together, his brows drew together.

He had already heard about Kael’s involvement in rescuing Jeannette’s group. Seeing Seraphina personally escort him into a gathering reserved for the most capable students only made the situation more irritating.

Why is she treating him like that?

Leon suppressed the thought before it could develop any further.

Whatever personal grievances he had against Kael, they were insignificant compared with the situation they were facing.

The forest had become a death trap, the undead were roaming freely, and the crimson barrier had cut them off from the outside world.

Leon took a step forward and fixed his gaze on Kael.

"Kael Grayford, I heard that you were among the first to discover this place." His tone was controlled, though the displeasure beneath it was difficult to conceal. "Can you explain how you found it and what you know about this place?"

Several conversations stopped immediately.

One by one, the gathered students turned toward Kael.

Even those who had been occupied with their injuries raised their heads, curious about the place that had provided them with their first genuine refuge since the nightmare began.

Kael had expected this question from the moment Seraphina brought him here. He glanced around at the gathered students before answering calmly.

"We were exploring the forest when we stumbled across it. Once we realized that the area was relatively safe, we decided to use it as a temporary shelter."

Leon frowned.

"That’s all?"

"That’s all."

Kael’s expression remained unchanged.

He had no intention of explaining that he knew about the sanctuary because he had played the game from which this world originated.

Even if he wanted to tell them, how was he supposed to explain that he had discovered the location by remembering a map from a game?

More importantly, revealing the extent of his knowledge would only invite unnecessary questions.

For now, a simple explanation was more than sufficient.

One of the senior students exchanged a glance with his companion before speaking.

"So the rumors were true after all."

Seraphina turned toward him.

"What rumors?"

The senior student stroked his chin thoughtfully before answering.

"There were stories about a hidden sanctuary somewhere in this part of the forest. According to those rumors, only students with sufficiently high-ranked Hero Cores could discover it."

He gestured toward the surrounding trees.

"Most people dismissed the stories as nonsense. After all, no one had ever provided convincing evidence that such a place existed. Even during previous examinations, none of the students who entered this region reported finding anything like it."

Seraphina glanced around the area, seemingly reconsidering what she had heard.

"Then why didn’t the professors or instructors tell us about it? If this place has existed all along, surely the academy knows about it."

"We don’t know," another senior student replied. "Perhaps they meant to add this as part of hidden places that the examinee could stumble upon by luck. The rumors were never officially confirmed but it wasn’t dismissed as well. As far as I know, even the older students who investigated the matter couldn’t find it."

He paused before adding, "Some believed the sanctuary could only be discovered by people with powerful Hero Cores. Others thought the forest itself concealed the entrance from anyone who lacked the necessary strength to survive this region."

"Neither explanation sounds particularly convincing," Seraphina remarked.

"That’s because they’re only rumors."

The discussion might have ended there if not for the realization that gradually dawned on everyone.

Their attention shifted toward Kael.

He was the one who had discovered this place.

And according to the academy’s publicly available evaluations, Kael Grayford possessed the weakest Hero Cores among the first-year students.

If the rumors were true, he should have been the least likely person to find this place. Yet here he was, standing in the middle of a sanctuary that supposedly remained hidden from people with low-ranked Hero Cores.

The implications were difficult to ignore.

Several students looked at Kael with renewed curiosity, while others seemed to be reassessing their previous impressions of him.

Leon, in particular, appeared even more displeased.

Kael noticed their expressions but chose not to comment.

’Here we go again.’

He could practically see the questions forming in their minds.

How had someone with an F-rank Hero Core discovered a place that supposedly required a high-ranked one?

Was his evaluation inaccurate?

Was he hiding some special ability?

Or was there something unusual about the sanctuary itself?

Kael resisted the urge to sigh.

’I swear, people can turn anything into a mystery if you give them enough time.’

Meanwhile, Lilith watched him from the side with an amused glint in her eyes.

How interesting.

Kael had become pleasing to her eyes every time she looked at him. There was clearly more to him than his official evaluation suggested.

Lilith’s lips curled into a faint smile.

’The more I learn about you, Kael Grayford, the more curious I become.’

Unfortunately for everyone, Kael had no intention of satisfying their curiosity.

The truth was considerably less mysterious than they imagined.

In the game’s map, this entire region had been marked as an unexplored area. Unlike the surrounding forest, which contained designated routes and locations, this section appeared almost entirely black.

For most players, that alone would have been enough to make them curious.

For Kael, it had been an invitation to investigate.

He had remembered the approximate location from the game and followed the same general route, eventually discovering the safe zone exactly where he expected it to be.

The rumors about Hero Core rankings, however, had a different explanation.

In the original game, characters with low-ranked Hero Cores could not enter this region. The game imposed certain restrictions on both players and non-player characters, effectively preventing weaker characters from reaching this region of the forest because of level requirements to unlock this area.

But this world was no longer a game.

The rules governing character movement and exploration were not necessarily the same as the restrictions imposed by the original system.

In reality, the forest did not recognize Hero Core rankings as some magical barrier that prevented people from entering a particular region.

The real obstacle was the danger. Students with low-ranked Hero Cores were naturally reluctant to explore areas inhabited by powerful beasts.

That part was common sense.

Without sufficient strength to protect themselves, wandering too far into the forest was practically an invitation to get killed.

As a result, most of them never ventured far enough to discover the safe zone.

Over time, the lack of discoveries had given rise to rumors that only students with powerful Hero Cores could find it.

The truth was simple.

Anyone could discover the sanctuary if they knew where to look and possessed enough courage to explore the surrounding forest.

Of course, the same could not be said for the hostile beasts that roamed the region. Their presence made the journey dangerous, but that was an entirely different matter.

Kael believed that someone had already discovered it before but the academy hid the truth to maintain the matter as rumors all for the sake of examination.

Kael kept this explanation to himself.

There was no reason to correct a rumor that had inadvertently made him appear more mysterious.

Besides, he had more pressing concerns.

"Um, everyone," Kael interjected, raising his voice just enough to draw their attention. "I think we should focus on preparing some defensive structures rather than discussing how we found it."

The gathered students gradually turned toward him.

Kael continued, "We don’t know how long we’ll have to stay here, and we don’t know whether the situation outside will improve. We should organize everything, check everyone’s injuries, and make sure we have enough food and water."

He pointed toward the surrounding trees.

"We should also reinforce the entrances and establish a few defensive positions. Even if this place is safe right now, I’d rather not wait until something comes looking for us before we start preparing."

Leon crossed his arms.

"Why would we need defensive structures? You said yourself that this place is safe from hostile creatures."

"It’s safe for now, but we don’t know whether it can completely protect us."

Leon opened his mouth to respond, but Kael continued before he could interrupt.

"We’ve been assuming that the undead are the biggest threat because they’re the ones attacking us. But what if they’re only part of the problem? What if there are people out there manipulating everything? And what if whatever caused this situation can find its way into this place?"

His words gradually silenced the gathering.