Magical Academy: Rise of the Supreme Magic Craftsman

The people guarding the road to the forest were also strong magicians and Wallace even sensed a Battle Mage acting as a leader in each group. 

The forest was still about two kilometers away from the town proper but the main road to the place was already heavily guarded by these magicians and soldiers. Also, he learned that several outposts were placed almost randomly to arrest those people trying to sneak in.

Apparently, the officials were aware that if someone tried to sneak into the forest, they wouldn't use the main road as they will be heavily checked. 

These people would normally try to use another path only to be detected by these magicians. 

"That's interesting, they probably allotted more than a thousand guards just to secure the perimeter." Wallace mumbled after he scanned the town's surroundings. It seems that the forest was really important. He surmised that it's for the citizens' protection but also recognized that the government valued the place a lot. 

After all, the place was full of natural treasures and could be considered as the wealth of their country. 

The night approached and Wallace wore his Amplified Assault Armor. He brought his other suitcase and silently flew with the cover of the night. 

The town doesn't have high walls but was surrounded by hills. The only way to pass through this place and head to Kharvatt Forest was the main road or climb the hill. 

Whoosh...

Wallace silently passes over not too far from the main guard's outpost.

After reaching about a kilometer high in the sky, he had a clear view of the positions of those scattered outposts. 

He flew at a very slow pace at first but after he confirmed that there's no reaction from the nearest Battle Mage, he had more confidence in his covert operation.

A few more minutes had passed and he reached the Kharvatt Forest. 

"Oh, it looks entirely different from other forests I'm aware of... maybe that's why Mana Beasts lives here."

He was surprised by the abundant Mana particles being generated within the forest. The trees were also abnormally large that could never be seen within Zairus. 

After admiring the forest a bit he landed on a nearby tree and disabled flight mode. He changes the mode of his armor to Hunter Mode. This allows him to have better mobility control while traversing the unknown forest. 

"I have to pass the mountain range first and look for that specific island." 

He scanned the surroundings and it seems there were still a few outposts within the outer edge of the forest. He noticed some patrols monitoring the forest.

"Eh? They don't look like patrols to me..." 

Wallace noticed a group of eight heavily armed hunters.

He wasn't sure if they were operating legally but if he continued his current path, he will bump unto them. They were about three kilometers away from the nearest outpost of the guards and just a kilometer far from Wallace. 

"Hmmm... If they are operating legally, they wouldn't need to erase their tracks in this safe zone...

Oh well, they're not of my business."  He shook his head and didn't bother the leading group. He kept his guards up and moved in a different direction but was still approaching the Kharvatt Sierra

He noticed several Mana Beasts that he'd only ever heard from the academy instructors and especially the herbs that can be highly sold in the market. 

"Belierboa, a snake with Ram's head. Merlvencus, a bull-like beast. Satyr, Baleorel... here they are. I thought I'll only see them as raw materials for ingredients."

Wallace was a bit distracted upon seeing these marvelous beasts that he had only seen in textbooks or on the internet. 

"Fire Spearmint, Drake Spice, Star Fennel, Moon Vine... these potion ingredients were precious." Wallace was tempted to grab some as even though he had enough money he could use to purchase this, it will be extremely difficult to find one. Apparently, these potion ingredients he was looking at could also be used to enhance crafting materials. 

Obviously, better crafting materials will result in better mana artifacts.

"I'll definitely return for you once I settled my purpose here." Wallace said as he was looking at a single Monk's Saffron planted on the nearby ground. The mesmerizing purple flower was alone in its field and no other plants or trees can be seen within its fifty meters radius. He moved his gaze and continued his journey.

Wallace neared on the mountain range and felt that the number of weaker mana beast lessened. The place was already the territory of Keroxes.

He made himself very careful to avoid any confrontation from the said beast. Although he felt that it was an exaggeration for a single Kerox to be equal to five Battle Mages, he knows not to test their capability.

Wallace halted his steps and made his armor operate in full alert. He felt the presence of three Keroxes observing him silently like a predator waiting for its chance. 

"Not too close... about 300 meters. They sure know how to distance. Tsk. The old man said that they hunt alone but why are those three together?" He shook his head but could only smile wryly. He didn't fully trust the information he got from the residents so he wasn't too shocked by it. At the very least, they said the truth about these Keroxes that they only live within the area of the mountain range. 

He observed the leading Kerox and noticed that it indeed looked like a horned bear with a long muscular arm like a gorilla. It also has golden fur on the top part of its body. He especially noticed its absurd Mana fluctuation.

"Man, they didn't exaggerate. They actually underestimated these Keroxes." 

He realized the reason why his armor's cloak mode was seen through. Apparently, his personal stealth spell from his Mana Artifact was better compared to the stealth ability of his armor but it would lower his movement speed if uses instead.

He carefully analyzed the strength of the leading beast and he noticed that the other two behind hiding on a nearby tree trunk was weaker and didn't have golden fur on them. 

"It should be a leader of some sort... What a find, but now's not the time to fight. That golden Kerox should be on par with an Adept in terms of strength and Mana Shell." Wallace decided to escape.

Mana Beasts have natural Mana Shells protecting them. He felt the sturdy layered Mana Shell of the beast and perceived that it wouldn't be fruitful battling them. 

He firmly grasped his other suitcase in case there was a need to battle. He covertly activated his armor's Speed Mode. 

He determined that it's best to fully use his armor's function to bypass the mountain range instead of slowly moving. The longer he stays here, the more he would encounter these Keroxes in their territory. He didn't dare to use flight as it was said that flying Mana Beast was even more dangerous in the Kharvatt Sierra and anyway, the flight mode consumes a lot more Mana. He only plans to use them if it's really required. 

Wallace was about to move but stopped for a moment to analyze his path. Apparently, a number of Keroxes were in his supposed path. 

"Whatever, it should only take about 15 minutes to reach the end of this Sierra."

Speed Mode could operate for two full hours so he wasn't worried that Keroxes could catch up on him. He only needed to make sure not to bump with Adept-level Keroxes.

***

Not too far from Wallace's location. Eight individuals were silently moving as they approach the Sierra.

"There's an activity in our front." One of the fully armored men at the back reported. All of them had hidden their faces on a full black helmet that seems to be magically engineered to have a Night Vision

"How far?" The man in the front with the biggest build asked.

"About four kilometers. We can reach there in two minutes if we use Haste."

The leader nodded and glanced at the person beside him who understood the former and cast a magic spell. 

"Imperial Command - Full Haste"

The eight of them were shrouded by blue Mana Particles before disappearing. 

"Move!" 

As soon as the leader ordered, the eight of them almost vanished within the cover of the night.