Diether noticed that even though they easily defeated the mid-grade beast, their faces were looking grim…

"Uncle Mark… Is there any problem with the result of the battle?" ​​

The young man whispered as he was confused by the situation. Mark noticed that Diether was unaware of the situation so he tried explaining it to Diether.

"Why do you think that a beast that was about to evolve into a High-Grade rank was lurking at the outer range of the forest?"

After thinking for a few moments, Diether answered.

"Well, we saw the Black Lion feasting on that ape… Maybe, it ran out of food at the inner part of the forest?"

"Good observation… But Black Lions weren't creatures that normally leave their territory. Especially during the daytime…"

"Now that you said it… Most evil beasts only hunt during the night… Only the weaker ones would try to hunt during the day since there will be lesser competitions against their fellow evil beasts…"

"That's correct… But since the Black Lions appeared in this place… There could be several reasons… There might be a bigger threat at the inner range or another beast took over its territory or someone purposedly leads them here. Luckily, it was on the verge of evolving to a higher grade so it was in its weakened state… If not for that, it would've taken us a long time and it may attract a lot more beasts…"

"But that still doesn't explain why everyone looks so worried… We're not entering the inner range anyway, right?"

"Mhmm… Aside from that, the appearance of a Black Lion is not a good sign. Although they were known to hunt alone, it doesn't mean that they do not have partners, families, or other servants with them… A Black Lion has a high-status among the Evil Beasts…"

Diether was aware of the evil beast's grading system but he never had thought of them having a form of hierarchy…

'Is Black Lion some sort of noble or royalty among the evil beasts?'

He wanted to ask more questions about them but Wang Lin has again alerted them due to a nearby beast…

This time, the enemies were only Wild Beasts and it was a pack of wolves. There's only 1 mid-grade and the other six were low-grade… They seem to have been drawn from the blood that was splattered around the area.

"I'll take the mid-grade alone… Handle the low-grade Forest Wolves, make sure not to kill them…"

Although Noah and Lovel have potions and tools to remove the stench of blood, it seems that these wolves move faster than they expected.

Their battle with the Wild Beasts and weaker Evil Beasts continued until the appointed time for the students to enter the forest…

"It's time… Let's have a quick rest…"

"I'll stand guard…"

It was Wang Lin followed by Diether who volunteered to guard the surroundings. Although the young man participated in battles, his teammates made sure that he wasn't being pressured in all fights…

Anyway, the Hunters were still a bit spent so they decided to take a break and also to monitor the students from afar…

They have to ensure that they haven't missed any beasts… It would be a huge problem if these students fought against a mid-grade unknowingly. Even professional 2-Star Hunters would have to fight against mid-grade beasts with caution much less to these 12-year-old students…

***

The five groups of students entered the forest and moved in different directions.

Since there was only ten 4th-Class Arcanist, each group has 2 Arcanists protecting them in secret.

Although the students were aware of this, they clearly know for a fact that they will only interfere if it was a life-threatening situation and it will also result in having low marks in this trial.

Grrr!!!

The group being led by Yui Sakura had encountered a young Armored Bear, it was a low-grade Wild Beast…

"Armored Bear… Their core would give us 10 Points… Everyone, get ready for a fight…"

Yui Sakura has long silver hair and gray eyes… As she leads her group using her Mythical rank Arcana, no one could deny the charisma she shows on the battlefield.

Aside from Alexander Greiner, she was the only one who possesses such a high-rank Arcana so the Arcanists assigned to protect her include Jerax himself.

As for Alexander on the other group, they didn't have to worry that much since the Greiner Bloodline flows through his vein.

Even the Orc Lords at the southern border had to be wary when fighting against a Greiner.

'Mhmm… Very good, only low-grade beasts were present within 10 kilometers… The Hunters were doing well.'

Jerax thought after he cast a skill to survey the surroundings. Of course, it was through Magic Equipment that he made.

***

"Ugh… We're only seeing Normal Beasts… I think that we selected a bad direction…"

"Don't worry… We've just entered the forest… We have a lot of time…"

"That's right. Anyway, we still have to kill them… Even though Normal Beast only gave 1 point, it is still a point!"

"Haha! That's true…"

Aria's group was surprisingly being led by Alexander and unfortunately, Perrin was his right-hand man even though he only has a common rank Sword Arcana.

That's right, aside from Aria and Alexander, the other eight students in the group were using common rank Arcana, but due to Perrin's Knight Family, he possesses several Magic Equipment at his disposal.

Diether was keen to know how his sister was doing in the forest. Unfortunately, they were only fighting against Normal Beasts that their group of five had spared so there weren't many actions to be seen.

A few slashes and waves of their weapons could easily decimate the normal beasts and for their cores to be harvested.

It wasn't challenging since they were all using Arcana… Even a Common Rank was still powerful against them. It was uneventful at the moment.

Boom!

A sudden explosion in the sky interrupted everyone.

It seems to be fireworks and Diether saw its traces even if it was daytime…

"Master… Is that a signal for something?"

"I guess so… I think that your leader was aware of it based on his expression…'

As soon as his master mentioned this, Diether glanced towards Wang Lin and realized that he had a conflicted face.

He didn't wait for the others to ask and answered their thoughts.

"Tsk… That's a sign of third party interventions… A group of bandits or probably assassins assigned to harm the students were found… We'll have to deal with them."

It seems that it was a sign used by the Eight Thunder Claws during an emergency.

Orga had given instructions to the Hunters, even to the nearby villages, not to enter the forest during this three-day trial, any unidentified people who entered the forest at this time would be considered as a threat and must be eliminated.

Although they were only paid to fight against mid-grade or higher beasts in the mission, they would still be rewarded by the Hunter Association if they eliminated the people interfering.

The students were curious about the fireworks just now but they didn't think too much about it and continued their hunt for points.

It didn't take long before Aria's group encountered six hungry and extremely furious Forest Wolves…