Everyone was tensed up, but hearing Shane's words, they suddenly felt extremely weird, as he only said that it would be "dirty" which seemed to be misplaced.

However, thinking about his words for a quarter of a second allowed everyone to release their sudden tension to a certain degree, as the students went into their combat stance, waiting for the centipedes around them to make the first move.

It seemed as if nobody knew what exact race they were and only when Shane shouted out a warning did they learn something about the creatures who had suddenly appeared in front of them

"These centipedes seem to be a variant evolution from the Subterra Centipedes, if I'm not wrong, they should have acquired an affinity, according to their carapace- and eye color"

Hearing this, the students also noticed multiple similarities of the centipedes with the Subterra Centipede race, and they sighed in relief because this race was known for its length and sturdy defense, yet weak attack.

But before the students could even finish their sigh, several dozen fireballs, wind blades, and earth spikes manifested around the youths.

Only five students were able to remain level-headed while the other stiffened.

Leon unsheathed his sword, only to charge towards the longest centipede with ruby-colored eyes.

Shane only noticed that Leon exerted a movement technique, as he stood in front of the centipede, and directed his gaze towards the other students who huddled around each other looking absolutely petrified.

Sighing deeply, Shane pulled back the bowstring and shot several arrows in succession aimed at the centipedes' eyes.

While most arrows were easily deflected with the centipedes evading them or the usage of their elemental attacks, two arrows did cut through, which caused a loud commotion as they cried out in pain.

This loud noise alerted the remaining students who readied themselves as they charged towards the oversized centipedes, whose rank was barely at the late Elite stage.

After he hit his first few arrows, Shane immediately disregarded his prior thought about his position within the group of students, as a scowl appeared on his face.

'Why are they so afraid? We could have overwhelmed them already.' He thought, frowning deeply, as he saw that two students were losing out to the variant subterra centipedes, and were in need of the Valkyries' help.

Taking out his Crimson Yaeli longsword, Shane inserted some of his mana into it, which caused it to glow softly, before he used his remaining mana in order to circulate it throughout his body.

Without more mana left to use, his speed accelerated only to a certain extent, as he stood below the only emerald-colored centipede that was more than twenty meters long, and he pierced his curved longsword into the gap between its carapace and legs.

Having a numerical advantage had its perks and Shane was, fortunately, able to reach his first target without attracting too much attention, as he felt his sword penetrate through the resilient flesh.

Howling in pain, the emerald-colored subterra centipede looked below, only to see Shane, loosening his grip from the curved longsword, as he jumped on the centipede's back, which tried to follow his approach.

While the centipede tried to shake him off, Shane's set of tempered railore-iron daggers appeared in his hands, which he used to pierce through the tiny gaps in the carapace in order to secure himself on the centipede's back.

'If I can't sever your body immediately, I can at least torture you a little bit, right?' Shane thought as a small smile appeared on his face, when he reached the centipede's head.

Evading multiple wind blades, he stabbed with his daggers, penetrating through its eyes.

Writhing in pain, the centipede shook violently and Shane was almost thrown from its back, but he continued to twist his daggers forcefully with all his might.

Stiffening, the centipede suddenly stopped moving, and Shane pulled out his daggers that were enveloped in a thin membrane of mana and brain mass.

Without wasting any time, he stored his dagger-set before rushing towards his Crimson Yaeli longsword that was drenched in blood because it was pushed into the centipede's body while it writhed in pain and tried to push him off its back.

It took him several seconds to pull out the curved longsword, but when he was done, he stored away from the emerald-colored subterra centipede's carcass.

Shane turned around, only to see that the fight was over.

However, instead of being happy, he felt miserable and disappointed with his own strength which he could have used in a much better way, while he could only look at the other students that entered the expedition team with frustration.

Out of the group of more than ten students, only three to four had been able to act when they had entered the centipedes' trap if it could even be considered like that.

Excluding himself, there was only Leon, another third-year student and a second-year student who had shown a presence of mind.

Furthermore, the three who acted immediately after they noticed the assassination, possessed a higher mana purity than 60% which told Shane that they had already completed the mission in order to receive permission to purchase higher mana purification manuals.

This also led him to the conclusion that they had been in the Primordial Dimension for a longer duration and that they ventured through the wilderness in order to increase their combat prowess and experience which was essential to accomplish even [Platinum] missions.

Every single mission had its own dangers and it was obvious as to who had already attained a certain degree of combat experience and who remained nearby the shelter with weaker beasts in their surroundings to barely gain a few dozen silver coins through the entire day.

However, the most disappointing, out of the lot, to Shane, were Aimy and Olivia.

While he hadn't expected much from Aimy, it was a different matter for Olivia, because she was the one who had always wanted to fight others and with the centipedes' assassination she could have showed him her determination, but she had greatly disappointed him.

Their team size was exactly double of their opponents, while almost everyone was at the Expert rank, which would normally be enough to defeat almost all Elite stage beasts without an issue, with a few exceptions if sly beasts were to attack them in an unpredictable way.

In the end, Shane defeated one late-Elite stage centipede single-handedly, which was due to the fact that the emerald-colored centipede had been focusing on the petrified students, which forced the Valkyries to intervene and save them.

Nevertheless, it was still a feat he could be proud of and other than him, Leon had killed three centipedes with a single sword strike that easily severed them in two parts, while the two other experts were also able to defeat a single peak-Elite stage centipede effortlessly.

Turning around, Shane noticed that Aisha was forced to save Aimy and Olivia, whom he completely ignored, as he smiled lightly at Aisha.

Aisha couldn't even force herself to smile, thinking about the devastating outcome of this fight, as she gathered everyone around them once again.

Aimy was looking at Shane pitifully, but he completely ignored her for the moment, as he attentively listened to Aisha, who sighed deeply before saying.

"I don't understand how most of you got accepted at the Shirai academy, but demonstrating such brainless behavior when the other team members are being assassinated results in imminent death. To be blunt, out of all students here, only seven to eight would have survived this 'fight', with three being seriously injured.

The others would have been lifeless corpses by now, nurturing the ground below us."

Looking at a few specific students, she said a few words, and then she started to compliment the four students who had displayed courage.

"In the end, we make this expedition a lesson, where everyone learns how to survive in the Primordial Dimensions without relying on others! You all should be able to act, even in perilous situations where you can't find a way out. Fight desperately with all your might! This is still a thousand times better than standing around petrified, only to die without any resistance…

The Valkyries and I will save everyone from the most dangerous and life-threatening situations, so go all out and show me what exactly the Shirai academy saw in every single one of you!!"

Listening to Aisha's short speech, the uncertain and anxious students that expected a punishment felt much better and motivated.

Their fear subdued and Shane could feel their fighting spirit igniting when Aisha added

"Once we venture deeper inside this elemental crystal cave, we might encounter more and even stronger variant elemental subterra centipedes, but don't be scared! After y'all survive the dangers, your hard work will be rewarded!

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