CHAPTER 213: ALEVERON RANGE [2]

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, studying the marking.

Although this world was advanced to a certain level, it wasn’t so different from present modern-day Earth; as such even their military symbols were very familiar.

Hence, it was quite easy for Gabriel to read them. These were used for wars — to be specific, predicting enemy positions.

But what could be the enemy?

’It could be humans, beasts, or anything.’ he thought inwardly.

"It appears you have taken an interest in our war map!" came a firm, authoritative voice.

Gabriel didn’t flinch, after all, he believed that he wasn’t really doing anything wrong and was only observing.

Calmly turning to face the speaker, whose owner happened to be the general, Gabriel said, "Yes. I was just curious — it’s not often you come across such strategic maps."

The general was silent for several seconds, simply staring at Gabriel as if trying to decide whether he was telling the truth or was perhaps an enemy spy.

After a moment he clapped his hands and asked a question that took Gabriel off guard: "I’m sure you’re curious to know what these are for. You seem to be quite an interesting fellow... do you want to know the reason for this?"

Hearing this, Gabriel fell into deep thought, then shook his head. "It’s none of my business. If you don’t mind, sir, I’ll take my leave."

After a casual nod, he turned and left to meet up with the others.

The general stared at his retreating back; a strange gleam shone in his eyes and a light smirk crossed his face before he returned to his work.

Whatever he was thinking remained unknown.

Outside, the students and Miss Clair were waiting for him. Though curious about what he had been doing, none summoned the courage to ask.

The students walked down, and the further they went the more sparse the buildings became. It reached a point where all they could see was dusty wilderness.

"This place... the only difference between here and the wilderness are the walls," one student pointed out.

"At least maybe out here we won’t be bothered by monsters targeting us," another replied.

"Fufufufu." Miss Clair chuckled mischievously, covering her face when she heard this. The others didn’t notice, but Gabriel, walking just a few metres away, did.

’Now that I think about it, the headmistress didn’t really tell me the full details about this practicum... she probably knows more.’ he deduced.

"Here we are," announced the officer who had been guiding them.

In front of them was a rundown building that looked decades old. The walls bore deep cracks and most of the roof was falling off.

Just behind the building there was thick fog; although it blurred vision slightly, everyone could make out a towering barbed-wire fence that seemed to stretch endlessly.

A puzzled expression appeared not only on the students’ faces but also on Gabriel’s and Clair’s.

"This is... is this where we’re going to stay?"

"That seems to be the case."

"This shithole?"

"Dang — our tents are several times more luxurious than this."

A tight frown appeared on Clair’s face and she turned to the officer, staring at him with a questioning gaze.

"What is this supposed to mean?" she asked in a slightly raised tone.

The officer simply shrugged and replied, "This is the only place we can lend out. The other places are already occupied by workers, and besides, this place is the most convenient if you want to train the kids in this range."

"Convenient, yo—"

Creak — crack!

The sudden sound snapped everyone’s attention to the building, where they noticed that part of the roof had caved in.

The officer smiled wryly and said, "The decision is final."

Clair looked like someone who had a lot to say, but she took a deep breath. Realizing that this excursion would last at most two days, she decided to endure.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality," she said curtly, then returned to the students.

In the end they decided to set up camp instead of using the building, which seemed only a foot away from collapsing.

The following morning, a loud whistle blew through the makeshift camp, startling all the students awake.

In the middle was Clair; now she was dressed in a fitted training suit with a pair of white sneakers, the outfit outlining her figure while remaining practical.

The students woke groggily, rubbing their eyes and slowly making their way out of their respective tents.

Gabriel observed all this from a distance. So far he had yet to encounter any trouble, but he had a feeling it was about to begin.

After all forty students were gathered, Clair cleared her throat and said loudly in a firm voice.

"This year’s wilderness excursion won’t be combat," she announced, piquing everyone’s interest, including Gabriel’s. "Instead, you will be tasked to find specific herbs within these gates."

As she said this she pointed to the foggy barbed-wire fence behind them. The students wore fearless expressions.

Hearing that it was just to pick some herbs, their confidence grew and they felt a rush of adrenaline.

Clair continued, "Five groups, each with eight members. Your task is simple — collect the herbs on the list and return within six hours. Failure to do so will be considered disqualification."

The groups quickly arranged themselves; some students formed cliques with friends while others stuck with whoever was nearby.

Afterwards each group was given the list of herbs they needed to collect.

When they were all ready to enter the gates, Clair warned, "And for those who think this is just a game, let me remind you — this range isn’t a playground. If you’re careless, you won’t be coming back."

Some students scoffed, clearly underestimating the danger, while others grew pale.

One by one, the groups started to walk into the fog. Clair stayed behind with Gabriel.

She handed him a tablet which displayed all five groups and their current locations.

"Remember," she said softly, "you’re only to interfere if their lives are truly at risk. Otherwise, let them suffer and learn. You don’t have to worry, I’ll be keeping watch and will intervene if I can."

Gabriel didn’t respond; he simply nodded and walked through the gates.

Stepping into the fog, Gabriel found himself on a straight dirt path with trees lining the sides. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw hills in the distance rising and falling.

Further along the dirt path, he could still make out the faint figures of students and hear their voices.

Since some were nearby, Gabriel decided to explore the range as well. However, he didn’t start moving yet; he didn’t want the students to notice his presence.

When he felt there was a large distance between them, he started moving, following the dirt path until he arrived at a junction. He picked left at random and headed that way.

As he did, his attention was focused on the tablet, carefully watching the students. From the feed he could see that some groups had encountered their first wave of monsters.

Whether it was because the monsters were too weak or the more advanced students were too strong, all those monsters were easily dealt with.

He also noted that they were coming across the herbs one after another. Although Gabriel was paying attention to everyone, his focus was mostly on the group headed by Samantha.

The reason? He could tell that among everyone here she was the strongest and likely the most talented as well.

It was only a feeling, but times when his instincts proved him wrong were rather rare.

---

"Halt!" Samantha called as she raised one hand and the seven behind her immediately paused.

"Why are we stopping?" one of them asked, annoyed that she was taking the lead even though Clair wasn’t around.

Samantha crouched, fingers brushing the soil. She didn’t answer at first, her eyes scanning the ground ahead. "Trap," she muttered.

The boy scoffed. "Trap? What trap? This is just dirt." He stepped forward.

Samantha grabbed his wrist and yanked him back just before the ground collapsed in front of him. Rotten wooden planks gave way, revealing a pit lined with sharpened stakes. The boy paled, his legs trembling.

"If you want to die early, don’t let me stop you," she said coldly before turning back to the path.

The group swallowed hard. No one complained after that.

---

Gabriel was watching from high above, crouched on the branch of a massive tree that overlooked the entire section of the range. From here he could see three groups moving through the forest. The fog had thinned slightly. His eyes tracked Samantha’s every movement.

She wasn’t the official leader, but the students unconsciously followed her. She spotted things they didn’t. She reacted faster than anyone else.

If he was right, Samantha probably didn’t know she was being watched, which meant this was the best time for him to learn whatever she was hiding.

’Let’s see... hope this secret would be worth the hassle.’