Beneath the mid-morn skies, a small yet terrifying force of humans advanced through a maze-like canyon teeming with horrifying monsters and beasts.

The escort force had been silent in the past few days, and why wouldn't they be when they just lost all their hard-earned loot to a young man?

All they would obtain from this dangerous trip was the mission rewards.

To make things worse, fifty percent of whatever they harvested after the disastrous night would still go to Hal, and this was already due to Headmistress Isolde being nice to them.

They had no one to blame but themselves, though.

Clive and the other young A-rankers kept on provoking the Chaos Magna Prospect, only to be taught a lesson.

Like Finn, Clive suddenly trembled, and the damage done to a human by [Winter's Grasp] was enough for Hal to finish off the thunder-element user.

This was when Raiz and the other S-rankers noticed the strange phenomenon.

Unfortunately, it was already too late for them. The match was lost.

Hateful as Hal Fennec was, they couldn't deny his terrifying talent—not after the loss they suffered.

Raiz and the other S-rankers of the guild can wholeheartedly acknowledge that Clive's bunch were more talented than they were.

Yet, they were still destroyed by the nineteen-year-old Magna Prospect.

They could only keep their mouths shut after that.

At the end of the day, they were the ones who kept on asking for trouble against who could possibly be the most talented youngster in the empire's history, and they got what they wanted.

All the escort force could think of was how someone could be so monstrous at such a young age.

Still, they didn't dare play around with the Imperium's authority too much, so despite the disastrous and disheartening night, they still escorted Hal to his destination.

They fought numerous monsters and beasts, all of which came in manageable numbers.

While there were mighty S-ranked creatures like Earth and Wind Wyverns, the escort force was able to avoid them.

They could defeat such enemies.

However, the price they would have to pay was not small, and there would certainly be casualties among the A-rankers.

The mission was to escort Hal Fennec to Tiki Island, so why would they go out of their way and risk their lives fighting against such great beasts?

There were also a few groups of monsters they had to avoid, like the renowned Chiropterran Cloud—a massive flock of A-ranked humanoid bats that terrorized the skies of the Great Carralis Canyonlands.

Even wyverns and drakes wouldn't dare pick a fight with them willy-nilly, as they numbered more than a thousand.

Perhaps the only creatures the flyers feared were the Deoras.

But no such beast lived in the Great Carralis Canyonlands, so the Chiropterran Cloud felt like they were the kings of this area.

Fortunately, around two more days later, the escort force finally made it through the Death Zone, staring at a misty island a few dozen kilometers from where they stood.

Their problem was the need to traverse a significant expanse of the Southern Seas to get there.

They didn't have a vessel… not one Hal could recall, anyway.

To his surprise, Isolde suddenly retrieved some sort of amulet from her spatial bag and began waving her arms in a circular motion, clearly casting a spell.

A void portal then opened in the next moment, leaving Hal slightly stupefied.

His master could connect to Tiki Island from such a distance?!

Hal gulped. He could only imagine how mighty his master was in her prime.

The escort force entered first, followed by Shaun, then Hal and Loki, then Isolde, who returned the amulet to her spatial bag as she did.

The portal closed a few seconds later.

On the other side, they were greeted by a lush, untouched jungle, with the fairly thick white mist adding a layer of mysticism alongside the faintly glowing wooden totem that stared at the nearby seas.

Hal, Shaun, and the adventurers of the Imperial Wizard Guild couldn't help but admire the surroundings.

They certainly have never been to such a location.

"Headmistress, please lead the way," Raiz said, snapping out of her awe-induced stupor.

This was the agreement.

After all, how could they lead the way when they haven't been here in the past?

Isolde, on the other hand, had been here once in the past, and she knew how things worked.

"There's no need. They'll come fetch us soon."

'They?' was the thought that resonated in the minds of Hal and the adventurers.

As if to confirm her words, the shrubbery rustled, prompting the guild wizards to prepare for battle, slightly bewildered as masked individuals holding crude, runic, wooden elemental staves emerged.

How did they not detect these guys?!

"Calm down," Isolde instructed, extending her left arm as if to stop the escort force from doing anything stupid.

The two sides then stood at a fair distance away from each other for a while.

The adventurers of the Imperial Wizard Guild gazed coldly at the masked, half-naked people, attempting to discern whether they were human or monsters.

Shockingly, it seemed that they were just like them.

The guild wizards didn't need to keep guessing for long as, a few moments later, a tall, muscular, brown-skinned man with a dormant green rune engraved on his chest appeared.

The man removed his mask, confirming that the more-than-fifty individuals half-encircling Hal and the others were humans like them.

Shaun and the adventurers couldn't help but be bewildered that there were still people living this far outside the borders of the Imperium.

How did they survive the threat of the fell race all this time?

Soon, Isolde walked closer to the man and bowed a certain way, the latter doing the same with a hint of surprise on his face.

A huge portion of the hostility in the eyes of the tribal folks disappeared after witnessing the headmistress' actions, replaced by curiosity.

Isolde then took something from her spatial bag: the amethyst amulet.

The man's eyes widened, and he suddenly kneeled on one knee, prompting the other tribe members to do the same, despite some not understanding the situation.

In the next moment, the man spoke in a language they didn't understand.

But it seemed that the Headmistress knew what was going on.

Isolde turned to Hal and the escort force.

"Follow me."