Meteor

"I'm still injured, you know?" Alvin couldn't help but complain as he focused on recovering his energy.

Linfel ignored Alvin's complaint as they continued to run after the guides. By now, this group of Maguses and Familiars had decreased by a lot. Only around 30% of the initial participants were still following the guides. The rest were dragged away after asking for help in their MCOMs.

If one looked around, one would notice that only Rank A and B class students were still following the guides. Of course, there were some exceptions like Linfel's group. Other ones were Maguses from Rank E and two from Rank D Classes that got lucky so far. As for Rank C, like Alvin's, there were three more remaining.

A few minutes later, Felia's core reactivated, and she began to float again. Her ethereal body took form, although it was very faint. That showed just how little Magic Energy she was able to gather. "Master..."

Alvin grabbed her core back and spoke. "Don't waste your magic Energy in your form or floating. I'll carry you for a while, so just recover."

Connor glanced at his back. "I'm the one carrying you, which means I'm carrying both of you, you know?"

"You have no right to complain, idiot." Connor cursed.

Perhaps it was because the last battle was too intense, but their group hadn't met with any other Magic Beasts for the next entire hour. In Linfel's eyes, the guides definitely knew where to find the Magic Beasts, so it was obvious they were purposely avoiding it.

In this hour, Alvin managed to stabilize his Magic Energy while keeping the Magic Energy Receptor full nonstop. It was like Linfel mentioned. Alvin began to get used to it, and that allowed him to manage to even recover some of his Magic Energy while it was absorbed by the Receptor.

The same could be said for Felia, although she followed Alvin's orders and kept herself in her core mode only during this entire duration. That helped her to recover a little bit more Magic Energy than Alvin.

The two of them used their Master Familiar Connection once every few minutes just to share their reserves of Magic Energy equally. Linfel could share his Magic Energy, which was plenty. However, he refused to do so, saying that this would impact the meaning of this Field Exam.

Of course, the guides wouldn't avoid the Magic Beasts forever. After running for an hour, they changed direction again. By now, everyone put their guard even higher. No one there was an idiot. They knew that they would soon be dragged into some Magic Beasts' Territory by the guides, but they had to follow them, or their exam would be over.

*Tud!*

*Ouch!*

Suddenly, Connor let Alvin's body go, causing him to fall on the ground. "Hey! Couldn't you warn me? My injuries will open again for fucks sake."

Connor shrugged. "Linfel said that I only needed to carry you for one hour, and one hour has gone by. The fact you fell so easily just shows how you still have your guard down."

Tratil sighed on the side. "Master, you just wanted to cause him some pain, didn't you?"

"That too." Connor nodded.

"I truly don't know why we are still together..." Alvin couldn't help but comment.

"Isn't that because you love me?" Connor asked back with a cheap smile.

"Of course!" Alvin nodded and pointed to the side while still running. "I love you as much as that stone in the mud over there."

Yet, just as Alvin was about to take his eyes away from the mud, he saw it moving slightly. He rubbed his for a moment and paid more attention. Without anyone else noticing, it began to rise, giving him the creeps. He checked the surroundings, and he could see similar puddles of mud just like like this one. They blended perfectly with the environment, so no one paid much attention to them.

"Careful! There is something strange with the mud!" Alvin didn't take his chances. He immediately shouted to warn all the Maguses and Familiars, who stopped in their tracks and prepared for an attack.

Sure enough, the various puddles of mud exploded, sending wet dirt everywhere. From inside, Magic Beasts, similar to giant worms but with teeth, jumped out, attacking the group.

"Well done!" A Magus from Rank B class immediately complimented Alvin as he connected to his Familiar. Water Element gathered and froze, creating several frozen needles that the guy shot in the Magic Beasts' direction.

Similar actions happened all around as the Maguses and Familiars took down tens of Magic Beasts similar to that. Alvin and Connor weren't any slower. They also took one each. Last but not least, Linfel got rid of three that were close by. Well, he didn't need to deal with the three. It's just that one of them was close to Connor, and Linfel promised to protect him, so he got rid of that one as well, leaving Connor to fight just a single one.

Connor easily dealt with his Magic Beast since he was full of Magic Energy. As for Alvin, his injuries definitely made him somewhat sluggish. But because he perceived the attack ahead of time, he managed to deal with his own Magic Beast with Felia's help.

The guides completely trashed a few of the worms that were idiot enough to attack them as they looked back. If not for Alvin's warning, things would have been more interesting. But then again, paying attention to one's surroundings was part of this Field Exam, so they didn't say anything. "Let's go."

Since everyone dealt with the Worm without any issues, the guides instantly continued to run.

Alvin bitterly smiled. The Guides truly didn't care about everyone's exhaustion.

"Hey, brother, nice call." A Magus called Soigan patted Alvin before running ahead.

Others also complimented him, making Alvin feel a little embarrassed. "It was just lucky..." He wasn't lying. It was truly luck that he looked in the right direction at the right time.

Linfel smiled, though. "Remember, luck is also part of one's strength. Let's continue." He also whispered in Alvin and Connor's ears. 'And don't forget the report.'

These kinds of events happened every hour or so. And yet, Alvin and Felia got more and more used to it. Linfel was just leisurely following the group since he was always full of Magic Energy. In an area with almost no Magic Energy, a being like him truly had a huge advantage. The Magic Beasts might have adapted to the land, but that adaptation still couldn't make up for the lack of Magic Energy there.

As the exam neared its end, seven of the eight hours had elapsed, and the group had dwindled to a mere nineteen Maguses and Familiars. Only a fraction, roughly 10%, had managed to endure this far. The signs of exhaustion were evident in everyone, particularly the Maguses.

The survivors, those who had managed to balance their expenditure and absorption, were able to recover some Magic Energy. This allowed them to continue battling and running. However, their bodies were reaching their limits. The Magic Energy, while a boon, was also a burden, pushing their flesh and bones to their breaking point.

Alvin, who had been injured in the second ambush, was even more so. Connor had to carry him another two times after the battles. Well, Linfel made sure Alvin was always on his wits' end during every attack. Linfel never intervened, and Alvin usually fought more than one Magic Beast at once with his little reserves of Magic Energy. Alvin was actually doing an incredible job so far.

It was then that they all reached the top of a mountain where a huge metallic platform could be seen. The guides brought everyone over it and stopped, looking into the distance. Tarert turned around, looking at the Maguses and Familiars that made it this far. "Well, I have to admit I'm impressed. The routes we used were selected to make sure that almost no one, or perhaps no one at all, would reach the end. But look at you, nineteen Maguses and Familiars. What is most impressive is that we have a Rank E Magus and a Familiar with you."

Connor scratched the back of his head. He only got this far because of his secret plan to not use any magic energy in the receptors. Only Linfel, Alvin, and the Familiars knew about it. Besides, Linfel never allowed more than one Magic Beast to attack him at once. Naturally, he did get to this place quite easily. The amazing part was that Linfel made it look like Connor was truly just lucky to never have to fight more than one Magic Beast at the same time.

Someone quickly took the opportunity to ask. "Sir, is this the end of the exam, then?"

"Pretty much," Tarert nodded. "Of course, we got here quite early, too. There is still another hour before the exam is over, so make sure you keep your Magic Energy Receptors full. Don't blame me if you lose points for leaving them dry."

Everyone immediately crumbled on the platform. It gave quite a good view of the surroundings, so it would be hard to be ambushed in such a place. Some straight up lie down completely, and others sit with their backs to the guardrails. Alvin... he simply fell with his face to the ground, ignoring everything. "Heaven is calling me. I can see the stairs..."

Connor's eyes lit up. "Are there sexy angels?! Can you see sexy angels?!"

"No," Alvin shook his head. "Just an old man with a big white beard. He looks very gentle... Is he... god?"

"Meh! I've never believed such things anyway." Connor lost his interest.

"Is there such a thing?" And yet, the clueless Linfel definitely felt interested. "Where is him? I can't see him."

"Hahaha! Ouch!" Alvin laughed out loud, but his injuries immediately hurt with the outburst.

Connor laughed as well. He then sat on the ground and began to fill his Magic Energy Receptor. The plan was to fill the Magic Receptor near the end of the exam anyway. He still didn't know if the score could go negative. If it could, then he definitely would have the lowest score on the exam. But if the lowest score was zero, then he could make some points during the next hour. He wouldn't be anywhere near first, but he definitely would get quite a decent result.

Linfel felt betrayed to hear that Alvin was just making up things. However, he didn't take it seriously and took the chance to warn Alvin and Connor. "Don't forget the report. Take a good look around and send a message regarding the situation in our destination."

Alvin and Connor quickly nodded and did as Linfel told.

Tarert and the other guides smiled and sat near the end of the platform, talking to each other and laughing. Tarert was a Level Three Magus, while his companions were all level two. They had patrolled these areas countless times, so they were used to it already.

Everything seemed fine, and the eight hours quickly ran out. As soon as that happened, all the magic Energy Receptors stopped working, and everyone's MCOMs received a message.

-The Field Exam is now over. Your results will be computed if you are still in the field. Everyone will be lifted back to base.-

Linfel's group and all the other participants sighed in relief. It was good they didn't encounter anything else until the end. They all sent messages through their MCOMs, asking to be sent back to Sky Island like the participants who fell in the battles prior did.

Tarert did the same thing with his companions. Now that they carried their duty, they were definitely going to receive a bonus of Universal Credits later.

But...

*...*

Nothing happened. The surroundings were silent. No rays of Yellow Light appeared to bring anyone back to Sky Island.

"Hum?" Tarert narrowed his eyes and tried to send a Message with his MCOM again. "Could it be there are no Rescuing Airships nearby to fetch us?"

"That can't be, right?" His friend, a guy called Futei, spoke. "The Academy and the Army prepared plenty of Airships. It's just that they are concealed up in the skies. You saw how all the maguses and familiars that fell on the way here were pulled up, didn't you?"

Suddenly, a back spot appeared in the skies, revealing an Airship. It was the same type as the ones that brought the students to the Field Exam. "Oh, there it is," Tarert smiled as he saw the Airship coming down.

However... the Airship didn't stop by. Instead, it passed by them like a meteor. Immediately, everyone noticed the fire and a huge hole in its hull. It left a trace of black smoke behind, soon falling down the mountain.

*Boom!*

The airship then exploded in a ball of flames. Whoever was inside it is definitely dead now.

Linfel approached the guardrail of the platform and looked down with the guides. "The Academy truly knows how to make a Field Exam. So realistic..."

Tarert's group almost vomited blood.