No one was pleased with the announcement they heard. Instead, everyone gave Emrys hostile looks, but he ignored them. He stood straight, hands in his pockets, his expression completely calm.
Hanzuo cleared his throat. "And now, for the second phase of our competition. Let's move to a wider battleground."
With a snap of his fingers, a massive portal door appeared at the very back.
Everyone turned their eyes toward it, unable to hide their amazement at the magic required to maintain such an enormous structure without Hanzuo showing any effort.
"All of you, enter." At the Headmaster's command, the students began entering the portal one after another.
It took about ten minutes, and Emrys was the very last to enter.
Once they passed through, they found themselves standing in a vast forest.
They gathered together in one location, and soon they heard Hanzuo's amplified voice echoing from the small floating portal passage in the sky.
"Welcome to the Forest Badge of Trials. That is the name of the second competition we will begin now, so listen carefully."
Hanzuo remained on the platform outside, but through magic he projected his voice clearly into the forest.
"Spread throughout the forest are ten teachers carrying badges on their waist. Your mission is to hunt them down and take their badges using any method you can manage. Remember: each badge is worth fifty points. You will move as a group. Whatever points one member earns will automatically be earned by the entire Guild. The competition ends once all badges have been taken from the teachers. And before I forget—take care of yourselves. That forest is not safe. Many get lost, and in worse cases, some die. Be careful. Let's not delay any further—the second competition of the Guilds Event starts now!"
Most of the students were visibly shaken by the Headmaster's warning.
They didn't realize that this trial would be far harder than the first one. They failed to secure even a single target before—and now they had to find ten, all while dealing with the dangers of the forest.
Some of them immediately sat down.
"I'm done. If you want to die, go ahead. I'll just stay here until the end."
"Same. I'm not risking my life for fifty points," another added.
One after another, they voiced their thoughts—choosing their own safety over attempting the challenge.
A member of Magnus's group approached him. "Leader, what do we do? Will we just let our teammates give up here?"
Magnus looked back at him. "If you want to give up too, then stay here with them. But remember what I'm about to say. You will never be an adventurer if you keep running away from your problems. We are being trained so that one day we can solve the world's troubles—not to learn how to avoid them like cowards." With that, he put his hands in his pockets and walked into the depths of the forest.
The members of the Black Dragons Guild who had chosen to quit were embarrassed, as everyone clearly heard him.
Because of that, nearly half of their Guild—including Princess Elise and Prince Lucien—followed Magnus into the dense forest.
Meanwhile, Dao Daishin approached his own cowardly members with a grin. "Don't tell me you're going to act like those lazy weaklings too? If that's the case, I should just kick you out right now. I don't need cowards like you, and losing you wouldn't mean anything to me."
"S-sorry, Leader Dao, it's just…"
"What? You're scared?" Dao moved his face closer to one member, eyes wide and grinning ear to ear. "If you're that afraid to die, then go ahead and leave. I won't stop you. But if you don't stand up right now, together with your fellow cowards—expect to be expelled from my Guild immediately. If that's what you want, let's make it clear, right? Isn't that right?!"
Because of his intimidation, the seven members of the Gray Phoenix Guild stood up at once.
"We—we're sorry! Please don't kick us out! We'll obey you no matter what happens!" one of them pleaded.
Dao smiled and slung an arm over the man's shoulder. "That's the spirit! That's what I want to hear! Brave! Now let's not waste time—let's take all the points. No one else should get anything!"
The Gray Phoenix Guild became extremely loud as they charged into the forest.
Rein let out a sigh. "Dao really is annoying. So loud. Let's move too." At his order, the Scarlet Fox Guild began sweeping through a forest area suitable for them.
The White Hunters Guild also advanced.
Sai glanced toward Emrys, who was lying casually on a tree branch as if sleeping.
Sai didn't know why, but seeing Emrys as the only one unbothered by the second competition irritated him. After all, Emrys already had five hundred points—he didn't even need to move, and he'd still be ahead of everyone.
"Sai, what are you waiting for?" Loan called to him.
Sai didn't linger any longer and left the area with the rest.