As soon as the third rite started, Kai already became a pariah.
He was ostracized by the group.
Had it not been for Matilda's intervention, he would probably be dead by now or forced to traverse into the uncharted forest alone, wounded, and unequipped. This made her even with him.
And since she was the leader, she didn't come to talk to him.
Being close to a pariah would damage her leadership.
Kai also didn't fancy a talk, so it's a good thing.
Since there's no saying how long the rite will last, the team needs to secure basic resources to survive. Food, water, shelter, and also Oxspires to secure Ox Leaves. Matilda sent a few students to search for those things and then moved on to the next necessities.
Getting the Blue Gem and opening their second Divine Lock are the conditions to win.
Locating the Awakened Monster is a must. The faster the better.
And since they needed to open their second Divine Lock, there should be a mana ore mine somewhere. "Only one Awakened Monster," Matilda said. All students are now gathered around her. "The academy is making sure that we clash with other teams. It's safe to assume that there's also only two mines or maybe even one."
Everyone was on an agreement.
Matilda made two groups. One is led by her and the other by a student called Bryan.
If they were searching for the mines, they would meet with the other groups, so they need to be in big groups.
One student who climbed the hill spotted the highest peak. "I see it!" He announced, pointing to the western side of Ixos. "That must be where the professors are. Nothing is higher than that mountain."
"Good," Matilda nodded. "Our team is in the south. And since the professors are on the west side, we can assume Team Hyperion is on the east, and Team Coeus is on the north."
From the information, Matilda could tell where the team names are inspired from.
It's inspired by the Four Pillar Titans.
And that made it easy to know Team Hyperion is their neighbour.
Before entering the forest, a few students found a few random chests half-buried.
One was filled with red armbands and clothes, while the other contained ten swords.
Supply chests. And there must be more out there.
Matilda changed the plan and sent one group to search for other chests first.
"Yo, Lesser Angel," Rakha approached and tossed an armband at Kai. He was leaning back against a tree, away from the group, and caught the armband. "Since Matilda spared your sorry ass, you shall live a bit longer. Be grateful for this chance by being useful. Go far north, mark the forest, and find out about Team Coeus."
Kai wanted to ask how he could even find out more about Team Coeus.
He knew nobody from other academies. Heck, he didn't even know all the academies.
But it was clear that Rakha isn't going to help.
"What about my clothes?" Kai asked, looking at the others who now wore plain tunics and pants.
Nothing fancy, but enough to make them feel human.
"You'll get your clothes once you get something useful for the team," Rakha sneered and then laughed. He turned to leave. He didn't care that Kai was basically naked, and night was approaching. "Until then, you stay an animal."
It was a harsh scouting.
Kai went north. Barefoot. Naked. The lustrous forest offered no mercy at all. Fire ants climbed his legs when he tried to rest. Insects feasted on his skin. Predators stalked— convinced he was prey.
Superhuman or not, nature made him pay for every step.
A leopard stalked him from the tree when he stayed, cutting a straight path.
Near murky water, crocodiles lashed out and almost took his arm.
His superior strength allowed him to vent out his anger on them, making mincemeat of these predators. But they were only a few out of many. One kindness that fell onto his lap was a few Oxspires along the way.
Professor Hera's notes came in handy, as there are pictures of numerous plants in them.
Due to the Oxspires' glowing green leaves, many would mistake them for poisonous plants. After all, in nature, bright color means danger. It was thanks to Professor Hera that he could recognize the plant.
At the very least, he could breathe without worrying.
Knowing that oxygen is running out made him consciously hold his breath longer.
Now, he didn't need to.
Kai marked the Oxspires by punching the tree trunk beside it and continued onward.
He had walked for a few hours straight by now, and eventually, he heard the sound of water. It was just ahead. He swallowed, wetting his dry throat with saliva, and ran to the water source.
A flowing river with crystal clear water stretched before him.
Its current ran strong and wide, easily ten steps across, and seemed to stretch all the way to the mountain where the professors were. Kai dropped to his knees without a shred of hesitation, plunged his head into the water, and drank.
He took deep, greedy mouthfuls before resurfacing.
"The water is sweet," Kai chuckled to himself. "Maybe I'm that dehydrated."
Once he had satiated his thirst, water still dripping from his chin, he scrutinized the area with his eyes. Initially, he thought Ixos was somewhat circular or cube-shaped. But the river made him realize that it was more rectangular.
Ixos is wider than it is long.
"Matilda got it wrong," His voice was quiet. "Our closest neighbour might be the team in the north. Team Coeus."
For the next couple of days, Kai stayed near the river.
If he were to find anyone at all, the river should be the perfect place to camp. Very soon, there must be someone who would stumble to the river for water. And Kai was hoping that it was Team Coeus, and not more than two people.
Other than that, he managed to clean his wounds and treat them.
He found a few medical herbs growing near the river, so his wounds are now healing better.
On the second day, he scoured the surroundings in search of chests. He wanted exp by hunting down the animals around since relying on the Deep Slumber is too slow. Each sleep only gave him two exp—so it'll take him more than a week to gather twenty experience to complete the quest.
But he has no weapon to hunt.
And the buried chests are his only hope to get one.
Luck wasn't on his side. He only found one chest, and inside were nutrient bars.
However, the nutrient bars helped with his food situation greatly.
It was especially helpful considering his situation. He was burning more calories by sleeping on bare bedrock, with only the thin hide beneath him. He was forced to skin the leopard he killed, and washed it on the river.
Being naked in the cold night was practically a death sentence, so he needed this.
On the third day, there was still no sign of other students.
Kai stood facing a tree, stick in hand. He extended his arm and focused, positioning the stick horizontally before his face. A few steady breaths. Then, his fingers clenched, and he brought it down to slash across the trunk.
Even though the stick was barely anything, the tip left a white scar on the trunk.
"I see it now," He mumbled and looked down at the stick.
According to the Perfect Slash description, he is now a master of the slashing motion. And that only applies when his arms are already starting to swing. In the breath right when he was intending to slash, his arm muscles moved on their own, adjusting angle and force with inhuman precision.
It maximizes accuracy and power.
But his entire body wasn't accustomed to that, especially his feet.
Kai had never held a weapon in his life. Not really. The closest he'd ever come was gripping a controller in some game, pixels pretending to be steel. He was ordinary. Just another person trying to survive day by day.
So, he knew that he wouldn't be any good in this.
His arms and torso were those of a master, but his legs are that of an amateur.
"I need to work on my footwork."
Since his wounds are now practically healed, he started his independent training.
He slashes at the trunk hundreds of times while making sure his legs are also in perfect synchrony with his arms. He took only a few short breaks and then continued. Then, he tried incorporating his weight into each slash using his hip and legs.
Of course, his aim wasn't to master this.
Kai reckoned meeting Noxian would help him in this part, so all he needed to learn was to be accustomed to holding a weapon and shifting his weight. Once nighttime arrived, he stopped.
Sweat was now licking down his skin from head to toe.
His chest heaved up and down, and his body was burning from all the training.
"Shit. I think I went overboard…"
Kai suddenly collapsed. His legs buckled, and his back slid against the tree trunk until he sat crumpled against it. His vision is now blurry, and he feels like vomiting. On the side, there was a nutrient bar.
One that he prepared for lunch.
He forgot to eat because of how immersed he was in training.
Desperately, he tried to unwarp the plastic but fell sideways instead.
"I need to train more," he muttered, though no one could hear. He saw ants starting to climb onto his nutrient bar. "It's mine, you lousy insects. Get off of it," Kai failed to fend off the ant as his body had already surrendered to exhaustion.
He had killed a man. He had fought a leopard. Even broke a crocodile's jaw.
And yet, his first defeat was against an army of ants.
"Damn it all. Fine, I'll be back. Just five minutes of sleeping. Five minutes..."
Before passing out, Kai used the Deep Slumber.
His mind drowsed into the dreamland.
Upon waking up, he was first greeted by a notification hovering before him.
[You have gained 2 exp]
Kai groggily sat up and supported himself against the tree trunk. He stared at the notification and scratched the back of his head, remembering that his body had collapsed and he could not go on.
"Can't believe I passed out in the open like this," He shook his head.
It was a miracle for him not to be prey for the predators in this forest.
Kai stood back up and stretched his body.
He thought he'd be feeling sore from sleeping in an awkward position—but his body felt refreshed and more energetic. "I must've really needed that sleep," He sighed and headed to grab another stick he had prepared. "At least now I can train again."
But he stopped mid-track.
On the side, right beside where he lay, was his nutrient bar.
For it to be lying there on the dirt throughout the night, he expected the ants to have taken a huge chunk of it, or even already brought it away. But it was still there, and the ants barely took any bite.
Kai frowned, but then, he heard the sound of night birds chirping.
He looked skyward and sucked in a deep breath, "Wait, it's still nighttime…?"