The jeep bounced over the rugged terrain leading to the Northern Border, the grumpy officer stealing glances at the silent boy in the passenger seat.
Markus didn't mind the stares. His spatial radar was already mapped to a 100-meter radius, feeling the subtle tremors of beasts moving deep within the treeline.
The air here was different—thicker with mana, smelling of damp earth and ancient predators.
'We're here,' the officer grunted, pulling up to a fortified wall of reinforced steel.
Markus stepped out, the wind whipping his hair, his eyes already glowing with the faint, cold light of the Void.
The Northern Border wasn't just a mission; it was his new training ground.
The command post was more of a central building system.
Three towers interconnected by a bridge system, its architecture was state-of-the-art.
A major greeted him at the tower entrance, leading him through several security checkpoints.
Markus scanned his student badge as instructed.
"Beep"
"Beep"
"Please place your storage rings in this storage locker."
Markus stored his rings, which contained nothing, in the storage locker; all his belongings were stored in his personal dimensional inventory.
He stepped into the main command room, and several screens displayed the map of the forbidden forest throughout the room.
Markus had no experience with the northern section of the forbidden forest; it took him a while to understand the layout and beast habitats surrounding the city walls.
"I'll be giving you students the briefing for the events in the coming week."
"I will take any questions or queries at the end of this briefing, please give me your undivided attention for the coming presentation."
The major addressed the group of individuals in the meeting room.
"My name is Major Celeste. I am in charge of external collaborations within the Valerian Military."
"You individuals may come from independent adventurer guilds or prominent academies within our empire."
"Your primary objective is to completely eliminate and cull the growing beast population surrounding the city walls."
The projector displayed several red regions surrounding Illinois City.
"These red regions are the contested areas in which you guys are tasked to clear."
"Those black regions behind are death zones; tier 6 and 7 beasts have been spotted within."
"We, the Valerian Military, are not responsible for any serious injuries or deaths if you choose to bite more than you can chew."
"Most of you guys here are peak tier 3 to tier 4 combat-ready. You may decide to form teams or explore individually, but I would suggest balanced teams of 4 at a minimum."
"One Tank/Bruiser, One mid ranged dealer, One support/healer, and one long ranged dealer."
Everyone in the room looked around at one another and directed their attention back to Major Celeste.
"These are images and descriptions of herbs and beasts you can find in these red regions of the forbidden forest."
[Herb - list]
[Ghost-Stalk]
[Mage-Bane]
[Viper's Tongue]
[Golden-thread Vine]
[Sleepy-willow Bark]
[Echo-pod]
[Beast - Habitats]
[Tier 4 Shadow Monkeys - Shadow Element]
[Tier 3 Hybrid Tree Frogs - Poison Element]
[Tier 4 Hydroxis Boas - Water Element]
[Tier 2 Leaf Cutter Ants - Earth Element]
[Tier 3 Vampirix Bats - Blood Element]
[Tier 4 Harpy Eagle - Wind Element]
[Tier 4 Purple Recluse Spiders - Illusion Element]
"Keep in mind that for beast habitats, expect higher-tiered beast alphas to exist within their colonies."
"It is to be expected that beasts have alphas that lead them."
"We will be launching a coordinated beast raid in a week's time."
"Feel free to use the time in the next few days to rest or scout the area."
"My communication details have been sent to your personal devices. Feel free to contact me in any emergencies."
"You may use the room for the next 30 minutes, form teams, discuss plans, whatever you need to."
Major Celeste left the meeting room, headed for her next appointment.
The meeting room burst into chaos.
"I'm a tier 4 healer with some buff abilities!" A seemingly demure lady shouted.
"I'm a level 39 Assassin class with stealth abilities! Proficient in scouting and trapping!" Another shouted
"Tier 4 Front-line Tank from the adventurer's guild!" a giant, burly man bellowed.
...
...
...
"Hey, little boy, would you like to join us?" A scarred warrior approached Markus.
His team consisted of a front-line bruiser tank, wielding a mace and shield, a curse mage wielding a cursed grimoire, a priestess wielding a two-handed staff, and a gunslinger duel-wielding a pair of .500 Magnums.
Markus's fate's eye warned him, a deep red murderous aura cloaking this group of awakeners.
(Sigh, it's either greed or Saylor's antics; do they not learn?)
Markus nodded, "Sure, I'm an all-rounder, capable of melee combat and long-range combat."
A shocked expression appeared on the warrior's face.
(From his expression, it seems like one of Saylor's plans to mess with me outside the academy.)
"Names Markus," Markus held out his hand for a handshake.
"Bloodhound," The warrior replied, grasping Markus's hand for a firm handshake.
(His strength stat should be around 105.)
[New Mission]
[Survive the betrayal, eliminate all hostile threats: 0/4]
[Reward: 50 Unassigned Attribute Points]
(Ohh, a kill mission against fellow humans? This is getting interesting.)
"Let's meet at the south-western gates in 1 hour, we'll need to get our supplies in order." Bloodhound left with his crew, headed to the market by the barracks.
Markus left towards the south-western gates, planning to scout the area to plan for the mission.
"Beep"
Markus scanned his student badge through, walking through the revolving gate.
[Set a timer for 50 minutes]
[00:49:59]
Markus sprinted towards the forest, spreading his spatial perception out 100 meters.
[Leaf Cutter Ants] Level 32 x 27
[Boa Constrictor] Level 38
..
..
[Mage-Bane] x 3
(Oo, lucky me.)
Markus drew his blade, digging up the plant with its roots intact and stored them in his inventory.
[Spectral Owl] Level 39
An owl, above the treeline, was currently asleep during the daytime.
Its nocturnal habits allow it to avoid predators during the day.
Deeper in the forest, Markus found his prey, beasts that would entrap the group of 4 that were out to murder him.
[Tier 4 Purple Recluse Spiders] x 6
A group of purple recluse spiders wove their nets around several Nut Trees, invisible to the eye, camouflaged by the illusion element to lure in prey.
Markus waved his hand, sending a spatial slash towards a nearby tree to mark its location.
I'll just have to lure them in and let these spiders do their job.
I doubt they have any abilities to see through illusions.
Markus sneered, turning back, searching for herbs and mapping the environment for potential beast domains.
[Viper's Tongue] x 4
[Sleepy-willow Bark] x 2
[Echo-pod] x11
Markus made it back to the city with 13 minutes to spare, making considerable gains in herb harvesting.
It seems that most adventurers have yet to leave the city to hunt or explore the Forbidden Forest.