"You've been out for a while, boy, where's the rest of them?" The security trooper standing by the gates greeted Markus as he scanned his student badge through.
"Dead, caught by purple recluse spiders," Markus commented, passing through the rotating steel gates, expressing a lack of sympathy.
"Ah, those damned spiders, many have fallen to their illusions, can't tell a darn thing without special equipment or artifacts." The security trooper replied, his gaze focused on the Forbidden Forest.
Markus strode past the vendors situated by the town gates, heading towards the central command buildings.
'Reporting their deaths is going to be annoying.'
He boarded a transport vehicle and closed his eyes, taking a short rest. The journey back to the city took a considerable mental strain, pushing his spatial perception to his limits.
**
"Nice to see you, student Markus," Major Celeste greeted him as he arrived at the central command post.
Several other adventurer groups were streaming in, arriving for the great purge.
"Where are the other 4 members of the group you belong to?" Celeste asked, Markus, arriving alone, brought up many questions.
"Dead, caught by purple recluse spiders," Markus shrugged, following behind Major Celeste as she led him up into the War Room.
"We'll need to conduct a thorough review of what happened in the Forbidden Forest before the great purge," Celeste commented.
She did not want any unstable variables when the troops and adventurers are deployed en masse.
Markus nodded, following her through the security checkpoints and up into the central war room on the top floor.
They were the last to arrive, the doors sealing behind them, as General Braveheart began his brief.
"Good Afternoon, some of you already know who I am, but for those who don't, I am Braum Braveheart, peak tier 7 earth elemental awakener for the Valerian Royal Infantry Battalion." Braum bellowed, his eyes scanning through the crowd.
"This purge's main goal is to reclaim lost land and increase the safety border of our Valerian Empire. We have credible analytical information from scientists and professors that the Forbidden Forest is a living entity capable of utilising the beasts living within as its troops."
"I will be leading the main charge, and my 2 commanders, Colonel Thorne and Colonel Grimm, will be supporting my flanks."
"After the purge is complete, I will utilise my earth domain and uproot a distance of 500 meters of the Forbidden Forest and redraw boundary lines."
(Terraforming the forest that has already been claimed by an ancient mana-dense entity, Braum is definitely at the peak of tier 7, bordering tier 8.) Markus pondered.
"I am sure most of you who have wandered out to the forest the past week have realised a kill counter on your devices. After the mission, head over to the resource point to cash out your kills."
"You may cash them out as Valerian Credits, Mana Stones, or crafted equipment made by our finest blacksmiths."
(I'll likely try to trade my kills in for a sturdier sword, the academy's resources pale in comparison to what the military has to offer.)
"I expect each and every one of you to be in your peak condition tomorrow. Have a good rest," Braum saluted with a fist to his chest and left the war room.
Major Celeste went up to the podium to discuss strategic points within the forest.
Utilising her laser pointers to emphasize confirmed safe zones and death regions.
The purple recluse spider domain is classified as a tier 1 death region.
(I won't be surprised if tier 5 awakeners have fallen to those spiders; their illusions are terrifying.)
Celeste concluded her presentation, signaling to Markus to stay behind for the mission review.
"Mission review, interviewer, Major, Celeste Rosewood," Celeste gestured to Markus, hinting to him that it was his turn to make his introductions.
"Markus Blackwell, First-Year student, Valerian Royal Academy," Markus completed the interview introductions.
Celeste began her questioning.
"After the introductory briefing 6 days ago, team leader Bloodhound recruited Markus Blackwell, a lone student hailing from the prestigious Valerian Royal Academy, to his team filling it up to a complete 5 members."
"90 minutes ago, Markus arrived back at the city gates from the Forbidden Forest alone, without his fellow team members. Markus, you now have the time, please provide a detailed recollection of what happened in the Forbidden Forest," Celeste concluded her monologue.
The light humming of electrical devices recorded both audio and video permeated through the room.
'Cough', Markus cleared his throat, slightly nervous at the tense atmosphere in the room.
Celeste smiled warmly towards him, calming his nerves.
"We entered the forest an hour after the briefing hosted by Major Celeste ended."
"We met our first group of beasts, the tier 4 shadow monkeys. They targeted the women in our group, but Agatha, with her high sense of danger, used her curse abilities to inflict an area of effect curse upon the ambushers."
"I quickly followed up, utilising my long-range ability, Starlight bow, and sent 6 arrows, striking and killing them, 1 in the head and 1 in the chest."
"We split our loot evenly between Agatha and me and continued our way through the forest, exploring the demarcated red regions of the forest."
"We avoided several areas, including a Tier 4 Hydroxis boa domain, and spotted a Tier 2 leaf-cutter ant hill."
"A small explosion struck the underground ant hill, and the beasts surged out in waves chasing us, the closest to them."
"Whilst running westwards in a hurry, Bloodhound cleared the path forwards using his mace."
"Unbeknownst to us, the group ran into the illusionary webs of the Purple Recluse Spiders, their high tensile strength, elasticity, and toughness, exceeding the performance of high-grade steel."
"My role as a long-range dealer meant that I was at the back of the group. I stopped in time while my team members got stuck."
"I continued running into the domain of the Tier 3 Hybrid Tree Frogs before I stopped to catch my breath."
"I spent the remaining days hunting alone and surviving off rations before I carefully navigated my way back to the city."
Markus completed his mission report, heaving a sigh of relief. This was an entirely different situation compared to reporting to Elder Ke Xin at the academy's mission hall.
Markus's nervousness was actually a benefit.
By showing just enough "stress," he passed the psychological profile that Major Celeste was likely running.
"Thank you for your time. We'll see you tomorrow during the great purge event. Have a good rest of the night," Celeste concluded, turning off the recording devices in the room.
As Markus left the command tower, the sun was setting over the Northern Border, casting long, jagged shadows across the reinforced steel walls.
He could feel the collective anxiety of the hundreds of adventurers below—the scent of cheap tobacco, the sharpening of blades, and the low hum of mana-batteries being charged.
He touched the Solemn Bracelet in his pocket, a quiet reminder of the world he was fighting to keep Rosanne safe in.
Tomorrow, the 'Great Purge' would begin.
General Braveheart wanted to reclaim 500 meters of land.
Markus? He just wanted enough monster cores to finally see what lay beyond the 40% ceiling.