Evan Chu glanced around at the scenery and let out a laugh, "Who would've thought the environment here would be this good? Clear mountains, flowing waters—where's the shadow of a monster beast? But honestly, I'm itching for a fight with those monsters!"
"No monster beasts? This place is crawling with monster beasts! Evan, you'd better watch yourself—here, even the weakest ones are third-rank, and lots of them move in packs. I really don't get what that little girl meant when she said they're 'not that strong!'" Luna said, her voice tinged with exasperation.
"Luna, your spiritual sense is the best—I'm not worried at all! If you spot any dangerous monster beasts, just warn me ahead of time and I'll dodge them. If they're not too tough, I'll just cut them down! That way there's no danger at all, right? My plan's pretty solid, isn't it!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. There really are monster beasts everywhere—at least tens of thousands! But the scariest part isn't the beasts, it's that this whole place is split into four separate zones. If the barriers between those zones break, that's when the real nightmare begins," Luna warned, her tone suddenly grave.
"What do you mean, one zone, four zones? I'm totally lost here. Can you just spell it out for me?" Evan Chu grumbled, utterly confused.
"You're in the ordinary-class zone right now. Here, you'll only run into ordinary-class students. Of course, Sea Dragon Academy students show up here too. Those four teleport gates each sent you to their matching zone—no mix-ups."
If you want to run into elite-class or inferior-class students, you have to break the barrier between zones. When that happens, low-rank and high-rank monster beasts will both flood in. You get it now?
"I think I'm starting to get it. But that barrier must be ridiculously tough to break, or else they wouldn't split us into four zones. If high-rank monster beasts showed up in the inferior-class zone, wouldn't that mean total annihilation?"
"Death is normal here. Plenty have already died—killed by monster beasts, slaughtered for Magic Crystals, or murdered by rival students. This is human greed, this is brutality. That's just how it is!"
"Whatever, I won't think about all that for now. Luna, help me check—where around here are the monster beasts that suit me best?" Evan Chu laughed. In a place like this, you have to be careful. Monster beasts are dangerous. People are even more dangerous.
After a moment, Luna replied, "The closest monster beast is about twenty li away, but just a kilometer from you, there's someone you know. Want to join up with her?"
"Who?"
"Rhea Yang, that masked girl."
"Forget it, I'm better off alone—less hassle!" Evan Chu thought. One more person means one more headache. His secrets were best kept to himself.
"Head east. Monster beasts there are weaker." After a long pause, Luna finally spoke.
Evan Chu didn't dare let his guard down—he gripped the Frostbane Sword tightly. Even though he'd mastered Heart-Sword, using his finger as a sword could never match the real thing, especially a divine sword that sliced through iron like mud.
After about ten minutes, Evan Chu stopped dead in his tracks. He'd spotted someone—the very last person he wanted to see right now: Rhea Yang.
"Luna, didn't I say I didn't want to team up with her? Why'd you make me come this way?" Evan Chu grumbled, a little annoyed.
"Monster beasts here are the weakest. If you came this way, of course you'd run into her. What's so strange about that? Don't underestimate her—she's not ordinary. Her talent is no less than yours," Luna said, her voice full of certainty.
Anyone Luna called 'not ordinary' was definitely a peerless genius. Evan Chu put away his contempt—maybe he'd need her help one day.
Once he'd figured it out, Evan Chu strode right over. "Rhea Yang! Over here!" he shouted, waving from afar.
Rhea Yang saw Evan Chu waving and came over. "Evan Chu, it's really you? This place is massive! I haven't seen a single monster beast for ages. Honestly, I don't get what this tournament is for—no prep, no food, no water. What are we supposed to do?"
Seeing Rhea Yang's slightly bitter expression, Evan Chu laughed, "This is all about tempering your will—learning how to survive in hardship! Let's go! One more person means one more backup!"
Rhea Yang nodded, and the two headed east together. In a single day, they ran into four monster beasts, all third-rank. They cut them down with ease and got two Magic Crystals—split one each.
Not every monster beast holds a Magic Crystal. Plenty of them don't—getting crystals takes luck, pure luck.
Another day went by. Evan Chu and Rhea Yang kept hunting monster beasts, and around noon, they spotted a figure coming their way.
Evan Chu and Rhea Yang moved forward and soon met the newcomer—a young man, around twenty, looking battered and filthy. His clothes were shredded by jungle thorns, caked in mud—clearly he'd suffered in this savage forest.
The two exchanged a glance. Seeing no Heavenly Dragon Academy badge on the youth's clothes, they instantly thought of killing him.
But when the youth saw Evan Chu and Rhea Yang were just a boy and girl, both only sixteen or seventeen, his guard dropped right away.
"Haha, after days of wandering, I finally see two living people. This Monster Beast Forest is huge—so many people got teleported in, but I haven't seen a single soul for ages." The young man chuckled, sword in hand, looking relaxed, but his eyes never left Evan Chu and Rhea Yang, flickering with greedy light.
"Looks like we really were destined to meet. Which class are you two from? I don't remember seeing you before," the young man said, putting on his harmless act.
"And what class are you from? Why so nosy the moment you show up? Isn't that a little suspicious?" Evan Chu thought, seeing right through the act, but he wasn't planning to kill him—yet.
"Suit yourself!" The youth didn't care at all, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Evan Chu and Rhea Yang.
"This isn't a safe place—danger everywhere. Just stick with me, maybe I can protect you. But there's one little condition: hand over all your Magic Crystals. Keeping them is a waste. Why not do me a favor and let me help you finish your mission?" As he spoke, the youth crept slowly and cautiously toward Evan Chu and Rhea Yang.
Evan Chu flashed a mocking grin, flipped his hand, and instantly summoned the Magic Crystal from his storage ring. He dangled it in his palm, grinning, "If you want it, come and take it!"
The moment the Magic Crystal appeared in Evan Chu's hand, the youth's eyes lit up. He stared at Evan's palm, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned ring on his finger.
"Storage ring!" the young man blurted out, his breath instantly turning heavy, eyes burning with naked greed.
"That ring on your hand is nothing but trouble for you. Why not give it to me, along with the Magic Crystals? Let me keep them safe for you. With me, it's a hundred times safer. You'll avoid a ton of deadly trouble!"
The youth could barely contain his excitement—his voice even trembled. In his mind, no matter how strong Evan Chu and Rhea Yang looked, their age meant they couldn't possibly be his match. He already saw them as easy prey.