Magical Academy: Rise of the Supreme Magic Craftsman

The eight fully armed mercenaries arrived at their destination. It was near where Wallace activated his armor's Speed Mode and left the three Keroxes.

There were traces of these Keroxes attempting to chase Wallace but it can be seen that they've given up just after reaching a kilometer on their tracks.

"What happened here?" The leader asked as he glanced in the golden Kerox's direction.

"There are traces that those three Keroxes in our front were chasing something. It seems to be another humanoid monster but has an extremely agile movement." 

They all looked at the strange footprint left behind by the Amplified Assault Armor. They were familiar with this forest but it was their first time seeing this kind of beast's footprint. It made them think a bit of the situation.

"Let's hunt those three, get to your position." The leader finally ordered after observing the surroundings. Their mission was to hunt a single evolved Kerox. This golden Kerox had never appeared before until recently. So the residents of the nearby town were still unaware of them and only the mercenaries and the government officials were aware of them.

Unfortunately, this evolved Kerox always hunts together with his group and intelligent enough not to fight multiple human magicians. It slowly gathers other Keroxes and brings them on their flock. 

"It seems like a humanoid machine for me." One of them mumbled but didn't say it aloud as he was only speculating. He kept a record of the footprint and followed his leader's order. 

***

Wallace left behind at least 12 more Keroxes and 2 more golden furred in his Speed Mode. He was still halfway through the forest but canceled the mode as it attracts too much of attention. 

He felt some presence observing him a while ago but suddenly disappeared after using his Cloak Mode. 

"I really can't underestimate this place." Wallace said upon using his Divine Sense to scout the area.

The place was full of Mana and realized that it was extremely helpful for magicians and Mana beasts. The density of the Mana here was multiplied by at least three times than normal making magicians have easier manipulation of Mana and powerful Magic Spells. 

Wallace stopped his tracks and detoured from his current location.

"That's not a Kerox. Even the residents were unaware of it." 

He hastily retreated and changed direction after sensing a powerful Mana Beast hidden in a nearby cave. He had no idea what it was but it was definitely on the same level of an Adept. He felt the same intensity of mana fluctuations when he scanned Troy, the Enneadic Magician's disciple. 

Apparently, mercenaries were only capable of dealing with a Kerox and leave alive. These mercenaries would of course tell their tales to the residents of the town making them aware of the forest's situation. But anyone who unluckily bumps with the beast he just scanned, may have perished already. 

It was definitely not a good idea to fight them in their territory.

"It seems the forest had a lot of its secrets." Wallace was obviously trespassing to this country's restricted areas so he doesn't want to create too much of disturbance and would like to avoid any unnecessary contact within the forest. 

He hastened his pace and was now on top of one of the mountains overlooking the Kharvatt Forest.

He looked back and saw the unending forest where he just passed through. He could no longer see a plain and everything was covered by the canopy of trees.

"This view..."

Wallace was momentarily stunned as if realizing something important. His heartbeat increased as his excitement could not be hidden on his face.

He turned his head in front and looked for his next destination. There was still about two kilometers to reach the shore and he can already observe several small islands in the vicinity.

"Several dozen small islands and the place Avalon landed was about 5 kilometers away from this mainland." 

Wallace muttered as he clearly remembered the scenery before his spaceship descended to an isolated island.

"Yes! This should be the right place. I'm not wrong." 

He excitedly moved to approach the shore. He was tempted to use his flight but felt some presence of flying Mana Beast around. He doesn't have that confidence in battling in the sky. 

He was confident in defending himself against humanity's Battles Mages but fighting a Mana beast on the same level who doesn't require Mana artifact to control the surrounding Mana may prove to be difficult to deal with. Their skill works entirely different from a human standard. 

He had to bear witness in several fights within the forest between a different species of Mana Beasts.

The invoking of their skills was almost untraceable unlike how magicians would first require to connect on the Magic Structure to select a specific magic spell they like to activate using mana tracing, which also requires magicians to have high mana affinity.

Only after connecting to the Magic Structure of a Mana Artifact and analyzing the spell, could they start using the magic spell. Also, it may not even guarantee their success unless they have good control.

But these Mana beasts seem to have a unique method in activating their Mana skills.

Wallace sighed after thinking about the current situation. He could only use his feet, or his armor, to bring him to the shore. 

***

"Sir, we are being followed by a child." 

A member specializing in reconnaissance noticed a girl not too far from them observing their haul. 

They've just hunted three Keroxes and one of them was golden furred.

The leader was tending his wounds when he heard his subordinate's report.  During the battle, two of them were heavily injured and had to use high level potion to treat their injuries. One of them was pierced by a horn in his stomach and the other was bitten on his shoulder. The Kerox just missed the head of the unlucky mercenary during the heated battle.

Their group of eight managed to defeat the Mana Beasts by almost depleting their expensive Mana enhanced ammunitions. They were aware that the battle would attract the attention of other beasts nearby but they had sprayed something that would keep the Mana Beasts away from this place for at least a while enough to hunt the three Keroxes

The wounded leader was quickly tending his wounds as the spray would be ineffective in a little while. The others hauled their spoils using a mana artifact and were readying to transport the corpses.

"A child? There is no way a child would be in this forest." 

"I've already scanned multiple times before reporting to you sir." 

His scanning ability would only give him a vague figure and unreliable feedback of Mana fluctuation but it was extremely useful as it can be used in a large area. It would still allow them to be notified of any approaching beast or enemy. 

"Don't stop. Let's approach her and ready for a battle. Kirov, continue observing the area and look for traces of the child's companion."

Kirov was the magician assigned on reconnaissance in their team and the same person who detected Wallace's activity when the latter activated his Speed Mode after confronting the golden furred Kerox.

"Mhm, understood."

Kirov never stopped scanning the surrounding area but couldn't find a trace of the child's companion. Soon, they had a clear view of the said child. The culprit was actually a cute girl innocently walking around the forest. The girl who had black hair reaching her shoulders doesn't seem to be afraid of the gloomy forest that was only lit up by the bright moonlight.

"This is weird." The leader mumbled as he seriously tried to comprehend the situation. 

"Maybe... she's the ghost of the forest? I heard rumors about a child that haunts people within this forest." The man who had almost lost his head whispered. Everyone looked at the person and ignored him after. 

They were now just about 50 meters away from the child and the eight mercenary distanced a bit as they positioned themselves so they have enough space to react to any incidents that could happen. 

"Who are you?"

The leader asked the child warily.

"I'm looking for someone. Did you see a strange person that passed by here?"

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