Rook and Milo didn’t stop running until the sounds of the demon had completely disappeared behind them. Even then, neither of them immediately slowed down. They continued through the trees for several more minutes, weaving between thick trunks and low branches until Milo finally raised a hand.
"Stop."
Rook glanced over his shoulder before slowing to a walk. He was breathing heavily, but his body had recovered enough that the exhaustion wasn’t overwhelming. The two of them eventually found a shallow depression between several large trees, where the surrounding vegetation provided enough cover to keep them from being easily spotted.
Milo dropped onto the ground and leaned his back against a tree.
"I think we’re safe here."
Rook looked around carefully before sitting opposite him. Milo pulled his water flask from his belt and took a small drink before tossing it to Rook, who also drank greedily.
"That thing was ridiculous."
Milo gave him a tired look. "You wanted to fight it?"
"Not particularly."
Rook rested his head against the tree behind him and closed his eyes for a moment. The image of the demon curled around the golden stone still remained fresh in his mind. He had been expecting something dangerous, but he hadn’t expected a creature capable of turning an entire area into a death trap.
After a short silence, Rook opened his eyes.
"So what’s the actual plan?"
Milo looked at him.
"The actual plan?"
"Yes. We spent all that time running around looking for a golden stone, but we haven’t actually discussed how we’re supposed to handle the evaluation."
Milo thought about it for a moment before answering.
"We have forty-eight hours."
"Exactly."
Rook leaned forward slightly.
"We don’t need to collect everything immediately. If we find enough stones to satisfy the requirement before the time runs out, we’re done. There’s no reason to spend every minute searching for them."
Milo nodded.
"That’s what I was thinking too. Each trainee needs one golden stone. Since we’re partners, that means we need twenty in total."
"Twenty." Rook muttered. He looked toward the forest surrounding them.
"That’s going to be annoying."
Rook sighed. They had already spent a considerable amount of time searching and had only found one stone. Worse, that single stone had been guarded by a demon that could have killed them if they had made one mistake.
"Getting twenty isn’t impossible," Milo continued. "But finding them quickly is another matter. We don’t even know how many stones are scattered throughout this place."
"Which means we shouldn’t rush."
Milo nodded.
"We search carefully, avoid unnecessary fights, and take advantage of anything we find. If we get enough before the forty-eight hours are over, we leave."
Rook considered the plan.
It was simple, but it made sense. There was no reward for finishing first if they ended up dead halfway through the forest.
"Then we should probably understand what the other person can actually do."
Milo raised an eyebrow.
"You mean our Traits?"
"Yes. We’re partners. Knowing what the other person can do would probably make it easier to survive."
Milo seemed to agree with that immediately.
"My Trait is enhancement."
Rook waited. "That’s it?"
Milo smiled faintly.
"Not exactly. I can enhance myself or another person temporarily. Strength, speed, durability, things like that. The stronger the enhancement, the more mana it consumes."
"How strong can you make it?"
"At my current level, not enough to fight that demon head-on."
Rook nodded. That was probably the safest answer Milo could give.
"What about you?"
Rook hesitated for barely a second before answering.
"I’m an Elementalist."
Milo’s expression changed slightly.
"Four elements?"
Rook nodded.
"Fire, wind, water, and earth."
"That’s rare." Milo looked at him for a few seconds before asking, "How strong are your spells?"
Rook shrugged.
"Nothing impressive. Fireball is probably my strongest reliable attack."
That was a lie....a very deliberate one.
Milo had already seen him use Wind Blade and the other basic spells, so completely hiding his abilities would be suspicious. At the same time, there was no reason to reveal that Fireball had already evolved several times, especially when he didn’t yet understand Milo well enough to know whether that information could eventually become a problem.
He also avoided mentioning the System entirely.
"I can use Wind Blade, Earth Spike, and Water Manipulation too," Rook continued. "They’re useful, but none of them are strong enough to kill something like that demon by themselves."
Milo nodded thoughtfully. Although the boy frowned slightly, but decided not to pester. After all he had seen him use different type of Fire Element abilities.
"Then we’re both better suited for support than direct combat."
"Pretty much."
Another lie.
Rook could already cast Flame Shot, Flame Burst, and several evolved versions of his other elemental skills. Inferno remained unusable because his mana still wasn’t high enough, but that didn’t mean his other spells were weak.
Milo rested his head against the tree.
"We should avoid fighting unless we have to."
"I agree."
They fell silent again. The forest around them had become strangely quiet. There were occasional sounds of insects and distant creatures, but nothing close enough to suggest that they had been discovered.
Milo eventually pulled his hood farther over his head.
"I’m going to rest for a little while."
Rook glanced at him. "You’re sleeping?"
"Just closing my eyes."
"That’s basically sleeping."
Milo ignored the comment and settled more comfortably against the tree.
"We’ll need the energy later."
Rook couldn’t argue with that.
Within a few minutes, Milo’s breathing became slower and more relaxed. He wasn’t completely asleep, but he had clearly entered a light rest.
Rook waited until he was certain Milo wasn’t paying attention before opening his status window.
The familiar screen appeared in front of him.
═══════════════
STATUS
═══════════════
Name: Rook
Class: Elementalist
Rank: F
Experience: 0/100
Health: 190/190
Mana: 128/150
Stamina: 100/100
Strength: 8
Agility: 17
Vitality: 28
Intelligence: 30/30
Spirit: 30/30
Perception: 23
Luck: 5
Upgrade Points: ∞
Skills:
Fireball → Greater Fireball → Flame Shot → Flame Burst → Inferno
Wind Blade → Gale Blade → Vacuum Slash
Water Manipulation → Water Ball → Tidal Wall
Earth Spike → Stone Lance → Bulwark Fang
Titles: None
Equipment: None
Inventory: Empty
═══════════════
Rook stared at it for several seconds.
He had already improved himself considerably last night, but looking at the numbers now made one thing obvious.
He still had room to grow.
His Intelligence and Spirit were already capped at thirty, so there was nothing he could do about either of them until he reached E-Rank. His Vitality was twenty-eight, his Perception was twenty-three, and his Agility was seventeen.
There was no reason to leave them unfinished.
Rook selected Vitality first.
The upgrade window appeared.
═══════════════
Vitality: 28/30
Upgrade Cost: 1 Point
[Upgrade]
═══════════════
He pressed it.
Twenty-nine.
Then thirty.
A familiar notification appeared.
[Attribute has reached the maximum limit for the current Rank.]
Rook nodded before moving on.
Agility came next.
Seventeen became eighteen. Then nineteen.
He continued upgrading until the number reached thirty.
The difference wasn’t as dramatic as the first time he had increased it, but his body still felt noticeably more responsive. His balance improved, his movements became smoother, and even the small adjustments required to remain hidden seemed easier.
"That’s better."
He moved to Perception.
Twenty-three became twenty-four.
Then twenty-five.
He continued until it reached thirty.
The forest immediately seemed different.
Rook could hear more than before. The rustling leaves several meters away were clearer, and he could distinguish the sounds of different creatures moving through the undergrowth. Even Milo’s breathing was more noticeable.
His eyes narrowed.
If this was what Perception at thirty felt like, it would be extremely useful in the forest.
Finally, he looked at Strength.
Eight.
He hadn’t considered it important before, but leaving it at such a low level while everything else was approaching its limit seemed foolish.
He began upgrading.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
The sensation was different from increasing Agility or Perception. His muscles gradually felt denser, and the weight of his own body seemed easier to control.
Rook continued until Strength reached thirty.
He then looked at Luck.
Five.
He stared at it for several seconds.
"Not touching that."
There was no way to know what a single point of Luck actually did, and spending points on something he couldn’t measure was pointless.
He closed the attribute window.
Now every attribute except Luck had reached the current F-Rank limit.
═══════════════
Strength: 30/30
Agility: 30/30
Vitality: 30/30
Intelligence: 30/30
Spirit: 30/30
Perception: 30/30
Luck: 5/30
═══════════════
Rook leaned back against the tree and checked his status one final time. Every attribute he could currently upgrade had reached thirty except Luck, which he had deliberately left alone.
His eyes moved to his skills. Fireball had already reached Inferno, Wind Blade had become Vacuum Slash, while Water Manipulation and Earth Spike had reached Tidal Wall and Bulwark Fang respectively. There was nothing left for him to upgrade at his current Rank.
The only problem was mana.
Inferno required 200 MP, while his maximum was only 150. Since Spirit was already capped at thirty, he couldn’t increase his mana any further until he advanced to E-Rank.
Rook closed the status window and glanced at Milo, who was still resting with his eyes closed.
Rook looked deeper into the forest.
After what had happened with the first demon, however, he knew one thing for certain.
This evaluation wasn’t going to be easy.