The morning sun had just pierced the thin fog blanketing the outer area of the Academy Training Forest.
The air felt cold and damp, carrying the scent of damp earth and residual dew still clinging to the tips of broad leaves.
In the open field near the eastern gate of the academy, the group of first-year students of class 101 gathered again.
This time, the atmosphere among the students felt much calmer and more disciplined than in previous days.
The incident in the forest some time ago, where Leon Arven almost became prey to a *Forest Lizard*, had provided a valuable lesson for the entire batch.
There was no more dismissive behavior, no more excessive joking when field practice preparations began.
Erin stood in the front row, wearing her signature dark blue travel robe.
Her blue hair was tied neatly with a black ribbon, and her yellow eyes closely watched each of her students' faces.
She could see a significant change in attitude; even Leon, who stood somewhat in the middle row, looked down seriously while holding his magic staff with a much more alert body posture.
"Today we will not just take a walk or study glowing moss," Erin's calm yet firm voice broke the morning silence.
All the students immediately sharpened their hearing.
"We will enter a deeper zone. This zone is known as the Black Rock Valley, the natural habitat for several types of mid-level monsters, including *Giant Spiders*," Erin continued.
Several students immediately took a held-in breath upon hearing that.
The name *Giant Spider* was not a small monster that could be handled with ordinary novice magic sparks.
That monster was famous for its sticky poisonous web and lethal movement speed over rocks and tall trees.
"Do not be afraid, but do not underestimate either," Erin added, as if understanding the surge of anxiety beginning to creep into the chests of her students.
"As long as you move in group formation, protect each other, and remember the mana shield creation theory we have studied, you will be fine. Professor Adrian and I will supervise you at every step."
On the side of the row, Professor Adrian nodded in approval of the command while crossing his arms over his chest.
After checking the completeness of antidote potions and emergency magic scrolls, the iron gate bordering the middle zone opened slowly.
Group by group began to step in, guided directly by Erin in the front row of the first group.
The atmosphere in the Black Rock Valley was much quieter and more eerie than the outer part of the forest.
The trees here had pitch-black trunks with sharp, winding branches resembling giant claws gripping the sky.
The ground they stepped on was covered by dark volcanic rocks overgrown with gray moss.
Each footprint produced a small crunching sound echoing softly among the stone valley walls.
Serena Rose walked in the second row, her eyes never leaving the small notebook open in her hands, matching every strange footprint pattern on the ground with monster theory she had studied in the academy library.
Near her, Kai Renford walked with a steady breath, gripping his magic staff tightly but without the panic that used to plague the young man.
Erin's guidance and mental training had formed a new calmness within the commoner youth.
However, that calmness did not last forever.
The further they walked in, the air around them felt colder and smelled strange—a stinging sour acid aroma.
High up on the branches of the black trees, thick white threads hung like giant spider webs stretching from one tree to another.
"Stop," Erin's signal raised her right hand into the air.
Instantly all the student groups behind her stopped their steps without a sound.
Erin's yellow eyes narrowed, staring sharply at the gaps of large boulders ahead of their path, where large black shadows began to move slowly in the darkness.
"We have entered the hunting territory of *Giant Spiders*," Erin whispered loudly enough to be heard by all groups behind her.
"Remember the defense formation. Do not move alone. If their webs approach, use small fire shields to burn them before sticking to your skin."
Before the students could fully absorb the instruction, a sharp whistling sound was heard from the tree.
*Ssssshhh!*
A white lump rushed heavily from the darkness of the high branches, heading straight toward the middle row where Leon's group was located.
It was a sticky poisonous web shot by a *Giant Spider* from a distance!
"Watch out!" shouted one of the students panically.
Leon Arven acted quickly.
Remembering his experience some time ago when he was careless, this time he did not let fear paralyze him.
He immediately swung his staff forward.
"Wind Shield!" shouted Leon.
A swirling gust of wind formed in front of him, successfully deflecting the direction of the white web lump so that it hit a rock beside them with a hissing acid pop sound.
However, that was only the beginning.
From behind the darkness of the rocks and black tree gaps, three *Giant Spiders* the size of small carts slowly crawled out.
Eight glowing red eyes stared hungrily at the academy student group, while their sharp furry legs rubbed against each other producing a terrifying sound.
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense.
Some female students in the back row held their breath in fear, while some male students began to clench their fists trembling, realizing these monsters were much larger and more aggressive than those in textbook illustrations.
"Don't panic!" Erin's voice broke the tension, sounding so calm, stable, and full of authority amidst the threatening situation.
Erin stepped forward past the front row of students, standing as the first shield for her disciples.
She did not immediately finish off those monsters with one big attack.
Instead, she looked back briefly, staring into the eyes of her students who were gripped by anxiety.
"This is your chance to test what we have studied," Erin said in a soft yet encouraging tone.
"Serena, analyze their leg joint weakness points! Kai, support group defense with the stable mana flow we practiced together! And Leon, lead your friends to maintain formation!"
Hearing direct instructions from the professor, the fear in the students' chests slowly subsided, replaced by a sense of responsibility and confidence.
Serena immediately nodded firmly, opening her notes and shouting directions on the monster's leg joint weaknesses to her group.
Kai reached out his hand, channeling stable energy to the peers around him who were running out of breath due to the monster's mana pressure.
"Thank you, Kai," whispered one of his groupmates whose mana flow felt restored thanks to that energy support.
Kai nodded slightly, then directed his focus back to the battle arena.
One of the *Giant Spiders* snorted angrily, leaping high into the air with the intent to pounce directly on the middle group.
The monster's black shadow covered the valley's dim light, creating its own terror for the students watching.
However, Erin who stood not far from them did not move at all to intervene.
She remained standing calmly with her dark blue robe waving in the valley wind, her yellow eyes watching every movement of her students with full confidence.
Erin knew when she had to step in to save lives, and when she had to let her disciples grow through real trials.
"Now, Leon!" shouted Serena giving the cue.
Leon responded quickly.
He channeled all the mana concentrated in his core, then swung his staff forward.
"Pressure Wind Blast!" shouted Leon.
A high-pressure wind gust shot rapidly hitting the lower body of the *Giant Spider* leaping in the air.
That attack was not designed to cut the monster's thick-scaled body, but to drastically alter the direction of its leaping momentum.
*Bugh!*
The spider monster bounced sideways, failing to land on target, and crashed into a pile of volcanic rocks with a loud noise.
Before the monster could get back up, the student group under the command of Serena and Kai simultaneously released simple binding spells Erin had taught in class last week.
Glowing blue light rays tightly wrapped the spider's legs, locking them onto the stone ground without being able to move freely.
Two other spider monsters seeing their comrade paralyzed tried to approach to provide help.
However, Professor Adrian who supervised from the rear line immediately stepped forward, flicking his robe to release a protective wave holding back the movement of the two monsters so they wouldn't approach the students' battle area.
"Good job, children!" shouted Professor Adrian with a booming voice showing appreciation.
"Maintain formation and finish it with direction!"
Hearing that praise and support, the students' confidence surged even higher.