Chapter Thirty-One: Take Up Your Hammers

  Many people still have some regrets about Fafner and Eirin's departure after dinner yesterday. The girls regret not learning more beauty methods - although some seem unreliable; the boys regret that they can't take a few more glances - although these two are now in the team.

  But the trial is the trial, and all miscellaneous people are strictly prohibited from participating, and you can't haggle over prices. Arranging some reading companions might be a good idea, but whether they can be in the same class or not, since they are all reading companions, of course, it's impossible for them to be too old - too old and the college won't accept them - so, how many young people are masters?

  A 4th-level thief Granana floats across in front of the camera...

  Cough cough, genius or whatever, who would be so exaggerated among ordinary people?

  In short, this is an activity of the college to cultivate students' sense of autonomy. Everything must be done by the students themselves, and no one can help - as the saying goes: you can have all kinds of divine weapons, but absolutely cannot bring a follower to help you.

  But even if you have all the divine weapons in the world, there are still some problems that can't be solved, such as: outdoor barbecue.

  The crowd who had been walking in the mountains for a whole morning were already exhausted, and near noon, Krees found a stone beach by a stream similar to a small river as a camping spot, and ordered free activities nearby for two hours.

  Then a group of humans who were just about to gather firewood for cooking or directly gnaw on dry rations, plus an elf, had an intimate encounter with a brown bear that came out of the forest and caught fish in the stream.

  Should I complain about Coach Kuri's leadership talent being a negative value?

  Elisha, who was possessed by a god, stared at Kris in silence as she beat the brown bear into a panda with three punches and two kicks - I'm not kidding, don't believe me? Go take a look at its fur that had been maliciously carved by some evil teacher using magic. Then, the latter fled in panic, while Elisha continued to pick up firewood calmly without looking up.

  Wouldn't it be easy for a demon like Chris to take down the opponent in just two or three moves?

  After a brief interlude, everyone continued to prepare lunch. Members of the Soy Sauce Department who were passing by helped set up a large bonfire on the rocky beach with Grana, Fabiano, and Vachis, who had come over to help or just join in the fun. Then Eriol took out fresh ingredients from her spatial ring...

  Then Eriol, Mercury Lamp, Li Hua Yin, Mochizuki, Cecilia, Ilya and Fabiano were kicked out. Especially Mochizuki and Cecilia, the two were even prohibited from approaching within a 5-meter radius of the temporary cooking point.

  Xia Xi, Yue Ge, Sofia, Granna and Vachis' reason is: Hope to be alive after eating.

  It's easy to imagine just how bizarre their cooking skills have become...

  As for others, well, the reason is slightly better: hoping that after eating, they can digest normally and won't get diarrhea.

  Incidentally, the fair evaluation of this group's cooking skills is: delicious food (Wakaba), home-cooked dishes (Kasumi), unique flavor (Tsukino), normal food (Guranna), edible (Sofia), bizarre charcoal-grilled (Iriya), half-raw (Fabiano), unidentified substance (Riho), abstract artwork (Erichika), alchemy reagent (Cecilia), deadly cooking (Mishelle).

  What? You said there is no Chairman Mao? When have you ever seen Chairman Mao go down to the kitchen?

  In the midst of boring waiting, Cecilia brought a box of suspicious objects to Fabiano's side, who was sitting in front of a small stream: "Hey, little Fa. This is the bento I made especially for you yesterday, try it?"

  Everyone around chatting and resting was suddenly shocked. Then, to everyone's continued shock, Michelle on the side seemed to be stimulated by Cecilia's behavior, and actually took out a box of objects emitting a dangerous aura, her face red as she handed it to Ilya - who thanked her and began devouring them under the twitching gaze of the crowd.

  Fabiano silently took out a piece of suspected chicken meat from the bento box and casually threw it into the small stream. A hungry fish quickly swam over, swallowed it in one bite, and then floated up to sunbathe its belly facing the sun.

  "Can you really eat this thing!?" Fabiano exclaimed loudly to Cecilia, pointing at the cup noodle fish. "Look at that fish, it only took one bite and it's already dead! At least give me a decent-looking bento like Ilya has over there, not this weird green stuff in my hand!"

  In fact, the bento in Ilya's hand was just normal-looking...

  At this moment Ilya accidentally dropped a small piece of sausage, which jumped and splashed all the way into the water.

  Several small fish passing by the soy sauce said that today's weather is very good and it's perfect for sunbathing...

  Fabiano fell silent, and after a while, he suddenly burst into tears and hugged Cecilia tightly: "Dear, promise me not to cook for me again in the future, okay? I'm afraid you'll get tired. Our family has money, we can eat out every day from now on."

  Cecilia was visibly delighted at Fabiano's rare display of initiative: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

  "This is indeed a worthy meal for the weary. " Looking at Ilya, who fell asleep as soon as she finished eating, Eriol shook her head and muttered to herself with a mixture of laughter and tears.

  Fortunately, there were Vakiris and Khasi to calm things down, so nothing more out of the ordinary happened. Mutsuki doesn't eat meat, but her fruit pie and vegetable salad were a hit. As for Sophia's and Grana's cooking, at least Ilya wouldn't complain. The group managed to finish their meal safely - what a relief.

  Because there were no dangerous creatures like monsters lurking around - in comparison, Kriss was the truly dangerous creature - the students not only didn't set up a warning system, but instead scattered about on this vast and open rocky beach, either alone or in groups, enjoying their lunch and resting. Nobody had particularly noticed that someone was missing from the group, so it wasn't until less than 30 minutes before assembly time that everyone realized... Kriss was gone.

  Cecilia scratched her head in confusion and said: "What's this? An April Fool's joke?"

  There are quite a few people around who agree with this view - just how bad is the image of Christ in your minds?

  Is this a trial now? This joke is not funny at all... Although today is April Fool's Day...

  Sophia clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and said, "Even if Coach Kris is a bit out of it, she wouldn't play this kind of joke during the trial. After all, we're in the wilderness, where there's always danger lurking around every corner. I think the most likely possibility is that she went for a walk nearby and... got lost."

  The analysis was so incisive that a dull thunder suddenly echoed above everyone's head, lingering on for a long time.

  "Should we go look for her?" Charsi wiped the cold sweat and said, "Oh, we must go find her. Coach Kelsie was leading us to find a hotel two days ago and didn't even notice when she held the map upside down - by the way, it was Coach Kelsie who led the team all morning today, are we really on the right route?!"

  “……”

  No way, the college staff in charge of arranging routes would never let freshmen enter the activity area of Brown Bear.

  Everyone's gaze was on her, so Eriol hastily raised her hands in surrender: "Alright alright, I get it. Later I'll take a look at the map and lead the team, is that okay? For now, shouldn't we prioritize finding Professor Kriss first?"

  The crowd dispersed and eventually found the two-eyed Kris in a small pine forest about 100 meters away from the campsite. In fact, there was nothing special about that forest, it was just a bit denser - but for Kris, that was enough to trap her inside and she couldn't get out.

  In the afternoon rush, Chris was stripped of her power to navigate and lead by Alycia.

  "It's not that I'm really lost," Kris said, circling around Little Lori as she tried to get the map back, "it's just that those pine trees are growing too strangely! They seem to have some kind of special function that makes people lose their sense of direction, which is why I got trapped in here."

  Do you think that thing is the Bagua Formation of Duke Wu Hou?

  Alicia hastily pushed aside Chris, who was about to explain that she wasn't a road idiot: "I understand, I understand. You've just been enchanted by the mystical spell of nature. Don't worry, it's a green, all-natural, non-polluting spell. Your symptoms will disappear on their own soon. In the meantime, why not boost everyone's morale?"

  "...why do I always feel even more annoyed after listening to you?"

  "This is just psychological. Let's walk around the lake in front of us and we'll arrive at our destination soon, you should calm everyone's emotions first." Elisha looked at the map and said, "Although we encountered a real battle on the eve of our first trial, but after all, our opponent was human and could surrender. But what we are about to face next is a monster with 'human' in its name, but it's completely different from us, saying that you're not nervous is just lying."

  "Alright, I get it." Chris nodded in agreement with the little loli's opinion. Then she turned around, took a deep breath, and loudly shouted at the crowd of heavily sweating, severely physically deficient mages walking on the mountain road, as well as their warrior teammates who were either pulling or dragging them:

  "Alright, listen up! Before long, you bunch of fledglings will be face to face with those fluffy grey giant rats in the Geistertrick Mine, so perk yourselves up! Maybe all you know are some basic spells or simple martial arts, but that's okay, because they won't even have that. Just like I said before, even a mage can take them down in close combat. Don't worry unnecessarily, these giant rats aren't even a threat. So grab your maces and go wild!"

  "This isn't whack-a-mole, okay!?"

  Although the encouraging words in Chris's style were thunderous, they finally made some frightened girls' faces gradually improve. Later, when everyone came to a valley and saw the huge lake surface in front of them, like a beautiful blue sapphire, all fatigue, complaints, and tension disappeared, leaving only admiration.

  This is the most famous lake in a valley below Gestrecker Hauptkamm, almost filling the entire flat valley. If you couldn't see the forest growing on the opposite side, someone would believe it's the sea.

  This is also why there are swimsuit stores in the small towns at the foot of the mountain despite being located in a mountainous area.

  ……

  Why is no one complaining about why a swimsuit store would be open for business in this season?

  "We should set up a temporary camp here as a foothold, and then go into the mine to hunt for moles." The mercury lamp suggested to Eri, "Although there will definitely be some dangerous carnivores near the water source..." As he spoke, the chairman glanced at Chris, who was not far away, filling her canteen with water, his meaning extremely clear.

  Even if a pack of wolves comes, it will still be defeated magnificently!

  "Your suggestion is good, but please don't use 'whack-a-mole' to describe our trial content, okay?"

  "Are you hoping there's a hibernating giant dragon inside the cave and then turn the trial into 'Brave Warrior vs Evil Dragon'?"

  "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

  Because it's a camp for sleeping at night, of course, we can't just be careless. Firstly, there must be water source nearby - don't worry about this; secondly, since most people bring tents, we need to prevent some small animals from getting in - the nighttime temperature is still very cold in early spring, no one wants to be used as a heater; then it's not allowing some ferocious beasts to approach the camp - just lighting a fire will do; as for natural disasters like wind, rain, hail, mudslides... hey, this is a tourist destination, how could those situations possibly happen? This isn't the Earth of 2012.

  The tent-pitching was a physically demanding task, and in that instant, countless boys who were originally ignored, despised, and discriminated against suddenly became extremely popular among the girls. Eliysha even saw Joey and Bartol being dragged away by several girls - although they would probably be kicked out soon after due to their dirty hands and feet.

  As for Eriol's tent... Ilya, who came to help Misha, asked casually and was then forced by Li Hua Yin, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, to do a mid-air somersault seven and a half times at a speed of 16 meters per second, ending with a perfect face-plant.

  Later, the little loli's tent was taken over by Li Hua Yin, and she suspected that the latter had left a back door on the tent for night raids - similar things had happened many times in the academy dormitory.

  The trenches around the camp were finally dug out and some insect-repelling grass was thrown in, although Eriol didn't think there would be any annoying insects coming out at night during this season. With that, the construction of the camp was declared complete.

  "Alright, we'll finish off the rest of the firewood and come back for it later." Kris said with a satisfied nod, munching on her chocolate bar. "Now everyone take an hour's break. We enter the mine at five o'clock and return at six thirty, got it?"

  Am I really being treated like a mole...

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  Inside the mine was dark and cold, with some abandoned mining carts, pickaxes, and severely rusted rails visible everywhere. Above their heads, an oil lamp would appear at regular intervals, indicating how lively this place used to be - of course, they no longer burned brightly now, and the light source here came from the torches held by the students in charge of lighting as well as portable magic lamps.

  Humans are born with a fear of darkness, and even the greatest calm emperor cannot help but feel apprehensive when facing the endless blackness and shadows that seem to be lurking with unknown terrors, even if he is playing "Aliens vs. Predator".

  So when Li Hua's trembling voice leaned in close, Eriol didn't hesitate to give her a sharp elbow to the abdomen.

  "Why... why did you hit me? I was just scared and wanted to get close to Little Aili, that's all..."

  "Really? Then can you explain why your hand was in my skirt at that time?"

  "I, I just wanted to touch the top of the mercury lamp beside you, but my hand was placed in the wrong place." Li Hua said with a straight face - it's not like her face could be seen turning red in this environment anyway.

  "That's it. So I just wanted to stretch a bit earlier and accidentally stretched my elbow in the wrong position."

  The usual daily life of the soy sauce department is indeed performed at any time. Thanks to this absurdity, the tense nerves of the students who were watching also got relaxed. Everyone started trying to chat with the person next to them, although their voices were still a bit trembling.

  At least the atmosphere is no longer oppressive.

  Then the legendary atmosphere destroyer appeared: a gray giant rat as tall as a person, walking on its hind legs, holding a wooden board that was probably pulled from some broken mine cart with its two front paws as a weapon, without any protective gear - sorry, this guy didn't even have a piece of cloth on him, only a coat of fur shining with oil in the swaying light.

  The mouse man swaggered out from a nearby corner in front and met the eyes of a group of young men and women.

  At least it can be confirmed that it is not because of being stunned by a handsome or beautiful human.

  "What are you all staring at? Do you want it to invite you for cheese?"

  So the bunch of rookies finally came back to their senses. The warriors roared and raised their weapons, charging forward; the mages also picked up their staffs and began casting spells. The mouse people on the opposite side also reacted, and it let out a piercing "squeak" from its mouth, lifted the wooden board in its hand - or rather, what passed for a hand - then crouched down, used force with its waist, observed the crowd with a gaze that seemed to see right through them, took a deep breath, and suddenly threw the wooden board at the crowd.

  The wooden board was then split into flying fragments by the leading Batulu with one sword, and several clever and powerful warriors behind him took advantage of this opportunity to rush up with various primary magic colors flying around them, swords and armor flashing dazzling colors under the illumination of magic and torches.

  The mouse person opposite saw the wooden board being smashed and let out a loud cry, making a terrifying gesture with its teeth and claws - then turned around beautifully in an instant and ran away without a trace.

  The scenes of Hollywood's magical blockbuster were scattered all over the floor.

  Everyone was at a loss for words, their faces filled with confusion and embarrassment...

  "See, I told you that the mouse people are timid. I really don't know what you're all so nervous about."

  If a human were faced with a large group of mouse people, I think he would run away too. That mouse person should have been scared off by our numbers...

  But anyway, the students won their first victory against monsters in the trial, which greatly boosted everyone's morale. So they decided to continue moving forward...

  Then the mouse man who just escaped brought a large group of dense companions to a relatively spacious section and gambled on their advance route.

  Alicia bit her ear and said, "Why do I always feel that this is what the author intentionally arranged?"

  The mercury lamp glanced at her and hummed: "Do you think that guy would let us in as if we were on a picnic, strolling around casually and leaving?"

  It's not like you're just pretending to be on a picnic, your behavior is no different from being on a picnic, right?! If I don't create some trouble for you, you'll really think this is whack-a-mole, won't you?!