Chapter 35: Foes Are Destined to Meet

In the vast forest that covers almost half of the planet Casares, countless powerful creatures mutated by the native ore veins survive. These creatures have divided the forest into their own territories and will mercilessly attack any intruder who dares to enter their domain.

When the genius explorer Jones, who brought the sea urchin stone crystal out of the “Terror Forest,” entered the forest, he led a team of twenty people. Perhaps most people don’t know that among the twenty members of Jones’ team at that time, there were no fewer than six experts above the tenth level, including even one saint-level expert at the eleventh level! Yet even with such a powerful team, in the end, only four people, including Jones himself, survived the forest and shared the enormous reward of 1.7 billion imperial shields!

After this highly successful expedition, Jones never stepped foot into the Sandra Forest again for the rest of his life. Later, in his memoirs, Jones described everything he had experienced during that expedition in a tone filled with fear. He swore that, even within just the small core area he explored, he had personally witnessed at least three creatures capable of rivaling an eleventh-level expert. And the terrifying creature that finally completely defeated his team and effortlessly killed their saint-level expert might not even be at a disadvantage when facing a twelfth-level divine expert!

Of course, no matter how terrifying Jones’s memoirs were, they could not extinguish the burning desire of adventurers who would stop at nothing for the sake of wealth. In fact, many adventurers even targeted those terrifying monsters, because it had been proven that some strange and valuable things could also be found within the monsters’ bodies.

Thus, many dedicated martial artists also came to the planet Casares, honing their martial arts through real combat within the Sandra Forest—of course, they also wouldn’t mind joining adventurers in hunting monsters and making a little fortune along the way.

However, Governor Termiso of Casares was still deeply worried about the adventurers’ exploratory activities. Leaving aside whether the adventurers’ reckless killing might provoke retaliation from the terrifying creatures in the forest, the heavy casualties among adventurers each year alone were enough to make the governor deeply concerned.

After all, seventy percent of Casares’ annual fiscal revenue came from the adventurers’ spending in the “Explorer’s Town.” The governor was very worried that excessive casualties would affect the adventurers’ enthusiasm for exploring Casares.

Therefore, about seventeen years ago, Governor Termiso and the “Adventurer’s Guild” of Casares jointly issued a decree. They artificially divided the “Terror Forest” into four zones, marking each zone with a different danger level.

Among them, the central part, which occupies about thirty percent of the Terror Forest’s area, is an unknown zone from which no team, except Jones’s, has ever returned alive. This area was undoubtedly classified as the highest danger level, the “Black Forbidden Zone.” Without the joint permission of Governor Termiso and the Adventurer’s Guild, no one was allowed to enter this area for exploration.

Then, extending outward from the “Black Forbidden Zone” by about two hundred kilometers, forming an irregular ring-shaped area, is known as the “Red Danger Zone.” Although this area is not as deadly as the Black Forbidden Zone, where all explorers who enter never return, Governor Termiso would not issue permits for teams to enter this terrifying area filled with high-level monsters unless the team included two or three tenth-level experts as protection.

Extending outward from the Red Danger Zone, east and north to the Falling Star Ocean, west to the banks of the Dream River, and south to the Hassan Grand Canyon, this vast area, which covers more than fifty percent of the Terror Forest, is the “Yellow Exploration Zone,” the most talked-about region among explorers on Casares.

The final area, naturally named the “Green Living Zone,” is actually a pearl necklace-shaped area formed by drawing a circle with a radius of about ten kilometers around the numerous small towns densely scattered along the edge of the Sandra Forest.

This area is home to over eighty percent of Casares’ population and resources.

Prostitutes, mercenaries, information dealers—those who make a living off adventurers almost all reside in the various towns of the Green Living Zone. Likewise, adventurers who wish to strike it rich on Casares almost always choose one of the towns in the Green Living Zone as their starting point. In addition, every July, one of the towns in the Green Living Zone will welcome a group of “special guests.”

Like the majority of adventurers, the students and teachers participating in the survival competition will also choose to enter the Sandra Forest from one of the towns in the Green Living Zone. However, they will not go far into the forest; the competition is strictly limited to activities within the Green Living Zone.

After all, almost all the students attending these academies come from imperial noble families, some even from influential aristocratic lineages. While the empire encourages nobles to have a spirit of adventure and sacrifice, it certainly doesn’t encourage instructors to send students into deadly situations. The instructors of these academies dare not provoke public outrage by leading students into places like the “Yellow Exploration Zone,” which is filled with eighth or even ninth-level monsters.

Weiyin Town—this was decided as the starting point for the survival competition after a brief discussion between Governors Karalan and Termiso. It is a small town located on the west bank of the Dream River, about four to five thousand kilometers from the city of Casares.

When the representatives of Almishus Academy set out for Weiyin Town, Zhang Wen finally met all the members of his “Almishus Team Three” for the first time. To Zhang Wen’s surprise, the two additional members added to his already female-dominated group were also girls!

One of the girls was named Vicki, a quiet-looking girl from the incantation department who wore glasses. The other, Lianna, was a physical techniques girl with striking red hair.

On the afternoon of the scheduled day, the representatives of Almishus Academy finally arrived at Weiyin Town. By the time they arrived, about half of the teams invited to participate in the survival competition had already arrived.

The news that many academies on Casares hold survival competitions every year had already spread across the planet years ago. Therefore, the sudden appearance of many students and teachers in the town caused only a bit of initial confusion among adventurers and those who relied on adventurers for their livelihoods. Soon, however, they returned to their own business indifferently.

In contrast, the students and teachers from various academies—especially many newcomers who were participating in the survival competition for the first time and had never been to the Sandra Forest before—were filled with curiosity about everything in the town.

As Zhang Wen left the small inn reserved for the Almishus Academy delegation and walked into the town, which was less than a tenth the size of Casares City, he quickly noticed groups of academy representatives in various uniforms everywhere. Among them were many inexperienced ones who were even chatting and laughing with prostitutes and gamblers who were trying to lure them in.

Encouraged by the success of others who had successfully lured targets, several prostitutes quickly approached with smiling faces as they saw a new group of newcomers entering the town.

“Hey, handsome, want me to tell your fortune? I’m really accurate!” A heavily made-up woman with a voluptuous figure pushed her way in front of Zhang Wen and leaned into him without any restraint.

“Huh…” Seeing the woman’s flirty smile, Zhang Wen smiled slightly and was about to politely decline when he suddenly noticed a familiar figure appear beside him.

“No, he doesn’t need you to tell his fortune,” Jialite, with a dark expression, suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Wen. “Hmph, I knew you’d think of some crooked ideas when you came to a place like this! As long as I’m around, don’t even think about it.” The student council president glared fiercely at Zhang Wen before turning around to confront the woman.

However, Jialite didn’t expect that after she rejected the voluptuous prostitute, the woman didn’t give up but instead took a couple more steps closer to Zhang Wen. As a result, when Jialite turned her head, she accidentally found her head wedged between the woman’s ample bosom.

“You… you, you, get away!” Jialite, almost suffocated by the pair of “terrifying meat bombs,” quickly pushed them away, but her pretty face turned bright red.

“Hahaha…” Zhang Wen couldn’t help but burst into laughter, which immediately earned him an even fiercer glare from Jialite.

However, before Jialite’s gaze could fully return to Zhang Wen, she heard an even more unrestrained laughter from behind: “Hahahahahaha!”

Zhang Wen and Jialite turned their heads almost simultaneously. Upon seeing a young male and female student in blue uniforms, Zhang Wen also heard Jialite exclaim in surprise: “Yuni?!”

“Hahahaha!” The young girl on the opposite side straightened up after laughing until she was bent over and mockingly lifted her face, saying, “Never thought that the illustrious student council president of Almishus Academy would like this kind of thing.”

“Yuni, don’t go too far!” Jialite coldly looked at the girl. The authority she had learned from the governor’s female personal secretary quickly descended upon Jialite, shocking Yuni into a momentary pause.

However, within less than a second, Yuni quickly regained her composure. She soon resumed her disdainful expression, shouting at Jialite, “Hmph! Jialite, don’t try to scare me with that act! I saw through your little tricks ten years ago! Hey, did you see that? The student council president of Almishus Academy, the governor’s daughter, actually stuck her head into someone else’s chest! Hehe! Could it be that you’re jealous because you don’t have anything yourself?”

Yuni laughed loudly at the boy beside her while deliberately letting her gaze quickly sweep over Jialite’s chest, proudly crossing her arms and further accentuating her already ample cleavage.

“You…” No girl would willingly accept being mocked in this way. Jialite’s pretty face quickly turned red again. Jialite really wanted to retort, to loudly tell the other person, “I’m not flat-chested, and I’m definitely not jealous of that cow’s chest!” But how could she possibly say such an embarrassing thing out loud? Moreover, arguing with the other person in public would only make things worse, a fact that Jialite was well aware of.

To be honest, Jialite’s figure couldn’t exactly be described as flat. Under her uniform, her chest did show some enticing curves. However, compared to most imperial girls who were naturally well-endowed, Jialite’s slight curves were indeed quite lacking.

“Hey! You two seem to know each other well. Who is she?” Zhang Wen timely interjected, preventing Jialite from being left speechless in embarrassment.

Although Jialite’s earlier “scolding” had made Zhang Wen somewhat unhappy, he still wore the same badge as Jialite on his uniform. If Jialite were publicly humiliated, wouldn’t it also damage the reputation of Zhang Wen, as a representative teacher of Almishus Academy?

“She’s Yuni, a student from Moore Academy. Last year, it was them and a few other academies that set a trap and eliminated us. Hmph! But we didn’t let them off easily either. When we were eliminated, we also took the badges of four of their members.” Jialite coldly huffed, seemingly indifferent as she quietly explained to Zhang Wen.

However, not long after saying this, Jialite couldn’t help but take a quick glance at her own slightly protruding chest when she thought Zhang Wen wasn’t looking.

Clearly, Jialite wasn’t completely unaffected by Yuni’s mockery. In fact, one could say that Yuni’s words had hit Jialite right where it hurt. Even though Jialite never said it out loud, she had often worried about her underdeveloped chest and tried various methods to improve it. Unfortunately, each attempt only left her frustrated and disheartened for several days afterward.

“Moore Academy?” When Zhang Wen heard the name, he couldn’t help but be momentarily taken aback. He vaguely felt that the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it recently somewhere.

Zhang Wen didn’t need to strain his memory to recall where he had heard the name “Moore Academy.” Two familiar faces that appeared before him soon reminded him exactly where he had heard of Moore Academy.

“Zhang Wen?!” When Taller and Jina, who had appeared behind Yuni, saw Zhang Wen, they were also slightly surprised.

“Hey, didn’t expect to meet again so soon,” Zhang Wen greeted Taller and Jina with a smile, though in his heart he thought that indeed, as the saying goes, old enemies are destined to meet again.

“Yeah, really didn’t expect to meet again so soon,” Taller looked at the badge on Zhang Wen’s chest and couldn’t help but feel a flash of jealousy. When he noticed that Jina beside him was also looking at Zhang Wen with the same jealous gaze, his jealousy only burned even more fiercely.

“Hey, Zhang Wen, how come you’re alone this time? Where’s that sexy beauty who was with you last time? Why didn’t she come with you? Didn’t you make her unhappy again and get dumped?” Taller provocatively wrapped his arm around Jina’s waist and laughed as he spoke to Zhang Wen.

“Sexy beauty?” When Jialite heard those five words, she couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Zhang Wen again. With the lesson from the previous “fortune-telling beauty,” Jialite naturally misunderstood the identity of the “sexy beauty” who had been with Zhang Wen.

However, Jialite was also clear that this was a time when she needed to unite with Zhang Wen against a common enemy. They could deal with internal issues after handling the common enemy first.

“Hmph! We came to the Sandra Forest to participate in the competition. Teacher Zhang isn’t like you, with so much free time to randomly look for sexy beauties on the streets,” Jialite suppressed her inexplicable anger and coldly replied on behalf of Zhang Wen.

“Oh? Sharp-tongued little girl! Haha, Zhang Wen! Didn’t expect that your taste would drop so much in just a few days without seeing you,” Taller was momentarily taken aback by Jialite’s sharp words, but he quickly burst into laughter.

When it came to verbal sparring, Jialite was no match for Taller. Although Taller, being a teacher, couldn’t stoop to arguing with Jialite, he could seize on her weaknesses and mock Zhang Wen at the same time.

“You…” Jialite, who was being repeatedly mocked over her sensitive point, gritted her teeth in anger but was too frustrated to utter a word.

“Haha.” Seeing that he had completely defeated Zhang Wen’s cute little helper, Taller continued to laugh heartily, clearly enjoying himself.

“You know what, you did have a point just now. We Almishus Academy is indeed different from us. You really don’t have time to hang around on the streets. If you don’t hurry up and get a feel for the survival competition, you’ll be heading back to Almishus Academy in a couple of days and won’t get another chance to experience what the Sandra Forest is like. Hahaha!”

Taller let out a string of unrestrained laughter, while Yuni and the boy, who had a grudge against Jialite, laughed even more exaggeratedly than Taller.

“Damn it!” If the previous mockery of Jialite’s flat chest by the others had made the cute student council president furious enough to gnash her teeth, then their current mockery of Almishus Academy had practically made her so angry that she was about to explode.

Moreover, Taller and his group didn’t give Jialite any chance for revenge. After a bout of unrestrained laughter, they disdainfully turned and left.

“Teacher Zhang!” Jialite furiously glared at Zhang Wen, who had remained silent all this time. After all, she had been mocked by the others up to this point mainly because she was helping Zhang Wen. But Zhang Wen was just fine, letting her fight at the front while he watched the show.

“Haha, Jialite! Isn’t this quite good?” Zhang Wen smiled faintly at Jialite, saying something that almost made her nose twist.

“Good? What’s good about it? Nothing is good!” Jialite really wanted to scream at Zhang Wen in a fit of hysteria. But she was, after all, a student council president who had to consider the school’s reputation. In the end, all the anger in Jialite’s heart was condensed into a single, gritted “Hmm?”

“Haha, haven’t figured it out yet? Don’t you think sometimes being looked down upon by others can also be a good thing? Especially… when we’re about to compete with those who look down on us,” Zhang Wen’s smile poured cold water on Jialite’s anger.

“Um… it does seem a bit reasonable. But we were insulted by them, so are we just going to let it go like that?” Jialite nodded, reluctantly murmuring.

“How can we just let it go like that? However, what’s the point of winning a verbal argument? If you want revenge, just wait until the survival competition and give them a good one,” Zhang Wen slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Jialite immediately felt reassured. She knew that when Zhang Wen wore this expression, those bastards who had been staring at her chest wouldn’t have a good end!

Hmph! Jialite happily nodded slightly, but her smile only flashed for a moment before she straightened her face again. “Right! What about that sexy beauty they mentioned earlier? Teacher Zhang, you’re not really involved with that kind of woman, are you?”

Jialite was by no means an unreasonable girl. Since she became the student council president, she had always been a model among the students of Almishus Academy! Before this, Jialite had never disrespected any teacher. As for confronting her direct supervising teacher in a tone close to arguing during a competition, that was something so unbelievable that even saying it out loud wouldn’t be believed!

But, as she said the words “sexy beauty,” Jialite couldn’t help but subconsciously picture Zhang Wen with a seductive woman, his face filled with delight as his arm deeply sank into the woman’s ample bosom. Then, the cute student council president couldn’t help but suddenly feel an inexplicable surge of anger she couldn’t suppress.

“What are you thinking? He saw Teacher Liruoya.” Zhang Wen looked at Jialite strangely and answered.

“Ah? Li… Liruoya Teacher?” Jialite stammered the name Zhang Wen had spoken, only then remembering that the so-called sexy beauty wasn’t just the streetwalkers on the streets of the town. In her own team, there was a real beauty who was even more deserving of the word “sexy” than those town girls.

“Any problem?” Zhang Wen’s puzzled gaze made Jialite feel even more embarrassed.

“No… no.” The pretty girl fidgeted with her clothes.

“Then let’s go back.” After the little drama between Jialite and Taller, Zhang Wen had lost interest in continuing his stroll. He quickly took Jialite back to the inn room.

Half a day later, the Almishus Academy delegation, having completed their pre-race preparations, divided into three teams and left the inn according to the pre-arranged grouping.

Since the survival competition itself is a contest among all the teams, to avoid chaotic battles breaking out as soon as the teams enter the forest, every year during the survival competition, the teams from each academy do not enter the forest from the same location. Before departure, all participating teams from the academies need to gather at a fixed location. Then, they draw lots and disperse to the locations indicated on their drawn lots before entering the forest separately.

This time, a total of thirteen academies participated in the survival competition. Their gathering point was a small square in the southeast of Weiyin Town.

“Ah! I wonder if we can draw a good lot this year! If we get one of the central towns again like last year, we’re all doomed!”

“Right! This year our strength seems even worse than last year. If we get such a bad position again, those who entered first will definitely gang up on us!”

“Who’s going to draw the lot this year?”

“Who else? Definitely Teacher Liruoya. After all, she’s the only three-star instructor among us!” After selecting a corner of the small square to sit down, several instructors from the incantation department gathered together and whispered among themselves.

While listening to the murmurs of those around him, Zhang Wen also observed the people around him. As Jialite had said, the academies participating in the survival competition all seemed to have Almishus Academy as their target. With just a glance, Zhang Wen could see almost nothing but hostile gazes.