After solving their hunger and thirst, the group resumed their search for other students. Winnie led the way, casually wiping his lips with a large leaf he’d picked up from who-knows-where, then tossing it aside carelessly.

Rubbing his stomach, Winnie let out a contented sigh and took another swig of water to moisten his throat.

“Hey you two, are you full?” Winnie asked Fanya and Amisa.

“We’re both full,” Fanya replied.

Although the one who’d eaten the most was probably Winnie himself, having devoured several large fish. Fanya had eaten quite a bit too, but nowhere nearly as much as Winnie.

Amisa had eaten the least, not even finishing one fish. Maybe the taste really wasn’t that good, or perhaps her appetite was naturally small.

Winnie shifted his gaze forward, swaggering at the front of the group. Fanya followed in the middle, sword in hand, while Amisa brought up the rear, cradling her luminous orb staff and taking small, careful steps.

“Amisa, when you were attacked by those bud monsters earlier, did you see any other classmates?” Winnie asked.

“No, I was alone the whole time,” Amisa replied, shaking her head slightly. “But the terrain here is mostly jungle and shrubland, with a ruined altar at the central area.”

“Oh? A ruined altar? Sounds like we should check that out.” Based on Winnie’s experience with three previous map transitions, such locations were usually gateways from one map to another.

Amisa nodded, and Fanya had no objections either. The trio continued through the jungle when suddenly they heard the clashing sounds of metal on metal.

Hearing this, the three exchanged glances.

They understood, anyone targeted and attacked by the local creatures was most likely another outsider: a student from Carillian Academy.

“Let’s go check it out. Might be another classmate who’s separated from their group,” Fanya changed direction and quickly advanced toward the sound, with Winnie and Amisa following close behind.

Winnie kept pace with Fanya, secretly hoping this time his luck might finally turn. What if they ran into one of those destined heroines? That would guarantee their group’s safety.

Of course, meeting anyone else would strengthen their numbers. United, they can protect more people from injury or death.

The trio rapidly approached the source of the battle. As they neared, Winnie signaled for Fanya to hide behind some bushes, telling her not to rush out recklessly.

Fanya understood Winnie’s intention and ducked into the shrubbery to assess the situation. Meanwhile, Amisa obediently crouched behind them, hugging her staff close.

“Clang! Clang!” A tusk slammed against a golden-hilted sword, sending sparks flying. A muscular young man in a Carillian Academy uniform was fighting a rhino-like beast.

The monster had horns similar to a rhino’s, but much longer, and its body was at least twice the size of a rhino’s. Additionally, it was draped with flowering vines, and atop its head bloomed a massive, open flower.

The floral beast was covered in sword wounds and charred scars, clearly having endured relentless attacks and magic. Desperate to defeat its opponent quickly, it was completely helpless, its condition was dire, clearly at the end of its strength. All it could do now was feign aggression with a few feeble roars.

Winnie could tell this floral monster was far stronger than the earlier bud creatures, nowhere near the same class. With such a massive body, if it charged, even the thickest armor wouldn’t prevent internal organs from shattering.

Moreover, not far away, Winnie spotted the corpses of this floral beast’s companions, all slain, lying on the ground with flower-juice-like fluids oozing out, their head-flowers withered and dead.

This alone speaks volumes about the young man’s strength.

This should have been cause for celebration, finding such a powerful ally. Yet Winnie couldn’t feel happy.

Why?

Because he knew this guy. In a sense, he was an old acquaintance.

Someone he’d seen since childhood, someone who’d always been there whenever Winnie got bullied. How could that not make him an old familiar face?

Exactly, he was Winnie’s lifelong rival: Charon, son of the current leader of the Dragon Knights. A young man who’d already become a full member of the Wrathful Dragon Knights, and was idolized by many noble youths of Carmela Kingdom.

Now Winnie’s mood has turned complicated.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t read the situation, this wasn’t the time to bring up old scores. Winnie feared that Charon, on the other hand, might not see things clearly and insisted on picking a fight. Although this guy appears to be a noble, upright knight, his true character…

“That senior looks like Charon, son of the Wrathful Dragon Knights’ captain?” Fanya recognized Charon. As one of the academy’s prominent noble students, Charon had some fame on campus, many people knew him.

But not everyone knew about the history between Winnie and Charon.

Facing Charon’s flawless breach, the floral beast could only be gradually worn down, its resistance eroding until death.

The floral beast knew it too. Even when they’d attacked together before, they couldn’t defeat this human. Now, severely wounded, there was no way it could avenge its kin. All it could do was make one final stand.

Countless vines shot out from the giant flower atop its head, spreading from all directions toward Charon.

But Charon remained calm. He thrust his golden-hilted sword into the ground, and a hemisphere-shaped barrier of flames instantly blocked the advancing vines and creepers.

[Flame Guard]

Upon touching the blazing barrier, the vines caught fire, the flames quickly spreading back toward the giant flower on the beast’s head.

That spot seemed to be the monster’s weak point. The floral beast hastily abandoned its vines to avoid igniting itself.

Fire was clearly a major weakness. Winnie glanced at the nearby corpses of the vine beasts, their head-flowers were completely withered. Evidently, these flowers were symbols of their life force.

It seemed the floral beasts had tried many ways to defeat Charon, but all had failed.

Winnie recalled that Charon had an exceptionally high affinity for fire elements, perfectly suited to counter these creatures. Combined with Charon’s status as one of Camella Kingdom’s elite students, his strength was overwhelming. These floral monsters stood no chance.

After neutralizing the flower beast’s attack, Charon charged again, slicing off a petal from the flower atop the beast’s head with a single strike.

This guy…

Winnie frowned at the sight.

Given the vine beast’s size, a simple fireball spell would make it impossible to dodge. Blasting the flower on its head will leave it severely injured at best. Why insist on closing in to slash?

This beast had a thick, tough hide. How long would it take to chop it to death?

Meanwhile, the floral beast, enraged by losing half its petal, stomped hard on the ground, causing tremors. Simultaneously, several sharp leaves shot out from the giant flower on its head, forming a storm that swept toward Charon.

Seeing this, Fanya prepared to help Charon, but was stunned by his next move.

She’d assumed Charon would use [Flame Guard] again to burn the leaves, but instead, he just stood there, showing no sign of casting a spell.

What was he planning?

All three were confused. Then, in that instant, Charon raised his hand. His golden-hilted broadsword erupted in dazzling, complex swordplay, so fast it was hard to follow.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!…” The sound of metal striking metal was endless, as dense as a downpour hitting a windowpane. Just listen, you can imagine how many incoming leaf-blades that golden curved-hilt broadsword deflected per second, and how much force each strike carried.

Winnie felt eye strain just watching, so he looked down. The ground was already piled high with shattered leaves.

Unbelievable, complete interception from every angle?

Winnie stared in shock. Charon had been completely surrounded by a storm of countless leaves, yet not a single one touched him. None could get close.

One had to admit, Charon’s mastery and talent in swordsmanship were truly enviable.

As one of the kingdom’s top students, he definitely had skill.

Wait, if that’s the case, why didn’t he use this technique to cut through the vines earlier instead of relying on magic?

Winnie suddenly wondered.

What was this? First showing off magic power, now demonstrating swordplay mechanics?

That also explained why Charon didn’t just blast the flower on the beast’s head with a fireball.

The slain beasts nearby all had their flowers sliced off, not blown apart.

Charon had many ways to win, yet chose the most difficult one.

Winnie didn’t think it was because Charon failed to notice the flowers were weak points. He probably did it just to show off.

To Charon, the vine beast’s counterattacks were probably no more threatening than playful nuzzling. After the leaf barrage ended, the beast seemed utterly out of options.

Then again, Charon started showing off. He clearly knew the weak spot, yet refused to strike it, instead deliberately targeting the beast’s toughest body parts.

Even with its thick hide, Charon’s expert swordsmanship could miraculously pierce through, and after several strikes, the vine beast began to feel pain, its eyes filling with red veins.

This kind of beast only became more dangerous the more it was injured.

The vine beast completely ignored Charon’s slashes and charged forward, aiming its horn straight at him.

Charon, unfazed, assumed a defensive stance. At that moment, an ice chain shot forward, latching onto the beast’s horn.

After freezing the beast’s snout, another ice chain came down from above, striking the beast’s head hard.

Even though the ice chain didn’t have much raw attack power and its elemental force was modest, the beast was inherently vulnerable to ice. The blow also landed squarely on the large blossom crowning its head, its most sensitive weak spot.

The flower froze instantly, and the beast became completely disoriented.

Charon frowned, turning to look behind him. Seeing the three approaching, and especially noticing Winnie among them, his brows furrowed deeper, his eyes carrying an unreadable expression.

Glancing at the beast, now staggering and dazed, Charon asserted prolonging the fight was pointless. With one clean strike, he severed the flower on the beast’s head, ending its life.

“Disappointing. Even without intentionally targeting that foolishly exposed weak point, is this really all you’re capable of?” Charon coldly remarked, watching the beast wobble and crash heavily to the ground.

Sheathing his sword, Charon faced the three approaching him.

“Winnie, your timing for stepping in was quite… opportune.” Charon suddenly smirked.

“Oh?” Winnie, walking towards him, raised an eyebrow at this remark.

That was clearly dripping with sarcasm.

Was he implying Winnie had stolen his kill?

But Winnie had come to help, hadn’t he? This wasn’t some hunting competition where killing monsters earned points. Did “stealing kills” even make sense here?

Great. He’d tried to extend goodwill for the group’s sake, but apparently, the other party wasn’t interested.

Winnie pursed his lips.

“Senior Charon flatters me. I was only meant to assist, but it seems my help wasn’t really needed,” Winnie said with a forced smile. He had to maintain surface-level harmony, no need to let cracks form in their fragile alliance.

Right now, the priority was escaping this strange world, not dwelling on personal grudges.

Charon remained silent. Winnie kept smiling. They stood side by side, seemed calm, but whether their inner feelings suffered their expressions, no one could say.

At that moment, did they both recall their long history of rivalry?

As children, Charon hadn’t been much taller than Winnie. Now, he towered over him by nearly a head and a half.

“So Senior Charon is here too. Seems like all the teachers and students got dragged into this bizarre disaster. Wonder which bastard started it all,” Winnie snapped.

“I heard you recently reached the Warlock Realm,” Charon said, narrowing his eyes at Winnie.

“Just lucky. My foundation’s shaky. Honestly, I never expected to reach this level myself. Still far behind Senior Charon, of course,” Winnie smiled.

“I never expected you’d turn out this capable,” Charon said, tilting his head with a meaningful tone. “Anyone who remembers that ignorant, good-for-nothing kid from back then will never believe he’d one day reach the Warlock Realm.”

“Ha ha, I’ll take that as a compliment from Senior Charon, then?” Winnie responded, treating Charon’s backhanded words as praise, leaving Charon with no counter, like a dead pig unbothered by boiling water.

Charon seemed uninterested in further verbal sparring. His gaze shifted past Winnie, moving between Fanya and Amisa.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep