( The mid-term survival test, Unknown forest area, Floor Zero )

As Rocky stepped out of the teleportation gate, he emerged with his peers into a small clearing, encircled by dense forests.

Unlike the rest of his batch, who promptly began their quest for gathering evaluation points, Rocky hesitated, absorbing the new environment, when Sophia approached him with an inquiry.

“So, what’s the plan, Rocky?” she asked and in response, Rocky offered a noncommittal shrug and gestured towards Erin and Buhara, indicating that they should contribute their thoughts.

Admitting his recent absence from their training, Rocky openly addressed his friends, “I’ve been out of the loop for months, while you all have kept up with the classes. Given our current predicament, what do you think our next move should be?”

Despite Rocky’s recent absence from team activities, Erin and Buhara continued to regard him as their de facto leader.

The power dynamic that the three had established in the first month of university still seemed to hold strong, as despite Sophia joining the team, Rocky’s position remained immovable.

Although Rocky’s influence remained undiminished, he chose not to impose any decisions, understanding the value of deferring to the more informed opinions of his peers.

This shift from his former, more autocratic leadership style to a more collaborative approach marked a significant evolution in his character.

“Well,” Erin began, ” as per Principal Liam in a survival scenario, securing a water source precedes all else, followed by the construction of shelter. Our ideal target would be a lake or river with potable water, around which we can build individual shelters. Though a communal shelter could be simpler, our project’s guidelines recommend individual constructions to maximise point potential.”

“Once we’ve established our base and secured a water source, we can then focus on hunting monsters and gathering food,” Erin concluded, laying out a comprehensive plan of action.

Rocky, nodding his head, thought this plan made sense, but he waited for either Sophia or Buhara to add anything to this plan if they wished to.

“Sounds good to me-“

“Buhara is fine with anything”

The two said as Rocky concluded that the group would go with Erin’s suggestion.

“So how does one go about finding a water source? Do we just randomly search till we find one or, do we have a plan?” Rocky asked as while finding a water source seemed like a good plan, it was not specific enough.

“Well, according to what Principal Liam has taught us Sir Rocky, there are two ways to find a water source.

First is to locate a high vantage point and scale it to get a perspective of your nearby surroundings.

But looking around us, all I see is a dense forest and no clear high vantage point to access, so we need to take the second method” Erin said, as Rocky listened intently.

“The second method involves understanding the natural indicators that hint at underground water currents. This method, although less straightforward than observing from a high vantage point, can be remarkably effective if we pay close attention to the environment.”

Rocky leaned in, intrigued by the prospect of applying this nuanced knowledge as Erin elaborated, “First, we look for certain types of vegetation that thrive only in moist soil, indicating a potential underground water source nearby. Willow trees, reeds, and cattails are prime examples. Their presence is a subtle nod from nature about what lies beneath.”

He paused, allowing the information to sink in, then added, “Next, observe the direction in which the land slopes. Water moves downhill, even underground, so valleys and other low-lying areas are more likely to house streams beneath the surface. Also, look for areas where animals congregate or trails converge. Animals have an instinct for finding water, and their paths often lead to it.”

“Finally, if you continue on the trail of these indicators you should either hear a rivers roar or a lake should eventually come in sight, so we should start looking for such indicators to find water” Erin said, as Rocky patted him on the back for a job well done.

“I’m glad at least one of us has been paying attention to the classes” Rocky said, as while he did not mention Buhara or Sophia, judging by their ashamed expressions Rocky understood that they had not grasped this concept of finding water as well as Erin had.

“Alright, lead the way Erin, make us proud by finding water” Rocky said as Erin turned flush red from the compliments and the back pats.

“It’s nothing much, if Sir Rocky was attending the classes we would have already found a water source by now-” Erin said, as he habitually diverted the compliment he received. always-on-NovelBin

Leading the way, he began looking for signs that could potentially suggest the presence of a water source, as the rest followed behind, learning the knowledge Erin passed on to them.

***************

( Meanwhile Perseus, floor 21 )

[ Dear brother,

Rocky Yadav has returned from his secret training and looks to have changed significantly.

He is taller, stronger and has an unnatural aura of calmness around him that is most disturbing.

While I don’t know what exactly he has been up to, I’m going on a mid-term survival assessment alongside him tomorrow and will have the chance to learn more about it then.

With love,

Sophia ]

As Perseus read this letter he felt anger rise through his chest.

“Father was right, this girl isn’t useful for anything… we were too immature to send her out into the world, she’s clearly not ready” Perseus sighed as he grit his teeth.

Recently, someone had kidnapped the human Joe who was given sanctuary by him, straight out of the heavily guarded palace.

The incident caused a major set-back for Perseus as his father admonished him for failing to provide adequate security to a critical asset.

He had been unable to confirm as to which party took him although it had been weeks since he was kidnapped and with him knowing a lot about their plans, his disappearance put a lot of their future plans in some serious jeopardy.

“If information about our future plans has been compromised then we need to pull out our assets and rethink our approach, however, so far we have no knowledge on who kidnapped Joe or who has it” Perseus muttered to himself as he tried to think about who it could have been?

The True Elites Guild were his prime suspects, those guys wanted Joe more badly than anyone else, however, they did not have a single fighter amongst their ranks who was capable of smuggling Joe from within floor 21 palace undetected.

Also, if they did have Joe, they were eerily quiet which made Perseus doubt that they had him.

If they had confirmation of the Olympian plans, they would have declared war by now, which was why Perseus remained in the dark as to who else could have a motive to kidnap Joe?

“We need more information….. which is why it’s important that we know what Rocky Rajput has been upto and who he’s been in contact with.

If not the elites, there is only him who could have requested the help of a higher power to kidnap Joe, however, the idiot sister of mine won’t find out the information I need……” Perseus said in exasperation as his guts told him that Rocky was somehow involved with Joe’s kidnapping.

“This won’t do…. I need to send someone other than my sister to get the information I need.

Mid term survival evaluation she said? Hmm….” Perseus muttered as he began brewing his next plan.

———–

/// A/N – This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron Cervantez91, please thank him in the comments for the same.

Also, there will be one regular and one more bonus chapter today. ///

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