CHAPTER 50: SCAVENGER HUNT(1)

A single ray of sunlight pierced through the narrow cave entrance.

Morning.

The fire had burned down to embers. The air was still, almost too still.

No one moved at first. No one spoke.

Felix was curled up in the same position, arms wrapped around his knees. Julien sat with his back to the wall, fingers still tensed over his weapon. Mira’s nails were dug into her palm, her breathing controlled, but her shoulders were stiff.

Leo, who had been shaking the night before, slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the entrance. Then at us. Then back at the entrance.

His voice was hoarse. "...It’s gone?"

No one answered.

Cautiously, I stood up.

There were no scratches on the cave walls.

No footprints.

No blood. No trace.

It was like nothing had ever been there.

The fire hadn’t been disturbed. The rocks near the entrance were untouched.

But I knew better. We all did.

Mira stood next, stretching stiff limbs. She stared at the entrance, then exhaled sharply. "What the hell was that?"

No one had an answer.

Felix let out a weak laugh—one that barely masked his nerves. "I’d really like to believe we all had the same nightmare."

Wallace, quiet until now, shook his head. "We didn’t."

Leo swallowed. "So what now?"

I looked at the entrance again.

The thing that had been outside? The one that had begged, knocked, scratched, twisted its voice into something inhuman—

It had disappeared.

Just like that.

My stomach twisted.

I didn’t know if that was a good thing.

A flutter of wings broke the silence.

Everyone tensed.

Then—

Chirp.

A small, bright blue bird perched on a rock near the cave entrance, tilting its head.

Mira was the first to move, exhaling in something between relief and irritation. "Oh, great. The damn thing’s back."

The bird ruffled its feathers and hopped forward, its eyes gleaming with an unnatural intelligence. Then, in a voice far too smooth for something so small, it spoke.

Good morning, participants!

Leo groaned. "I hate that thing."

Congratulations! To those who have survived the first event of Noctis Ardentis Academy’s exclusive Survival Camp!

Julien muttered, "Barely."

Now, onto the next event! Today, you will be participating in a Scavenger Hunt!

The bird flapped its wings excitedly.

Your task is simple: Find all the required items on the list and return before sundown. You can find the list on the inside of the red lantern in your exclusive survival kit. Also you can steal the items from the other class just like in the capture the flag event.

Felix groaned, rubbing his temples. "Stealing again? Do these instructors think we’re training to be bandits?"

Mira crossed her arms. "If they do, they’re doing a great job."

Wallace flipped open the red lantern and pulled out a folded parchment. His eyes scanned the list, his expression darkening. "Great. This isn’t just some basic ’find a stick’ nonsense. Some of these items are rare."

Julien peered over his shoulder and saw that ridiculous list of items.

___

⟨Scavenger Hunt List⟩

—Healing Moss.

—Dragonfly Shells.

—Mana-Infused Crystal.

—Moonlit Mushroom.

—Silver Wolf Fur.

—Emberfruit.

—Thunderhorn Beetle Carapace.

—Stalker Vine.

—Glowroot.

—Bloodleaf Herb.

—Phantom Fish Scale.

___

Leo stared at the list, then at Wallace. "...This has to be a joke."

Wallace shook his head. "I wish."

Felix groaned. "Fantastic. We survived one night just to get thrown into a death march."

Mira smirked. "I dunno. Sounds fun."

Julien sighed. "Yeah, well, you won’t be the one wrestling a Silver Wolf for a piece of its fur."

I exhaled. "We’re not splitting up this time."

Everyone turned to look at me.

Julien raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Covering more ground would be faster."

I shook my head. "And more dangerous. We still don’t know what was outside last night. If it comes back, and then there is Kellan and his class B out there for our blood, I’d rather not be picking up corpses."

That shut them up.

Mira clicked her tongue. "Fine. But this means we’re slower."

"Better slow than dead," Wallace muttered.

Leo rubbed his temples. "So what’s the plan, oh wise professor?"

I glanced at the list again. Some of these would be easy—healing moss and glowroot were common near shaded areas with water. Others, like silver wolf fur and phantom fish scale, would be a nightmare. And if Class B had the same list...

"We go for the common stuff first," I said. "Healing moss, glowroot, maybe moonlit mushrooms if we’re lucky. Then we move toward the harder ones."

Julien tapped the hilt of his weapon. "And if we run into Professor Kellan’s group?"

Mira smirked. "We relieve them of their burdens."

Felix groaned. "Again with the stealing?"

Leo sighed. "Yeah, because that worked out so well last time."

Mira shrugged. "It worked, didn’t it?"

Felix muttered, "Define ’worked.’"

Julien smirked. "If we’re robbing people, we might as well do it with style."

I rolled my eyes. "Focus. First, we grab what we can in the safe zones. If we find Class B, we gauge the situation. If it’s Kellan, we avoid him. If it’s just his students..." I gave a slow shrug. "We’ll see how generous they’re feeling."

Wallace adjusted his bag. "And if they see us first?"

"Then we make them regret it," Mira said cheerfully.

Felix groaned again. "Why does every plan sound like we’re villains?"

"Because we have a villain as a professor," Leo muttered.

I smirked. "Then let’s make sure we live up to the reputation."

With that, we left the cave.

Mira adjusted the straps on her bag. "Alright, Professor, where to first?"

"The stream," I said. "Glowroot and healing moss should be easy to find there."

Wallace nodded. "It’s a good start. But if Class B has the same idea—"

"Then we get creative," Julien finished, grinning.

Felix sighed. "Fantastic. More creative robbery."

We moved quickly, keeping to the denser parts of the forest. No one wanted to be caught out in the open.

The bird from earlier hadn’t followed us. Good. That meant no more obnoxious announcements.

Yet.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, we heard it.

Water.

The stream wasn’t large, just wide enough to need a careful step to cross. The water was crystal clear, the kind of place you’d expect to find healing moss clinging to rocks near the edge.

And glowroot?

A faint bluish hue pulsed beneath the water’s surface.

Bingo.

Mira knelt beside the stream, pulling a dagger from her belt. "I’ll get the glowroot."

Julien cracked his knuckles. "I’ll check for moss."

I glanced around. "Leo, Felix, keep watch. Wallace, help me check if there’s anything else useful here."

We worked fast. The glowroot was easy—Mira pulled up several clusters, careful not to damage the roots. Julien scraped off enough healing moss to fill a small pouch.

So far, so good.

Until Leo hissed, "We’ve got company."

I snapped my head up.

Across the stream, pushing through the underbrush—Class B.

Four of them.

No Kellan in sight.

Julien smirked. "Well, well."

The other group didn’t see us yet.

Mira’s fingers tightened around her dagger. "Do we go loud or quiet?"

Julien glanced at me. "Professor?"

I exhaled. We could slip away with what we had or make a move. If Class B had already gathered more items, taking their stash would save us time—but if we botched it, we’d be in trouble.

"Wait," I muttered. "Let’s see what they do."

Felix and Leo crouched lower, barely breathing.

Class B’s students moved cautiously, scanning the area. Their leader, Victor gestured toward the water. One of his teammates waded in, reaching for the same glowroot we had just taken from.

A flicker of irritation crossed his face.

"...Shit. Someone’s been here."

Another student—lanky, nervous-looking—crouched near the rocks. "The healing moss is stripped clean too."

Victor’s brows furrowed. "So Class C got here first."

Julien smirked.

Felix whispered, "Can we just leave? They look annoyed."

Mira rolled her eyes. "And that’s a bad thing?"

Wallace nudged me. "If they think we’re gone, they might say something useful."

Good point.

I gestured for silence.

Victor muttered, "We need to move. Professor Kellan said we should focus on rare items first, but if Class C is ahead of us—"

Another student scoffed. "Professor Kellan doesn’t care. He just wants us to crush them."

Victor didn’t deny it.

Mira arched an eyebrow. "Well, that’s reassuring."

The nervous-looking guy shuffled his feet. "Should we head toward the Emberfruit trees?"

Victor hesitated. "...Maybe. But if Class C already grabbed the easy stuff, they might be heading for the harder ones next. If we run into them—"

"We fight." The scoffer smirked. "They got lucky last time."

Julien whispered, "I like this guy. Let’s rob him first."

I sighed.

But he wasn’t wrong.

Victor ran a hand through his hair. "We don’t have time to waste. Let’s check near the cliffs for Stalker Vine, then swing by the Emberfruit grove."

The cliffs. That was valuable information.

I made a quick decision. We’d let them go—for now. If they led us to something useful, even better.

I gestured for my students to stay low as Class B moved away, their voices fading into the distance.

Once they were gone, Mira smirked. "Well, that was educational."

Julien cracked his knuckles. "So, do we hit the Emberfruit grove before them?"

I nodded. "And if we’re lucky, we make them do all the work before taking the prize."

Felix groaned. "Of course."

Leo sighed. "Fantastic. More robbery."

I smirked. "Let’s make it count."

With that, we slipped into the forest, moving toward the Emberfruit grove.