PAID

Following Yuna’s bracelet, the group reached a secluded spot.

Of course, "secluded" was relative—out here in the uninhabited Far North, everything was snow-covered and desolate, one place looking much like the next.

As they moved, Senior Diane pulled a compass from her pocket.

The compass showed direction and a series of coordinates.

“Are we going to keep moving forward? The positioning compass says we’re already quite far from the teachers,” she pointed out.

The compass was a special tool for students who hadn’t yet mastered tracking magic, designed to prevent them from getting lost in the snowy wilderness.

Yuna glanced at her bracelet, noting the almost constant glow.

The bracelet’s light, now steady rather than blinking, indicated they were incredibly close to the “thing” it wanted them to find.

Yet, looking around, they couldn’t see any visible landmarks or structures.

“Is the bracelet just blinking for show?” Anton scoffed.

Yuna sighed. “Seems like we were excited for nothing. There’s nothing here.”

Running her finger over the bracelet her father had given her, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“Not only did we get our hopes up, but we also wasted time we could’ve spent capturing dangerous creatures.”

Anton sneered, “This assessment score is as good as ruined.”

Once someone starts being negative, it spreads fast. While they were used to their regular banter, being out here empty-handed dampened their spirits further, leaving only Anton’s complaints hanging in the chilly air.

But Noa wasn’t ready to give up.

She scanned their surroundings, seeing nothing but endless white snow.

Yet, every time Yuna took another step forward, the bracelet’s steady glow would turn to a fast-paced blink.

This meant whatever the bracelet wanted them to find was right here; going further or back would take them out of its range.

But if there was no obvious structure nearby...

As she pondered, Noa looked up at the sky, then down at the snow beneath their feet.

She crouched and began brushing away the snow. Looking back, she called to Yuna, “Senior, can you try placing your bracelet here?”

“Oh, sure.”

Yuna quickly came over, crouched beside Noa, and placed the bracelet in the spot Noa had uncovered.@@novelbin@@

As Noa had guessed, the light intensified, almost as if saying, “Here! This is it!”

“The reason we can’t see the object is because it’s buried beneath the snow,” Noa explained, standing up and addressing the older students. “Let’s melt the top layer of snow with dragon fire and see if anything shows up.”

Yuna, Diane, and Raymond were on board.

Anton muttered something about “taking orders from a kid” but readied his dragon fire as well. Even Helena conjured a small fire spell.