Chapter 575: In Sheftent Again

On the third night after we had left the academy.

The off-campus survival training group had reached Lake Vivian as planned.

On the second day, they had to hunt the turtles for food, but a horde of goblins attacked them, which increased the challenge, but apparently, it was expected by the teachers.

They smiled at each other and said that it was just like every other year.

On the other hand, the students’ faces were showing signs of great fatigue. It was because this was not only a long journey, but they also had to fight on their own.

Moreover, we didn’t camp out on the second night.

In the forest areas where it was dangerous to march through the night, we had no choice but to camp, but in the plains where night marching was possible, we continued to drive through the night without stopping our convoy.

This should be a good experience for them.

The students acting as guards must have taken turns taking naps, but they still looked very sleepy. The teachers, who should’ve been under much harsher conditions, were still in good spirits, probably due to their status and experience.

And Fran? Fran was fine. She could take a nap on Urushi’s back after all. And of course, she was always ready to wake up if a magic beast came closer.

Due to Urushi’s evolution, sleep was less necessary than ever before, and he could be active for several days without sleeping. Well, he liked to sleep, so he usually slept like normal.

He was reliable in a case like this trip. In fact, he hadn’t slept since our departure, but he was still full of energy.

『We’re now back in Sheftent again』

「Nn」

The place where the convoy from the Academy of Magic was setting their tent was next to the town of Sheftent. It didn’t have an outer wall or anything like that, but the ground was flat and level and looked like an easy place to set up camp. They used this place as a base for their annual training at Lake Vivian.

「Everyone looks sleepy」

『I don’t think they’ll be able to do their duties properly』

We could see a group of sleepy students standing guard at their posts. I’m sure they’ll miss any suspicious person walking past in front of them right now. And they would surely get scolded later.

「Charon! That was a close one」

『I never thought a serious girl like her would doze off』

She dozed off, or rather, she fell asleep. It seemed that she was awakened by the boat’s momentum. She then looked around in panic and was relieved to know that there was nothing wrong happening.

We proposed an idea to build a wall around the camp with Earth Magic, but Weena Rhyn rejected the idea.

It seemed that one of the purposes of this off-campus training was to experience camping and escorting others in an exhausted state.

If there was a wall, the students would feel less tense, and if the magic beasts do not show up, it wouldn’t be a good experience for the students.

It was just like Spartan training, but I guess they have a point.

The best we could do was to look around to make sure no big ones showed up. Since we were near the town, it was unlikely that any big one would appear, but the scent of many preys might draw them in.

However, that was no longer necessary.

「Master, a lot is coming」

We could see a group of adventurers coming from the town towards the camp. They were about thirty in number.

『They must be the adventurers from Sheftent. They were probably hired by the academy as escorts』

「Jill is there too」

『The Guild Master came here in person?』

The leader of the group was a small, old woman. However, the magic power emanating from her body was that of a First-Class Mage. She was probably the strongest among the adventurers, who ranged from young to more experienced.

She was Grandma Jill, the Guild Master of Sheftent. She was also the one who asked Fran to be an opponent for the adventurer promotion test before.

As we looked down from Urushi’s back at the figure, Fran suddenly turned her gaze to somewhere. But all I could see there was the darkness of night.

『What’s wrong?』

「It’s the spirit」

『What?』

Immediately after Fran said that a dim mass of light appeared as if springing out of the empty darkness. It was the size of a bowling ball, and the intensity of the light was about that of a bulb.

And I don’t feel any hostility coming from it.

「Fran. Can you come to the tent?」

「Okay」

『I see, so this the visualization of spirits, huh?』

The greatest advantage of using spirits was their stealth ability. However, there were times when this was inconvenient.

For example, they can be used as messengers as it was now. It would be difficult if the spirits were invisible in case of emergencies.

Therefore, there was a technique to visualize spirits so that they could be seen by anyone. It was said that this technique could be used by any Spirit Magic-User. However, it was said that only Advanced Spirit Magic-Users could use it to send their voices far away.

The one who sent a message to us this time must have been Weena Rhyn, and the technique used must be quite the advanced one. When we were in Alessa, the Guild Master, Klimut, had shown us the same technique, but he had actually done it with great difficulty.

As we followed the spirit to Weena Rhyn’s tent, we saw Grandma Jill outside, exchanging greetings with her.

Some of the adventurers around them were faces we had seen during the promotion exam. However, the boy who had sent a killing intent at Fran wasn’t there. Well, I don’t want to be bothered by anything strange during this escort, so that would be more convenient.

「I look forward to working with you again this year, Weena Rhyn-sama」

「Yeah. I’ll count on you this year too」

The two then shook each other’s hands. At first glance, Grandma Jill looked more experienced and important, but in fact, it was the opposite. I could tell that Grandma Jill’s words were filled with awe and respect for her.

「I’d like to start their training on the lake tomorrow, but how things are going there?」

「As expected of Weena Rhyn-sama. Did you already know?」

「The spirits told me」

「There has been a change in the lake recently. So, I’m afraid it won’t be the same as last year…」