Ten minutes later, the advancement exam officially began.
The young dragons paired up and entered the Demonic Moon Forest in groups. To ensure both safety and a steady exam pace, the academy had provided each student with a simplified map.
Though the map lacked detailed trails, it used a color-coded system to mark zones with different danger levels for the creatures living there.
"Green... yellow... red?" Helena tilted her head as she examined the vibrant sections on the parchment. "Does that mean low, medium, and high-level danger zones?"
"It should," Noah replied with her characteristic calm. "Green areas will be the most abundant, while red zones will be the rarest."
The teacher's earlier remark about the 'inverse proportion of quantity to difficulty' seemed to confirm this interpretation.
Noah had no complaints about the system—it reminded her of her tutor's methods years ago when preparing her for the War Academy entrance exam. Back then, her teacher had used red, yellow, and green pens to mark subjects Noah fully understood, partially grasped, or completely struggled with.
Looking at the map's colored zones brought a faint, nostalgic smile to Noah's face, but she quickly refocused. Pointing decisively to a red zone, she said, "Let's head here first. That's where A-level creatures are most likely to appear. There are also nearby yellow zones where we can find B-levels afterward if we need to."
"Got it!" Helena agreed readily.
Despite Noah's young age, her top-tier performance in both theory and practice had earned Helena's complete trust. But Helena was far from a passive partner—she had trained rigorously alongside Noah and could more than hold her own.
Unlike the fire-based magic most dragons naturally awakened, these two were an anomaly:
Noah wielded powerful and destructive lightning magic.
Helena used versatile water magic for control and support.
Their combat synergy was exceptional. In practical lessons, the teachers had often noted that Helena's steady demeanor perfectly tempered Noah's more aggressive fighting style.
One instructor had once described them as: "Noah is an indomitable sword, and Helena is the skilled hand that wields it."
.
.
Following the map, they headed toward a red zone but started by passing through green areas where C-level creatures were said to be plentiful.
Yet, even after covering a fair distance, they hadn't encountered a single creature.
"It seems you were right, Noah," Helena remarked, crouching near a thick bush. She parted the foliage to reveal a faint, small footprint in the damp soil. "Lower-level creatures are just much better at hiding. It's surprisingly tough to find any clear traces of them."
Helena then stood and called out to a pair of girls nearby, "Kristina! Over here!"
The two girls, who had been teammates in a previous class competition, approached hesitantly. They were shy but kind, and they had a good relationship with Noah and Helena.
"What's up, Helena?" Kristina asked.
Helena pointed to the barely-there footprint. "This looks like it was made by a Barefoot Rat. You can probably follow this trail to track it."
Kristina's eyes widened in surprise. "You're not chasing it yourselves?"
"We're going straight for an A-level creature," Helena replied with a confident smile.
Kristina looked utterly shocked. "An A-level creature, right from the start?!" She glanced at Noah, who stood silently with her usual calm and serious expression, and then nodded in sudden understanding. "Oh, you're with Noah—that explains it."
Helena chuckled. "Want to make it a little competition? See which team finishes first?"
Kristina immediately waved her hands in front of her face. "No way! Competing with you two from the get-go would be a nightmare. We're perfectly happy just aiming to pass."
Helena laughed warmly and waved as they hurried off. "Good luck, then!"
.
.
The journey to the border of the red zone took them about 30 minutes.
Helena surveyed the gloomy, quiet surroundings as they arrived. "It seems we're the only ones who came here, Noah."
"Just the two of us," Noah confirmed, her voice as cool and level as ever.
Helena suddenly stepped behind Noah and wrapped her arms around her in a spontaneous hug. Resting her chin on top of Noah's head due to their height difference, she teased in a singsong voice, "Since it's just us, let's have a quick little date, Noah~"
Noah didn't resist but maintained her stoic demeanor. She was long accustomed to Helena's affectionate and spontaneous hugs.
"After we get the 100 points," she replied flatly.
"Fine, fine," Helena pouted playfully, releasing her friend. The brief moment of warmth passed, and the two of them immediately got back to the serious business at hand.
.
.
The Demonic Moon Forest was broadly divided into four regions: Outer, Middle, Inner, and Core. They were currently in the Inner Zone. The academy map explicitly warned students in bold letters:
"Exercise extreme caution near the Core Zone. Do not enter."
Even Noah, despite her bold strategy, had no intention of recklessly rushing into the Core. A-level creatures could be found in both the Inner and Core zones, so there was no need to take such an unnecessary risk.
"Let's start the search," Noah said.
Helena nodded and sat cross-legged on the ground, closing her eyes to channel her magic. A gentle, pulsing wave of energy spread out from her, causing her blue hair to flutter slightly. Her water magic extended into nearby puddles and damp soil, using the moisture to amplify vibrations and detect any significant movement.
Meanwhile, Noah stood guard, her sharp eyes scanning the area for physical tracks. Larger creatures often left more obvious signs, and she hoped their target would be easier to locate than the elusive C-level ones.
Soon, they both found promising leads.
"There's something large moving that way," Helena noted, pointing northeast.
"I found tracks too—deep scratches on the tree bark over here. Let's go," Noah confirmed, gesturing in a similar direction.
Following the trail for about ten minutes, they began to notice a faint, foul stench permeating the air.
Helena wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What is that smell?"
"I'm not sure," Noah replied, her expression tightening. "But it could help us locate our target faster."
The odor grew undeniably stronger as they pressed on. Through the dense, clinging fog, they could just make out a large, dark shadow slumped ahead on the forest floor.
"Let's move in carefully," Noah urged, stepping forward with caution.
Helena followed closely, but the stench became almost unbearable the closer they got. Her mind raced through her bestiary lessons, trying to identify what kind of creature could emit such a uniquely foul odor.
Catching up to Noah, she whispered, "What is it, Noah? Can you see?"
"Don't look!" Noah snapped abruptly, raising her hand to cover Helena's eyes.
"What?" Helena froze, confused and alarmed by the urgency in her friend's voice.
Noah's voice was cold and tight. "It's a corpse."
She gently but firmly guided Helena to turn around and led her several steps away from the grisly scene. Once they were a safe distance away, Noah slowly lowered her hand.
Helena hesitated, her voice a whisper. "Was that... a creature's body?"
Noah nodded, her brows furrowed deeply in disturbed thought. "An A-level Mutant Red-Eyed Hound. It's been killed—its chest was blown open, its heart was destroyed, and its ribs were completely shattered. And..."
She trailed off, unable to continue the graphic description.
Helena quickly pulled her into a tight, comforting hug. "It's okay. You don't have to say any more."
It was clear the sight had deeply shaken Noah. For students their age, such brutal, visceral violence was overwhelming.
After a moment of shared silence, Helena sighed. "It's rare for A-level creatures to fight each other to the death like this. Let's take a moment to rest and then try another trail."
.
.
After regrouping and steadying their nerves, they decided to follow another promising trail. Surprisingly, they encountered signs of a second A-level creature in a nearby area of the same red zone—a stroke of luck, though it came with a grim price.
The familiar, nauseating stench of decay greeted them once again.
This time, the creature—a massive Stone-Tusked Boar—was still alive, but only barely. It lay on the ground, breathing in faint, ragged gasps, its immense body on the verge of complete collapse.
"What happened?" Helena wondered aloud, her voice hushed. "Could it have fought the hound and both sides were mortally wounded?"
Noah's eyes narrowed, a cold dread settling in her stomach. "We need to leave. Now."
"But if we don't secure points here..." Helena argued, her voice strained with worry, "the map only has two red zones. We won't make it in time to reach the other one and—"
Thud...
A deep, resonant footstep echoed through the silent forest, vibrating up through the soles of their feet and cutting Helena off mid-sentence.
Thud...
The sound grew louder, closer. It was the heavy, measured step of something immense.
"What's happening? Is it another creature?" Helena asked, panic creeping into her voice.
Noah stared ahead, her throat dry. She swallowed hard. From behind the fallen, dying boar, an even larger figure emerged, its form rippling with palpable dark energy. It towered over them like a living mountain, blotting out the grey sky.
Its single, crimson eye swiveled and fixed on them, piercing through the fog with a gaze that was utterly cold and terrifying.
Clutched in one of its massive, scaled hands was a weapon—a warhammer of brutal, simple design, its head gleaming dully in the dim light.