Chapter 103.1 - The Second Year at the Academy - Joint Exercise 1 (1)
A chilly breeze flowed over the autumnal hills.
I stepped on the dry grass and gazed down at the students below.
This is the grassland area southeast of Selen.
For the next three days, the second-year outdoor exercises for the latter half of the year were about to take place.
Thats quite a turnout, as expected.
This time, it was a joint military exercise with the third-years.
About 120 students got divided into two units. Well defeat the squad leaders or capture the flag set up at the main camp. The commanders selected were third-years, and the units consisted of a mix of second-years and third-years.
Today is the first day. Its for setting up camp and preparing the exercise grounds. Tomorrow would be the exercise on the grasslands, and the final day was scheduled for exercises in the forest.
As far as the eye could see, there were no signs of monsters.
We had been wary of Drepplins ambushes, but with the decrease in sightings of Volnis, they hadnt been seen much lately.
There you are.
Lambert climbed up the hill.
Weve been assigned to the Sobal unit. The strategy meeting is tomorrow.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.
Sobalwasnt that the counts family?
Before departing, the two squad leaders, Count Sobal and Viscount Eghim, had exchanged greetings.
It wasnt until the day before departure that we found out which squad I got assigned to, and there could be transfers to the enemy side for the second battle.
Thats what Deshind had said before the exercise.
No matter the battlefield, initially, you fight alongside strangers. Learn the difficulty of that in this exercise.
I couldnt disagree.
While coordination would improve with familiarity, they were only battle companions twice over.
So, it would be more beneficial to accumulate unfamiliar experiences.
With that, we headed towards the forest.
The formation was scout me, Felix, Lambert, then Elliott.
While its true that strong enemies are likely to appear in the southern forest, thats if we venture deep into it.
By focusing on Presence Detection, I could sense the adventurers vigilance network.
It seemed unlikely that we would encounter any monsters.
When I conveyed this, Lambert had a disappointed sigh and relaxed his shoulders.
Afterward, everyone strolled through the forest, chatting casually.
Lambert was aware Elliott had formed a party, and questions were flying about that.
Being the son of a merchant, Elliott was smart and not in need of money.
Perhaps he couldnt understand the desire to become an adventurer.
As Elliott explained his reasons, he casually found some Lesil mushrooms at the base of a tree.
Thankful, our dinner was now secured.
As I collected them, I noticed some nearby Lanim grass, a material for alchemical solutions.
It was a bit larger than usual, but it would do.
I subtly distanced myself from the formation and began picking out useful materials.
Recently, I couldnt keep up with gathering and sometimes had to buy materials for alchemical solutions.
Before, Id try to limit my consumption, but now, with potions to sell to Samini, things had become much easier.
Among them, Healing Potions accompanied by blood augmentation and detoxification seemed to be popular, and there were even requests from Samini.
Also, Ive been helped by Narban the blacksmith.
Since there were gaps in the containers for weapons, I got Narbanos permission to put accessories in them as well. Thanks to that, Ive been able to save alchemical solutions.
Magical weapons were also selling well, and Lola, whom I introduced, was delighted with the relationship with Breos Trading Company, her familys business.
