Onia scoffed. "I wouldn’t even think of it. If something were too much for me to handle, I sincerely doubt your presence would make any difference." With that said, she turned around and walked away. "Come on, Ilyse."
"Yes, Lady Onia." The other noble girl hurried after her. Adrian watched them go, opting not to say anything.
"Are you sure we should just let them leave?" Alice asked, a worried look on her face.
Adrian hesitated. He stared at the two figures as they disappeared behind a thicket. Then he turned back to Alice. "Yes," he said. "The worst thing that could happen is we get into trouble for breaking off into smaller groups."
The girl looked unconvinced, but she didn’t argue. "If you say so…"
"I think that’s all of it," the Half Elf boy said, slumping over.
"Thanks, Faizan." Adrian placed a hand on his shoulder. "We couldn’t have finished up so quickly without you."
Faizan looked unbothered by Adrian’s casual use of his name. Adrian knew his family was from a lower noble rank— a Baron, if Adrian remembered correctly. But he would have thought that the other boy would have been at least slightly concerned with formality.
Adrian didn’t mind it; it was better for him that way. He did not enjoy using titles, but he would have done so if Faizan requested it— he liked the Half Elf enough that he would do that for him.
"How did you know where to find all the Pixie Buds were?" Alice asked, looking amazed. "I’d have thought it would take an hour or more to find as many as we did."
"My… mother taught me," Faizan said, hesitantly. "She’s an Elf, and she was born in Ghab-Ha. So she’s good with nature. But I’m not— compared to real Elves my age, I’m nothing."
Adrian frowned. Faizan had to have been around 20 years old from what he could gather, although the other boy was only slightly taller and more mature looking than him. That was young for an Elf, but slightly older for a Half Elf. Regardless, Faizan should still have been considered a child who was only starting to hit puberty. As far as Adrian knew, Faizan seemed rather talented and knowledgeable.
"It’s a compliment," Adrian said, "don’t put yourself down." He gave the other boy as reassuring of a smile he could give, and gestured toward the baskets full of Pixie Buds and a handful of other ingredients that could be used for Alchemy or Herbalism. "Let’s just go bring this back. Then we can find something to observe and write about while we still have time."
"R-right," Faizan said, nodding.
The three children began heading back to the large clearing near Defenor Forest’s exit. The forest had been developed because of the resources it provided to Xanderia, as well as its usefulness serving as a recreational and training area, which meant there were roads and small paths guided alongside signs throughout the place. Adrian, Alice, and Faizan simply followed one such pathway back to where they came from.
"Hey," Alice said urgently, tugging at Adrian’s shirt, "what’s that?"
Adrian blinked. The girl was pointing at something off road at a distance— stalking behind some bushes and trees. It was…
"A Kobold? No— they’re supposed to be bipedal, although they usually walk around on all fours. But that’s not a Kobold." Adrian felt for the weapon hanging around his waist. It was not a training sword with a dulled edge— they were here to kill Monsters. They had been trained to use proper weapons, and this was a test to see how well they could actually wield them.
"It’s a wolf," Faizan said, not even squinting. Adrian could barely even make out the animal, but the Half Elf’s superior vision let him see objects almost twice as far as a regular Human. "A Dyre Wolf, to be specific. They’re mostly docile Monsters, unless they’re hungry. In which case, we should avoid them at any cost. They’re as dangerous as a pack of Kobolds. Although by the looks of it, that one seems to have already found its prey."
Adrian leaned over to look at where the other boy was pointing. True enough, the Dyre Wolf seemed to be tracking something. It was following a pair of Kobolds, minding their own business.
"Should we tell Mr Lucas about this?" Alice asked. "Since they’re dangerous and all."
"No," Adrian said, shaking his head. "A single Dyre Wolf is much of a problem by itself. Although I didn’t think they were native to this area. I always thought Crymson Wolves were more the type of Monster canines that were near Xanderia." He paused, thinking about it for a moment. "But it doesn’t matter, we can just leave it be."
Alice nodded. "That sounds good to me," she concurred. "If this wolf is trespassing in the territory of other wolves, they’ll take care of it. Let nature deal with nature."
Faizan didn’t disagree either. "I guess that makes sense," he said. So with the group in agreement, they continued back to where Lucas and Nero were waiting.
Their supervisors were waiting under an open tent. They were both in full plate armor, but the Holy Knight had mana crystals adorned on various parts of his armor, unlike the teacher who only had three small mana crystals on his armor that Adrian could see.
"Back so soon?" Nero asked, as the three students approached them. "Where’s the rest of your group?"
"We decided to split up. Divvy up the work so we can get done faster," Adrian explained. "Onia and Ilyse wanted to deal with the Kobolds, so we’re doing the rest of the work."
Lucas grunted in response. "So you’ve collected Pixie Buds, I see."
"Yes," Alice
