"It doesn’t seem that complicated," Lara said casually. "We defend the outpost, kill monsters, and collect cores. How is this any different from the admission test?"

"Because you’re looking at the surface."

Silas spoke before she could continue. Ever since leaving the Time Mind World, he had been experiencing moments of unusual clarity. The sensation resembled how he felt inside that special world. Only this time, he had not used the help of that mysterious world even once.

"This mission is dangerous."

Before Lara could argue, Cher spoke first.

"Silas is right."

She pointed toward a specific section of the hologram.

"Look at the reward structure. Teams earn tremendous merit points for controlling multiple outposts."

Realisation slowly appeared on the others’ faces.

"It’s practically encouraging teams to wait for others to fail," she continued. "Instead of helping, some groups may choose to let an outpost fall before moving in to claim it themselves."

Lara blinked. Neither she nor the others had noticed that implication. Only Silas had reached a similar conclusion. Yet even he felt slightly surprised.

He had expected his recent advancement and countless hours inside the Time Mind World to improve his perception. Cher, however, had identified the hidden danger almost immediately.

’She really is something else.’

Silas could not help recalling the difference in their backgrounds. Those raised within powerful clans clearly viewed the world differently.

Yet another thought surfaced. Lara and Darius were both G-Enhancers; even so, neither had noticed what Cher had.

’Is there another gap between the Gs and Ls?’

Before he could dwell on it further, Darius spoke.

"There’s something else."

He pointed toward another section of the message.

"The mission is fundamentally defensive."

Everyone looked at him.

"Most of the tactics we’ve been practising are offensive."

Silas narrowed his eyes. That observation was equally sharp and was right on the spot.

"That’s not a major issue," he said while dismissing the hologram. "We’ve fought defensive battles before."

"And we should expect dirty tricks from other teams," Cher added. "Our offensive strategies may end up being useful after all."

Alfred crossed his arms.

"I don’t think we should rely too heavily on our admission test experience."

His expression grew serious.

"Something tells me this mission is going to be on a completely different scale. We need to spend more time training defensive manoeuvres."

"Works for me."

Lara shrugged.

"As long as there are monsters for me to tame, I’ll be a happy mother."

Silas and Cher exchanged a glance before nodding. The past two days had been devoted almost entirely to offensive training. Today, it was better to shift their focus.

By the time the blue sun disappeared beyond the horizon, everyone was exhausted. Training just ended, and they trained on all the defensive tactics Silas and Cher provided.

If it were up to them, they would stay the whole night training and preparing. Yet, the mission would begin early the next morning, and the shuttle ride alone would take several hours.

Fortunately, they already had transportation arranged. Other teams would need to depart much earlier, some even at midnight, just to arrive on time.

Silas paid little attention to what the others might be planning. His thoughts were occupied by two things: testing his newly enhanced body and meditation.

The moment he entered the Time Mind World, he found the Shadowheart exactly where he had left it. The entity stared at him with its crimson eyes. This time, however, it made no move.

’Why does it feel curious?’

The thought was absurd.

Silas immediately dismissed the absurd thought. Somehow, he had started viewing the Shadowheart less as a monster and more as a living being. That realisation alone made him uncomfortable.

Ignoring the creature, he sat down and began the first meditation technique. Even if his mind was preoccupied by the upcoming mission, the dim well continued to bother him.

He wanted to determine whether its condition was connected to his Mana quantity or not. Without realising it, eight hours passed, marking the longest meditation session he had ever experienced. Eventually, he reached the point where he could absorb no more Mana.

After completing the first technique, he immediately switched to the second, eager to check the results. This time, he noticed that the well had grown slightly brighter, but not by much.

Certainly nowhere near the brilliance he had witnessed before. The observation shifted his perspective. The well’s brightness was clearly not determined solely by the amount of Mana his body contained.

Something else was involved. Unfortunately, he had no idea what.

Afterwards, he turned his attention toward the three petals he had excavated the previous night. The channels forming the petals appeared slightly wider than before. Aside from that, there were no visible changes. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Silas tried to dig more canals, but to his disappointment, it felt like he was scratching his nails at a rocky surface. Feeling there was no point in continuing the meditation, he exited it.

’So you’re interested in my second meditation technique?’

The moment he finished meditating, two enormous crimson eyes were staring directly into his face. Silas had half expected the Shadowheart to react after he began the second technique.

Seeing it move after remaining motionless for hours only confirmed his suspicion. There was something about that meditation method that had captured the Shadowheart’s attention.

What exactly it was remained a mystery.

Even if he expected that move from it, Silas quickly retreated to a safe distance. Then, somewhat foolishly, he waved at the Shadowheart before leaving the Time Mind World.

"I got out just in time."

Emerging from the bathtub, he discovered that dawn had already arrived.

"I still need to collect the team’s supply package before heading to the gathering point."

He just checked his wristwatch, by habit, and found out a new message there. The academy seemed to prepare something for every team, a supplies package, and he had to go and receive them personally as the team leader.

He immediately dressed, packed an extra set of larger clothes just in case, and checked his daggers.

Then he left the dormitory feeling as refreshed as though he had spent the entire night sleeping peacefully.