Lucien looked like he had escaped a battle between two Upper Rank Aura Farmers. There were visible injuries across his body, although Aura was already tending to the wounds.

"Glad to see you again," he said with a smile as he stood up.

"Well, if I’m not wrong, we’ve only been away from each other for thirty minutes." Leo scoffed. "Anyways... what happened to you?"

"Nothing much." He dusted himself off slightly and limped over to Leo. "I just happened to come across a very wild minotaur."

"And you didn’t think to summon armor? Because right now you look terrible." Leo scowled.

"I did summon one, but I ran out of Aura and all my Vestiges disappeared. So I had to fight it as a mortal for a few minutes," Lucien said as he gestured for Leo and Yin Li to follow him.

The cave was much larger and oddly intricate than Leo had expected. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The deeper sections stretched far beyond the entrance, splitting into multiple uneven paths connected by naturally formed stone arches. Crystals embedded within parts of the cave walls emitted a faint blue glow that mixed with the orange light coming from scattered fires around the area.

Several students were spread throughout the cave handling different things.

Some sat against the walls while tending to injuries with basic healing techniques from other students or wrapping wounds with torn pieces of cloth. Others sharpened weapons, cleaned armor, or quietly discussed what they had encountered outside. A few exhausted students were already asleep near the far side of the cave despite the noise around them.

Near one of the walls, two students were arguing over whether goblin meat could technically be considered edible.

Yin Li slowed slightly after hearing that conversation.

"See? These people have already lost their minds."

"They were probably unstable before entering the forest," Leo replied calmly.

Further ahead, a group of students surrounded a small pile of shining red orbs while discussing how to ration Aura usage properly during long fights. One of them glanced toward Leo briefly before immediately looking away.

Leo would have frowned, but he was too busy staring at the amount of orbs in front of the students.

"So many Aura Consumables."

Aura Consumables came in different forms such as pills, orbs, food, or even clothing. Anything with a natural affinity to Aura could be considered a consumable. Some were artificially created by Aura Farmers while others formed naturally within high Aura regions like fruits, crystals, and cores occasionally found in foes. They were valuable resources used to help with cultivation, Aura recovery, and overall progression.

Yin Li immediately stared at the pile greedily.

"That many consumables in one place could make a poor man cry."

"You’re not poor," Leo said.

"I can still cry respectfully."

One of the students guarding the pile frowned. "Touch anything there and I’ll remove your fingers."

Yin Li immediately looked away. "See? This is why humanity struggles with unity."

Lucien ignored the argument and continued leading them deeper into the cave until the smell of roasted meat became much stronger.

At the center of a larger open section, several students sat around an enormous fire while strips of freshly cut meat roasted above it on thick metal rods. The source of the meat itself rested nearby.

The upper half of a massive minotaur corpse leaned against a rock wall with several portions already carved away. Its dark fur was stained with dried blood while one of its horns had been completely shattered during the fight.

Leo stared at the corpse for a moment before glancing back at Lucien.

"You actually killed that thing?"

Lucien smiled lightly. "Eventually."

Yin Li immediately walked closer to the fire with watery eyes.

"I could cry right now."

"One goblin chase and suddenly your survival instincts disappear at the smell of food," Leo said.

"You don’t understand how exhausting fear is."

A nearby student laughed while turning another strip of meat over the fire.

Lucien grabbed one of the roasted pieces and handed it toward Leo.

"Don’t worry. It’s safe."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "What’s this?"

Lucien laughed. "Relax. It’s the minotaur I killed earlier."

Leo looked at the massive corpse again. He collected the meat and took a tentative bite from it then suddenly grimaced.

"Argh, who cooked this?" He spat the meat out with a disgusted expression. "Is it because we’ve all not done cooking class?"

Everyone stared at him with different expressions not giving him a reply. They only just pointed to Lucien.

Leo turned his gaze to his pink haired friend and frowned. "You cooked it?"

A sheepish smile appeared on Lucien’s face. "Not exactly. All I just did was wash the blood away and ask them to roast and eat it."

Leo didn’t know what to say so he just turned to Yin Li and smiled. "I guess it’s time I confirm your cooking skills."

Yin Li didn’t offer Leo any reply and just turned to the students forcefully eating the meat with a confident smirk. He summoned a large round black pot and some other cooking utensils.

’Does are Vestiges?’ Leo said inwardly amused.

"Okay!" Yin Li clapped his hands together. "Let’s cook a great meal for the students."

Leo and Lucien smiled amused by their friend. He looked somewhat cute when given authority.

"So," Lucien took the meat from Leo’s hand and threw it away. "I’m guessing you’re not a fan of my cooking anymore. I’m not offended but you just missed a free pass to Lucien’s lifetime supply of montage cooking."

Leo laughed and gave Lucien a hand as they walked over to a boulder to seat.

Leo dismissed [Grinning Mist], finally realizing that was probably why several students had been staring at him strangely earlier. The pale smoke faded from around his body while the dreadful feeling lingering around him weakened noticeably.

A few students visibly relaxed afterward.

Leo noticed it immediately. "...Rude."

Lucien laughed quietly beside him while sitting down on a nearby boulder. Leo sat beside him while the cave continued buzzing with conversations, complaints, and the occasional argument near the fire.

Meanwhile, Yin Li had somehow gathered several students around him already.

The chubby boy moved around the fire with complete confidence while organizing ingredients and forcing students to help him prepare the minotaur meat properly. His earlier exhaustion seemed to have disappeared the moment cooking became involved.

"More salt," Yin Li ordered one of the students seriously.

"We don’t even know where you got salt from," another student replied.

"A great chef never reveals his secrets."

Leo stared at the black pot bubbling over the fire.

"...Why does he suddenly look competent?"

"Because this is probably the only battlefield he understands," Lucien replied.

For a while, neither of them spoke again. The atmosphere inside the cave felt calmer compared to the madness outside, but the silence between the two boys slowly became uncomfortable the longer it lasted. Students laughed nearby. Someone argued over ration portions. Another student cursed loudly after burning their hand near the fire.

Yet despite all that noise, something uneasy still lingered beneath everything.

Leo noticed Lucien staring quietly into the fire.

"What rank was the minotaur?" he finally asked.

"Aries."

Leo frowned immediately.

"And you lost all your Aura to that?"

Lucien did not reply right away.

The relaxed expression on his face slowly disappeared while his eyes remained fixed on the fire ahead. For the first time since Leo arrived, he genuinely looked disturbed.

The change alone made Leo’s expression slowly harden.

Lucien exhaled quietly.

"I assume you know what illusion this is."

Leo resisted the urge to sigh.

’So everyone knows the story except me?’

Yin Li had apparently continued cooking while secretly listening because the chubby boy suddenly glanced over from the fire with a noticeably more serious expression.

Lucien continued speaking.

"This isn’t just a reconstruction of Morva Forest. It’s specifically tied to the raid involving the Seven Radiant Blades."

Leo nodded once. "I already heard that much."

Lucien finally looked toward him.

"So what happened?" Leo asked again.

Lucien stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

"I... came across one of the Eldrath beings sent to kill the Seven Radiant Blades."

Leo’s expression froze slightly. Even Yin Li stopped pretending to focus entirely on cooking.

Lucien leaned back against the stone wall slowly.

"And a member of the Seven Radiant Blades."