Chapter 549: Let’s Raise the Bar A Bit "You want permission to enter the forest?" Professor Gareth arched an eyebrow. "And you’re saying it’s part of your club activity?" "Yes, Professor," Alex replied. "Our expedition has been delayed due to our recent field trip, but I think now is the best time to do it before any unforeseen complications crop up." Professor Gareth rubbed his chin for a while before nodding. "Fine, I’ll give you permission," Professor Gareth replied. "Take this token. It’s proof that you have my permission to enter the forest. Make sure to return it after your expedition ends." "Thank you, Professor." Alex bowed respectfully. After getting what he needed, he left the professor’s office. He raised his token at his waiting friends and smiled. Professor Gareth watched him go before shaking his head helplessly. Alex should have followed the proper procedure to get his permission. By right, students needed to submit a proposal to the student council or to Professor Gareth at least a week before the day of their expedition. They also needed to specify the date in advance and could not change it without going through the whole process again. But Professor Gareth made an exception for Alex as the young man had saved his adopted son, Lucius, from being trapped inside the Chrono Maze. A few minutes later, Alex and his friends arrived at the entrance of the forest. "I got permission. Everyone, please listen. We will enter the forest soon, so don’t let your guard down," Alex declared. "Charles, you lead the way. We’ll handle the rest. Nessia, stay in the middle of the formation. Renard, guard the rear. Vaan, protect Nessia." With that, the group entered the forest in battle formation. Charles led the way. He was using his senses to pinpoint the location of the unknown being trying to call out to him from deep inside the forest. Since he didn’t plan to take any detours, the possibility of encountering wild monsters was quite high. But he wasn’t afraid. Right beside him were his club members. Any one of them was strong enough to handle most of the dangers that lurked inside the forest. From two miles away, a giggle escaped a young lady’s lips when she finally sensed that one of her brethren was headed in her direction. "Hmmm... should I give him a warm welcome?" the lady wondered as the black snake tattoo on the right side of her face twitched and slithered to her left cheek. "Why not? I think this is going to be fun." She waved her hand and the forest seemed to tremble. A moment later, a pack of forest wolves and wild dogs rushed to where Charles emerged. These monsters seemed to have lost all their reasoning. It’s like they had been put under a berserk state. They only had one goal and that was to attack anything on their path! Just as the members of Endless Horizon were making good progress, Lavinia, who was running by Alex’s side, gave everyone a warning. "I feel something coming!" Lavinia shouted. "And there’s a lot of them." "Battle formation!" Alex ordered before summoning Everguard and Sacrament. He then moved to the vanguard, right beside Charles, ready to fight whatever was coming for them. Growls and barks finally reached their ears. As if the forest itself was coming to life, wild dogs and forest wolves burst out from behind the trees and lunged at them with blood-shot eyes. "Shields!" Alex took a defensive formation as he summoned dozens of magical shields in front of him. "Shield Spike!" Steel protrusions emerged from the magical shields. Anyone unlucky enough to be impaled by them would soon have to bid this world goodbye. "Shield Bash!" Matching Alex’s movements, the shield slammed on the first wave of monsters that had lunged at them. The monsters cried out in pain as they received damage from Alex’s counterattack. Since the Forest Wolves and Wild Dogs were only Rank 2 Monsters, Alex didn’t have any trouble dealing with them. Meanwhile, Charles and Renard moved at the same time to target the Alphas, which were both Rank 3 Monsters and leading their respective packs. The two young men had grown much stronger since entering Frieden Academy and were able to deal with their targets in less than half a minute. Lavinia, Lumi, and Vaan stayed close to protect Nessia because they already expected that Renard would not be able to hold back while dealing with the monsters swarming them from all directions. Evangeline and Eleanora, on the other hand, were casting magic and hitting the wolves that managed to bypass their friends’ defenses. "Compared to what we experienced in the Dungeon of Beginnings, these guys won’t even serve as warm-up," Lavinia commented. With such an elite team working together, it was only a matter of time before the monsters were dealt with. The mysterious young lady smirked even after seeing that the small fries that she had sent weren’t enough to handle the team of students looking for her. "In that case, let’s raise the bar a bit." With a wave of her hand, she sent the forest trembling once again. This time, six Forest Ogres, which were Rank 4 Monsters, and their leader, which was a Rank 5, obeyed her summons. Dozens of Rank 3 and Rank 4 Orcs answered the call as well, moving alongside the Ogres in a battle formation. But there was a problem. In order to reach their target, they would have to deal with another group of monsters that were fighting against the Yellow-Butt Baboons. This group was none other than Dim Dim’s friends, who were all fighting alongside the Crimson-Furred Throwing Monkeys. The lady gave their group a passing glance before ordering her monster army to trample everything in their path. Small fries weren’t important to her. What she wanted was entertainment. She believed that her monsters would make short work of Dim Dim’s team and deal significant damage to the students, who had already proven that they shouldn’t be underestimated.