Chapter 186: Beacon [Bonus] Chapter 186: Beacon [Bonus] When the girls returned after collecting firewood, they were stunned. So stunned, in fact, that the dry wood slipped from their arms and fell to the ground with a loud clatter. "W-what is this?!" Aina exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the scene before her. "Did we come to the wrong place?" Mira asked, turning in place and scanning the surroundings for familiar landmarks. "No... this is the right place," Sylva said slowly, her voice filled with disbelief. "But they really made all of this in such a short amount of time?" It hadn’t even been half an hour since they had left. Yet now, standing before them was a fully established campsite. It looked less like a temporary resting spot and more like the dwelling of a small tribal settlement. "We don’t have to pay rent now, do we...?" Sylva muttered nervously as they bent down to pick up the fallen firewood and cautiously approached the camp. Leo was inside one of the sheds, arranging soft mattresses he had taken out from his spiritual space. Miho stood nearby, using a beast core skill to pour clean water into one of the containers, the gentle splash echoing in the quiet forest. Lily, meanwhile, was doing a final inspection, pressing against the vine walls and checking their stability with a sharp gaze. The girls approached slowly, marvelling at everything around them. When they peeked inside their shed and saw the neatly laid mattresses, their eyes sparkled with excitement. After all, it had been a long time since they had slept on anything so soft. But Lily immediately shattered their joy. "Don’t be happy like that," she said coldly. "You’ll need to wash them properly before returning them to us tomorrow." The three girls stiffened instantly. "T-that’s a given!" Aina replied quickly. "A-anyway, let us help set up the campfire." Without waiting for a response, they hurried away, clearly trying to escape the imposing figure of Lily, who looked utterly determined to discipline them into model students. Leo couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. She really did have different personalities for everyone—strict teacher to delinquents, a gentle sister to a vulnerable girl, and a soft queen to her special man. As they sat around the campfire during dinner, the crackling flames casting dancing shadows on their faces, the conversation gradually shifted toward introductions. "I am Aina—" "Mary—" "Sylva—" They spoke almost together before Aina continued. "We specialize in bows, and we can enhance our arrows with various elements while shooting. Our talent is Elemental Enchanter." "Huh?" Lily asked, surprised. "You three have the same talent? How?" Even Leo paused mid-sip, his curiosity piqued. Then also observed the bows slung on their back with quivers that looked very good and sturdy. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶 Aina placed a finger on her chin, her brows knitting together as she thought. "We’re not entirely sure," she admitted. "When we asked our family members, they said it was probably because we’re cousins and share some similarities. Somehow, we all awakened the same talent." Leo then asked casually, "Which cities are you from? I mean—what type of cities?" "Our families reside in the inner cities," Aina answered. Leo nodded. "And how long have you known that you had talents other than beast taming?" Aina looked confused. "From birth...?" "Hoh?" Leo muttered. "So what’s your ag— never mind." He suddenly remembered that asking a girl her age was never a wise move. Still, judging by their appearances, they seemed to be in their early twenties. Which meant inner cities were well aware of talents beyond beast taming—unlike the outer cities, where such knowledge was scarce or deliberately withheld. Perhaps it was due to limited technological equipment. Sylva took the initiative next. "Miss... we still don’t know your name." "Oh," Lily replied softly. "I’m Lily. Nice to meet you." The girls then waited for Leo, but he seemed lost in thought and didn’t respond. Under Lily’s gaze, none of them had the courage to call out to him again. Hm? Lily...? Why does it— Then Miho interjected. "I-I am Miho! Nice to meet you!" she said quickly, then immediately returned to eating vegetables from her spoon, avoiding eye contact like it might burn her. Lily smiled faintly. Miho’s character was developing—slowly, but surely. I didn’t see that bastard Alric...Since Zolton was here, how did I miss his dog? "By the way," Aina asked carefully, "are you planning to create a territory of your own?" That instantly drew the attention of both Leo and Lily. Feeling the weight of their gazes, Aina flustered. Mira quickly stepped in to help. "She meant—we were also looking for a treasure to use as a beacon," Mira explained. "But then we got caught up in that... embarrassing situation." "Mhm," Lily nodded. "We are indeed planning to create our own territory." "Oh! That’s great!" Mira said brightly. "What type of treasure are you looking for? White? Green? No... with your strength, you might even go for a blue treasure!" Leo and Lily exchanged confused looks. "We need a treasure?" Leo asked, raising a brow. "You don’t know?" Mira replied, incredulous. Leo sighed, irritation flickering across his face. "Well, it’s our first day at the academy. We were in Aurelius Hall gathering information when a certain wet girl crashed into me." He paused. ...That sounded terribly wrong. As expected, a chill brushed his spine when Lily shot him a sharp glare. Aina coughed lightly. "W-well, we’re always ready to share knowledge, hehe." From there, the girls explained that a certain species of plant treasure grew within the forest surrounding the academy. These plants could act as territory beacons and were recognizable by the dense mana saturating their surroundings. Depending on the size and purpose of the territory, different treasure tiers were required. For someone living alone, a basic white-tier treasure would suffice. But territories housing hundreds—three hundred, five hundred, or more—required higher tiers like purple or even yellow. Of course, a single man can take a higher grade treasure, but that would attract needless trouble—both from the beast and the students. They also learned that higher-tier treasures were guarded by powerful guardian beasts, and one had to defeat them to claim the treasure. "So," Leo said thoughtfully, "you three—who all use bows—are planning to create a territory with just three members and stay in the academy?" Aina stuck out her tongue playfully. "There’s nothing wrong with trying! With our ranks in the 800s, we can easily capture three hectares of land. We only plan to keep one hectare, so if we ever lose it, we can capture another without paying the heavy fee of 1,000 AC per hectare." Leo nodded in approval. Suddenly, his body swayed slightly before he steadied himself. He was starting to feel drowsy. --- A/N: Woo, I actually wrote it. Haha But even I am feeling drowsy now....