Aiden saw his hands were covered in blood. He needed water to clean them. But put that aside. All that mattered to him was getting the gold plate from the squad he had defeated.
He stepped over to where the former squad leader had died. Aiden picked up the gold plate and cleaned it. A notification panel appeared in front of Aiden.
[Astralis Magical Academy Main Exam]
[Squad: 71]
[Name: Aiden Aswald]
[Number of gold plates: 8] [+5]
To Aiden's surprise, the squad had five gold plates, four of which were probably from other squads they'd defeated. Aiden was really lucky to have beaten them.
He put the gold plate away and began to step closer to Helen. Aiden realized he was being too much for Helen, but since the old mansion was empty, at least they had a place to stay for the time being.
Aiden carried Helen into the mansion. Although the outside appearance was not convincing, the furniture and equipment inside the house was organized and well maintained.
'They must have cleaned this place before,' Aiden explained.
He laid Helen down on the couch and asked her to drink her HP Potion. However, Helen didn't have any because her condition was so critical earlier that she downed two bottles at once.
"One bottle would have been enough to restore half of your HP," Aiden complained.
"I'm sorry. I can recover my own body. You don't have to worry about me," Helen replied, smiling with her slightly bruised face.
Aiden nodded, as his dominant element was fire, he couldn't help much in Helen's recovery.
Helen nodded her understanding of the situation, she was lucky enough to be able to rest in a mansion like this.
"I'll keep watch, you should rest for a few hours," Aiden said, Helen cleared her throat and began to chant her water magic spell.
Not going outside, Aiden went to check every room in the mansion, perhaps finding something that could help them.
He opened desk drawers, opened cupboard doors, opened the jug's lid, and checked under the bed. Unfortunately, Aiden found nothing except dust and bugs.
"I didn't find anything."
"Even if there was, the squad probably took it," Aiden said.
Aiden was really unlucky. He didn't have time to seize their belongings before they teleported to the academy. Unlike before when Aiden was able to get HP and MP Potions.
He returned to the living room and saw that Helen was focused on recovering her body from injuries. The bruise from Aiden's fist began to disappear, as did the small cut.
Aiden nodded, her presence would probably be useful to Aiden even though Aiden had 100% HP regen.
Still, with her abilities, she would definitely be useful to others.
Now, Aiden's focus was on the front yard of the old mansion. He activated the white slip and watched as the countdown continued without stopping.
[Main Exam Time:]
[00:20:45:32]
There were 20 hours left for Aiden to collect at least 17 gold slips so that he could qualify as an academy student. Still, the competition was bound to get tougher as the squads hunted each other down.
For those with low abilities, they would choose to hide and wait for a time when they could attack a strong squad.
"I have to go back to reconnaissance."
[Eye of Beast King Talent active]
[Skill: Symbiotic Eye of the Beast]
[Initiate magic to possess the beast's eye]
[Symbiotic vision active]
[Skill duration:]
[00:00:59:59]
Using the medium of a crow near the old mansion, he directed the bird to fly in a circle in the area outside the mansion with a wider range.
Fifteen minutes into his recon, Aiden did not find any of the squads in the area near the old mansion. That was a sign that they were gathering in one place.
Having found nothing, Aiden directed the bird away to the central area of the artificial dimension.
There, he found several squads having a battle. Again, the bird perched on a tree branch to watch their battle.
'I'd better grab the gold plate, they probably won't expect it,' Aiden explained.
He waited for the moment to happen. Their battle peaked until one of the squads had one mage left, holding the gold plate.
"Hand over the plates and you can safely withdraw from the test!" said the leader of the winning team.
Surrendering, the man took out three gold plates from his pocket and held them with both hands. The moment had come.
'Take it!" said Aiden.
The crows chirped and flew quickly low near the man. When the other man was about to take the gold plate, the black crow had already stolen it and carried it away.
It made them shocked, they didn't expect a crow to be aiming for the gold plate as well.
"Catch that damn bird!" said a man from another squad.
They began to chase where the bird flew. Aiden now had three more gold plates without killing the other squads, his aim was to lure the squads to go to a dangerous place, either a monster's lair or another squad's place.
'I need to find a way to keep them busy,' Aiden explained.
From his watch, Aiden spotted one squad walking in the forest cautiously. Smiling, Aiden directed the black bird toward the squad's area.
His plan worked! The two squads fought each other, the man shouting as he called out to the crow, really upset that his hard work had been stolen away.
Aiden was saved. He guided the black crow to the old mansion to hand over the gold plate directly to Aiden.
After about 20 minutes of flying, the bird arrived in front of Aiden and put down the three gold plates that had been bitten by the bird's beak.
Aiden deactivated his talent and took the gold plates from the bird. The young man was happy as his cunning plan managed to trick the other squads.
[Astralis Magical Academy Main Exam]
[Squad: 71]
[Name: Aiden Aswald]
[Number of gold plates: 11] [+3]
"It's like taking candy from a baby," Aiden said, holding up the gold plate.
Helen had fully recovered. She looked over and saw how easily Aiden had gotten the gold plate, the most important item for candidates in the artificial dimension.
"You got the gold plate again?" Helen asked.
Aiden looked over, then paused as he put the gold plate in his pocket, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm better, just lacking MP," Helen said.
The young man gave her one MP Potion, to help Helen recover her MP. Helen smiled and thanked him.
"After you recover, we'll go to where the squads are gathered," Aiden explained.
"Are we going to fight again?" asked Helen, finishing down the MP Potion.
"Yes."