Celia, however, could not spare a thought for such matters at this moment. She lay sprawled helplessly on the ground, gasping for air.
Her back was drenched in sweat, and a torrent of fear and lingering terror surged within her.
She truly couldn’t fathom why she had dared to grab the wyvern, directly facing its Dragon’s Breath.
For a fleeting moment, just as the breath was about to erupt, she genuinely believed death was imminent.
Fortunately, her gamble had paid off.
A strange ringing echoed in her ears, and the surge of adrenaline left her intensely dizzy.
Her vision blurred as she gazed up at the sky.
Someone seemed to approach her, gently washing her body with warm water.
The metallic scent of blood gradually faded, bringing her a welcome sense of comfort.
“Did I… pass the assessment?” she asked weakly.
A beautiful voice responded to her.
“You passed…”
The voice was laced with a profound tenderness, tinged with obvious concern for her well-being.
“That’s wonderful…”
Receiving the answer she craved, Celia let out a sudden sigh of relief.
Immediately afterward, her body felt as though it were coming apart, and pain washed over her like a relentless tide.
An itch spread across her thigh, feeling as if insects were crawling over it.
She instinctively reached out to scratch, but her wrist was caught midway.
“Bear with it,” a familiar voice commanded.
That familiar voice completely dispelled the ringing in her ears, and as her vision gradually cleared, she recognized the face of the person beside her.
It was the Silverbloom Sword Princess.
She was half-kneeling, her head bowed in concentration as she treated the wound on Celia’s thigh.
Her silver hair cascaded down inadvertently, and her exquisite profile shimmered under the sunlight.
Her eyes, like clear lakes, had their tranquility disturbed by the small stone of worry, causing ripples to spread across their surface.
Witnessing this, a warmth spread through Celia’s heart, and a sweet smile unconsciously bloomed on her face.
However, this was immediately followed by a sharp glare from Dorothy, which quickly transformed Celia’s sweet smile into an innocently blinking expression.
Celia understood that the Silverbloom Sword Princess was scolding her for her reckless actions; it had been far too dangerous.
No one could have known if Isha’s chakram could truly pierce the wyvern’s defenses.
‘Even if it were dangerous, the Silverbloom Sword Princess would surely have saved me, wouldn’t she?’ she thought.
Harboring this secret delight, she then glanced around the training ground, spotting Aurora and Isha.
Aurora had sustained no serious injuries, though a wisp of her light blue hair had been singed while dodging the wyvern’s breath, leaving her looking utterly pained.
Isha, meanwhile, silently clutched her dull, unlit chakram, her expression an unreadable mix of wanting to cry and wanting to laugh.
‘To sever the wyvern’s neck, Isha must have paid a considerable price, mustn’t she?’ she pondered.
Celia resolved to properly compensate her later.
The surrounding heroes, witnessing their defeat of the rampaging wyvern, first fell into a long silence.
Then, an incredibly fervent cheer erupted from their ranks.
This small squad had completely won them over. Before the assessment, some heroes might have attributed their growth to external factors, but now, such notions had vanished entirely.
Their victory over a Rank 4 magical beast was solely due to their own abilities.
Had it been them, even with the guidance of a mysterious instructor, they would undoubtedly have been defeated by the wyvern and failed the assessment early on.
“Mr. Orl, Celia has passed the assessment,” Sharlene stated, rising to her feet.
“As per our agreement, you can no longer prevent her from becoming a hero.”
She adjusted her gold-rimmed spectacles, appearing outwardly calm, yet inwardly brimming with excitement.
When Celia had directly confronted the wyvern’s Dragon’s Breath just moments ago, Sharlene’s heart had nearly leaped from her throat.
Had the Silverbloom Sword Princess beside her not yet made a move, Sharlene would have intervened to halt the assessment herself.
Thankfully, Celia’s squad had delivered an immense surprise.
Orl, standing nearby, also rose. Witnessing his utterly dark expression, Sharlene almost let out a snicker.
Orl cast a cold glance at Sharlene.
“I will honor the agreement,” he declared, his words leaving no doubt about his compliance.
His personal servant, standing beside him, stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what had just transpired.
‘Lord Orl… lost?’
With a soft huff, Sharlene elegantly approached Celia, intending to announce their victory in the assessment.
However, her communicator suddenly began beeping in her pocket.
Before she could even open it, the training ground entrance was violently flung open.
A hero, tasked with monitoring the Silent Forest, burst in with a frantic expression.
“Beast tide! A beast tide has erupted!”
****
Due to frequent beast tide assaults, Vidona had constructed a formidable city wall specifically to defend against them.
Along the top of this wall, numerous city knights stood guard.
Despite their armor, most of these knights yawned incessantly and stood in lax postures, clearly not taking their duty of monitoring the Silent Forest seriously.
Roland, leading her squad to rendezvous with other heroes, passed by them.
Upon noticing their extreme laxity, she frowned slightly but remained silent.
Neither heroes nor knights held the authority to dictate actions to the other.
However, one of her teammates couldn’t help but lean closer, quietly expressing their disdain:
“Looking at them, they hardly seem prepared for a beast tide.”
The mention of a beast tide prompted a complaint from the brown-haired girl beside her.
“How could a super-scale beast tide possibly appear? I have no idea what Guildmaster Sharlene is up to, making us miss Celia’s squad’s assessment!”
“I’ve been looking forward to it for months!”
Celia’s squad’s exploits over the past few months had become legendary within the Hero Guild.
Achieving victory over a Rank 4 magical beast in just half a year, starting from nothing, filled her with immense curiosity about them.
She had seen Celia’s squad half a year ago, when they were still quite green.
Regrettably, Sharlene had recently assigned them the task of monitoring the Silent Forest, causing her to perfectly miss the hero assessment date.
“The Captain’s just as annoyed as you are,” another teammate chimed in.
Roland, too, had eagerly anticipated Celia’s squad’s assessment, a fact that was no secret within their own team.
However, it seemed she was more interested in the mysterious instructor than in the squad itself.
Hearing them discuss the hero assessment, Roland’s already furrowed brow deepened further.
Crossing her arms, she spoke:
“Be serious. While Sharlene can be unreliable, she doesn’t make mistakes concerning critical matters.
She’s dispatched every Rank 4 hero in the guild to monitor the forest, which suggests this beast tide is truly no ordinary event.”
“Oh,” her teammates responded.
Her teammates obediently fell silent, trailing quietly behind her as they hastened towards the gathering point for the heroes.
Before long, Roland abruptly halted, a strange unease rippling through her heart.
In the distance, flocks of crows soared high above the forest, their absurd, eerie cries piercing the sky, seemingly portending an impending disaster.
Her communicator illuminated at that very moment. She pulled it out, but before she could even read the message, a powerful tremor shook the ground.
Instinctively, she turned her gaze towards the Silent Forest.
At the edge of her vision, she could barely discern the trees within the forest any longer.
All that remained were countless magical beasts surging towards Vidona, and the vast clouds of dust they kicked up in their wild charge.