Chapter 689 - Taming the Fifth Year - Following

"It can’t be," one of the teams that had followed whispered, stopping abruptly as realization crashed over them.

"He’s going to Yino," another confirmed, awe and incredulity at the unexpected turn in equal measure, unable to quite believe what they were witnessing.

The Strahlfang watcher stopped too, staring at the bridge with an expression that shifted from confusion to understanding and then to something that might have been satisfaction. As if he’d caught Ren doing something foolish that would prove all his suspicions correct.

"I see you plan to go to Yino," he said, and there was something unpleasant in his smile, something that suggested he was already composing his report in his mind. "Unknown territory. A big risk for a student, don’t you think? Maybe you should reconsider. Go where the others go. Where it’s safer."

For him it was clear: only someone receiving outside help would dare venture into unmapped territory. Only someone with unfair advantages would risk the unknown instead of staying where textbooks could guide them.

Ren looked at him with a poker face, a face carefully blank in the way he’d learned from Larissa to adopt when dealing with people who’d already decided what they believed.

"The territory is Silver 3," he said calmly, his voice carrying no defensiveness or justification. But a simple statement of fact. "Within established limits. And I have sufficient knowledge of the area to navigate safely."

"Knowledge?" the Strahlfang laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. "You’re a fifth-year student. What knowledge could you possibly have of territories that aren’t even taught in your academy? Territories that haven’t been properly mapped or documented for student use?"

"Sufficient," Ren responded simply, offering no explanation, no justification for the scrutiny he didn’t need to satisfy.

The man approached, invading Ren’s personal space with clear intention to intimidate, using his adult height and authority to loom over the teenage student who dared challenge assumptions.

"I’ll be watching," he whispered, low enough that only Ren and those closest heard the threat beneath the words. "Every movement. Every decision. Any undue help, any unfair advantage, and your evaluation will be invalidated. Understood?"

Klein, who stood beside Ren closer than he’d been in months, tensed visibly. His hand clenched into a fist, instinct to protect a comrade activating despite the distance between them, despite months of careful avoidance.

But Ren simply smiled.

It wasn’t a friendly smile, nothing warm or welcoming in the expression. It was cold and sharp like winter wind, like a blade hidden in the shadows.

"Then," he said softly, his mana so cold that the air around them seemed to frost, temperature dropping with the chill of absolute certainty, "you’ll have a front-row seat to learn exactly how wrong you all are about my capabilities and the necessity of cheating."

The Strahlfang blinked, surprised by the direct response, by the confidence that didn’t waver under pressure or authority. Students weren’t supposed to speak this way to adult watchers, weren’t supposed to challenge implications with such naked defiance when about to be discovered.

’A big bluff?’’

"Don’t fall behind or you’ll miss it," Ren turned around, ignoring him completely as if the conversation had already ceased to interest him. "Team, move out. We don’t have time to waste on distractions."

His companions followed immediately, trust evident in their unhesitating obedience.

Klein, after a moment of doubt where something shifted in his expression, did the same.

The watcher stood there, clearly unaccustomed to being dismissed so completely, to having his authority ignored by some student who should be intimidated by adult supervision and big noble backing.

’He’s too confident Selphira and Julius can save him from anything? Makes some sense but...’

Zhao passed beside him, patting his shoulder with force just sufficient to be barely painful, enough to make a point without crossing into assault. The impact startled the birds into brief flight before they resettled.

"It’s going to be an educational experience," the professor said with that relaxed smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, amusement that suggested he knew something the watcher didn’t. "For all of us. But especially for you."

And then he followed his group, leaving the Strahlfang processing whether he’d just been threatened or not, whether that had been friendly advice or a veiled promise of something to come.

Ren didn’t look back.

He already had enough to think about without worrying about noble posturing and political games.

Klein was on his team, proximity forcing interaction that months of avoidance had prevented.

A hostile watcher was going to be impertinent the entire time, watching for any excuse to claim impropriety.

And he had to navigate weaver forests while gathering web, all while maintaining the kind of dominance that would finally shut down conspiracy theories through undeniable excellence.

"Although if anyone’s afraid," Ren directed this at the watcher without looking back, his voice carrying across the distance, "you can stay here. But I’m going."

And without waiting for a response, without checking to see who followed or who hesitated, he began crossing the bridge.

His team followed without hesitation, the promise of a mountain of money overriding fear of the unknown.

The Strahlfang, after a moment of indecision where pride warred with common sense, followed them too. He had no choice, duty compelling him forward. His job was to watch them, after all. Only two birds returned to his shoulders, the third and 4th gone.

The other teams that had followed stayed at the edge, watching as Ren’s group disappeared toward the other side of the crack, figures growing smaller with distance until they were barely visible.

Toward unknown territory.

Toward Yino.

"Should we follow them?" someone asked, uncertainty clear in the question.

"Do we have a choice? We can’t lose that reward."

"But that boy clearly knows where he’s going and we’ll get lost following blind..."

"Then you can forget the reward and go to Yano where it’s safe."

The groups looked at each other, silent calculations happening behind uncertain expressions as they weighed risk against potential gain, safety against opportunity.

One by one, teams made their decisions there on the bridge’s edge.

Some turned around immediately, returning toward known routes where textbooks could guide them and teachers had walked before. Better to gather less in familiar territory than risk getting lost in unknown lands.

Only five groups of the initial thirteen decided to take the risk, crossing the bridge moments after Ren and his team had reached the other side.

The Yino forest waited for them, vast and unknown and completely indifferent to their presence.

Without guide.

Without map.

Without the slightest idea where team 15 would lead them.

But crystals made people brave.

Or foolish.

Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference until after results came in.