Moving with supernatural stealth, I climbed silently into the trees like a shadow, positioning myself above their path. From this elevated vantage point, I could observe their formation and wait for the optimal moment to strike.

The opportunity presented itself when one student fell slightly behind the main group, creating separation that I could exploit. I descended silently behind the trailing individual and delivered a precise strike to render them unconscious. A quick search revealed some useful resources and herbs, which I collected before swiftly re-joining the shadows.

With three targets remaining, they became easy pickings. I incapacitated each remaining team member before they could realize what was happening, searching their belongings thoroughly.

The operation yielded three Crest Marks along with various other resources - a respectable haul that would contribute meaningfully to our class total.

After securing their items, I located their emergency communication crystal and deliberately crushed it. This action would officially remove them from the examination and trigger instructor intervention for their safety. In truth, I was doing them a favor - leaving unconscious students in monster-infested territory would have been essentially condemning them to death.

I waited approximately three minutes in the nearby trees until I spotted an academy instructor approaching the unconscious students' location. The rescue response was proceeding as expected.

The instructor's eyes swept the area before locking onto my position in the distance. Even from several hundred meters away, I could see him raise an eyebrow in what appeared to be knowing acknowledgment.

Our gazes met for a brief moment across the forest clearing. The instructor's expression suggested he understood exactly what had transpired, though he made no move to pursue or confront me. This was, after all, within the bounds of the examination rules.

I gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment before melting back into the forest shadows, leaving the instructor to handle the unconscious students' evacuation.

With the Crest Marks I had just obtained and the resources I had collected, I now had a convenient alibi for my absence. I had been planning to hunt for additional materials on my way back to camp, but the defeated team had solved that problem by providing me with their accumulated items.

Six hours had passed since the examination had started, meaning we were approaching the halfway point of the two-day trial.

Ten minutes later, I arrived at our base camp. My team members were immediately alerted by the sounds of my approach, tensing for potential combat before recognizing my presence and relaxing their defensive positions.

Once they confirmed my identity and let their guard down, I explained that I had obtained these additional items during my mission. I deliberately omitted the details about encountering and defeating the rival team as revealing that information would have been strategically foolish.

If my team learned that I had broken the same rules I had established for them, they would likely view me as an unfair leader who held others to standards I wouldn't follow myself. That kind of perceived hypocrisy could undermine their trust and cooperation for the remainder of the examination.

"I encountered some useful resources during my scouting," I reported matter-of-factly. "Three additional Crest Marks and various herbs."

The team accepted this explanation without suspicion, focusing instead on the positive impact these acquisitions would have on our overall performance. Combined with Emmet's successful hunting and the newly discovered shrine, we were positioning ourselves well for the examination's conclusion.

The leadership dynamic remained intact, and our operational security was preserved. Sometimes effective command required selective disclosure of information, especially when full transparency might compromise team cohesion and mission success.

After organizing the herbs I had collected by distributing them to the Survivalist team for processing, and giving the Crest Marks to Elen for safekeeping, I decided to head toward the ruin where my scouting teams were waiting.

The reason I had given the Crest Marks to Elen rather than Marcus was tactical. If our camp came under attack, enemy teams would naturally focus on retrieving valuable items from whoever appeared to be the strongest defender, which would logically be Marcus. By entrusting the Crest Marks to Elen instead, I was implementing a form of misdirection that would keep hostile attention away from her and our accumulated rewards.

Marcus could serve as an obvious target while Elen remained overlooked, allowing her to potentially escape with our collected Crest Marks if the situation became desperate. It was a calculated risk distribution that played to our enemies' likely assumptions about how we would organize our defenses.

I gathered a small escort team and prepared to move toward the shrine location that had been discovered earlier. The puzzle-solving aspect of the ruins would require careful coordination, and my leadership would be essential for maximizing our Crest Mark extraction from whatever challenges awaited inside.

The examination was progressing well, but we couldn't afford to become complacent. Other teams were undoubtedly making their own progress, and maintaining our competitive advantage would require continued strategic thinking and efficient execution.

The newly discovered shrine represented our best opportunity to significantly increase our Crest Mark total before the examination concluded.

It took me about fifteen minutes to reach the shrine location, moving through the forest at a steady pace. My two team members immediately spotted my approach, I wasn't attempting to hide my arrival since they were expecting me.

They led me directly to the discovered structure, and I had to admit it was genuinely impressive. The shrine rose approximately four stories high, its stonework showing clear signs of age and weathering. Several bricks had crumbled or broken away, thick moss covered much of the surface, and vegetation had begun growing in the cracks between stones. Despite the decay, the overall structure appeared stable and intact.

"Did you go inside?" I asked, studying the entrance for any obvious traps or magical barriers.

They shook their heads immediately. "No, we didn't. We simply waited outside like you had ordered us to do."

"Good," I nodded approvingly before turning back towards the shrine.

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