The convergence point was clearly where we needed to speak our final answer.

Standing before the final circle, I took a deep breath and spoke clearly: "MOONFANG."

The response was immediate and spectacular. The entire shrine began resonating with harmonic vibrations, and brilliant light erupted from each floor simultaneously. The altar split open to reveal a a small hidden chamber containing exactly what I had hoped for, ten magical Crest Marks, each one glowing.

"Ten crests ," I said with satisfaction, collecting the precious rewards. "This is not bad at all, it seems like shrines give their fair bit of crests. It was the right choice to create scouting teams for these shrines, they are limited and they provide alot."

My team members looked at the haul with obvious amazement.

We left the shrine satisfied with what we had received. The ten Crest Marks represented a substantial haul that would significantly boost our class total. As we made our way back through the forest, I contacted my other teams to check on their progress.

The scouting team that had found the shrine reported an unexpected complication. They had discovered another shrine, but this one wasn't uncontested. They were currently facing opposition from another team for control of the location.

"Which team is it?" I asked through the communication crystal.

"It's the other elite team's scouting team," came the reply.

"Anyone you recognise?" I asked.

"I can only recognise Seraphina. The others I've seen them but they aren't famous or anything."

A frown formed on my face. This was exactly the kind of confrontation I had hoped to avoid so early on. Kyle's team represented serious opposition - they were skilled, well-coordinated, and led by some of the academy's most talented students.

"Do not engage," I ordered immediately. "Withdraw from the area now."

"But we found it first," one of the scouts protested. "We should be able to contest for it."

"Listen to orders! Don't do anything, and wait for my response," I said firmly, cutting off any further argument.

Fighting Seraphina's team would only result in casualties and losses for us. Besides, it had taken our team nearly an hour to solve the previous shrine, and if this new location contained valuable Crest Marks, it would require at least equal time and effort. Getting into a prolonged battle with the current scouting team there would be counterproductive.

I immediately connected with Emmet's hunting team. "How is the hunting going?" I asked.

"We haven't seen any white donkeys in a while," Emmet replied. "The river areas seem to have been cleared out."

"Change of plans," I said, making a quick tactical decision. "I'm sending you coordinates to join the scouting team that's facing Seraphina's group for a shrine. Wait until Seraphina and her group solves the shrine before engaging them."

I could hear the excitement in Emmet's voice as he responded. This was exactly the kind of challenge he had been hoping for.

I contacted the scouting team through the communication crystal to provide updated instructions.

"Emmet's hunting team is being redirected to provide you with backup," I informed them. "Maintain concealment and keep watch on Seraphina's team. Avoid detection at all costs, but monitor their progress and report any significant developments."

The tactical situation required careful coordination. Having Emmet's combat-focused team supporting the scouts would give us options if the confrontation escalated, while maintaining our ability to gather intelligence on Kyle's group.

With those orders issued, I turned to the two team members who had accompanied me to the shrine.

"You two need to go support the operation as well," I instructed. "Follow the same coordinates I gave Emmet. Stay hidden, provide backup, and maintain communication with me."

They nodded and immediately set off through the forest toward the contested shrine location.

Now traveling alone, I made my way back to our base camp with the ten valuable Crest Marks secured in my storage. The return journey gave me time to consider our overall strategic position. Between the Crest Marks we had already collected through hunting and these recent shrine rewards, our class was accumulating a substantial point total.

The confrontation brewing around the second shrine represented both opportunity and risk. If we could deny Kyle's team access to that location's rewards while avoiding significant loses, it would strengthen our competitive advantage considerably.

Reaching the camp, I would need to brief Marcus and the remaining team members on the developing situation while ensuring our base remained secure.

I had sent Emmet's group with a specific plan in mind. At this early stage of their development, Emmet could realistically handle Seraphina despite her legendary bloodline advantage.

The key factor was timing. Currently, Seraphina wasn't operating at her peak potential. While legendary bloodlines were incredibly powerful, early in an awakener's development the rank difference didn't create as significant a gap since most traits remained locked. The real advantages of legendary bloodlines typically manifested as awakeners advanced to higher ranks and unlocked more powerful traits of higher orders.

Emmet's rare-rank bloodline was fully offensive in nature, which created a fair matchup against Seraphina's current capabilities. More importantly, I knew about a critical weakness in her bloodline that she hadn't discovered yet - one that wouldn't reveal itself until later in the original timeline.

Based on my knowledge from the novel, Seraphina's legendary bloodline came with a severe drawback: once she entered serious combat, she became unable to stop fighting until either her opponent surrendered or she faced was unable to fight whether death or unconsciousness . This berserker-like compulsion was both a strength and a devastating weakness, depending on the tactical situation.

The weakness typically remained hidden because most early opponents either surrendered quickly when facing a legendary bloodline user, or the fights ended decisively before the compulsion became apparent. In the original timeline, Seraphina only discovered this limitation during the beast attacks on the city, when the monsters' refusal to surrender trapped her in prolonged combat.

By having Emmet engage her directly, I could exploit this unknown weakness. Once Seraphina became locked in combat with him, she would be unable to focus on anything else - including coordinating with her team or securing the shrine's contents. This would allow my numerically superior forces to claim the Crest Marks while she remained fixated on the fight.

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