Adrian's POV

I accepted the pouch from Kyle's hands, feeling the weight of the Crest Marks and herbs as they transferred into my possession. The exchange had proceeded exactly as I had calculated it would.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Kyle," I said with a satisfied smile, securing the pouch in my storage ring.

Kyle's team members regrouped around him before he gave a curt nod and began withdrawing from the area. As they departed, I could see his eyes remained fixed on me, his body visibly tense with anticipation of a potential ambush.

But there was no need for such tactics. Ambushing him after completing the exchange would serve no beneficial purpose to me.

After Kyle's group disappeared into the forest, Elen approached me with obvious confusion about my decision.

"Why did you let him go? We could have easily surrounded them. You could handle Kyle while we dealt with the others. Once the Elite class is eliminated, we're guaranteed to win the examination," she argued.

I shook my head firmly. "I gave him my word that no ambush would befall him during the exchange. I'm not going to break that commitment, I'm not that dishonourable."

The examination outcome was already decided in our favour. There was no doubt about our victory at this point.

I looked at my assembled classmates and held up the pouch containing our newly acquired resources. "Well done, everyone. This was earned through your collective hard work. We're going to win this competition, and we'll all receive the points we deserve!"

The class erupted in excitement, with several students cheering and chanting praise about my leadership and strategic planning.

Emmet kept his hands buried in his pockets, still visibly upset with gloomy eyes reflecting his disappointment over the earlier duel. Marcus stood with his arms crossed, maintaining his calm expression while observing the celebration of others.

The confrontation had effectively concluded in our favour. Our combination of resource gathering, strategic shrine solving, and tactical negotiations had created an overwhelming advantage that other classes couldn't realistically overcome in the remaining time.

"Alright everyone, it's time to return. Let's head back!" I shouted, motioning for the entire group to begin our withdrawal from the shrine area.

Everyone followed instructions without hesitation. Their loyalty and trust in my leadership had been steadily increasing throughout the examination. Each decision I had made had demonstrated clear benefits for the team, building confidence in my strategic planning abilities.

Time passed quickly as we made our way back through the forest. Night was approaching by the time we reached our established camp, the familiar shelter structures that Marcus had constructed earlier providing welcome security.

Around the campfire, it was my designated turn to stand guard. I had managed to get some rest earlier in the day, so I was alert and ready for the night watch. Everyone operated on a rotation system for vigilance duties to ensure continuous security.

Marcus was sleeping peacefully in one of the shelters, having completed his earlier watch shift throughout the day. Emmet remained awake alongside me, Elen and several other team members, though he still seemed subdued from his earlier defeat against Seraphina.

The flickering flames cast ominous shadows across our small camp while I maintained watch over the surrounding forest. The examination would conclude tomorrow, and our victory seemed assured given the substantial resources we had accumulated.

Our position remained secure, and the successful negotiations had eliminated the primary threat to our examination performance.

Now it was simply a matter of maintaining vigilance until the official conclusion and avoiding any last-minute complications that might jeopardize our accumulated advantages.

AWOO!

The haunting sound of wolves echoed through the forest, distant but clearly approaching our position. The howls seemed to be getting closer with each passing minute.

I stood up, preparing to deal with the threat before it could reach our camp and disturb everyone's much-needed rest. However, Emmet quickly intervened.

"I will take care of them," he said, rising from his position near the fire.

I studied his expression for a moment before nodding my approval. I could tell he was itching to release some of the built-up frustration and energy from his earlier defeat against Seraphina. Combat with these wolves would provide him with an outlet for those emotions while also serving our needs.

"Go ahead," I agreed. "But stay within communication range and don't pursue them too far into the forest if they retreat. If anything goes wrong, immediately inform me. Don't wait."

Emmet nodded curtly and moved toward the edge of our camp perimeter, his hand already moving to his weapon. The approaching wolf pack would give him exactly the kind of combat he preferred - no strategic considerations, just direct confrontation where strength and skill determined the outcome.

I remained by the fire, ready to provide backup if the situation escalated beyond what he could handle alone, while keeping watch over the rest of our sleeping team members.

The distant howling continued to grow closer as Emmet prepared to intercept the pack before they could threaten our established position.

Elen moved closer to me by the campfire, her excitement about the examination's outcome clearly visible in her animated expression.

"You know, Adrian, I'm really grateful that I'm in the same class as you. It's genuinely comforting. Although, I must admit the rumours I had heard about you beforehand had put me off initially. But when I got to know you personally, I realized they were all lies. Thank you for carrying me toward victory."

She smiled brightly while gazing into the dancing flames of the campfire.

Is it really a lie? The previous Adrian wasn't exactly innocent, he deserved much of the criticism he received, I thought to myself. However, I chose not to address that particular topic, instead steering the conversation toward more practical matters.

"How many points do you think we'll receive for winning?" I asked.

Elen shook her head thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, honestly. Even second-year students keep these details extremely secretive."

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