The hunting teams also maintained steady progress, locating and eliminating white donkeys that had been missed during earlier sweeps by other teams.

The creatures seemed to be becoming increasingly scarce as the examination progressed, confirming my assessment that resources were being depleted across the testing grounds.

Currently we possessed 55 Crest Marks total - a substantial number given the apparent scarcity of these items.

Based on our observations of other teams' activities and the difficulty of locating additional resources, this accumulation likely represented a commanding lead over our competitors.

The examination's conclusion was approaching, and our methodology had created what appeared to be an insurmountable advantage.

The remaining time would be spent consolidating our position while preventing any desperate attempts by rival teams to close the gap through aggressive tactics.

As we moved through the forest in our coordinated formation, we encountered a small group of students from one of the lower-ranked classes. They were clearly outmatched by our overwhelming numbers.

"Surrender immediately," I called out to them, my voice carrying absolute authority.

The students looked at each other with obvious fear and resignation. Facing an entire Elite class was an impossible situation - they had no realistic chance of resistance or escape.

"We surrender," their apparent leader said quickly, raising his hands in defeat.

We systematically searched their belongings for any Crest Marks they might have accumulated, but found nothing of value. Their pouches contained only basic supplies and a few common herbs - no magical crests whatsoever.

"Please, you have what you wanted," one of them pleaded as I retrieved their emergency crystals. "Can't you just let us continue?"

"We can't risk you interfering with our operations or reporting our movements to other teams," I replied, crushing their crystals one by one.

"No, please don't eliminate us from the examination!" another student begged desperately. "We've worked so hard to get this far!"

Their pleas were understandable but irrelevant to our needs. Allowing rival teams to remain active, even weak ones, created unnecessary variables that could potentially complicate our final positioning.

"This is just the nature of competition," I said matter-of-factly as the academy's emergency response activated to collect the disqualified students.

Within minutes, an instructor arrived to escort the eliminated team away from the examination grounds. Our elimination of competitors was proceeding exactly as planned, removing potential threats while consolidating our dominant position.

For the next several hours, everything proceeded exactly as we had planned. We maintained our dominant position, gathering additional Crest Marks through encounters with white donkeys, and eliminated two rival team we encountered. Our approach was yielding consistent results.

That changed when a loud announcement began echoing throughout the entire forest, transmitted through magical amplification that reached every corner of the examination grounds.

[Students! You have reached the one-hour mark before the examination's conclusion. There will be a special event from this moment onwards.]

Everyone around me looked confused and curious about this unexpected development. The timing seemed deliberately calculated to disrupt established strategies during the final phase.

The Commander's voice continued with detailed explanations about the new mechanics. A special zone had formed near the walls of the inner academy jungle - the same area where we had originally entered and begun the examination.

Within this zone, magical circles had appeared that would passively generate one Crest Mark per minute for any student standing inside them. The passive generation would continue as long as students remained within the circle boundaries.

A deep frown formed on my face as I processed the implications. Without seeing these circles firsthand, I couldn't fully understand the tactical situation. If there were many circles available, this could work in our favor given our numerical superiority. However, if only a few circles existed, everyone would be competing desperately for access to them.

More concerning was how this development threatened our carefully built advantage. We had been winning decisively through our resource accumulation and strategic elimination of competitors. But now, teams with fewer Crest Marks could potentially catch up or even surpass us by controlling these passive generation points.

The special event wasn't favorable for our position. We had worked to establish a commanding lead, but this new mechanism could level the playing field if we couldn't secure and defend the circles effectively against multiple competing teams.

"We need to move toward that zone immediately," I announced, already calculating the time required to reach the designated area and assess the new landscape.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

-----

Kyle's POV

When the announcement finished, a huge smile erupted across my face. The special event had just changed everything in our favor.

I had been searching for Adrian's team for the past several hours without any success. We had discovered an area where people seemed to have been residing recently - probably their former camp - but it was completely abandoned by the time we arrived.

Now, with this special zone and its passive Crest Mark generation, we had a genuine chance of winning. The playing field had been dramatically leveled, giving teams like ours an opportunity to catch up despite our earlier setbacks.

I turned to address my remaining team members, who had been growing increasingly demoralized after losing Seraphina and falling behind in the Crest Mark count.

"Listen up, everyone!" I called out with renewed energy. "This changes everything. Those circles represent our path to victory - we can generate Crest Marks passively just by holding position."

My teammates looked up with cautious hope beginning to replace their earlier despair.

"Adrian's team may have more Crest Marks now, but that advantage means nothing if we can control those circles for the final hour," I continued. "We have the speed and coordination to reach the zone quickly and establish defensive positions."

The mood of the group was shifting as they realized the implications. We weren't out of this competition yet.

"March formation!" I commanded, my voice carrying the authority they needed to hear. "We're going to reach that special zone first and claim our victory!"

My team straightened with purpose, their earlier defeat and frustration transforming into focus. The examination wasn't over - it was just beginning its final, most crucial phase.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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