The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

For a moment, no one dared speak. They weren't sure if the Instructor was about to criticize them or not...

Thankfully, the Apprentices seemed to be quite satisfied with the result.

Harvey was the first to break the silence. "How did he do that?"

Lena squinted at the beast, then at Van. "He moved like… he knew its anatomy. Did he also attend the class?"

Julia just smiled knowingly.

Chavez then inspected the Two-Horned Beast to confirm whether it had an unbroken Beast Core or not...

Then, after realizing that it had an intact Beast Core, she nodded.

"Efficient, adaptive, commanding. You salvaged a battle that was meant to overwhelm the five of you."

Van felt relieved after hearing that... He didn't expect to be 'praised' by this strict Instructor.

Nonetheless, he couldn't take all the credit. "It wasn't just me. We worked together..."

Chavez just gave him a small nod. "Humility, too. Good."

Then she turned to the rest. "Memorize what you saw. This was not just luck or bravery—it was preparation, study, and clarity under pressure."

She then gestured to Van. "That is what you must aim for."

No one objected. They just liked that even if they were only slaves, this Instructor was still trying to teach them something.

Soon, the servants started looting important parts of the Magic Beasts.

The two-horned prairie dog's body was still quite warm when Jax crouched beside it… Then, he pulled out his blade and traced the part he had to cut.

Well, now that the mana of the Magic Beasts had disappeared, it would be a lot easier to cut through their hide.

"Alright. Let's see how much we got here."

Van, already kneeling by the beast's chest, had different priorities.

With the help of his Ocularis Lens, he immediately found the traces of his target. Then, he traced the sternum and split it using his blade.

Thud…

As the chest cavity opened, heat and thick vapor rolled out… There was even a mix of sour stench.

"Ugh," Elias gagged. "Smells like burning leather and vomit."

Van agreed, but he still endured it with the help of his Aura.

"We have to get used to the smell though…" He muttered.

Of course, that smell was also because of the mutation of this creature. This was why Magic Beast's meat wasn't normally consumed unless it was prepared by a professional gourmet.

Using a pair of gloves from his pack, Van reached into the smoking ribcage and carefully lifted out the Beast Core the size of a child's fist…

"Still intact… Not broken at all. This should fetch a high price" He confirmed. After all, during combat, the quality of the Magic Beast cores could deteriorate if the attacks were too strong.

Theresa then glanced at the core and gently nodded. It was her first time seeing a two-horned magic beast's core.

Most of the time, she'd only handle one-horned or even non-horned magic beasts.

"How much would that sell for?" She softly asked.

Van glanced at her. "Two-horned cores can go for up to two hundred gold coins in the right cities. Maybe more, if it's not cracked and used in alchemy."

"Alchemy?" Fin raised a brow.

Van nodded. "They're used to brew stimulants for mana growth… or forge magic tools. That's why Instructor Chavez checked it earlier."

Of course, this information was from the Alchemy Books that he had read in the books that Julia borrowed for him.

"Oh… So that's why she was glancing at it a moment ago. I guess Magic Beast cores of one-horned beasts weren't worth her attention," Elias muttered…

Van shifted to the next task. "Jax, help me remove the pelt. Try not to tear it."

"On it."

Soon, after working together, they were able to obtain a total of five loots.

Aside from the Magic Beast Cores that could be used in alchemy, spell catalyst creation, and advanced enchantment rituals, they obtained other important items as well.

One of them was the Prairie Dog's Hide. According to the quality, it should be considered a Grade-B Mana Pelt. Based on the records that the Lens had gathered, it could absorb minor physical damage and low-level mana attacks. It can be fashioned into light armor or cloaks, so it should be quite valuable.

The next one was the Venom Gland. It was carefully extracted from under the jaw and it was done by Van himself since the others were quite nervous. Well, with his Aura and Ocularis Lens, it was done quite swiftly… As for its purpose, it was used in toxin creation or diluted for paralysis brews.

Then, there was the Horn Fragment itself. Now that the creature was dead, the horn was brittle, but it was still a potent alchemical ingredient.

Based on the records, when it was crushed into powder, it could be used in illusion enchantments or vision-enhancing potions. However, there weren't a lot of records about that.

Lastly, they were the Optic Nodes. These lens-like nerves from the eyes of magic beasts are used in crafting enchanted scopes, monocles, and magical targeting arrays.

Unfortunately, because of their manner of attacks before, they only get two decent ones.

Soon, they stored all the parts in the supply wagon under insulated hides to prevent decay. Once done, Jax gave a tired stretch.

"Now that was a productive skirmish."

"Let's just hope there's no third act," Fin muttered, wiping blood from his club.

Van squinted ahead. "Let's get moving."

***

Soon, the journey to the Whistler Forest continued.

Because of the terrain, the caravan had to drive slowly. Especially as they got closer to their destination since the roadways started to get narrow.

Thankfully, time passed without much action and soon, they entered Whistler Forest's outer edge. Van knew that there should be some outposts here but after looking around, he didn't notice one.

It seemed that the outpost was in a different location and they might have to walk there.

However, as Van was thinking about this, his ocular lens fed him new data.

[ Aura Signature has been detected: 13 Aura Users found. ]

[ Proximity Alert: 217 meters – Hostile intent confirmed ]

[ Trajectory: Incoming ]

Incoming?

"Get down!" He ordered—but it was already too late.

A sudden hiss filled the air as a volley of flaming arrows rained down toward the apprentices' carriage. Their wagon wasn't mainly targeted and was only hit by five or so stray shots.

THUMPHHH!

At this time, Van confirmed that the arrows didn't damage the carriage at all.

It was all blocked by a Mana Barrier. This spell absorbed the impact and with its size and strength, it must have been done by Instructor Chavez, or perhaps, it was the defensive formation of the carriage itself.

Inside the carriage, the apprentices were obviously surprised by the sudden attack. Unfortunately, none of them even noticed the attack until the arrows started hitting the barrier.

"What in the hells—?!" Marcus was alarmed

Harvey scrambled for his staff and used his senses to detect the enemies…

"Bandits! There's an archer formation!"

Instructor Chavez remained calm as she confirmed that the enemies were only Aura Users...

"Alright… Defensive formation now. Let's see if your studies amounted to anything." She said.

The servants may have rested already, but the opponents this time were Aura Users. It would be better if the Apprentice Mages had some live experience today before they enter the Whistler Forest.

"They probably noticed that there were mostly kids in our caravan, so they dared to attack… Teach them a lesson." She added.

Meanwhile, the servants' wagon had no such barrier. As soon as the second volley of arrows was released, Van immediately informed them, even if they weren't using fire arrows right now.

Although they had Aura, he could still tell that the arrows they used were heavy. Getting hit once or twice might still be possible to endure, but more than that, it could be dangerous for them.

"MOVE!" Van shouted, pulling Theresa down as an arrow zipped past her head.

It crashed into the wagon's wooden side, and it seemed as if it exploded upon impact…

Soon, 13 bandits surged from the bushes—at least a dozen, clad in mismatched armor, held shortbows and sabers.

Their leader, on the other hand, wore a crimson half-mask and rode a black-maned steed. It seemed too impressive for mere bandits. However, the fact that they were all Aura Users meant that they weren't simple at all.

"Take the front wagon! Kill the rest!" The Bandit Leader shouted. At this order, three Bandits headed for the slaves while the rest turned to the Apprentice Mages who had come out of the carriage.

"Stick together! We just need to defend ourselves…" Van commanded as he knew not to worry about their masters.

Just like that, five of them moved a bit forward to turn the battle away from the wagon.

Well, the wagon was already destroyed, but the looted materials were still there, and they didn't want them to be further damaged.

After all, they knew that they could get some percentage of the profit once it was sold.

Then, after a few moments, Van's Ocularis Lens finally finished gathering some information about the Bandits.