The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

Van didn't care about the reactions or voices of the other students and even the instructor.

He silently moved as he laid out all the items from the satchel. The mystical satchel was truly incredible, even without being able to use Mana, he was able to access it and take out all the items they had collected so far.

Of course, it wasn't just the satchel that was mystical; it was the containers themselves that could store numerous items.

Soon, the long obsidian table between him and Instructor Chavez started getting filled.

First came the Glowplume Ferns—bundle after bundle of them, neatly bound with string, appeared. Their glowing leaves could even shimmer faintly even in broad daylight.

It was always such a beautiful sight.

Gian, who was counting the number of ferns, couldn't help but feel surprised.

"That's already… quite a few."

Just from the ferns, they had probably exceeded their points!

Indeed, Van just kept going as he placed all the ferns they collected.

Ten bundles.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Forty…

When he finally stopped, the ferns had formed a small wall of shimmering ferns, stacked neatly.

Chavez counted swiftly, her eyes narrowing.

"Eighty Glowplume Ferns."

She looked up, momentarily speechless.

"That's 800 points."

The students gasped. Marcus's fingers twitched. Gian's eye visibly twitched as he knew that Julia and Van would also get the special reward.

As expected, Van swiftly started with the second item.

He gently placed the Whistlehorn Toads—each group of five was sealed in a container since storing them individually could be harmful to the Toads.

Thankfully, the amphibians were still breathing, so they should get full points for that.

As a matter of fact, these Toads were taken as Julia and Van were following Harrison and Clyde deeper into the forest last night.

In the meantime, Julia just stood with her hands behind her back, utterly silent. She already had a rough calculation about the number of mission items they collected… She knew that they should be able to pass 3,000 points easily.

Then, after Van finished laying out the toads, he took a single step back.

Chavez leaned forward.

"Fifteen Whistlehorn Toads. That's 300 points."

Harvey frowned.

"That's incredible…" He muttered under his breath.

But then Van moved again.

He soon organized the Honeycap Mushrooms they had collected...

However, due to the number of items they collected, some were sealed in herb jars. Others were wrapped in wax-treated cloth and paper to preserve freshness.

Well, even Julia wasn't able to prepare enough as she wasn't aware that they would collect so much.

After all, even if the 1,000 Point was their objective to get a Special Reward, Instructor Chavez didn't tell them to only collect up to that point.

Because of that, they decided to take as many as they could.

One by one, he placed them down, until the table was filled rich amber hue of twenty intact Honeycaps.

Twenty.

Chavez's eyes narrowed sharply. These Honeycap Mushrooms were quite popular in the Tower. After all, they weren't just delicious for a meal, but they could also be used in Alchemy for beauty products.

She immediately bent down to inspect the closest one, noting its mana-rich scent and radiant cap.

"Twenty Honeycap Mushrooms… one of them slightly degraded…" she murmured.

"That's 19 at full value—950 points, and one degraded—40 points. That's 990 in total."

Thankfully, only 10 points were deducted. Well, the degraded one wasn't really their fault; it was already like that when they collected it.

Still, the Apprentice Mages already knew that they had been defeated by Julia.

With 800 points from the ferns, plus the 300 points from the toads, and the 990 points just now, Julia and Van had already collected 2,090 so far!

Still, Van wasn't finished yet!

He soon brought out a few more items from his satchel!

They were containers for the last items!

Van carefully placed the containers on the table, and with that, he revealed the Mana-Rolling Beetles they had collected so far!

Indeed, they saw the container filled with the Mana-Rolling Beetles.

All of them were alive and glowing with a faint mana.

They could see the beetles' legs twitching faintly. Their shells even glowed faintly with sapphire and emerald veins.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four…

More.

Chavez took an instinctive half-step forward.

By the time Van was done, twenty beetles lay in front of her—all alive, well-fed, and had stable movements.

Gasps exploded around the courtyard.

Even Lena's eyes widened.

Harvey's jaw dropped as he didn't expect that Van or Julia would have such a special method to capture these beetles... "No way…"

At this point, Marcus looked physically ill.

Chavez stared at the perfect specimens before her as she had to confirm if there were any problems. However, even after inspecting for a while, she couldn't find any fault...

She didn't speak for a long moment as he made a double-check...

Then, finally:

"Twenty Mana-Rolling Beetles. At full value. That's… 2,000 points."

Her voice was soft, but everyone heard it clearly.

Then she looked up, locking eyes with Julia.

"Your team total… is 4,090 points."

The courtyard fell into stunned silence.

They couldn't even reach Julia's points, even if they combined their scores!

It was such an overwhelming difference in their abilities!

Harvey muttered, "Are they monsters? How did they do that? Did they get help from the Badgers?"

Gian clenched his fists, looking away. He had no idea how they managed to do it.

As for Lena, she was already happy that she was able to reach 1,000 points for the Special Reward.

'Well, is she going to get another reward for getting the highest point?' Lena mused as she glanced at Instructor Chavez.

Chavez slowly exhaled. Her usual cold expression gave way to a rare expression: awe.

"In the entire history of the Whistler Forest expedition, no student has ever come close to this level of excellence."

Julia bowed slightly as she knew that most of the praises should be given to Van...

"We simply did what needed to be done." She replied.

Van, behind her, gave a single respectful nod.

His expression remained calm since up until now, he was still thinking of how he could make that Aura Advancement Pill.

Anyway, Chavez straightened, regaining her composure.

"You two did really well inside that forest…"

Then, she spoke louder for everyone to hear.

"Aside from the Special Reward for reaching the 1,000 Points, another reward will be given for first place…"

As expected, a hidden reward would be given away for getting this many points.

This made the two other teams who failed feel terrible once again. After all, they could remember the times when they procrastinated and decided to rest or sightsee instead of searching for the mission items. Perhaps, if they didn't waste their time, they would've collected enough points.

After a few moments, Instructor Chavez continued her announcements.

"Listen closely…" She said.

"The mission points you've gathered during this Whistler Forest expedition will now be converted into Academic Points."

She let the words sink in before continuing.

"As you know, these Academic Points will serve as currency within the Academy. You may exchange them for ingredients, mystical tools, spell scrolls, upgraded dormitory privileges, enhanced food rations, or even direct access to certain classes and training facilities."

Everyone was happy after hearing that. After all, they also wanted to be rewarded for getting all of these items for the past three days.

"Yes, these points are now part of your academic record. They will be a permanent reflection of your achievements—and may be used to advance your status, earn rare opportunities, or even avoid punishment in some cases. Remember that."

She then turned sharply toward three figures. "Lena. Harvey. Julia. With over 1,000 points earned, you will follow me for your Special Reward."

As for the slaves, they weren't part of it.

Soon, they all watched as the three Apprentice Mages followed Instructor Chavez to a private wooden house.

Inside the house, a box had already been prepared.

Chavez picked the box and spoke…

"Lena, Harvey, Julia… This is your reward."

She opened the box to reveal several small silver rings. They looked normal but the three knew that they weren't simple.

"These are Basic Storage Rings. Enough to store up to 30 kilograms of material, and far more durable than any satchel. Consider this your first step into practical magic. You can get one…"

Thirty kilograms wasn't that bad at all, so everyone looked happy after hearing this, and soon, they picked one.

The size didn't matter as it easily adjusted on their fingers.

"You've earned it," Chavez said simply as she looked at the three students grinning from ear to ear.

Then, with grateful nods and quiet thanks, the two left the room, leaving Julia standing alone before the instructor.

Chavez didn't speak right away.

Instead, she sat on the bench and used her own Storage Ring to retrieve a few things for Julia…

"For achieving first place and gathering a total of 4,090 points, you are eligible for one of three exclusive rewards."