His gaze dropped to the creature’s corpse.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwyDKTYhBy
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It was small. Fur matted with blood and dirt. The teeth suggested a predator, but not a particularly large or dangerous one. The bone structure looked delicate under the damaged hide, like the thing had been built for speed rather than sustained combat.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18lHOb9k5p
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Weak.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ5IgwMU4o
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It looked almost pathetic lying there - nothing like the creatures that had crawled through the Ashlands, nothing approaching the crystalline horrors that had stalked him through burning mazes under four suns. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxVB1Wu946
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This thing... this thing was barely worth the name creature.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8a35INFfj
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Cursed rank, probably. The lowest tier of threat. Something that could kill civilians but posed minimal danger to trained Chosen. Not something that should have required Theron’s intervention. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JLZYb4Wpw
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The gap between Academy training and actual survival experience suddenly felt vast.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL5McugBO2
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These students had spent months drilling technique and building strength in controlled environments. Had sparred against each other under instructor supervision. Had faced challenges that carried no real consequence beyond embarrassment.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpFpFbsxMk
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They weren’t prepared for this. Not really.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVXiA5rfZb
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Even something as relatively minor as this creature represented a threat they hadn’t developed instincts to handle yet.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xsmTjD33C
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Cel straightened, turning away from the corpse.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuIgiKWsRj
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Hestia was already moving. She’d finished whatever mental assessment she’d been conducting and had started walking back toward their original path.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd1rJ8Mtva
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“Shouldn’t we take that with us?” Cel called after her. He gestured toward the corpse.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3mHpAO0Pw
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Hestia stopped. Didn’t turn around immediately. Just stood there with her back to him, posture carrying the kind of stillness that suggested she was deciding whether the question deserved an answer.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGBJL9emMQ
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Then she looked over her shoulder, crimson eyes finding his.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUjbpRKn5y
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“We would only eat something as vile as rift-creature meat in absolute need.” Her tone held no judgment, just statement of fact. “And we are nowhere near that desperate.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUu0mXKBcqr
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She continued walking.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKdX2bQ7UV
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Cel looked at the corpse one more time. At the twisted limbs and matted fur. At the particular wrongness that marked it as something that didn’t belong in this world. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiVoVgFbgJ
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Then he followed Hestia back into the forest.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKByEyBe3QW
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The next days passed in patterns that quickly became routine.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJhyrXqSd9
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Groups traveled their assigned routes during daylight hours. Navigating forest terrain, marking progress on their maps, encountering minor obstacles that required problem-solving but not combat. They converged each evening at designated meeting points - clearings Hestia had marked during planning, spaces large enough to accommodate thirty students plus their equipment.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKx69vckxk
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Fires were built. Food was prepared. Information was shared.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvMcs6L2sJ
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And whenever a whistle sounded during the day’s travel, announcing that some group had encountered a creature, the response was always the same.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgc2E40YwA
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Theron arrived first.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkLJHtEJTY
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Charged through the forest with his characteristic earnestness, armor gleaming, weapon ready. Then he’d eliminate the threat with efficiency that demonstrated why all seven gods had blessed him.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIox6gnQZ4
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The saved students would express gratitude. His promise to come whenever needed would be repeated.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSatFEmR2h
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Cel and Hestia usually arrived second. Sometimes third, if another group happened to be close when the whistle sounded. But always too late to do anything except confirm that Theron had already resolved the situation.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenuM2qcllB
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It became almost comedic after the fifth or sixth repetition. The predictability of it. The way students started looking toward the trees expectantly after blowing their whistles, knowing Theron would materialize like some kind of heroic spirit summoned by the sound.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugG8KyDGpK
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Cel found his initial concern about fulfilling his mission fading further with each uneventful day. Not disappearing entirely - he remained alert, aware that patterns could break, that real danger could emerge at any moment. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWzFbLlsrp
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But the journey was proving easier than expected.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVdQSZ9WdB
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If this continued, if Theron kept playing hero and Hestia’s organizational system kept functioning, then maybe everyone actually would make it to Life Clan territory and back without serious incident.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCmJ7CcJEZ
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The thought carried strange weight. Because part of him had been expecting catastrophe. Had been preparing for the moment when everything went wrong, students died under his watch and he proved inadequate to the responsibility Veyron had assigned him.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBJlVyE6U3
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But days accumulated without disaster. Miles passed without major incident. And slowly, carefully, something that might have been confidence started building in his chest.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkoDPHBpGL
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Underbrush snagged at his ankles. Cel glanced down, kicked free of it - and realized there wasn't much left to snag on.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3va5AKEQdV
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The trees had thinned. Undergrowth had thinned with them. Somewhere in the last stretch of walking, without him marking the exact moment, the forest had loosened its grip.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DqhHrZLPe
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He looked up.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnV2fICuIY
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A road stretched ahead. And far ahead, wooden walls rose against the horizon.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht1bw60fng
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Not impressive walls. Nothing like Stella’s stone fortifications. Just logs driven into earth and lashed together, creating a barrier tall enough to stop most creatures and solid enough to buy time for defenders to respond. A wooden gate stood open in the center, allowing passage for whatever traffic the road carried.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWXblp93lz
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Their first checkpoint.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe63f8RlUk
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The first village on their journey. Which meant they’d covered roughly a quarter of the distance to Verdanthold.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHpAUI438h
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Figures stood near the entrance. As they drew closer, details resolved - the familiar severe posture of Instructor Saren, the broad shoulders and scarred face of Instructor Calder. Both waiting with the patient stillness of people who’d arrived early and had nothing better to do than watch students trickle in.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt26SnDBYJP
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Students had already gathered near the instructors. Perhaps fifteen, clustered in small groups, speaking in low voices while they waited for the rest to arrive.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3Rr2hPURn
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Saren’s gaze found them as they approached. Her expression remained its usual composed neutrality, but she inclined her head fractionally in acknowledgment.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXshCtB4pY
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“Lady Hestia. Celvian.” Her voice carried the same clipped precision it held in lectures. “Welcome.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2VYVT2bbk
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Calder nodded once, the gesture economical. His attention lingered on Hestia specifically. “The other students mentioned you took charge.” Something that might have been approval colored his tone. “Groups assigned by capability. Whistle signals for threats. Evening coordination meetings.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxbZhzPCoA
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“It seemed practical,” Hestia said. Simple statement, no false modesty or pride.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2bSkE3HVs
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“Practical and effective.” Saren moved closer, her posture shifting into something more conversational despite maintaining professional distance. “We’ve received reports from several groups. No injuries. No close calls requiring our intervention.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopcgkKvD1a
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She paused, studying Hestia.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HYdwn6xFX
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“Your leadership capabilities exceed what I anticipated.” Not quite a compliment. More an observation that contradicted previous conclusions. “House Mortveil should be satisfied with your development.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyubKRBDlv5
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Hestia’s expression didn’t change. “Thank you, Instructor.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZOikyWwph
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The conversation continued. Saren asking questions about group dynamics, whether any students had struggled with their assignments, if the whistle system had produced any false alarms or delayed responses. Hestia answered with characteristic precision, providing relevant details without unnecessary elaboration.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV905jeuMMI
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Calder interjected occasionally, his questions focused on combat encounters and physical conditioning. Whether groups were maintaining proper alertness. If anyone had demonstrated particularly poor or excellent judgment under pressure.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcssZEfhtZT
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More students arrived while they spoke. Groups emerging from the forest, spotting the instructors and making their way toward the gathering. Voices rose as people recognized each other, sharing stories about the day’s travel with the particular energy of those who’d survived something they’d been worried about.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN1MgdKAu7
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Cel let the conversations wash over him. His attention drifted across the assembled students, cataloging faces and checking for Lior. But he wasn’t there yet. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEq3NGhajBc
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Then his gaze drifted back to Hestia.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRBNFX4tWs
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She was still engaged in discussion with the Instructors. Her posture maintained its usual composed straightness, hands at her sides, crimson eyes focused with polite attention.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXqJUQQYSp
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But something was wrong.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCIQRvRzIZ
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The composed neutrality had cracked slightly. Not obviously. Not in a way that would be visible to anyone who didn’t know her.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFbRKsFT8E
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Cel studied her profile, trying to read whatever emotion was bleeding through her usual mask.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMw9gOzrSU
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‘Is she… angry?’1234 copyright protection141ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNFQnNQhgH 尼

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