Following the lead of Braiden, the rest of the partic.i.p.ants quickly made their way to the closest edge of the woods from Lunar City . Like the rumors, the forest was made up of completely leafless, white wood trees . Locals named these White Witches . While some of the trees were pitch black in color, named Black Night trees . In a way, the aesthetic of the forest was beautiful . Yet, at the same time, it was eerie and foreboding . The most dangerous part were these trees actually . The branches of the white trees grew sharp branches that could cut a person if they did not walk and dodge cautiously . While Black Night wood contains a naturally produced paralyzing poison which would leave people stranded in a forest in the freezing weather with no way to call for help or move . These victims would either die slowly or get eaten by the magic beasts who live in the woods . White Witch wood was also known for its st.u.r.dy yet lightweight characteristics which make it a prime material to make arrows . This commodity allowed the Snow Country to create some trade routes with the Elf Empire . Black Night wood is does not have a real aboveboard marketability, however, the black market is always teeming with this wood . It is the main ingredient in lots of poisons and even poisonous weapons making . Generally, only a small group of magic beasts lived in these woods as they were able to resist against the harsh conditions . However, this place was now teeming with captured magic beasts . If a partic.i.p.ant was lucky, they could come across an already dead magic beast as there was no rule stating that the magic beasts could not fight and kill one another . Also, if their previous habitat was nothing like the Dead Woods, they might not be able to persist in such conditions .

Looking at the environment, Greyson did think it was an ideal place to choose for an exam . Without the usual leaves and dense coverage of a thriving forest, the s.p.a.ce felt more open and would be harder for any magic beast to hide itself . However, magic beasts would not just lie in wait to be killed . If someone tried fighting and chasing one down, they would also have to pay attention and be wary of the branches surrounding them . It's a game of dodging while hunting . Actually, Greyson did not feel too much fear towards such circ.u.mstances . It was not blind confidence, either . When he activated his dragon bloodline, it was very hard even for the White Witch wood to cut him . His light element would also be able to help him ward off the effects of the Black Night poison . The only problem was that it was hard to maintain such states . Therefore, he decided he would hunt in spurts and would find a relatively open s.p.a.ce to take a break . Compared to others, he already had enough advantages . Wasting them all by just charging in recklessly would just be ridiculous .

"Alright! It is right about time to start the test . At this time in three days, the test will end . I expect you all to be punctual . Those who arrive late will not have their accomplishments counted and will be automatically forfeiting this compet.i.tion . I would recommend getting all your hunting done the night before so you can comfortably arrive before the time limit . That is all . " Braiden kept an expressionless, straight face as he spoke . Looking to the side, he nodded as a gesture to signal the person standing in front of the bell . Saluting, the man swung the rope and a long, loud clang resounded throughout silencing the group . Afterwards, it was like slight chaos broke out . Everyone pulled on their groups members and scrambled into the woods hoping to quickly find magic beasts . Greyson looked on calmly as he approached at his own pace . Not too long after, he heard some cries and shrieks of pain coming from the people rus.h.i.+ng in unprepared . Tsking, Greyson did not understand why these people rushed in if they had no understanding of the Dead Woods .  

Circling around the White Witch tree in front of him, Greyson decided to test it . Lifting his finger, white scales popped up on the skin and his nail grew longer, sharper, and curved into a talon . Pressing his finger onto the tip of a branch, the scales remained undamaged, but Greyson could feel the sharpness . If he did not have the scales, the branch could just stab right through his finger if he was not careful . Finding it shocking, Greyson's eyes actually lit up with happiness . Flipping his hand, Genesis appeared in his palm . With one clean slash powered by the wind element, his sword sliced right through the trunk . Touching his necklace onto the now-cut tree, Greyson collected the wood . Repeating these steps, not just with the White Witch trees but also the Black Night trees, he continued h.o.a.rding a decent amount of materials . Although he could not do it right this moment, having such great arrow-making materials would be useful for later .  

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I mean, the Moon Empire is basically allowing us to stay here for three days with no restrictions . Leaving without these expensive and rare materials is like wasting their goodwill, no?

"Hehe, Greyson, you are more wicked than you look . Obviously, all the other partic.i.p.ants are probably too busy working to find magic beasts to try to cut down trees and collect materials . That's why there are no rules against it . " Theo chuckled happily from atop Greyson's head while he watched his friend's actions .

"It's an oversight on their part . It's not my fault . " Shrugging, Greyson did not put much thought into it . They could not really penalize him, at least not publicly .  

Just then, Theo's ears twitched slightly and looked towards the right .  

"What is it?" Sensing the movement, Greyson also turned to look but there was nothing in sight .

"A friend!" Smiling, Theo hopped off Greyson's head onto the ground and bounded away in the snow . Greyson was only able to keep track of him due to his golden fur that contrasted against the white snow . Afterwards, Theo suddenly stopped and made some squeaking noises . From within the snow, a cute small white head of fur popped out . It was another mouse, a Snowfur . These Snowfur mice were rather low-level beasts that were weak and really only useful for their cute looks . However, there small size and white fur allowed them to peacefully exist within these Dead Woods and they thrive due to the small number of predators .  

A little conversation ensued between the two small magic beasts . Almost like old friends, they were happily squeaking away with each other . Feeling slightly impatient, Greyson cleared his throat as if to remind Theo of his presence .

"Ah! Grey, my buddy here said he can lead us to the magic beasts that recently arrived!"

"Really, why would he do that? Doesn't he know I will kill them . "

"Hehe, we mice are normally closer to the bottom of the food chain unless our bloodline and talent level is fairly high . Coexisting so peacefully with the other native magic beasts was a very lucky situation for a weak race like the Snowfur Mice . The recent arrivals are mostly all strong predators and the mice are the ones suffering the most damage . " Theo was not surprised at all that this mouse decided to help them out .

"He said that?"

"It's a she . And not in so many words, but that's pretty much the gist of the stuff she conveyed . After all, her intelligence is not that high . She just knows her friends and tribe members are dying and new predators are lurking in the forest . "

"Okay, well, tell her to lead the way!" With no other alternate plans, Greyson did not see the harm in trusting this little mouse .

As it turned out, he made the correct decision . Though the power levels of the magic beasts were not consistent, this Snowfur Mouse led to Greyson to around a mix of 20 different magic beasts . Some of them were even dead and he caught the dead magic beast along with the scavengers eating the corpse . The highest was equivalent to a magister level stage four magician while the rest were a mix of stage three and below . Killing them and grabbing the pendant was one thing, but he was also glad that he could collect the bodies as well . Later on, he could sell the fur, magic cores, and other materials . Grinning contently about his future earnings, Greyson decided to find a relatively open s.p.a.ce to recover his energy . The Snowfur Mouse, originally nicknamed by Greyson as Little White, was named Holly in the end by Theo who could not help but scorn Greyson's naming sense . She stayed with them happily as she watched the number of threats continuing going down . As Greyson meditated, Holly and Theo kept guard .  

Before long, Greyson started again . The first day pa.s.sed rather quickly and uneventfully . He dropped into a search, find, and kill routine . With Holly helping them, Theo and Greyson quickly collected almost 50 with even two magister level stage five magic beasts mixed in . Those two were a difficult kill on Greyson's part . Working as a pair, the two were Nilhir Apes . Their thick fur would absorb the power of impacts and was also extremely durable against sharp weapons . They were actually earth element beasts and at a slight magical disadvantage in the Dead Woods, however, they mostly attacked in a close combat style while taking advantage of their natural physical strength and tremendous stamina . Completely ignoring the trees, the Apes eventually went berserk in that moment of do or die against Greyson . Exploding with unexpected power, Greyson was rather injured during their last-ditch retaliation . The situation would have been worse if Theo had not jumped in and quickly pulled Greyson to dodge using his lightning element movement magic .

Holding his side, he groaned in pain . Moving his limbs slightly, he could tell that a couple ribs were fractures . The rest of his body was covered in bruises, but nothing more than skin deep . His scales could take the credit for him receiving the minimum amount of damage from a direct attack . Theo was also injured and his were much more serious . Gently holding the mouse to make sure to not aggravate the injuries, Greyson stopped using his dragon bloodline and began to use light magic to heal the both of them . In his dragon form, his magic was weaker and he could not access the normal seven elements, but his physical body was many times st.u.r.dier . During this moment of vulnerability, he was not paying close attention to his surroundings . Holly's ears twitched as she could feel the vibrations of the ground that signaled the presence of another group . Squeaking loudly, she ran over to Greyson to warn him .

Surprised by the noise, Greyson looked over at Holly only in time to watch as an attack rained down on both of them .

"Holly! Watch out!" Before those words even came out of his mouth, he was already trying to set up an ice s.h.i.+eld around himself and the mouse still a couple meters away . The s.h.i.+eld went up in time, but the two b.a.l.l.s made of wind and fire slammed into the s.h.i.+elds and exploded . Not strong enough, the ice burst into pieces and Greyson and Holly were both catapulted backwards by the impact . Still tightly holding Theo, Greyson knew what kind of trees were behind him so he s.h.i.+fted his body to the left . Gasping out in pain, his right shoulder, torso, and thigh were stabbed right through by the branch of a White Witch tree . Breathing hitched, he tried to regain his bearings and look around for the enemy . Clenching his jaw and squeezing his eyes shut, Greyson pulled his body off the tree . Unable to contain a yelp of pain, he exhaled a shaky breath and held back the tears . Bleeding profusely, Greyson quickly activated his light element to start healing the wounds . Turning to his right, he managed to spot Holly on the ground . Limping over, he went to heal her as well . Thankfully, he could tell she managed to miss any of the sharp branches . However, the moment he picked her up, the color drained from his face . The still warm body was completely limp in his hands . Almost instantly, he knew that Holly's weak body could not handle the explosion's power and the bones in her body were broken . The tears he managed to hold back earlier fell one by one . Sadness turned to resentment as he jerked around to gaze closely at his surroundings . Tucking Theo away in his pockets, he prepared for battle . He could not understand why they were still hiding instead of attacking while he was injured, but he did not have the leisure to think through the possibilities .

Frustrated with his inability to see, Greyson took one look at his wounds before deciding to activate his dragon bloodline . His healing barely started, the wounds started to bleed once again . Breathing deeply, his now purple eyes glared at four different spots . The scent was caught . Rapidly, he brought out his bow and nocked four arrows . Seemingly noticing the change in his behavior, more wind and fire b.a.l.l.s flew at him while the snow grabbed at his ankles . Knowing they were trying to throw off his rhythm, Greyson jumped up to quickly dodge . Within the small pause between spells, the four arrows flew out like bolts of lightning . He really wanted to see what kind of people were sneak attacking him .  Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .