The sky in the east was still blue-gray at dawn, with a few lonely stars hanging upon the curtain of darkness as if reluctant to leave.
The entire Iketerite Academy was still asleep, shrouded in tranquility.
The fog was heavy today, and the air was damp yet fresh.
The three members of the Civilized Exemplar Squad had already gathered as promised. After breakfast, they strolled leisurely along the broad campus roads veiled in the lingering darkness, as if taking a walk.
"The three of us are going to slaughter everything this time."
"...You two do the slaughtering. I'll cheer you on."
"Hughberlian, you have to protect me. Frei won't take care of me!"
None of the three seemed to dislike the quiet campus and fresh air at five in the morning.
Over the past month or so, the newly joined Frei had already become a highly in-sync partner with Lanchi and Hughberlian.
Although Lanchi and Hughberlian spent more time together on days when they had classes at the Sage Institute, whenever they went to the Student Union Room after class, they would most likely run into Frei.
Sometimes Frei would sit on the sofa reading newspapers, sometimes he would play chess with Monast, and sometimes he would vanish without a trace.
Lanchi always cheerfully said that their squad had finally assembled the Warrior-Mage-Priest Iron Triangle.
But Hughberlian only felt that the three of them were more like a Rogue-Hunter-Shaman lineup.
She herself had already become a stealth-oriented utility rogue.
Frei's combat class was neither a tank warrior nor a battle assassin. He was actually a trap-oriented hunter.
And Lanchi, that inhuman thing, only had to summon a few Nauseating Aura creatures and stand there, just like a shaman.
To this day, Hughberlian still thought it was bizarre that the three