Thunder exploded overhead, mixed with branching bolts of lightning that turned the twisting sea of trees ghostly pale before plunging it back into deeper darkness.
After leaving the area around the theoretical studies building and crossing a stone path, Lucia entered one of the beast enclosure zones, the Verdant Forest Domain.
As the only place on the entire Eastern Continent that studied the breeding and cultivation of magical beasts, Beast Spirit Academy covered an unimaginably vast area. Viewed from an airship, it resembled a massive open world made up of forests, snowy mountains, lava fields, great lakes, plains, and other regions, all harmoniously coexisting under the reinforcement of magic arrays. The teaching buildings and other places students frequently visited were merely the tip of the iceberg at Beast Spirit Academy's entrance.
The academy's vast grounds had always been a source of pride for its students, but to Lucia now, they were nothing but trouble. The Hall of Truth, the central hub of the barrier, stood at the very center of Beast Spirit Academy—in the depths of the beast enclosure zones. To get there, she first had to cross this forest filled with magical beasts. The journey was unexpectedly long.
Glowing moss occasionally appeared on the ground of the Verdant Forest Domain, providing Lucia with a little light. She advanced carefully at a steady pace. Midway through, a cultist attempted to ambush her, only for her to kill him with a backhanded thrust of her sword.
Like the one she had killed earlier, this cultist's strength clearly came from a blessing. The difference was that Lucia also found several metal canisters engraved with magical patterns on him. They were likely some sort of alchemical item.
After examining what was inside the canisters, her heart turned cold as she vaguely understood the