Even though I was already aware of this, I still felt a spike of profound unease at the news. Beside me, Celeste stopped eating and her face visibly paled.

Ino's voice cracked, and the hand holding the whisper-globe trembled a little. "I find it strange, really. The bridge appearing there means things are going to be incredibly difficult for us this lunar eclipse. That Grade Two territory isn't just extremely vast, meaning far more creatures, but all of those creatures are likely going to be at least Level Twenty."

This was alarming because despite being of the same grade, power scaling was drastic. With every two levels, a creature's strength, defense, and skills increased significantly. Consequently, the difference between a Grade Two creature at Level 12 and one that had reached Level 20 was far greater and more dangerous than the eight-level gap would suggest.

An entire territory of Level Twenty beings? Yes… Ino was right. Things were indeed going to be really difficult for us.

Dion turned to Ino, "Hey, come on, spit it already. What's the good news?"

Ino tapped the whisper-globe and the map on it changed to a different one that had numerous blue dots converging at a spot. Then she spoke. "The good news is that so many cadets have already successfully begun converging at The Puppeteers Grove. From what I can see, though it's only been one day, over two hundred cadets have already gathered, and even more seem to be heading there."

"Over two hundred?" Dion blurted, before he leaned back and relaxed, heaving a sigh of relief. "Ah… that's great then. Thank goodness… so many of us are still alive…"

Not everyone had the terrible luck of waking up in a really horrific Grade Two region like us. Most cadets woke up in a Grade One not too far from each other. Still, even a Grade One territory could be dangerous, and so the fact that many cadets were able to make their way up to the Puppeteer's Grove this early was a bit surprising.

Dion mused, "With that many cadets, we might actually be able to destroy the red bridge before it matures." He turned to Ino. "Now all we need to do is make our way to the puppeteers grove and join them, right?"

Ino turned to face him and nodded in agreement.

There were two things cadets of the first years from the different bastions were advised to do after crossing the veil.

The first was to create a party with the right number of members. Finding people to create one wasn't hard; as long as someone nearby had their Whisperglobe with them, they could be traced. Creating a party provided a balanced combination of abilities, ensuring both better survival and more efficient resource gathering. Together, they could hunt for food and plan strategic level-up quests. But most importantly, parties with the right members defended and looked out for one another.

After creating a party, the second thing cadets were advised to do was to try and make their way to the Puppeteer's Grove.

The Puppeteer's Grove was one of the few places previous cadets had successfully destroyed all inhabitants, making it a relatively safe gathering spot. Cadets could use this territory as a long-term refuge, after which, by the end of the six months, they could then move to locate the Blue Bridge.

If we could make it to the Puppeteer's Grove safely, we wouldn't have to be constantly on guard against hostile creatures, or worrying about finding a secure place to rest.

Also, as Dion said, with that many cadets this early, the first years might be able to come up with a proper strategy and, if everything goes well, might even succeed in destroying the Red Bridge in the home of the Sculpted Ones before it matures.

"By the way," Dion began, turning toward me with a wide grin. "Since we are already a party, we need a leader." He raised his hand instantly. "I vote Cedric."

I coughed, practically choking on the jerky I was eating. "Huh?"

"I vote Cedric too." Ino added, raising her hand and looking at me with a steady gaze.

Before I could process that, Celeste looked over and raised her hand as well. When I turned to her, she gave me a simple nod.

'What?'

But the most shocking moment was seeing Aika, who was still drinking, simply raise her hand without a glance my way.

Before I could even speak, Dion clapped his hands together. "It's decided then! Unanimous! So, when are we leaving for the Puppeteer's Grove, Cedric?"

'What just happened?'

"Wait… wait… hold it there. Why am I the leader?" I asked trying to wipe the bewildered look off my face.

Dion took a bite of the remaining jerky in his hand. "Isn't it obvious? You're the only one amongst us that's fit to be."

'Huh? What's that supposed to mean?'

Just then, Aika flinched, causing me to whip my head toward her.

"You ok—" I began, but then she raised a finger and slammed her palm against my chest, stopping my words cold. "Shhh!"

Her usual look of indifference was suddenly replaced with a predatory look as she quickly stood up and turned towards the dark narrow part of the cave leading to the entrance. Then she slowly began to unsheathe her katana.

Suddenly, everyone grew tense.

We all stood simultaneously, then began slowly and quietly shifting closer to each other around the fireplace. At the same time, both Dion and Celeste raised their hands to their sides, summoning their Bonds. While Ino dissolved instantly, converging into a spear in Dion's outstretched hand, a small, flame-wreathed knife appeared in Celeste's grip, the licking fire immediately receding back into the metal.

Our faces were masks of tight confusion and mounting fear as we quietly waited for the source of Aika's sudden tension.

A few tense seconds passed, and then we suddenly began to hear voices and footsteps, like people slowly approaching.

The closer they got, the more I could hear what they were saying. A female voice echoed in:

"Did we really have to take shelter in here? We could have just kept moving, you know? Hyung will be pissed if we don't return today."

A gruff male voice echoed closer now:

"It will be night soon. Those stinking creatures will rise again."

The female grunted. "Come on… don't tell me you're afraid of the trash creatures in this territory."

"I'm not Soo-min. But you know very well that it's burdensome to have to fight them in their numbers. And besides, they no longer give us much EXP anyway."

Hearing the voices, a slight wave of relief washed over me. 'Oh... it's just people,' I thought. I had assumed the threat was a monster, but thank goodness, it was likely just Dominants seeking shelter from the dark outside.

However, my confusion sharply spiked as I noticed Aika grow even more rigid, her grip on the hilt of her katana tightening until her knuckles turned white.

'Huh…?'

Before I could ponder why, the two approaching people stepped into the cavern.

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