Chapter 99: Chapter 98 – Scouting

“The first thing we are going to do is make a quick inventory of what we have,” Yuki said. “That includes supplies and skills. I want to know what exactly each and everyone of you can do. We’ll start with Jared since, apparently, he’s the only one that was allowed to bring a duffel bag.”

Jared said nothing and slowly brought out the items that he stored inside of his bag. There were six large canteens that were filled with what Yuki assumed was water, rations that were packaged into twelve different containers, rope, a couple of knives, and a collapsible tent. 

‘That’s definitely not enough for two days,’ Yuki thought as he took out items from his own bag.

Yuki stuffed his bag with mainly food, half of the volume of the duffel packed tightly with it. He also put a bottle of water purifier inside of a canteen so that he wouldn’t need to rely on bottled water for hydration. Besides that, he brought matches, more rope, a compass, and two sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were rolled up tightly and made of very thin material. They weren’t the cheapest, but they contained warmth and kept out the elements nicely. 

“Why only two sleeping bags?” Joseph asked.

“Because everyone else was supposed to bring their own,” Yuki replied plainly. “At least, that was what I said but it seems that no one decided to take that seriously. I have two because having a spare is always a good thing.”

“I brought two as well,” Yuna said. “We can have two people keep watch and the others use the sleeping bags. We’ll rotate.”

“We’ll go with that,” Yuki nodded. “Now, since no one is watching us, Yuna and I will have a bit more freedom in what we can do.”

“I do?” Yuna asked.

“Yes, you do. And so do I,” Yuki said to her. “But this freedom is only there under one condition.”

He turned his head back toward his team who, besides Ben, were staring at the ground. Whether it was out of shame or just because they were uncomfortable, Yuki didn’t care.

“All of you must not say a word about what happens within this mission. You cannot tell anyone anything that you see. I don’t care if the headmaster herself comes to talk to you; you will not say a thing. Is that understood?”

“I understand, mate,” Ben nodded. 

“Wait, why can’t we say anything?” Joseph asked. “Are you guys going to do something illegal?”

“If saving you is illegal, then yes. We are,” Yuki replied. “In case you didn’t notice, Yuna and I haven’t really been doing much in terms of this mission. Why? Because we dislike attention. But now that we are in a precarious situation, I’m going to try to do what I can to get us out of this situation. So it’s in your best interest to keep quiet. Otherwise I will be stepping back.”

Joseph frowned but his brother nudged him and shook his head. Joseph sighed.

“Fine, we won’t say anything,” he said. 

“That’s good. Because if you didn’t, you would have a very high chance of dying,” Yuki said flatly. “And if by some miracle you all did survive, I’m not confident that you’ll be able to make it out of this forest without help. If you some how did get out, I would then tell the Academy about your complete incompetence and you will all fail. Am I clear?”

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They nodded.

“Now then, we will continue heading toward the troll settlement,” he announced. “Once we have reached our target, I will be scouting the area while you all will stay with Yuna as you set up out camp. Yuna will be in charge whenever I’m not here. Understood?”

More nods.

“Good. Let’s get moving.”

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From then on, Yuki led the group. Their progress through the forest doubled as Yuki locked onto the location of the trolls. He didn’t head directly there since he was still trying to hide just how far his abilities went. Otherwise, he would have been able to easily reach the target within the hour if he walked and within ten minutes if he ran at full speed.

When their march was approaching the two hour mark, Yuki lifted his hand and put his finger to his lips. They had arrived at the troll settlement. Yuki squatted and crept closer to the border of the settlement. He peeked over a bush and was met with a small surprise. Though trolls were described as stupid and primal, there were a number of what looked to be log cabins built. Trolls walked in and out of these houses dressed in cloth that seemed to function as clothes. In the center of this village was a large building that had guards stationed outside.

“Yuna,” Yuki whispered. “I want you to find a clearing and set up camp. I’ll go in and scout.”

“Understood,” Yuna whispered back before creeping off, her feet barely making any sound. The others followed her, twigs snapping.

Yuki waited until he felt them leave before he returned his attention back to the village. He spread his right hand and formed a magic circle that shined dimly. With a little surge of mana, Yuki made himself invisible and undetectable.

‘I still need to be careful,’ he thought as he walked toward the village. ‘Who ever created that barrier is strong enough to be able to detect me even if I have spells on me. If anything, it might make their lives easier since I’m radiating mana.’

He walked around the entire village, making note of the layout of the houses and the amount of trolls that he saw. Besides the houses, Yuki didn’t find anything that was of interest. There was a river that was quite close to the village as well a meadow. Most of the houses looked exactly the same, save for the largest house that Yuki assumed was where the chieftain lived. 

‘We can’t fight the entirety of the village. That would be suicide. There are just too many of them for us to take on unless I ask Akira to help which is obviously not an option.’

Yuki continued watching the village for the next hour. He observed the everyday pattern of the trolls and their lives. He created a mental map of the entire area. When he was satisfied, he connected to the ground and located where Yuna and the team had set up their camp. He ran silently to them and found them sitting over a campfire.

‘Oh, someone is dispersing the smoke with the wind,’ Yuki realised as he peered closer to the fire.

“Yuki, you’re back,” Yuna said. “How did the scouting go?”

“I got enough. There wasn’t much else I could find,” he replied. “We’ll talk while we eat. Tonight we’re going to plan. Tomorrow, we’re going to attack.”