Limitless Evolution: The Path To Immortality

As Silas' group walked through the forest, only Alcraz and Deton spoke about the time it took to find the first beast. Gigi and Siltheria remained quiet, yet both were throwing glances at Silas.

On the one hand, because Silas was a friend of Nymira's, she had expected him to be much stronger than he appeared. Sure, she couldn't feel anything from him, but there had to be something about him that was different, right? After all, he got into the academy and became a 5th year at that.

'Maybe I'm thinking about this in the wrong way? Maybe his expertise isn't in fighting but rather in research and craft. Those courses are highly competitive, even more competitive than the mage and warrior courses. To get into the academy immediately without being deducted a grade or two, he must be good at his courses. He probably chose to take part in this expedition to earn himself a few ingredients…' Gigi's eyes widened before understanding washed over her.

'Maybe they placed so many of us with him to protect him?! Maybe he's a powerful asset to the academy, and despite trying to persuade him not to partake in this expedition, he was insistent. So, instead of stopping him and possibly losing a future partnership with him, they placed him with some of the strongest individuals in the academy. If I'm not wrong, there should be a teacher or two around to watch over us in case anything bad happens.' Gigi came to her conclusion, causing her to proudly nod to herself.

Of course, she suppressed that emotion, not allowing it to reach her face. However, his nodding was enough to catch Silas' attention.

On the other hand, Siltheria was looking at Silas for another reason.

She had caught him staring right at her solar plexus, and while this wasn't an odd thing for a man to do around her, his stare was certainly a first. After all, she could see him analyzing it as if he could see past the skin and muscle, allowing him to stare right at her mana core.

'I'm on the brink of breaking into the sapphire core, yet, despite knowing that, he didn't show a reaction. He knew that I could see him staring at my mana core, but he showed no hesitation when he analyzed my strength, nor did he show any fear when he came to a conclusion.' Siltheria scratched her chin before staring back at him, just to see him glancing at Gigi.

'Green eyes and hair. Maybe he's a healer? It would make sense… He doesn't seem like someone with an inkling of fighting prowess. Everything from his posture to the way he looks at everyone around him. Maybe he knows we're not going to do anything to him due to him being a healer?' Siltheria guessed while remembering her mother's teachings of never pissing off the white mage.

After both girls came to their own conclusions about Silas, they continued walking for several minutes without seeing any creatures of significant strength. Most of them were dealt with by Gigi, while a few were dealt with by Alcraz, who killed them with the swing of his blade.

'This forest looks exactly the same as it did back then. Though, it's quite unlikely that we'll find anything if we don't go deeper. If I remember correctly, the 2-mile mark is when we start seeing predominantly topaz-level creatures, while the 6-mile mark is when we get into the amethyst section of the forest. I've never really gotten to that part, so I don't know anything more. Though, I doubt the army had completely surrounded the 10-mile radius we're allowed to hunt in.' Silas thought to himself before raising a brow.

'Something's looking at me.' A smirk threatened to erupt from the corner of his lips. His eyes slowly drifted to the right before staring right back at the creature that was looking at him.

Tapping the ground with his foot, he formed a brown rune under his sole. In the next instant, the creature's stare dissipated.

Looking forward, Silas saw Gigi looking in the direction of the creature that was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"What's wrong?" Silas asked with a polite smile.

"Nothing. I just felt like something looked at us for a moment." She shrugged.

"Must have run away when you looked at it." Silas nodded lightly.

"We should probably speed up," Siltheria spoke while looking at the two boys ahead of all of them.

"You're probably right. We won't find anything strong around here." Silas chimed in, yet his voice didn't come from where he was earlier.

Suddenly, Siltheria felt a shiver go down her spine as she heard his voice come from right next to her, yet she didn't let it show. She casually looked to the side and stared at Silas, who walked past her without making a single sound.

'Maybe he's an assassin?' She thought to herself. It would have made sense if not for the fact that she was almost certain he was a healer. Many healers, due to their lack of fighting ability, tend to take courses like alchemist, forging, and craftsmanship. Thought that wasn't the only reason.

Those courses, especially ones like alchemy, had high affinities with healers who were typically treated as doctors. Alchemy allowed healers to find another way to treat patients rather than using simple spells on them all the time. Of course, while many of the common illnesses could be treated with a single spell, the same could not be said for certain plagues and illnesses that required more than just a spell.

Some plagues in the past even had their symptoms worsen the moment a healer used a spell to attempt to cure them, while others simply needed higher-tier spells, if not requiring specialized spells for the specific illness that not all healers could administer.

'Maybe I underestimated him? While he's most likely a healer, he could also have other tricks up his sleeves. Combat healers exist, after all. Sure, he might not feel dangerous, but that's probably what he wants us to think. But still. Why would they put someone like him on our team? Maybe the teachers don't know about his combat abilities? He's very good at moving silently, and is probably even better at tricking our senses into believing he's harmless…

Maybe he's a little more dangerous than I first expected?'

'…' For a moment, she stared deeply into Silas' eyes.

'Who are you really, Game Evergreen?'