Alex was looking at the girl. Now that the fight was over, he could finally take a proper look at her.
She looked about sixteen, a petite figure carrying the lively spark of youth.
Her hair—deep red, like autumn fire—was tied in a loose ponytail that swayed gently with every step. Clear aquamarine eyes reflected a curious mix of innocence and quiet determination; bright, yet with a subtle depth that hinted at thoughtfulness beyond her age.
Her clothes were simple—a loose cream-colored shirt with faint pale-blue patterns, and dark pants, the kind worn by commoners who valued comfort over display. They were trendy among commoners but not extravagant enough to step into noble territory.
Yet she wore them with a natural grace that made the modest outfit look almost stylish. Despite her simple appearance, her body was well-kept—toned and nimble, shaped by movement and effort rather than idleness.
Though still young, there was promise in her—a glimpse of beauty that would only sharpen with time. A quiet charm that hinted at future elegance.
The girl approached the duo, then spoke.
"Thank you both for helping me, but… aren't you angry that I stole the kill?"
Marc was the first to respond.
"Of course not. You fought just like us, so it doesn't bother us that you took the kill."
"He's right," Alex added. "Besides, neither of us has a skill with penetrative power like yours. The monster could've escaped otherwise."
"I'm Marc, and he's Alex. We're both from B-Class. Nice to meet you, Tessa," Marc said, introducing them.
"Huh—you know who I am?" Tessa asked, surprised.
"Well, unlike us, you're pretty famous for being the only commoner in A-Class," Alex explained.
"W-Well, thank you anyway… I should probably take my leave." Tessa, unused to compliments, grew shy and avoided eye contact.
"Why don't you stick with us for the rest of the test?" Marc suggested. "You've got to be as mana-exhausted as we are, right?"
"Yeah, he's right," Alex agreed.
"Okay…" Tessa nodded softly.
She was tired and alone—after all, no other commoners wanted to team up with her, believing she was too close to nobles. On the other hand, the nobles didn't want her around because she was still a commoner.
And so, the duo became a trio.
After spending some time meditating to recover mana, they began walking, looking for a place to rest for the night. Along the way, they fought and defeated several more monsters, taking one kill each.
Alex, however, had to stop tormenting nobles. With Tessa around, they could easily be recognized, and besides, he wasn't sure how she would react if she found out.
Night had just started to fall when they found a small cave that could fit the three of them.
Marc rolled a large boulder to cover most of the entrance, leaving just enough space for air to circulate. Inside, the three settled in.
Alex pulled out a torch, which Tessa lit with a small spark of fire magic. He placed it near the opening so the smoke drifted outside, leaving them air to breathe.
They continued gathering mana until full, then decided on a guard rotation.
Alex pulled out a sleeping bag.
"You sure are prepared, huh?" Tessa said with a small smile before continuing, "Also, where are you even pulling all that from?"
Alex simply lifted his pocket watch and used a little mana to materialize Marc's sleeping bag. That, the torch, and his own sleeping bag were nearly the limit of what he could store inside the small sub-space.
"A sub-space artifact!" Tessa exclaimed. No matter how small, those items were incredibly expensive.
"Yeah," Alex confirmed casually.
"Can I take a look at it?" she asked.
Alex handed her the pocket watch.
Tessa's eyes sparkled with fascination as she examined it. "Where did you even find this?"
"That was the only thing my parents left me," Alex said quietly.
"You're an orphan?" she asked gently.
"I was, until about a year and some months ago. Then I got adopted. But Marc and I both came from an orphanage."
"I see…" she said softly.
"Anyway," Alex continued, "you can take my sleeping bag. I'll keep first watch, then wake Marc, he'll do his round, and then wake you. We'll try to get at least six hours of sleep each. At first light, we move and try to get a few more kills on our way back."
With the plan settled, Alex sat quietly by the torch. He had three hours before waking Marc, so he used the time to train his Senturion control and then continued to gather mana.
Three hours passed quickly. He woke Marc, who took over guard duty.
They tracked time by the torch—it had about twelve hours of fuel before burning out completely.
When the first light of dawn peeked through the small entrance, Tessa woke Alex and Marc.
They went out to hunt for breakfast, and within an hour, Alex was roasting chunks of meat over a fire. He sprinkled some seasoning he had stored in the leftover space of his pocket watch's subspace.
After a short while, he handed a perfectly seared, mouthwatering piece of meat to each of his companions and took one for himself.
"It's really tasty. I didn't expect to eat something this good in the jungle," Tessa said, impressed.
"Yeah, Alex is one hell of a chef. He was taught by his adoptive mother," Marc added proudly.
"Thanks," Alex said, a little flustered. He wasn't used to being praised by a girl other than his mom or sister.
After finishing breakfast, they began the return trip, hunting every monster they encountered and sharing the kills equally. After the gorilla, no other creature had truly challenged them—and with Tessa added to the team, the journey was easy, as long as they didn't meet another tier 2 monster.
A few hours later, they arrived back at the starting point. There were already several people waiting, and they joined the group to rest.
Unfortunately, they wouldn't know their results until tomorrow.
As they approached, Scarlett shot Alex an exasperated glance, which he returned with a confused look.
What Alex didn't know was that everything that happened in the forest had been monitored by the teachers. They had seen Alex's schemes against the nobles, and some didn't take it lightly. Luckily, the headmaster ruled that there had been no foul play, as Alex hadn't broken any explicit rules—there was no prohibition against students setting up other students.
And so, the first part of the trimestral test came to an end. Tomorrow would be the written exam.