Giant's Leather Boots

The next few weeks flew past in a flash, with me finally starting to make some real progress in the quality of my mana. After our little trip, I didn't struggle with controlling my mana anymore, making me able to become adept enough that my master permitted me to once again start cultivating.

Still, I hadn't dared to try and absorb more power from Druk's essence. Although it appeared that I was already considered his heir, there was a part of me that felt like I still had a choice in the matter.

"Tomorrow you will be going on your first excursion to the wastelands. I expect you all to show that you are worthy to be in the A-class."

Sitting in homeroom, Mike was currently talking about our three-day excursion that would be taking place for the rest of the week.

Having already experienced a part of the wasteland with Sophie, I was both excited and worried.

Excited because I would get to see more of the uninhibited world and worried because I had seen what kind of creatures could appear.

Luckily, we were still freshmen, thus we would only go to a place where at most 2- or 3-star monsters would be present.

"As is tradition, we will be holding a hunting competition between all the teams. The party that takes down the most monsters will be getting a very special price."

It wasn't just a competition between us, the B-class was also going to compete, meaning there would be a lot of competition.

Though it had to be said, I doubted that anyone would be able to compete with James. Even if I managed to win against him in a duel, there was no way I was as strong or effective as him in a group situation.

The scorpids I had massacred in the desert were only 2-star monsters, with the mutants being 3-star, and in those fights, I could feel the limitation of my fighting style.

I had to choose whether to fight smartly while conserving my energy, or use my skills and Art to overpower my enemy. Luckily, there had always been quite some time between the fights, letting my body recover a bit. However, in a situation where you wanted to slay as many monsters as possible, this wasn't a good thing.

In the two last dives, my unique condition had been a pretty big detriment to the party. While the other two groups had managed to extend the time they spent in the dungeon by a lot, our group had been forced to give up as soon as my body showed signs of stopping. My wings were the only skill I could use freely, but if I wanted to bring down an opponent fast, I had no choice but to use [Discharge]. Unless it was a less durable creature like a mage-type or a slime, in which case enhancing my daggers with just lightning was often enough.

James, on the other hand, could fight efficiently against multiple enemies while also being able to fight for a long time. He could also use a strong ranged attack without having to charge it up, as well as having [Ascension]. In other words, he was still a monster, even if was somehow more potent than him in a one-on-one battle.

Now, there could absolutely be a dark horse in this competition, like Bayyan's party or a party from the B-class, but the chances for my party were slim at best.

"... that's all. Now, you all have this day free to discuss your strategies for tomorrow."

As our teacher finished his little presentation and pep talk, my classmates all stood up and started to leave the room. Following our unspoken rule, I was already planning to stay behind for a bit, but then Mike opened his mouth once more, "Miren, would you mind giving me a moment of your time?"

"Yes?" I didn't know what he wanted, but as I wasn't exactly pressed for time on a day like this with no classes I walked up and waited for his explanation. Before he even started talking, he brought out a pair of black boots from his DAD. "These are yours. It took a bit longer than I wanted to get a hold of them but they arrived just yesterday. It appears that it took a lot of time to craft them in the right size."

It had been the pair of boots that I had wished for after he had forced me to accept him gifting me a piece of equipment. If one were to look at where my absolutely biggest weakness lied, in comparison to others, it would be my equipment.

My daggers were, by no doubt, masterpieces that couldn't be compared to ordinary weapons. Their unparalleled ability to resonate with my lightning was priceless, and their sharpness was otherworldly. However, they were also the only pieces of equipment that I owned, the rest I had to borrow from the standard sets of the academy.

Inspecting the very ordinary-looking black boots, I felt content with my decision.

[Giant's Leather Boots]

Description: Leather boots made from the skin of giants. Light but durable, made for ease of movement.

->Active ability [Giants Blood]

Description: Forcefully circulates the user's blood in order to increase the rate of restoration in muscles. Effectiveness depends on the user's stamina. Can only be used once a day.

"But are you sure these are what you want to get as a gift? There were a lot of other options you could choose, you know?"

"No, I'm sure. Thank you, these are perfect!"

The boots weren't anything super fancy and most people would probably choose something else if they could, but for me, they were exactly what I wanted. As I couldn't afford to wear something heavy, leather was essentially the only material I could use without sacrificing movement, and the skin of giants was among the top leathers available on the market.

However, what was more important was the active ability. The ability [Giant's Blood] was something I felt was pretty much made for me. This was an ability that tankers sometimes sought after, but they would much rather choose something to make them more durable in a fight, not something to make them recover after. For me, it was an ability that could possibly let me extend the time I could fight, as well as decrease the recoil of using my skills.

Somehow, I almost felt like this might even give me a chance to give James a run for his money, depending in the performance of my newly acquired footwear.

****

The moist and chilly morning air licked my face as we had just walked though the portal that took us to the wastelands.

We were met by a vast forest with huge trees seemingly trying to reach the skies and thick bushes that made it impossible to see what could possible lie behind.

Two larger groups of student were positioned in front of a row of teachers, with Mike responsible for us, the A-class.

"Now, as long as you stay in this forest, you should all be fine. There should be no monsters or beast stronger than 3-stars in there. Now, get to your designated parties and you are free to begin whenever you want."

It didn't take long before most of the students rushed forward, eager to try out their prowess in a real world setting.

"Hey, are you ready?" Lindsey and Akane had walked up to, both already holding their weapons in their hands. However, I didn't want to stupidly run into the forest because of a very specific dilemma.

"I would rather wait a few minutes, if possible. Then we don't have to get in contact with the other parties for no reason."

It was a very discrete way of saying that I was still a bit worried about getting ambushed by Bayyan or students from the B-class, who was not very fond of my existence.

Unfortunately, Akane got a lot more nervous as I said this, probably because she might have interpreted it as a way for me to get them alone.

Even though we had been doing dives by ourselves, being alone with me for three days was something she didn't particularly enjoy.

"But then, won't we be losing out on the best hunting spots?" Akane looked a bit worried as the backs of the other students started to dissappear into the woods.

"It's fine. We have three days to hunt. This will be more of a challenge in finding places to rest and sleep more than finding prey."

There was no doubt in my mind that the hardest part about this excursion was to find a balance between resting and hunting.

If one spent too much time finding a suitable base, you would lose time to bring down monsters. The other way around, and you wouldn't be able to survive for the time alloted.

In the end, they both accepted my reasoning and only after waiting for about half an hour, we made our way into the forest.