Best solution

Cross found a good hiding spot on one of the trees around.

With their propellers producing buzzing sounds, the Mob Bots passed by where he was hiding.

The drones were also searching for him. But unlike the Mob Bots, the drones were searching inside the forest and above it.

"Where is he? Did you find him?" Officer Sander asked his staff.

"Sorry, sir. We can't find him. Even the Mob Bots lost track of him."

"Hmm…" the officer narrowed his eyes. It looked like he was thinking about something. "It must be because of that, that's why the Mob Bots can't locate him", he said after a brief moment of pondering.

Garry wondered what the officer meant. He glanced at Officer Sander, but the officer remained silent.

"Sorry, sir, the sensors are useless."

Garry suddenly heard one of the staff say that.

"Sensors?" Garry mumbled.

"He means mana sensors."

It was the officer who replied to him.

"Those Mob Bots are attached with mana sensors?" Garry's eyes grew wider when he heard it.

After asking that, Garry saw the officer grinning.

"Heh! That's right, Garry. It is so that no one can hide from them. They can only run nonstop or be caught by it. Although this activity looks simple, it has high difficulty to achieve. Only those with great talent and exceptional stamina can do that. The reason for this activity is so we can easily scoop up who among them has the best potential. And also, to help them realize their weakness."

—Gulp!

Garry subconsciously gulped when he heard that. He did not expect this activity to be that difficult. There was no way anyone could survive non-stop running from the training field to the top of the hill. Forget about ordinary humans, even humans with mana could not achieve that.

"There's a reason why the academy officials needed to increase the difficulty of the cadets' training."

Garry squinted his eyes.

"Is it because of the incoming competition, sir?" Garry asked.

Officer Sander replied with a silent nod.

"If the academy can't even place in the top 10, I'm afraid the academy will be disbanded."

"D-Disband?!" Garry shouted in surprise.

The officer glanced at him sideways.

"The academy didn't produce better variants of the Warlord Series. If even a private producer had better mech than us, what's more if it was against the other country which was founded by their official governments. We will be disqualified as an academy if we lose again, that's why we're in a pinch this year."

"If the academy ceased to exist, who would protect the city's citizens, sir?"

"Hm… maybe the military will take over."

"No way. If that's gonna happen, our border's strength will weaken. Also, our militaries here don't even have great numbers, so how can they defend the city without the academy's help?"

"That's right. Well, it was the parliament who had decided that. There's nothing we can do about it. Our higher officials already appealed, but the best response they got from them was to allow us to join the competition once more."

Garry frowned. He looked below and mumbled. "So the incoming competition is the deciding factor for this academy's fate…"

"That's right", Officer Sander nodded.

Garry tightened his fist.

Officer Sander placed his hand in Garry's shoulder and smiled at Garry. "That's why I want you to observe these cadets."

"M-Me?" Garry gawked.

"Yeah. You Garry."

Garry blinked his eyes twice. Why me? Garry asked himself. In the first place, it was still surprising for him that he was allowed to spectate in today's training of the year-1 cadets.

Is his opinion significant to them? He wondered.

Perhaps noticing his expression, he saw the officer put up a wry smile.

The officer retreated his hand and touched his chin. "I see. So they haven't told you yet about it, hm…"

He heard the officer say that.

Eh? What does that mean? Garry was even more confused.

"Uhm, forget about it for now. I'm sure they will tell you later."

"….."

Garry nodded in silence, but the words of Officer Sander didn't disappear from his mind. There was a moment of silence after that. But the silence didn't last long. The officer asked him a difficult question.

"If it's you, Garry, what must you do to win this activity?" Suddenly, the officer threw that question at him.

Garry narrowed his eyes. "What I must do to win…" Garry mumbled. It could be seen that he was thinking deeply.

The officer noticed Garry pondering. A couple of seconds later, he saw Garry's mouth twitching. "I… I think entering the forest is the best solution to hinder the Mob Bots' movements. Even if hiding is useless against them, as long as I can hinder their movements, things won't be much difficult for me. Also, taking them down might be possible inside the forest."

Hearing his reply, Officer Sander nodded his head.

"I'm sure that lad is hiding somewhere nearby. He can't run away in that little time no matter how fast he can run."

"Mhm!" Garry nodded in agreement at Officer Sander's deduction. Yet, Garry was still bothered by whether his reply was the right answer to the officer's question. The officer didn't tell him if his choice was right or wrong.

"I'm sure that lad and the two lasses a while ago also thought the same thing when they entered the forest. Hiding in the forest might work better for the lad, though, than for the girls."

"Because the Mob Bots can't locate his mana?" Garry asked.

"Yes, because he has no mana", Officer Sander replied. "In any case, despite being an ordinary human, he's quick", the officer added.

Just who was that kid? And what was the reason the headmaster and head instructor allowed him in the academy? These questions were loitering in his mind.

Anyway, as expected of Garry, he was able to think of a good plan in that little time. Perhaps the academy still has hope.

"But… as I said earlier, this activity's difficulty is truly higher", the officer's eyes suddenly looked very serious.

Garry glanced sideways at him and wondered what other surprises they prepared for this activity.

In the forest,

Cross heard Adam whisper that.

"The officer didn't state that we can't destroy it."

"It's a lot more troublesome to keep them chasing me, so I guess it's much better if I destroy them here."

Entering the forest has proven to be an effective way to keep the Mob Bots from catching up.

Although they were small copies of the real Nemesis Zergs, their size was still too large for them to move unhinged in densely packed areas like this forest.

Or that should have been what would happen, but as he was observing them from above under the cover of leaves and branches, he noticed the Mob Bots landed on the branches of the third tree from where he was hiding.

To his surprise, he saw the Mob Bots slowly changing.

Seeing that,

Cross' mouth curved into a grin.

BAM!

Suddenly they heard a loud noise. In the eastern part of the forest, not far from where Cross and Adam were, a loud bang suddenly echoed.

The birds immediately flew away leaving panic noises behind.

In that part of the forest, you could see trees falling.

Two images jumped high and landed on top of a nearby tree.

"What madness is this!?" One shouted loudly. But if you look closely, she looked familiar as well as her voice.

"You're making a lot of noise, Noir."

"Shut up, wimpy Cai!"

These two were none other than Noir and Cai Lyn.

In front of them, something big and tall suddenly appeared. If you look at it, it looks like the head of a big snake.

"Who would have thought it could transform like that!" Noir shouted as she pointed at the long creature with a length higher than the trees around them.