Chapter 10: The One-Eyed Rhinoceros

"By the way, I mentioned Teacher Katusha just now. Why hasn't she shown up yet? And where are Fasno and the others?" After replying to the students, Lin Yuan realized that he had been back for quite some time, but Katusha and Fasno's group still hadn't returned. This surprised him. When Fasno left, Lin Yuan had seen clearly that he and the others had only taken on two E-class tasks, in addition to a few insignificant F-class tasks. Even if they accidentally encountered the target of a B-class task, Katusha, being an 8th-level mage, should have had no problem handling it.

After asking a few students, who were also unaware of the situation, Lin Yuan began to worry. Just then, he saw Katusha leading Fasno and the others into the Mercenary Guild. Their disheveled appearance, with one student sporting a noticeable wound on his arm, startled Lin Yuan.

"What happened?" he asked.

Katusha gestured toward Fasno and the others. "Ask them."

Seeing Lin Yuan's gaze shift to them, Fasno smiled apologetically. "Teacher Lin, we sincerely apologize. We couldn't resist the curiosity and went to check out the B-class task. If it weren't for Teacher Katusha's timely arrival, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Lin Yuan was almost furious. He had explicitly warned them not to touch tasks above E-class before they left. He couldn't believe they still took such a risk. Fortunately, he had sent Katusha as a precaution; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain if something had happened to them.

Looking at Fasno's apologetic smile and the other students' sheepish expressions, Lin Yuan could only shake his head. It seemed these students were no different from those in his previous world—they were all troublemakers.

"Tell me what happened," he said, though his eyes remained on Katusha.

"I'm not entirely sure," Katusha shrugged. "I was delayed on the way. By the time I sensed the magical elements and got there, they were being chased by a one-eyed rhinoceros. I intervened and saved them. As for why they were being chased by a one-eyed rhinoceros, you'll have to ask them."

"One-eyed rhinoceros? That's a Level 5 Magic Beast!" Lin Yuan exclaimed. He had barely managed to deal with the Gale Slaughter earlier, and now these students had encountered an even higher-level Magic Beast. No wonder they were in such a mess, even with Fasno, a Level 4 Mage, among them. "Tell me, how did you run into the one-eyed... Wait, Katusha, are you sure it was a one-eyed rhinoceros? If I remember correctly, one-eyed rhinoceroses are only found in the Black Marsh, 2,000 miles away from here. How could it appear here?"

Katusha shook her head. "I don't know why, but it was definitely a one-eyed rhinoceros."

"Strange things happen every year, but this year seems to have more than its fair share," Lin Yuan muttered. First, he encountered a Level 4 Magic Beast while doing an E-class task, and now Fasno and the others had seen a one-eyed rhinoceros, which was supposed to be only in the Black Marsh, 2,000 miles away. "Fasno, tell me how you ran into that one-eyed rhinoceros."

"Yes, sir," Fasno nodded. "Our task in Samus Town wasn't difficult at all. We completed it in no time. Just as we were about to leave Samus and head to the next task location, we suddenly sensed an enormous magical fluctuation to the southeast of the town." At this point, the other students nodded in agreement, and the still shocked expressions on their faces indicated that the magical fluctuation had indeed been massive. "We couldn't help but want to go and see what it was, but we were stopped by members of the Windwalker Mercenary Group on the way."

"The Windwalker Mercenary Group?" Lin Yuan was taken aback.

"Yes, the same group that Carter, whom you dueled this morning, belongs to," Fasno explained briefly, continuing, "We saw Carter among them, though he didn't recognize us. We found it strange, so we detoured around where the Windwalker Mercenary Group was and tried to see what they were up to. Unfortunately, before we could get close to the source of the magical fluctuation, a one-eyed rhinoceros came out. And then... well, we were chased all the way. If it weren't for Teacher Katusha's timely arrival, we might not have escaped."

"Fasno, you're being too modest," Katusha interjected. "Even if I hadn't come, you would have been able to lead the students to safety from the one-eyed rhinoceros, right?"

Fasno smiled faintly but did not deny it. As a Level 4 Wind Mage, he might not have been able to defeat a Level 5 Magic Beast, but when it came to escaping, he was undoubtedly top-notch, even with a few people in tow.

Lin Yuan thought for a moment but couldn't figure it out, so he decided to let it go and had the students turn in their tasks. After tallying up their earnings for the day, they had accumulated a surprising 5 gold coins. At this rate, they would be able to gather the 100 gold coins needed for the mercenary group's founding deposit in less than a month.

"Well, it's been a long day. Students, you can head back and rest. But let me remind you, we still meet at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. Whoever is late will have to treat everyone to breakfast."

"Ohhhhh——"

Hearing that they had to get up early again tomorrow, the students groaned and dragged their bodies toward the academy.

Lin Yuan grabbed Katusha, who was also about to leave, and whispered, "Come on, tell me what really happened."

"What do you mean, what happened?" Katusha blinked innocently.

"Don't play dumb. Tell me what you saw in Samus Town."

Katusha smiled lightly, thought for a moment, and her expression gradually became serious.

"I can't be certain, but it's possible—repeat, possible—that someone opened a spatial teleportation portal near Samus Town and transported the one-eyed rhinoceros from the Black Marsh here."

"Are you kidding me?" Lin Yuan's eyes widened in disbelief.

Spatial magic was considered the pinnacle of the magical world. To master it, one had to be at least an Archmage. Even among Archmages, only the most advanced could use it proficiently, let alone open a portal large enough for a one-eyed rhinoceros to pass through. Moreover, the Black Marsh was 2,000 miles away, and the amount of magical energy required was enormous. Even Old Man Hawk wouldn't dare claim he could definitely do it.

"I know what you're thinking," Katusha said. "It definitely wasn't Dean Fernas, nor was it Archmage Sargeras."

"Then who else could do it? Has a third Archmage appeared on the Farinos Continent?"

"Who said it had to be an Archmage?" Katusha rolled her eyes. "It's strange that your magical knowledge is so poor, yet you can use low-level magic so well."

Lin Yuan could only touch his nose awkwardly. After learning from Old Man Hawk for two months, he had barely mastered the elemental magic below Level 2. He hadn't had time to study magical knowledge.

"If a dozen or so mages above Level 8, in conjunction with a spatial teleportation magic array, could open such a portal, the conditions are not that hard to meet. At least Finor Magic Academy could easily do it."

Lin Yuan nodded. Finor Magic Academy, known as the best on the continent, naturally had unparalleled magical strength.

"What about the Windwalker Mercenary Group? Do you think they have such power?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Of course they do. After all, the Windwalker Mercenary Group is one of the three major mercenary groups on the continent, with even a High Archmage among them, let alone Level 8 mages."

"So you're saying today's incident was probably caused by them? But why would they do that?"

Katusha gave Lin Yuan an annoyed look. "You ask me, and I ask whom? Besides, what they do is none of our business. If it weren't for your whims, the magic academy would never have anything to do with mercenaries in the first place."

Katusha was right. Mages held a much higher status than ordinary people, and even higher than warriors of the same level. Therefore, mages generally had an easier time acquiring money. Although there were some mages who became mercenaries for various reasons, low-level mages still in the process of learning at a magic academy would not waste time being mercenaries. Lin Yuan's decision to bring the students to register as mercenaries today was not only the first for Finor Magic Academy but also the first for any magic academy on the continent.

Lin Yuan chuckled and didn't discuss the matter further. Although Carter had inexplicably fought with him, he really didn't think the Windwalker Mercenary Group had any ulterior motives towards him.