Chapter 14: The Fork In The Road

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Rolling Turtle, who wasn’t tied up, should be able to bite through the vines, hence Li Pu didn’t think that Wu Guinan would remain stuck throughout the trial.

He had wasted a lot of time here, and if he didn’t catch up, he might end up in second last.

Therefore, he picked up his pace with Scarecrow. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at a fork in the road.

“I think they’ve mentioned it before that the obstacles will be different according to the path one chooses.”

Li Pu stood at the fork in the road with his chin in his hand.

The advantage of walking behind the main group was that he could observe where everyone was going.

He was quite experienced in looking out for footprints in a dense forest.

At this time, the fork in front of them was divided into four paths. Two of the paths had footprints that were messy and numerous, while another one had fewer footprints.

As for the one on the edge, it had almost no footprints.

This was because the guiding light crystals were only installed on the three paths. The last path did not have any.

In other words, this path might not be considered a part of the competition venue.

“Maybe there’s a chance for a shortcut?”

Li Pu had an idea.

Since they were in the same forest, even if it was not the recommended road, the last path should not be too dangerous.

He had a good sense of direction and a certain level of field experience.

Taking a shortcut in an empty direction might be a good choice.

He didn’t listen carefully when the senior explained the rules, but she didn’t say that they had to follow the light crystals, right?

In fact, the other party really didn’t mention it.

Moreover, it seemed like she did not mention it on purpose.

Originally, one of the goals of this competition was to let everyone adapt to the world of Summoners.

It was different from writing answers on the test paper. In reality, there was no standard answer that was 100% correct most of the time.

Some rules were meant to be broken.

Actually, it wasn’t like no one had noticed this among the freshmen.

However, many had the mentality of following the crowd. In addition, they had to be bold to put their thoughts into practice.

Therefore, the new students, who had no relevant experience, would not dare to try it.

Only a few people tried it secretly.

Without a doubt, Li Pu was one of those who had the guts.

Therefore, he didn’t think for too long and chose the fourth path.

However, he had only taken a few steps when a big tree next to him suddenly made a sound.

[Cough cough…]

That tree was very close to them, especially close to Scarecrow.

[Grass!]

[Scarecrow: Grass! A magical beast ambushed us!]

Scarecrow, who was surprised by the sudden sound, instantly raised its leg and kicked the big tree.

Thump!

Then, Li Pu saw a figure holding his stomach and falling to the ground.

Plop!

“…”

This time, he could see the figure clearly.

It wasn’t a magical beast that had made that sound, but a human.

Not just any human, but someone he knew.

The head of their dormitory, Senior Chang Shoushang.

“Senior, are you alright?”

It could be seen that Chang Shoushang was in a lot of pain.

After all, receiving a full-strength kick from Scarecrow to the stomach wasn’t that pleasant.

[Grass! Grass!]

[Scarecrow: I accidentally injured you! Sorry, sorry!]

“I’m fine…I’m used to it.”

Senior Chang’s face was a little pale as he stood up and waved his hand. However, he realized that a bottle of Coke had already been stuffed into his hand.

For the current Scarecrow, this might be the highest level of apology it could give.

Of course, it was the smallest bottle.

“…”

For a moment, Chang Shoushang didn’t know what to say.

At present, most of the senior students had yet to return to school, so there was a slight shortage of manpower to organize the course selection competition.

Chang Shoushang had also been recruited by his Senior Sister, otherwise, who would be willing to squat in this terrible forest so early in the morning?

The task he had been assigned was to remind or warn all the students who had chosen the fourth path.

Those who dared to choose this path could be considered freshmen with relatively active minds at this stage.

However, whether this was good or bad could not be immediately known.

“Actually, there’s another purpose of this competition that isn’t stated clearly.”

“That is to encourage everyone to open up their minds and jump out of the routine that they developed in school.”

“That’s why taking shortcuts is allowed.”

“But I have to remind you that you will not have any guiding from the light crystals if you go any further.”

“If you get lost, then you will most likely face elimination.”

“It’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to take the risk.”

Chang Shoushang said a few more words of reminder to Li Pu as a form of care.

As for the new students earlier, he had only reminded them to pay attention to their safety as there would not be any light crystals along the path.

In any case, the fog would dissipate when the sun was high in the sky, so even if they got lost, they would not lose their way.

“Thank you for your reminder, senior.”

Li Pu could sense the other’s good intentions. He gave a nod of thanks and continued forward.

[Grass!]

[Scarecrow: Can you give me back my coke if you don’t drink it?]

On the other hand, Scarecrow turned back after taking a few steps, but unfortunately, Chang Shoushang couldn’t understand its words.

“Why don’t I follow them and take a look?”

After watching the man and the straw doll leave, he thought for a moment.

Looking at the time, there should be no new students who had yet to reach the fork.

In other words, his mission had been completed.

He followed Li Pu because this kid was living in the dormitory under his jurisdiction.

Although there wouldn’t be any great danger in this forest, they could still take care of each other.

Of course, Chang Shoushang knew that if he made a move, Li Pu would be eliminated.

Therefore, unless it was an extreme situation, he would not take any action.

As for this natural fog, it was not a problem for him.

“Ouch!”

With a painful cry, Chang Shoushang took out a fist-sized light crystal from his storage space.

With this light crystal, he could easily follow Li Pu’s footprints and follow him from a distance.

…

Ten minutes later.

“…”

Li Pu stood in the fog and was speechless.

Looking around, he could see less than ten meters away.

The crystalline light from the other forks that had been in sight could no longer penetrate this place.

That’s right, he was lost.

It was all the straw doll’s fault.

Originally, he had planned to use the light crystal at the next fork as a reference and walk through the forest.

However, halfway there, Scarecrow suddenly said that it smelled something fragrant, and then it pulled him along and ran in a different direction.

In fact, if Li Pu had refused, even the straw doll wouldn’t have been able to move him.

The key was that his five senses had always been good, and he also smelled a faint fragrance.

The straw doll’s actions made him certain that he was not hallucinating.

Usually, Li Pu would definitely place the competition as his priority.

However, the closer he got, the more he put this matter to the back of his mind temporarily.

The reason was that as the fragrance gradually became more real, he realized that he seemed to have smelled a similar fragrance before.

If he remembered correctly, the smell was very similar to his grandfather’s treasured tea leaves.

To be more precise, it was a type of magical beast tea leaves.

Could it be that there was another high-grade skill beckoning to him?

…

…