The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Evelyn didn't know exactly what trap her opponents had designed for her, so while the group looked out for various beasts, she watched out for both the beasts and the people in the group.     

Most of the students were much weaker than her, and Evelyn didn't think they would be able to pose any danger even if they used some strong artifact to amplify their strength. Of course, none of them seemed to have any such thing equipped, either.     

But Evelyn didn't lose her caution because of this, as it was still possible for them to have a trump card hidden somewhere. After all, the probe skill was far from perfect. If she took off her compact iron bow, for example, and stored it in her spatial belt or simply separated it from her body, it would also not show up in her status.     

In contrast to the students, the rangers were quite 'well equipped', and posed far more danger.      

Most of them were within ten levels of herself, either higher or lower, and four were above level fifty.     

The highest level individual was, of course, Noah, at level sixty-one.     

Moreover, all of them were equipped with artifacts, though mostly lower level and of the defensive type, that was still quite impressive. The most common artifact among them, was a defensive cloak.      

Except for a few students including herself, most others had one, as it was common for most people to wear heavy cloaks when going into the forest. Since a cloak covered almost the entire body, and had a lot of material to work with, that made it an ideal garment to inscribe protective arrays on.     

Although none of their cloaks were exceptional, there were quite a few grade one and grade two cloaks among the rangers, and a few even had grade three! Evelyn assumed that, aside from their weapon, this must be a ranger's biggest investment.     

Before long, their group started to stumble into beasts, and though Evelyn remained alert, these 'dangers' were usually dispatched by the rangers within moments, becoming nothing more than free loot that walked right into their pocket, just like that blue deer.     

The buff man who had introduced Noah to the students couldn't help but laugh jovially. "Hey, isn't our luck today really good? So many of these weak beasts are mindlessly charging at us without a care for their lives, how lucky!"     

Noah's face remained neutral as he looked around and continued to lead them around the outskirts, always making sure that the outer edge of the forest remained in sight so they could readily escape when needed.     

One thing Noah had learned through years of experience was that, in the 'Wonderland of Doom', nothing was 'normal'.     

On some expeditions, they would return completely empty-handed, with nothing to show for hours of effort. It was on days like those that some overestimated themselves and ventured deeper, never to return. Noah… had never been so foolish, which was why he was still alive.     

Then there were some days when they came across a strong beast that they couldn't even hope to face right away, and ran away with trembling legs, sometimes even losing a few comrades. Those were the days that all rangers dreaded every time they headed out, but a risk they knew they had to take when they took up this job.     

And lastly, there were days like today, when it was possible for them to come across a few beasts weak enough to be killed or captured, and those were the golden opportunities that they all hoped for but didn't dare expect.     

Still, Noah knew that although it was impossible for a bad day to turn good, a good day could turn bad at any moment. Perhaps all these weaker beasts were even running away from a stronger hunter, who knew?     

"Don't let your guard down. If we attract a stronger beast, be ready to retreat!"     

The reason for his vigilance wasn't just his previous experience, but also because… the group size this time was too large. It wasn't something Noah could decide for himself, though, so he could only lead them to the best of his ability. 'The leader may be a rank B ranger and an amazing fighter, but he overestimates me if he thinks I can suddenly lead a group twice the normal size safely. Hopefully, today will be a good day, and we won't lose anyone.'     

When heading off to the Wonderland of Doom to hunt, people usually either went in very small groups to be able to easily escape, or if the group was of moderate size, at least a rank C or rank B ranger leading them. A rank C ranger like him could, of course, lead fewer people safely, as his ability to protect them and fend off beasts was limited.     

Even so, it wasn't uncommon for casualities to occur inside, even for the most experienced parties. After all, in front of the strongest beasts, even rank B rangers could only flee while abandoning their companions, or die together.      

Since it was never truly safe, and there was always a risk of death, making a few 'nonsensical' changes like increasing the size of his party suddenly wasn't completely unheard of.     

Of course, Noah understood that this was a test from the leader of his ranger team, as he was the most hopeful candidate among all the smaller teams to be promoted to rank B. Maybe as long as he succeeded in such tasks a few times, the guild would start investing in his growth more heavily.     

If that happened, going to rank B in ten years may not be impossible!     

While Noah was still thinking so… the day went from good, to bad.     

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"Stay in formation!"     

As the rangers screamed and shouted, the students huddled together in the center, scared out of their wits.     

When they were facing weaker beasts, they had still been complaining about how the rangers didn't allow them to roam more freely out of greed, afraid that they would grab more of the loot. How were they supposed to gain experience like this?     

But once the giant, gray scaled rhinoceros-like beast with six legs rampaged through their group, trampling over two students and one ranger despite their formation and Noah's shield skill, they couldn't help but realize how foolish they had been.     

Even Riley, who was supposedly the strongest among the students, was shaking at his legs, though his eyes shone with determination as he rallied the students to stay together and keep calm. "Don't worry! Although this beast is ferocious, it's not impossible for ranger Noah to take it down!"     

And his words were indeed true, for otherwise, their group would have already started to retreat.     

Of course, a few sacrifices were inevitable for such a victory, but neither Noah nor his comrades hesitated to accept that.     

After all, as long as the chance to win was over fifty percent, it was worth the risk! If they weren't willing to take even that risk, perhaps they would never be able to grow.     

Evelyn of course stuck with the students, pretending to be scared out of her wits as well. Riley even tried to 'console' her, but she slapped his hand away, pretending to be too scared to even allow anyone close.     

Of course, what she really thought was 'How can I let this bastard close at this time? Who knows what tricks he's playing!', but Riley didn't know that.     

Evelyn could tell that the beast was furious, though she couldn't tell if it was just because they had invaded its territory or something else.     

Despite its hulking size, the beast was actually quite fast, which was why it had managed to trample a few of them before they could even realize it. Even her probe skill couldn't land on the darned thing because it moved too quickly, always making her miss.     

Thankfully, her spirit power wasn't wasted each time it happened, as she could simply channel the wasted probe back to her as long as she turned it around before it hit anything, but it still made her quite furious.     

Evelyn was sure that with her soul searing arrow, she could easily inflict grievous wounds to the thing. She almost wanted to gang up with the others to take it down, but if she revealed her strength too soon, wouldn't she miss whatever great show they were planning?     

According to the current situation, Noah would either retreat once he deemed the beast too strong, or do the same after defeating it. Either way, their expedition would end here, and Evelyn was sure that whatever her enemies were planning… it would happen before this fight was over.     

In the midst of the battle, two more rangers lost their lives, and the formation broke apart as well. The students ran and hid haphazardly as they realized that the rangers were now paying more attention to taking the beast down than protecting them, and even Evelyn separated from the group 'fearfully'.     

And as expected, not long later, when the beast rushed towards her—though not really, she could tell it was going for Mirah, who wasn't far from her—the Reynolds boy 'panicked' and rushed to 'save her'. "Watch out!"     

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~ To be continued ~     

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Thank you for all your support! :>