The flow of Aura through Leo’s body gradually became smoother the longer he focused on controlling it. The earlier instability slowly settled down as the energy circulated repeatedly through his branches, though the process remained mentally exhausting. Small traces of Aura moved beneath his skin in thin streams while he adjusted the flow carefully to reduce unnecessary waste during circulation.

Most newly awakened Aura Farmers simply pushed Aura through their bodies forcefully and called it training. That method worked early on because the body naturally adapted after repeated usage, but it also created terrible habits later. Poor circulation meant poor efficiency and poor efficiency meant death during longer battles.

Leo understood that much already.

The difference between surviving one fight and surviving ten consecutive fights often depended entirely on how well an Aura Farmer managed their reserves. The stronger the Vestige, the worse that problem became.

His own Vestiges were perfect examples.

[Shell Of Dread] consumed too much Aura for prolonged defense while [Grinning Mist] constantly drained reserves the longer it remained active. Even [Yielding Spine], which remained his most balanced Vestige, still required continuous Aura support to maintain its flexibility and strength during combat.

If he failed to improve his control soon, then eventually his own abilities would become burdens instead of advantages.

Beside him, Lucien quietly watched the forest while resting against the cave wall. Neither of them spoke for a while. The distant sounds from Morva Forest occasionally echoed through the night while the white tiger continued scouting somewhere beyond the trees.

After some time, Lucien suddenly spoke.

"You know something ironic?"

Leo opened one eye slightly. "What?"

"We’re probably among the calmest people in this cave right now despite discussing timeline corruption and legendary monsters an hour ago."

Leo thought about it briefly before shrugging lightly. "In my perspective, panic wastes energy."

Lucien laughed softly. "That’s such a depressing mindset."

"It keeps people alive." Leo scoffed.

The pink-haired boy did not disagree.

For a while longer, Leo continued circulating Aura through his body while mentally reviewing today’s battles. The goblins were weak individually, but they compensated with numbers and coordination. The smiling husk possessed better physical strength than most foes he had encountered so far while the white tiger displayed superior speed and battlefield pressure, although it was a foe for just a few minutes.

Each enemy exposed different weaknesses in his fighting style.

He lacked range, mobility and most annoyingly, he lacked consistency.

Sometimes his instincts during battle became extremely sharp while other times he reacted too slowly against sudden changes. That inconsistency irritated him more than anything else because it meant his growth still depended too heavily on circumstances rather than proper skill.

Lucien suddenly glanced sideways at him.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"My lack of options." Leo muttered.

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

Leo opened his eyes fully this time. "Every fight so far forced me into direct confrontation eventually." He frowned slightly. "That’s a problem."

"Most Aura Farmers fight directly." Lucien said reassuringly.

"And most Aura Farmers also die directly."

Lucien snorted quietly after hearing that.

Leo continued calmly. "If an enemy counters my Vestiges properly, my fighting style immediately becomes restricted." He looked down at his hand briefly. "I need something more adaptable."

Lucien stayed thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"You know, you’re strangely calm for someone who awakened recently."

Leo glanced at him. "And you’re strangely relaxed for someone who almost died to an Eldrath Executor."

"Fair enough."

The conversation died down again afterward.

Several hours slowly passed while the cave became quieter. More students eventually fell asleep while only a few remained awake near the entrance. Harris was among them, though the tall boy remained focused entirely on controlling the white tiger outside.

Leo could occasionally feel faint Aura fluctuations from the beast whenever it moved farther through the forest.

That alone reminded him how lacking his own detection abilities currently were.

Suddenly, the tiger’s Aura fluctuation stopped.

Leo immediately frowned and opened his eyes fully. Beside him, Lucien’s relaxed expression also disappeared.

Inside the cave, Harris slowly straightened from where he sat.

Leo glanced at Harris and gave him a gesture. Harris shook his head sideways, also not knowing what was going on.

Quietly, Lucien called the ten students on guard and they all summoned armors and weapons, taking positions around the cave.

Leo summoned just the [Yielding Spine].

Lucien on the other hand just summoned a golden armor that had a striking resemblance to Yin Li’s while wielding a golden staff, making him resemble the mythical figure Monkey King but in a more handsome and defined manner.

"Uh, that armor?" Leo asked with an eyebrow, ignoring how the armor brought out his friend’s beauty. With his honey bronze skin, mahogany hair and sharp blue eyes, Leo knew he was considered attractive among his peers.

"Oh, Yin Li gave it to him. He’s a Royal so he could get them easily." Lucien said with a light smile.

A surprised expression surfaced on Leo’s face. "He’s a Royal? Well that explains a lot."

Lucien nodded and they both turned their attention to the cave entrance. Other students also stood at alert ready for the worst, maybe not the worst but at least they all showed confidence.

The cave gradually became quieter as everyone focused toward the entrance. Earlier conversations disappeared almost immediately. Even the students who had been sleeping were now awake and staring toward the dark forest outside with tense expressions. Some quietly summoned weapons while others circulated Aura through their bodies.

Compared to when they first entered the forest, the students looked far calmer now. Fear was still there, but surviving multiple battles before they united had already changed them mentally.

Harris remained seated near the center of the cave with his eyes closed while maintaining the connection with the white tiger. Small traces of Aura occasionally flickered around him. Leo noticed the fluctuation becoming rougher after a few seconds. Whatever the tiger saw outside was clearly affecting Harris through the connection itself.

Lucien frowned slightly. "What’s happening?"

Harris stayed silent briefly before replying. "The tiger stopped again."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Did it find something?"

"I think something found it instead."

That answer immediately worsened the atmosphere inside the cave. Several students tightened their grip around weapons while Yin Li slowly walked over carrying his shield with an annoyed expression like he had just been forced awake against his will.

"Please don’t tell me another giant monster is coming," he muttered.

Harris slowly opened his eyes. "Not a monster."

Lucien immediately looked toward him. "Human?"

Harris hesitated slightly before nodding once. "At least it looks human. I can share a few connections with Griffin partially such as hearing and seeing but not fully. So I can’t tell."

Leo’s expression became thoughtful afterward. A human appearing inside Morva Forest at this hour was not reassuring at all considering everything they had discussed earlier. If this reconstruction truly involved the original timeline, then the person outside could very well be someone from the raid itself.

Lucien calmly stepped closer toward the entrance. "Can your tiger still see them?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Harris frowned slightly. "The tiger is backing away."

That answer caused several students to look disturbed immediately. The white tiger was one of the strongest combat summons or arguably the only one currently inside the cave. If even it instinctively retreated from whatever stood outside, then the situation was clearly dangerous.

Leo slowly stood up while gripping [Yielding Spine]. "How far?"

"Close." Harris replied immediately.

The cave became completely silent afterward. A few seconds later, slow footsteps echoed faintly from outside.

The person outside sounded completely calm while approaching the cave as if they already knew people were inside. Leo immediately noticed another detail afterward.

Even Lucien’s expression became more serious now. The golden armor around his body released faint Aura while he rested the staff against his shoulder casually. Beside him, Yin Li quietly muttered.

"I already miss the goblins again."

The footsteps eventually stopped outside the cave entrance. For a few seconds, nobody moved.

Then a tall figure slowly stepped into view from the darkness outside. The firelight from inside the cave revealed silver hair, damaged black clothing stained with blood and a massive sword resting against the person’s shoulder casually.

The moment the students saw the figure clearly, their faces changed and a simultaneous gasp spread across the cave.

.... Because standing in front of them was one of the members of the Seven Radiant Blades.