As Theo approached the professor, who stood at the side observing everyone, one nearby group abruptly stopped talking the moment Theo got within the hearing range.

Theo simply shrugged it off and continued forward. His competitive spirit was high right now, but not enough to care about that.

When the professor noticed Theo approaching, those same crazy eyes locked onto him.

"What do you need, student?" the man asked, making Theo nod respectfully.

"Professor Velra, are we allowed to cut down trees?" Theo asked.

A smile immediately formed across the professor’s face.

"And how will you cut the trees? I have not provided you with the equipment for it," the professor said, though that same eager curiosity lingered on his face.

Theo smiled and tapped on the hilt of his sword resting at his waist.

The professor’s crazed look returned as he slowly nodded, making Theo once again feel that something was wrong with this guy.

"Not more than two trees per group, though. The specialists won’t be able to restore them before a month," he added.

This time, it was Theo’s turn to be surprised, but he wasted no more time and left after giving a respectful bow.

Even so, he could tell that the professor continued watching him closely, curious about what he planned to do.

_____

When Theo returned, he could sense it immediately.

The atmosphere within the group had changed compared to before.

Orrin was the one who greeted him with a smile, but that was all.

"I got permission from the professor. We can start now. Does any of you have a beast capable of carrying heavy weight? Something around the size of that tree?" Theo asked.

Kaela shook her head, though there was hesitation in her eyes. Lysa did the same.

This time, Mikel spoke up, but there was a look in his eyes Theo didn’t like.

There was doubt in those eyes, a doubt that hadn’t existed earlier when he had given orders before.

’Something happened while I was gone.’

For the first time since the activity began, Theo felt like he was going to have a little bit of fun.

This camp activity itself was the most basic one and nowhere near enough to really make him come out of his mind like the other classes.

But now there was a problem he had to fix, and he decided to deal with it.

"I have a red bear as my beast, Sir Theo," Mikel said.

The next instant, a white light formed on his forehead, creating the silhouette of a massive creature.

The light faded, revealing a seven-foot-tall bear who immediately sat down and lazily scratched its belly.

"Good, I want you to command it to push the tree in that direction once it’s cut down. Think it can do that?" Theo asked.

Mikel simply nodded. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This time, Orren, Kaela and Lysa remained on the side, silently watching.

Theo walked toward the tree, drawing everyone’s attention, including the professor’s.

The moment he pulled the blade from its sheath, Orren was the first one to frown as though Theo had done something repulsive.

But just as he thought that Theo was being ridiculous, an aura enveloped the blade, making everyone stare at it in shock.

"SWORD AURA!" Lysa blurted out in surprise but before instantly placing a hand over her mouth.

Theo didn’t dilly dally anymore and moved into position before swinging his sword horizontally toward the tree trunk.

The blade sliced through it as if it were nothing, and Theo let out a relieved sigh. The tree wasn’t sturdy by any means; rather, it felt like a weak species.

Seeing that Mikel still hadn’t made his bear move, Theo shouted, "NOW!"

The bear noticed the tree trunk falling in the wrong direction instead of the planned one, yet it still refused to move.

Frustration surged through Theo. He released as much pressure from his presence as he could without holding anything back.

The bear recognized his gaze within seconds.

But it only snarled at him.

A vein bulged on Theo’s forehead. The aura around him faded as he lowered the sword to the ground.

Then he stepped forward and punched the tree sideways with everything he had.

Everyone watched the veins on Theo’s arms and face bulge while his ears turned red.

And before anyone realized it, the tree’s trajectory changed. Instead of crashing into multiple trees, which would have made cutting and processing it far more difficult for them, it only fell on a single tree near the clearing.

The other students’ interest was finally piqued, and a commotion spread throughout the campsite.

When the tree finally hit the ground with a loud thud, Theo finally took a deep breath and glared at Mikel with a heavy frown.

Mikel averted his eyes, though he couldn’t help noticing Theo walking toward him.

"Does your beast not listen to you?" Theo asked coldly. If the tree had fallen in its natural trajectory, their workload would have doubled.

The bear let out an angry roar upon seeing Theo talk down to its human. It finally rose and started moving toward Theo for whatever reason.

At the same time, however, the itch inside the mantis could no longer be suppressed.

It emerged from the beast space and materialized right in front of the bear, which froze in its tracks the instant it met the mantis’s eyes.

The mantis gently placed one of its forelegs on the bear’s arm, but the bear could still feel the sharpness of that blade-like limb, sending a shiver down its spine.

The other three students on the side froze as well, seeing the mantis for the first time.

Just as Theo was about to tell the mantis to return to the beast space for now and not do anything—

He sensed something enter his spatial sense.

"Bad team!"

The professor stood right in front of the group, those same crazed eyes staring at him as he shouted. Theo looked at the man as if he were about to blast anytime now.

"??"