Granstar noticed that all the goblins and frost wolves were watching him intently—it seemed he had no choice but to act like a proper instructor.
"I already planned your training before I even arrived. Just follow the method I give you!"
"To think that Lord Granstar would personally train us... This is amazing!"
One of the goblins beamed with excitement.
Granstar smiled at the sight, thinking to himself, Just wait—later, you'll have something to cry about.
"Goblins and frost wolves, separate for now. I won't be training your coordination yet. First, I need to get rid of your laziness."
The goblins quickly separated according to his instructions.
Granstar extended his hand and used his magic to draw a complex circle on the ground. The magic circle covered a wide area—about 150 meters in diameter. Then, over a hundred ice stakes emerged from the ground.
"Lord Granstar, what are you doing with so many ice stakes?" one goblin asked, confused.
Weren't they supposed to be breaking their laziness?
"Each of you, grab an ice stake and stand inside the magic circle!" Granstar barked.
"Oh, I'll take this thick one!"
"Then I'll take this one!"
Once they had all chosen their stakes, Granstar finally revealed the training objective.
"Your task is to destroy the ice pillar in front of you without using any weapons. You may use all your abilities—but you must finish before the end of the day. If you succeed, you pass."
"What? That's it? Just destroy the ice pillar? That's too easy. Watch me!"
One goblin stepped up with confidence.
"Here comes my [Sweeping Kick]!"
Bang! — not even a crack appeared on the pillar.
Unwilling to give up, the goblin kept trying, using up all his magic power in the process.
"Wuu... Lord Granstar, this is way too hard..."
Granstar ignored the complaints and turned to the frost wolves. With a wave of his hand, he cast a modified ice magic circle beneath them. The area within began to rain down powerful hailstones at high speed.
"Your task is to avoid the hailstones. Only those who can endure inside this circle for one hour will be considered qualified."
Almost immediately—
"Ahh! Why is this so hard?!"
"My magic's nearly gone! What now?!"
"Awoo—!"
One by one, frost wolves were struck by the hail and flung out of the circle. But after a short rest, they stubbornly limped back in to continue.
Jura Tempest Federation – Jura Great Forest
The sun shone brightly today, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was perfect—ideal weather for slacking off.
High in the sky, a towering tree stretched toward the clouds, its thick branches sprawling like interwoven limbs.
Lying lazily on one such branch was a small blue figure, her wings glistening in the sunlight.
As the view zoomed in, it revealed a petite elf with a delicate face and transparent wings, enjoying a peaceful midday nap.
But in the distance, panicked voices rang out.
"Run! Why won't these flame ants stop chasing us?!"
"This is all your fault, Captain! You just had to poke the ant nest!"
"Now look what you've done—we're totally screwed!"
Elyun shouted at Kaval while sprinting for her life.
The masked woman running behind them stayed silent. How has this team not died yet?
"Enough with the complaints! If you don't run faster, we're going to become ant food!" Kaval snapped.
He led the group, eyes suddenly locking onto a giant tree up ahead. Relief spread across his face.
"That tree! Follow me—we're climbing it!"
With Kaval's shout, the group sprinted toward the enormous tree like the wind. When they reached it, they all looked up in awe.
"Whoa… it's so tall!"
Bursts of exclamations echoed from the crowd.
"Aren't you going to climb up already? Do you still have time to sigh down here?"
Kaval urged anxiously.
"O-oh, right!"
Startled by Kaval's shout, everyone snapped out of their daze and scrambled up the tree, using both hands and feet.
Their swift, practiced movements made it clear—this wasn't their first time doing something like this.
Down below, a swarm of flame ants gathered around the base of the tree, hissing aggressively at the people climbing above.
Each ant was over a meter long, their massive bodies radiating heat and menace.
Kaval let out a breath of relief.
Good call, he thought. These things really aren't built for climbing. And judging by their behavior, they're not too bright either.
"Hah! Thinking you can catch me, the great Kaval? Keep dreaming!"
He stood high on a thick branch, shouting down at the flame ants with a smug grin. Pride filled his face, as though he'd completely forgotten the pitiful way he'd been running just moments ago.
Unfortunately, his taunts only served to enrage the flame ants.
They backed up a few paces, then began ramming the trunk of the tree with their armored heads.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The tree shook violently with each impact. Panic spread among the people clinging to the branches.
"Captain, please stop provoking them!"
A girl shouted, her voice trembling on the edge of tears.
Everyone's heart pounded with fear and dread, terrified they might lose their grip and fall—straight into the jaws of the flame ants below.
At the top of the tree, the shaking was even more intense.
Nestled in the crown, a small creature stirred from its sleep.
"Mmm... What's going on? An earthquake?"
Another violent tremor shook the branches, and the little being was jolted loose, tumbling down.
"Ahh! Something just fell on my face!"
Elyun cried out, quickly grabbing whatever had landed on her.
She blinked in surprise, then gasped.
"Whoa! A cute little person!"
As she spoke, she gently pinched the tiny figure's cheeks. The little one squirmed and gave her a deeply offended look.
Others nearby turned toward the commotion.
When they saw what Elyun was holding, their faces twisted with astonishment.
"Wait a second... why does that little guy look so familiar?"
Kaval was the first to speak, confused.
But the masked woman among them wasn't so slow.
Her eyes widened as she got a clear look at the creature in Elyun's hands.
"That's... that's an elf!"
Gasps rippled through the group.
Now that they looked more closely, they realized the truth.
That tiny figure's delicate features—its glowing skin and pointed ears—were unmistakable.
It matched perfectly with the legends.
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