Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-63

Chapter 63: Xiao Lin’s Plan

“Huh?” Those who attempted to use the decision of the majority to evade Xiao Lin’s authority were stunned all of a sudden. The result was a bit unexpected.

“Split ways?”

“Yes. We should just split into two groups. If you so choose, you can go and do the reconnaissance mission. You can follow me if you want to survive for the time being!” Xiao Lin said to the others.

Wang Dalin’s face soured. “What do you mean?”

Xiao Lin said calmly. “Simple. You’re just asking to be killed if you go there and scout right now.”

“Why is that?”

Xiao Lin sneered. “Is your brain filled with mush or something? Can’t you think for yourself!”

Xiao Lin did not bother to explain to him that although the few people who got Grade A or B they each had their own thoughts, they continued to act harmoniously on the surface and did not openly voice disagreement. Irrespective of what the future held for them, Xiao Lin was still their class monitor for three months. Wang Dalin was the only idiot who would dare to butt heads with him.

“You!” Wang Dalin’s anger peaked and he laughed. “Your attributes are low and you skip classes all the time, so you’re afraid that we’ll complete the optional tasks and get a higher grade than you. So be it, then. We’ll split ways! Those who want credits and redemption points can come with us!”

The argument lasted for more than ten minutes. Xiao Lin was firmly opposed to immediate reconnaissance while the others refused to make concessions. The differences between the two sides could actually be described as conservative and radical. Once they entered the canyon, they could only complete the mandatory tasks. In the end, 39 people followed Wang Dalin and others while Xiao Lin’s group had only 20 people in addition to himself.

This division satisfied many people. The capable girl said, “Even if thirty percent of our class completes the required tasks, the whole class will be considered having completed all of them. Splitting ways might be good.”

“Xiao Lin, maybe we can have a rendezvous point? Whether or not we’ve completed the reconnaissance mission, we’ll rush to the rendezvous in three days. Then we can all act together and complete the mandatory task. How about it?” One of the boys seemed to have second thoughts.

Everyone else nodded except for Wang Dalin. Once they encountered danger and were forced to separate, the first instinct of those who ended up alone was to group up. Setting a rendezvous point would be a fallback plan, because in the end, they could not guarantee that could remain undiscovered if they went ahead with the reconnaissance.

“NO!” a crisp voice sounded. To everyone’s surprise, Gu Xiaoyue was the first one to object. She stood next to Xiao Lin, and although Wang Dalin tried to persuade Gu Xiaoyue to join him, she gave him a cold glance and showed no indication of agreeing.

Xiao Lin glanced at Gu Xiaoyue with a cold expression, then touched his nose before suddenly nodding happily. “Alright then, we’ll set a rendezvous point! Don’t interrupt me. I’m the monitor and I have the final say!”

The last sentence was addressed to Gu Xiaoyu, who shot Xiao Lin a strange look and stopped talking.

Xiao Lin opened his notebook and looked at it for a while, then drew a circle on a fork in the canyon. He said, “If you really want to come back, you can gather at this intersection!”

Wang Dalin snorted in apparent acknowledgement to that decision.

After that, both sides parted ways and more than 30 people left for the plains behind them. It was not until they were far enough away that Xiao Lin clapped his hands and said, “Let’s set off then.”

In addition to Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, there were 18 other people left. Xiao Lin did not think that those people went with him because they trusted him. He knew that they found it too dangerous to do the reconnaissance. While it was true that there was reward amidst that danger, one might not think of it from that perspective if it bore down to life and death.

In the past month, Xiao Lin spent his days between the training hall, the dormitory, and the logistics department. Although the entire Class Seven knew who he was, Xiao Lin did not know everyone else.

“Monitor, where are we going?”

“Are we going to the rendezvous point to wait for them to come back?”

“Why should we wait for them? Let’s go straight through Sunset Canyon and arrive at the safe location!”

“Yes, that’s right. We have twenty people and this fulfills the requirement of thirty percent out of the total number of people.”

…

Gu Xiaoyue adjusted her glasses and asked suddenly in a cold voice. “Are you seriously going to give up the two optional tasks and only complete the mandatory ones?”

Xiao Lin smiled and said, “If I said yes, you wouldn’t just turn around and leave, would y—… Ahem, hey, wait a moment. I’m kidding!”

Seeing that Gu Xiaoyue really planned to leave, Xiao Lin hurriedly stopped her and summoned the others. He said pensively, “Just let me talk about my plan first. First of all, everyone has to understand that it’s impossible to go directly through Sunset Canyon. At the same time, I’m not going to give up the two optional tasks.”

There was a commotion among the few dozen and one girl was very dissatisfied. “I stayed behind because I didn’t want to take risks. My lifespan only allows me to die three times!”

Xiao Lin sighed. “You don’t really think that this so-called monthly exam is that difficult, right? Go on guys, open up your backpack and take a look for yourself. A thermos of water and a small box of biscuits are all the supplies that the school gave us. We have to survive in this place for seven days. Do you think that’s enough?”

After being dropped into the simulated battlefield, the academy automatically issued a backpack to everyone as a sort of complimentary gift.

The girl who complained earlier immediately looked dumbfounded. She looked at the others for a while and asked in a rather unconfident manner, “How long does it take to cross Sunset Canyon?”

“From the topographical map, Sunset Canyon is huge and has many forks. Most of the roads are dead ends. Although I sketched about seventy percent to eighty percent, I’m not that confident about the remaining ten to twenty. In an idealistic scenario with no pursuit, it’ll take at least three days to get out of the canyon.”

“This food and water is only enough for one day,” someone said uneasily.

“Half a day.” Gu Xiaoyue offered a more precise calculation.

Xiao Lin nodded. “The temperature here is crazy high, probably over forty degrees. Food isn’t really much of a problem, because if things really don’t work out, we may be able to do a bit of hunting. The map data already stated that there are a few monsters in Sunset Canyon. The key issue is water. If you go at this temperature, you’ll get dehydrated in half a day because this amount is definitely not enough.”

The canyon was barren, with an abundance of large and small stones. Except for a goshawk hovering in the blue sky, there were no clouds either. The hot sun roasted the ground without the slightest restraint, and in fact, their foreheads were already oozing a fine layer of sweat when all they did was stand and talk.

The monthly examination environment simulated Planet Norma. Although it was not known what super-technology or spells were used, Qin Chuan and Song Junlang had suggested that the degree of simulation was nearly 100% accurate.

There was only one sun on Planet Norma, but it was slightly larger than the sun on Earth. It was dark red and exuded much more heat. For that reason, the temperature of Planet Norma was generally higher during the day compared to Earth.

“That means we need supplies. In other words, we need to find a supply depot first!”

After that, Xiao Lin pointed to a large circle that he highlighted in the notebook. He had been doing all that earlier when Wang Dalin was trying to sway the others.

“Supply depot? Was there any indication of this in the materials distributed to us?” someone asked doubtfully.

“If you look closely at the markers next to the map, you’ll come to find some very interesting things. For example, the water source is marked with a wave-like shape, but the nearest water source is four or five days away from us. Leaf shapes are plants, and these animal-like markers likely refer to creatures in the area, but I don’t understand what these creatures are for the time being.”

After a pause, Xiao Lin pointed to several other signs. “There are some signs I don’t understand, but it’s normal given that we still don’t know much about the humanities and customs of Planet Norma. But there is only one sign that resembles the shape of a building, and if my guess is right, it should probably be something like a nearby supply depot!”