Meanwhile, the other students also desperately trained in their respective Mystic Realms. Some improved a little while others improved exponentially.

Overall, training in a Mystic Realm suitable for one’s class was a rare opportunity for every student to improve themselves. Still, some got severely injured during their training.

Although the training was not life-threatening, they could not persist in the later phases of the training camp and quit.

…

“Have you guys seen Moss these past couple of days?” Alan yawned and asked when he noticed Moss’s bed was empty.

“I haven’t seen Moss since Instructor Kevin asked for him.”

“I saw him go to the southeast corner of the training ground. I haven’t seen him since.”

‘Where the hell is he then? I never see him around, and he doesn’t even return to the dorm to sleep,’ Mill complained inwardly.

Since Moss had not returned to the dorm to sleep for the past two days, Mill could not sleep well. Dark circles even started appearing under her eyes.

‘He’s the one who said he’d protect me! Hmph, I guess he just spat those words on impulse!’ Mill started to get angry at that thought.

Although her heart was in turmoil, Mill looked calm on the surface and did not say anything. It made the others think she was in deep thought.

“The assessment will occur the day after tomorrow. Captain Moss will make it, right?” Baylon spoke anxiously.

The other Guardians also started to worry. However, they did not worry about Moss’s safety. Although they had not seen Moss the past two days, they discovered his ranking had slightly improved.

The Guardians only worried Moss was overworking himself because they had made faster improvements than their captain. Even Mill and Bass’s rankings had surpassed Moss.

“Come on, we should go and look for him to see if he’s okay,” Mill finally spoke.

With that, the Guardians quickly exited their dorm.

…

The Guardians searched for half an hour around the Ancient Knight Mystic Realms, and Mill was the first to locate Moss exiting a spatial rift as he had just completed a mission.

Mill transmitted the location and information to her teammates and ran toward Moss.

“Where have you been these past few days? Why didn’t you return to the dorm to sleep? Did something happen to you?!” Mill spoke fast, resembling a machine gun. She completely put aside her usual indifferent, noble, and calm demeanor.

Moss was stunned when he saw Mill and even more shocked when he heard her rapid-fire questions.

Mill was about to burst into a rage when Moss did not answer. However, Mill could not remain angry when she saw bite marks and scratches all over Moss’s body. She tore some bandages with her mouth and wrapped Moss’s wounds with them one at a time, even the wounds on his arms.

When Mill finished wrapping Moss up, she thought of something and threw Moss’s arm aside. She turned away and snorted.

“W-Why…”

Before Moss could finish speaking, Mill turned around again. She pouted and sneered, “I couldn’t sleep well because you weren’t there! You promised you’d protect me, but where did you go?!” Tears rolled down Mill’s eyes as she spoke.

Even crying and angry, Mill still looked adorable, so Moss could not refute. Moss knew he had made a promise, and Mill had every right to be angry. It was indeed his fault.

“M-My watch’s battery ran out, and I lost track of time. I know I’m wrong, but I promise to return to the dorm and sleep no matter how late it is.”

“That’s it?! You also have to compensate for my lack of sleep!” Mill thundered.

“O-Okay!” Moss hurriedly replied.

Moss knew he had been utterly obsessed with his missions, so he immediately agreed with Mill.

However, Mill did not expect Moss to agree so readily. Still, she instantly stopped crying and revealed a smile.

‘Well, that was exaggerated. I know how delicate women can be, even in my past life. They’re so dramatic.’

Moss felt emotional at that point and thought Mill had tricked him.

“As for how I will make you compensate for my lack of sleep, I will think about it. I’ll let you know when I come up with something.” Mill blinked her almond-shaped eyes and revealed a menacing smile.

Moss noticed Mill’s smile and firmly believed she had indeed tricked him. He was about to say something when the other Guardians appeared to interrogate him.

Moss answered everyone’s questions one at a time and asked them in return, “How are the effects of you guys’ training?”

As soon as he said that, he triggered the Guardians’ chatterboxes.

The Guardians first spoke of their personal growth. They also told Moss about some students’ improvements and those they should look out for, like Mark and Ribery.

The Guardians shared information about the Crimson Fires, Youth Forces, and their school’s senior students with Moss. They continued to fill Moss in about every significant person and team’s improvements and performance for a while before they stopped.

The Guardians’ initially excited faces immediately turned anxious.

“Moss, your recent improvements haven’t been too good. What happened? The assessment is happening the day after tomorrow,” Alan asked, full of worry.

Alan had always believed in Moss’s strength, but Moss’s minuscule rank improvements over the past few days made him anxious.

Mill was no better too. She trusted Moss but was still nervous about his rank.

“You might need to work harder, Moss. They’re going to eliminate the first 50% of students soon! Everyone else is incredibly enthusiastic while training in their Mystic Realms. They’ve made significant improvements too,” Mill could not help but remind Moss with concern.

“Yes, I will. I’m even happier that you guys made significant progress in your training. Don’t worry about me because I’ve also learned much over these past few days.

“Even though I have some issues in my current ranking, it’s not the end of the world. Whether or not we make it to the top 50% depends on the assessments day after tomorrow.”

Moss looked at his teammates with a sincere smile. Still, he was not worried. Instead, he was happy for his team.

Meanwhile, he realized he placed so low on the rankings because the instructors did not understand his situation.

Moss’s ranking remained low because he trained in the Ancient Knight Mystic Realm that the training camp had not opened for decades. Those realms were also not connected to the training camp’s system. The system would have notified the instructors of Moss’s improvements if they were.

“All right, keep up the excellent work, everyone! I will work harder, so we can strive to get through the first phase!”

“Let’s go, Guardians!” The merry team of five pumped their fists in the air and shouted in unison.

…

The Guardians continued their rigorous training immediately after that. However, Moss continued his training even when the instructors gave the others a day off and no longer arranged training tasks for the students.

Mill had nothing to do the following morning. She initially intended to go to Mystic Realms one and two, which her instructor suggested, but she felt it was a little too dull.

“Hmm, I’m having trouble choosing again. Where should I go? Oh, I got it!” Mill muttered. She noticed Moss had left, so she quickly followed him a few seconds later. She was in a hurry to leave when she almost bumped into Mark about to enter.

Mark felt infatuated when he saw Mill’s anxious expression. He had been eyeing Mill for a long while, and since he also had a day off, he decided to follow her.

…

Meanwhile, Moss did not go to the Ancient Knight Mystic Realms that day. Instead, he chose a more difficult four-star realm to test his evolution.

However, he did not expect Mill to follow him into the Mystic realm.

After entering the Mystic Realm, Moss began his training as planned.

Mill only thought of Moss the entire time but had to use her full speed to catch up to him. In addition, the four-star Mystic Realm was complicated, and Mill lost sight of Moss.

Mill was searching for him when a Manic Giant Ape suddenly attacked her. However, Mark chased it away at that critical moment.

“It’s a good thing I was training here, Miss Mill. Otherwise, that ape would have gotten you. But you don’t have to thank me or anything. It’s just something I should’ve done.” Mark looked at Mill with deep affection, asking for credit in a roundabout way.

He thought Mill would thank him for his brave manliness and fall into his arms. He was excited.

“Why would I thank you? What can a mere ape do to me? Did I tell you to save me? What wishful thinking,” Mill’s words were cold, and her face was indifferent. She did not even glance at Mark.

Mark could not bear it, as Mill’s reaction was entirely out of his expectations.

‘Ooh, playing hard to get, eh? Fine, I’ll show her how mighty I am!’ Mark thought.

Still, he said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll seek your advice on my training, Miss Mill.”

After that, Mark prepared to make a move on Mill.