STRIKER: Independent Beast Tamer

City Gate:

After everyone had gathered, the First Year Department Head, Elder Derek, swept his eyes across everyone. Then he got confirmation from the Department Instructors.

"Alright, we will leave right now," Derek said to everyone.

Hearing that, the Department Instructors turned towards their Department Representatives and told them to monitor the classmates.

On the other hand, Jeremy Night had no worries. He would always keep an eye on Daniel Stone and Betsy Lowe.

Then each department walked through the exit gate one by one. As always, Jeremy's department was last since it was the 10th department.

"I thought we would go by vehicle," Daniel uttered.

"Vehicles are a distraction. Anything can happen in the wilderness. Don't forget there are ground worm beasts that can attack from the underground," Betsy Lowe said from the side.

Gasp!

Daniel Stone took a sharp breath. He had almost forgotten about the worm-type beasts.

"Alright, it's time for us to leave," Instructor Jacob said to them.

Then Jeremy and the others followed behind Instructor Jacob. They exited through the gate and entered the vast open wilderness.

"It's going to be exciting," Daniel Stone said with a smile.

Jeremy smiled. Then the group followed the lead of Instructor Jacob.

On the other hand, the Killer Mercenaries received the news. They had been preparing since the morning after hearing that first-year students had entered the wilderness along with their Instructors.

The Mercenaries made a decision not to get involved directly. They planned to divert the Tier-3 and Tier-4 Corrupted beasts towards the students.

The Tier-3 and Tier-4 beasts were more intelligent than lower-tier beasts. They would go after human scent. Even without their interference, the large number of corrupted beasts would be attracted towards the large number of students.

Yet the Mercenaries decided to do their job as well. They left their spot and started moving towards the inner part of the wilderness.

After diverting several corrupted beasts toward their direction, the Mercenaries decided to leave. If they wandered around, they would risk getting caught by the instructors.

They didn't dare to confront them openly. If not for the high-paying job, they wouldn't have bothered to take the job.

Time passed.

The first-year students came across the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts an hour later. There was still some distance left before they reached the inner part of the wilderness.

The Department Instructors of the Medicine and Machinery Department had decided to train their students, especially those who hadn't gotten their first kill against the corrupted beasts. It didn't require too much strength to defeat Tier-1 Corrupted Beasts.

So the two department instructors directed their students to attack the Tier-1 Corrupted Beasts. Not only them; the Department Instructors of the Field, Mechanical, and Special Department urged their students as well.

Swoosh!

Not long after, a couple of students stepped forward to confront the Tier-1 Wild Boar beasts.

Seeing that, the students from the other four departments became annoyed, especially the students from the Attack, Defense, Elemental, and Control Departments.

The students from these four departments had all gotten their first kill—especially against the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts. This was something they had done in their Beast Taming Families.

Their challenge was to face the Tier-2 Corrupted beasts, so the students began to voice complaints.

"Should we wait for them?" Victor Scott said to his Instructor.

He was already in a bad mood. Now these people were making him watch weak students fight against the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts.

Not only him; the other department representatives were getting annoyed, especially the Attack Department Representative, Romeo Barrett.

Last time, he had backstabbed Jeremy Night when the senior students abducted him. Since then, he hadn't spoken to Jeremy Night to admit his wrongdoings.

He knew that if he did, it would piss off the senior students. He still wanted to complete the next three years as a student. So he tried to forget about it.

But his heart was not calm after coming across Jeremy Night today. He hoped there would be no interaction.

Now, seeing the other department students struggling against the Tier-1 Corrupted Beasts, he didn't know what to say.

On the other hand, the Elemental Department students were voicing their opinions, and May Lindsey's friends were saying the same to her.

But May Lindsey remained calm and said, "The purpose of this trip is to train and experience the wilderness. They got the opportunity, so they are learning."

"Soon, we will come across Tier-2 Corrupted Beasts as well, so get ready for that," she added.

Hearing that, her friends nodded their heads. May Lindsey was the department representative, so no one dared to raise their voice against her.

The middle-aged woman who was the Elemental Department Instructor nodded her head. May Lindsey's presence was bringing her a lot of relief.

Otherwise, it wasn't easy to handle this number of people.

Meanwhile,

Daniel Stone and Betsy Lowe were watching with amusement. Their department had three members; they could take care of themselves.

Instructor Jacob received envious glares from others. He smiled at them before walking toward Ariel Burt.

Ariel Burt saw him coming and revealed a smile on her face. She could see what was going on.

When he arrived, she said, "You got the best department."

Jacob Henry replied, "Well, I'm fortunate when it comes to the numbers."

Elder Derek said, "You guys keep an eye on the surroundings. Others are occupied right now."

"Yes, Elder," Jacob immediately responded. His smile disappears from his face.

Ariel Burt shook her head before starting to monitor the place. But they didn't know the real surveillance was being done by Jeremy Night.

Jeremy Night was using his eye ability to monitor the beast tamers who were not part of their group. They had yet to enter the inner part of the wilderness.

So he could see the beast tamers from the Mercenary Organizations entering the wilderness. Some of them were looking at the students and watching with amusement.

It's not every day you can see students struggling against the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts. Because of the instructors' and elders' presence, they were not daring to make noise.

Jeremy ignored them and continued to look around.

Time passed,

He continues to monitor the place. Finally, the students killed the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts half an hour later. The students from the Medicine and Machinery Department took more time than the Mechanical Department.

But they got their successful first kill in the end. Then the department instructors and everyone else started walking toward the inner part of the wilderness.

The real challenge is ahead, where the place is filled with Tier-2 Corrupted beasts and above. The students from the four major departments are looking forward to facing the Tier-2 Corrupted Beasts.

Most of them are at Tier-1, middle ranks. If they tried their best, they could kill the Tier-2 Corrupted beasts with their abilities and lifeline beasts.

Time passed.

After two hours of journey, the university group has entered the inner part of the wilderness. Elder Derek and a few other protectors were keeping an eye on the surroundings.

In case any corrupted beasts appear, they would know first.

As everyone was walking, they heard the sound of beasts coming from a distance ahead. Elder Derek and the other protectors found that a group of hybrid beasts was coming toward them.

The hybrid beasts are a mixed breed of hound and other four-legged beasts.

"It's a Tier-2 hybrid group. There are 50 or so beasts in that group. If anyone is willing, they can fight against the beasts."

Elder Derek's deep voice sounded across the place. More than 100 students can hear him clearly.

Before the other students could react, a couple of students from the four major departments stepped forward. Earlier, they had been left out of the fun.

Now they got a chance to fight as well.

Swoosh!

One after another, they brought their Lifeline beasts outside. Compared to the students earlier, the students from the four major departments appeared to be professional beast tamers.

The department instructors gave them space to fight.

The bloodthirsty hybrid beasts started rushing toward them.

Boom!

Sand Lizard, Flame Lizard, Rock Salamander, Steel Centipede, Blue Hawks, and several other Lifeline beasts started attacking the incoming beasts.

Their beast tamers began using their talents to fight. In a flash, loud booming sounds were heard. The aftermath of the attacks sent shock waves.

The other department students clearly backed away, especially those who struggled against the Tier-1 Corrupted beasts.

If they intervened here, not only would they suffer injuries, but they would also get hurt. Their department instructors were telling them to move backward.

As time passed, the students from the Attack Department were the quickest to slay the Tier-2 Hybrid beasts.

Especially their department representative Romeo Barrett is taking action as well. Whenever someone from the department encounters difficulty, he rushes forward to attack the beasts.

Meanwhile,

Jeremy Night also saw Romeo Barrett. To be honest, he hadn't seen him for a long time. They hadn't crossed paths, especially after the abduction incident.

Jeremy then looked toward others. He could tell that today is the end day for the small group of Tier-2 Hybrid beasts.

He then thought of something before turning toward Daniel Stone and Betsy Lowe.

He said, "If you guys come across Tier-2 Beasts, you can fight as well."

Hearing that, both of them nodded their heads.