God of Souls: Attaining the Strongest System in an Apocalyptic World
Chapter 29: The day of Hunt

Chapter 29: The day of Hunt

It was finally the day of the hunt, and all students had been told to be in the portal room before the clock hit nine. This meant they all had to wake up early to get prepared.

After the three in the room had taken their baths, they changed into the uniforms the school had given all the students for special occasions like this.

A dress almost identical in design to the regular uniform, but carrying a darker color and featuring a jacket over the long-sleeved shirt beneath.

’Wow, this is great stuff,’ Kael praised inwardly as he felt how free the clothing was. Compared to the normal academy uniform, this surely made him feel capable of achieving greater heights than when wearing the usual attire.

And the reason he felt that way appeared before his eyes almost immediately.

[Low-tier Soul Gear: Increases speed by a certain amount and protects like cheap armor.]

Kael was baffled at how they were able to make a beast’s soul core into clothing that was wearable and comfortable, but he liked the idea.

Though the added stats would not be very noticeable, Kael, at this point, would appreciate even the slightest of boosts.

As he finished dressing, he noticed Jeremy was already dressed and seemed to be waiting for him to get ready.

"I’m done," he said, feeling a bit intimidated by Jeremy’s look. Then he turned to Eric, who still seemed far from finishing. He was slow and distant for some reason, and this bothered Kael a lot.

"What’s wrong with you? Should we wait for you to get done or what?"

Kael received a shake of the head from Eric. He didn’t seem in the mood to talk, nor did he seem to want their company.

Getting the message, Jeremy rose from the bed, walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out. "Let’s go. He’s a higher grade, after all. Worry about yourself."

Kael rushed to follow, joining him as they left Eric behind in the room and began walking through the pathways in silence. He could sense a tense atmosphere between the two, which made him recall a question he had pondered a few times.

He had noticed how the only times Eric and Jeremy spoke to each other were whenever he was around. He could tell there had been a fight between the two for a long time, but his anxiety always got the better of him whenever he thought of asking why they were at war with each other.

As Kael was deep in thought, Jeremy used his shoulder to nudge him, knocking him out of his pondering.

"You seem distant. What do you think about the Stealth uniform?" Jeremy tried to start a conversation. From his cracked tone, it was obvious he was forcing it.

Kael’s eyes widened in realization. ’So that’s what this is.’

He didn’t take long to reply. "It’s quite nice."

"It’s good to see you like the outfit. A friendly piece of advice: be careful with who you trust. The beasts may not be the ones to do the most damage to you." With that, Jeremy returned to his introverted nature, saying no more.

Kael could fully grasp what he had said. ’Is this a hint about what happened between him and Eric?’

---

A few minutes past nine, all the students of Class A and Class B were gathered in the portal room, dressed in their stealth outfits.

One thing Kael noticed about their attire was how they managed to stand out even while wearing the same thing. Some had weapons strapped to them, varying from swords to spears and gauntlets.

Others carried pouch-like bags. It seemed everyone had done some calculated packing for the journey.

Kael, on the other hand, had nothing with him but a pouch of raw meat he carried for the trip.

A few more minutes passed before three teachers entered the portal room, and the rowdy students instantly fell silent at their presence.

The teachers—Leonard, Alistair, and Dorothy—stood together, dressed in special-looking Soul Gear that appeared to cost a fortune.

Dorothy stepped forward and cleared her throat before speaking. "We welcome you to the second-year Farm Hunt, in which we will be venturing into a red portal this time. As we have all learned in classes, red portals are areas we have barely or not explored, which means they are filled with dangerous terrains and beasts. This expedition will not be an easy one, but take note: the rewards will also be heavy. The Soul Cores obtained during this assessment may be kept by students for use in creating any gear they want."

"Furthermore, I would like to brief you on how things will be done. Since it is a red portal, we teachers will be accompanying you. However, we will not help you search but will stand by at the camp for any students who call for help. More details will be explained once we enter the portal on the other side."

After saying this, Dorothy signaled to three security men at the doors of the portal room, each holding dark sacks in their grasps, to come forward.

The men stepped forward and opened their sacks, revealing hand-sized gems of various colors. Only a few students knew what these gems were for, while others, including Kael, stared in utter confusion.

"For those who do not know, these gems are the only way out of the red portal and back here, to the portal room. If you take one in your hand and shatter it, you will be instantly transported. However, be warned: the gems should only be used when you are in a tight position with no other choice but to run. Another warning is that the gems will not work until I activate them, which I will do 24 hours after entering the portal. This is to prevent lazy students from running like cowards."

As Dorothy finished, she paused to scan the students’ faces. Most of them already knew the information she had explained, so they were eagerly awaiting her orders to enter the portal.

This gave her a proud feeling as their teacher. However, when her eyes met Kael’s awestruck gaze from afar, her mood was ruined.

He was the only one in the portal room still gawking at her.

She opened her mouth to address him, but Alistair tugged at her hand softly and spoke into her ear.

"There’s a small issue with the portal labeling."

Dorothy furrowed her brows. This was the first time she had ever heard such a statement.

She immediately went to see what Alistair was talking about. She arrived at the first red portal and saw the school tag for the second years. Then she moved to the other one and saw the exact same thing. The two portals were identical.

"What’s going on? Why are there two portals? Are we supposed to use two portals for this expedition or what?"

Leonard, standing in the background, said nothing. He sensed something off about the aura of the two portals. However, what he sensed was too faint for him to raise an alarm, so he maintained his silence.

Alistair offered a decisive solution. "Could it be that one portal is for Class A and the other for Class B?"

Her words carried some logic. Taking two classes into one portal would make the journey very stressful and hard to maintain protection over each student.

But little did they know, one of these portals had been tampered with.