We arrived at the designated location that Instructor Sylvia had led us to - a cleared area at the forest's edge that served as a staging point between academy grounds and the actual hunting territories.
Multiple instructor assistants were already positioned throughout the perimeter, their Transcendent-rank auras providing a reassuring presence. These were experienced awakeners assigned to protect students if anything went catastrophically wrong - strong enough to handle most threats that could appear in this relatively controlled region.
Sylvia waited until all students had assembled before speaking with her characteristic authority.
"Everyone, form groups of three. Choose your teammates wisely based on complementary capabilities."
Immediately, students began clustering together. The more social ones had obvious friend groups, while competitive students like Marcus sought partners with strong combat reputations.
