But out of everything, what baffled Atticus the most was that even after 3 weeks had passed, although the footprints were mostly cleared out, he could still see the mana imprints clearly.
Atticus decided to stop thinking about all of this for now and focus on the task at hand.
Turning his gaze towards the imprints on the ground, he saw they were all jumbled up, scattered across the earth, with different tracks facing different directions.
Atticus could stand here all day trying to figure out which tracks were the right ones to follow, but it was a very good thing he wasn't dumb.
The loud howl had come from the north.
There were some tracks leading to the north.
What more did he need?
Atticus swiftly turned and started running towards the north.
He was constantly releasing pulses of mana from his mana core to make sure he didn't lose track of the imprints. And at the same time, Atticus was also maintaining the ethereal cloak.
This just goes to show how much Atticus had improved his mana control. He was completely incomparable to how he had been before.
Undeterred, Atticus kept moving through the forest, following the tracks.
…
Inside the control room where the academy monitored the first year students, many operators were busy watching the screens of every division.
Signs of exhaustion were evident on their faces, as many of them just wanted to finish the remaining 30 minutes of their shift and leave.
Despite the fact that they could monitor each division of the different regions from here, there was a limit to what they all could watch.
They were only allowed to have a bird's eye view of each region, not even being able to listen in on the conversations of the students.
The only thing they could view was the students moving around the camp, the whole expanse, and the forest surrounding them.
Whatever happens inside any of the buildings was completely private.
Each operator was monitoring multiple screens and divisions at the same time.
One of the operators with a crown of brown hair, connected mustache, and beard suddenly let out an audible sigh, "These 3 weeks have been incredibly boring."
The others couldn't help but agree with him on that. Although they had all expected it, the first 4 weeks for the first years, apart from the first day, had always been boring and uneventful. But it still hurt to sit down all day watching a bunch of teens simply move around and train.
Although they wouldn't admit it in public, many of them, because of the boredom, had already turned it into a reality teen drama.
"We can only hope the inter-division fight would start soon, then things would start to get interesting," another operator who was sitting close to the man that spoke earlier added with a bored look on his face.
But before anyone had the chance to reply, the entrance door suddenly slid open to reveal a Isabella.
Dressed in a well fitted black suit, she sauntered in, sipping a smoothie through a straw.
The loud slurping sound she made as she sipped her drink was so loud that all the operators who were on duty, each busy monitoring the screens, heard it.
The operators who saw Isabella couldn't help but mutter curses under their breaths as bulging veins appeared on each of their heads.
It grated on the nerves of the operators, who suppressed curses and resisted the urge to snatch the drink away.
They all knew the only reason she could do this now was because Harrison wasn't around.
If he was, she would behave like an obedient puppy. But anytime he wasn't, she always made sure to show her mischievous side.
And what was most annoying was the fact that she was doing it intentionally to annoy all of them because she knew none of them could stop her!
Isabella walked down the steps, moving closer to the screens, where the operators were gathered.
Her gaze swept through the room, looking at the operators who were all trying hard to hold back from erupting.
Her smile widened as she applied even more suction, intensifying the sound.
*SLURP*
*SLURP*
Just as one of them couldn't stand it anymore and was about to speak,
"Oi! Your boy crush just entered the forest!," the first operator who had initially spoken said as he fixed his gaze at the screen with a slight smile. Finally, something was going to happen!
"Really?! Atticus??" Isabella immediately brought her drink down as she heard those words, her face expressing slight shock.
She instantly moved to the front of the screen displaying Atticus as if she didn't want to miss a single thing.
The rest of the operators in the room couldn't help but roll their eyes at her exaggerated response.
Ever since Atticus's massacre, after the first years were sent to the expanse, Isabella had been following his every move.
Anytime she came into the control room, she was always going directly to Atticus's screen.
"Finally! He's out of his room. Where is he?" She asked as she got to the front of the large screen.
"Hold your horses, princess. He hasn't done anything yet,"
Many would be surprised with the way the operator was addressing Isabella, given her background as the daughter of the vice principal of the academy.
But Isabella even from a young age had always been free with everyone. It was easier for people to lose their guards a little, especially given the fact that she was always pulling pranks and looking for trouble.
Spotting Atticus on the screen, Isabella snatched the controls from the operator and instantly enlarged the screen, making it bigger and dwarfing all other screens being displayed.
"Now shhhhh, I don't want to hear a single word," Isabella said to the rest of the operators, immediately turning her gaze to face the screen, leaving their mouths twitching in response.
Seeing as neither of them had anything better to do, they all turned their gazes toward the large screen while, of course, still keeping an eye on theirs.