The day for the portal outing had finally arrived.
All of the students were excited about the Orange Portal expedition. However, the rules for this expedition were different compared to the previous portal missions they had experienced.
At present, all of the first-year students were waiting inside the large canteen, biding their time before departure. Each class sat together in their own groups, chatting among themselves with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation.
Meanwhile, their respective homeroom teachers stood at the end of the long tables, observing the students.
On this expedition, every teacher would be travelling together with their group of fifty students, making sure they stayed safe while completing their tasks.
Overseeing the entire expedition were two of the academy's generals—Fay and Silver. Unlike the teachers and students, the two generals would be moving slightly ahead of the main group, scouting the area first and ensuring that nothing too dangerous lay in wait for the students.
Soon, the classes began to be called one by one into the portal room.
Finally, Del's class was announced.
Immediately, the students belonging to that class gathered their equipment and prepared themselves before heading toward the portal.
Standing at the very front was Del, and behind him was the portal itself, glowing brightly with a swirling orange light that illuminated his entire figure.
However, today Del looked very different from his usual self.
Normally, when teaching a class, he would simply wear the standard uniform that all academy teachers used. This time, however, that uniform could barely be seen beneath the beast-gear clothing he had equipped for the mission.
Yet the armour he wore did not resemble beast gear at all.
Instead, it looked more like the attire of a mage.
From head to toe, he appeared to be wearing long robes that flowed down his body. But if someone looked closer, they would notice small protective accessories fastened around his wrists and legs. And rather than carrying a weapon like most fighters, a large shield was mounted securely on his back.
Before beginning his explanation to the students, Del took a moment to survey the entire group.
He could feel a small bead of sweat running down his forehead.
I can't believe the school is actually doing this, he thought nervously.
Why do we homeroom teachers have to go along with them? These kids don't even know what could possibly be waiting on the other side of that portal.
If they did… they would probably be just as nervous as I am.
Many uneasy thoughts were running through Del's mind.
In the past, he had participated in an Orange Portal expedition, and because of that experience, he knew just how unpredictable these missions could be.
The results of entering an orange portal were almost like flipping a coin.
Sometimes the environment on the other side would be relatively calm, making the mission feel like nothing more than a casual walk in the park.
But other times…
It would feel like they had stepped directly into hell.
Because of that very experience, Del had chosen to become a teacher rather than continuing as an active explorer. He had hoped to avoid situations like this entirely.
Yet now, it seemed as though fate had decided to play a cruel joke on him.
Clearing his throat, Del raised his voice.
"Can every group representative please raise their orange scanning device!"
His voice echoed loudly throughout the hall.
As Del instructed, the representative from each group stood up and lifted their scanners into the air so he could confirm their presence.
For Fex's group, the representative was Fex.
Peter had been given the responsibility of carrying the group's supplies.
Over the past four months, Peter had changed quite a lot.
He was no longer Duke's primary target ., which meant Earl had mostly stopped harassing him as frequently as before. Of course, that didn't mean Peter was completely free from trouble. Whenever Earl happened to catch him alone, Peter would still become an easy target.
However, the reduced bullying had given Peter something he hadn't had before—time.
Time to train.
Time to practice his ability.
Thanks to that, Peter had managed to improve significantly, reaching Level 2 with his Earth ability. Still, if he wanted to grow stronger and push his ability even further, he would eventually need ability books to increase his level.
As for the rest of the team, it consisted of Layla, Vicky, and finally Logan.
Logan technically didn't belong to Del's class. However, through certain connections and arrangements, he had been temporarily transferred so he could join Fex's group for this expedition.
Del raised the scanner in his hand.
"I will now explain how the scanner works. I will only explain this once, so listen carefully."
He held the device up so everyone could see it clearly.
"The scanner is fairly simple to use. All you have to do is point it at an object. On the screen, you'll see options allowing you to select the specific area or item you wish to scan."
He tapped the device as he spoke.
"Once you confirm the selection, the scanner will automatically process the information and display the results for you."
He paused briefly.
"Simple enough, right? So try not to mess it up."
His tone sounded slightly irritated.
A student raised his hand, clearly wanting to ask a question.
Del glanced in his direction…
…and completely ignored him.
"The scanner can be used to analyze almost anything," Del continued. "Buildings, beasts, plants, water sources, terrain, and more."
"The device will attempt to break down the data it collects and present the information on the screen for you."
He paused again.
"However, that is not the primary goal of this expedition."
Del let out a long sigh before continuing. His patience was beginning to wear thin.
"What you students need to do is find things that have never been scanned before. This includes new plant species, unknown structures, and especially beasts."
"In your teams, every newly scanned object will earn you points."
"But if another team has already scanned the same object… or if the item has already been registered in the system… then you will receive no points."
Del then raised a finger.
"Now for the most important part."
"These scanners have a fairly wide detection range. Before you engage in combat with a beast, the scanner will automatically attempt to analyze every creature within your line of sight."
"The most useful feature of this scanner is that even if it has never encountered that particular beast before, it will still be able to estimate the level of the beast."
After finishing the explanation about the scanners, Del moved on to describing how the expedition itself would work.
Each class, together with their homeroom teacher, would be assigned a specific area on the planet after exiting the portal.
Once they arrived at their designated location, the class would remain there temporarily while the students carefully scanned everything in the surrounding area.
If they encountered a beast stronger than the Intermediate Tier, they were strictly instructed not to fight it.
Instead, they were to immediately retreat and inform their teacher.
The homeroom teacher would then contact the generals.
Once notified, the generals would arrive as quickly as possible to deal with the threat.
In total, there were ten first-year classes participating in the expedition.
Because of that, General Fay and General Silver would remain positioned near the centre of all the classes, allowing them to respond to any distress signals as fast as possible.
After Del finished explaining everything, the students began making their final preparations.
While looking around the room, Fex noticed something interesting.
Logan had already started tinkering with the scanner, clearly making modifications to its system.
Typical Logan.
Fex leaned closer and quietly whispered something into Logan's ear.
Logan simply nodded in response and continued adjusting the device without saying a word.
Finally, Del began calling each group forward to enter the portal.
As usual, the students had to place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them as they stepped through the portal together. This helped ensure that no one became separated during the transportation process.
After several groups passed through, it was finally Fex's group's turn.
They stepped forward toward the glowing orange portal.
Standing together, they placed their hands on each other's shoulders.
Then, without another word, they prepared themselves for whatever awaited them on the other side of their Orange Portal expedition.