That was the source of all the chaos!
"It really is a new dungeon entrance!" Ella exclaimed.
"The energy is so powerful it's leaking out, driving all these monsters crazy!"
"The military must have known this would happen—that's why they sealed off the area," Amy analyzed calmly.
"Clearing out the berserk monsters in the outskirts is probably one of the objectives of this Seven Schools Training Camp."
Just then, Ethan's eyes narrowed, and he pointed to a spot within the monster horde.
"Look over there!"
Amidst the surging tide of beasts, five figures could be seen dodging and fleeing in disarray—they were clearly students by their attire.
"They're from First High!"
Amy recognized them immediately.
The five were clearly of a high enough level and strength, fighting and retreating with decent teamwork.
The Ironmane Boars surrounding them barely lasted three hits before being killed!
But against an endless horde of berserk monsters, killing a few here and there made no difference at all!
They were now in mortal danger, on the verge of being overwhelmed.
"Should we help them?"
Ella looked at her sister and Ethan.
Amy frowned deeply.
Rescuing them would be extremely risky—if they got caught up in the monster horde, the three of them could easily end up trapped too.
Ethan didn't hesitate over the decision.
He immediately cast a Mass Heal spell toward the five students.
He had no intention of jumping down to save them personally, but he could stand here and rain down heals on them from a distance.
A little kindness that benefited both parties—Ethan was always happy to oblige.
A soft yet wide-ranging wave of holy light accurately enveloped the five beleaguered students from First High.
+612!
+612!
+612!
Green healing numbers instantly popped up above their heads, restoring the HP they'd just lost and pulling them back to safety in an instant!
The sudden burst of healing invigorated the five below!
"Healing! There's someone nearby!"
"That's insane healing power! One spell restored half my HP!"
The pressure on them eased dramatically.
Seizing the opportunity, they joined forces to repel the Black Iron Wolves that had charged to the front, gaining a precious moment to catch their breath as they struggled to break through toward the rock wall where Ethan and the others stood.
"Ethan!"
Amy looked at him, a grateful glint in her eyes.
She had wanted to save them, but was well aware of the risks involved.
Ethan's decisive action was a huge relief.
The five students below displayed impressive combat discipline, seizing the opportunity created by Ethan's heals to fight their way closer to the rock wall.
A burly boy wielding a shield led the charge, roaring as he activated a skill—his shield glowing faintly as it blocked wave after wave of attacks.
An agile figure wielding a longsword darted around the flanks, constantly picking off monsters that tried to encircle them.
A mage in their group unleashed area-of-effect spells to clear paths through the horde...
Ethan stood at the edge of the cliff, spamming heals on the five without a care for his mana consumption.
Thanks to the relentless, powerful healing, the tide of the battle below turned completely in their favor!
The First High students grew increasingly shocked and exhilarated as they fought.
This healing was absolutely terrifying!
The amount of HP restored was absurdly high!
The casting speed was so fast it was like there was no cooldown at all!
They assumed there must be an entire team of top-tier healers up on the cliff.
They had never fought a battle with such overwhelming support!
They could confidently cover each other's backs, and even deliberately leave openings to draw enemy attacks, knowing that the holy light would always arrive in time to save them!
This dramatically boosted their combat efficiency and survivability.
"Friends above! Thank you so much! I'm Lucas, a Shield Guard from First High! We owe you one!"
The shield-wielding boy took the chance to shout, his voice brimming with gratitude and renewed determination.
Ella watched as the tide of battle below turned completely around thanks to Ethan's solo healing, her mouth forming a perfect O shape once again.
She poked her sister's arm and whispered, "Sis... his healing output is way too broken, isn't it?"
Amy didn't reply, but her eyes remained fixed on Ethan's profile, the look of shock in them growing more pronounced by the second.
Finally, with Ethan's continuous healing support, Lucas's team managed to break out of the densest part of the monster horde, scrambling up the rock wall in disarray but at top speed.
The five collapsed onto the ground the moment they reached the top of the cliff, gasping for breath, their faces etched with relief at having narrowly escaped death.
Lucas, the leader of the group, struggled to his feet and clasped his fists in a solemn gesture toward Ethan and the others.
"Thank you three for saving our lives! I'm Lucas from First High, and these are my teammates. If it weren't for you, we'd be dead meat here today."
"You don't need to thank us—thank him instead. He saved you all single-handedly," Amy said with a smile, shaking her head and pointing at Ethan.
"You... were the one healing us all by yourself?"
Sam the swordsman couldn't help but confirm, his voice filled with disbelief.
Ethan smiled faintly, choosing not to answer directly. Instead, he raised his hand and cast another Mass Heal, instantly mending the scrapes and minor internal injuries the group had sustained during their climb.
That familiar holy light, that familiar surge of vitality!
It was confirmed beyond doubt!
Awe washed over Lucas and the others.
They swallowed their shock and hastened to express their gratitude once more, their tone solemn:
"Thank you for saving our lives, brother! I'm Lucas from First High. These are my teammates—Sam, Mara (Mage), Aaron (Warrior), and Talia (Archer)."
"What do we call you, brother? Your healing is... absolutely godly!"
"Ethan. Third High."
Ethan introduced himself briefly, then asked curiously, "You're not part of the Seven Schools Training Camp, are you? What are you doing out here?"
He'd already obtained their stats while healing them moments ago.
Apart from Lucas and Sam, who had A-rank talents, the other three possessed B-rank talents.
And Ethan had copied all five of their talents without a hitch.
Lucas – Indomitable Bulwark (A-rank): Each time you take damage, convert the HP lost into a shield of equal value (shield lasts 10 minutes).
A ridiculously defensive talent.
With a top-tier Priest backing him up, he'd be practically unkillable as long as he didn't get one-shot.
If this talent were Ethan's, it would be even more overpowered than an S-rank ability!
Sam – Gale Blade Barrage (A-rank): Every third attack on the same target has a 20% chance to trigger a Wind Blade that locks onto the target, dealing (Attack Power + Speed + Spell Power) × 200% damage.
An offensive talent, decent enough for classes lacking reliable damage output.
For Ethan, though, it was barely useful—the only redeeming feature was the Wind Blade's lock-on effect.
Mara – Spell Resonance (B-rank): When your spell critically strikes, there is a 50% chance to refund 30% of the spell's base mana cost.
A passable talent for Mages, boosting their sustain in combat.
But for Ethan, it was utterly useless.
He never ran out of mana, and he couldn't land spell crits anyway.
Aaron – Frenzy (B-rank): For every 10% of your maximum HP lost, gain 2% Attack Power and 1% Lifesteal.
A mediocre talent at best. At its maximum potential, it only granted 18% Attack Power and 9% Lifesteal—decent for a run-of-the-mill Warrior looking to boost their survivability, but completely worthless for someone like Ethan, who always kept his HP topped off.
Talia – Weak Point Mark (B-rank): Your basic attacks and skills have a 15% chance to apply a Vulnerability debuff to the target for 5 seconds.
While debuffed, the target takes 10% increased damage from all sources.
A solid team-oriented talent, but of little use to Ethan individually.
Out of the five talents, Lucas's Indomitable Bulwark was by far the most useful.
The rest were just nice extras.
But for Ethan, you could never have too many talents—who knew when one might come in handy?
"Ahem, Ethan... to tell you the truth..."
Lucas exchanged an embarrassed glance with his teammates before forcing a bitter smile.
"We heard this year's Seven Schools Training Camp is going to be huge, so we thought... we'd sneak into the outskirts early to try our luck, see if we could score some good loot."
He sighed, glancing down at the still-raging monster tide below, his voice trembling with lingering fear.
"Who knew our luck would be this good? Walking straight into a monster horde! If it weren't for you... we'd be monster chow by now."
The others nodded in agreement, their faces a mix of shame and deep gratitude.
Ethan's timely intervention had been nothing short of a second chance at life.
Ethan nodded, offering a reassuring look—he understood their motives perfectly.
Amy stepped forward, cutting to the chase.
"Let's put that aside for now."
"The monster tide shows no signs of abating. We're not safe here. We need to decide our next move quickly."
As soon as she finished speaking, all eyes turned to Ethan.
After the heart-stopping rescue they'd just witnessed, he had quietly become the de facto leader of this ragtag team.
"I don't have any brilliant suggestions," Ethan shrugged.
"We don't know how far the monster tide spreads—we can't leave Black Iron Mountain for now. Our options are either stay put, or take a risk and head for the military restricted zone up ahead."
He wasn't familiar with the area, so those were the only two viable choices he could think of.
Ethan's words hung in the air, and a heavy silence fell over the group.
Staying meant facing an endless horde of monsters with no end in sight—risky beyond measure.
Heading for the military zone might offer shelter, but trespassing could lead to serious consequences.
Not to mention, they'd have to fight their way through a sea of monsters to get there.
"Let's go to the military zone," Amy declared, breaking the silence with unwavering resolve.
"We don't know the size of this horde. Staying here and defending passively is a death sentence if we get surrounded by a large enough group.
"The military base has solid defenses and stationed troops—it's our safest bet right now. As for the trespassing charge..." she paused, "My uncle serves in the military. I can explain the situation, and they should make an exception."
Hope lit up in everyone's eyes at her words.
"But what about the monsters on the way?"
Talia asked timidly, still shaken by their near-death experience.
"The base is probably several kilometers from here. With so many monsters swarming around, are we just supposed to fight our way through?"
"Yeah! That's kilometers we're talking about!" someone else chimed in, finally snapping back to reality.
"We barely survived those few hundred meters thanks to Ethan! How the hell are we going to make it several kilometers?!"
The military might show leniency to the Jones family—but the monster horde wouldn't!
Those kilometers would be a brutal, blood-soaked slog, and one wrong move would mean certain death.
"If you guys trust me, I can guarantee everyone stays at full health," Ethan said, stepping forward to address their concerns.
He was also leaning toward seeking shelter at the base. He wasn't afraid of the monster tide itself—but he was afraid it might attract even stronger bosses.
If a Rank 3 or 4 monster showed up, even his absurd healing output wouldn't be enough to save them. The military base was undoubtedly the safer option.
Lucas and the others exchanged a glance, then nodded vigorously. "We trust you, of course!"
"If it weren't for you, Ethan, we'd be dead already!"
"Since you're on board, we're right behind you!"