The next morning, the academy was alive with noise. Whispers darted through the air like arrows with mocking, praising and questioning.
Some students scoffed loudly as Kaelen passed by.
"Tricks. That's all that was. Mana residue? A gimmick."
"He barely landed a proper blow. He just planted some weird mana trap."
Others, however, looked on with awe.
"He won against a level 21 warrior. That's not a trick. That's skill."
"No, it's strategy. He didn't rely on raw strength, he outplayed him."
Among the murmurs and judgment, Kaelen walked with annoyed composure, Jered beside him as always but this time a third person had tagged along. But neither did they reply to the criticism or bask in praise. They were already busy thinking about the name of the group they were supposed to create.
"What should we name our team?" Jered looks toward Kaelen asking for suggestions.
"Not Weak team," Kaelen answered, eyes filled with expectations.
"Bro what kind of shitty name is that?" Jered rejected without hesitation.
"Oh come on it will be cool" Kaelen said half lost in thought " think about it people calling us 'look the Not Weak team is here'."
The duo kept on arguing nonstop without a conclusion and this made Neal very annoyed. He never wanted to be together with this duo but he had to keep his promises.
Neal snapped "We are the Juggernaut Team no more argues"
"You don't get to boss with us loser" Jered mocked him
Neal's eyes twitched with annoyance.
"What does it mean?" Kaelen asked with curiosity.
"It means something powerful something strong I not sure entirely but definitely something strong" Neal answered honestly
"Ok then we are the Juggernauts from now on"
The trio smile together for a moment but the joyful moment did not last long as Kaelen and Jered started arguing again.
---
The next day.
By mid-afternoon, Dean Vasra summoned Kaelen and Jered to the upper hall of the Academy's Observation Tower. Elfalene stood by the window, observing the courtyard below.
"Given the circumstances," Vasra said, "and the team's individual strength, we've decided to issue a provisional team license. You'll form a task squad under strict conditions."
Kaelen bowed. Jered raised an eyebrow. "What kind of conditions?"
"For one," Elfalene interjected, "you cannot enter dungeons."
Jered frowned. "Why?"
"Because Kaelen is still level 3. Dungeon access is locked by rank. No unranked or under-leveled individual is allowed into a ranked dungeon," she explained. "It's not the academy's rules but the system's rules."
"So what can we do?" Kaelen asked.
Vasra leaned forward. "You may hunt lone monsters near the academy perimeter. Clean up the fringe threats. Report your kills. Grow your power, slowly but safely."
"Alright done" Kaelen gives the Dean and teach Elfa a thumbs up.
Which made Elfa smile with amusement but Jered was dying out of jealousy.
Then she hand them a paper " here's the rules and informations"
Officially sanctioned and recorded in the academy's Guild Registry, the Juggernaut Team was granted permissions under the following conditions:
1. Eligibility
Only individuals between level 10 to 20
Kaelen Maglor and Jered Dallas are leaders and co-founders.
Membership must be vetted through a tactical assessment and recommendation
2. Operational Scope
Juggernaut Team is banned from dungeon access until every member reaches level 20 and acquires the bronze rank.
(Dungeons are unnatural spaces formed when hordes of monsters congregate. These monsters, drawn by instinct, call forth a greater being called the Dark Lord, who shelters them by folding space around their territory, creating a pocket dimension known as a dungeon.
Kaelen's level being too low means he had not reached the bronze rank and cannot enter any dungeon as the lowest possible dungeon was bronze. Hence, the team operates only in the wilderness around the academy, where lone beasts roam.)
3. Resource available for novice
10 XP: Basic potions, mana herbs, bandages
100 XP: Access to Academy Support Chest (Scrolls, Light Armor, and weapons)
250 XP: Tier 1 enhancement crystals and emergency beacons
4. XP and Loot Sharing
XP split: 40% Kaelen (as founder), 30% Jered and 30% shared across the rest of the team.
Loot and materials go into the Team Vault and are distributed based on contribution or the team's decision.
5. Conduct and Discipline
Co-leader oversees morale and combat drills.
Leader handles tactics, strategy, and healing.
Betrayal, sabotage, or desertion results in expulsion from the team and resource ban. And further punishment and ban from the academy's adventurers team.
6. Team Members
Kaelen Maglor level 3 caster ( leader)
Jered Dallas level 20 null ( co-leader)
Neal Throdan level 21 warrior ( member)
---
There were only three of them and they had no intention of recruiting another member mainly Neal, as his 30% XP shares will be further divided and considering their current team members the qualifications for entering the team will be quite high and there was no one qualified among the novices right now.
"So what do you guys think? Should we go for a hunt" Jered asked with enthusiasm.
"Oh I'm itching for a fight," Neal replied while staring at Kaelen.
Kaelen smirked "Then hunting it is."
The trio then went to the edge of the village and stopped.
"Wait, how are we supposed to leave this village? I can't fly" Kaelen asked, unable to think of any other way.
" We'll need to take a boat for that, but it will cost 200 XP per person for each ride." Neal answered
Then both Kaelen and Jered looked straight at Neal. They were broke as hell.
"Don't worry the XP will be deducted from the team's vault later on or we can pay it later" Neal rolled his eyes at them.
After picking a nearby island the trio started searching for traces of monsters.
Their first target? A level 4 horned tusk boar spotted near the east boundary.
"Novices are not allowed to enter dungeons but we are allowed to hunt in the surrounding island" Jered repeated to the group. "That means there will be no dungeons around the floating islands, only lone monsters and beasts. We must snipe the monsters, ambush them and take them down with coordination not raw power."
Kaelen used his Third Eye passively throughout the hunt. It allowed him to read faint traces of mana trails left behind by monsters. The ability couldn't be deactivated, a gift and a burden. But today, it led them to their quarry.
Neal flanked the beast. Jered baited it into charging. Kaelen waited till its mana shifted erratically.
"Now!" he yelled.
Kaelen tripped it. Jered slammed a shield into its face and Neal dealt the finishing blow.
Kaelen rushed to heal Jered's right arm with a burst of soft gold mana as he was knocked back after face slamming the beast with a shield hitting hard on a tree trunk.
Your team have killed a Horned Tusk Boar (Level 4)
XP Gained: 30 (Kaelen), 20 (Jered), 20 ( Neal)
Loot: 1 unranked core
"What! at this rate it will take forever" Jered complained.
"Are monsters you faced before this weak" Neal asked with a doubt.
"You wished, our was level 19" Jered replied.
"No, the Skipper was level 23" Kaelen corrected.
"What's a skipper" Jered asked, puzzled.
"Come on that monkey like monster, how could you forget"
Neal took a note of this. The duo had beaten monsters with higher level than themself before and him losing to Kaelen was more believable now.
After that they haunted several other monster below level 15
The monsters Kaelen and Jered had fought during their yearly test were a league above the one they were hunting right now.
Vasra observed from a hidden rune, and noted Kaelen's use of mana conservation, battlefield control, and healing prioritization.
That night, Kaelen returned to his room, exhausted but triumphant. The team was now real. The whispers of mockery were starting to turn into questions of awe.
Jered knocked on the door. "We are finally starting to earn XPs effectively, you know."
After selling those several monster cores they had earned a total of 2100 XP
Kaelen nodded. "Good. Because we're just getting started."