Published at 2nd of October 2026 10:33 am

Chapter 1161: Zookeeping [Magic Castle Bonus Chapter]

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The five Cadets nodded their heads. Corporal Sonya stared at them but didn’t say what she had in mind. Whenever Cadets received these Life-Saving Orbs, they always tried to save them, accumulating them each year, which was stupid beyond all measure.

But she advised no one. If they risked their lives doing stupid things, then they would win stupid prizes. That was all.

"Inject your Astra Energy into it now," she began to speak. "That way, it will recognize you and only you. So, even if an enemy tries to use it to teleport back here, it won’t work. And it also doesn’t teleport anyone along with you, so forget about saving anyone with the Life-Saving Orb," she stated flatly.

The five Cadets nodded, not saying anything, as they appreciated the treatment the Frontier was giving them by providing methods to keep them alive.

Corporal Sonya’s eyes turned towards Asher. She noticed that he was the only one not wearing the breastplate that had been distributed between yesterday and today, but she made no mention of it. She knew how powerful the Tenth Sun was, so to him, the breastplate was more of an obstacle, as his bare body was more durable.

"Let’s move out," she stated, then turned and shot forward at a base speed equivalent to someone at the Dust stage of the Kindlestar Life Rank, as the weakest among them was at that rank.

As she moved, she gave an instruction. "Watch everything I do today. Every path I take, even if I cough, take note of it, as in your next deployment, you might have to do this alone. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Corporal Sonya," they all replied.

Soon, they appeared before a gigantic wall, different from the direction Asher and Acker had used to enter the Frontier. The wall opened, and they stepped through, an endless stretch of forest opening up before them. They stepped out without wasting any time, their figures blurring as they moved.

"Our mission this time is to make sure that everything within a fifty-kilometer distance to the west remains constant. Anything that isn’t constant will be erased," Corporal Sonya explained as she moved from one tree to another without missing a step.

She threw a few books at them. Asher caught one mid-stride, while a Cadet missed a step on a branch, as he hadn’t perfectly timed his movement due to having to catch the book that was tossed at him.

But he didn’t fall on his face. He immediately rotated, landed on his feet, and leaped back up into the trees. The other three Cadets gave him an amused smile, but Asher offered none, and neither did Corporal Sonya.

With that, the journey continued as Corporal Sonya allowed them to read the books she had given them. The books basically contained information on the various Monsters that existed throughout this part of the forest. They showed their numbers, classified them into males and females, and recorded what they killed and what they didn’t kill.

If another type of Monster or Beast appeared out of nowhere, they would investigate. And if another suddenly vanished, they would also investigate, then wipe it out, as stated earlier.

They were basically there to ensure that the Monsters weren’t suddenly overthriving or underthriving for some reason, thereby maintaining a constant ecosystem. Asher perfectly understood why the Frontier carried out this task daily. It was a way to prevent sudden Monster Tides, unexpected End-Class Monster movements, and the like.

’Indeed, this is work reserved for the lowest of the low,’ Asher thought to himself, as this was no different from being a zookeeper.

They were simply there to check up on the animals. Nothing interesting. Everything screamed boring, but Asher had expected it. Expecting to encounter some massive, blockbusting Monster during his first assignment was simply too cliché.

He sighed as he closed the book. He just had to get through this phase, and then he would stop doing the bottom-rung work. The other Cadets wore frowns as they realized the same thing, their imaginations of facing some mighty Beast that day vanishing like the moon when the sun rose.

Asher’s eyes suddenly snapped to the side as he sensed a presence. But it wasn’t an enemy; it was Lyra, who was keeping watch from a distance. He hadn’t seen her during the past two days, which led him to conclude that he might only see her during his missions. And here she was.

The rest of the Cadets and Corporal Sonya remained oblivious to her presence, as there was no way they could sense a Crownstar Life Ranker.

Soon, the group came to a stop. They flipped to their current location in the book and examined the map. Corporal Sonya assigned each person a number of Monsters to track and instructed them to report back if anything happened. Within a few minutes, all the Cadets returned, and everything was exactly as the book had listed.

With that, the group continued moving, their speed remaining constant.

"Although we are checking on the weaker Monsters, some experienced Cadets up ahead are tasked with checking whether the End-Class Monsters are still hibernating," Corporal Sonya explained, seemingly trying to cheer them up.

"But don’t worry. You will get some real action soon. As for today, this is merely meant to get you accustomed to the area and a few other things," she explained, as though she had once been in their position and understood their expectations.

At her words, everyone nodded but said nothing.

As they moved, Asher couldn’t help but consider a loophole or some sort of weakness within the Life-Saving Orb. Yes, enemies couldn’t use the Orb, nor could they teleport alongside its owner.

What if... What if an enemy strapped several Astra Energy bombs to a Soldier, kidnapped their family members, and told them to teleport back to the Frontier, activate the bombs, or watch their family members get killed?

Such a threat could work.

But as he thought about it, he gave up on the idea, as he was sure that the Commander and Vice Commanders had already considered such possibilities. For now, it was best to finish this zookeeping assignment.

For a moment, Asher couldn’t help but regret joining this Frontier. Maybe he should have joined Malrik’s Frontier, as he was sure his brother would make good use of his abilities and fighting prowess.

Asher sighed and shook his head, reminding himself that slow and steady won the race. But regardless, he hoped things would pick up the pace a little.

_____

Bonus Chapter sponsored by Cosmis’ Magic Castle.

Sigh... We’ve officially left the top 10 ranking.

It was a fun ride while it lasted. I remember wishing in the past that I could reach the top 10, and we got there in May. You all made it possible through your constant support, both emotionally and financially. And now that we’ve left the ranking, it leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I KNEEL and appreciate every bit of support you’ve shown me thus far.

I will also be traveling back to my state tomorrow, so there might or might not be an update. I’m sorry for the constant inconvenience, and I truly appreciate your patience and understanding.

Love you all to hell and back as always.

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