Chapter 62: Departure
The night passed by with no disturbing factors other than the strange wolf howling that was present at random intervals. The sun was out and Max was currently walking alongside Mark, ready for their practical hours.
They reached their classroom before taking their usual seats in the front, chatting away while waiting for the teacher. Not a long time after the door creaked open a robust individual walking in, his armor clanking with each step he took.
Equipped with two hammers that hung on his waist, the man's looks and aura were in a constant interjection. His chubby face assisted by his calm expression made you feel like you were talking to a friend, someone that you trusted and in whose presence you felt secure; while his aura was the complete opposite, it felt stern and dense making one tense up from it. Some students even thought that getting too close to him might be enough to make them pass out.
The man presented himself as Andrew, an earth magician who was at the peak of Middle-Tier. He further explained that individuals approaching a Tier increase such as himself might have a hard time controlling their aura, this being caused by the magic whirling inside his body constantly and in a chaotic way.
The week passed by just like that, during which Max seemed to be left to his own devices, being able to do anything at all; not mattering if it was productive or not.
He truly felt ignored but after thinking it through Max found it reasonable for things to be like this. Max had an extremely rare element, so rare that normal individuals might not even possess the knowledge of such element even existing; so who could blame a teacher who didn't know how to help someone with such element in his training?
Max was one of the strongest first-years and so the teachers already knew that his mastery over the basic breathing technique was also almost perfected, this didn't leave Andrew any choices but to leave Max alone during his training.
Teachers knew the fact that it wasn't them nurturing the students, they were barely guiding them. The student was the one strengthening himself, training each day and gaining power corresponding to their choices and motivation.
Knowing this, Andrew did leave Max alone to train however he also kept an eye on him, he was free to do anything but he still wasn't allowed to leave the teaching hours after all.
Max used the time to train his black flames, he had to at least do something during the few hours he had to waste on the practice hours, the black flames being his best choice. They weren't weakened by the sun, this made it the best to use during his spare time.
He was able to grow the power of the flames while also developing his control over them, now being able to control them from two meters around him, this being a significant increase.
***
„What are you doing Max?" It was Mark who asked him.
It was day outside, Max woke up and freshened up before walking back to his room. He prepared some food and money, getting ready for the departure happening later today; planning to finish the quest in a few days at the maximum.
Mark heard Max was awake so after he finished using the bathroom he followed him, this was the reason he was currently inside Max's room looking at him pack up.
„I'll be going outside the academy for a few days, I have to complete the quest I accepted last week rather soon" Max replied, thinking about the two-week time limit he was informed about two days ago. It seemed like every quest had a time limit, the default time being two weeks while easier or harder missions gave less or more time to spend on respectively.
„Mission? Were you assigned one?" Mark asked curiously. He was already aware of groups and the quests they had to complete in order to get privileges, this was something he also wanted to take part in.
„Right... I forgot to tell you. I am part of a group, joined it last week" Max explained while packing ‚Dive into a Spirit Weapon' book inside his backpack. He would be outside for a few days and so he most probably will have some free time with nothing to do.
„You did?!" Mark exclaimed. He tried joining a group before, even going as far as hunting for individuals bearing an emblem but was always met with denial.
„Can you please place a good word in for me?" Mark began begging Max, feeling an overwhelming amount of envy in the meanwhile.
„I can but I am not the one judging admissions, not by a long shot" Max said to Mark not wanting to disclose too much information about his group.
He grabbed his backpack befroe throwing it on his back and going out the door, leaving Mark alone in the room after picking Matt and his spear from the weapon rack.
‚At least it's better than nothing!' Mark tried cheering himself up, a smile present on his face while returning to his own room. He wasn't expecting to join Max's group but a good word wouldn't bring any harm.
Max left the dorm building by the time Mark got into his room, eyeing his destination.
He reached the academy building, standing in front of the entrance alongisde a carriage which was also present there, a coach already sitting in his spot; looking around while waiting for someone.
„Good morning!" Max saluted, the exhilaration of leaving this boring place was akready starting to show.
„Oh, good morning youngster!" The old coach greeted Max. He wore fromal clothes and alongside the carriage which was maintained in a pristine condition it gave a luxurious look, making one think of royals travelling.
Max waited around for a while, chatting brefly with the coach before hearing footsteps on the other side of the carriage.
‚They finally arrived' Max thought while turning around the corner, his eyes shining upon seeing his companions.
The footsteps belonged to three individuals, each of them wearing a set of heavy metal armor, holding their helmets in their hands. The three of them were Bryce, Dylan, and Ernie respectively, walking up to Max who waved before welcoming all of them.
„How are you guys doing?" Max greeting, seemingly in a good mood.
„Oh, hey Max! I am great, how about you?" Dylan immediately greeted back, leaving no space for the other two to speak.
The group of four chitchatted for a while, well... three out of four individuals chatted while waiting for the time of departure while the last one stood in one place quietly, just watching them.
That lone individual was Ernie. It seemed like he was better mannered than ever before, even going as far as ignoring Max's remarks when he tried challenging the other, to get him to say something at the least.
„Is he sick or something?" Max asked. He was content with his teammates, two out of three were already on good terms with him while the other didn't seem like someone too problematic.
„He was asked not to bring trouble to you anymore... this is just his way of not bringing trouble" Bryce responded before heading towards the carriage that stood still.
Just as he reached the door of the carriage the old coach's voice sounded.
„Departure in a minute!" He announced, this being the signal for them to get into the carriage.
Max stopped scrutinizing Ernie, feeling a bit awkward now. Ernie at least contained his discomfort while Max spewed all kinds of reproaches to him, this sole action changing the view Max had of Ernie.
They boarded the carriage and chatted idly on their way to the gates leading outside of the city. The road was long and during it they were even able to strategize their approach on the fight soon to be taken. Surprisingly even Ernie joined, speaking his mind about the battle tactic.
They reached the gates and boarded off the carriage, walking towards the gates before Max heard Bryce's voice.
„I want to be cleared from the start. There won't be any discrimination between the two of you alright? In the wild, doing selfish things such as leaving a teammate be injured or even worse, die, won't be tolerated. I hope you will remember this Max, while you Ernie, I hope you can keep this in mind."
This were Bryce's last words before they left the city, Max getting the feeling of nostalgia kicking in as he closed the distance between him and the woods in front of him.
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