The school routine had been set for Damien. Each day came with its fair share of challenges he had to deal with, but his mental fortitude was stronger than most his age. He was used to the stares, the gossiping, and the casual confrontations. He was not bothered by those events as he had bigger problems than some nuisances. What occupied his mind most of the time was his duel with Zurat and what he needed to do to survive. He cultivated every night without rest, nonetheless he wasn’t fatigued nor was his spirit low.
Damien noticed a couple of things as the week came to its end. His sword skill was steadily improving each day and he was sure it was Nora’s doing. Like everything else in this world he didn’t have much of a clue on how it was done but he was very appreciative. He tried memorizing the movements he was taught but it would somehow disappear out of his brain. He was only able to do the first few fluid movements before crumbling the flow. Also he was surprised that Erik was no longer causing him any trouble. He wouldn’t look at him nor talk to him. Erik was no longer with his friends and became a solitary figure. It was a completely different attitude from before that he welcomed.
Damien rose out of bed on the day of their short break. After two weeks the students were given a week off to do whatever they needed. It was freedom they granted so they weren’t stifled by all the pressure of the academy.
‘They said to meet them at 9:00 at the courtyard, so I have some time to cultivate more. Even a tiny bit goes a long way. I won’t worry what my Dao Magic ranking is for now, I just want to keep training!’
Once the clock hit 8:50, Damien walked to the courtyard where they were supposed to meet. Most of the halls were empty as many decided to visit family or shut themselves in. Damien found himself to be the last one there out of the tree. They made their way to the Student Outpost that was open to all students. Inside was an array of posters, listed with the information for the specific mission. The missions were sectioned off in 6 places to indicate the difficulty coincides with the year you were in.
“Are we able to take on higher level missions, say like from the Point 2 section?”
“It depends, Damien. Usually it’s not something you see but with the authorization of the Keeper, it can be allowed.”
Cal pointed towards a huge white dog that was snoring peacefully behind the main desk of the building. His fur was silky and long covering most of his face and body. His outstretched body was over 3 meters long, making Damien imagine how tall he would be if he were to stand up
“He decides if we can take missions? But he’s just a dog, how…”
Cal and even Yuki quickly came and shushed Damien from speaking any further. They meekly glanced over to the Keeper who was still sleeping. They took a sigh of relief, up till the Keeper snorted, blowing his fur off of his eyes. The Keeper revealed his human-like eyes as he looked directly at Damien. It was only for a split second, but Damien felt that the Keeper was able to see through him. In the end, that was all that happened and the three were able to continue on. Yuki shook her head in annoyance and dragged Damien directly in front of her, so she could talk quietly.
“You can’t be acting like an idiot in front of the Keeper. He dislikes being called a dog, and if he so chooses, he could deny any request without reason. Not even the Headmaster could help you out with this. When we leave you better apologize with sincerity!”
“That’s right, Damien, the Keeper is not to be messed with. Legend has it that he was here from the beginning of this academy. Along with him being the personal companion of one of the 6 founding figures.”
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Damien silently took another quick glance toward the desk and felt relieved that he was not looking back. They browsed through the missions available that ranged from simple mundane tasks to excursions. It didn’t take long for Yuki to pluck out a poster and hand it to the rest of them. Damien read through the contents very quickly to find out it was an excursion mission.
‘Beast Extermination in the Red Forest. Low Earth Realm is 5 credits, Middle Earth Realm is 15 credits, and Upper Earth Realm is 25 credits per beast. For Sky Realm it’s 35 credits for low, 50 for middle, and 100 for upper. If only we could easily defeat an Upper Sky Realm then we wouldn’t need to worry about credits! What about Heaven Realm?’
Damien stopped at the point where it mentioned Heaven Realm beasts. It boldly stated if they were to encounter one they would need to flee for their lives. Damien gulped deeply and looked directly at Yuki.
“We wouldn’t by chance run into a Heaven Realm beast, right?”
“We won’t unless we tread into the inner domains of the forest. Still, even Upper Sky Realm is very rare to come across. Me and Cal have been there plenty of times to train with our father. It is a safe mission for us.”
With that being said everyone in the group agreed to the mission and the risks. They brought it directly to the Keeper and Yuki gently placed the poster down in front of him. The Keeper was long aware of their presence. He stood on all fours towering over everyone in the building. He looked down at the poster before bringing his long maul to each of their faces. He sniffed each one individually, but he took an extra moment when it was Damien’s turn. Everyone felt at risk at being denied their request, however the Keeper gave his nod of approval. He laid back then to wait for the next request. Damien did not forget to apologize sincerely, but the Keeper made no notion of acknowledgment. Seeing that they had no issues they exited the building. On the way out an ancient, deep voice echoed inside of Damien’s mind.
‘I am no dog. This time I shall forgive you since you remind me of an old friend.’
With a look back he saw no change with the Keeper, but he knew he was left off the hook. Once they regrouped they started planning when they should head out and which parts to focus on. Yuki and Cal gave Damien the rundown of the beasts that inhabited the forest along with their experiences with them. Everyone agreed to make it back tomorrow at sunrise so they could be prepared for a multiple day hunt. Before they left Yuki made an announcement.
“Don’t worry about the food. I’ll have my father prepare us a Storage Ring with all the supplies we need. Just bring your weapons and leave your idiocy behind.”
Damien and Cal looked at each other with slight smiles. At this point they both understood this was going to be a part of their daily routine for this upcoming mission. Yuki left them to run her errand, while Cal and Damien talked a little longer about the Red Forest. This was the one of the few times Damien encouraged Cal to speak more. He wanted to be sure about every detail so he could be at ease about this excursion.
It was still early when they split up after that. Damien had no friends or other things he could do. He didn’t have money to go out and eat, so he decided to grab a quick free lunch at the mess hall. The mess hall had a few students that had the same idea as Damien. He sat in silence in a random spot and ate his food quickly. He wanted to go back and use the rest of the day to train since he didn’t really have anything else to do except prepare. As he was getting up to leave, a short figure appeared before him, putting down his tray of food. Damien staggered back down to his seat, looking directly at Erik. Erik’s face was contorted as he struggled to speak the words he wanted to say.
“Hey… you mind staying a while longer?”
Damien saw his inner struggle so he decided he would stay and find out what he wanted to say. It was an awkward silence for the most part until Erik finally had the courage to speak.
“I know I have not treated you the best. I have no excuse, but on my name as a Fierstone I am truly sorry.”
After his apology Erik tried escaping from the scene. Damien stopped him on time and held a splendid smile like he was given the best gift ever.
“Does that mean we can be friends?”
“Uhhh… sure?”
“You should come with us tomorrow on our mission!”
Without a chance to reply, Damien dragged him along with his pace of action. By the time Erik realized what even happened, he was already being sniffed by the Keeper and officially accepted into the team.
“You should get ready for tomorrow. We will be out there for some days. Also, you now have the chance to apologize to the others as well! See you, tomorrow at sunrise!”
Damien left Erik flabbergasted and went on his way to his room. He was already in the habit of being able to cultivate all day and he didn’t intend to stop. At the moment nothing was more important than to gather as much strength as he could without stopping.
‘I can’t believe I made another friend! My days are looking better here Grandpa. I never thought I would actually have met people that like me!’