Damien sat in silence mulling over her words. He knew she was being extra kind towards him by giving him all the details.

“So people have already claimed all the good spots?”

“Not just people, child. Unique beasts birthed from the very spot or hermit cultivators whose strength we have no clue about. You could be lucky and find an undiscovered location, but soon enough others will come knocking for it. That’s why it’s best to cultivate inside the academy until you are able to stand with your own strength. I wish you the best, farewell.”

Damien waited for her figure to disappear back where she came from. Once she was gone he wasted no time finding a map of the continent and a guide on how to survive by himself. He made sure he remembered everything so he would not raise any suspicion of his newly formulated plan.

‘Luckily for me the nearest volcano is inside the Kingdom of Atria or else I’d have to make a new plan to travel any further. I need to face challenges and risks to grow stronger. If I were to stay here safely then I will never catch up to my grandfather. I’m confident in my strength to stay alive, so now I just need to go prepare for this journey.’

Once Damien gained the information he needed, he left and made sure to thank Kyra on the way out. As always he passed by Omarion who guarded the library with a solemn silence. However, on his way out Omarion had a few words to give again.

“Life is just one long arduous and painful journey, but everyone has the same opportunity to change their destiny.”

Damien gave a quick bow and disappeared in a hurry. He felt scared that his plans were uncovered so he went straight to his room. There he started packing everything he would need. He didn’t have many changes of clothes so he could disguise himself, as his hair and uniform made him an easy target to pick out outside the City of Gats. Also he had no supplies to even make it by himself for a day.

‘I have no choice but to use more of my credits. Well it’s better than wasting it on the chamber which barely helps. ‘

Damien was ready with everything he needed from his room and left to exchange some of his credits for gold. Damien met up with the Keeper who handled such transactions. Once he paid up, the Keeper spit out a bag of coins with the correct conversion rate. Damien gave him a quick bow and thanks before he left. On his way out, a wizened voice entered his mind.

‘Be safe, little pup.’

With a second mini panic attack, Damien made his way directly to the gate where he left StarPoint Academy. Along the way he stopped by a couple of stores to get the supplies he needed, but not so much where he would have a huge lump on his back. He made sure to buy a face garb and a long robe to cover all of his features. This way he wouldn’t be recognized as a young kid anymore. He put his uniform away and transformed himself to a short mysterious figure. On his way out of town he was practicing a change in his tone where he could sound older and fiercer.

As he made his way through the city, the day was already near its end, so he decided leaving at sunrise was a better way to start his journey. Damien found the cheapest inn he could find where he could save his money a little more. He entered a lively atmosphere filled with vagrant looking fellows who were drinking their bellies out. Damien immediately grabbed everyone’s attention as he stood out like a sore thumb, but he was not intimidated. He knew there was no true expert in their midst so he acted like they weren’t even there. He pushed between two drunks to speak with the barkeep about their vacancies. He brought his voice down to a grim, and raspy sound.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I need a room for the night. Do you have any rooms?”

The barkeep that had a scruffy face and unkempt beard raised his head from his duties to examine Damien. The barkeep looked around the room to read the atmosphere. He brought his attention back to his mysterious customer and scoffed in his face.

“Ya must be mistaken, halflin’. I don’t do business with no strangers, ya see. So how bout ya take them garbs off and then we’s won’t be strangers anymore.”

The whole bar had some interest in Damien so they all chirped in favor of the barkeep. Chiming in to reveal himself first before anything can happen. Only Damien’s orange eyes could be seen gleaming through the darkness of his garb as he surveyed each person.

‘I have to act tough here. If I don’t then I shouldn’t even go on this journey!’

Damien’s demeanor changed the next moment, with an aura that made everyone keep their mouths shut. His Flame Core gave a slight pulse in response activating his Mana Fluid to motion. The temperature rose sharply in the room while everyone couldn’t help but start drying out.

“Listen, I don’t think you want any problems. I have the money, so I say you just take it and leave me alone.”

Damien scattered 3 bronze coins on the table and received a room key in return by a frightened barkeep. It wasn’t until the barkeep began signaling frantically with his hands, that Damien noticed he had not released his aura. A couple of patrons passed out in their seats from the heat in that short amount of time, a testament to his newfound strength. He quickly stopped it and gave a quick apology to everyone.

“I’m sorry; didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Damien actually felt sorry for his unintentional actions, but to them it was quite the opposite. They felt like he was a viper waiting for another reason to take them out. As everything settled down and Damien was going to the second floor to his room, a city guard burst through the doors to the establishment. He quickly looked around the room and laid his eyes on Damien before grabbing everyone’s attention.

“I’ve come to investigate a disturbance! A huge influx of energy was felt coming from here, and I need to make sure no laws were violated here. Anyone have something to say?”

Every person and even the ones disoriented by Damien knew better than to cooperate with a city guard even if they were the victims. Seeing that everyone kept their mouth shut, the city guard became quite frustrated. He knew if there was no one to testify about a crime then he had nothing to go on. He couldn’t falsify anything either, not with so many eyes on him.

“I see that you are all such upstanding residents of this city, why else would you dine and drink here?”

As he was letting out some of his pent up frustration, his gaze entered the sight of Damien once more. He felt like he had met this figure before but he couldn’t put it together, so instead he asked him directly.

“I feel like I’ve met you before. Also, you have been quite this entire time. Do you have anything to say?”

Damien took a closer look at the city guard and that’s when it hit him. It was the same guard Yuki froze on the way to the restaurant. He couldn’t believe the odds of such an event occurring but he decided to have a little fun with it before he left for a while.

“You must have mistaken me for someone else. If you don’t have any evidence then you should ‘chill out’ and leave. I am quite tired so I’ll be going now.”

Damien snarked to himself all the way up the stairs as he thought his subliminal message was hilarious. Everyone else inwardly felt relieved he had left and continued to go about their festivities, ignoring the smoldering city guard. The city guard had some old trauma reopened in which he was embarrassed by a young student. He had been teased for it by his whole squadron, making his attitude worse as the time went on. No one cared for his presence but he had felt as if all eyes were on him and they were talking about his incident in the past.

The city guard was ready to explode with anger but looking at the back of the mysterious garbed fellow made him feel apprehensive. It gave him a familiar feeling that it would not turn out favorable like his incident. He left in a rush before he made himself look worse to the others in his group. This all happened as Damien finally entered his room for the night. It had the bare minimum for someone to sleep, but that was what he was willing to accept for the price. Instead of going straight to bed for his big trip tomorrow, Damien took a seat by the window and watched the outside festivities. It showed him the stark contrast between his struggles and of those who had no worries in life.

‘That’s not the life for me down there, being stuck in one place with the same routine. How I want to live will begin early tomorrow!’

Damien laid himself on the most uncomfortable bed he had ever been on, but he made himself go to sleep as he wanted to be fully energized and rested. After what felt like an eternity of restlessness, he fell into a deep slumber.