Chapter 47
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"Mh!", both agreed.
The last year had changed them as well. Being with Beta over a prolonged amount of time brought them quite a few benefits. Not only did it challenge their competitive spirit, letting them train every free second, they also were able to ask him about several problems they had encountered with their soulpower control and martial arts. Their initial friendship also had an improvement where it slowly turned into a brotherhood after surviving many battles in the wilderness together. Each of them had saved the life of the others at least once, especially for Brian and Domian who owed Beta countless times.
As they walked along the way, they noticed a commotion some distance away. People were scurrying away, looking busier than usual.
"Should we go and take a look?", Brian asked, curious of what might have happened.
"If we do that, we'll be late for class. Do you still remember what happened last time?", Beta asked back with a slight smile.
"Of course, I do... It was just too cruel! We were only five minutes late, but Lores actually made us chop wood with our soulpower for a whole day! In the beginning, it was still kind of fun to split the wood with soulpower blades, but after some time it just got too boring and arduous!", Brian complained about the injustice.
Just like Brian, Domian and Beta felt bitter once he mentioned that day. But they got over it and continued on their path, taking a look in the direction of the commotion every now and then. As they approached their classroom, they heard their classmates talking very lively. Just when they entered, everyone's gaze turned towards Beta, a sudden silence reigning. Beta was confused as they usually didn't behave like that. At the beginning of this year, they were still surprised by his sudden appearance and prowess, but now, they had been on several missions together and slowly got used to him and got to like him. If it was just about his strength, there might still have been some that couldn't stand him. But Beta also was very quick-witted, turning hunting in a group with him very pleasurable. Even Sophie, who used to not like Beta at all, to the point of having a grudge on him, now realized that he was someone incredible with leading capabilities she had never seen before. Considering that she has a noble background that enabled her to see many leaders, this was quite the compliment.
"What's wrong?", Beta asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't know?", Tristan asked, squinting his eyes a little.
"Is it about the commotion outside? Did something happen?", Beta asked, confused about what he was talking about.
"Do you remember our examiner Marlon, the first one to test us back when we entered the academy? Apparently, right after he assessed us, he was sent away and only returned now. He brought information about the headmaster's location. He seems to have entered some ruins a while ago and got stuck in a rune prison within it.", Johann said in response to Beta's question.
"Rune prison?", said Beta with an exaggerated exclamation, which gathered the attention of his fellow classmates.
Seems like they figured that Beta was more knowledgeable than them about runes. They've only heard the talk of runes in passing so they knew little about it. They didn't really understand the severity of a rune prison and could only assume that it was strong due to the strength of its captive. Since Beta had read through most of the contents about runes that he could understand from the books Chugum gave him, he knew exactly how difficult of a situation it was for his headmaster.
He knew that the person who set up the rune prison must have been monstrously strong to be able to create a high-level rune which required an enormous amount of soulpower. There was also the fact that the headmaster of their academy wasn't the headmaster without reason. He was definitely a strong figure in this area. Thus, it was clear to figure out how strong the rune prison was to withhold a character like their headmaster. The only way to get him out of there without getting trapped yourself was to find the key. When Beta's thoughts came to that point, he noticed something. But just when he was about to voice it out, the door to their classroom opened.
"Alright everyone, we don't have much time and you all probably know what's happening anyway. The headmaster is currently imprisoned in a rune prison found in the mysterious ruins. Thus, we, as members of Malvic Academy, must lend a hand to our headmaster and find the key which was hidden somewhere inside the ruins. Originally, we intended to just send out all of our teachers, but it seems that we might not necessarily have enough time to find it with so few people. As we speak, the prison is devouring our headmaster's strength to replenish the ruins' energy. Therefore, the longer we wait, the harder it will be to free him. No worries, you're not forced to come. But please remember that saving the headmaster will yield great rewards!", Lores said in one breath, visibly hurried.
The whole class went silent. Most of them didn't really care what will happen to the headmaster since they never even saw him. They were all proud students of Malvic Academy but not to the point where they would sacrifice their future over someone they barely knew. The reward got everyone's interest though, plus, they were also curious about the ruins and the so-called rune prison. At the same time, they were thinking about the risks they would have to go through if they do decide to join the mission. If the headmaster had already fallen victim to the traps in the ruin, then what would happen to them? Even if they risked their lives, they wouldn't necessarily get the reward if someone finds the key first. Another important problem was, nobody knew what exactly the key looked like. There were only assumptions that it should probably look like runes, but only a few of them even knew what runes were.
Beta's thoughts were a little different from the others. "Profit, profit, profit!" His eyes were glowing like stars as he thought about the expedition to the ruins. No matter what happened, he would definitely gain profits. Even if he just went there to look at the rune prison, he would already gain enough by simply studying the runes to further implement his current knowledge. His brain was working non-stop on how he would make use of that opportunity to complete his plans. One thing that got him overly excited was the thought that if he was able to replicate the runes in the future, he might be able to power up the old workshop at his parent's place again. Like that, he wouldn't have to search for a smithy anymore. There might also be some organisms that he could experiment on. Beta definitely wouldn't mind having a few more organs on hand. Maybe he would even find something suitable for a human.
He already reached the limit of his young body, so he wants to gather suitable body parts to finally upgrade into a better and stronger body. The other benefit that he can take advantage of would be to have a significant role in completing the mission. Finding the key would get him profits through the headmaster, and of course as a bonus, study the runes marked on the prison. Even without the key, he could still work on deciphering the runes and maybe he could solve it by force. Beta was pretty sure that he wouldn't succeed, but it was still worth a try if push comes to shove.
But, of course, the thing that excited him the most was the unknown. He wanted to become an explorer in the future, so having a bit of experience in that area would definitely help in his record and may increase his ranking. There was also the aspect of an adventure waiting for him, which excited him greatly. If one were to take a quick look at Beta's face, they'd assume his eyes are twinkling and unblinking. He was just that excited so he couldn't help day-dreaming about the benefits instead of the danger along with it. Although there was indeed some risk to it, Beta assumed that most of the traps should already be disarmed, or at least marked to be avoided. Hence, Beta didn't think about it any longer and made up his mind.
"I wish to go to the ruins!"
His loud voice echoed through the classroom, stunning everyone for a second. They were so absorbed in their own thoughts that they had completely forgotten about everything else. But as soon as they heard his confident voice, all of them didn't hesitate any longer.
"I want to go too!"
"Me too!"
"Count me in!"
Several others also voiced out their decisions until everyone finally agreed to follow Beta to the ruins. Of course, Brian and Domian were the first ones to agree to go right after Beta.
"Wonderful! I'm moved to tears by your bravery!", Lores said emotionally, as if he didn't know that they were all only coming for the reward.
He then proceeded on, "Since everyone wishes to save the headmaster, I will hand over the map of the ruins so that you can familiarize yourself with it. The blank spots mean that it hasn't been explored yet and that you need to be cautious in these areas. But of course, remember that it's helpful to fill in the gaps of the map for further investigations. You will also be rewarded for that once your information is confirmed. But I implore you to not venture too deep in, as there might be traps that are similar to the one our headmaster is trapped in."
After finishing his small speech, he finally handed out the maps. Beta was slightly surprised to see an orderly city. It was clearly organized into several districts with small blanks sprinkled over it and a huge blank spot in the middle. There were a few marked locations on it already, showing the position of the headmaster's rune prison and several outposts that provide food, water, and all kinds of equipment used for exploring. But there was still more. Near the middle of the ruins were some areas marked in red, definitely indicating that this area is deadly.
"Hmm… seems like I need to prepare first before heading out. Ah! I almost forgot! There's still that…"
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"Mh!", both agreed.
The last year had changed them as well. Being with Beta over a prolonged amount of time brought them quite a few benefits. Not only did it challenge their competitive spirit, letting them train every free second, they also were able to ask him about several problems they had encountered with their soulpower control and martial arts. Their initial friendship also had an improvement where it slowly turned into a brotherhood after surviving many battles in the wilderness together. Each of them had saved the life of the others at least once, especially for Brian and Domian who owed Beta countless times.
As they walked along the way, they noticed a commotion some distance away. People were scurrying away, looking busier than usual.
"Should we go and take a look?", Brian asked, curious of what might have happened.
"If we do that, we'll be late for class. Do you still remember what happened last time?", Beta asked back with a slight smile.
"Of course, I do... It was just too cruel! We were only five minutes late, but Lores actually made us chop wood with our soulpower for a whole day! In the beginning, it was still kind of fun to split the wood with soulpower blades, but after some time it just got too boring and arduous!", Brian complained about the injustice.
Just like Brian, Domian and Beta felt bitter once he mentioned that day. But they got over it and continued on their path, taking a look in the direction of the commotion every now and then. As they approached their classroom, they heard their classmates talking very lively. Just when they entered, everyone's gaze turned towards Beta, a sudden silence reigning. Beta was confused as they usually didn't behave like that. At the beginning of this year, they were still surprised by his sudden appearance and prowess, but now, they had been on several missions together and slowly got used to him and got to like him. If it was just about his strength, there might still have been some that couldn't stand him. But Beta also was very quick-witted, turning hunting in a group with him very pleasurable. Even Sophie, who used to not like Beta at all, to the point of having a grudge on him, now realized that he was someone incredible with leading capabilities she had never seen before. Considering that she has a noble background that enabled her to see many leaders, this was quite the compliment.
"What's wrong?", Beta asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't know?", Tristan asked, squinting his eyes a little.
"Is it about the commotion outside? Did something happen?", Beta asked, confused about what he was talking about.
"Do you remember our examiner Marlon, the first one to test us back when we entered the academy? Apparently, right after he assessed us, he was sent away and only returned now. He brought information about the headmaster's location. He seems to have entered some ruins a while ago and got stuck in a rune prison within it.", Johann said in response to Beta's question.
"Rune prison?", said Beta with an exaggerated exclamation, which gathered the attention of his fellow classmates.
Seems like they figured that Beta was more knowledgeable than them about runes. They've only heard the talk of runes in passing so they knew little about it. They didn't really understand the severity of a rune prison and could only assume that it was strong due to the strength of its captive. Since Beta had read through most of the contents about runes that he could understand from the books Chugum gave him, he knew exactly how difficult of a situation it was for his headmaster.
He knew that the person who set up the rune prison must have been monstrously strong to be able to create a high-level rune which required an enormous amount of soulpower. There was also the fact that the headmaster of their academy wasn't the headmaster without reason. He was definitely a strong figure in this area. Thus, it was clear to figure out how strong the rune prison was to withhold a character like their headmaster. The only way to get him out of there without getting trapped yourself was to find the key. When Beta's thoughts came to that point, he noticed something. But just when he was about to voice it out, the door to their classroom opened.
"Alright everyone, we don't have much time and you all probably know what's happening anyway. The headmaster is currently imprisoned in a rune prison found in the mysterious ruins. Thus, we, as members of Malvic Academy, must lend a hand to our headmaster and find the key which was hidden somewhere inside the ruins. Originally, we intended to just send out all of our teachers, but it seems that we might not necessarily have enough time to find it with so few people. As we speak, the prison is devouring our headmaster's strength to replenish the ruins' energy. Therefore, the longer we wait, the harder it will be to free him. No worries, you're not forced to come. But please remember that saving the headmaster will yield great rewards!", Lores said in one breath, visibly hurried.
The whole class went silent. Most of them didn't really care what will happen to the headmaster since they never even saw him. They were all proud students of Malvic Academy but not to the point where they would sacrifice their future over someone they barely knew. The reward got everyone's interest though, plus, they were also curious about the ruins and the so-called rune prison. At the same time, they were thinking about the risks they would have to go through if they do decide to join the mission. If the headmaster had already fallen victim to the traps in the ruin, then what would happen to them? Even if they risked their lives, they wouldn't necessarily get the reward if someone finds the key first. Another important problem was, nobody knew what exactly the key looked like. There were only assumptions that it should probably look like runes, but only a few of them even knew what runes were.
Beta's thoughts were a little different from the others. "Profit, profit, profit!" His eyes were glowing like stars as he thought about the expedition to the ruins. No matter what happened, he would definitely gain profits. Even if he just went there to look at the rune prison, he would already gain enough by simply studying the runes to further implement his current knowledge. His brain was working non-stop on how he would make use of that opportunity to complete his plans. One thing that got him overly excited was the thought that if he was able to replicate the runes in the future, he might be able to power up the old workshop at his parent's place again. Like that, he wouldn't have to search for a smithy anymore. There might also be some organisms that he could experiment on. Beta definitely wouldn't mind having a few more organs on hand. Maybe he would even find something suitable for a human.
He already reached the limit of his young body, so he wants to gather suitable body parts to finally upgrade into a better and stronger body. The other benefit that he can take advantage of would be to have a significant role in completing the mission. Finding the key would get him profits through the headmaster, and of course as a bonus, study the runes marked on the prison. Even without the key, he could still work on deciphering the runes and maybe he could solve it by force. Beta was pretty sure that he wouldn't succeed, but it was still worth a try if push comes to shove.
But, of course, the thing that excited him the most was the unknown. He wanted to become an explorer in the future, so having a bit of experience in that area would definitely help in his record and may increase his ranking. There was also the aspect of an adventure waiting for him, which excited him greatly. If one were to take a quick look at Beta's face, they'd assume his eyes are twinkling and unblinking. He was just that excited so he couldn't help day-dreaming about the benefits instead of the danger along with it. Although there was indeed some risk to it, Beta assumed that most of the traps should already be disarmed, or at least marked to be avoided. Hence, Beta didn't think about it any longer and made up his mind.
"I wish to go to the ruins!"
His loud voice echoed through the classroom, stunning everyone for a second. They were so absorbed in their own thoughts that they had completely forgotten about everything else. But as soon as they heard his confident voice, all of them didn't hesitate any longer.
"I want to go too!"
"Me too!"
"Count me in!"
Several others also voiced out their decisions until everyone finally agreed to follow Beta to the ruins. Of course, Brian and Domian were the first ones to agree to go right after Beta.
"Wonderful! I'm moved to tears by your bravery!", Lores said emotionally, as if he didn't know that they were all only coming for the reward.
He then proceeded on, "Since everyone wishes to save the headmaster, I will hand over the map of the ruins so that you can familiarize yourself with it. The blank spots mean that it hasn't been explored yet and that you need to be cautious in these areas. But of course, remember that it's helpful to fill in the gaps of the map for further investigations. You will also be rewarded for that once your information is confirmed. But I implore you to not venture too deep in, as there might be traps that are similar to the one our headmaster is trapped in."
After finishing his small speech, he finally handed out the maps. Beta was slightly surprised to see an orderly city. It was clearly organized into several districts with small blanks sprinkled over it and a huge blank spot in the middle. There were a few marked locations on it already, showing the position of the headmaster's rune prison and several outposts that provide food, water, and all kinds of equipment used for exploring. But there was still more. Near the middle of the ruins were some areas marked in red, definitely indicating that this area is deadly.
"Hmm… seems like I need to prepare first before heading out. Ah! I almost forgot! There's still that…"
"Mh!", both agreed.The last year had changed them as well. Being with Beta over a prolonged amount of time brought them quite a few benefits. Not only did it challenge their competitive spirit, letting them train every free second, they also were able to ask him about several problems they had encountered with their soulpower control and martial arts. Their initial friendship also had an improvement where it slowly turned into a brotherhood after surviving many battles in the wilderness together. Each of them had saved the life of the others at least once, especially for Brian and Domian who owed Beta countless times.As they walked along the way, they noticed a commotion some distance away. People were scurrying away, looking busier than usual."Should we go and take a look?", Brian asked, curious of what might have happened."If we do that, we'll be late for class. Do you still remember what happened last time?", Beta asked back with a slight smile."Of course, I do... It was just too cruel! We were only five minutes late, but Lores actually made us chop wood with our soulpower for a whole day! In the beginning, it was still kind of fun to split the wood with soulpower blades, but after some time it just got too boring and arduous!", Brian complained about the injustice.Just like Brian, Domian and Beta felt bitter once he mentioned that day. But they got over it and continued on their path, taking a look in the direction of the commotion every now and then. As they approached their classroom, they heard their classmates talking very lively. Just when they entered, everyone's gaze turned towards Beta, a sudden silence reigning. Beta was confused as they usually didn't behave like that. At the beginning of this year, they were still surprised by his sudden appearance and prowess, but now, they had been on several missions together and slowly got used to him and got to like him. If it was just about his strength, there might still have been some that couldn't stand him. But Beta also was very quick-witted, turning hunting in a group with him very pleasurable. Even Sophie, who used to not like Beta at all, to the point of having a grudge on him, now realized that he was someone incredible with leading capabilities she had never seen before. Considering that she has a noble background that enabled her to see many leaders, this was quite the compliment."What's wrong?", Beta asked with a raised eyebrow."You don't know?", Tristan asked, squinting his eyes a little."Is it about the commotion outside? Did something happen?", Beta asked, confused about what he was talking about."Do you remember our examiner Marlon, the first one to test us back when we entered the academy? Apparently, right after he assessed us, he was sent away and only returned now. He brought information about the headmaster's location. He seems to have entered some ruins a while ago and got stuck in a rune prison within it.", Johann said in response to Beta's question."Rune prison?", said Beta with an exaggerated exclamation, which gathered the attention of his fellow classmates.Seems like they figured that Beta was more knowledgeable than them about runes. They've only heard the talk of runes in passing so they knew little about it. They didn't really understand the severity of a rune prison and could only assume that it was strong due to the strength of its captive. Since Beta had read through most of the contents about runes that he could understand from the books Chugum gave him, he knew exactly how difficult of a situation it was for his headmaster.He knew that the person who set up the rune prison must have been monstrously strong to be able to create a high-level rune which required an enormous amount of soulpower. There was also the fact that the headmaster of their academy wasn't the headmaster without reason. He was definitely a strong figure in this area. Thus, it was clear to figure out how strong the rune prison was to withhold a character like their headmaster. The only way to get him out of there without getting trapped yourself was to find the key. When Beta's thoughts came to that point, he noticed something. But just when he was about to voice it out, the door to their classroom opened."Alright everyone, we don't have much time and you all probably know what's happening anyway. The headmaster is currently imprisoned in a rune prison found in the mysterious ruins. Thus, we, as members of Malvic Academy, must lend a hand to our headmaster and find the key which was hidden somewhere inside the ruins. Originally, we intended to just send out all of our teachers, but it seems that we might not necessarily have enough time to find it with so few people. As we speak, the prison is devouring our headmaster's strength to replenish the ruins' energy. Therefore, the longer we wait, the harder it will be to free him. No worries, you're not forced to come. But please remember that saving the headmaster will yield great rewards!", Lores said in one breath, visibly hurried.The whole class went silent. Most of them didn't really care what will happen to the headmaster since they never even saw him. They were all proud students of Malvic Academy but not to the point where they would sacrifice their future over someone they barely knew. The reward got everyone's interest though, plus, they were also curious about the ruins and the so-called rune prison. At the same time, they were thinking about the risks they would have to go through if they do decide to join the mission. If the headmaster had already fallen victim to the traps in the ruin, then what would happen to them? Even if they risked their lives, they wouldn't necessarily get the reward if someone finds the key first. Another important problem was, nobody knew what exactly the key looked like. There were only assumptions that it should probably look like runes, but only a few of them even knew what runes were.Beta's thoughts were a little different from the others. "Profit, profit, profit!" His eyes were glowing like stars as he thought about the expedition to the ruins. No matter what happened, he would definitely gain profits. Even if he just went there to look at the rune prison, he would already gain enough by simply studying the runes to further implement his current knowledge. His brain was working non-stop on how he would make use of that opportunity to complete his plans. One thing that got him overly excited was the thought that if he was able to replicate the runes in the future, he might be able to power up the old workshop at his parent's place again. Like that, he wouldn't have to search for a smithy anymore. There might also be some organisms that he could experiment on. Beta definitely wouldn't mind having a few more organs on hand. Maybe he would even find something suitable for a human.He already reached the limit of his young body, so he wants to gather suitable body parts to finally upgrade into a better and stronger body. The other benefit that he can take advantage of would be to have a significant role in completing the mission. Finding the key would get him profits through the headmaster, and of course as a bonus, study the runes marked on the prison. Even without the key, he could still work on deciphering the runes and maybe he could solve it by force. Beta was pretty sure that he wouldn't succeed, but it was still worth a try if push comes to shove.But, of course, the thing that excited him the most was the unknown. He wanted to become an explorer in the future, so having a bit of experience in that area would definitely help in his record and may increase his ranking. There was also the aspect of an adventure waiting for him, which excited him greatly. If one were to take a quick look at Beta's face, they'd assume his eyes are twinkling and unblinking. He was just that excited so he couldn't help day-dreaming about the benefits instead of the danger along with it. Although there was indeed some risk to it, Beta assumed that most of the traps should already be disarmed, or at least marked to be avoided. Hence, Beta didn't think about it any longer and made up his mind."I wish to go to the ruins!"His loud voice echoed through the classroom, stunning everyone for a second. They were so absorbed in their own thoughts that they had completely forgotten about everything else. But as soon as they heard his confident voice, all of them didn't hesitate any longer."I want to go too!""Me too!""Count me in!"Several others also voiced out their decisions until everyone finally agreed to follow Beta to the ruins. Of course, Brian and Domian were the first ones to agree to go right after Beta."Wonderful! I'm moved to tears by your bravery!", Lores said emotionally, as if he didn't know that they were all only coming for the reward.He then proceeded on, "Since everyone wishes to save the headmaster, I will hand over the map of the ruins so that you can familiarize yourself with it. The blank spots mean that it hasn't been explored yet and that you need to be cautious in these areas. But of course, remember that it's helpful to fill in the gaps of the map for further investigations. You will also be rewarded for that once your information is confirmed. But I implore you to not venture too deep in, as there might be traps that are similar to the one our headmaster is trapped in."After finishing his small speech, he finally handed out the maps. Beta was slightly surprised to see an orderly city. It was clearly organized into several districts with small blanks sprinkled over it and a huge blank spot in the middle. There were a few marked locations on it already, showing the position of the headmaster's rune prison and several outposts that provide food, water, and all kinds of equipment used for exploring. But there was still more. Near the middle of the ruins were some areas marked in red, definitely indicating that this area is deadly."Hmm seems like I need to prepare first before heading out. Ah! I almost forgot! There's still that"
