Aeon and the others spent their days mechanically, but none of them complained. They knew that they were all improving rapidly as the days passed.
Every weekday mornings, Faust would give a short lecture and left the students to practice on their own. In Instructor Bell's class, Aeon was always the last to drop, no matter what the exercise was, and was slowly gaining popularity. In the afternoon, Aeon trained with Montis while Suri and Korona had their own element-specific combat training.
….
Two months later, it was finally July.
As Aeon and the other students were waiting for Faust in Fria's Bed, a person arrived. The man had long, silver hair that flowed to his back. He had beautiful facial features that almost made him look like a woman. He looked exactly like an elf would, minus the pointy ears. Everyone remembered him as the person who gave a wonderful speech on the first day of school, Klaus Lorenheim.
"Alright, class! I will be substituting for Mr. Faust today. My name is Klaus Lorenheim," the man told everyone, "There was a sudden change in plans so I'm sorry for not being able to tell you sooner. We will be having a field trip, east of Sera City. Please go home and pack your necessities. We will be gone for two whole months and I expect you to not be a burden to anyone. Don't forget your equipment. Meet up here at one o'clock!"
Everyone nodded with excitement! After two months, they were finally heading on a field trip. Those who already made friends gossiped amongst each other about what they would be doing on the site. Klaus dismissed all of them but remained standing in the front. As he watched the students leave, he stared intently at Aeon.
Aeon immediately felt his gaze and stopped in his tracks. He looked back towards Klaus. Unexpectedly, Klaus turned around and gestured with his hand. He beckoned Aeon to follow him and walked towards the direction of the Hall of Enlightenment.
Aeon turned his head towards Suri and Korona, who also stopped, and said, "You guys go ahead. I think that guy was calling me or something."
Suri and Korona, who already knew long ago about Aeon's strange relationship with some of the school's staff like Montis, did not question him further. The two nodded and left together side by side. Aeon disappeared from his position.
….
"Sir, did you call for me?" Aeon asked the person who was inside the Hall of Enlightenment.
Klaus eyed Aeon who was at the doorstep of the Hall. He sized Aeon up whether he improved in the two months of intense training with Montis or not. In the end, although he did not want to, he nodded in satisfaction. Unlike two months ago, Aeon had no air around him. He did not make people feel like he was a threat, except for his bulk body. Now, however, he gave off a sharp feeling.
His training with Montis paid off.
Klaus reached behind his back and summoned two swords that he held on their hilts. Aeon did not catch sight of it before since it was hidden behind Klaus' long, white cloak. "This is from Montis. He's currently away from the academy so he had me give it to you."
Aeon's eyes lit up. Ever since three years ago, he and his father were not allowed to keep any weapons in their house. Also, his father's entire weapon collection was left in the Meredith Empire. To be gifted by a weapon, even with such a simple one, Aeon felt really happy. He rushed towards Klaus and bowed in front of him. "Thank you, Sir!"
"No need to thank me. Thank Montis when you return," Klaus said as he passed the swords to Aeon.
Aeon casually received them, and he immediately regretted receiving them in such a fashion.
The moment Klaus' hands let go of the swords, they dropped to the floor, dragging Aeon along.
The swords were heavier than what Aeon expected and caught him unprepared. The tips of the sword embedded themselves on the marble floor. It sliced through the material as if it were butter.
Immediately, Aeon pulled the swords out. He was already panicking. He damaged school property. Worse! It was in front of a school staff! Aeon slowly looked up towards Klaus. Surprisingly, the latter did not mind.
"Do you like them?" Klaus asked.
Seeing that Klaus was not mad, Aeon heaved a sigh of relief. He started examining the sword.
It had no guard, but the handles were well-made, making holding them really comfortable.
The blades of the swords were pure white and straight. Unlike a common short sword which was made with the usual steel, the twin swords looked more like they were made of pearls. Metal pearls, if those existed. Also, their blades were notably thicker than normal.
Upon closer inspection, Aeon noticed that there were characters engraved on the center of the blade near the hilt. He silently read the words formed by the characters: Verdure, Zephyr.
Looking at the speechless Aeon, Klaus was pleased. "Its blade is thicker and heavier than a regular sword to give it more destructive power. It might help you in dealing more damage since you can't enchant your weapons yet."
"They're beautiful," Aeon said subconsciously.
"They also come with their own leather strap," Klaus said as he handed over something that was neatly folded.
Aeon received it promptly and spread it wide open in front of him. The strap looked like a vest, with two pockets at the back that crossed each other. Aeon immediately tried it on and it was a perfect fit. Aeon placed the two swords on the pockets and it formed an X on his back. Aeon jumped twice, but the swords did not even shake.
When Aeon was finished testing his new sword and strap, he realized that Klaus had already left. He also exited the hall.
….
Aeon hugged the blades in his arms rather than putting them on their straps. He cradled them like a baby, garnering weird looks from Suri and Korona. The two wore the same outfit they used during the Grand Magic Examination's final test.
"Aeon, are you okay?" Korona asked. Her voice was laced with concern. He thought that her friend had finally lost it.
"Of course I'm fine!" Aeon blurted, "I'm just so happy! Can't I be happy?"
"Well, we won't be concerned if you did not treat your weapons as if they were your babies," Suri said mockingly. His statement immediately received a harrumph from Aeon as he turned around and continued what he was doing.
Seeing this, Suri had the urge to also look at his weapon, so he did. It was the same as always, the pitch-black sword with blood-red crystal on its hilt. It was the weapon he used to train every day, but not once did he treat it as something special. Maybe because he had it since he was young, he thought.
"Oh, by the way, is your father fine with you being gone for two months?" Suri suddenly asked.
"He's fine. The academy arranged him a nanny," Aeon responded with his back still turned.
"Alright. Listen up," Klaus said as he walked forward, "I hope you made ample preparations because we're up for some fairly tough fights. For you, that is."
Instead of being discouraged, the students were riled up. That is what they really came for.
"Let's move out. You'll know what I mean when we get there," Klaus said mysteriously.
In their so-called field trip, they only had three school staff who will come along with them. Klaus, and two other people they never saw before. The students questioned the difficulty of the activity they were about to face, but they knew that the academy would not put them in grave danger.
The students and the three staff set out east of Sera City.
Some of the students had maps of the continent with them and guessed which area they were going to. Based on their direction, there were three candidates: Grey forest, Turtle Swamp, and the coal mines.
…
Four days later.
Throughout the journey, no mishaps occurred. There was not even any action as the road was relatively safe. However, the students were very tired.
They had limited rest, and most of the day was spent hiking over hills and such. The supposedly week-long travel was finished in four days. At the end of their trek, on the morning of the fourth day, they finally reached their destination: Grey Forest.
Grey Forest was an extremely large forest that housed thousands of species of magical beasts. In its outskirts, several mages hunt for low-level magical beast meat that would be served as a luxury dish in some restaurants. The trees in the forest were really thick, but they were hollow, so they were not very popular. The only notable thing about them was their height. The trees easily reached a height of 100 meters.
As they entered the forest, Klaus and the other became more alert and cautious. Despite this, they still moved fast and expertly navigated through the forest. Clearly, it was not their first time there.
After another three hours, they arrived in a clearing. The ground was flat and very ideal for camping. The academy's staff immediately set-up their tents. The students followed suit. The students ate their own meals as they talked and laughed amongst each other.
"Dan, can I have the list of what we need?" Klaus said to the other staff.
The staff named Dan immediately took out a scroll from his cloak and gave it to Klaus. The latter unrolled the scroll, skimmed over it, and nodded. It was time for them to start their main objective.
Klaus walked to the center of the clearing while carrying a pole, catching the students' attention. He stabbed the pole on the ground and hooked the unrolled scroll on its tip.
The students started to gather around Klaus, including Aeon and his group. They saw several sketches of plants, some type of rock, and other weird objects in the scroll. They immediately cocked their head to the side. They have never seen those objects in their entire lives and none were familiar with them, even those who belonged to prominent families.
"Don't worry much about this," Klaus said, "your main objective here is to train and hunt magical beasts. If you ever find one of these items, please collect them and give you a large sum of money in exchange for it. Just be sure not to touch them directly to avoid damaging them. The amount we will be paying you is also written on the scroll."
Hearing this, Aeon looked over the list one more time. He was interested in the money, of course. They did not have a surplus of it because it was provided by the city's government per month. Having extra money was good for him. When he read the list, his eyes widened in shock!
So high! The prices were all high!
The continent used bronze, silver, and gold for currency. One hundred bronze pieces is equal to one silver, and one hundred silver pieces is equal to one gold. The prices on the lists were…
All above 100 gold coins!
The majority of the students drooled at the sight of this. Most of them never had the opportunity of holding that much money. And now, they were presented with such a chance. They inwardly thanked the Gods for giving them the opportunity of entering the academy.
Even someone like Levi, who was always reading his book, looked up. His eyes were glowing with zeal, and his mouth was wide open.
With this, I can buy a house full of books.
….