As both Arthur and Andrea entered the Lecture Hall, one of the Lecture Hall Elders gave Arthur a brief nod and a smile, causing Arthur to give a small bow towards the Elder.
Andrea sent him a weird look before heading off to another corner of the room.
There was a few minutes before the Lectures for the day started, and Andrea had started to talk and chat with.... Alina which caused Arthur to raise an eyebrow.
'Did those two ever become friends? Or is it something else?'.
The two girls chatted and occasionally giggled with each other drawing the attention of almost every male in the room.
The two prettiest girls in their class, even though one of them was "taken", the other one was still a goddess in these young men's hearts, something which fuelled their desires to cultivate and become stronger.
Even Ratimir and Borik glanced at Arthur before the pair walked over to him curiously.
"Arthur, did you try and organize something with the Lecture Hall Elder?", Ratimir asked.
Arthur nodded, seeing no reason to lie about this.
"I asked if we could go outside, into the forests within the Clan's territory. Most don't have a huge feel for the terrain, while some need to work on.... other things".
Ratimir raised an eyebrow at "other things", but didn't further his questioning.
Randolf sent Arthur a glance, causing the latter to smile at him politely.
Randolf just rolled his eyes before looking back the book in his hands.
Whatever it was Arthur had planned, Randolf knew that it was never good.
Borik just smiled at Arthur and laughed while placing his hands on his hips. His massive physique was the biggest out of all four of them, but unfortunately, his intelligence was about the lowest....
"This sounds like a great idea Arthur! Perhaps we might even find a wild fae or two! Something like that, usually belongs to the person that finds it right?!".
Arthur nodded.
"Yes, unless of course you have some sort of prearranged condition or something like that".
Within the Kovacs Clan, if two Fae Masters killed a enemy Fae Master, the spoils of war would belong to the two of them. They didn't necessarily have to report it to the Clan, and even if they did, the spoils of war wouldn't be taken away from them.
If they both fancied a Fae, or some sort of Fae material that the body possessed, they would either have to sort it out diplomatically, or fight in order to win the object.
It was a pretty common practice in most Clans or Sects, but outside those large organizations, it was free game.
If you got ambushed by bandits and killed all of them you could take everything they owned and no-one would say anything about it.
Provided you had the strength to make people keep quiet about it.
"I suppose you won't be upset if I find something before you then, will you Borik?".
The large burly young man froze for a moment before shaking his head and smiling.
"Of course not! I would never do something like that!".
Arthur nodded at his honestly.
Borik may be an idiot, but his development was carefully guided by his grandfather, a Rank 3 Fae Master. If he didn't become someone strong, it would only reflect badly on his Elder grandparent.
Ratimir was going to open his mouth to say something, but turned around and returned to his seat the moment the door to the classroom opened.
Three different Elders came through, all of them members of the Lecture Hall.
The lead one, the specific Elder that Arthur talked to about this little field trip stood in the centre and let out a deep breath before smiling at everyone.
"Students, we have an announcement to make".
The Elder paused for a moment, the tension in the air building.
Some thought that their might be something wrong. That one of them might've screwed up, or stolen something from the Clan.
If that were the case, then the punishment for such a thing would most definitely be.... death.
Fortunately for them however-.
"One of you has suggested an idea to us, as well as the Clan Leader to take a trip into the forests of Winter Rain Mountain and explore the terrain as well as the wildlife within our territory".
The eyes of the students lit up, and many of them glanced towards each other, but not saying anything in the presence of three Elders.
One of the other Elders, a gentle old lady smiled slightly at the young men and women.
The lead Elder continued.
"It has been discussed and will continue to be discussed in the future, with more of these trips possible if we can time both the weather and our patrols properly. The first of these trips will begin before the sun rises, and we will return after the sun sets at night. Please be aware that this is mandatory, and you will have to have a valid reason as to why you could not attend".
"We are still planning the details, however I can tell you one thing. During these "trips" other than the clothes on your back and perhaps a weapon or hidden knife, you will not need to bring anything. All of the food for the day, will be caught, skinned and then cooked by you. The Elders will not do anything to assist you".
Most of the young men and women in the class seemed unfazed by the killing of animals and just excitably looked towards each other with keen glints in their eyes.
They wondered who would have the ability and courage to ask one of the Elders about this, but most of them guessed it was the young man sitting in the back corner of the room.
Arthur smiled at the Elder, who gave him a small nod back.
"All of you will be expected to come here during the last day of this week, before the sun rises. We will head out when everyone gathers and return back after the sun sets at night. For those who don't know the terrain, please use this as a chance to familiarize yourself with the Kovacs Clan territory. You might be on patrol detail after you graduate use this chance wisely".
"Those that haven't lived out in the wild, or have never experienced a life outside of the Clan, similarly, use this as a chance to better yourself. Hunting and gathering is an important part of being a Fae Master, especially if you find a Fae material in the wild. If you're not careful, you might end up destroying it, or alerting nearby spirit beasts of your presence".
Everyone nodded.
Arthur could still feel the unknown gaze on his body, and smirked a little when he felt it vanish.
Obviously he wasn't the only one preparing for this little trip.
It was going to be one to remember. Even if only one of them would end up remembering it.