Chapter 13: Black Star Sect.
As all the students went to pick up their bags, a few of the teachers had gotten together and began talking to three shady-looking men. They were all wearing black suits and two of them were wearing sunglasses whilst indoors.
It looked funny to Haru, but he thought for a moment. 'Are they part of the Chinese government?'
He found it weird. During the war, The Chinese government stayed neutral and didn't join the fight. Japan in particular looked down on them for it. So why would they have a class trip to China? Did they make a secret agreement?
He was lost, deep in thought until Jake tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey... I'm not mad anymore." He said before putting his bag down on the floor.
Haru was still confused about the whole situation. "Why were you mad, anyway? Haru asked whilst facing to look at him. "If I would have known you are related to Miss Fujima, then I could have skipped class and told her that you asked me to do something!" Jake said before the teachers had finished their brief conversation.
"Listen up. Since you have magical abilities, we have to be guided by a representative of the Chinese embassy. Please treat them how you would treat your homeroom teachers. They are here for your safety and the safety of the Chinese citizens. Please listen to their judgement before making any decisions." The homeroom teacher from class A told all of the students that were present.
Mia walked up from behind with Remi. "Haru; Remi and I thought you should have this. We picked up some snacks from the store."
Mia handed Haru a bag of chips and Remi brought out a bottle of soda. One thing that Haru had never tried in his life was soda. He had heard of it but never had the opportunity to try it for himself.
"Thank you, Mia, Thank you, Remi." He patted Remi on the head before unscrewing the cap of the soda.
He brought it to his lips and tilted his head back slightly. He didn't know what he thought of it so he went in for a bigger sip before almost choking. It tickled the back of his throat. He enjoyed the taste and sweetness, but the feeling of the carbonation was enough to make him cough.
"Ah, it's good."
Haru had tears in his eyes from coughing too much. He screwed the cap back onto the bottle before putting both the chips and soda into the storage space in his lux. A blue light flashed from his wrist as the chips and soda both vanished into thin air.
He heard a cough behind him and turned around to see one of the men in the black suits. "Please don't use magic or magical devices here. No matter how small it is. It can be taken as an act of war if you are seen by the wrong person."
Haru was shocked. He was so used to everyone's everyday use of magic back home that he didn't realize that it could be seen as a threat.
"Okay." He responded to the man bluntly and then turned back around to talk to his friends. "We are in for a rough ride, aren't we? We can't even use magic." Jake complained to the group.
"Now you will know how I feel. At least you can use magic." Remi muttered quietly. "You can't use magic at all?" Haru asked her.
Remi shook her head, embarrassed by her lack of magical talent. "It's okay. I will just have to protect you with my super strong magic!" Haru joked and patted her head again. Remi laughed before Miss Fujima made an announcement.
"Class F. We are setting off now. Follow me, please." A few of the class A students laughed and made jokes as the students of class F made their way past them. "Don't die on your way." One of the students called out to Jake.
Jake smiled back at him as he now had confidence in his magical abilities thanks to Haru's daily training. All of the classes then followed their homeroom teachers and boarded a bus once again for their journey into the countryside for their special training camp. They still hadn't been told anything about what they would be doing.
The only thing they were told was to follow instructions and not ask questions. As most of the student's present would eventually go on to joining the army or other jobs that required the use of mages, they were used to this rule.
They rode on the bus for another eight hours before finally arriving at their destination. As they walked down the steps of the bus and into the fresh air, they were greeted with a huge wooden gate. There was a sign above the door that said Black Star Sect. Haru read it in his head.
He wasn't too fluent in Chinese, but he knew enough to get around.
'Are we at a Chinese monastery?' He asked himself before the gate opened slowly, and out stepped a man wearing robes of some sort. He looked like he could be a monk if it wasn't for his long greying hair and beard. All three of the men in black suits walked over to him and bowed their heads in respect.
"What is this?" Jake whispered to Haru, who was starting to get an idea of the situation.
Before one of the men in the black suit turned to everybody who was confused with the situation.
"Hello, students of the Japanese Royal Institute of Military Arts. Your Government has made a deal with our sect for use to teach you the ways of our Chinese cultivators. This is the first time we have let outsiders into our life so please be respectful. There are a few people here who are over three hundred years old. They have requested you to treat them how you would treat your grandparents and to feel free to ask them any questions you want to.
It has been a while since we have had children here so we will be forgiving of any mistakes you will make. But let me make myself clear. Nobody is allowed to enter the elder hall. Even if it is a mistake you will be thrown out immediately. Other than that. We welcome you for your stay with us at Black Star Sect."
All of the students became excited and began to chatter amongst themselves. Cultivation was always seen as a myth passed down through generations for thousands of years. Only a few people outside of China had permission to know about them and now the students were going to learn from these people who have legends told about them.
Haru on the other hand was confused. The Chinese cultivators have stayed out of every major war for the past hundred years. They even banned all information on cultivation being spread to outsiders.
'What kind of price did the Japanese government have to pay for an opportunity like this? But yet again, Cultivators weren't all too interested in monetary gain. So, the real question is what did they give to them?' Haru thought it over and over in his head but didn't know what to think of the situation.
"Hurry up, Haru. You will be left behind!" Mia called out to Haru, who was standing still as the rest of his classmates hurried off inside.
Haru jogged lightly to catch up with them, but as he passed the gate, he turned his head to the left to see the man in the black suit whisper something to the man in the robes. The man in the robes then looked towards Haru and smiled gently.
'Weird…' Haru thought before he caught up with Mia, Remi, and Jake.
They were all being led towards a large traditional Chinese style building with two golden dragon statues on either side of the doors.
"This place is so pretty," Remi said and then looked back at Haru. "Yeah very pretty," Haru said quietly. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something big would happen here. 'Would it be a good thing or a bad thing?'
As they entered the building the aroma of all kinds of food floated around the room. They were holding a feast in the honour of the student coming to learn from them. Everybody partied all night long and the teachers that had come for the trip all ended up extremely intoxicated.
They were trying to out drink the cultivators which many of them if not all of them practised internal body cultivation making regular alcohol useless on them. They didn't drink for fun, it was just for the tradition of welcoming outsiders into their home.
Haru stood leaning against a wall watching his friends all party into the night without him. He was still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. This was a thing that had never happened to anyone before. He had tried to research cultivators in the past but all the information was locked behind security protocols that only someone above the general rank in the army could access.
There were a lot of secrets that were kept from the world about these people. But the only information he knew about cultivators is that their strength is unparalleled. There were rumours that they could even destroy worlds with their bare hands.
How was he supposed to measure up to these people who could kill him without him even suspecting anything?