Departure day came. Nothing happened throughout the night and time passed like a flowing river.
Flav, Iris, Dumdum, and Ouht stood in front of the gigantic gates of the Academy. Ouht came to give instructions and explain what the missions entail. After all, the three would separate now.
"What will happen to the human?"
Dumdum asked as soon as he spotted the coming Ouht. He didn't even greet him and straightforwardly went into the matter on everyone's mind.
"Good morning to you too, panther. You too Flav and Iris. I talked to Daemon and he agreed to stop that crazy swordsman from going too far from whatever he needed him for, one thing we can trust Daemon on is never breaking his words. Be assured."
Dumdum didn't feel reassured but he decided to believe in Ouht as he felt different than other humans. Iris pondered, getting lost in thought, without saying a word and Flav seemed to want to say something but stopped.
"Now about your missions. Someone will soon come here and you will have to escort them to their destination Panther. Are you ready?" he asked evenly, his white eyes staring at Dumdum with utmost seriousness.
Dumdum wasn't a careless and stupid beast and knew that if Ouht repeated that these trips will be dangerous then they will be. He had never done anything without thinking it through and this mission wasn't anything different. He nodded back at Ouht with cold and severe eyes.
Nodding to himself, Ouht turned to the other two. "Yours is different. As Daemon already said you will have to deliver a letter to the city lord of Gley city. And Gley city goes through the silent sunny forest."
Gasps left Iris and Flav's mind when they heard that, shooting blazes of 'are you crazy' at Ouht. Ouht also knew how dangerous this was and explained, "Correct. This is why I reacted like this yesterday. But, Daemon took this into account and made a map that would allow you to go there without running into high tiered beasts. Though some beasts might pass by sometimes, it's rare."
Flav and Iris were still not convinced. Silent Sunny forest was no joke and it was one of the most dangerous places in the lands of the Wylde. They thought this through amongst themselves, weighed the pros and cons and deduced that Daemon wouldn't send them to their deaths, so it should be safe. They might even be able to temper themselves against stronger beasts than them to some extent.
After several minutes of talking, Flav extended his hand to Ouht and the latter gave him a wrapped scroll with a red string. The two didn't leave after receiving the letter but waited together with Ouht and Dumdum for another hour, waiting for the person he needed to escort.
In front of the Academy's entrance, a teleportation array lay, and after an hour of the four waiting it started shining with a low hum. Several seconds later it stopped as a person appeared in front of them.
A bulky huge tanned man came through the Array and approached the four with heavy steps. A scar ran down between his right eye to his nose, his figure towering over Flav and Ouht seeming like a mountain.
"HEYA, I AM BULLOCK KERB. I AM THE CLIENT WHO NEEDS AN ESCORT!"
His loud voice rang throughout the area, making everyone look at him with weird eyes as they covered their ears. Even surrounding farway bird beasts ran away from it. He was too fucking loud!
"Welcome Bullock. This is Panther, he is your escort." Ouht pointed at the cute sized Dumdum making Bullock glance at him.
Bullock stared at Dumdum for a few seconds before looking at Ouht, and in the end, turned his head to Iris and Flav. Bullock kept moving his gaze around before his face morphed. He looked at Ouht with shining eyes as a smile crept up on his expression.
"THANK YOU! MISTER PANTHER IS PERFECT TO GO WITH ME!"
The three didn't know what Bullock meant but the way he and Ouht seemed to know a profound meaning that they didn't comprehend left them skeptical.
Bullock didn't seem like he needed an escort, his hulking mass of a body and scarred face gave him a fierce look that both humans and beasts would want to avoid. Why did he need a tier 2 beast for?
"Mister Bullock you are a tier 2 magic user, am I correct?" Ouht asked though his tone seemed more of one wanting confirmation.
"I AM! MAGIC IS ZA BEST!"
Bullock's words sent another wave of surprises through the three. Even the experienced Dumdum didn't see this coming. 'I should have tried sensing his power,' he reprimanded himself.
Although he felt like a cultivator with his mountain like build, he was in fact a tier 2 magician. The knowledge of this amazed the three as they had petrified and incredulous looks.
"ANYWAY, I THINK WE SHOULD LEAVE MISTER PANTHER. OUR TRIP IS LONG."
After saying this, Bullock went ahead and grabbed the still dazed Dumdum and ran back to the array. He waved at the remaining three before disappearing. Only the still calm Ouht waved back with a small smile.
Several minutes later after Bullock and Dumdum left, Flav came back to life to see Ouht staring at them with a smile. Iris stood silent.
"Now your turn. I will send you to the edge of the Silent Sunny forest and you can start your journey from there. Don't worry though, this trip shouldn't take you more than a week. We calculated this to not waste any day when classes start."
Ouht went ahead and passed the map of the Silent Sunny forest to Iris before bidding them farewell and setting the destination on the array. He watched as the two disappeared before entering the Academy.