Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
With the ringing of the bell that signaled the closing of the academy for the day, Joshua placed down the book he was reading and quietly left the school library he had entered next after leaving the Skill Hall.
"Classmate Joshua! Why weren't you.... Oh, seems like you have successfully advanced into a Rank Two Beast Apprentice, Congratulations" Spoke Olivia at first in annoyance that later transformed into praise for Joshua.
"Well, thank you, Olivia" Joshua replied back with a slight smile towards this young lady who appeared somewhats concerned about him and had mysteriously been able to track his whereabout down to the extent of waiting for him right outside the library entrance.
Ever since he had first layed eyes on her, Joshua had always known that she wasn't someone simple but he didn't make any attempt to pry into her secrets.
After all, who doesn't have secrets. Heck, his was even the biggest secret of them all.
"Say, I take it you must have already acquired a new skill?" Olivia suddenly asked Joshua, dragging him out of his inner thoughts and back to reality.
"Hmmm"Joshua answered while nodding his head.
"Great.... Why don't we take take a few days leave of absence from the academy and head into a nearby Wildzone for you to practice your new skill in life threatening situations? After all, it's one thing to activate a skill within a practice room and it's another thing to do so while confronting a Low Rank Common Grade Beast" suggested Olivia as she stared at Joshua with eyes full of expectations.
Joshua was just about to decline at first because of his past experience as a wildlife hunter back on earth which made it easier for him to adapt to most situation without to much additional practices, but he immediately scolded himself inwardly the very moment he caught sight of the look in Olivia eyes.
"Damn you Joshua, with such a beautiful young lady taking the initiative to indirectly ask you out on a date which is something that you were the one to have been doing. You were just about to reject her, aren't you being a disgrace to to yourself and to all the young men of planet Earth"
"It will be my pleasure" replied Joshua with his right hand placed on his left chest as he offered Olivia a slight bow that caused her to blush a little at the sight of his action.
"Then it have been agreed that we shall meet at the village southern gate by 8 o'clock tomorrow morning" Spoke Olivia in a happy tone as he immediately skipped away without giving Joshua any say in the matter.
"Seems like only my agreement was needed and not my opinion" Joshua thought inwardly while shaking his head as he stared at Olivia fading figure.
"A few days huh? looks like I'll have to make some last minute preparations" add Joshua inwardly as turned and walked towards the school gate with the intention of stopping by the market area first before finally heading back home.
Meanwhile, Olivia who had just walked out on Joshua earlier was now navigating her way through some of the academy buildings before finally arriving beside a well hidden plain looking carriage pulled by two white furred mares.
Taking a deep breath while running her right hand through her curly brown hair, Olivia demeanor slowly underwent a drastic change. Going the girl next door presence she always gave off whenever she's beside Joshua to that of a cold and arrogant female aristocrat.
"Head back to the mansion" Olivia ordered with a detached tone as she stepped inside the carriage.
Heyyaa...!!!
The reins of the two mares were shaken by a middle aged woman covered in a black cloak that showed only her face which although now had some blemishes and pimples couldn't hide the fact that she was once an extremely beautiful young woman.
Although she wasn't at the helm of the carriage before, she had mysteriously appeared there and taken control of it the very moment Olivia had entered inside the carriage.
"Forgive me for asking but I can't seem to understand what young miss sees in that young man?" the middle aged woman suddenly asked after she had navigated the carriage out of the academy compound.
"Eleven nights, that's all the time he had spent cultivating before advancing from a Rank One Beast Apprentice to a Rank Two Beast Apprentice" answered Olivia with a smile as she kept staring at the now prosperous environment of Tree village through the carriage window.
"That fast? if I remember correctly, young miss had spent a total of nine nights to do the same even with the aid of the mansion resources" Screamed the middle aged woman in a low tone that was filled with suprise.
"Even if he had spent over a month cultivating in order just to advance into a Rank Two Beast Apprentice, I would have still picked him over everyone else because my mother necklace had reacted to him" Said Olivia in response to the middle aged woman words and behaviour.
"As for why it had never done so during the past five years we have been together as classmates, Maybe it was due to the fact that his soul power had always been too low" Olivia added.
"The late madam necklace reacted? If so, then I'm sorry for ever doubting the young miss" the middle aged woman asked at first before apologizing to Olivia.
Olivia however, didn't reply back but only smiled as she never took it to heart. Since she somehow felt that even without these two reasons, if she really wanted to be Joshua, there's nothing anybody could do about it.
Joshua on the other hand who was completely clueless about the short discussion between these two women had just arrived at the market area.
This time around, Joshua didn't head towards "Bernard Beast Store" like he had done the past few times he came to the market area but instead, he unhesitatingly decided to head towards "Solomon's Pavilion" located at the center of the market area.
After stepping inside the pavilion, Joshua didn't bother about making unconfirmed guesses on why the interior setup of the Pavilion looked somewhats similar to that of shopping malls on Earth.
Instead, he quickly made his way towards an internal store also owned by the pavilion which sold mainly Items and Artifacts used during exploration of the Wilderness or Wildzones.
Approaching one of the three pretty looking female attendants he caught sight of immediately he walked into the store, Joshua then listed out all the Items he intended on purchasing "Hello, I'd love to purchase a portable tent, sleeping bag, insect repellant, an illuminious crystal powered torch and ....."
Because of the fact that not only had the Joshua from Earth spent over the past ten years of his life as a wildlife hunter who slept inside the forest more than he had slept inside a house. The formal Joshua of this world had also undergone a few Wilderness survival training excursions.
That's why he knew exactly what to and what not to buy for his upcoming few days Low Grade Wildzone training trip with Olivia. If there was any question on Joshua's mind, then it was, "Just how many days is a few days?"