Asd didn't take long to get back on his feet, even though he was still in a lot of pain, that didn't stop him from getting up and doing what he was supposed to. Plus, the pain served to put a lot of things into perspective for him. The past few weeks have been somewhat dull and calm, and so far the teachers apart from Chelsea with her combat lessons had left him alone and to himself. he was coming along well with his magic but that didn't change the fact that he was still a prisoner. Now they say they're going to be sending him out for god knows what.
It would be a lie if he said he wasn't looking forward to getting out of here, at the very least a breath of fresh air would be greatly appreciated. Honestly many would expect Asd to be filled with rage and anger, all over the edge due to the unfair treatment he has received from the academy, but the truth of the matter was that; he has been a slave all his life and have only been free for what amounts to no less than a month. Being subjugated and looked down on was all that he knew, and learning to keep his head down for greater gains was a trait he had unwittingly developed through those long years of slavery.
There was a lot of anger to go around in regards to his current predicament and arrangement with the academy. But all this in due time would bear fruit for his benefit. Now the only thing he wanted to worry about was a chance to see Rhea, he misses her. Way more than he ever thought possible and his heart ached with worry, but be that as it may he would take this chance to go see her…. assuming the loosen the leash around his neck a bit more, either way; it wouldn't hurt to try.
<<<<<||>>>>>
He was dressed and placed on a boat heading further north along the Reilin river. There was no chance given at all for him to have seen Rhea as the moment he was removed from his confinement, he was dressed in what seemed to be standard issue guard uniform, with a sword and attribute less Mana pistol, and finally a wide brim hat to go with the ensemble. He was given a brief description of what he was being sent out to do, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.
The academy was on top of a mountain, said mountain however was a part of a mountain range that stretched for hundreds of thousands of kilometers before ending at the shores of the great sand sea in the north, the desert of the great scorpion kings. The single and only unblemished land of Weres. Though seeing as the Albion empire was knocking on that door, it was hard to say just how long they had left before they too become slaves.
Either way this mountain range were exquisite and peculiar that for each mountain, there was an attribute that set it apart from the other. Some had snowcapped peaks, and they would have variations with the snow being a different color. Some would be a forest of trees, others barren hard like rocks that could be used as fuel or ores for forging. The Reilin river snakes around each of this mountains in an extremely complicated yet straight forward path. It had no smaller tributaries or streams, and was devoid of all life even though the water looked purer than crystals and diamonds.
It's a major trade route between the west and south west to the north of the beast men continent. Plus, those mountains still hide a lot of secrets and are known as probably the most valuable natural resource of the beast men continent. Thousands of years of exploitation, and this resources have not run dry, and till date there has been explanation for this phenomenon. And to crown it all the Reilin River was extremely bitter to the point of painful death. The water itself is not poisonous, but it is said to be so bitter that death would be the only reprieve to get rid of the taste. Because once you drink of this water, nothing in this world would ever be sweet again. And the bloody thing flowed upstream instead of downstream like normal rivers, going up mountains and waterfalls at impossible angles; a marvel of magic.
The academy's mountain was right at the entrance of the range, with the Reilin river serving as its boundary. He was to escort a couple of 3rd circle mages to another mountain half a day away where a special type of mineral called Ionite was being mined. The mineral had the capabilities of completely negating magic or any energy based weapon or ability. Which is why Weres were the ones to mine it, having both the natural strength, speed, stamina and resilience to carry out the labor. Anybody else would be grossly weakened to the point of death.
There had been a revolt and a couple of Weres had went through a mine shaft and collapsed the entrance so that they could not be followed. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem if they didn't have one of the academy's teachers as hostage, and said teacher was important; apparently he was of the royal pendragon bloodline. Anything happens to him and a lot of heads will roll. Subduing the Weres was going to be hard as they were in a bloody Ionite Mine that was within a bloody Ionite Mountain.
Only one of their kind can bring them down or at the very least negotiate the release of the hostage. But none of the workers could be trusted to do so, as it turns out they were all sympathetic to the cause of the insurgents leading the revolt. So outside help was needed, and Asd fit the bill all too well. He wasn't completely defenseless so he could go in there and look for them, and diplomacy or war it didn't matter what method Asd had to employ, his job was to get the hostage out and above all else alive.
In all honesty he found the entire thing annoying. Finding them would be one problem, but the mines itself was occupied by a species of creatures unique to places with high Ionite concentration called; Zaragite. They're like a cross between bugs and wolves and they don't run in packs…. they swarmed. Bites are lethal, scratches are lethal, even being in the same location with them for more than 30 minutes dead or alive was lethal. So a lot was riding on this and all they could give him was a pistol, a sword and a hat as if he was some pirate captain. Either way he hoped that when they got there he would be able to find more tools to make this task easier, because there was a 100% chance that he would not be coming back from the suicide venture. But what could possibly go wrong?