After almost a week of rest, Druak had managed to recover and was fit to move again. He was also glad that he didn't have to deal with the constant worrying of Oscar who had been visiting him every single day after lessons. He was visited by Freya and Isaac who both commented on how common he ended up in the medical ward.
Druak was beginning to get used to the smell of medicine that was always around the medical ward. In fact, Druak probably spent more time in the medical ward than he did anywhere else. This made him realise just how reckless he could be, not that he had any plans to change this part of him, it was something he couldn't help after all.
Druak was lucky as he didn't miss much since it was still the first week and everything he did miss was explained to him by Oscar. It seemed that each class had been split up into groups of 5 and each group would remain the same until the end of the year when it would be possible to change groups and choose where you wanted to be instead of being forced into a random group of 5.
These groups were for when the students were sent on missions and had to have at least 1 support class and 1 mage. The reason for the random groups for the first year was to make the students learn how to work in a group even if they didn't get along with the individuals within it. This would be extremely valuable for the students as the majority of them would join the army and would be required to work with completely random people constantly.
Another thing that Druak missed was the teacher explaining the arena system and how it worked, this didn't make much difference for Druak as he had already learned about it from Isaac who fought a little in the arena before getting kicked out of the academy in his past life.
It wasn't a very difficult system to understand. The main point was to fight each other and then get provided plus 10 or minus 10 points depending on if you win or not, and every 100 points you gain would increase your rank, which would determine the rewards you would be allocated at the end of the year. You could also spend your point although this wasn't done too often as the higher you ranked the greater your rewards would be.
Druak slowly got out of his bed and began getting dressed when someone knocked on his door. "It's Professor Ronald. I heard you've been in the hospital for a while and thought you wouldn't make it to our meeting so I came over."
Druak finished getting his clothes on and then proceeded to open the door for professor Ronald, who was standing there with a cheerful smile and gentle aura which was in complete contrast to the last time Druak saw him.
Druak guided the professor in and got a chair for him to sit on. Once professor Ronald sat down Druak did the same and sat in front of him. "So what information do you have about helping my friend."
Professor Ronald looked towards Druak with a smile. "Straight to the point. I like that." The professor took a breath before continuing. "Huff. What I'm about to tell you has to be kept between you and me is that understood." The aura which was once gentle had completely disappeared as professor Ronald glared straight at Druak.
Druak struggled to breathe and speak, clenching his nails into his palms was the only way he managed to let out any words. "I understand… I won't reveal anything I learn here. "Despite the massive amount of pressure Druak felt he still glared back at the professor, as he knew that he had to stand his ground if he had any hopes of not being pushed around by this old man.
The murderous aura around the professor disappeared instantly leaving behind the gentle aura it once was. A calm smile grew on the old man's face. "Good, then I guess I should tell you how to heal your little Dragon friend."
Druak wasn't sure if this man had been bluffing all this time about knowing of Astra's existence, but now it was confirmed. Druak listened in intently, wanting to gain any information that could result in Astra being turned back to her original self.
'She saved my life by risking her own. The least I can do is try to help bring her back.'
Professor Ronald looked towards Druak almost as if he was reminiscing about something in the past, and after a few moments of reminiscing finally gave Druak the information he was after.
"First I must tell you the information I'm about to tell you is not for free and will require you to gather something for me, which is incredibly hard to come by." Ronald waited for Druak's response but after seeing the resolve in his eyes he smiled and then continued what he was saying. "The first thing you need to do is obtain the core of a black miasma tiger that has reached the 3rd stage… This is a minimum requirement and the core MUST be unscathed or it will be unusable. Once you have collected this item I will inform you of what you should get next."
Druak was dumbstruck. He knew what he was going to need was going to be hard to obtain, but a black miasma tiger was next to impossible to find let alone kill with the core intact, especially at his current stage.
'What the hell. Am I going to have to wait years before restoring Astra to her original form.'
Noticing Druak worry professor Ronald tapped Druak on the shoulder. "If you want information about the location of a black miasma tiger I can give it to you… But you'll have to complete my task first."
Seeing the smile on the old man's face Druak realised the old man was far more cunning than he originally thought. Professor Ronald intentionally gave Druak the information he wanted, this was all done to force Druak into completing his task first, as it was the only way for Druak to get information about the black miasma tiger before it took so long that it would begin to affect the rest of Druak life.
"Fine. So what is it you need me to do." Druak said, slightly agitated that he fell right into Ronald's trap.
"I need the Ghost poison flower from Du Shan mountain."
Once realising what professor Ronald was after Druak could now confirm his suspicions of what he had previously seen. When he first met professor Ronald the first thing Druak noticed was the intense green mist and dark veins which were around the professor's body, and not that Druak knew what the professor wanted there was only one conclusion Druak could come up with as the course of these symptoms.
"You were poisoned weren't you professor."
"Yes, it happened a long time ago… So are you willing to accept my mission, it won't be easy and you'll have to risk your life to complete it."
Druak ignored the professor's question, got up off his seat and asked his own question. "So when do I leave."
Seeing the resolve in Druak's eyes, professor Ronald smiled. 'I'm glad this academy still has some decent students. I just hope this task won't be too difficult for him.'
The professor stood up, rummaged through his pocket and brought out a tattered scroll, which looked as if it had been in the professor's pocket for decades. "This is a map of the Ghost poison flower's exact location. I must warn you that you only have 3 weeks to get there otherwise the flower will be consumed by the monsters in the vicinity. These monsters are almost all in the 2nd stage so if the worst case happens don't hesitate to run as once they consume that flower they will be almost invisible against someone of your level."
Realising how serious this mission was going to be Druak asked a question that he was hesitant to ask. "Am I permitted to bring along anyone else or is this mission something that must be kept secret."
Professor Ronald rubbed his chin for a moment before finally speaking. "Can you trust them."
Druak didn't hesitate for a second and nodded.
"Then they can come, but if this information is leaked to the wrong person it could lead to your entire family being in danger so make sure whoever you bring with you is someone that you can completely trust."
"This is all I wish to discuss with you so I shall take my leave and look forward to hearing the good news from you when you return."
Professor Ronald looked back towards Druak before walking out the door with a smile on his face as if he was plotting something and he had finally succeeded in completing that very task.