The last class of the day was actually something Terran was quite proficient in. Well, at least, in some ways more than others. The subject was quite odd for a school to teach, but it almost seemed normal compared to some of his other classes. The class was wilderness survival training. Why kids restricted to a city needed to know how to survive in the wilderness was a great question, and Terran was just as clueless as the next guy when it came to the answer. Moreover, like combat and blessings training, this class was essential.
While Terran had survived for two years, truthfully, not much of it had been thanks to any skillset or knowledge. Yes, he had taught himself to clean and skin animals, and yes, he could find trace amounts of water in certain plants. But that was about the extent of his knowledge. The truth was he had only survived thanks to his blessing, and nothing could change that fact.
Unfortunately, Terran was met with another lecture hall-style classroom. As a result, there were not many chances to meet anyone new.
Terran was about to fall asleep when something caught his attention.
"Now, this following technique will only work in the early spring and late winter. Still, listen closely; it might just save your life someday if you find yourself lacking a source of freshwater. . .. First, you're going to want to look for a sizable tree. Maple, birch, and sycamores work best. . .. Using your knife or any sharp object on hand, you will carve a notch into the tree, then cut a V... After you sharpen your stick, you're going to jam it into the notch as vertically as you can…. Finally, fasten your canteen to the tree and wait for the drip to fill up. Not only will you have clean water, but it will contain sugars and vitamins that will keep you on your feet. .."
Listening to the lecturer, Terran couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. "Does this so-called expert not know that the only trees on this planet are in this very city?"
Soon the class came to an end, and Terran found himself in an odd situation. "What do I do now?" The time was 4 pm, giving him several hours before he planned to go to bed. It was hard to believe, but this was the first time he truly had free time. The only exception was when he first entered the Oasis, but that time was very short-lived. Afterward, Sophie had made plans throughout their entire time together, and ever since arriving at Palm academy, he had simply been too busy.
"I guess I can always work on memorizing runes. I'll have to make up for those lost 3 weeks somehow. Also, I cannot forget about those mundane daily quests I still need to do."
Terran headed towards the library with his mind made up, where he found some textbooks on runes. While surfing the extensive library database, he happened upon a few xianxia novels. Perhaps this was his greatest misstep since arriving in the Oasis, as it would eventually lead to more than a few late-night reading sessions.
After studying for 3 hours, Terran picked up some nutrient fluid before heading to the school's state-of-the-art gym. There he quickly completed the rest of his dailies. At first, he had just gone there out of boredom and to complete his quest, but after using a few machines, he found that it helped him clear his mind. Discovering this, Terran chose to continue, even though there was no quest to complete. However, it wasn't long after that Terran noticed a blinking light in the corner of his retina. He was confused because this blinking light normally meant he had received a notification.
[+1 Strength]
"Oh, I guess it makes sense that my strength will go up naturally."
Terran continued after gaining his stat increase, but no other notification came. From there, he rotated to practicing with his swords for a significant amount of time.
While at it, Terran noticed Ken diligently going through his sword routines in a room near his own. However, he didn't spare him a second glance. Ken had made himself clear that he wasn't looking for friends, and Terran was not so intrusive to try and start a conversation after his multiple failed attempts.
After training, Terran conversed with one of the many personal trainers employed by the academy. After all, it would be silly if he didn't utilize every resource this school had to offer.
Terran had a feeling that his body worked a bit differently than most people, and this talk confirmed it. While he undoubtedly felt mentally tired after exercise, his muscles did not suffer fatigue. What did this mean? This meant he did not have to decrease the weight as he bulldozed his way through extensive sets, nor did his sword swing slow after repetition. But, of course, this was all thanks to his blessing, which kept his body's pH levels stable and fused his damaged muscle fibers together as soon as they tore.
Before he knew it, the time was already 11 at night. "Damn wasn't it just 4? I didn't think I'd be able to fill in all this time but now it's over. I could stay up, but I really shouldn't."
With that, Terran left the gym and headed in the direction of his dorm. He was enjoying his walk: the air was crisp and fresh, crickets played pleasant tunes, and lights from the surrounding buildings filled the gardens with a wide array of colors. He was nearing his dorm building when something caught his eye. A sword was lying in the middle of the path. But not just any sword, it was a familiar katana, partially drawn out of its sheath.
"Is that Kenny's katana? Did he drop it?"
Terran bent down to pick up the sword as any decent person would, planning to bring it back to Ken. That was when he noticed it. It was small but unmistakable. It was a drop of blood, so fresh that it had not even begun to coagulate. Now alert, Terran decided to take a closer look at his surroundings.
"Oh, what's this?"
A few more drops of blood led into the small thicket of trees and bushes. Perhaps if the blood had time to dry, it would have eluded Terran's sight. Luckily, the lights of the nearby buildings had reflected off it, making it pop out at the right angle.
"Interesting." Terran thought, "Maybe I can end this day of hard work with a bit of fun." The memories from his trial flooded back in as he felt giddy just imagining the rush from all his fights.
Terran didn't have to walk far when something happened. It was like someone flipped a switch. Out of nowhere, the sounds of crickets disappeared, replaced by loud shouts. Yet that was not all, the bushes blocked his view, but Terran could just make out the shape of four people standing in a small clearing ahead.
A bit confused, Terran wanted to test something. He took a step back, and the voices and people disappeared, replaced by the return of crickets.
"Oh, how curious! It appears there's some sort of barrier here."
Terran stuck his head back into the barrier without hesitation, hoping to eavesdrop.
"Ken buddy, your daddy is very disappointed in you. He's sad to know that after turning out to be such a failure, you even openly betray your family, and refuse to repay them. Besides, he's not even asking for much. You know those resources are wasted on you anyway, so why don't you just hand them over."
"How about you go tell that old man to shove them up his hairy ass!" Ken yelled as he spat a wad of saliva into the assailant's face.
Immediately, the skin on the man's face started to sizzle under the spit.
Unfortunately, Ken's sweet words were followed by a blood-curdling scream from his own mouth.
The man simply wiped off the sizzling saliva before placing his hand on Ken's cheek. Blood spilled as several bones jutted out of Ken's skin without warning. It was a pitiful sight, but Terran focused more on the bones than Ken's condition. While they were indeed sticking out at weird angles, they weren't broken bones. Instead, they appeared to be abnormal bone growths that had pierced through the skin.
"Come on buddy, read the room! Please, why do you have to make this so hard!"
While the blessed man used sweet words, his tone was the exact opposite, brimming with malice and scorn.
"Piss off!" Another pain-filled scream filled the air.
At this point, Terran was about to leave, he had no hero complex, and Kenny had made it clear that he didn't want to be friends. Moreover, this seemed to be a family matter. How insensitive would it be to get involved with his personal business?
Yet, before he could move, Terran paused. His eyes could not leave the odd bone growths covering Kenny's body.
"Wait. No-no-no, on second thought, these kind gentlemen have gone out of the way to set up a device to hide their screams. How could I be so rude to reject the blessings they are trying to offer me?"
Instead of leaving, Terran stayed in place and further observed the situation. Meanwhile, a plan was slowly beginning to form in his mind.
Three boys, each standing over six feet tall, towered around a kneeling Ken. None of them wore a blessed id around their neck, indicating they had at least one brain cell.
"Doesn't this cunt normally carry around a sword? Where is it? I want to give him a few good cuts with his own blade."
One of the assailants then nervously put his hand on the back of his neck. "Oh, he had it on him before. Ha-ha, I think he must have dropped it when I was capturing him."
"You retard! You weren't supposed to leave behind evidence! Why do you think we were given such an expensive barrier item? Go retrieve it and bring it back here! Now!"
In anger, the man shouting his command slammed his fist into a nearby tree. This simple action caused a shower of leaves as a noticeable dent was left, imprinted in the wood.
The man who admitted to losing the sword quickly ran out of the barrier. Clearly a little scared of his comrade's sharp words and threatening actions.
At that point, Terran had already moved out of the man's path. He hadn't needed to be mindful of his sound as the barrier seemed to work both ways.
With two men remaining, the grilling continued.
"Come on, hand them over! Where is your share of the pills!"
Ken was panting heavily, but he mustered through the pain and spat out, "I already used them!"
"Tch, You greedy bastard! How dare you disobey your father, wasting such precious resources when your brother needs them more!"
At that moment, the boy that had caused the bone growths before stepped forward and placed his hand on Ken. The next sight was especially gruesome. Ken's hands trembled as bones grew out of his fingertips and slowly wedged their way under his nails. Blood spilled out as each nail fell off one by one.
Ken started to scream but soon passed out from the pain.
"Why is he so stubborn, how hard is it to follow orders!"
However, this question was never answered as the two boys were soon interrupted.