As Wayne explains his reason for coming to Grava Academy unknown stops him to ask a question.
"Wait, you live in the same cave as the Beast King?"
Yeah, of course, he's my father."
Unknown jumps up out of his seat.
"What!!!"
After Unknown's outburst, everyone on the train started looking at him awkwardly.
Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to startle anyone."
Unknown sits back down in his seat in embarrassment.
"Ok, Wayne, please continue your story."
"Haha, ok, I will. Where was I? Oh right, my father, aka the beast king, screamed from his cave."
***
Wayne goes back to reminiscing about his path to Grava Academy.
The young Wayne has returned to his home at the top of the Kirata mountain, and from the cave, a deep voice yelled.
"Boy!!! You think you can just go and mess with the villagers every day and waltz in here like it's nothing!"
The young Wayne and Lex flinch from the scream.
"Oh pops I have no idea what you are referring to, but I'm glad you're in good health."
Boy, don't joke around with me or I will give you hell!"
"Hahaha, come on now, pops, don't joke around."
As Wayne laughs, he looks up and sees a muscular 13-foot dog-like beast with spikes for fur and long, sharp talons. He has long, sharp teeth and many scars on his face. This beast's name is Kirata, the one and only beast king of Moro.
About four years After the creation of the four zones, war broke out between three of the four zones: Grava, Snachro, and Mud, but the Moro zone was left out of the war because they had no other choice but to concede to the other three zones. The reason the Moro zone gave up the fight wasn't that they were too weak but because of the imbalance. Back then, beasts and humans didn't get along; it went so far that humans and beasts killed each other mercilessly. Since beasts only live in the Moro zone, the other zones didn't have this problem, so with no other choice, they conceded to the Grava zone.
This problem was something that needed to be taken care of, which is when Kirata stepped in. Fourteen years after the four zones were created, Kirata was born. From birth, he was special since he was the only beast with the ability to speak and came out of the womb at 8 feet. The very second he realized how bad the relationships between Humans and beasts are, he sprang into action. The beast king's power is so great that he can destroy nations in seconds. He used this power to force peace between beasts and humans, and even though there are a few places in the Moro zone with killer beasts, most of the zone is now peaceful thanks to Kirata. Kirata rules the Moro zone in a way that benefits both humans and beasts alike, making him very loved in the Moro zone.
Currently, Kirata may look like he's as beastly as he once was, but internally he has grown old and now spends most of his time in his huge cave at Kirata Mountain, waiting for something to fix.
Kirata walks up to the young Wayne as he does Lex quickly shrinks down to the size of an atom to get away. Before Lex could go anywhere, Kirata disappeared and reappeared behind Wayne. He flicks the tiny Lex back to its normal size and onto the ground.
"You're not going anywhere, Lex; I need you here too."
Hey, hey, Pops, what seems to be the problem? You seem tense. Maybe I should pet you so you won't be so cranky."
Kirata stands up on two feet and balls up his fist. His fist becomes surrounded by blue lighting, and he lightly slams his fist onto the back of Wayne's head.
"Owwww, pops, what the hell that hurt!!!"
See, look at you; you're still weak! I barely touched you, and you're rolling around on the ground screaming in pain like a bitch."
But, Pops, I have no OGI. How do you expect me to get up to a level where I can take an attack from you? It doesn't matter how lightly you hit me; I can't handle something that strong."
"I want to spread the beast kingdom so far that you'll see a beast everywhere you look. That is what you told me, right? What effort have you made towards that goal? I'm sure pranking villagers isn't a good way to reach your goal."
Um, well, I tried..."
"Nothing; that is all I've seen ever since you told me that dream."
As those harsh but needed words came from Kirata, he looked to the ground with a face of conflict.
But, pops, I have no idea how to achieve my dream."
"Then why don't you do as I say and go to Grava Academy?"
"But I'm not an OGI user; I have no right to go to school with them."
"But this, and I can't do it—that's all I ever hear from you. How about you stop making so many excuses and go and try?"
Wait, you expect me to just leave you here in the Moro zone and go all the way to Grava to attend an academy I'm not even supposed to be a part of?"
Kirata looks at Wayne with a face of disappointment.
"I see your attachment to me has become so strong that you refuse to get too far away from me, right?"
"Haha, I see you caught me, but pops, you have to understand you are growing in age; you can't even move as fast as back in your prime; someone has to stay with you."
Kirata frowns at him as he speaks.
"Arcta, come out here!"
A 5'2 blue penguin-like creature with sharp flippers, long sharp talons, and a beard that goes around his neck comes out of the cave.
"kakakaka"
"I have arcta right here, and despite what you might think, I can protect myself fine. I do not need you to protect me."
"But pops—"
Before Wayne could finish his sentence, Kirata grabbed him and threw him off the mountain.
"Ahhhh"
Lex, hurry up and go catch him before he splatters on the ground."
Listening to Kirata's orders, Lex grows his wings and quickly flies down to the side of the mountain to catch Wayne as he falls. Lex catches Wayne and flies him down to the ground. Wayne looks back up to the top of the mountain and sees Kirata standing.
Wayne, my foolish boy! You will leave this village and discover your path elsewhere, and to make sure you do, you cannot come back till you become not just a man but a man with real ambition!"
Wayne starts to tear up as the beast he sees as a father harshly speaks to him.
"But pops, please, I can't do this without you!"
Kirata turns away and walks back to his cave.
At the bottom of the mountain, Wayne, with a face of sadness, says:
"Come on, Lex, I know Pops isn't going to change his mind."
Lex looks at Wayne with a face of worry as he walks away from the mountain in sadness.
"Grrrr"
No, it's fine, Lex. I guess I'll go become a man with ambition, but how?"
"Grrrr"
"Come on now, Lex, you know I can't get into a school made for OGI users; it's impossible."
Lex used his wings to fly up and headbutt Wayne.
"Oh, Lex, why does everyone keep hitting me?"
"Gaaarrrr"
Hahahaha, yeah, you're right, Lex, let's go try."
"Grrr"
Lex hops onto Wayne's shoulders and rubs his cheek against his face.
"Lex I'm glad you're coming with me since you are my greatest ally. Ok, first things first, let's train."
Wayne left his home to train for the Grava Academy entrance exam. Using his friendships with many beasts across the Moro zone, he found ways to fight on par with OGI users. OGI users are really powerful, but they do have a weakness. The mixture of a few select beast's bloods can create a substance that can tear through the skin of any OGI user. All beasts have different properties in their blood, and if you mix certain beast blood, it becomes a substance that first weakens the skin of the OGI user and then melts through. Getting hit by that substance is like getting your skin melted.
Wayne used this substance to create his weapons, but even with these weapons, he needed a way to defend himself. Wayne did his research and left the Moro zone to go to the Grava zone. When he arrived, he went to the Grava mines and collected a bunch of adaptive ore—the same ore Selena used for her presentation—to use for his defense.
"I'll use this ore to block any attacks I need to defend against."
After getting everything he needed, Wayne and Lex trained for months on their fighting style. Then, on the day of the exam, they entered the Grava Academy entrance exam in group six. Wayne used his natural battle instincts and the weapons at his disposal to dominate the group six battle royale. He was able to get into class one over many level one OGI users and officially became the first level zero to enter Grava Academy. Wayne has built up his ambition over the past three years and is now ready to face his father again.
***
With Wayne now finished explaining why he joined Grava Academy, Unknown looks at him in awe.
"Wow, I see why you would put yourself through joining this academy; you want to earn your father's respect."
Yeah, and now his birthday is coming up, and I think it's time to show how much I've grown."
"I believe in you, Wayne. I'm sure he'll accept you back."
Wayne gives Unknown a warm but conflicted smile.
"I hope you are right."
Out of nowhere, Kage wakes up.
"what's....going on."
"You missed a lot, Kage."
The intercom in the train turns on, and the train conductor starts speaking.
"Hello passengers, We will arrive in the Moro zone in 3 minutes. Prepare for impact."
Chapter 19 end