"He escaped". Mr. Patrick frowned.
Of the astral travelers that came, only 1, the strongest left alive.
Silence reigned for a few seconds as the commotion finally came to an end, Ramon could still feel his blood burning hot and his heart beating against his chest, still filled with adrenaline, then…
Thud!
The middle-aged merchant, the owner of the stall that was attacked fell on his knees the next moment with snort running down his nose.
On his knees, he grabbed the little boy's leg, hugging him tightly.
"T-thank you my son!"
"Thank you my boy!"
"You saved my life! I can never forget it".
"Nothing I have will be able to repay this debt, only the invincible one who watches over us all will be able to repay you my son".
Hearing this, Ramon could not help but look at the merchant's face.
Looking at him, he remembered the moment when this foolish and selfish merchant pushed his guard over, making him stumble and losing his life meaninglessly. He caused the death of his guard.
Perhaps, if the guard had stood his ground, he would have survived long enough for him and Shaggy to arrive, making it a 2 vs 7 which was a better odd.
Looking at the merchant, he also remembered that moment.
'Please protect me, I'll pay you massively!'
Ramon was not big-brained enough to tell how hypocritical the merchant was at this moment with his current words but it just rubbed him the wrong way for some reason. He felt irritated, even more so by the blood lying about.
Ramon looked at Shaggy the next moment who brought the good that he was supposed to deliver from his storage ring, it was a magic crystal.
"Here, your good, it is delivered". Ramon threw it at the merchant.
Without waiting for the merchant's reply, Ramon turned to leave.
He left feeling complicated and angry.
As Shaggy went after the small 10-year-old boy, a serious-faced Mr. Patrick looked at the merchant once before using a Conjuring crystal to conjure a communication parrot. He spoke to the parrot the next moment.
"Emergency in Coca Market, 9 bodies, 1 crippled astral traveler".
"Send a cleaning squad".
The communication parrot disappeared as Mr. Patrick kept the crystal.
With that, he also left Coca Market.
…
After the multiple breakthroughs that happened last night in the Academy, the day was fairly uneventful in Centerpoint Astral Academy until 3 in the afternoon.
After being overtaken by 3 of the 4 prodigies that he was recognized alongside as the Specialists of this academic batch, Aegon felt under pressure to perform. This was why he went into closed-door seclusion since morning.
He felt that his reputation was on the line and he needed to train hard, most especially when he was the oldest among the 4 Specialists.
Forfeiting all his classes, he locked himself in, cultivating.
Hours later, his efforts bore fruit.
Like the others, after so many months, Aegon was already close to the tipping point of his tier breakthrough, what held him back previously was effort but with the night motivation as fuel, in the afternoon, he finally broke the dam.
The news spread like wildfire among the freshers.
Aegon the Specialist finally became a mid-tier Legionnaire Stage Mage.
It was an hour after his breakthrough as Aegon basked in the sense of achievement that Ramon and his escort returned to Centerpoint Astral Academy.
Returning to the building of the academy mission hall located towards the small Northern gate, Ramon finally submitted his evidence to show that he completed his delivery mission successfully.
The young man at the counter there looked at him. "Give a summary of how the mission went and if you had any difficulties".
Silence.
"Hey". He called.
"Hey!" He waved.
Ramon finally snapped awake. "Huh?"
"Hmmm, if you're sleepy, you better go rest and stop taking on missions rampantly, if you don't look after your health how do you expect to get stronger?"
The young man waved that aside. "Anyways, I need a summary of how your mission went and if you had any difficulties".
"Oh," Ramon finally reacted.
By the time he was done explaining, the young man finally understood why he looked so forlorn. He felt pity for him but didn't know how to console him.
After getting his reward, Ramon turned to leave with Shaggy beside him.
Shaggy refused to leave him yet.
"Hey, are you ok?" Shaggy asked.
Ramon did not answer.
His mind was chaotic. 'Was his death justified?'
'What did that astral warrior do to deserve such a meaningless death?'
'Is life so meaningless to them?'
'How can they kill so casually without reason?'
Leaving the counter where they were attended to, they went through a corridor exit and just as they got to the door, they heard a familiar voice.
"Stop trying to justify death". Mr. Patrick casually had his hands on his pockets.
Ramon looked up at the familiar face, surprised. "Did you read my mind?"
"No, but I know that look on your face, I've seen it a thousand times". Mr. Patrick walked as he led the way outside the mission hall.
He continued speaking. "Never try to rationalize the motivation and thought processes of astral travelers to do what they do".
"They can kill without reason, that's why they're called astral travelers".
Mr. Patrick's face turned strict as he turned to face the boy the next moment. "You stayed your sword, why?"
"Think…, what if I was not there?"
"What if Shaggy was not there with you?"
"What if you had friends that you needed to protect?"
"What if it was your family that you had to protect?"
"What if it was your mom?"
Ramon glared at Mr. Patrick who didn't react to it.
"So, your mom is your weak point, huh? Try to think if your mom was the merchant. Would you miss your opportunity to kill your opponent and endanger your mom just because you feel you can't take a life without reason?"
"Stupid!" Mr. Patrick growled.
Shaggy flinched at the HOD's raised voice as he tried to intervene. "Mr. Patrick, he's still a boy…"
"Shut up!" Mr. Patrick snapped.
He glared at Ramon. "You're an astral traveler and you're not too small to learn, you're not too small to kill either".
"This is the astral world!"
"Never forget that".
Mr. Patrick removed one hand from his pocket and grabbed Ramon by the ear. "He was your enemy, that should be more than enough reason to kill".
"In the astral world, anyone that is not your ally is your enemy".
"Kill!"
"If you don't kill, you'll be killed".
"That's the law of the astral world".
"If you don't kill, you'll lose allies".
"If you don't kill, you'll endanger your friends and loved ones".
"If you don't kill, you'll endanger your family, your mom".
Mr. Patrick looked ahead. "Bless his soul but stop trying to justify his death," He looked at the boy. "You know who I mean".
"In the astral world, deaths are not justified".
"He died because he was weak".
"If you don't want to die a meaningless death like him, get stronger".
"There's no place for the weak in a world of astral travelers".
"That is all I have to tell you," He took a step to leave but paused. "Oh! And about what you saw, ahem…, never speak about it to anyone".
Ramon was exhausted, both mentally and physically, even more so after the words of Mr. Patrick but hearing that he could not help but chuckle.
He looked up at the HOD. "That green-haired man, he said something about the Fate Destroying Emperor".
"What is the Fate Society?"
Mr. Patrick frowned on hearing that; he took a deep breath. "It's the biggest terrorist organization in the world".
"They claim to be followers of the Fate Destroying Emperor".
"They claim the…," He paused and looked at Ramon. "Have you watched the crystal recording of the Fate Destroying Emperor's death?"
Ramon nodded.
"Then there's no use hiding it from you".
"During his death, the Fate Destroying Emperor said a lot of things".
"He said, who cares about peace in a world of astral travelers?"
"He said, this is a world of violence".
"That is the creed of the Fate Society, to spread violence without reason or motivation across the world".
"They serve and worship violence".
"They are the worst form of astral travelers".
Mr. Patrick stared intently at Ramon. "Don't be like them".
"Always remember, astral travelers are the enemies of the world".
"Before I forget, you have a class, right?"
Ramon determined the time. "Yes, in less than 10 minutes. It's SWD 103, Basics of sword combat".
"Good, go attend it".
"Yes, thank you…," Ramon hesitated before he added. "Fat man".
Mr. Patrick glared at him but Ramon already scurried away.
As he left, he muttered to himself. "Not all astral travelers are like them".
"Joel is not like them".
Mr. Patrick heard it. "…"