As instructed, he went straight to the bathroom and took a bath. He threw away his old, tattered clothes.
He also felt relieved after soaking his body in the cold water for over ten minutes.
The undergarment was white. While the outer garment was a black coat. It was buttoned up to his neck. The pants were black and so were the shoes.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at his own reflection without emotion.
He knew what was happening to him. Very clearly.
He was slowly being consumed by this black cultivation stone. But if what the giant wolf told him was true, that this was the only way for him to become strong, he would do it.
He couldn't believe he was still alive and still aware of what he was doing. He was grateful that he could still control his own body and mind despite the two cultivation stones he had consumed.
If he had to become a monster again just to save his clan, he would do it the right way. He had to force himself.
He had once escaped death from that precipice.
He was no longer afraid to fight it again.
Heji picked up Emrys, so the young man returned to his cheerful self and joined the man.
They passed many other students on their way to the noisy and brightly lit castle, a few minutes' walk from the dormitory.
"This is the Dining Hall Castle. This is where all the students and teachers of the institution eat. It has two floors and except for the Guild Leaders and noble people, no student can go up to the second floor. If you break that rule, you will be punished."
Heji explained to the young man as they entered.
"Really? What kind of punishment?" Emrys asked.
"You'll be expelled by your Guild for three months. At that time, you won't be able to ask for help from anyone, and I assure you that it will be a hellish experience for you if that happens."
"Why?" Emrys asked in confusion. They were currently walking between long tables where many people were already sitting.
Heji turned to the young man and spoke softly while his eyes darted around. "Inside the institution, students here can't be without Guilds. It's not forced--it's just that students really need Guilds. If you're not part of the four Guilds of the institution? You won't last two days here. There are only two reasons, you'll run away, or you'll die."
Emrys was secretly surprised by what he heard. But instead of being afraid or anxious, his heart chose to be excited about what would happen in the next few moments.
He and Heji sat down at an empty table.
The man kept looking around as if he was restless, so Emrys couldn't miss it and spoke. "I'm sure you're bored with me. I'm okay here alone, maybe your friends need you."
Heji turned to the young man and was stunned before smiling. "I'm fine. Besides, Mr. Desmond and Mr. Clover told me to watch over you until tonight is over. All newcomers like you have student helpers like me to support you."
"Is that so. You do as you please."
"I'm just following orders. Don't be angry, but you don't have any friends in this place, Valestron. I'm sorry if I'm being blunt about that." Heji said seriously.
Emrys nodded in response, still with a smile on his lips. "I'll keep that in mind, Brother Heji."
Before long, Heji waved at a food server to bring it to their table.
There was a lot of food on their table, so the young man's eyes lit up at the delicious smell. "Can I eat this?"
"Go ahead, fill your stomach. If it's not enough, just tell me right away, the food here never runs out." Heji said with a smile before leaning back in his chair and sipping the red wine he was holding.
At another table, not far from them, were the three friends Sai, Loan, and Eris.
They were also wearing uniforms and looked presentable.
Loan was restless, putting down his cutlery, which made a noise on his plate. He sighed and leaned back.
"What's wrong with you?" Sai asked, not even bothering to take his attention away from cutting the meat on her plate with a knife.
Because of this, Loan stared at his friend and reached for the glass of water, emptied it before he decided to speak again. "Are you sure Emrys won't tell on us about what we did to him?" he was clearly nervous, his voice trembling as he glanced in Emrys' direction, whose mouth was full of food.
"I know you're nervous, Loan. But I want you to calm down first. I want to comfort myself with my food, you know I'm the first to actually taste food." Said the calm Sai before he took a bite of the cut meat and chewed it carefully.
Loan bowed his head. "What if he tells on us? We're sure to be kicked out of this school even before we start."
"Besides, what I really wonder is how he survived after what happened to him." Eris chimed in, turning to Sai.
He took a drink of water and turned back to Eris. "I'm sure he was just lucky to survive. Maybe there was water under the cliff he fell from."
"Impossible. There must be another reason besides that." Loan said.
So he received a cold stare from Sai. "Do you want me to claim responsibility for his survival, Loan? Because if so, I won't deny it. What I don't like is when you don't tell me the problem directly."
Loan swallowed. He looked down at Sai's hand, which was now tightly gripping a knife.
"That's enough. We shouldn't be arguing about that anymore. Let's just talk to him later. Make sure he doesn't sing about what happened." Eris intervened, calming the tension between the two with his calm voice.
Loan looked at his with a furrowed brow. "What if he doesn't agree? What are we going to do?"
Sai stabbed the remaining meat with his knife. Before looking at Loan again and speaking. "What else? We'll end his life again and this time, we'll make sure his head is separated from his body before we leave his corpse. Is that okay with you, Loan?"
At the same time, three student helpers approached them.
"Are you okay here?" One asked, with his hands in his pockets, while the other held a glass of wine.
Sai smiled angelically at them. "We're fine. You don't have to worry."