As soft winds guided the clouds around the serene nightsky, the full moon shone brightly to illuminate the darkness.
Hiding from that behind the rustling of leaves was Veer, crouching and licking his dry lips in anticipation as his mind calculated his current situation.
Before him was a small building made beside the tall boundary walls of the Dormitories. It was right beside the giant metal gate that Veer had passed through in the morning to get inside the Dormitories.
Sighing, Veer thought, 'I hope that old man isn't some old expert or something.'
He slowly advanced towards the house, keeping his breathing low and steady, with his steps making little to no noise. After he got closer to the building, he stopped seeing a familiar face.
A chill ran through his spine as the thought of running appeared in his head, but he soon calmed down. He cursed, 'Damn! Old man!'
The old guard of the entrance gate had actually slept on his chair, and because his eyes were small, Veer thought he was awake.
However, Veer didn't act as he thought of something. A smile appeared on his face as he asked, 'Show his status!'
[Name - Niel ---]
[Age - -8---]
[Stage - --------]
[Race - Human]
There was nothing else, and even though the status didn't say much, Veer understood one thing clearly. The old man was strong, definitely strong.
'But I also can't rule out the possibility that he's not. I haven't really tested my status checking thing on a true mage or warrior.' Veer was in a dilemma.
However, he needed to do the work he came here to do, so he had to take risks. Taking a small pebble from his sides, he flicked it towards the metal gate.
A clanging echoed in the dead night, but the old Niel didn't wake up. As Veer was paying close attention to him, he noticed how Niel didn't even flinch, which showed he really was sleeping.
'Let's just hope he isn't pretending,' Veer prayed to all the false and true Gods and slowly went towards the backyard of the watch house.
All the way, he didn't raise his body and crawled, trying his best not to make much noise. Finally reaching there, he found a lush garden filled with greenery that shone in the moonlight.
There were all types of vegetation, from simple grass to vibrant flowers. But knowing that he was taking a risk coming here, Veer didn't dwell to admire the beauty of the garden.
His gaze shifted around as he tried to find the one thing he took so much risk for.
''There!''
At one corner of the garden, he found a strange dark red grass growing. It wasn't longer than the size of a finger and emitted an odd smell.
Putting his fingers on his nose, Veer carefully and gently cut a total of ten stalks of that grass and put it in a beaker he brought with him.
After the work was done, he didn't stay there any longer and went back to check the old man, as he was in the way.
'Phew! He's still sleeping,' Veer wiped the sweat from his forehead and began walking towards the Dormitories.
On the other hand, Old Niel's beady eyes fluttered open as they turned to look at Veer's direction. "What an unusual brat! He even paid attention to minor details like my eyes."
He closed his eyes and muttered, "Show me what you are going to do with those useless Red Horn Grass."
After running for some time, Veer stopped and looked around. Finding no one, he changed his direction and began to run towards the eastern wall of the dormitories.
It didn't take long for him to reach there as the dormitories were small. Stopping before the towering walls, which made him look very small, he took out his phone and earbuds.
Putting earbuds in his ears, he asked, "Are you ready?"
[Yeah, I've been waiting here for like an hour already, you know.]
A rather annoyed voice sounded from the other side, as a warm smile appeared on his face. Concealing it quickly, he said to Elara, "I'm throwing the beaker, make sure you catch it."
[Alright!]
Veer took out the glass beaker filled with ten stalks of red-coloured grass. He then aimed towards the wall and threw it, controlling the strength behind it.
His calculations were correct as the beaker went over the wall and disappeared.
[Got it! Now tell me what to do? Also, what's this grass?]
"It's the Red Horn Grass," Veer sat down on the soft grass and said, looking in the darkness. "Use your flames to burn it into a powder. But remember to stop when it turns blue."
[...what? Wait! Never mind, I'll do it. But I can't guarantee success in all of them!]
"It's fine! I need a total of five," Veer said. "You can try with the rest!"
[Give me a few minutes then.]
Veer hummed and closed his eyes, laying on the grass field as he looked at the full moon hung in the sky.
'I still can't believe this world has a full moon all year around,' Veer sighed. 'But then again, many things don't make sense in this world. Is this a planet or some sort of dimension?'
These questions had always bothered Veer, and he had tried to find the answers. Unfortunately, he failed as either the information wasn't there, or it was just hidden away.
As he wasted his time thinking of useless things, Elara's voice sounded from his earpiece.
[It's done! And guess what? Your babe is a genius so I managed to get eight stalks correctly. Though, seven of them are dark blue-coloured as you requested and the eighth has turned into bright red colour.]
"Ho? That's even better," Veer exclaimed. "That's something I didn't think you would be able to do so I didn't ask. But damn, you're a genius indeed."
[Hmph! Praise me more, mortal!]
"Flowery words are nothing, your highness," Veer bowed respectfully before the wall. "How about I pay you with my body?"
[Tsk! Giving my things to myself as a reward? Aren't you a scammer!]
"I would rather call myself a thief!" Veer smiled.
[How do?]
"I did steal your heart," Veer really wanted to see what expression Elara was making, unfortunately the wall was in between.
[....only stupid people will fall for your tricks, young man!]
"Thanks for being stupid then!"
[Haha, damn! I really love you. Don't say more otherwise I would jump over this wall and forget where we are!]
Veer also laughed, enjoying his time with his childhood sweetheart.