During the fight, the battalion was besieging a small town and Edison was helping to fend them off. It also happened that Ibnor was one of the town's refugees on his way to join the army. As glorious as the battle was, killing Battle Emperor as a Battle King is not an easy task and Edison was heavily injured and died soon after.
However, the feat was like a spark that ignited all of Pyrion's fighting spirit. He showed them that nothing is impossible. Thus, he was praised as one of the greatest heroes of all time, standing on the same level as the High Guardian.
"No wonder he was so strong, he is a student of Avalon," thought Ibnor. "This time, I won't let him die."
He rushed to intercept a claw meant for Edison and parried the Clawed Savage's swipe. As his strength was lower than the Clawed Savage's, he was knocked back, right beside Edison. The Clawed Savage roared, and it seems like it was angered by the interruptions. Edison was surprised. He didn't expect someone to help him. He aimed his arrow and in a split second, released two arrows in succession.
The arrows struck the Clawed Savage and its attention is back to Edison. Taking the opportunity, Ibnor lunges towards the Clawed Savage and strikes the back of its head. That blow staggered the Clawed Savage and for a brief period, it also scattered his focus. While the Clawed Savage is stunned, Ibnor starts to weave in and out, circling around the Clawed Savage while delivering a series of slashes.
Soon, the Clawed Savage was enraged, and attempted to swipe its claw at Ibnor but unable to attack due to the constant harassment from Edison's arrows. On its desperate attempt to free itself from the barrage of attacks, it suddenly spins its body and its arms flail like a chained mace. Ibnor took the brunt of the attack and was sent flying like a kite with broken strings. He crashed to the ground and blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. The Clawed Savage took the opportunity to charge at Edison.
Like a rabbit, Edison manoeuvred evasively and made use of the environment. Just as he was about to shoot another arrow, he was surprised to see the Clawed Savage jump and roll itself towards him. He was forced to evade and nimbly rolled to the side. The Clawed Savage agilely bounces off a tree and proceeds to attempt a body press on Edison.
As the Clawed Savage falls, Ibnor intercepts with a kick charged with his full strength, to the side of the Clawed Savage's head, changing its trajectory. It landed with a heavy thump next to Edison. Jumping backwards with a few flips, he distanced himself from the Clawed Savage further and saw Ibnor panting on the ground.
He ready his arrow and pulls the bow into a full moon shape and releases the arrow. He was aiming at the Clawed Savage's left leg with the intent to hamper its movement. The arrow was so fast that only a trail of a shadow could be seen. The arrow accurately pierces the Clawed Savage's leg and pins it on the ground.
Ibnor rushes in, leaps into the air and lands on the Clawed Savage's back before striking at the back of its head, stunning it again. Jumping off the body, he punched the arrow that was sticking on the Clawed Savage's right shoulder, driving it all the way down. The arrow pierced deep, heavily injuring its arms and hampering its movement.
He then proceeds to stomp the arm out of its socket to disable the Clawed Savage from using its right arm, with Edison's arrows deflecting all the attacking attempts it was trying to make with its left. Edison readied another arrow and this time took his time to charge his Mana into his arrow before releasing it. The arrow flew like a bullet before piercing right between the eyes of the Silver Badger King, effectively ending its life.
On an edge of a clearing, two young men are panting, breathing heavily. Edison is leaning against a tree trying to gather his breath. His arms trembled as the result of overexerting his muscles and Mana. Ibnor slumped on the ground feeling exhausted. Even though he only had a minor injury, the body blow earlier still took a toll on him. The two spend some time silently processing the previous event ignoring each other. After a while, Edison turns to Ibnor.
"Thanks..." he said.
"No need," Ibnor replied. "It was just me being a busybody. You could handle it even if you're alone." Edison remained silent.
"I think we better move. The commotion is bound to attract other Spirit Beasts or people," said Ibnor.
Edison agreed and both of them hurriedly left the place. With the two working together, they have no problem traversing the forest. Edison's encounter with the Clawed Savage earlier can be considered as bad luck because coincidently, the Clawed Savage decided to expand its territory and it happened to see Edison who is moving through the forest. It took his appearance as a challenge to him and fights ensued.
Soon, the forest becomes thinner and there is a great wall stretching to the left and right. There is also a large door with Avalon Academy's insignia on the wall. In front of the door, there is a group of people, some with familiar faces, one of them is Instructor Leslie. Both Ibnor and Edison went towards them.
"Congratulations, you passed the entrance test. Have a rest while waiting for the others," said Instructor Leslie.
There was one hour left before sundown, thus the remaining time until the end of the entrance test. In the end, out of 90 only 35 including Ibnor and Edison, managed to pass the test. Instructor Leslie leads them into the big door after instructing the rest of the instructors to check on the failed candidates. She took a crystal card and extended her hand in front of the door. The crystal card hovers from her palm and flies into the big door. Similar to the gate in the Sacred Sanctuary, a ripple can be seen on the big door's surface and space begins to distort. The big door itself turned semi transparent, showing the inside of the wall.
"Lets go inside," she said and immediately walked through the big door followed by the rest.
Upon entering the big door, they arrived in what looked like a town. There are marketplace, shops and restaurants inside. It is very lively with some people relaxing in the garden, some dine with friends and some went shopping. Instructor Leslie smiles seeing the reaction of the candidates and leads them through the place to a majestic building. In front of the building there is a huge arch with the words 'Avalon Academy' carved on it. Standing in front of the arch , she turned to the candidates.
"Welcome to Avalon Academy. Congratulations for passing the entrance test. You should be proud because by passing the entrance test, you have proven that you are the best from the best. From today onwards, you are a student of Avalon Academy. You must be wondering about a lot of things. I will brief you on the Academy rules and regulations and it will surely answer some of your questions.
First of all, your identity from outside doesn't mean anything here. In Avalon Academy, everyone is equal, unless proven so. So, work hard, forge your identity and make your name known. Second, the academy has its own independent economy. Money from outside such as credits and golds have no value here. There is only one currency here, which is Avalon Point. In fact, the points will be your greatest concern during your stay here. Everything from food, accommodations, materials and even fees require Avalon Points.
Trading, renting a training facility, private consultations, buying a new meditation technique or even eating at the cafeteria requires points. That resulted in Avalon's independent economy that I spoke about earlier, thus the existence of the town you see earlier. Every shop, stalls or organizations are being run by either the academy or the students. Points can be obtained through contributions to the academy such as, taking missions, new discoveries or even taking a job from the academy.
The academy encourages freedom thus you are free to do anything you wish during your stay. Only the first year will be provided with dormitories. Apart from that, we won't interfere with where you want to live or who you want to live with. After all, it's your points. The classes will be only in the morning so you are free to do your own things for the rest of the day. Manage your time well because, if you run out of points during your second year, you have no other options except to drop out of the academy.
The duration for you to study in the academy is only 5 years and after that, if your cultivation reaches a certain level, you can apply to be one of the instructors. Every year, at the end of the semester, there will be a test. There are only three results from the test. First, you pass and continue your study for another year. Second, you failed the test and will be kicked out from the academy and third, you'll die during the test.
As much as we encourage freedom and you are free to do as you wish, there is one absolute rule you can never break. That is, killing your fellow students is strictly forbidden. If you break this rule, you will have to pay with your life and your lineage will be forever banned from entering Avalon Academy.
However, if there is an irreconcilable dispute, you can apply a life death duel in the arena. Both parties must give their consent and sign a life death duel agreement. Anyone who breaches the agreement, will also have to pay with their life. That's it for today. Oh, the points will be sent through your SD and those who don't own any, will be provided one for free. I will see you around and enjoy your stay at the academy."
Afterwards, the candidates, now the new students, are being led to the dormitories located on both left and right of the majestic building. Each room can accommodate two people and Ibnor invited Edison to share a room since they are familiar with each other and he wanted to build a good relationship with the previous legend. Inside the dorm, everything was provided and ready to use. It looks more like a hotel room than a dormitory.
As they are sorting out their stuff, Ibnor's SD vibrates. He pulled out his SD and saw a text from his elder brother, Khaleed.
[Congrats on entering Avalon, little brother. I'm at the entrance of your dorm.]
"Edison, my brother is outside, waiting for me. You wanna get out and look around?" asked Ibnor.
"Sure." Edison gave a short reply.
Both of them went out and met Khaleed. He is wearing his usual white suit but this time he left the jacket unbuttoned. His sword which tucked neatly in a white scabbard adorned with silver pattern is hanging loosely on his waist.
"Glad you could make it. This is..." he said, gesturing to Edison.
"Edison, meet my brother, Khaleed." said Ibnor introducing both. Khaleed extends his hand and Edison shakes it firmly.
"Nice to meet you," said Edison.
"Likewise. Now, let me show you around," replied Khaleed. He proceeds to bring them around the campus, where he shows them the most likely place they will be using a lot in the near future. First he brings them to the Meditation Room, explaining the functions and even how to use them. Afterwards, he showed them the Training Facility Center which has an advanced training room, featuring functions such as simulations and gravity setting.
They moved on to the Avalon Trading Center where it allows students to sell, buy or even auction items. Almost everything is available in the trading center, from materials, consumables like food and potions, weapons and armor. He also told them that their SD is now linked to the academy framework and they can access the database to see any available missions.
They can also use the function such as item purchasing and facility booking through their SD. After their little tour, Khaleed brought them to the town area where he chose a restaurant for them to have their dinner. After ordering their food, Khaleed talks a bit about the students and sometimes gives the two newcomers tips and few infos.
"There are few ways for you to gain AP that the academy didn't tell you but tacitly allowed. The first is to have a duel bet. It's only a spar that involves betting between two parties. Most students prefer this as it gives them combat experience and at the same time if they are lucky, extra AP. You can also try gambling but I don't recommend that you do so.
Those who are gambling are often scammed and they can't do anything about it since everything is voluntary and they are weaker than the gambling organizer. You can also try to trade directly with your fellow student, since it excludes the 10% tax that the academy imposed if you do it through the trading center." Khaleed told them.