Ibnor is sitting on his bed with a large amount of Mana swirling around him creating a vortex. Thundering sound can be heard from within his body and with a little shockwaves, five layers of halo appeared around him. Ibnor opened his eyes.
The vortex of Mana that swirls around him earlier has dissipated. After a month of diligently training day in and day out, he finally managed to reach level 50. He is now officially a Battle Grandmaster and all he has to do now is to absorb a Spirit Core to improve further.
"Congratulations on your advancement," said Edison. He looked genuinely happy.
"Thank you," said Ibnor.
"Now we can proceed with the hunt for the Spirit Core. You have to report to the Administrator Office for the paperworks." Edison reminded him.
"I already submitted it two days ago, we can proceed anytime. But we still lack members," replied Ibnor.
"That's the easy part. You can just post them on the Academy's forum. There were always people who wanted to join the hunt for the Spirit Core. It's a lucrative mission, especially for those who have a Second Job. From Alchemist to Cooks, the hunt for the Spirit Core is a good way to get materials," Edison suggested.
"But we can't just accept simply anybody. This is a task with high risk," said Ibnor.
"Don't worry about it. All we need is the Level 50 Spirit Core. The Field Boss that guards the spirit beast that guards it won't be too strong. We can prioritize the seniors," Edison explained. Ibnor nods his head and proceeds to post the hunting mission to the Academy's forum.
[LFM Lvl 50 Spirit Core - 3 2nd Year and Above]
Soon, he received notification from his SD. Exactly three replies. Noticing they are not first year students, he accepted them.
"Sacrest, third year student Blacksmith. Mikail, third year student Alchemist. Aina, second year student, Cook. Wait.. Aina?"
Ibnor is curious about the second year student called Aina. He is wondering if it is the same person as who he imagined in his mind. After giving confirmation of participation, he set their meeting point three days later in Avalon Elemental Forest, the forest where they undergo their actual entrance test.
Three days later, Ibnor and Edison are waiting for their party members. After waiting for a while, two men approached them. One of the men has a large build, with muscular bodies. He is wearing metal chest armor that fits his body nicely, metal gauntlets and metal boots. He is also carrying a shield that can cover half of his body on his left hand and a sword is sheathed within the shield. The other man looked scholarly with a nice touch of beard while wearing brown leather boots and gloves with a red overcoat. His weapon is a red slim sword which he held in his hand.
"Hello, I'm Sacrest Aeonwar and he is Mikail Sledge," the muscular man introduced himself and his companion.
"I'm Ibnor Ezad and this is Edison Yo," Ibnor returned the gestures.
"Ezad? Do you have some sort of relation with Khaleed Ezad?" asked Sacrest, surprised.
"Yes, he is my elder brother," Ibnor replied.
"I know your brother. Tell me, Ibnor… With such an excellent brother, why did you request for help in the forum instead of asking your brother directly?" Sacrest asked again.
"He has already done more than enough for me. I don't want to bother him. Being a student in Avalon is not all glamour and smooth as it seems. He must have lots of other important things to do, rather than babysitting me," Ibnor smiles and shakes his head a little.
"Pfff.." Sacrest let out a laugh. "You underestimate your brother a little bit too much. Who in Avalon doesn't know the Ice Prince of First Echelon? He can settle your problem just with a snap of his fingers."
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Ibnor.
"Ah, maybe he forgot to tell you. Are you aware that in Avalon there are three powerhouses that keep each other in check?" aske Sacrest
"Yeah, my brother told me about that. It's Gang 108, Valor and Honor right?"
"Yes, but that is only on the surface. Although not officially recognized, there is a fourth power house that everyone acknowledged which is the First Echelon. You see, First Echelon is not officially recognized because they are not an official faction or guild, they are merely a bunch of students that regularly partying with each other. Most of them didn't join any guilds, but there is no denying that every member of the First Echelon is an elite."
"So, you mean that the students can also not join any guild?"
"Of course. Well, to be honest, there are only two types of people that didn't join any guild. The first one is the one that is too ordinary. Usually there is nothing interesting about them so they don't get any attention from anyone. The second type is the elites. They are the one that truly stood out from the crowd for their strength."
"Wait, if the elites are so strong, why didn't the guild try to recruit them?" asked Ibnor.
"Who said they didn't? They tried, but most of them got rejected. As usual, some just accepted the rejection but some didn't take it too well. However, no matter how dissatisfied they are, they won't be able to do anything extreme,"
"Why?" Ibnor asked. Before Sacrest manages to answer, a soft voice can be heard, giving the answer.
"Because there are few incidents which all end up with the guild's destruction by a strong elite."
All four of them turned towards the voice's owner. A woman is standing near them wearing a metal breastplate with white and blue clothing with her sword hanging neatly by her hips. It's a familiar face that Ibnor won't ever forget.
"It's her…" Ibnor thought.
"It's him. The weird guy at the plaza.." Aina thought.
"My apologies for being late," said Aina.
"Second year student, Aina Takahashi of Takahashi Clan.. Right?" said Sacrest. Aina only nods in acknowledgement.
"Since we are all here, it's about time we move out, right?" said Mikail.
Everyone agreed and began walking into the forest. They are heading to the southeast of the forest towards a valley called Green Heights. During the journey, they position themselves in a line where Sacrest walks at the front, as a vanguard due to his strength and Echolocation ability. Second is Ibnor, followed by Aina where her Bird's Eye View comes into crucial roles. Edison is right after Aina scans the area with his Telescopic Sight and Mikail is at the back, as the rearguard, ready to support Edison with his Thermal Vision.
They journeyed through the forest smoothly and carefully. At times they encounter small Spirit Beasts but most of them are harmless. Although the forest seems peaceful with serene ambiance, they could not afford to be careless as the forest are spirit beast territories. One wrong step could lead to a disaster that may cost them their life. There are numerous students who went missing in the forest and never to be found again.
"So, Ibnor.. No offence but, are you really Khaleed's brother?" asked Sacrest.
"None taken, but yes I am. Technically, we just look different because we have different mothers," replied Ibnor nonchalantly.
"No, I'm not referring to your appearance. It's just that, it puzzles me that you just reach level 50. Since Khaleed is.. You know.. An elite," said Sacrest. Although the rest seemed to be paying full attention to their surroundings, Sacrest's remark piqued their curiosity, so they also kept half of their attention on Ibnor, waiting for his response.
"Oh, if you are from Pyrion, maybe you won't be as surprised. After all, I'm the Second Prince of Pyrion," Ibnor said smiling as he shook his head a little.
"My goodness! So you ARE the Second Prince?" exclaimed Edison.
"What? I'm clearly missing something here," said Sacrest.
"Eh.. how should I put it? I heard rumors but I'm far from the capital, so maybe it's not that accurate. Aina, you are from the capital, aren't you?" said Edison, unwilling to say bad things he heard about the Second Prince of Pyrion. From his interaction with Ibnor, the second prince and Ibnor have nothing in common. When Aina notices all eyes are on her, she hesitantly speaks.
"His reputation is.. Bad." said Aina. Ibnor chuckled a bit when he heard that.
"Bad is putting it lightly. There, everyone is calling me a useless trash prince. Maybe they aren't so wrong after all," said Ibnor.
"Interesting," said Mikail.
"What's so interesting about a trash that doesn't have any weapon skills and just reaches level 50 in highschool?" said Ibnor. This time everyone turned to Mikail.
"It may be true that you don't possess any weapon skills. You having just entered level 50 is also an undeniable fact. According to common perception, it is logical that you can be considered as trash. Does everyone agree?" said Mikail. Everyone else thought about it a little and nodded their heads in agreement.
"But, we are missing something important here," Mikail added.
"Damn.. He's sharp," thought Ibnor.
"What is it?" asked Sacrest. Everyone is waiting for Mikail to elaborate.
"Do you forget which Academy we are in? Someone who can pass the entrance test without possessing weapon skill is not that rare, but have you ever heard of anyone below level 50 who passed the entrance test? If that is trash, I don't know what I am," said Mikail chuckling. Everyone comes to a realization and looks at Ibnor but he seems to be distracted, closing his eyes.