章節 43: Finally Back
Beta scouted his surroundings first to figure out the approximate way to arrive back at the meeting point. As he backtracked the path towards the river, he managed to estimate the right direction heading back and strode forward. While walking on his way there, he wasn't as tense as he used to before when he was still with his party. He was confident with the improvement of his skills at the moment so he couldn't help but walk proudly knowing that he can overpower the lower beasts lurking around. He also couldn't help looking at his void bag and inspected his winnings.
"It really works like the personal space. But this one is much larger than my current one. It has around ten cubic meters of space inside it which is already pretty good. Looks like he really placed everything we agreed on. What's even more surprising, he wasn't even as stingy as he appeared to be. Just by looking at the quantity inside the bag, looks like all his complaints were just for show.
"What a hard to understand old man… Oh well, let's see how much he got for me. The information about runes that I asked for isn't just a single book but several and piled up. The materials for creating these runes are quite a few as well. He may seem like a miser on the outside but at least he keeps his promises dear. The clear Eagle Quartz is in perfect condition and the metal's quality is even better than I hoped for. Now I only need to find a way to process everything and execute the plans I have in mind. My parents' workshop would be ideal, but there's no energy left to power up the equipment and it's also flooded by now... So, I should take a look at the smithies around here instead. Hopefully, they have a good quality one around here. If not, I'll have to leave this city to finish it. Ugh… I should finish school first though, since I still have many things to learn regarding this world and the powers behind it. I should hurry up so that I can become an explorer soon. That will make going to other cities way more affordable and I'll also have some other benefits.", Beta thought while thinking of his future plans.
When he was about to put the void bag back into his robe, he suddenly thought of something. "Why don't I just put it into my personal space? Since Chugum gave it to me within his own personal space there shouldn't be any problem with doing so myself either. I'll still give it a try first though. Just to make sure."
Beta then emptied all of the void bag's contents on the floor and put a twig in it. After that, he put it into his personal space and brought it back again after a few minutes. As expected, the void bag and the twig were unharmed. So, assured that his treasures will be safe, he put all of the things back into the bag and stored it inside his personal space again, securing it safely.
Beta continued on his way to the camp where the students were supposed to report back. Since Chugum guaranteed that his friends were safe, Beta assumed that they probably just hunted in the outskirts for a while before finally going back to the camp as well. So, he didn't even try to search for them inside the jungle. He found his path through the undergrowth and also killed several beasts before finally arriving at the camp.
Inside the camp were all of his classmates merrily chatting about their separate adventures. As it seems, no one died within the jungle. Beta wasn't too surprised by this at all. He knew that the people who are in the special class can't possibly die that easily due to some lower beasts in the outskirts. Everyone had their own skills and trump cards to make survival in dangerous areas a bit easier after all.
After several minutes of looking around, just as expected, he found Domian and Brian. When they spotted Beta heading towards them, they were thrilled. Because so much time had passed without anyone seeing even the slightest hint of life about him, they were quite saddened. Brian especially was very happy. He had told himself that nothing could possibly happen to Beta countless times, but after remembering the Black Wolf pack, he wasn't so sure anymore. If too many had followed him, it would even be hard for his undefeated model, Beta, to survive.
"Beta! Where have you been all this time? I almost thought you're dead!", Domian said, closing in on Beta to pat his shoulder.
"I'm not that easy to kill. Some mutts definitely won't be able to eat me! I was just impeded for a while and couldn't come to the camp earlier.", Beta answered with a smile.
"The most important is that we all survived that situation! We should come back one day and exterminate this pack!", Brian chimed in.
"I agree. I bet the alpha has some nice and comfy fur!", Beta said with a laugh.
Brian laughed together with Beta while Domian just shook his head but a smirk could be seen on his face. He really thought they wouldn't survive that encounter, so seeing the two's carefree remarks made him feel that they sure are strange. Since they finally managed to get back together, they then kept talking about all the things that had happened when they got separated.
Brian was chased up to the river where he fought two wolves at once. After killing the first one, he was forced to jump into the river with it, almost drowning in the process of killing it. Luckily, he was able to hold on to a fallen tree that seemed to come out of nothing, otherwise, it might have been the end for him. Even if drowning wouldn't have killed him, the tide would push him into the deeper parts of the forest, where he ultimately would find his end.
When Beta heard that a tree suddenly appeared and saved Brian, he couldn't help but feel thankful. He was sure that Chugum had helped his friends in their struggle for survival. Though he didn't ask him to do so nor was it his responsibility to shoulder their gratitude, as a person who just stepped into the surface, he felt quite indebted especially towards Brian who helped him adjust and seem normal to the outside world. Thus, the desire to get stronger and repay the debt he incurred towards the old man just kept getting stronger.
Domian, on the other hand, was kind of unlucky and lucky at the same time. He was chased by seven wolves, running into the direction of the mountains. He really thought he was the unluckiest of them all. Only, once they almost caught up with him, he heard a barely noticeable noise that finally led him to a teacher that passed by while taking a stroll. The teacher was surprised with his predicament but then quickly took care of the wolves for him and continued on his way before telling Domian to go back to the camp to rest a bit.
Once he arrived there, he noticed that only a couple of students were around. Seems like it was too early to report back, but then again it was really a close call so he didn't have any choice. He wanted to go back to search for his other party members but it would be unwise to go alone, so he waited a bit longer and rested. Not long after that though, he met Brian.
The both of them waited for another day to get a complete rest before deciding to go to the forest again. They didn't want to waste the opportunity of the excursion so they wanted to try it out again minus their strongest member. As Beta expected, they didn't dare to go in too deep. But they still managed to kill quite a few beasts and both reached the second level of Beginner Elementalist. Beta was pretty happy to hear that, as he didn't want to be much higher in cultivation than them. Even if he really liked them, the gap in cultivation would just estrange their roles. They wouldn't be able to hunt together anymore and eventually split up into two separate groups.
"We'll leave tomorrow so we still have some time. What should we do?", Brian asked, full of excitement. Now that they were finally together as a team again, he wanted to celebrate it properly.
"I'm just going to sleep early. I feel not much better than a dead person right now...", Beta answered apologetically.
"Already? The past week must have been hard on you!", Brian commented.
Noticing Beta's lifeless expression, both understood that he must've gone through worst than the both of them. So, he was soon left alone next to a makeshift bed in one of the tents. He simply fell down on it, face first, and instantly fell asleep. Within the past week, he had not slept at all. After such an intense training under hard conditions, he really didn't feel much different from one of the corpses that he had killed.
As Beta slept, a dream surfaced. It was strange to him for he had never dreamt before, but somehow, it was also interesting. He dreamed about the crow he met, flying in an eternal darkness that seemed to look very similar to the Void World he always visits. It then suddenly turned its head and looked at him.
"Caw caw caw!"
The caws seemed to shake his soul, but at the same time, it somehow felt good.
"We meet again!", Beta said with a smile on his face.
"Caw caw!"
Soon, the dream came to an end, and Beta opened his eyes slowly.
"That was truly weird...", Beta mused in his mind.
Just when he was about to continue his train of thought, he got interrupted.
"Hey, Beta! You're finally awake! That took you way too long!"
When Beta looked up, he saw Brian staring at him.
"What's wrong?"
"We're leaving!", Brian said while pointing out of the tent.
When Beta looked into the direction Brian had pointed at, he saw the horses they had come with, saddled and ready to go. He quickly woke up completely and put his weird dream in the back of his mind as he prepared himself. He then got on the horse he rode on his way here and noticed the changes with the whole class. The whole group looked much more experienced now. Many lost their childishness and gained a subtle battle aura due to what they experienced. Once everyone was ready, Lores finally arrived as well.
"I'm glad everyone came back safely! I can see that you have matured quite a bit on this expedition! It is indeed unfortunate that this excursion has come to an end, but, there will always be another time. We must head back to our glorious academy and show them how much you've all grown. Now, follow me!", Lores said.
Everyone followed him, looking proud and confident. But they still talked about the adventures they had to the ones closer to them though. Beta could clearly hear that some had a similar situation like theirs, where they have been chased down by some kind of group of beasts. That made it clear to Beta that he had to be more careful the next time he came here. If he always ends up being chased every time he goes out, it would truly be a hassle.
The group continued chatting for the time they were on their way. They passed by the same fields, trees, and the creek that they had already seen on their way to the camp, so most people were disinterested in that. They only became more active again once they reached Saland. Soon, they also reached the academy gates.
"We're finally back!", Beta said as he looked at the sign that said, "Malvic Academy"
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