Chapter 55 55:Friend, Is It?
The Medics took care of his injuries and deemed him fit. However, only Lucas knew just how mentally exhausted he was.
He did not need to appear in Miss Ami\'s class and since his circumstances were explained and taken care of, personally by Hunter Association staff, he was given leave for a day without any deduction of points.
All in all, it should be a holiday for Lucas to enjoy and refill his battery.
However...
"Biological clock, I hate you."
His aim for a nice comforting sleep broke as his body jolted awake at sharp 7 AM. He tried to roll hoping for some more sleep alas….
"Side effects of too much punctuality," Lucas grumbled getting up from his bed.
"This sleeping pillow is a great thing.No matter how much exhausted I am, all my tiredness vanishes away after waking up."
Staring at the pillow, Lucas even thought of selling this thing but he shook his head.
Such good things should not be made public.
Finishing his daily needs, he walked out only to be greeted by the usual morning routines.
"Ohh boy, you seem to have grown taller."
"Hey, you clean my shoe."
"Bring me roasted toast and bacon."
Lucas sighed deeply.
Hiding his uneasiness, Lucas took steady long strides radiating absolute confidence with an aura of superiority
Bullying is an everyday routine here. Luckily, it was still within the limit. The students residing in these dorms were mostly commoners or families belonging to the working class and a few of them also served as servants in noble households.
Since the disparity in status was not much unless you look like soft rice cannon fodder, you will be safe.
After beating Helena without giving a damn and achieving a good rank in the Dungeon trial, most did not provoke Lucas.
"Hey, pipsqueak...I don\'t give a damn."
"Give me your points. You son of bitch."
"Please don\'t take away my points."
"I don\'t have enough to last this month. I have already given half of my points to you so please.."
"Shut up fucker."
"Do I look like someone who would give a damn? Just give me your points."
Lucas covered his ears and as usual, was about to turn a blind eye towards it but something drew his attention.
He halted in his tracks and stared at the tall pig-faced boy kicking a reddish-haired boy on the ground harshly.
\'He seems familiar.\'
Lucas pondered for a while and a sudden memory of the shy geek boy whom he encountered on the first day appeared in his memories.
"Isn\'t he the one who had run away first but returned to give his statement? If he did not come back to speak up for me then I don\'t know what would have happened to me."
Lucas, discerning the boy\'s identity, decided to step forward.
"It\'s better not to owe a favor and I can finish this as softly as possible."
A sinister grin appeared on his face. It was a good chance to experiment with things again.
He sneaked in behind the boy who was engrossed in hitting the boy.
Lucas tapped softly on the boy\'s shoulder and said"Hello.."
The boy was annoyed, shaking away Lucas\'s hand, and turned back with a glare.
"Which bastard..."
Lucas snapped his fingers and a small round pill shot inside the opened lips of the boy and went down the throat.
At the very next moment…
The boy\'s eyes suddenly turned limpid as if he had been intoxicated by something. His whole body turned soft and with a calm peaceful smile lingering over his face, he fell aside to the ground, seemingly pulled into some kind of heaven.
The other one was still struggling with his arms covering his head and was still screaming painfully, unknown of the things that transpired.
"It hurts so please stop."
Lucas squatted down and nudged the boy a bit.
Cough….
"I have taken care of him. You can rest assured."
"Huh...."
The boy raising his dirt-stained face interchanged his gaze between Lucas and that boy.
"Did you save me?"
"Yeah!"
"Tha...Thanks..."
"It\'s okay. I am just repaying you."
"Repaying me..but for what?"
Question marks appeared over his face.
Seeing the questioning gaze lingering on the boy\'s face, Lucas replied softly.
"For helping me and speaking the truth on the opening day of Horizon."
The boy\'s eyes widened as he finally remembered the boy before him.
"You are Lucas."
"Ohh! So you know my name. Tell me yours?"Lucas asked, rubbing his chin.
"Roan...My name is Roan."
There was a lack of confidence in his tone which did not go unnoticed by Lucas\'s eyes. Lucas could feel the old him in Roan.
\'I take my words back. It seems there was someone more meek and nerdy than the original owner.\'
\' Why the hell so many cute little rabbits step into the den?\'
Lucas wondered and burned incense for some fatty cute rabbits that are getting eaten by wolves in sheep\'s clothing.
"Okay bye."
Standing up, Lucas walked back after waving his hand but hearing the sound of subtle footsteps following after, he stopped and turned back with a curious gaze.
"Why are you following me?"
"Uh...That...I want to ask how did you take him down."Roan asked, shrinking back.
"I feed him ...calming candy."
"Calming candy...Is there something like this?"Roan asked with glowing eyes.
"Yes, there is but why? Do you want some?"
Roan nodded his head.
"Yes, I want."
"What will you do?"Lucas asked coldly.
"I want to eat it and try it out."
Lucas almost stumbled on his feet. He gave Roan a baffled look.
\'Did this guy have a hole? He wants to eat it even after seeing the boy\'s condition.\'
\'Is this guy a drug addict?\'
\'This guy is not normal.\'Lucas rolled his eyes and walked away with Roan following behind him.
"I don\'t have it anymore so can you please go away," Lucas shouted in annoyance.
"Uhmmm.."Roan\'s head dropped down with a nervous expression.
His pitiful gaze was too hard for Lucas to bear.
"From which class you are and what is your major profession?"
Roan raised his chin slightly, giving a pouty look.
"I am from class A-9 and I am majoring in Mage and Magical Research."
Lucas\'s ears perked up and he gave Roan a dumbfounded look.
After enrolling, you need to select a major.
Magicians, Warriors, Healer, Magical Engineering, Alchemy, blacksmiths, etc are some of the major professions.
There are many categories and after having one major subject you can take the others as optional.
A magical researcher…
\'Heheheh!\'
With a crooked smile appearing on his lips, Lucas changing into a friendly neighborhood friend warped his arms around Roan.
"Why didn\'t you say that before?"
"On account of helping me on the opening day, from now you are my…."Lucas paused, seeing Roan gasping in anticipation.
\'My second slave.\'
"My Friend."
.....
The atmosphere in the class was quite tense. Even the unruly ones who always engaged in some kind of mischief were keeping mum.
Miss Ami noticing everyone sweating profusely, just smiled bitterly making others look at her as if she was a demoness.
All she did was utter a few words which shifted the entire atmosphere.
Some even wondered if they heard properly.
As if able to guess their inner thoughts, Ami stressed her words"You heard correctly."
"You are soon going to have a Field Hunting Test. The date is not decided but soon you will receive the notice."
"I am informing you early so that you can prepare yourself and harden your grit cause this time no one is going to save you in case of trouble until you want to fail. The beasts are violent contrary to the tamed ones you encountered in the man-made dungeon."
"Remember one thing. The main aspect of this test is survival. In case you feel you will die, you can send an emergency signal however in doing so you are going to fail, and if you fail again in any other test after this then...."
Ami paused and pressing her lips waved her hand.
"Goodbye to Horizon."
Her words caused many to choke. The Dungeon Trail had left trauma deep inside the hearts of many. And this time the difficulty level was hard.
If only they knew what lies ahead, many of them would already wet their pants.
The setting that they thought to be in difficult mode was already set in hell mode.
"As long as you kill one beast and survive till the end, and reach the finish line, you will pass. A separate obstacle would be set and the place where all of this is going to happen is Blood Hill forest.."
Hiccup...Hiccup...Hiccup.
Just the name Blood Hill struck deep fear in their hearts. It was not a picnic spot but rather a death spot. Countless lives had been taken by these forests.
What was more frightening than that was this Blood Hill forest extended all the way and converged with Mist Forest.
One of the forbidden zones in the entire world. Mist Forest is a place that was covered with fog and once entered, there were maximum chances of being lost.
While students started to stare at one another nervously, Lucas tapped his desk gently.
\'So, the death warrant had finally been issued.\'
\'If nothing goes wrong, the Open Field Hunting will commence in 20 days.\'
\'20 days...The amount of time I have is quite less.No matter how hard I train, my strength is not gonna rise drastically so the only way I have, is to buy a bloodline potion.\'
\'Still, I can\'t take chances. People are gonna die and I don\'t know if I\'m gonna be affected or not. If Lebana\'s words about my bad luck are true, I am one hundred percent sure that they will find me and try to kill me.\'
\'I need to sort this out and take precautions.\'
Lucas closed his eyes with a solemn expression. On opening it, her gaze met with Miss Ami for a brief moment who gave him a nod.
\'I hope this trip is going to be successful.\'
After the class, Ami called Lucas outside.
Ami watched Lucas\'s solemn expression and asked lightly"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust me that much?"Ami asked, raising her brows with a smile thinking about Lucas\'s answer that he trusted her.
However, his next words startled her.
"That\'s."
Ami\'s expression stiffened.
"What if I harm you or kill you after knowing the secret things you wanted to exchange?"
"I have already written a letter stating if something happens to me, Miss Ami had a hand in it. So, please give my dead soul justice."Lucas answered, averting his gaze.
Ami\'s expression crumbled and her smile cracked. She felt as if she had been rejected quite harshly.
"I was just joking, you don\'t have to be that serious."Miss Ami spoke, trying to maintain her crumbling expression.
"Same. It\'s just a joke… hahaha, "Lucas put on a sincere expression, but Ami for some reason felt that he was not joking.
"Okay, by the way, how did you know about me being close to the Hunter Association?"
"Miss Ami, it\'s written all over the website. You are the chief model on the front page of the Hunter Association. Most people open the site just to look at you. There are also several pictures of you with the Vice President."
Ami raised her nose proudly hearing the praises.
"Even if you are not that close, you can at least make an appointment and the things I had are crucial," Lucas\'s eyes glowed with admiration.
"Hmmm!"Ami nodded, witnessing the seriousness in Lucas\'s gaze.
"Let\'s go. It seems you have encountered something which can not be relayed to the public and higher up can\'t turn a blind eye to it."
"You are a kind-hearted person who wants to make them aware of the danger."
Hearing Ami answer, Lucas sighed inwardly feeling a bit guilty.
\'Morality…I can already feel my morality dwindling with every passing day I spend in this world. Instead of making them aware, I am going there for an exchange which might prove crucial for my survival.\'