Lyren was actually happy with his gains and as he walked outside the forest, he was not concerned by beasts as they were busy crowning the new king. His cultivation was obviously hidden and there were very few beasts around and many of them did not attack him.
It was like a stroll for him and the fact he was almost naked gave him an unapproachable aura. He was surprised when he saw a stage four boar standing in front of him.
These creatures were actually very stupid and he could only sigh because it did not even fear his aura. He shook his head and for having ruined his good mood, he was going to give it a quick death.
He stretched his hand out and the boar saw this as a target as it ran towards him. It was fast but it was slow compared to the panther. Almost like it was crawling.
His mind's eye opened at the core of the pattern and he realized that this was actually very efficient. Creating arrays this way was going to save him too much and he could catch the opponent off guard just like this boar.
Well, that should have been the case but the boar seemed to have collided with him and his mind's eye had actually closed itself but that was not all.
He was smacked with a splitting headache that made him lose his proprioception for a split second and he was flying backwards.
Of course, there was no much pain but maybe it was because he was so focused on the headache that he could not feel the pain as the boar had crashed into his belly.
He flew a few meters and he fell on is butt. He was so surprised that he just watched the overconfident boar attack him.
The mind's eye refused to open again and the headache remained. He stood up with staggering motion and the boar realized it had hurt him so much and it collided into him once more.
Lyren grunted as he drew his sword and chopped its head off before leaving behind with one hand pressing on his head.
He was actually thankful for the boar as he had realized that his mind's eye had just opened but it had not recovered. He could not help but shiver as he recalled the red arrays.
He really shouldn't use them. He staggered outside the forest as he dragged his haul behind him.
He had not seen any hunters and this saved him and slowly, the headache calmed down and he was able to walk just fine without staggering.
He felt a great urge to sleep and as he staggered again because the headache came in again, he fell forward and he wondered whether this was his end.
Just because he had decided to use the easier way to end the weak boar. If he died, all those beasts he killed were going to have been done no justice at all.
"Young Master…"
The fantasy was here once more. The last time he had been about to die in the ruins, he had dreamt of his mother calling unto him and this time, he was dreaming of Claire.
What a joke!
He was falling but he never reached the ground as he was suspended midway. He felt a scent and he was surprised that it was actually her scent.
His face had fallen on her chest and when he fully knew that she was actually there, his grip on the sword weakened but he was very conscious.
"Why did you not leave?"
These were the first words he uttered and Claire was flabbergasted. She walked him towards the base of a tree and helped him sit down. She was about to feed him a pill but he held her hand and stopped her.
"It won't help."
Lyren did not explain further as he could only wait for the mind's eye to calm on its own. Claire obliged hesitantly as she watched his hazy gaze.
She could not help but wonder what had caused this much damage. She could not see any wounds in the first place and it was obvious that it was a headache. Had he been hit?
"Give me a moment and I will be able to move," Lyren said and she was more shocked. What kind of injury was this because he was talking just fine?
She watched him close his eyes and his breathing slowed down and she panicked. She was not expecting to meet him today but she heard the hunters were leaving and why, she figured that he too was going to leave.
What she had not expected was for him to be in this state. Also, he seemed to have high level treasure with him.
The horns specifically caught her eyes and she could not help but wonder what he had gone through the few days he was in the forest alone.
If she heard he was the reason the animals had converged, she would not believe it and if she heard what caused his current situation, it could not make any sense.
It was after around thirty minutes later that he opened his eyes once more and they were clearer but still hazy. It was easy to tell as his eyes were dark grey in nature.
"You must know of a way we can go back undetected right?" Lyren asked and Claire was silent. He sighed and spoke quickly. "One gold coin then."
"It's not about that. It's complicated," she added when he mentioned coins. Was that how he viewed her? Just greedy for money?
"But possible." Lyren said drawing her from her stupor and she sighed.
Lyren stood up and led the way. His headache calmed down and he could finally move. She followed after him and they walked out of the forest together.
***
The sun shone on the City of Vyl earlier than usual. The whole city was very busy and no one had not been waiting for this day. The academy had been preparing for the past few days and it was finally the day of the execution.
As early as it was, talks of the higher prospect students were ongoing but there was new talk in town that was not being said out loudly. One had to look around before speaking it.
"I hear that the brat who actually dared to attack the mayor was killed in the woods."
"Hush. Lower your voice."
"That is divine punishment. You cannot attack authority and expect the heavens to let it slide."
"We thought he was a talent but he was just an arrogant young master who thought he had everything in the palm of his hand and he went alone in the woods."
"I can't even bring myself to feel sorry for him."
This talk was everywhere and it was obvious that the mayor had leaked this information.
It was a huge blow to the academy for he was a genius who had been accepted as an inner disciple directly which had never happened before.
All these people were heading towards the academy and they formed a crowd at the gate as they were being searched before entering.
Many of them were once students here and those words at the gate reminded them of their youth. The ones who were searching were stage nine students obviously in their twenties.
The academy had some sort of atmosphere here as they did not seem to believe the circulating rumors.
The entrance ceremony was taking place at an open space where there was an amphitheater in the center of the academy. This was where duels and also ranking fights usually took place and also ceremonies like this.
Everyone had that place as their destination and at the middle was a raised platform which appeared like a mini-lectern. On it was an orb that seemed to float on its own.
The seats were being filled at a faster rate especially when there was anticipation for the five proteges. It was common sense they were going to make an appearance by coming last.
Afterall, it was their day supposedly…