Chapter 36: Departure
When Athar arrived at the gates of the academy, a large crowd of students had already gathered. They had been divided into six groups according to their batches.
Four teachers stood in front of the sixth group. Athar recognized two of them—Angelica and Sankul. The other two were unfamiliar middle aged men.
Similarly, each batch had four teachers assigned to it, all standing in front of their respective groups.
Six large buses stood parked nearby likely for transporting them to their destination.
Athar’s yellow grade sword was strapped securely to his waist, and a small bag hung over his shoulder. Inside it, he carried the five beast cores allotted to him as part of his cultivation quota. He had no intention of letting the camp delay his progress, so he decided to bring all the cores along.
After all, the maximum duration a camp could last was no more than five days and he could afford to carry them all. Not counting the additional ones, he had acquired after killing Dervin.
Along with the cores, Athar had also carried along the two healing pills. Though he doubted he would need them, he believed in being prepared. A little precaution cost nothing, but it could mean everything when things went wrong.
"Athar, over here!" He heard Ryler calling out, waving energetically.
Athar walked over to join the sixth batch’s group. Like Athar, most of the students including Ryler, were carrying bags over their shoulders.
"Good morning, Ryler," Athar greeted.
"Good morning, Athar," Ryler replied enthusiastically. "Excited for your first camp?"