Chapter 42: Back to Academy
The journey back to the academy was uneventful. The students of his batch and the fifth batch were carrying only small bags or sacks. Clearly, collecting herbs had given them little opportunity to gather substantial resources. Probably, Athar was the one who had done the best among these two batches, having obtained two F Rank cores.
Meanwhile, the students from the other two batches were carrying large sacks, and without any doubt, they were filled with monster cores and valuable beast parts.
Athar could not help but feel a trace of envy toward those students. If he had been given the same opportunity, he too might have been carrying just as many beast cores.
Though physically present on the bus, Athar’s mind was elsewhere—lost in glimpses of his battle with the hyena.
He kept replaying the scenes in his head, wondering what he could have done better. Although he had dominated the fight, Athar still felt there was room for improvement.
Maybe he could have ended the battle with the first blow if he had been more confident and aggressive, instead of staying so defensive out of caution.
But then again, what if the beast had turned out to be more powerful?
It was clear to him now. Finding the correct balance between defensive caution and aggressive attacks was crucial.
By the time the students reached the academy, it was already deep into the night. As soon as they stepped down from the buses near the academy entrance, the first direction they rushed toward was their rooms. In an almost chaotic manner, they dumped everything they had gathered into their rooms and then dashed toward the dining hall.
They were finally going to have proper food after five days. Athar followed the same route, though in a slightly less chaotic manner.
"Athar," Ryler asked as they sat side by side, eating their dinner, "you never told me how you became Miss Angelica’s personal student."