" Ahhhh!!!!"

Ryan almost slipped on the stairs when he heard the miserable howling sound. He couldn't understand what one needed to experience to scream like that.

" Why does it sound familiar?"

He couldn't help but feel the voice to be familiar to some extent.

As he was busy thinking, a rustling noise was heard from the upper floor and Vin rushed down the stairs.

" What happened? Wasn't that Master's voice?", he asked with concern.

Hearing him Ryan's face slowly turned dark.

" F*ck! "

The duo dashed out of the shop and followed the noise to the storeroom.

" Master!! "

They screamed and rushed when they saw the old man on his knees with blood spilling from his mouth.

" Master what happened? Who was it? ", Ryan asked in anger.

The old man could only grit his teeth in anger as his eyes turned bloodshot.

" That Damn brat!!! He is worse than his master. He better not let me see him again."

The old man wouldn't have ended up in such a condition. But certain events knowingly or unknowingly had led to it.

Max not only absorbed all the elemental ores, but also took all the other materials in his inventory. There was not even a single speck of dust left on the shelves.

Even though it was infuriating, the old man still would have been able to control his anger. But the moment he remembered the honest look in Max's eyes earlier, he couldn't control himself and ended up vomiting blood in anger.

The amount of loss that Max had caused to him was ten times more than what Stark had caused him.

At this moment, he pledged that if Max ever took in a disciple. He would never teach him.

Wouldn't he end up going bankrupt if that were to ever happen?

….

Max turned his head as he was about to enter the Academy's gate. His hearing ability was already beyond normal and it had even increased recently.

" What was that scream? "

He thought for a moment before giving up as he didn't hear it again.

" Finally, I am back. But why is the place so quiet? "

Max thought after walking a bit. This should be rush hours. But the amount of students he could see on the hallways and the streets were quite a bit low.

" Did something happen? Is it a holiday?....I should ask Kevin after returning? "

Max had no idea about the event since he was suspended for a week.

He quickened his step and before long, he was already standing at the door of his dorms.

"Creak!"

He pushed open the door and walked in only to be greeted by the sight of August on the couch.

He had a gloomy aura around him and seemed very irritated.

" So, you are finally back? ", August spoke as he slowly raised his head.

' F*ck! , what did I do now? Didn't he already know everything about my suspension?"

Max felt sweat dripping down his forehead as he looked at August starting down at him.

" What were you doing the entire week? And why are you coming so late? "

" I went to visit someone on my Master's notice. As for coming late, ..I am not. I have my first class now.", Max replied with a forced smile.

" Hmph!.. It's fine. But, I still want to know, why the hell do you keep a phone when you don't even use it? "

August didn't pursue the matter as he found it reasonable. But this bastard, he doesn't even know how many times he tried to contact him.

Hearing him, Max immediately pulled out his phone. But as the screen lit up his face twitched.

There were more than fifty missed calls.

20 from Axel

12 from fatty

18 from August

" Is everything alright? ", Max asked in concern as he looked at August. It wasn't his fault. The old man had taken his phone and he had only received it before leaving.

Seeing him, August's temper toned down a bit. He got up from the couch and threw a bag at Max.

" Everything is alright. It's just things have changed a bit. We don't have time. Follow me. I will explain on the way.", August spoke as he walked out of the door.

Max carried the bag on his back before running after August.

As they walked through the campus, Max slowly found out what happened.

The field trip to Orena which was meant for the Blacksmith Department was no longer for them alone. It had turned into a smaller version of Survivor ground. The only difference was that it wasn't the All Academy Competition. It was only the students of their Academy divided in groups.

And the students had already left for the trip in the morning. With no choice, August stayed behind to get Max as this trip was very important for every student. It would be affecting their grades.

Even if Max didn't care about the grades, this trip was still very important for him. Since the students who performed well would be given preference during the selection for the All Academy Competition

And with the Quest for winning the Competition, Max would be doomed if he didn't get selected.

" But how did it get changed so suddenly?", Max asked in doubt.

" Apparently, it was decided in the meeting of the Board. I too don't get it. It would have been fine if they had only had included the other department. But the thing which I don't get is that they have changed the location and security factors too. I feel that there might be some casualties too.", August said with a frown.

" If it is going to harm us, shouldn't the student council protest against the trip.", Max asked with a smile.

" We did. But many of the students were very eager to face the challenges. They were in high spirits to improve the Academy's rank. With so many students acting like that, we couldn't do anything about it.", August said helplessly.

"Haha.. Who is the fool who started it? ", Max laughed.

" James Ovens "

Hearing the name, Max's laughter ceased.