“Yes exactly. I’ll send you off into a detour of sorts. Figuratively and literally.” Leonardo paused as he smiled at the two boys who looked at him with perplexed expressions. “So are you two interested? The person you are going to meet is a secluded guy who generally hates having guests.” Leonardo explained, arising much more confusion in the young minds of Sylvester and Artian.

“What? So why are you recommending a person who will most likely not even give us the time of day?” Sylvester asked. “Because he will still have to do what I say. I have the authority after all!” Leonardo then let out a loud and boastful laugh.

“Isn’t this just coercion?” Sylvester and Artian both thought in their heads.

“No matter, if there is one person that can help you along the way it would be that guy. Though he isn’t what you call a mage to be exact, he still goes by the name “Master Grom-ilk”, by the way I added the master part because it amuses me.” The headmaster revealed.

“Isn’t this just bullying?” The pair thought once again.

“But getting to his place is going to be quite the trek. So I think the two of you should only go there during the weekend.” Leonardo continued to explain while giving the two a thumbs up. “Wait a minute, what do you mean by trek? Are we going to the mountains or something?” Artian asked with a concerned tone.

“Well, I think you already know the strange nature of Inanis Orbis since you went to the student affairs office. But to answer your question, no. It’s not a mountain per se, more like a wooded path. Very scenic if I say so myself.”

“Uhuh. Okay, so let me get this straight headmaster.” Sylvester interjected. “You want the two of us, to go on a long walk, to meet up with a shady secluded guy, in some forest area?” He asked. “Yes that’s the gist of it yeah. Don’t worry you’ll be fine. It’s still in Inanis Orbis anyway. Plus I guarantee you both that he would be giving you some good lessons!” The headmaster insisted.

“So, are you two going to take it or not? The choice is all up to you.” Leonardo declared.

The duo stared at each other for a short while before smiling, nodding in unison as they looked into the direction of Leonardo once again. While it is true that they would be going into some uncharted territory for them, they were still perfectly in the confines of the institution (if you squint hard enough). There was also the fact that his supposed master had a very strange name, which is why Sylvester was quite eager to meet him.

As Leonado saw the spark in their eyes, he knew immediately what the two had decided upon.

“I see, well then. I’ll go talk to that person and say you will be meeting them soon enough. When Saturday arrives, go to the express elevators and encode the numbers 12 12 12 12.” Leonardo instructed.

The two then gave him a nod before saying their thanks.

“Thank you headmaster! Now please excuse us.” And then Sylvester and Artian left the room, leaving Leonardo all alone to muse about the recent turn of events.

“This is turning out to be quite the interesting turn of events.” He said as he continued to sit by idly. “I just hope those four don’t forget about their other academic duties. This place is still a university after all, technically. Hmm, I should give professor Paleo X a call just in case.”

---

The next few days came and went like a breeze and soon it was Saturday. Unfortunately for the boys, the girls had a considerable amount of a head-start simply because they were allowed to access more books almost immediately. But that fact did not deter Sylvester and Artian one bit.

The group of four agreed to gather in front of the express elevator hub, well to be perfectly honest it was more of Estelle’s idea since she wanted to have a little send off for Artian and Sylvester. Admittedly it was kind of pointless.

“Why do we need to do this again?” Rossa asked. “We’re just wasting time here. Time better spent at reading and studying.” She demanded. Due to this very limited opportunity, Rossa has been studying like mad lately and every idle moment to her felt like a huge drop in efficiency.

“Oh chill out Rossa.” Estelle replied in a more relaxed tone. “I just want to give my boyfriend a little encouragement. It seems that those two idiots are gonna be meeting someone sketchy after all.” She explained. “And besides.” Estelle then looked and pointed at Rossa's face. “You need to take a few breathers as well. I have never seen anyone study as hard as you and frankly it was a bit scary.” She blurted out.

Indeed, Estelle’s concern was not unfounded. Rossa has plowed through more than a dozen books already, writing down the relevant information she needed and organizing them in smaller bits on a notebook. And then once out of the library, she studies them back at the dorm even through the wee hours of the night.

“What’s wrong with it? I have a lot of time so why not use it?” Rossa defended herself.

“But you are taking it too far woman! Look at your eyes! You’re starting to have eyebags underneath those crimson reds of yours. You look very tired already and it's just the morning still.” Estelle angrily scolded Rossa. However her words fell on deaf ears as Rossa merely scoffed at the declaration, her stubbornness starting to rear its ugly head.“It doesn’t matter. I have to make the most of this limited window.” She still defended her stance.

“Aw, fine whatever! Don’t blame me for anything bad happening later on!” Estelle weakly complained as the boys duo came into view.

It seems only Artian was carrying a backpack with him as Sylvester only had his cap with him. One can easily figure out that Sylvester stuffed his items for the trip inside his cap. Their luggage aside, the pair were also wearing some pretty heavy duty looking shoes.

All in all, it looks like they were going on an adventure.

“Artian!” Estelle yelled out as she ran forward and gave him a hug. It seems that as time passed by, these pair of lovebirds became increasingly affectionate even in front of their Sylvester and Rossa. This is probably due to the fact that Artian and Estelle feel a bit more relaxed and closer towards their friends and thus are more prone to losing their guard.

Fortunately, the other pair don’t seem to mind their increasingly fluffy gestures, though they silently hope it just remains fluffy and never goes any further.

“Good morning Estelle! Why do you gotta start hugging me already? I haven’t left yet.” Artian joked as the two proceeded to engage in a bit of small talk. Sylvester shook his head as his gaze drifted towards Rossa and soon their eyes met again, however all they felt was a sense of camaraderie when it came to being the unwilling spectators of a lovely scene.

Sylvester then walked closer and stood beside Rossa.

“Morning, Rossa.”

“Good morning to you too, Sylvester.” The two exchanged their greetings.

“So, what exactly is going to happen to you two later?” She asked with a hint of curiosity. Truth be told when she heard about the two being recommended meeting a strange master in some secluded area of Inanis Orbis, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

“I don’t know. The headmaster is being very coy about it, so I guess I will just have to expect the unexpected.” Sylvester said as he shrugged.

“How about you two then? How goes the studying?” Sylvster asked.“Going well, I suppose.” Rossa responded with a bit of excitement and pride in her voice. “I have compiled almost 5 notebooks worth of notes! Though I must admit, some of these are kind of hard to put in practice.”

“Hmm so that’s why.” Sylvester blurted out.

“Why what?”

“I dunno, you just look incredibly tired. Are you sure you’re getting enough sleep?” Sylvester remarked much to Rossa’s chagrin.

“You’re saying the same things as Estelle now.” She replied in a slightly peeved manner. “But to answer your question, yeah I’m alright. This much studying isn’t new to me and I’ve gone through far worse back home.” Rossa declared as she crossed her arms and put on air of strength.

“I applaud your drive but do take care of yourself okay? Who’s gonna stop me from doing something stupid if you get sick?” Sylvester said with a teasing tone. “How about not doing something stupid in the first place?” Rossa replied in an equally cheeky matter.

“Yo dude! We’re leaving, let's go!” He shouted with Estelle still attached to his arm like a tick. “Aight, my man!” Sylvester responded in recognition glancing back at Rossa one more time with a much more teasing smile on his face.

“Those bags under your eyes don’t really suit you oh dear Duchess.” Sylvester said in passing almost causing Rossa to pop a vein.

“What did you say!? How dare you, you uncouth man! Are you purposely trying to get me angry at you!?” Rossa replied in a rather angry tone and surprised both Artian and Estelle who stood there a little shocked over her outburst.

“Increased irritability is also a sign of exhaustion! Why not just take this day off and relax?” Sylvester replied before turning his back and moving towards the elevator hub together with Artian. Estelle then walked back towards Rossa after saying her send off words to Artian.

“The nerve of that man!” Rossa scoffed. “I don’t know why, but it irritates me so much when he says it like that. Do the men of your world not know any sort of basic etiquette?” She complained to Estelle. “I think he’s just worried, in his own stupid way and frankly a bit uncalled for way. You do know he enjoys getting people mad at him right? If he heard you rant he’d most likely laugh in your face.” Estelle explained.

“That is true. Fine.” Rossa let out a sigh.

“Fine what?”

“Let’s take the day off and relax a bit.” Rossa declared much to Estelle’s surprise.“So you won’t listen to me, but you will listen to Sylvester? That’s not fair!” Estelle remarked in a very sarcastic and teasing manner, but made sure to keep it to herself.

---

As Sylvester and Artian faced the empty elevator and entered, they were filled with a strong feeling of excitement and anxiousness. “Dude, I’m starting to get really excited, I wonder where we’re headed.” Artian blurted out.

“Only one way to find out now!” Sylvester replied as he clicked on the proper sequence of numbers. Once the elevator ping was heard, the doors opened once more revealing a sprawling wooded area with a clear dirt path cutting through and it seems that there was no end in sight.

“Oh wow, this is indeed going to be a trek.” Sylvester commented as the two mentally prepared themselves for the day ahead.