A few kilometers toward the direction the two were running, Zac was fighting for his life as a pack of wolves completely surrounded him. A total of 30 wolves were recently joined by what Zac believed to be their alpha.

In the beginning, he hoped to escape easily because the wolves were attacking in an uncoordinated manner. This was because Zac had managed to get them very angry after killing a few of them.

However, as soon as the Alpha wolf joined the fray, it was as though the beasts had suddenly become intelligent, and they started attacking with coordination.

[ Ah shit, I can't believe this is how I go. I always thought it would be in the arms of a beautiful woman. ]

Zac had reached the limits of his stamina and had lost a large amount of blood. At this point in time, he could only stay standing by sheer willpower and with the aid of his sword. This was when the alpha wolf, who hadn't attacked once during the battle, finally came out of the shadows and started confidently making its way towards Zac.

Its creepy snarl was like a mocking smile as though it was boasting its superiority to him. Perhaps it was due to the blood loss, but Zac could almost hear the wolf give out a hearty laugh.

[ If I'm dying, I'll make sure I take you with me, you creepy bastard. ]

Zac made this promise as the beast leaped toward him with open jaws.

Just as He was about to use a life-saving treasure, a figure appeared in front of him and reflected the attack of the alpha, sending him a few meters away.

"You seem to have a knack for almost getting killed, haha. why do you continue to court death?"

"Silver? Is that you?" Zac asked. He didn't even bother to reply to his friend's harsh words as he was still wondering if he was hallucinating or not.

"Of course, it is. Who else could be this handsome?" Silver laughed as he dashed forward and started slicing at the wolf with a dull-looking blade. His movement was too quick for the beast, so it seemed like he was being toyed with. Silver continued to slice and dice from different angles as though he was making an ice sculpture.

"Eh... are you sure you want to be a magician?" Zac said as he watched his friend make quick work of the beast that troubled him. He wondered why Silver would choose to go to the Academy when he was clearly an expert with the sword. Did he want to follow both paths?

Silver smiled as he searched for something in his pocket. All the while keeping an eye on the rest of the wolves, who seemed to be assessing the situation and considering whether they were able to deal with this new, powerful enemy.

"Here, drink this. You should be able to go on for a little longer" Silver offered Zac a veil of red liquid, which he gulped down without any hesitation.

"Hey, what is this? My bleedings stopped, and I feel like I could run a thousand meters. How can the effects be this fast?" Zac was shocked at this life-saving elixir Silver had given him, which was sure to be something hard to acquire.

"We'll talk about that later. For now, we really need to start running," Silver said as he walked towards the wolves, who backed off in response. It seemed that they had yet to decide whether to attack or retreat. But they knew the youth in front of them was dangerous, so their animal instincts told them to retreat whenever he advanced towards them.

"Run? Why would we need to run? They are obviously scared of you."

"It's not them we're running from," Silver replied

"Then who?"

"Uhm... There's an ugly thing chasing me that looks like a chicken and sounds like a cow."

"Huh? Are you playing with me right now?" Zac was beginning to think Silver was joking

"Sigh, I wish I was," Silver didn't blame him as he, too, would be distrusting if someone told him something similar.

"HEY! How could you just leave me back there" came a girl's voice.

As soon as Zac looked in the direction of the voice, he was confused. It was her again. Why would Silver call her an 'ugly thing'? Was she really that bad under the veil? And even if she was, so what? was that a reason to run away?

"C' mon, bro. She doesn't sound like a cow. And she doesn't look like a chicken either. That's kind of mean, don't you think?" he asked, hoping that he perhaps misunderstood something.

"Hahaha, not her, you dummy. Look behind her" Silver could barely contain his laughter as he pointed at the Kral.

"MOOOO!"

"Holy shit! That really is one ugly motherfucker” Zac couldn't help but shout as he noticed the bubbling grey skin of the creature that looked to be carrying every disease known to man.

On a mountain several hundred kilometers away, a small crowd of people watched an almost comical scene of a dozen wolves being chased by three youngsters who, in turn, were being chased by a Kral.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of a deep lake, a young man about 18 years old was sitting in a cross-legged position with his eyes closed. His sword-shaped eyebrows gave him a dangerous look, further complemented by the huge bastard sword strapped to his back.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the young man finally opened his dark brown eyes and swam to the shore. As he emerged from the water, his shoulder-length black hair stuck to his face. He walked over to the riverside and started dressing in half-plate armor.

[ I wonder if I'll get to fight any strong people in that so-called Academy. ]

The man wondered as he took his blade out from its sheath. With his solid yet wiry frame, one would think he would use both hands while wielding the sword. Despite this, however, the young man easily swung the sword in fluid motions with one hand as if it were an extension of his own body.

“Hey, old man! You promised I could go to the Academy today,” he called out.

“Indeed I did. And as I promised, we shall start setting off soon,” replied a skinny old man with a beard centimeters away from touching the ground. However, the young man didn’t reply as he simply acknowledged the statement with a nod and continued swinging his sword.

“May I ask you a question, Mikael?” the old man asked.

“Go on” the youngster stopped his training and addressed him.

“Ever since I found you that day and invited you to join my Academy, you haven't stopped training once. Why is that?” said the old man.

Mikael didn’t answer the question straight away. He just looked out into the distance, seemingly disturbed by an old memory.

“There's someone I need to kill. Currently, I lack the power to accomplish this task, so I must train until I am competent enough,” he said after a long while.

“Oh, I see. And is that the same reason you agreed to come to the Academy? So that you could train and get stronger?”

“Of course. If what you say is true about many strong youngsters my age being there, then I am sure to gain a lot of battle experience and improve my skills,” Mikael replied.

“That is a promise and a guarantee on my behalf.”

“You shouldn’t promise so lightly, old man. A man is only as good as his word.”

“Hahaha, well said. Don’t worry. This is a promise I am sure to keep.”

[ Shouldn't they all be like that? ]

Mikael thought to himself as he ignored the old man and continued his training.