Chapter 286 Hunting For Clues 1 (1/2)
Two days had passed since Shin switched on his academic mode and after forty-eight arduous hours, he had finally completed the tasks that Madam Warulee had bestowed onto him. Barely sleeping a wink during this period, Shin worked like a machine, flipping through ledgers at the speed of light. Madam Warulee had expected the trio to complete the tasks that were handed down to them within two weeks, and the fact that Shin took two days would definitely shock her socks off.
'Finally, it's all done! Now I can focus on tracking the Black Masks down!' Shin let out a triumphant smile and stood up to stretch. 'How long has it been since I left this chair?'
When Shin was in the zone, there was nothing that could break him out of it. Shin reached out to the plate of rations that was placed on his table only to realise that it had gone utterly cold. 'I must have been at it for hours… Well, at least I completed everything.'
Turning his attention to the opposite side of the table, Shin saw his two friends busily snoozing away on the table, and a warm smile crept up the lips of his face. Although they didn't have to, Elrin and Isadore still stayed on to help Shin finish up the paperwork. Naturally, the black-haired youth did the bulk of the work, but the help from his friends significantly boosted his efficiency.
Shin moved to the side of the sleeping beauties and gently tapped their heads. ”Wake up! You can go rest now!”
”Urghhh, just give me another minute!” Isadore was the first to wake. With drool running down his mouth, he pushed the annoying hand on his head away.
”Zzzz...” On the other hand, Elrin was as still as a log. The bags under her eyes started to darken, and her delicate eyelids were fluttering. From his prior experience with Ariel, the young girl was in a state of deep sleep and forcibly waking her up might result in him getting some unwanted injuries.
”I'll just leave a note here then...” Defeated, Shin took a piece of paper to write a simple message that he was going to his bunk to sleep and they should do the same. Stretching out his hands up high, Shin walked out of the tent a fatigued boy and couldn't wait to return back to his room.
Glancing up at the blue evening sky, Shin took a whiff of the sweet fragrance of nature that was rarely found in an industrialised city like the Capital or the Main Hub. Back when he was on Frie Mountain or Chilyoja Waypoint, the aromatic scent was omnipresent. Thus, it took some time to get used to life without it. Thankfully, field trips like this one could bring him closer and closer to nature, rekindling his love for the outdoors.
'Now that I think about it, I had never been to an ocean before?' Shin thought to himself. He was in possession of The Sovereign Koi, one of the Eight Scions of Water and yet, he had never been to the one place where the water elements dominated, the ocean.
One's environment plays a key role when cultivating. For instance, when Ariel awakened the Lava Warhammer, she was given a beautiful chamber that was just a few hundred metres away from the crater of Frie Mountain. Even Shizen, who awakened a tree Spirit in a forest, had the optimal environment to cultivate from young. Although Shin had encountered a few bodies of water, he had never utilised the greatest one of them all.
'There's a place on the map that links to the sea… Perhaps I could go there and cultivate for a few hours.'
To get to the ocean, Shin had to travel eastwards where the Lantis Republic lay. Thus, the next best option that he had was to go for the small seas that were littered all about the continent. Thankfully, there was a tiny sea located in the Land of Dreams that connected itself to the more massive oceans, giving Shin a chance to feel the water elements all for himself.
”Shin Iofiel...” At that moment, a deep voice, filled with ominous anger, broke the youth's concentration. Turning his attention to the source, Shin noticed a tall and lanky man, who looked no older than twenty, walking in his direction.
The black-haired youth squinted his eyes and searched his memory to identify the new entrant. Based on his uniform and badge, the man should be a fifth-year student at Iofiel Academy, and Shin could tell that he had seen him before. However, he just couldn't put his finger on when…
”Senior? You are?”
”Fred Newton! Year five!” Folding his arms, the man softly grumbled out.
Finally recognising the senior, Shin's eyes widened, and he unconsciously took a step back. Fred Newton was the infamous lovebird that got rejected by Kanari thirty-eight times. Due to his recent outburst at the year-end tournament coronation ceremony, the youth had been laying low to keep out of trouble. Furthermore, Principal Erudito had dispatched a counseller and an observer to ensure that Fred didn't do anything that was out of line. And everything went well for the past three months. However, when word got out that Shin was joining the training exercise, a burning desire to confront the black-haired youth ignited in Fred's heart.
”Senior Fred? Can I help you?” Shin tried his best to keep a neutral expression. When Shin was still in the sick bed, Kanari had warned him that Fred had misunderstood their relationship and he might eventually cause a little trouble with him. Thus, Shin had been avoiding the areas where his seniors congregated to prevent any form of conflict. In spite of that, Shin had actually forgotten that the joint training session was the best place for Fred to strike.
”I just want to chat a little. Mind if we switched locations?” Fred tried his best to remain calm, but the malice in his voice was extremely noticeable.
”Why can't we talk here?” Shin cautiously took a few steps back, but that only made the angered bull in front of him more irate. ”Where there are witnesses?”
”Don't worry, Shin Iofiel. I just want to talk...” Like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt, Fred's face turned crimson as the corners of his mouth twitched. ”Here is too inconvenient...”
”...”
”...”
Both sides had reached an impasse. Fred wanted to confront Shin about his relationship with Kanari while Shin just wished to go back to his bed. Shin could try walking away, but based on the fifth-year senior's body language, he seriously doubted that it was an option. Thus, the two simply stared at one another awkwardly.
”Is there a problem here?”
Thankfully, Shin's saviour came in the form of a wandering military officer who wore a pure white robe. Initially, Shin had some questions of how the man was dressed, but he quickly threw them out the window as he needed all the help he could get.
”Senior, we were just chatting. Could you not interfere?” However, before Shin could get a word out, Fred sharply addressed the military officer.
'Ah, this monster! He's seriously trying to kill me!' Shin hollered out mentally. If he followed Fred, he was a hundred per cent sure that he would come back with at least one broken limb. Putting on his best puppy eyes, Shin looked at the military officer, hoping that he would save him from the predicament that he was in. However, as the two met eyes, a vague sense of familiarity hit both of them at the same time.
”Shin? Is that you?”
”Senior Escred?” Shin combed through his memories back when he was at Aldrich's Keep. The familiar hazel-coloured hair and the sharp, handsome features of the white-robed man were hard to forget. ”Senior Escred! What are you doing here?!”
Back when Shin was accompanying Lady Seph to Aldrich's Keep, he had met a horde of different servicemen and women, but the one the spent the most time with was undoubtedly the Chief Healer of the Keep. Senior Healer Escred.
”Haha, Shin! It's really you! Wow, you have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you!” Now that they were reunited, Escred put on the biggest smile he had in ages. Moving to Shin's side, the hazel-haired man gave him a firm embrace and gently grabbed the teen's head. ”Before you were only up to my chest! Now, you're almost as tall as me!”
”I still can grow, Senior Escred...”
”Still calling me senior… What did I say about that? Hmmm?” Escred playfully glared at the youth.
”Ah, sorry about that… Old habits die hard, Brother Escred!”