37 : The First Year II Pt. 3 (1/2)

A woman with long black hair led Nick's group towards the north entrance, which was on the other side of the wall. This group was composed of six different classes; two were from the offensive division and three from the defensive division. There was another class from the support division besides the one Nick was in, making it a total of seven different classes.They silently followed the woman.

It took them roughly an hour and a half to make their way around to the other side. When they finally arrived, they lined up so they could enter Mt. Hessian.

There was a silver gate that was ten feet tall.

Slowly, they made their way inside, but before they entered they had to stop at an armory to pick up EXO weapons. There was a check in and check out center.

Those who had their own weapons did not need to wait and could enter the gate directly. However, how many of these freshman students had their own weapons?

Katherine and Freya surely did not have their own. Nick and Matthew waited for the two of them to grab their weapons before they went through the gate as a small group.

Freya was checking her black sniper rifle as they were entering. It was sixty inches in length, but she could break it down into three different parts.

There was no ammo for it, as she supplied it with the essence in her body. It would convert her essence into a bullet. The more essence she provided, the greater the power of the bullet.

However, since it was an older model, it would take time for it to fully convert into a bullet, leaving her wide open for any attacks.

Katherine, on the other hand, picked out a handful of silver throwing knives. Sheathed in a small belt, Katherine strapped the small belt around her right thigh. Her skirt covered a vast majority of it; if you did not see her put it on, you would not be able to tell she had a weapon.

”Over here, if you are in class ten, meet over here!”

Matthew shouted and waved his hand in the air to create a rallying point. They were not far away from the gate, so it was easy to spot them as soon as someone entered came in. Slowly students started making their way towards him.

Once the whole class was gathered, Matthew went over what was going to happen.

First, they were at the edge of the mountain; they would make their way towards the center. There would be more grass, trees, and animals. They would set up a base there, where they would live for these two weeks.

Freya nudged Nick in the arm.

”Look at him, if I did not know his true self I would think he was some mighty leader.”

Matthew was serene when he was giving out instructions to the class, and everything he said was thought out. In the eyes of everyone, it looked like he had done this many times before.

”He's a great leader; he needs to be if he wants to become a Crusader.”

Nick told her.

Matthew acted differently when he was around Freya and Nick. Without those two around he truly seemed like he was fit to be a leader.

”Look at them Nick; they act as they've never lived alone before. The look in their eyes are like they are listening to a prophet.”

”You'd be surprised. A child cannot walk right from the start; they need to crawl. To them, Matthew has something they do not, and they want it. The best way to find it in themselves is to watch and learn from him.”

At Nick's explanation, Freya giggled. Nick sounded like he was an old man preaching to the young.

”Nick don't talk like that; it makes you seem old. You are not bursting with infinite wisdom.”

”Freya I don't understand how you can be in such a cheerful mood when our bus was just attacked earlier.”

”I'm not exactly cheerful; I am just reacting to the situation in my own way. Being super serious is not exactly my thing.”

Nick glanced at Freya and checked out her body. Without her wearing glasses, she looked even more beautiful.

”You know, if you were a bit more serious, when you grow up you'd charm many men. Mature women have this appeal to them that no one can replace. Even if you were some supermodel at a young age.”

”Please Nick, you think I want to be popular with the guys? They are the last thing on my mind.”

Nick smiled at her, at least her priorities were in order. A vast majority of young ladies wanted to find a strapping young lad to marry. That was all they could think of, as long as they had a powerful partner they need not worry about anything. Their life would be set.

To him, those kind of women were a turn-off. Especially if they could not protect themselves.

”Alright, let's get moving now.”

Matthew told them as he led the way deeper into Mt. Hessian.

Freya walked by Nick who was towards the back of the crowd. He had his eye on Katherine who was ahead of him.

She had not spoken to anyone since the accident, at least not to him.

”Freya, have you talked to her?”

Nick asked Freya, as he pointed towards Katherine.

Freya shook her head.

”No. She is not much of a talker. She has this mysterious air around her; I'm quite curious as to why.”

After an hour of walking, they finally made it to a suitable location. It was a spacious grassland area, and off in the distance, you could hear water rushing.

Matthew stood up on a tree stump and overlooked his peers.

”As you can see there is no shelter, so we'll break off into smaller groups and gather supplies. Those of you who are good at foraging, make your own group and find us something to eat for dinner.”

The students moved to his command. While a lot of shifting was going on, Nick grabbed Katherine by the arm and pulled her aside. He led her into a denser part of the area, where it would be hard to see them.

Matthew came down and found Freya by herself. He saw Nick holding onto Katherine's arm as she was pulled into the forest.

”Where are they going?”

Freya shrugged her shoulders. How would she know the answer to that question?

Matthew saw that she seemed a little down and he thought it would be nice to tease her a bit.

”Bet he went to do that.”

Matthew said as he made an ok symbol with his left hand and kept making his right index finger go in and out of it.

”Shut up! Is that all you think about?”

Freya asked him with her cheeks a bit red.

”Mostly. I'm a guy so… that's like all we think about.”

Matthew replied with his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.