30 Handbook

Savyrran's ritual of going to Ahn Bayari every Saturday to sell her toys was still going strong. By the time she was fifteen, she had saved over five thousand royals in her space ring. Her training with Master Bufan had made her even stronger over the years and her body was evidence to that fact. It had been five years since she first battled Master Bufan's soul armos and by now, she could easily face his attacks head on and even attack back.

One Friday, when Savyrran went to Master Bufan's, the old man was nowhere to be found on the training grounds. Savyrran's amused eyes were a little perplexed about that since five days a week for the past ten years, the master was always waiting for her on the training grounds. But today, he was nowhere to be found. Savyrran decided to go inside the main house.

Master Bufan's residence was even larger than the mayor's manor. It had a rectangular plan, with the massive training ground in the middle. Coast Town Academy was actually located not too far from his residence. Savyrran approached the largest building in the residence. Once she stepped into the airy veranda, Nishu met her, a smile on the older woman's face. Nishu was a beautiful woman in her early thirties. Even though she looked young, Savyrran believed the woman was probably older than that given how how she and Master Bufan interacted.

According to Master Bufan, Nishu was one of her oldest disciples. She was always around and did the chores in the house.

"Hello there, Senior." Savyrran greeted Nishu cheerfully. Ever since she found out that Nishu was an old disciple of Master Bufan, she insisted on calling her senior. The older woman did not seem to mind, and was even quite taken with the young girl's dedication and discipline in training.

"Savyrran. Welcome. Master is waiting for you inside."

"He is?" Savyrran's eyes widened with uncertainty. "I was hoping I would see him on the training grounds."

Nishu explained to the girl that Master Bufan would not be training her today, however, he had instructed her to bring Savyrran to him once she showed up. After the brief explanation, and seeing the understanding dawning on the girl's face, Nishu led Savyrran into a living room which was clearly meant for hosting visitors. The design and furnishings of the room was very simple and yet elegant at the same time. It was truly a place that someone like Master Bufan would live.

Savyrran looked around her with curiosity. This was actually her first time coming to this part of the house and she was awed by how beautiful everything looked. Though Master Bufan had an intimidating aura around him, it was still hard to tell that he was rich from the way he dressed. But his residence told another story. He was the richest man in the town, even richer than the mayor.

Nishu left the room and Savyrran took a sit on a comfortable cushioned seat which was meant for three.

Soon, Master Bufan walked into the room holding a stack of papers and a small but fat book in his hand. He was not dressed in his training garb, and looked a lot more casual in his simple black robe. He took a seat opposite Savyrran then placed the stack of papers on the short table in the center of the room.

Savyrran tried to read the old man's expression, but it was as blank as a wall. She tried to conjure up reasons why they were not training today. Was the old man sick? But ever since she had known him, the man had never even complained of a headache. As far as she knew, Master Bufan was healthier than all the young men in the village combine. Or perhaps he wanted her to rest. But that did not also make any sense since she had not suffered any injuries in their training yesterday. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that she could not come up with anything.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Master Bufan finally blurted out in his deep firm voice. "I have nothing left to teach you."

At first, Savyrran did not understand what the old man had meant. But after a few seconds, the situation suddenly dawned on her. "What! What do you mean you have nothing left to teach me? I have a lot to learn." There was no mirth in her eyes and her voice was unusually pained. Did she do something? She had been learning so much from Master Bufan in the last ten years, and now suddenly, he was no longer interested in teaching her.

"Well, I agree you have a lot to learn. But not from me."

Then he paused as if to let his words sink in. "I don't understand. Savyrran, didn't you say you want to go to combat school? I think now is the time. Your strength has surpassed what you used to be five years ago and now you have even surpassed my evolved soul armos. As your master, I need to set you free to become even better. And I think combat school will be the right place for that."

"Oh… You really think so?"

"Indeed, little one. Take those papers." He instructed as he pointed to the center table. Savyrran did as she was told without hesitation. She was about to hand them over to Master Bufan but the old man stopped her. "They are yours. And don't forget to take the book before you leave. It's the academy's hand book."

Savyrran took back her sit and carefully tried to go through the papers. Her eyes slowly scanned each word and the more she read, the more brilliant her black eyes became. "This is Royal Dream Higher Academy? Is that not where Kasko went?"

Master Bufan nodded, a secret smile at the corner of his lips. He had expected the girl to be this excited ones she saw them. Since she started training with him, she was always talking about how she wanted to be a soul guardian, and once she learned she had to go to combat school to become one, she had could never stop talking about it. So, when she heard that Kasko had gone off to combat school in Royal Dream Higher Academy, she knew that was where she wanted to be too. After five years of training, Kasko eventually graduated from the academy and was currently with the Soul Guardian Force.

Master Bufan also knew without a doubt that that was where Savyrran's potential would most bloom. Royal Dream Higher Academy was one of the finest higher academies in the kingdom. Their combat school was among the top three, while their soul recovery school was deemed the best in the Second Dimension. The theory of soul recovery was after all, first developed in this academy eight decades ago.

Thus, not only was Savyrran interested, but Ovandarrak too looked forward to going to this school.

"Right now, they are on vacation. But they resume next month and once they do, registration for new applicants will last for another month."

Savyrran was still reading through the papers so as not to miss anything. Usually, she was not the type to read much, but this was about her and Ovandarrak's future and their future was important. A wide grin spread on her face when she read something. She looked up at Master Bufan, grinning from ear to ear. "Combat School in the academy is free. But the other schools have tuition fees. Also the registration fee is only three hundred royals"

"That's right. All combat schools are sponsored by the Royal Crown. But once a person goes through all five years of training, it is a must to serve in the Soul Guardian Force for five years. You cannot leave the force under any circumstance until you serve all of the five years. It's why it is cheaper than the rest. You know, your friend is in his final year of service. After that, he would be fully recognised as a soul guardian."

"That doesn't sound too bad." All she had ever wanted was to join the force so why would she leave before five years? Besides, Kasko had been able to endure all those five years, so why couldn't she? She could do it.

Master Bufan laughed within himself, but his face remained unchanged. Of course she would think it did not sound too bad. With the training she had been through since she was a child, being in the Soul Guardian Force will not be too much of an issue to her. What she failed to understand was that not everyone was like her, her mode of training and growing stronger was abnormal. It was even more abnormal when one found out that she had no essence nor soul armos.

The delight on Savyrran's face slowly faded away when she saw something else on the paper. "Registration fees at the soul recovery school is two thousand royals and the tuition fees is ten thousand every year."

Her face looked up at the old man in alarm. Why was this so expensive? Even the other two schools were a lot less expensive. Didn't her father once say that soul recovery doctors were scarce and highly sought after? Was the expensive tuition the reason for their shortage or was the tuition expensive because only few people applied?

Nonetheless, this was not the problem. She was more concerned by the fact that her brother wanted to go, but given their financial status, it sounded like an impossible dream. Currently, she had been able to save a little over five thousand royals in the last eight years. Maybe within the next three months until the registration began, her parents would have raised enough money to subside what she had. There was no way she would let Ovandarrak's dream be unrealized because of the lack of money.