106 To the capital! [1]

"Where am I...?"

"Why are you asking me? I don't know either!"

After flying for almost two days straight, I realized that even though I knew the direction that Kuul was in, I had never navigated somewhere without a GPS in my life. Sadly, the phone that I had gotten as a gift from a forgotten friend didn't have navigation capabilities, it was just a basic cell phone with (Ugh!) buttons.

In order to survive the nights that were even colder than the days, I had found inspiration from a certain individual who had been blessed by the force, by sleeping in a bundle of disgusting yeti hides.

Somehow, the hides were more than warm enough to keep me from dying from hyperthermia, and although I had been able to dry them somewhat, they still smelled like rotten ass.

However, after two days of flying around, I had completely lost my way. At some point, every single location started to look exactly the same. Just mountain ranges and valleys, filled with snow and the occasional trees and bushes.

Then, a weird sight entered my vision, looking down at a duo fighting with a pack of wolves, not looking like they were on the winning side of the battle. A dark-haired man, using a sword and shield was trying his best to defend a bunny woman who was desperately clutching what looked like some sort of bag to her chest.

Coming closer, it didn't take long until I could hear what they were talking about.

"Go! I'll hold them off! Just get that medicine to your mother!"

Tears flowed from the woman, as she didn't want to leave the warrior alone, knowing it would lead to his death. "No! I can't just leave you here! What will your wife say? What will your son say?!"

As the wolves were slowly inching closer, having made a half-circle around their poor prey, there were a couple of thoughts going through my mind. 'I wonder if they know where the capital is? If I save them, will they lead me there?'

No matter what, it was worth a shot. In the worst case, I would just have to cut my losses and move on afterward. From a glance, I didn't think that the wolves were any higher than [E]-rank, and though the warrior seemed to be individually stronger, he couldn't fight the six of them at the same time.

*Grrr!

"Look out!"

Baring their teeth, the grey wolves were just about to pounce on the two of the when I arrived at the scene, having transformed into my human forms and letting go of my wings, making me fall o the ground. Hurriedly, I conjured a big cloud of mist, trying my best to keep the wolves from killing my guides.

"[Dome of Mist]"

Though the mist wasn't enough to cover the whole area, it was more than enough to keep the bunny girl and the shield-bearer from harm's way. *Grr?!* Surprised by my sudden visit, the wolves quickly changed their target, fully intent on not letting me leave this little valley alive.

Sadly, I wouldn't fulfill their wishes. *Schiing!*

Enhancing the blade of my weapon, it quickly took on the same length as I, now glowing purple with joy. *Ruff...?"

*SCHING!*

A huge purple arc of death swung out from my weapon quickly ending the lives of three of the wolves in an instant. *Ruff! Grr!*

Knowing that they couldn't just let their brethren die for no reason, the other wolves resolved themselves. Baring their teeth once more, I could feel their determination. And just like I expected, they ran away.

"Who are you?! State your name!"

The duo had emerged from the mist, the man having raised his sword and shield in case I was an aggressor, while the bunny woman covered behind him, still holding that brown bag. Looking closer, the woman was quite a looker.

Slender and petite, clad in some pretty robust leather clothes to keep her warm, it wasn't unpleasant to the eye. With her whole body covered in pinkish, white fur, and big ears, it almost made me second guess my preferences.

Taking a small bow, fully conscious that my mask was still covering my face. In the end, I had made the choice to keep it on, not letting anyone see my face to make sure I had another trick up my sleeve.

"My name is Jack. I am currently trying to find my way to the capital, but I seem to have lost my way."

Of course, they were still hesitant to approach me, as their eyes were quickly jumping from the bloody massacre behind me, and my mask. Finally, the man opened his mouth, "Prove it. How can we trust someone who appeared from nowhere, and killed three Dire Wolfs in an instant? How could someone who must be at least a [C]-rank possibly get lost here?"

A lot of reasonable questions were handed to me, but it wasn't as if I didn't expect them. "Well, if you do realize that I'm stronger than you, wouldn't that imply that if I wanted to, I could just kill you right now? Also, I just need to know in what direction I should go, it is no concern to me if you accompany me or not."

Seemingly relaxing a bit, as he understood what kind of situation we were in, he ultimately lowered his sword. "Thanks for saving us... We are also headed back to Kuul right now, so if you want, you are free to come with us. I'm Peter, and the girl behind me is Julie."

"Thanks for saving us..."

'A strong, prideful man and a woman in need, ain't that just the peak of clichés...Whatever, it's not like I am here to find friends.'

"No worries. Now, lead the way, please. I can't wait to get to sleep inside!"

==========

When night fell, we had finally arrived at Kuul, unfortunately not getting to see all its glory because of the darkness. Nonetheless, it was obvious that it was a military country when the capital was pretty much a huge fortress, with giant stone walls all around it.

In the middle of it all, there was a huge castle that seemed to venture endlessly into the sky, with multiple buildings in the outer courtyard. Other than that, it appeared to be a little bit more modern than Trill, but not by much.

From what I had seen, my only guess was that the entirety of Kurat probably lived in what could only be described as moderate poverty, which would make sense as there was probably little chance of using the snowy lands as agricultural areas.

Now, with us having arrived at the capital, it was time for me to say my goodbyes. Even though we had spent most of our journey in silence, I still had a pretty good feeling that these were nice people.

Julie especially, having ventured out to the neighboring city just to get her hands on medicine for her sick mother, as the pharmaceutical industries in the capital were for some reason incredibly, strictly controlled.

Just before we would enter the huge gates, I made sure to split up from the nice people, not wanting to put them in trouble for no reason, "Thanks for showing me the way. I'll go the rest of the way by myself."

Although they were surprised by my sudden decision, they didn't know me nearly well enough to dispute it. "I see. Well, maybe I'll see you around. If possible, I would like to do more for the one who saved our lives." While Peter repaid my farewells, Julie just waved with a slight blush on her face.

With the two of them going on without me, I took a while to appreciate the sights some more from sub-me who was scouting the capital from the skies before I also got going. Of course, I wasn't about to just waltz right in through the gates.

So, making sure I walked out of sight of anyone who might see me, I transformed into a raven and flew into Kruul.

****

[Arthur's Pov]

"Things are going to change now. Because of how turbulent the world is, we have decided to put the A-class and the B-class together, meaning you won't have to compete against each other anymore. Therefore, we expect you all to use the recourses given to you to the best of uses."

Although I wasn't sure what was happening, I was sure that whatever it was, it was going to happen in the not-so-distant future. After all that had happened, with the demons attacking and James getting executed and then resurrecting as, supposedly, a demon right after, it was hard to keep calm.

Even though Ms. Turner looked composed, her words carried a different feeling, even more so when she continued and dropped another bomb on us.

"Also, to commemorate the classes getting combined, you, the freshmen, will get to go on a long-distance excursion at the end of the year. And the location for the trip will be Kuur, the capital of Kurat!"