Preparations for the Trip.

I sat down on a bench, all exhausted and sweaty from the intense exercising and practice I have been doing.

Beside me, is a girl, wearing a sports bra. She has red irises and off-white hair.

Of course, it's Evangeline.

'I've seen her like this for the last two weeks so it doesn't really faze me much... but the first time I saw her like this, even I was slightly flustered...', I thought as I averted my gaze away from her figure.

'Anyways, My staffmanship skill has now levelled up once and now I can hold my ground against melee fighters, well when I say, 'Hold My Ground', I mean I can defend against them quite well.'

As for Julian, he was just fine. He did come to talk to me afterwards and explain to me that he himself didn't mean any harm, he was doing what he was doing because he had a debt to repay to Sophia. It seems like he harbours no ill feelings towards me and actually respects me quite a bit.

He did also ask about the strange magic I used, and I told him what I told Mrs Anna. He seemed to believe it.

Since then, we haven't really been in touch with each other. I haven't seen Curtis either, probably because he was hanging around Sophia all the time.

'Good... I don't have to deal with those annoying little kids anymore...', I sighed in relief.

"What are you sighing like that for? you sound like an old man...", Evangeline interrupted my thoughts.

"Nothing really. Just thinking about the trip...", I answered nonchalantly.

"Well, we did already make a pretty good plan for it, right?", she said.

It's true. Evangeline suggested that we go on the trip together because of 'Practical Reasons.'.

'Well, I agree, in a sense.'

"Hmm. But changing the topic, I see that you've grown quite a lot since we started. Practising with an actual opponent really helps, huh?"

"Yeah! Totally! I seriously can't thank you enough! You've helped me so much!", she smiled and replied back.

'It's nice to see her smile... WAIT! '~~I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROOOOOOACHIIIING~~'', I now have to frequently sing that song mentally to keep myself from getting distracted.

'Motivation, baby!'

Anyways, I also got the Ring of Pestilence from William. It looks like a snake biting its own tail to form a ring. There's also an emerald embedded in it. I wore both of my rings, the Meteor Ring and the Ring of Pestilence, on my left hand's index and middle fingers.

I still had a lot of work to do to fully max out my talismans and gear, but I was definitely making some solid progress. Also, my nightmares about the times when I almost died have slowly started to go away...

That's right. I had frequent nightmares about the incident with the Millenium Centipede back in the Unholy Highlands... I always see myself getting killed in some snowy field and dying of hypothermia...

Even thinking about that sends a few shudders down my spine...

Even though I know that with Amranth, I won't have to worry about my Mana running out too fast, the thought still terrifies me. I was always a bit of an overthinker, so I keep catastrophising about the worst-case scenarios in my head. The new skill, Mage's Fortitude helps with it, but it doesn't quite completely get rid of it... Also, the migraine I face every time I deactivate the skill is no joke. It's getting to the point where I feel like it would be better to just not use the skill when not absolutely necessary and just let my written grades drop... So much headache for just an above-average dorm room seems like too much...

'So many problems... Goddammit...'

"Samuel... is everything alright? You're making an ugly face...", Evangeline interrupted my self-deprecating mind-rant.

I looked at her and smiled.

"It's nothing really. I've rested enough, let's go train."

"Yes!"

--- 3 days later {Monday} ---

'Today's the day of the trip...', I thought as I was waiting in front of the girl's dorm for Evangeline. The plan was to go to the school's Skyrail station together.

Now, you might be wondering, 'Then, why did you leave the school every time you wanted to go someplace far when there was a Skyrail right here in the school?'

Well, the answer is quite simple: The school's Skyrail is not anonymous. They keep every record and every student's and teacher's ID who use it. I didn't want to leave tracks some idiot could follow and find out about where I had gone before. Because the places where I had gone before were actually places in which great artifacts and hidden dungeons were located, and if someone were to find out about it, it would be very bad because they will come to question me - 'How Did you know about those places even before the government and the hunter association?'

And I don't want that.

Anyways, I was wearing my usual black shirt and grey trousers. Thankfully, because of my lean build now, it didn't look too formal or like I was trying too hard or something.

After about 5 minutes of waiting, I heard a feminine voice calling out to me.

"Samuel! There you are! I'm sorry for being a bit late!"

It was Evangeline, of course. She was wearing an elegant black cardigan, which highlighted her big breasts, on top of some bleach-coloured jeans, which also highlighted her waist. Her hair was done quite well and her crimson-red eyes looked as bloody as ever.

'Wow... Beautiful...', I didn't even try distracting myself anymore.

"I didn't wait long. Just 5 minutes. Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah! Lets!"

And so, the Academy Field trip arc begins...

'I've done all the preparation I can, now I just have to be careful not to deviate too much from the plan...', I thought as we walked towards the Skyrail station.