Hideout

As Beta entered the school, he noticed that everything remained the same just as when they had left. There were still the same beautiful gardens, students and teachers going about their own businesses, and the too long path heading to the dorms.

"Before you all go to your dorms, let me remind you that class will start tomorrow again. If you plan to celebrate due to your improvements, you should consider that first. Just rest for now to recuperate your tired bodies and soul.", Lores said meaningfully while stealing glances to a couple of whispering students which seemed to be the targets of his warning.

Everyone nodded at Lores' remark. It was not like they were planning on doing something grand or bad, but knowing about their strict schedule, they wouldn't dare be reckless and do anything, even if someone told them to. The ones from the other classes might have different thoughts but the S classes would never go overboard. The pressure they get from the top-ranking kids of the normal classes didn't allow for them to be overly festive in the first place.

They feared that if they stopped their advancement even for a second, they would become a part of the normal classes and lose their supply of extraordinary cultivation resources. Even if not for the resources, they would still do it for the status alone. Staying in the S class gave them plenty of benefits especially when they try to enter other schools or organizations later on. Another reason why they strive hard was also because of their friends. If they weren't capable enough to stay in the S class, they would be separated from their newly close friends. Coming into a new class is especially hard for little kids, so that may even be what they fear the most.

Beta wasn't concerned about any of those though and instead went to his dorm and slept directly after separating from Brian and Domian. He then slept until it got dark outside and suddenly, he sprung up from his bed.

"I guess now is the best time to start with step one…", Beta muttered in an inaudible voice.

He took his robe and wore it with the hood covering his head. Shortly after, Beta left through his door quietly, checked his surroundings first, before stealthily leaving the school grounds. It was a wonderful night with a big round moon in the sky. The air smelled fresh and a cold wind hit his face. The light from the moon created large shadows on the ground, thus it was quite easy for him to sneak out. Beta also made sure that no one is following him as he walked away from the school grounds. He was planning to head towards the slums.

Once he reached the area, he searched for a deserted alleyway with a dead end, which he found after several twists and turns. It was so dark that Beta could barely even see his hands. He went to a corner and put his hands on the dirty, earthen ground. Following that, Beta let out his void elemental soulpower, digging into it. He slowly removed layer by layer of earth, forming small stairs in the process. As he walked down the stairs, he dug deeper and deeper. He even didn't forget to create small ventilation holes that went upwards.

After resting several times, he managed to get rid of enough earth to have a small block of space that made it resemble a small room. At a depth of approximately six meters, a small room was finally created. It didn't look as dirty as one might think. Beta's void elemental soulpower successfully cut off all the roots hanging into the room that didn't help in stabilizing the walls and ceiling. Thus, the room looks neater compared to a cave.

Before continuing on with his plan, Beta checked from above the surface if all of the ventilation holes were working as intended before covering them up in a way so that no one would see them. However, he made sure to let the air still get through the holes, otherwise, he'd end up being suffocated underground. Beta also covered up the entrance with a sturdy earthen plate he had secured previously from the lower layer to hide it from people who randomly passed by the area. Once he finished double checking his cover-up, he then got back down into the room underground.

He prepared a pedestal that looked like the operation table he was used to, back at his parents' place. He looked at his setup almost lovingly, as if reminiscing his good old days. But then, he unwillingly left his small underground room to head back to school. Before leaving the area completely, he, once more, confirmed that nothing could be seen from the outside and only left when he was satisfied.

It was already about to be bright outside when he finally got back to his dorm room. Just when he lied down, Beta heard Brian's footsteps in front of the door. Even if Beta was quite exhausted after all the hard work last night, he definitely couldn't skip school because of it. Knowledge is power and power is exactly what Beta wanted.

He left his room sluggishly and greeted Brian who was brimming with energy. Shortly after, Domian arrived there as well, as if he was naturally a part of the duo's group. They then went to class together where Lores only told them to just self-study for a bit in the library. Most students were disappointed since they thought that they'd be able to show off their improvement in front of the class but the fact that they had to do more studying dampened their moods. Beta on the other hand was quite pleased. If they always had to show every single improvement they have, they wouldn't have the time to actually study in class. That was exactly what he wanted, a quiet place where he could read and rest at the same time.

At the library, he was able to read about the geography of the surroundings and an encyclopedia of beasts to further enhance his knowledge about the current world he's in. Once the time was up, he went back to his dorm and slept for a few hours until darkness arrived. Beta then sneaked out again and headed to his underground base. When he arrived there, he found everything how he left it. Though it looked quite lacking at the moment, he plans to add more furniture and equipment in the future, so it wasn't a problem that it looked bleak for now.

Inside his base, the air seemed to be a bit more turbid than yesterday, so he optimized the ventilation system before it got any worse and built a second operation table right next to the first one. Satisfied with his work, Beta left his base again and walked along the streets. He didn't even try to sneak this time and instead openly showed his figure. Soon, a tall man stood in front of him.

"Hey, boy! My pals and I are going out to drink something. Don't you want to join us? Of course, the first round is on you! Hahahaha!", the man said in a domineering tone.

Only then did another two guys and one woman step out from behind the tall man. When Beta looked up at the tall man, he saw a bushy unkempt beard and a dirty face. His nose looked several times bigger than a normal persons' and Beta was wondering if he was punched in the face before this. The other three were just as dirty, the only difference was that their clothes had a few more holes in them.

"E-Eh? I-I'm really sorry, but I'm underage and I'm not allowed to drink!", Beta said meekly while taking a defensive position.

"Oh? But you can still pay for the first few rounds, right?", the tall man said, laughing loudly with his companions.

"B-But I really need this money for my mother's medicine...", Beta answered, a few tears running down his cheeks.

"No worries! We'll take care of that for you! Just give us the money and tell us where you live. In just a few days, we will come to your mom and take proper care of her!"

"Really?! Thank you! But we should go over to that alleyway. There are too many indecent people around here and I don't want anyone to take advantage of my saviors!", Beta said, excitement written all over his face.

At first, these people were quite dumbfounded about what Beta said. But, seeing that he's just a kid, they quickly adjusted and chuckled sinisterly.

"Boy, you really are a smart one! Your mother must be really proud of you!", one of the guys said with a smirk.

Beta just energetically nodded at that remark and lead the way into the dark alleyway.

"Alright boy, we still need to take care of some things, so why don't you give us your money now?", the tall one impatiently said.

"To be honest, I don't have it with me... I was worried that I might be robbed, so I hid it. Never would I have thought that I would meet such wonderful people!", Beta said with a slight sigh.

"Eh?! Where did you hide it?", now it was the woman's turn to speak. Her intuition told her that something was fishy. But no matter what she said, the guys wanted to go with Beta.

As they continued along the road that got more and more deserted, even the tall guy slowly became uneasy.

"Kid, just where did you hide it?"

"I was afraid that someone might find it by accident, so I hid it at a place no one usually goes to.", Beta said, raising up his nose as if he was truly proud of his decision.

When they heard his answer and saw his reaction, the guys were satisfied and let go of their wariness. He was just a weak little boy after all. It made sense for him to hide his assets where no one would find it. Thus, they obediently followed Beta until they got into an alley where they barely saw anything.

"What are we doing here?", they all said together.

"When I was small, I found a small treasure of a big-time bandit in a small hideout.", Beta said, again raising his nose up high, boasting with his sensory skills.

"Treasure?!", their mouths went wide open.

Even as they looked at Beta taking away a heavy earthen plate, they didn't say anything at all. The only thing that went through their heads was this one word, 'treasure'. They heard before of big-time bandits that stored their winnings in small hideouts under the earth. But they had never expected to actually come across one due to this stupid kid. How lucky can they be? Just thinking about the things, they want to spend the money on, made them throw away all the caution on the back of their heads and willingly took the bait.

Even as they stepped on the stairs, they simply lit a small makeshift torch while still drowning in their own delusions. The woman though was a bit more perceptive about the situation, but she was dragged forcibly along by the others, not giving her any chance to resist. So, she couldn't help but secretly fret on her own while staying alert.

As they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they realized that in the room, they didn't see any of the promised treasure the kid told them about. They finally woke up from their dream and instantly turned around. In front of them stood Beta. But he looked different from before. Instead of looking meek, he emanated an overwhelming strength which they, as ordinary humans, couldn't fathom. On his face was a warm smile, as if he was their best friend. Then he slowly opened his mouth, to say something which drained the color off their faces.

"Welcome to your new home!"