Theron felled the third and final Thornhulk, his blade twisting and ripping.
Knocking its head off as the light of dawn beamed down from the skies, snaking through the gaps in the forest’s leaves.
The exoskeleton of the Thornhulk was especially tough. Its inner flesh, though, was not only delicious, but it was exceptionally soft.
His blades had dulled considerably after these three battles, and yet they had always been able to pass through the joints and inner flesh of the beetles with ease.
After a few slashes, he managed to take out a small bead from the center of the creature’s head. It reflected a greenish bronze hue unique to Bronze Resonance Wood Mancy Beasts.
What was unique to the Thornhulk, though, was the swirling patterns within. They matched the beautiful mahogany and brown patterns of their exoskeleton.
Honestly speaking, these exoskeletons were quite valuable, but Theron didn’t have a spatial device that he could use openly, so he was unable to bring them all back.
This Seventh Resonance Exoskeleton, though… he would. It should fetch a pretty penny.
He hadn’t gotten any rewards for killing Yonowai for obvious reasons, but this would definitely be worth more than that. It would be worth at least 50,000 bronzes even if he didn’t include the beast core.
After all, if he was going to return to Daggers of the Night, he was going to need a little extra something in his back pocket.
Theron dug out all the flesh in the exoskeleton, doing whatever he could to make it lighter. After he was finished, he grunted, heaving it all onto his back.
His feet sank into the ground, his legs quivering.
It seemed that his training wasn’t over yet.
With a step, he left in a light jog.
**
Theron dropped the bag of three beast cores on the table.
Burne looked up, raising an eyebrow. It was quite early in the morning, so much so that there was no one in the classroom yet. He was only here because he had to take this job quite seriously despite what most of his actions seemed to relay.
If they were going to turn the youth against the Imperial Clan, then his role was actually quite important.
What he didn’t expect was Theron to suddenly appear here.
There was an odd glow to Theron’s face. He was calm and collected, and almost looked like he had just gotten a refreshing night of sleep.
Once again, they had lost track of Theron last night. He had meant to keep tabs on him, but the kid seemed to have a knack for slipping away. It was one of the reasons he had been even more certain that Theron was from Daggers of the Night, but that theory had no choice but to be buried.
Could it be…
Burne reached forward and tipped the bag over.
His eyes narrowed when the cores began to roll out.
One Sixth Resonance Beast Core. Two Seventh Resonance Beast Cores.
Feral beasts didn’t have beast cores to begin with; all of their power was concentrated in their bodies. These could only be from Mancy Beasts.
“… Thornhulks…”
It didn’t take more than an instant for Burne to recognize the patterns.
He had completed the mission in a single night? Right after suffering what should have been such a harsh blow to his soul?
Burne’s fingers trembled just the slightest bit. He looked up subconsciously, finding that the arrogant Theron from yesterday was gone, replaced with the same gentle, unassuming boy that usually sat in his classes.
A facade he felt was exactly that—fake.
And yet, he couldn’t see through it even though he knew it to be the case.
What he didn’t know was that the bravado Theron had shown in the Dean’s office was the real facade. Theron wasn’t that person, he had never been.
“I didn’t expect that you would pick such… useful beast cores.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Teacher,” Theron replied calmly. “I only chose what made sense to choose.”
“… Where are the exoskeletons?”
“You never told me to gather them for you.”
Every reply was just as gentle. Burne almost hated how soothing Theron’s voice was; it made it difficult to hate him. But for some reason, that only annoyed him more.
He didn’t know why he became so agitated around this youth. He could only hope that his death date was sooner rather than later.
“… You’ve done well.” Burne eventually said.
He waved a hand and a bottle appeared. It quickly shot into Theron’s palm.
Catching it, Theron looked down. He then nodded.
“Thank you. I actually had a different favor to ask of you, though, Teacher.”
“And that is?” Burne asked indifferently.
“I want to sit in on the Fourth Year Botany Class.”
Burne’s expression changed. This, he didn’t expect.
While it seemed like all years were tossed in together, there were certain Classes barred from under-years, this being one of them. Herbology was considered quite a dangerous endeavor for obvious reasons.
Without completing certain credit prerequisites, it was impossible to attend these specially curated classes.
“Is that so… Alright.” Burne said slowly, his gaze shifting to the pill bottle. Thinking about what was inside, he decided he might as well allow this.
Theron turned and left after saying his thanks again.
Burne’s eyes narrowed. Theron actually didn’t check what the pill was before leaving; that was unexpected.
…
Theron looked in the bottle after returning to his dorm. He hardly reacted to the fact he had been awarded with a mere three Mid-Tier Bronze Resonance Pills.
He had been taking pills like this since he was in Third Resonance. What were they supposed to do for him now that he was in the Seventh?
He tossed it to the side indifferently.
Out from another secret compartment, he pulled out a new black robe, his last having been tossed in his escape.
It was time to return to Daggers of the Night.