King Of Limbo

Since the night Aron had attempted to get rid of the Luna mana, he had isolated himself in his room for two days straight mostly meditating without leaving nor communicating with anyone.

On the morning of the third day, Aron awoke to a loud banging on his door which caused him to sigh irritatedly. Despite not needing sleep, it still provided somewhat of a mental relief especially after the continuous meditation he did, so he would occasionally just lay down, close his eyes, and allow himself to drift away into sleep.

'What now?' Aron clicked his tongue in irritation as he wondered what could possibly be happening now.

Aron then got out of his bed and stretched his arms before walking to his door and opening it. Upon doing so, he found everyone standing outside his door. Scarlett especially had a look of anxiousness on her face upon seeing Aron while the others simply looked at her.

"Ugh, how do I say this. Look, I'm sorry about questioning your methods. If it weren't for you we wouldn't have made this many profits, so we all feel that you should continue leading us through the journey." Scarlett awkwardly apologized while failing to make eye contact with Aron who just looked at her strangely.

Feeling Scarlett wasn't convincing enough, Jin also decided to step in and say some words. "You don't necessarily need to make any grand plans, it's enough to hear your opinions on some matters if you have any. To be honest, we have no real idea how to move forward...everyone can't seem to agree on a mutual idea." Jin sighed as he explained this to Aron who raised a brow in curiosity.

'I highly doubt they're being sincere, everyone here has their own goals and doesn't seem like the type to follow someone else, especially after such little interaction. But given the success we've had as a group thus far they want me to try and continue the streak.' After thinking it over for a moment, Aron showed everyone present a minuscule smile and nodded.

"No apologies needed, let's just move on. As for how we do that, take the airship into an area with heavy beast activity or at the very least remote. Either of these two will work just fine, notify me when you've done that and we'll begin." Aron didn't waste time in coming up with their next move which seemed to relieve everyone present.

"Leave it to me, I'll have Oxin come to call you when we arrive, captain~" Scarlett thanked in an alluring tone she hadn't yet shown before, she then turned and walked away. Having no reason to stay, Oxin quickly followed her while Jagu and Jin remained.

"Do you two have a problem with that?" Aron's smile faded as he looked at Jagu and Jin with a stern gaze. "No, I fully support it. As long as I get to fight more, you'll hear no complaints from me." Jagu sneered and declared uncaringly, while Jin gave a nod.

"I already know you don't trust us and that's understandable but in these past few days you've opened my eyes. My point is there's little to no one you can trust in Galos Academy but everyone needs allies. As long you're willing to lead, I'll follow." Jin stated that with a smile on his face but Aron remained unmoved by these words, words were just words after all.

"I can see the logic behind his statement, I have no reason to believe your words nor you to believe mine but the truth remains that we're both better off with allies so why not." Aron showed a small smile and extended his hand, Jin wore a smile as well and placed it above his.

Before the two could exchange any more words, an even larger hand was placed above theirs, that of Jagu who let out a small growl. "I'm not good at thinking or making friends or allies, I only know how to fight. To grow stronger, one must surround himself with even stronger or equally strong companions, as long as you don't fall behind, Jagu of Clan White Mane will continue to fight with you."

After that exchange of words, Aron returned to his room while Jagu and Jin left to go about their own preparations. Aron, on the other hand, simply sat on the edge of his bed and let out a sigh.

'In a world where even lovers and family can betray each other the concept of trust is so brittle, I'm sure even they know that. But I unlike Scarlett and Oxin those two are actually useful… for now at least.' Aron showed a small smile as he pondered this and numerous other thoughts.

His knowledge of Pesia was growing but he still knew too little to be carefree, so he remained cautious even when most would find it unnecessary.

After some time had passed and midday came, Aron heard a knock on his door once again. When he went to open it, he found the small Oxin standing awkwardly in front of it. "Scarlett says we've arrived, she's on the deck with everyone else..." Oxin quickly declared while looking up at Aron's almost two-meter tall figure. "Let's go then." Aron gave Oxin a nod and showed a smile as he walked out of his room ahead of Oxin who struggled to keep up with her short legs.

After a short walk where the two exchanged no words, they arrived on the deck where everyone stood waiting.

"This place is both remote and has some good beast activity, what's next?" Scarlett was quick to proudly declare that she got them to the ideal destination. However, Aron did not comment on it and proceeded towards the rail to observe the geographical layout for a moment.

"Before we begin, I have a quick question. What do you all think the goal of the journey is about? We've all been tested and had adequate results for entry, so why do you think that we have to go through this journey?" Aron asked out of sheer curiosity as he of course had his own guesses thanks to the information he gained thus far but was still open to hearing what the others had to say just in case...

"Hmm, filtering out the weak? I mean, only those who wish to take battle-related courses have to go through the journey, so I can only assume it's to remove those who have the capabilities to become warriors but not the mentality. I've seen strong men freeze at the sight of a person dying brutally, so I'd assume that's the reason." Scarlett pointed out while stroking her chin and received nods from everyone present.

"I thought of that as well, but I feel it's also to have students test their skills against beasts or people as well as forge alliances and or friendships. You can't beat real combat experience, after all, which is why most aristocrats travel by airship. They don't need to prove anything, thus they can directly proceed to finish the journey." Jin stated a reason that the others also found made sense.

'That aligns with what Ariel told me.' Aron thought to himself before nodding and giving the last reason Ariel had told him of. "Those are all possibly correct, another possible reason is the most common one most are aware of; hunting beasts or beating fellow students to better your rating after the journey ends. How true this is we don't know, but it's something we cannot fall behind in." Aron covered the reason that everyone knew before proceeding to state his own.

"Lastly, my thought on the matter is that another possible reason is wealth. Galos city, the city that surrounds the academy is second only to the capital of Ettenheim in terms of luxury. Such a place may be fine for aristocrats, but commoners who have little to no money can only survive off the basic things the academy will provide, which mind you we haven't been told of." Aron finished explaining, causing Scarlett to look at him excitedly.

"Bloody right. Galos city is nearly as expensive to live in as the capital. Even those considered poor there are wealthier than town lords in Lachester. I also doubt they'll give everyone an allowance big enough to cover anything outside essentials if one at all is even exists." Scarlett added which led Jin to then nod as well before adding on.

"Once we become students, we won't be able to use academy airships, unlike aristocrats who mostly have their own or can afford to hire one. Furthermore, the time between classes and training leaves little space for earning money... leaving some no choice but to make poor decisions." As Jin added this point, Aron showed a smile before speaking once more.

"And out of all the possible reasons, which one are we left with fulfilling?" he asked and almost simultaneously everyone responded. "Hunting!"

This brought them the realization that Aron had covered nearly every aspect they needed. Wealth—not to mention a private airship—a team of multi-talented individuals, beating the highest-ranked aristocrats and showing a strong battle mentality.

"Right, all we're left with now is killing as many beasts as we can and we just so happen to have the perfect item to draw them here," Aron stated before taking out the box that housed the mana crystal and opening it.