Humanity Return

Ch. 46 – Problems and Surprises

Isaac immediately jumped up onto the carriage, followed by the group behind him. Some of them let their Beasts get inside the passenger train and others took their Beasts to a special train in the back.

“...”

Aura sat beside Leinn and stroked Rufus' head on her lap.

Basalt seemed very interested in seeing the rapidly changing scene in the window beside Leinn.

Leinn himself still did not say anything and just put on a serious expression, putting his hand on the Clear that was on his lap.

“Kyuu?”

Most of the other prospective disciples in the surroundings also wore tense expressions, seeing that their biggest barrier had a Rank E Contracted Beast made their chances of winning to zero.

Leinn lifted up and placed both his feet on the large bag in front of him and closed his eyes.

No one believed he was trying to sleep, seeing the pressure he was exuding steadily increasing slowly.

Not long after, the chains of the Mana Train's wheels began to slow down and stopped in front of a large iron gate.

“Whoa..”.

Awe-inspiring voices could be heard from the group that had just exited the Mana Train upon seeing the great wall and the gate that separated the academy from the rest of the city.

The gate in front of them was indeed smaller than the city gate, but it looked much more sturdy and authoritative.

All who wanted to register to become a Hunter or report on a completed mission only needed to come to the Hunter Guild near the city gate, either, so this was the first time for some of them to stand this close to that Red Dawn Academy.

“...”

But even that could not change Leinn's expression that carried Clear on his left shoulder.

The aura standing beside him just stared at him without saying anything.

Basalt and even Rufus were stunned by the gate in front of them. They could sense a large amount of Mana from those high gates and walls.

Whoongs

A loud sound rang out as the huge gate started to open.

Isaac turned around and faced the group behind him, showing his smile.

“So here I will accompany you, good luck”

With a single turn, his staff turned back into a ring on his right index finger and his owl returned to its original size. Isaac leaped onto the owl's back and flew through the gate, disappearing.

The group's confusion was cut short when someone in a watchtower walked in front of them, intending to escort them.

“Let's follow me”

The supervisor brought them into the academy, precisely to some places they needed to know.

They were eventually taken through places such as the cafeteria, the training grounds for humans and Beasts, the library, and the buildings where they lived temporarily.

They also found a map of the Academy and the tournament schedule that Professor Isaac referred to earlier in their respective rooms.

Most of them had already started making plans to fight the black-haired young man, without any success. Eventually almost all of them accepted their fate and were grateful to have been safely accepted into the academy, as they remembered one important piece of information.

The black-haired youth was not the only Monster in the later tournament.

...

The moon and small lights illuminated the open training field, revealing a variety of sophisticated training tools. This is a place that becomes one of the main training places for students who want to hone their skills.

In the middle of the field was the black-haired youth, alone with his Contracted Beast.

It seemed like most of the senior disciples were outside of the academy, seeing the time of admission of new students was their time off as well.

While most of the group chose to rest after three days in the forest without a real sleeping mattress, but it did not cross Leinn's mind at all at this time.

“Kyuu?”

“...”

He was just sitting on the stone floor with Clear looking puzzled looking at the young man in front of him saying nothing.

Leinn just sat there, quiet.

The atmosphere changed when there were newcomers on the training ground.

“Leinn?”

Leinn turned towards the voice that called out to him and found Aura who was walking towards him alone.

Aura was seen wearing a different outfit to the one she wore in the morning, a long-sleeved shirt and white trousers with different sunflower patterns and shoes.

“Aura..”.

“Kyuu!”

Clear jumped up and landed in the embrace of Aura who reached nearby.

Leinn saw Aura sitting in front of him while stroking the Clear that was on her lap.

After a moment of silence between them, Leinn was the first to speak.

“What should I do..”.

Aura saw a new expression on Leinn's face sitting in front of her, a face full of anxiety.

“Clear won't be able to survive if it fights another Beast.

“Kyuu?”

Leinn did not let go of his gaze from Clear, who could feel his anxiety through their Contract ties.

Clear leaped onto Leinn's lap and trembled to calm him down.

“Seven days..if I had more time-”.

“Leinn”

Leinn raised his face and found Aura who showed an excited expression was looking at him.

Aura got up and walked over to Leinn.

“Quiet it!”

Leinn suddenly felt a small hand pat her head awkwardly.

He could see the awkward smile on Aura's face as well, it seemed like he was not used to doing this.

Leinn felt a little better after seeing the effort.

“You only need to give the 40 Beast Cores of the Giant Tarantula on Clear, he should be able to reach Rank C” Aura said as she pulled back her hand.

“Huh..?”

Leinn showed a puzzled expression that Aura had not realized who had already started to explain her plan.

“But the Giant Tarantula has only a small amount of Mana element ground, Clear will probably be Earth Slime or an ordinary Giant slime.

“T-wait first”

Aura looked at Leinn who raised her right hand to stop her explanation with a question.

“40 Beast Core in 7 days?”

Aura realized Leinn's confusion after hearing the question.

“Oh yes, one of the main characteristics of Slime Beasts is that they can digest Beast Cores or other precious materials in large quantities in a shorter time”

“So... seven days is enough for the evolution of Clear to the next Rank, only with Beast Core?”

Aura nodded her head, and Leinn immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Leinn immediately fell down lying on the stone floor below him.

“L-leinn!”

“Hahaha..”.

Leinn let out a laugh, realizing that his anxiety had been caused by his own lack of knowledge. It took a while for Leinn to stop her laughter, with Aura just standing beside her and looking at her leg expression.

“Ha... so I just need to let Clear eat the Beast Core alone?”

“Ya, 40 Rank C Beast Core will be finished processed by him less than 7 days”

Leinn began to plan his next move until a question flashed through his mind.

“Why is Slime Beast not famous?”

Aura sat back in front of Leinn and raised her face when she heard the question.

“Um..“

“Hm?”

Leinn looked at Aura a little reluctantly, leaving her confused.

“What's up?”

“Because... Slime Beast is weak.”.

Aura looked at Leinn with a guilty expression.

“The reason the various Slime Beasts did not become famous Contracted Beasts was their individual weakness. Almost all Beasts with the same Rank could defeat them one on one”

“...”

“Only one Rank A Slime Beast recorded had been a Fortress-class that possessed terrifying strength, whereas before that they were still limited by a meager amount of ability. Plus the level of their intelligence that almost no”

“Kyuu?”

Aura looked at Clear who was trembling in Leinn's lap, her expression slightly changing.

“But Clear... I've never seen a Rank E Beast, let alone a Rank E Slime Beast as expressive as himself”

Aura got up, patted her pants and looked back at Leinn who was thinking seriously.

“So, you don't want to go back and rest?”

“Yes, later”

Aura turned her head once more before walking back the direction she had come from before, returning to rest again. Now Leinn was again sitting alone with Clear again in the middle of that field.

“So... Rank C is not quite”

Leinn was still stroking Clear with her right hand, then her left hand started touching her left waist bag. He jumped up with his right hand that raised Clear.

Clear also felt a sense of spirit from Leinn and began to tremble strongly.

“Alright!”

...

“Clear die”