Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 157: Campus

The next morning, Locke took a seat next to Henry when he entered class. It was just the beginning of January and there was still a month left before the classes in the academy officially started, but many students had already begun going to the campus.

Henry gave an introduction about the school to Locke. It turned out that the curly-haired man on the podium yesterday wasn't actually their instructor, but a disciplinary officer instead. Henry had studied here for a year already, so he knew quite a lot about the school.

Students could go to the academy one month in early for independent learning. "Your instructor won't force you to study, you have to do it yourself," said Henry.

Locke nodded thoughtfully.

However, the students were all chatting in small groups in the classroom for the entire morning; nobody was doing anything remotely study-like at all.

"You should make more friends, it'll benefit you in the future!" Henry grabbed Locke and wanted to introduce him to his close friends, but Locke just said hello to them and left. He wasn't really interested in mixing around with them. They were all beginner-rank Knechts. Locke wondered if he'd entered the wrong classroom or had gone to wrong grade.

He could clearly tell from the strength of their arms when they swung them and their pace of breathing that they were just putting up a facade and they didn't know how to use impetus properly. Although Henry had been studying for a year, Locke felt that he could take him down easily with just one hand.

After declining Henry's invitation to have lunch with them, Locke went to the library alone. Although the students he'd met so far only had subpar strength, the teachers were very powerful.

Since school hadn't officially started yet, there were only two or three teachers on duty in the huge library. Though, Locke didn't dare to be presumptuous around these few teachers.

He handed his badge to a teacher who was on duty respectfully. The bald old man took the badge and felt it in his palms. "New student?"

After hearing Locke's reply, he said, "With 1000 points, you can study 1000 sandglasses' worth of time in this library."

A small funnel filled with purple gravel was hanging from the ceiling. A sandglass lasted for about one minute.

Since Locke wasn't sure how the points were earned, he left the library after ten minutes. The teacher on duty made a stroke on the badge, and Locke felt that his badge became lighter.

He then proceeded to the racecourse. It was located in the centre of the four knight academies. There were obviously more students there, and Locke had even found a few fellow schoolmates more powerful than him, and as usual, he would abide by his code of not provoking anyone stronger than him.

Only there did he finally know why Princeton Imperial Academy was hailed as the best in Aomar. Locke could sense the strength of a low-rank Knecht from a boy who seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. There were also several knights of his age or even younger who were already mid-rank Knechts.

Everyone in Faustian had always been complimenting Locke for achieving so much at a young age, but it seemed like his feat were all too commonplace here. Not to mention, he was only at a small corner of the racecourse. This large racecourse could accommodate three thousand cavalrymen for training.

The trainees whizzed past Locke as he stood in front of the fence. They were obviously more adept at riding than him. Locke's equestrian skills were taught by Wyr when he was in the cavalry platoon. He didn't learn much as there wasn't enough time, so he only knew how to do a simple sprint with his horse. He got a little excited when he saw the knights executing various attacks and tricks on horseback.

Though, he felt that he would reach that level as well, or even beyond that. After leaving the racecourse, Locke went to the places that he was interested in such as the swimming pool, training grounds, testing grounds and the park. Finally, he returned to the cafeteria.

After fumbling through the small number of gold moores in his pocket, he sat at the corner in the hall on the first floor and ordered a grilled fish sandwich. It was his first time buying food with gold coins.

Despite being only two slices of bread with a red fish in it and some sauce, it surprisingly cost Locke two gold moores. He really wanted to ask the chef if he was charging a robber's rate. However, when he cut a small piece of the fish and put it in his mouth, it tasted really delicious.

"The swallowtail fish is delicious, isn't it?" A blonde woman with a ponytail came uninvited and sat opposite him. Locke had seen her seated to his front-right just as he brought his meal there.

"Swallowtail fish? Yeah, it tastes good," replied Locke. Perhaps it was because he'd been around Angelina and Glace for a long time, he'd gradually developed the habit of not talking much while eating. He ignored the good-looking woman and continued eating his food.

"Well it is indeed delicious, but it's too expensive." The lady pouted. Her family was considered rich in Aomar, but she was a nobody in the royal capital and could only afford to eat the cheapest bread with bolognese sauce for every meal.

But that wasn't cheap as well as it cost one gold moore. She had to spend a large portion of her pocket money on food every month. The swallowtail that Locke was eating cost two gold moores, which cost double what she usually had. Though, she decided to strike a conversation with him as he didn't dress nor behave like a proper noble would.

"My name is Irene, what's yours?" asked the lady.

Locke was still chewing on his food. He replied inaudibly, "Locke."

"An elegant noble should swallow the food in his mouth before talking." Irene laughed. She was amused by how he looked just now as she rarely met someone who was so frank like him.

Locke imitated Angelina and rolled his eyes at her. This had made Irene want to chat with him more.

"My dear, you're indeed here!" A clear and melodious voice was heard.

When Locke heard it, he almost spat the fish out from his mouth.

Angelina suddenly appeared not far away from him. It was obvious that she'd been standing there observing for some time. Since a royalty like her had to restrain themselves, Angelina and Locke had only progressed as far as holding hands and hugging. He'd never heard her address him in such a manner so boldly before outsiders like that. She skipped towards him daintily sat next to him.

"Have you eaten?" asked Locke.

"No, but I've already ordered something. I'll get it later." Angelina flipped her hair and shoved Irene to the side.

"Why did you come here to eat?" asked Locke curiously. The caster academies had their own cafeteria.

"It's because I miss you. I'm here to see you," she said coquettishly.

Locke was speechless. They'd just walked into the school together this morning. She didn't feel awkward sitting next to a stranger and treated everything around her like air as she began chatting with Locke.

"Joaquin used Fireball and burned the hair of the guy that was chasing after her."

"Uh-huh."

"Danae said that she has learned how to use Rain."

"Uh-huh."

Joaquin was the woman with fiery red hair and a very attractive figure whom he'd seen yesterday. Danae was Angelina's new close friend. She had long, ocean-blue hair. When Irene saw that Locke and Angelina chatted happily, she bade him farewell and left.

When she was out of sight, Angelina smiled and asked, "Who is she?"

Locke had predicted that she would react like this. The longer he'd spent being together with her, the more he realised that she wasn't as tolerant as she seemed. She was actually a rather possessive princess.

"We just met not long ago. I think her name is Irene," said Locke.

"Really?" asked Angelina suspiciously. She initially wanted to come over today as a surprise, but she didn't expect to see him eating with another good-looking lady. It felt awful.

"Yes," Locke reassured.

Angelina stopped asking him about it. Although she was possessive, she couldn't care less about Locke being a playboy. She was still confident that he would choose her in the end.

"Have you bought food for Angie?" asked Locke.

Angelina frowned. "Not yet. How about going to the city in the afternoon to have a look?"

"Okay, I'll accompany you."

Angie was Angelina's pet. The small, green scorpiondrake finally broke out of its shell half a month ago. Locke was the one who came up with its name. It was simple and easy to remember, and Angelina liked it very much because it was really close to hers.