The second day, Northern did not have much to do. In the morning, he made his way to the estate cafeteria-expecting to hear a thing or two, but the place was dry.
Not every one of the little two hundred students that did not participate in the festival contest came to the cafeteria.
Why would they anyway? Each mansion was equipped with a stately kitchen and dining area to serve them. The cafeteria was just an extension made available for the students to be able to dine together regardless of what mansion they stayed in.
Northern's purpose of going to the place was to gather information, which proved a little bit useless.
He got a thing or two sure, but he had a chatterbox; they were nothing he couldn't have gotten his hands on.
Still, he looked to the bright side of it-it was a good walk.
Afterwards, he retreated into the Limitless Void. He chose Lynus' two sidekicks and the missing teacher of the academy, whom contrary to what he thought, no one seemed to give a fuck about.
Or the news of his disappearance had not just gotten to Northern's ears.
Northern explained the basics of a simple survey and land marking for them. He hadn't done much around architecture and civil engineering, but while in school, he had touched a bit of it from borrowed courses before entering his major.
Besides, he did not need to do so much. It was the Limitless Void, his soul scape. He just needed this bare minimum to have a grasp over what he wanted to do with the land area.
Together with the three humans, Northern ventured into the uneven and mountainous terrain of the red mine.
The Red Mine and its kingdom was the closest land area to the Void Palace, which sat atop a mighty hill that effortlessly rose above every other mountain.
The outer appearance of the hall was darkly grand, like the tower of the devil himself.
Northern was no devil... at least not yet. Which was why he planned to add a little touch of beauty much later. Give whoever managed to wander in a mixed feeling as to whether this belonged to a devil or an angel.
'...I just want to confuse the hell out of them.'
Watching him grin from the corner, Oland felt cold dread prickle his skin from inside his blood.
If only he had refused the job at the academy, if only he had decided to push a bit harder as a Drifter, if only he had gone for that bank clerk job his friend offered him.
But to what end would all these regrets benefit him? He was stuck in a realm of crimson darkness; sometimes of cold and wicked snow storms, other times the climate of the region itself seemed unsure of what to be.
He had no idea where this place was, and he knew he was stuck there for life.
After being spared last minute from Northern's sword, he disappeared only to find himself in a mine of red crystal. He saw two other humans like him, who were nice and explained their situation.
What he understood from the story they told him was that unless he grew stronger enough to be noted or looked upon by the King of Void, he would never see the light of day.
Lynus had the same fate as them. But he did not let it bear him down; he worked harder and eventually, his might was recognized by the king. Hence, he was granted a chance of service up close.
Now, he was fighting for the king and killing monsters. The Void was refreshing, most times cruel. Feeling the tender blow of fresh and cool wind would be a great boon to their morale and mental fortress.
But if they were to have something of such semblance, they'd need to be strong enough to serve the Void King up close.
This was what all the creatures within the Void strived for, and every single one of them worked painstakingly towards it.
Mining minerals... Every day.
Oland at first couldn't help but think it to be stupidness. Initially, he thought:
How can mining some red crystals help anyone become stronger?
Then he witnessed the wicked bloodlust of the crystals. Then he witnessed the fiery defense of
the volcano stones, the freezing intensity of the frozen shards.
All those minerals, each hit of his ax against the mineral was a lesson of resilience and growth he had never thought he'd learn. At least not in such a place.
When he got dismissed, he thought he was going to suffer for the rest of his life.
But when he conversed with the humans, received the hospitality of the monsters, and saw how the hard work was actually a disguise of training that many were not opportuned to receive.
He couldn't help but see Northern in a different light.
"He's giving me another chance?"
A massive bull-headed monster had placed its hand upon him and nodded in that moment.
The boy he-even though unknowingly-sent to the Dark Continent, was giving him another chance.
A chance to grow? To be better than himself and make better choices?
All that battle with him... Oland suddenly received a full revelation of it.
The Void King could have ended his life in a minute, but yet, he chose to take a different approach to it, so that Oland could learn from his weakness and when he got to this place, take it upon himself to become strong.
Oland rose in admiration for the King of Void when that realization settled in his gut of
He respected and adored him, really. But staring at him , this close to him, he felt a
mix of admiration and fear.
But most especially, he felt gratitude towards the King.
Northern turned around, feeling an uncomfortable gaze lingering on him.
Northern raised a brow, confused at what he just heard. But he was too preoccupied with the
things he wanted to do to care.