Logan, as usual these days, slept very little.
The thoughts about the next day's events, the long trip, and Lisa's visit gave him a lot to think about.
He didn't even need Ruri's help to awaken; he stood up with the sound of his falcon's wings flapping as it exited the room in the morning.
The falcon would fly to hunt something for breakfast even before the sun rose.
As soon as he got up, he went down to take a quick bath, one of the last he would have until they reached his territory.
Luckily for him, his maid had placed a set of clothes aside the night before, thinking of her master's needs for the next day.
In no time, he was clean.
He spotted some kids in his class who were up and as restless as him.
They were either busy talking to others or packing the last of their remaining items.
The breakfast for everyone was simple sandwiches to avoid needing plates or dishes to wash.
Everyone hurried, knowing the day was going to be long.
Ms. Claire was hurrying up those who were late; she had been told the class needed to be out by 9, and everyone needed to be ready to board the carriages that would take them to a teleportation array.
This array would take them to a city closer to Dracone Ridge, the labyrinth city.
The place was hectic.
Logan himself wanted to follow them and see them off.
His own caravan would be nearby the other carriages and would split off to go north during a certain section of the road.
"Is everyone ready? We need to leave. Start getting in lines; we will be heading to the carriages. Anyone who has mounts needs to get them before we leave, so hurry up," Ms. Claire said sternly.
The main butler, Mr. Alric, wouldn't be going with the class but did help most of them with what they needed to hasten the departure.
Within an hour, everyone had settled and began moving.
Logan, as always, went to the end of the line, knowing he didn't have to but felt it was right, at least for one last time.
The class walked through the garden and into the carriage area, where twenty or more carts were parked, each one with different monsters.
Standing next to them, the two princesses wore their luxurious dresses.
Their own cart was not the Pegasus-led wagon, but a normal cart pulled by powerful golden birds that stood in wait.
Logan had not seen them since the day they arrived.
"Welcome, heroes. We will be going with you on this journey. I hope this trip will strengthen our bonds and hopefully make you all powerful enough to crush those demons," the older princess Vianell said, as graceful as always.
The class cheered, knowing they could now get stronger.
Some were addicted to the sweet feeling after a good few level-ups, while others now had someone to fight for.
Logan stared at Lisa while everyone was getting ready.
The young girl seemed to be doing better than him.
The owl perched on her shoulder gave him the confidence he needed to send her off.
[Guess this will be where we part. Please have a safe trip and make sure to communicate if you need anything,] the boy used his link.
The girl, who heard the familiar voice, turned back to spot the boy. He nodded and smiled before she returned her attention to her friend Alma, who was talking.
[You too, Logan. Please stay safe.] She tried to hold back a tear and continue her joyful talk with her friend as she saw the boy walking off.
Logan, who was about to leave, saw that his teacher, Ms. Claire, was coming back while riding on a large bird. It was the same species as Chloe but with a deeper green color.
He waved to her before she got close to the others, not wanting them to witness his special way of taming.
"What is it, Logan? I should be with the class," Ms. Claire asked as she jumped off the bird with skill, demonstrating that she had trained.
"Well, about that, I wanted to do what I said yesterday—the thing about making this monster stronger," Logan said while petting the beast
He had already secretly made a cut to hurry with the procedure and was petting near the large wings under the right side of the monstrous bird's chest.
"There, it's done," Logan said as he felt the mark begin to manifest on his right side, corresponding to the place he had touched.
"That was quick. I thought it would have taken longer. I don't know what it does, but I hope, like you said, it makes this kid stronger," Ms. Claire said as she petted the bird and got back on.
"Logan, stay safe. I hope we see each other soon," Ms. Claire said, staring at the boy for a while before fixing her hair.
"I will, teacher. Please keep the others safe. I know we will see each other soon, so hurry and get stronger," Logan replied, waving to her after she kicked off the bird's side.
[Ouch, too hard, moreee!] he heard the weird bird say. It seemed something wrong had happened to the strange beast.
Logan chuckled as he saw a few carts coming from the road.
One of them had his unique beast walking beside it.
It began running to him with great speed.
[Free, master, freee,] Logan heard Scorch roar. Some of his scales radiated a red glow as he shot fire into the sky in excitement.
He heard the class behind him begin to stir, and some called out as the raptor ran towards the boy.
With a strong jump, Scorch reached Logan and began nuzzling his face against Logan's chest like a dog. Soon, most of his other pets arrived.
Ruri had his fox nestled on her well-endowed chest, the small creature deep asleep.
His falcon perched itself on his shoulder, his slime was as always under his shirt.
His goblin exited a carriage and ran to hug his leg, while his basilisk slithered out from the same carriage to hug his other leg.
As for his plant, Scarlet, it sensed the other beasts and tightened its grip on his arm, as if to signal her presence.