Despite her concern  for her brother's welfare eating her away as time passed by, Audrey tried her utmost to push the matter at the back of her mind.It was a crucial time for Audrey and she could not afford to have divided attention. In any case, there were more capable people than her who gave her their words and assured her that they will get him back. So she console herself with it.Besides, with the Annual Assessment just around the corner, student of Iridos could not afford to waste time dallying and this goes the same to Audrey's group. They were no exemption to the pressure of the upcoming student examination since this would determine if they could advance to the next level.Other than Nike who was a year ahead of them in studying magic, the rest shared the same progress.Nike has now the ability to generate mana comparable to those in the late stage of Orange Realm so with a few more practice it was safe to assume that he was only a step aw

"So what do we know about this petrifying monster so far? Anything?"Nike asked after a while. Since they already decided to take mission, he reckoned that it was for best if they could start gathering and consolidating information the earliest time possible and Allan sure did not disappoint."Oh, here is what I heard." He insinuated to which caught everyone's attention. Now, all of them in the room was all ears on what he was going to say. "Base from the folklore, the Petrifying Monster was actually a vengeful spirit of a princess banished on that land. A notorius figure back when she was alive; the woman killed her husband and then tried to usurp the throne afterward. But of course she failed and now, she served as the guardian of the Black Forest" "Well, you sure knew a lot of gossips for a man." Jace insinuated so Allan turned to him and retorted, "Well, knowing

Many had initially set eye at the mission regarding the Petrifying Monster. Mainly because of the handsome reward it promised. Yet only a handful decided to pursue it after finding out that the underlying task it required was too troublesome to complete. Most of the students abandoned the idea right at their first try simply because they did not have the luxury of time to take on burdensome mission when all they were after were to earn a few merits. They reckoned that with the Annual Assessment closing in, it was better to take simpler missions so they could focus more on their studies afterward. Moreover, upon doing further research, Audrey and Steve found out that there were rarely any written record about the said monster. In fact, the only text that mentioned it was the same folklore Allan was talking about and it goes without saying that this lack of information was not playing well on their adv

After leaving the library, Audrey and Steve walked back to their dorm in silence. Initially, Audrey thought that part of the reason why the other party volunteered to go with her was that he wanted to talk to her in private. So she was totally unnerved on their first few hours at the library. Thinking that Steve would question her for her secret. However, to her surprise, Steve acted like he did not discover something about her! Only after realizing that her friend has no intention at all of asking further question regarding her secret and that they were there purely for research, did she felt relieved. "I am glad you are taking my secret too well." Audrey started to strike a conversation. They were still a long way home so she believed air would soon turn awkward if they continue the silent treatment. "Well, whether you are Audrey or Andrew, you are still the same you and it doe

One thing among the many commendable aspects of Iridos was that it was very transparent when it came to its school records. Anyone who has the time to spare in learning where, when, and how things were acquired by the school could visit the library anytime they wanted and check it for themselves. It was no exaggeration to say that every bit of information was made readily available for those who would seek it. As long as one was diligent enough, they were bound to find the answer they were looking for. Of course, Audrey's group searched thoroughly even dividing their member into smaller groups so that they could work efficiently as well as make sure that by the end of the day, no book was left unturned Thus, with the group's combined effort, it did not take that long before they finished going through every inventory record that stretched back to the founding of the school. "Found it!" Steve announced after a short while, waving a folder that contained the details regarding the b