Questions and Answers

Max and the others were escorted by Azel back to the academy. They were brought to the second floor and followed Azel into one of the rooms present there. He took a seat at his desk, opening some drawers, taking a book and a pen before looking at the five individuals that still sat straight in front of him.

"Alright then, have you decided by now?" He asked in a monotone voice, this was the most boring part of the competition, handing out the rewards. Sometimes the reward was already picked by the principal of the academy but this time he thought of making something different, letting the choice to the students as each of them knew that they needed more than anyone.

This of course brought more trouble to the one managing the whole competition, Azel. He now had to wait for Max and the others to make their minds about what to ask for.

Max looked around him, at the four people that were staring blankly in different directions thinking about something. He already knew what he wanted to ask for, there wasn't any need for him to do the same.

He took a step forward before addressing Azel whose attention shifted on him the moment he moved. "What I need information about is soul weapons, there are too many things I don't know about them while wielding one." Max looked forward, straight at Azel who saw the determination in his eyes.

"Anything in particular? Soul weapons are intricate, I could just give you a book going in-depth with general knowledge about them but I want to give the best thing suited for you. I was able to see how powerful your weapon is first-hand; this is an important choice so I want you to be content with it." Azel replied in a serious tone, he already had the idea that Max might be asking for something like this. But when it came to choosing between information about a rare element or a rare weapon, it gets complicated, but here Max was with not a trace of hesitation after he made his choice.

"I want to know about soul weapon abilities especially growth type abilities… there is also a lot of things that I don't know about soul weapons as well…" Max, after hearing Azel, now began to wonder of what he should pick but was surprised about what happened next.

"General information about soul weapons and soul abilities…" Azel wrote it down before looking back at Max. "If you don't want to change your mind then you can go, the book will be sent to your dorm later" He informed before looking at the other four, already disregarding Max's presence.

Max looked surprised at Azel before backing away, he left the academy building and was on his way towards the dorms but was stopped on the way there by a voice calling his name.

"Hey, Max!" A voice that he was familiarizing with called him. Max turned around seeing the huge and muscled physique of Dylan waving at him.

"How are you doing?" Max asked with a smile on his face, he couldn't hide the fact that he felt happy and accomplished for today's events.

"I'm doing fine, you were great!" Dylan exclaimed at Max before continuing "I watched the battle and wanted to congratulate you personally" Dylan looked at Max with a happy expression but for the latter, something felt amiss.

"Is this all?" Max asked doubtfully. Even though he and Dylan knew each other because of the incident in the cafeteria that day it didn't mean that they were friends, waiting for him and wanting to congratulate the other personally didn't feel like something an acquittance would do.

"I wanted to conversate for a while but it seems like I can't hide my intentions that well…" Dylan awkwardly scratched the back of his head before looking at Max seriously.

"I wondered ever since I met you if I should do this, the way you confronted me that day and the skill you presented in the competition, I made up my mind. There is a question that I need an answer to. Max, will you join our beast hunting group?" Dylan looked at Max with a stern face while talking, it seemed like this question meant quite a lot for him.

Max looked at Dylan with a doubtful face, he didn't understand what a hunting group was but the name gave some of it away. "What do I get from joining a hunting group?" Max asked, he was thinking that this is one of the benefits that Azel mentioned before.

"You will gain backing and will be able to go outside the academy. The most important thing is that you will be able to hunt beasts and earn income, but there is also information sharing between its members." Dylan responded; he was trying to win Max over before any other group would get him. This was one of the benefits the winners enjoyed, many groups would try and get them to join after seeing if they are capable people or not.

"Are there other hunting groups?"

"There are but our White Fang group is one of the best. There are even some teachers backing our group up." Dylan tried showing off, and Max was able to see that.

"If I was to join your group, will I be able to leave when I wish?" Max considered joining Dylan, after all, he at least knew him. He would be able to get the hang of things from him, not like other groups where he wouldn't know anyone.

"Of course, if you don't like it you are free to leave whenever you like." Dylan answered, he was now feeling like a merchant trying to rip customers off.

Max thought for a while before responding, he was only able to see the benefits of joining a group and didn't know if there were any drawbacks to it. "Let's talk tomorrow, at noon we should meet in the cafeteria and discuss it further. I hope you can understand that I can't give an answer instantly about this."

"Oh, of course I do! Hahaha…" Dylan laughed awkwardly, he thought that he was able to win Max over tonight and tomorrow to rope him in with everything but it seems that it didn't work that way.

"Alright, then I will be seeing you tomorrow!" Max said while picking up his pace toward his room, today seemed to be filled with choices.