Lorist slept soundly the whole night until he was awoken during noon the next day by the noises in the main hall. Lazily lying by the bedside, he waited some time until the hall had quieted down before slowly pulling himself out of bed.

A set of new clothing lay beside the bed, among which included some grey linen undergarments, a dark green wool shirt, a black leather vest, a grey wool coat, some white socks as well as a pair of black pants. There was also a pair of black leather boots beside the clothes.

Lorist was very satisfied with Louise’s purchase; she knew what he liked best: clothes with dark, unassuming colors. He thought the other mercenaries who often wore bright colors looked even more ridiculous than clowns. However, that set of clothing shouldn’t have come cheap. It probably cost more than one gold coin.

Fully-dressed and wearing his new boots, he slot two daggers into his boots and equipped his mini-crossbow on his left arm. He then pinned his shorter sword to his belt buckle and slung the long one on his back. Ruffling his wallet and waist pouch, he checked if he left any belongings in the room before locking the doors behind him and heading downstairs.

The lunch hour is already over and there were only twenty or so people chatting and drinking in the main hall as they listened to Mike singing “The War of the Gods” in a wistful tone. This was an epic poem that depicted the conflict between the magi and the gods thousands of years ago. Only, the author of the poem was sympathetic towards the gods. The author described the humans who were led by the magi as the frenzied attackers, and mourned for the fall of the gods. Aside from this one flaw, the poem had beautiful language, unpredictable plot twists as well as brilliant pacing. The tale has always captivated the people of Grindia and has even been adapted into stage plays, musicals as well as other entertaining performances in bars.

Lorist went to an empty table and took a seat. Several acquaintances raised their cups and silently made a toast as a greeting, before refocusing their attentions on Mike’s performance.

Louise appeared before the table and said in a low voice, “When I saw you sleeping so soundly in the morning, I just couldn’t bear to wake you. You look great in these clothes. Do they fit right?”

Nodding, Lorist said, “They’re great. Many thanks to you. Anything I can have to fill my belly with?”

“We just got a fresh batch of cod just now. Do you want one?”

“Alright, get McDuffin to fry the fish for me. I’d like some rib soup, one omelette rice with some sausages and a cup of blackcurrant ale as well. I’m going to the academy later this afternoon.”

“Coming right up. I’ll get McDuffin to work faster since you’re gonna be busy.”

“Wait,” called Lorist as Louise was just about to leave. “I’m not in a rush to go to the academy later. Louise, I’d like the room for a few more nights, and leave my laundry inside when it’s done. Get Mike a cup of ale too and put it on my tab.”

Full and satisfied, Lorist exited the inn and waited for a little while by the street until he saw a horse cart taxi passing by.

Rapidly waving, Lorist said, “Get me to the Dawn Academy.”

“Alright, it’ll be fifteen coppers. Sit tight.” The brown-clothed driver flicked the thip and the Delemont Striped Horse raced towards the destination.

After ten or so minutes, the horse cart stopped in front of the entrance of the academy. Lorist paid the driver one silver coin, which was worth 20 coppers, with five coppers as a tip for the driver. The driver showered him with gratitude by as he got off the cart.

Dawn Academy was situated at the western part of the Academy Sector. It offered courses in multiple disciplines and was ranked the fifth among twenty or so academies in Morante City and ninth among all the academies on the Grindia Continent.

A statue of a girl who looked about twelve to thirteen years old slaying a gigantic dragon with a jeweled sword could be seen at the entrance. This brave young girl was the Dawn Goddess Loria. She is the daughter of Singwa, the god of light, sun and war, and Daphlyn, the Silvermoon Goddess. In the Grindia mythos, it was said that the Dragon King of Darkness hated the lights Singwa emitted as he patrolled the world. By means of a trap, it managed to send the five divine horses that were pulling Singwa’s chariot down the road to the Abyss. In this critical moment, Loria acted and successfully slayed the Dragon King of Darkness, returning the horses back onto their normal trajectory, allowing the god of the sun to once again illuminate the skies of darkness. It was at that moment Loria was granted the title of the Dawn Goddess.

The dawn, the time when the day breaks, the time that signifies the coming of light. In the Grindia mythos, Loria the Dawn Goddess was emblematic of bravery and hope.

Circling around the gigantic statue that was jokingly interpreted by some students of the academy as a lustful dragon pushing down a young girl, Lorist stood right in front of the main entrance of the academy. The entrance of the academy had no gates or doors. It only consisted of the statue and a boulevard that led straight into the academy.

Sighing, he reached into his waist pouch and took out an iron badge which was about one inch large and pinned it in front of his chest. On the black badge was an embossed image of a greatsword with three stars on top of the blade. That represented his Three Star Iron Battle Force rank.

There was nothing he could do about it: one had to wear one’s Battle Force badge in order to enter the academy. Aside from that, professors, teaching staff and students all have their own respective badges that must be worn at all times within the premises.

Lorist put on another badge beside his Battle Force badge. On it was an image of a long sword plunged straight into the ground with a half-risen sun beyond the horizon in the background. This badge was gold in color unlike his Battle Force badge. It represented his status as a dual instructor in both swordsmanship and Battle Force awakening.

A few teenagers wearing the uniform of the academy came over from upfront. They should all be freshmen. Lorist recalled that the recruitment day was almost one month ago. As he watched these teenagers jump around in excitement, he reminisced his own times as a student here ten years ago. Time really flows quickly and unceasingly.

At first, these students didn’t pay Lorist much heed. After all, there were many students of his age in the academy. But once they saw his golden badge, they all hurried to pay their respects.

Lorist merely nodded and smiled before continuing onward. At the Dawn Academy, students were required to pay the respects to the instructors.

Some sounds of chatter could be heard behind Lorist. “That must be Instructor Locke, the legendary Black Iron Gold-ranked Instructor of our academy!”