Three days later, the members of the Dud Manor all geared up as they hiked towards the location of their camping trip.
Classes had just ended, and they planned to travel for a few hours until they reached their destination.
The classes in Brynhildr Academy are only held on weekdays. On the weekends, the students were free to do whatever they wanted.
They could even visit the nearby town to buy supplies if they wanted to, as long as they asked permission from their Head Prefects.
Since the next day was Saturday, the members of Dud Manor could stay until Sunday Afternoon at their designated camp site.
As they made their way towards Great Eagle Forest, they noticed several people flying overhead with their broomsticks, waving at them as they flew past the members of Dud Manor.
“How nice it would be if we could just fly,” Ethan muttered as he looked at the students with envy.
“Flying is good, as long as you don’t have a fear of heights,” Noah, the handsome guy with short silver hair commented. “I have a fear of heights, so even if I had magic, I’d probably faint if I were to fly on a broom.”
“By the way, Noah, it seems that several others are headed in the same direction as we are,” Ethan stated. “Are they also going camping?”
“Perhaps,” Noah replied. “Since classes have ended, the students want to relax and unwind. It is very common for groups from different Manors to go on a camping trip in Great Eagle Forest.”
Since Ethan was the newest member of Dud Manor, he made it a point to get along with its members. Fortunately for him, they also wanted to get along with him, so all of the boys hit it off instantly becoming like brothers in arms.
The girls, like Luna, were also kind to him, making him feel like he was a part of their family. Because of this, having a camping trip with all of them made Ethan so excited that he was unable to sleep the night before.
Chloe, who tagged along in their trip, walked beside the blue-haired boy who was carrying her backpack inside his storage ring.
The same could be said for the rest of the members of Dud Manor. None of them were carrying anything, with the exception of Henry and the other senior members. They were wearing the uniforms often worn by students that were about to go on a mission outside the Academy.
These uniforms were like light-weight armor that protected its wearer from stab wounds and blunt attacks from knives and bats, and other similar weapons.
Of course, once the force of the blow reached a certain threshold, the protective clothes would be damaged, lowering its defensive abilities.
The Academy did their best to ensure that their students would return safely from their mission, which was why they didn’t skimp out on the materials of these robes, saving the lives of countless students.
After two hours of walking, they finally arrived at a clearing inside the forest, where several tents had already been set up in various locations.
Ethan thought that they had finally arrived at their location, so he decided to take Chloe’s backpack out of his storage ring, but was stopped by Noah before he could do so.
“This is not the place that we’ll be camping tonight,” Noah said. “It is still an hour away from here, so don’t bring anything out yet.”
Ethan nodded his head in understanding and simply followed behind the others, who seemed to already know where they were going.
The people in the campsite glanced in the direction of the members of Dud Manor and started whispering to each other.
Everywhere in the Academy, there were places reserved for the members of the different Manors.
This included the Manors themselves, the tables in the Dining Hall, as well as several other facilities in the Academy.
Ethan didn’t know that there was not a place for the Dud Manor to camp in the clearing that they were currently in.
Because of this, the previous members decided to look for their own campsite, which they could call their own.
The problem was that, in their search for this place, they had no choice but to venture deeper inside Great Eagle Forest, where many wild magical creatures could be found.
Half an hour after leaving the clearing, a loud roar reached Ethan’s and Chloe’s ears, making them almost jump in fright.
In front of their group’s formation, a four-meter long Dire-Bear charged in their direction with the intention of attacking them. 𝑂𝒱𝗅xt.𝒸𝑶𝓂
Henry, and the rest of the senior members of Dud Manor, looked at this creature with calm expressions on their faces.
“George,” Henry said.
“On it!” George replied before taking a black ball from the utility belt that hung around his waist.
The Third Year of Dud manor then threw the black ball towards the Dire Bear like a baseball, hitting the magical creature’s face, dead center.
Immediately, the black ball exploded creating a black mist, which made the Dire Bear roar in pain.
A moment later, George’s best friend, Oliver, took a silver shield from his storage ring, and charged at the large bear, which had reared back on its hind legs, while swiping left and right to disperse the black mist that surrounded it.
A metallic ring resounded in the surroundings as Oliver slammed the silver shield into the Dire Bear’s family jewels, making the fierce creature fall down on the ground, writhing in pain.
Ethan and Noah couldn’t help but wince after seeing the Dire Bear’s “dire” situation. Even the blue-haired boy thought that this was too much, but before he could say anything, Henry’s voice reached his ears.
“The Great Eagle Forest is a place filled with dangerous creatures,” Henry stated. “It follows the law of the jungle. Although being merciful is nice and good, not all magical beasts follow this rule. Because of this, we have to teach them the hard way that there are things that they can and cannot do, especially when facing the students of Brynhildr Academy.”
After finishing his explanation, Henry approached the Dire Bear who was still writing on the ground and kicked its jaw without any mercy, making the Giant Bear stop moving completely.
“I-Is it dead?” Chloe asked.
“No,” Noah replied. “But, it will be unconscious for a while.”
After dealing with the bear, the group continued their hike. Ethan understood why their seniors were wearing their full battle regalia now.
The Annual Trip of the Dud Manor inside the Great Eagle Forest, was not just a simple camping trip.
It was to teach their newest members, especially the First Years, that even though they were magically crippled individuals, they still had the power to protect themselves against fierce magical beasts who would attack anyone in sight, regardless of whether they knew how to wield magic or not.