Chapter 229: Punishment

Jenny, who led the students to the dorms, was the one who rushed in when Trevor and Arthur had their fight. She glared at both of them coldly before reporting the incident to the school. Trevor and Arthur were sent to the disciplinary committee.

The committee's office was located on the campus so it was a distance away. However, the two were picked up by the committee's members almost immediately.

"Yurirl has just asked you to behave yourself and you pull off something like this?" Jenny glanced at Arthur coldly before she spat on the ground and walked away. 

The committee took both of them to the office where they were held in detention, a whitewashed room with only a table and two chairs on each end. 

Arthur was asked to take a seat until the officer arrived. After waiting for half an hour, the door swung open and a woman came in. She wore a uniform that was beige and had a few strips of red. Her hair was held in a ponytail that worked well with her glasses to give her a stern appearance. 

"I'm the disciplinary enforcing officer of Jerano, Zoya Rainer." She introduced herself as she looked down on Arthur. 

"Alexie Linan," She said with a crisp voice as she slid her index finger on the edge of the table. "A freshman that was admitted just today. You were reported to have been in an unofficial fight in your dorms with… Trevor Regran." She sat in the chair opposite to him and leaned backward. "Tell me what happened." 

"I was in my room when Trevor knocked on my door. He grabbed me by the collar to threaten me and then went on to slander my parents." 

"And it ended that way?" Zoya adjusted her glasses. 

"No, I slammed him into the wall," Arthur answered calmly. 

"You don't seem to be afraid of the consequences." Zoya tapped with her finger on the table. "Suspension and expulsion aren't out of the question. We aren't a kindergarten. A lot of students in Jerano have a political background." 

"I've noticed that there were cameras in the hallway, which you must have already checked before you got here." Arthur interlocked his fingers as he placed them on the table. "I'm not the one who started it, so I have nothing to fear. If Jerano decided to be biased to whoever has a more influential background, then that means I made a mistake coming here." 

"Hah," Zoya smiled as she leaned forward. "Indeed, you're not the initiator, but you have also broken some rules. Do you know the identity of Trevor Regan?" 

"No," Arthur shook his head. 

"He's the youngest son of the Regan Group, one of the leading cooperation in the world. They are the owners of several powerful guilds. Yet, you dared to make him your enemy." 

"I didn't make him an enemy of mine, the circumstances did." Arthur furrowed his brows. "Are you implying that you would side with him?" 

"Not at all," Zoya shook her head. "I'm simply warning you. We try to protect our students in Jerano. Yet, there's very little we can do on the world's stage." 

"Thank you, I'll be careful." 

"Don't thank me just yet, you're also being punished." Zoya grinned and a hologram screen appeared in front of her. Her eyes scanned it for a moment before she tapped something and Arthur felt his bracelet vibrate. "Finish this task before tomorrow. Otherwise, you'll be suspended from classes for the rest of the week." 

"I have one more question, Officer Zoya." Arthur stopped her before she left. "What punishment was given to Trevor?" 

"He was detained in his room for the next three days." Zoya smiled and began walking away. "You have until then before troubles will come knocking on your door." 

Arthur furrowed his brows and opened his bracelet. He had a notification with a timer on it. He opened it and read the task's information. 

[Gather the herbs in this list. Deadline, 21st of October. Time remaining: 12h:22m. Warning: Do not venture deep into the forest. Powerful monsters live there.] 

There was a list included with the names of herbs, their shapes, and where they could be found. All of them were at a place called the central forest. 

Arthur sighed and stood up. He was escorted out of the building by a student who advised him to check his map for directions. 

Without delay, Arthur opened the map and started heading toward the forest. On the way there, he opened the community to see that someone has already uploaded a post about what happened. 

He saw that many people were arguing who was at fault and guessing what kind of punishment was enforced on the two for fighting. Arthur closed the community and headed to the forest. 

*** 

He had to make several detours around the city to get to the forest. It has been separated from the rest of the city by high walls and a barrier. When he reached the gate that separated the city from the forest, the guards asked for an ID. 

Along the way, Arthur got to see Jerano City from the inside. This was a hub for awakeners of the world. From weapons to potions and monsters, everything could be found here. There were also several schools of martial arts, blacksmiths, auction houses, and even an arena. 

When he saw the forest, Arthur was flabbergasted by its size. After all, this forest was in the middle of the city, a few blocks away from the campus. Yet, from the varying kind of trees to the mixed shades of green, this forest was by no mean any less than real forests. 

He was studying the list again that listed places for the herbs to grow in when he received a call on his bracelet. He frowned when he saw the name of the caller, Jonah Raver. 

"What?" Arthur sighed and answered. 

"Boss!" Jonah's voice was both urgent and relieved. "Someone has just taught me how to call through the community, so I was only able to call you now." 

"Uh, alright. Do you need something?" 

"I…" Jonah paused. "I read what happened at the community. Are you alright, boss?" 

"I am, it was nothing. Thanks for asking." 

"Do you need any help? I can create a doppelganger to do the job for you." Jonah offered, intriguing Arthur. 

"Can you do that?" Arthur asked as he walked toward the location of one of the herbs. "Wouldn't it consume a lot of mana?" 

"The mana consumed depends on the complexity of the item and the time it would stay. It will be a stretch to keep it a few hours, but I owe you a lot, Boss." Jonah explained and Arthur smiled. 

"If I ever need to, I'll make sure to ask you," Arthur said. "Are you alright being the ninth ranker?" 

"Uh," Jonah seemed suddenly troubled. "I am, it's not much." 

"No one challenged you?" 

"Twenty people did." 

"Jeez." Arthur sighed. "How is that alright? Did you turn them down?"

"Yeah, but I'll need to accept one in four weeks." Jonah's voice was slightly shaking. "I think it's better to step down from this ranking."

"We'll figure it out. I need to go now. If we're not alone, don't try to interact with me. Let's keep our friendship private." 

"Are you embarrassed by me, boss?" 

"I don't want to get entangled in the politics of the academy," Arthur said before he ended the call and looked around with a frown. 

After he had entered the forest, the atmosphere changed a bit. He looked around and saw greenish rocks. Underneath them was a white and black herb that Arthur used his Earth manipulation to pluck without damaging. 

He didn't want to spend the whole day looking for herbs so he used his Detection rune. When he found out that monsters were also here, he used his Stealth rune as well to avoid them despite most of them being weak. 

He then began looking through the forest for the herbs. It took three hours to get all of them, even though his task should have taken the rest of the day. After plucking a green mushroom that grew on tall trees, Arthur decided to head back toward the gate. 

He used his detection rune when he was standing on top of the trees to find a way back home. This time, however, he felt the presence of something other than a monster. 

It was a human. He frowned when he saw the person wearing a cloak that covered his features and kept hurrying toward the deeper parts of the forest. 

He remembered the note he read in his task and the information that Reece has given him about the missing students. If they were truly connected to the Enders, this person was suspicious enough to be a lead on this matter. 

Since he was using his Stealth rune, Arthur wasn't found out by the person. There was also the fact that there were two kilometers between them. Arthur jumped from to another tree before he summoned his shadow.