Markus went to the administrative hall and applied for a weekend off.
Students usually spend their time at the arena sparring, heading out for missions, or picking up extracurricular activities.
None of which enticed Markus to partake.
He quickly went to the library to browse for beast-taming materials.
After 12 minutes in the forbidden section,
[1) Apply 5 drops of blood onto a beast taming contract]
[2) Drip a drop of blood once a day onto the beast egg to begin Tamer-Beast bonding]
"It seems like I have to give a drop of blood daily to the Jörmungandr's Egg," Markus mumbled to himself, making his way out the library doors.
**
At the Blackwell estate…
[Welcome back, Master Markus]
NOVUS chimed.
"It's nice to be back, NOVUS. Are granny and grandpa home?"
[Yes, sir, Mistress Isolde is conducting alchemy in the basement, and Master Sloane is fishing by the pier.]
"Can you let them know I'm back, thank you NOVUS!"
[It has been done, you're very welcome, Master Markus.]
Loud stomps could be heard as Isolde rushed to the living room, where Markus sat.
Sloane flew in straight from the pier, almost crashing into the glass windowpanes.
"My baby Markus!" Isolde scooped him up and tightly embraced him.
"You've grown so much, my darling," Isolde teared up, and she smothered him with kisses.
"Markus!" Sloane bellowed, "You feel like you're in the level 30 range!! That's the Blackwell blood in you!!"
"HAHAHAHA"
Isolde, initially overwhelmed with emotions, took a second to look at Markus.
Shocked at Markus's explosive growth.
Most awakeners reach level 30 by the age of 20.
Even the most talented make it by the age of 15.
"Darling, regale us about your experiences in the first week of school," Isolde caressed Markus's cheeks as if he were just an infant.
"School stuff has been boring, but I started taking academy tasks."
"I first entered a portal region where the academy farmed herbs and beast meat. There was a mutated thunderous bull at peak tier-2, and I killed it by layering 4 spatial blades at it."
"My second mission, though, was a little complicated."
"You both have first to promise me to stay calm."
"My fate's eye has shown me that there is no danger in the foreseeable future."
Sloane and Isolde nodded blankly.
"I went on a portal exploration task with a team of 4 other second-year students."
"That portal exploration task was at Oakhaven's where Grandpa Sloane found me."
"The portal was on the verge of crossing over to tier 3 before we entered."
"But I suspected that after we entered, it crossed the threshold of tier 2 into tier 3, the first group of beasts included a level 30 cavern wolf."
"After exploring deeper into the dungeon, we discovered a mana oasis, which was probably the source of the dungeon's abnormal growth."
Markus took a pause, letting them slowly absorb the information.
"We discovered a split passageway at the other end of the Oasis and decided to split up."
"My fate's eye had already detected one student with malicious intent against me."
"Three students took the left passageway, whilst I took the right passageway with the students who were targeting me."
"We encountered a dozen poisonous scorpions above level 30 (tier 3), and he tried to assassinate me by trapping me with them."
"However, I made quick work of the scorpions."
"After which, 3 Assassins approached and cleared the debris in the tunnel, and I cut them down without breaking a sweat."
Sloane was leaking his flame aura, almost burning the furniture, before Isolde smacked him in the head.
Sloane's flame aura didn't just heat the room; it made the air heavy, like standing next to a dormant volcano.
But as Markus hugged Isolde, the heat vanished, replaced by the scent of old parchment and alchemical herbs.
In this house, the two most feared people in the Empire weren't legends—they were just 'Granny and Grandpa,' and Markus was the only person in the world who could make them put their weapons down.
"You think Markus would've done anything that he couldn't handle, you stupid old man?" Isolde chided her short-tempered husband.
"The last part is probably the fun part, where we fought a twin-headed ogre at peak tier-3 (level 39)."
"Of course, I couldn't do this on my own; I had the help of my seniors to kill it."
Markus continued.
"There was an anomaly in this dungeon after we cleared its boss."
"A door appeared behind the boss's room, and the key Headmistress Elena gave me reacted to the door."
"A double portal event occurred, probably the first in recorded history."
"A purple portal was behind those doors."
Markus took out the prayer cushion, Jörmungandr's Egg, and the Space Scripture and displayed them on the table.
I found these items in the portal, it's related to the space temple, the legacy of my mother.
Sloane and Isolde took a deep breath to absorb what Markus revealed.
"What now, Markus?" Sloane asked.
"Nothing much to be honest, I'll continue to go to school as per normal, and if the Vane's send anyone my way, I'll deal with it when the time comes," Markus shrugged.
"VANES! THAT WEAK ASS SNAKE FAMILY, HIDING UNDER BUSINESS AND POLITICAL POWER!" Sloane started to bubble with anger again.
In Sloane's world, raw strength is the only truth.
"Smack," Isolde smacked Sloane by the temple of his head, "How many times do I have to tell you to control yourself!!"
Sloane closed his eyes and exhaled.
"Do you need our help in dealing with the Assassins or the Vanes?" Isolde calmly asked.
"Nah, they don't pose a threat to us. My fate's eyes foresaw no life-threatening danger, don't worry, Grandma," Markus smiled warmly, hugging Isolde tightly.
"Alright, but reach out to us if you can't manage it, alright?" Isolde kissed Markus on his forehead.
Markus took out several more items from his inventory, "Grandma, these are presents for you!"
Markus grinned as he displayed the items before him.
[Abyss Crawler Venom Sac] x10
[Alpha Abyss Crawler Venom Sac] x1
[Alpha Abyss Crawler Carcass]
[Alpha Abyss Crawler Mana Core]
[Oasis Essence]
…
A large variety of flora covered the table, shocking Isolde and Sloane.
Isolde quickly stored all of the items in her storage ring with a flick of her wrist.
"You're the best Grandson anyone could wish for my baby," Isolde assaulted Markus with kisses all over his face.
"Hehehe, Sorry Grandpa, there's nothing interesting I could find for you this trip," Markus scratched his head, "I'll try to get some souvenirs for you next time!"
"As long as you return to us safe and healthy, I don't need anything," Sloane ruffled Markus's hair.