Chapter 63: Fire Pit Talk (1)
Reinhard finished his food and set the plate aside, staring into the flames. The fire cast shifting shadows across his face while the distant roar of burning Mensis provided a constant backdrop to the quiet conversation around him.
Jessie looked at him curiously. "So are you a transfer student for third or fourth year, Reinhard? It’s the first time I’m seeing you."
"Do you recall everyone you met at the Academy?" Reinhard asked with a bit of curiosity.
Lloyd chuckled with a smile. "It’s more like every student gets to know the other students in their year."
Reinhard blinked in surprise while Marie nodded with a beaming smile. "It’s mostly because some expeditions require teamwork with different people. The more familiar we are with others in our year, the easier things become."
Reinhard stroked his chin thoughtfully. "How do you learn about each other? Through classes? Events?"
"Both." Lloyd replied. "Each class has us working with different people every week, and all students must attend every school event or be penalized."
Marie giggled. "The events are so much fun! Missing them would be a waste, so most of us don’t complain."
Bruno sighed with a light laugh. "Well, it is fun launching pies into other people’s faces."
Suzy stretched her arms. "Or dancing around the massive bonfire."
Kyle smiled. "Or taking a tour through the monster zones."
Reinhard blinked at Kyle’s words while Jessie, Suzy, Lloyd, and Joseph’s lips twitched as they gave him particular looks.
Marie clapped her hands. "I agree, Kyle! I loved it when we went through Colin Zone. All the beasts we saw were amazing!"
Kyle nodded with a grin. "Professor Brune says we might have another trip there to document some beasts."
Marie cheered while Jessie groaned and Reinhard chuckled.
He recalled what he’d heard about monster zones, they were areas where powerful beasts reigned supreme and roamed freely.
Travelers either used paths that circled around them or, if they were Beast Tamers, navigated carefully through.
Each zone was color-coded for hostility on a traveling map.
Red meant the Beasts would attack on sight, green meant attacks only if approached, and yellow meant the Beasts would observe before deciding.
They also had risk levels from one to three, indicating strength and danger.
With my current understanding of Beast’s strength... One should represent Beasts from Tier E to D, two would be beasts from C to B, and three are for beasts that are Tier A and above. Reinhard thought.
"So are you a transfer student?" Jessie asked again.
Reinhard shook his head. "I’m a freshman. I just did the Beast Ceremony three days ago."
Jessie, Kyle, Bruno, Lloyd, and Suzy looked at him in shock while Marie and Joseph laughed, having already known. The five glared at Marie and Joseph, each of them sending annoyed looks at them before turning back to Reinhard.
"How?" Kyle asked in surprise.
"That’s amazing!" Suzy’s eyes lit up.
"That’s new!" Lloyd blinks in surprise as he stares at Reinhard.
" I have never seen that before... I suppose the Principal was right, the students keep getting special every year." Bruno mutters in slight disbelief.
Jessie glanced at the Herald necklace. "I’m still surprised the Principal and Professor Rosaria allowed a first-year student to lead an expedition."
Bruno nodded. "Especially since the Beast Ceremony should have been this week..."
Suzy’s eyes lit up. "Reinhard, could you be the Principal’s secret student that he trained for years?"
Marie looked down, covering her mouth and trying to keep her laughter inside. Joseph’s lips twitched as he stared off to the side, and the others slowly nodded as they gradually bought into Suzy’s theory.
"It would make sense and explain why he can summon his Beast Spirit," Lloyd said as he snapped his fingers.
Bruno added with a grin. "Principal Klaus does have many secrets and might know methods to help even before one summons their spirit."
Reinhard stared blankly as they continued theorizing about him.
Jessie snapped her fingers. "He does have a strong spirit since he keeps up with Marie and Joseph."
They continued making speculations. Reinhard sighed but didn’t correct them, simply continuing to eat while listening to their increasingly elaborate theories about his supposed secret training and special relationship with the Principal.
Jessie then laughs before saying. "Alright, that’s enough playing around... I’m guessing you aren’t Principal Klaus’ disciple?"
Reinhard shakes his head with a smile and says. "No, I’m not. Which is why I have some questions."
Jessie nodded and said. "Ask away, but first answer me this. Is your spirit higher than S Class?"
Reinhard glances to see the others, except for Marie and Joseph, who already knew the truth, lean in eagerly, curiosity glowing on their faces. Reinhard glanced around at them all and then gave a single nod.
Cheers broke out around the fire.
"See?!" Lloyd exclaimed, pointing at Bruno. "I told you it wasn’t some secret disciple thing!"
Bruno groaned while rubbing his forehead. "Or a child of the Empire. I guess I am paying for the meal at the next cafe."
Reinhard blinked before staring as he was genuinely startled by their excitement.
Suzy clapped her hands together. "That explains so much. But what are you curious about, then? Didn’t Marie and Joseph already go over most of it with you?"
"They did." Reinhard admitted as he shifted to sit straighter. "But I still have some questions, like why do we need to absorb souls to get stronger? Isn’t there a safer alternative?"
Jessie hums before saying. "Right, that’s explained in the first-year classes. But essentially, you can see the souls we devour as fuel a Beast Master needs to strengthen their connection with the Beast Spirit."
"Strengthen our connections?" Reinhard asked in surprise.
Lloyd speaks up. "The reason we can summon more pieces of our Beast’s Spirit into reality is because of a stronger connection. The stronger that bridge between Inquisitor and Beast Spirit, the more we can summon."
Reinhard’s eyes slightly widened, and he asked. "Okay, and how does devouring souls help in strengthening the connection?"
"As you have noticed, each time you devour a soul, your lifeforce and magic increase. As our life force grows, so does our capacity to channel the Beast. Without that reinforcement, our bodies would collapse under the strain of a deeper connection." Kyle says softly.
Reinhard nodded slowly. "So, we’re essentially building ourselves up to withstand more of our Beast’s presence in reality."
"Exactly." Jessie sighed. "Alternative methods don’t target that specific connection. The theories suggest other approaches might work initially but ultimately lead to madness or..." She made a bursting gesture with her hands. "Your body bursts when attempting to manifest greater portions of your Beast."