Hell's Academy

"I'm sorry, but you are not welcome here." Alenx said, looking at Lasinda with disbelief. 

He, for some reason, hadn't sensed any threat from Howard due to his S rank Ki emanating from his body, but when he grabbed him he almost instantly realized his mistake. He looked dumbfounded down at his wrist, which seemed to be stuck no matter how much Ki he put into his arm. This strength. Only someone in the SSS rank should possess this much might!

'He's definitely not an Athraku and he's not from Grey Neck Nation. Did he come from the lowest level of the Furnace? No way! There is no way someone this strong could come from that horrible place! He has to be from one of the three larger Nations! How the hell did Lasinda find him?! I don't understand!'

"He's with me," Lasinda replied, smiling and leaning against Howard's shoulder. "Now, I agree with him. Unhand me right now and let me see my father. I don't have time to talk to you, or hear a marriage proposal again! Now get off of me or Howard here will kick your ass!"

"I-I apologize," Alenx dropped his head in shame and looked at Howard one more time. "I-I just wanted to have the medic check her for injuries. Have you sustained any internal injuries when you were away? You look odd. Your skin looks kind of sallow. I know! He must be poisoning you! Guards, seize him!"

"I haven't even eaten since I met him, idiot," Lasinda waved her hands at the guards who looked stunned. They didn't know who to listen to at the moment. 

Both Lasinda and Alenx had the same rank, which was just second to the king of the Nation. 

With one telling them to seize Howard, and the other telling them not to advance, they could only stand there. 

They were in the background in a mixture of brown and green armor that they used to blend into the surroundings. They really seemed to disappear when Alenx turned around and let go of Lasinda. All of them dropped their heads as he passed by them.

"Fools, don't expect more rations tonight," Alenx looked at the guards and hissed before waving for Howard and Lasinda. "Geez, you should've let me know he was with you. I was certain he must have poisoned you. After all, you will be the new leader in one week. He might just be here to steal the seat of power. What a fool for him to follow you here just to try and take us over. You won't let him, will you Lasinda?"

"Alenx, I want to see my father alone, and I'm not dealing with your craziness today!" Lasinda grabbed Howard's hand and tugged him along. "Don't you dare follow after me either! And enough of accusing Howard of things! He's the reason… he's the reason I was able to get the Jade Stem Plant."

"What did you say?" Alenx turned around and looked at Lasinda and Howard. 

The Jade Stem Plant was the only thing that would let Mernan get back to full health. That meant… that meant if he didn't find a way to stop him from taking it, he would almost instantly regain his health.

'No, that's not exactly right. It will take him 3 days to fully recover even with the Jade Stem Plant. There's still time,' Alenx turned and looked at a small hovel and shook his head. It was his home, one of the largest houses in the entire area, but still relative crap compared to what he deserved. 

"I'm sorry. Howard here is a savior. Please take him to your father,' Alenx backed away from Lasinda and let her and Howard through.

Seeing her walk into her father's house, he immediately turned around and waved to the guards.

'Great, I have no choice but to contact the Grey Neck Nation to get them to assassinate Lasinda and this new boy now… They may have failed the first time, but two failures, hmph, we'll see about that!'

###

Lasinda's father seemed to come alive when Lasinda walked into the room.

Though he had been rather weak when she wasn't around, he almost immediately stood up and smiled when she walked in the door.

In this case, it had to be the power of love for her that let him use the last bit of energy he had to feign to return to good health. 

He instantly jumped out of bed to the chagrin of his advisors. He wasn't even wearing his royal armor, but nonetheless the two advisors were still happy to see Lasinda had returned.

"Father, I got it!"

"My girl! Don't play jokes and come here beautiful!" Mernan hugged her with all his might and picked her off the floor. His body almost instantly paled, but he tried to hide it. "Haha, you got what? A grey root plant? A silver oak bushel?"

"Ho-Howard… Can he come in? I mean… The man I met when I was outside," Lasinda blushed, "Would you mind if he came in and introduced himself. It would be really nice if he could tell you about himself. I think, father, he will be the man that marries me some day!"

"I-I tried, but I'm going to be sick," Mernan dropped down on the bed and coughed. 

He suddenly looked pale.

"He must have tricked you. He must have told you it was a Jade Stem Herb and convinced you to come here with him after making a fake one. You-you foolish girl! Let the boy come in! Let him come in so I can kick his ass!"

"Sir, calm down," One of his advisors said, holding out his hand while he turned pale.

He could also sense Howard's energy and both him and Davanel were not strong enough to defeat him. 

Only Mernan was in the SSS rank, and right now his strength was hidden behind a large barrier of sickness. He almost instantly paled and looked out the door.

"Sir… he has formidable energy," Davanel added to the tallest advisor. "Maybe you should see the plant before you count him out? I have a feeling there might be much more to this kind gentlemen. After all, I also sense an aura of the real Jade Stem Herb."

One thing about the Great Slavensen people was that they could also sense where different plants were when they were close enough.

It was nothing compared to the skill that Howard was able to use by combining his Dream Ki with his intent, but at around 100 meters away they had better discernment of the types of plants. And right now, they not only sensed a Jade Stem Herb, but they sensed a fully developed one! One that was probably just a few weeks away from germinating its seeds! 

The amount this was worth to their village could not be underestimated! It was worth at least 1000 times its weight in gold! No, perhaps a million times!

With the seeds from the Jade Stem Herb potentially coming soon, they would be able to plant all the seeds! That meant that in 10 years, they could potentially have a hundred Jade Stem Herbs! The medical advancements that this would bring to the village could not be underestimated!

"So, you are saying?" Mernan said in disbelief before he suddenly chirped up and put his arm around Lasinda. "Hahaha! This is so great! Who is this boy? Which one of the three greater nations is he from?"

"Let's not talk about that yet," Lasinda waved Howard to come into the room.

The two advisors both instantly looked terrified and gracefully let go of their weapons. Unlike Alenx, they were a lot more careful when it came to making decisions. And the last thing they wanted to do is piss Howard off. 

They both made a quick glance at each other before they stepped back and sat down.

Howard could only smile when he saw both of the advisors being so respectful. He immediately walked over to Lasinda's father and did a slight bow. Of course, the last thing he wanted to do is be rude to someone whose daughter he'd be spending time with at night. He bowed once more to the two advisors who looked shocked.

'He-he has horns?" Davanel said in disbelief. 'He's a Horned? What are the chances of that? No way! He's probably an Authoritarian! Or-or he's from an unknown Nation?! No way a Horned that young could be so strong!'

"Hello, nice to meet you all," Howard said, smiling and looking into Mernan's eyes. "Oh yes! The plant! I have it right here!"

Howard reached down behind his long shirt and pulled out a plant that was roughly a meter long from behind his back. 

Instantly, almost everyone in the room paled! That was not how you took care of such an expensive plant! However, a second later, the room was full of laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The advisors, and Mernan laughed. "HAHAHAHA!" Mernan couldn't take how funny it was to see such an expensive plant in such dire straights, yet handed in such a funny way, "I like him a lot! What's his name?! He's rather handsome right? When shall you two get married?"

"Father, he's too young to marry me right now so stop joking, and just take the plant," Lasinda grabbed it from Howard's hand and immediately shoved it into her father's chest. "I-I'm sorry he also was holding it like that! It's just that Alenx gives me the creeps, so I told him to hide it for a little while! He's always staring at me in a strange way, and he clearly only wants to marry me for power! Well, don't worry, the plant is perfectly fine! It's got all its leaves and everything!"

Mernan took a deep breath and smiled before reaching down and grabbing the plant.

Looking from Howard to his daughter, he tried his hardest to keep his smile, but that almost instantly got replaced by a slight frown.

A second later, his face seemed to be covered with tears while he tried his hardest to hold back his body from trembling. Was he really going to get to live?

"T-thank you so much!" Mernan couldn't help but crying before he laughed a little bit. "Y-you have no idea how much this means to me. I-I don't deserve this! I really don't!"

"It's the least I can do," Howard said, gently taking out one more plant from his back pocket. "Lasinda told me this would help you as well, so we got it on the way back."

What Howard took out was a small orange plant that had six leaves and it almost looked like a clover. It had a small bulb in the center of it, though, that looked somewhat odd. It seemed like something extremely precious could be hidden inside of it.

"That's also… That's a Great Bonding Flower… Those are so rare. They are even harder to find then Jade Stem Herbs because of their size. How did you find it?"

Howard laughed and shook his head before gently putting it on the bed next to Lasinda's father. "I found it in a few minutes. Lasinda told me what it looked like, and I found it on the way back! There was one just a few kilometers away from your village."

"But it's so small? It takes years to find one of this size. I spent a few weeks looking myself when I was still healthy. They can hide their aura from us, so we have to look with our eyes. They also grow their clover underneath the ground. How odd? You really didn't fall from the sky?"

"He's actually from the lowest level," Lasinda said before she cleared her throat. "However, father, I think it's about time you use that Great Bonding Flower to speed up the process to absorb the Jade Stem Herb. I'm guessing, it shouldn't take you more than a few hours with it right."

"I-I will start right away," Mernan wiped off the tears from his eyes. "However, come here son! Give me a hug, hahaha! What's your name by the way?! I must know! I must have a feast in your honor hahaha! Let's see? Advisors, go tell them to prepare a dinner! One of the highest quality! I don't care what you have to do! Just do it!"

"Do you have a place to train?" Howard said, shaking his head and accepting a gentle hug. "Haha, I haven't even gotten to try training here yet.. Would that be okay instead?"

"I respect him more already," Mernan nodded his head, "Very well! Lasinda, go tell Alenx to start preparing a private enclosure for Howard to train in! And make sure it's one with the ripest ki ferns! I want him to have the best after what he's done!"

"I'll get him," Davenal said, "However, Howard, can I ask you. Who do you think is stronger, me or you?"

"I think I'd be able to beat you, but it be very difficult," Howard said with a smile. "Haha, why? You're not going to try and fight me are you?"

"No, just curious," Davenal waved to the door. "Anyways, after you, Howard. It's the least I can do after you saved our people. I'll take you to the best training enclosure we have! One that will completely blow your mind I promise!"