Mystical Journey

"They either went to do their practice investigations or participate in the dance. Why didn't you go, Garen?" Alexander raised his head from his thick notes and asked in a hoarse voice.

"I finished the practice investigations long ago and I have no interest in the dance. What about you? Are you alright? Do you need my help?" Garen put his coffee cup down and asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. I'll be done soon." It was the fourth time Alexander had said this today.

Beep beep beep…

Garen's watch beeped and interrupted Alexander while he was about to speak. He looked towards Garen and smiled before burying himself once more in his work.

"Hello?"

It was an unknown number, but Garen answered it at once anyway.

"Garen? It's me, Serena."

"Senior Sister? What's up?" Garen leaned on his right side on the deck chair and made himself slightly more comfortable while allowing the sunlight to shine on the left side of his body.

"I'm using the club's public phone to call you. You… Are you free this afternoon?" asked Serena hesitantly.

"I'm alright, I'm been less busy recently." On the other side, Alexander turned his head towards him and looked over resentfully.

"Did you know? Everyone in the club has been calling you the Golden Lion Garen after you showed off last time. Golden Male Lion, isn't that cool? A lot of people said that your hair flew around you like a lion's mane when you moved your hands. You were so fierce and wild," Serena laughed charmingly.

"It's quite cool actually. But the club doesn't mean much to me because the people there were too weak," said Garen without holding back, while scratching parts of his face that itched faintly.

The creaking sound of a tightening fist could be heard through the phone faintly. Perhaps Serena had set the call on loudspeaker…

The corner of Garen's mouth curved upwards. Taunting these guys for no reason was a form of amusement to him.

"One of them might be unable to defeat you, but a few of them could advance at the same time though," said Serena seductively in a spoiled tone that even she found hard to believe. "You should come just for a bit. I'll give you a mysterious prize when you get here~~~"

Serena had already planned to trick Garen into coming to the club before saying anything else. This girl was seriously crazy to the point that it was excessive. Although her words were seductive, Serena could hear the crunching noise of her own teeth grinding against each other.

Not once had she ever acted this spoiled, even towards her own father!

"Alright, alright. It's going to be six o'clock in the evening soon. I'll come after I've eaten my dinner. Senior Sister, you are just too cute, haha…" Garen grinned widely while ending the call.

It would be good for him to visit them. The girl with the frightening intuition would make a good seed, and he had yet to get her name.

Garen rubbed his chin and glanced at the state of his Slaughtering Hand before realizing that this Demonic Technique was more abnormal than usual.

Its basic powers were nothing extraordinary, but when the life forces that it had absorbed were accumulated, its power would reach a terrifying degree. Furthermore, it would release the life forces of hundreds of people at once when it exploded.

"But it hasn't been accumulating much life force recently though…" Garen pondered for a moment before taking his phone out and sending a message to Baldy and the others. He gathered information regarding the existence of the Inhuman Beings for awhile.

Baldy and the others had entered the first-rate mercenary circle, allowing them to know more information regarding the Blood Breeds and Witches while becoming a channel of communication for Garen simultaneously.

He had yet to completely release the strongest powers of this Demonic Technique.

However, he had noticed during his normal practice that the Soul Seed's amplification abilities would cause the Demonic Technique's powers to become unusually terrifying. Moreover, it would also cause frostbite-like injuries.

"Although I don't know for sure whether it's a Living Secret Technique or not, I can definitely see that it's not a Dying Secret Technique… Interesting." Garen checked the state of his Secret Technique pane carefully once more before getting up and returning to his bedroom to change into a new set of clothes.

He bundled all of his dirty clothes into a pile before throwing them into a bucket and picking it up.

"Are you going to the laundromat? Take mine with you!" said Alexander frantically while raising his head immediately.

"Alright."

Garen carried both of their laundry buckets and walked out of the door slowly, walking past the bedroom corridor before going down a flight of stairs.

Most of the new students had left for their activities, causing the rooms to be completely silent except for the sound of footsteps that echoed from a few rooms.

The white dorms seemed somewhat empty now.

Dong… Dong…

The chiming of the clock tower could be heard from far away.

Garen carried the laundry buckets and left the dorm buildings before walking on the right side of the lawn. There was a row of little shops in front of the small path that was situated in the middle of the lawn. Students would carry their clothes inside occasionally.

All of these were laundromats. Although there were laundry machines on every floor of the dorms, it was unfortunate that some of their amenities were older. Occasionally, they would only get a pile of damp and improperly washed clothes even after waiting more than half an hour. Furthermore, certain types of clothes could not be washed in washing machines.

Moreover, it was troublesome for them to get their own fabric softeners and bleach. In the end, it was easier for them to just bring all of their clothes to the laundromat.

The students who lived in the dorms were either on scholarship or from wealthy backgrounds. Thus, they were unbothered by these expenses.

There was a simple public announcement board on the wall beside the laundromat, so Garen walked over and stood beside a few students to glance at it.

The board was filled with messages regarding off-campus accommodation. Some of the lists had their phone numbers torn off, meaning that people had already rented those houses. The off-campus accommodation was slightly cheaper than the dorms on campus, but the safety levels and distance were a separate issue.

The further houses were obviously cheaper, but a further distance from the university would obviously bring other problems.

Garen glanced at a few prices on the board before turning around and looking at his watch which read: 1:32.

"It's still early. I don't have any classes this afternoon, so I can go take a look around."

Garen did as he wished and started at the center of the dorm building before walking throughout his surroundings and touring the place leisurely.

There was a leveled area next to the dorm building that was filled with students' bedrooms. Next, the student apartment building was on the right side of the area after a row of shops. These apartments were much more expensive than the dorms and were usually occupied by the research students.

Further on were the teachers' residential quarters where the university bus stop was located. The bus would arrive hourly.

Garen strolled leisurely along the road around the university and saw a couple of students and teachers standing in front of the bus stop sign, waiting for the bus.

The sun became hotter during the afternoon. Some people carried popsicles and ice cream cones in their hands while others held beverages or homemade drinks.

Although most of the students were rushing around, there were others who walked around leisurely like Garen, wandering around the campus aimlessly in their slippers and pajamas.

When Garen walked along the clock tower, he saw a group of people carrying tripods and cameras. They seemed to be either taking wedding photos or filming a drama. A director stood beside them and yelled at the passing students, telling them to mind the camera lens. The two people who seemed like a newlywed couple would break away occasionally and drink something.

After standing on the side and observing them for a while, Garen continued to walk on the path inside the university grounds.

When he passed a large white church-like building, he saw a bulletin board in front of the doorway that read: Lecturer Niconia's seminar happening now — Our Lives. 3 pm — Drama Club's play: Black Swan Velvet.

There were already students who were walking into the church who chatted and laughed as they walked. A student couple was arguing on the side. However, they only quarreled for a while before embracing each other romantically. Some of the surrounding students that passed him whistled to themselves. Although the university was open-minded, publicly engaging in physical displays of affection right outside the lecturer's seminar was something that only brave people would do.

Garen observed them interestedly on the sidelines for a few moments before leaving.

On the other side of a little mangrove forest, there were a few tea houses and coffee shops with dark brown walls. Through the floor length glass windows, he could a few students who were sitting inside and chatting happily. Some of them were even waving their hands around animatedly while trying to convey certain opinions.

A group of youths in helmets rode past Garen on their bicycles with earplugs stuck in their ears.

"Coming through, coming through, coming through!!!" yelled the youth in front loudly while letting go of the front of his bike.

Brazen bike-racing within university grounds was against the rules, but it was obvious that these young people did not care.

Garen and a few other students that were passing by allowed the bicyclists to go first. Once the group had hastily left their line of sight, he continued walking leisurely.

Gullivier was a university that was built in an old area. It was rumored that this university had been established more than a thousand years ago. The university grounds had also survived countless fires and had to be rebuilt many times, making it even older than America.

Garen appreciated the clean, fresh air within the university grounds. While following the path, he ended up near his own dorms unconsciously. Next, he entered a red and white large cylindrical stone door that led to a white road in front. On his left was the library area while a slope that led upwards was on his right. The road sign on the side stated that this was the animal wellness center.

Garen pondered for a moment before going left and following the clusters of people that were walking towards the library.

A little while later, a thirty-meters-tall dark red building towered before him. It resembled a tortoise that was crawling on the ground. The doorway was on the side of the tortoise's body and a simple cobblestone path connected the entrance to the road.

There were numerous zig-zagging cobblestone paths on both sides of the library. Some led to the back of the library while others twisted and turned and extended towards further places.

Garen walked until he was a hundred meters away from the library area before stopping his footsteps and glancing at the notice board beside the road.

‘Library number 13 - 17 to the right side'

‘Library number 18 - 22 to the left side'

‘Library number 4 straight ahead'

The arrows from all three directions pointed towards a tablet that stood in the doorway.

Below it was a white stone sculpture that resembled a page, and introductory messages regarding the Gullivier library area were written there.

There were twenty-two Gullivier library buildings in total, and the largest and most beautiful library with the most books was connected to Nottingham's library website, allowing students to get the information they needed at any time.

The dates of the library's establishment, years of existence, as well as some information about certain people, were all written at the back of the library.

He glanced around uninterestedly. Garen did not enter but chose to walk on the lawn and little pathways between the libraries instead. The clusters of library buildings looked like dark red stones scattered and embedded into the green lawn.

Librarians who were pushing books through the aisles could be seen throughout the library areas constantly. These librarians were in charge of different libraries and were responsible for ensuring that the books were returned to their right shelves. They were also responsible for delivering the books from different libraries to the students.

Other than Garen, there were a few international students who were hanging around the lawn. Some of them carried cameras and took pictures, while others posed happily.