Chapter 60. Ostrium Academy

“Repeat after me. I will not look at any girls no matter how cute they might be.” Alice stated.

“I will only look at the cutest of girls but try my best to not have any feelings.” Ken replied as he got smacked.

“KEN! It’s not time for jokes. You better be training hard and training alone and stay away from any and all girls!” Genesis added.

“Calm down! I am not going to Ostrium for sightseeing or recruit new lovers.” Ken replied as the girls all tried to get in some last minute affection.

“Why did you decide to go to Ostrium?” Cecilla asked as the clock ticked closer to Ken’s departure.

“There is someone I am interested in at Ostrium.” Ken replied.

“Since when did you have your eyes on someone from Ostrium?” Clare jumped into the conversation, not liking where it’s going.

“Had eyes on him since I watched my first tournament live from the stadium.” Ken replied casually.

“Were you not joking when you said you slept with my brother?” Seraphina asked, not sure what Ken meant with his statement.

“Seraphina! I can be curious about other things you know. Just because I am interested in someone, doesn’t mean I want to sleep with them!” Ken replied firmly, crushing any doubts about his sexuality as the girls looked on with suspicion.

“Be careful Ken. Don’t do anything dangerous.” Emma warned as she handed him his packed clothes for the trip.

“Thanks Emma! You know I don’t look for trouble on purpose. The last thing I want is trouble!” Ken replied as he graciously took the sack from Emma.

“If you don’t get involved with any girl, I think you can avoid most of the trouble you get into.” Lovetta added while giving Ken a tight hug.

“Hey Ken. You still remember that you said you will come with me to Atlantica for the break right?” Indra asked timidly.

“Of course! I am very excited to visit the city under water and your father sounds like he is super strong so I am exactly to see if I can learn from him!” Ken replied happily as the necklace started to glow, waving goodbye to all of the girls one final time, they watched him disappear reluctantly.

“Welcome to Ostrium!” A deep manly voice said warmly before Ken had time to look around as he got teleported onto the school grounds of the Ostrium academy.

“Fernard! Dang! You are one huge dude who’s even bigger up close! It’s nice to finally get to chat with you.” Ken said happily, shaking the huge hand of the 7 foot tall giant grizzly beastman, who Ken had been rooting for in the tournaments since his first semester.

Ever since he spoke and trained with Yvette, Ken had been thinking hard about who and where he should train so he could get stronger as fast as possible. The obvious first choice was with Lovetta’s father and training boost with Boris had proven to be great in aiding Ken in his growth as he continued to push his body little by little ever since his lessons with the wolf beastman.

Yvette’s words that Fernard was the person in his age group that was the closest to reach stardom has really stuck with Ken and the when the request sent to Ostrium for exchange was accepted by Ostrium Academy, Ken has looked forward to his time here and hoped Fernard would still be around.

“Congratulations on reaching holy level Fernard. Sorry I stole the spotlight from you in the last tournament. I knew you were supposed to be the main attraction for reaching holy level but it ended up being me who was in the spotlight. I am glad you are still here instead of taking a job too! The main reason I wanted to come here is to train and learn from you.” Ken apologized to the giant of a man.

“No worries! I might have reached holy level in certain areas but as you can see, I still have much to learn and will be staying in school for as long as it takes until I can overtake one of the top 10. My father was actually happy that you took the spotlight away from me since I did end up losing pretty badly against Thallan. That was the main reason I was able to convince him to accept your exchange request.” Fernard answered politely.

“Your father? I remember Cecilla telling me there is a professor at this academy that was heavily recruited by Dragonspire but refused.” Ken asked curiosity while recalling Cecilla saying something about a gifted professor at this school.

“Yes! My father Fern Aethelwulf is one of the best if not the best combat professor in the world! Unfortunately, due to the lack of potential, he couldn’t make it to Dragonspire himself and could barely get to Divine level but he is great at teaching and training! Ostrium has produced some of the top generals in the past 20 years for many kingdoms thanks to my father’s teaching and Dragonspire has offered him top salary but he is a stubborn man and refused to go.” Fernard said with a chuckle.

“Did you skip the selection by any chance? Getting to holy level is the basic graduation standard for Dragonspire so if you have already reached this level, with your potential you should have gotten selected right?” Ken asked.

“I actually participated in the selection and was selected. But when the staff came, I rejected the admission per my father’s request. I was pretty embarrassed by his petty behavior but I guess that’s just the sort of person he is.” Fernard laughed heartily.

After walking together and chatting happily, the pair reached a large building within the academy grounds that was grand in size but simple in design like every other building within the academy. While the buildings and the academy itself was large in size and possibly much bigger than Dragonspire, it lacked the magnificence and grandeur when compared to the marble stone castle towers of Dragonspire.

“Prodigy boy! Welcome to Ostrium where we can train the less talented into better and more noteworthy members in society than even Dragonspire!” Said a high pitched voice as Ken and Fernard entered the staff room to get Ken settled.

“Professor Aethelwulf?” Ken questioned as he looked at the tiny chipmunk beastman who’s not even chest height when he stood next to the giant grizzly beastman.

“Yes! That is me! The greatest professor this world has ever seen! Not even the likes of those in Dragonspire can match my teachings and my son will one day stand amongst the greatest!” The tiny man proclaimed.

As someone who grew up in a beastman kingdom, it wasn’t a surprise to Ken that someone like this tiny rodent beastman was capable of producing a giant like Fernard but to see the contrast this up close was nonetheless intriguing for the human.

“So. Let’s get down to business. I have seen your fights and if what you said were true and you went from nothing to master level in just 3 years then even my son is of no match for your talent.” The professor said while walking around Ken to examine his muscle structure and build.

“Thanks! I don’t want to sound cocky but I have been told that I am probably the second most gifted person in my age group and I look forward to getting guidance from the greatest teacher!” Ken replied happily, looking forward to his training with Fernard and his father.

“Oh, I won’t be teaching you at all. I just accepted your request because of my son. I won’t be training some gifted kid from Dragonspire who could be my son’s biggest rival in the coming years.” Fern replied to the confused Ken.

“Let’s go Ken. I will take you to the dorm so you can drop your things off.” Fernard offered as he started to walk away as Ken followed behind shortly.

“So if your father isn’t going to train me. What am I supposed to be doing for the next month?” Ken asked Fernard as the pair walked away, still confused by the interaction that just took place.

“Oh, don’t mind him. He is just joking with you. My father was looking forward to getting to work with someone as talented as you are.” Fernard replied reassuringly as Ken wondered in doubt if he just wasted a month of his time where he could have worked on getting stronger elsewhere.

After getting settled in a modest single room, Ken dropped his sack of clothes and followed Fernard as the beastman decided to show him around the campus for the day and not worry about starting their training right away.

“Have you ever heard of the Miodod kingdom? I can’t believe one of the top 10 kingdoms is actually part of the beastman alliance and only days away from my home and I have never heard of it at all when I was growing up!” Ken asked, never realizing Ostrium is actually rather close to his home kingdom in the middle of the beastman territory on the Vlayria continent north of the massive Yelwraek kingdom.

“Yep! We actually have a few students here from Miodod! As the largest and most powerful kingdom inside of the beastman alliance, all of the top students within the area that couldn’t make it to Dragonspire ends up coming here. We have students from hundreds of kingdoms here!”

“Wow! That’s cool. You are the first person to know where my kingdom is! This is a rather gigantic place. How many students do you all take in each year? I was in Feirvenn during their break so I didn’t really get to see that many students.” Ken asked as the pair walked through the academy grounds filled with beastman students going about their ways, most of which greeted Fernard with admiration and whispered excitedly when they realized who Ken was.

“We enroll at least 5000 a year! So I am sure the number of students here is far greater than at Dragonspire. While the enrollment requirement is pretty high compared to the average academy, most of the largest academies around the world that’s not Dragonspire should have a much higher enrollment just due to the sheer population.” Fernard informed the curious young man as he tried to take in all the new information.

“I guess that makes sense. With Dragonspire only enrolling a thousand a year and most never graduate or even care about working since they are just there to make connections. I guess most of the kingdoms probably end up hiring from one of the other academies.”

“Exactly! That’s why my father hates Dragonspire! He wanted to train motivated students but when he visited Dragonspire, he was met with extremely talented individuals but most of which wanted nothing to do with getting stronger and that drove him insane so he turned down the job offer and has been enjoying the motivated students here since before I was born.” Fernard replied with a hearty laugh.

“Does the hero Nolan show up at the academy often? I know Yvette spends a lot of at the academy in Feirvenn but she is quirky with who gets to attend her lessons.” Ken asked, suddenly remembering that not only does Ostrium have a top instructor but also one of the top ten heroes he could train with.

“Nolan is here maybe every few weeks so unfortunately during your stay, you would only get to see and train with him often. He also likes to skip out on those sessions so don’t have your hopes up on meeting him. But worry not, according to my father, Nolan is just extremely gifted himself and he won’t be able to teach you any of his talents, so there isn't much you can learn from him. But to experience his speed in person would definitely put things into perspective and help with your advancement so hopefully you get to fight him at least once.” Fernard advised as the pair walked about the giant campus where Fernard pointed to different buildings before the pair eventually arrived at the dining hall for lunch.

“I love it here! This place feels so much more like a normal school compared to Dragonspire! Instead of filled with people trying to kiss up to the nobles and royals, people here actually wanted to learn! What a refreshing sight to see.” Ken complained to Fernard about the people at Dragonspire as the pair grabbed some food and got settled.

“Are you Ken from Miodod?” A girl’s voice asked.

“Yep! That’s me. How can I help you?” Ken replied as he looked up to see a cute fox beastman.

“Do you still remember the promise you made with the king of Miodod?” The girl asked as she sat down with the pair uninvited.

“Not too sure. That was over 3 years ago wasn’t it? I think I promised I would speak highly of the kingdom or something? I am pretty sure I have kept my promise?” Ken replied, not sure who this girl is or where this conversation is heading towards.

“My name is Rena Miodod. My father is the current king of Miodo who you have met before and I do believe he said something about making a promise with you in regards to an arranged marriage.” Rena the fox beastman princess replied.

“OH YEAH! He did promise me a daughter, didn't he! If I knew he was going to let me have a princess this cute I would have visited to claim my prize!” Ken answered jokingly.

“Yeah. No. I am his favorite and the only child qualified to enroll here in Ostrium so my father’s hope for me is definitely for me to bag Fernard and not be your arranged wife. He was probably happy to let you have one of my less desirable half sisters but after what you did recently, he was elated to have nothing to do with you.” Rena replied while eating her lunch but never taking her gaze off Ken.

“Hey! Good to know. At least I don’t have to turn you down now and feel like I missed out. I guess Fernard here is quite a catch isn’t he?” Ken answered.

“Everyone knows Fernard will eventually make it to the top 10 and as a beastman it’s no secret that he is the most desired man and at least half the girls here would go out with him in a heartbeat.” Rena answered casually as Fernard stayed quiet while blushing.

“Dang. Mister popular here! Half the girls? I thought I was popular when I only got a few clinging onto me, guess I’m a small fish in a tiny pond compared to Fernard here.” Ken replied while giving the giant of a man some pats on the back.

“Well, unlike you. Fernard here is a rather picky man and none of the girls has had any luck getting his affection so far.” Rena answered while keeping her gaze focused on Ken.

“Really? Dang he is way smarter than I am. Biggest mistake I have ever made is falling for every cute girl that’s interested in me. Now I can barely focus on my training while also having to deal with the drama and mess. I wish I was more picky.” Ken replied with a sigh.

“Picky enough to not go out with the princess of Yelwraek?” Rena said doubtfully, giving Ken a questionable side eyebrow raise.

“Okay fine. I was doomed from day 1. I know I am younger than you Fernard, but here is some advice, be careful who you fall in love with. A pretty face is most likely not worth the hassle.” Ken offered.

“Thank you but Unlike you, I am not talented enough to focus on my training and have the ability to maintain a relationship. For now, I just want to focus on my personal growth and once I can make my father proud and be one of the top 10, I will start worrying about a love life.” Fernard answered as every girl sitting nearby listened intently to every word Fernard said.

“Hey! Guess you still have a chance Rena! But you definitely have fierce competition unless Fernard here wants a harem after he gets rich.” Ken joked as the girls all around whispered to each other about what Fernard had said.

“I’m not interested in him. Fernard isn’t my type.” Rena replied casually while she kept staring at Ken.

“Is it fine for you to disobey your father? Won’t he try to marry you off to some prince from another kingdom if you end up failing to bag Fernard?” Ken asked, curious about how a princess from his home kingdom would get treated compared to the likes of Clare or Cecilla.

“Thankfully, Miodod is not small enough where we needed to do everything we could to survive and not big enough where an extra alliance would push us into a major power. Other than marrying someone famous enough to be a elite ten or maybe someone from Dragonspire, our kingdom’s general future’s not going to change so we don’t have the pressure like a small border kingdom that’s always at risk for border dispute or a giant like Yelwraek where they need to keep that power balance in check.” Rena answered as Ken listened, full of intrigue while also getting to know his home kingdom a little better.

“Guess being a princess for a midsized kingdom is the best? Have the status and wealth as a princess but none of the pressure that the small and giant kingdoms have to face? Now that I think about it, there should be plenty of nobles and royals at this academy too right? I wonder why the people don’t behave like they do at Dragonspire.” Ken wondered as he looked around the dining hall where he had a hard time figuring out if someone was a noble or commoner which is such a drastic contrast compared to Dragonspire where it was easy to know exactly who was what and who’s got the most prestige and power.

“I mean, unlike with Dragonspire where anyone who gets selected would go just because of the prestige and it’s free. People attending any other academies around the world have to pay tuition so only those that really wanted the education and have the means would be able to attend. Everyone here is at least well off and since most of the nobles and royals are from neighboring kingdoms, none of us is really that much better or worse than any others so we are all just regular students.” Rena answered as Ken nodded in agreement.

After chatting with Rena and Fernard some more while enjoying his lunch. The trio spent the afternoon headed into the large city to explore the entire area as much as they could.

“Since you are only here for a month to train, we will just show you the city briefly today. Whenever you come back for a relaxing vacation, you can explore the city some more.” Fernard offered as he flagged down a carriage to take the group into town.

“So Rena. Is there any reason why you are following us around?” Ken asked as the fox beastman girl tagged along without getting the invite.

“Why not? You don’t want a cute girl like me around?” Rena replied as she got in the carriage, showing no signs of wanting to leave.

“I definitely do not want a cute girl around. How am I going to last a month alone if you get what I mean?” Ken replied while Rena brushed his concern nonchalantly.

Similar to Miodod, Ostrium was a normal looking city except for its much larger size where the entire capital city of Miodod could fit into a single district of Ostrium. Plain stone paved roads and buildings that lacked the grandness compared to the likes Yelwraek or Darrumburgh spawn as far as one can see and as the carriage traveled through the different areas, Fernard and Rena acted as guides and offered Ken commentary on the scenery as they rode through the city.

After a full day of exploration, the trio got dinner at a busy restaurant where every customer came up to happily greet Fernard while also chatting and laughing at and with Ken as the young human described his life and death struggles while attending Dragonspire.

“Thanks Fernard for being such a good host and showing me around today! I look forward to training with you and your father from tomorrow onward.” Ken said happily to the grizzly beastman as the pair parted ways after returning to the academy where Ken was excited to start his training so he could grow even stronger.