The two were led out of the castle by a new pair of students who, unlike Prince and Layla, possessed actual tact and basic human courtesy.
"You'll have to forgive our school's… intensity," one said as they crossed a vast, scarred field. "A recent renovation has demolished our more hospitable guest buildings, leaving only a handful of modest ones. We hope it will be to your liking."
Alex's eyes traced the field—a landscape of craters, scorch marks, and strange, glassy patches where the earth had been fused solid.
The student noticed his gaze. "This is the field assigned to our superhuman athletes. It's where they… express themselves without holding back. Worry not, they are currently engaged in the mandatory daily four-hour combat prep."
Tony's head snapped toward Alex, his eyes wide enough to scream, 'Four-hour prep?!' Both of them could only swallow their shock in silence.
Soon, they passed the field—which was easily the size of two football fields—and stepped onto a path of beautifully interlocked stone. A small mansion revealed itself, nestled at the edge of an encroaching forest.
"This is your residency for the upcoming week," the guide said. "While you have your personal luggage, all essentials have been provided in your rooms. Enjoy, and we'll see you soon."
The guides bowed and left Alex and Tony alone.
The two exchanged a long, silent glance before turning back to the gleaming structure.
"This," Alex finally said, shaking his head, "is what they call modest?"
Tony just shrugged, hefting his bag. "After that field, I'm just relieved there's a roof." He walked inside, with Alex following a moment later, the mansion's grandeur doing little to ease the sense of being a small fish in a very, very deep ocean.
The insides of the mansion were just as grand, if not more so, than the outside. Its interior was a beautiful oak-brown, with chandeliers and special lamps, painting the walls in an entrancing shade of gold.
On one of the walls hung several horns; some belonging to deer and others far too strange and bizarre to be from any normal animal.
A stairwell cut through the living room and diverted to both left and right wings of the magnificent structure.
"Here I was thinking I'd at least have to sell a kidney to experience a taste of this life." Alex chuckled, "But now that I'm here, albeit temporarily, it seems a bit too ostentatious."
Tony ignored him and walked up the stairs. Alex stared at his departing figure and scoffed before walking up the stairs himself.
While Alex went to the left wing, Tony went to the right and as chance would have it, they both found their rooms waiting for them.
Alex stared at the mahogany door with his name written in the same golden cursive letters used for the Principal's office.
He snared a bit before pushing the door open. The insides of the room were in great contrast to the rest of the house.
The room had a more modern setting as opposed to the earthy, Victorian style of the rest of the house.
It had its walls painted white with LED spelling 'Alex' on the wall above the bedside stand. 'How much money do these people have? This is so unfair!' Alex only held himself back from screaming out because of Tony.
There was a black wooden table against another wall, a small shelf against the third and the last had a curtain draped over it
Alex pulled on the curtain and revealed a beautifully transparent window that gave an amazing view of the forest.
'Shit! People with money do enjoy all the privileges in the world.' He sighed and crashed on the bed.
The moment he lay on the bed, he moaned loudly and covered his mouth in a panic.
"What the fuck, Alex?!" Tony yelled from the other wing and Alex chuckled a bit before focusing on the softness of his bed.
His eyes went to his bag and he reached for it, 'All this can be mine forever if I can fully master my Beast Art.'
Alex closed his eyes and started running his Beast Art. The pathways devoured the energy and a wave of power washed through his cells, filling them with the familiar, intoxicating vigor.
He stood up from the bed and threw out a few fists. They cut through the air and let out a tiny thump every time.
Soon, Alex dropped to the floor and started doing pushups with the Beast Art. He knew that it would be very easy to do a push-up with his Beast Art but that wasn't what he was aiming for.
Alex reduced the amount of energy being drawn from his core to the bare minimum. Yet he pushed that energy through the pathway and tried to stop the energy from being devoured. He failed but tried again.
Once more, the energy was devoured, and he was forced to try again and again and again until his core grew ashen.
By now, Alex was completely drenched in sweat. Whether it was from the pushups he kept on doing or from trying to regulate his Beast Art, he didn't know.
His arms trembled as he pushed himself off the floor and peeled off his clothes that stuck to his body.
Luckily for him, the bathroom was attached to the room.
Alex entered and scrubbed himself thoroughly until he felt that he was clean. He came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Man. Is it just me, or rich people's water hits different?"
"It's definitely just you," Tony replied, standing by Alex's door, and the latter almost jumped out of his skin.
Alex glared at Tony, "What the hell are you doing here? Spying on me? Hoping to get a glance? Taking a picture?!" With each question, the conclusion got worse.
"Don't flatter yourself, Song. They dropped off our food, so I came to call you, and it's your fault for leaving your door open." Tony snorted and stormed off.
'Out…' A voice whispered, and Alex jumped a bit, but before he could react, he forgot all about it.