Classes ended by 2 pm. I had roughly three hours.

But come to think of it, the guy did say he needed a week to refine the sword, and not to mention, even if I got the core, it wasn't like my saber would have been mysteriously completed in just a few hours either.

I sighed. If it really came to it, I was going to have to get a normal saber from the club. Which actually wasn't that bad, considering I didn't know how to use my saber's ability anyway.

"What happened?" Robert came towards me.

I was busy looking at the fields from the veranda while sighing my heart out. I guess he saw that.

"Yeah, nothing. Gotta do something, but don't know if it'll work or not."

"As long as you try your best, even if it doesn't work, wouldn't that be enough? After all, you'd know you tried."

"Though I do understand and respect the sentiment, I don't accept it. After all, what's the point of going through hell if you can't even bask in a bit of your own success? Wouldn't not trying at all, just have been the same if not better? After all, that way you wouldn't have expanded so much time and effort."

"I suppose everyone has their own answers." Robert chuckled. "But I do hope you end up with the results you're looking for." Robert left with a hand in his pocket. I guess he didn't agree but he didn't want to argue about it either.

"Thanks."

He didn't look back.

'Maybe I should hang out with him sometimes.' The dude seemed cool enough.

But now my mind was made up. 'I'll just think of something afterward.' I'd cross the bridge when I'd get there.

I still didn't know about the location of the volcano. It didn't matter though.

Because I had a plan.

***

"How can I help you today?" Miss Maire smiled, seated on her chair, legs crossed.

I was in the teacher's room. There were other teachers in here too, and I got stares. I guess I was famous among them too.

But I got straight to the point. "How can I get to the volcano?"

"Oh?" Miss Maire looked at me with a bit of confusion for a second. "So, you've heard about it, brat." And with that her personality switched too.

"I take it that your good girl act is just an act or that you can switch at will?"

She flashed a smile. "Head north of snowy plains. Here." She threw a bit of paper at me.

I guess she wasn't going to answer me. But this saved me a lot of trouble.

But then again, she did wring out two coppers from me, for this small piece of map.

"Alright, thanks."

"Of course, I expect to get some bodies too."

I guess she wasn't doing this for free. But I expected as much.

"Let's see. If I find anything other than what I'm looking for, I'll give it to you. Of course, I would expect a generous amount of credits." I didn't mind using the situation in my favor, after all, lately, I wasn't spending much time on studies. So the least I could do was get enough credits.

She burst out laughing. "Sure, sure." She stopped laughing. "I expect big things from you."

'And I didn't need to know that.' Talk about, no pressure.

I got out and took a breather. This went a lot easier than I thought. But I guess she didn't have any qualms in telling me, after all, this profited her and the academy too.

But this also got me the push I needed. And if the volcano was in the snowy plains, then I didn't have to worry too much about the heat. But then again, wouldn't have meant, I'd have to wear that sweater again to get there?

'I really wish, I got my jacket back when I went back home.'

Oh well, I could have always borrowed Merin's. He probably wasn't going to be happy about it though.

With that done, I headed straight for the dorm.

***

"So, basically you're heading there alone?"

"Yup."

"You could have just asked me for directions too you know."

I was ravaging through Merin's jackets as the guy was too busy sulking. This guy literally had eleven jackets with eleven styles. I liked the black leather one, so I picked it.

"I know. But I kind of forgot you know. And at the time, my brain wasn't working." On that note, I'd been feeling rather weird since morning. I didn't get contradictions and I didn't get weird thoughts either.

It was almost like… I was… empty.

"I still think it would have been better for you to at least have someone with you." Merin picked up a random crystal from his drawer and threw it at me. "Here."

I caught it. It was cool to the touch. "This is?"

"A frost crystal. It's not cheap, but not expensive either. You can basically just buy it for a silver."

After the great meteorite impact, crystals formed in the most deadly places of the earth: crystals with the power of the places they were found in. Their quality was as good as their price. Meaning, the more expensive they were the more powerful.

Though he claimed it wasn't worth much, a silver was still a lot of money for me. "And you're giving it to me-"

"Because I think your life's worth more. Be sure to pay me back, and scram. I have a date to get to."

"Oh, you've worked out stuff?"

Merin flashed a smirk. "And if things go well, we might cross all the bases this time." His smirk intensified.

"Good for you." It had nothing to do with me. "But thanks for this."

And so, with my new stol- Ahem! With Merin's jacket, I headed for the snowy plains.

***

It was still cold but the jacket was doing fine. And since this stuff was black, it was absorbing heat like crazy.

I walked proudly and with a smirk. I was glad this volcano was in the snowy plains rather than that forest. And though this place was cold, this was also a blessing. After all, more cold meant less bugs. More wins for me.

But boy was this place cold.

It started pretty well with the temperature going down gradually. But after the first half an hour, things got more than whacky. It was a sudden shift. The sun was clouded and for once, I regretted not bringing anyone with me.

It didn't take long before I grabbed my arms and shivered with every frigging step.

'How about-'

I tried to regulate my body heat. Normally I could increase my temp by a degree or two at best. But that night, I was at least ten or even fifteen degrees hotter. Enough to make my sweat evaporate and form steam. Of course, I knew I couldn't do that, but I could at least increase my temps enough so that I didn't freeze.

I took in deep breaths. But every breath was like an icicle clashing against my lungs. It hurt.

I tried to form small reactions in my own blood and create heat. This was a very inefficient process but at least I wouldn't have to freeze.

My blood and skin heated up and my internal organs heated up too. I succeeded: a very minor success, considering I could only manage roughly four degrees.

But I did feel better and I moved forward.

I didn't have much time today, so my plan was to get the core and deliver it tomorrow.

Even with the temperature boost, the journey wasn't easy. Winds kicked in and my vision got more and more obstructed. The flimsy two copper map I had with me, wasn't helping that much either. 'Why the hell did I spend money on this thing?'

But it was more like I didn't have a choice with this since Miss Maire literally forced this on me.

'Wait, if cores are expensive…' I had a very bad idea. Selling Mutor carcasses was illegal by law, but there was no mention of cores. And up until recently, I didn't even know that cores even existed. But now that I did, I had all sorts of ideas about the cores.

So, with a giggle that'd put the devil to shame, I moved forward and eventually reached a cave.

I felt more than just stupid as I doubled checked the entrance.

"Hey, I've been here before!" And not to mention last time Clyde concluded that there was a powerful Mutor in here. Of course in our case, it was the seal.

My voice echoed throughout the cave.

'What if-' What if Clyde wasn't wrong and there was a powerful Mutor hidden deep inside. And if my memory served me correctly, this cave was a lot warmer than the outside. And there was liquid water deep within.

'Since I'm already here, better get checking.'

I had an hour and a half, I had to make most of it.