Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

William taught Altair a few things—tips he had learned from Jinra and some from Gorn. Altair was a good student. He listened carefully to what William had to say and tried his best to do as he was told. That was the best kind of person to teach. William liked it, and he was starting to believe that teaching the kingdom's army, like Tholfnir had asked him to, wouldn't be that hard.

Their training session lasted for hours. The fights between the two were so intense that the students outside heard the impacts of their blows, some even wondering what was going on.

"Are they fighting gigantic gorillas or something?" one student wondered aloud.

"Nah, I think that's just William. He's a prodig—"

"Shut up! Stop praising him; he won't take you as his disciple or befriend you."

William and Altair left and went to their dorm rooms. They lived in the same area, after all.

"See you tomorrow, William," Altair said as he waved. "Great training today."

"See ya!"

The first thing William needed after a training session like that was a shower and a meal with plenty of protein to help his muscles recover. The next morning, however, started quite differently for him. He woke up to Tholfnir knocking on his door. No one in the dorm could believe their eyes when they saw Tholfnir there. It was rare for him to visit a student like that.

William, too, was surprised. He almost freaked out when he saw Tholfnir through the magical peephole.

"Headmaster Tholfnir," he said, "what brings you to my room this early?"

"Can I come in?" Tholfnir asked.

The question wasn't necessary, as Tholfnir was the head of the academy, but William appreciated that he had the decency to ask.

"Of course. Come in."

Tholfnir sat on the couch with William.

"I know that yesterday I said no to that mission, but I've changed my mind. You can go with them," Tholfnir said.

William was surprised. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. You were right about needing some real-world practice, and honestly, you're quite strong compared to your first-year peers."

Although he appreciated the opportunity, William still couldn't understand Tholfnir's sudden change of heart. The headmaster wasn't usually indecisive. But despite his lingering questions, William decided to let it go and simply enjoy the chance to participate in the mission with the other students.

"Well, thank you very much for this," William said, his smile beaming. "I'll do my best to stay out of danger. And I have this, remember?" William showed the enchanted ring Professor Sebastian had given him.

"Right," Tholfnir acknowledged. "I'll take my leave, then. You cannot be gone for longer than 15 days before I send someone to retrieve you." He was just being cautious in case William disappeared.

"No problem, Headmaster."

After that, Tholfnir left, and William started to pack some things for the journey. He then met the other students who were waiting for his answer in the academy's courtyard.

"So, did they let you go with us?" the leader of the group asked when he saw William.

"Yes, they did," William confirmed. "Are we going by horse?"

The students exchanged glances and smiled. "No, of course not. We have flying mounts."

William then realized the students were all nobles. Money was no object for them, so obtaining flying mounts was easy. The good news was that the students had acquired a flying mount for William too, free of charge, which was great.

They didn't have many things to bring along for the mission, so flying mounts were ideal. It wasn't as if they had a lot of luggage to carry in a carriage, for example.

Before leaving for the mission, William spoke with Altair, since the two were training together.

"Another mission already? Damn, you don't stop, do you?" Altair said, a little worried.

"I'll rest after this one," William reassured him. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm away. I won't be here to save your ass."

"Oh, shut up. I can take care of myself, bro," Altair said, playfully pushing William away.

After their brief conversation, William left and joined the other students, who already had their griffins ready at the academy's main gate. William mounted his griffin and flew off, following the other students who knew their destination.

"We didn't introduce ourselves yet," one student yelled from their griffin. "I am Gilbert, this is my friend Yang, and that's Bianca." Discover exclusive content at empire

The three students were all from the second year. William didn't have much contact with students outside of the first year, so this was his first interaction with them.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," he said.

"We all know your name, so there's that. Anyway, the village isn't that far. With our griffins, I think we can get there in one day."

One day was a short trip. William had traveled very far to get to the academy, so for him, one day was nothing. Not only that, but he was flying this time! The view from atop the griffin was gorgeous. It wasn't something he had the chance to see every day.

The hours flew by, and when night came, they decided to make a quick stop. The spot they found for camping was on top of a mountain—one of the perks of having a griffin.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is the perfect spot to camp," Bianca said. "No monsters to bother us, and a beautiful view."

"Are you experienced with camping?" William asked her.

"Sort of. My father loved hunting with his friends, so I went with them a few times," she said.

Hunting was a popular activity among nobles. But while Gorn and the other hunters of Willow Creek hunted to eat and provide food for their families, the nobles usually hunted for fun. There was nothing wrong with that. It was just a different perspective on the same activity.

They only had two tents, meaning William would have to share with one of the students. He expected to sleep with either Gwen or Yang, as Bianca would certainly be scared of sharing a tent with a man she didn't know. But that wasn't the case. Bianca actually wanted to share the tent with William, which caught him off guard.

He didn't say anything at the time, though. They prepared something to eat using the bonfire, and William only spoke with her about it once they were inside the tent.

"Why did you choose to sleep with me? I mean, aren't they your friends?"

Bianca smiled. "I just think you are a promising mage and a pretty cool person. Besides, we are sharing a tent, not sleeping together. There's a difference, alright?"

"Yeah, I know," William said, preparing his place to sleep. "And thanks for the compliments."

"You're welcome."

The two smiled at each other. The good news was that the tent was a decent size, so they weren't too close. Both of them had their privacy for the night. William preferred that. He didn't know Bianca that well yet, so it was nice to have some space.

Because of the journey, he slept soundly and woke up the next day feeling refreshed. Nothing had happened during the night, which was good. But then, he realized something was off. He looked around and saw that no one else was there. The students were gone, as were the griffins. The only things he had were the tent and the campfire that had extinguished during the night.

"Shit!"