CHAPTER 199: BEAST HOUSE

Riven observed the map even more. There had to be a reason for this. After a few seconds, he spotted something moving, it was a black dot moving from the demon continent toward Sapphire and then to the mountains of the dwarves.

If they got there, they would be able to enter Vermilion even easier.

"So that’s why, it’s showing me what will happen," Riven muttered. If the demonized managed to enter the kingdom through the dwarves’ land, they would probably be completely surrounded.

"The dwarves won’t even do anything to stop them. Dwarves will never stand in their way if they do not cause havoc there," Riven said.

He closed the book and placed it in his ring. "I have to tell someone about this," Riven said. The only person that came to his mind to tell was Quin.

He decided to not think about it for now. He walked to the door of his room and walked out. Noel was already there waiting for him, and so were the girls.

"I would have come get you guys," Riven said.

"We can’t trust you. You might have tried to run away without us," Mia said.

Riven scratched his head like a guilty person that had been caught.

"Alright, let’s go. We’ve delayed enough," he said. Noel grabbed him by the shoulder. "Are we going to see Lance?" he asked.

Riven looked in the direction of Lance’s room, then shook his head. "Not now. Some things take priority. If we ever meet him again, then we will talk," Riven said and walked off.

They headed to the academy beast house. It was the place where all rideable beasts were kept. It ranged from different wild beasts to house-kept horses.

The men at the beast house stopped the students when they came there. The leader was a tall, lanky man. He chewed on a piece of stick like it was made of meat.

He looked at them from top to bottom and then spoke, "What do y’all want? The academy is on lockdown from any activity," he said.

Mia stepped forward, "I’m Mia Runeblade," she said, and her name alone made the man’s eyes widen. His expression shifted a little, he paid more attention to what she was saying.

"We have a mission, and we have to get into the capital. We need some horses. We already have the permission of the Headmistress," she said.

Riven took out the Headmistress’s letter and showed the stamp to the man.

"Oh, I see. Then that’s fine. But are you going to come back to the academy with them?" he asked.

"Uhhh, I didn’t think about that. We are going to be teleporting to another town, so we can’t," Mia said.

"Then you can’t have horses, but we have trained Wyverns, two of them. You just need to direct them to where you are going, and when they drop you off, they’ll fly back," the man said. He took out the stick from his mouth and spat on the floor.

"I hope none of y’all are scared of heights," he said.

"No, but we also don’t really know much about Wyverns, so we need at least one of you to guide us," Mia said.

"Urghh, I wasn’t planning on anything serious today, but I guess it’s fine. I’ll take y’all," he said and signaled for them to walk in.

He pushed open the massive doors of the beast house. It was a massive building, very massive. Cages stood left and right, thick bars reinforced with runes.

Inside were beasts of many kinds: Goblins, Orcs, Ogres, Lizardmen. Wolves of different kinds, some massive and majestic, some simply vicious.

The sound of growls, screeching, and roaring filled their ears. The smell of wet fur, shit, and piss penetrated their nostrils, burning the back of their throats.

The man took a deep whiff of the smell. "This is the smell of the wild," he said, looking at the group.

"Each of the beasts are taken care of, and stand-alone you can’t smell anything, but there is always that faint smell, and when they are gathered here together, it turns into this," he said and kept walking.

Riven looked at the races like the Ogres and Orcs. They were humanoid, so it felt out of place for them to be here, but these ones weren’t smart, so they were categorized as beasts.

After a few minutes of walking, they got to the back where the Wyverns were kept. A total of twenty were kept here.

"These are the ones you are allowed to see," the man said.

"That means there are more?" Liana asked.

"Of course, young lady. This is the prestigious Royal Academy, there are a lot more. But we can’t allow anyone to have an idea of the real number, so we shroud it in mystery," the man said.

"Hey guys, come help me," the man called out to the other people that were working inside. They came after he called, four of them.

"I need four Wyverns saddled and ready to go," he said.

"Yes boss," they responded and rushed to it.

The man faced Riven and his group. "We will be flying in pairs. A Wyvern can hold three, but that’s unsafe and pushing the limits. We also refrain from hurting our beasts if we don’t need to," the man said.

"Bro, we’ll ride to..." Noel had not finished that sentence when he felt cold, piercing stares. He looked up and saw the three girls glaring at him. He subconsciously took a step back. He looked at the man, "I’ll ride with you," he said.

The man turned, saw what was happening, and let out a knowing chuckle.

But trouble was far from gone, as Riven had to say who he would ride with. The three girls stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

Riven wanted to refuse all this and ask for a fifth Wyvern, but he stopped himself. Running from their feelings, and maybe his own, wasn’t good. He had to face issues like this head-on.