The High Periphery is a colossal school made of pure gold, located in another dimension. The portal to this world has no exact location, but the truth is that every place in the world of Meadowglaze has a hidden entrance to the academy.
In Agysmal's case, he didn't have a hard time finding the passageway to High Periphery because he had a map to guide him. Even so, he still had to go through trial and error to find the passageway.
Now, he found out that Beardman used to study at High Periphery. The hermit-like man who sells vegetables in Central Town is actually a Larkansas. He was a classmate and teammate of their instructor, Miss Rosen, and another person familiar to him - Bechamel.
Based on the moving images in the picture frames on the wall of the room, Beardman, Miss Rosen, and Bechamel were close to each other from their training days to when they became interns taking Job Orders.
But will he tell the instructor what happened to the two?
"It's good that you're feeling better," Miss Rosen said as she entered her office. She found Agysmal looking at the pictures on the wall.
As a sign of respect and gratitude, Agysmal bowed his head, "Thank you, Miss Rosen, for helping me."
Miss Rosen laughed and waved her hand. "It's nothing. It's also my job to look after my students."
Earlier in her class, there was an unexpected commotion when Agysmal lost control of himself. Due to the intense emotions that affected his thinking, he released all his Musk, causing an explosion and earthquake.
After the explosion, a thick orange smoke enveloped the High Periphery, a rare phenomenon in their history. Agysmal's Musk, which had a cedarwood smell, had spread throughout the campus. To dissipate the disturbing smoke, another instructor, Antonof Quebec, used a vacuum to suck up all the Musk released by Agysmal.
When the surroundings returned to normal, the trainees and Miss Rosen saw a large egg floating in the air. It suddenly started pulsing, prompting Miss Rosen to warn her students not to approach it.
"Where's Agysmal?" asked Ivypom, a female trainee.
"I think he's inside that egg," Isomer guessed.
"What's happening to him?" Gismuth asked curiously.
"Agysmal is a Mythical Meadow Feral Egg Eater," Matrix said, stroking his imaginary beard. "The Musk he released awakened the egg's ability."
"What kind of Mythical Meadow Feral egg did he consume?" Shansai asked, looking at the pulsing egg.
Miss Rosen waved her hand in the air, and a wooden panel appeared. The panel scanned the floating egg to gather information, but it failed to detect any data. Despite the advanced technology at High Periphery, the system malfunctioned.
"It seems this type of Mythical Meadow Feral Egg has just been discovered," Miss Lauven said, overheard by Sir Antonof and Sir Kilowen, who had just arrived at the scene.
"The egg is emitting a unique energy," Sir Antonof observed.
"For now, let's not touch it, in case it breaks," Sir Kilowen cautioned. Miss Rosen dismissed the training session, and the trainees dispersed, leaving the three instructors behind.
Sir Antonof encased the egg in an electrical cage, ensuring that if it were to break, the creature inside wouldn't escape and cause chaos at High Periphery.
As night fell and everyone was resting, Comtalc remained awake, thinking about what was happening to his roommate inside the egg. He got out of bed and saw Erewhen standing near the window, arms crossed. Comtalc knew that Erewhen often slept like that, but his mind was always alert.
"What mischief are you thinking of now?" Erewhen asked, gazing out the window.
"Nothing," Comtalc shrugged. "I just want to check on Agysmal's condition."
The moonlight illuminated the hallways and corridors of High Periphery. The two roommates made their way to where the egg was being kept, but when they arrived, they heard movements and whispers.
"We need to leave now," said a girl, but when Erewhen heard her soft voice, he immediately recognized her as Ivypom. Erewhen and Comtalc hid, wanting to know what the sneaking individuals planned to do. "Someone might catch us," Ivypom reminded her companions.
"We need to save Agysmal," said another girl, Lotuslush. "No one knows what's happening to him inside the egg. Maybe he's just trapped, and to free him, someone needs to break the egg."
"But we still need to wait for the right signal," insisted another, Megumi. "And besides, it's the instructors' job. They have the authority to decide what to do with the egg."
"You're just saying that because you're cowards!" Lotuslush whispered angrily to Ivypom and Megumi. "You lack initiative, and if you don't want to break the egg, then I'll do it. I'll set Agysmal free."
Despite her companions' warnings, Lotuslush approached the egg, which was enclosed in an electrical cage. She needed to find a way to break it. Using a dagger, she targeted the egg. As the dagger pierced the eggshell, it slowly cracked, releasing orange light with each crack. When the egg finally broke, they were blinded by the intense light, and then they heard a sinister growl.
Lotuslush was so frightened that she stumbled and fell to the ground, sitting there with her hand covering her mouth. She slowly backed away, unable to believe what she had done. She hadn't expected to see Agysmal in such a strange state.
Although Agysmal's body was still in embryonic development, it already had a human-like face and was crawling. It was difficult to approach because it was surrounded by a gelatinous fire. When Agysmal saw the stunned Lotuslush, it was about to attack her, but Comtalc emerged from hiding to rescue the woman.
Agysmal let out another nefarious growl, and the gelatinous fire on its body flared up. The golden walls of High Periphery were too strong to be melted by Agysmal's flames. To escape, Agysmal quickly made its way out of High Periphery.
"Watch over Lotuslush for now," Comtalc ordered Megumi. "We'll just follow where Agysmal goes." Megumi nodded, while Lotuslush seemed frozen in shock.
Agysmal had already exited High Periphery and was now roaming the forest. Comtalc and Erewhen followed Agysmal's tracks, with Ivypom trailing behind them. Meanwhile, their fellow trainees and instructors quickly got up to investigate the commotion.
Comtalc and Erewhen had gone far, and they could still see Agysmal's tracks. Although they were panting and holding their daggers, they needed to be vigilant. Fortunately, the moon was bright, making it easier to navigate the pine tree forest. However, they seemed to be losing track of Agysmal.
"Look behind you!" Comtalc shouted to Erewhen.
Agysmal was attacking Erewhen, but thanks to the warning, Erewhen was only grazed by Agysmal's fist on his arm. However, Erewhen's arm swelled, and he was knocked back, hitting his head on a pine tree due to Agysmal's punch.
"What's wrong with you?" Comtalc asked Agysmal, who was now crawling on the ground and staring at him. "What do you plan to do with me, Agysmal?"
When Agysmal attacked him, Comtalc dodged the blow. He defended himself with his dagger, but Agysmal's elastic arms allowed him to be hit from a distance. "Damn, you're a strong monster," Comtalc exclaimed. He pulled out marbles from his pouch and threw them at Agysmal. The marbles exploded, creating a sticky foam that hindered Agysmal's movements, but it eventually melted.
Agysmal broke free from the sticky foam, only to be quickly stopped when Ivypom lassoed him. "What are you doing here?" Comtalc asked.
"I'm here to help you!" Ivypom replied. "I'm one of those responsible for his escape, so I should be one of those to fix the situation."
As Agysmal struggled to break free from the lasso, Ivypom used all her strength to hold on. However, Agysmal managed to break free and slam her into Comtalc.
Erewhen approached Agysmal, enduring the pain from his burn, to look him straight in the eye. One of Erewhen's eyes, the one that had always been closed, was now flowing with blood. Just as Erewhen was about to reveal his ability, both he and Agysmal looked up at the bright sky.
A large water sign appeared in the clouds, and they saw Miss Rosen jump and break the sign with a dagger. A heavy downpour of rain came, flooding the area. Comtalc, Erewhen, and Ivypom clung to tree branches as they saw Agysmal being swept away by the flood. When the water receded, they found Agysmal back in his normal form, unconscious.
Agysmal was currently at Miss Rosen's office, where he was recovering. He was having trouble recalling the events that had transpired, although he had some fragmented memories. Miss Rosen had already discharged him, saying he was feeling better.
When he left the office, he saw Comtalc, Ivypom, and Erewhen waiting for him. He smiled slightly when he saw his two co-trainees, but his expression faltered when he saw Erewhen standing ahead, arms crossed and looking away. However, he was glad to see them.
"You're finally awake. What brought you back, a true love's first kiss?" Comtalc joked, putting his arm around Agysmal's shoulders.
Ivypom mustered up the courage to face Agysmal and apologize. "By the way, Agysmal, I'm here to personally apologize to you," she said, looking a bit embarrassed.
Agysmal replied, "You didn't do anything wrong," and gave her a reassuring smile. "Miss Lauven told me what happened. She said it was good that someone broke the egg early, or the situation might have gotten worse. She also said that no trainees will be punished."
As they headed back to the dormitory, Comtalc was regaling them with stories. Suddenly, a memory popped into Agysmal's mind.
He recalled traversing a desert engulfed in flames, with a lava-filled oasis in the distance. While searching for a passageway, he heard a voice that guided him toward finding the entrance. It was a voice he had heard before, a woman's voice that had once grated on his nerves but now seemed endearing.
He couldn't help but want to hear the voice again and see Lotuslush.