《I'm The supreme Fairy King》


 Chapter 1: A Soft Voice

    Chapter 1: A Soft Voice


    "It''s a bright purple sunny day; a good day to die."


    ''Run!''


    "What?!"


    Jim heard his inner voice softly whispering like a withering daylight at the altar of night. He shook his head, nced around him while not moving an inch. "I can''t run, they will kill me if I do!"


    ''You will die if you stay-run!''


    The voice came again, clearer than before. It made his entire body stiffen; not knowing what he should do.


    He was standing inside the most sacred ce, not only in thisrge city that was flooding of ancient pride and history, but in his entire nation. The heartless empire that people used to call fate.


    He was fifteen, just one hour or so away from hising to age ceremony. Unlike other kids in the city, in the empire, in the entire world, hising of age was destined to be bloody-with his own blood!


    He nced at the tightly closed doors before deciding to head to the rear window and check things out. It was such a nice warm sunny day, typical of midsummer of the fourteenth month. The hour was early, with no one walking on the streets; leaving them empty like a bitter wife.


    A cold wife for others was a warm mistress lover for him; he desperately wanted to jump over the rail of this two stories height window directly into the embrace of the warm street, directly to the warmth of freedom; away from here.


    ''Run, you fool!''


    The sound came much clearer that it jolted him awake with a scare; turning around himself to check if he was alone or not. He was alone, with his malnourished thin body that defined all the careless care given to him by his own blood parents and own beloved family.


    He was tall, making his height with such a body look like a toothpick, with a curved neck and slightly arched back. It was a sign for his body''s failure in enduring all his length without good muscles.


    His clothes were random; collected from the leftovers given to him by his family. Or the ones they would prefer to throw away, as garbage, by giving them to him.


    And despite that ill treatment, this rarely urred to him. This made his pants shorter than his legs, showing off his odd thin long legs that gave him the impression of having two ws of a crow instead. Even crows were treated with much respect than him! Even some towns here took them as their sacred totem, not their cursed symbol.


    He nced, with his light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and face full of freckles to the window, to the streets, to the distant looming walls in the distant vision, blurred by the early dim fog of this day. And whispered:


    "Trust me, I want to, but I can''t. I will die from such height."


    ''You are tall, you are old enough to know how to jump. Don''t stand here like a fat pigeon waiting to be ughtered for dinner. For one, you aren''t a pigeon, and you aren''t fat!''


    "Thanks for thepliment, I don''t know without you what I would have done."


    He just opened his mouth for a bit, showing off his iplete teeth, with some missing as a normal sign for someone younger than his age. He wasn''t brave at all. In fact, through his entire life he felt lonely, leftover by others, even his closest kin, treated like garbage; and as garbage, he became one.


    ''Run if you want to live, do you want to die?''


    The sound asked him a question he knew the answer for; he didn''t want to die. But he didn''t want to live this worthless pathetic aimless life, a life of a leftover!


    "I can''t live like this anymore, what should I stick like a glue to life for?" he whispered, as he gave his arched back to the window, leaning on it, hoping for his bnce to slip off and fall, to get over such a life.


    ''Run and I will give something new,'' the sound promised.


    "Who? You?!" Jimughed as he patted his own leg with his palm. "Mate, we knew each other for what? Five years? And you chose this day, this particr morning, to tell me this? Can''t believe you, sorry."


    His voice rocked in the entire empty room full of frames. It was ugly, as if a blind had decorated them with dark pictured portraits of callow youths, around his age, showing his misery, ending up in his awaiting fate.


    ''It was not time for me to help you, but today is different.''


    "Yes, I can''t agree more."


    Jim then walked in the room, where it had a wide, sovish bed, made entirely out of dark silethem. He passed his fingers, feeling the strange power emanating from this dead piece of ore. Despite being warm, it felt creepy and sad, an odd thing hated by most and seen as an omen of bad luck; just like him.


    On its two sides, stretching from the height of his waist down to the ground, oalked wood covered the silethem. A very skilled engraving took ce from end to end, showing off an epic story that he; like everyone else in this fate loving empire, knew by heart.


    "The tale of the heroic leftover," he said while ncing for a while at a very particr scene; the guidance day. Or what he loved to describe as his judgment day.


    It was five years back, at his tenth birthday, when he went there; to the same ce pictured in this masterpiece. Despite the outstanding skill of the artisan who did it, Jim was positive that he failed to capture the real thing, the hidden secret, the utter rubbish truth; this was all an act!


    He nced at how the maker tried to lie, twisting the facts and the actual scenes he personally experienced there, before strongly kicking the ce of his own death trial with his leg with all his might. The bed didn''t break, and he felt sore on his bare toes.


    "Ouch, this oalked wood lived to its fame,"


    ''You are just weak, no offense.''


    "And who was the one asking me to jump two stories high?" Jim replied while leaving the bed alone, limping from pain, while heading towards these paintings scattered on the two walls of this room.


    "Twenty thousand leftovers were killed till date, and none even thought of running. Do you know how ridiculous I would be if I just be the first to run away? I would be the first one to break this long sessful streak of shame; shame on me!"


    ''No shame to prefer living over death. Besides, didn''t you think of running away all these past years, even nning to do so from this same window in the past month?''


    "Let''s say I got a cold foot."


    ''A cold foot on the only opportunity to live?!!''


    "Shh, why are you so noisy and energetic today, huh?" Jim returned to the window, looking through it towards the warm rays of the bright purple sun shining over the world this day. "Last day to marvel at such beauty," he said.


    ''You know you have the chance to see it every morning.''


    "I told you, I have nothing to live for, don''t be this stubborn."


    ''And I told you I will give you something interesting.''


    "No, you don''t, liar, you said new," Jim grinned as heughed over his silly joke, and a bitter, desperateugh of a man who lost everything came out of his emaciated lips.


    ''I''m not joking here, you are a gifted one.''


    "Say this to those who tested me and said I was trash."


    He then lost any interest in watching this scene, moving his legs like dragging two heavy dragon limbs instead. He had no desire to do whatsoever here; having no desire to do anything at all.


    ''I''m telling the truth. You are gifted, born with a special gift that you only can wield. A power with no equal.''


    "And you waited for five whole years to tell me that now? C''mon, pick another trick, will you? I''m no child anymore, old man."


    He didn''t believe the soft voice''s words at all, as he stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what he had to do.


    This wasn''t any random room in the city, the capital of this huge and mighty empire, but it was one of the sacred ces acknowledged by people.


    "It''s funny how people can be strong and majestic while fearing things so ethereal and non-existent."


    ''Dragons existed for real, you know that.''


    "I know, don''t forget I actually saw one the day you popped up inside my head for no reason." Jim went to check a small desk in one corner of the room, with many decorations, picturing small dragons breathing wooden fire and ice. "I almost got myself killed out of fear that day, sigh. Why didn''t I die and got freed of this misery?!"


    ''Dragons aren''t that scary!''


    Author note: I have created a new discord server. Please check it at the synopsis and let''s grow up together :)

 Chapter 2: A Strange Fog

    Chapter 2: A Strange Fog


    "Sure, a delusional sounding from the depth of my twisted mind can brag about not being afraid of them," he sneered as he moved away from the desk, feeling a kind of loss.


    ''This isn''t true, I''m not afraid of them as I once was a higher being, far scarier and mightier than them. In fact, these dragons you worship were called lizards by us, working as our ves and trying to appeal all the time to satisfy our desires.''


    "Yes, yes. And they also fought for you and lifted you to the skies where you vanishedpletely of this huge earth. Tell me, old man, what did you smoke to reach this stage? Huh? Be a generous old mighty being and share this secret with me. I might be in desperate need for some of that stuff right now."


    Heughed and as he did; he found himself standing against the window again. Jim nced through it while the voice came again with its soft voice:


    ''I''m not telling lies! And you, my poor son, are born with the same genes as me and others who long died.''


    "Sure, I totally believe you!"


    Jim was now circling aimlessly in the room, while he started to ept his miserable fate out of desperation.


    ''What if I proved it to you?'' the soft voice came ringing in head, making Jim really ufortable. He was about to embrace the idea of dying here today, and that sound just kicked him out of this mood.


    "Sigh, if I told you to stop you won''t, will you?"


    ''Just do this and if it fails, then I will shut up till your end.''


    "Sigh," Jim shook his head, "bring it old man. What is it? But don''t tell me I can jump the two stories'' height andnd safely, I don''t fall for such dirty tricks."


    ''It''s not tricks, young fool, it''s a way to slightly awaken your true genes for a brief moment,'' the sound said as it went silent for a while.


    "Old man, are you taking a nap now?" Jim asked as he knocked on his head with his protruded thin knuckles.


    ''Hush, I''m trying to find a ce not covered with this cursed wood or ore.''


    "You mean the silethem ore and oalked wood?"


    ''Yeah, these two are the nemesis to those who had your genes, but'' the sound paused as it found its goal, ''they can cover everything but not the air, right?''


    "I swear in the name of the sacred golden dragon I don''t understand a single word of what you said!"


    ''Just go to the window.''


    "Old man, I told you I won''t jump! No matter what cursed ore or wood that filled the room!"


    ''Who said anything about jumping! I just want you to take down the ss from the window side!''


    "Just the ss?"


    ''Yes, take the ss off.''


    Jim went while helplessly shaking his head towards the window. Back in his home, he was the one responsible for doing all the repairs and dirty works there, including cleaning. He once repaired a broken ss of arger window than this, and he still held that memory deep in his mind with that long scar on the palm of his hand.


    "Now what?" he asked after he professionally took out the long thinyer of ss.


    ''Go to the firece and ignite the fire. Take the ss with you and put it on the base of the fire.''


    "You want to burn the ss?" Jim remarked as he went to the firece, a small rectangr unused thing this summer. He found it clean with no speck of dust over its base, where he carefully put the ss over then took out the wood stored in one corner. Before taking out a lighter device invented by one of the great magus for sure in his world, and lit fire over the ss.


    ''No, I want it to liquefy, so it would make an instor over the surface of the floor.''


    Jim just shrugged as he really was seeing this as a child''s y; a game to waste some time invented by his desperate brain to make him not lose his mindfor real!


    "So I have to wait?"


    ''Five minutes only.''


    "You are joking, right? Thisyer of ss would take longer than that! An hour isn''t an exaggeration!"


    ''Sigh, just wait, it''s five minutes, much shorter than what you expect, right? You won''t lose anything then!''


    ""


    Jim didn''t reply to the sharpment of that crazy sound, as hemented his mind to be hot tempered like this instead of trying tofort him.


    "What the hell?!!" Jim hurried to jump to the back when a transparent fiery liquid oozed from the firece, heading directly towards his feet. He retreated fast, and when he was far enough he realized something.


    "It took five minutes as you said, old man!"


    ''Sure, your genes just gave a boost to the ss, helping it to disintegrate fast.''


    "Speaking in riddles again!"


    ''Now it''s no time for you to speak, just stand over the fluid with your bare feet, hurry!''


    "Old man, why are you so fixed on torturing me? Huh? Don''t be in a hurry, in a couple of hours they wille and torture me to death!"


    ''Just go!''


    "Don''t shout, I will go, ok!"


    Jim, hesitantly, moved towards the transparent hot fluid emitting thin linear lines of smoke. He reached to the end of this fluid, closed his eyes and stretched one leg to test the temperature.


    ''JUST JUMP!''


    The shout startled him and made him lose bnce, jumping forcibly over the fluid to bnce himself. As he prevented himself from falling, he took a deep sigh.


    "Can''t you just be gentler?" he groaned as he was pissed off what the voice just did to him.


    ''No need to thank me, you are now standing over the fluid perfectly fine, right?''


    Jim turned his head instantly to the ground, to find himself standing over the fluid, where the thin pirs of white smoke turned into thick foging out from its surface, centered around his legs.


    "Old man, what is going on here?" he asked after he confirmed his legs werepletely fine. The old man didn''t reply as the fluid continued to emit fog that climbed over his body from the legs to the shoulders; like a coat was formed by this fog!


    "Old man?!" he asked again as he didn''t know what he had to do or what was going on here.


    ''This is a small boost you will gain to your weakened body. However, this won''tst for long. I expect this wouldst only for a couple of hours, mostly half a day,'' the sound came again, while Jim nced all over his body as he muttered:


    "What boost? I''m now covered in fog like I came out of the bath naked!"


    ''Agh, ok, just go anywhere and try to use any part of your body. Know what? Go back to the bed and kick that stupid painting over it!''


    ""


    Jim nced at his body covered in a strange veil of fog and then towards that bed. "What possibly could go wrong?" he muttered as he went towards the bed, stopped there in front of that stupid wooden art for a moment before kicking it again with his leg, while closing his eyes; preparing for the worse.


    "Boom!"


    A muffled explosive sound erupted as he hurriedly opened his eyes to see a scene he never, ever, imagined in his wildest dreams. The bed was now on the other side of the room, shing with the long line of the paintings of those who were before him, making many frames to shatter and fall.


    "H- H- How Who caused this?" Jim was really shocked beyond imagination. He didn''t even dare to think of the most logical and simplest exnation to this; he did this. He got stronger; far stronger than ever!


    ''It''s you, silly boy. Now you got your own proof, and you can jump without being such a scary rat, right?''


    "Are you alright, old man?" Jim sensed the strange weakness in the sound that was moments ago shouting and screaming at him.


    ''Just go, what are you waiting for?''


    Jim nced again at the bed, then his leg. He couldn''t see it through the thick cover of fog, but he was pretty sure it was fine, with no pain or sore at any part of it!


    ''Go!''


    The sound came to shout again, and this time it seemed the old man exhausted himself to exert hisst ounces of strength to shout at Jim. Jim was jolted awake. He was now stronger, he now had a way to be stronger; even if it was temporary. It was real; and it gave him something he never had before.


    Hope!


    He never wanted his life to be doomed and cursed. He didn''t want to be such a negative and weak-minded person, with nothing in hand he could do to change the situation.


    However, this all changed, in this single unexpected moment that he thought all the time it was a child''s y from his minda moment that changed his entire life.


    With a new nce, with a new stance, with a new personality; he stood there ring at the opened window. The air for freedom was never so close to him like this moment. And in the next he ran, weing the wide opened window with a long jump; like a professional diver jumping off his legendary kraken into the depth of the vast ocean.


    The gush of the warm air bumped up on his face, the only ce that wasn''t covered with the fog, as if his head didn''t need any boost at all! From the two stories height he jumped, and the next thing he felt was the strange clench his heart had from ncing from this height towards the ground; seeing the ground getting closer wasn''t the pleasant thing ever!


    However, he was lucky that the distance was short and he didn''t take more than a few moments to fall on the ground.


    "Crack!"


    This wasn''t a sounding from his bones, as he feared and expected, but it came from a young wooden tree that he fell upon one of its sprouting branches, smashing it under his weight.


    Aside from this, he felt nothing, absolutely nothing! He stood up, nced at his cloaked body, and marveled the amazing feeling of no pain or injury. "You know what? You seem to be right after all, old man," he softly chuckled, however the annoying voice of his old man didn''t respond at all.


    "No time to wait for you to wake up from your nap, I have to run, I have to flee, I have to live."

 Chapter 3: Ashley

    Chapter 3: Ashley


    "Duck your head or die!"


    In the early hours of the morning, and in this special day for the empire and its capital, not that surprising for this shout to be heard a couple of blocks away from Jim''s current ce.


    The entire world around him was silent, vacant of any living signal, except for him running with his utmost speed, and that sudden shout that came a couple of blocks behind him.


    He turned to see a group of cloaked individuals running towards the same direction he was running towards; the gate of this city.


    "I said duck or die! Are you deaf or having a suicidal wish?!!"


    The sound came again, clearer this time as its owner was just slightly over fifty meters off Jim, as both sides were running in the same wide street right now; one of the mainline streets of this capital.


    He totally ignored her, as he knew her gender from the tone. He was just distracted right now, and thus his speed declined. Besides, running towards his nearby goal in this empty atmosphere dulled his senses, like he had already fled to safety.


    "try to catch me if you can," he bellowed back with a shortugh, as he picked up his speed again, running as fast as he could heading towards the close by gates.


    "What are you wearing in the morning? Is this new fashion here in the capital?"


    He underestimated her, as in the next second she passed by him, with a greater speed that reminded him of the bitter fact; he wasn''t the only strong person in town!


    The cloaked girl wearing this ck cloak that had some hidden effects to shield her face from him moved fast, bypassing him.


    "Swoosh!"


    "Swoosh!"


    "Swoosh!"


    Like darted arrows, more people passed him wearing ck cloaks, all heading towards the nearby gate. He felt their gazes falling on him, however he didn''t mind that. If he passed by himself right now with this strange fog around his body, then he would also stare.


    He couldn''t follow them for a minute, as they vanished from his eyesight with their rapid speed. "Will I have such speed one day?" he muttered as he asked himself another, more important question.


    "Who are they?"


    The hour was early in the capital, especially in such a holiday; so these people''s presence seemed odd, much odd than his presence here. "Are they escaping from something like me? Or trying to catch up with something?" he thought to himself before shaking off these ideas, as the walls were now towering in front of him, blocking his eyesight.


    He was running in the main street, and if he kept heading down this path, he would eventually end up with the enormous gate of the city. In ten minutes, and after passing many empty side streets, he ended up in the main za of the city gate, the wing za.


    "Boom!"


    Just as he was a minute or two away from the gate, he heard this loud explosion followed by some strange shouts and apparently chaotic movements at the gate. His heart fell, as it seemed there were people still awake there; soldiers!


    Thest type of people he wanted to face right now!


    "Shit!" he inwardly cursed his bad luck, however he didn''t change his path. Running from the center of the capital to here took roughly half an hour, and if he wanted to head to the other gate he would waste at least an hour.


    He wouldn''t do that except for a good reason, and he wasn''t that weak, meager person he was before; so he continued running fast towards the gate, uncaring about the dangers possibly lurking there.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    A series of explosions weed him the moment he reached there, and he realized the reason behind this. The cloaked group of people he met just before were now engaged in a strong battle with the local garrison of the gate; and different techniques and spells were used from the two sides.


    "Damn it, I have to rush to the gate no matter what!"


    The gate, which was usually half opened at night, was now closing its doors after that sudden attack. Hemented these crazy groups of fighters, as they turned his perfect escape n into a nightmare.


    As he decided that, he didn''t stop running, heading straight towards the about to be closed gate. The gate was so high, built of the thickest toughest ore the humans ever knew; the Rekano ore.


    His appearance in this strange fog covering his entire body came as a sudden incident to both sides; none expected someone as crazy as him to jump directly between this wild conflict!


    "Boom!"


    Suddenly he was hit by a spellunched from a distance; as one of the long ranged soldiers aimed his spell and hit him. Dust rose, forming a thick cloud around the ce Jim was at right now, invoking the sighing responses from the cloaked team.


    "Damn it; why are you attacking me, idiot?" Jim darted like a lion from the middle of this thick brownish dust cloud. His sudden appearance coupled with hisining words made everyone speechless.


    How could a normal weak looking youngster take such a tier three spell and look perfectly fine?


    However, there was no time to react, as Jim headed towards the gate, with that soldier who hit him just now standing between him and the closed gate.


    The gate was almost closed, and that made Jim more frustrated. So, he headed directly towards the gate, hitting the soldier in his path.


    "Ahhh!"


    The soldier screamed out of extreme pain as he wasunched a couple of meters high in the air like he was a sandbag! Jim didn''t even nce at him; the soldier wasn''t his target; it was his obstacle.


    He kept running, and this made the soldiers quite skeptical and hesitating. "Follow that foggy naked man!" the shout of that female from before came strangely to make the corners of his eyes twitch. "Heydy, I''m not naked!" he shouted back as he jumped, trying to catch the gate as if he was about to grab a normal house door before it was closed.


    However, he was a few momentste! The gate closed and everyone pictured this poor crazy youngster hitting the gate and bounced back like a rubber ball.


    "Crack!"


    That was the sound of their illusions shattered under what Jim just did; as he didn''t have time to stop himself from heading towards the gate; so he jumped, venting all his frustration over this gate.


    And the gate couldn''t hold him back in his steps as all imagined!


    The ce where he crashed into the gate cracked open, forming arge hole, a hole that was enough to pass a couple of adult men through it!


    The sides of this hole were full of long deep cracks, giving everyone the impression this gate wasn''t made of the Rekano ore, but from mere ss! A cheap version of it as well!


    "I told you before, follow that naked man!" the girl shouted again with a loudugh, and instantly the group of cloaked intruders darted forward, skipping any attacks or fights, heading towards the damaged gate, and passing easily through the hole!


    A cloud of smoke rose from the hole, covering their escape, while the soldiers were left speechless, as they let the intruders and Jim leave while examining their gate with shocked faces.


    Was this their prideful gate that was made centuries ago? Was it reced without them knowing that?


    They kept asking themselves this question that would haunt them for the rest of their lives without having a proper answer.


    "Hey naked man, that was such a nice trick you pulled out there. If you have nowhere to go,e with us to their of the ck tigers, I promise you a warm wee and a good meal."


    The girl reached the side of Jim in no time, as she gave him this offer. Jim was pissed off at her calling him naked man, however he was now in desperate need to go away from here as far as possible.


    And he just got an invitation to go to one of the well-hidden spots of the legendary ck tiger''s group!


    It was the world infamous anti-empire rebellious forces that caused severe headache to the royal family and the higher ups in the empire for generations after generations.


    "Sure, I would be pleased toe with you," he replied with a wide grin over his face.


    "Nice, try to keep up. I''m Ashley, by the way."


    "I''m Jim."


    They waved their hands from far, as a sign for shaking and introducing each other, before the girl went up ahead while Jim became surrounded with three ck cloaked rebels.


    He was like a prisoner, however he knew they must feel much doubt towards him. He didn''t care, as long as they would take him away from here, he wouldn''t mind even going with them to the notorious rebellious movement as theirs.

 Chapter 4: Black Tigers Base

    Chapter 4: ck Tigers'' Base


    "Chop these heads and roll them back to their capital!"


    "Ssh!"


    The moment he reached the ck tigers'' camp, this sudden shout came from inside the wooden walls, followed by the sound of weapons cutting something.


    Jim swallowed his throat, as he didn''t imagine the ck tiger base of operation to be so near from the capital; inside the famous Hollom forest.


    The forest was famous, as the main road linking the capital with the distant coastalrgest city passed from this forest. The forest was vast and covered a huge stretch ofnd, enough to be drawn in finger breadth on any map of the empire.


    Jim nced at those around him, he couldn''t see their faces but he felt they didn''t see anything unusual about that shout and the sound that followed.


    He was a stranger, dressed in a strange outfit covered entirely with fog. Once entered the camp through the simple wooden gate, he was led by his group towards one direction; opposite to the direction the shout came from.


    ''Phew, I thought my head would be the next to be chopped'' he sighed inwardly while being happy to evade such a fate for the second time today. He believed this day was his luckiest day in his life; nothing bad would ever happen to him.


    "So, you are that naked young man who crushed the gate? With what? Huh?!"


    He stood in front of a vulgar rude man, seemingly the leader of this ce. A giant man he was, not tall but broad, with weight over a hundred and fifty kilograms at least. He wore a spacious shirt that Jim felt it was made of joining two shirts together, to be able to match his huge body!


    His hairy chest appeared from the loose upper buttons of the shirt. Jim just killed the urge to reply to him that he was the naked man, not himself; if he had a death wish then he would say that!


    The man with huge head, scarce hair over it, with a thick beard reaching to his chest, nced at Jim from up to bottom. He paused for a moment at his waist, making Jim quite ufortable.


    ''What are you looking at pervert!'' he bellowed at him only in his thoughts, however on the surface he tried to maintain his calm while replying:


    "I''m not naked, and the gate seemed to be long decayed before I pumped into it."


    "Decayed? Boy, this gate is made out of the strongest metal in the world! even if I pump my rock-like head all day long, I won''t be able to leave a mark on it. Not breaking it with your toothpick-like head!"


    The manughed on his silly joke while his huge body vibrated like it was full of water. Jim held the urge to say a mean remark once more, trying to keep his head intact over his neck, so he remained silent.


    "Have you seen it or he told you some tales to exaggerate his worth?"


    "We were there boss, and he really pumped his toothpick-like head towards the gate and smashed it like it was made out of tofu," Ashley said.


    "Tofu, tsk, girls!" the rude leader retorted back with a sneer before ncing over Jim for a while before saying:


    "Listen kid, we have no ce for any weakling, so if you can''t prove your worth, we will have to chop your head and make it roll to the capital."


    "What?!!" he couldn''t control himself anymore as he eximed out in surprise and discontent from the words of that rude leader.


    "Oh, the cub has fangs boys, hahaha!"


    Heughed again on his silly joke and those around him in this dirty looking ceughed with him.


    "Listen kid, prove your worth or we will prove our des, hahaha!" again he added a joke that only people of this group knew about, as allughed on it like it was the funniest thing ever in the world.


    "You will give him a ce to stay. We have a mission in two days, you can test him there," he said to Ashley who side nced at Jim for a moment before asking:


    "A cub or a lion?"


    "Amp of course, hahaha!"


    Again heughed and allughed, all except Ashley who only smiled faintly before turning to leave. She grabbed Jim''s hand in a firm move, dragging him like a littlemp behind her, as if she was taking him to the ughter house.


    Jim followed her like a child following his big sis. She seemed upset and he was confused, not knowing what to say or where he should start wondering about.


    "What does amp mean?" he asked, and Ashley just mumbled something he didn''t hear before she loudly said:


    "It''s the far most dangerous role in any mission, a role that no one will volunteer to take. Those who take it usually didn''t return back."


    "What?!!" he felt great anger as this wasn''t the kind of treatment he expected as a reward for what he did! "I just saved you, all of you, and you didn''t lose anyone thanks to me!" he bellowed at her.


    The next moment she grabbed him strongly with her two hands, carrying his thin body to wave him in the air before mming him hard on a wooden wall.


    "Crack!"


    The wooden wall all cracked in an instant, showing ss like branches extending from the ce of his back.


    "Listen you moron, this isn''t a fair paradise or a meeting of your lovey dovey friends; we are the ck tigers. We are the most vicious and cruel hearted viins in the entire empire! you didn''t save our as*es back there, and even if you did, don''t expect anything back, not even a thank you!"


    Her tone thundered across the whole ce while her eyes red at him, making him smell the scent of burnt flesh his own!


    She was domineering, angry and impulsive, but he didn''t feel any hostility from her. In the next moment she let him go, turned around and walked with each leg stamping the ground violently like a heavy giant walking on earth.


    "Sigh, if not I was too weak for you, tsk!" he muttered and his words were heard perfectly by her. She just paused for a brief moment, making his heart leap inside his chest before she continued walking withoutmenting.


    He moved after her, and just after the two turned and vanished behind a couple of wooden shacks, the one Jim just hit with his back finally disintegrated. The wall crumbled into pieces, revealing two lovers in an intimate action of love at this moment;pletely naked!


    Jim followed Ashley not knowing about the huge ruckus that urred idently by him.


    She led him towards one of the smallest shacks he ever saw here. It was only three meters in four, like a tight small room, making him remember the days where he lived inside a small basement room. A room that wasn''t meant for him- was made for the deceased old dog of the family.


    "Get inside. I will bring you food in the evening," she said with a direct stern look that made her face brighten up with blood, with a tinge of anger; a redness that brightened her beauty in his eyes.


    "Thanks," he wholeheartedly thanked her, and she just gritted her teeth before leaving him fast to do her own stuff.


    "Sigh, such a warm heart is covered with a thicker veil of coldness than my fog," he murmured as he entered the shack and closed the door on himself.


    The room was strangely identical to the room he once had in his old home; one small bed that he was pretty sure his legs wouldn''t fit and would be hanged in the air, a tiny rounded table that a candle would fillpletely, two small wooden chairs made for a five years old kid, and finally the lightning orb.


    "Is destiny mocking me or what?!!" he loudly crumbled as he used to do when he would be sure no one was there to hear him. Back in the home he left; the walls had deep marks from the constant hitting and boxing he did to vent his frustration and anger. The marks came from his blooded hands, not from the broken wood!


    He sat on the bed, feeling the bitter funny nature of his fate, before ncing over his cloaked fog again. "So it didn''t affect this stupid old bed. I would only affect things that I violently hit, right?" he talked as if the fog had a sanity and could answer him.


    As he got no answer, he checked the orb with the curiosity he always had since he was four years old. This orb was formed entirely of a fine tier light energy, with a wisp of a fire energy embedded in it.


    "It''s definitely higher in quality than the one I used to use," he sighed before taking the orb in his hand, feeling its warmth, trying to instigate his lost power once more.


    Since he was four years old, his powers started to grow and take shape. For others, no one believed him, as no one saw anything of what he was speaking about; which was a thing that almost drove him crazy.


    And he was called the crazy Jim by all his peers, friends, neighbors, and even family!


    What he could do was something that he could best describe as the orb in his hand; globr, bright, warm, and made him feel secure.


    Despite all the mockery and insult he got, he never cared about them. He always kept his soul protected by the warmth and light which he was able to summon.


    Until that doomed day five years ago! He lost his ability, he lost his warmth; he lost everything!


    "Curse you, you hustlers, you thieves! You stole my powers and cursed me for being a leftover! I swear I won''t rest until I take back what is rightfully mine, plus a small payback for all I suffered on your dirty hands!"


    His hatred was so strong and authentic, running deep inside his soul to the degree that awakened the sleeping old man inside him.

 Chapter 5: The Fairy King Ceremony - Part 1

    Chapter 5: The Fairy King Ceremony - Part 1


    ''A livingmp is better than a deadmp!''


    "What are you saying old man? Did thest nap affect your mind this much! I thought you would ask me to run away!!"


    Jim bellowed back at his mysterious voice ranging in his head. The old man woke up while Jim was lost in his own thoughts, and the first thing he did was to narrate simply what happened to him and where he was at right now.


    ''Running isn''t an option, you can''t live like this for your entire life!''


    "Like what?"


    ''Like an underdog!''


    "Old man, watch your tongue! I''m not that low thing!"


    ''Then prove it, use this chance and prove your worth.''


    "To you?"


    ''To them, to the whole world!''


    Jim thought for a moment about the old man''s words before he spoke again about his own problem.


    "It''s not that I don''t want to, I''m in desperate need to be stronger. But how?"


    He stopped talking when his memories led him back to his stolen ability.


    ''Didn''t you wonder why they check everyone''s strengths at ten years old? Didn''t you ever ask yourself why they waited for five years, and decided to kill you on the day you start being sixteen?''


    "You know my thoughts well enough, old man. All these were asked many times and you weren''t that generous to reply to me about them. Why help me now? Why is being so generous to exin things to me right now? what''s special about now?"


    ''You don''t want to be stronger?''


    "Sure I do, but not confined here in an unknown ce, surrounded by people calling me amp, and running from people who want to have my head! I didn''t have answers and exnations," he spoke calmly with much logic in his words that surprised the old man; rendering him speechless for a moment there.


    ''Alright, alright, I will tell you the story bits by bits, agreed?''


    "Humph, start talking then."


    ''Sigh, everything is quite connected, but there are things in y that go beyond yourprehension and the reach of your strength. So, what I can tell you for now is that; the day you went to test your abilities is the day you lost your own, and it''s all connected to the drink you had just before heading to the stage to be tested.''


    "What? The traditional heroic potion is a scum?" Jim was sleeping on his bed when he sat up straight strongly just after hearing the words of the old man.


    ''It''s not something potion as you said, it''s a potion meant to seal the powers inside the destined person each year.''


    The words of the old man weren''t that clear, making Jim move his legs to sitpletely over the bed, leaning his head over his two hands as he asked:


    "Are you saying that I''m a destined person? Destined to what? And how can I restore my powers back?"


    ''You are sure a destined person, as for what, let''s leave that forter. You should focus on something far more important than that.''


    "Like what?"


    ''Like how to unseal your powers.''


    The eyes of Jim got wider and shone brightly. "Are you kidding me? of course I want to unseal my powers! Tell me what to do, hurry up, what''s the catch?"


    ''Calm down first, as this process will cause some pain to you.''


    The words of the old man didn''t stop Jim at all as he instantly said:


    "No matter what, as long I will regain my powers back, then nothing matters. What should I do then? Tell me!"


    ''Alright, stop begging me you rascal, it''s easy. All you need to do is this''


    The old man started exining and when he finished, the look over Jim''s face was really funny. "Old man, don''t tell me you saved my life so you can torture and kill me! Do you think my body can sustain all that bleeding? Are you blind?"


    ''This isn''t as bad as you think,'' the old man tried to reason with him, ''the amount needed isn''t that much, all I''m asking you is just one liter of blood.''


    "O-One l-litre!!! I will be killed for sure like this!!!"


    ''Don''t worry, trust me, didn''t my words previously be proven right?''


    "Yes, that was something else. Sigh, isn''t there any other way to unseal my powers?"


    ''Without going this far, then you need to wait for the entire year so you can unseal it on your own.''


    Jim hesitated, as this process was extremely risky. He nced at the small worthless shack; nothing there was of any value, and he lived in much worse conditions before.


    However, a single small bright and warm orb attracted his gaze; without being able to look at anything else here. it seemed like the entire shack, the whole world was gone, and only this small harmless orb stayed there, his own power, calling out for him.


    "I I will do it," he finally made up his mind. If he couldn''t take the risk to break the seal over his strength then he would better live as a coward and die as a coward.


    If he didn''t take this small step right now then what was the goal for him to escape the death sentence then?


    ''Goodd, now start drawing.''

 Chapter 6: The Fairy King Ceremony - Part 2

    Chapter 6: The Fairy King Ceremony - Part 2


    Jim moved as he started evacuating the ground, pushing away the worthless table and chairs, clearing a space in the center of the shack, enough for him to sitfortably without any problems.


    "Will it take time?" he suddenly asked.


    ''Do you a dated?'' the old man''s yful tone replied to him.


    "Ah, well, it''s just Ashley, the girl I told you about, wasing to me in a few hours just to bring me dinner, no more, hehehe."


    He replied like he was busted doing something shameful. The old man''s voiceughed as he said:


    ''Don''t worry, it won''t take a moment here for you to finish.''


    Jim paused before he looked at the worthless things inside his shack until he found a small knife with a dull de. He escaped from the capital without anything but the fog that still covered his body.


    "What about this fog?"


    ''What about it?''


    "Will it allow me to injure my hand?"


    ''Sigh, haven''t you tried to touch your own body so yet? Just do it normally and nothing will stand in your own way.''


    Jim didn''t dy and first locked the shack door well by dragging the small bed over to stand as a blockade. Then he moved to the ce he was supposed to do this.


    "What did you call this again?" he asked as he tried to distract his thoughts away from his right hand moving with the knife injuring his left hand. Despite asking, moving his neck as far away as possible from his little crime, his eyes were still stealing nces to what was going on.


    As the old man said, the moment his hand touched the fog; it receded back creating an empty space, revealing his clothes.


    ''The fairy king ceremony.''


    "Ssh!"


    The knife made a deep wound at his left wrist, making him panic! The sight of the wound was something he could tolerate, however the next moment the voice of the old man came to awaken him before entering a panic attack:


    ''Hurry and don''t waste the blood, or do you want to die!''


    Jim''s body jolted, as he received another hidden help from that mysterious voice, making his pain subside and his fear to fade away.


    The next moment Jim didn''t think about the wound at all, like there was a cloud of fog surrounding his mind right now; all he was thinking of was only the diagram the voice described to him.


    It was a nine headed star diagram, drawn around arge circle where he stood inside. The old man''s voice came to make sure he didn''t do anything wrong:


    ''Just use one finger, the index finger of your right hand to draw the diagram. First draw the circle around you, it doesn''t need to be perfect, so don''t worry about it. don''t step outside it until you finish, draw the nine apices of the diagram and try to make them all simr in size and shape.''


    Jim''s mind was slowly being clouded from the massive bleeding he was suffering from; as the wound he inflicted was somehow deeper than what he intended.


    However he was almost done! Only thest peak and everything would be done.


    He didn''t recall how he did it, but he used his sheer will to control his shaky finger to finally draw thest touch over the ground, before he himself fell in the circle, with a wide pool of blood exiting from his own body.


    ''I''m sorry kid, I lied to you. The seal only will be removed during dying, those nasty dragons are really cruel. However don''t worry, I will interfere at the right moment to save you.''


    Jim''s mind was fading away as everything started to grow from the whiteness of the clouds to the darkness of the abyss; he was dying! His body convulsed more than once, while his blood was ejected faster with each time he convulsed.


    And this was done by the old man!


    The pool of blood began to grow wider, however it was perfectly confined inside the circle Jim drew with his own bloody finger.


    ''Stay inside you filthy insect! Fairy king purification diagram activate!''


    The old man voice thundered in Jim''s dying mind, and the next moment the nine apices, like small pyramids, shone brightly in a silver color, followed by the circle itself to shine brightly in a golden light, forming a small semi-globr dome enveloping the dying body of Jim, with the nine apices swelling up; forming a shape of a small golden flower with silver petals.


    The sacred symbol of the fairies that once was lost, for many long years to be counted, had instantly appeared inside this worthless shack in the middle of nowhere!


    On another hand, the blood that came out of Jim''s body started to change, swelling up as well, taking the shape of a strange creature, like a scorpion with three tails and two heads.


    ''Just burn you worthless sack of shit!'' the old man''s voice thundered again and instantly, with the unwilling moves of that strange pulp of blood hitting the golden dome without being able to scratch it, the petals started to close over the center.


    Like a flower closing at sunset, like an apocalypse folding upon itself, the petals closedpletely, enveloping the golden center with Jim and that strange bloody creature inside it.


    And then the silver light faded away, gradually, while the golden light in the depth began to pulsate, regrly, on a slow rhythm first, then gradually fastened, until it began to beat once each second.


    When that happened, the petals faded away, and the golden center vanished, and Jim''s body was there, with the fog surrounding his body started to move on its own; or under the control of the old man, to enter the deep wound of Jim, recing his blood and bone marrow in the meantime.


    The process didn''t take long, and as thest piece of the fog entered Jim''s body, the wound started to heal upon itself. However, Jim didn''t wake up yet.

 Chapter 7: Jenny

    Chapter 7: Jenny


    "If you want to kill yourself, just tell me and I will do it properly for you!"


    Ashley''s face was beaming with anger and frustration, sitting on the only ce suited to sit upon; the bed.


    "I told you I lost my consciousness I can''t recall what happened!"


    Jim was sitting on the ground, facing her where the earth around was stained red with a dried pool of blood; his blood.


    "You are telling me you fell without any reason, injured yourself, bled to such a degree that the whole dirt is stained red and you don''t recall how this happened? There is no wound mark on your body anywhere, are you cursed?"


    Jim just smiled helplessly while ncing at the door. He was sleeping on the floor when the knocks on the door woke him up. He hurried to open, with a semi-conscious mind, facing Ashley who came as promised, seeing him with clothes drenched in blood, and a ground behind soaked in blood.


    Her scare and the nervous reaction she showed was logical. However when she hurried to examine his body, she found no wound at all. She then examined him with her keen eyes, finding no problem, no weakness, nothing at all; stirring her emotions and instigating a puzzled question inside her mind.


    What the hell just happened here?


    "I told you I can''t remember anything," he stuck to his lie, knowing that he couldn''t exin what happened to her.


    "Were you attacked? Was it Jenny?"


    "Jenny who?" he asked with some worry as it seemed someone was setting her gaze upon him. "I know no one with that name!" he added, trying to understand if she meant someone else.


    "You know, just you don''t know her now," Ashley replied in a way that made him more puzzled. "Sigh," she sighed when noticed the look on his face, "Do you remember when I held you to a wooden shack, slightly bigger than this one?"


    The look on Jim''s face grew weirder as he muttered: "I recall this, but don''t recall any Jenny, plus it was a much bigger shack than this one here!"


    "Well, the wall fell after you left, exposing two making love to each other," Ashley''s face turned red for a moment, before she nervously added, "anyway she was inside and she was very furious, threatening to punish whoever did this!"


    "That would be me?" he pointed to himself, feeling somehow strange being used of something he hardly did. "Don''t you havews here?"


    "Law?" sheughed briefly and bitterly like he said some sort of a funny yet bitter joke. "Boy, there is only onew here, the stronger gets what he wants," she said before her eyes showed a tinge of loss, making Jim feel she was recalling a bad memory.


    "Are you alright?" he asked, with sincere concern over her. "You should mind your own self," she replied, with a harsh tone before adding, "anyway I came here initially to offer you a way out, but now I''m pretty sure you won''t reject the offer."


    "Do you want me to escape?" he asked, like it was something bizarre, and it was! He wasn''t used to people getting out of their own ways to help him. "Escape to?" he asked, as he knew nothing about this world.


    "Agh! Aren''t you a local boy from this world, or were you locked up your entire life in a closet!"


    Her angry words were harshly true, rendering him speechless. Should he tell her even her outrageous bitter version of a life was exactly his own? "I''m not from around here," he simply lied, again, as lying seemed better than telling the truth.


    "And I''m from the red moon, wee to the gathering of ounder folks," she sarcastically replied, before shaking her head and saying:


    "There is an option to return to the capital, or to hit the road towards the next city. It''s a one week walk, so if you want to reach there soon you should start moving now."


    He nced at her not knowing what to say! Any solution that required him to enter a city or a town under this empire banner wasn''t an eptable one. "Isn''t there a way to leave the empire?" he asked, while evading her nces so she didn''t suspect him.


    But she already suspected him! "Going outside the empire in the dark required to be an esteemed member of our group, as there is none out there can do this for you but us!" she said, with an amusing look as she watched him closely like she was watching a kid.


    As for him, he had all the routes blocked, at least for now. "Do you mean here, or the main group?" he raised his head, knowing for sure that Ashley had guessed a thing or two from his words and attitude.


    "The main group of course, this group of ours is just a worthless group in the whole organization."


    "So I should aim for something bigger than here?"


    "You should first survive here before thinking about going anywhere else!"


    Her words shook the bitter truth clear in himself. He sighed, inwardly, as he knew he should grow stronger once that mysterious voice appeared again.


    Since waking up, he tried to call upon the old man more than a dozen times, but the old man kept his silence, reminding him of what happened when he gained that mysterious fog around his body.


    "Do you really n to stay h"


    "Come out you worthless piece of shit! Come out and face your own death! I''m dead settled on you tonight, either you or me will remain breathing after this fight!"


    The look over Ashley''s face drastically changed, and Jim didn''t need her to say a word to know who exactly was calling upon him from the outside.


    "It''s Jenny, right?" he muttered, closer to being a whisper, and Ashley just nodded.


    "Don''t try to be smart and run away, I got the whole shack surrounded and all those living here are now waiting for your sweet neck to be handed over to me to chop it nice and clean. Come, don''t be afraid, one way or another you will die tonight!"


    "She is quite energetic," Jim tried to crack a joke, but the grim look on Ashley''s face made him realize his situation was far worse than what he imagined.


    "She is slightly stronger than me, and she isn''t alone. Sorry pal, you have to face this on your own," she said, shrugging away from this responsibility despite her being the one throwing him into this mess from the start.


    "At least tell me her strong traits," he whispered, as he knew nothing about his enemy.


    "She is a fire witch of first category, loves to use her own fingers as a weapon," she was about to keep going but she felt he knew nothing. "Do you even know what a fire witch means?" she asked.


    "A person with strong ability to control fire, but not to ignite it," he replied, "I said I''m a stranger, not an alien!" he added.


    "I just wanted to make sure you understand what I said," she shook her head while adding, "anyway, she uses a short knife and loves to have a close fight with her enemies. A dance; that is what she usually says about the fight."


    Jim didn''t follow her words anymore as he thought for a moment, trying to call over the sleeping old man with no response. "Sigh," he shook his head, helplessly.


    He didn''t imagine after running sessfully from a death penalty, evaded dying by bleeding, he would finally fall on the hands of such a mad girl! "Do you have any weapons for me? Any armor?" he asked, as he would prefer not to go out there naked.


    "You are really" she shook her head while touching a small ruby ring in her hand. The next moment a sword and a strong looking armor were there on the ground. "Suit yourself, this is the furthest I can do for you," she said before standing up to leave.


    "After this can I invite you for dinner?" he hurried to ask before her hand reached the door; paused there for a moment before opening the door. She turned to him, watching him wearing the armor. "Just make sure it''s not a dinner at your funeral!"


    "Sure, it''s a date then," he smiled as he watched her back while leaving his shack, closing the door behind while the sound of Jenny was filling the world outside it.

 Chapter 8: Pol and Siera

    Chapter 8: Pol and Siera


    "Are you sure we will find it here?"


    A harsh cold tone appeared in between the noisy atmosphere in the camp.


    "Since when my hunch was wrong? huh? Never!" a soft voice suited for a kid appeared replying to the cold one, "besides stop calling him it, he isn''t a tool, he is a human," the sound added with some discontent.


    "It''s a human, so I will only call those weak little ignorant animals by their rightful name!" the cold tone came again, and this time it brimmed with arrogance.


    "Tsk, I don''t know why the boss always sends you out with me!"


    "Because you are a reckless kid, only reaching a hundred and eighty years yesterday!"


    "That was about six months ago!!"


    "Whatever. Work your magic and find it for me, I hate being around these animals," the sound paused, as the couple speaking appeared in the middle of the gathering inside the tiger group camp. "Are you sure it is here? All of these animals look really weak! I can crush them with a snap of my finger!"


    "Calm down, we aren''t here to punish, we are here to seek."


    The cold one had a huge body, with an upper naked chest, covered in dark tattoos that had many different symbols, shing in green light in darkness from time to time.


    He was bald, except for a single strand of hair that was long enough to make it act as a ne around his neck, with something like a small box hanging in the strand. The box glowed along with his tattoos in green asionally from time to time, making his scary face really look much horrifying in the darkness.


    As for the other one, he was really a kid, reaching almost to the waist of that huge man. He would give you the impression of being no more than ten years old, but there was something in his red eyes that made anyone seeing them freeze from innate fear.


    The two looked strange, yet no one here ever questioned their presence, or even dared to do so!


    Invisible-like being veiled inside a cloak of invisibility-they marched while arguing like foes not friends.


    "Oh, listen, there is a fight here Pol, let''s see it, please."


    The kid literally jumped off the ground, holding the long pants of Pol while pleading him to go towards the ruckus. During his jumps, the cloak over his head slipped off, showing the long thick hair, making the face look more feminine.


    It was a young girl entering this terrifying ce with that huge man, without feeling any speck of fear at all.


    In fact, they were pretty sure if they showed up their true powers, the pressure exerted from them alone would be enough to kill these weak humans without the need to do anything.


    And that was the role of these glowing magical ores hung around Pol''s neck, and Siera''s bracelet.


    The two moved between the crowd, and everyone without exception cleared the path for them.


    They easily went ahead to the forefront, where they saw a wide area surrounding a small wooden shack, with a vulgar female standing with both her hands crossed around her big chest, while another female just came out of the shack, muttering something to who was inside then closed the door.


    "Come out you coward, are you trying to send your b*tch out to cover up your mistakes?" the sound of the female came so loud that made everyone standing around hear her well enough.


    "Oh, it seems more interesting than I initially thought," Siera pped her two hands while enjoying the uing show.


    "Sigh, these are mortal stuff, why are you so interested in that? It''s me who always got fired up anytime humans would kill each other; but only strong, not those good for nothing standing everywhere," Pol was helplessly shaking his head, while feeling the odd behavior of his mate.


    "You don''t get it? I feel something interesting is going to happen, interesting Pol!"


    "You don''t mean?" Pol couldn''t even continue his words, before hurriedly ncing at the shack and that impulsive female standing in front of its door. "Is it she you felt?"


    "Call me crazy, but I felt the weakling inside clearer and stronger than anybody else here!"


    ""


    "Told you, I only follow my senses, no control over that!"


    "But it seems your boy is going to be killed!"


    She turned to nce at him while he shook his head firmly before saying:


    "I won''t interfere, neither will you. Our mission is clear and our instructions state that we don''t meddle with those lower beings, understood?"


    "Affirmative leader Pol!" she gave him a salute they used to make, hitting her right fist into her left palm. "Sigh, why does it always end up being soplicated each time I go out with you?" Pol sighed, as he was more helpless towards her attitude.


    "Huh? When did that even happen?"


    He only nced at her, with one eyebrow raised. "That Terfy incident doesn''t count, and Mord was a really fine specimen; saving him wasn''t a mistake at all. As for Nelly" she kept ranting about the deeds she did, and Pol only shook his head while muttering:


    "You are really beyond saving!"

 Chapter 9: A Fight with Jenny

    Chapter 9: A Fight with Jenny


    "Crack!"


    The sound of this old door rang softly in the ce, but this sound was heard and noticed by everyone. Jim appeared out of the shack, looking no better than the wrecked shack he was staying at!


    "So you decided to finally give us the grace and appear wait a minute, from where did you get this armor and sword?" Jenny had a really fiery temper, as the moment he went out he was weed with these words of her before noticing his two gears.


    She was a real beauty with her tall stature, at least taller than him, broad and bulging chest, thin waist and long exposed legs with her dress being torn at her waist, barely covering her bottom.


    "I had these from the start," he replied, looking directly in the red eyes of this fire witch. "You are a beauty, I give you that."


    His remark was sudden, making even the fiery Jenny blush there for a moment, before turning to nce away from him,nding her eyes over the nearby Ashley, the one who was the only suspect of the crime here.


    "So you decided to betray us?" Jenny loudly asked, totally ignoring Jim.


    "I didn''t do anything; you heard the man yourselves," Ashley retorted back with a loud voice and strong tone.


    "Then why being so defensive?"


    "Are you going to mumble and argue with others? If so I will return to my shack and have a nice fight with someone else!" Jim suddenly stepped in, cutting the road over Jenny to sh with Ashley.


    It was obvious that something fishy was going on here; something Ashley shouldn''t do but she did.


    He nced at the sword and armor, the sword looked in and the armor looked strong, but the two were nothing inparison with the full body tight armor covering the upper half of Jenny, slightly below her tworge breasts towards the waist, clearly appearing from the wide gaps of her dress!


    She also wore two strong looking arm guards, two knee and elbow guards, plus two strong looking gloves, making him sure that they would augment her ability to control fire.


    "Your foolery will be dealt withter," Jenny simply threatened before turning to nce at Jim. "Don''t think these little toys will give you any help. Nothing will save you from my hands, boy!"


    "Humph!" Jim simply replied with a sneer, making her much angrier. "Fine funny boy, I will tell you the rules of redemption here."


    "I did no felony to you!"


    "You how can you even say that?" she then turned to re at everyone standing around, "Did or didn''t he make a felony?"


    "He did!"


    The reply came with a unified cheering from everyone, making her return to re with triumph at him. "The pack of tigers deemed you guilty, then you have to redeem yourself," she didn''t give him any chance to say anymore words as she added:


    "There are two ways to do this; either fight to be enved, or fight to enve me. No other path is on the table other than these two."


    Jim was surprised by her words, as he initially thought it would be a fight to death. "I then choose to enve you, wild tigress," he instantly replied with a spirit that didn''t match his odds!


    "Hahaha, you are really funny. You will make a fine addition to my ves. I promise I will tie you hard and give you what you really deserve every night for a fortnight, sweet city boy."


    Her words invoked theughter of everyone, as they were already sure of her victory. For Jim he had nothing to lose, and the feeling he wasn''t on verge of losing his life again erased a huge pile of tension off his chest.


    He was now more collected than before, and instead of thinking how to survive, he started to think how to enve this wild girl. She suited his taste, and she wasn''t much older than him except by five years at most!


    "And I promise I will make you devastated each night that even your vulgar pink hair would be soaked with your sweat!"


    His words were met by a much louder wave ofughter; mockeryughs. He didn''t care about these, he only cared about this fight, this girl, this sword, and this opportunity.


    He was always being suppressed, mistreated, and now he had the chance to really shine. Not only gaining some reputation, but also gaining a very stunning ve girl with another one on the sideline watching him.


    "Big talk of a small boy, let''s see how many strikes you will handle. Tips up for the future, the longer you stand the more I will prefer you over others."


    Sheughed evilly while turning to a nearby man, holding a stick with fire. She grabbed it by force before turning to re at Jim.


    And Jim was standing there, asking himself why he had let his head drive him to this crazy encounter!


    "I don''t even know how to fight, old man are you here to help or give me some pointers? Did I bleed out for nothing?" he thought to himself, but no answer came in return.


    The old man was resting, tired from the exhaustion it haunted him after the ritual. He heard Jim perfectly as if he was standing just next to him, yet he refrained to answer. He wasn''t worried.


    He knew for the power to appear, a ritual only wasn''t enough!


    A slight push, plus some pain in the process would help. So he kept his mouth shut, and started to enjoy this show just like anybody else.

 Chapter 10: Scream!

    Chapter 10: Scream!


    Jenny then let the torch fall on the ground, burning rapidly the dried leaves and grass around, making the fire rage wildly in between the two.


    She was ready, and Jim knew that, but he didn''t know what to do. "I should at least evade her attacks," he muttered trying to encourage himself.


    "Be ready boy, here Ie," she said mocking him, like an adult ying with a kid. She put her right hand inside the fire. Instead of being burnt, the fire danced around her hand, as she controlled it to form long wisps circting around her arm.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment she waved her hand, striking it like she was holding a whip, attacking Jim with a long thin whip-like fire tongue.


    But Jim was ready, as the moment she targeted him, he jumped away from the way of the harm. The fire tongue hit the shack, cleaving it in half, causing a muffled explosion that reverberated after her attack.


    "Wow, you really can jump," she smirked as she waved her hand again, and the fire sparkled just above her head, causing a snap sound as she waved it again towards his new location.


    And he jumped in time, evading the iing attack, with such agility and precision he was astonished to have!


    He didn''t know what was happening. As he focused over her, he could picture the moment of her taking action; totally freezing it in his mind.


    He could ascertain the trajectory, the reach of the fire, and even the strength of this attack. The next thing his mind would pop up with would be the best ce to jump evading such attack.


    He didn''t know how this happened, but when his mind pictured this track for him, he could simply follow, with such agility he never enjoyed before.


    "What is going on? Is this the power that the old man talked about?" he thought to himself, and despite having no clue of what was going on; he was enjoying it.


    The feeling of being this strong, even in just evading the iing attacks, was something he deeply cherished! He never experienced such strength before, or ever stood equal to a stronger person.


    Even when he was escaping, it was due to the old man''s hidden help, something he was quite positive about.


    But now, it was only him, his own strength and nothing else! He nced at Jenny, as the tables were flipped, challenging her obviously with his strong gaze. Themp turned into a wolf, and the tigress turned into a cat!


    "Damn you, I was going easy on you just now, but you were such impudent! I prefer to kill you than seeing this smug look over your face again!"


    She roared, as his expression got on her temper.


    And the next thing that happened was weird! She took the fire torch from the hand of another man, and let herself entirely be on fire!


    Everything burnt down, or that''s what Jim thought. However the next moment he was proven wrong! Jenny had total control over fire, and with such a huge amount, a bad thing was about to happen!


    "Run away, fast, she is mad!"


    "Who does she think she is facing? He is just a kid with no powers!"


    "Run or stay and die!"


    "Retreat for a hundred meters away and you will be safe!"


    "Damn you Jenny, if you killed any of my ves you will be doomed!"


    Many voices interacted in a mere short span of moments, while Jim noticed the chaos created after what Jenny did. Everyone here retreated, away from the two of them, everyone except only two! A strong bare upper body big man and a short child standing next to him reaching barely to his abdomen.


    "This looks bad," Jim didn''t need to be very smart to know Jenny was using a crazy attack next. As he tried to retreat, Jenny kept the pace with him, keeping the distance of the initial twenty meters fixed!


    "Don''t think of running away, boy! I did this for you, so embrace it and only me your foolishness and rudeness! Die!"


    "Swoosh!"


    She waved her hands wide open, while arching her body to the maximum. Her body suddenly twitched a couple of times, releasing popping sounds.


    The fire that was zing fiercely upon her body was unleashed in a mighty wave that hit everything around her in a circle of one hundred meters radius!


    "I''m done for! Old man, help! Hurry! I''m going to die like this!!!"


    Jim tried to retreat faster, but his speed couldn''t help him this time. His mind didn''t provide any path for him to follow, and his speed dramatically decreased.


    As for his old man; he still refrained from intervening even with a sigh!


    "There is no way to escape this, sigh!" he muttered, regretfully, as he thought himself being far away from danger, not knowing his death was just at his doorsteps at the hands of such a lunatic girl.


    The next moment his body was hit mercilessly by this strong wave of fire, making him fly to the back, falling on the ground with fire ignited wildly over every single inch of his body.


    "Hahaha, the rude boy deserves this. Let me hear your screams!! C''mon, scream you bastard! You aren''t that weak to die just from a mere touch of my fire! Scream!!"


    But she was destined to be disappointed. Jim didn''t scream! In fact, contrary to her expectations; Jim was safe and sound, not even close to being called dead!

 Chapter 11: The Hidden Truth

    Chapter 11: The Hidden Truth


    The moment the fire touched his body, a strange feeling of familiarity erupted. The next thing he felt was a hunger, deep hunger that slept for ages and was now craving for fire, asking for more!


    "Is this the fire you said it will burn me down? Tsk," the sound of Jim rang all over the ce, echoing to every single corner. Just before he spoke these words, he stood up from the ground, with fire surrounding his body, looking savage yet fine.


    That silenced everything around, even that lunatic calling for his screams.


    He wasn''t like Jenny, as fire was wild and untamed around her. Around him, the fire seemed like a docile pet, listening to the orders of a higher being.


    The fire formed a thinyered coat, and with each passing second new coat was born and more fire was sucked dry from everywhere,ing and gathering around him.


    He suddenly turned into a human torch in this dark night, shining like a small sun, and he felt really refreshed.


    "It''s better than what the old man did to me back at the locking house," he muttered to himself as he raised his hands and nced at these thick multiyers of fire that surrounded his arms.


    He felt the same feeling he had when he got that strange fog surrounding his whole body. He felt invincible! No pain, no burning sensation, or even hotness!


    If he felt something else, then his soul would be feeling more energetic than ever and his mind kept repeating one thing; ''you are supreme!''


    "H- H- H- Now way! Sh*t!"


    Jenny nced with disbelief towards Jim, with all the fire she released being sucked dry towards him, forming thickyers of shy fire around his body.


    She nced with innate fear inside her soul, as she subconsciously retreated a couple of steps backwards, while Jim only stood his ce motionless.


    "You said if you lose you will be my ve, so do you want to be a ve or to be my first to die under my hands?"


    His words were said with such simplicity and easiness that it seemed like he was offering her a date. For him, he wanted such a fiery hot girl to be following him, obediently epting his orders; no matter what they were!


    Hecked and missed many things in his life, and that was expected. He lived a life he never wanted, forced upon him by his weakness and cursed fate.


    However, as he escaped from this fate and became stronger, he desired all things he was deprived of!


    And being with beauties all around was-for sure-one of those dreams of his!


    Jenny paused, seemingly hesitant about responding. Jim nced strangely at her, not feeling any hurry. He knew his fiery shield would sustain for hours.


    "What? Am I too bad as a boss? Or too kind?"


    He asked, as he cracked a joke he onlyughed on, trying to know the reason behind her hesitance.


    "She can''t ept your offer boy, as everyone here is a ve already to someone else."


    Suddenly this reply came, not from Jenny, but from the direction behind her. She was jolted awake as she turned to nce at the two standing few meters behind her, with not a single scratch over them.


    Jim also noticed them, and he initially thought they were burnt to ash from the attack earlier, but now as one of the spoke up he knew they were fine; totally fine.


    "Just like me," he muttered to himself while thinking about the words that came from the man.


    "What do you mean? Do you mean even Ashley is also a ve?" he asked, trying to understand more.


    "Like I said, boy, every single one here including your Ashley is a ve."


    "Isn''t this the ck tiger camp?"


    "ck tigers? Hahaha, boy you are really funny. This is just a ve station for the ck market, with the intention of gathering strong fighters and beauties to be sold," the bare chest manughed as he pointed his fingers towards one direction while adding: "This is their master, and this ve marks only can be removed by him, either willingly or not."


    Jim followed the direction of the finger to find that vulgar huge body leader he met when he came here.


    "Is he their master?" he asked, as he casually pointed towards the man.


    "Sure," Pol said as he turned to nce at the stupefied leader as he added: "Hey you, our boy here wants some ves to be freed, will you give them for free or should hee to make you pay for it?"


    The words he said seemed insulting, but strangely he said in a very amusing tone; like he was having fun doing that.


    "Stop doing that! That man is much stronger than him, not only in strength but in numbers!" Siera hit Pol with her elbow as sheined like a little kid. Polughed while saying nothing except shrugging.


    He was starting to enjoy this show; as anything that involved humans killing each other was a fun sport to him. As for Jim, Pol knew he was a human who had some powers, yet still if he was killed in the fight he wouldn''t care.


    "What the hell are you talking about? And who the hell are you two? Trespassing mynd and ordering me around with such audacity! Go to hell you and that skinny boy of yours!"

 Chapter 12: An Unexpected Twist in Events

    Chapter 12: An Unexpected Twist in Events


    The leader seemed quite agitated and very angry by such development. A usual and traditional easy recruiting new ve ceremony had turned upside down like this, and he was even being ordered and insulted in front of his ves!


    "Sigh, see boy? He won''t listen or release anyone peacefully. I tried to convince him, but he is really stubborn.


    So, are you going to leave your Ashley and Jenny away, to be sold as ves to rich dirty men; to touch their bodies and enjoy their moans?" Pol said with a grin as he was already picturing the amazing show of Jim being beaten and even killed!


    The mere thought made him quite excited that he evenughed!


    Jim nced at him, feeling somehow angry as well. Pol''s attitude seemed not with the intention of helping him; instead he was igniting the fire more. Like a foe not a friend!


    ''Don''t!''


    Suddenly, and as he was about to refute back, he heard this single warning from his long silent old man, startling him, and making him pause and hesitate about what he intended to do.


    ''Not now,'' he was just about to speak to his old man, forgetting he wasn''t alone. The old man hurried to warn him, interrupting him for two times in a row.


    "What? Are you fine with this fate of your girls?" Pol''s voice rang again in his ears, distracting him away from the strange attitude of his old man.


    It seemed the old man was cautious, very cautious and afraid of these two, or at least of Pol. "You, release Ashley and Jenny, they are now my ves!" Jim decided to ignore these two for now as he turned to the leader and shouted at him.


    "What are you saying? A ve is asking to have more ves, hahaha! Never heard of this before in the business! Boy, if you have the balls to im them, thene and acquire them by your hands!"


    The shout came from the leader, and the next moment the leader took out a knife and injured his arm from the origin. The blood flowed on the thick arm, and the next thing happened was that the clothes covering this arm got burnt down by strange cyan light.


    It wasn''t fire, yet it was lighting from strange markings over his arm. The leader didn''t stop as he also did the same to his other arm.


    The two thick arms shone brightly in cyan light, while these broad strokes of cyan ink were now shing, making the shape of the leader quite bizarre.


    "Come boy, let''s see if you are worthy of me using my full power or not."


    The leader didn''t say a single wordter, as suddenly his two eyes shone brightly with cyan fire, and the next thing Jim felt was a sudden change in the atmosphere around him.


    "What the hell? Are you controlling them using these strange writings?" Jim muttered as the next moment he spotted in the darkness around him many eyes burning in cyan light like the leader. All of them roared like they were all in anger and agony; like they were monsters.


    Even Jenny, the one who was shaking from fear couple of moments ago, started to move in stiff manner towards him, not frightened anymore, with the same lighting from her eyes


    "Kill the head of the snake!" Siera suddenly shouted, as on contrast to Pol next to her, she didn''t enjoy seeing humans killing each other as a fun sport.


    She loved to fight, not a fan of killing and ughter!


    The shout she released was instantly understood by Jim. He nced over the shoulders of Jenny, behind everyone, where that dirty leader was.


    "At least if I have to kill, I won''t touch my precious future dolls!" he said as the next moment he easily evaded the weak and pathetic attack Jenny did in a try to stabilize him to the ground and then headed directly towards the leader.


    "Roar!"


    Suddenly the men and women who were trying to move towards him roared again, and some of them started to show strange transformations.


    "Ad of the demon n! How can someone be here?" Siera was more astonished for seeing this, as she wrongly thought this huge vulgar man was a normal human.


    "I don''t know," Pol shook his head before adding, "but this will add more to the fun, right?"


    "C''mon, he can''t beat the demons! He is still weak, andcks experience and training!" Siera objected as she firmly added, "if you don''t want to help, then I will!"


    "Breaking the old man''s rules again? Do you have a death wish?!" Pol said, expressing his dissatisfaction regarding what Siera wanted to do.


    "Using my powers in this mortal realm isn''t breaking any rules!" she said.


    "Interfering in an evaluation test is a crime, you best of all know that, right?"


    The hidden hint he said made the face of Siera change for a moment there before coldly saying:


    "I won''t forget these wordsing out from you, Pol the giant n fighter!"


    "Humph," Pol just sneered before replying, refusing to show a weakness to her, "Do whatever you wish, Siera the fox n fighter. But all I care about is your safety and being away from harm. I''m sure your mother will agree with my decision here."


    She red at him, silently without being able to speak another word for a couple of moments. "Using my mother to frighten me? You know better than that."


    "Humph!"

 Chapter 13: A Desperate Situation

    Chapter 13: A Desperate Situation


    She red at the newly formed monsters from the bodies of the ves living here. "At least only ten percent turned into monsters by this demon aura, meaning he isn''t that high in strength," she said to herself, trying to feel better at the high probability of Jim''s death here.


    Jim nced with disbelief at all these changes that happened to many men around him.


    Each one had his body deformed, swollen and grew in size, while hands were reced with scissors like extensions, legs were reced with ws, and heads were reced with strange and ugly looking disfigured paled faces.


    ''These are the effects of exposing to demon aura for some time,'' the old man finally said. And before Jim could speak loudly to him, ''think and I will respond,'' he added, trying to establish a secure way to speak with him.


    ''Are these eternal changes? Does this mean this leader is a demon? Are demons real?''


    ''Sigh, boy you have the blood of the fallen fairy king, saw a lively dragon before, and now being eyed by a giant n and fox n descendants. Yet you are startled of demons? Collect yourself and embrace each ounce of courage you can muster, as dealing with this demon here will prove to be quite challenging.''


    Jim nced at these big ugly monsters and felt quite shaky; he didn''t think he could beat all them.


    ''Wrong! The real danger isn''t from these, but from that demon behind them!'' the old man said, making Jim turn his eyes towards that cyan, shing brightly in the darknessThat huge leader standing behind all of these demons.


    ''So I should kill him first and everyone will be freed?''


    ''No, only those not affected by his demon aura will be freed, but the others will still maintain their demonic transformation and still attack you.''


    ''You know this isn''t considered even a n!''


    ''This is the only n!''


    ''This is a bad n!''


    ''Yet it''s a n!''


    Jim stopped arguing with the man''s voice in his head, as the monsters roared again, preparing to move and attack him!


    "Damn! I should find something to fight back with," he cursed out loud before he felt the cold hilt of the sword in his hand. ''This won''t do against their thick skin,'' he muttered to himself.


    ''Just think of the sword, picture it as part of your body and you will be amazed,'' the old man said, and the next thing Jim did was to follow his words to the letter.


    As he pictured the sword in his hand, the sword was lit up withyers of fire that extended from his arm to the sword.


    "Oh, he can control his power very well," Polmented in dissatisfaction before sighing, "I thought he was nobody, but it seems this kid knows his stuff somehow, tsk."


    "It''s just phase one of control, not that much," Siera was still mad at him.


    "It''s still a control, meaning he will beat them easier than expected."


    "Humph."


    Pol seemed upset about losing the fun he dreamt of, and Siera looked delighted at his loss.


    As for Jim, the next moment he had his mind drawing out a path to evade the iing attacks of three demons. He simply jumped evading them.


    The demons looked giant, yet their moves were clumsypared to his agile steps. So, he kept dancing, jumping from point to another, totally evading the attacks with ease.


    "You are such a monkey! Let''s see how you will deal with this!"


    The demon leader of this filthy ce roared before he opened his mouth and the next thing a strange fog appeared out of it.


    It was a cyan fog, yet the moment it appeared it seemed to follow a hidden will; his will.


    "A poison user? That''s weirder!" Siera muttered in shock before adding, "since when demons can use poison?"


    "It seems a variation between the two ns, tsk. That boy is just doomed to lose!" Pol''s words seemed worried to Jim, yet his expression and tone exposed how much delighted he was.


    Siera nced at Jim while her body faintly trembled. "Don''t! He doesn''t worth the troubles you will face," Pol smirked as he warned her again.


    "Tsk," and all she did was to ignore him and keep watching Jim while jumping off, evading the demons. And her body trembled more violently.


    "This is a poisonous fog, try to burn it with your fire!" she suddenly shouted.


    "Naughty girl! What did you just do?!!"


    "I just yelled at him. Was yelling also forbidden?"


    Pol sneered and shook his head. To him this fight was meaningless except if Jim died. To him humans worth nothing at all!


    ''Listen to the fox girl''s words and burn this fog.''


    ''I don''t know how!''


    Jim was busy trying to cope with the paths he had in mind, and he waved his sword a couple of times, cutting off limbs and causing some wounds.


    But this seemed too much for him! He wasn''t trained to be a fighter, he wasn''t trained to be anything at all!


    ''Just do as I tell, and if anyone asks just lie and say you discovered this by ident.''

 Chapter 14: Fireball

    Chapter 14: Fireball


    The words of the old man were weird, yet Jim decided to trust him and follow his guidance. ''Alright, tell me what to do,'' he thought as he finally found a path leading directly to the leader, bypassing the encirclement of the demons.


    ''To use your strength you need to use something called spells. To activate these you must take certain postures and do moves in certain orders.''


    ''Do you want me to dance?'' Jim was speechless, yet there was no time for him to hesitate. He was almost upon the leader, only ten meters away from him!


    And these ten meters were filled with dense fog of poison!


    ''Just do as I say,'' the old man said in a decisive tone, ''arc your body and put both of your hands forward with the sword pointed to the ground.''


    ''The ground?!!''


    ''Just do it!''


    Jim justnded on the ground, with five demons running wild behind, and a giant cloud of cyan poisonous fog standing before him. There was no path of retreat now, and so he did as the old man told him to do.


    Just as he arched his body and ced his arms and sword in this strange posture, he felt a shiver running deep inside him.


    It was like a pulse was ejected from a hidden ce in his soul, and this pulse just moved from his soul to his arms towards his sword, making it buzz loudly like a wild beast.


    ''Try to maintain this posture and don''t let the sword hit the ground no matter what.''


    Just as the old man said it, Jim felt strong gravity assaulting his entire body and outstretched arms. If not for the warning the old man just gave him, he would have rxed his arms and let the sword be inserted in the ground.


    ''It hurts!'' he gritted his teeth as every single muscle in his body was now being tortured by this pressure. ''How long should I keep this?''


    ''As long as you can!''


    Jim tried to resist the urge to let the sword down as much as he could. Even his neck veins bulge from stress, and yet he felt the five seconds that just passed were like a whole lifetime at this moment.


    As for the old man, he kept watching Jim''s back for him. Just as the nearest demon aberrations were about to reach him he shouted: ''Let it fall now!''


    Jim was craving to hear such an order, and the next moment he just let his arms loose and the sword hit the ground, deeply inserted into it!


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment this soft rumble originated from his sword, then the ground around him was lit up in bright red light before a grand fireball emerged from the ground with Jim in its center.


    ''What is this?'' he marveled this strange feeling of superiority at this moment, where he felt total control over this fire ball. The fire ball kept gettingrger and floated in midair, a couple of meters away from the ground.


    And Jim floated in its heart!


    ''This is your fireball spell. Simple andmon, yet effective against dark creatures like demons and poison ns.''


    Jim nced over the ball of fire that erged to reach ten meter radius, eating away three demons andrge part of the poisonous fog.


    ''What should I do now?'' he asked, as he felt he could think of anything and the fire ball would follow his thoughts.


    ''Just point your sword forward towards the main demon, then after killing him you can target the remaining minions.''


    ''I like this n!''


    ''This was the n!''


    ''Liar!''


    ''Don''t be so rude to your mentor, kid!''


    Jimughed as he felt the victory was finally in his grasp. He did as the old man told him.


    As he pointed his sword towards the main demon, the fire ballunched a sudden attack towards it. It took the shape of Jim''s sword, prating the demon''s chest and burning away his heart, lungs, and other organs!


    "Damn! This fireball is such badas*!" heughed out loud, watching that huge demon fall on the ground burnt by his fire until he breathed hisst breaths in this world.


    ''One down, others to follow,'' Jim had a vicious smile over his face as he turned to look at the other demon aberrations running fast towards him. "Are you this tired of living?" he sneered before pointing out his sword towards each one of them.


    One hit of his fiery sword and the demon would be burnt down and killed! What he noticed was that those aberrations were so fragile, as they burnt to ash, leaving none behind.


    ''They are fragile! Not like that main demon!'' he sneered as they all puffed into ash while the body of the dead demon was still intact behind him with wisps of fire still ignited non-stop.


    ''They are weak, that''s all. They are just infected with the demon aura, not true demons,'' the old man exined, before adding, ''soon you will know more about these facts.''


    ''You talk like I will go to the school,'' Jim joked as he was carefree while hunting down the remaining demons.


    ''You will see,'' the old man''s answer was vague, yet Jim didn''t bother asking for more.

 Chapter 15: Master

    Chapter 15: Master


    With thest demon aberration burnt to ash, he stood there amidst the living humans whom got freed from the very curse. ''Are they freed now?'' he asked his old man before adding, ''or I should make sure by killing them?''


    ''They are freed, yet do whatever you want with them,'' the old man replied before adding, ''the very curse mark is on that demon''s dead body. You can go and grab it to be their master, or leave them go and live freely from now on.''


    Jim stood with his ball of fire starting to fade away. He ignored those ex-ves as he observed his ball of fire. ''Does it have a time limit?''


    ''Everything has a time limit.''


    ''Tsk, I thought it wouldst like the fireyers on my body.''


    ''Even the fireyers will soon vanish.''


    ''What? Last time that fogsted for hours!''


    ''That time you didn''t exhaust it using a spell, did you? Spells aren''t a joke, kid. You need to learn and train, get your body stronger so you can use more than one spell in a fight.''


    Jim felt the old man was speaking about something he was so certain of. ''Won''t you tell me what is going to happen?'' he asked, before turning to nce at Pol and Siera standing on the side, watching him with different expressions. ''Are they rted to this future?''


    ''You will know everything from them soon enough, so don''t be impatient.''


    ''Tsk,'' Jim moved his nce away from the surprised and delighted Siera and the frustrated Pol.


    He looked at Jenny and Ashley, as the two stood in their ce motionless after getting freed from the envement curse. "You two owe me your life and a date," heughed as he moved towards the two while the fire ball died down.


    His body now had a fainteryer of fire, weaker than before. It was so clear to anyone seeing him right now. Yet no one dared to move against him. They weren''t that kind to thank him, or that fool to attack such a monster.


    For everyone here, they just wished if he went away and vanished in thin air. But Jim had other ns in mind.


    "Come, you two are now owned by me," he said, with a soft smile over his face, a victorious smile.


    "Ahem, I I promised you a date," Ashley stuttered before finally saying her thoughts out.


    "That was before I learnt about your trick and part in this y," Jim replied as he put his skinny arms around her shoulders, "and before I killed your master demon."


    "That" she didn''t know what to say, especially after the dizziness side effect haunting her. The control curse she just experienced seemed taxing even on someone strong like Ashley and Jenny.


    "Don''t," he put his fingers on her lips before adding, "this is already decided."


    "By who? You?" It was Jenny this time who came staggering a little with her sexy body. She didn''t intend to move like this, yet she was affected by the curse aftermath as well.


    "Sigh, I don''t like this attitude of my girls," he muttered and Jenny just stood a couple of meters in front of him before putting her hands on her waist. "And I don''t like following a skinny shorter guy like you."


    "I''m strong!"


    "And I''m sexy!"


    He stood there not knowing what to say. Eventually he shook his head and retreated. "Where are you going?" Jenny shouted from behind, "have you given up already?" she seemed quite annoyed. She was used to leaving men, not men leaving her.


    "I wille back in a second," he just replied before heading towards the body of the dead demon. ''Tell me what to do?'' he thought and the old man''s voice replied:


    ''Justnd a drop of your blood over the mark and it will be yours.''


    Instead of wasting his breaths stating the obvious, he would prefer to announce his ownership in a non-debatable way. He leaned on the burnt out body and examined it for a moment until he found his aim.


    ''It didn''t burn!'' he was surprised to find the tattoo of this dark skull on the chest of that dead body untouched by his fire.


    ''It''s way stronger magic than yours.''


    ''Magic? Is this what I have right now?'' he asked before handling his sword and injured his finger. ''Just a drop is enough, no need to bleed overnight, right?''


    ''Sigh! It was for own good, you know.''


    ''Tsk!''


    He let the blood fall over the tattoo and the next moment it shone brightly in cyan light. He instinctively touched it and the next moment it vanished while he felt a stinging pain in his chest.


    The next moment it was gone, but he felt some sort of connection with others standing here.


    And others also sensed his control over their lives.


    "Master!"


    "Master!"


    "Master!"

 Chapter 16: The Fairy Academy

    Chapter 16: The Fairy Academy


    Out of pure habit they all knelt on the ground while Jim stood there speechless. "Sh*t! I wanted to own two girls and now I own an entire dark group!" he cursed out loud and his words made the nearby Siera chuckle, while Pol just sneered.


    He wasn''t pleased with what things ended up to be!


    "You did great, and I''m proud of you," Siera jumped to appear suddenly in front of him. He nced at her smaller physique, yet he had this vague dreadful feeling of being eyed by a monster.


    A deadly monster!


    "Hi, we didn''t meet before, right?" he said these words as he didn''t know what else to say. He tried to be cautious and respectful, something he lived his entire life faking perfectly in front of others.


    "Sure, I''m Siera, and I think you are called Jim, right?"


    She heard his name in between the talks of humans during the fight. "Yup, it''s me," he nodded, before asking, "may I know why you are here?"


    "Is this strange?"


    "It''s just I believe you are not from around."


    "Hehehe, I like your senses. They will serve you well during your next phase of life."


    "My next phase of life?" he asked in doubt, faking ignorance despite already knowing a thing or two about the reason for her presence here.


    She and that giant bare chested rude man were here for him!


    "This is something we will discuss now," she said before turning to nce back at Pol, who just moved his eyesight somewhere else.


    His toy and amused y had ended abruptly in a way that didn''t please him! He wasn''t that interested in dealing with humans, weak and useless humans in his opinion.


    "Do it on your own," he just mumbled these words coldly and without any care.


    "Alright," unlike him, Siera seemed quite enthusiastic. "Let me ask you, the attacks you used earlier did you learn them from someone? Some ce?"


    ''Here ites,'' Jim muttered to himself before replying, telling the lie his old man informed him to tell, "I just found out about it by ident."


    She nced for a long period at him, making him quite nervous. Yet his acting abilities were superb, tested all times by many and never failed once!


    "Good, this is amon happening," her features rxed before adding, "let me tell you things that might seem impossible, but try to ept them as mere facts, ok?"


    He simply nodded. As his old man told him from before, he had seen many strange things of this world and he shouldn''t be that amazed by much more.


    "Good, first this world isn''t the only world out there."


    "Out there where?"


    "In the entire universe. This world is just one ne, one of many actually. We used to call these the lower nes."


    He didn''t know what to say so he just nodded. He didn''t understand her meaning or what her words implied, but he at least was epting these info and appreciated her sincere exnation.


    "I and my friend over there came from two different nes than yours. We hailed from higher nes, and so we are considered let''s say superiors to you."


    "Should I call you master?"


    She wasn''t speaking arrogantly or acting high, she was simply stating facts like they were given. He also acted polite and never showed his discontent, as he didn''t like being ordered or controlled by others.


    He tried to be controlled by others once, and the end result didn''t bode well for him. These days were long gone behind; or that was what he hoped.


    "You don''t need to call me like this, but for Pol I believe you should."


    Again her sincere advice made him not much annoyed of her, but he was still slightly annoyed of the order of the world she spoke about!


    Yet he couldn''t prevent himself from stealing a short nce at the distant Pol, feeling so much enmity and despise already radiating from him.


    "Are youing here to take me away?" he said, and he thought he rushed things here so he added, "to your ne?"


    "Right and wrong," she chuckled before adding, "you are granted a chance to live inside a very prestigious ce called the Fairy academy. There you will join many othersing from many lower and higher nes to train and learn more about your abilities."


    "A species academy?" he asked, out of impulse, yet he kept his tongue from saying more.


    "You can consider it like this," she wasn''t offended by his human term, yet the amount of hatreding from Pol increased by many folds after saying the species name.


    "Is it safe there?" he asked, trying to change the topic back to the academy itself.


    "It''s the safest ce in the entire universe, but such a grand favor is met with certain requirements. You can call them duties. I know humans love such a word."


    He was very familiar with duties, and so he nodded agreeing on her wording. "What are they?"


    "As I told you before, the world you know is a much bigger ce than just thisnd. As it''s bigger, it''s also far dangerous than you can imagine."

 Chapter 17: We are at War

    Chapter 17: We are at War


    She then paused before gesturing towards the nearby burnt demon with her head as she added, "See this one over there; he came from a ne filled with demons. He is an enemy and we are already at war."


    "An enemy with humans?"


    "An enemy with everyone."


    He understood her meaning. He turned to nce over the dead body of that demon. "So his presence here wasn''t a coincidence."


    "No, they are agents for chaos, and you can consider us as agents of order."


    He smiled as he nced at her childish red eyes. "So we are the good guys?"


    "Hehehe, you can say that. I like that name, hehehe," she was pleased with his saying that sheughed showing her milky white teeth, with one of them missing already.


    The moment she did so, she hurried to close up her mouth. She hated anyone looking at her missing tooth!


    "Sorry, didn''t mean anything," he apologized, as he didn''t want this kind fox to turn to be on bad terms with him.


    Good people might turn scary sometimes when annoyed!


    "Never mind," she simply waved her hand before adding, "so this is the basic info about the life you will live. Are you interested in going there with us?"


    He wanted to say yes, yet he hesitated. ''Will I be in any danger there?'' he thought, and the silence that came from his old man was the perfect answer.


    He would!


    "Are you so attached to here?" she asked, as she noticed his hesitation and weird silence.


    "Hahaha, it''s not like this," he tried to cover up on this situation, "I just was thinking about those two," he turned and pointed towards Ashley and Jenny, using them as a scapegoat for him.


    "Oh, don''t worry you can bring them with you," she winked.


    "He had to prove himself worthy of having servants there," yet Pol suddenly said in a harsh tone and cold attitude. "He isn''t like us, hailed from superior realms. He has to prove himself first or else his girls would be taken away."


    "Pol!" she turned to re at him, yet he just shrugged and wasn''t fazed with her angry look. "This isn''t my rule, and you can see those two girls are sexy enough to make even me want to obtain them, hahaha!"


    Siera was angry, yet Jim was much angrier than her. He knew, Pol just said those words to piss him, and he would eye his two girls just to annoy him. "May I ask what I need to do to have girls there?" he asked Siera, yet Pol was the one to respond, with this wide evil smile over his face:


    "Any new disciple is tested before entering the academy. We aren''t that much interested in everyone; only the best of the best would have special treatment. Although you did well here, don''t put your hopes high, I''m pretty sure you won''t even qualify to be an outer disciple of the academy."


    "Don''t listen to him," Siera was already pissed off to the degree she publicly stood against Pol''s words like this. "Everyone has a chance there, so bring them up."


    "What would happen then if he lost his girls? You know the academy''s history is full of many foolish humans trying to act rampant over some foolish stuff like these!" Pol seemed concerned about Jim, yet his expression and tone showed how much excited and amused he was.


    ''Take them!'' the old man''s voice appeared softly like a whisper in his mind atst. "I will take them!" and Jim just followed his advice without question.


    "Hahaha, heard the man? He will take them, hahaha."


    "Don''t mind him," Siera turned to Jim before adding, "if things went south for you, I promise to take care of them."


    "Don''t do that, your"


    "POL!" this time her shout made him entirely silent. "Bring them with you," she turned to Jim as she said in such a strict and angry tone.


    Jim didn''t want to insert himself between this seemingly tense rtion, especially when he knew nothing at all about the two. "When do we leave? And how?" he asked, setting the topic again on the academy track.


    "Now, and we can leave directly from here," she replied and that made him nod. "Just give me five minutes," he said.


    "We will wait for two," Pol said with such an irritating smug smile on his face.


    "We will wait for you, so don''t rush things out," Siera ignored him again as she said to Jim in a kind way.


    Jim nodded to her and to Pol, as he knew even if Pol acted rough and tough, he had the backing to do so.


    But he hadn''t! At least not yet!


    He didn''t ask these minutes for the girls, but for his old man. His mind was now stirred up! Despite epting all these facts, his mind was full of many questions, and he was sure his old man had the answers to all.


    ''Old man! What''s this all about?!!''


    ''Try not to speak with me when you are near these two,'' the old man warned. Jim walked slowly towards the girls, buying as much time as he could for himself. ''Then hurry and tell me,'' he urged.


    ''This is a big opportunity, a ce rooted deep from the times of the ancient fairies. There you will learn many great things about your magic and spells. Also you will have to fight for the peace of the old world.''


    ''Old world?''

 Chapter 18: Look for the Actimos Race

    Chapter 18: Look for the Actimos Race


    ''This is the term used by many to describe the realm system here. You will know everythingter. Just remember not to speak to me while these two are around. Never speak to me while you are tested. Don''t do that!''


    The word test gave him subconscious goosebumps! The first and thest time he tried this sort of thing, it ended up quite dramatic for him!


    Jim tried to shake off these negative emotions as he inwardly nodded. He now understood how dangerous it was for his old man to be discovered. ''Are you this dangerous?'' he couldn''t help but ask.


    ''Not me, it''s you,'' and the brief answer that came from the old man wasn''t what he expected. ''Don''t ask more for now. After entering the academy, we will have much time to do so. Now you need to understand something about your magic.''


    ''For the test?'' Jim asked, as he already had tons of questions regarding this test. He didn''t want to end up just like thest time.


    ''Yes, your physique is weak, and that will greatly limit your test results.''


    Jim couldn''t argue with that. ''That''s why that funny giant, Pol, was mocking me?''


    ''He has a point,'' the old man didn''t lie, ''but you also have a way out,'' he added as he started to give Jim some hope.


    Jim didn''t care so much about the test for his girls; he already had a very bad reputation with tests. He knew how a simple short test would affect everything in his future life.


    So he didn''t take this test lightly, and wanted to make sure he would seed brilliantly there. ''Tell me then what to do.''


    ''It''s simple; all you need to do is to use a source of power to ignite your magic.''


    ''Like fire?'' Jim asked.


    ''Fire is a good choice, especially with that fire witch over there on your side. But don''t forget; Pol has seen you already ying with fire and he wouldn''t let you seed.''


    Jim even paused for a moment there as he was already agreeing with the words of his old man. Yet he was hoping this wouldn''t happen. ''Any suggestions?'' he asked as he continued to walk again towards the girls, acting like his feet stumbled upon something just now.


    ''Fire isn''t the only source in the world. I have a piece of advice for you; once reaching the academy look at once for any Actimos race kids and befriend them at once.''


    ''Acti what?''


    ''Just try to remember that name. They aremon in the vast world like humans, and also subjected to injustice and mockery like you. The two of you will make a perfect match out there.''


    ''Old man, are you trying to find a girl for me?''


    ''Just do as I say and remember the name; Actimos race. Burn it deeply inside your brain.''


    Jim tried to find logic in his old man''s advice, yet he couldn''t! ''Can you borate further?'' he asked.


    ''No time, Pol is already gazing upon you.''


    As Jim heard this, he was about to nce back. ''Don''t turn, keep walking normally as you do,'' but his old man hurried to prevent him from making this mistake, asking him to keep walking forward.


    Jim kept walking, and he already reached the girls.


    "You sure know how to slow walk, skinny weak master," and Jenny just weed him with these words.


    She changed his title to be a master, yet she didn''t show any respect to him or alter from his rude attitude and behavior.


    "Listen, I have this golden chance to leave here and go to some special ce," he suddenly said, making the two girls startled by his words.


    "What do you mean?" Ashley asked.


    "Do you have anyone here dear to you? Let''s leave this ce and we might find someone who can free us from this skinny master."


    "You," Jim turned sharply to nce at Jenny in the eye. "I''m not taking someone rude like you. Either you change your attitude or else you stay here."


    "Tsk, staying here isn''t bad," Jenny replied in a much disrespectful manner.


    "I will kill everyone here before I walk away, will you really want to stay behind?" he was lying, yet he acted perfectly like he intended to do so. He knew his tattoo gave him the ability and authority to determine their life and death.


    And the two in front of him also knew this!


    "W- What?" This time her face changed drastically as she showed such a nervous expression. She didn''t think he would know such a thing. "Alright, I concede, you win. I''m all yours."


    "Hehehe, just the attitude I like," he sneered before adding, "now make sure to always please me or else hehehe."


    "This shack or that one?" She turned to point towards two nearby shacks.


    "What do you mean?"


    "C''mon, I know how to please a man," she said with such a seductive smile that made him even consider going there just to experience her taste. "Tsk, what a regret! We don''t have much time now."


    "Forter then."

 Chapter 19: Going to the Academy

    Chapter 19: Going to the Academy


    "Sure," he smiled while watching her body with fiery desire. ''Forter, that''s a promise,'' he said to himself while his face showed such a lewd expression that made the two girlsugh.


    "Let''s go," he turned to walk away before recalling something, "make sure to be extra careful and much respectful while dealing with these two over there," he advised in a whispering tone.


    The two now belonged to him, and any felony theymit would befall upon his head.


    "Master, what about us?" Midway, though, he was stopped by one of the men standing here without knowing what to do. "Do whatever you want," he simply replied before continuing in his path.


    The two girls just exchanged silent nces before hurrying after him.


    "Are you ready?" Siera asked while ncing over the two girls behind him. "Don''t you want any other girls?" she asked, while moving her gaze upon few other girls around them


    "The two are enough," he simply replied, hoping he didn''t make a great mistake bringing them both with him.


    Two were causing a headache already, and he wasn''t that fool to cause more headache to himself!


    "Good, stay put then," she said before taking out a strange bead with such a white luster over its greasy surface. The moment she took it, it radiated light that pushed away the darkness for meters.


    The next thing she did was to insert this bead into the ground. Once she did that, the ground started to vibrate, and a speck of light appeared in the ce of the bead.


    Then it started to grow up rapidly until it reached a diameter of twenty meters. "Don''t move," Siera ordered and the next moment this ball of light engulfed their bodies; feeling like they just fell from the top of a mountain to a bottomless abyss.


    Jim felt his body sliding over some sort of a tunnel. It was pure white and next to him he could see Siera, Pol, and the two girls falling with him. Their descent didn''t take much time, and before he could notice it, he felt the ground again.


    "What a roughnding," Jenny said in a pained tone as she didn''tnd on her feet.


    "Sorry, this was the only way to bring you all this vast distance to here," Siera said before pointing out towards the world around them as she added, "Wee to the Fairy academy."


    The world here was lit up by daylight, having four small rounded suns rotating side by side around a central bigger one. There was a gigantic shade of an arc made of stones, glowing stones, forming a ring around another gigantic.


    And there were just five of them out there, not just one!


    "What a scene!" Ashley sincerely expressed her feelings with her breaths taken away by the beauty of this scene.


    As for Jim, he nced over the distance to spot a giant wall, much grandiose than the wall of his past city. "This looks really majestic," hemented, expressing his utmost admiration.


    "First impressions never disappoint me," Siera chuckled before adding, "follow me."


    "I will leave you here," Pol coldly said before vanishing the next moment in thin air.


    "Tsk, not patient as always," Siera just shook her head before continuing to walk towards the distant gate.


    This gate wasn''t a normal gate, as it was formed of ten giant towers standing side by side with their lower doors opened. In front of it, a massive crowd stood there.


    "Wow, all of them are like us?" Jenny asked with surprise.


    "This is just one day of the test, and we have ten days in total," Siera replied in such a prideful tone. "Wait here, I will try to push the schedule up for you," she said before vanishing between the crowd.


    "All these are here for this academy?" Ashley muttered as her eyes couldn''t stop at anyone; all were really extraordinary and unique.


    There were a myriad of different races here, and just as Siera disappeared, Jim used this chance to ask his old man. ''How can I find that man?''


    But the old man didn''t respond, making him feel doubt towards Pol. ''Is he still watching me?'' he thought to himself, and thus he gave up on gaining a response from his old man.


    He started to nce around the ce; many were from strange races he never saw before. He spotted a couple of humans here and there, yet he noticed they were obediently following other races.


    "Servants? Or ves?" he thought to himself before shaking these thoughts away. "I don''t care, I have to find this Actimos fast."


    Just as he was looking for his goal, he noticed a nearby ruckus. "It''s a fight," he muttered before deciding to go there and have a look.


    And the two girls just followed him, acting in the same manner they saw other servants behaving with their masters; mouth shut and eyes to the ground!

 Chapter 20: A Bulltor and An Actimos

    Chapter 20: A Bulltor and An Actimos


    "Sigh, how did things end up this bad for me?"


    Lan was a tall, well-built youth in his early months of twenty. As all Actimos race, he lived a life of humiliation and dishonor.


    His nights were filled with marvellous stories about ancient glory, lived by his ancestors and died with them.


    He lived his days in humiliation, serving other races in his world and enduring the poor treatment his race received, no matter what!


    "Never raise your eyes to anyone, son."


    "Never retort back."


    "Never defy an order."


    "Never cause trouble."


    Many of these warnings he received, as he was such a dreaming rebellious boy. He caused many problems for his family, ending up in a tragedy.


    And here he was,ing to the prestigious Fairy academy trying to prove something to himself before others. The dream of entering the academy wasn''t limited to him, yet no one was foolish enough to go there few at least!


    Coming here meant loss. That was the belief rooted deeply inside every single one of his kin. And they were right, as no one of the Actimos race entered the academy as a disciple for so long years to count.


    He wasn''t the first toe, trying to defy all the odds and find a ce suited for him and his kin in this cruel world. As everyone before him ended up failing the test, living a life of ves afterwards; he was warned froming here by everyone, even by his own family.


    "I had toe," he squeezed his hands while ncing over the group of five youths standing in front of him with mocking eyes.


    "Tell me again, how much was the reward for gaining an Actimos ve again?" one of the five asked in a loud tone and rude manner.


    "I think zero, hahaha!" another one replied, while theirughs were so loud for many to hear.


    "I came here to take the test, not to cause trouble," Lan replied, trying to be as calm as possible. Yet since the moment his feet touched the world of the academy, these five kept harassing him.


    "Humph, as if you can!"


    "Don''t waste your time and ours, you are an Actimos and Actimos never cross the initial test."


    "It''s my test, I will take it and see it through."


    "And you will fail and be a ve. So why don''t save us the trouble and be one of ours?" the middle man asked, while turning to nce at the other four on his sides. "I think we need someone to light the fire up in our dorm in the academy, right?"


    "We have ves for that," one of them replied in a harsh tone.


    "What about warming the air?"


    "We are in midsummer!"


    "Then cooling it?"


    "We have an ice witch with us."


    "Tsk," the middleman shook his head before extending his tongue outside his lips. It was such a long, thin, biforked tongue of a snake, not a man.


    "See? Even if I took you as a ve, I can''t find a suited ce for you," he then nced at the sky before opening his mouth, showing off his saw like two rows of sharp teeth, "what about being a ve to my ve?"


    "This will be funny, boss!" the fourughed and their bossughed with them. Lan stood in his ce with a trembling body. This wasn''t the first time to hear such remarks and insults, and usually he would end up firing back at whoever said them.


    And the result would be for him to be beaten.


    "Calm down, you have a test to focus on," he muttered to himself, trying not to act rash or impulsive here.


    Yet, the brief chat this arrogant youth just had with his followers attracted the attention of many; they became surrounded in a bid circle together!


    "Damn! Why can''t I take the test in peace?!" he shook his head as he noticed the mocking eyes mixed with sympathy.


    It was like everyone was pretty sure of his loss! Like his parents and kin!


    "I just want to pass to take the test," he said, not to the five rude youths, yet to everyone around.


    "To waste your time and fail? Forget about your time, it''s worthless anyway; what about our time? Should we let this Actimos loser waste it? C''mon, do I only one believe this?"


    The words of that rude youth went loud and everyone around heard him perfectly. That helped to attract more attention, while blocking the way off Lan to escape and take his test.


    "Then I will stayst and take the test after all of you," Lan conceded as he tried not to stir up trouble.


    "What? No way, you won''t take the test at all. I''ve decided boys, let him take the test and fail, and I will buy him as a ve in the arena."


    "But boss" one of his henchmen tried to make this youth let this idea down. "I have decided, let him take the test with us so we can bet on him and add him to our ves without wasting more time."


    "Then let him pass."


    This deep voice came from the crowd where a giant body appeared, passing through the lines with ease. His mere appearance caused enough stir among those present here, making them forget about the Actimos.


    "This is my lucky day, boys. See? A Bulltor is taking part in the test this year. This is my luckiest day ever!"


    Everyone nced with greed at the youth who stood there arrogantly like he owned the entire world. "What? Anyone wants to fight me on him?" he pointed to the Bulltor standing on the side of the Actimos.


    "Take the loser, we will take the giant," another five appeared from the crowd with their tall, thin bodies and pale skin.


    "No, the giant belongs to the giants, we will take him!"


    Another five groups of giants appeared. They differed from the Bulltor youth who had double arms and a small hole in his chest.


    "The Bulltor is mine!" another group of five appeared. They had wolf heads and strong, big bodies.


    "No one is taking me anywhere! I will win the test and enter the academy!"


    The deep tone of the Bulltor youth fell and everyone nced at him strangely, before they allughed!


    "A Bulltor is dreaming of entering the academy as a disciple!"


    "Two delusional youths, yet that Bulltor, tsk."


    "Come and serve mydy and mydy won''t mistreat you!"


    Many voices came in, forming a noise that attracted more to this spot! The Bulltor was a race known for their short temper, despite that no one here was afraid of him.


    They all knew the rules; no fighting in the test area or the instigator would be expelled! The academy would ask no further questions or make any exception!


    "Don''t, you know the rules," so when the Bulltor had his enough of their mockery and was about to move, one of those fighting among themselves to get him as a ve said in a warning tone.


    And his words stopped the Bulltor in his tracks!


    "What rules?" Suddenly this voice came from the rear where three humans walked to enter the empty zone. Everyone nced at the fragile skinny human who just spoke up with such confidence and another wave ofughter erupted.


    "You" the Bulltor nced at Jim with the big blue eyes of his, "you better stay away from this, human."

 Chapter 21: Forming A Team for the Test

    Chapter 21: Forming A Team for the Test


    Jim noticed the hostility in this giant''s tone. In fact he didn''te here for him, as opposite to everyone here he came for the Actimos.


    The old man''s advice seemed vague until he heard the words of those standing around here. He didn''t know what difference this slightly stronger looking youth than him would make, yet he trusted his old man''s advice.


    "This is going to be interesting," one of those eyeing the Bulltor sneered, "a human ising to aid a Bulltor? That''s a joke!"


    Jim nced at the rude pale skin youth with two long sharp teeth and said nothing. He thought he was referring to the difference in physique between the two. And he had to admit to himself this pale skinned youth had a point here.


    "Don''t you wee a helping hand?" Jim asked, not addressing the Bulltor yet the Actimos.


    "Are you on stuff or something?" Lan asked him, with a shocked expression over his face. "Humans can''t even help themselves! Can''t you see? Even the Bulltor has no chance in entering the academy!"


    Jim had the urge to argue with Lan, yet he didn''t. He wasn''t here to create enmity with him; he wanted to make friendship.


    "Humans managed to enter the academy before, right?" he replied, using the scattered info he heard about the Actimos bad history with the admission test.


    "This" and his answer just silenced Lan.


    "That''s great! Three losers are grouping together," the earliest one to harass Lan spoke up, while his eyes shone when he noticed the two beauties standing behind Jim.


    "Hey human, if you want my help to pass the test and be an outer disciple of the academy just give up those two sexy girls to me."


    Jim nced at him without saying a word. He didn''t know how strong those youths were, yet he was confident he wasn''t inferior to them.


    But he wasn''t here to create enmity with anyone. He returned to focus on his target, Lan, as he asked:


    "What say you, work together?"


    The words of Jim were met with strange looks from Lan. "C''mon, don''t tell me you are serious!"


    "I''m, what''s wrong in teaming up?" Jim asked as he understood some of the test rules now.


    The admission test was divided into two parts, the first self assessment part. This part was where he would be assessed by a talent stone. As for the second part, he needed to fight another group of contestants, with a maximum number of five.


    So, he now had two in his team, the two girls, and adding the Actimos would be perfect.


    "You ask why?! Because it''s impossible for me to pass the first test!" At this moment Lan was honest and said what he believed, what everyone believed.


    "Just let it go, human. You are better off with yourself then," the Bulltor said, in a tone that seemed quite harsh and aggressive.


    "You can''t pass the test?" Jim was speechless by Lan''s sincere words. Yet he felt admiration for him, at least he wasing here to try out his luck.


    "I will fail, no Actimos has ever passed a test before. Then I can choose a master to serve, degrading a rank from my master. This is the only path an Actimos would have to enter the academy," Lan sighed as he bitterly added, "yet no one would ept an Actimos for many generations."


    The look on Jin''s face was priceless! "Just believe it human; unlike me who everyone wants to acquire, he is someone no one is interested in adding to his team."


    "But I will ept him," Jim warmly replied, with a wide smile over his face, "I want you to be on my team."


    "A- Are you sure?" Lan stuttered while his voice paled in front of the wave ofughter that erupted from everywhere.


    Jim was used to being mocked and treated badly, so he didn''t mind this reaction. All he cared about was to gain Lan''s consent, then he would have aplished what the old man''s asked him to do!


    "Sure, I''m dead serious."


    The simply yet decisive answer of Jim silenced everyone for a brief moment before a louder wave ofughter erupted again.


    "See? A human is asking an Actimos to join his team!"


    "Pathetic! Two losers teaming together!"


    "Hey, why don''t take the Bulltor with you? This way the one defeating this pathetic team will have a Bulltor, two sexy girls, and two losers."


    More and more mocking words started to rain over Jim''s ears, yet he wasn''t fazed. He calmly nced at the shocked expression of Lan.


    "Don''t put your expectations high," one of the wolf headed youths said, "humans usually end up being in the outer academy, so your ce will only and still be a servant!"


    "A servant is better than nothing!" Lan retorted back, restoring his old fiery nature back, instigating that wolf headed youth anger.


    "You dare to talk back to me?" the youth said while his body muscles bulged a little, "watch your tongue boy!"


    "Or what?" Lan wasn''t fazed with the wolf youth threat, "you can''t do anything to me right here!" he added with much confidence.


    "Sure, yet the arena still existed and death isn''t a rare urrence inside."


    The words of the youth were met with Lan''s silence. "Let''s go to the test then," Jim said, trying to escape the close eyes of everyone and the impulsive nature of Lan.


    He approved what Lan just said, yet he didn''t want to be enemies with those here. After all he wasn''t sure how Lan would be a help to him!


    He had yet to figure that mystery first.


    "Yeah, go and run with your pathetic human. You are all losers, everyone on your side is a loser!"


    The wolf youth insulted even the Bulltor who was much enraged that Lan. "Really? Then I wish to meet you in the arena," the Bulltor said.


    "On what team? This team of losers? Just be smart and select another team."


    The Bulltor didn''t speak as he moved to stand beside Jim. "This is my team now," he dered and everyone just took a cold breath.


    It was known that Bulltors weren''t epted in the academy as official disciples. This unwritten rule was known to everyone. So no one dared before to take them directly in their arena team, or else the organizers would match the team with the strongest team out there.


    Being a ve was the only path avable to Bulltors and to those greedy enough to gain their help.


    This included teams of the prestigious ns, like the giants and the fox n.


    "Human boy, a word of advice," the youth with biforked tongue spoke up, "leave the Bulltor alone, or else you are doomed."


    Jim didn''t like the tone of threat hiding inside the youth''s words. "It''s my team and I''m it''s leader. I say I wee you, and let''s see who would dare to stand against us!" Jim dered, addressing his words not to the Bulltor but to everyone around!


    He didn''t know the rules, yet he spected them. He came here not an obedient child of the dragons; he despised them!


    So he wasn''t interested in any threat. As long as he would gain his hands on the Actimos, nothing else mattered! And now he had another giant joining his team, why would he reject the help then?


    "Thanks," the Bulltor sincerely replied, "I''m Deno, and I swear not to betray you ever."


    The honest words from Deno touched Jim''s heart. "I''m Jim, nice to meet you," he replied, not promising anything back.


    "And I''m Lan," Lan said, before adding, "let''s aim to enter the academy together."


    His words were met with a wave of mockery, yet the five moved, heading away from here.


    As they walked through the crowd, everyone stepped aside to make a way for them with eyes full of mockery, and few held sympathy.


    When they left the masses, Jim didn''t hurry towards the test zone as the four behind him thought. He had yet to figure out what made Lan special! Plus he had to wait for Siera toe.

 Chapter 22: The Only Path to Avoid the Heat

    Chapter 22: The Only Path to Avoid the Heat


    "What? You epted me without knowing my abilities?!!" Lan wasn''t the only one shocked, as others thought he knew what Lan was able to do.


    It was obvious, especially to the two girls, that Jim knew what Lan was capable of. Or else why take the trouble to invite him over and face everyone back there?


    "I came from a world with no knowledge at all regarding the rest of the universe. So Ick a lot of info," Jim replied, trying to give them an excuse to clear their doubts.


    He was truly unaware of the ability Lan had, and he had to know!


    "Sigh, you really are something," Lan just shook his head before adding, "Actimos race can absorb the energy of the world, channeling and refining these energy before releasing it out in a form of usable energy others can use but not them," he exined before pointing to himself, "I have a dual ability, not just one! The first ability is to create stones, and the second is to create thunder."


    Jim suddenly had his eyes lit up! He now understood why his old man advised him to look for an Actimos. "His first ability is sh*t, yet the second one," he shook his head before Lan added, thinking wrongly Jim was disappointed in his ability:


    "Deno has a great physique. With my stone ability lent to him, I''m sure he would be a monster! No one would be able to touch us!"


    He tried to magnify his ability, and Deno nodded agreeing with his words. "My body is unique, covered up in skin harder than steel and made up of muscles stronger than mountains. With Lan''s help I''m pretty sure I can defend pretty much anything."


    Jim understood the two had read his feelings wrong. "I want your second ability to be lent to me," he simply said without exining.


    Yet the two girls standing silently behind him realize what he was after, which gave them a scare! "What about you?" Lan asked, addressing Ashley.


    "I can use swords pretty much like my arms," she simply replied, with a lower tone and humble attitude.


    "Don''t mind her, her sword is really strong," Jenny said before adding, "as for me I''m a fire witch."


    "So we are going to need a source of fire then," Lan said, as he understood what a fire witch meant.


    "Sure, isn''t it allowed?"


    "Each contestant is allowed to select one aiding equipment or materials from the store of the arena," he said before adding, "I will ask for a lightning ore, so I can suck pure lightning and enhance my abilities for Jim," he added, as he trusted Jim knew what he was doing.


    "I would ask for a full body armor," Deno said, pointing to his chest with that hole.


    "What''s this hole?" Jim asked, as he didn''t know what he should select from the arena''s store.


    "This" the face of Deno changed. "It''s a mark left by what happened to the fairies a long time ago," he vaguely answered, and the look Jim got from Lan made him refrain from asking more.


    He knew he would know moreter, either from Deno or from Lan. "What will you ask for?" Lan suddenly asked.


    "A pair of swords of course," Jim replied, and Ashley nodded agreeing with his choice.


    "You use swords too?" Deno said, trying to forget about the painful hole in his chest.


    "Hehehe, he is strong," Jenny replied while adding, "I bet you two will be amazed with what our skinny weak looking master can do."


    The two nced at her before they believed she was exaggerating. "We need a leader, I believe you will do fine," Lan said, trying to change the topic.


    "That''s fine for me," Jim epted as he was the one creating the team after all.


    "Then I will be the supportive one," Lan spoke, acting like the leader, "Deno will be our defensive man. You three you shall be our tip of the spear," he hesitated as he still didn''t know what ability Jim had!


    "That will do," Jim said, before taking back the leadership aura from Lan, "you will follow my orders in the fight. If I asked you to retreat, you will," he stressed over this point, while the two girls knew what he was talking about.


    His power was immense, yet uncontroble! He might end up hurting them while trying to hit his enemies.


    "We will, boss," Deno replied before turning to the test entrance, "we should move now. The more time we give them the more they would look for a stronger team for the arena match."


    "Are you this sure they don''t want you in?" Jenny asked, not understanding the mystery behind Deno yet.


    "Bulltors aren''t allowed to enter the academy, that''s an unwritten rule of thumb here. If a team took a Bulltor, then this team will face one of the strongest teams out there. This means fighting against those hailing from strong ns," Lan exined, while Deno just shook his head.


    "Don''t worry, our Jim here can crush anyone," Jenny confidently said, while adding, "will we be tested as well?"


    "Aren''t you his ves?" Lan asked, "he will be tested and you will be degraded one grade down," he exined, "receiving the same treatment like us."


    "That''s nice," she replied before adding with much enthusiasm, "let''s go then."


    "Tsk, so the rumors are really correct after all!" suddenly this voice came abruptly from behind, startling everyone.


    No one noticed Siera while approaching them. "A Bulltor? You really have a great appetite," she observed the giant standing on Jim''s side while thetter moved to wee her.


    "I thought you''d nevere," heughed, trying to cover up for his embarrassment.


    "I told you to wait," she said before returning to nce over the Bulltor and Actimos. "Taking these two with you will make you fail."


    "Is it prohibited in the academy rules to have a Bulltor in the academy?" Jim asked, trying to find a solution.


    "Frankly? It''s not! But the rulers of the academy and all the big ns agreed since ancient times to prohibit certain races from learning inside. Your Bulltor is one of them."


    The answer she gave him wasn''t what he expected. "So it''s not against the academy rules?" he asked, trying to confirm what he heard.


    "Yes, but it''s against the academy policy," she said, before stressing over this point, "if, and this is a gigantic if, you managed to enter the academy as a team, you will always be harassed and not having a single moment of peace."


    She paused before adding, "even Pol is now amassing his strongest team to face you off! If you seed in surviving here, you won''t be safe even inside the academy."


    The words she said meant a lot, and the heaviness inside them made the atmosphere tense. "Isn''t there any solution?" he asked, with a sigh.


    He didn''t want to live his life in fear, making enmity with everyone!


    "There is one," she suddenly said, "he knows it," she gestured to Deno who sighed.


    "I think I just wanted to be a disciple," he felt bitter, yet Siera said without giving him a chance to refuse:


    "Serving a good master that sees you as equal is worth the shot, right?"


    "Wait a minute," Jim said, "do you mean he will be my servant?"


    "As a start, this Actimos here won''t make it. The first test is an ability test, and his ability the academy doesn''t acknowledge him. So he will end up being your ve, so why not add one more?" she said, trying to exin the inevitable.


    "But" Jim wasn''t that eptable to this way things would end. He turned to nce at the two new friends. They were new, yet the circumstances and the injustice they lived through he was perfectly rted to.


    He wanted to help them, as if he was helping himself.


    "This is the safest route for you," she said, before ncing over Deno who sighed.


    "The foxdy is correct, this is for the best of all," he said, before adding, "I just hope you can teach me some of the stuff you will learn inside the academy."


    "Some?!" Jim went silent for a moment, before simply nodded. He intended to teach the four of them everything he would learn.


    "That''s great," she pped her hands, "I will go and spread the news. Despite this will bring some heat from other teams; at least those freaking monsters won''t bother you anymore."


    "Thanks," Jim honestly said, expressing his gratitude for her constant support.


    "No problem, after all you are worth the help, hehehe."


    She simply vanished while the five stood motionless in their ces. "So," Jim said, trying to change this depressing mood, "let''s aim to make the biggest score and make me reach a higher ce than outer disciple."

 Chapter 23: A Weird Rod

    Chapter 23: A Weird Rod


    Everyone nced at her position even after she vanished.


    "She is strong," Lan said, expressing what others were feeling right now.


    "Alright," Jenny said, as this wasn''t the first time for her to meet with Siera, "let''s go to the test then."


    She was the only one here so excited about the test. Even Jim felt bad when he was heading to the test zone.


    Last time he was tested he was branded and condemned to be killed. Trying to pass the same experience again made his old memories rise to the surface again.


    "Sigh," he sighed, shook his head trying to clear his mind from any distracting thoughts. He didn''t know what the test was all about, yet he was trying to prepare himself for it.


    "Don''t worry, everything will be alright," Ashley said, as she noticed his anxiety.


    "I just hope so," he simply replied, honestly wishing himself good luck.


    "Humans are weak, and they arrogantly im some worlds for themselves, humph what a daring species!


    Do you know why you are weak? you don''t depend on your bodies, your innate strengths; but use external aiders, foreign defiled objects called gears. Does a lion need a weapon or a gear to tear the whole forest apart?


    Does a dragon need some tools to help him reign supreme on the skies? Does the ancient Bulltor need a sword to conquer thends? Or does a kraken need a set of full body armors and some cheap tricks to spread his utter rule over the waters?


    Did the fairies need anything to conquer them all and hold the throne of these worlds to them?


    Humans are weak, you are pathetic, and you are the sole reason the fairies fell from the top of the skies to be buried under the dirt of the grounds.


    Do you know what happened to the fairies? Such a long and ancient race that went on extinction because of your kin, how pathetic of you and how foolish of them!


    Do you know how many races out there suffered because of you? Name them, Bulltors, Tactims, and even the weak Actimos nowadays!


    Humans are only ves, created to be weak, born to serve the mighty races around them. You should be grateful we even picked you, and don''t expect anything more from me unless you prove this belief of mine is wrong, and you have the right to be here!"


    Jim stood silently hearing all these rude words without being able to speak back. When he passed through the area designated for the test, he met this rod, a strange ck and thick short rod that was suspended in the air and could speak!


    When he passed through the masters standing outside, they told him to just listen and don''t speak back. They also told him the test will be conducted by the talent ore, and he never expected this ore to be this rod.


    "Come and hold me, I don''t have the full day to waste on such a scum like you."


    Again another insult, and the blood in his veins kept boiling. He thought bying here he would say goodbye to the bad treatment he always received.


    "Never thought I would jump from being the only one branded to this the entire race of mine is branded! Wow! Just wow!" he said to himself while stepping forward and picking the rod in one hand.


    "Both hands, you idiot!"


    He swallowed the insult with his bitter saliva and waited while holding the rod with both hands.


    Then the rod started to turn into a hot piece of iron, not a rod made out of cold wood!


    He endured the pain and said nothing even a scream. He didn''t let his pain tarnish his already instigated ego. The temperature of the rod kept rising for minutes, before its noisy sound came again.


    "Alright, you are good to handle the stress, now let''s see what real talent you have."


    The next thing Jim felt was that his body didn''t follow his orders anymore! He couldn''t feel anything of it, as if his body was taken away.


    He resisted the urge to shout and scream, and if he tried he would fail to do that. Surprisingly he wasn''t afraid, as if all the worries in the world were instantly gone at this moment.


    "This feeling" he said to himself, "I can''t help but want it all the time!"


    His thoughts were read by the rod which just sneered back and returned to scan him. The rod kept rising in temperature but he didn''t feel any pain at all.


    Minutes passed while silence prevailed on the atmosphere. He waited before entering here for ten minutes, knowing the one before him had been there for ten more.


    So, taking this time seemed quite eptable and expected to him. He waited, patiently without any worry. And luckily he didn''t think of his old man at all!


    He kept this strange state for almost fifteen minutes, and when he regained his freedom once more, the rod broke free from his hand.


    "Strange indeed strange" and the rod kept repeating these words like being possessed.


    "Is the test results fine?" and this was the first time Jim spoke.


    "You" the rod nced at him without continuing the words it wanted to say. "How did you gain such strength? This unique power? Huh?" it asked, like interrogating him.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about," and ying dumb was the perfect counter to this interrogation.


    "You don''t know?"


    "Yes sir."


    "Don''t sir me," the rod seemed quite annoyed, "for the first time in the academy''s history tsk," it vibrated in the air like it was trying to shake some dust particles off. "Have I gone old?" it asked before hurrying to return to Jim''s grip; startling him.


    "I will conduct the test again," and with these simple words the rod took control over his body once more.


    He didn''t have any objection; after all this feeling was priceless for him. He had such rity to even think everything would be alright, no matter what!


    "Weird, you are really strange!" the rod freed itself again and kept mumbling these words. "Yet it''s confirmed, you have one of the special powers. Congrattions kiddo, you can now join the inner disciple circle of the academy."


    Jim couldn''t believe these words, and before he got totally excited about it, the rod added, "yet you need to prove yourself at the arena. I heard you caused quite a ruckus already, and your opponent is very strong; the giant n sent one of their top warriors to meet you."


    "What?!" and the joy he just felt evaporated in thin air, "but I didn''t add the Bulltor in my team," he defended.


    "Yet you took him as a ve, and it seems to annoy those giants," the rod said before adding, "don''t worry, even if defeated on their hands you will have your rank demoted one grade only. You won''t be a ve. Now go."


    The rod waved towards one direction and Jim sighed helplessly before moving towards the other opening in thisrge area lined with linen mattresses.


    What met him was a long corridor where it ended into a giant opening space, lined with many seats that were already full. In the middle of this ce, he found five teams fighting fervently with each other, while one team already lost two of their members; one heavily injured and the other seemed to be dead.

 Chapter 24: I Challenge You!

    Chapter 24: I Challenge You!


    "So this is the arena," he muttered to himself while watching the ongoing fight. As he stood there for minutes, no one came to ask him what he was doing.


    "How was the test?" Jenny''s voice came from behind startling him for a moment, distracting him from his watch.


    "I was tested to join the inner disciple circle," he simply said without turning to nce at the members of his team.


    If he did, he would see shock over their faces. "Are you really tested to be an inner disciple?" Deno asked, while seeing this result as a great result.


    "Don''t celebrate too soon, our next opponent will be an elite team from the giant n."


    "Giant n?" Lan seemed scared, "we are doomed!" and if he had the strength to scream in panic, he would have done that already.


    "Like that giant Pol?" Ashley asked.


    "Yeah, like him."


    "But" Jenny seemed not to understand what was going on.


    "I know, even making Deno my ve didn''t help to solve the problem."


    "What about Siera? Didn''t she say she will spread the word?" Ashley said, trying to find hope, herst hope in that small fox girl.


    "She did," Jim said, "the rod even knew about this, but this seemed not to change the mindset of Pol."


    "Rod? What rod?" Deno asked.


    "Sigh, it''s a long story. Leave it forter," Jim said, feeling strange about what he felt when holding the rod. "Let''s watch this fight, and learn. After all, we will be in their shoes soon."


    His words silenced everyone as they did as he asked. The fight was bloody, and when it ended, two more were killed and three were heavily injured.


    "Those wolves they are strong," Jenny said.


    "Yet their shadow opponents seem to be much stronger," Jim said, "they managed to gain their victory after all."


    His eyes shone as he noticed something. As the fight was approaching its end, the two remaining shade n youths managed to beat the three wolf n fighters, and they gained all of the living wolves as ves in the end.


    "So the winner not only gained recognition, but he will gain strength as well," he muttered to himself, realizing why many teams were interested in fighting his team.


    "Anyone else?" and one of the two surviving shade n youths shouted with pride, "anyone else?" he asked again before adding, "anyone else?" and as no one spoke up, he nced over one direction before adding, "no one is challenging me, so I"


    "I challenge you!"


    Just before he could finish his words, Jim shouted as he stepped directly into the arena. His presence, his shout, his team managed to cause a stir in the ce.


    "And who are you?" one of the masters sitting on the side asked in a loud and arrogant tone.


    "I''m Jim, an inner disciple of the academy," and Jim replied with a loud tone and much pride in his words.


    "Not yet," and the man replied with a sneer, "you are still needed to prove yourself here," he said before standing up, and ncing at the crowd.


    Strangely this man, who seemed more like humans, wearing this long cape, managed to silence everyone with just a single nce.


    "The rules are simple, you need to survive five challenges. You are given one defeat, and nothing will happen to you or your team. Having two defeats will make one of your team be chosen as a ve. Having three defeats will take one more as a ve. Having four defeats will make your entire team turn into ves and you will be demoted one grade."


    He then paused before smiling widely, showing his bright white teeth. "It''s your luck to be highly valued by our esteemed rod. Even with the defeat in all challenges you will still be a disciple in the academy, but they" he stopped there and nced over the other members of Jim''s team.


    And everyone got his message out clear.


    "You are given one chance to select something from that corner," he pointed towards one direction whererge boxesid there opened. "You can use all your weapons and stuff, and in the arena there are no rules; even death is allowed."


    The crowd cheered like this was some famous saying they used to hear and be amused by. "You can concede before the start of the fight, you can concede even in the middle of the fight. If any of you were about to lose their lives and didn''t want to, they can concede but this will be considered you turning to the other team''s ves. Only the leader of the team can ask to concede."


    He stated the rules simply like saying a good morning greeting. Jim nodded, expressing his understanding of these rules. "Five members are only allowed topete, even if you gained more each round; only five can participate. Go, select what you need. You have five minutes."


    He then turned to the other team before adding, "go and prepare, your opponent" and he paused before taking a quick nce over Deno, "is strong."


    He just said this friendly reminder, which wasn''t that needed; everyone here knew how Bulltors were strong.


    Yet they all, even that master, missed the point here. Jim was tested to be an inner disciple, meaning he was pretty strong too!


    "What should we choose?" Ashley asked while ncing over this long myriad of weapons and stuff inside the boxes.


    "Bring me two swords, and get two for you," Jim casually said, as he didn''t know the best weapon for him to use yet.


    Deno started looking for his desired armor, as for Lan he searched for a lightning ore as he desired. Jenny held a fiery ore that kept sparkling with fire all the time.


    During that, Jim nced over the other team. He felt greatly lucky to speak up at the appropriate time and challenge this one. This way he had one win in his pocket.


    "Still five wins, that''s hard," he muttered, "we have one allowance for defeat. I should keep that for the giants. So, no defeat in the other four matches."


    He was thinking about their options here, while watching the selection the shade n team did. They chose three shade youths, one wolf youth and one slim and seemingly weak one.


    "Who is that?" Jim pointed his sword to the slim one, feeling much annoyed by it.


    "It''s a member of the Leivy race, they are famous for their agility and poisonous attacks through their nails and teeth," Deno said while wearing a giant armor on his body. "We need to watch out for this one, he is really sneaky and hard to deal with."


    "Sure," Jim agreed, as Deno''s words matched what his gut feeling screamed about that youth. "This team is strong," he added.


    "Yes, he isn''t the weak team you think it is. I believe it''s one of the best teams out there," Lan said, while standing beside Jim. "See those three? They belong to the shade n, famous for creating fog around them and merging their bodies with. Hard to kill actually."


    "Yeah, I saw their trick before," he nodded, before thinking out loud, "I think we should refrain from using all our strength on them."


    "Really?" Jenny came with her fiery ore in hand, "they seem quite strong for us to handle."


    "Not that impossible to beat," Jim said before adding, "the fog they use isn''t that thick orrge. With a strong force it will break," he then turned to nce over Deno as he added, "the wolves had to use three of them at a time to break the fog, but we can do it with one."


    "Leave it to me," Deno confidently said, "anything needs strength and defense I''ll dly ept."


    "Good," Jim nodded, before ncing over Jenny, "your task is to handle that wolf with Ashley aiding you from the side."


    "What about me?" Lan asked.


    "You will augment Deno''s strength for now," Jim simply said.


    "And that Leivy one? Are you going to handle him alone?" Lan was speechless for a moment when he noticed the confident smile over Jim''s face.


    "Leave it to me."


    "But"


    "I said I will handle him. You just make sure to make everyone heavily injured and force them to concede and be our ves," Jim said while showing an evil smile.


    "That''s the infamous human greed," and Deno said while shaking his head.


    "Call it as you like," Jenny came whileughing, "our Jim is strong and he is an inner disciple now, right? It''s fair to gain more ves."


    "Hahaha, you are absolutely correct," Lanughed, "let''s name this test the ve hunt operation."


    They allughed and this happy and carefree atmosphere was noticed by everyone.

 Chapter 25: The First Fight

    Chapter 25: The First Fight


    They were rained with mocked nces, except for Deno, who had more greedy and envious looks enough to crush a mountain. The team didn''t wait there for long, as the master who wore a cap shouted after couple of minutes:


    "Both teams head to the arena and let the dragons be on your side."


    Jim inwardly cursed and didn''t repeat the blessing everyone else here repeated, even his fellow team members.


    ''Dragons? They are sh*t to me,'' he cursed inwardly while heading with the rest to the arena.


    And the other team just got himself there as well. They looked vignt toward Jim and his team; they knew nothing at all about them.


    For everyone, they weren''t that much to care about; yet that Bulltor caused them enough trouble already. The shade n members knew they couldn''t beat him alone, and so they nned to go all on him, eliminating him early on.


    "Start!" and the master just gave the word.


    "Lan," Jim shouted and Lan moved at once to touch Deno''s back with both hands. He already stored the lightning ore in a small bag around his waist. The moment he touched Deno, a brownish aura appeared on his body.


    And his muscles bulged slightly while the air he gave seemed quite scary.


    "I will go first," Deno moved towards the five aiming at him. ''They are underestimating us,'' Jim muttered while noticing the tactic of the other team, ''you have made a grave mistake from the beginning.''


    "Jenny, movest, Ashley, go ahead," he shouted and Ashley waved her two new swords and ran towards the front.


    Her goal was to intercept that wolf n member. Her speed wasn''t on par with the other team, yet she managed to reach just in time to stop the wolf from hitting Deno.


    "What? A pathetic human girl is trying to stop me? Tsk," the youth sneered before he waved his ws simply towards her head. He wanted to grab that head and lift her in the air before throwing off the arena!


    Yet what his ws met were nothing but the air!


    "Watch, she is really sneaky," Jennyughed before adding, "she seems nice and kind, yet in the fight she turns into such a maniac."


    Jim waited to see what she meant before saying: "Get ready to help her the moment she hits him."


    "On it."


    Jenny moved towards the front, in slow and steady steps, while Ashley ducked to evade the strong ws.


    "Trying to evade? Let''s see how good you will dance then," the wolf youth said.


    "It''s you who is going to dance for me," and the next moment she ducked more to the ground, bending her waist and stabilizing herself on one leg before turning around in full circle.


    "Boom!"


    And the other leg moved fast like a whip to hit the wolf youth in the head; sending him flying in the air for a couple of meters; losing his bnce.


    And she wasn''t finished, she was just getting started.


    She bent her knees to the limit before releasing her body high in the air. Her body was much lighter and more agile than the wolf youth. So she reached midair just above him.


    "Let me see your funny smile again," she sneered before her two swords started to shine strangely in bright light as she shed them with all the speed she could muster over the wolf''s body.


    And her swords kept hacking the strong skin of the youth, creating many wounds at him. At first all her sword attacks were deflected, then shallow wounds appeared, before some deep wounds started to emerge here and there.


    "Tsk, can''t you keep some fun for me?" Jennyughed while watching the swords of her friend turning into a series of afterimages. She knew Ashley had used one of her strongest attacks, yet Jenny didn''t know if she could finish him or not.


    So, she held the fiery ore and started controlling the fire wispsing out of it.


    On the other side, Deno was facing the four youths alone. Lan stood far on the back watching the three shade n youths emerge their dark fog and blend into it.


    As for the Leivy race youth, he just stepped back waiting for his right moment.


    "Are we going to let him fight them all alone?" Lan turned to Jim while feeling worried over Deno.


    "Nah," Jim replied, "I will go and help him now," he muttered while moving forward, in a slow calm pace.


    "Can''t you go any faster?" Lan urged.


    And Jim just kept moving on his usual slow pace while watching the two fights up ahead.


    He was waiting to assess the two fights better, as Deno previously assumed to crush the three alone, and now he had Lan''s boost.


    So he might not be needing any help from him so soon.


    Just the two girls, he didn''t know how strong their attacks would be, or would they be enough to take that wolf youth down or would need his help.


    So he marched slowly while waiting for the first sh in the two fights to end to determine his target.


    Deno was feeling much confident about his odds. The three shade nsmen went into hiding behind the veil of their smoke, and he just had the perfect counter to them.


    He raised both hands in the air, clenched his fists hard and waited. The smoke kept drawing near him, while he kept his gaze upon it and the Leivy youth standing behind.


    He dreaded that youth the most!


    "Boom!"


    The moment the smoke was in reach, hended both hands fast while gritting his teeth. It was like he was dragging two heavy rocks, and the moment his hands touched the smoke; it exploded directly in a loud bang.


    The three youths hiding inside were sent flying, each in one direction. They seemed hurt, even one of them coughed blood beforending heavily on the ground and rolling for a couple of meters.


    And the three keptnding there motionless.


    One hit, only one hit from Deno had eliminated three of them directly like that.


    "Tsk, a Bulltor is really a headache," and that Leivy muttered before he started to move. Deno knew he had strong defense and rocking offense, yet in terms of speed he fell short than this Leivy youth.


    "Leave him to me," and just as the youth turned into afterimages, creating illusion shadows like three of him wasing at Deno, the voice of Jim rang in his ears. "Go and help the girls," he added before the two swords hit the Leivy youth''s two hands perfectly, stopping them inches away from Deno''s neck and waist!


    Deno had his armor covering almost his chest and back, yet it was short at the neck and waist. That was where the Leivy youth targeted, and that was where Jim stopped him.


    "Tsk, you have good legs," the youthmended before moving fast again, retreating a couple of meters away from the reach of Jim''s swords while watching him in vignce.


    He thought his toughest opponent would be the Bulltor, yet this weak human was just like him; feigning weakness!


    "Go now," Jim said as Deno started to be a liability to him. He couldn''t focus on protecting Deno and attacking the youth at the same time.


    "Be careful," Deno muttered before he went towards the wolf and the two girls.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" and the Leivy youth appeared in the next instant blocking the path of Deno.


    "Your opponent is me," yet Jim was faster and intercepted his two w-like hands with his two swords.


    Deno didn''t wait for a single moment there as he continued running towards the other direction with his fastest speed.


    "Annoying," the youth said before retreating again, "if you are so tired of living then I will dly apany you."

 Chapter 26: The Arena Fight - First Round - Part One

    Chapter 26: The Arena Fight - First Round - Part One


    Jim smiled and said nothing. For others, this youth would be quite the trouble, yet for him it was nothing.


    His mind had this peculiar ability; reading the steps of that youth and providing him with a clear path to follow.


    And the moment he decided to move out, his speed would be much faster than that youth. "I won''t kill or heavily hurt you."


    "Generous of someone weak to defend himself," the youth was annoyed by Jim''s words and the next moment he went ahead to hit him. Yet Jim''s two swords were much more annoying than his tongue; blocking the two hands of the youth once more.


    "Lucky again?" the youth muttered before retreating once more.


    "I will prove to you that luck has nothing to do with this," Jim said before he moved.


    The moment he went towards the youth, his body vanished from his ce to appear directly above the youth''s head. His two swords aimed towards the head and nk, making the youth feel the pressure.


    But the youth blocked the swords with his hands before retreating once more.


    "Running already? C''mon we just started," Jimughed before jumping again to the front, and the youth blocked once more.


    The fight between the two turned around, and the youth was obviously on the back foot in front of Jim''s fast and strong attacks.


    As for Deno, he went towards the two girls to aid them. Just as Ashley finished her barrage of attacks, falling with her two swords, stabbing the wolf belly, the wolf grabbed the swords and threw them with their owner away.


    "These pathetic attacks can''t take me down," the wolf youth shouted in anger and pain.


    "Try this then," Jenny had arrived and started to control the fire into a long whip. Once she spoke up, the body of the wolf youth who was trying to stand was surrounded by the whip. Fire ignited in his body the next moment.


    "Weak fire! This can''t hurt a fly!" the youth sneered yet Jenny wasn''t finished yet and again she startedshing his body with her whip while Ashley came back to join her.


    And the wolf started to be pressured and pushed back by thebined attacks of the two girls.


    Yet he wasn''t in any deadly situation, as he calmly nced at the two while trying his best to evade and defend, waiting for the right moment to counter.


    And this moment came soon when Ashley made a mistake and attacked one of his ws.


    "Got you," heughed while grabbing the sword with one w then with the other he aimed to the neck of Ashley.


    "In your dreams!" Jenny shouted as she hit the free w with her whip, stalling it in ce.


    This pause gave Ashley the chance to break from his sp by letting the sword go. She sped the second sword by both hands while hitting the belly of the wolf with a strong blow.


    "Damn! You can hit like a girl," heughed despite feeling pain, "this is nothing to what I experienced back at the n."


    He threw the sword to the side while moving towards Ashley, aiming to get rid of her annoyance.


    Yet Ashley retreated, trying to create a space between herself and that angry wolf.


    "You forgot about me," Jennyughed from behind as this wolf youth had his back exposed entirely to her whip, and she wasn''t polite.


    Her whip keptshing the same spot over and over again until it managed to create a deep wound enough to gush blood out of it. The youth howled in pain yet he didn''t stop chasing Ashley around.


    He couldn''t fight the two at once, so he chose to get rid of the closest one before heading to the other.


    Ashley wasn''t that experienced like him. Despite being raised to be a fighter since she was twelve, she didn''t experience the brutal training that wolf had experienced.


    And she didn''t experience such life and death situations often!


    So as she was running away, she stumbled on a rock, falling with her sword being thrown off her hand.


    She became defenseless and she was exposed to the wrath of that wolf youth.


    "Got you," the youthughed while Jenny tried to use her ultimate move. "Go away now, fast," she shouted while she started to hold the fiery ore tightly with her hand, squeezing the fire out of it.


    "Don''t!"


    Just as she was about to go berserk, Deno''s voice came to stop her. She paused while the giant body of Deno shed by her, going after that wolf.


    This time the wolf couldn''t ignore the threating at him; it was the Bulltor! He couldn''t face that monster head on, or else his life would be the price.


    So he jumped over Ashley while grabbing her and taking her as a hostage!


    "Stop if you want her to live!" the wolf youth shouted while watching the Bulltor''s reaction.


    "Surrender and I will let you live," Deno wasn''t fazed by this empty threat. The team was now smashed apart; three heavily injured and the Leivy one was now cornered sessfully by Jim.


    This wolf youth couldn''t do anything to flip the oue of this battle. His only way to survive was to surrender, or else he would be killed even if he killed Ashley.


    And the wolf youth knew that already. Just he had a slim chance of hope that the Leivy youth would pull a trick and best Jim.


    So he didn''t concede or reply to Deno''s words, only retreating, slowly stalling for time.

 Chapter 27: The Arena Fight - First Round - Part Two

    Chapter 27: The Arena Fight - First Round - Part Two


    As for Jim, he kept pressing the Leivy boy with his speed and two swords. The youth kept retreating while Jim pressed over him, trying to make him make a mistake.


    Yet no matter how he tried, the youth kept defending excellently without leaving a window for his sword to fall.


    "Damn! Never thought a human could be this fast and persistent!" the youth shouted in anger. In the past minutes he kept retreating and defending; not able to attack even once.


    "Just give up already, three of your team is now on the ground motionless and the wolf is being cornered by my other mates," Jim tried to reason with the youth.


    "If I surrender to you I will be a ve, nothing in the eyes of everyone!"


    "I''m an inner academy disciple, you won''t lose much," Jim replied.


    "Given that you win four out of five here, this seems impossible."


    Jim was about to speak and convince the youth yet he felt a strange movementing at him from behind. His mind provided an instant guide and he just moved one of his swords to intercept one of the three shade youths.


    "You are really" the sword entered the belly of that youth while cutting his main organs in its path. The youth only said these words before he coughed blood and fell, dying in front of Jim''s eyes.


    This was the first time Jim saw something die, and it died on his hands!


    "Got you!" his enemy wasn''t that kind to let him reflect on this moment, as the youth used this rare chance and moved finally to vent all his frustration over Jim.


    "Go away!" Jim shouted, while his emotions raged. At this moment he wasn''t in the mood to think or be rational; his body was controlled by the sudden gush of his emotions.


    And with his shout and his two swords, he hit the Leivy youth directly in the face, creating two long scars over his face while sending him flying backwards with a shockwave created just from his shout!


    Jim didn''t realize what he did, he just felt bad and awful at the moment. He killed someone, and it was his first time doing that!


    The Leivy youth was sent flying backwards for ten meters before violently hitting the ground. Jim nced at him before moving, not towards the youth, but towards the two othersying on the ground.


    "Are you two feigning death as well?" he shouted, and his voice echoed in this ce while no other sound appeared.


    Around his body, a fire like aura erupted. It was semi-transparent silver light. All noticed that, all but him.


    "Surrender or die!" he was in a strange state right now where his logic was twisted. All he had in mind was to see if they would sumb to him or die under his swords in return for their refusal.


    The two were really subconscious, so when he reached them they couldn''t even open their eyes or hear his voice.


    "ying dead? As you wish," he said before inserting his swords into their chests, killing them!


    "Your turn," after killing these two, he turned to nce over the Leivy youth. At this moment, the youth was already injured, yet he didn''t think of fighting this monster.


    He never thought a human would turn out to be this scary! The moment Jim walked towards him he felt the eyes of death ring at him. His heart shuddered!


    "I sumb! I surrender! I''ll be your ve!" he didn''t risk his life as he hurried to say these words, hoping this insane human would hear them and ept his surrender.


    Jim paused, as his mind started to slowly regain rity and sanity. He nced over his two swords, covered with the blood of the shade youths.


    "I killed them," he muttered before ncing at the Leivy youth who was standing there shivering out of fear.


    The aura around him started to dim, yet it was still there. "Will you follow me?" Jim asked, while refraining from adding the word murderer to his sentence.


    He didn''t know what happened to him; these two youths seemed to be really unconscious. "Yes, yes I will," and the youth replied fast, fearing for the monster in front of him to grow restless.


    "Alright," Jim smiled, while pushing what just happened behind his back; just like the old days he had lived and experienced bitter treatment there. ''It seems it''s this world rule to be brutal and merciless,'' he said to himself before inwardly sighing, ''at least I''m not the one being stabbed by the de.''


    "Wee then," he said before ncing over thest remaining youth in the opposite team.


    The wolf was looking at what happened with widened eyes; his shock wasn''t anyway lesser than the Leivy''s youth. Yet he was in a much worse situation, holding this girl as hostage; a girl that seemed quite close to that human!


    "What will you do? Surrender and live, or do you want to die?" Jim walked slowly towards the wolf youth while the other retreated from fear. The four teammates of Jim nced at him in a new light; they never thought he could be this merciless.


    For the two girls, they knew he was strong. Jenny recalled the funny trick he pulled at her beforeing here. ''Damn it! He wasn''t joking back then!'' she said to herself before thanking her luck to choose wisely at that time.


    As for Deno and Lan, the two seemed quite speechless there. They never thought that a weak looking slim human could pull such a feat; killing three and making one Leivy n youth surrender willingly.


    "I I will surrender, don''t hurt me," and the wolf youth couldn''t find anyway other than surrendering to save his life.


    The Bulltor alone was enough to im his life, and now this monster hiding behind a weak human face wasing at him. If he was dumb or tired of living then he would refuse this offer.


    "Good," Jim said before pointing his sword towards Ashley, "release her then."


    "Oh, alright," the wolf youth said before releasing Ashley. "Sorry, we were justpeting," he tried to give good reason for his way of treating her, yet her ring nces made him worry.


    "The fight is over, your team wins this round," the capped master leisurely said while his eyes shone brightly as he nced at Jim; or more specific at his dying aura. "Is there a team ready to rival them for round two? You have five minutes to challenge," he shouted while a faint smile appeared on his face. ''Interesting,'' he said to himself.

 Chapter 28: A Team of a Prestigious Clan

    Chapter 28: A Team of a Prestigious n


    Jim went to the side with his team. This time they weren''t just five; two more just were added to the mix. He nced at the wolf n and the Leivy n youths before saying:


    "What''s your name?"


    "Pat," the Leivy youth said.


    "Gorden," the wolf n said.


    "Good," he then introduced the others to the two before saying, "We will act as one team from now on. Our line up will be determined based on the formation we have in our opponents."


    Gorden looked towards Deno in a strange way before saying: "Do you mean we might not start with the Bulltor?"


    "If the other team didn''t require him, then we won''t start with Deno," Jim said before turning to Lan as he added, "go and scout the other teaming our way."


    "Sure," and Lanplied as he moved away from the team, acting as their scout.


    "What abilities do you two have?" Jim then asked the most important question he had in mind.


    "As you saw, I can move fast and I usually use poison in my nails and teeth," Pat said before Gorden adding, "I can use strength to attack. My speed is slow, but my defense is good."


    "Nice," Jim said, "you will act as Deno''s substitute if needed."


    Gorden looked in a weird look again towards him before Jenny said: "Should we continue to hold back?"


    She seemed still annoyed by what happened in the arena. If she was allowed to act rampant from the start, her friend might not be threatened.


    Yet her words made the two newly added members to the team be speechless. "You were holding back?" Gorden asked with a weird look over his face.


    "Sure, don''t think this was our top strength," Jennyughed, "at least our man here hasn''t yet showed his true strength."


    She gestured to Jim, and the two new members thought she was exaggerating. At least for Pat, he knew how hard it was to deal with Jim. Just thinking this was just the tip of the iceberg annoyed him.


    "Big news," and in minutes Lan returned running with a distressed look over his face, "our next team will be one of the prestigious ns!"


    "What?!!" Deno, Gorden, and Pat shouted in the same breath while the two girls exchanged nervous looks between each other.


    "What team?" yet Jim was the most collected one among them.


    "Werewolves," Lan said, while ncing at Gorden shortly before adding, "they are the higher version of gorden here."


    Gorden wasn''t offended, on contrary he nodded as he said: "They are strong," with a strange look over his face.


    "Strong like how?" Jim asked, trying to analyze his opponents.


    "See there," Lan pointed to the entrance path leading from the test area. There were a group of seven entering the arena from there. They all had giant bodies with hair covering all of it.


    They were naked, wearing nothing at all except tight strange shorts. Their bodies were like a wolf that got gigantic, not less in size than Deno. Each had two strong arms, ending in seven sharp fingers with short and thick nails there.


    "They are strong," Ashley muttered while ncing at their bigger wolf heads and those long ears, "but they are seven!"


    "Yes, they have the right to challenge the entire team or just five on five," Lan exined, "and they just asked for the match to be a full out war!"


    "Shall we concede?" Pat asked, as this was the logic approach here.


    "No," yet Jim shook his head, "this is the scheme of that nasty Pol," he sniffed the scent of that awful giant here. He wanted to make sure Jim would lose twice at least.


    Pol knew Jim would choose to concede while facing his team, so he had to go all out and invite another team. Jim didn''t know what the premise was, but it seemed Pol had paid the reasonable price for these giant werewolves to appear here.


    "What are their traits?" he asked, totally ignoring the fact they were facing a teaming from a prestigious n.


    "Traits? We should concede man," Deno sighed before adding, "they are strong!"


    "How strong?" Jim didn''t lose hope or sumb to this dirty trick like them. "Just tell me," he demanded.


    "As a start, their skin is really thick," Gorden spoke, before adding, "they use many abilities, but considering their young age so I can specte they have only three at most; the w tornado, the jaw bite, and the most terrifying howl."


    "Tell me more," Jim said, "and do this fast and concise," he urged. There were only a couple of minutes left for the match to start, and their opponents had already stationed themselves in the arena.


    "The w tornado is an attack where they use both ws to create a wave of air attack aiming to a wide zone. Anyone got inside will be hit strong by this attack and sent flying backward with many wounds.


    The jaw bite is such a nasty ability where they suddenly stretch their necks, turning like snakes and bite their opponents in the neck, chest, or face. It''s a nasty attack, hard to predict and harder to intercept.


    The howl is a mighty sound wave attack that will render anyone hearing these howls stunned for a couple of moments. If they did that in the middle of the fight, many would fall!"


    "I heard the howl is a rare talent for a youth to have!" Deno said, while Lan added, "I also heard it requires special bloodline and training."


    "Yes," Gorden nodded, "but with their numbers, let''s assume one of them hailed from the main family in the n and mastered that OP ability."


    Before they went astray, Jim said: "I agree on Gorden assessment," he then nced over everyone as he thought for a moment where his brain gave him the suitable tactic for this battle. "Deno and Gorden will act as our distress team, not in the frontline."


    His first words startled everyone, before he added, "Lan will support Deno first. I and Pat will make these wolves dance first; we both will act as the tip of the spear," he then nced at Pat as he added, "you don''t need to attack, just move fast and try to take as many of them as possible away from the central ce."

 Chapter 29: Fighting the Second Battle - Part One

    Chapter 29: Fighting the Second Battle - Part One


    Pat didn''t know what to say so he just nodded. Like the rest here, he felt awful about this bad n. "After I and Pat took some away, the center will have only two to three; most likely the one with that nasty howl will be there," he nced at the seven werewolves before adding in cold tone:


    "Jenny, it''s time for you to use your strongest attack."


    "Really?" she shouted in surprise, before adding, "will that be enough? And that radius of the attack" she seemed hesitant yet he said:


    "Before you use the attack you shout, and everyone; I mean everyone of us must be one hundred meters radius away from you."


    He then turned to Gorden as he added, "when the sea of fire erupts, use the chance and aim for one or two of the central ones."


    Gorden didn''t get his meaning, but he nodded. "What about that howling kid?" he asked.


    "Deno will be waiting there for him," Jim said, before adding, "such a technique wille at a high price for sure. The moment he used this technique, Deno will aim for his life after the side effects subside."


    "Then" Pat paused, as the oue of this was obvious to him.


    "I know, so Ashley and Jenny after the fire attack, both will go to aid you," he turned to the two girls before adding, "I think this howl ability must have a certain radius."


    "Like my ability," Jennymented.


    "Yup, so make sure you stay on the edge," he then paused before adding, "the moment the howl assaulted Pat, move fast to help him until he recovers."


    "What about you?" Ashley asked, with much worry and distress.


    "Lan will move to me, staying at the edge all the time."


    Lan''s eyes shone brightly as he clenched on the lightning ore. "Is it lightning time?" he asked.


    "Yes, it seems we will need that," he said, before stressing, "if you found me unaffected by the howl don''te!"


    He gave Jim a nce before nodding. He didn''t understand his meaning, and Jim himself didn''t know if he could resist the howl or not.


    But Jim knew his powers were unique and strange, and he knew absolutely nothing yet about these powers.


    "All teams to the arena," the capped master said while observing Jim in particr. Thatst outburst of aura caught his attention; making him believe this team wouldn''t fall easily like others expected.


    After all their ace wasn''t the Bulltor, but that weak looking human!


    Jim and others entered the arena, while everyone cheered. They weren''t supporting them, yet they seemed to be interested in the about to ur challenge.


    It wasn''t an everyday urrence for a team to face a full out war; especially against such a strong and prestigious one.


    "Start," the capped master gave the signal, and everything started hot from the start.


    Deno and Gorden were at the forefront, acting to deceive everyone. Just as the start signal was given, the two of them moved fast to retreat, while Jim and Pat moved to the front.


    And this seemed quite odd!


    Yet their opponents didn''t care! The werewolves divided themselves into three teams, two in each team, and thest one had three.


    ''That howling talent is in the three werewolves team,'' Jim thought, and everyone on his team thought the same.


    "You will take the first team to the left," he said to the nearby Pat while Jim decreased his speed on intention. Pat moved out, and the next moment he started using his speed, creating three afterimages in front of the two werewolves.


    "Pathetic Leivy trick," one of them grinned while he used his w simply to hack one of the images while the other one attacked another image.


    Pat knew his role here wasn''t to attack, but to pull them away. so he retreated, evading the attacks and causing the two youths in front of him to go mad.


    "We will kill you first," one of them shouted while he and his friend moved after Pat.


    As for Jim, he went towards the second team while brandishing his swords. The two didn''t speak as they used their w tornado ability right from the start!


    "Acting tough early on," Jim smirked before his mind provided him a safe route to follow. He jumped with great agility evading the iing attacks, retreating a couple of meters to the right.


    And as he expected, the two followed suit!


    He moved to the distant right side of the arena, hunted by the attacksing from the two werewolves while Pat did the same on the opposite side.


    Just as the fight started, Lan lent Deno his stone boost before the two, with Gorden, cleared path in front of Jenny who held her fiery ore tightly in her hand, watching the iing three werewolves.


    "Howl!"


    Just as things went their way, the master youth seemed to sniff something fishy in their arrangement. So, he didn''t dy and used the trump card from the start; stunning everyone in their tracks!


    As Jim expected, this ability had a certain range, making Ashley and Jenny unaffected by it. The youth howled for three seconds before his body trembled, showing signs of weakness.


    And the two on his side started to block the path in front of him, while the three started to retreat.


    "He is recovering," Jim shouted, "don''t let him go away," he added.


    Jim was hit like others with the howl, yet when this happened, his aura was ignited once more and this time it was bright red in color; making him look like a human torch!

 Chapter 30: Fighting The Second Battle - Part Two

    Chapter 30: Fighting The Second Battle - Part Two


    As for Pat, he was lucky that the howl came when he was hunted by a w tornado ability of one werewolf, sending him flying away from the reach of the two.


    If he was stunned for three seconds in his ce, the two were able to catch up and kill him!


    Jim nced fast at the rapidly changing fights; Jenny pressed forward alone, while Deno and Gorden stayed far from her, yet they also followed.


    As for Ashley, she went to Pat to help him, while Lan moved to his side.


    The three wolves retreated as fast as they could, yet Jenny had already hunted them with all her might. She drained the fiery ore of a huge amount of fire wisps stored inside; making the fire around her body to be gathered in a very frightening way.


    She then raised both hands, and the next moment an explosion urred.


    Fire drew fast from her body outwards; crashing everything in its path.


    The two guarding werewolves stopped moving as they knew they couldn''t outrun the iing fire, while they used both ws to send two strong w tornados to stop the fire.


    Yet their attack was crushed under the raging fire. They managed to decrease its intensity by clear margin, but not enough to make it die down.


    "Burn," Jennyughed before rapidly retreating, creating a space for the two giants behind her to move.


    "Fighting with clear strategy, shifting it with each opponent; that''s good," the capped mastermended while observing the ongoing fight unfolding in front of his eyes. "Who is the one behind this? That human?" he muttered before adding, "if so then he is a gem."


    He wasn''t the only master sitting here watching. Even Pol watched from a special ce in the arena seats, feeling much impressed with his shifting techniques and tactics.


    "Tsk, this human is really annoying," he shook his head before standing from his ce. "This werewolf team is done for," he muttered before adding, "I have to find them a more frightening team then," and the next moment he vanished from his ce.


    "I think you will win this round," Siera muttered while sitting in another ce, "but that awful giant" she paused as her eyes caught Pol''s actions. "He won''t be settled with this, sigh."


    The fight escted when Deno and Gorden reached two burning werewolves and simply held them high by their strong arms and mmed them hard on the ground; evoking a strong booming sound.


    "Howl!"


    The youth in the front didn''t dy to use his howl once more, making his body tremble for the second time. Using the howl in such a short time twice had an obvious effect on his body; yet he tried to stop the two giants and retreat far from them  escaping with his life intact!


    Pat was dancing with the two werewolves, instigating their rage more with his rapid speed and swift moves. The two tried many times to hit him; yet they failed!


    When Jenny and Ashley joined from behind, the two werewolves were cornered! This was the first time for them to be cornered in the arena, causing them to feel more enraged.


    This sudden shift in events made the weak werewolf youth hesitant to go that side; so he went to the opposite one; aiming for the two intact and free werewolves attacking Jim.


    For him, the two werewolves weren''t in bad shape, and their opponent was weak human and useless Actimos.


    Yet he was chasedter by the two giants, Deno and Gorden, trying to catch up with him from behind.


    Jim nced at the iing youth and smirked. He already read his mind. "Time for me to make a surprise," heughed before heading directly towards the about to die fire remaining from Jenny''s attack.


    Jenny and Ashley joined hands together to aid Pat, and the three managed to press hard on the two youths. One of them suddenly used his neck, extending it to sh with the nearby Ashley.


    Just as he was about to bite her neck and kill her; Pat interfered. For the first time in this fight, he used his ws and hit the youth''s body with his high speed, leaving five deep marks on his body with poison.


    And his poison was stinging!


    "Roar!"


    The youth roared out in pain, while his friend tried to interfere yet he was stopped in track by Jenny''s fiery whip that held his arms and prevented him from sending a w tornado attack.


    The next thing happened was for Ashley and Pat to team up together, acting in unison to hack the agonized youth with their swords and ws; finally killing him.


    The killing hit came from Pat who used his teeth to bite hard on the neck of that youth, ripping a big chunk of it and spit it in the ground while blood covered his mouth and clothes.


    "Your turn," he coldly said to the remaining werewolf before Ashley shouted: "Surrender and live."


    Yet her words didn''t evoke any response inside that youth. He tried to attack Pat with his ws, yet again Jenny interfered with her fiery whip, while Ashley used her swords to cut one arm off, then Pat finished him using his stinging ws first, then biting off his neck.


    Four were down, and three remained!


    Jim ran fast to the dying fire while the three living youths followed, with Deno and Gorden hot on their tails. The fire lost most of its intensity, so no one was afraid of it anymore.


    For the audience, for the masters, and for the three werewolves; Jim was running towards the direction of his other teammates to join hands together.


    None expected Jim was running to the fire for the fire!


    The moment he reached the fire, his body started to absorb it. At first nothing obvious happened, except for his body to be engulfed in mes. Everyone thought he was just weak enough to handle fire.


    "What is this?" the capped master remarked when he watched, with others, what was happening to Jim.


    Fire started to move towards him and formyer uponyer. He seemed quite bizarre at this moment, yet the three youthsing fast from behind didn''t stop for a moment.


    "Let''s see how you can handle my spell," he smirked as he turned around himself, stood in ce motionless while holding one sword with both hands as he used his spell.


    Like before, the sword felt suddenly heavy the moment it got connected withyers of fire. This scene wasn''t noticed except by the rare masters and those hailing from prestigious ns and had some powers.


    Yet the three youthsing at Jim didn''t know what was going on!


    They kept approaching and he kept there motionless. He waited, patiently resisting the mighty gravity force applied to his sword.


    Five seconds.


    Ten seconds.


    Twenty seconds.


    Thirty seconds.


    One minute.


    Just as one minute passed, the first two werewolves finally caught up to him. The speed of the werewolves weren''t that low, yet it was much inferior to Jim''s special speed.


    "Let''s see how you will burn," heughed while finally letting his sword fall on the ground, deeply immersed into it.


    "Rumble!"

 Chapter 31: A Wise or A Coward?

    Chapter 31: A Wise or A Coward?


    The moment his sword touched the ground, the fireyers around him dimmed as a giant ball of fire appeared. It was born from the tip of his sword, and kept erging in size, with Jim in the middle floating in front of the eyes of the three werewolves, his teammates, and everyone present at the arena.


    Jim nced at the three werewolves and assessed them. One was quite special while the other two weren''t that bad either. "Surrender and I will show you mercy," he said in a tone that was so deepened,ing from the depth of the fire.


    "Never," one of the youths said before he stubbornly used his ws to initiate the w tornado ability. Yet Jim didn''t faze and waited for him to finish his attack beforeughing.


    "Do you think you can harm me now?" then he waved his sword and he moved towards the youth with the ball of fire engulfing them both.


    "Howl!" The werewolf was burnt by the fire in front of the close eyes of hisrades before dying a very agonized death.


    "Your turn," Jim turned to nce at the second werewolf before adding, "surrender or you will meet the same fate!"


    "N- Never!"


    "Tsk, then die!"


    "Howl!"


    The second youth met the same painful end. Jim nced at the gem he initially sat his gaze upon. "Your turn"


    "I surrender, I surrender, please don''t kill me, please"


    Before he even continued his threatening words thest werewolf knelt to the ground and pleaded for mercy. ''A coward?'' Jim muttered to himself, before adding, ''yet it''s a good coward to me.''


    "Stand, you are now my servant," Jim said beforending on the ground waiting for his ball of fire to be extinguished.


    He didn''t have full control over this spell yet, and so he didn''t know to terminate it!


    "The winner is Jim''s team," the voice of the capped master rang in the almost silent arena. "Take a five minutes break and wait for your next challenge."


    The words fell and everyone just realized what happened. The master used Jim''s name this time as a sign of appreciating Jim''s abilities.


    "Let''s go, we need to rest," Jim said as he led everyone to the side while waiting for his ball of fire to be extinguished.


    Yet the ballsted longer than he expected!


    "Wow, you have such a nice trick up your sleeve," Lan was the happiest one here, as this fight which seemed desperate at first was brilliantly won by them.


    This wasn''t all; they gained such a talent to be added to their team.


    "What''s your name, wolf kid?" Jenny was the first to show interest in that werewolf, yet her wordings caused him to be quite annoyed.


    "I''m not a wolf, that one here is the wolf," he arrogantly said before Jim gave him a silent nce to hurriedly add, "my name is Rick, nice to meet you all."


    He tried to act humble yet Jennyughed while Gorden sneered. "Don''t think you are a mighty werewolf nsman anymore; you are like me, a servant for our mighty boss."


    He gestured to Jim who just smiled and said nothing.


    "Never thought you are this capable," Pat remarked before adding, "never heard of a human possessing such strength with fire! And you can use spells as well!"


    It seemed what Jim did back there left quite the impression inside that youth and everyone else as they nodded in agreement.


    "Spells are rare to learn outside the academy, even my ability is limited because I couldn''t support it with spells," Rick said, trying to show his admiration and support.


    "Let''s stop this and start to rest," Jim said before turning to Lan, "it''s your turn to know who is our next opponent."


    Lan nodded and went fast towards the other side of the arena. After five minutes he returned with a puzzled face.


    "What?" Jenny said, "is our enemy this strong?"


    "Well, in fact we are the strong ones here," Lanughed before ncing over the fire ball ignited around Jim''s body, "everyone is afraid of his fireball, so no team volunteered toe forth and challenge us for this round."


    "Really?" Ashley said, "so we are winning a round?"


    "Yes, simply like that," he nodded before adding, ''hopefully your ball willst for the rest of the test, hehehe."


    Everyoneughed while the capped master''s voice rang in the arena. "There are no courageous challengers for this round, so Jim''s team will win this by default," he paused before adding, "this is their third win. If the next round was won the same way, they will end up being in the inner academy."


    His words seemed hostile, yet his tone was warm. Jim didn''t feel any ill intentionsing from him, instead he felt trust in Jim''s abilities.


    It was like he wanted to see more, and thus he tried to push some toe forth and challenge his team the next round.


    "What is he trying to pull here?" Deno seemed annoyed by the words that the master said. "Shouldn''t he be fair?"


    "He seems quite energetic to see us fight," Lan turned back to nce at the master''s direction. "While I was there, I overheard him speaking about our team in a good way."


    "But this he is pushing others toe and challenge us!" Jenny was annoyed as well.


    "It''s not important," Jim said while adding, "after all we are one battle away from winning this test."


    His words were met by nodding from everyone. It was this close and yet they all felt quite nervous.

 Chapter 32: The Kroaks

    Chapter 32: The Kroaks


    If Jim entered the academy with inner disciple ranking, then their ce would be higher than servants. They would be able to attend sses at the outer academy, like being outer disciples themselves.


    That wasn''t a bad thing for most, only Rick seemed quite annoyed with such an end. He should be in the team entering the inner academy, yet he ended up saving his life and being so close to be an outer academy disciple.


    "It isn''t that bad," he said to himself trying to find benefits in his past decision. "I just hope I won''t regret it."


    "Lan, go and scout for us," Jim said while he nced at his ball of fire. Its intensity decreased by one third, meaning he might enter the next battle with it.


    For him, he didn''t mind that. Anything boosting his strength and raising his odds was weed. Besides, this wasn''t all the strength he could muster.


    Lan went to the ce of masters before hurriedly returning in less than two minutes.


    "Tsk, I want to kill that capped master!" Jenny didn''t need Lan to reach them and speak as she already figured out what was going to happen.


    "Me too," Deno was the most nervous of all, if not beside Lan himself. The two''s kin were branded not to enter the academy as official disciples. One was doomed to be a servant and the other one had his race prohibited since ancient times from being a disciple!


    "Big news!"


    Even before he could reach them, Lan shouted with extreme anxiety. "The teaming to face us next is another prestigious n team."


    "What?!!" Ashley said.


    "Another A ss team?!!" Deno muttered while feeling the pressure already.


    "A werewolf team?" Rick had his hopes high for his n to spend anything to rescue him.


    "No, it''s the kroaks!"


    His words fell and everyone aside from the three humans had their faces gloomy for a reason or another.


    "What are Kroaks?" Ashley asked.


    "It''s a miniature version from krakens," Deno replied with a long sigh, "they have big bodies, long tails, strong shell acting like armor covering most of their bodies, and most importantly" he paused as he turned to nce at Jim, "they excel at water based abilities, especially that annoying water breath."


    "Water breath?" Jim said while ncing over his ball of fire. "Do they n to counter my fire?" he asked before suddenlyughing.


    Everyone nced strangely at him, while he didn''t bother himself to exin. "Great, that''s simply great," he said before adding, "how many of them areing? Five? Or do they n to match our numbers?"


    "Eight areing," Lan said, "they are now on their way to here and sent a word up ahead to make the fight dy for a couple of minutes."


    "We need strong tactics and offense," Deno remarked as he was trying to think how to win this fight.


    "We need strong defense as well," Gorden said, as he knew how strong those Kroaks were.


    "Just tell me more about their abilities and the way to fight," Jim demanded, ignoring what the two others just said.


    "They use mainly the water shockwave ability," Rick was angry, very angry with his n that he decided to push further here and prove them wrong!


    Last year they had an incident in the n, one of the youths was captured as a ve for another rival n. The entire n threatened to go to war and even sent the elite team of theirs to harass the other n until they released that youth.


    "He is quite precious, that was what they said," he muttered to himself. "Am I that useless to them?" he felt insulted, and knew his n had already abandoned him while he didn''t dy to support and answer their call.


    "Exin more," Jim urged him.


    "They have four arms with each ending with scissor-like extensions. They used all of the four together and created a small water ball that will fly fast and explode on any target, creating a strong shockwave that can cause considerable damage," he said what he knew about them before adding, "and this ability is ranked basic, meaning everyone of them will have it."


    "Hmm" Jim thought for a moment , before asking, "what else?"


    "The water prison nasty trick, have you forgotten about it?" Deno said as he nced over Rick for a moment.


    "It''s used by at least two of them, and not everyone has it!" Rick defended.


    "Sure, but once used, whoever inside will be considered done for if not one of the two using the trick was killed," Deno said before adding, "also the water swamp ability is another nasty one."


    "But it''s extremely rare," Pat said.


    "Like Rick''s ability here," Lan pointed to the werewolf before adding, "I think someone is trying his best to make you fail."


    Lan gave Rick a long nce before adding, "I heard a rumor about a giant roaming the big ns and trying to convince them to send their elite teams to participate."


    "Pol?" Jenny asked before cursing, "That damn giant! I want to kill him!!"


    "I also heard the same thing beforeing from the n camp," Rick confessed while adding, "he seems to hate you a lot."


    "Wondering why?" Jim asked while an evil smile appeared on his face, "don''t worry boys, we will kill them all and might gain ourselves one or couple of them as ves."


    His words were met by weird nces, but he ignored them. For him, his enemies just fell into a trap, taking wrong decisions about his abilities and greatly underestimating him.


    "Listen, this will be the n," he then started to exin things, and just as he finished and before he could hear their thoughts out; loud bangs appeared from one direction of the arena.


    "Sigh, they are famous for their loud entrance!" Deno muttered while he and everyone watched eight giant silhouettesing from the corridor and entering the arena.


    They had giant bodies like Deno, with four big arms ending up in scissors and long curved up tails. Their faces were covered with faint blue and silver small scales, while their bodies were covered with thick golden shells.


    They entered the arena while jumping on one leg and the other was moving in the air, their tails hit each other while their hands sped causing that regr bang sound.


    "They are dancing?!" Ashley was speechless while the opponent team entered the arena in that fashion, ending up their entrance with a big jump beforending on the ground and causing a final loud bang with their hands.


    "Damn! They are good dancers!" Jenny said beforeughing, "I changed my mind, I want them all to be added to our team to make it more lively and fun!"


    Everyoneughed while the Kroaks team was weed with arge wave of apuse from the audience.


    "They had the support of the masses," Lan said while shaking his head, "our impact created minutes ago is washed clean by what they just did!"


    "Who said we want any support?" Jim smiled as he added, "Let''s show everyone we aren''t the pushovers they think we are."


    "The two teams move forward to the arena for the fight to start," the capped master said before adding with a grin on his face, "the Kroaks'' team is quite confident in his win, so they have a proposition to make.


    If Jim''s team agreed to face them half numbered and managed to sustain in the arena for five minutes, then it would be considered Jim''s team''s win. In addition to the win, half of the living members of the Kroaks will be Jim''s ves. What Jim team says about this offer?"

 Chapter 33: The Ancient Parchment

    Chapter 33: The Ancient Parchment


    "What are you doing here?" this harsh tone rang through the empty stone room where only two shadows appeared inside its dimly lit atmosphere.


    "A Bulltor is about to join the academy."


    "What?!!" the harsh tone shouted while one of his tails hit the nearby wall, leaving a deep mark over it. "That''s impudence! You know the rules!!"


    "I know, master," the sudden visitor trembled faintly under the mighty aura of his master, "but the team that took him in is quite troublesome!"


    "What races are there?" the master nced with his yellow vertical pupils towards his disciple, "Whoever they are, they won''t be a problem to you," he added, while his face covered in scales showed his doubt.


    "They" the disciple stuttered as he was fearing the reaction of his master.


    "Say it, or do youe here to just look this pathetic?" the master sneered while his long tails started to whirl around his disciple.


    "It''s a human," the disciple said and as he feared, his master showed an instant change in his features.


    "A human you say?" the master asked before getting his gigantic head close to his disciple, "are you saying that weak human is causing you trouble enough for you toe to see me?"


    "He has been tested to be an inner academy disciple," the disciple said while trying to muster all his courage, "and he just won three rounds out of five."


    The master kept ring at his disciple who had his scariest moments in his life right now. ''I shouldn''t havee, but if I didn''t, the master will be much more enraged than now,'' he said to himself trying to justify his actions.


    "Are you sure you didn''t mistake him for someone else?" The tone his master used was calm, yet he felt a sudden wave of coldness erupting in the room.


    "I I''m pretty sure, after all I''m the one who brought him here in the first ce."


    "You brought a human here without trying to kill him? That''s a first!" the masterughed.


    "I did, but I wasn''t alone," the disciple shook his head in a nervous way, "The mission was for a fox n girl to rule, and I was just there to observe."


    "Tsk, you are really such a useless kid," the master waves his nine tails and the next moment the body of Pol was sent flying to hit the wall. "But it''s nice you came to ask for my guidance," the master sneered before adding, "you said he cleared three out of five?"


    "Yes, master," Pol had deep wounds yet he endured and showed nothing of his intense pain in front of his master.


    "Who else is there in his team? Other than that Bulltor."


    Pol wiped a small line of blood off his chin as he replied, "Two more humans, an Actimos, A leivy kid, and a wolf nd."


    "This" the master paused while sneering, "they are all losers! How can such a team be a threat to you? Have you gone senile and weak, Pol?"


    The eyes of his master were scary, yet Pol tried to look collected and unfazed. He knew his master very well; any sign of weakness and he would be instantly disposed of!


    "I don''t know how, but that kid managed to defeat two teams using a fire spell he knew."


    "A spell? Just one spell caused you all this trouble?" the masterughed while his tails hit Pol again, more brutal this time, making Pol cough blood while staggering to stand up. "Sigh, I have to interfere then," the master said.


    "You you should, master," Pol stuttered while saying these words with great difficulty and much pain.


    "Take this," the master waved and an old parchment appeared in front of Pol, "this will be enough, or else you will be useless to me if you failed."


    Pol got the parchment and nced at its content for a brief moment before a smile of confidence appeared on top of his face. "Don''t worry master, I won''t fail you."


    "I''m not worried, it''s you who should be," and his masterughed before turning to go back to his old enormous seat, "go now and act before it''s toote."


    "Thanks master," Pol knelt in respect before hurrying to leave the room. He checked the parchment again beforeughing, "It''s good I drove those fighting maniacs to meet him."


    Pol keptughing while he crossed the distance between his master''sir and the arena of the contest in roughly no time!


    "Good, I''m not thatte," he smirked when he heard thest words the capped master said regarding the offer of the Kroaks.


    "I have a word to say," he suddenly appeared next to the capped master before handing the parchment to him. "I have the ancient edict, so I have the saying in every decision going on about that team," he pointed his hand towards Jim who had his heart crushed against a deep pit.


    "You" the capped master took the parchment and read its content before folding it and giving it back to Pol. "You have the right to decide the rules of the next two fights then, only these two," he coldly said while his face showed how much annoyed he was with what Pol just did.


    "Don''t be like this, Armando," Polughed as he was already in a good mood. He turned to face the arena while his gaze never left Jim who had a frustrated look over his face.


    "Being the master of the next couple of rounds, I changed the rules," he said before adding as he pointed to Jim, "this team will have to face the next two battles half numbered against the full team members and they have no right to concede or withdraw."


    His words caused an instant ruckus amongst the crowd present, while Armando nced at him while feeling more annoyed right now.


    "And a single defeat equals the disqualification of the entire team from the academy," Pol coldly said while viciously adding, "all will turn into ves!"

 Chapter 34: A Fighting plan

    Chapter 34: A Fighting n


    Jim stood his ce not knowing how he should react to what Pol just said. He watched the old paper in the hand of Pol burn and turn into ash while the capped master stepped again as he put his hand over Pol''s shoulder while saying:


    "You used your right, and now it''s time for you to step down."


    "Armando," Pol nced at the capped master before adding, "don''t try anything stupid," he threatened.


    "You aren''t the only one with a master, y''know that better than others," Armando refused to budge as he replied to the threat with another.


    "Humph," Pol just harrumphed before giving Jim a mocking nce making Jim want to go and punch him in the face.


    "Jim''s team will have time to discuss and choose the members they will participate," Armando said, while he gave the retreating Pol a long nce before adding, "and I authorize you to select one more item to be used."


    The words of Armando made Pol pause in his steps, yet Pol only sneered and went to an empty seat among masters and sat on it.


    "Let''s see how you''ll try to save a dead meat," heughed and his tone was heard by most of the audience here, making Armando just sneer.


    "Come," Jim said to his team, as he turned towards the back of the arena where the items were there, "we need to think properly about this," he added as he went towards the back first followed by everyone else.


    "This is my fault!" Deno was the first to speak while others just gave him a silent nce, while Gorden just patted his back.


    "Don''t say that," Jim said, "you are part of my team and I knew the stakes when I epted you," he added, before ncing at everyone here, "I won''t let anyone help me down, let that be engraved in your memories."


    He paused before turning to Lan as he added, "and in fact I haven''t used my trump card yet, and I n to keep it hidden till the final battle."


    "Can we beat them?" Pat asked and Jim smiled as he said:


    "We can, but we have to know these youths better," he turned to nce over the Kroaks as he added, "tell me again everything you know about them."


    Rick, who was extremely pissed at his n, said:


    "Water breath, water shockwave, water prison, and water swamp."


    "Water shockwave and water breath are considered basic skills, while water prison is a slightly unique skill that would require two to perform, while the water swamp is very rare, but I believe one of those eight will have it," Deno said while his tone told much about his guilt.


    "Good," Jim smiled as he added, "they use basic water, right? With nothing added to it."


    "Sure, only water carried along their bodies," Rick said, before adding, "they should select water based ores to use."


    "Good," Jim smiled before looking at Lan as he added, "go and check the items, if there is something that could absorb or evaporate water."


    "Good idea," Lan jumped at once towards the ce filled with opened boxes while Pat joined him. "I''ll help," he said while the two started to check everything looking for anything useful.


    "What''s the n?" Deno asked, "can we really beat them? This?"


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled, "I''m here and if I had to use all my tricks, I wouldn''t hesitate to do that to secure our win."


    "I hopeso," Deno was dejected and that made Jim decide not to select him in the next match. "I will go with Jenny, Pat, and Rick," he said before adding, "gather up now."


    The three nced at each other while Pat left Lan and went to stand with the other two around Jim. "They are outnumbering us," Jim started his words by this, "and they are much stronger, far experienced, and they have the advantage of being confident in their win."


    The three, and everyone else of the team nodded in agreement, while Jim added, "so we will aim to start our fight first with a loud bang," he evilly smiled while he started to tell them what they would do.


    "I found something," Lan suddenly jumped off the boxes, carrying an old water sk in his hand, waving it. "This can absorb and store water," he said while throwing it towards Jim.


    "Good," heughed before giving it to Jenny, "it''s your responsibility, and I believe you know when you should use it, right?" he added and Jenny just nodded.


    "Are you sure these would do?" Deno was worried and skeptical, while Jim only smiled and said nothing to him. "Let''s go," he entered the arena and the moment he did, everyone was speechless of the team members he selected.


    "A human, a Leivy, and one werewolf is this what you will use to stop the Kroaks? That''s hrious," Pol was already seeing the death of Jim and the other three on the hands on the Kroaks. "It seems I won''t need my team to warm up," heughed while everyone just nced shortly at him with mixed emotions.


    As for Armando, he only focused on Jim and no one else. "Show me how stunning you will shine in the academy, kid," he muttered before saying out loud, "the two teams get ready start fighting!"

 Chapter 35: An Intense Fight

    Chapter 35: An Intense Fight


    The moment he said these words, the eight Kroaks waved their four arms and their scissors just met together forming a water ball on the tip of their arms.


    "Jenny!" Jim shouted while Jenny moved, alone, to intercept the eight attacks!


    "A single human against eight Kroaks? I think I didn''tugh like this for such a long time!" Pol was already about to fall off his seat while watching Jenny moving fast to the front.


    Yet the moment she got near the Kroaks, eight fast balls of water were sent towards her, exploded and covered the entire area in a mighty shock wave while swallowing her up.


    "Pathetic!" just as everyone thought she was done for, her mocking tone came from inside the water wave. The water suddenly started to dry up, while the next moment a mighty wave of fire erupted, hitting everything in a radius of one hundred meters, eating up the eight Kroaks within its range.


    "Hiss!"


    "Hiss!"


    .


    .


    "Hiss!"


    "Hiss!"


    Yet the fire just touched them and a loud hissing sound erupted followed by a thick cloud of vapor.


    "It''s futile! I know you use fire, so I precisely chose them for that," Polughed as he wasmenting on what was going on like he was watching a funny child''s game.


    Yet just as he wasughing, a shadow suddenly moved through the already raging fire. "Tsk, trying to act heroic!" one of the eight Kroaks noticed Jim who was jumping high, heading directly towards the eight with his sword put in the position of his spell, and his body was already covered inyers of fire.


    "Such futile attempt! Your fire can''t do anything to us!"


    Just as he was so confident, another shadow appeared,ing from their rear!


    "What the hell?!" the leader of the Kroaks cursed when he saw that small and weak looking Leivy youth heading towards them like cannonball. "Do you think a Leivy can face us?" the leaderughed, yet the next moment Jim had alreadynded just in front of them, while his sword was let to fall in the ground, heavily sticking deep into it!


    Despite the leader''s arrogant attitude, the moment Jim did so the eight moved a couple of steps to the back in reflex.


    "Water breath, water prison, use everything you had!" the leader shouted as he knew how strong the fire balls of Jim were.


    Just as his sound fell, the eight started to act. Two touched their four scissors together while a giant water wave erupted, heading in strong momentum towards Jim.


    The six others opened their mouths and fountain-like water breaths erupted and hit Jim with no pause!


    The seven attacks moved fast aiming towards Jim, yet Jim didn''t move his sword or form his fireball!


    "Swoosh!"


    Just as the attacks were about to fall on him, Jenny moved to appear in front of him, shielding him from all attacks while a small and old sk appeared in her hand.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    .


    .


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Seven explosions urred when the attacksnded in unison over Jim. They caused a huge water wave that, with dust, created a veil to cover Jim and Jenny from everyone''s eyes.


    "Poorly executed n, arrogant human!" the leader of the Kroaks smirked as heughed on the n of Jim.


    Yet the next moment Pat had finallynded in between them!


    And the moment he did, he started hacking their bodies with his nails and fast movement, creating three clones and managing to hit everyone in no time!


    "Bastard!" the leader was furious, "I''ll personally kill you!" he shouted, yet the next moment he felt some weakness haunting him. "All use water breaths, hurry!" he wanted to kill this annoying Leivy yet just as he said these words, Pat had already retreated towards the ce of Jim and Jenny.


    "Hit him!" the leader furiously roared while their tails tried to attack Pat with no avail.


    Just as Pat reached the water prison, eight fountainsnded and eight more explosions erupted!


    "Do you think you can handle our prison? Fools!" one of the two Kroaks who used the prison smirked while the othersughed. Despite feeling the poison attacking their bodies, they didn''t show up any weakness on the surface.


    "Keep hi" the leader was about to shout when he felt a faint tremble of the ground. "What the hell?!!" he turned to see thest member running fast towards them, already so close to their rear! "Four turn around and start attacking that werewolf!"

 Chapter 36: Even Masters Can Fight!

    Chapter 36: Even Masters Can Fight!


    Midway of his orders, the water prison suddenly vanished, while Jenny appeared with body covered in fire, literally ignited with fire.


    "Face this," she roared while waving both hands and the next moment another fiery attack hit the world.


    "Howl!"


    Just as her fiery attack was spreading fast, Rick used his rare ability and the eight Kroaks were affected in his skill.


    And the next moment the fire wave covered everyone without exception!


    "Hiss!"


    "Hiss!"


    .


    .


    "Hiss!"


    "Hiss!"


    "Damn, how heavy you are!"


    Amidst the loud hissing sounds, the groaning voice of pat came while he appeared like a meteorite exiting from the fiery zone while carrying the giant body of Rick, as bothnded on the ground feeling extremely exhausted.


    "Thanks," Rick patted Pat''s back, while the two nced at once towards the center of that fiery sea. "Will it work?" Pat muttered while Rick shrugged and said nothing.


    Inside the fire wave, and as the eight Kroaks were paused in their ce for three second, Jim finally showed the spell he knew.


    His sword moved from the ground finally, while his body had double theyers he had before. The fireball gotrger and then his swordnded over the nearest Kroak.


    "Crack!"


    This sound was shocking, yet no one here understood the reason behind this. Just before Jim''s attacknded, Jenny opened the sk and let a giant water wave cover everyone in no time.


    The hissing sound went higher, yet when Jim hit the hard shell of the Kroak, it cracked and the next moment the entire Kroak''s body got crumbled as he turned into a pile of stone, fell on the ground and turned to ash!


    "One down, seven are left," Jim sneered while the next moment he didn''t hold back his sword, hitting everyone he could reach.


    Yet in two second he could only hit four of them. As the other four regained their freedom, Jim made sure to kill two more before thest two retreated.


    And the leader of them was the second one he killed, making sure of the nasty unknown skill to him; the water swamp, not to be used in the arena today!


    The two shocked and frightened Kroaks'' youths retreated, and strangely they two were the ones who used the water prison skill just before.


    "Wow, he did it!" Pat jumped off the ground, not caring anymore about the pain he felt all over his body, "he killed most of them as he anticipated!"


    "Tsk, that kid that human kid he is scary!" Rick muttered as up till this moment he thought Jim''s words and nning were just too perfect toe true.


    "Yeah, I believe in him, totally believe in everything he says!" Pat shouted like mad while the entire arena ushered under heavy silence with no one speaking or even breathing.


    This this oue shocked everyone!


    "Surrender and be my ves to live" Jim moved with his sword and fire ball while his words echoed in the entire arena. "Resist and I promise you''ll die and not even your family or friends will be able to tell who from which!"


    His words were arrogant, yet they had their own weight when he said them. He moved, with his sword, fireball, and three perfectly fine members of his team ready to act any moment.


    "Surrender and be part of my winning team, surrender and live to fight another day," he kept pressing them while the two retreated to the edge of the arena. Passed that ce they would be considered forfeiting, announcing their surrender to Jim.


    "Surrender and I''ll make sure every single one of your family is killed till thest child!" Suddenly Pol''s loud voice rang in the arena while he stood up with a reddened face and trembling body while threatening the Kroaks kids.


    "He can''t!" Armando stood up as he faced Pol face to face in the arena. "He isn''t your master, or part of your n. Be sure I will protect your families no matter what!"


    Just as Pol was about to speak, a giant Kroak master suddenly appeared in the arena while ring at Pol. "Who is this threatening my kids?" he arrogantly shouted and as he appeared, Armando moved a couple of steps to stand beside him, both were on equal stands here.


    "Tsk," Pol sneered as he nced at Jim while softly threatening, "trying to secure yourself a weapon against my boys? In your dreams!"


    His words were soft, yet were perfectly heard by many, including Jim, who just shook his head. "Old masters are really scary monsters!" he muttered as it wasn''t a fluke the two Kroaks who were able to use the water prison ability weren''t killed.


    He purposely killed everyone else and let them live. He was sure he didn''t tell this future move to anyone; yet he was perfectly read by his enemy, at least.


    "Kid, treat my boys well and I won''t mistreat you in return," the Kroak master said to Jim, while Jim appreciated this gesture. "Thanks, master, and sorry for your loss," Jim tried to act humble, yet his words were met with a sneer from Pol who shouted:


    "Shouldn''t we get done with this fight already? Let the two cowards surrender and be a ve to the losers."


    The Kroak master gave Pol a very toxic nce before he harrumphed and nodded to his two kids.


    "We surrender," the two said in one tone and that announced the end of this fight.


    "The fourth round ends by the win of Jim''s team," Armando said while his voice showed how much joyful and excited he was.


    "Should I fetch my master?" the Kroak master whispered to him.


    "Won''t harm," Armando said before adding, "I already informed my master."


    "Nice," the Kroak master smiled before taking out a small piece of paper, writing something on it before spatting over it to disintegrate the next moment, going towards its destination.


    "This round of test I like it!" the Kroak masterughed as he went to sit beside Armando, whoughed with him as he said, "me too."

 Chapter 37: The Giants

    Chapter 37: The Giants


    "What are your names?" Jim asked the moment they returned back to their ce outside the arena.


    "I''m Kro."


    "I''m Roo."


    The two youths said while their faces showed how much they were unaware yet of what just happened to them. "Have we really lost?" Roo asked in a shocked tone. "Are we going to be ves?" he added.


    "Don''t worry," Jimughed before adding, "to me you are all brothers and sisters," he said while ncing shortly at the distant masters'' zone.


    He noticed Pol. Of course the distance didn''t make him be sure if it was him, but he knew his rough location and with his great physique he couldn''t be wrong. "Just wait," he muttered while turning to nce at the two neers.


    "You''ll act as our decoy," he said.


    "Meaning?" Kro asked.


    "Will we fight?" Roo added, "we need to rest a little, after all that water prison is just overwhelming to our powers."


    "Well, you can rest as long as you need," Jim said before turning to nce at Pol''s direction. "You won''t fight soon."


    His words were vague yet he didn''t waste any moment while turning towards Lan. "Grab the best lightning ore or item you can find, or grab two," he said.


    "Can I have two?" Lan was speechless there for a moment.


    "Sure, one in your right pocket and the second in your left pocket," Jimughed before adding, "we have the right to select more tools to aid us, go, don''t waste more time."


    Lan was hesitant before finally residing to Jim''s wishes. "What''s the n, boss?" Deno asked, as he felt really excited while watching the outstanding performance of Jim and others.


    "Can you tell me more about those giants?" he asked, as he met Pol, but didn''t see him move a finger at all!


    "They are one of the oldest ns out there," Pat said while adding, "like the Bulltors, yet those had the shortest end of the stick after the fall of the fairies in the ancient times."


    Jim nced at Deno, yet he wasn''t that devastated like before. He smiled, as his n in saving him forter was the perfect choice. "What''s their best traits? Their basic skills? Their advanced skills? Rare abilities? Tell me everything," Jim demanded.


    "They are like Deno here, giant and strong, plus their stronger physique than him, they are more agile and hard to catch," Gorden said while taking Deno as an example. "They can vanish instantly from ce and appear at another, a shifting ability as I recall," he added.


    "It''s the sh ability, notmon one but we have to assume everyone of them will have it," Deno said before adding, "see your Pal out there? He vanished and appeared without making a single sound, that''s one of their greatest weapons," he said while motioning towards the masters'' area.


    "Hmm that''s quite disturbing," Jim said, before adding, "what else do they have?"


    "They have a strong rtionship with rocks and earth, so they can fix themselves tightly like a glue and can''t be easily removed," Rick said while facing some weakness after using his skill.


    "They also can create giant balls of rocks and dirt, a rare ability but we have to assume they will have people who can use it," Pat said.


    "Did you forget their dirt tsunami unique ability?" Lan said from the rear as he came and joined them, "it''s an extremely rare fusion ability that resembles the water prison one, but this one requires at least three to perform."


    "And?" Jim patiently asked, not much fazed with all these abilities.


    "They will form a giant wave of dirt that will assault literally the entire arena," Gorden said before Pat added, "and this dirt is quite special. It had a freezing effect that would prison anyone inside, but" he paused as he nced over the two newly joined Kroaks.


    "But what?" Jenny asked.


    "This dirt is very weak to water," Roo said before adding, "they will try to eliminate us two first, or else their ace attack will be smashed under our water breaths at least."


    Jim nodded in understanding before summing everything up:


    "So they have strong bodies with stronger defenses than Deno, Rick, and Gordan. They have this strange agility movement, faster than me and even Pat, and they have earth affinity. They can use it to glue themselves to the ground, form rocks, or create andslide that would imprison us. Except if we managed to perfectly defend the two Kroaks and let them use their water abilities in time, right?"


    He nced at everyone, and the silent stern looks over their faces told him a lot about how they were feeling right now.


    "What will we do then, boss?" Deno asked again and this time the look over Jim''s face told him as it told others how brilliant his n was.


    "We''ll do this" and Jim started narrating his strategy while detailing everything in it.


    "Wow!" Deno muttered before ncing over the two Kroaks. "Is that even allowed?"


    "We''ll test it," Jim said before adding, "but I think we might get support from the capped master."


    "The elf master?" Kro said, "he is a nice master, but don''t rely too much on his liking for you. He is well known for loving to watch fights and test his disciples under harsh conditions!"


    "I''m not his disciple!" Jim retorted.


    "Well, I think mate you have no way around," Rooughed before he noticed the weird ncesing from others, so he hurried to add, "sorry, boss."


    "Oh, they came already!" Lan shouted while everyone turned to nce at the direction he pointed towards. "Wow, they are really tough!" Pat muttered while noticing the bulging muscles covering their topless chests.


    "They love to walk like that?" Ashley asked in disgust.


    "It''s the way to tell other giants that they are the true giants!" Deno sighed while stealing a rapid nce at the hole in his chest.


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled while adding in a challenging tone, "we''ll crush them all I promise you that."

 Chapter 38: The Wiser

    Chapter 38: The Wiser


    Jim''s words weren''t groundless as they all knew his n, but none thought high of it considering their opponents'' numbers, physique, and abilities.


    "Let the two teams enter the arena," the capped master said, and this time the arena turned to be such a bustling ce full of standing crowds.


    "This fight is getting popr," Polughed as he wasn''t any worried at all.


    "Sure, it''s not every day an urrence for the giants to be defeated," the Kroak master sneered as he said in a loud tone.


    "What did you say?" Pol turned to him beforeughing, "you seem shocked of your defeat and delusional about my boys."


    "Your boys are just boys, they won''t handle this Jim and his team."


    "With what? A human that is good for nothing like a dead servant? Or that giant Bulltor with nothing to offer? C''mon, be serious," Polughed before adding, "my boys are handpicked by me, and they won''t lose."


    "Wanna bet?" the capped elf master said with a grin over his face.


    "If you are this eager to lose your money, then I can''t deny this free meal," Polughed as he added, "how much do you want to pay?"


    "One hundred thousand tokens," the capped master said and when his words fell, everyone around them went into dead silence.


    "Are you serious? This is almost half of your wealth!" Pol had a change in his face.


    "And almost all of yours, right?"


    "That means my wealth will be doubled, hahaha," Polughed like he said a funny joke already.


    "Will you bet or not?" the capped master nced fixedly at Pol, while thetter just shrugged. "Alright man, your money and you want to fly them away foolishly like this. How can I say no? of course I agree," Pol said before raising his arm high in the air.


    And the elf capped master did the same as well.


    "I Pol"


    "I Armando"


    "Pledge to bet with one hundred thousand coins on the victory of the giant team."


    "Pledge to bet with one hundred thousand coins on the victory of Jim''s team."


    "And let the mighty fairies in their graves be witness to this."


    They ended the pledge in one breath and the next moment; a strange aura erupted around both of them before linking their raised hands together and raised to the sky.


    "It''s a great pleasure to take down your money," Pol suddenlyughed, "my boys can''t lose as they have dirt tsunami ability users in the team, your boys suck and are destined to lose, hahaha," Polughed as if he yed the elf master in his own game.


    "We''ll see," the elf master just answered while turning to nce at the arena. "Let the two teams enter the arena," he shouted and the next moment the two kroaks entered the arena first.


    "Expected," Pol sneered, "they are destined to lose, hehehe," heughed while the capped elf master didn''t show any change in his face.


    Just as the other team walked in, standing in the center of the arena, four members of Jim''s team moved from the backline, including Jim, while the two Kroaks retreated at the same time.


    "That''s cheating!" Pol suddenly stood up while shouting in rage, "this can''t be allowed!"


    "What can''t be allowed exactly?" the capped master calmly gazed at him.


    "They sent two members first and then they sent four; that''s six, six members and they can only have four!"


    "Really?" the capped master smiled before adding, st time I checked your boys number was ten, so they can have up to five!"


    "They added six! Six not five!!" Pol shouted before ignoring Armando as he shouted at the entire arena: "This is injustice and cheating! They used six members, and the maximum is five!"


    Armando ignored his shouting as he nced at Jim. "What do you say?" he said.


    "We sent two, and we have only five slots avable. So, we retreated them and added four, so our team is only four," Jim strongly answered before adding, "I don''t see what master Pol is angry about."


    "You" Pol didn''t ept such a lowly human to speak to him in such a way. Yet he couldn''t interfere, he was now bound by the pledging bet; something that was far more dangerous than fighting dragons right now.


    "Jim speaks honestly," Armando stood for Jim just as he expected. "He didn''t let his two teams be present in the arena at the same time."


    "That''s nonsense!" Pol was so much furious before adding, "I request the judgement of the wiser."


    "The wiser?!" Armando raised one eyebrow out of his surprise, "are you sure you want that?"


    "Pretty sure," Pol nodded.


    "Alright, let the wisere forth and judge this useless issue," Armando shrugged and as just his words fell, the entire arena shook violently for a couple of minutes.


    "Not guilty!" a deep sound came forth from underneath Jim''s feet, making him very much startled.


    "Never thought there is something down below," he muttered to himself.


    "Guilty!"


    The next moment the sound said in a deep tone making everyone puzzled.


    "See? He is guilty!" Pol pointed towards Jim beforeughing, "he will now receive the punishment of the wiser. More disadvantage for him and lesser odds for you."


    "Tsk," Armando sneered and said nothing as he waited for the wiser to exin in action.


    As he expected, thend trembled the next moment and suddenly pirs of dirt rose up. It was a famous signature of the wiser taking action in punishing those guilty on the arena stage.


    "Boom!"


    Suddenly five pirsnded on five giants and the next moment their bodies started to twist while the dirt covered them all as if it was eating their bodies away.


    "What are you doing?!!" Pol was enraged yet he didn''t even dare to step onto the arena himself. "I demand an exnation for this!" he shouted and Armando just shrugged.


    "Please provide us with reasons, esteemed wiser," Armando said in deep veneration.


    The pirs kept twisting the five giants while thend didn''t cease trembling. "They are guilty of cheating," the deep and strong voice came from the ground again. "They used cheap methods to disguise themselves."


    The next moment loud screams erupted from the five giants before the dirt released them. When the dirt retreated to the ground, the deep voice came again: "Not guilty." Then everything calmed down.


    The earth returned to its calm state as before yet the entire arena didn''t!


    "Look, they are the shifters!" one shouted in shock while loud whispers erupted the next moment.


    "Tsk, you didn''t change at all Pol the cheater," the Kroak master sneered before adding, "I thought it was only you, but it seemed your entire species has such a faulted gene, what a shame!"


    "Shut up!" Pol was enraged yet he couldn''t do anything now as his little trick that he paid such a hefty price for had been exposed. "This isn''t the junior wiser," he turned to gaze upon Armando whoughed and said nothing.


    "Damn you!"


    "Don''t me me," Armandoughed again before adding, "it''s your fault to try and be sly and mean even with my presence."

 Chapter 39: Four Against Ten

    Chapter 39: Four Against Ten


    "Shape shifters?" Jim didn''t know what those new species were, so he turned to gaze upon Deno who just smiled and said:


    "They are specialized at changing their kin into any kin they touch."


    "Not only that," Lan said before exining himself, "these can turn water into ice, and even some have the unique ability of absorbing water to their bodies."


    "Oh," Jim nced over the distance, where Pol''s face was reddened from anger. "So you tried to cheat and sneak attack my strongest formation?"


    Heughed while muttering, "bad for you I didn''t y with my strongest formation, but the best, hehehe." He then moved towards the arena while adding, "Deno, your task is to face all of the shapeshifters," he paused before adding, "please leave one or two for us to add."


    "Are you sure?" Deno was skeptical about this new arrangement, "shouldn''t I face all of them at once?"


    "No," Jim shook his head before adding, "I''ll make sure to prove to everyone that messing up with me has severe consequences."


    Jim walked leisurely towards the arena while the three of his team walked behind. He selected Deno to be his defense, Lan to be his supporter, and the surprising Jenny to be his decoy.


    As for him, he nned to be the main yer, holding nothing back.


    "I request the match to start," Jim strongly spoke when reaching the center of the arena.


    "Are you sure?" Armando asked, "you only brought four of your team, while you can bring up to five."


    "Four will do," Jim smiled and from his simple smile, Armando knew he was up to a mischievous act.


    "Alright," he said before turning to the giant team, "are you ready cheating team?"


    His remark was so harsh and many of the audience here whispered and even some shouted sneakily: Cheaters.


    "They are ready," Pol wasn''t happy by the current oue, yet he couldn''t do anything to change it now. "Let my boys kill you all," he said, as a prayer, as a wish, as a promise.


    "Let the match begin," Armando said, and the moment he did, Jenny started using the fire ore from the start, igniting her body with fire.


    "Girl, just surrender. You are too sweet to face us alone," one of the giants came towards her with leisure steps like he wasn''t afraid of her fire at all.


    "Come and be my girl in bed tonight," another one moved while moving his bugling chest muscles as he clenched and rxed them.


    "I promise you won''t be dissatisfied with us," another one moved while patting on his bare chest.


    The three seemed to be taking this fight as a y, not a life and death battle.


    Yet Jenny didn''t answer them as she hurriedly sat herself on fire and waited.


    The three walked towards her when Deno suddenly jumped off her head. His giant physique allowed him to do this jump without sweating, and she just smiled in return.


    "Tsk, a faulted Bulltor is daring to stand against us," the three smirked while the other two moved to face him with fast steps.


    The coordination between the five was superb, they didn''t need even to speak a single word between themselves before their formation changed ording to circumstances.


    "It''s not me who is going to face you," Deno suddenlyughed while hended on the ground, paused there while bending his legs before jumping backward again.


    And this time he moved obliquely to the right, where the five shape shifters were, alongside Jenny who just moved a moment earlier than him.


    "Going after the weak,me!" one of the giants smirked, just as he was about to instantly shift his body, a sudden change erupted from their front.


    Jim was standing there, doing something strange. He held his sword in the same ce he used to use when he activated the fire spell of his, yet he had no fire at all.


    So his stance with Lan on his back didn''t rm the giants until lightning suddenly started to dance around his body. The sparks of lightning kept jumping everywhere from his body, while Lan nearly emptied the lightning ore of its energy stored inside.


    "You are good to go," Lan said while noticing that Jim was still waiting.


    "Keep pouring more," Jim simply muttered while he patiently held the sword in his hands while resisting the mighty gravity that was trying to pull the sword to the ground without pause.


    "Tsk," Lan sighed while keeping pouring the lightning from the ore. "You are a mad man," he muttered as he knew how much lightning this ore contained.


    It was enough to make even him explode!


    However Jim stood still, and when Deno and Jenny moved out of his way, the lightning started to reach a terrifying degree inside his body that his body started to emit lightning like a dark stormy furious cloud.


    And he was furious of what Pol tried to do just now with these dirty tricks and machinations.


    "What''s the use of trickery in front of raw strength?" he muttered before Lan finally emptied the ore of all the lightning in it. "Go," he shouted and the next moment Jim endured the resistance from his sword as he moved in the course provided by his mind towards the five speechless giants.


    "Are you stupid?" one of themughed, "a human against five of giants? That''s hrious!"


    "Let''s show him what real strength looked like," another one smirked before he moved towards another two while the three put their fists together to the front, arching their backs while putting their heads at the lowest point possible.

 Chapter 40: A Tough Battle

    Chapter 40: A Tough Battle


    "We''ll hold him for you," the other two said in unison while they instantly moved, to reappear just in front of the fast moving forward Jim.


    "Time to test my ability to max," Jim was fazed when he saw the two giants suddenly appearing in front of him. They waved their fists, while each one had a small rock forming all of sudden around their fists, turning it into giant clubs.


    "Die," one of them shouted, and the next moment Jim had all their fists moving fast towards him. Yet he didn''t decrease his speed as he suddenly started to move right and left, lean here and jump there, ending up evading all of their attacks without being touched.


    And he kept moving with unstoppable speed towards the three in the rear.


    He knew these three had the special ability of the dirt tsunami, and he had to stop them before they attack everything here.


    Time of essence, and it was a race between whose ability was going to be executed first.


    "Of course it''s me," Jimughed when he reached close distance from the three giants, while the other two just appeared instantly in front of him, blocking his path. "Morons, I won''t advance anymore," heughed before finally stopping and letting his sword follow the indomitable will of the gravity.


    "Rumble!"


    The moment the sword touched the ground, the entire arena shook. The five giants had their faces change abruptly when that gigantic ball of lightning appeared, not from the ground, but descending from the sky like thick pirs of lightning assaulting Jim.


    The sky suddenly dimmed all of sudden, and strange ck clouds appeared there like descending from some higher ce. The lightning pirs descended from them, and these pirs kept increasing in frequency and strength with every passing second, with the approaching clouds to the arena.


    "Hurry, stop him," one of the three shouted, "only five seconds, buy us five seconds," another one shouted and the other two nodded.


    They knew their mates needed roughly twenty seconds to activate their ability, and they could do it in ten if needed on the expense of exhausting their strength.


    It wasn''t time for them to hesitate, so each one of the two moved fast, prating the rapidly forming ball of lightning around Jim, trying to hit him with their rocks.


    "Scram!"


    Yet Jim only pointed his sword towards them. They were a couple of secondste, as he just had his sword being relieved from the gravity and his lighting ability being summoned sessfully.


    He was one step ahead of them, that step he nned carefully with the decoy of Jenny and the feign attack of Deno.


    Just as his wordsnded, and he waved his sword, more pirs of lightning descended from the sky assaulting the two giants, smashing heavily over their bodies, burning their skin and muscles while throwing them off in the air a couple of tens of meters away.


    "Your turn," Jim sneered as he waved his sword towards the three giants.


    "Damn you! Go to hell! Activate it now!" one of them shouted and the next moment the other two had their bodies emit a strange brown color, followed by the instant bulging of their muscles.


    "They are summoning their innate strength, consuming their life re!" Armando was speechless for a moment there beforeughing, "they are so desperate, hahaha."


    Pol nced at him and didn''t say anything. He knew this was considered the most powerful attack in his youth generation. If this failed, then nothing else would work.


    "Should I interfere?" he thought, weighing everything before shaking off his head. "Toote, and that Wiser damn!" he nced at Armando feeling much enmity towards him. "I swear today''s benevolence shall be repaid in folds backter," he promised.


    "Die!" the three giants shouted, while Jim casually waved his sword once, twice, thrice, and the lightning pirs just followed his will.


    "Boom!"


    Yet the next moment a giant dirt wave erupted from the front of the giants, forming a massive wall of tens of meters height in front of Jim.


    "Tsk, too bad my attackes from the sky not the ground," heughed while he kept waving his sword with his utmost speed, while the lightning kept barbecuing the three giants.


    Yet the giants didn''t surrender, as they kept their bodies and fists clenched in the same position, withstanding the pain. "Let''s see who is going to fall first," one of them roared, and the confrontation just kept escting when the wall of dirt started to move.


    It was obvious for the attack to be strong enough to stop Jim, yet he didn''t move or even try to meet the iing gigantic dirt wave while he kept waving his sword all the time.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment he was hit with the dirt, taking him inside and forming a gigantic dirt ball around.


    Yet his ball of lightning protected him so far.


    "Damn, Den when will you move?" Jenny shouted with distress as the oue escted beyond her expectations.


    "He didn''t give the order yet," Deno was as nervous as her, yet he didn''t dare to move an inch without having the signal from Jim.


    He saw how Jim managed to carry them all this far, and he trusted Jim and so he waited.


    "Don''t let the other two interfere," one of the three shouted with his loudest voice mixed with pain. The pirs of lightning fell upon them non-stop, and they all felt severe pain and burning from head to toe.


    The two giants were just walking with difficulty from the other end of the arena after taking the first shot of Jim directly. They had many wounds, and despite their strong bodies; they still were heavily injured.


    "Damn you!" one of the two giants cursed out loud while ncing over the other side. Deno was now starting to fight directly with the shapeshifters, while Jenny stood next to him, doing nothing.

 Chapter 41: The Trick

    Chapter 41: The Trick


    The two giants moved using their instant ability to appear in three jumps in front of Deno. Deno was simply unstoppable, using his fists to push the five shapeshifters backwards.


    The shape shifter was such a cunning race, yet as most of the special ability races they shared themon drawback; they had weak physiques!


    They had the ability to turn water into ice, store water, but they nned all their tactics upon the presence of the two Kroaks.


    So when they faced Deno, they had trouble dealing with him. Just as the two giants appeared, Deno let them hit him with the rocks summoned around their fists, sending him flying backward tens of meters.


    "Wow, never thought Bulltors would be so fragile," one of the twoughed, yet the other one had a bad omen.


    "Bulltors are known to be heavier than us," he muttered and just as he was so doubtful of this strange performance of Deno, Jenny stepped forward while finally waving her hands apart.


    The fire erupted and raged wildly in an instant, startling everyone. "Damn, targeting us while we are injured!" the one who had bad omen muttered while hurriedly adding, "let''s glue ourselves to the ground. We can''t let these two loose to attack the others."


    The other one nodded and as the fire hit their bodies, their legs shone with brown light while apparently merged with the ground.


    They took all the fire attacks from her without flinching backward an inch! That was impressive, yet as they thought they would have her next when the fire started to die, Deno suddenly jumped again on top of her head,nding just meters away from them.


    "I love how confident you two are," he sneered before waving his clenched fists and started to rain the two with mighty punches.


    If they were in their top shape, he wouldn''t be able to shake them. However he attacked after they took a severe hit from Jim''s lightning, and direct fire waves of Jenny.


    They were weak, exhausted, and heavily injured at the moment. So each punch made their entire bodies tremble and shake while they even spat blood.


    Jim was surrounded with dirt, and he felt great pressure exerted all over his lightning ball, yet he wasn''t worried or nervous.


    "Is it time already?" he muttered when he suddenly heard the faint booming sounding from his right. "She started, and that means in less than ten seconds Deno will move," he calcted time perfectly with a cool mind and cold nerves like an experienced killer.


    "Now!" he suddenly shouted when he counted fifteen seconds. He knew by this time Deno must be showering the two giants with his punches, while those five shapeshifters would be sent flying with fire attacks to the rear of the arena.


    That only left the three giants the only hurdle he had right now in front of his victory.


    As his shout reverberated in the entire arena, Pol suddenly stood up as he shouted in rage: "This is a clear breaking to the arena rules."


    His voice was even louder than Jim''s shout earlier, yet everyone didn''t turn to nce at him.


    Everyone was fixed over this strange scene urring in front of their eyes!


    Just as Jim shouted, a shadow suddenly moved from outside of the arena heading straight forward towards the three giants.


    "Howl!"


    "That''s cheating! They broke the rules!!" Pol was already furious to even jump from his seat and wanted to go into the arena and interfere to stop the uing massacre of his strongest youth team.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" the Kroak master sneered as he appeared the next moment with his gigantic body, blocking the path over Pol.


    "Don''t try something funny, alright?" Armando also moved to stand beside the Kroak master, "I have sealed the space, you can''t move using your teleporting ability or spells," he added with a calm smile over his face.


    "This is a cheat! This can''t be approved! They cheated and they should be expelled instantly from the arena, announcing their defeat by cheating!" Pol didn''t want to waste time fighting these two while he was alone. He wanted to hurry and stop the uing massacre before it would be toote.


    "Who said it''s cheating?" Armandoughed before ncing over the Kroak master leisurely, "do you see this as cheating?" he asked.


    "They should have five team inside the arena, and the fifth just joined the fight," the Kroak masterughed as he was as much amused with this fight as Armando.


    The little trick Jim pulled amazed him, and made him even more satisfied by his boys'' loss. At least for him they weren''t his top team.


    "That''s you two" Pol didn''t know what to say yet the continuous howling from Rick made him nce over their shoulders towards his three trapped giants.


    "Damn!" he cursed before he wanted to move instantly and save the three. He didn''t care much about his youth team, he only cared about things on stake here if they lost.


    "Stop," Armando had his face change to show his seriousness, "if you stepped one more towards the arena I won''t hesitate to imprison you."


    "You" Pol was speechless for a moment there before he turned his gaze upon the distance. His three giantsy there stunned under the sudden sneaky attack of Rick, while their special ability was instantly cancelled and Jim was finally freed.


    "My turn," Jimughed as the next moment his body moved fast to appear in front of the three. All he used before was the long range attacks of his spell, something that was much weaker than using the spell directly upon them.


    "Die!" he didn''t even consider turning one of them to his ve, as he knew such a treacherous race couldn''t be trusted.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Each wave of his sword prated the three bodies like tofu. The three giants had it hard during the past minutes, taking the full toll of his lightning attacks without pause.

 Chapter 42: Not Guilty!

    Chapter 42: Not Guilty!


    Their bodies were already cracked open with multiple deep wounds, and when Jim used his sword, it was also supported with lightning.


    Like this, the three mighty giants fell under the weak human hands, thanks to his cunning n and his perfect use of what he got.


    And above everything else, he made sure he yed by the rules!


    "Move to the others," he shouted and Rick and he moved in unison towards the other two. The two were shocked by what happened to their mates, and just as Jim appeared faster than Rick in front of them, one of them just opened his mouth and mutter:


    "We surr"


    "I don''t ept, die!"


    Jim had his mind fixed on dealing with the two and refused their obvious surrender. The next moment his sword backed up with lightning power cut through their bare chest, cleaving them into two halves, killing them with cold blood.


    "Next," he turned to gaze upon the five shapeshifters remaining in the arena. His gaze to them was like a death god gaze, and instantly they had their bodies trembling and retreated a couple of steps backwards.


    Even three of them fell on the ground and kept shaking out of fear.


    "We"


    One of them said and he was kind ofte, as Jim just arrived swiftly like the lightning backing him up.


    "What?" Jim asked while his sword was hung up in the air, ready to cut this one''s head from his neck if he said something Jim didn''t like.


    "We surrender," the shape shifter didn''t think his participation in this easy fight today turned this upside down. For him to save his life he had to live his life as a ve to a human, and this thought made him quite enraged and regretful.


    "Not sincere enough," Jim sensed his discontent from his tone, and the next moment he didn''t wait for the kid to retract his mistake and cut his head off his shoulder.


    "Next," he moved towards the next one and this one was the only standing youth here. "What''s your stance?" he asked, calmly like he was befriending the youth not about to kill him.


    "Fuck y"


    The youth didn''t continue his mean insult before his head was sent rolling on the ground, and his bode fell motionless in ce with a fountain of blood.


    "Next," Jim jumped towards the other three, and this time the three were more terrified than ever.


    "Surrender, we surrender," one of the three hurried to scream in panic, and his screams just echoed in the deathly silent arena.


    "We promise to do anything you ask, anything," the second youth jumped in, trying to save his neck from this butcher.


    "I''ll be your loyal one, the one to depend upon in everything," the third tried to make himself more sincere and Jim just nced silently at them for a moment.


    This moment seemed to be the longest one in their entire life, and they only nced at his sword raised high in the sky, shrouded with lightning and feeling more dreadful from it.


    "Good," he smiled, "you cane over then," he said before turning to gaze at the three standing masters on the edge of the arena, "I ept their surrender and kill everyone else. It''s my win."


    His words seemed like a decree from a higher being, making everyone here feel like he wasn''t a weak human, wasn''t human at all.


    "Bravo Jim, I never thought you''d be this mighty," Sieraughed before turning her gaze upon Pol, "what will you do now, dirty bastard?"


    As if Pol heard her words, he suddenly shouted: "I ask the council of the fair and mighty Wiser!"


    "Tsk, never learn of your lessons," the Kroak masterughed before turning to Armando, "grant him his dying wish, please."


    "My pleasure," Armando sneered before turning to face the arena. He nced over everyone standing for a moment, satisfied by the impression his future disciple had created so far.


    "Impressive one, kiddo," heughed as he said these words not softly, yet very loud while making everyone here hear him perfectly.


    "Let the Wisere forth and judge this dispute," he shouted and the next moment a tremble happened in the ground that was simr to what happened before.


    Jim was slightly nervous at this moment. He knew he twisted the rules and yed everyone here, yet in front of the Wiser that showed no mercy before, he was slightly hesitant.


    "Will he condemn me?" he muttered before sighing, "I won this fair and square."


    "Good wordsd," the deep voice came from the ground underneath him, making him examine the ground with weird nces over his face. "Not guilty," the next words of the Wiser determined everything.


    "See? It''s your loss mate," the Kroak masterughed while Armando stretched out his hands over, "Pay what you owe me now, or else"


    Armando didn''t want Pol to leave this ce without tormenting him to the limit. He wasn''t mean, he was simply repaying the previous insults of Pol and his unauthorized intervention in his authority.


    And Armando hated it the most when someone trespassed over his own limits.


    "You" Pol was now in another world, as he recalled the words of his master, the threats he received, and his mind started to picture many dark things yet to happen to him.


    "Pay now or receive the wrath of the oath," Armando wiped out the calm smile over his face while stretching out his hand to the sky, "now," he repeated and his words didn''t seem like a request at all.


    "Curse you," Pol didn''t hesitate to toss one of his big rings towards him. "I pray you will be bathed in fire for eternity," he cursed him loudly before turning and left with heavy steps and a troubled mind.


    "Hehehe, I promise I will bath in wealth for eternity, your past wealth," Armandoughed loudly while examining the content of the ring for a moment before breaking out inughter again.


    "Great gain?" the Kroak master envied him.


    "Yes, but not for share," Armando took the ring and wore it before breaking the seal over it easily and linked it to him. "But there is one person who deserves part of this wealth."


    The Kroak master nodded in agreement before turning his gaze upon Jim. "Can you let him choose between the two of us?" he asked.


    "Never," Armandoughed as he returned to his seat, "this gem is mine, don''t dream about it."


    "Tsk, we''ll see," the Kroak master turned to leave while Armando just nced at his back and smiled in confidence. "You don''t know how many others are eying this human kid now, and none will have their way to him but me, hehehe," he muttered to himself before ncing over Jim and the others of his team who were now celebrating their hard earned victory.


    "What will you do at the admission ceremony, kiddo?" he muttered as heughed, "I''m sure you''ll pull another surprise there, hehehe."

 Chapter 43: The Team Got Dispersed

    Chapter 43: The Team Got Dispersed


    "You just need to wait for days before the tests end," one of the administrators over the test answered Jim''s question after ignoring the remarks of others around him.


    "Ok, where shall I stay then?" Jim asked while trying to control his feelings.


    Since he left the arena after his stunning winning streak, he only was faced with cold gazed and harsh treatment. People around him treated him like he was nothing, even after his stunning victory.


    For him he thought once he did all this, crushing many strong foes and expanding his team to reach thirteen members including himself, everyone would treat him nice and special.


    "I don''t care about that," the centaur standing in front of him coldly answered before he moved towards a certain direction, any direction far from Jim.


    "C''mon, I''m an inner academy disciple!" he shouted in anger yet his shout didn''t make the centaur even turn to him. "Tsk, that''s reallyme!"


    "Calm down, you are after all a human entering the inner circle of the academy and with a Bulltor by your side and this amazing mix you got you can''t ask for better treatment."


    Jim turned to face one of the three shapeshifters he just added to his teamstly. "Does this suppose to make me feel better?" he nced at the youth called Brandy and harrumphed.


    He was angry, very angry in fact. And the most annoying thing was the warning he received from the first person he met after exiting the arena in such triumph.


    "Don''t expect much out of it, sheep," Pol met him at the end of the corridor leading to the outside space of the arena, before instantly vanishing from his sight.


    These simple words killed his joy and turned his pride in his victory into a rage of anger.


    The more he dealt with people here the more he became furious. Yet he couldn''t do anything to change that, not now at least.


    "Soon," he muttered to himself, "everything will change, I promise."


    All the bitterness he was feeling right now was turned slowly into endless fuel, a fuel that he would depend onter to soar and rock this academy.


    "Sorry guys," Deno apologized in an embarrassed tone, "I know this is all my fault."


    "Don''t say that," Ashley said before adding, "you are part of the team, our team. You are one of our growing family, right everyone?" she turned to ask for support and everyone just nodded.


    After all they all just hastily met in bizarre circumstances. Some of them even still dreamt of the glory and good life they could have lived if they had any fatal excuse to dy upon showing up here.


    "I can''t stand this," Jim clenched his fist while his chest was burning with anger.


    "If you can''t stand this, then find some way to change it."


    Jim turned to see Siera walking towards him with a wide smile while a soft fluffy short tail of hers was moving right and left.


    "You seem happy," Jimughed.


    "I saw an interesting show right now," she said before adding, "I think you don''t have a ce to stay at , right?"


    "That''s the trouble I''m facing."


    She didn''t answer Jim as she nced over his team as she said:


    "I believe you need a couple of days at your ns to arrange things there, right?"


    Each one seemed quite tense of seeing her, and that was obvious in their nervous nodding. Only Deno seemed unfazed by her presence, just like the two girls who saw her as a kind friend.


    "Then go and make sure toe back here in less than six days," she said before adding, "the admission ceremony will be held in six days, you all know that, right?"


    Her calm words were so domineering to them, making them all nod in unison before they turned to Jim.


    "We''ll leave," they said in one tone before turning around and vanishing in no time.


    "Wow," Jim eximed in surprise, "they really can run fast," heughed while turning around to see Deno and Lan still there. "Won''t you go to your ns as well?"


    "Their ns aren''t here," Siera said before moving to a certain direction, "follow me, I''ll provide you with shelter and food for these days, plus many important info."


    Jim nced at the four standing next to him before they all moved after her. "Won''t they run away?" Ashley suddenly asked.


    "Run away? Hahaha," Sieraughed like she just heard a nice joke. "my dear, if this happened then their entire ns will be questioned and even the academy will dispatch teams to hunt them down."


    "But I''m a human and you can see how they treat me," Jim didn''t have his hopes high.


    "This is different, this is concerned the echo system of the academy," Siera said before seriously adding, "as long as any mistake or crime here won''t affect the general picture and system of the academy; no master will move a finger."


    Everyone suddenly nced at Deno who nervously muttered: "What?!!"


    "Your presence here broke the inner system of the academy," Siera said what others didn''t loudly confess, "yet luckily this isn''t rted to the written rules and greater pictures of the academy, rather to some powers interest here. So rest assured, away from the normal hassle of other disciples you won''t be touched."


    She paused before turning to Jim as she added, "at least not inside the walls of the academy."

 Chapter 44: The Sacred Pantheon Hall

    Chapter 44: The Sacred Pantheon Hall


    They walked silently after her for an hour. During that time, they crossed the main gate to the dwelling corner of her n inside the academy.


    During their path, everyone gave her a respectful nod, while only ncing at others with no interest except Deno.


    And Deno seemed to grow thick skin over these repeated scenes, even when they arrived at a grand mansion with many guards outside it.


    "Tips before entering," she turned to face Jim and the other four, "no matter what you hear inside, never raise your voice and defend yourselves. Understood?"


    Her warning seemed strange, yet when they met her mother, they understood everything.


    The meeting was brief, as her mother seemed not caring that much with her daughter. Her main concern was rted to some papers on her high throne-like seat.


    She only nced at them for a brief moment before muttering, "you brought trash again into my home you are pathetic."


    Jim didn''t know why but he felt anger just hearing this esteemed and elegantdy''s rude words. Yet he heeded by Siera''s advice and went to silence until they all reached arge section in the seventhyer in this giant mansion.


    The mansion didn''t end here, as it still had three more levels above them.


    "It''s a maze," Jenny muttered while going towards arge bed on the side of the hall and threw herself upon it. "I''m exhausted."


    "Hehehe, you did great and you deserve some rest," Siera said before adding, "this section is my own private one. I have the right to make anyone stay here, and no one but me can touch this ce without my permission," she said those strict words with a smile over her face.


    Yet Jim was pretty sure she was hurt from the inside, just like he was when he stayed in that tight closet. "A big section or a small closet, they are all prisons to us," he muttered to himself before she added:


    "Rest well for these days. I''ll instruct for the food to be delivered to you regrly. As for the info about the next step here, I''ll brief you about these in time."


    She excused herself before Jim and his team went to check the rooms. The ce was big enough to inhabit a team of fifty, not just mere five of them.


    "Alright, let''s have some fun here," Jimughed while carrying Jenny all of sudden, e fiery girl, show me how hot you can be," heughed before going inside one room in front of the others and closed the door with his leg before sounds ofughing followed by moaning and screaming started to echo through the ce for the rest of the day and all the night long.


    They stayed here while servants kept food delivered five times a day. Jim was speechless at first, yet when he saw how Deno''s appetite was bottomless he understood this arrangement of Siera.


    "She cares much about us," he muttered, "about others while her life itself is a deep shit."


    He had already finished a long sex with Ashley who seemed unwilling at first but when he and Jenny had her cornered in her room, she finally gave in and got a taste of a pleasure she rarely touched.


    She wasn''t like Jenny, who was vulgar and following her body desires. One day here she thought of touching Deno and tried him out with his giant body and strong muscles, to be instantly wacked by Jim in his room while making her scream more than moan.


    Since that day she knew she belonged to him, and only to him and not others.


    On the sixth day Siera was there with the servants delivering breakfast. "Your team is now gathered at the great hall of the ceremony," she said before taking a te filled with fresh vegetables and some roasted meat and started eating it beside a fresh orange drink that always reminded Jim of orange.


    "That''s great," Jim took his te before adding, "when is the ceremony going to start?"


    "In less than one hour," she answered before adding, "now it''s the time for the core disciple ceremony, next it''ll be the inner disciple andter will be the outer disciples."


    She took a big bite of a steak on another te while chewing it with an amused look over her face like a real child. "The distance from here to there won''t take more than twenty minutes, so we can talk while eating about certain things."


    "What things?" Jim casually asked while he ate.


    "Do you know what the hall of the ceremony is called?" she asked before Jim shook his head. "I thought so," she smiled before ncing over others who also shook their heads.


    "The academy is so strict about her inner system that lower worlds and races like yourselves won''t get a glimpse about what''s really inside there," she sighed before saying, "the hall is known here by the sacred pantheon hall."


    "Sacred pantheon hall? Are there gods inside?" Deno eximed in surprise.


    "Typical response from you," she smiled before adding, "from anyoneing from lower nes and races actually. It''s not the ce of gods, it''s a ce which held remnants of the first mighty being in each n."


    "And?" Jim was interested in hearing more than asking questions.


    "The custom of our ceremony followed these steps. Core academy fresh disciples would have their ceremony first, ranked as the highest in the academy. They will gain a fiercepetition from masters to have them as their own disciples, to be tutored directly under their guidance."


    "That''s big," Lan honestly said.


    "Sure, but Jim''s ce isn''t that low either," she turned to Jim before adding, "your ceremony will have some masters waiting for selecting excellent disciples. Plus the usual mandatory pantheon selection."


    "What is that?" Jim asked.


    "As I said, the hall contains remnants of ancient and mighty beings. Each being is considered a leader of a great faction. For example my fox n is considered a follower to the great medusa pantheon."


    "Medusa with snakes?" Jim was speechless for a moment before adding, "isn''t she a myth?"


    "She isn''t, and it''s a race and not a person," Siera shook her head calmly before adding, "what you need to concern yourself with is the pantheon you''ll follow."


    "Is there a problem with that?" Jim asked as he didn''t know anything about what she was talking about.


    "Humans are like Bulltors and Actimos races; you all used to serve under the great pantheon of fairies."


    "But" Deno''s face changed before Siera nodded. "Yes, the fairies are long gone, making you three loose disciples with no pantheon to join," she said before adding, "luckily for you this isn''t a rare urrence. Usually we have dozens of new disciplesing from lower races with no established panteon for their ns. So, you will do just like these."


    "Join the academy without a pantheon then?" Jim asked.


    "No," she shook her head, "this is a written rule in the academy; no disciple shall join it officially except after being epted in a pantheon."


    Jim and others seemed confused while she ate thest piece of her te as she said, "You''ll have to join a faction serving a pantheon. This way you''ll be indirectly under a pantheon."


    Jim understood her meaning, despite not liking what she was referring to. "Can''t we just try our luck directly with those pantheons?" he asked.


    "No, this won''t work," she shook her head before adding, "no one ever did it and seeded, so it''s already an established unwritten rule of the ceremony."


    "Tsk," Jim shook his head in regret.


    "Don''t whine like this," Sieraughed at his reaction. "My mother is the vice head of our n and I just managed to finally convince her to ept you all inside the n during the ceremony."


    The eyes of everyone lit up with joy, except for Jim. He wanted to ask about the price she had to pay, and if she was really certain her mother would follow her promise or not.


    Yet he refrained from saying a single word to her.


    "Alright," she stood up before adding, "it''s time for us to leave. There is around half an hour left from the ceremony, just to reach there and get inside."


    Everyone moved after her while Deno held a long stick of meat in his arm and kept bitingrge pieces of it.


    Despite his funny actions, no one dared tough at him. They all discovered how hard Deno loved eating when poor Lan decided to crack a joke on him on their second day, to end up being beaten up and with the final intervention of Jim his life was saved.

 Chapter 45: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part One

    Chapter 45: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part One


    "Since the early dawn of the universe our academy was established to serve as the sword and shield. Throughout its long and deep rooted history, our academy has followed the same protocol sat by the long gone great fairies."


    A small sized man with a head of peacock spoke, standing alone on top of a great stage taking the center of this grand hall.


    The hall was oval in shape, with two tapering ends. One led to a big twelve gates made of special wood and the other ended on the stage.


    On both sides of the stage, floating balconies resting over small golden clouds resided. Each had a group of esteemed looking people of each race, and some included old men and women acting as the masters of the academy.


    When Jim entered here for the first time, he was taken by the grand and majestic decorations of this ce. He also noted the presence of giant statues at one side of the hall, taking up the entire side with loose curtains covering bits of them.


    He couldn''t perfectly see the details of these statues, but he knew for sure that the central one wasn''tplete. It was cut from the waist, leaving only half or less of this statue.


    When he was led here, he was told he was the only one permitted to enter. And when he entered, he realized he was too the only one without proper clothing.


    Each one standing or sitting here wore a certain robe with specific color and a strange emblem over their chests and the center of their hats. From the rapid nce he took, everyone here seemed to already be part of a group, where each group was marked by a certain style of clothing.


    "This is the inner disciple eptance ceremony. For those who are new to our world, I have to tell you some facts so you can catch up with what you miss," the peacock spoke again, attracting Jim gaze.


    Jim was now standing behind a gigantic curtain he was led to just behind the stage. He couldn''t see the front or even look to the side as the light here was slightly dim.


    From the mere words he heard from the two who led him here, he knew he was thetest to arrive, and so he was thest in this long line of many races.


    "First the academy is built on the concept of the great pantheons in our universe. Each pantheon represents the founding father of a great race, and each pantheon can support an unlimited number of disciples and weaker races."


    ''That''s exactly like what Siera told me,'' Jim muttered to himself while the peacock continued:


    "We have the esteemed dragon pantheon, the esteemed phoenix pantheon, the esteemed kraken pantheon, the esteemed medusa pantheon, the esteemed griffin pantheon, the esteemed unicorn pantheon, the esteemed hydra pantheon, the esteemed chimera pantheon, the esteemed banshee pantheon, the esteemed berserker pantheon, and the long fallen fairy pantheon."


    Jim noticed that peacock didn''t treat the fairy pantheon like other pantheons, making him realize how the academy was seeing the fairies.


    "Eleven main pantheons with only ten currently active. Each pantheon has many races under them, and these races are known in our world as the mighty lords," the peacock said before adding:


    "To know more you have to go and ask around for yourselves. Right now we are going to test each one of you based on the esteemed pantheons we have. Failing to be epted by a pantheon isn''t the end of the road, you can go and ask the mighty lords to ept you, making you also part of the pantheon in one way."


    Jim nodded as this matched what Siera just told him. ''She told me her mother will ept me as a disciple, following the fox n that follows the medusa pantheon,'' he said to himself before thinking, ''the issue here is what will happen if her mother didn''t do her promise and no one epted me.''


    His question was instantly answered by the peacock who said:


    "If you fail to be epted by the esteemed pantheons and the mighty lords then you will be considered failing to be admitted into the academy. You won''t leave it but will be lowered to a degree where you won''t have to follow a certain pantheon directly."


    ''What?!!!'' Jim inwardly eximed in shock while keeping his silence. He was warned by the two who led him here before to never make a single sound until his test started.


    "Now, let the first disciplee forth please."


    Jim watched a silhouette moving forward through the curtain and then he heard nothing.


    "epted," after a few minutes of pure silence, the sound of the peacock came again before adding, "what''s your name, son?"

 Chapter 46: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Two

    Chapter 46: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Two


    "Rangor," a harsh voice came loud in the entire hall.


    "Congrattions Rangor, you are now part of the esteemed berserker pantheon." The peacock paused for a moment where Jim heard the sound of a brush over a piece of paper, "you are now a privileged junior inner disciple of first year. You can goter to buy your academy uniform and tools. If you don''t have any money right now, the academy can lend you enough monthly allowance to secure your needs here."


    "Thanks master," Rangor replied before Jim heard a heavy footsteps before ceasing.


    "Next disciple please."


    The long line of disciples started to move one by one. For the first ten disciples, the result was the same. Yet at the eleven disciple, the words of the peacock came different.


    "Son, you failed the test of the esteemed pantheon." The peacock paused before adding in a louder tone, "anyone is interested in taking this disciple under the banner of the mighty lords?"


    Jim listened carefully as he knew his fate would be simr to this one.


    "This is a hybrid of werewolves, slightly mixed with human blood and fox n blood. I''ll ept it under the banner of the werewolves mighty banner. Do you ept, son?"


    A harsh tone appeared and the next moment the disciple replied:


    "It''s an honor to be part of your mighty lord banner, sir."


    "What''s your name, son?" the peacock asked.


    "Genge."


    "Congrattions Genge, you are now part of the mighty werewolves lord banner under the esteemed berserker pantheon." The peacock paused for a moment where Jim heard again the familiar sound of a brush over a piece of paper.


    "You are now amon junior inner disciple of first year. You can goter to buy your academy uniform and tools. If you don''t have any money right now, the academy can lend you enough monthly allowance to secure your needs here."


    Despite receiving the same treatment, Jim realized the rank of this disciple was lower than the rest behind him. ''Sigh, thoseing from the great ns here have it easier,'' he muttered to himself while watching more disciples to ascend the stage one after another.


    There were a total of fifty-three inner disciples here, him included. When it was finally his turn, he was very nervous inside.


    During this long waiting, three weren''t epted by any lords, making them fail the test. Their ranks were demoted and none stood to defend this.


    ''Tsk, why do I smell a bad scheme here from him?'' he muttered to himself while he was called by the peacock. "Next andst disciple, pleasee forth."


    Jim took a really long breath before finally going up. The moment he prated the curtain, he was met with bright light and lines of stairs that he ascended in the calmest way he could muster.


    Just as he reached the top of the stage, he felt everyone''s eyes falling upon him with a soft wave of whisper erupted since he exited the curtain.


    ''They know about me,'' he said to himself trying to shake off the nervous feeling that was now assaulting him.


    The peacock nced at him, yet Jim stood motionless in ce, not knowing what to do.


    "Son, don''t you know how to take the test?" the peacock said with these friendly words in such an impatient tone.


    And Jim just nodded.


    "Don''t be afraid, you can now speak here, hehehe," the peacockughed and manyughed with him.


    "Sorry master," Jim tried to be polite, despite knowing this wouldn''t help him here. "I don''t know what to do next."


    "No problem," the peacock said before adding, "this is just expected from such a lowly human who overstepped his boundaries."


    Jim felt the hostilitying from the peacock, yet he remained silent and waited for the second wave ofughter to end.


    "See these sacred statues over there? Go and cut a wound on your hand before letting your worthless blood touch them," the peacock said before adding in an evil grin, "or perhaps you can save yourself the embarrassment and hustle and let the lords decide your fate."


    Heughed as he added, "after all no esteemed pantheon will ept your dirty blood."


    Moreughed this time while Jim noticed much more whispering and nodding to each other.


    "May I speak, honorable master?"

 Chapter 47: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Three

    Chapter 47: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Three


    Suddenly this deep and familiar voice that Jim instantly recognized came from one balcony.


    "Sure Pol, I still remember the day of your ceremony. You were selected in the core disciple ring and performed brilliantly in your years here."


    Jim swallowed his throat, feeling exactly like standing all alone amidst an angry pack of hungry wolves.


    "I suggest we first see if there is a lord willing to take such a lowly human under his banner," Pol said and strangely the peacock master nodded as he said:


    "Agreed." The peacock gave Jim a mocking nce briefly before returning to everyone around, "any lord is willing to take this human under his banner?"


    Jim was starting to get angry, clenching both fists while not daring to show any sign of it over his face. A long stressful silent minute passed and no one ever spoke.


    "No one?" this time the peacock nced at Jim while sneering. "Son, it''s better for me to announce your failure then. Good luck as an external disciple of our esteemed academy. This is the highest you can get and frankly I see it as overestimation for such a lowly race as yours."


    "Wait," Jim couldn''t restrain himself anymore, "I didn''t take the pantheon test."


    This time the wave ofughter was louder, making the anger inside him rage wilder.


    "Son, or kid, I really don''t care about even knowing your name, or how the hell have that senile rod decided to give you such a respectful rank to a lowly person like you, but don''t waste more of our time here."


    "This is the right of any disciple, I''m not asking for anything beyond that," Jim tried to keep his tone as low and respectful as possible.


    "If master may, let him go and test," Pol said beforeughing in strange happiness, "after all we don''t have the chance to see a clown each year."


    His rude words made the entire hallugh and even some joined and gave some mean remarks that Jim acted like he never heard.


    "Get out, clown."


    "The outer disciple who was once an inner disciple a clown disciple"


    "Don''t waste my time and f*ck off!"


    Jim stayed calm and collected from the outside, despite being shaken out of anger from inside. He just wanted to scream at everyone, shout and curse loudly, yet he couldn''t.


    ''Calm down, they are just a bunch of idiots and you have to find a way out of this dilemma,'' he said to himself while ncing over the statues. "I''ll take the test now," he said and didn''t wait for more insulting words from the peacock while heading towards the eleven statues.


    "Don''t take much time and finish this fast," the peacock shouted from behind while Jim passed through a specific path between many seats in front of the stage.


    These were filled with many disciples, and he spotted Siera there. She had such a look over her face, one he was so familiar with.


    Disappointment and sadness.


    Such helplessness he hated the most down his soul, making him want to prove himself more to everyone, to himself.


    When he reached the first statue, he finally was able to see its full details. It had a strong human body and a head of a dragon, standing erect with such pride and arrogance that made him sneer.


    ''Damn liars! Everything started by the useless trick you pulled on me,'' he muttered to himself before taking his sword out and cutting his palm deep.


    Then he did like others, where he put his hand on an empty spot at the base of this statue. The entire statue base was covered with bloody hands, and his hand came to make no difference at the scene or at the statue.


    "Keep on, this esteemed pantheon doesn''t acknowledge you."


    Jim inwardly sighed. Despite anticipating such a result, each time he failed at one statue he was depressed and more worried.


    He moved and the sound of the peacock came to mock each of his attempts. He failed them all, and stood silently in front of the elven statues wanting to smash the other ten like the fallen fairies.


    "Go out now and never enter this sacred hall ever again," the peacock suddenly turned serious as he added, "it was a nice show, clown, but things are over now. Enough wasting our precious time and moving away."

 Chapter 48: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Four

    Chapter 48: The Sacred Admission Ceremony - Part Four


    Jim was shaking deep inside his soul, and at this moment even his body trembled faintly from the outside. "There is still one left," he suddenly said and before waiting for the answer of the peacock, he went directly towards the smashed fairy statue.


    "Hahaha, this is getting more hrious," the peacockughed along with almost everyone in this hall. "This statue is broken," he said before adding, "the fairies are long gone, and no one is able to resonate with this useless statue since then. Sure you are free to try and let us allugh more on your failure."


    Yet his words didn''t manage to stop Jim from reaching the broken fairy statue. The statue looked majestic before, Jim could tell as it was the only one with real rare ores that the statue was made of.


    Unlike other statues which used extra ornaments to make them look grand, this one was simply grand from its essence.


    "I pray for a miracle," he muttered while putting his hand over the base of the statue and staining it with his blood.


    "Ouch," the moment he did, he felt a strange suction forceing from the statue, hurting him more like a long thorn inserted deeply inside his flesh.


    And the next moment his blood erupted like a fountain, covering the entire half of the broken statue.


    "Rumble!"


    The statue shook, faintly at first before a rumble sound urred. Like watching a seed growing in fast pace to be a mighty tree, the statue kept growing and repairing itself until the entire statue appeared majestic like time didn''t leave a scratch over it.


    "Im Impossible!"


    This sudden shout came not from the peacock yet from one of the highest balconies here. A man suddenly appeared, jumping off the balcony and descending to stand beside Jim, observing the statue with bulging eyes.


    ''A dragon!'' Jim was shocked the moment he saw this giant standing beside him. The dragon master moved his eyes from the statue which becameplete to the hand of Jim that was still stuck over its base.


    "Who are you?" the dragon master muttered before roaring in deep anger, "who the hell are you?!!"


    Jim felt his entire body tremble under invisible strength that strangely vanished the next moment. The dragon nced over the statue for a moment before harrumphing, turned around and returned to his balcony like nothing just happened.


    Yet Jim was connected to the statue just now and felt this strange oppressive forceing off the statue and breaking the pressure exerted by the dragon master simply like rock hitting a fragile egg.


    "You" the peacock was shocked as he moved his gaze towards the highest balcony here, where that master just came from.


    Jim followed his gaze and found the balcony empty. ''He was injured!'' he reached this amazing conclusion and he hardly controlled himself out of his excitement. "I''ve passed the test now, right?"


    Jim finally had his hand freed of the statue while saying these words calmly and in such a strong tone. When he checked his palm, he was surprised to see no wound there or even a mark left by his sword.


    "This" the peacock couldn''t make a decision rashly as he nced again up, seeking for any guidance.


    "I have a pantheon now, and I should receive my privilege disciple rank like others," Jim said in a strong tone while reaching the stage. "My name is Jim, make sure to write it correctly with an I."


    The peacock red at him, yet Jim wasn''t fazed by these meaningless threatening nces. He now was part of the upper echelon of the academy refresh disciples; an elite among normal kids here.


    And he wasn''t nning to let all the insults he received here go wasted without proper retaliation. ''In time,'' he said to himself, promising to make every single one whoughed at him here pay the priceter.


    "ept him," suddenly this majestic voice came from the same balcony where that dragon master disappeared into, "the rules of the academy are sacred, and no one can modify them, unfortunately."


    The sound came without an owner, yet from the respectful expression over the peacock face, Jim knew the owner was such a big shot here.


    "Congrattions, you have been epted," the peacock simply said before writing Jim''s name in his long sheet of faint blue paper. "You can now sit on any seat here and listen to the next words."


    Jim smiled and walked leisurely as he selected a seat just beside Siera, who was eyeing him with full rounded eyes, the same as others sitting here.

 Chapter 49: The Dragon Vice Dean

    Chapter 49: The Dragon Vice Dean


    "The hierarchy system of the academy was the same since its establishment till date, the core disciples are above the inner disciples, who were above the outer disciples."


    This strong tone came from an old looking dragon who just appeared moments after the brilliant performance of Jim.


    "Above all will be the master disciples, those who will be selected in one month after the start of your first year here," the old dragon with long thin mustache moved his semi-closed eyes towards everyone, yet he stopped for a couple of moments above Jim.


    "You are called Jim, right?" he suddenly asked, and Jim understood how important this dragon was. After all he was the one who finally spoke, giving the peacock the order to ept him.


    And Jim nodded.


    "Just a reminder, you came from a low ne world with no backing to yourself. Don''t stir up trouble here, got it?"


    Jim nodded again as he didn''t intend to cause trouble but to those seeking him bad.


    "Great, now the academy is built on a ten years program. Each disciple will have permanent residence for himself and his servants. Each core disciple got epted by masters to be their godfathers. For those who don''t know, this is considered the highest privilege ever in the academy."


    The dragon paused to take a long breath before emitting a small cloud off his mouth. "For the inner disciples, this privilege can be acquired, yet rarely. For those lucky bunches of you, the masters will just notify me, the vice dean of the academy, about their selection and you''ll be informed on the first day of your stay here."


    "The academy will start in one week. During this week you have a busy schedule. First you need to see if any of you have the interest of core disciples of the same year. If so, then you''ll get affiliated indirectly with their godfathers, gaining some respect and advantages."


    "To you, this privilege also extends to the outer disciple circle. You are free to select as many outer disciples as you wish, provided that they agree."


    "Mark my words, therger your group is, the harder your time in the academy. We have a very strict regimen based on fighting and strength as the main element of judgement. Gaining more weak followers will only backfire on you. And all the strong ones are already chosen in the core and inner disciple circles."


    "So choose wisely and be sure of your choice. There is a building dedicated for any of you to go and add some outer disciples to your banner. The condition also is the outer disciples will agree on this."


    "Your choices will also cover their servants, making you more selective and careful as ves are also considered as part of your total power."


    "There is a giant stele in the center of the academy main square. There names of the strongest powerhouses in the academy are recorded. Go there and admire their names, and hopefully some of you will have theirs also written there oneday."


    "In addition to that, you need to go to the inner disciple affairs building where you''ll choose your curriculum. After doing so, you can also gain allowance from there if you want."


    "Your next stop will be at the dorm of your stay, then you need to prepare for the visit to the subsidiary town; the Dragon town. There you''ll find all things you need, starting from books, clothes, and even weapons."


    "Fighting isn''t allowed outside the main arena of the academy, yet anyone can issue a challenge to any disciple in the same year or the year below. The challenges will involve the total power of the disciple, and bets are the rule of fighting there."


    "The academy has a long reputation of discipline towards its rules, so make sure to read the fresh disciples booklet you''ll gain from the inner disciples affairs and abide by them. All the punishments mentioned inside it will be applied in case anyone of you tries to be smart."


    "Allegations are serious crimes here without proof, yet if you have proof of someone breaking the rules then you''ll be rewarded."


    "Good luck in your next year, I''m personally looking forward to this batch."


    Each time he said some he would pause, take a deep breath, and exhale that cloud. When he said thest words, his eyes shone as he nced over Jim''s body for seconds, then he flew in the air with his ck wings and vanished inside the upper balcony.


    The next moment everyone got up from their seats and noise happened.


    "Damn! What did you pull in there?"


    The moment they exited the sacred hall, Siera jumped over his arm while shouting like crazy. Everyone getting out of the hall had his or her eye fixed upon Jim, including masters.


    "I don''t know," he lied, as he already had some spections about this.


    ''Old man, for how long will you keep silent?'' he thought to himself, yet he didn''t get an answer.


    "Wow, regardless you got me yed inside," sheughed before adding, "I was deadly worried for a second there, and never thought you would pull such a mighty trick."


    He shrugged and said nothing. His team was outside the hall, waiting for him with anxious looks over their faces.


    "It seems you already knew what was going to happen inside," he said with a helpless smile.


    "Some standing here were generous enough to exin things," Deno said with an angry look upon his face. "Is it true we can''t smash faces and hit others here?"


    Jimughed while shaking his head.


    "What is the result? You look happier than we thought," Ashley asked with concern.

 Chapter 50: Going to the Outer Disciple Affairs Building

    Chapter 50: Going to the Outer Disciple Affairs Building


    Jim''s smile grew wider as Siera shouted: "He got himself a pantheon! The long lost pantheon!!"


    They all exchanged nces before Kro asked:


    "Do you mean no way!" he paused while not believing himself.


    "Yeah," Siera giggled before hitting Deno in the leg where her hands could reach, "you lucky bastards, you are now all officially outer disciples of the academy."


    "What''s the pantheon of us then?" Jenny asked after a short wave of cheering andughter from everyone.


    "The Fairy pantheon," Jim said and the eyes of those aware of the inner structure of the academy like Gordan, Kro, and Roo got themselves a scare.


    "No way," Gordan said, "the pantheon was long lost since ages since the fairies."


    "See? This is what everyone had inside," Siera nodded like this was her own victory, "now we need to go to the outer disciple building to make you all listed there."


    "Isn''t there a ceremony for outer disciples?" Jim asked.


    "Nah, the academy doesn''t bother with those," Roo said before adding, "but it''s better than nothing."


    "In fact I was nning to enter the outer disciple circle in the academy," Rick confessed and the three others nodded.


    "Alright," Siera smiled before adding, "you didn''t lose a thing by joining him. He is now a privilege inner academy disciple with a big shot to gain a guardian to his own."


    "A guardian?" Deno asked.


    "It''s a master of the academy stepping forward to personally care for him," she exined.


    "You mean godfather, right?" Jim asked.


    "Another name to the same thing," she giggled, "get used to it, many things here have this trait."


    She led the way while saying, "Do you have any intention of making allies?"


    "Allies?" Jim asked before adding, "can you tell me more about the nature of the academy."


    "Brutal," she simplified things in this single word before adding, "without backing your only hope is to have strong allies."


    "Hmm what for?" he asked while everyone kept their mouth shut.


    "Because the challenges can be endless," she sighed before adding, "there is a trait in the academy that each new year fresh disciples have to be crushed all over by those who are older by one year."


    "All of them?" Jim asked, "even the core disciples?"


    "No exceptions given," she nced at him before adding, "terrified?"


    With her childish look and tone he couldn''t help himself from smiling. "What year are you at?" he asked.


    "Sixth," she raised her chin high before adding, "I''m an inner disciple too, and my sister was" she paused before changing the subject, "tell me, do you have ns to add any more to your group?"


    "Outer disciples you mean," he said before shaking his head, "I frankly dunno about that."


    "Don''t listen to that old fool''s words," she whispered while adding, "you''re going to need all the help you can master. After all you are going to be the focus of many challenges this year and years after."


    "Me?" he sneered before ncing back at his team, "my team is strong."


    "And few," she argued, "you are going to face teams in a hundred or even more."


    "What?!!" he wasn''t the only one surprised by this, and she just nodded to him. "You should work fast. As others are celebrating now, you can aim earlier to have more followers."


    "But"


    "Don''t limit your choices to the best, after all in any battle cannon fodders are a must."


    He didn''t speak anymore until they reached the main building responsible for the outer disciple affairs. Through the way he kept thinking about her words, and found an interesting fact that amused him much.


    "I know nothing at all about wars," he sneered,ughing at himself before deciding to follow her advice for now.


    "Listen up," as they reached the building he turned to face his team, "go inside and try to scout anyone who might join us."


    They nodded while going towards the big building surrounded by thousands of disciples. "Didn''t know the academy epted all of them," he muttered.


    "This is nothing," Siera shrugged, "if you waited for hours here, you''ll be more astonished by the total numbers getting in and out."


    "Wow," he honestly remarked.


    "By the way," she came closer to him, reaching almost to his elbows, "people here use the monster''s orbs as the main currency."


    "Is this the currency I will get from the academy?" he asked.


    "No, the academy will give you real coins," she said while taking two things all of sudden from thin air, startling him. "Don''t panic, I have a storage ring after all."


    "I like those rings," he winked.


    "Naughty boy, men should give women rings, not the opposite," she joked in a tone that didn''t suit her shape, "anyway, this rounded thing here is the monster orb, and this t thing is the academy coin."

 Chapter 51: Sieras Apologizing Gift

    Chapter 51: Siera''s Apologizing Gift


    He got the two andpared between them. "The orb is much heavier than the coin," he said.


    "But the value of this coin is worth a hundred of such orb," she exined before adding, "the academy will give you an allowance of five coins for your entire year. In fact this is enough considering the expenses of your stay, but regarding other issues, they aren''t."


    She nced over the building while he understood her meaning. "I don''t have enough to trade for orbs, right?"


    "Sure," she nodded before adding, "so the only way to get these is by going towards the forest of the academy and hunting monsters yourself, or by winning them in the arena."


    "The arena looked nicer than this forest," he said.


    "Silly boy, the arena is much worse than the forest in one way," she nced weirdly at him. "Your first challenge will be issued by those higher than you, you''ll lose that for sure along with half of your allowance only if you are lucky."


    "Or I can win," he argued.


    "No way, no fresh disciple won the first challenge ever in the history of the academy," she said with rounded eyes before adding, "don''t put hopes on wrong stakes, if I were you I would go to the forest right after going to the Sherwid town."


    "Sherwid town what is it?"


    "It''s the dragon town, but themon name among disciples," she winked before adding, "you''ve only one week before starting the academy officially. So you won''t be challenged except a week from now. Use everything in hand to gain these orbs."


    She then took out a small ring and handed it to him. "Take it, it contained enough to buy the loyalty of fifty outer disciples."


    "B- But" he hesitated yet she pressed over his hand with her smaller ones. "Just ept them, they are nothing to me. You need these and consider them as my apology for me messing up."


    He sighed before epting her gift. "Thanks a lot," he honestly said, "can you tell me some data about these monsters out there."


    "You can go to the inner disciple affairs and they will give you a booklet about them," she said before adding, "I''ll leave now. Try to buy a stall for yourself here. This way you can always get new followers without the need of wasting time with this ce."


    She waved her hands while vanishing the next moment off his sight. "This girl" he shook his head before ncing at the ring in hand before muttering, "she didn''t tell me how to use it," he then nced at the building before adding, "or how to establish a stall!"


    ''Just wear it and ce a drop of blood over it.''


    "Finally!" Jim eximed in loud voice before his old man hurry to say:


    ''Don''t make a scene, you already caught the attention of many.''


    ''Oh, sorry,'' he said before adding, ''you went off too long.''


    ''That was unavoidable,'' the old man said, ''many eyes were stuck on you.''


    ''And now?''


    ''It seems what you did back there got the best of them. They aren''t that focused on you yet,'' the old man said before adding, ''I believe we have a short time now. So listen carefully and do as I tell you.''


    Jim listened to the old man words before he went suddenly to silence. Jim sighed, as he realized his watchers returned to observe him again.


    Yet he already got most of the valuable info from the old man. He knew how to use the ring, how to use the orbs to gain more followers, and also understood the importance of the forest and monsters.


    "So killing monsters doesn''t only give me orbs, but also points I can redeemter on in the stele for rewards," he muttered while cing a single drop over the ring then he closed his eyes and he inspected the content of it.


    It was filled with many orbs. He counted almost three hundred of them. "A three academy coins equivalent to orbs, good price indeed," he muttered before going towards the building and the intense group of disciples around it.


    His approach wasn''t noticed by any, as he was a human he was seen as a worthless disciple here. Yet he followed the words of the old man and didn''t head directly towards the building, yet towards a lonely looking old man with gills on his neck and a long fan on his back.


    "Excuse me," he said while taking ten orbs and gave them to the man, "may I hire a stall here please for the next five days?"


    The old man nced weirdly at him, checked his clothes before saying:


    "Who are you? What rank are you at toe and ask for a stall?"


    The attitude of this man was rude, yet Jim didn''t mind him. "I''m Jim, a fresh privilege academy inner disciple," he politely introduced himself, noticing the surprised nces of the old man. "I want to hire a stall for anyone who wants toe and join me."


    "Humph," the old man shook his head for a moment, "let me check what you said first."


    Jim didn''t mind and during his stay here in front of this rounded stall he kept ncing at all the races around.


    He found many giant bodied disciples, strong looking with arrogant looks. He found werewolves, wolf heads, fox heads, even phoenix heads were also there.


    Yet he didn''t find any bulltors, no giants like Pol, or even a dragon.


    "Special ns have their way in here," he reached this conclusion before sighing.


    "You tell the truth," the old man returned after a few minutes with a calm look over his face. "yet the price for you is ten orbs for a single day, no less."


    "Wasn''t it two orbs per day?" Jim asked in doubt.

 Chapter 52: Challenge Accepted

    Chapter 52: Challenge epted


    "That''s determined by me," the old man smiled calmly before ying with the ten orbs with hands that had membranes covering their nails. "So, one day then?"


    "No, make them five," Jim epted the challenge before taking another forty orbs, making the old man sigh. "Kid, you are new here and didn''t go to Dragon town. You''ll need all the orbs you need out there. One day is fine for someone as poor as you."


    Jim understood what this sneaky man and those behind him wanted. They wrongly thought he had these orbs from his allowance. "Don''t mind me, I can take care of myself. Give me a five days stall, please."


    Despite being yed here, he kept his calm and didn''t show any discontent over his face. He wasn''t stupid to make more enemies or give them the excuse to punish him.


    "Then five days you''ll receive," the old man smiled before giving him a small box. "ce your blood on it and put it where you like."


    "Thanks," Jim politely said and didn''t mean it.


    The next moment he went towards the busiest ce here and made his way among the crowded disciples who just sneered and gave him mocking nces.


    They all thought wrongly he was someone as low as them. Yet he didn''t respond back with any hostility, after all he didn''t know how many of them would join his team.


    The moment he reached the spot he desired he leaned on the ground, put the box before dropping a blood over it.


    In the next moment the box shivered before expanding fast, upward and to the sides until a stall appeared in the middle of the crowdest ce, making it more bustling with more disciples.


    "Interesting," he muttered as he noticed there was a banner with his name, rank, the pantheon he followed, and the amount of orbs per disciple.


    "A fifty orb for a disciple?!" He was surprised to see this number while a y made puppet appeared growing from the center of the stall before taking an exact shape of him in the end.


    "Master, I''m here to serve you," the doll said and Jim turned to nce at the old man in the distance with a smug smile over his face.


    "Damn you," he cursed, as like this he couldn''t ept many disciples. He already paid fifty to this stingy old fish, and now he had to pay another fifty per disciple.


    "Like this I will only gain five!" he was angry and at this moment his team came out of the building with dark faces.


    "What''s wrong?" he went to them while letting the disciples gather around his stall.


    "Those arrogant kids! They all asked for monster orbs in return," Deno was the angriest of all before he sneered. "They didn''t care about joining such a powerhouse like you."


    "Don''t worry yourselves," Jim smiled before taking this challenge more seriously than before, "we need to go first to my inner disciple affairs before heading towards the forest."


    "Forest?" Ashley asked.


    "It''s the forest of the academy," Kor exined before adding, "but isn''t it dangerous to go there in such low numbers of ours? What about here? Shouldn''t we stay to have some followers?"


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled before pointing towards his stall, "I already have this expensive one here to do the job for us."


    Just as he said this, a voice came suddenly in his mind, startling him.


    "Master, disciples are asking about when will you pay for them?"


    "Can you speak to me directly?" Jim was astonished by this.


    "Sure, I can speak to the master as long as he doesn''t exit this world to another," the doll answered before adding in his own voice, "what I tell them?"


    "What''s the standard procedure here?" he asked before making any decision.


    "Payment can be postponed to the beginning of the academy."


    "Meaning in one week," Jim thought for a moment there before adding, "alright, make the payment at the first day of the academy."


    "But they won''t serve you until they get paid."


    "No problem," Jim said before adding, "select the strongest five and I''ll pay them today."


    "Master can touch his ring and I can withdraw orbs directly from it."


    "Wow, you can do that?" Jim was more astonished.


    "Sure, provided that master isn''t in another world."


    "Great," Jim smiled before touching his ring, "take what''s inside and then I''ll provide you with moreter."


    "Where do masters want these five disciples to be sent to?"


    "To the forest," Jim said before turning to Rick and the other three, "is there a ce like a gate or something for this forest?"


    "There is a big gate at the southern part of the academy," Roo replied while pointing towards a certain direction, "it''s known as the monster gate."


    "Good name," Jim nodded before sending this info to his puppet. "Nice puppet indeed, "he smiled while leading the way of his team towards the direction he came from.


    During the way he asked a couple of times until he reached the inner disciple affairs building. Unlike the outer disciple building, this one looked more majestic with golden and silver statues around it, the golden dome in the center, and the emptiness in this ce.


    "This looks quite deste," Lan muttered.


    "You just wait here, I''m going in to have everything done then we''ll head towards the forest."


    They all nodded while he went towards the empty building to find a couple of other disciples there making some deals with those in charge of the ce.

 Chapter 53: The Inner Disciple Affairs

    Chapter 53: The Inner Disciple Affairs


    The ce looked quite destepared to the outer disciple affairs building, yet Jim wasn''t thatining about this.


    "Excuse me," he went to one of the empty windows in the wide hall while other disciples here noticed him, and gave him a weing stare.


    "Yes," the master, who had a bull head, replied while ncing weirdly towards him.


    "I''m Jim, a privilege inner freshman disciple of the academy, and I''m here to have my allowance."


    The bull headed master starred in the same way towards Jim like he was looking at a freak. "Are you the one who caused all this trouble back there?" he asked while taking some papers from his side.


    "You can consider me him," Jim tried to crack a joke, yet no oneughed and the intensity or pressure in the hall intensified with his words.


    "Boy, I know you came from such a lowly world so I won''t take this offense from you," the bull headed master said before adding in serious face and tone, "despite causing something bizarre and unique here, you can''t be this full of yourself. We have rules here, and you need to abide by them."


    "Sorry master," Jim apologized with no real sincerity at all.


    "Take, these are five academy coins," the bull headed master handed coins the same as the three coins he got from Siera.


    "I need you to sign here," the bullhead handed a single paper to him with a ce to have his fingers sealed with red ink.


    He read the paper and found nothing suspicious about it. "Just drop your blood in the sealing ink and we are finished," the bull headed master seemed annoyed from the fact he was dealing with a human in such a selective ce.


    "Oh," Jim eximed in surprise as he didn''t realize he had to do that until the master said it. he put a single drop of blood over the ink, and magically a hollow image of him flew from there and fell on the paper.


    "Done," the master took the paper before taking a booklet out. "Take it, it contains everything rted to the rules of the academy, the inner system of it, and ending with a brief introduction to the forest, the special towns associated with the academy, and the mission in the stele."


    Jim took the small booklet feeling much doubt that this little thing contained so much info. "Ah, before I forget, you need to go to the Dragon town fast and finish buying the things in this list," he took another paper with many words over before adding:


    "You selected your curriculum yet, right?"


    "No sir," Jim tried to be respectful to this angry master, "can I postpone the visit to the Sherwid town forter? I need to go and see the academy and the forest as well."


    "Silly boy," the bull headed master said before taking another paper, "you won''t be allowed to walk around like this without a proper dressing and emblem."


    Jim took the paper and nced at its content. They had many sses named as ss zero, ss zero one, ss zero twoetc. he took the paper and felt puzzled for a second there.


    "Tell me something, what do you want to focus upon? Fighting? Forging? Alchemy? Spells? Learning for learning? Or being a bunching sack for others?"


    This time the masterughed as if he just told a joke and some other mastersughed along with him. "Well sir, I want to be strong, very strong to make everyone respect me no matter who he was."


    The simple words of Jim silenced the entire hall, even the few disciples around perfectly heard him.


    "You got some balls, kid," the master said in strange seriousness before a smile appeared on his face, "but I like bold kids like you. I hope you''ll gain my respect one day with your own power."


    "Thanks master," Jim didn''t know what to say except that.


    "For you then, you''ll need to attend all the fighting sses, spell sses, and a ss about the world''s nature and real status is important for you too," the master said and when Jim showed more puzzled look he added, "just mark on ss zero, zero one, zero three, zero five, zero eight, and zero twelve," he said.


    "That seems a lot," Jim smiled before pointing to the paper. "Just drop your blood kid over the sses you want," the master whispered in a soft voice.


    "Thanks master," Jim felt this bull headed master wasn''t that bad at all.


    "You are the one to be thanked, after all you allowed my great ancestor toe into this academy after so long," the masterughed before adding, "this ce looked quite boringtely, kids like you might be needed to add more chaos and life here."


    Jim didn''t know if the master was praising or mocking him, so he just kept his diplomatic smile and let a single drop over the paper.


    "Done," the master said while taking the paper from Jim''s hands, "now if you want to add more to your scheduleter on, you''ll need toe here and pay one academy coin to do that."


    "Thanks master," Jim said while thinking who is this crazy toe here and add more torture to his life.


    Jim then excused himself and exited the hall. While he was on his way out, he noticed the many gazesying on his back, yet he ignored them all and kept moving steadily like he wasn''t monitored this close.


    "It seems we have to go to Sherwid town first," he said the moment he reached his team.


    "Sherwid vige?" Kro asked, "are you sure?"


    "Sure, why not?" Jim asked with doubt.


    "Rumors said the town is heavily watched by the academy," Rick said.


    "And?" Jim missed the point here.


    "The road to it isn''t," Roo sighed, "we might face some bullies along the way."


    "From higher years?" Lan asked.


    "Only one year above us," Rick said, "these are the rules no matter where we are in this world."


    "Good then," Jim smiled before adding, "we might have a warm up match before our official challenge."


    "But" Roo said before Jim stopped him.


    "We''ll have to go to the town, and we have to win our next challenge in the arena. That heist we might face will be great to test our abilities."

 Chapter 54: Going to the Town

    Chapter 54: Going to the Town


    "What is the reason for you to go to the Dragon town?"


    Jim and his little crew stood in front of a massive gate guarding a long road that showed no end.


    "We are fresh disciples of the academy. I''m Jim, a privileged inner disciple of the academy and I want to go there to get my own things."


    The slender guard with a monkey head nced at him for a period. "Are you telling me a human and a Bulltor are now disciples of the academy? And you are a privilege disciple A privileged inner disciple?"


    Jim didn''t faze against this monkey with long body mocking words as he simply nodded. "You can go back and check as much as you want," he said.


    "No need to," the guard sneered, "the journey to the town isn''t a walk in the bush. Go, go and meet your creator, foolish human."


    The guard moved to the side while his friends gave Jim and his team a mocking nce as well. Jim moved towards the gate, exiting the academy territory and started hitting the road with his team.


    "Are we going to be alright?" Ashley asked with concern.


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled, "we still have two fire and three thunder ores from Siera."


    She didn''t speak yet she was very anxious about this journey. Lan also was scared, while others weren''t that much annoyed by the threat awaiting them.


    "What do you know about those thieves?"


    As they walked for ten minutes, Jim found the silence eire, so he tried to know his enemies better and make everyone realize they weren''t that vulnerable or weak.


    "They are known as some rogue races and some also im they have some disciples from the academy," Rick said.


    "Disciple?" Jim muttered, "how can disciples participate in such hideous acts?"


    "Those are outer disciples," Roo answered, "Some are poor to depend on the monthly allowance, and many see themselves strong and worthy to have more, even if they are about to steal from inner disciples."


    "But the core disciples can''t be attacked," Orand, one of the three shapeshifters, said.


    "Why?" Jenny asked.


    "They are afraid of power disparity," Kro answered, "after all they tend to ovee inner disciples by numbers, and a variety of some doomed races just like Deno here."


    Everyone nced at Deno while Jim said:


    "So basically we have no clue about who is going to attack us, right?"


    "They usually attack in a group of a hundred if they see a small number like us," Lenor, one of the three shapeshifters, said.


    "A hundred," Jim muttered, "not bad. Tell me, do they carry their valuables with them?"


    "They have rings," Rick said.


    "I love rings," Jimughed, "alright, here is the deal. We will first fake fear and drag the attacking team as far as possible."


    "May I ask why?" Randy, one of the three shapeshifters, asked.


    "As I understood there isn''t just one group out there, right?" Jim said.


    "You want to make best use of one group to run away? Nice tactic," Rick nodded.


    "Alright, let''s discuss our attack strategies," Jim said before exining his own vision of how his small team of thirteen member to work efficiently together.


    In all the tactics he provided and everyone discussed, he, Lan, and Jenny were the main three attackers here. Despite this wasn''t what anyone of their enemies might expect, but to the other members of their team this was simply the best strategy ever.


    They all knew how deadly Jim could be when using his unique power of his.


    They walked for one hour before they finally met a team of thieves.


    "As you said," Jim muttered, "theye in a group of hundred and include many races."


    He saw a group of hundred moving from one side, trying to run fast and block their path. The team contained many races, even races with giant bodies were there.


    "Let''s run as we agreed," Jim said and the next moment his small group got divided up into two more groups, all running into two different directions with different speed.


    One group contained only him, Lan, and Jenny while the other group contained everyone else.


    And the bigger group ran faster and slightly closer to the assaulting group, while Jim''s little group of three ran slower and went slightly to the other side of the assaulting group.


    For anyone seeing this, they might mistake Jim''s team as useless team members running away with their lives the moment they spotted danger. The two teams ran forward, while the thieves tried to match the bigger group''s speed, promising themselves with a rich hunt.


    The three teams ran with different speed, while they all headed towards the same direction. ording to what Jim learnt from Rick and others, the Sherwid town was only two to three hours far from the academy.


    They took roughly two hours walk, and so they were extremely close to the town right now.


    "I hope we can reach the town without fighting them," Lan suddenly said while panting from running continuously for ten minutes.


    "Don''t say that," Jimughed, "we need them to provide us with many riches that we currentlyck."

 Chapter 55: A Heist

    Chapter 55: A Heist


    Lan nced over to Jim and said nothing. He wasn''t that type of a coward, yet he was slightly realistic. Fighting thisrge group of unknown races and might be disciples in the academy wasn''t really a good thing to hope for.


    Despite the rules here stated that only one grade difference between any disciples fighting even here, Lan and everyone else aside from Jim hoped not to fight this group.


    Yet Jim was more realistic than they all thought him to be. He knew this was these thieves'' turf, and he couldn''t outrun them in their own turf. Besides, he really needed the riches they carried and looted from other travelling disciples before them.


    As Jim feared, just as the distant walls of the Sherwid town appeared in the distant horizon, the thieves seemed to be tired of this run and started to show their speed advantage as a part of them.


    They sent a group of twenty members to run faster, crossing the bigger group of Jim''s team and aiming to block the retreating path of them.


    And in roughly five minutes, the path was blocked by this group, forcing Deno and others to stop abruptly with racing breaths.


    "Surrender all your belongings and we will let you live," a tiger head with a long moustache moved to the front while saying that. He was one of the few here with giant bodies, rivaling that of Deno. "Resist and we won''t show any mercy to any of you."


    "You are one of the academy disciples, why are you doing that?" Ashley shouted at him, faking panic and distress.


    "Hahaha, who told you about my identity?" the tiger asked but one of the nearby members pointed with his tail towards a badge over his bare fur covered chest. "Oh, this little worthless ornament here? You girl has good eyesight despite being a weak human. Tell me, why didn''t you run away with those weaklings from before?"


    Ashley didn''t answer him while Deno moved to stand in front of her and others besides Gorden and Rick. The three had giant bodies to guard those behind, while the Roo and Kro stood behind them then the rest.


    "nning to resist?" the tiger disciple sneered before adding, "you know this is foolish. If you were arge group then I can understand this, but you? Look at yourselves, you are so few."


    He pointed at them and turned to his gang who startedughing.


    Just amidst theirughs, the sky suddenly changed. "Is it going to rain again, boss?" one of the gang asked while looking, like everyone else, to the sky.


    Just as this happened, Deno and others smirked, and their strange expression made the tiger disciple and his gang look suspiciously at them.


    "Have you lost your mind or what? Do you think only two Kroaks and three shapeshifters can use the rain against us? Funny," one of the gangughed as he seemed to be enjoying the look over Deno and others.


    Deno started to move forward, without saying a single word from the beginning to end except for what Ashley said, while the other two beside and behind him moved as well.


    "Crazy," the tiger disciple shook his head in fake regret, "boys, go and kill them. The loot will be distributed as"


    Before he could evenplete his sentence, suddenly the sky thundered and the next thing everyone saw was thick tongues of lightning falling from the dense clouds above their heads, hitting them one by one without warning.


    "What the hell" the tiger disciple was shocked, yet he suddenly saw the cause of all this.


    Without anyone knowing, Jim and the other two moved to reach the main group from their rear. Everyone had already removed them from their minds, while the only thing they were thinking about was the loot they would gain from Deno and his little team.


    "Kill him!" the tiger disciple bellowed in rage instantly when he saw the shape of Jim. Jim was now floating inside a ball of lightning, and he was simply waving his sword, and each wave was followed by a brutal hit from the dense clouds in the sky.


    "Don''t forget us," just as the shoutnded on everyone''s ears, this loud sneer came from Deno who charged directly towards the tiger disciple.


    Gorden aimed towards another giant disciple, while Rick used his roar to stun many of them in this decisive moment.


    And then all kinds of attacksnded over the group of eighty disciples without warning.


    Water breaths appeared from Roo and Kro, followed by turning the water into ice by the three shapeshifters. This simple transformation did massive damage to many enemies, while the main attackers were Deno, Rick, and Gorden from the front, and Jim with Jenny from behind.


    The issue here was that the gang lowered their guard and never expected for this small team to be able to fight them on even grounds. When they started to wake up, they were met with such a brutal momentum, and their leaders were the first to fall as they were already in the front rows.


    In less than five minutes, the entire fight turned upside down. It was the turn of the gang members with weak hearts to run, and they ran everywhere, anywhere away from here.


    "Should we follow them?" Deno asked when he finally met with Jim, who still had his ball of lightning surrounding his body, floating in the air.


    "No," Jim shook his head, "our target is achieved. Go and collect our loot and let''s head to the town fast."


    They all nodded and started to collect anything of value. Unlike these disciples, Jim and his team had nothing worth of mentioning. So, even any gear these disciples had was taken without question.

 Chapter 56: Meeting the Town Usher

    Chapter 56: Meeting the Town Usher


    "Give everything to me, we''ll have time in the town to go through everything," Jim said loudly to everyone and then he started to receive what they had and stored them inside his ring.


    "This armor looks nice, take it Deno."


    "This sword I''ll take it."


    "These boots look nice, take them Ashley."


    "This whip sigh, Jenny it''s yours."


    He started to distribute anything that could be used by any member of his team, while things like arm and leg guards were stored alongside other strange things like hats and cloaks.


    And of course any rings were stored as well without question.


    In less than five minutes, they cleared everything and were now running towards the town with fast steps. Jim was thest one to move as he took the mission of guarding the rear on his shoulders.


    They took fifteen minutes to finally reach the outer perimeters of the town. There they found a small garrison standing doing nothing just a hundred meters in front of the gate.


    "Pay the entry fee first," one of the guards shouted in a loud tone and a strange look over his face when he noticed Deno. "One academy coin is needed to enter per group."


    "We are only thirteen," Rick took the charge of speaking with this greedy guard, "why should we pay the same price like otherrger teams?"


    "It''s the rules," the guard sneered, "pay or go back."


    "But I never heard of any rule such as this one before," Roo moved to stand before the guard while speaking in a strong tone.


    "Well," the guard smirked, "you can consider me thew here. If I said you pay one academy coin, then you''ll have to pay it."


    Before things got any further, Jim moved suddenly to the front while saying, "I''m the leader of this team, and this is your coin."


    "Such a rich kid," the guard sneered, "one coin won''t be noticed by your vast wealth human."


    Jim ignored the hidden insults as he turned to his team and said, "let''s go."


    Despite him saying that, he was thest one to follow his men into the town. Before entering there, he gave the guard onest look, engraving the face of his in his mind forter.


    "See you around," he said before entering the town under the watchful gazes of the guard and his friends.


    "Hi, are you new disciples in the academy?"


    Just as Jim joined the rest of his team and before they could even speak about what just happened outside, a voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere, startling them.


    "Show yourself," Jim shouted as he turned around and saw no one.


    "Calm down, you are very secured inside the town," suddenly a strange portal appeared in front of Jim and others. The portal was like a violet whirlpool with darkness in the center.


    "Show yourself," Jim wasn''t satisfied or secured by these strange words. He was vignt the moment he heard that voice, and didn''t rest when he saw that strange whirlpool.


    "Calm down," Rick suddenly said, "it''s the usher of the town, a guide to all visitors."


    "So why doesn''t he show himself up?" Jenny was also acting hostile against the usher.


    "He can''t," Roo helplessly smiled, "he has no physical body and can only show himself up using this whirlpool."


    "True indeed true," the usher said before adding, "my name is Rili, and I''m d to be in your service."


    Jim exchanged nces with others and then sighed. ''He is a friend, don''t mind him,'' the old man''s voice suddenly came to Jim''s mind.


    ''Finally,'' Jim inwardly sighed, ''I thought you were sleeping or dead.''


    ''Hahaha, I''m already dead,'' the old man jokes, ''but you were still under constant watch. But here is safe, I can talk to you freely.''


    ''Exining what happened at the ceremony?''


    ''Are you dissatisfied with that?''


    ''Indeed not.''


    ''Then why ask me about the reason?''


    ''I wanna understand.''


    ''Later,'' the old man mysteriously said, ''the lesser you know the better.''


    ''Howe?''


    ''You''re weak. Get stronger and you''ll know more.''


    "How much will you take for a tour?" Randy suddenly asked, attracting Jim''s attention.


    "Five orbs per hour," Rili said.


    "Isn''t it a bit pricey?" Rick didn''t like the price, "I know the usual price around here is one orb per hour."


    "Didn''t you find it strange no one but me appeared in front of you?" Rili didn''t directly answer Rick''s doubts.


    "Your meaning?" Jim stepped forward as he took the lead again.

 Chapter 57: The Special Tokens

    Chapter 57: The Special Tokens


    "You have a Bulltor and are led by a human. This isn''t the bestpany for any of us. So, I came out and asking for a higher price sounds fair, right?"


    Rick was about to argue, but Jim stopped him. "Alright, but for this price what can you do for us?"


    "I''ll take you on a tour in the town if you wish," Rili said before adding, "anything you want, no matter how hard it is to find, I''ll dly provide."


    "Speaking like you know the ces of selling summoning tokens," Rick sneered.


    "My dear customer, if you have the wealth to afford it, then I can dly take you to such ces."


    Jim noticed the sudden change in the face of Rick and the three shapeshifters as well. Roo and Kro weren''t an exception. "Alright, wait here with my team for a minute," Jim suddenly said before motioning with his gaze to Rick.


    "What''s that token?" he asked when they went slightly away from the group.


    "It''s a metaphor for tokens with sealed spells in them," Rick softly muttered before adding, "to learn spells in the academy you must have the help from either higher disciples or masters. These tokens can solve this problem, and they can be used by many of us."


    The words he said made Jim''s mind stir around such tokens. "Are they pricy?" he asked.


    "Forbidden," Rick corrected, "the academy heavily punishes anyone who uses them."


    Jim nced in a weird way towards him. "The academy isn''t the only ce where we can go and train," Rick winked and didn''t say anything more while he nced around with his eyes.


    "This town is safe?"


    "For those kinds of deals? Yeah, you can consider it like heaven on the academy strictnds."


    "But" Jim hesitated.


    "We can store them up in our rings and no one would ever know," Rick seemed quite enthusiastic about it. "Imagine learning a top ss skill without the need to be someone puppet or ve. This is a life changing opportunity, even to a privileged inner disciple like yourself."


    "I wasn''t worried about storing them," Jim said, "I''m worried about their price."


    "Oh," Rick took a step back, "this is something we all should worry about," he sighed, "the standard price for those is really astronomical. Buying one with a thousand academy coins is a cheap price, and many ask for something in return."


    "Treasure?"


    "Not only that, but also some missions or info."


    Jim nodded in understanding. "Alright, go back and wait for my return."


    "Exploring the loot?" Rick read Jim''s mind, and Jim just hit his shoulder as heughed and said nothing.


    ''These tokens are important, yet I can help you to obtain some for free.''


    The words of his old man startled Jim. ''How so?'' he asked in doubt.


    ''Many are interested in knowing some old info about the ancient past. It happens that I lived in such an ancient era that I can help answer many questions and exin many mysteries.''


    ''This'' Jim hesitated.


    ''Don''t worry, the deals are all going to be done via that usher. No one will ever know anything about your identity at all.''


    ''But that usher will,'' Jim pointed to the only weakness in the old man''s words.


    ''They are a special kind of race, bound by many rules to not speak about their customers at all. Don''t worry, the usher is the least of your worries.''


    ''What do you mean?''


    ''You must do it alone, away from anyone of your hastily recruited team.''


    Jim understood the meaning behind the old man''s words. ''Will anyone sell me out?''


    ''Who knows,'' the old man said, ''I lived long to doubt anyone.''


    ''But''


    ''You can use tokens to those loyal and extremely controlled by you.''


    ''Aren''t all ves bound to my will?''


    ''Not like the ve mark you have.''


    Jim understood what the old man hinted. ''I hate very.''


    ''This is the only way to secure yourself, otherwise those masters like Pol and whoever behind him for example might grant anyone his freedom in exchange for your head.''


    ''''


    Jim knew his old man was speaking about his best interest, but he couldn''t ept the concept right away. Deep down his soul he realized he would lean towards this solution eventually, or else the greatest benefit of these tokens would be only limited to him.


    ''Don''t worry yourself much about it now. Think about thister, now you have many things to look at.''

 Chapter 58: A Tour In the Town

    Chapter 58: A Tour In the Town


    Jim smiled as he recalled the rich gains he had. The next thing he did was to take out each ring and drop a single blood over it.


    The owners of these rings were long dead, making them ownerless. And ownerless items in this world were weak.


    "Wow, these guys have they robbed a bank or something?" he was astonished by the amount of coins, orbs, potions, pillsetc. he found inside these rings. "I didn''t expect them to be this rich!"


    ''They are thieves, this isn''t a big deal if they used to hijack yers for a long time.''


    ''But they are supposed to attack only those lower to them.''


    ''Or at their levels.''


    ''Do you mean?''


    ''Yeah, they work as small groups belonging to one big organization that they all answer to,'' the old man exined, ''this crime attitude all started long ago by dragons, and since then everyone started to follow their example.''


    ''Dragons?!!'' Jim eximed in shock, ''Don''t tell me''


    ''The big boss of these are dragons without doubt.''


    ''''


    ''I know, hard to believe right?''


    ''Frankly speaking, this suits them better,'' Jim still held the grudge against that dragon which turned his life upside down before.


    ''I totally agree with you. Now you need to act as a normal disciple and not ask for trouble. Go and buy your clothes, books, and other stuff while taking advantage of sending everyone out to check anything before speaking with that usher.''


    Jim sighed before throwing all the rings back into his main ring. He now had enough wealth to buy himself one token at least. With a wealth of slightly passing a thousand academy coins, he was much confident about getting his hands on one.


    "I agree to hire you," Jim said while taking out a hundred orbs in one go, "these are just the advance payment to you."


    "All these" Rili seemed surprised, "thanks a lot, I''ll make sure you will be greatly satisfied."


    He hurriedly took the orbs simply by moving his whirlpool towards them. "That''s exactly what I''m looking for," Jim vaguely said this while ncing at others, "we''ll go to buy ourselves clothes and books. Do you need anything else?"


    "Speaking like a tycoon already," Jennyughed while Rick winked to the others. This werewolf youth seemed to tell everyone about what Jim did just now.


    "Can we buy gears?"


    "Ores?"


    "Ornaments?"


    Can we stay in the motel for one day?"


    "A meal in a restaurant will do."


    All started to narrate their needs and desires, while Jim sneered. "Why not ask to buy this entire town as well?" he said while sighing, "you guys c''mon, lead us towards the best clothes shop."


    "Follow me," Rili seemed quite enthusiastic by the payment Jim just did, and so he started to move fast, leading them inside the town.


    The town was such a bustling ce with many races. All the things Jim imagined or never crossed his mind were sold there, even pets and ves!


    He even noticed a group of ves being sold at astronomical prices, all were Bulltors.


    Deno nced at him, while he whispered, "Another time, we have enough trouble with one Bulltor."


    Deno sighed and didn''t say a word. He knew what Jim said was correct, yet he was upset to see his kin treated in such an uncivilized way.


    The town was really vast. It was arranged in organized blocks, each containing half a dozen of equal height buildings stacked together and separated from other blocks by wide, clean streets.


    The buildings were all three stories tall, with some special decorations and colors over their surfaces.


    "We are now in the Kraken district. This is considered one of the richest ces due to the gambling houses and casinos. Hotels do exist here, plus some ve trade and ornaments as well."


    "We will head towards the fairy old district. It lies in the center of the town, just next to the aristocratic dragon district. There we will find all the shops dealing with disciples."


    "As new disciples you''ll need to buy books, tools, design your emblem and have your clothes ready. By the way what''s your pantheon if I may ask?"


    Rili kept speaking non-stop during the tour that extended for hours on foot. Despite this long walk, no one felt tired at all. They were all taken by the beauties each saw around, with each one having something to attract his attention in each street.


    What Jim understood from Rili''s words was that this town was built on the names of the pantheons back in the academy. Each district had its own taste, nature of businesses and also their unique style.


    "We belong to the fairy pantheon," Ashley, who was silent all this time, spoke casually answering him.


    And Rili suddenly paused while others stopped as a result.


    "What did you just say?"


    "Ahem," Jim interfered, "I''m a privileged inner disciple of the academy under the banner of the fairy pantheon."


    "No f*cking way!!!" Rili was shocked before adding, "Are you out of your mind? There is no such a thing like that in the academy!"

 Chapter 59: The Twisex Race

    Chapter 59: The Twisex Race


    "There is," Denoughed, while patting on Jim''s shoulders, "he is."


    Rili kept silent for a long moment. "You must have caused a bomb explosion back at the academy no, better to say an avnche!"


    Jim smiled as he asked, "why did you ask about my pantheon?"


    "Well" Rili hesitated before adding, "we might have a problem."


    Rili exined what was wrong, and his words made everyone speechless for a while beforeughing on their strange luck.


    "So you''re telling me those who make clothes and emblems are the descendants of specific families from ancient times?" Jim asked in doubt as he added, "and the two families making anything belonging to the fairy pantheon closed and moved to other business ages ago?"


    "That''s the slight problem we have," Rili said.


    "This isn''t tiny, this is huge! Disastrous!" Roo shouted at Rili while Rick said:


    "Let''s think more rationally, if the family is still in the town, so why not go and find them?"


    "Well" Rili was more hesitant.


    "What?" Jim asked, "just tell me everything."


    "They are indeed in the town, but you know fairies were long known for their love for beauty and elegance. It was rumored that this town here was their idea from the start, just like the academy."


    "And?" Jim was extremely patient with Rili''s nonsense.


    "They were rumored to select only the most elegant and beautiful things to be around them. For instance the two families who were selected to serve the disciples of their pantheon were famous with their outstanding beauty."


    Up to here, Jim and others finally understood what Rili was insinuating at.


    "Are they sold as ves?" Jim asked. "At which district then?"


    "Well" Rili became more nervous.


    "Worse than ves? What? Sex ves?" Rick asked while adding when Rili responded with utter silence, "prostitutes?"


    "This is what I have as a lead about the living members of the two families," Rili hurried to say before adding, "and I don''t know their exact location. You know, they are quite busy moving from one district to another."


    Jim was speechless there but the old man was much angrier than anyone else. He kept bellowing by strange words which Jim totally ignored.


    ''Old man, leaving the world in chaos without proper order is your kin fault,'' Jim said to the old man while adding, ''those who used to live in your shades were forced to deal with the burning fire of the world. Don''t me them, and don''t be angry except on yourselves.''


    Jim then ignored all the words the old man ranted with while turned to Rili:


    "Can you describe their races at least?"


    "Will you go and find them?" Rili was surprised.


    "Why not try and ask other families here to make emblems and clothes for us?" Lan asked, as he sensed trouble from this task.


    "No one will do that," Rili said before adding, "first no one will agree to attach himself to the long fallen fairies, and second no one has the right to make a cloth or emblem for other pantheons. This is considered a grave crime!"


    "But"


    "Just tell us their description," Jim blocked the path over Lan to speak again, "we''ll search for them."


    "It''s not hard to find them to be honest," Rili sighed, "they are quite famous, known as the twisex races."


    "No way!" Rick, Roo, and Randy eximed in one voice while others nced at them in confusion.


    "Hehehe, I forgot to tell you they have quite the reputation," Riliughed.


    "Do you know them?" Deno hurriedly asked.


    "Know them?" Rick turned to Deno as he added with full rounded eyes, "they are one of the celebrities in the entire universe! This race is well known for their soft voices, curvy bodies, and very intimate and special skills in bed."


    "Never thought they once served the fairies, damn!" Roo shouted in amazement and excitement.


    "Honestly if we can recruit one of them, I''ll go all the way out and call all their lovers to join our team. Lines of their admirers will be there just to take a glimpse of them. Oh gosh, I never thought I was so damn lucky in my life but now!"


    "Easy boys," Rili said with a shortugh, "those living here aren''t that famous."


    "But they hail from the same race, right? They are the same as those universe wide famous figures, right?" Rick moved closer to Rili as if he was threatening him.


    "Indeed, they are from the same race," Rili said before adding, "but they are just locally famous in this world, and slightly famous in the dozen worlds around us."


    "We need to find them," Roo suddenly turned to Jim, while Randy hurried to add, "please, we need to find and save them from this miserable life."


    "C''mon, I never asked anything from you, but please grant me this wish," even Rick moved to his knees while the three pleaded Jim who had the corner of his eyes twitching from their weird reaction.


    "As you know them very well," Jim finally spoke, "each will lead a search team. Go out there and find them for me."


    "Thanks boss, you aren''t just my boss, you are my highest esteemed person in my life now!" Roo''s reaction was intense, while Rick stood up as he nced at the stupefied other members in the team. "Who is going to look with me for the goddesses?"


    "Join my team. I know everything about them better than anyone else!" Randy refused to lose to the other two as he hurriedly shouted at others.


    "Calm down you maniacs," Jim helplessly had to interfere and stop this from gettingplicated. "I''ll arrange the teams myself."


    Jim then sent the three teams, each to a different direction, while he stayed back with Rili by a simple excuse everyone bought.

 Chapter 60: Looking for Tokens

    Chapter 60: Looking for Tokens


    "You want what?!!"


    Rili was surprised by the sudden request Jim asked him to do.


    "I want to get as many summoning tokens," Jim repeated his quest before adding, "I only can afford those asking in exchange for info, especially info about ancient events and secrets."


    Rili stayed silent for a whole minute before saying:


    "Are you joking or speaking the truth here?"


    "I''m not the kind to fool around," Jim seriously said, "can or can''t you do it?"


    "Well" Rili paused before adding, "for this kind of a deal I can help for sure. Yet" he paused and Jim knew what he was after.


    "Don''t worry, I can pay with academy coins," Jim was now rich and could afford spending even a couple of hundred coins to get what he wanted.


    "Academy coins? Are you serious? We are speaking aboutrge quantities here."


    "Like what?"


    "Like ten coins for each token you get."


    Jim confidently smiled, "bring me tens of tokens and you can get hundreds of coins back."


    This time Rili went silent for a long time before muttering, "never thought a human would have such a big hand."


    "Will you do it or waste my time on nothing?" Jim didn''t want others to know about this kind of deal, and Rili was smart enough to get this point.


    "Sure, gimme a few minutes and I''ll return with all kinds of deals you can afford."


    Rili then vanished with his whirlpool, leaving Jim alone behind.


    ''Are you sure about this?''


    ''Absolutely sure,'' the old man said, ''you don''t need to go to the forest to train during this week. You should stay here and work on your spells.''


    ''Does it take time to learn them?'' Jim was alien to all this, so he didn''t know the answer.


    ''It does,'' the old man said, ''let''s say a token will need a few days to learn. For you, if lucky, a day or two.''


    ''That''s too much,'' Jim sighed.


    ''Nothinges free in this life boy,'' the old man said, ''also after learning them, you''ll need to hurry and use them in fights to solidify your learning.''


    ''I just have the perfect ce to do that, hehehe.''


    ''Naughty boy,'' the old manughed while both waited for Rili''s return.


    Rili took five minutes to reappear again, and the moment he did he hurriedly said:


    "Great news, no it''s big news."


    "Hurry then and tell me," Jim smiled as he expected something niceing from this.


    "I''ve found ten tokens for you to buy using info trade," Rili said and before Jim was about to be disappointed, he added, "and two of them store special grade spells."


    "Special grade spells? What are these?" Jim didn''t get his meaning.


    "Spells are divided into grades, the lowest is themon grade, then the rare grade, unique grade, special grade, n grade, and finally supreme grade. I found two special grade tokens, which is considered something great."


    Jim could tell from the excitement Rili was at this was a big thing. "Good, let''s not celebrate early then," he said before adding, "we need to finalize the deals first."


    "Don''t worry," Rili said whileughing, "they both require ancient news, as for the rest they ask for recent news."


    "I have no such ess to recent news," Jim honestly replied."


    "I know, but the two special tokens are worth the shot. After all each token''s value is measured by a hundred of themon spells which others are offering for info."


    Jim went silent for a moment before asking, "How much coins does themon spell worth?"


    "At least a thousand coin," Rili said, before adding, "and the special tokens can''t be bought by these coins. Only the trade of an equal value or more is the only way to get them."


    Jim realized how worthy these special tokens were. "Alright, what''s their questions?" he asked.


    "One asks about the ancient battle between the fairies and dragons," Rili said before adding in a whisper, "the owner of this token asks about the old rumors of the dragons betraying the fairies and backstabbing them. He wants to know the story behind this incident."


    Jim didn''t hurry to ask his old man as he asked, "And the second one?"


    "The second one has a dilemma about an ancient technique called pill concoction. ording to his words, potions weren''t the only alchemy skill fairies long mastered. He speaks about condensing the potions into small pills that have a much stronger effect than the normal potion."


    Jim didn''t say anymore while he patiently listened to the words of the old man. After some time, he started to speak again.


    "The first question''s answer is easy. The fairies were really betrayed by the dragons," Jim said before adding, "the dragons were supposed to guard certain key points during the great wars against evil forces.


    Yet the dragons didn''t show up at the final moment, leaving the fairies fighting alone alongside their trusted followers.


    The end result was as people know, the fairies got extinct, their allies were devastated, and the traitors got the handle of thingster on, showing off to the public as being the saviors and heroes."


    Author note: I have created a new discord server. Please check it at the synopsis and let''s grow up together :)

 Chapter 61: Finalizing the Deal with One Seller

    Chapter 61: Finalizing the Deal with One Seller


    The words of Jim were strong and Rili felt some doubt towards this answer, yet he ryed it to the other end.


    "The seller asks about a proof for all that," Rili ryed the answer he got from the seller. "This story is something the seller believes in, yet the seller needs proof to be sure of this."


    Jim was about to answer yet the old man stopped him as he told him something else to say. "Providing the proof is easy for me, yet this info is considered much higher in value than a single token," Jim said while Rili went silent for a moment out of his shock.


    "Are you sure you want to bargain on this?" Rili directly asked, "this token is very rare and much more precious than old info and meaningless proof."


    "Yet when the proof hides a great treasure and secret inside, then its value will be much higher than a single token."


    "What treasure? What secret?"


    "Can''t tell unless we agree on a fair deal."


    Jim was just saying the words of his old man, while he didn''t know if this info was worth what he just asked for.


    "Alright, wait a moment then Mr. confident client," Rili then went silent before returning to say, "the seller asks for more info to assess the value of this deal."


    Jim waited for the answer of his old man, and then he said: "What this seller can offer for a high grade info that could change someone''s fate from being a snail to being a ferocious lion?"


    Rili didn''t have the answer and had to return back to the seller. "The seller says money isn''t an issue, and rare items aren''t. even a supreme token can be put on the table if the info is worth it."


    The tone of Rili showed how shocked he was. "Good," Jim just needed to hear this before he said, "tell him there was a ce where a pact was made. This pact was known once as the pact of honor between different races to defend this universe. The info I have is rted to the ce of this pact, where only the fairies and their trusted aiders have a sniff of that location. As for the treasure, your seller can run his imagination wild about the treasures hidden in such a ce."


    Jim said the exact words his old man said to him, yet he also knew from his old man that this wasn''t the whole truth. That ce was long swept clean by thest living fairies as they hid most of the treasures elsewhere.


    Despite that, the ce still held many lower treasures to fairies, which must be considered a fortune to others. And the pact was still there untouched.


    "Alright, the seller agrees but there is one more request," Rili said in much excitement, "the seller wants to meet you face to face."


    "Out of question," Jim instantly replied, "I won''t meet up with anyone."


    "But the seller is much curious about the source of your info," Rili said before adding, "the seller wants to have an established way to connect with you all the time for future deals."


    "Then he can use you to reach me," Jim shrugged, "I intend to keep my ID secret for now."


    "Despite this is wise, I can assure you this seller means no harm to you," Rili mysteriously said before adding, "I can''t disclose any info about the seller or the buyer, but I can tell you for sure you might need the seller''s help in the academy."


    "Thanks," Jim had long decided about this point, "if he wants any future deals then he can reach you and you can find me easily when being here."


    "But what will happen when you are in the academy?" Rili helplessly asked.


    "I''ll make sure toe here often, don''t worry," Jim said before adding, "and if I didn''t show up, you can leave me a message with any of my people asking me to meet you urgently."


    This was the best Jim could do, and doing so wouldn''t cause him many troubles. He still didn''t know how his life inside the academy would be, and he just wanted to make sure not to lose his contact with that mysterious seller in the future.


    "Is this your final answer?" Rili asked.


    "Just tell him that," Jim nodded.


    "Alright, but I have to tell you again you are wasting such a golden chance buddie."


    Jim just shrugged and waited for the seller''s response. He wasn''t that worried as he was pretty sure the seller wouldn''t risk losing such a deal for nothing.


    "Alright, the seller agrees," Rili said while adding, "the seller is putting a price starting from one of the rare treasures in the academy world or supreme token. What do you choose?"


    "Supreme token of course," Jim instantly answered. "What''s that token about?"


    "I dunno and the seller refuses to say," Rili sighed, "you two are acting super suspicious and extra cautious in my opinion."


    "No dire in being cautious," Jim shortlyughed, "alright tell him my decision and if he agrees then I''ll tell you the specific location."


    "But you need to know the seller has to confirm your info," Rili warned.


    "What guarantee then to get my share?"


    "I will establish a binding contract, and once your side of the deal is fulfilled, the seller will be obliged to pay what was promised."


    ''It''s a fair deal,'' the old man said.


    "Alright, I agree if he agrees."


    "Wait a moment."


    Jim didn''t need to wait for long this time, and when Rili came back, a parchment appeared in front of the whirlpool, flying in the air a couple of inches away from it.


    "Please read this agreement and sign with your blood over your side," Rili said.


    Jim took the parchment and read its content. Generally it was a contract binding him with the seller. Both had no names, and just he was referred to as a buyer there.


    "It looks great," Jim said as he didn''t find anything suspicious, and his old man confirmed the authenticity of this old contract.


    Jim then sealed the contract with his blood before returning the parchment back to Rili. "Wait a second," Rili then went to silence before he returned back. "Done, now you have a small thread around your wrist, indicating the contract is active."


    Jim checked his left wrist, the one he injured moments ago to seal the contract with, to find a small, semi-transparent silver thread hanging there.


    "Alright, tell him to go to the old battlefield, the ce where the Bulltors once built their temple. There he will find a buried cave in these coordinates. He has to dig there for one day before reaching the entrance to the sacred pact hall."


    Jim then said many letters and numbers arranged strangely together before Rili said: "Alright, the thread will change color to red when the seller receives this date. When your part is authenticated, the color will return silver again. When the seller delivers, the color will turn golden before vanishing after you receive what is promised in the contract."


    Jim nodded as he said, "Go and deliver what I said then return to me to speak about the second seller requirements."


    "Ok," Rili then went to silence while Jim started to receive the data he would deliver to the next seller.


    ''Oho, it seems I''m destined to close big deals today,'' heughed when he heard what his old man said.


    Author note: I have created a new discord server. Please check it at the synopsis and let''s grow up together :)

 Chapter 62: Dealing with Second Seller

    Chapter 62: Dealing with Second Seller


    "The second seller is ready to receive your info," Rili came to say, yet he was met by Jim''s smile. "What?" he asked.


    "Nothing, but the info I have also is very precious. It requires more than the price the seller promises," Jim said.


    "What?!" Rili was surprised for a moment there, "Do you know a deep secret too about this info? It''s just the way to make pills!"


    "Just tell him I can give directions to go to a relic ce. There he will find aplete manual of how to concoct pills on all grades and types," Jim said before stressing over, "this info is guaranteed that no one else but me knows. So, if he didn''t provide me with something interesting, I won''t agree to share."


    Rili went silent for a moment before asking, "who are you? Really? You have the fairy pantheon and know a lot of secrets about the ancient knowledge of fairies."


    "This isn''t something you should ask your customer about, right?" Jim instantly answered with a calm tone, yet he suddenly felt dangerous.


    ''Is he that trusted?''


    ''Don''t worry about him, he is bound down his soul with a pledge he can''t break,'' the old man tried to reassure him. ''As long as you won''t meet those people face on, you''re safe.''


    ''Can''t they track his location and find me?''


    ''Track him? Hahaha, that''s funny,'' the old manughed, ''if this is the case then no one will be so willingly asking them over for such dangerous and secretive deals.''


    ''Hmm'' Jim realized his old man had a good point here.


    "Are you sure of your info?" Rili asked, "making many false deals isn''t good for you and me."


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled confidently, "I know what I''m doing. And it''s not an exaggeration that your reputation will skyrocket after a couple more dealing with me."


    "I hope," Rili sighed, "just wait here then."


    Jim didn''t wait for longer than a minute and when Rili came back, a parchment was present in front of his whirlpool. "This is his offer. I cut the time and asked him to make a contract right away."


    "Thanks," Jim nodded in content, as Rili''s small move made him quite satisfied. He read the parchment, and the contract showed a nice surprise for him. "A n grade token of my choosing? That''s really generous," he said in a chuckle.


    "The customer seemed quite interested in this dealing, and even asked for more dealing in the future if this info was proven correct."


    Jim smiled and said nothing. ording to his old man, anyone going back to take such ancient treasure will face a major obstacle.


    The process known back then was a lost knowledge, something even dragons of the current days couldn''t help in. so, that seller was doomed toe back for Jim to help him understand these old techniques, and each technique would require another price.


    ''Hehehe, I didn''t promise he will be able to make pills, did I?'' he inwardly smirked before leaving his blood over the parchment. The moment he did, a second thread appeared around his wrist, and the parchment suddenly burnt in blue fire.


    "It''s all done now," Rili said before adding, "they will confirm this info in less than a day I suppose. They seemed quite anxious to go, and I hope they won''t take long."


    "Don''t worry," Jimughed, "I won''t leave here before closing these deals." He then paused before seriously asking, "do you know a way to obtain a ve contract? Something that''s so strong not to be broken by anyone."


    He had a ve tattoo that he received from that demon from before, but he doubted this was invincible. He wanted something not anyone could break, no one would break.


    "Well, there are many to be honest," Rili replied while adding, "but this doesn''t seem to suit your nature."


    "My nature?" Jim asked in doubt.


    "You treat your ves as if they are your partners and friends," he exined.


    "It''s just something I need for the future," Jim said before adding, "what''s the cost for this kind of ve contract?"


    "The ancient contract, and considered one of the top ones, cost one hundred academy coins. It''s a non-negotiable price."


    "Suited for many ves?" Jim asked.


    "For as many as you wish," Rili replied.


    "Good, go and bring me one," Jim said before taking out the coins, "here, these are the coins plus your share."


    "This" Rili counted the coins in instant, "my cut is only ten coins, not twenty-five."


    "You work hard," Jim said before adding, "I love to make those working with me as satisfied as they make me feel."


    "Thanks," Rili honestly said before taking the coins, "I''ll go and be back in less than a minute."


    ''Using others money to gain others loyalty, smart move,'' the old manughed.


    ''These are my money, old man,'' Jim retorted back before adding, ''I need to make sure he is quite satisfied so he would look for better deals for me in the near future.''


    ''Good move.''


    Jim then waited for a minute before he got his contract. It was a parchment where he only needed to drop his blood every time he wanted to make a contract with anyone.


    ording to the words written on the parchment, it was something hailing from an ancient race called the soul eaters. They were a nasty race ording to the old man''s words, a race that caused many problems for even fairies back in their prime.


    "What''s taking them so long," Jim was bored after the passage of three hours without anyone appearing.


    "I can go around and look out for them for you," Rili was more friendly towards Jim now, dealing with him like dealing with a VIP customer.


    "Thanks," Jim smiled and watched Rili disappear. ''Can he find them?'' he asked.


    ''He can find anyone if he wants to,'' the old man said, ''if you promised him a fee, he would take the trouble of personally looking for the Twisex race.''

 Chapter 63: The Bad Situation at the Recruitment Stall

    Chapter 63: The Bad Situation at the Recruitment Stall


    ''Oh, never thought of doing that,'' Jim sighed, ''if they failed then I would ask him to look for them personally.''


    ''They won''t,'' the old manughed, ''finding these girls is much easier than finding you.''


    ''Are they this famous?''


    ''You''ll know when you see them,'' the old man mysteriously said and didn''t add more.


    It didn''t take five minutes before Rili came back again. "I found them," he shortly said in a deep tone, "they are in trouble."


    "In trouble?" Jim was surprised to hear that.


    "They found some of the Twisex descendants, but they can''t bring them peacefully it seems."


    "ves?" Jim jumped to the most logical conclusion his mind provided.


    "Yep," Rili confirmed his guess, "they are sold at high prices, and not easy to make them walk away. Not a sane person would do that."


    Jim''s face darkened, "how much will this cost?" he asked.


    "No you don''t get it," Rili sighed, "they work in big casinos downtown. You can''t simply go there and take them with you. Entire business is built over their talents."


    Jim didn''t fully understand his meaning, yet he couldn''t be settled with that. "I need them, can''t go on without having them," he stated his requirements.


    "This" Rili faced a real difficulty this time, "if you are someone with backing then getting them would have been a piece of cake. But with only coins, you have zero chance in doing so."


    Jim had something in mind, so he hurriedly asked, "tell me, which one of the two sellers is considered a strong backing? Someone who can solve this problem for me?"


    "Well" Rili hesitated for a moment, "both fit your needs to be honest."


    "Great," Jim confidently smiled, "call my team here again. We need to go and buy other things first."


    "And the Twisex girls?" Rili asked.


    "They can wait for one more day," Jim said before adding, "let''s hope the two won''t take longer than that."


    "But"


    "Just go and bring them back," Jim knew what Rili would say, and he just didn''t have the mind to tell him everything now. Eventually he would discover everything on his own.


    Jim knew dealing with these two wasn''t the end. They still needed his help in using what treasures they got, especially the second one.


    "As you wish," Rili then vanished and he returned in less than a minute. "They areing back. But they seem quite disappointed."


    "Never mind them," Jim waved his hand casually before asking, "where are the shops that sell books and ss items?"


    "They are nearby," Rili said, "just five minutes'' walk from here."


    "Good."


    Jim waited for half an hour before all of these three teams were gathered up again. The look on their faces told him everything he needed to know, yet he had to know more.


    "What happened?"


    "They were bound by very contract," Rick said in bitter tone, "we tried to negotiate with their owners, but we couldn''t even make them think about selling even one of them."


    ''Old man, how many girls do I need?''


    ''At least one of each n,'' the old man said, ''so you need two at least.''


    ''Any two or I should ask them first about the knowledge to make my clothes and badges?''


    ''Anyone of them can do that,'' the old man confidently said, ''this knowledge is deeply engraved in their souls.''


    ''Great,'' Jim muttered to himself, "Let''s go, I''ll find another way to get them."


    "Will we kidnap them?" Roo said before adding, "but the ve contract will still be active."


    "Don''t worry about this anymore," Jim confidently said, "I got this."


    Everyone exchanged silent nces before Jim said, "Lead the way to the best book and ss items shop."


    "This way," Rili knew much more than them, yet he didn''t know from where Jim had this confidence to be sure the sellers would return asking for his help.


    Rili led them through intersecting blocks and streets before ending up in front of arge alley where many shops were lined together and many disciples were already crowding around them.


    "Wow, this many" Ashley muttered while Rili proudly said:


    "This is the best ce to get your items and books. Only the richest of disciplese here, all hail from prestigious ns or rich families."


    "I can see that," Jim muttered as he could already spot many races like the werewolves, Kroaks, and even the Krakens.


    "This is just a pricy ce to be," Kro sighed, "they sell books here at extravagant prices. We should go to another alley, what about the Golem''s alley?"


    Just before Rili could answer, a voice suddenly came from behindughing while saying, "It''s not a ce for ves like you to be in."


    Everyone turned to see a group of giants moving in suchrge numbers of ves. The leader reminded Jim of Pol, arrogant and instantly made him want to hit his face.


    "Go away now, this ce is for esteemed ns and families."


    Everyone became nervous while Jim sneered as he took a couple of steps forward, standing in front of his team while saying:


    "And who are you to decide who enters here and who doesn''t?"


    Jim crossed his arms while challenging the giant youth with his strong eyes. Jim could look away when Pol treated him in such a way, but not from a mere disciple like himself.


    "Don''t think of yourself as special because you made such a ruckus back at the academy," the youth sneered before adding, "if I were you, I should bow my head and keep myself away from trouble."


    "You didn''t answer my question still," Jim received these words with a cold smile.


    And the youth in front of him sternly nced back. "A core disciple, someone that you''ll never be able to touch oneday," the kid said while ncing over one of his henchmen, "send the word to Mench, let him challenge this kid in the arena next week. Tell him I''ll pay for the trouble double, not make it triple."

 Chapter 64: The VIP Goblin Store Membership

    Chapter 64: The VIP Goblin Store Membership


    The group of ves and followers beside himughed while Jim had his smile widened. "Amazing, using others to threaten me. Really a prestigious move from such a prestigious disciple and n."


    "Do you have a death kid?"


    "Are you?"


    The two kept staring at each other for a couple of minutes. "Alright, you asked for it. see you in the arena."


    "See you esteemed giant," Jim made a theatrical bow to him whileughing. The kid nced at him like seeing a dead crazy man before moving with his men towards the alley.


    "Boss this isn''t good," Rick whispered when the group moved away, "we shouldn''t stir trouble in the academy."


    "Don''t worry," Jim mysteriously said before pping his hands, "let''s go boys, we''ll treat ourselves like a privilege disciple should be treated."


    He turned and went directly towards the alley. "Which is the most expensive shop here?" he asked.


    "The Goblin''s shop," Rili knew better than anyone from where such confidence came from. Jim was about to get himself two high grade spells, and so he had all the right to act this high and mighty.


    "Good," Jim said before ncing again at therge number of the ves and followers that kid had. "I need to expand my group as well," he muttered before thinking back to that clone servant of his. "He said he could ess my ring, but can he gain ess to rings inside?" he thought.


    ''He can''t,'' and the answer came swiftly from his old man. ''You''ll need to take the coins out in that ring to be used by him, or you need to tell him to dig deeper inside the other rings.''


    ''Can Imunicate with him?''


    ''He can reach you, and you can reach him.''


    ''How?''


    ''Just think and your thoughts will be delivered to him.''


    Jim was moving behind Rili, busy speaking with his old man so he didn''t notice the weird nces everyone here gave to him. He was famous, more famous than he thought.


    And what just happened outside moments ago was instantly spread between the disciples here. Someughed, some amusingly smiled, while others shook their heads in disappointment.


    ''Search in my ring, there are many rings there with riches. Use the orbs and coins there to recruit as many disciples as you can,'' Jim thought.


    ''Only ten disciples agreed to join us so far despite the handsome price for doing so,'' the next instant the voice of his clone rang in his mind, and he was startled.


    He wasn''t startled because of the swift answer from the low number of disciples willingly wanting to join his crew. ''Do they have ves? Strong ves?'' he asked.


    ''They have none,'' the clone answered.


    "Damn losers," Jim shook his head before thinking, ''ept only the strong ones of them.''


    ''But''


    ''Even if we ended up not having anyone beside the other five then it''s alright.''


    ''About them they went to the forest and didn''t find you at the gate.''


    ''Oh,'' Jim recalled this small matter, ''let them stay with you then, I''m at the Sherwid town right now.''


    ''Alright.''


    ''I need to work on getting ves from here then,'' Jim sighed before thinking he was facing such a strong heat back in the academy. ''It seems I stirred more trouble than I wanted, sigh.''


    ''Your resurrection to the fairy pantheon won''t pass without a strong retaliation,'' the old man said before adding, ''you need to prepare yourself for a busy week in the beginning.''


    ''Yeah, it seems I will fight many,'' Jim smiled before inwardlyughing, ''if it''s the disciple problem then I can handle it perfectly fine.''


    ''Don''t be too overconfident,'' the old man advised, ''you aren''t the only kid with connections after all.''


    ''Sigh, why don''t you let me enjoy this brief moment of being supreme?'' Jim said.


    ''It''s for your own sake. After all the masters in the academy will be bound by the rules, but that only applies inside the academy and its affiliate towns and facilities like here.''


    ''Are you afraid they will conspire against me?''


    ''They will,'' the old man confirmed, ''and you shall be more prepared.''


    ''This'' Jim suddenly felt threatened, ''what should I do then? Gathering disciples and ves won''t save me from these masters.''


    ''Indeed,'' the old man said, ''so you need backings.''


    ''The two sellers?''


    ''They aren''t enough,'' the old man said, ''you need to find yourself a strong and dependable master back at the academy.''


    ''This isn''t in my hand,'' Jim sighed.


    ''You have that elf master, I''m pretty sure he will target you once the academy starts.''


    ''Is he powerful?''


    ''He dared to stand against Pol and his backing, so he is strong without doubt or a foolish like yourself.''


    ''I like him,'' Jim smiled before adding, ''but honestly I hoped for a hot female master.''


    ''Are you seeking for a backing or for someone to warm your bed at night?'' the old manughed and Jim just took a deep breath and started to take notice of things around him.


    They had already reached the doorsteps of a very luxurious shop. The front of it was made entirely of shiny ores that Jim knew nothing about. Yet, in the middle of this bustling alley, this shop stood out as being the least crowded one.


    It had only five disciples buying things inside, and their entourage stood in waiting outside. Jim examined the five kids, and they belonged to the direct pantheon ns.


    "A kraken, a chimera, a phoenix, a medusa, and a banshee kids interesting mix," he muttered before the guards on the door stopped him.


    "Sorry sir, this ce is only limited for VIP members of the store," one of them, who was a Bulltor, said in a respectful tone.


    Jim nced at him and stole a short nce back at Deno before saying:


    "What''s needed to be a member?"


    "First sir needs to be hailing directly from a pantheon, or at least a privileged inner disciple at the academy. Master then has to pay a monthly fee of five hundred academy coins to be able to enjoy the VIP treatment."


    "Phew," Jim took a cold breath when he heard the price he needed to pay.


    "We can go to another store then," Rili said but Jim shook his head. "This one will do."


    His simple answer didn''t only startle the guards, it startled everyone on his team and those eyeing him around.


    "But" Lan said and Jim stopped him. "Don''t worry, I got this," he winked before turning towards the stupefied guard and he started taking out the coins. "Here you go, five hundred academy coins for the VIP membership. Can I enter now?"


    "Ahem" the guard counted the coins fast with his eyes while clearing out his throat, "only the rank, sir. You are human."


    "I know," Jim smiled before pointing to himself while proudly saying, "I''m a privileged inner academy disciple."


    "This" the guard seemed hesitant before asking, "may I ask about the pantheon sir follows?"


    "The fairy pantheon," Jim simply answered, and his words caused an instant stir in the store once he said this.


    His voice wasn''t that loud, but the moment he spoke these words the store seemed to shake. Even the faces of the dozen guards in front of the store all changed, and this strange reaction of the store caused them to be more startled.


    They stood there for brief moments, didn''t know what to say or do.


    "Let him in," suddenly this crisp voice came all of sudden from inside the store, "Also return the coins back to him."


    The sound seemed weak andzy, yet once it appeared the Bulltor guard''s body trembled. "Yes miss," the guard respectfully said, and Jim sensed the change in his tone and attitude than the one he treated him with.


    ''He is afraid,'' Jim thought to himself.


    ''And you too,'' the old man sighed, ''make sure not to make enemies here, alright?''


    ''Got it,'' Jim didn''t have time to ask why, before he received the coins back.


    "Miss ordered, and you can enter," the guard said with a warning nce over his face.


    ''Once there, don''t ever dare to speak to me even once,'' and the old man warned again.


    ''Got it,'' Jim inwardly sighed before he took his time storing the coins as an excuse to collect himself.


    Then he entered the store.

 Chapter 65: A Seducer

    Chapter 65: A Seducer


    "Do you know that humans were once considered the next rising star?"


    This crisp voice came from a very stunning beauty that had the body of a human and two small twisted horns on both sides of her head. She wore a veil over her face, olive green in color, matching the bright red dress she wore that only covered her shoulders, transverse strip of chest, and her waist.


    She sat on a seat made entirely of faint green leather. Putting one leg over the other, showing her porcin white smooth skin and stunning figure in front of Jim with no embarrassment at all.


    "Well," Jim swallowed his throat for a moment, "I never heard something like that."


    "Your generation won''t hear such things," she sighed before adding, "but the old generation like me knows the truth."


    "Old?" he muttered in disbelief, as this stunningdy wasn''t too much older than him.


    "Hahaha," sheughed and herugh managed to kidnap his heart in an instant, "I''m not that young as you think."


    "Mydy seems to be exaggerating," he smiled as he added, "you aren''t that much older than me."


    "In look perhaps, but in years I doubt," she chuckled before leaning further on the seat as she added, "do you like what you see, human boy?"


    This time he swallowed his throat in slow motion as he was extremely and suddenly nervous. He tried to evade answering such questions by ncing at the base level of the store where other disciples were stealing silent nces at his direction from time to time.


    "I like this store of yours."


    "This isn''t mine," she said before adding, "I''m just acting as guardian here, no more."


    "Thanks for the generosity you showed to me," he recalled what happened outside the store and her help to feel ashamed not to hurry to thank her the moment he reached her.


    "Don''t mention it," she softly chuckled, "tell me, do you want to sit and rest on myp?" she passed her hand over her naked legs in slow and alluring say that made Jim have sweat in the next instant.


    "Ahem, I have to decline that," despite feeling much bitter inside for saying that, he had this feeling that he should refuse.


    "Oh," her eyes shone with green light that appeared even from behind the veil covering her face, "such a will in young age it seems being a member of the fairy pantheon wasn''t a fluke."


    "What does miss mean?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation limited in this area.


    "It''s not that easy to refuse a word from me y''know," sheughed before adding, "I bet you know nothing about me, sweet boy."


    Her tone made his soul shudder. He felt hidden pressure assaulting his body, making him unable to breath for a second.


    Yet the next moment, all the pressure vanished as she sighed. "Sorry, it''s an old habit of mine. I hope you won''t mind it."


    He hurried to nod, "I don''t mind."


    "Don''t be afraid of me," she corrected her body, "you are somehow immune to my allure innate spell, reminding me of them."


    Jim wanted to ask but he hesitated. "They are who you think," sheughed before adding, "at least I can read your mind."


    This time he realized why his old man stressed over not to speak with him in front of her. "Scary," he muttered to himself and she onlyughed when heard his thoughts.


    "Tell me, have you seen a fairy before?" she suddenly asked and her question made him startled.


    "Not yet," he said before adding, "didn''t they all die?"


    "Activating the lost pantheon of them meant they aren''t," she softly muttered, as if she was speaking to herself, "but this isn''t a bad thing. After all I was supposed to marry a human back then to elevate the statue of my family."


    Her words made Jim raise one of his eyebrows. "Don''t give me that look," sheughed, "I meant one of my ancestors of course. I''m not that old, hehehe."


    He didn''t know how to respond to her. In an instant she would act like a little girl, the next she would be like a sexy whore. She then turns into a wise olddy, and finally a dreadful beast that would be able to devour him if she wanted to.


    She was a giant puzzle that he was d he didn''t have to crack.


    "Tell me boy, do you know anything about the lost heritage of the fairies?" she suddenly asked, in a tone full of curiosity.


    "Well," he hesitated, "I know nothing about such old secrets."


    "They are secrets indeed," she nodded, "but recently rumors spread around the town about someone who has the knowledge of such secrets. I thought it was you."


    Her tone made him realize he shouldn''t lie to her, nor tell the truth either. "I know nothing about any of these rumors," he said, and this was the only lie he could truthfully tell.


    And she kept her silence there for long moments like she was studying him.


    "Indeed you are right," she sighed, "a human like youing from a very far world can''t know of such profound things."


    She paused before waving her hands to the stairs, "you can go down and get all the requirements of the sses of you and the handful disciples of your team."


    "Thanks fordy generosity," he was relieved so much to leave this ce. He just turned towards the stairs when she suddenly said:


    "If you ever found that mysterious being then ask him if he can share some secrets with me," she stopped while he paused for a moment before continuing to descend the stairs. "Having me as a backing isn''t a bad thing. I can protect you here, there, and even during your bedtime."


    She added this with a short yfulugh that made his soul crave to go back and devour her. Yet he hardly controlled himself as he finally reached the bottom.


    "Everything for this human fairy disciple is on the store," she shouted from above while the workers down there only nodded in respect.

 Chapter 66: Sandy

    Chapter 66: Sandy


    ''Can you tell me who she is?''


    Once he exited the entire alley, Jim hurried to ask his old man with much curiosity.


    ''She is one of those ancient unique races,'' the old man simply answered.


    ''Meaning?''


    ''She is one of a kind, or perhaps there are only a few in her n left at each generation. She is a seducer, a very frightening soul race that excels best at soul attacks and spells.''


    ''Like reading mind?''


    ''Frankly speaking, she can''t read your mind directly. But she can feel your soul and from it she can get a vague idea about what you think of.''


    ''Scary,'' Jim muttered.


    ''Indeed,'' the old man said, ''but she is also a strong ally that once served our race with much loyalty and devotion.''


    Jim recalled her words back there. ''Is it true that she was supposed to get married to a human?''


    ''One of her ancestors perhaps had such a deal,'' the old man muttered, ''strange though that this had some eco within me, but so far I can''t recall the exact memory correctly. Strange!''


    ''You might just have gone senile old man,'' Jim joked with him.


    ''Nah, I shouldn''t forget anything,'' he muttered, ''but strange enough that I can''t recall exactly what she mentioned.''


    Jim went into silence for a moment before asking, ''Is she really strong? Can she help in protecting me?''


    ''Indeed she is strong,'' the old man said, ''and she is loyal, but the issue is how to get her loyalty.''


    ''She offered to help,'' Jim said.


    ''I heard,'' the old man responded, ''but that means only to be a customer to her to satisfy her needs. You''ll need more than that to gain her trust.''


    ''How can I do that?'' Jim asked with eagerness. If he could secure her as a backing, then alongside his future elf master and two mysterious buyers he would be much secured than ever.


    No one would dare to touch him at the academy.


    ''You need to devour her,'' the old man''s answer was something that instantly paralyzed his mind.


    ''What do you mean old man?'' he asked.


    ''Y''know what I mean,'' the old manughed, '' you need to make her your own girl, this is the only way to guarantee her loyalty,'' the old man said before exining, ''seducers are such scary race, but once one delivered her body to someone, she would turn absolutely loyal to him, acting as both his strongest sword and mightiest shield.''


    Jim stopped as he turned to nce at the distant alley while muttering to himself, "This will be very difficult to achieve."


    ''Yet not impossible.''


    "Is there anything wrong?" Rili suddenly asked, distracting Jim from his deep thoughts.


    "Is there an inn to stay at?" Jim simply asked before adding, "we need to eat and rest today before heading out tomorrow."


    Everyone nodded. Despite not doing anything big, they didn''t rest after the fight outside the walls of the town.


    "There are many of such inns," Rili said before adding, "which one would you prefer?"


    "One that can hold us for one hundred coins max for the rest of the week," Jim responded.


    "Well," Rili paused, "this is such a high price for a small inn. I shall rmend a hotel, what do you think?"


    "Shouldn''t we keep some coins for the academy?" Rick said before adding, "we will have many challenges there it seems."


    "Saving coins is a must, master," Roo said before whispering, "how was thedy of the goblin store? She seemed special."


    Everyone nced at Jim with curious looks over their faces. This look made him sigh. "She is dangerous," he simply said those words before turning to Rili, "lead us towards a hotel then."


    "Follow me," Rili said while Jim moved with his team towards the hotel.


    "I want to hire rooms here, may I know the prices for it?" Rili led them to the counter where a rat headed race stood there wearing a silver cloak over his body and waited for any customer in a respectful manner.


    "The prices are based on the academy coins," the receptionist said, "for one room, a night would cost two coins and a week cost ten."


    "Good," Jim said from the side, "I want to hire thirteen rooms then," he took out the coins and gave them to the rat man.


    The hotel was so luxurious, with many sparkling ores all around and the blue color prevailed here. There were many races inside the lobby. The presence of Jim and his team attracted much attention, but when he spoke and hired the rooms, the attention escted to a higher degree.


    "Why are they ncing this way towards us?" Ashley was restless from these gazes they met during their ascend to the fifth floor where their rooms were.


    There was another rat man leading them on the way, acting humble and respectful and she didn''t mean him by her words.


    "This hotel is one of the famous hotels in the town," Rili said before helplessly adding, "a human leading a Bulltor is a scene to make everyone marvel."


    Everyone understood his meaning, and they just kept their silence before they finally reached their rooms.


    Everyone entered there with the promise to rest well and be awake early in the morning to fulfill Jim''s n.


    Yet when he reached Ashley''s room, she hesitated before turning to nce at Deno for a moment then towards Jim as she asked:


    "Don''t you want somepany?"


    Jim smiled before saying, "you cane to me at night to chat."


    She smiled and a tinge of redness appeared on her face before hurrying to enter her room.


    "Sigh, she is totally in for you man," Rili said while he entered the room with Jim.


    "I just had some stuff to do first," Jim didn''t deny his desire in her.


    "Just ask and I''ll fulfill your needs," Rili wasn''t stupid as he realized what Jim wanted. He wanted something from him, or else why would he invite him to be here?


    "I want you to go back to thedy and ask her about her needs," Jim was slightly hesitant to do this. During his walk to here he thought many times about this, and the pros were more tempting than the risk of being exposed.


    "Thedy you mean her?" Rili carefully asked before sighing when he noticed the calm face of Jim. "Man, she is dangerous as you said."


    "I know that."


    "Then why y with fire?"


    "Just ask her about her most precious needs," Jim said, "if I can I will try to fulfill her needs and gain her as my client," he said while Rili sighed.


    "Don''t tell me you have already fallen for her," he said before adding, "ying with miss Sandy isn''t nice. No one managed to ever crack her cold heart, and she is well known for her merciless nature. Please heed my advice and stay away from this cmity veiled in beauty."


    Jim knew he was telling the truth, and he just felt d for his honest advice. "Can you do that?" he ignored yet all his warning, which made Rili sigh again.


    "Sure," he said before adding, "gimme a couple of minutes and I''ll return to you with an answer."


    "I''m waiting," Jim went to the room to check it before muttering, "at least I can start eating until you return."

 Chapter 67: I Want No Man to Touch You But Me

    Chapter 67: I Want No Man to Touch You But Me


    Jim wasn''t acting on impulse, after all his old man kept saying he was confident to help her. He seemed quite confident and Jim decided to give this a try.


    ''I hope you won''t let me down,'' he said.


    ''Since when I did so?'' the old man responded in some arrogance, ''I know her race and know what they are after.''


    ''What?''


    ''Prestige,'' the old man mysteriously said, ''her race always has this inferior issue regarding big races around. She will ask for something to boost her position in themunity and make her stand out.''


    Jim was speechless for a moment. ''She this strong and feels inferior?'' he was doubting his old man''s logic.


    ''Just wait and you''ll know I was right,'' the old man simply said, ''she will ask for any old info, especially in skills like crafting. Anything she will ask I''ll be able to match, and you''ll just gain the fruits of my wisdom.''


    ''Don''t boast like this before we answer her needs,'' Arthur sighed before noticing the return of Rili.


    "How does it go?" he asked and Rili sighed.


    "She asks for something weird," he muttered before adding, "she wants to know the forms of at least fifty potions and pills of the ancient fairies to be able to do business with you."


    "Interesting," Jim smiled in confidence before asking, "and the price?"


    "Anything you need from her," Rili said while adding, "in fact she doesn''t seem that enthusiastic about this trade. I doubt she even knows your identity as well."


    "Maybe," Jim smiled before directly asking his old man, ''Can you answer her needs?''


    ''If she wants to know a thousand forms then I can satisfy her desire.''


    ''A hundred is enough,'' Jim muttered before ncing over Rili as he said, "I want you to return back to her."


    "To change the deal?" Rili asked what was obvious to him.


    "No, to tell her I can provide a hundred forms in return for a one year support from her," he said before adding, "we''ll sign a contract to bind her with her promise."


    Rili went silent for long moments before asking in amazement: "Are you sure of this?"


    "Just go to her and deliver her this message of mine," heughed before watching Rili leaving with a sigh.


    ''Don''t worry about your secret with her, you can add a note regarding securing your identity in the contract.''


    ''I will.''


    ''She is loyal, so don''t expect her to betray you.''


    ''I prefer to trust the contract better,'' Jim helplessly smiled before asking, ''can you start selecting the forms for her?''


    ''I have already selected them,'' the old man said instantly.


    ''Great,'' Jim said before waiting for Rili to return while sitting on a sofa inside the room.


    ''It''s not bad actually,'' he nced at the room around.


    ''It''s ok,'' the old man said before Rili appeared again.


    "She asks about the quality of the forms," Rili directly said while adding, "and she warns you, she doesn''t want to deal with imposters."


    "Hahaha, don''t worry," Jim smiled while waiting for the answer of his old man. "Tell her I can provide up to twenty grade dragon forms if she wants."


    "Grade dragon? What the hell is that?" Rili said in astonishment.


    "Just deliver the message to her and she will understand," Jim mysteriously said, "but this number will be on one condition."


    "More condition?" Rili was speechless there. "What is it?"


    "To not touch a man other than me," heughed while teasing with Rili.


    But the next instant Rili vanished from the room leaving him feeling awkward. "Damn, he was impatient!" he muttered in disbelief.


    He was joking with him just now, and Rili seemed to take anything that came out of his mouth to be a fact. "Sigh, I hope she won''t be mad," he muttered.


    ''Hahaha, you shouldn''t y with fire kid,'' the old manughed before adding, ''she won''t be mad, but will gently refuse the offer.''


    Rili appeared the next instant as he said:


    "She said she can ept that if you proved your worth to her."


    "What?!!" Jim was speechless for a second there, "did she agree?"


    "Yes," Rili weirdly said, "you didn''t see her face when she heard about your offer. But she has a condition in return."


    "Interesting," Jim returned his back to his sofa before adding, "what is her condition then?"


    "She asks you to win the grandpetition held annually in the academy," Rili said.


    "Did you say anything about me belonging to the academy?"


    "No, she said these terms herself."


    "She is smart," Jimughed before adding, "it''s not bad to fulfill an ancient agreement. Alright, I''ll promise her that, but I need something extra over the deal."


    "Again?!!" Rili was shocked by Jim''s greed, yet he didn''t know this was his aim from the start.


    "I want ves, strong ves who can work under me and fight without fear," Jim stated his real condition before adding, "those Bulltors are nice. If I can have some I would be happy."


    Rili vanished while the old man keptughing hysterically until he appeared again.


    "She says a man should give his girl a gift, not the opposite."


    "Sigh, she has a bigger appetite than me," Jimughed shortly before he got the right answer from his amused old man. "Tell her I''ll gift her a fairy grade ring, but she has to make it herself," he said and Rili got his meaning but had to ask:


    "Do you mean you''ll give a blueprint for her?"


    "Exactly," Jim cracked a wide smile before adding, "this is a token of my sincerity. Yet I need my desire to be fulfilled. She can''t let her man without proper protection, right?"


    Rili helplessly sighed. "Why do I feel I turned into a kupid messenger here?" Then he vanished while Jim and his old man keptughing on his words.


    ''I didn''t mean for her to be my girl,'' Jim shook his head, ''I have enough already.''

 Chapter 68: Great News In the Morning

    Chapter 68: Great News In the Morning


    ''Damn kid, you can''t even recognize a diamond even if you have it in your hand,'' the old manughed before adding, ''seducers excel best at bed matters. Embrace the chance and don''t undermine it.''


    ''Sigh, it''s like you tasted them before.''


    ''Indeed on many asions,'' the old man bragged, ''they are really unforgettable sigh.''


    ''Hahaha,'' Jim justughed and his old manughed with him.


    "She agrees," Rili said the moment he returned, "she will seek ves but she can''t promise to provide many Bulltors."


    "Good," Jim''s eyes shone brightly, "draft a contract stating all these terms. And don''t forget to add a part where she will keep my identity safe."


    "Alright," Rili then went to silence before he said again, "here, check it out and tell me if you need anything more to be added."


    Jim took the parchment and started reading it so slow and careful. He knew he would reveal his identity to her. Despite her guessing already who he was, he didn''t want to risk anything because of his negligence.


    "It''s cool," he left a blood imprint over the parchment before adding, "send the parchment for her to sign and then bring with you papers enough to write down the forms and the blueprint."


    "Alright," Rili took the parchment before disappearing again. Jim knew she signed the contract when a third string appeared around his wrist. "This is getting funnier," heughed when he saw that string.


    "Here you go," Rili appeared and the next instant a pile of papers appeared with a pen. "Write them down and hand them to me to deliver and fulfill your deal."


    "Good," Jim then started writing everything his old man described and stated on the papers.


    This took roughly six hours of hard work. During this, he received a meal from the hotel where he and Rili ate together.


    Rili only absorbed food tes in front of Jim''s eyes, making him wonder what he was doing with all these foods. Jim only ate little before returning to his task again.


    "Done," he took a deep breath before stretching out his arms, "take these and deliver them to her."


    "She might need some time to verify all of these," Rili took the big pile of papers beside Jim.


    "No problem for me," Jim said before adding, "make her ready, I have an assignment for her the moment she finishes checking the forms and the blueprint."


    "Assignment?" Rili was surprised by the wording of Jim.


    "Sure, didn''t she promise to back me up?" he winked and Rili understood his meaning right away.


    "I''ll inform her with this," he said before vanishing.


    This time Rili took a long time to appear again. When he came back, it was already dark outside and Jim had a date with Ashley.


    "What took you so long?" Jim asked impatiently.


    "Sorry she didn''t let me leave before checking everything," Rili sighed before adding, "didn''t you notice the string around your wrist had turned into a tattoo?"


    Jim was absorbed totally in waiting for him that he neglected this slight change in his wrist. He found the tattoo there with a faint golden light that pulsated from time to time.


    "Does this mean it''s valid?" he asked.


    "Sure, and now you can state your assignment and I''ll just deliver it to her to execute."


    "Great," Jim said before hearing knocking on the door. "Tell her to help in the twisex issue ande back tomorrow morning."


    "Hahaha, alright," Riliughed as he understood what was going to happen.


    As he vanished Jim moved to open the door to Ashley who came in with a shy look on her face.


    She wore a long blue dress with sparkling glitter all over it. "Wow, you look stunning," he said as he closed the door.


    "I just bought it today," she said before adding, "I took the money from Rick as a loan."


    He went to her, moved a couple of strands away from her bare shoulders before muttering, "I should thank him for doing that."


    He softly painted a kiss over her shoulder before feeling the faint tremble of her body. He didn''t stop as he ascended all the way to her neck, slightly biting her with his lips.


    And she only gasped for a long breath while her body numbed for a moment.


    His hands moved, to find the zip in her back and slowly took it down towards her waist. Slowly he started to push the dress down using his mouth with each step, had a soft kiss and a long bite with his lips over her smooth skin.


    The moment the dress went down, he held her back with one hand, led her to the bed nearby before leaning over one of the two bulging lumps on her chest and sucked its top into his mouth.


    And started squeezing it slowly between his teeth while sucking it deeper inside.


    Her soft moan enticed more fire inside him, and the next thing he did was to push her body further on the bed, raise her legs and bury his head in between and started eating everything his lips met.


    She was now in another world of dreams, and the long night passed quickly on her while sleeping in his embrace with a body full of red marks and raced breaths as she kept screaming loudly from his touches, biting, and hitting.


    And he justid beside her feeling more satisfied, wondering how Sandy''s taste would be.


    The next morning he had received good news one after another from Rili.


    When he woke up, he found no trace of Ashley beside him. "Sigh, this girl" he just shook his head before heading to take a shower. "Doesn''t she know that morning is much better than night?" heughed before dressing up to find Riliying in wait for him in the room.


    "Any news?" he asked.


    "Great news," Rili answered.


    "About Sandy?" Jim went to sit on the sofa where he waited for the answer of Rili.


    "About everything," Rili excitedly said, "the other two customers have already confirmed your data. They both did the dealing and delivered to me the tokens," Rili then took out two orbs before adding, "you need to ept them for the deal to be called as done."


    "Shouldn''t I select one n grade token from the second seller?" Jim didn''t hurry to ept the tokens as he asked with doubt.


    "He said he was quite satisfied so he went out of line here and chose the best token he had," Rili said before adding, "he said you''ll be greatly satisfied with this one."


    Jim sighed and then he decided to ept the two. The moment he took them, the two strings around his wrist vanished in thin air.


    "It''s done," Rili said before adding, "and the two wants to make more deals with you."


    Jim yed a little with the orbs in hand before saying, "not now. Let them first be more restless before striking another deal with the two."


    He wasn''t in a hurry now to make them his backing. He had one strong backing for now, and he didn''t need anymore for the time being.


    "I have to answer them, what should I tell them?" Rili asked.


    "Tell them" Jim paused before adding, "I''m now busy with other deals so once I''m free I''ll contact them again."


    "Alright," Rili said but he didn''t instantly vanish. "Thedy says she will solve the problem of yours in two days maximum," he said and his words made Jim''s eyes shine brighter than when he received the tokens in hand.


    "And about the ves, she found some and will send them to the ce you desire in less than one hour."


    Jim thought before saying, "let them wait for me at the gate of the town in two hours," Jim then paused before adding, "I''ll have to ask you to wait there with them."


    He then took out a hundred academy coins and left them on the ground as he added, "these are for your hard work so far."


    "Oh, thanks so much for your generosity sir," Rili hurried to take the coins from the ground in no time. "I''ll wait for you at the gate in two hours."


    "Good, see you there," Jim said before watching Rili vanish. "Time to see what you two are about," he evilly smiled while closely observing these two tokens in much interest and curiosity.

 Chapter 69: The Two Spells

    Chapter 69: The Two Spells


    Jim started to observe the two tokens in hand. Both were in the same size as he could easily close up his fist over it.


    One of them had red golden color and the other was silver white. ''Do you what spells both contained old man?'' After a couple of minutes he decided to ask for the help of his old man.


    ''You need to test them before knowing what they are doing,'' the old man said before adding, ''Just drop a single blood over them and see for yourself.''


    Jim hesitated before asking, ''Won''t this teach me the two spells?''


    ''Indeed,'' the old man read his mind as he added, ''are you afraid they will take much time to learn? No, they can be learnt in no time. But mastering them will take longer.''


    ''Sure? I have a fight to rage in a couple of hours from now.''


    ''Don''t worry, just start.''


    Jim nodded before he cut his hand with his sword and let his blood fall upon the golden one. The moment the blood touched the orb it was absorbed at once.


    And next he felt a sudden shock in his mind where much info was forcibly injected there by hidden force. He stayed in this trance state for a couple of minutes before finally being relieved.


    "Damn, this orb is really OP!" he couldn''t help but exim out in shock while observing the orb like eyeing a monster.


    ''Hahaha, this is a n spell and for your luck it''s something you will greatly benefit from,'' the old man was in a good mood before adding, ''c''mon let''s see the other one.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate anymore as he dropped his blood over the second orb. He went into the same state of trance but for a slightly shorter duration.


    "This is good," he eximed in excitement the moment he was freed from this weird state. "It''s not as OP as the first one, but it''s also strong."


    ''You got yourself twopatible spells that''s beginner''s luck.''


    ''Nah, it''s my luck,'' Jim grabbed the two orbs tightly before muttering, ''I now understand why I shouldn''t let anyone train on these two. I need to be sure they won''t betray me under any circumstances.''


    ''The strongest bond is the ve bond,'' the old man said.


    ''But''


    ''I know you hate it, but at least you aren''t treating them as your ve but followers and even friends,'' the old man tried to coat this up, ''besides there is no other option in front of you.''


    ''Sigh,'' Jim shook his head before ncing over the two orbs in his hands, ''these are worth more effort to guard and more cautious measurements from me,'' he tightly grabbed them before asking, ''can I use them at once?''


    ''You can,'' the old man said, ''but I advise you not.''


    Jim stored the two before thinking more about the response of his old man. ''keeping them hidden for the arena?''


    ''You need to be more prepared,'' the old man said before adding, ''surprise is the most important element of victory in any fight.''


    ''Indeed,'' Jim then slept for a few hours before waking up on a knocking. He opened the door, received his breakfast meal and started eating it there while his mind was only stirred up around the two spells he just learnt.


    "Damn," from time to time he couldn''t control his excitement and exim loudly like this. "It''s time to make our move," he then exited the room and started knocking on each room of his mates and then gathered them down below.


    Some looked like they woke up early and looked refreshed, but the two girls seemed like they were still sleeping, along with Lan who kept yawning all the time.


    "Can''t we just attack them at midday? Why acting so early?" he asked while yawning.


    "Stop beingzy," Rooughed at him while patting his shoulder with his scissor-like hand, "we used to wake up just when the first light in the sky appears."


    "What for? The day won''t run away!" Lan was still yawning and hisints made othersugh.


    "Alright," Jim said to end this funny debate, "we are heading to the gate where we are going to ept more members to our little team," he said before winking to Deno, "I hope you can rejoice. At least one Bulltor will be there."


    Deno''s face instantly lit up as he hurried to ask: "How did you manage to get your hands on another Bulltor this soon?"


    Jim justughed and said nothing while the team kept asking many questions about who was going to join them and how he got such an addition while they were in the hotel.


    For him he didn''t know much as them, so he kept his silence and his mind was focusing on something else, his newly acquired spells.


    "Over here," from far away the sound of Rili appeared shouting at the small team attracting their attention.


    "Holy moly" Rick was instantly shocked by what he just saw, "there is not one Bulltor, but five!" he eximed in shock while Jim only smiled and said nothing.


    The most shocked one here was Deno who hurriedly ran towards the five Bulltors as he started to speak with them even before Jim reached there.


    "Jim, they are slightly older than me by a couple of years but they are far more experienced in fighting," Deno was so much excited as he added, "damn, how could you get your hands over them?"


    Jimughed again and shifted his gaze towards the group. There were twenty new members of his team there, five Bulltors, five shapeshifters, five staff holding race which looked like goblins but with long stature like humans, and finally five fog races who had only their bodies been formed entirely of fog in different colors.


    "Wee to my team," Jim said in wee and the next instant they all knelt on the ground while saying in unison, "we greet our master."


    "Stand up," Jim said before adding, "I''m your master, but with me you must act more on ease. I don''t treat you as my ves, but my friends."

 Chapter 70: The New Members

    Chapter 70: The New Members


    His words made their faces be startled while Lanughed. "You will get used to this in time," he said before yawning once more, "but we need not to wake up in the morning to do this."


    Jim smiled as he turned to Rili. "Thanks for waiting," he said.


    "I''m d you are happy, as other people aren''t."


    The answer of Rili was mysterious to all but Jim who understood who he was referring to. "Hahaha, let them be for now. I just want you to squeeze them for better deals."


    "Count on me for this," Rili excitedly said while the coins he received hours ago was still a lingering memory in his mind.


    "Now we will go out there and start hunting down those thieves," Jim said while ncing at his bigger team, "tell me your abilities now," he demanded from the fresh members of his team.


    They started to narrate their strengths, abilities and spells. Unlike his old team members, those were considered veterans. All had already participated in many fights and were nourished by their former masters.


    What surprised Jim was the fact they didn''t all hail from Sandy. Each couple would speak about theirmon old master before narrating some info about their abilities and spells.


    Jim started to memorize their traits with care while his mind finally let go of his excitement about the two spells and started to focus on these knowledge.


    Gradually many forms of battles started to take shape inside his mind. After everyone finished, Jim started to exin their n for the fight.


    "We will follow the same n as before, a main group formed of Bulltors, wizos, Torens, and colders would stay behind with Ashley, Roo, Kro, Rick, Gorden, Pat, and Deno. As for me, Jenny, Lan, the shapeshifters we will act as the terrified group."


    The wizos were those holding staff. Each used one spell but it was so strong that it could rival the wide area abilities of Rick and the two kroaks.


    As for Torens, they were those resembling goblins. Jim was surprised to know they excel at defense, as they could dy any iing attack using a variety of spells like the mud pool, the swamp stamp, and a couple others.


    Colders were those fog people who seemed slightly different than the one Jim fought before. They excel best at assassination, but very weak in group fight.


    This was the best arrangement he had in mind for them. As for the shapeshifters, despite the old three of his weren''t that special at all the other five had stored the shape of one mighty race to use all the time the phoenix n.


    Those five were the only group here that hailed from the same master it seemed. They knew each other well, and they told Randy, Orand, and Lenor that they could touch their bodies after changing to mimic the phoenix race.


    But Jim didn''t like this and told the three just to use their already stored giant form from before.


    "Are we going to kill one group and return?" Lan yawned again as he asked what he was most interested in.


    "Do you have any other lightning ore?" Jim totally ignored his remark as he seriously asked.


    "No, yawn."


    "What about you?" Jim turned to Jenny to ask.


    "Me neither," she shook her head while rubbing her eyes, resisting the urge to yawn as well.


    "Can you bring me some lightning and fire ores?" Jim took out one academy coin as he threw it towards Rili''s location to vanish the next instant.


    "Give me a couple of minutes," Rili disappeared for minutes while Jim stood there in silence watching his old members getting to know the new ones.


    They were arranged in main groups where Deno was excited to talk with the five Bulltors, the old three shapeshifters were speaking excitedly with the new group, and the rest were just getting to know each other.


    As for him, he was just eyeing this group of his, feeling so blessed to gain such aid on his early steps in the academy. "The first week there will be much exciting," he inwardlyughed as he already imagined himself crushing all the teams who challenged him and gaining fame and wealth out of it.


    "Here are the ores you asked for," once Rili appeared, tworge piles of ores appeared suddenly in front of everyone.


    "Wow, this is such arge amount of ore," Jimughed while pointing to Lan and Jenny to move and get these ores.


    "You asked for ores equal to one academy coin," Rili weirdly said, "didn''t you know the market prices for them?"


    "In fact no," Jim embarrassedlyughed before adding, "thanks for the help. Please follow the things still hanging."


    "Don''t worry, I''m just worried over the angry ones," Rili sighed while speaking again in riddles for others not to understand.


    "Just let be on fire for now," Jim smiled before turning to face his team, "let''s go. We will act like we are going back to the academy and then we can start our hunt."


    "Just a reminder," Rili stopped him as he added, "out there don''t try to attack any team on impulse. The teams can''t attack you unless they are equal to your grade at the academy or one year higher, but this doesn''t apply to you."


    Jim got the message as he said to confirm what he understood, "I''m not bound to such a rule, right?"


    "Indeed," Rili said, "right now you won''t until you start studying in the academy."


    "Does this mean everyone out there is an academy disciple?" Deno asked with doubt.


    "Well, either current or former disciples," Rili said before adding, "but anyone enters the academy and starts learning there will be bound by thatw. As you didn''t, you need to be cautious to not cause yourselves much trouble."


    "Thanks," Jim said before saying to his team, "let''s go."


    Rili watched them leaving from the gate before sighing. "Damn, never heard of fresh disciples going out of their own way to attack those gangs. That human he can''t be a human at all!"


    He then vanished to keep tracking Jim''s business and try to hunt down more clients of his own, hoping he might find a hidden tycoon like Jim out there.

 Chapter 71: Having Wounded Members For the First Time

    Chapter 71: Having Wounded Members For the First Time


    Jim led the team towards the direction of the academy for half an hour. During this time, he kept his silence while all of his team kept chatting and exchanging introductions and making friendships out there.


    From the words he just heard, he realized the lives of those who joined him weren''t that good. ording to their description, the ve lives were full of humiliation, injustice, and mistreatment.


    They all were shocked to realize that all of the old members of the team were also ves. In their opinion being a ve deprived them from the simplest rights of life.


    They couldn''t even stand beside their masters and talk to him eye to eye like that!


    Jim totally ignored these talks and eximed in surprise and shock when they learnt that being with Jim secured a ce in the academy as outer disciples.


    The most shocked were the five Bulltors and the five Colders. The first were cursed for not entering the academy ever since the fall of the fairies, thetter were cursed by their race crimes and were forbidden to enter the academy except as ves.


    Even the test they were prevented from participating in.


    "Be alert, we have a team heading here," Jim suddenly said when he noticed one team was finally moving from the side and heading towards them.


    They were around a hundred and fifty in number, yet Jim didn''t see any threat in fighting them. He turned to his team as he said: "We''ll move the moment they got near us in two teams. We both will try to run towards the academy, and my team will run off the road first beforeing back to hit them from behind."


    The next minutes the team rearranged their lines and then they got separated into two groups. Onerge group stayed on the road, while the other smaller one moved off the road under the leadership of Jim.


    The fight didn''t have any surprises, as the team led by the Bulltors kept leading the raiders'' attention away from Jim''s group until Jim finally descended upon them like thunder.


    The massacre that erupted next didn''t leave many alive. Only those who were cowardly to stay back and preferred to run kept their lives intact. As for brave ones, they all ended up being killed.


    In return some of Jim''s team got wounded, especially from those newly joined. They didn''t yet understand the way of Jim''s fight, and used the old tactic they used with their previous masters acting like the tip of the spear all alone and being cannon fodders.


    "You guys" Jim stood helplessly in front of the wounded. "Why did you move all alone to the front? You should have teamed up with us," he shook his head while watching Ashley, Rick, and even Deno being wounded as well.


    As the new members moved out of their lines, they affected the overall performance of his team. This caused the three to be injured, something that never happened during the disadvantageous fights at the arena.


    "This is the way they used to fight back then," Deno said, trying to defend them from the anger of Jim.


    Jim wasn''t angry with them, he was just feeling helpless to not think about such a possibility.


    "Anyone know how to heal wounds?" he asked while turning around to have silence as a response.


    "Sigh," he checked the wounds where some had seriously looking injuries. "We need to go back then," he shook his head.


    "Master, we can still fight," one of the injured Bulltors spoke up while expressing what others were feeling right now, "we used to fight and get wounded and continue to fight. These are nothingpared to what we used to experience."


    Despite his good will to express his thoughts, Jim only shook his head as he turned his gaze to Deno and Rick, "help those who are heavily wounded to go back to the town. There we will look for anyone to heal them."


    "Master, we aren''t in such a bad condition yet," a wounded shapeshifter said, "we can still fight, at least move on our own with no help."


    Jim sighed. "You don''t get it, don''t you?" he said before turning his gaze upon his old team, "let''s go, we need to find Rili and look for a healer or something."


    Jim never thought of his need for a doctor or a healer before. He always triumphed over his enemies with his wits and perfect ns, but right now he was facing this odd situation.


    ''At least you''ve faced it before the academy starts,'' the old man said as they were heading towards the town.


    ''You should have warned me.''


    ''About what?''


    ''About mecking a healer!''


    ''Sigh,'' the old man sighed before adding, ''boy, youck a lot of things. You need to experience them yourself and me just guiding you from time to time.''


    Jim didn''t argue with his old man while the old man added, ''for example I can teach you now there are no healers in this world. There are races specialized in healing wounds, but no one is calling them in such terms.''


    ''Then what are they called?'' Jim regained his interest about this issue.


    ''They are called by the names of their races,'' the old manughed, ''but when you look for them, just see who is avable and I''ll guide you towards the best of them.''


    ''Sure,'' Jim simply epted this kind of help his old man offered while checking from time to time upon his injured team members.


    The return journey took two hours to finallye near the town. "What are that group doing?" but when they got nearby, everyone noticed the presence of arge group standing just three miles away from the gate of the town.


    "They are blocking our path?" Deno muttered before Jennyughed and added, "did they think we are weak because of having some wounded members?"


    "We can fight," the Bulltor who spoke before tried to express his thoughts. He nced at everyone as they all nodded.


    "Just stay here," Jim wasn''t in the mood to y around anymore, "Lane and give me a hand."


    During the past fight, he only used Jenny''s fire to form the fire ball. He didn''t think he would need to use Lan''s lightning back then.


    But now, he was already enraged, and facing those in the front enraged him more.


    "Only the two of us?" Lan was afraid as he hurriedly asked while trying to keep up with Jim''s pace.


    "No," Jim shook his head, "it''s only me."


    "You alone?" Lan was more shocked while he turned back towards the team members as he shouted, e on, he ns to fight them all alone."


    "Just stop it," Jim muttered, before adding, "I want to test something out. Just don''te, alright?"


    His words made everyone hesitant, but he kept moving forward while saying, "gimme your lightning now and retreat."


    "Are you sure you didn''t hit your head or something?" Lan was skeptical towards following this order, "there are over three hundreds right now!"


    "I know that," Jim nodded before adding, "just give me the lightning and retreat."


    He wasn''t suicidal, but he intended to use thisrge group to test out one of the two spells he just gained. Lan was hesitant for a moment there before sighing, "I hope you know what you are doing."


    "Like always," Jimughed shortly before feeling the lightning energying forth into his body.


    What he intended to use was the supreme spell he just gained. It wasn''t a pure start spell ording to his old man, but it was something that worked best on another spell or ability.


    It was a helping spell, and now he was about to test the effect of such spells over his strongest attack.


    The next moment he held his sword by one hand, a few inches above the ground while resisting the urge for it to fall.


    Despite that, he didn''t stop moving forward. He wasn''t trying to act cool here, but this was something that his new spell required.


    A dance!


    ''I have to admit,'' he said to his old man, ''this spell is mighty in effect, but that dancing requirement is something I don''t want to do.''


    ''Hahaha, c''mon, it''s funny.''


    ''You are funny,'' Jim sighed as he noticed that his old man was enjoying what he was going through. ''I advise you toe and give it a try.''


    ''I''m just a soul,'' the old man said whileughing, ''you are the one who has to test it, not me.''


    ''Damn!''


    Jim finally finished the preparation steps before taking a deeper breath as he muttered, "Here we go, it''s best for this to have a good effect or else"


    The next instant he jumped a slight jump in the air before twisting his hip in full circle. This sudden move startled everyone, and his team suddenly realized what he was doing.


    "Damn, he isn''t in his right self," Gorden said in a hurry, "we need to go and help him," he shouted while moving to the front.


    "Wait!" suddenly Kro shouted before turning to nce at Roo. "Do you get the same vibe as well?" Roo asked.


    "What are you two talking about?" Deno moved while Kro turned to say, "this is simr to a very frightening spell we once heard about."


    "A spell?" Rick asked.


    "This is a dance!" Ashley was extremely worried.


    "Dance isn''t just for fun y''know," Roo said in pride, "some are just the cover of strong spells."


    "But this onecks music," Kro muttered, "I recall it needs music to be activated."

 Chapter 72: The Dance Spell

    Chapter 72: The Dance Spell


    Jim was starting to move in a weird way, dancing on no music while the team on the back was having a chat over what he was up to.


    He kept moving while his body was now covered in lightning arcs that started to get out of his control. He was trying his best to maintain the posture of his sword fixed.


    ''Just a bit longer,'' the old man said while Jim only gritted his teeth and tried to resist the urge to let his sword touch the ground.


    Every step he took got him closer to his target. The army of gangsters in the front were also on the move. Some started even to use their spells and n abilities to attack him.


    "Now," he suddenly let his sword touch the ground and the next instant the ball of lightning appeared. He felt his body being elevated by the usual force of his spell, but just before his feet left the ground, he tapped both over the ground in a special manner, ending the dance he was performing.


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment he heard this soft rumbleing from his sword, then from the lightning ball all around. The ball of lightning started to change from blue white color to golden in color, being augmented by the spell he just used.


    "Damn! I never thought I would see such a spell in my entire life!" Roo was shocked while Kro muttered these words as both realized their initial guess was correct. "Only if he used the proper music in this, the spell might have shown its mightiest power," Roo shook his head in regret.


    "Is this the dance spell you were talking about?" Jenny asked in curiosity before adding, "I believe this is a new skill. He never had such a thing before, right?" she turned to nce at Ashley who just nodded.


    "He never used such a spell before," Rick said confidently, "meaning he got his hands on some interesting thing here, hehehe."


    Rick already guessed the way Jim got such a spell from. ''I need to do anything to get my hands on this token from him,'' he inwardly decided as his eyes shone brightly out of his enthusiasm.


    As for Jim, he felt his sword turning into a mighty monster that was so hard to control. "Damn, never thought this spell would turn my own spell this berserk," he said in mockery while trying to hold the sword now with both hands.


    ''This spell is just stronger, but you can only perform this might of it.''


    ''I know, I need to train,'' Jim muttered before feeling that his sword got burdened with an entire mountain over it. ''But now I need to learn how to move my sword first.''


    ''Just remember the steps of your dance,'' the old man hinted.


    ''What for? Do I need to perform it again to use my sword?'' Jim was surprised before saying, ''I can''t dance in this embarrassed way again. No way!''


    ''You have to,'' the old manughed before adding, ''this is the only way to make your sword follow your desires.''


    Jim tried once more to move his sword but he failed. At this moment, he was only protected from the rain of attacksing from upfront by his lightning ball alone.


    ''The ball won''t hold for much,'' the old man said, ''you need to make up your mind now.''


    ''Screw you old man,'' Jim didn''t have any more options here but to follow the words of his old man. Again he started to move, this time while he was midair.


    When his feet started to move and his body to sway, he felt the sword getting instantly lighter. The once heavy mountain turned in no time into a feather in his hand, and the next instant he startedunching mighty balls of lightning towards his enemies.


    But the effect of the spell didn''t only stop at augmenting his ball, but also made his attacks much more stronger and far better than ever.


    Each ball descended upon one enemy before it exploded, taking with it dozens of more enemies. For those standing from far, this looked like he was throwing off grenades, exploding and killing anyone it touched without any exception.


    "Scary," Gorden muttered beforeughing, "but I like this."


    "Shouldn''t we go and help?" Ashley was so worried about him.


    "Do you see him needing our help?"Denoughed before adding, "oh my mighty fairy ancestor this master of mine is really getting stronger with each passing day."


    "Yeah," Rick nodded, "and we need to try our best to keep up with him or else"


    He didn''t continue but his nces conveyed what he wanted to say. Everyone had such a serious look over their faces, as they already understood the danger they were facing.


    Jim was immersed in his fight, not knowing what he just did right now had such a deep impact on everyone on his team. He kept moving his body midair, dancing the spell while waving his sword right and left.


    His lightning balls kept exploding and killing everything they touched and in less than five minutes the entire ce ushered under the heavy silence of death.


    "Phew, that was intense," Jimnded finally on the ground as he stopped dancing and the aura of golden lightning around him started to fade away. "I thought I was having a very beautiful moment just now."


    ''This is a moment of enlightenment,'' the old man said, ''it''s very rare and precious. I believe you have some insights, right?''


    Jim nodded before thinking again at what he experienced while dancing. ''I saw great beings with wings and golden aura standing in front of me'' he muttered while pausing. ''But I didn''t get the meaning of their words.''


    ''Giant beings with wings hmm'' the old man only said this and then went into silence.


    ''Do you know something old man?'' Jim asked but he never got an answer for this question.


    "Wow, that''s impressive," Jenny ran towards him the next instant, breaking his talk with his old man. "Never thought you grew up to be this mighty."


    "But I''m tired," Jim honestly said before ncing at others, "go and scan those dead. Anything of value take it and let''s get inside the town now."


    Everyone nodded and they moved up with strange hype that startled Jim. "What''s wrong with them?" he muttered.


    "Rick said something that pumped all of them," Ashley said before sighing, "is it true that if we didn''t get stronger you''ll abandon us?" she said before pausing for a moment there, "abandon me?"


    "Oh," it suddenly hit Jim as he didn''t know if he shouldugh or cry. "Don''t say this, I won''t leave my girls behind."


    "But"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you all be strong with me," Jim caressed her exhausted cheeks with his trembling hand.


    "You this spell seemed too much on your body," Ashley noticed that and he just sighed.


    "I think I should refrain from using it except at thest needed moments," he took his hand back while holding it with the other hand behind his back. "In fact I just feel a bit hungry and exhausted. Might need a few hours of sleep and will be alright after."


    ''You need a long time of rest,'' the sound of the old man reverberated once more inside his head. ''This spell is much higher than what your current body can tolerate. Despite executing a minor form of it, your body is very exhausted and you need to rest well before fighting again.''


    ''I won''t fight now,'' Jim inwardly sighed, ''at least not before I heal everyone and have some rest. It''s a blessing the town is void of fighting.''


    ''Yeah, it''s a real blessing.''


    "We are ready," Deno returned fast with others while handing one ring to him, "we stored everything inside. All the other rings and extra gears that we don''t need are in there."


    Jim received the ring before finally feeling a little dizzy.


    "Are you alright?" Lan asked, "you look paler than before."


    "I need some rest, that''s all," Jim said before taking a deep breath. "Let''s go in, we need to find someone to heal everyone first."


    "No, we need to head for the hotel first," Jenny said in a decisive tone before adding, "I''ll take good care of you with Ashley while the boys will look for means to heal themselves."


    "But"


    "No buts," Ashley joined Jenny as she added, "you won''t do us any good if you were severely injured right now out of exhaustion. Rest well and leave things for Deno and Rick, right?" she turned to nce at the two and they hurriedly nodded.


    "Sigh," he had no other option but to follow their arrangements. The team entered the town once more and headed directly towards the hotel. Jim thought of calling Rili, but he found that he had no way of contacting him.


    ''Next time I''ll have to ask for something to call him with,'' he thought.


    ''There is a way you can try to reach out for him with,'' the old man said, ''but I believe by the time you rest he will appear on his own.''


    ''I hope so.''

 Chapter 73: Tina and Saga

    Chapter 73: Tina and Saga


    "You finally woke up."


    The moment Jim opened his eyes again he heard this familiar voice just next to him. He opened his eyes and saw Ashley on his right, and Jenny on his left; both naked and hardly covered with sheets snoring beside him.


    "What happened?"


    He moved his eyes to spot his talker. "Rili? Wait outside man, this is private!" he waved his hands towards Rili who justughed as he said, "This isn''t even your room and you are acting like it was."


    "Then wait at my room," Jim hurried to stand and wear his own clothes then went outside.


    "How did I end up here?" This was the question he had in mind at the moment.


    ''You were having much fun yesterday,'' the old man suddenly said whileughing.


    ''Ye- yesterday? Did you just say I spend an entire day sleeping?!!''


    ''A day and half to be exact,'' the old man corrected, ''you were acting strangely in the first half day after returning from outside. You have no recollection of this period at all?''


    ''Frankly nothing!''


    Jim was hit with a nk page in his mind where he couldn''t recall anything about what happened during the past day and half. ''Wasn''t this Ashley''s room?'' he asked when he reached his room.


    "You really have a temper after waking up," Rili met him when he opened the door with augh.


    "Don''t start" Jim pointed to stop him, "I have a strong headache right now so spare me anyment for now."


    "Never thought you would hurry to use such a strong spell right away," Rili sighed, "I should have warned you before handing you the tokens."


    "It''s a bitte my friend," Jim moved to his seat while throwing off his body over it. "I feel like my entire body was pricked by needles during the past days."


    Jim squeezed his temples while trying to clear his mind from this headache.


    "I came to check upon you and learnt about what happened the other day. It''s amon rule of thumb in the academy that using any higher spell will have a detrimental effect on your body."


    "If I can''t use it, then why the hell do I have it in the first ce?"


    "You should first try to strengthen your bodies to handle the aftereffects of these spells," Rili sighed, "you should focus on increasing your energy and make your body stronger to endure the usage of the spell. It''s a blessing you didn''t end up in a much worse case despite your weak physique."


    "I''m not the weak you think I''m," Jim argued.


    "Yeah, but not strong enough at least for the two spells I gave to you before," Rili shook his head before adding, "anyway, I came here now to deliver you a message."


    "About the two sellers?" Jim asked while shaking his head, "I''m not in the mood to deal with them right now."


    "Not them, it''s thedy."


    "Sandy?" Jim instantly got his mind cleared as he hurriedly asked, "what about her?"


    "She says the task you asked her about is done."


    "The Twisex race?" Jim hurried to stand before asking, "where are they?"


    "Hold on just a moment," Riliughed, "The race is very hard to have, and despite her power and authority she only managed to obtain two, one from each family."


    Jim had some disappointment for a moment before he nodded, "two is just my lucky number. I only need two and not more," he then turned to Rili as he asked, "where are they right now?"


    "She is about to send them over, but I think you need to handle another problem."


    "What problem?" Jim didn''t understand his meaning.


    "The two you just need to know that they are slightly famous."


    "Famous?" Jim muttered before asking, "to what degree are they famous exactly?"


    "To be considered a celebrity."


    "Damn!"


    Jim shook his head before saying, "we need to prepare a proper guard for them," he said before turning at the door towards Rili, "I''ll entrust you with all the things the two will need to make my customs and slogans, alright?"


    "Leave it to me," Rili said with augh.


    The first thing Jim did was to knock over each door of the rooms next to him. Deno, Rick, and Lan all appeared from the rooms where they looked excited to see him standing on his feet again.


    "No time to check on me," he bitterlyughed in response to the rain of questions they had about his health. "Just go and bring everyone. We have a guarding mission to do now."


    "Guard?" Rick said in doubt, "guard whom exactly?"


    "The Tiwsex race ising," Jim said in a wide smile that turned into a wideughter when he saw the three spraying over all the doors of the rooms here as they started to gather up everyone in such enthusiasm.


    "These guys" Jim had to shake off his head while standing in the lobby while being surrounded by everyone on his team. "I bet if I tried to stir you up in a fight I won''t be able to make you feel that way."


    They were standing there in full numbers, and on their faces deep remarks of excitement and even some were nervous.


    "Boss, you said there are two Tiwsexing, right?" one of the newly joined Bulltors asked in strange excitement which made Jimugh.


    "Of course, do you think our boss is weak or something?" Rick hurried to say while heughed, "I wonder, which one of the fourteen out there did you manage to bring."


    "Fourteen?" Jim asked as he didn''t know even the number of the Twisex race was known to people in the town and outside.


    "Yes, boss they are famous, all of them are," Kro was the one to speak this time while Roo added, "you can''t imagine how famous they are. It''s a blessing to be able to get the help of two of them. That''s really amazing!"


    ''Damn! What will you boys do when you know they are going to stay with us forever?'' Jim inwardly sneered while remaining silent as he waited with the team inside the Lobby.


    The next moment a loud ruckus appeareding from far. Jim nced over the direction to see arge group of people moving towards the hotel and shouts and screams of them were so loud to reach the inside the hotel.


    "We are terribly sorry for that."


    Jim sat inside a big suit where two stunning beauties in their twentieth stood with strange confidence and calm in front of him.


    He moved his vision to check over his wounded men. Half of his team were beaten up just to get the two out of their crazy audience.


    "Our fans they are just always crazy," the other girl said with a sweetugh while she moved his body slowly right and left.


    The two were stunningly beautiful, where one was slightly shorter than the other but both weren''t that short from Jim. One was pure white and the other was slightly dark, but both had long sparkling blue hair and blue eyes.


    "I understand," Jim sighed while the most amazing thing was that his men weren''t that depressed by what happened; they were so much excited instead.


    He even had to give them the order to stay off the two girls and keep themselves off limits or else he would personally interfere to stop them.


    And these wordsing from a human like him to stronger beings including Bulltors made the two girls eye Jim in different light.


    "Please sit," Jim said while leaning back on his seat while the two girls sat side to side on the sofa, putting one leg over the other. "What''s your name? What do you normally do for a living?"


    "She is Tina and the other is Saga damn boss you really got your hands over the twin pearls!" Rick instantly jumped to answer while his words made the two girls chuckle as they raised their hands over their opened mouths while Jim only shook his head helplessly.


    "I swear if any of you spoke or moved right now I will handle him myself!" Jim shouted while ring at the others with fiery eyes.


    He didn''t want to hear anything except from the girls themselves. They weren''t here to help, they were to follow!


    "Oh, you seem to be really their boss," the white girl chuckled before adding, "my name is Tina, it''s a pleasure to meet the master. I work usually as a dancer, dancing over the bright and golden cords of my beloved Saga."


    She pointed to the other girl who just giggled as she said, "I''m Saga, and I can dance as well but my speciality is to sing. It''s an honor to meet my new master."


    "M-" Roo was just about to say something when Jim red at him. He swallowed the rest of his words while everyone had their eyes popped up their heads.


    "I''m happy to have you," Jim calmly said before adding, "I just wanted someone to make me a uniform and a slogan for my pantheon in the academy and so I had to find you."


    "This" the two girls said in unison while they exchanged silent nces together, "sorry master but our families only know how to make an obsolete uniform and slogan for a long lost pantheon," Tina said.


    "I doubt we can help, sorry," Saga sighed while shaking off her head.


    "Who said so?" Jim cracked a wide smile before pointing to himself as he added, "sorry I didn''t properly introduce myself to you. My name is Jim, and I''m a privileged first year inner disciple of the academy under the fairy pantheon."


    This time the two girls had their eyes widened while gasping from shock.


    "What?!!!" they both eximed in extreme shock while Jimughed.

 Chapter 74: Using the Slave Contract

    Chapter 74: Using the ve Contract


    "How can this be?!"


    Rick eximed in shock while he had a very long list of requirements in his hand.


    "Just go with Rili and get these done," Jimughed while pointing to the two beauties as he added, "they won''t leave here. Just go and return."


    "C''mon boss," Roo was also frustrated, "We just had the chance to meet them so close. Can''t you send anyone else? Send Kro."


    "You" Kro was instantly hyped up as if he was stung by a scorpion, "Why not you? Huh?"


    "C''mon they are going to stay with us forever," Jimughed before adding, "and Kro has another task to do. He won''t stay here like you think."


    "Boss" Kro turned towards Jim as he pleaded, "please boss, send someone else. I wanna just stay with them for more hours, only a few more hours that''s all."


    "You" Jim had it enough already, "Stop it or else I swear I won''t let anyone get another glimpse of them!"


    His tone made his threat real and they instantly sumbed to his arrangement. He sent his team into two directions, one to get the items for the clothes and the other for the emblem.


    "Hahaha," Saga chuckled before adding, "sorry boss, but we usually cause such stir anywhere we go."


    Jim returned with only Ashley and Jenny on both his sides while shaking off his head, "They need to know how to restrain themselves. After all you are going to stay for so long with us."


    Tinaughed as she leisurely leant over Saga''s shoulder like she used to do that all the time, "I totally agree with you boss. But I just want to ask about your future ns for us."


    "Your meaning?" Jim felt a headacheing towards him.


    "We can''t fight," Saga said while passing her fingers through Tina''s hair in a spontaneous move, "we only can sing and dance."


    "No fight at all?" Ashley coldly asked in a high tone, but the two girls only chuckled as they closed and opened their eyes slowly while staying silent for a few moments.


    "We can''t fight, we don''t have any spells to fight," Saga said.


    "No fighting spells?" Jim muttered before asking, "may I ask why? Can''t you learn any spells?"


    The girls shook their heads in a very slow manner before softly sighing while Tina slightly bit over her lower lip. "No master was ever interested in teaching us how to fight, besides there is no skill of our two families that we can learn to defend ourselves," she said.


    "We can use our beauty to defend us, that''s all," Saga muttered softly before ncing at the two vignt cats standing behind Jim and slowly she painted a soft kiss over the lips of Tina. "Our beauty is our only weapon," she softly whispered while Tina chuckled.


    "Ahem," Jim felt himself so fired up deep inside so he had to restrain himself. "I''ll need you two to fight with us at the academy," he said.


    "But we don''t know anything," Saga said.


    "We never ever entered the academy before," Tina sighed, "we are restricted, just like the Bulltors you have."


    Jim started to find this weird, as some races were prohibited from entering the academy because of their past rtion with fairies.


    ''Wrong, it''s because of their past rtion with humans,'' the old man corrected.


    ''Strange,'' Jim thought, ''we never were that strong, or what?''


    ''You''re absolutely right,'' the old man said, ''but humans have a strong point that any other race fears.''


    ''Which is?''


    Before his old man could answer him, he heard a loud banging from the door of this suit. The next moment the teams he sent returned and they were just racing each other to whoever would reach their first.


    "Our goddesses, here are the things you required," Rick wasn''t the fastest, or Roo or even Deno. It was Pat.


    "We also got what you asked for," Rick hurried to give the weak pat a shoulder, sending him flying a couple of meters in the air.


    "Stop it already!" Jim was enraged this time while the two beauties simplyughed in amusement.


    "It''s alright," Tina said.


    "Come, let me see the things," Saga pointed towards them and the next instant a small fight erupted at the teams before her until Kro and Deno managed to get their hands over the two rings as they handed each to onedy.


    "Retreat now," Jim hurriedly shouted before adding, "wait for me in my room, I need to have a serious talk with all of you first."


    His eyes shone with bright light while he red at them. They unconsciously nced at the two dolls before sighing and retreating away.


    "You know how to be serious and strict sometimes," Jenny suddenly said while leaning on his shoulder while touching his body. Jim turned to her with a soft smile as he painted a deep kiss on her lips. "Please wait with them outside."


    Jenny blinked while Jim turned to Ashley and nodded. The two girls just red at Tina and Saga before retreating in slow heavy steps.


    "Oh, are you nning to taste us now?" Tina smiled with interest.


    "It''s best to be a test," Jim smiled calmly before pointing towards the two rings in their hands. "Have they brought the right things?"


    "Indeed," Saga said before adding, "they even brought more than needed."


    "But this won''t be a problem," Tina said as she exined further, "it''s not a problem as the more followers you got the more uniforms and emblems you''ll need."


    "That reminds me," Jim paused before leaning to his seat to sit morefortable while putting one leg over the other like them, "you two will be joining the academy like the rest."


    "W- What?!!" Tina stuttered while Saga turned to nce at her before the twoughed. "We ahem, we have to refuse that."


    "Refuse?" Jim muttered before asking, "why? Didn''t you say you were forbidden from entering the academy?"


    "That''s for a good reason indeed," Tina sighed, "as we said, we don''t have any spells at all."


    "This issue will be left for me," Jim simply said and his mysterious answer made the two girls sit straight as Tina asked:


    "Giving us normal spells isn''t enough, or teaching spells to us by the academy is useless."


    "We only can learn unique spells and higher if you know what I mean," Saga said.


    "I said," Jim pointed to the two toe towards him and they simply followed his hands to sit on the arms of his seat while leaning on his chest. "I''ll handle this, alright?"


    The two girls nced at him silently before he touched their cheeks and grabbed them slowly towards him before squeezing their lips and tongues with his. "I don''t want any of you to be touched by anyone but me, understood?" he softly said while feeling more fire inside.


    "S- Sure," Tina softly said while she and Saga had a faint touch of redness over their cheeks.


    "Alright," he then touched his ring and the next instant an old parchment appeared. "I need you to sign this."


    Tina and Saga took the parchment, each holding one corner with one hand, while starting to read the paper.


    "This" Tina muttered.


    "Is this needed?" Saga sighed, "we already own your ves by thew of the town and academy."


    "This is for the best," he simply said before passing his lips over the naked parts of their necks while releasing his hot breaths over their soft skin, "as you saw, I never treat those around me as ves but as family."


    The two had to take a deep breath to control the drowsiness they had. "We know," Tina struggled to say before Saga said, "don''t start a thirst you can''t quench."


    "Who said I can''t?" Jim sneered.


    "We have tasks to do," Tina hurriedly said.


    "And you seem to be slightly busy, right?" Saga added.


    "Sigh, you two" Jim shook his head and with each side he took a soft bite off their skin. "I will leave you forter then."


    They raised their heads and tried to control the feeling that haunted them at the moment while he pointed to the paper with one hand while the other started to touch their bodies softly and slowly. "Will you sign this parchment now so we can be done here?"


    "S- Sure," Tina muttered before she nced around. "Use this," Jim took out his sword and then added, "just touch its tip, but watch out it''s quite sharp and painful."


    Tina yfullyughed while leaning to touch the sword tip that left a blood drop over the parchment. Bloom then left a drop of his over the paper and then the paper peeled oneyer off that burnt the next instant, breaking apart into two lines of smoke that each entered the body of the two.


    The next second Jim could feel the link with Tina, as if he wanted her dead at any time then she would be. Also he could faintly sense her location and vaguely read her mind.


    "Impressive," he muttered while noticing a small start made of grey clouds appearing in his chest while another one appeared in the forehead of Tina.


    "My turn," Saga chuckled as if she was seeing this as a game and then she made up the contract.


    "Now can you tell us what you want to say?" Tina said while leaning on his chest and attracting her sexy gaze with him.


    "Don''t give us this look," Saga yfullyughed before adding, "we know you already have a big secret to safeguard or else you won''t take all the trouble to use such an ancient contract on your ves."


    "Tsk, you two" Jim shook his head as heughed, "I can''t keep my mind off you two then."


    "You are just too easy to read," they both said in the same tone whileughing a short one.


    "What do you think of this?" he took out a token, "Does this worth the trouble or not?"


    "This" and the moment the token was taken out, both girls'' eyes shone brightly while they adjusted their sitting over his body, even leaning over his chest with their hands to sit straight. "No f*cking way! How the hell did you manage to get such a thing?" They both shouted in unison while ring strangely at him.


    And he simplyughed and said nothing while taking the token away.

 Chapter 75: Wearing The Cloak For The First Time

    Chapter 75: Wearing The Cloak For The First Time


    "We can''t promise you to be good fighters," Saga said while she was obviously drooling over what Jim just took away. "But we will do our best to satisfy you."


    "Indeed," Tina added while touching his body in a slower and softer way while whispering in your ears, "I can promise you won''t be disappointed with us in the arena of bed."


    "I just need you to be good fighters for me," heughed while pushing them gently away, "but first I need to see what you two can do for my uniform and emblem."


    "Why act cold on us," Tinaughed before adding, "we will make you satisfied in an area not manydies out there can excel at."


    She proudly dered that while Jim simply smiled, "I want you to help me secure my position in the academy."


    "Then we can help by seducing other members," Saga said whileughing, "won''t be our first time doing so."


    "No one is to touch my girls but me," Jim sternly said before seriously adding, "and stop fooling around. Finish the task in hand first and then I''ll see when you can use the token."


    "May I ask about its grade?" Tina was trying to act ignorant, "I didn''t see it clearly, have you my sis?"


    Saga shook her head as she yed along her lie, "I don''t recall its grade or effect."


    "Fine by me," Jim leaned his back to his seat before adding, "if you want to see it again you should make me satisfied."


    When the two girls were about to move again towards him he hurriedly added, "in your craftship, in the uniform and slogans, not others things."


    "Cold," Tina muttered.


    "He is acting tough and mighty now," Saga sneered, "wait until we got him cornered over a bed. I bet he will be crying like a little kid to make us sleep with him."


    His eyes shone brightly all of sudden with golden light which made the two of them pause all of sudden. "Stop fooling around or I swear I won''t let you have any good sex with me for long time."


    The two girls nced at him with weird looks before Tina chuckled:


    "Acting like a man of expertise."


    "And he is only a virgin human, hehehe."


    He took a deep breath and then he moved off his seat. His sudden stand made the two girls retreat as they didn''t know what he was up to.


    "Start working," he muttered while turning towards the door as he added, "I''ll have a good rest with my other girls. If you want to have fun, you should work hard for it from now on. Earn it or you won''t have even each other to y."


    He turned and left while the two girls sneered.


    He went outside to find the two girls standing there like they were eavesdropping on what was happening inside.


    "Come," he pointed towards the two before adding, "let''s have some fun."


    He winked and Jenny and Ashley just exchanged nces beforeughing a very evilugh.


    The next instant the three went inside the room where he closed the door behind and turned to face the Twisex girls. "I''ll have my fun here while you two work."


    Jenny just sent a kiss over the air towards Tina and Saga while Ashley just followed Jim and Jenny towards the sofa on the corner.


    Jim didn''t nce at the Twisex girls again as he started touching his two girls, kissing every single part of their bodies beforeying them on their backs and started undressing them.


    "Gulp this new master of ours is pretty strange," Tina swallowed her throat while muttering to Saga.


    "It seems he isn''t the virgin I thought he was," she muttered before sighing, "let''s get our task done fast. I don''t guarantee to stay sane while watching and hearing their moans."


    "Me too," Tina then turned to a table where she took out the clothes and the materials brought to her by the team.


    Then the two started working on different corners while they were taking silent nces from time to time over the three on the nearby sofa.


    "Damn, you are such a yboy," Tina shouted in a weak tone and rapidly raced her chest while her two breast balls kept bouncing up and down with each breath.


    "I never thought you are this good," Saga tried to adjust her body over the ground but she failed.


    Jim nced at the four girls scattered around the sofa before cracking an evil smile over his face. "It''s really heaven herepared to my old life inside that dark closet," he muttered to himself while marveling at the beauties he had in no time here.


    He turned to nce at the clothes and the slogan the two girls did before jumping over and joining the party. "Interesting, I see no difference than any other clothes out there," he muttered while examining the ck cloak and the golden fairy slogan over its sleeves and another free one left on the table.


    ''These aren''t simple clothes,'' the old man suddenly said, ''try one on.''


    Jim nced in doubt towards the cloak before he took one and wore it on his bare skin. ''Nothing?'' he muttered as he turned around in full circle while checking if anything special would happen.


    ''Try to take out your sword,'' the old man didn''t directly answer him.


    Jim shook his head as he went towards the sofa where he took his sword from one corner and then unsheathed it.


    The moment he did he felt a strange aura appearing around his clothes and sword. The aura started from a single point, the slogan on his sleeve.


    ''Try to wear the golden emblem then,'' the old manughed over Jim''s reaction.


    ''What''s all this about old man?'' Jim thought in surprise when he saw the aura getting intensified when he wore the golden emblem over his chest.


    ''This is special clothes you fool,'' the old manughed, ''you are enjoying the direct making of the Twisex race, the ones responsible for making the main clothes of the fairies in the old times.''


    ''Do others enjoy the same thing as me?'' Jim asked as he nced all around the cloak, feeling much amazed by this golden aura surrounding him. ''Is it useful in fighting?''


    ''It''s useful in everything,'' the old manughed, ''but only you will enjoy such a treat, like those direct descendants of the other pantheons as well.''


    Jim marveled it for a period before muttering, ''How can I make it stop?''


    ''It can hide when you sheath your sword,'' the old man said, ''but the moment you hold a weapon, or be in a stressful situation the aura will appear instantly on its own will.''


    Jim let the sword on the nearby table to find the aura fading away until it vanished. ''Where does this aurae from? The clothes?''


    ''Don''t be silly,'' the old man retorted, ''it''s from you, the clothes only acted as a catalyst.''


    ''Me?'' Jim doubted this, ''I didn''t touch any source of energy to activate this.''


    ''You won''t need this,'' the old manughed, ''it''s just because you are weak right now.''


    Jim took the sword again to test out the aura before sighing. ''If this is the case, then I need to focus more on increasing my power.''


    ''This isn''t something bad to set as a goal,'' the old man said, ''but first you need to prepare for the iing challenges at the academy.''


    Jim took a deep breath before he touched the cloak again. ''I don''t want to wear anything but this.''


    ''Feeling like home, right?''


    ''I can''t disagree with that,'' Jim touched the cloak again.


    ''Hahaha, I know the feeling. You can always wear it. there is no problem in walking around with it.''


    ''But the aura''


    ''It''s a privilege for you being a direct descendant of the fairies. There is no shame in that,'' the old man said.


    ''I''m just fearing it will cause more problems to me.''


    ''Nah, it only will make everyone envious, that''s all.''


    Jim sighed before muttering, ''It''s me who is going to take the full toll of those old enemies of yours old fairy.''


    ''And yours as well, you are one of us after all, hehehe.''


    "Alright," Jim then went to dress up before wearing the cloak over his body. The cloak was so long and strangely on his body size. Just at his belly level there was a small dark sp that he hooked the other end with to close the cloak.


    "Time to make those boys more insane," he took everything on the tables into his ring before heading outside and closed the door behind, leaving four girls semi-conscious on the sofa and the ground.


    He passed through the corridor where it led to the lower story as his room and others were at. This suit was something he had to hire when the two girls arrived at the lobby and caused a ruckus there.


    For him paying the price of this suit wasn''t hard, and he did that as each suit had more secure doors and not easily essed by strangers.


    And the two girls just asked for it the moment they reached the reception down below.

 Chapter 76: A Vengeful Soul Is Hunting The Team

    Chapter 76: A Vengeful Soul Is Hunting The Team


    "How are the girls?"


    "Are they really good?"


    "Tell me boss, please tell me did they notice me? Did any of them say anything about me?"


    The moment Jim entered the lower story and went inside the corridor, he was met instantly with these shouts and much more.


    "Shut the hell up!!"


    He had to shout and his shout made everyone pause and stop speaking for a few moments.


    "Go, let''s go inside my room," he shook his head while moving towards the room amidst everyone on his team.


    "But boss" Rick stuttered before adding, "are we going to leave them alone?"


    "Yeah, they are big girls after all. Act like them ande with me now."


    "But" Roo was about to object and argue when Jim finally couldn''t take it anymore. He took out his sword and the next instant his cloak shone brightly in golden color while he waved his shining sword towards everyone and threatened:


    "If you don''t move in now I swear I will cut you all to shreds right away!"


    The new shape of him made everyone stop their dreams and re at Jim with wide rounded eyes.


    "Boss this" Lan was the first to speak ande near Jim as he nced at his shining cloak and sword. "This looks amazing!"


    "Go inside and let''s start talking seriously," Jim turned around and went directly towards his room.


    His room wasn''t that big and it barely managed to contain most of the giant bodies of his team members, leaving some outside.


    "Is this a new spell effect?" Deno leaned over Jim and examined this golden glowing out of him.


    "I think it''s the cloak effect," Pat was the one to notice the cloak and link it with the golden halo, "right boss?"


    Jim smiled as he raised the sword high before saying:


    "Sit down and listen well to my words," he paused before adding, "I have such nice cloaks like mine and I want you all to test them."


    They exchanged nces with each other before Rick muttered: "Can they shine and do the same as yours?"


    "I don''t know that," Jim said, faking his ignorance, "try them out and let''s see."


    As he took out the cloaks and emblems, his team started to take a good and neat shape. They were all wearing unified clothes and despitecking the golden luster like Jim, they all were excited about these cloaks.


    "What should we do now?" Deno asked while marveling his new cloak with shimmering eyes.


    "We should continue hunting down those gangs," Jim said before adding, "we will try to hunt as many of them as possible."


    "Are we going now?" Kro was hesitant and reluctant to leave but in the end everyone had to follow Jim''s steps towards the town gates.


    Jim had sheathed his sword to remove the halo from around him. Everyone followed his steps silently while they stole nces at their hotel until they couldn''t see it.


    "Hi there," Rili suddenly appeared as he nced around the team. "Looking neat and ssy fantastic."


    Jim noticed he was acting weird. "Boys, go up front and wait for me at the gate," he simply said and waited until he made sure everyone went far away.


    "What''s wrong?" he turned to Rili who sighed and said:


    "You the two sellers are going a bit restless. They are asking me all day now about you."


    "And?" Jim wasn''t fazed by this as the more restless they are the better for him.


    "I advise you should lose your tight grip slightly with them," Rili said before adding, "they are giving many promises about rich rewards. Won''t you need another rich rewards like the ones you got before?"


    "Rili," Jim smiled before adding, "I n to make a deal with them just before returning to the academy," he paused before pointing towards him, "you know once getting there I won''t be able toe here except asionally."


    "Sigh, I already am aware of this," Rili sighed before adding, "but if you didn''t honor this, and left them too much stressed then they would easily figure out about your identity."


    "My identity?" Jim smirked before adding, "Howe they know about mine?" his face turned serious as he whispered, "are you threatening me?"


    "Oh, not like that of course," Rili hurried to say before adding, "I can''t tell your identity to anyone. But think about it for a second. Someone who has the knowledge of ancient fairies and he is a student in the same year as the first fairy pantheon ever appeared in the recent history of the academy can''t you see this is exactly like standing out in the open and say: Hey, it''s me who is doing all this?"


    Jim paused as he couldn''t refute these words of Rili. The more he thought about it the more logical it became to deal with such loose ends then. "What do you propose then? Even if I did a deal or two now with them, they won''t get enough."


    "Yup, that''s why you can do like what you did with thedy."


    "A contract?" Jim found the idea enticing, "are they able to help from here ?" he asked with doubt.


    "They can," Rili nodded, "and when you know their true identities then you''ll be able to know the reason."


    "Sigh," Jim didn''t n on doing this and Rili seemed to read his mind as he added:


    "Gaining two more backings is good news, right? I believe you have no other backing there, except for thedy."


    Jim nodded as he didn''t put the elf master in his ns for now. "But if they are from the giant n then I can''t deal with them anymore," Jim suddenly said.


    "Giants?" Rili muttered before adding, "You have enmity with giants? And dragons for sure, right?"


    Jim didn''t answer as he kept ncing at him while Rili added, "Don''t worry, I can assure you these two won''t be one of your enemies."


    "That''s a relief then," Jim took a deep breath before adding, "I''m going out to hunt. Finalize everything with them, my info in return for their support and cooperation in regards to tokens."


    "And ves?" Rili suggested, "I think they can help too in that."


    "Hmm anything they can do to help me then they would be obliged to do it," Jim said before adding, "make the deal and wait for my return to finalize it."


    "Alright, leave it to me."


    Jim then watched Rili disappearing before he went to the town gate where his team was.


    ''Cheer up a bit, it seems they are two nice guys,'' the old man suddenly said before adding, ''you need all the backup you can get at the academy.''


    ''I know,'' Jim nodded before reaching the gate where he found the trace of his team. "Weird, where did these guys go?"


    Jim checked the gate again and areas around it but he found no trail of them. "Don''t tell me they went back to the hotel?" he felt anger for a moment before shaking off such a ridiculous idea.


    ''I don''t think they are such morons to do so.''


    ''I know,'' Jim sighed while adding, ''I need to ask around.''


    He first looked around but he found no one who recognized the team.


    ''Go and ask those guards outside,'' the old man suddenly advised.


    Jim didn''t argue as all the ones he asked inside the town and near the gate didn''t recognize his team.


    "Excuse me mister," he went towards one of the few guards here before adding, "I''m a privileged disciple of the academy and I want to ask about something."


    The guard checked him before saying:


    "First year, huh?"


    "Yes sir," Jim tried to be as polite as possible.


    "Damn you first year disciples," the guard suddenly exploded in his face, "just now a crazy group of first year passed without any care and chased a small butterfly like being enchanted or something. Get away now, I''m totally pissed off all of you!"


    Jim didn''t dy to stay anymore as he went towards the front with fast steps. "Something bad happened," he muttered while trying to find a clue amongst the angry words of that guard. "What''s the rtion of my team to a butterfly?"


    ''I advise you should hurry then,'' the old man suddenly said.


    ''Is it that bad?'' Jim muttered before asking, ''What do you know old man?''


    ''A butterfly that can enchant a group of weak minded people and drive them crazy like this with no effect on stronger minds like the guards has only one exnation''


    ''What?'' Jim urged.


    ''A vengeful soul is haunting your team.''


    ''What?'' Jim eximed in doubt before adding, ''Do you mean those scary soulsing out to hunt those who killed them? Don''t tell me they are the souls of those gangsters we killed! They were bad people before and we only defended ourselves!''


    ''Fairy Tales'' the old man sneered.


    ''Don''t insult yourself old man, after all you are a fairy, hehehe.''

 Chapter 77: Dragon Roars

    Chapter 77: Dragon Roars


    ''So this is what one takes in return for enraging those gangs,'' Jim muttered while walking outside the normal road as he found some markings left by his team.


    ''Vengeful souls aren''t scary,'' the old man said, ''they just excel at illusions and ying on the personal desires of their opponents.''


    ''That''s quite scary old man,'' Jim had to admit before adding, ''that means I''m also subjected to their magic, right?''


    ''If you are going after them and already know about their presence and tricks then you have nothing to fear,'' the old man said before adding, ''and don''t falter, I''m here with you.''


    ''You tend to sleep at weird moments,'' Jimined while he turned around as he noticed some teams moving away in the distance. ''Are they avoiding me?'' he thought.


    ''Might be higher grade gangs than yours.''


    ''Perhaps.''


    Jim followed the markings on the ground before finally seeing a distant wooden walled camp and some group was already heading towards it.


    ''How can I evade their spells?'' he hurriedly asked while taking shelter at a rock.


    ''It''s simple,'' the old manughed, ''always keep your sword in your hands.''


    ''That aura?'' Jim muttered before he took a rapid nce at the group up ahead. "Here you are."


    Suddenly he heard this sweet voiceing from behind, startling him. ''Your sword, hurry,'' the old man shouted while Jim didn''t hesitate to take out his sword.


    The next moment his cloak shone in golden color and the light radiated faintly from him.


    However it was enough to disperse the darkness all around, to see thin long spider fingers stretched from a grey cloaked silhouette, and it was flying over the ground for a couple of inches.


    "Damn," Jim cursed, "that was close."


    ''Do I need to use my spell?'' he thought and the old man instantly answered: ''Not needed, this aura is enough to scare them away.''


    Jim noticed that the grey shape retreated fast away from his aura''s range. "Good," he muttered before turning towards his team as he jumped, crossing the distance between him and them.


    And as he went closer, he discovered the presence of arge number of those greyish creatures as they all ran away the moment they touched his golden aura.


    "Wake up," Jim shouted but the team didn''t respond as if they never heard his voice.


    ''p their faces,'' the old man suddenly said beforeughing, ''and make sure to be a hard p or else you''ll need to p them again.''


    "Sigh," Jim moved to the front before hitting each one of those simr to his physique easily, but those giants took some effort before he managed to p all of them.


    "Finally," he took a deep breath before asking, "are you ok?"


    "Jim?" Deno seemed to be awakening from a deep dream, "where is my brother?" he turned around as if he was seeking for a real person that just vanished.


    He wasn''t the only one having such reactions but all showed such bizarre reactions.


    "Shut up all of ya," Jim shouted in extreme rage before pointing his sword towards the greyish silhouettes still lingering around his team, "these are the ones causing these illusions to all of you. Wake up and toughen a bit, it''s all just illusions."


    His words and the presence of those vengeful souls made them all stop daydreaming and screaming before standing like pure idiots all around.


    "I wonder what this wooden camp is about," Jim muttered before the old man suddenly said something that made his eyes re up.


    "Gather up, we are going to raid this camp."


    "But boss these shadows" Deno strangely seemed afraid from the souls, and it wasn''t only him but the other five Bulltors showed the same hesitance and the pale look over their faces.


    "Don''t tell me you are afraid of souls!" Jim muttered before finallyughing out loud. "C''mon, just be beside me and nothing bad will happen to you."


    "But Jim why not return then?" Deno hesitantly said.


    "Nah, this camp is a ve checkpoint. These souls are acting as ve agents. We need to crush in and free all those enved there."


    He didn''t want only to do that, but he aimed really towards the treasury of this camp.


    His old man just told him more data about the vengeful souls. They weren''t only ve dealers, but they also love to take away any valuables from the races they capture.


    And he just wanted to get his hands over these valuables.


    ''But be aware,'' the old man suddenly said, ''all vengeful souls work under higher gangs. So be quick and swift and don''t drag things here, or else''


    ''I understand,'' Jim was blinded by the riches he dreamt of getting. "Alright, we will attack that camp and free everyone inside," he raised his sword high up before pointing towards the camp, "Charge."


    He didn''t stay behind as the only defense his team had and weapon against those souls was his sword and aura.


    The camp was wider than what he expected. When they first reached it, the giants worked to smash directly through the useless wooden walls and entered the camp.


    "Damn," Jim turned around to see a huge number of cages with many races caught inside, "all of them are ves? Are they all disciples?"


    ''Nah, the souls rarely attack disciples except if we are paid to do that,'' the old man said before adding, ''these are normal merchant groups or mere tourists and even ves caught up during their passage around the area.''


    "Hmm" Jim muttered as he realized this town and academy wasn''t just meant for disciples and teaching as he thought.


    "Release everyone," he shouted, "and those freed should help others to be freed as well. Don''t ck and hurry up."


    Jim then started to move inside the camp. Using his mere aura and sword he managed to kick all the souls away from the camp, and also get a general view about the interior of it.


    Strangely enough the entire camp had only cages and one small wooden building in the middle. "They don''t need ces to sleep? Eat? Or live?"


    ''They don''t need to sleep,'' the old man said, ''and they eat over the souls of their victims and their fears. They are the perfect soldiers in any army, used mainly as assassins, silent killers.''


    ''I can already imagine that,'' Jim smiled before turning directly towards the building and stood there in hesitation. ''Do you know if it''s safe or not?''


    ''Usually it''s safe but it''s best to test it out first.''


    "Deno," Jim hurriedly shouted at his frightened giant, e and crush down this door for me."


    Deno came in hesitant steps that added more weirdness to his frightened shape. Jim sighed before adding, "c''mon, there is no one inside."


    "How can I be this sure while the door is closed?" Deno nced at him.


    "Good point," Jim sighed, "Ricke here and smash this door for me."


    "What''s inside?" Rick came with curious looks while giving Deno a deep nce. "C''mon big man, you are stronger than this."


    "I can''t" Deno shook his head before retreating, "you you can check things inside. I I''ll be just behind you."


    "Yeah, I''m sure of it," Rick shook his head helplessly before going to the door and hit it slightly and it instantly crushed down the ground.


    "See? There is" before he could continue his phrase a slight roar came from the inside of the house making even Rick retreat back further than Deno. "What was that?"


    ''Sigh, it''s a recorded ancient dragon roar,'' the old man sighed before adding, ''this ce it belongs to the dragon n. You need to hurry and leave.''


    ''Dragon n?'' Jim didn''t n to leave here without his trophy. He stepped forward while asking, ''is it safe inside?''


    ''It''s just a recording, nothing dangerous inside.''


    "Roar!"


    ''But this seems quite realistic!''


    ''It''s a recording, don''t worry.''


    "Roar!"


    ''''


    Jim stopped at the door and took a rapid nce inside. What he saw was the big dragon head appearing just a few meters away from the door and the moment he saw it another roar appeared.


    ''There is a dragon head inside!''


    ''That''s how the roar is recorded,'' the old manughed, ''or howe they will store it?''


    ''Then no danger inside?''


    ''Nothing, just hurry and take what''s inside or hurry and leave.''


    Jim made up his mind when he heard the old man warning. The room inside wasn''t that big, and there were only two things inside.


    Onerge dragon head, and just below it a small ring appeared shining from time to time.


    "Nothing else?" Jim was doubting what he was seeing, "is this another kind of illusion?" he waved his sword and aura along its de around the room but nothing appeared.


    ''There is nothing here but that ring. Hurry and take it.''


    "C''mon, only this single ring after all this hassle?" Jim shouted in rage but he could do anything else but to duck on the ground and stretch his arm to get the ring.


    ''Hurry and retreat,'' the old man suddenly said, ''I can smell the aura of a dragoning here from far.''


    "Toote," Jim hurriedly ran outside, "c''mon boys, let''s go back to the town."

 Chapter 78: Negotiations

    Chapter 78: Negotiations


    "You are ying with a fire kid."


    Jim was standing inside the town, while watching that dark cloaked giant standing on the other end of the gate. "Deliver what you took and we can blink an eye off this."


    "Humph," Jim harrumphed before saying: "You shouldn''t have sent them after me and my team from the start."


    "Send them after you? Who do you think you are to be targeted by us?" the giantughed and despite standing in front of the guards, no one ever dared to move a muscle or question him.


    "You sent them after my team and in the end I have to retaliate," Jim simply shrugged.


    "Stop giving more value to your worthless self," the giant sneered, "this is just your illusions."


    "Really?" Jim sneered back while crossing his arms in front of his chest, "then howe I found the base of these vengeful souls then? Huh?"


    The man didn''t speak and neither did Jim who kept his stance there motionless while gazing back at the darkness appearing inside the cloak of that giant.


    "Don''t count too much on the academy fresh disciple," the giant turned around as he added, "there are more ways than you can imagine to dispose of a worthless insect there."


    "Humph."


    Jim was acting tough but from the inside he was cursing out loud. That was so close and if not for the timely retreat he wouldn''t have reached the safe zone of the town in time.


    ''Don''t bother with him,'' the old man suddenly said, ''he is part of the academy staff, bound by the unbreakablews there.''


    ''But''


    ''He was just trying to threaten you with empty words,'' the old manughed, ''the best he can do is to wait for you to get out of the academy.''


    ''Why would I?'' Jim inwardly sighed.


    ''Some tasks might be required from you at some point,'' the old man said and his words just scared the sh*t out of Jim. ''But this will happenter on, not now. I think you have a good time to train and get stronger, so don''t worry yourself about it.''


    ''Are you sure?''


    ''Since when I ever lied to you?''


    ''''


    Jim didn''t respond back but he wasn''t thatfortable after hearing these words. ''We shouldy low then.''


    ''For what?'' the old manughed, ''he won''t be able to touch you except by academy rules. I''m pretty sure no team out there will be dangerous for you to handle.''


    ''Nah,'' Jim shook his head before turning to face his team, ''It''s better to be safe than sorry.''


    "Let''s go boys, it''s enough suspense for one day."


    "What about them?" Gorden suddenly pointed towards a group of those who were freed from the camp. Jim noticed their presence for the first time.


    They were a myriad of races he never saw before, and all had weak bodies and small physique. "They can do whatever they want," he simply said, "they are free and have to keep themselves like this from now on."


    "But they want to join us," Deno suddenly said, "they aren''t that bad."


    "And not that good," Jim shrugged while moving towards the hotel, "let''s go, I''m not in the mood to waste more time here."


    Everyone nced at each other before they sighed and followed their leader back to the hotel. ''You know, a couple of those races aren''t half bad,'' the old man said.


    ''I don''t want half assed races with me,'' Jim sighed, ''if not for your earlier remark about the Actimos race I would have never cared about them.''


    ''But he helped you a lot, right?''


    ''He is,'' Jim muttered, ''but they won''t.''


    The old man didn''t speak anymore while Jim returned to the hotel.


    He gave his orders that the upper suit was off limits for any of the boys, leaving the four girls up there resting and living well. He stayed inside his room where he was puzzled by a problem he didn''t know how to fix.


    "This ring why isn''t he opening?"


    He held the ring he took from the vengeful soul camp and turned it inside his palm with a puzzled look over his face. "Old man can''t you do anything to it?"


    ''There is only one way for it not to open,'' the old man said.


    "Which is?"


    ''Its real owner is still alive.''


    "Alive?" Jim was speechless for a moment before the old man said:


    ''If he is still alive, you can''t ovee the seal over the ring unless using brute force and''


    "Sigh, I got your point," Jim shook his head before tossing the ring high in the air, ''"It''s quite frustrating to have a treasure and you can''t even open it."


    He threw the ring inside his storage ring where he closed this page for now and then started to think about his next steps.


    "Those sellers wille and ask about more benefits," Jim returned his back to the bed before adding, "are you sure you have what they expect?"


    ''I have more,'' the old man sneered, ''but I won''t give them everything. Try to limit the deal with the things rted to what they got from us.''


    "Sigh, I hope they will agree on that."


    ''They will,'' the old man said, ''after all they only have to pay a small price for this priceless info.''


    Jim''s wait didn''tst longer than a few hours when Rili appeared in his room with a softugh. "You really are lucky one, Jim."


    "Tell me what happened so I canugh with you," Jim was just resting on bed when he turned to sit on its edge.


    "The two approved of your request and they also suggested providing support and logistic aid inside the academy."


    "Logistic? What does even mean?" Jim was puzzled while he noticed the tone of Rili showed how excited he was.


    "You seem to know zero thing about the academy, right?"


    Jim just shrugged as Rili added, "Expected. It''s not everyday for a human to join the academy as an inner disciple."


    "Privilege inner disciple please."


    "Oh mighty privileged inner disciple," Riliughed a short one, "but you don[''t even know the basics! Each disciple in the academy has his or her own rule in the big war going up between the pantheons and the hostiles."


    "You mean the demons, right?"


    "Not precisely true, but yeah demons are part of the hostiles," Rili said before adding, "so you will be asked to move to do part of the duties any disciple will have to do. Being a privileged inner disciple means you''ll be asked to lead a small army and conquer a post of the hostiles. This my friend isn''t something someone without backing and wealth like you can do with no offense."


    Jim sighed before saying:


    "So they will provide me logistics for such a campaign, right?"


    "Exactly and this is something not worth little in my opinion."


    Jim waited for a few seconds while ncing over the dark whirlpool of Rili. "What do they ask in return? Huh?"


    "Impressive," Rili said before adding, "they ask for their questions to be answered and for any other treasures you know of to excavate."


    "Nonsense," Jim sneered and instantly refused, "best I can do is to give them some clue about another treasure site that''s all," he paused before adding, "and if they have any question about the new site they have to pay the corresponding price for that."


    Rili seemed to be surprised by his answer. "So you n to only answer their questions now for their support and logistics?"


    "And clues about one more treasure site," Jim stressed over this point.


    "But"


    "This is my deal, go and tell them about it."


    "Sigh, why are you so stubborn about this," Rili sighed, "I can''t understand you. You are the one in a bad situation and the one needing support."


    "But that doesn''t mean I should sell a pearl like it was a street rock."


    "It''s your life man," Rili sighed before vanishing while whispering, "I suggest you think over again over this offer of yours until I return with their refusal."


    Jim took a deep breath while squeezing his head with both palms. ''You should give more, you know that,'' the old man suddenly said.


    ''I know but I need to minimize the damage,'' Jim muttered before adding, ''is this logistic support something valuable?''


    ''For othersing from high and mighty ns it''s a big no, but for you then f*cking yeah.''


    ''Do you think they know about my status in the academy?''


    ''At least they guessed you hailed from a nameless n.''


    ''Why is that?''


    ''Because if you came from a big n then you would have asked for support from your elders, right?''


    Jim sighed as he knew his old man was telling the truth. ''I hope they would be much smarter than Rili and understood my meaning.''


    ''They will,'' the old manughed, ''but they will ask for more than the price you just gave.''


    ''I can''t say no forever, right?''


    ''Don''t worry,'' the old man tried to reassure him, ''the most they will ask is triple the price and you will lower it to double. It''s not a big loss for you and me, after all you are too far weak from being able to go and take these treasures by yourself.''

 Chapter 79: The Twin Pearls Fame

    Chapter 79: The Twin Pearls'' Fame


    "What did you say?"


    "Ten folds," Rili sighed, "they ask for ten fold the price or there won''t be a deal."


    Jim returned to his seat while feeling more shocked by their greediness. "Who asked for such an extravagant price?"


    "Both," Rili bitterly said, "they said they won''t ept any price lower than that."


    "They can go and screw themselves then," Jim waved his hand towards Rili while cursing, "screw them all. Whom do they think themselves? I have more precious info than they think."


    "That might be the reason why they ask for such a price," Rili tried to reason out with him, "they are very powerful beings in the academy. It''s not wise to lose their support, or"


    "Turn them into my enemies?" Jim sneered before shaking his head helplessly, "I won''t ept such daylight steal. The highest I can work with is just double my initial price, no more."


    "But"


    "I won''t sell anything to those who think themselves smarter than me! If I gave them all this info howe I will ask for other services from anyone then?"


    "Sigh," Rili knew Jim had a point here but he was also worried about him. "I suggest you leave the town fast then."


    "They will wait for me on the road?"


    "Perhaps."


    Jim thought for a moment before asking, "How can I get in contact with you at the academy?"


    "Well that might be quite difficult," Rili seemed hesitant before adding, "here no one can observe me or track my motions but inside the academy it''s slightly different."


    "I understand," Jim said before adding, "I''ll prepare to leave now then. Hopefully you can stall for more time."


    "It''s best to send someone you trust next time," Rili suddenly said.


    "Someone like who?"


    "Anyone will do," Rili said, "it''s just for your own protection."


    "I can handle myself pretty well, thanks," Jim sighed before standing up as he went to inform everyone about their sudden leave.


    He never thought the appetite of those two masters would be this big. "Ten times, f*ck them," he kept inwardly cursing while hurrying in the middle of the night towards the academy.


    The only good thing that happened was that they didn''t meet anyone through their way back.


    This was simply because what Jim and his team did during the past days. The gangs on par with their levels weren''t that crazy to stand against such a terrifying group.


    "May you tell me again why we are running in the middle of the darkness away from our warm beds?" Saga yawned while everyone around were caring about her more than they cared about Jim.


    And that thing made Jim slightly agitated and quite impatient towards everyone.


    "We just want to know why we have to trouble the twodies with us," Rick tried to mediate and act as the good man here, but Jim gave him a stern nce that made him feel slight regret about opening his mouth.


    "Just keep moving, we are almost at the academy."


    Jim''s answer was the same as he didn''t change it no matter how they asked him. All the time he kept ncing around, trying to see if there was anyone tracking them from the direction of the town.


    But in this dark night he couldn''t see too far ahead. The road was only lit up by a triple moon constetion that kept rotating around a small shining object that resembled a dying star.


    As they kept getting closer from the academy they finally saw it from far. It was like a small star with its lights that looked like dazzling dots from this distance.


    "See? We are almost there," Kro was acting as their guide while the others followed his steps. He only volunteered to impress the twodies, and Jim had to inwardly sigh for that.


    If he had time, he would rather prefer to stop the march and reprimand everyone for their cking behaviors.


    However he was just having some headache about what might happen if those two masters sniffed about his departure.


    "Halt right there," suddenly this voice came from a big distance off the outer walls of the academy, "who the hell are you?" another voice asked again.


    "We are" Kro was in the forefront but the next instant Jim moved to the front while speaking out loud:


    "I''m a privileged inner disciple of the academy seeking a path inside."


    "Privilege inner disciple with so small entourage that''s a first," the soundughed before another added:


    "It''s not wise to take the identity of someone this prestigious."


    Jim sighed before he took out his sword. He hated to argue with those he couldn''t even see.


    The moment he took out his sword it started to shine in gold luster alongside his cloak. Jim looked like a dazzling tiny star in the middle of such darkness.


    "Oh" some of those around them eximed in surprise before another one said:


    "Temo, the kid wasn''t lying."


    "I can see that" the first to speak was called Temo and he simply was surprised by this, "why are you travelling thiste at night?" he asked.


    "Shouldn''t you show yourself up first?" Jim didn''t n on following orders here before he first understood who they were.


    He was sure they were part of the academy, but he had to know first if they were gangsters or not.


    "I''m Temo," suddenly a giant silhouette shone in the darkness with silver light before his shape moved slowly towards the front, "I''m the lead guard of the night patrols of the academy. May I know the reason of travelling thiste in night?"


    Jim noticed some of the characteristics of Temo. "A unicorn!"


    He wasn''t the one to mutter this but Tina who moved to the front while adding, "I think I''ve met you before, right?"


    Temo''s face wasn''t that clear under his cloak. He removed the part on his head before a long silver horn appeared from the middle of a big head with yellow hair and bright green eyes.


    "No way it''sdy Tina."


    The unicorn was shocked before he turned his gaze and spotted the nearby Saga. "And Saga as well The twin pearls are here!"


    The excitement in the voice of Temo made Jim realize this night wouldn''t end any sooner or smoother as he dreamt of. He also realized what was waiting in the end for him inside the academy.


    And that made him helplessly smile.


    "I''m now following my new master," Tina said as she jumped to hug Jim, "he is our new master, what do you think?"


    "Master" Temo turned his gaze towards Jim where he noticed an envious look before he turned his gaze again towards her as he suddenly screamed in shock:


    "Don''t tell me you are going to stay in the academy from now on?"


    The next moment more shadows glowed in the dark while all started toe closer with excited shouts and many words of praise and surprises.


    "Calm down boys," Jim suddenly shouted while pointing his sword between his girl and Temo, "she is mine, both are. So stay polite and don''t be rude."


    "Kid this is the twin pearls" Temo paused before adding, "I don''t believe someone like you can have them!"


    "Why not?" Jim simply shrugged before putting his arm around Tina''s waist and held her closer to him, "she is my girl, as you can clearly see."


    "Temo" Tina said with a soft chuckle, "he is my master, there is no doubt in that."


    "B- But mydy you know you have huge admirers here. If you want to be freed or escape just give us the signal"


    Jim clenched his sword harder as he didn''t want this to end in a bad end for him and his team.


    "Temo" Tina softly whispered before turning to Jim as she simply took the gesture and softly kissed his lips. "He is my man, please don''t say something as harsh as this again."


    "T- This" Temo''s face twitched and Jim noticed other shadows seemed to be quite unsettled when they saw this.


    "C''mon Temo how long has it been since you sworn to me to be my own guardian?"


    The face of Temo suddenly changed while others around started to whisper while some even started tough.


    "Mydy, it''s my honor to lead you to the academy," Temo said before clearing up his throat and starting to regain his previous domineer, "but we are on a big mission here. There is an ouw who is nning something big against our beloved academy."


    "Oh that sounds scary," Saga moved from behind as she held the other arm of Jim and leaned over his shoulder as she added, "is it safe to go alone towards the academy?"


    "Ahem" Temo seemed hesitant for a moment before another sound said in mocking tone from behind:


    "C''mon Temo, aren''t you the sworn guardian of the twin pearls?"


    Temo turned to re at the speaker while saying in a deep tone: "I swear to let you regret saying these words Sema."


    He then turned to Jim while ncing in envy towards him, "It''s quite safe behind us. We just scanned the area there. Feel free to go but be haste and don''t make more trouble ."


    Saga winked as she chuckled: "We will only cause our normal ruckus in the academy, or is it forbidden?"


    "Damn," Temo restrained himself as he already was hearing more mockingments from his back. "You can go with ease and do whatever you want mydies. Your fame already precedes you. Here is the token of VIP guests. With this no one will stop you even in the forbidden forest."


    "Thanks," Jim took the token as he turned to his team and shouted, "let''s go boys."


    "Damn!" Temo cursed again while watching the two pearls getting far away from him with Jim. "How can a human be so lucky?"


    "You don''t know him," one of his menughed before adding, "you were out on a mission and just returned. It''s normal for you to not know him."


    "Is he that famous?"


    "He is, and his face won''t sustain for long I suppose," the silhouette said with a sneer, "this kid has many eyes focused on him and believe me, he won''t sustain a single week in the academy."


    "If so," Temo evilly sneered, "it''s rightful for me to secure the twin pearls, right?"


    "Right boss," all of his squad shouted in unison.


    "Humph," Temo harrumphed before he turned to nce at his men, "don''t think just agreeing now on my words will spare you from punishment," heughed before turning towards the academy direction and softly sighed before vanishing in the darkness with his team.

 Chapter 80: Paying A Hefty Price

    Chapter 80: Paying A Hefty Price


    "From where did you get this medallion?"


    At the gate of the academy someone stopped the team while checking over the medallion Temo gave minutes ago.


    "The leader of the patrol squad gave it to me," Jim calmly spoke while gazing at that guard with a rhinoceros head and short thick tail.


    "Temo?" the guard sneered before turning to his team of guards behind, "see boys, that lousy one gave his highest clearance medallion to just no one, hahaha."


    Jim grabbed the medallion suddenly and hid it inside his ring in a move that gave him a ring look from the rhinoceros.


    But Jim had a premonition that this rhinoceros wouldn''t let him leave with that medallion.


    "Bring it back," the rhinoceros threatened.


    "Or what?" Jim cracked a smile over his face before raising his sword again high in the air, "do you want to prevent a privileged inner disciple from entering the academy? Are you sure?"


    The face of the rhinoceros suddenly changed before muttering:


    "The cursed human of the fairy pantheon"


    "Yeah, it''s me."


    The rhinoceros turned his gaze around the team members. Saga and Tina wore thick capes to hide most of their faces under the instruction of Jim.


    "Why are you going out sote?" the guard returned to Jim as he added, "andst time I checked you only have one Bulltor, not six. What? Are you nning to turn here into a Bulltor zoo?"


    The tone and attitude of this guard were mean, but Jim didn''t fall for his trap as he calmly said:


    "We came from Dragon town. Can you let us in now? We just came such a long distance and already tired."


    The rhinoceros moved his eye between the members of the team before saying: "Wait here for a minute."


    He then turned to vanish inside the academy gate for long minutes. Jim noticed the other guards were giving him mocking nces but he didn''t give heed to them.


    After roughly ten minutes the rhinoceros came in slow steps. "Go inside and head directly towards the inner disciple affairs," he sneered before saying this.


    "For what?" Jim wasn''t fazed as he calmly asked.


    "How can I know?" the look over the rhinoceros face told Jim otherwise.


    "Alright," Jim then turned to his team as he shouted, "time to go in boys."


    Jim didn''t enter at first but waited on the side of the rhinoceros watching the expression over his face. When the six Bulltors crossed him, Jim noticed a mocking expression over his face.


    "So this is all about," he muttered to himself before following his team inside the academy.


    "Will we go now for the affairs?" Rick whispered softly while the streets inside the academy were lit with orbs on regr intervals.


    "Sure," Jim sneered, "after all I know what this might be all about."


    "The Bulltors, right?" Kro asked.


    "Do you have any info regarding this?" Jim nodded while asking. He figured out it was about Bulltors, but he didn''t have any info about it.


    "I think it might be rted to an old rule about the number allowed to follow any inner disciple," Roo said before turning to Kro who nodded. "Indeed it''s about this."


    "Is it bad?" Ashley asked with obvious worry.


    "Only a money problem," Rick sneered, "they don''t know how wealthy our master has be."


    Jim thought for a moment before deciding to y a fool here. "Let''s keep the matter of my wealth hidden for now," he said.


    "for the arena?" Rick winked as heughed, "I like this dirty brain of yours, boss."


    "It''s not dirty," Jim objected whileughing.


    "Indeed, it''s much worse than being dirty," Sagughed while her voice attracted attention again towards her.


    "We heard about you erging the number of your following disciples, is that correct?"


    When Jim went inside the inner disciple affairs building, he found himself the only one there beside a werewolf master.


    "Yes sir," Jim honestly replied.


    "Good," the master cracked a smile before adding, "how many more did you bring with you?"


    "I brought only ves."


    "ves are considered outer academy disciples," the master sternly said, "and we can''t allow you to bring in any ves to be disciples. Even for the outer disciples, there must be some criteria to be fulfilled."


    "Like what?"


    "Age, talent, strength many things. We can''t just allow for any outsiders toe inside the academy, right?"


    Jim knew the purpose of all this. "Master is indeed correct," he said before adding, "may I ask how can I amend this?"


    "By two options," the master cracked a vicious smile showing off his sharp fangs, "either theypete in the arena individually or in teams, or you pay the prices for them."


    "Price?" Jim faked hesitation before asking, "how about the arena? How does this work?"


    "They will assemble on the first day in the arena and will be challenged by other inner disciples'' own ves."


    "This" Jim faked struggling.


    "What? It''s fair, after all they will fight outer disciples of other inner disciples as well. Isn''t it fair?"


    "Sigh," Jim sighed deeply before asking, "what about the money? How much is needed?"


    "Each inner disciple is allowed to have only fifteen ves at max," the face of the werewolf showed how much amused he was, "I believe you have exceeded this, correct?"


    "Master is indeed right as always."


    "Hahaha, stop honey talking to me, I won''t change my mind because of your praises," the werewolfughed as he thought Jim was trying to get to the soft side of him by his words. "Rules are the rules, can''t be broken not by me, not by you, and not by anyone."


    Jim gave a dark impression as if he was caught up in action before saying:


    "I have twenty new ves," Jim said.


    "I counted twenty-two," the werewolf master corrected.


    "My team is only thirteen, so I''m allowed for two more, right?"


    "But you have also gained five members from the outer disciples, right?" The werewolf tried to maximize the losses of Jim.


    "They were recruited from the outer disciple circle of the academy. No rules were broken here, right master?"


    The werewolf stayed silent for a moment before sternly saying: "It''s amazing how you, humans, shift the sweetness of your tongues into rudeness the instant you fail to achieve your aims."


    Jim only stayed silent while giving the werewolf a silent gaze in return. "Fine, it''s twenty then. Each extra member will have to be paid a fee of one hundred academy coins."


    A paper was thrown into Jim''s face by the werewolf where Jim caught it before hitting his face. He nced at it rapidly before asking:


    "It says here the fee ranges from one coin to one hundred, why do I have to pay the highest fee then?"


    "It''s the rules kid," the werewolf sneered while adding, "you have to pay what I see fit and I see this as the right price for your insult."


    Jim gave the werewolf a dark face while he reread the paper once more. He already memorized its content for the first time, but he just needed to make his act more eptable.


    "It says here I can pay this on the first day of the academy, right?"


    "Sure," the werewolf master leaned his back to his seat while adding, "but you''ll have to determine your decision here and sign this paper. Doing that won''t allow you to change your mind and if you fail to pay, you''ll have to work for the academy to pay the fees or let your ves scram."


    Jim didn''t dy any further as he cut his finger and left a blood print over the paper. "Perfect," the masterughed as he stole the paper in a swift move that Jim never noticed, "now will you pay or wait?"


    "I I''ll wait," Jim faked his struggle while turning around to leave.


    "Just a reminder kid," the master suddenly shouted from behind, "your whole presence in the academy is a vition to its heritage and system. No one will be your friend and all will be your enemy. Try to break free early on from this and retreat with your life before it''s toote."


    "Thanks master for wisdom," Jim said these polite words in such a casual manner. He didn''t even turn back to address the master while he went outside the building.


    "Two thousand academy coins?"


    Inside his mansion Deno screamed when he learnt about this extravagant price.


    "But what I heard before is the fee ranging between one and ten academy coins," Tina suddenly said, attracting gazes at her. "We have many masters of the academy as our regr customers," she chuckled before Saga added:


    "We didn''t speak before as we thought this won''t be a problem. But now" she paused and everyone just sighed. Even when they were in guilt, no one here could bring himself to reprimand them.


    Except for Jim.


    "Next time don''t hold any info off me," he suddenly said in a deep tone. The two girls felt sudden pressure off him and they felt quite nervous.


    "O- Ok," Tina said.


    "We won''t do this again," Saga added while the others red at Jim in ming nces.


    "What?" he turned to everyone before adding, "we are one team and should act like one. If some hid info from us at such critical moments, we might all pay a heavy price for that."


    "Such like this current price," Jenny said while giving the two girls a side nce. For her she thought herself the most beautiful and sexiest person in the room and she shouldn''t let any other girl to threaten this position no matter what.

 Chapter 81: Learning The Clan Spell

    Chapter 81: Learning The n Spell


    Jim gave Jenny a deep nce. He didn''t like this attitude especially in front of him, but the two girls made a bigger mistake and so he didn''t reprimand her in public.


    His warning gaze was enough and she only swallowed her throat and nodded.


    "The price is nothing for us," Jim sighed, "we have more than that, but next time we might not be able to pay the corresponding price."


    The girls nodded as well while everyone simply stayed silent. "Now we have less than three days from the start of the academy. I want all of you to start training."


    "Training on what?" Pat asked, "our abilities are inherited by our bloodlines."


    "Then keep using them all the time to hone your execution of them," Jim said before adding, "each day we will start training. I don''t care, even if you have to run around in circles, I just want to see you all training."


    Everyone only silently nodded despite their disagreement on his point of view. They thought he was mad at them but he wanted to do something else with the two girls.


    He had a spell to give it to the two girls and he had to improvise now. He knew he would be heavily watched, so if he made his boys do something this weird, the eyes would be mainly focused over them.


    "I just hope this will work," Jim stood in the early hours of the morning as his entire team was now standing in front of him yawning and half were almost falling asleep.


    "Why are we waking up this early? Yawn!" Rick put his w-like hand over his face as he was struggling like others to wake up.


    "We are going to train," Jim said before pping his hands together, "c''mon, let''s have a morning run. Then everyone can go and train alone."


    They gave him a sleeping nce before he pped again and then started to run.


    He first ran in circles around the mansion before he decided the next day to run in the academy for a bit.


    Their run there attracted enough attention for them, but no one stopped them despite they heard loudughtersing from everywhere over them.


    "Boss, can''t we limit our run inside the mansion?" Kro came to ask with a strange look over his face.


    "No, we will keep running around for a couple of hours first."


    Jim didn''t say that just before leaving the mansion he left his token for the girls to use. They said they might need a couple of hours to absorb the knowledge in the token and so he was trying to waste time here beforeing back.


    After three more hours he returned to the mansion to find the two girls waiting for him at the front door with wide smiles over their faces and such excited expressions and attitudes that everyone around noticed.


    "Wow, the two of you look too godly this morning," Roo moved to Saga while admiring her shimmering beauty.


    "Hahaha," Saga chuckled before Tina said in a sweetugh, "We already told you we belong to master. Stop daydreaming all of you."


    She directed her words to everyone standing with gaped mouths and wide eyes.


    "We know," Rick gave Jim a side nce out of frustration, "he was much quicker than us to reach you two goddesses. But that doesn''t mean we can''t admire your beauty."


    "He wasn''t the quickest," Saga chuckled, "he was the fittest. After all we are all his ves, right?"


    "Indeed that''s a fact," Jim had to step in as he nced over his team as he added while putting his arms around the waists of his girls, "and they are off limit. If you want to have fun with someone, go outside our group and seek out girls yourselves."


    "That''s not fair boss," Kroined.


    "And who said life is fair," Jimughed, "after all I''m your boss and you are my ves despite me being a human and you are mightier races than mine."


    He had such a in smile that made everyone feel irritated but they had nothing in hand to do. "Just man yourselves up and go out and seek your girls with your own efforts," he finally said this in a serious tone before turning around as he added, "I''m taking you out everyday to impressdies but I never saw you approach any so far."


    "Boss that''sme," Rick sighed, "it''s not helping to run out in the academy like this."


    "Yes boss it feels odd running like that," Kro said.


    "Boss we need to impress girls not to make themugh at us," Gorden said.


    "Alright then," Jim turned with a big smile over his face, "make sure then to impress girls in the arena the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is off, feel free to do whatever you want."


    He went inside the mansion with the two girls. While he hugged them in front of everyone, Saga pushed the token inside his cloak without anyone noticing.


    "I believe you are shining like two beautiful stars in the middle of space."


    "Hahaha, this isn''t bad," Saga chuckled while Tina kissed his hand as she sincerely said: "Thank you."


    "No it''s nothing," he shrugged as he delivered them to their room before he slipped from them as he added, "use the time to train, as I will also do that."


    The two girls just nodded and their eyes told him everything they wanted to say. He stressed on the two before evening to the academy that this would be a great secret and they shouldn''t speak about it in front of anyone or even him.


    And they understood perfectly why he was stressing on such a thing. After all what he gave to them was a n grade spell and luckily it was something that suited them both.


    And Jim was simply excited about testing the two girls'' new spells in the arena.


    ''You know it''s lucky for you to gain such a spell and these two girls at the same time,'' the old manughed while Jim sat in his room and started to contemte something.


    ''I know,'' he simply muttered, ''but it''s not the time to celebrate this for now. I need to devise ns for the battles in the arena.''


    ''Howe you will do that without knowing your enemies'' powers?'' the old man asked.


    ''I don''t need to,'' Jim shook his head before adding, ''I simply will use brute strength and tricks to crush anyone I face.''


    ''Good point,'' the old manughed, ''such the right mood and attitude to be a strong fairy king.''


    ''Tsk, stop the old bber about this fairy king and that fairy king,'' Jim inwardlyughed before adding, ''I want to be more prepared than others. My team grewrger than past time and these new yers must be finely tuned by me so we can make a magnificent performanceter on.''


    Jim stayed in his room for the rest of the day and the next day as well. He was devising all the ns and strategies he could think of in his mind, and finally he was able to rest assured when the time of the kick off the academy came.


    "Let''s go," Jim stood in front of his mansion door as he nced at his entire team. They were already hyped up, and despite waking up this early they didn''tin or even look sleepy.


    "You seem not to sleepst night," he joked with them while moving towards the direction of the main za.


    ording to the booklets he received from the internal affairs and also the books he bought from the Goblin store, the start off the academy will be from the main central za which lies just in the central zone of the academy.


    This was the only time where the outer disciples couldy sight over the inner part of the academy. After this, they wouldn''t be able to step in here again except with the next year start.


    "It''s a long walk boss," Lanined before Patughed, "it''s really longer than I expected."


    "We are almost there," Jim smiled as they walked for an hour and half so far. They were walking alone at first, but after half an hour they found themselves surrounded by many disciples who all wore different kinds of cloaks and emblems.


    "This looks amazing," Tina was so excited while the boys just sighed while Jenny red at her with fiery eyes.


    "I always heard about the opening big ceremony of the academy," Saga honestly said, "never thought it would turn out to be so majestic."


    "This is just the opening ceremony," Kroughed before Roo jumped in and said, "the fighting after that would be much grandiose. Believe me, the first day of battles is just epic."


    "Isn''t it only fresh disciples like us fighting against others?" Ashley asked.


    "No, it''s a full war between the higher and lower grades," Rickughed before adding, "it''s really amazing how a grade would be bullied by those above them and they bully those below them."


    "It''s a world of bullies then," Jim muttered before smirking, "I hate bullies."

 Chapter 82: Going To The Arena

    Chapter 82: Going To The Arena


    "It''s a new day in our long and ancient academy history," a giant dragon said in a slow and majestic tone while standing on a giant stage that resembled a small tower in front of the endless number of disciples around him.


    "This is a sacred day in our academy. Each year we ept a new batch of disciples and say goodbye to another. This is thew of life in the academy, and thew of life in general."


    Jim stood in the far crowd watching this meaningless speech which made him feel bored. The dragon who seemed too old to speak right and even fly for a long distance kept speaking like this for half an hour now.


    "When is he going to end this torture?" Jenny softly whispered while others around her chuckled in low voices.


    "Shh don''t make a sound," one of the disciples on their sides whispered in such a nervous and angry way.


    "Tsk," Jenny gave him a direct nce before she returned to observe the dean while he continued to speak while the rest of her team kept smiling in silence.


    "And now, it''s time for the disciples to prove their worth" the dean went silent as he nced over the entire audience silently for a couple of minutes.


    "Did he fall asleep?" Jenny whispered again and this time many disciples couldn''t help but smile and some evenughed in chocked voices trying to not make a sound.


    "It''s time for the new disciples to prove their worth in the arena," the dean finally spoke before pointing towards a certain direction. "There our sacred ceremony will start from now till the end of the day. All first year disciples will have to ept the challenges issued by others.


    As usual, any disciple will be challenged by only those on his grade or one grade higher. The ones issuing the challenge should state the rules and the challenged team should either ept them or raise the stakes."


    "There is no such a thing as bargain here," Jim muttered to himself when he heard the words of the dean.


    "If a team has no wealth to bargain with, ves can be used as price for the winner. If there are no ves left then the disciple can use his rank as a bet."


    The dean''s face suddenly cracked a vicious smile before adding, "it has been such long years before someone climbed the ranks from lower to higher. I hope one day I can see such a miracle again which I only saw thrice in my entire life. And now"


    The dean then turned to another dragon. Jim instantly recognized that dragon as he was the one who he met at the admission ceremony of the inner disciples.


    "Listen up," the vice dean dragon spoke in a harsh and loud tone, "this is our great and esteemed fairy academy. Rules can''t be broken. Lessons must be attended. Any fights outside the arena will be instantly and severely punished by the sacred soul of the academy.


    This is our academy, the one protected and ruled by the sacred fairies. Despite they aren''t here with us, but they left their guarding soul, the esteemed guardian here to protect us and keep the rules of the academy running without any vition."


    "So that''s the reason then" Jim muttered to himself as he always feared those enemies of his to directly smash the table and kill him directly viting the rules. "So they can''t do that, interesting."


    "The challenges will start now. Anyone can go to the supervising masters and issue a challenge. Each team has unlimited chances to challenge any team, but one team can only be challenged once by the same team.


    After that we will start the small inheritance ceremony where masters will choose their preferred disciples to be their direct disciples and a continuation to their heritage. And then"


    He paused beforeughing, "you can go to rest and next morning the new year will start. Good luck to you all, and let the great dragon be always in your care."


    Jim noticed that every single disciple here raised their fists in the air and started cheering after the vice dean. "Don''t ck, just do the same," he whispered as he also raised his fist but bbered with something meaningless.


    ''In fact I want to say screw the dragons, hehehe,'' he said to himself but the old man didn''t speak back. He warned him from this day as many high academy personnel would be present here.


    "Let''s go," Jim led the others to retreat along with everybody else. As they were in the rear from the beginning, that made them end up being in the forefront of the big march.


    "We came back again to this?" Deno was one of the first to recognize the old arena theypeted before at. "Wasn''t it located in the outer disciple district?"


    "I believe it still is," Lan nodded as he opened up a small map from his own books. He was like everyone else, having the books carried over a small book holder which flew inches above each one''s left shoulder.


    "Is this the only arena here?" Jenny sneered as she thought this was pretty much funny for such a huge academy to have only one ce to fight.


    "In fact," Lan paused before adding, "there are three more, one in each disciple district and one special arena."


    "Special arena?" Rickughed, "I thought its name was the butcher''s arena."


    "It''s," Kro nodded, "but this isn''t her official name. she is called the special arena in the books."


    "Interesting," Rick shook his head before Saga cleared up her throat as she asked:


    "Is the one you are speaking about is that butcher treacherousdy?"


    Jim was interested in hearing more about this, yet they were already so close to the arena so Rick had to sum things up unwillingly. "It''s her, the burial ce she chose for her root and body to reside."


    "Scary," Tina muttered.


    "I don''t want to ever go there," Saga said with a firm tone and slightly pale face.


    "Are you afraid of an arena?" Jim smiled before the two girls nced at him in a weird way.


    "It''s a sure thing you aren''t from around," Saga sighed.


    "This arena thisdy it''s scary!"


    ""


    Jim didn''t know what to say and there was so little time to ask more so he decided to postpone this forter.


    "Do you know how we know who in the new year is going to be a useless sh*t and who isn''t?"


    Jim and others stood in front of a giant master that was simr to Pol in outer physique but he wasn''t him.


    "Those whoete to the central za and early on to the arena are those useless sh*t."


    Heughed as if he just cracked the funniest joke ever. Jim and others were drawn to here when they heard shouting about those in first year toe forward inside the arena.


    And when his team gathered here alongside few more teams, this arrogant master came to the front while pointing to each team as he added:


    "Each loser''s heades forth and gives me your pity names."


    Jim dyed and didn''t move at once until all the other teams'' leaders came forward and delivered their names.


    "Shouldn''t we" Rick whispered while motioning his head towards the master.


    "Wait," but Jim decided to stay back for a bit. As more disciples arrived at the arena, more teams started to flood in and at some point the master suddenly stopped taking anymore names and suddenly vanished.


    "See?" Jim sneered, "I knew something was wrong."


    "Isn''t he a master?" Kro asked.


    "I dunno," Jim shook his head, "but I bet those who signed their names early on will end up in bad situations."


    Everyone nced weirdly at Jim but from all his past years he developed a survival instinct that no one could easily fool him.


    Especially if he felt grave dangering from that master just now.


    "Alright, alright," suddenly a short stature master came with his short body and two long curved wings on his back. "Nowe forth and give me your names and then move to that direction and wait there."


    Jim turned around and those who signed their names before with that rude master weren''t anywhere to be seen.


    "Jim, first year, privilege inner disciple."


    Jim moved in a short line that kept getting longer before his turn came swiftly and he hurriedly said his name, grade, and rank to the master who wore round sses over his long and curved nose.


    "Oh, it''s you boy," the master stopped as he raised his sses and reced them with another set of sses with thinner frames.


    He checked Jim slowly from top to bottom before removing his sses and wore the old one. "I''ve seen over my long years many proimed genius kids, but you are just one of those rare ones who were true to the meaning of this word."


    Jim couldn''t help but smile before the master nodded to him and pointed to the direction different from other teams. "Go there with your team, it''s the ce dedicated for the genius sprouts."


    "Thank you master," Jim honestly said.


    "Make sure to dazzle them."


    "Hahaha, I promise I will."

 Chapter 83: Let The Competition Start

    Chapter 83: Let The Competition Start


    "It''s quite refreshing having someone backing us up," Deno said in a good mood while everyone nodded. They were now resting in arge hall with an open balcony four stories above the ground.


    They could easily oversee the entire arena from there and Jim wondered how he didn''t notice such a balcony from the past time he was here before.


    The waiting hall overlooked the entire arena and Jim noticed the seats there were getting upied at a fast pace.


    "Oh, there are some insects in here."


    Suddenly this sudden shout came from the direction they came from. Jim turned to see a familiar face in front of him. "Isn''t it against the rules for such humans to be here?"


    Jim just turned around while leaning his back over the balcony with crossed arms. "It''s funny how you speak of me like I''m not here."


    "Oh, he can tell jokes as well," the giant core discipleughed before adding, "A dead human cracking some jokes before dying. Don''t tell me this is your death wish."


    "Death wish, humph," Jim sneered and simply ignored this arrogant giant disciple who once met before at the entrance of the alley inside the Sherwid town.


    "Don''t worry," the kidughed, "Mench promised me to kill you slowly and with much pain."


    "Remind me to do the same to him," Jim turned towards Deno as he said, treating this as a mere joke.


    "Humph," the giant kid moved to another corner where he was already surrounded with a team of over two hundred disciples; all were from the first year alone.


    "He seems quite dangerous," Lan sighed, "and pretty fixed over us."


    "It''s not him," Ashley sighed, "it''s because of that Pol."


    "That giant who tried to stop you in the arena?" Rick couldn''t forget about the man who made him lose hope and feel much ashamed and despair before.


    Despite he was now thanking all the gods for the golden chance he had to be this close to the legendary Twisex twin pearls, but he didn''t forget the treacherous man or the backstabbing n.


    Gradually the hall became filled with more teams. Each time once arrived here had a silent nce first at Jim and his team before heading to stand in a different direction.


    This kept happening until an hour passed and over fifty-six teams were there in this vast hall.


    And in the arena, things were getting much hotter there. The seats werepleted a long time ago, and now there were many standing on their feet between seat lines to watch the about to happen matches.


    "Hahaha, I know how much hyped you are," suddenly a female voice appeared out of nowhere while she seemed quite excited herself. "Oh gosh, how much I miss this feeling."


    Jim finallyid eyes on her. She was tall, slim curved body with a head of a beautifuldy with no legs but long tail. It was covered in faint green and blue small scales that looked smooth and soft.


    And she had two big rounded eyes, one green and one blue.


    "Yeah, give me the cheers I love to hear," she kept falling from the sky while two long pairs of semi-transparent butterfly-like wings kept gracefully moving behind her back.


    Jim watched the audience pping their hands in a crazy way like they were enchanted. "What''s wrong with them?" he whispered to Rick who sighed.


    "It''s her, not them," Roo was much faster to answer, "she is the famousdy of the whole academy."


    "Humph," Saga suddenly harrumphed, pared to me or my sis, she isn''t that good."


    ''Pft," Jenny rudely faked choking augh inside her while everyone red at her. "What?" she aggressively asked while moving her eyes around everyone.


    "She is a seducer," Kro sighed, "not many can fight against her charm, not many indeed."


    "Yeah she is all fake," Tina said in such a prideful tone, "she is all fake, magic and enchants. Not like the Twisex, not like us, we are naturally sexy."


    Jim couldn''t help but roll his eyes. "C''mon, it was just a simple question."


    His words silenced everyone while that sexy master descended to stand tens of meters above the entire arena, supervising everything.


    "It''s me, your lovely and ever sexy master Dolly. C''mon, let me hear a cheering uproar."


    The entire arena shook under the massive cheering and the loud shouting. "Damn, they are really hyped," Jim couldn''t help butugh while he moved his eyes fast around. "Even here many were affected," he took notice of those who stood without showing any caring expression over their faces.


    They were like him, strong and dangerous rivals for the future.


    "And now let me tell you the rules," Dolly said before pointing to her slender index with a thin and curved nail, "don''t be naughty and stick to the rules please. I hate punishing anyone, except naughty ones."


    She winked while the audience cheered again like they were crazy. "Sigh, I now know why these fights are popr," Deno said while Jim nodded.


    "First we will start with our beautiful and energetic freshmen, then any other disciple of our ten years can have his or her share in the fun."


    She then turned round while patting on her long tail like she was treating something precious, "All the disciples can be challenged either solo or in teams. The team challenge can only be five against five. You know the rest of the rules, don''t cheat using some cheat scrolls or else you''ll be punished."


    She then raised both hands up in the air while adding, "Let the luck be in your favor forever, let thepetition start."


    A horn voice erupted all of sudden from one corner of the arena. It was deep and long and looked uglypared to Dolly.


    "Good, it''s finally a fun time," Dolly pped like a little kid when the horn ended and that helped to clear most of the bad effects of the horn from everyone.


    "Now it''s time for challenges. Anyone having the desire to challenge our cool and energetic freshmen then just write your name on a paper and specify if it was a solo or team challenge and then simply throw it in the air."


    Dolly waved her hand and something she muttered was followed. Arthur knew this had to do with her strange way in receiving challenges.


    "Be ready dead man, Mench is going to kick your ass now."


    Jim turned to give that arrogant kid a silent nce before shrugging and loudly asked the nearby Rick: "Have you just heard a fly passing by or perhaps speaking?"


    Rick controlled hisughs hardly while giving that core giant kid a silent nce before muttering, "boss, don''t over do it. He is a core disciple after all."


    "Whatever," Jim shrugged again, "I didn''t run after him for a fight or something."


    "Sigh."


    It wasn''t only Rick but everyone else.


    "Will we fight?" Tina leaned at him and whispered.


    "Not now," Jim softly said, "but you''ll have your moment to shine today, don''t worry."


    "Oh that makes me more worried," Saga bitterlyughed while others nced weirdly at Jim.


    "They are Twisex," Rick said, "they can''t fight."


    "Who said that," Jim simply said.


    "Everyone knows that," Kro joined in, "Tiwsex race is just for entertainment business, no more."


    "I still can''t believe you made them wear the same uniform as us," Roo seemed a little annoyed about this.


    "I wanted them to wear that," Jim simply said while imagining the look on their faces when they would see the two girls fight.


    "But it''s not beautiful," Roo said.


    "It''s ugly," Kro said.


    "It''s not sexy," Rick said.


    "It''s our uniform," Jim said with an annoyed tone, "don''t belittle our hard owned uniforms, they aren''t that bad."


    "Not to the usual standard in fashion," Rick said.


    "Sigh, howe you criticize the goddesses work," Jim shook his head in fake helplessness and his words made the three of them greatly startled.


    "We have our first challenge of the day," suddenly Dolly spoke, "let''s have our first team challenge for today between second grade disciple Goraly against grade one disciple Toren."


    "Phew," Lan heaved a long sigh of relief, "I thought we would be the first ones."


    He wasn''t the only one thinking so or the only one to nce over that core giant disciple on the corner.


    Jim wasn''t worried about being first or about that core disciple. "The real threat is from the other corner," he inwardly sighed as his team all were misdirected towards the giant kid while ignoring the much higher threat.


    "The dragon kid," Jim moved his eyes towards another corner, "the banshee kid," and then he moved to another spot, "the berserker kid and the chimera."


    He nced at the four spots in vignce. "these are the real threat idiots," he inwardly cursed the short eyesight of his team members. The hall became crowded and he got rm signalsing from these four.

 Chapter 84: Just Stay Back and Watch

    Chapter 84: Just Stay Back and Watch


    But he wasn''t that crazy to go out of his way and start a fight with them. "Sigh, as the rules bind others, they also bind me," he regretfully shook his head before the first fight started.


    Five against five, that was the beginning battle in the arena today. Jim looked in no care towards the challenge and only cared about its beginning and its end.


    At the beginning the challenger set the rules. ording to what Jim noticed, the challenged team looked like ordinary folks with not much prestige or vibe around them.


    And the challenger asked for a price of five academy coins as bet. As far as Jim understood, the other team had to either ept or raise the bet.


    And for sure the other team only bitterly epted before a brutal fight erupted. One team was just nobody, and the other had one year experience and was supported by spells.


    "That sigh," Deno sighed when the fresh team lost, "this is by the rules but it sounds unfair."


    His words got the approval of everyone before Jim muttered:


    "Life isn''t fair, you of all people my friend knows that better than others."


    Deno''s face changed slightly before he silently nodded.


    "When will our turne?" Lan asked before turning to Jim as he added, "and have you settled on the team fighting?"


    "Sure," Jim nodded as this was something he had deeply thought about for thest days, "we just need to see our opponents before I can decide on the team."


    As the first challenge was done, everyone became nervous as they waited for their names to be announced.


    "The next match is Tivol challenging Reb."


    "Damn, it''s not our turn yet," Rick muttered while Jim stole a swift nce around. "It seems they n to let us be more nervous," he muttered.


    "What do you mean?" Jenny asked in quite an aggressive tone.


    "I think we will fightte in the arena," he stated what he felt from the mocking faces over his enemies, "so toughen up and don''t be this fragile. You know we aren''t weak."


    "Or poor," Sagaughed before asking, "do you n on making us fight in the first round?"


    "It depends," Jim smiled and his answer made everyone around him restless.


    But before anyone could say anything, Tina chuckled as she said: "That would be interesting if we opened the first fight with you."


    "I think you are more nervous than others," heughed shortly before adding, "alright, you have my word to be in the first team."


    "Yes," the two girls pped their hands together in a way and spirit that startled everyone.


    "Are you sure?" Kro couldn''t help but ask.


    "Don''t worry about them," Jim was the one to speak, "mind yourselves and try to make your minds prepared for the next battle."


    As Jim expected, their turn didn''te until ten teams were challenged. Up so far no team was challenged and won from the new year, and all those challenged were just nobodies.


    "And now it''s time for the first inner disciple challenged here today," Dolly said in excited tone, "Mench of the second year core disciples is challenging Jim, a privileged inner disciple of first year in a team challenge."


    "It''s our turn," Jim smiled while waiting to see his opponents.


    "Who is going to participate?" Lan was restless like everyone else, but Jim didn''t hurry to answer.


    "Oh, they didn''t bring giants only in the team," Jim muttered while watching three giants walking side by side with two Bulltors. "They are trying to force a close up match," Jim sneered before turning to the team.


    "Deno, Lan, Saga, and Tina wille down there with me."


    "Me?" Deno pointed to himself in a shocked manner, "I can''t deal with two Bulltors alone."


    "Who said you will?" Jimughed before moving towards the stairs leading to the arena, "juste, and there I''ll tell you everything."


    The four followed him as the two girls were the first to move then Lan. Deno was hesitant but Rick and Gorden patted on his shoulder while the other five Bulltors gave him an encouraging smile.


    "Going to your death, hehehe," the core giant discipleughed while Jim just ignored his useless provocation.


    In his mind, he had already pictured the entire scenario of this fight. "If no surprises happened, then we will get out of this with a priceless gain," he inwardly sneered while reaching down the arena and went towards Mench and his team.


    "Well well well, it''s that rude youth of first year boys," one giant mockingly pointed towards Jim while adding, "he ising to his death. Don''t show him any mercy and use everything in your disposal to kill them all."


    "Yes yes boss."


    His four henchmen shouted in unison and they seemed to take Jim and his team lightly.


    "You know the rules," Dolly amusingly said, before adding, "and now you have to issue your challenge."


    Mench smiled evilly as he said:


    "I issued a challenge of fifty academy coins to him."


    "Fifty?" Dolly muttered in surprise before he nodded to confirm his request.


    "Alight," Dolly turned towards Jim as she sighed, "I hate to see such a good disciple being crushed in the arena but rules are the rules. You either have to ept the challenge or raise it."


    "One word, please," before Jim could answer, Mench spoke first, "if he can''t pay after losing, or he died and his surviving team members can''t pay, what''s the procedure?"


    Dolly gave Mench an interesting nce before saying:


    "The rules state that the team will be demoted one grade each to pay their debt."


    "Good," Mench nodded as if it was the first time to hear such a thing. "Your answer?" he turned to Jim who simply grinned.


    "I want to raise it" Jim paused before rising his index finger high in the air.


    "One academy coin?" Dolly asked to make sure she got his meaning right, "you want the challenge to be fifty-one academy coins?"


    "This is nothing," Menchughed before adding, "I can raise it to one hundred academy coins then."


    "You are mistaken," Jim calmly shook his head before adding, "it''s one thousand academy coins, and I won''t ept anything but coins."


    "Phew," Dolly sucked in a long breath of air, "that''s ruthless," sheughed before she turned to Mench and said, "your answer?"


    "Y- You" Mench stuttered before pointing towards him as he loudly said, "He is bluffing, he has no such wealth under his name."


    "Humph," Jim didn''t want to argue as the next instant he touched his ring and one thousand academy coins piled in the next moment in front of him. "Now I have shown my sincerity, what about you?"


    The look on Mench''s face turned to be vicious for a second before he cracked up inughter. "You you are hrious," he pointed towards him before adding, "of course I would ept this challenge. Who is foolish enough to let such a generous offer slip by his grasp?"


    He then turned to his team as he loudlyughed, "cheer up boys, the party tonight will be on me."


    The team membersughed and mockingly pointed towards Jim and his team but Jim only stayed calm and wasn''t affected by their rudeness.


    "So this is settled up then," Dolly said.


    "One second, please," it was Jim''s turn to stop her before adding, "if he couldn''t pay after losing, or killed and his surviving team couldn''t afford to pay. What will happen next?"


    "The same," Dolly answered with a much interesting look over her face, "his team members will be demoted on grade."


    "Can I have another retribution?" Jim asked, "like having his rank inside the academy for instance?"


    "This" the look over Dolly''s face changed slightly before Menchughed as he mockingly said: "I totally agree with that, as if you will live to see the end of this challenge or something."


    Dolly moved her eyes between the two before smiling in excitement, "that''s not against the rules. As your opponent epted it, then if you defeated him and he couldn''t pay then you will be upgraded to an inner disciple rank," she paused before adding, "but you need to defeat him, something that never happened for a millennia."


    "I don''t mind making records," Jim simply said.


    "Alright, good luck for both of you then," she said before raising high up and clearing the space for the challenge.


    "What''s the n, boss?" Deno asked in much nervousness.


    "You stay back," Jim simply said, "and you will lend me lightning."


    "That''s it?" Lan asked in doubt, "no more shy moves or traps?"


    Jimughed as he turned to gaze at the two girls and said, "no need, our trap is already in ce."


    The two girls were still wearing the capes and hiding most of their alluring figures. His words didn''t help in calming down the anxious Deno who asked again:


    "What do you need of me? Can you be more specific?"


    "Nothing," Jim shrugged before adding, "I just brought you here to watch."


    "W Watch?!!" Deno was shocked and couldn''t believe his ears.


    "Just watch and you''ll understand in time," Jim patted on his high arm before turning to the girls. "Are you ready?"


    "Indeed," Sagaughed.


    "Let''s kill some arrogant giants," Tina added with a soft chuckle.


    "That''s the spirit," Jim nodded before moving to stand in the forefront while Lan helplessly shook his head and walked to stand behind him. "I hope you know what you''re doing," he muttered.


    "I do," Jim smiled before grinning, "I''ll make everyone dazzled in the arena today and make a name for myself."

 Chapter 85: This Isnt A Trump Card, Its A Lethal Card!

    Chapter 85: This Isn''t A Trump Card, It''s A Lethal Card!


    "Are you ready?" Dolly floated high in the air above the arena while checking both sides. "Start," she gave the signal and the next moment the three giants vanished from their ces.


    "Trying to surprise me?" Jim sneered while he already moved his hand to take the stance of his spell.


    "They are targeting Deno," Lan suddenly shouted and Jim was just creating his ball of lightning around himself when he turned around and saw the three appearing on top of Deno and started to attack him.


    "Leave them to me," Jim moved towards the three giants who were just bullying Deno with their fierce fists and kicks, with no spell at all.


    "Humph, you are too slow," Mench sneered while he aimed towards Deno''s neck as he intended to kill him.


    However Jim wasn''t moving slow, he was just jumping and starting to dance to activate the second spell in his arsenal.


    And just before Mench''s hand would hit Deno, Jim''s spell was activated and Jim found himself disappearing from his spot to reappear again just before Deno.


    "Scram," he simply shouted and the next instant his sword released a ball of lightning towards Mench.


    From such a close distance it was impossible to evade, yet Mench''s reaction was superb. He barely escaped barbecued by lightning, but he ended up with many wounds over his bare chest.


    He nced at his wounds and felt greatly enraged. "I''ll kill you first," Mench promised.


    "Just what I wanted," and Jim simply sneered while he waved his sword to hit the two giants around, sending them in a hurry back to their master.


    One ended with light wounds while the other had no wounds at all.


    "This is bad," Deno managed to catch his breath, "their innate abilities are just super, we can''t ovee them."


    "Just rest and watch," Jim repeated his words again before moving leisurely towards the front where he was before. "Come, show me why you are a core disciple and I''m not."


    "Humph," Mench only sneered while he snapped his fingers and then the two giants pointed their hands to each other and Jim felt like they were tearing apart the space itself.


    "This is the ground breaking spell," Tina suddenly shouted from behind, "it''s a very strong offensive spell. The ground will tear open like having an explosion from within out and rocks and evenva rocks would erupt next."


    "Should we attack?" Saga asked in a worried tone.


    "Not now," Jim raised his sword high in the air, "retreat to where Deno is," he softly said to Lan who hurriedly retreated without even ncing back.


    For him, for Deno, for everyone in his team and those attending this challenge, this was a losing battle for Jim. Victory paled in front of all the odds he got against him.


    No one even thought of his victory except for himself and the two girls.


    "Acting tough all alone, huh?" Mench was alreadyughing while imagining Jim''s death under this attack. "Punch him," he ruthlessly said and the next instant the two giants threw the air towards Jim like they were throwing a gigantic rock.


    "Rumble!"


    Just as they did so, the earth rumbled and opened like there was somethinging out from inside.


    "The girls didn''t lie," Jim softly muttered, "there is indeed someva rocks."


    In front of him a group of twelve rocks appeared suddenly from the heart of the cracked open ground; three were faint red like they just came from a ce near a river ofva.


    "But this isn''t enough to stop me," Jim was so much confident at his spell while he only partially activated just now and didn''t use the full version of it.


    After all he had little time to activate the spell each time he used it. he started jumping and moving slowly in circles for a few moments while the twelve rocks finally got themselves freed from the ground and the arena ground returned to its norm again.


    "Kill this clown," Mench coldly said and the two giants didn''t dy in throwing a punch towards Jim. And the rocks moved along.


    "I hope it will be enough," Jim danced a few seconds extra than what he didst time. "This is the only drawback of such activation," he gritted his teeth while knowing he shouldn''t reallyin about this.


    After all the full version of the dancing spell would grant him more time in his evolved spell of lightning, however this wasn''t the case here.


    Partial activation gave him only an opportunity for one time use or twice, after that it would vanish.


    "Scram," he didn''t need to move and this time he focused everything over the strikes of his sword. Each hit released a giant ball of lightning and he managed to throw four balls before the effect of the spell weaned off.


    "This one will be crushed normally then."


    His four lightning balls managed to crush all the rocksing at him except for one, a faint red one. He didn''t panic as he started to wave his sword, releasing his strong lightning balls towards the rock while retreating steadily to maintain the distance between the two fixed.


    "Phew," Saga heaved a deep sigh of relief, "I thought you will be hit just now."


    "It''s nothing," Jim acted tough while watching the rock being fractured into tiny pieces. "Prepare yourselves, it''s time."


    He only said that when he saw the look over Mench''s face. He was enraged. "Good, I need your mind to be clouded with anger and arrogance," Jim sneered while he moved to the front once more, leaving the two girls alone.


    But he shielded them with his body, blocking the vision of anyone on Mench''s team from noticing what the two were about to do.


    "We should get in," one of the two Bulltors volunteered to offer his services.


    "Shut up," Mench turned sharply to shout at him, "you two are here just for show. The giants are still the Giants, we won''t need any help to crush a simple human."


    The face of the Bulltor changed slightly before he regained his peace and calm again. "Got anything to say?" Mench was already mad and wanted anything to vent his anger upon.


    "No, nothing boss," the other Bulltor spoke up for his friend while the two exchanged meaningful nces.


    They both managed to spot what the two girls were doing and they had a faint fear towards it.


    "Scram then," Mench moved his eyesight back to Jim as he clenched his big fist and cracked his knuckles with the other hand, "just wait, I''ll use my top spell over you."


    "Humph, keep dreaming kid. Last chance to surrender and admit defeat now," Jim threatened once again while he nced not over the three but towards the two Bulltors.


    And his nce made Mench turn his head slightly to them. "Having second thoughts?" he sneered before adding, "If so then I promise to kill you two and make you all join each other in hell."


    The two Bulltors were having doubts, but after these words they both retreated while Mench only sneered and said nothing.


    "Move with me, buy me some time," he said in a loud tone as if he was mocking Jim and the rest of his team, "I''ll use it."


    "Boss" the two giants nced at him and said in the same tone but Mench only raised his hand to stop them. "I can''t stand such humiliation anymore. A mere human acting this tough against me? That''s an insult I shouldn''t tolerate anymore."


    The two seemed a bit hesitant before they nodded. "We''ll defend you boss," they said while Jim only watched this silly and hrious show in silence.


    "Are you kids finished?" he shouted while showing a mocking look over his face.


    "Just hang in there, I''lle in a minute to wipe this irritating smile over your pretty face," Mench threatened while he started to clench his fists as if he was waiting for something.


    And Jim just noticed the two feet of his shining in brown light while his two fists started to form two faint orbs of brown light.


    "You should wrap things up now," Jim muttered to the girls before adding, "it seems I slightly overdid it to irritate him, hehehe."


    The two giants stood vigntly in front of their master while Jim didn''t stand silent anymore. He moved a couple of steps to the side, turned around and then started to dance.


    He started to perform his full dance, but the two giants, Dolly, Jim''s team, and the entire audience all ignored his silly and funny moves while they had all their attention fixated upon the two girls behind him.


    Tina and Saga were still in their ces but they were in a strange posture.


    "What the hell is that?" the lower disciples all muttered this question in their minds, while the higher disciples and masters all recognized this spell.


    "No F*cking way! It''s a fusion spell!!!" Dolly was the first to shout in shock while Jimughed while dancing his stupid dance, "Indeed, it''s my trump card."


    "It''s a lethal card," Dolly instantly moved towards Mench as she said in pure advice, "admit defeat kid, live to fight another day."


    Mench was closing his eyes while gathering up his energy. "Boss, please think about the advice and ept it. They are using fusion skills!"


    However Mench didn''t respond. "Damn, he already started it," the other giant said before giving the two girls holding each other''s bodies in a warm and so peaceful hug and Jim who was dancing in a weird way before he added, "run, run and live."


    He turned around and simply ran to the outer rim of the arena, and he wasn''t alone as the other giant and the two Bulltors were already running as well.


    This arena had turned into such a deadly zone where no one ever wanted to be inside when the two girlsunched their skill.

 Chapter 86: A Truce

    Chapter 86: A Truce


    Jim just moved to the side, clearing a path for the girls to use their spell. The lighting from their bodies intensified to turn the two into a small shining star in the ground of the arena.


    "So this is the fusion spell of the little star," Jim muttered beforeughing, "this is a real killer move indeed."


    He watched like others in the arena the two girls getting obscured with the growing bright light. Once the star took its full shape, the light then created a phantom image of a giant angel with golden rays emitted from it.


    "Amazing," he muttered, "this is strangely perfect to them."


    He turned his gaze to see there was only one opponent left. Mench was still immersed in his spell, but Jim wasn''t interested in watching him fulfill it. "Kill him now," he simply shouted and gave the order to the girls who instantly unleashed the wrath of the spell.


    He didn''t see what they did but the next moment the giant angel phantom flew in unparalleled speed to reach Mench in fraction of a second. Mench got hit with the phantom which engulfed his entire body and started to shine the same way the two girls did.


    "What will happen now?" Jim was curious as he waited patiently for half a minute while the bright light shielded everything from his eyes.


    "Rumble."


    Suddenly a soft rumble came from the front while the light started to be tainted with a red color of blood. "Is he dead?" Jim muttered while watching the entire phantom change into a red color in no time.


    "Boom!"


    Then it simply exploded and all he could see was fragments sent to fly everywhere while a body was tossed backward like it was a bag of sh*t.


    Jim turned towards the two girls to see the light vanishing from their bodies and the next instant they just fell on the ground motionless.


    "I hope this didn''t kill them," he moved at once towards them while everyone around was still in their shock. "Deno, go and finish that bastard if he is still alive," he shouted to awaken the stupefied Deno and make him move.


    Deno''s body jolted awake when he heard Jim''s shout. "I never thought you had such a crazy attack hidden," he muttered in disbelief while running towards the knocked out and motionless body of Mench. "But it''s my task to make sure this arrogant giant won''t see the light again."


    Jim reached the girls and found them closing up their eyes with no signs of activity at all. "Phew, they are alive," he checked their breathings and luckily they were still alive. "This spell has much more toll on their bodies than the one I use," he sighed while checking the fatigue he was starting to feel on his body.


    "It seems we have a very long path to be able to use these spells without much hups."


    He turned his gaze the next instant towards Deno to find him raising up his giant hammer high in the air beforending it massively over Mench''s head.


    "Scram!"


    Yet before the hammer couldnd over Mench''s head, a sudden shout came apanied by a giant shadow that stood before the hammer and the knocked out disciple. "Go f*cking away," the giant bellowed while Deno was hit violently to be tossed aside and turned around himself for many times before finallynding motionlessly on the ground.


    "What the hell are you doing?"


    Jim was about to explode on the face of this barbaric intrusion but Dolly was the first to act as she moved at once to stand above the giant who just appeared.


    "The kid has apparently lost. No need to go for such lengths," the giant shouted back while he was acting like Dolly wasn''t there to hold the helpless body of Mench.


    "How dare you to interfere in my arena?" Dolly shouted in extreme rage while the next instant a giant stick descended heavily from the clouds to shake the entire arena. "Imprison him now."


    The voice of Dolly showed how angry she was, even though Jim felt a cold chill running back at his spine. He watched that giant master stopping in his tracks unable to move a single step forward anymore.


    "Dolly" the giant roared, "don''t go too far. The kid is lost, no need to kill him."


    "This isn''t your decision to make," Dolly answered in a rivaling coldness, "this kid entered this arena voluntarily knowing what''s on stakes here. Go screw someone else away from here for this loss or else"


    She didn''tplete her threat but Jim was pretty sure this sexy master would turn into a vicious beast if that giant didn''t retreat and apologize.


    "This" the giant stopped in his words as if he was struggling with something. "Kid, can you let him live?" he suddenly turned towards Jim as he asked boldly this question.


    Jim''s thoughts first threw him into instant refusal, but he didn''t do that. His mind started to give him more options here. "I can do that," he slowly answered, "but what is in it for me?"


    "For you?" the giant master muttered before swallowing his rage inside, "I can promise you that no one else will challenge you this day."


    "That won''t be enough," Jim calmly shook his head before waving both hands around while adding, "as you can see I can easily crush anyone without the help of others."


    "You good, I heard a lot about your arrogance from Pol but it seems you are ruder than he mentioned."


    "If I were you, I would select my next words very carefully," Jim sneered while adding, "after all I hold the life of your dear disciple in my hand."


    "This isn''t getting us anywhere," before he could answer Dolly stepped in to remind both of her existence, "the rules were broken and if Jim here didn''t ept the defeat and asked to continue the fight then you will be punished."


    "Dolly, this is too much already," the giant gritted his teeth as he tried to respond in the politest way he could muster.


    "Too much? This me doing you a favor, humph."


    Yet Dolly seemed more arrogant than the giant and didn''t ept to budge back a single step.


    "Alright kid, name your price then."


    Jim had many fantasies about his demands but he knew he should be realistic. If he asked for something unique like the tokens his demand would instantly be denied.


    He thought and he only could think of one thing. "One year truce between me and my enemies, here and at other ces," Jim boldly dered his condition.


    "One year?" the giant sneered as if he just heard a joke. "I can rule over the giants, but can''t rule over the other ns. Besides I can monitor the masters of my n here, but not the disciples. Disciples are rash and can''t be controlled adrenaline and stuff."


    Jim grinned as he was ready for such an answer. "I don''t care about what you''ll do, but no one of the masters is allowed to touch me during this year."


    Dolly turned to gaze at him in a weird way. "The rules of the academy are strict, no master would be crazy enough to break them."


    "I don''t doubt the rules of the academy," Jim calmly and respectfully said, "but I''m speaking about here and other ces."


    "By other ces you mean the outer battlefield service?" the giant asked beforeughing in a mocking way, "don''t tell me we should also send an escort to guarantee your safety there."


    Jim only nced at the master and didn''t open his mouth. His words and request was simply clear to that giant master but he preferred to y dumb.


    "Will you do it or not?" Jim asked in a strict way while the giant keptughing for a while.


    "If you are so carefree about it, then we should continue the fight."


    ""


    The giant stoppedughing at once while his face changed. Despite him trying to act strong and high, he knew to save the life of Mench he had to deliver what Jim asked.


    "I agree," unwillingly he said and then Jim turned to Dolly who smiled and then pointed towards the giant stick in the middle of the arena as she said:


    "Swear an oath on the guardian soul of the esteemed fairy here and no one will break it without losing his life in return."


    Jim watched the giant master swear the oath before he also did his part by simply saying, "I ept the deal and will let Mench live."


    The next moment the giant stick vibrated before Jim felt his body being pierced by a hidden needle. He nced all around but he couldn''t spot it and the needle suddenly vanished from his body.


    "Don''t worry, it''s the stick oath needle," Dolly chuckled before turning towards the giant, "you are free to take him. He is heavily injured, you should hurry."


    The giant didn''t say anything as he simply held Mench and the next second he vanished.


    "Now, it''s your win," Dolly turned to Jim as she announced his victory, "you have the right to ept one thousand academy coins from Mench or his team. If they can''t pay, your rank will be upgraded to be a core disciple of the academy."


    "That works fine by me."


    Dolly then turned towards the defeated members of the Mench team before speaking in a warning tone: "Pay the coins now or else"


    The four living members exchanged silent nces as they felt weird about this. Mench was their master, the one with power and wealth not them. They had no money to spare, not even to mention the extravagant amount of coins Jim was expecting to receive.


    "Hurry, pay now or" Dolly said and didn''t continue her threatening words as she spotted something in the far distance.

 Chapter 87: The Wounded Master

    Chapter 87: The Wounded Master


    "This truce will be only limited to the masters, not disciples."


    Jim nced as calm as he could towards this dragon who appeared out of nowhere to support the giant master. He knew he couldn''t be enemies with everyone, but his hatred for dragons ran so deep inside his soul.


    "I don''t care about disciples, I can handle them myself," he simply stated what he felt to be appropriate.


    "Humph, this arrogance of yours will get you only trouble," the dragon sneered. "Plus this truce is only limited to areas controlled by the academy. You don''t expect us to send escorts to guard your safety."


    "I ept that," Jim tried not to speak much as he wasn''t arrogant; he was just securing his own safety here.


    "If so then this truce is effective from this moment on," the dragon said before turning his big dragon head towards Dolly, "you acted a bit harsh against reasonable demands."


    "This is my arena, and I only follow the rules."


    "You didn''t ask his opinion about this," the dragon sneered.


    "And he didn''t ask my permission to enter the arena and stop the fight," Dolly refused to act weak, especially when she wasn''t the one tomit a wrongdoing here."


    "I''ll make sure to bring this to the academy supreme council''s next meeting," the dragon threatened.


    "Don''t bother yourself Henry," Dolly said, "I''ve already filed aint there."


    "Humph," Henry turned around and then vanished with the giant master and Mench in his arms.


    "Congrattions for your deserved victory," Dolly said before taking out a thousand academy coins and giving them to Jim, "here is your trophy. That dragon paid them all."


    Jim knew if the dragon didn''t show up then the giant master would have paid the fine himself. "Thanks a lot for your fairness and support," he tried to show his gratitude for what she did.


    "I was only doing my job," she smiled warmly before adding, "besides you are such a good disciple to support. It''s not right for masters to bully disciples even here."


    "Thanks again," Jim honestly thanked her before he turned around and returned to his stupefied team.


    "Y''know there is a clinic here for injuries," Dolly suddenly said when Deno carried the two girls with weak bodies and pale faces, "it''s just outside the arena to the south. Say hi for me to Linda and tell her I sent you."


    "Thanks again," Jim didn''t have anything to show his gratitude for her except saying his thanks.


    The moment Jim exited the arena through the corridor, he was faced with the rest of his team. They looked anxious and Rick stepped forward with faint tears in his eyes:


    "Are they going to live?"


    Jim controlled himself not tough. "They are alive, let''s go to the clinic then, shall we?"


    Everyone hurriedly nodded while they went all with Jim towards the clinic.


    "Oh, this is normal for those using spells for the first time."


    A beautiful tigress with long and smooth hair spoke after examining the two girls with her strange device. "This is caused by the consumption of the magic energy inside their bodies. Strange" she suddenly paused and her face showed troubled expression.


    "Master Lindy, please tell us everything," Kro spoke in a very worried tone while others nced at her in a pleading way.


    "Sigh, it''s not a big deal," she softly said before adding, "the amount of magic depletion in their bodies looks the same strange."


    "That''s because they used a fusion spell," Jim said before adding, "how can we treat them?"


    "ording to the nature of the spell," Linda said while curiously asking, "fusion spells are quite rare and they usually require many conditions to be activated. It''s so rare to have one spell performed by a team member in the higher grades. And now you are using it in first year impressive."


    Jim took thepliment and only smiled. He only wanted to know how to treat the two girls, as the same way might be used to treat his side effects of using the spell.


    "May I know the rank of the spell?"


    "It''s n spell rank," Jim honestly said and not only Linda was surprised, but many members of his team showed shocked expressions over their faces.


    "I have to say that I admire your efforts," Linda said in a low tone, "but I have to warn you, the magic energies in the fresh disciples are always low. It''s not safe to use spells frequently without proper training first. And such a high rank spell shouldn''t be used for low grade disciples."


    Jim felt surprised by her warning, "do you mean I shouldn''t make them use it again?"


    "This time they were lucky, next time they won''t," Linda said in a good will, "please refrain from putting more pressure over your little bodies. I hate to see kids walking here to get my treatment."


    "I will listen to your advice mydy," Jim said but he wasn''t totally convinced by her words. ''I should keep this as thest card to use if things went ugly for me,'' he thought, nning to leave this spell as thest minute measure.


    "Alright," she then turned towards the nearby corridor and vanished there.


    The two girls wereid on two big beds which Jim was pretty sure were made to amodate the giant bodies of many races here.


    Inside the vast hall they were in, they were the only disciples here.


    Jim started to wander around while everyone else stuck themselves to the beds of the girls. Only Jenny and Ashley weren''t that much interested in worshipping the girls and followed Jim around.


    "All of them are severely wounded," Ashley said in a shaking tone. They passed over ten wounded masters so far and all of them looked pathetic.


    Some lost an arm, some lost a leg, and there was one who lost the lower half of his body.


    And strangely he was from the fox n, reminding Jim of Siera.


    "Oh a human servant?" suddenly this weak voice came from the bodyid on the bed, "it''s rare to see a human servant in the academy. Sigh, no offense kid but no one have high expectations for your race."


    Jim was distracted from his thought and before he could correct this wounded master, the master coughed and sneezed in what seemed to be a rough attack of his illness. "Screw that demon, if I had more fighters I wouldn''t be here and he would have in my ce."


    Jim stopped what he wanted to say and he was just about to leave when the master stretched his hand suddenly and touched him. "Impressive you learn two spells at such a young age impressive."


    Jim was instantly scared with that but even this master in such a wounded state had too much strength than his to break free. "A human kid with a cape no way, are you a disciple of the academy?"


    "Is there a problem of being a disciple here?" Jim asked aggressively as he was getting pissed off that master now.


    "For me? I don''t give a damn about this," the master returned to his attack of sneezes and coughs. He eventually let Jim''s hand free to mind his own self.


    And Jim didn''t retreat at once while he waited to hear more from this master. "Damn," the master cursed before returning his back and nced slowly at Jim.


    "The academy here is a harsh ce for anyone," the master spoke and Jim didn''t know if he was speaking to him or to someone else. "Being here without any backing or strength is just a suicide."


    "At least I have some strength," Jim said, trying to make sure what this master''s words really meant.


    "What grade are you as a kid?" the master asked, "and what''s your rank now? Outer disciple?"


    "I''m still a freshman," Jim said before taking out his sword and suddenly the cape around his body shone brightly with golden light alongside his sword.


    "A Privileged inner disciple No f*cking way!"


    Jim sheathed his sword and his face showed a content expression from the impact his little move had over the master. "Which pantheon do you belong to? Wait a minute, there is no such connection between humans and any great pantheon unless"


    The master paused before he slightly pushed his upper body off the bed depending on his two arms while gazing deeply over Jim. "Don''t tell me you have mixed bloodlines in your body."


    The tone and gaze of this master told Jim he even wasn''t believing such a scenario might be true.


    "I" but Jim paused suddenly as he found such an excuse very good to use, "I frankly don''t know, but most probably yeah."


    The master couldn''t hold his body any longer and had to lean back to the bed. "What pantheon was lucky to have such a gem then?" he muttered while Jim thought he would enter into another attack once more.


    "The Fairies."


    ""

 Chapter 88: The Forbidden Phrase

    Chapter 88: The Forbidden Phrase


    ""


    "I know, right," Jim had to smile helplessly while the wounded master returned to sit on the bed with a strange look over his face. "This and the dragons?" he suddenly turned to Jim, "what have they done?"


    "Nothing," Jim shrugged, "aside from sending their minions after me, they can''t do anything."


    "Here," the master warned in a grave tone, "they can''t touch you here but you have to leave the academy every once in a while."


    "The war?" Jim asked.


    "It''s more like to be a purgatory," the master sighed while leaning his back to the bed with disturbed look over his face, "you should know how brutal that ce is. Wait a minute, you know nothing about what I''m talking about, don''t you?"


    "Ahem," Jim cleared his throat as he felt a little awkward.


    "It''s normal," the master turned his nce over the two girls behind Jim, "anyway you will know sooner orter so hear it from me then. That ce is a grinding ground for all of us."


    "Us?"


    "The sinners."


    Jim nced weirdly at him while the master nodded before raising his hand and he muttered something. His face turned pale instantly while a faint shield appeared in golden color and golden inscriptions around them.


    "We are sinners, and this ce it''s the punishment for what our ancestors did."


    Jim started to think this man was on drugs or something. "I know it''s a sacred war against dark forces like demons and other races."


    "Yeah, that''s what I first learnt about this ce when I was in your age," the master sighed as he seemed to recall some distant memory, "but the real truth is far worse than what they would keep telling you. You won''t know the truth unless you go there and hear that voice."


    "What voice?" Ashley whispered in a grave tone.


    "The sacred voice," the master whispered back, "the most sacred and majestic voice you''ll ever hear."


    "And?" Jim turned to the man as he added, "what will this voice say? Will it bless us?"


    "Bless? He will loudly and majestically curse us for the crimes of the ancients. He will give us this redemption path, where we need to sacrifice endless numbers of our boys and girls all the time until the real one appears."


    "The real one?" Jenny muttered while turning to Jim, "is it him?"


    "I doubt it," the master instantly answered, "ording to the sacred voice, the real one will be born inside the purgatory noting from outside it."


    Jim had his hopes raised for a moment before he was disappointed when he heard the master''s answer.


    "Sigh," he couldn''t help but mutter, "I just hoped I would be the one."


    "You shouldn''t, it''s a blessing you aren''t," the master said, "that one he will have very bad times ahead of him before ruling over the world or destroying it."


    "Why is that, uncle?" Ashley asked while she felt so touched with this master.


    "Because everyone wants him dead," the master didn''tment on her calling, "both sides, east and west, hell and heaven, us and them all will amass their forces and start killing him."


    "Why?" Jenny asked, "shouldn''t they embrace him? At least our side, the cursed side?"


    "Logically speaking this should be true, but the world never works ording to logic," the master sighed, "our side is content with this system. The dragons rule thends and others are shedding blood on their name and as their sacrifice. They are the real criminals here, and they should be the first to be sacrificed out there, not us."


    The master seemed agitated when he recalled some old memories of him and his recent injury.


    "Calm yourself uncle," Ashley said, with a worried expression on her face.


    "Don''t worry," the master coughed several times before finally returning to normal, "My injury is cursed. I''m doomed and won''t be able to recover anyway."


    "Uncle" Jenny and Ashley muttered in the same voice while Jim sighed. "You didn''t say what crime it was," he said, trying to change the topic.


    "It''s obvious," the master shrugged, "it''s the ancient crimes of killing the fairies on the hands of them."


    "Them?" Jim asked.


    "You know who I''m speaking about," the master said before stressing, "don''t link their names in this phrase or else they will know and instantlye to kill you."


    "They want to kill me either way," Jimughed.


    "But this phrase is a taboo, it''s forbidden that anyone would speak about such a crime here or else he or she will instantly be wiped out no questions asked."


    "And the academy rules?" Jenny asked in doubt.


    "They are willing to sacrifice one of them to make this unwritten forbidden rule sacred," the master sighed, "they did it before, and I''m pretty sure they are willing to do it again."


    The three exchanged silent nces as they had the same question in mind. "Why take all the trouble to hide something everyone will eventually know?" Jim asked the obvious.


    "To make those here oblivious to this fact," the master said it as if it was a given fact, "and they leave a curse on anyone knowing about this secret. So even if you left the academy and returned to your n, your n can''t protect you if you leaked out the secret."


    "Not even those pantheon ns?" Ashley asked.


    "Not even them they are really ruthless regarding this sensitive matter."


    "So," Jim tried to understand this weird situation, "everyone knows the truth but no one is allowed to speak about it?"


    "We can only use hints," the master winked, "but not state the exact name, ok?"


    "Fine by me," Jim shrugged, "so they killed the fairies at ancient times and thus the purgatory battlefield appeared as redemption so we aren''t fighting demons and their allies who are trying to invade this universe?"


    "We are," the master nodded, "but they are just secondary beneficiaries of this curse."


    "So who is our main enemy then?" Jenny asked in a loss.


    "Those who remained from the fairy camp after what happened before," the master said before turning to the direction of the unconscious Saga and Sara, "like these Bulltors for instance."


    "Bulltors?!" Jim turned towards Deno and others before muttering, "we are fighting the Bulltors there? That''s why they are forbidding them from being disciples"


    "Indeed," the master said, before coughing again, "they believe Bulltors and other races will only join the fight against them once they step over the battlefield grounds."


    "Interesting," Jim suddenly had some hopes and anticipation for that battlefield.


    "And you should also think about your position."


    "Me?" Jim pointed to himself in surprise.


    "Sure, as one of those fighting there are humans as well."


    The look over the three''s faces was so amusing to the master that heughed for a while before turning to a long coughing and sneezing attack.


    "You must be joking uncle," Jenny couldn''t help but shortlyugh, "Bulltors are strong but not a threat to d them, and us?" she turned to nce at Jenny and Jim before adding, "we are weak, if not for my Jim here we wouldn''t have a chance to even step a foot in this world."


    "You are wrong youngdy," the master smiled as he added in confidence, "those Bulltors out there aren''t cursed or having their primes taken away from their chests. As for humans, tsk," he sneered andughed before adding, "you are a hell of a force out there. You can''t be easily touched or conquered."


    "By what?" Jim asked in more doubt.


    "By this" but the answer the master gave to him made him realize his speciality.


    Not only he, but the two girls on his back also felt the same.


    "alright," the master coughed and this time he looked distressed and ufortable, "I''m about to lose my energy. Go out now and don''t speak about what we had now to anyone."


    Jim knew the master wasn''t acting rude but he was really getting weaker. "Can Ie to visit you again?" he asked and the master only could nod before coughing again.


    As he went with the two girls back to the team, he noticed the name of the master written on a small board on his bed.


    "Master Rami interesting."


    The three returned to the team where no one ever noticed their absence.


    "Still unconscious?" Jim asked while checking over the two beds.


    "The master came and gave them some syrup but they still unawake," Rick was extremely worried.


    "Sigh, it''s like what you heard guys," Jim said while his mind was already burdened by what he just heard, "they are just exhausted from the spell they used. They need rest and good supplements and they will be fine."


    The team red at him in a way that irritated him. "What? Having any opinion in your little minds or something?" he calmly said while turning around while adding, "you are my team and you''ll do exactly what I tell you to do. At least thanks to their sacrifice we are now winners and have a one year protection."


    Their faces changed slightly while he only sighed. He was stressed and much distressed by what he just heard.


    "We" Rick turned around before adding, "we were thinking about staying here."


    "For what?" Jim squeezed his temples while casually asking.


    "You know," Deno said and his tone made Jim recall what he just heard now from Rami. Unconsciously he nced at Deno''s hole in the chest and couldn''t move his eyes from it except after Deno added: "to protect and safeguard them."


    "Yeah boss," Rick joined him at once, "you know their identity and alike they need some protection."


    "Yeah boss, they must be protected day and night as long as they aren''t with u you," Kro hurried to say as well while others nodded in agreement.


    "Do what suits you," Jim casually waved his hand before turning around as he added, "I''ll take a stroll at the academy and return to the mansion. Don''t forget, tomorrow you all have sses."


    "We wille with you then," Ashley said.


    "No, I prefer to be alone for now," Jim declined while keeping his pace towards the exit. He wasn''t alright after using his spell and now he had this severe headache that felt like hell.

 Chapter 89: Returning To The Arena Again

    Chapter 89: Returning To The Arena Again


    ''Is this true?''


    As Jim walked aimlessly inside the academy, he started to talk privately with his old man.


    ''He is absolutely right in everything he said.''


    ''So humans aren''t weak?''


    ''You were never weak,'' the old man sighed, ''if you were weak then why would the fairies have allied with you under their g?''


    Jim sighed while he felt the words of the old man made some sense. ''So this happened because the dragons killed the fairies, right?''


    ''It''s moreplicated than that,'' the old man said, ''but this is the short version that you can consider as the truth.''


    ''What is the long story then? I want to hear the truth!''


    ''You are too weak to hear it now boy,'' the old man sighed, ''in fact I would rather prefer not to tell you right away. You are still exploring your strength and can''t properly handle such ancient facts.''


    ''But I would have to face these when I go to the battlefield world,'' Jim was speechless.


    ''Indeed but such a thing would happen at the semi-semister period,'' the old man defended himself, ''there is a long road ahead of yours and I believe in the next months your strength and the strength of your team would soar.''


    Jim walked silently for a while as he thought about what he heard from Rami and his old man. ''So I will eventually leave the academy and join the human forces, right?''


    ''Not now,'' the old man objected, ''you can''t join them.''


    ''Why is that?'' Jim was surprised here for a moment, ''am I a human?''


    ''You are,'' the old man said, ''but you are much more than that.''


    ''A fairy descendant perhaps?'' Jim asked, trying to seek more info.


    ''This is a bit too early for you to know.''


    ''Then I''m,'' Jim sighed again, ''if so then I should leave here and not stay. After all I''m not the chosen one.''


    ''You aren''t,'' the old man agreed, ''but you y a major role for that chosen to be born.''


    ''Hehehe, don''t tell me I''ll be his father.''


    ''Would you mind being so?''


    The direct question of the old man startled Jim for a moment there. ''Well I dunno what to say.''


    ''Hahaha, don''t worry the chosen one won''t be born by you as a father.''


    Jim didn''t know if he should be relieved to hear that or be quite disappointed. ''Then what is my role?''


    ''Too early to know.''


    ''Just give me a hint at least.''


    ''Never leave the academy, neither you or any of your team members.''


    Jim was surprised by that. ''I can''t control their decisions,'' he said.


    ''You can, just use the ve contract you have on all of them and they won''t do anything without your consent.''


    ''That''sme.''


    ''That''s the only way to keep you safe here.''


    ''I''m safe now by the truce.''


    ''For one year,'' the old man sighed, ''what about the years toe after that?''


    ''I have my guardians and the sexy chick as well.''


    ''They aren''t enough,'' the old man sighed, ''you didn''t strike a deal with these two yet, and the seducer isn''t strong enough to shoulder everything that woulde at your wayter on.''


    ''Speaking in riddles again old man,'' Jim sighed, ''but this means I''m going to have a hard time here. Why bother to stay there?''


    ''You must stay,'' the old man stressed again, ''this is your fate.''


    ''Screw fate,'' Jim was helpless and angry about this.


    "Here you are, I finally found you."


    Just before he could say anything else to his old man a soft voice came with a chuckle from behind startling him.


    "Siera?" he asked in surprise when he spotted the short fox girl in front of him. "What are you doing here?" he asked.


    "Looking for you of course," sheughed before pointing to her cloak and added, "I''m a seventh year inner disciple, a privileged one like you. So you should start calling me your senior or even best mentor."


    "C''mon," heughed before adding, "we are friends, there is nothing like that between us."


    "Shameless human," sheughed before adding in a serious tone, "I have to apologize first for myck of support to you so far. My mom she promised to help but"


    "Never mind," he gestured to her with his hands to stop, "everything went alright in the end, right?"


    "Indeed," she smiled while feeling gratitude for his eptance of her ipetence. "Now I came to you so you can return to the arena."


    "Another challenge?" he muttered in a serious look over his face, "but I just signed the truce after beating up one of their kids. What? Do they like bullying this much?"


    He acted tough and arrogant, but inside he was worried. His trump card  the two girls  wasn''t avable for him right now to use.


    And the others were quite distracted by the injuries of the two girls. He doubted they could fight properly under such circumstances.


    "No, you fought once and demonstrated your true strength," sheughed, "don''t worry, they won''t ask you for a challenge again unless some of them had bean butter inside their brains."


    "I''m not worried," he lied.


    "I know," sheughed before adding, "I want you toe for a totally different reason."


    "Which is?"


    "The selection of a guardian for you," she excitedly said, "damn, even me with all my family connections couldn''t secure one except with paying a hefty price. And now three masters just stepped in voluntarily to adopt you as their direct disciple I envy you, truly and literally envy you."


    He couldn''t help butugh. "Who are they by the way?" he asked while walking beside her, heading towards the arena again.


    He knew that elf master would try to add him as his disciple, but didn''t know who the other two were.


    "One is the elf master who was the judge at the eptance trial," she said while counting on her petite fingers like a kid while herfy and short tail was moving from right to left. "The other two is just a surprise, one came from the medusa pantheon, and the other is from the griffin pantheon."


    "Wow," Jim couldn''t help but exim, "isn''t your n under the medusa pantheon?" he asked.


    "Indeed, and as far as I know their master never epts someone so easily," she sighed, "my mother had to pay a great price just to secure a master for me, and he can''t even bepared to the one offering to be your godfather."


    "Interesting," Jim couldn''t help but smile, "I should take the three as my masters then."


    "Hahah, in theory you can," she suddenly said something he didn''t imagine, "but your time you would be busy like hell if you did that."


    "Oh, can I do that? Is it allowed here?"


    "Not against the rules as far as I know," she chuckled, "but to my knowledge no sane disciple did that for a long time. You have to know being a direct disciple for a master isn''t just like going to sses and getting lessons. You''ll have many assignments and dirty tasks where you''ll be burdened by the lowly things they had and hated to do."


    "Damn!" Jim cursed before thinking more about it. "I will take them then, better for my future," he decided while she only sighed softly from the side.


    "Crazy human," she muttered, "greedy human."


    Heughed and said nothing before heading back with her to the arena. There he found the crowded arena the same, but inside there was no one but a group of masters.


    There was no one fighting anymore.


    "Did the fights end so early?" he asked while passing through the long corridor following her steps to end up in the big open arena.


    "Early? C''mon, they have been fighting here for hours," she said with a surprised look over her face.


    "But I thought many fights would take ce," he said with a look of loss over his face.


    "They did," she nodded, "but nonested long as yours. Here the higher grades bully the lower ones, so many fights would end soon by the surrender of the opposing team. They prefer to pay the price of the loss rather than losing the lives of a couple of their best members."


    "This" Jim didn''t know how to describe this.


    "Harsh?" she asked, "but this is how the true world works, at least our world here."


    "Sigh," he couldn''t help but recall the words of the old man, "I should then aim for the three masters," he inwardly thought, "that''s the best insurance for my safety on the long run."


    "Finally our dyed andzy disciple arrived."


    Just as he passed inside the arena, he heard this distasteful tone filled with mockery. "Pol," he softly muttered while the face of Siera changed. "He wasn''t here when I went to look for you," she said in an apologizing tone.


    "Never mind," Jim softly whispered, "destined enemies are fated to meet each other everywhere."

 Chapter 90: A Quarrel With Pol

    Chapter 90: A Quarrel With Pol


    "Are the two girls ok?"


    The moment Jim approached the group of masters in the center of the arena the elf master Armando said in concern and worry.


    "Thanks master, they are fine," he simply replied while ncing over the other two in curiosity.


    It was his first time seeing them, they weren''t back in the first test he had in this arena, or there when he became a privileged inner disciple, or here when he fought.


    "Tsk, it''s a really rare and extraordinary asion," Pol suddenly sneered, "having three master fighting for a human humph, how far are we going to degenerate in this academy, humph."


    Jim was surprised that he raised his eyebrows from what he just heard.


    "It''s strange indeed to see you here," Siera moved while standing beside Jim as if she was challenging him.


    What Jim didn''t know was that she had a punishment from her mother when Pol told her about what she did while bringing him in. She also knew Pol did this when he heard from an unknown source about asking her mother to support Jim.


    He tried everything in hand to stumble Jim including her. Yet he failed and here she intended to take her revenge from him one day.


    "Why are you ring at me like this?" heughed before adding, "are you sure you want to stand there and act like this?"


    "It''s really weird for you to be here," Armando turned to Pol before adding, "after yourst loss in our bet, I thought you would go out to the mines."


    "Looking for pearls?" one of the two masters suddenly spoke. He was a giant one with fur covering up parts of his shoulders, back, and neck. He had long mustaches while his face showed golden white spots like freckles.


    "No master Yuri, he would go there to work as a digger."


    "A digger?" the other masterughed while her snake-like hair danced with the moves of her head before resting again calmly and easy over her shoulders like normal hair. "I thought he would be a beggar, hahaha," sheughed and she seemed not to care about Pol''s presence or even anger.


    "Master Sher is right," Armando said whileughing as well, "I swept clean his entire fortune, leaving him with only bricks and dust, hahaha."


    "You three" Pol''s face turned red especially when this happened in front of everyone sitting here in the arena. "I won''t forget this," he threatened.


    "Don''t worry," Armandoughed, "I''ll make sure to send you a portrait of this moment so you won''t ever forget."


    "This is too far Armando," Pol shouted while he clenched his giant fists.


    "Too far?" Yuri muttered like he just heard a strange thing, "he meant the moment of you losing the bet with him, right master Armando?"


    "Master Yuri is absolutely correct," Armandoughed before turning to Pol as he added, "that moment is so precious for me. My wealth almost doubled and I turned from a rich master into a tycoon."


    "Even if we invited him to join our elite highly exclusive club, can you imagine that?" Sher said while addressing Yuri.


    "You what?" Pol''s face slightly changed before he said in realization: "You are here because he asked you toe and support him, right?"


    "First that''s wrong," Sher said with a chuckle over her beautiful face.


    "Second we came here on our own," Yuri added with a loud sneer.


    "Third and foremost important thing what the hell are you doing here Pol? Are you trying to join the race over my disciple?" Armando said in mockery, while acting like being enraged.


    But everyone knew he was faking it.


    "Stop it Armando," Pol could speak tough with Armando, but not with the other two. "I came here on a mission."


    "Mission interesting," Sher said before turning to Yuri, "did you hear that? He is here on a task."


    "A task force perhaps?" Yuri cracked a silly joke before turning to Pol as he added with a staring expression, "oh wait, he was really part of the task force what was its name again?"


    "Stop it you two!" Pol seemed quite agitated that he couldn''t control himself anymore. "I''m here on official business, and stop acting like two kids who didn''t grow up."


    "Oh, he can be angry," Sher put her palm over her face while whispering, "Yuri, don''t tease him, please don''t, he can shout and curse can you imagine that?"


    The three erupted in a wave ofughter that made Pol''s face turn strawberry red while Jim was hardly controlling hisughter.


    He enjoyed every single moment of this exchange, but he couldn''t express his support to the three masters even if he knew Pol was here to cause him more trouble.


    He had a truce to keep, and he wouldn''t be stupid enough to be the first to insult a master even before the sses start.


    "Alright," Dolly couldn''t hold herself anymore as sheughed shortly before stopping the torment going on over Pol, despite knowing he deserved this, "what are you here for? Truly?"


    "I said," Pol gritted his teeth and his bare chest seemed to contract out of his anger and frustration, "I''m here on official business."


    "For what I asked," Dolly didn''t like the tone of Pol so she gave him a cold nce.


    "I''m here on behalf of the vice dean."


    "Master Fodry?" Dolly seemed surprised for a moment, "what does he want?" yet she turned back to her norm the next instant while asking in some aggressiveness.


    "He wants me to observe this selection," Pol said before turning towards the three masters as he gave them a meaningful nce, "he wants me to confirm there is no rule breaking here."


    "What do you think I''m here doing?" Dolly''s tone changed the next instant to be extremely loud and explosive, "this is my arena, what the hell is going on to the masters of this academy today?"


    "Incredibly hrious, right?" Armando said while not moving his gaze from Pol''s face.


    "It''s simply ridiculous," Dolly said as she shook her head while adding, "anyone sees something he doesn''t like so he steps in and does whatever he wants in my ARENA!" she shouted thest word in the face of Pol like she was spitting over him.


    "I''m not nning to interfere in your business or conflict with your authority," Pol calmly said, with a remarkable control over his reactions.


    "Then why are you here then?" she wasn''t tricked by his words as she said in the same aggressiveness.


    "I''m here to help you," he said in a tone and attitude that made even Jim admire his act.


    "No thanks, I don''t need any help from anyone," she didn''t change her stand as she added, "so if you don''t intend to join the race over this disciple''s inheritance, go out and find yourself a seat."


    "I''m here on behalf of the vice dean Fodry," Pol didn''t move a muscle while repeating his old words.


    "Old Fodry has no authority over my arena," yet Dolly didn''t change her mind while Sher moved to stand beside Dolly, "he should be imprisoned for trespassing and hindering the arena, right?"


    "Yeah, this is whatw states, right Dolly?" Yuri said while Armando only sneered, "Pol, please save yourself any further embarrassment. It''s really too much what you did to stop this little kid''s steps he is just a little kid."


    "He isn''t a normal kid and you all know it," Pol viciously said as he lost control over himself for this little second, "I won''t let some anomaly or an aberrationing from god knows where stay here and studyfortably like normal kids."


    "Oh," Jim suddenly couldn''t take this anymore as he said and stepped forwards, "I think you know from god knows where I came. After all you are the one who brought me here, remember?"


    Jim''s words made the four masters exim in surprise while they turned to Pol and red at him.


    Yet contrary to what Jim thought, the face of Pol didn''t change, instead he showed one of the most annoying smiles ever over his face.


    "You were the one who brought him here?" Dolly asked.


    "Indeed," Pol nodded, "that''s why I have all the right to stand here and this is me following the rules."


    "What rules?" Jim wasn''t stupid to not understand there was something wrong. Contrary to his expectations, his words didn''t help masters to expel Pol out instead they did literally the opposite.


    "The rule of guardian," Armando sighed, "who brought any disciple from lower realms have the first and sacred right to call for those disciples and take them as their direct ones," he added while his face showed how much annoyed he was.


    "But he won''t be my master I have to ept first, right?" Jim instantly was nervous and his reaction and crisp question made Polugh in amusement.


    "Don''t worry kid, I''m not interested in worthless humans like yourself."


    Jim red at him with too much anger and hatred but Jim didn''t speak. He knew he would cause no more help if he continued to open his mouth.


    "So you are here to im him?" Sher asked in a shortugh, "that''s interesting."


    "I said I won''t take such a loser under my wing."


    "Loser a privileged inner disciple who can be and deserved to be a core disciple today is a loser?" Siera said while she pointed to Jim as she added, "I have never heard of someone climbing up thedders of ranks so damn fast like he did except with those hailing from the pantheons. Even if you didn''t have such a record in your time."


    "Watch your tongue youngdy, or else you know I can find someone who would," Pol''s face turned serious as he turned to add, "I''m here on an official task, so can we get this done already? I have no much time to waste, especially on someone like him."

 Chapter 91: I Announce You... Master and Disciple

    Chapter 91: I Announce You... Master and Disciple


    The four masters nced silently at Pol while he stood there motionless with such an annoying smile over his face.


    "Alright," Dolly said as she turned to Jim, "as you know the academy gives you the opportunity to be adopted by one of the masters in it. and now we have three," she gave Pol a silent nce before grinning, "and this is a very honorable feat to aplish. You should feel proud of yourself."


    "Humph," Pol sneered but he didn''t say a single word.


    Jim nced at the three masters, two he didn''t know but they looked strong. ''No one would face Pol like this without being a strong master in the academy for sure,'' he thought.


    "Can I choose the three of them?" he opened his mouth and directly asked about his most desired wish.


    "Nonsense," even before Dolly could speak Pol jumped instantly in, "you can only choose one master these are the rules."


    "who said that?" Sher said in an amusing tone, "ording to my knowledge the rules never said a disciple can have only one master, right?"


    She turned to nce at the other three masters around and they nodded. "Pol, the kid has the right to choose the three of them," Dolly said in a firm tone, stating what was obvious.


    "How can he organize his time then between sses?" Pol didn''t show any sign of nervousness like this all was already calcted inside his mind beforeing here.


    "He can mind this problem on his own," Armando said, "we are here to see who he is going to choose and not to n things for him."


    "I know that for sure but we have to be realistic," Pol tried to act calm and friendly in a weird way that didn''t suit him. "He won''t be able to match up all these together. Besides, there is the mission during the semester vacation how can he afford all this?"


    "I will handle my own matters, thanks for your concern," Jim said as he didn''t like someone to speak up for him.


    Considering someone like Pol.


    "Also," Pol gave him a nce and totally ignored him afterwards, "I just came from the vice dean''s office. He strictly ordered me not to allow any more pressure over our disciples."


    "The vice dean advised that?" Armando asked in a calm tone and Pol nodded.


    "He is much thanked for his advice," Dolly said in a calmer tone, "but the final decision rests in the hands of this kid over here."


    Pol didn''t even nce at Jim this time as he added, "the vice dean is nning to send the kids out in an early expedition this year."


    "Who said that?" Sher suddenly spoke, "I never heard of such a thing or even a rumor!"


    "Mr. Fodry said it to me just now, or do you want me to go and bring him here?"


    "That would seem much better," Yuri said before adding with a softugh, "at least we can deal with the one in charge not his dog."


    The face of Pol changed for a second before it returned again to normal. "Never forgot that distant loss of yours, ain''t you Yuri?" Pol said with a sneer.


    "I never forget cheating bastards like you," but Yuri wasn''t offended while adding with a big smile, "I came here thinking this kid might turn out to be something nice in the future. But now, and after seeing how hard you are trying to stand against him, I can be more reassured to support him."


    He then moved to stand closer to Pol where both faced each other, "Anything you want I''ll make sure you won''t get," Yuri said with a vicious smile over his face.


    "Are you here just to stand against me?" Pol wasn''t fazed like he was used to such enmity for a long time.


    "I''m standing against you anywhere Pol," Yuri smiled and the two kept staring like this against each other.


    "Even if there is an earlier expedition," Sher suddenly said, as she knew if she let the two of them continue they wouldn''t get done here, "that doesn''t mean the kid can''t choose the three of us."


    "You are indeed correct," Pol suddenly said despite not moving his gaze away from Yuri, "but this can happen only after all the disciples return from the expedition."


    "How can this be possible then?" Yuri said while pointing towards Jim as he added, "this kid has only one chance to ept masters in his entire life and this is the moment for that."


    "He can have this moment when upgrading his rank to the core disciple circle," Pol sneered as he added, "didn''t someone just say he deserved to be one of those?"


    "I''m not talking about future possibilities," Yuri said before adding, "The rules can''t be changed, this kid has only one shot and it''s now or never."


    "Yuri is right," Dolly stepped in finally between the two and separate them by her presence there, "the rules state for the kid to choose the masters now notter."


    "The vice dean will make an exception," Pol turned to Dolly as he said.


    "With all respect, the vice dean isn''t above thew or has the authority to change them."


    The words and attitude of Dolly told Jim she wouldn''t budge an inch before he got what he deserved.


    Jim was standing on the side feeling much helpless and more anger towards Pol. This giant was trying everything to stumble upon him, and something told him this was just only the beginning.


    ''Despite the truce I had, I''m not much safer yet,'' Jim inwardly sighed.


    "Then he can ept them now and not start his lessons unless after returning from the expedition," Pol rose his hands up while showing a helpless expression, "this is the most I can allow."


    "And who said you can allow anything here?" Dolly asked in a strict manner, "you are here to help, remember? I''m still the boss."


    "If you wish I can go to the dean and rece you."


    "Be my guest," sheughed, "before you even could find him I''ll authorize this kid''s wish and he will be protected by the fairy academyw."


    Pol didn''t speak for a moment as he knew she was right. "Then he can ept them and not start until return."


    "When is this rumored expedition?" Armando suddenly asked.


    "In a month from now," Pol said before adding with a calm smile that irritated Jim, "probably."


    "A month?" Armando wasn''t the only one who muttered this way but the other three did. Jim knew something had to be very wrong for them to act in such a worried way.


    "It''s too short," Sher said before Yuri suddenly asked, "Tell me Pol, is this limited to the fresh year?"


    "You guessed it right," Pol grinned and this time he couldn''t control the glow in his eyes.


    "That''s bad" Armando said before turning to Jim as he added, "it''s very important to ept the three of us."


    "He had no opinion here," Pol said in a tone that showed he was losing his patience.


    "I expel you," suddenly Dolly said while waving her hand and the next instant a huge pir appeared in the center of the arena again. It was the same one Dolly summoned before and Jim saw just after his battle.


    The pir vibrated and Pol vanished the next instant from the sight of everyone.


    Yet the next moment he reappeared, standing just outside the perimeter of the arena as if he couldn''t enter it.


    "Dolly" he raged in a very angry tone, "


    "You have no right to be here," Dolly didn''t show any sign of weakness, "don''t embarrass yourself further and go away. The kid has all the right to decide, just like other kids, just like thews here state."


    Pol was about to speak but Dolly turned and ignored him. Jim stood there not knowing why things escted to such a degree because of such a simple choice.


    "Don''t mind him, he is famous in the academy for being a bully," Siera finally spoke again as she felt what Pol got was something he deserved.


    "Siera is right," Sher said, "he is just trying to force you to ept something you shouldn''t. plus" she paused as she exchanged meaningful nces with the other two, "things seem to be going against your interest."


    "My interest?" Jim asked.


    "No time to waste here," Dolly sighed, "I''m sure that jerk will be crazy and head to the dean''s office."


    She turned to Jim as she took out a small scepter that looked like the gigantic pir in the center of the arena, "tell me your decision now."


    Jim didn''t need to think. If what happened here told him something then it''s that he needs the three masters to secure his safety in the future.


    As for that expedition news, he was pretty sure this was done by Pol over the truce he made.


    "I choose the three masters," he simply said and the next instant the scepter shook and shone brightly before Dolly muttered, "By the authority given to me by the academy dean and supreme council, I approve on the request of master Armando of the elf n, master Sher of the medusa n, and master Yuri of the griffin n to be direct masters of the privileged inner disciple Jim of first year."


    The scepter then released a faint ray of light towards Jim and the three masters'' bodies before everything returned to normal.

 Chapter 92: I Aim To Be The Leading Disciple Of Inner Disciples

    Chapter 92: I Aim To Be The Leading Disciple Of Inner Disciples


    The next morning came fast where Jim stood up from the bed and looked at the world outside. "It''s a bit early to wake up," he yawned but he rapidly recalled the words of the three master yesterday to him and so he hurriedly moved to wash up his face.


    "Don''t get there toote, being early is better to know who your true rivals are in the next years," these were the words, the sincere advice from Armando.


    "These boys" Jim couldn''t help but sigh as he stayed upte in the evening waiting for the team to assemble. He even sent the two girls to them but they returned empty handed.


    "They prefer to stay the night there," Ashley said.


    "Those jerks think the two beloved dolls of theirs are awake and will notice their efforts tsk," Jenny said.


    "Don''t speak like that," Jim had to discipline her a little, "after all you all are my girls."


    Jenny tried to seduce him and just recalling her face when he escaped into his room and locked it up made himugh. "This fiery girl she can''t judge better on things," he muttered beforeughing again.


    On the table there were his items that he neatly arranged before going to bed; his ring, his emblem, his books inside a small leather bag, his sword, and his cloak hung over a cloth holder made out of wood.


    "This looks great," he wore everything fast while holding his sword and the next instant his body shone brightly in golden color once more. "I will never get tired of it," heughed while sheathing the sword and carried the bag over his back before taking a rapid nce over a drawing on the wall.


    It was a big tree picturing all the races inside the academy. There the highest race was obliterated and left the space deformed. "This is my ce now," he touched the spot with his index finger after putting it in his mouth. "Wish me luck old fairies," he muttered before turning around and left the room.


    "You look so terrible."


    The moment he stepped outside the mansion he was staying at he saw his team standing in the small garden waiting for him.


    Puffy eyes, tired faces, and even untidy uniforms they simply looked horrible. "Sigh, you should have listened to me and rested here yesterday."


    "We need to make sure they are ok," Rick yawned, "and we just moved when they woke up."


    "They did?" Jim asked in surprise, "are they ok?"


    "Boss, you should go and see them yourself," Roo yawned as well, "the first they asked about was you then the two girls."


    His tone showed how much disappointed he was, and from the looks on their faces Jim knew they all felt the same. "That''s reassuring," he turned to nce at the two girls who just had a strange look over their faces.


    "But now isn''t the time to waste on this," Jim seriously said, "there are important matters I need to say to you."


    "About the first ss day?" Rick yawned again, "don''t worry boss, I told them everything I know."


    "I doubt you know all," Jim sighed, "just listen and don''t interrupt me. Today is the most important day after the arena day. You''ll meet your long time colleagues, people you may consider as rivals."


    "I told them that boss," Rick tried to act resourceful and well knowledgeable but Jim totally ignored his remark as he continued:


    "I want you to be alert, study them very carefully. Know their traits, strengths and weaknesses. Their habits, what they like, what they hate I want everything like you are their best mates and lived together with them for years."


    "What is all this for the boss?" Rick asked again.


    "Just shut up and listen," Jim strictly reprimanded him, "there is no time for this. If you came early yesterday then we could have a more rxed conversation. but now, just shut up and listen."


    His attitude and strictness made everyone silent as they all had strange looks over their faces. "At first they will ask you for lessons to attend don''t hurry up to choose. Wait until everyone chooses their sses and arrange yourselves into smaller teams; each will attend one of the busiest sses first."


    This time Rick didn''t speak or express his thoughts while everyone nodded despite not knowing why. "The masters there are quite strict and they have the power to expel any troublemakers. Don''t respond to any provocations and be calm."


    "What if someone tried to bully us?" Deno asked.


    "They will," Jim said before adding, "but you have to be calm and not answer to any of these."


    Jim turned his gaze before everyone as he added, "there will be time to respond to everything, but now just endure. If any of you got expelled I won''t be able to help him ever again. Don''t forget this."


    They all nodded with gloomy faces and disappointed expressions. It seemed Rick told them something different, and they had some expectations to be let down by Jim''s words.


    "Rick," Jim turned to him before adding, "Kro and Roo you three have topete over the position of the leading disciple."


    The three nced at him in a weird way before Kro said: "But boss this position is selected by election from all disciples."


    "One third selection, one third the masters'' opinion, and one third the belongs to me."


    "You?!!"


    It wasn''t only the three who eximed in surprise but everyone here said in the same breath.


    "Those belonging to the leading disciple of the inner circle have one third of votes for their favor in such a race," Jim said and his words were a bold deration about his own ambition.


    "This" Rick stuttered, "the fight over such a ce in the inner disciple circle is very intense..."


    "I know," Jim said before adding, "I''ll handle this matter, and you handle one of the two thirds remaining to win the position."


    "But there is only one such position," Kro said.


    "And there is the vice position and the leading disciple of the higher council of the outer disciples," Jim said and his words told them what he was aspiring to.


    "But I think such elections won''t be held on day one," Roo said.


    "Indeed, but the winners always act from day one," Jim said before taking one ring and giving it to Rick, "here contains many academy coins. I have already paid the one thousand fees for all of you yesterday. Take the rest and spend it over other disciples."


    "This is too much boss," Rick had an instant scare when he checked the content of the ring, "I don''t think this will be needed."


    "It will," Jim firmly said while recalling the words of Sher from yesterday, "the power of wealth is undeniably one of the strongest alluring factors for others. Just use these with no limit, you know I can amass more than them easily."


    They all knew what he was referring to. "Alright, now dress up neatly and make me look better. Your looks" he paused while moving his eyes over everyone, "makes me look bad."


    They embarrassedlyughed while hurrying to tidy up their uniforms.


    The road to the sses of the inner disciples was different than the one leading to the outer disciple sses. "Go on and don''t forget what I said," Jim warned.


    "Keep an eye on them for me," he softly whispered to the two girls before giving them a hug and Ashley got a soft kiss over her cheeks and lips but Jenny seemed angry from yesterday and refused such kisses.


    "Good luck, I hope you all get stronger," he wished luck for them before staying back while watching their backs, "after all you are my main supporters, the mighty pirs I will use to build upon my entire legend."


    He turned around and walked towards the direction of his sses.


    ''You know they won''t remember half of what you said,'' the old man suddenly spoke.


    ''If they recalled half then I''ll be lucky,'' and Jim inwardlyughed, ''Don''t worry old man, I told the girls everything needed to know while getting home. They won''t forget what I said.''


    ''But will they listen?'' the old man honestly said, ''if they were the Twisex girls then I could be confident.''


    ''Sigh, you have a point,'' Jim said before adding, ''but saying it this way makes me feel bad. I should have a stronger ce in their hearts over the girls,'' heined like a kid.


    ''Hahaha, if so then I can tell you with clear conscience that you are seeking the impossible kid, hahaha.''


    ''tsk.''


    "It looks lively in this early hour of the morning indeed."


    The moment Jim got closer to thepound of buildings designated for the sses he spotted many disciples heading there as him. Even around the ce he spotted many distant silhouettes who made him feel less irritated by waking up so early.


    "I hope they won''t try something funny with me," he smiled before adding, "after all I intend not only to be the leading disciple of the first year, but the leading disciple of all the inner disciples."


    ''You''ll need much luck and great support from the masters to achieve that,'' the old man said.


    ''They already believe in me,'' Jimughed, ''after all two of them know my real value from the Sherwid town.''


    ''Yeah, that was a surprise for me,'' the old man confessed.


    ''And to me too,'' Jim sighed, ''but at least I have nullified the dangers of these two sellers from before.''

 Chapter 93: Being Demoted One Rank

    Chapter 93: Being Demoted One Rank


    "Look boys who are here."


    Jim entered the section of the sses inside the academy. There he found at least dozens of big buildings withrge gardens separating them from each other.


    There was also a big ss house, arge lighthouse, and a gigantic dome with a projected enormous telescopeing from inside.


    Just as he was walking like all the new disciples there he heard this familiar voiceing from behind with a mocking tone.


    "He seems lost, boss let''s help him," Another disciple sneered.


    "Yeah, just kick his ass out of here," a third one spoke with a mockingugh.


    "Mench I''m amazed they let you stay at the academy after me beating you," Jim said while turning to nce at the small group of grade two disciples standing behind him.


    "You don''t know who I am or who is backing me up kid," Mench sneered, "if I were you, I should gather up everything I have and run as far away as possible from here. This academy will kill you one day."


    "So soon boss," a giant disciple sneered as he corrected Mench''s words, "the academy will cause him death very soon."


    "Hahaha, speaking like you are a strong and mighty one despite you just being demoted to a lower grade how pathetic and bitter you are," Jim sneered beforeughing, "if I were you, I would find myself a rabbit hole and crawl there for the rest of my life."


    "Look boys, a dead man speaking, hahaha," Mench tried to keep his sarcasm but Jim hurried to smash his next words directly on his face.


    "Don''t you know any shame?" he said while shaking off his head in disappointment, "I pity your parents, brothers and sisters, your entire family for bringing such a pathetic kid to this world. Howe they didn''t expel you yet from the family? Huh?"


    "You"


    The face of Mench turned instantly read before another group of disciples moved towards them.


    "Easy there," one disciple, a hydra descendant with four heads and two tails, moved towards them with a group of strong looking races. "Fight is forbidden inside the sses."


    "We Were just talking," Mench turned and Jim noticed his face showed some respect to that hydra descendant disciple.


    "I dunno what things are in the core disciple area, but here I''m the boss and my words arew," the disciple didn''t follow Mench in his words and said in a strict tone that made Jim raise an eyebrow for that.


    Jim knew this kid wouldn''t be a direct descendant of a hydra n, or else he would have been inside the core disciple sses not here. Besides the masters he saw before belonging to this n in the selection ceremony had more heads and tails.


    "I promise to watch out for the rules from now on big brother Kindy."


    "Go now and assign yourself with your friends at the front building," Kindy said in the same attitude before waiting until Mench left with his gang.


    "I know you came here as a big surprise to all."


    Jim was about to open his mouth and thank him for standing out for him, but Kindy was faster in speaking in his strict tone, "but here you need to follow the rules. The rules are absolute and I won''t allow anyone to crack them."


    "I understand," Jim swallowed his words inside and only said in a low tone.


    "May I ask what the rules are?" he asked, "I checked everywhere in the books but couldn''t find anything rted to the rules anywhere."


    "You read your books?" one of the disciples standing behind Kindy said in a serious tone.


    And Jim simply nodded. "Shouldn''t we do that? At least to know a thing or two about what we will have here?"


    "We all do," Kindy said in a high authoritative tone, "at least thoseing from big ns living in this world know. But not bad, at least you are trying to aspire to be one of us."


    Jim knew he was referring to the hidden truth about the real order of the entire world. Humans weren''t weak, they were only abused on this side of the world.


    "Now go to thest building here. The registration office is there for fresh year disciples," Kindy said before adding, "and avoid trouble. There you will find a booklet with the rules I put inside the sses zone. Read and memorize them well."


    "I will," Jim said before excusing himself and left towards the direction Kindy pointed towards. "He is quite fair and strict annoying," Jim inwardly sighed while moving fast towards the end of this vast ce.


    ''At least he isn''t your enemy,'' the old man suddenly spoke after a long time of silence.


    ''Who said? He might be faking it just to look fair and elegant,'' Jim said in a bitter tone, ''didn''t you hear how he talked about me reading the books? He already sees me as a lower disciple!''


    ''The hydra race is a very proud one,'' the old man said, ''but they aren''t traitors.''


    ''I hate traitors as much as I hate arrogant bastards.''


    Jim noticed some silhouettes moving towards the same direction he was heading to. ''I should start introducing myself then,'' he thought before changing his path so he would chat to a group of six disciples walking nearby.


    But the moment he did, they changed their course instantly like evading a que!


    "What the" Jim was astonished but he didn''t take that to the heart until it repeated with three more groups of disciples. "Damn," he cursed as he added, "why is everyone avoiding me?"


    ''Maybe they just are your enemies.''


    ''I doubt that! At least not all of them, right?''


    ''Who cares,'' the old man said, ''they are your enemies, envious of you for what you achieved so far, or just don''t want to bring trouble to their peaceful lives. You don''t need them.''


    ''To be a leading disciple I have to take their votes,'' Jim gritted his teeth while standing off the distance watching around fifty disciples in a long line in front of a small wooden building.


    ''I know what you mean,'' the old man said, ''so why not let down this leading disciple matter? It''s not in your power to achieve it so far.''


    ''I have to,'' Jim inwardly muttered, ''the leading disciple is the only position in the entire year one to have ess to higher up ces.''


    ''You don''t need that,'' the old man sighed, ''you got me.''


    ''I need to know who I am!'' Jim paused before taking a deep breath. ''I need to know many things, I have this gut feeling that being a leading disciple has a very important role in my future. At least I can apply to join clubs, have more fun, and even expand my army. He has many benefits, authority, and also fame. I want them all.''


    ''Don''t act like a kid,'' the old man said, ''you already have fame, power, and loyal followers.''


    ''Man, I''m living inside the fortress of my enemies and have nothing but a bad reputation,'' Jim sighed, ''I need that position, I have to get it.''


    ''Good luck then,'' the old man helplessly said, ''I will always support you but I hope you won''t be bitter if lost.''


    ''I will try my best,'' Jim clenched his fists, ''no, I will win it for sure.''


    He moved towards the line where he was thest one there. Everyone sensed his presence, and as they stood in the line they couldn''t escape from him.


    But he didn''t intend to speak, as he noticed while standing back there no one ever dared to open his mouth.


    "Next," a leisure and seemingly sleeping tone appeared from the man leading the process. Jim didn''t spot him clearly from far, and now he was totally shielded by the huge bodies of everyone.


    "Next."


    It was finally Jim''s turn to stand in front of the small window and saw the man standing inside.


    He wasn''t a big one, just almost half the size of Jim. He had curly skin and thin silk like white hairing out from his face with a bald head.


    "select your sses from the form and return it to me now," the strange master said while Jim felt he was about to sleep at any moment.


    "Can I hold it for the rest of the day?" he suddenly said before hurrying to add when the master red in silence towards him. "I just came from an outside world and don''t know anything about the academy sses. I need to take a tour and have a one day test before deciding."


    The master kept staring for a brief moment before he finally waved with his hand: "Smart kid finally, go ande here after the sses end."


    Jim had a moment of scare when he saw the hand of that master. It wasn''t a hand, it was a thick and giant tentacles that made him realize something.


    He wasn''t speaking to the master, but only his head! ''An Octopus race!'' he was inwardly surprised but he didn''t stand there too much and retreated fast towards the buildings scattered around.

 Chapter 94: Classes In The Academy

    Chapter 94: sses In The Academy


    "All the new disciples gather up here."


    Jim spent the next hour taking a detailed tour around the ce. The studying section here was really big, but he had a rough idea about most things now.


    "Wee to our academy, it''s a great honor to be part of such a mighty one," a very strong looking master who was a member of the berserker pantheon stood in front of the group of fifty disciples.


    "This year we have around forty new disciples and fifteen fromst year drop out," he checked some papers in his hand before they disappeared the next moment.


    "Now I know many of you are already familiar with things here, but some aren''t. I''ll tell everything rted to studying here so everyone won''t have any excuse at the end of the semester."


    He moved his eyes towards a group of disciples who just ignored his remark.


    "First my name is Mark, and I''m acting as chief master of the inner disciples. Here I''mw, anything I say must be executed. I don''t tolerate any troublemakers or fighting, so refrain from these acts or else"


    Jim checked Mark and knew his threat wasn''t light at all. He was a giant, even bigger than Pol, with muscles that looked stronger as well. His skin seemed a bit red, and Jim swore he spotted a faint wave of pure red light moving under his skin every now and then.


    Mark moved his nce over each and single one of the new disciples before adding, "I don''t care who you are or where youe from. I only care about following the rules and excelling at your studies. Impress me and I''ll reward you in return.


    Last year we ended up losing the entire first ten ranks in every grade. Those arrogant bastards in the core section are getting more cocky I won''t tolerate this anymore! So this year I won''t ept any ce but the first! "


    Jim didn''t understand his meaning and he seemed not to be the exception here luckily as Mark exined further:


    "The academy is built entirely on thepetitive spirit. You arepeting with your fellow disciples in the same grade either here, or at the core or outer disciple regions. You alsopete with those higher than you so don''t rx, even being the best in your ss doesn''t mean you are the best in the academy."


    Mark turned around as he pointed towards the distant rear building, "I believe all went there and registered their sses, right?"


    Jim hesitated before he raised his hand. He was the only one doing so and he got a sneer from Mark in return. "C''mon kid, don''t humiliate me by doing this! You should have more pride in yourself, speak up high and loud."


    "Me sir," Jim retreated his arm as he said. He didn''t know if Mark was advising or mocking him, but he felt it was thetter from the eyes he noticed falling over him from everyone.


    "Good," but Mark smiled on contrary to his expectations, "you are a wise kid. You know nothing about here and so you can''t choose recklessly your future path."


    Mark turned to everyone around as he mockingly said: "Not like others here who barely are aware of our teachings and sses and yet they chose theirs blind fools."


    ''This man he is unpredictable and moody,'' Jim concluded as he knew he shouldn''t provoke such a man or even deal too much with him.


    He couldn''t tell if he would smile in his face and give him a warm hug or punch him in the face!


    "Now, it''s time for me to exin things here," Mark started to move while adding, "keep up, don''t ck behind. I won''t repeat what I say because you were away or distracted."


    Jim moved while ignoring the sneaking eyes from everyone. Yet thanks to Mark''s warning words, few only kept peeping on him from time to time.


    "Here we have many sses that our masters can help you through. If you asked me which is the best, which is the most important, which has the highest priority for any disciple then I would say every single ss here is important."


    Mark stopped at one of the buildings which had a strange aura around it. "The list of sses we had are written in the papers you filled, but let me narrate them for you."


    Jim had his all attention over the next words of Mark. Despite knowing about the sses from before, he was sure he would learn a thing or two from this master.


    "The first ss is the magic ss. Of course it''s logic to teach you everything about the power running through your veins. What you know and learnt your entire lives about magic is worthless in my eyes. Just ditch all of that trash in the nearest corner and start fresh."


    Mark then pointed to the building next to him while adding, "we have three buildings only for each ss, and each building could amodate one grade only. So we need you to fill your desires so we can arrange sses for each grade."


    His eyes fell over Jim who didn''t know if there was a warning hidden in the words or not.


    "Today is just the tour day you won''t have sses at all. But starting from tomorrow you''ll find a schedule for all sses, timing and ces. Don''t miss any ss as missing three will make you drop the ss for this grade. Drop two sses and you''ll drop the entire grade."


    Jim took rapid nces over the group who seemed older and inwardly felt bad for them. He wasn''t the only one looking at them, and even Mark didn''t show them any mercy as he pointed his finger towards them as he said:


    "If you don''t want to be like them, be here in time and show some devotion to your masters."


    Mark then moved again before adding, "we have also spell ss, potion ss, magical pets ss, magical nts ss, magical pantheons and history ss, the outer battlefield ss, teleportation ss, array and runes ss, forging ss, fight support ss, war ss, and finally the Graz game ss."


    Jim was surprised to hear about some new sses he didn''t know before. ''It was good for him to exin then,'' he inwardly muttered while they reached an open space between a group of ten buildings.


    "I won''t exin all the details of each ss for you, but some sses can tell you what they are for by just their names. The spell ss will teach you how to cast a spell. The potion ss will teach you how to make a potion, and so on. If any has a ss he or she doesn''t know the purpose of just feel free to ask."


    One of the disciples got some courage as he raised his voice asking: "What is the runes and array ss for?"


    "It''s called array and rune ss, and it''s not something you should be asking me about. It''s a ss used to teach you how to make arrays and runes!"


    The tone of Mark made everyone else hesitate to ask, but not Jim. He knew he wouldn''t have such a chance to ask what hecked, even if he was reprimanded by that berserker.


    "What are these things used for anyway?" he said in a loud tone while everyone stole a nce at him, knowing he would be killed with words the next instant.


    "Things? C''mon, be a more respectful human kid!" Mark shouted as expected, yet he answered, "Arrays are used to form defensive or offensive wide scale spell effects, while runes can store spell effects and release them in time of need."


    Jim inwardly smiled as he knew the master was just faking angry now over the disciples but he would answer anything thrown on his face.


    And he didn''t intend to stop throwing his questions.


    "What is the magical pets ss about?"


    "You are a fool, right?" Mark sneered, "as the name tells, it teaches you everything about the magical creatures who you can tame in the open universe, how to tame them, how to train them, and even how to make them breed!"


    Jim couldn''t help to smile while some disciples did as him and others evenughed.


    "And the teleportation ss?"


    "C''mon, you should be one of the best to know what this ss is about!" Mark sighed in disappointment before adding, "this is to teach you how to travel between worlds. Travelling isn''t easy, and knowing how to do that on your own is a mandatory life saving skill in my opinion."


    "And forging ss?"


    "Don''t tell me you hit your head beforeing up here in the morning!" Mark aggressively said before adding, "it''s about teaching you how to make your own weapons and gears.


    Don''t expect the academy to give you these things, and thinking of just going out there to that messy Sherwid town of yours and buy what you need is a big misconception and delusion."


    "And"


    "Isn''t there anyone to ask but this noisy idiotic one here?" Mark didn''t give Jim any room to continue asking as he shouted at the rest of the disciples.


    If any had thought of asking him now after seeing how he responded to Jim''s questions then he or she had to drop that. It wasn''t easy facing such angry and mocking words from such a master.


    "Humph pathetic!" Mark sneered before waving his hand in a helpless way, "go on kid, give me all what you got deep there."

 Chapter 95: The Graz Game

    Chapter 95: The Graz Game


    Jim knew the master was just faking anger and he wasn''t that angry at all. However he was still worried about his temper, such a man was something he shouldn''t try his luck with at all.


    "What is the difference between war ss and fight support ss?"


    "Strange," Mark shook his head, "I thought from what I heard and saw of your fights back at the arenas that you have a very good grasp on war stuff what a disappointment!"


    Jim only bitterly smiled while he knew this master wouldn''t give an answer without a sourment of his.


    "There is a big difference kid, as in war ss we are going to teach you everything rted to fighting starting from the worthless battles you kid love to have at the arena ending up with the big and real fight at the battlefield.


    As for the support fight ss it''s dedicated to those who have support abilities and spells to aid who fight. For example your weak and worthless Actimos kid was used brilliantly by yourself.


    You have to admit and admire how this weak and worthless Actimos yed the major role in all your victories so far!"


    Jim couldn''t help but nod in agreement. If not for the old man''s advice to look for Lan, he wouldn''t even consider checking him out.


    "Can you deny this?" Mark suddenly said in a challenging tone.


    "In fact my victories came not because I''m strong but thanks to my team," Jim politely answered.


    "Goodd," Markmended, "you really deserve my personal admiration. What luck for those three to have you as a disciple," he then turned around to everyone before adding, "not like other losers in this year none of you had a single master."


    Jim only listened in silence and made sure his face would stay neutral to others. Inwardly he agreed totally with Mark, but he didn''t want to arouse the enmity of everyone, especially when he aimed to be their leader.


    "I hope one day you will have one master at least you know the power of the grades are determined by how many masters are there shouldering you, disciples. It''s a good luck that our little human here has three masters or else the odds against the first grade core disciples would have been impossible topete against."


    "Shut up," Arthur wanted to shout at Mark to silence him but he wasn''t that fool to do so. ''Sigh, he is trying his best to arouse everyone against me such cruel master,'' he inwardlyined while maintaining the neutral expression.


    "May I ask about another ss?" he wasn''t sure if Mark was finished or not, so he tried to act fast before this cruel master would demolish his dreams, "I want to ask about this strange game."


    "What?!!"


    This time it wasn''t only Mark who eximed in surprise but most of the kids around did so. All the eyes turned at once to re at him, and Jim felt he just asked about the meaning of the sun and moon or something!


    "C''mon, don''t tell me you never heard of the Graz game before?" Mark was still surprised and from the silent expression on Jim''s face he realized Jim was seriously asking for real.


    "Sigh, what do you have as a sport back in your world? Huh?"


    "Football," Jim honestly answered.


    "This alright, I''ll try to exin the game briefly to you, or is there anyone here who wants to have the honor?"


    Having the chance to finally show off many kids started to raise their hands up in the air. "Exin while we are walking," Mark casually selected a werewolf n disciple who turned to Jim and grinned.


    Jim didn''t know if that disciple was smiling or sneering, either way his face showed a ruthless expression. "The Graz game is the coolest game in the entire universe!" he started his words with this statement before adding in strange excitement:


    "I even heard in the battlefield there were many fights decided upon it."


    "You are right indeed," Mark said before adding, "I won many games there and won many fights without shedding a single drop of blood sigh, old days are priceless," he added and Jim nced weirdly at him.


    "Each team has ten yers in it, and every loss of the ball the entire team could be reced with others," the kid said before adding, "each team consists mainly of four big types; the tankers, the hitters, the decoys, andstly and most importantly of all the ace!"


    "Ace?" Jim asked, "What is his task?"


    "Exin to other yers first so he would understand the rules of the game," Mark instructed as that werewolf youth seemed a bit more excited about the game than even himself!


    "The game is all about the ball crossing the finish line," the kid said in the same excitement, "and each team''s goal is to stop the ball from crossing their own line and try to make it cross the opponent''s.


    All yers wear a special gear which interacts with the ball making it bounce all the time. The ball can''t touch the ground, or be held by any yer for more than five seconds without bouncing it except for the ace."


    Jim nodded while the kid continued, "the hitters will try to hit anyone with the ball, while the tankers will try to stop anyone from doing this to their team members."


    "Logic," Jimmented, "but what about the decoys?"


    "This is the most tricky part," the youthughed, "ording to the rules of the game, the only one with the authority to cross the final line with the ball is the ace."


    "What if another yer did?" Jim asked.


    "Then it will be considered their loss and the other team will have the ball starting from the finish line," the kid said before adding, "only the ace is able to hold the ball and cross with it the line."


    "But" Jim paused as if this was the case then from the beginning everyone would just surround the ace and prevent the ball from reaching him, "can yers use spells?" he asked.


    "The ground of the game is special no magic can be used there," the kid said, "but physical talents can shine there for sure."


    "Then"


    "The ace issue, right?" the youthughed before adding, "herees the role of those decoys. Each team had at most four decoys in their total line up. Only three are allowed to be inside the field at the same time, and they had the most amusing gift that the game ground approved shapeshifting."


    "What?!!" Jim instantly thought of the five shapeshifters he had in his team.


    "Correct, you are lucky to have them kid," Mark praised, "I dunno how someone who knows nothing about the Graz game could have five shapeshifters in his team I thought you did this on purpose but it was just mere luck a very big lucky encounter."


    Jim didn''t know what to say so he simplyughed.


    "You should be able to guess the rest," the kid said, "before the game starts, every decoy will take the shape of the ace, and thus no one on the opposing team would know where the ace is."


    "Interesting," Jim confessed, "I''m starting to like this game."


    "You should," Mark said, "after all there is a big league where many ns and disciples take part in. it''s the cup of pantheons, and everyone living inside this universe is desperately waiting for it to start. Hell, even some of the enemy forces take part in it as well!"


    "Everyone but his world I guess," a fox kidughed and Jim only helplessly smiled as he wasn''t that mad of this kid.


    Siera was his best friend and he admired the fox n and wouldn''t get mad over some useless remark.


    "Speaking of this," Mark paused in his tracks, "we need to start the recruitment process of the first grade team. The league won''t start without you participating, andst year the team sucks to the degree I cheered personally against it!"


    Jim couldn''t help butugh alongside many of the disciples standing here. Only those dropping from thest year grade had a depressing look over their face.


    "Is this game so popr?" Jim casually asked.


    "Popr? Kid, whoever be the ace and lead the team to victory after victory will be an idol in the entire ss! Hell, he will be a celebrity in the entire academy! Even seeking to be the leader of the ss won''t be an issue for him or her!"


    The words of Mark strangely found a resonance inside Jim''s heart and soul. "May I ask about each yer''s requirements?" he asked, "and can a yer be in two different teams?"


    "The hitters and the tankers should possess inhuman strength," Mark said while casually pointing towards some of the giants here, "see those here? They act perfectly fine as hitters and tankers."


    Jim nodded before asking, "what about the ace?"


    The condition to be a decoy was simple, they need to be part of the shapeshifter n.


    "He needs to be fast, smart, and have a good grasp of any sudden changes," Mark said, "to be honest, I think you might be a good candidate for the ace this year."

 Chapter 96: Fifty Points To The Pantheon Of Fairies

    Chapter 96: Fifty Points To The Pantheon Of Fairies


    "Humph."


    One of the disciples here didn''t agree with Mark''s vision, yet thetter didn''t find it insulting as he evilly smiled, "there will be a test to decide who suits this position better, so don''t be full of yourself and I still bet on him Cason boy."


    Jim nced over that disciple to see a slim and long fellow with a dark skin and green hair. He looked like humans except for the two pairs of legs and that long tail behind.


    "No one is faster than the Casons," the kid seemed not to ept such remark from Mark, "and Casons are the one of the best candidates for any ace."


    "Indeed Casons are fast," Mark nodded, "but who said this is only about speed?" he smirked as he nced over Jim and added, "don''t underestimate him."


    "I''m not underestimating myself," the kid said, "it''s me, Patrick, who will get this ace spot and no one else."


    Mark didn''t speak as he nced over Jim who only smiled. For him it was pointless to argue with such a thick headed Cason.


    ''Sorry pal, this spot will be mine one way or another,'' Jim inwardly sneered while Mark pped his hands as he said, "alright, now as you all know what is waiting for you here, it''s time for the lessons to start."


    He turned towards the nearest building as he added, "who will attend the magic ss zero with me?"


    Jim thought the ss would be full, but when he entered the huge hall filled with rows of sets he was astonished to spot only ten here.


    "Don''t be this surprised human kid," Mark walked to stand on a broad wooden stage with a white board behind his back, "most think they don''t need to learn anything about magic, and believe me they are all mistaken."


    Jim nodded as he went to one seat and sat there. The ss was wide and the disciples were few so each one sat on a spot with no one else around.


    "Good, now let''s start this ss with a definition of magic," he turned around as he added, "as you are already part of a pantheon in one way or another, it''s logic for disciples here to be arranged ordingly. So, during your studies here you won''t be able to only gain points to yourselves by answering my questions and doing your homework, but also will contribute to your pantheon as well."


    "Is there a benefit for that?" Jim asked as he never heard or read about such a thing before.


    "Indeed, after all there is apetition between pantheons here," Mark said before sighing, "it''s a shame you only the disciple of the fairy pantheon. Your pantheon is destined toest."


    Jim sighed as well as this was something he couldn''tpete with. "But" yet Mark didn''t let him be depressed for long, "if you managed to be the ace and won a match, you''ll be able to gain many points."


    "Thanks master," Jim''s eyes shone brightly as he already had one more reason to be the ace and win the cup.


    "Now can anyone answer this question what is magic?"


    "It''s the energy flowing around and inside us," one disciple spoke and Mark nodded before adding, "cute answer, but not the one I''m seeking."


    "It''s the result of all living things, found in everything even in air and water," another disciple said and Mark only nodded. "Anyone else?" he asked.


    ''Tell him this'' suddenly the old man opened his mouth and told Jim an answer.


    "It''s the power present even before the dawn of life. It''s everything, and inside anything. It''s the fuel for our bodies to use in literally anything, and it''s an ocean while our bodies and minds are just the operator."


    "Nice one," Markmended, "can you exin to me what do you mean by thest example you said?"


    Jim waited for a moment while getting the answer from the old man before spilling it out:


    "It means being weak and unable to exert enough magic power isn''t the fault of the power itself. Anyone can hold an enormous power provided that he or she can learn how to draw it perfectly from the world around."


    "Perfect," Mark nodded in content, "very good answer. The fairy pantheon receives ten points for such an amazing one."


    Jim suddenly felt a faint tremor on his body before a small number appeared just in front of his eyes startling him.


    "Don''t react like it was a big deal," Markughed on his reaction, "this is the privilege of being part of any pantheon with points. The number you are seeing will increase ording to your efforts."


    Jim understood part of what Mark was referring to before pointing towards a pot in the air as he asked: "Can anyone else see this?"


    "Only you, and the guardian of the academy of course."


    "Then why do I have this fifty figure instead of ten?" Jim was feeling some doubts as the number first appeared fifty not ten.


    "Fifty? Interesting it seems your outer disciples are doing good and brought you another forty," Mark said with a beaming smile over his face, "there is a stele in some ce of the academy. There you''ll find the final ranking of the pantheons. You started good, but others will start amassing points so don''t be dejected if you found yourself thest."


    Jimughed shortly as he knew Mark was only concerned about him. "Don''t worry, master, I''m used for startingst and finish first," he said and Mark only grinned before turning to others and asked:


    "Now can anyone ask me how we connect with magic power? How can we draw it? how can we increase the use of such crushing power?"


    "We can train our bodies to gain such an increase in absorbing magic power," one disciple said while he didn''t want Jim to gain more points.


    "Nice one, but not enough," yet the answer wasn''t appreciated by Mark.


    "We connect using our body to the magic power around. The stronger and more bigger the body, the better the magic power he will yield," A disciple gave such a detailed answer.


    "This is just a great misconception," Mark said before adding, "some believe that giants have more power than dwarfs, but in fact dwarfs can be far scarier than the giants."


    His answer silenced many disciples here while Jim only listened to the long exnation of his old man before speaking atst:


    "We connect not using our body but our souls," he first said while Mark''s eyes shone, pleased with such an answer. "Regting our breathing and using meditation exercises help a lot in increasing the amount of energy absorbed by us," Jim added while Mark kept gesturing to him to continue.


    "Also the body is the vessel of the soul, so we need to strengthen it as well. Having a strong bond with the outer magic power without a body sturdy enough to contain it would result in the magic power seeping away from us like water through fingers."


    "Wow," Mark honestly said, "this answer I never heard for such a long time already."


    "He must have memorized the books beforeing here," the Cason kid sneered as he already considered Jim his enemy, "he is a bookworm guy," heughed and some did and others only nced weirdly at him.


    "If he did that then I would have to apud for such dedication to be stronger," Mark said in a harsh tone before pointing to Jim, "but the answer he just gave isn''t written in any book you have."


    "Then how did he get it then?" the Cason kid asked in an aggressive tone.


    "First of all you aren''t the master of this ss," Mark smiled calmly as he added, "fifty points are deducted from the pantheon of Banshee for your bad attitude."


    The face of that kid suddenly darkened while Mark continued in the same carefree tone, "I''m the master, and inside any ss of the academy only masters have the right to ask and interrogate, not disciples."


    Jim watched the Cason kid''s face bing redder from anger, yet he didn''t open his mouth and learnt his lesson wisely this time.


    "Let me hear the rest of what you have," Mark turned to Jim as he totally ignored the Cason kid.


    "The body and soul must be synchronized in their growth," Jim also ignored that kid like he was a worthless fly, "failing to do so will lead to a very bitter result."


    "Good, can you tell me when we can achieve the absolute bnce between the two?"


    Jim smiled as the answer of his old man drove that smile out, "like me," he pointed to himself feeling weirder by the old man''s flowing words in his mind.


    "How?" Mark demanded for more and Jim just added:


    "The stage where no one ever used the magic powers on purpose is the stage of absolute perfection."


    "Amazing," Mark praised, "fifty points to the pantheon of fairies."

 Chapter 97: The Magical Orb

    Chapter 97: The Magical Orb


    Jim felt many eyes falling upon him, but he simply ignored them all. He started to have a path for his future, a path where he would be the ace and gain the admiration, envy, and respect from everyone here.


    "And now let me speak a little about this bnce," Mark walked towards the white board where a ck writing started to appear with fire eating its edges like it was eating the board itself.


    "Starting from such bnce made every single one who practiced magic crave to taste it again. Unfortunately no one ever achieved perfection, and from this this score was created after many years of trials and observation."


    Jim and other disciples watched the dark letters with red fairy edges staying on the surface of the board while Mark pointed to them as he loudly said:


    "The score is an evaluation of the body and soul synchronization. Starting from one hundred being the lowest bottom and one as our perfection dream, everyone falls under this scale ording to his or her own strength."


    "Swoosh!"


    All of sudden he waved his hand while a small rounded beautiful looking orb appeared in his palm of hand. It had a very smooth surface, coupled with the snow white kes moving slowly inside it, Jim and others just wanted to grab it.


    "The orb of assessment, or the judge as many prefer to call," Mark raised his hand holding the orb high before adding, "using this little beauty here will give anyone of you an assessment of his growth so far. Based on this, one should know which aspect he would focus on."


    He stored the orb away before a grin appeared over his face, "this little one only sold here in the academy. You can go to the inner disciples affair building and get your own for ten academy coins only."


    "Phew," many sucked a cold breath of air while Mark only shook his head. "This judge is something any disciple should obtain. Without it you won''t have a guidance to your progress and would falter. So my personal advice is for you to hurry and save enough money to buy it."


    Jim nced around the disciples here and felt slightly astonished. At least two thirds of them showed a bitter expression over their faces despite they all came from prestigious ns.


    ''Weird,'' he inwardly muttered, ''I thought anyoneing from these big names would be rich and have a strong backing it seems I was wrong.''


    ''Even inside big ns, there are few who are born with golden spoons and the rest are to serve them,'' the old man said and Jim suddenly had an idea.


    "Master, may I propose something?" he suddenly said, stopping Mark from saying any more.


    "Interrupting me amidst my lecture? Humph, you surely have balls," Mark reprimanded him per usual before casually waving his hand, "c''mon, bring it out and let''s see what you''ve got."


    "I suppose this judge is something we all should have and will help all of us to grow stronger," Jim calmly said before adding, "and correct me if I''m wrong; the pantheon cup and the academy rankings are all depending on our personal strengths."


    "Indeed," Mark simply said in an impatient tone, "and also the uing battlefield quest will also depend on your individual strengths."


    "Then may I propose to help anyone here to buy this orb?" Jim said with a faint smile of confidence over his face, "I didn''te from a strong n or have any strong backing. I don''t excel at much and I doubt I can help the ss to climb ranks over others and gain fame and glory. But, this little thing here I can help with."


    The face of Mark told Jim that the old master had already seen through his little trick. However, beside him only few here realized the hidden agenda he had in mind.


    "Humph, as if I woulde and beg for some coins and humiliate myself in front of everyone," the Cason boy didn''t let Jim have it the way he wanted.


    "It doesn''t need to be in public," Jim cracked a wide smile, "all you need to do ise to my mansion any time after the sses and anyone can have enough coins to buy this crucial orb."


    The ss ushered underpleted silence while Mark didn''t speak either. His shining eyes and bright face told Arthur what he was thinking right now. As for the Cason kid, he didn''t have anything else to say and only returned to stare at the front.


    Arthur exchanged silent gazes with many where some nodded to him, others gave him neutral expression, and only few made him feel the same vibe he got from the Cason kid enmity and rivalry.


    "It''s such a rich offer from you," Mark finally spoke, "but you need to know this might cause you a fortune."


    "All for the team, master," Jim simply shrugged while the Cason kid turned to give him a deep nce along with a few disciples here.


    "Alright, now you know where to loan your money from," Markughed before adding, "back to our ss. I''ll distribute the orb around, and each one of you will test his powers."


    Mark paused before he seriously said, "but note that this isn''t your final score. You are still starting your journey in magic, so it''s normal for the score to be a bit high."


    "There is the god score master."


    Mark turned to the Cason kid as he said, "Patrick is right, but will you have this score?"


    Patrick didn''t answer while Mark sneered, "like I expected," then he turned to address the entire ss, "this score is considered a legend. Some call it a myth even, so don''t listen to Patrick here and have any hopes to achieve it."


    "What is this god score, master?" Jim asked and he expected, Mark pointed to the Cason kid as he answered, "ask our Patrick here, he knows it all about the score."


    The Cason kid had his own share of mocking nces before Mark added, "anyway I''ll get to answer this as you asked me not him it''s the zero score."


    Mark suddenly waved his hand and the board behind had the words over it changing the next moment.


    "The zero score is an indication for the godly bnce. No matter how much you train your body or your soul, your score won''t change. It''s still a legendary score where some im the fairies enjoyed it and thus they ruled the entire universe with much ease."


    "I wonder if our Jim here can show us this legendary score," a giant disciple said in a mocking tone, "at least he is the only fairy here."


    Jim nced over that giant who showed him an evil sneer over his face. The two nced at each other for brief seconds in silence while the tension rose slightly in the air.


    "No fighting in my ss," Mark coldly said, "this is your first warning, John. Repeat this offense again and I''ll deduct points from your pantheon!"


    "Sorry master," John helplessly raised his arms, "I didn''t mean any harm."


    Jim knew he was lying but simply ignored him. "Now I''ll pass the orb over you. Just hold it tight and close your eyes. Don''t try to invoke anything, just keep it inside your palm of hand."


    Mark then threw the orb all of a sudden towards John who was startled before catching it just before it would fall to the ground. "Careful there," Mark sneered, "you''ll pay for what you break."


    The face of the kid changed before he took a deep breath and held the orb in his palm of hand. Despite the obviousparison between the big hand and small orb, the giant kid couldn''t close his fist over it.


    And just after he closed his eyes, Jim noticed the snow inside the orb getting stirred all of a sudden.


    ''It''s not a snow color, it''s snowke,'' he inwardly muttered while watching the kes coalesce together and give off a number.


    "Thirty-five," Mark said in a loud voice and the giant kid jolted awake in response. "Not bad, the giant n is still a giant in the game," Markughed before motioning with his head, "pass it to the next one."


    John threw it to the kid of some kind of a flying race. "Careful, or else" Mark warned John who just shrugged, "I simply gave it to him. If it falls, then he will have to pay for it, not me."


    Mark sneered but he didn''t correct his words. As for the kid who got the orb barely off the ground, he gave John a hatred nce before Mark shouted:


    "Don''t waste time and start assessing yourself."


    "Sorry," the kid apologized before giving John another nce and closed his eyes next.


    "Forty-two."


    "Fifty."


    "Thirty-eight."


    "Forty."


    Mark kept shouting the numbers while the disciples tested themselves and threw the orb towards the next one.


    ''Just drop it,'' yet when Jim''s turn came, the old man suddenly whispered in his mind, ''let it smash to pieces.''

 Chapter 98: Succeeding Meditation From First Time

    Chapter 98: Seeding Meditation From First Time


    "Boom!"


    The next moment a loud bang sound erupted as the crystal went to the ground and got into endless tiny pieces.


    "Hahaha, he can''t even handle a small ball, what about a bigger one?" Johnughed while Mark gave Jim a deep nce.


    For all they were fooled by what Jim did, but not him. He knew Jim could have caught it easily, yet he hesitated at thest moment.


    "You''ll have to pay for it," Mark said while sneering, "as John said, how can you catch a bigger ball in a stressful game if not be able to handle this small one here?"


    ''You made me theughing stock of the ss this time old man,'' Jim controlled his rage on the surface but took it all out against the old man.


    ''This is for your best,'' the old man simply said, ter you''ll thank me for this.''


    "Now let''s get started with lesson one," Mark turned to the board and waved over it for the writings to change. "Meditation," he shouted in weird excitement before adding, "now we''ll start to strengthen your souls first. Don''t ck, don''t be shy, sit on the ground and close your eyes."


    "But"


    "If you don''t want to get more points deducted off your pantheon then mind your own business," Mark said to Patrick while thetter only went silent and swallowed the rest of his words.


    "Sit down now, don''t waste anymore time."


    Jim watched others do what Mark said and so he did the same. "Close your eyes and clear your minds," Mark added before walking down his stage and went directly to Jim.


    "Owing others money isn''t good on your meditation," he said while extending his hand. Jim noticed some mocking gazes at him but he didn''t mind any and took out the money simply and gave them to Mark.


    "Wait for me after the ss ends," Mark only whispered before turning around, "start meditating now, I don''t want anyone to be distracted by anything."


    Jim nced at the back of Mark before inwardly sighed. ''He knew,'' he only muttered this before closing up his eyes.


    "Picture yourself at the mostfortable, most secure ce you''ve ever been and try to focus entirely over that image," Marks'' voice came as he started to give instructions to everyone.


    "Meditation is all about being super and clear, honest with yourself before being with others. Your soul will get many benefits if you manage to crack the door of meditation in this session."


    Jim searched far and wide inside his memories and strangely enough the only ce he found to match Mark''s description was the small closet he used to live in.


    ''Sigh, I never imagined this would be my super ce,'' he bitterly said to himself while focusing over that ce.


    ''Focus on the memory not the ce,'' the old man suddenly said, ''picture yourself there and not only gaze at it from far above.''


    ''But''


    ''Mark is trying to teach you slowly, but I believe you are ready to enter through that door.''


    Jim inwardly sighed before following the words of his old man. ''You owe me one,'' he simply teased him but the old man only answered: ''Focus!''


    Jim cleared up his mind from everything but this memory of his. He pictured everything inside his small room, the dampness there, the silence he felt whenever he entered, and above all the loneliness he felt while being inside.


    But he was feeling safe and calm. After all the entire world was against him, all except this tiny room and everything inside.


    He could picture the flying orb which gave him light, the dry mattress of the bed, and the cold feeling of the wall.


    Just as he started to feel that, a muffled bang erupted deep inside his soul. It was like a river branch was halted by a small dam made of weak branches, and he just got a big hammer and crashed that dam apart.


    "Swoosh!"


    The next thing he felt was that strange tranquility that came after. His mind was like his dark room after closing up the small door off and lit the orb there.


    Light invaded his mind, his soul, and he felt refreshed like never before.


    He took a deep and long breath, and for the first time of his life he felt breathing was a great thing that he always missed.


    The room kept getting vivid the more he breathed, and the sensation he got was getting stronger.


    "Open up your eyes," as he wished to stay there with that amazing feeling forever, Mark''s voice came to interrupt everything. The room became hazy and everything started to crash like weak ss.


    "The ss is over," Mark added while Jim opened his eyes feeling endless rage and hatred towards him. "Go out, all except Jim," Mark said while his face showed a weird expression over his face.


    Yet Jim stayed angry even when he remained all alone in the ss.


    "What happened?" Mark came towards him before asking, "have you no way, you are just trying it for the first time!!" he was totally shocked by the scenario he had in mind.


    Yet it was the only logical exnation for such intense reaction from his disciple.


    "Don''t worry," Mark sighed after remaining silent for a while, "you''ll get to that feeling every time you meditate."


    "Really?" Jim hurriedly asked while his tone was harsh and deep. He tried to suppress his anger and regain his past calm, but he couldn''t perfectly do it.


    "So it''s real then?" Mark cracked a faint smile over his face, "you are a real monster kid, I like that."


    He then took out another orb and handed it to Jim, "Don''t worry, once you return home and train you''ll understand. Now let''s see your true score."


    Jim took the judge in hand while ncing at the snowkes inside. "I know you let the old one smash on purpose, and I just want to see this purpose with my two eyes," Mark said while his face showed how much anticipation he had.


    ''Do it,'' the old man suddenly said, which made Jim frown more. ''Didn''t you let me smash the old one so no one would know about my score?''


    ''The other kids can''t know your true power,'' the old man said, ''but this one here should. He is the one who is going to hold your back in the future, and one way or another he would discover everything.''


    Jim knew the old man''s logic wasn''t bad. ''Masters are bound by the academy rules, they can''t breach it even if they wanted to. However disciples aren''t,'' the old man said before warning, ''watch out from disciples more than masters.''


    ''Ok.''


    Jim held the orb in his hand while closing up his eyes. The next minute the snowkes danced and a rounded figure appeared in front of Mark''s eyes.


    "No fucking way! It''s zero!!" he eximed in disbelief before adding, "having the legendary zero score and seeding meditation from the first try who are you really?"


    "I''m Jim," Jim answered while returning the orb to the stupefied master, "I trust master''s secrecy on this."


    "S- Sure," Mark nodded, "no one will ever know about this secret, despite they''ll eventually guess that."


    Jim nced in a weird way to Mark who added, "your score is pretty much monstrous, meaning your talent and growth here would be insane. Soon your name would be mentioned a lot, and one way or another others will know."


    Jim understood the meaning of his old man''s words from before. "Betterte than now then," he simply said as he wouldn''t run away from his destined future and abandon the long awaited strength for anything.


    Or anyone!


    "Alright then," Mark hid the judge before adding, "I like your early steps here, but be aware those big names aren''t just for show."


    "Thanks master," Jim stood up while showing a gratitude look over his face. He knew Mark was warning him for his own good, and he was sure those pantheon kids wouldn''t let him have what he wanted this easy.


    "Now go to the forging ss," Mark suddenly said, "you must hone your skills at forging, taming beasts, potions, and of course fighting."


    "I "Jim hesitated as he wanted to go to the fighting ss directly.


    "You wanted to attend the fighting ss, right?" Markughed and Jim just was pissed off the mere fact his thoughts were so easy to read like this. "You should first master your skills at things you use at fighting, right?"


    Mark''s remark was on the spot and managed to open Jim''s mind over this simple fact. "Thanks master," he honestly said.


    "Never mind, it''s a great thing to have you in the inner disciple zone. It''s my luck, hahaha, this year''s score will be settled with those arrogant inner disciples."


    Markughed while Jim strangely looked at him before sighing. "I''ll try my best," he could only say that before leaving the ss and the master inside stillughing on his dreams.


    ''He is right,'' the old man suddenly said, ''go to the other sses first and leave war ss to the end.''


    ''I will,'' Jim then moved around while trying to recall the ce of the forging ss building.


    It wasn''t that hard to spot it. with that gigantic hammer and anvil hang over its front, anyone could easily spot it from far.


    "You arete," just as he arrived at the ss he was astonished to see a berserker master standing there a female master!


    She was a giant as well. She purposely showed off her bulging thick muscles bulk at the arms, abdomen, and thighs. She left only two harsh looking pieces of clothes over her chest and waist.


    "Sorry master," he hurriedly said, "master Mark just wanted to speak with me about something."


    "I don''t care," she harshly said, "the fairy pantheon just lost ten points for your dy."


    He swallowed this punishment and went to the inner ss while the disciples there nced silently at him.

 Chapter 99: The Hot Tempered Berserker Forging Master

    Chapter 99: The Hot Tempered Berserker Forging Master


    "I''ll repeat what I said, but I''ll brief," the female master said while giving Jim a deep nce as if she was ming him for this. "The forging is the essence of power. Even the mightiest dragons and those ancient fairies couldn''t exert their full power without the help of gears."


    The ss was exactly the same as the one Jim just attended. The only difference might be for thatrge table with many itemsid over it.


    The female master pointed to the back where a ck screen was there. A wave of fire appeared and words were illustrated the next moment. "The gears we make aren''t just simple swords and other weapons, they are special. They drive the magical energy inside your bodies and augment it."


    She paused before heading towards the table as she took a pair of gloves. "See those little beauties here for example, they are usually neglected by many, but those who are studying here know how important they are."


    She removed her soft brown silk gloves before wearing those two. They weren''t thin and neat like the ones she just removed, but thick and bulging. They had many grooves and ores embedded inside them.


    "Once any of you wear them she or he will notice the difference," she smiled widely before adding, "for example I''ll try to gather my magical power in my hands and you can see what will happen."


    Just as she said so, she raised one arm high in the air before Jim noticed the muscles of her got thicker all of sudden.


    Even veins appeared there. If he didn''t see her long hair or feminine features, then he would definitely mistook her as a male from behind.


    "Swoosh!"


    All of sudden a burst of air wave appeared around the glove before it started to shine. The deep lines got a deep brown color while the glove itself started to grow thicker and bigger in size.


    The next moment ayer of thick brown aura appeared around the glove. "See?" she said in a proud tone, "this little baby here is priceless for me. I personally made it and many masters coveted it already, yet none seeded."


    She was speaking in much pride that made Jim be sure there were other things hidden behind that pair of gloves. She kept raising her hand for a long minute there before the aura vanished and her muscles rxed.


    "Now it''s time to speak about the essence of forging," she nced around the ss before asking, "anyone here knows what''s forging is all about?"


    "Strength," John the giant kid spoke as if it was a known fact.


    "Wrong," yet she answered with a vicious smile over her face, "five points are deducted from the pantheon of Berserkers for the wrong answer."


    All the disciples sucked cold breaths at once while their faces showed how shocked they were. "What? Do you think I only give points for the right ones?" she sneered before adding, "here I don''t tolerate arrogant bastards, especially men!"


    Jim didn''t understand her words, nor the rest of the ss. "Anyone else? Anyone wants to boost wrongly about his ignorance?"


    Her words were so irritating even for Jim. ''C''mon old man, let''s teach this bitch a lesson,'' he inwardly muttered while gritting over his teeth.


    And the next moment the old man sighed and started to give him the right answer.


    "No one?" sheughed in a mocking way while shaking off her head as if she already knew this would be the oue.


    "It''s all about the bnce," Jim suddenly said in a very calm yet confident tone.


    "Exin," her face froze up for a moment before ordering in a cold tone.


    "Forging includes many variants. The forger, the tools, the materials, and even the final product he had in mind. Among all those, bnce must exist," Jim exined in his calm tone.


    "This is the old school kid," yet she wasn''t satisfied, or refused to give him praise, "give me a modern view, go deeper or else y''know."


    "From a deeper view, "yet Jim calmly added as if he already was prepared for her answer, "things have essence, soul and heart. Without knowing everything essence, without getting deeply connected with the heart then the final gear will be weak."


    "Tsk," she disappointedly shook her head, "unfortunately it''s a right answer the pantheon of fairies gain twenty points for this."


    Jim was speechless there for a moment while watching the signs of sadness over her face. ''What a master!'' he inwardly muttered while she waved her hand and his words appeared on the board behind her back.


    "The view our revived fairy disciple here gave isn''t bad. Everything had its own attributes, pros and cons, even its nature. Some items might need delicate care, others prefer harsh treatment. Some might be moody, with a hot temper and very unexpected attitude."


    She started to speak further about the nature of things and give some examples. Jim listened and he started to take notes inside his mind.


    "So when making an item, it''s not only a matter of bringing things together, or a matter of luck. It''s all calcted, very detailed matters must be considered, and you need to get your link to the materials and items you use to a very deep level."


    She paused before smiling in her usual self again, "Now, can anyone tell me what is the most important single factor that would determine the final grade of a gear?"


    "Getting connected to it?" a kid said before sheughed viciously again.


    "Wrong," sheughed, "five points are deducted from the pantheon of medusa for your wrong answer, and another five are deducted."


    "What for?" the male disciple asked in shocked expression over his face.


    "Because I''m in a bad mood right now," she wasn''t taken aback with his question, "avoid me while I''m in a bad mood."


    The entire ss went into a heavy silence while all nced over this weird master. "Now, anyone?" she turned her gaze around before finally stopping over Jim, "fairy kid, tell me the answer," she paused beforeughing in amusement, "only if you dare."


    Jim''s eyes shone how frustrated he was right now. He waited for his old man to speak while she grinned, "Nothing? Your moment of brilliance just dried up? Hahaha, don''t tell me you are afraid of getting points deducted? What if you say the right answer and I give you fifty points in return."


    She suddenly raised the stakes while Jim only confidently smiled as he already had the answer from the old man. "What if I lost?"


    "Your pantheon will lose a hundred point instead," she amusingly checked him before adding, "tsk, such a weak body and great mind such a loss fate is really unfair sometimes oh wait, most of the time," sheughed while bbering things Jim didn''t get anything from.


    "The most important sole factor for any forger is his belief in the item he is making."


    Just as he spoke, her face suddenly froze up again while this time she took a longer time to return to her normal self. "Exin," and again she didn''t give him the reward he deserved and tried to push further, hoping he would misstep here.


    "Any forger must have a vision of the gear he is making. If not believing he could make a great gear, how could he make one?"


    "Not enough," she ruthlessly said, "exin more or else you won''t get anything."


    "The mental image," Jim simply said, "every magician here has a mental image that he would use in many things."


    "That''s a known fact kid," she wasn''t yet satisfied, "go deeper."


    "The forger shouldn''t just imagine the gear in his mind," Jim said with a soft smile over his face, "he should picture it like it was real inside his mental image. He should feel its surface, wear it over his body, and experience the effects over him."


    "Not bad," she said, "but not good enough though."


    "Each graded gear had a certain quality to it," Jim continued like she just didn''t say anything, "if the forger imagined a high quality gear on the surface but didn''t give what made it credible, the end product will be lower than what he had in mind."


    "What are these qualities?" she asked.


    "Master," he smiled as he calmly added, "this is a totally different question with another reward for it."


    Her face showed how much she was angry at him at the moment. "Alright arrogant fairy kid, fifty points to the fairy pantheon," she said while turning around and leaving.


    "Wait," yet Jim stopped her all of sudden while the eyes of everyone in the ss were over him, "don''t you want to know the answer to your second question?"


    She paused for a brief moment. Jim noticed her muscles bulge for a sh of second before rxing again and she continued walking like he never spoke.


    "This is an advanced ss for another time," she said when she arrived at the stage, "besides let others speak, let others gain points for their pantheons as well."


    ''Or lose points,'' he inwardly sneered yet he agreed on her hidden hint. It''s not useful to only gain points inparison to letting others lose more instead.

 Chapter 100: First Grade Masters

    Chapter 100: First Grade Masters


    The weird tempered master moved back to the stage while ncing over all the disciples here like she was looking atmps ready for ughter. "Anyone can tell me what the grades are for gear?"


    She moved her gaze yet none ever whispered a thing. "C''mon, it''s such an easy question don''t tell me none of the disciples here ever had seen any gears or heard about them!"


    Her soft words managed to lure a couple of poor kids. Jim nced over the two while they stated their answers and only inwardly smirked. ''Idiots she isn''t a berserker she is like a medusa or a giant wicked spider queen!''


    He watched the two kids each losing points for their corresponding pantheons.


    ''Don''t you want to know the answer?'' the old man suddenly whispered.


    ''Old man, I do want to gain some prestige and points, but not on the expense of getting on the bad side of this one!''


    ''Humph,'' the old man teased him as Jim sighed. ''Don''t try to lure me, I''m invincible to your tricks.''


    ''I know, just making sure.''


    ''Of what?''


    ''Nothing,'' the old man kept his mouth shut while another batch of poor disciples were lured out again by the sweet words of this master.


    "Sigh, is she feeding on our points or what?"


    Just as the ss ended, the disciples moved out like prisoners breaking out of jail. "We all lost points," the giant kid, John, said beforending his gaze upon Jim and added, "all except one."


    His tone was loud enough to attract the attention of all. Jim nced at him and said nothing as he went in a direction and aimed to roam the campus alone.


    The master just told them about the two sses break rule. Each disciple would be granted a half an hour break for rest, lunch, or having fun. These breaks were arranged one per two sses, and the most a disciple could have in a single day was six sses.


    "Hey hey, I''m speaking to you."


    Suddenly that giant stood in front of him, appearing out of thin air. Jim nced at him as he restrained his anger. ''Calm down,'' the old man warned, ''fighting here has a severe punishment.''


    Jim took a deep breath as he said:


    "Move away."


    "Or what?" John got so close to him that hisst letters seemed to be thrown directly over Jim''s face.


    "I don''t want any problems," Jim said as he calmly retreated a couple of steps. Just before John would proceed, the female master came out to nce over this about to start a quarrel.


    "Oh fighting here is prohibited gentlemen," she said with these good will words with a vicious expression over her face. "Who started it?" she approached them while preparing herself for feasting over more of their points.


    "He did," both pointed to each other while the master shook her head in regret and disappointment. "The one who started this would have gained only a simple warning by me, but now how unfortunate!"


    Her face didn''t show any speck of sorrow or regret.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Suddenly Mark appeareding out of nowhere like he was already here.


    "These two were about to fight," she pointed casually towards Jim and John, "I was trying to see who is the instigator here."


    Her tone changed from her cruel one to the calm one. Even Jim mistook hers as apologizing or exining her actions to Mark.


    And Mark simply nced at the two with a frown. "Did you ask?" he said before turning to her as he gave her a meaningful nce, "gently?"


    "I did," she shrugged while crossing her arms over her chest, "but none stepped forward to be the instigator.''


    "Interesting," Mark said and Jim felt he was already aware of the culprit.


    "You should let them fight," suddenly a third master approached belonging to the chimera pantheon. "the winner will be the one on the right here."


    "Donald," Mark turned to him as he calmly added, "not everything can be solved by fighting."


    "Everything is about fighting," Donald stood just next to the female master while adding, "I''m the master of war ss and I can tell this is the best way."


    "Serum of the truth is the best way," a fourth master appeared. Jim nced at this good and calm looking unicorn master. "It''s so easy to make them spell the truth out."


    "What''s the fun old man?" the female master said while yfully joking, "I lean towards the option Donald gave here," she paused while sizing up Donald with hot gazes, "tsk, what a regret I only lovedies."


    Many disciples couldn''t control theirughter and the face of Donald turned tomato red instantly.


    "Alright," Mark shouted before adding, "it''s simple then whoever will confess will only get a strict warning."


    He turned towards the two under questioning here, "it''s not a big deal, so don''t try to make quite a scene for yourself under any circumstances."


    He winked and Jim only stood there motionless and expressionless like a statue.


    "I was only teasing him," John finally said.


    "Goodd," Mark said.


    "The pantheon of berserkers loses fifty points for that," yet before he could continue the female berserker hurriedly said.


    "Rana" Mark shouted at her, "Why in the name of fairies did you do that?"


    "I don''t like liars," she shrugged before chuckling in a vicious way, "and I hate those cowards more."


    "He is part of your pantheon," Donald was speechless there as he muttered.


    "I don''t give a damn about anyone," she said that before turning around to leave. "I can see you enjoyed my suggestion ofst year good for you," she threw these words over Mark who didn''t know what to say to her.


    "Sigh, Rana would never change," the unicorn master sighed, "but hate it or not, her advice is always on the mark."


    "Indeed," Mark nodded before turning to the disciples, "go and have rest. Stop joking and fooling around. You aren''t idiots or fools to do so, and I won''t tolerate anymore of this."


    The disciples nodded as they hurriedly left away. Jim went to the direction he intended from the start, feeling many gazes falling over him.


    He mistook these for John, Patrick, and their friends.


    "Is he the one you told me about?" the unicorn master asked while sticking his big rounded eyes towards Jim''s back.


    "He is," Mark nodded, "what do you think?"


    "Interesting," the unicorn master muttered, "I can''t see anything rted to his future at all!"


    "You seem to go senile old man," Donald joked but the unicorn master turned to him as he yed with the pointy silver horn in the middle of his forehead.


    "I''m not old, my race can live five times the life span of yours."


    "I" Donald stuttered under the calm words of the unicorn master.


    "Plus my eyes never failed before to spot the future path of any disciple," he turned to nce again at the back of Jim, "except for a few rare asions and those y''know, either caused legends or created tragedies."


    "You don''t mean?" Donald stopped speaking while Mark gave him a warning nce.


    "We can''t speak about this anymore," Mark said, "we need just to make sure he will stay protected and well hidden inside."


    "Are you already sure of his sess?" the unicorn master turned to Mark who smiled. "Since when have your golden eyes ever failed?"


    "Hahaha, you are a trickster berserker," the unicornughed as he was a close friend already to Mark.


    "But you aren''t the only one with golden eyes old man," Donald bluntly said.


    "Stop calling me that!"


    "But Rana loves to call you that and you never objected!"


    "She is unique and you even drool over her," the unicorn masterughed while pressing over the sore spot of Donald, making thetter had a slight change in face.


    "I dunno what''s special aboutdies loving each other and not epting me," he mumbled while the other two onlyughed on him.


    As for Jim, he was now wandering aimlessly inside the inner disciple campus, not aware of all these talks on his back.


    ''So you advise me to take them all?'' he was having a serious debate with his old man at the moment.


    ''This is the only way,'' the old man said.


    ''But What about the other masters? My masters?''


    ''The academy closes the studying cambass at evening, so you still have time for these three,'' the old man said, ''and don''t forget they also have responsibilities in the academy to attend to.''


    ''But''


    ''Don''t worry, you are a hard worker and I''m quite sure you can handle it.''


    Jim was still hesitant, as the old man directly asked him to take all the sses provided for first year to learn.


    This was something he hoped to get, but didn''t want to. Having so many sses would turn him into a work ve, and he just got inside the academy and wanted to have more fun like other kids here.


    ''Let me decide at the end of the day,'' he simply declined to follow the old man''s outrageous demands and decided to think about his own future path himself.


    And this made the old man sigh out of helplessness.

 Chapter 101: Lim

    Chapter 101: Lim


    "I finally found you."


    As Jim was wandering around the campus, a tired voice came from far. "Just wait, I want to talk to you."


    Jim turned to watch the human sized kid who was running towards him in some urgency.


    "Is there something wrong?" he asked as the face of the kid wasn''t familiar.


    "I''m sent by master Sher," the kid said the moment he got near Jim, "I was asked to meet up with you in the first break, but I looked at you there and couldn''t find you."


    "Oh," Jim was startled for a moment, "I didn''t know master Sher could send anyone from the inner disciples."


    "Master Sher had a very good position inside the Medusa pantheon," the kid said before stretching out his hand as he added, "I''m Lim, a privileged inner disciple of third year, of the Rancee race."


    "Rancee race?" Jim muttered before stretching out his hand and shook the already extended hand of Lim, "I''m Jim, nice to meet you."


    "I''m honored to meet the one who caused all that ruckus and is still alive," Limughed while Jim didn''t feel any ill intentioning from him. "My race has the outer physique of humans, but we have a very unique innate gift that made us unique."


    Jim nced in question and the next moment Lim showed him what was special about his race. "Impressive," Jim honestly said while watching two small cylindrical eyes opening just above the eyebrows of Lim.


    The two eyes had blue color which reminded Jim of the ocean.


    "I can use them to affect others," Limughed, "of course it''s more suitable for females, but for me it works fine."


    "You mean affect others in mind level?" Jim asked, trying to know how strong this weak looking Lim here was.


    "I can make others have dreams," Limughed before adding, "not the best gift out there but it can be handy sometimes."


    Jim didn''t fully understand the use of this gift, yet the next moment he instantly understood what that meant.


    "Scary," he muttered while watching the scene around changing at one moment to show off a deste scene of a ruined town before the academy reappeared once more in front of his eyes.


    "Hahaha, this is just a sample of what I can do."


    "Indeed impressive," Jim honestly said, "you can be lethal in any fight."


    "Hahaha, that''s a nicepliment," Lim was slightly embarrassed before ncing around, "what are you doing here all by yourself?"


    "I was just taking a tour around," Jim shrugged, "plus some disciples have other ns for me."


    "Bullys?" Lim asked, "you shouldn''t let them get anything out of you. Leaving a bully alone would end up in more bullying from him," he added in a sincere tone.


    "Thanks, I know what I should do," Jim simply said.


    "Alright, I''m here to introduce you to new friends," Lim smiled, "Master Sher''s words were clear, I should make you introduced to the Medusa pantheon affiliated disciples in grade one."


    Lim turned and started walking back towards the front of the campus, e, I have a shorter time than yours as a break."


    "Why is that?" Jim walked beside him.


    "Because I have more sses to attend," Limughed, "by the way, what sses have you selected so far?"


    "None," Jim answered, "but I intend to attend as many as I can."


    "You should," Lim said before advising, "one of the earliest mistakes I made was not to take all the sses of first grade when I had the chance."


    "All the sses?" Jim was speechless as this was the same opinion as his old man.


    "Indeed, all sses are fairly important y''know," Lim said before adding, "starting from grade three you''ll have more branches under each ss. Those like me who didn''t have the sses from the start had to go for two years to study in each ss first, wasting two years of our time and more effort to catch up with those who attended them."


    "Oh, didn''t know that," Jim was surprised to hear this, and that logic started to seep deeper inside his mind.


    "If I were you, I would attend everything with no exception."


    "But"


    "Don''t worry about the time," Lim understood his worry," you can shorten the breaks and attend more sses this way."


    "I''ll take them all then," Jim decided before the two reached the big group of first graders. The fifty disciples were now scattered ording to the pantheons and Lim just led him towards the Medusa pantheon group.


    "Hi," Lim said while ncing around, "I''m Lim, third year privileged inner disciple here with you."


    "Oh, it''s big brother Lim," one girl said while she chuckled, "I know you. You are already famous across the Medusa pantheon."


    "Hahaha, that''s something I doubt," Limughed while turning to Jim and said, "I''m here to ask everyone to warmly wee our friend Jim. He is from the pantheon of Fairies but master Sher asks you treat him nice."


    They all nced at Jim who smiled faintly. He didn''t know having masters from other pantheons would have such impact over here. ''The academy is really about masters not disciples,'' he inwardly muttered.


    "Of course we know brother Jim," the girl who had a fair beauty with those strange bundled hair said, "he is already famous among our grade."


    "I hope it''s in a good way," Limughed.


    "He is aiming to be the ace of our grade, indeed that''s a good fame," another kid said and Jim knew his n at once; the fox n.


    "An ace," Lim muttered while turning to Jim, "but I heard rumors about a Cason being in the grade was it just a rumor?"


    He turned around, moving his gaze outside the group of less than ten disciples before he spotted Patrick standing with those hailing from the Banshee pantheon.


    "It''s true," Jim said before adding, "but I''ll beat him."


    "Hahaha, that''s the spirit," Lim patted his back and Jim just felt a light touch there. "I hope you can be the ace, that will help youter on," he winked and Jim simply smiled.

 Chapter 102: Linda

    Chapter 102: Linda


    "Big brother Lim, may I ask about some guidance from you?" a kid of a strange race with a long slim body and thick long tail asked.


    Yet before Lim could say a word, a sudden ruckus appeared from far attracting everyone''s attention.


    Jim noticed arge group of disciples moving towards that ce of the academy.


    "It''s Linda," Lim muttered when he spotted that beauty walking among arge group of disciples all around her like being her bodyguards.


    "Who is she?" Jim asked as he noticed many disciples who seemed to be from different grades around her.


    "She is one of the princesses of our inner disciple campus," Lim answered before the fox boy added: "She is the pride of our campus."


    "Not alone, the girl with strange hair said before adding, "I heard she is one of the three celebrities among the campus."


    "Indeed she isn''t the only one," Lim said before sighing, "yet she is the only one without a mate so far which made her aside from her brutal beauty a very popr girl."


    "Humph," the girl harrumphed, "she is only a nymph n girl, it''s not a good reason for all her arrogance."


    "Hahaha," Limughed in a meaningful way, "never hear an opinion about a girl from another one," he said and the girl only harrumphed.


    "I know I can''t bepared to her in beauty," she said, "but I''m stronger in fight despite being in grade one and her in grade two."


    "True indeed," Lim agreed, "but with all her entourage who dares toe near her?" he winked and the girl harrumphed again. "What''s your name?" he said before adding, "I get you are from the Sedial n, right?"


    "I''m Moora," the girl nodded, "and indeed I''m part of the Sedial n."


    "Don''t mistook her for a nice weak girl of the nymph type, she is quite ferocious with her deadly hair," Lim said to Jim while Moora


    "My hair is my pride," she simply stated, "I can turn it into anything, starting from weapons to shields."


    "And that hair is just as sturdy as a mighty ore," Lim added, "she isn''t the weak kind of a girl, or a push over."


    Moora''s smile grew wider with the words of Lim which she took as praise.


    "Oh, the princess ising our way," suddenly a kid of the fox n shouted, "she ising here is sheing for you big brother Lim?"


    "I doubt that," Limughed, "I tried with her like others yet failed. She is just an impregnable fortress."


    Everyone, including Jim, watched Lindae near them in steady steps while the big entourage around her was getting much closer.


    "Make way Lim," one of the disciples said, "the princess is walking through here."


    "I didn''t stand in her path," Lim casually shrugged, answering over this giant Kroak disciple who seemed to know Lim quite well.


    "She decided to walk through here, and you should create a path," another disciple of the giant n said, "you know the rules."


    Lim shrugged and didn''t move while some disciples around them of the Medusa pantheon started to grow restless and nervous.


    The entourage of Linda exceeded fifty disciples, making them a force not to be reckoned with!


    "Calm down Zorsa," Linda said in a very soft tone, "I''m here not to walk, but stay."


    Her words made everyone''s faces change. Jim noticed her nces falling upon him, and like that everyone of her entourage also nced at him.


    And this was quite a weird situation, as Linda only kept looking while stopping a close distance by.


    "Sandy asked me toe in person and check over you," Linda softly said before ncing over Lim and added, "but it seems you aren''t sitting idle waiting for her support."


    Jim suddenly got her meaning as his eyes shone for a brief moment. "Send my greetings to her then," he said without adding a word.


    "That''s it?" she simply asked, "don''t you want anything from me?" sheughed and Jim swore his heart palpitated when she did.


    "Thanks, I can manage my own business."


    "Interesting," she didn''t leave as she stood there and crossed her arms, "y''know all of the disciple here and even at the core campus would do anything just to speak a single word with me, and here you are looking uninterested in me."


    "I just don''t want trouble," Jim knew if he sought after her with his miserable strength and backing he would bring cmity upon himself.


    "A man shouldn''t worry about trouble, but seek it," she simply said.


    "A man should be wise to know when to fight and when to run," Jim responded while everyone around were looking in confused expressions over their faces.


    "A wise human not greedy as I heard about your race," she said before adding, "anyway it''s good to know your ce, after all I don''t put anyone in my eyes."


    "Someone who has a Seducer won''t need any other girl," Jim didn''t ept her arrogant tone as he crushed it with her words.


    And the look over her face made him feel content.


    "You are arrogant," she said.


    "Not less than you."


    "I''m a nymph, the ace beauty of the entire academy," she bellowed in an arrogant tone. "All seek my pleasure and none has managed to reach my good side yet."


    "If I want to get you my dear," Jim had a smirk smile over his face, "then you''ll have no room to refuse."


    "On what capital?"


    "I got a Seducer, and this is enough capital."


    "Humph," this time she turned around and paused in her steps, "it''s not good to refuse the good intentions of a beauty."


    "If the intentions are sincere from the heart then I''ll dly embrace her and her heart."


    She stayed in her ce with her stunning figure in front of Jim with her back to him before adding, "I ask for power andpassion, nothing hard," she sighed before walking away while her entourage gave Jim aplicated nce.


    "A Seducer?" Once everyone walked away, Lim hurriedly turned to Jim as he excitedly added, "how in the fairy name did you manage to pull that out?!!"


    "It was just a mere luck," Jim shrugged.


    "Man, no one can have a Seducer and be only lucky," the fox kid said, "I must learn more from you. C''mon, tell me your secret," he added and all others, including even Moora, nodded and nced towards him in question.


    "It''s just a lucky encounter, that''s all," Jim yetughed as he tried to get out of this embarrassed situation, "she mentioned something about what she was looking for, what''s that?"


    "She wants someone to take the Mengoria castle for his own," Lim sighed as he helplessly added, "she is crazy seeking revenge for her father, and that castle is just a nightmare to masters, imagine us!"


    "Interesting," Jim muttered.


    "Don''t try," Lim sighed, "even some masters got enchanted by her beauty and went there to fulfill her wish. None returned," Lim shook his head in regret, "she is simply asking for the impossible."


    "We''ll see," Jim wasn''t fazed by Lim''s words, and thetter simply shook his head while saying nothing.

 Chapter 103: The Potion Master

    Chapter 103: The Potion Master


    "Wee to potion ss one zero one."


    Jim nced over this big smile of this master of the griffin n. He was a calm looking one, with a good impression left for those ncing over him.


    And the ss was quite filled up this time, as if this master was famous for his easy going nature.


    "We will start this year with the basics of potions, how to form potions. Then if I found someone worth nourishing I''ll assign more tasks and teach him how to concoct pills."


    The master words weren''t rashed, calm as if he was speaking to a close by friend not disciples.


    "May I hear your thoughts about potions?" his smile grew wider while Jim just had the image of that vulgar female master of the forging ss resurface in his mind, "C''mon, don''t be shy. I won''t discount anything from you like the others."


    Heughed and Jim realized the attitude of that female master seemed not to be an exception here.


    "Potions are the mix of nts to get their benefit together in a stronger format," one disciple said and the master nodded.


    "Five points to the hydra pantheon," he said before adding, "anyone else wants to add a more profound meaning and info?"


    "To make potions we need extreme knowledge about nts and their uses. We also need to be aware of the fact that making potions isn''t just about adding things together and cooking them."


    "Brilliant one," the master pped in encouragement, "ten points to the pantheon of phoenix. Anyone else?"


    "Potions are hard to make due to many variables," a disciple spoke again before adding, "for example the heat, the fluid used to make potions, and even the condition of the herbs used all these and more interfere with the end result and the sess and failure of potions."


    "Impressive twenty points to the Kraken pantheon," the master said in a pureugh, "anyone else?"


    "Potions are based on understanding the deep nature of each herb," Jim suddenly spoke up, enticed by these free points given to everyone while he already got a perfect answer from his old man.


    "For example a fire based herb can''t be used with a water based herb, instead using a wind based herb will give better results. Also it''s not only about adding the herbs together, it''s about understanding how they will react if added to each other.


    Some herbs might augment others, while others might suppress the same herbs. Arranging the herbs to be in a specific order is crucial or else the end result might not be quite satisfying."


    "Amazing this is just a brilliant answer," the master pped while his face showed many expectations for Jim, "fifty points to the resurrected Fairy pantheon bravo kid," the master was just too generous with him, "can you then tell me how the potions are made?"


    Jim smiled while saying, "sure master, but I dunno any forms so far," he tried to buy himself some precious seconds while the old man provided him with an answer.


    "Just speak generally then out of your understanding," the master wasn''t dejected by his question orck of knowledge. Instead he looked much amused and had even a glint in his purple eyes.


    "To make potions one must first start with herbs," Jim said before waving his hands, "for example a leaf herb must be smashed to give its essence before using. A fruit should be squeezed and a mere bark of a tree should be crushed into minute pieces.


    Preparation is the most essential step of any potion, thenes the selection of the herb itself. Its condition, state of maturation, reservation, and even the age of the herb matters.


    Thenes the fluid. Each potion contains special requirements for its fluid essence. To make sure the end result would be perfect one shouldn''t try to y with the essence.


    Thenes the order of any potion and this any form will contain a detailed exnation for this, or might not be obscure and not contain anything at all.


    So sometimes we need to improvise and test first to make sure the end result will be great. Also this allows for personal variations and experiences to y a role in making potions.


    Even a single form might result in slightly different potions where our own individual differences will y a role."


    He said the exact words the old man whispered, and through these he also started to gain more knowledge about potions.


    "Outstanding answer," the master beamed with a grin while pping hard to Jim, "I never imagined to find such a well knowledgeable kid this year. Bravo, you just gained one hundred points for your pantheon."


    The master then paused as he seriously added, "I''ve set my gaze on you, don''t disappoint me."


    "I won''t," Jim''s smile was so wide that extended from ear to ear. He was content with such an impression, and didn''t care about all these gazes his colleagues here gave to him.


    "Alright," the master said before adding, "we now will discuss our first potion."


    He pointed towards the ck board behind as fiery words started to appear there, "our first potion is a strength augmenting one. Of course it''s a basic grade, with nothing special about it except the most impressive disciple of you here will get one while moving home today."


    A wave of soft whisper spread at once while he waited, seemingly not annoyed by such a reaction. "Alright," he loudly said, "let''s start discussing the potion."


    The next moment the words behind changed to show up the ingredients of this potion. "Here I''ll provide you with everything you might need," he waved his hand and miraculously many pots appeared out of thin air with arge number of herbs.


    He simply waved his hand and then each pot and a small number of herbsnded beside each disciple''s ce. "You''ll use my pots and herbs during the first semester, and then you''ll have to provide yours."


    He then pointed to the board as he added, "this is the detailed form of this potion. Try to make up yours now and I''ll just pass by and give some pointers from time to time."


    "Master," one disciple said, "how can we light the fire?"


    "Just touch the pot and the fire will be ignited on its own," the master simply said, "the fire is adjusted to be suited for this potion making. Controlling fire requires some talent and so I decided to make it for another time."


    The disciples then started to move and test the pot, all but Jim who sat in his ce motionless while his mind was memorizing this potion.


    ''I can let you make a higher grade one if you wanted to,'' the old man suddenly said.


    ''With the same ingredients?'' Jim asked.


    ''Of course, but the fire might need slight adjustment,'' the old man said.


    ''Alright, let''s do this.''


    Jim didn''t want to let such a chance slip off his hands. He wanted to taste the effect of such potion on him. If it was beneficial then he would find a way to get his hands over enough potions for his team.


    He went to the pot while the old man''s voice rang inside his mind. ''First you need to prepare things in the same way, but the order of adding them will be adjusted a little.''


    ''And the fire?''


    ''It''s easy, the master of yours is so kind to cast a spell over it to maintain its state. All you need to do is just use a bit of force and it will be crushed.''


    ''It''s this weak?'' Jim was speechless.


    ''The master never imagined that a disciple like you will try this out,'' the old manughed, ''besides it''s just a low leveled spell and he used it over arge number of fires. It''s normal for it to be weak.''


    ''How can I raise it?'' Jim started to revise the steps of preparing the herbs once more.


    ''Just touch it with your sword,'' the old man said and Jim knew what he meant.


    He would instigate his innate power and use it to control the fire better and raise its strength.


    Jim then started to make the potion. The potion required a set of five different herbs; three leaves, one seed, and one fruit.


    "Let''s squeeze this first," he held one fruit in hand and started to apply pressure over it.


    ''If you want a better result,'' yet he was stopped by the sudden words of his old man, ''you should do everything with your pantheon power.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate to put this pineapple-like fruit with green surface and red leaves on the desk before taking out his sword.


    The moment he did so, his golden aura appeared all of sudden, startling many.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" one disciple sneered.


    "Are you mistaking this for the war ss?" anotherughed while Jim only ignored their remarks and watched the observing gaze of his master.


    And the master silently nodded.


    ''He knows,'' Jim inwardly sighed.


    ''Of course he does,'' the old manughed, ''did you think he would be oblivious to what you are doing? C''mon, he is the master of potions, and it''s only normal for him to know much more than you do.''

 Chapter 104: Impressing The Master

    Chapter 104: Impressing The Master


    Jim started preparing his ingredients using his pantheon power. Just next to him was small cups where he put the prepared final essence there.


    ''I''m done,'' he said after finishing dealing with everything, ''should I start pouring the fluid now?''


    ''First break his spell over fire,'' the old man said, ''you need to make the fluid face high heat first before putting anything inside.''


    Jim followed the steps his old man told him before as he simply touched the pot and the next instant he heard a muffled voiceing from it.


    And the next thing happened was for the weak and docile fire underneath to go berserk.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" one disciple next to him couldn''t help but exim in surprise, but Jim totally ignored him.


    He moved his gaze upon the master and found him smiling in content. ''He knows everything, sigh.''


    ''Hahaha, don''t worry,'' the old manughed, ''you''ll still impress him.''


    ''I hope,'' Jim inwardly sighed, ''what now?'' he asked.


    ''Put the fluid first, then the materials in the order I''ll tell you about.''


    ''And the fire?''


    ''Just keep one hand over the pot,'' the old man instructed, ''also try to withstand the heat.''


    Jim started to feel ufortable already. Despite him being protected with his golden aura, he still felt some pain.


    He put the fluid and waited a couple of minutes ording to his old man''s words before he started putting the ingredients inside the pot.


    ''Release your hand,'' the old man suddenly said, ''and wait for one minute and then put it again for another and then withdraw.''


    The instructions of his old man were simple and clear, yet he had tons of questions inside.


    But he restrained himself from asking now.


    The moment he lifted away his hand the fire started to grow cooler gradually. When the first minute passed he had already put half of his ingredients inside and then he put again his hand.


    He used a big clock over the ck board over the stage, and with it he managed to time everything ording to his old man''s words.


    When he lifted his hand once again, he had already put everything in the pot and only waited for one minute before the old man said:


    ''Now take the pot off the fire.''


    ''Is it done?''


    ''The fluid needs just a final touch, but it''s almost over.''


    Jim did what his old man said and there he finally could see the source of fire clearly. It was a special kind of ore it seemed, orange in color and gave up the golden mes.


    After removing the pot the fire started to grow weaker over time, yet Jim was attracted to the pot not the fire.


    The content inside was getting smaller strangely in a fast pace. It was like there was a sponge deep inside the pot that kept absorbing the fluid he created.


    ''Is this alright?'' he muttered to himself, ''I mean the fluid is getting smaller.''


    ''That''s normal, after all the fluid will only be sufficient for five potions at max.''


    ''So this is normal?'' Jim asked again as the fluid shrank in five minutes to be almost half the size it originally was.


    ''It''s perfectly normal.''


    ''Where does all the fluid go then?'' Jim carried many doubts and couldn''t help but to ask.


    ''The fluid is refining its own,'' the old man said, ''when only one third of it remains you''ll add the final touch.''


    ''Which is?''


    ''To insert your hand with the aura inside it.''


    ''''


    Jim nced at those small bursting bubbles before asking, ''the fluid looked quite hot! I doubt I will taint it with my dirty hands!''


    He checked his hands and they weren''t that clean to be inserted in such potion.


    ''Don''t worry, the aura only will integrate inside the liquid,'' the old man said before exining, ''this will help in elevating the grade of the potion and make it moreplete.''


    ''Are you sure?''


    ''Are you doubting me?''


    ''''


    Jim couldn''t say anymore while kept watching the fluid getting smaller on visible rate.


    ''Now!''


    The old man suddenly said and Jim did what he was told. His actions made everyone here speechless while watching him inserting his hand inside the pot to its fullest.


    ''It''s cool,'' Jim was surprised to feel that.


    ''Indeed it is,'' the old man wasn''t surprised by that before adding, ''keep your hand inside until the fluid shrank to its one fourth initial size, then the potion is ready to be stored inside those ss bottles.''


    Jim waited and didn''t question his old man while turning to nce at his master. The master stood in his ce while his eyes shone brightly as he nced fixedly over Jim.


    And his face told Jim everything he was feeling excitement!


    ''Now,'' the old man gave the signal and Jim instantly lifted his hand before taking one ss bottle next to him and started filling it using a special crafted long spoon.


    "Master," just as he was filling the first bottle he shouted, "I need four more if you please."


    "They are at your desk," the master simply waved his hand and the next instant four bottle sses appeared in front of Jim.


    And he kept filling them to the brim before closing their top using strong rubber covers.


    "I''m done," he said while returning to his seat once more and the five potions were ready over his desk.


    The orange blue liquid kept spinning inside like it was alive, or stirred by something. Jim nced over his creation in admiration while the master passed by and stopped to examine his making.


    "Impressive," the master nodded in content after taking out one bottle and examined its content. Jim was keen to each move he did, as the master opened the bottle and sniffed for a couple of seconds before letting one drop over his palm and then tasted it.


    "It''s a higher grade than the one I just let you do," the master reclosed the potion again before adding, "making potions is important, but knowing how to store them is much important," he then put the bottle back before adding, "this potion requires high temperature to be stored in, so I''ll let you take this special container and the fiery ore there."


    The master waved his hand and a small cubical box appeared with its lid open. Jim noticed the ce for putting ores in one corner, while the rest had racks to hold the bottles.


    Despite the box looking small, not exceeding his desk size, he found many ces inside that would take up to a hundred bottles at least.


    "Don''t be surprised like that," the masterughed, "it''s enchanted with magic. So the inner storage capacity of it is much more than it normally carries. Besides"


    He paused as he pointed to the special ce of the ores as he added, "you can just touch this small section here and it will pop up like this," a small segmental wall appeared at the ce he touched, "so you can store different potions with different conditions inside without any problems."


    Jim understood his meaning as he nodded, "thanks master."


    "I should have given you a good potion, but you already have good ones here," the masterughed before adding, "so consider this container as your reward. Getting something like this from outside is quite pricey and hard to get y''know."


    Jim smiled in appreciation while the master moved to check over other restless disciples. "You have piqued my interest kid, be sure to keep doing that and you''ll have a chance here."


    Jim was so much excited about these words of master as he hurriedly stored the ore and the bottles inside the container before storing it away.


    ''Happy now?'' the old manughed while Jim only nodded. ''Getting the good side of this master is good, but you must know you still have a long road ahead.''


    ''I''ll do my best.''


    ''Potions and pills are very important in everything, especially war. The more you get, the better your chances are,'' the old man said before adding, ''take also this pot, the master left one for each disciple.''


    ''Is it that good?'' Jim asked while storing away the pot.


    ''It''s just normal grade one,'' the old man sighed, ''but to get more advanced one you''ll need to visit the Sherwid town once more, which is a thing I doubt you''ll be able to do soon.''


    ''Why?'' Jim asked in surprise, ''Lim told me about the weekend vacation here. I''ve got a day off to do whatever I want.''


    ''I doubt you''ll have time for that,'' the old manughed, ''did you forget about the three masters you got? They will focus their sses during this period. Besides'' the old man paused before adding, ''the weekend will be the most proper time for the selection of the ace y''know.''


    Jim totally forgot about that and when he heard the words of his old man he was instantly convinced. ''I can send someone instead,'' he thought.


    ''Might work,'' the old man said, ''but it''s best if you go as you''ll need more than just a pot from there.''


    ''Herbs?''


    ''Kid, this is just one ss out of many. You''ll need more items to craft weapons, make potions, form arrays, and even gears for your ace position.''


    ''You are confident I''ll get that, right?'' Jim asked in expectation.


    ''Of course I do, who else canpete with the perfect duo of us? Hahaha.'' The old manughed and Jim only smiled while saying nothing.

 Chapter 105: The War Class

    Chapter 105: The War ss


    "Wee to the waaaaaar ss."


    Jim entered the next ss once he finished the potion one. The kind hearted griffin master didn''tst longer than the time needed for making potions.


    He passed by many disciples and gave many points to them in good intention. For Jim he was simply the perfect master out there alongside Mark and that unicorn master whom he didn''t meet again.


    "War is everything," Donald said before adding in much pride, "it''s not an exaggeration to say every other ss here serves to help you be better at war. But me hehehe, I''ll teach you how to kill and survive."


    His face changed as he suddenly removed part of his shirt and a deep hideous looking long scar appeared extending from his right chest down to his waist.


    "See this one? I got while I was in grade one like you," he covered the scar before adding, "I''m not ashamed to say I was supposed to die back there except for mere luck. And since then I vowed not to be weak again, not to put myself in such humiliation ever."


    Jim and other disciples crowded here were silent from shock. Donald''s words and his horrifying scar left a great impact on everyone.


    "Here I''ll teach you how to attack properly and how to defend strongly. I''ll teach you how to use every single ounce of knowledge before strength to survive. Believe me, war is all about survival."


    He paused before taking a deep breath. "Some might think fighting is all about killing your enemy, or at least beating him. The truth is this is a very superficial point of view. To win a war you need first to be alive to witness its end. In my opinion, all survivors are winners while all dead over there are losers."


    "Wise concept master," a disciple that Jim noticed standing within the chimera pantheon group before said, cheering for his master.


    "I know, ten points for the chimera pantheon because of your support and wisdom."


    The entire ss whispered as it was obvious this disciple didn''t deserve any points at all.


    And Donald simply ignored them.


    "To fight some prefer using magic and spells, others would use their abilities. Some might use their weapons and gears, others will use their arrays and runes. For me, no matter how strong you are you aren''t that invincible until you excel at them all."


    "That''s a wise master," John, the giant kid, said, trying to get points like that disciple from before.


    "I know," yet Donald only said these words before adding, "I''ll first arrange you in teams of two, each has to fight and try to knock the opponent down."


    "Won''t you teach us anything?" the fox kid Jim spoke with before said in surprise.


    "This is the first stage in your teaching, which is for me to know your own abilities and powers. Five points are deduced from the pantheon of Medusa for your rudeness."


    ""


    The kid and others around were speechless when they heard that. ''He is biased to his pantheon,'' Jim thought before realizing he should shut his mouth up during this ss from now on or else


    "Come here now," Donald waved his big arm and the next the stage he was standing upon got elevated above the ground for meters above. He stayed there while ncing over everyone down below and the space the stage took was now empty.


    "Twoe forth now, you and you. Let me see your abilities," he randomly selected two; one of the chimera pantheon and the other was from the werewolf n.


    The two kids moved towards the empty space where they didn''t know what to do except using their n abilities.


    Donald watched with the disciples here the intense fight with a disappointed look over his face. "What did that old man teach you in his ss? Huh? Don''t tell me he spoke about the magic power and nothing else!"


    Donald referred to Mark and that made Jim quite annoyed. However on the surface he remained calm while some of the chimera pantheon just joked with their master and got another fifty points addition to their ount due to their proimed wisdom.


    "You, and you go and show me something different," Donald chose another kid to fight, and yet he was disappointed.


    The kids here never had the chance to learn anything useful. It was still day one and it wasn''t yet over! Despite that, two kids of the chimera pantheon, belonging to the toxic gaul n used one spell each and created a big cloud of toxin that exploded all of sudden and heavily injured their opponents.


    "Send them to the hospital ward," Donald casually said to one of the teams who fought already, "I''ve informed her to prepare beds enough for most of you."


    Heughed as if he just cracked a nice joke, "I doubt anyone of my pantheon will be hurt today," proudly and arrogantly he dered, before turning to Jim and his eyes shone: "You,e here and show me your worth you''ll be his opponent."


    He selected another one of his pantheons, a giant lion n kid. Jim walked leisurely while the kid nced over at him in a challenging look before the two stopped meters away from each other under the flying stage.


    "I heard rumors about you," the kid suddenly sneered, "and I doubt any is true to be honest. You only gained this far because you used the help of your subordinates. Alone you are nothing, and I''ll show this to master and everyone."


    "Humph," Jim simply harrumphed while ncing over the master.


    "Start," Donald said while a big smile was over his face.


    And Jim just intended to wipe this smile off.


    The kid had a giant lion head and his neck and back was simply covered with his thick fur. For Jim he found the kid looking handsome, and he didn''t mind befriending a lion but this kid had such arrogance that made him want simply to kick his as*.


    The moment Donald gave the signal the kid took out two big iron ws and wore them. A pure orange aura appeared around his cloak, and his eyes shone faintly with orange fire.


    Jim simply took out his sword and waited. The kid spoke the truth here, hecked the support of his friends and so he couldn''t use Lan''s lightning to ignite his technique.


    However


    "Die!"


    The kid roared with a tone obscured with a faint real lion''s roar before arching his body and jumping in strange agility and pure speed towards Jim.


    But thetter didn''t move to evade despite being able to, as he simply took out a burning ore and held it in his hand.


    It was the same ore he had before from his griffin master, and now it was the time to use it in such a different way.


    "He is cheating!" another disciple shouted and Jim didn''t need to turn around to know it was Patrick. Yet he didn''t give Donald any chance to judge as the next moment his body was lit up in fire before he simply put the sword over the ground.


    He didn''t need to activate the full strength of the spell, so in the next second he let the sword down and then his protective fiery shield appeared around him like a cocoon of fire.


    "Boom!"


    The lion kid just hit it and bounced back due to his high momentum. Yet just before his body could touch the ground, Jim moved faster and threw a strike towards the kid.


    "Boom!"


    A much more massive explosion urred that even caused the ground to disintegrate into fine dust and a big cloud of rubbles. The mighty explosion here seemed to attract other masters and instantly two of them appeared in the ss.


    The dust settled slowly to reveal three silhouettes inside; Jim, the lion kid, and Donald.


    "What''s going on here?!" Mark eximed in surprise while gazing up at Jim and found nothing wrong happened to him.


    Donald was surrounding himself with a strange ck aura. For Jim he didn''t manage to spot what exactly happened due to Donald''s insane speed, but he could tell from the aura seeping slowly like an endless number of small snakes around Donald.


    And that ck bubble was the one to absorb his spell, and he only got a glimpse of how these snakes ate his fire away like it was nothing.


    "Hahaha, I was just teaching the kids the war," Donald embarrassedlyughed while cancelling his shield.


    "I understand disciples fighting against each other, but this" the unicorn master said while ying with his horn, "were you fighting against the two kids or what?"


    "Me? No way, it''s against the rules," Donald hurriedly said before turning to Jim. "nice one kid, you are really good. You can retire now."


    Jim nced over Donald for a brief moment before sighing. If he was just a disciple not a master then he wouldn''t hesitate to speak neck to neck with him, but he saw how insanely stronger Donald was.


    From just this short moment of exchange he learned how vast the gap was between him and those masters. ''I should tread my way in more care from now on,'' he decided as he recalled Pol and thanked the old fairy rules here that protected him from a death he wouldn''t even seeing.

 Chapter 106: The Biased Master

    Chapter 106: The Biased Master


    "You hit like a pussy kid."


    After the retreat of the two masters, Donald turned to nce at Jim and sneered, "your hit was so weak. You have a long way ahead of you."


    ''Don''t!''


    Jim was about to speak back and reply in a harsh way but the old man stopped him from doing so.


    And so he went to silence, swallowing what he wanted to respond to Donald deep inside him.


    "Humph, I thought so," Donald turned to the losing kid of his pantheon, "go back to you two and let the next twoe forth."


    Jim moved from the ce of the sparring while the kid nced deeply at him. "You are lucky to have his backing," Jim softly muttered while walking side to side with the kid.


    "You cheated, cheater!" the kid refused to show any sign of weakness there.


    "Humph," Jim raised his head high while returning to his seat. He was sitting in the middle of the Medusa group of disciples, and their eyes told him how much praise they had to him deep down their souls.


    "Next," Donald continued to choose the kids to spar. Away from this strong sh Jim had, no one caused another ruckus there.


    And the pantheon of chimera just reaped one hundred points more during this.


    "Now it''s time to teach you the proper fighting tactic that will save your lifeter on," Donald viciously nced at Jim as he added, e, we need someone to demonstrate this tactic upon."


    Jim hesitated for a moment before sighing and walking back to the center of attention.


    "Five disciples you, you, and youe here now," Donald chose hurriedly five of his own pantheon disciples before adding, "to be fair, you should select one more."


    Jim nodded and nced all over the ce before pointing to Moora and said: "Come here, I''ll need your help."


    "Selecting a Sedial n interesting choice indeed."


    Donald seemed quite amused as he was pretty much sure of Jim''s loss. Jim knew that the biased master was trying to take his revenge upon him, and that made him quite agitated.


    Masters shouldn''t be this biased or partial to anyone, including themselves!


    "Now I''ll exin the tactic usedmonly by our camp in all wars, it''s called the five team tactic. It''s simply depending on the teamwork of the five members here to crush the other two," Donald smiled viciously before Jim suddenly interrupted him:


    "shouldn''t I have a five man team as well?"


    "Five points, no, make it ten points deducted from the Fairy pantheon," Donald answered with a wide smile before calmly adding, "this is my ss and I just want to train those against you. Don''t be bitter, as this is just the first wave of many."


    Jim swallowed what he wanted to say again after his old man stopped him with the simple word warning once more.


    "Now, the five team should be arranged in two one two formation. The two at the front are tasked with defending, the two at the back are responsible for attacking, and the one is the center can be considered a joker, acting to organize everyone and help anyone in any situation."


    Donald nced over Jim and Moora as heughed, "do you have anything to say little human?"


    ""


    Jim ignored him before turning to Moora as he said, "your task is to defend, nothing more."


    "But"


    She wanted to say this is just impossible. Despite hating the fact that Jim dragged her to his own fight, she still felt pissed off from Donald''s bias.


    "Don''t worry," Jim smiled, "trust me on this."


    She had nothing to say but to nod. He nced over the five man team up front and they were all a mix of the giant lion n and giant tiger n.


    Yet Jim wasn''t under pressure at all with this formation, as he knew this fight was easy to handle.


    "Start!" Donald gave the signal before Jim took out his fire ore and started to activate his spell. He noticed Donald''s gaze towards him, which made him know Donald was much confident about this fight.


    But Jim only sneered, as he never intended to use his spell alone.


    "Roar!"


    The two tigers at the front moved fast to attack Moora who simply sneered and her hair twisted and danced to form a strong shield couple of meters up front after expanding all of sudden.


    And the two tigers just got hit with it, but suddenly the two lions on the back moved and bypassed her defensive hair.


    Despite all that, the audience here wasn''t attracted to this fast encounter, but towards a spot behind Moora Jim!


    He was dancing, jumping around like crazy while being surrounded by his fire bubble.


    "Roar!"


    The two lions roared and managed to knock Moora back. Fighting the four heads on seemed quite an impossible feat for her, for anyone.


    Just as she was sent flying back, she didn''tnd on the ground as Jim moved to hold her few meters before crashing.


    "You" she nced at him and he noticed a thin line of blooding from the corner of her mouth. "You did well, rest here and watch," he let her body straight on the ground before vanishing from her sight.


    Then a massacre erupted.


    This time Donald waste to interfere to only stop Jim from hitting thest kid. As for the other four who were so close to Jim, he couldn''t save them in time.


    "Boom!"


    An explosion urred, so massive that it attracted the two masters from before.


    "What''s going on here inside your ss?" Mark demanded an exnation while the cloud of dust settled to reveal Donald negating the spells of Jim with a wave of his long stick.


    "I''m teaching here," Donald was already in a bad mood. He hesitated to move when Jim held Moora, as he never thought this kid would have such a grand spell under his sleeves.


    He heard Jim caused a big ruckus back at the arena the other day, but he never thought this was due to Jim, but to the presence of others with him.


    And now he knew he was wrong to underestimate this little human kid.


    "Master," but Jim didn''t intend to let Donald go again with his bias, "I want to file aint here."


    His words attracted everyone''s attention over him, and suddenly Rana appeared to join the group of masters.


    "Donald, you interrupted my ss twice in a row this is a real record!" she sneered before ncing over Jim and asked, "what do you want toin about kid?"


    "Master shouldn''t be biased to disciples," Jim said before pointing towards the standing weak and looking pale Moora, "he let the two of us fight against the five of his own pantheon disciples in an unfair fight!"


    He was so much enraged with this fact. If the master gave him equal chances then he wouldn''tin, but he asked for fairness to be repaid with points deducted from his pantheon.


    His hard earning points were gone simply like that.


    "Impudent child this rudeness won''t be tolerated," Donald shouted in rage, "your pantheon will"


    "Donald," Mark calmly said, interrupting him in a tone that was cold to withstand. Jim nced at Mark who smiled at him as he added: "Tell me everything kid, and fear nothing. Here everyone is bound with rules."


    "Humph," Rana harrumphed and the old man warned but Jim had already made up his mind.


    This bias shouldn''t be let off simply like this.


    Jim started to narrate what happened. He didn''t add anything extra and just stated the facts.


    "Is this true?" Mark asked in a calm yet domineering tone.


    "I won''t do that, never let my kids be harmed without good reason," Donald bellowed back.


    "Does this happen or not?" Mark said while the face of Donald looked quite unsightly.


    "I was teaching them how to fight," Donald arrogantly said, "they need examples on how to fight properly."


    "But you shouldn''t let the kids get harmed by that," Rana shook her head before adding, "now you have kids injured because you let them in harm''s way."


    "They fought only two and got injured," Donald defended, "my estimate initially was right, that human kid alone is enough to face five of them!"


    "Still that''s not how we work here," Mark calmly said before turning to Jim and asked, "how many fights did you win so far?"


    "Two."


    "The pantheon of Fairies just got themselves two hundred points in return," Mark said before turning to Donald, "I won''t tolerate bias towards other pantheons. See Rana here and learn a thing or two from her for fairies sake!"


    Rana''s face beamed with a bright smile, "are you praising me old man? Oh I never dreamt of a day to hear such words from you, hehehe."


    Mark nced silently at her and that gaze choked herughs inside her throat before returning to stand calm beside him.


    "This is thest time I hear something like this," Mark said while the unicorn master calmly added, "this isn''t your first felony y''know, if not for your outstanding skills in teaching, we might have dealt with this in another way."


    Donald''s face was so dark before Mark nced at the four lying motionless on the ground kids and sighed. "Jim, my boy, you didn''t need to be so ruthless."


    "I had to defend myself against them," Jim simply shrugged, "after all I was outnumbered and my teammate was injured at the start of the fight."


    "He is simply too much topare to others here," Donaldined, trying to make his image much better.


    "It''s not his fault to be strong," but Rana couldn''t help but reprimand him, "as a master you should know how to tailor your teachings to each disciple."


    And her harsh remark left him silent without saying anymore.


    "Alright, I''ll take those kids to the hospital ward," Mark sighed, "the first day and five kids are injured from your ss alone that''s too much Donald."


    "Make sure no one else will get injured," the unicorn master warned, "and I''ll keep an eye over the pantheon pointsing from your ss. Make sure not to overuse your power here."


    "I will."


    Donald dishonestly said while his face and gaze told Jim he wasn''t learnt anything from this lesson. ''Sigh, this master is really dark from within,'' he inwardly muttered while the old man only sighed.


    ''Chimeras are the hardest to face,'' the old man said while Jim returned like a king to his seat, ''they are quite vengeful. You shouldn''t have done that!''


    ''And let myself turn into the punching bag of the entire ss?'' Jim was speechless for a second, ''no old man, if I was going to end like this at least I have to fight back somehow!''


    ''Sigh,'' and the old man only sighed while Donald nced in deep hatred towards Jim.

 Chapter 107: Graz Game Is The Answer

    Chapter 107: Graz Game Is The Answer


    "You know you''ve got some guts to stand against that master."


    As the ss ended and everyone got out, Moora stood beside Jim with the rest of the Medusa pantheon kids. "I can''t believe you stood out for me like this."


    Jim wanted to say this wasn''t intentional, but as she got something wrong as a good intention of his so he didn''t n to correct her.


    Instead he stood there smiling and saying: "Are you feeling alright now?"


    "Don''t worry, I can handle more injuries than these," she waved her hands casually before adding, "Besides I got a good medicine there, and now I''m feeling much better."


    "Great. Can we go now to record our sses?" he said as the day was off finally and he had to register his sses.


    "You didn''t do this till now?" the fox kid said, "you should have done that in the early morning y''know."


    "I preferred to wait," Jim simply said before adding, "see you tomorrow then."


    "Won''t youe to the dancing ball?" Moora suddenly said, stopping him.


    "What dancing ball?" he asked as he never heard of this.


    "It''s the first day dancing ball," another kid said in excitement, "there we can get to know more kids, even from the core zone as well. Pretty girls will be there."


    "Stop it," Moora hit the poor kid with her elbow to silence him and his face showed how much pain he was in right now. "It''s primarily meant for the clubs to introduce themselves and recruit for new members," she said.


    "Clubs? Are they pantheon clubs?" Jim asked.


    "There are of course pantheon clubs, and there are some private clubs that don''t follow any pantheon. Ah, for me I hope I can go into the dreadful club. It''s just awesome!"


    Jim smiled as he realized the academy world was so much moreplicated and bigger than he initially thought. "When and where?"


    "Tonight at ten o''clock," she said, "and it will be done inside the big square of dragons near the northern gate."


    "The northern gate?" Jim muttered.


    "It''s the gate that leads to the forest," the fox kid said, "and you can bring your followers as well."


    "In fact you should do that," Moora stressed, "after all the personal power and traits aren''t enough to get you into one of the prestigious clubs. You need to have a good entourage, the bigger the better."


    "Alright, I''ll be there then," Jim promised while walking towards the other end of the campus, "see you tonight," he said while Moora watched him in silence.


    "Have you made up your mind?"


    Jim returned to the octopus master who was nowpletely free. His ce who was totally upied in the early morning hours was now looking quite deste.


    "Yes master," Jim politely said, "I want to sign in every ss here."


    "All?" the master was surprised before he cracked a wide smile over his kinky face, "that''s impressive, or is it a trait for humans? Pardon my negligence, it''s not usual to have humans here."


    "I just want to learn everything," Jim gave this reason which was partly true.


    "Alright," the master said, "I''ve filled the form for you. All I need is your signature and it''s done."


    Jim took the paper and left a blood print over it.


    "I''ve heard some rumors circting around about you standing against Donald," suddenly the master said, "is that true?"


    "He was biased towards his pantheon and mistreated me," Jim said while not knowing if this master was a friend to Donald or a foe.


    "Hahaha, interesting kid," the masterughed before adding, "go now, I''ll look forward to your performance this year."


    "Thanks master," Jim was relieved he wasn''t reprimanded for what he did. Just as he was on his way home, he saw Donald walking through the gate of the campus. He simply sneered before walking in his way like he never saw him.


    And Jim knew that master wouldn''t let what happened before pass this easily.


    "How was your day?"


    As he returned home, he was delighted to see the two Twisex girls standing there with good health.


    And they were surrounded by his team, mostly, reminding him of that huge entourage Linda had.


    "Well" Deno seemed hesitant before Rick added: "It was a disaster to be honest."


    Jim sat over one seat in the hall while some food was left for him over the table. He took out a steak and asked: "What happened?"


    "We were bullied," Deno sighed, "no one weed us, and no one seemed interested in even talking normally to any of us. To them we were like ghosts."


    "Expected," Jim continued to eat his meal before adding, "and did you manage to break the ice?"


    "We tried," Kro sighed, "but none of our efforts brought any fruit."


    "What about the game?" Jim suddenly thought of this and asked.


    "The game?" Rick muttered before asking with wide opened eyes, "you don''t mean"


    "The Graz game," Jim said and some of the present here had a sudden change in their faces.


    "Boss, can we really participate in the league?" Roo suddenly jumped to stand in front of Jim with a bowed head and venerable looking eyes full of expectations.


    "Hahaha, why not?"


    "Weck an ace," Rick said in doubt. "Without an ace how can we have a proper team?"


    "Anyone can be the ace," Jim lightly said, trying to know how deep they know about this game.


    "Enough joking boss," Sagaughed in a sweet tone that reminded him of Linda, "to be the ace we need someone with selective abilities. We can''t just throw Deno there and pretend he would be the ace."


    "We need a Cason," Rick said.


    "We need none," Jim finished his meal and rubbed his hands together, "all we need is avable right here," he said pointing to himself.


    "You" many eximed in shock while Tina added, "with no disrespect, how can you be the ace?"


    "I''m already challenging a Cason in the inner disciple first year ace position," Jim returned his back to the seat as he amusingly nced at all of their shocked expressions andughed, "oh god, if you can see your faces right now, hahaha."


    "Boss this isn''t funny at all," Rick said while adding in much doubt, "the ace isn''t a y, and Casons are famous to be the best."


    "That makes crushing him more amusing," Jim grinned before adding, "anyway I''ll hold the ace position and you will form the other team members."


    ""


    They all nced at him like they were looking at a mad man.


    "C''mon, the Graz game is the only option we all have to force ourselves over everyone. With it we can have fame, prestige, and also good friends, right?"


    "Well, if you put it that way then yeah," Saga said before adding, "but it''s not only about forming a team, we need at least to win one game to show all our potential."


    "And the ace" Rick paused, "it''s the most important position we have. Are you sure you can do it? we don''t want to add more fun and humiliation to ourselves."


    "Don''t worry," Jim confidently said, "the only issue here is that can I participate in more than one team at the same time?"


    "I think you can," Tina said, "the only condition is that the teams you are participating in won''t face each other, which is quite unlikely."


    "The league has many sub leagues underneath it," Rick said before adding, "one for the disciples, one for the master, one for externals, and one grand one for all which is the best league."


    Jim went into silence for a brief moment before asking, "the disciple league is based on what?"


    "It''s a collected league for all disciples," Saga said, "but we can participate our team as an external team."


    "That might work," Kro said, "but the best would be if we participated in the premier league, the one meant for all to participate."


    "The glory there is much more valuable than other leagues," Roo said before adding, "also the level of thepetition is intense. Sigh, I never thought I couldpete in such a league!"


    "Me too!"


    "And me!"


    All of those knowing about the game expressed their agreement to Roo''s statement. "What''s this game?" Deno suddenly asked.


    "I never heard of it," Ashley joined.


    "Anyone of them can tell you about it," Jim said before adding, "I believe we can apply this weekend."


    "We need to train then," Roo excitedly said, "we can hire a yground and even hire a coach."


    "A coach?" Jim asked.


    "It''s a master from the academy who has much experience inside the game," Saga said, "or we can hire an external coach? After all, I believe your wealth can sustain this."


    "Interesting," Jim rubbed his chin before adding, "don''t tell me we can also sign off some yers from other teams as well."


    The smile he saw over the faces of those knowing about the game made him realize this could be done. "But we need to select yers carefully, and also enter negotiations with them early on," Tina said.

 Chapter 108: The Dancing Ball

    Chapter 108: The Dancing Ball


    "We have to scout them early on so their prices won''t be extravagant," Rick said before adding, "we need scouts to attend games early on, and even some training of the other teams if possible."


    "I can handle this task for you," Jim said before taking four bottles from his ring and putting them over the table to attract everyone''s attention.


    "Here are potions meant to augment everyone''s power," he said before adding, "I want four of you to take these and increase their power."


    "Oh boss you are really so generous," Denoughed while Saga added, "I prefer not to take it. despite me and my sister''s powers aren''t enough, but others might benefit better from these."


    "If we are going to the league," Rick said, "we need to give them to those participating in the team."


    "We''ll store them away now boss," Roo said, "after the training we''ll know who will y and who won''t. this way we can help the team better."


    "Do as you wish," Jimughed before adding, "also we have a dancing ball tonight. So make sure to be properly dressed up and ready to leave by nine."


    "The club dance ball?" Saga seemed to know many things already about the academy, "that''s some important event we need to make sure to leave a good impression there."


    "How can we do that?" Deno sighed, "the moment they spot me they wille hot at you. I think I shouldn''t attend this one."


    "No," Jim firmly shook his head, "I won''t ept that! All of you should participate and if no one is interested in us then it''s fine for me. After all when the league kicks off we will be able to leave an impact."


    They looked at him in silence and disturbed minds, yet he moved to the upper floor while adding, "don''t think too much about it and try to act normal. I''ll go to train a bit and you should start studying as well."


    His words left an impression over them as they all exchanged nces before heading to a corner and took out their books.


    The first day didn''t grant them any homework to do, but the bitter experience they lived made them desire to have a moment of peace each on their own.


    After all they desperately wanted to change the current hopeless situation for them and be the shining stars in the entire outer disciple first grade.


    As for Jim, the moment he reached his room he sat on the ground the same way Mark taught him and muttered, "It seems they had a very tough day."


    ''This is expected,'' the old man sighed, ''and I won''t exaggerate to say the next days would be harder on them.''


    "Should I use the girls then?" Jim thought while taking out his own potion.


    ''It might seem a good idea,'' the old man said, ''attracting attention then hatred of all as they belong to you it''s unpredictable but it will cause some motion in the scene.''


    "I hope it won''t backfire," Jim sighed before ncing at the bottle, "should I take it now?"


    ''Indeed,'' the old man agreed, ''you are going to best benefit from it during your training.''


    Jim opened the bottle and gulped its content in one go. Its taste started as sweet and ended up causing a fiery feeling deep down his belly.


    ''Start training now,'' the old man advised, ''don''t let the effect dissipate away.''


    Arthur closed his eyes and started to imagine his own closet. The second time doing this made him feel more refreshed, especially when he entered the state faster than the first time.


    Everything there seemed quite vivid, and strangely enough he felt the colors there to be more warm. It feels like someone had lit up the lights and intensified the colors all around.


    Everything looked so shiny, and even the tiniest details there seemed to be clearer than ever. He stayed there feeling warmth inside his soul, like he was in the embrace of his mom.


    As he stayed there he did nothing but to nce around. He didn''t know what to do except examine the small room and recall everything inside.


    "Sigh, this looks really life-like," he softly sighed before letting the orb free from his hand and then turned around, "what should I do here? I dunno anything else but to enter the ce."


    The old man didn''t answer, or he couldn''t. Jim stayed there for an unknown period of time before he felt a strong shaking that took him out of this sirene moment.


    "What?" he turned to gaze at Jenny who nced weirdly at him.


    "Were you trying to start a fire here or something?" she nced around and muttered in doubt while he was attracted to her gaze and noticed the charcoal stained ground and the deep marks left by something resembling the wild tongues of fire.


    "This" he was speechless for a moment there as he didn''t know what happened to cause such an effect.


    "Sigh, anywaye, it''s already past nine."


    "Already?" Jim was surprised as he never thought he would take this long in his training. For him he stayed inside the room for roughly half an hour, and in real life over five hours passed.


    "You''ve been confined here for hours," she nced at him in a weird way, "are you alright?"


    "I''m fine," he sighed as he stood up on the floor and there he saw deeper charcoal stains remaining at the ce his body upied. "Let''s go," he didn''tment further and went downstairs.


    There he found all of his team members ready. Saga and Tina were cloaked as they didn''t want to attract attention, and he just nned to do the opposite.


    If he had such an asset under his control then why didn''t he take advantage of it?


    "Let''s go," he said, leading everyone before moving his arms around the two Twisex girls over their waist, "you two will apany me all night."


    "Hmm."


    The two nodded while he felt the angry looks on his back from Ashley and Jenny but he totally ignored them.


    "Where will the ball be held?" Deno asked.


    "Normally at the gate to the forest," Saga said.


    "Indeed it''s there," Jim nodded before adding, "I want you all to stay together and try to make friends with others."


    "What if no one is interested in such a thing?" Rick said in a dejected tone that told Jim they didn''t get over what happened today.


    "Don''t worry too much about this," he chuckled, "after all we will crush any hatred and ineptable by our team in the league."


    His words and confidence helped to slightly relieve their distress, but couldn''t manage topletely obliterate it.


    "What are you doing here?"


    Just as they reached the ce of the ball a group of disciples stood arrogantly there blocking their way in. their gazes were fixed over Deno and Jim, where they conveyed much arrogance to all.


    "We are first year disciples," Jim said.


    "We know who you are," a banshee disciple said with a sneer, "you aren''t weed here. You can roll back to the dirty hole you came from."


    Jim nced over this weing party, all belonged to his enemies. The Banshee pantheon, the dragon pantheon, and even the chimera pantheon had kids hailing directly from them in this group.


    Yet Jim wasn''t fazed or stressed like the others as he simply took out his sword and the next moment his aura was ignited. "Do you dare to prevent a privileged inner disciple from entering?"


    "We can do anything we want," one dragon disciple said, "we are the tenth year core disciples responsible for organizing this event. If we said you won''t get in then you won''t!"


    "Really?"


    This didn''te from Jim but from far behind. Jim turned his gaze to spot Yuriing from the air to descend calmly just in front of Jim. "As far as I know your authorities are only to organize and maintain order, not to prevent disciples from entering."


    "Master Yuri we" the dragon disciple seemed nervous the moment he spotted Yuri who simply rose a hand to stop him as he leisurely said:


    "One hundred points are deducted from each pantheon for misusing your authorities," he said before adding with a chuckle when he noticed the discontent over their faces, "for each disciple of you standing here."


    He turned to Jim as he added, "I was passing by and heard this ruckus. Your aura is quite catchy in the night, I''d suggest you never let it burn down during this evening."


    "Sure master," Jim respectively said.


    "Goodd, now go in and make good friends and have some fun," heughed before giving a warning nce to the team of the tenth grade before flying in the air again.


    "Humph, cowering behind a master that''s typical of weak and cowards!" the dragon kid sneered the moment Jim passed by him.


    And Jim paused while giving this kid a mocking nce.


    "At least I''m not bullying those nine grades below me," Jimughed before adding, "even in the arena this will be forbidden coward."


    The dragon kid red at Jim and Jim red back before walking inside and his aura kept shining in the dark here.


    The team walked inside following him and Deno got a shoulder hit from the Banshee kid, "it''s not a privilege to be a giant, not all giants worth a penny," the Banshee kid sneered while Deno only sneered back and said nothing.


    "This"

 Chapter 109: A Dance

    Chapter 109: A Dance


    As they all entered the ball they were weed with another scene that was totally different from the darkness outside. Everything there was lit up and shining.


    The ce was strangely wide, and this ce was covered with a thin golden membrane that was formed of tiny sparkles of light. Once passing through they saw a gigantic stage in the center with many smaller ones dancing around it in the air.


    And on the ground there were many seats and tables, with many stands on the corner with banners expressing their names and giving everyone a glimpse of the prestige of each club.


    "This is amazing," Rick muttered.


    "Much dazzling that what I heard," Tina couldn''t contain her surprise, "and many are here, of all grades."


    Her words were correct as there were many attending the event that night. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say there were thousands here at the moment, and many were already knowing each other and even dancing over the tables.


    "Let''s go," Jim said, "let''s take a look around first."


    He moved and led everyone towards the center of the ce. When he moved, he attracted many attention with his aura, but not all gave him friendly looks at the moment.


    "You came," Moora jumped with a sweetugh before noticing the two cloaked girls whom he was holding, "friends? Or lovers?" she winked and Jim felt a strong smell from her mouth.


    "You drink this early?" heughed while adding, "they are my teammates, and she is Moora, a Sedial n member of the Medusa pantheon."


    "Nice to meet you," all of his team said in unison and that invoked many mockingughs from around.


    "Don''t mind them," Moora nced around in difort, "they are just rude as usual."


    "I never put them in my eyes," Jim shrugged before moving his hands off Saga and Tina''s waist, "Go and cause some ruckus," he winked and the two girls stared for a moment at him.


    And then he moved to remove the cloaks over their bodies, showing off their extreme beauty to everyone.


    "Damn!" even Moora recognized them, "two Twisex girls are you a tycoon or something?"


    "I''m just a human," Jimughed before moving his hand around Moora''s waist and turned to the team, "make sure nothing happens to them."


    "On our dead bodies boss," Rick and others said like fanatics while Moora couldn''t help butugh. "You are nning to create a legend of a beauty here interesting."


    "C''mon, let''s see the clubs," he said.


    "No let''s dance," she broke free from his arm before holding it with hers and dragged him towards one of the tables in the air. She moved while jumping around, twisting over herself more than once and he was simply astonished by the more daring contrast of this Moora than her in the morning sses.


    "Wine is really magical," he couldn''t help but chuckle while following her over the table that descended the moment the two approached it.


    And the moment he ascended there he suddenly heard music ranging in his ears.


    "This music" he paused for a moment while sheughed, "it''s enchanted music to make the evening bearable," she said before turning around and shaking her body so close to his even he felt soft rubbing down below, "those who want to go wild can go up there, and those who want to look boring can stay down below."


    Her moves told Jim how experienced a dancer she was. He suddenly recalled the two girls and thought about their dance along these rapid tempo. "C''mon, let''s have some fun tonight," she turned around and rolled herself before falling over his chest and he simply held her big body with his.


    And her hair just formed a giant cocoon that enveloped the two together before she painted a soft kiss over his lips.


    "Not bad," she whispered before moving fast andughed in a yful tone, "the first one is free, but to get more you''ll have to work harder."


    "I love getting harder," he winked and then started to move his body freely while matching her moves.


    And the dancing night just kicked in simply like that.


    Moora kept swaying in between his hands while he kept his moves simple and his touches gentle. She was totally wasted and for no reason she showed a side of her character he never imagined to be there.


    The couple kept dancing for ten minutes before she gave him her back and started moving slowly making him very aroused.


    And he couldn''t help but hold her with his hands while feeling the softness in between. She didn''t mind his soft touches or firm grips as she arched her head more to lean over his shoulder.


    Despite her bigger physique, she was so soft and flexible in his arms. Her long breaths told him she was enjoying this, and he was too.


    "Let''s stop," suddenly she turned around, breaking free of his arms while ncing at him in a moment her mind returned to rity for one second, "before this develops into something."


    "Do you mind this thing?" Jim yfully said and he swore her face showed more redness over her cheeks before she evaded his nces.


    "It''s not you, I just don''t n excuse me," she hurriedly moved to the edge of the small stage making ite near the ground.


    "Wait," he stopped her, "won''t youe and take a tour around? The clubs are out there calling for any sexydy to join."


    "Hehehe, thanks," sheughed sweetly, "I''ll never forget this nice remark on me," she didn''t dy to jump before adding, "plus those high clubs put such extravagant conditions to join them I doubt someone like me and you can join any. See you tomorrow."


    She hurriedly vanished in the crowd leaving him all alone. "Girls," he could help but shake his head while the warmth of her body was still lingering in his senses and mind.


    But a sudden ruckus erupted, making him turn to nce at its source, distracted from his disturbed thoughts and feelings.


    And there he spotted three girls walking in, side by side, like rivals who decided to up their game and show up at the same moment.


    And let the audience here be the judge!


    "They the three beauties of the academy," he didn''t need any introduction to guess their identity. He spotted Linda walking leisurely beside two other stunning beauties who just weren''t any less inferior to her, or even slightly better.


    "But" he evilly smirked while ncing fast around. He took a couple of moments before spotting his own beauties walking around the clubs with their own entourage of his team. "I''ve who are much better than you," heughed shortly before his gaze met Linda''s.


    She silently fixed her gaze upon him, while the two girls noticed her sudden pause and followed the direction of her gazes.


    And he instantly noticed mocking nces at the faces of those two before they leaned over Linda and whispered something that made her face change.


    Then she moved her gaze hurriedly, evading his like he was a que.


    "Humph arrogant girls," he muttered before returning to nce at his team. Deno was the first to notice his gazes, as he was the only one here feeling out of ce already.


    And Jim simply pointed towards the two cloaked girls with a fixed straight arm pointing towards them.


    Deno got his move, and moved to rm the two girls before he pointed them toe here.


    His actions were nothing to mention for others, but Linda noticed his strange move and noticed the two cloaked girls before she decided to wait and watch more.


    Jim turned to fix his gaze upon her again, as if he was challenging her while the army of fans swarmed the three girls before he noticed two giants moving to hug the other two girls before exchanging some words with Linda.


    And then the entire group who were now the focus of the entire party turned to nce at Jim with mocking nces of all, all except Linda.


    She showed an expected look that Jim didn''t feel any ill intention from. After all she knew he crushed a seducer before, one that the line of her admirers could form an entire army without exaggeration.


    "These clubs are all arrogant."


    The moment the two girls came to Jim''s side Rick, who was sticking himself around the girls like the other team members,ined.


    "What did they ask?" Jim moved to the edge of the stage while stretching his hands to help Saga and Tina to ride over it.


    "They want either a long and detailed interview about oneself and his n to join or to be someone extraordinary," Deno said in some difort.


    "Like being the ace or something?" Saga said while jumping beside Jim as she heard the music, "wow, I never thought you were enjoying such fun while we were stuck down there."

 Chapter 110: You Need To Be An Ace To Join A Club

    Chapter 110: You Need To Be An Ace To Join A Club


    Her words attracted the attention of his team members before heughed, "select some stages and try it then," he said, advising the team to have some fun.


    "No, we''ll stay here," Roo decided to be around the two goddesses while Ashley and Jenny moved each towards one stage. "Anyone wants to have some fun?" Jenny asked while waiting for the stage toe down.


    "I''lle," Deno volunteered while Pat also moved to dance with Ashley. Jim only gave the two girls a warning nce, after all he didn''t like the thought of his girls dancing the way Moora did with him just before.


    And the two girls onlyughed and nodded, understanding the strict warning behind his gazes.


    "Let''s dance," Tina couldn''t control her body anymore while the stage kept rising slowly high.


    "Wait," Jim stopped the two before turning to Rick, "send someone to gather all the details of each club, the final dates of joining, and how to apply."


    Rick understood his meaning and enviously looked at him while he moved his arms around the twisting soft bodies of the two beauties in his arms.


    And then Jim turned to face the three girls and the two dragon kids with them.


    He didn''t ask as he moved his hands to remove the two cloaks over the bodies of the two girls, exposing their stunning figures and amazingly beautiful faces.


    Their hair just swayed freely over his face and shoulders while both closed their eyes and were deeply immersed in the fast tempo of the music ying here.


    Yet the sudden relevance of the two girls here in such a way didn''t pass unnoticed by many.


    After all it was obvious the three beauties of the academy were attracted to Jim, and so Jim turned to be part of the focus of those here.


    With the two girls swaying their slim bodies and flexible waists in his arms he turned instantly to be the main focus of everyone.


    And in this simple moment the mocking nces turned into surprise and shock before deep hatred and extreme challenge feelings started to boil up in their faces.


    All.. all except Linda who gave him a very deep meaningful nce as if she was asking how in the name of fairies could you do that?


    "They are the pearl twins!" one of the older disciples here recognized the two girls instantly while shouting in extreme shock.


    "Damn! Fairies curse me for this! Two goddesses came to the party and I didn''t recognize them! I deserve to be damned!" another screamed while others started to exim, showing the same reaction loudly while Jim didn''t give any care to them.


    He even didn''t care anymore about Linda or the other two beauties and their two dragonpanions as he turned to enjoy this moment with his two girls.


    And he started to dance with them while holding their bodies so close to his, turning their backs to him and feeling their soft touches while leaning right and left, swaying nonstop on the tempo of the music.


    He didn''t forget his other two girls, but spotted them dancing with distance from their twopanions. Their gazes were attracted to him, feeling much envy from the two girls dancing in his arms.


    He intended to give them another danceter, but first he enjoyed his deserved moment of triumph over those here.


    The stage they were dancing over started to be crowded, and simply Jim turned to be the arch enemy and most envied person here in the entire party from many.


    Rick and others maintained a strong grip around the stage, surrounding it like they were protecting it with their lives. They prevented many from getting closer, and even some lingual shes erupted because of that.


    Yet Jim didn''t care or even give heed to any of this. He kept dancing and enjoying these priceless minutes while the two girls gave him a new experience, much unique than the one he had with Moora.


    The dance jumped from one song to another, and after half an hour he was pretty much satisfied with the impression he left here before holding the two girls each in one arm and then pointing to the other two to join.


    Ashley and Jenny joined as well and started a big group dance which made others ask inwardly how many girls this human had under his clutches.


    He danced for ten more minutes before finally deciding to go down and reap the benefits of his little n. "Let''s go," he said while pointing to Rick who threw the two cloaks again to Saga and Tina, "wear those."


    "Shouldn''t we let them see us all the time?" Saga listened to his words as she asked while wearing the cloak.


    "No," Jim shook his head, "the more you are hard to spot the deeper the impact over others," he evilly sneered, "besides you two are mine, not free for anyone to nce."


    "But they will dream about us," Tinaughed and Jimughed with her while riding the two cloaks over their bodies to properly cover their bodies, "let them dream, who said dreams are forbidden?"


    "Evil," Ashley couldn''t help but remark, "I''m sure many will curse you from now on."


    "I don''t mind even being hated," Jim sneered, "as long as I get what I want."


    "Which is?" Jenny asked in curiosity, "don''t tell me you exposed our two sisters to others just to show up!"


    "Hahaha, you''ll see," Jim winked before going to the edge of the stage and waited until it got near the ground. "C''mon, we have ces to visit."


    "The clubs?" the girls weren''t stupid and suddenly they all gained a proper insight of what he initially nned.


    In fact he didn''t n this for the clubs, but as he had this advantage now then why shouldn''t he use it to reap more benefits?


    The moment he and the girls touched the ground, an uproar erupted all around. The madness he once saw for those army of admirers sticking around Linda before resurfaced this time.


    And he couldn''t help but smile while watching his team pushing the others while maintaining a clear circle inside.


    "Will we go home?" Rick was feeling much anger towards those pushing him and others to reach the girls inside.


    "No," Jim shook his head in a calm manner, "let''s go and take a look over the clubs."


    "Again?" Kro was speechless but in mere moments they all understood his meaning, well most of them did at least.


    The journey towards the clubs made Jim understand how difficult Linda and the other two beauties'' lives were. During these minutes he heard many shouts, exmation of admirations, and even loud curses and mean words.


    Among them some started to take the side of the two girls, while others took the defending side of the other three. Shouts of supporting the girls and attacking them while supporting the other three were too frequent and loud, which eventually turned into an intense sh of words.


    "If not for thew forbidding fighting here, I doubt this would have ended peacefully," Jim couldn''t help but sarcasticallyugh while they reached the first club stand.


    "Damn those arrogant bastards!"


    Deno was still enraged by the cold treatment they received when they went into a tour around the clubs.


    "The five big clubs all required exceptional performance from Jim, while the weaker clubs were weing us like bees on honey," Rick said, trying to decrease the negativity here.


    "But those weaker clubs don''t have enough prestige or reputation," Pat sighed while Lan joined in as he added:


    "Those pantheon clubs are more arrogant! Even the Medusa club refused to take us in I can''t believe that!"


    "They have rules to prevent other pantheon members from joining," Jim calmly said before adding, "and those higher clubs will run after us the moment we start to win in the league."


    "This league it''s getting more hype than it should be," Kro sighed, "there are many teams out there, even some that had a long history rivaling any n!"


    "But the game doesn''t depend on individual strength," Jim said before adding, "luckily for us in this game masters who lived for centuries already are on equal foot with disciples in the first year they can even be beaten!"


    "It''s not that easy," Roo joined his friend, "after all this game depends entirely on the ace''s performance."


    "It''s a team game," Rick corrected, "it depends on everyone''s efforts."


    "Well at least we have good defenders," Jenny said while pointing at the giant members here, "with you around I doubt any ace can stand a chance."


    "It''s not that easy," Rick couldn''t agree with her remarks, "after all the ace will be camouged with the other three, making finding him quite hard."


    "I know you''ll do great," Jim said.


    "We need to train," Gordan said, "we need to hire a game yground starting tomorrow and train as hard as we can."


    "Why startte?" Jim smiled before asking, "Do you know where these ygrounds are?"

 Chapter 111: The Lionesse and Dioganose Team Clubs

    Chapter 111: The Lionesse and Dioganose Team Clubs


    "Do you n on going there now?" Saga was speechless.


    "Why not?" Jimughed, "after all we are all energized by this dancing ball and can vent out some steam there."


    The team stopped in tracks and gradually the words of Jim started to seep deeper inside their minds. "I know the way," Kro said, "but the fees"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll handle this," Jim confidently said.


    "I''m not talking about the rent," Kro said before exining, "what I meant is the gears needed to y."


    "Gears?" Jim was oblivious to this, "what gears?"


    "Gloves, knee guards, chest tes, shoulder guards many are needed to be bought," Rick said before adding, ''''not to mention the ace gears if the ace didn''t use better grade boots and wings, he won''t be able to ovee the defenders."


    "Wings?" Ashley asked in surprise, "the ace will wear wings?"


    "That''s certain," Tina chuckled, "the ace can use any gear to boost his speed, and what is better than wings out there?"


    "Oh I never knew that," Ashley muttered while Rick added, "the highest grade wings are very rare. Forget about being expensive, just buying a pair of wings of decent grade will require not only fortune but good connection."


    "Indeed," Rick nodded before adding, "I doubt we can find such a high end gear here or even be able to acquire it. the wings here might be slightlycking."


    "At least they''ll help," Jim said before adding, "may I ask why the Casons are considered the best aces?"


    "Because of theirpatibility with the wings," Kro sighed, "each Cason has a ce for the wings naturally ced on their backs."


    "Some even im that the first maker of these wings was a Cason n member and so he made them to fit their own," Roo said, "but I personally don''t believe such rumors."


    "But it makes quite sense," Jenny said.


    "It doesn''t actually," Rick said, "many tried to use other things to rece the wings, or even change their initial design no matter what the gear was, the Casons always were the best to use it."


    "Strange," Jim muttered, "even the leg gears?"


    "Yes," Rick nodded, "but don''t mind that after all not all Casons are legends. I recall that most of the teams use Casons, yet not all the top teams are."


    Jim knew that Rick said these words to reassure him, and he appreciated that gesture of him.


    "Who will be the hitters? And who is going to be the tankers?" Deno asked, and the three who knew everything about the game took the turn of answering and exining, making Jim better understand about this game.


    "The defenders should be those with big bodies, but the hitters shouldn''t," Rick said.


    "The hitter should be fast, not dyed by his huge body. That''s of course to catch the ace," Roo said.


    "Then what''s the role of the tankers?" Ashley asked.


    "They act as thest line of defense to stop the ace from reaching the final line," Rick said, "the hitters are the frontal line of attack, while the defenders are thest line."


    "And the decoys?" Jim asked, "the shapeshifters?"


    He pointed toward the five lucky shapeshifters who smiled in pride. After all everyone here might or not have a role inside the game, but they already secured their spots in the team.


    "They will mimic the external appearance of the ace," Kro said, "their role is to cause chaos and confusion to the opponent team, not to participate in any sh."


    "But" Jim had a thought in his mind, "is there a rule to prevent them from ying like hitters or tankers?"


    The three exchanged silent nces before Saga said:


    "Doing so would only expose you," she paused before adding, "that means the entire opponent team would move towards you and ignore everyone else."


    "That" Jim had many thoughts in his mind before adding, "let''s see how well we''ll do in the training session who wants to be a tanker, and who wants to be a hitter?"


    As he asked, many already raised their hands to participate. Jim knew it was really hard to select from these excellent members, "at least I know the ace and the decoys," he muttered before adding, "how many can we have?"


    "In the entire team?" Rick said, "no limit for this, but for those inside the field only ten can be there at any given time."


    "We can add all," Roo suggested, "as who knows who might get hurt during the game."


    "Hurt?" Jim was speechless when he heard that, "is it a dangerous game?"


    "Hahaha, you''ll soon see," Rickughed, "we are almost there."


    "How do you know the road?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    "I''m a big fan of one team here in the ultimatum league," Rick said.


    "The Lionesse team?" Kro asked with anticipation.


    "Lionesse? Hell no, I love chicks but only in bed, not in the field," Rick said in disdain, "I support the Dioganose team."


    "Loser," Roo said before adding in a mocking tone, "your team sucks! They always lost in front of thedies."


    "That''s only because the referee was partial to them in recent years, humph if the game was fair in thest five years then your beloveddies wouldn''t have even sniffed the scent of the cup!"


    "Empty wordsing from thest ten years straight second in line," Kro sarcasticallyughed.


    "Easy boys," Jim stopped them before this escted into something more intense than intended, "they will be our opponents as well."


    "I can''t believe I would y one day against the Lionesse," Kro said in a dreaming tone.


    "Damn! Even you Rick wouldn''t reject ying against such beauties," Roo said while hitting Rick with his elbow.


    And Rick only sighed and said nothing.


    "Finally we are here," arriving at the grand stadium here made the team silent and amazed.


    The stadium was really majestic, with high seats flying in the air; all arranged inside a big circle.


    As for the field itself, they couldn''t see any of it from their position outside.

 Chapter 112: The Silver Werewolf Master

    Chapter 112: The Silver Werewolf Master


    "The legendary Grazies stadium," Rick said in pride like he was the one who built or owned it.


    "Strange name," Jim muttered, " but I like it will we train there?"


    "No," a voice came all of sudden before a giant shadow approached them from one direction, "this is meant for the ultimatum league matches. As for you kids, you can y there at one of the subsidiary smaller grounds."


    He was a giant werewolf with some differences than Rick in that shining silver hair.


    "Master," Rick said while taking charge of this negotiation, "we are here to train to enter the league."


    "Oh," the master''s eyes shone brightly before adding, "the academy local league then?"


    "No, the main league," Rick corrected.


    "The ultimatum league?" the master said in shock before adding, "are you sure? That league is very violent and teams there won''t show you mercy because you are a kid."


    The master seemed quite weing to Rick and slightly caring about him. "Don''t worry master, we know the risks," Rick said in gratitude, "may I ask if master is free to tell us how to join the main league?"


    "Well you have a short window to do that," the master said as he yed with his long and thin beard that formed a thin line reaching his abdomen, "you have until tomorrow morning to join."


    "This soon?" Rick was surprised before the maser pointed out to something:


    "No academy team would dare to join except for masters or those arrogant kids at the ten grade. Other than the two, the league would be void of any," he said while the others understood his meaning.


    If the kids of the academy wouldn''t join, then the main league wouldn''t extend the deadline for them.


    "Plus the main matches start this weekend in all leagues, so the preliminary matches would take ce during the next five days."


    "Preliminary matches?" Rick muttered, "may I ask about those?"


    "Of course you don''t think you are the only team aspiring to join the league," the master said before adding, "and not every team that applies will be epted. You need to be the best of the best out of the admitting teams to gain your spot and earn it fair and square inside the league."


    "This" Rick seemed to be embarrassed as he had never heard about such a rule before.


    "May I ask the master about other conditions for participating?"


    "Pay one hundred academy coins admission fees as a start," the master said before adding, "and then pay one hundred coins for each match. Plus having a team topete that follows the rules and the suited gears for that."


    The master paused before ncing around, "I think you have the needed numbers, but the issue would be in gearing them up. Let''s see equipping ten yers with suitable gears of the basic levels will cost you one hundred more coins, if not more if you asked for higher grade gears. Plus the shirts and slogan and other stuff that also cost money but less of course."


    "This" Jim muttered as he was surprised by all this list that he needed to fill with his money.


    "Joining the ace league isn''t that easy, if you can''t then don''t stress over selves. It''s remarkable for a kid in the first year to aim this high. You still have nine years ahead of you. Don''t overstress yourselves now."


    Jim appreciated the kind words of the master. "Thanks master, may I ask where I should pay to participate?" he said before adding, "and as for the other things we also need a coach to train us."


    "Oh, a coach in one go that would cost you a fortune," the master suddenly paused, "but if I can recall right, you have a master that can be a great coach in the first grade inner disciple campus masters."


    "Who?" Rick hurriedly asked while Jim wasn''t as enthusiastic.


    After all he had some friction with some masters already. He hoped he would be the unicorn or the griffin master, not the chimera for sure.


    "He was a very good yer once and shone brightly in the league. Being part of your grade might give you an advantage to hire at a low price."


    "He yed before in the league?" it wasn''t only Rick who had his eyes shine brightly, but also Kro and Roo as well.


    "It''s ady not a dude," the masterughed, "I can call her here if you wanted, after all she is the one responsible for handling the gears for the teams here."


    "No f*cking way!" Jim couldn''t help but exim in shock, "you can''t mean master Rana!!"


    "Oh you guessed her right kid, good eyes," the masterughed, "back in the day she was such a fierce tank that gained herself a very famous name the Bulltor Berserker Rana!"


    "Damn me!" Roo hurriedly eximed in shock, "Do you know her boss? Do you know one of the legends of the Lionesse team?"


    Jim didn''t know how he should respond to that. His memories about her weren''t pleasant, and he preferred not to deal with her directly.


    However, as the master said, she might be avable at a low price.


    "Can you call her?" Jim said as he totally ignored the anticipation in the eyes of his poor friend.


    "Sure," the master paused before warning, "I believe you''ve met her already. So a piece of advice for all try to be calm and very respective with her."


    "I know," Jim nodded as this was what he intended to do. Just as the master took out a strange shaped horn, Jim pushed Rick to the side and stood in the forefront.


    "Don''t speak at all until I tell you so," he strictly warned in a low tone while the master blew the horn and no sound came at all from it.


    They waited for a couple of minutes while the master never used the horn again or said any word.


    "What are you doing here in thiste hour of the night old man?"

 Chapter 113: The Bulltor Berserker Coach Rana

    Chapter 113: The Bulltor Berserker Coach Rana


    Rana appeared the next moment like she was there all along. She nced around and her eyes fixed over Jim who felt much nervousness from her gazes. "What are you doing here smart boy?"


    Inwardly he heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed Rana in the morning sses differed a little with Rana in the night.


    "They want to join the ace league," the master said and instantly Rana returned to her old self as sheughed in mocking way while pointing at Jim and asked: "Don''t tell me this little midget here got hot and decided to aim for the ace league instead of ying in the inner disciple team."


    Jim was too worried about his team as anyone might speak a word here and there toment on such a rude way of her and end up getting severely punished.


    However he never expected the reaction that others had.


    "Damn me! It''s her!" Kro suddenly shouted before moving forward along with Roo and a couple others, "It''s you the legendary Bulltor Berserker Rana! It''s really you!!"


    "I hate that name," Rana simply sneered as she totally ignored these kids before turning to the master, "Old man, you didn''t summon me in the middle of the night to let some astray kidse and pay their tribute for the lost glory I once had."


    "They want you to train them," the master didn''t hesitate to speak up directly, "they wanted you to be their coach."


    "What?" Rana turned around and red at Jim, totally ignoring the rest as she knew he was their master, "are you out of your f*cking mind?" she shouted at him and Jim got a taste of her fierce aura at this moment.


    "Why is that?" as he was aiming to hire her then he had to get used to her explosive temper and find a middle ground to deal with her. After all he would be the captain of the team and she was the coach.


    "Because" his question startled her before she hurriedly added, "didn''t you hear about what happened to my career?"


    "I only knew about you being so famous back in the days," Jim said while his answer didn''t satisfy her. "I was badly beaten and lost myself for entire months before I woke up again. For that my entire career ended miserably and many called me nicknames that would bring bad luck over anyone dealing with me."


    Despite the fact that she was speaking in a strong tone, Jim felt a hidden bitterness. ''She still couldn''t get over that ident,'' he surprisingly thought before feeling some sympathy with her.


    "I don''t care about that," Jim said in a calm tone while those surrounding their idol gave him an expected nce, "after all we aren''t the best team out there and we are totally formed of grade one disciples. The question is do you ept to train such a team and bet your name on us?"


    His words made her eyes widened for brief moments before she regained her calm. "You''ve got some courage boy not overly smart ass without any muscles and spirit nice," she turned to the master before adding, "My fees are one hundred academy coins per month, and I won''t ept a single coin less."


    "I understand," the master nodded while his face showed some excitement there unexined to Jim or others, "what about their gears?"


    "They can buy the cheapest set from the store," she sighed, "despite this would affect their chances in passing the preliminary matches but this what they can afford."


    Jim hurriedly closed his eyes and checked the small fortune he had inside his ring. "I can pay for more," he suddenly said, stopping her before vanishing.


    "You what?" she asked as if she didn''t get his meaning.


    "I can pay up to two thousand academy coins now," he said, "and if the master can help in supporting us and make me pay on stages then I can even double not triple this number."


    she turned to face him before putting her muscr arms over her waist as she said in a mocking tone, "And I can go and y in the best team in the league right now. Words are easy kid, but following them with proof is what really matters."


    "I can pay these now," Jim said as if he wasn''t fazed by her strong aura.


    "And my fees? The fees to participate and rent the yground?"


    "I can pay all that now."


    "Damn kid aren''t you a human or what?" she couldn''t help but exim in surprise, "how much wealth do you really have?"


    "A little," Jim smiled before adding in confidence, "about enough to make my team have a better chance in these matches."


    She exchanged nces with the master who shrugged as he couldn''t voice his support for Jim. He didn''t know him and just met him a couple of minutes ago.


    "Alright,e with me then," she changed her path while heading directly towards the gigantic building of the stadium, "C''mon old man, or do you want me to stand there waiting for you?"


    "Coming now," the master moved while giving Jim a silent smile as thetter moved after the two. "Wait for me here," Jim said before vanishing inside the building after the two masters.


    As for his friends, many were now stupefied of what just happened. "Damn! Will we really get that legend to train us?" Kro turned to face others while Rickughed. "Our young master is really dependable."


    "But the money he got must go thin by now," Deno said in a warning tone.


    "No problem," Roo said in a very excited tone, "if he even asked us to go out each night and fight any group out there to gain money then I won''t hesitate to follow through."


    "Me too," Kro voiced his agreement and soon all did the same, even those who didn''t know anything about the game or the significance of having such an ex-yer as a coach.

 Chapter 114: Signing The Contract

    Chapter 114: Signing The Contract


    "Let''s see" Rana said as she entered through an underground stair to a big office where most of the lights were off at the moments. "You''ll need the initial fees to participate, one hundred coins for that and for each match and you''ll have at least three? Right old man?"


    "I think they can face up to four," the master said as he wore a pair of sses that were floating just a few millimeters near his eyes with magic, "they can face four, as I guessed," he said after flipping some papers.


    "Many teams participating this time, huh?"


    "Many dreamers," the master said while ncing at Jim briefly, "no harm to be such ones."


    "Indeed," she turned to Jim as she added, "a lot of wealth as well. Now you need gears and also uniforms for your team who made you these coats for the academy?"


    She suddenly asked and before he could answer her eyes shone brightly as she realized something. "The old Twisex race is back in the game interesting luck kid," she chuckled in amusement, "so you can ask them to make you the uniforms and that will save you a bunch of coins."


    "Hmm," Jim nodded in agreement before she added, "the fine gears you can handle over one year''s payment cost around" she paused while Jim was full of hope right now. "Let''s see you pay and register your name first," sheughed as if she enjoyed ying him, "and don''t forget to add my fees as well old man."


    "Sure," the master turned to the papers where he wrote something there, "so I''ll need six hundred academy coins," he said while turning to Jim, "if you want I can take only half as deposit and the rest when you finish, either by winning or losing."


    "He should pay all," Rana rejected his kindness, "after all I''m doing him a big favor with the set of gears I''ll give to him."


    "Six hundred, right?" Jim said before taking out the coins and letting them fall over the counter, "here, you can count them."


    "Humph, you weren''t fooling me back there then good for you," Rana said as if she was hoping for the opposite, "now pay me a thousand in advance or you don''t have them?"


    "How much will these sets cost?" Jim didn''t answer her and just asked a question of his.


    "What do you think these gears would cost?" Rana didn''t answer directly as she nced at him like a real tigress eyeing a helplessmp.


    And from behind her giant body Jim saw the master shaking his head in silence, warning him not to fall for such a trap.


    "Anything thates from master is priceless," Jim said with a calm smile, "and I''m pretty sure the legendary yer won''t let her name be tarnished by useless gears, especially if she was the one to make them."


    "Oh you can keep your cool under my aura," she smirked before adding, "alright smart kid, give me the one thousand coins now and then I''ll hand over the gears and sign our agreement."


    "Agreement?" Jim wondered.


    "Sure, a silly paper that I pledge to give you all to achieve victory," she shrugged.


    "It''s an important contract and a very essential paper to be recognized at the league," the master corrected, slightly irritated by her own use of words.


    "Old man we both know these are just for show," she turned to say to him before turning to Jim again, "now take out the money or forget about me being your coach."


    "Fine by me," Jim took the thousand coins which left another thousand inside his ring or slightly less. "You can count them if you want."


    "You bet I will," she slowly took her time before finishing counting the coins in more than half an hour, making Jim speechless at how many times she missed the count and restarted from the beginning.


    "It''s correct," she finally said, "now give me the contract to sign."


    "What''s the number I should put in the ce of the gear price?" the master didn''t give the contract to her to sign as he asked, trying to give Jim a help.


    "I''ll write it myself," she said before taking the contract from the hands of the master and the pen, wrote down something and then printed a blood drop of hers on it. "Your turn," she handed it to Jim who was instantly shocked by the number she wrote before hurriedly putting his blood over the contract.


    And then the contract vanished and turned into a small medallion that fell in the hands of the master. "Keep it safe old man," she said before suddenly pausing, "what''s the name of your team?"


    "Name?" Jim was still impressed by the number he saw on the contract.


    "Of course you won''t participate in the league with a team named Jim, right?" she crossed her arms over her chest while gazing over him.


    "I didn''t yet choose a name."


    "Then select one now."


    "I have to ask for my friends'' opinion."


    "Friends?" she noticed the way he addressed the others while raising an eyebrow as she asked, "aren''t they just ves? You can order and they will instantly obey."


    "They are my friends," he said while feeling a little annoyed by her words.


    "Interesting," she only said that before vanishing in thin air, e tomorrow to the ss and I''ll prepare your gears there."


    Her voice echoed in the ce like her soul was still in it. "How much did the gears cost?" the master was busy with something else, "was she stingy with you?" he asked, "at least not less than four thousand, right?"


    Jim turned to nce at him before saying with a big grin over his face, "she was a very generous master."


    "How generous?"


    "Very."


    "Oh," the master smiled, "and you won''t share this info with this old man?"


    "Stop teasing with the captain of my team, old man!" suddenly her voice reverberated again in the entire ce, startling both of them.


    "Sorry, I was just asking," the master hurriedly said while softly muttering, "Damn! You didn''t leave yet!"

 Chapter 115: Please... Accept Me In The Team

    Chapter 115: Please... ept Me In The Team


    "I heard you, old man," she said but Jim didn''t feel any anger in her tone. "Go back kid, tomorrow will be a very busy day for you."


    "Thanks master," Jim thanked his good response over the master here or else he would have been punished by the fiery Rana. He hurriedly returned to his team and retreated back to their dorms.


    "Wow boss," Rick wasn''t the only one excited here as he just kept jumping around while adding, "twenty thousand academy coins! Holy moly she was very bold."


    "And generous," Saga couldn''t help butugh.


    "You just don''t see her y," Roo said in much pride like this was something he had a hand in to happen, "she was always famous for not having slow burn y."


    "What''s that even rted to what we are saying?" Rick asked in an irritated tone as the way the two Kroaks were acting were getting already on his nerves.


    "What''s slow burn y?" Deno asked.


    "She hated preparation," Kro ignored Rick''s remark as he added, "in the game we should first prepare the ball to disrupt the enemy formation and give time for our ace to be in perfect position to score."


    "This is called standard or ssic game y," Tina said before exining, "as for others they might call it a slow burn y."


    "But her she was famous for holding the unbreakable record of the direct assists to score," Roo said in much pride that annoyed Rick, "during thest ten years this record kept itself from breaking and no one even considered this would be broken anytime soon."


    "She used to directly throw the ball to the ace?" Jim asked and the two Kroaks both nodded in unison in a funny way. "Just matches her personality," Jim remarked.


    "Hahaha, you didn''t see her in y," Kroughed.


    "She also holds another record," Roo said as he tried to control hisughter but couldn''t, "the record of being expelled from games in one league and also in the entire career of a single pro yer ever."


    "Damn," Rick couldn''t help but vent some of his frustration, "did we call a beast to be our coach?"


    His remark made everyone realize something she would also be this fiery and violent with them all while training them.


    Even the two excited Kroaks felt some doubt and their faces told Jim how frightened they were.


    And Jim knew they should be, after all they only spoke about her as a legendary yer, not a person they had to deal with constantly.


    He still held the memory of her morning ss fresh in his mind.


    "Here we are," Jim said as they reached their small mansion, "let''s just sleep well tonight and forget all the stress and hope for the best."


    The night was overwhelming with events, and now they had to sleep well for the next day.


    He didn''t doubt that the first training session with her would be very explosive.


    If one thing he heard about her made him quitefortable then it would be that she was offensive in the game.


    He hated those defensive natured games, and having such an offensive coach would reflect deeply over their y style.


    After all the game was won by scoring more goals in the opponent''s line, not by defending your own and not scoring at all.


    "You guys"


    The next morning came and when he descended downstairs, Jim was shocked to see many of his team still staying awake till now.


    And their faces and puffy eyes told him they stayed up during the entire night.


    "Sorry boss," Rick led the rest to apologize, "we decided to take the day off and stayed up during the night to exin things about the game and discuss all the tactics and other ns."


    "Take a day off?" Jim was surprised more by this, "you c''mon, we have a coach who should be buried by these worries, not you!"


    "But many of us here don''t know anything about the game," Kro stepped in to support Rick, "plus we already discussed with Saga and Tina, and they are in their room doing the uniform for us."


    "Even they sigh," Jim couldn''t help but shake his head, "I hope this won''t bring any problems for you."


    "We can miss three days in a row or a week separately before getting into trouble," Roo said.


    "I alright, just go and have some rest then," he refrained from admitting his negligence of this rule, "I don''t know when we''ll be summoned to train but it won''t be earlier than this afternoon."


    He knew Rana wouldn''t ask him for training before finishing the long day of sses.


    "By the way," Deno said and stopped Jim from getting outside, "we selected a name for our team."


    "Which is?" Jim asked while not caring much about the name.


    "Fairosse," Deno said, "it''s a derivative of the fairy pantheon we belong to."


    "Strange name," Jim muttered, "but I like it. alright I''ll leave things here for you. Don''t overexert yourselves and get some rest something tells me you''ll need it."


    ''Y''know they are just excited about this, nothing more,'' the old man said while Jim went towards the inner campus.


    ''I know,'' he inwardly sighed, ''but I don''t want them to be so tired when we train tonight. After all this will be the first and only training session we''ll have before the matches the next day.''


    ''Sometimes sheer will ovee anything,'' the old man said, ''let them have their moment and have fun, I''m sure they can handle this.''


    ''I hope so.''


    Just as he reached the campus, he found many staring in a strange way towards him. Some had mocking nces while others gave him envious looks. "Damn," he softly cursed, "I totally forgot about what I did back at the dancing ball."


    Just speaking of which his gaze met Moora and the next moment her face turned red before hurriedly evading his gaze as she ran towards a different direction than his.


    "I heard many things about you already," the fox kid said beforeughing, "you did great yesterday epic!"


    Jim could only sigh before spotting Liming from far, as if he was running. "Come with me now!" he suddenly said before grabbing Jim''s arm and went directly towards a secluded corner.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean any ill to Moora," Jim hurriedly said as he didn''t n anything to happen with her and what happened yesterday was just a natural event.


    "What?" Lim was startled before shaking off his head as if he realized what Jim was speaking about, "I don''t care about what you did, and in my opinion I think you did great back there in the ball from beginning to end."


    Jim was puzzled and then Lim said, "I heard something else are you going to participate in the ace league?"


    "Oh," it hit Jim, "you are referring to this," he added and the stern gaze from Lim made him realize this simple decision might hold deeper significance than what he initially thought. "I''m," he simply said.


    "Please," suddenly Lim descended on his knees in a move that totally took Jim by surprise, "please let me join your team, please."


    "Lim," Jim couldn''t help but stutter as he never expected such a reaction.


    "Please, I''ll do anything you want," he hurriedly said before adding, "it''s the ace league, the most honorable thing that all dreamt of and never had the chance to achieve. I can be a good hitter, no, I''ll be a perfect hitter, the one you are looking for."


    Jim couldn''t get what was going on here but all he could do was to pat on Lim''s shoulder as he said, "C''mon, we are friends. If you want to join, then it''s ok for me."


    "Really?" Lim raised his eyes with shimmering tears out of joy, "thank you, thank you for this, thanks a lot," he kept thanking him till Jim really became annoyed.


    "C''mon, let''s go," Jim said, trying to escape this awkward moment, "we too have sses to attend. Prepare yourself afterwards as we''ll have our first training session."


    "Indeed," Lim stood up as he wiped his tears of joy, "I won''t bete, everte in the training."


    Jim noticed that he didn''t ask him about anything, making him believe the news about what he didte at night had already found its way to many ears, inside the campus and inside the academy.

 Chapter 116: A Sudden Ruckus

    Chapter 116: A Sudden Ruckus


    Lim didn''t ask him about the ce of the training grounds, or how did he get such a training ground. He didn''t ask about the team, like he already knew who was there and who was the coach.


    "I need to show him I''m the captain when he joins," Jim muttered to himself before returning to the spotlight again.


    And this time he found arger audience there than usual.


    "It''s him," suddenly a kid of a higher grade pointed to him and his shout attracted everyone''s attention. Then he was totally surrounded by many.


    "What?" he nced around not knowing why he was surrounded in this way.


    "You are Jim? Jim , who has two goddesses under his?" one unicorn- like kid asked in a harsh tone while he had a very small hornpared to what Jim saw before.


    "It''s me," despite realizing what was going on here, he didn''t flinch to answer.


    "It''s him," some softly whispered like they were seeing a terrifying foe or a legendary figure.


    "Why are you surrounding me?" Jim calmly asked, "don''t you know that fighting is forbidden in the academy?"


    "We aren''t here to fight," another kid said, one with strange colorful feathers covering all over his body like a giant bird. "We are here to ask you a favor."


    "Ask them," Jim answered without showing any fear from those higher grades disciples.


    "Please ept me in your team," suddenly the feathered kid said in a pleading tone before a wave of words appeared all of sudden from those surrounding Jim. "Please take me in." "Please ept me as a hitter." "Please I can train hard to be a tanker."


    Many spoke up in session and their demands startled Jim. "Damn!" he cursed, "what did they all know to make them this excited?"


    He was speechless as he didn''t know why but they seemed asking to join a very prestigious team.


    "Hey you," suddenly Mark appeared all of sudden, "let the ace of our inner campus rest and clear up his mind," he said while walking through the masses and standing beside Jim. "I''ll speak with him and determine a date to test all of you," he said and Jim stood there not knowing what to say.


    Yet the words of Mark managed to disperse everyone, not too far from Jim. "You made quite a ruckus today," Markughed while Jim helplessly smiled.


    "I didn''t mean to," he honestly said before turning his gaze around, "why are they so enthusiastic to join my team? I still haven''t started training or ying a single game yet!"


    "Hahaha, you underestimated the feat you made, kid," Markughed, "even I find myself enticed to join your team."


    Mark''sment made Jim more speechless there. "May I ask why?"


    "It''s the ace league kid," Mark enthusiastically said like a loyal fan speaking about his beloved team, "this is the dream of anyone. You can''t expect others not to be hyped by this!"


    "But" Jim paused as he didn''t know how to say what he had in mind.


    "Why hasn''t anyone done it before?" Mark asked, "it''s because of the cost. Who is crazy enough to do it unless he is lunatic like you?" heughed and Jim didn''t know if he was praising or insulting him.


    "But masters can afford such things, right?"


    "First we aren''t that much wealthy like you think we are," Mark raised one finger before adding another, "and second there is a limit to the age of the professional yer to start. We old folks can''t join the ace league."


    "But you can sponsor a team, right?"


    "We tried," Mark sighed, "in the ancient times many tried to do so."


    "And?"


    "We all failed," Mark said with a long sigh, "all the teams we sponsored couldn''t beat or rival those monsters out there."


    "That" Jim was speechless.


    "You didn''t lose yet and it was hmm how much was it again? I believe over three hundred years since a team of disciples decided to go inside the ace league."


    "Damn!"


    "Watch your tongue kid," Markughed, "you are a public figure now."


    "Until the matches start."


    "Don''t be this depressed, after all you''ve got a hell of a coach for your team," Mark winked, yet he was caught in action.


    "What are you trying to imply here? Huh?" this loud tone came from his back making his body shiver for a moment. "Oh, it''s our Rana, the next star in the ace league. I was just praising you."


    "Humph, as if I would buy the words of an old dude like you," she said in an arrogant tone before turning to Jim and added, "don''t just ept anyone in the team. epting any is a mission of the coach, only the coach."


    "I understand," Jim couldn''t help but say, "but I epted one already."


    "I heard," she turned to nce towards a certain direction, "someone is having a party for achieving such honor."


    "Oh," Jim didn''t realize that Lim ran fast so he could celebrate with his friends and tease his enemies. "If you want we can put him to the test first."


    "Believe me I will," she turned to gaze seriously at him before adding, "to seed there you need to be an equal monster to those facing you. Being soft and eptable would only bring you down."


    "Thanks for the advice master," Jim hurriedly said.


    "It''s your coach for now," Rana simply shrugged before turning to Mark, "don''t expect me to sit idle while watching you ying some tricks over my team."


    "I didn''t do a thing," Mark raised his hands in the air as if he was innocent.


    Yet something told Jim he wasn''t.


    "Listen up," Rana suddenly turned to scream at the disciples around who were already eavesdropping everything, "tonight you cane and take the test at ten p.m. bete and you''ll lose your chance, and you only got one do you understand?"


    "Yes ma''am!" all shouted in one voice and strange excitement which made Jim only sigh. "Now go and attend your sses," she said while turning to Mark, "keep your hands off my team this is your only warning."


    "I said I didn''t do anything," yet Mark defended and Jim was now sure he already did something.


    "See who is here boys it''s the kid dreaming to have a team in the ace league!"

 Chapter 117: Its Already A War!

    Chapter 117: It''s Already A War!


    When he entered his third ss, after Mark''s magical power and spells ss and Rana''s forging ss, he was met with those mocking words of the master he didn''t like Donald.


    "Hahaha, he is such a dreamer," Donald keptughing sarcastically before adding, "I wish you all luck to barely win one game of your four preliminary ones, hahaha."


    Jim clenched his fists and didn''t speak before Donald started exining the next ss and how to fight. He didn''t ask for Jim to stand alone this time, yet he grouped him with the Medusa kids and let them face three teams in one round.


    Jim again managed to crush them, sending many to the hospital while Donald refrained from helping them this time.


    As for Moora she totally avoided his gazes like they were poisonous.


    He could only sigh as he didn''t intend for their rtion to be this nervous. The sses passed fast and he finally had time to return to the mansion.


    "Where are you going?" Yet he was stopped by Rana who gave him a suspicious nce, "are we going to train now?"


    "Now?" Jim was surprised before hurriedly adding, "I didn''t inform my team about this."


    "Then go and don''t bete," she said before adding, "I''ll bring the gears with me. I''ll only provide enough for the main team we will select, don''t expect me to provide you with gears for the test as well."


    "This we can just use those provided by the stadium," Jim didn''t refuse her stand and tried to find a solution.


    "We don''t need so," she sighed, "we can perform tests using the main gears. After all, I want to see everyone''s full potential to better judge."


    "Alright," he nodded as this worked fine for him, "gimme half an hour to go and bring the boys."


    "Make it shorter," she instructed, "training you would take longer than you think."


    He could only nod before hurrying fast outside. During his path he was showered by envious looks and gazes filled with hatred.


    Patrick was one of those bitter losers who seemed to picture him losing the preliminary matches already. Jim didn''t know yet if he had to win all, but he intended not to lose a single game.


    As he ran fast, he reached his mansion to find everyone still awake up till now. Only the girls went to sleep for a few hours but everyone else seemed too hyped to catch dreams.


    "It''s time," he simply said before hearing a loud cheer from his team, "let''s go and impress our coach."


    "Boss, here is our uniform," Rick moved fast to show off the new uniform. It was strangely simr to the uniforms the girls made for them before, with fairy symbols all over the shirts and shorts.


    "This is for you," Jenny moved and gave him his own shirt and shorts, "you can dress them upstairs before moving," she added.


    "No time for that," he stored these hurriedly, "c''mon, our coach is waiting for us back in the stadium."


    As he led them, he found something funny; he couldn''t find his path during the sunny hours. "Rick, please lead us," he had to ask for help as everything looked strangely unfamiliar.


    "We are heading in the right direction boss," Rick simply said before jumping to be in the lead, "follow me," he enthusiastically said.


    "How did you make these shirts so fast?" he asked the two girls who chuckled as Saga pointed to Rick, Roo, and Kro as she said:


    "Ask these hyped three, they brought all the mattress needed for us."


    "We just asked others," Kro said as he exined, "many already knew about what we did at the stadium and so asking my old friends in the n wasn''t that hard."


    "You asked the n mates?!!" Jim was surprised to hear that.


    "Hahaha, boss everyone is excited about this. The academy didn''t produce any team topete for the ace league for thousands of years already," Rooughed while Rick added:


    "The bad news is that some haters are now seeking to assemble some teams and join as well."


    "Dragons?" Jim didn''t know to hear the answer as he already figured it out.


    "Not only them, also the Banshees as well," Deno said in some hatred, "they just couldn''t stand to see us doing ok on our own and n to steal the lights off us."


    "Those jerks" Rick said in an anger, "I just couldn''t believe how shameless they are! We are the ones to start the trend, and they dare to try to steal it!"


    "Don''t mind them," Jim simply said, "in the end let the best team reach the main league andpete. There lies the true glory, the true honor, not in the preliminary league."


    "You are the right boss," Rick said before they all reached the stadium.


    And there Jim found the ce overcrowded with many disciples, some he saw before in the inner campus this morning and some he didn''t.


    "What''s going on here?" Ashley asked while ncing all around in curiosity.


    "Some tried to join our team," Jim couldn''t help but sigh and exin what happened this morning.


    "Damn! More rivals then," Rick said before he hurriedly added, "but I swear no one will stand against me ying in the league! It''s my dream suckers and I won''t let any steal it away from me."


    "Me too," Roo said in strange determination like he was going to war.


    "And me," Kro also added.


    "Stop it guys," Jim couldn''t help but stop them, "we are here to train, not to fight."


    "It''s already a war, boss," Rick was already immersed in such a mood that made Jim helplessly sigh.


    "Alright, let''s go in and not be dyed anymore," he said as he moved in the forefront and led the entire team among others.


    "Humph, as if you have a chance to beat my team!"


    Suddenly this familiar tone made Jim pause and turn to face his old enemy. "Pol," he muttered in extreme hatred while Pol only gave him a mocking nce before walking towards the main building of the stadium with many giants walking behind and some shapeshifters as well.


    And two Casons, Patrick included.

 Chapter 118: The Silver Wings

    Chapter 118: The Silver Wings


    "Don''t mind that jerk, he is full of himself as all the inner campus masters."


    Jim stood in front of Rana who had her face turned upside down when she heard the news from Jim''s mouth. "I''ll go and see how this happened, the door to join the ace league should be closed in the early hours of the morning. Wait here"


    She suddenly vanished the same magical way she did yesterday. This time Jim could see how she did that.


    She simply turned into arge cloud of fog that dissipated fast from the ce. She was like a cloud, and just before anyone could speak, she returned again once more.


    "Screw them they think the dean can interfere to extend the admission time such hypocrites!"


    The moment she returned she started to explode up with these words and more. From her angry remarks Jim already knew what happened and he didn''t need to ask anymore.


    "Line up," she shouted as she added, "our generous dean interfered and made an exception for the deadline of the ace league five other teams participated and now we have six teams from the academy this year just hrious!"


    The team members only stood silent while trying their best not to speak. Jim stressed over them during the way to here not to try and enrage her.


    "Noment then?" she said in a disappointed tone.


    "We''ll crush them all," Kro couldn''t restrain himself anymore as he shouted in rage.


    "Good saying kid, now let''s see if you can follow these words with your deeds or not," she waved her hand and the next moment a long row of gears appeared just beside her. "These are the gears I promised to provide."


    She nced at Jim who didn''t frankly know if these were good or bad.


    However


    "Holy fairies! Is this the lightning spear?" Rick couldn''t help but shout in shock the moment his eyes fell over a very long spear that looked quite intimidating with those arcs of lightning around it. "What number is it?" he asked with widened eyes and drooling mouth.


    "Twelve," Rana said in pride while Jim didn''t understand what these two were saying.


    "Damn!" Rick instantly reacted before recalling the warning of Jim, "sorry goddess, but I can''t believe one of thetest versions of the spear in recent years is in front of me."


    "Hahaha, don''t mind it," she luckily took his words lightly, "now go and wear up the gears show me your true abilities."


    "That sword is it that nemesis sword?" Roo moved like being possessed towards a curved sword with double edges.


    And Rana only nodded.


    "Is it damn me! It''s five! It''s thetest sword that created miracles in the game five years ago!"


    His shouts came so loud while theughs of Rana were even louder. "I had a hobby for years to mimic any good gearsing up during the past years. And now it seems this silly hobby of mine is useful."


    "You are amazing," Kro said while he also went towards a rounded shield that looked as huge as his body, "If I''m not mistaken, this is the Bulltor shield that created legends in thest years."


    "Good eyes kid," Rana was already in a great mood, "but the best part isn''t those but this little one here."


    She suddenly took out two small wings that looked so pure that you can see through them perfectly. The moment she took them out, they started to p together like they were the wings of the bird.


    "The silver wings of the fairies holy moly you also made it!" This time it was the three of them eximing in unison while their eyes were about to pop out their sockets.


    "Hahaha, stop dreaming, these little wings here are for our captain," sheughed while pointing to Jim before adding, "I hope you can handle them."


    Jim was about to speak but he noticed the envious ncesing from many of his team members. He turned to them while scratching his head. "Why are you looking at me like this?" heughed shortly while feeling weird.


    "Lucky boss," Rick said.


    "Getting one of the best gears even made in the entire game so damn lucky," Kro added.


    "Sigh, now I really regret not being an ace," Roo shook his head while Jim only felt weirder.


    "Don''t mind them," Ranaughed, "they are just too shocked to see this little beauty over here."


    "Are they that special?" Jim tried to understand better what these wings represented.


    "Why not wear them and see for yourself?" she casually threw the wings to him while he noticed the sharp reaction of many around.


    As if she threw a treasured item that would crash if he dropped it. "How can I use it?" he asked while touching the wings and feeling their extremely soft surface.


    They were so soft like the best cushion in the world.


    "Just put them on your back," she casually said before adding, "go and try to run inside the field."


    They were standing on the side of the field and yet didn''t step inside. Jim didn''t dy and put the wings over his shoulders where he felt a cold and refreshing feeling over that spot.


    For others they saw the wings getting attached to his back and continued to p in a faster pace than before. He followed her words and moved to the field.


    The moment his legs stepped over there he felt a forceing from the ground and passing through his entire body in no time. "What the hell?" he couldn''t help but exim in shock.


    "Hahaha," Rana couldn''t help butugh from the depth of her soul while her body even trembled, "this is the reaction I loved to see from new yers, it never gets old."


    "Is it alright?" Jim asked, "I felt a strange surge of energy entering my body."


    "It''s to seal your usage of spells," Rickughed as well.

 Chapter 119: The Cheer Squad

    Chapter 119: The Cheer Squad


    "Sigh," Jim didn''t like themughing like that and then he turned around and started to run inside the field.


    The next moment he found himself reaching almost the half of the pitch, almost covering half of its distance in one second.


    "Wow!" he couldn''t help but try to stop and the next moment he lost bnce out of his rapid momentum and rolled on the ground.


    "C''mon," Rana ran towards him as she couldn''t use her teleportation abilities inside the game field anymore, "you need to learn how to control this little monster or else you''ll make yourself aughing stock in the league."


    He felt sore all over his body but he endured and stood up. "I never imagined they would make me this fast," he muttered.


    "It''s not their greatest speed," sheughed, "and you weren''t that fastpared with other top aces."


    "She is the right boss," Rick and others stepped in the field before many ran towards him while others were struck with doubt the moment the energy entered their bodies.


    "Stop wasting time," Rana suddenly turned to Rick and others, "go and arrange yourselves into smaller teams those who want to be tankers should group together and so on. The gears are limited and I need to test everyone thoroughly."


    "Yes ma''am," they all shouted while returning to the outside of the pitch and started to group themselves into four groups; the tankers, the hitters, the decoys, and those who won''t participate.


    "You need to adapt to these wings," she turned to Jim as she added, "from now on your only task is to run across the field and try to change your pace. Try to stop suddenly, change your direction in the fastest way, and also try to increase that speed of yours."


    He strangely nced at the ce he just fell at, "my speed wascking?" he asked in doubt.


    "Indeed," she nodded, "like this you will be an easy target to be hit by other team tankers."


    "I''ll do my best then," he firmly said and she only smiled. "This is the spirit," she then turned and went towards the team while letting him start running and falling many times without giving him any care.


    "The gears I have are enough to arm five tankers, five hitters, and three decoys," she said while moving her gaze upon the four groups before stopping over the fourth group.


    It wasn''t strange that it waspromised from the four girls only. The rest of the team already got themselves arranged in the other three teams, even those Colders and Torens who got themselves into the hitters and defenders respectively.


    "As for you" she paused while ncing at the four girls, "it''s a custom for any team to have a small group dedicated to cheer them on. We call them the cheering squad and it''s an art that needed delicate training and dedication for it."


    Before she could add anything else, the two Twisex girls had their eyes shone brightly before Saga yelled first: "I wanna be the cheerleader!"


    "No, I wanna be that one!" Tina showed a rare moment of defiance here and the two exchanged challenging looks between themselves.


    And this intense reaction made the other two girls want to be also the cheerleader despite not knowing what that even meant.


    "Hahaha, I know it''s enticing even for me," Ranaughed before adding, "however the cheerleader had a very great responsibility to lead her cheering squad and invent new ways to cheer her team."


    She stopped while the four girls looked in anticipation towards her. "To be honest I''m not the best to judge here, let me call on a friend of mine and she can select the best of you four."


    Rana suddenly took a horn that was pink in color and decorated it with many male abs pictures over it before she blew it a very long one.


    She blew the horn for a long minute before she moved it away. "She wille soon," she said without exining whom she summoned using that strange horn.


    "Now, have you decided who will take part in the first test?" she nced at the other three groups, leaving the four girls almost burning inside out from excitement and anticipation.


    "We are ready ma''am," Rick was the undered leader of the team when Jim wasn''t around.


    "Good, go inside then and take your position," she walked inside the pitch while waiting for them to follow.


    Five tankers moved in to test including Rick, Gordan, Deno, and two other Bulltors. As for the hitters, the two Kroaks walked it alongside one of the Colders and strangely Pat and Lan.


    "I could understand many of the choices here," Rana couldn''t help but say, "but the Actimos how do you see yourself as a hitter?"


    "I thought the field doesn''t depend on any spells or magic," Lan tried to reason with her.


    He never wanted anything in his entire life like this except for going to the academy. Being part of the teampeting inside the Graz league was considered a myth no Actimos ever dreamt of achieving before.


    "Sigh, forget it," Rana dropped the argument with him, "I don''t care what you all think, I will only select the best."


    Lan nodded while feeling much lucky to be with Jim. After all he was destined to end up being tossed away, not even dreaming to end up being a ve.


    Yet with the presence of Jim inside his life he was now living a legendary dream he never imagined to exist. He stole a short nce over the distant Jim who kept running and falling before standing up again and trying persistently.


    "I won''t let you down," he clenched his hands over the hammer like weapon in his hand before adjusting the two arm guards and leg guards while standing in the ce Rana assigned for him.


    "Ready?" Rana shouted before exining further, "now I''ll release the ball of the game. Each one of you is wearing a special kind of glove that won''t make you catch the ball ever. Don''t try to do that or else the ball will bounce off your hands and you''ll make everyoneugh at you."

 Chapter 120: How The Game Is Played.

    Chapter 120: How The Game Is yed.


    She took out two gloves of hers and then took out arge ball that was like a watermelon in size. It had a deep groove along its surface and two small wings on its side that started to p in the next instant and even vanished from the sight of everyone.


    And as she took it out, the ball seemed to hate her hands so much that it didn''t even rest there for one second.


    Armed with her deep experience as an ex-pro yer, she skillfully controlled the ball while letting it jump from one glove to another in a very smooth way. "This is the right and professional way to control the ball," she said.


    "But we have only one free hand," Pat said while ncing at the nearby Lan who had to hold the hammer with two hands, "and some even had none."


    "That''s why some of you will have to sacrifice their weapons when we have the ball," she said before adding, "and the game won''t be won by just obtaining the ball for the longest time, but through throwing it."


    She took out a sword of her own all of sudden before she turned over herself and hit the ball towards Lan.


    She chose him because he was the only one finding trouble dealing with his weapon. The ball moved fast, very fast towards him yet the next moment he moved the hammer in hand in reflex and managed to hit the ball, sending it towards her direction again.


    And this time she ran to the front, creating more space with the fast running ball while covering more space. When the ball reached her, she simply received it using her gloves and skillfully controlled it to reach her other hand.


    Swiftly enough she let the sword fall to the other hand before she received the ball with the second hand. She kept doing that while running before turning around again and hit the ball back to Lan.


    And Lan was much prepared for her action this time as he perfectly hit the ball with his hammer, sending it urately towards her again.


    "See?" she didn''t continue this as she stored away her sword and returned in wide steps towards them while perfectly controlling the ball, "this is how the game is yed. It''s a teamwork, not just some hitters aim for the ace and decoys and some tanks defend the final line. It''s a flexible game where you must be ready to y at any time and save your team from any hard situations and prevent the ball from being lost."


    Her words left a deep impact inside every one of those standing in front of her or beside the field. Her performance just now was an eye opener for those who knew nothing about the game and its normal tactics.


    "You need to learn how to control the ball even when you are off bnce, how to perfectly send it towards the other team members, best to select someone in free position and having clear and wider vision over the field, and of course to act and intercept the opponent team and prevent them from scoring."


    "This" Pat couldn''t help but suck a cold breath of air.


    "I know quite challenging and very hard," she nodded, "why did you think no disciple team could evenpete in the ace league? It''s not an easy game, but a real fight. Hell, even some fights inside the outer battlefield are even determined by this game!"


    They could only nod before she retreated to the side, "now we''ll start with trying to control the ball and pass it," she said before adding, "the hitters will work against the defenders; five against five. One team will have one decoy each."


    "But we have three," Rick muttered.


    "One has to wait his turn for the next test then," Rana simply said, "after all the number of them is very few and they''ll have time to y to their heart''s content."


    She turned to Jim who just was standing up from a brutal fall. "Come here for a second please," she shouted and he didn''t decline a moment of rest from this torture.


    "Now all the shapeshifterse and touch him," she ordered and Jim had to step outside the pitch for the shapeshifters to use their ability. "Before even leaving your house you need to perform this so no team scout would see through the trick."


    "Can they see through our camouge?" one of the shapeshifters couldn''t help but wonder in amazement.


    "They won''t," she shook her head, "but they can put tracking spells over you so they''ll determine which one of you is decoy and which one is the real ace even before stepping inside the pitch."


    "Amazing," Jim muttered, "this is some serious preparation!"


    "Indeed," sheughed, "c''mon, let them touch you and turn into your shape."


    The next minute there were six of Jim standing next to each other. The shapeshifters even mimicked his gears as well but she warned. "You can mimic his outer appearance but not his true potential. So don''t show off your true gear powers early in the game and leave it until the right moment to score a goal."


    "Oh," Jim found her words logical, "I''ll try to remember that," he muttered before she nced at the other five and added, "your role is to act as his decoy. Try all the time to show great speed and be in great positions to score. This way you''ll take the hype off his shoulders."


    "Yes ma''am," they all said in unison while they already were aware of the game and its tactics and secrets.


    So they all knew what she was referring to.


    "Now go and resume training," she said to Jim before turning to others, "one for each team, and the other three Jims can stand here waiting for their turn."


    Jim didn''t hurry to move on as he watched the two identical copies of him entering the field. Unlike any spell he tried to use and failed, their camouge was warmly epted by the enchanted game field and didn''t cancel their abilities.


    "Interesting," he couldn''t help but sigh, "this game is really interesting."


    And Rana onlyughed from the side while being amused by his newbie reactions.

 Chapter 121: A Lecture About How To Win

    Chapter 121: A Lecture About How To Win


    "They are too slow!"


    Jim stayed back for the next ten minutes and during which he saw a glimpse of how the game was brutal andpetitive. ording to Rana and the agreement of those already oriented about the game, anyone can use anything to stop the ball holder from advancing or keeping the ball.


    Yet thisw was only limited to the one holding the ball. So anyone else could move freely and that created more flexibility and endless possibilities on the field.


    The control of the first testers to the ball was really pathetic. Even the three fans who seemed to y this game not for the first time, couldn''t match the intense state of the game Rana devised.


    "The ball will start with the hitters and the tankers should try to get it. however I won''t stand by and watch. I will interfere to get the ball and you need to adapt to that."


    Her words made everyone speechless at first, yet her following actions left them all shocked and couldn''t even speak a single word.


    Not a single time she moved to take the ball and failed! After all she was initially a tanker, a hell of a defender for one of the best teams in the entire ace league.


    "Aren''t you overdoing it?" Jim couldn''t help but mutter while she threw the ball again to Kro before returning to stand beside Jim.


    "Why the hell are you still here?" she asked, "you need to go back and train."


    "I already said it," he sighed, "they are much slower than me."


    "That''s your problem not theirs," she simply replied, "after all the decoys can''t have wings, and one of the excellent traits of the ace is to match their speed and make sure the decoy would be perfect."


    "But"


    "You need to learn how to move fast, and also how to act slow," she raised her finger and pointed to the wide space behind, "go there and train. I can rece anyone here with others but not you."


    ""


    He shook his head while returning to the train. "Move faster," she shouted and he didn''t know if she directed this shout to him or the others.


    As he returned to train, he didn''t entirely focus on his running but stole nces from time to time to those taking the test right now.


    "I''m lucky that I didn''t have her focus for now," he honestly said to himself while watching his team members being thrown to air one after another under the effect of her mighty sword.


    "Do you think I beat you because I''m a master, far stronger than you?"


    She stood calmly in front of the defeated faces of the first testers. "Beating you up has nothing to do with my real strength or abilities, not even rted to my n hell, it''s not rted to my body size as well!"


    She rubbed her two hands together while the bally calmly on the ground in front of her. Her words made everyone nce without saying a word.


    "I beat you because of my determination, experience, and also my deep awareness of the game," she said before adding, "knowing how your opponent would react is one of the essential tools you need to hone. Without it how can you stop me? How can you evade my attack?"


    Her words made everyone''s minds open to new possibilities, and she didn''t stop there. "Also you are all selfish, ying for yourselves," she added while pointing to Kro, "like you for example. I purposely attacked you while leaving some routes for you to pass the ball, and what did you do in return? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"


    She then put her hands over her waist and changed her body movements and even her tone to look like Kro, "Look how I can handle the coach''s attack... Watch me while I evade her attack without the need to pass the ball see how a big fool I made out of myself."


    Her words made Kro''s face turn red from embarrassment and disappointment. She said and did exactly like what he had in mind during the past quarter of an hour.


    "You are wrong!" she waited for a couple of seconds before bellowing out in a loud shout reprimanding him. "This is a team game, not one man for himself. You need to change your mindset if you want to win a single match in this league!"


    She took a deep breath before adding, "I''ll give you another chance. When Ie at you, never keep the ball. Your mission isn''t to hold the ball, but to pass it to someone who has a better ce than you."


    She then turned to nce at those standing at the sideline, "those who don''t have the ball shouldn''t stand there like stupid ducks move around, run everywhere, always aim to stand away from your opponents and always move like the ball is about to reach you. Start training again!"


    Kro moved and took the ball before bouncing it on his hands. "You heard thedy, let''s show her we aren''t that bad," he shouted in rage, screaming at himself first before the others.


    And even the distant Jim knew they had matured a lot, and this round wouldn''t end up like the previous one.


    "Start," she gave the order and next she started to chase those holding the ball. "Good, keep rotating it," she smiled in content when Kro passed the ball in the perfect timing, just inches before she would reach him.


    Yet Roo moved a little faster than he was supposed to act. "Wrong, you need to wait until I''m too deep in you," she shouted as the next instant she turned her path and was so near Pat who seemed in a very bad position.


    Yet just as she was about to hit him with her sword and take the ball like usual, he pulled a timely trick. Rotating around himself all of sudden while moving slightly to the side, letting the entire sword with the strike it held and the giant body of her slide over his back like it was nothing.


    And she only opened her eyes wide when he did that.

 Chapter 122: Two Hitters Are Chosen

    Chapter 122: Two Hitters Are Chosen


    "Brilliant move," shemended before stopping all of sudden and throwing a backward kick towards his back, "but don''t be so rxed after doing so."


    Just as she moved her leg, he jumped a couple of steps forward letting her kick hit nothing but the air. "I''m not rxed," heughed before looking around and throwing the ball towards the empty decoy on the other side.


    "Not keeping the ball you''ve a nice mind for the game," she smiled in relief, "now we have ourselves the first hitter in the main team."


    Her words seeded in litting up the fire inside everyone''s soul. They all nced in envy towards Lan while their minds started to spin fast.


    Those who were familiar with the game had a better advantage than others, at least their minds were filled with tactics and cool moves they always saw those pro yers pull in the matches.


    And now they had the chance to do the same, except they had to seed like Lan did.


    "Wrong decision," she hit Deno with an elbow, sending him instantly flying far off the ball.


    "Wrong timing," she jumped in the air before throwing a backward sh of her sword towards one of the Colders, making him lose bnce and also the ball.


    "Nice trick," she said after Kro feigned a retreat before advancing all of sudden, "yet you need to watch out for your legs," she added before ducking all of sudden and shing the sword over his leg.


    Yet Kro seemed to anticipate her actions the moment she did so he jumped in the air while moving to the front, creating a nice gap with her and then threw the ball to the decoy.


    "Good moves," she said, "but you don''t have to throw the ball every time to the decoy. He is too nearby and surrounded by all the opponent members. You better threw it to Roo as he was the only free one here."


    "Thanks ma''am," Kro said with a big smile over his face, "am I the next hitter then?"


    "Hard to say," sheughed while leaving him hanging like this while aiming fast towards Roo.


    "They are getting better," Jim noticed from afar how the team was getting in shapepared to the first time they trained. "Sigh, I shouldn''t ck either."


    He started to totally focus on his training. In fact the silver wings on his back never ceased to amaze him. The speed buff he got was something really exceptional, yet it came with a price.


    "Damn!"


    He cursed as he stood up from the ground, "trying to stop or change trajectory fast with such speed is really impossible."


    ''There is a trick for that,'' the old man suddenly said after a long time of silence.


    ''Finally decided to give me some help here,'' Jim rolled up his eyes before adding, ''C''mon, tell me the secret.''


    ''It''s not that big of a secret,'' the old man said, ''you try to stop abruptly like the way you do when you normally run. However, to do that with such speed you need to use another way.''


    ''I already know that,'' Jim kept rolling his eyes, ''stop this useless intro and just tell me what to do.''


    ''Slide,'' the old man suddenly said, ''don''t think of stopping, think as if you were skating on ice.''


    ''Slide Can I do that?'' Jim nced at the hard ground filled with short grass. ''Can my shoes handle this?'' he couldn''t help but check his boots which he took from Rana.


    ''Your boots can handle anything,'' the old manughed, ''you only need to adjust your body and timing, that''s all.''


    Jim closed his eyes and took deep breaths while imagining himself doing so. Just before he could try this out, a sudden shout came from the entrance, startling him.


    "So sorry," Lim ran with entire body soaked in sweat, "I kept running and checking every single pitch here until I found you."


    "Who the hell are you?" Rana knew exactly who he was, but she wanted to punish him for beingte.


    "Sorry ma''am," Lim leaned over his knees while struggling for a breath, "no one tried to help me to get here. It seems like many are already cheering against us."


    "Us?" Rana raised one brow before she asked, "what position do you y at?"


    "A hitter ma''am."


    "Alright," she turned around and shouted, "Lan, you are already chosen. Give him your gears and step aside."


    "Will I y now?" Lim was speechless while Rana sneered.


    "Youete and expect me to give you the same treatment as them?" she said while pointing towards the ground a couple of meters away from her, "hurry ande here right now or else forget everything about joining even the second team."


    "Right away ma''am," his face changed as he hurriedly moved to Lan and took the gears of him.


    The moment Lan took out the gears they ejected hot steam from god knew where. "What the" Lim and Lan weren''t the only surprised two here, but everyone else was.


    "What? Do you think I make a shit gear or something?" Ranaughed while being much amused with their shocked reactions, "I should have done this a long time ago," sheughed louder while regretting not asking them to do that.


    "I''m ready ma''am," Lim got on the pitch and held therge stick that he got from Lan. "Good, now take the ball and try not to lose it," she evilly said while everyone else felt pity on this Rancee kid.


    "Start," Rana said before suddenly running towards Lim. She waved her sword and aimed directly over his chest in a move that seemed impossible to dodge.


    Lim was panting, racing to catch his breaths yet the moment she moved, a couple of two blue eyes opened and he could instantly see her moves a lot clearer.


    "Don''t think they can give you any help," shended her sword heavily in a strike that could truly hurt him.


    Yet he simply took a couple of steps backwards, evading the iing sword.


    "Stop right there, monkey," sheughed while turning around herself and directed a direct kick to his belly.


    Yet she only hit emptiness there where he instantly vanished from her sight.


    "This" heughs choked inside her throat while ncing right and left for him. Yet her mark vanished and she couldn''t find a target to hit.


    "Swoosh!"


    Just as she was looking for him, he glided fast underneath her raised leg, bypassing her body in an instant before standing up swiftly and threw the ball to the far away Roo.


    "I''m tired, but not blind," he didn''t let this moment pass without saying a word to her.


    "Humph, sometimes being humble isn''t bad," she hit his head before walking back to the center of the team, "we found another hitter boys," she shouted and everyone around, literally everyone nced at him in envious eyes.


    "Damn lucky Rancee," Rick couldn''t help butment from the side while Lim smiled widely and said nothing.


    "Don''t stare like you can''t get there," she shouted while pping her hands together, "C''mon, I didn''t find any tankers yet. Try harder and stop daydreaming."

 Chapter 123: Mera The Sexiest

    Chapter 123: Mera The Sexiest


    "You called for me Rana?"


    As everyone was so immersed in doing the training or watching those ying in the field, this soft sound came all of sudden to attract everyone''s attention.


    She was a giant master with a very stunning face, sorry but three. She had three slightly long necks ending up with three faces, each wasn''t any lesser than the other two in their effect to mesmerize everyone here.


    And she had a very sexy body, smooth faint blue skin, and four long tails covered in soft scales.


    "A Sexiest?!" Rick couldn''t help but mutter in shock, "we have a sexiest master in the academy?!!"


    His voice wasn''t that loud but among the heavy silence prevailed here his words were perfectly heard and they invoked a softugh from the three heads all together, forming a sweet melody.


    "C''mon, I have called you for over an hour now," Rana totally ignored Rick''s remark as she headed towards her friend.


    "You know, I have been kind of busytely," the master winked with one head while this made many lose their hearts in the next moment.


    "Guys just a tip for the future," Rana turned to address the totally stupefied kids around, "Mera is out of reach, she is out of reach for even many masters in the academy."


    She turned to the side while adding, "And you have two Twisex here, you should aim for them."


    "They are already taken," Kro couldn''t help but mumble in a soft voice.


    "Twisex?" Mera turned the three heads at once towards the direction her friend pointed at. "Marvellous indeed," she giggled before adding, "I never thought the twin pearl would be joining the academy this year. How did this happen?"


    "Who took them?" yet Rana totally ignored her as she asked Kro about his words instead.


    "Screw you Rana, ignoring me despite being the one to ask for me toe humph," Mera didn''t let this pass as she crossed her arms over her bulging chest and nced in an angry way towards Rana.


    "C''mon, as if I will let youingte go unpunished," Rana teased her and Mera only sneered and turned around as she said:


    "If so then it''s better not toe at all."


    "And leave this chance to train a cheer squad for an ace league?" Rana smirked while throwing the irresistible bomb she knew her friend wouldn''t be able to dodge.


    "What did you just say?" Mera turned in a very sharp way while her six elliptical eyes shone brightly in a very alluring way.


    "What do you think we are doing here? Waste some time?" Rana harrumphed before turning around as she waved to her, "go, fly away, leave and I''ll find myself obliged to call for Jessie. I''m sure she would appreciate this chance."


    "No, not her," Mera suddenly moved fast to stand in front of Rana with pleading eyes, "you know how bad she is she she doesn''t even have a good taste in lingerie! How can you trust someone who doesn''t know how to choose her private and sexy clothes to train such a crucial team?"


    "Humph," Rana raised her head while rolling her eyes down to nce over her friend, "I''m not the one who wanted to leave."


    "Who? Me? Pft," Meraughed in a fake and obviously nervous way, "I was joking y''know me, I won''t be speaking seriously except rarely."


    She hit Rana with her elbow and this soft hit seemed quite brutal as she pushed Rana a couple of steps to the side. "Oh, sorry," she hurried to say.


    "You did this on purpose," yet Rana exploded at her but Mera only showed a wide smile over her face the next instant, "I''m not see my face here, it''s showing regret."


    "The other two areughing!" Rana pointed towards the two faces there as she added, "you are busted and lost your chance. Go, I''ll send for Jessie now."


    "I dare you do that," Mera''s tone changed as she moved closer to Rana and from this position everyone could see clearly Mera was much bigger than Rana. She pushed thetter backwards while leaning with all her heads towards Rana''s face, forcing her to arch her body.


    "I was joking," Rana couldn''t fool around anymore and hurriedly said in a slightly nervous tone.


    "Yeah, I know I got this task," the next moment two heads shouted in joy while the third kept ring at Rana who retreated slowly and created a distance of a couple of meters with her friend.


    "Damn Mera that temper head you got is really scary," she couldn''t help but sigh, "now let''s get to the point. I have a team to train and I need a cheering squad to be formed."


    "I''m up to the task," Mera said while one head looked right, the other looked left, and the one in the middle kept ring at Rana in the same threatening way. "But where is the team? All I see are disciples."


    "They are the team," Rana rolled up her eyes while her friend had her three heads re at her in doubt in a very swift move. "I''m not fooling you, they are the ones trying to get into the league."


    "Who is the captain? Who is the ace?" Mera asked with a tone that showed her doubt.


    "Both are him," Rana turned to point towards Jim who was training over the other end of the pitch. "Oh since when did this kid learn this trick?!" Yet when she saw him, she expected to point at a constantly falling Jim, but not the one she was seeing right now.


    Jim was perfectly changing his position despite running so fast. At the time he wanted to change his position he simply stopped running for a couple of seconds, letting his boots do the trick and glide over the ground in a very smooth and swift way.


    "Not bad," Meramented, "but I can''t say I''m very optimistic about him."

 Chapter 124: A Deep Talk With The Coach

    Chapter 124: A Deep Talk With The Coach


    "Because he is a human?" Rana asked beforeughing at her friend, "you are wrong my dear Mera."


    "Howe?" Mera asked with one head while the other two were focusing over Jim in the distance and his team in the proximity, "he is a human leading a bunch of newbies. Look he even had six Bulltors wait a minute" her six eyes shone again before she added, "don''t tell me it''s him?"


    Rana didn''t answer with words but with a wide and confident smile. "Damn! I heard a lot about him never thought he would up the game and aim for the ace league."


    "He is just quite different," Rana honestly said in one of the rare moments where she spoke up her mind in front of anyone, "and he didn''t only gain six Bulltors, he also had himself two Twisex over here."


    "And a famous couple as well," Mera nodded with one head while the other nced at the Saga and Tina, "I still can''t believe such two came here without creating a fuss."


    "All Twisex are famous," Rana said before adding, "and I believe he was acting low key with these two, except for yesterday when he created the same fuss you are speaking about."


    She then returned to Kro and gave him a deep nce. "You didn''t answer my question yet," she simply said and Kro felt a shiver over his spine.


    For him, for everyone Rana was so scary, in obvious contrast to Mera whom he wouldn''t regret being shouted at by her. "Who else? It''s him of course," he hurriedly said and Rana only smiled and said nothing except ncing at her friend.


    "Interesting," Mera only said this while her three heads were focused over Jim. "He is ying in a good way," shemented.


    "Let''s start the work then," Rana said before changing her tone and attitude to be so serious, "we are a team of disciples, of the first year mainly. We can''t pay you now, we are too poor to do that. So the deal is if we manage to get ourselves to the main league, then you can be paid."


    "C''mon," Mera gave her friend a ming look, "y''know I''m in this not for money. I don''t need that, but I need this."


    "Business is business, and you''ll get paid but in time," Rana stressed over this and Mera gave her a sudden military salute by putting her hand across her chest. "Acknowledged coach," she said and her words and salute forced Rana to smile and lessen her attitude.


    "Alright, go and meet your squad," she said before adding, "you are free to decide how you''ll train them, I won''t interfere at how or when."


    "Can I add more?" Mera asked as she nced at the four girls, "they are justcking in number."


    "Add as much as you like," Rana said before stressing, "but don''t overdo it."


    "C''mon, y''know me I will do it in Mera style."


    "We are doomed then," Rana hit her forehead with the palm while Mera ignored her reaction and went to her new cheering squad.


    "Why is no one here yet?"


    As the tests went on, the time passed fast and the general picture of the main team and substitute team were now created.


    However as the ten o''clock passed already by half an hour, Jim was suspicious. He was clear that Mark''s words were perfectly heard by all, and the reaction he spotted in the early morning made him have high expectations.


    "Don''t be this dejected," Rana moved to him while leaving the rest of the team training. "I''m sure those other teams that appeared out of nowhere stole the hype out of you."


    "I don''t care about them," Jim said while sighing, "we just need some names in a few ces here and there."


    "That''s expected," Rana chuckled as she knew he was referring to the weak yers in his main team, "after all we just got started and it''s natural to have some holes here and there."


    "But other teams are well prepared than us," he turned to nce at her while adding, "we need to be in much better shape than them."


    "Winning isn''t only about who got the better formation than the other," Rana seriously said, "or else howe those big names up there got defeated across the long league from much weaker teams?"


    "Then it''s about what?"


    "Determination," she confidently said, "mind set, the general spirit of the team in fact many things," she smiled as she regained a distant memory before grinning. "In one of the matches I yed at the Lionesse team, there was one hitter that was superstitious to a degree you can''t imagine."


    Sheughed shortly before pointing to her shoulder guard, "she believed wearing a certain set of shoulder guards would secure the victory. At this game an ident urred and we lost a couple of stuff including her arm guards. You can imagine how disastrously bad we yed in this season and she couldn''t be reced easily as she was our top yer."


    "The ace?"


    "No, a decoy," she said before warning, "don''t think you are the only star in the team. Aces are cool, but at many teams strong names will shine in other positions as well."


    "I understand," Jim nodded before ncing over the two teamspeting together, "so you think what is our strongest fort?"


    "You of course," sheughed, "I didn''t mean to discourage you. Other than you I might say that the Leivy kid is a real surprise to me."


    "I never thought he would be this cunning," Jim smiled.


    "You were watching?"


    "From time to time," he tried not to stir her anger and he managed to escape unscathed from this.


    "Alright, but don''t get used to this," she evilly smiled, "from tomorrow you''ll have to y with the others After all, I believe the first preliminary match will be held tomorrow or the next day at most."


    "Can we train before the match?"

 Chapter 125: A Mysterious Meeting

    Chapter 125: A Mysterious Meeting


    "It''s not advised to do that," she honestly said, "but considering our unique conditions, we have no other choice but to train before it. After all, I believe our first game will be a deserved defeat."


    "De can''t we hope for better?"


    "How? C''mon your team isn''t even ustomed to ying a full game yet," she rolled up her eyes helplessly from his greed.


    "But losing a game won''t disqualify us, right?"


    "No, losing over fifty percent will instantly disqualify you," she said before adding, "that means you can only lose two games out of four but this would put you in a dilemma."


    He nced in question and she only sighed. "I forgot you don''t know everything yet each win gives you three points, a draw one point, and losing deducts one point from you."


    "We lose points when we lose?" he was speechless when he heard that.


    "Sure, do you think losing has no punishment at all?" she rolled her eyes again, "you can''t expect us to watch you lose and only let you go without losing points from your score."


    Jim realized the reason behind her weird rule inside her ss about deducting points from anyone answering wrongly. "So losing two will take points from us, and in case of winning the next matches we will end up with four points not six, right?"


    "Indeed," she nodded before ncing over her friend while showing the four girls some sort of a dance. "To qualify you need to have six points or more. Having from four to six will put you under the hold rule."


    "Hold?"


    "Some teams might not show up, orck the ability to win over the first half of the league so they would be expelled," she exined, "then those expelled will be reced by fresh teams from the hold list."


    "This" Jim suddenly felt how hard it was to get the ace league, "we need to win the next three matches to secure our spot."


    "Dreaming is always sweet," she couldn''t help but chuckle, "the games are held on a daily basis for the next four days. Do you think your team can be in perfect form before the second match?"


    Her question left him silent. He knew she was speaking the logic, but it wasn''t bad to have some dreams as well.


    "I hope we face weak teams then," he couldn''t help but pray.


    "This is a loser mindset," she shook her head while lecturing him, "you need to aim to be the best team out there, not hoping just to y against weak folks. If you are lucky once, you can''t be lucky thrice."


    "Thanks for the teaching," he honestly said, "but to do so we''ll need to train like hell from now on."


    "You can escape sses three times in a row," she nced at him but he shook his head. "I might escape tomorrow, but that would be the only day I would miss."


    "Liking the sses this much?" she raised an eyebrow.


    "Not like that. I just don''t like to miss the opportunity to grow stronger."


    She kept ncing at him for a few minutes before sighing. "It''s bad you have only one month before that expedition."


    "I know," he clenched his fists, "but I n not to be a push over there."


    "Being a pushover means death," she said before refraining from saying more. He gave her a short nce while knowing what she wanted to say but didn''t.


    "I''ll go and train then," he said.


    "I might leave in a couple of minutes," she stretched out her arms, "My role here is over for now. As no one ising to take the test, then we can work with what we have."


    Jim nced over his team while she moved to say goodbye to her thrilled friend. Mera didn''t leave with her as she decided to stay the night with the four girls and keep giving them some valuable lessons in game and life.


    ________________


    In a remote ce than the academy and the lively life there, a long stretch of ruins took ce hundreds of miles away.


    These were known as the hells of doom, a ce that was so rich in scary legends and many horror fairy tales.


    Yet in thiste hour of the night a shadow walked among the fallen buildings and crumbled rocks and ores with extreme calmness like he or she was walking inside his or her own ying ground.


    The ce ushered under weird silence, the type that would push your hair to no end without the need to face anything else.


    That person moved, covering his entire body with such a thick cloak that could resist any spying abilities or scouting spells.


    For others watching this ce, no one was even walking there right now.


    "From all ces you selected this damned ce to meet!"


    Just as the shadow went inside a deep hole, this voice weed him even before his shape would be clear to who is inside.


    "It''s safer here," a deep tone came under a change of voice spell. "It''s always safer to move in ces just right under their noses."


    "Sigh, what are you calling me here for then?"


    The ce was once a great hall but now it only resided under ruin and destruction.


    Aside from those two standing tens of meters afar, there was no other sign of life. Not a single flower or nt grew here for millenia at least.


    "Something happened in the academy," the neer said before adding, "something that will make you quite interested."


    "Oh," three eyes shone from under the thick cover of the cloak, "y''know nothing can entice me this easily."


    "This one I bet it will do," the neerughed before adding, "it''s rted to you know who."


    "Them?" the three eyed one said in disappointment, "nothing rted to them can entice me at all. I only despise them."


    "But it''s not about them, it''s only rted to them," the neer vaguely said before adding, "a new pantheon was reborn alive this year."

 Chapter 126: Lets Aim For His Sore Spot

    Chapter 126: Let''s Aim For His Sore Spot


    Just as he said it, the other person remained silent yet his body released a very thick aura. "Stop it, damn I should have known you''d react like this!" the neer hurriedly shouted and he managed to cool down the three eyed one.


    "Are you sure of this?" the three eyed person asked, "are you sure that pantheon was revived?"


    "I saw it with my eyes."


    "Who did it?"


    "Guess who," the neer didn''t say and just yed with his guest.


    "I bet a Bulltor must have done it!"


    "Wrong answer," the neerughed and hisughs looked so bizzare under the voice changing spell he was using, "it was a human."


    "W What?!!"


    "Hahaha, I bet beforeing here you won''t believe it."


    "Howe?!" the three eyed person was still shocked by this relevance, "they never showed any signs for that!"


    "The weakest link in the old chain," the neer sighed, "even I never saw thising."


    "I bet the old monsters back there will be shocked," the three eyed personughed before the neer said:


    "But many are discontent with his feat."


    "Logic," the three eyed person stoppedughing as he said in a serious tone, "what they are trying to get rid of him? I believe thews of the academy are so strict that even they can''t defy these."


    "So they are changing the location."


    A heavy silence erupted again as the three eyed person realized what his friend meant. "When are they sending him?"


    "In one month."


    "That''s"


    "Too soon, I know," the neer said, "that''s why I urgently asked to meet with you now."


    "Good decision," the three eyes person said, "trying to just gather that old council once more would take roughly a month! I should start moving from now then."


    "You should ask for their help," the neer stopped him from leaving.


    "They didn''t like our way of dealing with things," the three eyed person said in a harsh tone.


    "Humans have all the right to know," the neer said, "after all how can you convince a human to join you without using his kin?"


    "Who said anything about forcing him to leave your ce?" the three eyed person asked in weirdness.


    "Won''t you take him away?" The neer was more surprised than his friend. "I thought"


    "Foolish friend do you think he would be more lethal as a weapon with us or with you?"


    The suddenment of the three eyed person made the other one realize the future path of Jim.


    "Alright, I''ll help him as much as I can then," the neer sighed.


    "You should," the three eyed person said, "after all he will be a lone wolf inside that distasteful ce."


    The three eyed person then vanished from the ce, leaving that person from the academy all alone. "Sigh, I tried to help you but sigh," he shook his head before turning towards the direction of the far away academy. "I just hope you won''t end up dying due to the greedy actions of your only allies and not on the swords of your enemies."


    Then he used a spell to vanish from here, not caring about the stir of energy his and his friend spells caused here or the attention they created and attracted the watcher''s eyes.


    ________________________


    "So you are Petrick wee to the team kid."


    Pol sat inside arge building inside the big residence of the Berserker''s club. Here was something that was considered belonging to the Berserkers and their affiliated main ns, including the giants.


    "Thanks sir," Patrick stood in respect in front of Pol. He wasn''t the only one standing here, but a couple of other kids were also here; two giant kids also stood there.


    "It''s alright to aim for your rightful ce in the world," Pol waved casually while rxing over his seat, "but aiming for not your logical ce in the world is such a grave mistake."


    "I think so sir," Patrick agreed.


    "That Jim he isn''t satisfied with his bold actions in the academy yet he decided to go for another ce he doesn''t deserve," Pol said in extreme hatred while touching uncontrobly his right hand where he felt a hidden pain still.


    "You three are his ssmates. Neither I nor anyone else can interfere, but you can."


    He turned his gaze from Patrick to the two other n kids; John and Rangor. "I depend on you to make him unrest during the next month."


    "We''ll do our best," Rangor said, "I won''t settle until he is gone."


    "Just hold that thought deep inside you and it wille true," Pol smiled as he liked the words of his n boy, "Any ideas on how to do that?"


    The three kids nced at each other before John spoke, "We might use the help of some masters. Master Donald isn''t on good terms with him. We can stir up some trouble and use his help to punish him."


    "Cutting down some points, at most letting him be confined and do extra homework that won''t do," Pol sighed, "there is another better thing to do."


    "Please enlighten us master," John said in deep respect.


    "To hit someone in a ce that truly hurts you need to select his weakest link tell me what is his sore spot?"


    The three exchanged silent nces again before Patrick got the courage to speak up, "his game team?"


    "You got it closer boy," Pol was disappointed in the answer as his tone and face told them, "his team is his weak link."


    "His ves?" Rangor asked in doubt, "who would care about a bunch of useless ves?"


    "As far as I heard he doesn''t consider them like this," Pol interestingly said, "he is just a fool. We should aim at them instead."


    "Easy task boss," John said, "we three have arge army of ves in the outer disciple campus. We can stir them against his small group of ves and turn their lives as hell."


    "Not enough," Pol shook his head, "we need to go even deeper than that."


    "Like what sir?" Patrick asked.


    "Have you attended the dancing ballst night?" Pol suddenly asked and the eyes of the three started to shine one after another as they all realized what their master wanted to do.


    And then they started devising their scheme and evil n till the early hours of the next morning.

 Chapter 127: The Game Tactics

    Chapter 127: The Game Tactics


    "Are you not going to the sses today?"


    Jim stood in front of the team inside the located game ground they hired. It was still not exceeding nine in the morning, but everyone looked so exhausted from the outside, only keeping their energy through sheer will and excitement.


    "I need to train," Jim said before turning around, "where are the girls?"


    "They are with master Mera," Rick said, "she is no less excited than all of us."


    "Hahaha, it seems our odds of winning are just getting higher by our excitement alone," Rooughed and many nodded in agreement.


    "But we have a problem," Deno said in a low tone, "I ran and checked what happened yesterday. Those five teams have used their connections and the support of many masters to attract everyone''s attention."


    "Don''t worry too much about that," Lim said as he walked through the small door to the inside, "their teams are trash, I can confirm that to you."


    "You escaped sses too?" Jim was surprised to see him here.


    "You can and I can''t?" Limughed, "I need to train more with you guys, especially since our first match will be held today."


    "The schedule is out?" Kro hurriedly asked.


    And his question made everyone nce at Lim who shook his head, "not yet but I used some connections of mine and knew the rough schedule."


    "Whom we are going to face?" Rick couldn''t refrain from asking.


    "An amateur team made of some fans to the game I guess," Lim said before adding when he noticed the look of joy over their faces, "but I''m not too sure either. Anything can happen especially if many masters are trying their best to match their hastily built teams against much weaker opponents."


    "They are trying to cheat?" Pat asked with no surprise in his tone, "just typical of them."


    "It''s not cheating," Lim sighed, "it''s the normal order here. As long as you have the means to do that and won''t get into much trouble as a result then why don''t do it?"


    His words made everyone nod in agreement despite their faces showing disdain from such actions.


    "Alright," Jim pped his hands, "let''s start training. Our coach won''te until the sses are over, so from now on I''ll be the acting coach."


    "What should we do then?" Deno asked.


    "Yesterday a list of main and second line yers were determined," Jim said before adding, "we will start ying team versus team until shees back."


    "And the ball?" Deno asked.


    "She left it for me with the gears as well," Jim waved his hand and took out many gears.


    "But these gears are only suited for the main team and a small part of the second line team," Rick said before adding, "shouldn''t we go and hire more gears from the stadium then?"


    "We should," Jim nodded before turning to Lan and took out a hundred academy coins on the ground, "go and hire us what we need."


    "Why me?" Lan was toozy to move.


    "You are part of those who weren''t selected in either teams," Patughed, "so it''s normal for you to go."


    "Tsk, I still can''t believe how you were selected and not me," Lan muttered, "I don''t have a ring to carry all of them."


    "Take this then," Jim had arge stock of empty rings so he simply tossed one to him, "don''t bete, we need to start as soon as possible."


    Lan took the ring and stuffed it with the coins before vanishing from their sight.


    "What tactic will we y with in the games?" suddenly Lim asked and Jim only nced in loss.


    "I think the Lionesse way is the best," Kro confidently said as if it was a well known fact.


    "It''s not," Rick shook his head, "their tactic depends entirely on the tankers," he added.


    "And what about them?" Roo winked, "after all you are the leader of tankers in the team."


    "As it''s bitter to admit it but frankly I don''t think our strength lies in the tankers or in the hitters," Rick said while directing his words to the two Kroaks, "it''s in our ace."


    "I agree," before any of the two Kroaks would object as usual Lim spoke up, "the other teams aces suck. All teams have strong tankers and hitters, even cunning decoys but not good aces."


    "I can shield some pressure off you guys," Jim said before adding, "but can you exin more about those tactics? The famous ones at least."


    Kro took the lead here as he cleared his throat first and took a couple of steps forward, "this is important, so all of us here should listen and learn," he said before taking out his sword and started drawing on the red sand on the side of the green grass.


    "The main tactics depend entirely on the main yers in the team. So we have the tankers tactic, the hitters tactic, the decoys tactic, andstly and most important of all the ace tactic."


    "You forgot thebo tactics," Lim interfered, "it''s the highest form of tactics in all."


    "But it''s the mostplicated one," Roo defended his friend, "I doubt we can pull that off."


    "Please exin everything," Jim said to stop this undermined battle between them, "I need to learn everything and I''m the one to decide which is the best alongside the coach of course."


    "Roger that boss," Kro said with a smile, "then we have five main tactics here. The tankers tactic is a famous tactic for the Lionesse team. That''s why their tankers are always the best in the entire league," Kro added before drawing a smaller version of the field.


    "Tankers usually are situated behind near the rear line, but in this tactic they don''t stop there all the time," he put three points near the line and started drawing arrows out of them, "they wait for a chance to advance and then move to aid the other team members. Their addition would instantly disrupt the enemy''s formation and make the odds more favorable for their team."


    "But this requires a lot out of tankers," Lim sighed, "for instance the good decision which determines the win or lose of this tactic."


    "Agreed," Kro nodded, "for example if one tanker moved in the wrong time and led to the ball being lost, that means their line of defense willck one tanker, making it easier for the opponent team to score easily in their line."


    "It''s risky," Jim noted, "but if pulled right then it will be a killer move."


    "Indeed," Rick nodded, "so I said earlier I doubt we can y by that tactic."


    "It''s hard I admit," Kro said, "but if we don''t train ordingly from day one we can never pull it easily in thetter stages of the game."


    Jim nced at his top yers and inwardly praised their mindset. They were thinking not about the uing games, but looking beyond the ace league matches.


    They never doubted their win in the preliminary stages, and that affected his own mindset as well.


    "And the hitters?" Jim asked.


    "It''s simply an offensive tactic," Kro said before wiping the three dots on the red sand and drawing five in the center of the field, "here we will use five hitters and not only three like usual. They should attack ferociously the opponent''s yers and make sure to get the ball fast."


    "But the defense it''s a really troublesome tactic," Lim couldn''t help but say, "whoever ys with this tactic usually gets many goals scored in their line."


    "But they score much more than others score in them," Rick said before adding, "it''s the winner''s tactic, no team can lose ying with such one."


    "That''s because your favored team ys with it," Rooughed while adding, "and they lost thepetition in thest few years because of that!"


    "Humph, only because the referees were partial to yourdies in thest years they ended up losing at the end," Rick said in an arrogant tone, "if it was a fair y then we would never have lost. Not even once!"


    "Empty words," Limughed, "the Dioganose lost only because they suck, everyone knows that."


    "You" Rick was enraged and stirred up the moment Lim spoke.


    "Easy boys," Jim had to interfere, "we are one team here, not fans of others."


    His words made them stop their useless debate yet their eyes told him they never dropped the topic.


    And he only could helplessly sigh for that.

 Chapter 128: Bad News

    Chapter 128: Bad News


    "And the decoy strategy?" he asked, trying to shift their attention away from their diehard fan debate.


    "It''s a very rarely used tactic," Lim said before adding, "in this one, the decoys are used as the main line of attack. Using their exceptional ability to fool others, they would make it literally impossible for the other team to discover the ace."


    "But isn''t this all the game is about?" Jim asked in doubt.


    "Indeed true," Rick said, "but you can consider this tactic to have another level of y for decoys," he pointed to the shapeshifters here before adding, "they had to y as fast as you are, move exactly like you do, and that won''t happen until they got the same gears as you."


    "Wow," Jim muttered, "this would cost a fortune!"


    "Without doubt," Roo said, "that''s why not many teams choose to do it. and also there is another thing that needs to be done they need to live all day long with you."


    "For what?" Jim was surprised by this.


    "To mimic your subtle moves and habits of course," Roo said, "It''s a veryplicated tactic that requires real discipline and long time nning plus a lot of fortune it''s hard, very rare to see on the field."


    "I can totally guess the reason," Jim said, "and the ace is to have a very amazing ace like me, right?"


    "Who said you are amazing?" Lim said while othersughed at Jim''s expression.


    "Stop it," Jim shouted before turning around, "let''s start ying first, free style then."


    "What''s freestyle?" Deno asked.


    "It''s y as you like without any rules," Jim said before asking, "don''t you have a free style here?"


    They all nced at each other while he onlyughed, "alright, let''s consider this a tactic then."


    "And what should we do exactly in it again?" Roo asked in doubt.


    "Improvise," Jim said before turning around, "Lan really is taking his time," he muttered.


    "Should I go and fetch him?" Pat asked while an evil smile appeared on his face. He seemed to enjoy his moment of triumph over this Actimos.


    "Alright," Jim smiled evilly as well, "go and don''t bete, alright?"


    "Gimme one minute," Pat ran fast to the outside before vanishing from others'' sight.


    "Y''know he will tease him, right?" Rick came closer to Jim and said.


    "I know," Jim smiled, "but it was fun seeing Lan''s reaction from before," heughed and Rick only shook his head. "You are weird," he muttered.


    "C''mon, let''s have some fun," Jim said before the next moment he saw the twoing from the main gate.


    "What happened?"


    This was the same question everyone had in their minds the moment they spotted Lan.


    He wasn''t the same as he left, with disheveled hair and a tear or two over his clothes. "Were you fighting?" Jim asked while examining him.


    "I found a lot of crowd surrounding and preventing him froming here," Pat sighed, "they kept harassing him since he was part of our team."


    "Is this true?" Gordan came fast as he shouted in rage, "those bastards! Can''t they pick someone their size?!!"


    "Stop," Jim shouted before adding, "it''s not correct to go and fight with them. This will only serve their purpose not ours," he took a deep breath before warning, "we should be more careful not to break any rules."


    "And this?" Deno pointed to Lan, "isn''t this against rules?"


    "Technically speaking," Lim moved at this moment as he was the most experienced one here, "they didn''t attack him, only blocked his way and used their giant bodies to inflict this damage."


    "Isn''t this equal to fighting?" Deno was speechless for a moment.


    "It isn''t," Lim shook his head, "at most they might get a warning, deduct some points from them, and mostly nothing will happen."


    They all nced weirdly at him which made him sigh. "You guys truly underestimate the power of rtions here in the academy Do you think this group came out of nowhere? They are backed with master, more than one actually. Even if you went to the council and issued aint, I guarantee you nothing will happen in the end."


    His words made them all feel bitter, yet before anyone would object and argue, Lan finally spoke:


    "I''m fine guys, they only caused little bruises and scratches nothing serious."


    "Are you sure?" Jim asked, "do you want to go to the hospital yard?"


    "I''m fine," Lan smiled, "take it, I rented a lot of gear from the main stadium store."


    Jim gave him a deep nce before nodding and epted the ring. "We are in the game boys," he said while taking out arge pile of regr gears, "all who in the second team use these gears for now. Let''s start training then."


    He moved fast to the pitch, leaving others behind distributing the gears among themselves. The feeling he got every time he stepped on the grass field never got old.


    "He said improvise, right?" Lim asked Rick while they moved inside the field.


    "Don''t ask me buddie, he is the captain," Rick said while shaking his head, "I hope our captain knows what he is doing."


    "Start!"


    Jim stood on the side, the same ce where Rana used to stand before. "I''ll act as the ace for both teams. Once the balles to me, I''ll run towards the opposite team''s direction."


    By this he worked as both teams'' ace, training more efficiently despite exerting double the energy.


    "Stop him!" Deno shouted as he moved fast to intercept Jim from crossing him.


    "Throw the ball," yet another Jim asked for the ball as he appeared like lightning, crossing Deno and others from behind.


    "It was a decoy!" Deno realized it as all did, but Jim was already sprinting in a speed no one could catch him with.


    "Again," Jim returned with the ball after scoring a goal. "You shouldn''t forget I''m not the only Jim on the field," heughed and Deno could only sigh.


    He was slightly distracted with what happened to Lan. After all Lan was his oldest friend here, alongside Jim and the two girls.


    "Stop the three Jims," one of the bulltors shouted while three Jims were moving in unison towards the tankers of his team, "don''t let them bypass you."


    Just as he said these words, two Jims started to slow down a little while one kept advancing forward without pause. "He is the one, stop him," the bulltor shouted and instantly a group of three other bulltors moved to intercept Jim.


    "Wrong guess," yet as they all surrounded him, that Jim sneered evilly whileughing at their fault.


    He didn''t have the ball, and just as he said that one of the two Jims moved fast, very fast that he bypassed all the team in mere moments before Rick threw the ball to him to arch a very long way in the air beforending peacefully over Jim''s glove.


    "You should hone your detection skills," Jim advised while returning after scoring a goal.


    "You just are too cunning," Roo stepped in to speak for others, "you have strange chemistry with those decoys."


    "Yeah I noticed that too," Lim came closer before adding, "what''s the secret? Have you been training behind our backs? Are you in love?"


    "Very funny," Jimughed before adding, "I''ve just informed them how to act to deceive you."


    "He is more cunning than you all think," one Jim said while smiling, "his mind is crowded with twisted ideas to fool you."


    "That''s great!"


    Thisment didn''te from any of the team members, but from Rana who suddenly appeared there like she was here from the beginning.


    "Coach," everyone greeted her while Jim asked in doubt, "I thought you won''te except hourster."


    "I took today off," she simply said before adding while noticing the questioning gazes they had, "what? You can take days off and masters can''t?"


    "I never heard of a master doing this before," Lim honestly said.


    "Humph, that''s because we all love our job," Rana said in pride like she wasn''t the one to break this golden rule, "back to the game, I liked what you did with the decoys."


    "I was trying to y freestyle here," Jim smiled.


    "Freestyle?" Rana muttered in loss, "what''s that?"


    "We also were and still are ignorant to what he says," Rick shook his head as he admitted that.


    "It''s a way of ying without rules," Jim said.


    "Without rules and tactics how can you even win then?" Rana asked while trying to better understand his meaning.


    "Improvise," Jim pointed to the decoys, "like what I did with them here. Just as the ball was with me, I hurriedly passed it before whispering something to the decoys."


    "So you didn''t agree on that beforehand?" Kro was more shocked to hear that.


    "No, I just improvised what to do moments before doing it," Jim confessed.


    "Amazing," Rana muttered, "like this you won''t be read at all by your opponents, but"


    "Yeah, it requires a lot of focus and also a slight mistake and things would look worse for us," Jimpleted what she was talking about.


    "A double edged weapon," Rana said while thinking deeply about it, "but considering your lousy state and the strong opponent list you have I believe this will be your only chance here."


    "Strong opponent list?"


    "The list is announced?"


    "Aren''t we supposed to fight a weak team?"


    "What happened?"


    All the members eximed in shock and doubt while some stole a nce towards Lim who softly muttered:


    "I warned you guys, what I learnt about wasn''t final yet."


    "He isn''t the one to me," she sighed, "it''s the other dirty masters'' schemes against you. You were supposed to start up against one weak team, but they manipted and changed the order. And"


    She paused and Jim couldn''t help but ask in doubt:


    "Is there more bad news?"


    And she only nodded.

 Chapter 129: A Misunderstanding

    Chapter 129: A Misunderstanding


    "We have two matches on the same day," Rana said and she didn''t need to continue.


    Everyone already got what she was meaning.


    "Two matches on the opening day!!" Rick was shocked.


    "How can we y two matches in a row?"


    "They want to exhaust us?" Pat asked while everyone nodded.


    "I think they are trying to make us lose two matches in a single day to be kicked out of the tournament," Lan expressed his thoughts.


    "No," Rana said, "they want to make sure to expose the ace using the first game."


    "Even if they didn''t do that, our odds of winning are very slim," Jim said as this was something obvious.


    "No they needed to do that, as the second team is the only weak team in our list of opponents," Rana said before adding, "or the weakest of the four teams we have at least."


    Jim nced at her and he started to get her meaning. "But we just started training," Rickined.


    "Who is our opponent?" Jim ignored Rick''s remark as well as Rana who answered:


    "The first team is a team who has been trying to enter the ace league for years and failed."


    "And they decided to use us as a bridge to enter the league?" Deno said while being so mad.


    "They are good," Rana said, "but not too powerful. They have many weak spots, and their biggest is their morale."


    "What do you mean?" Jim asked.


    "They have onemon habit; if they started the game scoring the first goal they would end up victorious. But if they didn''t they lose morale fast and crush over each other and lose the game."


    "This so we had to score first, right?" Kro said while everyone turned to nce at Jim who simply smiled.


    "We need to do that but also we need not to let them score first in us," Rana said as she added, "so in the first formation we will use all the tankers to stop them when they get the ball, then switch toplete offensive formation when we get it."


    "The hitters tactic then," Rick was the happiest at this moment while the others only gave him a stern nce without sharing any signs of joy.


    "But this is gamble," Jim muttered, "let''s discuss the game tacticter, now we need to train."


    "No," Rana firmly objected, "we need to select the tactic first then train ordingly."


    "She is the right boss," Rick said, "we need to decide on our tactics and trainter. We don''t have time for anything else."


    Jim nced around and finally nodded. "Alright, then we can''t use this tactic," he said and his words made Rick surprised there for a moment.


    "Why?" Rana calmly said.


    "Because it''s what our opponents would expect us to do," Jim simply said, "and I bet they are preparing something in return to deal with our offensive tactic."


    "Like what?" Rick asked in a depressed tone, "the offensive tactic is the coolest thing ever in the game! No one can stop it."


    "No it''s a very open tactic full of holes," Rana calmly said, "but it''s the most simple tactic we can learn in the next hours we got."


    "No, we got another tactic," Jim said before winking.


    "Why did you wink to me just now?" yet his natural move that he used without thinking got him a strong hit to his chest that sent him flying in the air. "Who do you think I am? Huh?" Rana shouted in rage while everyone around was stupefied.


    "Coach" Lim had to step in and stop her before seriously injuring their ace.


    "What?" she yelled at him while everyone took a step away.


    "It''s a signal for hitting something deeper than he said," Lim miraculously stood his ground while exining, "he didn''t mean anything mean or rude by it."


    "Lies," Rana harrumphed, "it''s used between lovers I saw a couple using it when I was heading here today."


    "" Lim couldn''t answer that while others remained silent out of their shock.


    "I really meant to hint at something with it," Jim stood up while feeling extreme pain all over his body right now. He checked and luckily only bruises were there and no serious injuries.


    "What is genius?" Rana stood there and crossed her arms in front of her chest while ring at him.


    "The freestyle tactic," he said and his words made her face freeze for a moment beforeughing a short one.


    "Of course I knew that," she said and Jim and others only gave her a deep nce.


    "Alright alright, let''s train on this tactic then," she hurriedly said while moving to the side.


    "Are you ok?" Rick asked and Jim rubbed his chest.


    "Her kick was strong but my wings saved me in thest moment," Jim said before turning to nce at her, "we need not to stir her again, I never expected her to react to my wink like this."


    "Don''t stand there,e and start training!" she shouted and the team moved at once to resume training while everyone started to exercise control over their words with her.


    She was really unpredictable.


    "Keep moving don''t stop there pass the ball don''t hold the ball too much"


    She kept shouting and releasing orders while everyone tried to keep up with her orders. During this Jim acted as the one holding the threads, giving them subtle orders and they tried to follow up.


    But not all managed to keep up with his orders, especially when he was also giving some impossible orders sometimes.


    "Jim, you need to slow down a little," even Rana noticed this, "your thoughts are much faster and more flexible than our team members here. They can''t just fly from one side to another to execute your vision."


    "I get it coach," Jim understood her meaning and started to train his mind as well.


    His mind always had a path where he could follow to achieve victory. It was the same as what he got while fighting. So he always rushed to give orders so he would finish that path sessfully.


    However many times the teammates would be far away or not in the right ce to help, and that created more disturbance and even losing the ball.


    They kept training for hours. During which some got some bruises and superficial wounds but nothing severe luckily.


    "Gather up," she suddenly stopped the training and stared at the team. "Now it''s about time we get ready to move and face the first team. I''ve tested all of you and as before those I selected in the main team remain. Go and have half an hour of rest."


    She then turned to Jim as she added, "youe with me."


    He moved without hesitation after her to a corner in the field while everyone just let their bodies fall on the ground and closed their eyes.


    They were training straight forward for hours now and they needed and deserved some rest.


    "What do you have with Pol?"


    Her question was sudden and that made him nce weirdly at her. "If you mean that giant master then I have a lot with him," he simply said.


    "Like enmity? Or friendship?"


    "Friends? With him?" he couldn''t help butugh, "sorry coach, but he is someone I''ll never befriend."


    "That exins it then," she nodded before ncing at the other team members lying on the ground before adding, "he pushed a certain yer from his n to the team we are going to face."


    "A tanker?" Jim asked.


    "No a hitter," she corrected, "and this one is quite special."


    "Strong?"


    "Sneaky," she said, "he loved underhanded tactics and dirty ys. He was famous for being expelled a lot due to cruel y."


    "yers can be expelled from the game?" Jim was surprised to hear that.


    "Of course they can," she said like it was a well known fact, "first the referee would give a warning, then he would expel the yer for half a game, full game, two games, or even the entire season."


    "Wow," Jim was amazed when he heard that.


    "That''s why your talkative friend, Rick, always uses the referees for their actions against his beloved team. They are just ying hard and dirty which led them to lose many of their best yers over the years."


    "Then"


    "Don''t worry," Rana said as she realized what he was about to say, "It''s hard to get expelled from the game. All you need to do is to prepare your team mentally for the next loss."


    "We are going to lose?" Jim was more amazed by her words.


    "The first game yeah," she casually said, "after all your performance isn''t that bad, but it''s not good enough to secure you a win."


    "But we should aim for a win, right?"


    "If you won then it would be better," she said before seriously adding, "but if you lost you need to make sure your team won''t break apart from that loss. After all, it''s not the only game on this day, and losing it won''t make you lose your chances."


    Jim understood her meaning and she nodded. "I''ll depend on you there. In fact I would have preferred to keep that freestyle tactic of yours hidden in the first game and not use it before the second. But" she turned to nce at the team, "I doubt your boys would survive that loss if they didn''t do what they thought was their best out there."


    He turned to his team and nodded, "We should throw everything we have in that game and hope we can win it."

 Chapter 130: The Legendary Stadium

    Chapter 130: The Legendary Stadium


    "You need to pay the fees first."


    The team stood in front of this dragon master while Rana nced in frustration at him.


    "The kid already paid the fees!" she seemed not to care about the master and he gave her a mocking gaze before saying in a calm yet so irritating tone:


    "The kid paid for the registration fees, the stadium hiring fees, but not the fees to y the game."


    "How much?" Jim was already hating the scent of that dragon.


    "One hundred coins," the master said, "that''s the fee of a single match, but as you have two sessive matches then you have to pay five hundred."


    Jim turned to his coach who had her face reddened from rage. "This is a daylight steal!" she shouted and her tone even reached those sitting inside the stadium.


    "He and his team won''t step a single foot inside without paying five hundred academy coins now."


    The dragon master answered in his calm tone, the tone and attitude that made Jim wanting to smash his head and p his face right now.


    "Here," yet he answered with a smug smile, "the five hundred coins. You can count them, right?"


    The master nced at him deeply while Jim didn''t give him any heed. "Let''s go coach," he turned to Rana before shouting, "let''s go Fairosse."


    "O- O- Oh!"


    The team behind shouted in a cheering tone before they moved following the steps of their captain. Jim entered the stadium once during the night and it was through the main door.


    Yet this time he entered it from the teams'' door. The long corridor that met him was filled with many races; all wore their gears and uniforms while standing and talking to each other.


    "Is there more than one match today?" Jim was surprised to ask.


    "There are almost twenty game today," Rana said, "I don''t recall the number exactly but it''s something around that."


    "That exins this," Jim muttered, "when is our match?"


    "In ten minutes," she said, "I believe it''s after the current game."


    "Can we watch?" Rick asked as this was his first time being this close to the legendary stadium.


    "No," this answer didn''te from Rana but from a short squirrel with a curved fluffy tail that was equal to his height. "You need to stay at the waiting path where your turn wille in minutes."


    Jim and others nced at this man. He wore a white uniform with longitudinal ck stripes and a cap with a symbol.


    "The Lionesse team," Kro and Roo instantly recognized this symbol where a ground of sexy lionesses were posing together while showing off their bodies.


    "Oh, fans to the queens?" the man said.


    "Who isn''t?" The twoughed while Rick maintained his calm forcibly by the help of Deno''s hard grip.


    It wasn''t wise to make enmity here with anyone here.


    "I like you more," the man smile while his weird stained teeth made his face look weirder, "the queens are a real walking legends," he paused while ncing at Rana, "and it''s no wonder you are fans to them after all you got yourselves a coach hailing from their hall of fame directly to here."


    "Hall of fame?" Jim muttered and the gaze he got from Rana made him refrain from asking for more.


    "Come, wait here," the man led them to a short branch where it ended with a closed metallic door. There was a central walkway lined by red carpet and golden fence, while they stood on another walkway just next to it.


    They lined up, led by Rana, Jim, then the main team members including Kro, Lim, Pat as hitters. Deno, Rick, and Gordan were the main tankers. In addition to three shapeshifters, the entire main team waspleted with the presence of Jim.


    Behind the second line stood under the lead of Roo. He couldn''t pass the testpared with Lim and Pat, and of course his old friend Kro.


    Yet he wasn''t dejected at all as the second team wasn''t just a name. the team would y at any time ording to the status of the game.


    "Ho ho horay," suddenly a loud cheer came from behind while another team appeared. They were singing, jumping with each step and they acted in such admirable coordination that attracted the envious looks of Jim''s team even.


    "Who are they?" Jim asked.


    "Our opponent," Rana said as if it was a known fact, "the Geritemesse team."


    "Gre what?" Rick muttered, "I couldn''t believe a fool could name his team such a lousy name," he loudly said and his words attracted the attention of the other team.


    They were already lining up inside their walkway, about to wait like Jim and his team for the ongoing match to be over.


    "Huh? A loser is speaking as if he was a winner," one of themughed.


    "As if you are a foreteller," Rick sneered, "hey, can you take this monster core and tell me the future?"


    Rick put his hand inside his shorts while the faces of the other team changed. Yet their captain, who wasn''t an ace but a hitter, motioned them to stop caring for him and led them again to a wave of cheer and jump.


    "Nice one Rick," Rana apuded while stealing a nce at the team, "be wary of the waiting zone, it might be deadly especially to newbies."


    Jim turned to nce at his team. The faces were paled, full of hesitation and doubt. "We need to do something," he muttered while realizing what she was speaking about.


    "I''ve already done," she smiled in confidence and he didn''t know what she was referring to.


    Yet this waiting was destined to end when the door suddenly opened and two teams walked in, one wasughing and singing, jumping and dancing, with faces full of joy and excitement.


    Yet the others seemed to be dead walking out their tombs. Ashen faces, gloomy looks, and even some tears could be seen here and there.


    "This" Jim nced and couldn''t find the suitable word to describe it.


    "Brutal right?" Rana sneered, "this is the game, the true face of the game. But you don''t need to worry about how your team will look after the game you should worry about how they will look when they enter the field."


    "What?" he asked, yet as the two teams passed, a silver uniform came fast from outside and appeared all of sudden in front of the two teams waiting.


    "What are you waiting for? Enter and rock the stad-i-u-m!"


    All of sudden the sound reverberated throughout the entire world as Jim was shocked to see that man, that silver butterfly race man was in fact amentator and not a referee!


    "Hold your breath kid," Rana evillyughed while jumping a couple of times to the air, "or else you''ll be blown away."


    She moved the next instant while the other team captain also moved. The team didn''t have a coach, and so the first to move was their captain.


    "Move Jim," a soft elbow came from Kro who made Jim take the step finally and enter the field.


    And she was absolutely right as the moment he entered he was weed with a massive wave of cheers and loud shouts that even defended his ears.


    And that wasn''t all.


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    The sounds of blinding shes of light appearing once and disappeared the next moment started to annoy him. He didn''t know where he was going, but he was following the near back of his coach who just kept jumping,ughing, and even screaming in excitement.


    "Gosh, how much I miss this ce," she turned to him and said before asking the next moment, "are you alright?"


    "I''m" he paused while turning around trying to sort out things, "it''s so chaotic!"


    "Oh yeah," she didn''t take it as aint andughed before jumping over to the front, "c''mon, jump and have fun like me," she said and Jim only hesitated for a moment before throwing everything over his back and muttering, "screw it!"


    Then he started jumping and shouting with noprehensible phrases while trying to unleash all his stress and anxiety.


    After a couple of jumps he started to figure out his ce from all this mess. They came from a corner of the stadium while the seats of the audience lined next and above each other.


    That exined the sudden wave of noises and screams when he first entered here. Then there were many on the side of the entrance, carrying strange orbs that kept shing all the time and holding some papers and other devices in their hands.


    "Reporters?" He was astonished to see their huge numbers like the sea.


    "Don''t you feel something?" Rana suddenly asked whileughing.


    "What?"


    "Something strange?" she vaguely asked.


    "Everything is strange," he couldn''t help butugh.


    "Like we are actually flying?" she pointed to the ground and suddenly he realized what was going on!


    "D-a-amn!" he couldn''t control himself and screamed when he saw the distant ground underneath. He turned to see the world and suddenly realized the reason why he was able to see everything this clear after starting to jump.


    "Damn! The main field is hanging over the ground?!!" he asked in shock while he descended to the ground again and strangely his fall was warmly weed by the grass to make him feel nothing.


    "It''s like jumping over normal ground, right?" she said whileughing as they both were sent to the air once more and headed closer to the flying field.


    And Jim couldn''t speak anymore and only murmured: "I love this magical game! Hahaha!"

 Chapter 131: A Legendary Entrance

    Chapter 131: A Legendary Entrance


    "Behold the next teamsing up the field Behold the team that caused a big stir in the same ce where thispetition has been held for ages behold the Fair- es-s-s-s-se team."


    Thementator went wild as he shouted while jumping beside Jim, who was simply amazed and captivated with this spectacr atmosphere.


    "They are going to face the lions, the tigers, the more experienced and far better in shape Geritem- es- s- s- s- se team."


    Thementator turned to their opponents who were jumping in unison while making some poses in the air that made the entire audience go wild.


    "They are gaining the masses support," Rick said the moment hended on the side of the flying field. "We need to do something."


    "Don''t worry," Rana said in a mysterious way, "we aren''t without a weapon of our own to crush this."


    Just as the team started to gather one after another, the Geritemesse yers started to form up together. They took a stance while leaning to one side and fixing their arms in a certain position.


    "Oh- o- o- oh O- o- o- o- oh," they suddenly shouted as if they were singing while they started to move.


    "They are dancing?!!" Deno was speechless while Kro and Roo were standing there with frustrated looks over their faces.


    "Damn it! We have better moves than them," Kro cursed out loud.


    "We simply didn''t have enough time to teach you guys these moves," Roo said in obvious regret while everyone watched the entire stadium reacting to these dancing moves and unified shouts which strangely were transmitted along the entire stadium.


    "Don''t falter my boys our intro will be much more amazing than this," Rana suddenly shouted before a sudden group of four silhouettes appeared all of sudden from one corner of the flying stadium.


    "The girls!" Lan was speechless there while watching with others the four girls who looked absolutely different.


    They were wearing shining gold outfits where the drawings of fairies scattered all over. The girls moved in wide and unified moves while their faces showed their determination and focus.


    They stopped just ten meters in front of their team, a few meters away from the field before they raised one arm in the air and posed there without doing a thing.


    And they waited waited for the other team to finish their pathetic attempt to impress the audience.


    "One two... three" The leading girl, Tina, suddenly shouted while snapping her fingers with each word she said.


    With the third word, the four girls suddenly moved their waists and leaned over each other until they all got unified to form a symbol a letter that was shaped as F.


    "We are the Fairosse!" The four shouted in unison before suddenly they broke off and jumped, each to one side before they started hitting the ground with their specially designed boots.


    "Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum"


    The sounds of their boots started to cause a melody that resembled the drums of war. The entire stadium held their breaths while the only sound that reverbated there was the sound of the girls.


    "We are the mightiest."


    "We are the strongest."


    "We are the victories."


    "We are the Fairesse."


    The girls started to shout while moving their bodies under the temp of their drums and their legs never stopped kicking. Then they started taking the dance to another level.


    "p p p p p p p" they started pping while jumping with their legs while leaning, bowing, jumping, and the dance started to take shape.


    They were performing a dance they trained for a single day upon. "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh," they shouted while all of sudden their outfits started to be set aze as if they all turned into living torches.


    "We are the mightiest."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh."


    "We are the strongest."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh."


    "We are the victories."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh."


    "We are the Fairoesse."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh."


    They unified again to form the previous symbol and this time their feets and hands never ceased kicking and pping together until the final beat ended with a loud soberano act from Saga all alone that shone brightly after the abrupt stop of the drums and ps:


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh We are the Faires  s s s s se."


    "sh."


    "sh."


    "sh."


    A moment of silence prevailed, the entire stadium tainted only by the sounds of reporters taking shots of the girls. Then all of sudden it was like a bomb exploded in the entire ce.


    The audience went crazy, and despite Jim couldn''t make a single word clearly he could still hear a vague shout of thest act of the girls.


    And Rana stood there in front with them beside her friend, Mera, with a proud look over their faces.


    "And the Fairosse just blew the stadium off!" thementator shouted in excitement, "Damn girls, I already fell in love with you!"


    The audience went into a wave of crazier cheer and apuse after his words while the girls never broke up their symbol.


    "C''mon boys," Rana suddenly said, "the girls gave you a legendary entrance, and you shouldn''t disappoint them."


    Jim was jolted awake as he nced over her then to her friend, Mera, before nodding to her in appreciation.


    "The Fairesse assemble!" he shouted and moved while feeling like his entire body was already on fire.


    As he passed the girls he felt a soft touching from the girls over his shoulder while not knowing who did it. This didn''t only happen to him but to all the rest of the main team who moved one after another, following Jim''s steps.


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh We are the Faires  s s s s se."


    "sh."


    "sh."


    "sh."

 Chapter 132: The First Goal

    Chapter 132: The First Goal


    Just as they all entered, Saga said again the final part of the song where she did it with her mesmerizing unique voice.


    Then the girls broke up and each held a long golden red ribbon in their hands before they shook them and the next thing happened was for these ribbons to be set on fire.


    "Go go Fairosse we are the victors!" The girls started their cheer and Jim and other members of his team just felt more adrenaline pushed inside their bodies under the effect of these shouts and the deafening cheer of the entire audience.


    "And the Fairosse seems not to be content with their legendary entrance as their cheer squad is enough to crush any team and make them win the league," thementator went wild as well and started to rain praise once more on the girls.


    "Line up," the referee suddenly appeared, "it''s time to start the game," he was a unicorn n referee and he wasn''t the only referee here.


    Jim spotted four others, two at each side of the field and they all belonged to the unicorn race.


    "Let''s go boys," Jim said while ncing over his main team lined up in front of him.


    There was Kro, Lim, and Pat as hitters at the forefront while behind him were the three shapeshifters taking the exact shape of Jim. Jim stood in the middle while no one could tell who was the real ace here.


    And the three tankers lined up forming an angle at the rear, just ten meters away from the line.


    "Be ready," the unicorn''s main referee shouted before a ball suddenly appeared and he kept bouncing it over his gloves. "Start!"


    The shout he gave was followed by the sudden throw of the ball up high before hurriedly retreating. Kro was the one to move towards it from Jim''s team while another giant moved from the other team trying to get the ball first.


    "It''s ours," Jim heaved a sigh of relief before the ball went from Kro to Lim who started to run forward before rapidly tossing it to one of the shapeshifters.


    Jim was just behind that shapeshifter, trying to keep up with their slow pace and not show off his fast moves yet.


    The ball started to move in rounds from the front to the back while the entire team pushed forward while three out of four hitters moved fast trying to intercept it.


    Thest one with the ball was Deno and the moment he took it, meanments came from the hitter nearby.


    "A loser with a ball damn loser just give it to me and f*ck off!"


    Deno was startled and his face changed slightly before hurrying to pass the ball to Rick who didn''t dy in passing it forward, crossing almost half of the entire field before Pat caught it.


    And a tanker was just moving fast towards him.


    The other team was formed of strange lining; four hitters, five tankers, and only one ace. Jim didn''t hurry to judge this was their true ace as he didn''t know if their opponent was truly ying honest or pulling a trick.


    "Boom!"


    Just as the Pat got the ball, he was mercilessly hit by the tanker while a shield was directed horizontally to his head and he got a strong blow that was enough to send him flying off the pitch.


    And the ball then was caught before falling to the ground by these tankers.


    "Switch!"


    Rana''s voice came so loud and clear to be heard while two tankers moved to the pitch instantly while Lim moved outside.


    But this took a few seconds to happen and the tanker didn''t pass the ball around like Jim''s team did, instead he threw a long one towards the hitter upfront who was just near the border of the field.


    He simply turned around, evaded Deno''s charge, and let the ball bounce high before a loud shout came from their side.


    "Switch."


    The hitter fast exited the field and instead an ace joined. "It''s the real one," Jim muttered before shouting, "Stop him!"


    Rick was the nearest one to him, but before he could even cross half the distance, the ball fell in the ace hand and the ace opened up his eleration to max and crossed the final line in less than two seconds.


    "A goal!" the referee dered and Jim''s team all nced at the referee with angry looks.


    "It was a legit move," the referee said, "no fault was done here. It''s a clear goal. Move to the center and continue ying now!"


    The shout of the referee was clearly heard by all.


    "Losers losers losers with only hot girls on the sideline" The other team cheered in joy while shouting loudly and mocking Jim''s team.


    "They got the first goal," Jim clenched his fists while turning towards Rana. "her switch wasn''t on the right time, they outdone us this time."


    Jim recalled thest discussion with Rana before getting here. She warned him that this team''s strongest and weakest fort was their morale. "I need to crush it now," he muttered, "they haven''t won the game yet."


    He nced over a very gigantic rounded clock that was ced in one corner of the stadium. There the clock said there was less than ten minutes left, as the entire game would take only this time in two halves.


    "We have to make it," he nced around his team where their dark faces told him everything they were feeling right now.


    And that rang many bells inside his head, noisy rming ones that echoed with what his coach warned him about.


    "Even if we are going to lose this, we shouldn''t end up at the bottom end of morale," he decided, "I need to improvise, and I need to do it before they can score another goal."


    He aimed to make the game return to the starting point again, at least that would boost his team morale even if they ended up losing the entire game.


    "Switch!"


    Yet all of sudden the opposite team did a change and all of sudden six tankers with two hitters and one ace remained on the field.


    "They n to prevent us from scoring!"

 Chapter 133: The Comeback - Part 1

    Chapter 133: The Comeback - Part 1


    "Start!"


    The referee gave the signal and the ball was in the hands of Jim''s team. Jim refrained from giving them any speech at the moment as he knew anything he would say wouldn''t be useful.


    He lived his entire life under the suppression of others, cornered in a ce where no one ever cared about him.


    Despite entering this academy with many events, he was deeply appreciative of his friends. At least they weren''t like the others and believed in him.


    And that was why he didn''t want to see them dejected, as this was something he never wanted anyone he cared about to experience.


    "Spread up," he suddenly whispered to Rick while adding, "leave me behind."


    Rick was first busy with his own feelings like everyone else so he didn''t notice Jim''s strange presence back here despite them having the ball.


    And now he was asking him to move forward, leaving the entire back empty.


    "Are you sure?" he had to ask.


    "Just follow my words," Jim confidently said yet his confidence never managed to shake the heavy curtain of depression over Rick''s face.


    "Follow me," Rick said in a weak tone and Deno and Gordan moved with him while giving thest to stand Jim a short nce.


    Like they never cared anymore about this game, as if they already lost it and lost their chance to join the league entirely.


    "Damn, it''s much worse than I imagined," Jim cursed while watching the ball being passed between his team without any n at all.


    And their opponents were standing their ground at their half, calmly waiting like wolves for the right chance to attack and steal the ball.


    "Switch!" he suddenly shouted and all nced in a weird way towards him. "Lim and Pate in again," he shouted while the two tankers who joined the game left the field in heavy steps.


    "I hope this works," he muttered before suddenly shouting, "bring it to me."


    His sudden shout made Lim, the most experienced one here, able to respond and at once returned the ball back.


    "What is he doing?" Rana asked while she refrained from interfering at this delicate moment.


    "Shouldn''t you give orders or something?" her friend, Mera, walked as she said these words while her face was darkened. "They are about to break apart."


    "You are wrong," Rana calmly said while watching closely the ballnding in the hands of Jim, "this is the moment where the real essence of the team would be formed."


    "Essence?" Mera muttered before shaking off her head, "whatever, you yers always use strange terms for me to understand."


    Rana smiled and said nothing. She could shout, reprimand or give orders but she didn''t. she could have done a switch like the moment she did before, however that stern and ming looking from Jim made her realize her own mistake.


    "I treated them as an established team," she softly muttered, "and forgot this was their first game ever I need to step back and let them run the game the way they wanted the way he wanted"


    Mera gave her a silent nce before sighing, "yers are really bizarre!"


    Rana didn''t say anything to her while her eyes shone while watching Jim starting to move.


    Jim received the ball and instantly moved out. He didn''t hold back his speed anymore and just kept running with his fastest ever.


    "That yer he is running fast, so fast" thementator suddenly went crazy, "he is the ace! The ace revealed himself so early in the game is this team this amateurish? Or fools?"


    The words Jim heard never cared about any while passing by thest line made entirely of his defenders. "Move out with me," he suddenly let the ball bounce towards Rick, "pass it to me," he shouted while running fast and his words were perfectly heard by everyone here and even thementator.


    "He is aiming to score," thementator shouted in strange excitement, "but he forgot to keep his voice low how bad will this end for them?"


    Jim didn''t care as he moved to the front. His silhouette shed beside his team yers while he kept asking them to move forward. As he reached the first line which was formed entirely of the hitters, he stopped.


    "Come on boy," the hitter of the other team sneered, "or are you terrified to death now?" heughed yet Jim didn''t speak back or move forward anymore.


    He simply stood there and then waited for the flying ball sent by Rick to fall in his hands.


    "Hit him!" that hitter suddenly shouted and the other one moved with two tankers fast targeting Jim.


    He was the ace, and he had the ball it was the perfect time for them to go after him.


    "Fools," yet he only sneered before receiving the ball, turned around, and started running back towards his team''s half.


    "Catch him," as he ran away the four yers didn''t lose targeting him. "Send it to me," Jim threw the ball towards Lim again before continuing to run towards the backline.


    And just when his chaser was about to stop, the ball bounced back to him again and he simply caught it.


    "After him," the hitter decided to keep pressing over Jim while feeling somehow challenged and irritated by what happened just now. "Pass it to me," Jim wasn''t running using his fastest speed, so they were getting closer fast.


    Yet he threw the ball to Rick at the distant back. Then he turned over himself in a half circle, slided over the ground in an arched way to the right before suddenly running fast, so fast towards the front.


    He passed his four chasers while they couldn''t stop in time to catch up to him. His trick was sudden and their speed was already high.


    "Press forward," he suddenly shouted while the ball was roaring in the air while Rick threw it with a strange excitement.

 Chapter 134: The Comeback - Part 2

    Chapter 134: The Comeback - Part 2


    Yet there were another six opponents and they all moved to block the way of Jim. Even the ace moved as well with his extreme speed to reach Jim the fastest.


    "Watch out," Jimughed while the ball justnded on his palm and he didn''t even control it. his arm moved and he threw the ball to his left, turned around a full circle while putting the body of that ace totally behind his back and then he continued to run.


    "Throw it back!" he shouted at Kro who sent the ball flying fast towards him.


    Yet two tankers were getting much closer to him. "Close the gap," the ace shouted while the sound of the boots gliding over the ground reached Jim''s ears.


    Yet he wasn''t fazed by this encirclement done by the three.


    The ball was sent flying horizontally towards him, yet as the ball approached him, he suddenly ducked and let it pass over his head.


    His two opponents were startled by this, yet he kept moving normally after and simply jumped in the air, pushed their two huge bodies to the side while bypassing them like an agile athlete.


    The ball didn''t fall to the ground, butnded in the hands of Pat who was situated on the side of Jim. "Pass it over," Jim shouted, "press forward," he hurriedly added while he heard the whistle of the ball in the air as Pat threw it with a strong force, feeling so much excitement at the moment.


    And he wasn''t the only one feeling so all others of Jim''s team at the field right now were feeling this sudden heat rising down their souls, burning all the gs of despair and blowing the horns of victory.


    Seven were removed from the game and Jim was now leading them to face the final three.


    Yet those three stood their ces forming a triangle that blocked the entire path in front of Jim.


    "You won''t bypass us!" one giant shouted in a threatening tone.


    "Don''t let him pass!" The ace was now howling fast behind Jim and he even could hear the sound of his boots smashing the ground while the two wings pped vigorously, trying to reach him.


    If Jim was dyed for a few seconds then he would reach Jim without doubt.


    As for the rest of the team, they were eating the grass with their fullest speed but they couldn''t ever bepared to the two aces.


    Everything rested upon those three now.


    "Over my dead body!" Just as Jim closed in, one giant used his shield like before. He was the one who hit Pat directly in the face, and he also used the same trick over Jim.


    "Like I would fall for that," Jim sneered as he bent his two knees and glided fast over the ground, while the shield just passed a few inches above his head.


    Yet before he could stand up straight, two shields came fast, one from the right and the other from the left, one headed to his top and the other to his bottom.


    He was simply cornered with no path to evade.


    Yet he did the most unexpected thing ever!


    "Catch!" he shouted and all turned around, ncing over the hasty running team members and wondering which one he would pass the ball to.


    "Don''t stop," the first hitter he first faced suddenly screamed from far behind, "he is the ace! Stop him and they won''t score!!"


    His scream made them regain the rity of their minds and didn''t hesitate to push their shields forward towards Jim, aiming to injure him right here.


    Yet they all were just ying in Jim''s palms.


    "Bounce!"


    Jim did really throw the ball, but not to anyone on his team. Instead he let it bounce over the upper shield before it bounced high up in the air andnded over the head of the defender.


    The ball moved so fast, faster than the speed of any yer. And so it managed to hit the yer''s head before his shield even reached Jim.


    Then it bounced again and this time Jim was there for it.


    The two aimed their shields to Jim, but the missed totally Jim''s brilliant mind. Just as he threw the ball, he thought of a way to dodge and a path appeared all of sudden for him to follow.


    Like an acrobatic he leaned over his hands and pushed his body upward to rotate a full circle, evading the two shields and moving in between them.


    Just as hended, he was already standing between the two and the ball simply bounced off the tanker''s head and was midair. "You are mine," he dered and simply jumped a short one before receiving the ball and controlling it brilliantly in between his palms.


    "I won''t let you do it!" The ace was running hot after him yet he was one secondte.


    Once his feet touched the ground, Jim didn''t hesitate to use his fastest speed and instantly flew like a loose beam of light towards the line, and finally crossed it.


    "A Goal!" The referee announced the result.


    "Damn you!"


    Yet just as Jim was about to stop, he felt a massive hiting from behind. That ace didn''t decelerate or change course, he simply dashed towards him and hit him mercilessly on the back sending him flying to the air before rolling on the ground dozens of meters and finally stopped.


    "What the hell is that for?!!" Kro was nearby and he didn''t stop running as he shouted, "stand your ce I dare you filthy Cason!"


    His eyes red in rage, while all the depression and frustration he felt were turned into anger.


    "Stop right there!"


    This shout didn''te from the referee, not from any of his teammates or from the distant lying like dead Jim it came from Rana who instantly appeared to block his path and hold one of his arms before fiercely mming him on the ground.


    "Referee" the next instant she turned to the referee as she bellowed in rage and very loud tone, "what say you over this felony?"


    "It happened outside the pitch," the answer didn''te from the referee but from someone who she never imagined to see here.


    "Pol!!" she red at him, and if nces would kill then Pol would have been fired up now to ashes under her gazes.

 Chapter 135: Passive Play

    Chapter 135: Passive y


    "What are you doing here?" Rana crossed her arms in a way to control her impulsive emotions right now.


    "I''m the current coach of this team," Pol shrugged, "I''ve volunteered to lead such a glorious team to the league. Do you have a problem with that?"


    ""


    Rana didn''t give him any attention while turning to nce at the referee. "It happened right after scoring a goal and clearly this was intentional."


    "Your boy needs to learn how to control himself after scoring," Pol sneered as he talked again instead of the referee, "this isn''t a child''s game y''know."


    "Humph, I wasn''t speaking to you," Rana said before turning to the referee, "and I didn''t yet hear the call of you."


    "It''s a foul," the referee firmly said, "but it requires only a warning," he turned to the yer who did that and added, "this is yourst warning, any more of these underhanded actions and I''ll have to send you off."


    "Sorry referee," the ace said with zero honesty, "I promise to watch out next time."


    "You better do," the referee said, "now check your ace and if he can''t continue then you have a decision to make. You got five minutes."


    Rana kept ring at the referee while Pol moved with his face towards her while raising five fingers with a wide smile over his face.


    "Oh fairies! How much I''d love to punch that dirty face and p it now!" Rana gritted her teeth before turning to her team, "go and check over him, I doubt such a fall would cause much harm to him."


    In fact she knew he was fine, only acting over there while giving her the chance to crush the other team. However this came in the total opposite result and the ace just got away without much punishment as Jim and she hoped.


    "Is he really fine?" Rick asked in much doubt while ncing over the motionless Jim.


    "He is just ying dead," Rana sighed, "go and shake him a little and show some concern before he could return to the field again."


    The team was speechless for a moment before Deno and Rick moved first before others. "I never thought he was feigning it," Kro sighed.


    "The best trick is the one your closest would believe," Rana said before turning her gaze towards a certain direction, "it''s bad that the damned giant appeared to spoil the fun."


    Kro didn''t know what to say and she only motioned him to move on towards Jim.


    Jim was ying dead on the ground yet he heard every single word that was said back there. He was enraged by Pol''s actions yet he couldn''t do a thing to him.


    And his little y that he perfected at the right time didn''t earn him much.


    ''At least he is warned,'' he sneered, ''next time I''ll make sure he will be suspended for half a match at least.''


    ''That giant is funnier than what you think,'' the old man suddenly said, ''you need to prepare yourself for a bitter match.''


    ``I''m ready for losing this match, old man,'''' Jim muttered, ``but I would dly ept that on condition of raising the morale of my team.''


    ''If I were you,'' the old man suddenly started to talk more than before, ''I would focus on forming a pattern of y here.''


    ''A pattern of y?''


    ''Like starting with the tankers and passing the ball to the hitters, or using the decoys first then tankers then hitters. This is a pattern, and pattern birth habit and a sense of familiarity for your team yers to reside when things go south at any time.''


    ''Hmm is it like a tactic?''


    ''T tactic is meant to score goals,'' the old man said without giving a clear answer.


    ''And this pattern?''


    ''It provides security and a sense of superiority in the game,'' he said, ''but without proper tactics this pattern is useless.''


    ''I have a tactic.''


    ''And it''s a good one indeed,'' the old manughed, ''but youck a pattern and now you need to think of one.''


    ''I''ll just improvise it then.''


    ''Good call,'' the old man said and then went to his hiding ce once again.


    "Are you alright?"


    Jim opened his eyes after three minutes of being surrounded and checked by his team. He nced at the doubtful face of Deno and nodded. "Sorry to make you worry," he simply said these words, "it''s time for us to go back and y."


    "Damn I swear I''ll hit you when we return home," Kro was still enraged, "you made me sick, worried over you man!"


    "It had to be done," Jim said. "After all, if their ace is expelled for half a match then they are forced to defend for the entire period."


    They all got his meaning and suddenly their clouded minded lit up with the realization of his goal from the beginning.


    "That giant I really hate him right now!" Rick turned to nce at Pol who stood outside the pitch, surrounded by the opponent team yers while speaking in strange excitement to them.


    "What could he possibly do?" Deno sneered, "we are now tied and the game returned to the start point once more."


    "And we really outdid them in this goal," Gordanughed and the others nodded in agreement.


    "Don''t underestimate this sly giant," Jim stood up, "I''m pretty sure he would give them really dirty ns to use against us."


    "Like they did to me and you," Pat said while touching his head, "that hit still aches me."


    "We need to be extra careful from now on," Jim said, "follow my lead, we''ll first absorb their impulsive attack and draw them to our half of the field."


    "Then?" Rick asked, "this way our tankers will be much pressured."


    "Don''t worry about that," Jim said, "I have a n already."


    He was bluffing, but they all believed in him. He saw the hope rising exponentially in their faces and that was what he hoped to see.


    "I just pray this won''t backfire on me," he sighed before returning to the game field once more under the excited screams of thementator.


    "The ace just stood up and walked directly back he is fine, he isn''t hurt, he is back in the game and now the true game will start after five minutes of pause."


    "What now?" Lim asked.


    "Just attack normally and try to get the ball," Jim said while ncing over the formation that didn''t change much from before Two hitters, seven tankers, and one ace.


    As for Jim''s team they had the initial line up they started the game with ording to Rana''s arrangement.


    "They don''t use a decoy," Lim said, "are they going to defend again?"


    "I doubt they won''t," Jim nced shortly at Pol, "that man doesn''t like direct ys and enjoys games so much."


    He recalled everything he knew about Pol and started to link the dots. A man who was so savage yet a very fan of toying with his enemies that was what he had in mind about Pol.


    "So this is a fake n?" Kro asked.


    "Just attack regrly and try to take the ball back," Jim said before meddling in between the three decoys here.


    "Shouldn''t we bring more hitters then?" one of the decoys asked.


    "No need, they are enough. Now listen" Jim started to tell the three his entire n and the next moment he started to whisper to the three what they were supposed to do.


    "Start!" the referee shouted and the next moment the ball moved back from the ace who sent it towards the rear tankers.


    "They want to draw us to their side," Jim smiled, "bad for them we won''t fall for that trick."


    The three hitters moved fast towards the front while the ball kept bouncing from one side to another, never moving an inch outside the tankers'' zone.


    "Should we move to help?" Rick asked while the four Jims turned to him and said in unison, "keep yourself there for now."


    Rick raised one eyebrow in surprise to that weird response while those watching this scene felt real amused.


    "Who is the real ace? Who are the decoys? Can anyone tell? Good move coach," thementator shouted in excitement while he was truly amused by this trick. "And the ball is still captive at the tankers'' zone are they nning to stand there all day or what?"


    The three hitters were trying their best to take the ball, yet the number of the tankers made their task nearly impossible.


    "Should we call them back?" Deno asked and the next thing he got was for the four Jims to say: "keep yourself there for now."


    "This"


    It was obvious now that anyone asks anything for Jim, the four Jims will respond with this fixed answer. Despite it making it hard to tell who the real Jim was, it made the scene look more hrious to the audience and thatmentator.


    "I ask for a warning for passive y!"


    All of sudden Rana shouted from the sideline, "they took too much without trying to score, it''s passive y referee."


    "They are tankers, their role isn''t to score," Pol shouted.


    "It''s not our problem coach," Rana sneered, "you should rece them and make hitters enter and y like any proper team would do."


    "Humph."


    "A warning is given," the referee stepped in before Pol could turn this into another scene, "Coach of the Geritemesse team is warned, your team will have the ball for only twenty seconds starting from now. If they don''t aim to score and continue to y passively, the ball will be lost to the opponent team."

 Chapter 136: The Ace Trap

    Chapter 136: The Ace Trap


    Pol''s face was calmer than Jim expected. "I''ll make sure for them to y actively," he said yet Jim didn''t know why but there was something strange about his attitude.


    "What are you scheming sly giant?" he muttered while ncing at the opponent team, "whatever you try, I''ll make sure to make it hard for you to achieve it."


    He was still surrounded by the three decoys and now he only waited for the game to continue.


    "Start!" and the referee gave the signal while the gigantic clock up there showed a twenty second countdown.


    "Switch!" Pol suddenly shouted and the next two tankers left the pitch and two hitters entered instead. They went directly towards Jim''s half where they stood around the four Jims with vignce.


    "Are they waiting for me to move out or something?" Jim smiled before noticing the ball moved to the ace from the tankers for the first time ever.


    "Stop him," Lim shouted and Kro was the closest to the ace so he moved fast to intercept him. The ace was moving fast, meaning he was the real deal.


    Yet Kro was already anticipating his path and managed to block him while directing a blow towards him using his sword.


    But the ace passed the ball at thest second to the tankers once more before he evaded the hit of Kro and then moved to the front before the ball whistled in the air making a high curve in front of all yers.


    And at this moment Jim was tempted to move


    "So you want me to move now?" he smirked as this was obviously a bait, "nah, I''ll leave you disappointed instead."


    He remained calm while watching the ace getting the ball and then he started to run forward.


    Yet Pat was much faster than Kro to intercept him. The ace repeated the same tactic and the ball bounced back before it bounced forth towards him again.


    And Jim was again tempted by this move.


    "What''s wrong with this move?" he muttered before deciding to intercept the ball for the third time.


    He whispered something to the three beside him and they all nodded. As the ace received the ball for the second time he was faced by Lim, the most experienced yer here.


    "Sandwich him with me," Lim shouted as he pressed over the ace, forcing him to retreat the ball.


    Yet as the ace was about to turn around and bypass him, Lim took a sudden turn and started to chase the ace shoulder to shoulder.


    "Now!" Jim didn''t hesitate to give the order for the decoys to move with him. The four Jims moved in unison, with the same speed towards the iing ace and the whistling ball in the air.


    Yet the ball didn''t seem to go towards the ace anymore.


    "It''s a trap," Jim muttered beforeughing, "it''s great I saw it."


    The two hitters who were standing around them didn''t move the moment he and others moved. At this moment he whispered something to the decoys and his hunch proved to be correct.


    The ace here was the decoy, not the real ace!


    Just as the ball howled in the air, Jim took a sharp turn and headed towards the one he thought to be receiving the ball.


    And he wasn''t the only one to do that! All the other Jims turned around, mimicking his turn and speed before two went to one hitter and one headed to the same one Jim was targeting.


    "It''s the ace trap, the famous trap used by the queens of the y c''mon folks, let''s see if this legendary tactic will prove its worth once more or will be a failure thanks to theck of talent for the limited abilities of the Geritemesse team."


    Thementator''s voice rang loudly all of sudden in the ears of Jim. He didn''t know what this tactic was but he was dly epting the challenge.


    The ball was high in the air while it headed towards the hitter closest to the side line. It seemed perfect for Jim and the other decoy to reach the hitter at this speed, yet before the two could even cross half of the distance towards that hitter, the second hitter suddenly moved.


    "Switch!" and Pol shouted from the side, causing a sudden panic in the heart of Jim.


    "Damn! What are you up to, sly giant?" he inwardly cursed while gritting his teeth. He wouldn''t retreat at this critical moment, and so he kept running towards the hitter even when an ace appeared on the sideline waiting to join the pitch after the second hitter reached him.


    And just as Jim was feeling relieved, the first hitter suddenly turned around, with a smirking smile over his face before he ran to the sideline and another yer appeared there.


    "A tanker?!!"


    Jim was surprised and all of sudden he started to understand what was going on here.


    "Stop!" he suddenly shouted to the other decoy as he wouldn''t be able to do a thing here before he suddenly closed his eyes, calmed down his anxiety, before his mind provided a path for him to follow.


    And he instantly opened his eyes and followed that path towards the rapidly closing up ball.


    All of sudden the audience saw the two hitters leaving the field and one tanker and an ace entered it. At the same time they spotted one Jim stop running all of sudden and even was close to losing his bnce while the second one suddenly elerated and moved like an arrow.


    And the two running Jims behind stopped moving as well.


    "The ace is sprinting, elerating he ising, he ising to face the legendary tactic alone. What a courageous young yer he is!" Thementator''s voice echoed in the entire stadium while the audience suddenly held their breaths and waited for the result of this unexpected sh.


    Jim already read their scheme and realized he couldn''t stop them now except if he improvised a new one of his own. And so he ordered the three Jims to stop at their ces while he suddenly elerated.

 Chapter 137: Pressing Forward

    Chapter 137: Pressing Forward


    The ball kept descending fast, yet Jim was faster while the two new yers stood silently there on the side of the line while watching him approaching the ball.


    Then the two acted.


    "As if I''d allow you to pull it," Jim shouted in determination before all of sudden he started to take big strides over the ground, one small jump at a time. "One two three and now!" he muttered while trying to follow the exact same path his mind provided to him.


    Aided by his momentum and his change in move, his body soared high in the air, even higher than the giant defendering hot at him.


    As for that ace, he ran towards Jim''s final line, aiming to receive the ball after the tanker would intercept it from Jim and score a goal.


    It was such a brilliant and perfect tactic, except they weren''t that capable as thementator doubted and they also faced Jim.


    "I won''t let you have it," the tanker threatened while a giant shield appeared before aiming it vertically towards Jim who was about to catch the ball.


    "Pass it!" Jim shouted as instead of receiving the ball with one hand, he hit it with his right glove and sent it bouncing in a high curve towards the back decoys.


    This came all of sudden, making the ace even stumble on the ground and fall. Yet the tanker gritted his teeth when he heard the shout of his coach from the sideline.


    "Keep aiming for him!"


    Pol''s shout was clearly heard and everyone, including thementator, realized how serious this injury would be if Jim was hit by that shield.


    "Damn! The coach is really dirty! He is sacrificing his yer to win the game even if another yer would end up severely injured!" thementator seemed quite agitated and angry while the audience kept their breaths for this short sh to end.


    As for Jim, he only closed his eyes for a brief second before suddenly turning all around himself, hitting that shield with his leg like a kick from midair.


    "Boom!"


    The shield vibrated while Jim''s momentum was interrupted and his body paused. The two of them stopped in their ces for more than a second before Jim bent his knee and let his leg glide over the shield and fell towards the tanker


    With the aid of the gravity he fell fast and the tanker was startled by this twist in events. In impulse he clenched his other arms and directed very strong blows towards the falling Jim.


    Yet just before his fists couldnd over Jim, thetter pushed with all his might to jump slightly away from the shield and the iing violent fists and then passed over the head of that giant.


    He pressed over the head of the giant, used it as an axis before stopping his body from falling. The arms of the giant hit the sturdy shield and muffled bangs were heard.


    And Jim pushed his two legs over the back of the giant and gracefully took a full circle in the air before peacefullynding on the ground.


    "Oh mighty fairies your little kid here did it! he did it folks! He crashed the legendary ace trap of the queens marvel your eyes over this spectacr performance of a team that would cause a stir up in the ace league!"


    The screams of thementator were followed by a deafening cheering from the audience. Jim took a glimpse at his coach who was about to object and stop the y, but he shook his head stopping her from doing so.


    He was finally able to gain momentum and pull another feat here and he wouldn''t let this hard earned gain be lost because of aint that would give them nothing much.


    "Press forward!"


    Jim turned his gaze towards the field and suddenly shouted before elerating once more. There were five tankers at the opponent''s final line and two hitters scattered on the game field.


    And the ball was now bouncing between the three Jims.


    "Bring it to me," Jim demanded the ball and he instantly received it, "Switch," he shouted, "bring me hitters," he added while ncing at one decoy as he added, "you''ll stay."


    Two moved out and two hitters joined the team. They were Roo and one Bulltor.


    Jim didn''t hold the ball much as he threw it fast towards the other end of the field where Lim was. Lim received it and started to run fast, fast as he could.


    In fact he wasn''t the only one doing so, as the entire team were running towards the other half of the field. They didn''t know what they were about to do but they all trusted their captain, their master, Jim.


    "Pass it to me," Jim already crossed the half point of the game field with his super speed while one hitter was closing up fast at him. Just as the ball arched in the air towards him, he simply jumped in the air, gently touched it to change its course to fall ten meters to his left where Kro was situated.


    Then he simplynded, turned around himself like what that ace taught him during the previous performance of his, evaded the fast moving hitter before sprinting once again.


    "Pass it to me," Jim asked for the ball and as he received it he simply ditched it to the back where Roo was running.


    "Keep passing it," Jim shouted while he suddenly decelerated to match the speed of his entire team.


    And all of sudden the team started to circte the ball while moving as a whole unit towards the front.


    "This is great, the Fairesse team isn''t hot headed and now calmly approaching the final line. They will score, I bet they will."


    Thementator''s voice was echoing in the entire stadium while gaining the support of all the audience who kept cheering with the name of the team.


    Their voices were like loud bangs, explosive as if this wasn''t a game but a battlefield.


    "Switch!"

 Chapter 138: A Desperate Situation

    Chapter 138: A Desperate Situation


    Pol didn''t stand by and watched this happening as he sent a group of three hitters to rece three tankers, leaving only two at the final line to act as thest line of defense.


    And the three hitters moved in triangr formation, closing the space for Jim''s team to advance.


    "Pass it to me," Jim shouted and then the ball came all the way back from Deno. Once the ball rested in his hands he spotted the leading hitter moving fast towards him and he also spotted the ace running fast towards him from behind while receiving the ball.


    "Fools," he suddenlyughed as he passed the ball without hesitation to the right side where Lim was. bypassing the hitter was a given but that annoying ace was almost upon him.


    "Bring it back," Jim shouted again and Lim, who was about to face the second hitter, threw the ball to him. Lim didn''t pass the ball properly towards the front but at where Jim was.


    "Not that bad," yet Jim wasn''t fazed by this as he even didn''t stop, "he is all yours," he simply said that to theing fast from behind Roo.


    And Roo didn''t hesitate to activate his hammer and waited for the ace to catch the ball before hitting him hard with his hammer, sending him off bnce to hit the ground and the ball bounced in the air.


    The ace of the other team wasn''t suicidal, but his fast speed due to running all this distance prevented him from handling this trap properly.


    He tried to stop and let the ball fall, but his speed made his body hit the ball nheless before he was hit by Roo''s hammer.


    And Roo simply jumped in the air and tapped the ball with his free glove before sending it flying towards Jim.


    "Keep pressing forward," Jim shouted and the team kept moving in unison towards thest line of defense.


    This was formed of two tankers and one hitter. Jim ran for ten meters before passing the ball to his left where Kro was.


    And Kro nced at him before receiving the ball, waiting for what he would do. He was a hitter, so close to the end line, and he couldn''t score the ball.


    "Throw it," Jim nodded to him before suddenly sprinting towards the front. The three yers upfront moved to intercept him, as it was obvious he had to receive the ball for his team to score.


    "Keep up with me," Jim muttered to the close by Pat and the decoy while the three moved in a triangr formation towards the finish line.


    "What is he nning to do? How does he n to avoid this irond defensive line and score?" thementator was on the edge of his seat already while screaming all over the ce.


    And Jim sneered. "You just watch," he softly muttered before reaching towards the other triangle formed strangely by the two tankers at the front and the hitter at the back.


    "Pass it to him," Jim passed the ball behind towards Pat while jumping to evade the shielding at him. The ball bounced towards Pat before he simply threw it to the decoy and then took a direct hit from the shield of the second tanker.


    "Damn! Not again!" Thementator even felt pity for Pat for taking such a hit in the face in the same way, ending up lying on the ground injured.


    But Jim didn''t stop, as there was only one yer there to beat.


    "Pass it," he requested the moment he passed his tanker. It was clearly obvious what he nned to do here, yet he heard a soft whistleing from his behind.


    "That damned ace!" he cursed while the ball was already sent to him from the decoy and thest hitter was moving fast while waving with a curved sword made entirely out of blue light.


    "They are cornering him," thementator screamed again, "what will he do? Will he pass it back for the ace to intercept it or pull something to bypass the hitter?"


    Jim had to ditch his n at thest second and improvise. Moving with fast speed he didn''t intend to stop here or else that ace would close up and snitch the ball.


    "You are doomed," the hitter said in a vicious tone that was full of hatred.


    "You need to hit me first," Jim shouted back while the sword of light suddenly went horizontal and aimed directly towards his chest.


    This way his paths to move right and left were blocked yet he instantly leaned on the ground, bending his knees and using his speed to glide over the ground.


    And the eyes of that hitter widened yet the speed of Jim went down at once, allowing that persistent ace to catch up.


    "You are mine!" The ace suddenly appeared in front of him just before he could stand up. He didn''t hesitate to throw himself over Jim with his body, trying to smash him and fix him on the ground.


    "On my dead body!" Jim shouted while patting on the ball to make it bounce higher, curved up in the air to bypass the head of that falling ace. The ace tried to catch it, but he looked so funny as if he was trying to catch birds.


    And Jim used this brief moment of distraction to push his body hard using all his might to jump in the air and follow the ball.


    He hit the ace''s arms and chest, making him rotate over himself before falling to the ground. This small hit didn''t do anything to Jim who was about tond and receive the ball to score.


    "Screw you!" The hitter suddenly screamed and Jim saw a very strange scene, one he never sawing.


    That hitter used his sword to hit the fallen body of his teammate, the ace, sending his body like a tossed sack in the air. The ace groaned in pain while his body roared in the air like it was a cannonball.


    And Jim couldn''t evade this hit without losing the ball by any means!

 Chapter 139: A Reporter

    Chapter 139: A Reporter


    The body of that ace flew fast towards Jim who was now just about to receive the ball.


    "Damn it!" he gritted his teeth and all he could do was to touch the ball with the force needed to send it away before he jumped to the side away from the iing cannonball.


    "I won''t let you catch it again!" the hitter promised while moving fast without even ncing once at the ace whose body hit the ground violently and rolled over a long distance before stopping.


    It was strangely simr to what Jim suffered before and now the one who caused that illegal hit to him was hit in the same way.


    And the funniest thing came from the man on his team!


    Jim stole a nce at the ball to find it falling in the hands of Roo. "Pass it over," he shouted before suddenly standing up and starting running.


    And that crazy hitter ran after him while waving his sword everywhere, helplessly trying to hit him.


    Jim couldn''t do anything but to get outside the line, starting to run in an arc there while starting to create distance with that hitter.


    "Throw it," he suddenly shouted while he was drawing near the sideline. The ball was now in the hands of Lim who professionally sent it to cross the distance while arching from the inside.


    It was fated to fall in Jim''s hands provided that he would step inside the field once again before it crossed the finish line.


    "As if I would let you do that!" the hitter shouted in extreme rage and the next thing Jim saw was that sword in his hand being thrown fast towards him.


    And the sword just aimed at the area before the line, making it impossible for him to receive the ball without getting hit.


    "It''s not a game anymoredies and gentlemen it''s a war!" the voice of thementator said in a very dejected tone yet the audience was strangely quiet as they watched this sh with nails in their teeth.


    "Humph," yet before Jim could lose any hope of scoring this goal, his mind provided another path for him to evade this sword and score the goal.


    "Let''s do it," he gritted his teeth before suddenly jumping like he was trying to catch the ball and not to receive it.


    And as his body crossed the line, the sword hovered so close and was about to hit him.


    "Swoosh!"


    Yet at this moment he suddenly pushed his right hand on the ground and firmly fixed his body. His body miraculously stopped flying before he pushed his other hand the ball and let it bounce in the air before retrieving his hand fast and letting the sword sh by.


    Then calmly he let his body fall, rolled on himself and stood up before receiving the ball and calmly crossed the finish line with it.


    "Damn me! It''s a goal! He sco- o- o- o- ored it! this is a game that one won''t easily forget."


    The next moment thementator exploded in praise and cheer alongside the audience. Jim got used to the explosive nature of the audience shouts and only smiled while bouncing the ball right and left and returned to the field again.


    And his team ran towards him, this time not deeply worried like before but extremely excited about this goal.


    "You were damn!" Rick held him high over his giant shoulder before starting to run along the sideline. The girls didn''t miss this chance and started to jump and dance along the sideline following Rick''s speed.


    And the entire team was simply running after Rick withughs and wide smiles.


    "You did great," Rana received Rick and stopped his run of triumph while painting a soft kiss over Jim''s cheeks, "you deserved this, and now let me go and deal with that referee. A lot of faults happened and he had to take a serious decision now."


    She then moved away and Jim saw her give Pol a sarcasticugh before entering the field and headed towards the referee.


    Jim stood away amidst the very excited and proud team and cheer squad while watching Rana speaking and shouting in a very domineering way while Pol was doing his best to control things there as well.


    Yet the final decision came not from the referee but from the medic team.


    "The medic''s decision came, the ace of the Geritemesse has lost his consciousness and looked in critical condition he won''t be able to participate in the game now."


    Thementator announced this before adding:


    "And the Geritemesse team decided to withdraw from this match. It''s the Fairesse win, the first win in the preliminary matches and they will soon appear here again."


    "We won!"


    "We did it!"


    "We are in the race for the ace league!"


    All the team members screamed in joy while the referee came with the bouncing ball as a salute to the winning team ording to rules. "This is yours I believe," the referee said, "it was a hell of a match and you totally deserve this ball."


    Jim received the ball and strangely the moment he took it the ball stopped its berserk nature and calmlyid in his hands.


    "We won!" He didn''t care about the reason behind this strange shift of its nature and simply raised it high in the air before his entire team screamed in joy.


    "C''mon," Rana came to him with theughing and jumping Mera on her side, "we need to clear the ce for the next match and also talk about the second match we have."


    "Fairesse" Rick shouted in a loud tone, "let''s walk the walk of victor."


    "Hooray."


    They all were in a very great mood while moving outside the field through the same corridor they walked in from before. Two teams were standing on both sides waiting for their turn to enter the field while eyeing them in envy.


    "May I have a word from you?"


    Suddenly a very beautiful girl appeared with a slim body and strange curly hair that kept shimmering whenever she moved with purple color. She was holding a strange rod with many inscriptions over it.


    "She is a reporter," Rana hit Jim with her elbow while winking, "a curater race, a race known for their hot looks."

 Chapter 140: The Room

    Chapter 140: The Room


    Jim noticed the fiery gazes from his team towards the reporter while the girls just sneered and raised their chins high.


    "C''mon, let our star have his moment," Rana pushed them like she was a hen pushing her chicks. They all nced at Jim in envy while the reporter only smiled as she said:


    "I''m Lara, a reporter for the local weekly magazine of the academy. I''m so honored to meet the one who revived the fairy pantheon and caused all this stir inside the academy. May I know how you feel about all this?"


    Jim smiled as he said, "I''m proud of all that I have done so far."


    "That''s expected," the girl said while moving to the side while her hair shimmered in purple sparks once again like she was showing this off. "Your name was connectedtely to the Twisex race and especially the two girls in your team. May you say a word to their fans and tell them if they are off limits or avable?"


    Jim felt weird about this question, and he only said, "Noment."


    The girl''s face changed slightly before returning to the joyful look she seemed to fake to an extreme degree. "What about the game? Inside you have your moments where you pull off strange moves. As a human it''s something that would seem suspicious, so can you exin this to our audience?"


    "Sorry I''ve to prepare for the next match," Jim excused himself as he didn''t like her tone in questions or their hidden meaning. She nced at him before sneering for a moment then she turned to the defeated team and ignored all before taking Pol and that dirty hitter to the side and started a long talk with them.


    And Jim noticed this before catching up with his team.


    "Oh, I thought you''d take her with you to your mansion," Ranaughed as she teased the girls around.


    "Rana stop these cheap moves," Mera stood up for her cheering squad girls, "my girls aren''t any less than any ace beauty in the academy."


    "I know, I know," Rana raised both hands as she acted innocent, "I was just trying to joke here."


    "She was rude," Jim ignored their remarks and said what he felt, "she seems to be here to belittle our victory."


    "This" Rick suddenly had a change in his face, "I should go and teach her a lesson then!"


    "Stop yourself and don''t fall for such a low trick," Rana shook her head, "that Pol he never changes."


    "Is this his doing as well?" Deno asked while clenching his fists.


    "He is always like that," Mera sighed, "a very distasteful giant even when he was a disciple."


    "You were with him?" Jenny couldn''t help but ask.


    "Me, Rana, and many others," Mera said like it was a known fact, "since he was a disciple with us and he was always the source of trouble and dirty schemes."


    "He is just a jerk, that''s all," Rana said, "now let''s go to our room and wait for our turn."


    "Room?" Kro asked in surprise, "do we really have a room here?"


    "Of course, we have won one game and now we are a runner for the final tickets to the ace league," Rana chuckled, "follow me, I know whom to ask."


    They followed her while she passed through some halls and corridors before finally ending in front of a Kroak master.


    "You two did great in the game," this was the first the master said to Kro and Roo, "I''m proud of you two, and I believe if you manage to reach the ace league then you''ll make the entire Kroaks n proud."


    "Thanks master," the two said in deep respect while Rana took him to the side and started a short discussion before he gave her a small bronze key and turned to Jim.


    "You are a very good ace, keep impressing the audience like you did and you''ll create a great name for yourself."


    "Thanks master," Jim politely responded over the praise while Rana held the key the same way Jim was holding the ball of the match. "Follow me, thanks Remond."


    "You''re wee."


    She didn''t forget to thank the master who patted on the shoulders of Kro and Roo in support before the team exited the hall and started to walk into a maze.


    Yet Rana seemed to know where she was heading to.


    "Enter here," she said after opening the door, "this will be our room from now on."


    The room was spacious, unlike the feeling Jim and others got from the outside. "It''s enchanted," Rana simply said before heading towards a round table and sat on arge seat there, "to amodate therge number of teams ying here."


    "Why do I feel like there is more to it?" Jim said while sitting beside her.


    "What do you mean?" she said in a tone that told him he was right.


    "I mean about this room it seems it holds some meaning to you."


    "Oh it just brings back some old memories that''s all."


    "She was first assigned to her first team before joining the queens," Mera said as she sat over another seat, "she wasn''t part of the queen at first y''know."


    "Oh, where is your old team then?" Rick asked with curiosity while the two Kroaks were much interested in hearing the story.


    "They got disbanded shortly after I left them," she sighed and said in a very depressed tone.


    "She didn''t want to join the queens, can you even believe it?" Meraughed and the instant nce Rana gave to her as a warning exined a lot without saying a single word.


    "Alright, let''s rest here," Rana stretched her arms, "I''m really exhausted after all that useless debate with that jerk."


    "I hope he won''t join any team anymore," Kro said in some anger.


    "He can''t do that," Mera was the one to respond, "after all he had to wait until his team was expelled from thepetition before joining another."


    "Or he can sign a pro contract with another team," Rana softly muttered, "and I bet he will."


    "But" Mera paused before adding, "if he did that he had to stick with that team and not leave it until the end of the season."


    "So he would choose a very hard rock to crack kind of a team," Rana said, "and we should be ready for that."


    She suddenly stood up and moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" Jim asked with doubt.


    "To get intel of course," she casually said before closing the door.


    "Leave her alone for now," Mera advised, "let her vent the anger swelling inside over Pol instead of you."


    And her words gained the agreement of all without exception.

 Chapter 141: Linda

    Chapter 141: Linda


    "Knock knock."


    Just as the team kept there for ten minutes discussing and recalling the glorious moments of that game, the door suddenly knocked and disturbed all their talks.


    "Go and see who it is," Jim said to Lan, "it might be out turn in the game."


    "I doubt that," Mera said, "our turn wille after a couple of hours at least."


    Everyone nced in doubt towards her before she added, "I''m also a master in the academy so don''t doubt my judgement."


    And her words made everyone smile nheless.


    "Excuse me," a soft voice came from the door while Lan was standing there like an idiot, "may I have a word with the coach?"


    From the tone everyone guessed it was a girl not a boy. And from the attitude they also imagined her to be a petite girl with a young age, might be even with them in first grade in the academy.


    "Well" Lan was startled by this girl, "she just moved out minutes ago."


    "Oh," the girl looked dejected before hurriedly asking, "I''ve heard a rumor about your team opening recruitment for the cheer squad I might co"


    The girl didn''t continue her words before Mera instantly appeared in front of her with strange speed. Lan was even pushed to the side while the big body of this master blocked the entire door.


    "You are wee to join," she suddenly said before adding, "I''m Mera, the coach of the cheer squad."


    "I''m Linda," the girl said and the moment she spoke these words, Jim felt deep shock inside him. "I''m here to join the squad."


    Mera pushed the door wide open before pointing to the inside as she warmly said:


    "C''mon, join in."


    "Without a test?" Jim hurriedly asked while feeling much doubt from this weird situation.


    "Are you blind?" Mera instantly reprimanded him, "she is one of the three princesses of the inner disciple campus. Who is that crazy to test her out?" she waved her hand while hurriedly pushing Linda in.


    "But" Jim was standing there without being able to add a single word while Linda walked with her sexy body and headed to sit with the four girls, acting docile and embarrassed.


    "Sit down captain," Mera said with a chuckle, "we got ourselves a great weapon to our asset."


    Jim nced at the totally excited Mera before turning around to see the looks of surprise and affection of most of his team, except for Lim who was present when he first met her.


    As for the four girls, they just gave her a checking nce before starting to talk to her with strange warmth.


    And Mera joined thedies squad and their whispers formed a symphony that instigated many dreams inside the male side of the team.


    "What''s going on?" Jim moved his seat to sit beside Lim who nced at Linda and whispered:


    "Before that master of yours asked her to help or something."


    Jim watched the docile acting Linda and felt great disparity with the one he previously met twice. "I doubt that," he muttered, "after all the creation of our team was fast. I don''t think there is a way to directly connect with the Sherwid town to deliver the news."


    "I can''t tell," Lim sighed, "the only answer lies with Linda herself."


    "I doubt she will say a word to me," Jim was focused entirely over her and the two side talks managed to attract thedies attention.


    And the four mistook that as a signal of Jim being interested in Linda, which made them speak warmer and try to act friendly with her.


    A spark of girl''s fight was just born at this moment without Jim even realizing it.


    "I''m back," after half an hour Rana came back and when she saw Linda she nced at Mera in question and thetter nodded.


    "She is now part of the cheer squad," Mera said with only her lips while motioning towards Linda on the side.


    "Wee on board Linda," Rana was already aware of her name and significance, "I hope you can perform well today as we will have a very tough game."


    She sat on her seat while herstment made everyone''s attention fall over her.


    "Did you get any info about that team?" Rick hurriedly asked.


    "Are they stronger than those we just defeated? Or mediocre like them?" Kro tried to lighten the tense in the air by this question while everyoneughed as they realized they were still the winners.


    "This game it seems to be specially devised to make you fail," Rana couldn''t even smile at Kro''s words, "we are going to face an ex-pro team."


    "Ex-pro?" Jim was startled, "why would an ex-pro team try to enter the game again?"


    "Who are they?" Mera asked, "someone I knew?"


    "It''s the silver Tankoss," Rana said and the eyes of Mera widened all of sudden.


    "Are you sure?" she asked.


    "Pretty sure," Rana sighed, "I even went ahead and sneaked over their team meeting and met their coach."


    "Don''t tell me it''s Pol," Mera couldn''t help butugh.


    "No, it''s not him it''s Richard the silver dragon," Rana threw another piece of information that made the face of Mera darker.


    "This I believe we can''t win this," Mera couldn''t help but express her feelings.


    "Sorry but who are those silver Tankoss?" Jim couldn''t help but ask, "and who is that silver dragon?"


    "They had a bang once in the ace league," Mera said with a long sigh, "but suddenly they quit and no one really knew the reason back then."


    "I know the reason," Rana said with a strange glow in her eyes.


    "I can''t say I agree with what you believe," Mera said, "after all we weren''t that close to these core disciples before."


    "Core disciples?" Roo muttered.


    "Were they part of the academy when they joined the ace league as well?" Deno asked.


    "They applied after they finished the academy," Rana said, "and their main aim was to get into the academy and look for some relics here."


    "This can''t be proven," Mera hurriedly said, "it''s all rumors."


    "But I dug deep after them y''know."


    "And got nothing solid."


    "I did get some of their words about their true aim here," Rana said before adding, "and that great incident ten years ago happened in the same year they quit."


    "We can''t link them to that hideous ident," Mera said before hurriedly adding, "no one could prove that or else they would have been hunted down."


    "Not if they were backed by some high level masters here," Rana seemed to be believing too much in her theory.


    "Well can we get back to the point?" Jim had to intercept this seemingly go-nowhere debate, "what are they doing here? And how strong they were and they are now?"


    "They are too strong," Mera said again, "one year they faced the queens and managed to get a draw point from them."


    "Draw with the queens?" many eximed in shock before Mera nodded.


    "They were strong ten years ago," Rana agreed, "but I doubt they have the same synchronicity they were famous for."


    "A dragon will always be a dragon even after a millennium," Mera said, "it''s not wise to give them false hope. Let''s see the facts here and ept our defeat."


    Everyone nced silently at her while Rana couldn''t even argue with her words.


    "If we can''t beat them," suddenly Jim said in a light tone like he wasn''t too traumatized with this news, "then we shouldn''t lose from them."


    "You mean aim for a draw?" Rana asked before going to silence for a long minute, "this can be tricky but if they didn''t change their tactic then it might be possible."


    "Just having them score one goal means the end of the game for us," Mera said, "have you forgotten their style of y?"


    "I didn''t," Rana shook her head, "that''s why I''m telling them that we can aim for a draw if we yed it right."


    "What tactic do they use?" Rick asked with curiosity.


    "A pure defensive one," Mera said, "they only have tankers, one ace, and one decoy."


    "And that worked?" Kro was more surprised to hear that.


    "They did great before," Rana honestly said, "as Mera said, they only aim to score one goal and then defend relentlessly after."


    "That''s why their score in the three years they stayed in the league was full of draws and few wins."


    "And that helped in creating a name for themselves?" Roo asked with doubt.


    "Of course, after all if you didn''t lose points and kept gaining one point per match then you''ll end up having a good score to secure you in the warm zone of the league," Mera said before adding, "and if you managed to pull some wins as well then your score will be improved."


    "And don''t forget their first year stunning draw with the queens and many of the big names out there they deserved to create a name for them to be honest," Rana added.


    "And that might be a better reason to crush them," Jim didn''t ept this tone of defeat spreading among everyone, "at least defeating or even ending up with a draw with them will highlight us more."


    And his words managed to give more hope to his team.


    "Sigh," and Mera only shook her head when she noticed that.

 Chapter 142: The Cheering Squad

    Chapter 142: The Cheering Squad


    "Now let''s see how we can antagonize their famed tactic," Rana said with a wide smile over her face, "if we wanted to paralyze them and aim for a draw then we should mimic their formation."


    "But that''s not practical," Mera said in discontent, "after all the personal abilities varied greatly from theirs."


    "Then we should aim to disturb their rhythm," Jim said, "if we manage to score first in their line then they''ll be more restless and have to attack."


    "Even back then when they had such situations they didn''t change their tactic," Mera didn''t agree on his point of view.


    "That''s different," Rana objected, "as they are nowing here to defeat our team not to join thepetition."


    "What tells you they didn''te for another mysterious goal? Like another relic or something."


    Rana nced at her friend before exining, "I told you I eavesdropped over their meeting. I can tell you that Richard stressed over their goal more than once during the ten minutes I could listen to."


    "Are you sure they didn''t notice you?" Mera asked with doubt, "that Richard is no less sneakier than Pol."


    "Don''t worry I used my shadow for that," Rana smiled, "and you know my shadow can''t be detected by anyone."


    "That''s a fact," Mera sighed, "alright if so then scoring the first goal should be your aim. Doing this and coupled with their aim here then they''ll have to disturb their y and be forced to attack."


    "Then we will be attacking and defending like hell after scoring one goal?" Rick asked with a wide smile over his face, "I like this n already."


    "I don''t like it," Roo said.


    "Neither do I," and Kro also joined.


    "We have no other choice boys," Jim stepped in and acted as their captain, "we need to leave that match with one point at least, not having one point deducted from our score."


    "I won''t exaggerate if I said this one point, this entire match will decide if we will qualify for the ace league or not," Rana honestly said before adding, "having that one point will make our score four, only one match to win and we are officially in the ace league. Losing means we have two points, and that means we need to win the next two matches without even losing one."


    "That will give more hope to our haters," Mera agreed, "we need to gain one point here but we also need to prepare for the worst."


    "We are already ready for it, right boys?" Jim knew what she wanted to say yet he wouldn''t allow for his hard earned morale of his team to be screwed only by the news of their opponent.


    "Yes captain," and the entire team shouted in unison which made Mera sigh again.


    "Then we will start the next match with the traditional formation," Rana said before adding, "then at some point the change wille, and you will be the one to call for it," she addressed Jim who nodded in understanding.


    "It''s crucial to choose the right timing," Rana stressed, "remember the timely change our previous opponent pulled to score their first goal?"


    "It was a really nice move," Deno honestly said, "despite them ying harshly and using some underhanded tactics against us but this move really deserved my admiration."


    "Me too."


    "I was stupefied when I saw them doing that."


    Other team members joined to express their thoughts and Rana nodded. "We''ll train on such fine tactics after today''s match is over," she said, "after all we won''t return home after the match but will continue to train and hone our style."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll choose the right time to pull that move," Jim promised, "and I''ll need three hitters to enter the field at my mark."


    "I''ll make them ready," Rana said, "and I''ll select the right ces for them to enter the game."


    "Then it''s a n," Mera smiled helplessly, "I hope it works."


    The team didn''t stay there for more than two hours before they were called to join the field once more. When they stood in wait, Jim noticed the eyes of the other team ring in mockery towards them.


    "They already are seeing themselves crushing us," he inwardly sneered before turning his gaze upon the door that opened all of sudden and two teams came out from the field, one cheering andughing and the other was gloomy and sad.


    "I swear we''ll end this as victors," Jim swore to himself before entering the stadium with the loud bang of cheer from the audience, the loud voice of thementator, and the shing devices of the reporters.


    "Follow me," Jim started to jump after Rana while his team followed him. The other team didn''t use anything resembling the entrance of the previous team, and that didn''t differ much for Jim.


    Yet when the two teams reached the game field two cheering squads entered the field, each belonging to one team before a cheering battle started at once.


    "Oh fairies, we have a cheering squad battle on par with those of the ace games," thementator shouted in surprise and admiration, "I already cheer for the Fairesse team, I''m already a fan of you guys. Every time you step here wonderful things happen, let''s apud for one of our favored teams to join the ace league despite how hard this game will be."


    The five girls'' team stood, forming a five angled star, led by Tina before they all started to move their right legs with a rhythm and p over it with their right hand.


    "One two... three" The leading girl, Tina, suddenly shouted while snapping her fingers with each word she said.


    As she said that, the girls started to move, exchanging ces with each other like they were very beautiful butterflies dancing around the field.


    "One two... three" the five girls started to snap their fingers while running faster and shouting one after another until it all ended with Saga who stopped all of sudden in the center of the other girls.


    "We are the Faires  s s s s se... O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    Her mesmerizing voice and vocals reverberated along the entire stadium causing more impression than before, even the other cheer squad next to them had to stop what they were doing and nce in envy towards her.


    "We are the Fairsse!" the five shouted in unison as they started to jump. They reced their positions once more as they started hitting the ground with their special designed boots while moving around.


    "Dum dum dum  dum dum dum"


    "We are the Faires  s s s s se... O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    Again Saga expressed her brilliant vocal abilities as it seemed Mera stressed over using their ace move from the start.


    The sounds of their boots started to cause a melody that matched thest long melody Saga was now performing solo with her amazing cords. The entire stadium held their breaths while the only sound that reverbated there was the sound of the girls.


    Even the performance of the other team paled and no one even cared about them anymore.


    "We are the mightiest."


    "We are the strongest."


    "We are the victories."


    "We are the Fairesse."


    "p p p p p p p"


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    "We are the mightiest."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    "We are the strongest."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    "We are the victories."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    "We are the Fairesse."


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh"


    The five girls were now performing on a fixed pattern where the four kept shouting the words while Saga kept the melody going with her amazing vocals afterwards.


    "O- o- o- o- o Oh- oh- oh- oh- oh We are the Faires  s s s s se."


    And at the end the five united together to form the F letter while Saga ended the performance with an amazing long solo singing of their team slogan they chose.


    The entire stadium went on fire the next instant while even thementator seemed to stand up his seat and apud with the audience.


    "I''ll never get tired of this I''ll always wait for this amazing cheering squad with each match of the Fairesse girls I''m now your fa- a- a- a- an," even he tried to mimic Saga''s performance and that made the entire apuseing from the audience climb to another level.


    "The girls did their part," Rana said with a proud smile over her face, "now go in there and do your part."


    The girls performance was really mind blowing for Jim and others. Even the recently joined Linda didn''t seem to face much trouble while performing with the others.


    "Let''s go Fairesse," Jim shouted and the main team entered the field under the brilliant cheer of the girls as usual.


    And the other team entered with slightly dark faces as their morale got a strong shake by the cheering squad of Jim''s team.


    "Not yet," Jim sneered, "you didn''t yet see the despair, the real deal is here bastards," he nced at the dragon master who stood on the side with totally silver hair and faint golden skin that made him look strangely shining under the light of the big lights in the stadium.


    As now it was already night time and the sun already went off, leaving a tinge of red light in the sky, calmly waiting for the dark brush of the night to prevail.

 Chapter 143: Wasps Eat Bees For Lunch

    Chapter 143: Wasps Eat Bees For Lunch


    "Humph," Rick said in a disgruntled tone, "they already think themselves the winners."


    Jim nced over the team of giants standing in front of him. They all belonged to the Terasoras n, a n that had a very sturdy skin that was on rival with the hardest ores in the entire world.


    ording to Rana, this team can''t be beaten in terms of offense versus defense standard tactic they had to be beaten using tricks, something Jim found himself excelling strangely at.


    "Don''t mind them," Deno said as he said, "I trust our captain will pull something interesting tonight."


    Jim only smiled while he nced over these giants while thinking deeply about how to best them.


    "Both teams to their positions now," the referee came and strangely he was the same from the first match, "let''s start."


    The referee threw the ball high in the air and retreated. Kro was at the front whilepeting with that giant over the ball.


    And the giant just retreated, leaving the ball to fall with Kro who simply passed it backwards to the decoy, and he passed it to Deno.


    "They are retreating," Jim watched everything with extreme care without focusing much on the ball. "He let Kro have the ball on purpose," he muttered while the general n of his opponents was slowly revealed to him.


    "The ball," Rick shouted to distract him from his thoughts before receiving the ball and instantly throwing it towards Lim. The team was now much better than the first match, at least they had a style in passing the ball.


    "Yet what do they n to take the ball off us?" Jim asked in puzzlement while watching the other team members forming a very tight defensive line up.


    They got themselves concentrated over thest one third of their half part of the field. Leaving only short spaces between each other so no one could easily prate them.


    Lim ran with the ball up front stretching the game and when he did that, a problem appeared in front of Jim.


    "Our formation is getting stretched out," he thought before finding another problem, "and they aren''t even moving to intercept him."


    Lim found himself facing the tight formation stable as a solid rock in front of him so he had to return the ball once again to the decoy.


    And then the ball returned all the way back to the tankers'' line before being sent again towards Jim.


    And as Jim got it, he didn''t hurry to throw it away as usual, instead he nced at the referee and from his facial reaction he understood what was going on here.


    "So you are trying to act smart here?" he sneered and before the referee would give his team a warning of passive y, Jim suddenly did something bizarre.


    He first ran back towards his own team half and there he suddenly let the ball fall on the ground in front of the amazed eyes of everyone.


    "Ball is lost, honorship is exchanged," the referee suddenly said before turning towards the other team, e and get the y starting from this point."


    Just as the referee said that, and coupled with the strange looks over the other teams'' faces, his team realized what he just did At least some of them were very aware of the game.


    "You can''t handle a ball kid? And you dare to call yourself a yer!" One of them, a tanker, tried to mock Jim.


    "You were generous to give us the ball and I''m just returning the favor," Jim shrugged while he waved at Lim and other hitters to fall back fast, "let''s see how you will attack losers."


    The yer red silently at him before he threw the ball all the way back to his team. As no one was there in front of them they had to advance, as that was what Jim imagined would happen.


    Yet when the ball reached the backline, they hurriedly bounced the ball towards Jim''s team, perfectly making the ballnd towards Kro.


    "What''s going on?" thementator asked in a depressed tone, "I thought I would see an epic game, yet the two teams seemed like they did not want to y!"


    Jim sighed while not thinking much about thatmentator''s words. "It''s hard to deal with a fox," he had to admit before starting to change his mind, "if they aren''t going to keep up with me, then I''ll have to force them to do so."


    He turned towards Gordan who just received the ball, "send it to me," he imed it and the next moment the ball flew fast towards him.


    Just as he received the ball, he turned around and started running. "Stay back," he suddenly shouted the moment he saw the three hitters start to run towards the front to keep up with him.


    "Back?" Pat asked in loss as he was the closest one to him.


    "All the team will be in defense," Jim stressed while starting to sprint faster, "no one is toe after me."


    "Wow! The ace showed his true colors once again believe itdies and gentlemen, our ace alone is challenging the entire opponent team that''s what I signed up for!"


    Thementator started to get excited about Jim''s sudden move and Jim didn''t care for his words. All he cared about was how to prate them and what would their reaction be.


    "And he is getting near the ten man wall will he pass? Will he manage to even score?" Thementator was really professional and his tone conveyed to the audience his excitement. "I bet he will, hell yeah let''s see a good game, a game we all came here to watch."


    His words managed to revive the deadly silent audience. The next moment a loud cheer started to echo in the entire stadium, adding more adrenaline inside Jim who felt like he was literally flying.


    "Let''s dance," he sneered and when he got to the yer up front, the rest of yers moved in a very unified way that made Jim recall the dance moves of the girls from before.


    The one yer turned in no time to be awork of ten yers, all lined together in five rows forming a big elliptical formation. "A honeb interesting," Jimughed before adding, "let me be the wasp that would eat you all alive... After all wasps eat bees for lunch."

 Chapter 144: Scoring A Goal

    Chapter 144: Scoring A Goal


    As Jim moved fast towards thepact defense in front of him, his mind started to work his magic.


    The first yer activated his shield and the next moment he inserted the gigantic shield heavily on the ground, blocking the entire path in front of Jim.


    Yet thetter didn''t stop. In fact he raised his speed at this short distance before suddenly stopping, leaving his body gliding over the ground using his special boots.


    And then he leaned to one side, evading the massive shield with a hair breadth.


    "See youter," Jimughed before adjusting his body and continued to run, while the ball kept bouncing over his hand.


    "Impressive evasion from such a prodigy in the game," and thementator didn''t let this pass by without adding a magic touch of his, "and now two more defenders are blocking his path, how can he escape now? Will we see another brilliant move?"


    "I promise you will," Jimughed while watching the two giants up ahead activating their shields and putting them side by side on the ground to block the biggest area possible.


    "You won''t evade this," one of the two sneered and Jim only nodded.


    "I agree I can''t evade this one," Jim said before suddenly elerating at thest couple of meters between him and the giants, "but I can easily jump over," he bent his legs hard and in great flexibility he threw his body to the air, crossing over the two shields and passing through the two giants in the small area in between.


    "Again a brilliant move from our ace god dammit! My boy is really good."


    Thementator exploded in apuse while the audience''s cheering literally went off the roof with their explosive and enthusiastic shouts.


    "And now he has three more to beat, will he be able to beat them this time?" thementator asked before answering himself, "I bet he will, hell yeah he will," and like a madman he screamed like a fanatic of Jim and his team.


    "No you won''t," one of the giants promised before suddenly the three formations changed as Jim drew closer to them.


    Two blocked his path the same way thest two did, while the third retreated a couple of meters and waited. "Acting as a hitman nice tactic," Jim sneered before squeezing his eyes as he knew this would be quite tricky.


    As before he managed to jump over the blockage of the two yers, and now all that remained was the third one.


    "Your pathetic run will end here," the yer shouted in anger while his shield was activated and was used by him like holding a spear.


    With Jim''s fast speed and being hanged midair there was nothing much to do now. He was like an easy target for that yer, and even if he was blind he would hit him nheless.


    Yet just as Jim was in midair he didn''t hesitate to bounce the ball to the side all of sudden. A move that seemed unrealistic and not rted to this confrontation at all.


    And so no one ever cared about the ball or even tried to run and snitch it away.


    "You are mine, sweet boy," the giant even jumped to the air slightly to add more weight to his deadly hit.


    And it was a direct hit.


    "Damn!" thementator couldn''t help to exim in shock and regret when he saw Jim being hit by that shield, "this is a brutal game but we all love it, right?" he tried to cover up Jim''s failure before he suddenly paused.


    "Wait a minute My boy is still in the game! Damn!"


    Just as the hitnded over Jim, he stretched his leg and pushed himself a slightly higher and to the side. This slight adjustment let the shield hit his lower legs, yet he didn''t resist the shield at first, letting it rotate his body a full circle before he clenched over the edges with both hands and endured the pain.


    "What is he going to do now? He is injured and the ball isn''t with him," thementator said in puzzlement, "but if you asked me I''ll tell you that I believe in my boy he will pull a dazzled move now and we all will jump off our seats for him."


    Just as he finished his words Jim started to move again. In fact the hit wasn''t the problem but the momentum it created antagonizing him. He was now torn apart between two opposing forces, yet he was moving ording to his mind''s instructions.


    And he trusted his mind greatly at this point.


    "Please work," he gritted his teeth while feeling slightly numb at the ce of the hit. The yer red at him in a mocking way before shaking his shield like he was driving a fly away.


    "That''s what I perfectly need," Jim sneered before bending one knee and letting the other push over the shield. At first he wasn''t sure he could pull that impossible jump after stopping, but now he knew he could.


    That shield movement helped a lot in adding momentum again to his body, and in front of everyone he jumped to the side, to the same side he previously threw the ball to.


    And before the ball would bounce on the ground he managed to reach it, touched it with his hand and sent it forward before rotating a full circle over himself and started to run.


    "Oh my mighty fairies! What was that move just now? It came from another world, it came from another time, it''s a legendary move we are watching history nowdies and gentlemen, and my boy is the one writing it!"


    Thementator was literally exploding at the moment with his words. The audience also went berserk alongside his crazy words, making the entire world seem fuzzy and strangely noisy for Jim.


    In fact he was deeply hurt but he was trying to bear the pain, pushing his body forward with nothing else in his vision at the moment but that close final line.


    "He is elerating, like a cheetah without any obstacle whatsoever. See that tanker? He was thrown to dust just now. Damn, even the ace of their team can''t even touch a single hair of my boy. My boy is running, is advancing the final line is there, no one to stop him, and hesc- o- o- o-o- o- ored a goal!"


    The moment Jim crossed the line and heard that amazing word of a goal from thementator he let go of all the pain he was holding back.


    And the next instant his body crashed to the ground where he flipped more than dozen times and finally stopped.


    "I did it!" he couldn''t believe even himself for pulling such a feat. He was in agony, deeply hurt at his legs but that didn''t matter. "We have a goal, and they had to score two now to defeat us," that was what he thought of at the moment, and nothing else mattered.

 Chapter 145: Denos Brutality

    Chapter 145: Deno''s Brutality


    "Medic!" Rana''s shout was heard even from that far away. Jim was already too exhausted plus deeply injured in his legs.


    Yet he stood up, slowly depending on Pat who was the fastest to reach him first before others.


    "Are you ok?" Pat was worried, "shouldn''t you move? Shouldn''t you rest?"


    "It''s alright," Jim smiled, "at least we got our goal."


    "It''s you who did it," Kro said before everyone started to gather around their captain, "you shouldn''t have taken it this far."


    "I had to," Jim nced over their shoulders towards the angry looking silver Tankoss yers, "they are deeply frustrated now."


    "But you were reckless," Rana reprimanded, "how can we y now? Your injury let me check it."


    She turned fast to check his exposed knees. There were two big blue bruises starting to appear. "I''m not an expert but this is looking slightly awful," she muttered.


    "Can he y?" Deno asked.


    "Can he walk again?" Ashley asked with a few tears swelling up her eyes.


    "Don''t think useless matters now," Rana stood up as she added, "he is standing on his own despite the injury I believe he just needs some rest."


    "Then we should forfeit the game," Rick firmly said.


    "No way," yet Jim answered in a firmer tone, "I didn''t take all that trouble to just abandon the game. I wasn''t trying to prove anything to anyone, I just wanted to win the game, and we will win it at any cost."


    "But" Ashley said again in a stuttered tone.


    "Pleasend on the ground," two masters with red hair with fire sparks appeared from there. "Let us check you first."


    Rana nodded to them before pushing everyone a couple of meters to the back. The referee came and nced in silence towards Jim while the male and female medic masters started to check the bruises before they exchanged looks and nodded.


    The next moment they carried him and went outside the field. "We need to treat his injuries fast so he can y," the male master said, "give us five minutes."


    "And the game?" Rick turned to the referee while Saga asked in urgency:


    "Is he going to be alright?"


    "He is deeply hurt, but we''ll do what we can," the female master said before the two went far towards the end of the field.


    "You have two minutes before starting the game again," the referee said before turning around.


    "Stop right there Mock," Rana shouted, "my boy was hurt and you won''t even give him the proper time to heal?"


    Mock stopped for a second before continuing to walk, "despite admiring his brave actions and marvelous y, they didn''t break any rule to be punished and I have to follow the rules to the letter two minutes Rana and try to stall time for your ace to return."


    Rana stood there with a burning face before ncing at the other team with deep hatred. "Listen up," she suddenly turned to her team, "he gave us one point and until he returns this point won''t be lost Do you understand?"


    The team felt a wave of heat erupting magically inside their bodies and they all shouted in unison:


    "Aye aye coach!"


    "Good," Rana turned to walk towards the direction the two masters took Jim to, "I''ll make a switch and we''ll y with apact defense formation."


    "Leave it to me," Rick shouted in confidence before turning to his teammates, "you heard our coach, and saw what our captain did for us we''ll show him we aren''t losers and make all his efforts to be for nothing."


    "I will defend that damned line like I''m fighting for my life," Deno said in a strong tone and strangely intimidating aura.


    "Well said big man," Tina said before giving everyone a deep nce, "we will cheer you all, and make sure if they scored a single goal I swear I won''t stop until Jim kicks those responsible off our group!"


    Her words were followed by a unified nodding from the other three girls while Linda stood to the side, watching all this with conflicted emotions and deep frown over her face.


    "You don''t need to do that," Kro said in savage tone, "if anyone failed us here I swear to kick his ass myself until the end of the academy walls!"


    "Me too!" Deno swore and everyone else just nodded.


    "And the Fairesse team is returning to the field believe me folks, we aren''t watching juniors entering the game field they are dragons walking directly to a war," thementator screamed the moment the team entered the field.


    He wasn''t exaggerating, as from their looks anyone could tell they were going to a war not a mere game.


    "Are the two teams ready?" the referee asked before throwing the ball high, "start!"


    This time the ball acquiring battle was intense, not passive and easy like the first time. The giant of the Tankoss team jumped high while Kro didn''t give him the chance to seize the ball without a fiercepetition.


    "Stay away you weak brat," the other yer shouted in rage while using his body to press hard over Kro, yet Kro didn''t surrender to his pressure and pushed with all his might.


    For the audience this simple jump looked like a mighty fight between two giants. Strength was in favor for the giant yer but Kro was already filled with an immense amount of adrenaline and endless desire to win.


    "It''s mine!"


    The ball finally was seized by Kro who simply touched it using his sword, sending it off fast towards the backline.


    "Screw you loser," the other yer didn''t reside to this result and the next instant he moved fast after the ball.


    And he wasn''t the only one doing so, as everyone else moved after him from his team, following his steps and finally attacking.


    "It''s one of the rare times I ever saw the Tankoss team of the old attacking this is a rare asion and that tells it all about how they are feeling right after being scored with that brilliant solo performance of my boy," thementator shouted in mockery while massive boos came from the audience the next instant.


    "Keep it rolling," Rick shouted as the ball reached Deno.


    "Not yet," yet he didn''t follow his orders and started to sprint fast.


    "What are you doing?" many shouted, including thementator yet Deno was already not hearing any of their shouts.


    He decided to act and this was one of the rare times for him to stand for something, or someone he never did so even for himself.


    "Deno pass the ball," Lim shouted as he tried to move fast to aid him.


    However Deno was already passing the first quarter of the field and that made him be the entire focus of the entire Tankoss team.


    "What is he nning to do?" thementator asked, "I hope he doesn''t get hot headed by what happened to my boy but frankly even I was pushed over the edge by what just happened, imagine what his friends are feeling right now."


    "This ball is mine!"


    A giant hitter appeared in front of Deno while waving his big mace-like weapon towards Deno''s head. For everyone they imagined that mace decaptivating Deno''s head and that pushed fear deep inside their souls.


    Yet Deno had another opinion


    "Stay the hell out of my way!" he suddenly had his muscles bulge all of a sudden and a strange and ancient strength was summoned at this brief moment.


    In front of the descending mace and the giant, Deno pushed them all like an indestructible rock and mmed heavily to the yer''s chest, sending off flying while he kept himself running.


    "Let''s score a goal," he suddenly roared and even the entire audience reacted with a mighty wave of a deafening cheer, "let''s score it in our captain style."


    His sudden shout made the entire team jolt awake and realize his aim. "Yeah, let''s do it," Rick yelled while raising his fist in the air and started to run after Deno.


    "That tanker this team on I''m feeling happy for my boy to have such team alongside him," thementator said in deep appreciation before screaming with a very loud tone all of sudden, "they are going for a g- o- o- o- o- o- oal! Did you hear that, my boy? They are valiants, no less than you!"


    Jim was on the sideline watching what his team was doing. "They are getting infected by your rashness," the male master said, attracting Jim''s attention, "yet that rashness is something any great team should have."


    Jim smiled for this praise and didn''t speak. He watched Deno moving as fast as he could and this time two tankers moved to intercept him.


    "Stay the hell away!" Yet he screamed again, summoning his deeply sealed strength and bringing a terrorizing might that vanished from the face of this world for so long.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The two defenders were thrown into the air without being able even to stop that train.


    "A Bulltor is showing off his ancestor''s might a legend we all heard and feared of their scary night time tales is showing itself in front of us right now," thementator screamed in extreme excitement, "call me crazy but right now I''m feeling excited and very happy to see such strengthing forth again in this game!"


    The audience started all of a sudden to cheer out loud the name of Deno. The name reverberated all over the stadium, shaking even the depth of soul of Deno and moving something buried deeply there.


    "Stay the f*ck out of my way!!" He kept shouting every time he faced a yer of the other team.


    "Pass the ball, dammit!" Yet Kro was running now beside him, "you aren''t the only one who can do it."


    "Show me then," Deno threw the ball all of sudden, "no, show him," and he pointed towards the half sitting Jim out of the pitch.


    "For Jim For our team For our captain!" The moment Kro was faced with a tanker he screamed with these mottos before starting to take wide jumps all of sudden then he mmed heavily towards the tanker like a cannonball.


    "Boom!" and that yer was sent flying like others alongside his shield while Kro continued to run the moment his legsnded on the ground.


    "Yeah, go for it go for a goal!" and thementator seemed to be flying in the air from what he was seeing on the field.

 Chapter 146: Scoring A Legendary Goal

    Chapter 146: Scoring A Legendary Goal


    Thementator sat the entire stadium on fire and the audience acted in extreme support and cheer that shook the entire world around the team.


    The ball was now in the hands of Kro, and another tanker was now heading straight to intercept him.


    "Pass it!" suddenly Lim appeared on the other side running as fast as he could. That shout came slightlyte, as the tanker had already activated the shield and was about to m strongly towards Kro.


    "Take it," yet Kro jumped to the side all of sudden and threw the ball, turned around and received that strong shield hit directly to the back.


    "Keep going!" he screamed in pain and yet he asked everyone to keep pushing forward.


    "And that hitter damn I like his bravery," thementator said in praise before suddenly the entire stadium went under death silence.


    Just as the ball was thrown by Kro in a strange position, it flew slightly low on the ground. The ball arched slightly high, but a shadow suddenly loomed,ing with inhuman speed and jumped so high in the air.


    "This childish y stops here," the ace of the other team said while touching the ball with a fine touch, letting it bounce horizontally and the twonded towards the ground.


    "Keep dreaming!"


    Suddenly A more giant shadow appeareding as fast as he could towards the two.


    "It''s Deno!" thementator shouted and his shout awakened the about to be dead audience from the shock of losing the ball, "our shining knight, our valiant tanker is running, ising, he is there to save them oh my boy, you really got yourself a hell of a Bulltor we only heard about from ancient tales."


    "You won''t get it!" The ace gritted his teeth as he knew if the ball was taken off him then Deno would be able to score.


    All of sudden the ace rotated around himself, like a dancing slim girl he managed to gain momentum in no time before he moved his leg towards the ball.


    "You won''t take it!" Just as Deno was about to grab the ball, that giant ace''s kicknded over his head.


    "Boom!"


    Even thementator mimicked the hit while Deno couldn''t keep himself standing and fell on the ground. Yet before he and the ball could hit the ground, he pushed it in a lousy way, moving it towards the side.


    Or that was what he intended.


    "Oh boy!" Thementator shouted, "he even tried to keep the ball inside the team possession, but in the end he couldn''t pass it right and the ball was bouncing towards the final line of the team sigh, I doubt he could even see anything right now."


    The ball bounced off and went astray. Arched in the air it passed over the remaining couple tankers'' heads and aimed towards the final line, just near the sideline.


    "Change!"


    All of sudden a loud shout erupted and all the yer, all the audience, and even the referee turned with amazement to the sideline where they all saw Jim getting up from the ground, ran so fast using his boots to augment his speed and slipped off the two masters who held a shocked expression over their faces.


    "Lim change now!"


    The nearest yer to the ball and to the sideline now from his entire team was Lim. Lim was as the rest, amazed and totally shocked by his sudden move.


    Yet when he shouted his name, Lim didn''t hesitate and moved at once towards the sideline.


    "Bring us the goal, captain," he touched the tip of Jim''s shoulder and said these encouraging words. As Jim entered the field, he instantly fired like a missile with the aid of his boots.


    He didn''t see anything at the moment, didn''t feel any pain or exhaustion from before All he could feel was a massive wave of heat, a wave he knew perfectly well wouldn''t be quenched except through the ball.


    "You are m- m- m- mine!" and as Jim was running faster than anyone and getting so close to the ball, thementator screamed like crazy. "This time it''s my go- o- o- o- oal!"


    Once got near the ball and the final line, Jim didn''t hesitate to act like the other ace. He jumped at once, using all his momentum gained from this long and excited run and his body was lifted in the air without any burden or limitation by gravity.


    A hawk was now spreading his wings over the air, and like great yers in the entire game history he performed one of the legendary moves without even knowing it


    "And it''s the m dunk move, damn boy you even scared me a little just now!"


    Thementator exploded and started to cheer the moment Jim''s jump took his body at the perfect time and ce. He stretched his right arm, grabbed the ball and with indomitable force he snatched it down, bringing it with absolute force to cross the final line and finally hitting it with all his might to the ground.


    And the moment the ball was hit in this way, it didn''t bounce off again and stood in the ground. Rotating like a possessed ball it was, and a faint ray of light erupted from it towards the sky.


    "And here is our long and beloved ray of victory damn boy, you pulled something I never expected you to do!"


    The audience followed thementator''s suit and kept shouting and screaming in madness while Jim and part of his team stood their ces feeling somehow strange.


    "This game is over," thementator noticed the loss looking over Jim''s face, "boy, you scored a goal known in the game as the final goal. By the appearance of that ray of light even the game field is acknowledging your deeds and saw there is no point for the game to continue. That''s how legends are treated on this pitch, and this is how we salute you salute the legendary goal scorerdies and gentlemen."


    The sound of thementator was followed by a mighty roar that erupted not only from him but from every single corner of the field. Jim turned around in amazement and spotted even the referee putting all his hands over his lips before blowing in them.


    "It''s a whistle" Jim was shocked, "whistle so loud that it looked like a roar damn! I now love this game!"


    He couldn''t help butugh and the team started to run towards him yet he remained standing there motionless while receiving the praise from even his coach and two healing masters.


    "You did great, boss," Rick said with a bigugh, "we won, we won the second game hahahaha."


    "We won boss," Lim was the second toe, "I never saw your move at all, hahaha."


    "You are simply amazing," Deno said while putting his hand over his head. He seemed a little injured as he wasn''t even walking straight.


    "Help him," Jim couldn''t stand watching him move like this, "Rick, Gordan, Kro go and help him now."


    "Damn that ace," Pat clenched his fists, "he did that on purpose!" he shouted and pointed towards the ace while throwing a punch in the air.


    And the next moment that ace moved with extreme rage towards Jim''s team wanting to hit Pat in the face with his closed fist.


    "Hold on right there big boy," yet the next instant Rana appeared out of thin air and held the hand of that ace. Yet that ace resisted her grip and wanted to break free.


    "Just chill out," Rana warned and yet the ace was already blinded by the bitter loss and wanted tond a kick over her.


    "Boom!"


    Yet what he got next was for Rana to swing his body like it was nothing and mmed him hard over the ground. "This is my team and I''m their coach you should act a little respectable to the winners!" she shouted in a very strong tone while the entire audience kept their salute towards Jim.


    "Stand down now!" Suddenly the coach of the other team, that silver dragon master, appeared next to stand between Rana and his ace. "He is just impulsive by the loss."


    "His coach should take the me then," Rana didn''t show any sign of weakness while Richard stepped a step involuntarily before stopping.


    "You should watch out," Rana didn''t do anything and just waved her hand as she turned to her ace and then performed the whistle of salute to Jim.


    And the face of Richard changed and became slightly darker while the entire ce echoed with the roars of these endless whistles.


    "You overdid it boy," the two masters who were responsible for healing him arrived at the same moment with Rana, "you should know now your injury has regressed and you need more rest."


    Jim nced at the caring female master and smiled, "we won the game, and that''s all what matters."

 Chapter 147: Getting Chased By Reporters

    Chapter 147: Getting Chased By Reporters


    "Yeah and in a very spectacr way to be honest," the male master said, "I really envy you, having the chance to achieve this glory early on will be a very big shift in your life, sigh."


    "Lay on the ground and let me check you," the female master only shook her head as sheughed, "don''t mind him, his long lost dream was to be an ace but failed."


    "Just check Deno first," Jim hurried to point towards Deno while preferring not toment on the couple''s words, "he got a direct hit towards his head."


    "We saw it," the male master moved to check Deno, "you were so brave back there, I''m sure your ancestors will be proud of your actions here."


    "Thanks master," Deno tried to act as polite as he could. He knew if it wasn''t for Jim no one would ever care about him.


    He was an outer disciple and a Bulltor, someone who wouldn''t receive any attention but to be mocked or eyed with greed.


    "How is his leg?" Rana was worried as she asked the female master.


    "We already used a unique spell to heal him but he just dashed out in the middle of it," the master sighed, "the damage isn''t that bad like before but he would need rest for a day at least."


    "We have a game tomorrow," Jim said, "and I''ll y there."


    The master nced at him for a brief moment before warmly smiling, "don''t worry big shot, you won''t miss tomorrow''s match."


    "It''s already set to be muchter than today''s matches," Rana exined while Mera arrived with the girls and they all looked withughing faces of their team victory.


    "Alright," the female master took ten minutes to heal Jim and refused to move out when the referee came. "He is the star of today''s matches," she said as an excuse as if she was saying: he deserved to be treated differently.


    And the referee only kept his stern look over his face and said nothing until she finished.


    "How do you feel now?" Ashley asked with worry while the girls moved to check over him, all but one.


    "I''m feeling no pain!" he was surprised the moment he stood up again.


    "Don''t over stress yourself," the male master said, "I rmend you take a day off from the academy."


    "What about Deno?" Jim didn''tment over his advice as he decided no matter what he must attend tomorrow''s lessons.


    After all he did all this not to gain recognition from the audience, but from his mates in the ss. He wanted to use today''s victories and start to create his own gang inside the inner campus.


    "He is going to live," the master said, "but he had serious damage to the skull bones. I advise he won''t y the next matches for at least three days, plus I already gave the coach a prescription of what he should use."


    "And your medications are with her too," the female master smiled, "see you tomorrow, big star."


    She even winked at him while Jim felt somehow strange in such a situation.


    "Can you go now?" The referee suddenly said, "I need to start the next match."


    "Thanks for everything," Rana said with zero honesty in her voice, and the referee just shook his head helplessly while watching them leave.


    "My boy is marching out the pitch with perfect health c''mon, let''s give our big star an apuse, the respect he deserves."


    Once again thementator instigated the audience and the next thing happened was for a loud bang of whistles erupted all of sudden.


    "I like thismentator," Rick didn''t leave Deno''s side as he was helping him in jumping down the flying stadium with Kro and Roo helping as well.


    "He is really something," Rana said and didn''t add another word.


    "If you want to meet him," Mera suddenly said with a tone that seemed to tease someone here, "I can lead you to see him."


    "No they don''t need that now," Rana seriously declined, "after all I nned forte night training but with all these injuries I believe we should take some rest and start off early in the morning."


    "I won''t be able toe in the morning," Jim suddenly said and everyone turned to nce at him in doubt. "I have something to do."


    "Don''t tell me you are going to see a girl," Lim hit him gently with an elbow whileughing.


    "I''ve to do something important," Jim simply said, "so you can proceed tonight and morning in training and I''ll join you after sses."


    "Are you sure?" Rana asked with a tone that told Jim she wasn''t agreeing that much on his decision.


    "I have to," Jim said in the same vague way, and she only sighed.


    "They need more training," Mera said before turning to nce at her five girls, "they too need training."


    "Then it''s settled," Rana decided, "Rick, Kro, and Roo will take Deno home while Gordan will apany Jim as well."


    "Aye aye coach," the four shouted in unison and the next moment they reached the door of the field.


    And once the door opened, arge number of reporters rushed in and surrounded them all of sudden.


    "What do you want to say to your fans?"


    "How did someone like you know about such a legendary move?"


    "Did your leg still hurt? Will you be able topete tomorrow?"


    "Did you see your team befitting your abilities? Do you consider moving out to a better team?"


    "What are these girls to you?"


    More questions were thrown on Jim''s face and many were so annoying that he wanted to punch those reporters in the face. Yet Rana and Mera moved with the age experience and stepped in to shield him.


    "Noment," Rana shouted in a loud tone, "all the answers shall be noment."


    "Let''s go, don''t stop moving," Mera shouted as she started to push the reporters away and clear a path for Jim and the team to leave the field.


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    Even when they passed through the entrance, they were met with arge number of reporters. Sounds of the shooting devices were mixed loudly with the voices of these reporters asking endless questions over Jim''s head.


    Yet Rana and Mera finally managed to push the entire team towards their room and finally after closing the door things started to cool down.


    "Are they going to stand there all night?" Jenny was still shocked by such a thing.


    "They are really persistent," Rana shook her head, "we need to assign guards then."


    "We can do it," Kro and Rick moved at once to stand before the door.


    "No, no yer can be a guardian," Rana stopped them before they would do something reckless.


    "Guards are hired officially from the league," Mera exined, "as to avoid any charges of using force against any reporter."


    The two nodded and retreated before Lim asked:


    "How can we exit then? How can we move Jim and Deno home?"


    "We can take Deno and all the team out without any problem," Rana sighed, "the real problem is you."


    Jim helplessly smiled and didn''t know what to say. It wasn''t his fault to shine brighter than others, and it seemed he had underestimated the price of fame.


    "We can use the decoy n then," Mera suddenly said in excitement.


    "Decoy n?" Jim asked with a loss.


    "Yeah, the same theory of using decoy in the game," Rana smiled beforeughing, "oh fairies, I didn''t do this for such a long time."


    "Listen," Mera was more excited than her without a proper reason to anyone around, "one shapeshifter will change his shape to be like Jim and the others will cancel their shapeshifting ability. Then we will go to the field and train there, while a couple of you will help Deno to leave home."


    "What about him?" Rick was unaware of this n and didn''t get her meaning.


    "He will get some makeup and change a little in his clothes before sneaking after enough time from our leave."


    "Aha," many eximed in unison while Rana added, "you can''t expose his ce even when he reaches the mansion."


    "But they must have known where we live," Saga asked in doubt.


    "I''ll ask a friend to lend us another mansion," Rana said in a casual way that made everyone wonder who that mysterious friend was.


    "Do we need all that?" Jim was speechless, "what will happen then when I go to sses?"


    "Well," Rana''s face turned suddenly evil, "this has been a long time since it urred but from ancient tales I can be sure you''ll be bugged by reporters everywhere you go."


    "You shouldn''t go to ss tomorrow," Mera also joined her friend, showing the same evil look, "you shoulde and train."


    "You two are scary," Jim couldn''t help butugh, "I''ll take what is presented to me on the te of fame, anyway I have to ept this fate and just adapt to it."


    "Don''t get cocky kid," Rana suddenlyughed, "this is just a small piece of what you''ll have when you enter the real game."


    "Indeed," and Mera joined her inughing while others nced weirdly at them as if they were asking themselves: was it safe to be led with these two?!

 Chapter 148: The Lame Reporters

    Chapter 148: The Lame Reporters


    Jim waited inside the room patiently while watching the clock on the wall. "Ten minutes are almost done," he muttered before heading to the door, "I believe it''s best not to be seen by anyone or else I''ll turn into aughing stock of everyone."


    Just before they moved, Mera used her magical skills and makeup to print denseyers of powder over his face, making him look more like a girl now, not a boy.


    He nced at his reflection in the mirror before shaking his head helplessly and then opened the door.


    He rapidly closed it before moving fast towards the direction of the stadium main gate.


    The more he got closer to it the more people he met. He strangely wasn''t feeling any worry, as he didn''t see that being famous was bad.


    He was slightly annoyed by the sudden gush of the reporters surrounding him. He would prefer it if he organized them in one line and listened to all their questions and dly answered them.


    "Noment huh she is really merciless!"


    Just as he was passing by the main gate he heard this mocking sneering from one group of reporters standing on the side.


    "She is a loser, did she forget how she was kicked off the league?" another one sneered.


    "Yet she was a hell of a yer back then."


    "A yer that can''t even run isn''t a yer."


    "Indeed, I can''t believe she found a job here and after all these years she would be the coach of such a team."


    "It''s not that good."


    "It''s not bad, needs a lot of training and more experience and to watch itpete in the league."


    "I doubt they''ll make it that far," one reporterughed, "I got a friend inside the academy and he told me no matter what those up there won''t allow them to reach the ace league."


    "You gotta be kidding me," another reporter said before taking out his note and added, "c''mon tell me what you know tell me all."


    "Hahaha, it''s not a secret that team isn''t supported by the academy," that reporter said like he was all knowing of everything inside the academy, "as far as I know two pantheons are leading this move against the team and all because of their ace."


    "This is great news," the reporter who was writing muttered.


    "You don''t be this excited, I got the whim of an entire edition being prepared already by the local magazine of the academy."


    "The magical pantheon magazine?" the reporter paused before adding, "but their edition won''t be released except tomorrow morning. I can still make use of this news make way, get out of my way girl."


    The reporter mistook Jim as a girl as he passed hurriedly towards the distance.


    "He is such a poor man," the reporter who told him the intel sneered, "at least he forgot to ask about my source."


    Jim restarted walking again after faking tying up his shoes. "These despicable reporters I wanna screw them," he clenched his fists and tried to control his rage.


    Deep inside him he knew who was the reason behind all this. "All came from that Pol I need to find a way to get rid of him if he keeps bugging me like this."


    He wrongly thought by the agreement with the master from before he would be safe, but right now he knew he was gravely mistaken.


    "This academy it''s a much moreplicated ce than I initially thought," he took a deep breath before adding, "I need to be ready for a brutal fight with Pol and his associates after all I doubt he is all alone in this."


    He walked without being recognized towards the direction of his mansion. Just as he arrived there, he spotted some reporters scanning the area and seemingly nning to camp themselves here.


    "These people" he wasn''t in the mood to consider answering their questions as he walked directly towards the mansion''s main gate.


    The gate recognized him and opened from its own will for him to enter before closing up.


    "Hi, can we have a word from you?" a reporter didn''t let this chance slip by as he suddenly shouted, attracting others'' attention as well.


    "We only need a couple of words from you like who are you and what are you doing here?"


    Jim kept walking and didn''t give them any heed.


    "That girl looked like a loser," one reporter sneered.


    "At least we know she has a rtion to one of the team members or perhaps she is the secret girlfriend of that ace right, did you take her picture?"


    "I''ll take it now sh!"


    Jim entered the mansion while sounds of shes kept echoing from behind. "Those fools Do they think I''m a loser? Hahaha, they are the losers, not me," heughed while walking in and headed towards his room.


    ''You should train.''


    All of sudden the old man spoke again, startling him.


    "You scared me," Jim sighed, "can''t you knock or cause a sound first?"


    ''Don''t let these game wins get into your mind you know better than anyone how hard the next period will be for you.''


    "Yeah, tell me about it," Jim took a deep breath before sitting on the ground, "Can''t I take a day off? I''m hurt after all."


    ''You asked to have this team andpete for thepetition, so you must take charge of these responsibilities.''


    "Alright," Jim closed his eyes and started to regte his breathing, "I''ll train then."


    ''Good.''


    Jim started to picture the memory of him being confined inside that small closet once again. This time the feeling he got was stronger, and everything seemed real.


    As he kept himself in such a state, his body started to umte magic energy slowly. During his unique experience he couldn''t feel time passing. So just a mere hour in there was equivalent to the entire night in the real world.


    ''Wake up!''


    All of sudden his old man annoyed him and distracted him from his training. Like waking up from a deep dream hezily opened his eyes. "What? I haven''t taken an hour yet!"


    ''It''s already morning sleepy fairy king,'' the old man alerted him to check the room and he was surprised to see the daylight already shining brightly around.


    "Sigh why is my time inside so limited?" he muttered before having an idea, "what if I trained inside to train?"


    ''Were your head hit yesterday?'' the old man said before adding, ''say what you want to do in more clear words please so I can understand them.''


    "I mean when I''m in there I start training like being in the real world."


    ''This''


    "What? Hasn''t anyone tried such a thing before?" Jim was surprised to hear that and the old man only remained silent.


    "Great, I''ll try this next time I train then," he stood up before ncing at his face at the reflection of the window ss, "Damn! That Mera didn''t paint my face for real, right?"


    ''Check out the outside first,'' the old man stopped him from going into the bathroom and washing his face, ''those annoying reporters might still be there.''


    "Good point," Jim moved to the window and sneaked over the world outside. "They aren''t here," after five minutes he didn''t notice anyone around at all. "Their n it seems it seeded," he shrugged before wiping out all the makeup and then headed downstairs with his items and coat before heading directly towards the campus.


    During his walk there he tried to avoid any gathering he spotted from a distance. That made him take almost double the time to reach the campus, and the moment he approached the main entrance he was instantly spotted.


    "It''s the ace!"


    "It''s Jim!"


    "Hurry, take enough shots of him."


    "I will have the first interview with him."


    "Let me off, I was here first!"


    "I was here before you!"


    "Shut up you two, I came here even before the light of day appeared!"


    Jim heard a lot of shouts and saw everyone running towards him like they were running to grab the ball.


    "Stop right there!" he suddenly shouted and his voice was clearly heard by everyone, "Line up and I''ll answer all your questions."


    Yet his words were ditched by the reporters as they tried to reach him first.


    "Damn you! No sense of organization at all!" he cursed out loud before starting to run.


    He was still wearing his game boots and the wings on his back. Although he wasn''t yet in the game pitch, his speed soared all of sudden and he elerated, evading them in impressive moves before finally entering the campus.


    And once he reached there he stopped, turned around and nced silently at the reporters who seemed not able to step a single foot inside the campus.


    "It''s a regret to ask you to be civilized and you act like being wild beasts," he shook his head before turning around and went inside the campus.


    He totally ignored the shouts, questions, provocations, and even curses that those reporters threw at his back. He was willing to give them the chance to have all their questions answered, but they preferred to act like savage and ignored his gesture.


    And that enraged him.

 Chapter 149: The Inner Campus King

    Chapter 149: The Inner Campus King


    Just as he entered the campus, there was another wave of people lying in wait for him the disciples in the campus!


    "It''s him!"


    "Oh mighty fairies he is so handsome!"


    "Make way, I wanna know how the hell he pulled that legendary move."


    Many shouts suddenly erupted all of sudden while arge number of disciples jumped at him the next moment. He stood there speechless for a moment, not knowing what to do or say.


    "Step back I said ``step back!"


    All of sudden a familiar voice came from the masses while therge physique of Mark while he finally managed to reach Jim.


    Without any words he grabbed his arm and Jim felt massive force driving him behind him without any chance of objection.


    And the two entered the ss of spells before Mark closed the door.


    Then heughed.


    "I never ever expected in my wildest dreams that you would be this amazing, hahaha," he turned to face him with a very joyful expression over his face.


    "Have you watched the match, master?" Jim tried to understand what the current situation was.


    After all that shock from the massive reception he got from the other disciples was something he never expected.


    He knew he would gain some fame, but he never expected to be this way.


    And he was totally happy of this, and proud of himself to be able to achieve this far.


    "Of course," Markughed, "me and all the masters we all came to watch and support you," he stepped towards one of the sets before grabbing it. "But no one, and I mean no one, ever imagined you would pull such brilliant performance back there."


    "Thanks master," Jim couldn''t say anything but that in return to these words of praise.


    "Don''t thank me yet," Mark shook his head, "I''m here not only to express my gratitude and admiration, but also to give you a little gift."


    "Gift?" Jim asked with sparkling eyes and much expectations, "what is it master?"


    "It''s something you''ll be surprisedter, leave it for now."


    Jim couldn''t help but stare weirdly at his master whoughed at his expression. "What? Don''t you like some suspense?"


    "Not in gifts," Jim shook his head helplessly as he knew whatever he said Mark wouldn''t speak.


    "Just be patient then," Mark said, "after all you won''t know about it except a few dayster."


    "Days!!!" Jim was totally shocked and Markughed.


    "If you don''t stop making these childish reactions then I might be tempted to dy it even further," he said before adding with a loudugh, "at least this isn''t your first present in your life, right?"


    Jim felt some bitterness when he heard that. He never recalled when someone brought anything to him as a gift like other kids of his age.


    And Mark paused in the middle of hisughs as he suddenly realized this.


    "Oh boy," he muttered, "don''t worry, from now on you''ll receive many gifts from masters and even disciples," he winked before adding, "I''m just curious you were deeply injured yesterday, why did youe here today?"


    "I got absent from here yesterday and I didn''t want to take another day off this soon," Jim tried to find an excuse that his master would buy.


    But from the reaction over Mark''s face he realized he miserably failed.


    "Don''t worry yourself about this," Mark couldn''t help but say, "after all you are representing all of us. I don''t know if you heard the news yet or not, but four out of the other five teams lost their matches yesterday and the fifth team only ended up in a draw."


    "Oh" Jim said with a tone void of any sympathy.


    "So technically you are the only team in thepetition who can reach the ace league," Mark waved his hands as if this was a known fact, "and I believe you will be the only team representing the academy out there one since many, many years ago."


    "I hope I can make it there."


    "You will," Mark smiled in confidence, "after all your score is now one of the highest. I doubt you would lose two games, but if you only managed to pull a draw then you would qualify without any hustle."


    "We n on winning all the matches."


    "That''s the spirit," Mark stood up and patted his shoulders, "and about the sses you can just skip them as much as you like. After all you are now a celebrity, a big shot in the entire academy" he paused before heughed, "and this prodigy is no one but a fresh disciple under my ss, hahaha."


    Jim couldn''t tell if he was happy for him or for the glory he would bring to the entire inner campus and the first grade as well.


    "Now I want you to always seclude yourself from others," Mark suddenly said, "after all not all are that excited about your winnings."


    "Some are bitter," Jim smiled, "but this is my moment and I deserve to enjoy every single second of it no, I intend to enjoy every bit of it no matter what."


    "Hahaha, goodd," Mark patted his shoulders again before clearing the path off, "then go, walk to them as if their king has returned."


    "Thanks master," Jim honestly said in deep gratitude, "I''ll act like their king from this moment on."


    Markughed before muttering, "you should do that boy, after all you are really the king of the entire inner campus now. And these are your glorious moments it''s good for you to know that."


    Jim only heard part of his words while the rest vanished under the loud cheer many weed him outside the spell ss.


    "Jim!"


    "Jim!"


    "Jim!"


    Even some started to cheer his name and he stopped, waited and watched while everyone was burning out with strange excitement.


    And then he raised his right fist high in the air. Holding his sword, raising it so high to face the shining rays of the sun and next his entire body shone and bathed with golden light.


    And at this moment he truly looked like a real king.


    "Stand in one line," he suddenly said with a big smile over his face, "anyone wants anything just stand in line and I won''t move from here until I meet everyone of you."


    "Swoosh!"


    The next moment a very long line was formed in front of him. "At least they are not that arrogant like those bastards," Jim muttered to himself before the first disciple moved before stopping one meter away and suddenly knelt to the ground.


    "Please ept me in the team."


    He was a berserker. Just as he said that many others shouted the same thing.


    "Please ept me in the team."


    "Please ept me in the team."


    "Please ept me in the team."


    Jim nced in a calm tone and was a very impressive domineer to all of them. "I can''t promise I can take any at this stage of thepetition," he first said in a very clear and strong tone, "but I promise you all after we reach the ace league and cross the two teams I''ll open the recruitment again and will take anyone with decent talent to join even the secondary team."


    "Yeah!"


    "That''s what I wanted to hear!"


    "I''ll cheer for your victory Jim!"


    "Let the team win, let the team crush all and ascend to the ace league!"


    Cheers of joy appeared at once and spread like fire among everyone.


    "Now please stand down," Jim simply said to the disciple who stood up and nodded to him in appreciation.


    For Donald, this scene was literally getting on his nerves. "Those fools who do they think he is? A dwarfed human getting tribute from giants! Damn!"


    He was very pissed off at this scene and turned to leave at once while his blood was boiling. "Just wait I swear I won''t let you have it easy ace league huh, ace league my ass!"


    Jim didn''t know anything about his evil intentions towards him. At this moment he was busy receiving the cheers from the disciples, gently refusing the date requests from beautiful females, and even signed some shirts for some disciples who pledged to form a die hard fan club for his team after joining the ace league.


    "May I ask about the recruitment process?"


    Jim felt a little strange when Moora stood in front of him at this moment.


    "Do you want to join the team?" he strangely asked while recalling her hard nature that reminded him of Rana sometimes.


    "No, I mean the other team," she said in a low and slightly hesitant tone.


    And he nced at her in question as he didn''t get her meaning.


    "the cheering squad," she finally said it and her face slightly turned rosy.


    "Oh," his eyes shone as he couldn''t help but recall the very alluring dance he had with her and the sexy moves of her giant, yet amazingly flexible body.


    "S- Sorry, I didn''t know it was hard to get there," she suddenly said in a dejected tone that rmed him. She misunderstood his gaze towards her and the next moment he stopped her and pointed her to draw closer.


    And then he whispered: "Go to the stadium and seekdy Mera. Just say you were sent by me and she will ept you."


    She retreated a couple of steps and he saw a shocking gaze upon her face at this moment.


    "Really?" she asked, and he nodded. "No test?" she asked with doubt, "won''t she refuse me?"


    Jim couldn''t help but bitterly smile. ''This girl she doesn''t know how sexy she is!'' he inwardly sighed before saying, "just go or else you''ll bete for training."


    He saw one of the brightest smiles he never expected to see on her face. The next moment she jumped and hugged him warmly and deeply before whispering, "thank you."


    And then she let him go and ran away, leaving not only him but all the disciples here in deep shock.


    And the next instant many girls who already asked him rejoined the line once again with wide smiles and shining eyes.

 Chapter 150: The Demon Forest Expedition

    Chapter 150: The Demon Forest Expedition


    "Hi, may I know if you have any public speaker or something like that?" one of the disciples who belonged to the hydra pantheon, asked when it was his turn.


    "You mean like someone dealing with the reporters?" Jim asked and the boy nodded. "Up till now no," Jim nced at the three heads of that person, reminding him of Mera, "but as you mentioned this, I would need someone to do that for me."


    "Then can I apply for such a position?" the boy asked in anticipation and Jim smiled and nodded.


    "Just go to the stadium and speak with the coach," he said, "after all she has the final call in such matters."


    "Thanks a lot captain," the boy said as if he was already part of the team, "I''ll go now."


    He hurriedly moved, or literally ran towards the gate and vanished behind therge army of reporters who were very curious about what he was doing.


    "Next," Jim said, yet someone suddenly appeared.


    "Hey hey, can we have our sses to run and you to attend them now?"


    It was Mark and he just said this with a wide smile over his face. His words were met with discontent, yet Jim suddenly said:


    "Let''s go to sses first and then in the break we can continue," he promised before adding, "I won''t leave here before meeting each one of you."


    "Yeah!"


    "Thanks captain!"


    "Captain Jim is the best!"


    "I just want to ask about the cheer squad, can I join?" suddenly one girl asked and then arge number joined her, repeating the same question in different ways.


    "Alright, you can go now to meet master Mera," Jim said with augh, "after all she is the master of the cheer squad and I can''t meddle in her business. I hope you can understand that."


    The girls all nodded, some winked and even few gave him a kiss in the air before they turned around and started to run towards the stadium direction.


    "I believe many masters willin of their disciples being absent today," Mark couldn''t help but sigh and Jimughed.


    "Go, it''s now the time of the spell ss," Mark said before turning to the rest, "and you should know your sses, don''t miss them or else your masters will force me to take points off your pantheons."


    "What would you do if we missed the opportunity to join the legendary team?" one of the masters suddenly appeared and his tone and the hidden meaning in his words made even Mark''s face change slightly.


    "Donald, what brought you here?" Mark asked.


    "It''s the inner campus, can''t I be here?" and Donald onlyughed as if he was already having a very good moment right now.


    And that was something that made Jim be quite vignt towards him.


    "I mean this is the area of the spell ss," Mark said in more direct words, ignoring the answer of Donald, "you should be at your ss now."


    "I''m just here to inform you of something," Donald said with a grin over his face that made Jim feel worse about what he was about to say, "the academy council just agreed to send the disciples of the forest expedition this weekend."


    "What?" Mark''s face changed before he asked in a more serious tone, "when did that happen? That expedition should be held no less than a month from now!"


    "They just said it was due to the expedition being sent to the battlefield during the same time," Donald shrugged as if he was the messenger, not the instigator, "I just came to deliver you the news. As for the details, you have more connections than me up there."


    Mark gave him a deep nce before nodding. "Thanks," he then turned to the disciples around, "the spell ss is cancelled for now. I''ll make sure to hold an extended ss ording to that piece of news."


    In front of Jim Mark vanished without trace while Donald onlyughed while directly ncing at his eyes. It was like he was directly challenging Jim, and Jim got the message and epted the challenge with a nod.


    "See youter captain," Donald said beforeughing while leisurely taking his time walking away.


    "This man damn!" Jim could only clench his fists while this short visit from Donald ruined the perfect mood he had moments before.


    ''Don''t mind him,'' the old man suddenly said, ''he is just jealous.''


    ''Do you know what this expedition is all about?'' Jim didn''t leave as he went into the ss intending to seclude himself there and train.


    ''It''s a tournament for the disciples to hunt the monsters and gather up their cores,'' the old man said, ''it''s not safe or too dangerous, but it has a very great importance inside the academy.''


    ''What for?'' Jim didn''t get the meaning behind these words.


    ''See, it''s like what you did in the game. Whoever scores the highest score in each grade will be considered a prodigy,'' the old man said, ''after all it''s all about being stronger and showing off your strength in a very fair way I suppose.''


    ''Then I have to fight against the monsters?'' Jim asked, ''alone?''


    ''I think it''s not alone,'' the old man seemed hesitant, ''a long time has passed since I was alive and the rules might have changed a little.''


    ''I hope they would allow each disciple to go there alone,'' Jim honestly said, ''I can''tpete with teams havingrge numbers of outer disciples following their orders and helping them to gain more cores.''


    ''Even if the rules didn''t state that, you should expect this to happen one way or another,'' the old man said, ''and from the words that jerk just said I suppose this was meant to demote your fame and cover up your growing sess and glory.''


    ''Then I should work to make him quite disappointed.''


    ''Indeed,'' the old man said, ''and to do that you''ll need to form many alliances and seek the help of your guardians.''


    ''The three masters?'' Jim''s eyes shone for a moment with golden light, ''what for?''


    ''You need spells,'' the old man said, ''more than one actually, and also gears to fight. You already know the value of the gears.''


    Jim understood his meaning. In the game matches he felt invincible and could do anything by the amazing gears he had from Rana.


    ''I should ask her then,'' he thought.


    ''Don''t put too much hope on her,'' the old man warned, ''she already did a lot to support you.''


    ''I have then to ask those three for help,'' he couldn''t help but sigh, ''if I have more time, like one more week perhaps then I might have the chance to go to the Sherwid town and kill some thieves or make some deals with people there.''


    ''You need to handle rocks thrown in your face one rock at a time,'' the old man advised and Jim sat on the ground while nodding in agreement.


    ''And I swear to crush all these rocks and melt them into nothing worthy!'' he muttered in great determination before regting his breaths and starting his training.


    He was tempted to try out his theory but he knew he didn''t have the time to do that. He feared being interrupted and he was right.


    Just after a few minutes inside his serene world, Mark came to wake him up.


    "How hard a worker you are," Mark said in admiration, "and such spirit is needed for what''s about toe."


    "The expedition?" Jim asked, "Is it next weekend then?"


    "Sadly it is," Mark''s face and tone showed how much angry he was at the moment, "they refused to tell me anything but I learnt that one master of the inner campus came and proposed of this in the morning," he said before adding, "they say heined because the time of this expedition antagonizes with the time of the expedition to the battleground such an asshole is only worthy to be pped in the face for his dirty actions!"


    Jim understood he was speaking about Donald and he didn''tment despite his deep anger towards him. "May I know what this expedition is about? What are we supposed to do in the forest? The rules?"


    Mark sighed before grabbing a chair and sat beside Jim who was still sitting on the ground cross legged.


    "It''s apetition between all the disciples, pantheons, and campuses of the academy," he said before adding, "each disciple will go there, kill as many monsters as he can and get their cores."


    Jim nodded as he already got this info from his old man.


    "The rules state that each disciple is on his own, and the highest ten disciples with the highest scores in each grade will be considered the ten dragons of the academy prodigies whom everyone should support and look in admiration to."


    Jim''s heart was rxed before Mark added his next bomb:


    "But in fact and from the long years of this expedition this isn''t the case. Most disciples just use their ves, friends, and even bribe some of other disciples to help. Auctions and stealing also urred frequently inside the expedition where no one would supervise the fight going inside as long as it didn''t break the sacred rule of the academy."


    Jim''s heart dropped to his knees while muttering, "Only fight is allowed for equal grade disciples or with one grade difference, right?"


    And Mark only nodded and said nothing.


    "That''s bad," Jim couldn''t help but express his deepest feeling in front of his kind master.

 Chapter 151: Donalds Annoying Attitude

    Chapter 151: Donald''s Annoying Attitude


    I was now clear to him what others would do, yet that didn''t demote him so much. "At least I have the ace league as glory," he shrugged and Mark could only sigh.


    "It''s the timing," he said, "after all it will happen the next day when your matches are over and you will be qualified to go to the ace league."


    "I know that," Jim nodded, "but I didn''t say I would drop that expedition and won''t aim for high ranking there."


    "You need to have more friends, more power, more spells," Mark helplessly said, "there is no time to teach you anything worthy."


    "I''ll survive this," Jim simply said before asking, "will we start the ss now?"


    "No, it''s time for the war ss," Mark said, "I hope Donald would give you some useful tips there. After all he is one of our most experienced masters regarding war."


    Jim only sighed before excusing himself and headed directly to the second ss. He was thinking about that expedition and what Donald did to stop his rising fame.


    "So I''ll need to get myself a nice ranking there," he tried to reassure himself before finally reaching the ss.


    Through the way many nced at him in envy and even hatred, yet he was too busy to notice them.


    "Wee to the war ss," Donald said with a big smile over his face, "today''s ss will be reading one."


    His words caused a slight uproar in the ss. The news already reached everyone about the expedition and everyone here held high hopes to learn something useful from him before going there.


    Yet his next actions made them all realize he wasn''t joking.


    "Open your books now and start reading," he couldn''t control hisughs when he noticed the reactions over the disciples'' faces, "c''mon, reading is good. It feeds the mind and makes you smarter."


    "B- But master shouldn''t we learn something regarding the expedition at the weekend?" a hydra girl asked and Donald stole a nce at Jim as if he was enjoying this bad situation he caused him.


    "Reading and getting information is as important to you as fighting itself," he was so shameless to look directly in the girl''s eyes and say these words in such honesty, worthy of a very experienced liar.


    "Now stop wasting time, as I can recall it''s so narrow for you."


    Jim watched the disciples exchanging nces between each other and shaking off their heads in disappointment.


    Being not the only one to be upset by Donald''s shameless actions made him rx and feel better. ''At least I''m not the only one to face trouble during the next expedition,'' he muttered despite knowing for sure this wasn''t necessarily good for him.


    After all, he was about to get targeted by the higher grade disciples, even from the core campus.


    ''I should think then of a way to make alliances,'' he started to consider his options, ''the three masters can help, but it''s not guaranteed their disciples would listen to their words.''


    He knew having the support of a master was something totally different than getting support form the disciples.


    ''I''ve an idea,'' suddenly the old man said.


    ''Please say it.''


    ''You should use your three masters as a good way to tempt others to be your allies.''


    Jim paused as he wasn''t actually focusing on the war book he had in his hand right now. ''What do you mean by that?''


    ''For a secret group,'' the old man said before exining further his idea, ''form a secret group that will have only one goal to train together and be stronger.''


    Jim was tempted the moment he heard these words. ''Who is going to be the master?'' he asked before the answer represented itself the next moment, ''the three masters of mine!''


    ''Indeed they can be good teachers,'' the old man said, ''but I doubt they would agree to help.''


    ''This''


    ''They are your masters, not theirs,'' the old man exined, ''plus when you say a secret group many doubts will rise ordingly and they would further hesitate to help.''


    ''Then who would be the master?'' Jim felt puzzled by his old man''s words.


    ''You will,'' and the answer instantly shocked him, ''you will teach them what you''ll learn from your masters and from me.''


    ''You?''


    ''Sure, I''ll step in and teach you some cool spells and also great moves.''


    Jim went into silence for a long time as he started considering this idea, all the gains and risksing with it.


    ''Is it against the academy rules?''


    ''ording to the letters? There is no felony here, but that doesn''t mean the academy won''t move against the group especially if certain people sniffed something about it.''


    ''Then I can''t do it,'' Jim regretfully sighed, ''after all I''m under heavy surveince by many eyes.''


    ''Don''t you worry about that, I''ve a nice way to do it.''


    ''Like what?''


    ''This academy is very ancient, and it contains many ces, old ces, hidden ces that no one can spy upon,'' the old man said, ''I even doubt anyone would be aware many of these ces even exist.''


    Jim hesitated while the old man added, ''there is a ce it runs underground and is well protected by a very terrifying spell and ancient aura. To enter you need to be first the master of that ce and second to allow others to enter and exit.''


    ''How can I be a master of such a terrifying ce?!''


    ''This is really your lucky day,'' the old manughed, ''after all you''ve a chance to be the master of such a ce tonight.''


    ''Tonight?'' Jim didn''t get his meaning. ''I''ve a game tonight.''


    ''And that ce is just under the stadium,'' the old man said beforeughing, ''in fact it''s situated under the flying field, just under everyone''s gazes.''


    Jim was surprised before he realized that what the old man was speaking about was rted to some sort of magic. ''So I have to win?'' he asked.


    ''Indeed, not only win a match but win thepetition.''


    ''I won''t win apetition tonight!''

 Chapter 152: Getting Punished

    Chapter 152: Getting Punished


    ''Yet you''ll win your ticket to the ace league, right?'' the old man said before adding, ''winning this smallpetition of the qualification is considered by that ce as a tournament in itself.''


    ''Oh,'' Jim''s eyes shone brightly as he realized what the old man was speaking about. ''That''s why you said I have a chance to be the master tonight,'' he said, ''but I won''t be the only one to win thepetition. Does that mean that ce can have many masters?''


    ''I doubt anyone will know the right ceremony to be the master of that ce,'' the old man said, ''and in theory there can be an endless number of masters there and they won''t know that others even exist.''


    ''This sounds nice,'' Jim said, ''but what if others leaked the info about the group to others?''


    ''The academy had to catch you first, but how can they do that while you''ll be the only one determining who can enter and who can''t?''


    Jim found this idea more appealing the more he thought about it.


    ''But you''ll need someone to act as your messenger,'' the old man said, ''it''s best if this group wasn''t rted to you until it starts.''


    ''I understand,'' Jim nodded beforeughing, ''and I have the perfect one for this task.''


    ''Lim?'' the old man read his thoughts, ''he is fine, and I believe he wouldn''t hesitate to help.''


    ''he already has many connections here,'' Jim exined, ''and he will be able to spread the word in the shortest time possible.''


    ''Good, all you need now is to go to meet him and start the n.''


    ''I first need to win today''s match,'' Jim bitterly smiled, ''plus speaking with Rana about the gears, go to the three masters and ask them for help, then seeing this secret group matter.''


    Jim nced around and from the dark faces of many disciples he started to gain more confidence in the sess of this n. ''All I need to do is win tonight''s game,'' he said to himself as winning this game started to gain more value than ever.


    "Why are you smiling?" All of sudden this distasteful voice came from his side, startling him.


    "I was reading," Jim stuttered for a moment while Donald''s smile seemed more irritating from this close.


    "Oh, then please tell me what you were reading about," Donald said before suddenly taking out a wooden stick and fixing its tip over the book in his hand, "without the need to nce at your book, of course."


    Jim felt more hatred towards him, yet he perfectly controlled himself and didn''t say a word.


    "One hundred points are deducted from the Fairy pantheon," the next moment Donald said in a loud tone that attracted everyone''s attention.


    Jim resisted the urge to shout on his face or else his situation would only get worse. "Return to your books," Donald shouted, "I don''t want you to be dumb when you join the expedition few dayster."


    Hisughs made many unsettled and even quite angry, yet no one even dared to do anything other than ncing at their books and reading.


    And Jim did the same, yet he wasn''t actually reading.


    ''What are the spells you are going to teach me?'' He was busy with something else, ''something fancy? Like the one you taught me before?''


    ``I can teach you one fancy spell during the time of the expedition,'''' the old man said, ``but you won''t learn anything else and won''t be able to pass it to anyone.''


    Jim''s thoughts froze when he realized his meaning.


    ''I''ll teach you some basic spells, spells that can save your life. Also you will be able to pass it to other disciples as well, and they won''t take much time to learn it.''


    ''You are right,'' Jim couldn''t help but agree, ''at least this way I can really be their master.''


    ''You should,'' the old man said, ''this coupled with your deeds at the team and your rank at the expedition will serve towards your biggest goal.''


    ''The honorable disciple of the inner campus for first grade,'' Jim muttered before adding, ''even having a position in the upper echelon of the inner campus won''t be a dream.''


    ''One step at a time,'' the old man muttered, ''don''t rush things or else you might lose everything.''


    ''''


    The boring ss ended after a long time. Jim felt he stayed inside for the entire day and not only a couple of hours.


    "Screw him!"


    "He is acting this way when we desperately need his help!"


    "How can such a sly person be a master?!"


    "I don''t know what to do now!"


    While he exited the ss under the mocking nces and the annoying smile of Donald, Jim started to hear these angryments of many disciples.


    Yet he resisted the urge to turn to them and announce his n to them.


    ''Be patient,'' the old man even stepped in, ''don''t be rash and be patient.''


    ''Sigh, I know,'' Jim could only hear and watch in silence before going back to the spell ss.


    After all, he promised the disciples to meet them there and answer their demands.


    Yet when he reached there he found a smaller number waiting for him. After some chatting with others, he understood the reason.


    It was an expedition! Everyone raised the red g and started to get ready for such very importantpetition.


    He started to answer all the questions regarding the game, how they train, and even signed some autographs for some of his admirers.


    "Now it''s time for the magical pets ss," he muttered as he checked the ss''s big board situated just near the entrance door.


    "Can we have one word?"


    "We will be in one line this time."


    "I won''t take much of your time."


    Just as he stood there, many reporters took the chance to act respectful and show him their desire to follow his way of doing things.


    He nced at them, then at the board and finally over the slightly big rounded clock hanging above the board.


    He had little time to spare for them.


    "I have roughly ten minutes before returning to the sses again," he said before adding, "if you want to speak now then it''s fine by me, but I have to go in when it''s time."


    His words made the army of reporters restless before he added, "Yet if you wanted to wait after the sses ended, then I can dly answer your questions while walking back to the stadium."


    "That sounds great."


    "Alright then we''ll wait for you."


    "We won''t take much time for you."


    His words made them quite rxed as they finally were able to get their desired interview with him.


    "Alright, see youter then," he simply turned around and headed towards the inner section of the campus, shielded from them by many buildings.


    Yet while he was far away, he didn''t see or know what happened after he left.


    "You can''t stand here," Donald suddenly appeared as he rudely shouted, "this is a private ce of the academy and no one other than disciples and masters should be here. Go and crawl back to your pathetic stadium, you have nothing to do here."

 Chapter 153: The Magical Pets Class

    Chapter 153: The Magical Pets ss


    "Wee to the magical pets ss."


    A dragon master stood in therge central stage that was elevated slightly off the ground by a few inches. The stage was made out of pale yellow ore and was surrounded by the seats of the disciples, forming interloping arcs with each other.


    "I''m master Igroy, and I''ll be the master of this amazing ss for you this entire year."


    The old looking master said while his two small curved bronze horns attracted Jim''s attention. He didn''t see much of dragons but he started to notice that some had different colored horns that others.


    And he despised the entire race.


    "Our ss will start with a very amazing little fellow here, but first can anyone tell me what this ss is about?" Igor moved his gaze around and Jim simply ignored him.


    "It''s about monsters," one of the disciples said.


    "Good answer, ten points to the pantheon of chimera," he said before adding, "but to be honest this isn''t a very urate answer after all most of us are or belong to monsters, right?"


    His wide smile was strange over the general impression Jim had about dragons. ''He will turn his coat and show his true colors soon,'' Jim inwardly sneered while Igor added:


    "The right answer is that we are here dealing with wild monsters, those without any sanity or intelligence like us but they have one amazing trait they can use magic in one way or another."


    Igor then pointed towards a nearbyrge and high table, enough to be seen by all disciples here. He pointed in a certain direction while a box flew fast andnded over the marble table.


    "This is our first subject this year," Igor said as if he was so proud of this, "and this little fellow here is a very rare and such amazing creature that you will lose yourselves when I tell you more about it."


    ''As if he is a dragon,'' Jim inwardly sneered before Igor suddenly added:


    "It''s not an exaggeration to hear an old myth about this creature. Can anyone tell me what this myth is?"


    "Shouldn''t we first know the name of it?" a girl said while the othersughed in low tone while most seemed quite hesitant to join.


    "Indeed you are right," yet Igor didn''t seem to be offended by her words, as he added with his big smile, "it''s called the Seson monster."


    "Oh!"


    "No way!"


    "It''s that monster!"


    "How did you get it?"


    Suddenly Jim heard many shocked exmations from many disciples while he felt the name to be somehow familiar.


    And Igor''s smile grew bigger the more he heard thesements.


    "Good, so you already are familiar with the name, right? Can anyone tell me what is the myth rted to this little fellow here?"


    "It''s that fairy myth," Moora suddenly said from a few seats on Jim''s right.


    "Indeed it is," Igor nodded, "can you tell us more about it?"


    "It''s an old myth, as the saying goes the fairies of the ancient times were so desperate to grant this monster intelligence. Some say they failed, and others say"


    "Say what?" Igor calmly asked with his smile still the same.


    Yet Moora seemed hesitant and Igor nodded. "I understand why you are hesitant, so let meplete it. they said the fairies seeded and so a mighty race was born out of it the dragons!"


    Jim''s eyes widened the moment he heard these words and couldn''t help but give Igor a deep nce, wondering about this master and his beliefs and origins.


    ''He can''t be a dragon,'' Jim thought, ''at least not a pure dragon.''


    "If you asked my opinion then I would say this myth must be true," Igor continued to throw his bombs in the face of the stupefied disciples, "as the amazing magical abilities this little fellow here has is somehow rivaling that of ours, the dragons I mean."


    "Master speaks like he isn''t part of the dragons," a giant disciple said and Igor nced at him calmly as he said:


    "As you are part of the dragon pantheon you should know very well about me and my name."


    "Indeed, Igor the philosopher," the disciple said.


    "That''s correct, I love this name the most," Igor said with a satisfying smile over his face, "my aim isn''t to stupidly support my pantheon but to dig deeper about our origin. After all, without solving the answers about why we are here and how we appear in this world, life itself will lose its meaning at least for me."


    Jim''s surprise was growing to no end while Igor suddenly turned to him, "as for this year I decided to volunteer and move from the inner campus and ept what others see as demotion, but for me it''s a very rare chance."


    Jim felt more weird but he didn''t react to the master''s words. He only kept looking at him with nk mind while Igor turned away and continued:


    "Now let''s return to our ss. This little fellow was a very fortunate finding I got from one of my trips to the battlefield. There I found him in the form of an egg and took care of him until he reached this stage."


    The next moment Igor removed the thick red veil that covered the cage and revealed the monster lying inside.


    And it wasn''t an exaggeration for all the disciples to stand at this moment and see this mythic creature they always heard and never saw.


    "Hahaha, return to your seats. He won''t go anywhere until the end of the ss," Igory was very satisfied by the reaction the disciples showed to his little monster.


    "This is going to be something to boast to my friends at the n," one giant discipleughed and said in a harsh tone.


    "You have all the right to feel so, after all thest Seson monster to be seen was slightly over five hundred years ago," Igory said before throwing another bomb that literally made everyone stand on their toes once again, "and at the end of the ss one lucky disciple will have this monster as a pet while leaving this ss."


    ''You must grab it,'' the old man suddenly said, ''this monster can''t end in anyone else but your hands.''


    Jim silently listened to the words of the old man and recalled the first time he heard him speaking in such a decisive way. It was when he asked him to find an Actimos race youth and befriend him.


    "Master must be joking, right?" Patrick couldn''t help but say.


    "I''m dead serious," yet Igoryughed as he added, "but the way to get this little fellow here isn''t that easy or hard."


    "May master say what we should do to get it?" John said, "if it''s a fight then I''m ready to fight the entire ss and get it."


    "Hahaha, you don''t need to fight," Igoryughed, "but a small test will determine our lucky winner today."


    Everyone nced at the master but Jim only nced at the monster itself.


    It wasn''t very big, at most an arm''s length. It had a small and pointy head resembling that of a lizard, with a long tail that was double his body and ended with a strange shaped feather.


    And its body was covered in small scales that were so small to be mistaken as normal skin.


    The scales covered its entire body up to the neck with a faint red color. Its neck was long and ended with a head that had two big and elliptical eyes.


    Jim felt strange the moment he nced deeply at the monster''s longitudinal pupils that were like those of snakes and dragons.


    "What''s so special about it?" Finally he couldn''t hold back his curiosity and doubts as he asked loudly.


    "It''s not fit for a weak human like you," John arrogantly said, "it needs someone with great magical powers to show its might."


    "That giant disciple is quite right," Igor suddenly said, "but magical power never was rted to body size," he added and Jim saw the face of John getting a little dark.


    "This little fellow here can adapt to anyone''s energy before multiplying it many folds. In addition to that it can grant the master a fire breath ability and boost his or her defensive abilities. As for the monster itself, it would act as a lethal weapon in any fight. It''s not an exaggeration to say that if a Bulltor with ancient powers or one of those Tactims tried to enter a fair fight against an adult Seson, anyone of them will lose."


    "Even dragons?" Jim asked and his eyes were totally focused over Igory''s facial reactions.


    "Even dragons," and Igory simply answered without blinking or a single change in his face, "no one, and I mean it, no one can stand a chance against such a beast alone."


    "Then how did the master manage to get it then?" John was still sour about thest harsh reply of Igory and his support to Jim over him. "There must have been traps and bad luck around the egg as legends say."


    "The legends are true," Igory said before adding, "I lost half of my entire army, and I led over three thousand fighters on that day."


    Jim felt shocked when he heard this before Igory suddenly added, "and that reminds me to mention the small effect that little fellow here does and in my opinion it''s one of its lethal weapons it brings its owner good luck and its enemies bad luck."

 Chapter 154: More Info About Sesons

    Chapter 154: More Info About Sesons


    The sudden addition of this made Jim realize how far important that little fellow was. "I must get him," he muttered, and he wasn''t the only one to determine such a thing.


    And Igory simply smiled in content while ncing at everyone here. "Alright, about the test for this little fellow then all I can say is that it''s so simple. The Seson monsters feed over the personal magical energy and so having it for a low magical power disciple is a simply a waste."


    "How can we measure such a thing? The judge orb?" Patrick asked and Igory simply shook his head.


    "That orb is used to measure the bnce of your magical power, not its amount. As for this we will need the help of this" he suddenly pointed to his back in a fast turn while arge mirror appeared in the middle of the air. "The mirror of magic," Igory said before waiting for the mirror to preside over the surface of the stage.


    "What is this mirror?" one of the kids asked, while some already recognized this mirror.


    For Jim he only saw an old mirror, with height that was double any giant master he previously met, even double the size of Igory''s big body.


    As for its surface, it seemed to him like the surface of any normal mirror. Yet when he nced at it he felt it wasn''t reflecting anything at all.


    Igory moved his hand over the outer wooden frame of this mirror which looked so ancient, even some pieces were cracked and seemed to fall if anyone touched it with slight force.


    "This is my beloved mirror of magic, one that could reflect anyone''s magic and assesses it in the form of colored fog. For example" he suddenly moved to stand in front of the mirror and the next thing the surface of the mirror started to grow restless like ake surface with rock being thrown at it.


    A huge wave of dark red fog appeared all of sudden to cover all the mirror surface. "Roar!" even faint roars kepting from the mirror, shocking the disciples.


    "As you can see my personal magical powers are very immense. I''m one of the strongest masters in the entire academy, and only a few can match me in the form of magical energy."


    Jim nced at Igory as he exined, "the fog starts from a small white pulp until the legendary golden fog of the fairies. Since ancient times, no golden fog has been reflected upon the surface of my little darling here, and today I hope to see one."


    The eyes of Igory were attached upon Jim''s body and next everyone here nced at him as well. Jim could only smile before saying in defense in case of his failure to meet such expectations: "I''m just part of the fairy pantheon, not a fairy myself."


    "Yeah, he is just a weak and useless human," John didn''t let this chance slip off his hands without saying something to annoy Jim.


    "You are part of the fairy pantheon," yet Igory ignored John''s useless remark and added, "and I was there and saw you calling forth the great pantheon statue back to life. You''ve the fairy bloodline running through your veins, one way or another. Plus"


    He paused before pointing towards the Seson monster as he added, "my little fellow here will be the final judge upon you all. Whoever manages to make him restless to be his will of course take him at the end of the ss."


    Jim understood the meaning and the hidden message Igory wanted to deliver to him. ''It seems I can''t avoid this test after all my old man,'' he inwardly sighed.


    ''Who said I would let you do this crime?'' the old man instantly said, ''this is a rare chance, no it''s one in the lifetime chance. The Sesons were the preferred pets for fairies and the reason why they went extinct was because they stood aside the fairies and fought bravely back in the ancient war.''


    Jim finally understood the reason for the old man''s excitement and his determination to get such a pet. ''Is it that strong?'' Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    ''It won''t be an exaggeration to say that this is your only hope for you at the forest expedition and the battlefield expeditionter on.''


    ''Then I should go all out,'' Jim said before suddenly saying, "I would gost to this test, if the master agrees."


    "No problem for me," Igory shrugged, "as long as you''ll take it, then I won''t have an objection."


    It was clear now that Igory came all this way here and even took such a precious gem out only for Jim. The entire ss nced with conflicted emotions towards Jim and thetter only thought about one thing only.


    ''Are you a real friend? Or a foe in disguise of being a kind friend?''


    ''Time will tell,'' and the old man only said so before adding, ''yet he is representing such an opportunity for you, and you should not let it escape your grasp.''


    ''I promise it won''t!''


    "Now let''s forget this for a brief moment and let''s speak about our privileged guest now," Igory moved aside the mirror before adding, "who can tell me how can we grow a Seson monster?"


    "By magical energy of course," one disciple of the chimera pantheon said.


    "That''s to feed the Seson monster, but not to let it grow," Igory said before adding, "anyone? Can anyone tell me what we can give to this little fellow to grow?"


    ''Raise your voice,'' the old man urged, ''you need to get to the good side of this master and show him your abilities.''


    Jim could only sigh. Despite knowing for sure this dragon was so much different than any dragon he ever knew or heard of, Jim was still having his own doubts towards the dragon race as a whole.


    "It eats anything with magic," yet after another urging words from the old man, he couldn''t help but speak up, "like ores, magical nts, and most preferably are magical gears."


    "Excellent," Igory said with a wide smile, "fifty points to the pantheon of fairies now can you tell me , little fairy, what is the most powerful stimtor for this little one here to grow?"


    Jim heard the answer and the answer he received from the old man startled him. "You know the answer, ain''t you?" Igory noticed the slight change in Jim''s face and he didn''t miss this slight change, "c''mon, don''t be shy. Just say the answer," and Igory urged just like his old man exactly did.


    ''Screw you two,'' Jim inwardly cursed yet his face remained as calm as possible as he said, "fairies blood."


    "Sorry, can you say it a bit louder and more clearly?"


    "It needs to drink the fairies blood to grow," Jim helplessly said and Igory pped his hands. "That''s really correct, for this little Seson here a little drop of your blood is enough to make it jump one whole grade and grow exponentially."


    Just before Jim could say anything, the face of Igory suddenly got serious as he pointed to Jim and added, "don''t ever forget this fact, little fairy."


    And Jim felt strange by these words and such warningsing from the same species that killed his ancestors a long time ago.


    "And now it''s time for us to know thest piece of information regarding Sesons, or any other pet which is where can we keep them?"


    Igory this time didn''t nce at Jim at all and as Jim saw, many disciples here already got the answer as many spoke and said it in different versions.


    "A tattoo that''s correct indeed," Igory said with augh, "so anyone getting any pet from now on has to find himself a tattoo master and get himself a tattoo for the pet can anyone tell me then what is the best ce for any tattoo?"


    Again many spoke and Igory nodded as he said:


    "You all are right, the best ces are the wrists then the arms but for our little Seson here the best ce isn''t one of those. Can anyone tell me what is the best ce for its tattoo?"


    This time no one spoke and Igory turned to Jim and pointed to him to speak.


    "It''s over the heart," Jim pointed to his chest while adding, "the closest ce for the purest form of magical energy inside our bodies."


    "Excellent answer," Igory said, "but you already gained enough points from me in this ss, so don''t expect me to give you anymore," heughed as if he just threw a joke and yet no oneughed, even Jim.


    "And now it''s time for the long awaited mo- o- o- o- oment," Igory said, mimicking the way of gamementators while arching both hands around his mouth, making a little horn before pointing to the mirror as he added:


    "Who will be our first ever disciple to try my little baby? Who will be the first topete to get the honor of having himself such a mythic pet?"


    And at once many extended their hands and shouted to announce their desire to be the first.


    And Igory simply chose Patrick to be the first to be tested.

 Chapter 155: A Great Disturbance Because of the Mirror

    Chapter 155: A Great Disturbance Because of the Mirror


    Patrick moved and stood in front of the mirror. "What should I do?" he asked, yet the next moment the mirror surface changed and a white fog appeared.


    "It''s this small," Igory couldn''t help but say when a small fog appeared in the form of a head size, "you should have scored higher for all the big talk you have said. But it''s still admirable to step in front and be the first to try this out. Ten points are given to your pantheon as encouragement."


    The words and tone of Igory were neutral yet everyone could only nce with mockery towards Patrick while he was retreating towards his seat. His head was lowered and his face darkened as this result shocked him.


    "Next," Igory said and then a kid from the dragon pantheon moved.


    "I''ll score higher," he arrogantly said and Igory only smiled and said nothing.


    The mirror surface changed again and this time blue fog appeared in the size of a small cloud that took roughly one third of the entire mirror''s surface.


    "That''s a much better result indeed," Igory said before turning his head towards the Seson monster lying calmly inside the big cage of it, "but it seemed our little fellow here isn''t that interested in your power."


    "Humph, at the end no one would beat me and it would be mine," the disciple arrogantly dered and Igory only nodded. "Good luck, let the best disciple win."


    Jim felt from his words that he wasn''t that much agreeing with that kid. "Next," Igory shouted and then more disciples started to show up, yet none managed to beat that dragon pantheon kid.


    "It''s thest one," it was finally the time for Jim who simply stood up and moved towards the mirror.


    "You should just give me the Seson monster and waste our time with this loser," yet that kid suddenly said in a very arrogant way.


    "He has to be tested," Igory simply said without any speck of anger, "after all he is the most favored candidate to take the Seson monster with him home."


    His words made the kid sneer, and Jim only kept his calm while getting near the mirror. Just before he stood in front of it on the stage, he took his sword all of sudden in a move that caused many whispers to erupt behind him.


    "What are you doing?" Igory couldn''t help but ask, "we aren''t going to fight here."


    "I need all my power for that little fellow," Jim simply said before the next moment he unsheathed his sword and his golden energy came forth in the next moment.


    Then he stepped in front of the mirror in such a grandiose appearance.


    "Roar!"


    Suddenly the looking sleepy Seson roared in a very agitated way while he kept banging on the cage, trying to get out.


    "Oh, it seems your little trick managed to instigate our little fellow here," Igory''s eyes shone brightly while watching the surface of the mirror


    "Crack!"


    The next moment the mirror surface started to change, showing many long and deep cracks all over its surface.


    "This" Many disciples couldn''t help but nce at the mirror which seemed to be about to shatter but when they looked at Igory they didn''t find him angry or worried.


    Instead he was smiling. His face showed how much excited he was, as if he didn''t care at all about what would happen at his precious mirror.


    After the surface of the mirror was cracked, the surface started to show a very dark and dangerous looking ball of dark light. The ball started as a small speck before it started to grow, rotate around itself and kept growing at an rming rate.


    And it wasn''t only a mere reflection of two dimensional energy, but Jim felt like he was looking at a real ball of dark golden light.


    "Step aside now," At this moment a sudden shout came from the outside of the ss where Mark was there with a strange look over his face, "step down now!"


    "No," yet Igory shouted back, "let him finish his test first."


    "This will lead to a disaster," Mark didn''t listen to the words of Igory and moved with extreme speed before other masters appeared one after another at the door of the ss.


    And they all had such disturbed looks over their faces.


    "Don''t get near him!'''' Just as Mark was about to get to Jim, Igory moved faster and blocked the path in front of him. "He has to ept his destiny, he can''t be a gem thrown in mud forever!"


    "It''s not the time now to do that," Mark''s shout showed how much pressured he was at this moment, "the entire campus protective spells are getting out of control! If he continued then this would extend to the entire academy."


    "And what''s wrong with that?" Igory shouted in strange persistence, "if he is one of them, then he should gain what is rightfully his."


    "Not time yet," Mark shouted, "plus who knows if he is one of them or not! See for yourself he is a human! Just move aside and let me end this now!"


    "I won''t move," Igory''s face showed his determination and things seemed to get out of control at this moment.


    Yet for Jim things seemed a bit different. Just as that ball appeared, he felt a faint voice asking him for one thing


    ''Hold me I''m yours!''


    Jim kept ncing at the ball for a long time, dissociated from what was happening just near him until thest shouts managed to get inside his head atst.


    He nced in weirdness towards the two masters who were about to fight each other and those standing at the end of the ss. ''I can''t risk this now,'' he muttered.


    He felt such strange familiarity and deep warmthing from that ball of light as if it was his mother calling out for him to get into her embrace. And yet he knew it wasn''t his time yet to acquire such power, even if it was destined to be his.


    ''Sorry,'' he could only softly mutter to the ball, ''I can''t for now,'' he stepped down the stage with a very rare moment of courage and wisdom.


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment the entire campus shook and the mirror finally exploded. The ball of light vanished, and everyone seemed to heave a deep sigh of relief.


    All except Igory.


    "What did you do?" he asked with much anger and aggressiveness, yet Jim only kept his calm at this moment.


    "I was asked to step down," he said and pointed to the mirror, "it said it wasn''t me, not the chosen one."


    Igory nced in deep doubt towards Jim while Mark''s face showed a smile of content. The two masters were so near the mirror and soft whispersing from it were heard perfectly by them.


    And they didn''t hear anything from what Jim just said.


    "See?" Mark said in a very loud tone to be heard by everyone here, "he isn''t the one you are seeking."


    The face and words of Mark plus the calm look over Jim''s face drove Igory to suck what just happened and turn his gaze towards the Seson monster.


    He didn''t even nce a single time over the mirror after it got broken, as if he didn''t even care about losing such a precious item.


    And that Seson monster was doing everything in its power to crush the sturdy cage and break free.


    "I believe it has chosen you," Igory suddenly said, "take it, the ss is over. Everyone is dismissed."


    The tone of Igory told Jim how much frustrated he was.


    "That is that a Seson monster?'''' Suddenly Donald came in with a shocked expression on his face, "I''ll pay all my wealth and get it in return, what do you say? Honorable master Igory?"


    Igory gave him a cold nce and even sneered. "The kid has gotten the approval of the monster, not someone like you," he said and the face of Donald changed as he turned to nce at Jim with more hatred at this moment.


    "I don''t think it reacted to him," Donald didn''t step down at this moment or resided to his defeat, "we are all great masters standing in front of it. I''m sure it''s agitated because one of us, not such a useless human."


    "Humph," Igory wasn''t in the mood to argue at this moment, "if so then when it breaks free it will fly to the one it desires, right?"


    He didn''t wait for anyone to say anything. Jim noticed deep shocking nces from everyone, even Mark.


    And the next moment Igory simply waved his hand and released the monster free.


    "Go," he said, "go to the one you selected, the precious one."


    His words were perfectly heard by everyone and all the masters standing outside the ss at the moment moved inside without exception.


    All dreamt to be chosen by the Seson monster, yet the monster only roared, moved its big head around until it finally stopped at Jim and then two small wings appeared all of sudden.


    It pped its wings and moved its body in fast speed towards Jim.


    "Over my dead body! You are mine!" All of sudden Donald lost control over himself and the next moment he threw himself over the Seson monster, aiming to seize it by force.


    "What a foolish greedy one you are," yet Igory only sarcastically said and waited on the side, watching without doing anything what would happen as if he already knew what would happen.

 Chapter 156: Donald Got Jinxed

    Chapter 156: Donald Got Jinxed


    Jim was surprised by the sudden move of Donald, yet he didn''t move as he didn''t know what to do. He watched Donald getting in the way of the Seson whileughing: "You are mine little one," he only said that before suddenly a strange thing happened.


    He stumbled in his tracks, lost bnce all of sudden before mming onto the ground, heavily hitting it with his entire body.


    And the Seson monster only ran over his body like it was part of the ground!


    "Roar!"


    The moment the Seson monster reached Jim, it started to roar faintly while rubbing its head over Jim''s body. It wasn''t that big, and could only reach Jim''s waist at most with its head.


    "Hahaha, the Seson monster is someone you shouldn''t take lightly," Igory couldn''t help butugh while feeling a bit amused with what happened to Donald.


    "Damn you," yet Donald stood up with more bitterness than eptance, "I won''t let you trick me and get away with it!"


    He was shouting not at the monster but Jim. Thetter didn''t find this surprising as he already knew how dirty that master was.


    "Roar!"


    Yet just before Donald could do anything, the Seson seemed to be enraged by what he just said and roared in his face. The next instant a sudden appearance of wind came out of the blue, hit Donald hard and made him m again at the ground.


    "Hahaha, I''ll never get bored of this," Igory''sughs reverberated across the entire ss with stupefied masters before disciples.


    "The jinx effect of the Seson monster is really unheard of," the nearby Mark couldn''t help but mutter in deep shock. "Donald, just drop it man," he honestly gave a piece of advice to that stubborn and stupid master.


    "Like hell I''ll do that," yet he was totally blinded with his greed and hatred, "this monster is mine!"


    "Roar!"


    "Boom!"


    This time the roaring effect of the Seson monster ended up falling the big chandeleur of the ss over the head of Donald. Strangely Donald wasn''t underneath it before he took couple of steps to the side while feeling a little dizzy from his frequent falls.


    And now he totally lost his consciousness and lied peacefully like a naughty kid over the ground.


    "Get out of my ss," Igory simply waved his hand and Donald''s body mmed violently to the wall and created a hole there before vanishing from everyone''s sight, "this is a ss, not a ce for anyone to sleep."


    And Jim hardly controlled hisughter.


    "Come here little boy," he turned to the Seson monster before caressing its head, "you are really amazing, y''know that?"


    The monster seemed to recognize the praise of his master as it showed a strange smile over its face.


    "No leave,'' Igory suddenly said, addressing everyone, "the show is over and you are dismissed."


    Mark nced deeply at him before turning to Jim. "Follow me to the spell ss please," he only said before vanishing from Jim''s sight.


    Yet Jim watched in silence everyone leave, including the surprised masters and envious disciples, and finally it was only him and Igory.


    "I know what you did back there, little boy," Igory suddenly said and Jim''s face slightly changed as he never thought his master would be aware of his little lie.


    "What''s mine will eventually be mine," Jim simply said.


    "Sigh, but you could have turned yourself into such a mighty being," Igory couldn''t help but say, "in a very short time span."


    "That''s provided I survived this little window," Jim helplessly said, "y''know better than anyone how many my enemies are, and how much they''ll grow if I gained such power."


    Igory nced at him before realizing something. "So you have a n in your little head then? Or you just threw away such a gift without thinking about anything else out of deep fear?"


    "I''m afraid," Jim admitted, "but that doesn''t mean I''m stupid. I know my only insurance to survive is to get stronger."


    "And?"


    "I want to get stronger hidden from anyone''s eyes."


    The face of Igory finally rxed. "Not the stupid type that would prefer his safety over being terrified of his enemies good," he said, "then you want me to help you? I can''t, sorry kid but the rules state against this. You already have more masters than any disciple should."


    "Who said anything about following rules?" Jim finally said what he had in mind, "I believe you also share the same thoughts with me."


    The master nced at his disciple with doubt and admiration. "Where can we train then?" Igory said as if he didn''t know the answer, and only knew of the obstacles here. "You should know this power is only sealed in the academy. Going away would trigger nothing at all and would gain you no benefit."


    Jim stood there with a wide smile over his face. "Let me mind the ce then, and you take care of how I should train."


    "Impressive," Igory''s eyes shone brightly with dark red color, "this domineer is worthy of admiration, but you need to follow through with enough deeds or else they will end like a child''s rant."


    "I know what I''m saying," Jim simply said, "but I want you to find a way to train without rming every single being in the academy."


    "Hmm fair deal," Igory said.


    "May I ask something?" Jim didn''t hurry to leave as there was still something bothering him all this time.


    "What''s in it for me, right?" and Igory could already read his mind.


    "To be honest I''m very puzzled with you," Jim directly said, "dragons are the ones who will be my deadliest enemies, and now a dragon is helping me to gain my full power despite anything else."


    "It''s suspicious, right?" Igory didn''t seem to be fazed by these words.


    And Jim nodded.


    "Let this be my secret for now," yet Igory didn''t answer his doubts, "but you know that I have a deep grudge against dragons no, against those arrogant big and useless pantheons here."

 Chapter 157: Being Interrogated

    Chapter 157: Being Interrogated


    "Why not join the other forces then?" Jim strangely asked with more doubt.


    "This I tried and failed," Igory confessed, "having a dragon there is forbidden, like giving up their dream."


    "I see," Jim said before turning to leave, "but when we start training, you owe me an exnatione my dear boy, we have another master to see."


    Jim moved out with the strangely obedient and looking happy Seson monster, leaving Igory behind.


    "Interesting kid," Igory simply muttered before turning around, "quite a loss but it was worth everything, hahahaha."


    Heughed, and if anyone saw him at this moment he would see tears running down his eyes and feel bitter flooding from hisughs.


    Jim moved to the direction of the spell ss while noticing the strange movement around the campus. "Sigh, it seems what happened had attracted unneeded attention."


    He noticed many masters who seemed not to belong to the campus. They were all having the same stern and worried look over their faces, which made him hasten his steps towards the ss.


    "So you are saying you didn''t know what caused that disturbance?" a dragong master furiously asked as if he was about to go into fight with Mark.


    "I only felt the changes and went to check them before they vanished," and Mark seemed to cover up over what happened.


    "But some master said it all came from that madman''s ss," a chimera''s master said in direct usation.


    "And some even said it all was because of that kid," a Banshee master added.


    "You have Igory back there, go and ask him about anything you want," Mark simply shrugged and Jim noticed the slight change in their faces when he said that.


    "Y''know him as well as us," the dragon master said with a helpless tone, "that dragon already lost his mind a long time ago."


    "That''s none of my business then," Mark said, "he is one of your pantheons after all. If you can''t handle him, how am I supposed to do that?"


    Just before the talk could reach another level, one master cleared his throat to attract others'' attention towards the door.


    And there Jim stood alongside his Seson pet, calmly ncing at all these big shots without being too much nervous.


    "This" the eyes of the dragon master suddenly widened, "it''s a Seson monster!"


    "Damn! So the rumors are true after all!" the Banshee master joined in and eximed in loud shouts. "Kid, how did you get that beast?"


    "My pet?" Jim calmly said, "I got it from master Igory in an intense way."


    "Intense interesting," the hydra master nced at him with her five heads, "tell me kid, did that happen with a bang?"


    "A very big bang indeed," Jim smiled as he added, "Igory master used such arthodox way to get me that pet."


    "For what?" the dragon master suddenly sneered, "you''re a human after all. Having such a beast with you is a waste."


    "I''m ready to pay ten thousand coins for that beast right now," the Banshee master cut the road over the dragon master as he hurriedly said his bid.


    "Screw you Tiffan, I''ll pay fifty thousand!"


    "I''ll raise it to a hundred then!"


    "Two hundred!"


    "Easy masters," Mark had to step in, "we can''t behave like this in front of a disciple."


    "Humph, he is a human and doesn''t deserve that beast," the dragon master returned to his rant as he realized what Mark was trying to do here.


    "The final call is in the hands of that kid," the hydra master said with a soft chuckle while everyone nced over Jim.


    "In fact the call isn''t in my hands," Jim helplessly shrugged, taking a couple of steps to the side, "it''s in the hands of that little one here."


    As he stepped away, the next moment the Seson monster moved to keep its body as much stuck to him as possible. "See? It doesn''t want to leave my side no matter what."


    Jim was calmly speaking but the dragon and Banshee masters had their faces reddened out of frustration.


    "Humph, you should have epted money when you had the chance," the dragon master said before turning to Mark, "I''ll pass everything that happened here to the academy council. Expect a hearing session soon."


    "Anytime," Mark simply said with an irritating calm smile over his face that made the dragon master more unsettled.


    Yet the next moment he vanished and he Banshee master hesitated before saying:


    "You made yourself many enemies, kid in no time. It''s wise to start considering having some friends or else you won''t live long to enjoy that beast," Tiffan said before vanishing as well.


    And only the hydra master remained behind.


    "Y''know having any pet requires a tattoo master to bind it to your body," she suddenly said before pausing.


    "She is very talented, even the best in the entire academy in matters of tattoos," Mark said as he cleared the doubts Jim had.


    And Jim''s eyes shone brighter before saying:


    "I''ve dealt with master Mera, and all I can say is that she is such a nice and kind person. Someone I cherish to have as a master and an idol for me."


    His words were met with a growing smile over her face beforeughing. "I like you kid, so I''ll give you the offer to bind your pet for you. But" she looked hesitant before Mark stepped in. "I''ll take all the expenses for that," he said as he mistook her hesitation to be rted to money.


    "Money isn''t a problem," she said, "but I''ll need some time to prepare. After all it''s a Seson monster we are talking about here."


    She went into silence and Mark didn''t speak to Jim either. "Alright,e to my ce in an hour I''ll try to make everything ready."


    "Thanks master," Jim said and the hydra master onlyughed sweetly before vanishing from the ss.


    And only Mark remained there with a perplexed look over his face.


    "You were this close to bringing a disaster upon yourself," Mark sighed and Jim only smiled before walking deeply inside the ss.


    "I couldn''t control master Igory''s rash actions back there," he honestly confessed.


    "No one can deal with such a mad man, and you did great by dropping that enticing call at that delicate moment."


    Jim grabbed a seat and sat in front of his master, and Mark only leaned his body over another one while adding, "To survive here, you need to count every single move you make, and pray none will be a mistake."


    "Thanks for the teaching master," Jim said in gratitude as he knew Mark was worried over him, "may I ask what happened back there?"

 Chapter 158: Master Lyaly

    Chapter 158: Master Lyaly


    Mark seemed to be hesitant to say anything to him before he sighed. "I believe you realized the presence of some forces in the academy, forces that don''t follow anyone''s orders."


    Jim instantly thought about the game field''s powerful soul and that guardian of the arena from before. "I know of some already," he nodded.


    "These forces are much more than you think and in fact they were previously the helpers of the fairies. Not that how the legends say."


    Jim suddenly got a general view of what happened. "That ball what was it?"


    "A sacred force left by the fairies," Mark seriously said, "this ball can be essed by many, but seized by none. All the masters here have ess to it. I believe Igory yed a dirty trick back there and brought a link in some way to the ce of that ball of power."


    "But" Jim seemed hesitant as the ball called upon to seize it.


    "I heard what happened back there," Mark nodded, "and luckily only me and that mad man heard what it said for you. Others won''t tell anything or even could say for sure it was that sacred ball of energy."


    Jim heaved a deep sigh of relief at this moment when he heard what Mark said. "But you need to be extra careful from now on, that ball is the heart of everything running here. Meddling with it will cause unforeseen changes and many woulde directly at you."


    "Thanks master," Jim nodded, "I understand."


    "Good," Mark nodded, "now you have to go master Lyaly''s home now. You''ll need to bind yourself with that Seson to avoid more trouble."


    Jim nced at the small monsters still rubbing its head to him and sighed. "I''ll go now then, but the sses?"


    "Forget about them," Mark said, "from tomorrow onwards there will be only one ss led directly by me one to prepare you and others for the uing challenge."


    "I have a clue about who did that," Jim couldn''t help but say.


    "What he did isn''t against the rules, and he has the support of many masters at the moment from the inner campus."


    Mark''s words meant that Donald would escape with his deed this time. "I just hope he didn''t do something like this again," Jim couldn''t help but say.


    "There is no guarantee for that," Mark helplessly said, "some are fool enough to forsake an entire grade just to score one over a disciple."


    Jim got his point and he helplessly smiled. He never thought his achievements back at the game would reflect in such a way.


    He excused himself and went outside the campus where he was faced with emptiness. "Where have all the reporters gone?" he couldn''t help but ask in amazement as he thought he would find a great problem in extracting himself from them.


    And with that Seson monster on his side he didn''t have high hopes to get rid easily off them. "Anyway that''s better for me," he shook his head before going to the direction Mark pointed towards about Lyaly''s ce.


    Through the distance to the mansion he couldn''t help but rethink again about that giant ball of energy that called out for him.


    ''You did the right thing back there,'' the old man suddenly said, ''After all your power isn''t great enough to face the entire masters and academy.''


    ''Sigh, I just regret not touching it the more I thought about it,'' Jim honestly spoke with him.


    ''I know, after all that power is destined to be yours.''


    ''Then I should seize it soon.''


    ''Not too soon though,'' you still have a long way ahead,'' the old man said, ''that master seems to hold a deep grudge against dragons despite being one.''


    ''I can tell that,'' Jim said, ''but he taught me a lot, I now know about this energy and the fact of it being mine.''


    ''Facts doesn''t matter, strength does,'' the old man sighed, ''everyone knew about the facts that happened ancient times ago, yet those traitors ended up being the kings of the new world out of their absolute power. Justice without strength is just fools'' dreams.''


    ''''Jim kept his silence before asking, ''what will this energy do to me?''


    This was something he kept thinking about without gaining a clue. His old man seemed to be an old fairy like he imed, one who knew much about the world.


    ''It will grant you much power, a kind that ceased to exist in this world a long time ago the power of a true fairy.''


    ''Then my power currently isn''t?'' he couldn''t help but wonder.


    ''It is, but it''s weak and you need a long time to train yourself and refine it to reach such a scale.''


    ''That means my power is destined to end up like this one, right?''


    ''In theory indeed.''


    ''Then I don''t need it,'' Jim firmly decided, ''I''ll focus on my own power and do anything to increase it.''


    ''That would be the wisest decision for now,'' the old man seemed quite hesitant, ''but one day you''ll need such power, mark my words.''


    ''Until that time I''ll do my best to achieve much better power than this,'' Jim wasn''t tempted by his words, ''and I''ll use that resentful master to teach me things no one here would.''


    ''I would teach you everything you need,'' the old man suddenly shouted, ''Don''t expect such a dragon to teach you anything.''


    ''At least he knew a thing or two,'' Jimughed as he enjoyed teasing his old man and ying with him.


    ''Humph, as if a dragon knows everything about fairies.''


    And Jimughed while finally reaching the ce of Lyaly.


    The mansion there seemed a bit bigger than other mansions he saw before. "This is supposed to be the ce where masters live, right?" he muttered to himself before stopping at the closed gates and spotted the calm garden behind.


    "Master Lyaly, it''s me Jim," as he stood there for a minute and saw no one, he decided to shout.


    "Why are you shouting?" she shouted from the depth of the mansion as if she was standing in front of him. "I can already see you."


    He was puzzled and felt strange from her words before the gates opened on their own. "Come in, and don''t y with my dogs. They aren''t used to seeing a maning here at my ce."


    Her words made him feel more strange but the next moment he spotted three gigantic monsters with veryrge heads and protruding tongues. They had nothing to deal with dogs except with their long tongues.


    Instead they gave him a feeling of seeing a tiger withrge teeth like sharks. Strange mix yet he couldn''t rte to anything else but that.


    "Come, they won''t bite," she suddenly appeared and instead of the formal uniform of the academy she wore before and the coat of her pantheon, she wore a light dress that was semi-transparent.


    And Jim swore she didn''t wear anything underneath at all.


    "Come," sheughed when she noticed his gazes upon her body, "I won''t bite."


    She entered the mansion and he couldn''t help but steal a nce at the three monsters before getting in. He missed the moment when the small Seson monster stopped for a second there, groaning at the three while the three retreated a step to the back like they were fearing it.


    Inside he found arge hall with many furniture and different sized statues and paintings on the wall. "Don''t mind this, I love collecting trophies and gifts from others," she sat on one spacious seat before putting one leg over the other in a very seductive way. Her long dress slipped over her beautiful skin, revealing how smooth it was before slowly pulling the dress and covering her skin.


    "Sit," she pointed towards one of the seats while all her heads nced at him in anticipation, like she was waiting for something.


    "I/m sorry to interrupt your rest," he couldn''t help but say, "and I hope I''m not causing much trouble for you."


    "Nothing noteworthy," she said, "but why are you eager to speak about work? Tell me first, do you have a girl?"


    Her question alongside her behavior drove strange thoughts inside his mind. His face told her everything he was thinking about and she couldn''t help butugh sweetly. "Y''know the hydra girls are famous for their beauty and sexiness. You should consider taking one of ours as your girl."


    "Oh, master is really considerable," he didn''t find any better answer than this, "but all the girls are in the inner campus, and I can''t reach such heights."


    "Yet," she corrected, "you can''t reach there yet but soon you will I believe I heard once about a challenge you won against an inner disciple, right?"


    He got what she was referring to and nodded.


    "ording to the rules, you should have been part of the inner campus by now. Howme some misuse their powers and try to act mighty on humble disciples."


    And he couldn''t agree more on her statement.


    "Any leave this task for me then," she said and at this moment he felt like standing in front of his bride''s mother, not a master, "I know a couple of sweet girls who would be very excited to join you in your uing adventures and life."


    "T- Thanks master," he stuttered in embarrassment and weirdness. If it was another person then he would strictly refuse, or even stand up to leave.


    But he needed her help, and she didn''t do anything mean to him yet.

 Chapter 159: Dont Worry, Im All For Girls Only!

    Chapter 159: Don''t Worry, I''m All For Girls Only!


    "Hahaha, if you can see your face right now," sheughed wholeheartedly while her body trembled from herughter while her heads moved right and left. "Alright, let''s talk about business now tell me what do you know about tattoos?"


    He nced weirdly at her before saying:


    "Drawings on skin, right?"


    "Wrong," she calmly said while her heads swayed in amusement, "tattoos are the window to the souls, like eyes Can you say eyes are just mere openings to see the world? They are the deepest links we have for our souls."


    He nodded despite not understanding anything at all from her words.


    "To do a tattoo you must see it like sleeping with a girl, you''ve slept with yours before, right?" she suddenly said and this time his face froze up as he never saw thising.


    "Hahaha, I love your reactions, hahaha," and again sheughed at him while he started to feel he was a clowning here to amuse her.


    But he didn''t express his objections, after all he needed that tattoo.


    "So you''ve done it, right?"


    This time he tried to control his reaction while nodding. "Such a yboy, surrounding yourself with beauties and not caring about my girls that''s sad."


    He nced at her in weirdness and that made herugh again. "Alright, let''s speak about your tattoo hmm that monster needs something special and it happens I had something for a long time now."


    One of her necks extended to one direction before a hand stretched to dig inside a small box. "This is something I kept for years for a special monster, and that Seson really deserves it."


    The thing she took out made Jim''s face change. "A dragon?!!" he couldn''t help but mutter in deep shock as she took out a small, yet strangely alive, dragon.


    It was no bigger than a closed fist in size, but Jim could swear he saw smokeing from its nostrils.


    "It''s the essence dragon," she whispered like she was speaking about something sacred and secretive. "This little one here cost me a fortune, and I can grant it to you on one condition."


    Jim knew what she would ask for but he had to ask: "What is it, if I may ask?"


    "To have one of my beloved girls as your future wife," she firmly said in a tone that made him realize she wasn''t joking this time.


    And even his face didn''t invoke anyugh from her this time.


    "B- But" he stuttered as he tried to think of a way to drop such an offer.


    "You''ve your own girls? What''s wrong about having a wife then?" she said, "plus the one I selected is an inner disciple of the first grade, one year younger than you I believe and she has five stunning beautiful heads with each one no less than your precious Twisex girls."


    He suddenly realized she did her research about him and he felt all the roads to escape were blocked in front of his face.


    "In addition to that, your girls are all your ves. You still don''t have a direct disciple in the academy, except for that much older girl that recently joined your cheering squad."


    Jim found a way finally to escape but the next moment she blocked that as well.


    "I don''t care how many girls you''ll end up with, but my girl should be the first one, the top in your list. As for that girl I''ll make her join the cheering squad and teach her how hydras are far sexier and alluring than her pathetic Nymph n is."


    Jim felt there were much deeper secrets regarding such hatred than just mere beauty contests between races. "Well, at least give the girl you chose a choice," he couldn''t help but say.


    "Don''t worry, whoever refuses the one I personally rmend would be only a fool girl beyond saving," she smiled in content while three of heads nodded and the fourth said: "plus you are a rising star now in the entire academy. I bet any girl would be enticed to tempt you to be her man. Even that arrogant nymph kid went out of her way to lure you."


    He helplessly nced at her and dropped any words of arguments he had. "Alright, at least I shall like her as well," he said and the next moment she sweetlyughed like she heard a nice joke.


    "No one can say no to a hydra beauty," she said, "you should consider yourself lucky to have such an offer in the first grade I can''t recall how many masters sought me out when I was a disciple and I dropped them all."


    He nced at her before sheughed, "sorry but I''m not that much interested in boys."


    And this made him raise an eyebrow without knowing what to say.


    "I have to warn you I''m a very resentful person," she seriously turned her four faces, "if you lied or tricked me or my girl, I swear I won''t let you enjoy a single moment in the academy. I won''t fear any rules, and I''ll take my revenge before anyonees to save you."


    "Gallop."


    He swallowed his saliva hardly when he felt his threatening aura. "I won''t do that to you," he said and she only kept ring at him for a few moments before her reaction softened.


    "I bet you won''t disappoint me," she said with a chuckle, "now let''s speak about this little essence here. Do you know what essence even means?" she suddenly paused, "oh, I totally forgot you came from a human world. You don''t have essences there, right?"


    "Frankly I know nothing about it."


    "It''s a soul wisp," she said before exining, "any soul when dies will leave some wisps behind. In some asions and under some magical circumstances these wisps will gather and take the form of a living creature, so miniature than the original ones and much weaker of course."


    Jim nced this time at the little dragon in her and seemed hesitant. He hated dragons and didn''t want to deal much with them.


    Yet in a single day he met a strangely rebellious dragon who was nice to him, and now he was about to get a tattoo made by the remnant souls of old dragons.


    "Don''t worry, it won''t affect anything of your powers," she sensed his hesitation and as being aware of the old truth she couldn''t help but try to reassure him. "It will only bind that Seson with your soul and act as a link between the two."


    ''ept,'' as he was hesitant, the old man spoke atst, giving him the green light to do that, ''it''s not a problem at all and you''ll gain more benefits this way.''


    "Sigh, it seems I can''t reject this kindness of master," he nodded and announced his agreement.


    "Good," and her heads smiled in content before adding in excitement, "now, where do you want this tattoo then?"


    And he simply nced at his chest as he said, "master Igory said the heart is the best ce for a tattoo."


    "He is indeed right," she calmly said, "but that will hurt you a little."


    "No problem," he didn''t hesitate to say, "can we start now?"


    "Oh, why the hurry then?" she leisurely said, "my girl isn''t here yet. Don''t tell me you aren''t excited to meet her."


    "Ahem, you sent for her now?" he tried to control his surprise and ept what she said and did as part of her strange nature.


    "Indeed, or you want to renege on your words?"


    "Sigh, I can''t do that even if I wanted, right?" he helplessly said and she onlyughed.


    "Come, let''s first prepare you for the session," she stood up while patting slowly over the head of the small dragon, "y''know essences never grow, get old, sleep, or even eat but they always can feel any slight change in the mood of the owner. Do you know how?"


    And he shook his head in return.


    "They have extremely delicate senses for magic," one of her heads turned to face him while she led him to the back of her big mansion, "so they can sense our mood from the nature of the magic we emit when we get sad, happy, or angry."


    "Wow, that''s impressive," he said in a fake tone.


    ''That''s really a very important gift kid,'' yet the old man said in a serious tone, ''don''t belittle such a thing.''


    And Jim silently nodded.


    "Here," she led him into a spacious room with a door made entirely of ss, "take off everything andy over that seat."


    He nced over a soft seat that took the curve of the body. The moment he spotted this icy white table and he recalled a distant visit he did once to a local dentist.


    "Hahaha, I won''t hurt you too much," she seemed to read his mind, "despite my precious seat here being very friendly."


    "I bet it is," he went to the seat and removed his uniform before turning to her.


    "Go on," she amusingly said, "don''t worry, I''m like you big sister here."


    And he didn''t know why but her words didn''t make himfortable about what was going to happen.

 Chapter 160: Lara

    Chapter 160: Lara


    He just took off his shirt and sat over the seat while waiting for her. The seat was so soft and he felt morefortable than sleeping in his bed.


    "Try to withstand this," she suddenly said and he only raised his head to find a strange needle that had many ck writings over its green de and fine wisps of ck smoke dissipated off it.


    "What is that?" he only asked and the next moment she put the needle over his skin and he felt intense pain that made him scream.


    "Hold on big boy," one of her heads turned to him, "or else I''ll strap you."


    He gritted his teeth while trying to contain that intense pain, "is that alright? I''m feeling like being burnt in hell now!"


    "That''s normal, after all my needle is one that was forged in the depth of one of the hells," she said casually as if she was saying somethingfortable.


    Yet he refrained from asking further and kept focusing on his pain. ''Endure endure endure'' he kept saying to himself while the pain kept increasing with each passing second.


    "The process is simple," another head turned to him as she calmly said, "I''m now removing a specialyer of your skin and creating a space that would be simr to the essence."


    "Just do it!" he couldn''t help but shout in deep anger as he wasn''t any speck interested in understanding the process. He was only concerned about ending this process fast and getting rid of such pain.


    "As for the essence, I''ll give it to your pet and it will bite it. the saliva of it will be important to link its soul with yours through the essence."


    ""


    He felt helpless and for a second he suspected her to be one of those lunatic sadists.


    "What''s going on here?" Suddenly this soft young voice came from the direction of the ss and Jim couldn''t even raise his head to see the speaker.


    Yet he knew who she was.


    "Oh, Lara you just came in time," one head of Lyaly turned to greet her disciple with a warm smile, "please take this essence and let that beast bite it."


    "This" Lara paused for a second before moving. Jim heard a clear knocking of high heels while she was crossing the room. "Wow, is that a dragon essence?!"


    She seemed surprised to Jim, yet he didn''t have an ounce of strength to turn to her.


    "It''s indeed my precious one," Lyaly calmly said.


    "But master, you once told me that you won''t give it except for someone special is he that one?"


    "Oh sweetie just do as I say or else he would start to hate you," Lyalyughed as if she was having a fun moment, while Jim started to get much anger at the two.


    "Al holy sh*t!!! isn''t this a Seson monster?!!! Damn! I studied it in the instinct ssst year!"


    "Last year?!!" Jim shouted in a way that seemed like screaming.


    "Oh, I forgot to tell you that she missed the previous year for some reason," Lyaly turned one of her heads to him as she said in a calm tone and a smile that looked so much annoying at this moment.


    "Just do it," and with another head she turned to her disciple and said in a tone that made Lara swallow her shock and went ahead in silence to do what her master asked.


    And if Jim saw her face at this moment he would see a very dejected expression over her face.


    "Done," she said before giving the dragon to her master, "do you need anything else?"


    "Just stand beside him," Lyaly said, "and try to be gentle with him."


    "M- Master!!" Lara seemed astonished by what she heard and the serious nces Lyaly gave to her made her sigh and resign to her fate.


    Then she went towards Jim and held his hand. Yet her grip wasn''t soft and he didn''t feel a speck ofpassion from her.


    But the next moment she nced finally at him and from all the agony he had on his face she finally could recognize him.


    "Holy sh*t!!! it''s you!!! That ace from the game!!!" she turned to her master in a shocked expression that seemed clear to Jim from this distance.


    And he could only admit to himself''She is a real beauty!'' he thought while ncing at five faces with the same astonished expression.


    "He is," and Lyaly simply confirmed, "what do you think? Isn''t he something?"


    "Humph, I can only say he is good," yet Lara arrogantly said, and Jim felt there was more to what she just said.


    "I''m almost done," Lyaly said before adding, "only thest piece remains and I have to warn you, this one will truly be hard."


    "Then that?!!" Jim couldn''t help but shout yet the next moment she inserted the dragon under his open skin and he felt excruciating pain at this moment.


    It was like thousand ants were crawling under his skin before thousand needles were inserted deep down his bone to his soul.


    And his soul started to vibrate and tremble, and with time this pain didn''t be better but he started to feel something else.


    Another soul started to appear inside his soul. He felt strange and that feeling helped to distract him from the inhuman pain he was feeling just now.


    "Master!"


    Just as his soul''s vibrations kept escting, this young and strong voice came abruptly like someone was speaking directly in his ears.


    "Who?"


    "What?" Lara nced at him in weird way, but Lyaly could onlyugh as she reassured her:


    "He is starting to link his soul to the Seson monster."


    "Wow, can Ie and see that monster before vanishing?"


    "Silly girl," Lyalyughed, e,e see your man''s pet."


    Lara nced in a weird way towards her master and Lyaly only winked. However Jim wasn''t interested in any of this as he was having his first conversation with his pet.


    "I''m your pet, master," the Seson monster said and Jim understood his identity at once.

 Chapter 161: The Seson Pet

    Chapter 161: The Seson Pet


    "What''s your name?"


    "I don''t have any."


    "Then you''ll be called Don from now on," Jim didn''t hesitate to select a name that was simr to his distasteful master; Donald.


    "Boy save your breaths for now," Lyaly suddenly said, "you''ll have all the time in the worldter to speak with it, but now just keep your thoughts to yourself and try not to look funny in front of your future girl."


    Just as she said that, Jim heard something falling on the ground before he heard the high heels sounding again as Lara ran out of the room.


    "Hey where are you goi stupid girl!" Lyaly was busy with his tattoo and couldn''t move to stop her, yet she gritted her teeth before turning one head to Jim. "Don''t worry she is just shy."


    This time he didn''t feel any pain at all as he said, "she seems not to like me."


    "She will," Lyaly stubbornly said, "I''ll speak with herter. Don''t worry about that."


    "I''m not," Jim honestly said as he felt it seemed impossible for this master to force her disciple over him.


    "It''s done," in less than three minutes she said before suddenly vanishing, "rest here for half an hour as the wound will close in this time. During this I''ll see that stupid girl and bring her with me."


    "Good luck, master," Jim said while a smug smile appeared over his face. "I''m sure you''ll bring her back," he resisted the urge tough at that weird master and he suddenly thought of all the masters he met so far.


    "Are they this weird?" he couldn''t help but ask yet the old man suddenly spoke:


    ''You need to talk to your pet, after all the most crucial step is when it''s linked to your soul.''


    ''Thanks.''


    ''And you don''t need to speak loudly with it, just speak the way you do with me.''


    ''Alright Don, where are you now?''


    ''Master, I''m eating the rich meal you left for me,'' the sound of the Seson came with a tone that told Jim he was truly eating.


    ''Meal? Do you mean that dragon?''


    ''Yeah, how did you know I love eating dragons?'' Don said in an innocent way before adding, ''my previous master always brought dragons for me to eat.''


    ''D- dragons? Past master?!!''


    ''Yeah, he is the one who gave me to you.''


    Jim was instantly shocked. ''Wait a minute, was he your master? Like you were his pet?''


    ''Well he was someone with delicious meals to offer and the one who raised me,'' Don said, ''so he can be considered my master.''


    ''Ah, I see,'' Jim thought, ''but these dragons meals were they like real dragons?''


    ''Yeah, they were all delicious freshly killed dragons.''


    ''Damn!'' Jim couldn''t help but eye Igory under a different light, ''what that man has exactly against his own kin?''


    ''They did something horrible to him,'' Don said, ''but he never shared this info with me.''


    ''See buddy I can''tpete with that,'' Jim suddenly said, ''all I can offer is normal monster meat, and that depends on my ability to kill them in the first ce.''


    ''Don''t worry, master. Your energy is enough to sustain me. Plus I can assure you, if you want to kill normal monsters, then I can dly help.''


    ''You are that strong?''


    ''I can absorb energy from you and concentrate it into a higher form of energy,'' Don said, ''and with that energy I bet you can do miracles.''


    ''We''ll see,'' Jim thought, ''can you provide me energy inside a sealed ce? Like a game field for example?''


    ''Master, our souls are connected and there is no power in the world that can get between us.''


    ''I''ll take this in a good way then,'' Jim said before taking a deep breath. "Taking out dragons that''s really something"


    ''He has a deep grudge against them,'' the old man suddenly said, ''and that in itself is considered something good for you.''


    ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?''


    ''Not only that, but he would ept any dirty task for you to achieve a score against them.''


    Jim understood his meaning but he didn''t say anything of his doubts.


    ''Your gang, the secret group can use him in a very efficient way,'' the old man continued.


    ''But he is quiet risky and impulsive,'' Jim couldn''t help but say.


    ''And what you are doing is already risky and impulsive as well,'' the old manughed, ''he is just a bit older and far stronger, yet I doubt his own grudges would be any greater than your own.''


    Jim took a deep breath before standing a little to see his wound. "It''s not that bad actually," he saw a small dark green and red tattoo over his chest. The area of skin demarcated the tattoo with bright red color.


    But there was no wound whatsoever.


    "Wait did she just trick me to stay?" it suddenly hit him before he stood up and jumped a little. "It stings a bit, but nothing major I think."


    He wasn''t in a bad shape to walk away, yet he moved to the hall he came into at the first time and waited.


    "Oh, you are feeling better now?"


    Just after ten minutes she appeared again in front of him and she was alone.


    "I''m good, thanks for the help, master," he politely said without asking about Lara.


    "I''m d you are better now," one of her heads smiled in a strange way like she wasn''t in the mood to smile at the moment, "as for Lara, don''t mind her actions. She is a bit rash as a young girl. Y''know, she just needs time and I''ll send her once ready to your team."


    He inwardly sighed without showing anything else but a little disappointment over his face. "I''ll keep a ce for her then," he lightly said and his words made Lyaly smile.


    "Good, and I won''t let her escape away forever. If you need anything juste to my doors. They will always be open for you."

 Chapter 162: The Reporters

    Chapter 162: The Reporters


    "Thanks master," he excused himself while trying to exit this ce with no intention to return again.


    "Now it''s time to train," he headed directly towards the direction of the stadium while thinking about the things he needed to do.


    Just as he got near the stadium, he found the missing reporters waiting for him in front of the entrance to the team training zone.


    "It''s him."


    "He is finally here."


    "Me first, I''ve a deadline now."


    "I''ve been here earlier and longer than you, step aside and wait in your turn."


    Suddenly the reporters came at once, charging at him. "Stop," he simply shouted while raising both hands, "stand in one line and all questions shall be answered."


    His words made all the reporters pause, especially when he also stopped moving and calmly waited. "Get in line, easy and nice," he said and they had no reason to object.


    In no time a long row was formed and the first reporter came to ask him.


    "May I know what your idol is in the game?" the reporter asked.


    "Sorry but I came from a world without any rtion to here or to the game, so I can''t say I have a name in my mind right now."


    "Then can you exin how you performed that legendary move before?"


    "It was simply coincidence or fate, call it whatever you wish," he casually said.


    "Thanks."


    The reporter moved and the next stepped forward and he kept answering questions like these until one reporter suddenly brought up what happened at the gate from Donald.


    "Oh, so he did that?" Jim couldn''t help butugh, "he is something indeed."


    "So you won''tment on this?" the reporter asked as he waited for a hot topic to use.


    "He didn''t do anything directly to me, but I feel sad for you as this must have cost you precious time, right?"


    The face of the reporter changed as he got the message. "So noment?"


    "Yeah, you can write that down," Jim faced his aggressiveness with an equal one.


    "Screw it, I should have just copied what that reporter said about you in the academy magazine," the reporter sneered before leaving the line, turned around and shouted:


    "It''s a waste of time folks. He won''t say anything valuable. We should just go out there and get the magazine report about him to our superiors. There are far interesting articles inside that piece of sh*t then we would get from that loser."


    Jim clenched his fists and red at the man. He didn''t see himself yet his body was instantly covered with a golden aura that went aze like he was on fire.


    And that scene attracted the attention of everyone, while that reporter staggered backwards with obvious fear on his face.


    Yet Jim''s anger overwhelmed him at the moment and didn''t notice that look of fear.


    "Anyone wants to move, then feel free to do that. After all you are the ones taking out my time and not the opposite."


    His words were loud and even those inside the stadium heard him perfectly well. The next moment Rana appeared next to him before ncing to all the reporters and calmly said:


    "This meeting is cancelled by the coach''s orders. Anyone who wants anything can speak to our new public speaker after the match."


    She didn''t wait for the reporters to awake from their amazement as she grabbed Jim''s hand and dragged him into the stadium, vanishing behind the doors of their training field.


    And the reporters next red at the one who caused all this before a battle of words erupted between them and that man. After all, he was the one who caused them to lose this golden chance despite knowing about the public speaker''s presence.


    "You sent me someone to be a public speaker and decided to ditch his role and act on your own?" Rana turned to face him, totally ignoring the ruckus happening outside.


    "I didn''t know you epted him," Jim defended himself, "and I promised them in the morning to answer their questions."


    "That would stop right now," she firmly said, "you arete, captain, and your team is getting in better shape without your presence."


    "That''s a good thing, right?" he tried to smile but her stern face melted his smile away. "By the way, have you seen today''s magazine?"


    "What magazine?"


    He felt she was faking ignorance, and he was getting irritated by the fact that everyone else knew about what was written about him, except him.


    "The academy magazine," he calmly said, "these reporters said something about an article about me there."


    "Don''t mind those haters," Rana tried to cover up the subject, "and don''t try to change the topic. You can''t leave training this way or be so dyed!"


    "Oh, you''re finally here," suddenly Mera appeared while walking with a big smile over her face. "The girls you sent me are all great. The cheering squad will turn epic from now on. By the way, what took you so long toe? I thought the sses would be over an hour ago."


    He helplessly nced at her while recalling all the big things that happened back in the campus and outside it. "Many things happened, didn''t you hear the news?" he asked.


    "What news?"


    "We have an expedition at the end of the week It''s a forest expedition."


    The face of Rana and Mera instantly changed before Rana firmly said:


    "I''ll go and hear an exnation from Mark!"


    Before he could stop her, she vanished with anger all over her face. "Sigh, even Mark is helpless towards this," he muttered.


    "This is just bad news for all grade one disciples," Mera said, "how can the academy apply such sudden changes."


    "It''s all because of master Donald," Jim said and tried to address Donald with respect in front of her.


    "That jerk but that doesn''t exin yourte arrival," she said while ncing at him in doubt.


    "I was with one of your pantheon masters," he said.


    "One of ours? Who is he?"


    "It''s master Lyaly."

 Chapter 163: The Sad Story of Lara

    Chapter 163: The Sad Story of Lara


    The moment he said this, her face changed again and this time he felt some weight to the words he just said. "Howe you get in touch with our pantheon vice president?"


    "She is the vice president?" and this was a new thing he didn''t know about her.


    "Indeed," Mera nodded, "she holds such a high status in our pantheon. Many heed her words and believe me, many admirers and seekers are waiting for a move of her fingers to do anything she wants."


    She paused before sizing him up. "Impressive feat to get in touch with her, but I have to warn you she is a little entric."


    "I have seen that first hand," he sighed, "she tried her best to make a girl of your pantheon be my girl."


    "Lara?!" This time Mera''s shock was much bigger than before.


    "Is she this famous?" Jim sneered.


    "Don''t think too little of her," the face of Mera became serious, "she is the daughter of thest head of our pantheon. Killed in a major war recently and in the hands of some traitors of our camp. She is just a poor little girl whose world crumbled upon her head, especially the man she loved before who was one of the traitors who killed her mother."


    The words of Mera were shocking and he never guessed anything rted to that. He stood there feeling a little guilt about his attitude towards that girl, and now he was even having sympathy towards her.


    "But what attracts such a high person to you?" Mera asked with curiosity.


    "She helped me with my pet," Jim said before raising out his shirt and Mera instantly recognized the tattoo on his chest.


    "The precious dragon essence? She gave you her precious essence like that? Damn!" Mera''s three heads trembled when she shouted these words, attracting the attention of the entire team training in the field.


    "Captain is here."


    "Jim arrived."


    "C''mon, let''s show him how good we are."


    Suddenly everyone started to enthusiastically speak while Jim nced at them and felt warm from their genuine feelings and emotions.


    "Alright, go to them now and let''s talkter," Mera waved her hand and Jim doubted she would need him to speak about this.


    After all, Rana woulde back with all the news regarding everything that happened back at the campus.


    "You arete, captain," Rick said beforeughing, "but we got a lot better than before. We even learned a couple of cool moves to show off against our next opponent."


    "That''s good," Jim said, "then show me."


    The teamughed before they started to train again. Jim totally forgot himself and immersed himself in the training. He threw everything that happened behind his back.


    Yet the moment he received the ball and started to sprint, his speed elerated faster than usual, even startling him.


    "Damn boss you got stronger than all of us without training!" Lim couldn''t help but exim in surprise while everyone nced in doubt towards Jim.


    "C''mon, tell me your secret," Kroughed, "does sleep help this much? If so, we all should take a nap before the game."


    Jimughed before saying:


    "It has nothing to do with that, but let''s train now and after the game we will speak as much as we want."


    He turned around and nced at the shapeshifters, "I believe your task now is a bit harder."


    And they nodded in bitterness. They thought they have improved a lot, not only them but everyone else. Yet after watching Jim sprinting now they felt they did nothingpared to him.


    Then they resumed the training and Jim tried to control his sudden gush of energy and his spike increase in speed as much as he could.


    Yet he wasn''t ustomed to his new speed, and that made him decide to always y low at first before using his speed to create a difference.


    In less than half an hour Rana returned and went into deep talk with Mera about what happened. Jim noticed their nces from time to time over him, yet they didn''t stop the y to ask him about anything.


    The more he yed the more astonished he became towards his Seson pet. Without the need to say anything, that pet kept providing higher quality energy to him, and he felt really invincible on the field.


    "Gather up," suddenly Rana shouted, "it''s about time to go to the main stadium."


    The world grew dark hours ago and the shoutsing from the stadium kept distracting them for hours now. The team moved in unison towards their coach, and she nced at Jim for a brief moment without saying a word regarding what she learnt of.


    "Our next opponent isn''t that hard to beat, but they aren''t easy foe either," she started speaking before adding, "it''s not a new team like ours, and theypeted for thest three years here and failed. Today is their fourth attempt and so far they won one game and had one draw."


    "That means they aren''t weak," Rick muttered.


    "That''s given," Rana nodded, "they are all rounded up teams with bnced defense, offense, and even decoys. Yet they have no strength whatsoever regarding any line. So it might seem like an advantage to be good at everything, but in fact it''s their weakness."


    "We need to use our ace then to crush them," Patughed and others joined him before Rana seriously said:


    "This isn''t a joke. They already know our ace''s strength and will do anything to nullify him. In my opinion the biggest advantage here will be our unique y the improvise style we had."


    She nced at Jim before adding, "you''ll have the call here towards any decision. If you wanted to pass anything to me, just use one of the decoys to do that. This would help in tricking them."


    Jim nodded before she pped her hands and shouted out loud, "let''s go boys, our match should be after two games."

 Chapter 164: Pol... Again!

    Chapter 164: Pol... Again!


    The team moved after Rick, Kro, and Roo while Rana purposely walked at the rear with Jim.


    "I''ve heard what you did back there," she said without even ncing at him, "and frankly some things enraged me and others made me smile."


    Jim knew which things enraged her. "I hope I can do something good at the expedition," he honestly said, "but Ick time."


    "And you have many enemies," she said, "and most are much stronger and wealthier than you are."


    He got her message before asking, "is there any way to give me more options there?"


    He waited and her face was calm and collected as usual. "Despite being enraged by this, but I have a pantheon to take care of," she said before adding, "however I might give a little hand to your team and authorize you to take these gears with you there."


    He knew she was trying to help with her abilities, and frankly he appreciated this gesture of her. After all, the gears they used in the game weren''t that bad, especially his ones.


    "Thanks master," he said in gratitude.


    "Don''t forget to seek your three guardians as well," she said, "despite me doubting their ability to help."


    "They can''t help?" he was surprised to hear that. He depended entirely on their intervention to change the game for him.


    "Have you forgotten? They can''t meddle with you until the week is over," she turned to him before adding in a serious tone, "and they won''t try anything funny before that time. Or else many wolves wille howling at them and you."


    "But" he hesitated as this meant he would lose their help at that time.


    "Losing a fight doesn''t mean losing the entire war," she returned to nce up front, "you just need to adapt to losing sometimes and learn how to get up from the ashes and soar the heavens."


    "Thanks master," he honestly thanked her as she was advising him out of her own experience.


    And he couldn''t disagree with her opinion, after all he had all the glory he needed here in the game while those haters like Donald could do nothing to tarnish his own glory.


    Yet he didn''t totally drop the idea of creating his name in the expedition. ''I''ll wait for your instructions after we win the game,'' he thought.


    ''Don''t worry, just focus on winning and nothing else.''


    He silently smiled while thinking about the words of Rana from before. ''I''ll show everyone the real power of me, hehehe,'' he inwardlyughed while feeling the gush of power revolving inside his body at the moment.


    The team reached the front gate of the stadium and the ce was more overcrowded than usual. Many people were there speaking in some serious tone while others kept running and preparing for something.


    "What''s going on here?" Deno couldn''t help but ask as he noticed many Bulltor ves being overworked while carrying heavy parts.


    "They look like they''re preparing for something," Rick muttered while the team stood to the side where other teams were lined up there as well.


    "It''s easy to guess," Rana smiled before adding, "they are preparing to give a medal of the ace league to one team tonight."


    Her words coupled with her wink made everyone realize in deep shock what she meant by that. "Damn! It''s us!!" suddenly many eximed in surprise while others nced at each other in pure joy.


    "Don''t celebrate too soon," Rana couldn''t help butugh, "we need first to beat the team before getting that medal. Don''t let their effort be wasted and make sure to get that spot tonight."


    "Humph, as if that would happen."


    All of sudden a distasteful sneer appeared from their backs and the next moment Pol appeared with a team of giants.


    "K- Krakens?" Rick and Roo eximed in deep shock at the same breath when they spotted those giants with hands ending up with long cylindrical fingers that each reached one meter in length at least.


    And they had three pairs of such hands.


    "Hi Pol," Rana calmly greeted the dirty giant, "are you still trying to stop my boys?"


    "They will be stopped tonight," Pol confidently said, "and on no one other than my boys."


    Ranaughed in mockery while everyone suddenly understood what was going on. The previous words of Rana resurfaced again in their minds as this team seemed a bit strong in everything.


    With their weird hands they could attack, defend, and even score. However theycked anything special at all, which was really a weakness.


    "But they are krakens nheless," Lim couldn''t help but sigh while ncing at the team standing behind them in line to enter the depth of the stadium, "this match will be harder than I thought."


    "Why are youughing?" Pol said with a calm smile over his face, "can''t you see them preparing the ceremony to give us the ace league medal?"


    "You?" Rana leisurely pointed to him in a mocking way, "as if you managed to seed at anything in your pathetic life to think you can beat my boys here tonight."


    His face slightly changed as if she pressed over a sour spot of his. "I''ve entered the academy as a disciple and got out of it as a master!"


    "Hahaha, there are a long line of such losers who can agree with you indeed," Ranaughed while taking what he said so light, "you should know without being something in the pantheons then you are worth nothing in the academy and you hahaha, still acting as someone else''s dog, barking at any flying fly and try to seem strong yet you are so fragile."


    This time Jim was pretty much sure Pol would attack her or curse her out loud. Pol''s face swelled up in redness and he was about to get on fire if he kept like that.


    "Good I''ll make sure to wipe that smile over your face tonight and smash that pathetic dream of yours."

 Chapter 165: Stealing Their Entrance

    Chapter 165: Stealing Their Entrance


    Pol turned to his yers before pushing through the line and taking them forcibly to the inside after bypassing everyone.


    "Pathetic a loser will only be a loser no matter what he did," Rana sneered while watching what he just did. "Now you know your next opponent and know how hard this game will be. Yet I have total faith in our victory tonight. So forget anything you heard and focus only on the game."


    "Aye Aye coach," the team yers all shouted in unison while she nodded to Jim. He knew he was the real reason behind all that enmity, but also was happy for theshes Pol received from her.


    And so he nodded back to her while realizing the size of his task tonight. ''Losing isn''t an option,'' he kept saying to himself as many things were at stake tonight over the result of this game.


    "Stand here, please."


    One of the workers of the stadium said while guiding the team to stand before the closed doors of the stadium. Rana stood at the forefront as usual followed by Jim then Rick, Kro, Deno, then others.


    And on the other side of this walkway stood the other team. Jim nced at Pol who stood there in a very confident way like he already won the game.


    Next the door opened and two teams came, and strangely both were silent. There was no oneughing or celebrating.


    "They have a tie," Rana simply said while the team nced at the two teams walking out of the field, "and it seems this isn''t a good thing for them."


    She then turned to the door before adding, "let''s go, it''s our time to shine."


    "Aye aye coach," the team all shouted in unison except for Jim who only sneered at Pol. He felt Pol was preparing something for him inside, yet he wasn''t worried.


    "And herees my boy, the one who created a legendary name for himself please wee the amazing Faire- es es es esse!"


    Just as Rana stepped outside the door, the voice of thementator rumbled in excitement making Jim smile.


    "Let''s go," Rana said before starting to jump towards the flying field, and the rest followed.


    "Their opponent for this game is none other than the other team with the odds to join the ace league. One win and one draw against two straight wins let''s wee the two amazing teams and this will be a very great game."


    As the teamnded over the ground, the cheer squad of the team appeared. Jim noticed the presence of many new faces, including Moora. On the other side, the kraken team brought up nymph girls, not less beautiful than Jim''s cheering girls.


    Then a team holdingrge drums appeared. Without the need to ask, these krakens belonged to the other team.


    And instantly a cheering battle erupted!


    "Dum Dum Dum Dum" the krakens started beating their drums in a regr rhythm while the nymph girls started to sway with their bodies before pping in a regr ascending rhythm.


    "We are the mightiest."


    "We are the strongest."


    "We are the victories."


    "We are the Sensators."


    Suddenly the girls started to shout and dance all over the ce.


    "Damn!" Rick couldn''t help but point at these girls, "they stole our cheering song and entrance!"


    "Humph shameless even in front of everyone," Rana sneered, "don''t worry, the game won''t be won by the cheering squad but with you."


    Yet the team was enraged while watching the other team''s cheering squad mimicking every single move and cheer of their own.


    "And this is interesting the Sensators are performing the same entrance we used to see from the Fairesse girls What will happen now? What the Fairesse girls will do in front of this shameless daylight steal?"


    Thementator said in a very dejected tone, yet it seemed what happened here wasn''t against the rules.


    "We are the Sensators," atst the girls finished their performance with this group singing as theycked someone like Saga.


    "At least they don''t have the angelic voice of that Twisex girl. Please apud those thieves and show them what they deserve," thementator suddenly said, and next the audience started to boo the team and their cheering squad.


    "And now it''s the turn of our beloved girls," as the other team got what they deserved, Jim''s girls moved in towards the side of the pitch under the watchful gazes of everyone.


    Despite their earlier rage, the entire team felt slightly better when the audience didn''t appreciate such theft and gave Pol and his team what they deserved fair and square.


    "Snap."


    "Snap."


    "Snap."


    All of sudden the girls stood in three lines while snapping their fingers. The entire stadium ushered under strange silence, as the audience waited for the next performance.


    "Oh oh oh oh yeah," Saga moved slowly towards the forefront while the girls behind started to p with her amazing vocals.


    "Yeah yeah oh oh oh yeah," she kept showing off her amazing vocals before all of sudden the girls behind started to jump.


    And then a team of three flying girls appeared all of suddening from the sky above the entire stadium.


    They were phoenix girls. With long and slender red feathered wings they started tond gracefully while holding musical instruments; one drum, one violin, and one small piano-like instrument.


    Then the amazing music started to y in rapid rhythm.


    "Oh oh oh yeah we are here, oh oh oh, we came to y, yeah yeah yeah," and Saga started to sing at a faster pace while the girls behind kept jumping and dancing.


    "We came to y oh yeah yea we came to win yeah yeah no one will stop us oh oh oh we will conquer all yeah yeah oh oh the league is ours yeah oh oh yeah the ace league is ours yeah yeah yeah and our ace is the reason yeah yeah oh oh yeah."

 Chapter 166: The Lone Ace Denis

    Chapter 166: The Lone Ace Denis


    Her voice thundered along the entire stadium while the girls behind kept their fast moves. Just as she ended her singing, the three phoenix girls reached her and stood around before the entire girls surrounded her while all shouted in a very long and amazing cheering:


    "Cause we are the Fair es es es es es esse!"


    And finally Saga showed off her amazing voice with this long and solo performance of the name of the team. And that dazzled everyone for a few moments before a rumbling cheer appeared from the entire stadium.


    "Go go, get the league for us Go go, and crush all foes."


    Just as the audience finished cheering for them, the girls broke off and formed two long lines connecting the team to the pitch while jumping and moving their bodies while their hands took out rounded balls made of bright red, blue, and green stripes.


    "You heard thedies," Rana couldn''t help butugh, "let''s go and crush them."


    "Yeah!" the team shouted before they all ran through the walkway made by the girls.


    And the main team entered the yground while waiting for the other team to enter.


    "What is taking them this long?" Lim nced around, "isn''t this against the rules?"


    Everyone nced at the coach who simply shrugged, "they asked for a five minutes break at the start of the game, and this isn''t against the rules."


    "Break?" everyone was surprised before all of sudden thementator voice escted to a new height as he screamed:


    "Oh boy, I just heard the news he is here, he ising, our lone ace is back, damn."


    Jim nced around and noticed the sudden change in the faces of Rick, Kro, and Lim.


    "What is going on?" he couldn''t help but go to Rick at the back and ask.


    "It''s bad boss," Rick bitterly said, "there is only one yer in recent years who is called a lone ace and he retired five years ago."


    "Retired?" Jim muttered before he suddenly understood everything. He turned to nce at Pol who had a very satisfied smile over his face.


    "That jerk he won''t stop at anything to make me lose," he clenched his hands before turning to Rick, "what''s special about that ace? Is he a Cason?"


    "Cason? No, he is one of a very rare race, nearly extinct," Rick shook his head before adding, "it''s the Rochik''s race, born with natural strong wind and strange agility and very strong affinity with wind he was simply a monster as an ace."


    "And he decided to show up here and join them?" Jim couldn''t help but wonder.


    "He always craves money," Rick couldn''t help but sigh, "it''s a known fact that he would follow whoever pays more."


    Jim heard a big bang from the audience before turning to the direction of the entrance of the stadium. There he spotted a maning withrge and broad wings.


    "He isn''t a giant," Jim couldn''t help but mutter when he noticed the normal size of that man, which wasn''t any bigger than his.


    "That doesn''t make him any less dangerous," Rick enviously said, "these wings of his are natural, and they are very strong and sturdy as well. He can use them to attack any yer, defend against any attack, and move fast faster than you."


    Jim looked Rick in the eye and he realized Rick wasn''t exaggerating. In fact he felt he was slightly demoting the man what he deserved just to make him not too dejected.


    "Screw him," the next moment Jim said, "we''ll crush anything thrown at our path this game this match this win is ours!"


    He returned to his ce just in front of the tankers while Rick nced at his back before sighing.


    "Oh boy, he is here the legendary Denis has gotten out of his cave and returned to the game. A former legend against a new one, what a match!"


    With his arrival, the others moved in and strangely Pol didn''t use any decoy, only four hitters, five tankers, and Denis.


    "So you are too confident," Jim sneered before muttering to his pet, "give me all don''t hold back."


    "Yes master."


    Jim was sure Pol already got the news about him having a Seson pet, yet he bet he wouldn''t imagine he already found a tattoo master to do the link with it.


    And that was the thing Jim yed upon, betting everything on.


    "Start," the referee said before the ball bounced off high in the air.


    And Kro jumped with his big body trying to seize the ball.


    "And the ball goes to Denis'' team," thementator said the moment the ball bounced back towards the team of krakens. Yet he preferred to call the team with the name of the ace.


    "And they are passing the ball fast. Amazing performance," he continued, "Denis is on the move, what Jim''s team would do now?"


    Thementator seemed to decide to call the two teams with the names of their aces. After all the two strongest yers here were the aces and no one in the entire stadium at the moment doubted the win of this match woulde on the hands of one of them.


    "Stop him!" Kro shouted before moving towards the kraken hitter with the ball. Denis was fast. A simple wave of his wings and his body crossed tens of meters in no time.


    "Using your big wings to elerate, and shaping them to decrease the resistance of the air you are really good at dealing with wind," Jim kept ncing in strange calmness towards this mysterious foe.


    "Petrified out of fear, kid?" Just as Denis moved beside him, he sneered as Jim stood there motionless.


    And him knowing the real Jim out of the decoys made Jim surprised, but he didn''t think too much about it.


    He turned calmly around and watched Denis run towards the front where the ball suddenly howled in the air, arched from back to the front, heading directly tens of meters in front of Denis.

 Chapter 167: Is He Going To Score A Legendary Goal Again?

    Chapter 167: Is He Going To Score A Legendary Goal Again?


    "I won''t let you get it!" Rick moved fast to intercept him, yet just before he could reach Denis, thetter jumped high in the air, pped his wings a little to stabilize his body a couple of meters off the ground.


    And Rick simply passes under him like that without being able to do anything to stop him.


    "And it''s a goal!" thementator shouted before adding, "it''s yet strange that my boy didn''t do anything to stop him. Is he afraid? Or is he trying to think of a way to stop that rocket? No one can stop a rocket boy, so try to think of another way to beat Denis."


    Jim heard the words and totally ignored it. The look over his team''s faces expressed it all; they were all dejected and feeling already the loss drawing near.


    Yet Jim didn''t feel anything like this. In fact he was thinking of this game as a way to learn new stuff, like that amazing move Denis pulled before scoring the goal.


    ''As I admire that move, I won''t let myself fall behind," he muttered while the referee gave his team the signal to start the y. "I''ll show you how pathetic your actions are!"


    In fact Jim wasn''t putting Denis in his eyes at all. His real enemy wasn''t him, but Pol. He knew after this match he would reserve a spot at the ace league and score a legend that no one would be able to touch.


    "Give me the ball!"


    Suddenly as the ball started to rotate between the team, he shouted before moving fast towards the front. He didn''t hurry to use his full speed, after all he wasn''t that ustomed to it yet.


    The ball was now in the hands of Pat, who moved fast at the sideline while a hitter wasing hot at him.


    Yet as the hitter tried to use his sword to stop him, Pat simply paused, turned around and rotated his body around the giant kraken.


    And he continued running towards the front while a hitter and a tanker moved to intercept him.


    "The ball!" Suddenly he threw the ball without continuing his run forward. The ball arched high towards Jim who was now in the middle of the rest of the kraken team.


    "You won''t get it, nave boy," Denisughed while moving fast, faster than Jim and flew a couple of meters in the air using his big wings.


    And the ball seemed to fall into hisp.


    Yet Jim had another opinion about that.


    "Give me all," he simply muttered, bent his knees all of sudden while letting his body glide over the ground.


    And then he elerated.


    "Oh boy! He is moving at a speed I never saw him have before," thementator screamed in utter shock and that made Denis turn to nce at Jim.


    Yet Jim was really moving like a rocket at this moment. Just as Denis turned to see what was happening, a sh passed by his eyes, startling him.


    "I won''t let you have it," Denis was armed with long experience in the ace league and so he didn''t need to understand what was happening.


    And he reacted to stop Jim using his two big wings as a weapon. He waved them while rotating around himself.


    "It''s the tornado move, the famous move that crushed many aces before at the ace league Feast your eyesdies and gentlemen, as this is a live show and not an old recording."


    Jim felt a sudden approach of the wings like being inside a real tornado.


    "Damn, he is fast," yet thementator shouted the next moment as the move of Denis seemed to be slightly slower than the speed of Jim.


    Despite his timely reaction, Denis'' move couldn''t stop Jim at the appropriate moment.


    "And he got it! My boy got it! damn!" thementator screamed next when Jim seized the ball.


    Yet that came at the expense of getting hit by the small tornado Denis created just now.


    "Ouch that must hurt!"


    Jim''s body was thrown violently towards the ground. Despite his violent fall, Jim didn''t resign to this and bounced the ball to the air, pushed his body against the ground with his arms and took a full round in the air.


    Landing on the ground, he didn''t stop there and threw himself on the ball before starting to bounce it forward while running with his fastest speed.


    "And Denis is running after him," thementator shouted while Jim kept running like a rocket with three tankers standing in his path, blocking it.


    "Dy him!" Denis was enraged by what Jim just did and that insane speed he was using. Denis was using his wings to aid him in gaining speed, yet Jim was using pure energy to push his legs fast on the ground.


    "Stop him!" thementator mimicked Denis'' shout beforeughing, "if you can do that, hahaha. My boy is unstoppable! Oh mighty fairies, I love this game!"


    Jim didn''t even slow down while racing towards the three tankers. They were all that stood behind him and the final line. "Will he try to pull a legendary move again? Will he? Ha?" thementator kept screaming and the audience was literally on the edge of their seats.


    Two aces ran towards the final line while three tankers blocked the path. Other kraken yers were trying to run as fast as they could, but they wouldn''t get to him in time.


    "Move away!" Just as Jim reached them, one of the tankers used his shield and mmed it hard over his head, "this the farthest you''ll ever go!"


    "In your dreams!"


    Jim wasn''t worried or hot headed at this moment. Calmly seeing that giant shield descending over his head, his mind provided him with many options to evade.


    Yet he chose only one without a single moment of hesitation. He bent his knees, glided over the ground for a moment before finally daring his body high in the air.


    Unlike Denis, he couldn''t control the two little wings on his back. Yet he depended entirely on their actions to carry him high above the head of that kraken and his shield.


    "Like a master, Denis taught my boy such a brilliant trick I bet you are mad now Denis, hahaha," and thementatorughed at this scene while Denis'' face darkened out of rage.


    Yet it wasn''t over at this point.


    "Oh boy oh boy he is aiming for it he is aiming for the legendary finish he is aiming to score a goal, a final goal and win the match!"


    Thementator wasn''t lying. The moment Jim''s body was thrown high in the air, Jim bounced the ball even higher than him before pushing his legs against the giant body of the kraken.


    And waited.


    "He is aiming for it will he do it? Will Denis let him do it? oh mighty fairies, I can''t even wait to see what''s going to happen now!"


    Denis was already seeing what was about to happen in front of his eyes. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself with all the might he could muster at this moment.


    And his body mmed in the air like an arrow the next moment.


    "I won''t let you have it!" he roared and Jim only sneered before pushing with all his energy against the kraken tanker''s back.


    And his body jumped high in the air, even higher than the slowly decelerating ball.


    "And Denis arrives," thementator said as Denis finally managed to catch up with Jim.


    "This is the end of your run, you won''t move further!"


    And Jim simply sneered while calmly watching Denis moving his wings fast to hit his body hard.


    "What a fool old man you are," Jim only said that and the next moment Denis'' eyes widened, not knowing what to say or do.

 Chapter 168: Winning A Place At The Ace League

    Chapter 168: Winning A ce At The Ace League


    Jim waited for Denis toe closer to him, and even until he waved his wings and smashed them towards his body.


    Just at this moment, while everyone thought wrongly his amazing run was over, he did something no one ever expected.


    "Boom!"


    He turned around himself and as if he was about to get hit by his back, he plunged his leg and directed a strong kick towards Denis face.


    And it was such a strong and unavoidable kick from such a close distance between the two.


    "You are not the only one allowed here to use parts of your body to hit others in the game," and Jim sneered while watching the helpless body of Denis flying backwards, away from the descending ball.


    "And you are mine," Jim knew his foe would be paralyzed by shock for a few seconds then he would return fiercer to hit him again. And this time he wouldn''t be able to fool him anymore.


    So he didn''t even nce at Denis anymore, let his leg rotate his body in a natural way before stretching out his hand and grabbed the descending ball.


    Then he violently mmed it towards the ground with his body even turning upside down.


    "And it''s a legendary go- o- o- o- o- oal!" Thementator went nuts at this moment, "he did it! he did it! he did it again!" he screamed while the audience seemed to be paralyzed for a moment there while the ball stopped bouncing and rested calmly behind the line.


    And that meant the game pitch epted this goal from Jim and the game was over in such a spectacr way.


    "Rumble!"


    The audience started to cheer and Jim felt like a mighty explosion urred all over the ce. This time he was ready for that, and he wasn''t stupefied like previous times.


    But he was still very amazed by the cheering whistles he got and the amazing reception he received from the entire audience.


    "Let''s salute our newest member in the ace league, let''s show him our appreciation as it should be," thementator started to sing praises over Jim and his brilliant performance while the team went running towards him to celebrate.


    "You did it!" Limughed, and all of the team cameughing and jumping around. They danced, cheered, screamed, and even bowed and whistled to him like the audience did.


    And he stood there with a big smile and ringingughs while enjoying this amazing moment.


    "The ace is the heart of the game, the one who can determine everything," thementator kept praising him, "and today we got ourselves a new ace who will be a rising star soon good work my boy, I''ll keep cheering for you even in front of the queens themselves."


    Jim wanted to stand there and enjoy this moment forever. He hoped to pause the time, make the hour move slower so he could enjoy this rare moment of glory the first moment of glory ever achieved in his entire life.


    Yet he knew he couldn''t stand there forever, and he had a very big task waiting for him.


    ''What should I do now?'' amidst all theughs and cheering, the celebration and the shouts of his team and the audience, he said to his old man.


    ''Wait until you take that medal,'' the old man said.


    ''What medal?''


    ''You''ll know it soon enough.''


    Jim didn''t ask anymore as he was swarmed with a violent hug from Deno, Rick, and then Kro. The three kept rubbing his head while Lim went to bring a big bottle of liquor out of nowhere and emptied it as a whole over his head.


    And he stood there covered with strange liquor and his clothes were entirely soaked. Even his hair looked funny at the moment, and everyoneughed while enjoying this moment.


    "Damn you!"


    Yet just as he was soaked with liquor, he heard this resentful shouting from his back. It was Denis, and he knew why he was so bitter and angry at the moment.


    "You lost to me fair and square old man," Jim turned to face him while giving him such a mocking nce that made Denis more enraged.


    After the end of the game, and the stopping of the ball, he darted instantly towards the referee toin.


    Yet the only response he, Pol, and other krakens got from the referee was him pointing towards the ball and saying in a calm tone: "The game pitch decided the game, not me. Have anything against this? Go and screw yourselves with her."


    After many shouts and useless arguments, they disbanded. The referee didn''t give any heed and they failed to convince him with anything.


    As all went to a side with dejected face and lowered heads, Denis seemed not to ept such a result and came nning to make trouble.


    "Stand back old boy," Rana appeared the next moment with the smiling faces of Mera next to her, "this is the ce of the winners, as for losers like you then you should crawl back to the hole you came from."


    Rana was more resentful towards what Pol did here and tried to pull against her team. Her ring eyes and threatening stance told Denis if he moved a finger then he would lose it.


    "Humph, as if losing here would stop me," Denis said before turningpletely towards Jim, "listen well boy and mark my words I''ll lead this team up to the ace league and crush you every time we meet there until you hate this moment for the rest of your pathetic life!"


    "The one to hate this moment will always be you," Jim didn''t show any sign of weakness whileughing, "as my coach said, crawl back to your hole and give up these pathetic dreams of yours. Even if you manage toe after us, you''ll always lose every time we y And I''ll always crush you with the same legendary goal Every single game."

 Chapter 169: The Coronation Ceremony

    Chapter 169: The Coronation Ceremony


    The face of Denis literally went red like he was on fire. Jim thought he would rant again but he strangely retreated and said nothing.


    "He seems dead fixed on doing what he said," Rana said as she came to stand beside Jim, "but even if he does, let hime. That bitter look of defeat and loss won''t get old ever from the faces of him and Pol."


    Jim smiled as he simply nodded before a sudden hug came out of nowhere from Rana.


    "You deserved this captain of the ace league team," and she said while painting a soft kiss over his lips, a move he never sawing.


    "And you deserve this as well," just as he was shocked by what she did, he felt his body being thrown in the air before falling inside a strange basin that wasn''t here before.


    And again his clothes got soaked and this time it was with pure water.


    "The captain is an ace in scoring legendary goals," Pat said andughed while everyoneughed alongside him.


    "And now it''s the moment we all anticipated the coronation ceremony of the first team to reach the ace league this year Please wee our newest ace league members The Fairesse!"


    Thementator suddenly screamed in extreme excitement, putting a pause to the celebrations the team was having at this moment.


    "Make way," the referee suddenly came to them, "the ceremony of medals will start now."


    "Good," Ranaughed, "finally our turn to take something worthy home."


    She said those words while ncing at the nearby dark faced Pol. He heard her words and then moved at once with his team outside the entire field.


    And from the opposite direction a group of giant Bulltors came with heavy parts of a small stage before they skillfully put them together.


    "How many will receive the medals?" the referee asked Rana and she nced around, "all of them, bring us sixty medals."


    "But there is no such number in your team!" the referee said in doubt while moving his gaze around.


    "More will join the team before the start of the formal league," she simply turned to the referee before smiling, "or else do you want me toe bothering you every single day with a new member joining us?"


    The referee sighed and nodded in understanding while Jim didn''t know what she meant by that. However, more medals meant that anyone who joined themter would receive a medal as well.


    And he liked this idea.


    "And now the stage is ready, the referee is ready, and all we miss is the winning team," thementator excitedly said, "on behalf of the team, the coach, the captain, and the ace would ascend the stage and receive the entire medals for the team. But now we have a captain who is the ace who is the best yer in this tournament so far my boy will ascend with the coach then Please give them the apuse they deserve."


    "Whistle!"


    The entire stadium was thundered by a massive wave of whistling from the audience. "Let''s go," Rana said with a wide smile over her face while dragging her friend, Mera, with her as well.


    "She isn''t the captain," one of those responsible for handling the stage stopped the twodies and politely apologized to Mera.


    "She is a coach," Rana stubbornly said, "the coach of the cheering squad of the team."


    "Let her through," the unicorn referee was already tired of this and wanted to end this moment fast. The guard moved aside while Rana smiled as she hit her friend by her elbow.


    And Jim was quite sure Rana must have bet with her friend about bringing her up and receiving the medals.


    "The coaches arrived at the stage," thementator said before shouting, "and here is my boy cheer for him, memorize his face as he would be a constant face in the ace league from now on. Bow to your admirers and fans Mr. ace."


    Jim just ascended the short stage and stopped on top of it before he heard thementator''s words.


    The next second he bowed to the audience and the audience went into a moment of silence, a moment of respect to him before they all erupted into an explosive cheering.


    "You know how to deal with the masses," Rana joked as she grabbed him by force to stand in front of the referee. "C''mon receive the medals for the team, it''s the honor you worked hard to earn."


    "Thanks," Jim said to her and then to the referee who gave him a sealed box and said: "These are the medals of your team. They held the name of your team and the signal of the ace league. Anyone on your team must wear them all the time. Keep them safe for future members, and if you run short of them you can alwayse and seek me out for more."


    Jim understood why Rana asked for more medals and he had to ept that.


    After all he was the man responsible for delivering more medals to the team if they needed so in the future.


    "Thanks mister referee," Jim politely epted the box before Rana muttered:


    "Raise it high in the air, let the whole world know you are now victorious, a member of the ace league."


    Just before he could do that, the old man''s voice suddenly came to his mind. ''Take one medal first and hold it high in the air,'' he said.


    Jim knew what this did mean, and without any hesitation he unwrapped the seal and opened the box.


    Inside he found many small rounded tokens, each was in bronze color and with some engravings over their surfaces.


    Once he held one, he felt how cold it was like a piece of ice. A wisp of luster shed on the surface of this token while the writings engraved on it shone slightly brighter than usual.


    "The Fairesse team," he read the writings before holding one of these tokens and raised it high in the air for everyone to see.

 Chapter 170: Lets Celebrate

    Chapter 170: Let''s Celebrate


    The next instant it shone lightly while a long thin ribbon descended slowly from it. ''Think of the underground basement now, the secret ce to enter through this token,'' the old man said.


    ''But I dunno what it looks like.''


    ''Just imagine anything, anything will do.''


    Jim closed his eyes for a moment and recalled the closest memory to his heart; the spell ss. He had a positive feeling towards there and he simply imagined himself using the token to enter through a shining door and ending up inside a wide and spacious ss like the spell ss.


    And that ss was situated deep under the game flying field.


    "Ouch!"


    Just before he could open his eyes, he felt a stinging pain in his hand holding the medal. He checked and found a simple wound and that let the medal be drenched in his red blood.


    "Weird," Rana muttered, "but anyway it''s just a small wound."


    She didn''t focus much over this and he thanked his luck for that. As he raised the token high in the air, the entire stadium thundered again with cheerings.


    "And my boy is now paying the royal tribute to all those attending here tonight Such a gentleman can''t be nobody, my boy will shake the entire league and create a name for himself up there with the giants. Please respond with the appropriate cheering."


    Thementator shouted and the audience responded with mighty whistles making Jimugh. ''Is that all?'' he didn''t forget to ask his old man, to make sure he didn''t miss anything.


    ''The medal is now bound to the underground secret room,'' the old man said, ''and no one can use it as it''s also bound by your blood.''


    ''Great,'' Jim had one more reason to be happy about, ''now all that remains is to spread the word and start training.''


    ''I''ll prepare a list of spells you can easily learn and teach others in a short time,'' the old man said, ''hopefully a decent number of disciples would respond in time.''


    ''I hope so too,'' Jim then went down stage following Rana and Mera while the team weed the three with dancing andughter. Jim watched the happiness over their faces and wondered if such a precious moment would stay forever in this world and never end.


    "Let''s go," Rana finally put an end to the ongoing celebrations, "we need to clear the field for the next match."


    "What about our next match?" Rick asked.


    "You deserve a rest," Ranaughed, "so I''ll inform those organizers about our absence in the next match. After all, such a match won''t affect our ce or glory, and it''s a tradition and luck for the next team."


    Everyoneughed when they heard her words. They knew thest team they were supposed to meet was now celebrating like them. Gaining three points this easily from their strong team was something worth celebrating for sure.


    And if these points were enough to make the team ascend to the ace league then this team would be really damn lucky.


    "You should go to rest and sleep," Rana said the moment they left the field and walked inside the stadium. Everyone was eying them with respect, admiration, envy, or hatred. "There are no sses tomorrow before the next day abined ss will be held for everyone in the inner campus. Make sure to rest well then and attend this important urgent ss."


    "Master Mark is going to teach us something?" Jim asked and Rana strangely shook her head.


    "Not him, but master Igory will."


    The name made Jim feel goosebumps as he recalled what his pet, Don, told him about this man.


    And Rana mistook the change in his face for his fear about what happened early in the morning at the campus.


    "Don''t worry, Mark spoke with him and I gave him a clear warning to stay away from you."


    Jim got the meaning of her words and knew she mistook what he was thinking about. Yet he didn''t correct her and nodded as he said in fake appreciation, "thanks master."


    "Boom!"


    Just as they arrived at the front door of the stadium, an army of reporters came crashing towards them without warning, causing a sudden bang.


    "Stand down!" yet Rana was collected as she calmly shouted at them without any hesitation. "Today we won''t say anything, and tomorrow you can seek our public speaker here at this gate to get any answers you want."


    The faces of the reporters showed how disappointed they were, and that scene made Jim recall that mysterious article he heard about and never read.


    "Make way or else I will call the security of the stadium," Rana shouted again and this time her words seemed to carry some weight as the reporters unwillingly cleared a path for the team to path through.


    And the team simply crossed in the middle of them without any hindrance of any kind.


    "Phew," just as they all passed, Mera heaved a long sigh of relief, "I was worried for a second there," she said and Rana only smiled and said nothing.


    From the look on her face Jim realized she anticipated such a scene. And he simply knew how, after all she was an old yer of the ace league and must have faced such situations a lot.


    "Now," Mera turned to the girls, "the boys will have a vacation but there is no day off for you," she said and Jim could see the disappointment on the girls'' faces. "C''mon, don''t give me this face. We were hastily gathered and a lot of work is needed."


    The girls nodded with some dejected looks and Mera only neglected their reactions and pped with her hands, "we''ll meet tomorrow at twelve o''clock at the stadium. Don''t bete, alright?"


    The girls nodded again before the two masters vanished.


    "Let''s celebrate like kings tonight," Rick suddenly shouted and his yell helped to take the girls out of their dejected state.

 Chapter 171: The Doubtful Lim

    Chapter 171: The Doubtful Lim


    "Where should we go then?" Saga asked, acting as the leader of the cheer squad now, "we won''t return to the dorm and sleep there, right?"


    She turned around to get support from everyone.


    "Why not go to the dancing table? The magic fountain stage?" one of the new girls, a girl with rainbow colored eyes and long curved eyshes said. "These two are always open twenty-four seven in the academy."


    "Isn''t the dancing table the ce where the weing party of the clubs was held?" Moora asked and the girl nodded.


    "It''s an amazing ce," the girl said before winking, "and we can have all the fun we want."


    "Excuse me then," Linda suddenly said, "I won''t be able toe. I need to rest."


    She was the only one to stand behind, yet Jim suddenly grabbed Lim''s hand as he said:


    "We two will miss this party then."


    "For real?!!" Lim turned in shock to nce at Jim who firmly nodded. "We have work to do."


    "Are we?!" Lim was feeling weird at the moment, yet Jim didn''t speak and exin for now.


    "You go and have fun. After we finish what we have, we''lle to join you."


    Everyone nced in doubt towards the two but they could do nothing to change his mind. Deno and Rick tried to make him postpone this forter, and even Lim pleaded with teary eyes to go for the party first then do anythingter on.


    But Jim was dead fixed on his n, and didn''t change his mind an inch.


    "Sigh, you are really a party killer," Lim stood by his side while watching everyone walking far away. "What task do we have? Huh? Even the sses are suspended tomorrow!"


    "I''ve something to ask from you," Jim turned and nced in a serious way towards Lim, "but we need first to get back to the mansion."


    "All the way there?" And Lim sighed, resigned to his captain''s stubbornness, "alright, I hope you have a good exnation for all that."


    The two started walking, one silent and the other kept sighing and turning his head all the time towards the direction everyone went.


    ''Now you have one mission toplete,'' the old man suddenly said, ''inviting others using Lim is good, but you need to craft a thing to make them able toe to your ce in an easy way.''


    ''You mean crafting gear?'' Jim didn''t quite get what the old man wanted from him.


    ''Not exactly a gear, but a subsidiary token from the one you are holding,'' the old man said before exining, ''this token will make everyoneing here connected to your medal. At the same time you can also put a punishment for anyone who would leak any news about the secret group of yours.''


    ''Hmm sounds interesting,'' Jim thought, ''but how can I do that?''


    ''Rana,'' the old man said, ''go to her ce after speaking with Lim and there you can do whatever you want.''


    ''You know what you want to craft, right?'' Jim asked in doubt, ''and y''know going there will make her quite suspicious of me.''


    ''She won''t betray you,'' the old man said, ''and even if she knew, she would ept this as a fair retaliation, something you deserve to have.''


    ''But she won''t join my group, right?''


    ''No master can,'' the old man said, ''at least they will be afraid of such a taboo. Just don''t invite her, or put high hopes over her help. She already did a lot and that''s enough.''


    ''I get it.''


    In less than half an hour the two reached the mansion. The ce looked so dark and deserted at this moment with everyone missing.


    "Won''t you say what you want?" Lim entered the mansion andined the moment he stepped in.


    "Just be patient," Jim smiled as he added, "the task I want from you is very important and quite interesting."


    "The only interesting thing now is that party we are missing," Lim said in deep regret, "why did I follow you and not them?" he med himself while Jimughed.


    "Sit," he said, "you''ll know everything now."


    Lim helplessly sat on the seat opposite to Jim inside the mansion and watched him in silence.


    "Have you ever heard of the secret ces of the academy?" Jim first asked and Lim''s face didn''t change as he simply shrugged.


    "I heard a couple of rumors, but they are all mere fantasies," he said, "don''t tell me you brought me here to ask about such useless things?"


    Jim ignored the slight mockery and faint anger in Lim''s tone before taking out his medal and threw it in the air. "I have ess to one of such ces now."


    "Hahaha, stop joking," Lim took his words as a mere joke, "no one ever took such a thing seriously."


    "I''m not joking," Jim''s eyes turned serious while asking his old man, ''Do I have to go back to the stadium to use that token?''


    ''No, you can use it anywhere inside the academy,'' the old man said, ''but that''s not true for others. They either have to be with you to enter through the portal or use their secondary tokens close to the stadium territory.''


    ''Good, how can I use it then?'' Jim said to the old man, ''after all I hate debating about facts.''


    ''Just press it hard for a couple of seconds and think of the ss you thought of,'' the old man simply said, ''this is the simple way to instigate the token.''


    "Why are you silent?" Lim suspiciously asked.


    "Just wait I''ll show you."


    Jim held the token firmly in his fist while closing his fingers over this rounded token. He closed his eyes and thought of the ss he envisioned before.


    ""


    ""


    "Don''t tell me you will keep closing your eyes all night, right?" Lim couldn''t take it anymore after a couple of minutes of nothing but Jim closing up his eyes and looking like was praying for something impossible to happen.

 Chapter 172: Entering The Secret Room

    Chapter 172: Entering The Secret Room


    "Why doesn''t it work?" Jim opened his eyes and nced at the token while Lim couldn''t help butugh.


    "It''s a mere fantasy buddy, don''t take it to heart. Someone must have pulled a trick over you, and you just fell into it and dragged me along."


    Lim shook his head while Jim kept ncing at the token.


    ''First time always takes some time,'' the old man suddenly said.


    And then Jim felt a sudden heat in the token in hand before the token broke free and vibrated while flying on itself in the middle of the big room.


    "What is going on?" Lim asked while his eyes were fixed over the token.


    "It''s opening," Jim simply said before the next moment a golden light shone off the medal, falling over a nearby wall where a door was suddenly illuminated there in golden sun rays.


    "This" Lim stood up as the door wasn''t there before, "is this mansion enchanted or what?"


    Jimughed at his misunderstanding, yet he didn''t correct him for now. "Come, let me show you everything first hand," he moved towards the door while Lim paused in his ce watching him in silence.


    And his face said everything about his own shock.


    "Come," Jim simply grabbed the flying medal before going to the door and opened it, "don''t ck behind or else you won''t be able to enter."


    Lim was jolted awake before moving fast after Jim. And the two entered through the door before it closed up, and the door vanished like it was never there.


    The next thing the two saw was a simr ss like what Jim envisioned before. The ss was wide, with many seats and a central stage there, but no doors or windows in the ce.


    The lights came from the walls, ground, and ceiling itself. They shone in dim light that coalesced together to form a friendly atmosphere to their eyes.


    "What is this ce?" Lim couldn''t help but ask in amazement. "Is this the inner campus? Wait I know this ce it''s the spell ss!"


    "It''s," Jim nodded, "but it''s not," and he shook his head while Lim nced in doubt towards him.


    ''This is inside a secret ce of the academy, one of those rumored ces you heard about.''


    "No f*cking way!" Lim was shocked, "how can you get something like that?"


    "The mean isn''t the issue," Jim went calmly towards the central stage before turning to stupefied Lim and added, "the main problem is how to use this ce for our advantage."


    "Our advantage what do you want to do exactly?" Lim felt the attitude and words of his captain held deeper meanings to them.


    "As you know the expedition ising next in three days," Jim said, "and I n to form a group, a secret group where we all train together and get stronger."


    ""


    The face of Lim went pale the next moment before Jim added, "It''s not only for this expedition, but it''s for everything. We have the battlefield in one month, and also the arena. Many challenges are waiting for all of us and if we aren''t well prepared then we will lose what we can''t afford to."


    "B- But who said anyone would ept to join?" Lim stuttered before adding, "this is a secret group man one of the taboos inside the academy. How will you even protect the secret?"


    "No one can enter here without my permission," Jim simply said, "not even the dean of the academy himself."


    And his words left a deep impact over his friend before adding, "as for those who would join, they would be mainly from the inner campus."


    "Why do you think they''ll listen ande?"


    "Because we are the middle ring, the one with nothing to achieve or a chance to reach glory like those core disciples. We are the ones who aren''t trash like the outer disciples or the ones with guaranteed glory like core disciples."


    Lim nced in silence while he rted well to his words. "But this isn''t enough," he couldn''t help but say, "we know our ce in the world and won''t think to change it."


    "Of course, but do you think all the inner disciples are resigned to such fate? Or even those who n to serve their entire lives higher ones would have such a chance?"


    Lim understood his meaning while Jim added:


    "For those who are just numbers in any pantheon, I''m giving them a chance to shine and really be something there. Who knows, they might even ascend thedder and shift the tables and be the core disciples instead."


    "That''s quite hard to achieve," Lim couldn''t help but bitterly say, "those core disciples are the direct descendants of the big names out there. They have all the support and even the innate talents they had since their birth to be supreme. We can''t easily antagonize them and challenge their ces using the arena."


    Lim understood perfectly what Jim wanted to say, but Jim wasn''t fazed by his logic. "We need to try," Jim said, "after all we can''t fail without even trying to seed, right?"


    "Sigh, but this is a doomed attempt to fail plus who is going to teach us? Have you found any lunatic masters to help?"


    "I''ll teach," Jim threw another bomb in his face, making Lim nce in weirdness towards him.


    "No offense man, but you have no credibility to depend upon."


    "I don''t care," Jim shrugged, "after all this ce would host the meetings of our team and their training. If otherse then it would be more fun, but if not then I won''tin."


    "You n to drag them as well?"


    Lim was shocked when he heard these words. He never thought Jim meant the team by his words and all the time he mistook that for other disciples only in the campus.


    "Sure, they are my team and my friends. They need to get stronger fast and gain all the support they deserve."

 Chapter 173: Lims Suggestion

    Chapter 173: Lim''s Suggestion


    Lim stood there for a long minute before sighing. "You are the weirdest guy I ever met. Everyone is treating their ves in a different way, y''know."


    Jim watched him with a calm smile over his face. "They are my friends, not ves."


    "I can tell that," Lim took a deep breath before returning to the main topic, "and what do you want from me exactly?"


    "Propaganda," Jim said, "I want you to spread the word anyone wanting to join us will find a way to get into here."


    "Would you expose yourself?" Lim was hesitant, "y''know people here are very skeptical about such matters. And man you have many enemies already, even from masters. You should act low."


    "I know, but I won''t let just anyone get in," Jimughed, "besides who said you will use my name in this propaganda?"


    ""


    "You''ll just spread the word about a secret fighting group meant for training disciples in secret. As for who made it, or even where this group will train will remain a secret."


    "But that means I will tell them nothing," Lim helplessly said, "and how do you n to let them enter here?"


    "It''s simple," Jim said before repeating the words his old man said now to him, "they just have to say the name of the group out loud and next they''ll know what to do."


    Lim nced in weirder way to him before asking in deep doubt, "do you have a telepather in your crew or what?"


    "Telepather?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    "Yeah, that nasty n which can delve deeper inside your mind and hear out your thoughts," Lim said, "it''s a very rare race and I believe the academy didn''t receive any for thest fifty years luckily for us."


    Jim didn''t know what to say, as the old man only said these words to him and didn''t exin. "I don''t have such one in my team, but I''m now tempted to get one now," heughed and hisughs made Lim''s face quite funny.


    "So all I need to do is to spread the word, right?" Lim said as he felt this was such a hopeless act with many risks.


    "Are you afraid?" Jim suddenly asked.


    "And you should be," Lim said in return.


    "Hahaha, I''m more frightened about my life in the next expeditions," Jimughed while telling the truth.


    And Lim couldn''t argue with that.


    "I just hope no one would try to sell you out."


    "Even if they tried," Jimughed, "there is no way to link this to me."


    "They can record what''s happening here and deliver this as evidence," Lim thought of a way others might use.


    And the next moment the old man gave the answer to Jim who said: "They won''t, as I have total control on the room. Anyone using magic here will be traced by me. No one will ever do anything here without my permission."


    "Even if they tried to kill you?" Lim suddenly took out a sword and moved fast towards Jim, "or try to hit you like this?"


    Jim was surprised by his friend''s actions, yet the next moment the old man gave him the way needed and he simply took out his token and pressed gently over it.


    The next moment the flying body of Lim froze midair before mming heavily on the ground, making each single bone in his body ache from such an unexpected hit.


    "Even if the deanes here and attacks me, he won''t leave alive," Jim ruthlessly said and Lim understood now what he meant.


    "So it''s safe here, right?" Lim stood weakly while leaning over his sword to get up, "but what if they just told the academy about your name and deeds? This way those resentful masters might not look for any evidence ande at you. Hell they could even detain you only based on suspicion."


    Jim knew he was trying to help, yet the old man reminded him of the secondary tokens he wouldter create. "I''ve a solution for that," Jim said in confidence, "I just need you to spread the word that''s all."


    "And I won''t join here?" Lim suddenly said, "I want to see what this would end up to."


    "Hahaha, curiosity is always a lethal weapon," Jimughed.


    "Many wille here out of curiosity," Lim sighed, "that''s if any truly wanted to answer your call. You should aim towards the outer disciples as well."


    "Without their masters, their presence here is useless," Jim firmly stated, "I want only masters with their vester on. But if I got the ves only, then they won''t be useful to me."


    "You n to use this group for the next expedition to work as one team?" Lim shifted the topic about the future of the group, "it might work and many would be enticed to join but the name of a secret group would scare many away."


    "Then what do you suggest?" Jim asked.


    "To make it like a special training session" Lim said before adding, "you said no one can know where the ce is, right? No one can enter it without your permission, then why not shield these away and only share the purpose of the ce?"


    Jim got his meaning and frankly he felt this would be better.


    "A simple group with a known leader, name, and purpose would be easily epted by the academy. Plus this would push you off many radars."


    "But I''ll be in the main picture," Jim argued.


    "As the leader who established this group. But if anyone wanted to dig deep, he would be faced with a dead end," Lim said before adding in strange excitement, "this is even much better than announcing this is a secret group.


    You can say it''s a disciple meeting group meant for training, and like this you won''t be subjected to any issues and the masters hating you can''t move a finger even if they suspected the true nature of the group."

 Chapter 174: The Fairesse Disciple Group

    Chapter 174: The Fairesse Disciple Group


    Jim thought about his proposal before Lim added:


    "You''ll be in the open, and all can enter here and leave as they like. They can speak about this meeting and share it with all, but you will still be protected by the secrecy of this ce and the control over who can attend and who can''t."


    "Protected by a lie to cover the truth I like this," Jim smiled as he got the meaning of his friend, "thanks, I think I''ll go by your way then."


    "It''s only safer to y by the rules, not to break them," Limughed in a rxed way, "after all you''ve a name now for yourself and many would be tempted to join."


    "That''s a great idea indeed," Jim said, "alright, spread the word that I''m making a disciple group to train. Anyone who wants to join has toe to my mansion and ask to join tomorrow," he paused before strictly adding, "and it''s a disciple group only, so no masters are allowed toe."


    "I can do that," Lim said before adding, "plus you can select those trustworthy from the group and make another secretive group for any bad deeds you want to do here."


    He evillyughed and Jim helplessly watched him without saying a word. "What''s the name of the group by the way?" Lim asked.


    "As we are going public, then it''s fair to call it on our team name," Jim casually said.


    "That would be great," Limughed, "after all our name is now like thunder in our ears."


    "Good, I''ll depend on you for that," Jim said and Lim firmly nodded. "Don''t worry, this is a simple thing and no one wouldin but the clubs."


    "They wouldin? Why?" Jim was surprised to hear that.


    "They do have simr meetings with such a purpose," Lim casually said, "plus they will be afraid you''ll turn this little group into a big club in the future."


    "But I''m not that much interested in creating one," Jim honestly said, "I might just join a clubter on if I got the chance."


    "They will just be afraid, but you aren''t breaking any rules. This is like a group of disciples meeting together to study, who can say no to them?" Limughed, "as long as we refrained from calling this a secret group we are safe. Also we need to find a suitable answer for the nature of this ce."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Many wille asking about the location of this ce, and you''ll have to provide an answer to them," Lim said before suddenlyughing, "don''t think about telling them to scram, as this would only add suspicion and make everyone more stubborn to know."


    Jim paused for a moment before he suddenly got the answer, "I can say the mansion I''m in is enchanted and I found a hidden room underground of it," he said.


    "Man this is exactly like saying you have a secret room in the academy," Lim bitterlyughed.


    "Then I''ll tell them to scream," Jimughed and Limughed with him. "This will be the best answer then scram you boy and girl, this isn''t a thing you should know, hahaha."


    Jimughed before a thought shed in his mind. "What if someone issued aint to the academy and they asked me about this ce?"


    "Hmm then you should say scram to them," Lim said and Jim knew he was joking. "You can say you find an enchanted room inside your mansion."


    "Won''t it be bad?"


    "They might just interrogate you for a bit, but ignorance would be the best blessing here. You can rely on the fact that you came from a human world with no rtions here. But they might take the mansion away."


    "Then what should I do?" Jim wasn''t worried about the mansion, but about the front he was using to form the group.


    "By then you''ll have a trusted group whom you can start forming a secret group with. Plus you cany low for a couple of months before the vibe cools off. Anyway, that will happente in the future, and we will get all the benefits by then."


    "Indeed," Jim nodded, "alright, I''ll depend on you for that then."


    "I''ll start working on it," Lim said before bitterlyughing, "but after ying a little with everyone at the dancing tables."


    Jimughed as he knew his friend was dying to go and party with the others. "Alright, let''s leave here then," Jim simply tightened his grip for a few seconds while thinking about the mansion.


    The door appeared once again, shining in golden rays before the two passed through. Lim didn''t forget toy ast look over the ce while admiring this grand n the two devised.


    "You go," Jim said when the two got out of the mansion, "I have other things to do."


    "You won''te?" Lim was startled, "the entire party is in your honor and I bet news would travel fast and many girls would be there."


    "Hahaha, go and have fun then," Jimughed, "I have other matters to take care of."


    "Alright," Lim just dropped convincing him toe, "just don''t bete or you''ll miss all the fun."


    Jim watched him move away before turning around and headed towards Rana''s mansion.


    ''What do you think of that?'' Jim asked.


    ''His n is nice,'' the old man said, ''and this way we can buy ourselves sometime.''


    ''But they will know I''m in charge of everything.''


    ''This isn''t an issue as this would be known from the first meeting,'' the old man said, ''and now we only need to craft tokens to be used for selected members only.''


    ''My team?''


    ''And any other disciple you find worthy to secretly nourish,'' the old man said, ''after all you can limit the meetings after the expedition with the excuse of being busy in studying. But in reality you can meet up with your selected team away from the eyes over the mansion.''


    Jim was more convinced with the n of Lim. "Acting in the light while doing something bad that''s really something," he couldn''t help butugh, "I like this n already."


    And he went in the empty roads of the academy in thiste hour of the night. He wasn''t in a hurry to make the secondary tokens, but he just wanted to get everything ready before he brought more hype for him.


    "I hope some would appear tomorrow," he sighed as his entire n was meant to gain more support at the uing expeditions.


    And without enough numbers and strong teams, this n would entirely fail.

 Chapter 175: Rana Is Drunk

    Chapter 175: Rana Is Drunk


    Jim moved towards the mansion of Rana. Once he reached there, he found a weak light in one room on the third floor, and the entire mansion was drowning in the darkness.


    "Knock!"


    He knocked on the main gate and waited. The gate wasn''t closed but from his visit to Lyaly''s mansion and his experience with the dangerous looking monsters she called dogs he decided to wait outside and act safe.


    "Knock!"


    "Who''s there?" Rana suddenly appeared behind the gate with a drunken face and angry tone. "It''s you what are you doing here?" as she noticed him, her anger seemed to subside and instead she seemed quite surprised.


    "I want to speak about something with you," he calmly said while watching his mighty master looking so drunk at the moment.


    "Come in then," she staggered while opening the door.


    "Hup what do you want?"


    As they entered her mansion and sat on the big seats that seemed to be made for giants like her, she hupped and he felt weirder seeing her in such a state.


    Yet he didn''tment, after all he knew how bad drunk people would be and how unpredictable their reactions would be.


    Besides the next day they would never forget any insult given to him, even if it came from good intentions.


    "I want your help with something."


    "And this thing couldn''t wait for tomorrow?" She looked like a big girlining about her toy, "today you should have rested or even celebrated."


    "Sorry to disturb you at this hour, but it''s urgent," his face was calm yet she returned her body to the back of her seat and suddenly the seat extended for more distance.


    "What is this so important issue Mr. Big shot?"


    He watched her putting one leg over the other while her loose dress went slightly down, exposing her strangely soft skin.


    She wasn''t that bad despite having muscles all over her body, yet her muscles seemed to be in synchronicity with her giant body.


    And at this moment he had to turn his gaze away as he wouldn''t be this crazy to have such thoughts with such tigresse.


    "Hehehe, I never saw a man walk away from a girl," she noticed his reaction and seemed to enjoy it, "at least there is a man wanting me sigh. Now say what you came here for."


    "I want to establish a group," he ignored her personal remark and jumped directly to the point, "a fighting group where I can teach others how to fight."


    ""


    His words managed to kick away some of the strong drink she got before. "Damn this liquor was said not to cause side effects," she suddenly took out a huge bottle covered with straw wood and squeezed her eyes to read what was written on thebel. "Yup, they say it''s safe."


    "I''m not joking," he calmly said, "and you aren''t that drunk."


    "I''m so drunk that I can ept any ttery and even more from you right now," she winked and he felt a sour spot inside his throat.


    "I want to establish a fighting group for disciples like me," he repeated his words again, trying to move away from that deadly trap.


    "I heard you the first time," she said in a disgruntled tone, "why do you have to shout?"


    Her face changed slightly while she winked again to him, "but y''know I love tough boys, hehehe."


    And his face dropped at this moment while regrettinging here at this hour.


    "I really want to establish a group."


    "I''m not the dean toe to my ce and ask me about that issue," she said, "I''m a lonelydy with no one to love me why not be my lover? Huh?"


    He felt more bitter and thought seriously of standing up and leaving. Yet he took out his token and decided to try onest time. "I want to create secondary tokens linked to this one."


    "Secondary tokens that''s such a weird name wait a minute!"


    All of sudden her eyes widened as she jumped off her seat, grabbed the token of his hand and returned again in such a swift move he didn''t even see clearly.


    "Wow impressive it''s linked to a secluded ce" her eyes shone and she started to mumble to herself while he felt puzzled.


    Was she initially this genius? Or was it the effect of that liquor? He couldn''t tell.


    "This is such a precious gem where did you find that ce?" she threw the token to the air and his eyes were attached instantly with it.


    He didn''t know if it fell, would it break apart or get harmed or not. And he wasn''t trusting her fully about not dropping it.


    "Easy big shot, I''m not that drunk to make it fall."


    Yet the next moment the token did slip off her hand and rolled over the ground until it stopped at his feet.


    And his eyes twitched while she froze there for a moment. "Or perhaps I''m that drunk, hehehe."


    And that was the only apology he had from her.


    ''Don''t worry, it''s sturdier than you think,'' the old manughed while adding, ''just finish your task here fast or else she will eat you whole.''


    ''That''s funny,'' Jim said to his old man before grabbing the token. "Can you do it?"


    "Sure, it''s not that big a deal," she waved her hand before pausing, "but I have a condition."


    "What?" he said.


    "Stay here tonight," she yfully said while he got an instant scare. "Hahaha, your face hahahaha, I bet you didn''t see thating."


    And his reaction seemed to amuse her greatly while he kept ncing silently at her.


    "I want to attend these meetings," she said while ncing deeply at him.


    "This" he knew her aim, "it might be risky for you," he honestly said.


    "It''s risky for me and not for you if you aren''t that afraid then why should I?"


    "I''ve my own reasons."


    "So do I," she calmly said, "it''s this or you''ll get nothing from me."

 Chapter 176: Aiming For A Good Rank

    Chapter 176: Aiming For A Good Rank


    For a moment she returned to her normal self and he realized she wasn''t bluffing or saying things out of the liquor effect.


    "Sigh, I just want to warn you that might endanger your position in the academy," he honestly advised.


    "Just mind your own business," she simply said, "I know what I do and I know what your special ce really is."


    He nced in doubt at her while she smiled, "you aren''t the only one finding such secret rooms in fact the old previous master had such one before"


    Her face stiffened before she moved her gaze away. "I know what you want to do and the nature of the dangers you are facing. So just ept my condition and don''t question my decisions like I''m a little girl."


    "I agree then," he slowly said, "but if you changed your mind in the morning I would understand that."


    "I won''t," she firmly said, "and now tell me how many tokens you want me to make?"


    She stretched out her hand and frankly he felt hesitant. "C''mon, your words had already awakened me. I won''t drop that little thing again."


    He hesitated for a moment before giving her the token.


    "Tick!"


    And she dropped it for the second time before rolling back to him again.


    ""


    ""


    "I believe you should wash your face and take something to wake up," he said before holding the token firmly and deciding not to give it to her unless she looked more awake.


    "I''m awake," she argued.


    "I can tell that you aren''t that awake," he persisted, "go and I''ll wait for you here."


    "Wannae?" she yfully said while standing up, "it''s a rare chance to see me like this."


    "I can always knock at your doorte at night then," he joked and his joke made her face beam with a bright smile.


    "Then I should wear a morefortable dress next time then," she winked before vanishing off his sight and he could only sigh.


    "Give it to me now," the next moment she reappeared with her entire body soaked with water. Her dress was now sticking like a glue to her body, exposing everything to his eyes.


    And that scene startled him especially when she appeared leaning on his seat and her face was so near his.


    "T- Take it," he hardly controlled himself and gave her the token.


    "Good boy," she gave him a soft kiss over his cheeks before moving away. "This little nasty one how dare you move away from my hand?"


    She shouted at the token in the same way she used to behave in front of everyone arrogant and extremely violent.


    ''It seems you escaped an imminent death,d," the old manughed and Jim could only nod in agreement.


    "How many do you want?" she turned to him, "I can make up to one hundred daughters of this token during the night."


    "One hundred is more than enough," he honestly nodded.


    "Do you want to stay and watch?" she evilly smiled and this time he moved so fast, running towards the door.


    "Thanks, I will see you tomorrow then. Good night master."


    "Humph, he is a really interesting young boy," she sneered before throwing off the token, "and he is full of surprises I had never seen such a token for so many years already. What else do you hide, naughty boy?"


    Jim didn''t know what she said as he instantly darted outside her mansion and went directly towards the ce his team was celebrating at.


    It was the same ce he went before for that weing party. The road wasn''t that far yet it took roughly one hour to reach there.


    And his mind was full of debate with his old man.


    ''That spell can''t be that effective!'' Jim shouted at the old man while the old man shouted back:


    ''It''s very effective! With the sealing spell you can turn anything into a weak being for a period of time.''


    ''But it''s only meant for one target!''


    ''Better than many,'' the old man said, ''and it only takes up to five seconds to be activated.''


    ''Yet that other spell, the rain of fire, is much stronger than it and causes more damage!''


    ''But it needs ten seconds to be activated and during this your target would run away ore to kill you!''


    ''Still is a lethal one!''


    The two kept debating about the spells Jim would teach others tomorrow. He knew he had little time to reflect on that, and when he casually asked his old man he got an answer he didn''t like.


    The old man wanted him to act defensive, and he wanted to be offensive.


    ''You are weak, you should buy yourself time to survive.''


    ''Defense is for pussies, I want to be a killer!''


    Jim was dead fixed on that, and the old man could only sigh. ''Alright, what about we make the team part offensive and the rest defensive?'' he had topromise with the stubbornness of Jim.


    ''This I don''t mind anything as long as I have enough killers in my group,'' Jim wasn''t epting to act as weak as his system wanted. In fact after getting this far he started to get greedy about the next expedition.


    Instead of working his best not to die out there, he decided to change the strategy and aim for a high ranking.


    The fame he got a sweet taste of after his current achievement intoxicated him and made him want to feel more.


    And that made the old man hesitant. From one side he wanted Jim to aim for higher goals and get stronger, but he was also worried about him.


    After all, Jim only had three days left before the start of the expedition.


    "That looks lively," as he entered the ce, he found the round tables dancing in the air while his team was literally causing a ruckus in the ce.


    But they weren''t alone, and many were there trying to get to know the girls or the boys.

 Chapter 177: A Dangerous Dragon

    Chapter 177: A Dangerous Dragon


    "You finally came," Lim jumped off one table and left one girl he was dancing with, e, this is a great party, hahaha."


    His shouts attracted everyone before the four girls of his moved from the two tables they were dancing with each other upon and grabbed his hand to go and dance with them.


    And he couldn''t help but throw everything behind his back and go to dance with them while enjoying this rare moment of glory; the first event of his entire life.


    The next day, and after a very long night of celebrations and doing crazy things like leading the entire supporting disciples in a big tour around the entire academy in the depth of the night, Jim finally woke up like a king waking up after a glorious war.


    "My head damn!" Yet the intense headache he got made him quite mad in the morning. His mind didn''t let him sleep well and nice like others and he got himself up in the early hours of the morning.


    "I only slept for a couple of hours sigh," he couldn''t help but shake off his head before putting it under the cold waters. "It didn''t help!" he felt worse after doing that and then he nced at the five girls lying weakly around the room.


    Four old girls and Moora was the newest one to be added to them. He didn''t frankly clearly recall what happened but after getting wasted from strong liquor, the two danced in a very intimate way before he decided to sleep with her.


    And during thest hours of the night he had a very fun time, unfortunately he held little memories about these moments.


    "I should go out to walk," the headache was so severe and he went downstairs before stupefying at the chaos his mansion was in.


    Many were sleeping and snoring, part was his team and others were many of his new fans. He smiled helplessly while trying to find his way among many couples before finally finding his way outside his mansion that strangely didn''t look anywhere like his.


    "This air is quite refreshing," he stretched before starting to walk aimlessly. His legs led him to the inner campus where things seemed oddly quite unlike usual.


    "Even on vacation I found myselfing here," he sighed.


    "Such a hard working disciple is worthy of my admiration," suddenly this harsh tone came from his back, startling him.


    Yet when he turned to see his speaker, he was instantly scared.


    It was a giant dragon, with thick ck scales covering his giant body. He saw many dragons before, yet this was the first time seeing such one.


    "I believe this the first time we meet," the dragon calmly said, "but I''ve heard a lot about you already."


    Jim moved a couple steps to the back instinctively while he felt a deep threat inside his soul. That dragon wasn''t a simple being, and he felt innate fear swelling up inside his soul.


    Along with a strange storm of hatred and anger.


    "Interesting even have a faint killing intent impressive," the dragon smiled in a calm way as if he was speaking with a toddler, "anyway it''s good to meet you here as today''s visit is all about you."


    "Me?" Jim asked in doubt while he watched the dragon walk slowly towards him, and he retreated.


    "Don''t be afraid kid, I won''t eat you," the dragonughed before passing beside Jim who had his back cornered with the wall of the campus. "C''mon, the meeting will start the moment I arrive."


    Jim watched the dragon pass many buildings and headed towards the depth of the campus like he knew every inch there. He swallowed his dried throat before deciding to go in.


    ''Be careful not to speak with me,'' before he moved a muscle, the old man warned, ''that dragon he is very dangerous.''


    ''I know.''


    Jim moved while keeping his distance off the leisurely walking dragon. The two went deep in the campus until they ended up at the building where Jim selected his lessons from the start.


    And there the building looked strangely crowded with many masters, even Rana was there with puffy eyes that went wide the moment she spotted him.


    He didn''t know why but the events from thest night came to mind when he saw her. And she smiled calmly to him, like a tigresse waiting for her weak deer toe near her.


    "Wee Mr. Dean," just as Jim and that dragon approached the big crowd, Mark moved with a couple of other masters Jim had never seen before and greeted that dragon while stealing a nce at Jim.


    And Jim felt deeply shocked when he heard these words and his body instantly froze up.


    "It''s really refreshing to meet all the staff of the inner campus," the dean said before turning his head towards Jim, "and I also stumbled upon this little surprise when I was on my way here. It seems you did a brilliant job and this disciple loves the sses even when there was a day off."


    The calm words of the dean held no ill intentions, yet Jim felt a heavy pressureing from that dragon that he couldn''t breathe. ''He is very dangerous,'' he thought to himself while Mark led the dean inside the building before leaving him with the other two masters.


    And then he hurried to Jim while Rana was faster to reach him.


    "You never cease to amaze me," she chuckled, "even when there is a grand urgent meeting to discuss what you caused here yesterday you decided to show up quite impressive."


    Her eyes held different meaning and her tone carried obvious warning and he appreciated that.


    "You shouldn''t havee," Mark said the moment he arrived, totally ignoring Rana, "how did you know about this meeting?"


    "I just had a headache and decided to take a stroll," Jim felt weird.


    "All of the days and out of all ces you decided to show up at this moment that''s weird," Mark muttered before turning his gaze towards the inside of the building where the dean vanished. "It seems the rumors are true."


    "What rumors?" Jim asked.

 Chapter 178: A Liar!

    Chapter 178: A Liar!


    "He is" Rana paused before pointing towards her head and added, "a telepather."


    "He was the one to awaken you up," Mark said before firmly nodding, "there is no doubt of that he is a telepather and such a scary one indeed."


    "You don''t mean he yed with my head and made me leave the mansion early ande here," Jimughed as he was taking this as a light joke.


    Yet the two masters in front of him nodded in a serious way that made hisughs die early.


    And Jim realized how scary these telepathers were. And also got the reason why his old man warned him not to speak with him with such a scary dragon around.


    "Mark let''s get inside," one of the unicorn masters appeared from the door, "the meeting is about to start."


    "Coming," Mark said before silently ncing in a warning way towards Jim, "no matter what, don''t try to lie or else he would know."


    And Jim nodded while realizing this was all about what Igory had done.


    "Let this meeting start."


    As he followed Rana and Mark inside the building and towards the biggest hall with opened doors, he found a ce resembling that of any ss here.


    Yet this time the seats were filled with masters not disciples, and the dean stood in the central stage, calmly gazing at everyone like a master eyeing his foolish little disciples.


    "Today we are about to discuss that interruption caused by one of you," the dean calmly said while turning his gaze to fix over one direction where Igory sat over one seat.


    And strangely Jim noticed some faint chains shimmering from time to time around his body. ''He is imprisoned,'' he muttered in deep shock and suddenly felt great panic inside.


    "Yesterday one master tried to summon something forbidden to the campus. It caused chaos and attracted the attention of the masters from all over the academy," the dean said, "and today I''m here to get to the bottom of the truth. Even our disciple involved in such an incident is strangely present, what luck!"


    He seemed to be speaking calmly yet Jim found his tone very annoying and attitude irritating to his nerves. The dean directed thest words to Igory who turned his gaze and noticed Jim for the first time.


    "Hi kid," Igory ignored the dean totally as he raised his hands andughed, "like my new ornaments?"


    Jim was sitting on thest seat in thest row in the hall, yet he heard the shout of Igory clearly and received his irony with silence.


    "I''m amazed by how collected you are," the dean calmly said, "even if your life''s on the line here."


    "For what?" Igory sneered, "you can''t rule over something that doesn''t belong to you in the first ce!"


    The eyes of the dean shone in dark light for a brief moment and Jim felt more threating from him during this short period.


    "We''ll see how you keep that spirit after condemning you," the dean sneered before turning to the masters around. "Any witnesses to the incident? Please step forward and tell everything you saw."


    "I want to testify."


    This strong voice came from one direction, attracting everyone''s attention and Jim''s intense hatred. "Donald!" he muttered in deep anger and hatred while watching that chimera master moving like a peacock, showing off with his smile until he reached the stage.


    "I was there, I saw everything with my two own eyes," he said while pointing all of sudden towards the imprisoned Igory and shouted in a loud tone and strange confidence: "He summoned it Schemed to crush every single defensive measurement the academy has. I won''t say much but I have my own doubts. The disciple isn''t even free and he coborated with him in that crime!"


    "Liar!"


    This instant Jim''s shout thundered along the entire hall, attracting everyone''s attention.


    "It''s not the time for you to speak," the dean coldly said, "we are hearing the testimony of the masters."


    "And he is a big liar," Jim didn''t stop in his ce or fazed with such threatening nces from the dean. He moved off his seat under the amazed and worried gazes of the masters here before pointing out towards Donald, the same way thetter pointed towards Igory, "he wasn''t there at the beginning. Hell he wasn''t even there until the end."


    "I''m not lying!" Donald shouted in an impressive shamelessness. "And I saw everything!"


    "Howe you have a ss at that time?" Jim sneered before adding, "and what happened urred inside the ss of master Igory. You can''t be inside two ces at the same time, can you?"


    The face of Donald changed slightly while many masters whispered softly around.


    "I came fast, so fast the moment I noticed the changes inside the campus," Donald didn''t stop there and persisted in telling his lies. "And you are a criminal, charged with helping that criminal in his scheme. We can''t listen to your words."


    "Said who?" Mark suddenly stood up in a very domineering way, "I want to know who pressed charges upon one of my disciples without me knowing it!"


    "I also want to know that!"


    "It would be hrious if the core campus thought themselves mighty to meddle in the business of our inner campus without even asking for permission!"


    The other two masters stood up and spoke, supporting Mark. The face of Donald became unsightly while Jim didn''t care about this and continued to speak:


    "The only witnesses you can ask are disciples, not masters."


    "Disciples know nothing about what really happened in front of their eyes," the dean calmly said, "this is something only masters would assess."


    "Then you can only ask master Igory, as he was the one to do everything. Not some liar who is trying to fake things for his own goals!"


    The words of Mark thundered in the entire campus and it gained the agreement of many sitting here. The dean didn''t hurry to speak while Donald seemed to shrink in size under the mocking gazes of all.

 Chapter 179: War Between Core and Inner Campus

    Chapter 179: War Between Core and Inner Campus


    "Igory is under investigation for his questionable actions," the dean said, "and his words can''t be taken seriously as he is used of big crimes."


    "Then take my words instead," Jim said while moving towards the central stage, "other than him, I was the one standing next to master Igory all the time."


    "We can''t let a disciple meddle in the middle of such an investigation."


    And as flies flock together, Pol''s voice came to make Jim turn towards him and couldn''t help butugh.


    "Why are youughing?" the dean asked and Jim pointed towards Pol as he said:


    "I just recalled the bitter loss he had in front of my team yesterday. He couldn''t even speak a single word correctly back then," Jim''s voice rang in the entire hall and most of the attendeesughed at what he said.


    After all they were present there at the stadium and saw what happened like many others.


    "You" Pol''s face turned dark but he couldn''t say anymore as the dean calmly raised his hand to stop him.


    "What if you are also a suspect?" the dean said, "how can we take your testimony then?"


    "Take master Mark''s words then," Jim simply shrugged without even stopping his approach from the stage, "after all he was the first to attend the ss after what happened there."


    The dean nced at Mark for a moment before dropping off that idea.


    "Then tell us what happened?" the dean asked Jim in a helpless tone.


    "I really dunno what happened," and Jim only said in a very casual tone that made even some masters chuckle in audible voice.


    And the eyes of the dean squeezed as he seemed not to take this answer lightly.


    "I''m not joking!" the dean said.


    "And I''m not lying," Jim shrugged, "what I can say is that a giant ball of fire appeared inside a mirror and that made even me feel terrified."


    "And that ball howe it appeared there?"


    "This is a question I kept asking myself many times," Jim calmly answered the dean''s question, "but as all the other disciples stood in front of it and nothing like that happened, I only could think of something."


    "Which is?"


    "There was such bad luck looming around master Igory at that moment," Jim calmly said and the dean didn''t show a sign of approval to any word he said.


    "This isn''t a joke, and if you can''t provide valuable info then you should be dismissed."


    "I''m not the one who summoned me here," Jim casually said before stopping just at the bottom of the stage before adding, "and if the truth doesn''t suit your taste, then the dean can simply ditch away my words and take the fake lies of that one beside you instead."


    ""


    The dean seemed to be enraged, yet Jim strangely felt a gush of power and heat rising up from the depth of his soul. It seemed like he was extremely terrified a moment ago, but now he felt like there was nothing to fear.


    Even that scary dragon seemed to be smaller and weaker than before.


    And that was thanks to the bloodline Jim had in his body, dormant but it could shine up in some moments like this one.


    "I can''t say anymore but if the core campus can''t ept such exnations then I can resign from my role as a master of the inner campus!"


    "I''ll also resign!"


    "My resignation is ready!"


    "If there is no fair, then I can''t continue here."


    "I''ll resign as well."


    "I won''t ept such injustice from the core campus I also resign!"


    Suddenly Mark said, and then a wave of voices stepped in while expressing their firm stand against that matter.


    And from their words, Jim finally got what this was all about.


    ''So the inner campus is at war with the core campus,'' he thought before ncing at the ces where no one stood and spoke up, ''and even they brought some of their masters here they got some guts.''


    Jim thought and he knew the dean was hearing every single word he thought of. He turned his gaze and watched the dean moving his gaze towards that public stand of most of the masters of the inner campus with a in expression over his face.


    "You misunderstood this," the dean finally said, "I''m not here on behalf of the core campus to intervene in your business as the inner campus I''m here as a dean."


    "Then why did you bring up all those masters from the core campus?" Mark calmly said while pointing in the direction of Pol, "don''t say this is just a coincidence like our little disciple showing up here."


    The dean nced at Mark in silence, while Jim could feel the mighty suppressive aura raging wild from the dean''s body, flooding the entire stage and even affecting him.


    "Humph, but I won''t let that matter pass by this easily without exnation," the dean said before turning to Igory, "as for you consider yourself lucky to have all this support. Next time I pray your luck will run thin."


    The dean waved and the shackles surrounding his body slowly vanished, gradually melting away into nothing.


    Igory didn''t hurry to leave his seat and only felt his wrists as if he was feeling some ufort at them. The dean turned to Jim and nced silently for long moments.


    ''Don''t try to step beyond your boundaries kid, or else you won''t see from where the hit woulde.''


    This harsh tone of the dean reverberated inside his head all of sudden, startling him. Yet Jim regained hisposure even after getting suppressed by the dean.


    "Let''s go boys," the dean suddenly said, turning his attention to the masters who came here to join him, "this ce isn''t worthy of our presence."


    The masters started to vanish, one by one, using different methods. Some used extreme speed to move away, causing even wind to hit the faces of the inner campus masters. Some were surrounded by feathers and vanished alongside them.


    All vanished in his or her own style, and the dean remained there before finally issuing a direct challenge.


    "I didn''t care much about the uing expedition frankly the top five was always my goal and other ranks don''t appeal to me. But today I''d like to dere that the top one hundred list will be entirely off my kids."


    "We''ll see about that," Mark didn''t show any weakness while meeting the bold deration of the dean with a calm smile over his face.


    "Humph, pathetic inner campus," the dean sneered before finally vanishing in a grand ze of ck fire, "it seems you forgot who your masters are. This is good, this expedition will be a good lesson for all of you. Pray that half of your disciples will return alive."


    Just as the fire engulfed his giant body his cold threatening words echoed in the entire hall before vanishing and leaving nothing but dark ash behind.


    "Humph, as if the academy has only prodigies inside the core campus," Mark sneered before suddenly turning towards Donald. "You are fired from the campus," he simply waved his hand and a strange symbol appeared.


    Then Donald vanished off the sight of Jim without even saying a single word there.


    "Scary!" and Jim could shockingly mutter while gazing at Mark, "This academy is full of scary monsters!!"

 Chapter 180: Im Not Asking For Your Permission

    Chapter 180: I''m Not Asking For Your Permission


    Jim stood in his ce motionless while being amazed by thest words of the dean.


    "He is simply a lunatic," Igory shook his head, "and they call me the mad dragon hahaha, let theme and see how crazy that dean of ours is!"


    "He isn''t serious, right?" Jim couldn''t help but say, "after all he is the dean of the entire academy."


    "Things are much moreplicated than that," Igor said before arriving at Jim''s side and patting on his shoulders, "thanks by the way, and thanks to you all," he turned towards the rest of the masters here while their faces expressed their anger.


    "Jim, I believe you should retreat now," Mark suddenly said, "this meeting isn''t something you should have attended in the first ce."


    "Jim has something to announce," yet before Mark could say any more, Rana stood up and said while looking at Jim in a meaningful way.


    "If he wants to speak about reaching the ace league then this isn''t the right time for that," Mark mistook her words before adding, "I know you created something big back there, but today we have to deal first with these threats you and other disciples will face."


    "He wants to say something else," Rana persisted while motioning for Jim to speak.


    And Jim could only think of one thing at this moment, and he hesitated to say what she inclined him to say.


    "What?" Mark noticed this weird situation and became instantly interested, "what do you scheme little fairy?" he said in a tone that was void of any insult.


    ''Speak,'' the old man suddenly said and with his single word the debate inside Jim''s mind was decided.


    And he wasn''t hesitant anymore.


    "I''m going to establish a private group for disciples," he said before adding, "a group that aims towards teaching everyone how to survive the uing expeditions."


    His words rang in the entire hall and no one spoke while ncing in shocked expression over their faces.


    "Do you mean like a club group?" Mark tried to better understand the meaning of Jim''s words.


    "Not precisely like that," Jim hesitated before adding, "this group will be led by disciples for one purpose to exchange info and spells and train to raise our survival odds."


    "And who will be your master?" one of the masters here couldn''t help but ask.


    "I," and Igory moved a couple of steps to stand behind Jim before putting his arms over his shoulders, "I''ll be the one training them and making them stronger."


    And Jim noticed the strange looks over the faces of everyone, even Mark and Rana.


    Yet he didn''t feel any mockery, instead he felt enviousing from many.


    "And you n to open this group for all the academy disciples?" Mark asked, trying to understand better the nature of such a rebellious move.


    "I''ll open it for only our inner campus and those belonging to them from the outer campus," Jim simply said, "I want to turn our inner campus to a true powerhouse, not just mere numbers added in the academy records."


    "Let the old fairies bless you," suddenly one master said, "I agree on such a move, and also I want to volunteer to help."


    "Yeah, those bastards from the core campus should learn how bitter our flesh is if they want to eat us whole!"


    "I also ept."


    "You also get my support!"


    "I can''t ept such a move in the academy it''s against the rules!"


    "It''s a vition to the academy peace! We should try to find a way to calm things down, not put more oil on the fire!"


    "Moment of order please!" Mark had to step in before more conflict would erupt, "Let us discuss this move before proceeding further in it."


    "Sorry master," Jim suddenly said in a strange calmness, "but I''m not here to take your permission for anything, I''m just notifying you that''s all. If you are selected to support me then it''s great, if not then it''s fine. The inner disciples won''t stand silent towards such threats or rude behavior towards us!"


    Jim then shrugged his shoulders and calmly moved free from the hands of Igory. Yet the old dragon didn''t leave his side and kept his pace with him.


    "I believe this is yours," Rana extended her hand and gave him a ring, "I went out of my way and made more than you asked for."


    "Thanks master," Jim honestly said in deep appreciation before turning to nce silently at Mark.


    And Mark simply nodded before Jim moved outside under the watchful gazes of all masters around.


    ''It''s a clever move to make your group public," Igory said the moment the two went outside the hall. "I''ll have to return and teach those hidden agents some lessons. After that I''m free."


    "Thanks master," Jim said, "you can use this to enter my private ce."


    "Private ce?" Igory asked in doubt, "won''t you do that at the arena?"


    "No," Jim simply said, "it''s in a ce where others couldn''t easily reach."


    And the eyes of Igory shone brightly before ncing at the small rounded token he received from Jim. "I''m already dying to know what you selected to be the ce of that group," heughed, "what did you choose to be the name of this group?"


    "My team''s name," Jim shrugged, "and I''ll use what happened here in my propaganda I hope it''s not against the rules."


    "If the dean said these words himself and went unscathed from any punishment then it''s not against the rules," he said before grinning, "but this would cause more hostility against you at the expedition."


    "You heard the dragon yourself," Jim casually said, "he ns to kill us all."


    Igory''s smile turned into augh while heading back inside the hall. "Be bold kid, even the dean is brave enough to dere war upon us."


    "I know what I should master," Jim slowly said and his answer made theughs of Igory escte to another level.


    And Jim left the ce while theughs of Igory kept echoing all over the ce.

 Chapter 181: Waking Everyone Up

    Chapter 181: Waking Everyone Up


    ''This is going to be fun,'' the old man suddenly said, ''that dean didn''t know he gave you such a golden chance, hahaha.''


    The old man read the current thoughts of Jim and couldn''t help but say.


    ''He never expected the answer was already ready for his provocations,'' Jim inwardlyughed, ''let us aim for a bigger impact then. I have to find Lim, and this news must spread like fire all over the academy.''


    Jim moved fast, even ran until he arrived at his mansion. The morning tour with the meeting didn''t take longer than an hour.


    So when he arrived there he found everyone sleeping still. "Where are you?" he stood in front of the messy ce while feeling puzzled.


    "Wake up," he didn''t hesitate to kick the big body of Rick who hastily opened his eyes and jumped off the ground.


    "What do you want? Stay away you bastar it''s you Jim" Rick was enraged at first but when he realized it was Jim who awakened him he gazed at a strange way towards him.


    "Go and wash up now," Jim seriously said, "and wake everyone up find Lim as well."


    "He went to sleep at his ce," Rick rubbed his eyes before turning around, "it was such a hell of a party, hehehe."


    "Go, we have no time to waste," Jim stressed, "I''ll wait for all of you upstairs. Bring only our core team, alright?"


    "What''s the rush?" Rick yawned, "What''s the time now? I''m pretty sure it''s too early," he nced around while squeezing his eyes.


    "Go," Jim hit him on the side, "don''t ck, I''ll wait for all of you upstairs."


    "I''ll bring them ande up," he yawned again, "if they only listened to my words."


    "If they didn''te then I would kick them out of the team, effective immediately!"


    This time Rick was jolted awake. "I''m not joking," Jim turned and left him stupefied while moving upstairs.


    He didn''t awaken the girls, after allst night had its toll even over him.


    And in less than ten minutes his core team stood in sleepy faces and puffy red eyes while their heads were still soaked with water.


    "You called for us captain?" Pat yawned, "is it about the team?"


    "Can''t we sleep and discuss itter?" Deno yawned and even closed his eyes for a brief second.


    "I just met the dean of the academy," Jim said and the eyes of his men turned out wide instantly.


    "Is this for real?" Kro shouted, "Did he ask for you toe?"


    "Will we be rewarded?" Rick hurriedly shouted as well.


    "Easy boys," Jim was surprised that they mistook his meaning, "this wasn''t a friendly meeting at all."


    "What?" many eximed in doubt while Lan asked:


    "What did he summon you for?"


    "He just brought me for a trial," Jim said, "and at the end he dered war upon the entire inner campus."


    ""


    They didn''t understand his meaning well and so he had to start narrating what happened. He knew theycked the essential info about what happened before he joined them at the pitch for training.


    And so he had to start from there and end up with what happened today, intentionally dropping anything rted to the fighting group.


    "That" Kro''s face turned red instantly, "he is just crazy!"


    "We need to do something boss," Deno said, "we can''t respond to these threats."


    "We will have it hard," Roo sighed, "we have many enemies and little friends."


    And others nodded in agreement.


    "That''s why I''ve awakened you," Jim calmly said.


    "But we need to think deeper about our options," Rick said while others nodded, "I doubt we have a single idea in our heads right now."


    "We need time to adapt to such a grave news boss," Pat said, "we also need some sleep."


    "Have the masters said anything to you?" Gordan suddenly said, "they should have a n or two to help us."


    "There is a n," Jim slowly said, "but I''m the one responsible for it, not any master."


    "You''ve a n, boss?" Deno screamed in surprise, "that''s cool! I can''t even think about what happened and that threat, but you already got a n ready that''s awesome!"


    Jim ignored Deno''s overreaction and turned to Pat. "You are our fastest, go and find Lim. Bring him to me and make sure you won''t be dyed."


    Pat nodded. "What if he asked for more info?" he asked in doubt.


    "This is the task I want everyone here to do," Jim''s face turned vicious, "I want you all to think of a way to inform every single disciple in the outer and inner campus about what the dean said."


    And the team nced in extreme shock towards him.


    "Are Are we allowed to do that?" Rick was speechless like others before asking.


    "The dean said these words in public, and so it''s alright to repeat his own words to everyone," Jim evilly said and the team realized all of sudden how big Jim was aiming to score here.


    "What''s the n boss?" Kro couldn''t help but ask.


    "We are going to form a special group," Jim calmly said, "a group where I''ll teach everyone how to fight and train to be stronger. This group will work together to make our odds of survival higher in the next expedition."


    And this time their shock turned in no time into a realization Their boss wasn''t only aiming to survive, but also to beat everyone and score a very advanced ranking.


    "That''s great n boss," Roo said in admiration, "but that dean the masters and him can''t touch us, but their disciples can."


    "They might even attack our meeting and destroy the ce," Rick added.


    "If they had the guts to do that then I swear to fight to the end against them!" Deno shouted in challenge while Jim could only shake his head.


    "They won''t be able to do that, and you''ll know everything in time. Now we need to act fast before that dean and his arrogant core campus faction move to contain the news."


    He turned to Pat and nodded, "go now, and don''t return except with Lim in your hands."


    Pat left hurriedly before Jim turned to the others and asked: "What ideas do you have to spread this news to everyone?"

 Chapter 182: The First Spell

    Chapter 182: The First Spell


    Jim smiled as he said, "I need to know how to learn it. Once inside I can''t listen to your words clearly."


    ''Don''t worry, I didn''t disturb your training much before but I can speak easily to you in there,'' the old man said, ''did you forget I was the one who taught you how to train before?''


    Jim nodded before closing up his eyes and took a deep breath. The idea of training was based on recalling the happiest moment of his life, the most secure ce he was in and the ce he felt like home.


    For him it was that small closet when he was a little kid, but now and since yesterday he had this urge to change this moment.


    He would select the moment where he won the qualification tournament and reserved a ce for his team in the ace league as his new best moment in his entire life.


    He took slow breath in and exhaled it out while thinking about that moment. It was still fresh in his mind, and recalling it wasn''t that hard as recalling that closet.


    The moment he did so, he felt himself standing inside the flying field, holding the immovable ball in one hand and his team members were cheering and dancing, singing and shouting, screaming and celebrating with the sess.


    "This is my best moment in my entire life," he said to himself while turning around and ncing at each single detail like it was real.


    ''You found yourself a good moment,'' the old manughed, ''and this time you can clearly picture it. you are synchronizing with this moment brilliantly and your energy is getting stronger with each passing second.''


    "Hahaha, yeah I know that," Jimughed as he could feel his body stronger already, "now what should I do?"


    ''First summon your pet, Don.''


    "Don?" Jim was surprised by that, "would he help me in learning the spell?"


    ''Not quite true, it would gain more benefit by being here,'' the old man said, ''don''t forget it is now part of your own strength.''


    "Alright, how can I summon it?"


    ''Just touch the tattoo and think of summoning him,'' the old man said, ''this is the rude method for beginners. When you get stronger, you will be able to summon him with mere thoughts.''


    Jim did as the old man said and the next moment his Seson pet appeared in the flying field.


    "Master!" the moment it appeared, it jumped around while shouting, "This ce is awesome!"


    Jim nced in a strange way towards it before asking, "Can you speak freely here?"


    ''Sure he can,'' the old man was the one to answer, ''after all this is considered part of your mind.''


    "Oh," Jim realized this as he mistook this ce for being real, "so what should I do now?"


    ''It''s simple,'' the old man said before adding, ''this spell is called the magic coat spell. In fact it was meant for maintaining gears against the decay of time for those loving to collect or store their old items. But for you it can be used as a weapon considering the tiny time you have.''


    "Oh so I''m just using a trash spell in a fight?" Jim couldn''t help but bitterlyugh.


    ''There is no other option,'' the old man sighed, ''now let''s speak about how to use it. I believe you can now feel the magic power around you, right?''


    Jim turned around again and when the old man said it he could now feel the energy clearer. "Yes, what should I do?"


    ''Just raise one finger high up and fix it there for as long as you can handle,'' the old man said, ''to learn it first you need to do that here, then you can do it in the real world.''


    "Alright," Jim simply raised his finger high up and waited.


    At first he was bored and felt the old man was trying to pull a trick over him. However, in less than five minutes he felt a strange numbing at his finger, then it grew to be like a needle was pricking his skin, then two needles, and the number kept increasing with time.


    "I can''t take it anymore," after half an hour he couldn''t undertake that unpleasant feelinging at his finger.


    ''Yousted ten minutes longer than I expected,'' the old man praised, ''now all you need to do is to touch any gear or weapon. Can you take out your sword here?''


    "The real one?" Jim asked in doubt.


    ''Yes, in here you can summon whatever is connected to your soul in the real world.''


    "Alright, let me try," Jim then moved his free hand and tried to mimic the way he held the sword. The next moment he was surprised to see his sword taking shape gradually until it finally appeared as whole.


    ''Excellent,'' the old man encouraged, ''now pass your finger over the sword until you feel nothing wrong with your finger,'' the old man said before hurriedly adding, ''remember, the energy umted in your finger will dissipate the moment you move it. So, make sure not to move slowly or else you won''t be able to add manyyers on your sword.''


    Jim didn''t think much and only descended his finger fast. The moment he did that, he noticed some sort of heating off his finger, dissipating all around like an ice cube taken out off the freezer.


    Then he passed it over the sword. The moment he did so he saw the sword shining in golden color all of sudden. The color started faint but with each round he did with his finger it got intensified.


    And with it the uneasy feeling he had in his finger started to vanish at a rapid pace.


    "Sigh, gathering up energy for half an hour was only enough for one minute that''s so frustrating!" he couldn''t help but sigh when his finger returned to normal in one minute and the sword stopped gaining any more benefit.

 Chapter 183: The Second Spell

    Chapter 183: The Second Spell


    ''This is still quite impressive,'' the old man said, ''I believe your sword now can perform your other spells with a buff of five folds at least.''


    "Five folds only?" Jim wasn''t satisfied with this.


    ''Don''t belittle this buff, it''s very strong,'' the old man shouted before adding, ''this way you can fight even those older than you with two grades at least.''


    "What about higher disciples then?" Jim sighed, "I''m quite sure I''ll be targeted by many."


    ''Then you have to run,'' the old manughed, ''but the good news is that you can even boost your wings and shoes with this spell, adding more speed to your movement.''


    "Alright," Jim threw this spell behind his back, "teach me something shy then."


    ''A defensive spell?''


    "No, I want an offensive one," Jim said in persistence, "less than an hour passed here."


    ''And that means many hours in your real world,'' the old man said, ''you need to know you have enough time to learn one more spell before the ten hours pass outside and those disciples woulde knocking on your door.''


    "Do you think any will show up?" Jim said in deep doubt, "despite trying to look cool in front of everyone, I really doubt few woulde."


    ''That dean gave you a great help,'' the old manughed, ''don''t belittle the feeling of anger and frustration. You are still new here, so you don''t know much about how the disciples here are treated.''


    Jim got the meaning of the old man. "So some will appear?"


    ''I believe many woulde,'' the old man said in confidence, ''just wait and you''ll be amazed. Now it''s time for the defensive spell. I believe the deflective spell would be a great aid to anyone.''


    "Deflective spell? What''s that one?" Jim asked.


    ''It''s a spell that would deflect any attack descending upon you,'' the old man said before warning, ''but it only works on a single attack each time, so you''ll need to reactivate it each time you use it.''


    "Alright," Jim said, "how can I activate it?"


    ''The spell depends on creating a doppelganger for you. To do that you''ll need to make some hand movements fast. The movements might lookplicated at first, but with training you''ll be able to perform it in less than one second.''


    "One second! Do you think I have more than two arms like those giants?!"


    ''Just stop talking and start training,'' the old man said, ''I can already hear many voices outside your room. You have less than half an hour here.''


    "This short?" Jim muttered, "alright, what are the moves?" he asked.


    ''First hold your hands together, then put one hand on the palm of the other'' The old man started to narrate a long list of moves and Jim started to move ordingly.


    The moment he started doing so, he felt a heat gathering in between his hands.


    "Damn!" he missed one move and then felt the heat dissipating.


    ''One single mistake and it''s over,'' the old man warned, ''it''s not that easy a set of moves, so don''t underestimate the spell. Again, and this time try to focus.''


    ""


    Jim started to move his hands again while trying to be more focused. Some moves required him to use both hands, and others only needed one hand. Some required him to close his fist and others asked to use certain fingers together.


    "Finally!"


    After three more failures and hearing the reprimanding words of the old man, he finally managed to do it correctly asst.


    The moment he finished the set of moves, a small ball of red fire appeared in between his hands. ''Now throw it towards the front,'' the old man said before adding, ''in flight you can throw it towards the direction of the hit.''


    "Alright," Jim listened to the old man''s words and threw the ball to the front. The moment it was thrown, it started to grow fast until a simr clone of Jim appeared, covered in golden light.


    And it stood motionless there for one minute before vanishing slowly.


    "Only one minute," Jim muttered again.


    ''You only need one second,'' the old man said, ''as this clone won''t sustain more than one hit and would crush into pieces.''


    "Sigh, can''t it move? Help me in the fight?"


    ''This is a more advanced form of this spell,'' the old man sighed, ''don''t be too greedy. And now be ready to wake up, as they seemed to enter your room.''


    Just as the old man said that, Jim felt a sudden touch to his real body and he was instantly extracted outside the perfect world he was in.


    "We are ready."


    The moment he opened his eyes, he found Lim standing with Rick, Gordan, Deno, and others. They had all big smiles over their faces and Jim couldn''t help but ask:


    "What happened?"


    "You should go and see for yourself," Rickughed.


    Jim could only move outside the room and the team just smiled and led the way towards the nearest window at the hall. Through it he could see the entire world around.


    "It''s already dark out there," he muttered while noticing the darkness of the night prevailing.


    "Raise your weapons!" suddenly Lim shouted and the next moment the entire darkness kicked all around. A strong shining light started to be born from everywhere, and Jim could see at least one hundred spots of light.


    And that only meant one thing "All these inner disciples?!!" he was shocked before turning to nce at Lim and others.


    And theyughed.


    "I told y''all he would be stupefied," Limughed while Rick said, "there are only the inner disciples, imagine those followers from the outer campus surrounding them."


    Jim clenched his fists as he couldn''t help but feel more confidence. "We can do it," he muttered, "we can survive," heughed. "How many havee so far?"


    "One hundred and thirty-two inner disciples from all grades," Lim proudly said, "plus one thousand outer disciples so far."

 Chapter 184: The Mansion Will Be Protected By Us!

    Chapter 184: The Mansion Will Be Protected By Us!


    "The outer disciples aren''t all belonging to those inner disciples," Rick said with a bigugh.


    "Some thought toe and test waters first," Kro exined, "but I believe they will all be shocked."


    "There is also another surprise," Deno said.


    "What?"


    "It''s the masters you should go down there and see for yourself," Saga said with an interesting look over her face, "I bet you''ll be shocked."


    "Damn!" This time he was shocked by the appearance of more masters. He thought he could keep the secrecy of that ce hidden, but no more.


    If Rana could tell from mere words, what about other masters when entering inside that ce?


    "Lead the way," he sighed before following theughing team as they descended to the lower floor.


    There he found a strange gathering that resembled what was in the early hours of the morning. "All of them damn!" he cursed and others mistook his words as being surprised by the big number of masters here.


    "Finally you decided toe," Rana moved to wee him with a bigugh, "they all persisted toe," she pointed around in pride as if she did a great help to him.


    "We would stay here and defend this mansion," yet Mark suddenly stepped forward and said, "this ce is turning into one of the most important ces for the inner campus."


    Jim suddenly realized something. "Do they n to attack here? Isn''t it protected by the rules of the academy?"


    "They are bound by the rules," Igory appeared, "but they can still send disciples to cause trouble. You don''t know how dirty those folks are."


    "We already got news about such ns," the griffin potion master said.


    "They n to hit this mansion tonight," Mark said in a serious tone, "and we are here to prevent any disciple froming in."


    "But I''ll be there with you," Rana said as she turned to nce at Mark in warning.


    "Sigh, alright you and Igory will lead the protection inside that secret ce," Mark said and Jim knew everyone here bought the lie he said before.


    They thought the hidden room was connected to this mansion, and so they decided to move in such grand appearance to defend the mansion.


    And he felt more at ease. "Alright, can we let the disciples in?" he said.


    "You should be ready for any hidden actions from them," Mark warned, "they can buy anyone easily and let him turn against you."


    "I can handle that," Jim simply said, "just try to keep the mansion standing."


    "Leave it to me," Mark said and all the masters here nodded as well.


    ''They bought it pretty well,'' Jim couldn''t help but inwardlyugh while seeing their reactions.


    Jim watched them move and surround the mansion inyers while the disciples started to get in.


    "How can we get in there," Rana was more excited than Jim himself and he knew the reason behind that. The memory ofst night was still fresh in his mind, and her sexy words and moves kept jumping in his mind each time he saw her.


    "This way," he said while moving towards one wall before adding, "it''s there."


    "Hmm" Rana moved to check the wall with Mark and Igory. The three were interested like all others with this secret ce, and seemed more interested in the fact it was attached to one of the inner campus mansions.


    "I can''t feel anything," Mark muttered and Rana nodded while Igory stole a nce full of doubt towards Jim.


    Jim calmly smiled before taking out his token and pressed hard on it. the next moment the token flew free before it shone a bright light over the wall.


    And then a door magically appeared there.


    "If not for that dragon''s madness, I would havee with you," Mark said in regret.


    "So the door needs a key that''s quite new for me," Rana muttered, while Igory smiled and said nothing.


    ''He knows something,'' Jim could easily deduct that from the mere looks of Igory towards him and his strange calmness.


    ''But he won''t say a word for now at least,'' the old man said, ''and I doubt he would tell anyer on.''


    ''I hope so.''


    ''Even if he said, no one can use the token but you,'' the old manughed, ''that ce is only linked to you and without your permission, no one can even get near its door.''


    Jim knew his old man was right, but he hoped things wouldn''t get this far. "Let''s enter," he said while taking his orb and added, "I hope the space inside would be sufficient for all."


    The three masters moved aside while he went and opened the door. Then Rana and Igory followed before the rest of the team entered with everyone else lining behind in one long line.


    "This"


    The moment Jim entered, he heard the exmation of Rana. "This is just like Mark''s ss."


    "It''s stillrger," Igory said and Jim noticed the ce became more spacious as if it had expanded since thest time he was here.


    ''What''s going on?'' he couldn''t help but inwardly wonder.


    ''The room is adapting to the iing disciples,'' the old man said, ''don''t be surprised, it has its own intelligence.''


    ''I hope it can help us get stronger,'' he sighed, ''like manipting time or something.''


    He still was annoyed by the time difference between his special zone and his real world. If it could help in that, then he would see this ce as a gold mine.


    ''I doubt it can do that,'' the old man smashed all the dreams he had, ''but you can try and see.''


    ''I''ll definitely try,'' he then stepped forward towards the two masters, "What do you think? Isn''t it great?"


    "It''s really a good ce to train," Rana said, "even slightly better than the rooms I entered so far."


    "I agree with that," Igory muttered, "the density and quality of magic here is far beyond the outside world. I doubt I saw anything like it before except in those sacred rooms I read about once."

 Chapter 185: Some Are Causing Trouble

    Chapter 185: Some Are Causing Trouble


    He turned to gaze in a meaningful way towards Jim who suddenly felt nervous. "I''m d my mansion had something like this," heughed.


    "How did you get the key to this ce again?" Rana asked and this time she had more doubt than excitement.


    "I just felt my medal move on its own like you just said," he lied, "and frankly I dunno if the medal was the reason for that or anything else."


    "The medal" Rana softly whispered and was lost inside her own world.


    "What do you want me to teach here first?" Igory said but Jim pointed to him as he rified this point.


    "I will first teach them two spells, then you can do whatever you want."


    "You" Igory seemed surprised for a moment, "I have no objection to that, but do you even know any useful skills?" he said after a moment of realization of what Jim truly wanted to achieve here.


    "I have two simple spells that might help," Jim vaguely said before adding, "I''ll speak about them on the stage now."


    "Acting like a young master," Ranaughed and Igory only smiled.


    Jim moved to the central stage before ncing all around. "Wow, this spot has its own aura," he felt a strange nervousness the moment he stood there.


    ''Just start speaking and you''ll get used to this,'' the old man said while Jim kept inhaling and exhaling slowly to fade away his anxiety.


    "Wee to my private group for disciples, the Fairesse group," Jim first said after the entire hall was filled with disciples from the two campuses. "I''m Jim, the leader and founder of the group, and it''s my honor to wee you all here."


    "What''s the purpose of this group?"


    Suddenly a disciple shouted and when Jim saw him he realized drama wouldn''t bete to happen here.


    It was a disciple belonging to the giant n, Pol''s n.


    "It''s to respond over the clear threat of the dean and the core campus, helping each other to survive the next ordeal," Jim calmly said while preparing himself for the worst.


    ''How can I punish anyone here?'' he thought.


    ''Take out your token and hold it,'' the old man said, ''any thought you have the room willply with.''


    ''Even if I imagined a prison?''


    ''Even if you thought of killing someone, the room willply.''


    Jim had a moment of relief while that disciple arrogantly said:


    "It''s not our problem that the dean wanted to teach some rogue disciples a lesson. I just heard that he would punish anyone belonging to this group."


    "Yeah, I also heard that!" Another disciple spoke up, then many started to support such words.


    "Let''s leave this ce, whoever joins this foolish group will be responsible for whatever happens to him "


    The giant disciple couldn''tplete his words as the next moment a giant pir appeared all of sudden, mming his body from below and sending him all the way up the ceiling.


    "Boom!"


    The sound of shing against the ceiling reverberated everywhere in the hall. The entire crowd sucked in cold breaths while seeing that disciple taking out hisst breaths in front of them.


    "I have to be clear here," Jim suddenly spoke and his words rang without any interruption, "we are at war with the core campus. The dean dered this war in front of the entire masters of the inner campus, not to respond to my group presence. Plus"


    He paused before other disciples who just tried to instigate trouble here started to face the same fate. "I didn''t force anyone toe here. I just invited you and you answered. Any funny one with dirty thoughts should rethink thrice beforemiting any stupid actions or else this is the fate awaiting for them."


    The wails of these disciples made the others hesitant about leaving. The words and the trouble these folks tried to do was prematurely ended here by Jim''s ruthless actions.


    "In here I''m the master," Jim stated what was obvious, "and it doesn''t matter who you are or what grade you are in I won''t hesitate to protect all of my group members even if I have to face punishment from the academyter on."


    The entire hall went silent while Jim moved his eyes around. What he said and coupled with what he did made everyone realize he wasn''t joking.


    "The dean''s threats are real," suddenly Igory stepped in and stood beside Jim with a pleasant smile over his face, "I was there when he dered these threats. As a former member of the core campus I can assure you he ns to kill at least half of the entire disciples in the two campuses other than the core."


    Igory''s words added more weight to what Jim just said.


    "If you don''t want to die, then deal with this chance as the sole survival chance you ever had," Rana also spoke up as she stood on the stage, "or else you would regret not listening to Jim and be more prepared for what''sing."


    "You all know how brutal and far stronger those in the core campus are," Igory added, "plus they had much support in everything whether it''s resources, spells, gears, even the number of their ves are much bigger than all of usbined. It''s a hard war, and if you are afraid about being punished as those retarded said, then ask yourselves this what are the entire masters of the inner campus doing here then?"


    Hisst question killed any hesitation inside those sitting around, and Jim saw many nodding in agreement.


    ''Be alert, there are more spies hidden here than the ones you killed,'' yet the old man didn''t let him rejoice as fast as he warned him.


    ''I''ll be more vignt then,'' Jim thought with zero worry. After all he had nothing to lose here and even him killing disciples wouldn''t affect him.


    The dean and those arrogant masters in the core campus have to retrieve the dead bodies first to condemn him. No one would be able to enter here and he just thought of a way to clear up every single trace of their bodies.


    "Crunch!"

 Chapter 186: Older Grade Disciples Are Stepping Up

    Chapter 186: Older Grade Disciples Are Stepping Up


    Suddenly this voice appeared while the walls of the room started to swallow the dead bodies of those disciples in front of everyone. In less than a minute, not a single drop of blood remained.


    Only empty seats where those disciples sat were present.


    "Nice move," Igory praised, "you are doing great so far."


    Jim knew getting such apliment from a mad dragon like Igory wasn''t a good thing, but even Rana nodded in a serious face despite feeling her shock from what he just did.


    Yet he had to be ruthless if he wanted his baby group here to seed.


    And he knew this was war after all. If he didn''t kill, then he would be the one to fall.


    "Now it''s time for us to start training," Jim said and the two masters didn''t retreat but stood a couple of steps behind. "What I''m going to teach you are two simple spells. But don''t be mistaken, these spells would save your lives for sure."


    The disciples nodded and didn''t speak, as now anyone was frightened to speak more than their fear inside Rana''s ss.


    "The first one is a gear boosting spell. It''s one that''smonly used to maintain gears for a long time," he said before raising up his finger high in the air, "it''s made to addyers of energy upon your gears to preserve it. however theseyers can augment your gears and make them stronger."


    "You don''t mean the magic coating spell, right?" Rana couldn''t help but ask with an amazed expression over her face.


    "It is," Jim nodded, "and this spell is easy to learn, fast to perform, and the effects canst for a long time."


    He started to feel tingling in his raised finger, yet he kept speaking:


    "If you already know the spell, then you can start performing it now to see the results over your weapons and gears. If not, then you need to mimic my actions here but when you are training."


    "So we need to first train on magic before performing this spell?" one disciple asked.


    "It''s just to learn it, not to execute it," Jim said before he finally lowered his finger and touched the sword he just took out.


    The next moment his body was engulfed in golden light, but when the finger moved over the sword, that light intensified in a visible way.


    And that made many disciples surprised, especially those already aware of this spell.


    "Now this is the current effect of what I gathered," he said after a few rounds of augmenting his sword, "the more you gather, the stronger that boosting would be. Plus this isn''t just for your weapons; any other gear can be augmented as well. Now it''s your time to try."


    The disciples then were hesitant for a few minutes while whispering between themselves. Jim didn''t hurry to rush them, after all this was his first lesson and he wanted them to totally believe in him.


    Also he moved his gaze looking for hidden traitors, after all anyone who would do any trouble would be punished at the spot.


    Just as many were hesitant, two disciples started to move. One belonged to the hydra pantheon and the other to the griffin.


    The two simply raised their fingers high up and that simple move attracted the attention of everyone.


    "They belong to the eighth grade," Rana whispered, "and they are considered one of the strongest disciples the inner campus had."


    Jim started to nce in a serious way towards the two, wondering how good they would do. The two took roughly half an hour raising their fingers in the air, and with time Jim spotted the energy umted around their fingers to cause some physical reaction in the form of dancing arcs.


    The arcs looked like electric tongues dancing around their fingers, appearing from time to time.


    Then they took out their weapons, one huge hammer and one long saber.


    "Impressive," the griffin pantheon disciple muttered in deep amazement, "my hammer got more than five hundred percent bonus simply like this!"


    "Mine got six hundred," the hydra kidughed, "mine has be stronger than yours."


    "Humph, as if weak sabers can rival strong hammers," the griffin kid didn''t show any sign of weakness while answering the provocation of his friend.


    And Jim realized the two were originally rivals, and that made him have a sudden idea.


    "Why not start testing the two weapons then?" he suddenly said before adding under the doubtful gazes of everyone, "inside that expedition, winning isn''t decided only by mere strength but teamwork. So"


    The next moment a giant arena appeared as one wall of the hall moved and cleared a path for everyone to see. It was simply like the arena of the academy, and not any way less in size.


    "I believe you two should each lead a team and start training on group fights," Jim said and his words made everyone realize many things.


    "There is an arena here?!" Even Igory was surprised to see that.


    "Not one," Jimughed before pointing towards three other walls where three arenas appeared in the same way, "there are four here."


    "Impressive," the griffin kid said, "this is much better than just sitting around and hearing lessons like being in ss."


    Hisughs made others nod and smile in agreement while Jim only smiled in content towards that reaction he got from them.


    "But first others need to train and perform the spell before being able to join you," Jim said, "as there, the arenas are safe. No one will be greatly harmed or killed."


    This time his words left a deep impression on everyone. "That''s great, this way I can use all my shy moves without any problems," the hydra kidughed before turning to his rival, "I''ll crush you."


    "Humph... As if I ever fought you with full force."


    "Count me in," suddenly another disciple stepped up, "and I''ll be a leader of another group."

 Chapter 187: We Have To Help Him

    Chapter 187: We Have To Help Him


    Jim nced at this Banshee kid with some vignce. After all giants were all hailing from the same pantheon as this giant kid, and he didn''t have good impression about giants. That kid had a strange ck lightning thin tongues dancing under his skin, adding more vibe to himself.


    "He is Hector," Igory said, "even in core campus this kid is famous."


    Jim turned with a questioning look. "He belongs to a rare n of the Banshees, but they ditched him because of envy and didn''t nourish him," Rana said, "he has deep resentment against them and as a disciple of tenth grade, he is quite a powerhouse of his own."


    Jim''s eyes shone brightly as he smiled in understanding. "Any one confident enough in leading a team can step up and join this challenge," he suddenly said with augh, "let''s all enjoy and have fun while training and get stronger. But I have to warn you"


    He paused before pointing to a certain direction, "out there we havemon enemies and our goal is to crush them, not beat ourselves."


    The three kids nodded before three more stood up and Rana introduced them to be members of the ninth and tenth grade.


    "The arena can''t take us all," Hector said in a very cheerful tone, "what about we divide ourselves over these arenas then?"


    He pointed towards the other three arenas lying around.


    "I have no objection," Jim simply said, "do as you all wish, and I''ll make sure to support you all."


    Hectorughed wholeheartedly and Jim felt he was truly enjoying this challenge. "Can you add some obstacles? Like some rocks or a few trees?"


    "Sure," Jim simply waved his hand and instantly the arenas got erged further with roaring voices before many trees andrge pieces of rocks and even sand hills appeared. "Does that suit you?" he asked and Hectorughed louder, even his body trembled.


    "That''s even better, I like this ce," he said and all others nodded in agreement.


    "Others can start training before being able to join them," Jim said before pointing at thest arena, "this one will be the grand arena. We will all try to fight in big groups there so we can hone our team work."


    He said after some disciples moved to join the six powerhouses while the rest were hesitant. "All those joining must activate the spell first," Jim said before adding, "or else return to learn it first then join themter."


    "Can we join them the moment we finish learning?" an outer disciple asked with anticipation.


    "Sure, you first need to learn the spell then go out there and test it."


    Disciples started to whisper among themselves while the griffin kidughed. "Don''t rush things out, after all these fights would be on a level you can''t stand if you aren''t well prepared."


    He wasn''t boasting but honestly advising others. As Jim watched them move to the three arenas, he turned to Rana and asked:


    "What about other disciples of higher grades?"


    He doubted the entire campus had such a low number in their higher grades.


    "Some are already following the rules of the core disciples, while the rest were killed over the years," Rana said while Igory said to exin further:


    "The higher you climb, the more powerful you be. If you don''t belong to a powerhouse of the core campus, then the core disciples would scheme to kill you."


    "This simple?" Jim was surprised to hear that.


    "There are many ways to do so," Rana bitterly said, "the arena, the forest expedition but most of our losses came regrly from the fight at the outer battlefield."


    As Jim showed his shock over his face, Igory could only sigh as he said:


    "This is to ensure the continuation of the ancient heirachracy of pantheons over everyone."


    "But won''t that weaken the academy?" Jim couldn''t help but say.


    "The academy only cares about the core disciples," Igory said before adding, "didn''t you notice that all the masters here came mainly from the pantheons directly? We all were once core disciples."


    This made Jim realize that he never saw anyone not belonging to the pantheon main n as a master. Realizing that made him scared, and his face told the two in front of him everything.


    "Don''t worry, we already tasted the partial treatment the academy does to those other than the core campus even masters had it harder than you think," Rana said, trying to reassure him.


    "So it''s safe to depend on us," Igory said with a pale smile over his face, "the core campus made everyone else their enemies. You just need to focus on this group, who knows this might turn out to be something big in the near future."


    Rana nodded in agreement and Jim finally realized the group he thought of on a whim had more impact than he initially imagined.


    "What will you do?" Igory asked, "won''t you join them?"


    Jim turned to those inside the three arenas as an intense fight started to rage inside. "I have to train," he resisted the urge to stand and watch, "I''m still weak to protect myself against their attacks yet."


    "Then train," Rana nodded, "we''ll take it from you here and teach them simple spells that would make a big impact on the uing fight."


    "Thanks," Jim nodded before going to a side of the stage, sat down and closed his eyes before entering inside his own world.


    "He is a good kid," Igory said after seeing Jim entering his training world.


    "But he is shining way faster than usual," Rana seriously said before adding while gazing at Igory directly in the eye, "you know how that mad dragon would do towards him if he kept shining like this."


    "It''s his destiny," Igory shrugged.


    "Yet we have to help him," Rana didn''t ept such ament, "we need to give him some space to move in and grow."


    "I agree," Igory sighed, "but you know, we are more bound by the rules than them."

 Chapter 188: Testing New Things Out

    Chapter 188: Testing New Things Out


    "I don''t mean here," she moved her eyes around, "I mean out there. The forest expedition won''t be a hurdle, but that battlefield will."


    "That ughter house but helping him there would require more arrangements," Igory paused, "and much resources."


    "I''m not afraid of our enemies, but of our allies," Rana said, "we need to provide him some help and prepare for that from now."


    "I''ll do my best," Igory said, "but I alone can''t do anything big to help."


    "You aren''t alone," Rana firmly said, "I''m already gathering up my own team to help."


    And this time Igory was surprised as he raised an eyebrow before asking:


    "All from the academy I assume?"


    "Keep assuming then," sheughed, "just do your part and start preparing your forces."


    Igory didn''t ask more despite having deep doubts towards her words and ns. Yet he only cared about having his revenge, and he wouldn''t hesitate to use any chance to achieve that.


    As for Jim, the moment he entered his perfect moment he was separated from the real world. So what happened just now wasn''t known by him.


    Yet there was another one who heard and learnt about these ns, yet he decided not to tell Jim about it for now at least.


    "I want to test out something," just as Jim entered the world he thought of his medal and the next moment he felt its cold metallic feeling on his skin.


    "It worked," he smiled before tossing it up in the air, "time to test if that would be possible."


    He grabbed the medal firmly before thinking only of one thing ''Give me a space where time runs much slower than the real world,'' he had this thought in mind and kept focusing deep upon it.


    Yet even after five minutes passed he didn''t feel anything. "Weird should I get out then and try?" he thought.


    ''It worked,'' the old man said.


    "But I couldn''t feel anything," Jim was skeptical as he didn''t feel anything happening at all.


    ''It creates a bubble around you in the outside world,'' the old man said, ''but I can''t tell how effective this will be.''


    "Really?" Jim''s eyes shone brightly beforeughing, "then let''s put it to test. Come out," he touched his tattoo and let Done out.


    "Master," Don greeted the moment he arrived, "thanks for taking me out."


    Jim smiled before waving around, "go and jump and y as much as you want."


    ''What will you train next?'' the old man said.


    "I want a shy spell," Jim asked, "but before that let me test another thing."


    Before the old man could say anything, Jimnded on the ground and closed his eyes. He started to regte his breathing before imagining the same moment once again.


    "Damn!"


    Yet the moment he did so, he felt intense paining as a rebound from using the same technique.


    ''The two shed with each other,'' the old man said, ''and luckily you only got some physical wounds, nothing bad to your soul.''


    Jim felt pain all over his body but there was no sign of any wound. ''It appeared on your real body, not here,'' the old man exined and he got the meaning.


    "Then I should change my approach then," Jim took a deep breath before enduring the pain he was feeling right now.


    ''Shouldn''t you wait and recover first?''


    "No time, and I need to know if this idea would seed or not," Jim was stubborn and the old man didn''t try to stop him.


    After all he felt the sess of this idea and if that happened, then Jim would gain much more from his own training.


    "If using the same memory didn''t work, then what about using another one?" Jim thought before closing his eyes, regted his breathing and started to recall one single memory.


    The memory of that closet.


    This time the world around vibrated but he didn''t feel it. Don nced in panic towards his master before seeing a goldenyer of light starting to appear around him, turning Jim into a shining little star in this world.


    The shaking continued until Jim finally opened his eyes and found himself inside his closet once more.


    "It worked," he muttered before turning around, "but it seemed a little hard to maintain this for a long time."


    ''At least you seeded,'' the old man said in a happy tone, ''try to maintain this world as long as you can.''


    Jim didn''t speak again as he tried to recall this memory and think of each single detail inside his mind. Despite having managed to recall it many times already, he felt there were many missing pieces of this long memory.


    Plus he never focused this much over this closet before when he lived in it. he just thought of it as his escape ce, where no one woulde and bother him like usual.


    Yet despite all his effort, he couldn''t maintain his presence there for more than one hour. Once the hour passed, he saw the world crashing all around before he returned again to the world of the game field.


    "Only one hour" he muttered while lost in thought.


    "Master, you you were shining brightly all around just now!"


    Just as he was contemting what happened, Don''s words distracted him from his thoughts. "I was shining?" he asked.


    "In bright gold light," Don said, "I was worried at first until those wisps started to appear all around like fire."


    "Wisps?" Jim was at a loss of what Don was saying.


    ''It''s the manifestation of your magic power,'' the old man suddenly said, ''don''t panic, this is normal.''


    "Ah I see," Jim muttered, "so that means my energy increased?"


    ''I believe so,'' the old man paused, ''but can''t tell before trying a spell out.''


    "Then teach me one old man," Jimughed, "I want something strong."


    ''Let me see There is a spell that requires muchrger energy than you normally have,'' the old man paused for a long minute before returning again, ''it''s something so old and only exclusive to fairies.''

 Chapter 189: Gaining More Benefits

    Chapter 189: Gaining More Benefits


    "Then let''s try it then," Jim was excited when he heard that. His first spell to learn was such a grand one that he still depended entirely upon.


    ''This spell needs arge amount of energy, but only your energy, not the one absorbed by your fairy king power,'' the old man said before exining, ''the only advantage here is the presence of the Seson monster to your side. He will help you a lot in doing it.''


    "What''s that amazing spell? C''mon, don''t leave me hanging like this."


    The old manughed, ''I''m about to tell you, just be patient and first you need to prepare your energy.''


    "Prepare?" Jim didn''t get the old man''s meaning.


    ''This spell is shy and would consume all your energy in one go,'' the old man warned, ''so you need to umte enough energy first before activating it.''


    "How?"


    ''Just raise both hands in the air and clench your fingers tight,'' the old man said, ''then I''ll tell you what to do.''


    "Alright," Jim raised both hands up in the air and did as the old man said.


    ''Tell your pet to give energy to you,'' the old man said after Jim started to feel a strange burning sensation over his two closed fists.


    "Don,e and help me fast!" Jim didn''t hesitate to shout at his pet and Don instantly moved to stand beside him, rubbing his body on his feet.


    "This is the way you will support me with energy it''s ridiculous!"


    Jim was surprised to see what Don was doing and couldn''t help but express his doubts.


    ''It''s the simple and effective way,'' the old manughed, ''but in fights he can support you from distance while fighting. Yet this won''t give you the same amount of energy as now.''


    "Oh, so I have to keep him beside me all the time?"


    ''Not necessarily,'' the old manughed, ''just make sure not to lose his sight in any fight. After all you still are limited with a certain range to gain his benefits.''


    "I would keep that in mind," Jim nodded, "now what should I do? My hands are turning like two pieces of fire!"


    ''Your energy is stillcking,'' the old man said, ''keep umting energy until you gather enough.''


    Jim could only sigh and return to endure the growing pain. His energy kept gathering up while the color of his hands turned from red to golden in slow motion.


    "Now?" he gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to scream in pain.


    ''Not yet,'' the old man said and Jim could only endure.


    umting his energy took ten minutes, but for him he felt like an entire day had passed. His body was now soaked with sweat and his muscles were now twitching from time to time.


    ''Alright, that''s enough,'' the old man suddenly said, ''descend your hands, the right one pointing to the left and the left is pointing to the ground.''


    "Finally," Jim reached his limits a long time ago. At this moment he didn''t care anymore about the spell and only wanted this torture to end.


    Just as he descended his arms the same way his old man just told him, he felt a strange thing. It was as if his two hands just gave birth to new arms, thick and strong as they extended beyond his body and went far into the distance.


    ''Can you feel them?'' the old man asked.


    "I feel like having long arms now," Jim slowly said.


    ''These are the arms of punishment,'' the old man proudly said, ''they can hit anything and smash it away. Plus they can cause deep wounds against those at your level or slightly stronger.''


    "You mean my grade?"


    ''I mean your magic power level,'' the old man said, ''for example I believe facing someone like Lim would be a breeze for you with this spell.''


    Jim turned around but he found no target to practice upon. "How long would this spellst?"


    ''For your current energy? Hmm I believe five minutes is the limit.''


    "That''s not bad," Jim nodded, "but the only issue is the time needed to gather up the energy."


    ''This is just your first time,'' the old man said, ''now shake off your hands and dispel the spell. Train more so your time will be greatly reduced.''


    "Alright," Jim shook off his hands and felt the previous feeling vanish, "what about the time difference now? How much time has passed in the real world?"


    ''I believe not much,'' the old man said, ''the same time you passed here passed in the outside world.''


    "Wow, that''s amazing!"


    Jim was content with such a result. "From now on I''ll only train here," he decided as this would save him a lot of time and effort.


    ''Stop wasting time then and start training.''


    Jim nodded before starting to raise both fists high and started gathering up his energy again.


    After some time of training he noticed something. "My speed of gathering up energy increased, but I also feel the quality of my energy to grow as well."


    ''That''s normal, after all this ce is meant to support your energy and grow it stronger,'' the old man said, ''plus this is only you having the firstyer, imagine having more.''


    "Firstyer?"


    ''The magic energy can be measured in many ways, but the simplest is to count theyers of energy gathered upon one''s body,'' the old man exined, ''for example you have oneyer, but someone like Lim would have two. Master like Rana would have five at least, and I believe Igory should have more than seven.''


    "Hmm So theseyers are a rough method to measure everyone''s power?"


    ''In fight you won''t ask your enemy to test his power using any of the usual means in the academy,'' the old manughed, ''you should have other means to know if you should fight or run.''


    "I understand," Jim nodded, "so how should I increase theseyers then?"

 Chapter 190: A Sudden Attack!

    Chapter 190: A Sudden Attack!


    ''Constant training here plus using more energy in spells. So the old saying of always fighting always getting stronger didn''te from nothing.''


    "First time to hear it," Jim muttered.


    ''That''s because you were born in a low world.''


    Jim ignored these remarks before starting to train again. After some time he started to gather up his energy in one minute, but he couldn''t lower the time further no matter how he tried.


    ''It''s your limit kid,'' the old man stopped him, ''you won''t be able to bypass that before increasing your power again.''


    "Sigh, one minute isn''t bad," Jim sighed before ncing around. "How are those outside doing?"


    ''They are having much fun,'' the old manughed.


    "Then I should join them," Jimughed but the old man stopped him.


    ''No, that would be a grave mistake,'' the old man said before adding, ''you should keep your own power as secret as it could be and not show off any of your current strength.''


    "But" Jim hesitated. There were many higher disciples out there fighting at the moment and he wanted to train with them.


    This was such a rare chance where the rules of the academy didn''t apply here. He could fight one in tenth grade and gain many insights.


    ''You should think wiser,'' the old man advised, ''there are many eyes out there who would deliver everything you do to your enemies. You should remain vague and hidden, and with your current strength I doubt you would face any trouble dealing with any higher disciple.''


    "Sigh, then should I go out and watch?"


    ''Stay and train,'' the old man said like a strict master, ''there is only a limited amount of time avable for you. Leave the two masters outside doing their tasks and you focus on growing stronger.''


    ""


    Jim wasn''t happy by this yet he didn''t object. Deep down his soul he knew the old man''s words were correct and he should cover himself with a veil of mystery.


    This way his survival would be much higher in the forest.


    Jim then started to train in a fixed routine. First he would enter his closet world before everything crashed down. After that he would start practicing over his three new spells while giving his dancing spell a shot from time to time.


    When he used his dancing spell he was surprised to see it could affect the other three spells at the same time.


    "So I need to activate the spell directly after using one spell each time or in a bulk?" he thought before starting to experiment again.


    Yet his time here was doomed to be limited as the old man stopped him midway as he said:


    ''Igory will awaken you now.''


    The next moment he felt someone shaking off his body before getting out of the training world and returning to the real world.


    "Wee back," Igory said with a big smile over his face, "the night just passed and you should call this off for now."


    Jim nced around as he stood up. The three arenas were now filled with all the disciples, including his team. "This fast?" he couldn''t help but mutter, "but they seem quite amused."


    "There is a grand training in the inner campus," Rana said, "everyone should arrive there as Mark will speak about the big strategy in that expedition."


    "Alright," Jim took a deep breath while watching the shy spells being used by everyone. "Please stop training, we have another ce we should go to now."


    His voice wasn''t that loud but strangely everyone could perfectly hear it. Everyone stopped while he added, "Master Mark wants us at the inner campus now to discuss the strategy of the next expedition."


    "Can''t we keep ying here?" the Banshee kid shouted.


    "I don''t want to return now, I''m enjoying this," the griffin kid said.


    "We should keep ourselves here. After all those who are outside aren''t our allies but enemies," Hector moved towards the stage while adding, "can''t you ask master Mark to cancel the meeting? I doubt anyone outside here would be of any use."


    "This" Rana hesitated while exchanging nces with Igory.


    "I agree with what he said," Jim said, "those who didn''t show up aren''t on our side."


    "Plus exposing any of our tactics to them isn''t a wise thing to do now," Hector added, "it''s best to continue training and fighting here. The arenas here are magical and no one had any serious wounds no matter what."


    "Let me go and speak with him then," Rana sighed, "but keep yourselves ready. If he asked for you toe out then you all shouldply."


    "Yes ma''am," Hector nodded before hitting Jim with his elbow as he added with a shortugh, "I bet he would agree to leave us here."


    "I hope so," Jim smiled while feeling sour from the ce he just got hit at. Hector was joking yet this simple hit pained him.


    And he realized the wide gap between someone in the first and tenth grade.


    "If he epted that, then he would ask toe here," Rana said before adding, "take me out and leave the door open."


    "I''lle with you," Jim said as he didn''t guarantee leaving the door open.


    The next thing happened was for him to take out his medal and press hard on it before a door opened in the wall.


    Then he and Rana vanished from the room.


    "What the hell?"


    The next moment he spotted raging fire all over the mansion while loud voices of explosions appeared from everywhere. The mansion was filled with burnt items, and the shouts of many masters came from the world outside.


    "What''s going on?" Rana didn''t stop there and darted instantly towards the outside.


    And Jim followed without dy, except he was much slower than her.


    The moment he exited the mansion, he saw a strange scene. Thick tongues of fire descended from the sky, targeting the mansion and many masters were busy defending against this.

 Chapter 191: Jim Went Crazy!

    Chapter 191: Jim Went Crazy!


    "What brought you out?" Mark instantly appeared beside the two, "it''s not safe here for now."


    "What happened?" Rana asked, "Is he crazy to attack us?"


    Mark showed his struggle before saying, "it all happened an hour ago. Suddenly these meteorites came down, crashing over here and many other ces of the academy."


    "And?" Rana calmly asked while the sounds of explosions raged wildly all over the ce.


    "The dean sent just now he ims this is a raid from the enemy," Mark said while his eyes told something else.


    "Oh he asked toe and help, right?" Rana got what he didn''t say and he simply nodded.


    "Aren''t the shields active?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    When he meddled with the shields before the entire academy went berserk and now the academy seemed defenseless.


    "He said it was due to the sudden disturbance at the shields," Mark said, "he ims this was the side effect of meddling with shields."


    "What about other ces?" Rana asked.


    "I''ve got reports that some random mansions got hit."


    "The core mansions?"


    "Couple got destroyed."


    "He is ying it smart then," Rana evilly smiled, "can you handle it here?"


    "We can just keep everyone inside. I doubt he will keep hitting here for a long time."


    "I''ll stay behind," Rana firmly said, "Igory will do just fine alone."


    Mark wanted to ask about the special room but the next wave of rocks came to lighten up the entire sky. Jim watched them stopping for a moment at arge distance above the academy sky before some crashed in and others withered away.


    "Go, go now and leave this ce to us," Mark said before promising, "I won''t let anyone touch this mansion or get near it."


    Jim nced at the long thick tongues of fire inside the mansion and could only sigh.


    Just as he returned inside under the warning shouts of Rana to not cause any harm to himself, the old man suddenly stopped him as he said:


    ''It''s a good chance to support your power.''


    Jim paused and suddenly got what he meant. "Yeah, I miss Jenny''s fire the most," heughed before simply extending his hands and touching the fire on one wall.


    In the next moment the fire all around got violent for a few moments. ''Hahaha, as I thought this isn''t a simple fire at all but filled with special energy to keep it burning for a long time.''


    "Is it good for me?" Jim asked while noticing the fire getting more berserk, not like what he thought.


    ''Take it all,'' the old manughed, ''don''t leave a wisp behind. Your magic energy would grow further thanks to that. Just keep your hands fixed there and let all the fire enter your body.''


    Jim was about to say he wasn''t the one preventing the fire from getting inside his body but the fire started to show a new change.


    Like an iron attracted to a ma, the fire started to move fast towards him.


    Then his body was lit entirely on fire in no time.


    "Jim!" Mark and Rana noticed alongside many masters what happened, yet before any would react, Jim shouted:


    "Stay back I got this!"


    He knew they were worried over him, so he stopped them before wasting any time or effort here.


    As he spoke up, the masters returned to their duties while Rana and Mark kept checking on his state.


    His body had long vanished and only arge piece of wild fire reced it. Jim wasn''t feeling any pain or difort, in fact he had a wonderful feeling at this moment.


    It was like he was bathed with light not fire, a blessing light that kept strengthening his body and replenishing his soul.


    "Sigh, it didn''tst long," he regretfully said when he absorbed the entire fire clean, leaving the mansion stained only with ck marks.


    ''If you want you can stay back and start absorbing any fallen fire,'' the old man said beforeughing, ''or you can move outside and start collecting those deflected fiery rocks from all over the ce.''


    "Yeah, that would be better," Jim''s eyes shed with bright golden light before he suddenly wore off his special boots and took out his wings. "I shouldn''t waste much time then."


    Like a rocket he moved and his speed soared with the help of his game gears. The masters all around watched his after image while he moved towards the nearest cluster of fire and threw himself at it.


    "What are you doing?!!" Rana shouted in deep shock while appearing next to him.


    "I''m removing these fires," he simply said, "excuse me, I have more ces to visit."


    The next moment he vanished as he threw himself towards the next burning rock, then another. He kept moving like this while Rana muttered from far behind:


    "Sigh, you are far crazier than I thought," she couldn''t help but turn her gaze towards the mansion, "was that madness contagious or what?"


    Jim didn''t care about anything. As a beggar finding himself inside the vault of the city lord, he didn''t hesitate to reach every single burning rock and smash directly into it.


    Each rock was shattered by his speed, and the fire around got wild for a brief moment before it started to be obedient and wrap him inyers.


    Finally after a long hour of doing these crazy jumps, the entire ce looked dim except for him. He stood there watching the dark sky while his fire kept illuminating the far faces of the stupefied masters.


    They never thought he would gather all the fire they worked so hard to deflect this easily and stay alive.


    "He is something," Mark couldn''t help but sigh, "and I was worried about him defending his mansion we have a monster inside our campusdies and gentlemen."


    Heughed and othersughed at his remarks. They were all happy and proud by what Jim was doing, but Jim wasn''t.

 Chapter 192: An Enemy Arrives

    Chapter 192: An Enemy Arrives


    "That bastard! Did he see me gaining benefits and decided to stop attacking?" he was furious as his greed took over him at this moment. He wanted more, and yet for the next half an hour not a single meteorite was sent to attack the academy.


    ''Hahaha, it''s not his fault. After all, using such spells requires a lot of power and I bet he consumed a lot to send all these attacks.''


    "Yet he could work harder, right?" Jim was still dissatisfied with such an end, "if I cursed him in the open then he would send more? Would that work?"


    ''Hahaha, he mighte and kill you in person in that case,'' the old man was having his fun while Jim was getting more furious.


    ''Calm down,'' the old man said, ''don''t let the hatred in that energy take over your soul.''


    Jim suddenly realized he was acting weird just now. Even if he was greedy, he should be content with what he got.


    Even after half an hour, the fire kept raging wildly and it looked like it would need more hours to die.


    "Sigh, I should train more and learn how to control this," Jim muttered before noticing the approach of a new figure all of sudden.


    "It''s him!" and suddenly his dying anger reignited again when he saw his deadly enemy appearing here.


    "Pol, what are you doing here?" Rana coldly said while Pol sneered and ignored her.


    "The dean sent me to ask if you need any reinforcements," he said to Mark before turning his gaze towards Jim, "but it seems you don''t need any."


    His face was dark as he thought that n would have seeded in destroying the mansion or setting the entire ce into chaos. Mark grinned while replying:


    "Send my thanks to him, we survived this attack like usual."


    Pol nced at Mark and got the hidden message. "I''ll pass your words to the dean," Pol then turned to Jim and couldn''t help but say, "why not add some water upon him?"


    The next moment he vanished and the next thing happened was for him to use one of his n''s famous abilities the earth prison ability!


    Despite needing more than one to perform it, he managed to pull that spell alone. Jim was vigntly watching him, and the moment Polnded in front of him and moved his arms to the ground and smashed it hard, he moved.


    His speed was a surprise to Pol, who imagined him to be as slow as usual. But the new speed and the timely usage of it took him by surprise, and he wasted his spell simply like that.


    Then many masters stood in front of Pol, shielding Jim behind.


    "If I don''t know you well I would have thought you tried to attack my disciple just now," Mark coldly said and Pol stood straight before sneering.


    "I was trying to help," he only said before vanishing, "it''s not a good thing to refuse a helping hand sometimes."


    "Humph," Rana coldly harrumphed while other masters turned to Jim to check upon him.


    "I''m good," Jim said as his silhouette was veiled from their sight by the thick tongues of fire all around, "I just need a couple of hours and will be better."


    "Take all the time you want," Mark said as he motioned with his head to some masters. And instantly Jim was surrounded by threeyers of defending masters.


    "Others stay sharp, I don''t guarantee that mad dragon would act again," Mark shouted and Jim watched the masters dispersed all over the ce, protecting his mansion from any attacks.


    "I hope he does," yet he slowly muttered.


    ''Control you rage, boy,'' the old man warned again, ''you saw your power it''s rising, right?''


    ''Hehehe, yes old man, it is,'' Jim smiled in content as during the previous sh he didn''t escape unscathed from Pol''s mighty wave.


    He got hit by the aftershock of that giant earth wave, but his body managed to endure it while gaining no harm in return.


    If he received such a hit before absorbing all this fire then he would have gotten a bad injury without doubt. He even doubted his high speed would reach this level with the aid of his gears alone.


    ''Absorb all the fire then,'' the old man sneered, ''I doubt any disciple of that arrogant core circle would be able toy a hand over you.''


    ''It''s just those higher than me with one grade,'' Jim bitterly said, ''did you see how Hector''s simple hit caused me such difort and pain? Those higher than me are real monsters.''


    ''Being able to handle those older than you with one year is impressive in itself,'' the old man said, ''I just hope no one would be so foolish to break thews and lose all his future for that.''


    ''Can he do that?'' Jim understood the hidden meaning of his old man.


    ''He is a dirty dragon who doesn''t even care about his academy. He can do anything including buying anyone to break thews.''


    ''This'' Jim realized the logic in the old man''s words, ''he could only use any ve of the outer campus to do that,'' he helplessly sighed.


    ''Don''t worry too much, you''ve got yourself a good backing from higher grades.''


    Jim went into silence while realizing what the old man meant. Disciples like Hector and other high grade ones were on his side. "But the problem still lies in their few numbers," he sighed.


    ''At least their presence would scare anyone,'' the old man said, ''just get closer to them and make sure not to walk far away from their ce.''


    "I hope they won''t mind that," Jim could only pray before thinking about the next day''s expedition.


    He had almost twenty-four hours left before the start of that expedition, and that made him reconsider his earlier ns.


    ''Can you teach me another shy move?'' Jim couldn''t help but say to his old man in anticipation.

 Chapter 193: The Mansion Must Stay Intact!

    Chapter 193: The Mansion Must Stay Intact!


    ''Having more spells doesn''t mean you are stronger. You need to take your time in strengthening the spells you have and increase the power you have.''


    ''Sigh, I just want more options,'' Jim couldn''t help but say.


    ''Don''t worry, you already have enough to deal with most of the threats waiting for you out there.''


    Jim went into silence and stayed there for hours. It wasn''t until dawn appeared and the early rays of the sun appeared in the sky for him to finally absorb the fire.


    "I feel sleepy," he yawned before turning towards his damaged mansion, "even my home has been ruined screw him!"


    As the fire died down, Mark and Rana appeared next to him and started examining his body.


    "Not a scratch impressive," Mark muttered.


    "I heard you can deal with fire and lightning, but never thought you could deal with such cursed fire," Rana said in admiration.


    "Cursed fire?" Jim was the first to hear such words, "wasn''t it normal fire?"


    "Normal fire? No, it was a special kind of fire used only by those in the outer battlefield," Mark shook his head before adding, "so no one can link this attack to the core campus at all."


    "Oh I see," Jim nodded before turning towards the mansion, "I should get in and let others return home then."


    "Well" Mark paused as he turned to Rana, asking for her support.


    "Mark wanted to enter the room and examine it," Rana said, which Mark hesitated to ask.


    "You cane," Jim casually said. After all he wasn''t that worried about Mark as Rana must have told him about the special circumstances of the room.


    "I heard there are special arenas inside," Mark said like a young boy happy of gaining a new gear or toy, "is that linked to that space?"


    They were standing in front of the wall now while Jim let his medal flew up and lightened the door. "It''s part of the space," he only said and didn''t give any more details.


    The next moment they entered through the door to find everyone inside were immersed in fighting. This time Igory selected a team of those high up grades and fought everyone else.


    And when Jim and the other two saw this they could only feel regret over those fighting against Igory''s team.


    He was like a monster, alone could crush anyone standing against him.


    "Oh you''vee," Igory noticed them and stopped the fight before moving fast to stand in front of them, "you surely took your time out there boy," he said in a strong tone towards Jim.


    But Rana told him what he missed and the more she spoke the darker his face became.


    "That bastard he even used our enemies to attack us!!" his voice thundered in the entire hall before Mark calmed him down.


    "We managed to defend the mansion and everything now looks good."


    "This mansion must stand intact!" Igory dered while giving Jim a meaningful nce.


    Yet Jim didn''t move an inch. After all they were speaking about his ce, even if his secret room was secured away from the mansion, he needed to hear what they would n to protect him and his home.


    "I can move the mansion to be situated inside the inner campus," Mark suddenly said but Igory shook his head.


    "We don''t know how this mansion is connected to this ce. Who knows if we touched it that mysterious connection would be lost."


    The face of Mark changed for a moment before he said, "then we should assign a regr garrison here."


    "That would take up some of our resources," Rana said, "and y''know after all this fighting that bastard won''t add anymore masters except those loyal to him."


    "Then what should we do?" Mark asked.


    "The protective shields we must connect this mansion to them," Igory said and his words seemed light to Jim.


    However from the shocked expression over Rana and the serious look over Mark''s face he knew this wasn''t as simple a suggestion as he thought.


    "We can try," Mark said, "but y''know how hard this would be."


    "At least we will have a better chance in defending this mansion," Igory shrugged before adding, "we need the support of the pantheons in this. You should go and start arranging things."


    "Will we move now?" Mark was surprised.


    "Not today of course," Igory shook his head, "I got a positive feeling about that expedition. After it that mad dragon would scheme another trap and this time I''m quite sure we won''t be able to defend perfectly against it."


    "So you want us to start moving once the expedition ends, right?" Rana got his meaning as she expressed her thoughts.


    "That''s the best timing for us," Igory nodded, "plus we need to appoint strict security here during the expedition itself. Plus we should monitor the expedition to make sure that mad dragon won''t interfere in any way."


    His words got the nod from the other two while Jim only stood there and watched how adults y.


    "You can go and tell them to rest," Mark suddenly turned to Jim, "it''s enough training for one night. They needed some rest."


    "Rest?" Igory couldn''t help butugh, "damn me! These boys are very addicted to fighting here under the new rules and won''t ept to leave."


    He pointed towards the intense fighting going on even after he stopped the fight and left, "they are deeply impressed by this ce. Plus I doubt they are tired at all."


    "Oh," the eyes of Mark shone brighter, "this ce regenerates consumed magic?" he asked in a strange excitement.


    And Igory nodded with a big smile as if he knew what stirred up Mark in such a way.


    "Oh mighty fairies I should stay here for some time then," Mark excitedly said before turning to Jim, "you can sleep outside if you want, I''ll stay here with others and test something out."


    "Only one thing?" Igoryughed as if he already knew what Mark intended, "but we need one of us to stay outside."


    "You go," Rana firmly said, "you stayed here the longest and didn''t take part in that fight."


    "Yeah, you are right," Igory moved his body muscles as if he was warming them up, "I''m sure that mad dragon won''t stay silent and watch us train here. I''ll be outside and hold the fort then."


    "Good luck," Mark said with strange happiness and even didn''t wait to see Igory leave.


    He jumped the next moment and stood in the center stage before taking out many items and starting to work on them.


    "He just loves anything that''s rted to magic," Ranaughed while patting over Jim''s shoulders, "go and rest big boy, today is all that we got to prepare."


    "Yeah, tomorrow is the big day," Jim simply said before pointing in one direction. "If anyone wants to rest, they can freely join me."


    "Damn me!"


    In front of Rana, one part of the adjacent wall moved to show off another hall that wasn''t any less grand than the one they currently were in. There were many low leveled beds all over the ce, as if this was a private dorm of a hidden army.


    "What other mysteries do you have inside that little body of yours?" and she could only stand there watching him enter that hall and casually throw his body over one bed.


    And despite hearing her soft words he didn''tment or turn to her while letting his body drown into the deep sleep while muttering: "Tomorrow is the big day."

 Chapter 194: A Fort!

    Chapter 194: A Fort!


    Jim slept for long hours, yet when he woke up he found the entire hall he created with mere thought was filled.


    "All of them they seemed so tired," he smiled before moving his body off the low bed.


    "Ouch," yet the moment his legs touched the ground he felt strange pain. His body was like getting electrified, and he had to lean over the side of his bed to not fall.


    ''Easy there,'' the old man said, ''your body just got out of a big augmentation.''


    "What happened?" Jim was surprised and didn''t get the meaning of the old man.


    ''You absorbed a lot of energy already. These transform your body and so you will find it hard to move,'' he said before adding, ''and keep talking to me inside your mind. There are still those masters here.''


    Jim recalled the presence of Rana and Mark so he took his caution and thought:


    ''What happened when I was sleeping?''


    ''They kept ying the war game for long hours before finally feeling exhausted,'' the old man said, ''they went to sleep a couple hours ago and I doubt they would be awakened anytime soon.''


    Jim then started to move but he was surprised to spot the small bugling group of muscles all over his legs. "They grew all over my body," he muttered when examined himself closely.


    ''That''s expected,'' the old man said, ''and I believe your magic power gained the most benefits of all.''


    ''I''m dying to try my spells out,'' Jim said while trying to stand without any support, ''still hard to keep off my bnce.''


    He felt like a kid learning how to walk. ''Just adapt, in less than five minutes you''ll be running like before.''


    Just as the old man said, all the pain and spasm in his muscles vanished in five minutes. As Jim moved outside the hall in slow steps, he spotted Mark still immersed in his own business, while Rana seemed quite bored.


    "Finally our prince has gotten up," she said and her words attracted Mark from his work.


    "Damn!" Mark suddenly screamed in a way that startled Jim. "This hidden room of yours is quite phenomenal! Do you even know it creates its own magic power and doesn''t need any help from the outside world?"


    Jim was surprised for Mark to figure such aplicated thing in just a few hours. "I didn''t know this before," he honestly said, "is it something good?"


    "It''s phenomenal!" Mark was overreacting in Jim''s eyes, "I can do many things here."


    "But we have far stressed things outside," Rana stopped him from continuing his words, "this hall won''t go away unless we fail in protecting it."


    "I know," Mark nodded, "I have more reasons to defend it with my life then."


    Rana ignored hisment as if she was ustomed to his bizarre actions. "Let''s go outside," she said to Jim, "I''m dying to know what that crazy dragon did."


    Jim didn''t hesitate to take out his medal and used it to summon the door. The moment it appeared there Rana jumped at him while Mark hesitated.


    "Won''te?" she stopped at the door as she asked.


    "I have something to do here," he finally decided to stay, "you two go and summon me if a big thing happened."


    "Sigh, I''m surrounded with lunatics everywhere," she mumbled, yet her voice was audible to Mark who just ignored her and returned to his work.


    "You won''te sunshine?" she said and Jim could already tell how deadly bored she was.


    "Lead the way sweetdy," he cracked a joke yet she only gave him a long nce from head to toe before passing through the door and vanished.


    The moment the two came outside they noticed the changes in the mansion.


    Instead of the burnt marks and the devastated furniture, the entire ce got renovated and now looked as new. Jim nced around and noticed some masters working outside.


    When he squeezed his eyes he spottedrge walls being built beside a part of what he felt like a tower.


    "What are they doing here?" even Rana was shocked by these changes beforeughing, "that''s good. That must be Igory''s scheme. Turning this ce into a fortress hahaha, I can''t believe he actually did it."


    Jim watched her run to the outside before following. Describing the mansion as mansion was now wrong, as from what he saw this turned into a small war fortress.


    Large thick walls that could let others walk on their surface, a huge gate with some ballistae and strange tools of war stationed around it, and finally those towers all around made the mansion a true fort of war.


    "Itcks traps outside and this would be perfect," Ranaughed and her voice attracted the attention of everyone here.


    The sun was about to go down, and that meant Jim slept for ten hours straight at least.


    "You finally came out," Igory said while walking through the big gate, "what do you think?" he raised both arms around as if being proud of what he did.


    "Brilliant," and Rana seemed to appreciate this while Jim could only sigh from the side.


    ''At least they are trying their best to protect me,'' he thought while listening to the words of the two masters, excitedly discussing the new fort and its abilities.


    "It has defensive shields, offensive arrays, all kinds of traps with simple activation by one of the trusted masters of our side" Igory kept narrating what he did so far to Jim''s mansion, and thetter could only listen in amazement.


    All the things Igory said were suited to be used in big wars. He didn''t know if the dean would go crazy after the expedition or not, but now he didn''t mind him going berserk.


    Jim doubted any single man could breach the tight defenses of this fort.


    "I always say when ites to war, no one is better than Igory," Ranaughed and Igory smiled and nodded his head in content.


    "They didn''t try to stop you?" Rana asked.


    "He sent some jerk to try and stop me," Igoryughed, "but I sent him to his home flying without even listening to a single word."


    "Hahaha, you are really something," Ranaughed and Jim only helplessly smiled on the side.


    ''Man! That would make that crazy dragon madder!'' he cursed inwardly while keeping his smile over his face.

 Chapter 195: Grave News!

    Chapter 195: Grave News!


    "You should go back now," Igory said with a bigugh, "I enjoy being here."


    "Don''t you wannae?" Rana seemed surprised by his decision.


    "I need to arrange the regr patrol schedule of the masters," he said, "besides I believe that mad dragon won''t let me have all the fun myself."


    "I bet you right."


    Suddenly this voice came all of sudden from a couple of tens of meters away from the mansion. Jim saw the dean standing there, surrounded by a group of dozen masters and Pol.


    "Oh you really are true to my expectations," Igoryughed while Rana nced around, gathering up other masters with a single look of her eyes.


    "I can''t let you have all the fun alone, right?" the dean sneered while ncing all over the ce. "I can see you made yourself quite busy today, I like what you did to the ce."


    "I''m ttered," Igory said before adding, "but I can''t invite you over for a cup of tea. I''m super busy as you can tell."


    "I''m not here for tea," the dean said with a vicious expression over his face, "I''m here to alert Mark personally of something."


    "Say and I''ll deliver the message," Igory said.


    "I looked for him around but couldn''t find any trace of him. I''m pretty sure he is with you," the dean said, "can''t you summon him now?"


    "He is sleeping," Rana said, "and I''m acting as chief instead alongside Igory."


    "Oh sleeping this early," the dean smiled, "then hurry and awaken him the expedition will start in less than an hour."


    The words of the dean changed the faces of everyone in the inner campus.


    "The time should be tomorrow," Jim suddenly said.


    "Shut up, when adults speak, kids should remain silent," the dean instantly reprimanded Jim with an answer that seemed prepared well beforeing here.


    "What changed?" Igory calmly asked.


    "That nasty attack from before," the dean said while his face was covered with a fake kind expression, "I''m deeply worried over the lives of our little darlings. I can''t risk another attack when the expedition starts."


    "But the expedition willst for one week," Rana interrupted.


    "I have serious intel about their nning to hit us again tomorrow," the dean said in a light tone, "so we should let our boys delve deeper away from here. I don''t want anyone to get hurt by those bastards."


    Despite everyone knowing he was lying, no one said another word while he left the ce.


    "That damn hypocrite," Igory cursed, "he knew we were training our kids and saw no point in attacking the mansion now."


    "He wants to divide us," Rana said.


    "Indeed," and Igory agreed, "go, go now and bring everyone. Also alert Mark, he should stay behind with me."


    "What about me?" Rana asked.


    "You should be there," Igory motioned his head towards the forest, "each campus has the right to bring forth a team of dozen masters to supervise things. I have selected the team already and you''ll lead them."


    Rana seemed to get his arrangement and nodded. "Leave it to me, I won''t let those arrogant bastards have it their way."


    Igory turned to Jim as he softly said:


    "You didn''t have enough time to get stronger, but I''m sure that maniac will use a loop in the system to get to you," he suddenly took out an ancient looking ring before adding, "this little baby here saved my life numerous times from death. Take it, I believe you''ll need it."


    Jim took the big ring with a head of a snake over its top. There were many small engravings all over its circle, but Jim couldn''t read them well or understand what he could.


    "Just remember, it can only save your life once a day. Wear it at times of distress and don''t misjudge the timing. This little one can save your life even if you were on the doorstep of hell."


    "Thanks master," Jim honestly said before storing away the ring.


    "Also take these," Rana took out a few rings, "they are empty ones that you can store inside many items. Plus no one would be able to crack the seal on them no matter what they do."


    Jim took the five rings with a loss look over his face.


    "There are some nasty beings in this academy kid," Igory could read up his mind, "and many are taking theft as their main job. This is to ensure not to give your enemies a helping hand no matter what."


    Jim understood part of the words and nodded. "Let''s go," Rana turned, "I expect my team ready when I return," she added and Igory''s voice came from the back while Jim followed her inside the mansion.


    "This is bad!" Mark was stupefied the moment he heard that, "the monsters at night are more daring and active than at day."


    His face told Jim how bad it was, but for him he didn''t worry that much. After all he just learnt they would have to stay for one week inside the forest.


    So fighting monsters at night was quite inevitable.


    "We should get the boys up," Rana turned towards the dorm, "they have a long night."


    Jim didn''t follow her while keeping Mark''spany.


    "We need a fast strategy," he said, expressing his worries, "or else we might not survive the night."


    "You should divide yourselves into teams," Mark said in some anger, "each will consist of two grades. This way you''ll be able to help each other without attracting troubles to yourselves."


    "What trouble?" Jim didn''t get his meaning. "Isn''t it better to stick together as one big group?"


    "I know they trained together but this is quite risky," Mark firmly shook his head, "if you brought a single higher disciple with you that means you invite those higher than him with one grade to attack you. You can''t risk that, and many good disciples lost their lives due to this trick."


    "That''s. nasty," Jim was shocked and realized how naive he was.

 Chapter 196: Great Speech

    Chapter 196: Great Speech


    "You are just new here, that''s all," Mark sighed, "you didn''t see the real shamelessness that would happen at the outer battlefield. There you won''t follow any academy rules."


    "B- But first grade only will be sent, right?"


    "This" Mark took a deep breath, "leave it forter, let''s focus on this expedition first."


    Jim felt there were hidden things, bad things that Mark decided not to share.


    ''The man is right,'' the old man said, ''Don''t ask about things before the right time.''


    ''Sigh, I just wanted to get a glimpse of that next expedition.''


    ''Finish this one safely and brilliantly before thinking about the next one.''


    Jim knew the old man''s point of view towards this issue. He tried many times to know the real story behind the old man but every time he got the same answer.


    Just like what Mark did now.


    "Gather around," Mark stood at the central stage before adding, "as you already heard, the expedition time was pushed to less than an hour from now."


    His words created a ruckus around. Jim stood surrounded by his own team, and they nced at him in doubt and he nodded but said nothing.


    "I want you to be mentally prepared for what is toe. From this moment onward, only those higher than you with one stage can apany you there. Older disciples know the risks of viting such a rule of thumb, so please don''t think highly of yourselves and value your precious lives."


    His words made everyone silent while the shocking news crushed their dreams.


    "We will emerge victorious out of this," suddenly Hector moved, and along the way he grabbed Jim under his arm. "We will help each other. As master Mark said we will y in small teams, but we must stay close to each other."


    He and Jim ascended the stage before Hector pushed him slightly to the front while saying, "I''m part of the highest grade in the academy, so I''ll act as a joker. Will help anyone in distress and those of ninth grade can do the same. And now let''s hear it from our brave leader let''s give him the credit he deserved."


    Jim turned to Hector while the disciples whistled in a low tone, something simr to what he received back at the stadium. But this time the cheering wasn''t grand or magical like before, it looked so pale to him.


    "Go and give them some hope," Hector whispered, "they need it we all need it."


    Jim got the message and nodded. He turned to face the disciples and saw the happy and excited faces from before looking so gloomy and dark.


    Like candles that were about to be extinguished they were, and he felt he was the one holding the explosive oil that could bring these flickering mes back to life.


    "When I first thought about creating this group, I knew harder times are awaiting for all of us," Jim started his words saying that, "but that didn''t affect me, didn''t make me hesitate or even doubt the importance of our group.


    See, without being together we would have fallen one after another. It''s not necessarily in this expedition; I admit that. However it will be over the years we stay here.


    I didn''te here to die, and I doubt anyone here came for that. I also didn''te here to be enved by someone who had his bloodline higher than mine.


    I won''t pay what I didn''tmit because of my birth origin, and I won''t stand silent watching others suppressing me without a fight.


    Even if this fight ended up putting my life on the line!


    I won''t ask anything from you, and I won''t say you shouldn''t be worried. In fact I''m more terrified than anyone standing here so what?


    Should I be paralyzed by fear? It''s not me! Even if I''m weing my death I won''t piss myself, instead I''ll make sure my enemy does!"


    His words flipped the table over and the dark dejected faces all around changed and beamed with determination.


    "So let''s go all out, raising our heads high let''s enter that forest and send a clear message to everyone Wanna kill us? You should know my flesh is so bitter to chew."


    "Yeah!"


    "We aren''t pushovers!"


    "We''ll show them how strong we are!"


    "They got ves? We also got many as well!"


    "I won''t let anyonee near my life without paying the price."


    More and more shouts started to ring all over the hall while Jim silently watched them in content.


    And the two masters standing behind nced in admiration.


    "You did great," Hector patted his shoulders, "let''s move out and make sure not to bete."


    Jim moved at once and opened the exit door to the outside world. He waited until everyone vanished and only his team remained.


    "Will we follow them?" Rick asked as he felt his boss wanted to say something.


    "We will y ording to our own rules," Jim turned around before adding, "as Hector intended to do, we also will do that."


    The team nced at him in shock while Lan hurriedly said:


    "B- But we are still in first grade."


    "More reason for us to act like that," Jim said before adding, "they won''t expect using and even if they noticed us, they won''t put us in their eyes."


    "You didn''t see how those disciples in seventh and higher grades are," Kro tried to persuade him.


    "I saw enough," Jim nodded, "and I''m not stupid to throw ourselves all over the ce without proper n. Just follow my lead and do exactly what I say, and I promise you this expedition won''t end before we kill a handful of those higher arrogant core disciples."


    Despite his firm words, his team was hesitant and couldn''t ept his logic. Yet he didn''t leave any space for them to argue, "move now, let''s not dy much further than others."


    And he watched his team passing through the door while the old manughed happily.


    ''This is the fairy king of ancient times, brave, brutal, and most of the time unpredictable.... hahaha.''

 Chapter 197: Welcome To The Expedition

    Chapter 197: Wee To The Expedition


    The next moment Jim found the disciples moving already under the leadership of Rana and her ten masters.


    "Stay close to those higher than you with one grade," Igory warned, "and make sure to collect your spoils of war after each battle. Never give up your share and be sure this would increase your survival chances."


    "Thanks," Jim nodded before turning to his team, "let''s go."


    The team nodded with conflicted thoughts while following him. They all remained as everyone walked in this grand march silent.


    It was like they were going to their funerals, or their enemies''. Jim didn''t talk as his mind was busy thinking about his team spells.


    And his old man didn''t stop giving pieces of advice to him.


    ''Don''t use the Twisex fusion spell head on from the start, leave it forter. You know how it will render them motionless plus it attracts attention.''


    ''Listen to Igory and never let the spoils of war off. No matter what you bring into the forest, you will get out with much more.''


    ''Don''t be fooled by this good atmosphere everyone has. At times of distress many will run and some will even turn against you. Keep your eyes open for those on your side, they are far worse than your true enemies.''


    ''Monsters are wild at night, drawn to the scent of blood. So no matter what battle you have, you must salvage your spoils fast and leave faster.''


    ''The forest is formed ofyers. The deeper you delve the higher the chances of meeting stronger monsters. So try your best to stay at the edges and not delve deep until it''s necessary.''


    ''Try to first hunt down as many disciples as possible and take all their belongings. That will give you a lot of options early on before even facing the monsters.''


    ''Don''t overuse your own spells. Even with the Seson monster on your side you can only use spells continuously for a couple of hours. So you need to search for a ce to rest and hide, safe from monsters and away from the eyes of your enemies.''


    ''Don''t be polite and ask that chick for some gears. She must have many at her disposal and can lend them to you. Just be shameless and ask.''


    He listened to everything yet he couldn''t do thest one. First Rana was already far ahead, even vanished off his sight from time to time without knowing where she went to.


    As for being shameless, he didn''t have problems with that but he already got the gears of her and didn''t know if she could help with more.


    When he got near the forest in less than one hour, he noticed the presence of so many disciples.


    "All of those there are thousands!" Deno couldn''t help but mutter in deep shock while others only nodded.


    "The academy has a veryrge disciple base," Hector suddenly appeared next to the group marching at the rear of the inner campus disciples, "and there are tens of thousands at least."


    "This" Rick was speechless.


    "It seems we are outnumbered," Jim muttered.


    "That''s given," Hector said, "after all the core disciples take control of arge base of the inner disciples and a muchrger base of outer disciples and ves."


    "So we will be crushed!" Saga couldn''t help but express her doubts.


    "Not necessarily," Hector said, "after all we all will enter the forest in batches. Plus there is a safe area extending for one mile after we enter the forest. There we can''t fight others."


    "So we will wait for them to move on before we go forward?" Kro asked.


    "That''s not a good idea," Hector shook his head, "we should move fast, faster than anyone can catch up to us. This way we will be miles ahead of everyone and they won''t be able toe to us thanks to the monsters."


    "But those higher grades can stop us!" Ashley said.


    "That''s why the masters back there stressed upon not clustering with higher grade disciples," Hector replied, "we need to fan out and that would ensure more safety to us."


    "I hope we can survive the start," Jim honestly said, "after all I believe most of our losses will be at this rough beginning."


    "That''s true," Hector nodded, "but as they pushed the time to this part of the night then we will be protected by those berserk monsters."


    "Won''t they attack us?" Jenny asked.


    "The higher grade disciples will deal with those strong ones, leaving only weak monsters for you to handle," Hector said beforeughing, "or why would I and other high level disciples act as jokers?"


    Jim understood more of what he was going to face. As they already reached the big wall of the academy, everyone stopped speaking and watched that huge closed gate up front.


    The gate spanned for over half a mile with a group of dozen strong looking towers on its sides. Jim noticed some silhouettes flying in the air, and he could tell the dean was one of them.


    "Wee to our academy''s semi-annual demon forest expedition," the dean''s voice appeared from that direction, attracting everyone''s attention.


    In the middle of the darkness his face features weren''t visible, but his voice could be easily heard by all.


    "Starting from this moment onward you will all go inside the forest. For one week you are all asked to kill monsters and retrieve the monster cores. The stele will record every disciple''s activities and you all need just to do your best inside and worry nothing about anything else."


    Jim and others knew this wasn''t true, but it seemed he had to maintain his public image despite all the ill intentions and great preparations he did.


    "Now let the contest begin," the dean said and next the loud creaking voice of the gate being opened echoed after his words.


    The gate slowly moved and in less than a few minutes the two sides of it were now wide open.

 Chapter 198: An Old Enemy Appears!

    Chapter 198: An Old Enemy Appears!


    "Get in line," one of the masters shouted, "enter in batches. To maintain the fairness of thepetition, each batch won''t contain more than a hundred members of your team. Batches will be randomly allocated inside the safe zone."


    His words made Jim sneer and others had a change in their faces. Yet the disciples started to enter through the gate and there was no way to stop this anymore.


    Jim tried to scan for Rana but he couldn''t spot her anywhere. "Sigh, it seems I have to deal with what I have," he muttered before turning to his team, "follow me, make sure to stay together."


    He started to push forward while Hector tried to keep up. "Will you enter without anyone from grade two?" he was surprised to see that.


    "I don''t n to bring someone that would lead grade three to attack us," Jim simply said before adding, "the old n can''t be used now. I''m pretty sure this random allocation isn''t random at all."


    Despite the dark Jim saw the gratified face of Hector. Thetter knew Jim''s doubts were true and he couldn''t think of anything to say to help.


    "Just try to break fast through the safe zone," Hector said before adding, "follow the sounds of the big battles that''s where I and the higher grade disciples would be. We will try to group everyone together after bypassing the safe zone."


    "I will try to catch up," Jim lied while leading everyone forward.


    The disciples up front weren''t that much enthusiastic at entering the gate. Yet Jim spotted the first batch that entered the forest; all were giant disciples and he doubted anyone not belonging to the core disciples in them.


    During his advance he tried to spot Rana but even as he reached the gigantic gate, he couldn''t spot her anywhere.


    "Follow me," he said as he led the group towards the opened gate where one lightened circle appeared on the ground.


    It spanned for one hundred meters just in the center of the gate.


    "Step there and wait until one hundred disciples are there," one master kept shouting as Jim and his team stepped over it.


    And they waited.


    Jim watched a group of a hundred disciplesing towards the circle. "Only a hundred are allowed to stand there," the master said, "the portal will stop any extra disciple so don''t be rmed."


    Under Jim''s watchful gazes he spotted that grade two group to step over the circle until one hundred was present.


    But the circle didn''t stop the rest from entering.


    "We are more than one hundred!" Rick shouted yet his voice vanished the next moment as the portal was activated and the scenery changed abruptly from around them.


    "Damn!" Deno cursed the moment they all appeared in the big forest, "They sent more on purpose."


    "Move," Jim didn''t give any chances to express their anger before moving to the front while trying to create a gap with the other group fast.


    "Why are you in a hurry?"


    Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind that greatly startled him.


    "Mench!" he turned to nce at the face of one of his old enemies. In the darkness he didn''t see his face and that made him sure this little mistake wasn''t a mistake at all.


    The dean sent that disciple to attack him. "It seems you are eager to get defeated once more," Jim didn''t stop in his tracks as heughed at his old enemy.


    "This time is different," the calm tone of Mench made Jim feel more doubt.


    "Keep advancing," Jim shouted as he turned his attention to his surroundings.


    They were inside an endless sea of trees. The weak light of the moon in the night didn''t help much to illuminate the area around, but at least they could spot any big moves the moment it happened.


    "Release the res!"


    Just before the team could run a suitable distance away, Mench''s voice roared from behind. The darkness all around suddenly was pushed away as an area of at least one mile was illuminated by sun-like light.


    "Illuminative orbs," Jim could tell what these flying things in the air were. They were like the orb he once had in his closet, but in much higher grade and more abilities.


    "Keep running," he urged the team to keep creating the distance, but within the next few minutes he could tell that Mench''s group was keeping pace with them.


    And these annoying lights up above were still following them as well.


    "What should we do?" Kro asked while turning to nce at the group behind, "they are drawing closer to us."


    "They can''t attack us inside the safe zone," Pat said, "why not wait then until they pass?"


    "That''s not an option," Jim hurriedly shook his head while strange ring ces started to appear in the far distance, "they are using these orbs to gather up their scattered forces and trap us here."


    "But they won''t be able to hit us here," Lan said.


    "And we won''t be able to move on and get any cores," Jim tried to exin, "they won''t mind gaining nothing in this expedition, but I won''t ept such fate."


    The others seem to be hesitant between advancing or stopping, but Jim didn''t give the order to stop or even give them any chance to debate.


    He kept running towards the front with his mind busy with one thing only how to make the best n to kill them all!


    "Keep running boy, tonight is thest night in your life," Mench''s irritating voice kept ringing from behind while his sarcasticughs got on the nerves of all.


    "We need to teach him a lesson," Deno angrily said.


    "No, we need to run faster or stop running at all!" Lan said in a frightened tone.


    "Just keep running," Jim calmly said, "and Lan, prepare the lightning orbs now."


    "Are we going to fight them?!!" Lan was given a scare.

 Chapter 199: Fighting Giants Alone!

    Chapter 199: Fighting Giants Alone!


    "We will kill them all," Jim decided before adding, "just keep close and listen well to my words Deno and Gordan will be leading the group of Bulltors and try to defend any iing attacks. Use the game gears, they can be used anywhere."


    "But there are a hundred of them!" Lan couldn''t still absorb this shocking decision of Jim, "how the hell can we stop them?"


    "We stopped simr teams of thieves before," Jim said, "and this time it won''t be different."


    "But that time we faced weak bandits, not a team led by a core disciple!"


    "Just be ready, I won''t let any harme to any of you this I can promise," Jim said and with his words he put an end to the ongoing debate and everyone had to ept his decision.


    As they kept running, they noticed a long pole in the distance. The poles extended in each direction, marking the safe zone.


    "See these poles stupid human? They mark the ces where you''ll fall!"


    Jim didn''t give his words any care as he kept pushing his team fast towards the poles.


    "I''m ready," Lan said, "should we start now?"


    "No," Jim firmly shook his head, "keep running until I order you to stop."


    Jim was feeling odd about the arrangement of Mench. It seemed the core campus had a n they were following.


    But what puzzled him was the fact that they couldn''t break the rules. Only grade two disciples could attack him, and from the light shining everywhere he noticed all the orbs red with the same color.


    That meant there was no way for the teams to know which group had any grade. "What do you n, bastards?" Jim clenched his fist over his sword before revising what he had nned in his mind.


    "Keep pushing forward," as the team passed the poles, he shouted and drove them forward.


    "Hahaha, it''s your death ce fool. Grab them and kill whatever you wish!"


    Mench''s voice came and Jim could feel the group hunting him getting faster. "Don''t look back," he shouted, "just keep running."


    Despite that he didn''t elerate like others, but decreased his speed a little until he became thest one in the group.


    "What are you doing?" Ashley shouted but Jim didn''t answer in words. He simply raised his finger high in the air and kept it there.


    "Start strengthening your gears and weapons," he said and others noticed what he was doing and started to mimic him.


    ''This won''t be enough,'' the old man warned, ''you''ll need more strength to do that!''


    The old man could already read his mind and could tell the weak points in his n.


    "Surprise is the greatest weapon of all times," Jim simply said while keeping his finger high in the air, "they won''t see thising."


    The team just turned at him and thought he was losing his cool. He smiled as he said to reassure them, "just keep strengthening your gears and don''t stop until I give the order."


    They returned to mind their own spells while he started to feel so hot about his finger.


    "Kill everyone else, but leave that boy to me," Mench''s voice was getting near with each shout of his.


    "Thinking so mighty of yourself," Jim sneered while knowing Mench''s trick here. He was trying to demotivate everyone but Jim had another n in mind.


    Just as he felt manying near him, he descended his finger and started strengthening his gear.


    And the gear he decided to strengthen first was nothing else but his wings!


    "Kill everyone," Mench''s voice roared from his back, and Jim could tell he wasn''t a hundred meters off him.


    And at this moment he threw the wings on his back, turned around and jumped over the iing disciples.


    "Watch out!" Mench''s scream came but it was toote for him to do that.


    Jim''s sword was unsheathed and the next moment his body shone brightly with golden light. The nearest disciples to him were less than a dozen, and they were all giants.


    But before anyone could react, Jim used his strengthened wings and boosted his speed all of sudden.


    "Die!" hended his sword over the necks of those giants, causing deep wounds there and the blood gushed out like a fountain.


    "Stop him!" Mench shouted and some giants started to sh to intercept Jim.


    "Lan, the ore!" he suddenly shouted and Lan who was running near him moved with one hand holding the orb.


    And Jim moved at once to evade the deadly hammers before letting Lan touch his body.


    "I hope you know what you are doing," Lan muttered.


    "Keep running," Jim shouted before the next moment he let his sword fall on the ground while he held it in the position to activate his spell.


    "Hit him now!" Mench shouted and the next moment dozens of attacks came from different directions aiming to hit Jim.


    "Earth prison humph, even Pol failed to imprison me with it!" Jim only sneered and the next moment he moved fast while keeping his sword in the position.


    His speed was now on a whole new level. The attacks hit the ce he stood at but only a cloud of dirt was left behind.


    And Jim appeared just beside a group of giants while his sword was ready to let go.


    "You all will die here," he promised before letting his sword fall on the ground. The sword once hit the ground and created a big ball of lightning around him.


    And then Jim was ready to attack.


    "Use all your strong spells!" Mench shouted as seeing this spell made him recall bad memories from the previous encounter with Jim.


    And the next moment more attacks howled towards Jim plus over twenty giants appeared the next second using their instant teleportation ability.


    "You just came in time," Jim didn''t defend, didn''t attack, but only retreated. He used his speed to take a big circle around the group while letting all the attacksnd over nothing but empty ground.


    "Die!"

 Chapter 200: A Trap

    Chapter 200: A Trap


    Yet in the middle of his circle, he kept hitting those unguarded members of Mench''s team, decreasing their numbers bit by bit.


    And that seemed to greatly enrage Mench.


    "Send in the red re," Mench suddenly shouted and the next moment Jim noticed a red orb flying high in the air and sending off a bright red light.


    "So you are using these to call up reinforcements," Jim started to read the n of the core campus, "but does this red light mean strong foe or first grade disciples?" he couldn''t tell and had to wait to see who would show up.


    "Die!" and during that he kept moving around and killing anyone he spotted unprepared to defend his sword.


    Only one hit and any disciple got attacked would burn away. That drove fear and anger in others, but no matter what they tried to do they couldn''t outrun the high speed of his or the unpredictable moves he took.


    Thanks to the game, Jim started to develop good control over his speed and movements. It didn''t matter if they tried to appear all of sudden blocking his path or even surround him in a big circle, he always found a way to evade any of these attempts and escape the area of their attacks.


    And gradually they started to lose more members on his hand alone, while the main team was still running up front without decreasing their speed at all.


    "He is just one human!" Mench seemed to lose his mind at this moment, "can''t anyone trap or stop him?! Damn you all!!" he cursed but words couldn''t kill.


    And Jim didn''t stop.


    ''Your spell is about to be over,'' the old man suddenly warned, ''you need to restock from that Actimos kid.''


    "I will," Jim suddenly evaded one encirclement by gliding over the ground and passing underneath the legs of one stupefied giant. He killed a couple of disciples while running fast towards his team.


    And just as he was getting closer, a new group of a hundred appeared running from one side with one familiar face in between.


    "Linda?" he couldn''t help but be surprised to see her with the team led by a chimera kid. "What is she doing with them?" he muttered yet couldn''t help but feel bad about this.


    "Hahaha, run, try to run now you weakling you have no way to outrun a third grade disciple, hahaha."


    Jim''s face darkened a bit when he heard that.


    "How can a third grade disciple attack us? This is a vition of the rules!" Deno shouted in rage but the answer came next.


    And it didn''te from Mench, but from someone they never expected.


    "I belong to your team," Linda suddenly shouted, "and that means a third grade disciple team can attack you."


    Jim turned to nce at her and from her gratified and gloomy face he knew there were more hidden things that happened during the past hours to her.


    "Damn you traitor!" Rick couldn''t help but curse, "I swear to kill you myself!"


    "Just mind your own business," the chimera kid sneered, "go, bring me their heads now," he said and instantly his third grade one hunred team moved in unison towards Jim.


    And Jim noticed the presence of at least twenty chimera kids in the entire team.


    "This is bad!" Lan screamed, "what should we do now boss?" he turned to Jim as everyone else.


    And their hopeless faces told Jim how deep they hit the abyss of despair at this moment.


    "Deno," yet Jim''s shout came to alert all of them, "move towards those second grade disciples and stop them."


    "What about the third grade?" Rick couldn''t help but ask.


    "Leave them to me," Jim simply said before adding, "Lan, I want your lightning now the others start using your spells to face whoever bypasses me."


    Lan moved to give him lightning while others exchanged silent nces and didn''t speak much. Deno moved at once while the others started their spells.


    And as Lan was giving him lightning, Jim descended his raised finger and started to strengthen his sword.


    "Are you sure of that?" Lan couldn''t help but ask, "shouldn''t we run?"


    "There is no way to escape their assault," Jim watched how fast those disciples moved, "just be prepared for their strong spells."


    "Can we help?" Tina asked.


    "Not now," Jim shook his head, "y''know how weak you be after using your spell."


    Her face went dark as she couldn''t say anymore. Jim didn''t stop there as he suddenly raised both hands in the air.


    "Time to go full out," he muttered before feeling the heat around his body.


    Then he moved.


    "Hahaha, one human is trying to face us? That''s ridiculous!'''' The chimera kidughed in mockery as if he was amused by what he was seeing. Jim saw him putting his arms around Linda''s body before adding, "c''mon, let me kill you and get rid of your nuisance. Kill him boys, and then don''t stop until you kill all but leave his girls to me."


    Jim didn''t speak back while watching the twenty chimera kids using their swords and spells. The next moment a sea of fire emerged from around their bodies, and it extended fast towards everyone.


    "Jenny!" Rick''s shout came from far behind and Jim knew Rick was doing good to lead the team in his absence.


    And Jim didn''t hesitate to descend his raised arms and took the posture of his spell.


    ''You have five minutes,'' the old man warned.


    ''That''s all I need!'' Jim muttered before getting engulfed with the roaring mes which turned this ce of the forest into a piece of hell in no time.


    "Roar!"


    Just as the fire shielded his body off everyone, they started to rain all kinds of fiery spells over him.


    "Burn Burn and turn into charcoal you arrogant bastard!" Menchughed from the distance while trying to bypass the tight defenses of Deno, Gordan, and other giants.


    "Kill his team now!" one of the chimera shouted at others while bypassing Jim''s ce.


    "Not so fast!"


    Yet the cold voice of Jim came from the depth of the fire while suddenly a swooshing voice appeared and two disciples were sent to the air with deep wounds over their chests.


    "I''m just getting started," Jim didn''t stop there and suddenly another hit came and two more were sent flying.


    "Hit him," the chimera core disciple shouted, "gather around and seal his power!"


    Just as he said that, the surrounding disciples moved to form fiveyers, each contained at least twenty kids around Jim.


    ''You need to get out of there fast!'' the old man suddenly warned, ''the chimeras sealing spells are really nasty.''


    ''That''s nothing for me,'' Jim was bathed with denseyers of fire but he could perfectly see through. He closed his eyes and his mind provided him a way to escape.


    "Fire tornado!" Yet that chimera core disciple seemed not to trust his men''s ability to trap him alone and used one of his strongest spells right away.


    And next thing happened was for that ball of fire to swirl violently around Jim, carrying his body all the way up the air inside a giant fiery tornado.


    "Seal him now!" the chimera core kid shouted and the next thing happened was for the others to activate their sealing spell.


    "You are doomed!" Mench''s distastefulughs echoed from far behind while watching his nemesis fall under thisbined attack of the chimeras.

 Chapter 201: Chimeras Are Lucky Race

    Chapter 201: Chimeras Are Lucky Race


    This came out of Jim''s expectations. The attack carried him all the way upward, making him lose bnce inwardly and outwardly at the same time.


    ''Use your wings!'' the old man suddenly said, ''and use the clone now!''


    Jim didn''t even think as he instantly executed what his old man said. The next moment he started to perform his hand seals and then a clone appeared next.


    "Sorry," he didn''t hesitate to put his legs over the clone, bent his knees and pushed with all his might. For those around the ground they could only see a wild tornado made entirely of fire, roaring violently and spinning fast.


    "Seal him now!" the chimera kid shouted and then a strange spider-like web made out of pure fire appeared from the twenty chimeras around the tornado.


    The web started to move around the tornado, surrounding and sealing it. It seemed like it was crawling fast until it reached the top, and it wasn''t affected by the fire of the tornado itself.


    "Seal!" the twenty chimeras shouted in unison before these webs suddenly cooled off at speed visible to naked eye.


    "Sizzle!"


    The cold met the heat and a vapor appeared clouding everything with only loud voices of Sizzling sound popping up from all over the tornado.


    "Vanish!" the chimera kid suddenly loosened his grip and the tornado of fire vanished. When the fog cleared, everyone could see a giant spider web formed of strange material that was glistening under the light of the orbs in the sky.


    And one shadow was now falling fast towards the ground.


    "Hahaha, goodbye weak human," Menchughed when he saw that while Jim''spanions felt their heart hitting the ground.


    "Swoosh!"


    Yet in the middle of all this, a strange soft sound came as if arge feather was floating in the air. The sound was weak but many raised their heads and managed to spot a shadow descending at a slower pace towards the ground.


    And he seemed to be targeting one person that chimera kid.


    "Damn! You are really resilient, aren''t you?" The chimera kid seemed to react much better to what Jim presumed. He dealt with the fact of his survival fast in an impressive way.


    Jim was descending fast, but notpared to his clone. His wings yed arge role in decelerating his speed.


    And the moment he threw himself off the tornado he aimed for one person that leader of this third grade group.


    "Chimera might!" the kid instantly raised both fists in the air while shouting in a strong tone. Jim saw what happened clearly as the ground underneath that kid cracked.


    Like a heavy thing hit that part of the world, the earth around the kid showed irregr long cracks that extended like snakes all around.


    And from beneath it the red color of theva appeared with a hot gush of vapor.


    Yet Jim didn''t change his ns. "I''ll kill you," he said in determination while holding his sword vertically in front of him.


    He never tried this spell in the air, but he had no option now but to try it out. During thest attack his body managed to get in contact with a higher quality fire than what Jenny provided to him.


    And so he was ready to use this spell of his, and for him it was a do or die situation.


    "I hope it works," Jim started to feel the strong gravity sucking his sword downwards, yet he resisted letting it down.


    At the same time the chimera kid started to get in touch with thevaing from the heart of the ground.


    "You are the one to fall here foolish human," the kid dered while other chimeras started to move fast towards here.


    And Jim noticed their approach, but didn''t care about them at least for now.


    "Let me show you the difference between a pantheon and a normal human n," the kid roared before his raised fists opened.


    His fingers were instantly covered with small rounded red balls of energy. Jim knew from the mere sight of them how deadly they were. "If I got hit then I would die," he admitted this to himself and the kid onlyughed.


    "Then die!"


    The kid moved his hands as if he was holding a ball and throwing it towards Jim. Thetter didn''t wait for even a second to see what was going to happen, as he knew standing in his ce meant death.


    Despite being suspended midair and descending without any control over his body, he had a way to change all that.


    The moment that chimera kid roared and moved his hands, Jim suddenly let his sword fall towards the ground. He was around twenty meters off the ground, and even from such a distance the gravity pulled his body fiercely, dragging him all the way to the ground in a mere fraction of second.


    "Boom!"


    The moment he touched the ground he felt every inch of his body ache. Severe pain hunted his entire body yet he didn''t stop for a moment or even tried to control the pain.


    His sword was now in ce, his energy was full, and his spell was ready.


    If he missed this narrow window where his enemy was taken by surprise, then he would be doomed.


    And he wouldn''t have such a chance so easily from now on.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment of his descent, the balls of fire that kid threw exploded in a dreadful way. Each ball was like a ticking bomb, so small yet so deadly. The shockwave itself hit the ground in tenrge explosions, creating a massive dust cloud.


    And the explosions hit the ces of Jim and that kid.


    "Chimeras don''t fear fire!" the kid mumbled in a deep tone while his body had some wounds from such close explosions.


    "Fairies don''t fear anything," yet the strong tone of Jim echoed from the depth of the dust cloud.


    And the next moment another shockwave erupted where Jim appeared surrounded by a big ball of fire where he was floating inside.

 Chapter 202: Setting A Trap

    Chapter 202: Setting A Trap


    All the explosions that hit that ce earlier were deflected by his fiery shield. He was fine, but his enemy wasn''t. He was ready to hit, and his enemy wasn''t ready to defend.


    "Stop him!"


    "Fire whip!"


    "Fire trap!"


    "Fire slide!"


    As Jim cleared the dust and moved fast towards the chimera kid, many shouts came from behind and a lot of attacks fell over Jim.


    But nothing stopped him from crossing the few meters separating him from that kid andnding a sword strike over his shoulder, causing deep wounds there and letting his blood gush out like a fountain.


    "Stop him!"


    Another shout came much nearer with more attacks falling over Jim. "Damn! Consider yourself lucky then," Jim knew he could only deal with one side before his power would be consumed and return vulnerable.


    Despite his adrenaline rush, his mind kept fixed on the main target he wanted to achieve here. And so he ditched that kid, turned around and used his wings to move fast.


    His sudden turn and high speed startled everyone hunting him. They were already so near, and with their urgent run to save their boss, they neglected their own defenses.


    Jim moved, bypassed the attacks the twenty chimeras unleashed before arriving in the next moment in front of them.


    Even before their attacks would hit the ce he was at, his fiery ball touched many disciples and started burning their bodies.


    And that was followed with the swift moves of Jim''s fiery sword.


    "Defend!"


    The chimera kid ran first for his life before realizing Jim wasn''t going after him but his elite team. That gave him instant scare and made him furiously shout.


    But his words just came toote for them.


    "Fire wall!"


    "Chimera might!"


    "A fire won''t kill me!"


    Many shouts came and some were jolted awake by their boss yell and started to use their spells.


    However they weren''t organized or thinking with a clear mind; they only used the first spell that popped up in their mind.


    Even a long time activating spells like chimera might have been used. Jim wasn''t polite and he made sure that each hit he used would kill.


    "But my sword will kill you all," he coldly sneered and hit that chimera who spokest in his belly, cutting open his abdomen and crashing all organs inside.


    As his body fell on the ground, Jim''s ball of fire started to die fast. "Damn! These chimeras must have great luck running in their n," he nced at the five remaining chimeras with pale faces before turning to nce at the far leader.


    ''At least you took away most of their strength,'' the old man said.


    "Yet not enough," Jim nced at the whole battleground and there was something clear about the ongoing fight his team was on the back foot.


    "Retreat!" he shouted all of a sudden before leaning on the ground and taking a couple of rings in front of the amazed surviving chimeras, "go for the woods, run for your lives!"


    The shout came from one side but it was perfectly heard everywhere. The team didn''t hesitate to withdraw while Deno and others did a great job defending the retreating team.


    And Jim just joined them.


    "Should we use our spell now?" Tina said with an extremely agitated expression over her face.


    "No, not yet," Jim could only feel some sympathy for the two Twisex girls. After all they used to live in fancy pces and be served, not to be hunted down in a forsaken forest and about to be beaten to death or even worse.


    "Just keep running," Jim said before raising both hands high in the air.


    ''You should know your magical power is rapidly depleting,'' the old man warned, ''it''s best to absorb lightning or more fire to replenish it.''


    ''We are already running away from them.''


    Jim wasn''t wrong as this sudden retreat and after the losses the other side had, the two groups of higher disciples couldn''t react on time.


    And that made the team able to run faster, and begin to create a distance with their pursuers.


    ''You totally forgot,'' the old man said, ''other disciples aren''t the only enemy you have here in these woods.''


    "Damn!" Jim cursed as he turned around fast. The group was already together, some were wounded and some just weren''t there.


    Either dead or missed the moment, he knew he had lost those for now. And yet he couldn''t even stop and run a count. "Be ready for any attack," he yelled at others who turned to look weirdly at him.


    They were running deeply in the darkness right now. As they bypassed the area of light, they mistook, like Jim, their current situation to be safe.


    But it wasn''t.


    "Are they still running after us?" Rick has an open wound on his big forehead.


    "It''s not them, it''s the monsters," Jim realized they also missed the real enemy here, "keep your eyes sharp and be alert. This night is far from being over."


    The ce was getting darker, but the shouts of their pursuers were stilling from far.


    "They are relentless," Deno couldn''t help butin while he was racing for breaths, "why not leave us? They already lost a lot of their powerful members and we are far away from them."


    "Tracking" Suddenly Kro said, "they are tracking us using these members."


    "But they can''t see anything just like us," Lan said and Jim was happy to see him fine, and surprised to not have a single wound over his body like others.


    "They can hear and as you can see they are constantly shouting," Kro pointed to the rear and others couldn''t refute what he just said.


    ''Cowards live longer,'' Jim bitterly admitted that before an idea came up his mind instantly. "Wait, spread in silence and don''t move."


    The team nced at him and he pointed to his lips to shush them. "Scatter around and be ready," he whispered while grabbing that coward of his neck and dragging him to stand behind a thick tree.


    "Be ready with your lightning," Jim said before closely watching the others taking their hide spots and waiting.


    "Ambushing them?" Strangely Lan got what he intended sooner than others.


    "If they think they can track us then I''ll make sure to hunt down those disciples and deepen their losses."


    Jim then paused and didn''t need to wait for long. In less than a couple of minutes the shouts of that small group of disciples drew nearer as they moved fast after their trail.


    "At my mark," and Jim whispered while waiting for the disciples to fall in his trap.

 Chapter 203: Monsters Appeared

    Chapter 203: Monsters Appeared


    "Keep running!"


    "They are near!"


    "I can''t spot them anymore!"


    "Release more tracking orbs they will find them!"


    In less than one minute the group of those pursuers just came to where Jim and others were hiding.


    "Now!"


    And Jim simply said before Lan extracted the energy off the orb in his hand and released it to him. He felt great power running through his body and the next moment his sword which was in position started to feel heavy.


    "What''s that light?"


    "Go check it out!"


    The lightning of Lan and the golden shining of Jim''s body was instantly noticed. Jim wasn''t worried though, as he knew he was ready.


    "Kill them!" he darted off his hiding spot andnded the next moment in front of two shocked disciples.


    And the next moment he didn''t give them any chance to retaliate as he hit their necks with his sword.


    "Kill them all!"


    As he nced around he found the group wasn''t that small as he guessed. Fifty disciples were there and they all seemed toe from the outer disciples.


    Yet his group was roughly equal in number, and he didn''t let his exhausted team fight alone.


    "Swoosh!"


    Using his high speed he started to jump like lightning from one ce to another. His lightning sword was so deadly and his orb of lightning was so strong to defend any kind of attacknding over him.


    It was simply a massacre, one that didn''t take longer than a few minutes to end.


    "Take all their rings, gears, and weapons," he shouted before checking if there were any losses on his side.


    And luckily using the surprise element of the ambush heid, aided with the fact that both sides were roughly equal in number and strength, his team didn''t suffer much losses here.


    Only superficial wounds that could be ignored for now were present on some members of his team.


    "Move," he urged as he didn''t know if the other two teams were pursuing them or not. "Don''t go astray," he warned before starting to run alongside others.


    "Hahaha, this time they lost it big," Lanughed and Jim could only nce at him and say nothing.


    From all the members here he doubted Lan to kill any of these enemies, yet he was the first to celebrate as if he just did something heroic.


    "Fifty disciples here meant they lost almost half of their numbers," Rick said, "but that doesn''t mean they aren''t dangerous anymore."


    "The second grade disciples group isn''t risky," Deno said, "the other one is."


    "Screw that chimera," Kro gritted his teeth, "I don''t believe their fire can sustain our water."


    "We don''t need to test that," Jim said, "there are only a few left of them, plus their leader is heavily wounded."


    "They will cure him fast," Saga suddenly said, "there are many healing potions, ointments, and pills in this world that they can easily afford."


    Jim didn''t speak while noticing the face of Rick, Kro, and Roo changed for a moment.


    "Roar!"


    Just as they ran for ten minutes off the ce of that fight, a sudden roar came from the front startling them.


    "Monsters!" Lan screamed in panic, "they are already here?" he turned to the nearby Jim, "do you need any lightning?"


    "Where did you get all of this?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    "From Rana of course," Lan said it as if it was a known fact, "c''mon, let me give you some lightning and go screw that monster."


    Just after he finished his words, more roars appeared.


    "We are surrounded!" and his face went instantly pale when he heard these roars.


    "At least a group of ten monsters are surrounding us," Rick said, "we need to be ready to fight."


    "No," Jim firmly said, "we are too close to those bastards. We need to keep running."


    "But" Deno was about toin yet Jim nodded to Lan who gave him his lightning.


    "I''ll take all the toll this time, just keep running forward and never look back," Jim said before closing up his eyes and thinking of his pet.


    "Come forth," he deeply muttered and the next moment the small sized Don appeared.


    The moment it came out, it didn''t jump all over the ce like usual or rub its body to Jim; it stood vigntly in ce while slowly roaring.


    ''The monsters are of a high grade,'' the old man warned, ''be sure to keep everyone running or else you won''t be able to keep all of them safe.''


    Jim clenched the hilt of his sword before pointing it to the position of his spell. "No problem, I will deal with those stopping us," he said before turning to Don, "keep yourself close, this is going to be a hard fight."


    He suddenly stopped and Don moved fast to stop beside him. One human and one little monster stood in the back while the dark forest around started to look more gloomy.


    "Can you lead me to them?" Jim asked and Don only roared faintly before turning towards one direction and darted towards it.


    Jim didn''t hesitate to follow suit. The speed of his pet wasn''t that low, yet he could keep up with him without much struggle.


    "There you are."


    Just as they crossed a distance of two hundred meters, a giant behemoth stood there. In this dark night Jim couldn''t perfectly see the details of that monster but he felt it was like a giant bull with spikes all over its body.


    And he could see clearly a long tail moving like a whip right and left, hanging midair in a threatening way.


    But the more threatening thing here wasn''t the tail, but these four big rounded blue eyes that monster had.


    "They look quite intimidating!" Jim couldn''t help butment when he noticed the four eyes shing in the darkness of the night.


    "Roar!" the monster roared when it noticed its prey was trying to hunt it down. Seemingly enraged by this, the monster started to hook its hooves over the ground, preparing to dart fast towards Jim.

 Chapter 204: Bad Luck

    Chapter 204: Bad Luck


    The monster''s hooves looked so sharp in the depth of the night to create sparks of fire with each hit to the ground. Jim felt dreaded by this, yet he didn''t stop his steps.


    It was either a matter of do or die.


    "Let''s test my current strength then," as he was facing such a behemoth he couldn''t find any option but to use all of his strength from the head start.


    And so after activating the lightning orb spell, he headed directly towards augmenting it by using the dance spell.


    ''You need to be extra careful with that,'' the old man warned, ''this big monster here uses a field of gravity that would affect you.''


    "Gravity?" Jim was surprised, "Is it so strong?"


    ''Not to paralyze you at least,'' the old man said, ''but your speed won''t help much here.''


    Jim was busy jumping around while dancing weirdly in front of the monster.


    "Roar!"


    The monster met these weird moves of him in an aggressive way, as it roared it finally got enough of warning his prey and decided to teach Jim a lesson.


    And it darted out like an arrow, so fast that it created a series of after images in the depth of that night.


    "Not too easy to hit me," Jim was ready and the moment the monster moved he also moved. Despite jumping around and dancing, he could do that by expanding out his reach and widening his steps.


    And that was exactly what he did back there.


    "Swoosh!"


    The monster bypassed him in a very fast way, barely missing him by a few meters. The next hit came from that strange tail, which howled towards Jim''s face, aiming to directly knock him down.


    "Hey there, I''m an ace in the ace league," but Jim was ready for such a hit despite iting all of sudden without warning.


    He simply bent both knees down and let his body pass below the tail, stood up and jumped once more toplete the spell.


    "You were right," he muttered, "that gravity thing sucks!"


    As he was trying to move and evade the hit of the monster, he was subjected to that gravity field and felt its effects immediately.


    His speed lowered and that allowed the monster to get near him, but not near enough to hit him directly with its charge. In normal circumstances then the monster wouldn''t get that near or get the chance to hit him with the tail.


    ''But it''s not that bad,'' the old man sneered, ''you managed to adapt to it.''


    "It still sucks," Jim waited for his aura to ascend further while his energy went berserk. "I hope this won''t drag on long enough for others toe here."


    ''The monsters?''


    "And the other people," Jim said before holding his sword firm, "let''s see how that Seson pet will help."


    Despite saying that, he already felt the difference made by the pet. His spell got enhanced before using the dance spell as if he already used it. adding the dance spell made his energy hard to control, and he was eager to test it out.


    "Roar like you never did before," he waved his sword from tens of meters away from the angry monster, missing his prey, "let it scream."


    The sword wave traveled the distance in no time and instantly hit the monster head on. The monster was about to start running wild, and when it met the sword it was forced to stop, and even retreated a couple of steps.


    "At least it can put you in bay," Jim wasn''t dejected with such a low result as heunched another strike and another, really keeping that monster in check.


    ''This way you won''t be able to kill it.''


    "I don''t want to," Jim said before correcting himself, "I want to but in fact I doubt I can do it by myself! Even my mightiest hits can''t cause more than superficial scratches over its armored body. I just want to dy it and other monsters until others run away."


    The old man went into silence and didn''tment, letting Jim keep raining the monsters with his sword shes.


    The fight seemed intense, while Jim kept mming hard over the monster with booming strikes, pushing it further backward with each hit.


    "Raor!"


    And yet the Seson monster had another opinion while roaring strangely towards that giant monster.


    "What are you doing?" Jim couldn''t help but say, "retreat, we aren''t going to kill it"


    Yet before he could continue his words, he saw a very amazing scene he never thought before.


    As the Seson per roared at that giant monster, strangely it hit a big rock on the ground that was so hard to miss and fell over. The bad luck didn''t end there as the monster fell in some sort of small pond, a piece of water that strangely was situated there as if it was made only to fit the giant size of the monster.


    And then the lightning sword shes of Jim arrived.


    "Roar!"


    Jim didn''t know why but the sword strikes hended at the monster at this moment made it roar in extreme pain. He almost saw arcs of lightning dancing around the monster,ing forth from the water it was sitting in.


    It could get out if it just stood up and took a step to any side, but the pain seemed very intense to let it even be able to move a muscle.


    "Hahaha, that bad luck of my pet is legendary!" Jimughed in extreme joy and instantly he shifted his aim.


    Instead of trying to keep that monster in check, he decided to go all out and try to kill it.


    ''The Seson monsters are very famous for that,'' the old man couldn''t help butugh, ''that monster had back luck to fall inside a very condense water.''


    "What does that mean?"


    ''It''s water that has some affinity with magical power and could absorb it for a long time,'' the old man said, ''so basically your attacks are only triggering the enormous amount of energy stored in them. Keep hitting it, you''ve a chance here to kill it.''

 Chapter 205: A Dead End

    Chapter 205: A Dead End


    "I''m nning so," Jim didn''t stop his sword and started even to draw closer to that monster. The closer he got the shorter the distance his shes needed to cross and the stronger the hits became.


    In the middle of this darkness it seemed that Jim was holding a machine gun and raining fire on a nearby foe.


    And that monster was now lightened up with endless small lightning arcs that even started to form small bubbles that kept bursting over the monster relentlessly.


    The monster wasn''t able even to raise its arms to protect its vital ces, resulting in having deep and deadly wounds in no time. The pond of water started to change color while the monster''s green blood kept flowing like a fountain.


    "It''s absorbing the blood!" Jim was speechless for a moment when he noticed no matter how much the monster bled, the pond didn''t increase in size at all.


    Even its color didn''t change. The green blood was getting consumed constantly like there was another beast lying underneath the water and sat its greedy gazes upon the dying monster up above.


    ''It''s a condensed water,'' the old man said, ''nothing could satisfy its ability to absorb energy.''


    "I should get it then," Jim was greedier than it, "I want to obtain such treasure."


    ''And you easily can,'' the old manughed, ''but in return you''ll need to forsake the monster.''


    "Screw it," Jim didn''t hesitate, "that water sounds more alluring to me."


    ''Good, then keep hitting it until it dies,'' the old man instructed, ''then just touch it and take it inside one of your rings.''


    "It''s that simple?" Jim was surprised by the simplicity of that matter.


    ''The water will start consuming the beast,'' the old man exined, ''so when it dies, the water will try to eat it up and that would make it coalesce for a brief window with the monster.''


    "And getting the monster inside the ring will take it alongside," Jim got the trick.


    ''But be aware that you can''t put anything else inside that ring,'' the old man warned, ''or else the water will aggressively consume it and you will lose whatever you threw inside.''


    "It''s not a big deal old man," Jimughed, "I got many spare rings here."


    Jim didn''t need to wait for so long, as in less than three minutes of constantly attacking that monster, the monster roared itsst one and fell silently over the water.


    ''Now!'' the old man shouted and Jim didn''t hesitate to move fast and touched the monster''s body, taking it inside his ring.


    The next moment he turned around and started to run.


    "Follow me," he didn''t forget his lucky pet, Don. The two started to run fast while Don wasn''t looking at ease at all.


    It was like the other monsters were drawing in very fast.


    "Damn!" he gritted his teeth, "that monster took a long time for me to kill."


    He was running even faster than his top speed, and yet he could already hear distant voices of monsters running after him.


    "At least the others went safe by now," he said to himself before realizing a simple problem he didn''t notice before.


    "How would I find them now?"


    It was pitch ck around and he wasn''t familiar with the topography of the area. He could only guess the direction they went on and hoped for them to move in one straight line.


    ''Next time you need to use tracking orbs,'' the old man said and Jim could only bitterly say: "Why didn''t you tell me this before?"


    ''Obviously because you don''t have any tracking orbs at all!''


    "We got some from the bodies of those killed disciples from before!"


    ''It was chaotic and you just acted on your own,'' the old man kept giving more excuses that Jim didn''t ept.


    "Just admit it, you got old and senile," heughed and the old man only sneered back and said nothing.


    "I fought that monster for roughly ten minutes straight. With their speed then I would need another twenty minutes at least to catch up."


    He was trying to give himself some hope. After all he was weak alone, not as strong as having one with lightning and another with fire orbs beside him.


    "Roar!"


    Yet Don roared faintly beside him, distracting him from his own thoughts.


    "So nearby now?" Jim sighed, "alright if I have to fight then I won''t back off."


    ''Your lightning won''tst forever you know.''


    Jim didn''t answer back to his old man, after all he was forced to this situation not choosing it by will.


    "At least I''m not that far off them," he hoped the fight here would attract their attention.


    ''They won''te,'' ye the old man bucked down cold water over his hopes, ''you strictly told them not to stop.''


    "Damn!"


    Just as the old man said these words, his good lucking from Don seemed to run outpletely. "Out of all ces I ended up here," he couldn''t help but mutter while standing on top of that huge cliff.


    The world around me seemed to cease to exist all of sudden. The wind howled all around and the darkness of the night seemed to extend in an intimidating heavy way.


    The cliff was too high, almost half a mile over the ground down below. "I should find some ce to descend from," he didn''t paralyze there for a long time before hurrying to nce right and left.


    However it seemed all odds went against him! The cliff went downwards on a sharp slope that was totally covered with a thickyer of green trees.


    The trees looked like thick and dark carpet that looked mysteriously bad to him. On his side the forest didn''t cease to exist, defying all kinds of logic and naturalws and continued to cover everything around, shielding his sight from seeing through.


    "Which way should I go?"


    The answer didn''te from anywhere but his rear. The monsters'' roars echoed in the darkness of the night, making him realize how close they were.


    "No option but fight head on then," he turned around and nced at his pet, "stay beside me and let''s pray your blessing luck would befall on us and bad luck on them What the hell?!!"


    Just before he could end his talk, Don suddenly pped his weak and small wings. He raised his body a couple of inches over the ground before mming directing towards Jim''s abdomen without any warning.


    And the next thing Jim felt was the rapid cold gust of wind surrounding his body as he fell from such height and went directly towards the distant ground.


    And Don jumped off next to him.

 Chapter 206: Falling to the Ground

    Chapter 206: Falling to the Ground


    This sudden hit from his pet wasn''t seen or expected by Jim so he took a couple of seconds to realize what was going on. He fell fast and his speed kept increasing the closer he got to the ground, and the worst thing ever was that he didn''t have a choice in selecting his fall.


    He tried to rotate a couple of times but he ended up spinning, adding more ufort to him.


    "Any ideas?" he shouted while being greatly enraged.


    ''Try to use your wings,'' the old man said.


    "If I survived this, I swear to kill that damn pet with my hands!"


    ''He must have done this for a reason,'' the old man was strangely calm.


    "What the f*ck might be that reason?"


    Yet the answer didn''te from the old man but from Don himself.


    "Roar!"


    The Seson pet roared at him and next Arthur felt a strange aura surrounding his body. "What are you trying to do now?" he shouted but the next moment a strange gush of wind rose up from the ground at this moment and hit him and Don together.


    The wind was like a small tornado that strangely appeared in this area out of nowhere. Spiraling around fast it carried out his body and his pet''s body and threw the two off to the side.


    "Damn you!" Jim knew this was the effect of Don, but he was getting angrier by his deeds.


    "Roar!"


    Another roar came and Jim saw a nearby tall tree having a strange shaking. The tree leaned to one side all of sudden. It drew fast towards him while its leaves moved in a strange way to form a soft carpet of leaves that hugged him and Don in a very astonishing timing.


    "Swoosh!"


    "Swoosh!"


    The two gilded fast over the leaves without being hurt or feeling any pain. Jim''s heart was pounding fast and even after falling on the ground he remained motionless there for a long minute before realizing what just happened.


    "Inded on my two feet without getting any harm!!!" he was instantly shocked before turning to nce at Don and seeing him pping his wings to slowlynd on the ground.


    It was as if the two just jumped off the tree and fell there.


    ''Hahaha, I told you he must have a n, hahaha,'' the old manughed and Jim realized his earlier calmness was because he knew some clues about what just happened.


    "Why didn''t you tell me?" he helplessly asked.


    ''And would you have listened?''


    Jim paused as he knew he wouldn''t have. "Sigh, next time give me a heads up notice, will you?"


    ''Just trust you Seson pet,'' the old man said, ''he won''t do anything to harm you under any circumstances.''


    ""


    Jim nced deeply at the nearby Don who looked at him in question and didn''t approach him like before.


    "Don''t be afraid," Jim could only say, "you just did a great job there."


    "Roar!" Don roared in happiness before jumping around and got attached to Jim''s legs as usual. Jim nced shortly at him before rubbing his head and Don smiled in content while closing up his big eyes.


    "Let''s see where we are now," Jim turned around and started to examine the area. It was part of the forest, no different than the ce he started off.


    "At least there are no monsters nearby," he muttered, "gosh, I''m now miles away from my team."


    He knew he had been separated by what was far more than a few hours of running. His fall made him cover a lot of distance and he was now quite sure to be the deepest disciple in the woods so far.


    And yet he didn''t stop motionless and started to move around.


    "I need to find myself a good spot to hide," he kept checking trees and bushes, looking behind every rock he met. Hoping to find a good ce to rest, he kept checking for half an hour until he finally met a small river that appeared out of nowhere.


    But he wasn''t happy just to see a source of water, but because one bank of the river was made entirely out of rocks.


    "There is a cave there," he pointed to the other side before adding, "or perhaps more than one. We need first to cross the river."


    He came here unprepared for this. "I should have asked for masters and old disciples to describe more about the forest," he med himself for that as he was quite sure that was what Mark would say if the meeting at the campus went on like it was nned.


    "No use for regret," he took out his sword and went to the nearby tree, "I need to make a raft and cross that river."


    The river waters seemed shallow, but for some reason he didn''t feel confident in crossing it on foot. He didn''t guarantee the presence of deep spots, or the presence of ferocious beasts there.


    And so he started cutting all the branches he could get to, stacking them together and formed a very small raft.


    "I need something to tie this together," he nced at this primitive raft and felt insecure even after getting some mud from the bank and covering the branches with it. "I need ropes," he nced around, "but how can I get some from here?"


    He turned to his pet who was standing still on the side, watching what his master was doing.


    "You don''t know anything about this, don''t you?" Jim smiled as he was amused by the strange expression on his pet''s face. Like a baby watching new things all around, Don was eyeing what he was doing in the same way.


    "Forget it then," Jim sighed, "I need to try out this and see what would happen. Come, let''s go to the other side of the river."


    The river wasn''t that wide, probably twenty meters wide. Jim put the raft on water and the current there wasn''t that strong. "Let''s go," he jumped over and held a long branch in both hands before he tried to dig it deep towards the bottom of the river and pushed the raft away.

 Chapter 207: A Brutal Fight Against Monster Underwater

    Chapter 207: A Brutal Fight Against Monster Underwater


    "It''s not that bad," he nced around, "the night looked calm in this peaceful ce of the world," he said while gazing up at the other bank. "Almost there buddy," he said.


    "Bubble!"


    Just as he crossed the midsection of the river, a strange popping sound came from underneath water attracting his attention. He nced at that far spot where a small bubble came from underneath the surface of the water and popped up once touching the air.


    "What is it?" he couldn''t help but pause from what he was doing and focus on that spot. For the next few moments nothing happened. "Seemed like something unworthy to be rmed about," he took a deep breath before returning to push the raft once again.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment he pushed the raft away, a sudden gush of water appeared in an explosive way. Large amount of water was pushed away from the depth of the river while a strange hideous creature appeared jumping off the river.


    Jim could only see the wrinkled blue skin of that monster, the sharp looking scissor-like six arms that resembled those of his Kroak followers. But that wasn''t the most disturbing part about it.


    That monster had a very strange wide mouth that was opened at this moment at its width. The monster itself wasn''t big, but it''s fully opened mouth could easily swallow that raft with Jim and Don over it.


    Jim watched the five parallel lines of sharp razor-like teeth on the inner side of that mount, taking the shape of an arc up and down, giving that monster a very deadly appearance.


    And that thick and short tongue kept swaying right and left as if it was already weing the rich mealing on its way.


    "Roar!"


    The first response came from Don who didn''t hesitate to give that monster a bad luck blessing.


    "As if I''ll let you eat me up," Jim next moved. He didn''t have time to activate any of his spells, and the only thing he could do was to bend slightly his knees and dart like an arrow towards that monster.


    "sh!"


    As the monster was already midair, Jim''s sudden move came to evade the deadly mouth and just hit the thick neck of that monster, shing a deep wound over it.


    "You are mine!" Jim didn''t let his body fall without waving his sword once more. A sh after a sh hit the monster''s neck until both of themnded on the water.


    The monster was deeply hurt, but the moment it touched water it seemed to be like a fish returning to it. It suddenly gained strength and speed, and next thing happened was for it to move its body fast to stand on top of Jim, with its huge mouth aiming to swallow this annoying prey.


    Jim felt like a mountain came crushing over his body, pushing him deep down the river. The water made him unable to move freely and the only thing he cared about wasn''t to breathe, but to evade the deadly attacks of that huge mouth.


    He moved his sword and pushed it in between the opened mouth. The sword strangely fit the space and was fixed there, preventing Jim from moving it or the monster from closing its mouth.


    ''I won''t let you off!'' The moment the monster felt the deep pain out of the sword, it tried to swim away, yet Jim kept his hand clenched over the hilt of his sword, and felt his body being dragged fast inside the river.


    The monster was moving so chaotic, each move of it was fierce and acute as if it was trying to get loose of that annoying sword and it''s annoying master.


    Yet once Jim was sure his grip was firm, he took out another sword from one of his rings and held it with his free hand.


    ''Die!''


    The air inside his lung was being squeezed out in big bubbles with the fierce moves of the monster, yet he kept hitting the monster anywhere he could reach with his sword.


    The water started to dye in red, and before the monster could swim too far away it suddenly mmed into an underwater rock that forced it to stop.


    The hit came just in time where Jim was about to be suffocated. The monster seemed to grow dizzy from the hit, and coupled with therge amount of blood it lost it started to grow weak and its moves started to be sluggish.


    The next moment its body floated on the surface of the calm river while Jim rose up his head, hunting for air like it was the most precious thing in this world.


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    "sh!"


    Despite being in such advisory conditions, Jim kept hitting any visible part of the monster.


    "Roar!"


    And the next thing happened was for Don to suddenly appear out of nowhere, descending from the air with the useless branch Jim was using to move the raft with.


    "Ssh!"


    Yet that weak looking branch prated all the way down to the monster''s gut until Don hit the wrinkled skin of that monster and stopped there.


    "Good work Don," Jimughed, "it''s about to die!"


    In less than two more minutes what was left out of the fight was a motionless body of that monster floating on the river surface, while the water around was stained by the red blood of that monster.


    "Let''s go," Jim climbed over the monster''s body and stood beside Don. He took out the branch before starting to head towards the other bank over the dead body of the monster he killed.


    "Second monster is down," he smiled, "I''m starting to enjoy this."


    As he reached the other bank he started to grab the dead monster''s body. "Damn! It''s so heavy!"


    As he dragged the monster out of the thick short tail he found after taking the monster out of water. The monster''s weight seemed not that heavy when he was fighting it inside the water, but now he was quite sure the water took much of the toll over him.


    "That cave would do," he stopped in front of a small cave that was bare of any tree or green as if it was forcibly inserted here.


    ''Scan it first,'' the old man warned, ''caves usually have deadly traps and monsters inside.''


    Jim stopped and couldn''t help but sigh. "I hope there is something useful in the loot I gained before," he took out a couple of rings his team took from the team they ambushed and started examining them.


    "This should be the orb," he took out a strange shaped cylindrical rod that contained a small ruby-like orb at one end. "How does it work?" he touched the other end while closely examining it.


    "Swoosh!"


    The moment he did that, the rod fired instantly off his hand, startling him. The rod flew, luckily, towards the cave and went deeply inside before it hit the roof of it.


    And the entire cave entrance was illuminated at this moment in front of his eyes.


    "Holy cow!" and Jim couldn''t help but curse in deep shock the moment he saw what was inside.

 Chapter 208: The Red Ore Vein

    Chapter 208: The Red Ore Vein


    The light dissipating from the orb started to illuminate a good deal of that cave in the middle of the night. Jim saw many shining things inside, reflecting light and turning the dark cave into a small gxy.


    ''Amazing,'' the old manmented, ''your luck is really great tonight,'' heughed and his words andughs didn''t help to exin anything to Jim.


    "Do you know what that is?"


    ''It''s an ore mine,'' the old man said, ''one of the rarest types in such a ce.''


    "Oh so these sparkling little stars are all ores?" Jim was tempted to enter but he kept his ce while checking every single corner illuminated by the light.


    ''The cave looked safe,'' the old man said, ''and you need to hurry and extinguish that light or else you might not only draw monsters but also couple enemies alongside them.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate to enter after these words of the old man. The lighting from the inside, augmented by all these reflections of the ores made this ce so noticeable from far away.


    And he didn''t want any unwee visitors to crash upon the ce he worked so hard to find.


    "How can I extinguish it?" he held the small piece of rod and tried to immerse it in the ground. However the cave was entirely made out of stone and he couldn''t even push it deeper than a breadth of a finger.


    ''Just threw it inside with all your might,'' the old man said, ''the cave is obliquely heading to the bottom of the earth, it won''t cause much trouble there.''


    Jim followed his old man''s advice and threw the rod far away with all his might. The rod travelled for a certain distance before hitting something and then fell deep inside what looked like an abyss.


    And darkness prevailed once again over the entire cave, giving Jim very dark thoughts.


    "I''d prefer that light now," Jim took a deep breath while he couldn''t even see his hand clearly in this darkness. "Don,e here."


    The next moment he felt a small thing hitting his right leg and rubbing it. he knew it was his pet but this gave him a little scare for a moment.


    ''You hare darkness?'' the old man asked.


    "I lived in it for my entire life," Jim paused, "I never thought anyone would adapt to living in the dark."


    He then stretched out his arms right and left and slowly moved while stamping his feet so heavily so he wouldn''t stumble on anything. He finally touched the cold irregr surface with his stretched left hand, and it seemed he hit something sharp there as he felt a sudden sting of pain and some warmth of his blood.


    Then the next moment the wall started to shine strangely in a faint red light that startled him. Yet the light didn''tst for a long time before it started to gradually fade away.


    "That''s quite interesting," Jim touched his injured palm where a shallow wound was there before he touched the dying little red rock with his hand filled with blood and watched the light intensify.


    ''It has a great amount of energy inside,'' the old man said, ''it''s a fiery natured ore. But it needs a trigger to show its effects.''


    "Is it like the ores Jenny used to use?" Jim asked, "or perhaps a little weaker?"


    ''On contrary,'' the old man said, ''It''s much higher in quality than those orbs. To simplify it to you, the ores Jenny used were like mere ground rockspared to this little gem here.''


    Jim watched in astonishment that little protruding rock while the red light was reflected over his face. "Then why is it dying out fast?" he said, "why does it need my blood to be activated?"


    ''I believe this is just a tiny piece of therge ore,'' the old man said after momentarily pause, ''if you can take a small piece of it then you''ll be amazed by its quality.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate and took out his sword. The next moment he was shining in golden color, something that made him think why he didn''t use his sword before to push the darkness away.


    The next moment he hit the ore with his sword. He didn''t aim directly towards cutting it loose from the wall, despite it would be easier for him to do that.


    But he aimed towards the rocks surrounding it. After a couple of hits the rocks cracked before it fell to the ground, with the sound of Jim''s sword echoing in the entire cave and seemingly the entire world.


    "You are absolutely right old man," Jim cracked a wide smile while the red lighting from the red ore got intensified by the revtion of arger piece buried underneath the rocky wall, "it''s a giant piece of ore."


    ''I believe it''s a vein,'' the old man said, ''so don''t aim to excavate it all and just unearth a part of it and be satisfied with that.''


    Jim didn''t listen to his words while spending the next hour hammering over the rocky wall and cracking it to pieces.


    After one hour he felt extremely exhausted. He never saw himself suited for the hard work, but the result he got made him quite satisfied.


    He wiped the thickyer of sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his coat before ncing in admiration to this pyramid shaped piece of ore he managed to excavate.


    It wasn''t that small anymore, as it was in the size of his body at least. The lighting off from it was enough to illuminate arge piece of the cave, while red wisps started to dance like lightning arcs over that piece.


    He had to keep it shining by using his blood, however the more he exposed it the longer the intervals needed to resupply it with blood became.


    ''I believe you should chop it now,'' the old man said, ''this piece is a real treasure that will provide you with enough energy for a long time.''


    Jim nodded before asking what bothered him. "Anything I touched with energy got sucked dry instantly, but this one didn''t," he said, "I even couldn''t feel any energy entering my body."


    ''Foolish boy this is a great ore vein,'' the old man couldn''t help butugh, ''how can you expect to absorb anything from such a beast? You need to cut it first and separate this small part off before you can absorb its power.''


    "Then it goes down," Jim moved to the side while raising his sword high in the air, "this piece is mine!"


    Hended the sword and red sparks appeared, yet he was stupefied next.


    It wasn''t due to the deep crack his sword did to the ore or the fact that the sword just got stuck in there. It was for that strange ck long snake that kept drawing silently and fast towards him.


    And just before he could do anything, that snake circled around his body and snatched him fiercely towards the depth of the cave.


    "Screw you," Jim tightened the grip over the hilt of his sword before hurrying to grab it with the other hand. With all his might he clenched to his sword as if his entire life depended entirely on that.


    And in fact it was.


    "Don!" Jim screamed while feeling the sweaty hands slipper slowly away from the sword, "do something!"


    "Roar!" Don was surprised as well and petrified in ce just like Jim. Yet the next moment he roared and Jim didn''t feel anything this time.


    "Damn it!" he tried to shake off his body, kick with his legs, however the more he moved the lesser his grip became.


    It was apparent that his resistance right here would fail so soon, and the next thing that woulde to him would be a total nightmare.


    That strange snake was squeezing his body strongly that made him start to feel numb all over down there. Despite that he didn''t stop his attempts to clutch himself to that piece of ore using his sword.


    "ng!"


    "Crack!"


    Yet the next moment he heard a sharp voiceing from the ore as the sword cracked deeper under the enormous pressure, making the sword move deeper and push Jim''s body further away.


    And that small stretch came out all of sudden and made him scream out of deep pain.


    "Crack!"


    Thest resisting piece of the ore was finally severed. Jim felt all the resistanceing from the sword instantly vanish, and even his grip went loose and his body moved in extreme speed backwards.


    The snake dragged him in extreme speed, yet strangely the sword deflected and moved in greater speed towards the snake.


    "Chop!"


    The next moment Jim felt his body suspended entirely midair without any pressure exerted over him of any kind. Then he fell heavily on the ground, rolled over the rocky irregr earth bed there before finally stopping tens of meters away.


    But he didn''t stop or lie there to rest despite all the pain and agony he was feeling. The moment his body stopped rolling he didn''t hesitate to push it up and started to run.


    "Swoosh!"


    "Swoosh!"


    "Swoosh!"


    This time the hidden monster decided to go all out and not let its prey run away. Jim could perfectly hear three to four things moving in the darkness behind, and from the sound of it they were drawing fast towards him.


    "F*ck you!" Jim abandoned the idea of running all the way to the entrance of the cave and threw himself instantly over therge piece of ore he just chopped.


    And a sword appeared next in his hand.


    "Boom!"

 Chapter 209: A Brutal Fight With The Monster

    Chapter 209: A Brutal Fight With The Monster


    Jim wasn''t moving ording to any logic, but only the instinct of survival drove him to do that. Hended directly over therge piece of orb and held it in one hand while the other had his sword.


    He was ready for a brutal fight now with nothing else to protect but his own life.


    The moment he touched that ore, he suddenly felt a gush of energy inside his body. He was used to absorbing energy from Jenny and Lan before but this time it seemed quite different.


    The amount and quality of energy were totally on another whole level. He nced in surprise at the ore he put on the ground like a giant rod an old man was leaning over and saw the red fire swirling all over the ore.


    The ore was just introverted moments ago, not showing anything of what the old man said before about it. However when he touched it, it seemed like this piece of ore got transformed.


    And next his body was literally on fire.


    "I''ll show you how bad it is toe at me," his eyes shone in golden color while he put his hand in the front, letting his sword be directed towards the ground.


    The light shining from his body and ore in hand lit up most of the dark cave and he could now see what wasing at him.


    "These aren''t snakes they are like tentacles?!" he was surprised to see that what was crawling on the ground weren''t snakes but cylindrical extensions, so long and agile to move as fast as real snakes.


    But at this moment he realized something.


    "So the real monster is lying in darkness, hiding from me," he muttered and that gave him more hope. If they were snakes then he was facing a risk of getting bitten and poisoned, but now he could fight without worrying about such a thing.


    ''It must be a species belonging to the hydra or the kraken n,'' the old man suddenly said, ''and both are afraid of light and fire, both powers you now possess.''


    These words managed to push more confidence inside Jim''s soul who started to see his odds of surviving them skyrocketing from the deep bottom.


    "I don''t care what it is,"Jim coldly sneered while watching the fast moving tentacles getting closer to him, "I''ll make sure to barbecue that bastard."


    The closer the tentacles got to him the more details he could see. These tentacles were likerge octopus arms, making him believe this monster belonged to the kraken species more than anything else.


    "Die!" as the tentacles got so near that they were less than five meters off him, he decided to let his sword hit the ground. The next second his body was engulfed in arge ball of bright red fire.


    The fire was raging wildly on a scale he never tasted before. Before his protective orb was enough to cover his entire body and make him invincible.


    However this time not only the size of the fireball gotrger, but it also emitted long wisps of fire that started to arch in the air and hit everything around.


    "Sizzle!"


    The moment the fire touched those three tentacles closing it, he heard a sizzling sound. It was like these tentacles met their deadliest enemy and were like ice thrown directly on the fire.


    But Jim didn''t n on standing there watching his fire doing this coteral damage without interfering.


    All the anger and helplessness he got inside were all transformed into a storm of determination. The next moment he used his fast boots and wings to move fast, so fast that he even created a series of after images of frightening balls of fire.


    Then he moved his sword and started cutting these tentacles along the path towards the depth of the cave.


    "Roar!"


    At this moment he heard the painful roars of those hidden monsters, yet Jim couldn''t see a glimpse of it despite running deep into the cave for a couple of minutes.


    "So you were hiding yourself here," he finally reached a very deep abyss where he spotted a hideous monster shape down below. The monster had curled skin with some pustules over his body.


    In Jim''s eyes this was the ugliest monster he spotted so far, yet that ugly appearance didn''t prevent him from jumping down, gulping over the slippery walls of this bottomless pit andnding just beside the monster.


    The monster had eight long arms just like the four he just dealt with. The four he injured seemed to get huge damage and got shrunk on the side of the monster while the other four were twirling in the air, dancing like headless snakes.


    "Let you be my second kill in this cursed ce,"'' Jim didn''t hesitate to jump fast over the monster, and the monster threw his four intact arms, trying to surround and squeeze the life out of him.


    But Jim had higher reflexes than that monster. It was thanks to his small training in the Graz game that helped him in honing such skill, and now he was depending on it to survive.


    He kept moving right and left, advancing and retreating, creating a series of after images while his sword shed every now and then to cut these arms of the monster, and pushing them to shrink out of the deep wounds they got.


    In less than five minutes the monster stood baren without any arms to defend itself.


    "Roar!"


    As it found itself in such a position, it roared, turned around and tried to flee deep down the abyss.


    "Like I''ll let you easily run away," yet Jim moved fast to block the path that monster chose to jump off. The monster and Jim were on a broad protrusion of the wall, like a small cliff with nothing else there.


    "Roar!" yet the monster didn''t stop or decrease its speed while it tried to hit Jim directly with itsrger body mass.


    In fact the monster wasn''t that big, only its main body would amount up to three sizes of Jim. Yet Jim didn''t rx his vignce and decided to use something he never used before.


    "Boom!"

 Chapter 210: Green and Blue Monster Cores

    Chapter 210: Green and Blue Monster Cores


    The moment the monster got closer to him, he turned around and unleashed a sudden kick towards the monster''s lower part. This sudden kicknded in an angle that pushed the monster forcibly high in the air, while the fire ball added more power to the kick, causing a faint explosive sound to echo in this ce.


    And then Jim jumped off the ground, flying high in the air in a level that was slightly higher than the off bnced monster.


    "Die you freak," Jim held the sword hilt with both hands beforending his sword heavily with all his might and weight over what he saw as the monster''s head.


    The sword cut through the monster''s skin like a knife cutting through butter. Jim didn''t feel much resistance before he finally cleaved the monster in two halves just beforending on the ground without any wound.


    "Finally it''s over."


    "Crack!"


    Just as he muttered that he heard a faint sound that started to grow in intensity. "Damn it! That small piece of rock is going to crash down," he didn''t wait any more and jumped fast to the two parts of the monster, taking both inside his ring before jumping in thest second off the rock that crashed next into tiny pieces of rocks and fell deep down the abyss.


    "Tuck!"


    His sword managed to insert itself inside the wall of this pit before he fell for a few meters due to his weight and momentum. And then his body stopped moving.


    "Finally it''s over," he nced all around before seeing the edge of this pit tens of meters above, "I''ll have to climb all that," he said before taking a deep breath and started to climb the wall with extreme care.


    The moment he pushed his body over the edge of this bottomless pit he rolled over the ground andnded on his back. "''Easy there," yet the next moment Don jumped like a loyal dog and started to rub his head against his body and jump around like joyfully celebrating his safe return.


    He patted on his head while smiling. "Thanks for the help back there," he knew part of what happened back there was thanks to his good luck and part was due to his pet''s luck.


    "Now I need to get as much of this ore as possible," once he restored his calm and stood up, he turned to the abyss where his sight could only reach tens of meters down there without showing anything else.


    The darkness there seemed quite heavy and eerie. Jim was quite sure that this pit contained far deadlier monsters than the one he just killed.


    And that made him pretty much hesitant about what he should do towards this ce.


    "It was supposed to be my own safe hole," he muttered while returning to the entrance, "but now it''s full of deadly monsters. I can''t risk even sleeping here."


    ''But you can rest,'' the old man said, ''at night this might be a good ce to hide, and in the morning you can search for better ces.''


    "I need to first find my team," he said, "and kill as many monsters as I can."


    ''You already have two monsters'' cores,'' the old man said, ''you should dissect the monsters and get these cores first.''


    "What are these cores used for anyway," he asked while taking off the first monster he killed. Its giant bodynded heavily on the ground while Jim worked on its body and opened it apart. "Where can I find these cores?"


    ''They usually lie just beside the heart,'' the old man said, ''and I believe you got some higher grade cores this time.''


    "Really?" Jim kept cutting the monster''s belly and chest and started to look for the core under the bright red light of his nearby ore. "What are these grades anyway?"


    ''They are stratified ording to their colors,'' the old man said, ''the base is white, then green then blue, silver, bronze, and golden up to the level of the legendary transparent cores.''


    "Impressive," Jim said before finally finding a small rounded and shiny piece that resembled an orb the size of his fist. "Is this it?" he asked while taking out the green shining core and examining it. "It''s only green," he disappointedly said.


    ''That''s considered great,'' the old man said, ''it''s notmon for a disciple in the first three grades to be able to kill a green grade monster.''


    "But it''s still the second bottom ranking core," Jim was still dejected as he stored it away along with the body of the monster. "Let''s see the other one, I hope it will contain a better core."


    ''It will,'' the old man firmly said, ''I think it will be a blue core monster.''


    "I hope it will be golden," Jim said with much anticipation.


    ''Hahaha, don''t dream about this far boy. Golden monsters are much stronger than this little one you killed.''


    "Can''t you hope for better? Can''t I have dreams then?" Jim was annoyed with his mentor''s words and continued to dissect the monster at a slower speed.


    "It''s... blue one," he took the core in his hand while examining it. The shape of the core made him recall the orb Mark once used to assess their magic powers before, swirling with blue fog while he couldn''t see anything through.


    ''Your luck is pretty much great,'' the old man said, ''this little piece in your hand worth one thousand white cores y''know.''


    "That high?" Jim was surprised, "what does it is used for then?" he asked while casually throwing it inside his ring along with the carcass of the monster.


    ''Usually you can use it in making potions and gears. Also you can absorb the power inside to replenish yours.''


    "Just like what I''m doing with ores, right?"


    ``The same way but it''s given for anyone to do that,'''' the old man said, ``but in your case you can absorb a greater amount of power than anyone else.''


    Jim wasn''t excited about these words and as he leaned his body against the rocky wall he muttered, "I hoped for something epic, something that could turn on my power fast."


    ''There is no free lunch in this world boy,'' the old man wisely said, ''and nothinges without a price to pay.''


    "Yeah, I can tell," Jim took a deep breath before ncing at the entrance of the cave and the depth where that frightening abyss was. "I need to gather more ores then before I leave."


    Despite him being unwilling to leave such a treasure trove, he decided to do so in the morning. This ce was a nightmare, and if he couldn''t get some rest and sleep then he would prefer to look for another hiding hole then.

 Chapter 211: The Giant Tree

    Chapter 211: The Giant Tree


    Jim started to hit the walls with axes he found inside his rings. The walls weren''t that sturdy as the entire cave was lined with ore veins.


    Yet surfacing these veins took a lot of work, besides he was already exhausted from all the fight he had so far.


    When the early light of the morning shone, the cave entrance wasn''t like before. There were some wounds over the walls, as Jim kept taking as much ores he could get.


    "So I ended up with lightning, fire, and water ores," he muttered while taking his breaths at a rapid pace, "this cave is really a treasure trove... it''s a regret i won''t be able to stay here anymore."


    He turned his head and watched the shy rays of the sun chasing the darkness away. "Would they be near?" he muttered while trying not to think of the worst.


    The forest looked very risky and unpredictable. The main problem he spotted was theirck of knowing the topography of such forest. "I hope i can meet up with Hector or anyone from the higher grades," he muttered while going out and finally had the chance to drink some fresh water.


    He used a small sk he found inside one ring with water. Yet it couldn''t store a lot of water, and he knew this might be enough for one day or perhaps two if he limited his use of the water.


    "They came here well prepared," the presence of this flusk of water made him realize how thoroughly prepared his enemies were. "Now I need to find something to eat," he muttered while his abdomen gruntled in frustration.


    The only good news he had was that his power wasn''t that much depleted despite all his tiredness, hunger, and thirst.


    ''You need to scout the area first,'' the old man said, ''see thatrge tree in the distance? Go there and climb it up.''


    Jim looked around before finally spotting that tree. "It''s too far," he said while watching his pet jumping in the water while gulping as much as he could. "At least one of us is having fun," he smiled before noticing the main problem here.


    "I''ll have to cross that river once again," he took a deep breath before looking around for his raft.


    "Where did I leave it?" he nced around while not finding any trace for the raft.


    ''It''s on the other side,'' just as he was trying to recall where he left it during the night, the old man suddenly pointed to the direction he should look.


    And the moment he shifted his gaze towards the other bank of the river, he spotted his raft thrown on the opposite side.


    "How can this be?!" he was surprised before the answer presented itself at once, "Someone has used itst night."


    Realizing this made him more vignt. Hepletely forgot he wasn''t all alone here. The distance he was forced to cover during that jump gave him a fake sense of safety, but now he was faced directly with the truth.


    Some disciples had already arrived here the other night and that meant his position was exposed.


    ''You should go up there and scan the area,'' the old man urged.


    "Why not stay here then?" The idea of going after some mysterious disciples wasn''t a good thing for him. He was all alone and very tired at the moment. Thest thing he would seek would be a fight with such an unknown number of disciples as well.


    ''If they had the power to beat you then they would have done this already,'' the old man said before adding, ''I''m sure they aren''t that strong.''


    "I hope you are right," Jim took a deep breath before turning around, "and now I have to cut down some trees and build another raft."


    Jim didn''t have time to rest. He went to the nearest trees and started cutting some branches. From all the work he had during the night, his muscles started to pump in a stronger way than usual, while he felt some pain in his arms and legs.


    But he kept working until he finally had another raft ready to use. "At least crossing the river now is safe," he didn''t hear any sound of fightingst night and that meant whoever crossed the river must have done this in a peaceful way.


    As expected, he crossed the river without any problem this time. Once there he spotted the ground, trying to see any footprints left but he found none.


    "Let''s hope there isn''t any monster until that tree," he pointed his sword to the front while ncing at his pet, "I''ll depend on you to warn me, alright?"


    And Don just faintly roared before the two started running towards the tree.


    The forest looked as silent and gloomy as usual, and that quietness made Jim quite nervous. "I need something to eat," he didn''t forget his hunger, especially with his abdomen releasing sounds every now and then.


    But he couldn''t find any green leaves all the way around. "Damn, this forest doesn''t have any fruit!" he cursed while he got so near that tree.


    ''You will have a better view up there,'' the old man tried to reassure him, ''and there you can spot any fruit or anything good for you to eat.''


    "I should have stocked up some food," he regretted not letting Mark give his lecture back then more than ever. "I should have asked for general advice beforeing here."


    ''There''s no good in regretting the past,'' the old man said, ''you are still safe and sound at least.''


    "And hungry," Jimined, "and tired."


    ''But you killed two monsters in return,'' the old man said, ''and got your hand over some rare ores.''


    "Can i eat ores? Can i eat cores?" Jim continued toin until he finally reached the big tree. "Let''s see what lies around then," he said before turning to Don, "stay here and keep guarding this ce. If anything or anyone came close to here, just roar and i''ll take you back."


    Don rubbed his head with Jim''s legs before Jim started to ascend the tree. The size of this tree was so big that he felt the tree was like a small hill in itself, not just a mere trunk.


    And during climbing up there he found many spots to grab or depend over it while jumping over some other areas to clutch himself to a branch or a small protrusion of the tree.


    "It''s really a very giant tree," once he arrived at the top hended over one of the thick branches there enjoying the scene all around. "I can see for miles around," he managed to see many ces of the forest and was astounded to see how enormous this forest was.


    Up to the horizon trees extended with no end. It was like they were covering the ground in a greenyer, while holding the ground off his eyes for long miles.


    "That''s the cliff I came from," in one direction he spotted arge hill, the one he jumped offst night. "And there is a path just next to it."


    He spotted a normal pathing down the cliff, linking the upper ground with the deep bottom of this basin. He also noticed the presence of another cliff in the other direction, and this one looked so small and hazy from his position.


    "It must be a hundred miles away at least," he muttered before suddenly noticing some trees being pushed away at a certain ce, like something big was pushing the trees aside.


    "It''s... a fight," he noticed the shes of light caused by many spells used there. He couldn''t spot anything else, and couldn''t tell to which grade those disciples were, or were they just fighting a group of monsters or another group of disciples.


    "They are getting closer to here," he noted their direction and spected they would just pass by this tree in the middle of the fight.


    "And there is another fight there," yet another turbulence caught his attentioning from another direction further away from the first battle. "And another... damn, there are too many fighting at the moment."


    He suddenly felt how lucky he was. After all, he spent the night inside a cave. Yes he fought two monsters and was about to get killed in both fights, but at least he wasn''t chased all the night around like street dogs.


    "Where are you now?" he couldn''t help but feel worried over his team. He now realized how hard it was to survive in this ordeal, and the cold threats of that dean rang in his mind at this moment.


    "I should try to find a clue," he didn''t hurry to descend while observing closely the ongoing fights everywhere. "What was special about my team''s spells?" he tried to recall the spells his team was using and found the main colors representing them would be blue, brown, and red.


    Yet when he tried to narrow down the ongoing fights ording to the colors of the shes of spells used there he was faced with another dilemma. "These colors are present in all fights," he sighed before deciding to better scan on foot.


    ''You should wait first for the first fight to draw closer,'' the old man stopped him, ''after that you can select good spots to climb and wait for other battles to arrive at your location.''


    "I might be toote for them," Jim was so anxious to get down and go to check every fighting ce.


    ''They lived throughout the entire night,'' the old man tried to push some reason in his mind, ''adding one or two more hours won''t be a big deal, right?''


    Jim couldn''t help but sigh. He returned to sit over that branch before saying:


    "I hope they aren''t about to be killed."


    ''I doubt that,'' the old man said, ''they are your team after all, learnt how to survive and be stubborn about their lives from their master and captain.''


    His words made Jim smile despite not being in the mood for that. "What about Don?"


    ''Let him be there,'' the old man said, ''after all his roars might attract some nearby toe here and save you a lot of time.''


    "Good point," Jim agreed on his old man''s n, "the first team will arrive here in less than five minutes."


    He turned his attention towards the nearest fight that kept drawing closer to his tree with each passing minute.

 Chapter 212: Banshees

    Chapter 212: Banshees


    Jim didn''t wait for so long. In less than five minutes the first fighting group finally appeared closer to him.


    Their fight was so brutal and that made the trees all around shake. That helped in creating some gaps through which Jim could spot what was going on down below.


    "It''s a team of disciples fighting against some monsters," he finally saw what was going on as a team of two hundred or less disciples were fighting brutally a group of strange monkey monsters.


    The monkeys all had big heads like tigers, strong arms like any berserker or giant. Jim watched these strange monkeys jump over the tree branches and that was the main reason why those disciples were hitting trees all around.


    They tried their best to stop the momentum of the monsters, and despite all their attempts it seemed they weren''t seeding in this.


    "How can i know their grades then?" he muttered before adding the more important question, "how can i know they are on my side or not."


    ''They all have oneyer of energy around them,'' the old man said, ''so they can be first year up to third year disciples.''


    "Hmm... that solves one problem," Jim thought, "what about the other one?"


    ''You need to see their races to know,'' the old man said and Jim realized he totally missed this simple point.


    "There are giants in them," he finally spotted some big bodies with bare chests, the typical one of his main enemies. "And there are some Banshees as well... They are my enemies... I should hide myself then."


    "Roar!"


    Just as he was about to drop the idea of joining the fight, Don roared from down below in a way that attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Another monster is there," one of the Banshee kids shouted in obvious fear.


    "Part of you will turn around and defend that location."


    "We need to go to another area then."


    More shouts came and Jim heard all of them as the disciples down there never suspected anyone to be here. "They mistook my pet for a new group of monsters," he muttered before watching therge group of disciples getting dispersed into two smaller groups, one headed towards Don and the other kept attacking the trees.


    As Jim lied there in wait, he saw how Banshees were fighting. They all had great bodies but not as broad as the giants next to them. However they had some strange fog that kept turning everything around into ckness.


    ''The power of decay,'' the old man said when he noticed the line of thought of Jim, ''this is such a nasty power and can''t be taken lightly.''


    "I can see that," Jim nodded as he noticed even the grand and vibrant trees got shrunk and fragile the moment this fog touched them.


    And those kids used a myriad of spells, mostly aiming at augmenting the fog or spreading it around as attacks.


    "What should i do now?" he asked while feeling some worry over his pet. "I can''t go and hit them directly, or else I would be punished by the academy rules if they had anyone of the third grade."


    ''Have you forgotten?'' the old manughed, ''you already have a second grade disciple in your team.''


    "Oh... Linda..." Jim recalled her and her strange behavior from before. "But that means I can hit them without worrying about anything."


    ''What do you n to use as an attack?'' the old man asked despite knowing the answer.


    "I''ll wait," Jim simply said, "after getting near here I''ll descend over them like thunder and lightning."


    The old man knew he wasn''t bluffing and he nned to use his lightning ores to make a grand entrance. ''At least this fight here will attract the attention of your team,'' the old man said and Jim nodded.


    He then nced at the ground where Don stood there. "Will he be alright?" he asked while thinking of taking him away.


    ''He is more resilient and stubborn than you think,'' the old man said, ''but facing two hundred disciples would be too much even for him.''


    "I''ll leave him to give them bad luck first," Jim decided, "then I shall go down and help or take him back."


    ''Do what you like,'' the old man said, ''just make sure to select the optimum time for your entrance.''


    Jim nodded while watching in vignce the fast moves of that team of disciples drawing close to Don.


    "Roar!"


    Don roared again in warning yet the next moment he was hit by the ck fog of one of the two Banshees in this group.


    Then the attack was followed by a bigndslide while Don was carried away tens of meters off the tree.


    "He is just one monster," the second Banshee kid shouted, "it''s clear here. You cane now."


    His wordsnded and the other team moved fast as if they were finally got a moment to escape from that relentless attack of the monkeys.


    Yet Jim, who was standing higher than all, noticed the new change of the battle. "My dear Don has done his brilliant work luckily," he smiled while watching the new wave of monstersing from the opposite direction of the group.


    And that made this grouppletely surrounded. "But I''m also surrounded in the middle," he shook his head while thinking about his options here.


    ''You should n against the two sides then,'' the old man said, ''just take Don back.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate to touch his chest tattoo before calling Don back. The next moment Don vanished and his disappearance starteld the small team standing near him.


    "Where did it go?" a giant disciple shouted, "search for it now, search fast before it calls over more of its kin."


    "We should have killed it when we got the chance," one of the Banshee regretted not using one of his deadly spells.


    "At least we can run through this area safely for now," the other kid said, "as far as I recall, there was a river branch here that we could cross and head to the mines area."

 Chapter 213: The Deadly Rhinoceropards

    Chapter 213: The Deadly Rhinoceropards


    "That area isn''t any safer than the rest of the forest," the first Banshee disciple said.


    "But that''s only during the night," the second Banshee kid said, "and we have the blood of the ancient Krakens. You know they fear the blood of ancient beasts."


    The other disciple nodded and waited for the main team to catch up.


    "So you also got a way to defend yourselves there," Jim was surprised when he heard these words. "I have to get my hands on that blood."


    He now realized how his enemies were much more prepared than his side. "They know each part of the forest, and also have many counters to the deadly risks lying in darkness at each corner... they have higher odds than us."


    ''That''s not necessarily true,'' the old man simply said, ''I bet older disciples already have the same amount of info as them.''


    "But I''m not an older disciple yet," Jim sighed, "at least they have a way to go into one of those caves and sleep there for the entire night without worrying about anything."


    ''They won''t live through the day to stay there at night,'' the old manughed, ''the other wave of monsters are drawing closer.''


    Jim turned his head and saw the second waveing fast towards this ce. This wave was different from the monkey monsters, as they kept crushing some trees along their advance.


    "They are... rhinoceroses!" Jim said in surprise while noticing one or two of these monsters from the gaps created by smashed trees. "And their number isn''t that high."


    ''Don''t belittle them,'' the old man warned, ''having such giant bodies and thick armor, they are really invincible and would take much time and effort to fall.''


    "Then i should keep hiding," Jim found it more alluring to avoid all that and close his eyes on this uing brutal fight.


    ''I don''t think you can,'' the old man said, ''after all those monkeys can feel your presence and can reach your ce.''


    This startled Jim for a moment before thinking back of the ce he was in. "This is the demon forest after all," he muttered before holding his sword scabbard tightly in one hand, "if they want toe, then I should dly strike up a big party for them."


    Jim''s mind was now filled with such a crazy idea that he decided not to use until the bitter end. ''You shouldn''t provoke the anger of something you can''t afford its wrath,'' the old man warned.


    "I won''t choose this path except if I would be about to get killed."


    Jim saw how easy this solution was, but the fact that no one tried it up till now made him realize there must be grave consequences for doing that.


    And so he decided to wait and not use that n until the very end.


    "Roar!"


    The iing wave of monsters arrived faster than Jim expected. "They are gaining speed the more they run!" he was surprised to see this off logic fact in front of his eyes.


    "Watch out!"


    "They are the wild rhinoceropards!"


    "Spread out!"


    "Don''t stick around!"


    All of sudden chaos erupted the moment the ground disciples noticed the iing monsters. "Wild rhinceropards?" Jim muttered and the next moment he got the answer. "They had leopard legs! Damn! How can these things carry off such gigantic weight?"


    ''It''s their muscles,'' the old man said before suddenlyughing, ''It''s your lucky day boy, the meat of these monsters are really delicious.''


    Jim nced at the giant bodies of these monsters, each was at least a ton in weight or even more. "I suppose they got a lot of meat in them, right?" he smirked while his saliva started running.


    And the next moment his abdomen cried out again.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The monsters were much faster than the disciples. The moment they reached the area around the tree, they didn''t stop or decrease their speed.


    Instead they charge directly to hit the disciples around, sending each one off the ground while crying out in deep pain.


    Even some lost their consciousness at this moment, including one Banshee kid.


    The hits were so severe and intense that each caused an explosive loud bang. The other team were rmed by this and Jim noticed the monkeys chasing them to grow hesitant.


    "What is going on?" he couldn''t help but ask when he spotted most of the monkeys stopping and even some turned around and started running away.


    ''Each monster here is an enemy to the disciples,'' the old man said, ''but that''s only in the times of expeditions and personal adventures. Rest of time, or to be frank most of the time, they were challenging each other for territory and resources.''


    "You mean... they are already enemies?"


    ''Indeed,'' the old man confirmed his guess, ''and they are as deadly to each other as they are to you.''


    Jim watched therge number of monkeys drawing back slowly while the rhinceropards kept charging forward fast.


    "How can they escape like this?" he didn''t understand this, "they have the number and altitude advantage here."


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    Just before the old man could say anything, Jim watched the rhinceropards hitting the disciples before they continued to hit trees until they reached the ones some of the foolish monkeys remained on top of.


    And the next thing happened was for these trees to fall, taking down with them the monkeys. The rhinoceropards weren''t polite, moved at once to crush the fallen and strangely stupefied monkeys before turning around.


    Then a strange thing happened in front of Jim''s eyes.


    "They... are eating their cores!!" This sudden realization hit him and now he realized why each monster considered the other a deadly foe for him.


    They weren''t fighting for dominance, but survival and getting stronger.


    ''Each monster core contains a good deal of energy that can help any monster to grow stronger and might even evolve its core,'' the old man said.


    "Then why didn''t those monkeys move away the moment their trees fell to the ground?" This was something that puzzled Jim.

 Chapter 214: Getting To The Ground

    Chapter 214: Getting To The Ground


    Jim was hesitant for a few seconds before he made up his mind. The disciples on the ground were getting killed at a fast pace, and if he didn''t move now to ensure his safety then he would be next.


    "Screw this," he took out arge piece of ore in one hand. It was pure white with a transparent body that showed deep and irregr thin branching silver veins.


    The moment he held it he felt a sudden gush of energying forth inside his body. He didn''t hesitate to point the sword down, feeling much more gravity force applied to his sword.


    "Why does it feel much different?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    ''You forgot you are already high over the ground,'' the old man exined, ''it''s normal for gravity here to be much stronger than down there.''


    "Oh, will that strengthen my spell then?"


    ''I believe so.''


    Jim''s eyes shone brightly while he watched the fight about to end down below. The disciples who had been freed of the freezing effect turned around and ran without even ncing at theirrades and friends.


    If they stayed for a single second there, they would die.


    Jim kept holding his sword in the same position for almost a minute before he felt it was too much to keep it in that way. "''Wait a minute... if I let it fall will it hit the ground and take me with it?" he couldn''t help but ask in a worry but next he had to let the sword down.


    But luckily for him the sword just went down the level of the branch he was standing at before it stopped midair like it was inserted in the ground.


    And next his lightning ball appeared and surrounded him.


    "Rumble!"


    The air around his ball of lightning kept popping up and rumbling, releasing loud noises that, alongside his lightning ball, was so eye catchy.


    "I hope they can be nearby," he muttered while he was pretty much sure he was spotted by many teams all over the ce.


    And that wasn''t an exclusion for the rhinoceropards at the base of the tree.


    "They are trying to attack the tree," he noticed some going far and prepared to run towards the tree. "Will this prevent their annoying ability?" he asked.


    ''Your lightning can shield you, but once you lose it you''ll be vulnerable.''


    He got the meaning of his old man before ncing at the far distance ground. "So I need to jump to the ground before my lightning is over, right?"


    ''You should jump there long before that,'' the old man said, ''you need to kill some of them.''


    "Kill?!!" Jim was astounded when he heard this, "did you see their thick skin? Nothing can prate such hard defense! Not even third grade decay spells of those Banshees did!"


    ''That''s different,'' the old man calmly said, ''your lightning is enough to negate their defenses and most of their powers. Your strikes will be more effective than those spoiled brats.''


    "I... hope you are telling the truth," Jim took a deep breath while preparing himself for the series of impacts that were about to befall the whole tree, "or else I would be long dead before any team coulde here."


    The rhinoceropards hit the tree next in strong momentum, causing the entire grand tree to shake. He felt like a violent earthquake just hit him, and if not for holding with his free hand to the main body of the tree, he would have been thrown off in the air out of these subsequent violent hits.


    "Damn it!" he cursed while stabilizing his body, "I doubt the tree would sustain any longer!"


    He noticed some cracks all over the long trunk of the tree. ''Told you,'' the old man said, ''staying here isn''t as safe as it sounded minutes ago, right?''


    Jim could bitterly nod and inwardly admit his old man was right about this one. He noticed other monsters prepared to hit the tree, and he knew this would be thest hit before the entire tree would crash down the ground.


    "There are some teams hurrying here," he noticed three groups of fighting disciples changing their course and heading towards his direction. "But they needed at least half an hour to reach here," he muttered before preparing himself for what was about toe.


    "I need to survive for these minutes then."


    ''you won''t survive without killing them all.''


    Jim knew his old man was right again, but he still couldn''t see through how he would end up victorious in this fight. His enemies were giants, with monstrous strength and a very absurd level of defenses.


    And his spell was limited with time. Even if he could use his sword and hack those monsters, then he would end up injuring half at most.


    Yet half still remained.


    "I have to summon Don," he muttered, "he would be the only thing that can change the tide of this fate."


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The next moment he felt like the entire world was going down. The tree was mercilessly hit and it started to lean towards the ground very fast.


    ''Jump,'' the old man shouted, ''jump now and glide on the ground like you usually do.''


    "Not yet!" Jim was strangely calm while he waited for his mind to give him the signal. The old man''s timing wasn''t bad, but as he waited for a couple more seconds, he was in a much better position, so near to the ground.


    And then he jumped. He followed the path his mind provided while pushing his body to the front like he was running, not jumping off in the air.


    The next thing happened was for the ground to draw fast towards him. ''Forget about gliding, just roll!'' the old man shouted while he seemed quite frustrated.


    "Watch this," Jim only smiled while suddenly pointing his sword to the ground. He had less than a meter between his feet and the ground, so when he pointed the sword there, his sword was inserted in the muddy ground of the forest.


    He pushed his sword deeper while turning his body around. His body took a full circle in the air while his sword created a long groove in the ground along his path before his speed started to grow smaller.


    Then he let his body fall on the ground while leisurely gliding over it. "Wow, I loved it!" he shouted before turning around. "And I got myself surrounded by those angry monsters, great!"

 Chapter 215: A Team of Disciples Appeared

    Chapter 215: A Team of Disciples Appeared


    The moment Jim''s feet stopped on the ground, he was surrounded with the twenty something monsters. Their giant bodies had a very dark shadow over the trees around them.


    They looked very intimidating to him, but despite that he didn''t stop.


    He leaned his body forward while bending one knee and extending the other. "Let me show how an ace fights," he sneered before running fast, faster than ever.


    "Come forth!"


    He didn''t forget to summon his Seson pet just before he moved. As his body shed, creating a series of afterimages all around his pet roared.


    "Yeah, give me good luck and curse them," heughed while raising his sword in the air. "Let''s see if you weren''t acting senile or full of yourself back there old man."


    The sword descended and a bigger sword of lightning shed over the giant monster. Jim knew it wasn''t a matter of the size of his spell or the momentum of his sword, but it was all up to the defense of the monster.


    "Roar!"


    As he was heading fast towards the monster, the monster and others didn''t stop in their tracks and started running towards him at equal speed.


    If someone was watching this fight from afar, and there were many doing that at this moment, they would be astounded at the nature of this battle.


    A strange mix of speed and monstrous strength were shing against each other.


    "Boom!"


    Yet the moment Jim''s sword strikended over the monster, that monster lost all power to even stand up all of sudden. Its body glided on the ground while its thin looking feet failed to carry its weight, following themon sense of this world for once.


    "Hahaha, you weren''t ying me old man," Jimughed while didn''t wait and jumped high in the air. He grabbed the sword hilt with both hands, arched his back to the max while his body waspletely engulfed in that big lightning ball.


    And next hended his sword, aiming for nothing else but the head of that monster.


    "Roar!"


    The monster roared but it had no power to stand or even turn its body to the side and evade the iing strike.


    "Ssh!"


    The next moment Jim felt his sword passing through the flesh and bones of that monster, cutting anything that stood in his way. "Yeah, I''ll have rhinceropards meat for breakfast," he shouted and amidst the bloody fountain that erupted from that monster and his lightning ball he looked very savage to those watching from a distance.


    "One down," Jim justnded over the twitching body of the dying monster, "more to follow," he took out his sword and nced at all the iing monsters as they dashed fast towards him.


    His mind provided many paths to follow and he selected the one leading him to the rarest monster.


    After all, that monster''s speed wasn''t something he should take lightly. "I should count for my spell time limit," he thought to himself while taking the dead body of that monster inside his ring, fell on the ground and started running fast towards the next monster.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Jim kept jumping off from one monster to another. After he killed almost ten and stored their dead bodies inside his ring, his spell was about to get over.


    "Two hits for each monster... not bad," he muttered while having more confidence in himself at this moment. He didn''t hesitate to use another spell while raising both hands in the air, waited for an entire minute while running all around, and finally descended them in the pattern needed to activate his spell.


    Then he felt his two hands get extended like each turned into a whip. "Time tosh all of you," he turned around fast and moved his hands high in the air beforending over the nearest monster.


    "Roar!"


    The monster roared in deep pain before the bad luck hit it. The secondsh hit its body before suddenly one of his legs stumbled inside a strange depression in the ground, making itnd fiercely with its head directly mming over the ground.


    "Hahaha, Oh Don... I really love you man," Jimughed while not leaving this chance off and used thest pit of his lightning energy to kill the monster by a direct hit over the already bleeding head of it.


    He stored it, turned around and jumped to the side fast to evade a direct dash of two enraged monsters. "Chill off you two, I''m just having my fun here," heughed while turning around himself a couple of times, evading more iing dashes.


    As he evaded them all, he didn''t hesitate to take out his ore once again.


    "Kill him!"


    "Move fast!"


    "Don''t let him have his spell once again!"


    Just before his body rejoiced with the influx of the lightning energy off that ore, he heard so close shoutsing from one direction.


    "Damn!" he was astounded to see the first team to catch up to him wasn''t anyone but that chimera team who he had once shed with.


    And he spotted Linda with a very conflicted look over her face standing very far off in the back. "You are still alive then," Jim smirked when he saw that core disciple who he injured before, "but I promise you this time you''ll die!"


    He watched a group of thirty disciples moving fast towards him. They were under the lead of two chimera kids, while he spotted no other chimera kids but one standing in the middle of another group of twenty disciples.


    "It seems you had a very rough timest night," Jim sneered, "but that won''t prevent me from making your trip here far worse."


    He saw the group of disciples closing in fast, yet he wasn''t fazed at all. He was absorbing energy much faster than they thought, and before they could even cross half of the distance between them and him he stored away the ore.


    "Let''s see how confident you are," he turned around and started to run in the opposite direction. This time he was chased with monsters and a group of angry disciples after them.


    His speed helped in creating a safe gap between him and the two enemies.


    "Keep running," one of the two chimera disciples shouted, "he won''t be able to run forever."


    Jim had an evil smile over his face as he pointed his sword to the ground while sneering. "Who said anything about running?" he turned around all of sudden and stopped to nce at those enraged monsters and disciples. "Come, let me show you what does it mean to fight me."

 Chapter 216: Two Wild Chimeras

    Chapter 216: Two Wild Chimeras


    Jim didn''t intend to run from the first ce. He had everything set to kill everyone here.


    Just as he turned around and started to run, the monsters roared and kept dashing towards him.


    "Follow me you pathetic monsters," he shouted in mockery while evading the attacks with much ease. His mind helped him a lot and his small game experience as an ace gave another hand.


    "Your turn now," as he kept evading the monsters like they were nothing, his main aim was focused over the thirty something disciples up ahead.


    "Hit him now," one of the two chimeras shouted, "don''t give him space to evade."


    The next moment Jim saw many spells thrown in his face. The earth died red under the scorching fire of these disciples, while some even used wind spells to add more to the fire, making its rage wilder.


    "As if I care about your shitty fire," Jim sneered and didn''t even decrease his running speed or shift his path. As he jumped inside the giant firestorm augmented with a storm of wind, he felt the monsters he left behind starting to catch up.


    And at this point he suddenly decreased his speed.


    "Come," he turned to nce over the monsters while having a warm bath inside the fire, "draw closer... don''t stop for even a second," he kept his eyes over them and calcted in his mind the timing of their arrival.


    Just before they reached the sea of fire he was in, he started to run again.


    "Keep the fire burning," the chimeras kept shouting at their dogs while they discarded Jim out of their expectations.


    After all, who would survive such concentrated hits from them and their main team?


    "Be ready for those bastards," the leading core disciple shouted from far behind, "they are strong in direct shes, but after that they are nothing to worry about."


    His words justnded before the monsters entered the sea of fire. Their speed was so high that it created gaps inside the fire while their bodies weren''t hurt that much by this fire.


    "They are weak, tired, keep pushing over them," one of the chimeras shouted at the thirty disciples around.


    Yet before his words would end, a sudden gush of fire appeared like a giant spear that headed directly towards him. He wasn''t that close to the fire, but the spear of fire drew so fast, passing by the gaps in between the disciples while reaching him in no time.


    "What the..." just before he could even react, he spotted the true face of his enemy in the depth of that spear.


    "Die you idiot," Jim''s voice appeared all of sudden before a swordnded over the kid''s neck and severed his head off in just one swift sh.


    "He isn''t dead!" the other chimera muttered in deep shock, "Hurry, attack hi..."


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    Just before he could continue his urging words, the mighty roars of the angry rhinceropards echoed from so near while they already exited the fire range.


    And next a massacre happened.


    "Come," Jim hit some disciples while running, e after me, the main dish is still waiting up front."


    He wasughing in mockery while all the disciples standing here were stupefied. Even those running from many directions to here were shocked when they spotted some glimpses of this fight, heard the monsters roar, the disciples wails, and Jim''sughs.


    "Stop him!" the core disciple screamed at the remaining disciples around, "don''t let him lead them here!"


    Jim watched his panic and couldn''t help butugh again. "Try to run, try to hide, but I will always keep tracking you until you are dead," he said in a loud tone while all the stress he felt from before vanished.


    "Attack him now!" the more Jimughed the angrier and more restless that kid became. Jim was hit with a myriad of fire, wind, and even earth spells but all the time he moved to evade and didn''t let a single one hit him.


    He was drawing closer to his target, and he knew if he missed his chance this time then the kid would escape and he wouldn''t be able to find him easily again.


    And next time they would meet up, it would be proven much harder than this time to get near this kid again.


    "Let me see what you can do against my deadliest attacks!" the kid screamed in a crazy way and his words even made the face of all the disciples around change.


    "Run!" One disciple shouted and then more started to run while screaming in panic.


    "He is mad!"


    "Run for your lives!"


    Jim watched this bizarre scene while not knowing what was going to happen. As for the kid, he suddenly lifted up his sleeves, exposed two grand tattoos over his two arms.


    ''Damn! He had that cursed bloodline,'' the old man suddenly cursed, ''there is no time to evade it. Hurry, make Don curse him first, hurry!''


    The old man urged and coupled with the disciples'' weird actions and Jim''s growing doubt inside, Jim didn''t hesitate to shout at Don:


    "Attack him now!"


    "It''s toote, silly boy," the chimera kidughed before biting his two tattoos off and letting his blood soak his arms and body.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    Just as he did that, three subsequent roars appeared with a fraction of seconds in between them. Don jumped and stood beside the stupefied Jim while watching two gigantic red smokesing forth from the chimera kid.


    "Hahaha, now scream as much as you want, run as far as you wish, in the end you will be killed by me."


    Jim swallowed his dried saliva with difficulty while muttering:


    "Old man... how am I supposed to fight these things now?"


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    The smoke vanished at once with these two roars while revealing two giant chimera monsters with strange chains around their necks.


    And the two red in anger at Jim while gnashing on their long and sharp teeth.


    ''Run,'' the old man could only say, ''run towards others, hopefully someone can be there to help you kill those wild chimeras.''

 Chapter 217: Brutal Fight With Chimeras

    Chapter 217: Brutal Fight With Chimeras


    Jim was petrified for almost a few seconds while watching the two giant chimeras standing beside that kid.


    Each monster had two heads, bodies covered in fire, and they looked very intimidating and deadly.


    ''Run you fool!'' the old man screamed and Jim was jolted awake at this moment. He didn''t hesitate to turn around but he paused when he spotted the surviving rhinoceropards still chasing him.


    "Damn!" he clenched his fists and nced at the two monsters in hesitation.


    "Just drop any hope of running away," the kidughed, "you are going to fall here, no way to escape this anymore."


    Jim watched that annoying smile over the face of the chimera kid and felt utmost rage. However he tried to find a way to run.


    Strangely his mind couldn''t provide him with any path to retreat, and that puzzled him. He was cornered from two directions but the other two weren''t blocked.


    ''They can move faster than you think,'' the old man noticed his puzzlement so he exined, ''you need to retreat through the way you came from,'' he advised, ''it''s the only safe path you have.''


    "Screw it," Jim made up his mind, "let me see if my Don is as legendary as you said or not."


    Jim didn''t move towards the direction of the iing rhinceropards but towards the two chimeras. Don was running beside him, roaring from time to time as if he was threatening the two giants up front.


    And that just made the chimera kidugh even more.


    "You are really amusing," he said, e, let me end your suffering fast."


    Jim didn''t answer but he clenched his sword with both hands while focusing over one target.


    "Kill him," the kid leisurely waved his hand as if he casually requested breakfast.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    The two giants roared before suddenly moving at a very frightening speed. Even for Jim he found it hard to follow their tracks at some point, however he was able to deduct the path they were taking.


    ''Damn! You are far more stubborn and foolish than me!'' the old man yelled in anger, ''alright, as you chose the impossible path then let me warn you first, these chimeras are ancient beasts. They have a very hard shell to crack skin and their fire can''t be tamed yet by you.''


    ''What about my lightning?'' Jim asked.


    ''Like a breeze of air to them,'' the old man said, ''only water can help to some point, or your level of magic energy has increased.''


    Jim''s eyes shone brightly with an idea however he had one little problem here. ''Why didn''t you say that from the beginning?'' he med the old man, ''now i have no time to do anything!''


    ''You didn''t tell me you are nning to head towards them!'' The old man defended aggressively however the next moment Jim had to deal with the two monsters and dropped the useless talk with him.


    "Roar!"


    The first monster appeared in front of Jim. It had a red skin with some silver lining all over his body. The two faces ferociously opened and Jim could already see a bright red ball of fire being formed in the depth of their throats.


    "I have to evade this," he didn''t think of attacking the monster directly but to evade. Yet his mind didn''t give him any path to escape up till now.


    "I''ll... improvise," Jim didn''t find any other solution but to resort to the way he used to while ying the game. He waited, nced at the second monster which moved to the side to corner him.


    "nning to surprise me with that side attack?" he muttered in a gratified tone as he realized this attack would bebined together to unleash a deadly fire over him.


    And so he couldn''t just run to the sides or even retreat, either way he would be barbecued without any resistance. He could only depend on advancing, and that path is blocked now by that giant chimera ready to kill him.


    "Finish him," the chimera kidughed from behind while pping in excitement like he was watching a circus show.


    "Swoosh!"


    The moment he said it, the monster dropped any further ns of gathering more fire and released a terrifying fountain of deadly fire towards Jim.


    And Jim suddenly moved.


    At this moment he used even an ounce of strength he had, leaned his body forward and kicked the ground to dart like an arrow. And Don followed from the side.


    Yet as he moved to evade the fire, the chimera moved in strange agility to aim his fire over him. It was like an elephant was trying to stomp over a tiny mouse. The elephant leg was so huge to cover the entire area and the mouth was desperately running for his life.


    Jim kept jumping right and left while the fire sizzled just a few inches behind him. One stop and he would die, one mistake and he would be burnt to death. He knew it and thus he kept his focus only over one thing... getting forward no matter what!


    Just as things were getting under his control, the second chimera suddenly shifted his direction and appeared in front of him.


    "Damn!" Jim cursed as now he returned to the starting point, getting cornered by the two monsters from front and side. "If so... then there is this way," he didn''t drop the hope yet and just before the second monster unleashed his fire, he suddenly vanished.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    And Don roared again towards the two monsters at this moment.


    "Good boy," Jim smiled while his body was now midair. He didn''t take the path on the ground, but he chose the aerial path instead.


    "Foolish of you," the chimera kid sneered, "you can''t even fly dumbass!"


    Jim heard his remark clearly but didn''t concern himself with it while his body was gradually stopping gaining altitude and was about to fall.


    "Roar!" the monster he was flying towards turned around and roared. Jim selected the first monster it was stuck with as he bet his fire would die down soon.


    And just as he flew high in the air it was already off.

 Chapter 218: The Bitter End Of Jim

    Chapter 218: The Bitter End Of Jim


    "Stop screaming," Jimnded over one of its big heads before adding with a strangeugh, "you are going to scream soon enough to your heart''s content."


    "Roar!"


    The monster roared with the other head opening its big jaws as it tried to eat up Jim.


    Yet Jim didn''t stand there for a single moment further, jumped over the second head before heading towards the big body and started running over it like he was running over ground.


    "Swoosh!"


    And the next thing happened was for the other monster to spray its fire all over the monster he was on its back.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    "Hahaha, told you," Jimughed while he jumped high in the air, "you will scream a lot now," hended on the ground while the monster was suffering from the coteral damage of its fellow.


    "What are you two doing? Can''t you kill a weak fly like him?" the chimera kid yelled in deep anger from the back while watching Jim toying with his pets in this humiliating way.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    The two monsters seemed to get irritated by this shout and roared in anger.


    "Don''t be this aggressive," Jimughed, "I''m not finished with you two yet," he suddenly turned his direction and went towards the next monster before flying in the air, bypassing the deadly fire that came from the two beforending over one of the two heads of the second monster.


    And like what he did with the first one, he let his friend hit him with fire.


    But this time it wasn''t limited to just that.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Finally you are here," Jim was already flying midair, leaving the two giant monsters getting hit mercilessly with the angry rhinoceropards.


    "Roar!"


    And Don roared at this moment while a strange thing happened.


    The two chimeras were so huge and heavy, but strangely after a couple of hits their bodies trembled, lost bnce and leaned on one side each before falling like small hills over the ground.


    "Damn! My Don is OP!" Jimughed while watching the two giants fall to the ground as their feet couldn''t handle this sudden dash of the rhinoceropards. "Not finished yet, c''mon follow me," heughed, turned around and ran directly towards his main goal.


    And that chimera disciple was stupefied while watching his two deadly monsters fall under such attack while his enemy was running fiercely towards him.


    At this moment he got afraid, a feeling he rarely had.


    "Screw you," the kid screamed, e back now!"


    He moved a sword and decisvely cut two deep wounds over his two arms, letting his blood flock them and went towards the helplessly lying two chimeras.


    As a puppet master controlling puppets, the two chimeras were pulled in air like two weightless sacks andnded heavily in front of the kid.


    "That''s not enough to stop me," Jim screamed in determination and the next moment he jumped high in the air.


    And strangely Don was jumping on his side at this moment.


    "Roar!" Don fiercely roared at the chimera kid that looked in a terrible situation at this moment.


    "Stand up!" the kid gritted his teeth, enduring the deep pain he was feeling and strangely pulled the chains once more with absurd strength.


    And the two monsters were jolted up like being electrified by these chains.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    The two roared and Jim could feel their pain and agony. "Damn! He is using some weird technique to tortue them," he muttered with a dark face as this sudden move pushed their bodies in his way.


    "Boom!"


    And the next moment he mmed heavily on one chimera body, flying uncontrobly in the air. "Keep going," he shouted at his pet, "keep giving them bad luck!"


    "Roar!"


    And Donpiled while Jim fell heavily on the ground. His body rolled for tens of meters, smashing over many small trees before hitting arger one and fiercely stopping there.


    His body felt like being crushed in every bone he had. He doubted his ability to even stand up, nheless to fight. "Screw you," he watched the two chimeras turning to face him with red light beaming from their opened mouths.


    In addition to them the surviving group of the rhinoceropards were changing their direction acutely and turning to face him as well.


    "Damn it!" he tried to stand but he couldn''t. His body trembled and he felt a severe wave of pain that assaulted his body at this moment. "I''m done for," he helplessly muttered while watching the deathing from every corner with zero hope.


    "Die!" the chimera kid viciouslyughed while watching Jim''s desperate situation.


    Jim watched the four heads all opening their mouths wide open and the rhinceropards were moving fast, getting near the two monsters and were about to m into them.


    "Is this where I would fall?" he muttered while taking a deep breath and feeling much helpless and weak at this moment. "Sorry to fail you old man," he said.


    But strangely enough the old man kept his silence, like he preferred not to speak at thest moments in his life, contrary to what he used to behave before.


    "You don''t want to say anyst words old man?" Jim weakily said while watching the death rapidly approaching.


    ''I don''t think this is the end yet,'' the old man said strange words that made even Jimugh. ''You''ll see, sometimes hopees from the darkest ces,'' he said and next Jim noticed Don.


    He was standing behind the two giant chimeras and the flock of rhinoceropards. He nced at his pet and saw the conflicted look in his eyes.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    Don roared in agony it seemed, as if he was already mourning over his about to fall master.


    "Thanks my friend," Jim couldn''t help but say, "you were a good friend to me until the bitter end."


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    And the world violently shook at this moment while Jim closed his eyes and sumbed to his bitter fate.

 Chapter 219: Getting Help

    Chapter 219: Getting Help


    "I''m... still alive!"


    Few moments passed since the explosive sounds echoed all around but Jim didn''t feel any pain. He slowly opened his eyes and strangely he found himself alive with no single scratch at all.


    "This..." he shifted his gaze towards the front and there he spotted such a marvelous scene.


    The two chimeras were now falling to the ground once more as the few rhinoceropards were hitting their legs and getting them to the ground.


    The two chimeras had to shift their attention over to the rhinoceropards, attacking them with their deadly fire and taking out five of them so far.


    And that seemed to enrage the rhinoceropards, who started to turn around, ignore the helplessly lying to the ground Jim and m directly towards the two chimeras.


    Jim watched the chimeras falling to the ground and the two fighting sides didn''t stop fighting among themselves.


    "A chance..." he turned his eyes towards the far away and looking angry core kid. "It''s time for you to pay," Jim clenched his fists while standing up. His eyes shone brightly in golden light while the lightning orb around him was getting dimmer with each passing second.


    ''You have less than one minute to kill him,'' the old man warned.


    "All i need is just one hit," Jim said before arching his body, "one hit and he will be dead."


    The next moment Jim sprunt all the way between the fighting monsters like a fast arrow. He was using all his power at this moment, as this unexpected small window created by the bizarre rhinoceropards actions left his enemy unprepared to his attack.


    "You..." as he moved and got closer to the kid, the chimera disciple was shocked by the actions of Jim. "You''ve got some balls, I admit that," the kid sinisterly said before his face turned all savage, "but I previously said you''ll die here and I''m a man of my words."


    Jim totally ignored him and wasn''t fazed by the rapid movements of that kid''s hands. The chimera kid had already lost arge amount of blood to activate and control the actions of his pets.


    His face was so pale and when he tried to move his hands to form some sort of seals his body couldn''t help but tremble.


    And Jim noticed that.


    "Don!" Jim shouted and the next moment his loyal pet appeared next to him, roaring at the frail enemy at their front.


    "Roar!"


    This time the effect of Don''s roar was immediate. Once roared, the kid''s arms suddenly stiffened, breaking the sequence of the spell he was trying to make.


    "Damn!" the kid cursed but he didn''t have any time to say anything more or do another spell.


    "Die!"


    Jim didn''t n on letting him off. The moment he failed in executing his spell marked his death already. Jim''s sword shed and a big sword of lightning hit the kid''s neck, extending deep into his chest before cutting through his body.


    And a gush of blood came out of his mouth the next moment while his face turned ashen white instantly.


    "Y- You..." the kid could only say these words before he fell on the ground, and his body broke into two parts with a fountain of blood covering everything around.


    "Finally," Jim took a deep breath while feeling the aura of his lightning wearing off.


    ''Things are far from over now,'' the old man shouted in an rming way, ''the two chimeras are gone and the remaining rhinoceropards are shifting to you.''


    Jim turned to nce at the small group of six rhinoceropards whom started running towards him.


    "Screw them," he cursed while moving his hand to touch his ring. Yet all of sudden his body violently twitched before he lost all power and mmed heavily on his knees.


    "Damn! I''m just this close..." he wasn''t epting such an end as he knew dealing with those six monsters would be such an easy thing for him if he had any strength left in him.


    He took the hit from before lightly and thought his body wasn''t badly injured, but he was severely wounded to the degree that moving a finger seemed quite impossible.


    And that feeling of helplessness haunted him once more in a very short span of time.


    "Roar!"


    Don moved to stand before his master as a loyal pet should behave. Jim was deeply touched by this move and felt more regret of not having time to even thank Don for what he did.


    "Sorry pal," he weakly muttered, "it seemed my journey could only reach this far."


    ''Don''t give up on hope yet,'' suddenly the old man calmly said, ''help is on the way.''


    Just before the old man could finish his words, a sudden sh of many shadows startled Jim.


    "You are really such a reckless boy, y''know," and a very familiar tone appeared next to him.


    "Hector!" Jim said in joy as he watched this tenth grade disciple standing beside him like an unshakable mountain.


    "Rest assured," Hector said with a big smile, "those weak flies can''t even make me move my sword to kill them."


    Jim turned around and saw a group of a hundred disciples, all looked old and strong, standing around and shielding him off those six monsters.


    "Kill them," Hector simply said, "we need to move out fast before otherse here."


    The fight didn''t take more than a few seconds before the monsters all fell and the cores were taken.


    "These are yours," Hector came and gave him many cores, "you fought bravely, and foolishly to some point, but at least you deserve taking those."


    Jim wasn''t polite but he couldn''t move. "Can you please let them on my ring?" he said.


    "Can''t move a finger?" Hector narrowed his eyes before turning to his team, "how much time left?"


    "Two minutes boss," one disciple said, "and more are gathering up."


    "Any friends?"


    "No, they all went towards the safe zone on the other side," the kid replied.

 Chapter 220: The Cave

    Chapter 220: The Cave


    "Good, let''s retreat then," Hector leaned over, carrying Jim''s body like he was carrying a weightless sack. "I recall the presence of mountains on the other side of the river," he said.


    "There is a cave I hid at night there," Jim weakly said before motioning with his head, "it''s in that direction."


    The next moment he felt more pain that he couldn''t endure anymore. Each single bone of his body seemed to be crushed and even muscles were torn apart from hisst act.


    But at least he got what he needed.


    "Can you get me his rings?" clinging to thest rope of being conscious he motioned towards the chimera core kid and asked.


    "Sure," Hector said before noticing Jim''s eyes getting closed and his body started to grow weaker, "sigh, that''s the price of acting heroic in these forest foolish kid," he softly muttered before turning around and ordered someone to bring the belongings of all the fallen kids here while retreating fast.


    "Ouch!"


    The moment Jim opened his eyes again he found himself lying inside arge cave. He wasn''t in the same cave he stayed the past night at, but it was seemingly dark outside.


    "The little princess has awakened," one of the kids said in a strong tone while Jim heard faintughs before a strong shout came to silence them.


    "Don''t be rude," he could tell it was Hector''s voice, "he fought alone for an entire night and survived the assault of entire teams and monsters. He should get the credit for doing so."


    "That''s why I gave him the nickname," yet the first kid to speak said and othersughed.


    Jim tried to stand up but all he felt was a deep shock of pain assaulting his body.


    "Easy now," Hector appeared next to him with a wide smile over his face, something that didn''t match his earlier shout or words at all, "your body was deeply wounded and it needs a lot of time to heal."


    "I... don''t have that time to waste on healing," Jim didn''t give up the try and finally could lean on the side of the cave with his legs stretched on the ground.


    There he found his body covered with a strangeyer of mud like new scales grew out of nowhere.


    "Stubborn as usual," Hectorughed, "at least this got you to where you are."


    "Wounded and crippled?" Jim mockingly said in a bitter tone.


    "Someone who has over five thousand monster cores isn''t a crippled or wounded one," Hector''s smile went bigger, "I bet your score would be so high even if you didn''t move a finger from now on."


    Jim nced strangely at him before a small shadow appeared, jumped over his body and started rubbing its head in a very happy manner.


    "Don!" Jim happily said while patting over his loyal pet''s head.


    "He is just more stubborn than you," Hector said with a shortugh, "didn''t leave your side for the past two days."


    "T- Two days!! I was unconscious for two days?!!" Jim was extremely shocked by this news.


    "Don''t worry, your team is safe and sound," Hector could read his mind, "they are stationed at the safe zone at the other side of the forest. No harm cane to them while they stay there."


    "Safe zone?" Jim muttered in doubt, "they returned to the beginning point then?"


    "Nah, there are many safe zones stationed in this brutal forest," one of the kids said, and the moment Jim saw him he felt restless.


    After all he was one of the giant n, just like his archenemy, Pol.


    "Easy there," Hector seriously said, "he is someone I trust with my life, and you should too."


    Jim didn''t speak while ncing deeply at that kid. The kid didn''t seem to bother with his nces as he continued to say:


    "The academy nted many secure ces all over the other side of the forest. The expedition should be held at that side, not here at the deadly zone."


    "You... are really something," Hector couldn''t help but sigh, "even i couldn''t delve in these regions until third grade, and i had a team back then backing me up."


    Jim suddenly realized why he felt the forest here looked so deadly and unbelievingly hard to deal with. "I fell off that cliff and ended up here," he muttered.


    "No way!" another kid said and he seemed to hail from the unicorn n with that strange single shining red horn in the middle of his head, "that cliff is almost half a mile in height! How did you fall and didn''t get injured at all?"


    "That''s... thanks to mere luck i guess," Jim said while patting warmly over Don''s head. If not for his pet''s special powers he couldn''t even take a single step in this expedition without losing his life.


    "Enough talking now," Hector said before motioning to one of his men, "you need to drink this potion. It will help you in healing."


    Jim took a small cup from another kid and thanked him. "What are you going to do?" he took a small sip before adding, "I feel like hindering your progress forward."


    "No it''s ying ording to my n," Hector said before pointing to the depth of the cave, "we will explore that way while you get some rest and good sleep."


    The moment Hector pointed there Jim recalled instantly his bitter fight with the monster in the other cave.


    And his face changed while Hector and others noticed that.


    "You... met one of them?" Hector couldn''t help but ask and from the face of Jim he could get the answer.


    "Hahaha, i take back my earlier words. You are far crazier than I thought, hahaha," heughed alongside his team while some nced in a different way to Jim.


    "He has to be the god of luck," the giant kid said, "facing such fallen monsters alone and in year one is simply a dead end. He came out unscathed and that''s considered something never heard of."


    "I bet he even killed one or two of them," Hector was very amused by what Jim said before taking one ring and tossed it to him, "here is your trophy from before. You cany down and rest. They are more than enough to get you past the first twenty list."


    Jim grabbed the ring and felt some heaviness inside his head. "What''s wrong with that potion?" he couldn''t help but ask while storing the ring inside one of his own while feeling more heavy and sleepy.


    "It''s a sleeping potion," Hector calmly said, "I need you to rest for a couple more days if you n to join us in the fight."


    "B- But..." Jim was about to object however his head suddenly felt like being covered in fog and the next moment he fell asleep.


    Hector watched him closing up his eyes and his head leaned slowly over his chest. Don raised his head to support his master''s while resting his body over Jim''s.


    "Keep a vignt eye around," Hector turned to a group of ten disciples, "if anything approached just rm us."


    "Don''t worry boss," the kids said in unison while Hector took a deep nce again at Jim before sighing. "I don''t recall being this reckless or foolish when I was at his age."


    "You were much wiser and braver boss," the giant kid said with a big smile.


    "You said two words that can''te together Rant," Hectorughed before pping his hands, "let''s go, we have some monsters to fish and treasures to be taken."


    Next the team dispersed as ten went outside, five were stationed around Jim, and the rest vanished inside the darkness of the cave.

 Chapter 221: The Energy Suction Spell

    Chapter 221: The Energy Suction Spell


    "Where am I?"


    The moment Jim went to sleep, he found himself standing inside a ce he recognized well enough.


    ''This is the ce of your training,'' the old man said, ''don''t you recognize the stadium?''


    "I... don''t understand."


    ''You took a sleeping potion,'' the old man exined, ''and with a little help from me you can get benefits here by training during sleep.''


    "I... can do that!" Jim was surprised while ncing around. It was the stadium, the moment he won the tournament. "Wait a minute, how about the time difference?"


    ''It''s much less disturbed as you got here with a sleeping potion,'' the old man said, ''but there is still a time difference.''


    "Then I can go inside that closet, right?" Jim grinned before adding, "this way the time difference will be negated, right?"


    ''Can''t tell without trying.''


    Jim nodded, sat on the ground and took a couple of deep breaths. The next moment he started to recall the memory of his closet. When he opened his eyes next he found himself standing inside his closet.


    "It works," he slowly muttered before suddenlyughing while standing up, "how much time difference is there?"


    ''You... the time is now in your favor.''


    "What do you mean?"


    ''Spending two minutes here will be equal to spending one minute outside.''


    "That''s what i wanted to hear," Jimughed again before asking, "with such abundant time that I never had before, shouldn''t you teach me something shy?"


    ''First summon Don here.''


    "He... is still outside," Jim was hesitant, "ok, I''ll try doing it."


    He patted over his chest tattoo and the next moment he found Don standing in front of him. "Boss, you are looking great," Don said the moment he appeared.


    He jumped around beforeing to rub his head like usual over Jim''s legs. Jim nced in a warm way towards him before patting over his head. "You did great back there," he said, praising his pet.


    "That''s my duty, master."


    Jim smiled. "Go there and train," he said, "I need to nurture you with anything that can help you grow faster."


    "Thanks master," Don seemed quite enthusiastic as he jumped around before finally resting on the simple bed in the closet.


    "Now can we proceed with my training?" Jim asked, "I want to learn a killer move, something that no one can defend or expect."


    ''Hmm... what you ask needs a lot of energy,'' the old man said after momentarily pause, ''you can''t have super power without paying proper price for it. Remember the Twisex girls? They used a spell that exceeded their abilities. Do you recall what happened to them?''


    Jim got his meaning but he didn''t help in changing his mind. "In desperate situations like I just faced, having some desperate moves would be much more helpful than lying on the ground like a fool."


    ''Good point,'' the old man said, ''then I''ll teach you a very good spell, one that can kill anything in your way and also would grant you some power in return.''


    "Oh, does something like this exist?"


    ''Sure, there are many spells like this one out there in the world. However, only few are daring to learn and use them.''


    Jim was intrigued to hear more about such spells. "Tell me more," he demanded.


    ''It belongs to a sort of spell known as the power sucking spells,'' the old man said, ''such kind of spells work by sucking your opponent''s energy dry and gaining you such power. It''s beenbelled as a forbidden spell in the academy since the ancient times of the fairies.''


    "Wow, it seems like a nice spell to me," Jim couldn''t help but ask, "why was it banned like this?"


    ''Think about it, if you faced a disciple in a higher grade, much higher than yours... let''s say you faced someone like Hector and used that spell on him. Do you think you can handle his energy?''


    The question silenced Jim and managed to startle him. "That''s..." he paused as his ego wanted to say yes, but his mind decided to say no. "I can''t do it," he honestly confessed.


    ''Exactly,'' the old man agreed, ''this spell is so dangerous that once activated you can''t stop until the opponent is dead, or you get fried up by the excessive amount of energy you are sucking, ending up killing you instead.''


    Jim understood the risks of such spells. "I believe you won''t give me a weapon to kill myself without killing my opponents first, right?"


    ''Smart boy,'' the old manughed, ''there are a couple of ways to handle this spell, and luckily you have one of them.''


    "Being a fairy king?" Jim asked.


    ''Being a fairy king who has a Seson monster on his side,'' the old man corrected, ''the Seson pet you have is glutinous for energy. See how he is acting so happy while gulping endless amounts of energy from this ce. Gosh I''m sure he could stay here for weeks and even months without feeling full.''


    Jim nced at Don and noticed how rxed he was here. "He is sucking up the energy in this ce?" he asked as he couldn''t see such a thing.


    ''You can''t notice it, but I can,'' the old man said, ''he will act as your failsafe thing while using that spell. However you are still limited in your power suction ability.''


    "How is that?" Jim asked, "didn''t you just say he can absorb anything?"


    ''He can, indeed,'' the old man said, ''but the problem still lies in you.''


    "Me?"


    ''Your body has a limit to the amount of power it can channel to him,'' the old man exined, ''and that''s limited by your current magical power. You are still in your first coatyer. Gaining moreyers will expand the amount of energy he can receive from you.''


    "So I can''t face stronger ones," Jim slowly muttered.


    ''You can face up to four grades higher than you, but the problem lies in the monsters not the disciples.''


    "How is that?"

 Chapter 222: A Hard Spell To Master

    Chapter 222: A Hard Spell To Master


    ''Monsters... don''t have a simple way to measure up their strength and energy,'' the old man paused before adding, ''see your Don here for instance, he had arge amount of power stored inside him with such a small body and young age. Monsters work in a much moreplicated way than you think.''


    "So the bigger the size the higher the energy, right?"


    ''Wrong,'' the old man firmly said, ''haven''t you heard what I just said? You can''t judge them using the same methodology of magicians.''


    "Then... how can I know if I can absorb a monster''s energy or run away from it?" Jim was puzzled by this.


    ''The only way is to fight it first hand,'' the old man said, ''this way I can help to inform you roughly of my estimation.''


    "Roughly?" Jim noticed the strange word his old man used, "that doesn''t look promising."


    ''At least it''s something,'' the old man sneered, ''better than running around and trying your luck. Sometimes your luck might be bad.''


    "Well..." Jim didn''t speak while ncing over Don. "I got him."


    ''Not enough in such cases,'' the old man sighed, ''your pet works on affecting the external environment, not the power of the energy of your opponents. Did he change the power of any monster or disciple you fought so far? Even once?''


    Jim found some logic in the words of the old man that made him contemte for a long minute there before saying:


    "Then teach me how to do it and I''ll try to keep myself under control."


    ''You better be,'' the old man said, ''to learn this spell isn''t hard for you. You just need persistence and full concentration.


    "Got it."


    ''The idea is simple, you make a wound on both hands of yours and then let the blood drip over each other.''


    "Then?"


    ''You will make a hand seal before you release your energy and hit your opponent,'' the old man paused, ''but you need to know you are going to suck dry the opponent''s energy. A sacred bond will be formed between the two of you. No matter what happens you won''t be able to use both hands until one of you dies.''


    "..."


    Jim thought about the old man''s words once more and found the issue here. "So I''ll be tied with this spell?" he couldn''t help but ask, trying to confirm his guess.


    ''That''s the way to do it.''


    "But... this looks quite unrealistic," Jim hesitated, "I''ll use this amidst a battle, something that I can''t control."


    ''So you have to do it when you and your foe are alone in the area.''


    "Even that..." Jim paused as he couldn''t imagine how he could control such a thing, "I can''t guarantee that someone wille and attack me."


    ''Then you should do it with your team or allies, or... you shouldn''t use it at all.''


    Jim was hit with this bitter fact right in his face. "C''mon, isn''t there any other cool spell but this impossible one?" he asked with some anticipation.


    ''No, the others require you to have much more magic energy than you currently have,'' yet the old man spilled cold water over his fire and killed all the hopes he had.


    "Sigh, no other option then," Jim shook his head before adding, "tell me the hand seals."


    ''Are you going to do it?''


    "Better to have ast resort than having none at all, right?" Jim bitterly smiled, "tell me the seals. I doubt something like this spell will be learnt in a blink of an eye."


    The old man started to tell him the seals he had to do. In fact the seals were simple. A knife moves with his right hand and a rock moves with his left hand before both would get entangled together with fingers interlinking between each other.


    "That''s it?" Jim asked in doubt, "no fancy moves or hard to pull seals?"


    ''The hardest part in the spell isn''t in performing it, but the decision of using it or not.''


    Jim knew what the old man was referring to, however when he started practicing he knew his earlier doubts were true.


    The moment he got the two wounds in his palms opposite to each other and started forming a seal, a great repulsion force erupted from his hands. He wasn''t able to continue forming the hand seals and had to cancel the spell.


    "Boom!"


    Like a bomb his two drops of blood exploded, sending him flying high in the air and crashing into the closed wooden door.


    "Damn it!" Jim stood up to find himself returning again to the stadium, "what happened?"


    "Are you ok, master?" Don hurriedly came to him with a worried look over his monstrous face.


    "I''m... alright," Jim lied, "what happened? Why did I return here?" he asked the old man once more.


    ''Your failure released a strong pulse of energy,'' the old man said, ''always remember, failing to do any strong spell will have a strong impact over you in return as a price.''


    Jim felt something warm passing over his face. "Blood?!" he was surprised to see a thin line of blooding down from the corner of his mouth.


    ''You got hit by the energy,'' the old man exined, ''it''s normal to have injuries.''


    "But... it''s my energy!"


    ''And you failed, so it exploded,'' the old man said with a shortugh, ''don''t tell me you are invincible to explosions even if they were created by your hands.''


    Jim remained silent for a moment there before sitting on the ground once more. "Let''s continue training then," he closed his eyes and regted his ragged breaths before entering once more inside his closet world.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    It proved so hard to control that extensive repulsive force created by his blood and hand seals. "Damn! I didn''t even seed once!"


    He was pissed off but the old man didn''t say anything to console him.


    ''Be aware that repeated failures will result in a serious wound,'' the old man said, ''and you didn''t fully heal from the first injury you had.''


    "I... what can I do then?"


    ''Try to train here as a change,'' the old man advised, ''this world is much sturdier than the closer world and here you can heal faster.''

 Chapter 223: Dark Hunters

    Chapter 223: Dark Hunters


    Jim didn''t want to risk having any more injuries and so he followed the old man''s advice. He kept training, failing, and training again without any pause or sess for a long time.


    "Damn!" just as he was hit again with the explosion from failing to do the spell, "who is it so hard to do it?"


    ''Your mind is quite distracted,'' the old man said, ''you need to clear up your mind.''


    "I am!"


    ''Not clear enough it seems,'' the old man couldn''t help butugh, ''or your passion and desire to learn this isn''t strong enough.''


    "Will you shut up then?" Jim was pissed off by his constant failures and theck of support he got from the old man, "I need solutions."


    ''All you need is just in you, but you haven''t figured it out yet.''


    Jim totally ignored the old man and returned to train again. Yet soon after dozen more failures, the old man suddenly said:


    ''There is something happening outside.''


    "What?" Jim stood up from the ground while thinking about his next attempt and how he would master the spell.


    ''Enemies are approaching!''


    "..." Jim paused for a moment before asking, "what about Hector and his team?"


    ''They seem to be entangled with a hard enemy down that pit.''


    "Hold on, you can sense all the way deep down there?" Jim was shocked to notice this, "why didn''t you warn me before about that monster? About my enemies? About that cliff?"


    ''I can only speak about what I know,'' the old man said in a very weird way, ''and I retain all the rights to myself to either speak or not.''


    "Screw you!"


    ''It''s not the time to curse me,'' the old manughed, totally ignoring Jim''s meanment, ''the enemies are approaching fast.''


    "Wake me up then," Jim firmly said, "I need to stand and defend, noty to the side and hope for someone to save me."


    ''Wait a moment, I''ll wake you up,'' the old man said before warning, ''but you won''t feel nice about it.''


    "Just do it."


    The next moment Jim felt like his body was pricked by thousands of needles before opening his eyes. He saw arge piece of rock on his head while parts of it were crashing all over his body.


    "What the hell is that?" he stood up while wiping away all the rock parts off his head and body.


    ''Shh, you aren''t alone here,'' the old man warned as Jim was speaking out loud.


    ''Sorry, didn''t notice that,'' Jim felt quite embarrassed before a sudden booming sound came from the distance and attracted him.


    "They... are fighting," he could already see the ring lights of the spells the team Hector sent outside did while fighting their enemies.


    "Are you alright?" one of those standing here to watch him said before adding, "go, hurry and hide."


    Just before Jim could say anything, a strange light hit the cave entrance and blinded him for a brief moment. He felt sudden pain all over his body like being ignited by fire.


    ''Hurry,'' the old man urged, ''take out the fire ore... fast!''


    Jim didn''t restore his ability to see but he followed his old man''s instructions. The next moment arge piece of fiery ore appeared in his hand, and the other got his unsheathed sword.


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"


    Like fire eating away dry grasses, the light shining from his body coupled with the sudden ignition of fire all over him ate away the darkness and let him see around clearly.


    "Damn! What happened here?" as he could see clearly again, he spotted the few members of Hector''s team lying all over the ground while something dark was covering up their bodies like a thick spider web.


    It kept pulsating, expanding to cover up their bodies with each breath.


    ''They aren''t dead yet,'' the old man yelled, ''hurry and save them.''


    ''What''s happening?'' Jim urgently asked while jumping all over the ce, using his sword and fire to cut away the dark web and free the others.


    Each time his sword hit one web, it seemed like it was hot dry weeds. The web got shrunk under his fire and golden light before burning away into nothing.


    "It''s the dark hunters," one of the disciples he freed said in deep fear and shock while standing up fast, "thanks but let''s postpone this forter. We need to go back, we need to rm them now!"


    "What are these dark hunters?" Jim ran alongside him and the four others while noticing how deeply frightened everyone was.


    "The silent killers of the forest," one of them said in ragged breaths, "nothing can work over them except for light and fire. It''s a blessing you could pull that out in this desperate moment."


    Jim turned to the cave where he suddenly was shocked to see all the lights were gone. The cave entrance turned to be like an opened giant mouth of some kind of a freak monster.


    "What is that?" he couldn''t help but ask while motioning his head to the cave entrance.


    "It''s them," a disciple said, "hurry and stop wasting your breaths. They aren''t yet inside the cave."


    "How can you tell that?" Jim turned again against his will and nced at that scary darkness.


    "Because we are still alive... run goddammit!" the kid urged him and Jim just trusted his instincts and followed.


    "Jump!"


    The moment they reached the bottomless pit the disciples started jumping off the edge as if they weremiting suicide.


    One of them shouted at Jim who was stupefied there without knowing what the hell they were doing.


    "Just jump!" another kid urged before falling inside the pit.


    "Damn it!" Jim was feeling afraid already, but he didn''t lose all the will to live. He started jumping over the walls of the pit, clinging to anything he could hold before descending down there as fast as he could.


    ''It''s toote,'' yet the old man brought the bad news to him, ''they are here.''


    Jim instantly raised his head and there instead of the rocky ceiling of the cave he spotted utter darkness blocking his eyesight. "I won''t fall like this," he took out another fiery ore and started to draw energy from it.

 Chapter 224: A Check Mate!

    Chapter 224: A Check Mate!


    The aura engulfing his body was ignited once again before suddenly pausing a couple of meters above his head. It seemed like there was some sort of a barrier standing between the fire and the opening of the pit.


    ''Hurry,'' the old man urged, ''this can only dy them for some time.''


    Jim was stupefied by this scene. Seeing how death was so close to him made his entire blood inside his veins freeze.


    With the old man''s yell he broke free from this freezing spell and started to descend again.


    "They are following me," he noticed that no matter how fast he descended to the bottom, that invisible wall of darkness stood the same distance off his head.


    And no matter how much energy was pushed inside his body, his fire couldn''t prate through.


    "Should I activate my spell?" he shouted but the answer came suddenly from deep down.


    "Just fall down you fool, don''t think and jump."


    He recognized the far and weak voice of Hector and the next instant he let his fingers off the wall and his body fell freely in the depth of the pit.


    And that strange darkness just kept chasing him relentlessly nheless.


    "Damn it!"


    The more his speed of fall increased the more fear he felt. The air howled around him but it was nothingpared to what he feared he felting from that creepy darkness hunting him.


    "Fire!"


    Yet at one point when he almost lost all hope to survive, especially when his fiery ore was strangely consumed, a loud shout came from a ce nearby. A sound he instantly recognized.


    "Hector!" he shouted like a drowning person spotting a ship at a distance.


    "Stay put," Hector said before a huge wave of attacks wereunched from all around, lightening up all the darkness in the pit.


    Then he felt his body being surrounded with some sort of a jelly before finally stopping.


    "I told you to jump," one of the disciples who were with him came and extended his hand before he grabbed his body off this floating jelly in midair.


    "I... This..." Jim''s heart was racing like he was on the verge of dying. He nced all around and saw the serious looks over the faces of Hector''s team, but he saw no fear at them.


    "Our boss is always considering everything," the disciple said before pointing to his head, "he is very meticulous when ites to keeping his safety and ours as well. See this?"


    The kid pointed to that huge piece of faint green jelly that was floating nearby, "it''s always stationed there for any disasters like this one."


    "Howe I know such a thing?" Jimined before turning his gaze upwards, "the darkness... it''s finally retreating."


    He heaved a long sigh of relief while the kid next to himughed. "Of course they will run away. They only take advantage of small teams. Facing a big and strong one like ours is a checkmate for them."


    "We are the ones in checkmate," Hector suddenly came from the side, making Jim realize they were all standing in a small cave inside that bottomless pit. "We can''t turn back through that way, and going down there is a dead end as well."


    He stood beside Jim, checked his body before patting strongly over his shoulder. "The boys told me about what you did. I owe you big this time."


    "N- No need," Jim was still trying to get what was going on here, "''you saved my life as well."


    "You... are a foolish one, y''know?" Hector couldn''t help but suddenlyugh, "a brave and brilliant first year disciple, yet as foolish as me."


    The othersughed while Jim only kept a diplomatic smile over his face, not knowing what he should say.


    "What now boss?" another disciple came, "should we go deeper?"


    "Well..." Hector nced around, "they won''t attack us soon I guess. Let''s take some rest and hear some opinions first," he said before turning to a group of his team, "stay in watch, if those bastards tried to sneak at us again just shout and we all wille."


    He then turned to Jim before adding, e, there is something interesting I want to show you."


    Jim didn''t have a choice but to follow. There he found arge tunnel that kept moving under the ground for a few meters before the world suddenly changed in front of his sight.


    "What... is that?" he was stupefied by all the lights shining all over the ce.


    "This is what we call a mine heaven," Hectorughed, "this part of the forest is filled with dangers, but also brimming with golden opportunities."


    Hector waved his hands all around the big cave Jim and he stood at its entrance. "See all these running rivers all over the darkness, shining in pure light like distant gxies? All are high grade ores, not easy to find, very hard to acquire, and so they are... priceless."


    "Hold yourself boy," one of the disciplesughed while hitting Jim with his elbow, "or else you would freeze there and others would get everything here."


    Jim turned his gaze to Hector who simply nodded. "You were the leader of the group you created and I joined, but now... I consider you as a brother. Just like I see everyone on my team."


    "Thanks," Jim couldn''t help but grin, "this is something I''ll never forget."


    "Hahaha, just pray we could get ourselves a way out of this dilemma," Hectorughed, "or else having all the treasures in the world will mean nothing at the end."


    "We will," Jim firmly said, as if he was promising himself and him, "we will find our way out."


    "Cross Fingers brothers... cross fingers," Hector said in a praying way while others all said in unison: "Amen!" and Jim felt weird towards their behaviour.


    "Don''t stand like a rock, go and find yourself a rock to crush," Hector pushed him inside before adding, "be aware, the rocks here are quite sturdy and will take longer time to crack. After all, even the speck of dust here is filled with energying forth from all these rich veins."


    Jim watched around and saw everyone trying their hardest to get to the veins. "They are only getting a few rocks," he couldn''t help but mutter.


    ''You can help them,'' the old man suddenly said, ''not only in gaining more ores for yourself than all of thembined, but also to find a way out of this dead spot.''


    ''Really?!!'' Jim was shocked, ''say, what should I do?'' he hurriedly urged his old man who simplyughed in return.

 Chapter 225: Mining The Cave

    Chapter 225: Mining The Cave


    Jim stood in front of a very broad ore vein that stretched from the ground until the ceiling of the cave before vanishing behind the rocks there.


    ''Put your hands over the rock surface and see,'' the old man said, ''it''s all brimming with energy, something you desperately need.''


    ''But... won''t that be too excessive for me?'' Jim turned around, ''after all there is no enemy here to fight.''


    He used to absorb energy and release it during fights.


    ''You forgot? This is the depth of the pit,'' the old manughed, ''many monsters are lying in wait here.''


    Jim understood his idea before putting his hand over the surface of the cave. The walls felt a bit cold, and strangely covered with ayer of water.


    "Boom!"


    The moment he touched the rocky wall and got out his sword, a muffled explosive sound erupted, attracting everyone''s attention.


    "What''s happening?" Hector came running from far while Jim started to have a wild aura around him. The vein he was touching had a blue dark color, and he felt like he was absorbing dark fire inside his body.


    "I''m absorbing the energy as you can see," Jim simply answered without pausing for one second off what he was doing.


    "For what?" Hector was speechless, "you should mine it, not..."


    "Crack!"


    Before he could continue his words, the wall suddenly cracked. It started with small branches that extended from Jim''s hand before extending everywhere around.


    "Bang!"


    Then pieces of rocks fell on the ground, causing much louder noise. "They are turning to dust!" Hector was speechless there for a brief moment before finally getting the idea of Jim.


    "Brilliant," he patted on both shoulders of Jim before adding, "but how much energy can you take?"


    "Small... I believe," Jim answered.


    "Then stop when you feel full."


    "No, I n to continue digging," Jim said while extending both hands this time towards the main vein. Yet he didn''t put them together, but spanned them as far as he could. "I''ll find a monster and kill."


    "..."


    Hector was speechless as he stood beside Jim watching what he was doing like everyone else.


    For them Jim was doing some kind of magic, or something foolish.


    "Bang!"


    This time the rocks fell to the ground inrge numbers but they didn''t turn to dust. "Some still retain their full energy," Hector grabbed some pieces to examine, "and some had lost part of theirs."


    "An epted loss I believe," Jim said before putting his hand deeper inside the gap he just created. "This way we can have much more ores than we initially imagined, right?"


    "You heard the man," Hector turned to his men, "start copying him now."


    "But boss..."


    "Just do it and you''ll be amazed by the result," Hector nced again at Jim before asking, "how long can you sustain this?"


    "Five more minutes... give or take."


    "Good, there is a monster not far from us. You can reach it in less than two minutes," Hector said before firmly adding, "I''ll apany you to make sure you won''t die on its hands."


    Jim smiled and said nothing before continuing his weird way of digging. Once reaching to the main body of the vein, digging started to be fun.


    This vein is really huge," after a few minutes he had to stop while watching the small tunnel he just created. "Three meters depth, meaning one meter per second," he calcted in his mind and felt some hope of getting out.


    ''You need first to solve your extra energy problem,'' the old man warned, ''you gained some benefits, but there is a huge amount of energy you need to ditch.''


    "No problem," Jim started to activate his spell by pointing his sword to the ground. "I''m ready to move at any time," he shouted, distracting everyone from what they were doing.


    Yet their eyes to him this time seemed a bit different. They tested his theory and got a sweet taste of his brilliant idea.


    "Follow me," Hector suddenly shouted as he appeared at the beginning of the tunnel, "ten of youe with me now," he added and instantly ten volunteered to move while more stopped where they were as they were a bitte.


    "You have some loyal followers here," Jim said in some envy while running behind Hector in the tunnel.


    "This thanks to part of me and part of you," Hectorughed, "after all you are turning them into rich bastards."


    Heughed and the ten running with himughed as well.


    "Listen, this monster is like a worm with a strange agile tongue like a frog. It has a strong venom in its tongue, so keep yourself away as possible from the tongue."


    "Is it that dangerous?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    "Everything moving down here is very dangerous," Hector said in agreement, "just stay behind us and release all your energy then retreat when I say so."


    Jim felt surprised by this arrangement. "Shouldn''t we kill it?"


    "We can''t," Hector went straightforward, "or else why do you think we stopped here?"


    "Because this is the farthest you can reach given your time," Jim said in doubt.


    "It''s because we can''t proceed further," Hector corrected, "this monster had a very weird ability to heal itself from any injury. Even when I attacked it, it healed itself in less than one minute. Can you believe that?"


    Jim felt how dangerous this new monster was. "Isn''t there anything else?" he asked.


    "Feeling afraid already little boy?" one of the tenughed while Hector said:


    "There is only one monster dominating each level in this darkness."


    "Sigh, no other option then."


    Jim thought to release his energy over the rocks or even at the darkness outside, however his old man warned him that would only release it on a very slow rate, risking to cause him more damage than he initially had.


    After all, he was already wounded... twice in a row.


    "Be ready," as they reached the end of the tunnel, Hector said before turning to those standing in watch, "any news?"


    "No boss, everything looks fine," one of those staying back to guard said.


    "Keep your eyes open for me," he warned, "I''m heading down. If those bastards tried toe after us then don''t hesitate to shout and bring the others here."

 Chapter 226: Death Approaches From Everywhere!

    Chapter 226: Death Approaches From Everywhere!


    The disciples nced in a weird way towards Hector. "Are you going down... only with them?" one of them asked, "do you want us with you?"


    "No need," Hector simply said, "just keep an eye out for me. Follow me," he said to his group of ten and Jim before they started to jump over the edge.


    "Not again," Jim was skeptical about their suicidal intentions but this time he jumped after them.


    "Our little friend here, Roger, has a unique ability to create jellies," Hector exined the moment Jimnded over a broad staircase made entirely of faint green jelly, e, we will arrive there soon."


    Jim watched the jelly staircase and understood the meaning of Hector''s words from before.


    ''They can get all the way to the bottom in no time this way,'' he envied their ability to descend like this while he had to hold on the wall and climb over a sloping surface from before.


    ''He is a tenth grade kid,'' the old man said, ''and one of the strongest in the entire disciplemunity. Don''t belittle your deeds orpare yourself to him.''


    ''I... know,'' Jim slowly said, ''but it still feels huge, the gap between him and me.''


    ''At the end of the day, personal strength is all what matters, right?''


    ''...''


    Jim went into silence and didn''t answer the old man. In less than two minutes they stopped when Hector raised his arm to make them pause.


    "Something looks fishy here," he muttered while sniffing the air.


    "I smell more than one scent," a wolf n descendant kid said before sniffing the air in an audible way, "I believe there are five monsters here."


    "F- Five?!!" Jim was shocked, "didn''t you say there was only one?"


    "Iing!" Hector suddenly yelled in warning and the next thing Jim saw was a strange thing dancing in the bottom,ing up so fast towards them.


    It was shining weakly in blue light, and that made it so hard to see in the middle of the darkness.


    Yet Jim didn''t freeze in his ce, jumped around as the others did before ending up holding the walls as he did once before.


    "Boom!"


    The jelly staircase was violently hit by what Jim could describe as a long scorpion-like tail.


    "It''s the death breaker," one of the kids screamed in an rming way, "let''s all retreat, no way to fight this thing by any of us."


    Just before Hector could say anything, a loud shout came from high above and suddenly darkness started to approach them from the top in fast fashion.


    "Damn! At this time," Hector couldn''t help but curse, "alright, ready yourselves for a brutal fight."


    "Are we going up?" the wolf n kid asked.


    "We are killing our way down," Hector said, "we need to buy our friends some time to deal with the dark hunters. Follow me!"


    Jim watched a scene he never expected as all of sudden the darkness in this area vanished in a blink of an eye. He even doubted that on a normal sunny day this rity and amount of lights would be present on earth at any time.


    "Keep up Jim," Hector yelled, "we will fight over one fighting jelly arena."


    Jim saw them all jump off the walls andnd over a strange circr thinyer of jelly. He didn''t pause anymore and jumped as well to stand among them.


    "Ready for some fun?" Hector cracked his neck muscles by tilting his head right and left while waving his sword to the bottom of the jelly.


    Jim was about to stop him but the next he saw the jelly surface creating a small hole where the sword let out its attack towards the bottom.


    And a thick pir of purple light appeared from the sword of Hector coupled with lightening up everything down there.


    "There are six, not five you morons," one of the disciples hit the wolf kid on the back of the head while adding, "you almost got us killed by this."


    They allughed while Jim was surprised about how they wereughing so leisurely while death approached them from every corner and angle.


    "Listen Jim," Hector retreated his sword before adding, "keeping your cool in a fight is a mandatory skill to survive. And what''s the best thing to keep yourself cool?"


    "Laughing," the ten disciples all used their spells at the same time while shouting in unison, "and kept telling jokes," Hector added while plunging his sword once again on the jelly surface.


    "What do you see down there?" Hector asked.


    "Dinner boss?" one disciple answered.


    "Idiot, it''s still so early in the morning," Hectorughed, "so it''s our breakfast boys. Let''s go down there and grab it."


    Jim watched the othersugh and shout in excitement while raining the entire area with their spells.


    And yet... not a single monster down below was that harmed by their attacks.


    He spotted that worm Hector spoke of. It wasn''t looking in good shape with some parts missing. "They were fighting over its territory then," Jim muttered while ncing over the other five monsters scattered around.


    Two were looking like giant toads with strange horse-like legs, two were looking like giant bugs with strange smooth and sturdy looking silver shell surface and a much weirder two long horns on the side of their big heads andrge number of eyes.


    And thest one... was like a giant lizard that kept changing its skin color to match the surroundings while it had a very long and highly agile tail that was formed of bony circles, interlinking together to form a long and dangerous looking chain.


    "We... are doomed," Jim softly muttered while ncing at the death rapidly approaching from above as well.


    "Just use all your power," Hector shouted, "and I promise we all can go back together and have our breakfast whileughing at your freezing reaction down here."


    Jim swallowed his cold saliva while holding the sword firmly. He had his spell being ignited before jumping off the jelly to the wall.


    He was ready to fight, but not believing in winning.


    ''Use your absorbing spell goddammit,'' suddenly the old man screamed in his head, ''what''s the benefit of having ast resort to measure if you won''t use it in such desperate situations?''

 Chapter 227: The Forbidden Absorption Spells Trick

    Chapter 227: The Forbidden Absorption Spell''s Trick


    Jim was struck by the words of the old man. ''But... I still couldn''t master it,'' he said in quiet hesitation.


    ''You onlycked an enticing factor, and this might be it.''


    ''Alright,'' Jim nced at the monsters at the bottom before adding, ''which one should I start with?''


    ''The lizard of course,'' the old man said in an rming tone, ''it''s a very, very dangerous monster.''


    Jim didn''t know why but he was already feeling dreadful from that lizard. The next moment, and while everyone was busyunching everything they could, Jim started to act.


    He injured his two palms, put them opposite to each other while the two drops of blood started to sh together.


    Next he started to perform his hand seals.


    ''I hope it works,'' he prayed while the old man kept his silence.


    Just midway though the technique seemed to grow out of his control like usual.


    ''Watch out!'' the old man suddenly shouted and that rmed Jim to make him nce at once towards one direction, his target.


    ''Nothing is there old man,'' he heaved a deep sigh of relief, ''you scared the sh*t out of me.''


    ''But it helped to make you cross that hurdle, right?'' the old man said and Jim instantly moved his attention towards his drops of blood.


    "They got merged together," he shouted in deep shock and surprise.


    "What?" Hector turned to him before pausing all of sudden, "what the hell are you doing?" he tried to move and stop the spell, as he seemed to instantly recognize it.


    But he was slightly toote.


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment Jim felt like the entire world shook all around. The walls of this bottomless abyss started to vibrate violently while even the world turned upside down.


    And Jim stood in the middle of this, not affected but any of that despite feeling every bit of what was happening around.


    ''Hurry,'' the old man urged, ''nce at your target and fix your eyes over it.''


    ''W- where is it?'' Jim turned his eyes all over the ce but the world looked so messy at this point.


    ''Just focus.''


    Jim found himself quite agitated and so he started to regte his breathing. This helped a lot in calming him down, and next the target he was seeking started to shine in a strange golden light.


    ''It''s their old man,'' he inwardly yelled in joy, ''what should I do now?'' he asked.


    ''Just keep your gaze fixed at it as long as it takes.''


    ''Alright.''


    Jim kept his eyes over that lizard. Strange enough the moment he did so the lizard seemed to break free of what the entire world was now experiencing.


    And it felt the threating from Jim''s eyes and started to run all over the ce.


    "I''m not going to let you off," Jim gritted his teeth, "just link to that bitch dammit!" he screamed while feeling more pressure from the strange agile moves these lizards started to do.


    Yet the next moment the entire world seemed to calm down, the chaos died out and everything returned to normal.


    "You..." Hector''s voice was the first thing Jim heard, "are very crazy, do you know that?"


    Jim couldn''t help butugh.


    "This will kill you!" one of the disciples said in deep shock, "we can handle it! Why did you act on your own?"


    "Just keep the others in check," Jim said in a strange calm tone that made them think he lost his mind.


    Yet the next moment he felt a sudden gush of huge amounts of energy. This energy looked quite berserk, and it all went directly deep down his flesh and bones, directly towards his soul.


    "Damn it!" he felt a severe blow to his soul, "it''s more savage than I initially thought."


    "It''s the queen of the underworld," Hector said in an rming tone, "negate the spell, fast before it gets strengthened."


    "Not a chance," Jim pesisted on doing this before he strangely moved both hands and touched his chest with them. His hands felt tied together with heavy rock, and couldn''t be separated.


    Even moving them now felt like a very tedious task for him.


    "Roar!"


    The moment Don appeared, he felt the agony his master was in.


    "No time for that," Jim hurriedly shouted, "hurry and eat up whatever you can!"


    And his words made the eyes of everyone all around get wide open while watching the Seson monster lean on Jim''s leg and rub its head with it.


    Then the body of Jim started to shine like a little star that got suddenly revived from death.


    "Keep fighting others," Jim shouted when he saw the amazed expressions over their faces, "I can only deal with one at a time."


    "Do... Do you n on handling others like this?" Hector was speechless for a moment before suddenly turning his head to the darkness above, pointed to it as he added, "if so then try to kill this motherf*cker!"


    "Can they be killed?"


    "It''s just one," one of the disciples said, "the size of the pit can''t allow except for one dark hunter to enter one at a time."


    "Good," Jim said with a vicious expression over his face, "I bet his energy tastes better than this," heughed. "What about others?"


    "Leave them to us," Hector said in much confidence before raising his head up and howling like a wild wolf. "It''s our glorious moment boys. We will kill one of those motherf*ckers tonight!"


    Then the entire abyss echoed with many howlsing from all the members of Hector''s team.


    Jim watched all this and couldn''t help butugh.


    "You are crazy," he said, "you are all crazy."


    "Wee bro to the crazy gang... damn, your body stings," one of the disciples hit him on the shoulder before rapidly retreating his hand like being burnt down by a boiling water pan.


    "Hahaha, keep your hands safe Tormel, we have many monsters to kill tonight," Hectorughed while others joined him before they all returned to hit the monsters down below in a more enthusiastic way.

 Chapter 228: Things Are Getting Bad!

    Chapter 228: Things Are Getting Bad!


    Previously they were fighting a desperate battle, but now they had all the pressure erased off their shoulders.


    ''It seemed they feared that lizard,'' Jim couldn''t help but mutter while watching the sudden change in their attitude.


    ''Who won''t be terrified by such a monster?'' the old man said, ''even the masters back at the academy would face a hard time dealing with it. But there is great news here.''


    ''Tell me then.''


    ''Hahaha, you won''t believe it but this lizard is the ruler of this pit,'' the old man said and didn''t exin further.


    ''Wait a second... Does this mean...?''


    ''Yeah,'' the old man cheerfully said, ''like this all the remaining monsters here would be in easily on Hector''s team hands and all the treasures buried here will belong to him and you.''


    ''Damn!'' Jim cursed out of his happiness, ''this... sounds pretty big.''


    ''It''s enormous actually,'' the old manughed, ''you can''t imagine how many disciples or even masters falling here on her hands. I bet the bottom of this pit is covered inyers uponyers of rings, gears, and treasures. Not to mention the priceless ores.''


    ''I hit the jackpot,'' Jimughed while turning to watch the expression over Hector and his men, ''they knew that, right?''


    ''Yeah, and that''s why they are acting in such a way.''


    Jim only smiled and didn''t mention anything to Hector at this point. He knew these gains would be sorge to keep for one man or one crew. ''I''ll get my hands over a big piece of that cake,'' he said and even he felt more energetic and started to count impatiently the seconds remaining for that lizard to fall.


    However, that lizard proved to be harder to kill than he initially thought.


    "Roar!"


    After a long half an hour of constant fight, Hector and his team managed to in three monsters. As for the darkness descending from above it had to halt under the persistent attack from the higher team.


    Yet at this point Jim didn''t feel anything rted to the lizard, no weakness, no change at all in the energy he was absorbing.


    Only the lizard kept twitching and doing its all to break free, and it finally had to give up this approach and adopt another.


    "What''s happening?" one of the disciples around asked.


    "It''s... bad," Hector couldn''t help but mutter in deep shock, "it''s not good... it''s summoning the other monsters."


    He turned to nce at Jim who was now shining like a vibrant star. "We need to retreat," Hector said.


    "What about the dark hunter above?" one of the disciples asked.


    "Just take us out," Jim said in determination, "You said they are terribly frightened of the light."


    He motioned his head to his entire body. For Hector and others Jim was now showered in bright golden light and his features couldn''t be seen.


    "It''s... a big risk to shoulder alone," Hector turned around.


    "Just send me up there," Jim was stubborn, "I''ll act as a decoy, leading all the monsters to levels higher than yours."


    "You can''t think of fighting all of them on your own, aren''t you?" one disciple asked in doubt.


    "You wille from the bottom and ambush them," Jim said, "this is the best way. I won''t let that damned lizard off!"


    "I nned to kill the dark hunters first," Hector was deep in his own thoughts, "but tweaking and slightly changing the n isn''t bad. Alright, we''lle with you."


    "No," Jim firmly said, "you''ll only be in the way."


    "You need someone to defend you," Hector was more stubborn.


    "Do you think the small group of us will be able to face them?" Jim asked, "I''ll use someone else."


    "Who?"


    "Them," he motioned with his eyes but they couldn''t see anything at all from his face. "The hunters," he had to say.


    "How?"


    "Boss, he is overestimating himself," one disciple said, "let''s be with him. It''s much safer this way."


    "How?" Hector didn''t answer his man as he asked again.


    "Well..." Jim was thinking about his on the moment n, "I''ll go beyond the pit and draw the hunters to sh with monsters."


    "But monsters won''t leave the pit no matter what," Hector shook his head, "we''lle with you... it''s final."


    He stressed on hisst words while Jim could only helplessly sigh. He wasn''t that loyal to him, but he wanted to see what a dark hunter would give him.


    If they were such priceless monsters then he wouldn''t hesitate to store all of their bodies inside his rings and lie and say they just ran away.


    Yes it was risky but he was willing to do it.


    ''It''s still safer,'' the old man said.


    ''I wanted those dark hunters for myself.''


    ''Next time perhaps,'' the old man said, ''better than having no next time at all, right?''


    ''Sigh,'' Jim shook his head before ncing at Hector who was deep in thought at this moment while the jelly was climbing slowly to the higher levels. "How do you n to stop them with only ten people?"


    "Who said I''ll bring only ten?" Hector''s answer made Jim realize he mistook the intention of Hector.


    "Yes, this way we can do it," Jim nodded despite still feeling bitter over losing his chance to gain all the dark hunters.


    He kept draining the energy dry out of the lizard queen while the jelly kept rising up until they reached the level where everyone was there.


    "Jump over," Hector shouted, "no time to waste, all must jump or stay here to die!"


    His urgent tone made everyone ditch anything else and jump over the jelly and the ce turned instantly crowded.


    "Take us up fast," Hector said before adding, "the rest have to fire all they got towards that dark hunter."


    Jim watched mighty waves of attacksunched and hit that darkyer just tens of meters above them.


    Despite this he didn''t see any obvious damage to that cloud of darkness until they got near them and his golden light started to shine over it.


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"

 Chapter 229: Getting To The Surface

    Chapter 229: Getting To The Surface


    Jim''s light proved to be much more effective than all of their attacksbined. "Good boy," Hector praised.


    "Focus on the down below," Jim said, "I can handle that darkness on my own."


    Hector seemed to be slightly hesitant before nodding to him. "You heard the man, move and attack anything moving down below now!"


    The next instant everyone followed their leader''s words to the letter and started to rain down the dark pit with different kinds of attacks.


    Landslides, tornados of frost, even gush of salty water rained down over the heads of any monster below them.


    "Roar!" and the lizard was dragged forcibly along the way by the bond and that seemed not to please it. It roared, and kept roaring as if it was ordering all of her army to keep attacking Jim.


    Under the different lights of the attacks Jim could finally see the entire scene of the pit and its walls. "Holy sh*t! All of these monsters were lying in this pit!!!"


    He was shocked to see hundreds of different shapes and sizes of monsters, all crawling over the walls and climbing fiercely towards him.


    Yet under this barrage of brutal attacks they had to pause, and even many lost their grip over the wall and falling all the way down.


    "Roar!"


    But this didn''t stop the queen lizard from roaring and stressing them to keep pushing over. "She... looks a bit worried," Jim suddenly felt a strange feeling that didn''t belong to him.


    "She should be," Hector agreed, "tied up with your spell and being dragged all the way out of herir... that''s the worst situation any king or queen would face."


    "Any monster would be terrified to piss themselves if they faced such a boss," one of the disciples said and next everyoneughed, including Jim.


    "Then let''s drag her fatty ass up to the surface then," Jim said with a better mood.


    "Wrong," Hector sneered, "do you want her to get angrier at us? It''s more suited to call her ass royal and not a fatty kid."


    And everyoneughed alongside the two while they kept ascending in elerating pace while the darkness above kept retreating faster while suffering injuries.


    "Are you ok?" Jim had to check on his pet once in a while. After all, without him he would be vulnerable to only death.


    "Roar!" Don roared and Jim felt he was happy.


    "Your pet... ``I never thought of dealing with such a forbidden spell in this way before," Hector honestly said in obvious admiration, "I swear to find myself a greedy pet with a bottomless belly just like yours once I get out."


    "Don''t forget me boss."


    "and me!"


    "Count me in!"


    "Hold on guys, it''s not a free market," Hectorughed while adding, "you should all seek your own pets on your own selves, alright?"


    "C''mon boss."


    "We can''t do it without you."


    "Just buy arge batch of monsters for all of us."


    "That won''t be worth a lot, boss."


    "Shut up guys and keep fighting," Hector changed the topic, "or else we won''t be alive to have this quarrel once again."


    "Stingy boss!"


    "Our boss is cold hearted."


    "How can you change all of sudden?"


    "All this for just a few pets? Humph!"


    Jim and Hector couldn''t help butugh and othersughed as well. They were joking around and Jim could easily tell that.


    "Alright," Hector suddenly put an end to this strange atmosphere amidst the fight, "this is it... the edge is so near and you know what that means."


    Jim nced around and saw everyone was turning far more serious than before. "What''s wrong?" he asked with a loss.


    "Thatst step in a mile road is always the hardest kid," Hector suddenly started to act as an old man, "this queen won''t stay silent while we drag her royal ass over the edge, right?"


    Jim didn''t know what he was speaking about but he only nodded as what he heard seemed logical. "Plus those dark hunters up above won''t stop until we drag her royal ass outside. It''s going to be... a little messy."


    "But don''t worry," one of the team said, "we will handle the rest and you just keep dragging her fatty ass outside."


    "Stupid Kim, do you want her to get mad at us?" Hectorughed, "it''s her royal ass, not fatty ass moron."


    They all returned tough again and this time Jim knew it wasn''t out of pure happiness or excitement, but from deep stress and utmost fear.


    "I''ll do my best," Jim vowed and his words silenced all of them, "as long as you do your best, I''ll do mine."


    "Good," Hector patted over his head to instantly retract his hand, "damn, that stings like hell!"


    And everyoneughed at him.


    "Stopughing," Hector shouted before adding, "we are almost at the edge."


    Jim noticed the darkness that blocked any vision to see the rocky ceiling of the cave was finally lifted.


    "Is he dead?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    "Who? That dark hunter?" Hector asked and from Jim''s silence he could tell what was running in his mind, "nah, it requires more than that to kill such a mother f*cker."


    "You seem to hate them a lot," Jim casually said.


    "Well, as someone who lost a girl on the hands of one of those motherf*ckers then I have all the right to hate them."


    Jim''s face froze when he heard that, but Hector couldn''t see his reaction. "S- Sorry, didn''t know anything about it."


    "It was his sister," one of the disciples said, "not his girlfriend. Our boss doesn''t have a girl to like. Who is such crazy to like someone crazy as him?"


    "Stop it Wolfen," Hector said while a faint smile appeared over his face.


    And Jim got the message and dropped asking anymore about such a topic.


    "Be ready," Hector shouted, "once we are up there we''ll face a lot of heating from all fronts. Be calm and don''t wander off away from the main group. The mighty fairies know that I won''t move to help any of you if you get hot headed up there, got it?"


    "Howl!"


    The group howled and Hector howled with them in a way that made Jim feel much admiration for this group. "I want my team to be like them," he muttered while deciding to take drastic measures aftering back.


    It was really fun to be part of such a team, even in such desperate and dark moments.

 Chapter 230: Another Pit

    Chapter 230: Another Pit


    The edge drew near with each passing second. Jim wasn''t feeling less intense than anyone around, yet all wereughing and talking like they were having a walk in the park.


    And he was only stressed and nervous.


    "Get ready," Hector shouted the moment the edge was only on top of their heads. "It''s do or die folks, let''s see what you can do up there."


    "Boom!"


    The next moment the jelly was forcibly ejected off the pit and mmed on the side of the walls up there. "Jump!" Hector shouted and the next moment everyone followed his lead.


    And they stood with their backs to one wall and the front lied the pit and the far away entrance of the cave.


    And that entrance was now masked totally by intense darkness.


    "Keep doing your job," Hector said to Jim, "you, you, and you go with him. Don''t leave his side no matter what."


    The three he selected nodded and they were all giantspared to Jim. Jim didn''t stop in his ce and started to run deeper into the cave.


    "This cave is deeper than I thought!" he marveled at this point while running for a minute or two.


    He thought the pit marked the end of the cave, but obviously he was mistaken.


    One of the three guards assigned to him by Hector took out a lightning orb and threw it hard towards the depth of the cave. "My name is Reg, this is Tom and that big one over there is Larry. If you need anything just scream."


    Jim nodded before Larry added:


    "The caves in this part of the forest are all so deep. Each half a mile a pit existed, and so we are heading to the next pit."


    "Mark my words boy," Tom said in a deep voice, "the pits lying deeper than the first one are all scary. The monsters there are far worse than the ones we are facing. So stay sharp and be alert, the ancient fairies only know what lies in that darkness."


    Jim swallowed his cold saliva while nodding in a gratified face. He nced at the part of the cave that was now partially illuminated under the lightning orbs Reg kept taking out.


    ''Just stay sharp and don''t mind anything else,'' the old man said, trying tofort him, ''monsters in each pit don''t differ that much than the ones you faced before. They won''t get out of the pit no matter what.''


    Jim became a little reassured when he heard that but he still was worried and nervous. He kept running while the resistance he felt from the lizard kept growing steadily.


    "This is it!" Hector''s voice came from the front attracting Jim''s attention.


    "They are facing the dark hunters now," he muttered.


    "Don''t worry about the boss, he can handle the hunters alone," Reg said, "''but the problem lies in those monsters."


    "They never step outside the pit and we don''t know why," Tom said with his deep voice, "I believe this might be our first time seeing one of them stepping out of the pit with its real body."


    "Swoosh!"


    Just as the four were busy with the front, Jim felt something drawing fast towards him in the darkness.


    "Watch out!" he screamed, yet he was a little toote.


    "Boom!"


    At this moment the fight at the front started in an intense way. The first monster stepped outside the pit followed by dozens more while a group of hunters jumped on Hector and his friends, and also over the monsters.


    Yet Jim was busy dealing with the new threating from the back.


    "Stay put," Reg shouted before hurriedly taking out his sword and cutting the long and thick brown tentacle.


    And the next moment Jim felt the strong power that suddenly got his leg vanished.


    "Be alert," Tom warned, "they nevere as a single tentacle."


    "I know," Jim took a deep breath while ncing all around.


    "Have you faced one of them before?" Larry asked.


    "Just one," Jim shortly said before shouting, "more areing."


    "We got this," Reg moved and the other two stepped to stand in front of Jim who had to stop his retreat.


    Reg was very experienced in dealing with such tentacles, however the more he killed the more tentacles appeared.


    "They are stubborn," Tom said, "something must have drawn their attention."


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Explosions kept raging wild from the ce of the first pit. "The monstersing outside might be the reason for that," Jim couldn''t help but say, "we need to end this fast."


    "Follow us," Larry said in a strong tone, "we won''t let anything happen to you no matter what."


    "Stay behind us," Tom said, "or else it would be hard to protect you."


    "Just keep moving," Reg shouted, "they are getting bolder the more I cut their parts."


    Jim started to move again and this time his speed was even faster than before. The three around him seemed so stressed and in less than a couple of minutes they all got entangled with many tentacles.


    "Help them!" Jim didn''t have the option here to fight with them so he shouted at Don who kept sticking to his leg like a parasite.


    Don raised his head up as if he was asking to confirm what he just heard.


    "Just use your strongest attack," Jim said, "release the good luck on us and curse them with bad luck."


    "Roar!" Don roared without needing to leave Jim''s side. His roar seemed quite energetic, fiercer and louder than before.


    "Good boy," Jim praised while feeling the entire cave trembling all of sudden.


    "What''s going on?" Reg asked in distress, "is it the time for an earthquake?"


    "Take cover," Jim wasn''t worried at all like them, "this is going to be slightly hard."


    The next moment the ceiling of the cave started to rain down rocks in different shapes and sizes.


    The world around trembled and many rock pieces started to strongly hit the ground without mercy. They crushed anything on their way, yet luckily they missed the entire team of Jim andnded all the way over therge number of tentacles.

 Chapter 231: The Queen of Spiders

    Chapter 231: The Queen of Spiders


    "Damn!" Larry sucked in a cold air of breath while ncing at Don, "I always heard legendary stories about Sesons, but never had the privilege to see one in action before."


    "It''s a really killer beast with such talent," Reg said in agreement while Tom only nodded and said nothing.


    "We aren''t safe yet," Jim warned, "they are facing a very hard situation back there."


    The three nced over the direction of Hector and his team. There the entire ce kept shing with different lights while showing off the hideous faces of monstersing off the pit and darkness caused by the dark hunters.


    Jim wasn''t exaggerating, they were really stressed over by therge number of their enemies back there.


    The dark hunters did a small favor and kept part of the monsters off them as they killed them. However most of the monsters and hunters were fiercelying at Hector and his men.


    And the lizard''s head started to slightly emerge out of the pit.


    "We are almost there," Reg said, trying to encourage the others, "all we need is a hundred meters or slightly more."


    "Is that... the pit?" Jim suddenly motioned his head towards the far distance where the end of the illumination orbs lightened up the edge of the dark area on the ground.


    "Damn! Have we crossed almost to their territory?" Tom cursed, "we are doomed."


    "We can still survive this," Larry said, "we just need to act swift, advance and then retreat fast."


    "I bet it won''t be a walk in the park anymore," Tom said in a deep tone while shaking off his head.


    "Let''s not waste this opportunity then," Jim said in a decisive tone, "let''s go fast and pull that damned lizard out before we get attacked."


    The other three exchanged silent nces before they started moving, or to be more frank, running.


    They aimed towards the pit up front while feeling more unease the closer they get near it.


    "Shriek!"


    And from far behind the lizard shrieked in deep anger and agony while it was forcibly getting out of the pit without any way to resist.


    All it could do was to plunge its jaws, ws to the edge of the pit and even stick its tail to the walls.


    But with the persistent run of Jim it couldn''t do anything but helplessly watching while being dragged outside.


    "Almost there," Reg said, yet the next moment Jim saw his face ashen white under the weak light of the orbs around.


    "What''s wrong?" he asked while turning to nce at the direction Reg froze.


    And there he saw something that made his scalp numb.


    A gigantic spider web was lining the ceiling and extending all the way to the pit. Jim didn''t know if this spider was initially there or it wasing from the pit.


    Yet in the next few seconds he got the answer for that.


    "It''sing towards here," Tom shouted in an rming way, "we need to retreat now! We can''t fight the queen of spiders as well!"


    "Damn it," Larry cursed, "the lizard is almost at the edge."


    "We need to try our luck," Reg decided, "spiders hate cold, Tom you have frost spells... use them now!"


    "Screw you," Tom cursed before stepping forward, "if we survived this i won''t settle with less than all your share of this raid."


    "Half," Reg said in a strong tone.


    "All of i will walk from here," Tom turned to him while his face told Jim he wasn''t joking.


    "Fine, seventy percent and that''s it," Reg said before threatening, "or else I''ll go back and tell the boss about your deeds here."


    "That''s if you returned alive," Tom sneered, "but for old times sake I''ll take that offer..." he turned his head to Larry before adding, "from the two of you."


    Larry could helplessly sigh and nod. "That''s bing more interesting," Tomughed before taking out a bow and a strange set of arrows. "If I were you I''d step to the back."


    "Let''s retreat for now," Reg advised.


    "I''ll keep moving forward," Jim wasn''t trying to act brave here but he felt if he gave that lizard a single chance to catch its breaths then it would be more difficult to drag its fatty ass out of there.


    "Do as it suits you then," Tom said before taking one arrow and plunging it in the bow.


    "Swoosh!"


    The next moment a small air storm raged all over his body and extended fast towards everywhere else. Jim was hit with this and felt extreme coldness attacking his body.


    "Damn!" he cursed before jumping up and down, trying to add more heat to his body.


    "I wanted you," Tom said before the arrow turned from a mere wooden one into an icy white piece. "Let''s see if you can handle my frost bitch," he released the arrow and didn''t hurry to catch one until his arrow hit its mark.


    He didn''t aim towards the outer borders of the web, but directly at the slightly dense spider that went towards the pit hole.


    "Sizzle!"


    The moment the arrow touched the web it exploded into many tiny fragments of ice like a ss shattered on the ground.


    "That''s amazing!" Jim was surprised to see the tiny partsnd over the web threads, freezing them instantly and many were cut loose.


    "Shriek!"


    The next moment a loud and scary shriek came from the depth of the pit, scaring the sh*t out of Jim.


    "Don''t worry," Reg''s voice came from his back, "she can''t get out like the other queen."


    Yet the next moment arge number of threads appeared like arrowsing from the pit hole.


    "Like hell I''ll let you repair what I caused," Tom viciously responded with a wave of frost arrows while each time he used one, Jim got one moreyer of frost over his body.


    "What are you waiting for?" Tom shouted in urgency, "my arrows are limited and I can''t kill her or even stop her threads as you can see. Let''s finish this damn task and retreat to the boss."

 Chapter 232: Dragging The Queen Out

    Chapter 232: Dragging The Queen Out


    This shout made Jim move instantly and run towards the front. Despite him moving towards the pit, getting nearer with each step he took, he didn''t hesitate to do so.


    "The closer to the danger the safer I get... How ironic!" he couldn''t help but sneer while being so close to the pit and even the threadsing forth were all visible to him.


    "Don... do you magic kid," he said to his pet and the next moment a roar reverberated in this dark ce of the cave.


    "Rumble!"


    And next the entire cave vibrated again and this time Jim could hear the curses of Tom and the two others standing further to the back.


    After all they all knew this was the doing of his pet.


    "Boom!"


    Yet all of sudden arge piece of the cave ceiling got separated and fell all the way down towards the pit. Its descent came so sudden and strangely enough its size perfectly fit the opening.


    "Oh, I love you so much," Jimughed while watching the threatening threads get smashed under the heavy rock before he could hear a series of bangs and loud shrieksing from the depth of the pit.


    "Screw you," he suddenly jumped over the pit edge and even stuck out his tongue to those situated down below.


    Standing there with his body lightened by the effect of the spell made him very easy to be seen, but his tongue wasn''t visible enough to anyone.


    However his attitude and words made it clear what he was doing there.


    "What the hell are you doing?" Tom screamed in panic, "just keep running, we need it to be dragged out now!"


    "Retreat!" Jim jumped off the edge and started running.


    "What did you do?" Reg couldn''t help but shout in an rming tone.


    "See for yourself," but Jim motioned simply towards the first pit where the three others froze for a moment before realizing everything.


    "You damn brat! You yed us all!" Tom cursed and strangely enough he wasughing as well.


    After all that lizard was now all over the ground, fighting a deadly battle with many dark hunters.


    "They are aiming for her, not Hector or the others," Jim noticed this before adding, "weird."


    "It''s not amon thing for a hunter to feast on the blood and flesh of the pit queen," Larryughed, "this is our win."


    "Don''t celebrate too soon," Tom said in his deep tone, "we still have arge number of monsters to kill."


    "Monsters were never a problem for the boss and us," Reg confidently said.


    "What about the rest of the hunters?" Tom persisted.


    "I can handle them now," Jim confidently said, "like Larry said, it''s our win."


    "Yeah yeah, at least I''ll get seventy percent of you two shares," Tomughed and this time the other two hard dark faces when they recalled the deal they had with him.


    And Jim just kept his silence, not interfering in such matters.


    "The queen is losing," Jim noticed the weakening of the lizard moves and the fierceness of the darkness around her.


    "That''s normal,"Reg said in a cheerful tone, "after all she lived her entire life in darkness, embracing and not fighting it."


    "Hmm... pretty interesting theory," Jim nodded while running as fast as he could with the three others. "What about the first pit?"


    "What about it?" Larry asked back, "as long as we don''t trespass over their territory again, none wille to bother us."


    "But this pit has no queen to defend it now," Tom said another dark thought of his.


    "That''s not the issue," Reg was aware of his friend''s dark nature, "the main issue is they need to exit the pit to go after us. And they won''t."


    "Yeah, rot in there motherf*ckers!" Larry turned his head and cursed the other pit monsters while Jim onlyughed at his actions.


    "I should have said that line to them back there," he said.


    "Yeah, it sounds great, right?" Larry said with a grin before the four of them finally reached the ce of Hector and his group.


    "Good job," Hector patted Jim''s shoulder, "I thought we won''t make it for a moment there."


    "We... had some trouble back there," Jim said.


    "What trouble?" Hector asked before his eyes shone with realization, "the other pit... yeah, it should be near. I missed that part."


    "No problem, we fought their queen and managed to escape it safely."


    "You... faced another queen?" Hector was shocked there for a brief second beforeughing, "you, my good friend, is a ma to awesome and horrible things alike."


    Jim didn''t know if this was apliment or aint so he simply gave his diplomatic smile as he pointed to the wild fight going on between the lizard queen and the dark hunters.


    "What about them?"


    "She is about to lose," Hector shrugged, "but she would bring down as many hunters as she could with her."


    "I... can''t see that happening," what he could see was the lizard getting weaker and weaker with time, while the hunters grew denser around her.


    "Just wait and you''ll see..." Hector didn''t exin but he put his hand over Jim''s petite shoulder and waited.


    "See?"


    In less than five minutes and just as the lizard seemed to be at herst step to die, a sudden gush of monsters appeared from the pit.


    They were summoned by a loud and annoying shriek of the queen, as if she was finally giving the order for her army to attack.


    "That''s... impressive!" Jim couldn''t help but mutter in surprise, "so she was feigning weakness all that time?" he turned to Hector and added, "for what?"


    "She wanted to grab their full attention and made sure no hunter would remain away from her," Hector said, "she isn''t easy at all. If so then she wouldn''t be able to in many masters over the years. Her kin... is very famed with trickery."


    "''I can see that," Jim nodded in agreement while watching the sudden strength appeared in the lizard while she kept fighting the hunters and making them unable to retreat.


    Then her army of various kinds of monsters jumped off the pit opening and started attacking the dark hunters.


    "How can they know where their real bodies are?" Jim couldn''t help but ask as all he could see was pitch darkness.


    "The queen," Hector said, "she left stains of her blood over the bodies of her enemies. That way her monsters can follow the scent and attack even without the need to see."


    "That''s... impressive," Jim was marveled again with how well nned the lizard queen was.


    "Don''t get me wrong," Hector suddenly said, "you can learn a hell lot of things from them."


    Jim knew Hector wasn''t exaggerating. He already learnt a lesson or two from this queen just now.


    "What now?" Jim asked.


    "See this?" Hector raised one of his arms and there Jim spotted a strange shining green stain over his coat. "This is her blood."


    "What?!" Jim was shocked to hear that, and more shocked to get what did that mean.


    "Don''t look at me like I''m doomed," Hectorughed, "let here, oh she can''t, right boys?" Hector said and his teamughed alongside him.


    "She could only send her henchmen, and she won''t be able to do so soon at least."


    "She needs to kill many hunters first," Jim said.


    "Yup, and thoseing at us will be all exhausted and mostly wounded. So it''s fair game if you ask my opinion."


    Jim gave him a weird nce while heughed. "It''s indeed fair this way. Who would put such a strong pack of monsters against a group of a hundred disciples and say this is a fair game?"


    "Boss is right, they should be wounded and tired for the game to be fair," one disciple said and others expressed their agreement by howling like wolves.


    "See? Everyone is agreeing on my words," Hector said with such an innocent smile that made Jimugh.


    "You are shameless," Jim said.


    "Hahaha, you need to be shameless enough to survive this world."


    "Boss is right," the same disciple said and this time everyoneughed and now howled.


    "Shriek!"


    Suddenly among this celebrating atmosphere a loud shriek came to abruptly stop theirughs.


    "It''s time," Hector wasn''t fazed by the threatening shriek the queen issued just now. "Let''s show this little darling how much we love her."


    "Howl!"


    The team howled in response before they started to attack. Jim saw attacksnding on the monsters that tried to disengage from the fight with dark hunters and attack them.


    He also saw attacksnding on the dark hunters, and even some fell over the queen itself.


    "She looks pissed off," Hectorughed, "but she had nothing in hand to do."


    He pointed at the shining drop of blood in between Jim''s palms and added, "as long as our little pearl here is still working, draining all her energy and keeping her weak, we have nothing to worry about."


    Jim nced at him while praying, "I hope so." However something inside him kept peeping in the rm. Something bad was about to happen.

 Chapter 233: the Dummiest Idea Ever!

    Chapter 233: the Dummiest Idea Ever!


    Jim watched Hector and others attacking with all their might towards all the enemies upfront.


    Once the monsters turned around and attacked them, some of the dark hunters were freed and managed to escape the fierce counterattack of the queen lizard.


    And they turned towards Hector and his men, trying to attack them.


    "Take some steps forward," Hector shouted at Jim while pointing towards the iing dark hunters, "we need your light to stop them."


    Jim instantlyplied as he moved towards the front while letting his shining golden light bath everything around.


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"


    "Sizzle!"


    The light fell over the hunters and managed to halt them in tracks. The next moment a turn of events urred as those hunters turned to their next best choice, the monsters.


    "Shriek!"


    The queen lizard didn''t stop issuing orders even for one second. The monsters around were now divided into two groups. One was fighting alongside their queen and the other was trying to get to Jim.


    "Keep holding the line," Hector never stopped issuing orders on his side. He knew the main goal of these monsters, which was to get to Jim and kill him.


    However as Jim feared, something was drawing closer to them in the shadows without anyone noticing it.


    "Swoosh!"


    Amidst all this, and when everyone thought they had a good grasp over the situation here, a strange fast moving sound came from the direction they least expected... their backs.


    "Watch out!" Reg was still standing beside Jim alongside Tom and Larry. The moment the sound became clear to them he turned to spot what wasing and shouted in an rming tone.


    But he was slightlyte to warn everyone.


    "What the hell...?!" Jim felt something surrounding itself around his leg before feeling a strong and irresistible force dragging him so fast towards the back.


    He lost his bnce for a moment while flying in the air before finally spotting what was draggin him. "The spider queen?!!" he muttered in shock when he saw this long and sturdy looking white thread that came all the way from the other pit.


    "Bang!"


    "I won''t let you have him!"


    Yet the next moment and when he already lost all hopes to escape this fate, a sh of sword descended all of sudden and cut the thread into two parts.


    "Hector...!" Jim paused in the air all of sudden before falling to the ground.


    "Defend him," yet Hector didn''t wait for him to fall as he turned around himself and kicked Jim in the chest, throwing him all the way back towards the group.


    And then Hector started a brutal fight against the spider queens.


    "Help the boss!" Larry shouted but before anyone could move a muscle, Hector shouted back: "Stay put, don''t break the formation."


    "Boss!" Many shouted in panic as they watched Hector jumping all over the ce while using his deadliest attacks without gaining much result.


    "Our top priority is to keep Jim safe. Losing him means our death," Hector firmly said and his words managed to get to Jim''s soul.


    ''Old man,'' Jim deeply muttered, ''is there a way to elerate this thing?''


    ''Everything is connected to the rate of energy you can absorb,'' the old man said, ''this is your body''s limit of absorbing energy from that lizard.''


    ''But it''s not enough,'' Jim gritted his teeth while watching everything getting soplicated all around, ''I need to elerate this.''


    ''No other way but to expand your energy absorption rate.''


    ''How?'' Jim asked.


    ''Well... the first choice would be through increasing your energy quality, but that''s not practical now,'' the old man took a deep breath before adding, ''the second choice would be through rapidly consuming your energy. However...''


    ''I can''t move to form spells, right?'' Jim muttered before losing himself in deep thought.


    "Wait a minute..." he suddenly paused before turning to Hector who was fighting the spider queen attacks ferociously and bravely. "I can do that."


    ''Do what?'' the old man asked before suddenly getting what Jim was thinking about. ''No, no, no, that would greatly put you under great threat.''


    ''Won''t be the only one putting his neck on the line here,'' Jim had made up his mind already. "Reg, Larry, Tom... can you defend me here as long as you can?"


    The three suddenly turned to nce at him in a weird way. In fact they weren''t the only ones gazing up at him in such a way, especially when he did something totally unexpected... and simply crazy.


    He sat to the ground, closed his eyes and started regting his breathing.


    "A- Are you going to train here?" Reg couldn''t help but wonder in amazement.


    "Right now?" Larry wasn''t any less shocked than his friend.


    But Jim didn''t answer the two as he kept regting his breathing, clearing up his mind and picturing the moment he held dear to his heart.


    "Rumble!"


    He entered the training world and got separated from the real one. However those standing all around, and even the slightly far Hector felt this mighty rumbleing from his body.


    Next thing happened for his golden aura to re up wildly, even all around Jim had to step back, creating a distance of a couple of meters with him.


    "He... is trying to elerate the energy absorption rate from that bitch," Hector muttered in deep shock as he realized what Jim was nning to do.


    "Protect him with your lives," he shouted the next second at his men, "he is putting his life on the line as all of us here, don''t let him fail."


    "Howl!"


    The members of his team all howled in loud shouts before they all turned into their enemies and started their fierce waves of attacks.


    This time they had more hope than ever in conquering this obstacle and emerged victorious.


    "I won''t disappoint you kid," Hector turned to face the relentless spider queen threads as he added, "not either my boys will... I can promise you this."


    The next moment he took another sword out and pointed the two towards the iing threads as he muttered:


    "Let all those standing in front of me burn to ash!"


    And a wilde wave of ck fire erupted from his two swords the next moment, sweeping everything in the front until reaching the pit.


    And even they entered there and he could hear loud shrieks of deep pain and agonying from that pit.


    Jim entered his arena world while getting detached from the outside world.


    ''I''ll keep you posted about any updates,'' the old man couldn''t help but sigh, ''for the record, this is the dumbest thing you ever did.''


    "Sorry old man, but I have no other option here," Jim said before suddenly feeling something, "I can move my hands here... impressive."


    ''This is a virtual world,'' the old man said, ''you can do whatever you want here.''


    "Then it''s time for me to go to the next level." Jim sat on the ground and didn''t hesitate to close up his eyes and regte his breathing.


    Just before the old man could say anything he entered his closet world.


    ''Sigh, you are crazy, y''know that?''


    "What for?" Jim stood up but just as he did, he felt as if his body was moving so fast or extremely slow that even created afterimages.


    ''That''s why,'' the old man said, ''you are pushing your body too much. It''s safer to go back to the previous world.''


    "No," Jim firmly said, "I''ll teach that bitch how stubborn fairies are."


    The next moment he took out his sword and that created a pulse of energy that made the entire room shake.


    ''Be careful,'' the old man warned, ''this world isn''t stable.''


    "No problem for me," Jim then pointed his sword to the ground while activating his oldest spell. The next moment he could see the energy emitted from his body and sword, creating a dense golden fog all around his body.


    It was as if he was made entirely of dense fog and right now a strong wind blew off part of him.


    ''Don''t overdo it!'' the old man warned but Jim kept gathering up his energy for a long minute before he finally couldn''t tolerate the gravity on his sword.


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment he let his sword fall over the ground before a massive rumbling ured. The room shook and he could see everything around going blurry.


    "Not so fast," he gritted his teeth and didn''t wait for the golden orb to bepletely formed around his body before releasing his sword towards the front.


    "Boom!"


    A very terrifying wave of energy appeared from his sword and moved fast towards the front. It hit the walls of the room before a very amazing thing happened.


    "The room... it''s getting more condensed," he shockingly muttered while watching the hazy images of his closet world getting more solid.


    "I thought it would break apart," he couldn''t help but say in deep amazement. "But that''s better, another strike then."


    He didn''t keep his sword by now and started raining down his attacks over the four walls of the closet. Each strikeunched arge amount of energy and conveyed it to the world he was in.


    And that made that world more corporeal, and also stronger.

 Chapter 234: The Lizard Queen Is Here!

    Chapter 234: The Lizard Queen Is Here!


    Jim kept attacking the closet world relentlessly while everything around him started to shine in golden color.


    "What''s going on?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    ''The world is getting more energy than it needs,'' the old man said and Jim paused. He didn''t know if that was good or bad. ''It''s good,'' the old man reassured him, ''keep doing this and your power will gain a good boost soon.''


    "That''s what I wanted to hear," Jim grinned before returning tounch his deadly sword shes at the walls around.


    In less than ten minutes, the entire world suddenly shook before he felt a shing from everywhere kicking him out the world.


    "Damn!" he stood up from the ground, "what was that for? Huh?"


    ''The world is evolving,'' the old man said with augh, ''you''ll have to stay here and evolve this world. But I have to warn you, this world is muchrger than the previous one.''


    Jim nced around before muttering, "Yeah, I can tell that easily by myself, but thanks."


    The next moment he reactivated his spell again and started attacking everything around. The world was much wider than the closet, after all he made it ording to the memory of the game field in his mind.


    However as the sword shed travelled all the way to the end of it, they hit some invisible wall there and started to be absorbed by the world.


    "It''s working," Jim said in joy, "I can level up this world as well."


    ''Dummy fairy king... it''s surely a thing you can do!''


    Jim ignored the remark of the old man and started hitting the world all around. The main problem here was that the walls weren''t only four and they weren''t so small and limited to a small closet.


    The world was so vast as the game field was already so big to begin with. So after staying there for a couple of hours it wasn''t a surprise for this world to not be able to evolve yet.


    And that wasn''t all.


    ''The lizard is going berserk outside,'' the old man suddenly said, ''it''s trying to break free from all the dark hunters ande at you.''


    "Damn it!" Jim broke his training here, "she can''t wait a little longer?" he shook his head in regret. "I can feel it... only one more hour and this world can evolve."


    ''Your life is worth much more than just evolving your world,'' the old man advised.


    "I know... i know... take me out then," Jim helplessly said while holding his sword in hand and the next moment he went outside this training world.


    There things looked quite chaotic while seeing everyone running and shouting in rming tones. He slowly stood up and gazed upon the lizard.


    "She is trying to break free with all her might," Jim slowly muttered and his voice attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Thanks the fairies you are awake," Reg couldn''t help but say, "we were almost going nuts not knowing what to do."


    "Let''s retreat," Jim decisively said, "this bitch is doing all that as she felt her end drawing near."


    "I hope you are right," Tom said in his usual dejected and deep tone, "if it broke free then it won''t only be the lizard and the monsters... all the dark hunters will jump at us like bees around honey."


    "Let''s retreat for now," Jim said before turning around and suddenly froze, "where is Hector?"


    In the back where Hector was supposed to hold the line he found only emptiness there. Not only Hector was missing, but those annoying threads from before were gone too.


    "He went ahead," Larry shortly said, "he is trying to keep that queen entertained."


    Jim didn''t get the meaning of his words but from theughter everyone had at this moment he knew Hector was safe at least.


    "Let''s go to him then," he decided, "let''s keep killing those bastards and maintain a fixed distance with that bitch."


    "Follow the lead of our foolish brave first year freshman folks," Reg shouted and everyoneughed again but Jim didn''t feel any offended with that.


    He started to run while keeping an eye over the lizard all the way at the front.


    ''Do you know how long it is before dying?'' he couldn''t help but ask.


    ``Give her five more minutes I suppose,'''' the old man said, ''she wouldn''t behave this way if not her foot was already inside her grave.''


    ''I also think so,'' Jim inwardly sighed, ''Do you know what happened with Hector?''


    ''As the others said, he is keepingpany with that spider queen.''


    ''C''mon, tell me something I can understand!''


    The old manughed, ''he is using his strongest spells to keep everything inside that pit confined,'' the old man said, ''you don''t need to worry about him for now. I can assure you the distance between you and that pit is quite secured.''


    ''I hope so,'' Jim paused as he felt a faint tremble on the ground. "Damn, she is fiercely resisting everything!"


    He watched, as others did, in amazement the fierce fight of the lizard towards all the dark hunters around.


    She stood up, swallowed her body in a strange way before attacking everything around. In front of the sudden rise in her power, nothing could stop her, not even the densely packed dark hunters gathered up around her.


    "Don..." Jim screamed in panic, "use your power... use it now!"


    He knew once the lizard broke free she wouldn''t stay a second there and would run faster than anything else towards him.


    He doubted the strong looking disciples all around to be able to do anything to stop her. And so he had only one hope left, his precious pet.


    "Roar!"


    As usual, Don roared towards the lizard but Jim couldn''t see anything happening to her for the next minute. "Roar again," he shouted in urgency while Donplied with another roar.


    "Damn it!" Yet nothing happened and the lizard was finally able to break away.


    "Shriek!"


    The next moment it shrieked in a very terrifying way. Jim even felt his hair on his back stand to no end. He even felt a long trail of cold sweat passing over from his neck to his back, giving him enough goosebumps.


    "Get ready," Reg shouted, "it''sing!"


    He didn''t need to shout at others like that. Everyone was already focusing their gazes up to her.


    Yet the moment when everyone lost all hope to survive this and could see their death so clear and near, a sudden change ured.


    "Rumble!"


    "It''s another earthquake," Larry shouted, "it''s another earthquake," this time he hystericallyughed while the othersughed as well.


    They knew what that meant... Don''s special ability finally kicked in and that lizard was doomed.


    "Boom!"


    "Rumble!"


    "Boom!"


    However it wasn''t just a simple earthquake this time. The entire cave shook violently while many rocks started to fall.


    "Take cover," One of the disciples shouted before jumping to the side, evading arge piece of rock that fell over the ground.


    He barely evaded it with a mere inch, but he was hit with the sharp small rocks that came out from thatrge one once it hit the ground and smashed.


    And that wasn''t the only case here.


    "Be careful," Reg shouted in rming tone, "the rocks are smashed into tiny sharp pieces."


    The situation kept getting worse as the shaking continued for long minutes. Literally at this point no one ever cared about the lizard, the monsters, or the dark hunters anymore.


    They all cared about evading the falling big rocks and the rapidly darting small sharp ones.


    "Roar!"


    Just as things seemed to get messy and bloody, Don roared and Jim felt himself stumbling on the ground, falling over there before arge piece of rock fell over his body.


    "Boom!"


    All he could hear was the shouts of the disciples, the screams of pain and agonying from everywhere, before the loud bang of that rock silenced everything around.


    And the world went into strange darkness and silence for a long minute while he felt a little dizzy.


    But he didn''t sumb to sleeping.


    "Not now!" he gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his calm. He was now confined under a heavy rock, and could feel more falling over this big one as well.


    Yet his body didn''t feel any pressure at all. It was like he was covered totally with that rock, protected with it and wasn''t in any danger.


    At least for now.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Suddenly sounds returned in a violent way without warning. Loud bangs of many rocks kept ringing while the sound of disciples started to get fainter.


    "They are getting far away," he muttered and reached this terrifying conclusion. "Damn it! I''m now alone in front of all the enemies and that crazy bitch!"


    He couldn''t help but take a deep breath before suddenly he felt something jumping over the many rocks covering his body.


    And the next sound of scratching escted while tiny pieces of rocks kept falling over his face.


    "Damn you Don... you are going to kill me!" he cursed while hearing the loud and angry shrieks of that crazy lizard just above him.


    It was there, trying to dig through all these rocks to get to him.


    And he was alone, surrounded by all these rocks without any way to escape, any allies to help, or even hands to perform spells.

 Chapter 235: Isnt It Beautiful?

    Chapter 235: Isn''t It Beautiful?


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The lizard queen kept hammering over the rocks shielding Jim off her. With each hit, Jim could feel the sound like it was directly hitting his chest.


    With each hit, a group of rocks were crushed and that drove her so close to him.


    "I''m going to die!" he couldn''t help but say this while watching the shape of that lizard vaguely through the cracks caused by her violent hits.


    She was using her two thick and short legs to crush all the way down to him. He wasn''t seeing any way out of this, even though he couldn''t use any of his power at the moment.


    Except for his golden light shining all over his body his hands were literally tied.


    Even a spell couldn''t be used, his sword couldn''t be wielded, and he couldn''t even push his body through the cracks getting wider with each hit or escape from here.


    He was simply doomed.


    "Anything to help... now is the best time for it," he had onest hope which lied upon the old man.


    However the old man kept his silence for the second time in a row while he desperately watched the rocks around getting smaller and thinner.


    "Shriek!"


    The lizard shrieked in anger, and he imagined she was picturing what she would do to him. The next moment her body crashed entirely over the rocks, damaging thestyer between the two and he felt like a mountain justnded on his chest.


    "Damn it!" he cursed out loud, "kill me if you dare..." he went crazy and started to move his body violently trying to get away from that weight.


    "Roar!"


    Yet at this moment his loyal pet that kept attached to his leg all this time finally roared.


    With a stroke of luck, and while his body was twisting right and left, a piece of small rock on his side crashed and the body of that lizard queen leaned to the side.


    He was finally free.


    "Screw you," he shouted while trying his best to stand up, however he fell at the first time before standing up again.


    His mind had only one thought... just running as far as possible from this killing monster.


    ''She is dead!''


    Yet just before he could move a muscle, the sound of the silent old man came again.


    "W- What?" Jim was shocked and stopped in his ce motionless for a few seconds like a moron. He didn''t realize the simplest thing that happened just now... the lizard queen was lying there dead silent without moving a finger.


    ''She is dead,'' the old man repeated the phrase again, ''thatst shriek was herst breath. Collect yourself, you''ve got something worseing at you.''


    "Fare worse than that?!!" Jim couldn''t help but point towards the lizard queen''s dead body.


    And he was stupefied to see his hands able to freely move atst.


    ''Yeah, the dark hunters... did you forget about them?''


    The old man''s words rmed Jim and made him regain his senses again. "Damn!" he nced fast at the front to see those dark pieces flying fast towards him.


    What stood between him and them was a group of angry monsters fighting their way as well to get to him.


    "They are killing each other," Jim slowly muttered as he watched the two groups attacking one another while trying to get to him. "I should run," he hastily turned to the back, "I should regroup with Hector."


    ''No, that would be wrong,'' the old man firmly said, ''you have strength now to fight back, a rare opportunity to take those dark hunters to the grave as well.''


    "H- How?" Jim clenched his fists and couldn''t feel anything unusual about his body except for that golden shining light that started to get stronger.


    ''That golden energy you have now isn''t something a normal disciple could enjoy,'' the old man exined, ''just use your usual spell, hell just use it without anything else and you''ll be invincible.''


    "Do you mean... I''ve got super powers now?"


    ''Limited super powers to be clear,'' the old man corrected, ''and this won''tst more than two minutes.''


    "Two minutes..." Jim slowly nced at all the enemiesing towards him. "Two minutes are much more than what I need to kill them."


    The next moment he put his sword in the position of activating his oldest spell and waited. Strangely his golden aura started to vibrate, pulse like it was a beating heart.


    And the sword turned to be extremely heavy the next moment. He was able to hold his sword for over one minute now, however at this point he couldn''t hold it straight up for one second.


    "Boom!"


    And the sword crashed over the ground, deeply immersing into it against the will of Jim. "Damn! I didn''t have the time to gather my energy up," he med himself for being rash and not calming his mind before doing this spell.


    ''It''s not you,'' yet the old man came to correct his mistake, ''it''s the energy you wield is too much to handle.''


    The next moment and just before Jim could say a thing, the world rumbled all over him.


    The cave wasn''t that big actually, but it wasn''t small either. At this point the cave could amodate a group of twenty to thirty disciples, quite spacious in Jim''s opinion.


    But it was so tinypared to therge ball of golden light that started to envelope him next.


    "Amazing!" Jim muttered in surprise while watching the sturdy looking walls of the cave getting crushed under his golden light. The walls simply vanished like they weren''t there and the golden orb enveloping him got erged to reach a radius of one hundred meters.


    And Jim stood in the middle, facing those enemies of his like a god gazing at ants.


    "Die!"


    He didn''t wait for them to react as he simply waved his sword. It was a simple sh that he tried to test his powers on, however just waving it consumed all his powers and let the orb dim before vanishing.


    And his body crashed again on the rocky ground, making him feel extreme pain all over his muscles and bones.


    "Only one hit!" he turned his head fast to see the result of that sh, "I hope it''s enough."


    Before him the sh he sent stopped midair for a couple of seconds. "What''s going on?" he couldn''t help but wonder, fearing the worst, fearing that the strike would fail.


    ''It''s umting energy,'' the old man said, ''just wait... nothing would stop in front of such a sword... nothing!''


    Jim just waited another couple of seconds before the sh he sent turned like a shining star. Once it did, it moved in fast motion, like a ray of light to cover everything inside the cave and enlighten it.


    But it didn''t stop there. The ray of light continued outside the cave and Jim lost track of it.


    "I hope this won''t bring more trouble," he said with extreme difficulty, "I doubt I can pull such a beautiful attack again in my life."


    ''Don''t say that, you''ll have your chances again,'' the old manughed while Jim watched the entire world turning into a golden color.


    The enemies stopped moving, all paused like time stopped at their end.


    "Are they dead?" Jim slowly asked, "or should i go there and kill them?"


    ''All they need is... a blow of wind,'' the old man mysteriously said.


    "What?"


    ''Just wait.''


    Jim didn''t get the meaning of his old man before a sudden gust of wind came from the outside world. In front of his eyes the entire cave entrance that was stained in gold now started to turn into specks of golden sand.


    And the next moment he could see the entrance became wider, exposing more to the outer world, before it finally vanished.


    That didn''t happen only at the entrance. The walls, the ground, the ceiling, even the monsters and dark hunters... all were blown into golden specks of sand the moment that blow of wind came from the outside world.


    "Isn''t it... beautiful?!!" Jim was mesmerized by what he was seeing. To him this was magic, the real magic he should wield all the time.


    ''Hahaha, I bet you want to do it again now,'' the old manughed.


    "I bet you are right," Jim slowly nodded before turning to gaze at his sword and hands. "Can I do it? Can I have such power once more?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    ''I told you, many chances wille and you''ll be able to have even more power than that.''


    "I''m satisfied with this," Jim bitterly smiled before turning to gaze all over the ce.


    The old cave seemed to get renovated. The entrance was gone. The walls were gone. Even the ceiling was gone and now the only thing remained was a deep groove on the ground taking the shape of a semicircle, a shape of his thick ray of golden light.


    And the part of the cave lying in front of him ceased to exist anymore.


    "So this is the new cave?" he turned to his back while feeling the gold sand hitting his face with the fresh air and cold wind, "This is my doing?"


    ''Don''t get cocky yet,'' the old manughed, ''you have a long way ahead of you.''


    "I know," Jim slowly muttered before clenching his two fists, "I know... I will do my best to regain that awesome feeling and amazing power once more."

 Chapter 236: He Is Lying!

    Chapter 236: He Is Lying!


    ''By the way,'' the old man said, ''that gold sand is really useful.''


    "What?" Jim was speechless there, "Why didn''t you tell me that before? How can I take it in now? Huh?"


    Jim turned around fast and nced all over the ce. The golden sand there was scattered in the air, covering arge area where the old cave was.


    ''You have to wait,'' the old man said, ''or else you won''t be able to get anything. Plus you have something to attract them to.''


    "Don?" By habit Jim turned to nce at the Seson pet stuck to his leg all this time.


    ''No, what can Don do about that?'' the old manughed, ''It''s the ores you got from before. Take one out and see the results yourself.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate to take a fiery ore out. It was so big to reach the height equal to him. He grabbed it from one narrow end and let itnd on the ground on its board end.


    "Swoosh!"


    The moment he took it out, the entire world around changed. All the golden fine dust was stirred up and moved in unison towards the ore piece, like ma drawing iron shards.


    "That''s... impressive!" He was amazed to see this while watching the golden sand entering fast towards the ore piece he held.


    ''But this isn''t enough, it''s far from enough,'' the old man said, ''you''ll need more than one piece. C''mon, get more out before Hector and otherse.''


    "Alright," Jim left the ore piece on the ground to fall on its side before taking much more. The more he took, the more restless the gold sand around became.


    "You are right old man," Jim whispered, "that piece wasn''t enough to take all this sand within."


    After a few seconds the fiery piece got saturated it seemed and couldn''t absorb anymore. Jim watched the other pieces do the same job while grabbing that one and started to examine it.


    "It''s turning... the sand into golden liquid," he watched the specks of golden dust passing deeply inside the core of the ore piece and turned liquid. "Is it melting them or what?" he asked.


    ''They are getting purified and condensed,'' the old man said, ''but there is no time to exin things now. This process will take days to be finished, and you still have much of the sand loose.''


    "I got it," Jim moved at once and took out more ores while scattering them all over the ce. Then he returned to collect his ores one by one, as long as they stopped absorbing more sand.


    This process seemed to take a long time but in fact in less than a couple of minutes he got almost every speck of golden dust around and stored the ores inside one of the rings.


    And then he waited at the new entrance of the cave, just next to the first pit.


    "Whoa! You renovated the entire cave! I really like what you did here," Hector''s voice came all the way from the depth of the new cave even before Jim could see his features clearly.


    Then Hector appeared, walking by the help of one of the giant disciples while putting his hand over his shoulder.


    "You... Are deeply wounded," Jim was shocked to see that scene while seeing Hector slowly climbing and walking with the aid of his friend towards him.


    "I got it hard back there," Hector said in a cheerful voice, "but after what you did, that spider bitch ran all the way down to the bottom of her pit."


    "She is a coward," Larry said, "she shoulde and face the little bro here and see what she can do against him."


    Jim couldn''t help but bitterly smile. "What do you think of this? I can''t pull such an attack again without losing my and your lives," he said while othersughed.


    "It will be a hell of a fight to behold," Hector said, "and now listen up..." he stopped just beside Jim, turned to face the exhausted faces of his team.


    He patted with his free hand over Jim''s shoulder as he added:


    "Thanks to our little Jim here, we got this pit secured boys."


    "I doubt it''s empty," Jim interrupted him.


    "Surely it isn''t," Hector nodded, "but for my boys what weak monster can stand against us? We crushed their queen, we killed their superior monsters... Hell we killed dark hunters, howl!"


    "Howl!"


    "Howl!"


    "Howl!"


    The entire team howled in a spirit that told Jim they got a bit of strength remaining in them for another fight.


    "We won''t let our trophy lie there without grabbing it," Hector continued, "let''s go down there boys, let''s show our little Jim how weak these monsters are and how strong and capable we are."


    "Yeah!"


    "Howl!"


    The team shouted in high spirit and some even howled again. "Damn! I want my team to be like yours man... I''m all envy!" Jim couldn''t help but say while watching that jeely piece appear once again and all the team members jump over before they descended down below.


    "You have a long way toe over such a team," Hector said in a strange serious tone, "but as far as I''m concerned, you are a good team leader and surely you''ll get yourself a good team as well."


    Jim nodded in appreciation. For him if he didn''te out of this expedition but to know of such a team he wouldn''t regret it.


    His few days experience with those people here opened his eyes over things he would miss without doubt.


    "I have to do many things when I return," he muttered to himself while watching the team descend through the pit. "Wouldn''t we follow them?" he asked.


    "No, the two of us have their share of the fun," Hector pointed to his helping friend to take him to the corner of the new cave opening, "they should y a little and we need to rest."


    "And..." Jim didn''t continue as he went to sit beside him while gazing up towards the depth of the cave.


    "She is a coward," Hector simply said, "plus the light of the morning is almost upon us. They fear the light, pretty much lethal to them. So they won''t think ofing out until the next night."


    "So we have one daylight only, right?"


    "No, we have as much as we want," Hectorughed, "did you forget the priceless ores down there? Oh man, this is myst year in the academy and I want to get out of being rich."


    Heughed and the disciple that stood beside himughed as well. "You said it right boss. I want to retire with enough wealth to buy myself a nice somewhere."


    "You''ll have that," Hector joyfully said, "I promise you that."


    "Do these ores worth that much?" Jim didn''t know the true worth of such ores.


    "They are my dear friend," Hector said in a tired tone, "anything in this world is measured by its quality, its avability, and how hard it is to acquire it."


    "I understand," Jim felt all the three parameters here applied to such ores.


    "Plus there are many ringsying down at the bottom, don''t forget them as well," Hector turned his head to him in a weak way. "Now I''ll go to sleep. I need some rest."


    Jim nodded and didn''t speak before Hector went to sleep in no time. His face was ashen white and his body looked much weaker than before.


    "What happened down there?" he couldn''t help but turn to that disciple and ask.


    "He... got bitten by that motherf*cker," the disciple said in faint anger. "He is poisoned."


    "What?" Jim''s eyes got instantly widened.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not that big of a deal," the disciple hurriedly said, "or else you''d see all of us panicking the same way you just did."


    "So you got an antidote?" Jim turned to Hector, "but he looks in a very bad condition."


    The kid''s face showed his hesitation for a moment there. "Actually we all felt the same way as you, but the boss reassured us it''s nothing. He said he used some sort of antidote that would save his life. But it needs some time to work and lot of time to rest."


    Jim was doubting these words. That disciple lived his entire life following the lead of Hector and so he developed a habit to listen to whatever his boss said.


    But not for Jim.


    Jim was a leader of a group himself and he could tell if the person in front of him was telling the truth or lying to protect his team from panicking.


    ''Can you assess his situation for me?'' Jim said to his old man, ''please!''


    ''I can use bits of my power to investigate him but you have to put your palm over his forehead and chest and maintain that posture.''


    ''Alright,'' Jim didn''t wait and instantly moved.


    "What... Are you doing?'''' His actions rmed the kid and startled him.


    "He is lying," Jim simply said, "and I''m going to see what his condition truly is."


    "No way," the kid seemed to be believing his boss blindly, "he never lied to us, not even in the darkest moments."


    Jim put his two palms like the old man asked and the next moment he felt some warmthing out from him. He felt this was his own energy and the old man was simply manipting it.


    ''You are cheating old man,'' Jim sneered, ''you are using my own powers as yours.''


    Just before he could continue his words, a sudden gush of sinister and dark power came to sh with him, sending him off flying backwards.


    Then he gushed a full mouth of dark blood with a strange stench.


    "Cough," Jim weakily leaned over the walls of the cave entrance while standing up with a white ashen face.


    "What happened?" the kid was instantly rmed, "what did you see?"


    ''He... is dying!'' the old man gave Jim the answer, ''he doesn''t have much time, only less than one day and he will be gone.''


    "Damn it!"

 Chapter 237: The Poisoned Boss

    Chapter 237: The Poisoned Boss


    "What do you mean by that?" All the disciple nced in distress towards Jim who instantly shouted:


    "Bring everyone back, hurry! We have little time!"


    "What happened?" The disciple got more restless before grabbing Jim in a reflexive move from his neck, "what happened to the boss?"


    "Hector... he is dying!" Jim slowly said and the eyes of that giant disciple widened all of sudden. "Let me go," Jim said, "and hurry and bring all here."


    The kid let Jim down before suddenly running towards the pit. Even before he reached there, he shouted with his loudest voice:


    "Come out now,e out... The boss... He is dying!"


    Jim could feel the immense amount of agony in his tone. Nothing happened for the next moments before all of sudden that jeely piece jumped off the pit''s opening and mmed even to the ceiling of the new cave beforending roughly beside Jim and Hector.


    "What happened?" Many jumped off the jelly piece even before it got to stop over the ground, "what''s wrong with boss?"


    This question came from many while the disciple pointed to Jim, "He says the boss is dying."


    "Nonesense," Roger, the kid who could summon the jelly, shouted at once towards Jim. "Our boss said he is fine, and he never lied to us."


    Jim took a deep breath as he knew it would be a hard moment to convince them otherwise. "He did this to not make you worry or do something to help."


    "Nonsense!" Roger shouted again, "our boss knows our strength quite well. He knows if he even asked us to attack masters we will and we will win!"


    "There is no time for that," Jim nced all around, "is there anyone with some medical abilities or spells here?"


    "I''ll check him," Roger suddenly moved, "but I swear if you were ying dirty tricks here I wouldn''t care about the boss or what you did... I promise to chop your head off your shoulders."


    "Just check him," Jim was slightly threatened by these words especially when all around nodded in unison. "You''ll get what I mean."


    "Step aside," Roger rudely said before leaning over Hector''s body. The next moment the entire body of their boss was covered with ayer of Roger''s jelly, making Jim feel like he was frozen.


    "Ouch!" Roger didn''t stay there for more than one minute before screaming in an rming way. His body was pushed back and all of his jelly was decayed, eaten away by some sort of ck sinister energy that crushed the jelly like fire eating grass.


    "What''s wrong Roger?" all nced at Roger and saw his white ashen face. Two thin lines of blood emerged from the corners of his mouth while he weakly and shockingly said:


    "The kid wasn''t lying..."


    "What do you mean?" Reg moved at once and helped him stand, "what''s wrong with boss?"


    "He..." Roger didn''t know what to say and turned to Jim for help. This time his eyes weren''t emitting any rage or hatred, but pleading and despair.


    "He is poisoned," Jim just said what his old man said to him, "Something bit him at that pit, something far stronger than that spider queen."


    "How can you tell?" Tom said in disbelief, "there was nothing else but that spider queen."


    Jim waited for a brief moment while his old man gave him the answer. "This poison... isn''t something that attacks the body but the soul. It''s eating his magical power, and any other magical power getting in touch with it. See for yourselves, he just got the same bacsh I got when I tried to inspect him."


    He pointed towards Roger, shifting everyone''s attention to thetter. And Roger simply nodded in agreement without saying a single word.


    "But the boss was fighting the spider queen," one of the disciples said.


    "Spiders can use toxins!" another disciple said.


    "Indeed, but their toxin is a body type, not a soul or energy type," Jim said, taking a long breath before bringing forth the bad news, "whatever bit Hector, it was a very strong monster and not simply one that dwells normally here."


    The entire group nced at Jim without saying a single word. Jim could see the shock and despair all over their faces, making him feel great sympathy for them and envy for Hector.


    "The monster who did this had two types of extremely rare toxins, one to hit the soul and the other to consume the magical energy away. This... thing can''t be normal, can''t be an inhabitant of such a ce."


    "Why?" Roger weakly asked.


    "Because he is a kind of a predator that sees all around as food," Jim firmly said, "if it''s living here then we won''t have found any monster but it."


    Jim waited for them to absorb the shock. "We need to return to the academy," one of the disciples said, "masters should have a way to deal with it."


    "Yeah that''s the right thing to do."


    "Screw this test! We already passed nine before and losing one won''t be a big thing for us."


    "We need to save our boss'' life!"


    Jim heard all of their opinions and was about to express his support for such a decision... But his old man had another opinion about this.


    "We... can''t do this," he slowly said and his voice wasn''t that loud but it was enough to crush all the sounds around.


    "Why?" Roger slowly said while moving with the help of another disciple, "it''s the only logical way to do it."


    "This..." Jim found the reason given by the old man hard to exin. "I can''t say much but all I can tell is that: this poison is so ancient and extremely violent. I''m sure, one hundred percent sure that the only people who can have such ability to heal him are... the dragons."


    "What if they are the dragons?" Roger angrily said, "he is one of the most prominent disciples in the entire academy!"

 Chapter 238: The Ancient Monster

    Chapter 238: The Ancient Monster


    Jim knew it would be harder to make them see the logic here but he had to try.


    "An academy with its dean being biased to one side rather than others... A dean who threatened to kill all but his own side, and he stuck to his words and is currently doing this... Do you think such a dean and the n standing behind him would agree to help one of ours?"


    "B- But..." Roger couldn''t say anything more.


    "What are you talking about?" one disciple shouted in rage, "it''s the boss! It''s Hector we are speaking about here! If it''s needed for us to wage war over that damned academy then let''s do it!"


    "Hell yeah! We don''t hold anything dear to lose anyway."


    "For my boss I''ll die dly but he has to live!"


    "Screw all the dragons! Let''s burn that academy down to the ground or die trying!"


    Many disciples shouted in rage and extreme devotion to their boss. However Jim nced in a meaningful way towards Roger. Thetter seemed to be a bit wiser and more collected than others around.


    And Jim just hoped he could have something in hand to stop him.


    ''Any bright ideas old man?'' Jim also went to ask for his mentor''s advice, ''I don''t want to see them dying without a result.''


    ''There is a way...'' the old man suddenly said, ''but it''s a bit risky and with low chances of sess.''


    ''Just tell,'' Jim firmly said, ''after all it''s more realistic than going all the way and hitting the academy.''


    The old man started to tell him his theory and Jim attentively listened until he finished. ''It''s a crazy n,'' Jim took a deep breath before loudly saying: "I''ve got a way to save him."


    The eyes of everyone instantly glued over his body. Jim took another deep breath before adding, "But this one isn''t easy or pleasant at all."


    "Just say what you got," one of the disciples said in impatience, "our boss is dying as we speak."


    "Is there anyone here who delved into making potions?" Jim first asked.


    "Wait a minute... You don''t possibly think about it, aren''t you?" Roger couldn''t help but speak in a weak tone first before Jim nodded. "Damn! That might work! No... That will definitely work."


    "What''s it, Roger?" a disciple asked what everyone else was having in their minds at the moment.


    "We''ll go and hunt that motherf*cker down," Roger said in a loud tone, a tone that was filled with nothing but hope and determination. "We will get that motherf*cker''s sack of poison and make antidote for the boss and others as well."


    "This..." some disciples muttered before Larry said, "What others?"


    "Do you think this trip will end without many of us falling?" Roger said, but his tone seemed like he didn''t care.


    "We don''t mind that!"


    "All for the boss!"


    "How many times has the boss saved my life? Our lives? This time we''ll show him our resolve and save him."


    Many started to express their thoughts and they all agreed to the n with a growing loud voice that made Jim feel some goosebumps.


    "Damn! I need my team to be like them," Jim slowly said before shifting his gaze towards the ashen white Hector, "I need to learn much from you... So don''t die."


    He turned his gaze towards the rest before shouting:


    "As you all agreed on this n, who can make the potions?"


    They all stopped voicing out their decisions and Roger hit a giant kid nearby on the chest. "Our little Tim here can do it, right Tim?"


    "Leave this to me," Tim said, "I won''t let the boss die."


    "Neither will we," Roger moved to stand before the group, "we know where that motherf*cker is... that second pit... we will demote it to the ground... We will kill anything that breathes down there even if we all fell as well.``


    "Howl!"


    "Howl!"


    "Howl!"


    Jim watched them howling and couldn''t help but smile. "Let''s go," Roger said before turning around and added, "I don''t want any weak spells... I don''t wanna see any little tricks... From this moment on we will crush into that pit with all we got."


    "Howl!"


    The entire group howled as they started moving towards the pit like an army going to war. Jim nced at Tim. "Prepare the strongest healing potion you can make, and wait for the poison sack to be delivered to you."


    "Are you going with them?" Tim couldn''t help but ask in doubt. "You are weak, you can''t help and might be a liability there."


    "Stupid Tim... I''m the only one who can take that monster down."


    Jim walked after the group while Tim shouted from the back:


    "Don''t call it a monster, call it by its real name."


    "Yeah, that motherf*cker will die on my hands," Jim raised his fist in the air, "and this fist will be the sign of my team from now on," he said this in low tone to himself, but it seemed others heard him as they turned to spot him and his raised right fist.


    "Howl!" and they saluted him in their own way.


    ''What''s that monster look like?'' Jim followed the enthusiastic group towards the next pit. ''Is it like that lizard?''


    ''You n on killing it like that lizard?'' the old man asked.


    ''Sure, why not?''


    ''I... doubt you can handle its energy.''


    ''Even with Don?'' Jim nced at the sticking like a glue Seson monster.


    ''He can''t handle that much energy,'' the old man said, ''what we are going to face here is some sort of ancient monster... One that lived for a very, very long time.''


    ''And?''


    ''It has a massive amount of magical power in its body, something not even you and Donbined can handle.''


    ''Then... What to do?''


    ''One thing,'' the old man said, ''you''ll have to use your spell all the time.''


    Jim felt weird as he asked, ''How? You know my hands will be tied!''


    ''Then you should first activate that spell before absorbing that monster''s energy,'' the old man said, ''that''s the only way.''


    ''What will I do after that spell ends?''

 Chapter 239: The Sinister Mornoth Monster

    Chapter 239: The Sinister Mornoth Monster


    ''It won''t,'' the old man firmly said, ''your energy will be like a fountaining from the underground. You''ll enjoy endless power for as long as that monster lives.''


    ''Hmm... What about its hench monsters then?''


    ''It''s working alone,'' the old man reassured him, ''such a predator won''t have anyone on its side.''


    ''That''s great,'' Jim said, ''but you still didn''t tell me what that monster looks like? It''s abilities?''


    ''I can''t tell without seeing it,'' the old man said, ''but one thing I''m sure about... that monster has something to attack the soul and drain magical power off his opponent.''


    ''A thorn perhaps?'' Jim thought, ''or a tail ended with a needle? Like scorpions?''


    ''You are thinking all wrong,'' the old man said, ''these are forms of poisonous monsters attacking the body. This one is different.''


    ''Then?''


    ''It must have a tentacle that''s totally formed of fog,'' the old man said, ''this is the only way to hit the soul.''


    ''Fog?'' Jim was surprised to hear that, ''then we are looking for a fog monster? Then what about draining the magical power?''


    ''It must have another tentacle with a fluid base,'' the old man said, ''moving around like a small branch of a river.''


    ''You are saying weird things old man,'' Jim couldn''t help but sigh, ''such a monster does really exist?''


    ''Back in my days they weremon monsters, not as rare as in your time.''


    ''Did they die?''


    ''Killed in the big ancient war,'' the old man said in some hatred, ''they were one of the elite forces the dragons used to y the fairies.''


    ''Oh... That''s reassuring,'' Jim muttered, ''fighting something that even mighty fairies of ancient times couldn''t handle.''


    ''We... weren''t ready,'' the old man bitterly said, ''plus they were mainly used to kill races supporting us. You, humans, suffered great losses on their hands.''


    ''Humans stood by the fairy side?'' Jim was surprised to hear that, ''Aren''t we weak?''


    ''No, that''s not true,'' the old man said, ''humans were strong, and up till now some human ns are strong.''


    ''I can''t believe it.''


    ''Many races who allied themselves with us got severe retaliation from dragons and their allies,'' the old man exined, ''after all that victory came on a grave price traitors had to pay back then.''


    ''Hmm...'' Jim lost in thought for a minute before saying, ''then I suppose you know a way to kill them, right?''


    ''The only way is to face them with their own weapon,'' the old man said, ''this is one of the reasons why teaching absorbing spells became forbidden in the academy.''


    Jim suddenly realized something. ''Hold on, do you imply that this monster came by the orders of that bastard?''


    ''I won''t dismiss such a thought,'' the old man said, ''after all these ancient ones are considered the loyal dogs of the dragons... Like Seson monsters to the fairies.''


    ''Damn!'' Jim didn''t even think that the dean would go to such lengths to exterminate as many disciples as possible. ''I won''t let him off this easily.''


    ''What can you do?'' the old man sighed, ''you have to bitterly ept it. You are too weak to even raise your voice in front of such people.''


    ''I''ll... get stronger soon.''


    ''Don''t repeat the same mistake of ours back then,'' the old man advised, ''no matter how strong and mighty you are, as long as you are alone you are worth nothing.''


    ''Strength is all that matters old man,'' Jim argued.


    ''One man against an army can''t be considered anything but a dead end,'' the old man sighed, ''we thought... our individual strength was enough. However I can confidently tell you this is wrong. We couldn''t kill all of our enemies and in the end we lost.''


    Jim felt how bitter the old man was feeling towards such distant memories. Even after all these years, he felt the same taste of defeat like back in those days.


    And Jim decided to not pursue this matter, at least for now.


    "Let''s go," Roger''s loud voice came from the front, "the pit is there... Let''s show that bastard what it''s like to touch our boss."


    In front of Jim a big jelly piece appeared before many started to jump over it. He wasingst, at the rear of everyone. So when it was his time, he found them gone down for a long distance already.


    "They are so eager to kill it," he muttered before leaning on the edge and preparing himself to jump.


    ''Watch out!''


    Just before he could jump, the sound of the old man came all of sudden to startle him. Jim didn''t even wait to check around as he pushed his body fast to the back, rolling over the ground for meters before stopping.


    "What happened?" he nced around but didn''t see anything.


    ''Can''t you see it?'' the old man said before hurriedly adding, ''damn! It has a stealth ability as well.''


    "What are you talking about?" Jim felt more vignt. He took out a lightning ore before activating his spell the next moment. "Tell me more," he demanded.


    ''It''s right there,'' the old man said, ''it''s sticking itself to the walls and ceiling of the cave. Damn it''s a huge worm!''


    "Worm?" Jim tried to see anything beyond the pit level but he couldn''t. Everything there looked normal, dark and filled with rocks. "Are you sure it''s there?"


    ''Just finish your spell and you''ll be able to see it.''


    Jim nodded before letting his sword into the ground. He could sustain for more time but he was eager to see his foe.


    The next moment his body was covered with the normal orb of lightning.


    Then the entire world in front of him totally changed.


    "Damn! It''s blocking the entire pit!"


    In front of him, a giant shaped monster was there. It filled almost the entire cave space beyond the pit opening that was now filled with many fog and liquid-like tentacles. "It has more than one tentacle of each kind."


    ''It''s the Mornoth monster,'' the old man said in a gratified tone, ''out of all ancient monsters, that beast was here... You have a hard battle ahead.''


    "I''ll kill it as we agreed," Jim slowly said.


    ''It''s not enough,'' the old man stopped him, ''that monster had more than one life inside it.''

 Chapter 240: Ill Stall It For You

    Chapter 240: I''ll Stall It For You


    Jim nced at that gigantic monster that had a cylindrical body. In this darkness he couldn''t spot all of its features quite well.


    However he was certain that it shifted its gaze towards him the moment he activated his spell.


    "He... noticed me," Jim said.


    ''Of course it did,'' the old man cursed again before adding, ''fairies killed most of its kind. It has a deep grudge against you.''


    "Then what?" Jim turned to the distant cave opening, "should I lure it out?"


    ''It won''t follow you that much,'' the old man sighed, ''it''s tentacles are all inside that pit. Those disciples... they just are unlucky.''


    "All of them?" Jim was shocked.


    ''They won''t see what''sing to hit them... That Hector must have recognized this monster in some way. So he didn''t say anything about it.''


    "It''s weird," Jim muttered.


    ''He is just trying to protect his friends, that''s not weird.''


    "No," Jim shook his head, "if he wanted to do that then he would ask us to leave the entire cave, right?"


    The old man went into silence for a minute before Jim thought about what happened again. "He must know the weakness of that monster."


    ''There is none!'' The old man firmly said, ''He''s considered one of the top assassins in our world.''


    "No, Hector won''t send us in that pit without a reason," Jim thought before muttering, "the ores... are they the ones he wanted us to find and use?"


    Jim didn''t hesitate to take out the few pieces of ores he got from that pit. He didn''t have much time to mine many pieces from there, but he took out thergest one he had before.


    The milky white piece of ore appeared and the moment he held it the shape of his orb changed and its color.


    Instead of it being rounded, it turned to be triangr. The unique color of lightning shifted and pure golden color appeared.


    And the orb started to grow bigger than before, even filling the entire space of the cave around Jim.


    "What''s happening?" Jim wasn''t rmed by these changes but the sudden reaction that came from the worm at the front. "Why is it going restless?"


    The moment he took that piece of ore out and his aura changed, that monster stopped moving, raised its strange globr head upwards and Jim felt it was gazing up at him.


    But Jim could only see a general outline of the monster. He couldn''t see anything clearly and didn''t even know where the eyes of that monster were.


    ''I believe you got its attention now,'' the old man said.


    "Is it good or bad?" Jim jokingly said before holding the ore in his hand in fimrer way, "but that proves Hector knew something and that''s rted to those ores down there."


    ''I never heard about such a thing before,'' the old man seemed hesitant.


    "No time for that, I believe I should start running, right?" Jim couldn''t see anything at all but he had this growing rming feeling inside him.


    It was like his death was rapidly approaching and he needed to run, run as far away as possible from here. "Let''s test it then," he didn''t wait for his old man to say a word before turning around and started running.


    And just as he did that, he heard a loud banging from behind.


    ''It''s hunting you,'' the old man warned, ''you need to drive him out. I dunno if the sunlight can help against it or not but let''s pray it does.''


    "I have something else other than praying," Jim had a strange look over his face and at this moment the old man read his thoughts atst.


    ''No, that''s stupid!'' The old man didn''t ept the n he had in mind and shouted at him. ''You need to escape, not stand and fight this behemoth.''


    "If I do that then all of them will die."


    ''It doesn''t matter!'' the old man ruthlessly said, ''what matters is your life!''


    "Aren''t you the one just asking me to seek strength out of others not of myself?" Jim sneered, "don''t distract me, I''ve made up my mind. That motherf*cker is going down today and on my hands!"


    Jim kept running as fast as he could while hearing the sound of smashinging from behind. He didn''t need to turn to know this came from the movement of that giant monster while smashing all the rocks on its way.


    "At least I know rocks aren''t a problem for it," Jim said before finally spotting the first pit, the cave entrance, and Tim''s far silhouette and theatosed Hector.


    "Why are you running?" Tim''s voice came from the front while noticing the weird run of Jim.


    "Stay back," Jim shouted in a strong tone, "take his body now and retreat fast... Get out of the cave now!"


    Tim only froze for a second there before hurriedly leaving everything he was working on, grabbed Hector''s helpless body and the two moved outside the cave in no time.


    "What''s happening?" Tim kept asking while dragging his boss out, "where is everyone?"


    Jim was almost at the entrance. "Wait for a minute before everything settles," Jim shouted before suddenly jumping high in the air.


    The pure golden orb around gave him a very terrifying image. "Then go and bring everyone here. I''ll stall as long as I can and they have to keep their distance."


    Jim finally reached the top of the pit with his wide jump before falling down fast.


    "Stall what?" Tim shouted in urgency.


    "The motherf*cker that poisoned Hector," Jim''s voice came from the pit. "It''s chasing me now! It''s invisible!"


    His voice started to fade away and Tim stood there motionless, not knowing what to say.


    "Boom!"


    Yet the next moment the opening of that pit got a violent hit. It seemed like something big just mmed into it and started to even crush all the rocks lining the edge.


    "What the hell is that?!!"


    Just as the dust caused by the devastation of the rocks at the pit moved everywhere, Tim could clearly now see the outline of the monster trying to pursue Jim like a lion hunting deer.


    That moment didn''tst for long before the opening got wide enough to allow that monster to squeeze its body inside.


    "That''s bad," Tim suddenly turned his gaze towards the depth of the cave. "They were outyed by it," he muttered, leaned to the ground and took a rock there before smashing it into tiny pieces using nothing but his pure strength.


    "Fly," he pointed his hand towards the cave and used a basic wind spell to carry out the dust towards the inside of the cave.


    Then he threw a couple of shining orbs to enlighten the cave entrance.


    "Damn! It''s huge!"


    In front of him he spotted arge piece of that monster still entering the pit. "Is it... a worm?" he muttered to himself before clenching his fists. "He is just a first year kid and he wasn''t fazed by it. How can I, a tenth grade student, be afraid?"


    Tim''s eyes changed as he was determined to go back there and summon everyone.


    "Just hang in there," as he made sure that monster entered entirely inside the pit, Tim grabbed Hector''s body to the side of the cave.


    He then hid him with some twigs and leaves. "Help ising," then he turned inside the cave and started running as fast as he could.

 Chapter 241: Getting Cornered

    Chapter 241: Getting Cornered


    Jim jumped into the pit with nothing else in his mind but to get as deep as he could.


    His body fell freely inside the pit, while his pure golden orb helped in illuminating everything for tens of meters around.


    ''Be careful,'' the old man warned, ''that monster is hurrying after you.''


    Jim raised his head and nced at the huge worm squeezing its body in the narrow pit. The rocks it smashed helped in creating a vague shape of it, making Jim feel more dreadful than before.


    "I need to get to that mine," Jim said while his fall was gaining more speed in time.


    ''That way to stop your descent will be... a little hard.''


    "I know," Jim said with a satisfied face, "but I have no other option here, right?"


    The old man went silent and didn''t answer for a long time.


    During this, Jim was moving so fast but he never lost his focus.


    "It''s there!" Just as one minute passed, he noticed a hole appearing so suddenly at the bottom. It was rising up so fast, or he was descending fast enough to make it look like a sh.


    "Damn!" Jim didn''t hesitate to point his sword towards the wall before he missed the opening. The moment his sword touched the walls, he felt a very excruciating pain as all his muscles were stretched and pressured like never before.


    And he wasn''t also in full health to begin with.


    "Crack!"


    The sword managed to cause a deep crack in the wall but it didn''t help to stop Jim''s body until a few momentster. "I missed it," Jim''s body hit the wall violently while he was trying to get what was going on.


    The abrupt stop made his head a little dizzy, coupled with the pain he felt the urge to close his eyes, stretch his body and rest.


    But he resisted that while gazing up towards his enemy. "It''sing."


    Up there that worm was crushing all the walls around, widening the pit to amodate its gigantic body. The tentacles it had at the front of its body were now moving like snakes, falling as deep as they could.


    And they were getting so near to Jim at this moment.


    "I won''t fall here," Jim endured the massive pain he had and started climbing the small distance between him and the cave opening.


    However his ascent was much slower than the monster''s descent.


    "Damn it!" Just a few meters before reaching that opening, the tentacles reached the level of the small cave opening and threatened him to enter there.


    ''Go inside the crack,'' the old man shouted in an rming tone, ''go deeper there and try to get cover off these tentacles.''


    Jim watched the tentacles ignoring the cave entirely and heading down towards him. "Screw this," he didn''t argue or hesitate as he threw himself inside the deep crack caused by his sword.


    The golden orb around him started to eat away the rock, however the tentacles reached him fast.


    "No time to stay here then," he squeezed his body deeply inside the crack while pushing with all his might upward. He wanted to climb the narrow crack towards the upward cave, however the space was so tight and it wasn''t able to fit his body.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment one tentacle moved like a spear and shed directly with his golden orb.


    ''The orb will hold,'' the old man said in a deep tone, ''but not too much. You need to go up there now.''


    "I''m trying!" Jim shouted while squeezing every ounce of strength he got to cross that narrow crack upward.


    His body was already deeply hurt, but after a couple of attempts and many shes with the tentacles of that monster, he finally managed to push his body just beneath the cave ground.


    "It''s... so narrow," he bitterly said while seeing the thin opening lying up above his head. No matter how he saw it, he had zero chance of reaching the cave in time.


    "Boom!"


    Just as he was lost in thoughts, another hit came and this time his orb vibrated violently as if it was about to explode.


    "Roar!"


    Don, who was standing still all this time, finally got to act.


    "Good boy," Jimmended before turning his eyes to the crack around, "but I dunno how your godly luck will get me safely out of this buddy."


    "Boom!"


    "Bang!"


    Jim suddenly felt his body falling off that crack just after he got another hit of the tentacles. He lost his bnce while watching his orb getting thinner, as if it was about to fade away.


    "Boom!"


    And the monster didn''t give any chance to catch his breath while another tentacle hit him, directly crushing thest bit of his golden orb and sending him flying in the air.


    "Cough... Cough..." Jim couldn''t feel his body as strange warmth and numbness started to overwhelm him. He could only stand with extreme difficulty while gazing up at this small pouch he found himself in.


    The repeated shes between his orb and the tentacles weakened the rocks around, making this pouch to be linked to the crack from before.


    "What now?" Jim coughed and this time he felt a metallic taste in his mouth. He was coughing blood and he was pretty sure his body was at its limit.


    "This..." he nced around but everything was ushered under strange darkness. Up front, the crack seemed like a thin line of light ending up to a shiny opening.


    And the next moment that opening got covered with something big, clouding all the lightsing from the world outside.


    "This is it... huh?" Just as he felt despair, a new change happened. He retreated in reflex one step to the back when that monster appeared.


    And one step was all that he needed to cross the boundary between despair and hope.


    "It''s... ores!!" he muttered in deep shock while seeing the rocks around getting shiner. His hands were covered with blood and as he retreated he touched them without intention.


    And that was a very great coincidence that made the ores around absorb his blood and faintly shine.

 Chapter 242: Time To Counterattack

    Chapter 242: Time To Counterattack


    ''You are directly underneath the ore veins running up above,'' the old man said in relief while Jim nced around, totally ignoring the monster that was waiting there.


    That monster seemed to enjoy the feeling of despair and helplessnessing from its prey. And Jim was deeply appreciating this bloody nature of it.


    "Let''s start a counterattack then," Jim''s face changed and instead of the hopeless look he had before, a determination shone over his face.


    ''It''sing,'' the old man warned.


    "Let ite," Jim calmly said while walking raising his sword with one hand while putting the other on the wall behind. "I have a very deep enmity with that monster... It''s personal and I will kill it right here."


    Jim was already losing his control over his body. Even his hand holding the sword couldn''t maintain the posture for a few seconds before his fingers twitched and the sword fell off his grip.


    But all he needed right now was for the sword to fall to the ground, the same way it did just now.


    "Rumble!"


    This time the activation of his spell was different. Jim felt a sudden gush of immense energying from his hand. "This... is amazing!!" he turned to nce at himself, totally ignoring the rapidly drawing tentacles.


    He was amazed to see there was no orb surrounding his body at all. However this didn''t rm him as he felt a strange connection with all ores surrounding this ce.


    ''Your orb is now formed entirely of the ore vein you are touching,'' the old man said, ''you might have a chance to fend it off.''


    "I don''t want to fend it off, i want to kill it," Jim firmly said before holding the sword hilt from the ground. His body was bathed under the immense energying from the ore vein, and he was getting better at a rapid pace.


    "Swoosh!"


    He nced at the tentacles which wereing so near to him without any obstacle. "Stop!" Like a real magician, Jim raised his sword, pointed it towards all the tentacles dancing in the air and gave that simple order.


    And miraculously enough, the tentacles all stopped. They froze midair like being restrained with invisible chains.


    "Is this all you got?" Jim sneered while turning towards the monster blocking the crack slit opening. Right now the world around Jim was lightened in a strange blue color.


    And that monster was now lined perfectly with that light, making Jim finally able to see its details.


    It was like a worm, but instead of the small legs it got thick and oval shaped thorns. Each thorn was so sharp that it was able to crush any rock in no time.


    As for its body, he couldn''t yet see the color of it clearly but he could tell it was covered in a thinyer of faint scales. Something that made that monster hard shell to crack.


    "Shriek!" the worm shrieked in a threatening manner, but Jim ignored that unneeded move. In his opinion, he could kill that worm right here provided that the ore vein would continue lending him energy.


    "First let''s dispose of your lethal weapons," Jim slowly raised his sword and swiftly waved it obliquely. The sword unleashed a strong sh that travelled across the entire crack, and finally hit the worm.


    "Shriek!" it shrieked in deep pain while Jim saw all the tentacles inside getting cut into tiny pieces. They all fell to the ground while he muttered:


    "Is there any toxic sack here?"


    ''No, that would be situated inside its... well that rounded frontal thing that you can call head.''


    "Got it," Jim didn''t stopshing out his sword while watching the wormyer of scales getting damaged. "This is slow," despite him causing many wounds already, he wasn''t satisfied with this performance.


    ''It has a huge body,'' the old man said, ''and you are too far from it.''


    Jim turned to gaze at the wall that was now shining totally in blue light. ''That''s why I said you can fend it off and not kill it,'' the old man said.


    "This is my chain then," Jim slowly said before taking his sword and shing on the wall.


    ''What are you doing?'' the old man screamed in panic, ''this will sever your connection with that vein.''


    "I know," Jim held the giant piece of ore that fell off the wall. It was like a long club, extending for at least ten meters. One end was tapering and the other was rounded like a giant head. "But I can''t let it go away... the whole idea of this is to kill it, not to scare it away."


    ''But...''


    "Have little trust in me, old man," Jim''s eyes shed in golden light, "after all I''m aiming to be like Hector... Acting cool in front of all dangers and treating everything like it was nothing."


    ''...''


    The old man didn''t speak while Jim started to move. He dragged the giant piece of ore behind, while getting closer to the crack slit opening.


    And with his other hand he kept releasing his sword non-stop, inflicting more damage and causing more pain to that monster.


    ''Your sword is so weak to cause much damage even with such energy.''


    "I noticed that," Jim slowly said, "so I''m going crazy here and doing something new."


    ''This... sigh, I was happy you met someone as Hector but never thought he would trigger the insanity bloodline inside you.''


    "Insanity?" Jimughed, "this is brilliance, admit it old man."


    ''This is crazy.''


    "Yeah, I know," Jim evilly grinned while getting closer to the main pit, "but you can''t deny it''s also brilliant."


    ''Whatever,'' the old man chose not to continue this debate, ''let''s see if this can deeply wound it.''


    "I wanna kill it!"


    ''Even with such a way it''s impossible to kill it,'' the old man said and Jim felt a little weird here, ''but this will make it deeply hurt. So you can use that spell to finish it off.''


    "Hmm... I don''t mind which way to use but in the end this bastard should fall here."

 Chapter 243: Getting Poisoned

    Chapter 243: Getting Poisoned


    Jim kept running towards the worm while that worm wasn''t able to do anything to him with all its tentacles being cut in half with Jim.


    "Shriek!"


    The worm shrieked in a threatening way while Jim was only a few meters away. "Eat this," Jim wasn''t fazed and the next moment he shot the ore piece he had in hand directly towards the worm.


    He couldn''t clearly see anything but the moment the ore passed out the slit opening of the crack, it hit something hard.


    And Jim only pushed it with all his might. "Get in," he gritted his teeth while pushing it as hard as he could.


    "Shriek!"


    This time the worm shrieked in a pained way while Jim felt his ore crushed something and went deeply inside the flesh of that worm.


    And the moment that happened, that worm started to twitch violently, making his body twitch with it.


    The two were now connected with one ore, and Jim didn''t stop trying to push it deeper. "Take it motherf*cker!" he shouted like Hector and others did before as he kept pushing the ore deeper inside the worm''s body.


    "Bang!"


    Just as he was pushing and resisting the fierce monster, the monster suddenly fell. It mmed onto the walls with weak momentum before going down with fast speed.


    And he had to let the ore go or else he would be dragged down with it.


    "It has fallen..." Jim slowly muttered, "now it''s time to push through that cave."


    He didn''t hesitate to get out and started climbing.


    "Damn! That was hard!" Once he reached the cave, he rolled over on his back and stood there motionless for a couple of moments to catch his breath.


    ''No time for that,'' the old man warned, ''that bastard won''t stay down there for long.''


    "Yeah," Jim stood straight, "what''s taking them all this long?"


    Just as he went to the edge, he heard a ruckusing from above.


    "Damn you!"


    "Kill it!"


    "Don''t let it stand up!"


    "Wait!"


    Jim shouted once he saw the big jelly piece descending from above. Hector''s group was now gathered all over that jelly and they were heading fast towards the bottom.


    Somehow they could also see the monster just like Jim.


    "Jim?!" Roger was the one to notice him first. He stopped the jelly at the cave entrance while others nced at him in deep admiration.


    "Thanks for facing it alone all this time on your own," Roger said before firmly saying, "but leave the rest for the grown ups here."


    "No, you don''t get it,"Jim hurriedly shouted at him, e, hurry and leave that thing and enter here now."


    "B- But..."


    "There''s no time, it wille fast and i have to do something first," Jim said before firmly adding, "you are standing in the way. Go back there and wait for your moment to attack."


    Roger seemed like the rest... a bit hesitant.


    "Come, no time to waste here," Jim started to activate his spell, "I''m sure it''s already recovering."


    "I''ll trust you this time again," Roger firmly nodded, "you heard the man, jump off and stand inside."


    The others jumped at once and followed his orders. Roger didn''t leave Jim''s side. "I''ll stay here to help," he said.


    "I''ll use my spell," Jim said in a meaningful way, "then I''ll retreat. The rest will be upon you," Jim then turned to nce at the group at the rear, "all of you."


    "Leave it to us," Roger patted firmly on his shoulder before Jim nodded and then he held his sword against the ground. "Time to kill you bastard."


    "Shriek!"


    Just as he was about to start the other spell, he heard that loud shrieking from down below.


    "Damn! It''s already recovered," Jim hurriedly wounded both hands before putting his palms over each other. "Step aside," he firmly pushed the giant body of Roger to the side and then put the two hands against each other.


    "Boom!"


    But that worm was even faster. Just as he was about to activate the spell, he felt an immense pain while flying midair.


    "Shriek!"


    And then that monster started to violently attack the opening like trying to renovate it into a new wider one.


    "Stand back," Jim forced his body up from the middle of all the ores around. His body returned to be deeply wounded and he was totally covered in blood.


    "I''ll have to start all over again," his two spells were broken by this sudden attack and now he had to do them again.


    The first spell was activated easily, but the second one... "It''s not working!" He found himself too weak to handle the spell.


    ''Just endure,'' the old man said, ''and fall over one side of the ore vein... that energy will help you greatly.''


    "Thanks," Jim''s body suddenly fell to one side, startling everyone.


    "Are you ok?" Roger came running from the front while that monster was literally eating the rocks and getting closer to them.


    "I''m... fine!" Jim said while gritting his teeth, "just be ready," he was already feeling weak.


    ''Something is wrong old man,'' he said while feeling that breathing was like running a marathon now.


    ''I think... that monster poisoned you,'' the old man said the bad news.


    ''Damn! What should i do now?''


    ''Just stay on the path,'' the old man said, ''hopefully that monster''s energy will help heal you.''


    "I hope that!"


    "What?" Roger asked but the next thing happened was for Jim''s spell to be finally activated. Jim already had one eye closed and the second not far from it.


    "Swoosh!"


    The moment the two blood droplets merged together, a faint pulse of energy erupted and even the nearby Roger got sent flying backward by it.


    "I got you... I finally can see you, motherf*cker!" Jim was able to see the entire monster in extreme detail at this moment.


    It wasn''t that different from what he had in mind, but he was surprised to see a group of tentacles dancing from its end.


    "So you still have some fangs left... I''ll make sure to cut you clean," he sneered before pointing the spell towards the worm with hisst bit of energy.


    His body was now getting numb. He didn''t know what else he could do except try to keep his eyes open. That poison running in his body and soul was something fierce, something he wasn''t ready for.


    "Damn! That poison came at a very wrong time," he tried to resist with all his might while the connection between him and that worm was about to start.


    The spell turned into a ray of light that instantly hit the monster. Jim''s body couldn''t handle it anymore and just as the ray of his spell hit the monster, he mmed heavily on the ground.


    "Shriek!"


    "Don''t let it fight back!" Roger shouted at everyone, "attack with all your might, howl!"


    "Howl!"


    The entire team howled before they all attacked. "Just stay with me," Roger held Jim''s weak body off the ground before using his own spell to cover him inside the jelly. "If you die... boss will die," he slowly muttered before putting the jelly on the ground.


    Then he joined the others in fighting the monster.


    As for Jim, things turned instantly ck for him the moment his body mmed on the ground. He didn''t even know if the spell worked, and he felt like his consciousness was slowly fading away.


    "Am I sleeping?" he muttered before suddenly feeling violent shakinging all over the darkness. "What now?" he nced in vignce while not knowing what was going on.


    On the outside, his body was now covered with a faintyer of golden light. The link between him and the monster wasn''t yet stable, as that monster was resisting it fiercely as hard as it could.


    But the attack of the others helped in distracting the worm, forcing it to defend and try to counterattack.


    And that finally gave the spell a chance to condense and get stronger.


    With that the energy absorptioning at Jim started to get stronger as well. And that started all with the faintyer of golden energy that surrounded his body.


    "Roar!" Don weakly roared in worry at his master while rubbing his head as usual with his hand. He tried to push his master to stand up, and fight like he used to do.


    But this time no reaction came from his master and that made him lean on Jim''s body with a sad expression over his face.


    As for Jim''s soul, it was now trapped inside a pitch ck world that it couldn''t get free from. The world kept shaking as more energy kept pouring in his body, but even with the passage of a few minutes he couldn''t be freed.


    But he could now hear the voice of his old man.


    ''Don''t stop fighting,'' the old man said, ''can you imagine your sword now?''


    ''Old man,'' Jim said in a relief, ''is this a training ce like my game arena?''


    ''No, that''s your soul''sst resort,'' the old man vaguely said, ''and you need to give it a hand here.''


    Jim nced at all this darkness and the violent trembling urring from time to time. ''What''s all that shaking happening here about?''


    ''It''s the energying from that bastard,'' the old man said, ''it''sing at you now but not enough it seems.''


    ''I got it,'' Jim took a deep breath, ''I''ll do my spell here.''


    ''You better do.''

 Chapter 244: The Dreadful Sword Slash

    Chapter 244: The Dreadful Sword sh


    Jim took a deep breath before he imagined his sword in his mind. At first nothing happened except for a tingling feeling inside his hand.


    Then gradually he could feel the cold feeling of his sword once again as it slowly became corporeal.


    ''Let''s do it,'' Jim took another breath while the world around was shaking non-stop.


    He pointed the sword to the ground while feeling the pressureing at it. The moment he did so an irresistible force appeared next pushing all over his body.


    But it didn''te from his hand.


    ''That bastard is trying to force you to stop your spell,'' the old man shouted, ''don''t break it now... hold it... hold as long as you can endure!''


    Jim was about to surrender to this force, wrongly thinking it was the usual force applied at him by his spell.


    However as the old man warned he resisted and tried to maintain his posture. His legs were bent slightly under the immense pressure his body was suffering at the current moment.


    His hand holding the sword even leaned slightly towards the ground, slowly drawing the sword closer to hit the darkness around.


    But despite all that he didn''t break his spell. Seconds passed like hours there and he felt just enduring for half a minute took almost all his power.


    It wasn''t strange for his body to crash on his knees the moment he let the sword off. He was panting for breath and couldn''t feel many parts of his body except for numbness there.


    "Boom!"


    Yet the moment his sword hit the dark ground underneath it didn''t stop. Even when he let the sword go, there was still a connection between him and the sword.


    Next as the sword divided deeply in the darkness, crushing it into pieces like ss falling on a marble ground, Jim''s body was pulled by the hidden connection of his sword.


    And he dived deeply following it.


    "Boom!"


    The next moment he opened his eyes and found the chaotic battle raging wildly out there. His body regained its former luster and started to brightly shine in a very intense way.


    It was now shining like a small sun inside that cave.


    "You are... back!" Roger shouted in surprise and joy while seeing his jelly spell being crushed by the power of Jim.


    "Step aside," yet Jim didn''t have time to chat right now.


    The monster up front wasn''t affected by any of their attacks. In return it managed to poison many disciples who were now leaning on the side of the rear part of the cave.


    "But..."


    "Just tell them to step aside now!" Jim shouted while standing up. He was totally enraged by the fact that he got himself poisoned despite cutting most of that monster''s tentacles.


    And now he wanted revenge.


    Just as Roger nodded and went to shout at his friends, Jim simply touched the next wall of the cave.


    And that piece of the wall crumbled, showing off arge pink red vein inside.


    "Not enough..." he nced shortly at this vein before stepping back a couple of meters and touching another part of the wall.


    "Not enough..." he continued, crushing walls and exposing veins around. Red, pink, purple, blue, silver, milky white, and even pitch ck ore veins were all exposed all around.


    They shone in a myriad of lights over the interior of the cave and over the faces of Hector''s team members who were now retreating with puzzled expression over their faces.


    "You tried to poison me motherf*cker..." Jim shouted before the next moment he started to touch the exposed veins all around.


    The vein he touched had a connection of energy with. But he didn''t stop at one vein and kept running all over the others.


    In the end he stood at the forefront, with everyone standing on the back. His hands were tied with his spell but he still got his sword.


    And he now had many thick rays of power that connected him to all the ore veins around.


    "Die!"


    All he did was to wave his hands and the sword clutched to them. The golden orb that was surrounding him vibrated before the entire world around changed drastically.


    All of sudden the entire cave shone. In fact it wasn''t the cave, but also the entire mountain.


    Anyone seeing the mountain at this moment would notice shes of different colors of lightsing forth from it in the middle of the darkness of this night.


    It looked like the mountain got stirred up entirely, and Jim was the reason for it.


    "Die!!" he screamed in deep anger while his sword shed in the air. Next a gigantic wave appeared, stopped a couple of meters up in front of him and started to gather energy there.


    It was absorbing energy from him, from the veins he was connected to, and from the energy he got from that monster.


    "Shriek!"


    The monster shrieked in rming ways while it released its tentacles towards Jim, trying to kill him fast.


    Jim calmly gazed up at all the tentaclesing at him. At this precise moment he could see everything crystal clear. He wasn''t afraid, he wasn''t doubting his ability to kill that monster... and so he only stood there without moving a muscle.


    The tentacles got closer to the sword sh paused midair before they all stopped.


    Couple of inches away off that sword sh hanging in the air they stopped.


    "Shriek!"


    The monster tried to pull them back with all its might but at this moment he lost all the control over them.


    Then slowly and steadily they started to be covered in golden dust, getting decayed, shrunk in size in rate visible to naked eye before they vanished.


    "It''s eating them away," Jim muttered to himself before a confident smile appeared on his face.


    "Get ready," he said to Roger and others, "the moment I attack don''t ck down. Don''t freeze or hesitate, justunch all of your attacks at once. We will get this one shot to kill it and you pray not to miss it."


    He didn''t get any answer from them but he trusted they would do as he said.

 Chapter 245: Its... Still Alive!!!

    Chapter 245: It''s... Still Alive!!!


    In fact they were already stupefied at such a scene. They never saw what he did back then with the entire dark hunters and lizard queen, but now they knew.


    The sword sh kept gathering up energy and in no time it started to pulsate in a dreadful way.


    Each pulse of energy drove away many rocks around, widening the cave and exposing more ore veins to the eyes.


    And the more ore veins exposed the shiner this ce became.


    "Shriek!"


    "Shriek!"


    "Shriek!"


    The monster seemed to feel deeply threatened by Jim''s iing attack and so it started to violently twitch its body and try to break free.


    It even wanted to discard its own tentacles and run away at this moment. However even when it opened its hideous jaw that extended in a semi-circr way around its body and cut the tentacles off it couldn''t get free.


    It was already entangled with Jim''s spell and it was under the irresistible force of Jim''s attack.


    At this moment it was Jim''s prisoner, and Jim didn''t n to let it go off under any circumstances.


    "Tremble!"


    All of sudden the entire cave trembled like an earthquake was about to hit this area. It all happened because of his current attack, and he knew it.


    But he never nned to stop here.


    "C''mon... get stronger..." he kept his patience while watching his sword strike getting condescended and thinner. The light shining off it became more intense as it began to be as sharp as a true sword de.


    Then without any warning, that sh shone in bright light blinding everyone.


    "This is it," Jim''s voice came to warn everyone, "even if you can''t open your eyes, you can use your weapons and spells... don''t disappoint me... don''t disappoint Hector."


    Just as he mentioned the name of their beloved boss, things changed at their end.


    "Howl!"


    It all started with Roger who howled in a single sound. It appeared crispy and strange amidst all this, yet this single howl drove life inside everyone else.


    And then they all howled in return, forming a strong and repeated howling melody that never looked great to Jim like this moment.


    "Rumble!"


    At first there was silence. A strange heavy silence ushered upon everything around. Then that blinding light exploded with a mighty rumbling that kept repeated for long minutes.


    And Jim felt many attacks bypassing his body at this moment, getting all converged at the body of the worm up front.


    "Rumble!"


    Howeverpared to the mighty attack of his, theirs was nothing. Even their explosive sounds didn''t appear at all in the middle of the dreadful rumbling happening from his attack.


    And this persisted for five minutes straight before everything calmed down all of sudden.


    "That''s... beautiful!"


    Roger walked slowly towards the front while his eyes were amazed by the scene he was seeing at the moment.


    The entire cave was now covered in golden dust that looked like sand hills. The air was filled with dancing golden particles that were reflecting many rays and creating a weird version of a rainbow in his eyes.


    ''Is it killing an old man?'' Jim was panting for breath while ncing at his hands. The rays of power that connected him to the ore veins were still there.


    However they were slightly dimmed than before.


    And what startled him was the presence of that link between him and that worm.


    However the worm was nowhere to be seen at the moment.


    ''It''s still alive,'' the old man brought the bad news, ''it''s greatly injured and now it''s trying to separate pieces of its body to run away.''


    "That bastard!" Jim instantly screamed before running towards the edge of the cave.


    "What''s wrong?" Roger ran after him, stopped for a couple of seconds in the middle of the dancing gold specks in the air and even kicked a gold hill.


    And the golden dust there was unsettled as they flew slightly in the air. "They aren''t bound with any gravity!!" he was shocked to see that and more shocked to feel no weight at all when he kicked the hill.


    "It''s still alive!" Jim gritted his teeth while seeing a gigantic body that was filling most of the pit now and covered with gold dust.


    Its body was now visible to naked eye.


    "Is this... Damn!" Roger reached the cave opening with many others while looking in one line with dark faces at that twitching monster.


    "Should we attack it again?" Reg asked.


    "No," Jim shook his head, "I''ll attack first and youter," he then turned to Roger, "I have a nasty job for you."


    "Anything for the boss is fine," Roger instantly said.


    "Just wait until you hear it," Jim''s evil grin over his face made everyone feel bad for Roger.


    And when he told him what he wanted, Roger''s scalp felt numb at once.


    "Are... is it safe?" Roger was shocked to stutter before asking what he cared most about.


    "It is," Jim nodded, "all the tentacles are gone and now you can do whatever you want with it."


    "Why not wait until we kill it then?" one kid asked the question that was now brimming inside their minds.


    "That''s not possible," Jim shook his head before pointing to the golden walls of the cave. "Punch that now."


    "The wall?" the kid asked in doubt and Jim nodded.


    "Swoosh!"


    Just as the kid hit the wall with his strongest punch, the entire wall felt like a sand hill facing a wild rage of storm. For the entire extent of his arm, that part of the wall got crushed in no time and turned into golden sand that danced in the air.


    And a deep hole appeared in that wall, taking even arger shape of that kid''s arm.


    "This..." everyone was startled when they saw this.


    "This what will happen to that worm," Jim said before motioning his head to it, "so someone had to be brave enough and throw himself at it. Cut deeper into its flesh until finding that damned poison sac. Other than this, we are wasting our time here and Hector will die!"


    He knew their sore spot was Hector. As he imagined once he mentioned his name the look on their eyes changed.

 Chapter 246: Like Old Days

    Chapter 246: Like Old Days


    As Jim expected, Roger had no other choice but ept this task.


    "What should I do?" he asked, "and what about them?"


    Roger pointed to the rest of the team.


    "I''ll try to bring that bastard up," Jim slowly said, "but I doubt it will move."


    "Then?" Roger felt more bad news wasing.


    "We''ll have to go down at it."


    "That''s... ridiculous!"


    "How are we supposed to fight?"


    Jim watched the stupefied faces of the frightened disciples and didn''t me them. He, himself, was as terrified as they were.


    "I have an opinion," Roger said, "I can summon my jelly and drag you down below."


    "And?" Jim attentively listened to him.


    "We can leave it all here," he pointed to the deep pit as he added, "this pit extends for hundreds of meters down. This way you can drag him forcibly like you did with the lizard."


    "It might work," Jim nodded, "but what will they do?"


    "They will stay here and attack the monster once they pass the cave."


    Jim found this n to be more practical than what he had in mind. "Alright, but you need to prepare yourself."


    "I know," Roger nodded before ncing at his friends, "be sure to rain hell over that motherf*cker''s head."


    "Howl!"


    The team howled and Roger howled with them before a small jelly cloud appeared.


    "Let''s go," Roger jumped and Jim simply followed.


    ''You need to use the spell again,'' the old man said.


    ''How?'' Jim sighed, ''My spell was broken after that attack.''


    ''You can let your friend help.''


    Jim turned to Don who was still rubbing its head on his knees.


    ''Not that, I meant the other one,'' the old man helplessly sighed and Jim only smiled.


    He knew what the old man meant but thought of joking with him.


    ''No time to y,'' the old man warned, ''or better to say no room for you to fool around.''


    ''I know,'' Jim turned to Roger as he asked, "Can I ask for a little hand here?"


    "What?" Roger nced in a weird way.


    "See... I can''t use my spell and I need help with that."


    Roger got what he meant. "Isn''t it a self activated one?" Roger asked and Jim was totally oblivious to what Roger said.


    "I need to hold the sword in a certain position to be activated," Jim exined, trying to see if that was what Roger asked about.


    "So it''s a kic spell," Roger nodded, "Which position do you want your sword at?"


    "Just pointing to the ground."


    Roger grabbed the sword that was in Jim''s hands and adjusted its position to point to the ground.


    "Thanks," the moment he did that Jim felt the familiar pressure of his spell once again.


    ''It''s... weaker!'' Jim found this a bit weird.


    ''The monster is exhausted already,'' the old man said, ''so the next attack would be thest to finish it.''


    ''What about the sac?''


    ''That''s the tricky part,'' the old man paused and Jim realized what he wanted to say.


    ''This... is going to be a tough call,'' Jim knew how difficult it would be to pull that feat.


    He had the means to kill that monster, but killing it would put his life and Hector''s at risk.


    The two needed the poison sac, and that meant Roger had to go there and get the sac just beforeunching that attack.


    And Roger had to get out of the way or else he would turn all golden like the monster.


    "Bang!"


    Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he felt a strong blow at his body. He turned to his hands and knew what caused this.


    "You still have some strength in you," Jim raised his head and nced with determination at the monster up above.


    Just now as he was descending, the monster resisted the bond between the two and made his body freeze midair.


    "I''ll help," Roger instantly used his jelly spell to form a giant hand and pull Him down.


    But for a piece of jelly that was too much to ask.


    "Ron, get your ass down here," Roger suddenly shouted as he knew he wouldn''t be able to do it.


    "Swoosh!"


    Just as Roger stopped his jelly, Jim noticed a dark shadow falling from above.


    He was a tall and slim kid, someone he wouldn''t consider when strength was needed.


    "Bring him down," Roger didn''t even wait for Ron to reach the jelly before shouting at him.


    And the next thing happened was for that tall and weak looking kid to wave both hands at Jim.


    For Jim this sounded like Ron was scoring a basketball with a dunk. Yet the hands of Ron just passed over his body, missing him.


    "You missed..."


    Just before Jim could continue his words, his body felt immense traction force that dragged him towards the bottom.


    "Hahaha, don''t be shocked like this," Rogerughed while moving his jelly cloud once again. "Ron had a fierce control innate ability to anything that lies between his two skinny hands."


    "Don''t call my hands this way," Ron shouted at him the moment Roger ended his words.


    "Sorry man," Rogerughed, "y''know it''s a habit and it all started with boss."


    "Humph, the boss can say anything he wants but not others," Ron seemed to be slightly upset about this name while Jim didn''t care about their speech for now.


    "You are crazy," Jim couldn''t help but shout, and his words made the other twough.


    "It''s all thanks to the boss, howl!" the two said in unison before howling together.


    "I need to make my team like this," Jim shook his head before gazing up at the monster, "but it''s still resisting."


    "Don''t worry," Ron looked at Roger and the two nodded.


    "The same old way?" Roger asked.


    "Let''s do it in Hector''s style," Ron said in agreement.


    "What is that?" Jim asked while feeling something bad was about to happen.


    "Just watch," Ron said with a smile that made Jim more worried than reassured.


    "Let''s go," Roger shouted and the next thing happened for Ron to jump. Contrary to what Jim imagined, Roger was the second to move.


    One headed upward, and the other flew as fast as he could downward.


    And Jim couldn''t do anything but helplessly watch while the jump of Ron made the tension over his body to instantly vanish.


    "Endure this," Ron screamed yet the next moment Jim''s scream was even louder.


    Out of deep pain, his body was pressured by an immense pulling power that suddenly assaulted him, making him scream.


    And at that moment he got what the two nned to do.


    One headed down, while Ron jumped up and that created a distance again.


    Using gravity Ron fell and with his spell Jim had to follow while that dreadful monster was forced downwards without any room for resistance anymore.


    It was so painful to him, but deep inside his soul he knew it was such a brilliant move.


    As Roger led the way down the pit, Ron kept dragging Jim''s body mercilessly while the monster was trying all its best to resist.


    Hitting the walls, twitching violently, and even swelling its body to fill the pit as efforts to stop its descent.


    And all ended up in failure.


    Thebined efforts of the three finally managed to drag the monster lower than the cave opening.


    And that gave the chance finally for the rest of the team to attack.


    The team watched what was happening without being able to interfere. For them this was pretty much heroic. Yet they all felt deep frustration seeing the three acting all alone while all they got to do was to watch.


    "Boom!"


    "Bang!"


    "Boom!"


    The moment the monster passed the cave a myriad of attacks rained down it. The explosionsing from these attacks were so mighty, and they caused serious damage to the monster.


    But Jim''s mind was busy thinking about something else.


    "This can''t continue like this," he softly muttered but for the nearby Ron he could perfectly hear him.


    "What?"


    "Roger needs to go inside that monster now."


    Ron realized what was going on before turning his head down. Roger was the only one with such strong ability to protect itself from the monster''s attacks even for a few seconds.


    And he was only the one able to run away fast if things went wrong.


    "But if he left... we will lose our support," Ron said his worries and these were the same as what Jim had in mind.


    "How much is there before we reach the bottom?"


    "No one knows," Ron answered his question before adding, "each pit is different."


    "Then we have to risk it," Jim was feeling the power sucked from the monster getting weaker.


    "But..."


    "Don''t worry," Jim motioned with his head, "we got our lucky charm with us."


    "Roar!"


    And Don roared in delight as if he was happy to be the center of attention once again.

 Chapter 247: Getting The Sac

    Chapter 247: Getting The Sac


    Don was doing nothing except helping Jim dealing with that immense energying from that worm. For this time though his help wasn''t that much needed.


    Jim was releasing the energy during the previous spell attack and now he was preparing to unleash another deadly one.


    "Alright," Ron nodded before turning to his friend, "Hey, Roger... We''ll need you to start acting soon."


    Roger moved his eyes in question towards Jim and thetter nodded. He didn''t need to say anything more to Roger, after all he knew what needed to be done here.


    "What about you two?" he shouted from down below.


    "A risk that we''ll take," Jim said before motioning his head towards the worm, "at any time now."


    "Alright," Roger paused before shaking off his head. "And here I was thinking our boss was the only crazy dude at the entire school but here I found another one, tsk."


    The next moment instead of going down he started to move up. His jelly shrunk to only cover his two feet before climbing over his body.


    And by the time he reached Jim and Ron he was already encapsted with his jelly.


    "Just don''t die," Roger faintly said.


    "The same goes for you," Ron sneered and Jim looked at his pet.


    "Roar!"


    Don roared at the worm but nothing happened.


    "Is it working?" Ron was doubting Don''t bad luck had worked.


    "It is," but Jim firmly said. He nced down at the bottom. Falling freely without any support at this point looked quite scary.


    The depth of the pit kepting fast at him with its pitch darkness. Yet he didn''t think for a single moment to retreat.


    After all, his life depended entirely on this move.


    "Please don''t mess this up," he nced up at the rapidly rising Roger.


    "Don''t worry about him," Ron''s voice came from below, "this dude is the funniest one in our entire team. If boss is the muscle then he is the mind."


    "I... hope he won''t mess this," Jim kept praying while watching Roger getting closer to the worm.


    The worm kept twitching its body, doing anything to stop its descent. Roars of explosionsing from the guys above filled the entire ce with noise that Jim didn''t care about.


    For him only the worm and Roger were the only ones he was seeing at the moment.


    "He is there," he turned to his pet and Don faintly raored. It was as if he was telling him he did his best just now.


    "Shriek!"


    Yet just before Roger could reach its head, the worm suddenly shrieked in a thundering voice. The sound created a shock wave that was enough to throw Roger off his path.


    And he hit the side wall mercilessly while his jelly absorbed most of the hit.


    "Damn it!" Ron shouted in distress, "does your pet stinge us instead?"


    "No," Jim was confident in Don, "just stay put and watch."


    "Like hell I can do anything else," Ron seemed quite distressed, and Jim was also like him.


    But Jim had confidence in his pet, knowing how mighty his bad luck effect was.


    And his trust wasn''t misced at this time as well.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The moment that worm tried to defend itself against Roger''s attack, the walls that were covered entirely in gold sand started to tremble before they all got smashed with massive explosive sounds.


    The sand went all over the ce and covered the worm more. At this moment the ce Roger was fixed at turned into a small cave.


    Just by a hair breadth he missed the brutal descent of that worm''s head over his own.


    "Now!" Jim could see what was going to happen and at this decisive moment he didn''t hesitate to shout at Roger.


    He was worried that Roger would be dumbfounded with fear and doubt at this moment.


    Yet Roger didn''t need him to shout.


    "I know," his voice came from inside the wall before the worm suddenly twitched to the side.


    Roger threw himself fast at the worm, and strangely at this moment he managed to prate its body and even deal a good blow to this gigantic monster.


    While he was getting inside, many gold sand followed. For Jim and Ron it seemed like there was a sudden low pressure created all of sudden inside the body of that worm.


    And that was followed by the strong suction of most of the dust particles dancing in the air.


    "He got in," Ron shouted in surprise, "he even took the sand inside."


    He turned his head towards Jim and then towards the small monster stuck at his leg. "Will that sand do anything to it?" he couldn''t help but shout.


    "The sand is formed by my pure power and the ores lethal energy," Jim couldn''t help butugh, "this monster is doomed for."


    "Serves it right," Ronughed as well and he even howled.


    "Get ready," Jim suddenly said, "I''ll soon attack. The moment that happens our descent will be a true free fall."


    Ron nced around before sighing. "There is nothing in our hands to do..."


    He wasn''t able to continue his words before the next moment A rocket was shot off the head of that monster.


    And Roger appeared there, heading fast towards Jim and Ron while holding some strange sac in his hand.


    The sac looked like a deformed skull that was made entirely out of fragile green liquid. The liquid was lined with a seemingly thin hardyer of deep blue material.


    And this gave Jim a creepy feeling, and also felt how fragile this thing was.


    "Do it now!" Roger shouted while getting closer fast, "it''s now being invaded by the golden dust, but not for so long."


    Jim nodded as he knew the amount of dust avable here was getting worn out fast.


    "Stay away from the entrance," Ron suddenly shouted, "everyone get inside now!"


    He tried to warn his mates but Jim didn''t wait any longer.

 Chapter 248: Waking Up

    Chapter 248: Waking Up


    Jim knew this chance was hardly earned and he feared if he waited a bit longer he might lose it.


    "Die you motherf*cker," he let his sword down finally while all his energy and the energying from the monster was sucked dry at this moment.


    He moved his body as fast as he could, as hard as he could to unleash a sword sh towards the monster up above.


    It was hard to pull those feet especially being midair and free falling. However he was already picturing this move over and over again that he felt he had done hundreds of times before.


    And then a sword sh moved above him for tens of meters before finally stopping to gather up energy.


    "It''sing at it fast," Ron shouted while watching the monster falling at the sword sh while getting tormented from the inside. "Will it be enough?"


    "I hope so," Jim slowly muttered while Roger just passed by his side.


    "Leave your fall to me," Roger firmly said while stopping just beneath Ron, "from here onwards it''s my task to bring you two home safely."


    He expanded his jelly to form a cloud again. Ron was the first to arrive there before violently dragging Jim''s body to m heavily over it.


    "Shriek!"


    And at this moment the monster arrived at the still gathering energy sword sh and its head was cut into two halves by it.


    Then the attack was finallyunched.


    There was silence first. A very heavy and deafening one that made even Jim''s body tremble.


    "This is slightly different," Jim felt his body grow weak as he turned his back over the jelly with some difficulty. "I hope it''s enough."


    ''It is,'' the old man''s words came tofort his anxiety. At this point Jim doubted he would be able to even move a single muscle in front of that monster if his attack failed.


    Yet the next moment the sword shed in bright golden light before a mighty explosion roared inside the entire pit. As far as Jim could see everything was shing in bright golden color for long minutes.


    And that monster was totally absorbed inside that light.


    "Is... it dead?" Ron was shocked for entire minutes before he finally said it to Jim.


    "It is," Jim said the final word while panting for breath, "I''ll leave the task of saving the two of us to you," he said it to Roger who nodded with a very serious face.


    For Roger the mission didn''t end up here, but it only started.


    The next moment the entire world became darker while Jim felt his eyelids turning as heavy as lead tes. He couldn''t keep his eyes open anymore and with them closed he finally went into deep sleep.


    He lost his consciousness at this point and didn''t know anything about the outside world.


    However he was pretty much sure things weren''t going to get any worse. After all, the dreadful monster was killed and the entire pits here were cleared.


    The only thing left was for Roger to seed in making the antidote. A task that was so simple and very importantpared to the mission to take that monster down.


    After he passed out, Roger took Ron and him upwards. The ce had now changed drastically than before.


    Even the ceiling of that cave changed and a wide opening was now present where the early rays of the sun could touch the inside of the cave for the first time ever.


    And Roger brought everyone up with him towards the surface where their boss was.


    Jim didn''t know how long he was unconscious, but the moment he slowly opened his eyes he could clearly see something he was familiar with.


    "It''s over, isn''t it?" He saw the giant gates of the academy first thing under the shining sunlight.


    "Whoa, he woke up," a voice rang in his ears that sounded familiar. However he was pretty tired to recall who he was.


    Just the next moment he heard many cheersing around. Many faces gathered around and realized he was sitting on a grassy ground.


    "Wee back kid," the face of Hector appeared as he sat beside him cross legged. "Pretty crazy expedition, right?"


    "Yeah," Jim shortly said, "what happened?" he asked while trying to recall the past events just before his fall.


    Yet there was something blocking his memories at the moment.


    "What''s thest thing you remember?" Hector took out a slim and very long cigarette and a disciple lightened it up for him.


    "Last thing..." Jim slowly muttered while trying to squeeze his head, "I met you and fought together," he said.


    "That''s... pretty much outdated man," Hector took a long breath, "but don''t worry. It takes some time to gather the pieces together... Don''t you recall the cave?"


    "The... cave..." Jim''s eyes went gloomy for a second before he widely opened them.


    "You... were poisoned!" he said as things started toe back slowly inside his mind.


    "Not only me," Hector took another breath, "you also got poisoned."


    Jim''s mind started to be flooded withrge pieces of memories that he tried toprehend fast.


    "Damn! That monster... The worm thing..." he suddenly said while trying to stand.


    But the moment he did so he was electrified by immense pain that paralyzed his muscles.


    He couldn''t even move a muscle anymore.


    "Take it easy man," Hector gave him a deep nce, "you... did what I can call an impossible feat."


    The look over Hector''s fact told Jim there was something he missed here. "And?" he asked.


    "Your body... it''s totally wrecked," Hector slowly said.


    "I can tell that already."


    "To the point that even using magical energy again might seem... quite impossible for you."


    The words of Hectornded and the entire world became strangely quiet. Jim''s mind was trying to get the meaning behind his words, trying to evade the simple fact Hector just said.


    "Do you mean I''ll be bed ridden for a long time?"

 Chapter 249: Do It!

    Chapter 249: Do It!


    Jim slowly asked and this moment seemed to turn into a lifetime while the two of them nced deeply at each other.


    Hector took another breath of his cigarette before blowing the smoke in the air. He evaded the look over Jim''s face, that expectation and hope he had that made Hector feel more bitter inside.


    "No," he slowly said, "your body is beyond repair... as a magician... Your life ends here."


    Jim''s heart was squeezed at this moment while the next moment he screamed inside his head:


    ''Old man... Old man tell me these are lies?''


    Yet he didn''t get a response from the old man like usual.


    ''C''mon, it''s not the time to y dead on me,'' he felt more nervous and really afraid, ''please tell me he doesn''t know what he is talking about... please tell me he... he is lying...''


    His eyes were soaked in tears while silence was the only answer he got.


    "Roger tried to save you, butpared to my high magical energy yours was very weak and depleted," Hector slowly exined what happened. "That poison... It was enough to kill you at the spot when you got hit by it. Strangely you didn''t die or suffer much at this time... Quite impressive and also... weird."


    "What do you mean by that?" Jim''s voice was getting weaker and filled with despair.


    "I... dunno," Hector turned his head towards one direction while sighing. "I''m not that genius in this but ording to Roger... Something stood between that poison and your soul... Something protected you at the expense of dying."


    Hector gave Jim a suspicious nce as thetter''s eyes were wide open at this moment. ''The... old man...'' All of sudden Jim realized what happened.


    "Damn!" he screamed, screamed in a way that made everyone standing around drop their heads to the ground and some even cried.


    "I still held hope until we got here," Hector added, "master Mark examined you and others did. They all reached the same conclusion. Your life was saved on the expense of being... crippled."


    Jim''s eyes were cherry red at this moment, filled with salty and burning tears that kept falling over his face.


    He wasn''t crying for himself, he was crying for the loss of his only and oldest friend.


    For him, the old man was like his father... The father who didn''t give birth to him or rted by blood however he was the best father he ever had.


    "I... am sorry," Hector said with true regret, "I should have helped in protecting you. But... I was careless..." he nced all around, "we were all careless."


    Jim didn''t care about his apology at the moment while Hector took another breath of his cigarette. "That mad master still believes you''ve got a chance. But no one believes him."


    Jim couldn''t even see Hector clearly from his tears. "Do you want to hear out his crazy theory?" Hector asked while Jim was lost in his own grief.


    Even when he left his home, his world and came here he didn''t feel any speck of pain or regret at all.


    But this time was different. It was like he lost one of the most treasured people to him, a family member, a true father.


    And now he felt lonely, all lonely again.


    And this was something he already knew how painful and bitter it was.


    "He says your body did a strange counterattack over the poison," Hector kept talking as if Jim''s silence was the approving signal for him to exin.


    "He said your soul is pretty much damaged, but the position has already infiltrated it deeply. He says... your soul has merged with the poison to the point that using normal magical energy became impossible for you anymore."


    Hector shook his head while watching the silent wails of Jim. He could feel the pain of Jim, yet he wrongly thought about its reason.


    "So... he wants to inject you again with the poison... Pretty crazy andme in my opinion. Going back again to that torment and living a life of hell just to be able to use power again... I doubt you can even handle the poison."


    Hector kept speaking while Jim''s mind started to regain its rity slowly as he heard these words.


    "He believes the toxin that was about to kill you has turned into the fuel you need to run. Crazy bastard... as if he experienced the hell of that toxin before."


    "W... What d... does he want?" Jim slowly said, trying to get the meaning out of this talk.


    "He wants to poison you again and this way you can use your energy like before," Hector said, "provided that the poison won''t kill you, which is the only proven fact here."


    "Stop talking trash about me on my back," suddenly this strong voice came from behind Hector as Igory stood there with his grander body. "It''s not nice saying bad things to people."


    Hector turned to give Igory a deep nce before standing up. "He is all yours," he said, "but stop your crazy sh*t. He got himself lucky this time by a miracle and didn''t die. Next time he will!"


    "Humph," Igory ignored the mean words of Hector before ncing around, "leave this area now. Go there and wait for the results to be announcedter after all the teams are gathered."


    "As long as there are still some survivors at our side," Hector couldn''t help but say while moving away.


    And Igory totally ignored him while ncing at the wretched body of Jim.


    "You got yourself a lot of fun this time, right?" Igory crossed his arms, "do you know how you survived that deadly poison?"


    "I... don''t know," Jim said in a very depressed tone while the memory of his old man was torturing him. He wanted to speak, ask this crazy dragon about the odds of his old man surviving.


    Yet he knew he couldn''t say a word about that to anyone. He was now powerless, too weak to even raise up his voice and demand answers.


    Especially to something so peculiar like having an ancient fairy soul speaking inside his head.


    "I think you know," Igory''s eyes seemed to see through him. "That punk brought you up one day before the end of the expedition. I don''t know what score you''ll have but he assured me you''ll get first ce."


    "Getting the first ce as a crippled person, right?" Jim bitterly said.


    "I have a way to heal you up," Igory slowly said.


    "I... heard about this," Jim slowly said.


    "Don''t make up your mind before hearing me out," Igory felt Jim was about to refuse his proposal, "I know I''m speaking out of no real evidence or experience but this has a very high odds of sess..."


    "I ept your idea," before Igory couldplete his sentence, Jim''s firm tone rang inside his head.


    "You... you ept this?" Mark''s voice suddenly rang before he appeared alongside Rana. Jim titled his head with some difficulty and could see the conflicted expression of upset, anger, and doubt over their faces.


    "You will die!" Rana shouted in distress. "This idea is crazy! I won''t let you do it even if I had to fight you!"


    Igory stayed silent while ncing at the real person with the power to decide everything here.


    "What''s the worth of my life if I wasn''t strong enough to protect it?" Jim slowly said, "please stop it coach, I prefer to die trying than waiting for death toe at any moment."


    Rana was so shocked by his words yet she couldn''t say anything for a few moments. She knew he was telling the truth here and Mark stepped in to help her.


    "Losing your powers isn''t the end of the world," he said, "there are many n members who lost their powers before and did great things in administration."


    "They are n members," Jim said in a bitter tone, "''not someone who is considered the enemy of those big ns here."


    The words of him silenced Mark who knew this was the harsh truth.


    "I choose not to live in fear for the rest of life," Jim said in a strange determination, "I choose to fight back for my life, even if I die trying."


    And his words decided this matter regardless of anything else.

 Chapter 250: Getting The Nasty Potion

    Chapter 250: Getting The Nasty Potion


    Jim''s words made everything clear to everyone around.


    "Alright," Igory said, "we have less than half a day before the rest of the teams arrive. If we are going to do it then we should do it now."


    "Can''t we wait until the assessment is over?" Jim asked, "I don''t want to miss this."


    Igory''s face showed some hesitation while ncing at Mark and Rana in a strange way. "What?" Jim felt something was wrong.


    "The stele won''t recognize you if you don''t have magical power," Rana slowly said.


    "In other words we need to act now," Igory turned to Hector, "I believe you still have remains of that poison, right?"


    Hector nodded and turned to nce at Roger. Roger came with a dark face before taking out the weird sac.


    Jim recognized the sac the moment it appeared. It was half filled with that strange green liquid.


    "Amazing," Igory took the sac from Roger and started to examine it, "it''s quite a feat for disciples of the academy to kill something ancient like this."


    His words were met by utter silence. No one felt pride or glory in what he said. After all that came at the expense of Jim''s future, despite him being the most contributed one to the team.


    "Please take these," Hector gave a couple of rings to Igory, "they contain Jim''s share of what we gained."


    "I''ll give him these after the process is over," Igory promised before leaning on Jim. "Are you ready?"


    Just before Jim could say anything, he felt his body vanish from the ce. The next moment he found himself sitting over a big seat, something that was meant for giant bodies and not his.


    "Don''t worry," Igory said, "this is my private ce. No one can enter here, even the dean."


    Jim nodded as he kept ncing around. It was a messy ce without a doubt. Many things were on the floor and there were many shelves on the walls with Jars containing weird things.


    "What do you think of my collection? Impressive, right?" Igory said with a big smile over his face, "now can you tell me what you were hiding inside you all this time?"


    Jim felt distress from that question. "I... have nothing," he lied, or partially said the truth.


    "Hmm... I believe you had something... Something very special inside you," yet Igory''s look told him he already doubted his words.


    "Like... what?" Jim asked.


    "I dunno, you tell me," Igory shrugged but under Jim''s innocent expression he finally dropped the matter. "Kids and their love to keep their secrets," he shook his head.


    Then he waved his hand and a small cauldron appeared. "The mostmon thing to do with any position is to make an antidote of it. However this time I''m going to make a poison potion for you."


    He started messing around, looking for things all over the ce. He grabbed bottles, jars, even rings that were thrown without care on the ground and even at furniture.


    "These will do," after long minutes of searching he returned to the cauldron. He started to empty everything he gathered inside the cauldron, and finally he added quite the amount of water inside.


    "This will do," he took out the sac from his storage ring, "this poison is so precious. Do you know that one drop can be turned into a weapon to wipe out a small army?"


    Igory''s tone told Jim how much he enjoyed it. Jim watched while Igory lit the fire under the cauldron and started to perform many spells without pause.


    And Jim couldn''t tell a single spell or even guess what they were used for.


    "I believe this is a rare chance to upgrade your poison resistance," Igory suddenly paused as he deeply muttered.


    Then he went on a spree of search again all around the messy room.


    This time he returned with things that looked creepy for Jim. Jars filled with strange creatures and gross looking liquids.


    He even saw a jar with one strange group of elliptical eyes that kept closing and opening fast and in a weird way.


    "What... are these?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    "More toxins," Igory casually said, "this way your resistance to toxins will be legendary."


    "Won''t... that kills me?" Jim was feeling more doubts towards his earlier decision now. Igory seemed crazy, or he was really a mad dragon like others called him.


    "Don''t worry," Igory shrugged, "your toxin is much stronger than all of these. As you survived this you''ll definitely survive the rest."


    "..."


    Jim watched in silence Igory pouring some of the content of the jars he gathered before he resumed what he was doing before.


    "Puff!"


    All of sudden the cauldron released a cloud of dark green gas that was filled with sparkles of blue light. "That''s impressive," Igory said and his joy and excitement made Jim more worried.


    "Puff!"


    "Puff!"


    "Puff!"


    Yet he kept using his spells non-stop while the cauldron kept releasing these weird clouds of gas from time to time.


    After almost one hour of this, and when Jim was nowpletely sure he was going to die, Igory suddenly stopped.


    He leaned at the cauldron and examined the liquid there. "Perfect... So perfect..." he evenughed which made Jim''s heart beat in a strange way.


    "Don''t give me that look," Igory was in perfect mood at the moment while side gazing at Jim.


    "What look?"


    "The one that tells me you think you''re dead," Igory found this as a joke and keptughing.


    As for Jim he didn''t find anything funny about it. He really believed he was going to die now.


    "This potion is a gem," Igory''s eyes shed with dangerous light while he kept moving around the cauldron like celebrating his sess. "I''ll give you part and store the other. What do you think?"


    "Why not store it all and make me a weaker form of it?"


    "I''m tempted to do that actually," Igoryughed, "but I can''t. This way you won''t be healed."


    "Damn!"


    Igoryughed at hisment while taking out arge bottle made of ss. It seemed to Jim like a long jar with a narrow neck and big belly.


    "You''ll store a lot of it," Jimmented while watching the dark green oil-like fluid filling the jar in Igory''s hand.


    "No, this one''s for you," Igory corrected.


    "All of this?" Jim was shocked, "c''mon, did I ever do anything mean to you?"


    And Igory onlyughed and said nothing back. He kept filling the jar in his hand beforeing to Jim. "Drink it," he ordered.


    "This..." Jim was now regretting his earlier decision. "Will it help?"


    "It might be," Igory said before turning to the Seson pet that kept moving around Jim all the time. "But I advise you to use your strongest asset."


    Jim turned to nce at Don and Don got the message. "Roar!" he roared towards Jim and thetter didn''t feel anything.


    "Take it in one breath," Igory handed the jar to Jim, "we have no time."


    "What if I dropped it?" Jim asked.


    "Don''t worry, I got almost half of that cauldron filled with this potion," Igory said with an evil smile on his face, "so be a goodd and drink it all."


    Jim nced at the jar in his hand and then at Igory. "No encouraging words?" he asked, trying to find any hope to survive here.


    "If you die, I''ll kill the ones who did this to you," Igory''s words didn''t help at all.


    "I''m... relieved to hear that," Jim couldn''t help but sneer when he heard that. He watched the jar again before taking a deep breath. ''For you old man,'' he muttered, ''for all my dreams of a big future.''


    Then he gulped the content in one long breath without pausing.


    The potion seemed not that bad when he tasted it at first. He expected something that taste like sh*t. So this strangely mint-vored potion looked much better without doubt.


    But the worst didn''t happen except after he finished the potion.


    Once the potion entered his body, Jim started to feel slightly numb. The minute he finished it, his body jolted and trembled like getting electrified.


    Then the pain came.


    Burning feeling that started out from his toes and kept ascending slowly towards his head.


    From the beginning Jim wasn''t healed. His body suffered a lot of injuries and that made him quite vulnerable to anything.


    And that potion seemed to be likeva eating away his body.


    "What''s happening to me?!" he screamed in deep pain while trying to get any help from Igory.


    "It''s the potion," Igory''s answer didn''t give him any satisfaction at all, "it''s affecting your body and attacking your soul."


    Jim wanted to shout at him asking if that was a good thing or bad. Yet the next wave of pain came and he couldn''t help but curse out loud.


    But he only opened his mouth, arched his body while his neck veins bulge out and his face got swollen red... and no voice came at all from him.


    Then he copsed finally on the seat, returning to be unconscious once more.

 Chapter 251: Amnesia

    Chapter 251: Amnesia


    Jim this time didn''t stay unconscious except for a few hours. The moment he opened his eyes, he did it with a loud scream of pain.


    "Easy..." Igory appeared next to him, "easy now... you crossed the hardest phase and now you are safe."


    "W- What ha- happened?" Jim nced all around while feeling more insecure and unsettled. His eyes kept scanning the room, looking for anything that might rm him.


    "What do you mean by that?" Igory nced at him in a weird way, "Don''t you remember me?" he asked.


    "You..." Jim nced at him while taking sessive short breaths. He was panicking and that rmed Igory slightly.


    "Amnesia... interesting," Igory kept moving around Jim while the ties that surrounded Jim''s body weren''t removed yet.


    Igory did that as a precaution of any seizure, but now it served to stabilize Jim.


    "Who are you? Why are you tying me up like this?" Jim shouted in an anxious tone while Igory''s theory was confirmed by now.


    "So to heal the soul we need to damage the mind... Interesting exchange," Igory went to the side where there was a group of books lying there.


    He picked one and started to scan it before throwing it on the ground and started to scan another. "I was ready for everything... any side effect orplication but i never expected... this!" he turned to Jim before his eyes spotted something.


    "Don... C''mon give your master a little wee," Igory shouted at the sleeping Seson monster at the back of Jim''s bed.


    Don was worried over his master that Igory had to use a sleeping spell over him to keep him in check.


    And now it wasn''t the time for him to sleep. Any help was needed right now especially if there was not much time left for the start of the assessment.


    "Screw assessment," Igory finally threw thest book on the ground, "Don, wake up... c''mon good boy," Igory took a potion and sshed it towards the sleeping Seson monster.


    Then Don suddenly opened his eyes wide open before jolting awake.


    "Roar!"


    "Yes, that''s it.... Good boy, keep roaring at your master," Igory even pushed him a little towards Jim''s bed.


    "Do you recall him?" Igory asked but from the weird look over Jim''s face he knew he wasn''t.


    "What the hell is that?" Jim''s firstment wasn''t surprising at all. "Is this... a monster?" he nced in a strange way towards Don.


    "Roar!" Don roared faintly as if the words of Jim hurt him. He nced at Igory and roared at him in an angry way.


    "Hold it there big boy," Igory hurriedly stopped him from roaring his bad luck, "I was saving his life and he needs your help now."


    Don seemed to get the meaning of Igory''s words as he turned to Jim once more. "I need you to give me and him good luck," Igory learned to be at the level of a distressed pet. "We both need more than good luck actually, prayers might be also useful. But we got only you so... do your magic and keep us blessed."


    Don got what Igory wanted to say and started to faintly roar and even touch Jim''s legs with his head.


    "Hey, Hey... Don''t forget me here," Igory shouted at Don when Don kept roaring only at Jim.


    "Don''t give me that look," Ivory pointed at him, "I''m the one who is healing your master and now I need all the luck in the world to be able to fix this."


    "What are you two crazy men and monsters talking about?" Jim kept his silence all this time while trying to evade the weird head of Don.


    But he was tied up tightly enough and he could only shake his body violently without a result.


    "Stay still," Igory moved to another corner and started looking there. "I have to find a way to get this... yup, I guess this might be useful."


    Igory stopped while taking out an ore. It was a very high grade one, yellow silver in color with thin branches like a tree running deeply in the heart of it.


    And it was oval in shape and slightly over Igory''s big body. "I hope this might help," he went to Jim who didn''t listen to any word he said before.


    Igory cut his finger and let his blooded hand touch the ore.


    "Stay away you old freak... I don''t want to be here," Jim screamed in panic when Igory cut his hand with his knife. Yet the moment his hands touched the ore, he finally stopped screaming.


    Or stopped moving at all.


    "Is this good?" Igory tilted his head while watching Jim''s body stiffen. "I thought... well this might not be the right way to do it," he just put his hand over the ore before his body also stiffened.


    "D- a- m- n!" he cursed with one letter at a time. His body was twitching with a huge influx of energy that came from that ore.


    And that was something unexpected as well.


    "Relonto," he couldn''t help but use his mind to think of a spell before it worked. His body was forced by an attraction power and the next moment he found himself breaking free of this ore.


    "What''s going on?" the moment hended on the ground he turned his head towards Don. "Have you given me bad luck? Huh? Do you want your master dead or what?" he tried to free his body of all the broken shelves he was lying within before shouting in anger towards Don.


    "Roar!" Don faintly roared before returning to rub his head at Jim''s legs.


    This time as he did that, his body started to stiffen as well.


    "Stupid pet," Igory cursed but before he could seek anything else to help, a new change happened.


    Jim''s body started to emit a light. It was faint at first but that didn''t escape the keen watchful eyes of Igory.


    It was faint yellow, then started to turn into orange before darkening and ending up being gold.


    "Wasn''t your old energy golden one I suppose?" Igory muttered while his face showed a bright smile, "wee back little one," he even waved his big hand towards Jim''s body before turning to the ore and the pet.


    The two were also beaming with golden light. "So you are the source," he nced in doubt towards the yellow silver ore, "you know I have a sister, one of you right here."

 Chapter 252: The Magical Mind Theory

    Chapter 252: The Magical Mind Theory


    He took another ore andnded it on the ground. "However no matter how I see it, there is nothing to cause the same effect like you just did."


    Igory cut his hand and let his bloodied hand fall over that ore. He even did so with both hands but nothing happened.


    "So you aren''t the cause," Igory slowly said, "and that pet can''t generate energy. He can control and modte energy of course, butcks any ability to generate it. Which leaves... only you to do that..."


    Igory started to gaze at Jim in a different light. He knew Jim had his little secrets, but he never expected he would be this strong.


    "Or is it because of that poison?" Igory hesitated. He saw Jim in training, in fighting, and in sses even.


    He knew the destiny lying ahead for Jim, but he doubted that would be rted to any of this.


    "What''s your secret little fellow?" he crossed his arms while gazing up at Jim. Thetter was now starting to be like a giant question mark for Igory.


    "Well... At least I got ten long years with you to get the answer, right?" Igoryughed shortly before starting to examine Jim from a distance.


    "Even your magic power ising back," he muttered after conducting some investigative spells over him. "At least you wille back with your powers."


    "Knock... Knock..."


    Just as he was thinking about how much time it was before Jim could open his eyes, a sudden knocking on the door happened.


    "Who''s there? Go away, I''m busy," he shouted without even turning to nce at the door.


    "It''s me," Mark''s voice came from behind the door, "we need to talk."


    Igory wanted to refuse but considering the fact that Mark was the leader of the inner campus, someone Jim considered too close to him so he refrained from ignoring him.


    "Come in,"'' he simply waved his hand and then the door opened. Mark entered this strange room that was like a deep cave in the mountains before his eyesnded and stuck with a glue over Jim.


    "Don''t worry," Igory waves his hand over to close the door, "he is going to be alright."


    "It''s... a miracle," Mark slowly walked to the side of Jim''s bed.


    "I won''t do that if I were you," yet just before he could extend his hand and touch Jim''s body to investigate it, Igory''s voice came to stop him.


    "Any side effects?" Mark asked.


    "So far so good," Igory cleared up his throat, "perhaps there is one hup that I only found."


    "Which is?"


    "amnesia... But I''m working on it right now."


    Mark''s eyebrows were raised for a second before he nodded in understanding. "The old Mike''s theory about magic power and magic mind."


    "Excuse me?" Igory seemed pretty much interested in knowing what Mark wanted to say.


    "It''s an old theory one of our masters crafted," Mark said before adding, "it came from an inner campus master... So you know, your core campus masters won''t care about it."


    "I''m," Igory said, "this young man''s life surely needs all the help."


    "I know," Mark said, "it''s a simple theory that states the presence of a deep level of our mind that''s connected with magic."


    "A subconscious you mean?"


    "Well that''s what I got at first from him, but he persisted it was something different," Mark said before adding, "he said the subconscious decides our unintentional actions while we are awake or sleeping... but that level of mind is something else."


    "Like... What?" Igory asked and Mark could only smile.


    "The one that takes control over our reactions and decisions when we sense absolute danger."


    "The one responding to our fear?" Igory slowly muttered while gazing up at Jim''s shining body. "That might be feasible as this kid must have been feeling extreme fear right now."


    "Well... I might disagree with that," Mark said with a calm smile, "what he proposed was the link between the magic power and that level of consciousness. He hypothesized that when one faces fear and danger, he would use every single weapon he has to react and adapt and survive.


    That requires a lot of control, self discipline, and a veryrge amount of energy. The one to control all these and takes the role of the higher power level of our minds and bodies is that level of consciousness."


    "That''s not different from what I said," Igory shrugged, "excluding all fancy scientific words that researchers love to use."


    He pointed at Jim before adding, "Icked the understanding of what was going on, why he woke up losing his memories but now you exined it to me. The problem all lies in that mind state of his."


    "Wrong again my dear friend," Mark stopped Igory before adding, "the magic mind is the only thing that''s trying desperately to keep him alive."


    "And that amnesia? The current weird state of energy production going on here without a source?"


    Mark nced at Jim before saying:


    "I... didn''t grasp the true or deep meaning behind Mike''s theory. However I can tell you why his magic mind is a blessing not a curse."


    "Go on, please," Igory was seeing the calm attitude of Mark, slightly irritating.


    "See when Jim returned he came back with depleted energy. Damaged magical power that was poisoned by that toxin. And considering the fact the magical mind needs a substantial amount of magic to perform, you can understand the reason behind all this."


    "Damn me!" Igory''s mind was finally opened to the reason for what just happened here. "I was so eager to cure his magic power poison that I totally forgot to replenish his magic power at all."


    "But you did," Mark patted on his shoulder while motioning towards the unconscious Jim.


    "I... only took out a normal ore," Igory shook his head, "that energy... all this energy isn''ting from my ore."


    "Then from where?" Mark seemed pretty confused.


    "I think it''sing from the boy," Igory paused before adding, "he is generating this energy from an unknown source."


    "That''s... really something beyond my knowledge," Mark admitted and Igory stood by his side nodding in silence.

 Chapter 253: Soul Space

    Chapter 253: Soul Space


    Meanwhile as Jim was enveloped with that energy he entered into an alien ce.


    The world around was covered in dark fog while his body was shining in a faint golden light. He nced all around before muttering to himself:


    "Where am I?"


    "You are inside your soul space!"


    The voice that came seemed a bit familiar to him, yet he couldn''t tell who he was. "Show yourself," he shouted, "I don''t like dealing with hidden people!"


    "Sigh, your memories got rusty due to the toxin," the old man said, "but I assure you I mean no harm to you."


    "Prove it then."


    "You were intoxicated by a strong toxin that shut down all the energy pores inside your soul, rendering you crippled. This thing isn''t easy to heal but luckily those kids out there knew what to do. At least one of them had the guts to try the impossible on you."


    Suddenly a piece of memory appeared in fragments inside his mind. He saw himself talking to Igory, Hector, Rana, and Mark. He heard their voices and it was like he was watching a short movie.


    "Who is that?" he asked while not believing this was him.


    "It''s you, can''t you recognize yourself at least?" the old man''s words came to confirm what he had in mind.


    "So I was... crippled..." he said in a low tone before ncing all around. The fog around looked gloomy, something he seemed to despise despite not knowing what it was.


    "This is the soul space, or what it was once before the toxin entered here," the old man read his thoughts and started to exin, "the pure energy here got tainted by that damned toxin. You need now to purify every single bit of this ce to regain your power back."


    Jim nced again and he felt somehow helpless. The space extended until the reach of his eyes. And he was pretty much sure this would extend beyond that.


    "How can I do something like that?"


    "By using your highest spell you know."


    "Which is?" Jim stood there with an empty mind and distrubed soul.


    "The absorption spell... Does this ring any bells?" the old man slowly said and the moment he spoke these words the entire space around stirred up.


    And Jim also got some shes of past memories like what he got before.


    "Damn!" he was standing there in amazement, watching himself fighting one creepy monster after another. "I was... cool!"


    "Hahaha, yeah you were," the old manughed, "but you need to regain that former glory. After all it''s yours and you deserve to get it back."


    "Hell yeah I will," Jim''s spirit was now off the roof while ncing around. "Why is the fog so restless?"


    The dark fog around started to roll over itself forming giant waves. It looked like something was boiling in anger somewhere in here.


    "This is... the seed of that dirty monster," the old man said, "that monster you killed had nted part of its soul in yours. So just mentioning that spell would bring old unpleasant memories to it and make it restless."


    "I wanna kill it," Jim slowly said while unintentionally clenching his fists.


    "You already did," the old man said, "but this is a mere part of its soul, something you don''t need to bother yourself about."


    "But... It''s the one who caused all this to me, right?"


    "Indeed," the old man confirmed what Jim spected.


    "Then it''s not weak."


    "Neither are you," the answer of the old man came swiftly, "you have the advantage of the home turf. This is your home, your ce, your soul space... nothing can stand against you here, nothing!"


    The words of the old man seemed to ignite more confidence inside him. "You are... reliable," he slowly said, "I''ll trust you then."


    "You always did," the old man couldn''t help butugh, "and now start performing the spell. I''ll let your pet be ready."


    "My... Pet?"


    "Don''t worry about that," the old man preferred not to exin things now, "you''ll remember him when your memoriese back again. Just wait here and be ready, when I tell you to start, you start, alright?"


    "Got it."


    The old man went into silence while the two masters were gazing at Jim with empty minds. Yet all of sudden Don got restless all of sudden. He jumped all over the distance and stuck himself to Jim''s body.


    "What''s he doing?" Mark pointed at Don, "is this normal?"


    "I... dunno," Igory gave Don a questionable nce, "all the time he remained silent."


    "Then?"


    "Roar!"


    Just before the two could know what was going on, Don suddenly roared and the light engulfing Jim''s body all of a sudden intensified. It was like an explosion urred, an explosion of light and no sound at all.


    Inside Jim''s soul space things were heading towards a climax. The moment the old man gave the order for him to act, he did exactly what he saw he did before in these fragmented memories.


    Out of habit, his body and mind reacted. The two blood drops got attached together and merged without any issues before a thick thread came out all of sudden and plunged itself on the dark fog.


    It attached itself like a sucker attaching to a surface. The fog seemed at this moment like a living creature, trying to get itself loose from this but it couldn''t.


    "Listen, this time you are going to absorb this entire tainted soul energy and refine it," the old man said, "it wouldn''t take much time before that sleeping like a baby seed got awakened."


    "Is this bad?" Jim asked with a faint look of worry over his face.


    "Not that much," the old man tried to reassure him, "but try at any cost not to directly sh with it."


    "You mean... I should run?" Jim was speechless there for a moment.


    "Sometimes running is the best courageous action one can do," the old man sensed his discontent with this, "facing it head one will result in him consuming you, not the opposite."


    "Damn!" Jim cursed before ncing all around, "where can I run to?"


    "I will guide you," the old man said, "and when you regain a decent amount of energy I will summon your pet. He will do a better job in handling that angry seed and buy you precious time."


    "I hope it works."


    "It will."


    Jim started to notice that thick thread of his absorbing the dark fog on elerating pace. The fog it absorbed started to turn into golden energy, and his body started to be surrounded by a denseyer of golden fog.


    Yet he also noticedpared to the vast amount of the dark fog here this would take a long time.


    "It will take a long time," Jim said.


    "Don''t worry too much about that," the old man confidently said, "the time difference this time is in your favor."


    "What time difference?"


    "You''ll get to know that at one point," the old man didn''t waste his breath in exining the obvious.


    He knew once Jim regained his memories he would find all the answers he was seeking for.


    "Shriek!"


    Just after half an hour a loud shriek ured. Jim''s inner soul trembled and his own body unintentionally started shaking.


    "What''s... that?!" he nced at the direction of that sound and spotted a giant pir rising from the dark fog.


    It was like a volcano just erupted there and theva it emitted was now gathering to form a giant wave, aiming at him.


    "It''s the seed," the old man slowly said.


    "Hell, how am I supposed to evade that?"


    The dark fog turned into a green one that gave Jim a creepy feeling. Wave after wave started to gather and he felt the moment they would be released, he would have no way to escape.


    "Run," the old man shouted, "run you fool!"


    "Where?" Jim nced in distress all around, "there is no way to evade this."


    The waves kept getting higher and broader. He doubted his ability to evade such waves which were already about to cover the entire horizon.


    "When I say you jump."


    "Jump?!" Jim nced at the sky, "How can my jump help?"


    "Just trust me," the old man was getting impatient with his persistent questions, "just do as I say the moment I tell you to do it."


    "..."


    Jim didn''t see how a simple jump would help in evading these gigantic dark green waves.


    "Shriek!"


    And just before he could collect himself or find another way out, another terrifying shriek erupted and the waves started to move.


    They were like being held by a giant invisible force that suddenly vanished. They fell over the ground, causing a rumbling sound that added more dread to Jim''s soul towards them.


    "Wait..." yet the old man seemed unbelievingly calm, "wait..." he kept speaking so Jim wouldn''t sumb to fear and get his body stiff.


    Missing this chance would result in losing everything. Despite all the risks the old man was acting in a brilliant calm way that looked impressive.


    "Wait..." he kept telling Jim not to act while the waves kept roaring towards him.


    "Damn it! They are upon me, old man!" Jim screamed and at this moment of distress he called the old man with his name.


    "Jump!" The old man next gave him the order and Jim leaned his body and kicked the ground with his fiercest strength.


    And like a rocket his body was thrown into the heights of the sky without any resistance at all.


    "Whoa! How is this even possible?!!"


    "Sigh, you are still a kid," the old man couldn''t help but say, "this is normal dumb kid."

 Chapter 254: Do You Have More Of These?

    Chapter 254: Do You Have More Of These?


    Jim''s body was thrown in the air by his jump much higher than he initially thought. For him he felt like there was no gravity to hold him back, no boundary to limit his freedom.


    Like a bird who spread its wings and soared to the sky, he was feeling the same kind of supremacy and invincibility right there, even for brief moments.


    Then he bypassed the entire waves with ease before his body was drawn once again like a kite tied with a long invisible thread to the ground.


    "Do not call me dumb again old man!" the moment he stood on the ground like he never fell a great distance down here he said in a warning tone.


    "You need to stop questioning me and follow my lead."


    "I don''t trust you."


    "You gotta be kidding, right?"


    "I don''t know you!"


    "And here you say my name without telling... pretty much for not knowing me," the old man said before adding, "raise your head sweet boy, the waves are turning back."


    Jim looked towards the direction of the waves to see something he never imagined to be true.


    The gigantic waves that were moving at such a fast speed turned all around. They simply changed direction as if they passed through a reflective mirror and headed towards him.


    Or he was the one to swap ces to appear in their way once more.


    "What now?" he anxiously asked.


    "Didn''t you learn anything from dealing with that kid? Hector?" The tone of the old man showed his discontent, "I hope when you get your memory back to show off more courage and calmness against any threat like that kid."


    "What should I do now?" Jim ignored his words and demanded instructions.


    "The same old game," the old man simply said, "you jump, evade whateveres your way until that seed gets weakened and you restore enough of your soul."


    "Then what?"


    "Just jump!"


    Jim did the same without question and managed to evade the gigantic assault of these waves.


    "I''ll never get tired of this," heughed whilending safely and soundly. "Howe I jump this high andnd in such peace? Sh*t! They are turning back again!"


    Before he could even get an answer from the old man the waves turned around fast enough to make him uneasy. "They are trying to corner me," he noticed this time the waves didn''t march for a distance like before.


    That left him a narrow window to maneuver.


    "Yet the entire world around is spacious enough to buy yourself time," the old man simply said and he got what he meant by that.


    "Good point," this time he didn''t jump simply high in the air, but he aimed towards a direction.


    Then when hended he found that the waves were miles away from him. "They will need time to catch up," he cheerfully said.


    "Don''t count on that," the old man wasn''t feeling the same as him, "they can travel fast."


    "And I can jump faster."


    The next moment Jim didn''t even stand still and wait for them to catch up to him. He started jumping around. And that helped in expanding the distance between him and those waves.


    "Shriek!"


    "It''s pissed off," Jimughed before watching a new series of waves getting formed.


    "That''s much better," the old man said.


    "Trying to tell me that was a bad move?"


    "No, this way the seed will deplete its energy faster."


    "Sounds like music in my ears," Jim started to jump towards a different direction from the two series of waves hunting them down.


    "First you''ll need tobine them together," the old man advised.


    "And miss all the fun? Don''t tell me I was that gloomy person before!"


    "I bet you were."


    "Damn!" Jim was in a very good mood, "I dunno about you old man, but I''m having much fun here."


    "Enjoy it as long as itsts then."


    Jim kept jumping around while that seed didn''t let him have his moments of fun without trying to get him. After five more shrieks and five extra waves, plus spending an hour ying around, the seed finally started to run low on energy.


    "Blop!"


    Like a water bubble bursting from consuming too much time in the open air, the waves started to burst one after another.


    "''The seed is getting weaker," the old man said, "soon you won''t have any threat at all."


    "I hoped to say I''m d it ended, but frankly I feel slight regret here."


    "Don''t be greedy," the old man chuckled, "you had your fun already."


    "Barely enough," Jim muttered while watching more waves vanish, "barely enough old man."


    "Hmm... Don''t worry then, when you get outside you will have a lot of fun."


    "Those old dudes don''t look any fun to me," Jim said referring to the masters he saw beforeing here.


    "They aren''t fun indeed," the old man agreed, "but you had something you nned to do once exiting the expedition."


    "Is it amusing?" Jim asked.


    "Very," the old man briefly said before thest wave vanished. "Now all you have is to stand still and wait until all the soul space bes yours again."


    Jimnded and nced around. The entire world seemed to enter a weird stage of tranquility.


    "This... looks annoyingly peaceful," Jim couldn''t help butment when he stood there for long minutes without doing anything else.


    "I really miss the old you," the old man sighed, "you were much better than this new personality."


    "But I like it," Jim sneered, "I wish to keep it."


    "You are the master of your own fate," the old man simply said, "you can decide to keep or discard this, but I suggest you forget this."


    "I''m having fun," Jim grinned, "who would hate fun?"


    "It''s hopeless," the old man sighed again, "''I hope your old self will return faster."


    "I wish more fun things would happen here before that happens," Jim shrugged, "I don''t mind sweating every now and then."


    "..."


    The old man decided to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the hours remaining here. As for Jim, he kept talking about anything and everything while putting the word fun in the middle of it all.


    "Finally it''s over," the old man said it as if he was relieved of a torture.


    "Sigh, it was fun as long as itsted," Jim shook his head, "now what?"


    "You wait," the old man said while Jim nced all over the world he was in. Now instead of that gloomy dark fog that previously filled the soul space, golden fog was filling every speck of it.


    "What''s that?"'' Jim pointed to a certain spot where dark fog still persisted there. It was also where his umbilical thread was connecting his soul with the seed ended.


    "It''s the seed," the old man slowly said in some surprise, "it seems it wasn''t totally purified with what you did so far."


    "How can this be?" Jim slowly asked, "I can recall most of my memories now, and I know this spell won''t end until that seed is depleted."


    "I... dunno about this," the old man frankly said but the next moment Jim felt a strong and violent tremor all over the world.


    "What''s happening?" he asked, "talk to me old man."


    Yet the next moment he felt a strong forcepelling him and forced him to move far and travel beyond the limitations of this world.


    The next moment he opened his eyes, nced around while seeing the two masters nearby speaking in depth about something he didn''t understand.


    "How is the soul going to heal with such an amount of poison inside?" Mark kept asking and Igory kept repeating the same answer over and over again.


    "I don''t know."


    "You are the one to start all this," Mark was losing his calm, "it has been hours since you injected him with all these poisons. He should be awakened by now and he isn''t!"


    "I told you," Igory shook his head, "doing this theoretically is fine and safe. However how the hell should I know anything that I never practically tested before?"


    "You shouldn''t have used such a theory over him in the first ce," Mark shouted while Igory shrugged.


    "I offered a solution and he took it," he said, "or don''t tell me you have an alternative and didn''t say it."


    "Humph, I swear I won''t let this go by without punishment."


    "As if I care."


    "Hi!"


    Jim''s sudden voice made the two masters nced instantly at him with a mere shocked expression over their faces for a second there.


    Then the two jumped over and kept asking questions like rain in the middle of the winter.


    "What are you feeling now?"


    "Did it seed?"


    "Did you regain your power back?"


    "Your memories... Are they back?"


    "Can you move around?"


    "What happened?"


    All of these questions and more hammered down Jim''s head without pause until he raised his hand to stop them.


    "Can you just... Chill it out?" he weakly said, "I''m feeling... terrible at the moment."


    He nced around and found himself bound to the seat he was sitting on. "Can you set me loose now? I''m fine, and it seeded, that''s all I can say for now."


    "S- Sure," Mark moved and the bonds holding him to the seat were cut clean by the simple wave of his hand. "Can you walk now?" he asked.


    "I''ll see that," Jim slowly said before stepping off the seat. The moment his weak legs touched the ground they couldn''t hold his body. He felt his body turning into the weight of a mountain, or his legs were so soft to carry his low weight.


    He couldn''t stand straight without leaning over the two masters who helped him not to fall. "Easy now," Igory said, "you just got off a terrible experience."


    "Tell me about it," Jim said in a mocking tone before ncing at the seat, "I believe I should rest at the seat for now."


    "Yeah," Mark nodded, "sounds like a good idea."


    And the two helped him back to his seat then Igory took out another ore. "Take it," he said, "It should help you regenerate your energy if you still can."


    "Thanks," Jim took the ore and the next moment the entire ore that was as big as Igory''s big body shone brightly in golden light before turning to ash.


    "Amazing!" Igory simply said with wide eyes, "this means your energy got upgraded by much."


    "I hope this is a good thing," Jim smiled, "do you have more of these?"

 Chapter 255: Nothing Comes Without A Price

    Chapter 255: Nothing Comes Without A Price


    The two masters stood to the side while watching Jim turning one ore into ash after another.


    "Damn! Never thought I would turn you into such ore eating man!" Igory couldn''t help but shake off his head.


    "Are you feeling better?" Mark asked as he tried to understand where all this energy was sucked into.


    "I''m... great," Jim felt his body was now fully restored as his energy was half replenished. He wasn''t any less amazed like the masters by what happened here.


    However, his old man reassured him. ording to him his soul space was nearly empty and so he needed to replenish it.


    But Jim didn''t fully trust the old man''s words here. He was already inside his soul space and saw the amount of purified golden energy stored there.


    ''You got an upgrade in the quality of your energy,'' the old man tried to give him one more reason.


    And that gave him more reasons to doubt.


    "I believe it''s time for us to go back," Igory finally said while Mark gave him a side nce. "What? Why are you looking at me this way?" Igory innocently asked.


    "Don''t tell me you are running low on ores," Mark sneered and Igory''s face changed a bit.


    "I just gave him a lot," he said, "he should learn to adapt to this."


    Mark raised one eyebrow while Igory ignored him. "Can you use your spells again?" he tried to shift the topic towards a thing Mark might be interested about. "Can you show us?" as Jim nodded, he requested a demonstration.


    "Well..." Jim took out his sword before pointing it towards the ground. He took a deep breath before the next moment he felt a very terrifying gravitational force applying over his sword.


    "What the hell...?!!" he couldn''t even hold the sword for one second before it was fiercely pinned deep into the ground. He even felt a recoil in his body, which trembled violently from such a small hit.


    Then a roaring wave of energy enveloped his body, forming a small yet burning ball of golden energy that totally obscured his body from the two masters.


    Like a small sun appearing in this room, the golden ball kept releasing scorching mes that made the two masters quite surprised.


    "Are you... ok deep there?" Mark couldn''t help but ask.


    "Never better," and Jim''s strong voice came to make him heave a sigh of relief.


    "Your energy... It got much more intense than before," Igory cared totally about another thing, "did that poison condense and upgrade your power?"


    "We have no time for that," Mark cut the path over the mad dragon next to him to do more tests. "C''mon, let''s go to the ce of others."


    Jim only took a single step when his body flew like a loose arrow and passed the two masters, startling them.


    "What?!" Mark was surprised when he saw this. His clothes caught fire but he easily killed them. "His speed?" he turned to Igory who shrugged.


    "Don''t expect anything from me, I''m in this just like you... blind and with no knowledge at all."


    "At least it''s a good thing," Mark stepped out of the room where Jim was standing there motionless.


    "I wonder if he got any more boost at defense," Igory slowly muttered.


    "Don''t think about it," yet Mark pointed his finger at him in a warning.


    "Fine, I''ll ask him about thatter," Igory raised both hands in the air while sumbing to Mark''s wishes.


    "Let''s go," Mark moved fast this time, "I bet all the teams arrived by now."


    Jim was as shocked as them at his abnormal speed. He wasn''t wearing any of his gears now, but when he thought about walking he flew.


    "Try to control your power,"'' Mark advised, "I don''t want others outside our campus to learn about what you got."


    "But I didn''t do anything," Jim was confused, "I only... walked."


    "I believe we should let him release that spell first," Igory suggested.


    "Attack something you mean?"


    "Yup," Igory answered Mark''s question, "attacking is always the shortest way to get things done, right?"


    Mark nced at Jim before sighing. "Alright, hit this doll for me," he took out a yellow y doll that was almost equal to Jim''s body size.


    "Won''t it be... ruined?" Jim hesitated at the weak appearance of this doll.


    "Don''t worry, it''s quite endurable," Mark reassured him and Igory could only shake off his head.


    "And you were the one asking me to stop testing him," he chuckled while Mark gave him a silent nce.


    "You got to share me the results of this," Igory pointed to the doll while Jim stood in between the two without a clue.


    "What exactly is this doll?" he slowly asked.


    "''It''s a sponge doll," Igory simply said, "it can take any spell and store it for... further study."


    "Study?" Jim nced at the doll while Mark exined:


    "It will allow me..." he paused as Igory gave him a threatening nce this time, "us to better understand what happened to you back there."


    "And?" Jim slowly asked, while having the feeling that he wouldn''t like what he would hear next.


    "I have some reservations on what happened to you," Mark seemed a bit hesitant while moving his eyes over Igory''s stern face and back to him.


    "He had to be saved," Igory said to stop Mark.


    "But at what price?" Mark slowly asked while Jim started to get a grasp of what the two were speaking about.


    "Do you mean... I still have to suffer?" he slowly asked while recalling that small area of dark fog that was still inside his soul space so far.


    "Well... It''s not necessarily suffering," Mark seemed more hesitant.


    "We don''t know anything right now," Igory said directly, "so we need pieces of your power to analyze and get more data to answer such a question."


    Jim realized what the two wanted to pull here, and in fact he didn''t care. He was alive, and that was all that mattered to him. "I agree then," he said before pointing his sword towards the doll and simply shed at it.


    "Rumble!"


    The next moment the simple sword sh he did sucked all his golden energy inside. It appeared like the sword was sucking the golden energy dry and released it in the form of a small golden white sword sh.


    And that hit the doll lying peacefully on the ground before vanishing inside it like nothing happened.


    "That''s... good," Mark went to check the doll while Igory went to his side.


    "How many slots did it take?" he asked.


    "Guess," Mark grinned and Igory nced shortly at the doll before giving his answer: "Five."


    "Ten," Mark evenughed, "can you imagine that?"


    "Impressive," Igory turned to nce at Jim who felt some weakness after releasing this attack.


    It was something new on him, but he wasn''t that weak to not keep himself standing. He also noticed the small chat between the two masters. "What are these slots?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    "Each doll has one hundred empty storing slots inside," Mark said while storing away his doll, "that''s the highest grades of these of course."


    "So my attack took ten slots? Is that ok?"


    "Ok?" Igory couldn''t help butugh, "''normally attacks of first and second grade disciples can only store one slot. Five slots are the attacks caused by grade five disciples. Yours, however..."


    Igory paused and Jim understood his point.


    "But it drained you," Mark pointed to the w here, "you got to unleash your power in one hell of a strike then what? That''s not good in the long term."


    Jim realized his master was trying to help him here. "I will train more," Jim promised.


    "You have to train harder," Igory nodded in agreement, "and you need to avoid any conflicts at this time."


    Jim nced at him in a weird way. "The academy prevents us from fighting..."


    "I meant the games," Igory stopped him there, "you can''t deplete your energy inside the game field."


    Jim''s face changed at once. "I won''t stop ying," he firmly said, "''it''s a game, not an arena."


    "The two look the same to me," Igory shrugged before turning around, "don''t say I didn''t warn you."


    And Jim stood there ncing at Mark who could only sigh.


    "We''ll... figure something out," Mark knew how dearly Jim held the ace games to his heart. "I''m sure we can arrange something with Rana."


    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you," yet Igory said from front while moving steadily towards the direction of the forest.


    "I won''t stop after reaching this stage," Jim decisively said and Mark could only give him a pale smile.


    "I know," Mark said, patted on his shoulders, "let''s postpone this until the end of the assessment. By the way how many cores did you get from that expedition?"


    And this question caused more pain. "Ahem... I think I got... couple..." Jim tried to find a way to escape the watchful gazes of his master.


    "Couple of hundred?" Mark slowly asked and Jim could only keep his silence while the both headed towards the same direction as Igory.

 Chapter 256: The Team Is Missing Members

    Chapter 256: The Team Is Missing Members


    Jim''s silence was wrongly understood by the two masters and he was quite thankful they didn''t ask further about this.


    He knew he sucked at this expedition, but he wasn''t regretting that too much now. He got out barely with his life. One single mistake and he would be gone.


    He knew that, and he also felt more appreciative to the two masters walking up front of him and others still waiting at the gate of the forest.


    If not for their help, he wouldn''t be walking right now or breathing the same air as them.


    ''Don''t be discouraged,'' the old man tried to console him, ''you got yourself some good things in return.''


    ''I know,'' Jim slowly said, ''I don''t regret being alive after all this.''


    ''Good point indeed.''


    The walk didn''tst long before the three of them appeared at the main gate where everything started. Jim saw many faces standing in big groups, and he didn''t know most of them.


    However there were few faces that he instantly recognized.


    "Boss!"


    "He is alive!"


    "I told you, hahaha, he is a survivor!"


    As he came with the two masters, many shouts appeared all of sudden while his teammates came running at him. The look of joy over their faces was priceless, something that made him feel a little warm inside.


    "It seems your team missed you a lot," Mark turned to see him before suddenly adding, "I''m sorry, give him the rings and let''s go."


    Igory nodded and Jim stood there without a clue. Igory took one ring and gave it to him. "Hector said this is your share," he said with a wink before moving away with Mark, leaving Jim alone behind.


    "My share..." Jim nced at the ring in his hand but he didn''t have the chance to examine it. The team members of his appeared next all around, forcing him to wear the ring on his finger and forget about it for now.


    "Wee back," Rick stood there with a wide smile over his face while Deno seemed not quite satisfied by words.


    He simply raised Jim as he hugged him before raising him even higher and shouted:


    "See this? Our mighty boss ventured alone in the forest and returned in one piece!"


    His shout attracted more attention to Jim who felt weird from this action. Familiar faces all stood around him. Gorden, Ashley, Jenny, Lan, Pat, the two Twisex girls, Kro, Roo, and many others.


    However he also noticed that the team was missing many. "Where are the others?" he couldn''t help but ask while Deno put him on the ground.


    As he asked this question, the faces all around changed.


    The happy atmosphere seemed to be vaporized. "What''s wrong?" he moved his eyes around before adding, "where are the rest of the team?"


    Almost half of the old members of his team weren''t there.


    "They... fell," Rick slowly said with a deep tone filled with sorrow and regret, "after we got separated, we were hunted down relentlessly by many teams."


    "They were bastards," Deno angrily shouted while moving his eyes all around like he was using everyone.


    "But many teams helped," Kro spoke to stop the storm of anger of Deno.


    "Yeah, if they didn''t help we wouldn''t have even returned," Rick supported Kro''s words, "and that''s a blessing."


    "Core teams?" Jim slowly asked while moving his eyes around.


    "We... had it hard back there especially during the first couple of nights," Jenny slowly said, "but thanks to other inner teams we managed to survive."


    Jim understood what happened. It wasn''t a smooth journey for him or his team after all. "I won''t forget their sacrifice," he pledged, "one day we''ll get our revenge... but not today."


    The eyes of everyone got attached on him while he firmly added:


    "We have to end this pathetic show then we''ll have a grand meeting."


    "Meeting?" Rick seemed quite surprised by his reaction.


    "Won''t we... cause some trouble?" Deno asked in doubt while moving his eyes around, "we know which teams double tagged against us. They are all here boss, we can take some down."


    "And lose everything in return?" Jim gave him a deep nce, "we will have our moment, but it''s not today."


    Deno seemed not to be content with his decision and Jim himself wasn''t. However after what he went through his vision of life itself changed.


    Life wasn''t all about venturing through it recklessly, "Life is all about achieving our goals and not die before getting them fulfilled," Jim slowly said while patting on Deno''s giant body, "and taking revenge for our fallen friends is now one of these goals."


    His words seemed light but strange enough they carried enough weight to impact everyone standing around him. He nced at the gloomy faces, the sad looks they had and could only sigh.


    "I... Passed through the thin border lining life and death couple of times during the past days," he slowly said while trying to give them a lesson here, "and from that I learnt it doesn''t matter a sh*t if you were so brave or so foolish... what really matters is to achieve your goals while not dying while trying."


    "We should at least try," Deno was still stubborn, "they got us there without a fair fight!"


    "Life isn''t fair," Jim simply shrugged, "also is death. I was crippled and didn''t have a chance toe back, but I''m here," he pointed at him before adding:


    "If you asked me what I felt back then I can frankly tell you one thing: Regret. I don''t want to feel that regret again. We will take our own revenge, but on our rules and ording to our game, not theirs."


    Deno''s face told him he didn''t get what he meant yet the others around seemed to understand what he wanted to say.


    "You... got changed boss," Roo slowly said.


    "Facing death and crushing it gave me a new perspective about life," Jim said with a smile, "we all are going to die, then why die while being desperate? Why dying without a big smile of triumph over our faces?"


    The team nced in silence towards him while his mind was preupied with many scenes he got from Hector and his team. Theirughs, their mood even when everything seemed dark and desperate around was a lesson he couldn''t forget.


    And he wanted his team to change, to behave the same exact way Hector''s team did back then.


    He wanted them not to falter in front of challenges, not to feel sad or depressed by any setbacks like the one they are facing right now.


    He wanted them to be fierce and relentless. If they were in despair then amidst all that darkness they had to look for that tiny silver lining that everyone would miss.


    But he pledged to himself he wouldn''t miss that light no matter what.


    "Now it''s our top priority to excel at this expedition," he finally brought the topic to what mattered him most, "did you get any luck at getting any cores?"


    The silent answer he got was enough to tell him everything. "Sorry boss," Rick apologized, "we were pretty busy running around."


    "That''s... fine," Jim took a deep breath before finally adding what he wanted to say to them at first, "I''m d you all came back in one piece. If there is something I cherish most about this, then it would be for all of you to return here alive."


    His words were enough to let them all be in deep silence while even the girls had some tears in their eyes.


    But this friendly meeting was doomed to end by the hands of the dean.


    "Boom!"


    All of sudden a big altar appeared in the middle of everyone. It came out of nowhere while the dean appeared next to it, flying high in the sky with a look on his face that irritated Jim and all disciples who weren''t part of the core teams.


    "This is the judging altar of the expedition," the dean said with a big smile over his face. His cheerful tone was so disgusting to many but he seemed not to care as he evenughed.


    "I know you had a hard time dealing with the expedition, and I''m d that many of you managed to return alive. This is a great day we need to appreciate, a lesson we all must understand..." he paused before slowly adding:


    "This academy has been run from ancient times over a certain set of rules that no one can break. Some are written, while the rest are mere facts that everyone can be smart enough to get."


    "I wanna punch his face right now," Jim slowly said, expressing his anger.


    "But you were the one to stop us from doing anything," Rick whispered and his words made Jim smile.


    "But that doesn''t mean I don''t want to punch this guy in the face."


    "Silence!" one of the core campus masters shouted to stop all the whispering running around before the dean returned to say:


    "Thest days were quite stressful on all of us, so let''s get this done."


    He turned his gaze towards the altar that had a rounded base and a single towering pir in the middle.


    "All you need to do is to put your rings in here and the judge will make its call. The judge sees everything, so trying to get cores from any ces other than the expedition is pointless."


    The dean then turned his head towards his associates and one of them stepped forward on the ground while shouting:


    "The heads of the teams shoulde and ce their rings one by one. After cing them the judge will decide the worth of the cores in numbers. The highest ten numbers in each grade will be gathered and a list of honors will be formed."


    He paused while moving his eyes around, "the list is something many aspire to but only few can reach. Consider yourself lucky to have a score close to the list. And a small piece of advice, don''t hold any hopes if you aren''t one of the core teams, after all they are the destined ones among you. Nothing personal in this."


    "Screw your chosen fools," Jim slowly whispered and it seemed that the master heard him but he only sneered and ignored his remark.


    "Go now and ce your rings, let the chosen ones win."

 Chapter 257: Let Me Show You A Miracle

    Chapter 257: Let Me Show You A Miracle


    "Humph, I''ll be the first to be judged."


    A disciple of the dragon n said in a very arrogant tone before he moved towards the altar with fixed steps. He was a grade ten disciple, someone who was surrounded with hundreds of followers.


    "''Of course he has toe first," Deno whispered in deep hatred, "with all of them on his side and they all served to kill monsters, how can''t hee at the top?"


    Jim only nodded as he watched in silence what that kid did. The moment he reached the altar he ascended the rounded base and reached the central pir.


    Then he ced both of his hands over the pir and the next moment the pir shone brightly in silver white light.


    "Keep your hands steady until the judge decides the result," the master who previously spoke up said and the kid only nodded.


    "So the pir would enter the rings directly without the need of taking out the cores... interesting," Jim smiled while waiting on the side for five minutes as everyone else did.


    Then all of sudden the pir trembled faintly before a ray of light shot to the sky above. Arge window appeared there with a number on its surface.


    "Ten thousand and five hundred points," the master said, "you may let go of your hands now."


    "It''s better to only let the core disciples be judged," the dragon kid arrogantly said in a loud tone, "it''s a waste of time to let others be tested."


    His words made his team and those on his sideugh while the others had dark faces and angry expressions.


    "We can''t," the master shrugged, "despite the urge of me to do that but rules must be followed."


    "Screw them," the kid returned to his team and stood with a proud face that made Jim feel disgust from looking at.


    "I want to go and punch him in the face!" Rick said while the others nodded.


    "We will punch them where it hurts," Jim slowly said.


    "But we didn''t have any cores," Lan said, "we were busy surviving."


    "So as I," Jim yed with the ring he received from Igory and resisted the urge to check it now. "But who knows, miracles sometimes happen."


    Everyone gave him a questioning gaze but he remained calm and collected while ying with his ring. "I hope a miracle will happen today."


    "Next," the master shouted.


    "Let an inner disciple advance," the dragon kid arrogantly said, "let him go."


    He pointed towards a direction and Jim followed it to see Hector standing there.


    "You heard the leading disciple," the master smirked, "go and be tested now."


    Hector stood there motionless for a few moments before shrugging. "I have no intention to start this soon," he said but he took the first step towards the altar, "however if that will crush that bastard and let him know his real ce then fine. Let me be the one to crush all the fool''s dreams here."


    "Humph, empty wordsing from a loser," the dragon kid sneered.


    "A loser will carry only the dragon slogan tonight," Hector refused to show any sign of weakness as he advanced towards the altar with confidence.


    Everyone nced at him until he reached the pir and put his hands on it.


    "He seemed quite confident," Ashley whispered.


    "I heard you were with his boss," Pat said, "can he do it?"


    Jim stood silently for a minute before finally saying, "if anyone here can do it then it will be him."


    And his words made the others hold high hopes for Hector. This time Hector took around seven minutes before the ray of light shot to the sky.


    "Hahaha, I told you," Hector turned his head to the window that just appeared andughed in a louder tone, "this is just a p on your face for your dirty y back in the forest. I grant this victory to all of us who fell back there due to treason."


    "Watch your tongue, kid," the master said in an aggressive way, "your lead isn''t set in stone yet."


    "It''s not easy to surpass me," Hector nced at the twenty thousadn point number on the window, "but I wee any brave or foolish one to try and challenge that."


    "Humph, we''ll see," the master had a dark face at the moment while the darkest face only belonged to that dragon kid.


    "Hector!"


    "Hector!"


    "Hector!"


    All of a sudden many teams standing around started to cheer for him. The words he just said touched everyone in the heart and that taught Jim something about how to be a leader.


    "So I don''t only need to be the strongest, but I need to showpassion as well," he slowly whispered to himself while he followed the steps of Hector back to his team.


    "Silence you ignorant fools," the master shouted in obvious anger, "this is nothingpared to our elite boys and girls here."


    "Humph!" Yet midway Hector turned to him as he paused. "If you have anyone able to crush that number then bring it on. I bet the final victor won''t be me, but him."


    He pointed all of sudden towards Jim''s direction making all the eyes turn towards him.


    Jim felt weird about Hector''s deration, and the most shocked people here were his team.


    "Is that true?" Kro turned to Jim with doubt in his eyes. He wasn''t the only one, but many had the same look while others had veneration.


    "I... hope so," Jim slowly said as he suddenly raised his hand in the air and closed his fist. He didn''t speak or say anything but this simple move was enough to make Hectorugh.


    Thetter nodded his head in respect towards him and then returned to his team while Jim''s raised fist was imprinted deeply inside the minds of all.


    "What was that just now?" Deno asked with a loss.


    "Are we now having that as a symbol for our team?" Rick was much smarter than Deno and could jump to this conclusion.


    "If we managed to bring back victory to the entire inner campus, then yeah we will adapt this as our signature," Jim said with a big smile, "and it seems we will be doing that."


    "You are really mysterious," Kro said before smiling, "but I trust you and I know what you are capable of."


    "Next!" the master shouted in anger and the next one to advance belonged to the chimera pantheon.


    For the next few hours Hector''s record was standing in front of many teams who went to be tested. Some were able to break the number of that arrogant dragon kid and now he wasn''t even in the top ten of the tenth grade even.


    As for the entire academy score, the numbers kept getting closer to Hector''s on an rming rate.


    "I bet they are exchanging cores," Deno was getting restless as he watched thest dragon kid of the seventh grade getting a score of neen thousand points.


    "Let them do what they can," Jim yawned as if he wasn''t even rmed with that.


    "But this is against the rules!" Deno''s tone was getting louder but Jim only winked at him.


    "Have more trust in our side," he simply said.


    "I have only faith in you," Deno said, "but this isn''t a fair game anymore."


    "It was never meant to be one," Jim said to all of his teammates, "we are fighting against all the odds and believe me when I say it... Fate always stands beside the ones chosen from the beginning by it."


    The others only gave him silent nces and didn''t speak. They didn''t know what Jim went through inside the forest.


    The monsters he in, the ones he fought, and even the life and death situations he experienced changed his perspective over the world.


    The old him would be much infuriated by this cheat, but not anymore. His short dealing with Hector and his team opened his eyes.


    Whining and feeling bitter about anything wouldn''t change the facts. If he wanted to really challenge such injustice then he had to prove his worth by his own hands.


    And he kept ying with the ring he got from Igory as he held all his hopes on it.


    ''If Hector scored such a big number then I might as well do,'' that was what he kept telling himself since that moment.


    "Next," the master said and his face was now funny. His face turned red and got slightly swollen like a rubber ball out of his frustration.


    "It''s me who will crush that number of yours," a tenth grade dragon kid advanced and spoke in equal arrogance to the first dragon one.


    "Yawn," yet Hector loudly yawned in a theatrical way, "you need ten of tenth grade to kick me out of the entire ranking idiot," he said with a very irritating smile over his face.


    "Kicking you off the throne is enough for me," the kid simply said as he went towards the pir.


    "Twenty-five thousand points! Hell yeah!" the kid shouted in triumph while the number appearing on top of the pir in the sky made the entire ce silent.


    Then loud cheers of many teams came to salute him and his record.


    "Damn!" Deno was already on the verge of exploding, "see this? They cheated to make such a moron score that one."


    "Whatever," Jim casually shrugged, "if they did that then the rest of the scores will be only meager and worthless."


    "But..."


    "We have nothing to worry about," Jim interrupted the anxious Deno, "the throne will be ours to take."


    His confidence managed to calm down the restless Deno and silence anyone else. The team nced at him while other kids kept getting tested.


    As he expected, the next hours showed very low numbers from the core disciple teams. Even some scored a big zero, something that wouldn''t even happen if they didn''t cheat.


    "Twenty-one thousand points, you are about to get kicked off the top five soon," yet after three hours another kid belonging to the chimera pantheon of tenth grade core campus scored this number.


    His shout was weed with a wave of cheering but Hector kept collected. Jim knew he didn''t care about thepetition from the beginning.


    However putting all of them under such pressure seemed a bit amusing for him. And Jim also felt the same way.


    "Next!" the master shouted.


    "Let that one who is rumored to be the king tonight step forward," yet before any disciple could step forward, the dean suddenly spoke after long hours of silent watching.


    And all the eyes fell instantly over Jim who sneered.


    "Let me show you a real miracle," he said while stepping forward towards the pir.

 Chapter 258: One Hundred Thousand Points

    Chapter 258: One Hundred Thousand Points


    Jim moved slowly towards the altar. All the eyes fell upon him but he didn''t care.


    He knew Hector gave him a ring containing what was salvaged from the pit for sure. That meant at least he would get a score equal to Hector, or a little higher.


    Even if he wasn''t the king, he would end up being the first in the grade one list and one of the top ten ever in the academy.


    And that was more than enough for him.


    "Put your hands on the pir," the master said once Jim reached the rounded base of the altar. "Both hands please."


    Jim stood there for a moment before he stepped on the base. "It''s cold," he muttered to himself while feeling the altar base with his feet.


    "We have no time, move now or be disqualified," the master said in a harsh tone.


    "He might be afraid," thest dragon kid suddenly said beforeughing in mockery, "I bet he is going to piss his pants. Is this the one rumored to be a king? A king of what? A bunch of losers?"


    Heughed and his words instigated the mockingughs of many others. Jim turned to nce at thoseughing at him with cold eyes.


    They were all belonging to the core campus one way or another.


    "We''ll see about that," Jim confidently said before turning to the pir. "Once I be your king moron, then it means you are a loser."


    Jim ced both hands over the pir and totally ignored the curse that dragon kid said and wouldn''t be punished upon.


    Jim knew the ugly face of the academy now. They would treat you nicely if you were part of the pack, leaning your head to them and letting them step over everything you got.


    Fight them back and you would be considered an enemy, no questions asked.


    "Let''s see what score I will get," Jim said to himself the moment the pir went silver.


    And he waited for the ray to be released.


    However what he didn''t notice was that his own body was shining with the same silver light like the pir.


    He didn''t feel a thing or notice anything different, however everyone else was just ring at him with puzzled expressions over their faces.


    "Should that... happen?" the master supervising over this said to the dean and other masters.


    But he got no answer, only silence and shock was what he got.


    "I was sure this boy is special," Igory couldn''t help butugh, "see? A kid in the inner campus bested all your fancy kids of the core campus... Amazing, isn''t it?"


    "Watch yournguage Igory," the dean said in a deep tone, "a few weeks ago you were part of us."


    "I bet you are now feeling terrified," Igory didn''t stop but he even moved a couple of steps forward. "You tried everything you got to stop this boy, and see? Even the judge is sympathizing with him."


    "That light doesn''t mean anything," the dean said in a casual way like he was trying to demineer the importance of that light.


    "It doesn''t mean anything for us because no one knows what''s going on, right?" Igoryughed, "I can only apud your keen eyes Hector boy. You said it like a prophet, our boy will be the king."


    "The score isn''t out yet," one of the masters belonging to the Chimera n and part of the core campus said, "don''t put any hope before the score appears or you might get a heart attack."


    "I bet you will have one when the score appears," Mark stepped in to help Igory.


    "Enough!" The dean''s voice showed how upset he was. His shout made everyone realize he wasn''t that collected and calm after all.


    He might even be, like Igory described, terrified.


    As for Jim, all he could feel was a rare moment of peace out there. The pir seemed to release some sort of energy to cool him down, making him feel safe.


    Then a strange sting began to happen over his skin from time to time.


    ''What''s going on here, old man?'' Jim got a very painful sting and couldn''t help it anymore.


    ''I believe the pir is trying to assess your own powers,'' the old man answered after a long moment of silence.


    ''Shouldn''t it assess the cores, not my powers?'' Jim got another sting and this time he couldn''t help but think of drawing his hand off the pir.


    ''Don''t!'' Yet the old man managed to stop him from doing that.


    ''It''s... torturing me,'' Jim got another sting and cursed. ''Damn! That hurt!''


    ''You need to endure,'' the old man said what Jim didn''t want to hear.


    ''I won''t until you exin what''s going on.''


    ''It''s assessing your power, told you already.''


    ''Yeah, you said,'' Jim took a deep breath, ''but I asked another question and you didn''t answer.''


    ''The answer is in front of you, can''t you see it?''


    ''Old man, I''m not in the mood to do this,'' Jim took a deep breath before adding, ''I want you to tell me in a direct and simple way what''s going on here. What''s wrong with that pir? Why is it assessing me?''


    ''It''s because you got the core of that monster,'' the old man slowly said.


    The answer made Jim slightly puzzled before a thing jumped into his head. ''That seed... damn! It must be it!''


    ''It''s not necessarily a bad thing, right?''


    ''What''s good wille from... Damn, can''t this pir give me a break?''


    ''It should be almost over,'' the old man said, ''but assessing that score alone is enough to grant you an incredible score.''


    ''Seriously?'' Jim got another sting and that made him feel the pain deep down his spine.


    ''Don''t think about it,'' the old man knew what he was nning to do, ''despite having that ring from Hector, the score you will get won''t be far away from their reach.''


    Jim sighed as he nned to pull his hands off and end the assessment. ''I don''t need that king''s ce,'' he thought, ''all I need is just to be in the top ten.''


    ''You don''t understand,'' the old man slowly said, ''being the king isn''t just about fame and glory. The king carries power, or why else would he be called the king?''


    ''I dunno,'' Jim shrugged, ''I thought it was some kind of useless title.''


    ''In an academy filled with mythical creatures and fierce ns? You gotta be kidding, right?''


    Jim knew his old man had a point but the pain that he kept feeling made him quite impatient.


    However, for everyone else, they only saw him standing there shining in a silver light like a pir for almost ten minutes.


    They didn''t know he was getting tortured by the pir, and all they cared about was the score he would get.


    And just when Jim was getting the worst pain he could even imagine, the light off his body simply vanished.


    A sliver ray was shot in the sky while he finally felt the energy emitted from the pir vanishing off.


    "At...st," he even staggered a couple of steps backward while panting for breath. Only part of his team and a couple masters plus the dean noticed his weird state.


    But the window that came above and the number written on it attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Holy... sh*t!!!" many curses like this one appeared all over the ce while Jim turned his head finally to see what he scored.


    "One hundred thousand points!!! That''s insane!" he muttered to himself before turning to nce at the shocked and appalled white faces around.


    Those arrogant kids and masters of the core campus stood there with ashen white faces. They were petrified and Jim noticed some trembled out of shock.


    "Hell yeah! Our inner campus ace did it!"


    A shout came from Hector that rmed the entire inner campus and let them all whistle in salute for him.


    "Stop... Stop it!" yet the dean couldn''t stand seeing such numbers. He shouted to silence everyone beforending towards the judge.


    "What do you want to do?" Mark didn''t stand still as he felt some threating from the dean.


    And he wasn''t alone.


    At once several masters appeared beside Jim. They all stood in a small circle while Mark, Rana, and Igory stood inside beside the weakened Jim.


    "Stand out of my way," the deannded on the outer rim of the base. "You are blocking my path."


    "You should have some dignity," Igory spoke first, "he got this score fair and no rule in the academy allows you toy a single finger on him."


    "Who said I want him?" the dean slowly moved his head around while the tension in the air started to rise. More masters began to gather up from both sides.


    Any small mistake and the entire ce would be turned into a brutal war.


    "Then why are you standing here?" Mark aggressively asked.


    "I can say the same thing about you all," the dean seemed collected.


    "We are here to escort our king back to the inner campus," Rana slowly said.


    "And I''m not blocking your way, and I''m not here for him," the dean simply said before pointing all of sudden towards the pir, "I''m here to see how the hell that kid got such a biased score."


    "Biased... what are you even talking about?!" Rana couldn''t help butment in an aggressive way.


    "This mark... no one can have it," the dean pointed to the high above window, "the number of monsters and their value at ces disciples could reach can''t allow for more than fifty thousand points to one disciple."


    "Nonsense," Mark instantly disagreed.


    "The proof is easy to acquire if you are slightly smart," the dean said in a rude way before adding, "step aside, I need to unveil the mystery behind this kid''s hideous cheat here."

 Chapter 259: A Fair Score

    Chapter 259: A Fair Score


    Everyone stood there motionless for long stressful moments. The dean didn''t move a finger as he nced at Mark.


    "Don''t be a fool, you know I can''t do anything to that boy ording to the code of the academy."


    "Sometimes despair would drive sane people insane," Mark slowly said while he was trying to see through the dean.


    "That''s if he was a sane one to begin with," Igory didn''t hide his own sarcasm at this moment.


    "Then step aside and let me do my job," the dean was standing there fixedly while the tension all around wascking a fuse to ignite.


    And the entire ce would be torn into pieces with a wild war erupting here.


    "What do you n to do exactly?" Mark asked while motioning with his hands for the masters around to step down.


    The dean watched the slow and careful moves of the masters while saying:


    "I''ll ask for the evidence," he pointed to the pir and added, "even if I asked for pictures in exchange of my finger then I won''t hesitate to do it."


    "Why can''t you just ept your loss?" Igory sneered.


    "I''m not a loser," yet the dean shouted in some nervous way, "and I''m already sick of this situation. Step down now or else I will take this as a direct challenge to my authority."


    "Humph," Igory harrumphed before stepping after the path Jim and others went to. "We''ll see about that," Mark said while he was thest one to move.


    As for Jim, he only kept his mouth shut and listened to all this without saying a single word.


    But as they went down the altar and started to retreat, he paused.


    "What are you standing here for, kid?" the dean said without even turning his back to him, "move your ass now or else they would me me for anything happening to you."


    "He is right," Mark turned to nce at the dean while standing beside Jim, "we should regroup with our people and stand there."


    "This is where I will stand," yet Jim was strangely stubborn and his voice was heard clearly despite him not shouting.


    "At least you have some dignity to face your crimes," the dean sarcastically said before taking out a long and strange shaped stick.


    It was like being made out of a myriad of different shaped branches of many trees. Some were red, others were white, and even some had no color at all, fluctuating with colors and reflecting anything around.


    And there was the head of a human with two giant carved wings on his back.


    "A fairy..." Jim slowly muttered in surprise to see such a symbol in the hands of the dragon up front.


    "It''s indeed a relic from the ancient and long gone fairies," the dean said as he slowly raised the stick high in the air. He held it with both hands, arched his giant back and stood there in that stance for a long minute.


    "We should go now," Rana nervously said as she turned around, "they are surrounding us."


    "Let them be," Jim was still stubborn, "I''m the king here and I won''t let anyone deprive me of my rights."


    "I admire that rude boldness you got there, kid," the dean said in mockery, "but soon I will disclose all your faults and cheats."


    "Then go ahead and do it," Jim said and even though he took a few steps to the front, "I dare you to prove it."


    "We''ll see," the dean only said before the stick started to shine in different lights. The lights seemed to crawl upwards from the ce of his hands to the statue of the fairy at the top.


    Jim watched the lights going up slowly, merging together and forming a strange ck red color.


    However the moment that color reached the statue of the fairy, it instantly was absorbed and vanished before it got reced by a golden light.


    And that light shone brightly all over the altar, and strange enough the light never exited the altar area.


    "What is he doing?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    "It''s the ancient ruling fairy scepter," Igory slowly said, "the dean only has it, and there is only one in the entire academy."


    "He can control anything inside the jurisdiction of the academy," Rana exined further, "and by it he can force the judging altar to show the facts based upon which you got that scary score."


    "I like the scary part in it," Jim chuckled in a carefree way.


    "Aren''t you nervous?" Mark asked in doubt.


    "Why should I?" Jim shrugged, "after allI got that score for what I honestly killed."


    The masters exchanged silent nces that attracted Jim''s attention. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    "The ring," Igory slowly said.


    "Is it against the rules?" Jim knew what he was trying to say.


    "He could use that to negate the score of you," Mark said, "it''s not against the rules, but it''s not part of it either."


    "I... don''t understand," Jim honestly said.


    "He can use the fact that you didn''t personally kill those monsters against you," Igory clearly said.


    "But..."


    "All of them are doing so," Mark sighed, "I know, and he knows like anyone else about this... However, ording to the book, that''s a mistake."


    Jim turned to nce at the dean and now understood the reason behind what just happened between the two sides. "So that''s why he looked so confident," he slowly muttered.


    "He could see you got most of the cores from someone else," Rana said, "that''s why we need to retreat and join our people. Like this we can have a chance to bargain."


    ''Don''t move...''


    Just as Jim was about to agree, the firm voice of his old man rang in his head. He was surprised to hear that especially with him being so close to the dean.


    But he trusted his old man, and if he risked it to tell him this, then he wouldn''t retreat.


    "I''ll... stay!" Jim said it and all the masters around felt he was losing his mind.


    "Should I drag you then?" Igory was running thin on his patience with him.


    However before Jim could say anything to justify his decision, the dean roared all of sudden.


    And the golden light started to converge over the pir like something was sucking the light dry.


    "By the power I hold I ask for the fair assessment of the disciple named Jim," the dean roared in a strange , harsh and deep tone.


    Jim noticed that with each word the dean said, the golden light around vibrated like it was reacting with his voice.


    And then the pir started to shine in golden light while the window up above changed.


    "Fair?!! How can this be...?" the dean turned like everyone standing here to nce at the window high above.


    And instead of the scary score Jim had, there was only one single word there... "Fair."


    "Oh, that was... unexpected," even Igory said it with a shocked expression on his face. The tension he felt and others around had was vaporized instantly at this moment.


    "See old man? I wasn''t lying or cheating," Jim said in a loud tone that forced the dean to turn angrily at him.


    "This can''t be real," the dean pointed to the sky, "the total number of the cores all disciples can get won''t allow you to have such a number! You cheated! There is no way around it."


    "Then... Prove that my kid cheated," Mark took a deep breath before standing to face the dean. "Otherwise you have to dere him the new king, right?"


    The dean''s face showed how angry he was. His body trembled while the veins of his neck bulged. He even breathed out dark smoke from his nostrils, giving him a funny look that made Jim smile.


    "I won''t ept it," the dean said in determination.


    "Then prove it smart dragon," Igory didn''t let this chance slip by and said in mockery to the dean.


    "I''ll prove to all how he cheated," the dean seemed to go crazy right now as he turned around to the altar. "I demand a collective summary of his score," he shouted while raising the stick high in the air.


    He started waving it right and left without pause for long minutes. The air around the altar started to howl violently while Jim nced at the nearby Rana.


    "He is trying to bring forth the recorded images of the cores you collected," Rana said without waiting for him to ask.


    "Can he really do that?" Jim was surprised to hear this, "is there some sort of recording or cameras in the forest?"


    "No, it''s the images the judging altar took from you while calcting the score," Rana corrected, "and now he asked for these pictures toe as a proof."


    "But that won''t be done without a price," Igory sneered, "finally that old man will lose a finger or two."


    "Really?" Jim chuckled and that made Igory evenugh.


    "Sure, his injury won''t even heal at all," Igory viciously said before adding, "a small price to pay asshole."

 Chapter 260: The New King

    Chapter 260: The New King


    Jim stood in the middle of his masters while watching the arrogant dean extending his left hand to touch the pir.


    The moment he did so the hand got enveloped with the silver light from the pir before retreating.


    And there he got a missing finger from his hand.


    "Small price indeed," the dean sneered.


    "Good to know you still got a good hearing," Igory said beforeughing, "next time I won''t curse you loudly or mention your missing... finger."


    The dean harrumphed and didn''t speak again while the other hand kept moving the scepter in a circle.


    "Rumble!"


    It didn''t pass long before the pir shook and the screen up above started to change.


    "This is the first monster I killed, it was in a river," Jim recognized the images being presented in the window and showing off the brutal fight he had in the river.


    Then the images changed and showed him fighting the monster in the pet and killing it. Then the images kept shifting and strangely the monsters just kept increasing in number and ferocity.


    It was like the images were arranged from the weakest to the strongest. However everyone here knew that the images were arranged ording to the time of happening.


    And that in itself was something remarkable.


    "Wow, he truely fought a queen monster..."


    When the time came for thest monster fight, the images showed him fighting that lizard monster.


    And he heard many whispersing from everywhere around.


    "He couldn''t kill it alone," the dean said in an arrogant way, "he will have some help."


    But as the images kept ying, everyone saw how he managed to stand all alone, face the lizard monster and kill it alongside other shadow monsters.


    And the next image that yed had a deeper impact over everyone.


    "An... ancient monster?!" many asked in doubt while Mark, Rana, and Igory exchanged silent nces.


    "Why do you seem surprised?" Jim noticed their weird reaction and asked.


    "You weren''t injured by a queen monster?" Mark asked and that question made Jim realize what Hector did.


    He lied, and it was obviously to protect him.


    "It wasn''t," Jim slowly said as he pointed to the window above, "it was that monster."


    "No one can face and kill such a monster," the dean said in surprise.


    The three masters around him moved a step forward while Igory sneered.


    "We''ll see about that," he said, "our boy here can do anything impossible it seems."


    "We''ll see," the dean then turned his head to the images up above. The images showed a brief summary of the fight against the ancient monster, Hector getting poisoned, the brutal fight against it, and finally Jim killing it.


    "Amazing," even Igory was surprised by such a result, "how did you do it?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Jim asked.


    "No, the spells used can''t be known from such low quality recording," Mark turned to the window above which showed something new.


    "One ancient monster core alone equals one hundred thousand points."


    That''s what was written up there. Then the writings changed.


    "As the highest score I can allow to show is one hundred thousand points then I couldn''t give the disciple the appropriate score he deserves."


    "Hahaha," Rana couldn''t help butugh, "that serves you right."


    "You asked for a cheat and we got back a rpunsation, that''s hrious!" Igoryughed in mockery while Mark only kept his smile and the doubtful gazes at Jim.


    "That''s..." the dean couldn''t continue his words as he was about to use Jim of cheating. However he realized he was now on the altar and he might get more punishment from it if he continued his words.


    "How did you do it?" the dean asked in a strong tone that didn''t seem fit to the current humiliation he was feeling.


    "None of your business," yet the calm and firm answer of Jim came to make his face change again.


    "Now our boy is the king of the entire academy," Mark suddenly said while pointing at Jim, "I now ask for the crown to be ced on his head."


    "That''s..." the dean seemed not to be epting such a result.


    "What?" Mark slowly asked, "if you have any more doubts then we can ask the judge.


    The dean moved his eyes towards the altar around. "We haven''t finished yet to have the coronation ceremony," the dean slowly said while gritting his teeth with each letter.


    "That''s fair," Mark smiled before turning around, "we''ll stand on that side, hopefully the rest won''t take long."


    The group of masters moved and the war about erupting here ceased to exist by the retreat of everyone else.


    The dean''s masters returned to the altar side, while Mark''s masters went with him to stand on one side.


    And now what remained was only a bunch of disciples who wouldn''t be able to crush the amazing record of Jim.


    "Great work," Rana said the moment everything settled down and the assessment was resumed again.


    "Thanks coach," Jim slowly said while noticing the prideful eyes of her.


    "What did you use to kill such a monster?" Igory asked again. "You know it''s not that easy to find one of those monsters these days, regardless of killing them."


    "Well," Jim smiled and showed a fake hesitation and struggle, "I used luck to kill it."


    "Your Season pet? I doubt that!" Igory instantly said.


    "What''s all this king thing about?" Jim tried to shift the topic.


    "Changing the topic? Smart and not," Igory smirked, "smart kid, I''m going to teach you for the next ten years... how will you evade me all this time? Huh?"


    "Hahaha," Mark came atst and patted on Igory''s shoulder, "it''s not the time to speak about this. Besides..." he nced around, "we aren''t alone y''know."


    "I just wanted to brag with that spell a first year kid used to crush his mighty ancient monster," Igory evilly said.


    "Despite the spells used, the fact that a first year disciple belonging to the inner campus managed to kill his lovable pet is impressive in itself."


    "A... pet?" Jim slowly asked while feeling a sudden threat.


    "It''s a known fact that he had an ancient monster as a pet," Igory said as if it was nothing, "he is crazy, right? And everyone is saying I''m the mad dragon, humph."


    "Don''t worry Jim," Rana noticed what Igory didn''t as usual, "he can''te at you as long as you are inside the academy."


    Jim turned his eyes towards the direction of the forest and his mind retrieved a series of images and memories of what happened there. "As long as I''m not under his mercy," he muttered.


    "About the king," Mark shifted the topic this time, "it''s an honorable position that holds few responsibilities and a great glory and fame."


    "Responsibilities?" Jim noticed this and asked in doubt.


    "They aren''t that much," Rana said with a chuckle, "y''know... just to patrol the academy and lead some armies to exterminate some rogue thieves around... things like these."


    "Oh..." Jim nodded in understanding.


    "The list of the responsibilities are always present at the stele," Mark said, "but as far as I can remember, no one cared about these responsibilities or iming the king to do them since a long time ago."


    "I bet he won''t let me off easily," Jim said while motioning his head towards the flying in the air dean.


    "Yeah," Igory nodded in agreement, "I bet he might even put more tasks there."


    "We can always help," Rana said in a prideful tone, "the king is a representative of the entire campus, and he has the right to call forth any master to help him from his campus."


    "Really?" Jim hurriedly asked as this would solve a lot of problems for him.


    "Yeah," Mark said, "if we are going to y by the rules, then we should y entirely as the book says."


    Jim felt more warmth before Igory winked in a weird way.


    "Butpared to the responsibilities, the privileges given to the king are very rich."


    "Hahaha," Rana hit the mad dragon with her elbow to silence him, "don''t listen to everything he says."


    "What? He can have all the fun he wants," Igory turned to Mark asking for his support.


    "That... was something put for the older disciples to enjoy," Mark slowly said as he decided to stand beside Rana here. "It''s a rule of thumb that kings would onlye from thest two grades in the academy, mostly from the core campus."


    "That''s why many loose things were ced there," Rana crossed her arms.


    "But they are still viable for him to use," Igory persisted.


    "Such acts will damage him more than bring any benefits," Mark firmly said, "I believe we shall filter the privilege list before giving it to him."


    "He is here by the way," Igory pointed at Jim, "we can hear his opinion."


    "No, it''s best if we handled this without any interference," Mark decisively said.


    "And here goes all the fun," Igory said in a fake regretful tone, but Jim knew that statement from Mark wouldn''t stop the mad dragon.


    He would hear all the long list of privileges from that dragon sooner orter.

 Chapter 261: Kings Can Summon Warriors

    Chapter 261: Kings Can Summon Warriors


    Jim stood by their side while his team members came to stand around. He noticed how nervous they were as if the result of the test was still undecided.


    And strangely enough, after two hours of low scores and even many zeroes, one disciple came with a bomb.


    "One hundred thousand points... How can this even be possible?!!" Deno was shocked when the result of that dragon kid came. He was part of grade six, belonging to the core campus.


    "They are cheating!" Rick shouted without any embarrassment while other inner disciples objected in loud voices.


    However the dean didn''t give them any heed while Mark could only sigh.


    "That bastard!" Igory clenched his fists, "I suppose he deprived all the masters from their cores as well!"


    "Not unlikely though," Rana nodded, "he would do anything to stop our boy from being a king."


    "Now what?" Jenny asked with a red face out of anger, "will we let him escape with that daylight cheat?"


    "We... can''t do anything to him," Jim slowly said, "after all he yed by the rules."


    "Nonsense!" Igory shouted, "you cheated old dragon... Have some dignity in you as a dean and put that result up to inspection."


    "Humph," the dean only harrumphed before ignoring Igory.


    "Damn you!" but that only added fuel to the mad dragon, "do you think you are better than everyone here? Even me? I dare you toe and face me one to one!"


    "Calm down," Mark moved with Rana and more masters to stop the angried Igory from doing anything foolish.


    "Will we let him run away with that?" Igory pointed at the dean while shouting in extreme rage.


    "I''m the only one privileged to do such an inspection," the dean slowly said before a very irritating smile appeared on his face, "however I can''t see what''s wrong in such a result? Is it normal for your boy to get this result and ours can''t? That''s absurd!"


    "It''s a cheat!" Igory thundered with his enraged voice but the dean gave him his back and didn''t look at his direction ever again.


    "I can''t let him escape with this!"


    "Just chill out master," Jim suddenly said, "after all even if I''m not the king, I''ve crushed their confidence and made them expose their true colors to everyone."


    "But the king... It''s a very elite and prestigious title, how can you be fine with losing it?"


    Jim nced at his master and could only sigh. "We can''t do anything," Mark stepped in and said, "everything lies in the hands of that sinister dragon."


    "Curse him," Igory shouted in a very loud tone, yet the dean kept ignoring him.


    "Just forget it," Rana said, "we can''t win this anymore."


    It took some time for the enraged Igory to calm down atst. The test continued and after two more hours and many big zeroes it ended.


    "Now let''s see the top list of our academy," the dean said in a very joyful tone, so irritating to Jim and others of the inner campus.


    But no one said a word before the dean pointed his scepter towards the pir.


    And then the pir shook and vibrated before the window up above changed its content.


    "First ce... is our Jim?!!!" The shockedment came from many masters around whom turned instantly towards Jim.


    "Serves you right, bastard," Igory shouted in triumph while the face of the dean became darker than the night around.


    "How can this be...?" the dean turned his head towards the altar and waved his scepter again. "Further info, please," he said with a very gratified tone.


    The pir shook once more before the writing up above changed slightly. The ranking was still the same but next to each disciple was a row of words exining the reason for that rank.


    For Jim he had this line wrote beside his name:


    "Jim, first grade inner academy disciple. He got a score of one hundred thousand points but he killed many high and extremely dangerous and rare monsters. So despite sharing the same points with the second disciple, he came in first thanks to his bravery."


    "Yeah, our Jim is brave and your Lingard is a cheater," Igory sneered and evenughed while pointing at the dean, "try to outsmart fate again, and every single time you''ll lose."


    The dean wanted to retort back however he swallowed what he had in mind. He only turned around and took a deep breath.


    "The king of the academy is known for all now," he said in a tone that he tried to make it collected. "Tomorrow the stele will show the updated list of responsibilities for the king. Failing in doing them will result in depriving him from the title and giving it to the next in ranking... You are dismissed."


    The dean didn''t stand there for a single moment as he instantly vanished from midair.


    "I told you," Jim sighed, "he will manipte the list and add some impossible tasks there."


    "Don''t worry son," Igory was in a very good mood and even called him son, "we are by your side and you can ask anyone for help."


    "We won''t leave you alone," Mark confidently said.


    "Where is the crown then?" Rana suddenly asked, "and the hood? Damn! That dragon ran really fast!"


    Other mastersughed before Igory patted on Jim''s shoulders, "leave this to me. I promise anything you deserve to have will be secured by me."


    "And me," Mark said.


    "Don''t forget me as well," Rana chuckled.


    "Add me to the group."


    "And me."


    "Me too."


    More and more masters stepped up to offer their support to Jim. As for thetter, he only felt so much warmthing from them.


    "Thanks a lot," he said to them in honest gratitude, "you are really making this like my home," he only said this to himself while walking away from the ce.


    "Nice ranking, king," just as he was getting out of this ce and returning to his mansion, Hector came with his gang and joined him.


    "Thanks to you," Jim smiled and said in an honest tone.


    "Nope," Hector waved his index finger in the air, "this is all thanks to you. You were the one to save my life back there and kill all those impossible to deal with monsters."


    "By the way boss, how did you pull that feat?" Rick asked the question he had no answer upon.


    He tried to act in a polite way with the presence of outsiders.


    "He used a forbidden spell," Hector answered instead, "something no other disciple or even master can be brave enough to use."


    "Oh." Many of Jim''s team eximed in surprise, "is that true?" Kro asked with much interest, "can I perform it?"


    "No you can''t," Jimughed, "no one else can or else he or she will die for sure," he tried to be blunt so no one here from his team or Hector''s would think of trying the absorption spell out.


    Only he could pull such a feat, and Hector had a clue or two about the reason behind this.


    "What do you n to do now, new king?" Hector asked with a very wide smile that made Jim realize something.


    He was new in all this, but for someone like Hector he lived long enough here to see nine kings before him.


    "What do kings usually do on their first days?" Jim asked with an evil look.


    "First," Hector smiled, "you have the right to call upon your mighty warriors."


    "Warriors?" Jim didn''t understand his meaning.


    "Damn! You don''t mean those narsastice people, right?`` Yet Rick shouted in the next moment while others eximed in surprise and even fear.


    "Yup, despite it''s not a tradition but he can do it," Hector said.


    "Tell the kid the truth," Roger suddenly jumped to stand with them, "no other king had the balls to call upon them. But I believe you can."


    "Wait a minute," Roo interfered at once, "those maniacs don''t follow any rules, only love fighting and wars. Bringing them here will be like nting an unstable bomb inside your own yard."


    "Don''t exaggerate like this," Hector turned to him, "I descend partially from them and here I am. Can you say I''m crazy or bloodthirsty or warmorgring or anything like this?"


    "Barely true," Jim couldn''t help butugh and all Hector''s teamughed with him.


    "C''mon, I''m just a brave young man who loves adventures," Hector tried to act innocent but all he got was shaking heads and funny expressions over the faces of his team.


    "Besides who said that damned dragon will let you have it easy?" Hector suddenly said what he wanted to say from the beginning.


    "The list, right?" Jim asked as he already figured out what Hector wanted to say.


    "He will add many tasks for you," Hector said in a firm tone, "I bet most will be impossible for a first grade disciple toplete, and many will be even impossible for any disciple here to fulfill."


    "Then we call upon those lunatics to help? That''s not a solution, it''s inviting more trouble to our doorsteps!" Rick was still against such an idea, and he got the nod from Kro and Roo as well as Gordan.


    "You need to be fully prepared," Hector warned, "you got only one chance to summon them, and that''s before the first twenty-four hours of being a king expire. Don''t waste this chance and prepare for the worst."


    Jim stopped walking as he nced at the terrified faces of his team, the stressed expression of Hector''s team, and the very serious face of Hector himself.


    "Sigh, just tell me how I can summon them."

 Chapter 262: Changing The Mindset Of The Team

    Chapter 262: Changing The Mindset Of The Team


    Hector gave him a deep nce before smiling in content. "That''s my boy, however... we can''t do such a thing here," he turned around before whispering, "we have many eyes and ears looming around us."


    "Then..." Jim paused before realizing what Hector wanted to say, "the secret room, right?"


    "The best ce in the entire academy," Hector said, "besides we have one day left before your chance is gone. So you can have some rest or... some fun," he winked while ncing at the four girls in Jim''s team.


    "Sure, why not," Jim smiled before adding, "alright, let''s meet at noon."


    "Good hour," Hector patted him on the shoulder before leaving with his team.


    "Will we... are you the boss?" Rick was still opposing such a thing.


    "Having one more card isn''t foolishness, Rick," Jim slowly said.


    "But... those warriors are lunatics," Kro tried to persuade him, "we can''t let theme here. They are total freaks, only interested in wars and fights."


    Jim nced around while walking in the middle of this peaceful night. "I believe we will have many wars ahead of us," he said, "so no harm in being prepared, right?"


    "..."


    The others didn''t speak as they realized he already had his mind fixed on summoning them.


    As for Jim, he didn''t do that willingly or on his own decision, but the old man also helped.


    ''Don''t listen to them,'' the old man said, ''they are just afraid of the ancient tales of the warriors.''


    ''So they aren''t that bad, right?'' Jim asked despite knowing the answer.


    ''They are,'' the old man said, ''they can be bad and mean, but they are trustworthy and dependable.''


    ''In times like these, what would a man desire other than this?'' Jim sneered as he wasn''t totally supporting bringing those lunatics as his team members called.


    ''As you just said to the guys, being prepared isn''t wrong.''


    ''But where can I hide them?'' Jim slowly asked before he realized the answer to that. ''Oh, you and Hector are thinking alike.''


    ''It''s just the safest ce in the entire academy for you... for now,'' the old man said, ''so it''s not a problem to summon them there.''


    ''What about... other masters?'' Jim asked, ''won''t they see them as well?''


    ''They won''t,'' the old man said, ''after all you''ll create a special room that no one else can enter but you.''


    ''Oh... I see,'' Jim evilly smiled before he reached his house atst.


    The mansion he lived in before was now a war fortress. Justing at it from far was enough to see all the high walls and the watching towers.


    "Igory surely took his time ying here while I was gone," he said it out loud while the other team members were having some difficulty believing their eyes.


    There was a trench around the mansion now, with a bridge that could link the inside with the outside.


    "Look," Deno shouted as he pointed to the sky, "there is even a shield around the mansion."


    In front of their eyes some birds were unfortunate enough to try and pass into the mansion. The moment these poor little things did so they got fried up by the shield, exposing its existence.


    "Weird," Gordan slowly said, "birds don''t fly at night."


    "Oh," others eximed in surprise while Jim wasn''t surprised at all.


    "This is expected," he said, "these aren''t birds, or at least not normal ones."


    "Spies?" Rick asked just to make sure of what he understood.


    "Yeah, and we don''t need to ask for whom, right?" Jim''s words were crystal clear as everyone instantly imagined the picture of that dragon dean.


    "He... ns to keep your moves under constant surveince," Roo said.


    "That''s expected," Jim sneered, "after all what I did back there screwed his entire ns up. Even after resorting to dire measures and cheating he couldn''t beat me."


    "That''s what he deserves," this was the opinion of all right now while they went closer to the mansion.


    "Halt right there," one master shouted when they were less than a hundred meters off the gate. "We''ll lower the bridge for you."


    The next thing that happened was for the bridge to fall with loud noises before the group entered the mansion.


    "You renovated it," Jim said to a berserker master who stood there leading other guards.


    "Master Mark stressed over the importance of the mansion," the berserker said, "don''t worry, you can sleep in peace while we monitor everything."


    "Thanks," Jimmented before ncing around. The mansion that was broken and burnt down before they got to the expedition was now brand new.


    There was no single scratch over it, plus he noticed that the ceiling ended up with what he felt like a watching tower.


    "That''s for your own safety," the master noticed his eyes fixed upon that part of the mansion, "from up there we can monitor the sky and protect the mansion from any intruders."


    "We noticed some birds trying toe in here," Jim slowly said.


    "They aren''t birds," the master said, "they are spies."


    "I doubted it too," Jim nodded, "thanks for keeping watch, I''ll enter the mansion now."


    "By the way," the master stopped the group, "the mansion got enhanced by spells and arrays, so... don''t freak out when you enter it."


    Jim didn''t get what he meant by that but he nodded in gratitude before entering the mansion.


    And there he felt instant shock the moment he passed through the main mansion door.


    "What the hell..." it wasn''t just him, but all of the team were shocked by what they just saw.


    In front of them wasn''t their usual mansion, but like a grand pce. Many halls existed, high ceilings and many decorations as well. The golden colors overwhelmed everything there and even blinded their eyes for a bit.


    Yet what was really shocking was the presence of golden particles swimming freely in the air like they weren''t affected by any gravity at all.


    "What did they do?" Jim asked in shock while moving around. "This isn''t anyway like the mansion we used to live in."


    "They kept the old wall intact," Jennyughed while pointing in one direction. There the old wall that Jim fooled everyone to think it was the gate to his secret realm was still there.


    Everything around changed but not that wall.


    "Now it''s time for us to y," Rick shouted while the others yelled. They nned to scout the new pce they owned regardless of what caused that in the first ce.


    However everyone had a clue or two about what happened here. It seemed that Mark, Rana, and Igory kept themselves busy and took liberty in changing everything inside the old mansion.


    And now it seemed like they were inside an enchanted ce, something they never even knew could exist.


    "No," but Jim had to pour water over their burning excitement, "we need to have an urgent meeting."


    "Meeting?" everyone nced in doubt at him while Deno asked, "what meeting?"


    "We need to discuss what we will do from now on."


    "We... will enjoy our lives like king main followers," Rickughed and others followed.


    "No, that''s not what I meant," Jim paused before adding, "when I was in the forest, I had a very eye opening experience."


    "What? Don''t tell me you got spiritual!" Lanughed but Jim didn''t find this funny at all.


    "We... need to discuss how we can change our mindset," Jim slowly said, "from being a pushover group, feeling weak and threatened all the times into a mighty group that weed threats with jokes andughs."


    "That... is a bit strange," Rick nced at everyone before adding, "we aren''t that strong to begin with."


    "No you are wrong," Jim firmly said, "no one is stronger than us."


    "Boss... as much as I would love to admit that, but that''s not true," Deno slowly said, "weck in numbers and strength. We are just first grade inner and outer disciples. No one can be weaker than us but those useless outer disciples."


    "Imagine higher grades, boss," Kro jumped in, "they are all strong and mighty. They know more spells than us and gained far experience in life and fights and magic and everything. We can''tpete with them or evene close to their levels."


    Jim stood there while silently listening to their opinions. He knew this was what he used to think before meeting Hector, before seeing his team and how they reacted to dangers.


    "I killed what others considered impossible to even survive fighting with," Jim said in a firm and confident tone that made everyone pause from what they were talking about.


    "I experienced very intense life and death situations and survived. Hector didn''t help me there, or even his ten grade disciples. I did!"


    Jim''s tone was loud and clearly heard by everyone.


    "But boss... we aren''t like you," Deno said in a slightly embarrassed tone.


    "But you are my followers," Jim strongly said, "as far as I''m concerned, as long as we fight as one team no one can stop us. No one!"

 Chapter 263: A Debate

    Chapter 263: A Debate


    The team gave his nces full of doubt yet he didn''t care. "In time you''ll know that I''m right."


    "Boss," Deno said, "it''s not that we don''t want to be strong. I do, and I bet others do. However, we can''t see how this is happening."


    "We need a n," Rick said, "one that can be practically applied and useful to us."


    "Well," Jim moved his eyes towards the only old wall here, "if you asked then this is where you''ll find answers."


    "The secret room?" Kro asked in more doubt, "but that needed a lot of teams to be in there just to train."


    "Nope, you are wrong," Jim slowly said, "the room has more potential than that."


    The team nced at him in a different way before he added, "We have had a tough time since that expedition started. Go, rest and let''s talk early in the morning."


    "What about..." Ashley asked in shyness while the guys around chuckled and shook their heads before they left him with the girls.


    "Let''s go," Jim rounded his arms around Saga and Tina before getting upstairs and selected one of the biggest rooms in the new pce.


    And the five were destined to have a very amusing and entertaining night till the early hours of the day.


    Jim slept deeply tonight. When the early rays of the sun came in from the opened window, he couldn''t resist the light and woke up.


    ''Had some fun,'' the old man said in a yful tone.


    Jim turned to watch the sleepy four smooth bodies in the bed before smiling and said nothing.


    ''What do you n to do?'' the old man asked as he went down to the bottom level.


    ''Nothing but redecorating the room,'' Jim said before stopping in front of the wall, ''y''know, I need a lot of things to be done inside, with some secrecy.''


    ''So renovating the entire room to be the secret base of your team? Sounds like a good n.''


    ''It is,'' Jim said before taking out his medallion, "just don''t disencourage me on this. I need time to renovate things inside.''


    ''I won''t,'' Jim passed through the door entering the secret realm again, ''I just hope the room will be flexible to my thoughts.''


    ''It will do whatever you ask,'' the old man said, ''but the real question is how to hide the entrances to these rooms from others.''


    "Others?" Jim entered the vast hall again and memories of what happened here flooded his mind. "What do you mean by that?"


    ''You know,'' the old man paused, ''those masters and other teams who joined here with you before.''


    "That was from the past," Jim slowly said before adding, "but this is a very good idea. I just need to prepare a facade for anytime I might have to let others in."


    ''That''s what I was talking about,'' the old man said, ''but how will you do that?''


    "Yeah..." Jim crossed his arms and started to think deeply about this. He stood there for hours while his mind kept imagining and nning what the room could be.


    He applied many patterns to the room, however none seeded to get his approval. With a thought arge number of rooms and halls appeared, and with another all ceased to exist.


    ''You need to pick up something,'' the old man said in a bored way, ''Hector and others must have arrived by now.''


    Jim realized that he totally missed them while he was immersed in what he was doing. He was also hungry but he didn''t decide to leave yet.


    "I have to find something suited to be editedter on," he kept telling himself until after a couple more hours he finally chose a design and stuck to it.


    "Well, at least this will do good as a front," he nced all around while standing in a wide hall that was supposedly the first thing anyoneing here would find.


    But this wasn''t all.


    The design he put started from this hall into another door that led through a long and twisted corridor before forking out.


    One went up, and the other went down. However this forking point took him quite a while before he could muster it.


    So anyone passing through here wouldn''t notice the direction he would go through had changed. Mainly the lower corridor was meant for the rest of his team, and the upper one was meant for his own secret projects.


    Like that of the warriors.


    ''I believe this is enough,'' the old man said.


    "I justkc security measures."


    ''What for?'' the old man asked before realizing something, ''no one can do a thing here without your approval. That''s your biggest security measure.''


    "I know, but..." he paused as something deep inside him kept giving rming signals inside his mind, "it''s not a big problem trying to be cautious, right?"


    ''Well, if you need I have some special spells to help,'' the old man said.


    "Spells can be countered," Jim didn''t find this a good idea at all.


    ''Then what do you need?''


    "Dunno," Jim shrugged, "I''ll leave this part forter. I have to go out now."


    ''You should be,'' the old man agreed, ''you spent long hours here and your window to summon these warriors is getting near the end.''


    "Alright," Jim took out his medallion again and the moment he went outside, he found the ce filled with faces he never expected.


    "Couch?" he asked the moment he saw Rana''s face. She stood there alongside Mark and Igory, plus more of the inner campus masters as well.


    And Hector was also there, all alone.


    "We need to talk, ace," Rana said with a serious face while the others gave him the impression they weren''t here on a friendly visit.


    "About what?" Jim tried to act cool but Igory suddenly came to him and hugged him without a reason.


    "Congrattion son, I can now officially pass my glorious title to you."


    "I''m sorry, not now," Mark said in a firm way, "we came here to discuss the lunatic action of summoning the warriors."


    "The warriors?" Jim turned towards Hector who shook his head.


    "It wasn''t me."


    "It doesn''t matter who it was," Rana said.


    "It matters," Jim stepped forward, "who came and told you that?"


    "It''s... me," Lan suddenly came from upstairs with his weak body and weaker personnel.


    "You?" Jim was shocked to see his Actimos doing this.


    "I was afraid," Lan said in deep regret, "and I''m still afraid. You don''t know what those warriors are, but I do."


    Lan turned around as if he was talking to space. "We all do! Anyone living in this universe will know how terrible it was to bring these warriors and how foolish to think that anyone can contain them."


    "Your Actimos is right," Rana said trying to get Lan out of the picture for now, "those warriors can''t be allowed to be in the academy."


    Jim didn''t care about that, he slowly moved towards Lan and ignored everyone else. Lan knew what he did was wrong, betraying his friend''s trust and acting behind his back.


    "You need to listen to us," Mark said.


    "No, you need to listen to me," Jim took a deep breath before putting his hand over Lan''s shoulder and whispered. "Your turn... ising soon. This isn''t over, and it won''t be until I say so."


    Lan''s body trembled as he hurriedly said, "I was... afraid of them."


    "Wrong call buddy, you shouldn''t be afraid of them," Jim turned to face his masters as he added, "you should be afraid of me."


    "What does that even supposed to mean?" Mark asked.


    "He is dead set on doing it," Igory evenughed, "I can tell from his eyes. That crazy determination to do it no matter what."


    "Igory, stop," Mark was getting impatient with Igory and his annoying attitude.


    "Master Igory is right," Jim slowly said, "I won''t reconsider this. It''s my privilege and I will im it."


    "You shouldn''t put yourself and others at risk," Rana tried to act soft with him, "not such a risk."


    "They are going to be my own squad," Jim slowly said, "I will use them to fulfill my missions and responsibilities."


    "This is extreme," Mark shouted, "we told youst night we got your back!"


    "And what if that dean acted in bias and stopped you froming to help?" Jim slowly asked, "what should I do if he dered aw that prevents you from setting a single foot outside the perimeters of the academy?"


    "He won''t do that," Rana tried to act like the sound of reason, "he won''t impersonate all of the masters here."


    "He can do it," Igory suddenly said, "ask me about it. I know how damned that old dragon is."


    "Igory..." Mark''s low tone wasn''t that calm or soft at all. Igory looked at him before shrugging as if he didn''t have a thing to do with what he just said.


    "I won''t hang my future or life over this week hope," Jim firmly said, "I have only small window before I couldn''t summon them anymore. I won''t miss it."

 Chapter 264: Getting The Summoning Array

    Chapter 264: Getting The Summoning Array


    Jim''s words didn''t appeal to any of the masters here except for Igory. Thetter was the only one supporting such action.


    "You''ve got us," Rana said in a try to persuade him, "we can''t let maniacs be among us. They are a sadistic brutal race that knows nothing but blood."


    Jim nced at her but Mark didn''t give him any chance to say anything.


    "Let''s go," Mark said, "Hector ising with us."


    "Me?" Hector seemed to be surprised, "to where?"


    "Anywhere but here," Mark seemed to be out of patience.


    But Jim had another opinion about it.


    "Sorry master," Jim suddenly took a step to the side. This simple step made him just next to Hector. "I didn''t want this to reach such a mess," he apologized before putting his hand over Hector.


    "Don''t tell him anything," Mark moved slowly while saying that to Hector. "Let him go, he is far stronger and we are far more numerous than you."


    "Sorry master," Jim only said before a medal appeared in his other hand.


    "Stop him!" Mark shouted and the next moment all the masters stood by the wall they knew Jim would need to pass through to ess the secret room.


    But... They were mistaken.


    "Woosh!"


    The next moment Jim and Hector vanished from the mansion like they never existed there in the first ce.


    "What the hell...?!!" Mark was shocked as much as the others.


    "Told you," Igory smirked, "that room wasn''t that simple at all."


    "That''s not the time for that Igory," Rana shouted at him before turning around, "how can we get ess to it? Anyone... speak now!"


    She yelled at Jim''s team but as everyone here knew, no one could let them in that room except for Jim.


    "I like what you did at the ce here."


    The moment Jim moved Hector with him inside his secret room, Hector was rmed and stared in doubt towards him before taking a glimpse around.


    And he found the old room wasn''t there anymore. A Brand new one with vast space and thick walls was there.


    "I had my free time," Jim said.


    "And you just needed to keep yourself busy and not rest, quite admirable actually," Hector started to walk around. "What you did back there was... weird to be honest."


    "I knew they wouldn''t let me have the warriors," Jim said, "I hated wasting my time or for anyone to force me to do anything."


    "As much as I hate this buddy, but you had some serious sh*t when youe back. Do you even realize that?"


    "I know the risks," Jim stood in front of Hector, "and now I want the way to summon the warriors."


    "Are you sure?" Hector didn''t answer him right away and instead he kept looking deeply at him.


    "You bet I am," Jim crossed his arms before adding, "y''know this is going to y for both of our interests, right?"


    "How so? Enlighten me then," Hector tried to stall for time, and Jim knew that and didn''t mind it.


    After all he was pretty sure no one would ever be able to set foot here without his permission.


    "The dean won''te after me alone," Jim slowly said, "he will target anyone who can help me. Masters, disciples, even ves... everyone will be in the reach of his hand if we don''t have a deterrent for him."


    "The warriors? So that''s why you were acting so stubbornly back there," Hector shook his head, "y''know the dean lived too long, much longer than you can even imagine."


    "What do you mean by that?" Jim didn''t get the point of this sudden remark.


    "It''s just... Someone like him didn''t live so long and reach such a stage without getting his hands dirty."


    "Makes sense," Jim nodded in agreement.


    "And that means that mad dragon already has his own killing squad."


    "And I''ll get mine," Jim shrugged despite feeling a little weird about how this conversation was heading.


    "With only a handful of warriors? You gotta be kidding me!"


    "A few is much better than none, right?"


    "But..."


    Jim didn''t give him a chance to argue as he already got what he was thinking about. "Just give it to me man, at least you owe me this."


    Hector was about to say something but he stopped. He knew what Jim was inclined at just now. "Saving my life is considered nothing at all if you lost control over those maniacs," Hector had to say and Jim had to nod in understanding.


    "I won''t," Jim promised, "just tell me what to do."


    Hector seemed a bit hesitant before he finally spoke up. "First you''ll need to draw a circle of your blood. I''ll write down the letters for you."


    He nced around and the next thing appeared was a ck board and white pen. "Use these to write the letters," Jim handed the pen to him while saying that.


    Hector gave him a deep nce before starting to draw weird letters in between two circles. The circles had five long lines.


    "You can summon five warriors only with that," Hector said, "this is the most of your current abilities."


    Jim understood what he meant. "Do you mean if I was in a higher grade I would have summoned more?"


    "I told you, the number of warriors won''t be enough."


    ''Don''t listen to him,'' the old man suddenly said, ''you can summon as many as you can.''


    Jim was surprised to hear both conflicting opinions. ''What is the catch here?'' he asked his old man while watching Hector drawing the letters.


    ''It''s a correct thing for you to summon only five warriors based on your current power,'' the old man said, ''but who said you can''t draw more circles to summon more?''


    The eyes of Jim silently shed with golden light before he smirked. ''So the trick here is about the number of circles used, right?''


    ''That''s the unseen trick here,'' the old man said.


    ''Won''t I lose control over them?'' Jim was concerned about this fear all of the masters and even Hector expressed.


    ''No, don''t worry about that,'' the old man suddenlyughed, ''I''ll teach you something to edit that primitive circle. That way those warriors won''t be any different that your servants.''


    ''Sounds good to me.''


    ''It''s real, since when did I mislead you?''


    Jim only smiled while watching Hector doing his part.


    "It''s ready," Hector moved back from the board, "this will do fine."


    "Thanks," Jim suddenly touched him and the next moment he was gone.


    Hector appeared in the pce again and this time his appearance brought more chaos to the ce.


    The number of the masters standing here has multiplied since thest time Hector and Jim were in this ce.


    "Where did he take you?" Mark instantly shouted as he jumped on him, "what have you done?"


    "Y''know where I was," Hector fell on the ground while Mark was over him. He wasn''t afraid or angry, instead he had this annoying smile on his face.


    "You gave him the summoning array, didn''t you?" Rana asked and Hector only nodded.


    "He can''t be stopped," Igory pushed Mark to the side before helping Hector stand, "and his argument can''t be argued with."


    "He is deluded!" Mark was extremely angry at the moment, "his insecurity andck of trust would bring down upon all of us!"


    "Who can me him?" Hector slowly said while touching his neck, "he saw things that made him the man he is now."


    "Cause and effect baby," Igory seemed the only one enjoying his time here.


    "That''s not an excuse," Mark pointed at Igory in warning, "and when hees out we will need to force him to ditch those warriors before they get out of control."


    "I doubt you can do it," Hector said in a firm tone, "I doubt anyone here can persuade him."


    "Why is that, genius?" Mark was already on the edge and his tone told everyone how desperate and mad he was.


    "You weren''t there," Hector took his breath before adding, "he renovated the entire room. I dunno how he can do it, but I bet with everything that he would detain them inside."


    The masters exchanged nces with each other while Igory''sugh rang in the entire ce. Jim''s team stood in a corner without a clue about what they should do.


    "He is such a smart kid," Igory said amidst hisughs, "he knew he couldn''t control them out here, but there he could control anything."


    "He had to bring them outside if things went wrong," Mark wasn''t convinced like Igory, "and at that moment they would turn on him and on everyone else."


    "Well, not a bad argument in my eyes," Igory sneered and that made Mark more furious at him.


    "Is everything a game for you?" Mark shouted angrily, "can''t you see the bigger picture instead of your own benefit?"


    "I once was like you," Igory said with a faint smile, "but all I got was betrayal and loss. I can''t tell if you''ll face the same fate as me or not, but I advise you to let go of all the rules you know and stick to this kid."


    "Help him in bringing such a disaster to our academy?" Rana said with doubt, "let him destroy it?"


    "In my opinion, this damned ce should have been destroyed a long time ago!"


    "You are hopeless," Rana shook her in disappointment while Mark only looked away.


    "At least I''m not betraying my disciple out of fear," Igory said and his words silenced everyone.


    He got his share of hatred eyes and angry looks from everyone around, but he didn''t care. "That kid is the only link we got since a long, long time ago with fairies. We can''t let him down, or sumb to those... you know what I''m talking about."


    "Hearing you like this would make me doubt you are one of them," Mark said with a sneer.


    "If joining them had a silver lining in smashing this damned ce then I wouldn''t be here," Igory slowly said.


    "But standing with such a maniac act from an ignorant frightened kid is the right thing to do, right?" Mark sneered again.


    "Right, at least he got the right to im this f*cking ce back under fairies control!" Igory''s shout silenced everyone again, but he couldn''t stop the hating eyes or the angry looks on everyone''s faces.


    And he frankly didn''t care. As they were acting out of conviction, he was also doing the same. In fact his conviction was much more deeply rooted than anyone standing around, even including Hector or any part of Jim''s team.


    "Do it kiddo," Igory softly murmured, "let''s bring chaos and change over this cursed ce together."

 Chapter 265: The Warrior Summoning Array

    Chapter 265: The Warrior Summoning Array


    Inside the secret realm, Jim didn''t know about any of this.


    The moment he took the array design from Hector and sent thetter out, he started studying and memorizing it deep into his mind.


    ''You don''t need to be this vexed over this,'' the old man said in a bored tone, ''you can engrave these over any wall you want.''


    "No, it''s best for me to memorize it."


    The two circles or the five long lines inside weren''t a hurdle for him. However those letters were. Each letter had a unique shape, specific curves, lines, and even dots for each one.


    And he didn''t notice any simr letters or ones repeated there.


    "Fifty-five symbols... That''s quite the number," Jim slowly said while feeling lost at some point. "Whatnguage is that?"


    ''It''s notnguage,'' the old man said, ''these are rune letters.''


    "Then it''s anguage," Jim said, "what do these letters mean anyway?"


    ''They aren''t anguage,'' the old man was slightly annoyed, ''they are letters with no meaning.''


    "I doubt that," Jim said while scanning the letters again, "if so then they wouldn''t be able to summon a chicken."


    ''Each letter holds a magnificent amount of energy, or you can consider it as a portal that''s linked to a very great power.''


    "And writing them together like this will help me drain from these powers, right?"


    ''Correct.''


    "Then it''s anguage."


    ''...''


    The old man felt helpless speaking with him about this issue. So during the next hour he didn''t bother speaking with Jim at all, giving him the space to think, memorize, and revise.


    Jim stayed like this for an hour before he memorized it.


    "How can I draw such a drawing?" he asked while leisurely walking through the corridor towards the upper secret segment of this ce.


    ''You can think of an ink or pen, but the best thing ever is using your blood.''


    "What?!" Jim was speechless for a moment, "don''t tell me it''s like the first time I activated my powers."


    ''Oh, that was so long ago,'' the old manughed in embarrassment, ''you can''t still be resentful towards me about that incident, right?''


    "I am," Jim firmly said before reaching the secret upper segment.


    ''You need to use your blood,'' the old man said, ''it''s the only way to control those maniacs without any problems.''


    Jim stood silently there without doing anything else but thinking of his options. He just passed through the door to this segment, which was formed of a semi-transparentyer like membrane.


    "So I have to link my blood with their bodies, right?"


    ''Smart kid,'' the old man said before adding, ''you need to start collecting your blood now.''


    "Screw you."


    Despite that, Jim started to draw on the ground what he memorized in his mind using his blood. He used his sword to injure himself and used the blood to write over the ground.


    For him things seemed much easier in his mind than doing it. "Sigh, I thought it would be a piece of cake drawing such letters," after some attempts and many failures, he finally managed to draw the first array right.


    ''That array is somethingplicated,'' the old man said, trying to encourage him, ''so don''t feel that bad from failing a few times.''


    "I feel bad for my blood," Jim took a deep breath, "now what?"


    The two circles and the letters in between them were now ready. ''Stand in the center and put both hands on the ground. Don''t forget to use your blood.''


    "On which finger?"


    ''On all of them.''


    "..."


    Jim started to feel that the old man had a thing towards his blood. Yet he did as the old man said and touched the ground with both hands.


    "Rumble!"


    The moment he did that, the entire space trembled. It seemed like a very frightening force was applying its might over this space, trying to crush it.


    ''Don''t worry,'' the old man shouted, ''it''s the defensive array of the academy.''


    "Then why are you shouting like that?"


    ''That''s nothing,'' the old man calmly said, ''this won''tst long. Just keep that position and maintain the array.''


    Jim didn''t break the formation or say anything while gazing around in doubt. He felt that the ceiling of that space would crumble and fall over his head at any moment given the violent trembles uring now.


    However as the old man said, and after two minutes of violent quakes, the world regained itsposure and calm like nothing happened.


    But the array wasn''t the same anymore.


    "It''s vanishing!" Jim said in an rmed tone while watching the blood lines he drew on the ground grew fainter.


    ''That''s expected,'' the old man reassured him, ''the array is summoning the warriors now.''


    Just as the old man spoke, five clouds of fog started to rise from the array. They were made entirely of red fog, like Jim''s blood. Yet he could see faint golden sparkles everywhere in the clouds plus some deep ck dust.


    "Is it normal to take this long?"


    Jim was feeling impatient and alerted. He heard a lot ofments regarding those iing warriors; all shared the knowledge of how crazy and brutal they were.


    And now he was just standing in the center of all this. Five red clouds were rising up slowly from the ground like growing mushrooms. They surrounded him and he had no other option but to think of getting out of this dangerous situation.


    ''No, you need to stay there until they all arrive,'' but the old man asked for something insane.


    "Do you want me dead this badly?" Jim couldn''t help but say in panic while the clouds around started to grow in sizesrger than the size of the dragons he once met.


    And they didn''t show any signs of stopping growing despite that.


    ''You have to establish your dominance over them,'' the old man said in a serious tone, ''if you missed that then they will see you as a weak boss... someone they can dispose of.''


    "Didn''t you say that using my blood will restrain them?"


    ''No, your blood will only help,'' the old man corrected, ''but the true and effective way to dominate them is through the first moment they are born into your world.''


    "Born? Wait a minute, do you mean they aren''t... summoned?" Jim suddenly realized something.


    ''If they are already part of this world, they would be living inside a n or a tribe. They are just wisps of energy that can be summoned using this array and in response to your energy.''


    "Oh... so my blood..."


    ''Will help in forming up their bodies while your energy will be used as their soul,'' the old man said, ''and from the first breaths they take they need to see you as their prime.''


    "Father you mean?"


    ''No, we call it prime.''


    "I''ll call it father," Jim stubbornly said while trying to distract himself from any of this, "never thought something born to this world would be in such a giant state."


    ''That''s just the beginning,'' the old man said, ''if you are lucky enough and manage to raise one of them, then you would be able to see how giant these creatures can reach.''


    "Hmm... How can I level them up?"


    ''Don''t take me wrong,'' the old man said before adding, ''however without the support from the academy and privilege you got as the new king, you wouldn''t be able to summon even a single one of them.''


    "Oh," Jim realized what the old man meant, "so I''m only able to summon them because of the privilege of the king... What about the period after losing that title? What about... leveling them up?"


    ''The moment you lose the right of the king, all of them will vanish,'' the old man said, ''except if you have enough energy to sustain their presence, which is something I highly doubt.''


    "I can work hard to keep them," Jim stubbornly said.


    ''If you lose them once, then they''ll die. Any warrior you summon once again will be a new birth if you reimed the king title again.''


    "Don''t be this pessimistic," Jim said while the fog around started to stop growing and began to clear up.


    ''I''m just telling things based on your odds of sess,'' the old man said before adding, ''that dean must have learnt his lesson quite well. Next year won''t be easy for you to gain the same rank again.''


    "I will," Jim said before adding, "I promise you that."


    The next moment he heard the sound of a soft crack. It was like five egg shells got cracked open before all the fog around dissipated fast without a trace.


    At first Jim didn''t see anything through the thick veil of red fog. However the moment the fog got cleared, he managed to notice the frightening shapes of the five warriors he summoned.


    "Hell me... What are those...?!!!" Jim was totally speechless and awed by what he just saw.

 Chapter 266: Summoning Warriors

    Chapter 266: Summoning Warriors


    The fog all dissipated in fast pace yet Jim couldn''t move his eyes away from those five creatures in front of him.


    Before the fog started to vanish, he had some expectations and few imaginations about what the warriors were like.


    But none of his expectations was close to reality.


    Each warrior was at least four meters tall. Their skin seemed to be wrinkled and deformed, shing with red luster from time to time.


    For Jim, it looked like they were burnt to death before being born! Their bodies were covered with white straps that hid most of their skin except at the shoulders, forearms, and knees.


    Their backs were curved slightly forward while their eyes were dark with longitudinal red slit iris. The moment they came to this world they all gave him a deep and very intimidating gaze.


    "Woosh!"


    The air around got restless while a small wave erupted from each one of them.


    "Are they... the warriors?" Jim couldn''t help but ask.


    ''Are you afraid?'' the old manughed as if he was amused by what he was seeing.


    "I am," Jim honestly replied, "but I''m also excited."


    ''They are strong, right?'' the old manughed again, ''but you need to establish your superiority over them... you need to be their prime.''


    "I have a bad feeling about this," Jim slowly said before adding, "how can I do that?"


    ''Well, just say out your name and see what will happen,'' the old man seemed mysterious and that made Jim more restless.


    However he couldn''t have a cold foot at this moment, not after what he had done so far to get them.


    "My name is Jim, and I''m your father," Jim said in a loud tone.


    ''It''s called prime!'' the old man corrected.


    "I like father," yet Jim didn''t ept his correction.


    "Grrr..." just before the two would argue about this, a strange sound came from the five warriors up front.


    Jim silently watched them while one of them stepped forward. "Father? That''s hrious, grr..." that one said while opening its mouth.


    Jim could see the strange jaw that was triangr in shape, having only five spear-like teeth on each side of the jaw which made that warrior look weird.


    "Do you have an opinion about that?" Jim didn''t show any sign of weakness while taking out his sword. He had a hunch about how to establish his authority, yet he didn''t hope things woulde to this.


    The moment his sword was unsheathed, his golden aura shone brightly over this ce.


    "Grr... That hurts..." All of sudden the warrior retreated fast while putting his hand over his face.


    The golden rays only fell on him for a moment, yet Jim swore he heard a sizzling sounding from that giant warrior''s body.


    "My blood is your soul," Jim stepped forward while repeating the words he heard before from the old man, "my energy is your body... defy me and I''ll burn you alive with my energy."


    His words were met with his confident steps forward. Each step he took was met with a retreat from the five warriors until they hit the walls of this secret room.


    "Submit to me, acknowledge me as your father or I will kill you all and give birth to new ones," he said with a vicious tone that gave no room for second guesses.


    He was set on doing this. Either they submit or die.


    "Grr... you are so weak," one of the warriors said in anger, "I can''t allow you to be my master!"


    That warrior moved fast, wielding his courage and anger as weapons. Yet the moment he was bathed in Jim''s golden aura, he couldn''t help but scream in a strange voice:


    "Grr... Grr... Grr..."


    He was burned alive by Jim''s aura. Jim didn''t want to lose one of them, yet he wouldn''t ept any defiance.


    He had such a perfect tool of killing under his control. To be perfect they had to submit and acknowledge him as their father.


    Or else they would stay as a permanent threat to him. "If you don''t submit, then die!" he didn''t show any sympathy or mercy towards that warrior. Instead, he moved towards him, forcing others to disperse to any ce away from here.


    "Submit..." Jim held his sword before pointing it to the ground. He took the stance for his spell, aiming to magnify his golden aura to the max and burn this warrior to death. "Or die..."


    The warrior started to emit golden fog out of his body. Jim saw thin golden red lines shing all over his body, and he had the impression if this warrior kept his stubbornness he would die right here.


    "Don''t you have any value for your life?" Jim shouted in anger before adding, "submit to me you fool, you stand no chance against me!"


    "Grr... Never... Grr..." yet no matter how wise Jim''s words seemed, that warrior was like a filthy seed.


    "Then die!" Jim didn''t hesitate to let his sword down. The moment the sword fell to the ground, the golden aura around him intensified and a big ball of golden aura surrounded him.


    And that stubborn warrior just got engulfed into it.


    "Grr... Grr... Grr..." the warrior kept screaming in such a weird way before he finally became silent. Jim didn''t release his spell yet he retreated a couple of meters to the back.


    And the body of that warrior finally appeared in front of his eyes. "So they turn into charcoaled ore... that''s interesting," he muttered the moment he saw the remains of that warrior.


    Instead of the giant body, a short and hard looking charcoaled ore appeared in front of his eyes. "Is it useful?" he asked with some interest.


    ''It''s not a bad ore,'' the old man said, ''you can make good fiery offensive weapons out of it.''


    "Then it has a use for me," Jim didn''t hesitate to store the ore away before turning to the remaining four warriors.


    They were scattered all over the ce. Their faces were lightly covered with white strips so he couldn''t tell what they were thinking or feeling at the moment.


    "Anyone else wants to act funny?" he shouted while moving his eyes around the remaining four. "Will you submit..." he started to move in a big circle while looking very terrifying to the warriors with his golden aura, "or do you want to die?"


    ''Give them time,'' the old man suddenly said, ''pushing them too hard won''t do. You need to know they are arrogant species, and you are... weak.''


    Jim paused before deciding to ignore thest harsh remark of the old man. "I''ll give you one hour to decide," Jim slowly said.


    He turned around and didn''t leave the room. Instead he took a corner and started to form the array once again.


    ''Don''t you want to settle things with them first?'' the old man seemed a bit hesitant from what he was doing.


    "They can''t touch me," Jim slowly said, "so why wasting time on waiting for them to decide? If I''m weak then I can show them my superiority in another way."


    ''Like what?'' the old man said while Jim was ready to start the second array.


    "Like the fact they are dispensable," Jim closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I can summon tens of them, even hundreds. Losing a few of them won''t matter to me... and that would be their biggest nightmare ever."

 Chapter 267: Dealing With Rogue Warriors

    Chapter 267: Dealing With Rogue Warriors


    Jim was dead fixed on using that strategy to submit them. For him using his aura to kill anyone to oppose his authority was his best guarantee here.


    If he had more time, he would rather y another game with them, but his time was limited. He estimated to have only six hours or even less before his first twenty-four hours advantage ceased to exist.


    And with it he couldn''t summon anymore warriors.


    And he didn''t n on doing so.


    "You have an hour to decide," he said to the next batch of warriors before he turned his back to them.


    "Grr... Grr..." yet this time two were reckless enough toe at him despite his burning aura.


    "Foolish ones like you deserve to die," and he again showed his determination in killing them in cold blood using his sword spell.


    ''You''ll lose many of them this way,'' the old man tried to persuade him not to do that.


    Yet Jim only sneered and gave a threatening nce to the remaining three. "You have ten minutes," he said before turning around and starting to summon another batch.


    He could hear the whispering weird tongue of those warriorsing from his back. He didn''t care even if they conspired to take him down all together.


    He had enough time to summon hundreds, even thousands of them right now.


    But on contrary to his doubts, none of them moved a single muscle even after summoning warriors for the tenth time.


    And this time they were all standing there like an army, a real army.


    "Alright, time is up," Jim simply waved his hand and all of sudden the batches got separated from each other by impregnable walls. "Down here I''m your god. I can do anything anytime I want," he said as he walked towards the cell he created for the three warriors of the second batch.


    "I can kill you all without even sweating... So, what''s your answer?"


    He calmly watched the three warriors while giving him a very intimidating vibe. But he was calm. He knew no matter what, they posed no threat to him.


    Even if they nned to tag team together against him, they wouldn''t be able to do that anymore. These new cells he came up with just now were anotheryer of protection.


    "Submit to me... Or die," he ruthlessly said while taking his sword out and starting to point its tip towards the ground. "You only get until the spell is activated... then I won''t listen to a single word of yours."


    His words seemed very domineering that the three warriors stepped back involuntarily out of their fear.


    To them Jim just killed roughly ten warriors without flinching. And he just kept summoning more in cold blood like it was a fun hobby for him.


    For them he was a psychopath who wouldn''t hesitate to kill them all if he wanted to.


    "Grr... Grr... Grr..." one spoke first before others followed. Jim didn''t get what they meant so he had only to ask his old man.


    ''They are asking about your dreams in this life,'' the old man tranted their speech.


    "My dreams?" Jim was surprised by this question for a brief second, "it''s simple... I want to be the strongest man in the entire universe before ruling over it. Does that dream satisfy your ego?" he asked in a sarcastic way, yet the three warriors took his words very seriously.


    "We acknowledge you as our prime," one of them spoke and then the other two followed. Their voices were so crisp, just suited to a man who got his body burnt by intense fire.


    "Good," Jim was about to turn around before more warriors acknowledged him as well.


    "Damn! Did you wait for one to break down and then you all followed?" he joked around but the old man gave him another exnation.


    ''They just admired your dream,'' the old man said, ''they are strong and brutal. Serving a pacifist will only kill their souls to the bones.''


    "Oh," Jim nodded in realization, "never thought about that before... But for all of you, I''m your father, not just your prime."


    "Father," they all repeated the word in crisp sound before Jim returned to summon another batch with a big smile over his face.


    "Don''t resist," suddenly when the next batch was summoned, and just before the five warriors were about to sh with him like usual using one or two of their ranks; one warrior shouted to stop them.


    "Grr... Grr... Grr... Grr... Grr..." one warrior said in the strange tongue which made Jim feel like he was angry at the one who spoke.


    ''He is insulting that warrior for being a pussy to serve you,'' the old man said, ''just expected from the most terrified species in the entire universe. Their rules are brutal and they only acknowledge strength.''


    Jim nodded and decided to remain silent and watch. He wanted to know where this y would end, by their submission or by their deaths.


    "He is the one," the warrior ignored the insult, "we all should follow him."


    "Grr..." the angry warrior seemed a bit surprised as he turned to see Jim. Jim was standing calmly there while holding his sword. He was ready for a fight at any moment.


    "I''m sure of this," the warrior who spoke earlier answered the newly summoned one, "he is the one in our prophecy."


    "Prophecy? What a prophecy?" Jim''s attention was instantly attracted to this word. He waited for an answer from the old man, yet he got nothing but silence.


    "Then we admit you are our prime," the warrior suddenly changed his attitude and even bowed his head.


    "I''m not your prime," Jim felt a little angry here, "I''m your father."


    "Oh, then the prophecy is true," the warrior suddenly raised his head with bright red eyes, "I''m honored to serve the bloody one... This is a great privilege for me."


    Jim started to get annoyed with all this puzzlement but he had no time to waste here. "Go back now and we will have a long discussionter," he turned around yet the warrior suddenly asked:


    "Are you going to summon our brothers and sisters as well?"


    Jim paused for a moment there before starting the array once more, "only if you give me time to do that. I have limited time here, so don''t waste my time and go back."


    "Your wishes are mymands," the warriors retreated yet that talkative warrior kept himself motionless.


    When Jim summoned the new batch, that warrior spoke fast to them using their strange tongue. This way Jim got himself a new five warriors who called him father from the start.


    "Smart move," hemended that warrior''s action and nodded to him.


    "I can only serve as your right arm if you don''t mind," the warrior seemed to have aspirations of his own.


    And Jim gave him a long nce before finally making up his mind. "If none challenged you for that seat, then that seat is yours."


    "Grr... Grr..." the warrior roared like a beast while arching both hands in the air. Jim watched closely the other warriors, and somehow he felt their fear out of that one.


    "Good," he finally smiled, "but I''m not done summoning yet. After I finish, you''ll have to prove yourself once more."


    And the warrior roared in obligeance while Jim returned to summon more warriors.

 Chapter 268: The Start Of Book Two

    Chapter 268: The Start Of Book Two


    The time Jim had was already small. He knew he had a few hours before he lost his window to summon these warriors ever again.


    And from what he saw, despite him being able to suppress them so easily he knew this was only because of the trick his old man told him about.


    If they faced up against anyone else, they wouldn''t be this gentle or submissive at all.


    Each time he summoned five of them, that warrior from before started talking and convincing them to submit. He heard the word ''father'' so many times already during the past hours.


    With each five summoned he was happier. With each father''s word he heard he became more confident.


    Yet all the happy times had toe to an end. And the end came so fast without even realizing it.


    He tried to use the summoning array again, yet nothing came in return. He stood for a few seconds unaware of what went wrong before he finally realized it.


    "It ended this fast... What a regret!" he couldn''t help but sigh before turning to nce around.


    Then his sad expression faded away instantly and was reced by a wide smile over his face.


    Then heughed.


    ''Don''t get cocky,'' the old man warned, ''this is nothingpared to your enemies. And you need to train them first.''


    Jim didn''t need the old man to remind him of that. He already was aware that this was just the beginning.


    The tip of the iceberg.


    Yet the few hundred warriors standing all around seemed to be an unforgettable scene for him.


    With such force he wouldn''t have to worry about anything anymore. His safety in this academy was now guaranteed, not by the useless words of the masters but by his own reliable strength.


    "Step up," he pointed his sword towards the one warrior who helped him a lot.


    The warriorplied at once while slightly bowing his head. ''`Anyone wants to challenge him for being my right hand man?" he asked in a loud tone while moving his gaze around.


    "Does anyone want to challenge him for the position of my captain?" he asked again and this time he felt the warrior getting slightly restless.


    "What''s wrong?" he calmly asked, "raise your head and speak freely," he added.


    "It''s just a weird name," the warrior said.


    "It''s the name you''d be called from now on," Jim smiled, "you will be my prime captain. Got anyints about that?"


    The warrior seemed to be surprised before he bowed his head at once. "No, not a singleint from my father."


    "Good," Jim then looked around and waited in silence for a long minute. As no one dared to step and challenge this warrior, he looked at him as he said:


    "Kneel."


    The warrior seemed to be puzzled again yet Jim repeatedly said, "Kneel."


    The warrior didn''t stand for long before kneeling on his knees.


    Jim held his sword and pointed it towards each of the warrior''s great shoulders. "Rise as my prime captain," he said in a loud and proud tone before the warriorplied and stood up.


    "Now all of you will answer to him," Jim pointed the sword towards the prime captain of his, "and you will answer to me."


    "Your words are my orders my father," the warrior bowed his head as he said that.


    "If they failed, you can punish them but in return I''ll punish you. If they seed then you can reward them and in return I''ll reward you," Jim stated the nature of his rtion with this warrior and others in a loud and clear tone.


    And everyone here didn''t speak or object to his words.


    "Now I need to know the answer to one question," Jim slowly said.


    "Anything," the warrior instantly said without any hesitation.


    "How can I raise your powers?" Jim asked with much expectation, "I wanna raise all of your powers in the next few months."


    The warrior seemed to expect what he just asked as he instantly said:


    "It''s easy my father, all we need is to kill a lot and feast on our enemies'' souls."


    Jim was surprised for a second before heughed. "So all we need is a battlefield to fight at, right?"


    The warrior nodded and Jim couldn''t help but continue tough.


    "You''ll have your chance soon to do that," Jim evilly said before he paused all of sudden.


    He realized if a single word of his summoning to all this force leaked out then his enemies wouldn''t let him set a single step at the battlefield.


    That thought alone made him realize that he got himself a lethal weapon yet he couldn''t use it, at least for now.


    He needed to make sure no one would get a wind of what he did. If anyone asked, he would simply say he summoned only five and lost three in the process of submitting them.


    This way no one would ever fear or suspect him. This was the only way to secure his path towards the ancient battlefield.


    "Alright," he nodded, "from now on you''ll need to stay here. Do you need any food or water?"


    "We need the meat of your killed enemies," the warrior said before turning around as he seemed to count his men, "we might need one corpse per day."


    "Corpse..." Jim hesitated before he suddenly got an idea, "what about drink? Water?"


    "Nah, we drink the blood," the warrior said in a casual way while Jim could only inwardly sigh.


    "Alright, I''ll make sure to provide enough stock of dead bodies for you as soon as possible," he said before he was stopped from leaving by the warrior.


    "We don''t need these today," the warrior said, "we just came here so we have around forty-eight hours."


    "I understand," Jim nodded, "no one is allowed to leave here without my permission. Is that clear?" he red at the eyes of the warrior and thetter simply bowed his head.


    "I understand my father," the warrior said before Jim patted on his giant body and left.


    Jim knew he finished one task and there are still many at his hand to do. The biggest and most stressing one was to reshape his team to be like what he experienced from before.


    He wanted to feel the same vibe he felt when he fought with Hector and his team at the expedition.


    Yet to do that he realized it wouldn''t be an easy task at all. His team had many inferiorityplexes, things that he couldn''t solve only by words.


    He needed to find a way to heal their old wounds and make them reborn as new. He wanted them to feel strong as he always felt about himself since gaining his power.


    And to do that he needed not just one n, but much more.


    Also he needed luck, lots of it.


    Then there was the problem of dealing with the restless Mark and Rana. He knew the two wouldn''t rest until they would see what he summoned by their own eyes.


    Yet he never nned to do so. They either would take his words for granted or keep doubting him.


    No matter what, this was his secret, and he wouldn''t let anyone know about what he did here.


    ''You can trick the two of them,'' the old man said, ''just bring two of the warriors to see them.''


    "Nah," Jim walked inside the secret room while thinking about this, "I don''t want anyone to see my own warriors."


    ''Fearing to know you n to level them up aftering back from the battlefield?'' the old man couldn''t help butugh, ''c''mon, as if they wouldn''t spy on your every move out there.''


    "I''ll figure out a way."


    ''You won''t escape them,'' the old man warned, ''even if you did, rumors would spread and you would be the prime suspect. You need the support of the academy for that, I told you this before.''


    "I don''t think they would help me if they knew," Jim shrugged, "I need to improvise and depend only on myself here."


    ''You don''t understand it now,'' the old man could only sigh in helplessness, ''butter on you''ll get it.''


    "We''ll see," Jim stood inside the vast hall of the secret room before adding, "it''s time to face the angry two."


    Then he simply took out his token and vanished from this world into the real one.

 Chapter 269: [Bonus Chapter] The Suicidal First Mission As The Academy King

    Chapter 269: [Bonus Chapter] The Suicidal First Mission As The Academy King


    When he arrived at his mansion, things weren''t any calmer than he left.


    Instead the moment he appeared inside the wide room, all eyes got attracted to him like he was a monster.


    Or some sort of an enemy.


    "What is he doing here?"


    Jim noticed at once why the air in the room was so cold. The dean was here!


    "Watch your mouth kid," the dean seemed not to be annoyed or angry at all, instead he walked towards him with a big smile over his face.


    He reached Jim and stood a few inches on his right side. He wasn''t interested in Jim at all, instead he was very interested in the wall Jim just passed out from.


    That was where the secret room hid, the dean knew it and he tried to decipher the mystery behind it.


    Jim felt a little nervous at first before he calmed himself down. This room couldn''t be detected by the eyes of anyone, even the dean himself.


    "He is here to deliver your first task," Mark seemed to be irritated by the dean''s visit. His eyes told Jim he was forced to let him in, carrying some sort of an apology.


    Yet Jim wasn''t mad or sad at him. That was specifically the reason behind his stubbornness towards the warrior issue.


    He didn''t want his safety and fate to be linked by the decisions of others. Like now, all of his allies couldn''t prevent his enemy from stepping inside his ce and even let him examine his secrets.


    This time he was lucky that the dean couldn''t see anything, but what about other times? He inwardly became more confident in his decision, feeling more reassured that all that conflict with his masters was worth it.


    "Impressive," the dean finally said after long moments of silence, "I can''t say I don''t admire your little secret, or else I would be lying."


    The dean turned to Jim who kept his long face on. "Can you let me check it from the inside?" the dean suddenly said, trying to act like a kind person, "I promise I won''t do anything there."


    "Like the promises you gave to us before," Jim couldn''t hold himself anymore before turning his back to the dean and walked towards Rana and Igory. "Can you tell me what business brought you here?"


    Jim gave his back to the dean, yet he felt his back being stung by the burning gazes of the dean. "Don''t cling to the past," the dean simply said, "you are now the king of the academy, and we should start a new page."


    Jim reached Rana and Igory while Mark stood in front of the dean blocking any path towards Jim. Jim was now surrounded by his most trusted three masters.


    "I''m opening a new page with you," Jim said with a mysterious tone, "I''m opening a new page with everyone."


    The dean didn''t understand his words, and even mistook them for something else. "Then what about joining the core campus?" the dean said, "we value your potential a lot."


    Jim wanted to sneer, but he maintained his calm domineer while answering, "This is my home, I don''t n to leave it very soon."


    His words conveyed his rejection perfectly to the dean. The next instant the face of the dean changed and became slightly darker.


    "Alright, but you''ll have to leave here soon," the dean paused before adding in a vicious tone, "very soon."


    The words carried a hidden threat that Jim didn''t miss. Yet Mark stepped in to stop this meaningless talk as he asked:


    "What''s the first mission of our king?"


    "This," the dean casually threw a piece of jade towards Jim like it was a piece of trash. "Everything rted to the mission is inside."


    The jade wasn''t caught by Jim, but by Igory. Igory was the most familiar one here with the dean''s dirty tricks and so he examined the jade at first looking for any traps.


    "This..." yet the moment he did so, he managed to read the mission and its details. His face changed and showed a look of horror over it.


    "Hahaha, he is the king," the dean seemed to enjoy the reaction of Igory''s face before turning to leave, "and he should prove himself as a king to everyone by his deeds."


    "This is insane!" Igory couldn''t control himself anymore as he shouted in defiance, "I''ll go and help him."


    "No you won''t!" The dean didn''t even stop and his voice carried only his amusement and not anger. "No one will step a single foot outside the academy, not masters, not disciples, not even his team."


    The dean reached the door of the mansion and stopped there. He turned around and at this moment Jim saw the devilish grin over his face.


    "If anyone broke this rule then all the achievements of this new king will be wiped clean and he will lose all his rights. You all know..."


    He then passed through the door and vanished with a loudugh as he continued to speak, "the first mission is the one which gives any king his authority or deprives his royal crown of his head."


    Jim watched all this happening without saying a single word until the dean moved away. Just before he could ask or stretch his hand to take the jade, Rana was faster and then Mark.


    "This..." Rana''s face changed just like Igory.


    "Madness! Hepletely lost it!!" Mark paused with a dignified face, "this can''t be left without us fighting for our king. Let''s go."


    "Wait," Jim stopped them, "give me the jade."


    The three exchanged nces between each other. "Just give it to me, I know this is my fate and you have a little chance in changing it," he stressed over his demand while stating the obvious.


    "Don''t lose hope in us," Mark slowly said while giving the jade to Jim, "we won''t let you venture on such a suicidal mission, not alone."


    Jim received the jade while watching the three give their orders to the masters around to strengthen their security over the mansion.


    Jim stood in his ce watching all this while his friend, Hector, and his team came to stand beside him.


    "What''s that crazy mission?" Hector couldn''t help but ask in curiosity.


    "Dunno," Jim held the jade before adding, "how can I read it?"


    "Just close your eyes and inject your energy inside," Hector simply said like it was nothing.


    And Jim simply closed his eyes and let his energy dissipate inside the jade to read its content.

 Chapter 270: Convincing The Team

    Chapter 270: Convincing The Team


    The moment his consciousness entered the jade, the entire world changed. He felt himself standing in a world full of fog, where a giant stele stood erect without anything else there except for it.


    And the moment he arrived there, he stood just tens of meters away from it. He was barely able to see the entire stele from such a distance.


    Then words started to sh in crimson red color on its surface.


    "The king''s first mission: There are many ordeals in this world. However with the presence of the new king, nothing shall stop him. Justice is asked against those who attack the academy. The rebellion camp marked in this location must be exterminated by the king''s own powers in less than two days.


    Mission conditions: the king must go alone. No aid should be given from the academy. No master, no disciple, and even no ve shoulde to his aid. The king should show his domineering act and fight with his own powers and relies only on himself to crush his enemies.


    Breaking these conditions means the king failed even if he seeded in the mission.


    Punishment: the king will be deprived from his right and the second in line will inherit his ce.


    Reward: The king can submit any number of rebels from that camp and add them to his own forces. Yet he needs first to dominate them with force and enforce his own power over them to make them submit. Those who submit won''t be able to enter the academy and will only be left outside waiting for his next mission to help. The king can use them in any activities outside the walls of the academy as he likes.``


    Jim nced at the words while feeling some surprise from this mission. Before he knew it, heughed at what he read.


    "Is this what you chose to stop me?" he couldn''t help but sneer, "alright, I ept your challenge."


    He turned his body and was about to walk away before he felt a gush of wind pushing him outside the jade. His mind returned to his body before he opened his eyes slowly.


    "What is this all about?" Deno was the first to ask but all of the team around him carried the same question and worry over their faces.


    "It''s nothing," Jim didn''t want to worry them.


    "Of course it''s not," Hector was the one to demand for more, "what''s inside that piece of jade?"


    "The first mission," Jim casually stored the jade inside his ring so no one would be able to see what was inside.


    "Then tell us," Ashley stepped forward, "not telling us anything won''t help, instead it will make us all worried."


    Jim took a deep breath before pointing to another room, "let''s go there."


    He moved his eyes around and everyone realized they weren''t alone. Many masters stayed behind for their security, and also to keep an eye on their moves.


    So they followed him towards the only ce no one could follow them at, his secret room.


    "Oh, you changed it a lot," the team was shocked the moment they passed through the door he opened. Just as everyone got inside, Jim made sure no one else would follow from masters stationed inside or outside the mansion.


    So he closed the door as soon as everyone got inside.


    "I just felt it would make it morefortable for us," Jim said before walking towards the middle of the vast hall, "here we will train, get stronger, and change for the better... together."


    "Can I bring my boys here as well?" Hector suddenly asked and that request startled Jim for a brief second.


    "If you trust them then sure," Jim thought about it for a second, "but we need to put some regtions first."


    "Like what?" Hector crossed his arms while getting interested in what Jim was about to say.


    "No one speaks about anything going on here," Jim started to say on his own terms. "If anyone broke this rule then we together will handle him."


    "Or her," Hector calmly smiled, "don''t worry, my group is trusted."


    "The moment theye here, they need to stay a couple of days to train and not go out."


    "Oh," Hector was surprised by that condition, "why is that?"


    "Arge group of people going in and out from the mansion will attract attention and might cause unneeded people to get pissed off."


    "They are already pissed off," Hectorughed, "but it''s fine. We all are in the final year of the academy. We got our share from lessons and studying anyway. We know the real world out there isn''t merciful to any of us. It''s best if we use every second to get stronger."


    "Fine by me," Jim nodded, "now it''s time to tell you what the mission is all about."


    He took out his jade and threw it to Hector. The moment Hector checked it, his face changed.


    "So they are trying to ambush you," he muttered, "we don''t care about staying here. Let my boyse and help you out."


    "Give me that," Jenny grabbed the jade from his hands and started to scan it before she passed it to others.


    No one saw what was inside and wasn''t shocked by its content.


    "That won''t do," Jim calmly rejected the offer to help, "I need to do this alone."


    "But..." Ashley was on the verge of crying here, yet Jim''s eyes made her stop in her words.


    "I said I can do it," Jim slowly said, "have more trust in me, in your leader, in your friend... please."


    He wanted to change this annoying over caring nature of them. They worried over anything even if it was so weak and useless.


    He wanted to change that.


    He wanted them to be like Hector''s team, cold towards anything and ready for any challenge.


    "I can do this and I won''t need any help," Jim repeated his own decision, "as for you, you''ll stay here and start training."


    "You have a limited window of time to act," Hector sighed, "there is a teleportation attached to that jade. Once activated you can be there at no time."


    Jim nodded in understanding but his team wasn''t epting his decision yet.


    "We should go with you," Rick said before turning to everyone, "aren''t you feeling the same?"


    "It''s a trap," Deno said, "we can''t let you go on alone to such a trap without help."


    "If you helped," Jim slowly said, "if anyone tried to help me," he turned to Hector as he added, "then seeding this mission won''t matter. I bet their real n is to force others to help me and that would deprive me of my title instantly."


    "Betting your life on such a worthless thing isn''t wise," Hector tried to persuade him.


    "I know what I''m doing," yet Jim was persistent, "I won''t let anyone help and I won''t fail."


    "Then what do you want us to do here?" Roo asked while ncing around, "do you expect us to train and forget everything about your risky challenge?"


    "That''s stupid!" Ashley couldn''t help but cry, "we should go out and help you!"


    "This academy..." Jenny was furious about this test, "it''s really toxic to live in."


    "This is the nature of the academy," Hector slowly said, "you need to adapt to its injustice as long as you aren''t part of the core campus."


    "I want to go now and burn that damned campus to the ground!" Deno''s body trembled in rage, yet Jim didn''t like how his team members were thinking about this matter.


    "Just have faith in me," he slowly said, "I faced much harder situations and lived. Can''t I face this one and triumph as well?"


    He started to walk in circles around the ce, "I did many things that seemed impossible, faced my enemies and monsters who were all above my strength and evenprehension... and I won them all and survived so far."


    "You got lucky," Hector had to stop him there, "don''t get cocky because of a few lucky encounters."


    "I''m not," Jim calmly shook his head, "I know exactly how powerful I''m and what are my odds. If for a brief second I wasn''t sure of my victory, I wouldn''t even consider epting this mission and would rather ditch that title away."


    "Then do it!" Ashley was already breaking down, "we... I don''t want to see you wounded or... dead."


    Jim smiled warmly to her, to everyone. "Believe in me," he said, "I know what I''m doing. All that I ask is just to have faith in me. Can you do me this favor?"


    His wordsnded and everyone went into deep silence. They wanted to argue but they realized no matter how hard they tried, their leader wouldn''t listen.


    "We''ll pray for your sess then," the all silent Saga finally spoke, "I trust in your words. Please don''t disappoint us."


    "Thanks," Jim said before taking the jade from her before he pressed on it hard.


    Yet nothing happened.


    ''Just insert your consciousness in it,'' the old man said, ''and think of going to that location marked on that stele.''


    ''What about my warriors?''


    Jim built his entire n on his newly gathered army of warriors. He knew they were so strong, and this was his chance to see them fight in the real world and assess their real strength.


    ''They are bound to your blood,'' the old man said, ''only one thought and they can show up wherever you are whenever you want them regardless of any limitations of time, space, and even arrays and spells.''


    ''That''s great,'' Jim slowly said before closing up his eyes. "Wish me luck," he only said that before he let his consciousness enter the jade and select to teleport.


    Then his body instantly vanished from the secret room, leaving everyone in deep worry about him.

 Chapter 271: The Impossible Mission

    Chapter 271: The Impossible Mission


    Jim just thought about getting to that ce before he felt a surge of power surrounding him. The next instant a shing blinding light appeared and enveloped his body before he vanished.


    The next moment he found himself standing on the top of a hill somewhere he couldn''t recognize. The world was dark, in contrast to what he thought for it to be slightly bright.


    It was already morning at the academy, so being here made him feel weird.


    But that wasn''t the only strange thing here. When he turned to gaze at the sky, he felt there were strange shadows moving at the distant sky, covering segments of stars in shades before they passed and released the star lights off.


    "Where am I?" This was the first question he had in mind and the most stressful thing he needed to know.


    ''If I''m not wrong then you aren''t in the academy world anymore,'' the old man slowly said.


    "I can... tell that," Jim suddenly paused, "don''t tell me I can''t summon my warriors here."


    ''Yes you can,'' the old man reassured him, ''don''t worry about that issue anytime.''


    "I can''t help but to worry," Jim said, "after all without them I''m screwed."


    ''First things first,'' the old man said, ''you need to go and check more about this world.''


    "I know," Jim still hasn''t moved, "but I have to be careful. This is after all close to the rebel station, right?"


    ''...''


    The old man didn''t speak while Jim turned his eyes to the area around the hill. He was moved here for a reason. And that would be to be close to the rebel''s camp.


    However the world was showered under deep darkness. He couldn''t even see beyond the base of the hill.


    The hill was barren. As he started to descend it he couldn''t see any sign of a tree or nt anywhere. He also felt weird not to hear any sound of birds anywhere.


    And that made this ce look more deste to him.


    "Were I sent to a graveyard or what?" he couldn''t help but mutter while reaching the base of the hill. "Not a single sign of anything living here."


    He turned around yet couldn''t see for a long distance. If not for his fear to attract attention to himself he would have lightened a fire or used his power to ignite the way to him.


    And so he started this journey alone.


    "This isn''t just like I expected," Jim couldn''t help butin. He walked around in circles for hours yet he couldn''t find anything useful at all.


    All he met was barrennds and hard cold rocks. The atmosphere here looked very different from what was in the academy.


    It was totally cold here. If not for him keeping moving all over the ce he would have felt frozen and was tempted to light a fire.


    ''Why not take some out?'' the old man suggested, ''you can distribute them all over the ce. Save yourself more time to look for your target.''


    "Nah, I can''t do that either," Jim shook his head, "who knows if I was watched by my enemies or not. Who knows if I was sent here not to do anything but to be tested for my hidden powers?"


    His worries weren''t groundless and that made the old man sigh and return to his silence.


    It wasn''t until dawn shone over this world before Jim finally got a glimpse of the true face of this world.


    And when he saw what was really around, he couldn''t help but suck cold breath of air.


    "This... all this is a monster?" The light shone and showed to him the true nature of what he was standing on top of.


    He wasn''t on the ground, instead he was on the back of a gigantic monster that was flying in the air like whales swimming in water.


    The cold air he felt from before came because that monster was already flying over a huge altitude off the ground.


    As for that hill hended upon, it wasn''t more than a protrusion on the back of that monster. Jim''s soul shivered from fear when he spotted that. He didn''t imagine anything like this before.


    ''Yet there is a good point here,'' the old man couldn''t help but say, ''you can get a good grasp of things in this world.''


    Jim understood what he meant so the next minute he started running so fast towards the edge of the monster.


    It took roughly an hour to reach one of the gigantic edges of the monster. The moment he reached there he felt like standing on the edge of a majestic chain of high mountains.


    And the rest of the world lied underneath his feet, showing off like tiny things.


    "There are many people living here," that was the first thing he noticed from this far. "How can I find my target then? It''s like looking for a needle in a haystack!"


    ''And younded over the back of a moving monster... That''s bad luck for sure.''


    Jim couldn''t agree more to this statement. He wasn''t only far away from the ground, he was also so far away from his target.


    He couldn''t even know where his target was. The monster was flying in an irregr pattern which made finding his target an impossible thing to aplish.


    But he didn''t lose hope.


    "I have less than two days to finish my task," Jim slowly said, "I need to scan the world first. The base must be on something unique, something that can be seen from such height."


    As he reached this point in his thoughts, he dropped looking at the ground underneath and started examining the sky.


    He was literally flying in the middle of the clouds. Thickyers of white clouds appeared at far distances. The scene was really breathtaking. If not for his current situation, he would rather prefer to stand still and enjoy such a magical scene.


    However he knew he was tight on his schedule.


    As he scanned the world around, near and far, all he could see were clouds scattered all over the ce.


    "That''s weird," after a while he couldn''t help but sigh, "everything in this world looks so calm and perfect."


    ''Maybe what you are looking for lies underneath your feet,'' the old man said.


    "I can''t see clearly from such height," Jim moved his eyes to the ground. The earth far below was covered in endless dark dots that varied in size and shape.


    He knew these must be settlements for people living there. He didn''t know if there were any humans or not, any race he was familiar with or not.


    However he couldn''t tell anything from such height. He could see for hundreds of miles around, but he couldn''t see anything specific either.


    And that just got on his nerves.


    "How can I descend?" he couldn''t help but ask, "I can''t do anything from up here."


    The old man went into silence for a long time while Jim also kept his silence. He was thinking about what to do and how he could force this monster to get down.


    Should he start fighting it? Should he wound it? He didn''t know how this monster would react if a bug like him started biting it.


    Or even tried to kill it.


    Despite Jim doubting his ability to even cause an actual wound to this monster, the mere thought of being tossed off its back and falling on the ground to die wasn''t pleasant at all.


    He couldn''t risk such a thing, and despite that he couldn''t just sit here and wait forever.


    He needed to locate the base of those rebels, and he needed to do that fast.


    "I''m missing something," after a long hour of thinking he finally reached this conclusion, "the stele said clearly it will send me to the base of the rebels. Don''t tell me this entire world is the base of the rebels!"


    ''That''s ridiculous,'' the old man didn''t agree with his words, ''if so then you have already lost this mission. What did they think you are, a nuke?''


    Jim couldn''t help but smile. Yet the next moment his face changed and the smile over his face froze.


    He suddenly heard a voice, a voiceing so nearby that he even doubted himself at first.


    Then he hurriedly turned around towards the direction of the sound. There, where he firstnded, at that protrusion from far, he could see a group of people appearing there.


    They seemed toe from some sort of an opening in that cliff.


    "Damn!" he couldn''t help but suck a cold breath of breath, "I wasn''t sent wrongly here... the base... the rebels are all inside this gigantic monster!"


    And the next moment those groups of people froze as they noticed his presence. It seemed they never expected someone to appear here other than their men.


    And the next moment an ear deafening scream came from nowhere else but the gigantic mouth of that flying monster.


    And with that deafening scream, the rm was set off and the gates of hell opened in front of him all at once.

 Chapter 272: Facing A Hard Situation

    Chapter 272: Facing A Hard Situation


    Jim was taken by surprise just now. He never expected the base to be this gigantic monster or the enemies to be hidden deeply inside it.


    The stele didn''t lie or fool him, he was teleported just on top of the entrance to the main fort of the enemy. However the world was pitch ck and he would never think the base would be a living creature like this!


    But now he had to face this rapidly elerating situation!


    "Damn! Bring me the warriors! Bring ten... no twenty of them now!" Jim shouted when he noticed the increasing number of enemiesing out from that protrusion in the distance.


    And that wasn''t the only ce enemies poured out from. As he could see, at least five more spots emitted enemies out like a swarm towards him.


    ''You need to use your blood,'' the old man replied at once.


    "What? Didn''t you say I could summon them anytime I want?" Jim was speechless as he heard this.


    ''And I said by using your blood! C''mon, make a wound and let your blood flow!''


    "..."


    It wasn''t the first time for him to use his blood for that! He still recalled the first time he activated his full power, it was by a near death experience!


    "There''s no time for that!" he was about to look for a knife or something. But the more time he wasted, the closer his enemies became.


    "Woosh!" at once he took his sword out. In fact he was tempted to take an ore and start using a fiery or lightning attack against the closest enemies.


    But he had no ability to handle all of the rest. So he abandoned such impulsive desire and cut a wound at his hand.


    As he took his sword out, his body started to emit his golden aura. His aura wasn''t that intense yet, but the moment it appeared it attracted the attention of all the foes here.


    He couldn''t tell their races as the monster was passing through a thickyer of clouds at the moment. However he could easily tell their physique was giant, no less than any giant n members he saw before.


    "What should I do next?" he hurriedly asked while feeling more rming with each passing second.


    ''Just ce your hand on the back of that monster,'' the old man said, ''then one warrior will pop up after another.''


    Jim didn''t hesitate to do so. He ced his hand on the back of the monster as if it was the ground. The next moment he felt a sudden surge of his energying from the blood he painted there.


    A connection felt perfectly clear and he felt he could summon any warrior by mere thinking about him.


    "Bring me my captain!" he roared and the next moment the giant body of the captain appeared.


    Compared to the iing enemies, this captain was much giant and bigger than any of them.


    "My father," the captain bowed and knelt while saluting Jim.


    "No time for that," Jim hurriedly stopped him, "go, prepare for a big battle!"


    The captain raised his head and gazed around. He could see therge number of enemies drawing closer each passing second.


    However the next words of him startled Jim.


    "Do you mean these fries?" the warrior pointed his finger at the direction of the iing enemies as if he was pointing at fireflies.


    "..."


    Jim didn''t know what to say at the moment. Yet he closed his eyes and thought about bringing more of the warriors out here.


    "No need for more, father," yet the sound of the captain stopped him after summoning two more warriors, "we are more than enough for them."


    "But..." Jim was about to argue but the three warriors suddenly dashed out like loose arrows.


    In front of Jim he could see a very shocking scene! The enemies whom he feared by their numbers and heard a lot of warning about their strength were falling like nothing in front of the three warriors.


    In fact the way the three warriors were fighting was a bit weird at first. But as the old man exined, he understood their unique way of fighting.


    In front of his eyes, they just breathed in and then anyone standing in their path would fall on the ground motionless like dead.


    His warriors didn''t do anything except for that! He didn''t see any weapons or attacksing from them. They just took a deep breath and everything was over.


    ''They are sucking the souls of these enemies dry,'' the old man exined, ''in fact they can use more brutal ways to kill them. But these enemies seem a bit weakpared to them.''


    "Weak?" Jim was surprised when he heard that.


    ''If they weren''t weaker than the warriors, thetter wouldn''t be able to suck their souls dry like this,'' the old man gave a proper reason. And yet the entire scene was shocking.


    Jim held the wound in his hand before the blood stopped and watched this weird battle unfolding in front of his eyes.


    "Shriek!"


    However things didn''t seem to go on smoothly like this. All of sudden the gigantic monster shrieked as if it was experiencing a great deal of pain.


    "What''s happening?" Jim couldn''t help but wonder as he felt like the gigantic body of that monster trembling under his feet.


    ''It''s rotating!'' the old man shouted in warning, ''you need to enter inside now or else you''ll be thrown off its back!''


    "..."


    He didn''t even think twice before he started to run as fast as he could towards the nearest protrusion on the monster''s back.


    "Come with me," he shouted at his three killers moving unhindered so far, "go towards that protrusion and secure it now!"


    His words were likew for them. Despite not getting the reason behind his urgency, the three stopped what they were doing and ran as fast as they could towards the protrusion.


    But they wereing from a totally opposite side from Jim. So he was faced with arge number of giants, blocking his path towards that protrusion.


    It was logical. After all, the enemies never stopped pouring out from the six protrusions around Jim.


    "No time for that!" Jim instantly took out a fiery ore from his storage ring before he sucked its energy dry.


    He was ready to use his spell now. He was ready to cleave his path amidst all these enemies and reach that protrusion at any cost.


    He couldn''t summon any more warriors yet. As the enemies were already in front of him. If he did that, he would be attacked and interrupted, or worse... he would be surrounded by swarms of these enemies.


    And at this moment he could perfectly see the faces of these enemies.


    "Bulltors..." he couldn''t help but mutter in surprise.

 Chapter 273: The Real Deal!

    Chapter 273: The Real Deal!


    Jim was shocked when he saw the faces of his enemies. He knew they were giants, but he never thought they would be Bulltors.


    ''They aren''t the normal Bulltors you knew of,'' but the next words of his old man left him speechless for a second, ''they look weak as they are devoid of their core for now. But I can assure you, there are Bulltors with their cores intact here!''


    "Cores?" Jim was puzzled by this strange word.


    ''Remember that nasty looking hole in the chest of your Bulltor? It was originally the ce of the naturally born core but got strapped off after getting birth.''


    "How savage!" Jim felt anger towards what happened to his friend, Deno.


    ''Don''t feel sorry for them now! You are going to have it hard if a group of those monsters appear here.''


    Jim didn''t know what the old man referred to but he had no time to ask. That gigantic monster was already flipping its body and in a matter of minutes, he would be thrown out of its back.


    He had to reach that protrusion on its back and enter inside its body to be safe. As the warriors he summoned were converging fast towards that direction, he needed to reach there first.


    Or things would get ugly for him!


    Just the mere thought of falling off such a gigantic monster and falling to the ground made him squeeze the hilt of his sword. He had to reach there at any cost.


    Even if he had to fight his way in the middle of those Deno brothers. He had to reach there no matter what.


    "Sorry for that!" He took out one ore from his ring, an ore he once gained from his expedition outside the academy and inside the forest.


    This ore was much different than the normal ores; its ss and purity were unequaled.


    So the moment he took it out, Jim felt a sudden gush of power inside his body. It was the power of ice, something he didn''t expect.


    "Time to get there in one go!" At the same moment he made sure to wield his wings and make them function. He didn''t want to stop short of his target because his speed wascking.


    As he prepared himself by all the things he had, he didn''t hesitate to point the sword tip to the ground. He didn''t stop for his spell to get activated and kept running towards his enemies.


    The number of enemies was getting bigger with each passing minute. Especially when Jim was moving closer to the pit that threw all them outside.


    But the warriors of his reached the protrusion faster than him and started to kill their way towards it. This helped a lot in decreasing the pressure over him.


    Jim also thought about summoning more to help him reach his destination. But the thought of losing them here made him refrain from doing that.


    Plus the Bulltors in front of him all had empty holes in their chests, leaving him confident in his ability to bypass them all.


    He knew Deno for enough time now to know the traits of the Bulltor race. They were strong without doubt, with heavy defense that could rival giants head on.


    But theycked enough agility and speedpared to him. In addition to the gears he had, he knew they wouldn''t be able to catch him no matter what.


    However he wasn''t in a race to overthrow them behind. He was directly heading towards them. So one way or another he had to carve his path with blood, their blood.


    And he already made up his mind for that.


    "Sorry again," as he reached the first wave of his enemies, he had to shout this out loud, "one of your brothers is my brother in arms. But I have no intention of falling here. So die for me, please!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    As his spell was ready, he simply raised his sword and pointed it towards all of them. His attacks created long twisting arms of thick ice that instantly froze every single one of his enemies in a matter of seconds.


    As for him, he was surrounded with his ball of golden white energy. He was moving fast, so fast that he even created afterimages while passing through every single one of them.


    He tried his best to only hit those standing in his way and didn''t go on a berserk of massacre here. First he had no time for that, and second that was his tribute for his friend, Deno.


    "Impudence!"


    Just as he was moving unhindered alongside his three warriors, this sudden shout came when a group of strong looking Bulltors came out of that protrusion.


    Their appearance was no surprise for Jim or the old man. After all his intentions were clear and it was easy to know what he was aiming for.


    The enemies held the upper hand from the start! Jim''s main fear was for them to detonate or do something with the protrusion and close his only safe opening to escape this fate.


    However with the appearance of such elite groups of Bulltors, it became clear that his enemies couldn''t do that!


    It seemed this protrusion was part of the gigantic flying monster. If they meddle with it, they might cause a stir and greater problems for themselves.


    ''Watch out,'' the old man warned, ''they are the real deal!''


    "I can see that!" Jim didn''t look fazed while he watched the group of ten Bulltors with intact chests.


    Instead of that big ugly hole in there, there was a piece of glowing crystal that looked cylindrical to the eye. The crystal was shimmering with thin arcs of blue light, dancing as if it was arcs of electricitying from a source.


    Just seeing it made Him realize how strong and different these enemies were. But the timing was wrong, so it was wrong to face them and try to have fun.


    He had only a few minutes left, mostly three to four if he was lucky.


    "I should get this done fast," he muttered while thinking about their main point of weakness, "let''s put your speed to test, shall we?"

 Chapter 274: Entering The Monster

    Chapter 274: Entering The Monster


    Jim didn''t hesitate to elerate the next instant. He knew he had to find out the weakness fast. Not only to get into the monster and get himself rescued, but for theter shes.


    After all he was pretty much sure that the inside of that monster was filled with such strong Bulltors.


    He moved in an arched path to bypass them. He feigned his desire to avoid the group. And that was instantly noticed by the group of Bulltors.


    "As if we''ll let you evade us!" one of them shouted while the entire group ran towards the side to block the path in front of Jim.


    "Slow," Jim felt at ease the moment he assessed their speed. In fact he wasn''t using his full speed yet. But even so he was moving much faster than them.


    When they moved to intercept him, he changed his path abruptly and headed directly towards the protrusion. This sudden change startled the group who couldn''t stop their advance and change their direction as easily as Jim.


    "Stop him!"


    "Someone close the opening!"


    "Don''t let him in!"


    "Toote for that!" just as they realized they were tricked with this simple and childish tactic, they started to shout with all their might. However Jim was already using his full speed this time and he was already upon the protrusion.


    Jim snorted while watching his three warriors killing everything in their path and dominated the opening atst.


    "Get in," Jim shouted when he became closer, "clear the path inside for me!"


    He didn''t know what waited for him inside, but he had an idea about the situation there. His warriors seemed strong and capable, or else the group of strong Bulltors would attack them instead of targeting him.


    He was the leader, but he wasn''t the one closest to the protrusion. Their movement seemed like they were aiming for the head of the enemy forces, but he felt they just feared shing with his warriors.


    His warriors acted in such terrifying ways that would shock anyone. Jim didn''t find it strange for the Bulltors to have doubts regarding facing his warriors.


    And that meant he still had a good chance in clearing this quest. Right now he started to see why the dean insisted on this quest.


    Jim thought the dean was going to send him to a group of his men acting under the umbre of the resistance. But now Jim realized he was mistaken.


    The dean simply sent him towards one of the toughest ces of the resistance. Just the idea of having the base hidden inside such a flying monster was something unbelievable to Jim.


    The presence of such intact Bulltors meant this group wasn''t easy. Despite that Jim didn''t feel much worry as he had a n.


    But he first needed to enter the monster and secure his ce there.


    "It looks lively down there," as he reached the protrusion, he could see it was like a spiral tunnel heading for some distance to the center of that gigantic monster. Deep there he could see shes of bright light and many sounds of brutal fighting.


    He knew his warriors couldn''t be stopped. Who could stop such a race fighting by just absorbing the soul power of those around them? It was simply scary though and he was d he had more of these warriors under hismand.


    "I still have a minute to spare here," as he found out the monster didn''t flip over its side totally, Jim started to work upon summoning more of his warriors here.


    "Go, help your brothers in there," he said to the five warriors he summoned before the group of Bulltors arrived on top of his head.


    "You''ll die here!" one of them said in threat while others started to wave their hammer like heavy weapons.


    "Sorry, I have a meeting down there," but Jim didn''t stand in his ce and instead he jumped inside the opening.


    He could have stayed and fought a little with them. He knew they were strong, much stronger than Deno.


    But he wasn''t weak either! His strength wasn''t that lowpared to them or even slightly better.


    Plus his sword could sh against anything, and with the ice energy he could freeze any enemy in front of him.


    But fighting against them here was pointless. He had to enter the body of the monster and see things there with his own eyes.


    As he rapidly fell through the spiral tunnel, hended heavily on soft ground. To his surprise, hended on a piece ofnd covered in green grass.


    "They can nt things here?" He was surprised to see trees carrying fruits all around. It was like he was inside a garden, not the body of the monster.


    The area hended inside looked spacious and extended beyond the reach of his eyes. The light came not from a single spot but from many ces, acting like stars shining brightly with yellow and red light.


    That added a tinge of brutality to the world here. It wasn''t a surprise for him to see the bodies of the Bulltors and other races he didn''t know around painted in red and brown colors.


    "Kill him!" one shout appeared from one direction before a group of attacksnded in a domineering fashion on the top of his head.


    "You really live to your reputation of warm weing your guests," despite the sudden attack, Jim simply moved fast using his wings and boots to evade them all.


    His voice echoed amidst the chaos that was caused by his eight warriors. However as he came here, he realized eight wasn''t enough.


    The number of his enemies extended till the end of his sight! For him it looked like he just drowned into a sea of enemies.


    "Come forth now!" As this was the case, he didn''t waste anymore time in fighting and kept summoning more warriors while evading the attacks.


    His speed and agility provided total security for him. Despite him being trapped and cornered like this, attacked from all directions with various spells, he didn''t get hurt even once!


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