《Throne of the Grand Magus: The beginning》


 Chapter 1 - Authors Note

    Hello new readers and maybe old returning readers.


    I don''t know about your personal preference but please read this in dark theme. The white default background really messes with the whole vibe.


    A few things to note before going down this rabbit hole.


    1. The backstory is going to be revamped. Many people find the antics within the first few chapters cringe and unbelievable however if you look at a newly released anime called Tokyo Revengers (at the time of writing it was not released yet or perhaps I wasn''t aware of its existence) then you can tell it isn''t so crazy.


    2. The writing quality greatly increases towards the newer chapters (well obviously you''re probably thinking) so yeah, if you don''t like how the first few chapters are written, then fret not it gets better.


    3. This novel plans to have 1000+ chapters, so yeah, a deal of investment is possible, I hope you stick with me till the end.


    Also Check out my other novel "Sadistic Player In A Fantasy Game World" I''m sure you''ll love it.

 Chapter 2 - 1:The Silence Before The Storm Part 1

    The year 2021.... Earth, Milky way galaxy


    *Sigh*


    "Yes mom of course I have my passport, yes I didn''t forget to say goodbye to grandma. Mom! I''m 17 of course I won''t get lost at the airport. Okay, okay I have to go it''s my turn at the counter, love you bye."


    "Gosh Cascade, mommy''s boy much?" Michael teased.


    "Shut up Michael. I''ve finally escaped my parents but now my mom is more annoying then ever. Sometimes I wish she would just leave me alone. Anyways I''m pretty excited to see our new university. I''ve heard its facilities are top notch and the girls there aren''t too bad either." Cascade said.


    "Well I wouldn''t worry about girls too much. With your looks and physique even if the girl was deaf and blind she still wouldn''t go out with you. But fret not good friend, with me as your wingman anything is possible." Michael said, as he put his arm around Cascade in a friendly gesture.


    Michael and Cascade are best friends, they go way back. Back then Cascade used to be known for his fighting skills. He beat up kids twice his size and was known as the king of South East Elementary school in his first year. He met Michael by chance on his way home after school. As he was walking past an alley he found a group of kids from South West Elementary picking on a small kid. Cascade didn''t mind them picking on the kid but the fact that they were trespassing on his turf made his blood boil .


    "Oi, you there do you know whose turf you''re on? I''ll give you guys one second to scram, after that everyone here is free game" shouted Cascade.


    The South West kids started laughing their lungs out. "Listen here kid, unless you want to join this brat beat it, you''re lucky I''m in a very good mood right now" said the leader of the group.


    "Boss isn''t that Cascade. The rabid king of South East elementary" whispered one of the boys a little to late.


    Although Cascade was smaller and vastly out numbered that didn''t stop him. He jumped and grabbed the neck of the boy who tried warning the group of his identity and began choking him. The group was in shock, but the leader quickly reacted. The leader let go off the kid he was holding against the wall and bolted for Cascade. Cascade side-stepped the boss and jumped on his back the second he fell on the ground pummelling the back of his head with great force. At this point the rest of the group recovered from their shock and began to surround Cascade. Cascade let the boss go and looked around him with a grin on his face.


    "Come at me!" roared Cascade. One of the boys tried lunging for him and quickly received three punches, one on the neck and two on the face. The boy started rolling on the floor in pain. The other kids came for Cascade all at once. Cascade used their numbers and lack of team co-ordination to his advantage. Dodging several punches meant for him and allowing them to hit other boys from the group. However, he was only human, he received quite a number of the punches and was bleeding profusely but still he had the smile of a demon on his face. The group of boys was tired at this point and many of them were swollen with cuts on their face mostly from falling on the ground. And the mad beast in front of them seemed to get scarier the more they injured him.


    "Hey what are you kids doing over there" shouted a police man. "Lets get out of here" said the leader. The group of boys ran as fast as they could before the police man could arrive to the scene.


    Cascade fell to his knees ,bleeding and sweating a bleeding from exhaustion. The kid who was being bullied walked over to Cascade wiping away the tears that were streaming down his face. "T..T..Thank y..y..you, my name is Michael" said the kid with hiccups from crying too much. "You''re so good at fighting, those kids always pick on me for my money.... uhm I was wondering could I pay you to protect me from the bullies?" said Michael seemingly having recovered from the incident.


    "Rubbish, I won''t accept that" smiled Cascade.


    "What, why, don''t you want money? Michael was flabbergasted.


    "No, we can just be friends from now on. That way I''ll protect you either way" , whispered Cascade as he was still quite exhausted.


    "What!? You want to be friends with me? Are you sure you aren''t after my money?" , said Michael looking at Cascade quite suspiciously.


    "Did I stutter , now for your first job as my friend. Take me home before the police man realizes I was part of the fight. I feel.....tired" ,then Cascade collapsed from exhaustion.

 Chapter 3 - 2: The Silence Before The Storm Part 2

    "Could you please give me your passport sir, you''re holding up the line." said a member of the airport staff.


    "Hey dude quit day-dreaming we haven''t even seen the girls yet and all you do is drool." said Michael as he shook Cascade out of his reverie.


    "Sorry, I wasn''t paying attention. Uhm, here you go." said Cascade as he handed his passport over to the gentleman. "That''s so weird why am I remembering that moment now of all times. The past... when I was actually a somebody. *Sigh* When did things go wrong" he thought as the his details were being confirmed on the system.


    5 years ago on the last day of elementary school


    "Michael where''s the boss, St Martens Elementary is destroying us we need him. At this rate he will lose his last turf war and be remembered as a failure" said one of the South East Elementary kids.


    *Sigh*"He will be here, although I honestly hope he doesn''t come" said Michael. "Cascade I hope you make the right choice" ,thought Michael.


    "Son, you just graduated from that elementary school. Those kids can''t bully you into fighting anymore. Next year you will start your first year of high school and you can make new friends. You need to forget these violent tendencies. Son I only want what''s best for you and if you go back there I''m afraid you might do something you''ll regret." said Cascade''s father.


    "They aren''t bullying me and this is my last turf war as king. And all you can think of is ruining it for me. If I don''t go back now I will be remembered as the weakest king in history." complained Cascade. "I don''t care about high school, I don''t want to find new friends. These are the only friends I need. And if you don''t turn this car around I''ll jump out."


    "Son don''t." said Cascade''s father as he tried to calm Cascade down but it was already too late. Cascade opened the door while the car was moving and jumped out. He wiped the dust off his clothes and began sprinting back to his elementary school.


    When he arrived there things weren''t looking good. Most of his school mates were on the ground and a group led by Michael was surrounded by kids from St Martens. Michael tried his best to fight his way out but they were simply too many. When one of the other kids hit Michael to the floor. As Michael hit the floor he started bleeding from his nose. "Nooo!!" shouted Cascade. Seeing his best friend on the floor bleeding put Cascade into a fit of fury.


    He charged right at them and took down two boys. However they were too many even for him. The other kids jumped on Cascade and trapped him. Two of them held his arms as a big kid walked towards them. "Well, well, well if it isn''t the rabid king of South East I thought you weren''t gonna join us." said the king of St Martens. "Well boys don''t you think we should give our king a warm welcome" he said as he gestured to the group to begin pummelling Cascade. As Cascade''s vision started to blur from the tears that filled his eyes he saw his father running towards him from across the street. His father started shouting something inaudible and was pointing angrily to the kids on top of him. As his father was crossing the road a truck came rushing by. The driver was distracted by the group of kids fighting and wasn''t paying attention to the road.


    *crash*


    "Nooo! Dad!" he shouted as the other kids turned around to see what was going on. When they saw the bloody body sprawled on the ground and the sound of people screaming on the street they began to retreat, afraid that they might get involved with the police.


    Cascade stood up, still covered in dust and blood and limped as fast as he could to his father''s body. "Dad please wake up, please. I''m sorry, I''ll listen. I won''t continue this turf war." he said as tears rolled down his face. "Dad, please I promise I''ll try to get new friends, I''ll stop fighting anything you want. Please just wake up" he continued.


    Michael walked up to him and put his hand on Cascade''s back trying to console him. Cascade''s father wasn''t breathing. Michael knew it was already too late. When the ambulance arrived Cascade wouldn''t let go of the body and kept screaming "It''s my fault, I''m sorry, forgive me please." In the end they had to call his mother to pull him off. From that day on Cascade never fought again. Sadly fighting was the only thing he was good for. His life slowly took a turn for the worst. As he struggled to make new friends in high school after they heard about the turf war incident. Michael has been his only friend since.


    5 years later current day


    The memories of his father''s death were disturbed by the sounds of people screaming.. Michael pulled Cascade down and shouted over the noise "It''s a terrorist attack, we have to get out of here".

 Chapter 4 - 3: The Beginning Of The End

    "Dude snap out of it. We have to get out of here!" ,said Michael as he pulled Cascade under a few desks. "I don''t think these guys are pulling a prank. For fucks sakes man, why now why here. Just when we were about to have a new start."


    Michael noticed Cascade was still in a daze. "You know, you''ve been acting weird ever since we landed. Do you plan on telling me what''s going on or do I need to get force the terrorists to make you first?" Said Michael concernedly. "Listen dude whatever it is you keep thinking about, you need to snap out of it, the terrorists are taking people hostage and I don''t want to find out what happens when they stop being useful" said Michael as the noise around them began to die down.


    "What''s going on why is everyone suddenly quiet" said Cascade as he came back to reality. "I don''t know" ,said Michael as he peeked over the table.


    There was a man kneeling at the center of the building wearing a jacket riddled with wires and pads, praying inaudibly as tears streamed down his cheeks. "What the fuck its a bom-" Michael attempted to say as the man stood up and shouted "For my daughter!". *boom*


    In that second the silence that once covered the room was flooded with the sound of a C4 exploding, quickly followed by screams of horror as those furthest away from the blast saw the remains of the people who were too close to the bomb to escape the impact.


    As the bomb was about to explode Michael covered Cascade so that he could take the brunt of the impact. Cascade opened his eyes and all he could see what blood. However, he didn''t feel any major injuries on his body. He turned to Michael "Lets go before more of them show-" Cascade quickly choked on his words as the vision of his father dead body and Michael''s overlapped, surfacing all the demons he has been fighting or years.


    "No, No ,No. Don''t you dare leave me too Michael. Don''t you dare. Don''t leave me here alone." ,he said is disbelief as he touched Michael''s body. "Dude, you''re making so much noise can''t I just die in peace" said Michael with a smile on his face, well the best smile a gravely injured person could make.


    "You''re alive! Don''t scare me like that." said Cascade as he tried to pick up Michael. "Lets get out of here before more bombers show up, I don''t think you can survive another attack", said Cascade. "Well lets be honest Cascade, even if I wasn''t injured we both know I''m not athletic enough to run away from here. We both that if I follow you I''d just be a liability." complained Michael.


    "No I''m not leaving you here, I failed my father I''m not gonna fail you too. I''ll carry you if I have to" said Cascade.


    "Why are you suddenly bringing up your father. You know it wasn''t your fault. Wait.. is that why you''ve been acting funny? I thought we talked about this. Plus look at you dude. You''re shaking and your hands are so sweaty you couldn''t even carry a spoon out of here. Look I want to live as well, but I don''t think running is my best option. My best bet would be to play dead and hope this blows over without me dying" said Michael.


    "Look I promise I''ll get you a pretty girl when this is all over" Michael said trying to lighten the mood. "Look we went through way worse back in the day. Remember when it was just me and you versus a whole class of seniors back in elementary school. It will just be like old times trust me." Michael said smiling at Cascade. "Why am I bringing up elementary school, there must be something wrong with me as well" thought Michael to himself.


    Cascade nodded with tears in his eyes as more and more old memories began to flood his mind. "Dude why are you crying, are you going soft on me?" said Michael with a slight grin.


    "Promise me you won''t leave me. Promise me you won''t die." said Cascade desperately. "I won''t you big baby. Now scram before they see me and realize I''m not dead." Michael said as he tried to push Cascade away with all the strength he had left. "Go, run. I''m right behind you" said Michael.


    Cascade turned and ran for the nearest exit. He had to push his way through the crowd that congested the door in an attempt to escape as well. When Michael saw that Cascade left he finally sighed and coughed blood. "Sorry I couldn''t keep my promise Cascade. But thanks to you I''ve always had a friend, a brother. If in this world we couldn''t live out our dreams I hope to see you in the next." Michael though as both blood and tears ran down his face. As the room around him slowly became darker and darker his mind was lit with all the precious moments of his life. All of which were moments with Cascade. "I don''t want to die" were Michael''s last words.

 Chapter 5 - 4: The End

    Cascade was covered with sweat as he ran down the corridors looking for a way out of the building. "God dammit this place is like a maze. For fuck sakes who ask the architects to design a labyrinth. I have to get out of here and call for help quick. I''m not sure if Michael is gonna make it at this rate" thought Cascade to himself. "Yes, I have to, for Michael!" Cascade resolved. As he was running down a flight of stairs he heard a girl scream. "Nope not my problem. I don''t even know if I''ll make it out of here plus even if I had time what could I do? I''m no hero and this isn''t a comic. I can''t be distracted Michael needs me." he thought to himself so as to not feel guilty about abandoning a little girl.


    "No leave my daddy alone!" shouted the little girl as grunts and struggling could be heard from the hallway she was in. "You''re a big mean-" ,the little girl was silenced by the sound of a slap. "No I can''t leave her, what would father say, Michaels going to be okay, he promised." Cascade thought as he ran towards the hallway the girls voice came from.


    When he arrived he found a man bleeding on the floor and a girl covering him. The girl was pretty but a thick red line that ran across her face seemed to ruin the symmetry of her face. "Leave me alone! Don''t touch him." ,she shouted as a man wearing a skimask tried to pull her of the dead corpse. "Listen little girl you come with me" ,said the mysterious man with a wild grin on his face.


    Seeing the little girl not give up on her father even though he was already dead made Cascade feel even more terrible. "If a little girl can put up this much of a fight that what''s stopping me" he thought to himself. He snuck behind the man gesturing the little girl to keep quiet. When cascade was about to jump on the mysterious man the man turned around and kicked him, "Stupid boy! You think you are hero?" said the man in a poor English accent as he pointed an AK-47 at Cascade. "Say hello to your god for me boy if you get to see him" said the man. As he was about to pull the trigger the girl pushed him and his shot missed.


    "Cyka, you are not worth the trouble bitch. You are too young anyway. The man pointed the gun at the little girl and pulled the trigger.


    Before Cascade could even think he ran in front of the gun and got shot in the left lung. The mysterious man was flabbergasted, Cascade used that time to pull the gun from him and shot the mysterious man multiple times in the head. Cascade then fell to the floor. The little girl came running towards him. "Thank you mister. When my father wakes up he will make your wound go away. He is a doctor" , said the little girl. "I''m sure he will." said Cascade as he coughed out blood. "Mister are you sick, why are you coughing out blood?" asked the little girl.


    "No I''m okay. I''m just a bit tired. Go to your father he might wake up any second." , Cascade lied. "Oh yes, daddy" said the little girl happily as she ran towards her father''s dead corpse and sat beside it trying to wake him up.


    "I guess in the end I was not even good enough to save myself huh dad? Well at least Michael will survive. That bastard is the strongest person I know." Cascade thought to himself. "Well life wasn''t even worth living. Now that I think back on it I was a disgraceful son to both my parents. I let down my father and instead of consoling my mother when her husband died all I did was sulk like a jerk. Now mom''s all alone. I''m sorry mom please don''t hate me" Cascade thought. "At this rate I doubt I''m going to the same place Dad went." he thought. "I wonder how things would have turned out if I just listened that day"


    As the life seeped out of his body he woke up in an abyss. Its walls seemed to be displaying Cascade''s whole life up till the second he died. All his thoughts and memories were laid bare in front of him. And many of his memories made him flinch back and cringe. "What is this place? Is this heaven?" he though but for some reason it came out as words. He began to walk around. He avoided looking at the walls as he wasn''t proud of his life.


    After walking around the abyss for what seemed like hours he found a giant being about 30 m tall glowing with power. The being was chained by dark binds which seemed to be continuously absorbing the light the being radiated. It could''ve looked beautiful if not for the black spots all over its body which seemingly ate away at its body.


    Despite all this, the being seemed at peace looking far into the nothingness of the abyss.


    As Cascade approached it turned its head to look at him. Although the being was on it knees Cascade still looked like an ant when compared to it. As it looked at him Cascade felt as if his soul was being stared at which made him feel uncomfortable. "Are you God?" asked Cascade.


    The being ignored him and the entire abyss grumbled as he spoke ''''This will do". In that moment Cascade felt as if his soul was thrown into the nothingness of the abyss.


    A few moments later he opened his eyes and saw a dirty and poorly dressed women holding him and looking into his eyes. "Neel give your boy a name" ,said the woman.


    "His name is Arya" said the man.


    "Naniiiiiiiii" ,thought Cascade.

 Chapter 6 - 5: The Beginning In A New World

    Year 1309 on the Human calendar


    The outskirts of the city of Draquerth


    "Who are these people and why do they keep calling me little Arya. Let me g-" ,Arya was in shock as he saw that the arms he stretched out to push the pauper looking strangers away were those of a baby. "What the fuck is going on here?" ,thought Arya too afraid to speak. "Aunt Luna why doesn''t he cry?" asked the Lady holding Arya to an old women in the corner of the cottage.


    "How am I supposed to know child , I told you I don''t specialize in life magic. At any rate all they usually need is a good spanking. Bring him here." said Luna. Cascade couldn''t understand a thing these people were saying. To him it seemed like they were all crazy. As Arya was being handed to the old lady he began to get scared. After all he was in an unfamiliar place surrounded by crazy strangers and to top it all off he was trapped in an infants body.


    "Hey there little one, lets not make this too hard I have things to do." said Luna as she was holding Arya. Arya was confused as he could not speak the language, but he could tell that whatever this old lady was saying was not something he wanted to be a part of. Arya''s vision went upside down as Luna grabbed him by his left leg. "What the f- " Arya''s thoughts were stopped as Luna began spanking him. He was put into a daze as he did not expect an assault of this nature.


    Arya decided he would retaliate by trying to grab her. But all he could manage to do was look like a baby stretching out for the comfort of an elder. "No, no, no little Arya. You can go back to your mother after." said Luna.


    After multiple slaps to his bum the old woman seemed to give up. "The boy is a warrior this I can tell you child. As you can see the little imp is as healthy as a calf. However the reason he will not cry baffles me." said Luna.


    As Arya was being handed back to the Lady who held him first, he saw a worried expression on her face. The same expression his mother would usually give him whenever he came back home with bruises from being bullied in high school. This made him remember that he left his mother and Michael alone on earth. The realization that he died had finally caught up to him. It was too much to bear. The emotions he had bottled up were unleashed and he began to cry.


    "You see Lillian. The boy is okay. Do not worry so much after all our blood flows through the little one''s veins." said the giant of a man about 1.94 m tall with a long beard, hazel eyes that seemed to hold a calm but blazing fire. He had long jet black hair tied into a tress. The man had the size of a Viking chief and the demeanour to match it, if not for the tattered clothes he wore Arya would''ve mistaken him for an ancient Viking lord.


    "Neel you know we haven''t been so lucky in the past. I was beginning to think that Vitas would never answer our prayers" said the woman with long ginger hair. She was about 1.68 m tall with beautiful features and voluptuous proportions. Her blue eyes seemed to hide the ocean in them. If not for the dirt on her face she would easily be on the cover of every beauty magazine back on Earth.


    "Mom, mom can I hold him" plead a young boy about 5 years old with jet black hair and blue eyes. "No Luca. You will drop him. Mom let me hold him" argued another girl who looked similar to the boy if not for the fact that her hair was ginger and eyes hazel. "Mom don''t listen to Ava I''ll be careful. I''m a big boy now." said Luca as he showed off his skinny arms.


    As if on que Luna came and shooed the kids away. "Listen little ones, your mother needs rest. You can play with your brother later. Now Luca go outside and continue practicing before I change my mind about teaching you." said Luna. "But grandma Luna what about me" asked Ava with hope in her eyes.


    "What about you child? You are yet to awaken your affinity for magic. That''s if you ever will" scolded Luna. She was already tired from using life magic during labor and she didn''t need any kids stressing her.


    After hearing that Ava had tears in her eyes and was about to cry. A vicious look from Lillian made Luna try to fix the situation. "Listen little one, most people only show an affinity for magic at the age of 13 when adolescence starts. However, your brother Luca , as much as it pains me to say is gifted in the magical arts. I''ve never heard of a 5 year old who could practice magic. Don''t fret child you will get your gifts as well in due time." said Luna in a more loving tone.


    "Ava you could train with me if you wanted. I could teach you how to use the sword" , said Neel in a deep fatherly voice. "Really daddy!?" asked the girl excitedly.


    "Neel I will not allow you to teach my daughter how to wield a weapon!. I was already adamant to Luca learning magic and the only reason I agreed is because without practice he could hurt someone one day" shouted Lillian who was still exhausted from child birth. As big as Neel was he submitted to the little woman and apologized. Then they all left the room leaving baby Arya and his mother alone.


    "What on Earth were those people going on about. And why did they leave me alone with this woman?" Arya questioned in his own mind. Arya was still a bit shaken up from realizing he had died. He was still trying to figure out what was going on. However, the way this woman held him made him feel safe. It calmed him down and soon his eyes became heavy. As he was about to sleep he saw the woman look at him with tired eyes. "I love you son" she said.. And although Arya couldn''t understand what she said his heart felt and ease and he began sleeping.

 Chapter 7 - 6: Family Part 1

    One week later


    The outskirts of the city of Draquerth


    "Lilly its only been a week since you had little Arya. Don''t you think you should rest some more. Me and Luna can take care of the house" Neel tried pleading to his wife.


    "Oh please Neel you can''t even hold a broom without breaking it and Luna is too old to take care of everything by herself. I''m as fit a fiddle dear. By the way where are the twins? I haven''t seen them all morning." asked Lillian in a worried tone.


    "They are out playing with the neighbors I''m sure they''ll be back soon dear. You need to stop being so scared something will happen. Just because he was born with white hair doesn''t mean anything. It might just be partial inheritance." said Neel as he came closer to comfort his wife.


    "I know dear, but what if we''re wrong. What if he really did inherit th-" Lillian paused as Luca entered the kitchen. "Who inherited what mommy? Are you talking about baby Arya?" asked little Luca.


    "Luca where is your sister?" asked Neel in an attempt to change the subject. "Well uhm you see, the thing is Dad." ,said Luca as he started fiddling which was a tell tale sign he was hiding something. "Luca answer me now! Where is little Ava?" roared Neel as he was now worried his daughter had been caught by the local thugs or worse the inquisition. "She is at Raul''s but Mom you don''t have to go there, she said-" Luca tried to say but Lillian already stormed out of the house.


    "I pity Raul. Although I am grateful he is trying to teach little Ava the way of the sword Lilly hasn''t been in the best of moods lately and if he is caught teaching little Ava swordsmanship he is in for a world of trouble ." said Neel with a hint of pity in his voice, Luca just nodded in agreement.


    As Lillian walked out the door she could see kids wearing tattered clothes chasing each other down the street. Although her family had a modest cottage it was still one of the best houses around. The city of Draquerth used to be a major hub for trade until the mountains became invaded by monsters. The once wealthy city became a shell of its former self. The officials became corrupt and charged more and more taxes on the residents of the city. Even the church didn''t care enough to occupy this region. Most of the people who worked for merchants and other traders were left unemployed and could not afford to pay taxes. They were forced to the outskirts of the city, hence the outskirts has now become a slum.


    Lillian approached a modest cottage quite similar to hers ( In the slums having such a cottage means that you are not completely poor and means that at least one person in the house has an income). "Raul open this door right now!" shouted Lillian. There was no response. "Raul open this door or I''ll blow in down!" ,she shouted again.


    A few moments later a rather lean looking man with a muscular build opened the door. "Lillian whatever do I owe the honor of your visit" ,the man said with a sly smile on his face. Raul is 1.75m tall with auburn hair and green eyes. If you didn''t know he was 50 you would think he was in his early 30''s. "Don''t give me that nonsense Raul I know Ava is in here bring her out right now!" she shouted.


    Little Ava came from behind a corner with a sad look on her eyes. "I''m sorry mommy." she said using her puppy eyes. Lillian walked towards her and hugged her. "I know you are little one. I don''t blame you. I blame him". She said as she looked at Raul, the blue in her eyes seemed to have went from a calm ocean to a storm.


    "Lilly come on you can''t be serious I was just trying to teach your daughter your fa-" ,he was cut short but the intensity of the killing intent Lillian let out. "One more word out of you Raul and there won''t be enough life magic in the world to let you pick up a sword again" said Lillian in a slow but cold tone.


    As Lillian and Ava left. Raul fell to the ground. "To think I who was once a knight of the seventh order was brought to my knees by a woman is baffling. Well she was always that powerful, it seems she has become stronger with the number of children" said Raul as he stared at the door.


    "Mommy why were you so angry with uncle Raul." asked Ava as she was holding her mother''s hand. "I wasn''t angry at him little one. I just think he is being irresponsible teaching you how to handle a weapon at such a young age. And don''t think I forgot young lady. Although Raul is at fault for teaching you, you are also at fault for asking. You are not to leave the house until further notice. And you have to help grandma Luna with house duties." she said in a motherly manner.


    "But mo-" she tried. "I''m not having it Ava" said Lillian assertively. When they reached the house Ava stormed in and ran straight to her room crying. As she passed Luca she said "tattle tail". And before Luca could explain himself she slammed the door.


    "Lilly did you have to be so harsh" Neel said as he walked towards Lillian. "Neel I will not have my daughter practice how to kill at such a young age. She should enjoy her child hood. My parents may have failed me but I will not fail them" she said as she walked over to the cottage where little Arya lay.


    "Hmm I wonder what they are talking about?" Arya thought as Lillian picked him up. "And why does she always look so worried when she looks at me" Arya thought. "You know, there is nothing wrong with me woman." ,he tried to say but to Lillian the foreign English language sounded like the ramblings of a happy baby.. "My dear Arya how I wished your hair came out Ginger or jet black" she though to herself as she smiled at her baby.

 Chapter 8 - 7: Family Part 2

    "It seems that I''ve been reborn into another world, there''s no doubt about it. The language is different and I haven''t seen any TVs or smart phones. It seems the pauper looking people around me are my new family." ,thought Arya to himself as Lillian caressed his hair. "Sigh just my luck. I get reincarnated into a new world and my family is dirt poor. I guess it''s punishment for failing my old family. I hope mom''s doing alright." thought Arya.


    "Dear I think we should take him to a life specialist. The boy never cries even when he is hungry. This worries me." ,said Lillian with a worried look on her face. All Neel could do was nod, after all he had met many warriors but even they were once babies. They all cried as babies but his new born only cried once and that was after receiving enough spankings to make a grown kid cry.


    "We could take him into Draquerth, I know a life mage there who could help us. But we have to avoid being seen" ,said Neel. "Does he know who we ar-" Lillian tried saying as Neel cut her off "No, and I intend to keep it that way.". "*Sigh* There they go again in this strange new language. I should ask the woman to teach me. I can''t expect to live in this world without even knowing what the locals are saying." ,thought Arya. "Hey there Lillian, if it''s not too much of a bother could you teach me this language?" said Arya. Lillian just smiled at him. To her he was just rambling in baby tongue. So she picked him up and start talking to him in a babying manner, "What do you want little Arya? Do you want to eat? Okay give mommy a second little one.".


    Arya was confused about whether she understood what he had said or not. When he saw her remove a teat from her dress he began to worry. "No, no , no woman. Don''t you dare do that. No!!!!." ,he screamed. "Yes, yes little Arya. I know you are hungry, mommy is about to feed you, you don''t have to scream." she said.


    "This woman keeps breastfeeding me. Although I must admit it tastes rather delicio-. No! What am I thinking, curse this baby body." he thought. When Lillian was done breastfeeding him, she put her breast back in her dress and put him in his crib. "Even after breast feeding your third child your proportions don''t seem to be deteriorating." ,said Neel touching Lillian a little too eagerly. "Neel! I just had your third child." ,she scolded playfully. "How about we go practice swordsmanship in the room, after all I think even you would agree we are old enough." he joked making Lillian giggle.


    "What was that about?" ,thought Arya in confused manner. When Neel and Lillian left the room, Ava and Luca snuck in. "Hmm his hair is white, that''s odd." said Luca as he touched Arya''s hair. "And his eyes are weird. They seem to be blue on the outer rim and hazel at the center." said Ava as she looked Arya in the eyes. "Well, I wouldn''t care if he had green hair or no eyes, he is my brother. And as his elder brother I have to teach him all the wonders of the world." said Luca. "Luca the only wonder you''ve seen are the boogers you pull out of your nose. Arya needs his elder sister to guide him in the right direction." said Ava. This annoyed Luca to no end.


    "You can''t even use magic. You know what I''ll teach him magic as soon as he can talk. Look Arya this is magic." ,said Luca as he manipulated a ball of water from a nearby cup right in front of Arya. "Magic!" shouted Arya in awe. "See he already likes it." ,said Luca to Ava. "That''s dangerous stop it right now!" ,said Ava as she pushed Luca. *splash* The water fell on Arya''s face. Arya screamed out as he was about to drown from the water that flooded his little nostrils.


    Arya screaming was a rare occurrence in the house. "What are you kids d-" Luna was about to say as she saw what in Arya''s crib. She rushed over to Arya and held a hand out. Her body glowed a blue aura as she made a gesture with her hands as if she was turning a knob anti-clockwise. As she did this the water all over Arya moved into the air. It looked as if rain was falling in reverse and went back into the cloud. When all the water was back into the water ball, a red aura overlapped the blue one and the water ball was turned to steam.


    After making sure Arya was okay she turned to look at the two kids. "Explain!" she shouted. "I was just showing Arya magic and then Ava push-" Luca tried saying as Ava interrupted him. "I told him using magic around Arya was dangerous grandma Luna. But he wouldn''t listen." Ava interrupted. "You twins always bring trouble where ever you go." Luna said shaking her head. "You can explain this story to your parents. I''m too busy to listen to your excuses." ,Luna said as she started walking to Lillian and Neel''s room. "No! please don''t tell mom" they said in unison.


    "Don''t tell me what little ones?" ,Lillian said. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood. Whatever she was doing in there with Neel must''ve been satisfying. "Nothing mom." ,said Luca as he looked at Luna pleadingly. "Sorry little one, she has to know." ,said Luna shaking her head. "The kids nearly drowned little Arya when they were playing with magic." Luna said as she stepped back.


    Lillian let out a cold aura. The temperature around her began to drop. The blue in her eyes became a raging ocean and glowed a light blue color. "You what!" she shouted. She wouldn''t usually let out so much power in front of her kids, but her maternal instincts were on overdrive after she heard her new born almost died due to their stupidity. As she was walking towards them Neel shouted "What''s going on in there.". As he walked in the room, he found his wife breaming with mana. He walked towards her in an attempt to calm her down. As he came closer to the freezing aura she was subconsciously emitting he ignored it like it was just a cold breeze. "They are just children Lilly you needn''t worry yourself, mistakes happen." he said. As Lillian felt his touch she calmed down and realized her mistake.


    She couldn''t bare to think that she would release so much power in front of her kids so she took Arya and ran to her room. As she left Neel looked at two kids who were still shivering from the earlier spectacle. "And you!" he said. Although he wasn''t emitting any aura it still felt like they were in front of a raging volcano.


    "Sorry little one. I don''t know what''s going on with me. I''m just so tense lately." said Lillian to Arya. "There''s magic in this world!" smiled Arya as he remembered what had happened in the last few minutes.. As Lillian was holding Arya the cries of kids could be heard after loud thuds.(AN: The kid''s were being spanked)

 Chapter 9 - 8: A Mage In The City Part 1

    A few days after Arya was almost drowned


    Night time, the outskirts of Draquerth


    "You kids go to bed okay. I don''t want to find any of you awake." said Neel to Ava and Luca as he walked out the door. "Yes father, we promise." they said in unison. Neel and Lillian had decided to have a life mage look into Arya''s life force to make sure that nothing was wrong with him. However a journey to the city wasn''t as easy as it would seem. The gate was guarded by corrupt soldiers who wouldn''t let anyone in without paying a fine. Even after paying said fine the information that new people had passed the city gates would be passed on to the officials of the city and to the local criminal bosses.


    The city walls of Draquerth were about an hours walk away from the outskirts. However both Lillian and Neel moved so fast they seemed like a blur to any passer-by. As the wind blew past Lillian she held Arya even tighter. Although the chances of Arya falling were quite low she couldn''t help but feel tense. As they neared the city gates they slowed down and Neel said "We''re going to have to move faster than this to escape the vision of the city guards." he said. Although most of them are just second order knight squires I can sense a first order knight. He might be weak but I''m not taking any chances." after saying this he increased his speed 3 fold. If at first he seemed like a blur he now looked like a phantom seemingly invisible to the naked eye.


    "In this world humans must be way too OP. How can these two move so fast." wondered Arya as he saw his father move at unfathomable speeds through the corner of his eye. "Don''t worry baby Arya just hang on tight we will be in the city in a bit." ,said Lillian as she also became a phantom in the wind.


    "Hmm what was that?" said the captain of the city guards in his office. "Is anything wrong captain?" said a guard. "No it must be nothing, I''m probably just tired." ,he said. "No way I sensed something moving that fast. Not even seventh order knights can move at such speeds. God I need a break from this job." he thought.


    When Neel and Lillian got into the city they stopped in an alley. "There is a tavern at the end of this alley. I''ll collect information about the whereabouts of this mage. I was told to ask for Meriel. You should stay here while I go get her. We can''t risk going there with a baby in your hands." whispered Neel as he walked down the alleyway towards the tavern.


    As he walked past the tavern doors the room became silent. The tavern was filled with people, among them were a few city guards slacking off from work. Others looked like Adventurers probably here as mercenaries while most were locals. The reason everyone kept quiet was because of Neel''s stature. By Draquerth standards Neel was a giant. With a height of 1.94m he towered over most man on Merum anyway (AN :Merum is the name if this world). He walked over to the counter. "An ale." he said to the bar keep, who nodded and began to prepare a glass of ale. Seeing this everyone began talking again.


    Amongst the noise some people were talking about local brothels, some about how the taxes keep increasing. Some people were talking about Neel, "I''m telling you, he is the knight they called in to investigate the killings. Look at the size of him no way he is a normal man." said one of the adventurers to his table. "Don''t you think they would ask the church for help? Why would a knight from the order come all the way here? It doesn''t make sense. If anything he is an undercover priest." said a woman from the table.


    Neel had a keen sense of hearing. When he heard about the killings he called to the bar keep. "Are the killings getting worse? People seem more stirred." said Neel. Neel had never heard about the killings but if he showed his ignorance to such major matters he would be caught out instantly. "Have you been living under a rock young man?" said the bar keep looking at Neel suspiciously. "I''ve been too busy in the brothels to worry about the outside world." said Neel scratching his head and smiling.


    "Well you need to start paying more attention lad. It could be you one day. Anyway bodies have been found all over the city. Everyday people go missing and are found the following day dead in the town square. The funny thing is that all of them had their life force sucked out of them. Almost as if it were the work of a vampire." said the barkeep. "I call bull shit old man. Why would a vampire come to Draquerth of all places? And if it really were here it needn''t hide. There is no one to stop it here. I say it''s a monster from the mountains who got hungry for human flesh." ,said a nearby local. As Neel drank from his the barkeep and the local kept debating about what could be behind the killings. "Barkeep I''m looking for a lady called Meriel. Do you know where I might find her?" asked Neel.


    "Well if you''re talking about Merial Aserth she''s right behind you." ,said the barkeep pointing to a woman behind Neel. The woman had blonde hair and brown eyes. She was very beautiful possibly in her late 30''s. "What how come I didn''t sense anything from this woman? Could she be cloaking herself? But how? She couldn''t be that powerful." thought Neel as he walked towards the lady sitting alone at the corner of the tavern.


    "Hello there-" Neel tried to say. "Not interested bud. You''re cute but not my type get lost before I make you." said Meriel as she was about to leave the table. "I know you''re a life mage." ,whispered Neel pulling her back down. Meriel hushed him quickly and looked around to see if anyone had heard him. "Shhh, are you trying to get me caught? What is it that you need. I''m a very busy woman." ,she said annoyed that someone had leaked her identity. "I need you to look at my son''s life force and see if there''s anything wrong with him." ,said Neel. "You have a son? That''s suprising. Okay then where is he then?" ,asked Meriel. "Follow me he''s just outside." said Neel as he stood up from the table.


    As he and Meriel walked out of the tavern a group of men nodded to each other and left the tavern as well. As he led Merial to the end of the alley way he found that Lillian and Arya were no longer there. "Listen here pal, if this is some sort of j-" Meriel tried to say when Neel caught a knife aimed at her throat. "Well it seems the rumors might have been true, it looks like miss life mage got herself a knight for a bodyguard." said a mysterious man as a group of about 12 men walked out from the shadows. "No matter, even a third order knight is no match for us.." said the mysterious man as he conjured more blades from the darkness and threw them and Neel and Meriel.

 Chapter 10 - 9: A Mage In The City Part 2

    An alleyway in the city of Draquerth


    Night time


    "What? A knight? Come to think of it how did he catch that knife? What the hell is going on here and why couldn''t I sense any mana flactuations coming from him?" thought Meriel as the man in black approached them, little did she know that Neel was already that fast without the use of magic to boost his speed.


    "Where is my wife?!" shouted Neel, seemingly unafraid of the implications of their current situation.


    "A knight? Pfft, more like a dunce. Can''t he see the situation we''re in? Maybe I can use him as a decoy and escape when I get the chance." thought Meriel.


    "I don''t know who your wife is but worry not. We will search for her after all this is over." said the leader of the assassins as he threw even more knives conjured from darkness at Neel.


    Neel simply caught them once more. Each time a knife was caught it dissipated back into the darkness.


    "Hmm. You''re quite fast for a second order knight. Could it be that you''re just cloaking your mana core in order to reduce the mana flactuations?" said the leader as he formed a scythe from the darkness around him.


    "Well from what I can tell you''re a third order knight at best. You probably have a few magical artifacts to help boost your power." said the man as the group dressed in black pounced on Meriel and Neel at high speeds. The fact that they could manipulate darkness made their movements impossible to detect.


    "Shit!" thought Meriel.


    A few minutes earlier when Neel entered the tavern


    "Don''t worry little one, your papa will be out in a second. He just went in to get a mage to see if there''s anything wrong with you. No need to be upset." Lillian said to Arya, more to comfort herself than to comfort the baby.


    *Swish*


    Lillian heard someone move in the darkness. "Who is there? I don''t have any money. Please leave me alone." Lillian said into the darkness.


    She couldn''t sense anyone in the darkness but her instincts told her she was being watched. She subconsciously pulled Arya even closer.


    "What is this uneasy feeling. Am I scared?" thought Arya as he watched from his mothers arms.


    "Mmmmm.... what bountiful life force." said a voice from the darkness. "Seems today we shall have a feast." said another voice from the darkness.


    In the blink of an eye two figures appeared in front of Lillian smiling from ear to ear.


    "Vampires!" thought Arya and Lillian in unison. "What are vampires doing in Draquerth? I could take care of one easily without magic but I can''t risk hurting Arya while fighting two. And Arya''s just a baby. He can''t handle my frost aura." she thought to herself.


    "Hmm interesting aren''t you scared human? This is usually the part where you turn and run and I then rip your heart out. It''s no fun if you don''t show any fear. Well it matters not. I will have both your life forces. I don''t know what that thing you''re holding is, but it looks pretty tas-." the taller vampire tried to say when Lillian punched him in the stomach sending him crashing into a wall.


    She took that as her chance to run away.


    Although she was moving considerably fast. Vampires are naturally fast beings, so fast most humans wouldn''t even be able to follow their movements. Adding the fact that vampires are masters in dark magic, made their already unfathomable speed increase 3 fold as they manipulated the darkness around them to augment their body.


    "You''re probably the fastest human I''ve ever seen. I''ve never had to use dark magic to catch up to a human before." said a vampire innocently as she caught up to the side of Lillian. Now that they were under the moonlight Lillian could see that she was a female. The vampire looked quite young, about 13 years old with blood red eyes and black hair. She had a very small stature but a domineering presence.


    "You''ve pissed me off woman. I was going to give you a painless death but now I''ll make sure to savor your screams." said the taller male vampire as he lunged for Lillian at full speed.


    Although he used the darkness to camouflage his movements. Lillian''s instincts allowed her to dodge the life threatening attack and make it out with just a scratch on her arm.


    "Stop struggling. I infused my claws with dark magic. Even if you were a life mage it would take you hours to cleanse you''re body. And by that time your body wouldn''t even be able to move a muscle." said the male vampire smiling.


    "I can''t fight them while holding Arya. I need to get Neel to help me." thought Lillian to herself.


    "What the hell is going on here? First magic then super fast humans, now vampires? And why do I feel cold?" thought Arya as he felt the pressure being emitted by the two beings. If not for Lillian covering him with a bit of her own aura he would have passed out. "Wait, are they any elves here?" thought Arya excitedly as he remembered all the elven smut he had read back on Earth. "Not the time or the age to be thinking of such." Arya scolded himself.


    Current time


    Neel


    The man with a scythe brought down his weapon in an attempt to slice Neel in half. Neel caught the tip of the blade with his index and middle finger. As he caught the blade is turned into a flail whose tip went past Neels hand and went for his face.


    Neel then let go of the flail and tried to step back quickly. Just as he was about to step back another figure appeared from the dark with twin blades in his hand. One was aimed at Neels throat while the other at his chest. Neel tried to catch the figure by the arms but went through him instead. "Illusionary magic. And I can''t use my senses to determine who is real and who is fake because they are all shrouded by darkness." he thought to himself.


    "Seems I''m going to have to get a bit serious." he thought to himself as a white glow appeared behind him.


    "Producat in lucem." chanted Meriel behind him as the area around her was filled with light. "Did you idiots forget that I''m a life mage."


    As the light touched their weapons they became more ethereal. All the illusions disappeared and the 12 man were left exposed.


    "Last chance. Where is my wife?" Neel said as he approached the leader.


    As he was about to reach the leader, "In lucem edere." chanted a few people behind the leader then the light was suddenly engulfed by darkness.


    "There are mages among them! Deal with them first. I can''t use my magic with them counter-acting it." said Meriel as sweat began forming on her face.


    The assassin leader did hand gestures to his men and several of them disappeared into the darkness.

 Chapter 11 - 10: The Light In The Dark Part 1

    City of Draquerth


    Lillian


    ''I have to get Arya to safety and deal with these vampires.'' thought Lillian as she put out her palm.


    "She''s a mage! Don''t let her cast!" shouted the male vampire a little too late. Lillian''s body let out a pure white aura as rays of light shot out of her hand.


    "Silent casting! She''s stronger than we thought, get bac" the female vampire tried saying as a ray of light burned her face.


    When the light subsided no trace of Lillian could be seen. "That was just a tier 1 spell. She must not be a light or life mage. But that doesn''t mean we should underestimate her." said the male vampire. "Things have changed. Now that we know there is a mage in the city we have to get rid of her. We can''t fail the court." continued the male vampire.


    "It would be my pleasure." said the female vampire as she gave a curtsy. An evil smile formed on her face as her skin regenerated at a noticeable rate.


    "Things are getting more complicated. What is a mage doing in Draquerth? I have to report this to the boss." said the male vampire as he turned into his quasi-bat form and flew into the night.


    Neel


    "Meriel step back! I don''t have time to play around anymore. My wife and son are in danger." shouted Neel as an explosive force emanated from his body. His pupils became black slits as his iris changed from hazel to a light shade of red. His height grew from 1.94m to 2.5m and parts of his skin turned into black scales. His body shone a deep red aura and his muscles all tightened.


    "A dragon born!" shouted Meriel to no one in particular. The dragon born were the descendants of ancient dragons. Although many people had dragon blood in their veins only some were ever able to awaken their quasi-dragon form.


    "Last chance. Where is my wife?" asked Neel in a loud guttural roar. The noise from the fight alerted the city guards and soon they would storm the area.


    "Fall back. We didn''t come prepared to slay a dragon spawn." said the leader of the assassins as he looked at Neel. The assassins all turned into a black mist and disappeared into the night leaving Neel and Meriel do deal with the city guards.


    "We have to get out of here before the guards see me." said Neel in his loud guttural voice. Meriel was still in shock finding out that there was a dragon born this far down south. Without warning Neel grabbed Merial as two humungous wings about 2m in length came out of his back. After a single flap of his wings he lifted of the ground leaving gusts of wind as he soared into the sky.


    As the captain of the city guards arrived to the scene all he could see was a stream of air moving through the clouds. "That''s it. The city lord has delayed long enough. We have to call the church for help. Something is going on in this city. Something that not even I can handle." thought the captain of the guards as he turned his horse around.


    Arya


    "We''ve been running for ages. This woman is overly cautious. I''m sure that those vampires aren''t after us anymore. Why does she continue to run at such a speed even though she looks so tired." thought Arya as he looked at Lillian.


    "You know I think the poison is catching up with you. You''re way slower than when we started. But I have to commend you, no one has ever lived so long under the effect of Sebastian''s poison. Anyway its time to die vermin! You will pay for what you did back there." said the female vampire as she seemingly appeared right out of the darkness in front of Lillian.


    The female vampire clawed at Lillian''s throat, but Lillian managed to block it with her arm. The female vampire used Lillian''s arm as a pivot to flip over and aim a kick at Lillian''s head. Lillian read her moves and quickly pulled back her extended arm, she caught the vampires kick midair and slammed her on the ground with one arm.


    As the dust from the impact settled the vampire stood up unscathed. "You know you''re pretty strong for your size. But guess what? So am I." said the vampire as she ran towards Lillian.


    Lillian prepared for the impact but just as the vampire was about to hit Lillian she disappeared. "Wha-" thought Lillian as a punch to her back caused her to crash into a wall. As Lillian was about to crash she balled up in order to protect Arya from the impact.


    As the dust settled and the vampire was about to leave Lillian came out. "You''re pretty strong yourself. Though I honestly hope for your sake that that wasn''t all you had to offer deary." said Lillian as she formed an icicle in both her hands.


    "Ah, this will be interesting." said the vampire as her claws extended into short dark blades. Both women than ran at each other. As blade met claw shockwaves shook the nearby buildings.


    "Who is this woman? She can''t be human. How is she able to keep up with me when I''m in my element? Much less after being severely weakened by Sebastian''s poison. I''ll just have to wait until Sebastian''s poison takes full effect. She is too dangerous to take lightly." thought the vampire.


    "What? Why did this woman leave me here? What am I supposed to do here? At least let me see the fight!" thought Arya as he looked around the building that Lillian left him in. The people in the building ran away the second they heard the fight outside so Arya was there all alone. "So this is a new world and all types of beings exist here and on top of all that there is magic as well. Now that I think about it I don''t think that woman is normal either. Although this is a different world I don''t think normal humans can keep up with vampires the way she did. At any rate I don''t think I am too unlucky. The fact that the people in this house ran away instead of fighting means that magic isn''t very common. But it seems that most people in this family can use magic."


    "That''s it. I may have failed to live a happy life in my old world but I swear in this world I''ll do my best. Yes first I will learn the language of this world. Than I will learn magic and explore all the wonders this world has to offer." thought Arya smiling as thoughts of all the pretty elves he would find made his heart flutter.


    As Lillian fought with the vampire she was thrown back into the building and found Arya smiling.. "Well at least somebody is enjoying them self" said Lillian as she ran back into the fight.

 Chapter 12 - 11: The Light In The Dark Part 2

    *Swoosh* *Slash*


    Sparks flew as Lillian''s blade met the vampire''s claws.


    "I can''t keep going on much longer. I have to end this soon before the poison reaches my mana core." thought Lillian to herself as she flipped backwards after their blades met. She began to circle the vampire looking for openings.


    *Crackle*


    The sound of lightning could be heard as Lillian shot a lightning bolt at the vampire''s feet. "So predicta-" the vampire wanted to say as she jumped into the air only to be caught by a ice spike that quickly trapped her body in a layer of ice.


    "That won''t hold her long. I have to contact Neel, those spells took all mana I had left. Anymore and I might put my mana core in jeopardy because of the poison." Lillian thought to herself.


    She then pulled out an amulet releasing mana into it. "Never thought I would ever turn this on again." thought Lillian as she touched a rune and a holographic display of Neel came up.


    Neel


    Something in Neel''s pocket began glowing as he was flying through the clouds. "Nobody has called my contact rune in years. Who could it be?" he thought as he dove downwards landing gently on a nearby roof. Meriel was still in shock, so the moment they landed she fell down to her knees.


    "Don''t you think you''re over exaggerating?" Neel said without getting a response. He pulled out an amulet and a holographic image of Lillian came up.


    "Neel I need your help. I''ve been poisoned and my mana is leaking at an alarming rate. I need a life mage before the poiso-. Why are you in your dragon form dear?" Lillian asked surprised that her husband had transformed.


    "I had worries of my own dear. But Lilly who could be powerful enough to do this to you?" Neel asked more surprised than anything else.


    "Two vampires attacked me. And I couldn''t risk fighting them without endangering little Arya''s life. I managed to lose one of the vampires but one of them caught up to me. I froze her using ice-cage but a tier 3 spell won''t hold her long and I''m afraid with the poison in my system I''m out of mana." said Lillian.


    "I''m on my way. Send out a distress signal using your amulet and I''ll fly there in a second" said Neel as he went to pick up Meriel.


    "Who is that woman Neel?" said Lillian surprised that Neel was with a woman almost as beautiful as she was.


    "It''s the life mage dear. I told you it was a woman." replied Neel.


    "I didn''t think she would be so pret-. Never mind just get here ASAP we will talk about this later." said Lillian as she ended the call and activated the distress call.


    At that moment the vampire broke out of her ice prison and began laughing. "A distress call? How pathetic. It seems that little stunt you pulled really did quite the number on you huh? Well don''t worry wench, I''ll make sure to leave no trace of you once I''m done." said the vampire.


    "Tenebras ligare" chanted the vampire as a cloud of darkness surrounded Lillian, binding her. "We can''t have you running around anymore now can we? Not that it matters anyway, you''re probably gonna die from the poison in a few minutes anyways. But I would love the pleasure of taking your life." said the vampire smiling.


    "Too bad I can''t savor her life force, I don''t want to risk absorbing Sebastian''s poison as well." thought the vampire as she walked towards Lillian with her claws extended and a smile on her face.


    "Say hello to your god. Well that''s if he exists." giggled the vampire as she struck down on Lillian.


    *Crack*


    The sound of bones breaking could be heard as blood sprayed into the air.


    "I hope I didn''t take too long dear." said Neel as he had Merial in one arm and the vampires arm in his other hand.


    "W-w-what, a dragonborn? What is the spawn of a dragon doing south of Merum?" asked the Vampire.


    The vampire tried conjuring a cloud of darkness around her to escape but was interrupted as a pillar of fire shot at her from Neel''s mouth.


    "What is up with all the dark mages today? God I hate dark magic." said Neel as smoke came out of his mouth. Looking at Neel now he looked like a beast from hell. The black scales, the bulging muscles, the dark eyes and the wings made him look like a magnificent being, chiseled from the finest rock. "God''s I missed this form." thought Lillian as she stared at Neel in awe.


    "Well that takes care of that. I don''t know why there are vampires in Draquerth but that''s none of our business. We got the life mage now lets get out of here." said Neel as used a tier one light spell to free Lillian from her binds. "Lux absolvisti" chanted Neel is light from his palm ate away at Lillian''s binds."


    Lillian fell to the ground exhausted as the poison got closer to her mana core. "Meriel quick, help my wife there''s no time!" shouted Neel. "A vampire. He just killed a vampire with a single breathe. Who are these people?" Meriel thought to herself


    Meriel recovered from her earlier shock as Neel turned back to his human form. "You''re lucky I know tier 6 healing spells. Or else I''m not sure your wife would''ve survived this." said Meriel as she touched Lillian scanning for the poison. "Oh gods, how was she able to survive this long?" she thought as she chanted "Pueri tui salvum fac Varis". A light came over Lillian and the color on her skin became brighter.


    "Where''s baby Arya?" asked Neel as Lillian stood up. I left him in one of the buildings." said Lillian as she ran towards the building she left him in. As she arrived she found Arya still smiling at the air. "There''s something seriously wrong with the boy Neel." she said smiling at her baby.


    "Can you take a look at my son as well please?" said Neel as Lillian came back with Arya.


    "Varis obsecro hercle orationis. Indica mihi, est anima pueri huius vis." she chanted as a light slowly shone around Arya.


    "What is this strange feeling? What is this woman doing?" thought Arya as he was brought out of his elven paradise.


    "What!" shuddered Meriel. As the results of her spell came back. "How can a child have this much life force?" she thought. "No it must be normal, after all his father is a dragon born." she thought to herself.


    "There''s nothing wrong with the child. Of course it seems like his mana core is affecting his life force but that''s normal in children who are about to awaken their elemental affinity." she said quickly as she assumed that the spawn of dragon''s were born knowing how to use magic. She didn''t even bother telling them about the life force issue as she thought that as a dragon born''s son he was guaranteed such a massive life force. However that was not the case.


    Lillian gave Neel a worried look. "He is just 2 weeks old. How is he about to awaken is elemental affinity? Neel I hope you can see that it''s as we feared. He inherited the main bloodline." She thought as she hugged baby Arya.


    "Thank you Meriel. This is for your services." Neel said as he pulled out a gold coin. Meriel shook her head saying "I couldn''t accept money from the chosen bloodline. Please I''m honored enough to have met the spawn of a dragon.".


    In the land of Merum there were many different religions. Among them some believed that the dragon born were sent to save the world from all the evils that plagued it.


    "Meriel I hope you can keep my little transformation a secret." said Neel as he scratched his head embarrassingly. "O-of course. Although the assassins we met earlier were part of The 6th eye, I''m sure they have reported about your existence with their master.." said Meriel quickly.

 Chapter 13 - 12: While The Cats Away Part 1

    Outskirts of Draquerth


    Around the same time Neel and Lillian left for Draquerth


    "Boss! Boss! I Just saw the witch and her husband leave their house. This might be the perfect time to strike." said a hoodlum to a man who was noticeably better dressed than everyone else.


    "Igor. Who''s boss? Me or you?" asked the gentleman slightly annoyed. "You of course boss!" said the hoodlum nodding his head repeatedly. "Then I call the shots. Don''t tell me what to do or when to do it." said the boss smiling as he caressed the hoodlums face.


    "Gentlemen, It seems the witch of the slums and her abomination of a husband have left for some business else where. What say you we go give their children a little visit? For old times sake." said the gentleman as he touched a scar on the side of his face.


    A few years ago when Neel and Lillian first arrived to the slums, it was run by these hoodlums. Although the people were poor they still asked them to give good amounts of their food in "tribute" to the boss who apparently protected them from the city guards. When this group tried to make Lillian and Neel pay tribute as well, Lillian refused and beat all the hoodlums to a pulp using her bare hands. When the boss found out about this he came to confront Lillian with a sword. However, Lillian used that same sword to cut the side of his face. Ever since then they haven''t had control of the area Lillian''s family resides.


    Ava


    "Grandma Luna, do you know where papa and mama went?" asked Ava as Luna tucked her into bed. "I have no clue little one. But it is best not to worry about them. After all they will be back any second now." said Luna smiling as she went to tuck in Luca. "Grandma Luna, do you think they left because of baby Arya?" asked Luca shocking Luna.


    "Why would you think that little one?" asked Luna a bit shocked that Luca had figured out the reason for his parent''s departure. "Because the other day I walked in on mommy talking about Arya and she seemed very worried. Also they took Arya and left me and Ava behind." said Neel sleepily.


    "Well don''t worry about it little one. It''s nothing important, they just went to Draquerth to make sure nothing is wrong with Arya." said Luna as she was leaving their room. "Sleep well twins. Or the demon king will get you!" said Luna scaring the kids out of their sheets. "It always gets them!" thought Luna laughing to herself as she heard a knock on the door.


    "Who could be knocking at this hour? Whatever, I needn''t answer the door for anyone. I''m off to bed. I believe I owe myself that much at least with all the work I''ve been doing lately." thought Luna to herself as she ignored the knocks on the door and went to bed.


    "No one is answering boss. Maybe they are all asleep." said one of the hoodlums as he knocked for the fourth time in a row. "Hmm we can never be too sure. Maybe that woman left some sort of trap on her front door. She might be poor but she''s still very resourceful." said the boss to his hoodlums. "Look for the window to the kid''s room and enter from there." said the boss as the hoodlums began searching all the windows for the kid''s room.


    "Boss! I found it." shouted one of the men. "Are you an idiot? Do you want to wake up everyone here?" whispered the boss viciously. "Two of you go in and kidnap the kids. We need to get out of here before they get back." said the boss as two men entered the twin''s room through the window.


    "Luca do you hear them?" whispered Ava to her brother. "It would be surprising if I didn''t Ava." replied Luca. "What do you think they want?" asked Ava. "I don''t know and I don''t care. They are probably just thieves and I''ve been looking for live practice dummies for my magic." whispered Luca back to his sister. "Is it really okay for you to use magic on them? Mom said not to hurt people with magic." replied Ava. "It''s okay so long as they are bad guys. Now keep quiet I can here them coming." said Luca as he rolled in his sheets.


    "Marco, did you hear something?" asked one of the hoodlums to his partner. "Of course not you dunce. They are sleeping. Now lets grab them before the boss gets angry." said the other man as he approached Luca''s side of the bed.


    *thud*


    The man fell with a loud thud as he slipped on a puddle of water near the bed. "What the heck? Where did this water come from?" asked the man to his partner. "I don''t know Marco. But you better stop fooling around. The boss is probably getting quite impatient." said the other hoodlum laughing to himself. "Whatever." said Marco as he stood up and continued approaching Luca.


    *splash*


    He fell down to his knees covering his eyes as an unknown liquid sprayed into them. "Marco enough fooling around. You''ve had your fun now lets hurry this up. The boss will have our heads if we take any longer." said the other hoodlum as he approached Ava''s side of the bed.


    "Virga aqua." chanted Luca as two water bullets shot at the hoodlums head causing them to fall over. "M-m-magic!" they shouted in unison as they ran to the window. As they tried to climb out the window they slipped and fell out. In the moonlight one could see a thin layer of water covering the window still.


    "Nice going brother." said Ava as her eyes grew more and more heavy. "Thanks sister I can''t wait to tell gra-" he said as he fell asleep.


    "Well done Luca. But I can''t have you walking out and seeing what I''m about to do to those men." said Luna as she closed the door and walked out of the house aura blazing.


    Luna had heard the men outside and was about to come to the twin''s room when she heard Luca chanting. She decided to give Luca a chance to practice his magic. However, Luna loved this family and the fact that some hoodlums had the audacity to sneak in and try to kidnap the twins made her blood boil. She decided to show no mercy. Tonight all men present were going to know her wrath .

 Chapter 14 - 13: While The Cats Away Part 2

    "Boss! Boss! There''s a mage in the house, we have to get out of here." said Marco as he tried running away. "Are you guys idiots!?" shouted the boss unable to control his anger. "Are you listening to yourselves? Mages living in the slums? And in Draquerth for that matter? Do you want me to feed you to the monsters in the valley?" said the boss as he held Marco by the collar. "Boss, you''ve got to believe me I sa-" he was about to say when a sudden pressure made him keep quiet.


    The killing intent Luna was letting off was enough to make a grown man wet himself. As she walked out a blue aura surrounded her. "There is no escape vermin." she said as the water in the ground seeped to the surface and collected behind Luna.


    "M-m-mage." said the group of hoodlums in unison. "Listen you don''t have to do this. It was just harmless fun. We will just be on our way and we can all forget what happened here tonight." the boss tried pleading .


    "So I take it you''re the leader for this mission. Don''t worry. I''ll save you for last." said Luna as the water behind her became a tsunami that caused all the hoodlums present to fall to their knees. The water around them then became binds that shackled their hands, head and feet similar to the structures built in the medieval times for public humiliation. Luna then clenched her fists and they became hard ice structures. White fog could be seen falling off the structures and the men began shivering.


    "Who sent you here?" she asked. No response. She then clenched her fists tighter and the structure began sinking bringing the head''s of the hoodlum closer to the ground. "T-t the boss sent us." said one of the hoodlums unwilling to hand over his life for the boss. "I know that idiot. But who is this boss?" said Luna as she moved her hands in a calling gesture and the structure the man was bonded to came right in front of her.


    "The boss. The one with a scar on his face. The one right behind us." said the hoodlum with tears in his eyes. "Lying won''t get you far! I''ll ask again who sent you here? Was it the inquisition, the elders of the north? Who?" shouted Luna as her eyes began glowing blue in rage. "I-I I''m telling the truth! Please spare me. I never wanted this. I didn''t know whose house this was. I- I promise never to come here again. I- I''ll leave the slums. I''ll go far away and you''ll never have to see me again." said the hoodlum crying.


    "Useless." said Luna as she walked past the hoodlum and the ice completely covered his body shattering as soon as Luna was behind him. Seeing this the other hoodlums couldn''t help seeing Luna as a demon. The darkness seemed to play with her features giving her a devil-ish look.


    "Tell me or join your brother." she said coldly. "You s-s-seem to have mistaken us for someone else. L-look at our clothes. A-and look we have no magic. We are but humble street thugs. We just came here to get revenge on L-L-Lillian for taking us out of business in this area. We w-w-weren''t even planning to harm the kids. We just wanted to s-s-scare Lillian so that she never m-messes with us again." said the boss stuttering in fear the whole time.


    "I see. Now that I look closer you really don''t have any mana. It seems I was mistaken." she said realising that her anger had clouded her judgement. "So does that mean you will let us g-" the boss tried saying. "Yes. You can go."


    "However I can''t overlook the fact that you tried to harm this family. Or the fact that you have seen me use magic." thought Luna as ice covered their bodies. "Go to hell that is." said Luna laughing at her own joke. As she walked into the house the ice shattered and all the men turned into dust. As the wind blew them away removing all evidence of what had transpired there Raul felt a chill on his back. "What is the demon witch up to this time?" he thought to himself as he looked out the window.


    As Neel and Lillian said their goodbyes to Meriel, Neel asked "Where are you headed to now? With the assassins probably still in the area I can''t imagine it being safe for you here". " Well the assassins were sent by my family so I think I will head West, to Solis Academy. They will be able to protect me and I will be able to progress with my magic." said Meriel.


    They left Meriel after saying their final farewell and began running for the city wall.


    On their way back to the house Neel said to Lillian "The time is nearly upon us Lilly. Our second son was born with the gift. Pretty soon we will have to face our past.". "I know dear, but that doesn''t mean we should throw away our chance at a happy life. We still have time before his 18th birthday. We can still find another way." said Lillian as they ran at unfathomable speeds.


    When they arrived home they found everyone except Luna asleep. She was sitting on a chair drinking tea in a seemingly good mood. "Luna why are you in a such a good mood at this hour?" asked Neel surprised that Luna was awake at all. "Well lets just say I got to stretch these old bones." laughed Luna as if she had made the funniest joke in the world. "Anyways, we have bad news to tell you." said Neel as Lillian explained to Luna what they had learned about Arya.


    "There must be a mistake. Even the Grand Magus who stood at the pinnacle of Magic only awakened his affinities at the age of one. Do you mean to tell me the little imp will awaken before he is even a month old? This is beyond shocking , we might be witness to the greatest mage of this generation. No to ever walk Merum!" said Luna as all the thoughts of how to train Arya played in her head.


    "Aunt Luna I want you to seal of his abilities until he turns four." said Lillian with tears in her eyes. To her all Luna was saying was what she feared. She couldn''t handle the fact that two of her kids wouldn''t have a normal life. "But Lillian, instead of hiding his talent we shoul-" Luna was about to say as Lillian interrupted "We ran away for a reason Aunt Luna. I wanted to run away from all this. Don''t you see? Magic only causes pain and suffering." said Lillian as tears streamed down her cheeks.


    "Okay child. But all I can manage is a minor seal. The little imp might be able to break it with enough pressure. At the earliest he could break it on his second birthday." said Luna as Neel comforted Lillian.


    "That''s enough for me Aunt Luna. I just want him to live a normal life for a bit." said Lillian as she handed Arya over to Luna.


    "Et oblinito peto ut magica huius pueri. Et conteram fiat tantum si liberum arbitrium sit." chanted Luna as a symbol with 6 edges appeared on Arya''s back and disappeared a second later.


    "What was that. And why do I feel as if something inside me has been locked up?" thought Arya to himself. However he was too sleepy to put any thought into it. So he ignored it and fell asleep.


    "Thank you Aunt Luna.." said Lillian smiling at her sleeping baby.

 Chapter 15 - 14: Baby Steps

    1 month later


    "This language is way less complex as compared to English. In just a month I''ve learnt almost everything I might need to know to speak fluently. Not that I would do that anyways, there''s no telling how these people might react to a baby speaking their language fluently." thought Arya as he listened to Luna instruct Luca on how to chant a spell.


    "But for some reason whenever I try chanting the same spells Luca does nothing happens. Am I missing something? Or is it just that it''s not possible for me to use magic?" thought Arya as Luca failed to complete the spell for the umpteenth time.


    "Ugh! I''m doing everything as you said but how come I can''t even get a drop of water to turn to ice? Are you sure this is the right spel-." complained Luca as Luna cut him short.


    "Listen here kid I''ve been a mage more than ten times longer than you''ve even been alive. I already told you that learning the ice variation of water is something that even some advanced mages can''t do. And you complain that you can''t form any ice even though you haven''t even scratched the surface of basic water magic. Just tell me if it''s too much pressure for you to handle and I''ll drop the lesson." said Luna.


    "No! Please I''ll continue trying." said Luca quickly.


    "Good. Anyway that ends today''s lesson I have other things I need to do. If you want to learn more here is a book on Ice magic." said Luna as she pulled out a book from a rift the air.


    "That''s so cool. Grandma Luna when can I learn dimensional magic?" said Luca excitedly.


    "Never. It''s a special type of magic that only very few manifest. And you do not have an affinity for dimensional magic young one." said Luna bluntly.


    *Sigh* "But grandma I can''t read how am I supposed to-" Luca tried saying.


    "Don''t worry child. I know how reluctant you are to learn to read. All you need for the tier 0 Ice spells are the illustrations. I''ve already taught you how to manipulate your mana. All you need to do is study diligently. Now off you go child, I have to prepare lunch." said Luna as she handed Luca the book and walked to the kitchen.


    As Luca received the book he grumbled. The thought of having to study was not pleasing to a 5 year old who would rather go outside and play with the neighbourhood kids. When Luna left the room Luca put the book down on a table and went to Arya''s crib.


    "I hope that you have more free time than I did when you''re older brother. Early awakening isn''t as cool as it sounds. I barely get time to play outside anymore and grandma Luna keeps telling me about how I am a genius and I should work hard to become one of the pillars of magic. It''s just so much pressur-" Luca was about to finish before he realised who he was talking to.


    Luca shook his head and looked at Arya with more resolve. "When you''re older you will be able to show off to your friends that you''re older brother is the greatest mage of all time. Just you wait Arya." said Luca as he kissed Arya on the forehead and went outside to continue practicing his ice magic.


    "Seems that this Luna lady is giving Luca way more than he can chew. Well I don''t know what she is expecting from a five year old, but thank you for the advice Luca. Seems that I will have to hide my magical talent if I ever manifest any. I can''t be tied down and constantly monitored." thought Arya as he noticed the book lying on the table.


    "Ahh, he left his book here, but how do I get to it? I have no way of getting there. *Sigh* Seems I have to resort to petty tactics." thought Arya as he began to make baby noises to attract someone''s attention.


    "Arya is something the matter." said Ava as she walked in on Arya.


    "Ava. Exactly who I wanted." thought Arya.


    Arya began reaching his arms out for the book that Luca placed on the table. "You want the book? Hmm whose book is this anyway? I''ve never seen it before." said Ava to no one in particular. Arya made louder noises and began moving his whole body in response. "Okay, okay, here you go. I need to hurry and get to Uncle Raul''s before mom realises I''m gone. I can''t let Luca get ahead of me. Bye Arya." said Ava as she kissed Arya''s forehead and ran out the door.


    "This sibling rivalry seems really intense. I wish you luck as well Ava." thought Arya as he touched the cover of the book. "Ahh with this book I''ll finally be able to make a bit of progress." thought Arya as he struggled to open the book with his baby hands. Once he opened the book he saw many illustrations. Arya skipped the words and skimmed through the illustrations on the first few pages.


    "According to this book I should inhale something from the air and pass it through a ball in my stomach and remove a blue part of it to expel from my palm. What? Ugh this is no help. What did Luna keep saying again . Something about manipulating mana. Is that what is being inhaled? Yes, that would make sense, after all even on the shows I watched back on Earth wizards needed mana to cast spells. Ahh and is the ball the mana core thing she keeps talking about? I feel like I''m a step closer to learning magic." thought Arya to himself as he began trying to inhale mana from the air.


    "From what I recall from the shows back on Earth you have to first sense the mana in your surroundings before you can interact with it. Ahh that''s it I can feel it." thought Arya as he began feeling the mana in his surroundings and his body emitted a yellow glow. This new perspective caused Arya''s mana core to grow larger and more mature.


    "Now all I need to do is inhale t-" Arya was stopped by an intense pain on his back that seemed to block him from inhaling the mana into his body. unbeknownst to him the seal that Luna placed on him was glowing brightly. "What the hell was that." thought Arya as he tried again but to no avail. He tried multiple times but each time he tried he was met with the same burning sensation on his back that blocked any attempt to inhale the mana. After many attempts Arya fell asleep from exhaustion.


    "Where did I leave my book? Oh there it is. Wait did I leave it in Arya''s crib? If mom saw this she would skin me alive." said Luca as he shivered from the thought.. As he grabbed the book he looked at the sleeping Arya and said "Sleep tight brother."

 Chapter 16 - 15: A Different Way

    "What was that?" thought Arya as he woke up from his sleep. "I''m sure that I was doing it correctly, I nearly had it too. All I have to do is inhale the mana but why won''t it work? Maybe there''s more that I-" Arya''s thoughts were interrupted when he realised that the book was missing. "Ugh! Luca must''ve taken it back while I was asleep. Now what am I gonna do?" thought Arya.


    While Arya pondered on his recent discoveries Ava was making discoveries of her own. "Uncle Raul how come I can infuse objects like this sword with my mana but can''t use any magic like Luca can?" asked Ava as her sword shone a bright blue colour.


    "Well that''s because you haven''t awakened your elemental affinities yet. Although you have mana and are capable of utilising it, you are unable to separate it to its base properties to manifest the power of a single element." said Raul. "Although for you to be able to manipulate mana to this extent at such a young age is unheard of. This family truly is filled with monsters, she might even be more talented than her mother." thought Raul to himself as he looked at Ava''s sword in awe.


    "Uncle Raul why does mom hate the sword so much? Is it because she can''t use one?" asked Ava as she moved her sword in what seemed to be a kata of some sort.


    "You should not be mistaken young one. Your mother is one of the greatest swordsman I know, but you shouldn''t tell her that I said this or she would have my head." said Raul as he corrected Ava''s stance.


    "Uncle I don''t believe you. I''ve never even seen mom hold a sword. If I had to choose I''d say Dad is a better swordsman." said Ava as she redid the kata taking into consideration the corrections Raul made to it.


    "You''re father is a different story young one. To call him one of the greatest is an understatement. He is the only man to have ever defeated your mother with the sword, though I wouldn''t say that it was a fair match to begin with." replied Raul as he looked at Ava''s kata.


    "What do you mean it wasn''t fair? Did dad cheat?" asked Ava innocently.


    "That''s a story for them to tell you themselves little one. You should get going now, it''s nearly lunch and your mother will be wondering where you ran off to." said Raul to Ava as he took away her sword.


    "Uncle do you think I''ll ever be as good as Luca?" asked Ava as she was about to walk out the door.


    "Little one it''s best not to compare yourself to anyone else. Everyone is a genius in their own special way. You and him will definitely walk different paths, but I believe both of you have the potential to reach unseen heights in whatever paths you decide to take." said Raul as he placed the sword back in its scabbardd.


    "Sigh to be young again. If I could go back in time I would''ve given myself that advice. I spent so much of my time comparing myself to Lilly back then, that I never realised we walked different paths." thought Raul as he stared into the sky.


    "Arya it''s lunch time. Were you hungry? Don''t worry little one mommy didn''t forget about you. Here you go." said Lillian to Arya. "I''ll never get used to this." thought Arya as Lillian''s teat was placed in his mouth.


    After feeding Arya Lillian joined the rest of the family in the kitchen for lunch, leaving Arya in his crib to sleep. When Arya saw that Lillian was gone he opened his eyes and began trying to inhale the mana into his body again. "Hmm seems that I wasn''t dreaming. I really can''t inhale mana into my body. Maybe it''s because I''m still a baby." thought Arya to himself as his attempt failed again.


    "If I can''t inhale the mana maybe there''s a different way to utilise magic instead of inhaling the mana directly. After all there are a hundred ways to skin a cat. But how am I going to find a different way to utilise magic without the book? I could always try using information from the shows back on Earth, but many of them never really explained in depth what they were doing." pondered Arya as he imitated different things he had seen on TV.


    "So what were you kids doing before lunch?" asked Neel as he bit into a large chunk of meat. "Dear don''t talk while you eat, you''re teaching the kids bad table manners." said Lillian coldly. "Sorry Lilly." apologized Neel.


    "Well I was practicing my ice magic. I haven''t gotten very far but I think I''m making real progress." said Luca. Hearing that her son was already learning ice magic at an age where most kids couldn''t even tell the difference between Munera and their parents brought Lillian great pain. (AN: Munera is the Merrum equivalent of Santa.)).


    "Is this true Luna? Is my boy already learning ice magic?" asked Neel a bit surprised that his son was already at this level of magic. "Yes, it is true. I sensed his affinity for ice magic during one of our lessons. With enough practice he could be an ice mage capable of standing toe to toe with the greatest ice mages of this generation." said Luna. "Maybe even better than his mother." added Luna in her mind.


    "What about you Ava? What did you do before lunch?" asked Lillian eager to change the subject.


    "Eh-ehm. Uhm I was just playing with the neighbourhood kids. After all I have no one to play with while Luca practices his magic." said Ava lying through her teeth. Although Lillian hated the fact that Luca practiced magic, she sometimes wished that Ava had awakened as well. She felt that Ava felt neglected by her and Neel because Luca could use magic while she couldn''t.


    "Ugh! Nothing seems to be working. I''ve tried everything I can remember about magic casting from TV shows but they are all a bust. Sigh maybe I should just wait till I''m older and ask Luna. It would be cool if I could shoot beams out of my hands though. Like that other show with the blonde aliens." thought Arya. "What was it that he always shouted again? Ugh I can''t remember. But here it would be something like ''Glacies trabem''." said Arya as he placed his baby hands together in a Kamehameha.


    As he chanted the spell he had read in the book, the mana in the room converged on a single point in front of his palm and a frost beam shot out.


    "What was that sound? Ava can you go check on your little brother." said Lillian as she collected the dishes. "Okay mom." said Ava as she walked to the room Arya was in.


    "Arya what was that sound? Did you see anything? He''s still asleep? Babies sure do sleep alot." said Ava as she played with her little brother''s hands. "Ooo your hands are really cold. You might be catching a cold, lemme close the window for you." said Ava as she went to close the windows.


    "Yes!" thought Arya in triumph as he passed out from exhaustion.

 Chapter 17 - 16: Growing Up (first Time Skip)

    A few months passed by and Arya steadily learned more magic by watching Luca practice and converting the spells he had witnessed into ones that he could use without inhaling mana. It could be said that although Luca was more of a genius at magic than Arya, Arya had the advantage of his past knowledge on magic from Earth TV shows.


    Arya also began to slowly feel like he was a real part of the family. Lillian and Neel showed him the utmost care and reminded him of happier times back on Earth when both his parent were alive. Ava and Luca loved him so much and would play with him everyday, they were the sibling Arya never had. And although Luna was a bit weird she reminded Arya of the grandmother that he had left back on Earth.


    Over the months Ava also became a skilled swordsman. Her unwillingness to be left behind by her twin brother drove her to try and master every technique she was taught. To the extent that she even began to create her very own techniques.


    Luca showed to be more of a genius than anyone expected especially at ice magic. Once he was able to cast tier 0 spells he quickly rose to the level of tier 4 spells. Something that his mother only learned when she had already began silent casting. Luca''s genius scared Lillian to no end and she had a bad feeling that all the peace she had worked for would soon come to an end.


    The twins sixth birthday came and went. They had a small party where all the neighbourhood kids were invited for cake. (AN: keep in mind that this area is home to poor people and cake is a delicacy that some would never get to taste otherwise.)


    Arya''s birthday was coming up and although early he became fed up with not being able to communicate with his family. So he slowly began forming his "first" words. Lillian and Neel were too happy to realise that it was quite queer for a baby who isn''t even a year to be forming his first words but no one else seemed to care either.


    "Mama where LuLu?" asked Arya in a babyish way inwardly cringing. "LuLu is practicing with aunt Luna baby. Do you want to go see him?" said Lillian smiling at her baby''s cute way of referring to his older brother. "Yes mama." said Arya giving his best baby smile.


    Lillian placed Arya outside on the ground where Luca was practicing and Arya tried crawling a bit closer to Luca. "Don''t get too close Arya you could get hurt." said Lillian as she pulled Arya back.


    Luca was practicing tier 4 ice magic. Ice magic seemed to have become Luca''s favourite type of magic a he hardly ever did water magic anymore. Basic magic such as Dark, Light, Water, Fire, Earth and Air only went till tier 4 where as the variant types such as Ice could go till tier 10. Past tier 4, magic began to take the shape of known structures such as animals, weapons or anything else that the caster was able to envision and produce.


    Luca was currently forming a tier 4 Ice spell he personally created ''Dragon''s rage''. He had recently discovered that although he didn''t show an affinity for fire magic he could still borrow some of its properties by mixing in small amounts of fire magic into his spells. "Iram draconis" chanted Luca, a blue dragon quickly charged out of his palm explosively and charged at a nearby tree at the speed of sound. The tree was frozen and exploded into a million shards forming a rainbow as light was refracted off the ice shards that were sprinkled into the air.


    From Arya''s point of view Luca didn''t seem like a 6 year old boy but like a great mage from one of the story books he had read as a child. Lillian however seemed saddened by the sight, she knew that the greater a person''s talent the more suffering they would have to go through to achieve happiness.


    "Luca come inside it''s nearly supper." said Lillian as she picked up Arya and walked into the house. Arya was now big enough to eat porridge prepared for him which delighted him to no end as he was becoming mentally strained from being breastfed. The family enjoyed a nice dinner, Neel asked the twins what they had done the whole day and like always Luca would tell them about how his magic was progressing and Ava would have to lie that she was playing with the neighbourhood kids which always managed to make Neel give Lillian a sad look.


    After dinner Neel spoke to Lillian while she washed the dishes. "Lilly its nearly Arya''s first birthday I think we need to tell him the story of his ancestors. You never know when our last day of peace might be. With Luca''s talent in magic it won''t be long before he wants to start finding others who can use magic like himself.".


    "I know dear but can''t it wait, Arya is still young and he hasn''t shown to be special in anyway apart from his interest in Luca''s magic, but that''s normal for a kid." Lillian tried pleading.


    "Lillian I know that you''re family never gave you any respite but don''t you think you''re protecting the kids a little too much? We are not you''re parents Lilly, we can do things differently. And this isn''t a matter of talent or not. Arya has white hair which is a sign of inheritance and the only reason he hasn''t shown anything special is because we sealed his powers remember? Arya has to know about his forefathers." said Neel as he caressed Lillian''s cheek.


    "Look Lilly if it hurts you so much I won''t tell it to him directly. I''ll act as if it''s a bedtime story and when he is older I''ll reveal the whole truth, like I did for the others. But one day he has to know the truth because unlike the others he might have dragon blood flowing through his veins.


    "Okay Dear." Lillian said giving up to Neel''s logic.


    Neel walked into the room where Arya lay and picked him from his crib. "How are you son?" Neel asked the baby as if he was any older. "Oki papa." said Arya. Arya was quite fond of Neel as Neel reminded him of his late father. Both of them where good men who seemed to be able to do anything for their families.


    "Do you want to hear a story?" Neel asked and he sat down on a chair and sat Arya on his lap. Arya nodded and Neel continued. "A long time ago before the major races were at peace....

 Chapter 18 - 17: The Past (1)

    "A long time ago before the major races were at peace the world was ruled by the dragons. However there was not enough land for all the dragons to rule so they fought a huge war and all the other races were caught in the cross fire. At the end of it all only 6 dragons remained. A dragon for every element, they were the strongest off their race. With time the dragons became old and some began to look for ways to prolong their life span. These dragons did cruel experiments on the other races which incurred the wrath of the divine beings. In the end 4 of the dragons made a deal with the demons to gain immortality. These were the fire, air, water and dark dragons.


    The demons were constantly seeking ways to get into the mortal world and so they asked the dragons to help them in their research as they were the wisest of any race on Merrum. The dragons thinking that they were fooling the demons obliged and made a deal with the seven arch demons of the under world. However the demons were even more cunning than the dragons. They knew that they couldn''t step foot into the mortal plain so they took over the dragons'' bodies. The dragons would surely live forever but at what cost?


    The possession of the 4 dragons started a massacre that lasted for centuries. Some races decided to join the demons in their massacre. These races today have fallen and are known as monsters. They were the orcs, the goblins, the arachnids, the gnolls, the trolls, the harpies and the giants. Along with these races the demons brought their servants from the underworld.... the undead. The first of this new race were the vampires, however they were too prideful to be controlled by the demons so they rebelled and went into seclusion, starting a kingdom of their own.


    Back at that time none of the mortal races apart from the dragons could use magic. The mortal races were doomed to lose the war. However the divine beings could no longer sit idle and watch the mortal world be destroyed so they started to grant some humans parts of their divine power. These select few were known as the celestial knights, but the divine beings were biased in their way of choosing. The divine beings favored the human race as they were the last and most "perfect" race created by the supreme being and so they only chose humans to be the bearer of their powers.


    The celestial knights in turn only took in those humans who were willing to worship the supreme being leaving every other race to fend for themselves. This was the start of what today is known as the Celestial church.


    The dragons seeing that they would soon die and the world they had lived on for centuries would soon follow decided to start teaching people of all races magic. This brought the rise to the first mages. Now having magic in their arsenal of powers the major races decided to band together. These were the elves, the humans and the dwarves.


    Despite how strong their magic was they were still unable to even force a stalemate in the war. The sheer numbers of the undead and the fallen races overpowered them. So they went back into hiding. Years passed and Merrum became a wasteland. The races had become proficient in magic but they still lacked the power to overthrow the demons in their dragon form.


    Seeing that they had successfully taken over the land the demons looked to the seas. However they were stopped by the guardians of the sea. Just like the dragons ruled the land the leviathans, krakens and world serpent ruled the oceans. They didn''t care for what happened on land but would never let the demons occupy the sea. So the demons were put to a standstill. The demons in their rage began to make preparations to call the Demon king to Merrum to take over the sea. They wanted to take full control of Merrum, both the land and the sea.


    After many years and sacrifices the ritual was complete. The demon king was brought to Merrum. The war for the oceans began, the king of the oceans, the world serpent fought a fierce battle with the demon king. However because the ocean became corrupt with the demons other worldly energy he lost the battle. But the Demon king paid a huge price, his life force had been badly damaged and his immortality lost. So he went into a deep slumber." said Neel.


    "I bet you are probably wondering son. If the demon king won how are we here today? The story doesn''t end there."


    "The world serpent had offspring. The offspring being less prideful than their father decided to go on land to ask the major races for help in defeating the demon king. At this time the major races had broken their alliance to take care of their own. The world serpent''s offspring took on humanoid forms and went in search of the humans first. The humans were capable of using all types of magic and were therefore the most favorable to have on their side. The humans agreed and their strongest warrior the Grand Magus followed the offspring of the world serpent to the elves. The elves were less willing to help. They had found refuge in a forest protected by mystical energies.


    In the forest there were races that were naturally attuned with Merrum. They taught the elves their mystical powers. These races were the plant people and the beings of the forest. After several attacks on the forest the elves finally agreed and the elf queen the strongest among them followed the new group. The last stop were the dwarves. The dwarves were naturally proficient at earth magic, even more so then humans as they had learnt all the secrets of the earth dragon before it had died.


    The dwarves lived underground and had made a kingdom. The king of the dwarves welcomed the group and they told him their story. Seeing how powerful the group was he thought that they just might be able to defeat the demon king. The dwarves were excellent forgemasters and had found many metals in the ground. Among them was a vampire who had defected from his race and had found the dwarves by chance.. Funny enough he was the best at creating weapons out of them all, he was known as the devil forgemaster and he crafted the group the best weapons he could."

 Chapter 19 - 18: The Past (2)

    "For the grand magus a staff made of Etherium. For the queen of elves a bow made from the branch of the world tree. For the two offspring of the world serpent a trident made of Uru and a sword made of mythril. And for the devil forgemaster himself twin daggers made of necrodermis (the self healing corpse metal). After the weapons of legend were created the group set off on their journey, slaying many enemies along the years.


    When they finally reached the chamber where the demon king lay they found the 4 possessed dragons lying in wait ready to defend their master. The battle of the chamber was intense and the group nearly lost because each time they slayed a dragon the demons that possessed it would move on to the other dragons making them stronger. If not for their weapons they wouldn''t have slain the immortal dragons.


    After finally slaying the last dragon the group thought that they had finally achieved what countless others had failed to do. However they were mistaken, killing the last dragon caused all the souls of the arch demons to return to the demon king. The demon king woke up fully healed and stronger than before. The group was all out of options they were both tired and out of mana, but they didn''t stand down. They continued the fight, sadly the fight didn''t go on without sacrifice, the god of forgemasters, the devil forgemaster in his attempt to cut off one of the horns of the demon king was badly injured and could no longer continue the fight. Grasping the demon kings horn he retreated into the darkness. Some say he died of his injuries, others say he simply ran back to his people, however no one is certain what happened to him.


    At this point it was nearly a guarantee that they would lose this fight. The group had fought together for years and were resolved to die together trying to complete the mission that even their forefathers failed. Just as they were about to launch their final attack, a man with white hair and black horns burst into the chamber. This man was Alduin the first dragon born, son to the light dragon. His light magic was at such a high level that it could even match divine magic.


    In his hand he held a sword made of dragon bone, It shone with the power of his mother. Together with the new hero the group managed to send the demon king back to the underworld. This group today are known as the heroes of legend. After the defeat of the demon king many others joined in the fight against the demons. The celestial church began culling down the fallen races and the undead. The vampires came out of hiding and fought against the demons as well.


    The offspring of the sea went back home and reclaimed their land. All looked well until the major races started bickering, each race asking compensation for what their representative had accomplished. The humans being the most greedy and also being the most populated took much of Merrum for themselves. The elves didn''t care for much land they simply asked for a specific part of the Mythical forest to be theirs. That part of the forest was home to the world tree. And the dwarves decided to take all the metals of legend in the ground for themselves.


    After this the major races would fight against each other in many wars, seemingly forgetting the camaraderie the heroes of legend once shared. The titles of the heroes would be passed down in their respective races. So that they would always be some one to turn to in times of need." said Neel.


    "The Grand Magus right now is Grand Magus Stark. He is probably the strongest Grand Magus after the first one. The current king of dwarves is Raugh however he is on his death bed and will soon be succeeded by his sons. The elves have not left the forest in centuries so no one knows who rules over them and the dragon borns are being hunted down by the church. But that''s a story for another day." said Neel with a sad look in his eyes.


    "I know you''re too young to understand what I''m saying right now son, but one day when you''re a bit older you''ll realize. And you will know your r-. I think I''m getting a bit caught up. Anyways that''s it son goodnight." said Neel as he quickly walked out of the room seemingly caught up in the past.


    " I have to thank you dad you''ve given me the best history lesson I could hope for. So demons and divine beings exist and interact with mortals in this world? But best of all there really are elves in this world.." Arya thought with a dirty look on his babyish face.

 Chapter 20 - 19: Birthday Troubles (1)

    " I don''t quite understand why dad was so sad though. The humans won and although there were a few wars its better off than how it would''ve been if the demon king still ruled Merrum. Perhaps he is sad because he can''t get to meet the elves either." thought Arya.


    In the morning of the next day Lillian started making preparations for Arya''s birthday. Everyone in the house seemed to be in a jovial mood. The twins quite liked Arya, they shared their deepest secrets with him and although they thought he didn''t understand anything they said, they still felt that he was someone they could rant to whenever things were getting tough. Luna was excited to see if Arya would be able to break the seal that was forced on him and Neel and Lillian were just happy to see their son growing up.


    Arya on the other hand kept practicing his magic technique. He felt like if he could find a way to inhale mana and combine it with the technique he was using he would be able to make even the simplest spells two times more powerful. Lately the burning sensation he kept feeling when he tried to inhale mana seemed to be getting weaker.


    "If I keep at this I should be able to inhale mana quite soon. Maybe I really was too young to use magic." thought Arya to himself as he continued trying to inhale the mana in the air.


    Meanwhile in Draquerth


    " Arch Bishop Deon welcome to my humble abode. Though I didn''t expect someone of your calibre to come on a mere guard''s whim." said the city lord.


    " You would do well to mind what you say Rirren. Although you''re the city lord that mere guard is someone knighted by the church. And the reason I have come here personally is because there might be more at play here than we think. The dragon and the witch were last sighted a few towns away from here and although it''s unlikely that their still here after all these years it''s still my duty to check." said Deon as he looked around the city lord''s manner.


    The room they were in was as tacky as it was big. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was embroidered in gold. Even the city lords clothes had gold marking all over it. If he was trying to show he had money he was doing a good job at it. Paintings of the past city lords were adorned all over the walls which made Deon inwardly cringe. The fireplace seemed to be a magical device as it emitted no smoke. The tea pots that were placed on the table were from Drekatith of southern Merrum.


    As Deon continued looking around he noticed that all the furniture was made of Alcrian darkwood which was as beautiful as it was hard to find. Alcrian darkwood was worth more than gold and could only be found in the Alcrian forest. The wood gave the room both a prestigious and a homey feel. But Deon felt anything but at home. Seeing that Deon seemed to be impressed by his collection the city lord gave a smug grin.


    However Deon was more disgusted than anything else, as he was on his way to the manor he was looking around to get a general image of the city but what he saw surprised him. The city was corrupt to the core and the poverty of the people ate at his heart. He wondered how the city lord could afford to have all this while his people suffered.


    Deon decided that after all this was done he would talk to the captain of the city guards and ask him why he had never reported any of this to the church.


    "Now if you will excuse me I must get going there is much I need to do." said Deon as he stood up from the cream white couch.


    " I was hoping you would stay the night and enjoy my hospitality, after all it''s not everyday we have an Arch Bishop in Draquerth. And maybe we can make a few-" Rirren tried saying.


    "Hold your tongue Rirren, I hope you were not about to imply that I take part in your shady dealings. Must I remind you that I could call the inquisition to destroy the entirety of Draquerth if I deemed this place unworthy of conversion. I''ve seen your city and I don''t like the way your people live. If I were you I would start praying because once this is all over you can expect many church members to pay a visit to Draquerth and trust me it won''t be on friendly terms." said Deon angrily as he disappeared into a burst of light.


    " Amana" said Deon into an amulet.


    " Yes your holiness" replied the person on the other side. Amana was of a small stature just 1.65m tall with blue hair and blue eyes. She always seemed to be looking at nothing and had a slightly sad look on her face. She wore skin tight black clothes that emphasized her lack of assets but also the amount of training she had undergone. As she waited for Deon''s reply she watched Rirren pack his belongings with a blue glow in her eyes while she kept a spell at the ready.


    "Bring him in alive, he has to answer for his crimes. But the condition he is in doesn''t matter much so long as he is breathing. Scum like him deserve no mercy.." said Deon as he straightened out his robe and began walking to a tavern in an alley.

 Chapter 21 - 20: Birthday Troubles (2)

    As Deon entered the tavern it became deathly quiet. It wasn''t only just the fact that he wore a white robe with 4 stars around a single cross which signified the rank of Arch-Bishop that caused the people to keep quiet, but it was also his stature. Deon was 1.93 m tall with the build of a body builder. He had jet black hair with light brown eyes that seemed to be able to see through the crimes of everyone in the tavern. In great contrast to his body his face was beautiful like that of an angel making some women in the tavern blush with excitement.


    As he walked to the bar keep one of the pub-crawlers stopped him and said "Hey are you looking for you''re buddy Father? I remember the church knight that was here about a year ago. I kept telling people he was a knight but no one believed me. Can''t ever forget the size of him, you two are nearly the same size though you''re buddy is a tad bigger."


    " Oh yes, unfortunately I''ve lost contact with him and I was wondering when he was going to come back to the church." said Deon. Although Deon wasn''t sure who this drunkard was referring to there were only so many people bigger than he was and it could never hurt to check.


    Deon activated one of the church''s artifacts which checked whether someone was being truthful or not.


    " Sorry but he doesn''t live around here. He left after the fight with the shadow creatures and the vampire-" the drunkard tried to say when a woman who seemed to be his wife came and stopped him.


    " I''m sorry Arch-Bishop Lenard just had too much to drink don''t mind him." said the woman.


    "What vampires?" said Deon now even more sure that the man being referred to was Neel because only a few humans could fight against a vampire and win.


    "I''m telling you I saw it with me own eyes. That guy swooped down to save a woman and cut the vampires had right off-" he tried saying.


    "Lenard! This is blasphemy and you''re doing it in front of an Arch-Bishop" she tried saying to snap her husband out of his stupor.


    "I swear this on me life your holiness. The man breathed holy fire from his mouth though I could not clearly tell his features I''m sure as day that was him." said Lenard putting his right hand on the left side of his chest.


    " Lenard you were drunk, you don''t know what you saw!" the woman tried pleading.


    "I know what I saw woman!" Lenard snapped back. As the couple continued their bickering Deon walked out of the tavern and spoke into his amulet again.


    "Amana the situation got a bit more complicated. Contact HQ tell them to send people from the inquisitions ''Raze'' division. Draquerth is stained and cannot be saved, vampires have infested the area." said Deon .


    "Yes your holiness." said Amana with a few drops of blood on her face as she dragged Rirren''s frozen body through a portal.


    "The Arch-Bishop requests a Raze squad." Amana said to one of the women she found standing on the other-side of the portal. The place she went to had many large white buildings all covered with gold markings. The side walks were laid with golden yellow bricks and the walk ways were cream white. There were many cathedrals being used for different purposes and in the center stood a 50 story building that seemed to touch the sky and had a huge cross at the top. Everyone around them seemed to be wearing white robes except for Amana and the two women she found waiting for her at the other side of the portal. All three of them wore black skin tight suits which signified being a full-fledged member of the inquisition forces.


    As a few of the normal church members passed by they murmured "Look it''s the demi-god of ice". Amana seemingly did not hear their comment and handed over Rirren''s frozen body to the other woman.


    "He is still alive although barely. Take him to the healing priests and then to an interrogation room. The Arch-Bishop would like a thorough interrogation done on him." said Amana as she wiped the blood of her face.


    "Also I would like to pick the members of this Raze squad myself." she continued.


    "Yes ma''am, but if you don''t mind me asking why would you need a Raze squad? I mean both you and Deon of the Excalibur were sent and I don''t th-" one of the two women tried saying as she was interrupted.


    "I don''t think I asked for your opinion Katz. Or do you mean to question the Arch-Bishop''s reasoning?" asked Amana still keeping her usual distant demeanor. "Anyway if you must know it seems some vampires have infiltrated the city of Draquerth and we''re to destroy every trace of it from the face of Merrum." continued Amana as she walked ahead towards a cathedral.


    "Vampires!" thought Katz as she followed Amana and her body began glowing red with fury. Katz was a well endowed woman with good proportions. She was 1.76m tall and towered over Amana, however you could still tell who was superior. She had red hair and brown eyes that were currently glowing red with mana.


    The other woman was Fiona. She had a rather calm demeanor as she dragged Rirren''s frozen body to another temple as Katz and Amana walked to the cathedral. Fiona was 1.74 m and had an average build but her glasses made her look more attractive. She had green hair and very dark brown eyes, so dark they were nearly black.. As she turned to look at the Rirren''s body she smiled and said "I can''t wait to have fun with you."

 Chapter 22 - 21: Happy Birthday (1)

    The preparations for Arya''s birthday party were complete and the twins were out inviting the neighborhood kids. Although it was a poor neighborhood they were quite tight-knit and Arya''s birthday party was the perfect way to introduce him to the community.


    Ava ran to Raul''s house first to ask her teacher if he would come. Raul had never seen Arya and this was a chance he wasn''t willing to miss. "The third child huh? I wonder what this one will be like." thought Raul to himself as he told Ava that he would find time to come.


    That night the neighborhood kids went to bed excited at the thought of all the food they would eat and all the games they would get to play at Arya''s birthday party. That night Arya slept in the same room as Neel and Lillian for the first time. He was a bit annoyed that he couldn''t practice his magic but he was also happy all the same. He felt like he was getting a second chance at family and this time he wasn''t going to take it for granted. As he happily slept he dreamt about his family back on Earth back when everything was simple and he was at his happiest.


    Meanwhile in Draquerth


    "Your holiness, Fiona has finished her interrogation of the man named Rirren. It turns out he was conspiring with the vampires in the city. He agreed to turn a blind eye on the disappearances of his people in exchange for gold and exotic furnishings. He also secretly ordered some of the guards to kidnap women in the city and sell them on the slave trade, Sometimes even ''testing'' the merchandise for himself." said Amana without the least bit of emotion in her voice almost as if she was ordering a cup of tea.


    " Well done. Such a disgusting man doesn''t deserve retribution I want him put down like the dog he is." said Deon with disgust on his face.


    " Your holiness, Rirren didn''t survive the interrogation. He barely lasted long enough to say what I am relaying to you right now." replied Amana.


    "This Fiona woman, I wonder how a demon like her got to be a member of the church. I need to ask the higher ups to put her on a leash. This is the 70th guy that has died from her ''interrogations''." thought Deon.


    " Anyways what of the ''Raze'' squad? Have they been dispatched yet?" asked Deon.


    "Not yet your holiness. They are currently being blessed by ''The Apollo Cardinal''. They will be dispatched as soon as they are done." continued Amana.


    " Good, I''ve found a lead on the dragon heretic. It seems a group of assassins called the 6th eye are in Draquerth as well, if anyone knows about what''s going on here its them. It seems I''ll just have to liberate the information from them as I clean them of their sins." said Deon as he closed his amulet and walked into a dark alley.


    The city seemed like a ghost town. After news spread that the city lord was missing there seemed to be an evil aura covering the city. The disappearances tripled in just one night and more and more dead bodies were being discovered. There was a homeless man sleeping a distance away from where Deon stood and the air seemed still. Too still.


    " Come out. I know you''re there, you''ve been following me ever since I left the city lord''s manor. You can hide your aura but not your sins. I wonder now that you know what I''m after will you give it to me peacefully? Or do we have to do things in an ugly manner?" said Deon to the darkness.


    The homeless man stood up and after a single hand gesture 12 more men dressed in black appeared from the darkness. " From what I can tell you must be the Excalibur. Not every Arch-Bishop looks like an angel at such a height. I''ve always wanted to meet someone like you. Of course that''s more because of your sword than anything else. But it seems you''re mistaken here, you''re not in a position to ask anythin-" the leader of the assassins tried saying.


    "You talk an awful lot for an assassin you know. Well what can I expect from a faceless one knock off?" said Deon as he pulled a glowing silver scabbard from a rift in the air.


    "Dimensional magic" thought the leader of the assassins.


    " Knock off? Although you aren''t on the hit list, I''m sure your sword and body should fetch a hefty price on the black market. And about that information you wanted if it''s the dragon born you''re looking for he already left the city." said the leader as he formed a giant scythe from darkness.


    "Before we get into this allow me one more question. Then why are you still here?" asked Deon as he held the scabbard in his left hand.


    "Came for work stayed for pleasure I guess. But that''s enough talking." said the leader as he made several hand gestures.


    " Tenebras ligare" chanted several men behind him as chains appeared out of the darkness and wrapped themselves around Deon. Several men then formed weapons made of darkness and lunged at Deon. The leader smiled from his position while looking at the so called ''Excalibur''s '' down fall.


    Deon simply shook his head seemingly disappointed and unleashed Excalibur from its scabbard. The sword gave out a holy hum as it was unleashed, emitting a golden aura so strong it pushed back all the men and broke the chains that held Deon down. As the men recovered from their shock they were blinded by the glow of the sword. When they were finally able to get a good look at Deon they felt like they were looking at an angel. Deon''s eyes shone with a golden color and his body was covered in a divine aura.


    It seemed as if a halo although dim was floating on top of his head. Deon slowly walked to the leader and smiled. There was no malice in his voice when he said "May God cleanse your soul.". The leader of the assassins tried to move but couldn''t, the holy hum of the sword kept everyone who could hear it from moving.. The fight was over before it even started.

 Chapter 23 - 22: Happy Birthday (2)

    On the day of Arya''s birthday the family woke up extra early to complete the tasks they would usually do so as not to be busy during the party. Ava gave the excuse that she was going to remind her friends so that she could squeeze in an extra training session with Raul. Luca went of into the wilderness between Draquerth and the outskirts to practice his ice magic away from prying eyes. Neel and Lillian sat together to meditate and Luna kept watch over Arya.


    Arya felt creeped out by Luna as she was staring at him intently as if waiting for him to do something. After a while of him doing nothing Luna stood up yawning and walked out of the room. Arya took this chance and began trying to inhale mana, lately it felt as if he was close to breaking through the barrier that prevented him from inhaling mana. It had taken him a whole year of practice and growth but he was finally close to unlocking another technique.


    Although Arya''s own technique worked just as well, he was stuck at a bottle neck. No matter how hard he tried he was unable to copy Luca''s fourth tier ice magic. Arya believed it was because there was some kind of flaw in the technique he was using and decided it would be to his benefit if he was able to combine both techniques together.


    Luna watched Arya trying to inhale mana from behind a wall. "It seems they have birthed another monster. I was wondering how the seal I placed on him was already so weak but it seems he inadvertently invented his own breathing technique. Although crude I have to give him props, the kid developed it as a baby he might be a bigger genius than his brother. With proper training he might be capable of taking on an Arch-Bishop, maybe even a Cardinal." thought Luna to herself as she used mana sense to look at the mana particles Arya was interacting with.


    "I wonder how developed his mana core is. I''ll have to check once he breaks the seal. I''m sorry Lillian but you can''t hide this one from the world." whispered Luna to no one in particular as she entered the room Arya was in.


    "Okay child it''s nearly time for the guests to start arriving. We have to get you cleaned up." said Luna as she picked up Arya.


    "Already?" said Arya in a babyish voice.


    "Yes. Already little imp." said Luna as she walked to the bathroom.


    Meanwhile in Draquerth


    Many buildings were destroyed, the city now looked like a wasteland. Charred bodies and debris lay on the ground. The screams of people could be heard as they ran out of their homes and children cried for their moms.


    The sky was clouded by smoke clouds and several people wearing skin tight black uniform could be seen shooting giant fireballs onto the city. White wings extended from the back of their gear which made them look like angels to the people of the city. The scene looked like the start of an apocalypse. "And the angels came and destroyed the city of Dlavencraw, for the sins they committed were too great to overlook and the lord called for divine punishment." said a beautiful voice as a man landed right beside Deon in the town square.


    "Damien, ''The Ascalon'' to what do I owe the pleasure of another Arch-Bishop in the same city?" asked Deon as visible annoyance could be seen on his face.


    "What ever do you mean brother? I am just here to witness the fall of an evil city. And I heard that the dragon born and Ice-witch may be here as well. I though you might need some help." said Damien with a voice as sweet as nectar.


    Damien was a slender man with beautiful features. He stood 1.92m tall with golden blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Both Deon and Damien looked like god-sent angels in their white robes, the difference came in their demeanor and build. Where Deon was build like a body builder, Damien was built like a model. Where Deon was fiery in the expression of his emotions Damien seemed to be more reserved and calm.


    "I don''t need help Damien. The cardinal gave me this task and me alone you can go back to Ecclesia. Now if you would excuse me." said Deon as he pulled out his amulet.


    "It would be wise to accept his holiness''s offer. After all I do not underestimate your prowess but do you think yourself able to take on both the Ice-witch and the prince of dragons by yourself?" said a womanly voice behind Damien.


    "Clare. Hold your tongue, you''re talking to an Arch-Bishop. Or do I have to discipline you myself." said Damien as he smiled and turned to look at Clara. Clara was a voluptuous woman about 1.75m tall. She had brunette hair and eyes to match with a sword hanging from the hip of her skin tight black suit.


    "Sorry your holiness, I didn''t mean any disrespect." said Clara apologetically. "Now have you found the dragon born yet or do I have to help you look?" said Damien.


    "Don''t bother. Amana is already on it, it''s only a matter of time before she tracks them down. She''s the best tracker in the inquisition of course your Clara must be painfully aware of that." said Deon with a smug look on his face.


    "Well two heads are better than one. Clara go assist Amana in her search, I''m sure your skills have improved since the academy days." said Damien with a smile on his face.


    "Yes your holiness.." said Clara as her body glowed with a fiery aura and she took off at supersonic speeds leaving a sonic boom behind.

 Chapter 24 - 23: Happy Birthday (3)

    "Well it seems Clara has gotten stronger since the last time I saw her." said Deon as he looked at the red streak that Clara left behind as she rocketed through the air.


    "Well of course she has, after all growth is key. However I''m more interested in how strong you''ve become my dear brother." Damien said with a smirk on his face.


    "So do I." Deon replied caressing the hilt of Excalibur.


    "But let''s put aside our curiosity for now. Deon do you know about the naming of the next Cardinal?" said Damien almost whispering the last part of the sentence.


    "Cardinal? Wait do you mean to tell me that after a century there are finally granting someone the Cardinal title?" Deon said with a shock filled face. But after a few seconds he finally came back to his senses.


    "Not that it matters anyway Damien. We all know that out of all the Arch-Bishops Ariel of ''The Caliburn'' is the strongest by far. Not even the Arch-Bishop of Destruction ''The Durandal'' can defeat him." said Deon with a hint of displeasure in his voice.


    "Brother I fail to believe that the Supreme Being created any of the Four Holy Swords superior or inferior to another. It is simply a matter of who has mastered theirs the most. That is to say that the other Arch-Bishops could never reach our level. After all the Holy Swords are the most powerful divine artefacts." said Damien musingly.


    "Damien you''ve -" Deon was interrupted by the sound of his amulet.


    "You''re holiness some scouts have discovered a mana signature on the outskirts of Draquerth. It''s several times weaker than that of the Ice-witch but the mana signature is that of an Ice-mage." said Amana calmly.


    "An Ice-mage? Those aren''t common and what are the odds of there being an Ice-Mage this far south. She''s probably just masking her mana signature." said Deon


    "Amana prepare to head out. We''re going to investigate this." said Deon as he closed the amulet and flew off leaving cracks on the ground.


    "Clara." said Damien into his amulet.


    "Yes master I have already pin pointed the location of the Ice-mage." replied Clara.


    "Good, lets show them just how much we''ve grown." said Damien with a wild smile on his face.


    Meanwhile on the outskirts of Draquerth


    Everyone surrounded the table where Arya''s birthday cake was placed. After singing the Merrum equivalent of the happy birthday song all the elders present blessed him. "May you overcome every obstacle you''re faced with." said Raul touching Arya''s forehead. "May the spirits guide you." said Luna as she touched his forehead.


    After them many other elders of the community blessed Arya with words such as "May you be successful in the future." or "May you be happy for all your days.". It was finally Neels turn. He began saying something in a very low guttural voice most there couldn''t hear it because his voice was covered by the sound of excited children singing.


    After Neel gave Arya his blessing Lillian picked up her baby. As she began whispering in his ear a tear rolled down her left cheek. After a while Lillian put Arya back on his tall chair and began cutting the cake.


    Although simple one could tell that a lot of effort was put into making this cake. Every kid was given a slice of cake and they ate it happily. At this point the atmosphere was festive. Many adults were drinking together exchanging stories. The children ran around playing tag, some kids swarmed around Arya trying to touch his white hair or trying to have a conversation with the newest addition to the community.


    Lillian was setting out more drinks when she saw Neel rush for Arya. "Wha-" Lillian was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. When the dust settled the bodies of the once happy kids could be seen sprawled on the ground. The people who managed to survive didn''t move a muscle. Although it was natural for people to start running and screaming in such a situation no one did. And how could they? The bodies that lay sprawled on the floor belonged to the kids they had raised, watched grow or had grown up with. Tears rolled down the eyes of many while some just sat there with their eyes wide open in shock.


    Some parents kept muttering "It''s just a bad dream." as they held their remaining children in their arms rocking them. Lillian didn''t waste any time and began looking for Ava and Luca. She found them safe with Raul and Luna. "Thank yo-" Lillian was about to say when another explosion interrupted her.


    This time even less people survived. Those who had survived began praying to any gods they knew. Arya''s house was completely destroyed, all the memories Arya made in the past year clouded his mind as a wave of sadness went over him. This scene reminded Arya of the day he died. Neel looked to the sky and saw four figures floating there looking down on the people of the outskirts. Neel was enraged, these people threatened the lives of his family not once but twice.


    Neel didn''t care if anyone saw him in his quasi-dragon form or not. In the blink of an eye he appeared right in front of Lillian and handed Arya to him. "Take Arya and go far away. I''m not sure who they are but based off their power alone it''s probably the inquisition. I can take on four of them alone, just take the kids and go." said Neel urgingly as he changed into his dragonic form. His skin changed into black scales and two horns came out of either side of his forehead. His eyes turned black and his iris went from hazel to raging red. His pupil became a black slit and two humungous wings came out of his back.


    The people although surprised couldn''t care less at this point. After all the world as they knew it was crumbling. Neel shot off into the sky and in the blink of an eye he hit a red-haired girl to the ground.. Before any of the other three could respond he shot hot white flames at them from his maw.

 Chapter 25 - 24: A Show Of Power (1)

    When Neel stopped shooting flames from his maw he saw that it had been blocked my the two men with their swords. " Swords powerful enough to stop my flames, they must be divine artefacts. Shit I might be dealing with Arch-Bishops." thought Neel as he flapped his wings sending out powerful wind gales.


    The two men dodged to either side and charged for Neel. Neel compressed the air in a 10m radius around him in response. By doing this he had increased the air pressure directly close to his skin but had reduced the air pressure where the air originally was causing the two men to be sucked in. Neel then shot another round of white hot flames at the men while they were still in shock.


    When he stopped he saw that they were protected by a golden transparent force field. " You live up to your name Dragon prince." said Damien as he removed the force field. "It seems I was wrong to think I could hold back against you." Damien said as he removed Ascalon from its scabbard.


    Ascalon was a thin long blade with a deep blue hilt and golden adornments coming from the sides of the hilt. The scabbard was blue with a golden cross at the centre and ancient engravings written in gold. The blade itself was silver with a golden luminescence. The centre piece of the hilt was a deep blue gem that seemed to suck in air on one side and push it out the other. Once Ascalon was released it let out an explosive golden blue aura. Damien''s eyes shone a blue colour and there seemed to be a halo, although faint floating in top of his head.


    "A holy sword! One of the four great Arch-Bishops, this might be harder than I thought. I can''t afford to hold back." thought Neel to himself. "Lillian take the kids and get out of here. I''m going to to unleash my full power!" shouted Neel to the ground as he closed his eyes and a red aura surrounded him.


    "Deon, this Lillian must be the Ice-witch. Take care of her while I fight the dragon born." Damien said as Deon reluctantly agreed. As Deon headed for Lillian Amana landed next to Clara while keeping an eye on her surroundings.


    "I trust that the Arch-Bishops don''t need our help. While they take care of the Dragon-born and the Ice-witch we can clean up the area." said Amana as she flew off without even looking at Clara once. "Arrogant wench." Clara said as she dusted herself off and followed Amana.


    While all that was going on Raul, Lillian and Luna realised that the aura that the man Neel was fighting had to be the wielder of a holy sword. "Luna take Arya and the kids and run. I can''t let Neel fight an Arch-Bishop and the inquisition alone. As strong as he is he might do something he might regret." Lillian said as she handed Arya to Luna.


    "Mom what''s going on. Will you and dad be okay?" Ava asked with tears flowing from her eyes. The sight of her dead friends was still etched in her brain despite how well Luna tried to cover her eyes Ava still saw her friends charred bodies.


    "I''ll be okay little one. Take care of both your brothers for me while I go help your father okay." said Lillian as she hugged Ava.


    "Mother I can help, I''ve been practicing let me help you." said Luca with a determined look on his face. Although Luca was also afraid he felt that he had a duty to fight since he was a genius mage. " You will do no such thing! Luca I know that you feel like it''s your duty to fight because you''re so talented but do you have any idea what it means to take someone''s life. We aren''t sparring, those people mean to kill us. Look at the bodies of those who were once your friends!" said Lillian sternly.


    Upon hearing this, the fa?ade that Luca had put up crumbled. He began crying and holding on to his mother "Their all dead mom. All of them, Kyle, Lenny, David all of them. This isn''t fair mom what did we do to deserve this. Don''t go please mom, I don''t know what I''ll do without you guys please. Let''s just go." cried Luca as Lillian hugged him tightly and Ava joined in on the embrace.


    As Arya watched his family embrace, scenes of his past life began flashing through his eyes. He remembered when he won his first karate tournament and he hugged both his parents in joy. He remembered when he his pet dog had died and his parents comforted him the whole time. Arya then looked at Neel in his dragonic form in the air. At first all the kids were surprised to see their father transform but they quickly disregarded it as there were much more important things to worry about.


    As he looked at Neel all the memories Arya had with his father on Earth played in his mind. A single tear rolled down his face. After a while the memories of Neel in his current life played in his head as well and the two images of his different fathers played at the same time until the two became indistinguishable. At this point Arya was crying as he finally reached the memory of his father''s death and the face of his late father''s dead body was replaced with that of Neel.


    "Papa." was all that Arya could say as he began sobbing like the baby he was. " Come on now little ones, you''re scaring Arya. You two have to be strong for you''re little brother okay. Take care of him while I''m gone." said Lillian as she nodded to Luna. Luna than pulled a blade from a rift in the air. As the blade was pulled out of the dimensional fissure it let out an ice cold aura.


    "Is tha-" Raul was about to say as Lillian nodded. "Yes it''s Absolutus, the legendary blade." said Lillian as she wielded it. Her hair began dancing in the air as her body let our a bright blue aura. "The Ice-witch has returned.." muttered Raul under his breath.

 Chapter 26 - 25: A Show Of Power (2)

    As raw power surged through Lillian''s body as Ava stared in awe. She had never for one second believed any of the stories Raul told her about her mother being a great swordsman. But now as she stared at her mother she knew that all the stories about her were true ,that her mother had surely reached the peak of swordsmanship. In that instance Ava saw her future self in her mother, deep inside although scared she was rooting for her.


    Lillian turned around and saw Deon flying towards them. At Lillian''s signal Luna opened a rift the size of a door in front of her and the kids and all of them went through it leaving Lillian to fight Deon alone.


    As Deon was approaching, Lillian reduced the temperature around her causing the water in the air to condense and then freeze turning the once sandy terrain into an ice land. "Tier 7 Ice-house, and silent casting as well. I guess that they don''t call you the Ice-witch simply as a jest." Deon said as he landed on the icy Lillian had created.


    Lillian replied by causing an ice spike to erupt from the ice directly below Deon. Deon tried to fly off the ground to avoid it but the ice spike also increased in height. He decided to to fly backwards but the ice-spike quickly turned into a water limb and chased him as he flew backwards. Deon tried a number of manoeuvres to get rid of it but it chased after him like a homing missile. He decided enough was enough "Reddens iniquitatem flammae" chanted Deon as the tier 4 fire spell ''punishing flames erupted from his palm in the shape of a fist smiting the water limb turning into steam. The steam condensed and fell to the ground as ice.


    When Deon turned back to look at Lillian he found that she had disappeared and that the area of effect of the Ice-house spell had increased to nearly 1km. There was now a blizzard in the middle of the south. (AN: the south is more of a sandy, dry, desert-ish terrain. So seeing a blizzard there was like finding a camel swimming in the sea. LOL).


    Deon''s field of vision was greatly reduced as the blizzard became stronger with every passing second. The snow flakes that clouded his vision were getting sharper and larger as the blizzard progressed, and they began to cut his robes. "Tier 9 Ice-coffin huh, and only one mage is casting it at that. Sorry I can''t let this go on any longer or I might actually lose." said Deon as he pulled Excalibur out of a dimensional rift in front of him.


    The sword gave out a holy hum as it was unleashed from its scabbard, emitting a golden aura so strong it pushed all the ice shards falling in a 10m radius away from Deon. The glow of the sword reflected of the ice shards forming a rainbow around the sword giving it a pristine yet comforting look. Deon''s eyes shone with a golden colour and his body was covered in a divine aura. And although dim a halo was floating above his head.


    "Drat another Arch-Bishop. I have to finish this quickly and help Neel before more show up" thought Lillian as she charged at Deon with her sword aimed at Deon''s torso. Deon moved out of the way in the nick of time. If not for his increased speed due to the holy sword''s blessing he never would''ve matched Lillian''s crazy speed. "You''re pretty fast. But not fast enough." said Deon as he lunged for Lillian''s neck with his sword. Lillian parried the holy sword and slid hers along the blade of the holy sword using the ice around them to reduce the friction between the two swords.


    Deon saw what she was trying to do and positioned his sword vertically to stop her advance. Deon then retreated into the air using the fact that she was incapable of flight to his advantage. Lillian quickly made an ice-pillar shoot up from below her vaulting her into the sky with her sword out stretched to stab Deon in the middle of his stomach. ". Deon saw her approaching and tried dodging but he wasn''t fast enough and a line of blood appeared on the side of his ribs. As Lillian was falling back to the ground Deon saw this as his chance and flew towards the falling Lillian aiming to cut off her head with a horizontal slash. Lillian simply smiled and the shards that were falling around her completely covered her. When Deon cut through the ice ball he found nothing. He looked around and couldn''t find a trace of Lillian.


    "That was close." sighed Lillian as she fell to the ground a few hundred metres from where Deon was. Lillian had used a tier 8 ice spell called Ice-puppeteer to position the ice shards in such a way that the light around her would be reflected causing her to become seemingly invisible. She then reduced the friction in front of her to increase her speed ten fold in order to make a quick escape. However using the tier 8 spell Ice-puppeteer and keeping the tier 9 Ice-coffin spell active was taking a toll on her. Compared to her Deon was full of energy. " I''m running out of mana. I have to finish this quickly." thought Lillian as she thought of a plan.


    " Ugh, I''m totally out of my element here, but this won''t last long. She''s using up too much mana. As much of a mana-house the Ice-witch is, even the greatest mages have their limits." thought Deon to himself as he healed his wound using divine magic. Deon then landed on the icy-ground and began chanting the tier 4 earth spell ''Mother''s call'', "Reverberata terram.". Tremors spread through the ice and bounced back on every object it touched. It was a form of echo location that could be used to track objects on the ground. "Found you." smiled Deon as he held out the holy sword and it began glowing even brighter giving Deon even more power. Deon then shot off towards Lillian at a speed faster than sound.


    Lillian saw Deon heading for her and erected an Ice-pillar in front of her. Deon replied to that buy chanting the tier 4 air spell air vortex ,"Aeris vertigo.". The spell caused a funnel to appear sucking in air on one side of Deon causing him to abruptly changed direction. He then changed the position of the funnel to redirect his rocketing body towards Lillian.. This all happened in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 27 - 26: A Game Of Power (1)

    Lillian then turned the slab in front of her into an igloo protecting her from all sides. "That won''t work." said Deon as he stretched out Excalibur and cut through the ice rocketing towards Lillian''s head. Lillian''s sword Absolutus let out a frost aura as Lillian tried to block the full power of Deon''s lunge. Excalibur pushed Lillian back several metres as Lillian tried using the ice on the ground to wrap around her feet to help her block the attack but it still wasn''t enough. Absolutus began freezing over Excalibur reducing the kinetic energy of the attack absorbing the brunt of the damage. Once Lillian stopped she flipped backwards several times to get some distance between them.


    Lillian stopped a few metres away from Deon and her sword arm went limp. She had broken her ulna. She switched Absolutus to her left hand and slashed with it horizontally causing shards of ice to shoot at Deon. Deon simply swatted all of them away using Excalibur. Deon then lunged for Lillian but she intercepted it with a parry. She then made two ice spikes erupt from behind her aiming to stab Deon''s legs. Deon flew back quickly dodging both spikes.


    Lillian then turned the spikes into water limbs and charged at Deon. She caused a slab of ice to shoot her towards Deon increasing her speed and did a spin kick mid air aimed at Deon''s head. Deon moved just beyond the range of the kick in the nick of time. However Lillian used the water limbs to run down her leg to create an ice spike that extended the range of her kick, hitting Deon square in the face. The side of Deon''s face was bleeding profusely but he quickly stood up and shot a pillar of light at Lillian.


    Lillian wasn''t fast enough to reflect the light using her ice shards and the hard light pillar hit her good arm causing a huge cut that was made worse due to the very cold temperatures. Although she felt a searing pain on her arm she still held Absolutus tightly.


    Deon''s wounds closed at a visible rate as a divine light covered them and the bleeding stopped. "Give it up, you''re exhausted and out of mana. Now you can''t even use your sword. You''re only delaying the inevitable. And I don''t like to bully my opponents." said Deon as he raised Excalibur into the air.


    The hum Excalibur was emitting became louder and Lillian''s body began to shine brightly. "What the?" thought Lillian to herself as she was unable to move.


    "Do you like it? It''s Excalibur''s special spell ''God''s judgement''. You won''t be able to move until I pass judgement on you. I didn''t really think the stories about you were true, but turns out your reputation precedes you." said Deon as he hovered towards her finally coming face to face with Lillian.


    "Anyway it''s over. You needn''t worry about your kids, although the church never expected you to have kids they are still young so they can still be cleansed of their sins. However I judge you Lillian Dragonglacies to divine punishment." said Deon as he brought down his sword to cut down Lillian.


    As he slashed he realised it was just an illusion. A play on light to make her seem closer than she actually was. Lillian had used Ice-puppeteer for a second time. "Sorry your holiness, I''m afraid it''s you who shall be punished." Lillian said as she chanted "Spatium absolutum". Cracks began forming on Absolutus as rays of blue light shone from them. The falling ice shards stopped in mid air and all the area became engulfed by darkness. The only light left was the divine light of the holy sword. "What''s going on." Deon said as he found that he couldn''t move either.


    As he looked around his eyes opened wide in shock, "This couldn''t be. It can''t be, tier 10 spells are just a myth. Absolute Domain is just a bards tale told to mages so they can have something to strive for." thought Deon in disbelief as everything around him was stopped in time. Absolute domain was an ice-spell said to be created by the Grand Magus of legend. It works by using ice magic to absorb all the kinetic energy around an area stopping everything in time than releasing it all at once and was used against the Demon King in the battle of the chamber.


    "I pray that Vitas may guide you on your journey twins and take care of each other like you always have. Know that your mother loves you and that my only regret is not seeing you grow up" said Lillian as all the memories she had shared with her kids flooded her mind. She began shedding tears as she recalled the birth of the twins and how happy her and Neel were when they found out that they were having twins. She smiled as she remembered them as toddlers working together always getting into trouble and making aunt Luna''s life a living hell.


    "To you my husband know that I loved you more than anything in the world. I couldn''t have asked for a better spouse." said Lillian as she remembered the day of their marriage and when they had to run away from her family because they objected her marriage to a dragonborn. Causing her to shed even more tears. Then she remembered the birth of Arya and how scared she was when Arya came out with white hair and wasn''t crying, "And to you my last born, I wish you luck on your journey. Your mother is sorry for leaving you so early when you have so many struggles to overcome."


    Lillian''s tears froze as she collected all the energy that was absorbed by Absolute Domain and channelled it into Absolutus causing a massive explosion. Everything in a 3km radius was disintegrated. The explosion caused a tsunami of hot air to destroy all the trees past the radius of the explosion, the shockwaves of the explosion reached the walls of Draquerth. A split second later a large mass of air was sucked in to replace the air that had been lost causing an implosion.


    Neel and Damien were knocked off balance during their fight and Amana and Clare were forced to plant themselves to the ground to avoid being dragged in. Raul and the kids looked at the explosion from a distance as Raul created an air dome to prevent them being sucked it. They stood there wondering what had happened as Luna stared at the sight in disbelief.


    "No way, this lack of water and world energy. Only one spell in all of history is strong enough to upset the balance of mana and energy in such a way. She did it, didn''t she. She achieved tier the tier 10. She truly was the greatest ice-mage of this generation." Luna thought as she shed a single tear in memory of Lillian.. She knew that no one could survive such a spell, and that the only reason the first Grand Magus survived it was because he was a dimensional mage capable of teleporting hundreds of kilometres away.

 Chapter 28 - 27: A Game Of Power (2)

    Damien and Neel''s fight was put to a halt as they stared at the crater left behind by the explosion. Both of them wondered what had happened but Neel was more worried than curious. "I have to hurry up and help Lilly. Whatever that explosion was it can''t be good." thought Neel as he looked at Damien a few metres away from where he stood. Both of them had landed in order to avoid being pulled in my the implosion.


    Neel formed a flame in the shape of a giant arrow head and shot it at Damien using air magic to greatly increase its speed and power. "Terrenis et in domum suamas" chanted Damien as he quickly formed an earth dome around himself to nullify the flames. However Neel wasn''t finished, he manipulated the air to change the arrows direction and made it soar into the sky.


    "Ipsius pia intercessione objurgatrixhe" chanted Neel, this spell was called Motherly scold it was a tier 4 variation of Motherly call that instead of using shockwaves to locate objects it continuously increased the frequency of the shockwaves until resonance was achieved causing a structure to crumble. Neel timed it so that the fire arrow would swoop down and strike Damien exactly as the dome structure crumbled. As the fire arrow rocketed downwards it increased in brightness and heat as Neel fed it more air. The fire arrow scotched the spot where Damien once stood.


    As the debris settled Neel saw that Damien was in the air. "How did he dodge that?" thought Neel as he stretched out his arms while chanting "Vinctos terrae". Chains made of earth shot up into the air and wrapped themselves around Damien stopping him from flying and dragging him back to the ground. Damien tried using ''Ascalon'' to cut the chains but each time he cut them they would simply reform.


    Seeing that his attempts at cutting the chains was futile he held out his free hand chanting "Aqua" and a stream of water washed over the chains turning the solid earth to mud. Once Damien was free he quickly shot off into the air and Neel followed closely behind . As Damien was flying upwards Neel shot out two flames which took the form of raging dragons aiming to engulf Damien.


    Damien quickly stretched out his free hand creating a vortex of air that sucked in the fire spells by suffocating them of their needed oxygen. However while Damien was distracted by the spells Neel used air magic to increase his speed and got right in front off Damien opening his maw shooting out white hot flames.


    The flames were shot at point blank range so Damien couldn''t hope to dodge them. However the flames were quickly snuffed out. "How did he do that? Regardless of whether he is an air mage or not suffocating my flames of air isn''t supposed to stop them." thought Neel as Damien flew towards him slashing his right wing.


    "What the? Why isn''t it healing?" thought Neel as he struggled to keep himself in the air. "What kind of posion did he put on his?". While he was thinking Damien continued to slash at Neel leaving multiple cuts all over his body. "His cutting my scales like their nothing." though Neel as he tried to dodge another attack.


    "I have to get some distance between us." thought Neel as he used air magic to push Damien away. Once there was some distance between them Neel quickly shot five orbs of compressed air at Damien receiving a scoff in reply. "You''re getting desperate Dragon prince." said Damien as he stopped them right in front of himself. "If you haven''t noticed I''m an air mag-" Damien''s words were interrupted by the sound of Neel snapping his fingers, as he did this the five orbs of compressed air blew up in flames sending shockwaves threw the air swatting both Damien and Neel to the ground.


    When Damien recovered from the explosion he found himself sinking in mud, Neel had cast the tier 3 spell quicksand which was a spell that disintegrated the sand into finer particles and used water the liquefy it. Once Damien was trapped knee high in quicksand Neel held out both hands using a fire and air magic to blow hot air at the quicksand. The hot air resulted in the quicksand drying in a matter of seconds. Once the quicksand had dried up Neel chanted "Nolite obdurare" which hardened the earth making it almost impossible for Damien to escape.


    Damien was still too confused to react to the quick succession of spells that Neel was dishing out. Although Damien''s equipment took the brunt of the damage, not even the finest armour can protect you from a concussion whereas Neel was a Dragonborn a naturally sturdy race. Neel continued to use Damien''s confusion to his advantage and chanted "Vinctos terrae" again chaining Damien to his new prison. This time the chains tied his hands preventing him from using the water spell to destroy the chains.


    "Its over little one. I would love to finish this but my wife needs me." said Neel as he turned to leave but was stopped by a layer of compressed air. Neel looked around and noticed he was trapped in an air dome that was getting smaller by the second. "What in the?" Neel turned to look at Damien and found that he was no longer trapped but instead in the air. "Something''s not right here." thought Neel as Damien flew towards him.


    Neel tried using air magic to create a second dome within the first to push it out but nothing happened. His air magic wasn''t working. At this point Neel was in shock, something wasn''t adding up. "You''re probably wondering what''s going on. Let me ask you this Dragon prince do you perhaps know of the legend of Ascalon?" smiled Damien as he held out his blade showing its beauty. "The Dragon slayer.." thought Neel in shock as everything started to make sense.

 Chapter 29 - Ascalon

    Neel remembered the story of Ascalon, a story his father told him only once yet to a Dragonborn once was enough. Of the four legendary holy swords Ascalon was the weakest in terms of strength, however every holy sword was created with its own purpose. Ascalon''s was to slay the race that invited the demons into this world..... the dragons. The first Holy Saint, a genius forge master was blessed with the soul of a divine being and from that soul he forged Ascalon.


    Back then the Dragonborn''s and their descendants ruled the north and stopped the Church''s advance due to their advantage in the sky and to their natural prowess in both air and fire magic. They kept the Church at bay for nearly a century but once Ascalon came into the battlefield all of that changed.


    Ascalon was capable of manipulating mana to prevent anyone from using fire or air magic. Without their mastery of air of fire magic all they had was their physical prowess and flight capabilities but even that was taken away. The Saint George had the same power of an Arch Cardinal, one of the strongest leaders of the church second only to the Pope. With Ascalon in hand he ravaged the dragonborns. Ascalon wasn''t only capable of taking away their magic but could also rob them of both their natural defences and regenerative qualities.


    With both their magic and their vitality gone they were on the brink of defeat. With the inquisition army, a newly formed, highly capable troupe consisting of the most talented mages in the Church destroying their vanguard and the Saint George and his bishops attacking the front the dragonborns had no choice but to surrender. They thought that if they surrendered the Church would show mercy on them and simply take them prisoner. However, the Church wouldn''t show kindness to the none human races, especially the descendants of those who summoned the demons to Merrum.


    All the captured dragonborns were trailed and executed by the Church for their involvement in the summoning of the demons to the mortal plane. Some managed to escape including the king of dragon''s ''Alduin'', however he was getting old and was incapable of protecting his people. So he gave up his throne and it was passed down to his eldest son Algard. Alduin warned Algard to forget about that which they had lost and look to start a new but Algard was spiteful. He could never forgive the humans for attacking that which was rightfully his and he sought vengeance.


    Algard trained night and day for the day he would finally take his revenge. Algard was naturally gifted at magic and became a master at not only air and fire magic but being from the royal bloodline was also a master at light magic. After reaching the tier 9 level in all three elements he gave birth to a new discipline. By combining all three elements he created the first lightning spell. A spell capable of of destroying all those that opposed him. It was the tier 10 lightning spell ''Dragon God''.


    After the death of Saint George Algard stole the first dragonborn''s bone sword ''Draconis'' and took the best fighters the Dragon''s descendants had to offer, his destination was the Church''s headquarters ''Ecclesia''. Draconis could only be wielded by a Dragon''s descendant and was capable of giving its wielder an elder dragon form. With the form of his ancestors he used ''Dragon God to destroy Ecclesia''s defences and storm the city. Although they were greatly outnumbered the ''Draconis'' was capable of increasing the strength of the dragon''s descendants three fold and with their King having the power of an Elder Dragon they became an unstoppable force.


    With the power of Draconis Algard was capable of casting ''Dragon God'' multiple times destroying a good portion of the inquisition by himself. It was the greatest massacre the church had ever faced and with no one capable of wielding ''Ascalon'' even the Arch Cardinals struggled to keep the new Dragon King at bay. When all hope seemed lost the Pope at the time Adrian XVI appeared wielding Ascalon in one hand and Caliburn in the other.


    He was the youngest Pope in history at the age of 23 but his power was beyond his years. Most humans would only be attuned to one element, or two if they were a genius but the Pope was naturally attuned to three. Water, Earth and Light magic adding the blessing the divine beings granted him he was attuned to four elements. The Pope was one of the four strongest beings in existence at the time but with the power of his ancestors the dragon king still stood a chance against him.


    The stories about what happened during the fight differ but all stories have one thing in common, Ascalon was was truly the Dragon slayer. Although Algard temporarily had the power of an Elder Dragon without his mastery over air or fire magic all he had was light and lighting magic but with that alone he couldn''t hope to defeat the Pope. With their King defeated the rest of the dragonborns tried retreating but the Pope allowed them no respite. In one day two of the greatest massacres in Merrum''s history occurred and a whole race was nearly wiped out.


    After that incident the Pope ordered that all dragonborn''s be arrested and trailed for their crimes. So the rest of the royal family was forced into hiding due to their Kings arrogance. After the death of Pope Adrian no one was capable of wielding Ascalon and it was locked in the Church vault. Yet that same holy sword that had the power to bring an Elder Dragon to his knees was touching Neels throat ready to slit it at any second.


    "So that''s what this is. Ascalon ''The Dragon Slayer''." said Neel with a cold look on his face. "I''m glad that you understand, and please don''t try chanting any spells I would be forced to end this quickly and that is no fun. Although we were ordered to bring you back so that you can be put on trail I have different plans." said Damien as if he were having tea with a friend. "You see if I kill you my status would greatly increase, I would truly live up to the name of Dragon slayer and who knows I might be named the next Cardinal. Oh sorry you won''t be alive to see that will you? Oh well you can just watch me from wherever you are."


    As Damien continued to talk to himself Neel closed his eyes and his body began to glow a bright yellow colour. Damien was still focused on his ambitions as he was already guaranteed victory or so he thought. Neel shot a hard light pillar at Damien''s right hand hitting the sword out of his grasp. Damien was confused but reacted quickly and used air magic to call back his sword. However that split second of distraction was all Neel required. He used air magic to expand the air dome that restricted him destroying it.


    Before Damien had time to react Neel flew into the air using both air and fire magic to propel himself faster. "I got too confident again. So he was hiding his light mastery was he. But no matter, that won''t work on me again.." thought Damien as he flew after Neel using the both his and the sword''s air mastery to catch up to Neel.

 Chapter 30 - Natures Wrath(1)

    As Damien flew through a cloud he saw that Neel was looking at the sky, not moving at all. "Have you given up already?" asked Damien to no reply. Neel simply turned to look at him before continuing to look at the sky, it seemed as if he was deciding on something.


    "Did you know that of all the variable elements none can be used without the mage first having an affinity towards it? Even though it is said lightning magic was created by Algard, no other dragonborn has shown an affinity to it for centuries. It is said that if a dragonborn is able to wield lightning it will be a power like no other. But alas it was just a false prophecy told by the old who regretted their past losses. If a true Elder dragon with a 6 star core was slain even with tier 10 lightning in his arsenal what could the rest of us hope to do?" said Neel in a pondering tone.


    "At least that''s what I always thought whenever my father would tell me that story. When the age came that I could use magic I desperately hoped that I had an affinity to lightning but it was not meant to be. I was a genius even among dragons with three affinities but lightning wasn''t among them. So I drowned in my innate longing for revenge I sought a way to use lightning magic even without an affinity. Those were the days I was truly known as ''The Dragon Prince''." continued Neel as he stared at the setting sun intently.


    "I don''t know what''s gotten into you but I''ve had enough of your ta-" Damien tried saying when suddenly the wind began roaring as if it had come to life. "What''s going on?" Damien said as he tried activating Ascalon''s nullifying abilities yet the wind continued to roar.


    "I scourged the land pillaging from humans what I could, stealing different techniques to strengthen my mana core and continue my research on magic. When I finally reached 5 stars I hit a bottle neck and that''s when I found my answer. It was a woman named Lilly. She was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen yet what caught my attention was the fact that she was from a family of ice-mages, something that seems impossible because although genes are passed on magical affinities aren''t. So I tried kidnapping her. I thought that if I could study this strange woman I could get the answers I needed. How young and na?ve I was." said Neel as a smile swept through his face.


    At this point the wind was raging like an angry monster ready to attack at any moment. Damien wanted to get out of there but he couldn''t. Although the wind seemed angry he was drawn to it, like something deep within his soul always knew the raging beast. So he kept still and listened.


    "What I didn''t know was that she was a thorned trophy. When I tried to kidnap her she unleashed a force upon me like I had never felt before. It felt as if her ice magic didn''t come from her alone. It felt as if the land itself was helping, as if the snow that perpetually fell in her homeland was helping the daughter of their soil. And that''s when I realised, it was helping her. With every spell she cast the land would get even colder and her spells increasingly stronger. I, the Prince of Dragons almost lost that day but before she could land a finishing blow she collapsed due to frostbite." continued Neel.


    "The very source of her power ate away at her like a hungry beast. I couldn''t leave her there to die, after all I wasn''t through with my research so I took her to a place I was staying at. When she first woke up she tried to kill me but she couldn''t use magic. It seemed her mana core was weakened, but I told her she needn''t worry. That I no longer meant her harm. She didn''t trust me at first and asked me to take her home, but I couldn''t do that. I lied to her that I would take her back once she recovered and not a second sooner. She was sceptical about this but she couldn''t leave anyways. The place where I took her was a mountain peak high in the clouds, she couldn''t escape even if she tried." .


    "Over the days we became more friendly towards each other and we eventually opened up. Both of us were bound by the expectations of our families. With a common suffering our friendship became a budding romance and that''s when we had the twins. She tried asking for her family''s blessing for our marriage but they refused to let her betroth a dragonborn so we fled." said Neel as a single tear rolled down his face.


    "Have you gone senile? Why are you telling me this?" said Damien looking now more annoyed than awed.


    "Because that day I found both my answer and my new purpose. A way to use variable magic without an affinity so long as you have its base properties." said Neel wiping the tears of his face as the sun completely set.


    "Pfft. Your desperate ''prince''." said Damien in a mocking tone. Although Damien tried acting like a virtuous man at all times he had had enough of Neel''s blubbering. That''s when Neel''s eyes crackled with lightning and the wind stopped. There was an eerie silence made worse by the lack of stars in the night sky and the many clouds gathering around them.


    The silence was quickly filled by the sound of the clouds rumbling. *Crackle* a split second later lightning shot out of a cloud striking Neel, Neel pointed out a finger and the lighting bolt came out of it hitting Damien square in the chest. Another lightning bolt struck at Neel and the same thing happened. Although Damien''s equipment was the best the Church had to offer it still couldn''t completely stop nature''s wrath.


    Damien felt like his lungs would explode. He looked up to see if Neel was preparing another lightning bolt but as he looked at Neel he could see that the lightning was taking a toll on him as well.. With Ascalon''s nullifying ability activated Neel was robbed of his regenerative powers which was made apparent by the trail of blood coming out of nose.

 Chapter 31 - Natures Wrath (2)

    Damien noticed that Neel was getting weaker with each lightning bolt he sent out yet he could do nothing to take advantage of this. The lightning he was being hit with, although being greatly reduced my his equipment dealt him a huge blow. And to make matters worse he was stunned with each strike so he couldn''t move even if he wanted to.


    With every strike Neel sent out the damage to his body became more and more apparent. His once majestic scales were scorched, his wings could barely keep him aflight. The blood running out of his nose became a flowing river and his body was twitching vigorously . Neel was running on fumes, he knew that if he didn''t end this fast he would lose both his life and that of his family.


    Damien looked around trying to find a way to escape his predicament. "Although he can''t control fire or air magic that doesn''t matter. At this rate this fight will be over before he finds the need t-" that''s when an idea popped up into Damien''s head. Although no mage could use air magic he had forgotten that the sword could still control the air with its air mastery.


    He used what little focus he could muster to use the sword to create a current to push the clouds away. Although Damien was a 5 star mage as well it still required all of his strength to focus on the spell. Neel was too focused on staying conscious to realised what was going on before it was too late. The number of clouds in vicinity had halved and so did the frequency of the lightning bolts being shot at Damien.


    Neel''s body was at it''s limit. He couldn''t keep taking on the lightning bolts that struck him. With one final strike he collapsed and began free falling to the ground. However that strike managed to completely damage Damien''s gear and with it went his ability to fly as well. Both of them were free falling to their doom however with one major difference, Damien was conscious and so was still capable of utilising air magic to decrease his speed.


    As they were falling to lower altitudes Damien''s descent slowed down slightly as he used his remaining strength to create a counter air current. However even that would barely be enough for him to survive the fall. As he fell through the sky he stared to the clouds. "I slayed the dragon prince. Although it was not by my hand directly I will still get full credit for this. I can already see myself as a Cardinal." thought Damien wishfully as he fell through a cluster of clouds.


    "Stay safe Lilly. Take care of the kids but don''t protect them too much. You''re the most beautiful woman I''ve ever met and if I had a choice I would marry you in every life. I love you Ava, Luca and take care Arya. I''m sorry I couldn''t tell you all the stories my father told me. Father have you been watching? You''re son is coming home." thought Neel as he opened his eyes a single tear falling out of it rushing towards the ground. He used every ounce of strength left in his body, even pushing beyond his limits to stretch out both his hands. One hand pointed at Damien who was a few metres above him and another at a cluster of clouds. *Zap* A humungous lightning bolt shot from the cluster of clouds entering Neel''s body from the one hand and shooting out the other end striking Damien. It happened at the speed of light, both men lost their life.


    As their lifeless bodied plummeted to the ground both men''s faces looked at peace. Neel had no regrets about what he had done and Damien died thinking he was already a Cardinal. As Neel''s tear touched the ground it began raining it seemed as if Merrum wept for the death of two of her kids. For years it hadn''t rained near Draquerth which also added to its poverty since agriculture was non-existent in Merrum. This was truly a sight to behold, too bad that there were no citizens left to see it. In the church''s eradication of the vampires in Draquerth all of the citizen''s had been killed due to suspicion. Those that remained were only two vampires and a good portion of the inquisition.


    Although the vampires were greatly outnumbered they had still managed to mow down the highly trained inquisition force''s numbers. As Lillith and Sebastian stared at the two human''s in front of them they couldn''t help but think about what could''ve been. What if they had left sooner and hadn''t gotten greedy? What if they remained in Nightingale, the vampire city? However none of that mattered anymore.


    One of the two women in front of them, a woman with red hair shot out a massive pillar of fire from her hand. Turning the gravely injured Lillith''s arm into vapour. Although vampires had regenerative abilities on par with a dragonborn''s they needed blood to sustain it. And they had been fighting against the inquisition for hours. Although the vampires were stronger than the two women in front of them they were also outmatched in terms of gear. The inquisition force wore anti-vampire gear. Gear specially designed for hunting vampires. Their suits although thin were covered with divine symbols. And with the blessing of Cardinal Apollo all their weapons were coated with a thin layer of divine magic greatly weakening the vampires with every cut.


    "Fiona don''t you dare touch any of my prey." said Katz as she shot another fire pillar at the two vampires burning the side of the male vampire. She took out a potion and chugged it throwing away the bottle to continue her onslaught.


    "You know I don''t think it''s healthy to take so many rejuvenation potions. And also I don''t think the higher ups will be too happy when they hear that you stalled the eradication of vampires because of a petty grudge." argued Fiona feigning to care but actually enjoying the show. If it was up to her she would love to see Katz batter herself up more in the name of vengeance.


    "It''s not petty! Although the church is the only family I now need I will never forget how they tortured my parents as they sucked the vitality out of their screaming bodies." said Katz as she dodged one of the female vampires sluggish attacks that now seemed to be moving in slow motion to Katz.


    "Did somebody say torture?" thought Fiona as she got excited at the thought of torturing some of the survivors. As Fiona looked around she could see that the city was in complete shambles. Not a single building was left standing, the only sound that could be heard was that from the fight between Katz and the two vampires. Seeing that it was highly unlikely that there were any survivors Fiona felt a bit disappointed.


    "I thought it didn''t rain in Draquerth. Oh well might as well add a bit of spice to make this gloomier than it already is.." though Fiona as it began raining.

 Chapter 32 - Close As Siblings

    With Katz using rejuvenation potions it was as if the vampires were fighting a fresh warrior each time. The only reason they were still alive was because they were both at the level of a low rank tier 5 mage and it was night time, the period they were supposed to be in their element. Although Katz was just a medium rank fire mage two steps away from achieving tier 5 she also had the blessings bestowed to her by the church so it seemed as if the vampires were facing against a medium rank tier 5 mage with weapons specially designed for hunting down their kind.


    Each time the pair tried casting dark spells to restrict Katz'' movements she simply cut away at the darkness with her divine imbued sword. With every skirmish the vampires would grow weaker due to lack of sustenance in the form of blood while Katz would come back with a renewed flame after using a rejuvenation potion. The vampires didn''t hope to win this battle, for even if they somehow defeated Katz which at this point was highly unlikely they still had to deal with the rest of the inquisition forces. They would''ve tried using darkness magic to teleport away but the inquisition suppression division had set up an array which prevented anyone from entering or leaving Draquerth.


    As Katz used the tier 7 fire spell minor phoenix a bird made of flames rushed at the pair leaving behind a blazing trail. The pair created a wall of darkness combining their powers to strengthen its effects, the wall was further strengthened by the darkness of the night allowing it to easily snuff out the flame bird. However from the smoky remains of the flame bird a new one rose and hit the wall of darkness again. Each time the bird was snuffed out it would come back to attack the wall damaging it bit by bit each time. The spell worked by leaving a small spark of flame each time the phoenix died and using the casters life force as fuel it combines with the air causing the flame to go alight and create a new phoenix.


    However the effects of the rejuvenation potion were starting to take a toll on Katz. Although the rejuvenation potion could recover both mana and stamina the same couldn''t be said for life force, if anything it reduced ones life force as it actually worked by converting life force into mana and stamina. The reason why Bishops and higher tier mages didn''t use rejuvenation potions was because in a battle between tier 5 mages most spells made use of life force as a base so it was more advantageous to have life force available than to have ones mana and stamina replenished. A battle could end quickly because of a well timed spell, but having more stamina and mana than your opponent meant nothing if your fighting abilities were nearly on par and you didn''t have the life force to create powerful spells.


    "That should buy me some time to regain some of my life force." thought Katz as she knelt down in a praying position trying to inhale world essence from the surroundings, this breathing technique was called god''s embrace. There were many different techniques in Merrum but the best techniques were those refined and passed down for centuries and god''s embrace has been passed down since the start of the Celestial Church. The first pope created it and taught it to all its members. God''s embrace used the help of the divine beings to greatly increase the efficiency of mana and life force absorption from the world''s essence and also increase the amount of divine essence in one''s body to prepare them for the use of divine magic.


    However even with the efficiency of god''s embrace keeping minor phoenix active reduced the amount of life force she was actually retaining from the breathing technique. And to make matters worse the two vampires were shooting dark magic cantrips at Katz to disrupt her concentration so she wasn''t able to use the breathing cultivation for long periods of time.


    "Not trying to rush you, but if you die Amana will kill us just saying so you better wrap this up quickly. Plus vampires aren''t that fun anyways, their pain receptors don''t work as well as a living beings so there isn''t much pleasure in torturing them." said Fiona with a sad look on her face.


    "Don''t you dare interfere Fiona!" shouted Katz as sweat dripped down her face. She had used to many rejuvenation potions and her life force was dwindling even more die to minor phoenix so she stopped the spell. And stood up with her sword in front of her ready for battle once more.


    "The human girl seems to be running out of life force, if we play this right one of us might survive." said Sebastian to Lillith. Lillith understood what Sebastian was hinting at and since Sebastian was a slightly higher ranked vampire than her in the courts he had the right to survive. Vampires weren''t cowards quite the contrary they were very prideful beings especially those who were part of the courts and above all else they respected hierarchy. So Lillith charged at the red haired woman ready to die for her senior. Lillith and Sebastian had been together for 2 centuries so their relationship was akin to siblings.


    Vampires didn''t feel pain but they still had emotions, the memories of their 200 years together replayed in Lillith''s mind as she prepared to implode her undead mana core to create a distraction for Sebastian to escape. *Boom* A huge explosion sent shockwaves through the air, knocking back all the near by inquisition forces. The mana released by the explosion was so strong that it temporarily disrupted the array that blocked anyone from exiting or entering Draqueth.


    "Drat one of them escaped." said Katz in an annoyed tone. "Amana won''t be too pleased when I report this to her. Maybe you might be sent for disciplining and who knows I might get to watch." said Fiona as she signalled for the array to be dropped and other inquisition members opened portals back to Ecclesia. "That''s odd where are the arch-bishops and their retainers, it''s not like Amana to just leave her unit like this. Oh well I''d like to see Amana being put into disciplinary action as well. So much fun." said Fiona as she walked through the portal smiling from ear to ear.


    On that day Draquerth was wiped off the face of the Merrum. Not a single citizen survived, all that was left was a dead city fertilised by the bodies of those who once inhabited it. A few metres out of Draquerth there was a fast moving streak of black heading towards the north. "Sebastian, I''ll never forget what you did for me.." said Lillith as the first tears she had shed in 200 years rolled down her rosy cheeks.

 Chapter 33 - The End Of Family (1)

    Luna was at her limit, she had been opening portals non stop for the past few hours which took a huge toll on her mana. Even with her medium tier 5 mana core and her constantly using her breathing technique "winter''s breath" there was a limit to the amount of world essence you could inhale over a period of time. At this point the efficiency of her breathing technique was at rock-bottom.


    "Luna stop, I think we''ve gone far enough. Anymore and you might collapse from mana exhaustion." pleaded Raul as he stopped Luna from forming another portal. " You can never be too sure child. The inquisition have devices capable of tracking the disturbances caused by dimensional magic, we have to continue until we reach the city of Calburg only then can we be safe." said Luna as she swatted Raul''s hand away opening another portal.


    Calburg was the border town between the territories controlled by the Celestial Church and those controlled by the bordering kingdoms. However Calburg was a few thousand miles away from Draquerth, even a tier 5 dimensional mage would be hard spent to make portals half way there. The distance at which a dimensional mage could cover was based on their life force, at best a high rank tier 5 mage with a high life force could create a portal that covered a distance of 1 mile. Luna could now only cover a few hundred metres.


    After opening a few more portals she was finally at her limit, "Okay lets set camp here for now." said Luna as the sun was setting. Looking around she figured she was in the forest of Krees, generally forests were filled with all types of monsters and magical beasts so it was dangerous to enter without protection. The trees seemed to reach the skies and there was a large variety of different plants, most of them poisonous. Although it was night time the forest still seemed alive, the trees rustled as the wind blew through their leaves, and the howls of different magical beasts could be heard as they called on the members of their pack.


    Raul used earth magic to create a make shift camp and the children fell fast asleep exhausted from both the trip and the emotional turmoil they were in caused by the separation from their parents. While the kids slept in the tent Raul and Luna stayed outside to stand guard, after all the monsters of Krees might just look upon the group as a late night snack.


    "Luca do you think Mom and Dad are okay?" asked Ava with tears still sitting at the edge of her eyelids. "Of course their okay sister, didn''t you see mom? Didn''t you see how powerful she was? How could you for one second believe that anyone could beat her? And didn''t you see what Dad turned into? All the stories he told us, they were true. Dad''s one of the dragonborn''s of legend a descendant of one of the heroes of legend." said Luca trying to console his little sister. After a few minutes both Luca and Ava fell asleep. But the same couldn''t be said for Arya.


    Arya couldn''t understand why but for some reason he felt that both his parents had died. It was an instinctual feeling but he couldn''t help but feel that this gut feeling was right. He felt like he had lost another family and he was traumatized. "Is this my destiny? Am I cursed to lose my family in every life? No, it can''t be right. I must be overexaggerating, Luca was right and I''ve even seen them in action. They''re both monsters in their own right, I can''t imagine that those two were beaten. Yes that''s right I haven''t lost anyone yet I should stop over thinking and focus on breaking this seal, I''m sure that mom and dad can fend for themselves." thought Arya before closing his eyes to fall asleep next to his siblings.


    "Did you hear that Luna?" said Raul as he pulled out his sword. "Of course I have now shut up, whatever it is it must be highly intelligent. I can''t sense any mana fluctuations so it must be masking its mana core." Luna hadn''t completely recovered her strength since the efficiency of her breathing technique wasn''t fully replenished. "Raul the children." whispered Luna as Raul opened his palm and the tent descended into the ground until it was impossible to tell whether or not the ground had ever been manipulated. This was a simple earth spell that removed earth from below placing the tent in the now empty space and moving the excavated earth else where.


    "You know I''m impressed demon witch, I didn''t expect that you would be able to move this fast." said a voice as cold as snow as a blue haired short woman walked from behind a tree a few metres away from the group. "Amana, it seems you haven''t lost your rude demeanour. I should''ve taught you manners instead of ice magic." said Luna with an alert look on her face.


    "Wait Amana as in the demigod of Ice? You know her?" asked Raul surprised at the familiarity the two used when conversing with each other. "This little welp a demigod? Please, even Lillian wasn''t called a god and she is the strongest ice mage I had ever trained. A long time ago when she was still an orphan in the north I taught her a few things, now I hear she made a big name for herself in the Celestial Church." said Luna already letting mana course through her body ready to attack at any time.


    "Amana we don''t have time for you''re little reunion." said Clara in an annoyed tone as she ran from behind a tree shooting a pillar of fire directly at Luna. Luna created a wall of ice in that split second instantly blocking the fire pillar and replied to it by turning the entire ground in a 40m radius into ice and then trapping Clara''s feet in a layer of ice. Clara was shocked by the speed of the apparently exhausted woman''s reaction time.


    The duo had planned to attack the group when they were at their weakest and after following Luna closely for hours they decided to make their move at night when they were both tired and out of mana. However they didn''t expect the demon witch to have this much strength left. "If you little kids want a lesson in respect I''m much obliged to teach it to you." said Luna as her eyes turned blue and the temperature began to drop considerably.. "Is this the power of a high rank 5 star mage?" thought Clara as she felt her legs going numb.

 Chapter 34 - The End Of Family (2)

    Luna made the ice run up Clara''s legs until it was at knee level, that''s when the ice started melting. A red aura surrounded Clara''s body and her eyes were lit up, "Don''t underestimate me you old hag!" shouted Clara as she unsheathed her sword and made a lunge for Luna''s face. However the icy floor hindered her footwork which made her slower than usual allowing enough time for Raul to react by parrying Clara''s attack.


    "Before you get to the old hag you have to go through me first," said Raul with a smirk. The two were of equal height and therefore were at a stalemate in terms of reach however Raul was at a great disadvantage. Clara was a low-rank 5-star mage with equipment that made her strength similar to that of a high-rank 5-star whereas Raul was a high-rank 4-star mage with trash equipment. Looking at his sword it was but a simple blade with no adornments only a single line of undecipherable text was written across the cross guard of the sword.


    Clara''s blade however was shining silver made of Mythril, its grip was made from the leather of a magical beast called a Ryvern. Magical beast leather helped to better increase the conductivity of magic to the blade. The cross guard of her sword was made of mica, a very slippery metal that made it easier to redirect the attacks of opponents. "You overestimate yourself old man," said Clara as she set her sword asunder almost burning Raul if not for him gracefully back stepping to get out of the range of the ragging fire.


    Raul replied quickly by lunging for Clara''s face. "Predictabl-" Clara''s words were cut short when her parry missed Raul''s sword and Raul''s blade hit her torso drawing blood. "I''m sorry, did you think I was aiming for your face? I would never dare to damage such a master piece." said Raul mockingly as he flicked his sword throwing the blood of it''s blade.


    Clara''s body began to glow even brighter, "How dare you, you lowly pig!" she shouted as she began a series of wild lunges and slashes which were all gracefully dodged by Raul. "You know you may have better gear than me, but when it comes to a sword fight nothing beats pure skill." said Raul as he dodged another slash and kicked her square in the gut using earth magic to make the hit even more sturdy.


    "Sigh, you never change Clara." said Amana as Clara coughed out blood. Amana was well aware that Clara thought she had something to prove but there was only so much beating she could receive before she finally learned her lesson. Amana raised her arms and her body began glowing a bright blue colour, her eyes became deeper than the ocean and the forest became quiet. It was as if mother nature were telling her kids to listen quietly. "Raul, get dow." Luna tried saying however it was too late. Amana had cast the tier 8 ice spell winter''s curse which brought about a great blizzard.


    Many of the surrounding trees died from frostbite and Raul was frozen in ice. Luna had survived by instinctually creating a make shift ice dome to protect herself from the on coming spell. "It seems your partner wasn''t as skilled as I first thought him to be." said Amana in a cold voice almost as if she were in a dream. *Crack* The ice that covered Raul shattered and he came out shivering but with a slight smirk on his face.


    Raul had used earth magic to create a layer of earth between himself and the ice preventing himself from being frozen dead. He then sent small tremors through the thin layer of earth to break down the ice due to a disturbance in its integrity. A masterful use of earth magic, much to be expected from a 7th order knight. "And I don''t think you''re as hot as I first thought you to be either." quipped Raul as he charged at Amana with his blade aiming to cut off her head.


    Just as Raul''s blade was about to slice Amana''s neck his body stopped. His legs were trapped in ice and Amana simply took a step back like her life was not in grievous danger a few milliseconds ago. Clara''s face looked a bit disappointed, she was hoping that the demigod of ice would have a little accident a long the trip but deep down she knew that such an attack would never work on her.


    "Raul take cover, I''m not sure I''ll be able to hold back fighting against Amana." shouted Luna as she sent out a blizzard of her own, winter''s curse. "Fine by me." said Raul as he quickly made the earth rise from below the ice and went into the ground closing the entrance. "Find him." said Amana as she created a huge ice wall to block the blizzard, however stress cracks began forming on the wall. "Hurry!" shouted Amana, for the first time in a while she was panicking.


    Clara used fire magic to rocket herself to the spot where Raul disappeared and used Motherly call to locate Raul. "Four signature''s? This will be fun." said Clara with a sick look on her face as she chanted "Earth open to me your door." A door made of earth opened leading into the ground. As Clara was about to enter, 2 daggers made of ice sliced through the air aiming for her. Clara blocked one but the other hit her arm, the ice dagger quickly disappeared and ice began to spread throughout her arm.


    "You never change Luna." said Amana as she held out her palm and the ice on Clara''s arm disappeared. Luna had used ice magic to attempt to freeze all the arteries, veins and nerves in Clara''s body however Clara quickly reversed that, which was a major feat in itself. It required one mage to over power the life force imbued in a spell with their own. Too little and it wouldn''t work, too much and it would cause Clara''s body to be poisoned due to the presence of too many different life forces.


    Clara took this as her chance and quickly escaped for the door, leaving Amana and Luna alone. Amana watched as Clara passed through the door, this was her first major mistake. As Amana turned back Luna was no where to be seen and there was not a single sound to be heard. Suddenly 6 ice daggers flew out of mid air aiming for Amana''s neck, eyes, heart and lungs, however Amana shot our 6 daggers of her own nullifying the attack.


    "Ice-puppeteer huh?" asked Amana to no one in particular as she chanted "Furnace". The temperature began rising and Luna suddenly appeared, since ice-puppeteer used ice shards to reflect light by simply melting the ice the illusion would be compromised. However 5 more ice daggers came from behind Amana, "It was an illusion?" thought Amana as she turned to create an ice wall on the side the daggers were approaching from. However it was the daggers that were an illusion not Luna, 5 daggers struck Amana''s back drawing her blood and weakening her as the frostbite quickly spread through her body.


    Luna had infused what little she had left of her life force into those blades so it could not so easily be over come by Amana without her overloading her body with her using too much of her own life force to stop it. Although it was an underhanded trick Luna wasn''t one to fight cleanly.


    The demon witch didn''t get her name as a simple moniker. While Lillian was the ice-witch because of her talent in ice-magic, Luna was called demon-witch due to her style in battle. Luna was capable of using ice-magic like a blood hungry demon which was how she was described by those lucky enough to still be alive after encountering her in battle.. And even then it was only because she was too lazy to kill them off.

 Chapter 35 - The End Of Family (3)

    Luna usually didn''t like leaving lose ends, however she had exhausted most of her remaining life force in order to strengthen the effect of the ice dagger spell and if she used anymore mana she would not be able to cast earth magic to help Raul. "You may be a powerful mage child, but I''ve been killing since before even your mother was born." said Luna as she placed her palm on the ground and chanted "Earth open your door to me." and a door made of earth appeared in front of her.


    As Luna walked through the door Amana fell down to her knees. The frostbite was dangerously close to her heart and she was using all her strength to keep it at bay. "How could I be fooled so easily? Am I really still no where near her?" thought Amana as she went into a praying position and began using her breathing technique ''god''s embrace''.


    Her body began glowing a white light and the frostbite that wreaked havoc on her body was slowly being eaten away by the divine energies that surrounded her. However the process was slow and would still take some time even with the efficiency of ''god''s embrace''.


    Meanwhile Raul was in a tricky situation, although he was at an advantage since they were surrounded by earth he was also heavily burdened due to having to protect the kids from a blood thirsty Clara. After out-classing Clara several times using earth magic something in her had snapped and she went into a fury.


    Using fire magic underground was dangerous for both the caster''s opponent and the caster themselves. Since they would be in a confined space with many small particles explosions could easily occur and that was exactly what was happening. But since Clara''s equipment could absorb the brunt of the damage she didn''t really care where as Raul had to use earth magic solely to block off any explosion that might occur.


    Raul might be able to survive a few explosions due to his earth augmented body, but the same couldn''t be said for the children. Raul''s task was made even harder as he had to protect the kids from the earth magic attacks Clara would throw at them. Clara knew that she couldn''t win in a battle of earth magic against an earth mage, however the little children were easy pickings and were also a distraction to Raul that would help her win the fight.


    Both Clara and Raul were constantly using Motherly call to locate each other, as Raul was about to use Motherly call an idea struck him. He held out his palm and the earth above the kids moved to one side creating a passage to the surface, he then touched the ground and a platform of earth was created below the kids rising to take them to the surface. He then created earth sculptures of the children using earth magic to cover up the fact that they were no longer under ground.


    Although the children would be at the mercy of the magical beasts on the surface they still had a higher chance of survival. There was a chance they would be able to get back to Luna and Luca could use magic so they had some degree of protection from any threats they might meet, not to mention Ava''s sword skills although she currently was without any sword.


    Since Raul was no longer burdened with having to protect the kids he went on the offensive. Raul was an earth mage so he didn''t need to chant any earth spells where as Clara wasn''t so she had to chant, which made her both slow and predictable. Raul used Motherly call simultaneously with other earth magic spells, allowing him to always have Clara''s exact location.


    He would remove the platform Clara stood on and make the earth on top of her collapse, making her focus on defensive earth spells. While she was chanting he would open up windows between them and use his sword to attack Clara and although her equipment absorbed most of the damage, she could still feel each and every cut that was thrown at her.


    Clara tried to put Raul back on the defensive by attacking the kids, however after creating an earth spike to attack one of the kids Raul didn''t even stop to nullify her spell, he continued his onslaught. "Those are fakes! You dare to trick m-" Clara''s words were interrupted when Raul used earth magic to shoot dirt into her mouth.


    Clara was a hot-tempered woman and ever since Damien had assigned her to help Amana she had been on edge. To be out-classed in both magic and swordsmanship and treated like a dog by an outsider she had never heard of made her blood boil so she she began thinking less and attacking more. However her attacks became sloppy and due to her anger most of her chanted earth magic spells didn''t activate due to total lack of concentration.


    "I wonder how you managed to get into such an elite unit when you are so easily controlled by your emotions." taunted Raul as he opened a window at Clara''s left rib striking her with such force that if it wasn''t for her equipment she would have broken all her ribs. "I think I should defect to the Church. With my skills I reckon I could be an Arch-Bishop maybe even a Cardinal." said Raul mockingly as he hardened the earth around Clara creating many small pillars to strike her and restrict her movements.


    Insulting the Church was the last straw for Clara, she touched the hardened walls and chanted "Motherly scold." and shockwaves began spreading all over the ground looking for faults that could be used to make it collapse. Those shockwaves would be reflected back and their frequency increased until resonance was reached.


    Raul could tell what she was trying to do and sent out shockwaves to cancel the ones sent out by Motherly scold. While Raul was focusing on that spell Clara stopped chanting and opened a window directly to Raul. She wasn''t planning on collapsing the ground, she simply used the shockwaves to locate Raul and distract him at the same time, two birds with one stone.


    Clara may have been furious but she wasn''t so dumb as to trap herself underground. As the window between them opened Clara shot out the biggest and most explosive fire spell in her arsenal even infusing large amounts of life force in them to increase its potency "Dragon''s wrath", two bolts of fire in the form of raging dragons charged for Raul. Raul reacted by rising a wall between them however Clara was counting on that, she used all her remaining mana and life force to increase the strength of her armour as the dragon''s hit the wall causing a massive explosion.


    The explosion destroyed the wall, sending both Raul and Clara crashing into the opposite walls like flies being hit with a shoe. Raul broke his spine and fractured several other bones even with the help of earth augmentation to increase his steadiness, while Clara only broke a few ribs due to the protection of her fully boosted armour. Clara stood up clutching her left side as her face twisted in pain. She used the strength she had left to limp her way to where Raul lay and she looked down on him in a condescending way.


    Raul was coughing blood and his face was pale. He didn''t have the usual smirk he had one and he was mumbling something that she couldn''t hear. "May the Supreme being cleanse your soul." said Clara as she brought down her blade cutting Raul''s head off in a single strike. "And never talk shit about the church again.." she said as she collapsed to the ground exhausted.

 Chapter 36 - The End Of Family (4) (The Final )

    As Luna walked through the path she created using earth magic she stopped to cast Motherly call in order to track Raul. "Only two people? What''s going on?" said Luna amid pants as she was still exhausted from her fight with Amana. When she finally reached Raul''s position she was shocked beyond belief.


    Raul''s head lay a few metres away from where his body was and Clara was unconscious with a grin on her face. Blood was streaked across the earth walls and the ground was an ashy black colour, like it had been scotched by a raging fire. Luna wasn''t the sentimental type but she had spent a lot of time with the man, he was one of the few that helped Lillian escape her family''s clutches when they refused to let her marry Neel.


    Understanding what had happened Luna picked up Raul''s head and paced it next to his lying body. She crossed his arms like how they would do for kings when they were being buried and placed his sword on top of them. She raised her palm out to Raul and froze his body in an ice coffin "May Varis guide you in the next life" said Luna in prayer as she walked towards Clara''s body.


    She searched Clara for anything valuable she might have and found a life force rejuvenation potion. These types of potions were rare and where only given to high ranking officers, they had the power to restore a small fraction of one''s life force however they would half the efficiency of one''s breathing technique for a few hours. She didn''t take her sword or equipment since all Church equipment could only be used by people who had divine essence in their bodies. After she made sure there was nothing else of value that she could use Luna held out her palm and Clara''s unconscious body became frozen in ice, Luna then made a fist and the ice shattered into a million pieces making the room sparkle.


    "I have to find the kids." realised Luna after remembering they were missing. She chanted a spell that made the earth below her rise and the earth above her move aside. When she reached the top she saw that Luca was breathing heavily and Amana held Arya in one hand and had frozen Ava till her neck. Luca was trying what best he could manage with just tier 4 ice magic, however this was a terrible match up for him as he was facing against someone known as a demigod in the element. Amana was surprised that he was at this level of ice magic at such a young age and had already decided to kill him before he could become someone worthy of the god title but she kept him alive simply to use as leverage to kill Luna.


    Amana realised that Luna had arrived and created a small Ice spike pointing at Arya''s neck. "Get down or I''ll be forced to take his life Luna." said Amana nonchalantly. Luna could tell that Amana had used a breathing technique to regain some of her strength where as she was completely exhausted and out of life force. She couldn''t win and she knew it so she had to think of a way to escape.


    She walked slowly towards Luca faking surrender, as she approached Luca she asked "Can I hug my kids one last time?". "You''ve grown soft Luna, first you don''t finish me off then this? Whatever just hurry it up." said Amana a bit annoyed by the old woman''s final request, Amana first lost a battle against Luna and now discovered someone who was a bigger genius than she was so she wasn''t in the best of moods. As Luna hugged Luca she whispered in his ear "Cast the air spell I thought you, Banshee''s wail.". "But that''s a tier 1 air spell what good will th-" Luna covered his mouth before he could continue and got on her knees in submission to Amana.


    As Amana was about to shoot an ice blade at Luna a loud scream resounded through the air. Luca had cast Banshee''s wail and the noise woke up many of the slumbering beasts of the forest, several howls could be heard as creatures began surrounding the group. Luna let out a grin and removed the life force potion she had taken from Clara''s corpse.


    She quickly drank it and a very small portion of her life force was replenished, however it was still not enough to win a fight against the demigod of ice while she had hostages. Luna used the beasts as a distraction and rushed for Arya, however as she was about to grab Arya from Amana''s arms a wolf like beast caught the baby in its mouth and ran into the forest. A lot of other wolves followed the first attempting to snatch the prey it had caught.


    Due to her failed attempt Amana could see what she was planning and threw ice blades at Luna. Luna ran as fast as she could towards Luca and teleported them away using dimensional magic. However two of the ice blades hit Luna in the back making her bleed profusely.


    "With those two ice blades she is as good as dead. You will have to be taken to ''Ecclesia to be tried''" she said to Ava, as Ava began crying Amana touched an amulet on her arm "Open a portal I have a prisoner" she said authoritatively though the amulet and a portal to Ecclesia opened. Amana unfroze Ava and pushed her through the portal, as she walked through one of the woman on the other side asked "What of Clara?", "Most probably dead." replied Amana without a hint of sadness in her voice.


    As Arya was hanging from a wolves mouth and drool covered his face he was in shock. He was still not over the fact that his parents might be dead but now both his siblings and Luna might be dead as well. Arya felt like this was punishment for failing both fathers in both of his lives so he accepted his fate. He didn''t try using any magic to stop his doom, he was content with dying and joining both his fathers in the after life.


    As the wolf looked for a safe place to eat his little snack a fire bolt hit him square on the side of his stomach. "Is that wolf carrying a baby?" said a woman as she ran towards Arya.. "I''m not going to die?" thought Arya as he passed out from emotional exhaustion.

 Chapter 37 - New People (1)

    It''s been 4 years since Arya was found by adventurers in the forest of Krees, they thought that he had been abandoned by his mother and decided to drop him off at an orphanage in the border town of Calburg and he has been living there ever since. Arya hasn''t spoken to anyone since the day he lost his family, to Arya he was already dead, he felt like he failed his family and didn''t deserve to continue living.


    The care takers of the orphanage were corrupt people, they used the orphans as a means to get money from the government and other good Samaritans. Once they got the money only peanuts were given towards the well being of the orphans whereas the rest of tit was used for personal their fulfillment .


    The orphans would usually only eat two small meals a day sometimes they wouldn''t even have a meal, their living conditions were sub human and it wasn''t far off the mark to call them slaves. Many of them died due to illnesses as the care takers wouldn''t spend a dime to hire a healer.


    Every time some of the orphans escaped to tell the lord of the town about their predicament the guards would send them back, thinking them delinquents for running away from the only place that would care for them. And soon enough they lost hope in receiving help.


    One day while Arya was sitting by the window looking out at the night sky like he usually did one of the care takers entered the room. The room had white walls that were stained brown from years of neglect and the windows were barely intact, most of them had cracks forming on them.


    The floor was covered by a grey rug stained with vomit and blood, but the color of the rug hid the extent of filth that it harbored. There were paintings on the walls of the kids that used to live there in the past. At first glance the kids all looked happy, however on closer inspection one could see the melancholy in their eyes.


    The caretaker brought in a new girl of about 6 years old into the room, "This will be your new home from now on. Just behave and we won''t have to do something we will both end up regretting." said the caretaker with a sneer. The caretaker was an old woman who looked to be about 60 years old, she was actually way younger but the permanent scowl on her face made it hard to tell.


    Arya turned to look at the new girl before quickly turning back to continue looking out the window. It was certain the girl was pretty, she had diamond blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes that looked like they could hold the ocean, which kind of reminded Arya of his mother. And maybe if not for her dirty clothes and dead expression she would''ve been the prettiest girl Arya had ever seen since transmigrating, but Arya didn''t care, not anymore.


    The girl stayed on the floor for several minutes just staring at Arya as if he was the first human she had ever seen. Arya could see that she was staring at him due to the reflection on the window pane. After a while the girl stood up and walked towards where Arya was seated, with a two year gap between them she was noticeably bigger than Arya was.


    However both of them were quite small for their age, they both looked like starved slaves. The girl touched Arya''s hair caressing it, he hadn''t cut it for years so it was long and its original white was stained brown ,"Pretty." said the young girl with a hoarse voice like someone who hadn''t drunk water for weeks. Her pretty lips were cracked and there were blood stains near the edges.


    Arya turned to look at the girl, although he remained indifferent it was the first time someone had spoken to him in years. Since he came to the orphanage the other kids and even the staff avoided him due to the stories that some of the kids spread. Rumor had it that he was the spawn of a demon and that''s why he was found in the forest, some said he wasn''t even human but an abomination in the form of a human.


    Sure the staff didn''t believe some of the stories, but they didn''t care. Arya gave them an eerie feeling, like there was a beast trapped inside his body so they decided not to talk to him eitherway, even when they gave him his meals.


    Once Arya turned back, seemingly having lost interest the girl sat down as well and looked out the window. She was a little too close for comfort but Arya wouldn''t complain, even though he felt dead he was still human. The lack of human interaction was driving him crazy and although he had a mind far past that of a 4 year old, his body and brain were still that of a developing child and there was a natural need for socialization.


    "Who is she? She''s kind of pretty." said a voice in Arya''s head. "Doesn''t matter, she''s probably gonna die anyways." said a different voice. "Please leave me alone." this time it was Arya''s own voice. Arya had been hearing the two voices in his head for a while now, he wasn''t sure if there were really there or if he was just going crazy but one thing was certain, they made his life a living hell.


    The voices never let him sleep, there were like polar opposites always bickering amongst themselves. One voice seemed to be an egotistic psychopath, always telling Arya to use magic to wipe out everyone in the orphanage. While the other voice was complacent and melancholy, always seeing the bad in everything and constantly reminding Arya that everything he does is meaningless.


    While the three of them were bickering the girl lay her head on Arya''s laps and fell asleep. Now that their bodies made contact Arya could tell just how frail the girl was. Her pale white skin was riddled with scars and her breathing was irregular, but she still had a sort of refined beauty to her. She looked peaceful sleeping on his lap.


    "Like I said she''s pretty, lets have her." said one voice, "What''s the point in that anyways?" asked the other. Arya remained quiet, he felt tired as well and quickly feel asleep. He didn''t sleep often but for once the fatigue caught up to him.


    "Looky here, Demon boy got himself a girlfriend." said a tall boy as he kicked Arya''s arm. "I bet she''s a witch." said a smaller boy from behind him. The tall boy''s name was Randel he was the biggest boy in the orphanage and walked around like he owned the place. He had jet black hair and a mean look on his face. The smaller boy was one of his minions called Billy, Billy was a scrawny kid with brown hair and a dumb look on his face


    Arya often got bullied, if he was still Cascade from his first life he would''ve wiped the floor with those boys. But he wasn''t Cascade anymore and this wasn''t his first life, sure he could''ve used magic but he still couldn''t escape the fact that he was alone. "Look the caretakers are about to bring us breakfast. You know the drill, just leave you''re breakfast on the ground." said the taller boy picking his nose.


    Arya didn''t reply he just looked down, "This is why I like you, you don''t say unnecessary things that could make me angry. Tell you''re girlfriend to do the same as well. Don''t think I''ll go easy on her just because she''s a girl.." said Randel as he walked away.

 Chapter 38 - New People(2)

    After Randel left the girl woke up and looked at Arya, it looked like she was about to open her mouth to say something when one of the caretaker''s entered the room to serve out breakfast. "You all only get one meal, no seconds and no complaining. You''re lucky we''re giving you food at all." said the caretaker.


    This caretaker was a younger woman with a very small frame. As she spoke all the kids began to from a line in front of her, some of them were fighting to be ahead, "Hey don''t fight in front of me, you might tip over the pot and ruin my dress. Honestly we should just throw you lot in prison." sneered the lady as she shouted at the kids who were fighting.


    Arya was one of the last kids to get in line, when the girl saw Arya leaving she quickly stood up to follow him. She stayed close behind him, careful not to get too close but tailed him like a lost puppy. Once Arya got to the front of the line and got his meal, the girl looked at him seemingly confused, so she copied what he did and grabbed a bowl as well.


    When the girl smelled what was inside it she quickly began gulping it down. The food is the bowl was a grey mush that to most would be inedible, but to the kids of the orphanage it was a privilege that they were lucky to have.


    "Hey! What is she doing! Didn''t I tell you to have her drop her food as well!" shouted Randel as he took the bowl from out of her hands and kicked her to the ground. The girl regurgitated what she had eaten and lay on the floor motionless. Seeing her on the floor like that set something off in Arya''s mind. "Kill him! Kill him!" said both voices in Arya''s head.


    For the first time in 4 years Arya let mana collect in the palm of his hands, he let of a strong killing intent that startled Randel, making him move back a few steps. Just as he was about to shoot out a beam of ice at Randel the caretaker walked in. "Hey what did I tell you about fighting! That''s it Randel get over here I''ve warned you several times about this. We''re going to the Director''s office."


    As Randel left with the caretaker the girl stood up wiping off the tears and vomit that covered her face. She didn''t seem sad and kept quiet, just staring at Arya and the bowl he held in his hand. Arya handed her the bowl and looked the other way, the girl was happy to oblige as she snatched the bowl and scarfed down all of its contents before someone else could try stealing her food.


    "What are we doing here?" asked Arya to the other voices in his head. "I''ve told you many times to escape but you never listen. If you just use magic to blast your way out of here no one would be able to stop you" said another voice. "And what would we do once we got outside? Live on the streets? Die from the cold or starvation? Or do you want us to rob for a living." said the other voice.


    "Thank you." said the girl once she was done eating, her voice was still a little hoarse but it seemed to have gotten better. Arya just looked at her and didn''t respond. "My name''s Terresa." said the girl holding out her hand that was still covered in vomit, when Arya didn''t shake her hand she slowly withdrew it. "I was told that that''s how you make friends. Am I doing it wrong?" asked the girl with a confused look on her face.


    "She was told that''s how you make friends? She''s a weird one brother." laughed one of the voices in Arya''s head. "We aren''t brothers but you''re right, she is a weird one. Maybe we shouldn''t talk to her Arya." said the other. Arya ignored both voices and turned to look at the door.


    Randel walked into the room with bruises all over his face, he seemed to have been disciplined by the Director. As he walked passed Arya he whispered, "This isn''t over demon.". "Okay kids it''s time to go to town." announced the caretaker as Randel took a seat at the back of the room and began discussing something with the other boys.


    The caretakers of the orphanage would often take the orphans to town so they could beg for money, of course all that money would go into the hands of the director and the caretakers would steal a good share of it too. "If we find out that you haven''t handed over all of the money given to you, you will be dealt with severely. It takes a lot of money to feed and take care of you and we need every penny." continued the caretaker.


    "Ye right." mumbled a few kids, but no one had the guts to openly say it. The kids all grouped up behind the caretaker before heading out. Every orphan was assigned an area to beg at in order to increase the net of money they could draw in.


    Teressa however didn''t care to separate from Arya, she followed Arya to the spot he was assigned to and sat there as well. Arya was assigned to the city square, although Calburg was just a town it was many times bigger and more advanced than Draquerth.


    Due to the fact it was a border town it was blessed with good commerce and many trades routes ran through it so the people of the town were quite well off. The Town square was quite busy, as many people walked around visiting shops or haggling for lower prices.


    The buildings reminded Arya of Great Britain in the 1880''s, although it seemed beautiful it gave Arya the impression that the people here were rather undeveloped. Arya noticed that there were no cars so their technology must not have been that advanced.


    Although Arya was only about to turn 5 he usually thought about how advanced this world was, he assumed that since they had magic they had no need to create new technologies like those in his old world. At the center of the square was a huge fountain made of white marble with a statue of the Grand Magus as the water pump, that''s where Arya and Terresa sat.


    "Look at them, so filthy." said two young maidens as they stopped to stare at Arya and Teressa as if they were a circus act. "Ahh shut it, you two don''t look so good yourself. I bet you would be hard pressed to find suitor''s to marry you with faces like those." said an old man as the two girls quickly walked away covered red in embarrassment. "If it isn''t the little runt. You know if you don''t start begging the caretakers won''t be too happy with you." said the old man as he handed Arya a few bronze coins.


    "And who is this? Have you gotten yourself a girlfriend?" asked the old man as he held out his hand to shake the girl''s hand, however Teressa hid behind Arya, seemingly afraid of the old man. "I see birds of a feather. Anyway I have to go, it''s nice seeing your still alive." said the old man as he walked away.


    The old man was a black smith who worked for the local smithy, he met Arya about a year ago when a group of older kids were picking on him. The man chased the other kids away but Arya didn''t seem happy to be saved.. After realizing he was from the orphanage the man would sometimes stop by and give Arya food and money whenever he found him in sitting on town.

 Chapter 39 - New Enemies (1)

    It was getting late and the only money Arya had collected was that given to him by the old man. Five copper coins wasn''t a lot but it was enough to buy himself a loaf of bread, however Arya knew what happened to the children who tried using the money they were given.


    The caretakers had spies amongst the children, in exchange for their services they would get special treatment, like an extra serving of food or extra blankets and clothing. As Arya watched the sun set the other children of the orphanage started heading back, the caretakers would often lock the doors and any children who arrived past dusk would have sleep outside in the bitter cold of the night.


    As Arya and Terresa were walking past a few alleys towards the orphanage, somebody covered Arya''s eyes and mouth and dragged him into an alleyway. "I told you this wasn''t over Demon boy." said a rough voice as Arya''s leg''s and feet were bound.


    As the hand that blocked his vision was lifted Arya saw that they were about 8 boys there and it was clear that Randel was their leader. He turned to his side and saw that the same thing had been done to Teressa. "The Director gave me a pretty good beating because of you and your little girlfriend. Don''t you think I should return the favor?" said Randel as he grabbed Arya by the neck and punched him square in the face".


    After a few punches Randel stepped back and the other boys joined in. They bashed Arya leaving him with blood dripping from his nose and mouth. Arya was way smaller than them, but the boys didn''t seem to care, to them it was survival of the fittest and Arya was the sad soul who was on the losing end of this phrase.


    "Enough of this brother. Kill them now and be done with this place." said a voice in Arya''s head. "And how do you suppose he does that? Or have you forgotten that we are bound? I say we let him finish, we''ve been through worse." said another voice. "Use magic on them. Show them just how strong you truly are brother." said the first voice as one of the boys kicked Arya in the gut making him puke out bile.


    "Come on boys, I said that I would show you a good time didn''t I? Feel free to help yourself with his girlfriend as well. She doesn''t look half bad, and I''m sure Arya wouldn''t mind. Do you buddy? See he doesn''t." said Randel with a wide grin on his face. Teressa struggled as some of the other boys tried picking her up, they seemed amused by her efforts and tried removing her dress.


    "Kill him! Kill him!" said both voices in unison as Arya watched Teressa''s tears flow down her cheeks. She didn''t cry audibly but you could see the fear in her eyes as she tried biting and scratching her captors. Arya tried to let mana converge right in front of his palm but it was no use, his emotions got the better of him and he couldn''t focus enough to draw mana from the surroundings.


    "You''ve failed them again. You are worthless." said voices in unison this time in a colder tone than they usually used, for once they agreed with each other and Arya''s own voice was telling him that they weren''t wrong. "What are you boys doing over there." shouted an elderly man.


    It was the old man that had given Arya money earlier. "Get lost old man. Go back home no one wants you here." said one of the boys as the old man tried throwing a punch at one of Teressa''s captors. But it was no use, they were much faster than he was and the only thing he managed to do was make them more restless than they already were.


    However the old man didn''t give up, once he missed the punch he rushed straight for Randel as fast as his old bones could carry him. He managed to knock Randel down but it didn''t take long for the young boy to stand back up. Randel punched the old man in the gut making him double over in pain, however the old man still had some fight in him. He bit Randel''s leg drawing blood.


    "Big mistake old man." said Randel as he pulled out a short knife and stabbed the old man in the chest. The old man fell to the ground bleeding, his open eyes staring at Arya as blood spread all over the floor. "Death, an old friend." said all three voices in Arya''s head. "Hey Randel, I didn''t sign up for this. Nobody said we were gonna be killing anyone man. I-I''m out of here." stuttered a young boy scared at what might happen if they were caught.


    "Nobody is going anywhere. Take both of them to that guy, and throw the old man in the river. And if any of you so much as say a word about this to anyone you''ll be next." said Randel as all the other boys cowered in fear. They thought it was just going to be harmless fun, however Randel had other plans.


    The boys picked up Teressa and Arya and carried them to an old warehouse a bit out of the city. "The caretakers will have our heads it''s already dusk, I say we leave these two here and ditch Randel." said a brown haired boy. "Ye right. So that you''re the next person who gets stabbed? Let''s just get this over with and forget this ever happened. The caretakers won''t care about the disappearance of two orphans anyways. People run away all the time." replied a black boy from the group as he knocked on the door.


    The warehouse was an old seemingly abandoned building about the size of a small tavern. An old man opened the door and said nothing. He had very pale skin and long unkempt black hair with wisps of white hanging about marking his old age. As he lay his long bony fingers on the on the door he put on a peculiar smile and studied the children stopping on Arya for a split second longer than the other children.


    He didn''t seem the least bit surprised or worried that two of the kids were tied up, and seemed to be deciding on something in his mind. After a few awkward seconds the boy with brown hair who spoke out earlier broke the silence, "Randel sent us her-." said the boy as the old man interrupted him.


    "Come in." said the old man in a coarse voice as he opened the door even wider inviting the children into his home. The warehouse seemed to give of eerie vibes , like that of a cemetery, "I really don''t think we should, we just came to drop off these two and head back." said the brown haired boy visibly shaken. The boys were regretting taking part in another one of Randel''s schemes, many of the boys shifted back a bit, too scared to enter the house.


    "I insist, I have some snacks. Aren''t you boys hungry? The least I could do is pay you back for helping Franden bring those kids here" said the old man with the best attempt at a welcoming smile that his wrinkly face could achieve. "It''s Ran-" one of the boys in the group tried saying but was quickly shushed by his friends.


    The boys were scared but more hungry, and in a contest between the two hunger always won so they would never refuse free food. As they entered the old man''s home he closed the door and turned around to stare at the kids. "Well, w-w-where''s the food?" asked the brown haired boy now scared out of his mind. The old man simply smiled and stared at Arya, "I can finally complete my experiments.." said the old man with a wild smile on his face as the darkness around him started to shift and take shape.

 Chapter 40 - New Enemies (2)

    "I can finally break through into tier 1. At long last, where''s my journal I have to write this down." said the old man crazily as he ignored the fear in the kids'' eyes and began rummaging through the drawers of an old musty cupboard.


    The inside of the warehouse was more spacious than it first appeared to be, however the shadows all around the kids gave the illusion that the room was smaller. As the old man continued talking to himself it seemed as if the shadows were moving around as well, but most of the kids passed it off as their imagination playing tricks on them due to their fear.


    "Listen here old man, I-I don''t know what the deal is here , b-but you better let us go or else." said one of the boys in the group, feigning courage when really he was scared shitless. The old man continued bickering to himself as if the boy had never said anything.


    "That does it, come on guys what are we afraid of there''s one of him and 9 of us. I say we beat the old man and take whatever stuff he has." said the same boy as determination tried to replace the fear in his eyes. "Darkness heed my call." said the old man almost inaudibly, as the boy was about to turn around blood spattered to the floor.


    Everyone was quite confused until they saw they boy''s head fall to the ground. "Did you say you want to steal my research? No-no-no I can''t allow you to do that." said the man this time with a cold voice as if he had suddenly switched personalities. "Hmm now that I think about it, I only need the anomaly for my research. I can always stockpile on normal test subjects later." muttered the old man more to himself than to anyone else in the room.


    The old man muttered something inaudibly and with a flick of his wrist the darkness around him took the shape of a thin blades and rushed at the group of boys culling most of them in one fell swoop. Now only 3 children remained and the rest of them were but disbodied body parts. Legs, arms, hands ,eyeballs and different body parts lay in a sea of blood in front of Arya, Arya held in the urge to vomit. He had seen death many times but it had never been this gruesome.


    The other two survivors were Terresa and the brown haired boy from earlier, however the boy was missing a leg and blood was constantly spreading onto the floor around him. The only reason Teressa came out unscathed was because she was behind Arya, whom the old man didn''t hit on purpose as he was to be his test subject.


    The brown haired boy was in a state of shock, he stared blankly at the old man as he continued to look for something in the drawers. Teressa was in a state of shock as well, she was tied up and couldn''t move which meant she was forced to witness the gruesome site. "Ah here it is." said the old man as he removed a book from the drawer and began jotting something inside it.


    "I have to get out of here." whimpered the brown haired boy as he snapped out of his shock and realized the danger his life was in. The boy tried standing however as if the pain had suddenly just hit him he fell to the ground crying.


    "Oh you''re still alive?" asked the old man as he tilted his head to the side and stared at the boy as he wailed in both pain and fear. With another inaudible mumble and a flick of the old man''s wrist the darkness around the room rushed at the brown haired boy turning him into mince.


    As remains of the boy dripped to the floor Arya barfed out bile. The old man didn''t seem to care and continued jotting in his book. "Brother that man is a definitely mage. We have to get out of here now. Get the girl and flee." said a voice in Arya''s head. "Your only talent seems to be pointing out the obvious ,however what is this about get the girl? Are you insane, I bet Arya won''t even make it out of here if he tried escaping alone." said the other voice as the old man approached Arya.


    "White hair? Never seen someone with hair like this in Calburg, are you perhaps a foreigner? Anyways that''s not important right now, what I really want to know is why you have the life force of a mage yet your mana flow is static?" asked the old man as he bended over and tilted his head at Arya, coming so close that Arya could smell what the man had for breakfast. Whatever it was, there''s no way it was actual food.


    The man was quite tall being 1.84 m and he had quite a small frame, coupled with his black robe in the dark room, he seemed almost skeletal, like some kind of necromancer out a fantasy novel. "Will you not answer me boy? You know at first I thought you were a mage, how silly of me. Than I realized that you must be about 4 or 5, maybe 6 there''s no way someone your age could use magic. Then I thought you were a monster taking human form but seeing as you are still tied up that couldn''t be the case." said the old man as if he were talking to one of his acquaintances.


    "Could it be that you don''t know either? Well any how it doesn''t really matter, I''ll be using your life force for my experiments. You ought to be grateful I''m offering you eternal life. I''m turning you and all you''re friends into undead, however I first need to extract your life force without killing you. Truth be said though boy, humans can''t survive without at least an ounce of life force, and I''ll be taking every little bit out of you." said the man with a smile on his face as he dragged Arya''s tied up body to another room.


    The room they went to was located in the basement, this room was even darker then the one above and the only source of light were a few candles on a desk at the end of the hallway. The hallway was about 2m wide and along it were cells caged with steel bars and the only reason he could see them was because light from the candles reflected of the steel on to Arya''s face. The hallway itself was about 20m long and every cell was about 2m by 2m making a total of 10 cells on each side.


    As the old man dragged Arya through the hallway Arya could see silhouettes of weird figures in the cells, it was too dark for him to tell but the figures had a human outline but with a few deviations. Sometimes Arya would notice that one of the silhouettes had more arms than usual or was without certain body parts. As Arya was dragged past the last cell a monstrous voice roared at him from behind the cell.


    "Silence, I told you, you were a failure. Don''t disturb my new subject." scolded the old man he whispered something to himself and the darkness in the cell restrained whatever was inside it. "Excuse her, I haven''t taught her proper etiquette yet. Now where were we? Oh yes your life force." said the old man in an almost confused manner.. Clearly this man wasn''t completely sane thought Arya as he reached the desk with the candles.

 Chapter 41 - A Call For Help (1)

    As Arya reached the end of the hallway he saw a desk with candles on one side and on the other was a strange contraption that he couldn''t see at first due to the angling. The contraption was made of a silvery metal and looked like a cross between the electric chairs used back on earth and an IV drip that was used in hospitals.


    The darkness seemed more dense around the chair, as if the chair were a magnet. As the old man dragged Arya to the contraption Arya could see traces of blood and other presumably human body fluids all over the machine.


    The whole time the voices in Arya''s head had been bickering, Arya was trying to focus on his magic. However that wasn''t possible, it wasn''t just that he was unable to properly focus on drawing the mana in front of his palm, it was that there wasn''t any to begin with. Sure the voices in Arya''s head greatly hindered his focus, but as Arya searched for mana to manifest his ice magic he found that there was none.


    It was as if all the mana were being drawn else where. As Arya was unbound he tried hitting the man and making a run for it, however it was hopeless. A four year old boy could never hope to over power a fully grown man, regardless of how old or bony the old man was.


    The old man man-handled Arya and strapped him onto the machine. "See that wasn''t so hard now was it boy? Now just sit tight and wait for the process to be over. It will hurt but only for a short time, than you will never have to feel anything ever again." said the old man as he began drawing magic symbols around the machine.


    The symbols looked like ancient runes kind of like a mix between those used by the Mayans and those used by the ancient Egyptians. With every rune the old man drew he would chant something and the rune would light up. Once he was done the room began trembling and the darkness began to swirl around Arya and the old man.


    "Darkness head my call, transfer what once was his and give it to me. So that I may ascend and do your will." chanted the old man this time loudly. As the old man began to chant Arya became more and more desperate, as he felt some weird force enter his body. "Brother something is here." said both voices in Arya''s head.


    As the force was about to fully enter Arya''s body it was suddenly brought to a halt and the seal that had been placed on Arya began glowing. "What happened? Why are you still alive and why haven''t I become a one star mage." asked the man furious that his plan had failed.


    "Tell me bo-." the man was about to say when he noticed the glowing markings on Arya''s back. "A seal? Why would a child have a seal?" mumbled the old man to himself. "It seems that I have discovered something quite interesting, my breakthrough can wait a few more days. I have to find out what the boy is hiding." said the old man to himself as his anger subsided like it was never there to begin with.


    The old man sat on a chair close to the nearby desk and began writing something in a black book . As the man continued writing Arya felt weak, whatever had happened had sapped a lot of Arya''s strength and he could hardly stay conscious. "I told you we should have slaughtered everyone in the orphanage while we had the chance." said a voice in Arya''s head. "No use regretting it now, I''m 100% sure that Arya is a Deadman." said the other voice. "Could you two please shut up." Arya was about to say when he saw Teressa peaking from the door.


    "Spying isn''t good etiquette, go back to your cell right now." said the old man without looking up. He seemed to be able to sense Teressa''s presence but was incapable of discerned whether she was one of the weird humanoids from the cells or someone else. "Didn''t you hear me." said the old man as a knife came flying towards his face. The old man being caught by surprise didn''t manage to dodge the knife and it struck him right in the eye.


    Blood dripped to the floor as the man turned around confused by what had happened. "Brother this man is definitely insane. He is easy pickings, kill him now before he has time to recover." said a voice in Arya''s head. "I do agree with you on the insane part, which is all the more reason that Arya is a Deadman. I bet he will kill you in the most gruesome way possible. Better play dead before he releases his anger on you." said the other voice.


    The old man having realized his mistake chanted something and the darkness carried Teressa towards him. "Hmm so there was another survivor? It''s about time I replenish my life force and mana anyways, you''re a little small but you will have to do." said the old man covering he eye with one hand as the darkness around Teressa tightened.


    The old man closed his eyes and a black aura came from his body, he seemed to be using a breathing technique to cultivate more mana and life force however what was odd were the screams coming out of Teressa''s mouth. She began wailing as if someone were melting her skin.


    "DO SOMETHING!" shouted a voice in Arya''s mind. "What can he do? I told you he is worthless, he wasn''t even able to protect his father twice. What makes you think he would protect a random girl." said the other voice.


    Although Arya hardly knew Teressa, she was the closest thing to a friend he had. And right now that was the only thing he had. Arya tried focusing the mana from the surroundings into the frontside of his palm, however this method of magic could only use the elemental components of mana in the surroundings and currently all of it was converted to darkness magic. The only way for Arya to use magic was the traditional way, however Arya still had the seal on and was incapable of drawing mana into his body.


    "Fuck this!" shouted Arya as Teressa''s screams intensified. Arya focused on inhaling all the mana he could into his body, the seal activated burning Arya''s back but he ignored it and continued. With every scream Teressa let out Arya would push even harder causing him more pain than he had ever felt before.


    Just as Arya was nearing his limit and sweat literally soaked his clothes wet, he felt something inside him break and mana flooded his body. It was akin to a dam breaking, the mana that flooded his body caused him so much pain that he nearly collapsed. Arya quickly remembered one of the spells he had read in Luca''s book and chanted "Child of water heed my call, freeze my enemies." chanted Arya as the tier 1 ice spell chilling wind froze the old man from toe to neck.


    The strain caused by the breakthrough and the use of the spell caused Arya to collapse, rendering him unconscious.. "Not the time to be sleepi-" a voice in Arya''s head was about to say but Arya was already gone.

 Chapter 42 - A Call For Help (2)

    As Arya opened his eyes he found Teressa looking down at him with worry in her eyes. "You''re awake!" she said as tears streamed down her cheeks and her face relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted. "I didn''t know what to do, I wanted to run but I didn''t want to be alone anymore. So I came back but I didn''t have a -" Teressa''s breakdown was stopped as a woman dressed in white robes appeared.


    "You''re putting too much strain on him, he needs rest. Also I need you to leave while I talk to him, there are a few questions I need to ask about his health." said the woman dressed in white robes. As Arya stood up from Teressa''s laps he realized he was no longer in the basement of the old man but was instead outside.


    It was nearly day break and the outside of the warehouse was swarming with guards. Other people in white robes could be seen removing things from the warehouse and placing them into a carriage. Some of the neighbors where being questioned, the scene reminded Arya of a crime scene from the series he would watch back on earth.


    "What happened? Wait there was an old man where is he?" asked Arya as he began recalling the events that transpired before he went for his little nap and became more alert.


    "The old man escaped, however you are very lucky to be alive young man. The old man that held you captive is a death mage who has been experimenting on human life right under our noses. You''re lucky that we found the boy named Randel as he was about to bury the body of a man he had killed, or else we wouldn''t have known about this warehouse or found you when we did."


    "When we arrived the death mage was about to kill both you and the girl, if we had arrived a second later you would''ve been dead. I don''t know if you understand the severity of the situation kid." said the woman in white robes as she looked at Arya with a tinge of surprise on her face.


    "This kid, he shouldn''t be this calm after an experience like this. I expected him to be seeking comfort from me, it might''ve been easier if things went that way but this works as well. I can get straight to the point." thought the woman with white robes.


    "Listen kid I need to ask you something important and you have to answer honestly or we might never catch that death mage. I know it might be hard for you to understand as you''re still very young, however we found traces of ice magic in the warehouse meaning that there was an ice mage during the fight."


    "You might not know this but ice magic isn''t common, we need to know if there was another person there or if the death mage was capable of ice magic as well. We''ve already checked and there are no ice mages currently living in Calburg, that is any registered mages." said the woman with white robes as she inched closer to Arya.


    "It''s totally okay if you can''t recall what happened, but please don''t make up stories it does more harm than good. Your friend there claims that you cast that spell and as funny as that may seem to her this is a serious matter and we require your cooperation." continued the white robed woman before Arya could answer.


    "Sure he does seem to have a dynamic mana flow but that may be a side effect of the experiments done to him. There''s no way a kid could use magic at this age, much less ice magic." thought the woman as she waited for Arya''s reply.


    "I-I don''t remember." replied Arya. The woman then began asking him the full story to check if both Arya''s and Teressa''s story''s checked out. "If you remember anything just go to the city guards and ask for Constable Erry." said the white robed woman as she walked back into the warehouse. As she entered the basement she found the other city mages burning the bodies of the humanoid figures found in the cells. "God I hate death mages." said the white robed woman under her breath as she joined the other mages.


    "Are you okay?" asked Teressa who seem to have calmed down considerably and was back to her distant demeanor.


    "Yes I am, thank you." said Arya, his voice sounded weird to him as it had been a while since he last heard it.


    "Oh you can talk?" asked Teressa surprised by Arya''s words. She had assumed that he was mute since he never replied to her directly. "Do you have a name then?" asked Teressa getting closer to Arya''s face.


    "Please don''t get so close, and yes I do. Arya, my name is Arya." said Arya as he pushed Teressa back a few spaces. "Oh sorry I''ve just never seen someone as weird as you. You can talk yet you don''t? Why is that?" asked Teressa annoying Arya slightly. Arya decided to stop responding and started thinking of what he would do form this point onward.


    "Its pointless to continue living in the orphanage, with Randel in custody and so many of the other orphans dead the caretakers might be less willing to take care of me since I''m involved in both stories. Its time I start moving, that old man spoke of undead so I''m guessing there is a way to bring people back from the dead. I mean I''m here right now aren''t I, yes that''s it. I just need to look for a way to bring them back." thought Arya as he started walking in the opposite direction from the orphanage.


    "Brother you''re finally listening. Let''s set off adventure awaits." said a voice in Arya''s head excited by the turn of events. "Oh dear, Arya has all sense left you? Look at yourself, you''re four with a scrawny body at that. What will you eat? Where will you sleep? Where are you even going? Am I the only sensible one here?" asked the other voice seemingly unhappy by what was transpiring. "Doesn''t, matter I have magic." replied Arya simply as for the first time in a long time his face seemed more relaxed, as if at least a small pebble had been removed from the mountain that weighed him down.


    "Arya you''re going the wrong way." said Teressa as she ran towards Arya. "Oh I''m not going back to the orphanage, though you better get back fast. You have ought to explain to the caretakers the situation before they chase you out." replied Arya as he continued walking.


    "You aren''t going back? Okay then neither am I." said Teressa with determination in her eyes. "Listen it won''t be easy for a kid to travel to the places I''m going to." replied Arya. "But you''re younger than I am.". "That isn''t the point, if you''re not going back than why are you following me?" asked Arya as he looked at Teressa in the eyes.


    Teressa shied away and replied, "You saved my life and I don''t have anywhere else to go and besides I want you to teach me that thing you did earlier. I tried saying the same words you said but it doesn''t work." said Teressa as she chanted what Arya had chanted before but to no avail.


    "Brother take her along to keep you company. Who knows in a few years she could become part of our concubine." said the first voice. "Concubine! Arya you can''t be seriously considering this, have both you''re fathers taught you nothing?" said the other voice in distress. "What are you two going on about? Who said I''m going to get into any romantic relations to begin with." replied Arya embarrassed by what was going on in his mind.


    He and Teressa continued walking towards the city gates and were going to head further east into the Kingdom of Erandel. "Arya you do know where we are going right?" asked Teressa. "Of course I do!" said Arya with a confident face.. "Liar!" said both voices in unison.

 Chapter 43 - The Start Of A Journey (1)

    "Where are you kids heading?" asked one of the guards as Arya and Teressa approached the town gates. "We''re going out to collect some wild berries, our mother sent us." lied Arya as if it was second nature to him. "Hurry on and come back quickly, it isn''t safe outside. Your mother shouldn''t even be sending someone as young as you outside the town gates." said the guard as he opened the gates for the two.


    "Wow, you''re really good at lying." said Teressa as she looked back at the city gate to see if the guards had somehow figured out their bluff and decided to go after them. "That''s going to be one of our most essential weapons if we want to survive out here." said Arya as he continued walking east of the town.


    Immediately outside the town of Calburg was a meadow filled with different types of flowers that reminded Arya of the spring time back on Earth. The grass surrounding the city was about ankle length but those further out towards the distance were as high as Arya''s shoulder.


    There was a wide path that cut through the meadow along which was a line of horse-drawn carriages and wagons. It seemed many merchants were waiting to get into the town however they seemed to be hauled up due to paperwork. The guards refused to let any merchants enter before they produced identity documents and proof of registration with the merchant association.


    As Arya passed by some of the wagons his interest was piqued by the items he got a glimpse of. He saw different types of swords and armor made of materials he had never seen before and clothing so fine they were fit to be worn by a royal family.


    It didn''t stop there, Arya''s stomach began to grumble as he smelled the different exotic spices coming from the carriages, and the strong smell of alcohol that exuded from some of the wagons. Arya would sometimes pass by an open carriage with groups of merchants either reading something or talking to each other about things he couldn''t quite understand.


    The merchants dressed in an odd manner that reminded Arya of the merchants from an isekai anime he had watched before. "Must be what''s fashionable in this world." thought Arya as a strong scent made him step back a little, the perfumes the merchants wore, although good-smelling were too strong for him.


    The more Arya saw the more interested he became, it got to the point that he started running so he could see what was in the next carriage or wagon as soon as possible, however as he passed by an old brown wagon his interest was replaced by shock.


    Arya fell to the ground as he was unable to properly comprehend what was going on. As he looked up at the wagon he saw a group of poorly dressed, malnourished people covered in dirt and locked inside cages barely big enough for them to be able to stretch their arms.


    "You''re pretty fast for a scrawny shorty. Hmm? Why did you stop?" asked Teressa as she caught up to Arya, she paused and looked up, realizing what was going on. She kind of felt pity for Arya as he was younger than her and presumable had never seen any of the horrors of the world before last night. "Oh you''re pretty young so you don''t know about this do you." said Teressa with a cold voice as her eyes went dark.


    "Kingdoms sometimes fight wars, and the losers usually lose their right to life, they become less than living. I heard that it''s abolished in some regions but for most of the kingdom the slave trade is common practice." said Teressa as she stared at the slaves and her eyes became glazed.


    "Are you kids lost? Where''s your mother?" asked a fat merchant with a gold tooth as he looked down at the kids from atop of his horse. "We were just heading to her right now. My little brother was just sight seeing." said Teressa as she looked away and pulled Arya''s arm for him to stand up.


    "Well better get going, there might be some really bad people lurking around here." said the merchant with wide smile that showed a row of pearly white teeth and a gold tooth at the top left canine. The merchant gave both Arya and Teressa a creepy vibe but they ignored it and thanked the merchant before scurrying off.


    The two quickly walked past the fat merchant, but as they past by more wagons they realized that most of the other wagons were filled with slaves as well. Arya didn''t feel like walking along the line anymore. As he was about to walk off the path into the grass he saw a small boy about the same size as him with fluffy dog ears and a tail in one of the carriages. "What''s that?" asked Arya pointing at the boy in the carriage that seemed to be in a trance.


    "I''ve never seen someone like that before. Maybe it''s a beast person, though I''m not sure." said Teressa answering Arya''s question. "It might''ve been a good idea to bring her along. For someone so young she seems well informed." thought Arya to himself as he walked off the path into the fields.


    The two didn''t get far before both hunger and exhaustion caught up to them. "I''m hungry." complained Teressa as she sat under a nearby tree. "You''re always hungry." snarled Arya, he usually didn''t care to eat, but after using the ice spell earlier he needed something to replenish his strength.


    As Teressa continued complaining about being hungry, Arya began looking around hoping to find something to munch on. The area they were in was filled with bright green trees, most of them were about 7m tall and 2m broad, big enough for someone to sleep on if the need ever arose.


    In the distance were a few bright red berries hanging of a tall tree which made Arya''s stomach grumble even loader. "If you make a platform with ice I''m sure you can reach them, better yet just climb the tree brother." said a voice in Arya''s head. "If you cast one more spell that will be the end of you. And what''s this about climbing, you can barely stand plus those berries are probably poisonous anyways. We shouldn''t have left the orphanage, this decision was poorly thought out. I bet that we all perish before the days end." said another voice in Arya''s head.


    The voices in Arya''s head were usually a hindrance, thinning the line between reality and whatever was going on in Arya''s mind. He first heard the voices when he arrived at the orphanage, at first he thought the other kids were playing pranks on him but after a while he realized they were coming from his head.


    After two years with them he grew accustomed to them, so much so that he sometimes took their advice. Arya''s mind was far more developed than his brain so he quickly came to the conclusion that it must''ve been some sort of coping mechanism his brain created subconsciously.


    His idea was that one voice was a manifestation of his want to be a stronger person, while the other was a manifestation of his new pessimistic view to life, although at times they felt too real to be mere voices.. But Arya theorized that to a crazy person the voices and hallucinations must seem real as well.

 Chapter 44 - The Start Of A Journey (2)

    "Teressa do you think you could reach those berries up there?" asked Arya as he pointed at the glistening red berries atop one of the tree branches. "I could try." replied Teressa hesitantly, to a barely 1.2m girl the 7m tree looked daunting, but she had to suck it in if she planned on eating.


    As Teressa began scaling the tree Arya heard a sound coming from behind them. "Someone''s here." whispered the voices in Arya''s head. Arya continued looking at Teressa climb the tree trying to keep a semblance of normality, however deep inside he was terrified. The idea of being captured and sold as a slave haunted his mind since he first laid eyes on the distraught slaves that were caged on top of the wagons.


    As Teressa neared the top of the tree the branch she was stepping on snapped causing her to lose her footing. "I''m okay!" shouted Teressa, saying it more to herself than to Arya, as she was able to hang on to a branch at the last second. She pulled herself up and managed to reach the branch with the berries.


    She plucked off a handful of berries and looked at them longingly. "Don''t eat them yet, we have to make sure they aren''t poisonous!" shouted Arya as Teressa was about to pop a berry into her mouth, much to her dismay. "For a four year old he sure is cautious." whispered Teressa under her breath as she threw the berries she was about to eat to the ground.


    As Teressa got off the tree a black figure from behind charged at Arya. He was facing her so he couldn''t see the attacker coming, Teressa pushed Arya out the way and the man bumped into Teressa knocking all the air out of her. Arya reacted quickly and threw the berries at the man''s eyes praying to whatever gods existed on Merrum that they were poisonous.


    The man shouted in agony as he began scratching his eyes vigorously, his face had turned a few shades redder due to irritation. Arya quickly helped Teressa off the ground and they began sprinting, however Teressa was limping, it seemed that she had gotten injured in the little skirmish.


    "We won''t be able to get far with you limping like this." said Arya as the voices in his head contemplated on whether to leave her or not. Even without her injury Arya doubted they would''ve been able to carry on much longer. Between hunger and exhaustion it was only a matter of time before one of them collapsed.


    As they were making their way through the grove they came across a shed, it was about 6m by 4m with an oaky brown color. The windows didn''t have any glass panes and some of the wood was rotting from old age which gave Arya the impression that it had been uninhabited for a long time.


    "Over there!" Arya pointed as he made his way towards it. "What you can''t be serious Arya, you want us to go in there." said Teressa with a scared look on her face. She was naturally afraid of scary places and her fear had worsened ever since they were taken to the old warehouse but before she had time to voice her complaints Arya was already at the front door. "What kind of four year old isn''t afraid of spooky houses." thought Teressa to herself as she limped towards the shed reluctantly.


    Once Teressa got in Arya shut the door behind her. The shed had little furniture, all it had was an old rotting rocking chair and a single desk that was covered in cobwebs and dust. Arya looked around to see if he could find anything useful to use against their assailant.


    "Who was that guy?" asked Teressa once she had caught her breath. "Beats me, but my guess is that one of those slave traders thought we looked a bit too profitable to be running around alone." said Arya voicing the theory that the pessimistic voice in his head told him.


    "Slave traders! No we can''t let him catch us!" said Teressa holding Arya by his collars. "Relax! It doesn''t matter how tough you are poison is still poison, he won''t be able to look for us for a while." said Arya as he pushed Teressa off.


    "Then we have to get going before he recovers!" said Teressa as she limped for the door. "Be my guest. Let''s see how far you get with that leg of yours, or maybe you''ll die from exhaustion first." replied Arya sarcastically as he tried making out what was on the desk.


    On the left corner of the desk lay a single book with a brown cover that was turning green due to mold, a few quills and a nib with dried out ink. Arya picked up the book and scraped off the mold, the smell of it made him want to barf, but this was nothing in comparison to the years spent in the orphanage.


    Arya could barely make out what the title of the book was , "Le''drande''s Jordum" whispered Arya reading the cover of the book. The first page was stained brown but the words were still comprehensible, it read "To all those who seek the truth but are blinded by the illusion of reality.". "What an obnoxious foreword." thought Arya to himself as he went on to the next page, however he found that everything was written in a foreign language. As he continued paging through he saw that some pages were torn out as well.


    "Teressa do you know what language this is?" asked Arya as Teressa came over to where Arya stood. "Wait you can read?" Teressa asked staring at Arya in shock, it wasn''t just that it was uncommon for someone so young to be able to read, it was uncommon to be able to read at all. Reading was a skill reserved for scholars or nobles, people of the low and medium classes didn''t need to know how to read to perform their daily tasks, they only required simple mathematics that wasn''t even taught to them in the first place.


    Before Arya could answer they heard footsteps outside. "We''ve been caught we ha-" Teressa tried saying but was interrupted by Arya as he put his hand over her mouth. "HFKKS JSDKSNDF WSJDNS" Teressa tried saying however all that came out were muffled sounds. She pulled Arya''s hand off and whispered loudly "YOU USED THAT HAND TO SCRAPE OF THE MOLD FROM THE DAMN BOOK." , however Arya was focused on the two men who had arrived outside the shed.


    "Did you find them?" asked a man with a gruff voice, "No and one of the little shits threw acclavia berries at me and ran into the woods." replied a man with a lower pitched voice as he rubbed his eyes. "You better find them, Hasar won''t be too happy to hear that you let go of free money. Did you check in that shed?" asked the man with a gruff voice.


    "Of course I did, what do you take me for?" lied the man with a lower pitch voice. Rumor had it that the shed was home to a powerful witch so the man was hesitant to go in there, but he couldn''t let his colleague know that he was afraid of such silly things. Little did he know colleague was just as afraid of entering the shed, "You really went in there?" asked the man with a gruff voice in disbelief as the two continued walking into the forest.


    "Did I stutter? Anyways why would kids go into that thing? Aren''t children afraid of scary places?" asked the man with a lower pitch voice in a dull manner that made Arya assume that he had been dropped as a baby at least a dozen times.


    "Okay lets get out of here." whispered Arya once the coast was clear. He slipped the book into his pants much to Teressa''s dismay and bolted out the shed heading in the opposite direction from where the two thugs were heading.

 Chapter 45 - Food?

    "Let''s stop here." said Arya as he noticed Teressa was lagging behind, the injury she sustained on her leg was slowly catching up to her. As Arya surveyed the area he realized they had reached a river stream. The river was about 6m wide and marked the end of the meadow terrain. On the other side was a forest so dense with trees that Arya could hardly see past the first line.


    Arya tested the depth of the river by dipping one foot in it. His foot reached the bottom at about thigh length so he figured it would be okay to pass through it, however he was was a bit hesitant due to the possible parasites in it and the rather strong which current coupled with his fatigue could cause a serious accident. As Arya was about to pull out his leg to tell Teressa about their situation he saw Teressa taking huge gulps from the river stream.


    "Are you crazy, what if the water is contaminated, what about parasites?!" shouted Arya shocked by Teressa lack of caution. "Contaminated? Parasites? What are you talking about, it''s a river." said Teressa innocently between gulps as she filled he mouth with mouth with water.


    Arya noticed an animal taking a drink from it on the other side, "Well if the animals drink from it then it can''t be too bad. Maybe I''m being overly cautious for no reason." thought Arya as he took a handful and put it into his mouth.


    As the soothing water went down his dry, parched throat he realized just how thirsty he really was and got on his knees to take huge gulps as well. Once he was done he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and looked around hoping to find food somehow. He noticed a flock of birds further upstream, however he had no means to catch any.


    "If only I knew any high speed projectile spells." thought Arya as he tried remembering what he had read in Luca''s book. Most of what he read were ice spells meant to restrict movement, the only projectile ice spells he had seen were tier 4 and since he couldn''t use tier 4 spells with his old method of magic he never bothered to learn them.


    "That''s it! My old method." said Arya as he focused mana into the space in front of his palm and a ball of blue energy surging with mana began forming. As he chanted "Child of water heed my call, smite mine enemies." a beam of ice shot at the flock of birds. However due to hunger and fatigue he couldn''t aim properly and missed them by a long shot.


    Arya didn''t seem to mind, he had just found a way to get food and even if he had to try one thousand times he would catch his prey at least once.


    The method of magic Arya used made use of the mana in the atmosphere instead of that within his body, so it didn''t drain his mana supplies. However it still used a small portion of his life force to focus the mana into a beam but Arya was too ecstatic by the prospect of food to notice the changes taking place.


    "Cool!" exclaimed Teressa doing a spit take as she saw the beam shoot out. "Teach me how to do that too!" said Teressa as she stood up trying to imitate what Arya had done, however nothing happened. "How come you are able to use magic but I can''t?" asked Teressa a bit sad that she couldn''t do what someone two years younger than her could.


    "Focus on the mana in your surr-" Arya was about to explain before Teressa cut him short. "What do you mean mana?" asked Teressa tilting her head in confusion. "This is hopeless Arya, if you waste anymore time here those men will find you before you even get to eat." said the pessimistic voice in Arya''s head.


    "I''ll teach you later, let''s get some food first." said Arya as he set his eyes on a flock of birds that had just arrived and landed further upstream. "You''ll never catch any birds in this state. Best to just give up now." said the pessimistic voice in Arya''s head. "Practice makes a great man brother." said the other voice in his head cheering him on.


    Before Arya could take aim at the birds he had a thought. Instead of aiming at the flock of birds Arya turned to look at the trees on the other side of the river. "What are you doing, aren''t the birds that way?" asked Teressa confused by Arya''s actions. "My aim is a bit off." though Arya as he took aim at the center of a tree on the other side of the river. "Child of water heed my call, smite mine enemies." chanted Arya and a beam of ice shot towards the tree but hit the tree to the right of it.


    "What are you doing!?" complained Teressa as she grew impatient by whatever Arya was attempting to do. "Just hold on." said Arya as he took aim at the tree to the right side of the tree he first aimed at. "Child of water heed my call, smite mine enemies." chanted Arya and another bolt of ice shot out, this time it just barely hit the tree he was aiming at first. "So a bit to the left." thought Arya as he readjusted his aim and fired again.


    This time it hit close to the center of the tree he had been aiming for. "Good enough, but this tree is way bigger than the flock of birds I wonder i-" said Arya as he aimed at the flock of birds readjusting his aim taking into account what he had just discovered.


    "Child of water heed my call, smite mine enemies." chanted Arya as a bolt of ice shot at the flock but missed a bird by a hair, but Arya wasn''t done, he quickly shot another bolt into the sky before the birds could get too high this time he managed to graze one of the birds at its wing impairing its ability to fly. The bird lost control and began flying towards the ground, Arya shot another bolt of ice this time hitting it square in the back.


    "You did it!" cheered Teressa before limping as fast as she could towards the prize, she was happy that Arya had managed to catch his prey and all, but food was the most important thing to her right her now. As she got to the bird she realized just how small it really was, coupled with the fact that it was now an icicle made he lose most of her vigor. "Say do you know any fire spells!" shouted Teressa but when she turned to look at Arya she saw him passed out on the ground where she left him.

 Chapter 46 - Voices

    "Arya! Arya! Wake up!" shouted Teressa as she shook Arya''s limp body, he was still breathing albeit barely. His breathing was arrhythmic and his temperature was steadily dropping, Teressa didn''t know what to do and she barely had enough strength to carry Arya to the other side of the river stream.


    At first Teressa thought that perhaps Arya had collapsed due to exhaustion, however he was becoming visibly pale and his temperature was dangerously low. If this continued he would soon look like a fresh corpse. Teressa''s mind began playing tricks on her as the world around her seemed to get colder and darker, her fear of being alone began taunting her.


    "What do I do?" said Teressa out loud as her vision became clouded by the tears that collected at the rim of her eye, images of a fire and the words of shadowed figures ravaged her mind. "Run! Get out of here Teressa." echoed the voices in her head. The fear of loneliness gripped at Teressa''s throat like a thief in the night.


    She was scared, scared that Arya might die, scared that she might be alone once again, scared that the two men might find her and force her to live a life way worse than death. "He just needs some food, that''s it. It will all be okay." said Teressa to herself in denial as she picked up the frozen bird and dipped it in water to melt the ice quicker.


    "A fire! Right a fire!" muttered Teressa as she left the still frozen bird beside Arya''s unconscious body and started to collect small twigs. She made sure to collect only the dry ones and stacked them into a small mound, she then collected two oddly shaped rocks and began striking them against one another.


    "Is this how your suppose to do it?" said Teressa out loud as she attempted and failed to set the twigs alight many times. At this point the tears were streaming down her cheeks. She turned around to look at Arya and nodded , "He''s okay, he''s fine. He''s still breathing. He just needs to eat." thought Teressa as she struck the stones even harder.


    "Ouch!" exclaimed Teressa as she accidentally hit herself with a rock drawing blood. She dropped the rocks and began sobbing loudly, "It''s pointless! Why! Why me!" she shouted as she the tears ran down her pale skin that tinged rosy as she continued sobbing. It was all too over whelming for her, just when she though she could live a new happy life, life itself began playing its tricks on her. "Arya please wake up don''t leave me!" she shouted but Arya wasn''t there.


    "Brother this girl is really clingy." echoed a voice from the void. "Where am I?" asked Arya as he looked around and saw only darkness. "We are in what you would call your mind scape." said a different voice this time as if it was an obvious answer, which reminded Arya of the pessimistic voice he would sometimes hear.


    "Mind scape?" asked Arya confused by what was going on. "I knew you were a lot of things, but I didn''t think dumb was one of them." replied the pessimistic voice as a dark figure appeared in front of Arya only made visible due to it''s glowing white eyes. "I told you not to use anymore spells. But you never listen do you." said the figure as white light shone from its mouth each time it spoke. The dark figure crossed its arms like an angry mother scolding her child as it spoke to Arya.


    Arya was taken aback and fell on his bum. "You''re scaring him you know. Don''t worry brother you aren''t dead... yet." said the other voice as a white figure appeared this time with glowing black eyes and a black light shone from its mouth as it spoke. "You guys are, y-you''re the voices." stuttered Arya as he looked at the two figures in awe. "Wait, what do you mean dead yet?" asked Arya suddenly realizing the implications of the events that were taking place.


    "You see brother, you''ve used too much life force while casting those spells and your life force is dangerously low. Right now you''re body is in a catatonic state, the only reason you''re still alive is because of that thing." said the figure as it pointed at a section of the void. That section was like a beating heart with white veins, Arya couldn''t see anything but he noticed that that section seemed to be darker than the rest, and the white veins seemed to be pumping something, Arya just wasn''t sure what.


    "What is it?" asked Arya as he tried approaching it. "Don''t bother, you will never reach it." said the black figure, "We''ve tried. And as to what it is, you tell us. It''s your mindscape isn''t it." continued the black figure. "Wait I don''t get it, if you''re voices made by my brain as a coping mechanism how come you know more about what''s going on than I do?" asked Arya confused by the madness of it all.


    "Made by your brain you say? That''s an interesting theory." said the black figure as it turned to its white counter part. "Brother I think you misunderstand something. Do you believe us to be figments of your imagination?" asked the white figure seemingly flabbergasted by Arya''s words.


    "I told you didn''t I." mocked the black figure as it opened its mouth laughing and white light burst from it. "Brother you disappoint me." said the white figure visibly saddened by the prospect. Arya remained silent, for a long time he was content with the theory that the voices were nothing but fabrications made by his brain to cope with depression. Yet now all evidence said otherwise.


    "Listen brother, we don''t have much time left. This time we will help you, but there won''t be a next time. Surpassing your limits is good, but don''t over work yourself." said the white figure as he touched Arya''s head.


    "We''re helping him? I never agreed to this. He won''t survive a day without us anyways, better to end his misery right now." complained the dark figure as it stepped back. "Come on Sauron, it is our duty." replied the white figure. "It isn''t our duty to help him in his foolishness." replied the dark figure as it began walking away. "I''ll owe you one!" shouted the white figure before the dark one could disappear.


    "Deal!" said the dark figure almost too quickly as his mouth formed a wide smile, that looked almost sinister to Arya. "See you soon." said the dark figure as he touched Arya''s head as well.. In that split second light filled the void and Arya opened his eyes to find Teressa bawling her eyes out a few meters from where he lay.

 Chapter 47 - The Forest (1)

    Arya tried to speak but it felt like hot coal had been shoved down his throat, he could barely lift a finger and his entire body felt as if it had been hit by a truck. The best he could manage was a soft murmur in the hope that Teressa might hear it.


    "Arya?" asked Teressa as she wiped snot off her nose, her slender, pale face had turned cherry red from all the crying she had done. She scurried over to Arya''s side bringing her face close to Arya''s almost too close for comfort. She placed her ear near his mouth and realized his breathing had stabilized and his color was quickly returning.


    "You''re okay!" exclaimed Teressa in joy as her warm tears fell on Arya''s face. "The white figure was right. She is clingy." thought Arya trying to push Teressa away but only managing to inflict more pain upon himself.


    "You must be hungry. I was just preparing lunch." said Teressa as she stood up happily and began humming a jovial tune. She picked up the rocks she had been carrying earlier and began striking them with a renewed vigor. "That''s right, I''m not alone." thought Teressa as she struck the rocks repeatedly.


    Each time she struck the rocks tiny sparks flew bouncing off the mound of dry twigs she had collected. Slowly but surely the smell of smoke began to fill the air and Arya could hear the crackling of fire embers. "I did it! I did it!" shouted Teressa in joy, looking to Arya like an excited child looking towards her mother for approval.


    "Oh right, the bird." remembered Teressa as she picked up the bird and threw it into the fire snuffing it instantly. "Idiot!" thought Arya inwardly slapping his forehead at the stupidity of his partner.


    "Why did it go out?" asked Teressa innocently visibly saddened by the death of her creation, Arya would''ve like to explain to her that people didn''t cook food by throwing it into a fire but he was too weak to speak so all he could do was pray that she figured it out herself, which in itself was a very depressing thought.


    After managing to start the fire again Teressa decided to try a different approach, this time she held the frozen bird above the fire. It worked for sometime as some of the ice began to melt however she couldn''t hold on to it for long. Between the chill of the ice and the smoldering heat of the flames she also had to wrestle with the frozen bird as it became slippery due to the water that percolated off it.


    After dropping it more times than she could remember the ice had finally melted, now all that was left to do was cook it. Arya''s stomach began rumbling as the smell of roasted chicken flesh entered his nose. However his stomach quickly began to question the promise of tender chicken flesh as the delicious smell soon became that off burnt coal.


    Teressa had never learned how to cook, she was simply copying what she had seen adults do. Once she was done with the bird it was but a charred carcass, but beggars couldn''t be choosers and Arya couldn''t even beg. She tore a leg out for Arya and stuffed a small handful of it into his mouth. His taste buds felt violated, but food was food and his stomach was happy to have anything at all.


    After what felt like one of the worst meals he had ever had Arya fell asleep, with a full belly and enough rest he would soon regain his strength even without a breathing technique. Sure breathing techniques were used to replenish life force and mana reserves at a faster rate but their main purpose was to nurture the development of one''s mana core.


    With every use of a breathing technique the mana core would mature, getting closer to a break through each time. However Arya had no need for it now, what he really needed most was rest and as night fell he was already in a deep slumber. Teressa had just finished taking a rest after eating and had regained enough strength to carry Arya.


    Although her leg was injured Arya wasn''t all that too heavy, after all he was a four year old whose growth had been stunted due to lack of a proper diet so it was quite easy for Teressa to carry him past the river stream and lay him down under a canopy of trees.


    "I wonder where we are now." yawned Teressa as fatigue began to whisper sweet things into her ear. "Arya will probably find out once he wakes up tomorrow." thought Teressa as she lay beside Arya and fell into a slumber of her own.


    When Arya awoke he found that he was surrounded by dark mysterious silhouettes. Seeing as his body was now brimming with energy he quickly held out his palm to cast an ice spell, however as he chanted the words nothing happened. No mana converged, no beam shot out, no magic happened, terror gripped Arya''s heart as he allowed mana to course through his body and tried casting magic the traditional way.


    "Child of water heed my call, smite mine enemies." chanted Arya and ice spread across the grassy floor towards one of the silhouettes like a hungry snake stalking its prey. Once the ice spell struck its mark Arya looked closer at what he had hit, "A tree?" asked Arya in confusion. It was early in the morning and the fog that hung over the forest was quite thick distorting Arya''s vision. "But I could''ve sworn I felt something coming from there." said Arya, talking as if there was someone around to hear him.


    "Teressa?" said Arya quickly as he realized that Teressa wasn''t behind him. "What the hell is going on? Where did Teressa take me?" thought Arya to himself as he began exploring his new surroundings. Although it was day break the sunlight could hardly pass through the trees, the forest was so jam-packed with trees that it became almost opaque.


    The trees seemed to tower over Arya as if challenging him to a fight, and that''s what gave Arya a weird feeling. It felt as if he was being watched, like each time he turned his back on a tree it would suddenly uproot and stab him in the back. Every turn, every passage, every piece of the sky Arya looked at seemed the same, almost as if he were going in circles.


    "Say why can''t I use the other method of magic, and where did Teressa take me?" asked Arya trying to contact the two voices that plagued his head, silence. Arya received silence in response, the voices weren''t there and that''s when it finally hit him.


    He was alone.

 Chapter 48 - The Forest (2)

    "Hello?! Sauron?" asked Arya''s inner voice as he attempted to call on the voices he would usually hear, but no one answered. At first Arya thought they were giving him the silent treatment for what he had done but he soon realized that although the voices were annoying they had never that childish.


    Arya noticed that his mind felt lighter than usual, almost like a massive weight had been lifted. Usually this would be a good thing, however this made him feel uneasy.


    He had grown so accustomed to the voices in his head to the point that where ever he went, whether alone or not he still felt like he had company. They had become a part of his life, although annoying he had accepted them as a norm but now he felt like that part of him had been ripped away, stolen.


    Arya already had a theory, he couldn''t explain it but it felt as if something in his mind had been severed. Deep down he knew that they were gone but his mind just couldn''t register it.


    "It''s a good thing anyways. At least I won''t have to continue living life like a madman. Though it would''ve been nice if I got more information out of them. Maybe they would''ve known more about this book." thought Arya as he pulled the book out of his pants to examine it.


    He had been hoping that by talking to the voices in his head he would somehow be able to understand what was written in the book, however it was all for naught. Arya still felt like he was reading Greek.


    He quickly closed the book and tucked it back into his pants and began looking around. The trees somehow seemed taller than they looked from the other side of the river but Arya disregarded that thought as he was exhausted back then.


    "Where could Teressa be?" thought Arya to himself trying not to panic at the sudden loss of the voices. "Maybe she''s pulling a prank on me. She seems like the type. This time I''ll teach her a lesson, I''ll turn this whole thing around on her."


    Although it was early morning the light around Arya began to dim, almost like sunset was approaching. Arya was so engrossed in thought that he only noticed when it had already gone completely dark. "What th-" Arya tried saying as something sharp dug into the back of his skin, the suddenness of the attack made it all the worse causing Arya to fold over in pain.


    "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted Arya once he had regained enough focus to cast a spell. The tier 1 ice spell winter''s gasp covered everything around Arya in a 3m radius with a thin layer of ice, strong enough to hold the enemy for but a brief instant.


    But an instant was all Arya needed, Arya quickly stood up wincing in pain as he reach for whatever was logged in his back while running in the opposite direction from where the attack came. The blood that coated the object made it hard for Arya to grab onto it, but once he got a good grip of it he pulled it out and used his shirt to wipe off the blood.


    There was hardly any light to see what the object was and the light coming from the sun was now comparable to that given off by the moon. Arya looked up to see what was blocking the light''s path and to his surprise the trees that had been standing straight up until mere minutes ago were now several meters taller and bended in such a way that a temporary night fall was simulated.


    "What''s going on here?" thought Arya as he chanted an ice spell to freeze the spot where his wound was in order to stop the bleeding, never stopping to rest the whole time. Arya then studied the object he held in his hand using his sense of touch to examine it hoping that it would at least give him a clue as to what he might be up against.


    It''s texture felt rough, almost like a dry tree bark and it''s sharpened tip was coated in a slimy substance. Suddenly Arya''s legs felt rubbery and although he could not see properly he realized that it was partially due to the fact that his vision was blurry to begin with.


    "I''ve been poiso-" Arya was about to say before another voice completed the sentence for him. "Poisoned." said the voice.


    Arya awoke to the chill of water being splashed on his face. "He''s awake." said a young looking boy as he stepped back and turned to an older gentleman. Arya tried moving but he quickly realized that both his hands and feet were bound by ropes.


    "Don''t worry child, we don''t mean to hurt you. Those ropes are more for our protection than it is for your harm." said the aged gentleman in a calm toneless voice. Arya looked around and realized that they were not alone. Behind the gentleman were women and children, who hid behind the men seemingly afraid of Arya.


    Most of them were poorly dressed, with the exception of the aged gentleman, the boy and a few of the men who were dressed in green tunics that looked to be made of cotton. Arya moved his torso to feel if the book was still there and found that they had not taken it off him.


    "What do you mean you don''t mean to hurt me? You''ve already shot me with poisoned tipped arrows!?"snarled Arya as he looked at the old gentleman with fury in his eyes.


    "You have to understand that we only did that for our own protection. We saw you using magic to kill birds from across the river. We couldn''t hope to face a mage in a fair battle." replied the old gentleman in the same toneless manner.


    "Why would you have to face against me? What do you want? What do you hope to accomplish by tying up an innocent kid?" asked Arya trying to play the card of the bewildered kid, but none of those present seemed to be buying it.


    "Don''t take us for fools. Who ever heard of kid''s using magic? You must be a under cover midget mage sent by the city lord to take us!" shouted the boy as the old man gestured for him to stop talking.


    "Gren, midget is an offensive term. And we can''t jump to conclusions, let us hear his side of the story first." said the old man as he looked at Arya waiting for an explanation. Arya was perplexed, he didn''t have a clue as to what these people were talking about.. "What have I gotten myself into this time? Why can''t anything just go right for me?" thought Arya to himself in self pity.

 Chapter 49 - The Forest (3)

    "Clearly something weird is going on here. If I tell them the truth I doubt they would believe me anyways, after all even someone of Luca''s age using magic "was unheard off." thought Arya as a wave of sadness pulsated from his heart at the memory of his brother.


    "You''re not wrong, but you''re not entirely right either. Yes I am a mage, but I was not sent by the city lord. I''m actually on the run from him, you see I stole a very important magical book from his chambers and if I don''t get out of here soon a whole brigade of city guards and mages will come to take my head. And of course you being close to me will make you all accomplices." lied Arya through his teeth hoping to bluff his way out of the situation.


    "How can we be sure that you aren''t saying all this just to be let free." blurted the young boy, the old man didn''t stop him this time, he seemed to want some sort of proof as well.


    "The book is inside my pants, isn''t that proof enough." said Arya as he turned over to expose the book. The boy slowly came over and pulled the book out of Arya''s pants quickly retreating back to his original position.


    "This could be any old book. How can we be sure it''s magical?" asked the boy as he looked at the book in disgust. "This little brat is getting on my nerves. As soon as I''m free I''m turning him into a popsicle." thought Arya.


    "Try reading it if you can. It''s written in an ancient text that only mages can understand." replied Arya hoping that no one present could read the book as well. "Gramps can you read this?" asked the boy as he handed the book over to the older gentleman.


    The old man scratched his beard as he paged through the book. "It seems he isn''t lying. Although I am no mage I can clearly tell that this is the text of a great and powerful magus." said the old man as he handed the book back to Arya and gestured for the others to untie him.


    "What? We can''t just let him go. Even if he isn''t lying about not being sent by the city lord shouldn''t we take the book and sell it instead. We would have more money and be able to get rid of the midget as well." said the young boy as he tried stopping the men from untying Arya.


    "Gren stealing from a mage never ends well. He could''ve placed protective spells all over it and even if we did sell it, the people we sold it to would try to kill us as well to cut off any lose ends. The only reason we were able to open it now was probably because he allowed us to. If he wanted to he could''ve blown us asunder the moment we opened it." said the old man as he walked towards the group of women and children behind them.


    "No need to worry, this man isn''t a spy but a fellow runaway looking for freedom. We will rest here for a while and continue at night fall, so get as much sleep as you can before that." said the old man. From his demeanor Arya could tell that he was the leader, but Arya couldn''t care less.


    "I have to get Teressa and get out of here, I don''t know what''s going on here but I don''t want to stay long enough to find out." thought Arya as the ropes that once bound him were removed.


    Just as Arya was about to walk away the old man called out to him. "Didn''t you have a companion?" said the old man as he gestured to some of the men to bring something out. Two of the men went into a nearby white tent and brought out a girl with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes . "Arya!" shouted Teressa in joy as she ran towards Arya and picked him off the floor embracing him as if they were long lost friends.


    "Do you think she is a midget as well or does that guy have a fetish for small girls since he''s small himself." said Gren to the group of men, loud enough for Arya to hear.


    "Put me down." whispered Arya in embarrassment as he pushed Teressa away. Teressa looked in a better state than Arya expected her to be in. Clearly the people here weren''t of the evil or devious type, but Arya still wasn''t prepared to associate himself with them.


    "The only thing worse than evil people are people who are seemingly too good." thought Arya as he grabbed Teressa and began marching towards a group of trees.


    "He seems very excited to leave with her. Maybe he wants to relieve all his pent up stress." mocked Gren prompting the group of men to burst out in laughter. "I didn''t raise you to have such a vulgar tongue." scolded the old man as he smacked Gren across the head. "I was only joking gramps." replied Gren rubbing the side of his head that had been hit.


    Arya ignored what they were saying and continued marching but Teressa quickly stopped him. "Arya you have to help these people." she said with a determination in her voice but she looked at the ground rubbing something with her feet.


    "What do you mean? Have you gone crazy? Just a few days ago we weren''t sure if we would get out of here ourselves and now you tell me you want to help these strangers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to move with such a large group, not to mention that the city lord is supposedly after them. We have no idea what kind of vile crimes they have committed to be chased down by the city lord himself." whispered Arya with as much spite as he could deliver without letting the group hear them.


    "I know, but you don''t understand. They just want to be free, Raghnall and his group freed them from their captors. But there are many dangers in the forest, they need you, they need your magic. Don''t you want to use your magic for good?" plead Teressa as she looked into Arya''s eyes hoping to convince him.


    "Use my powers for good she says. I remember when I first came here, I might''ve had the same mind set. I wonder what happened to me." thought Arya as he realized the huge contrast in his character since he arrived on Merrum.


    "Wait what? Are you saying they stole slaves? Isn''t that suppose to be some kind of big crime? And who is Raghnall? Have these people been brain washing you with their revolutionary bull shit?" whispered Arya this time with more confusion than spite.


    "No they haven''t, one of the slaves told me when I was talking to them. And yes stealing slaves is punishable by death but they deserve a life too Arya, we can''t just leave them here to die." continued Teressa this time with more determination.


    "And what would they have done had I not come? You want me to risk my life to save people that not only poisoned and held me captive but that I also didn''t know until just a moment ago?" argued Arya this time louder. He didn''t care if the group heard them, to him Teressa wasn''t thinking logically and was bound to get them killed.


    "If you won''t do it for them do it for me Arya. Please!" she said with hope in her eyes, she kind of reminded Arya of his best friend Michael from earth when they were younger, always trying to help even when it wasn''t his place to.


    "I''m sorry but you aren''t that important either." Arya was about to say before the old man interrupted them. "We got off on the wrong foot, but allow us to make it up to you with some food? What do you say care to stay for lunch?" asked the old man as he held out his hand to shake Arya''s.


    Teressa looked at him nodding her head up and down vigorously for Arya to accept the offer. "Okay I suppose just lunch would be okay." said Arya shaking the man''s hand. "My name is Raghnall and the boy with a vulgar tongue over there is my grandson Gren. The rest of the men are known as Silver-fox, a party of adventurers who help me on their free time." said Raghnall gesturing to everyone around him as the group came to introduce themselves as well.


    "Ugh, this is so cringe. So is this the part where I introduce myself as well.." thought Arya as he remembered clich¨¦''s like this from fantasy novels he had read back on earth.

 Chapter 50 - Freeing Slaves (1)

    "Hey I''m Geld, Silver-fox''s captain and vanguard tank." said the biggest man in the group patting Arya on the shoulder. He was about 1.85m tall with chestnut shoulder length hair tied into a tress and had the build of a tank with strong burly arms and a thick wide chest. He had a strong dependable look to him that gave him an authoritative demeanor. Arya looked like a child when he stood next to him, well he was a child but to the group he was just a particularly small midget.


    "That there is our main damage dealer Arian. He''s good with the bow but terrible with women." said Geld pointing to a slender man with an athletic build about 1.76m, he had blonde hair and a laid back demeanor. He gave a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "Hey there sorcerer."


    "This is Gizem, our secondary damage dealer and assassin, though don''t worry we aren''t that type of group." continued Geld pointing to a petite woman, out of the group she was the only one dressed in black. She was about 1.65m and wore a mask that covered the lower part of her face and her hair revealing only her eyes. She remained silent and bowed to Arya in greeting.


    "This is Abigail, our healer. She can use magic but sadly her mana pool is quite low and her only affinity is light so she can''t do much out of minor healing. Though she is good at raising morale." said Geld as he pointed to a voluptuous woman about 1.68m tall. She had an alluring look to her, her luscious black hair seemed to be calling to Arya and her smile made Arya''s heart flutter. "What is my four year old brain thinking?" thought Arya as his imagination ran wild. "Dangerous, I have to stay away from her."


    Geld then proceeded to introduce the others, most of them were hired mercenaries that were just a temporary part of Silver-fox to help with the current quest. After they were all done they looked to Arya waiting for his introduction.


    "My name''s Arya and this is my apprentice Teressa." said Arya introducing himself to the group. The group seemed to be waiting for a little more information, some of them even came a bit closer to hear what he would say. "I''m an ice mage?" said Arya almost as if he was asking a question.


    "An ice mage? So you''re a variant as well , those are quite rare." said Abigail seemingly impressed by Arya''s revelation.


    "What do you mean?" asked Arian confused by the word variant. "Well there are four basic elemental affinities: fire, water, earth and air, these are the normal affinities that most mages would have. Light and dark are acquired affinities that can only be inherited if it runs in ones blood line. Apart from these six there are variants that are even more rare than the acquired affinities. These variants aren''t a part of the six basic affinities but share some of their properties." said Abigail in a way that reminded Arya of a university lecturer.


    "Ice is a variant of water. Lightning a variant of air, light and fire. Healing a variant of light and water. Gravity a variant of earth and finally necromancy a variant of dark and light. Among them the rarest are necromancers, followed by gravity mages, then ice mages, then lightning mages and healing mages being the least rare. However healing mages are one in a thousand, so that says a lot about how rare the others are. Of course I never went to a formal academy so my information may be lacking" said Abigail finishing her lecture.


    Everyone felt properly informed, even Arya himself. Although he studied magic he didn''t know much about affinities. "If ice magic is so rare I best watch how I use it from now on. Drawing too much attention to myself while I''m still so weak will just result in an early grave." thought Arya as those around him began to look at him in a new light after discovering just how rare his abilities were.


    "Can you show us a spell? Just a cantrip." asked Gren, seemingly more interested in Arya than he was before. "Not now Gren. You can ask him after we''ve had lunch." said Raghnall pulling Gren away.


    The group quickly dispersed and everyone continued with their duties leaving Teressa and Arya alone. "I haven''t agreed to anything. We are simply staying for lunch." said Arya as he walked past Teressa towards one of the white tents. "You won''t regret this." said Teressa as she followed close behind him.


    The group had made a make shift camp in a clearing surrounded by the trees of the forest. There were several tents arranged in a circular order with the biggest tent being in the center.


    Arya walked into the tent he had seen Raghnall enter, if he was going to stay he would at least get some information out of them. "Teressa could you wait outside, I have to discuss a few things with Raghnall." said Arya. "Oh okay sure." replied Teressa a bit saddened by her exclusion.


    As Arya entered the tent he found Raghnall preparing something in what looked like a tea pot. The inside of the tent was like a make shift living room. It had a table and a few chairs and was cozy enough to have a nice afternoon session with a group of friends. "I wonder how they carry all this around." thought Arya as Raghnall came towards him.


    "Say, back in the forest I could''ve sworn that the trees grew so tall that they blocked out the sun." said Arya hoping to make small talk from his earlier skirmish. "How did you do that? Was it some sort of spell?"


    "Ahh yes. Though I am not proud of the method used, we had Gizem poison the air around you while you slept in order to weaken you. You see we could never be too careful after all, had you woken up while we tried to kill you you would''ve wiped everyone out with but a single wave of your hand." replied Raghnall noticeably ashamed at the method they had used to incapacitate Arya.


    "Then how come you took Teressa first and left me alone?" continued Arya as he began to grasp just how feared mages were on Merrum. "We lured her out at night while you slept. After all even if you woke up you wouldn''t have thought much of it since she was walking of her own free will. If things went sour with our plan we planned on using her as a bargaining chip. Again I am not proud of the methods we used but out here we have to do anything we can to ensure survival."


    "Now that I''ve answered some of your questions, would you care to humor me with some of my own?" asked Raghnall as he poured a cup of black liquid into a cup for Arya.


    "Sure. And thank you but I''ll pass on the drink." said Arya as he sat on a nearby stool. "Its jasabelle tea. I promise we didn''t poison anything this time, see." said the old man as he took a sip from the cup relieving Arya''s paranoia. "First I would like to start with a rather silly question.. You see I''ve explored a good part of this kingdom though you''re the first person I''ve seen with white hair. Where exactly are you from?"

 Chapter 51 - Freeing Slaves (2)

    "My hair? I''ve seen people with all sorts of hair colors what makes mine any different? If anything, white hair should be more common than the blue hair of the girl who..." Arya''s thoughts were derailed as the memory of the night he lost his family resurfaced, giving him a somber expression.


    "It''s okay if you would rather not talk about it. I wouldn''t have asked if not for an old man''s curiosity. You see there''s not much I haven''t seen around here, and seeing you''re hair piqued my interest. Though enough of that, let''s move on to more serious matters. You see we are in need of your services, sure we''ve been able to elude the city guards in the past but I fear that this time we won''t be so lucky." said Raghnall putting on a more serious tone.


    "You see usually the auction house would only notice that their captives were freed the night before the auction, when they would do an asset count. But this time the city guards were alerted a few hours after we liberated the captives, my guess is that there is a spy among us. I trust Silver-fox enough to know it wasn''t one of them, but the same can''t be said for the mercenaries they hired." continued Raghnall this time bringing his voice down to a whisper.


    Arya noticed the way Raghnall never once called the people he had rescued slaves. It said a lot about the type of man he was, however Arya didn''t care one bit. Whether Raghnall was an genuinely righteous man or not didn''t affect Arya in the slightest. What he wanted to know was why he had to help them and what he could gain out of it.


    "I still don''t follow, where do I come in?" asked Arya instead. "Might as well see what I can get out of this. After all, even if I leave here right now I would still be hard pressed to survive without money or food." thought Arya as he asked his question.


    "With your ice magic supporting Silver-fox I''m sure we will be able to make it out of the forest alive." said the old man, putting the mug he was drinking from over his mouth to hide his facial expression.


    "This old man." thought Arya musingly. "Maybe I didn''t word my question properly. I meant why should I." said Arya cutting to the point. Even in his old life he didn''t have much experience when it came to a battle of wits, and he wasn''t about to start against a man old enough to be his grandfather.


    "Well out of the kindness of your heart. I suppose you must feel some sort of sympathy towards our fellow brothers and sisters who were captured and treated like less than human scum." said the old man, putting a hint of pity into his voice to emphasize that Arya should feel sympathy towards them.


    "I wonder what I would''ve done had I just arrived in Merrum yesterday. I''ve lost too much already, I''m not ready to lose more just to sleep with a lighter conscious." thought Arya as he thought of a reply.


    "Look, I get that you and your group are trying to be righteous and all but that''s not me. You can''t expect me to risk my life for people I barely know, people who would probably throw me in the fire to save their asses if the need arose." said Arya bluntly recalling how they had poisoned him and planned to use Teressa as a hostage.


    "You can''t blame me for trying now can you?" laughed the old man while looking at Arya''s serious expression. "I know that a mage''s services are quite expensive but could you lower the price a bit for me. After all it''s not like this deal will be completely one sided. We will give you a hot meal and shelter every day, in addition to your pay of course." said the old man more seriously this time.


    "And what exactly is the pay?" asked Arya. The prospect of free meals and shelter everyday was already enticing on its own, and with the addition of money Arya''s greed got the best of him.


    "Well we can discuss that right now if it''s fine by you. What amount do you have in mind?" asked the old man putting on an expressionless face as if he were about to play a game of poker.


    "2000 US-" Arya stopped before he finished his sentence. "Wait I have no idea how the currency system here works. I suppose they work with gold, silver or bronze but even with that knowledge I have no idea what their worth is." thought Arya as he decided to take a different approach.


    "You know what. Since you''re the one who knows the danger that the job will entail, I would like to hear your opinion on the matter first. I will compare your price with that of my previous jobs and decide whether it will be worth while or not." said Arya trying to put up the best poker face he could manage, but with the body of a four year old all he managed to do was look like a disgruntled kid.


    "800 silver coins." said the old man flatly keeping a straight face. "800! I see that you aren''t taking this seriously. Well I thank you in advance for the lunch, though it seems we will be parting ways after." bluffed Arya as he stood up from his stool, hoping that the old man had tried to swindle him like any normal human would.


    "Okay, okay. 1 gold coin and 200 silver, though I can''t go any higher than this. I still have to pay Silver-fox for their services as well." said the old man as his poker face began falling apart. "He seems to be genuinely desperate. I shouldn''t test my luck any further, this might be his breaking point." thought Arya as he sat down again.


    "That''s still rather low, though I suppose if you increase Teressa and I''s food ration I could accept your offer." replied Arya keeping his poker face on.


    "Thank you so much, I knew you were a kind soul." said Raghnall as he shook Arya''s hand in gratitude. "Shall we write out our deal out on paper?" asked the Raghnall as he removed two parchments from his green tunic. "Sure." replied Arya making sure that Raghnall wrote down exactly what they had agreed on.


    Once they had signed both papers Raghnall took one and gave the other to Arya. "Thank you very much. We will prepare a tent especially for you and Teressa, it should be ready once lunch is served." said Raghnall as he escorted Arya out of his tent.


    Once Arya left Raghnall let out a slight smirk, "Well a penny saved is a penny earned. Either he is a very good person or the mages where he comes from must be underpaid. Who ever heard of hiring an ice mage for a single gold coin.." said Raghnall as he put the parchment into his tunic.

 Chapter 52 - Freeing Slaves (3)

    Arya left the tent and looked for Teressa to inform her that they would be staying with the group until they got out of the forest. He found her having a conversation with Gren under one of the trees close to the camp. "Am I disturbing something here?" asked Arya a bit disgruntled that Teressa was socializing with the person he disliked the most out of the group.


    "Gren was just telling me about the time he fought a city guard." said Teressa as she turned to look at Arya. "This little shorty fought a city guard?" asked Arya, the disbelief apparent in his voice.


    "What do you mean shorty, I''m way taller than you." shouted Gren as he stood up visibly angered by Arya''s comment. He walked up to Arya standing over him, accentuating the height difference between them. Gren was about 1.2m while Arya was roughly 1.02m, Gren used his height difference to poke fun at Arya but ruffling up his hair. "Big mistake kid." said Arya as anger took control of him. "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my-" Arya was about to chant before Teressa stepped in. "Arya don''t!" she said as she stood in front of Gren protecting him.


    "When did you two get so close?" asked Arya as the mana that was coursing through his veins seeped back into his mana core, and the frost that surrounded his hands dissipated.


    "Gren is like me, he understands what I''m going through. He also lost his parents to -. You wouldn''t get it anyways." she said before she could finish explaining. "I see. I just came to tell you that I''m working with Raghnall till we leave the forest, though I''m not sure if that still holds any significance to you." said Arya as he stormed off in the opposite direction.


    "Arya wait I didn''t mean it li-" she tried shouting before Gren stopped her. "Leave him be, if he wants to act like a child let him." said Gren as he returned to the spot he was sitting at under the tree. "But he is a child." replied Teressa under her breath, so softly that Gren couldn''t hear.


    "Hey Arya! Over here!" called out a loud voice from a group of people sitting beside a tent. It was Geld, the leader of Silver-fox. "I heard you accepted Raghnall''s offer. Welcome to the team, though there are a few things we need to discus about formations and contingencies when engaged in battle." said Gren as he gestured for the rest of the group to pay attention.


    "With Arya here we might have to change our formation depending on his specializations. What type of magic are you more versed in, attack or defense?" asked Geld as the rest of the group turned to him as well waiting for an answer.


    "My magic is mainly crowd control, most of my spells restrict my opponents movements though I do have a few offensive spells. I haven''t versed myself in defensive spells." said Arya trying to sound like a real mage.


    "I see, than you will be at the center of our new formation. You''ll cast your spells before we attack to ensure that Gizem and Arian hit their marks. Since we might be going against mages our only hope would be to use guerilla tactics, attacking them when they least expect in then disappearing. Since we will be moving at night this should be easier." continued Geld while drawing their new formation on the ground.


    "Can''t Arya just kill them all? Since his magic is so rare shouldn''t he be at the advantage." asked Arian as he looked at Arya with a bit of spite in his eyes. "Well it doesn''t work that way. Many things can contribute to a fight between mages, like equipment and the level of their mana core." explained Abigail trying to diffuse the situation.


    "Then what level is his core at?" asked Arian with seemingly more aggression than before. "Arian what''s gotten into you?" asked Geld as he noticed Arian''s passive aggression. "I just don''t want mister mage over here to think that just because his magic is so rare that we will grovel at his feet." said Arian as he stood up to walk away.


    "No one ever said that Arian." Abigail tried saying but Arian had already left. "Leave him Abigail, he just needs some time alone. Sorry Arya, he isn''t usually like this, I guess that the possibility of there being a mole in our group has gotten the better of him." said Geld as they continued their discussion on battle tactics.


    A few hours went by and lunch was finally ready. Everyone began to form lines to collect their meals while Arya was called into Raghnall''s tent. "We''ve prepared your tent, it''s located at the outer rim of the camp. I apologize that I couldn''t place it closer into the camp, but it''s already so full inside." said Raghnall as he sat on one of the stools in his tent.


    "Ye right, you just want me on the outer rim so that if anything bad happens I''ll be forced to deal with it first." sneered Arya inwardly. "Thank you very much." he said instead.


    "Also I''ve arranged for your meals to be sent to your tent directly so you don''t have to worry about standing in line. Though would you like to join me for my meal just this once? The other bowl was supposed to be for Gren but he seems to be preoccupied by your companion." Raghnall said as he gestured to the two bowls on the table.


    "I might as well, it''s not like there''s a difference." grumbled Arya as he sat on the stool beside Raghnall.


    "You seem displeased that Gren and Teressa are talking to each other." said Raghnall as he put a spoonful of soup into his mouth. Arya remained quiet. "You see Gren''s parents''- " Raghnall tried saying before Arya stopped him.


    "Sorry, I don''t mean to be rude but I would much rather talk about how flies procreate than talk about that guy." said Arya as he began digging into his food at an inhuman speed. "You seem rather famished." commented Raghnall as he moved his bowl a bit away, seemingly scared that Arya would look at his bowl of food next.


    "Ye, I guess being poisoned works up quite the appetite." replied Arya ensuing an awkward silence. After finishing his meal and not one of them had said a word to each other since he decided to make small talk. "Though there''s one thing that baffles me. Why are you helping these people? I can''t see a way in which you possibly gain from this. Unless you sell them once you ''free'' them.. In which case I won''t judge you, you''re only human after all."

 Chapter 53 - First Mission (1)

    "A long time ago I made a terrible mistake. I''m just trying to repent for my past sins," said Raghnall as his eyes shaded over and he put on a somber expression as if reliving a terrible memory.


    "It''s okay if you won''t tell me the whole story. I just wanted to let you know that if things ever do go south, I''m leaving you and your people without so much as a second thought. I''ve had my fair share of experiences with humans and so far I can say without a doubt that I''m better off without them." Arya said standing up from his stool to leave.


    "And what of your companion?" asked Raghnall before Arya could leave the tent. "It seems that I might''ve been mistaken about her as well," Arya said as he went through the opening of the tent.


    Arya wandered around the camp looking for his tent before he finally found it. It was much smaller than all the other tents and had been stained brown due to age. "Of course I get a crappy tent," thought Arya as he entered his tent.


    There wasn''t much inside it, it had a simple opening for air to enter but that was about it. The only purpose the tent served was to protect him from the wrath of nature. Aside from that, it might as well had been a hollow shell.


    "Could this get any worse? First I lose my new family, then I get put into a hell hole for four years, of which I only managed to make a friend in the final year. And even now I wonder about the sincerity of our friendship. Maybe she just needed someone to cling to while we were at the orphanage. Now that she''s met Mr. I fought a city guard, she doesn''t seem so interested in me anymore." thought Arya as he lay on the ground of his tent.


    "What am I doing here anyway? Why do I care whether I make it out alive or not, after all, it was the white figure who told me to escape, but what good is it anyways. I have no one, even the voices are gone, I should just quit right now." thought Arya as he let depression cloud his mind.


    "But not before I make them pay. How could I forget about the people who ruined my second chance at life? How could I forget about the people who took my family away from me? That''s right if I won''t live for myself then I''ll live for vengeance. Even if I can''t find magic that can bring them back from the dead, I''ll at least let them rest peacefully." thought Arya as a sudden surge of rage filled his mind.


    "Father, mother, Ava, Luca, Luna, Raul, I''ll find whoever did this and get revenge for you. I''ll join you all once this is done," said Arya out loud as he turned over and fell asleep, preparing for the upcoming mission.


    "Arya wake up, It''s time to move out." said a voice from outside his tent as Arya heard people moving outside. It was pitch black, and the only source of light was the crescent moon and the few stars that painted the night sky. Arya couldn''t see anyone''s face clearly but he couldn''t mistake the silhouette in front of him.


    Arian stood outside the tent waiting for Arya to come out. "Listen I''m sorry about earlier, I shouldn''t have let my personal issues affect the team. I don''t want us to fail this mission because you couldn''t trust me. How about it? Put it there." said Arian holding out his hand for a handshake.


    "Listen I get that you''re stressed and all, but so am I. I''m happy that you''re over your mood swing but don''t get the impression that we will somehow become friends after this. Let''s just get the job done without involving any of our emotions, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we will be out of each other''s hair." said Arya as he passed by Arian ignoring his handshake.


    "Okay listen up. We will be moving in small squads to get past the forest quicker. Silver-fox will scout the area before we proceed, to ensure that there aren''t any traps lying in wait for us. Once they confirm it''s safe, the squads will proceed in a specific order. This is to reduce the chances of being caught as well as because bigger groups tend to make more noise and are harder to coordinate." said Raghnall as he gestured for everyone to pay attention.


    "I will be assigning some of the extra hands of Silver-fox as the leaders of the different squads. You will all now be divided into groups and move out. Does anyone have any questions?" asked Raghnall before continuing.


    "Okay, good then let''s head out." he continued when he saw that no one had any objections. "Raghnall can I speak to you for a second?" asked Arya as he and Raghnall went behind a tree.


    "I thought you said you didn''t trust the mercenaries. Then tell me why you''ve assigned them to be the squad leaders?" asked Arya confused by Raghnall''s poor judgment.


    "Well if any of the groups go missing then I''ll know that the spy is the leader of that group. I''ve planted a few spies of my own amongst the slaves. I''ve given them contact amulets to alert me when anything fishy happens, and as soon as we find out who the spy is I''ll send you guys over to deal with them quickly so we can finish the mission at hand." said Raghnall.


    "You''re more cunning than I thought old man," said Arya admiring Raghnall''s thinking. "You learn a lot over the years. Some lessons being more important than others," said Raghnall as he walked back to the group and divided the people into different groups of 5 each including the squad captain. In total there were 15 groups accounting for 60 slaves and 15 mercenaries.


    Silver-fox got together to go over their strategies one more time. "So Gizem will scout the area first before we move in. If any enemies are spotted you will let me initiate first then the rest of you follow. Arya and Abagail stay out of vision, we will need you two to support us from the shadows." said Geld going over the plan one more time.


    "If any of you spot anything suspicious inform me first so that I can warn Raghnall. We have limited contact amulets so it''s impossible for all of us to carry one. Since Gizem will be the scout she will have to get one but the rest of us will have to rely on mine. I will give out orders by use of hand gestures. If there aren''t any problems let''s head out.." said Geld to the group before they disappeared into the forest.

 Chapter 54 - First Mission (2)

    Arya gazed in awe, admiring the speed with which Gizem and Arian leaped from one tree to another, making almost no sound as they slowly disappeared into the darkness. " I thought only Gizem was going to be scout. So why is Arian going along?" asked Arya as he panted from exhaustion.


    Arya still had the body of an underdeveloped four-year-old, so his stamina wasn''t all that much, and just keeping up with Geld and Abigail was quite an arduous task for him.


    " He''s going ahead to find a good sniping spot in case Gizem alerts us of any enemies. He''s also setting up traps in case there might be any unwanted tails following us after we leave," replied Geld as he turned to look at Arya, surprised that he was sweating this much after they had just started the mission.


    "Magic is good and all, but you should really consider taking up some physical training. You never know when it might come in handy," said Geld with a shaded expression that Arya couldn''t make out because of the darkness.


    Arya was a bit skeptical of Arian''s disappearance. He suspected that Arian might be the mole but didn''t want to arouse any ill feelings from the group by blaming someone they had been friends with for a long time. So he kept his feelings to himself but stayed alert ready to kill Arian if need be.


    After running for a while Arya felt like he might collapse at any second, just as he was about to ask Geld to rest for a bit he heard a sound coming from behind them. "Did you hear that-" Arya tried saying when something hit him across the head?


    Arya woke up to the smell of smoke and the burning sensation of embers flying onto his face. He tried to stand up but found that had been tied to a tree along with Abigail. He looked around but they were the only ones there.


    "What happened?" Arya asked still a bit groggy from being hit on the head. "He betrayed us. I never thought he would do this. I-I I trusted him, so how could he?" Abigail said, disbelief audible in her voice. "Who betrayed us? Arian? Did he kill Geld?" asked Arya as he regained his senses and slowly realized the situation he was in.


    The forest around him was being burned to the ground, and he could hear wails calling for help in the distance. "I never thought he would do this," muttered Abigail, seemingly withdrawn from reality as she didn''t seem to notice Arya''s question.


    " Abigail snap out of this, this isn''t the time to be breaking down. If Arian betrayed us then why hasn''t he killed us yet? Why would he let us live?" asked Arya a bit suspicious of the situation. Arya had grown overly cautious over the years, and the fact that the enemy would leave two mages unharmed in the midst of an attack didn''t quite sit right with him.


    "He said he''d give us a chance to live if we just walked away from this. He said that we couldn''t do anything to stop them anyway. How could he do this? I never thought he would do this," muttered Abigail.


    "Did Arian''s betrayal really affect her this much? Perhaps she was secretly in love with him. But no matter how I look at it, bringing her along would just slow me down. Sure she can use healing magic but in this state she can''t even walk properly." thought Arya as he used ice magic to freeze the ropes that bound them. "Child of water heed my call, freeze that which angers me." chanted Arya as the ropes around him slowly became engulfed by ice. "Break", shouted Arya and the ropes broke into a million tiny shards.


    " I never thought he would do this," muttered Abigail even after they were freed. "Yup there''s no way I can take her along with me." thought Arya as he left her behind and ran in the direction that Raghnall had told them to go. Although Abigail was part of the same group he was in, Arya didn''t know her well enough to put his life in jeopardy for her, heck even if they had known each other for two years Arya wondered if he would risk his life for her then.


    As Arya ran deeper into the forest he found several bodies sprawled on the floor covered in blood, many of them were Silver-fox''s mercenaries but some Arya remembered were part of the freed slaves group. "What the heck is going on here." thought Arya as he was welcomed by more and more bodies.


    As Arya continued walking he heard the clanging of metal hitting metal and decided to hide behind some trees and find out what was going on. Arian and some mercenaries seemed to be fighting someone, but Arya couldn''t make out who it was. "Whoever it is I have to help them. It seems some of the mercenaries were in on it as well." thought Arya as he chanted "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my foes".


    A breeze swept through the air and froze Arian and the mercenaries'' feet to the ground. Their opponent didn''t miss this opening and quickly dealt with the mercenaries in one swift blow. He was about to hit Arian as well but Arian managed to free himself and dodge just in the nick of time.


    "Drats." thought Arya when he saw Arian escape from his doom. Arya could finally make out who their opponent was. It was Geld, but he seemed to be adorned in a different set of gear, "He probably put that on when he realized the situation. Maybe he has it for emergencies like these." thought Arya as he shouted to Geld. "Geld I''ll support you from behind, just go ahead and fight him with no holds barred."


    In that split second Geld appeared in front of Arya and was about to swing his axe down on him. "I told you to turn your back on this. You should''ve left when I gave you the chance," said Geld as Arya was about to meet his doom.


    "I don''t think so," said Arian as three arrows hit a chink between Geld''s armor on his neck causing him to stumble backward.. "What the hell is going on here?" thought Arya as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

 Chapter 55 - Failed Mission (1)

    "Better snap out of it Arya, I can''t take him alone!" shouted Arian as Geld swatted away another volley of arrows as if they were nothing. "What''s going on here? Did Geld betray us? But why would he? He''s the leader." thought Arya as he scurried behind Arian.


    "Forget it Arya, this armor can deflect all tier 3 spells and below, and from what I''ve seen, you aren''t even a one-star mage yet. Just accept your fate," said Geld with a sad expression on his face as he swung down his axe causing the ground beneath him to crack. "Isn''t he just human? What the f*** is up with his axe?" asked Arya surprised by the show of power.


    "He drank a boosting potion, it seems whoever hired him must''ve paid him top dollar. Though I must ask, was it worth it Geld? Was it worth killing Gizem and exploiting the trust Raghnall had in us? Was it worth betraying your comrades, the comrades you''ve led for five fu**ing years Geld. We''ve been together through thick and thin and you betray as at the chink of gold coins? So tell me, how much were we worth? How much are you getting for all of this? Tell me you bastard!" shouted Arian, exhaustion and sadness audible in his voice as he shot three more arrows in rapid succession aimed for the eye holes of Geld''s armor, however Geld blocked them with the side of his axe.


    Geld''s armor glistened with a purple glow that was only made more remarkable due to the lighting caused by the fire around them. Looking at him, he looked like a beast from hell, with the armor''s long black horns that stretched out from the sides of the helmet reaching about 30cm on each side to its bulkiness that made him look several times bigger than he already was. Geld was 1.85m but looked like an even bigger giant in his armor, coupled with the size of his purple and red axe he looked like something out of a fantasy movie.


    "You didn''t have to go through with it, I told you guys to leave. I gave you all a chance. Gizem wouldn''t listen, she kept trying to fight back, I''m sorry I had to. I had to!" shouted Geld as he lunged for Arian aiming to slice his torso in two.


    "Arya I''m hoping that all that talk of your magic being special wasn''t all for show!" shouted Arian as he dodged to the side. "Why the f*** should I be included in this mess? I knew I shouldn''t have accepted this mission. Argh!" thought Arya as he chanted the strongest spell he knew, the tier 2 ice spell, frozen call. "Child of water heed my call, respond to mine enemies beckon a toll," shouted Arya as the air around them began getting thinner at an astounding rate, suddenly the chill was gone and the air expanded once again, like a tiger let out of its cage.


    "Cover your ears," Arya said to Arian as a sonic boom emanated from the spell, causing Geld''s ears to bleed. Arya and Arian were affected as well but the spell just disoriented them, the damage wasn''t as immense.


    Frozen call was a spell that used the basic theory of sound to create a chilling soundwave that both damaged an opponent''s eardrums and also caused immense confusion due to the chill entering their ears. The spell would freeze the air around the caster causing compression of soundwaves produced during the chanting of the spell, it would then quickly withdraw its chill causing a sudden expansion, this sudden compression and expansion causes an explosion within the soundwaves bringing about the spell.


    "You could''ve warned me earlier!!" complained Arian as he recovered from the shock and shot a volley of arrows at Geld aiming for chinks in his armor. Geld succeeded in blocking the first few, however, the other arrows hit their mark, causing Geld to bleed even more.


    "My armor can block tier 3 spells and below but those just take into account direct attacks. Indirect attacks aren''t blocked, are they? Well done Arya, I was right in choosing you to join the team." said Geld as he dropped his axe and collapsed to his knees.


    "Stop acting as if you ever cared for us! Don''t try and act like you actually gave a f***. Accept your fate, this is revenge for Gizem." said Arian with tears sitting at the rim of his eyes as he notched an arrow on his bow aiming for a chink at Geld''s jugular.


    "This idiot! Don''t waste time talking, kill him alre-" Arya was about to say before a dagger struck Arian on his throat killing him instantly. Geld turned around and found a group of men dressed in black approaching them. "I see, it isn''t yet time for me to die yet. I''m sorry Arya, I''m sure you could understand. They have my daughter, I have to do this, I have to." said Geld as he coughed out blood and picked up his axe.


    "Run, they don''t know about you yet, I haven''t reported on you since you joined so late. Don''t try to be a her-" Geld was about to say but Arya was already sprinting away. "A hero for who exactly? Who is left that is worth saving?" thought Arya as he ran into a group of trees. At this point the smoke was so thick that he could hardly see where he was going so he doubted that those men could follow him even if they wanted to.


    "Who was he?" asked one of the men dressed in black. "He was just a kid. Someone I met in the group. Have you captured the slaves and the old man yet?" asked Geld as one of the men dressed in black looked in the direction Arya went. "We''ve captured as many slaves as possible and the old man is in custody as we speak. We should report back to the master lest he grows impatient with us." answered another man dressed in black. "Ice magic?" thought the man dressed in black who was looking into the forest, but then shook his head right after, "No way. It was just a kid." he finally thought as the group went back whence they came.


    "I best search for Teressa." thought Arya as he ran towards the direction from where he heard the screams when he woke up. When he arrived there he found Teressa on the ground naked. She wasn''t alone many other girls and women were left there as well, with their clothes torn and bruises on their bodies. The attackers had defiled them and didn''t even have the decency to hide them from plane sight. Gren''s body lay a few meters away as well, a stab wound visible on his chest.


    "Hahahahaha!" laughed Arya with tears running down his face. He looked hysterical with tears running down his cheeks and an ominous smile on his face, the lighting made it look like his eyes were glowing a bright color. "Of course, of course! How could I have forgotten? This is what humans are capable of. Even in my old world things like this weren''t too uncommon. What did I expect of a world where they even treat others as slaves?" said Arya to himself. His mind was already broken, but seeing someone who was close to being his friend in such a sorry state broke it even further.. And this time there were no voices to him company, this time he was left alone to the silence of the void that was his mind.

 Chapter 56 - Failed Mission (2)

    "Well Teressa! At least you don''t have to be afraid of being alone anymore! At least.." shouted Arya before he broke into silent tears. After standing there quietly for what felt like an hour, dawn break approached. Arya wiped away his tears and looked forward at the rising sun, he picked up the sword that lay in Gren''s hand and began walking, his demeanor like that of a soul with no purpose.


    Yet his eyes told a completely different story. There was a raging sea of flames in his eyes, a flame that would not be extinguished until its deed was done. "If this little detour has taught me anything, it''s to never trust humans and that I am still weak beyond compare. If I''m going to find a way to get revenge, I need to learn more about how the magic in this world works. I need to find a school of some sort." thought Arya as he disappeared into the forest.


    Hiding amongst a group of trees was a man dressed in black attire. "He seems to be emitting a faint mana signature, but it''s not even at the level of a one-star mage. There''s no way he could be an ice-mage." thought the man as he became a shadowy blur and ran in the opposite direction from where Arya was heading.


    ***


    It took Arya longer than expected to make his way through the forest, although he had crossed the border into the Kingdom of Erandel a few weeks ago it still took him some time to find the first few fringes of human society. Arya had spent 6 long months walking through the forest alone, having to hunt wild animals to satiate his hunger, and at the same time hide from magical beasts looking to satiate their own hunger.


    It had been a long time since Arya had laid his eyes on any humans, the last face he had seen was that of his defiled acquaintance, the image of human savagery permanently burned into his mind. Arya had turned five a few two months ago, though he himself didn''t realize it. Due to the continual running and hunting done in the forest, his body has become quite fit for a five-year-old.


    Humans usually couldn''t survive for so long in a wild forest, even as a mage surviving alone was a daunting task that only a few could accomplish. So for Arya who was only four for most of the time and was barely a tier 3 zero-star mage, it was an unbelievable feat, the only reason he survived was his desire for vengeance. He had also used his knowledge of wildlife from earth to help him in situations where his magic proved useless. He had developed a near animal-like instinct and had nearly forgotten the etiquette of human society.


    During his travels, there was a time he had gone for so long without food -because most of the animals that lived in the forest were either magical beasts who were too powerful for him to hunt or animals so swift that Arya couldn''t hope to catch them with ice magic- that he was forced to steal the prey of a magical beast.


    The beast was a Ryen, a wolf-type magical beast similar to the one that had caught him as a baby yet this was its evolved version. It had two horns protruding from its muzzle forming a vertical line. It had snowy white fur with red streaks on its sides showing its affinity for fire magic, it stood 2m tall from foot to head and was about 4.2m long in length.


    The Ryen had killed a smaller beast called a Gryvel, a typical magical beast found in most forests with an affinity for air about 1m tall and 1.5m long with brown fur. Arya was exhausted and on the brink of starvation, he knew that if he went any longer without food he would cripple himself and eventually become too weak to hunt for food or even escape from danger.


    This wasn''t the first time he had met a Ryen on his journey and he knew that they had very keen senses, so all hope of sneaking up on its prey were squandered. Many times Arya would see magical beasts fighting over territory in the forest, and among all the beasts he had encountered the Ryens would always win.


    Ryens were more proficient in using magic than Arya was, they seemed to use the method of magic that Arya had used when he first came into this world, however for some reason Arya couldn''t use it anymore. He had tried to many times during his journey yet it seemed like he could only control the mana that was inside of his body.


    A fight against such a magical beast even with magic as a weapon was senseless suicide, so Arya had to think of another way. "What would an apex predator be afraid of? What could possibly beat something so high on the food chain?" thought Arya as he watched the beast from several meters away. The beast was aware of Arya''s presence yet it was too focused on its meal to pay any mind to a small insignificant being.


    And that''s when Arya''s answer roared its challenge. It was another Ryen, this one about 1.9m tall and 4m long, it seemed younger and smaller than the Ryen it was challenging. This Ryen had white fur with light blue streaks on its sides, showing its affinity for air. The air Ryen didn''t waste time, while its opponent was still confused by its howl it used air magic to increase its speed and aimed straight for the bigger Ryen''s neck.


    Yet that wasn''t enough, the fire Ryen used fire magic to push its challenger away causing the trees around them to burn to the ground. Many animals that were hiding in the trees began running away in fear that they would get caught in the crossfire. The fire Ryen then hit its paws on the ground causing a wall of fire to move towards the air Ryen at a fast pace. However the air Ryen was faster than its opponent, it used the air around it to increase its speed and jumped into the air just barely making it over the wall of fire.


    It was a trap, the fire Ryen was lying in wait, ready to pounce on the air Ryen the moment it landed. Just as the fire Ryen lunged on the falling air Ryen''s neck a wind blade struck it in its throat. The air Ryen had shot a wind blade as the fire Ryen was about to tighten its grip, killing the fire Ryen.


    However this victory wasn''t without cost, the air Ryen had sustained grievous injuries so bad that it could barely walk. Blood spilled from its mouth and it lay down, trying to rest as much as possible before any other animals around it figured out the extent of its injuries.


    However it was already too late, a nearby animal had already seen the fight, and had noticed the price the air Ryen had to pay to win it. The animal ran towards the downed air Ryen from a tree several meters away. It shot an ice beam at the already weakened air Ryen, although the magic was too weak to pierce its fur it still dealt some damage.. The air Ryen growled in hostility at the oncoming animal yet the animal ignored it''s protest and ran straight for its bounty.

 Chapter 57 - Village In Erandel (1)

    "Forgive me, you fought your battle and won, do not be angry at me for fighting mine," said Arya as he shot an ice beam at the air Ryen. Arya knew it wouldn''t be long before other animals discovered what had happened and try to take prizes for themselves as well. So he hurried to take what he could and get out of there quickly.


    As Arya approached the fire Ryen''s corpse he heard the air Ryen growl in protest. "I''m not here to take your life. Even in your weakened state, I doubt I could fight you and come out unscathed," said Arya as he ignored the air Ryen and made his way straight for the fire Ryen''s corpse.


    He tried using the sword he got from Gren''s corpse to cut its hide yet the sword couldn''t pierce through its thick fur. "Swords can''t even cut through it? You guys sure are tough aren''t you," said Arya to the air Ryen as he used his sword the cut away at the gum of the fire Ryen to pull out a fang.


    Being alone for so long had mentally scared Arya even deeper than before, so it wasn''t uncommon for him to talk to things that wouldn''t reply to him. Yet the air Ryen seemed to hold intelligence in its eyes. It seemed to realize that Arya wouldn''t try to hurt it and began licking its woulds.


    "Haven''t you gotten a bit too comfortable when there is a potential threat in front of you? Honestly, you young ones need to be taught some manners," said Arya as he used the fire Ryen''s fang to cut a piece of its (the fire Ryen) hide. The air Ryen turned to look at Arya as if he were crazy, almost as if it could understand Arya.


    "It was a joke sheesh," said Arya as he cut out a piece of meat from the fire Ryen''s corpse and threw it at the air Ryen. "This is a thank you for doing my dirty work for me," said Arya as he stood up. He collected as much meat from the fire Ryen as he could fit into the make-shift bag he had crafted from its pelt. He then took the Gryvel the fire Ryen had hunted -which was a charred mess- and slung it over his shoulder.


    "Anyway this is goodbye. If you really want to survive then I''m sure you will. Good luck on your journey." said Arya to the air Ryen as he ran away from the scene before any other animals could come.


    Winter was fast approaching and the cold had been a problem for Arya since he had started his journey. He had discovered earlier on that starting fires in the forest attracted unwanted attention so the fire Ryen''s pelt really helped him keep warm at night. The meat he had collected was enough to last him a couple of weeks and the new dagger he had gotten, helped him a lot throughout his journey, both as a hunting tool and a skinning tool.


    Arya spent his days running through the forest, hunting and cooking his meat. He spent his night practicing magic combos he could use in a fight, and continued trying to make sense of the journal he had collected from the shed.


    When Arya finally arrived at a village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Erandel, the locals were surprised at his state. His hair was long and unkempt, its once snow-white color and silky texture turned brown and greasy due to dirt and blood. His skin was tanned brown due to exposure to the sun and mud and he had a rather wild look in his eyes. The villagers were a bit skeptical to approach him at first until Arya realized his mistake.


    The village was typical of what you would expect in medieval times back on earth. It had brown wooden cottages arranged in a circle and field further out. However due to the cold the fields were barren and there didn''t seem to be any crops growing.


    "Hello, I''m lost could you help me?" said Arya as he remembered normal human etiquette, yet no one replied. They were still skeptical of this wild man wearing a large Ryen''s pelt as a coat. "M-m-my father went into the forest to hunt some m-m-meat for our family but he never returned, so my mother and I went looking for him. But she got caught by a R-r-ryen and I barely escaped." shivered Arya as if he had really been attacked by a Ryen.


    "How can you all just stand there and do nothing. Can''t you see he is but a boy who has lost his family, have you no sympathy?" asked an old man as he approached Arya. "Tell me boy what is your name?" asked the old man. "Arya sir," replied Arya, inwardly grinning at his genius. "I wish I could stay a kid forever." thought Arya as he shivered to the old man''s touch.


    "The boy''s still scared. I never thought that our village would be degraded to such a state that we are hesitant to help those in need." said the old man to the others as they looked away in shame. "This old man seems to be the leader of this village." thought Arya as the old man directed him to a house.


    "You can sleep in my cottage tonight, we will go report this incident to the village council tomorrow morning." said the old man as they entered the hut. The inside of the cottage was much like those back on earth, it had a fireplace with an animal pelt lying right in front of it. The cottage had a homey feel, with a small kitchen and two beds right in the living room. "My wife used to sleep here, but I lost her a few years ago to a ..., never mind. You can take off your clothes, I will run you a bath." said the old man as he gestured for Arya to come in.

 Chapter 58 - [Bonus ]Village In Erandel (2)

    "Thank you," said Arya as he hesitantly removed his Ryen pelt. In the months he had spent in the forest that Ryen pelt had protected him from a great deal of attacks. Since it was so strong, it nullified most attacks from lesser magical beasts.


    Arya was also hesitant to stand bare in front of another human. After the betrayal that Silver-fox had suffered to Geld, he had zero trust for anyone -whether they claimed to be righteous or otherwise-.


    After thinking it through and realizing there was no way out of it without looking weird he took off all his clothes but decided to keep his magic at the ready in case things got dicey. As he was pulling down his pants the journal he had picked up in the shed fell out. He quickly picked it up and put it under his Ryen pelt that he had placed on one of the beds.


    "It''s my father''s, it''s the only thing I have left to remember him by." lied Arya through his teeth afraid that the old man might find interest in his book and try to steal it. "I understand it must be painful and that I have no right telling you this but trust me it gets better." said the old man with a somber look on his face.


    "Anyways the bath is ready, also I left out a few old clothes that my son used to wear. You might want to change into them since it seems like your clothes have... reached their useful life. Also I have some leftover food if you are hungry afterward." said the old man. "Yes please," replied Arya, his stomach grumbling at the offer of free food.


    "I have to get out of here before they take me to the village council. Without any parents, I''m sure their idea of help will be to send me to another orphanage.


    Though it wouldn''t hurt to eat and rest a bit before I make my escape. Plus he might be able to give me more information about the kingdom, after all, I need a place to master my magic and get stronger quickly." thought Arya as he sat in the warm bath.


    "Aahh, even back home they didn''t have warm baths like this." thought Arya, the memory of the past stinging his heart a little. "I wonder, if mom and dad were so powerful how come we lived in such a sorry place. Now that I''ve seen a little more of what this world has to offer I realize that we were living lives akin to that of beggars. I''d think mages were highly sought after. I wonder if maybe I''m wrong and they all survived, I wonder." thought Arya, knowing that his dream was but the rambling of a heartbroken soul.


    "Thank you for the bath." said Arya as he came into the living room. The old man was sitting on a chair preparing Arya some food. "Oh, so a handsome young man was hiding underneath all that filth?" gasped the old man as he saw Arya entering the living area.


    Arya''s hair was so long it touched his shoulders, and its once snow-white color had returned giving him a pristine ambiance. His facial features were somewhat attractive for someone his age and since he burned most of the fat off his body -due to the strenuous activities he had done during his days in the forest- his high cheekbones were more pronounced.


    Arya was visibly surprised by the old man''s words prompting him to quickly add on, "Oh I didn''t mean to be rude. I just didn''t expect you to look so..." replied the old man a little shy because of what he had said.


    "I apologize for my earlier rudeness as well. You helped me with so much yet I didn''t even have the courtesy to ask for your name," replied Arya as he tied his hair back in a bun.


    "My name is Rende and don''t worry about it, I''m surprised you managed to walk here all by yourself at all. Though I have to ask, how old are you exactly? The way you speak is a bit odd for a child," said Rende a bit surprised by the way Arya worded his sentence.


    "Damn it! I forgot there is a certain way children are supposed to speak and act. I''ll make sure to fix that in the future." thought Arya as he gave his reply.


    "Oh my age? I quite forgot that actually, I think I''m 4 or 5. My parents never really cared about my age, my father just cared about when I would be big enough to hold a bow and help him hunt." replied Arya mixing in a few lies to make his story more believable.


    "I see, I didn''t mean to bring him up." said the old man with a pitying voice. "Please, sit down. You must be hungry." continued the old man as he handed Arya a bowl of food. "Thank you," replied Arya.


    "Say, can you tell me a bit about the kingdom? My father never really spoke much about it, and now that I''m all alone I want to learn as much as possible," asked Arya in between mouthfuls as he dug into his food like a feral animal.


    "Oh what a smart child, already thinking about your survival. I''m sure that even if your father didn''t say much he must''ve told you that the capital of the kingdom is Grandeir and the king''s name is Solomon. The lord of this county is Lord-" said the old man before Arya stopped him.


    "I''m sorry I don''t mean to be rude, but could you tell me about magic and magical institutions?" asked Arya. He had no interest in who the lords were or where the capital was. Of course, this was valuable information but he inferred that he would need to learn magic first before he could worry about trivial things like who the lord of the land was.


    "Magic? Why would you want to know about that? Look I know you are grieving the loss of your parents but please don''t set any unattainable goals. The chances of a mage surfacing from a non-magical bloodline are close to non-existent, it''s better if you get that thought out of your head before you hurt yourself.." shouted Rende as if someone had insulted his dead wife.

 Chapter 59 - Village In Erandel (3)

    Rende stormed out of the room leaving Arya flabbergasted. Although he was surprised, Arya couldn''t care less about what had just happened or what reasons Rende may have had for his sudden outburst. Frankly, he didn''t care one bit, he had become so detached from the humans in this world after all that he had gone through that he couldn''t afford to care about anyone anymore.


    After finishing his meal he decided to go exploring. Although Arya felt relatively safe amongst the common folk of the village he wasn''t about to leave his survival up to chance. He decided to look around for strategic points in the case that things took a wrong turn.


    As he was walking around a few villagers approached him. "Hi, we''re really sorry about earlier. We just judged you without even hearing your story." said a young woman possibly in her early 20''s.


    "It''s okay, I understand. I would''ve done the same," replied Arya giving off a far more mature ambiance than would normally be expected from a 5-year-old child.


    "It''s just that we were so surprised at finding someone in such a state coming from the forest. You know, ever since the d-" continued the young woman before Rende appeared prompting her to stop


    "That''s enough Eunice, Arya please come with me. I''d like to apologize for my actions earlier, and, if you still want, I could tell you what you wanted to know," said Rende in a low voice.


    "Everyone has a past, and it seems I said something I shouldn''t have. If anything I should be the one apologizing," replied Arya as he turned around to find Rende standing there with red eyes almost as if he had been crying.


    "Are you sure you''re only 5? Whoever your father was, he must''ve been a good man to have raised such a well-mannered lad. Oh sorry there I go again bringing up the past." said Rende, looking a bit disappointed in himself after he realized his mistake.


    " It''s okay, it seems we both need to let go of our pasts," replied Arya as he realized once again that he sounded decades older than his actual age. However it was too late, it would be more suspicious if he suddenly started acting like a 5-year-old when he already showed his mature personality.


    " S-sure come with me," said Rende as he gestured for Arya to follow him. They walked to Rende''s house and sat down on the chairs. " Before I tell you about what I know about magic and magical institutions, I first need to tell you about my past. It is linked to what you want to know and will act as an example on what not to do."


    "I lost my wife many years ago when our village was in dire straits. Back then our village was very populated and was well on its way to becoming a minor town. But one day something began poisoning our crops and after a while, we found ourselves on the brink of starvation. We asked the lord of the land to help us but he didn''t care about the common folk of some unknown village and wouldn''t send food or reinforcements."


    "At the time my wife and I were already the leaders of the village and we felt that it was our responsibility to save the people. Dina, my wife was always fond of magic. Vitas bless her soul. She thought that the only thing that could save us was magic, but none of us were magicians and magicians weren''t easy people to hire."


    "After searching many places for a mage that could help our village, we ran into a dark mage who acted like he really cared. He told us that he knew what was causing our predicament and that only a light mage could save us. I was skeptical of the man, but Dina thought I was just being overly cautious."


    "The dark mage gave Dina an elixir telling her she could temporarily use light magic if she drank it. I urged Dina not to trust him but I saw it in her eyes. She had always dreamed of being a mage and now that she had something to help her achieve her dream, how could I shatter that. I loved her and wanted her to be happy."


    "I was so naive, I never would''ve imagined that humans could be so despicable. Once she took the elixir her body became deformed. She was turned into a monster. At first I was in denial, I thought that maybe the dark mage could turn her back. But when I went to him for help he simply claimed that it was a failed experiment and told me to disappear."


    " When I tried using force, he left me with this." Rende took of his shirt and showed Arya a gruesome scar on his back. "To be honest I was lucky to make it out with my life. So I continued my journey, hiding Dina under a cloak to disguise her deformity."


    " After a year of searching, I finally found a light mage who was willing to help us. I asked her to take a look at Dina, but-" said Rende as he broke down into tears. " Rende you don''t have to continue if its too hard for you." comforted Arya.


    He didn''t do it out of kindness, he did it because he knew how humans worked. They would become emotional, and when comforted they would try to act strong by themselves. Although Rende''s story was emotional there were very important elements about magic within the story.


    Arya was most interested in the part about magic elixirs. If he could find one himself he would be able to increase his magical power with minimum effort. And what about the side effects? Of course, he would make the dealer drink from it first, Arya wanted to become strong fast but he wasn''t a fool.


    "Bah, look at me. A fully grown man being comforted by a mere child. I''ll continue." replied Rende with a hardened impression. "Knew it" thought Arya as he inwardly smirked.


    "The light mage said that Dina was already gone. The thing I had been travelling with was a demonic spirit. Apparently, her body was too weak to handle its magical power so it became deformed. After reporting it to the lords of the county we proceeded to the village."


    "However we were surprised at what we had found.. The fields had been burned to the ground, and the people looked distraught."

 Chapter 60 - Village In Erandel (4)

    "When we asked them what had happened they claimed that demons had started attacking the village. After they reported the incidents to the lord he seemed more than willing to help us out this time."


    "The experts sent by the lord claimed the fields were corrupted, and that was what caused the famine, so he ordered the soldiers to burn the fields to the ground. Our people were malnourished and many of them had already died."


    "The light mage I came with decided to take a look as well, but what she found was contradictory to what the experts had claimed to be the issue. She said it was the soil that was poisoned not the crops. She used tier 6 light magic to cleanse the soil and found that a demonic essence was mixed into the soil."


    "After reporting this incident to the lord he sent us supplies and food to cover up his embarrassment and punished the experts who had wrongfully given the information. Of course, he didn''t execute them because experts are rare to come across, but we didn''t care much. We were just happy about going back to our lives again."


    "Arya what I''m trying to tell you is that, of course, it''s good to have dreams but don''t turn out like my wife. Be skeptical of those who offer power for free, and don''t try looking for shortcuts. All of us were born with a specific purpose, you just need to find yours." said Rende as he placed his hand on Arya''s shoulder in a fatherly manner.


    "Tell me something I don''t know old man. The day I trust another human will be the day I end my life. And shortcuts are meant to be taken, don''t blame me just because your wife was a weakling who took a shortcut without first looking ahead." thought Arya.


    But he actually said, "Thank you Rende. I''m sorry about your loss.". "You lost people important to you as well, it''s nothing that is too big for us to overcome. Anyway I will still tell you what I know about magic and magical institutions just for enrichment, it wouldn''t hurt to know a bit about it," said Rende as he straightened himself out.


    "I know that mages are divided into classes depending on their strength. The strongest class mages are 5-star mages, though there are only a few of them. Most of them hold high positions or are part of elite forces, they are very much sought after."


    "After 5-star mages are 4-star mages and so on until 0 stars. From what Dina once told me 0-star mages are novices who can''t even cast tier 3 magic. Within every class there are tiers, signifying how close the mage is to a breakthrough to the next class."


    "In the Kingdom of Erandel, the biggest school of magic is Belgard. A whole county dedicated to the practice of magic. It''s said to be one of the greatest cities in all of Merrum, but only mages are allowed in though, so no non-mage has ever seen it." continued Rende.


    "Apart from Belgard there are a few minor magic schools that I''ve heard about around the kingdom, maybe the most notable would be in the capital though I can''t be too sure. So is this enough to quench your thirst?" asked Rende as he finished talking.


    "Yes thank you very much. Just out of curiosity, where is Belgard from here? I know I can''t enter it but maybe I might be lucky to meet a mage someday when I''m older." lied Arya through his teeth.


    "Belgard is at the far north of the kingdom. It used to be the border town of the Dragonborn kingdom, but now that area is ruled by the church and it acts as a sort of stronghold. But I wouldn''t know much, most of what I''ve told you is just tavern talk." replied Rende.


    "No thank you anyways, it''s just enough that you could tell me this much. So where will I be heading tomorrow? You spoke of some village council or something." asked Arya as he became warier of his current situation.


    "Oh, we will be going to the nearest town from here, Iretor. The village council members were appointed by the lord of this county and live in that town," said Rende as he pointed to the south, in the opposite direction from where Arya was planning on heading.


    "No way, I can''t spare time to take this detour. I have to get stronger as soon as possible. I''ll have to make my escape as soon as he falls asleep." thought Arya as he nodded at Rende. Rende continued explaining things about the kingdom such as what the most grown crop was, or what the national state of affairs was like.


    "Surely this old man doesn''t think a child my age would find any of this interesting. Perhaps it''s because I give off such a mature presence that he is treating me as such. Actually no, I''m sure this old man is just dull." thought Arya as he faked fatigue by giving out a loud yawn.


    "I think I should go to bed. Anyways thank you for everything, Rende. Although we''ve only known each other for a short time you''ve probably been the greatest help to me since I lost my family." said Arya. This time it was the truth, Rende had been the most helpful person since he had been separated from his family.


    Teressa was more like a burden than a help and the old man from Calburg wasn''t as impactful to Arya as the information he had acquired about Belgard and magical elixirs from Rende.


    "Why are you acting as if you are going to leave right now? We''ll still see each other tomorrow. After all, I''m the one taking you to Iretor.." replied Rende a bit surprised by the way Arya worded his sentence.

 Chapter 61 - A Minor Detour (1)

    "Oh yeah. I didn''t mean to make it sound that way," laughed Arya, clearing Rende''s doubts as he went to bed. After waiting for Rende to fall asleep Arya woke up and grabbed his Ryen pelt, dagger, and journal. "Thank you for everything," whispered Arya as he stole some food from the village''s storage house.


    Arya then began his journey to the north. He wasn''t sure how far away Belgard was but he was willing to endure anything for his revenge. As Arya ran through the cover of the night, he realized that he was considerably faster than he was back in Calburg. "It seems my body has become more adapted to strenuous work since my time in the forest." thought Arya as he stopped to eat a snack.


    "I should really consider getting a map in the next town I come across. Perhaps I should also get a cloak to play the role of a midget in the event I need to do some business with people. I doubt anyone would take me seriously if they knew I was a child." thought Arya as he took a bite from a fruit similar to an apple.


    As he was finishing his snack he heard a sound coming from the distance. The screams seemed to be coming from the North. Arya would''ve minded his own business had it been in another direction, and he wasn''t willing to make a detour because he was afraid he would get lost so he had no choice but to head in the direction of the screams.


    "Of course it''s in the direction I''m heading," whispered Arya, a bit angry that he couldn''t just ignore the cries for help.


    Arya increased his speed to get past whatever was going on when a dark figure tried attacking him. Arya''s senses were sharpened to a near animal-like level ever since his days in the forest so he just barely dodged the incoming attack.


    "What the!?" shouted Arya as he saw what had been screaming. A group of bodies lay on the ground mangled. The culprit seemed to be the beast in front of him, the same creature that was producing the human like screams.


    It was an obscure dark figure, with long black claws. Its facial features were in the wrong places, and its body parts were at the wrong proportions as well. It had long slender arms and legs, however they were all in the wrong places. It had a large body that seemed to defy gravity as the slender legs kept the body upright, well as upright as the creature could be.


    Seeing it reminded him of Rende''s wife. "No way." thought Arya as he began chanting an ice spell, "Child of water, heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes.".


    A beam of blue mana erupted from Arya''s hands and shot at the beast. Arya''s spell had strengthened due to repeated to the repeated practice he had done in the forest, however, the beast didn''t seem the least bit affected by the spell.


    "I don''t have time for this," said Arya as he brought out his Ryen dagger and rushed at the beast. Although the beast was scary by human standards, it was nothing compared to the ferocious beasts he had to come across in the forest. Arya''s fears had long been extinguished and the only thought he had was how to get rid of this obstacle as quickly as possible.


    The monster moved back and swung its long arms at Arya at an incredible speed, however, Arya was expecting it. He knew that the beast wouldn''t just be a sitting duck waiting to get hit, so he swung his dagger up to block the attack and chanted an ice spell once more to counterattack. This time aiming to freeze the ground directly below it to reduce its mobility.


    However, not everything goes as planned. Although Arya was fast enough to react to the monster''s attack, his body was still that of a weak 5-year-old, even though he was way stronger than others his age this still wasn''t enough.


    Also chanting a spell took too long, the monster realized Arya''s intentions and quickly moved back avoiding the icy floor. Arya was being pushed into a corner, the beast seemed feral but was smart enough to react to combat situations.


    "Can''t you just act like you didn''t see me? Look there is a whole village of delicious humans that way. If you let me go I can show you where they are." said Arya pointing to where he came from, hoping that the monster could understand reasoning as well.


    Arya wasn''t actually planning to sell out the villagers, but it wasn''t because he had a conscience, it was more because it would be a lot of work to lead a monster that far and there was also an issue of whether it would spare him after he sold the villagers out.


    Arya was dead inside, sure Rende had helped him, but if it was up to Arya he would stab Rende in the back a million times if it meant getting what he wanted.


    The beast didn''t listen to Arya and lunged at him for another attack. It seemed to be getting faster after every exchange, this time its speed was on par with Arya''s. "What the? Are you getting faster?" shouted Arya as he just barely escaped the beast, the new clothes he had gotten from Rende torn to tatters.


    "I just got these," shouted Arya as he raised his hands to chant another spell, however, the monster wouldn''t let him. It lunged at him again, this time substantially faster than the last time. Arya couldn''t evade the attack and decided it would be wiser to lessen the impact.


    He took off his Ryen peltand placed it in front of himself, hidding the dagger behind it. The beast saw his foolish attempt at stopping it but didn''t think much of it. As the beast slammed into Arya the dagger tore through the Ryen pelt and tore a hole in the monster''s torso.


    Arya however only suffered the blunt impact of the encounter as the monster''s claws didn''t seem to be able to cut through the Ryen pelt.

 Chapter 62 - A Minor Detour (2)

    However, although he only suffered blunt damage, it was still substantial. He was coughing heavily and he felt as if his ribs were about to break. "One attack and I''m nearly done? What the hell is this thing? Is it that I am so weak or is it that this beast is just strong?" thought Arya, before settling on the former notion.


    Arya realized that although he was becoming faster and stronger, he couldn''t overcome his natural boundaries. There was a limit to the power a 5-year-old child could unleash.


    Arya got up quickly to find the monster lying on the ground. It had a black liquid running out of the wound on its torso and it was groaning in pain. If Arya wasn''t so exhausted he would''ve thought it seemed almost human, almost.


    And what did it matter anyway, had it been a human Arya would''ve killed it already. It was a threat to his life and Arya took no chances. Arya picked up the dagger and tried stabbing the beast, but it got up and ran away.


    "You were acting so tough just a moment ago but it seems you can''t even take a hit. Look at you running from a 5-year-old child," shouted Arya as the beast moved away from him. The beast seemed more frightened than anything else. It seemed like pain was a new concept for it, and looked at Arya like prey would look at a predator. That was a look Arya knew all too well.


    "You''re scared of me? Could it be that you were actually a weakling?" asked Arya as he ran towards to beast. The beast wasn''t so much afraid of Arya as it was off what had just happened to it. The beast had attacked the small being but instead of hurting it, it became hurt instead. It believed that the small being could reflect all the damage it was inflicted.


    Arya continued trying to stab the creature but at this point it was way faster than Arya so he couldn''t even put a scratch on it. "Child of water, heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted Arya as he froze the ground directly beneath the creature to prevent it from running away.


    The ice was thin so it began cracking under the creature''s weight. But it served its purpose for long enough. Arya lunged at the creature with all his strength aiming to stab it in the head. This was quite the feat since the monster was literally twice Arya''s size.


    Arya leapt into the air and thrust his dagger towards the creature''s face, however the creature reacted quickly and raised its arm to block the incoming attack. The dagger remained stuck in the beast''s arm as it instinctively swatted at Arya to defend itself.


    Arya was sent flying a few meters away from the monster, blood sprayed out of his nose as he landed on the floor. This time he was certain that his nose was broken. The creature seemed to realize its mistake at that moment as well. It realized that the small being must''ve used some sort of trickery before since the damage it had dealt wasn''t reflected back.


    The creature seemed to be making a sinister smile as it approached Arya''s body. Arya tried to stand up, but the pain was simply too much. "No, you can''t kill me now. I still have things I have to do here," said Arya as he raised his hands to chant what would probably be his final spell.


    Just as he was about to chant a spell he heard a voice shout. "Light bless us with your might. Fix all things make them right." and a ray of light shot at the beast, incinerating it on the spot. "I''m still to wea-" whispered Arya as he lost consciousness.


    ***


    "Oi child wake up. Tell us what happened here. Where is the mage that used ice magic to fend off the beast?" asked the same voice that had chanted the spell earlier. Arya opened his eyes to find himself in a small clinic. A man in a white mage robe looking at him with stern eyes, while a group of knights stood by him with their swords out.


    "What?" asked Arya confused by what was going on. "Answer when asked foolish boy. Do you want your head to be cut off?" shouted one of the knights. The knights seemed to be on edge about something. Arya couldn''t tell exactly what, but they seemed to be jitterish, they held their swords with shaky hands.


    "Please calm down. He is but a mere child. Let me ask again boy. What happened to your group, and where is the mage that was fighting against the beast? From what I can tell, amongst the dead bodies found none of them were ice mages." said the man in a white robe calmly.


    "Uhm, oh that mister. He ran away as soon as he realized he couldn''t defeat the beast." lied Arya finally realizing the situation he was in. "Is that so? Then how come you are still alive?" asked the white-robed man.


    "Uhm, I was just lucky enough to be hiding behind one of the caravans. I was just about to lose my life before you saved me. Thank you sir." said Arya, trying to sound like a convincing child. "Hmm, that seems to make sense. Though we will have to hold you here for further questioning. I''m guessing your parents were among those who were killed?" asked the white-robed man.


    "Y-yes," replied Arya. "Very well." said the white-robed man as he turned around. He whispered something to one of the knights and they left the room, making sure to lock the door before they all left.


    "What have I gotten myself into this time?" wondered Arya as he surveyed his surroundings. There seemed to be only one bed in the small room.. There were no windows and the door didn''t have a handle on this side.

 Chapter 63 - Escaping Danger (1)

    Arya touched his nose once he realized that it didn''t hurt as much anymore. "He must''ve healed it." thought Arya as he got up from bed and did a few hops to check his condition.


    "It''s like I didn''t just escape from a near-death experience last night. Damn, light magic seems rather useful. I need to learn as soon as possible." thought Arya as he walked to the door. "Time to get out of her-. Wait where is my pelt and more importantly where is the journal!?" thought Arya.


    He searched around the room for his belongings before realizing that the guards must''ve taken them. "Damnit, they must''ve confiscated everything on me." thought Arya as he began knocking on the door like a mad man.


    "Hey, what''s all this noise about?" shouted a guard from the other side of the door.


    "Where''s all my stuff!? Where''s the book and the pelt you found on me?" shouted Arya back. He didn''t care about courtesy or acting like a scared child anymore. He had gained those items by coming face to face with death and he wasn''t ready to part with them on the whims of a few guards and a light mage.


    "Shut up kid. Before I come in there and shut you up. Mage Arcem has confiscated all your items until you are cleared of all suspicions." shouted the guard back, banging on the door to intimidate Arya.


    Arya found it weird that through all this the guard hadn''t opened the door to discipline him. He was counting on the guard coming in so he could take him out with magic, but for some reason the guard seemed hesitant to enter.


    "Wait. What suspicions? I told you guys, my parents were killed by the beast and I just barely survived. Why would you be suspicious of a victim?" asked Arya this time more genuinely.


    "That''s what they all say. Just keep quiet and wait to be summoned." said the guard before Arya heard his footsteps leaving.


    "I don''t like the sound of this." thought Arya as he tried peeking through the keyhole.


    Arya could''ve already frozen the door and shattered it if he was sure there wasn''t a group of guards waiting outside. One wrong move and he might end up dead, after all, he was being suspected of something. He just didn''t know what.


    "What could they be suspecting me off? I mean if they are suspecting I am an ice-mage shouldn''t I be meeting some higher-ups or something? What could possibly make them confiscate all my stuff and lock me up like some kind of beas- Or maybe, no, no way. Don''t tell me they suspect me of turning all those people into beasts."


    "It''s the only logical explanation I can think of. But if that''s the case then I''m in more trouble than I thought" thought Arya as a group of guards opened the door with their swords pointed at Arya.


    "Mage Arcem has summoned you. Don''t try anything funny or we won''t hesitate to kill you." said the guard at the front, as Arya walked past them, their swords nearly touching his back.


    "Don''t worry, I wasn''t planning to anyway," said Arya as he walked slowly in front of them. He clearly dropped the whole kid act. If they still threatened him even under the guise of being a child then there was no point in acting like one."


    Arya made sure to not wander too far ahead of them, out of fear that they would think he was trying to escape.


    The guards were confused by Arya''s sudden change of character and wandered off for a second. "This way." said one of the guards after he regained his composure.


    "Perhaps that was my chance." thought Arya, cursing himself for not attacking while they were still confused.


    Arya was then led into a hallway, it seemed the small room was in the lower levels of a castle. Looking at the stone walls and long winding stairs, as well as the torches spread out at regular intervals, reminded Arya of medieval dungeons.


    After walking up the stairs for a while they finally reached another large wooden door. One of the guards opened the door and shoved Arya in. It was a small room, probably about 4 by 4 meters with only a single table. There was a torch in the room but there was barely enough light to see.


    The light mage sat alone in the dimly lit room, waiting. "Leave us." said the Arcem as the guards brought Arya in.


    "But the Lo-" the guard tried saying but Arcem cut him off. "I am well aware of what the lord said. Do you mean to call me incompetent?" asked Arcem, prompting the guard to lower his head.


    "No. I didn''t mean to insult you Mage Arcem. Please excuse us." said the guard as he and the other guards left the room.


    "Tell me. What do they call you?" asked Arcem when all the guards had left the room, looking at Arya with a shaded expression that was made even harder to comprehend due to the poor lighting.


    "Arya. But what does that have to do with anything?" asked Arya answering in a steady calm voice to show that he was not intimidated.


    "So you finally dropped the act? Well, I didn''t believe you for one second anyways. The mana signature you are emitting is at the level of a 0-star tier 2 mage, its no wonder you couldn''t hide it. Anyways it''s clear you weren''t the one turning people into beasts. You''re too weak to be the culprit." said Arcem as he leaned back in his chair.


    "If you''re so sure I didn''t do it, then why am I still here?" asked Arya, leaning back in his chair as well to show a rather relaxed ambiance.


    "I have 2 questions for you before I let you go, well that''s if you answer truthfully," said Arcem as he clasped his hands and put them in front of his face.


    "Go ahead," replied Arya. He knew that he could only push his luck so far. If he showed too much disrespect Arcem would dispose of him.


    "How did a midget like you defeat a fully grown Ryen? Even if you''re a mage, you aren''t powerful enough to defeat a fire Ryen.. And more importantly where did you get that journal?" asked Arcem, this time Arya could see that he had a serious look on his face.

 Chapter 64 - Escaping Danger (2)

    It was as Arya feared. The light mage, Arcem, had taken an interest in his possessions.


    "I got the Ryen pelt and tooth by chance. I was hunting with a group and we happened to find a lone Ryen. Once we took it down I was lucky enough to be able to share a part of the spoils. As for the book, I found it in a random shed." replied Arya.


    He knew he couldn''t tell him the truth about the Ryen without raising suspicion. It was more likely for him to have had help killing it than for him to have gotten lucky enough to witness two Ryens fight and steal such a prize.


    As for the journal, Arya couldn''t think of any plausible lie. If he lied he found it in a library he would be asked which library. And if he lied he got it from someone he would be asked who that someone was.


    "Hmm, I suppose a group of 2-star mages could hunt a Ryen alone. But I don''t believe that you got this journal in a shed," replied Arcem as he pulled out the journal and placed it on the table.


    "If you don''t tell me what organization you''re a part of I will tell the Lord of the town that you were indeed the one turning people into beasts," replied Arcem with a dark look on his face.


    "Kukk. This guy." thought Arya as he realized what was going on. It seemed as if the journal was more valuable than he thought, if he was going to make it out of this alive he had to act fast or he would be framed for something he didn''t do.


    Arya thought of a lie to help him escape this predicament when he finally had an idea.


    "We don''t have only one name. But yes I am part of an organization, though I''m only a low-rank member," replied Arya with a straight face. Clearly lying had become second nature to him now.


    "Hmm, I knew it. Wait did you say you were a low-rank member? Does that mean you don''t know what the contents of the book are?" asked Arcem with a questioning look on his face.


    "I have to prove my worth." thought Arya. "I understand it is a valuable book. That''s why my group and I were tasked with bringing it to one of the higher-ups in Belgard. But I got separated from the group during the fight with the beast and I ended up here." replied Arya.


    "Hmm. Who is the higher up in Belgard you were told to meet? Perhaps I know him." asked Arcem, lowering his suspicious gaze.


    "I wasn''t told his name, but we were told to give it to a 5-star tier 4 mage. We were told we would know who it was when we arrived there," replied Arya, making up lies on the wind.


    "5-star tier 4 you say, then it has to be Asphomel. He is the only tier 4 5-star mage in Belgard," said Arcem. "Perhaps stealing this book will get me in more trouble than I can handle. Asphomel seems to be doing something interesting, maybe I should pay him a visit for old times sake." continued Arcem.


    "No! No! No!" thought Arya as all his lies began to bite him on the ass. "It''s settled midget, I will accompany you to Asphomel. But I will hold on to the book. I was able to decipher a few parts of it, but the rest of it seems to be written in an ancient text. It''s too valuable for a lowly scrub like you to be carrying." said Arcem as he stood up and shouted for the guards.


    "Yes, Mage Arcem?" responded one of the guards who had entered the room.


    "Release this man. I''ve done a thorough check and I''ve confirmed he wasn''t the culprit," said Arcem as he left the room.


    "Excuse me Mage Arcem. But which man are you referring to?" asked the guard rather confused by Arcem''s words.


    "The midget sitting on the chair right there. Don''t tell me you are so incompetent that you can''t even differentiate between a midget and a boy," said Arcem as he walked up the flight of stairs outside the room.


    Arya didn''t actually look anything like a midget. He looked exactly like a child, but Arcem was illusioned due to the fact Arya could use magic. Like many other mages, it was easier for them to accept that he was a midget with the power to use magic than for them to believe he was a child with magical powers.


    If they knew of Arya''s true age they would probably die from shock. The world''s greatest mage had unlocked his power at the age of 4, however, no one else even came close. Geniuses were said to unlock their magic at the age of 9, while most people unlocked their magic at 13. Ff the world knew of the anomalies that were Luca and Arya there would be a storm.


    The confused guards led Arya up the stairs, where his stuff was waiting for him. Of course the journal was not amongst them, but Arya was already making a plan to get it back.


    "Well at least now I can travel to Belgard with some protection." thought Arya as he looked at Arcem talking to an elderly man.


    Arya was lead out to what looked like the palace gardens, where Arcem spoke to an old man next to a fountain. There were many plants and flowers of different colors giving off a vibrant atmosphere. Children ran around the old man as Arcem spoke to him.


    After they were down talking the old man gave a relieved expression. However, he still looked a bit sad about something.


    Arcem gestured for Arya to approach.

 Chapter 65 - An Ice Mage? (1)

    "My Lord, this is the mage Arya. Although small in stature due to a birth defect, I trust his skills enough for him to accompany me on my journey to the north," said Arcem to the elderly man.


    "Arcem do you have to leave? My land is still not safe from the beasts that plague it, and I don''t mean to call you weak but isn''t it too dangerous to travel with only the two of you? If you are leaving can''t I at least appoint some knights to you?" asked the elderly man, visibly saddened by Arcem''s sudden request to leave.


    "My lord sending knights will not make a difference when we are confronted by those beasts. If anything they will be more of a liability than a help. And I wouldn''t dare to leave you and your land defenseless. I have already called for a substitute mage from the Mage Association. And don''t worry I have asked for them to be at least a midlevel 3-star mage." replied Arcem trying to ease the elderly man''s worrying.


    "If you say so Arcem. But this Arya fellow, how come I have never once heard of him? If he is acquainted with you he must be a rather powerful mage, shouldn''t he?" asked the elderly man as he turned to look at Arya for the first time.


    To him, Arya looked more like a mere boy, but he couldn''t refute what Arcem said, after all, there is no way Arcem would mistake a boy for a mage.


    "He isn''t in the same rank as me. He is rather new to the Mage Association and didn''t join any competitions during his school days so he is relatively unknown. But I can vouch for his skills my lord. As you can see he was capable of hunting a fully grown Ryen by himself." replied Arcem pointing at Arya''s pelt as he became a bit uneasy by the lord''s persistent questioning.


    "I understand that. But if you don''t mind, can he show me a bit of his power? I just want to know how strong the mage that I am entrusting my family mage to really is." said the elderly man as he waited for Arya to display some sort of magic.


    "We''re screwed." thought Arcem as he looked at Arya with shaky hands. Arya was but a 0-star mage, so no matter what spells he knew there was no way he could impress the lord.


    "My lord, he is rather tired right now so he won''t be able to display anything impressive." Arcem tried saying as Arya stopped him.


    "It''s okay Arcem. Let me show the lord some of my skills," said Arya as he raised his palm and began chanting.


    "What are you doing you idiot!" Arcem seemed to be saying internally before he heard the words Arya was chanting.


    "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted Arya.


    "You idiot. Are you so wet behind the ears that you don''t know you need a special affinity for ice magic to use it? It doesn''t matter if you were taught the words. Without the affinity you might as well be barking." thought Arcem as he prepared for Arya''s fate when a beam of ice shot out of Arya''s hands and froze a nearby plant, shattering it after a second.


    The fragments spread into the morning air giving off a beautiful scene. The children seemed to notice this and ran to see what was going on.


    "Again! Again!" shouted the children as they ran around Arya.


    "An ice mage?" thought both Arcem and the elderly man at the same time.


    "Children we are discussing an important matter. You can ask the mage to show you that spell some other time." said the elderly man.


    "Didn''t he say that the ice-mage he was with left after their battle with the beast? Or was that a lie too? If he is an ice mage why would his organization let him walk around without any protection? Or is it that they have so many variant mages that they don''t need to worry about losing a single ice mage?" thought Arcem as the lord spoke.


    "Oh, an ice mage. Those are rather rare. With ice magic in your arsenal, you must be a very reliable companion in battle. Say, are you affiliated with any noble houses? You see, Arcem will have to retire soon and we will have a vacant spot open. We could train you and pay you a generous sum. We can even provide you with a minor title and a plot of land." said the elderly man, clearly trying to sweet talk Arya.


    Variant mages weren''t just sought after because they were so rare. It was because normal mages could only use the four basic elements. And even if they were advanced in the element of their affinity that just meant they could silent cast one of the four elements, however, the number of elements they could control remained the same.


    Variant mages on the other hand could control the four basic elements and their additional variant element. And since variant elements originated from one of the basic elements that meant that variant mages had the potential to silent cast two elements and control five, making them a very destructive force in combat.


    "My lord, aren''t you rushing to make decisions a bit too fast? Arya isn''t at the level to be a family mage for someone as noble as you. As you can see he isn''t even able to silent cast his ice magic." said Arcem quickly with a hint of jealousy in his voice.


    "silent casting?" thought Arya, this was the first time he had ever heard of the term.


    "Neither can you Arcem. But even so, he can still be trained to use higher tier spells, although he is already too old to learn silent casting." said the elderly man as he turned back to look at Arya.


    You see, silent casting was something that had to be unlocked at a young age.. It was kind of like learning a new language, it would be exponentially harder to learn silent casting at an old age so most mages didn''t even attempt it when they passed the age of 18.

 Chapter 66 - An Ice Mage? (2)

    Of course, some people still attempted, though with little success. Most mages focused more on strengthening their mana cores.


    "Kukk. My lord, perhaps you can ask Arya when we return. You can''t force him to make such an important decision too hastily." said Arcem a bit hurt by the lord pointing out that he could not silent cast his light magic as well.


    "Think about it carefully Arya. Who knows if you work for me long enough I might give you my ancestor''s breathing technique." said the elderly man before refraining from his ploy to bait Arya in.


    "The lord mentioned his bloodlines breathing technique? Does that mean he finds more value in a lower rank ice mage than in a high-level light mage." thought Arcem as he stared daggers at Arya.


    It was true. Light mages although variants generally didn''t have a lot of destructive offensive skills. The highest level light mage could use solid light structures but even Arcem hadn''t unlocked that and there was little hope of him unlocking it in the future.


    On the other hand, Ice mages had the ability to both lock down a whole army of enemy soldiers and cause widespread destructive damage if they were powerful enough. That was why ice-mages were the most sought-after mages together with lightning mages after necromancers. Lightning mages and ice mages were given even value due to their different but desirable qualities.


    However, of all of them, necromancers were the most sought after and at the same time the most feared. After all, someone with the power to raise an army at will should both be revered and feared.


    "I will think about your lordship," said Arya as he bowed to the elderly man and was excused from the conversation.


    "What the hell is a breathing technique? And silent casting? How come I never heard Luna talk about those things when she was instructing Luca? I need to get to Belgard quickly and learn as much as possible. There''s no way I''m accepting this old man''s request. I don''t want to be constantly monitored and controlled, but if I just outright reject him he might become hostile." thought Arya as he walked back to where he was standing before he was called.


    "Pfft. Ancestor''s breathing technique? Gold? Land? Titles? I don''t need any of those. I can make my own breathing technique and amass my own riches." scoffed Arya as he watched Arcem and the old man continue their discussions.


    Arya didn''t know that the more ancient a breathing technique the more efficient it was. With each generation it was passed down to, it would be further refined making it better as time went by. But it was understandable since Arya didn''t even know what a breathing technique was.


    After several minutes Arcem finished talking to the old man and approached Arya. "What do you think you are doing trying to show off to the lord? Huh? Why didn''t you tell me you were an ice mage?" asked Arcem in a low but angry voice.


    "You never asked me what type of mage I was. And I wasn''t trying to show off anything. The lord simply asked me to show my power and I did. You should be grateful that I got him to stop worrying. And I won''t accept his offer anyways, I have better things to do." replied Arya with a detached expression. Almost as if he thought that Arcem''s complaints were trivial.


    "Once we reach Belgard I''ll have Asphomel dispose of this mongrel. If I kill him myself I might anger the organization he is from. I don''t know about the other members but I can''t afford to have Asphomel as my enemy." thought Arcem as he snorted at Arya and walked away.


    "I''ll kill him as soon as he drops his guard." thought Arya as Arcem turned his back to him.


    "But first I need to collect as much information as I can from him." thought Arya as a sinister smile appeared across his face.


    ***


    After the stable hands had saddled the horses and packed the supplies, Arcem and Arya bid farewell to the elderly man. As they were leaving the elderly man once again tried persuading Arya to think about his proposition. Arya said he would think about it and the two set off.


    It was in the afternoon so the sun was directly overhead. The terrain they were traveling on was an open plain with tall grass. It was the perfect fighting ground for a mage who could hide in the bushes and destroy a wide area with a single spell.


    As the two went on their journey none of them said a word to each other for the first few hours. The only words that were said on that day were when Arcem told Arya that they would be sleeping in a nearby town when dawn was approaching.


    After 7 hours of seeing the monotonous plains, they finally reached a town. A big wooden sign with the character spelling out ''Ermsworth'' was at the front of the town.


    The town seemed rather small compared to the one Arcem and Arya had just left from however it was still in a better state than Draquerth.


    Arcem and Arya rode their horses to a nearby inn. As they entered the building the innkeeper came to greet them.


    "How may I help you-" the innkeeper was about to say before he noticed Arcem''s white robes.


    "A m-mage. Sorry for my rudeness. Our best rooms are currently occupied but we will tell the tenants that an important guest has arrived. Marsha!" shouted the innkeeper.


    "Leroy, why are you shouting!?" shouted Marsha back as she entered the room. She quickly covered her mouth when she saw Arcem''s robe. "A m-mage. Please forgive me. I didn''t know that there was someone as important as a mage here." said the woman as she bowed her head.


    "Let me apologize for my incompetent wife. Marsha go tell the tenants on the top floor to leave. I''m sure they will understand if you explain to them the situation." said Leroy as he bowed to Arcem as well.


    "Oh and your apprentice? Should I also get him a room as well?" asked Leroy as he looked over the counter to look at Arya.

 Chapter 67 - Inn Problems (1)

    "Him? I''m not together with him," said Arcem with a huge smile on his face as he looked back at Arya like they had never met before. Arcem knew that Arya didn''t have any money on him from the time he confiscated all his stuff, so by denying the fact that they were traveling together Arcem was effectively forcing Arya to sleep outside.


    "That''s right. I''m not his apprentice. I simply came here looking to see if this place would fit my tastes." said Arya as he realized what Arcem was trying to do.


    "I-is that so?" asked Leroy as he sensed the tension between the two. However he found it rather odd that a mage was being hostile towards a little boy.


    "Are you perhaps lost? Do you need me to help you find your parents?" asked Leroy as he looked at Arya with a confused expression.


    "I see. So this is how it is." thought Arya as he finally got an idea.


    "I was walking with them and then they suddenly disappeared. I was just trying to act tough all this time. I was afraid that people would take advantage of me i-if I showed weakness. When I saw the white-robed mage I thought that maybe he would help me out, but turns out he is just as mean as everyone else."


    "It''s getting dark and I haven''t found my parents yet. I don''t know what to do. D-do you think they a-abandoned me?" stuttered Arya covering his eyes with his arm, pretending to be a scared child looking for his parents.


    "To stoop so low." thought Arcem with an embarrassed look on his face.


    The innkeeper looked at Arya with pity and turned ever so slightly to look at Arcem with a disappointed expression.


    "I''ll be in my room," said Arcem as he quickly dismissed himself from the situation before rumors of him mistreating children spread across the county.


    "Of course they haven''t, why would they. Look at how precious you are. How about I let you sleep with me and my wife tonight? My bed isn''t big enough for two people but, I can arrange for a couch to be brought in and you can sleep on that. Then when daybreak comes I will help you look for your parents." said Leroy with a pitying voice.


    "T-thank you mister," replied Arya as he covered the smile of his face with his hand.


    "It''s almost too easy. Why didn''t I do this earlier?" thought Arya as he was handed free accommodation.


    Marsha came back downstairs with two tenants behind her, who looked like they had been doing something naughty before they were called out of their rooms. They quickly took their bags and got out of the inn as fast as they could.


    Leroy watched them leave in a hurry and turned to ask Marsha, "How did you get them to leave so easily?"


    "It wasn''t me. When I asked them to leave they were showing resistance, but the mage soon came upstairs in a bad mood and threatened to burn them both if they didn''t leave immediately," replied Marsha as she turned to look at Arya.


    "And this young gentleman? or is it lady?" asked Marsha as she tilted her head to look at Arya properly.


    It was true, with Arya''s beautiful features and long white hair he seemed like a rather pretty girl. If not for the way he was dressing and his voice no one would be able to tell whether he was a girl or boy.


    "Lady? What is this woman saying? Is she confused?" thought Arya as he looked at the woman with a confused expression.


    "He''s a boy Marsha," replied Leroy embarrassed by his wife''s question, however he couldn''t deny that he too was confused until Arya spoke.


    "Yes, young gentleman I mean. Why haven''t you gone up with your master?" asked Marsha as her face turned a light shade of red when she realized her mistake.


    "They aren''t together. The boy wanted the mage''s help finding his parents but it seems the mage was too busy to help him," said Leroy with an almost indignant voice.


    "Mages these days. Heroes of the kingdom? More like magical assholes." whispered Marsha as she looked at Arya with pitying eyes.


    "Can''t we let him stay here?" asked Marsha.


    "Naturally I have already invited him to stay with us. He will sleep on the couch since our bed isn''t big enough for the three of us," replied Leroy, seemingly proud of himself.


    "He will not! You sleep on the couch, how could you make such a pretty thing, I-I mean young boy sleep on that nasty couch?" asked Marsha in an indignant tone.


    "But Marsh-." Leroy tried saying as Marsha cut him off. "No buts."


    "It''s okay lady Marsha. I don''t mind sleeping on the couch," replied Arya as he started getting weird thoughts about sleeping with a woman. He had died a virgin in his old life and although he had the body of a 5-year-old his mind was that of a young adult. He didn''t have time for any accidents because he couldn''t control his curiosity at night.


    "Are you sure? Leroy doesn''t really mind, he just likes playing hard to get. Don''t you Leroy." said Marsha as she stepped on Leroy''s toe.


    "Y-yes. Of course darling," replied Leroy seemingly scared of his wife. "I hate when she gets like this." thought Leroy with a sullen expression.


    "No really I''m okay," replied Arya.


    "Have you eaten supper yet?" asked Marsha as she stopped trying to get Arya to sleep on the same bed as her.


    "Actually I''m quite famished," replied Arya, trying to look as innocent as possible.


    "What a cutey, I-I mean I''ll bring you what we served the other tenants.


    "What a queer woman.." thought Arya as Marsha left the room.

 Chapter 68 - Inn Problems (2)

    After waiting for a few minutes Marsha came out with a whole buffet of food. Arya had never seen so much food being given to one person ever since he got to Merrum. It was almost as if he were being treated like a lord.


    "Marsha, are you trying to empty out the kitchen? What do you think you are do-" Leroy tried saying but was quickly cut off by a stern look from Marsha.


    "Eat up. Look at you, you barely have any fat on your body. It''s almost as if you''re being overworked you." said Marsha as she looked at Arya''s lean body.


    Arya had very well developed muscles for someone his age, however under his Ryen pelt and clothes it just seemed as if he was not eating enough.


    After Arya was done eating Marsha quickly took the dishes and washed them.


    "How about I bathe you before you sleep? Also your clothes look rather dirty. What is that thing you are wearing?" asked Marsha as she looked over Arya''s body like a mother would look at her son.


    "You mean my pelt?" asked Arya confused by Marsha''s question. He thought that people would think a Ryen pelt was a sign of power, however, he was mistaken.


    Most people further inland had never heard of Ryen''s. And even those that did wouldn''t expect such a magnificent beast''s pelt to be on a five-year-old.


    "Yes. It''s dirty and its giving off a weird odour. You should just throw it away." said Marsha as she attempted to pull it off.


    "W-what''s going on?" thought Marsha as a strange pressure petrified her body. She couldn''t seem to move and her innate instincts were telling her to run away.


    "It was a gift from my father I could never part with it," said Arya innocently as he controlled his killing intent.


    Arya had very few items he could truly call his in this world. And one of them had been stolen by Arcem, so it was understandable that he would be so attached to his pelt. He also released the killing intent to scare Marsha a bit, he was becoming a bit annoyed by her antics but couldn''t say anything openly as he was being given free accommodation.


    "Oh, that''s okay. The bath is on the second floor to the right. I need to go use the restroom." said Marsha as she slowly walked to the bathroom like she had seen a ghost.


    "Darling whats wrong?" asked Leroy as he passed by Marsha, but did not get a response.


    Arya quickly took his bath and once he had finished he looked at himself in the mirror. "I see. I haven''t seen myself in such a long time." thought Arya as he realized why Marsha was acting the way she was.


    Arya was about to use his Ryen dagger to cut his hair before he stopped himself. "Actually, this pretty face might just come in handy." thought Arya as a sinister smile appeared on his face shaking him out of his day-dreaming.


    "Is this really how my smile looks?" thought Arya as he realized how psychopathic he looked.


    Arya then looked at the other parts of his body in the mirror. He was lean with quite an athletic build for a five-year-old. However in contrast to his pretty face, his body looked rather scary. It had loads of scars from the time he was in the forest and if anyone saw them they would believe he was being tortured.


    "These might come in handy too." thought Arya as he walked to Marsha and Leroy''s room and found them sleeping. Arya went to bed as well, planning on how he would kill those who had slaughtered his family as he closed his eyes.


    ***


    The following morning Arya woke up early and left without saying anything to Marsha or Leroy. He was afraid Arcem would try leaving without him so he decided to wait for him by the horses.


    "You were waiting?" asked Arcem but only got a nasty eye in reply.


    The two continued on their journey like usual. They hardly spoke to each other, and if any words were exchanged they were brief and only when absolutely necessary.


    "There aren''t any towns within a days reach from here," said Arcem as the sun began to set.


    "So we will have to camp out tonight. You do know how to set up camp right?" asked Arcem as he looked over the supplies that the stable hands had packed.


    "Isn''t it rather dangerous?" asked Arya, a bit hesitant to sleep outside, what with all the rumors about demons in the plains.


    "Are you scared? Pathetic. A mage like you afraid of mere mindless beasts?" asked Arcem as he gave a smug look.


    "Easy for you to say. You don''t have to fight them face to face. One light spell and the beasts die instantly." thought Arya, but he didn''t say it because he knew it would just sound like an excuse.


    When the sun finally came down Arya and Arcem had already set up their tents. Arcem chanted a fire spell to make a campfire and began roasting some food that he had collected in the previous town.


    The two sat in silence as they ate their meals. "Can you perhaps tell me about some of the magic you are able to practice at your level of sorcery? I wonder what sort of powerful spells someone like you can cast," said Arya breaking the silence.


    "Finally acknowledging me huh?" thought Arcem as he cleared his throat.


    "I guess I could educate you a little. After all the strong should always take care of the weak. And I''m sure your higher-ups will be pleased to know that I helped you a lot during our journey." replied Arcem with a smug condescending expression.


    "Sucker. Humans are too easy." thought Arya as he hid his smile behind the fish he was eating.. Manipulating people was becoming as second nature to him as lying was.

 Chapter 69 - [Bonus ]A Lecture In Magic (1)

    "Well, first and foremost get the naive notion that you will ever reach my level of prowess out of your head. I don''t know how old you are but the fact that you are already an adult but haven''t yet unlocked the first-star means you are incompetent," said Arcem as he began his explanation.


    Arcem was under the notion that someone who unlocked their variant element was probably in their late 20''s or 30''s. Arcem had unlocked light magic at the age of 29 and was considered a genius among his peers.


    "Secondly I will not tell you about my breathing techniques. I can already see how desperate you are to go to the next level but I will not share with you that information, even if you attempt to kill me," said Arcem shortly after.


    "I will skip the basics which I am sure you are already familiar with. Advanced magic begins at tier 4. You only unlock tier 4 at the 3-star level." begun Arcem.


    "Tier 4 magic is special in the sense that it is the entry-level of spells that use lifeforce. I''m sure, you''ve heard of the term before but let me explain it again since you seem to be rather dull. Lifeforce is the essence that your body extracts from the world energy, it is the part that your mana core is unable to absorb."


    "As the world energy that you novices so idiotically refer to as mana enters your body, it is divided into its fundamental parts. It is divided into the four basic elements plus the essence of life. All creatures are able to absorb the life essence regardless of whether they are mages or not. That''s why we have some people who believe themselves to be powerful just because they can utilize life essence without so much as a spec of mana in their bodies."


    "The four basic elements are then absorbed by your mana core after the life essence is absorbed by the body. The absorbed elements however are usually just used to fuel spells unless you use a breathing technique. When a breathing technique is used, the mana core is forced to retain some of the mana absorbed causing it to mature. This process is hard as I''m sure you know since you are not yet a 1-star mage yet." said Arcem with a scoff.


    "Now back to the main concept. Tier 4 magic utilises both the mana in the mana core and the life essence to cast more powerful spells. The difference between a spell with life essence and without is drastic." said Arcem as she unleashed a fireball first that barely showed any power and unleashed another one that caused a major explosion.


    "The reason why you can''t cast tier 4 magic before reaching the 3-star stage is because your mana core will become poisoned if it tried to interact with the life essence without being mature enough. Be my guest and attempt to copy me but I promise you you will only earn yourself an early grave."


    "The problem with tier 4 magic is that you can only utilize it with the element you have an affinity for. Of course some people like the Grand Magus are able to utilize other elements he is not attuned with until tier 6, but that takes a considerable amount of concentration and skill. Dealing with a tier 4 spell of an element you are not attuned with is like trying to play with a wild beast."


    "The spell is likely to go out of control and kill you," said Arcem as he looked into the fire with regret in his eyes.


    "What element are you attuned with?" asked Arya out of curiosity.


    "Are you blind? Fire of course, didn''t you see me silent cast that fireball?" asked Arcem angrily.


    "About that. How do I learn to silent cast?" asked Arya trying to milk out as much information as he could.


    "Give up on that, you are already too old. Learning to silent cast is like learning a new language. The chances of you learning now are too low. But silent casting is learned by memorizing the runes of the spells of the element you are attuned to and drawing them in your mind while activating your mana."


    "It sounds easy but it takes a lot of practice. Most people give up past the age of 19," said Arcem as he looked slightly embarrassed probably reminded about his inability to silent cast light magic.


    If Arcem could silent cast light magic he would have two elements he could silent cast in his arsenal putting him at the level of a variant. He was kind of envious of Arya but was happy because Arya seemed incompetent. He didn''t even know about the basics that were taught in school.


    "Hmm. How many elements can one mage be attuned with?" asked Arya after he had run out of questions.


    "What a silly question. Disregarding variants, as you guys don''t have multiple elements you are attuned with but rather just an advanced form of your naturally attuned element, most mages only have one element. Some geniuses like me have two, while people like the Grand Magus and current pope have three."


    "In theory, one could be gifted with all six but no one has ever heard of something so absurd," said Arcem.

 Chapter 70 - A Lecture In Magic (2)

    "Anyways, that''s enough. We''ll take shifts being lookout. Although I would rather you just be lookout the whole night, I don''t trust you enough to not fall asleep." said Arcem as he walked to his tent.


    "Naturally you''ll be lookout first," said Arcem as he opened his tent to sleep.


    "Wait, before you go. Can you perhaps tell me something about necromancers? You haven''t said anything about them." asked Arya as he finally remembered Abigail talk about them during his first meeting with Silverfox.


    "There''s nothing to talk about when it comes to them. Just pray you never meet one as an enemy on the battlefield. To be honest, I don''t even know why they are called mages when the title monster fits them better." said Arcem with an almost terrified look on his face.


    "Enough about magic, I''m not getting paid to be your lecturer," said Arcem as he closed his tent and went to sleep.


    "Well at least I know a bit more about magic now. It seems the fastest way to become more powerful is not by learning more spells but by reaching the 3-star level. And to do that I need a breathing technique. F**k I forgot to ask him how to make one. I''ll ask him tomorrow morning." thought Arya as he kept watch for the first few hours before waking Arcem up to take the next shift.


    Morning came and the two hadn''t suffered any attacks. As they were packing their equipment in silence Arya spoke up. "Is there a way to make my own breathing technique?" asked Arya as he continued packing like he was just asking how the weather was.


    Arcem stopped what he was doing and looked at Arya with a stupefied expression. "Don''t tell me you don''t have your own breathing technique. Is your organization so incompetent that they can''t even provide their variants with a breathing technique? Actually, I''ve been curious myself, does your organization have so many variants that they don''t bother with the weak ones like you?" asked Arcem genuinely, as he was shocked by Arya''s question.


    Most times Mage organizations treated variants like Arya as valuable assets, investing thousands of gold coins and elixirs just to raise their power. However here Arya was, an ice variant who hadn''t even reached the 1-star level. At first Arcem had thought it was because he was incompetent, but now he started to wonder about that.


    "How is it possible that his mana signature is at the level of a tier 2 0-star mage if he doesn''t even have a breathing technique?" wondered Arcem as he sensed the mana signature Arya''s core was emitting again.


    "You know what, never mind. The short answer is no, you can''t. But if you were as powerful as a 5-star mage you might be able to create your own, though it would be way less effective than even the weakest magical bloodline''s inherited breathing technique."


    "The longer a breathing technique has been around, the more effective it has become through years of refining." answered Arcem quickly as he got atop his horse.


    "We have a long way ahead of us. Let''s not waste time." said Arcem as he pulled the reins of his horse and it bolted forward leaving Arya in the dust.


    "A variant without a breathing technique, and furthermore he has reached the second tier all by himself? If he is what his organization considers trash than I wonder what monsters they must have. Asphomel, just what have you gotten yourself into?" thought Arcem as he rode on ahead.


    "This asshole," said Arya as he spat the dust that Arcem had created out of his mouth and took off on his horse as well.


    Once again the two rode without anyone talking. The area from where they had set off was at the northeast of the Kingdom of Erandel so they were reasonably close to Belgard. However the Kingdom was vast, it would take at least 5 days to get there if they rode their horses nonstop.


    After riding for a nearly 13 hours, the sun was beginning to set once again. "We''re close to the town of Alclara. It''s just an hour''s ride away." said Arcem as he pulled out his map to confirm their location.


    "How are you able to tell where we are?" asked Arya surprised that Arcem was able to tell their exact location without so much as a GPS.


    Arcem simply gave a smug expression and pointed to the sky. "The stars." said Arcem as he pulled the reins of his horse, once again sending dust in Arya''s direction.


    "I will definitely kill him before we reach Belgard." thought Arya as he followed close behind Arcem.


    "Do you hear something?" asked Arcem as Arya caught up to him.


    "No, are you going crazy? Let''s go, its getting late." replied Arya annoyed by Arcem''s actions.


    "Shh. There''s something here. I can feel i-" Arcem was about to say before his horse bolted causing even more dust to cover Arya''s vision.


    "Why are you acting so childish?" said Arya as he was getting fed up with Arcem.


    As the dust cleared, Arya couldn''t see Arcem''s horse anywhere. "Arcem?" shouted Arya as his horse neighed frantically. Arya tried to control it by pulling its reins but it didn''t listen. It kept neighing and strafing in the opposite direction.


    "What''s wrong with you-" Arya was cut off as his instincts were telling him to run away.


    "Help!" shouted Arcem in a muffled pained voice.


    It was too dark for Arya too see but he could tell that the ground where Arcem''s voice was coming from was bloody due to the glittering reflection that the moon made on the blood.


    "What happened?" asked Arya as he approached the area where Arcem''s voice came from.


    "How would I know. My horse just fell down in a bloody mess. Help get this thing off me." said Arcem in a slightly irritated voice.


    Arya had a wild grin on his face, akin to that off a demon as he approached the immobile Arcem. "It seems I was blessed with the opportunity to kill you earlier than I thought." said Arya in a soft voice, similar to that off a pyschopath.


    "Stop joking around and help me up!" shouted Arcem in pain. He felt his leg slowly snapping under the weight of his horse causing him intense discomfort.


    "Look at you, can''t you take a joke.." said Arya as he reached the place where Arcem lay and held out one of his hands, pulling out his dagger with the other.

 Chapter 71 - Deadly Beasts (1)

    "N-no!" shouted Arcem as he looked at Arya with a terrified expression. "Shhh, you''re okay. This will only hurt a lot," replied Arya, pulling out the dagger ready to strike.


    "Light bless us with your might. Fix -" Arcem tried chanting before his neck was torn off. Arya quickly turned around and jumped back a few spaces barely avoiding the strike of a black figure as he turned the dagger in his hand from a stabbing position to a slicing position, with such proficiency that one would think he had been using a knife all his life.


    "How come I didn''t hear it?" thought Arya as he realized the reason Arcem was looking at him with such a terrified expression, even though he had not yet seen the dagger. He wasn''t looking at him but at the beast behind him.


    The black figure looked more humanoid than the one Arya had met previously. This one seemed to blend into the darkness making it hard to make out its features properly. The only thing Arya could see were its bloody red teeth and red eyes that gleamed in the moonlight.


    The beast seemed to be smiling at Arya like it was having a blast.


    "Magic will be useless against it if I give it a chance to catch up to me." thought Arya as the beast disappeared from his vision and reappeared behind him in a flash.


    "Fuck." screamed Arya as he rotated his knife quickly to try and block the incoming attack but didn''t reach there in time. The beast had slashed his back so deep that blood was spurting out, he was lucky enough that his dagger was able to stop it from going even deeper.


    Arya ignored the pain and jumped back several steps using his lean 5-year-old body to its maximum capabilities.


    "What the fuck is that speed?" thought Arya as he chanted an ice spell to stop the bleeding. The ice spell of course increased the pain he was feeling, making it harder for him to concentrate on casting more spells, but it was better than nothing.


    "Stupid Arcem. How can you claim to be such a high class mage but get caught off guard like this?" thought Arya as he realized the dangerous situation he was in. Of course Arcem couldn''t be blamed. The beast was hardly visible even when you knew it was there, and it didn''t seem to emit a presence as even Arya''s animal-like instincts couldn''t sense it.


    Mages were good in fights where they could see their enemies, however there was a limit to what a mage could do if they were caught off guard.


    "Child of water heed my c-" Arya tried chanting before the humanoid beast disappeared again. This time Arya anticipated the attack and jumped forward, turning mid-air to block the incoming attack. This attack seemed to be two times stronger than the previous one, sending Arya flying high into the air.


    Arya took advantage of the momentum he had gained from the beast''s strke and chanted in the air. "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes."


    A beam of ice shot out of Arya''s hands, freezing one of the beast''s legs. The ice wouldn''t hold for long of course, but Arya wasn''t worried.


    Just as he had finished casting that spell he chanted once again as he landed on the ground. "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes."


    In that spilt second, the ground between him and the beast was covered in a thin layer of ice. He quickly ran on the ice while the beast was still confused about what was holding its foot, using the reduced friction of the ice to speed up.


    As he was about to reach the beast, it saw him and slashed out horizontally aiming to slice Arya''s head off. Arya ducked and slid between the beast''s legs, slicing its knees as he slid past causing it to fall down.


    The ground right after the beast wasn''t turned to ice so Arya quickly stopped himself and leaped into the air, aiming to stab the beast in the head.


    The beast was too slow to react in time as it was still confused with the previous attack. Arya managed to stab it in the head and chanted once again. "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes.". The dagger was then covered in a layer of ice that extended into the beast''s head, effectively freezing it from the inside.


    As the beast stopped moving, Arya pulled out his blade and fell to his knees in exhaustion. "That was easy." laughed Arya as he felt his mana reserves reach the bottom.


    He had used many spells successively and his body wasn''t used to this strain. And his mana core was still too immature to handle such a sudden depletion of mana.


    As Arya turned around to look at what Arcem''s corpse had on it, the beast stood up behind him. Arya turned around to see the beast easily break out of the layer of ice on its feet. The beast seemed to be bigger, it was now 2.5m tall, making Arya look puny next to it. The grin on its face seemed even wider than before.


    "How-" Arya was about to say before the beast dissappeared. Arya tried turning around to block it but it was too late. The beast sliced a deep vertical cut on Arya''s back, causing even more blood than before to spurt out, even causing the old wound to open up.


    The beast''s speed seemed to have increased as well. Arya knew very well that the beast could''ve ended his life with that strike, but it seemed to be playing with him.


    The beast approached him with its wide smile, seemingly mocking his futile struggle to survive.


    "F*ck you." said Arya in between heavy breathes. He was already exhausted, and his injuries wouldn''t allow him to concentrate enough to cast another spell.. Heck he was already struggling to stay conscious as is.

 Chapter 72 - Reunion (1)

    "Child of water he-" Arya couldn''t finish his chant as he vomited out blood.


    The monster walked closer to him, dragging its long arms on the ground as if trying to savor the moment. "Ahg, ahg, ahg." laughed the beast. It sounded like a mix between a scream and a howl.


    "You bastard," replied Arya as he raised his arm out to cast another spell. "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my-" Arya''s words were cut off by the sound of claws piercing flesh.


    Blood sprayed into the night, and Arya felt his body leave the ground.


    His vision seemed to elevate as he was brought to eye level with the monster. Arya was confused as he looked down, he realized that the monster had stabbed him in the stomach, lifting him off his feet. It seemed as if the pain only started once he realized what had happened.


    Arya was about to die and he wouldn''t even be conscious to witness his end. The monster looked at Arya as if it were making fun of him.


    "I-I can''t d-die yet," whispered Arya with the last of his strength before he passed out. Arya felt his body become cold. "Is this the end?" thought Arya as his vision darkened.


    Arya opened his eyes to find himself in a dark space. "Where am I?" asked Arya as he looked around, wondering if maybe he had been sent to hell.


    "This is the second time you''ve been here and you still don''t know where this is? Pathetic, it''s your mindscape and you aren''t even able to recognise it." said a voice behind Arya.


    Arya knew that voice, it was the pessimistic voice that had once plagued his brain. The last time he had spoken to it was during the fight against the dark mage in Calburg, when Arya had almost died due to mana exhaustion.


    "Am I dead?" asked Arya, too confused about what was happening to worry about anything else but his survival.


    "Calm down. Time here passes way slowly when compared to the outside world." said the dark figure as it stood up from where it was sleeping.


    Although Arya had once seen the black figure, he still couldn''t get used to it. It looked devilish, almost similar to the beast he had been fighting earlier but it was more humanoid. Last time the white figure gave Arya a sense of security but without it here Arya could feel the dangerous presence that the dark figure emitted.


    "Where is the white one?" asked Arya as he started to feel uncomfortable.


    "It''s just me here for now. We haven''t talked in so long and you don''t so much as greet me? I''m a bit disappointed." said the dark figure as it let out a wide smile, shooting out white light from its mouth as it did.


    "Sorry, in case you hadn''t realized I''m about to die right now," said Arya as he took a few steps back, feeling that something was off with the dark figure.


    "Don''t worry I won''t let you die. After all, you''re my precious vessel, how would I be able to do anything if you died too early?" said the beast as it turned around and walked into the abyss.


    "Wait what do you mean vessel? Where are you going?" shouted Arya as the dark figure disappeared from his vision.


    "The time will come when you will understand what I mean. But for now, remember this, it''s the second time I''m helping you. One day I will ask you to repay your debt. Oh and Asbeel greets you. Sadly he can''t be around right now." said the dark figure, however his voice seemed to be reverberating from the abyss itself.


    Arya''s eyes opened and he quickly kicked himself off the beast''s claws. Arya was surprised that he was still alive, much less able to move like this, before he realized that it wasn''t him controlling his body.


    The beast was confused by what had just happened. A few seconds ago it had felt the life slowly leaving the human''s body, but now it seemed that the human was back to full strength. Something felt off about the human, its presence didn''t feel the same as it did before, but the beast didn''t care. He would just kill the puny human again.


    "Sweet air," said Arya in a deep voice as he inhaled deeply. The voice seemed to emanate from a deep abyss, although it was the human tongue it didn''t sound human. Arya''s eyes were glowing white and even though there was blood dripping from the deep hole in his stomach, he didn''t seem the least bit bothered.


    The beast quickly disappeared from where it was standing and appeared behind Arya, faster than it had ever done before and aimed to cut off his head.


    Arya simply raised his dagger completely blocking the beasts attack, however Arya''s bones broke as he did. The monster was confused by Arya''s sudden increase in reaction time. It was certain that the human had been slower just a few seconds ago.


    "It seems your body is still too weak Arya. Of course, what could I expect from you." said the deep voice coming from Arya''s mouth, before putting the arm back in its original position, healing it instantly.


    The beast moved back a few steps, confused by what was happening. Now that it looked carefully it realized that the human''s eyes didn''t always glow like that.


    "Rmh ni venjv ej?" (AN: this is the demonic tongue." said the beast with it''s creepy voice.


    "Don''t you dare speak to me in that pathetic tongue," said Arya as he turned into a blur and struck the monster on its face with a kick.


    The sound of Arya''s bone shattering could be heard. But his leg quickly snapped back into position and the beast was blown away like it was a rag doll. Arya turned into a blur once again, passing by the monster as it flew back and kneed it into the air before it could recover. The sound of bones breaking was heard once again but the knee quickly fixed itself and Arya launched off into the sky.


    As the monster was tossed 10 m into the air, Arya appeared right next to it. He was flying slightly higher than the beast looking down on it as if it weren''t even worthy to be prey.


    "Who sent you here?" asked Arya looking down on the beast.. When the beast didn''t reply Arya interlocked both his hands and hit the beast back to the ground with enough force to cause a crater in the ground.

 Chapter 73 - Reunion (2)

    Arya''s hands broke due to the impact that all his attacks caused. Too much power was being used and Arya''s immature body couldn''t handle the strain, so his bones snapped with every hit he gave. However, the hands quickly healed themselves and Arya used the darkness around him to cover his body completely, reappearing on the ground shortly after without so much as causing a single speck of dust to fly into the air.


    Arya walked towards the monster slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. Arya manipulated the darkness around the beast, picking it off the ground.


    The scene looked weird. A small human the size of a child, looking up at a 2.1m beast condescendingly.


    The beast began to feel fear. It had felt the sudden change in Arya''s presence but it only just realized that whatever Arya was, he wasn''t human anymore.


    "Who sent you here?" asked the deep voice that came from Arya''s mouth.


    The beast looked at the human in fear as it didn''t understand what it was saying.


    "Impertinent mongrel. You don''t even know the human tongue?" asked the deep voice as it rephrased its question.


    (AN: from now on the star sign at the beginning of a dialogue represents the demon tongue is being spoken."


    *"Who sent you here?" asked the deep voice in a low guttural tongue that seemed to be a mix between screams and howls.


    *"I don''t know. I just woke up and found myself here." replied the beast, realizing that the human it had been fighting with was actually a demon.


    *"Don''t lie to me." said the deep voice, using the darkness to tear off one of the beast''s legs, causing it to howl in pain."


    *"I am not lying please spare me." replied the beast in a pained voice, well as pained as it could sound.


    *"That''s out of the question. First you try to kill my vessel without my permission. Then you try to attack me, making me break my precious body, and now you make me speak in the peasant tongue." replied the deep voice with a wide grin on it''s face. The grin was blinding as light constantly pulsed from Arya''s mouth.


    *"Forgive me. Please have mercy. I-I will serve you. I''ll do anything." replied the beast, even more scared than before.


    *"Is that so?" asked the deep voice as Arya turned to look at Arcem''s corpse.


    *"Arise." said the deep voice as Arcem''s body stood up in an inhuman manner, almost like a zombie would in the movies.


    *"A genera-" the beast was about to say before Arya used the darkness to bind its mouth shut and reattached its leg.


    *"If you can defeat my spawn. I will let you serve me." said the deep voice as Arcem disappeared in a flash and reappeared beneath the beast, punching it into the air causing shockwaves to reverberate in the air.


    Of course the impact was so much that Arcem''s fist was completely crushed, it hung limply on the side but the undead Arcem didn''t seem to feel any pain.


    "This won''t do, you can''t even throw a punch properly." said the deep voice as it watched its spawn fight the beast.


    Unlike Arya, the undead Arcem''s body didn''t heal itself, however this didn''t stop Arcem from fighting. As soon as the beast landed on the ground, Arcem disappeared once again appearing on the right side of the beast, aiming to kick its head.


    The beast was not expecting such speed and was sent tumbling away, once again shockwaves reverberated in the air. This time the beast''s skull exploded and its body lay limp several meters away.


    Arcem''s legs were completely mangled, the undead Arcem balanced itself on a single leg as it continued looking at the beast''s lifeless body.


    "Sigh, I didn''t even have time to enjoy the show." said the deep voice, disappointed by the beast''s abilities, as Arya turned around to walk back to his horse.


    However the beast quickly stood up, this time growing even bigger than before. The beast was now 2.6m tall, giving off a stronger presence.


    "A soldier? It seems you still have some fight in you." said the deep voice as he turned around to continue watching the show again.


    "What the fuck is going on?" shouted Arya in the abyss of his mindscape as he watched what was going on from a spectator''s point of view.


    Arya couldn''t understand what the dark figure and the beast had been talking about when they were speaking in demon tongue, but he didn''t like it.


    Although the dark figure had saved his life, he didn''t like that it was controlling his body. Arya''s eyes widened in shock as he watched Arcem''s body come back to life.


    "Is he able to resurrect people?" wondered Arya as he watched Arcem appear beneath the beast and punch it into the air with incredible force.


    Arya was shocked to see that Arcem''s hands had been destroyed from the force of the punch, to make it even more shocking, Arcem seemed fine with it.


    "No, that isn''t Arcem." thought Arya as the hope of resurrecting his family was squashed.


    "Why are you playing with it?! Finish this fast and give me back my body!" shouted Arya, but the dark figure didn''t reply. It was enjoying it''s show.


    The beast seemed faster than before, this time it was on par with the undead Arcem on one leg. If there were other people here they wouldn''t be able to see the movements of the two fighting properly.


    Arcem and the beast were blurs of black as they fought in the moonlight. With every hit a shockwave was sent out. However, shortly after the fight began Arcem''s body fell limp on the ground. It tried to stand with its destroyed body parts but it wasn''t physically possible.


    It seemed its vessel was too weak to support its power.


    The beast ignored the defeated Arcem and approached Arya with a grin on its face.


    *"Well a deal is a deal. You are allowed to serve me." said the deep voice as Arya looked up at the humongous beast.


    The beast didn''t seem as scared as it was before. It seemed confident in it''s new form.


    *"Kneel before your master." said the deep voice as the darkness around the beast pushed it to its knees.


    *"Yes master." replied the beast, realizing that even with its new power it was no match for the being in front of it.

 Chapter 74 - Big Brother (1)

    Meanwhile, while Arya''s body was being possessed by the dark figure, Luca was having trouble convincing Luna to let him go to Lokreem Academy. The biggest magical institution in the kingdom of Ravaryn.


    Ever since the day Luna and Luca had been separated from Arya and Ava, they had been living in hiding. Luna continued to teach Luca all she knew about ice magic and had even taught him her family''s breathing technique.


    Since Luca was a genius magician he was able to reach the tier 3 2-star stage by the age of 11. Luna was astounded by Luca''s growth and potential, however she knew that her time was running out.


    Ever since that fateful day known as the Draquerth Extermination by the rest of the world, Luna had been careful about not staying in one place for too long. They had managed to sneak into the kingdom of Ravaryn, where the church''s influence was nigh zero, but she still couldn''t drop her guard.


    Of course occasionally she would go out of her way to search the orphanages in the towns they had passed by in the hope that maybe Arya had been taken to one of them. It wouldn''t be hard to find a white-haired kid since he was probably the only one in all of Merrum with that color hair, but sadly she never found him.


    Every day she prayed, asking Lillian and Neel to forgive her for only being able to protect one of their children. She made a vow to find at least Arya, and maybe together the two magical anomalies would be strong enough to save their sister from the clutches of Amana.


    Luna still remembered how Arya should''ve unlocked his magic at the age of one, she wondered how powerful he must be right now.


    "Please Aunt Luna. It''s my chance to gain powerful allies. If I''m able to show off my skills at Lokreem academy, I''m sure that a powerful noble will want to sponsor me, and that way I can even help look for Arya quicker. Who knows I might even be able to save Ava." said Luca to the disinterested Luna.


    Luca had grown up quite well, he was just 11 years old but was already going through his first growth spurt. He was already 1.48m, he was way taller than all his peers, and was the spitting image of his father. Every time Luna looked at him she was reminded of Neel''s calm persona, something that Luca didn''t seem to have.


    Luca was more emotional like his mother, every time he got angry his blue eyes would begin to rage like the ocean. At times like those, Luna was reminded that although Luca looked like Neel, he was truly his mother''s son.


    "I wonder how the other two turned out?" wondered Luna before replying to Luca. "You know we can''t. Let''s say that the church has indeed forgotten about us, which I doubt they have, how would you explain how powerful you are?" asked Luna with a stern voice but pity visible on her aged face.


    "Luca I know you want to help, but you have to remember that unlocking magic at the age of 11 is something that most people only attribute to geniuses. If they find out that you''re a 2-star mage, that uses ice magic at that, you''ll be classified as a monster. People are afraid of what they don''t understand. "


    "Do you realize what that means? You won''t have any real peers who will have your back and take care of you. Even the nobles that support you will never look at you as anything more than a killing machine. Is that the example you want to set for your little brother?" asked Luna, trying to convince Luca not to go.


    Luca still thought about Ava and Arya every night. He blamed himself for not being powerful enough to stop Amana and trained two times as hard every day in the hopes of being strong enough to get them back.


    When he heard about Lokreem Academy he realized that he might have a chance to get help quickly and at the same time grow stronger at an exponentially faster rate.


    Although Luna was a top-tier ice mage, she was restricted on how well she could teach Luca due to lack of institutions and funds.


    If Luca went to Lokreem Academy, not only could he garner a noble''s support, he would also have access to vast libraries of magic and many magical elixirs to help him grow faster. Luca loved Luna with all his heart but he felt that she was becoming too afraid, to the extent that she didn''t want to progress.


    Sure Luca was heartbroken that his parents had died, but many children had lost their parents at a young age as well. At first Luca wanted to get revenge, but Luna explained to him that revenge would only cause him to become evil and he still and a brother and a sister to take care. So he forgot about the idea of revenge and focused solely on gathering the remains of his family.


    "It doesn''t matter Aunt Luna. I can endure it, please. I know that you are scared but it''s my only hope. I''ve listened to you and stayed on the low for nearly 4 years, that''s 4 years that Arya has been alone in this world. Sure Ava is in Ecclesia, but I am sure that they wouldn''t mistreat a child, even if her parents are classified as criminals."


    "Then what about Arya? How do you think he feels right now? He was probably even too small to remember what happened, he probably thinks his family abandoned him. Luna please, I don''t want my brother growing up thinking that Merrum had turned its back on him.. Who knows what type of people he is surrounded by right now? Who knows what type of person he will grow up to be without any of his family members there to support him?" pleaded Luca.

 Chapter 75 - Big Brother (2)

    Luna knew that Luca was making sense. Arya had been alone in this world for 4 years, and who knows what type of people may have taken him in. There were even times that Luna feared the worst, she feared that maybe the church had hunted him down, or maybe he had already been eaten by the wolf that grabbed him out of Amana''s clutches or worse.


    Luca also had his doubts at times, but something inside him told him that his brother was still alive. He just had a feeling that his brother was out there somewhere, lonely and scared.


    "You''re just like your mother," muttered Luna as she gave up. She knew that she couldn''t keep Luca there, even if she didn''t allow him to leave, he would just sneak off on his own.


    Currently Luca and Luna were a few towns away from Ravaryn, living in a small cottage off the outskirts of the major town of Yordumlin.


    They had been living a modest life, Luna had secured a large amount of gold in her dimensional storage from her days as a high mage, and used a bit of it to sustain their daily needs.


    There had actually been a number of times she tried teaching Luca dimensional magic in order to move the gold to him, however it seemed that Luca just wasn''t gifted with it.


    Dimensional magic wasn''t even classified as magic anyways, it was an anomaly that only a few mages were able to use. The reason why it wasn''t classified as magic was because it didn''t use any of the four basic elements or light and dark magic, and unlike variants, it wasn''t a mixture of elements either.


    "But you have to follow three conditions," said Luna with a stern look on her face.


    "Yes, anything Aunt Luna," replied Luca, excited that he would be allowed to go to Lokreem Academy.


    "First, you have to lie that you are 13. You are already too tall for an 11-year old I''m sure that everyone would believe you if you claimed to be 13. Second, you are only to utilize water magic until you are established as a slightly gifted mage." said Luna listing her conditions


    "What? But my water magic isn''t as strong as my ice magic. How will I garner the support of nobles without it?" asked Luca, distressed by Luna''s second condition.


    "That''s one of the reasons I want you to only use water magic. You''ve been focusing solely on ice magic and I feel you''ve forgotten that you are attuned to two elements instead of one. Remember a variant''s strongest asset is the fact they can silent cast two elements. You need to learn how to silent cast both water and ice and to do that you need to focus on them equally." replied Luna.


    "And third, you''re going to act like a 0-star mage," said Luna, surprising Luca.


    "But Aunt Luna how will I do that?" asked Luca. He was sure that it wasn''t possible for him to act like a 0-star mage in front of his lecturers at Lokreem Academy. Sure he would be able to fool the students by using weak spells, but master tier mages would be able to tell he was acting just by sensing his mana signature.


    "That''s why today I''m going to teach you mana cloaking. It''s usually a trick used by at least 3-star mages to completely mask their mana signature to prevent being found by enemy mages. But even if you''re just a 2-star mage, if it''s you I''m sure you will be able to learn it." replied Luna, lowering Luca''s hesitance by a bit.


    "But Aunt Luna, won''t it be suspicious if I don''t have a mana signature at all?" asked Luca still confused.


    "For a genius in magic, I must say you''re rather dull at everything else child. We will just make it so that instead of completely masking your mana signature, only a part of it is masked. So that you appear weaker than you are." replied Luna.


    "But won''t that be difficult?" asked Luca.


    "That''s why you better start learning. The opening ceremony for Lokreem Academy is just in a few months, so if you really want to go you have to master it before then.


    "Ahhh," complained Luca. He was already overworked by Luna as it was, but now he had to work on a higher-level concept. And what''s worse he had a time limit.


    "Brother, sister, wherever you are thank the gods you didn''t end up with Luna." thought Luca as Luna began teaching him how to mask his mana signature.


    ***


    *"You''re not going anywhere until you are able to completely morph into a human."1 said a deep voice in demonic tongue.


    *"Master, I don''t mean to question your orders. But why would you want me to change into a human? My current body is way better at fighting than a human''s ever could." replied the beast as it struggled to manipulate its life force into that of a human''s.


    *"Because I have no use for a fighter. I need someone to act as my agent in the human world, and a 2m tall beast does not fit the description." replied the deep voice that seemed to be coming from Arya''s mouth as he kicked the beast''s leg.


    The two were hiding in a cave, walking next to a beast in broad daylight was bound to arouse suspicion.


    Unlike the previous night, Arya''s eyes weren''t glowing as brightly and it seemed he was sluggish.


    *"Hurry up. I don''t have much time left." said the deep voice, urging the beast to try harder.


    Morphing into a different species wasn''t something simple, however demons were naturally gifted at deception. So for them it came as easy as learning to tie your shoes. However it seemed that the demonic beast that now served the dark figure was a mindless brute who couldn''t even learn something so simple.


    *"I''m trying." replied the beast, scared at what his master might do if he took too long.


    *"Forget it, I can''t hold him back any longer. Remember what I asked you to do. By the time we meet again you should be able to speak the human tongue and turn into a human at will. Also remember I am always watching. If you try to even so much as put a scratch on my vessel I will kill you." said the deep voice as Arya passed out.

 Chapter 76 - New Allies (1)

    "Remember that I will collect my debt when the time comes." said the deep voice to Arya as he opened his eyes.


    "I''m never getting help from that bastard again." thought Arya as he was finally given back full control of his body. However it felt like all his bones had been broken, crushed, and pasted back together.


    Although there were no traces of the injuries he had incurred from the fight against the beast last night, it still felt like he had been hit by a truck.


    *"Master?" asked the beast with a confused expression.


    The beast felt like his master''s power level had substantially lowered, and his once domineering presence could no longer be felt.


    Arya quickly pulled out his dagger and began chanting a spell as soon as he saw the beast standing in front of him.


    "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted Arya as a beam of ice shot out of his hand and hit the beast in the face. Arya then quickly followed up with a stab to the beast''s abdomen as well.


    *"I see. This is what master meant." said the beast as Arya''s trifle attacks deflected off the beast''s body.


    The form in which the beast Arya had lost against last night was substantially weaker than his current form. At this moment Arya couldn''t even so much as put a scratch on the beast, and if the beast wanted to he could easily kill Arya with the flick of his wrist.


    But he didn''t. The memory of his master still plagued his mind.


    *"Master I will gather the forces like you have commanded me. Until then I wish you good luck on your journey." said the beast before turning into a shadow and disappearing from the cave.


    "What the hell was that about?" thought Arya as his heart finally calmed. He didn''t understand one word of what the beast had said, but it didn''t sound good.


    "F**k, the journal!" shouted Arya as he finally remembered the fight that Arcem''s corpse had with the beast.


    When Arya reached the remains of Arcem''s mangled corpse he found the journal in a terrible state. Many of its pages were torn, and its cover was missing.


    "Why can''t anything ever go right for once?" thought Arya as he picked up Arcem''s satchel and began walking towards the town of Alclara.


    His horse was nowhere to be seen and the only thing Arcem''s horse would be good for was dried meat.


    Arya had walked for nearly 5 hours, completely depleting all the supplies in Arcem''s satchel, before finally reaching Alclara.


    "Welcome traveler, h-how can I help you?" asked the owner of the inn that Arya had walked into. The old gentleman behind the counter had beads of sweat running down his face, clearly something was bothering him.


    "I would like to book a room," replied Arya in a dry voice, like he hadn''t drunk water for days.


    "U-uhm, what kind of room would you like?" asked the man as he slowly looked at his register to see if there were available rooms.


    "I don''t really mind. Any room would do, I just want a meal to be sent up to it as soon as possible," replied Arya fed up by the innkeeper''s slow service.


    "And can you hurry up, I don''t have all day," said Arya hoping to make the innkeeper go faster.


    "R-right this way, follow me." said the man as he led Arya to his room. "Your meal will be sent right away s-sir." said the innkeeper before leaving a bit too quickly.


    Arya didn''t care, he was too tired to wonder why the old man was acting the way he was.


    Of course, Arya didn''t have a mirror and was too tired to examine himself so he had no idea about the state he was in. His white hair was colored red with blood, his clothes were in taters and the satchel he was carrying had more holes than it did fabric.


    "Your food is here sir." said a woman as she brought Arya''s food. Arya woke up and quickly devoured his meal before going back to sleep.


    After sleeping for 12 hours he finally woke up, it was already late afternoon and he decided he would go have a bath. When Arya finished bathing he looked at himself in the mirror.


    "I''m taller?" thought Arya as he realized he had grown by a few inches overnight. it was the result of his demon possession, as his body tried to adapt to holding in the power of a demon.


    Arya''s body looked even more muscular than it did before, now he could easily pass off as a slightly short 10-year-old if he wanted to.


    Arya went back to his room and counted the amount of money Arcem had left in his satchel. "Three gold coins, fifty silver, and 100 bronze. And the room costs about 3 silver per night, I must say Arcem was rather loaded wasn''t he? I would probably be able to buy our old house seven times with this money." thought Arya with a smile on his face.


    The smile quickly disappeared as a wave of sadness filled him. "What''s this? Why am I thinking about them all of a sudden?" thought Arya as the memories of his family members flooded his mind.


    "That''s it, continue to feel despair." whispered the dark figure in Arya''s mind.


    After Arya cleared up his mind he decided to go shopping for clothes since his were currently in a rather sorry state.


    "H-how can I help you sir?" asked the fat short store clerk of the clothing store Arya had entered.


    "I would like to try on some clothes my size," replied Arya while looking around.


    "I''m sorry sir, but the clothes here are rather.. expensive." said the store clerk in an arrogant tone as he looked at Arya up and down, noting his tattered clothes.


    "It''s okay, I have money," said Arya as he pulled out a sack of coins and handed the man several silver coins.


    The man wasn''t sure which rich aristocrat had let his son walk around in such a sad state, but he was happy to help a paying customer.


    Arya walked out wearing rather expensive clothing, he looked exactly like a noble would, attracting the attention of all those he passed on the street.


    Together with his long white hair, and rather charming looks, Arya could very easily have anyone he wanted had he been a tad bit taller.. But the women of Alclara didn''t care, all they saw was a walking piggy bank ripe for the picking.

 Chapter 77 - New Allies (2)

    "Hey there are you lost?" asked several women as Arya walked around town looking for something fun to do.


    He wasn''t interested in the riffraff that kept approaching him, although Arya was a virgin in his past life he wouldn''t stoop so low as to let his first time be with a hooker.


    As he was walking he heard a lot of laugher coming from a building. "A tavern huh?" thought Arya as he entered the tavern.


    There was a jovial atmosphere, everyone seemed to be having their own type of fun. Some people were trying to hit on the waitress, some were telling fantastical tales to their companions, while some people remained solitary at the edges of the bar.


    Arya went straight for the counter, "A glass of nectar please." said Arya to the bartender.


    "This is no place for a child." replied the bartender before another gentleman at the counter stopped him.


    "Hey now Cullen. So long as he has money in his pockets shouldn''t you let him do what he wants?" asked the man sitting next to Arya.


    The man looked rather sly, Arya didn''t trust him one bit and acted like he wasn''t there. He knew that characters like him were only looking for trouble.


    "My name''s Nolan, what''s yours?" asked the man as he turned to look at Arya. He noted that Arya looked like some rich man''s son and would probably make a lot of money for holding him ransom.


    Arya didn''t turn to look at the man, but he could tell from his peripheral vision that the man was more interested in what was in his pockets than what his name was.


    Arya just waited for his drink and didn''t reply.


    "Oi, boy are you ignoring me?" asked Nolan, a bit surprised that a kid had the gal to ignore him.


    Several people in the bar could tell what was going on.  Nolan was a well-known thief in Alclara, but no one would help a stranger, much less a child who had purposefully entered a tavern on his own thinking that his father owned the place.


    "Calder should we help him?" asked a small hooded figure at the corner of the tavern. Her voice was low and childish but had an emotionless tone to it.


    "Why would you ask that? Do you know him?" asked another hooded figure next to her. This one was larger in build and had a manlier voice.


    "No, but I can sense mana radiating from him." replied the girl''s voice.


    "I never thought you were one to joke Myara." said the man as he chuckled at Myara''s response.


    "I''m not joking," replied Myara in a serious but flat tone.


    "You mean to tell me that the kid sitting over there is a mage?" asked Calder taking her more seriously now.


    "Kid listen to me when I''m talking to you," said Nolan now furious that he was being blatantly ignored by what looked like a 10-year-old.


    Arya didn''t pay him much attention and just finished his drink. He had come to see if there was anything interesting here but soon realized that it was a bad idea.


    "What was I thinking? Was I so absent-minded that I thought I would find fun here?" thought Arya as he pulled out a sack full of coins and handed a bronze coin to the bartender.


    Nolan''s eyes shone with greed as he looked at Arya place the sack back in his pockets and leave.


    "It''s like his begging to be mugged." thought Nolan as he signaled his friends to follow the kid.


    As Arya left, Nolan and three other guys followed. The two hooded figures weren''t far behind as well.


    "I feel sorry for that kid," said Cullen as he shook his head in pity.


    Arya walked down an alleyway in the opposite direction from where the inn he was staying at was. He quickly turned down a narrow path, and Nolan and his goons soon followed.


    Arya walked into a dead end. "It''s the end of the road kid," said Nolan as he and his friends began laughing at their luck.


    "Where''s your mommy little boy?" asked one of Nolan''s friends making fun of Arya.


    Arya wasn''t dumb, he didn''t walk into the tavern without thinking it through. Rather he wanted to draw attention, he needed something to take his mind of things. And what better way to do it than to rid the world of a bunch of street thugs.


    "You''re right, it is the end of the road. For you that is," said Arya as mana coursed through his veins.


    "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my foes."


    "look, the kid thinks he is a m-" one of the men was about to say before the ground beneath him turned to ice.


    "What the h-" Nolan was about to say before Arya sprinted towards him using the ice to further increase his speed. Arya pulled out his blade and jumped aiming to slit Nolan''s throat.


    Arya felt stronger than he was before, due to his new physique he was able to exert greater power than before, slicing Nolan''s throat with a single strike.


    "M-monster!" shouted the remaining thugs as they tried to run away abruptly, however the ice would not allow such careless movements.


    "Where are you going? Didn''t you want to know where my mother was?" asked Arya as his eyes emitted a dim blue glow.


    Arya ran straight for the man who had spoken about his mother. The man tried to defend himself by pulling out his own knife, but it was already too late.


    Arya stabbed his blade in the man''s mouth and chanted an ice spell. His dagger quickly froze, sealing the man''s mouth shut.


    ''"I think I like you better this way." said Arya as his eyes began to glow even brighter.


    "Yes, that''s it. More, more!" whispered the dark figure in Arya''s mind.


    The other two thugs who had been watching decided that this was their chance and pulled out their knives quickly, attempting to stab Arya.


    "Who said you could move?" asked Arya as he ducked under one of the thug''s attacks and held his palm on the man''s stomach.


    "Freeze!" chanted Arya as his eyes were now emitting a bright blue color.


    "He''s a variant," said Marya from the corner that she and Calder had been watching.


    "He''s a monster," replied Calder surprised at the amount of brutality that a mere child could unleash.


    The thug''s stomach instantly turned to ice, and Arya kneed it so hard that it shattered.


    The area around Arya was becoming colder by the second, at this point Arya''s breathe was visible.


    "More, more!" whispered the voice in Arya''s head, before Arya began to feel dizzy.


    "Wait, why am I doing t-" Arya was about to ask before he passed out.


    "You''re still too weak it seems. But oh well, we have a lot of time before my plans come to fruition.." said the dark figure as Arya''s world became dark.

 Chapter 78 - New Allies (3)

    "Marya, can you do that too?" asked Calder as he watched Arya pass out.


    "No, I can''t," replied Marya flatly.


    "But what was that? Why were his eyes glowing, and why did he only need a single word to cast his spell?" asked Calder, confused by what he had just seen.


    Calder had worked with several mages during his time as a mercenary but never did he once see a mage whose eyes were glowing. And neither did he ever hear of a mage who only chanted a single word to cast a spell, and yet here he was. Arya had chanted but a single word to freeze his opponent''s stomach, and until a second ago his eyes were glowing a bright blue color.


    "The glowing eyes are a sign of mastery, or at least that a mage is close to it. Very few mages actually ever reach that stage. And the single word casting just means he is very close to mastering silent casting." replied Marya quickly as she approached Arya''s body.


    One of the thugs that Arya had hit was about to wake up before Calder hit him on the head with his fist, knocking him out again.


    "Let''s take him with us." said Marya as she raised her palm and chanted, "Oh mighty wind, grant us a blessing. A breeze or a storm, a power worth testing."


    And a gust of wind lifted Arya off the ground. As Marya walked back to Calder, Arya''s floating body followed.


    "I still don''t buy that he''s a child Marya. Isn''t it impossible to master an element at such a young age? He barely looks ten." said Calder still not believing Arya was really a child. After seeing the things Arya did to those men, it was more believable for him to be a midget or some sort of monster.


    "What''s so hard to believe? I''m just eight and I''m already a 2-star mage," said Marya as she removed her hood. Marya was a young girl with hair so blonde it looked almost white. She had very slender features for a child and was so beautiful that she could almost be compared to Arya. Almost.


    But what was most captivating about her were her long pointy ears and her deep green eyes.


    "That''s different Marya. Humans don''t progress as fast as elves do," replied Calder as he placed back Marya''s hood.


    "Don''t take your hood off in public, it''s not safe," said Calder as he turned around to see if anyone was watching.


    "Okay, we''ll take him back and ask him in our room. Let''s hurry," said Calder as he picked up Arya from the gust he was floating on and ran from the alleyway they were in.


    ***


    "Can''t I take a break aunt Luna?" asked Luca as sweat dripped down his bare chest.


    "A mage shouldn''t only rely on their magic. You have to train your body as well. Now again!" shouted Luna as she shot three bolts of ice at Luca and he tried dodging them.


    Luca and Luna were practicing magic in the open fields near their cottage. Luna had instructed Luca to never use magic against his colleagues as the gap between their power levels could get them seriously injured. So she decided to train Luca to fight back without the need for magic.


    Of course, Luca wasn''t too fond of this idea.


    "Ahh." whimpered Luca in pain as another ice bolt hit his chest again.


    "Suck it up child. The amount of mana I''ve put into these ice bolts isn''t even at the level of a 0-star mage. If you think this hurts, just wait till you have to fight against a kid who isn''t going to hold back. Now get up and try again." said Luna as three more ice bolts floated around her ready to attack.


    "Why can''t I just be like normal kids?" Luca asked himself as he tried to dodge the ice bolts that Luna had shot at him but managed to fail yet again.


    "You''ll rest once you''ve managed to dodge at least three of them successively. Now again!" said Luna after Luca had failed again.


    After several more minutes of Luca being hit by ice bolts, Luna called for a break to eat lunch.


    "Aunt Luna did you ever go to a magic academy?" asked Luca in between mouthfuls.


    "Lillian would be ashamed if she saw you talking with food in your mouth," replied Luna flatly as she took a sip of soup from her spoon.


    "But yes, I once did. However mine was vastly different from the one you''re going to be attending," replied Luna.


    "How so Aunt Luna?" asked Luca now interested in what kind of academy Luna had attended.


    "I attended Belgard Academy. Probably the biggest magical institution on this continent. And due to where it''s located it''s one of the only places where we can find a mix of different races." replied Luna.


    "Where it''s located? Different races?" asked Luca confused by Luna''s words.


    "Did you really think humans were the only race that could use magic? At Belgard Academy all races are welcome, the only requirement is that you be able to cast magic. And about where it''s located, you might not know this but there''s a kingdom called Erandel to the west of us."


    "They are neighbors with the elven kingdom living in the forest of Yggdrasil, the world tree. Belgard is located right at the border, it''s actually a town governed by mages. And although some think of it as a fortified city protecting the kingdom of Erandel, it''s actually a neutral zone where all races are equal." replied Luna, making Luca''s eyes widen.


    "Can I go there?" asked Luca as he became very interested in meeting mages from other races.


    "Forget about it. The road to Belgard is filled with dangers, and it''s not worth it anyways. Lokreem Academy is just as good as Belgard, and the fact that all mages are welcomed to Belgard means that even mages from the church can attend." said Luna as her eyes emitted a faint blue glow when she muttered the church''s name.


    "I-I see," said Luca, realizing that it was probably a bad idea to go there.


    ***


    "He''s awake," said Marya in her usual emotionless voice as she stood up from beside Arya''s bed and walked to Calder.


    "Are you okay kid?" asked Calder, looking at Arya from a distance.

 Chapter 79 - New Allies (4)

    As Arya opened his eyes he saw two hooded figures looking at him from across the room, the unfamiliar environment putting him on high alert. He quickly reached into his pants looking for his dagger before jumping off the bed into a fighting stance.


    "Who are you guys?" asked Arya as he revolved his dagger into a slicing position and was already letting mana course through his veins.


    "We mean you no harm." said the shorter figure. Arya could tell she was female by the sound of her voice, it was childish but devoid of all emotion.


    "Where am I?" asked Arya again, ready to cast an ice spell as soon as something was fishy.


    "In our room." replied the taller figure, this time it was a man.


    "You still haven''t answered me. Who are you guys?" asked Arya once again, still suspicious of the two hooded figures.


    "We are just passer-bys who happened to witness your fight and help you." replied the taller figure.


    "Pfft. And I''m the Grand-magus''s grandson. I don''t buy it, if you''re just a passer-by then take off your hood." said Arya as he shifted a bit back from the two hooded figures.


    The taller hooded figure removed his hood, revealing him to be a man possibly in his late 30''s. He had hazel-colored hair and brown colored eyes, he would be handsome if not for his tired expression.


    "And the girl," said Arya, turning to look at the shorter figure.


    "Can''t you show a little gratitude for the effort we took to save you? What would have happened to you had we left you out there in the open, next to those thugs you beat up?" asked Calder annoyed by Arya''s reaction.


    "No one does things without there being something of benefit involved. I don''t know what you guys had to benefit from saving me, but I''m sure I want nothing to do with it. Plus I never asked you to help anyways, you did it of your own accord. If I wanted to, I could blame you for kidnapping." said Arya as he scoffed at Calder''s reply.


    "This kid." thought Calder as he realized he was dealing with a sociopath.


    "It''s okay Calder. I would have to show him some time anyway," said Marya as she removed her hood, revealing her slimly shaped face, and perfectly placed features but most of all her long pointy ears signifying she was an elf.


    "An elf!" thought Arya as he began getting excited. After all this time he had finally met one, and she looked just as beautiful as he had remembered from the manga he had read back on earth. However, his excitement was short-lived as he realized the implications of it all.


    "Why would an elf help me?" wondered Arya as he looked at Marya with an expressionless face.


    "Now explain why you''ve brought me here," ordered Arya as he scrutinized Marya''s face, comparing the differences and similarities between what they had portrayed in the manga he had read and what he was seeing.


    "We need your help," said Calder as he stepped in front of Marya, covering her from Arya''s scrutinizing gaze.


    "What do you mean?" asked Arya now confused by what was going on.


    "We saw you fighting. You''re a powerful variant and I need your help protecting her," said Calder as he looked at Arya seriously.


    "If you look around I''m sure you will find mages more powerful than me," replied Arya, even more confused by Calder''s statement.


    "Me? Powerful? Aren''t I only a 0-star mage?" wondered Arya inwardly as he tried to look as confident as possible.


    "That''s highly unlikely. From what I''ve seen, you''re at least a 3-star mage or at the bottleneck to it," replied Marya from behind Calder.


    "What is she saying?" thought Arya, now convinced that these two were messing with him.


    "You can try to manipulate your mana signature to that of a 0-star mage, but it''s not possible for you to be so powerful at such an immature stage. For someone so advanced in magic your logic is a bit off. You should have changed your mana signature to that of a 1-star mage at least, if you were gonna walk around showing your power in random street fights like that." replied Marya.


    "She can sense my mana signature? Does that mean she is a mage as well?" thought Arya as the dark figure''s voice added in, "Help her. I promise you that you won''t regret it."


    "I told you I''m never asking for your help again. That includes advice," replied Arya, confusing Calder and Marya.


    "Is he crazy?" thought Calder as he gave Arya a puzzled look.


    "N-nevermind me," said Arya trying to look composed as he inwardly lectured himself for talking so loudly.


    "It doesn''t matter to me anyway. Do what you want, but keep in mind that everything I do and say has the best results in mind." said the dark figure before going silent again.


    "Wait, if you can sense my mana signature doesn''t that mean you''re a mage as well?" asked Arya.


    "Yes I am. I''m a wind mage." replied Marya much to Calder''s dismay.


    "You can''t just reveal your strengths like that," said Calder.


    "Why not? We know what type of mage he is. And plus if we are going to work together wouldn''t it make more sense for him to know as well?" asked Marya.


    "I haven''t decided on working with you yet. I don''t even know what the mission is about," replied Arya quickly.


    It wasn''t just because of that though. Arya had a bad experience in working with groups, he remembered how tight-knit and happy Silverfox looked together. Just for them to be betrayed by their leader. Arya wasn''t planning on involving himself with a group, even if payment was involved.


    "I need to get to Belgard," replied Marya flatly.


    "Marya!" shouted Calder now annoyed by Marya''s lack of negotiation skills.


    "Belgard? Why would you need help getting there?" asked Arya, now surprised that they were heading in the same direction as him.

 Chapter 80 - A Journey With Acquaintances (1)

    "Haven''t you heard about Belgard Academy?" asked Marya as she tilted her head quizzically.


    "I''ve heard of Belgard, what I''m asking is why you need help going to a magical academy," replied Arya, becoming more annoyed at Marya by the second.


    "Well if you''ve really heard of Belgard then you also know about the dangerous forest that surrounds it. The forest acts almost as an entrance exam for all students who wish to enroll there. Of course, the forest is so treacherous that a single 3-star mage would find it impossible to cross. That''s why people form groups and sometimes secretly ask help from powerful mages to help them get through the forest." said Marya as she moved from behind Calder and approached Arya.


    "So will you help us or not? Of course you will be rewarded for your efforts," said Marya with her usual expressionless voice.


    "This girl is getting on my nerves. It might be a good idea to-" thought Arya before the dark figure''s voice interrupted.


    "You know for a human you are rather quick to decide on killing people. Even a demon thinks twice before deciding on such things." said the dark figure calming Arya down.


    "First tell me, are you being chased by any lord or nobles of the sort?" asked Arya. He would never again help someone escape from the clutches of a powerful noble. He didn''t want a repeat of what happened in the forest.


    "N-no," answered Marya as she turned to look at Calder with a confused expression.


    "Hmm, if I help them I''ll be killing two birds with one stone. I can get help crossing the forest to Belgard while at the same time secure more resources." thought Arya before accepting their proposition.


    "I accept your request, however, there are some conditions. Firstly, I will help protect you but we will be sleeping in separate rooms," said Arya.


    "O-of course we will, what do you take me for?" said Marya, for the first time a hint of emotion could be heard in her voice.


    "Secondly, you will be paying for all costs incurred during travel. That includes my accommodation and meals. And thirdly, I am only protecting the girl, if at any point you happen to be in danger do not expect my help." said Arya looking at Calder as he spoke.


    "And the same to you. I will not move a muscle to protect you as well," replied Calder. There seemed to be a bit of tension between the two.


    "So when do we head out?" asked Arya as he calmed down a notch but still kept his guard up.


    "Before the sun rises. We still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach the forest of Belgard," replied Calder opening the door for Arya to leave.


    "Where do I meet you?" asked Arya as he was leaving.


    "In front of the tavern you were at earlier," replied Calder.


    That night Arya couldn''t sleep as he kept on thinking about the fight against the thugs. "How did I cast a spell with a single chant? Do you know?" asked Arya, hoping that the dark figure could explain it.


    However there was no answer. "Fine then, be that way," said Arya as he closed his eyes to fall asleep.


    The next morning the group went to the stables to buy two horses and set off on their journey. Marya was riding with Calder and Arya alone. As they were riding it began to get chilly, Marya and Calder put on their hoods to protect themselves from the cold, while Arya pulled out his Ryen pelt.


    "Is that a Ryen pelt?" asked Marya as she looked at Arya cover himself in shock.


    "Yes it is," replied Arya like it was nothing.


    "He''s powerful enough to hunt down Ryens at his age? Maybe Calder was right, maybe he really isn''t a kid." thought Marya as she stared at Arya in awe for several minutes before going back to her usual emotionless expression.


    After traveling for several hours they finally made it to the next town. They decided they would rest here for a while before continuing.


    Marya and Calder also heard rumors about the demon attacks and weren''t willing to risk traveling at night just to cover a bit more ground.


    As Arya was in his room he sat on his bed replaying the fight he had against the demon. If he ever faced a strong opponent again he had to be ready. He replayed the battle in his mind countless times, looking at the different things he could''ve done better.


    At the end of it all he came to the conclusion that no matter what he did, the outcome would''ve been the same. The problem was that the beast seemed to stand up each time it was killed, and what made matters worse was that it came back several times stronger than it was before.


    "Well that''s enough for today." thought Arya as he lay down on his bed to sleep.


    "Don''t worry about fighting strong opponents like those. At your current stage even if every move you did was perfect, there''s no way you can win. You''re simply too weak, so in moments like those just borrow my power, it''s as easy as that." said the dark figure as Arya was closing his eyes.


    "I''m never asking for your help again," replied Arya sleepily.


    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that kid. If you really want to get revenge against the people that killed your parents I''m the only one who can help you." replied the dark figure.


    Arya knew that if he accepted the dark figure''s power he could probably get revenge right now. The problem was that Arya didn''t trust that the dark figure would not just do whatever it wanted once he let it have control of his body.. So for now, he would just rely on getting stronger and enacting his revenge all on his own.

 Chapter 81 - A Journey With Acquaintances (2)

    The next morning the group met up once again and continued on their journey.


    "Say, I just realized that you never told us your name," said Marya from behind Calder, breaking the silence.


    "Arya. But I don''t see how that''s important," replied Arya, as he kept his eyes in front. He was still traumatized from the ambush he and Arcem had sustained to the demon beast, so he decided to always remain vigilant.


    "Communication makes up a good part of a team''s success," said Marya as if reciting something she was told over and over again.


    "Sometimes I forget that she''s just a child." thought Arya as he ignored Marya''s mantra.


    "So are you really a kid?" asked  Marya, her curiosity getting the best of her.


    "What does it matter if I''m a kid or not? Shouldn''t you just be worried about whether I can get the job done or not?" asked Arya getting annoyed by Marya''s many questions.


    "I don''t doubt your power, I''ve seen it with my own eyes. I''m only asking out of curiosity because you look like a child but you don''t act like one," replied Marya getting on Arya''s last nerve.


    "No, I''m not a child. I''m a grown man trapped in a child''s body," replied Arya bitterly. Although he meant it sarcastically, he realized that it was more of a half-truth than a complete lie.


    "You''re not telling the truth. So you really are a child," replied Marya before turning back in front.


    "What do you mean I''m not telling the truth? Can you tell if someone is lying?" asked Arya, confused by Marya''s reply.


    "Something like that. Elves can tell the nature of people''s actions based on their expressions. You had one of malice meaning you weren''t telling the truth" replied Marya briefly.


    "This might be a problem." thought Arya as one of his greatest weapons was now effectively useless in front of the elven girl.


    "You know, you''re one of the most powerful kids I''ve ever seen. You might even be as powerful as the  Ai Vahish of the elven kingdom," said Marya.


    "Ai Vahish?" asked Arya confused by the foreign tongue.


    "It''s elvish for "elite chosen". They''re the group of young chosen to be the future leaders of the kingdom. The fact that I''m comparing you to them means you should be honored. Though even among them you might still be the weakest," replied Marya.


    "How strong could a bunch of kids possibly be?" scoffed Arya, as the idea of an elite group of kids sounded absurd to him.


    "The strongest among them, the future elf king is already a 4-star mage. And he''s just 19," replied Marya, expecting to leave Arya in shock. However, Arya was indifferent.


    Although the power that Marya had seen was just temporary, and he still had no idea how he used it, he was also planning on quickly reaching the peak of magic. For Arya who was just 5 but was already able to use magic, it wasn''t an impossible goal to achieve.


    "You shouldn''t be talking about the achievements of others. What about you huh?" asked Arya, trying to find a way to make her shut up while embarrassing her at the same time.


    "I was a nominee for the Ai Vahish as well. Although I''m not as powerful as you yet, I''ve already achieved the 2-star stage," replied Marya with a hint of dignity in her voice.


    "2-star? Then that must mean she isn''t a pushover." thought Arya as his image of Marya changed. In his mind, he had played many scenarios where he would just abandon or take advantage of her if something happened to Calder. However now he had to change his plans.


    "But that''s why I''m going to Belgard. In order to increase my magic power and join their ranks," said Marya as they arrived at a small town.


    "This is the last town we are stopping at. After this there will be no other towns to rest at, so get whatever supplies you need before we enter the forest." said Calder before heading towards an inn.


    After booking the two rooms, Calder and Marya went out to look for food, leaving Arya by himself in his room.


    "Ai Vahish, why does that seem familiar." thought Arya as he pulled out the journal. He flipped a few pages before finally landing on the page. "Estrelum asperga Ai Vahish elumcora." read the line.


    "So the book is in elvish?" thought Arya as he continued paging to see if he would find another line with the words Ai Vahish, but didn''t manage to find any.


    "You''re still looking at that book?" asked the dark figure.


    "What''s it to you?" asked Arya as he continued searching.


    "The book isn''t written in a single language." replied the dark figure, prompting Arya to stop paging.


    "How do you know that?" asked Arya.


    "Because parts of it are in demon tongue." replied the dark figure before going silent again.


    "Demon tongue? What is demon tongue doing in a book I found in a random shed?" asked Arya, but he got no reply.


    "Bastard."


    The next morning the group grabbed a few supplies from the town merchants and set off on the final leg of their journey.


    After traveling for a few hours the wide-open plains started to gradually become filled with trees. Soon the terrain around them was completely forest and a strange aura surrounded them.


    "We''re here," said Calder as he looked around. It was currently midday, but the sun''s rays were being blocked by the tall trees.


    "From now on stay on high alert. There are many creatures here who can blend in and camouflage, if we''re not careful we might end up being someone''s dinner before we even make it past the first part of the forest," said Calder before dismounting his horse.


    "We let go of the horses here. Horses won''t be able to make it through this terrain, and they would just be easy prey for the monsters," said Calder as he slung the satchel with all their supplies over his head.


    He decided to play the role of leader since although Arya was a powerful mage, he highly doubted that Arya had any survival skills in the wilderness.

 Chapter 82 - Forest Of Belgard (1)

    "Before we head in I''m going to set some ground rules, you guys may be mages but surviving in a forest full of wild magical beasts is completely different from fighting against humans. Rule number one, always stay behind me at all times, if you go missing in the forest you might never make it out alive," said Calder while looking at Arya and Marya.


    "Rule number two, don''t make any noise, that means keeping talking to a minimum," said Calder while looking at Marya to emphasize his point.


    "And finally, the last and most important rule. If you see a Ryen run for your life, don''t try playing hero. I don''t know where you bought that Ryen pelt, but if you came face to face with an actual Ryen, you''d be so scared you wouldn''t even be able to chant a single word before turning into its snack." said Calder, this time looking at Arya.


    "Pfft, bought? Let''s hope nothing bad happens to you in the forest, Ryen''s aren''t the only things you should worry about." thought Arya as he stared back at Calder.


    "There you go again, deciding to kill humans on a whim. Mindless destruction is good and all, but this could become one of your greatest weaknesses. If you are unable to discern potential future benefit from instant gratification, you might as well be a wild beast." said the dark figure, once again disappointed that the first thing Arya thought about doing once he was mad was killing someone.


    "Whatever," replied Arya as the group entered the forest. The terrain was warm, smelly, and moist during mid-day. Insects swarmed the group as they walked past the tall trees, Calder turned around to see how the kids were faring. As expected Marya seemed very bothered by the insects that kept trying to enter her mouth, Calder turned to see how Arya was doing but found that he was rather calm.


    He had used his shirt to cover his mouth and nose and continued walking as if nothing was wrong. "W-well, it''s still early. I''m sure he won''t be able to hold out much longer." thought Calder as he turned back to the front to focus on where he was going.


    After walking non-stop for hours the group had reached the point of complete exhaustion. Marya could barely stand and Calder was breathing heavily, however to everyone''s astonishment Arya seemed reasonably fine. To him it was like they were just taking a pleasant walk, of course it was due to the months he had spent in a forest when he was still four.


    "Do you guys want to rest?" asked Arya, he knew that traveling while you were exhausted was like asking for a death sentence in a forest.


    "S-sure." replied Calder as he began setting up camp.


    "Shouldn''t we set up camp on a tree? Won''t the smoke attract predators leaving us sitting ducks if we make camp on the ground?" asked Arya as Calder was about to make the fire. Calder had never actually been to a forest, he was just taking the lead because as the oldest he expected to have the best survival skills amongst the group. However, it seemed as if Arya was well versed in basic survival skills, much to Calder''s chagrin.


    "Arya have you been to a forest before?" asked Marya before Calder shushed her.


    "Keep talking to a minimum," whispered Calder, but even he wanted to know the answer to that question.


    "Perhaps he really did hunt a Ryen by himself? N-no way, even with a group of mages I''ve heard it''s difficult to hunt down fire Ryens." thought Calder as he looked at Arya''s pelt.


    Night came and with it came the cold as well. Calder and Marya pulled out blankets from their supplies to cover themselves, but it seemed as if the cold wind could even  penetrate their thick blankets.


    Calder wondered how Arya was doing without so much as a blanket to protect himself, but found that Arya was sleeping soundly. The fire Ryen pelt that he used to cover himself was able to maintain body heat to an almost perfect degree, additionally, the fire element imbued within the pelt acted as a sort of mini heater as well.


    In the morning the group ate their breakfast on a tree before quickly continuing on their journey. By now they were already past the first part of the forest. When viewing Belgard''s forest from a map, it could be divided into 5 concentric rings. The first part that they had just crossed was the least dangerous, the closer one went to the center of the forest the more dangerous it would become. Of course, Belgard was located at the innermost center of the forest.


    *Kwaaa* Screeched a bird.


    "What was that?" asked Marya before a giant bird dived down nearly taking off her head. "A-a Roc!" shouted Marya before chanting a wind spell to interrupt the Roc''s flight pattern.


    Rocs were one of the many apex predators of the forest. They were mystical creatures that ruled the skies and could grow up to 7m long with a wingspan of 20m from tip to tip in adulthood. They primarily used lightning magic and were one of the only creatures that were naturally gifted with a variant element, making them even harder to deal with since they could use one of their base elements as well.


    Luckily this Roc seemed to be in its adolescence stage, as it was only 4m long and had a wingspan of 11m from tip to tip. However, it was still a giant that shouldn''t be messed with.


    "Duck!" shouted Arya as he saw lightning sparks jumping off the Roc''s feathers. *zap* Lightning bolts struck all the trees setting them aflame, creating a clearing for the Roc to accurately attack them.


    "This doesn''t make sense, why would a Roc actively go out of its way to catch prey on the ground when it''s easier to hunt in the air?" asked Marya as she ran behind Arya and Calder.


    "I don''t know. Do you think we should stop to ask it?" asked Arya as he was thinking of a way to escape their predicament.


    "What if I injure one of these two so that the bird focuses on them instead.." thought Arya before the dark figure stopped him.

 Chapter 83 - Forest Of Belgard (2)

    "Seriously, I''m supposed to be the demon in your head, yet it feels as if I am acting as a moral compass instead. Can you think ahead for one second, sure these two are expendable, but isn''t there a higher chance of survival if all three of you are alive. Isn''t it too early to already be sacrificing teammates?" asked the dark figure.


    "Think Arya think." thought Arya before he finally got an idea.


    "Marya can you cast that spell you used earlier to manipulate the Roc''s trajectory?" asked Arya in between heavy breathes as the group ran for their lives.


    Marya''s spell made use of small changes in air trajectory to manipulate the Roc''s flight path, however it wouldn''t work if she tried to force it into a certain direction. The Roc was a massive bird, and the amount of mana needed to create a wind force powerful enough to force it in a direction would probably deplete Marya''s reserves if she held it for more than 30 seconds.


    "Yes, but why? The spell isn''t powerful enough to completely change the Roc''s path. Plus it seems like the Roc can manipulate air as well, nullifying my spell." replied Marya, as sweat ran down her face.


    "It''s okay, just cast it as powerfully as you can when I say go" replied Arya before starting to chant an ice spell.


    "Now, go! Make it dip down as hard as you can!" shouted Arya before Marya tried manipulating the air around the Roc to make it come down, however the Roc counteracted her spell, using air magic to push itself upwards.


    "Now release and use air magic to shoot me at it!" shouted Arya, however, Marya was confused by his request.


    "Just trust me!" shouted Arya as Marya stopped manipulating the air around the Roc and used air magic to shoot Arya at it.


    Due to the sudden change in the equilibrium of the air around the Roc, it shot into the air. In order to quickly balance itself, it changed the air trajectory to allow it to stop ascending quickly, however it was too late.  A human boy was already flying towards it with a beam of ice shooting out one hand and a dagger in the other.


    Arya shot a bolt of ice at the Roc''s wing as he was approaching it, and used his dagger to break the ice that he had made on the Roc as he landed on its wing, causing a hole in the Roc''s wing. Due to this small hole the Roc was sent off balance and had to adjust the wind around itself to keep itself in the air.


    The Roc began charging lighting from its feathers in order to kill the human that clung onto it. However, Arya quickly froze his hand into the hole in the Roc''s wing in order to prevent getting shocked by lightning. Arya was supposed to be an engineering student before he was reborn into this world, and he knew all too well that ice was a bad conductor of electricity.


    The Roc was surprised that the human hadn''t died yet and begun spinning viciously inorder to shake the human off. Arya stabbed his dagger into another part of the Roc''s wing and froze that hand there as well, hanging onto the Roc with both hands frozen.


    "N-now, manipulate the wind around it," shouted Arya as Marya changed the wind trajectory around the Roc again. The Roc was so focused on getting rid of the human that it hadn''t realized that the wind around it was being manipulated until it was too late.


    *Boom* The Roc crashed to the ground. Due to its spinning action, the Roc had dug deep into the ground meaning it probably broke its neck.


    "Up here, save me quick!" shouted Arya as he plummeted to the ground. He had broken the ice and jumped of the Roc just as it was plummeting. And due to the spinning action, he was flung higher into the air, giving Marya more time to help him. He had survived, but it was completely due to luck.


    "T-this kid has balls." thought Calder as he watched Marya slow Arya''s descent.


    "Do you fight Roc''s often?" asked Marya, astounded by what Arya had done.


    "Only when I''m helping elves," replied Arya, making Marya blush.


    "Well done, if you''re weak make up for it with courage. Plus if you broke every bone in your body you would''ve been forced to rely on my help. So please, continue to fight in this reckless manner." said the dark figure in Arya''s mind.


    *kwaa* Cawed the downed bird. Apparently the fall wasn''t enough to kill it.


    "W-what do we do?" asked Marya, it was pleasing for Arya to see Marya with a expression other than disinterest.


    "We run!" said Arya before bolting forward. Although the Roc was still alive it had still sustained damage, no matter how large a creature was, a fall like that would certainly break a few bones.


    After the group had run for a while they finally stopped. They couldn''t hear the Roc following them.


    "Sigh that was close." thought Arya as he and the rest of the group caught their breath.


    Meanwhile, another Roc landed next to the crater in which the previous Roc was embedded. The new Roc was two times bigger than the adolescent Roc.


    "They defeated you?" asked the bigger Roc.


    "Sorry, sis. There was a crazy human amongst them who got me by surprise." replied the adolescent Roc.


    "It''s okay Shay, our goal is just to test them. If they managed to do this to you then I say they passed this test." replied the sister Roc as she used her lighting to heal Shay.


    "Thanks, sis," replied Shay.


    "I wonder how they will fare against the Ryens," thought the sister Roc before her and Shay flew off into the air.


    "Two hundred and fifty people made it past the second stage. Two hundred are dead and around one hundred ran out of the forest. Of the two hundred and fifty that made it through only ten were able to take down an adolescent Roc." said the sister Roc.


    "It seems that this year there are some interesting students.." said a voice from the sister Roc''s amulet.

 Chapter 84 - Demon Subordinate (Part 1)

    *"Finding other demonic beasts to serve my lord seems harder than I thought it would be. The demonic beasts I''ve met so far were too weak to join the lord''s army."1 thought the demonic beast that the dark figure had turned into a subordinate.


    After a week of continual practice, the demonic beast was now capable of turning into a human at will. Which would''ve granted him a severe beating had the dark figure learned it took him this long to master it.


    In his human form, he was known as Amon. Due to his rather large size in his demonic form, he had to create a suitable human vessel to contain his power without its bones breaking every time he hit something. So because of this, his human form was a giant figure at a height of 2m with the build of an orc that just happened to lift weights as well.


    Even as he walked among humans in this form, they still looked at him like some kind of monster. However his face was another thing, since his master was the only presence he acknowledged, he decided to model his facial features after Arya, making him look rather dashing.


    If not for his domineering presence, most of the lady folk that passed by him would''ve jumped into bed with him without a second thought. However Amon was on an important mission and didn''t have time to partake in human desires.


    He was currently walking around the dark alleyways of Arector- a minor town towards the south of Erandel-, he had sensed a demonic beast''s presence here and hoped that it would be powerful enough to serve his lord. However the beast was very slippery, every time he was about to catch up to it, it would disappear without a trace.


    *"It''s probably not a soldier like me." thought Amon as he walked to the area where he last sensed the demonic beast.


    Among the demonic beasts, the soldiers were the strongest when it came to physical prowess. This was due to their ability to continuously grow in strength with every fight they lost. However, they were also regarded as the lowest class as they couldn''t use any type of magic and had to rely solely on their brawn.


    The only supernatural ability they could use was shapeshifting, but that was a skill that all monsters born in hell were equipped with.


    *"Come out, you can''t continue running forever." said Amon in demonic tongue as he reached the end of the alleyway.


    *"Why have you been following me?" asked another demonic beast, as the shadows in the alleyway formed a figure behind Amon.


    This figure was smaller than Amon even in his human form, it had a rather curvey shape, with something that looked like long hair flowing from its head. From its voluptuous figure Amon could tell it was a demonic beast from the seventh hell, the hell of nightmares, lead by the Succubus queen Arch Demon Lillith.


    *"I have been tasked with creating a force for my master." replied Amon, changing into his demonic beast form. He grew to over 2.6m tall, with long arms that had claws as sharp as blades at the ends. His beautiful face became a black slate with gleaming red eyes and a wide bloody smile.


    *"Master? We are demonic beasts who have been brought out of hell without our master''s knowledge. And you mean to tell me that one of the Arch Demon''s of hell has sent you, a soldier, with the task of gathering an army?" asked the succubus demon beast in front of him.


    *"My master is not an Arch Demon and does not reside in hell, however, he is someone that can stand on par with them." replied Amon walking closer to the succubus. highlighting the difference in their size.


    *"Pfft, have you gone delusional? I heard soldiers were dumb, but to think that someone on the earthly realm could compare with an Arch Demon." laughed the succubus before Amon disappeared from her field of view and pierced through her stomach from behind.


    *"I am not here to debate. Either you serve my master or you perish." said Amon before the succubus turned to a smokey mass of shadows.


    *"It seems you''ve fought some rather interesting humans for you to be this powerful already. But never forget your place soldier. I will show you the difference between a being closer to being a true demon and one who is at the bottom of the hierarchy." said the succubus as she manipulated the shadows around Amon holding him in a vise.


    Demonic beasts weren''t actual demons, rather they were the creatures true demons created to do their bidding. True demons were many times more powerful than demonic beasts, however, a demonic beast could be promoted to a true demon if they became powerful enough. And of all the demonic beasts, soldiers were said to have the least likely chance since they required strong opponents to become stronger themselves.


    The downside of this was that if they met an opponent many times stronger than them, they would be sent to oblivion before they had the chance of becoming stronger from the fight. So in hell it was very hard for them to become true demons. However, Amon had fought against both his master and Arcem''s overpowered corpse and had been spared. Meaning that he got a huge increase in power level.


    The succubus laughed as she watched Amon being crushed by her shadows, however Amon just looked at her with disinterest.


    *"You are rather weak, but you will have to do for now. My master will be angry if he comes back and finds out I have collected no one for his army." said Amon as he used brute strength to break through the shadow vise.


    The succubus was confused, never had she heard of a soldier strong enough to break out of a shadow vise. However little did she know that compared to the dark figure''s shadow vise hers was like a toddler''s.


    *"Now submit or perish." said Amon as he held the succubus by the neck and lifted her off the ground. After Amon broke out of her vise, she knew that no matter what she did, she wouldn''t be able to escape this. Fighting him without being able to kill him instantly would just make him stronger, so she had no choice but to submit.


    *"I-I submit." said the succubus as Amon let her fall to the ground.

 Chapter 85 - Forest Trials (1)

    The group was now made aware that they had to fear the beasts in the sky as much as the ones on the ground. They constantly switched roles, keeping guard on both the sky and the land as they marched through the forest. It had been a day since the Roc attack but the trio was still on high alert.


    "We''ll set camp on this tree," said Calder pointing at one of the many massive trees that were scattered around the forest.


    Calder took out their food supplies realizing that it probably would not be enough to last them another day. However that had always been the plan, Calder had thought that hunting down creatures in the forest would be as easy as hunting in the wild. Sadly his stomach would soon come to regret his hasty assumptions.


    After enjoying a late-night meal, Calder and Marya slept while Arya took first watch. Calder had been hesitant to let Arya be lookout before, however now he realized that he would need as much sleep as possible if he were to survive in a forest with beasts as powerful as Rocs.


    *snap* It was a faint sound, but Arya''s animal-like hearing had heard it. A twig snapping in the distance.


    "Hmm should I wake them up?" thought Arya as he turned to look at Calder and Marya sleeping. "No, if I wake them up they''ll make noise and alert whatever that thing is." thought Arya as he swiftly moved down the tree they were sleeping on.


    Arya had been watching the way Calder and Marya had been moving through the forest. He could tell by their movements that they were rather clumsy in this terrain. And although his decision was selfish, it was also based on a solid basis.


    Arya who was well acquainted with the forest terrain moved through it like he was a native. He swiftly ran through the forest, making as little noise as possible as he approached to the source of the sound.


    "Did you hear something?" asked a brown-haired boy in mage robes.


    "It must''ve been an animal. That group is still sleeping on the tree." replied a man wearing a green hood.


    "Wait where''s the boy?" asked the man before turning around quickly. However, Arya had already placed his dagger on the brown-haired boy''s neck.


    "Move and I''ll kill him," whispered Arya.


    "You''re bluffing, you wouldn''t dare take a life." said the hooded man, assuming that since Arya was a child himself, he would be hesitant to take a life, mage or not.


    Arya pulled the blade closer, cutting the boy''s neck a bit causing a line of blood to form.


    "W-wait, what do you want?" asked the hooded man as he looked into Arya''s eyes closely. The hooded figure being a killer himself could tell that Arya had taken a life before.


    "What are you doing spying on us?" asked Arya.


    "S-save me." said the boy in the mage robes, shedding tears as he said it. The boy was clearly scared for his life.


    "Better answer honestly, or I''m afraid you won''t be able to help the boy," said Arya as he tightened the grip on his dagger.


    "We were just passing by and happened to see you." replied the hooded man.


    "Do you take me for a fool?" asked Arya as the brown-haired boy attempted to chant a spell.


    "Fool!" shouted the hooded man at the boy, as Arya reacted to his chanting by cutting the boy''s mouth.


    "Try that again and your tongue will be next," said Arya to the now silent boy.


    However, the noise that they made had woken up Calder from his slumber. He was very surprised to find Arya missing and quickly assumed that they had been betrayed, but quickly cooled himself as he made out three figures in the dark. "Is that Arya?" thought Calder as he climbed down the tree and slowly moved towards the figures.


    "Now answer honestly or I might grow tired of holding back my blade." said Arya, acting as if he were angry to make the hooded man feel uneasy.


    "We were planning on stealing your supplies. But only because we were hungry, we weren''t going to hurt you guys." said the hooded man.


    "Stealing is stealing regardless of what inten-" Arya''s words were cut off by the sound of someone chanting behind him.


    "Fire come, embrace your kindred with a burning passion. But burn my foes, leave them broken and ashen." chanted another hooded figure from behind Arya, before a fireball shot out towards him.


    "What!?" thought Arya as he quickly turned around to see what was going on. As he was doing this the green hooded man pulled the boy out of Arya''s grip leaving him to suffer the brunt of the attack alone.


    However Arya''s instincts were quicker than his thinking, he subconsciously dodged to the side, managing to only allow his side to be burned by the attack.


    "You''re rather quick on your feet kid. Though, you''re still lacking." said the hooded man as he chanted a wind spell. "Oh mighty wind, grant us a blessing. A breeze or a storm, a power worth testing," and a gust flung Arya of balance, leaving him easy prey for the approaching fire mage.


    *Ting* The sound of blade meeting blade was heard as the hooded fire mage''s approach was brought to a halt. Calder had interfered at the last second after he realized what was going on.


    "Why didn''t you alert us?" asked Calder as he held the fire mage back.


    "I didn''t want to disturb your sleep." lied Arya, but Calder wasn''t buying it.


    "You''re still outnumbered boy. It''s three versus two." said the green hooded man as he was still surprised by the arrival of this new figure.


    "Can''t you count?" asked a female voice that held almost no sign of emotion.  "Oh mighty wind, grant us a blessing. A breeze or a storm, a power worth testing," chanted the voice and a gust struck the green hooded man off balance.


    Arya quickly took advantage of this and rushed to kill the green hooded man, however, the boy in the mage''s robes began chanting as well. "Oh water who is barer of life, it is you who has granted it, thus you who is permitted to take it," chanted the boy and the water vapor in the air coalesced, shooting a beam of water at Arya.


    "Three mages versus two and a normal human.. I''d hardly call this winnable," thought Arya as he quickly accessed the situation.

 Chapter 86 - Forest Trails (2)

    "I think we all need to calm down. Things don''t have to go down this route," said Arya trying to downplay the current situation. He realized that if they fought now, his group would sustain higher casualties, something he had to avoid if he wanted to survive the forest.


    "We got off on the wrong foot. The only reason I was acting hostile towards you guys was because I saw you spying on us and was afraid that you were trying to kill us. And besides, I''m sure you guys agree that fighting among ourselves when there are magical beasts out here is rather unwise." said Arya as he got to his feet and lowered his dagger in a sign of peace.


    "I don''t trust the kid one bit." said the fire mage as he jumped back a few spaces from where he and Calder had clashed. "Just tell me when Ronan and I''ll burn them to ashes." said the fire mage from where he stood.


    However, the green hooded figure stood still in contemplation. "He''s right. Even if we have the advantage, there''s no way that we will come out of this unscathed. It''s already hard enough as is, injuring ourselves senselessly would just result in our deaths later on." thought the green hooded man.


    "Then what do you propose?" asked the green hooded man called Ronan, while looking at Arya.


    "He took the bait." thought Arya as a smile appeared on his face.


    "I say we team up. That way our chances of surviving are increased and we will be able to gather resources faster," said Arya, hoping that Ronan would take up his proposition.


    "I see, so that''s what he''s going at," thought Ronan before saying, "Well our food supplies are currently low. Do you mind helping us out?". Ronan wanted to test the extent that this so-called alliance would have.


    "Of course. Calder give them what''s left of our food supplies," said Arya as he turned to look at Calder.


    Calder was hesitant to yield the food supplies so easily, but he realized that they had no choice. Calder was strong, but against a mage he would just be a liability.


    As Calder walked back to their camp to grab the food supplies, the boy in the mage robes spoke. "D-does this mean we don''t have to kill anyone?"


    "That''s right, we won''t have to kill anyone, master Cairo," replied Ronan.


    "Hmm, it seems the boy is a noble and these two are his ''helpers''," thought Arya as he listened in on their conversation.


    "Ronan, are you sure we should trust them? Haven''t you noticed that there''s something off about the boy? He was aiming to kill you without any hesitation." said the fire mage from where he was still standing, never once letting his guard down.


    "It''s okay Axel. It would be best if we didn''t take any risks with the young master''s life. It''s better to agree to a cease-fire than to fight them recklessly." replied Ronan.


    "You can''t honestly be considering teaming up with them?" asked Axel.


    "We''re right here you know," whispered Arya, as the two spoke as if he and Marya weren''t there as well.


    "We will cooperate with them for mutual benefit. However, we will still act as separate groups," said Ronan while looking at Arya.


    "So that''s how you want to play it? You''re right to be cautious." thought Arya as he understood what Ronan was trying to say.


    "Here''s the last of our food supplies. Enjoy," said Calder as he threw the bag with food at Ronan.


    "Forgive my rudeness, but do you mind having a bite of this first," said Ronan as he pulled out a piece of bread and threw it at Arya.


    Arya grabbed it and quickly put it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing without a second thought.


    "T-thank you." said Ronan as he held Cairo''s shoulder and began backing away. "We will meet here tomorrow morning. I look forward to working with you guys," said Ronan as he and his group disappeared into the forest.


    "That was a close one Ronan," said Cairo as he, Ronan, and Axel ran silently through the forest.


    "When you get to Belgard make sure to stay away from that boy young master. People like him are extremely dangerous," said Ronan, as he got chills on his back just thinking about what someone so young had to have gone through to be so cold-blooded.


    "He wasn''t that tough. Didn''t you sense it? At best he was a 0-star mage." said Axel as he ran on the other side of Cairo.


    "No, that might not be the case. The girl was a 2-star mage but he didn''t think to come with her when he first approached us. Meaning he felt that he was strong enough to take on any enemies without her. He might be a mage capable of cloaking his mana signature." said Ronan as he tried analyzing what just happened. However, he would never have thought that Arya was indeed just a 0-star mage.


    "And didn''t you find it odd? A girl so young being a 2-star mage and only traveling with a normal human and a boy. And not once during our skirmish did the boy use a spell," said Ronan, now making Axel rethink his previous analysis.


    "I hope you know how to hunt because that was the last of our food supplies," said Calder as the group packed up and decided to move to a new camp.


    "And you can''t honestly be planning for us to team up with people who had just tried to kill us," said Calder as the group set up a new camp on another tree.


    "Why not? Marya do you have a problem with it?" asked Arya turning to Marya.


    "No, none whatsoever. The more the merrier," said Marya flatly as if she couldn''t care less, and instantly went to sleep as soon as her head touched her sleeping bag.


    "There you have it. I guess we will have new teammates tomorrow," said Arya as he got in his sleeping bag to sleep as well.


    "This is unlike you Arya. What are you planning?" asked the dark figure in Arya''s head.


    "Of course I''m going to take advantage of them.. The more teammates I have, the more meat shields to protect me against impossible enemies," replied Arya with a wicked smile on his face.

 Chapter 87 - Forest Trials (3)

    The next morning the two groups met up and began their expedition deeper into the forest, however they still maintained a clear demarkation between themselves. The groups traveled at around the same speed, but with a 2m distance between themselves. Both sides were still wary of each other.


    The forest was constantly filled with the sound of insects, and small animals going about their daily lives. The group had grown quite accustomed to these sounds, but after running for a while they realized something was off.


    "Why is it so quiet?" asked Ronan as he turned to look at Arya and his group, however, he was surprised to see Arya climbing up a tree. Even Arya''s own group didn''t seem to understand what he was doing.


    "What is he doin-" Cairo was about to ask before he heard a roar.


    "Wait, is that a Ryen?" asked Ronan, but Marya and Calder were already following Arya''s lead. Soon both groups were silently waiting at the top of the tree, hoping that the Ryen was just passing by.


    "How did he realize it that fast? It''s like his instincts are on par with that of a wild animal." thought Ronan as he stared at Arya.


    Arya knew that only one thing could make the forest go this quiet, a Ryen. And from the sound of the roar, Arya could tell it was a fire Ryen. There wasn''t a particular type of Ryen that was naturally stronger than another, however, fire Ryen''s were hard for humans to deal with due to their destructive nature.


    *Hrrrrrrwrrrwrrr* Growled the Ryen as it sniffed the air. The Ryen that was currently only a few meters away from the group was bigger than the ones Arya had met previously. This Ryen stood at nearly 4m tall and was 8m in length. It had three horns protruding from its muzzle forming a vertical line, and snowy white fur with red streaks on its sides showing its affinity for fire magic. This Ryen was close to evolving into another form.


    "What the hell!? I''ve never seen a Ryen this massive." thought Ronan as he began to fear for his group. Sure he and Axel might be able to escape, but that meant sacrificing the young master and he wasn''t willing to do that. All he could do now was pray that they weren''t found, however that was a foolish wish. A Ryen''s sense of smell was on another level, after sniffing the air for only a few seconds it looked right at the tree the group was on and shot a pillar of fire at it.


    The two groups quickly jumped off the tree, landing on different sides.


    "We''ll use them as a distraction" said both Ronan and Arya simultaneously. They both had the same idea in mind, however, the Ryen didn''t give them a moment to catch their breath. It quickly created a firewall so wide that it covered 7m in width and sent it at the two groups.


    The groups barely dodged the attack due to its large area of effect, and were already becoming tired due to the heat being created by the fire Ryen''s explosive spells.


    "Arya do you have a plan for this?" asked Calder, hoping that Arya would come up with something like he had done with the Roc. However, Arya knew that there was no way they could defeat this thing. Their only hope was for another Ryen to intervene, but the chances of that happening were quite slim.


    That''s when things took a worse turn. "Fire come, embrace your kindred with a burning passion. But burn my foes, leave them broken and ashen." chanted Axel as Ronan chanted an air spell as well, amplifying the strength of the fire spell by feeding it more oxygen. However, the queer thing was that the spell was aimed at Arya''s group and not the Ryen.


    "These ass-" Arya couldn''t finish his sentence before the spell reached him. He had to use every fiber of muscle in his body to dodge the spell. However Marya wasn''t as fast as Calder and Arya, and she wasn''t expecting it so didn''t have time to cast an air spell, leaving her whole left side burned.


    Arya turned back to look at Ronan''s group, however, they had already run away.


    "Ronan, are you sure we should''ve done that?" asked Cairo feeling guilty about leaving the other group for dead.


    "They would''ve done the same young master. That boy is not to be trusted, I just didn''t think that we would have to betray each other so soon. Young master this is all for your survival, your father is expecting that I take you to Belgard in one piece." said Ronan as he and his group ran as fast as they could.


    "Great, now we''re down to one mage, one normal human, and extra luggage." thought Arya as he looked at the extent of Marya''s injuries.


    "Arya what are you doing? We have to protect Marya, remember the deal," said Calder as he quickly picked up Marya and tried dodging another of the fire Ryen''s attacks. However, with Marya on his shoulder, he was too slow and got his back burned. Both Calder and Marya were now on the ground, defenseless.


    "If I use them as bait I think I can make it out of here." thought Arya as he looked at the Ryen.


    The Ryen seemed to be staring back at him, as if asking what he would do next.


    "Pfft. What''s to stop the Ryen hunting me down before coming back here? After all, it''s not like those two can run away." thought Arya as he realized that running now was not an option.


    "Child of water hee-" Arya tried chanting but the Ryen shot out another pillar of fire from its mouth at the area where he stood, prompting him to dodge. "F**ck. Magical beasts don''t need to chant." thought Arya as sweat dripped down his face due to the heat of the flames.


    "It''s toying with you. This could''ve been over had it been using its body instead of spells. There''s no way you can win with your current strength. Of course, there''s another way." whispered the dark figure in Arya''s mind.


    "No, no way.. I''m not letting you control my body again," replied Arya.

 Chapter 88 - A Saviour? (1)

    "I thought I sensed something interesting from this boy since his smell isn''t quite human. At first, I thought he was some sort of beast, but now that I''m closer I can tell he isn''t quite a beast either. Anyways, it seems whatever he is, he''s disappointing." thought the fire Ryen as it stared at Arya struggling to dodge its flame attacks.


    "I should probably end this and call in my report." thought the fire Ryen as it decided to stop playing around with Arya and just kill him.


    *Hrrrrrrwrrrwrrr* Growled the Ryen as it stalked Arya, coming closer by the second.


    "It seems to have grown tired of playing around with you. This might be your last chance Arya, give me control, I''ll finish this in a second." whispered the dark figure, promising Arya unfathomable power at the cost of his body.


    "No, last time I struggled for hours to reclaim my body. There''s no telling if I''ll be as lucky this time," replied Arya as he began twirling and flipping his dagger like a professional assassin. Arya was actually quite proficient in using the dagger, as he had been using it as his main weapon since he first got it.


    Since the dagger was actually a Ryen''s tooth, it was sharp enough to cut through the strong fur of a Ryen. However, that was of course under the condition Arya could land a clean hit.


    "Child of water, hee-" Arya tried chanting but the Ryen pounced on him. Its massive paws way bigger than his head trying to crush him under its weight. However Arya expected this, he knew that if he tried chanting the Ryen would attack him to stop it.


    He just barely dodged the left paw, the wind from the Ryen''s powerful attack almost causing him to lose balance. Arya stood firm and stabbed the Ryen''s left paw hoping to reduce its mobility. Sadly, the Ryen''s thick paw was way more sturdy than Arya anticipated, and his blade got stuck inside it.


    The Ryen seemed confused about what had just happened. "Did he anticipate my attack? No matter, it seems he''s too weak to inflict any damage to me." thought the Ryen before it felt a sharp pain in its paw.


    "How did it penetrate through my fur? Wait, is that a Ryen tooth?" wondered the Ryen as it inspected its injury.


    Arya wasted no time and chanted an ice spell. "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted Arya, causing the Ryen to jerk his head as it realized its mistake.


    "How could I have been so stupid." thought the Ryen as ice crept into its injury, causing it to hurt even more.


    The Ryen bellowed with rage as it felt the cold enter its wound. Its roar was so loud that it caused Arya to fall down in shock.


    Arya had succeeded in reducing the Ryen''s mobility to some extent, however, he had also managed to make the beast angry.


    "I think you made it angry." said the dark figure, laughing at Arya''s situation.


    "F**ck," Arya knew that he was done for. The Ryen''s eyes started glowing red as the surrounding temperature began rising rapidly.


    "Did you hear that?" asked an ebony-colored girl to a boy in a blue hood.


    "It''s a Ryen. Let''s go." said the blue hooded boy as he dropped from the tree he was on, as if in free fall, before chanting. "Child of water heed my call. Create a passage, free from toll." and a ramp made of ice appeared as he fell. Allowing him to slide down the rest of the way without sustaining any damage.


    The ebony girl glided through the air above the blue hooded boy, using air magic to maintain flight as she descended slowly.


    The other three in the group moved in between the trees at an astounding speed, jumping from tree to tree as if they were ninjas.


    Arya was sweating profusely as blood dripped down his face and arm. He had managed to just barely survive this long due to his abnormal speed for his age, and the instincts he had honed. But now he was at his limit. He began rethinking the dark figure''s proposition.


    "Come on Arya. I promise to get your revenge once I am done with what I have to do." whispered the dark figure, taunting Arya into accepting the deal.


    "All you have to do is accept my power." said the dark figure as Arya could feel a dark energy building up inside him.


    The Ryen seemed to sense it as well and became a bit agitated.


    "What is he trying to do?" wondered the Ryen, as it realized it had to end this early before the boy could pull something funny.


    "I acce-" Arya was about to say before he heard someone chanting.


    "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes." chanted the blue hooded figure, causing the ground in a 10m radius to be turned to ice.


    The Ryen turned to look at where the spell had come from and saw a group of kids, about 5 of them, all wearing blue robes.


    The Ryen simply increased his body heat using fire magic to melt the ice that would further reduce his mobility and ran towards the tree the group was standing on.


    "Sheela, Trent, Abby go get them." said the blue hooded figure, and three of the people in the group disappeared from the tree. The only ones left were the blue hooded figure and the ebony-colored girl.


    "Earth, the one true mother. Punish my enemies, crush them and smother." chanted the blue hooded figure, causing a wall of earth to rise below the Ryen''s foot, and due to the injury it already had it tripped and staggered.


    In that time, the three figures who had left the tree appeared around Arya. One of them removed their hood, showing themself to be a yellow-haired boy who began chanting, "Child of light heed my call, heal my allies, let them stand tall.." and a light surrounded Arya''s body healing him.

 Chapter 89 - A Saviour? (2)

    Although Arya was being healed, he felt as if his wounds had gotten deeper and all the energy in his body had suddenly been drained from him.


    The yellow-haired boy looked at Arya closely and asked his teammates "Is this a boy or a girl? I can''t tell whether he is handsome, or she is pretty." said the boy.


    "Why? Are you planning on courting her if it''s a girl?" asked one of his teammates in a male voice.


    "What the?" whispered Arya with what little strength he had left, as the yellow-haired boy turned to his teammates.


    "Interesting, he or she is still conscious." said the yellow-haired boy.


    "We don''t have time for this, let''s go check on the other two." said one of the two other hooded figures in a female voice as they ran to check up on Marya and Calder.


    "A-an elf." said the yellow-haired boy as his face reddened slightly.


    "What, don''t tell me you have a weird elf fetish?" asked the other hooded figure as he removed his hood, revealing him to be a green-haired boy, with light ebony skin.


    "Shut up Sheela." said the yellow-haired boy as Sheela had a wide grin on his face.


    "The innocent Trent finally has a crush," said Sheela, making fun of his comrade.


    "Stop messing around you two. Let''s heal them and get back to Yuuki and Averos. As powerful as they are, they can''t handle a Ryen by themselves." said the only person that still had their hood on, as she removed it. Revealing her to be a black-haired girl, who would''ve passed as an Asian on earth.


    The two became silent and the yellow-haired boy quickly healed the other two. Although they were healed they were still unconscious, so Trent and Sheela picked the two up. Of course, Trent picked up Marya, and Sheela, who seemed to have a bigger build, picked up the bigger Calder with ease.


    "What''s going on?" asked Arya as his vision was slowly turned blurry.


    "It seems your luck hasn''t run out." said the dark figure as Arya lost consciousness.


    "And what about him?" asked Sheela as he pointed to the now unconscious Arya.


    "What do you mean what about him? Do you expect me to carry him? I don''t even know why Yuuki wants us to help these people. If they can''t fend for themselves then they don''t deserve to go to Belgard." said Abby in an annoyed voice, before the blue hooded figure landed next to her as the tree he was on was burned ablaze.


    "Abiyama, what are you doing?" asked the blue hooded figure as he removed his hood. Revealing him to be a rather handsome young man with jet black hair. Based on his facial features he too would have passed as an Asian on earth, probably of Japanese descent.


    "B-brother. I asked you not to call me that!" said Abby as her cheeks reddened.


    If anyone else were watching they would''ve found the scene funny. Four kids were simply standing talking while one of them dealt with a fire Ryen alone, as if their lives were not in danger.


    "Where''s Averos?" asked Sheela.


    "Aww, worried about your sister?" teased Trent.


    "Princess Averos is slowing down the Ryen. It seems this person managed to deal some damage to the beast, but even then it won''t be possible for us to hunt it down," said Yuuki as he picked Arya up.


    "Let''s go." said Yuuki before creating a path of ice and chanted,  "Oh mighty wind, grant us a blessing. A breeze or a storm, a power worth testing," causing him to glide through the ice at a very fast speed.


    The others in the group followed his lead by chanting the same spell. Once the ebony girl realized her teammates were gone she spoke to the Ryen.


    "You were a worthy warrior. I hope we can fight once again when I grow stronger." said the girl as she used yet another gust of wind to push the Ryen away.


    The girl did this without chanting, meaning she could silent cast. What''s more, the gust was strong enough to push the injured Ryen back, saying a lot about the power of her spells.


    After doing this she used air magic to shoot herself into the sky and glided away.


    "Hwwwrrrrrww" Growled the Ryen as he realized that they had saved Arya and his group as well.


    "I wish I could get revenge on the boy for doing this to me, but that''s not why I''m here." thought the Ryen as it spoke into an amulet in its ear.


    "Eight people and all eight of them passed. Though three of them were lucky enough to be saved by a group. It seems that there are people who have figured out the reason for the forest." said the Ryen.


    "Or perhaps their family members just told them. After all, the people in that group were all part of royalty." said the man in the amulet as the Ryen limped away looking for more people.


    "I think we''ve gone far enough," said Yuuki as Averos caught up to them.


    "So what do we do with them?" asked Averos as she landed beside Yuuki.


    Yuuki looked to be about 13 years old and was about 1.56 m tall. Atheros looked to be the same age but was 1.58m.


    "Shouldn''t we just leave them on a tree or something?" asked Trent, he also looked to be 13 years old but was 1.54m.


    "So you want to leave your elf here as well?" asked Sheela who was 1.57m, causing Trent''s face to turn red again.


    "An elf?" asked Yuuki as he dropped Arya and went to look at Marya.


    "Don''t tell me you have an elf fetish too Yuuki?" asked Sheela, surprised by Yuuki''s interest.


    "Nevermind. I thought she was part of the  Ai Vahish, but it seems she isn''t," replied Yuuki.


    "How can you tell?" asked Averos as she looked at Arya with interest.


    "The  Ai Vahish have a tattoo signifying that they are part of the elite group, she doesn''t," replied Yuuki as Averos looked at Arya closely.


    "I''m rather confused about this one," said Averos as she peeked through Arya''s tattered shirt and saw his lean body.


    "He seems to be strong, though his face is rather..." said Averos.

 Chapter 90 - [Bonus ]A Group Of Mages (1)

    "Is rather what Averos? It''s my first time seeing you find interest in something other than fighting." teased Abby as she looked at Arya with interest as well.


    "He is rather handsome, I wonder what noble family he is from." thought Abby as Yuuki scrutinized her face.


    "Abiyama, I must remind you that father has already arranged for your marriage. It would be rather unwise to look for other suitors during our stay here," said Yuuki with a serious expression, as he and the group sat down and waited for Arya and the rest to gain consciousness.


    "Hmm? Marya!" shouted Calder as he woke up and realized that they were no longer in danger.


    "How are you feeling?" asked Trent as he examined Calder''s body.


    "Sorry, he is a healer so he has a tendency to look at his handiwork," said Sheela as he came into Calder''s vision.


    "Don''t you mean patient?" added Abby as she continued to look at her nails on a tree a few meters away.


    "Who are you guys?" asked Calder as he looked around and found Marya sleeping soundly a few meters from where he was lying just a few seconds ago.


    "Potential students of Belgard like you guys," replied Sheela, as if it were obvious.


    "I''m not a potential student," replied Calder as he continued surveying the area and became shocked to find Arya''s body nearby.


    "So he didn''t run away? It seems I underestimated his integrity." thought Calder, but little did he know that the only reason Arya hadn''t run away was because he couldn''t.


    "If you aren''t potential students, then what are you doing in Belgard''s forest?" asked Averos as she stood from where she had been sitting and approached Calder.


    "Why are kids asking me questions as if we were the same age?" wondered Calder as he got a closer look at Trent.


    "Wait isn''t he the son of the lord of Briston?" wondered Calder as he realized that Trent was actually nobility.


    "You seem to be in rather good sha-" Trent was about to say before Marya woke up as well.


    "Huh? Calder? Arya?" asked Marya as she touched her head in pain. "What happened? Did Arya save us again?" asked Marya before she realized that they weren''t alone.


    "What''s going on?" asked Marya.


    "I don''t know who Arya is but w-we were the ones who saved you." stuttered Trent with a red face.


    "Who are you?" asked Marya, becoming more confused by the second.


    "I-I''m T-trent." stuttered Trent in reply.


    "I think she means who we are as a group," said Sheela with a disappointed look on his face.


    "We''re potential students, just like I''m guessing you are as well. Is the man over there your caretaker for the forest?" asked Averos as she examined Marya.


    "A 2-star mage? But her body seems rather weak." thought Averos as she sized herself up against Marya.


    "I always heard that elves were excellent fighters." started Averos.


    "Princess Averos, can you please restrain yourself from fighting everyone you come across. She just woke up." lectured Yuuki as Calder and Marya looked at each other in confusion.


    During all this commotion, Arya had already woken up but pretended to still be unconscious. When all the group members finally became engaged in the conversation he woke up and quickly sprinted behind a tree.


    "Why is he running?" asked Sheela as he saw Arya sprint behind a tree.


    "I wondered when he would stop acting," replied Averos as she ran after Arya.


    "Princess Averos please control-" Yuuki was about to say before Trent stopped him.


    "There''s no reasoning with her when she gets like this," said Trent.


    Arya turned around and realized that there was someone following him. Arya was quite confident in his speed, and against another kid, he was sure that he was faster. However, the girl who was chasing him seemed to be catching up.


    "Even after my body was refined after the possession she''s able to keep up with me?" wondered Arya before the dark figure replied to him.


    "She looks to be at least 13, and you''re what, 5?" said the dark figure, sneering at Arya''s selfishness.


    "Just as I thought. You''re rather strong. Come let''s fight." shouted Averos as she slowly caught up to Arya.


    Arya searched his pants for his dagger but realized that it was still stuck in the Ryen''s paw. "Fuck"


    Arya then chanted an ice spell and froze the ground, however, the area of effect was way less than that of Yuuki''s.


    "An ice mage? Sadly that trick won''t work on me," said Averos as she used air magic to maintain her balance and increase her speed on the ice.


    "Silent casting!?" thought Arya surprised as Averos caught up to him at a faster rate.


    "What do you guys want from me?" asked Arya when he realized he couldn''t run any further.


    "Well our group doesn''t want anything from you, we just happened to be passing by and decided to try and hunt the Ryen that attacked you," replied Averos as she brought herself to a halt.


    "If you don''t want anything from me then why are you chasing me?" asked Arya, now face to face with Averos.


    "You talk too much," replied Averos as she threw a fist at Arya''s face.


    The punch was so fast and unexpected that if it wasn''t for his instincts he wouldn''t have dodged it.


    "Wow, nice reaction," said Averos as she followed with a sweep kick, prompting Arya to do a flip backward to avoid it. All this happened on the ice, it was understandable for Arya to be able to move freely on the ice since he was accustomed to it, but he wondered how Averos could be so mobile on it.


    "You know, if I didn''t know any better, I''d think that you guys didn''t actually save us," said Arya as he tried to maintain his balance on the ice.


    "Forgive me. I didn''t mean to come off so strong. My name is Averos Otrera, princess of Amazonia. And I formally challenge you to a duel, pretty boy." said Averos with a smile.


    The rest of the group had caught up to them and were watching from a tree.


    "There she goes again." sighed Abby as she looked at the two with disinterest.


    However, everyone else was looking at the fight with interest.


    "I wasn''t the only one that saw that right?" asked Trent.


    "He dodged her punch? And what''s more, he forced sister to use air magic to catch up to him," replied Sheela.


    However, what Yuuki was more interested in was the fact that Arya was an ice mage. "An ice mage? I wonder what bloodline he''s from."1 wondered Yuuki.

 Chapter 91 - A Group Of Mages (2)

    "And what happens if I don''t want to fight you?" asked Arya as he stared at Averos with a dangerous glare.


    Averos was a pretty girl with hazelnut brown hair, unlike her brother. She was pretty tall for her age, and if not for the robes she was wearing, there would be no doubt that she was well built.


    "Rejection is not an option," replied Averos as she charged at Arya again, this time using even more air magic to increase her speed.


    Arya realized that the attack was too fast to dodge, so he decided to take it head-on. "How strong could she possibly be?" he thought.


    As the punch approached Arya''s torso Averos was surprised to see that he wasn''t trying to dodge it, "Very well, let''s see if you can handle it."


    Arya used both hands to try and reduce the impact of the punch, however, he still had all the air knocked out of him. He didn''t waste a second to dwell on it, as soon as the punch connected he chanted an ice spell and froze Averos''s hand in his.


    Then using a move he saw on a karate show, he swept her over his shoulder, slamming her back on the hard icy floor. Since the ice was only a thin layer, the impact caused it to shatter.


    Averos coughed blood as the ice shattered, and she lay still for a few seconds as if she were lifeless.


    "Did I kill her?" wondered Arya as he sprinted to a nearby tree and ran to the top, in order to secure the high ground in case she was still able to fight.


    "Wow, I''ve never seen anyone do that to Averos before. Although his magic seems substandard, his fighting skills are top-notch," said Abby as she finally became interested in the fight.


    "His use of ice magic is also unique. Most mages use it simply as a means of attack, but he uses it in a way that complements his fighting ability. He might''ve been trained to be a magic swordsman or some type of magic fighter, rather than a traditional sorcerer." analyzed Yuuki as he watched the fight intently.


    "Arya''s magic isn''t subpar. He''s probably the most powerful mage here right now," said Marya as she watched the fight in confusion.


    "Is Arya toying with her? Why doesn''t he show his true power?" wondered Marya, still believing that Arya could unleash the same power he did against the thugs at will.


    "Pfft. Most powerful mage? In case you''ve forgotten, we were the ones who saved you from the Ryen earlier." scoffed Abby as she heard this. Of course, it felt like it was an insult to her brother Yuuki, who was one of the most powerful mages of his age in their family.


    However, Yuuki took Marya''s comment at face value. "Most powerful mage? Is he hiding his true power?" thought Yuuki as he began watching the fight with even more interest.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter now. Sister will probably start taking this fight more seriously," said Sheela with a sigh, as if it would be tiring to watch.


    "Shouldn''t we stop her?" asked Trent, looking a bit worried at the situation.


    "It''s a little too late for that," replied Sheela as Averos stood up.


    What was queer about her was the fact that her eyes were glowing green, and gusts of air surrounded her.


    "Mastery!" shouted Marya as she realized what the green-haired boy had been talking about. Averos was gifted with mastery over wind magic.


    "I don''t like this." thought Arya as a gust of wind shot him off the tree and he fell from a height of 7m. Although the fall wouldn''t kill him, he would sustain serious injuries, however just before he was about to fall, a gust of wind slowed his descent.


    "It seems I underestimated you. I didn''t expect you to be this good at hand-to-hand combat. Let''s go again, this time I will use my air magic to its fullest extent." smiled Averos as green light pulsated from her eyes.


    "Enough Averos." shouted Yuuki as he walked towards the two. He then chanted "Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to trap my foes." and Averos became imprisoned in ice.


    "Yuuki, what is the meaning of this," shouted Averos, angry that someone was disturbing her fight.


    "We haven''t even learned his name, and you''ve already decided to fight him with your full force. Must I remind you that we are still in the process of the entrance exam? Even as we speak there are mages watching our every move. And while you waste time here fighting senseless battles, others are collected points." scolded Yuuki,  once he realized that the fight had gone on long enough, and any further force would just result in unnecessary injuries.


    "I-I am aware. Hey you. Once we get to Belgard we will continue our duel." shouted Averos as she looked at Arya, the green light in her eyes slowly dimming until she went back to normal.


    "What do you mean by being watched? And what''s this about points?" asked Marya as Calder still stared at Arya and Averos in awe.


    "Wow, I guess elves really aren''t as wise as they are made out to be," replied Abby, she seemed to have grown a dislike for Marya. However, Marya was indifferent to this provocation.


    "The forest serves as an entrance exam into Belgard. I''m sure you know that much already," replied Trent as Marya nodded at him.


    "But are you aware that even if you go to Belgard, there are different classes you can be placed in? Of course, these classes are also decided based on your element and which stage your core is in, but the most important factor is the number of points you gain in the forest." continued Trent.


    "Actually, this makes a lot of sense. At first, I wasn''t sure but now that I think about it, it was rather odd that a Roc would go out of its way to attack us while we were on the ground.." thought Marya as the pieces of the puzzle finally started fitting together.

 Chapter 92 - Together! (1)

    "Very well. Then let''s get going," said Averos as she used wind blades to break out of the ice and began walking towards the group.


    "Finally, I was getting bored of breathing the same air as a certain someone," said Abby while giving Marya a dangerous glare.


    "Someone seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed," whispered Sheela as he also turned to leave.


    "What are you doing boy? Didn''t I say that we are leaving?" said Averos as she stopped to turn and look at Arya.


    "What do you mean?" asked Arya confused by what Averos was trying to imply.


    "I mean come with us. There''s no safer way for us to ensure that our duel continues than for you to come along with us on our journey," said Averos as the rest of her group stopped to wait as well.


    No one seemed to object to Arya traveling with them. The group had seen him hold his own against Averos and were convinced that he would become a powerful asset. Yuuki especially liked the way Arya used his magic and was hoping to exchange a few ideas. Abby on the other hand didn''t mind traveling with someone as handsome as Arya.


    "Pfft. Like I would ever trust a group of strangers. What happens if you decide to turn on me midway? Or when there''s a crossroad and someone has to be abandoned for the good of the group?" thought Arya as he wondered whether it would be wise to travel with them or not.


    "Hmm, but if this Ryen attack has taught me anything, it''s that we aren''t strong enough to handle the dangers of this forest. Sure Marya is a 2-star mage, but she doesn''t seem to have any combat experience, she might as well be a 0-star mage with her performance."


    "And Calder is just a normal man, there''s nothing he can do in such situations. Why is he even guarding her in the first place?" wondered Arya as he had an idea.


    "I''ll only come if my teammates can come with me," said Arya.


    "By bringing my teammates I have a lower chance of being thrown in the fire. Plus in the event that they turn on me, at least I won''t be alone." thought Arya as Abby began to voice her discontent.


    "Why do we have to travel with the elf girl just because of him? If it''s like that then we should just l-leave him behind," shouted Abby hesitantly. She liked the way Arya looked, but it wasn''t enough to hide the hatred she had now grown towards Marya.


    "Let''s take a vote," said Yuuki, realizing that it wouldn''t be fair to accept Arya''s proposal on behalf of his whole team as everyone''s life would be at stake.


    "I vote yes," said Trent as he raised his hand.


    "I vote yes as well," said Sheela right after. He didn''t seem to care either way.


    "Anything for my duel," said Averos as she crossed her arms.


    "I vote yes as well. Sorry sister, it seems that we will have to travel with them," said Yuuki as he turned to continue walking.


    "B-but. That man can''t even use magic. I don''t sense any mana coming from him." shouted Abby, trying to find any excuse not to travel with Marya.


    "Abiyama! Assumptions like those are not befitting for a princess. What if he''s just cloaked his mana core."


    "Forgive my sister''s impertinence," said Yuuki as he bowed to Calder in apology.


    "N-no, it''s okay," replied Calder, now even more shocked than before.


    "Did he just say, princess? Wait does that mean everyone in their group is nobility?" wondered Calder, awe-struck.


    "Very well then. Let us proceed, there''s still one ring we have to go through," said Averos as she took the lead.


    "One ring?" asked Arya, catching up to the rest of the group.


    "You don''t know? You guys really came in here unprepared didn''t you," said Trent as he began explaining.


    "The forest is divided into three concentric rings, with Belgard being in the innermost ring. The difficulty increases as you go deeper into the forest, and so do the points you can get. Meaning that the last ring would have the most dangerous beasts in the forest, mythical beasts." continued Trent with a foreboding tone.


    "We already came across a mythical beast," said Marya as she walked behind Arya listening to the explanation.


    "Ther''s no way you already came across a mythical beast, or else you''d be long dead," said Abby, scoffing at Marya as if she were lying.


    "She''s trying to make herself look cool in front of us, but who on Merrum would believe such a blatant lie." thought Abby.


    "I''m not lying. We came across a Roc in the first ring," replied Marya, trying to convince the group.


    "A mythical beast in the first ring? The first ring is supposed to have normal beasts only," replied Trent trying to sympathize with Marya, however still acting as if she were lying.


    "Must''ve been an interesting fight. I wish I were there to see it. How did you deal with it?" asked Averos now interested in the conversation.


    Yuuki didn''t turn to look behind him, as he was the leader he had the responsibility to look out for any danger that may lay ahead. And even he didn''t believe that the group had faced a mythical beast and survived when they couldn''t even confront a Ryen.


    "Well, it was all thanks to Arya actually. He had this plan-" Marya was about to say but was cut short by Arya.


    "Marya, don''t exaggerate my role in all this. And plus, it probably wasn''t even a Roc. It might''ve been a normal beast that looked similar." said Arya, trying to downplay their achievements.


    "We can''t let them know the extent of our strengths." thought Arya, as Calder caught on to what he was trying to do.


    "Arya''s right. It didn''t look all too much like an actual Roc now that I think about it," added Calder.


    "What other creature can use lightning the way that bird did? And how many creatures do you know that can grow to that size?" asked Marya, clearly not catching on to what her comrades were trying to do.


    "Normal beasts can''t use magic anyways. So you really did fight a Roc," said Averos as she got closer to Marya.


    Marya usually had an expressionless face on but seemed to get embarrassed as Averos came closer to her face.


    "So tell me, what was the plan the Arya came up with. As my rival I''m expecting that he must''ve shown of his prowess against such a beast," said Averos, excited to hear about the battle.


    "Her rival? I wonder why it seems that I only come across danger and weirdos in this life." thought Arya as Marya began to explain the story again.


    "Well there''s no point now I guess. It''s too late to stop this." thought Arya as he went ahead and started walking shoulder to shoulder with Yuuki.


    "Did you really hunt a Roc all by yourself?" asked Yuuki as Arya approached him.


    "Y-yes. But we got lucky. The Roc got distracted and we were able to take care of it due to our synergy." explained Arya quickly.


    "Actually, I wanted to ask. I saw you use ice magic earlier, however, you''re spells seem more powerful than mine. What stage are you?" asked Arya trying to test his luck.


    Usually, mages wouldn''t tell what stage they were at to a complete stranger. It was like reveling your cards in a poker game, but it seems Yuuki didn''t look at Arya as a threat.


    "I am a stage 1 ice mage. However, I''m sure you''re more powerful than I am. You''re teammate claims that you''re the most powerful mage here." replied Yuuki, looking at Arya with a serious expression.


    "What the hell did Marya tell these people?" wondered Arya before laughing nervously.


    "She was just exaggerating," replied Arya hoping that Yuuki would believe him.


    "Well, it''s okay if you won''t reveal your power. Everyone has their own reasons. Though I wish you wouldn''t hold back when the lives of your teammates are at stake. We will need every ounce of power we have at our disposal to gain as many points as possible." said Yuuki as he turned back to look at the path in front of him.


    "Why are you aiming for a lot of points? Is there a specific amount of points you are trying to get?" asked Arya, trying to change the subject.


    "We have to get the highest amount of points possible, to be placed first on the ranking. I know my selfishness could get us killed, but there is someone I have to beat," said Yuuki as he had a faraway look in his eyes.


    Abby heard what Yuuki and Arya were talking about and looked at her brother with pity.


    "So what noble family are you from?" asked Abby as she approached Arya and Yuuki from behind.

 Chapter 93 - Belgard Academy! (1)

    "Noble family?" Arya looked at Abby with a confused expression. Sure he had been mistaken as a midget multiple times, but never once did anyone think he was nobility.


    "Aren''t you nobility?" asked Yuuki, mirroring Arya''s confused expression.


    "What? N-no." hesitated Arya.


    "Should I have lied? No, what if they start asking specific details about it, and plus being from nobility would not get me anything."


    "Everyone else here is from nobility so I can forget about special treatment for just acting like a noble, if anything they might see me as competition." thought Arya as everyone in the group stopped to look at Arya with even more interest than before.


    "Wait, then who taught you how to fight?" asked Sheela.


    "I learned it by myself. Is something wrong?" Arya didn''t know that it would be a big deal to be able to keep up with Averos, however, although Yuuki was the most powerful mage in the group, Averos was the best fighter.


    "At first I thought he had been trained by high-level knights, it''s the only way he would be able to keep up with sis. You can''t tell me that he learned how to fight by himself."


    "What''s the big deal? It''s not like I won that fight anyway." thought Arya as he continued walking leaving the group to think about what they had just learned.


    "As expected of my rival. You are so skilled that you have trained yourself in combat to such an extent at a young age. I wonder what wonders you will achieve with thorough training." laughed Averos merrily as she walked up to Arya.


    She seemed to be the only one who was not awestruck by Arya''s revelation.


    "W-wait. Does that mean he learned magic all by himself as well? If that''s true, then even if he isn''t hiding his true strength, doesn''t that make him a genius?" thought Trent as he looked at Arya in envy.


    "No wonder the elf girl likes him."


    Trent was under the impression that Arya and Marya were in some sort of relationship, ofcourse he was just blinded by his crush on Marya.


    "Let''s keep moving guys, we have to make it to the final ring as fast as possible if we want to collect more points," said Yuuki as he caught up to Averos and Arya.


    "I feel like we met someone interesting." thought Yuuki as he looked at Arya in a new light.


    The group traveled the rest of the way without coming across any more magical beasts.


    "It''s as if they''ve all disappeared," said Sheela as the group set up camp on a tree.


    "That won''t last too long. Go to bed, we will need all the strength we have to go against the mythical beasts tomorrow," commanded Yuuki as he took first watch.


    After a few minutes, everyone went to sleep, everyone except Arya. Arya stayed awake, not willing to place his life in the hands of a person he had just recently met.


    Morning came and the group set off early. Running through the forest at a faster speed than ever before.


    "Huh?" said Trent, surprised to find that they could already see Belgard.


    "What about the final ring?" asked Sheela as he stared at Belgard in awe.


    Belgard had high towers that were 50m tall, made of a brownish glittering substance. There were several white spiraling towers that crept above the high wall, with a single glowing tower in the middle going above the rest.


    Above the single highest tower was a beam that connected to the clouds.


    "The floating city," murmured Trent as he looked towards where the beam was extending.


    The group didn''t stop their advance, they admired the scenery as they ran towards it.


    "I''ve never heard of a floating city in Belgard," said Arya. Of all the people here he probably had the least information about Belgard, as most of his information came from the farmer back in the village he had found when he escaped the forest.


    "You don''t know about the floating city?" asked Trent, surprised by Arya''s lack of knowledge.


    "Well I wouldn''t have said that if I did." thought Arya, but he actually just nodded his head.


    "The floating city is where all the top mages of Belgard go. If Belgard is a city of mages, then the floating city is a sanctuary. But only 5-star mages and above are allowed to go up there."


    "I heard that the mages in the floating city, live side by side with mythical beasts, exchanging information and learning new spells."


    "Wait? Humans and Mythical beasts?" asked Arya, surprised by the fact that humans would live together with wild animals.


    "Well yes. Mythical beasts have intelligence, that''s why they are mythical. Don''t tell me you didn''t know that either."


    "Wait, so what about the Ryen that tried to kill us? Did that thing have intelligence as well?" asked Arya. Now believing that instead of acting on instincts Ryens were purposefully hunting him down.


    "Pfft. No no. Magical beasts have almost no intelligence, of course, they do have it to some extent. Magical beasts like Ryens are one step away from evolving into Mythical beasts."


    "Ofcourse that rarely happens, but the Ryen that you fought against did have a rather big build. It was probably close to its evolution, but even then it might take it a few hundred years."


    "Shh, stop," whispered Yuuki as the group reached a clearing in the forest.


    In front of them was a 10km^2 clearing of land. At the edge of it was a single portal and past that was a cliff.


    "What? There''s a gap between here and Belgard?" asked Trent, confused by the sudden cliff.


    "Now that I look at it, there doesn''t seem to be any doors on the walls," said Yuuki as he stared at the floating Belgard.


    "Wait, so does that mean Belgard is also a floating city?" asked Trent.


    "Probably not. If it were a floating city it wouldn''t be so low, although there''s a cliff between here and there, there are clearly on the same level.''


    "They might''ve just used magic to give the illusion that it''s floating, to prevent people from entering without permission," replied Yuuki as he noticed that there was a creature standing next to the portal.


    The group was still too far to tell how wide the crevice between Belgard and the edge of the forest was, but they could clearly make out what type of mythical beast they would have to face.


    "The headmaster is crazy, there''s no way he expects us to fight that," said Sheela, for the first time fear visible in his eyes.


    Even Averos, who was always happy to fight looked a bit hesitant.


    Arya who didn''t know what the beast was asked "What is it?"


    "A manticore."

 Chapter 94 - Belgard Academy! (2)

    "Are manticore''s that strong?" asked Arya, still not understanding what all the fuss was about.


    "Are manticores strong? Think about it this way. All manticores have a minimum 5-star core. And that''s the minimum."


    "They are one of the only species that are capable of using all four basic elements, and some of them have variant elements as well. Even among the mythical beasts, they are referred to as Guardian beasts, the lesser species that were only ever second to the dragons."


    "And now we have to fight one of those," said Trent as he got to his knees in defeat.


    "It seems we aren''t alone," said Yuuki as he turned to look at another group charge the manticore.


    The fight was over in a flash, as soon as the group shoot out their first fireball, the ground beneath opened up and swallowed them. The scale of the attack was larger than anything Arya had ever seen.


    "There''s no way I''m fighting that," thought Arya, for the first time he knew that regardless of what methods he would think of, he wouldn''t win.


    "Do you think you could take it?" asked Arya, wondering if the dark figure could beat it.


    "The manticore has a tier-4 5-star mana core. The fact that it''s not masking its core means that it''s confident that it''s the strongest being around." replied the dark figure.


    "Thanks for the information, but that''s not what I asked."


    "Of course I can take it. The only creatures on earth that I would''ve feared are dragons and the Sentinels, and one of them is long dead, while the other might be leagues away"


    "A demon of my status wouldn''t even be bothered by a mere manticore, of course, if I were in my full form. Right now, there''s nothing I can do." replied the dark figure before going silent again.


    While Arya was having his conversation with the dark figure, the group was thinking of a plan.


    "There''s no way we can fight it. I think we should just give up, we can always try next year," said Trent, unwilling to even get close to the manticore after he saw what had happened to the previous group.


    "I-I agree," replied Sheela.


    "We have to try," said Averos, however her face seemed to be saying something else.


    Abby, Marya, and Calder were still in a daze after seeing what had happened.


    "Look, it''s another group"


    "There as well,"


    "Are they trying to storm it?"


    What started as 2 groups attacking the manticore simultaneously, turned into almost 50 groups trying to attack it at the same time, firing their spells in a barrage.


    "They must be trying to defeat it with numbers. However as mages, they should know that number means nothing in front of a powerful spell," said Yuuki as a strong wind pushed back the massive group''s charge.


    Followed by a gigantic pillar of fire, that was made even stronger due to air magic being used. The almost 250 mages that had charged were wiped out, and during all this, the manticore hadn''t even moved a muscle.


    "There''s no way that the headmaster would make an impossible test like this. There has to be a way," thought Yuuki as he stared at the manticore.


    That''s when a group of three people, all wearing black hoods walked up to the manticore.


    "What are they doing they don''t even have any spells ready," said Trent as he watched the group going to meet its end.


    Just as the group was getting closer to the manticore, one of the hooded figures started chanting something, and the group disappeared from plain sight.


    "Illusionary magic? Are there light mages of that caliber that are trying to get into Belgard as students?" asked Trent as he realized what the group had done.


    "Illusionary magic?" it seemed like Arya knew almost nothing about the world.


    "At this point, I''m not surprised. Only a few people would know about it since it''s so rare."


    "You know how you can use ice magic that''s basically just a different form of water magic. Well, illusionary magic is a sort of variant of light magic, however, it isn''t actually a different element on its own. It''s just a rare sort of magic that can only be used by a select few light mages." explained Trent.


    "Interesting," thought Arya as Yuuki finally spoke up.


    "I think I found a way," said Yuuki, looking at the manticore eyes.


    "Those guys may have disappeared from our vision, but the manticore can still see them. Look at the way it''s following their movements," said Yuuki, looking at the way the manticore''s eyes were moving.


    "If it can see them, then why isn''t it attacking them?" asked Trent, not taking Yuuki too seriously.


    "Maybe it isn''t here to attack people. Think about it, everyone who has tried to get to the portal thus far has tried using force."


    "What if the beast is just standing there, what if the test is to not attack it, but to use our wits," said Yuuki, making Arya''s face brighten.


    "He''s right. Now that I think about it, the manticore never attacked first. If it wanted to it could cull everyone hiding in the trees, but it hasn''t." thought Arya as he thought back on it.


    "So what are you saying? Don''t tell me you want us to walk past that?" asked Trent.


    "It''s the only way, or that''s the way I see it. It''s not impossible, we just have to walk past it," added Arya.


    "N-no way, you guys are crazy." shivered Trent, not willing to follow their madness.


    "If it''s what Yuuki thinks, then I''ll trust in him," said Abby, shivering in fear as she said this.


    "It''s decided, we will walk past the beast. I will take the lead," said Averos, trying to hide her fear by masking it with courage.


    Averos walked out of the trees and marched towards the portal, Yuuki, Abby, Marya, and Calder following close behind.. Arya made sure to be last in the line, in the case that Yuuki was wrong he wouldn''t be the first to be punished for it.

 Chapter 95 - Lokreem Preparation Part 1

    "You aren''t controlling the flow of mana when it leaves your mana core. You need to remember that when casting spells from other elements, you have to control the flow of mana consciously, it isn''t like when you''re casting ice or water magic." scolded Luna as Luca failed yet again to cast a fire spell.


    "Why can''t I just use ice magic for the entrance exams?" complained Luca, sweat dripping down his exhausted face.


    "I told you, no using ice magic until you''re established as an above-average mage. We shouldn''t draw too much attention when you''re just in your first year. There''s no telling what the nobles that will be watching will pull just to get you to work for them."


    "But aunt Luna isn''t this too much of a handicap? First I have to hide my true power and act as a 0-star mage. Then I have to act like I''m older than I actually am, and now this?"


    Luca had mastered how to cloak his mana core within a week, something that was only possible due to his masterful understanding of magic theory.


    Of course, Luna expected as much from a genius like Luca, so since he had mastered mana cloaking so quickly she decided to teach him how to cast spells from other elements.


    However, although learning how to cast spells from other elements wasn''t as difficult as learning mana cloaking, it was still a challenge on its own.


    Chanting spells from the elements you''re attuned with was like breathing, it was something that could be learned subconsciously, with only your latent potential and abilities restricting you.


    However, for casting spells from other elements you had to overcome your habit of not thinking about mana control when casting. In other words, you had to pay attention to the paths that your mana took within your body.


    "Anyway, do you think that the people you will have to fight against will only be able to use one element? Those kids are from noble families and as such, they were being trained from before their magic abilities were even discovered," said Luna, encouraging Luca to try harder.


    "Why does an entrance exam have to be so dangerous? Won''t people get hurt from fighting each other in the entrance exam''s duels?" asked Luca, thinking about all the children he would have to hurt to get into Lokreem Academy.


    "You truly are na?ve aren''t you little one." laughed Luna as she found Luca''s question a cute reminder that he was still a child no matter how gifted at magic he was.


    "You''re actually lucky it''s a duel in your case. Back when I went to Belgard, we had to survive through a forest for the entrance exam. We were forced to fight against beasts more than 10 times our size. A lot of people died before even reaching the final stage." said Luna, remembering when she had to take the entrance exam to get into Belgard.


    "People die in the entrance exams? Wait, isn''t that too much just to get into an academy?"


    "Do you think the life of a mage is all rainbows and roses? The minute you resolve yourself to take on the path of a mage, you also resolve yourself to take on the possible dangers."


    "As a mage, you will constantly be placed in dangerous situations, the entrance exam is designed to test your resolve, and only take those with the talent to see their dreams through will be accepted. Those who died knew what they signed up for," said Luna with a stern look on her face.


    "He has to learn this now. The world isn''t the happy place you imagine it is." thought Luna as she watched Luca try to chant a fire spell once more.


    "Fire come, embrace your kindred with a burning passion. But burn my foes, leave them broken and ashen." chanted Luca as he held out his right palm, igniting a spark of fire.


    "I did it!" shouted Luca in joy.


    "You barely lit a spark, you still have a long way to go," said Luna with an unimpressed look on her face.


    "Lillian, Neel, our boy is a genius," thought Luna as she felt a feeling of pride towards Luca, however, she kept it to herself. "I wish I could pamper you like other kids, however, the path you will have to walk is a thorny one. I can''t afford to make you grow weak."


    "The entrance exams are in a few weeks and you still need to learn how to cast the other two elements. If you don''t hurry up you might end up as prey for the other contestants," said Luna when she saw that Luca was becoming content with his progress.


    Luca didn''t actually know he was a genius, he never had anyone to compare himself to. He just knew that he awakened rather early, but he had no clue how powerful he really was. Luna wanted him to come off as a hard-working monster, rather than a monster born lucky.


    People would be more understanding if he worked hard to learn the normal elements, but if he beat them using ice magic, they would think he was just lucky to be born an ice mage.


    ***


    "Where did you last see the beast?" asked a giant figure two meters tall. He was rather handsome but his large stature discouraged any thoughts the woman in front of him may have had about sleeping with him.


    It wasn''t just that, but the beautiful woman beside him made her think twice about it as well. If he was traveling with someone so beautiful why would he want to sleep with anyone else?


    "As I said, I saw it in an alleyway eating one of the homeless people. I ran as soon as I laid eyes on it." replied the woman dressed in a skimpy outfit. It was obvious to Amon that she was some sort of prostitute.


    "Thank you for the information. Naamah, let''s go," said Amon looking at the woman beside him.


    "Wait, are you guys priests? Why are you hunting down demons?" asked the woman as Amon and Naamah were leaving.


    "We''re something similar.. We''re here to take care of the demonic beasts," said Amon as he walked towards the alleyway the woman had last seen the demonic beast.

 Chapter 96 - Demon Subordinate Part 2

    "We''ve been hunting down other demonic beasts for days now, yet you still haven''t told me what your master''s plans are," complained Naamah as she walked quickly to keep up with Amon''s long strides.


    Naamah''s human form was that of a petite woman with a height of 1.68m. Due to her succubus nature, she had near-perfect curves that made all the men she passed by turn their heads more than once.


    However even more alluring than her body was her face. Her red lips would make any man''s heart race, her deep purple eyes and long luscious eyebrows seemed to see into a man''s very desire.


    Whatsmore, even her way of speaking was seductive, it was as if every one of her movements was designed to make a man sin. And such was the job of a succubus, however, her unearthly charms did nothing to raise Amon''s libido.


    She had thought that by creating such a human body she would entice Amon into treating her better and maybe even serving her, however, Amon being the demonic beast he was still had the fear towards his master etched into his very being. That fear caused a deep sense of loyalty towards the dark figure and made him forget that he had any pleasures.


    "It is not my place to say what the master''s true goals are. I was simply tasked with collecting individuals to do the master''s bidding. You too should be content with just that." said Amon before stopping abruptly.


    "It''s here," said Amon before turning into his 2.6-meter tall demonic beast form.


    Namaah followed suit, turning into her true succubus form.


    *"We know you are here. Come out now." said Amon in demonic tongue.


    *"It seems I was right. There really were people following me." replied a shrewd voice from the corner of the alley they had walked into.


    *"To what do I owe this visit?" replied the shrewd voice in demonic tongue.


    *"Show yourself before we continue this conversation. I hate speaking with cowards," complained Naamah, her short temper showing clearly.


    *"Of course," said the voice as a demonic beast with a spider''s body and an old woman''s face came out from the dark corner of the alley. Due to its long slender legs, it stood at nearly 3 meters tall, so much so that even Amon had to look up to it.


    What made it even more terrifying were the black hollows where the eyes should have been, and the sharp ends of its legs that made a scratching sound as it walked.


    *"Why do you wear a human''s face?" asked Naamah, as she looked at the ugly hag''s face in disgust.


    *"We are free from any masters, so is it not allowed to do as we please? Now that I have answered your question, won''t you answer mine?" asked the spiderlike demonic beast with a creepy smile.


    *"An Acari from the second hell, she might be difficult to deal with," said Amon via the mind link that Naamah had created.


    *"If you were able to deal with me, then we will have no problem dealing with an Acari," protested Naamah, offended that Amon would find this creature harder to deal with than her.


    *"We''ll cut to the chase, join us and serve our master''s bidding. Your only options are yes or death, choose wisely." said Naamah as she manipulated the shadows around the Acari.


    *"Oh my, what a hasty companion you have," laughed the Acari in a scratchy low pitch voice.


    *"What''s so funny?" asked Naamah as she used the shadows to grab the Acari into a vise.


    *"It seems you are mistaken about something. You see, I may have complied and answered your questions, but I never said I would comply with your demands. If anything you are the one with limited choices, your only choice being death that is," said the Acari before Amon rushed to push Naamah to the ground, disturbing her focus and causing the Acari to be freed from her vise.


    *"Oh my, it seems that the soldier has caught on to my little trap," laughed the Acari, as a thin strand of unknown substance glittered in the moonlight.


    *"We''re stuck in her web," said Amon to the confused Naamah, as he looked around and realized that there were dozens of those strands around them, each being controlled by the Acari.


    *"Well I hope you can continue to dodge them, humans aren''t as fun to play with as I first thought," said the Acari gesturing to all the dead bodies hidden behind her in the dark.


    *"I will only ask you once again. Join our master''s cause or perish," said Amon as he stood back up to his full 2.6meters.


    *"You don''t seem to realize the situation you are in," replied the Acari, changing her voice from the easy-going tone it had before to one of anger.


    *"Very well then. You shall act as a stepping stone for my development," replied Amon before disappearing from the Acari''s vision.


    "It seems I''ve caught an interesting insect within my webs. I admit your speed is incredible, but it means nothing within my webs," said the Acari with intrigue in her voice.


    As Amon was about to stab the Acari from behind, all his libs were held back by the Acari''s threads.


    *"Let''s see how well you move when I clip off your wings," said the Acari as the threads tightened their hold on Amon, dismembering his limbs in the process.


    Amon became a body without a head, arms, or legs.


    *"Now, now, now. I know how you soldiers work. If I don''t destroy you completely you''ll just come back," said the Acari as it approached Amon''s corpse, revealing its true face as it did.


    It had a black slate for a face just like Naamah and Amon, however, two long pincers protruded from the sides of its head, and eight gleaming eyes were set around the upper part of its head as well. Allowing it to have 360-degree vision.


    As it stood above Amon, a black substance spewed from its pincers, corroding the floor as it dripped down.


    *"You forget that you have more than one enemy," said Naamah as she manipulated the shadows to become as thin as the Acari''s thread, and used it to dismember its head.


    As the Acari''s head rolled on the ground, Naamah picked up Amon''s limbs and placed them around his body. This wasn''t necessary, but she did as a gesture of loyalty towards Amon. She knew that he would hunt her down if she tried escaping.


    "Who knows, this master person might be worthwhile. If someone as powerful as Amon bows to him, he might be able to turn me into a true demon," thought Naamah as Amon''s limbs reattached to his body.


    *''"Behind you" warned Amon as soon as the red glow of his eyes returned to his face.

 Chapter 97 - Demon Subordinate Part 3

    "Wha-" Before Naamah could finish, one of the human corpses that the Acari had collected severed its own head and placed it on the Acari''s body.


    The corpse''s head fused with the Acari''s body, bringing it back to life. "Thank you my beauty," said the Acari as it stroked the headless corpse''s body.


    "It seems I had forgotten about you, however, please forgive me. It''s just that you were so insignificant I forgot to pay attention to you," taunted the Acari, as it stared at Naamah with malice.


    "But don''t worry, this time I will leave you with something to play with," as the Acari said this, all the corpses she had collected came to life.


    The corpses were akin to zombies, their mobility was rather slow, and their movements sluggish. Their faces were already in the late stages of decomposition, painting an ugly scene. Their one redeeming factor being the aquamarine glow coming from their eyes, but even then, they seemed to lack intelligence of any sort.


    "These aren''t perfect undead," said Amon via mind-link as he prepared for the battle.


    Due to his earlier death, Amon''s body had become stronger in order to cope with the opponent in front of him. His demonic form now stood at 2.8meters, and two long blades protruded from where his hands should have been.


    As Naamah looked at his new form, a single thought went through her mind "The gift of a soldier, if more soldiers are summoned to earth, they might actually have a chance at becoming true demons. I need to hurry up and get stronger as well,"


    "But what do you mean these aren''t true demons?" asked Naamah via their mind-link.


    "Unlike the undead my master created, these ones lack power, if anything they feel more like echoes of life than actual life."


    "Your master has the power to raise the dead?" asked Naamah, flabbergasted by the extent of the master''s power.


    "Did I not say that my master can stand toe to toe with an archdemon?"


    As the two were conversing something interesting was happening with the Acari''s corpses. All of them had crowded on top of each other and fused, creating a humongous monster over 5meters tall.


    The tremors it created with its footsteps woke up the people in the nearby buildings.


    "What''s going on!" shouted a man from one of the building''s windows.


    "We have to hurry up before the humans get here. They will just act as fuel for the Acari," said Amon before disappearing and reappearing behind the gigantic monster.


    "Of course, leave me to fight the Acari that not even you could handle alone," complained Naamah as she turned to face her opponent.


    The Acari now had the face of a middle-aged man, just like its previous face, it was devoid of eyes and instead had black hollows.


    "You really are unsightly, you know that right" taunted Naamah as she manipulated the shadows around the Acari, turning them into thin threads similar to those used by the Acari.


    "Oh my, it seems you''ve copied one of my skills. However I wonder if a prostitute like you can control threads at the same level as an Acari can," replied the Acari, pulling on its threads to maim Naamah.


    Naamah manipulated as many shadow threads as she could to mitigate the attack, however, that wasn''t enough. As the remaining threads were about to slice of her neck, she turned into a black mass of shadows, allowing the threads to pass through her.


    "Who''re you calling a prostitute insect? I didn''t want to use this, but it seems I have no choice," said Naamah as the shadow cloud approached the Acari.


    "I was going to use this against Amon when we fought earlier, but he was too fast to capture. This Acari on the other hand is a sitting duck," thought Naamah as her shadow cloud surrounded the Acari.


    "It''s no use, you aren''t fast enough," said Naamah as the Acari tried to run out of the cloud, but it was too late, the cloud formed dozens of limbs that restricted the Acari''s movements.


    Naamah returned to her demonic beast form, leaving the Acari bounded by her shadows.


    "I rid the world of an annoying bug," smiled Naamah as she was about to use one of her shadows to pierce through the Acari''s head, however before she could do this, the gigantic monster self-destructed creating a huge explosion.


    "Get down!" shouted Amon via their mind link, prompting Naamah to use the shadows around her to create a protective shell.


    "What happened?" asked Naamah as she came out of her shell and looked around the battlefield.


    As the dust settled, Naamah saw that the surrounding buildings had been turned to rubble, the humans that once inhabited them crushed by the debris and turned into a bloody paste.


    Amon''s skin had been disintegrated but was regenrating at a noticeable rate, however, he still seemed disappointed.


    "Where''s the Acari?" asked Naamah.


    "Gone. She used her spawn as a diversion. She probably fled the city,"


    "Shouldn''t we chase after her?"


    "It''s no use. We have no idea what tricks she may have left, and while we chase her we are going to waste precious time that could be used to find others."


    "So we''re just going to let it go after what it did to us?"


    "Don''t be mistaken Naamah. For the crime of rejecting my master''s invitation, it has chosen death. Should we ever come across it again, we will use our full might to erase it from the face of the human realm, but for now we have a job to finish." said Amon as he turned back into his human form.


    "Have you gotten bigger?" asked Naamah as she stared at Amon''s human figure, it had grown by nearly one inch.


    "Wait, don''t tell me you aren''t able to properly control your human body''s image." laughed Naamah as she turned back into her human form as well.


    "Such skills are unimportant, all I need is strength to properly serve the master," said Amon, trying to mask his shame.


    "Yeah right. Let''s get out of here before the city guards come. It will be troublesome if we have to face them," said Naamah before disappearing into the dark.


    "I know how to control my human form," whispered Amon, trying to sound confident as he followed close behind Naamah.

 Chapter 98 - Welcome To Belgard (1)

    "Sheela don''t tell me you''re actually going to follow them," whimpered Trent as he watched his teammates march towards the portal.


    "No I''m not, Trent."


    "Phew, thank you. I knew I could count on you."


    "I''m not, but we are," said Sheela as he picked up Trent like he weighed nothing, and carried him like he was a toddler throwing a tantrum.


    "Let me go, Sheela!"


    "Yeah, I''ll let you go once we pass through the portal," laughed Sheela as Trent struggled to escape his grasp.


    The manticore watched the group approach it, interested in what these new challengers had in store for it.


    Once the group was just several meters away from the manticore, it stood up, towering over them at a height of 4 meters.


    The manticore began walking towards the group, exuding a nerve-wracking pressure as it did. It took all the willpower that the group had just to remain standing.


    They had already walked deep into the clearing, so there was no turning back.


    As the manticore neared, so did the pressure it exuded. The pressure became so intense that Calder, Abby, Marya, and Trent passed out.


    "What the hell is up with this pressure?" wondered Arya as he used what little strength he had to just stay conscious.


    "So this is the power of a guardian beast?" thought Averos as she was pushed down to her knees due to the pressure, sweat dripped down her face as she reached for something in her robes.


    "No Averos. Remember d-don''t a-attack it." stuttered Yuuki. Even talking became difficult when confronted by such a beast.


    When the manticore reached the group, both Yuuki and Averos were already forced to their knees. Only Sheela and Arya remained standing, but just barely. Sheela had placed Trent on the ground as it became too difficult to carry him while standing.


    While the manticore was looking down on the group, other mages ran through the sides, avoiding the beast and running straight for the portal.


    The manticore turned to look at the fleeing people but didn''t seem to have the slightest bit of interest in them.


    "So Yuuki was right. It really isn''t here to stop people from going through the portal, so then why is it here?" wondered Arya as he looked up at the beast.


    "You are the only group to have passed this test. In order to be a mage, both wit and courage are needed. Congratulations and welcome to Belgard," said the manticore in a loud voice as it rescinded its pressure.


    Both Yuuki and Averos struggled to stand up, breathing heavily as they did. Sheela had sweat dripping down his face but had the same easy-going expression he always did, scratching his head awkwardly as he heard the manticore speak.


    Arya on the other hand still looked at the manticore with suspicion in his eyes. Clearly, he didn''t believe that the test was over.


    "Are these your comrades?" asked the manticore as it sniffed the group members who had fallen unconscious.


    "Y-yes," replied Yuuki. Although the manticore rescinded its pressure, it was still difficult to talk properly when faced with such a powerful being.


    The manticore grabbed the fallen teammates in its mouth and flung them on its back.


    "Well then, let''s proceed," said the manticore as it walked ahead of the group towards the portal.


    "Huh?" the group members seemed confused but followed behind the beast anyway.


    As they reached the portal the manticore gestured for the group to grab their teammates of its back.


    "I hope to see you all when the school year commences," said the manticore before turning around to continue guarding the portal.


    The group quickly passed through the portal, scared that they might wake up from this dream before they made it to Belgard.


    Arya went through the portal last, carrying the unconscious Marya on his back. Before he went through the portal, he stared at the manticore''s back one last time. "One day I''ll be strong enough to defeat one of those" resolved Arya as he passed through the portal.


    "What an interesting group we have this year. I sensed a lot of powerful kids in this batch, though I wonder if that was really dragon blood I smelt coming from that kid. There was something off with it, regardless, two dragon-borns in the same year should prove to make this year''s class rather eventful," thought the manticore as it continued to watch over the portal.


    Meanwhile, the group was at a loss for words once they had passed the portal. It wasn''t just them, everyone who had passed through the portal had a look of awe in their eyes.


    Although they had been told that Belgard was one of the biggest magical institutions on this continent, they hadn''t expected it to be at such a scale.


    The area the students were currently in was a boulevard of some sort, with tall magnificent trees lined up along its entire length.


    The trees exuded a brilliant magical light, that gave them a firey look, similar to a burning sakura tree.


    The street paths were made of a pale white substance, that seemed to pulsate with an unknown power.


    Whatsmore, the buildings within Belgard were on another scale. Apart from the towering spirals that were higher than even the 50meter tall wall, the other buildings were nothing to scoff at as well.


    It wasn''t just their size but their magnificence as well. All the buildings seemed to have an other-worldly architecture, with geometrics that seemed hard to follow even as you were looking at them.


    The buildings themselves seemed to exude a power of their own, giving off a magical feel even as the group stared at them.


    Everything seemed new as if it had just been built yesterday, not a speck of trash lay on the streets, and what was even more fascinating than the surroundings was the number of robed people walking about.


    Belgard was more crowded than any town Arya had ever visited, and each and every one of Belgard''s inhabitants were mages.


    "I''ve never seen so many mages in one place before," whispered Calder as he gained consciousness.


    The group''s attention was quickly drawn to the front, as a grey-bearded, old gentleman wearing white robes with red, blue, green, and silver patterns cleared his throat.


    "Welcome to Belgard Academy. Congratulations on making it past your tribulations. I am headmaster Frode, and I will be leading your orientation,"


    "I finally made it," thought Arya, with a resolved look on his face.

 Chapter 99 - Welcome To Belgard (2)

    "Before we start the orientation you will be assigned to your dorm rooms. Girls line up on the right, and boys on the left, follow the instructor in front of you and you will be lead to your accommodations," said Headmaster Frode.


    "I guess we''ll be seeing you guys later than," said Trent nervously as he turned to look at Marya.


    "See you then, I guess. Oh wait, how is Calder going to get back?"


    "All escorts please follow me to the portal, escorts are not permitted past this point," announced Frode as if on queue.


    "I''ll be seeing you later Marya," said Calder, nodding his head in goodbye to the rest of the group.


    "Arya, aren''t you coming as well?" asked Calder as he was about to leave.


    "Huh? I''ve decided to enroll here, so I won''t be following you any longer."


    "In that case then, Marya will give you the rest of your payment when you two meet up later. Oh, and look, I know it isn''t your mission anymore, but please try to take care of Marya," said Calder, whispering that last part so that only Arya could hear it.


    As Calder followed headmaster Frode and the other escorts to the portal, the group split up and lined up into their respective queues, waiting to be directed to their dorm rooms.


    "Huh? Isn''t she hot?" asked Trent, as he looked at the instructor at the front of the queue with a lustful look.


    "Aren''t you a little too young to be going after a grown woman?"


    "You don''t know anything Sheela. Sometimes it feels as if you aren''t really a guy. I''m sure you understand what I''m saying Arya." said Trent as he turned to Arya for support.


    "Since when are we friends? Why is he asking me this?" thought Arya as he looked away from Trent, ignoring his question.


    "Y-Yuuki, you get me right?"


    Yuuki did the same, acting as if he were not in the same group as Trent.


    "You guys are cold," complained Trent as he turned back to face the front with a sullen look.


    "Okay boys follow me," said the instructor in an erotic voice.


    It wasn''t just her voice that seemed erotic, even the crimson red lipstick she had on that made her smile alluring, her shiny jet black hair, and her voluptuous body seemed to be driving most if not all of the boys mad with lust.


    Her scarlet red eyes peering into all the boys'' desires as if she were a succubus.


    "Oh, she''s a hottie,"


    "Do you think I have a chance with her?"


    "No way man," murmured a few boys in the group.


    The instructor''s allure didn''t stop at just the boys, some of the girls looked at her with lust in their eyes as well.


    "Nera dressing like that in front of the first years," mumbled the other instructor. This one had long blond hair tied into a tress and tender green eyes that hid behind spectacles. It was uncertain if she was as voluptuous as her colleague, however, what was certain is that she was uptight.


    "Girls, follow me," said the other instructor, rushing to get away from Nera.


    "I will see you later rival," whispered Averos as she passed by Arya.


    "Hmm, there are around 150 students here. Isn''t that too little for the leading magical institution?" wondered Arya as he watched the girl''s line leave.


    Nera began her seductive walk towards the boy''s dorm, turning the heads of all those she passed by on her way.


    "I hope she''s one of our lecturers," whispered a few of the boys as they followed Nera from behind, watching her hips sway side to side as they did.


    After a short walk, they arrived at a massive building about 500 meters wide, and 23 meters tall. It was made of the same white substance that the floor was made of, giving off bursts of pulsating light as it stood there. On top of the door read ''Primus Gradu''.


    "This is the first-year dorm. The dorm supervisor will take care of you from here," said Nera as she left the group, leaving some of the boys with a sad look on their face.


    "Welcome first years. Before I show you to your rooms, there are a few rules I have to explain,"


    "Within the confines of these walls, I am the law. Anything I say goes, deviation from my orders will result in immediate punishment for insubordination,"


    "Also, fighting is not permitted. If you are caught fighting you will have to answer to me and trust me I''m not someone that the likes of you could deal with even if you all grouped up and attacked me,"


    "And lastly, trying to kill your roommate will get you chased out of the dorm. There have been a number of cases in the past, and it was always a lot of paperwork, so don''t let me find out that you killed your roommate." said the man at the front of the door who seemed to be the dorm advisor.


    He was a massive man, about 1.9m tall, with a military style hair cut, and chiseled muscles. Throughout his speech, he had a perpetual frown on his face. And even his bright green eyes seemed to be devoid of any emotion apart from annoyance.


    "Now follow me,"


    The dorm advisor led the group through the rooms, randomly pointing at two people to pair up and enter a room as they passed by.


    Eventually, Arya was pointed out.


    "You, you, room 37," said the dorm supervisor as he pointed to Arya and a brown-haired boy. The two were given their keys and entered the room.


    "This room is bigger than my room back on earth. It seems everything is already provided for you, bedding, robes, even trunks for storage," said Arya as he looked around his new room.


    "Hey, my name''s Neville. I hope that we can become close friends," said Arya''s roommate as he held out his hand for a handshake.


    "Making allies is very important. Accept his kindness, he might become useful later on," said the dark figure as Arya stared at his roommate.


    "I know that, you don''t have to tell," replied Arya before shaking his roommate''s hand and returning the gesture.


    "My name''s Arya, and I hope we can become close friends as well," said Arya putting on the friendliest smile he could manage.

 Chapter 100 - Orientation (1)

    "So which family are you from?" asked Neville as he removed a few of his belongings from a ring.


    "What is that?" wondered Arya as he stared in awe at Neville''s dimensional ring.


    "It''s a dimensional ring. An artifact that allows the user to store things in another space. Of course, it''s imprinted with the owner''s magic, so trying to steal it would be useless," replied the dark figure, destroying any hopes that Arya may have had about stealing it for himself.


    "Oh, my family''s not that important. I don''t even know my last name," replied Arya, looking into the storage trunk to see if there was anything in it.


    "Oh, so you''re the first mage in your bloodline? Your parents must be proud, I''m the sixth son of a family full of mages so they don''t really have any high hopes for me," replied Neville quickly as he stared at Arya with interest.


    "Now that I look at you properly, aren''t you really pretty? I bet you get a lot of girls," teased Neville, acting as if the two were long-lost friends.


    "Why is everyone in this world so weird?" wondered Arya as he smiled awkwardly at Neville''s remark.


    "But seriously, aren''t you really young? How old are you?" asked Neville, realizing that Arya was a few inches shorter than he was.


    "I''m ten," lied Arya, not knowing whether or not ten was a suspicious age for being a mage.


    "Ten? W-wait, you''re ten? Come on, aren''t you just lying to look cool?"


    "Why? Is ten too young?"


    "A ten-year-old mage is at the level of a genius. W-wait, what element are you attuned to?" asked Neville, visibly shocked by Arya''s age.


    "I use ice magic," replied Arya casually.


    He would have lied about it, but he couldn''t use any other element, so he would just come off as untrustworthy he was found out.


    "A-a variant? No way. You''ve got to be pulling my leg," said Neville as he stared at Arya in disbelief.


    "If you didn''t mind, can you show me a spell?" asked Neville, still not believing Arya.


    "Okay. Child of water heed my call. Bring about a chill to freeze my foes,"


    A thin layer of ice covered the floor, making it difficult to stand up straight.


    "Y-you weren''t bluffing. Are you sure you aren''t from any magical bloodlines? You''re probably a genius with potential on the same level as the top mages in Belgard," replied Neville, trying to accept the fact that he was paired up with a monster.


    "Not really. I''m still a 0-star mage anyways. I''m not as powerful as you think," replied Arya trying to salvage the situation.


    "I can''t let him be wary of me. Friendships are more likely to break when one is aware that their friend is leagues above they are."


    "Pfft. Ofcourse you are, and so is everyone else here. Do you know how hard it is to get to the next rank? It''s not something that novices who just received their magical powers can pull off so quickly."


    "Of course there are some one-star mages, who have personal magic instructors at their homes, but the bottleneck to 2-star is so hard that we will catch up to them before they move on to the next stage," said Neville, destroying Arya''s attempt at lowering his prowess.


    "W-what? Does that mean that Marya is actually really powerful?" wondered Arya, now realizing the depth of what being a 2-star mage meant.


    "Wear your robes and get ready. Orientation will start shortly," announced the dorm supervisor through the intercoms.


    "We have to get going," said Nevile as he quickly got out of the attire he was wearing and put on the white robes that lay on his bed.


    "I guess so," replied Arya putting on the white robes as well.


    The dorm supervisor collected the first-year boys and walked them to the orientation hall.


    The orientation took place in one of the spiraling towers, the hall that the group had entered was spacious enough to fit at least 1000 soldiers.


    The hall was filled to the brim with students, Arya noticed that there were more people than he had counted before.


    He continued to look around and noticed that there was a statue of a man carrying a scepter at the front of the hall.


    "Oh, that''s the first Grand Magus," said Neville as if reading Arya''s mind.


    "Hey, Arya, over here" shouted Trent from his seat as he saw Arya enter the hall.


    "Friends of yours?" asked Neville.


    "No, not really," replied Arya, as he and Neville approached Trent.


    "We saved a seat for you," said Trent as Neville and Arya arrived.


    "Oh, who''s he?"


    "I''m Neville Sacrasia, son of Devon Sacrasia," introduced Neville.


    "Oh I''m Trent Leberon, son of Arcan Leberon," introduced Trent.


    The two sat in between Yuuki and Trent, with Neville and Trent sitting close to each other and Arya on the other side.


    "They''ve just met and they already seem chatty," thought Arya. He wasn''t actually annoyed, for the first time since he had arrived on Merrum he felt like things were starting to be more normal. After all, this experience reminded Arya of what his college life would have been like had he not died that day.


    "Attention students. As I''m sure some of you are aware of, the forest acted as a sort of test ground to allocate you in to your suitable classes. As such, the orientation will begin with assortment into those classes."


    "Don''t worry, your names were already collected by on-field mages who were watching you through every part of the forest,"


    "On-field mages? There were people spying on us?"


    "I didn''t see any of them," murmured a few people in the crowd.


    "The points that each of you gained will be shown on the screen. Please look for your name, the number of points you get decides which class you''re going to be in for the first term of the year,"


    "0-34 points means you''re in class D. 35-49 points means you''re in class C.. 50-69 points lands you in class B. And 70+ points lands you in the A-class,"

 Chapter 101 - Orientation (2)

    "Your student cards will give you access to various areas within the academy grounds depending on the number of points you currently have. Apart from deciding which class you will be placed in, the points also act as a currency, various objects can be bought within the academy premises using these points," announced Frode from the top of the stage.


    "Spacial magic!" gasped Trent, as he grabbed the floating student card in front of him.


    "Fret not if you feel like you didn''t collect sufficient points. There is a point reward system for students who complete quests given out by the academy. However, that will be discussed in detail later within your home room classes."


    "Now that that''s out of the way. Let the orientation ceremony commence," as Frode said this the roof of the hall they were in disappeared, revealing the bright blue sky above them.


    "What is that?" murmured a few students as an object moving so fast it left a streak behind it appeared in the sky.


    "It''s coming this way,"


    The object suddenly changed trajectory and began plummeting towards the hall, just as the blur was about to crash onto the stage, it suddenly stopped.


    "It''s the manticore," muttered Trent under his breath just as he was about to run out of the hall.


    "Welcome students of Belgard. My name is Dregnar and I will be your survival instructor for the year." announced the manticore as it landed on to the stage with the grace of a ballerina.


    "It seems your zest for theatrics hasn''t died out Dregnar," announced another voice as a black cloud appeared right next to the manticore.


    Out of the cloud came a pale, slender figure 1.94 meters tall. The figure dressed similar to a vampire, however, this just confused everyone even more as he had the ears of the elf.


    "My name is Valkuy, and I will be your instructor in the dark arts," announced Valkuy with a deep husky voice.


    "Your one to talk Valkuy," said a familiar voice.


    "It''s her," mused Trent and a few other boys as Nera walked onto the stage.


    "Welcome students. My name is Nera and I will be your instructor in the arts of potion brewing," announced Nera in her usual seductive manner.


    "Ahem. Welcome students" boomed a loud voice as the hulking figure of a man walked onto the stage.


    "I am Arden, and I will be your instructor in combat and sword arts." Arden had long black hair tied into a bun. With muscles so huge that they seemed to want to pop out of his ivory-tanned skin. He had a gleaming smile that just oozed with confidence and stood even taller than Valkuy at a height of 1.98 meters.


    The stage was beginning to become crowded with very interesting figures.


    "Can you sense what level their mana cores are at?" asked Arya as he looked at all the seemingly powerful individuals in front of him.


    "No, but they''re all very powerful. The queer thing is that none of them give off the smell of a human," replied the dark figure.


    "Let''s get this over with." said another voice in an irritated tone as a man of short stature but strong build walked onto the stage.


    "My name is Ronkor, and I will be your lecturer in the art of smithing magic," said the dwarf dressed in a dirty apron, stained black with what seemed to be smoke.


    "Couldn''t you have cleaned up at least a little?" whispered Nera as Ronkor made his way to stand beside the instructors that had already introduced themselves.


    "And why would I waste my time doing that woman?" replied Ronkor loudly.


    "So many instructors," murmured a few students as a very uptight looking woman walked onto the stage with perfect posture.


    "Welcome students, my name is Reylin Arentos, and I will be your instructor in magic theory," said a woman with blonde hair tied into a tress. Her tender green eyes hid behind thick black spectacles and she wore a robe similar to headmaster Frode''s but with fewer streaks.


    "It seems not everyone is here." said a disembodied voice as a blinding light appeared on the stage.


    Out of it came a man of average build. He was rather dashing with his platinum blonde hair and very sociable demeanor. He was dressed in white robes similar to those worn by priests and spoke in a very loud and clear voice.


    "My name is Filidei, and I will be your instructor in magic history as well as the instructor in variant elements. May the divine beings be with you" announced Fillidei.


    "These will be some of your instructors for the year. The other instructors were unable to attend the ceremony due to personal issues, but you will meet them soon enough as classes start. Reylin, you may proceed." announced Frode from the front of the stage before moving back.


    "Welcome once again students. I am aware that the road to Belgard was a treacherous one filled with many dangers, however, as a mage, you will constantly be put in life or death situations, so this much is to be expected," announced Reylin as she took Frode''s spot.


    "Although you have successfully completed your trails, you should be aware that the real challenge begins now. The details will be explained more by your homeroom instructor, however, note that failure to score above a certain threshold of points will result in expulsion."


    "Although I''m sure that the dorm supervisors have already explained to you the dorm rules, there are separate rules that apply to the academy as a whole that can be read in the guidebook in front of you,". As Reylin said this, brown covered books, titled ''Rector libri'' appeared in front of all the students."


    "Make sure to read it to avoid any unnecessary trouble."


    "Also, I''m sure many of you have noticed how there are currently more students present than passed the final forest trial. These students have transferred over from other academies and will be attending their first year with you. They too have faced trails of their own, so I hope that there will be no ill feelings from those that suffered during the forest trails"


    "One final thing. Please take care not to anger the seniors. Although we have made it so that only first years could attend this event, please be aware that you are not alone in this academy. And that the academy is here to teach you magic in the hope that you can one day contribute to its growth. We are not here to hold anyone''s hand, and will only intervene in life-threatening situations. Rules have been placed in order to minimize such incidents, but there are always outliers so you have been warned," announced Reylin before taking her place beside the other instructors once again.


    "Here in Belgard, the sky isn''t the limit. The floating city is proof of this. Aim further than the heavens, aim higher than the Grand Magus. Diis Major. We are greater than the gods," announced Frode before all the instructors disappeared into thin air.


    "What a ceremony," whispered Trent as he was still dazed in awe.

 Chapter 102 - First Day (1)

    "Okay please settle down. Now that Headmaster Frode has given his greetings on behalf of the teaching staff, I would like to extend a hand of greeting as well on behalf of the Student Body" said a girl who looked to be about 16 years old, dressed in a black uniform as she walked up to the stage with four others dressed exactly like her.


    "Although we don''t have the adequate time to introduce every single member of the Student Body, I think we have enough to introduce the heads of every department. I am Lucia Arenduarde, head of the disciplinary committee," said Lucia before bowing to the students and taking her place to the side of the stage.


    "She''s pretty hot, isn''t she?" murmured Trent as he watched the black-haired beauty walk off to the side of the stage.


    "Didn''t you just hear her? She''s the head of the disciplinary committee, aren''t you trying to bite off a bit more than you can chew?" asked Neville, with a look of concern on his face.


    "Don''t bother with him, he probably can''t even hear you right now," replied Sheela, as he elbowed Trent out of his lustful daydream.


    "I am Nikolaus Argentauso, head of student welfare," said a platinum blonde guy, before walking off the stage as well.


    "Reiner Gildern, head of sports and student competition," this time it was a red-haired fellow, with a scar on his left eye.


    "I am Anne Argentauso, head of student quests and quest-related queries," said a girl who looked exactly like Nikolaus, apart from her feminine features.


    "Twins?" asked Trent a bit flabbergasted


    "Don''t tell me you''ve taken an interest in guys as well Trent," laughed Sheela as Trent gawked over Anne.


    "N-no, It''s not like that I just-," shouted Trent in embarrassment.


    "Can you two keep it down," complained Yuuki, as the final head came to the stage.


    His uniform had golden regal symbols embroidered on his collar, and unlike all the other uniforms, his was a darker shade of black, where theirs was jet black, his was vantablack.1


    "My name is Avion Dragonaus, head of the student body council,"


    His hair was jet back with strands of white in between, making him look very peculiar. He was the tallest and had the largest build amongst the student council at a height of 1.89 meters. For some reason his voice resounded with power, there was some sort of mysteriousness about him that left all the girls with a hot look on their faces.


    Arya''s senses were tingling as Avion turned his gaze to him for a split second before going off the stage.


    "What was that about?" asked Trent as Avion walked off the stage. It was clear that Trent was not a big fan of Avion.


    "Pfft, what do these girls see in that guy anyway. I mean sure he looks kind of handsome, but Arya here beats him in that department easy,"


    "I didn''t know you swing that," laughed Sheela, making Trent feel even more embarrassed than before.


    "Anyway, it seems you guys don''t know who that guy is, huh," said Neville as he watched the small group of student body members leave the hall.


    "He''s been the head of the student body since the third year he''s been here, the youngest head in the history of Belgard. Anyway, he''s one of the few surviving Dragonborns left, and after the death of the Dragon Prince, his family is said to be first in line for the royal throne. Well, if there was a royal throne for the dragon borns anyway,"1


    "My father once told me about Dragonborns, I didn''t think they were real," replied Arya with a faraway look on his face as he recalled the form his father took before he and the others had fled.


    Just as Avion was about to leave the hall he turned once again, this time looking at someone a few seats in front of Arya.


    "His brother," whispered Neville as he followed Avion''s gaze.


    "He has a brother?" asked Trent, a look of disappointment visible across his face.


    "Why? Are you scared that he will be as popular as his big brother?" asked Sheela.


    "I doubt it. Based on all the guys in this room, I''d say my biggest competitors are Yuuki and Arya, however, both of them are impoten- I mean have no interest in girls whatsoever. So it''s safe to assume I''ll have no problems getting girls," replied Trent with a cheerful expression as the students within the hall began walking out.


    "Anyway we''ll be seeing you guys at class tomorrow I guess," said Trent as the group reached their dorm and they all walked to their respective rooms.


    "What a long day," sighed Neville as he jumped on his bed, without so much as removing his robes.


    "Are there any benefits in being part of the student body?" asked Arya as he got into his blankets as well, the fatigue he had collected throughout the day finally catching up to him.


    "Of course there are. You are granted a higher clearance than most other students, allowing you into restricted sections of the school. I''ve heard that you''re even allowed to borrow books that would otherwise be forbidden. Of course, there''s also the feeling of power over the normal students which I''m sure some people get a kick out of,"


    "I see,"


    "Anyway, what class are you in? I forgot to ask. I''m in the B class by the way, though it was to be expected."


    "I''m in the A-class" replied Arya as he tapped his student card to look at his student details.


    "Ahh, well it was to be expected of a genius like you. I still can''t believe your just ten, you might be able to break the record of youngest student body head if you wanted to," whispered Neville as his began to eyes shut and he fell asleep.


    "For now I just need to focus on absorbing as much knowledge as possible. Tomorrow I take the first step towards my revenge," whispered Arya, as he closed his eyes. That night he had a dream about the death of his parents, making him sweat and turn in his sleep.


    ***


    "Arya! Arya! Wake up!"


    "Huh? W-what''s going on?" asked Arya, his voice still groggy from sleep.


    "We''re gonna be late for school man. We overslept," shouted Neville as he struggled to put on his robes, while Sheela and Trent were laughing at the two from the door.


    Arya rushed to put on his robes as well and the group ran towards the school grounds, however since none of them had actually read the guide, they had no idea where their classes were.


    "We''re screwed," said Trent with a look of despair on his face.


    "We probably are, oh well," laughed Sheela.


    "How can you be so laid back, why am I the only one who seems to care about our predicament?"


    "What are you boys doing out of class? I''m certain all classes have already started," asked a feminine voice from behind the group.


    "Fuck, it''s the head of the disciplinary committee," whispered Trent, as if everyone in the group hadn''t noticed.


    "We got lost, and can''t find our way to our classes. We''re first years, and haven''t really gotten the time to read the guide yet," said Neville, hoping to solve this without getting into any more trouble.


    "I see. What classes are you guys in?" asked Lucia, with a cold look on her face.


    "I''m in 1B and the others are in 1A" replied Neville with a smile on his face.


    ''She''s co-operating which is a good sign,'' thought Neville.


    "I see, I''ll have to inform your teachers that you guys were too busy to attend because you were carrying out your punishment. Now follow me," said Lucia with a stern tone.


    Trent looked as if he would cry as the group followed Lucia to one of the bathrooms in the school building.


    "Cleaning staff has been underhanded lately, I''m sure they''d be delighted if you would give them a hand in cleaning the toilets. If this place isn''t spotless in the next hour then I shall issue a request for 10 academy points to be deducted from the lot of you,"


    "Oh and no magic. The use of magic is prohibited in the school building without supervision," said Lucia before leaving.


    "First day of school and we''re already in trouble," whimpered Trent as he picked up a mop and began mopping the floor.


    ''I remember the first day Michael and I went to school as well, we got punished for being late and spent the whole day picking out weeds from the field. This kind of reminds me of my days back on Earth'' reminisced Arya with a smile on his face, a feeling of nostalgia overcoming him as he watched the others clean.


    "Hey mister pretty face, I know you don''t want to get your hands dirty, but we all got the punishment so don''t think you can skip out on work," complained Trent as he noticed that Arya was just standing there.


    ''Of course, Michael wasn''t as annoying as these idiots,'' thought Arya as he picked up a mop and began mopping as well.

 Chapter 103 - First Day (2)

    The group managed to finish cleaning the toilet in just a minute to an hour.


    "Very well then, you may proceed to your classes," said Lucia as she came to see whether the group had finished right at the hour mark.


    "I don''t think I like her as much as I once did," whispered Trent to the others as Lucia told them where to find their classes.


    "See you later Neville," said Trent in goodbye once the group split up to go to their respective classes.


    "I assume you''re the group Ms. Lucia told me about," said a short man with glasses and a white stubble on his chin.


    "Anyways you''re the only ones who haven''t had your elements read out yet. To avoid any issues, we require all students to have their attuned elements read out by the orb. Now place your hand on it and get to your seats once your element has been made visible," ordered the teacher.


    The classroom was the same as a traditional university lecture theatre, with an auditorium-type sitting arrangement.


    Sheela held his hand on the translucent orb on the teacher''s desk and a brown color covered it completely.


    "Earth, very well. Please take your seat."


    Trent was next, he held his hand on the orb and a blue color covered it completely.


    "Water, very well then. Please take your seat."


    Arya was next, once he touched the orb a cold chill traveled up his spine.


    "Oh, dark, that means we have five dark wielders in the year''s class. Very well then please take your seat."


    Arya had a shocked expression on his face. He was certain that the orb would shine blue, showing that he had a water affinity, however, it became completely black, showing that he had the dark affinity instead.


    He wasn''t the only one that was flabbergasted, Marya, Averos, Trent, Abiyama, Yuuki, and even the laid-back Sheela were all shocked as well.


    "W-wait there''s got to be some kind of mistake. There''s no way he''s a dark mage, I saw him use i-" Trent was about to explain before the teacher cut him short.


    "Yes, yes. The other four basic elements can be cast even if you don''t have an affinity towards them, so even if you saw him use another element it doesn''t matter. Now please sit down, you''ve interrupted a good portion of the homeroom session as is." retorted the teacher forcing, Trent to take his seat.


    As Arya walked to take his seat, the whole class stared at him, dark users were almost as rare as variants, and since the orb couldn''t show whether someone was a variant or not, the one''s with light or dark attributes were looked at with the most interest.1


    The few dark users in the room looked at Arya with uninterested looks.


    "A zero star mage at best," whispered one of the boys, he had pale skin and fangs protruding from his mouth.


    However, amongst his classmates, those who had been in the same group as him earlier looked at him with the most interest.


    ''I see, so he was hiding the fact that he is a dual wielder?'' thought Yuuki as he watched Arya take his seat.


    ''What the hell is going on here?'' wondered Arya as he tried to focus on what the teacher was saying, however, all the gazes upon him caused his instincts to go wild.


    "He''s really pretty isn''t he?" whispered a few girls sitting behind Arya.


    His long white hair was tied into a bun, and a few strands hung over his face, making him look like the MC of some romance novel.


    "Yeah, I''ve never seen anyone with white hair before,"


    "Doesn''t Ayaz, Avion''s brother have white hair as well?"


    "But he has strands of black as well. That guy''s hair is fully -" the girl was about to reply before the teacher cut in.


    "If you''re going to talk can you do it outside my homeroom? I don''t tolerate disturbances in the classroom, even if you are from a noble family," retorted the teacher making the girls keep quiet.


    Ayaz who was sitting a few seats in front of Arya turned around to look at him, before quickly turning back.


    ''Why does it seem like I''ve drawn more attention to myself than necessary? I don''t have time for people to make my life hard simply out of jealousy,'' thought Arya.


    ''Well, then I suggest that you only make use of dark magic. If people catch on that you can use ice magic as well, then it''s undeniable proof that you''re a dual wielder, and then the jealousy won''t just stop at first years, but maybe even seniors might come looking for you,'' replied the dark figure.


    ''You bastard, this was your doing wasn''t it? You manipulated the orb to show dark magic,'' replied Arya, trying to keep himself from shouting out loud.


    ''No way, you can''t fool the magic orb. All I did was boost your dark affinity a little, allowing it to express itself over your water affinity. But don''t worry, I''ll personally train you in dark magic, if you want you can even borrow some of my power to perform necromancy, of course, it comes at a price.'' replied the dark figure.


    ''Fuck you! I''m in enough shit as it is. I don''t have time for half the school to parade me because I''m a necromancer as well. I preferred it when the light figure was here as well, I can''t deal with your nonsense,''


    "Mr. Arya! Are you listening?" asked the teacher, the whole class was staring at Arya as if he were supposed to be answering a question.


    ''Repeat after me,'' said the dark figure.


    "The dragons were the ones who first gave the four basic elements as well as the light element to the lesser races. The demons were responsible for the dark element, and the divine beings granted the church divine magic," answered Gray, repeating exactly what the dark figure had told him.


    "Very good, but please respond faster next time,"


    ''You''re welcome. And by the way, it''s come to my attention that you have yet to address me by my name. It''s Sauron, and the light figure you speak of is Asbeel,''


    ''Why do I have to be the one with voices in my head?'' complained Arya, realizing that he would be in for a long and strenuous year ahead of him.


    "Okay, please move on to your next class. Read the schedule on your student card and make sure not to be late," said the teacher, making sure to emphasize the late part while looking at Arya.


    ***


    "Dude why didn''t you tell us you were a dual wie-" shouted Trent, as he and the others approached Arya once the class was dismissed.


    "Shhh! Keep it down," said Arya quickly, covering his mouth before he could finish his sentence.


    "Whamph? Arf you simph trieh hidph iph?" muffled Trent as Arya covered his mouth.


    "I didn''t know okay. But I''ve already drawn enough attention as is, could you guys keep it to yourselves?" asked Arya, looking to the rest of the group as well.


    It wasn''t Arya''s style to rely on others for help, however, if word got out that he was a dual wielder, and that one of his elements was rare while the other a variant, the whole school would go crazy.


    "I understand. If he wants to keep this a secret then we should respect his wishes," said Yuuki.


    "What? Are you kidding me? If everyone finds out that Arya''s some sort of genius, I''ll become famous by association. And then all the girls will be all over me," replied Trent with a faraway look, the last part of his sentence being an indecipherable series of squeals and blushes.


    "Yuuki''s right. And anyway I don''t want others coming after my rival out of pure jealousy," said Averos as she patted Arya on the back.


    ''So even in our fight in the forest, he was holding back? There''s no way he didn''t know he was a dark mage. He must''ve been waiting for the right time to reveal it, as expected of my rival,'' thought Averos as she stared at Arya.


    Abiyama and Marya just stared at Arya in disbelief. They were still shocked at the revelation.


    ''He''s combat abilities surpass that of Averos, and he''s a dual wielder, to top things off, both his elements are rare. And he''s good-looking, maybe if it''s him father might reconsider,'' thought Abiyama, her face turning red at the thought of marrying Arya.


    ''So in total, he has the potential to silent cast four elements. Counting ice, water, and dark, if he can use necromancy, that will put him at the level of a one-man army,'' though Yuuki as he analyzed Arya''s current battle strength.


    "Hey you. Come over here for a second," said Ayaz as he approached the group.


    "What does he want?" scowled Trent, showing hostility.


    "Down boy," teased Sheela as he held Trent back.


    "Why should I?" replied Arya, his instincts on high alert.


    ''He''s dangerous,'' thought Yuuki, Averos, and Arya in unison, their instincts all telling them the same thing.


    "I just want to have a word with you, nothing else," replied Ayaz in a broody voice.


    "It''s okay guys. I''ll be right back,"


    The two walked out of class down the school hall to a corner before stopping. Ayaz then released his magical pressure, causing Arya to react instinctively by pulling out his dagger.


    "Sorry, it seems I was mistaken. Forgive me for wasting your time, you may leave," said Ayaz before withdrawing his pressure and walking off.


    ''What''s his deal?'' thought Arya, however, the feeling of fear still made his heart beat fast.


    ''Best avoid that guy. He smells suspicious,'' replied the dark figure.


    ''It seems brother was mistaken. He isn''t a dragon born, his hair must be some sort of birth defect. Plus I''ve never heard of a Dragonborn with the dark attribute,'' thought Ayaz as he moved on to his next class.


    ''


    ''

 Chapter 104 - First Day (3)

    "What did he want from you?" asked Trent once Arya returned to the group.


    "Nothing much, just small talk,"


    "I see, anyway I got to go. I have combat training next," said Trent, looking at the class schedule projected from his student card.


    ''Magic theory huh?'' thought Arya, looking at his own schedule.


    "Nice, we have the same class next, let''s go together," said Abby as she grabbed Arya''s arm and rushed of with him to their next class.


    "Better watch out Yuuki, or pretty soon Arya might become your brother-in-law," laughed Trent as he and the rest of the group walked off to their classes.


    "That might not be a bad thing," whispered Yuuki as he walked off to his next class as well.


    ''Why is she suddenly so touchy?'' wondered Arya as Abby pulled him along the school halls, drawing the attention of all the other students they passed by.


    ''Hmmph, that''s right, he''s all mine,'' smirked Abby as some of the female students began making their own assumptions when they saw Abby''s arm wrapped around Arya''s.


    The two finally made it to their class and took their seats, instructor Reylin stood at the front of the class, waiting for all the students to walk in.


    "So who can tell me what the three fundamental ingredients are when casting magic?" asked instructor Reylin once the class had started.


    "Yes you there," said Reylin, pointing to one of the students who had raised her hand.


    "Mana, the mana network, and chanting,"


    "That isn''t entirely correct, anyone else?"


    "The mana core, the mana network, and chanting," replied another student.


    "Close but both of you are making the same incorrect assumption," said Reylin as she sat on her chair with a wide smile on her face.


    The class was at a loss for words, no matter what answer they gave, all of them seemed to be wrong.


    "This is boring," whispered Abby from beside Arya as the class waited in silence for an answer.


    "No one? It seems that this year''s batch isn''t that bright," commented Reylin, the smile on her face wider than ever.


    "How about you?" asked Reylin, pointing to Arya.


    "Me?"


    "Yes you, tell me what the three fundamental ingredients are when casting magic,"


    ''Pfft, this is easy. The mana core, the mana network, and world essence,'' replied the Sauron.


    "The mana core, the mana network, and world essence," answered Arya out loud, much to Reylin''s surprise.


    "It seems that someone''s family taught them well," commented Reylin as she got of her seat.


    ''Thanks'' replied Arya.1


    "Anyway, he''s right. The assumption that all of you made was that chanting was a necessary requirement to cast magic, however, you forgot that there are mages capable of silent casting."


    "I didn''t expect you all to know what world essence was, as this isn''t something you need to be aware of to cast first-tier magic, however as you learn higher tier magic then it will become increasingly important,"


    "Anyway, world essence is the raw energy that radiates from the depths of Merrum. Currently, researchers are still debating over what exactly produces this essence, with some saying it''s a by-product of Merrum''s core, while others claiming that it''s produced by a higher being. However all that aside, all you need to know is that world essence is everywhere, all the time."


    "Now why exactly do we care about world essence?" questioned Reylin, looking at Arya as if expecting an answer from him.


    "World essence contains the mana required to cast spells, and is the substance required to mature our mana cores," shouted a student from the back of the class.


    "Mr. Anclara, thank you, but please raise your hand next time," replied Reylin as she read his name on the class list.


    ''Hmmph, show off. I knew the answer as well, I just wasn''t confident enough to say it. I''ll show the lecturer that he''s not the only one with a brain between his shoulders,'' thought Anclara as he stared at Arya with a determined gaze.


    ''And queue disturbance to my life number one,'' thought Arya as he felt the heat from Anclara''s glare burn into the back of his head.


    Anclara raised his hand at every chance he got, trying to show off his vast knowledge to the instructor, much to the other student''s annoyance. As the class was ending and the students were packing up, happy to finally move on to their next class, Reylin asked one more question.


    "What are the other components of world essence?"


    Anclara who usually raised his hand the second a question was asked was at a loss for words. Some of the students giggled at his confused expression.


    ''How the hell are we supposed to know that?'' questioned Anclara, as he turned to see whether Arya would raise his hand to answer.


    ''Hmmph, of course, if I don''t know it, then he obviously has no idea as well,''


    "I want you to do research on this for homewor-" Reylin was about to say before Arya interrupted.


    "Apart from mana, world essence consists of the world''s energy, and small traces of divine and demonic energy," answered Arya without raising his hand.


    "V-very good. It seems that someone is quite knowledgable," Reylin was so shocked that she didn''t even bother scolding him for not raising his hand.


    As the students were leaving, instructor Reylin called Arya over to her desk.


    "You know quite a lot on world essence theory. Are your parents perhaps researchers of some sort?"


    "N-no, I just happened to come across a book on world essence," replied Arya, scratching his head awkwardly.


    ''Pfft, he was just lucky that the instructor happened to ask questions he had knowledge on,'' thought Anclara as he walked past Arya.


    "What did the teacher want from you?" asked Abby, who had been waiting for Arya to finish talking to Reylin.


    ''Why is she still here?'' wondered Arya, annoyed that she was being so clingy.


    "She just wanted to know where I got my knowledge on world energy from and recommended a few books to me."


    "Yeah, you''re really smart, are you sure you''re not from a noble lineage?" asked Abby.


    ''It would be easier if he was. Father might be hesitant if he hears that he''s from a common household.''


    "I wouldn''t know, my parent''s died before I was old enough to ask," answered Arya in an annoyed tone.


    ''Maybe that will stop her incessant questioning,'' thought Arya before walking off.


    ''Fuck, I have no idea where the smithing lecture hall is,'' realized Arya, once he had walked a few steps.


    "I-I didn''t know. Please forgive me," said Abby as she walked back to Arya.


    "How about we go to our next class together? I promise not to ask any more questions," promised Abby, as she tried to apologize for her mistake.

 Chapter 105 - First Day (4)

    "V-very well then," replied Arya, relieved that Abby at least knew the way.


    The two walked to the smithing hall, this time at a slower pace than before, and without Abby wrapping her arms around Arya.


    "Hey Arya, Abby!" shouted Averos from one of the seats in the lecture hall.


    "Hey Averos, it seems some of our classes overlap huh," said Abby as she sat beside Averos.


    "Yes, I''m lucky that I get to share a class with my rival. Anyway do your best to not be left behind in the dust dear rival," said Averos as Arya took a seat on the other side of Averos, causing Abby to have a sad expression on her face.


    ''Did something happen between these two?'' wondered Averos as the class was starting.


    "I''m not expecting much from you grunts. Smithing is only compulsory for the first semester before you are given the option to specialize in particular fields, so until then just listen to what I have to say and don''t bug me," announced a dwarf from the front of the lecture hall.


    ''If I remember correctly, he said his name was Ronkor.'' remembered Arya as the dwarf began his lecture.


    "I''m guessing most of you know jack-shit about smithing apart from those whose families specialize in it, so I''m not expecting you to answer my questions correctly. However I''ll give the ones that know a chance to show off, I know how you students like to show off," said Ronkor with an uncaring demeanor.


    "Can someone tell me the different ways of creating artifacts using magic are?" asked Ronkor.


    A few of the students shot up their hands, including Averos.


    "Yes you," said Ronkor pointing to Averos as he sat on his desk and looked to the ceiling without a care in the world.


    "Rune smithing," answered Averos as she stood up.


    "Correct, anyone else,"


    Averos had a look of pride as she sat down, and turned to look at Arya.


    ''Why does it seem like everyone is out to get me?'' wondered Arya, acting like he didn''t notice Avero''s prideful smirk


    A good portion of the hands that were raised came down, leaving only a few.


    "Mana infusion," answered another student.


    "Correct anyone else?" asked Ronkor, boredom audible in his voice.


    "There''s more?" muttered a few of the students.


    Only one hand was left raising, it was the hand of a dwarven girl.


    "Magic Forging," answered the girl, causing Ronkor to jump from his seat in surprise.


    "I see, it seems there are a few interesting students here," said Ronkor before continuing the class.


    "Any way of these three methods m-, why is your hand still raised?" asked Ronkor as he looked at Arya.


    "I-I have an answer," said Arya, he looked almost unsure of himself.


    ''What is this kid talking about. Of course, there are always those who try to bite off more than they can chew. And try to show off with incorrect knowledge'' thought Ronkor, as he lost interest.


    "Please do tell. What is this mystical other method that I am unaware of?" asked Ronkor, causing some of the students to murmur.


    The dwarven girl seemed interested in Arya''s answer as well.


    "Demon f-" Arya was about to say before Ronkor interrupted.


    "Where did you hear that!?" shouted Ronkor, disbelief audible in his voice.


    ''There''s no way someone out of the dwarven kingdom knows about that. It''s been kept a tight-knit secret even amongst some of the dwarves. The legacy of the demon blacksmith.'' thought Ronkor as he stared at Arya in disbelief.


    "Sir, what is the method this boy speaks of?" asked the dwarven girl, curious about why Ronkor had stopped Arya from answering.


    "Never mind what he was about to say. It won''t be covered in the syllabus this year. And Mr. Arya, I would like to have a word with you after class,"


    "Anyway back to what I was saying. Of the three methods we will be covering, the simplest one, and the one we will be learning first, is rune smithing,"


    "It requires you to draw magic symbols on the artifact you wish to enchant. Although it is easy, it has a few downsides. Runes are from an ancient language that has been long since forgotten, meaning that the runes we are capable of using are limited to those still present today."


    "This is a disadvantage because new types of enchantments are not possible, and since all the existing ones are known by almost everyone enchantments become predictable"


    "Also, since runes are visible to the naked eye, your enemy will know what enchantments to be wary of at a glance if they are well versed in rune smithing themselves, making rune smithing nigh useless in actual combat."


    "Furthermore, runes are made inactive once they are tempered with. Meaning if your enemy succeeds in changing the structure or order of your runes then your artifact might have a completely different enchantment, or might not work altogether," lectured Ronkor, giving Arya side glances once in a while.


    "So why would anyone use such a method then?" asked one of the boys in the lecture hall.


    "Because although it isn''t suitable for combat enchantment, it still works well for other uses, such as for tools to be used in alchemy, or for household purposes such as heating and cooling,"


    After lecturing on rune smithing for another thirty minutes, the class was called to an end.


    "I know most of you won''t bother to do this, but read a book on rune smithing for homework. Tomorrow we will meet in the smithy," announced Ronkor.


    "Mr. Arya please remain behind."


    "Wow, isn''t someone popular with the teachers," murmured Abby before leaving with Averos.


    "Tell me, how do you know something that is supposed to be a dwarven secret?" asked Ronkor with a serious look in his eyes, once all the students had left the room, making sure to cast air magic to prevent sound from escaping the class.


    "I read a book on i-"


    "Don''t try lying to me boy.. There are no books on demon forging," replied Ronkor, his eyes glowing with mana.

 Chapter 106 - New Rivalries (1)

    ''I''m completely fucked. Sauron you got me into this mess, what the hell do I tell this guy?'' questioned Arya, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead as Ronkor came closer.


    "Well boy?" pressed Ronkor, just inches away from Arya, his immense magical pressure weighing down on him.


    "M-my father t-told me about it," lied Arya, hoping that he could somehow make up a story on the wind.


    "Your father? And who might your father be, for him to be so important that he knows a dwarven state secret?" asked Ronkor, only increasing his magical pressure as Arya tried to explain himself.


    "H-he was a r-researcher. H-he might''ve gotten the information from a dwarf himself," struggled Arya,


    ''There''s no way I can beat this guy,'' realized Arya, as he rubbished the thought of trying to retaliate.


    ''The best I can do now is pray and hope he buys it,'' thought Arya, giving the most genuine expression he could muster.


    "A researcher huh? That still doesn''t explain why he knows. There''s no way that a dwarf would sell out the whole kingdom," replied Ronkor, however, there were hints of hesitation audible in his tone. Arya picked up on this and decided to take advantage.


    "W-well that''s what he told me, I think I remember him saying that the dwarf was an outcast, shunned from by the Dwarven Kingdom. But even still, apparently, he had to pay the dwarf quite the sum," lied Arya, as he struggled against the immense pressure suffocating him.


    ''I can''t believe those bastards would actually spread a dwarven secret. I knew they should''ve been killed, I have to alert the king,'' thought Ronkor, as he slowly rescinded his magical pressure.


    "I''ll have to interrogate you and your fath-" Ronkor was about to say before headmaster Frode barged into the room, disarming the air magic that had been blocking the door.


    "What''s going on in here?" questioned Frode, his eyes blazing with mana.


    "H-headmaster," stuttered Ronkor, stepping away from Arya as he did.


    "I felt an immense magical pressure being released from this room, I thought maybe there was some sort of disturbance," said Frode as he looked around the classroom, stopping on Arya with a confused expression on his face.


    "And what''s this? Why is this student the only one here with you?" asked Frode with a look of suspicion on his face.


    "I was asking him to help me with my next class. Although he''s new, his father taught him a great deal about smithing, and I was asking him if he would like to help the other students in the smithy tomorrow," lied Frode, giving Arya a sideways glance.


    "Y-yes, he was just asking me for help," added Arya.


    ''It would be nice if I could just snitch out this old man, however, I don''t have time to make an enemy out of an instructor so early in the year. If anything this dwarf man will owe me one, it''s better to make friends, than unnecessary enemies,'' thought Arya as Frode raised his eyebrow, still suspicious about what had been going on before he entered the room.


    "And what about the magical pressure that I was alerted about earlier? My senses and the school''s sensors couldn''t both be wrong,"


    ''Fuck! I forgot about the school''s magic sensors,'' remembered Ronkor, as he realized that he wouldn''t be able to keep this lie going.


    "I asked him to show me just how powerful an Arcane blacksmith can be," replied Arya, his mind working at full throttle to come up with a believable lie.


    "Y-yes, I was just showing the boy what to strive for," added Ronkor,


    ''A pathological liar,'' thought Ronkor as he looked at Arya with a mixture of expressions, he wasn''t sure whether to be impressed or worried.


    "Please refrain from doing such acts within the school premises. I know you don''t aren''t a stickler for the rules Ronkor, however, they''re there for the safety of the students, especially the first years," said Frode, still not completely convinced.


    "Now hurry along to your next class. You don''t want to keep your instructor waiting," said Frode, staying back to make sure that Arya left the lecture hall before leaving.


    ***


    "What took you so long?" asked Averos, as Arya joined Abby and Averos who had been waiting for him in the hallway.


    "Uh, he was just telling me what books I should read for tomorrow''s practical class," replied Arya, making sure to make eye contact to look more believable.


    "By the way, I forgot to ask because the class was so busy, but what were you about to say before instructor Ronkor interrupted you. You were about to mention a fourth method of forging, one that isn''t in our syllabus," asked Averos, as they walked at a brisk pace to make it to their next class in time.


    "Uhm, well-" Arya was about to answer before he heard Trent''s voice.


    "Hey, it looks like we''ll be having the same class next," shouted Trent, putting his arm around Arya in a friendly gesture.


    ''When did we become all buddy-buddy?'' wondered Arya, as he peeled Trent off him.


    "Hanging with Yuuki and Sheela all day has been so boring man. I wish we all had the exact same schedules," complained Trent moving on to Averos after Arya''s rejection.


    "Well moving around with you has been entertaining, to say the least. Believe it or not, Trent was already rejected by three girls today, and he didn''t even have to ask them out," laughed Sheela, clearly enjoying himself.


    "Anyway, I heard that both the A and B classes will be mixed for our next lecture," added Yuuki, acting like he had no idea what Sheela and Trent were talking about.


    "Huh? We have elemental battle orientation next, what''s that?" asked Arya, reading off of his class schedule.


    "Based on the elements shown on the magic orb, we will be sorted into different elemental classes. Today''s class is solely for that purpose. Anyways, since there isn''t much of a gap between the A-class and B class, we''re going to be having these classes together," answered Yuuki, already walking towards the lecture room.


    "Oh, and Arya, have you decided whether you are going to make your ice magic public or not? It would be nice if we could be in the same elemental class. Although students from different elements will meet occasionally, for most classes we will be separated if you join the dark element class," said Yuuki, as he turned to wait for Arya''s answer.


    "I don''t know. Perhaps later on, I can''t really afford for people to pay too much attention to me," replied Arya, as he and the rest of the group began walking to the lecture hall as well.


    "I understand, if news spread about a first-year like you, then the seniors will probably come looking for you,"


    The group made it to the classroom and found that almost all the seats had been taken.


    "Since we''ve only been in classes with a few students, I forgot just how many students there really are in Belgard," said Trent, his attention drawn to some of the girls sitting in the front row.


    "And these are just the students from two classes," added Sheela, pulling Trent as the group walked to the back of the classroom to take their seats.


    "Ehem," an old man at the front of the class cleared his throat, gesturing for all the students to quiet down.


    "I haven''t gotten the chance to introduce myself since I wasn''t able to make it to your orientation due to... personal matters. Anyways my name is Getram Ferelo, and I''ll be the convener for this class."


    "All of you will have different instructor''s based on what element you are going to be specializing in, but I am the one in charge of setting the examinations, and allocating points based on performance," said Getram as he grabbed a clipboard containing names and elements from the desk in front of him.


    "Anyway, that''s enough for introductions. I''m aware that many of you have taken the element test in class, and so I will hear none of that switching non-sense."


    "Every year we have students claiming to be dual-wielders, or being from a family of variants and wanting to be put in the variant class, only for them to waste time and resources and bear no fruit at the end of the year. However, I''ll have none of that wish-wash," said Getram, waving his hands in the air to show his discontent on the matter.


    "Anyway, when I read your name, raise your hand and proceed outside. An instructor will be waiting for you on the field,"


    "Yuuki Tachibana, water, proceed to block A," announced Getram, prompting Yuuki to raise his hand and proceed to the mentioned area.


    "Anclara Sivos, earth, proceed to block C,"


    "Averos Ortrera, wind, proceed to block B"


    "Ayaz Dragonaus, hmm a Dragonborn huh, Fire and Air, proceed to special class A" announced Getram, causing many of the students to start gossipping.


    "It''s a given that he is a dual wielder, all Dragonborns are,"


    However, that was an incorrect assumption.. Even amongst Dragonborns, being a dual wielder was fairly uncommon and mostly restricted to those of royal heritage. However they still had a higher chance than most, especially for the Fire, Air, and light elements"

 Chapter 107 - New Rivalries (2)

    "Sheela Ortrera, earth, proceed to block B,"


    Getram continued announcing the names until it there were only a handful of students left.


    "Okay, so I''m guessing everyone left here either has a light, dark or divine attribute," said Getram, standing up from the desk he had been sitting on.


    "Alice Orfoldo was it? Father Filidie will be waiting for you in Lecture Hall 1B in the special training building," announced Getram, ticking her name off the list.


    "Hmm, seven light users, and five dark users huh," murmured Getram, scratching his beard as he decided what to do with the remaining students.


    "Headmaster Frode hasn''t said anything about the light magic users for this year, normally Alen Faraday would''ve been your instructor, but after the incident..." the last part of his sentence was more like the ramblings of a senile old man than actual words.


    "Anyways, you dark magic users can proceed to block E, the vam- I mean Valkuy will be waiting for you. As for you light magic users, I''ll have to talk to Frode to see what to do about with you," said Getram, ticking all the dark magic users off the list.


    Arya and four others walked out of the class into the hall, following close behind the others as he had no idea where anything was.


    ''Hmm, he isn''t even a one-star mage yet and the others have barely just reached the one-star stage, it seems that this year the title of best dark mage from the first years is going to be easy winnings,'' thought the boy at the front of the group as he sensed the mana signatures from the others.


    ''Pfft, it''s so obvious that he''s analyzing our power levels right now,'' scoffed the girl behind him.


    "H-hey, my name''s Zeldin," said a boy hesitantly as he approached Arya with his right hand stretched out in gesture for a handshake,


    ''Clearly socially awkward. What the fuck is? Some kind of soap opera?'' thought Arya as he looked at Zeldin with uninterested eyes.


    ''Perhaps it would be a good idea to make as many friends as possible, you never know when you might need their help,'' encouraged Sauron


    "Hey, my name is Arya, I look forward to studying with you for the rest of the year," replied Arya, shaking Zeldin''s hand.


    "Mm, I''m in your care," replied Zeldin, shaking his head as he shook Arya''s hand.


    "Since we''re all giving introductions, my name is Artemis, I look forward to being in the same class as you as well," added the girl who had been walking behind the boy at the front.


    Only the boy at the front and the one walking right at the back didn''t join in the introductions.


    ''Pfft, only weaklings need friends,'' thought the boy at the front as he entered block E.


    "Ahh, welcome first years," said Valkuy, as the group entered the field.


    Each block was separated by walls made of a blue glowing substance, what was peculiar about this particular block was the massive dead oak tree at the center.


    "As I''m sure you already know, my name is Valkuy, and I''ll be your temporary instructor in dark magic for the course of this semester," said Valkuy, as he stretched out his hands, and the blue walls turned pitch black, changing the landscape around them.


    "W-what is this," whispered Zeldin as the grass that had once covered the ground disappeared, and the day sky above them turned to night.


    "Ahh, of course, even if you''re from a noble family, I doubt any of you have ever seen this before," said Valkuy as he removed the black cape he had been wearing, exposing a victorian suit underneath.


    "You see, Belgard is more than an academy, it''s actually a living artifact, so changing parts of the school like this isn''t impossible. However we aren''t here to discuss artifacts," added Valkuy, raising one of his hands, the moonlight shining directly on him giving a suspenseful atmosphere.


    "I like to make my classes more practical. So today we will be testing how good each of you is at using dark magic and we will move on from there. Now get ready to defend yourselves, or the school healers will have a hard time healing you," said Valkuy with a smile on his face, as he shifted the darkness around them, turning them into tendrils that rushed at them like angry snakes.


    ''Why is everyone here crazy?'' wondered Gray, as he blocked one of the shadow tendrils with his dagger while the other students stared dumbly at the oncoming attack.


    ''Hmm, this one has pretty good reflexes,'' thought Valkuy, as he used one of the tendrils to wrap around Zeldin''s leg.


    ''However let''s see how well he does against this,''


    Using Zeldin as a club, Valkuy tried swatting Arya away. Zeldin''s body slammed into the ground,\\\\ as Arya dodged to the side.


    "H-help me!" cried Zeldin, all the air winded out of him as he was slammed onto the ground.


    "Is this really allowed?" questioned Artemis, creating tendrils of her own to intercept Valkuy''s.


    "Oh, it seems you''ve broken past the first-star stage if you can create tendril as well. However, there is a vast difference between our power levels," said Valkuy, as his tendrils tore Artemis''s to shreds, and moved on towards her, slithering through the air.


    The boy who had been walking at the front of the group used the shadows around Valkuy to hold him into a vyse.


    "Ahh, a two-star dark mage. However, I wonder how long you can hold me for," said Valkuy, not even a hint of struggle visible on his face, as he pushed against the shadow vyse.


    "Y-you guys do something, stop standing around and being useless," struggled the boy, as beads of sweat slid down his face, the strain from holding Valkuy having a massive toll on him.


    Zeldin was already unconscious, and Artemis was having a hard time dodging all the tendrils that were chasing after her.


    The only ones who could currently attack were Arya, who was dodging and blocking the tendrils with relative ease, and the mysterious last student, who simply stood at the back watching.


    "Hey you, do something!" shouted the boy who had been holding Valkuy in a vyse, however it was already too late, he escaped, and used the shadows surrounding the boy to put him in a vyse of his own.


    The boy struggled for a few seconds, before having all the air squeezed out of him, rendering him unconscious.


    Artemis was next, the tendrils increased in both speed and power, cutting her multiple times before wrapping around her neck and suffocating her, causing her to become unconscious as well.


    Now only Arya and the other student remained, the speed of the tendrils was still at a level that Arya could manage however he was slowly becoming tired from dodging the agile tendrils.


    ''Fuck, this would be easier if I could use ice magic, but I can''t afford for rumors to start spreading if that guy sees me,'' thought Arya as he dodged another tendril, looking to the kid standing silently at the back.


    ''Hmm, it seems that this one is contesting the shadows around him, preventing me from making tendrils to attack him. However let''s see if he can keep up with this,'' thought Valkuy, increasing the amount of mana he was using to take control of the shadows.


    Of course, since Valkuy''s mana core was leagues above the student''s, he had to tone down his power. However, since Arya and the other boy were showing such strong resistance, it forced Valkuy to release more power.


    A single tendril appeared in front of the boy, prompting him to dodge backward. His moves were almost as swift as Arya''s causing both Valkuy and Arya to be shocked.


    Valkuy had looked at Arya as an anomaly, since Arya didn''t seem to know the slightest bit about dark magic, he assumed that he must''ve trained his body to compensate for his lack of magical talent.


    However the boy in front of him showed to have both magical and physical prowess.


    "I found one," shouted the boy, as he touched the ground with the palm of his hand.


    ''What is he talking about?'' wondered Arya, before Valkuy began laughing.


    "It seems that I''ve found a really interesting one," said Valkuy, paying no attention to Arya.


    The mysterious boy chanted something inaudible from where Arya stood, and a single wrinkly hand stuck out of the ground.


    ''A-a necromancer?'' realized Arya, as Valkuy turned into a blur, rushing towards the boy.


    Arya stopped holding back as well and used his speed to its limit to stop Valkuy, putting his dagger in between Valkuy and the necromancer.


    "I don''t know why you''re only pulling that out now, but you better do something with it," said Arya as he pushed Valkuy back.


    ''Even if I''m not trying, how was he able to keep up with me? This kid barely looks ten,'' thought Valkuy before bursting into laughter again.


    "Yes, yes. It seems I underestimated you, I guess you are just as interesting aren''t you," said Valkuy, as he extended his nails, pushing back against Arya''s dagger.


    ***


    "Headmaster are you sure we should continue to allow Valkuy to use such old teaching methods?" asked a woman dressed as a secretary, as she and Headmaster Frode watched the fight through a glass orb on his desk.

 Chapter 108 - Beauty And The …Necromancer?

    "It''s okay Jenin, it seems that this year''s class has some rather promising prospects," said Frode with a smile on his face, as he watched the fight intently.


    "I''ll contact the school the healers," announced Jenin before leaving the room.


    ''Hmm, that''s the kid from the Oroboros family. They''re well known for their necromancy ability but even still, for him to be able to summon an undead at such a young age is unheard of,'' thought Frode, stroking his beard as he watched the necromancer control his summoned undead.


    ''But who''s the other kid? He doesn''t seem to have magical talent of any sort, however, his speed and agility don''t match that of any first-year I''ve ever seen. Actually he might be on par with some of the third-years from the A-class. Perhaps he''s not fully human?'' wondered Frode as Jenin entered the room.


    "Jenin, can you get me a file on that kid,"


    "The Oroboros kid?" asked Jenin, as she removed files from a blue spatial rift in front of her.


    "No the other one," said Frode, as he watched Arya block another one of Valkuy''s attacks.


    ****


    "Interesting, are you perhaps a hybrid of some sort?" asked Valkuy as he slashed at Arya with his claws, pushing Arya several feet away as he tried to block it with his dagger.


    "Aren''t you taking this a bit too far? Isn''t this supposed to be training?" asked Arya, sweat, and blood running down his face, as his right arm lay limp from the impact of Valkuy''s attack.


    "You''re right, I''ll take full responsibility for this later. Now answer my question. At first, I found the necromancer interesting, but it''s to be expected from the Oroboros family, and anyway, his summon is rather.." as Valkuy said the last part he gestured toward the undead which could barely walk straight for two meters without falling over.


    "However you are something else. Even though I''m not using my vampire abilities, I''ve still been attacking with enough force to take down some of those arrogant punks from class 3-A. And to top it off, you haven''t even used a slither of mana the whole time," said Valkuy, as he turned to a blur and rushed at Arya.


    Arya barely dodged the oncoming attack as he rolled over to the side, tumbling all over in the dust.


    "Come on! Can''t that thing do anything other than roll over? Did you perhaps summon it as a pet?" asked Arya as he turned to the necromancer who was struggling to control his summon.


    "He''s blocking my control over it, I''m struggling to keep it on my side as it is," replied the necromancer, looking at Valkuy with a determined gaze.


    ''So not only is he fighting me without using his full prowess. He''s also keeping the undead spawn at bay by contesting ownership over it? It seems I enrolled to the right place,'' thought Arya with a smile on his face as he stood up straight and moved the dagger to his left hand.


    "Hmm, is something funny?" asked Valkuy as he saw Arya smiling.


    "No, I was just thinking how fun magic is," replied Arya, surprised by his own words. Never once had he though of magic as something fun ever since his family died. But now things were changing, this school was changing him.


    "Say, you better get serious, or you won''t be able to keep up with me," taunted Arya, before  throwing the dagger at Valkuy.


    "Was that your master pl-" Valkuy was about to say as he dodged to the side, however, the bottom of Arya''s shoe was waiting for him as he looked back.


    "Ahh, I admit, I''m impressed that you''re still able to move at this speed, however that won''t be enough" said Valkuy as he caught Arya''s foot.


    As Arya hung upside down he used his good hand to push off against the floor, pushing Valkuy back.


    "Indeed- your strength is also com-" Valkuy''s talking was cut off by a stab to the leg. Arya had picked up the dagger when he had pushed off the ground and stabbed Valkuy in the leg before he had time to realize it.


    Caught by surprise Valkuy dropped Arya, prompting him to rush at Valkuy, his dagger in a backward grip.


    "Annoyin-" Valkuy was about to say, but Arya kicked sand towards his face, effectively blinding him, and stabbed him once again in the arm.


    "Dirty," scowled Valkuy, as he rubbed the dirt out of his eyes. His eyes gleaming red in anger.


    "Dirty is fighting against kids and expecting them not to use every possible method," replied Arya, his posture low, and his knife hand in front of his torso, covering his vitals.


    ''Hmm, it seems this kid has some combat experience. Perhaps he isn''t a noble, but someone who has had to live by themself for some time,'' thought Valkuy, before turning into black mist and appearing right beside Arya.


    "There!" shouted Arya as he held his life hand to the side to block Valkuy''s attack, however although his instincts were fast enough, his body couldn''t keep up.


    "It seems you''ve answered my question for me. With instincts like those, there''s no way you''re human," commented Vallkuy, as he watched Arya stand there, with both of his arms lying limp on the side.


    Arya had a smile on his face as he stood in front of Valkuy, exhaustion making his eyelids feel heavy.


    "You keep smiling, is something funny?" asked Valkuy, before a wrinkly, decomposed arm wrapped around his neck, holding him down.


    The shadows around him then turned into tendrils and rushed at him, piercing through both him and the undead spawn.


    "Isn''t there a rule against killing teachers?" asked Arya, as he stood up straight and looked at the necromancer behind Valkuy''s dead body.


    "Shouldn''t there be a rule against trying to kill students?" asked the necromancer, as he walked over Valkuy''s body.


    "But still, I didn''t expect someone without magic to be of actual use. You did well to distract him in order for mew to take full control of the spawn," said the necromancer as he held out his hand in gesture for a handshake.


    "My name is Draven Oroboros. And if I remember correctly you said your name was Arya right," said Draven as the two shook hands.


    "I apologize for not extending my greetings earlier, it''s just that I don''t quite like nobility," added Draven


    "Yeah sure, but I''m not nobility. Anyway, what were you saying about magicle-" before Arya could finish his sentence Valkuy''s body turned into a black mist.


    "Very well done boys," said a voice coming from the dead oak tree at the center of the field, before Valkuy''s figure came out of it.


    ''I-I didn''t even sense him,'' thought Draven, as he turned around on high alert.


    Arya already had his dagger in his mouth ready to fight.


    "Calm down boys. This was just a test, did you really think I would try to kill you?" asked Valkuy as he picked up his cape.


    "Then what was all that about then?" asked Arya, suspicion still visible on his face.


    "What you were fighting was a dark doppelganger. A tier 8 dark spell, however I toned down it''s power level a bit so that you wouldn''t die."


    "However, I must say I didn''t expect you to defeat it. My plan was to have you all overwhelmingly defeated, so that I could teach you you''re flaws. But it seems you two have passed. Anyway, Jenin when will you stop hiding there and come out already," asked Valkuy as he turned to look at a dark spot in the field.


    A blue rift the size of a human appeared out of thin air, and out of it walked Jenin and three healers.


    "I was simply making sure that you wouldn''t take it too far," said Jenin as she instructed the healers to pick up the injured students.


    "Take them to the infirmary," ordered Jenin before creating another rift.


    "Oh, and the headmaster wishes to have a word with the three of you," said Jenin before her and the three healers carrying the unconscious students left the field.


    "It seems I made her angry," smiled Valkuy, before raising his hand and turning the field back to its original state. The sun was beginning to set, meaning that the group had been fighting for a few hours.


    "Time flies when you''re having fun I guess. I wish I had people with your spirit in my homeroom class, but sadly all I got are snorty arrogant brats," complained Valkuy as he walked towards the exit.


    "Well, let''s go get our punishments," said Valkuy, an embarrassed look on his face.


    "Let''s? Why are we going to get punished? This whole thing was your idea," complained Arya, as Valkuy scratched his head and walked out the exit, acting like he couldn''t hear Arya.


    "Hey, don''t ignore me when I''m talking to you!" complained Arya, however Valkuy was already gone.

 Chapter 109 - You Want Us To What?

    "Valkuy, I believe you understand my reason for calling you here, don''t you?" asked Frode as he signed some documents on his table, not even looking up as the three entered his office.


    Jenin gave Valkuy a sideways glance from a nearby table where she was working on as well, she seemed to be compiling the documents that Frode had finished signing.


    "Y-yes headmaster, we acknowledge our mistakes and are ready to receive any punishment," replied Valkuy, avoiding eye contact with Jenin.


    ''Did this bastard just say we? What the hell is he doing?'' thought Arya, however he couldn''t voice his discontent as they were right in front of the headmaster.


    "Very well then," said Frode, as he pulled out one of the drawers from his desk and took out a black envelope.


    "There have been several disturbances in the forest, and Dregnar already has a lot of work on her plate as it is," added Frode as he handed the document over to Jenin, who then walked over and handed it over to Valkuy.


    "Very well then headmaster. I will take care of it and return shortly," replied Valkuy before turning around to leave.


    "Make sure you do a thorough search. If you miss any intruders you will have to take full responsibility for it. And you know what that means right," said Frode before Valkuy left.


    "Yes, yes. You will take away my meal privaledges, I know," replied Valkuy in a nonchalant manner.


    "That guy sure is more easy going then he appears to be," whispered Draven.


    "And you two," said Frode, finally taking his eyes of the papers he had been signing.


    "It was all his idea, we were just defending ourselves," said Draven and Arya in unison.


    "You don''t have to be worried. I didn''t call you boys here to punish you," laughed Frode as he stood up from his seat and approached the two boys.


    "I saw your fight against Valkuy, and I must say I''m impressed. Not only did you manage to defeat his doppelganger, but you were able to work with each other effectively, something you don''t see quite often amongst first years," said Frode giving Jenin a sideways glance.


    "And that is why we''ve decided to assign you two to the disciplinary committee on a probationary basis. Of course, this doesn''t mean you are a part of the student body, but rather assistants to the actual disciplinary board members," said Frode as he handed Arya and Draven red badges.


    "W-wait. Isn''t this a bit too much? Aren''t we just first years, how are we going to discipline students at a higher level than us? And Arya here doesn''t even know any magic yet," replied Draven, clearly taken aback by his new role.


    ''This whole not knowing dark magic thing is getting really annoying.'' thought Arya as he listened to Draven make his point.


    "I''m fully aware of that, and that''s why you will only be working as assistants. Eight other students from the first-year class have also shown a high aptitude and will be joining you in your probationary period," said Frode as he went back to his seat.


    "The school is counting on you. Try your best, and remember Diis Major." said Frode before going back to his papers.


    "You will find the others waiting for you in the disciplinary office. Try not to be late, Ms. Lucia rather hates tardy students," said Jenin as she opened a blue rift in front of the two, and a gust of wind pushed them through.


    "Was that necessary Jenin?" asked Frode, stopping what he was doing for a second.


    "They have no idea where the disciplinary room is, after all, it isn''t covered in the first year guidebook," replied Jenin, as if it were common sense.


    ***


    "Who is that woman anyway?" asked Arya as he rubbed his elbows, trying to relieve the pain from landing on them.


    "She''s the school secretary, a 5-star dimensional mage. How don''t you know her, she''s quite famous across the whole kingdom," replied Draven before looking in front of him.


    "You too huh?" asked Sheela as he gave out his hand to help Arya up.


    "Are you guys the other two students headmaster Frode was talking about?" asked Lucia as she stared down at Arya and Draven.


    "Y-yes" replied Draven.


    "Very well then, let''s proceed," said Lucia before showing a black badge to the door in front of her.


    The group seemed to be in an underground hall way of some sort, the walls were made of earth, and the door in front of them had ancient runes marked all over it. With a series of circular geometrical structures at the centre, that unlocked and began moving as Lucia showed it her badge.


    "Welcome to the disciplinary office," said Lucia briefly before entering.


    "Rival it seems you have made it here too," said Averos as she walked up behind Arya.


    "Yuuki and Marya too?" asked Arya, as he turned around and realized that Yuuki and Marya were there as well.


    "You know them Arya?" asked Draven as he turned around as well.


    "Yes, these are my acqu- I mean colleagues. We fought in the forest together." replied Arya.


    The disciplinary office was much like any school office, except that the only staff members present were students dressed in black uniform instead of robes.


    There were about sixty members present in the office which was large enough to fit two basketball courts.


    "Who''re the peepsqueaks?" asked one of the disciplinary members as Lucia and the group passed by him.


    "Revlan don''t bully the new comers," replied a man, or atleast what looked like a man?


    She stood at 1.89 meters tall, and had a muscular build, her face reminded Arya of someone.


    "I know what you''re thinking. Yes, instructor Arden is my father," said the enormous girl, as she stood next to Revlan.


    "Attention everyone," announced Lucia, prompting all the members present to stop what they were doing.


    "Headmaster Frode has deemed these ten first-years worthy to join the ranks of the disciplinary committee on a probationary basis. Even though they will only act as assistants I want you all to treat them as if they are already full members of the committee."


    "Any ill treatment towards these new recruits will result in direct punishment from me personally. And I''m sure you are all aware that I have no mercy towards those who were supposed to uphold the law but instead made a mockery of it," said Lucia before turning around to look at the new recruits.


    "Now, please introduce yourselves,"


    "W-what?" stuttered Marya, her cheeks red from stage fright.


    Sheela who had no qualms about public speech decided to get it over and done with.


    "My name is Sheela Ortrera, and I''m an earth mage from class 1A. Is that all?" asked Sheela, with a laid back expression, and both arms folded behind his neck.


    "Otrera? Then does that mean he''s royalty from the Amazonia Kingdom?" murmured on of the members at the back.


    "No way, look at his hair. The royals from Amazonia all have hazelnut hair." replied another member, prompting Sheela to look away for a second, a slight hint of sadness visible across his face.


    "Yes that''s enough," said Lucia, straightening Sheela''s posture.


    "I am Averos Otrera, an air mage from class 1A," said Averos loudly, without a trace of fear or hesitation in her voice.


    "The Amazonian princess?" gasped one of the members.


    As Averos finished her introduction she stood next to Sheela.


    "Are you okay brother?" whispered Averos.


    "Of course I am. You know I never cared about what people say anyway," replied Sheela, with a relaxed smile on his face.


    "My name is Anclara Sivos, from the proud Sivos dutchy. And I''m a fire mage from class 1A" said a boy with dark hair, and a rather snobbish demeanor.


    ''He''s the guy from my magic theory class if I remember correctly,'' remembered Arya.


    "M-my name is Alice Orfoldo, a divine mage from class 1A" introduced a frail girl with hair so pale it looked almost white.


    She was rather beautiful, causing some of the male members to look at her with a lustful gaze.


    "I am Ayaz Dragonaus, and I''m a fire and Air mage from class 1A," introduced Ayaz in an uninterested tone, like everything here was unnecessary.


    "I see, the Student Body president''s younger brother huh? Well, it''s to be expected," murmured some of the members.


    "I am Yuuki Tachibana, an ice mage from class 1A"


    "More royalty? It seems that these guys must''ve bought their way in," murmured Revlan.


    "But he''s an ice mage, aren''t those kind of rare?" asked a girl with blue hair and glasses, as she stared at Yuuki with a hint of envy in her eyes.


    "I-I am Marya Ashinera, an air mage from class 1A"


    "An elf," murmured several members.


    Among them was a female elf with dark skin, who looked at Marya with an interested gaze.


    "I am Draven Orobos, a necromancer from class 1A"


    "Talk about all-star team. It seems all the new recruits are either from a well-known family or have some sort of uniqueness to them," said a short blonde member, with a grin on his face.


    "My name is Dio Luminos, a light mage from class 1A," said a boy with platinum blonde hair.


    ''Luminos? Where have I heard that before?'' wondered Arya before stepping up to introduce himself.


    "Sigh might as well get this over with,"


    "My name is Arya, and I''m a dark mage from class 1A"

 Chapter 110 - Disciplinary Scrubs

    "No second name? Is he perhaps a commoner?" whispered one of the committee members a little too loudly earning him a glare from the committee captain.


    "Welcome to the disciplinary committee. I expect you all to read the rules and guidelines before taking your oath of office later today. For now the rest of you may go back to work," said Lucia as she gestured for everyone to go about their duties.


    "Wait, Seren a word," commanded Lucia, referring to the boy who had whispered about Arya being a commoner.


    As the committee captain had a word with Seren, the dark elf approached the group, her arms crossed under her chest showing off her sultry figure as she looked at the group with a little too much interest.


    She stood at 1.76 meters tall, looking down on the new recruits who were yet to hit puberty as of yet.


    And although the committee uniforms weren''t supposed to be a tight fit, it seemed as if her curves would rip out of her black uniform at any second.


    "My name is Aishe and I''m the committee secretary. I''ll be running you through what will be expected of you as committee assistants, and will be responsible for making sure you understand the rules and guidelines of the committee," announced Aishe in a slow mesmerizing tone.


    "Play nice Aishe. If I were you guys I wouldn''t be fooled by her pretty face, she''ll probably eat you up alive if you were left alone in a room with her." said the blonde-haired boy as he approached the group from behind, his arms folded behind his neck in much the same realized laid back demeanor of Sheela.


    "Hi, I''m Gabriel, the committee vice-captain," introduced the boy with a mischievous smile on his face. He stood at 1.68 meters, taller than the new recruits, but a good head shorter than any other male in the committee.


    ''Strong,'' this was the single thought that Averos and Arya had as the boy spoke.


    Although Averos hadn''t received formal training like Averos and therefore couldn''t tell how strong an opponent was merely by looking at their stance, his instincts were telling him that the boy in front of him was leagues above him.


    Although Gabriel did nothing but stand there and look at them, Averos and Arya couldn''t help but feel like the boy in front of him was an impenetrable tower.


    "You two are rather interesting, I see why Frode brought you here," said Gabriel, his smile only growing wider as he looked at Averos and Arya.


    "Anyway, I''m in charge of you guys for the duration of your probationary period. Since the captain is too busy to be dealing with mere scrubs, you''ll be reporting to me instead. Rules require you to hand in a report every day after your patrols, however, I''m not obligated to read them." said Gabriel, yawning as if he were already bored of what he was saying.


    "Anyway finish up with Aishe and come to me when you''re ready to take your pledge of service, I''ll be waiting here for you after school," said Gabriel, walking away before he even finished what he was saying.


    "Truly an unsavory man," commented Aishe with a look of disgust.


    "Anyway as I was saying, here is a book containing everything you are required to know. Read the first few pages for your oath, and the rest are merely guidelines on what to do in certain situations," said Aishe, as ten thick books fell out of a small rift in the air, stopping in mid air before floating to every member in the group.


    ''Another dimensional mage? Aren''t these supposed to be rare?'' wondered Draven as he saw the books fly out of the dimensional rift.


    "How is she doing that?" whispered Arya to Draven as he grabbed the book floating in front of him.


    "Oh, that''s just basic forth tier magic. Anyone can do that once they reach the 3-star level." replied Draven as he grabbed his book as well.


    "That''s all for now. I hope to see you guys later," said Aishe, looking at Marya for a second longer before leaving the group.


    "How did a commoner like you get into the disciplinary committee," scowled Anclara once Aishe was gone, looking at Arya as if he had a sour taste in his mouth.


    "Huh? Who''re you again?" asked Arya, playing dull.


    "I''m Anclara Sivos, I''m sure you''ve heard of the prestigiou-" before Anclara could finish what he was saying Sheela interrupted. "Did you say Sickos?" asked Sheela, playing dumb as well as he stood beside Arya.


    "Sickos!? How dare you make a mockery of my family na-" Anclara was about to shout in outrage, however, Draven interrupted again.


    "I think he said Spinoff," added Draven, a smirk on his face as Anclara''s face reddened.


    Seeing that he was outnumbered and that most of the other students present seemed to be acquintaces with Arya, he left thr group, mumbling something to himself as he marched off.


    "I hate stuck up nobles," whispered Draven as Anclara walked away.


    "Well anyway I have to get going as well. I have to prepare for classes tomorrow and read this book before we take our pledge," said Draven, before walking away as well.


    "Uhm where is the exit?" shouted Anclara, as he walked back with an embarrassed look on his face.


    "Follow me," replied Dio, before walking away.


    ''He said his name was Dio Luminous huh? I can''t quite put my tongue on it, but I remember seeing that name some where'' though Arya has he and the group followed Dio past the door and into the underground tunnel system that extended under the school.


    ''How does he know about the tunnel system?'' wondered Ayaz as he followed Dio closely, his uninterested expression changing to one of suspicion.


    "If you''re wondering how I know about these systems, it''s because of a spell." said Dio breaking the silence, almost as if he could read minds.


    "That doesn''t make sense. Motherly call isn''t a spell that can be used here, these walls block all magic and there aren''t any tremors signifying that an earth spell is currently being used." retorted Ayaz, suspicion tinged in his voice.


    "What''s motherly call?" asked Arya, causing Anclara to roll his eyes.


    "Seriously, I can''t belive you gave me a hard time in the magic theory class, when you don''t even know about basic spells," commented Anclara, speeding up his pace to catch up to the front of the group, leaving Arya and the rest behind.


    "Motherly call is a an earth spell that uses vibration in  the earth to detect path ways underground. Though Anclara said it''s basic, it''s actually a mid level earth spell, I''s be surprised if anyone in the first year class could use it," replied Draven.


    "I never said I used earth magic. I simply said it was a spell," replied Dio, his tone seemed to be uncaring, as if he were only replying as a courtesy.


    "Than what other spell could poss-" before Ayaz could finish they reached the end of a massive door much like the one in front of the committee office.


    "We''re here," announced Dio.


    "Ahh, there''s a door. How are we supposed to get out of here?" asked Anclara, as he walked to the front of the door and tried using an earth spell on it.


    "Perhaps we use the badges we were given," said Arya, a smirk on his face as he watched Anclara fail to open the door with his earth spells.


    "Ahh, perhaps your right," replied ANclara, embarrassment audible in his voice as he showed his badge to the door.


    The geometric shapes on the door began moving, and the door opened, leading out an alleyway within the Academy residential area.


    "Well, this is where we oart ways I guess. I''ll be seeing you guys later," announced Dio before walking away.


    "Hey I''m not done with you. How did you-" Ayaz was about to complain before Dio disappeared into thin air.


    "I remember him. He''s the guy who passed by the manticore by disappearing. The illusionist." commented Yuuki, as he remembered the final trail of the forest.


    "A light mage?" whispered Ayaz, a determined look on his face.


    ''Why is he so worked up about?'' wondered Arya before leaving the group as well.


    He returned to his room and immediately opened the book he had received from Aishe.


    "God I forgot how much I hated studying," muttered Arya as he read the required pages for the oath.


    ***(A few hours later)


    "Ahh, studying already?" asked Neville as he entered the room.


    "Yeah," replied Arya, not even bothering to look up.


    "I didn''t see you in battle orientation today. Weren''t you placed in water class since you''re an ice mage?" asked Neville as he jumped on his bed.


    ''Fuck! I forgot that I told him about me being able to use ice magic. How the hell am I going to talk my way out of this one.'' wondered Arya, looking at Neville for the first time since he entered the room.


    "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Neville as he opened a book as well.


    "I need to ask you a favor, a really big one," said Arya, closing his book as he said this.


    "If it''s money then I can''t help you. My allowance is currently being withdrawn because of a little accident I got into before I came here," replied Neville.


    "Its not money. I need you to keep a secret," said Arya, approaching Neville.


    ''There''s no way around this. If he discovers this by himself later he might go around spreading it..'' thought Arya.

 Chapter 111 - [THIS PAGE CANNOT BE DELETED PLEASE SKIP IT]

    [Something is wrong with my system, it seems that my saves were corrupted and data between two of my novels have mixed together. But worry not, I am working as fast as I can to properly update the two wrong chapters. Please bare with me while I try to extract what information I can. I could ofcourse just correct the chapters however these chapters were written so long ago that I can''t properly remember the contents, so to avoid any mistakes please wait for me to retrieve my back ups or if that isn''t possible try to separate the corrupted files]


    "Welcome to the disciplinary committee, although members are usually required to pledge an oath of service since you are on probationary membership you need not say it. However, I still expect you to behave with the virtue of a full committee member," announced Lucia.


    "Okay, that''s all you may all return to your work," said Lucia, gesturing for everyone to go about their business.


    "You can collect your duties from Ms Aishe, the committee secretary. Report to me everyday before going for patrols at 9 am and after patrols at 9pm, I look forward to your fully detailed reports," said Lucia before directing the group to a woman with dark tanned skin and pointy ears.


    "A dark elf?" asked Marya in astonishment.


    Ms Aishe was 1.76 meters tall, looking down on the group, and although the black uniforms that the committee members had to wear weren''t supposed to be tight, you could see her figure, even under the uniform.


    "Hold on there partner, it''s first come first serve. Just wait your turn like everybody else," said a man wearing military clothing, as his group of six entered the portal, fully equipped with guns and military equipment of all sorts.


    ''The military? No, the people on his team don''t seem trained at all,'' analyzed Gray as he saw a girl on their team strap her AK-47 towards her back instead of her front.


    ''They probably just got lucky and raided what was left of a military base. But still, this could work out quite nicely,'' thought Gray as he waited for them to enter the portal.


    After all the groups had entered and the portal was still blue he followed in.


    "I can never get used to this," murmured one of the members of the Riot guild that had entered the dungeon.


    "Yeah, it''s almost like we''re in another world," replied another member, as he scanned the scenery.


    They were underground, with a system of tunnels leading in all directions. Unlike the golbin dungeon Gray had cleared in the past, there was no main village at the center, instead, there was a hub of tunnel entrances.


    The group members spoke to each other silently and decided on which tunnels to enter, most of the groups deciding to go into different tunnels.


    Gray waited for the paramilitary group to choose a tunnel, and followed after them after waiting for a few minutes.


    The tunnels weren''t that dark as there were torches mounted on the walls at regular intervals.


    ''It seems kobolds have an intelligence of some sort,'' thought Gray as he examined one of the torches.


    *Crunch*


    Gray had stepped over the corpse of a kobold, its tiny bones cracking under the weight of his body.


    ''Small body frame, with canine-like legs, probably agile as shit, and long fangs that can probably tear your eyes out. They''ll probably be harder to deal with than goblins in an open space," analyzed Gray as he examined the kobold corpse.


    "Huh, what''s this?" wondered Gray as he saw something blue shining within the kobold''s bloody corpse.


    "Hmm, this really is like a video game," murmured Gray as he pulled out what seemed to be a blue gemstone from within its split skull.


    "I''ll have to ask those information guild bastards what this is about later," decided Gray, putting the gemstone into his pocket, and continuing his march.


    Along the way, Gray found many kobold corpses sprawled on the floor, and each time he came across them he would split open their skulls and pull out a blue gen stone.


    *aaahh*


    Gray heard a scream from the other side of the tunnel, followed by the sounds of gunshots.


    "It seems it has already begun," smiled Gray, running as fast as he could to catch up to them.


    "What the hell is that thing?!" shouted one of the men wearing military gear.


    "Probably the dungeon boss," replied their leader, using his M-16 to shoot at a kobold holding a magic staff.


    The kobold put up a force field, blocking the bullets and causing them to bounce back, piercing through one of the paramilitary member''s heads.


    "Fuck! No wonder everyone else died," said the leader, breathing heavily as he hid behind a stalagmite.


    Around the kobold boss lay the bodies of dozens of people, probably its past victims.


    "We have to get the others for help, there''s no way we can kill this thing al-" a girl from the group was about to say before a gunshot silenced her.


    "Maggy!?" shouted the leader as her body went limp and fell to the floor, a bullet wound visible at the back of her head.


    "What the-" another member was about to say, before a chain wrapped around his neck, and dragged him back into the darkness, snapping his neck in two.


    Gray had gotten behind the stalagmites as well and started taking care of the paramilitary members. Making sure to hide in area covered by the shadows cast by the stalactites on the cave ceiling.


    "Whose there?" asked the leader, only one other member from his group left.


    The kobold boss shot a fireball at the stalagmite that he had been hiding behind, causing it to fall over.


    "Fuck! Henry cover me!" ordered the leader, however, his command fell on deaf ears. Henry''s head rolled over to him, and two red gleaming eyes floated in the darkness of the cave.


    The kobold boss shot another fireball, causing the leader to roll backward to avoid it. Gray took this to his advantage and threw a shuriken at the leader.


    The leader lunged to the side, just barely avoiding it, and began shooting blindly into the darkness. Gray hid behind a stalagmite, avoiding the bullets.


    The kobold boss approached the leader, holding up a force field as it did.


    The leader turned to face the oncoming boss, however, this was a fatal mistake.


    A blood-red sword protruded from his chest, the boss looked down, trying to cover the blood that gushed out of the hole in his chest, but it was already too late. He fell to the ground, dead.


    "Thank you for the guns," laughed Gray as he absorbed all the blood from the leader''s body.


    The kobold boss shot a fireball at Gray, prompting him to create a tower shield to protect himself. "Just wait your turn will you," said Gray as he picked up the M-16 that the boss had been holding.


    "Ugh, this will take longer than the pistol since it''s more complex. I don''t have time for this," said Gray as he turned his full attention to the boss. "Looks like I have to kill you first,"


    Gray turned the tower shield into a long-sword, swinging it at the kobold boss.


    *Cling*


    The sound of Gray''s sword reverberating as it hit the kobold boss''s force field echoed throughout the cave. "Hmm, it seems you''re going to be a lot of fun," smiled Gray, turning the long sword into chains.


    Gray threw the chains at a stalactite, wrapping around it and tugging at it will all his strength. The kobold boss kept its force field up out of caution, scared that perhaps this was a tactic to make it lower its guard.


    "Fuck, I''m not strong enough," grunted Gray, as he created a blood pistol in his left hand and shot at the stalactite.


    "There we go, suck on this!" shouted Gray, as the stalactite fell on the kobold boss.


    "That wasn''t so difficult now wa-" Gray was about to say before the kobold boss climbed out of the rubble, its eyes glowing blue in anger.


    "Hold on there partner, it''s first come first serve. Just wait your turn like everybody else," said a man wearing military clothing, as his group of six entered the portal, fully equipped with guns and military equipment of all sorts.


    ''The military? No, the people on his team don''t seem trained at all,'' analyzed Gray as he saw a girl on their team strap her AK-47 towards her back instead of her front.


    ''They probably just got lucky and raided what was left of a military base. But still, this could work out quite nicely,'' thought Gray as he waited for them to enter the portal.


    After all the groups had entered and the portal was still blue he followed in.


    "I can never get used to this," murmured one of the members of the Riot guild that had entered the dungeon.


    "Yeah, it''s almost like we''re in another world," replied another member, as he scanned the scenery.


    They were underground, with a system of tunnels leading in all directions. Unlike the golbin dungeon Gray had cleared in the past, there was no main village at the center, instead, there was a hub of tunnel entrances.


    The group members spoke to each other silently and decided on which tunnels to enter, most of the groups deciding to go into different tunnels.


    Gray waited for the paramilitary group to choose a tunnel, and followed after them after waiting for a few minutes.


    The tunnels weren''t that dark as there were torches mounted on the walls at regular intervals.


    ''It seems kobolds have an intelligence of some sort,'' thought Gray as he examined one of the torches.


    *Crunch*


    Gray had stepped over the corpse of a kobold, its tiny bones cracking under the weight of his body.


    ''Small body frame, with canine-like legs, probably agile as shit, and long fangs that can probably tear your eyes out. They''ll probably be harder to deal with than goblins in an open space," analyzed Gray as he examined the kobold corpse.


    "Huh, what''s this?" wondered Gray as he saw something blue shining within the kobold''s bloody corpse.


    "Hmm, this really is like a video game," murmured Gray as he pulled out what seemed to be a blue gemstone from within its split skull.


    "I''ll have to ask those information guild bastards what this is about later," decided Gray, putting the gemstone into his pocket, and continuing his march.


    Along the way, Gray found many kobold corpses sprawled on the floor, and each time he came across them he would split open their skulls and pull out a blue gen stone.


    *aaahh*


    Gray heard a scream from the other side of the tunnel, followed by the sounds of gunshots.


    "It seems it has already begun," smiled Gray, running as fast as he could to catch up to them.


    "What the hell is that thing?!" shouted one of the men wearing military gear.


    "Probably the dungeon boss," replied their leader, using his M-16 to shoot at a kobold holding a magic staff.


    The kobold put up a force field, blocking the bullets and causing them to bounce back, piercing through one of the paramilitary member''s heads.


    "Fuck! No wonder everyone else died," said the leader, breathing heavily as he hid behind a stalagmite.


    Around the kobold boss lay the bodies of dozens of people, probably its past victims.


    "We have to get the others for help, there''s no way we can kill this thing al-" a girl from the group was about to say before a gunshot silenced her.


    "Maggy!?" shouted the leader as her body went limp and fell to the floor, a bullet wound visible at the back of her head.


    "What the-" another member was about to say, before a chain wrapped around his neck, and dragged him back into the darkness, snapping his neck in two.


    Gray had gotten behind the stalagmites as well and started taking care of the paramilitary members. Making sure to hide in area covered by the shadows cast by the stalactites on the cave ceiling.


    "Whose there?" asked the leader, only one other member from his group left.


    The kobold boss shot a fireball at the stalagmite that he had been hiding behind, causing it to fall over.


    "Fuck! Henry cover me!" ordered the leader, however, his command fell on deaf ears. Henry''s head rolled over to him, and two red gleaming eyes floated in the darkness of the cave.


    The kobold boss shot another fireball, causing the leader to roll backward to avoid it. Gray took this to his advantage and threw a shuriken at the leader.


    The leader lunged to the side, just barely avoiding it, and began shooting blindly into the darkness. Gray hid behind a stalagmite, avoiding the bullets.


    The kobold boss approached the leader, holding up a force field as it did.


    The leader turned to face the oncoming boss, however, this was a fatal mistake.


    A blood-red sword protruded from his chest, the boss looked down, trying to cover the blood that gushed out of the hole in his chest, but it was already too late.. He fell to the ground, dead.

 Chapter 112 - An Oath

    "I got put into the dark class," said Arya finally, staring Neville in the eyes.


    "Did anyone ever tell you that you kind of look like a gir-, wait what? Did you just say you got put into the dark class?!" shouted Neville, realizing the weight of the words Arya just uttered.


    "Yes I did," confirmed Arya.


    "Wait, so what about you being an ice mage? There''s no way you could''ve lied, after all, you showed me that you could really use ice magic," replied Neville in confusion.


    "Yes, I did," said Arya nodding his head in confirmation, still maintaining eye contact with Neville.


    "So does this mean you''re a dual wielder?" asked Neville, hesitating to even believe what he was implying.


    "It seems so," replied Arya once again, the tone of his voice never changing.


    "Are you perhaps lying? Proove to me that you can use dark magic. Cast something,"


    "I can''t, I just found out that I could use dark magic this morning. I haven''t learned any dark spells as of yet," replied Arya.


    ''He has no reason to lie,'' thought Neville as he looked at Arya in disbelief.


    "So not only are you a variant, but a dual wielder as well. And to make things worse your second element, or should I say third, is a rare element on top of that," murmured Neville, more for himself than Arya.


    "Wow, that''s a lot to take in. And how did everyone in your class react to that?" asked Neville.


    "I haven''t told anyone yet. And I don''t plan on doing it any time soon either. That''s where the favor I was talking about comes in. I need you to keep this a secret."


    "W-what!? You haven''t revealed that you''re a dual wielder yet? Do you have any idea how much praise you''d receive if you did? The whole school will hail you as a genius," shouted Neville once again in disbelief.


    "Exactly. It would be nice if all I received was praise. But in a school filled with people from magical bloodlines, how do you think the seniors would feel if they heard that a first year, and a commoner at that, is able to use two rare elements. They''ll make my life a living hell,"


    "I-I suppose. Okay, I''ll try my best to keep it a secret, though only on one condition," replied Neville.


    ''Of course, there''s always a price,'' thought Arya as he realized that he and Neville weren''t truly friends. After all they had just met each other the day before.


    "I want you to remember me once you''re discovered to be a genius. It would be nice to be friends with someone as powerful as you in the future, who knows it might even help me skip all my brothers and sisters in the line of succession," said Neville with a smile on his face.


    "I-I see. Sure,"


    "Anyway, did you hear? There''s a rumor going around that a few first years have already joined the disciplinary committee. Man, they''re so lucky, usually first years only get chosen at the end of the year imagine being chosen at the first day of school" said Neville, breaking the silence that had filled the room.


    "You don''t say," replied Arya, a nervous look on his face.


    "Yeah, you don''t seem all that surprised though. Did you perhaps see them being called out?" asked Neville, looking at Arya with a suspicious gaze.


    "Yeah, about that,"


    Neville looked past Arya and noticed the title of the book he was reading.


    "Disciplinary Committee rules and guidelines? Why would you need to study th- Wait don''t tell me," Neville''s eyes opened wide as he realized what was going on.


    "Wait, are you one of the students who were chosen?" asked Neville, once again looking at Arya in disbelief.


    Neville stood up abruptly, his hands on his head as he paced around the room.


    "But how? It doesn''t make sense. Didn''t you say that you can''t use dark magic?" asked Nevile, still pacing around the room.


    "Yeah, I did," said Arya once again, exhausted by the number of times he had to say it in the past few minutes.


    "Then how? If you couldn''t use magic how did you get chosen?"


    "Well, there are other ways of fighting,"


    "Pfft, please. Look at you, there''s no way a pretty face like that can-" Neville was about to say before he realized that Arya wasn''t joking.


    "You''re telling me that you''re so skilled at hand-to-hand combat that you were scouted to join the disciplinary committee on the first day?" asked Neville before he started laughing, the insanity of it all causing him to feel like it was all just a prank.


    "Exactly," replied Arya.


    "Come on, you don''t expect me to believe all this," commented Neville as Arya went back to reading his book.


    "Believe what you want, just keep the dual-wielding thing a secret," replied Arya, as he paged through the book.


    "Then if you''re so skilled, catch th-"Neville was about to say as he threw his pencil at Arya but stopped mid-way when Arya caught it in between his fingers.


    "Y-You weren''t kidding huh," commented Neville as Arya tossed his pencil back to him.


    Arya just nodded his head and continued reading.


    "I think I need to rest, wake me up when you go for dinner," replied Neville before going to bed. All the bombshells that Arya dropped on him were giving him a headache.


    ***


    "Oi, I''m heading out," said Arya as he woke Neville up.


    "Dinner already?" yawned Neville, getting off his bed.


    "Yeah. Anyways I''ll catch up to you later, there''s something I have to do before that," announced Arya, leaving the room before Neville could ask any further questions.


    "What a strange guy," murmured Neville as he picked up his student card and walked out as well.


    ***


    "Is this all of you? Where''s the snobby one?" asked Gabriel as he looked at the group of new recruits lined up in front of the committee office.


    "Who, Anclara?" asked Draven, as he noticed that Anclara was the only one absent.


    "I-I''m here!" shouted Anclara as he ran towards the rest of the group breathing loudly, his face covered in sweat.


    ''Sigh, why can''t the committee get normal people for once?'' wondered Gabriel as he looked at the group once again.


    Anclara was trying to catch his breath, Ayaz was staring at Dio as if he wanted to fight him, Dio''s face looked devoid of all emotion. Sheela was yawning as if he were already bored, Yuuki was looking at him intently and Averos and Arya were obviously trying to analyze any openings he may have.


    The only semblance of normality this group had was Marya, but even she gave of a weird vibe.


    "Anyways are you guys ready?" asked Gabriel, before pulling out his badge and drawing a star in the air with it.


    As he did this, a star symbol appeared in front of him.


    "Don''t worry, it''s just cosmetics, there isn''t some pact that will kill you f you break the rules," added Gabriel, once he saw the looks of surprise on their faces.


    "Of course that''s not to say that you won''t be killed, trust me the captain is way worse than any curse I could inflict on you."


    "Anyways repeat after me," instructed Gabriel, holding his right hand to the left side of his chest.


    "I pledge,"


    "I pledge" repeated the recruits.


    "To carry out justice on behalf of the academy,"


    "To carry out justice on behalf of the academy,"


    "To seek righteousness and fairness in all my doings."


    "To seek righteousness and fairness in all my doings."


    "And to maintain the law to the best of my abilities,"


    "And to maintain the law to the best of my abilities,"


    "Through day and night"


    "Through day and night"


    "Through pain and suffering"


    "Through pain and suffering"


    "Till the last bit of mana has been expended,"


    "Till the last bit of mana has been expended,"


    "I will maintain order behind the academy walls."


    "I will maintain order behind the academy walls."


    "Diis Major!"


    "Diis Major!"


    "You are now officially scrubs of the disciplinary committee. Aishe will give you your new uniforms before you leave," said Gabriel before leaving the group.


    The committee door opened and Aishe walked out in her alluring fashion.


    "Come inside, I''m unable to use dimensional magic outside of the committee office," said Aishe as she gestured for them to enter.


    "Though I''m not sure whether they got the sizes right, here are your uniforms.. If you have any complaints about their size come back to me and I''ll ask to get it fixed," said Aishe as blue rifts opened in the air, dropping the uniforms to their respective owners.

 Chapter 113 - Honorary Scrubs

    The design of their uniforms was similar to that of the full members. It was completely black with an embroidered image of a spiraling tower that pierced the clouds, which was the academy insignia, on the right chest. However, with the exception of a white band on the right arm, signifying that they were only probationary members.


    "You will start your patrols immediately. Disturbances have been reported in the forest and Headmaster Frode has been on our necks about security so we need all hands on deck." Said Aishe as she handed the group their patrol schedules.


    "And please don''t try to be heroes. Your badge has a communication function, so if you notice anything suspicious report it to one of the actual members on duty. Don''t forget that this is an academy, not a daycare center, you are liable for your own injuries if you try to overstep your boundaries," added Aishe with a smile on her face.


    "Why does it seem like she wants us to overstep those boundaries instead," whispered Draven to Arya as the group left to put on their uniforms.


    After a few minutes everyone had changed into their uniforms, everyone except Arya.


    "What''s taking him so long?" asked Anclara impatiently, he couldn''t wait a second more to show off that he was a part of the disciplinary committee to the rest of the school.


    "Well, I''m leaving without him," announced Anclara, pride and excitement clearly visible in his stride as he left the office.


    "Yeah, me too, he''ll catch up with us during dinner," said Sheela, prompting everyone else to proceed to the dining hall as well.


    "Perhaps he can''t fit into the uniform?" whispered Aishe to herself with a smile on her face once everyone had left the room.


    She stalked to the male changing room and peaked through the door to see what Arya was up to.


    ''How did a kid like him get all those scars,'' wondered Aishe as she looked at Arya''s back. His body was lean, you could almost see every fiber of muscle on his well-toned back.


    "Who''s there?" asked Arya, his instincts telling him that he was being watched.


    "Don''t be scared it''s just me," replied Aishe as she entered the room.


    "I was surprised. I didn''t expect a kid like you to be so well built," commented Aishe as she stared at Arya making him uncomfortable.


    "I didn''t expect a pretty looking boy like you to be packing all¡­ this," added Aishe, her voice becoming a whisper.


    "Why are you here? Isn''t this the boy''s changing room?" asked Arya, his instincts telling him not to be deceived by the snake in front of him.


    "Oh, virgins are no fun. Here we are all alone, and you''re telling me your little adolescent mind isn''t just running with... unbecoming thoughts?" asked Aishe getting closer.


    "I asked you why you''re here," this time he pulled out his Ryen dagger.


    "Pointing a weapon at your superiors is a punishable offence you know. I''ll overlook it just this once since I''m so kind. But next time you do that, I''ll have to punish you myself," said Aishe, giving Arya one more up and down before leaving the changing room.


    ''That Gabriel guy was right. That woman can''t be trusted,'' thought Arya as he sighed, relieving his tensed-up muscles.


    "That brat might be more fun than I thought. It seems that the elf isn''t the only plaything that Frode has so kindly handed over to me," whispered Aishe with a smirk on her face as she left the office.


    "Darn it, why won''t this thing zip up," grunted Arya as he tried once again to zip up the top of his uniform.


    ''Wait, what''s this,'' wondered Arya as he touched the golden plate at the start of the zipper, and it automatically linked the two sides of the uniform together.


    "Of course the zippers are magical," laughed Arya, finally fully dressed.


    "I look like some kind of military soldier from a cringey romance novel." Commented Arya as he looked at himself in the mirror.


    The black uniform contrasted beautifully with his snow-white hair, which was the same color as the band on his right arm.


    ''Indeed, you look like a noble from hell,'' laughed Sauron, commenting on Arya''s appearance as well.


    Arya made his way to the dining hall, it was by far one of the biggest buildings in the entire academy. It consisted of seven floors, most of them accessible to all students except for the basement which was only accessible to kitchen staff, and the top floor, only accessible to seniors in the higher years -in order to prevent any accidents with the younger patrons-.


    "Look there''s another one," commented a girl once Arya entered the dining hall.


    Every floor was the size of a football field, so it was kind of hard for Arya find where his colleagues were sitting.


    As he passed by the rows of tables, several girls giggled at him, patting their friends on the shoulder so they could get a good look as well.


    ''Why did I have to look more like my mom?'' complained Arya as he tried to ignore the lustful glares that the girls were giving him.


    "Hey brat, watch where you''re stepping," shouted a black-haired boy as Arya stepped on his foot.


    The boy had attempted to trip Arya over, however Arya saw him move his foot, and reacted in kind.


    "Stop it Mavo, he''s part of the disciplinary committee," shouted one of the girls behind them.


    "These pipsqueaks aren''t part of nothing," shouted Mavo back as he stood up and approached Arya, looking down at him as Arya was at eye level with his chest.


    "After all the gold that your daddy paid to get you into the committee, all you managed to become was a mere scrub," taunted Mavo, spit flying out of his mouth as he spoke.


    "Come on Mavo, leave him alone," laughed one of his friends, finding the whole scene amusing.


    "Come on, can''t speak?" asked Mavo after Arya failed to say a single word, even after being provoked.


    ''Calm down Arya, if you kill him here then the whole school will be on you. Think about the consequences,'' warned Sauron as he tried to talk Arya out of slaughtering Mavo where he stood.


    ''He spoke about my father,'' replied Arya as he tried to stop the mana that was coursing through his veins, however, the adrenaline was stronger than his will, and he could feel the temperature dropping around him.


    "I never knew they invited cowards to the committee as well. It seems that daddy raised a coward. Come on now, don''t be shy say something," taunted Mavo once more.


    "Come on Mavo, you''re just jealous because your application was denied for the second year in a row, while he got in without even applying," said another girl, causing Mavo to become furious.


    "You think you''re better than me don''t you?" asked Mavo, raising his hand to push Arya.


    ''Yes, touch me, do it, give me a reason to put you in the infirmary,'' smiled Arya, his breath visible due to the cold air around him.


    "Stop right there. Use of physical force within the dining hall is a punishable offense, especially against a committee member," said a voice in a laid-back tone.


    Arya and Mavo turned around and found Gabriel strolling towards them.


    "G-Gabriel, what are you doing here? I thought you''d be on a higher floor," replied Mavo shivering, his macho demeanor seemed to have disappeared into thin air replaced by what looked like fear.


    "I came to check whether one of my newest recruits was okay with his uniform, which I must say looks good on you." Said Gabriel, giving Arya a thumbs up.


    "However I came here and was surprised to find this happening. Don''t let me find you trying to pull anything on one of my recruits again. I''m in charge of them so if any of them get injured simply because someone was jealous of them joining the committee, the captain will have my head."


    "And trust me, I''ll have yours before she can catch me. Now get lost," ordered Gabriel.


    "Why is it so cold," muttered Mavo as he looked at Arya once more and left with his friends.


    Arya didn''t say anything, he simply continued walking as if nothing had happened.


    ''No one asked you to interfere,'' thought Arya, angry that Gabriel had scared off his prey.


    ''That kid, didn''t he say he was a dark mage?'' wondered Gabriel as he saw an ice crystal melting where Arya had been standing a second ago.


    ''I swear, this group is the most interesting we''ve had in years,'' thought Gabriel with a mischievous smile on his face before walking off as well.

 Chapter 114 - Thieves In The Night (1)

    "Arya! Over here!" shouted a familiar voice as Arya was walking with his head turned down, hoping that someone would try picking a fight with him again.


    "Geez, you don''t seem too happy about joining the disciplinary committee. Are you okay?" asked Trent as he got up from the table that he and the rest of the group were sitting at and approached Arya.


    "Look man, if you''re having regrets about joining, you could always give your uniform to me," said Trent, patting Arya''s shoulder.


    "Or at least help me score a few girls before you quit. You look good man, and the ladies seemed to have noticed as well," whispered Trent as he waved at a girl who was staring at Arya.


    "What are you guys doing over there?" asked Neville who was sitting at the same table as the others as well.


    "Arya and I were just about to go pick up a few friends, you guys can eat without u-" Trent was about to say before Arya brushed past him and took a seat at the table.


    "Or not,"


    "What took you so long rival?" asked Averos as Arya sat down.


    "Ah, well about that."


    "I just decided to put on my uniform at my own pace, no need to rush things, you know what I mean," grinned Arya, his anger dissipating as he tried to come up with an excuse to explain why he was late.


    "Well we don''t have much time left, our patrols start in a few minutes," said Yuuki as he finished eating what was on his plate.


    "I haven''t even eaten yet," complained Arya, he was starving, and smelling all the food around him only made it worse.


    "Perhaps you can get a meal to go and eat it while you''re on duty, though I don''t know if that''s allowed.," said Marya trying to comfort Arya as she and the other committee members got up from the table.


    "I need to go as well. I''m still tired from earlier," said Neville as well, giving Arya a knowing look before leaving the table.


    "Well that''s kind of... suspicious," commented Trent as he noticed the look that Nevile gave Arya


    "Sigh,"


    "You look good Arya," said Abby finally, after everyone else had left the table and it was only her, Trent, and Arya left.


    "Am I disturbing something?" asked Trent, giving Abby a suspicious gaze.


    "Not now Trent," warned Arya as he sagged in his chair, trying to absorb what little relaxation he could before having to head out again.


    "Pretty," whispered Abby as she stared at Arya intently from where she was sitting.


    Arya''s hair was in a messy bun, and loose strands hung covering his face as he slouched in his seat. His long eyelashes were fully visible from the angle she was at and for the first time, she noticed how his eyes were blue at the outer rims of his iris and hazel at the center.


    "I still don''t get how you have white hair. I''ve never seen anyone with white hair besides the Dragonaus brothers, and even their''s isn''t fully white," commented Trent, breaking the mood as he took a bite out of his chicken.


    "Well, I guess I''ll see you guys at homerooms tomorrow, I have patrol duty as well," announced Arya as he stood up from his chair and dragged himself to the cafeteria counter to get a meal to go.


    ***


    As Arya was gobbling down his food, he pulled out his patrol schedule to see who he was paired with and what area he would have to patrol today.


    ''Dio huh,'' thought Arya, crumbs from the biscuit he was eating sprinkled all around his mouth.


    ''If I remember correctly he was that guy who could use illusion magic,'' remembered Arya as he passed by a group of students who were chatting in front of a pub.


    ''But still, this Academy really is more like a city than a school,'' thought Arya as he looked up and realized how busy the streets were, even at this time of night.


    "I guess mages don''t need sleep," said Arya before pulling out a map he had gotten from Aishe as part of the things required for patrol duty, and marked out where his patrol perimeter was.


    ''So Dio and I will be in charge of patrolling the third gate huh? Well according to this there''s a whole cliff on the other side, and the only way in is through a portal, so I guess that the committee handed us the less dangerous areas huh,'' analyzed Arya, wiping his mouth as he finished devouring another biscuit.


    "Arya come in," said a voice from Arya''s badge.


    Arya pulled the badge off his shoulder and spoke into it, "This is Arya,"


    "Where the hell are you? Dio has been waiting for you for the past several minutes," complained Gabriel over the badge''s communication function.


    "If the captain finds out that I left a newby hanging alone during patrol she''ll fry my ass and restrict my pay for the rest of the month. Get to your post ASAP," ordered Gabriel, cutting the link before Arya had time to explain himself.


    "Man, why is a tyrant like Lucia head of the committee anyway. Even Gabriel is afraid of her," commented Arya, before stuffing the last biscuit into his mouth and running at full speed to his post.


    "Hey watch it," exclaimed a few people as Arya became a blur and rushed past them.


    ***


    "Sorry I''m late," announced Arya as he appeared right beside Dio, like a ghost in the night.


    ''I didn''t even sense him,'' thought Dio, mana already flooding his veins as he was about to blast Arya to smithereens.


    "Probably don''t sneak up on people like that," replied Dio dully, however his interest in Arya seemed to have grown, even if slightly.


    "Y-yeah,"


    "Well the area we got is pretty small so there isn''t much we have to do," added Dio, turning around to continue patrolling.


    "Hey, about earlier, at the tunnels. What spell did you use?" asked Arya, after the two had been quiet for a good few minutes.


    "It''s a special light spell, I could tell you but it wouldn''t be much use anyway. It requires a deep understanding of light concepts to even grasp its mechanism," replied Dio, continuing his patrol as if he couldn''t be bothered.


    "Try me,"

 Chapter 115 - Thieves In The Night (2)

    "Pfft, very well then," replied Dio, slightly annoyed by Arya''s persistence.


    "Are you aware that light seems to take several forms?" asked Dio, as the two walked through the darkness.


    ''He must be referring to the different types of lightwaves,'' thought Arya, remembering what he had learned in physics class.


    "Yes," replied Arya, earning him a glare.


    "It was a rhetorical question, there''s no way that someone who isn''t a light mage or doesn''t come from a family of light mages would know that. There''s no need to lie, even if you try to impress me you won''t gain anything from it," said Dio before continuing his explanation.


    ''I guess that isn''t common knowledge here,'' analyzed Arya, following Dio closely.


    "Although it may seem unbelievable to you, most forms of light can not be seen. These forms of light are capable of passing through solid objects, such as walls however they are reflected by certain other objects, such as objects of metallic nature." continued Dio.


    "Also they are slowed down slightly when passing through solid objects. So by continuously releasing that form of light using my spell, I was able to determine a path by-"


    "So you used the light waves that were reflected off the door to determine your path, following the waves that returned to you quicker, as this means that they passed by fewer obstacles. I hadn''t thought about that," exclaimed Arya, cutting Dio off. Back on earth, Arya was a science nerd so hearing this made him excited.


    "Perhaps you weren''t lying about knowing the different forms of light. Have you perhaps come ac-" Dio stopped midway and shot a beam of solid light behind Arya.


    Arya quickly drew his Ryen dagger while turning around in one swift movement, his adrenaline pumping, his instincts screaming at him to move.


    "What is it," asked Arya, mana already coursing through his veins.


    "Someone''s there," replied Dio, his voice a whisper.


    "Arya, Dio, come in. You are to withdraw from your area, other committee members will be arriving shortly. I repeat get away from there," shouted Gabriel over the communication function of Arya and Dio''s badge.


    "What is he so worked up-" Arya stopped midway, flipping into the air as if trying to dodge something.


    Right as Arya''s foot touched the ground he shot off, plunging into the darkness of the night.


    *Ting*


    A jet black knife struck the metal gutter of the building behind them, making a sound.


    Dio finally realized why Arya had jumped into the air, they were being attacked.


    ''But how did he see that?'' wondered Dio as he followed behind Arya.


    Arya could hardly see anything, however, he could at least make out the outline of at least a dozen hooded figures.


    "Take care of the brat quickly," whispered one of the figures once they noticed Arya''s presence.


    "I''m trying, but the brat dodged my knife. Doing this without magic is difficult," replied another hooded figure.


    Arya wasted no time, he threw his Ryen dagger at the closest figure and rushed towards him.


    "Kukk, this kid really thin-" the hooded figure managed to dodge Arya''s first attack, however, Arya''s fist was waiting for him before he had the time to recover.


    Right after punching the man in the face Arya used the dagger that was now stuck on the wall as a stepping platform and boosted himself along the length of the wall.


    "What the fuck are you guys doing? Why are you struggling to get rid of tha-" Arya swooped down with a kick, aiming to hit the man who was currently talking.


    However the man managed to catch Arya''s foot mid-air, Arya saw this coming and used his other leg to kick the man in the head, using this to boost himself out of the man''s grip.


    All twelve man looked at Arya in shock. At first they had taken him as a sort of joke, but now they were all on guard, finally drawing their weapons.


    ''Why am I doing this again?'' wondered Arya as he realized the trouble he was in.


    "Fuck!" shouted Arya as he dodged an attack from behind.


    One of the hooded figures had managed to get behind him but luckily his senses allowed him to escape with just a minor flesh wound.


    The hooded figures didn''t give him time to rest, they moved in an organized way.


    As one missed his attack, another would come in, never giving Arya a moment of rest.


    Knives were being thrown left and right, Arya''s senses were good but he couldn''t dodge all of them, blood dripped to the floor, it wasn''t only Arya''s.


    He managed to get a few shots in as well, but the way things were looking.


    Arya''s body was covered in bruises, he had managed to dodge any fatal attacks, however, even with his inhuman reflexes and speed, there was no way he could fight against twelve people at the same time.


    A figure who seemed to be the leader stepped forward.


    "You guys should stop playing around. The disciplinary committee will be here soon," said the figure, pulling out a jet black blade hardly visible in the dark, turning into a blur.


    "Ahh," screamed Arya in pain as he felt cold metal dig into his back.


    Arya flipped his dagger into a reverse grip, and quickly spun around, trying to counter-attack, however his attack was caught mid-air.


    The figure struck Arya''s elbow, *snap*, Arya''s arm was broken.


    Another scream of pain followed, Arya knew his life was in danger, his legs moved without even being told to do so.


    Arya kicked the figure in the head, his foot was caught.


    He used the man''s grip as leverage and boosted himself into the air, sending a spin kick with his free leg towards the man''s face.


    The other hooded figures stopped watching and joined in.


    One of them blocked Arya''s spin kick, another stabbed Arya in the leg.


    "Child of water heed my call, bring about a chill to freeze my foes," chanted Arya.


    The ground became covered in a thin layer of ice, the unsuspecting hooded figures slid on the ground losing their balance.


    Arya was freed, however, his right arm lay limp on the side.


    He could barely stand as his left leg had blood dripping down the calf.


    He was out of breath, but stood in a low fighting stance, his dagger in his free hand.


    "Wasn''t he supposed to be a dark mage?" asked one of the figures.


    "Fuck this, I can''t believe we let this brat stall us for this long," shouted the leader, turning into a black mass of smoke, invisible in the darkness of the night.


    ''Behind!'' screamed Arya''s senses, but his body was too weak to follow.


    A hand appeared out of the darkness behind him, stabbing him in the back.


    He managed to prevent to the blade from piercing his heart, but he could feel the knife cut away at his insides.


    "Child of water heed my-" Arya''s chanting was stopped when another figure appeared in front of him, stabbing him in the mouth.


    "We''ve used magic, we have to kill him and get to the rendezvous," said the figure that stabbed Arya.


    Arya''s tongue had been severed in two, chanting was no longer an option.


    He used what little strength he had left to try and get away from the pincer attack that the two figures pulled on him, but the other figures weren''t just silently watching.


    Although several of them had already fled to get to their rendezvous, five were left to deal with Arya, and three of them had positioned themselves in a triangle and were chanting something.


    "I have to give it to them, their first years are really fast," said the leader of the hooded figures as chains made of a black substance wrapped around Arya''s arms and legs, dragging him to the ground.


    "Goodbye," said the leader, pulling out his dagger to stab Arya in the chest.


    ''Let me have control!'' shouted Sauron.


    He had been nagging on Arya to take control ever since the fighting started, but now he was begging.


    He couldn''t let all his plans go in the mud, however, Arya was having none of it, now they were stuck in this situation, moments away from death.


    Arya was barely conscious, the pain he was feeling attacked his brain, pushing both his mind and body to the limits.


    If it wasn''t for his will to live he would''ve been long dead, however now, right as the knife was about to pierce his chest, he lost consciousness.


    ''Fuck this! You can''t die yet!'' screamed Sauron, using every last bit of his might to try and connect himself to the real world.


    He managed to make an arm out of the darkness around them and caught the blade.


    "What?" asked the leader as his blade was stopped by a black arm.


    "They got one of the newbies!" shouted a familiar voice as Lucia, Gabriel, Avion and Jenin appeared out of a blue rift a few meters away from them.


    "We have to go!" shouted one of the hooded figures.

 Chapter 116 - Attack On Belgard (1)

    "Perhaps all that talk about you being one of the greatest dark mages to walk the planet were lies. So far you''ve yet to entertain me Valkuy, or should a say Achlys." said a figure riding atop an 8-meter tall jet-black wyvern.


    The forest around them had been burnt to the ground, leaving a 1-kilometer radius of bare ground surrounding them.


    "How do you know that name?" asked Valkuy, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his face, his left arm had been severed from his body, and his victorian suit had burnt patches all over it, his white shirt stained crimson red from his blood.


    "There are a lot of things we know about you, but that information will soon become useless with your death," replied the figure, his wyvern shooting out streams of black flames so hot that as it licked the ground the sand began to crystalize.


    Valkuy managed to turn into black smoke right before the flames touched him, however, the figure was waiting for him right when he reappeared.


    Grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off the ground.


    "An abomination like you was never supposed to exist in the first place," said the figure, his crimson red eyes gleaming as he stared at Valkuy.


    "Farewell," as the figure said this, his nails extended into claws, thrusting them into Valkuy''s chest.


    "It seems you still have some tricks up your sleeve," said the figure, as Valkuy''s body turned into a woody tree-like structure constraining the figure''s claws and preventing him from moving.


    ''I have to warn the Headmaster,'' thought Valkuy as he ran towards the direction of the Academy, gripping his sides as blood poured out of his chest.


    Meanwhile, the figure used black flames to destroy the tree, escaping from its grasp.


    "Let''s go Leea, we''ve served our purpose here," said the figure to the Wyvern, before jumping on top of it and flying into the night sky.


    ***


    "This doesn''t make sense, hydras are supposed to be dead," shouted Dregnar, as he dodged a pillar of black flames that shot out of one of the hydra''s seven heads.


    "Tell that to the hydra that''s currently trying to kill us," replied a Roc with a length of 4 meters from head to tail and a wingspan of 11 meters, as it shot out a bolt of lightning towards the beast.


    "It''s no use, my lightning isn''t strong enough," complained the Roc as it circled the hydra once again.


    "Shay watch out!" shouted Dregnar, but it was too late, the hydra used its gray-colored head to create a powerful draft around Shay, causing him to plummet to the ground.


    As Shay was falling, the hydra sent out another stream of black flames, aiming to disintegrate Shay before he could even touch the ground.


    "Oh no you don''t!" shouted another Roc, this one nearly two times bigger than the first.


    It used its powerful brown wings, wrapped in jolts of potent lightning to bear the flame attack, however even this wasn''t enough.


    "No, sis!" shouted Shay as the black flames burnt their way past her wings, knocking her out as she plummeted to the ground in a violent spiral.


    Shay swooped down and caught his sister by the neck using his claws to prevent her from hitting the ground too hard.


    "Shay, take Chiren and leave," shouted Dregnar, dodging another one of the hydra''s attacks.


    "I can''t leave you h-" Shay was about to protest.


    "You''re not powerful enough, and with Chiren like this you two would just slow me down. Now leave!" roared Dregnar, chasing Shay away.


    "I''ll call for the headmaster," said Shay, tears flowing down his face as he looked at the state that his sister was in. She was barely breathing, and her usual regeneration factor didn''t seem to be working.


    ''Don''t die Dregnar,'' thought Shay hopelessly as he looked back at the scene.


    The nearly 10-meter tall hydra was constantly shooting streams of elemental attacks at the lone manticore, who seemed to be dwarfed even at a height of 4 meters.


    "I don''t know who brought you guys back from the grave, but I''ll show you why you went extinct in the first place," roared Dregnar, the mane that surrounded her lion head turned into pure white flames, her wings became covered in shiny gray metal, and her claws were re-inforced with the same metal.


    She grew to a size of 7-meters, although still small compared to the hydra she made up for it with the size of her wings, which grew to be 14 meters long from tip to tip.


    Dregnar shot out a stream of pure white flames so hot that the air around it expanded rapidly, causing thunderclaps. The hot air disintegrated all the nearby trees that had survived the earlier skirmish, destroying the forest even further.


    "Now get out of my forest," roared Dregnar, a huge hole present where one of the hydra''s heads was supposed to be.


    However, sadly the hydra''s head grew back, and as it did this, all seven heads shot out an elemental pillar simultaneously.


    ***


    "Headmaster, there''s been an attack at the west entrance,"


    "Headmaster, there''s been an attack at the south entrance,"


    "Headmaster, there''s been an attack at the north entrance,"


    "Headmaster, there''s been an attack at the east entrance,"


    "Headmaster, there''s been an attack on the main portal,"


    Streams of distress calls flooded Headmaster Frode''s communication badge, however, Frode had bigger things to worry about.


    Never in all his years of sorcery had he been pushed back to such an extent.


    His white hair stuck to his face as the sweat that percolated around his forehead began to drip down. His once pure white robe was now stained brown and red, from dirt and blood.


    His beard hung in a rough manner as he stared at the man in front of him with a look of both interest and anger.


    "I was made to believe that only the pope and the Grand Magus could win against me in a one-on-one battle. But you, who I''ve never seen or heard of before have managed to force me to bring out my artifact?" wondered Frode, more flabbergasted than angry as he touched the silver ring on finger.


    A blue rift appeared in the air, jolts of powerful blue lightning emanating from it, as a brown staff, made of intertwining dark wood came out of it.


    At its tip was a massive white gem, caged within the dark wood, and several indecipherable runes etched across its length.


    "So you''ve finally brought it out huh? The wizard king''s staff, the second most powerful staff in existence. It wouldn''t hurt to add it to my collection," laughed the figure.


    He had black hair unlike Frode and a skinnier build. His robe was jet black, however, patches of it were covered in blood and dirt as well, till this point the fight had been even, and injuries were received on both sides.


    "What makes you think you can survive against me when I''m serious?" asked Frode as he created a pillar of pure white flames that ate away even at the anti-magic walls that surrounded the chamber they were in.


    "Interesting, it seems that that the artifact gives you the power to create origin fire." said the figure, his hands covered in a thick black substance as he deflected the white flames.


    "Impossible, not even a dragon can come out this unscathed," shouted Frode in disbelief, the white flames were a tier 9 fire spell, something that could only be used by Sentinal beasts, so using it took a lot out of him.


    "You don''t seem to understand Frode. This isn''t power that you could possibly fathom." said the figure, as he shot a stream of jet black flames at Frode.


    Frode reacted in kind, once again sending out streams of white flames, the two flames met each other halfway created a powerful shockwave as they collided.


    The antimagic walls could hardly keep up with the mana that was being expanded in the spells, the walls began to crack under the pressure of the two spells colliding until eventually cracks began to form.


    "How, how can a mere fire spell compete with origin fire?" asked Frode, struggling to keep the output of his spell constant.


    "Like you always say Frode, we are greater than the gods, Diis Major," laughed the figure in reply as his black flames pushed Frode''s white flames away.


    "Goodbye Frode, don''t worry, all your students will soon follow," said the dark figure once the flames had almost reached Frode.


    "Oh my, it would be terrible if we lost the headmaster so early in the year," said a familiar voice as a shield emanating a divine white light stopped the flames before they could touch Frode.


    The shield consisted of several circular disks with a cross at the center. Its entire area was covered in holy markings and scriptures, causing the flames to move away from it almost as if they were alive.


    "Filidei!" shouted Frode once he realized who it was.


    "Huh? I wasn''t aware that there was an Arch-Bishop-level priest here. It seems we''ll have to settle this another time Frode," laughed the figure as it went through the portal located at the center of the chamber.


    "He''s going to the floating city?" asked Filidei once the figure had gone through the portal.


    "It seems that his goal is within the treasury. Hopefully the mages up there can stop him," whispered Frode before falling unconscious.


    "So this is the wizard king''s staff? Must be nice," said Filidei with a warm fatherly smile.


    "Though it seems this place has become contaminated with demons.. I must alert the church," said Filidei, his smile disappearing as he looked at the cracks that were left on his shield.

 Chapter 117 - Attack On Belgard (2)

    "Damn it! I warned him to retreat! We have to get him to a healer ASAP!" Gabriel''s shouts were barely a whisper, Arya couldn''t feel the world around him, he couldn''t smell, or see anything either. All he had to remind him that he wasn''t dead were but the faint shouts of those surrounding him, and even then these whispers were incoherent, gaps in between them existed.


    "Arya!" this voice was familiar.


    ''Ahh Averos,'' thought Arya, the dark abyss around him suffocating him as he tried to make out what was going on but couldn''t.


    "Who did this? Tell me now! I''ll have their head!" Averos demanded angrily.


    ''Pfft, we''ve barely known each other for a month and you''re going out of your way to be angry for me? You''re just like Michael, ah yes Michael. Maybe I''ll meet him in my next life,'' thought Arya letting the void around him consume his consciousness.


    "Will he be okay?" this time it was Sheela''s voice, his usual laid-back tone sounded agitated, a mix of anger and sadness.


    "And what were you doing while he was fighting them?!" Draven''s voice sounded angry.


    "We were ordered to retreat, and by the time I caught up to him, he was already fighting them. I couldn''t risk my life just because he wanted to play hero," replied Dio calmly.


    "Calm down Draven, we won''t solve anything by resorting to violence," this time it was Yuuki''s voice, he was clearly angered as well but tried to remain logical.


    ''I guess they really cared. It''s a shame it''s wasted on someone like me,'' thought Arya, his consciousness drifting as the world around him became silent.


    **


    ''I''m still live?'' thought Arya, his consciousness still muffled by the void, however he could still hear faint sounds.


    "Why isn''t he being healed?" asked an unfamiliar voice.


    "These wounds, they aren''t normal. Whatever cut him completely nullifies any attempts at healing him. He probably won''t last much longer," replied another voice.


    ''I see, so I wasn''t saved.'' thought Arya, the world going silent once again.


    ***


    "What has the Headmaster been doing all this time! How come we haven''t seen him?! One of his students is gravely injured and he hasn''t even addressed the Academy once," it was a female''s voice. She sounded angry, like she would burn down the entire building if tested.


    ''Abby huh?'' thought Arya, realizing who it was.


    "Headmaster Frode is unable to do that currently. Your friend here wasn''t the only one injured during the attack. Please understand that we are doing everything we can, but our magic simply can''t help him," replied another voice.


    "Arya," said a voice, this one sounded sad.


    Arya felt something drop onto his chest, although very faint it felt warm, he treasured this feeling as it was the only thing to remind him that the void he was trapped in wasn''t real. Once again the void devoured him, and the world went silent.


    ***


    "I can''t believe he''s still alive. The wound shows no sign of healing yet he''s still breathing," whispered one of the voices in Arya''s room.


    The void had once again let him go, letting him hear faint sounds from the real world.


    ''It seems someone doesn''t want me dead,'' thought Arya as he tried to make out what the voices around him were saying.


    "I heard Headmaster Frode isn''t any better off. The burns on his body are slowly eating away at him,  if this continues the world might lose an Arch Magus." replied the voice.


    ''Hey kid, don''t you think of dying. Asbeel will be here soon, we just have to hold on till then,'' said a familiar voice as a small wisp of black energy appeared in a far distance of the void.


    The only reason he could discern it from the darkness was due to two small dots of white light emanating from its center.


    ''Sauron?'' asked Arya faintly.


    ''You aren''t the only one who was weakened,'' replied Sauron, before the void collected Arya again, and the world became silent.


    ***


    "Dregnar is missing," said a voice in Arya''s room.


    The void would randomly release Arya as if to allow him to collect information before devouring him again.


    And the healers in Arya''s room would usually gossip on current school affairs, giving him small patches of information.


    "No way, isn''t she a guardian beast? How will the forest survive without her?" asked another voice.


    "As we speak the forest of Belgard is defenseless. Valkuy''s body was found outside the school gates a complete mess. His wounds aren''t healing either,"


    "Valkuy? Isn''t he the demigod of dark magic? Who could do this to him?" asked the voice.


    "Whatever it was, it managed to burn a whole section of the forest. The instructors went to survey the situation and they say half the forest was burned down by two beasts."


    "According to one of the Roc''s there, he claims that Dregnar was last seen fighting a hydra,"


    "Impossible. Hydras are just a myth," replied the other voice in shock.


    ''What? Hydras huh? I guess that manticore isn''t so scary after all?'' thought Arya, once again the void devouring him.


    ***


    "How is he doing?" asked a fatherly voice,


    "We''re honestly surprised he hasn''t died yet. He seems to have a very strong constitution." replied one of the healers.


    "Very well then, I shall begin," said the fatherly voice, before Arya felt a warmth on his chest.


    ''Ahhhhhhhh! Stop! Stop!'' Sauron''s voice screamed in pain as a white light began to fill the void.


    ''No! No! What are you doing!'' Arya''s consciousness screamed out in anger.


    Sauron although untrustworthy, was like a part of him. Hearing Sauron scream like this made Arya angry.


    At the far distance of the void, the black heart with white veins began pumping vigorously.


    "Stop!" Arya''s body levitated into the air, knocking down Father Fillidei and the other priests who were trying to heal Arya.


    Arya''s eyes shone a black light as he looked at Fillidei, before falling down to the bed again.


    "What was that?" asked one of the priests.


    "Perhaps some of the demon essence entered his body," replied another priest.


    "No, although his eyes were black, the presence was divine. Though clearly this was a reaction due to the spell," analyzed Fillidei with a confused look on his face.


    "Truly confusing times, anyway we have more patients to look at. We''ll come back for this one," said Fillidei before leaving.


    ''Asbeel?'' asked Sauron, warmth audible in his voice as a white figure approached him.


    ''I leave you alone to look after him and you end up nearly dying again? You truly are hopeless without me,'' laughing the light figure.


    ''Y-you''re back'' said Arya faintly.


    ''Yes I''m back brother,'' replied the voice before the void devoured Arya once again. And the world was silent once more.


    ***


    "Let me in, I''ve come to see my friend," shouted Abby at one of the healers who stood at the door in front of Arya''s room.


    "Father Fillidei has ordered that no one enter the room. Please understand that this is out of our control," insisted the healer.


    "Come on Abby, we''ll come back and try tomorrow," said Trent, his go-happy mood replaced by one of gloom and exhaustion.


    "Where''s Averos?" asked Yuuki as the group was walking down the hallway.


    "She''s still searching for the culprits under the guise of patrolling," replied Sheela, his laid-back demeanor replaced by one of fatigue.


    "Didn''t the Captain say not to look for them, that it would be too dangerous for us to handle?" asked Draven, it was uncommon to see him walking with this group, however ever since Arya became bed-ridden he had started spending more time with them.


    "A warning like that isn''t going to stop Averos, if anything it will just fuel her more," replied Sheela.


    "Anyway''s see you guys later, I have smithing classes," said Sheela before leaving the group.


    "Yeah, see you guys around," said Draven before leaving as well, prompting everyone to go to their respective classes


    "I hope he''s okay," whispered Marya as the group walked away.


    ***


    "It''s been a week. Haven''t we been hiding long enough?" asked a figure wearing full black under the darkness of the cave surrounding him.


    "They might still be looking for us. We have to wait until the Master returns from the floating city, until then we will lay low," replied the leader of the black figures as he walked through the narrow tunnel.


    "Are you sure this is the right way?" asked another one of the black figures.


    "Yes, I''m sure. The school''s power core is this way," replied the leader.


    "What if Frode wakes up before we can finish sabotaging it," asked another figure.


    "He won''t, the master made sure of that. Now stop talking, someone might hear you."


    After walking for a few minutes in silence, the darkness was suddenly filled by an intense white light.


    "Here it is. Belgard''s power core," said the leader as he looked at the massive spherical orb in front of him.. It was bout 75 meters in diameter, covered in a shiny black metal cage that seemed to pulsate with power as well.

 Chapter 118 - Lokreem Entrance Exam (1)

    "Anyway, let us not waste any more time and announce the group placements for the tournament. Like previous years the field will be divided into six sections," as the old man said this walls made of earth divided the colosseum into six different parts.


    "Twelve fighters will participate at the same time until the quarter-finals where the arena will be divided into three parts ."


    "Although you are already guaranteed a spot within the Academy if you make it past the first half of the group stages, I advise giving your all in order to make it to the finals." continued the old man, his smile getting wider in anticipation.


    "The academy is very competitive as we have a ranking system. By placing first here you will have an early lead."


    "With all that said here are the placements." the old man raised both his palms into the air, and names written in a translucent blue light made of mana appeared in a massive font for all in the colosseum to see.


    ''Group A, it seems the person I''m going to be fighting first is,'' thought Luca as he turned to his side.


    "It seems we are going to be battling each other in the first round of the group stages," said Syndren with a cocky expression on his face.


    ''I can''t believe my luck,'' thought Syndren, he had been hoping to get an easy opponent, and getting paired with Luca was like a dream come true for him.


    "May the best man win," said Syndren shaking Luca''s hand.


    A few minutes were given to the contestants to prepare themselves before all the fighters from group A till F were called to the center of the colosseum and the different pairs were placed into their respective sections.


    "Try not to get hurt," said Syndren with a wide smile on his face as he and Luca faced each other getting ready for the duel.


    "You to," said Luca, afraid that he would hurt his new friend.


    ''Pfft, my casting time is faster than most my age. I''ll end this before you can even get a spell in'' thought Syndren as the old man gave the signal to begin.


    "Oh mighty mother Merrum, giver of-" before Syndren could finish casting his spell Luca appeared behind him and hit him in the neck, effectively knocking him out.


    ''Why would you chant a spell when the distance between us is so short? Did you really think I would wait for you to finish?'' thought Luca as he stared at the passed-out Syndren in confusion.


    Since Luca was what one would call a prodigy, he couldn''t understand Syndren''s poor reasoning.


    ''He must''ve made a mistake,'' thought Luca as the healers carried Syndren off the stage.


    "Amazing, the fight lasted less than five seconds," shouted some of the people in the crowd in amazement.


    "Indeed, what family is he from?" asked another.


    "It says his last name is Draquerth. Perhaps he''s a noble from a foreign kingdom," analyzed one of the spectators.


    Luca walked off the center stage back to the waiting area in wait for his next fight.


    The next fighter finished her fight in less than a minute, however her face showed anything but satisfaction. As she looked at the scoreboard she noticed that someone had finished before and shook her head in disappointment.


    ''It seems I''m fighting someone called Ashante next'' thought Luca as he looked at the new list of names.


    "Fighters please move to the center stage," announced the old man, prompting Luca to move with his next opponent into the third block.


    A girl with red hair was watching him intently from the sidelines as the old man signaled for the fight to begin.


    ''How did he win his last battle so fast? Perhaps his opponent was w-'' before she could even finish thinking Luca ended the battle by punching his opponent in the stomach, winding him and knocking him out.


    ''W-what is this speed? He''s like a mid-level knight,'' thought the girl with red hair in awe before trying to sense the mana signal that Luca emitted.


    ''A one-star mage with small amounts of mana huh. Perhaps that''s why he trained himself in hand-to-hand combat. But still, to think that someone our age would be so fast. I have to find a way to restrict his movements if I ever have to fight him,'' thought the girl with red hair before she was called to the sixth block for her fight.


    "Begin" announced the old man, signifying the start of Lyn''s battle.


    "Of mighty fire, rage, rage, rage burn all those who stand in my way," chanted Lyn at an incredible speed, so fast indeed that her opponent had only said three words in that time.


    A large pillar of fire consumed her opponent, causing first-degree burns all over his body.


    ''Just you wait,'' thought Lyn as she walked off the stage remembering how Luca had finished off his opponent.


    A few hours passed and all of Luca''s battles in the group stage finished in less than a minute, with him never having to chant a single spell.


    All his opponents made the mistake of trying to chant spells in front of him, which to be fair most mages in a fight would do. However, in front of Luca who had trained in hand-to-hand combat extensively casting became a weakness in front of him.


    "Congratulations to all those who managed to get a place within the Academy. This is simply the beginning, strive to become stronger within the academy so that you may place higher later in the year."


    "Now with that out of the way, let''s move on to the quarter finals," announced the old man excitedly as the six different partitions became three simply by a wave of his hand.


    ''Hmm, my next opponent is that guy huh? He doesn''t seem all that strong,'' thought a blonde-haired competitor as he looked at Luca stretching.


    "Eristo watch out while you''re fighting against that guy. Make sure to create space before trying to chant, or you''ll be out before you can even get a word out," warned the red-haired girl as she approached him.


    "Oh Lyn I didn''t see you there," said Eristo turning to look at his comrade.


    "But what do you mean watch out? Do you really think there''s anyone here who''s worth a warning, apart from you of course," replied Eristo, seemingly appalled by the notion of him having to watch out for someone who looked as weak as Luca.


    "His speed is comparable to a mid-level knight, and what''s more is he hasn''t used a single spell since the start of the tournament," warned Lyn, staring at Luca with a determined gaze as well.


    "Pfft, stop joking around there''s no way th-" Eristo stopped laughing when he realized that his comrade still had a serious expression on her face.


    "C-come on, there''s no way that someone got this far without using magic. Perhaps he doesn''t have mana and that''s why he hasn''t used any spells," stuttered Eristo, now warier of Luca as he stared at him with an astonished gaze.


    "No, I watched several of his matches in my free time. He''s emitting a mana signal, although very weak. He''s probably at the level of a one-star mage or maybe even lower," continued Lyn.


    "T-then perhaps he has mana but can''t use magic. Like some of those knights," said the blonde-haired boy trying to find a logical explanation to it all.


    "Perhaps, but something feels off about his mana signature. Like it''s been tampered with," said the red-haired girl before leaving her comrade.


    ''No way, mana cloaking is an advanced technique, there''s no way that this guy was able to master it at this age,'' thought Eristo, however, the fear in his eyes remained.


    "Contestants please take to the field," announced the old man before the quarter-finals began.


    All three pairs walked to their respective blocks, the blonde-haired boy walked behind Luca, still contemplating what his comrade had told him.


    ''Pfft, come on. Even father said I''m a genius for my age, the only person I would ever lose to is Lyn. Yeah, no way this nobody whose last name I''ve never heard of can beat me.'' thought Eristo, steeling his gaze and looking at Luca with determination.


    ''Sigh, I''m starting to believe that perhaps everyone here is weak. I hate to say it but I''m kind of bored. Maybe I should let him cast his spells to see what kinds of magic he''s capable of casting. After all, I wanted to see what kind of magic other people are capable of'' thought Luca as he looked at the blonde-haired boy with a nonchalant expression on his face.


    "In block one, Luca Drequerth vs Eristo Chantelot. In block two Lyn Asterosa vs Drimwel Rerarith, and in block three, Dayante Strelo vs Kim Trelik, let the quarterfinals begin.." announced the old man.

 Chapter 119 - Lokreem Entrance Exam (1)

    "Anyway, let us not waste any more time and announce the group placements for the tournament. Like previous years the field will be divided into six sections," as the old man said this walls made of earth divided the colosseum into six different parts.


    "Twelve fighters will participate at the same time until the quarter-finals where the arena will be divided into three parts ."


    "Although you are already guaranteed a spot within the Academy if you make it past the first half of the group stages, I advise giving your all in order to make it to the finals." continued the old man, his smile getting wider in anticipation.


    "The academy is very competitive as we have a ranking system. By placing first here you will have an early lead."


    "With all that said here are the placements." the old man raised both his palms into the air, and names written in a translucent blue light made of mana appeared in a massive font for all in the colosseum to see.


    ''Group A, it seems the person I''m going to be fighting first is,'' thought Luca as he turned to his side.


    "It seems we are going to be battling each other in the first round of the group stages," said Syndren with a cocky expression on his face.


    ''I can''t believe my luck,'' thought Syndren, he had been hoping to get an easy opponent, and getting paired with Luca was like a dream come true for him.


    "May the best man win," said Syndren shaking Luca''s hand.


    A few minutes were given to the contestants to prepare themselves before all the fighters from group A till F were called to the center of the colosseum and the different pairs were placed into their respective sections.


    "Try not to get hurt," said Syndren with a wide smile on his face as he and Luca faced each other getting ready for the duel.


    "You to," said Luca, afraid that he would hurt his new friend.


    ''Pfft, my casting time is faster than most my age. I''ll end this before you can even get a spell in'' thought Syndren as the old man gave the signal to begin.


    "Oh mighty mother Merrum, giver of-" before Syndren could finish casting his spell Luca appeared behind him and hit him in the neck, effectively knocking him out.


    ''Why would you chant a spell when the distance between us is so short? Did you really think I would wait for you to finish?'' thought Luca as he stared at the passed-out Syndren in confusion.


    Since Luca was what one would call a prodigy, he couldn''t understand Syndren''s poor reasoning.


    ''He must''ve made a mistake,'' thought Luca as the healers carried Syndren off the stage.


    "Amazing, the fight lasted less than five seconds," shouted some of the people in the crowd in amazement.


    "Indeed, what family is he from?" asked another.


    "It says his last name is Draquerth. Perhaps he''s a noble from a foreign kingdom," analyzed one of the spectators.


    Luca walked off the center stage back to the waiting area in wait for his next fight.


    The next fighter finished her fight in less than a minute, however her face showed anything but satisfaction. As she looked at the scoreboard she noticed that someone had finished before and shook her head in disappointment.


    ''It seems I''m fighting someone called Ashante next'' thought Luca as he looked at the new list of names.


    "Fighters please move to the center stage," announced the old man, prompting Luca to move with his next opponent into the third block.


    A girl with red hair was watching him intently from the sidelines as the old man signaled for the fight to begin.


    ''How did he win his last battle so fast? Perhaps his opponent was w-'' before she could even finish thinking Luca ended the battle by punching his opponent in the stomach, winding him and knocking him out.


    ''W-what is this speed? He''s like a mid-level knight,'' thought the girl with red hair in awe before trying to sense the mana signal that Luca emitted.


    ''A one-star mage with small amounts of mana huh. Perhaps that''s why he trained himself in hand-to-hand combat. But still, to think that someone our age would be so fast. I have to find a way to restrict his movements if I ever have to fight him,'' thought the girl with red hair before she was called to the sixth block for her fight.


    "Begin" announced the old man, signifying the start of Lyn''s battle.


    "Of mighty fire, rage, rage, rage burn all those who stand in my way," chanted Lyn at an incredible speed, so fast indeed that her opponent had only said three words in that time.


    A large pillar of fire consumed her opponent, causing first-degree burns all over his body.


    ''Just you wait,'' thought Lyn as she walked off the stage remembering how Luca had finished off his opponent.


    A few hours passed and all of Luca''s battles in the group stage finished in less than a minute, with him never having to chant a single spell.


    All his opponents made the mistake of trying to chant spells in front of him, which to be fair most mages in a fight would do. However, in front of Luca who had trained in hand-to-hand combat extensively casting became a weakness in front of him.


    "Congratulations to all those who managed to get a place within the Academy. This is simply the beginning, strive to become stronger within the academy so that you may place higher later in the year."


    "Now with that out of the way, let''s move on to the quarter-finals," announced the old man excitedly as the six different partitions became three simply by a wave of his hand.


    ''Hmm, my next opponent is that guy huh? He doesn''t seem all that strong,'' thought a blonde-haired competitor as he looked at Luca stretching.


    "Eristo watch out while you''re fighting against that guy. Make sure to create space before trying to chant, or you''ll be out before you can even get a word out," warned the red-haired girl as she approached him.


    "Oh Lyn I didn''t see you there," said Eristo turning to look at his comrade.


    "But what do you mean watch out? Do you really think there''s anyone here who''s worth a warning, apart from you of course," replied Eristo, seemingly appalled by the notion of him having to watch out for someone who looked as weak as Luca.


    "His speed is comparable to a mid-level knight, and what''s more is he hasn''t used a single spell since the start of the tournament," warned Lyn, staring at Luca with a determined gaze as well.


    "Pfft, stop joking around there''s no way th-" Eristo stopped laughing when he realized that his comrade still had a serious expression on her face.


    "C-come on, there''s no way that someone got this far without using magic. Perhaps he doesn''t have mana and that''s why he hasn''t used any spells," stuttered Eristo, now warier of Luca as he stared at him with an astonished gaze.


    "No, I watched several of his matches on my free time. He''s emitting a mana signal, although very weak. He''s probably at the level of a one-star mage or maybe even lower," continued Lyn.


    "T-then perhaps he has mana but can''t use magic. Like some of those knights," said the blonde-haired boy trying to find a logical explanation to it all.


    "Perhaps, but something feels off about his mana signature. Like it''s been tampered with," said the red-haired girl before leaving her comrade.


    ''No way, mana cloaking is an advanced technique, there''s no way that this guy was able to master it at this age,'' thought Eristo, however, the fear in his eyes remained.


    "Contestants please take to the field," announced the old man before the quarter-finals began.


    All three pairs walked to their respective blocks, the blonde-haired boy walked behind Luca, still contemplating what his comrade had told him.


    ''Pfft, come on. Even father said I''m a genius for my age, the only person I would ever lose to is Lyn. Yeah, no way this nobody whose last name I''ve never heard of can beat me.'' thought Eristo, steeling his gaze and looking at Luca with determination.


    ''Sigh, I''m starting to believe that perhaps everyone here is weak. I hate to say it but I''m kind of bored. Maybe I should let him cast his spells to see what kinds of magic he''s capable of casting. After all, I wanted to see what kind of magic other people are capable of'' thought Luca as he looked at the blonde-haired boy with a nonchalant expression on his face.


    "In block one, Luca Drequerth vs Eristo Chantelot. In block two Lyn Asterosa vs Drimwel Rerarith, and in block three, Dayante Strelo vs Kim Trelik, let the quarterfinals begin.." announced the old man.

 Chapter 120 - Lokreem Entrance Exam (1)

    "Anyway, let us not waste any more time and announce the group placements for the tournament. Like previous years the field will be divided into six sections," as the old man said this walls made of earth divided the colosseum into six different parts.


    "Twelve fighters will participate at the same time until the quarter-finals where the arena will be divided into three parts ."


    "Although you are already guaranteed a spot within the Academy if you make it past the first half of the group stages, I advise giving your all in order to make it to the finals." continued the old man, his smile getting wider in anticipation.


    "The academy is very competitive as we have a ranking system. By placing first here you will have an early lead."


    "With all that said here are the placements." the old man raised both his palms into the air, and names written in a translucent blue light made of mana appeared in a massive font for all in the colosseum to see.


    ''Group A, it seems the person I''m going to be fighting first is,'' thought Luca as he turned to his side.


    "It seems we are going to be battling each other in the first round of the group stages," said Syndren with a cocky expression on his face.


    ''I can''t believe my luck,'' thought Syndren, he had been hoping to get an easy opponent, and getting paired with Luca was like a dream come true for him.


    "May the best man win," said Syndren shaking Luca''s hand.


    A few minutes were given to the contestants to prepare themselves before all the fighters from group A till F were called to the center of the colosseum and the different pairs were placed into their respective sections.


    "Try not to get hurt," said Syndren with a wide smile on his face as he and Luca faced each other getting ready for the duel.


    "You to," said Luca, afraid that he would hurt his new friend.


    ''Pfft, my casting time is faster than most my age. I''ll end this before you can even get a spell in'' thought Syndren as the old man gave the signal to begin.


    "Oh mighty mother Merrum, giver of-" before Syndren could finish casting his spell Luca appeared behind him and hit him in the neck, effectively knocking him out.


    ''Why would you chant a spell when the distance between us is so short? Did you really think I would wait for you to finish?'' thought Luca as he stared at the passed-out Syndren in confusion.


    Since Luca was what one would call a prodigy, he couldn''t understand Syndren''s poor reasoning.


    ''He must''ve made a mistake,'' thought Luca as the healers carried Syndren off the stage.


    "Amazing, the fight lasted less than five seconds," shouted some of the people in the crowd in amazement.


    "Indeed, what family is he from?" asked another.


    "It says his last name is Draquerth. Perhaps he''s a noble from a foreign kingdom," analyzed one of the spectators.


    Luca walked off the center stage back to the waiting area in wait for his next fight.


    The next fighter finished her fight in less than a minute, however her face showed anything but satisfaction. As she looked at the scoreboard she noticed that someone had finished before and shook her head in disappointment.


    ''It seems I''m fighting someone called Ashante next'' thought Luca as he looked at the new list of names.


    "Fighters please move to the center stage," announced the old man, prompting Luca to move with his next opponent into the third block.


    A girl with red hair was watching him intently from the sidelines as the old man signaled for the fight to begin.


    ''How did he win his last battle so fast? Perhaps his opponent was w-'' before she could even finish thinking Luca ended the battle by punching his opponent in the stomach, winding him and knocking him out.


    ''W-what is this speed? He''s like a mid-level knight,'' thought the girl with red hair in awe before trying to sense the mana signal that Luca emitted.


    ''A one-star mage with small amounts of mana huh. Perhaps that''s why he trained himself in hand-to-hand combat. But still, to think that someone our age would be so fast. I have to find a way to restrict his movements if I ever have to fight him,'' thought the girl with red hair before she was called to the sixth block for her fight.


    "Begin" announced the old man, signifying the start of Lyn''s battle.


    "Of mighty fire, rage, rage, rage burn all those who stand in my way," chanted Lyn at an incredible speed, so fast indeed that her opponent had only said three words in that time.


    A large pillar of fire consumed her opponent, causing first-degree burns all over his body.


    ''Just you wait,'' thought Lyn as she walked off the stage remembering how Luca had finished off his opponent.


    A few hours passed and all of Luca''s battles in the group stage finished in less than a minute, with him never having to chant a single spell.


    All his opponents made the mistake of trying to chant spells in front of him, which to be fair most mages in a fight would do. However, in front of Luca who had trained in hand-to-hand combat extensively casting became a weakness in front of him.


    "Congratulations to all those who managed to get a place within the Academy. This is simply the beginning, strive to become stronger within the academy so that you may place higher later in the year."


    "Now with that out of the way, let''s move on to the quarter-finals," announced the old man excitedly as the six different partitions became three simply by a wave of his hand.


    ''Hmm, my next opponent is that guy huh? He doesn''t seem all that strong,'' thought a blonde-haired competitor as he looked at Luca stretching.


    "Eristo watch out while you''re fighting against that guy. Make sure to create space before trying to chant, or you''ll be out before you can even get a word out," warned the red-haired girl as she approached him.


    "Oh Lyn I didn''t see you there," said Eristo turning to look at his comrade.


    "But what do you mean watch out? Do you really think there''s anyone here who''s worth a warning, apart from you of course," replied Eristo, seemingly appalled by the notion of him having to watch out for someone who looked as weak as Luca.


    "His speed is comparable to a mid-level knight, and what''s more is he hasn''t used a single spell since the start of the tournament," warned Lyn, staring at Luca with a determined gaze as well.


    "Pfft, stop joking around there''s no way th-" Eristo stopped laughing when he realized that his comrade still had a serious expression on her face.


    "C-come on, there''s no way that someone got this far without using magic. Perhaps he doesn''t have mana and that''s why he hasn''t used any spells," stuttered Eristo, now warier of Luca as he stared at him with an astonished gaze.


    "No, I watched several of his matches on my free time. He''s emitting a mana signal, although very weak. He''s probably at the level of a one-star mage or maybe even lower," continued Lyn.


    "T-then perhaps he has mana but can''t use magic. Like some of those knights," said the blonde-haired boy trying to find a logical explanation to it all.


    "Perhaps, but something feels off about his mana signature. Like it''s been tampered with," said the red-haired girl before leaving her comrade.


    ''No way, mana cloaking is an advanced technique, there''s no way that this guy was able to master it at this age,'' thought Eristo, however, the fear in his eyes remained.


    "Contestants please take to the field," announced the old man before the quarter-finals began.


    All three pairs walked to their respective blocks, the blonde-haired boy walked behind Luca, still contemplating what his comrade had told him.


    ''Pfft, come on. Even father said I''m a genius for my age, the only person I would ever lose to is Lyn. Yeah, no way this nobody whose last name I''ve never heard of can beat me.'' thought Eristo, steeling his gaze and looking at Luca with determination.


    ''Sigh, I''m starting to believe that perhaps everyone here is weak. I hate to say it but I''m kind of bored. Maybe I should let him cast his spells to see what kinds of magic he''s capable of casting. After all, I wanted to see what kind of magic other people are capable of'' thought Luca as he looked at the blonde-haired boy with a nonchalant expression on his face.


    "In block one, Luca Drequerth vs Eristo Chantelot. In block two Lyn Asterosa vs Drimwel Rerarith, and in block three, Dayante Strelo vs Kim Trelik, let the quarterfinals begin.." announced the old man.

 Chapter 121 - Lokreem Entrance Exam (2)

    As soon as the battle commenced Eristo hopped back several steps, putting his back against the earth wall that divided the arena.


    "Pillar!" shouted Eristo, the palm of his hand touching the wall, causing a horizontal pillar of earth to rush out towards Luca.


    ''Interesting, Aunt Luna never mentioned anything about casting spells using a single word before,'' thought Luca as he lunged to the side, dodging the pillar by a thread.


    "Pillar!" shouted Eristo once again, this time his palms were touching the ground.


    ''Ahh, this might actually be fun'' thought Luca as he craned his neck trying to follow the slab of earth that Eristo rode on top of as it ascended ten meters into the air.


    "Oh mighty fire, rage, rage, rage, burn all those who stand in my way," chanted Eristo, shooting out a pillar of fire directed towards Luca.


    "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, raise the ground, create a wall," chanted Luca, his casting so fast that he finished but a split second after Eristo, even though Eristo had started his chanting a second before him.


    Right as the fire pillar was about to scorch him, Luca''s palms slammed into the ground, causing a four-meter tall wall made of earth to erupt from the floor in front of him, blocking the incoming flames.


    The fire and earth collided against each other, hot flames licking the sides of the earthen wall, however at the level that Eristo was at the pillar could only push against the wall for but a few seconds before dying out


    "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, punish my enemies. Motherly scold," chanted Luca, his palms slamming into the ground once again.


    A large amount of mana was expanded the second Luca''s palm touched the ground, causing seismic shockwaves to travel through the earth, shaking the very arena that they stood on.


    "Stabilize" chanted Eristo, sending out shockwaves of his own to prevent his pillar from toppling over.


    "You fought well," said a voice behind him, his vision going dark right as he was about to turn to see who it was.


    ''But still, I expanded quite a large amount of mana to fly up here. Should I have just run up?'' thought Luca as he slid down the vertical pillar, using his hand as an anchor to prevent him from plummeting down.


    ''It seems we have a very interesting group this year,'' thought the old man as he looked at Luca walk off the stage.


    ***


    "What was that?" asked the green-haired Drimwel Rerarith as he felt the aftershocks from Luca''s spell.


    "Do you really have time to be asking questions?" asked Lyn as she slammed her palms into the ground, "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, rise from beneath. Pillar!"


    The second that the word ''Pillar'' was uttered from her mouth, the slab of earth directly below her feet rose eight meters into the sky.


    "Oh light who brings joy into this world, guide us, luminous fera!" chanted Drimwel, causing tendrils of light to snake out of his palms, rushing out towards Lyn.


    "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, raise the ground, create a dome," Lyn''s chanting speed far surpassed Drimwel''s, and although light moved faster than the eye could follow it meant nothing if he didn''t finish the spell in time.


    "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, rise from beneath. Pillar!" chanted Lyn, not a moment''s delay between her casting, before slamming her palms into the inner wall of the earth dome around her.


    A pillar erupted from the front of the dome, rushing out towards Drimwel.


    "Kukk," snorted Drimwel as he lunged to the side to dodge the attack.


    "Oh mighty fire, rage, rage, rage, burn all those who stand in my way," shouted Lyn from an opening she had created in the dome while Drimwel was dodging her attack.


    "Fuc-" before Drimwel could even finish what he wanted to say his body was scorched, becoming covered in second-degree burns.


    "It seems that these two are by far the strongest in this batch," said a silver-haired woman sitting next to the old man, looking at Lyn with an interested gaze.


    "And what of the other two?" asked another woman who sat behind two, this one with jet black hair.


    "Well, it seems they were an equal match," replied the old man, turning to look at the section they were fighting in.


    Both contestants had to be assisted by healers, one was frozen still in ice, the other covered from neck to toe in earth.


    "Ehem. Contestants Dayante and Kim are out of commission, as such we will move on straight to the finals," announced the old man, removing all the walls that partitioned the arena with but a snap of his fingers.


    "Who do you suppose will win?" asked the woman with silver hair once the old man was seated.


    "The girl''s chanting speed is on par with the top performers in the third year. I''d say apart from his hand-to-hand prowess, the boy isn''t much to write home about." said the woman behind them.


    "Indeed. Although he could end fights early due to the short distance between him and his opponents, since the field is much wider now I''d say he''s at a disadvantage." added the woman next to the old man.


    "Is that what you think? Perhaps we should place bets," offered the old man, a smile on his face as he stroked his beard, watching Luca stretch at the side of the arena.


    "Hey you," hollered Lyn, walking towards Luca.


    "Huh?"


    "Don''t try holding back during our duel It would be unsatisfactory if I beat you without you putting up much of a fight."


    ''What is she talking about?'' wondered Luca, staring at Lyn dumbstruck.


    "Your hand-to-hand method won''t work on such a wide field. Just a warning," said Lyn before walking away, her expression steeled by determination.


    "Finalists take to the stage," announced the old man, causing the whole colosseum to go quiet.


    Luca and Lyn took to the center stage, standing three meters apart from each other.


    "We have reached the final round of the entrance exam, Lyn Asterosa vs Luca Draquerth. Begin," announced the old man, starting the final duel.


    ''I''m not going to give you a chance to move. Time to pull out everything I''ve been hiding'' thought Lyn as she began chanting.


    "Oh mighty water giver of life, wave" chanted Lyn, causing a tidal wave of water to come rushing down on Luca.


    ''Interesting'' thought Luca as the wave consumed him, quickly percolating into the ground turning it muddy.


    "Oh mighty earth, protector of life, lighten your hold, sink," chanted Lyn once again, not even a second between her casting.


    "Indeed, it seems we were right," said the woman next to the old man with a smile on her face.


    "Were you now?" asked the old man, watching the fight intently


    Luca was knee-deep in quicksand, and the fact that it was wet made it even harder to move around in.


    ''Why isn''t he doing anything?'' wondered Lyn as she casted her final spell.


    "Rage!" with a single word, a pillar of fire rushed towards Luca, the heat from the spell causing the very air in front of it to sizzle.


    "Wall!" chanted Luca, causing a wall of water to erupt from the mud, blocking the fire spell.


    As the water and fire collided, steam rose into the air, creating a smokescreen.


    "He can single cast as well?'' though Lyn, surprised that Luca had a trick up his sleeve as well.


    ''It''s like I thought. Single-word chanting is like creating a bookmark, by saying a single phrase, you subconsciously complete the whole spell in your mind. I''ve thought about this while trying to get the secret of silent casting, however, it didn''t seem to work,'' thought Luca, as he moved swiftly through the smokescreen.


    If anyone knew that Luca had just discovered his own way to single cast, they would''ve died from shock. The fifth Grandmagus had been responsible for creating single casting, and its method was taught without the person learning it having a deep understanding of what was going on.


    They simply repeated what they were told until they had it engrained in them, almost like muscle memory, however, Luca had just broken down that complex concept and used it in real-time.

 Chapter 122 - My Final Note

    Check out my new novel; Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element


    I''ve put the experience I got from writing this novel, into that one.


    Hey there guys, it''s been a while, huh. I''m certain some of you are even wondering when you added this book to your library since it''s been such a long time.


    I just thought that I finally address the massive hiatus that this novel went on. To be completely honest, I hit a creative stump. At first, I thought it would be resolved with time, so in my free time, I would come back and try to think of ways to improve on this novel.


    However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that the passion I had once I started this was no more there. It wasn''t that I didn''t have creative ideas, it was just the fact that the novel wasn''t speaking to me anymore.


    To be frank, much of it has to do with the beginning. As a complete noob at the beginning of writing this novel, I did a lot of mistakes. There were things I should have done differently, things that shouldn''t have happened.


    But that''s all in the past. As of now, I have three other novels I am happy with. The one I think is most suited for readers like you is Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element. Its a different story granted, but much of the same concepts with a twist.


    The story writing is a thousand times better, and the plot improved.


    At this point, you guys can already guess what I''m going at.


    I have decided to drop this novel indefinitely. I don''t think I''ll ever return, so this is goodbye. Perhaps we can meet each other again in my new novel, who knows. Either way...


    Happy Reading, and I love you guys ^^


    ****


    Check out my new novel; Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element


    I''ve put the experience I got from writing this novel, into that one.


    Hey there guys, it''s been a while, huh. I''m certain some of you are even wondering when you added this book to your library since it''s been such a long time.


    I just thought that I finally address the massive hiatus that this novel went on. To be completely honest, I hit a creative stump. At first, I thought it would be resolved with time, so in my free time, I would come back and try to think of ways to improve on this novel.


    However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that the passion I had once I started this was no more there. It wasn''t that I didn''t have creative ideas, it was just the fact that the novel wasn''t speaking to me anymore.


    To be frank, much of it has to do with the beginning. As a complete noob at the beginning of writing this novel, I did a lot of mistakes. There were things I should have done differently, things that shouldn''t have happened.


    But that''s all in the past. As of now, I have three other novels I am happy with. The one I think is most suited for readers like you is Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element. Its a different story granted, but much of the same concepts with a twist.


    The story writing is a thousand times better, and the plot improved.


    At this point, you guys can already guess what I''m going at.


    I have decided to drop this novel indefinitely. I don''t think I''ll ever return, so this is goodbye. Perhaps we can meet each other again in my new novel, who knows. Either way...


    Happy Reading, and I love you guys ^^


    *****


    Check out my new novel; Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element


    I''ve put the experience I got from writing this novel, into that one.


    Hey there guys, it''s been a while, huh. I''m certain some of you are even wondering when you added this book to your library since it''s been such a long time.


    I just thought that I finally address the massive hiatus that this novel went on. To be completely honest, I hit a creative stump. At first, I thought it would be resolved with time, so in my free time, I would come back and try to think of ways to improve on this novel.


    However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that the passion I had once I started this was no more there. It wasn''t that I didn''t have creative ideas, it was just the fact that the novel wasn''t speaking to me anymore.


    To be frank, much of it has to do with the beginning. As a complete noob at the beginning of writing this novel, I did a lot of mistakes. There were things I should have done differently, things that shouldn''t have happened.


    But that''s all in the past. As of now, I have three other novels I am happy with. The one I think is most suited for readers like you is Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element. Its a different story granted, but much of the same concepts with a twist.


    The story writing is a thousand times better, and the plot improved.


    At this point, you guys can already guess what I''m going at.


    I have decided to drop this novel indefinitely. I don''t think I''ll ever return, so this is goodbye. Perhaps we can meet each other again in my new novel, who knows. Either way...


    Happy Reading, and I love you guys ^^


    ***


    Check out my new novel; Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element


    I''ve put the experience I got from writing this novel, into that one.


    Hey there guys, it''s been a while, huh. I''m certain some of you are even wondering when you added this book to your library since it''s been such a long time.


    I just thought that I finally address the massive hiatus that this novel went on. To be completely honest, I hit a creative stump. At first, I thought it would be resolved with time, so in my free time, I would come back and try to think of ways to improve on this novel.


    However, after a lot of thinking, I realized that the passion I had once I started this was no more there. It wasn''t that I didn''t have creative ideas, it was just the fact that the novel wasn''t speaking to me anymore.


    To be frank, much of it has to do with the beginning. As a complete noob at the beginning of writing this novel, I did a lot of mistakes. There were things I should have done differently, things that shouldn''t have happened.


    But that''s all in the past. As of now, I have three other novels I am happy with. The one I think is most suited for readers like you is Grand Magus: Reincarnated with the Engineer Element. Its a different story granted, but much of the same concepts with a twist.


    The story writing is a thousand times better, and the plot improved.


    At this point, you guys can already guess what I''m going at.


    I have decided to drop this novel indefinitely. I don''t think I''ll ever return, so this is goodbye. Perhaps we can meet each other again in my new novel, who knows. Either way...


    Happy Reading, and I love you guys ^^