уАКExtra And MCуАЛ Chapter 1 - 1 - Hero & Demon King

Chapter 1: - Hero & Demon King

A scene of total carnage and destruction. That would describe the current scenery. Buildings levelled and blown to smithereens. Plumes of smoke and fire visible as far as the eye could see. Dead bodies impaled, dismembered and strewn around all across the battlefield. The sickly smell of blood and decaying flesh permeating the entire area. Yes, this was a battlefield, but this battle was far from over. In the distance, the sounds of spells and weapons shing could be heard. -BOOM! A male figure crashed into an already demolished building, smashing whatever was left of it to bits. The man, who seemed unbothered by the collision, stood up from the rubble, his cold icy blue gaze staring at the being floating in the air. The humanoid figure with a horn on both sides of his head levitating in the air gazed down at the white-haired man below him and in a deep raspy voice, spoke. "Is this all our many years of battle will amount to, Amael?" "Shut it Beelzebub, this battle is far from over. This will only end when either one of us dies". "I''d never expected that I, the ruler of demons would be pushed back by a mere human. What you''ve achieved, it''s beyond tremendous, it''s a phenomenal feat, but yes, you''re right. It''s about time we ended this". Suddenly, an enormous amount ofher energy began to pulse out of the humanoid being. A dark thick hue with shades of red could be seen surrounding Beelzebub as he readied for his final attack. He''d sustained grave injuries in his many years of battling with Amael. A particrly deep diagonal gash was present across his chest which wouldn''t heal no matter how much he tried. ''Tch! This bastard! Heced it with holy magic'' muttered Beelzebub. Amael stared at the demon king as he prepared his spell. He knew what wasing. This was their final exchange. This would determine the fate of their world for the next few millenniums. He closed his eyes, and then he began to channel all of the aether he had left. A white hue with streaks of green could be seen enshrouding him. Slowly opening his eyes, he said: "Let''s get this over with Beelzebub". The two energies could be seen violently colliding with each other, causing pressurized air to push back everything within their vicinity. Both individuals gave each other one final re and then dashed towards each other at a tremendous speed before releasing their most destructive spells. "[Destructive Series: ck Hole]" "[Creative Series: Supernova]" The two miniature spells which shot out from the hands of both the demon king and the hero exploded at a tremendous speed almost invisible to the naked eye and instantly collided with one another. -BOOOOOOOM!!!!! The aftermath of such destructive spells left total decimation its wake, destroying and obliterating everything in its path for miles on end and consequently creating a deep gigantic circr crater on the face of the earth. *** -Kah! Cough! Cough! At the lowest point of the deep dark crater was a violent coughing sound. A rough coughing sound could be heard as it began to reverberate and echo throughout the uneven walls of the crater. Amael coughed and spat out voluminous amounts of blood in pain and difort, an indication that he sustained grave internal injuries. Each fit of cough shook his body to the core but gradually, after what seemed like an eternity, the coughing began to subside and eventually reached a halt, leaving behind only his raspy and ragged breathing. "Are you done with your fit?" asked Beelzebub as he stared at Amael. Amael widened his eyes in terror and raised his gaze forward slowly but what he saw immediately subsided whatever fears he had. There he was, the demon king, ruler of all demons, on the verge of death. Half of his head had been blown off with the innards of his brain drooping out and so was the same for his upper torso and one of his legs, both revealing the innards of his body. ck blood was leaking out of each part like a running tap but he seemed undisturbed by the gory sight. "Heheheheбн иC Hahahaбн иC HAHAHA!" What originally started as a low-pitched wickedugh eventually transformed into high-pitched maniacal and psychoticughterced with malice. Amael just stared at the sight before him, maintaining his cold expression as he watched Beelzebub go into a mad fit ofughter. "YOU WON AMAEL!!! Even if you wereuded as a hero, for a human to singlehandedly defeat me, it''s beyond phenomenal! But that''s it. You''re only human after all. You won''t live forever. You might have a long lifespan of several years and you might''ve secured peace for the next few millenniums, but it''s only temporary. You won''t always be around to protect humanity and when that timees, we willpletely annihte your race and dominate this entire world. REMEMBER THESE WORDS, AMAEL!" With a final chillingugh, the demon king began to fade away, leaving the white-haired man in the darkness to ponder over his final words. Amael, seeing that the demon lord hadpletely disintegrated into nothingness, finally rxed his expression. "It''s finally over. I seeded this time. This should keep them at bay for the next few thousand years" Amael slowly dragged himself while clutching his sword and using it as a makeshift walking stick till he could rest his back on the uneven surfaces of the walls of the crater. He then gazed up at the sky and saw the moon, luminescent and ethereal in all its glory. After what seemed like a few hours, Amael made a decision and finally spoke. "Yes. If this is what I must do, then so be it. I will sacrifice whatever''s left of my lifespan to perform this spell". As soon as he uttered those words, a massive circle withplicated patterns appeared beneath his feet and started to emit a soft glow. After some time, the circr pattern changed into fiveyers and finally, Amael''s body began to fade and disintegrate like dust along with the circles. "I hope I''m making the right decisionбн" whispered Amael as his body faded and disintegrated into nothingness. бн бн бн бн бн бн бн бн бн *** TO BE CONTINUED! THANK YOU FOR PLAYING MY GAME! *** I stared at the credits screen in front of me, contemting and thinking about Amael''s final words. I know it''s just a game but hey, I''m definitely the type of gamer who would reload a save just because I missed a single sentence in a cut scene. I was that meticulous. Then I heard a sigh behind me and looked at Liam as he got off his bed and said "You''re ying that game for the umpteenth time Ken!" "And you Liam, carry that novel around like it''s some sort of holy scripture!" Liam grimaced at my retort. I chuckled at the expression he made. I knew I''d hit the bullseye with that one. Score for me! "I wonder how you never get bored of reying the same game over and over again Ken. You''re beyond obsessed at this point. Not like I''m any better though..." "Yeah. You''ve been reading that novel for years on end. Gotta admire your dedication bro. If only you could put this much dedication towards your school books. You''d mop the floor with everyone in your department" "Sure sure" Liam replied sarcastically before continuing. "Academic prowess aside though, I''m not sure what it is about this novel but it feels iplete. Aiden goes through hell and back and still doesn''t get a satisfying ending. Also, why would a videogame developer continue his story as a novel. It makes absolutely no sense" "It is quite weird. Well, I''m d my favorite videogame has a sequel in the form of that novel, even if it is ipleteбн" "Man I envy that good memory and assimtion of yours! You only read it a few times and you can remember every detail, meanwhile I had to consistently read it for years on end topletely remember everything. Oh well, I''m d my little brother''s a genius" Liam said as he ruffled my hair. "Will you quit that! I''m 16 man. Just one year younger and you keep treating me like a child" I retorted. "That''s how older brothers are supposed to be. We only have ourselves ever since Mum and Dad died" "Yeahбн" After a brief silence, Liam spoke again. "So, what would you like to eat? I''m heading to the convenience store" "I''d like to go too. I need a bit of fresh air" "Really! It''s been a while. Let me get the wheelchair" "Thanks Liam" As Liam fumbled with pulling out the folding wheelchair, I nced around our small apartment. Two beds ced on the floor on either side of the room, a corner containing all our tes, utensils and some foodstuff, my brother''s college books peeking out of his bag hung by the wall, a small table in the middle of the room and my very very oldptop atop it, a relic of the past and also a keepsake from our dad. On it was disyed the credits of the very game I justpleted. Snapping me out of my thoughts was the bright light spilling through the door Liam just opened. Then he pushed the wheelchair towards me with a smile and spoke. "Hop on Ken" I smiled at his actions and just thought to myself. ''I sure am blessed with a reliable older brother, aren''t I?'' Chapter 2 - 2 - Brothers

Chapter 2: - Brothers

(Liam''s POV) As I pushed my brother''s wheelchair through the fairly crowded streets, a fresh morning breeze swept across us, fluttering Ken''s hair and mine while carrying the moist and damp smell of grass from the park just beside us along with the rustling of leaves and the swaying of trees. I took a deep breath and felt the coolness of the air filling my lungs, refreshing and rejuvenating me from the inside out. People could be seen walking around us, each of them with different purposes. While some seemed to be in a hurry to get to their various ces of work, some took their strides in leisure, taking in the sights and sounds around them. The asional honking and horns of the cars on the street could be heard, further adding to the peaceful atmosphere. ''It sure is peacefulбн''. Looking to my right, I spotted some children ying in the park, energy and enthusiasm evident from their smiles. Two adults could be seen watching over them from a short distance. ''Probably their parents'' I thought as I began to ponder over something else. ''It''s being eleven years since then, hasn''t it? The day we lost our parents''. Ken and I had a huge squabble over something, something so ridiculously irrelevant that I can''t even seem to remember what it was. Anyway, our parents tried to mediate between us but we seemed so adamant on continuing to ignore each other. They then decided that we''d go to an amusement park the next day to have fun but it was obvious that they were only trying to let us reconcile with each another. The day eventually came and although Ken and I still did not speak to each other, the atmosphere between us was slowly getting better. Then misfortune and tragedy struck. A car driver who was seemingly drunk swerved off his opposingne and crashed into us, causing both our parents to lose their lives and Ken losing his lower limbs. The rest is pretty much history. I was left to take care of my brother at the young age of seven and Ken lost his smile. Although we had family members from both of our parent''s side, they all never really got along with either of our parents so we were left to take care of ourselves. Luckily though, our parents were very well off and their life insurance, real estate (in the form of our house) and trust funds were enough tofortably support us for the next 10 years. ''However, there are no such things as happy endings, are there?''. A few years into our solitary lives as brothers, our parent''s rtives found a way to sessfully and illegally convert all of the assets our parents left to us, leaving us with next to nothing in our names. I on the other hand, had secretly sold our house when I was thirteen as a sort of fail-safe and backup n to counter an event like that if it ever happened. I was d I did. When I told Ken about it back then, I''d expected him to be furious at me for selling the house, the only link we had to our parents. So I was quite surprised when he just nodded and said that he understood. ''I guess tragedy really does mature you far beyond your years''. -BANG "бн-m, бн-am, бн-iam. LIAM!!!" ''Huh. What''s happening? Why''s Ken screaming? Ken never screams. Why is everyone running away? Also, why am I on the pavement? Wasn''t I holding the wheelchair? My vision''s dimming. Is that blood? My blood? Why am I lying in a pool of blood? I need to get up. The convenience store is just up ahead. I need to cook Ken something to eatбн Ah, I see. I''m dyingбн Ken, I''m sorry I couldn''t keep my promise to youбн'' *** (Ken''s POV) ''Liam seems to be thinking about that day again'' I said as nced backwards and saw a sad smile on my brothers face. I should leave him be at times like this. He''s always been strong, maybe even stronger than I would ever know. Hees out of every hardship he''s faced even stronger. Quite the contrast to me honestly. ''No, no, I''m not saying I''m weak-minded or anything, I just feel like I could be better''. I know we never talk about it but we both feel guilty for the death of our parents. Me especially. It was just a stupid toy and I just had to throw a tantrum because he broke it by ident. Eventually, my tantrum led to a big fight. At some point, I felt like I should have apologized because it blew way out of proportion but my fickle six-year old pride and the belief that my brother was still quite pissed at me brushed the thought away. ''Well there''s no use in pondering over the past now''. As I took in the fresh morning breeze and felt it wash over me, I began to hear a faint sound of cop sirens ring from afar. -Sighбн "The cops are at it again. Why do they have to re their sirens just to avoid some traffic? Traffic isn''t even that bad". I said as I nced at Liam as he stared at some children in the park. ''Guess he''s still thinking about it huh. It''s alright though. We''re almost at the convenience store''. -Swoosh I rxed once again on my wheelchair as I took in the cool breeze and the peaceful atmosphere. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the cars in the distance were rapidly parting aside to make way for something. I immediately frowned. ''That doesn''t seem right. I''m getting a bad feeling about this''. "Liam, let''s go through the alleyway". I beckoned to Liam, but he still seemed to be in a trance even though I spoke to him. "Hey Liam. Liam? Liam to earth? Still no reception huh?". I continued trying to grab the attention of Liam while being totally oblivious to the chaos that was about to happen. A high speed chase was ensuing between a police car and some armed robbers in their get-away vehicle, their sirens ring and its lights shing. The two cars weaved through the traffic, taking dangerously sharp turns in what seemed to be a heart-pumping chase. Suddenly, a robber peeked out of the passenger''s side window with a handgun. The police officers chasing them knew how bad the situation was and without a second thought, the officer in the driver''s seat stepped on the elerator with full force and increased the car''s speed at full throttle causing them to ram into the get-away vehicle, but it was toote. -Pow! A shot was fired as the get-away car spun out of control, leaving behind pandemonium as people began to run helter-skelter while somey t on the ground. All of these happened in what seemed to be seconds and then I heard a whistling sound above my head and as I looked back to see what swooshed past my head, what I saw turned my world upside down in a moment. A bullet had hit Liam squarely in the middle of his head and his limp body copsed to the ground, blood flowing out of the orifice it created. I watched in horror as I muttered. "Liam. Liam. Liam" And then I screamed. "LIAM!!!". "No, you can''t do this to me bro. No! Get up! PLEASE! ANYONE! HELP!!! SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!" I continued screaming as tears began to drop out of my eyes. I ttered and fumbled out of the wheel chair as I began to drag myself towards my brother''s dead body. I knew what I was doing was hopeless. No one survives a gunshot to the head! I knew and yet I still screamed for help. "It should have been me! IT SHOULD BE ME! TAKE MY LIFE INSTEAD!". As I screamed and bellowed, I heard a screeching sound behind me as Iy in the pool of blood from Liam''s cold dead body. -Crash! All I remember after that was me being flung across the pavement onto the wall as the vehicle that skid towards me hit me squarely in the head. As Iy in my own pool of blood and my vision dimmed, I barely made out Liam''s dead body. I tried stretching my arm towards him but it was futile. I tried to guess what had happened to me but my brain seemed to have gone out ofmission. "Someone please. Anyone please. Anyone please save my brotherбн" I said in a faint whisper as I spurted blood out of my mouth. All that responded back to me was the screams and shouts of people running in confusion, panic and fear as they struggled to find a way to safety. ''Maybe it''s better this way. At least we can all be reunited in the afterlife. I''m sorry Mum. I''m sorry Dad. I''m sorry Liam. You all have done so much for me but I wasn''t able to repay you even once, but at least we''ll be together again'' Those were myst thoughts as my consciousness faded away. Chapter 3 - 3 - Heaven

Chapter 3: - Heaven

(Ken''s POV) I slowly and groggily opened my eyes. I felt absolutely disoriented and I blinked my eyes several times to clear out the blurriness I was experiencing in my field of vision. Light rays reflected through the ss of the windows and shone into my eyes causing me to squint my eyes and turn my head away and face the ceiling. ''White curtains with a white ceilingбн Is this a hospital? Did I somehow survive?'' I struggled to get a grip on what was happening but that''s easier said than done. I still felt very confused and disoriented as I struggled to move my arms and raise myself up. After what seemed to be an hour, I finally propped myself up with my hands but the next sight made me rethink that I was at a hospital. ''My legs are intact!'' So this is the afterlife after all. Is this how dead people are weed to heaven? I certainly was a fairly good guy in my life so I''d be shocked if I had woken up to raging mes as far as the eye could see. No one wants to go to hell I tell you. Not even the worst criminals or offenders. As I struggled to get out of bed, I took a look around the room I was in and realized that the room I was in had these white curtains fluttering due to the light breeze, the fairlyrge bed I''m currently trying to get off of, matte white painted floorboards, a wooden dresser with gold engravings, a fairlyrge table with a chair next to it, arge standing mirror in the far corner, in white walls and a sleek white ceiling with an eye catching design along with evenly spaced bulbs. All in all, the room had a fairly luxurious and modern feel to it. ''Guess they give you a bit of luxury in the afterlife tooбн'' I finally got off the bed after fussing for a while and ced my legs on the ground as I tried to stand up. I faltered and fell back a few times on the bed because the sensation of suddenly being able to stand again felt foreign to me. After a few minutes of standing and falling, I was finally able to stand and move around properly on two legs. I even jumped a few times! ''This feels so surreal''. After enjoying my new found freedom of being able to walk again, I walked over to the mirror in the corner of the room and stared at the strange individual looking back at me. An indescribably handsome young teenager stared back at me. He was really striking to look at, with his silver hair which had a very light shade of green to it and his aquamarine green eyes which were reminiscent of fresh spring leaves. His features were chiseled and well-defined, with a strong jawline and high cheekbones. He however looked quite young, around 14 years of age. ''He feels otherworldlyбн I gotta ask though, who is this again? Do we get surgeries in the afterlife now? I want my old in face back! This dude is so handsome it''s annoying. Also, who''s going to guide me to Liam. Do I have to search for him myself?'' As I red at the weird human being who was staring back at me in the mirror, I heard footsteps near the door which was followed by two light taps on the door. -Knock knock. "Young master, are you awake?" An elderly man''s voice could be heard from the other side of the door. I could hear the faint sound of worry in his voice as he asked for me again. "Young master, if you''re awake please respond". ''Should I respond? This all feels strange if I''m being honest''. A dangerous but stupid idea was ying around in my head but I didn''t want to acknowledge it. No, I wouldn''t acknowledge it. However, if I wanted to know what the hell was going on at this point, I''d best respond to the man calling for me. "Yes I am. Pleasee in". The door opened as an elderly man who seemed to be in his early forties walked in with graceful and precise movements. He was wearing a crisp ck suit that fit him perfectly, a white shirt and a ck bow tie. His brown hair was neatlybed and slicked back giving him a polished appearance. He had sharp facial features with along with a pair of light brown eyes which reflected warmth and kindness. ''A butler?'' Then he said after lightly bowing down once. "The duke requests for your presence in his office". ''The Duke? What is this charade? Can someone please guide me to Liam for God''s sake!'' "Okay. Take me to him" I said even though my thoughts were screaming about something else. I figured that I''d better gain as much information as possible instead of trying to understand what was going on. Gotta say though, the afterlife really loves to y around huh. I followed the butler as he led me towards the office. We passed through a long corridor with some paintings which I couldn''t seem to recognize. Well, I was no Leonardo da Vinci so there''s no way I''d even remotely recognize anything. Except Mona Lisa. You''d probably need to be living under a rock to not know the Mona Lisa painting. As we approached the door of the office, the butler halted in his steps for a second and said. "This may be presumptuous of me young master but please, try to take better care of yourself. We were really worried that you wouldn''t make it this time". ''This time? Also what did I even do?'' That dangerous and stupid thought began rearing its ugly head in my mind again but I smacked it down into the deepest parts of my mind. "Yes. I will take better care of myself as you''ve told me" I replied while trying to y along with this game of theirs. The afterlife sure does love to y around, doesn''t it? The butler was a bit surprised at my response but immediately continued walking and approached the door. "Sire, young master Flynn has arrived". "Let him in" came a deep calm voice from the other side of the door. "As you wish sire" the butler said as he opened the door and beckoned for me to get in. As I walked through the door, I spotted a dark-haired teenager ahead of me facing forward so I couldn''t get a good look at his face. "Flynn. You''re here" the Duke said as he stared at me for what seemed to be a good minute or so before he finally spoke again. "I know you''re deeply affected from what has happened but it''s no reason to want tomit suicide over. You may becking in a lot of areas but as a member of this family, it is simply uneptable that you would do that. Taking the easy way out is just not the way we do things". "I apologize for all that I''ve done and I promise not to do so again" I said as soon as hepleted his statement and gave a light bow to prove my sincerity. At this point, even I was getting tired of this charade. I''m pretty sure I barely survived that ident and I''m just in a weird dream-like state or something. I''ll wake up pretty soon anyway. ''But Liam''s deadбн'' My heart immediately sunk at the thought of that. ''Maybe it''s all just a dream and even the deaths and idents were just a very bad nightmare too. Any moment and I should wake up nowбн hopefullyбн'' I raised my head up to see the duke''s surprised face as he stared at me with a strange light in his eyes. The ck haired boy standing ahead of me also flinched a bit after I made my apology. After a while, the duke spoke up again. "That''s good. Now hurry along and go apologize to your mother. She''s been worried sick about you" My eyes widened at the thought, as it took all of my willpower and restraint to not immediately bolt out the door, look for my mother and jump into her embrace. "Okay, I will do as you say" I replied as I turned to take my leave. "Then I will also take my leave" the ck-haired boy ahead of me said but I didn''t bother to look at his face as I had already ced my hand on the door knob and was ready to dash out to find my mother. As I exited the door and walked swiftly, I could hear the footsteps of someone behind me but I didn''t care. "Flynn. Flynn. Flynn". I heard him calling me but I didn''t even care at this point anymore. I''m done with this pointless charade. I need to find Liam and my Mum. Hopefully my Dad too. "This is insane butбн I have to try" mumbled the guy behind me. ''What is he even saying at this point?'' I thought to myself but his next words caused me to instantly freeze on the spot. "Ken. Is that you Ken?" I widened my eyes for the second time today, my thoughts racing as I finally began to ept that dangerous and stupid thought that had been ying around in my mind since I woke up. I slowly turned around to face the ck haired boy behind me. "Liamбн" I said, my voice almost trailing off into a silent whisper as I did so. I then watched as the ridiculously handsome ck-haired teenager who had perfect waves that fell around his face and green eyes which seemed far darker than mine, almost like an emerald have theplex expression on his face transform from hope to utter joy as a massive infectious grin spread over his face as he replied. "Yes Ken. It''s me. It''s Liam." Chapter 4 - 4 - Conversations

Chapter 4: - Conversations

(Liam''s POV) I watched Ken as tears welled up in his eyes after I responded to him. This was a rare sight if I was being honest. Ken never cries. Well he stopped after our parents died and so did I. Even though his appearance was somethingpletely different from what I was used to, I could still feel it. The teenage boy in front of me was of no doubt my brother. Wiping the tears that were dropping from my own face, I said to Ken as he stared at me with aplicated but nevertheless happy expression. "I have a lot of things I want to tell you and I know you have a lot of questions to ask. I do too, but we should really move somewhere else. Somewhere secluded" "Lead the way" Ken replied as he wiped his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. I guided Ken around the luxuriously built mansion and across the sprawling grounds full of lush but poorly maintained greenery all the way to the edge of a smallke which was situated at the rear end of the beautiful garden. The still waters of theke which reflected the surroundingrge trees and vibrant lush greenery all around it gave a serene and calming atmosphere. We stood there for quite a few minutes, taking in the peaceful atmosphere. I could feel Ken taking nces at me at intervals but I was also doing the same so it seemed to me like we were at a loss of words as to where to even begin. I bent down to pick a few stones and threw it across theke while watching it as it glided across the water''s surface, creating a satisfying skip and ripples that radiated from its points of contact. Ken just looked ahead. ''He''s probably pondering as to where he should even beginбн'' After a while, I sat down on the lush grass and Ken did the same too. Finally, I broke our silence and initiated the long conversation we were going to have. "Damn bro. You just had to get ridiculously handsome in the afterlife" "Very funny Liam" "It''s true though. Your face basically screams Lady Killer" "Like you''re any different. Your charm stats are basically of the charts with that face" "True" I said and immediately followed up with another question. "So, you been enjoying those bad boys?" I smiled and said as I nudged my head and pointed to Ken''s lower limbs. "You have no idea the ecstasy I''ve being in ever since I started walking again" Ken said with a rare grin stered all over his face. He was going to make a lot ofdies'' swoon in the future because of that damn face. -Swoosh A gentle breeze blew past us, carrying rustled leaves and the scent of fresh leaves and damp soil. "So Liam, how does it feel being reincarnated as the male lead in your favorite novel?" Ken continued. "Honestly Ken, I''mбн I''m just as confused as you are" "This really is surrealбн" "I''m just d we''re back together again as brothers. Even though I don''t even have an iota of why this happened, I''m d you''re here" "Same here bro. Same here" "Say Ken..." "Yeah?" "Howбн" I made a brief pause before I continued. "How exactly did I die?" Ken gazed at me for a good minute or two before finally speaking. "I''m pretty sure you don''t want to know" " бн " "Fineбн You were shot in the headбн A stray bullet hit you square in the middle of your head. I''m guessing it was from either the cops or whoever it was they were chasing" "What a gory way to die" I said as I contorted my face in a painful grimace at the thought of it. "Yeah. It was a very horrifying sight" Ken said, his face wearing a sad gaze. "I''m sorry Ken. The trauma it must''ve caused for youбн" "It wasn''t your fault Liam. You had no idea about what was going to happen and neither did I. So, it''s alright. We''re alive now, aren''t we? At least I hope we are and this isn''t actually the afterlife" "Yeahбн" "Also, if you''re wondering, I got hit in the head by a car as I cried over your dead body. I''m also thinking it was from the aftermath of that cop chase" "You say that with such a normal face though" "Well I wanted to satisfy your curiosity. You were eventually going to ask anyway, right?" "I was" Once again, a brief silence persisted for a few minutes before I spoke again. "This world is heading for doom you know?" "I know. I also know that I was supposed to be dead by now. Flynn was supposed to die after jumping from that tall building. Although your spell must''ve helped reduce the impact of his fall, he still died regardless" "Do you know how shocked I was to see him walking into the Duke''s office like nothing had happened at all. That was when I began to have thoughts that you might''ve been reincarnated as well" "How long have you been here for though Liam?" "Three days. I was totally freaked out by the entire thing. I stayed in my room for the entire day just trying toe to grips with my reality" "And no one bothered to check up on you for that entire day?" "Of course they did. I just told them that I was feeling a bit under the weather and that I might sleep in for the next few days. Of course they sounded a bit worried but I reassured them that it was nothing they should be too worried about" "Well, considering how you''re the eldest son in this family, they would be. If you include my recent attempted suicide, it''s understandable they''d be worried over the slightest changes in your persona" "I guess you could say so" "Have youбн" Ken''s voice trailed off a bit. "Have I tried using mana?" Ipleted his sentence. "Yeah. That." "Nahбн Not really. I can feel it in my core though. Should probably spread it through my veins, arteries and other channels once I fully grasp it though" "I will eventually do the same. Just as soon as I get used to this body. We need to sort out a bunch of issues before the main story startsбн" "Yeah. Aiden may have died at the end of the novel but I''m not a fan of dying again. Already did once. Didn''t like it one bit" Ken chuckled at my words. It was a rare sight to see him smile like this. After that, we just stared at the clear water from theke and took in the tranquil sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling as the gentle breeze caused the trees to sway in the wind. After a while, Ken spoke up again. "I remember Flynn''s memories. Not all but a lot. I didn''t at first but it''s been gradually piling up so I have an idea of the kind of person I''ve been up until now" "That''s how I felt too" I replied and then continued. "At first it felt weird but now it seems like I''ve always been here from the beginning. I''d also expected a severe headache to almost tear through my brain but I think because it was gradual is why I felt no pain. It''s like I was recovering my memories after losing them" "That''s exactly how I felt. It had been trying toe through since I woke up but maybe because I was unconsciously denying my reality, it took a while for my brain to process it" "That may have been the case. In fact, it seems like your deduction is on point. You''ve always been very smart so I''m pretty sure you''re right" "I hope it isбн" We had both been staying here for a few hours so I''m pretty sure Mum was getting worried. Flynn was supposed to go and calm her worries but this discussion had to happen between us as soon as possible. Flynn probably realizing the same thing, got up from the grass and dusted himself as he turned around to leave. After walking a few meters away from me he said without turning around, his back facing me. "I won''t allow you to handle all of the responsibility on your own this time. You''ve already done enough in our past life so you don''t need to be worried about me in this life. I will be strong. Strong enough to stand by your side. I know you''ve already decided to save this world, but no one is going to save you. I''m going to do the same. I''m going to do my absolute best to save this world and also save you in the process regardless of the methods I have to use. That is my promise to you as your younger brother". Saying all that he wanted to say, Flynn walked away till he was out of my sight. I was genuinely surprised by his words but I had expected it, because I knew the kind of person my brother was. Someone who was and will always be willing to put others first before himself. "Yeah, you''ve always been that kind of person, haven''t you?" I said with a warm smile. I then turned my head away from where he originally was while facing forward to stare at the scenery of the sereneke in my field of vision. Chapter 5 - 5 - Apology

Chapter 5: - Apology

(Flynn''s POV) Making my way back through the garden, I began to ponder over a bunch of things. The videogame, "The Lone Hero" and its sequel in the form of the novel "The Lone Swordsman" was something both I and my brother knew like the back of our hands. The more I think about it though, the more I feel like this wasn''t just a coincidence. I remember searching a bunch of forums for guides when I first started the game but my search results came back as ''These Videogame Cannot Be Found On Our Website'' every time I did. I even asked people if they''d ever seen or yed the game on various social media apps but no one responded. As of then, I''d just thought it was a discarded game from an indie developer who probably took it down as soon as he uploaded it. That was the only logical conclusion I coulde up with even though I still felt my deduction was a bit wed. "Come to think of it, Liamбн" ''Maybe I should stop calling him Liam and start calling him Aiden. It''ll take some getting used to though'' I thought to myself as I kept walking. I was now almost out of the garden and even though it was really beautiful, it looked very poorly maintained. I knew the reason for that. Anyway, I remember Liam, I mean Aiden talking about how he never found another copy for "The Lone Swordsman" even though he visited quite a lot of bookstores. He wanted to get his own copy because he apparently found it on an empty bench after he got off his part-time job and decided to read it to pass time till he could go to the next job but instead, he actually got to his other job quitete that day because he''d apparently been so engrossed in the novel that he lost track of time. In a hurry, he just took the novel along with him but he tried to return it several times by cing it back on said bench but even after a few weeks, no one imed it so he just concluded that the owner probably never wanted it again. That''s how it came to be in his possession. Aiden Belmont, the protagonist of "The Lone Swordsman" is the eldest son of the declining Belmont family and the only person to be able to stand up against the Demon King after he resurrected after several millenniums. ''Several millenniums in the videogame yes but about 8 to 10 years from now ording to the novelбн'' I mused to myself. Flynn Belmont however is the younger brother of Aiden Belmont and the youngest son of the Belmont Family. In contrast to his talented older brother, Flynn was a coward. A guy who only had good looks as his redeeming feature. He was never originally like that though. Even though he had simr mana pools to his older brother, he could never fully utilize it because the concepts surrounding the usage of mana was something he never really understood, hence slowing his progress and fueling his inferiorityplex. Thest straw was when his older brother awakened the very powerful gravity magic their ancestors were known for but he only awakened telekinesis magic. Although telekinesis was a powerful magic, Flynncked the both the mental aptitude and mana capacity to fully utilize it due to his already weak mind. ''Not me thoughбн'' Mana cores were graded from the lowest to the highest as: D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS and EX Ranks. Each rank had a low, mid and high-tier stage. Flynn had a high-tier D-rank mana core while his brother Aiden, had a low-tier B-rank core. Although telekinesis was a rare ability, due to his low mana core and his weak mental capacity Flynn felt like he wouldn''t amount to anything even if he practiced it and proceeded to take his life. It also didn''t help that other young nobles from other families ridiculed him for it even though he was from The Great Belmont Family. Their bloodlines were said to be among the best but in recent years, they''d been declining in both status and power due to their descendants not having simr power levels to their ancestors. This was a dog eat dog world and as a result, the support that was given to their family was withdrawn gradually till they were just a shadow of their former glory. This was evident from the way their mansion which seemed like a luxurious ce looked quite poorly maintained. Normally, noble families had a bunch of businesses that they could fall back on even though they lost their power. That way, they could maintain a bit of their status and gradually look for a way to regain their power but the Belmont Family had nothing of such. ''Darn those muscle-headed ancestors of mine'' I inwardly cursed. I was now past thewn and close to the doors of the mansion. I looked around a bit as I walked forward while slowing my pace to get a good look of my surroundings. There were three cars parked under the canopy in one corner. Thewn however itself was full of overgrown weeds and tall grasses peeking out of the pavements of the path walks. It still felt beautiful by my standards but very unkempt nevertheless. ''Yeah,pared to our previous home, this is miles betterбн'' I eventually reached the doors of the mansion and opened it to make my way to my mother''s room. From Flynn''s memories, I could easily remember the route I needed to take through the mansion to get there. After walking for about a minute, I stood still for a few seconds in front of my mum''s door and took a deep breath to ready myself for whatever harsh reprimanding and scolding I was going to get. ''Flynn you buffoon! Just how weak were you to try to kill yourself'' I inwardly reprimanded myself. -Knock knock knock I tapped on the door three times while awaiting a response from the other side and I didn''t have to wait long because almost immediately, I heard a calm feminine, soothing and elegant voice from the other side telling me toe in. I took one more deep breath before I opened the door and stepped into her room. As soon as I stepped in, I saw my mum, a strikingly beautiful otherworldly woman with silver hair with just like mine but a darker shade of green which cascaded down her back into soft tresses. She seemed to be in her thirties and was sitting by the window side while the white curtains fluttered near her. She also seemed to be painting something on the canvas in front of her. As she raised her head from the painting to look at me, her light amber colored eyes locked onto mine while I stared back at her withplex emotions in my eyes. She might not have been my real mother in myst life but she was my mother here and I felt the love I had for her from my memories. Flynn may have been weak minded but he truly loved his mum. She was now also my mum. After staring for a while, I tried to say something but I couldn''t. I felt choked up so I just resorted to lowering my head and my gaze to the floor. Her eyes seemed to contain a hint of anger but mostly sadness. As I stared at the ground thinking of what to say, I heard the sound of her getting up from the chair she was sitting on as she walked towards me with gentle steps. After standing a few inches directly in front of me, she stood there for a while before she finally decided to speak. I tightly closed my eyes shut as I expected her to seriously scold me. "Flynn, look at me" she said, almost in amanding tone. I slowly raised my head readying myself to meet her gaze head on and take whatever scolding I was going to get but instead, my eyes looked up to see tears streaming from her eyes. The otherworldly beautiful woman was crying. My mum was crying and it was all my fault. "M-Mumбн Please don''t cry. It was all my faul- " I tried to say as I was iling my arms but I was immediately pulled into a warm and tight embrace. "Why did you that Flynn? You could''ve really died!". "бн" -Sniff. "What would I have done. Did you have any idea the pain and sorrow I or even anyone else in this family would''ve been in. Promise me! Promise me that you won''t do anything like this again" she said as she continued to sob and hug me in a very tight but warm embrace. I could feel the motherly love from her hug and warmth as I also clutched her back and buried my head in her shoulders as I began to feel overwhelmed with so many emotions. It may have been just because of Flynn''s memories, no, my memories and also my memories of my previous mother and how much I''d craved a motherly hug for the longest time but I made a promise with all of my heart as I spoke. "I promise Mum. I promise to never do it again". We held on to each other for quite a long time, my mum''s sob echoing through the room as I melted into her warm motherly embrace. Chapter 6 - 6 - Resolve

Chapter 6: - Resolve

(Flynn''s POV) After calming my mother down and ensuring that she was in a much better state, I left the room to her as she resumed her painting. Making my way back through the corridor, I saw Aiden through the window making his way to the training grounds from the garden. ''He''s already decided whichbat art he wants to learn huhбн I doubt he''d change it from what he was originally using. It suits him best after all'' Arts. Due to the presence of the phenomenon called mana which came to this world several millenniums of years ago, a lot of things began to change. People started developing strange abilities and the spectrum through which life was seen turned on its head. People or groups of people could now also store memories in the form of scrolls by conversing with the mana in the air and registering their unique mana wave on the scroll to be used. Once another individual takes up said scroll and reads through it, the memory of whatever was stored in the scroll would be assimted into their heads as if it were memories of their own. That led to the creation of arts. There were three forms of arts in this world. Combat arts, weapon arts and skill arts, of which weapon arts and skill arts were the most used. Combat arts, although very important for close range fighting and self-defense in the absence of weapons was far less used than weapon arts which every tom, dick and harry wanted to perfect. Don''t get me wrong, people still learnedbat arts but only at its base level. Most people just never learned it to perfect it, especially nobles. The reason for this was quite simple. Weapon arts had far greater firepower and actual gains. If a person was to learn a weapon art that was fullypatible with them, they could effectively increase their mana core rank just from the enlightenment they get from gradually mastering their weapon art. Combat arts however was something everyone could learn, regardless of whether you had the talent for it or not. This is also why it''s looked down upon by nobles while it is often practiced by normal people. ''Those nobles just enjoy showing off their wealth, don''t they?'' Skill arts basically functioned as a way to learn mundane things but was still necessary for a lot of people who just wanted normal lives and jobs in this super powered world. Things like marksmanship, cooking, calligraphy, acrobatics and so on. An individual still wouldn''t be able to instantly use the skills as it would still require practice just like the other two arts. Skill arts aside though, the Belmont Family however, have always been built up on power so most of our ancestors were genuine battle freaks. Which is why it was madepulsory for us to master and perfect not just weapon arts but also ourbat arts. Although Aiden had been using one of the twobat arts from our family''s vault which had been honed and passed down through generations of Belmonts, and was also well suited to his fighting style, Flynn however never gave his fighting style much thought and just used what he saw Aiden using. That was a very big mistake as Aiden''sbat art, the Styrke Art capitalizes on raw strength and power with heavy but moderately fast hard hitting punches and kicks. For Flynn, those arts would never work for him because his physique suited someone who could capitalize more on speed. "He shouldn''t have learned the Styrke Art at all. It''s very inefficient for him" I mumbled as I continued walking. Well, I already know what I need to learn. Abat art and a weapon art that would capitalize on Flynn''s biggest strengths along with a few skill arts, but for today, I need to go and sleep off my exhaustion. Aiden may have been here for three days now but this was all new to me. I needed rest, and I needed a lot of it to be in peak condition. *** (Aiden''s POV) -Whoosh! My fist whistled through the air as I threw another punch. I continued doing that as I alternated between punches and kicks, each one releasing a whistling and whooshing sound as I performed the various movements of mybat art. Styrke art was thebat art that Aiden used and it was something which he only perfected towards the ending of the novel. ''I need to get stronger way faster than he ever did. At least I have future knowledge about this world through the novel but I shouldn''tpletely depend on it since both Flynn and I are going topletely twist it on its head'' I inwardly thought. Luckily for me, Aiden''s talent was pretty much unrivalled in this world. However, just like most people in this world, Aiden gotcent. Usually, after 3,000 to 5,000 years, the Demon King would be resurrected and humanity would have to duke it out with him and his minions for their survival again. Although humans won every time, the battle with the demons would still leave behind severe casualties and an irreparable trail of destruction in their wake, so much as making somends inhabitable due the dangerous radioactive particles and dark miasma left by theher energy in the area from years of battle. Such was the gigantic crater present in this world, a phenomenon that was left behind from therge scale battle between Beelzebub and The Hero, Amael, the first human to singlehandedly wipe out half of the demon race, his generals and even the Demon King himself. Amael was so powerful, partly due to his magic, the [Creative Series], which made it so that whatever he imagined could be brought to fruition. This was how he was able to wipe out so many demons including five demon generals and also prevent them from ever resurrecting again. The only exception to this rule was the Demon King himself who had his own counter magic, The [Destructive Series], which was basically the same as Amael''s magic, but instead of being powered by Aether, was powered by Nether energy. Hence he was able to nullify the effects of Amael''s magic. ''Those two are absolutely bustedбн'' It''s been 15,000 years since that battle and yet there were no signs of any recovery from the demons and as a result, humans became very rxed, forgetting about their impending doom. Although some people still kept it in mind, they were very few and in between. Those people believed that the next invasion was going to be thest one, resulting in the total defeat of us humans. They were right. I know I said Aiden was able to stand up to the Demon King, but I never said he won. He may have inflicted heavy injuries on him but it wasn''t enough to defeat someone who gets even more powerful after every resurrection. Aiden lost that battle and Earth in its entirety became the homnd for demons. "I can''t let that happen. I already died once. I already lost my family once. I won''t lose them again". That was my motivation to save this world. As I made that promise to myself, I continued practicing mybat art while thinking of the future. ''The story starts two years from now. That''s a lot of time to give myself and Flynn a good head start''. This world, a world where my brother can walk on his two feet is something I genuinely did not want to lose. My parents, although not my original ones were also here. "I''m going to give it my all to save everyone I possibly can!" I said with resolve and conviction. -Swish! Another kick whistled through the air as I continued practicing mybat artte into the evening of the day. ... ... ... ... (Flynn''s POV) The next morning, in a dining room which was adorned with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ornate ceiling, four people could be seen closely seating together and eating at a long wooden and beautifully designed dining table with a dozen matching chairs. An adult female in her mid thirties and a young male of about fourteen years could be seen sitting on one side while the other side had two males, one adult which seemed to be in histe thirties and one teenager of about fifteen years with simr ck hair and emerald green eyes. They ate in silence for about a few minutes before Flynn broke the silence. -Ahem! After realizing that I''d gathered everyone''s attention, I stood up and I began to speak. "I would like to apologize to all of you for the trouble I''ve caused this past week. No, not just this week but for the past few years. That being said, from now on, I promise to be a son and a brother you can all be proud of" Silence. Pin drop silence. Then I looked around and saw the amazed gazes of my parents. They seemed genuinely surprised by my short speech. Aiden was the only one who seemed unfazed by what I did, although he did have a slight smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he continued eating. ''Was Flynn really that much of a wuss?'' I inwardly thought to myself. ''Okay he was. He really was, but then again, he was never originally like that...'' As I continued to think to myself, I heard the voice of my Dad as he also spoke. "That was unexpected of you Flynn. You caught uspletely off guard" he then paused for a bit before continuing. "It''s good to see that you''re finally ready to face your fears and move forward. Although telekinesis isn''t the magic most descendants of our family are known for, it''s not all that rare that you awakened a different type of magic. Also, telekinesis is just as rare as gravity magic as it is powerful. It all depends on how well you''re able to utilize it". "I understand Father" I said as I responded back to him and proceeded to sit down. "Also, don''t push yourself too hard dear. Remember to take it easy" my mum chimed in with a bit of worry in her voice. I could not promise her that I wouldn''t do that but I responded nevertheless. "Yes Mother. Oh and one more thingбн" I nced up to look at Aiden and continued. "I would like to change mybat art to suit my style and also, Aidenбн". "Yeah" "Please let me spar with you from now on" "Sure" The Duke and Duchess just stared at their sons, absolutely dumbfounded by what had just transpired. Chapter 7 - 7 - Encounter

Chapter 7: - Encounter

(Aiden''s POV) The Duke, Leopold Belmont, questioned his youngest son as to why he''d suddenly decided to change hisbat art all of a sudden, a question to which thetter responded that it really didn''t suit him but was actually holding him back instead. When he asked him to then use their family''s otherbat art, the Barik art, he also rejected it. This confused Leopold greatly as he wondered why a son of their family would reject twobat arts which was specifically created for their family''s descendants but after seeing the clear resolution in his eyes, he eventually let him be and also gave him enough funds to purchase whatever he required. The Duchess, Anna Belmont, on the other hand just watched all of this with curiosity in her eyes while Aiden continued eating his meal like it was something he expected. That fueled Anna''s curiosity even more as she remembered spotting two of theming from the garden at different intervals yesterday. ''Did they finally decide to put aside their differences and behave like brothers again?'' She thought to herself. Her reason for this thought was not unfounded because in the novel, Flynn and Aiden never really got along after they both awakened at the age of 10, mostly because of Flynn''s inferiorityplex to his brother''s overwhelming talent. Although she and Aiden tried to bridge the gap so many times, Flynn was still hesitant to be around his older brother. At that point, both of them just believed that he needed a bit of space and that their somewhat sour rtionship would repair itself over time. That ended up being the wrong approach as Flynn became even more distant as time went on. This was why she seemed genuinely happy at the new way they interacted, coupled with the new founded confidence Flynn was showing, she felt like the happiest woman on the. As a result of that, for the first time in a long time, she hummed a bunch of her favorite songs through the entirety of the morning, something Leopold was pleasantly surprised to hear as he had not heard his wife''s beautiful humming in quite a while. Driving out of the mansion gates, Flynn and I made our way from the quiet estate into the city. I was driving of course. Although Butler Frank offered to drive us instead, I politely refused and told him that I could already drive, something that weirdly surprised him. When he asked where and how I''d learnt how to drive, I then realized that although Liam knew how to drive due to his part time jobs, Aiden had not learnt how to just yet. I eventually ended making up an excuse that I''d been learning how to drive behind their backs when they weren''t home. After ensuring that I actually knew how to drive by asking some questions and even showing a bit of demonstration, I was eventually allowed to drive us out. As we ventured into the city, the realization hit both Flynn and I again that we were actually in a world far different than we were used to, although our memories made it less pronounced because we''d actually seen all of this before. The bustling city streets of New Eden were lined with glittering skyscrapers that towered over sprawling parks and mystical monuments as people walked about in droves, attending to their various ns for the day. As we drove through, we could see hover cars swooshing past, powered by the mana in the air. The city also boasted a multitude of vendors and shops that sold various types of potion, magical equipment and scrolls containing useful arts for whoever was willing and had the funds to purchase it. In the distance was a huge transparent dome covering what seemed to be a fairlyrge floating ind. The dome pulsed with magical energy, preventing unauthorized ess to anyone who wasn''t supposed to be there. That was Arcana Academy, the best academic facility in the nation of Arcadia which was built to train future rankers and also the ce where the second arc of the novel takes ce. I drove to a stop near one of the parking lots and Flynn went into a small store to purchase some scrolls for a few skill arts that he needed and an appraisal ring for me. Since I already told Flynn what I needed, he then went in and got them while I admired the cityndscape. As I did so, I spotted what seemed to be an expensive hover car parking by anding to a halt at the luxurious restaurant just opposite us as young teenager with handsome features alighted from the driver''s side while a very beautiful youngdy alighted from the other end. The young teen had blonde hair with blue eyes and chiseled features that would suit a prince from a fairytale while the youngdy, who had milky white skin and light brown eyes along with deep brown hair which stayed just above her shoulders. Both of them were certainly making heads turn as they alighted from the vehicle. My expression darkened as I recognized both of them. ''Lucas Ellfire and Amelia White'' *** (Flynn''s POV) After purchasing all that I needed and what Aiden asked for, I made my way out of the shop back into the car as I stared at the things that I bought. An acrobatic skill art, a parkour skill art and two appraisal rings. I ended up buying one more appraisal ring for myself after buying Aiden''s. "This should do" I muttered while making my way back to the car. As I reached the car, I spoke to Aiden. "Aiden, let''s get out of her-" I looked up to Aiden and realized that he wasn''t paying attention to me. I then followed his gaze and realized what had caused it. ''Amelia and Lucas huhбн'' I''d always wondered why Flynn''s engagement to the White family was dissolved since it was never really exined in the novel. I actually thought it was due to the decline of the Belmont Family but I guess I was wrong. And then there''s Lucas, the dude who openly attacked and embarrassed Flynn at every turn and every social event for the past few years, thereby making him the butt of all jokes, someone who was constantly picked on, and an outcast at almost all of the events Flynn attended. Safe to say, he was among the major cause of Flynn''s weakened state of mind. ''To think Flynn had a thing for Ameliaбн'' Well I won''t me him... technically myself. Everyone had their preferences. I also doubt that he knew about this rtionship between the two of them though. Well whatever. People can date as they wish. I just wish they''d given a clear reason as to why the engagement was dissolved. "Oh, isn''t that Flynn?" Lucas mockingly called from across the street. I stared at him as he called from across the street while Amelia who stood behind him, had a deep frown on her face and gave me a very annoyed look as he did so. "Aiden, let''s go" Without even giving him a chance to continue whatever bullshit he was trying to pull, I got into the car as Aiden ignited the engine and drove off. I stared at the rear view mirror as Aiden drove off and I chuckled a bit at what I saw. Aiden also had a wide smile on his face. I could see that he thoroughly enjoyed what he just did. Lucas seemed dumbfounded by what we, no what I especially did to him as he had his brows furrowed with a slight frown. Same with Amelia. Usually, I''d have cowered and had my expression change to one of fear and despair but my clear gaze this time around must''vee as a very odd urrence to him. "You enjoyed that, didn''t you?" I said to Aiden as he kept driving. "Me? What? No way!" he replied sarcastically. I just smiled and looked forward as he kept driving. As our journey continued, we began to near the city outskirts, the scenery changing to a more mundane look. In contrast to the city, where the air seemed less clean, the air here was much cleaner and fresher with lesser people present on the streets. High rise buildings were non-existent here and what reced it where small to medium-heighted buildings, especially houses, bookstores, small stores and cafes that sold both coffee and potions. Yes, cafes that sold both coffee and potions were a thing here. There was also more greenery here as a rtivelyrge park could be seen on one side of the street close to the U-turns that cross-sectioned the road into 3 paths. It was evident just how peaceful it was here. After looking around, my eyesnded on a specific signpost ced atop the door of a shop in the distance to which I signaled Aiden to stop by when we got close. A bunch of people stared a bit at the car that was about toe to a halt but we payed no mind to it. After bringing the car to a halt, I alighted from it and looked at the signpost with the name: I & I Apothecary. Aiden also got down from the car as he stared at the signpost too. We knew all too well who was residing here and we knew just how much of an impact they had in theter stages of the story. The I & I stood for Ivar and Ivelia, two young siblings around our age who would create a healing potion with an efficacy of 99% and another one that could increase mana core ranks in theter stages of the story but now, we could meet them way before the story even started. This was also why even though I could buy thebat art I needed in the city itself, Aiden and I opted toe here to verify just how urate the contents of the novel where. Now we just needed to see if we could actually meet them and strike a deal with both of them before the story began. Chapter 8 - 8 - Two Alchemists

Chapter 8: - Two Alchemists

(Flynn''s POV) Stepping into the shop, I was first met with the strong smell of what seemed to be herbs and different types of potions. The store contained small racks which were arranged in an orderly fashion to present the many herbs and potions that was being sold. Each rack wasbelled with a tag above them to indicate the names of the herbs or potions and their effects. ''Endurance potions, healing potions, pain relieving herbs, love potionsбн Wait love potions?'' I thought as I perused through the list of things that were present on the rack. Aiden was also doing the same, although in another corner of the shop. After slowly looking through what was avable, I turned a bit around the corner to see a beautiful orange-haired girl who had her hair tied up in a ponytail with some strands sticking out in front of her face. She was propping her head with one hand as she dozed off. She sat at the counter and was dozing off even though customers were in her shop. She had delicate looking features and a steampunk-like google atop her head. I walked towards her and tapped gently on the counter to wake her up. -Tak tak! Flynn''s tactic seemed to have worked as the youngdy jolted out of her slumber to look at the individual who was interfering with her nap but what she saw made her blink her eyes a few times and even wipe it with her hands to ensure that she was not hallucinating. In front of her was a boy, around the age of fourteen, who seemed to have stepped out of a fairytale picture book. Silver hair with a light shade of green and aquamarine green eyes that seemed to reflect fresh leaves blossoming at the beginning of spring, coupled with a ridiculously handsome face. "Are you awake or perhaps do you believe you''re in dream?" I asked as I watched her stare and blink her orange irises. They seemed to have a certain shade of dark blue that encroached on the edges of her orange irises, giving her eyes a unique but beautiful feel to them. She kept blinking her eyes for a few seconds before she eventually recovered from her trance. "Sorry for that sir. I apologize for the terrible customer service. What can I help you with?" the youngdy replied quickly after realizing what she had done. "Sir? I''m literally your age" I responded to her with squinted eyes. "But you must be a noble right? I haven''t ever seen anyone like you around these parts so I assumed you''re were not from here. Also, your clothes look far too expensive for you to be amoner. That''s why I addressed you formally" she responded back. What she said does make a lot of sense but I absolutely do not feelfortable to have a girl my age addressing me so formally. I may be older than her mentally and other nobles my age may feel like this was normal but it just felt super weird to me so I immediately asked for her to address me as Flynn. "Forget the formalities. I''m just here as a customer. Please call me Flynn". "If that is what you wish for then I shall address you as Flynn" the youngdy responded with a bit of surprise in her voice before she continued. "It''s odd seeing a noble who doesn''t demand respect from amoner. Truly surprising. Also, the name''s Ivelia. Nice to meet you" "Well now it isn''t so odd anymore, is it Ivelia?" I replied. I then took a brief pause before continuing. "Nice shop you''ve got here. How long have you been running it for?" I asked after responding to herment. "Actually it isn''t mine. It''s my dad''s, well, was my dad''s. Also, five years give or take" Ivelia said as she began to reminisce about the past, her expressions varying and changing as they reflected old pleasures and hurts. She then immediately shook her head, her face returning to it''s business-like state. "So sorry about that. I was getting sidetracked. So what do you need Flynn?" Ivelia asked again after rposing herself. "It''s alright. I woul-" As I was about to ask her about the potions, especially that love potion because it was really bugging me how something so dangerous was being sold so easily, I heard Aiden''s voice as he came out from the corner he was in and walked towards us. "Why is thisbelled free but experimental?" Aiden asked as he moved towards us while holding a transparent vial containing a light blue liquid. Ivelia was once again shocked as another stupendously handsome teen just popped out of nowhere. In contrast to the boy presently before her, he had jet ck hair with deep green emerald eyes. "Ivelia? Ivelia to earth?" Flynn snapped Ivelia out of her state as she once again seemed to be stuck in a trance. ''Is this going to happen every time we meet someone new?'' Flynn mused to himself. "Oh that. It''s a healing potion with an efficacy rate of 95%" Ivelia responded after shaking off her trance and replied as if she had said the most casual thing in the world before she continued. "We tried selling it before but everyone thought we were trying to scam their money off their hands so now we''re going to sell it for free then get a feedback from whoever decides to take it off our hands" It should be noted that the highest and purest healing potion quality presently in this world had an efficacy rate of 90% so even though Ivelia was saying all these things casually, it was actually a very big deal, even if what she was saying turned out to be a bluff as the difference between 90% and 91% was as wide as heaven and earth, enough that limbs could be reattached if it was a fresh injury and the severed limb was still intact. It would also greatly increase the speed of healing and recuperation time of the user when used. "Those are some big ims Ivelia" Aiden said as he stared at the young orange-haireddy in front of him. "Believe me if you will. Doubt me if you will. It doesn''t really matter either way. The only way to know is if you test it right?" Ivelia said as she returned Aiden''s gaze. Although both Aiden and I knew that she was telling the truth, we still had to y the part of people in doubt. ''That being said though, isn''t it a bit too early for the efficacy rate to already be this high at this point in the novel'' I inwardly thought to myself. As I pondered over what the cause could be, the door of the shop swung violently wide open as a young male teen with messy orange hair who looked exactly just like Ivelia bolted through the door and began to talk excitedly. "You wouldn''t believe what I found Ivelia! We should be able to further increase the efficacy with this particr nt". -Sigh... "Ivar, how many times have I told you to gently open that door whenever you''reing in. At this rate, we''ll need to ask the carpenter and locksmith to fix the door again next month. That''s definitelying out of your paycheck this time" Ivelia replied with a sigh while lightly scolding the young teen who came into the shop. "Ehhh?! That''s not fair sis" Ivar pouted as he responded back. Their back and forth continued for a while before Ivar finally noticed the two boys standing at the counter staring with amused smiles on their faces as they watched both he and his sister throw banters at each other. Ivar got temporarily stunned at the view of two ridiculously handsome guys smiling and Ivelia had to shout his name to snap him out of it. ''I hope to god that this doesn''t be a recurring theme'' Flynn thought to himself. After snapping him out of the trance that he was in, Ivar carefully scrutinized our faces with a careful expression on his face before asking us what we needed, and just like Ivelia, we, well specifically Aiden this time around, asked him to address us informally. "So, back to your im Ivelia" Aiden said as he continued. "You''re sure that the efficacy rate is indeed higher than the usual ones?" "Positive!" Ivelia responded while Ivar chimed in and also supported her im. "We had it appraised using an appraisal ring so it''s totally urate" Ivar said while puffing his chest out. Appraisal rings were hardly ever wrong but they were also very expensive for normal people to get, so, for them to be this sure, they were probably right. ''I wonder where they got an appraisal ring from thoughбн'' I inwardly thought as I stared at the sight of Ivar puffing his chest out. "So how much are you willing to sell this for?" Aiden asked Ivelia as she gave him a confused look. "I already said that you don''t need to pay for it. No one''s going to buy it anyway so just take it and give us your feedback" "We insist!" Aiden and I both responded in unison. -Sigh... "Fine. Pay me whatever amount you believe it''s worth" Ivelia said after releasing a long sigh. "Low-grade healing potions are about 50AR, mid-grade healing potions are around 250AR while high-grades are 500AR. Then we should pay 1000AR for this. What do think Aiden?" "Sure. I think the pricing''s perfect Flynn" Ivelia and Ivar just opened their mouth agape at the pricing the two brothers seemed to settle on without knowing exactly what to make of it. The currency in this world was measured in Arceum (AR). It was simr to the pricing of Dors ($) in the real world. Before they even had a chance to refuse the money, Flynn ced the amount on the counter and turned around to leave along with Aiden. "We''lle back next week if your potion is as you say it is" I said as we proceeded to leave the shop while waving my hands. After getting back into the vehicle, Aiden started the car and begun the drive back home. As we coasted along the highway back into the bustling city, I could see the sun slowly beginning to descend below the horizon, painting the sky with a breathtaking orange hue. ''I feel like I''m forgetting somethingбн'' "Ah! I haven''t bought mybat art. We gotpletely sidetrackedбн" Chapter 9 - 9 - Mana Veins and Combat Art

Chapter 9: - Mana Veins and Combat Art

(Aiden''s POV) Mana core ranks basically dictated how likely you were to be strong in this world. The higher the mana core you awakened to, the more likely it was for you to get stronger much faster than others. For example, an individual with a mana core awakening of B was most likely to reach S rank within six to seven years, while someone who awakened with a mana core rank of D would struggle to reach S within eleven to twelve years. Some could even rank up faster provided they were given a lot of resources as this was usually the case with noble families. The Belmont Family in the past would have enough resources to ensure their younger ones were given the best possible resources to maximize their talent but that was not the case during Aiden''s time. Their family, although still quite rich by a normal person''s standards, could not afford the amount of money that was needed to consistently buy expensive resources for their children aspared to other noble houses in recent times. This limited Aiden''s growth quite a bit but despite this, Aiden became an S ranker in five and a half years. I told you he was a genius. "That will not be the case for me as I''m nning to shorten that timing by a year" I muttered to myself as I sat down in a cross-legged meditative position while cing my hands on my knees. What I was about to do was something that had already been tried before in the past but was said to be impossible then. Emphasis on the then. People had tried to store mana into the channels of their body, specifically the veins but it never seemed to work, which led to the creation of mana cores. The mana cores that were formed were situated in the space just below the lungs and above the diaphragm. Its shape resembled that of an atom, with rings entwining and encircling a small round orb. The higher the number of rings, the stronger your mana core was. To put it into context, D ranks only had an orb without any rings surrounding it. C rank cores had an orb and a ring circling it while B rank cores had two rings circling it and so on. The power from the mana cores were then spread throughout the body when it was needed, which enabled people to perform various feats, but the kind of magic they awakened to were usually different from others, although people still had simr ones every now and then. With the advent of mana cores whose creation was instantaneous and easy to make, people quickly forgot about creation of mana in the veins as everyone began to believe that mana cores were extremely efficient. Unknown to them, the reason why mana could not be stored in the veins was due to mana not fully adapting to earth and its residents when it first entered the atmosphere. One of the reasons Amael had an almost unlimited pool of magic as Flynn had exined to me back then was as a result of him creating mana veins again even after everyone gave up on it. The process itself was simple enough but it took quite a long time topletely establish it as opposed to the creation of a mana core which was almost instantaneous, taking as much as one to two years to circte it all over your body. "But the gains are absolutely worth it" I said to myself as I began to pull the mana from the surrounding air into my body while making sure to slowly release the mana into my body channels, almost like I was trickling it into my veins and bloodstream. I had a mental image of what I was doing so it made things easier as I continued doing this for over three hours before finally stopping. Concentrating for a long time without being distracted was a very had thing to do but I knew I had to do it if I wanted to have any chance of creating the mana vein. After about three hours of continuously drawing mana from the air and passing it through my body''s circtory system, I slowly got up from the spot I sat in and went to take a shower as I was drenched in sweat from the mana vein training I did before going to bed. ''Flynn and I will start sparring tomorrow. Better get as much rest as possible'' I thought to myself as Iy down on the bed before sumbing to sleep. *** (Flynn''s POV) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +++ Kamui Art +++ Abat art made together by a few talented martialists. It focuses on impacting the most amount of damage in a short period of time by focusing on speed rather than power. When this art has been mastered to a certain degree, the user of thisbat art will be able to inflict several dangerous injuries to their opponents within a ridiculously short span of time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared at thebat art I had bought today while reading its details using the appraisal ring along with the other items. I had already used the other scrolls before I focused on this one. The skill arts I purchased immediately made its way into my brain as soon as I touched it and resided there like it was something I already knew. I had a painful headache as I used two skill arts in quick sessions but after resting for a while, the pain subsided. "It still stings like hell though" I said to myself while frowning. "We also had to make various short stops along the way at many shops in the city for me to get my hands on this" As I stared at the scroll book in front of me while wearing the appraisal ring on my hand, I began to remember where I''d first seen this art. It had just been a sprite art then when I yed the game but now, I was staring at it in my hands. To most people it might seem like an art that wasn''t too special but it was. The rarity of it being hard to find was as a result of the years it had been unused and as a result, no one really sold it. Thisbat art was the one some soldiers used during the great battle millenniums ago when the war between the humans and the demons happened as exined from the game''s lore. It focused on practicality and making quick decisions and reactions to whatever danger you faced while using your own speed to your advantage. It''s one of those arts that got lost to time because there were no big names using it but it was just as powerful all the same, hence the rarity and its difficulty to find. "I''ll use it well" I said while offering my prayers to the dead soldiers whose names I didn''t know. After cing my hand on the center of the scroll, a surge of information instantly began to flood my head again as I grimaced in pain due to the strong migraine it was giving me. I let out a pained moan as my head got continuously swarmed with information about the Kamui art. After the flood of information stopped, Iy down on the ground for about fifteen minutes just trying to get myself together. ''I should''ve knownbat arts would be different from skill arts'' I thought to myself. That was a miscalction on my part to use thebat art not long after using the skill arts. I staggered a bit as I stood up from the ground before I went to gulp down water from a huge bottle I''d originally ced on my desk because I somewhat anticipated that I''d need it after using all those scrolls. Realizing that I''d finally calmed down, I began to sit in a meditative position as I focused on creating my own mana veins. I''d already re-informed Aiden about the process so I''m sure he''d already started using it. ''I need to get stronger way faster than Aiden if I ever want to catch up'' I thought to myself as I continued practicing. Normally I should have stopped at the three-hour mark but I kept pushing myself till I reached the four-hour mark. I waspletely drenched in sweat when I was done and I couldn''t even move, especially considering how I was sprawled on the ground, which indicated that I had really overexerted myself. Whilst lying down unable to move even a limb, I began to wonder why the world never knew of mana vein cirction or why no one else ever tried it after Amael did. ''Did he never tell or inform the world about it? There''s probably a reason for that...'' I mused to myself. Speaking of Amael, I have this unexined feeling that he has something to do with I and Aiden''s reincarnation but it really is just a spection on my part with no evidence or proof. -Sigh "But how? And why?" I asked myself as I slowly got up from where I was lying down. I could now move but I was still extremely tired from all the stress I put myself through so I dragged myself into the bathroom and took a long shower to calm myself. After getting out of the shower, I changed into my night clothes and slumped on the bed. ''This really isfy and so much better'' I thought as I remembered the small mattress I used to sleep on back in our small apartment. It felt more like a mat than a mattress honestly. As I thought about I and Aiden''s previous lives, I slowly drifted into slumber until I was fast asleep. Chapter 10 - 10 - Aiden Vs Flynn

Chapter 10: - Aiden Vs Flynn

In what seemed to be a wide space behind a luxurious but unkempt mansion, two young teenagers could be seen staring at themselves while standing meters away from each other on the green grassy ins. They were both in battle stances as they seemed to be waiting for the other to make the first move. After what seemed to be a few seconds, Flynn ran towards Aiden with an incredible speed while jumping just a few inches in front of him tond a roundhouse kick. "You''re going to need to be faster than that Flynn" Aiden said, his left arm raised to block Flynn''s kick while using his right hand which was free to grab onto Flynn''s leg as he spun around rapidly, using his own momentum to fling Flynn back with a powerful force. "Tch" Flynn muttered to himself. He then watched Aiden dash towards him without skipping a beat as he himselfnded on the ground from the air, skidding a few meters backwards. On reaching Flynn, Aiden threw a right hook, to which Flynn deftly dodged by lightly back-stepping a bit but was unaware that Aiden followed up with an immediate left hook. Realizing that he couldn''t block the second punch, Flynn put up his guard and felt the weight of Aiden''s punchnding squarely at the right side of his arm. -Bam! The impact of the punch sent him staggering sideways to the left, causing him to curse under his breath. "Shit that was painful!" However, Flynn knew that this spar was far from over as he immediately sensed that Aiden wasn''t going to just stop here, and just as he thought, he saw Aiden dashing towards him again at breakneck speed, but this time he was prepared. "That was a lucky hit Aiden" Flynn said as he watched Aiden appear directly in front of him. "You keep telling yourself that" Aiden smiled and said while positioning himself tond another powerful kick to Flynn''s right side again. As Flynn watched the kicking with incredible force, he immediately ducked, which caught Aiden off guard and he took this chance to deliver a sweeping kick, causing Aiden to lose bnce and fall to the ground. Flynn considered this an opportunity because he knew that he was a bit faster than Aiden in speed. He immediately moved towards him while hoping to deliver a punch while he was down but Aiden had immediately thought of a way to counter it as he tumbled backwards and used his hands to push himself off the ground while simultaneouslynding a kick to Flynn''s jaw as he got up. "Didn''t expect that, did you?" Aidenughed and said as he took his battle stance again. Flynn stared back at him while also smiling, excitement in his eyes as he thought of how his brother got the better of him even though he felt he was at an advantage some seconds ago. ''I thought I''d be able to close the gap a bit by using acrobatics inbination with Kamui''sbat art as my element of surprise but that was a bust'' Flynn mused to himself while thinking of what he wanted to do next. "I willnd a punch on you, if at least once" Flynn replied as he also got back into his battle stance. Both of them could''ve decided to use their awakened magic in this battle but considering how they hadn''t used mana at all, it was obvious to the onlookers that they were purely training theirbat art. From a wide windowed panel in the mansion which was facing the open field Aiden and Flynn were sparring on, three people could be seen watching the spar that was happening below with different expressions. Leopold seemed proud that his sons were finally training together, Anna had the look of joy and excitement in her eyes as she had desperately wished for this day toe while Butler Frank just seemed genuinely surprised at this turn of events. He''d noticed recently that the two young masters had been acting quite close but this was something he had never anticipated considering how they usually interacted before. "Frank" Leopold said, snapping Butler Frank out of his thoughts. "Yes sire?" he said as he responded to the Duke''s call. "Originally I was nning to have you teach and train only Aiden when the time came while teaching Flynnter but at this rate, I might have you training both of them at the same time". "If that is what you will sire" "It is. We will still have to wait for about a year or two before we give them their weapon arts though. Their foundations need to be well solidified before we give it to them. That is the way of the Belmont Family" Leopold concluded as he shifted his concentration back to the open field his two sons were sparring on. The Duke was a high-tier S-ranker that was tasked with working for The Tower. Now although this world presentlycked any danger or threat from the demons, there were still fissures from which monsters usually poured out of if they were not regted and frequently cleared by rankers. Along with the threat from monsters were dark, dangerous and mysterious forces gaining influence in the shadows, the most prominent of them being Obelisk. No one knew what exactly their goal was or why they even came to be but they''d always been around as far back as when the The Tower was created. The amount of carnage and destruction they''d caused over the years were innumerable and it seemed like they had no intentions of stopping as their vices seemingly continued to increase over the years. Their forces were just as powerful as those from the tower and as a result, The Tower needed as many powerful rankers as possible. "It seems like they''re about to round up their spar" Anna said excitedly as she watched her two sons from the window. ''I haven''t seen her this excited in quite a long time'' Leopold thought as he watched his wife pressing her hands against the mirror like a little kid, excitement evident in her eyes. -Skiiidddd! Aiden skidded backwards on the wet grass as Flynnnded a solid kick to his abdomen, thereby pushing him backwards. Normally this would''ve been hard to achieve as although Flynn had speed, his power was quitecking but some few seconds ago, Aiden had dashed forward hoping to end their spar with a punch to Flynn''s gut, but thetter had deflected it with a palm strike while using the opportunity tond a kick to his gut instead, effectively using his own momentum and speed against him. Both brothers were panting and they looked quite tired, especially Flynn, but the excitement and adrenaline they were getting was undeniable because even though they were quite tired, excitement was obvious from the smiles on their faces. "You finallynded a solid hit" Aiden said as he watched Flynn panting heavily. "I still haven''tnded a punch on that annoyingly handsome face of yours" Flynn replied. "Are you kidding me? Bro, take a look in the mirror!" Aiden retorted. "Yeah yeah. Anyway, let''s get this over with" Flynn said as he took his battle stance again. "As you wish, Your Majesty" Aiden replied sarcastically while also taking his battle stance. A vein popped up on Flynn''s head but he took a deep breath, immediately realizing that Aiden was trying to rile him up. ''That won''t work on me'' he thought to himself as he watched Aiden smiling at him. -Woosh! A strong breeze blew past the two brothers as they sized each other up, sweats dripping from their faces as they did so. Suddenly, Aiden dashed forward while positioning himself tond an uppercut to which Flynn immediately back flipped to dodge while kicking Aiden in his jaw but Aiden was relentless as he immediately followed up with a jumping roundhouse kick to Flynn''s head, a move Flynn blocked but still sent painful tremors through his arms. Flynn staggered sideways as Aiden moved towards him without giving him a chance to recover and proceeded tond a punch on him again, but Flynn recovered in time to deflect Aiden''s punch while simultaneously holding his arm and elbowing him in his gut. ''He''s rapidly improving'' Aiden thought as he staggered back and smiled at Flynn. ''At first he struggled tond a single hit but now he''s effectively getting a few hits in''. Flynn then ran towards Aiden, ready to perform the Kamui art''s neck scissors takedown as he jumped up and ced his two legs around Aiden''s neck while turning and spinning his body to tumble Aiden to the ground but he then noticed that he couldn''t continue the move as Aiden had used his sheer strength to hold his legs in ce with his hands. Before he could think of a way to escape Aiden''s grasp, thetter raised him up and mmed him to the ground. -Kah! Flynn let out a pained cry as his back hit the ground with immense force. Although the grass on the field had lessoned the impact, it still felt quite painful. He then felt the weight of Aiden on him as he opened his eyes to watch his devil of a brother smiling at him like what he did was absolutely normal. "It''s my win" Aiden said as he pointed his fist a few inches away from Flynn. "Get off of me you devil!" Chapter 11 - 11 - Family

Chapter 11: - Family

(Flynn''s POV) "Were you trying to break my spine you devil! Did you want to paralyze your only brother again" I said with a pained wince while getting up and sitting on the moist damp grass. "First off, that''s impossible. Healing potions remember?" Aiden replied as he sat next to me. "And secondly, mana strengthens our body in this world so injuries like that are not exactly prone to happening, that is unless you get hit by a bloody magic spell, but still, healing potions." Aiden concluded. "Still, you sure didn''t hold back huh" I said as I gazed at the wide field ahead of me. "Considering how you''re nning to catch up to me, I needed to show you just how much of a wall you''re going to need to climb" Aiden replied. "I wasn''t even able tond a single punch" I said while sulking. "Ohe on. Younded a few solid hits. Did you want to punch my face that badly?" Aiden asked while squinting his eyes at me. "As a matter of fact, I very much did" I said while smiling as I shrugged my shoulders. "Unluckily for you, I quite like this face. It is technically mine after all" Aiden replied as he continued. "You on the other hand seem to have a bit of an aversion towards your own face. What''s up with that?" "You very well know that I quite dislike shy things. This face, well my face technically, screams shiness and attracts attention without me even trying" I replied while frowning my face. "Tell that to most of the other nobles and they''ll immediately think of you as a weirdo" Aiden responded. As my brother and I kept discussing and talking about rtively mundane things, the door to the backyard opened. Aiden and I both turned our gazes to the door due to the creaking sound it made, and we were immediately met with Butler Frank''s pristine appearance. He gracefully walked towards us until he was a few meters in front of us before giving a slight bow, to which he then spoke after. "Young masters, would you like your breakfast prepared now or are you still nning to spar for a few more hours?" I was the first to reply as I got up from my spot while moving a few meters away to another spot. "I don''t think I can spar with this monster again today" I said while pointing to Aiden before continuing. "But I do need to train my mana core" "Same here Frank" Aiden replied while shifting into a meditative position. ''Mana vein training is important but mana core training is just as important'' I thought to myself as I also sat down in a meditative position while taking a deep breath. "Very well then. I shall prepare your meals a few hours from now, preferably two hours?" Frank inquired one more time. "Sure" Aiden and I both replied. "Very well. I shall take my leave now" Frank said while leaving both of us to our training. After taking a very deep breath, I began to pull the surrounding mana into my body through the pores on my skin while siphoning them into my core. I then tried to form a ring around my core as I poured all of my concentration into doing that for the next one hour. After about an hour and a few minutes, I opened my eyes feeling refreshed but I was drenched in sweat. A very thin but faint line was forming around my core which indicated that I would be C-rank very soon, although at low-tier. I also looked around and saw that Aiden was gone. ''Guess he must''ve been really hungry huh'' I thought to myself as I got up from the spot I was while moving into the mansion. As I got into the mansion, I immediately made my way into my room to take a cold shower, of which I then got out after a few minutes. I opened my wardrobe and picked a in white shirt with ck pants and ck sneakers. After dressing up, I made my way into the dining room expecting to be the only one there since I came down quitete but both my parents and my brother were all there. They seemed to be discussing something as the table was full ofughter. "Whatever it is you''re allughing about, I hope it has nothing to do with Aiden whooping my ass this morning" I said as I drew out my chair to sit on it. "Oh sweetie, it wasn''t about you. Speaking of you, how are you feeling? Your back especially?" my Mum said as she instantly threw a nce at Aiden. Realizing the opportunity, I had to one-up Aiden, so I immediately feigned some back pain as I said. "Oh it hurts Mum. Aiden was so brutal. Such a barbarian. Can you believe it? He really wanted to crush my spine!" "Did not!" Aiden replied as he tried to defend himself but everyone just burst intoughter. "I''m d to see you two getting along again" Leopold said as he wore a smile on his face. "Yeah. It''s been so long since we''ve seen you so lively Flynn" my mum chimed in. "It feels very nice" she added. I smiled at that and we continued eating in a tranquil but warm silence. After a minute or so, Aiden threw a question at Leopold. "Dad, why aren''t you at work? Doesn''t the The Tower usually have a crap ton of work for rankers to do on a daily basis?" "Dad?" Leopold replied with a bit of surprise in his tone. "Oh. Sorry about that. Traditions and all. If you''d like me to call you Fath-" Aiden was about to correct himself before Leopold intercepted. "No! It''s alrightбн Ahemбн I quite like it" Leopold responded with a small cough and a slight smile tugging on the corner of his lips. Anna who saw this just kept eating but she also had very happy smile on her face. ''My sons are growing up nicely'' she thought as she mused to herself. "So about workбн I do have a backlog of tasks I need to handle but their mostly just documentation. Obelisk has been very quiettely so it''s been quite peaceful". Leopold finally answered Aiden''s question. ''They''re quiet alright, for now at leastбн'' I thought to myself. "That''s understandable then. What about you Mum? Aren''t there new paintings to be auctioned off?" Aiden proceeded to also ask Anna about why she was still at home even at this time. "Oh most of the older paintings have been sold off but the new batch hasn''t been concluded. I''m still adding the finishing touches to it" Anna responded while taking a sip of the wine in her cup. My Mum, Anna Belmont, and also the Duchess of the Belmont family was a low-tier S-ranker who instead of joining the Tower or a guild to fight against monsters in the fissures, decided to make her hobby and passion her job. Her paintings usually sell like hotcakes so her works are always requested for at various museums and auction houses and sites. Come to think of it, even the paintings in every corner of this house seem to have been done by her. I doubt that the Belmont Family whose ancestors were absolute muscle heads would have ever thought of beautifying their homes. As I continued eating while thinking of my mum''s very many qualities, my Dad turned his attention to me. I also realized that he was staring at me so I immediately asked what was wrong. "Dad, is there something on my face?" "No, nothing of such Flynn. It''s justбн haaaбн" My dad said as he trailed off with a small sigh. "What is it Dad?" I asked again with a bit more seriousness in my voice. "The White Family have sent another annulment letter for the engagement between you and Amelia" There was a bit of silence around the table as both parents knew that Flynn had a bit of a thing for Amelia but Flynn''s response was not something both of them had expected. They''d realized that their son was bing more confident and his response shouldn''t be too surprising considering how he''d been behaving these past few days but nevertheless, it was still unexpected. "Let''s give them what they want then" I said after a short pause. "The engagement, let''s have it annulled" I said one more time to ensure that they knew that I meant it. "Are you sure dear?" my mum asked with a bit of concern in her voice. "Positive" I replied affirmatively. "Okay then" my mum said as she continued eating her food. "It''s been in our tradition to have the Belmont Family wed one of their sons or daughters to the White Family and vice versa for a very long time whenever they can but with this, that tradition will be officially over" Leopold said as he continued speaking. "I shall have Frank take you to their residenceter today to do what must be done to have the engagement annulled" "Thanks dad. Besides, traditions are meant to be either broken or forgotten at some point or the other" I said in reply to my dad''s speech. "Yes. That is true. Also, would you like Aiden or anyone else to apany you?" My dad asked, to which I replied. "No. Not at all. Just me is fine" "Very well" Leopold concluded as he called out to Butler Frank to make preparations. Chapter 12 - 12 - Goodbye & Good Riddance

Chapter 12: - Goodbye & Good Riddance

After my dad made the preparations with our butler and also simultaneously had him inform the White Family of my visit, we continued having our breakfast while discussing other things till our parents decided to leave for work. Taking that as my queue, I also decided to head over to the White Family''s residence to get the annulment of my engagement with Amelia over with. Aiden decided that he was going to stick around at home then continue his trainingter in the day. I''m concerned that he''s going to be a training addict at this rate but then again, it''s not like I''m any different. Frankly speaking, we don''t even have a choice considering our imminent doom. Getting out of the mansion, I saw my dad and mum in their cars, a futuristic version of a Porsche with tires that seemed to merge into the sleek body of the vehicle, one with a ck and the other with a red color. They both drove out of the gate as it automatically opened, the sounds of their engine humming in the distance as they left. This world was already very scientifically advanced so vehicles like these aren''t particrly a rare sight. I''ve been wondering since the day we left for the city but I think the reason why we have no hover cars has something to do with my parents being lovers of the normal traditional vehicles. Hover cars might be expensive but it''s still within their budget. If I''m being fair though, I think most people in this world still prefer normal vehicles but with a touch of futurism. Most people who use hover cars just use it as a way to unt status. I slowly walked over to thest car in thepound, a sleek futuristic version of a limousine which looked like a long rectangr box with finely curved edges, it''s tires barely peeking out from underneath the body of its shiny matte ck paintwork. Butler Frank was already in the driver''s seat and I got in and sat down, signaling that I was ready to go. The drive was very calming as we drove through the long windy road from our estate to reach Amelia''s residence. As the drive continued, I began to ponder over Flynn and Amelia''s rtionship. ''They used to be so close when they were younger thoughбн'' I think close is a bit of an understatement, they were almost inseparable, so much that Amelia would cry whenever either of them was about to leave for their homes. Flynn would then have to calm her down while promising that they would see each other the next day. This was what prompted their family members to actually decide on an engagement between both of them, an engagement that was originally supposed to happen between Aiden and her. However, they slowly began to drift apart as they grew up. Flynn tried to maintain contact with her but she never really seemed to want to put in the same effort as he did. Their rtionship finally came to a halt when Flynn awakened to a lower core rank while Amelia awakened to a high-tier C-rank core, as that was what a few nobles their age awakened to, with most of them actually being usually low or mid-tier, so Amelia was hailed as a rare talent. That also became the catalyst to which she began to request for the annulment of their engagement, something Flynn vehemently denied every time the letter was sent. ''I''m not particrly interested in why she started distancing herself from Flynn though'' I inwardly said to myself. We eventually arrived at the White Family''s residence and if I''m being honest, it was miles better than our residence. The entirety of their mansion seemed to be in its best state as it was bustling with maids and various workers seemingly going about their duties. The exterior of the mansion and the surroundings itself were particrly eye-catching. It had beautifully manicured gardens, lush greenwns and ornamental trees as far as the eye could see. About seven cars were parked in the driveway and we were also told to park there when we entered through therge white gates of the residence. As I got down from the limo, a few maidservants who seem to have been informed about my presence today respectfully guided me into the mansion which was just as luxurious as it''s outer appearance, all the way into a small room that was well furnished and had two long couches on opposing sides with a ss table in between. Butler Frank was also apanying me as he stood behind the couch I sat on while the maids served me refreshments. All that was left was for Amelia and one of her family members or awyer to show up to have all these proceedings done with as soon as possible. However, they seemed to take their time as I was forced to wait for quite a while, specifically about an hour before Amelia, her brother and thewyer who was tasked with overlooking the legal aspects of this annulment leisurely stroll in. I was previously told that she had apparently been training when I arrived but I honestly didn''t care as I just sipped my tea while calmly awaiting their presence. Amelia as usual had a look of annoyance on her face while her brother Bryan White, just seemed uninterested by the whole thing. They all sat on the opposite couch as thewyer began to remove all the rted files that were required for me to be signed to have the engagement annulled. ''Finally! I can go home and get back to training'' I inwardly said to myself while cing my cup on the ss table. "I''d have never expected you to actually ept my request after all these years" Amelia said as she broke the silence. I didn''t reply to her as I just began to sign the documents thewyer ced in front of me. There was no point in responding to her honestly. Flynn may have had a thing for her but I clearly didn''t. Well, it was technically still me but whatever. She might be really beautiful but I''ve never been swayed by people''s looks so there''s also that. ''Why are all these documents so many though'' I thought to myself as I signed the fifth document. ''Is it because thesepletely cuts off all manner of rtions to the White Family? Well whatever, I''m almost done anyway'' "Are you really not going to say anything? Or are you just trying to act tough?" Amelia said again with a slight irritation in her voice as she continued. "Considering how much of a wuss you are, I guess this isn''t too surprising". ''She really does love to run her mouth huhбн Anyway, I''m done signing the papers. Phew, d I got that out of the way'' I thought to myself while standing up as I proceeded to take my leave. "Thank you for your time" I said to the trio as I gave a light bow, after which I proceeded to take my leave. I have to at least observe the etiquettes even if none of them did. Amelia just seemed dumbfounded. She thought that thest time they met, he was just trying to get away from both her and Lucas but after seeing the gaze in his eyes as he signed the papers without even so much as a twitch in his indifferent expression, it was obvious that he really didn''t care. This really baffled her as she found it very unbelievable that someone who tried to get across to her so many times and even rejected her annulment letters over the years would just nonchntly behave like he was never even interested in the first ce and ept the annulment without so much as a fuss. This made her follow him immediately he walked outside the door. She needed to know if he was just faking it and trying to act tough. Bryan on the other hand just seemed slightly amused at the turn of events. "You''re really going without making a fuss?" I heard Amelia''s voice as she called to me but I pretended like I didn''t as I continued to make my way out of their mansion. ''What does this youngdy even want? Didn''t I already give her what she wanted. I thought she''d be super ted but why is she bothering me instead?'' I inwardly said to myself as I kept walking. ''Maybe it is a bit odd though that the person who tried so much to get across to you suddenly stopped trying, and even signed an annulment that he''d been rejecting for years, that without kicking up a fuss too'' Butler Frank opened the door for me as I got out of the mansion with Amelia in tow. As I made my way to the parking lot, I heard Amelia call for me again, this time with a lot of frustration in her voice. "Flynn. Flynn. Flynn!!!" At this point, I knew that I at least had to say something, unless she''d keep bugging me for quite a while if I were to ever meet her elsewhere, and that''s going to be a lot of times considering how many social events nobles are required to partake in. Let''s not even talk about the academy. -Sigh I pinched the ridge of my nose as I slightly frowned at the thought of it while letting out an audible sigh. I then turned around to face Amelia while meeting the frustrated gaze in her eyes. I stared at her for a few moments before I finally spoke up. "Miss Amelia White, I believe we have nothing we need to say to each other anymore so I''d really appreciate it if you could let this go. I''ve given you what you''ve always wanted right? So I''d be grateful if you could also leave me in peace. Do have a nice life" As soon as Ipleted my statement, I immediately got into the car without bothering to hear Amelia''s response while signaling Butler Frank that I was ready to go, to which he promptly started the engine and drove out of the mansion. Chapter 13 - 12.5 - Old Hurts

Chapter 13: Chapter 12.5 - Old Hurts

Amelia stood in shock after hearing how Flynn called her. Even after the limo he was brought in had left, she stood there, just processing how he had referred to her. "Missбн He called me Missбн" she muttered to herself. The same Flynn who was always smiling whenever he saw her when they were kids, the same Flynn who was ted at the idea of her being his fiancиж when the news was made known to him, and the same Flynn, who was too much of a coward to look her in the eyes just a few months ago. "My Lady, are you alright?" one of the maidservants asked after noticing that Amelia was standing still on thewn for a while. "Iбн I am. Don''t worry about it. It''s nothing" Amelia responded, her shock gradually washing off as she turned around and began to move into her mansion. On entering the mansion, Bryan who was giving theirwyer that was about to leave his goodbyes, turned around to see his younger sister entering through the doors with aplicated look on her face. He sighed at this and then spoke up. "See, I told you should have talked to him about it" "Shut up Bryan" Amelia retorted as she walked up the staircase leading to the second floor. "Okay. Okay. I''ll keep my mouth shut" Bryan replied, his hands raised up to imply that he wasn''t going to push it. Amelia who had now reached her room, and just before closing her door, told one of the maids to inform everyone not to disturb her for the next one hour, everyone except her father or unless it was urgent. She then moved to her bed and plopped on it, her thoughts going back to how calm Flynn had been today even though she had kept bugging him. His eyes especially, they seemed to have not a single ounce of anger, hate, pain or even affection towards her even as he talked to her. As her thoughts continued to flow in, she began to think back to when she had started distancing herself away from him. Why she had stopped answering his calls or even responding to his invitations for visit. It all began when her mother, the Duchess of the White Family got sick. Arya White was a lovely woman, beautiful, graceful, strong-willed and most of all, she loved her kids, especially Amelia. Even though Amelia was friends with so many children her age, especially Flynn who she seemed to have a strong affection for, nothing could beat the beautiful connection she had with her mum. However, Arya had always been someone with a frail health. A gic disease it was called and unfortunately, it was one of those rare health conditions that even mana potions or even the scientific advancements this world had gone through could still not fix. So when her Mum eventually died, a part of her broke. Her dad, Duke Noah during all the time his wife got sick and her eventual death had ensured to make the news kept as silent as possible. He was a man who loved his wife dearly and he just really wanted to grieve in peace with the rest of his family. Despite his many efforts, the bigger families still found out and even the Belmont family was of no exception. Their funeral ground on the day of her burial had so many nobles mourning over her death and giving out words of constion to both her and her family but to Amelia, it all felt so empty. It felt void. Flynn and his family members had alsoe over to do the same. Amelia had thought, that maybe his constion would''ve felt different, made her feel somethingбн but just like the others, his also felt void. ''You don''t know what it''s like so shut up. All of you shut up! It gets better? My mum died for a reason?! You all haven''t lost your mothers so how would you know?! How would you know?!!!'' Those were the words Amelia wanted to scream out towards everyone that kept trying to console her and even Flynn who she hade to have a strong affection for was no different. In fact, it was him she wanted to scream at like that the most. He was supposed to make her feel better. To make her feel like it really would''ve been alright. That everything would be fine. But just like the others, his was no different. There and then, slowly but surely, the affection Amelia began to have for Flynn gradually began to die down and slowly morph into something more akin to deep revulsion and resentment. As the funeral rites finally came to an end that day and other nobles finally began to head home, Lucas Elfire approached her. Instead of consoling her like the others did, he just looked straight into Amelia''s eyes and said. "I understand. I know how it feels to lose someone tooбн" Amelia who looked back at the blond, blue-eyed boy in front of her felt how true his words were. From his eyes she could see. This boy had also lost his mother at a young age just like her. That was how her and Lucas Elfire started talking and getting to know each other. A few more years passed after that and during that entire time, Ameliapletely shut out Flynn from her life. She had stopped answering his calls, his invites and even avoided him altogether. Her and Lucas were now very close however, finding sce in each other''s grief asides from their respective family members, which was an odd but veryforting feeling. Lucas eventually asked her out after a few more months and she who found Lucas''spany quite nice also decided to go out with him. This decision of theirs also happened just a few weeks after they awakened their respective cores and their awakened magic. Following this, her and Lucas were hailed as rare talents that would go on to be very powerful in the near future. Flynn and Aiden''s core rank had also been found out almost immediately it was done around the same time as hers and Lucas and just like a fa?ade, everyone who had originally been all smiles towards Flynn, began to treat him like he was even unworthy of having his family''s name, much less a noble. She had watched all this y out and for some reason she couldn''t particrly pinpoint, she was happy that Flynn was being put through the wringer. It made her so ted and as if trying to add to his pain, she also began to send annulment letters for her engagement to him. Considering that she was nning to date Lucas, she deemed it wrong to have an engagement to someone else. What she didn''t expect however was how stubbornly Flynn would refuse the annulment. The more annulment letters she sent, the more vehemently Flynn would refuse it. Amelia began to find it annoying how he would not be able to face her or even speak to her if they met outside or at social events but would spare no effort to ensure that the engagement was not annulled. ''He eventually stoppeding to a lot of social eventsбн'' Amelia thought to herself after going through a lot of her old memories. ''I haven''t seen him for the past few months but the one time I see him, he''s almost like apletely different person. Like all the things that happened to him these past three years never even happened'' "How can his eyes reflect such rity?" Amelia asked herself. This was really confusing to her because she really could not understand how he had changed so much in just a few months. She and Lucas had recently seen both he and his brother in the city streets just the day before and even then, his reaction to both her and Lucas going out on a date was something they had never expected but they had just brushed it off without reading too much into it. ''Why am I even thinking about this? It''s not like I even care. I should be happy that the engagement has been annulled right?'' she inwardly said and asked herself. "But why do I feel so annoyedбн" -Knock knock "I thought I told Mary to inform anyone not to disturb me?!" Amelia said with an annoyed tone. "I don''t know what it is you''re doing but whatever it is, haul your ass over to Father''s office. He just arrived and he wants to discuss about your engagement to Lucas now that the Belmont''s have signed off Flynn''s annulment" Bryan replied from the other side of the door. "Fine! Tell him I''ll be there in about ten minutes. I need to take a shower" Amelia replied back. "Sure" Bryan responded. After lying down on the bed for over forty minutes just thinking about the events this morning and even pondering over why her emotions seemed to be in a mess, Amelia finally got off her bed and headed into her bathroom to take a bath. Chapter 14 - 13 - Spells

Chapter 14: Chapter 13 - Spells

(Aiden''s POV) "[me Series: Fireball]" I watched as a tiny sphere of fire manifested and flickered in my hands. "[Aqua Series: Water Bomb]" This time, a tiny ball of water manifested in my hands and exploded as soon as it formed. I kept summoning other spells as such as [Wind Scythe], [Dust Sphere] and [Light Wave] while watching mini versions of them continuously form and destabilize at the palm of my hands. Considering how mana gave abilities to so many people, you''d think people would be able to perform a multitude of spells with ease, but that was far, really far from what you''d expect in this world. At the age of 8 to 10, after mana has umted at a certain level in the body, a child would awaken to a mana core and a specific type of magical ability. These magical abilities granted you the ability to have control over certain things, but as if serving as a limitation which was forcefully imposed by mana itself, you couldn''t just control anything at will and spells were required to activate a specific phenomenon. Spell books are a good way to learn and use spells but the best way to learn and use spells is to actually create them through your imagination, and this required the creator to have enough mana to back up the creation and activation of said spell. Some family members even awakened to simr magical abilities, most probably due to having simr set of specific genes but it wasn''t always the case. Sometimes it usually suited them, even to perfection at times but for some people, it was almost a waste because they wouldn''t be able to manipte it ording to their imagination or will. Usually before that time, a child is unable to perform spells so they had to diligently wait till they were of age. In return for awakening to a specific type of magical ability, other spells became extremely hard to use or maintain. This was why everyone basically focused on their awakened magical ability. It was also the reason all these spells kept destabilizing without evensting a second in the palm of my hands. ''Haaaaбн How nice would it have been if we could use more than one main magical ability'' I thought to myself with a sigh as I leaned back on the chair while staring at the ornamental ceiling. I was presently in our family''s library. I had originallye here to read a few fun novels if I could find some or aic book to at least while away time but instead here I am with a magic spell book. The quiet mansion didn''t help with the atmosphere either, especially considering how there were no maids or workers present in this big mansion. I could go train, but then again, it''s actually detrimental to consistently train without breaks in between. It could sometimes even slow an individual''s progress down if they somehow injured themselves while either training their arts or mana core. While thinking of all these, I swiped my smartwatch off the table as I switched on its holographic function and navigated to a video streaming tform to find something to waste my time on before I went back to training again. After having seen a bunch of videos which elicited various emotions on my face ranging fromughter to annoyance to downright surprise, I put my smartwatch down while eyeing a can of drink that I''d originally brought along to quench my thirst if I felt parched while reading. I took the can and downed its content after which I stared at the empty can which was now in the palm of my hands. ''[Gravity Series: Compression]'' I watched as the can present in my hands began to scrunch up and press down in a distorted way after I coated the can with mana while thinking of the spell in my mind. I smiled at what I did. Why wouldn''t I smile? I was literally using magic! Sure I should''ve been excited before but those weren''t the magic that was suited to me. This was mine! Been able to control gravity is such a busted ability. At least I think it is. By now, the can had almostpletelypressed into a t shape. As I was watching the can with an oddly familiar yet new feeling, I slowly realized that the chair I was sitting on was floating too, albeit slightly off the ground and moving backwards slowly. ''I didn''t use [Zero] though so what the heck is going on?'' As soon as I thought that to myself, I jerked my head backwards to see Flynn using his hand to levitate the chair I was sitting on. As soon as he saw me, a wicked smile crept up on his lips. "Oh Flynne on" "Toote bro" Immediately he let out those words, he raised the chair even higher off the ground before finally removing his hold on the chair. This caused me and the chair to crash down on the ground as the jolt of suddenly hitting the ground from that height with that much force caused my butt to seriously ache me. "Ouch! What gives man?!" I said while throwing a re at Flynn. "That''s what you get for not hearing me call your name after so many times. You were so engrossed inpressing that can that you didn''t even hear mee in" Flynn replied while smiling as he leisurely walked to the opposite chair on the table and took a seat. "A light tap would''ve been nice" I said, wincing a bit and dragging my chair back to its original position. "It WAS a light tap. To your butt that is" Flynn replied while chuckling. "You happy now?" "Very" "What am I going to do with you" I replied while pinching the ridge of my nose after which I followed up with a question "Anyway, you''re home early? The annulment went off without a hitch?" "Yeah. It did" Flynn replied nonchntly as he scanned through the books present on the table. "Hmmбн That''s interestingбн" "What is?" "Well, considering how much of a prideful youngdy Amelia is, I doubt she''d just let you go like that" "She did try to stir some trouble and I didn''t respond to her at first but considering how she kept bugging me even after I signed the papers, I had to at least respond to her once. It''d be a serious pain in the ass if she kept pestering me because of it" "And how exactly did you respond to her? You do know she''s super relentless. She did absolutely everything she could to get Lucas Elfire to date her again even after they broke up you know?" "Very, very formally. Also, that won''t apply to me. I''m not the one she''s in love with. Besides, I gave her what she wanted, right? Pretty sure I''m totally out of the picture now" "Well I hope you''re right" "The annulment of my engagement aside, have you had the healing potion appraised?" "Yeah. Ivelia was right. It came up as 95% efficacy when I used the appraisal ring" "It''s still very weird thoughбн" Flynn said, his voice trailing off as he ced his hand on his chin. He seemed to be thinking about something "You think so too huh" I replied, slightly curious about what he was thinking of. I knew what Flynn was concerned about. Considering howte in the story the potion was introduced, along with the potion that increases mana core rank, the potion was never supposed to even be at that level this early. Although the level at which the potion was now was very beneficial to both us and this world in general, it does raise the question as to why it was never known to the world much earlier. ''I guess we''ll find out at some point or the other. No use dwelling about it.'' I thought to myself while watching Flynn still pondering over it. ''Maybe he''s on to somethingбн'' While thinking about that, my eye caught the can that I was originally testing my magic on but it was almost so t that it seemed to not even resemble anything rtively close to its original structure. I bent down to pick it up while cing it in the palm of my hands again. "[Gravity Series: Zero]" I muttered while coating the can with my magic. Immediately I said it, the can began to float into the air and I watched in amazement. It soon hit the ceiling and just stayed there while slightly gliding around since there was nowhere for it to float past. It was guzzling down my mana though. ''Does it float endlessly as long as I have mana?'' I inwardly said to myself That would be rtively difficult to maintain for extended periods of time though. I might have arge mana pool but it didn''t mean I had an infinite mana pool. This spell would probably also work on a person, but, as I''m still just a B-ranker without the mana pool to maintain floating a whole human body for extended periods of time, especially considering that the mass I could raise would be proportional to the mana it would consistently consume, I should be wary of how I utilize it. ''I need to learn how to use this wisely'' I inwardly said to myself once again. I then heard Flynn let out a sigh as he spoke up. "Haaaaбн Oh wellбн we''ll find out soon enough" he said as he began to watch what I was doing. "Oh, that''s a pretty nifty spell you got there Aiden" Flynn said as he watched the can floating around the ceiling. "I know right? It''s guzzling my mana thoughбн" "Well that''s what you get for getting cheat-like abilities. Thew of equivalent exchange favors no man" "Yeah, tell that to Amael and Beelzebub" I scoffed while responding to Flynn''sment. "Also, telekinesis is just as busted but I''ll still mop the floor easily with you Flynn" I followed up on hisment, this time with a smirk on my face. This time I decided to provoke him. I''m d it worked as Flynn got up while immediately taking up my challenge. "Do you wanna test that theory of yours out?" he replied while equally taunting me. "Sure. I''ll even hold back a bit" I replied while getting up from my chair. Both of us then made our way out to the backyard, excitement present on our faces as we trained and sparred with each other for hours on end. Chapter 15 - 14 - Contract I

Chapter 15: Chapter 14 - Contract I

(Aiden''s POV) -Swoosh! A gust of wind blew past me, ruffling my hair as we drove past a few more small buildings. The car came to a stop as I alighted from the passenger''s side. I waited for Flynn till he got down from the driver''s seat, after which we both proceeded to enter the familiar store. I could hear some muffled voices from the other side of the door, indicating that two people were conversing with each other. Not minding whatever it was they were talking about, I pushed open the door to the store, the voices of the individuals bing more prominent as I stepped in. "бн.-his rate, we''ll be able to do what we nned to. Even your dreams don''t seem so far out of reach sis". "You seem to be having a rather important discussion" Flynn who was behind me said immediately we entered the store. "Flynn! Aiden!" Ivelia eximed as she noticed both I and Flynn enter the store. "Oh it''s you guys" Ivar turned around and said to us while shing a smile at us. He then continued with a question. "Are you here for the usual?" "Of course. Any progress on increasing its efficacy?" I replied. "Nope. We''ve reached what I''d like to call an annoying roadblock. More than that though, I''m surprised you''ve been buying the previous ones every week for the past five months without fail" Ivar responded as he watched Aiden pick up another vial containing the experimental blue liquid on the rack. "It''s business as usual with both you and Aiden" Ivelia interjected. "I think what''s more surprising in this past five months is the fact that no one has bought a single love potion from this rack. I''d expected these things to sell like hotcakes" Flynn spoke up, his expression having a slight frown while examining the pink liquid present in the many vials of the rack. "They''re called love potions, but it''s more like charm potions. They''ll only work if the other party is interested too" Ivelia replied to Flynn''sment before continuing. "Also, it wears off quickly. Two hours'' tops". "You consider two hours short? That''s enough time to cause some major irreversible damages" Flynn replied as he moved away while pointing a finger at the vials of liquid. "Yep, this shit''s dangerous. You can''t change my mind" He said as he moved towards Ivelia. "I actually agree. A person might be interested in someone else romantically but not want to take the rtionship any further" I said, further supporting Flynn''s im. "Love potions aside thoughбн" I said while alternating my gaze between Ivar and Ivelia before continuing. "How long do you think it''ll take you to make a breakthrough past 95%". "Honestly. We''re not too sureбн" Ivelia responded with a slight frown on her face before continuing. "At this point, it''s actually because we don''t have enough resources to effectively make it better. Our resources are very limited" "How about we sponsor you?" I said. "Huh?" Ivar and Ivelia said in unison. "You heard him right. We, would like to sponsor you in your research" Flynn chimed in while moving towards me and cing a hand on my shoulders. They both had a mixture of shock and surprise on their faces as they seemed to process what they both just heard. Ivelia was the first to speak up. "No no no. You''ve already done so much by purchasing those other potions. I''d hate to disappoint you by not meeting your expectations" she responded while iling her hands. "Ivelia''s right. You both have already done so much for us. Even if you decided to stop buying from us after today, we would still wee you with open arms" Ivar followed up on Ivelia''s response. "We won''t be leaving until you give us a positive answer" Flynn immediately replied to the twins with a smile on his face. "Flynn''s right you know. You guys have known us for the past few months now and if at all, I think you both know how relentless we can be" I said. "Besides, I don''t think we would be disappointed yourck of progress. Getting 95% efficacy is already an amazing achievement" I immediately followed up. "You guysбн You''ve given me more headaches than I can count in thest few months than I have ever had in my entire life." Ivelia said while rubbing her temples with a tired expression on her face. She then continued after a short pause. "Sighбн I''ll dly take you up on your offer. I''ll also do my absolute best not to disappoint you" "We''re looking forward to it partner. Also, don''t push yourself too hard Ivelia. That goes the same for you too Ivar" Flynn replied. "Aye aye sir!" Ivar responded with a smile as he made a salute. "Yeah. Thest thing we want is the world losing two bright geniuses due to over working. Take as much time as you need and the results will speak for themselves" I said while giving them a small advice. "You know, I at times forget that you''re actually older than me. I wonder if this is what it feels like to have an older brother" Ivelia said, a slight smile present on her lips as she did. "I understand how you feel Ivelia. I really do. Although this guy''s more of a devil in a human''s skin" Flynn replied while nodding. A vein popped up on my head. "Oh is that so!" I said while giving Flynn a re, my eyes twitching as I did so. I immediately grabbed his head and began to ruffle his hair while arm-locking his neck. "Let me go man!" Flynn said while struggling to wrestle out of my arm-lock. "Not until you take your words back". "I give up! I apologize. You''re not a devil. In fact, you''re an angel! A very handsome angel! Please let me go now". "Eh. Fair enough" I said while releasing my grip on his head and neck. ''Definitely a devil'' Flynn muttered under his breath while rubbing his neck. "Wanna go for round two?" I asked with a smile on my face. "No thank you. I''d pass out before I get the chance to beg for mercy this time". Ivelia and Ivar just watched the brothers as they bickered with a familiar but amused smile on their faces. They were both used to both of them and their back and forth bickering over the course of the past few months but their interaction today was very entertaining. If anything at all Aiden and Flynn were more like friends to them now than customers. Somehow they both assumed most siblings in a noble family would be having squabbles every now and then due to inheritances and what not but after getting to know Flynn and Aiden, they felt like they were thoroughly proven wrong. Little did they know, Aiden and Flynn''s rapport was one of the few rare cases and their initial thoughts weren''t too far off the mark. "Well then guys, we''ll be bringing the contract and some other documents for you to sign when next wee" I said as I turned to take my leave. "See you soon. And also Ivelia, you should really put that rack out ofmission" Flynn also said his goodbyes while pointing to the love potion rack. "Yeah yeahбн See you guys soon too" Ivelia responded while giving a slight wave. "We''ll be expecting you soon" Ivar chimed while also waving his hands. As soon as the two brothers left the store, Ivelia and Ivar just looked at each other for a moment before chuckling. "Never a dull moment with those twoбн" she said to which Ivar responded. "Yeah, I''m always looking forward to their visits" Ivar said before continuing after a short pause. "With their support, we''ll finally be able to create a better potion and maybe even pay for Briar''s medical expenses" "Yeah. That would be very nice" Ivelia responded with a slight smile on her face. "I just hope that bastard doesn''te over again till we are able to gather enough funds" Ivar said, his face suddenly contorting into that of anger and annoyance. "I hope so too. I really do". Ivelia responded with a solemn look on her face. The twins had been doing quite well for the past five months, most especially due to Flynn and Aiden''s support. Being able to have not just financial support but actual friends their age to talk to had been tremendously helpful to them, although both brothers werepletely unaware of that fact. Although the brothers also considered Ivelia and Ivar as friends more than just shop owners or traders or alchemists who made a potion and were still going to make an even more revolutionary one, they had no idea just how immensely helpful they''d been to both of them both mentally and financially. Ivelia and Ivar hoped that their days would continue on like this for a long time but at the same time, they knew that all good things eventually came to an end and that their rtionship with the two brothers was something that would be temporary. Something that would onlyst for a rtively sweet but short while. Chapter 16 - 15 - Contract II

Chapter 16: Chapter 15 - Contract II

(Flynn''s POV) "So uh, should I drive us back home?" Aiden asked as we got out of the store while heading towards where we parked the car. "Nah. It''s fine. Since you taught me how to drive over these past few months, I think it''s only natural that I drive instead. Besides, I drove us here didn''t I?" I replied. "Fine by me. Really feels nice to have someone else drive me around. Almost like I have my own personal chauffeur" Aiden replied as he got into the passenger''s seat. I just rolled my eyes at hisment as I got into the driver''s seat, ignited the car''s engine and began to drive us back home. ''It really has been five months since we got transmigrated hereбн'' I thought to myself. I say transmigrated but honestly, it feels as if I''ve always been here. Not a product of my soul switching with Flynn''s after that ident. It''s more like Aiden and I had past lives than we suddenly switched souls one day. I''ve been thinking about it for quite a while now and all my theories point to the fact that we are both one and the same with our counterparts. Ken and Flynn are one and the same, just like Liam and Aiden are one and the same. I asked Aiden if he felt the same way and he responded positively. It feels like our memories of our past lives were blocked for some reason until that stunt I tried to pull. Thanks to Aiden frantically searching for me that day because I suddenly left the house, he was able to minimize the impact of my fall using gravity magic. ''It does beg the question thoughбн'' I inwardly asked as I zoomed past another vehicle on the highway as we made our way into the city. How do we know the past and most especially, the future through the videogame and the novel we both yed and read? That question''s been bugging me over these past few months. I keep thinking that Amael has something to do with it but it''s really just spection on my part. "Haaaбн maybe I''ll figure out the answer somedayбн" I muttered to myself as I nced sideways to look at Aiden. Over these past five months, I''ve levelled up to be a low-tier C ranker. That happenedst month and if I''m being honest, it''s absurdly fast. ''There''s only one exnation for it thoughбн'' Flynn, or in this case, my previous self was just as talented as Aiden when it came to mana maniption but I never really got to tap into it due to my weak mindset. Now that I''m far more confident and I can actually realize what''s best for me, I''m effectively able to train my core. Also, although our mana veins aren''t anywhere near being fully formed, it''s definitely helping in our ranking up speed. ''At this rate, I should be a high-tier C-ranker when the main story starts. That''s perfectly fine by me'' Aiden apparently broke into mid-tier B-rank some few days ago and that''s really something because the higher you rank up, the harder it bes for you to actually advance forward. The fact that we also consistently train on an average basis, far more than usual also helps quite a lot. Our parents were really shocked when we told them about our progress too. They had to buy an appraisal mana core rank orb even though it was quite expensive for them to ensure that we really weren''t deluding ourselves. They seemed very surprised but also very happy when it turned out to be true. Our Dad especially. We were now at the gates to our mansion as it opened automatically and I drove in and parked the futuristic Porsche. I heard a buzzing sound as I got down from the vehicle and I turned to look around to find Tim, the gardener that we hire every once in a while trimming the grass with hiswn mower as he waved over at us to which we responded in kind. We made our way into the mansion and as we did, Aiden began to speak. "I think it''s about time we tell both Dad and Mum about the healing potion". "I also think so too. I know he hasn''t been asking where we''ve been going every Sunday because he trusts us but we really should inform him". "Yeah. Let''s head on over right now" Aiden said as he opened the doors to our house. Following Aiden''s suggestion, we both navigated our way through the mansion until we were right in front of our Dad''s office. I knocked on the door thrice while asking if he was avable to speak to us. -Knock knock knock "Hey Dad? Are you by any chance free?" I said, stopping my knocks before continuing "Aiden and I would like to discuss something with you" "Give me a minute" Leopold said as he responded from the other side of the door. He seemed to be in a call with someone as we could hear him continuing a conversation with someone. After he seemed to have been done with his call, he asked for both of us toe in. As we stepped into his office, we could see that his table had numerous amounts of documents that seemed to have piled up in numbers, almost obstructing his view and ours from having a clear look at his face. "Look Aiden. That''s gonna be your job in the future" I whispered to Aiden, my lips curling into a wicked smile as I slightly elbowed him. "You. You really don''t want the best things for me huh" Aiden groaned as he responded back. "Perks of being the eldest son" I replied. "What do you both need?" Our dad spoke up from behind his pile of documents, interrupting our hushed conversation without even raising his head up as he kept signing some documents. ''He seems really busy. I''m surprised he even responded to us'' Aiden was the one to respond this time as he began to talk. "Dad, I know you''re really really busy but I need you to look at this" Aiden said as he manifested the blue vial from his spatial ring. The Duke sighed as he stopped what he was doing for the meantime, raising his head to look at both me and Aiden before his gaze travelled over to the blue vial in Aiden''s hand. ''He looks absolutely tired'' I inwardly thought. "A healing potion? What about it?" Leopold asked as he squinted at both Aiden and I. "Oh you''d be surprised" Aiden said as he moved over to him while cing the vial on his desk. "Why don''t you go ahead and appraise it Dad?" I said as Aiden stepped back after cing the vial on the desk. "I really wonder what you two boys are up to butбн well whatever" Leopold said. He then began to open his drawers to search for an appraisal ring. After finding one, he slipped it onto his fingers while picking up the vial containing the blue liquid. At first he seemed particrly uninterested but suddenly his face changed into one of shock and astonishment. He then proceeded to stare at us, his gaze alternating rapidly between me, Aiden and the potion in his hands. "H-H-How is this even possible?" he asked, still looking at us. We just smiled back at him as he looked at us incredulously. After he seemed to have rposed himself, he then spoke up with a little moreposure and seriousness in his voice. "Aiden, Flynn, where exactly did you get this?" "You know how we''ve been going out every Sundayбн" Aiden began. "And we''d tell both you and Mum that we were just going to restaurants and arcades" I followed up. "Well that is not the whole truth..." Aiden continued. "We''ve actually also been going to a potion store where we met two young kids our age. Ivelia and Ivar to be precise" I said. "They were the ones who created this potion" Aiden concluded. The Duke just looked at us like we were saying something that wasn''t even feasible before he spoke up. "So you''re saying that two teenagers your age created this? Isn''t that a bit absurd? Are you sure it isn''t stolen?" "Stolen? Wait a minuteбн Has a healing potion with simr efficacy been created?" I asked, my eyebrows scrunching into a furrow. "Yes. The Tower created it a while back with some of their scientists. It''s almost impossible to find though and only select people are able to buy it" Leopold replied. ''This is new information. Something like this was never talked about in the novel'' I inwardly thought. Aiden also seemed to be having simr thoughts as we both nced at each other. Regardless of that though, it wouldn''t hinder our ns. The Tower creating it around this time meant that they had created it and were monopolizing the product in secret to gain and amass wealth. Ivelia and Ivar also creating it around the same time was just a coincidence. ''Those bastardsбн'' I inwardly thought. If they had made it avable to the public before the demons showed up, maybe humanity might''ve had a better fighting chance and they wouldn''t have lost. They might''ve died in droves but at least a lot of humans might''ve survived and maybe, just maybe they would''ve won. "Well Dad, this isn''t stolen." I said. "Flynn''s right. It was created by two young geniuses who we''ve decided to sponsor." "And to really prove that it isn''t stolenбн" I nced at Aiden, to which we both nodded our heads. "Here''s some more of it" I continued as Aiden and I both dropped neen more vials on his table. The Duke just looked on in amazement, fullying to believe that his sons did indeed meet kids their age who were able to create something this amazing. Chapter 17 - 16 - Our Sons

Chapter 17: Chapter 16 - Our Sons

Anna Belmont was creating another art piece while smiling and humming. Although her concentration seemed to be focused solely on the painting, her mind was somewhere else entirely. She was thinking about her two sons who seemed to be getting closer day by day. She had been so worried for such a long time that the current situation regarding both Flynn and Aiden still seemed and felt very much like a dream. ''It''s like they were when they were kids'' she thought to herself. Flynn and Aiden had been so close while growing up. Aiden had always been the model big brother, pushing his younger brother to be even better in both intellect and character. Flynn as a result was a very confident boy and smart kid who knew when to and when not to involve himself in any manner of issues that could tarnish their family''s image. The two of them were so bright, so much that they always overshadowed most kids their age especially at social events. Anna became the envy of all mothers as they wondered how she raised her children to be so well mannered and humble. That was why when the time came for both of them to awaken, everyone was looking forward to seeing if the Belmont''s were finally going to rise back to power. This of course was a turning point in both Aiden and Flynn''s life, with Aiden being so talented but Flynn being among the lower ranks. The reality that most people only stayed around for their own benefits or envy was too much for Flynn to handle as almost everyone his age that he knew immediately began to distance themselves away from him and stared at him with contempt and disappointment. A frown reced the smile on Anna''s face as she stopped humming but still continued painting. Even though she had assured Flynn back then that it was not something he should take to heart as so many more things make up the type of person you chose to be and that talent was not the be all see all, it all ended in futility. Initially, Flynn tried to stay confident even after his brother was now the only one people flocked too. He wasn''t particrly affected by that as he very much believed that his family still had his back, which they very much did, but as time went on, people began to pick on him, mock him, openly embarrass him and humiliate him. His ridiculously good looks did not help his situation either as most of the boys who originally envied him began to bully him. Although Aiden stepped up almost every time to defend his brother, there were times he just couldn''t. Some more prestigious family would probably retaliate if he did anything remotely harsh and he had to maintain and not ruin the image of their already declining family even more. He slowly also began to stay away from the crowds and the spotlight and just put is all into getting stronger, believing that when he got strong enough and made a name for himself and his family, people wouldn''t dare mock or ridicule them. Flynn on the other hand continuously lost confidence and became a shell of his old self. He got tired of the constant bullying, whispering behind his back, embarrassment and most of all, his own weakness which required him to need saving all the time. He began to feel like he was a burden to his family. As a result, hepletely stayed away from all and every social event that he possibly could except for thepulsory ones. These social events were madepulsory so as to foster connections between both the adults and youths alike of many families as many small and mid-sized families hoped to be able to gain connections to those in the bigger families, especially the three big families. Aiden and Flynnpletely missed out on almost every opportunity to make friends and even if they did attend, almost everyone stayed away from them, mostly Aiden because asides from now having a very cold demeanor, the two brothers were practically strangers to most noble kids their age. ''You''d think they would stop bullying my son after he tried so hard to stay away from them but those damn spoiled brats are just absolutely relentless'' Anna inwardly said to herself, her frown deepening as she did so. As she continued her thoughts, she heard a shout which startled her out of her thoughts. "Goddamn it Aiden! I almost freaking hit you in the face! I just needed tond that darn punch! Haaaaaaa!" "Bwaaahaahaaaa! You wish Flynn. You wish! You my dear brother will absolutely not touch this devilishly handsome face of mine!" Anna burst intoughter as she heard her two sons bickering over their recent spar. She wiped the tears from her eyes as her smile returned and she began to hum again. She might have botched the art piece that she was painting due to a wrong stroke of her brush when she got startled by her two sons but it was absolutely worth it in her opinion. They both had started adding the use of magic to their spars more frequently recently and if there''s one thing she had to say, it''s that both of her sons are really talented, especially Flynn. ''I hope this camaraderie of theirs continues forever'' Anna thought, her smile bing brighter with each passing moment as she fully resumed and refocused her attention on the canvas before her. *** Leopold got out of the Tower''s headquarters and decided to immediately head home. It was already a few minutes past 6pm and the sun was getting ready to set, it''s color changing from a dim yellow to a deep shade of orange. He got into his car and began the drive back home. Some people greeted him and payed their respects and he responded to them with a slight nod of his head as he began to drive out of therge gates. ''What another hectic day of document workбн'' he inwardly thought to himself as he kept driving. Just a year ago, Obelisk was rampaging through several areas of Arcadia and every ranker was dispatched to each area to protect the civilians and put a stop to the members of Obelisk. So many rankers lost their lives and the same could be said for many members of Obelisk as their deaths were even much more than those from the Tower. The major power houses of both sides stayed very much alive though, resulting in Obelisk losing more than the Tower itself, and maybe that''s why, but they''ve been exceptionally silent this year, with little to no movements at all from them. ''We could have saved more rankers if the Tower had already given out those higher-tier potions then'' Leopold thought but then also immediately discarded those thoughts as soon as it came. The reason for this was because he knew that instead of wanting to help their rankers, the Tower, well to be exact, most of those greedy executives at the top were more concerned with filling their pockets than actually finding a way to help them. "But at least with the potions Aiden and Flynn foundбн" Leopold said as he trailed off. It''s still so surreal though that they found people who could actually brew potions like that, and what was even more surprising was that they were teenagers their age. Leopold had asked his son''s to have them introduce both Ivelia and Ivar to him and they''d responded that they would whenever he had a bit of free time to spare. He''d also given them the contract they''d asked for and they had gone immediately the next day to have the two young alchemists sign them. He was sure that his two sons knew just how much this would elevate their family''s name again and that they might even once again im their previous seat among the three big families. More than all that though, he was really happy that his sons were finally getting along again, making it seem like all the tribtions they''d faced was a thing of the distant past. As if that wasn''t enough, Flynn who he had originally thought, who they had all originally thought hadpletely lost himself and became a shell of who he previously was shining bright again just like he did as a kid. Leopold had originally thought Aiden was very talented but after watching both of his son''s spars and seeing the way they both kept improving each and every day at a rapid speed, one thing had be very evident. Flynn was just as talented, if not even more talented than his older brother. The pace at which their ranks were evolving to the next stage came as even more of a shock to both him, Anna and Butler Frank. Leopold was sure, that if they kept at this rate, they would far outstrip their peers in almost every way possible. He was also thankful that both of his sons had a good head on their shoulders, something he very much credited to the way his wife brought up their kids. To be well mannered and humble. Most brothers their age would be vying for who wanted to lead their family next and be the next Duke, Count or Baron but his sons didn''t even seem to care. As he finally reached the gates of the mansion, he let out a small happy sigh, to which his face then proceeded to transform into a proud fatherly smile. Chapter 18 - 16.5 - Foreshadowing

Chapter 18: Chapter 16.5 - Foreshadowing

"So Kai, has Corneo done anything pertaining to the tasks I gave him" a thick sinister voice said, his voice creeping through the dark room he and a burly man along with some other people who wore ominous looking demon masks on their faces were in. Kai found it very hard to speak up as he and the other people continuously felt a shiver run down their spine as the man before them spoke. He had ck hair which was tied into man bun and a lean muscr stature. His obsidian eyes seemed to carry and indescribable sense of dread if one peered into it for too long and he was sitting on a small red couch with his leg''s crossed and his fingers tapping on the arm rest. Although the room was dim and barely any light was peeking in from the shut blinds, it was obvious that the room was well furnished. "Don''t make me repeat myself" the man said, this time with a bit of pressure exuding from his body. "I-I-I apologize sir! In response to your question, he hasn''t done anything noteworthy" Kai stuttered and said, his head lowered and his gaze facing the ground. "So that fat fuck has just been eating and living off my benevolenceбн" the man said again, this time with a thoughtful look on his face. Kai then spoke up again, still with his gaze on the ground as he dared not raise his head towards the man before him. "He however has beenining about how the children he had expected to have created something seem to have not had any progress yet but despite that, they seemed to be even bringing more money in than before" Kaipleted his statement and sucked in his breath under the suffocating pressure. "Children? Something? Does this something have anything to do with what I ordered him to do?" the man asked. "I-I don''t know sir. I''m just reporting Corneo''s movements as you''ve asked of me!" Kai responded. "Hmmmбн" the man voiced before he then spoke. "Well you''ve been doing a good job thus far. Just keep guarding him as I''ve asked. Remember to do as he says without question. Although it might seem useless to keep that fatty around, there''s a reason for it" "That aside, the location to the warehouse''s still under the radar I presume?" the man asked. "Yes. Asides from a particr kid whoes in once in a while to deliver potions, the location''s still very much secure sir" Kai replied. "And the members of the small dark guild?" "They''re all below high-tier D-rank sir" "Good. I don''t want it drawing any attention from The Tower because they always keep an eye out for secluded ces withrge amounts of mana in the area. Just you is enough to protect Corneo" the man said after which he continued. "In addition to that, if for any reason this kid you mentioned is goingpromise the hideout, silence him. Is that clear?" "Yes sir!" "Now then, take your leave" the man ordered to which Kai swiftly turned around after giving a short nod and walked out of the room, his backpletely drenched in sweat. As Kai walked out, the man''s attention turned to the other masked members present in the room. There were five of them in total. One of them was low-tier B-ranker and he seemed to be their leader while the rest were within the range of low to high-tier C-ranks. "How''s the profiling been going on your end?" the man asked to which the leader of the masked men answered immediately, not wanting to anger the man before him. "It''s been proceeding smoothly. We''ve also found two rankers capable of using [Illusion Series]" He then continued after a brief pause, as if to suck in air from the suffocating pressure that had been in the room since his conversations with them began "We''ve also extensively researched into the sensors and although there''s a bit of progress now, it should bepleted in due time" the masked leader concluded. "You better be right. If this operation fails, you all know what''sing don''t you?" the man said, this time, leaking a bit of bloodlust. Although this bloodlust might''ve seemed small to the man himself who released it, it was enough topletely terrorize the masked individuals before him. "Yesбн s-sir!!!" the masked leader said, struggling to squeeze out his own voice out due to the wave of bloodlust that he had felt. He knew what this operation entailed. If they failed, they''ll be dead either way. Such was the life for any of the lower rankers here who joined Obelisk. If you were not a powerhouse like the man sitting before them, then you were just disposable trash, waiting to be used and then discarded. However, if they were to seed, that would be another case entirely as they would be treated with the utmost respect and admiration. Not to mention the riches they would get. "Good. Use the next year and a few months to make a perfect n. Remember, if you fail, don''t even bothering back here" "U-Understood sir!" "Now leave" the man ordered. The five masked members ushered themselves out of the room quickly, happy they were going to be rid of the man''s presence. As they left and silence descended upon the room, the man who had been giving orders, stopped tapping his arm rest, uncrossed his legs and rxed into the chair while closing his eyes with a singr thought on his mind. ''It''s only just a matter of time before I turn all of Arcadia on its headбн'' Chapter 19 - 17 - Missing

Chapter 19: Chapter 17 - Missing

(Aiden''s POV) "I''ll meet you there as soon as I take care of a few things. It shouldn''t take more than an hour" Leopold said as he got into his car. "Sure Dad. Pretty sure Ivelia and Ivar wouldn''t mind waiting for an hour" Flynn replied while throwing the keys of the other car to me. "You two stay safe! Drive safely and responsibly Aiden" Anna said as she got into Leopold''s car. "We will!" I replied to her as I got into the other car Flynn and I were going to use. Today, after about two weeks since we signed the contract, we were finally going to introduce Ivar and Ivelia to our Dad and discuss a bunch of things regarding how we were nning to market it and also split the profits. We both drove out of the gates, my Dad taking a left turn while I took a right turn as we both headed to our different destinations. I kept driving for about twenty minutes before we finally got to the outskirts of the city to which I promptly headed over to the familiar store with a sign post above it. On getting to store, something immediately felt off from a distance. Sure it might''ve been early noon on a weekend but Ivar and Ivelia would never have a closed sign ced in front of their store, coupled with the fact that the door seemed slightly ajar. I could see Flynn making a simr expression to mine. I parked the car nearby and we both got down and made our way to the store. As soon as I opened the doors to the shop, the scene that greeted me immediately caused my mood to change. I was angry right now. I was ridiculously pissed right now. In front of both me and Flynn were broken racks, shattered sses of vials with their contents all over the ground, the side windows had beenpletely shattered, various herbs had been trampled upon, the shelves had been toppled over, marks, cracks and stains of blood could be seen around the walls and on the wooden floors, and in the midst of it all was Ivar in a pool of blood. Flynn immediately rushed over to him and took his pulse. It was evident that a recent scuffle had taken ce here as the smell of the spilled potions and blood intermingled and permeated the air, leaving behind an indescribable smell. Every single potion had been destroyed and whoever did it purposely wanted to ensure that Ivar couldn''t heal himself. "He''s alive" The moment Flynn said that, a bit of my anger subsided and I took a deep breath of air, after which I then took a potion out of my storage ring. I quickly walked over to Ivar and emptied the entire content of the vial into his mouth while Flynn propped his head. His injuries, especially the deep gash on his back began to heal at an insanely fast speed to the naked eye. ''Their healing potion really is amazing'' I thought to myself as I watched the injuries heal and Ivar twitch his hands before he finally opened his eyes. The moment Ivar opened his eyes, he immediately sprung up while shouting. "Ivelia! That bastard! That fucking bastard! He fucking took her! I need to save her even if it costs me my life!" "Ivar!" It took Flynn''s call to make Ivar realize that we were both around. "Aiden? Flynn?" Ivar said, confusion evident in his eyes as he did so. "Yes, and for your information, you''re not hallucinating" Flynn replied and assured Ivar he wasn''t seeing things. "I know you''re disoriented Ivar so I won''t force you to calm down, but you need to exin what''s going on. First off, who''s HE?" I said to Ivar. "And where did he take Ivelia to?" Flynn followed up. Ivar looked at both of us with panic in his eyes for a few seconds, after which he then took a deep breath to calm himself a bit. He then asked both of us. "Short story or long story? Which would you like to hear?" "Short. Considering Ivelia needs our help, we don''t have time to waste" Flynn said. "His name is Corneo" Ivar began. "He''s a loan shark and also the head of a small time dark guild, the Python guild, that''s been terrorizing us for as long as I can remember" "Our Dad took a loan from him with the intent to repay it but unfortunately, he kicked the bucket not long after it happened. Ivelia and I were left to take care of ourselves from a very young age and Corneo saw it as an opportunity to exploit our predicament. "He ensured that all the profits that we made from the store went to his pockets and left just enough to keep us alive and sustain ourselves." Ivar paused for a bit,plex emotions present in his eyes before he immediately continued. "We owe him a debt of 1,000,000CR. Well our Dad did and now it''s our burden to bear" "Recently, he noticed that we''d been paying him more than we usually did and he came to question us about it thinking we''d been keeping funds from him" "We tried to reason with him but that bastard wasn''t even nning to listen in the first ce" "But that''s not even the worst part" Ivar said while gritting his teeth in anger and curling his hands into a fist as he continued. "That fucking pedophile! He''s always been leering at Ivelia with lust for a year now and I''m sure he had just been looking for a reason to get into her pants. I tried to fight back when he forcefully tried to take her butбн" Ivar paused again beforepleting his statement. "бнhe always has a high B-ranker bodyguard with him called Kai so there wasn''t really much I could do. He used the knife I tried to use to attack him against me, hence the injury on my back" "It''s all my fault! If only I was stronger!" Ivar said, pain in his voice as he smashed his fist against the wooden floor. ''No, it''s not. It''s our fault. If we never approached you guys, this wouldn''t even have happened in the first ce'' I inwardly thought to myself. I could see that Flynn was also thinking about the same thing. A butterfly effect urred because we approached the twins. ''But this isn''t the time to be worried about that'' I said to myself. "Now that we''ve heard the cause of all this, do you have any idea where their hideout is?" I asked. "I do. We usually bring a batch of potions to him every once in a while. That''s also how I got to know about Kai''s ranking. I overheard it from the members of their guild" As soon as Ivar responded, Flynn immediately began to tap his smartwatch. "What are you nning to do?" Ivar asked after which he continued. "I know we need to save Ivelia as soon as possible from that scum but now that I''ve calmed down, I''m realizing just how outnumbered we would be even if we went. They''re a literal dark guild even if they are just a really small time one" Flynn finally stopped tapping his smartwatch after which he asked Ivar question. "Say Ivar, can you make explosive potions? Both small ones and another one that would really cause a rtively big explosion" "I can" Ivar responded. "How long would it take for you to make a batch of ten to fifteen small explosive potions and two or three big ones?" Flynn asked another question "About twenty minutes. Why are you asking for that? What are you nning to do with it?" Ivar responded again. Flynn now had a very devilish look on his face as he said. "We''re going to draw them out, and then we''re going to barbecue them" I began to shake my head while massaging my forehead the moment I heard his words. My brother may be a harmless individual most of the time, but when the people he considers precious to him are attacked, he has a really sadistic way of punishing them. It''s always been a thing for him even when we were kids. "Haaaбн What are you nning to do now Flynn? Time''s already running out" I said, my voiceced with a sense of urgency. After I did, Flynn began to exin his ns to both me and Ivar. Ivar just looked at Flynn with a bit of fear after he was done exining. He also made a mental note not to piss him off. "Yes, this might just work. Even if we can''t take care of most of them, we should be able to at least take half of them down" I said after listening to his n. "Aiden. I''m relying on you to take down that high B-rank bodyguard. Think you can do that?" "Who do you think I am?" I said while giving a slight smile. "Okay. I''m counting on you bro. Ivar?" Flynn said to me after which he then called to Ivar. "Yeah" Ivar responded. "What type of magic do you use?" Flynn asked. "[Earth Series]" Ivar replied. Usually, people weren''t so quick to reveal the type of magic they use but Ivar trusted Aiden and Flynn enough. He considered them his friends and both brothers felt exactly the same way. In fact, Ivelia and Ivar were the only friends their age Flynn and Aiden had. "That''s fantastic" Flynn said as he began to give Ivar a few more instructions in addition to the previous n he made. "Okay Flynn. I really hope this works" Ivar said. "It will. Fret not youngling" Flynn said while tapping Ivar''s shoulder. "Says the youngling himself" I snorted. Ivar gave a slight chuckle before he immediately changed his demeanor to a serious one. "I''ll go brew the potions now" he said as he immediately began to pick a few leaves and some vials that still had some fluids in them off of the ground. I moved over to Flynn as said in a voice audible only to him. "You purposely said that to put him at ease, didn''t you?" "Well he needs to be at his calmest for our n to work" Flynn replied before he then continued. "Aiden" "Yeah?" "I''m going to make them suffer" "I know" Just like me, I knew Flynn had been just as angry as I was, maybe even angrier when he came into the shop and saw the scene in front of him but he had purposely been suppressing it to maintain rationality. "Let''s hope all goes ording to n" I said, determination evident in my eyes as I squeezed my fists. Chapter 20 - 18 - Barbecue

Chapter 20: Chapter 18 - Barbecue

"Damn she''s feisty!" "She even stabbed him" Two men who seemed to be in their mid thirties stood outside while guarding what seemed to be a small room with an iron door while having a conversation. They were both armed. One of the men had a firearm with a magazine containing mana-infused bullets slung diagonally across his body while the other had two short swords tucked into the utility belts on the sides of his waist. Both of their outfits had a purple logo of an ominous looking snake. "Serves that pedophile right though" the man with a firearm continued. "Are you crazy? If you''re heard saying that, losing your limbs will be the least of your concerns" replied the man with short swords while chastising his partner. "Rx man. We''re the only ones here. No one can hear us" "Still, I''d appreciate it if you could keep that mouth of yours shut. I sure as hell would love to preserve my limbs for the foreseeable future. Also, it''s not like you''re all that different from Corneo as you''d also do the same" "Hahaha! You know me too well my man" Ivelia listened to the two men from the other side of the dark room she was in while shivering. Corneo had asked his goons to throw her into a cold room to torture her and break her after he failed to rape her. Even though they''d dressed her in a white risquижcy outfit that showed off all of her assets, she''d managed to sneak in a small pocket penknife she always kept on her being for cutting herbs into her bra. It had ended up being the right move as she had been able to stab him a few times in his oversized potbelly. Although he had tried to beat her into submission after she did that, something he actually sessfully did, Ivelia however wasn''t going to let him off that easily and she also fought back and bit him on his arm, her teeth digging into it and drawing blood as he screamed in pain while calling for his security to help him. Ivelia raised her shivering hands to touch her swollen cheeks and eye as she winced from the pain. She then tried to rub her hands to generate a bit of heat but it was all to no avail as they had already poured cold water over her before throwing her into the cold room. She knew that all she was doing was pointless but she would rather fight back with everything she had and have herself killed than allow that bastard pervert to have his way with her. As she kept shivering alone in the dark cold room, tears began to drip down her face while remembering how Ivar wasying in his pool of blood as she was being dragged away. She also began to worry about Briar''s state and began to think of who would take care of her. Small silent sobs began to echo through the room as what were originally drops of tears began to stream down her face like a tap left opened. As she continued wallow in her sadness and misery, a sudden explosion shook the room she was in! -BOOM! The explosions didn''t seem to stop there as they continuously rang through the entirety of the hideout. -BOOM! -BOOM! -BOOOOM! "We''re under attack! Everyone, rush out and hold the forte! We can''t allow the Tower to destroy our hideout" a panicked voice rang throughout the speakers ced in the entirety of the hideout. "The Tower?!" "How did they locate us?!" "We''ve been under their radar for so long so why now?!" "What if it isn''t The Tower and it''s just a rogue ranker" "Then we''re still in deep shit!" "Besides, only The Tower would even do something like this in the first ce" Almost every member present in the dark guild began to rush out while having these types of conversations in hushed and panicked voices. Even if it ended up not being the The Tower, they knew that they were still very much screwed because only a very strong person would openly attack them like this. Ivelia continuously heard the rumbling sounds of footsteps marching and running around the hideout from the room she was in. Some members maintained their positions as they were given strict instructions by Kai, their vice head, not to vacate their positions regardless of the situation. Such was the same for the two men guarding the cold room Ivelia was in. As the members of the Python''s dark guild rushed out from the front doors, they could see that their cars and the water tank had been thoroughly blown to bits. Everywhere seemed to be covered in a sea of fire and waves of water washing away some of their members. The scene before them lookedpletely chaotic. Suddenly they heard a shout! "Flynn! Ivar! Now!" The moment they heard that voice, they tried to locate where the sound came from but all they got in return was a very bright blinding light which seemed to want to destroy their eyeballs, causing them to immediately close their eyes and use their arms to block the blinding rays of light. "[Telekic Series: Force Pull] !!!" Suddenly, all the goons felt like they were being dragged by an invisible force as they were all dragged towards one spot, causing them to collide with each other. "[Earth Series: Wall Formation] !!!" Rumbling sounds could be heard as the light subsided and the members all noticed that they were now in one spot and were surrounded on all sides by square ten-meter-tall, rough, rock-like walls. Some members immediately realized they were being trapped and tried to jump over but it was toote as the walls began to close over on them like a canopy. All of this happened within seconds. The goons immediately began to panic and started firing their mana-infused guns and even tried to begin breaking the walls using their magic spell. As they tried to do so, some of them noticed a round circr vial of ssing through the very small space left at the top of the rocky canopy. The mana-infused bullet some goons were firing immediately shattered it, lighting the liquid with a spark of fire and resulting in a fiery and deafeningly huge explosion. "[Gravity Series: Compression] !!" -BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! A single word was present on Flynn''s mind as the n he made came to fruition. ''Checkmate!'' *** (Aiden''s POV) (About 20 minutes before Python''s hideout was attacked). "Considering what we''re all going to need to do, you''re both going to need to use those mana potions immediately after we use our spells. I''ll be fine but you guys will not, so use it immediately" I said to Flynn and Ivar. They nodded in response to me as we went over the n again one more time. We were now at the front of Python''s hideout as Ivar had directed us to. The hideout was very well camouged as it looked like an old abandoned building, specifically a small one-floor warehouse present in a very secluded area of the outskirts of the city, much farther from where Ivelia and Ivar''s shops were. As we hid in the cover of the bushes, we carefully scouted the area around it and realized that even if it did look like it was a very old abandoned warehouse, surveince cameras were still attached in a few ces with a few scantily ced guards patrolling the grounds. Luckily for us though, only onerge door was present in the front of the building, making the process of gathering them in one spot very easy. A bit of luck was required in Flynn''s n and this was a wee addition. Besides, by the time we started, they wouldn''t even have time to check their cameras, but still, we made sure to approach from an angle where the surveince camera''s would find it hard to immediately spot us from. Flynn''s n was a ridiculously easy one if I''m being honest, but it was the simplicity of it that made it so dangerous. Dangerous and effectively brutal. Simply put, the n had three phases: Draw-out, distraction and destruction. We would initially cause a few small but still dangerous explosions which would then draw most of them out. From there on, we would converge them after distracting them with mana-reinforced shbang grenades to one spot and hit them with one of the bigger explosive potions Ivar made. The reason Flynn had asked us to directly make a frontal attack was that it would make the members of the dark guild think that their attackers were from the Tower. He had also surmised that for the guild to have existed this long without the Tower''s knowledge, most of it''s members would probably be non-rankers and even if they were, they would be around D-rank. This would in turn cause them to not think rationally, which would immediately give them a reason to pour out in droves thereby making it easier for us to gather them in one spot as only the Tower would attack a dark guild head on without any tricks or infiltrations, especially if it''s a small one like theirs. "Are we all clear on what we need to do once more" I asked once again. "Affirmative" Flynn and Ivar responded. "Okay then. Let''s begin!" The moment I said that, we all darted towards the warehouse, using the cover of the bushes as camouge. As soon as we got very close to the warehouse, we began throwing the explosive potions and some small grenades we bought from an arms shop while targeting the few cars present and other things that would make arge explosion. Even as we did this, we still hid in the bushes. The liquids that spilled from the explosive potion that were now on the ground would then go on to explode again like a chain reaction if even something as little as a spark of me so much as touched it, which then went on to create seas of fire. This immediately caused the members in the warehouse to have a simted feeling of being attacked by many people as they began to flock out in droves. They numbered in about 20 members. Flynn threw one of the grenades to the only water tank present in the area, resulting in an evenrger explosion as therge tank exploded while spilling a huge amount of water which washed away some of the members that were already outside the warehouse. As they flocked out in droves, I signaled to Ivar and Flynn by shouting while throwing multiple mana-reinforced shbang grenades as we immediately put the second phase n into motion. The final part of the n involved mepressing therge explosive potion after it exploded to create a controlled but devastating explosion that would render the members of the dark guild unable to so much as move a finger. As Flynn said, we really did barbecue most of them as the aftermath of the explosion left almost all of them burnt to a crisp. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air and theirpletely charred bodies made it a very gruesome scene to look upon. Chapter 21 - 19 - Searching

Chapter 21: Chapter 19 - Searching

(Flynn''s POV) ''Checkmate!'' I immediately fell on one of my knees while panting heavily as sweat dripped from my face. A bit of blood was also leaking from my nose. That magic spell took all my mana with it, leaving only barely enough to maintain my body''s normalcy. The scorching heat from our explosion wasn''t helping matters either as I could feel it lick my skin even from a fair distance. ''This is why high mana core ranks are very important'' I inwardly said to myself while tapping my storage bracelet as I retrieved two mana potions from it. I downed one of the potions in a single gulp while simultaneously tossing over the other one to Ivar. He seemed to be in a much worse state than me as he struggled to even hold the vial of liquid, his hands quivering as he raised the vial to his mouth. Mana core ranks ensure you can use magic spells, and although it is not an indicator of an individual''s skill level, core ranks dictated just how much mana you can pull from your body to perform spells. This was why both me and Ivar were heavily panting, as we had used spells far beyond our capabilities. I nced to the side to see Aiden standing without a single hint of tiredness even though he hadpressed such arge explosion. ''This OP punk! He lookspletely unfazed'' I said to myself while following his gaze. I realized what he was looking at and I also slowly stood up, my mana recovering at a normal pace as I stared at the burnt and charred bodies in front of us. I knew all of them weren''t dead just yet even though the gruesome scene before me would speak otherwise, but considering how mana especially helps to preserve an individual''s life for a few hours before they''repletely dead, I knew all of them were still very much alive. However though, I also knew that a few of them would die very soon if they were not attended to in the next one hour or so. Maybe we could have found another way to do it without endangering their lives but based on the time we had and also how we have no idea what state Ivelia was in, I was left with no other choice but toe up with a dangerous and wed n like this. Also, these guys deserved it. Maybe not all of them, but most of them definitely did. My n may have had ws that I didn''t even consider but I''m no master tactician or strategist. I''m just an average guy who''s slightly smarter than most. I nced the other way to see that Ivar had also gotten up from where he was and was staring at the scene before him. I was d to see that just like Aiden and I, he knew that it was something we had to have done or it would''ve been us instead. "Stay sharp guys. This isn''t over yet." Aiden said while taking a battle stance, his words snapping both me and Ivar out of our thoughts. -p. p. p. "Who would''ve thought, that instead of the Tower, it was just three puny teenagers who caused such a big mess" A big burly man who seemed to be in his early forties began to approach us with light casual steps through the sea of fire left by the aftermath of the big explosion. As his frame fully came into view, we all instinctively knew who this was. He had a scar across one of his eyes and a buzz cut that gave him a menacing look. "Kaiбн" I muttered to myself. "You''ve done a good job whittling most of our forces, but unfortunately for you brats, your luck ends here!" The moment he said that, Kai emitted an intense wave of bloodlust that reached across to us, causing both me and Ivar to take a step back. He had a dangerous glint to his eyes while smiling evilly at the three of us. Aiden however seemed unfazed as he stood his ground while staring at Kai dead in the eye. "Ohбн" the Kai said after realizing that Aiden wasn''t backing down. This image of Aiden standing his ground caused me to forcefully throw away my fears as I took a deep breath before speaking to Ivar who still had a terrified look on his face. "Ivar. Take this" I said while throwing my smartwatch to him before I continued. "Get away from here as fast as you can and head to the vehicle" "But I can''t ju-" "Ivar. Trust us. I''ll make sure we save Ivelia but I need you to do as I say. Trust the n" Ivar was really contemting if he should go but after realizing he''d be more of a hindrance than of help, he reluctantly agreed. "You two make sure to stay alive!" he shouted while running towards the direction we parked our car at. "Did you really think, that I''d let you go scot free after all the mess you''ve caused?!" Kai roared while immediately bolting towards Ivar. ''He''s fast!'' I said to myself while dashing and positioning myself to protect Ivar from the iing hunk of muscle. "[Telekic Series: Force Field]" The moment I chanted the spell, a transparent green aquamarine-like shield surrounded me. However, as I watched Kai dash towards me, I knew it wouldn''t stop him as he hurled his fist towards me at maximum force to break my shield. -BAM! However, before he could, another strong punch connected squarely at the right side of his abdomen, sending him flying away as he crashed into the crumbled dpidated walls surrounding the warehouse. All of these happened within seconds. "Go. I''ll hold him at bay" Aiden said to me while taking a deep breath as he got back into his battle stance. "Stay safe bro" "You worry too much Flynn. Now go find Ivelia!" I immediately bolted towards therge doors of the warehouse while moving at a very fast pace as I began to scour through the interiors of the building. The internals of the warehouse had been redesigned and built like abyrinth, making my search very hard but I wasn''t going to stop going until I found her. I would asionally run into a few members of the dark guild here and there but my force field easily protected me from their attacks while making it easy for me to knock them out with a few solid punches, kicks and hand chops to vital points of their body. I wasn''tpletely invincible though as I''d mostly gotten lucky by running into goons weaker than me and also because even though my force field was doing wonders by repelling and protecting me from their attacks, my mana reserves were already at their limit again. This spell was one I got from reading a telekinesis spell book. The theory behind its formation is by exuding the mana from your body and controlling the particles within it to create either a tough exterior or a bouncy one. It guzzles my mana like crazy though. I could only maintain it for about six minutes from the moment I had activated it. ''I can only maintain it for a few more seconds, fifty seconds tops'' I thought to myself while zooming past another empty room. Finally, I came to a long corridor with dim lights as my force field dissipated. My mana was also almost depleted. I could see two men guarding an iron door in the distance and as I approached them, they also seemed to be aware of my presence. One of them had a firearm on him while the other had two small short swords attached to a utility belt on his waist. I immediately frowned at this. I was at a disadvantage here and I knew it. "What a shitty time for my force field to dissipate" I muttered to myself while tapping onto my bracelet. I downed a low-tier mana potion that I''d picked up from another store nearby just in case of an emergency asides from the high-tier ones we had to buy, along with the grenades from another store while Ivar was creating the explosive potions. "Listen kid, this can only end one way for both of us, and by one way, I mean your death!" the man with a firearm said as he began to fire therge caliber mana-infused bullet rounds from his futuristic assault rifle. -Ratatatatatatatat!!! "Tch!" I muttered as I readied myself while tensing my calves and taking a crouching position. I muttered the force field spell once again, but this time, I made the radius very small and made it closely hug my body since I was in a corridor and these two were the ones I needed to take out. I was also taking my small mana which had recovered into ount. As soon as the mana-infused bullets reached my view, I released the tension in my calves and dashed towards the man who was firing the bullets while keeping a close eye on the other man as he had not made any moves so far. Immediately I closed the gap between me and the gunner and I was in a range close enough to attack him, I gave a sweeping kick which caused him to lose his bnce while hoping tond a solid uppercut to his jaw and knock him out but the second man immediately moved into my view with a downward sh of his short swords, to which I had to immediately backflip with my two hands on the ground to dodge the iing attack. The short-sword wielding man however didn''t miss the slight opportunity that was created from me narrowly dodging his attack and hended a solid kick to my abdomen as I returned to a standing position from my flip. His kick sent me flying back as I tried to regain my bnce while skidding back a few meters. Unfortunately for me, the bastard was not done as I heard him chant a wind spell. "[Wind Series: Gale des]" -Whish. Whish. Whish. Suddenly, wind des began to slice through the corridor, leaving sh marks all around the walls. Of course they were also affecting me but my force field was holding out, although barely as my mana reserves were beginning to hit rock bottom again. -Ratatatatatatatat! "Shit!" I cursed as I saw what was happening before me. The gunner had finally regained his stance and began firing again, causing my mana reserves to deplete even faster as I tried to effectively manage it but the sudden revival of the bastard''s spunk made it even harder for me to advance towards them. ''This guys! They''re used to fighting together'' I inwardly thought to myself as I began to think of what I could do to gain an advantage over them. Chapter 22 - 20 - Saved

Chapter 22: Chapter 20 - Saved

Ivelia could hear the sounds of a battle taking ce just in front of the room she was in. Although she wondered if someone hade for her, her hopes were very low and besides, she was more concerned about her brother and Briar. Even as her breathing and pulse became slower and she seemed to be drowsy due to her prolonged stay in the cold room, the only thoughts present in her head as she tried to stay awake even as she was still slightly shivering was that somehow, someway, her twin brother had been saved. That way, she would be more at ease even if she were to lose her life here knowing someone else could take care of Briar. If she was being honest, she''d very much known that their days together had been very much numbered. It was a miracle that they''d survived till this day and Corneo left them alive for this long. One wish she had if she was at least going to die here was that she saw Ivar, Briar, Flynn and Aiden onest time before she went. As she finally began to sumb to the sleep that had been threatening to take over for a long while now, thest scenes in her head was that of herself, Ivar, Flynn and Aiden''s smiles as they shared a warm-heartedughter. In front of the iron door which opened to the room Ivelia was kept in were two members of a dark guild who were working together to kill a single teenager with silver hair that had a shades of green in it. They realized just how resilient he had been in making sure he suffered little to no damage while slowly advancing towards them steadily. "Why won''t you die you little shit?!!" the man with a short sword finally roared after about ten minutes of fighting with him. The other man just kept shooting from his firearm while asionally taking breaks to refill the empty magazine of the futuristic-like assault rifle he was using. During these short moments, Flynn would gradually advance while nimbly dodging the wind spells the other goon was firing. Although it seemed like he was gradually making some progress, it was actually the opposite as his mana reserves had far run out a few minutes ago and he was only pushing on through sheer will and adrenaline in addition to a single thought that had been on his mind the moment he started facing these two men. ''They wouldn''t be guarding the door this heavily if Ivelia wasn''t there!'' At one of those short moments where the gunner began to reload his weapon, Flynn made a very risky and irrational decision as he suddenly crouched andpletely removed his force field while tensing his calves and channeling whatever was left of his mana into his legs which he then used to propel himself and an insane speed, closing the gap between him and the two members in a literal second. There was of course a price to pay for the sudden decision he made as the wind des cut various parts of his body, causing blood to seep out from those wounds but the adrenaline ensured that the pain he felt was very manageable. This sudden movement caught both men off-guard because they had been at a stalemate for quite a while. Flynn who was now in their range swiftly caught the short-sword wielding man in a moment before raising his own knees and stomping his heels in one swift motion and smashing it into the joints in the man''s arm and knee respectively, which then made a crunching cracking sound. -Crunch! "Argggghhhh!!!" the man screamed in pain as he watched his bones jutting out of his elbow and his unnaturally bent knee. The man with a firearm watched in horror as he began to fire his assault rifle again but it was toote as Flynn immediately jumped backwards while throwing a small potion. The potion which came into contact with the mana-infused bullet caused a spark, igniting the liquid and immediately resulting in a small explosion that blew away both members, resulting in them passing out on the spot. Flynn huffed and panted in exhaustion but still, he quickly approached the room whose door had now being blown away due to the explosion while walking over the bodies of the two men he had just knocked out. On entering the room, he immediately rushed over to Ivelia who had now passed out. He immediately took her pulse to ensure she was still alive after which he then proceeded to take off his blood stained shirt and wrap it around her cold body before proceeding to carry her and make his way out of the warehouse. As he stepped back out of the room with Ivelia cradled in his arms, he felt an immensely strong pressure which caused even the walls of the warehouse to vibrate vigorously. This made him give a slight smile as he muttered to himself. "He''s here" *** (Aiden''s POV) (A few seconds after Flynn entered the warehouse) "That really caught me off guard brat!" Kai said as he casually stood up from the rubble of the copsed wall, a slight trail of blood leaking from his mouth. "So you''re also B-rank boy! That''s some insane talent you''ve got there! Too bad your life will end today" Kai continued as he looked at Aiden squarely in the eye. Kai had deduced from Aiden''s punch that he was also of the same rank as him, albeit slightly lower. All forms of yfulness were gone from his eyes and all that was left was seriousness. "Unfortunately for you mister, I have no ns of dying anytime soon" I responded in kind to him. "Is that so?" Kai replied, an ominous but serious look on his face as he muttered a spell, just barely enough for me to hear. "[Strength Series: Burgeon Boost]" ''Is it me or did his muscles just erge?'' I asked myself, a bit of anxiety burrowing its way into my resolve to defeat the man before me. I watched as Kai brought out brass knuckles from his storage ring and slipped them unto his hands while curling his fingers into a fist. He then took a fighting stance. ''Shit! He''s even using a weapon art!'' I said to myself while ensuring that I didn''t take my eyes off of him even as I realized the problematic situation I was now in. Without so much as a sound, I watched him immediately vanish from his spot and immediately appear behind me while hurling his fists towards my head. "{Brawler Arts: Shattering Fist}" "[Gravity Series: Gravity st]" I immediately spun my body at a ridiculous speed, while arching my back and retracting my arm, immediately punching out back with my clenched fists as I met his punch head on. We both stood in our positions for a moment before a circr pressurized gale of wind which emitted from our fists shing, threw me far back as I felt my knuckles breaking from the impact of my sh with Kai. "Aargh!" I groaned in pain as I was flung backwards into the air. The spell I used is one of the most basic gravity spells in our family and it creates a coating of mana on my hands while using gravity to increase the weight of my punches. The punches can also be emitted from my hands from a distance in the form of an afterimage while carrying the same force but due to Kai''s sudden appearance, I had to meet his punch head on. As I tried to regain my footing and positioning by twisting my body in mid-air, I noticed that that Kai was pushed back as well, although he still had his feet on the ground. ''Due to his increased muscle mass, all that the pressurized wind could do was only push him back a few meters'' I inwardly thought to myself. I watched him recover his footing after skidding back a bit as he tensed his calves and dashed towards me while leaving a mini crater on the concrete from the spot he dashed from. Luckily for me, I had repositioned my body in a very favorable way and Inded horizontally on the dpidated walls of the warehouse while also tensing my calves but adding a bit of mana to my legs to strengthen it and increase my speed a bit. Upon doing this, I also released the tension in my legs and kicked of the wall, causing it to be destroyed as a result of the impact from the force I used to kick off of it to meet Kai in the middle of the spot we originally had our first exchange. "Haaaaaaaa!!!" I shouted with a battle cry as I dashed back towards him. My spell which was now coating my fists in a dark green hue and his weapon arts shed as we both jammed our fists together and punched out once more but this time, I ensured to use mana to hold myself in ce by strengthening my legs as I immediately punched out again with my already broken fist while coating it with mana and released another gravity st, my fist connecting to Kai''s shattering fist weapon art. Pressurized bursts of wind continuously emanated from every single punch we both threw at each other. "Excellent boy!!!" Kai shouted as he realized that I wasn''t going to just let him overpower me. -Bam! -Bam! -Bam! Bam! Bam! The next scene was something that I would describe as a scene that came out straight out of an anime as we continued exchanging a flurry of punches which soon caused us to create a fairly small to medium-sized crater beneath our feets but as we went on, I began to realize that I was being gradually pushed back. My mana reserves were beginning to run low and considering how I''m just a mid-tier B ranker and the man before me is a high-tier B-ranker, he had way more of an advantage over me if we added his battle experience and instinct. ''Drastic times call for drastic measures'' I inwardly said to myself as I stopped punching and swiftly ducked, narrowly avoiding two of Kai''s punches in quick session. I then tensed my calves almost simultaneously from my crouching position and swiftly dashed backwards. "Are you running away now boy?!!" Kai roared as he immediately dashed after me but I already achieved what I wanted. Creating a significant distance from him. As he dashed towards me, I immediately retrieved the secondrge explosive potion Ivar had made and immediately threw it to the burly man who dashing towards me with immense speed as I skid backwards. Flynn had given it to me beforehand and told me to use it if I found myself in a pinch. "What''s that supposed to do now?!!" Kai roared again as he deftly dodged the potion I threw at him and continued his dash towards me. Kai knew that whatever was inside that vial must have being dangerous as he recalled seeing them use it when he went to check the security cameras to check whoever was causing the ruckus instead of blindly charging out like the others. But instead of seeing the rankers of the Tower, he had been surprised to see that all the ruckus and pandemonium had been caused by three young brats. "You''re smart! I''ll give you that mister! However though, you already lost the moment you gave me enough space to dash backwards" I said to Kai as he watched me retrieve a small grenade from my storage ring. "[Gravity Series: Suction] !!!" I roared. Suddenly, Kai lost all of his strength and momentum as the force of the spell I roared dragged him with an immense force, along with all the debris on the ground back towards the crater where the liquids had already spilt. He then watched me throw the grenade with widened eyes. I had already added a bit of my mana to the vial of explosive potion when I retrieved and threw it but I had decided to activate the spellter while trusting in Kai''s battle instinct and his immense speed, hoping that he would dodge it instead of allowing it to hit him. Yes, it had been a risky move but it was worth it. But I wasn''t done yet as I chanted one final spell with outstretched arms and a shout by willing thest of my mana reserves. "[Gravity Series: Compression] !!!" -BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! I watched the explosion go off as the grenade hit the crater and react with the spilled potion, resulting in an evenrger explosion but I stillpressed the gravity of the space it happened in just to ensure that the potency of the explosion was higher. ''There''s no way he survived that right'' I inwardly thought to myself while panting and huffing heavily as I fell to the ground on all fours. I had really overexerted myself and I knew it. I had practically exhausted all the fuel in my tank with thosest two spells and a stream of blood was now running down my nose as a side-effect of overdoing it. I was barely even holding back from totally sprawling on the concrete floor. "Excellent boy!!!" My eyes widened in horror when I heard those words. I slowly raised my gaze up and watched Kai who now had second-degree burns, his ck shirt and camo pantspletely burnt in so many ces and what seemed to be a red hue covering him, slowly start to walk towards me. "Dammit!" I cursed under my breath. ''He was even able to react and coat himself with mana in that short span of time! Shit! Shit! Shit!'' As I continuously kept cursing at the situation I now found myself in, I felt a sudden wave of pressure descend all around me. -BAAAMMM!!! Not even a second after Kai took a third step towards me, something fell from the sky carrying immense pressure along with it. I watched as a streak of green huended on him with a ridiculous force, causing dust to rise everywhere and cover my field of view. As the dust settled and cleared, a weak smile appeared on my face once I realized who hadnded with such a devastating force on the bodyguard. "Oi! What the hell do you think you''re doing to my son!!!" Chapter 23 - 21 - Clean Up

Chapter 23: Chapter 21 - Clean Up

(About 5 minutes after Ivar got to the parked vehicle they came with) Ivar was pacing back and forth while biting his fingernails. He was contemting if there was anything he could do at all to help the two brothers but the more he thought about it, the more he felt as if he had just run away with his tail tucked between his legs even though he also very much knew that there wasn''t really much he could have done about anything in that scenario. "I know. I know there wasn''t much I could''ve done!" Ivar said, venting his frustrations as he punched a nearby tree. "But if only I was stronger, none of these would''ve happened in the first ce" he continued,nding another punch on the tree. After venting out his frustrations for a few more minutes, he took a deep breath and tried his possible best to calm himself down, something which he sessfully did. He then looked down at his arm while raising it to look at the smartwatch on it, remembering how Flynn had thrown it to him. ''Why did he do that though?'' Ivar wondered. While he was trying to make heads or tails about what Flynn could''ve possibly been thinking of when he threw the watch to him, he began to hear the rumbling sound of vehicles from afar. He immediately panicked as he thought it was reinforcement from the members of the dark guild and began to look around for ces where he could hide but considering how he wasn''t athletic enough to be able to jump or climb trees or could even drive, his only option was to hide inside the car. The three vehicles eventually got to where the car had been parked and the rankers of the Tower could only spot a lone vehicle as they approached it. "The GPS on the smartwatch leads here" one of the rankers silently said as he alighted from the vehicle. The moment one of them opened the doors to the already parked car, Ivar immediately pounced on whoever it was, telling himself that even if he was going to go down, he wouldn''t do so without a fight. He was however met with no resistance as he looked down on whom he had pounced on and found a man who looked so simr to Aiden staring back at him. He also noticed that most of the people who came out of the two other vehicles all wore a ck jacket with the insignia of the Tower on it. "Hahaha! This brat''s got some real spunk to him" he heard a ranker with a boisterous voice say whileughing. Immediately he realized this, he heard a deep calm voice as he was met with a question from the man whom he had pounced on. "I presume you must be Ivar?" Leopold said while looking at Ivar above him. Ivar stared for a second before he finally nodded his head affirmatively. He then got off him and watched as Aiden and Flynn''s father also stood up while dusting the dirt off himself, after which he then looked at Ivar squarely in the eye and asked. "Good. Now tell me. What are my crazy sons up to?" Ivar upon realizing that they were here to help, immediately gave them a short but still detailed exnation of everything that had happened and after Leopold and the rankers of the Tower heard what they did, they were very surprised, especially at the simple but effective n they came up with. "Haaaaбн" Leopold sighed as he listened to what his sons did while pinching the ridge of his nose. ''Is this what they call a rebellious phase or are my sons just genuinely crazy?'' he inwardly asked himself. "Hahaha! Your sons are just as crazy as you were when we were kids. Maybe even crazier!" a man that seemed to be of a simr age to Leopold said, his hands constantly pping Leopold''s shoulders whileughing boisterously. He was also the same man who was initiallyughing when Ivar had pounced on Aiden and Flynn''s father. "Not now Sebastian" Leopold responded as he immediately took a deep breath and without so much as a warning, jumped up to the sky while leaving a small crater on the ground and dust everywhere. Ivar raised his arms and covered his face with his two hands as the wind pressure due to Leopold''s jump caused dust particles to blow into his eyes. "Wellбн there he goesбн Haaaaбн" Sebastian said with a sigh before turning to the other rankers present and giving them orders, his vibe changing in an instant. "You all have heard the gist of the story so get to it. Secure the perimeter and no matter what happens, ensure that Corneo doesn''t escape. That slimy slippery bastard has evaded us for far too long" "Yes sir!" the rankers replied as they all vanished while darting in different directions. Ivar realizing that help had now arrived immediately bolted back towards the warehouse. ''In any case, this boy looks familiar'' Sebastian mumbled to himself while staring at Ivar''s back before looking to the sky and seeing the green streak of hue left behind by his partner as he hurtled through the sky. *** Leopold at max height from his jump raised his mana sensitivity to its limit and scanned the area around him in a huge radius, almost as if he had a third eye made up of just colors. He then saw two people in the distance, a young green figure who was on all fours on the ground and arge red figure who was advancing step by step towards thetter. Immediately he realized what was about to happen, he chanted a spell. "[Gravity Series: Grav Boost]" As soon as those words left his mouth, the air around him distorted and a green hue covered him and propelled him at a phenomenal speed, his eyes locked onto the red figure as he hurtled through to the air towards him in an instant while holding the red figure''s head andnding on him with a loud bang. -BAM!!! "Oi! What the hell do you think you''re doing to my son!!!" -Bang! -Bang! -Bang! Lepold bashed the burly man''s head several times into the concrete floor, which caused a small hole to form beneath his head and his face to be crushed and distorted due to Leopold''s attack, effectively making him pass out. "Right on time Dad" Aiden said to him while smiling weakly as he passed out, the adrenaline finally leaving his body as he slumped to the ground. ''The audacity of this punk!'' Leopold thought to himself as he averted his gaze from Aiden and took a good look at his surroundings. The scene around him was full of destruction and carnage as the concrete floor had been smashed in many different ces with one leaving a huge crater behind, the dpidated walls destroyed in so many ces, a water tankpletely blown to bits and the same could be said for the few vehicles around. However, the most gruesome scene was the one of several bodies lying in a single spot,pletely burnt to a crisp and their bodies charred from what seemed to be an explosion. He used his mana sensitivity and realized all of them were still alive but they were barely hanging on, with one foot already at death''s door. As he did that, he noticed that a figure with a light green color was carrying what seemed to be another figure with an orange color in his arms. He watched as Flynn walked out of the warehouse while carrying an orange-haired girl in his arms. He lookedpletely battered with sharp cut marks all over his body. His younger son then gave him a very weak smile upon seeing him. He then moved towards therge doors of the warehouse and sat down while resting his back on it, still with Ivelia in his arms as he said a few words to him before also passing out. "We''ll leave the rest to you dadбн" "Haaaaaбн" Leopold sighed again as he alternated his gaze between his two sons but after a while, a slight smile could be seen on his face as he muttered under his breath. "You both did good" The other rankers also began to arrive and so did Sebastian and Ivar. Ivar was panting heavily considering he ran all the way there but his eyes immediately got teary when he saw his sister in Flynn''s arms. Ivar ran towards his sister with tears dropping from his eyes and he began to sob while kneeling close to her. The rankers on the other hand started to administer low-grade healing potions to the injured guild members while also cleaning up and taking care of the aftermath of the battle caused by the three teenagers. бн бн бн бн бн ... Ivelia fluttered her eyes open. However, she still blinked a few times before her bleariness cleared off and her visionpletely came to her. She then struggled to sit up on the bed she was on but all she could manage was slightly propping her back up on the pillow as she began to take in her surroundings. ''This isn''t a hospital'' she said to herself while staring at the ornate white ceilings and the slightly mid-sized bed she was on. She then looked around the room once more to see Aiden sleeping on a chair with his arms folded across his chest a few inches away from her bed. ''I guess I really was saved'' Ivelia thought to herself, her gaze travelling over to her right side as she did so. There, she saw Flynn sleeping soundly with both of his arms crossed just below his head which he used as a cushion on which he then ced both of them on the bed she was lying on. She stared at him for a few minutes as she watched his beautiful hair fall over his face. She''d always being fascinated by how ethereal his hair looked and she''d been itching to touch it for the past few months in which she had known him. As she reached for his head with her hands, her handsnded on it and she began to lightly stroke his hair. ''As I thought, his hair''s really as amazing to touch as it is to look at'' she inwardly said to herself. After a few minutes of continuously stroking his hair, her hands stopped moving but she still ced it on his head as she finally spoke. "Thank you for saving me. Both of you" a slight smile present on her face as she did so. Even though she had sumbed to sleep, she still caught glimpses of Flynn wrapping a cloth around her as he carried her out of the cold room. During her treatment too, she had faintly heard that three male teenagers had saved her and taken down a small dark guild. Those teenagers could''ve been no one else asides Flynn, Aiden and Ivar considering those were the only male teenagers she knew in her entire life. As she kept on having these thoughts, the door to the ornately and beautifully designed room opened as Ivar walked in with a tray of food on his hands. When he raised his gaze up after closing the door with his foot, he saw that his twin sister was already awake and was looking at him with familial affection in her eyes and a lovely smile on her lips. Ivar kept staring at his sister for a few seconds whilst also returning the smile after which he spoke a single word. "Hey" Ivelia also responded in kind as she slightly nodded her head. "Hey" Chapter 24 - 22 - Revelations I

Chapter 24: Chapter 22 - Revtions I

Ivar brought Ivelia up to speed regarding all that had happened, starting from how Aiden and Flynn saved him at the shop, to how they made a n to take out the members of Python to the eventual arrival of the Leopold, Sebastian and the rankers of the Tower. Ivelia began to eat the food on the tray as she listened to her brother fill her in on all the details of the event of that day. Even as Ivar kept talking, Ivelia found it odd that both Aiden and Flynn were still fast asleep without so much as a twitch in their posture or a change in their breathing. Ivar noticed this as he watched his sister nce over to them which then caused him to exin the cause of it. "Those two are amazing" Ivar said. "They really are" Ivelia responded "Even after the crazy and stressful events of yesterday, they still got up to train this morning" Ivar continued. "Wait, seriously?" Ivelia replied with a bit of surprise in her voice. "Yeah" Ivar responded as he began to chuckle remembering what their mum had done to them when she found out they went to train. "Pfftбн Hahahaбн" Ivelia watched Ivar''s heartyughter while wondering what could''ve happened to solicit such a heartyughter from him. Ivar began to wipe the tears from his eyes and he began to exin what had happened. "Well the Duchess upon realizing what they were up to, ran onto the field barefooted while screaming at them with her slippers in her hands" Ivar exined while bursting into another round ofughter after which he continued. "She seemed ready to beat the snot out of them as she had both of them kneel side by side on the field while scolding them vehemently for almost thirty minutes" Ivar concluded, anotherugh threatening to burst out of his mouth. "I can see why that would be really funny" Ivelia replied with a smile as she began to imagine the two confident brothers kneeling down while getting severely scolded. "Wait, Duchess?!!" Ivelia immediately blurted out! "I know right? I was so freaking surprised when I found out too" Ivar responded. Ivelia seemed the most surprised by this new information. She had known that both Flynn and Aiden were from noble families but finding out that they were actually from a Dukedom came as a real shocker to her. "In any caseбн" Ivar said while pointing to the sleeping brothers with both hands before continuing. "These two were still very tired from pushing themselves to their absolute limits yesterday but still wanted to train. Even though they got a good night''s rest, it was not nearly enough to get rid of all that fatigue" Ivelia now understood why they were both sleeping like logs even with all the sounds they were making. Healing potions could heal yes, but it can never get rid of fatigue. Mana might help to make fatigue recovery easier, but if an individual were to push themselves to the extreme by using all their mana to its absolute limit, it would take a long while for their body to recover and restore all of that mana and as a result, continuous rest was needed. -Knock knock. Suddenly, both siblings heard a knock on the door. "I''ming in" a gentle feminine and elegant voice said from the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal a spectacrly beautiful woman with silver hair which had a deep shade of green cascade down her back into soft tresses. She was wearing a beautiful flowing pale blue gown and Ivelia watched her elegantly walk towards them. Ivelia was stunned for a moment as she began to understand where Flynn got his incredibly good looks and hair from. "Oh... they''re still fast asleep even now. Well, it was to be expected" the Duchess said as she looked at both of her sons. "I''d have thought there were no training addicts again in this family asides Leopold but I was proven wrong by these two sweethearts" she continued as she moved towards Aiden''s side while sitting on the chair beside him. She then began to stroke his hair as she did so. "You''ve influenced your younger brother way too much" she said to the sleeping Aiden while moving her gaze over to Flynn before finally moving it over to Ivelia and Ivar. "Good morning Duchess" Ivar said immediately her gazended on them. "Oh Ivar. I''ve told you to drop the formalities. You''re a friend to my sons, are you not?" "Yes Ma''am" Ivar responded. "Then you''re just as much of a son to me. Please, at the very least, address me less formally" "Okay Mrs. Anna" Ivar replied while scratching the back of his hair. "Fair enough" Anna responded. Ivelia had also wanted to greet but no words coulde out of her mouth. She had been temporarily stunned by this ridiculously beautiful woman. Adding to that, the conversation between Ivar and her had made it hard for her to say anything coupled with the fact that she was really nervous, considering that her sons had put themselves in a lot of danger to save her. "And you must be Ivelia" Anna said, effectively jolting Ivelia out of her trance. Ivelia could only nod her head at what the Duchess said. "Aren''t you a beautiful flower!" Anna immediately said, a smile gracing her face as she ced her other hand on the side of her face. "Wha-! No! I''m not! You are Your Majesty! You''re so beautiful it''s blinding" Ivelia replied while iling her arms, her cheeks turning into a rosy shade. "Oh my!" Anna replied happily with a slight blush on her cheeks while smiling as she continued. "I''m thankful for thepliment but not you too! Why are my children''s friends so keen on addressing me formally?" she said with a slight pout but then she returned to her usual gentle smile as she spoke. "You see Ivelia, I''m not that hard to talk to, am I?" Anna had very much realized that the twins were being cautious around her, especially Ivelia. Ivar had also been like that after he met her yesterday but he had let down his guard considerably after she spoke to him yesterday. Ivelia however was meeting her for the first time. It was understandable that she''d be like that, especially considering how her sons had gone out of their way to fight a dark guild all on their own in an effort to save her. As a result, she knew that she''d also need to find a way to make herfortable around her the moment she met her. Ivelia upon realizing what the Duchess was trying to do considerably calmed down and began to speak again. "I apologize for what your sons had to go through because of me Mrs. Anna. However you decide to punish me for it, I''ll ept it" she said with a slight bow of her head. "I most certainly will not punish you. My sons were the ones who decided to put themselves in danger so you need not fret. Besides, it all worked out fine, didn''t it? That''s all that really matters" Anna responded. Ivelia wanted to show her gratitude once again to Anna but she was interrupted as the door to the room opened to reveal two 6-foot-tall men walking into the room. The first was a man who was so unnaturally handsome and looked simr to Aiden but in histe thirties. Instead of his hair falling over the sides of his face like Aiden''s, his hair was slicked back and tied in a ponytail with a few strands sticking out in front, revealing his sharp features. The other man had striking features too and was quite well built. He was also very good-looking with his dirty blonde hair styled in a naturally wavy manner across the sides of his face, deep blue eyes, a perfectly styled moustache and a small beard. "Hey honey. Sebastian!" Anna said as she watched both Leopold and Sebastian stroll in. "Hello dear" Leopold responded and Sebastian did immediately after. "Anna! It''s been a long while hasn''t it? You seem even more beautiful thanst time. Leopold my man! Ain''t you one lucky son of a gun!" Sebastian responded, his loud voice reverberating through the room as he pat Leopold on the back with a huge grin. "Oh thank you! I keep gettingpliments today" Anna responded to Sebastian. Leopold just let his friend be as he was very much used to his personality. He however still said a few words to him, his deep calm voice carrying his words with a very slight irritation to it. "I really would love it if you could stop hitting my back or shoulder every now and then Baz" "Is that so? I''ll try to be considerate from now on!" Sebastian said with a boisterousughter as he began to pat Leopold on the back again. "You say that every time..." Ivelia and Ivar watched on as the originally noise-free room now became quite rowdy. Even with that, Flynn and Aiden still kept sleeping without being disturbed by Sebastian''s boisterousughter. "I''m surprised they''re still asleep even with all this noise from you" Leopold said while staring at his sons. "It''s called mana exhaustion for a reason Leo. Besides, not many kids their age could do what they did. Just let them have their rest. They very much need it" Sebastian replied. He then shifted his gaze and stared at the twins for a moment before speaking. "Ivelia and Ivar Steelde, am I right?" The twins widened their eyes and wondered how someone knew their surnames even though they''d never told anyone, not even Aiden and Flynn about it. Sebastian realizing what was running through their heads, gave a slight smile, his previously boisterous look changing into one of familiarity as he spoke up once more. "I knew your father" Chapter 25 - 23 - Revelations II

Chapter 25: Chapter 23 - Revtions II

"I knew your father" The twins had no words to say. Ivelia and Ivar knew nothing about their parents'' past and the only one who had raised them as far back as they could remember was their Dad, along with Briar. Even though he raised them with as much love and care as he could give, he never ever talked about his past or even their mum once. As a result, the twins just kept staring at Sebastian, hoping that he could give them more information or details regarding what he just said. "Haaaaбн I say I knew him but honestly, there isn''t really much to say. Isaac kept so much to himself. All I know about him are mostly things I found out after he died" Sebastian sighed as he said. "I will tell you all that I know though" Sebastian continued while staring at the twin''s expectant eyes. They both paid rapt attention as they listened to Sebastian tell them about their father''s past. Their father, Isaac Steelde was one of the leading researchers at the Tower and a disowned noble from the Steelde family. The Steelde family had always been ones who prioritized power over everything else and so, when Isaac decided to focus on research instead ofbat, they disowned him. It also did not help that he fell in love with amoner but as Sebastian exined to them, their dad seemed unfazed by any of it. He instead continuously made efforts to create revolutionary potions and equipment that could make the lives of rankers and everyone in general better. The creation of a high-tier healing and mana potion was also as a result of his continued research and breakthroughs. However, Isaac always took no credit for it and redited those achievements to the Tower. The Steelde family upon realizing how great his achievements were tried to bring him back into their family but Isaac apparently denied all their advances and cut off all forms of rtions he had with them. Even with all of his achievements, Isaac was however framed for a crime he didn''tmit and the person who was involved in this crime was none other than Corneo, a previous executive member of the Tower who was in cahoots with Obelisk at the time. By the time the Tower found out the truth, Isaac had been assassinated by Corneo to prevent him from saying anything that could implicate him and had also managed to slip away, his whereabouts unknown. Not until recently. A heavy solemnness could be felt in the room as the twins found all of this new information quite heavy. Sebastian upon realizing the atmosphere was turning heavy very fast, decided to alleviate some of it with the next few words he spoke. "The reason I was able to recognize you two however was because Isaac had gotten drunk at one of the Tower''s get-togethers and was openly boasting about how cute and precious his kids were" Sebastian said. "He was basically shoving a photo of you guys into everyone''s face that day" Sebastian chuckled as he remembered the image of Isaac telling everyone about his precious kids. "It''d be weird if I didn''t remember your faces after seeing that picture but as at then, I didn''t know his wife died during her birth giving because he seemed so happy and didn''t really behave like someone who had lost his wife. I guess he was trying to put on a brave front so people wouldn''t pity him" "Yeah, that sounds very much like him" Ivelia said with a sad smile. Ivar also had a simrly sad smile on his face. "This actually clears up a lot of things" Leopold suddenly spoke, causing everyone''s attention to be on him. "The Tower recently created a healing potion with an efficacy of 95%" Leopold began. "Yes but how does that have anything to do with Ivelia and Ivar?" Sebastian questioned. "Well, it just so happens that Ivar and Ivelia also created a potion with simr efficacy a few months ago" "I see. That does make a lot of sen-бн Wait what?!" Sebastian''s eyes widened at what he just heard. "You heard right. These two created a healing potion with simr efficacy just five months ago before the Tower did" Leopold said once again, very much to Sebastian''s surprise. Realizing that Sebastian was still doubting what he heard, he retrieved a healing potion from his storage ring and threw it to Sebastian. Sebastian upon appraising it had his eyes widen once again in shock. He then stared at the twins with newfound respect in his eyes as he spoke. "This is amazing you two! How did you evene about making something like this with your limited resources?" "Would you like to exin or should I?" Ivar asked his sister to which she responded. "The floor is all yours Ivar" "Okay then. Well the thing is, our dad opened up a small shop in front of our home when we were about seven years old" Ivar started "We would usually help him whenever he was in hisb and that was how we eventually got to making potions by ourselves too" "When our dad died, all he left to us asides our house was a briefcase that seemed to contain documents involving ns he had for the future. That included a method to increase healing potion efficacy and one other document that had a potion he seemed like he was unable to create" "That was how we got to creating the healing potion" Ivar concluded. "You say that like it was such an easy thing to do" Sebastian said after finally recovering from his initial shock before he then continued. "In any case, I can see why Corneo must''ve been targeting you guys. That filthy swine! He even had the guts to make the lives of Isaac''s children miserable" Sebastian said with a big frown on his face. "He approached us with a document that said our father owed him some money and it seemed very legitimate so we genuinely thought our dad was owing him a big debt" Ivelia said. "It all turned out to be hogwash though because it seemed like he was actually after the form but wasn''t sure if we even had it in the first ce, hence his slimy approach towards us" Ivar concluded. "You''re right. That pig has always been the worst type of scumbag, even when he was an executive member of the Tower. I wonder how he even made it to that position" Sebastian replied to Ivar before he then continued, another boisterousughter escaping his lips as he did so. "I have to say though Ivar, you gave us quite the entertaining sight when you jammed a kick into that bastard''s balls. Hahaha!" "Language Sebastian!" Anna finally spoke after listening to their conversations for thest few minutes. She didn''t want to interrupt so far considering they were having a very serious discussion but Sebastian''s crudenguage had been ramping up as they continued the conversation. "You did?!" Ivelia asked with a bit of surprise in her voice "Hahaбн. About thatбн I was very pissed when I saw him and I just decided to hit him where I knew would hurt him the most. He had tried to escape through an underground bunker but unfortunately for him, one of the rankers who was securing the perimeter dragged him back and brought him to us" Ivar replied while scratching the back of his head. "You too Ivelia. You''re quite the feisty one, aren''t you? I heard you stabbed him quite a few times and even bit him when he tried to force himself on you from one of the members that was interrogated. Good job!" Sebastian said with a thumbs up while giving a big grin. "You shouldn''t be telling a youngdy something like that Sebastian!" Anna nagged at him. She then proceeded tofort Ivelia. "It must''ve been a horrible experience dear. I hope it wasn''t too traumatic for you?" Anna asked, concern evident in her voice. "I''m fine Mrs. Anna. It was quite scary but I held my ground" Ivelia said with a slight smile. Although she was still quite cautious and nervous around the duchess, she very much liked the motherly warmth and concern Anna was giving her. "Okay dear. Feel free toe and talk to me whenever you feel like it alright." "I will" Ivelia responded with a smile. "One thing''s still bugging me thoughбн" Sebastian said with a thoughtful look while stroking his small beard. "And what''s that?" Leopold asked "Well, in that picture Isaac kept shoving into my face, I saw three childrenбн You guys obviously and one baby girl with brown hairбн" "That''sбн That''s Briar." Ivelia said, her expression bing sad again. "Our dad brought her home one day and said she was our cousin and that we should treat her nicely and take good care of her. Apparently, our mum''s sister passed away and left her only daughter all alone. She was just a few months old at the time" Ivelia continued. "Our dad died not long after and so we had to look after her butбн" Ivelia paused, her voice bing choky as she did so. "But what dear?" Anna asked gently this time sensing that this must be a very touchy subject for the twins. "She came down with mana deficiency when she was two years old" Ivar said, his voice carrying a deep sadness to it. He then continued. "We had to take her to the nearest hospital and we''ve managed to at least pay the hospital bills for the past two years. We knew the hospital could only ensure that she stayed alive and not actually treat her but it was the only option we had" "Briar''s sickness was actually what prompted us to begin to make the healing potion better as we figured that if we could increase its efficacy to 99%, we might possibly be able to save her" Ivelia concluded. ''Man deficiency huh...'' Leopold thought to himself. A rare abnormality that happens to kids between the age of one to five. These kids are usually unable umte mana in their body and require a surgical operation where all the blood in their body is immediately drained and a new blood type which can umte mana is transfused into them immediately. They would then require about a year in cryogenic pods for their body to limatize to the new blood. Although the process could be slowed down by giving them certain medicines and forcibly inducinga by sedating them, it would only just serve as stop-gap solution and eventually, the child would die if they did not undergo surgery. "Well you won''t have to worry anymore because we will be taking care of Briar from now on and ensuring that she gets the best medical care and attention" Leopold said. The twins looked at each other with teary eyes and then began to thank the Duke profusely. Leopold had to calm both of them down while telling them that it was alright and that they should just focus on trying to ensure that their father''s life''s work and efforts didn''t go to waste. The twins nodded their heads vigorously at this. "With all that being said, there are a few things I should let you know" Leopold spoke once again. "First off, you guys will be staying with us from now on for very obvious reasons. There are enough rooms to amodate both of you, and also, no. You cannot reject our offer". "The obvious reasons involve the fact that once all of Arcadia, the Big Families and even your original family, the Steeldes and the world knows what you two have achieved, they''ll be looking for any means possible to get you on their side. That includes the dirty methods too" "Leo''s right. If anything at all, the Belmonts can guarantee you safety until you''re of age to enter Arcana Academy, along with Flynn and Aiden so it really is the best option" Sebastian said while cing his hands on Leopold''s shoulder. "Secondly, we can provide you with all that you''ll need to continue your research here. We''ll even remodel a room here at our mansion into aboratory specifically for your research" "Andstly, my two sleeping sons'' asides from already signing a contract with you, literally have no other friends their age. I would love for that to change drastically. This is something both Anna and I have agreed on. So, what do you say?" Leopold concluded while gesturing to the twins. "We ept your offer sir!" the twins replied in unison. Chapter 26 - 24 - Weapon Arts

Chapter 26: Chapter 24 - Weapon Arts

Leopold was staring at a small holographic screen that was ying a video in his office. The video was the feed he had gotten from the surveince camera of the warehouse his sons went to save Ivelia. It had been over a month since that event had happened but Leopold had re-watched both of his son''s battle multiple times since that day. Today was no different as he kept staring with a very thoughtful look on his face. If there was one thing he could say, it was that both of his son''s battle prowess was really impressive. Their mastery over theirbat arts was also no joke as they seemed very close to perfecting it. ''Aiden has a very good battle instinct while Flynn fights with a lot of rationality, although both of them are still very reckless'' "Hmmбн at this rate, I think it''s best if I just allow them to start their weapon arts training" he muttered to himself "Honestly, I have no idea what it is you''re feeding those twoбн" "Bazбн Do you have a penchant for sneaking up on people? And no, I''m not feeding them anything" "No Leo. You were just lost in your thoughts again, so much that you didn''t even notice me walk in" Sebastian corrected. "бн" -Sigh "I know it''s not my ce to say anything, but you really should just allow them to start their weapon arts training. I''ve never seen teenagers their age fight with such resolve and intensity" Sebastian spoke once again after sighing. "Anna also said the same thing you know. She also saw the feed so she gave the exact same verdict" Leopold said with a bit of worry in his voice. "I know I should be d and all but the way they train, it''s almost likeбн it''s almost like they''re preparing for somethingбн something only both of them knowбн" Leopold continued. "Well, shouldn''t you hurry up and have them start learning their weapon arts as soon as possible then" Sebastian immediately replied. "If you''re so worried that they''re preparing for something, give them all the tools they''ll need to be able to ovee it" Sebastian concluded. "It''s so weird how both you and Anna say the exact same thing" Leopold said with a smile. Anna and Leopold had fallen in love with each other since they were tweens. They were what you''d call childhood sweethearts. Sebastian had also been a friend in their age group and was the only close friend Leopold had asides Anna since they were kids. Leopold was a training addict while growing up because he quickly realized that he wasn''t blessed like some of his peers. He had also realized that if he didn''t want tog behind his peers and even surpass a lot of them, even the blessed and talented ones, he would need to put in an insane amount of effort and hard work. This mindset of his paid off greatly as he was able to keep up and stand toe to toe with the peers of his generation but that came at a cost as Leopold, just like his two sons right now, was unable to make any proper friends while growing up. That was until he met Anna and they both fell in love with each other. He also met Sebastian around the same time he met Anna and although Leopold found Sebastian and his overly boisterous personality quite annoying at first, he eventually warmed up to him and they''d been buddies ever since. "Well that''s not unexpected. We''re the only people who would give the best advice whenever you need it" Sebastian said while returning his friend''s smile. "Thank you Baz. Well then, it''s time I headed home" Leopold said as he began to stash some documents into his spatial ring. "Anytime Leo. See you tomorrow partner" Sebastian responded while waving as he walked out of the office. Leopold drove home within fifteen minutes after leaving his office at the Tower. On getting home, the first thing he did was to call for Frank. "Frank, I''ll have you begin to train Aiden and Flynn starting next tomorrow. I''m nning to have them begin their weapon arts training" "Is that so, sire? Then I shall also ready myself then" Butler Frank responded. "Don''t hold back. Train them like their lives are on the line. Just like you did with me". "As you wish sire" Butler Frank responded once again, but this time, with a slight bow of his head. After informing Butler Frank about what he needed to do, Leopold then asked him to call for the rest of the family. They all sat down in the main living room they had in the mansion while waiting for Anna. Apparently she had been taking a bath so they had to wait for a while until she arrived. They all started making small talk to pass the time and Flynn could be seen having a conversation with Ivelia, and from the looks of it, both of them were pretty invested in whatever it was they were talking about. Ivar, Aiden and Leopold on the other hand seemed to be discussing about a recent sport that was in vogue but as soon as Anna came into the room and sat beside Leopold, he cleared his throat to gather all of their attention, after which he then proceeded to speak. "After careful consideration, I''ve decided that both of you should begin your weapon arts training" Leopold started. "Shouldn''t that be given to us five months from now?" Aiden immediately asked to which Flynn immediately also interjected. "I mean, it''s fine and all but isn''t that usually given once we''vepletely mastered ourbat art?" "Yes, that should''ve been the case but considering the rate at which both of you are improving, I don''t think starting a bit earlier will hinder your progress at all" Leopold responded. "I''ve already filled in Frank on how to go about your training so you will be starting next tomorrow" "I see. We appreciate it Da-бн Wait! Butler Frank?!" Aiden said with a bit of surprise in his tone. He had read the novel so many times but never was it explicitly stated who it was that trained Aiden. He always believed Aiden had trained himself so this was quite unexpected. ''This is quite the infoбн'' Aiden inwardly thought. "Yeah. Frank will be training you from now henceforth. I may also join in every once in a while. Also, in case you didn''t know, Frank is a low-tier S-ranker" Leopold said once again. "Wow! That is crazy" Flynn said with a very surprised look on his face and Aiden had a simr expression too. "Ivar and Ivelia, you can also join the training sessions if you want to. Although I understand you both aren''t suited forbat, learning a few offensive and defensive spells can reallye in handy every now and then" "We understand" Ivelia and Ivar replied. Over the course of thest one month they''d been staying with the Belmonts, the twins had gotten quitefortable with them and were no longer constantly on guard or cautious around either the Duke or the Duchess. "Now you twoбн" Anna began with her focus on her sons. "Leo and I know there''s probably a reason why you two have greatly increased the intensity of your training. We won''t ask why but whenever you''re ready to tell us, we''ll be all ears" she said with an understanding gaze. "We really can''t hide anything from you guys huh..." Aiden said with a slight smile on his lips. "Now although we trust you both greatly, and we know that you''ll both be responsible as to how you go about said training, I would be very much at peace if you could take a break every once in a while. I really do not want you to be a total training addict like your Father here" Anna continued while squinting her eyes and pointing at her sons with two of her fingers, a slight frown on her face before moving her gaze over and squinting at Leopold. -Ahem! Leopold averted his gaze from her while coughing as he proceeded to continue from where he left off. This caused everyone to chuckle as they found the usually stoic Duke averting his gaze because he had been cornered to be very amusing. "With all that being said, you''ll need to select whatever weapon and weapon art you''ll need Flynn. I''m asking because I know that although Aiden''s going to use our family''s {Berserker Art}, you, young man seem to already know what''s best for you so shoot. Which weapon art do you n to use?" "I find it scary how you''re able to read my mind so easily these days Dad but yeah, I''m not going to be using any of our family''s weapon art" Flynn said after which he then continued. "Remember how the Tower had wanted to reward us but we had asked you to tell them to keep things under wrap" "Yesбн" Leopold responded to Flynn. "Well now I want to call in their favour. {Moonveil Art}, that''s what I want" Flynn concluded. Aiden stared at Flynn with a look that seemed to say ''I knew you were going for that'' but Flynn just shrugged his shoulders. {Moonveil Art}. A weapon art that had been previously used by Amael in his early years before he eventually created his own weapon art and switched over to it. It was, safe to say, the most difficult weapon art to understand, let alone master. "Haaaaбн You really do ask for the craziest things" Leopold responded with a sigh. "Well it''s not really that hard to get but are you really sure you want to learn that. You know that weapon art is notorious for being very hard to master with the number of people who have mastered it over the years numbering only in single digits" "I do, but I''m certain I can master it in due time" Flynn replied confidently. "Well then. I''ll have it sent to you once I get to work tomorrow" "Thanks dad" "Don''t mention it" After the long discussion about the weapon arts and the new training regime was over, the family began to discuss other mundane things as their voices andughter filled the room they were in until sleep prompted them all to disperse to their respective rooms while thinking about the next day. Chapter 27 - 25 - The Tower

Chapter 27: Chapter 25 - The Tower

Flynn and Aiden stared and gawked at the humongous towering structure before them. As they did, Leopold got out of the driver''s seat and called to his sons. "Flynn. Aiden. Let''s go" He then watched as his sons still kept looking at the headquarters of The Tower with awe,pletely taken in by its massive size and scale. ''Ah... I guess they''ve never actually seen it up close'' Leopold thought to himself. ''Well, they''re not the only ones to have reacted this way after seeing it up-close for the first time. I''ll let them gawk for a few more secondsбн'' After realizing that his sons were still staring in awe after about ten seconds, Leopold went over and ced his palms on each of their heads while urging them on. "That''s enough staring from you two. Now let''s move" Both teenagers seemed to have being brought out of their amazement and immediately realized that they must''ve looked like country bumpkins to the staff members walking around despite living in this world for a rtively long time. Unknown to both them, people were taken in more by their looks than the expressions they had on their faces. "Sorry about that dad" Aiden said with a bit of embarrassment in response to their father''s words while Flynn just nodded in response. Their awe wasn''t unfounded though because although they had an idea about just how massively tall and wide The Tower was, both from their memories of reading the novel and the asional view of it from afar when they drove through the city streets of New Eden, it did little to no justice in how it looked like in actuality. "It''s alright. Let''s get this over with though. We still have one more stopter today" Leopold replied. "Yeah" Flynn replied with another nod as they all made their way into The Tower through the wide and opaque automatic ss doors. Why were Flynn and Aiden at The Tower you ask? Well, originally, Leopold had nned to just request for the {Moonveil Art} and have it sent to Flynn via Butler Frank but Flynn had suddenly asked Leopold that he was curious about how The Tower looked like this morning. He had also told him that in contrast to Aiden''s {Berserker Art} which required the use of a Greatsword or any other heavy weapon, the {Moonveil Art} required the use of light weapons like a Katana. Their family members and their ancestors also used their family''s weapon art so all of the weapons in their vault consisted of heavy weapons such as greatswords, maces, hammers and so many others with literally no light weapon. Leopold upon also realizing this and going through his schedule for the day, noticed that he had little to no work so he decided to just bring his youngest son along. He also ensured to inform the required personnel''s and have them know of his son''s visit. Aiden however just decided to tag along. He was also quite curious. As both brothers stepped into the headquarter of The Tower along with their dad, they were greeted by a sleek and modern interior design in the form of a reception hall that exuded a bnce between functional aesthetics and professionalism. The receptionists who were smartly dressed in white shirts and ck pants or skirts upon seeing Leopold walking in greeted him with a weing and charming smile. "Good morning Duke Leopold!" they all greeted with friendly smiles. "Splendid morning we''re having don''t you think sir?" one of the female receptionists added. "Good morning. Yes it is" Leopold responded in kind. The females among them seemed to be puffing their chests out for some reason as they greeted Leopold but upon seeing the two young teenagers trailing behind him, they went into a trance-like state for a few seconds but almost immediately snapped back into their professional state. Aiden and Flynn who werepletely oblivious to the distractions and head turning they were causing, continued surveying the internals of The Tower with a sense of wonder in their eyes. Eventually, they moved to the elevators while following Leopold as he gave them a brief overview of how the upper floors were. Apparently, the upper floors wereposed of perfectly-sized private offices and open-n areas, with certain floors reserved for other purposes. The higher your rank, the higher the floors you''ll be assigned to and the bigger your office would be. The open-n areas featured high-tech holographic screens with modr desks while the private offices had a personal workstation equipped with advanced holographicputer systems and keyboards, ergonomic chairs, desks and a docking station formunication devices. The Tower''s headquarters had 100 floors. D-rankers and C-rankers were assigned mostly to the research, logistics, analysts, crime scene investigation and forensics department and upied floors 2 to 49. B-rankers and above could decide where they wanted to be assigned to and quite a lot of them usually chose to be on-field with the rest of them sticking to other important positions that helped this giant monolith function effectively. (A/N: *On-Field; Kinda like the way police officers, detectives, SWAT Teams work) They usually upied the remaining floors except the 95th floors and above which was solely reserved for the executives. Executive positions were dependent on how well you performed and your work efficiency. Core ranks were not usually required here and an individual was purely selected on how much they contributed to The Tower''s ecosystem. Upon reaching the 50th floor, Leopold stepped out of the elevators with his sons and they were greeted by the centralmand center. This expansive room they were in had no sectioned private offices but instead was filled with a vast array high-resolution disy screens, each showcasing real-time data feeds from surveince cameras, drones and satellites. The screens were seamlessly integrated into the walls, providing a panoramic view of the city''s activities. In the center of the room, a circr control panel was operated on by highly trained staff members who were coordinating operations and monitoring the screen withser-focused intensity. "Wowбн" Flynn muttered to himself. Aiden just stared on without saying anything but both brothers were now able to fully appreciate just how much work went into running The Tower. There might be a few scumbags here and there, especially in the executive departments but both of them acknowledged the efforts the Tower was putting in to maintain peace and order in the city of New Eden and all of Arcadia itself, considering the numerous branches they had. "Amazing right?" Sebastian who seemed to have popped out of nowhere said as he watched the two teenagers stare in awe. "Hey Baz" Leopold said, giving his greetings to his long-time friend and partner. "Leo my man!" Sebastian replied with his booming voice while pping Leopold''s back. Leopold who was seemingly used to his friend''s habit just sighed and let him be. "Uncle Baz!" Flynn and Aiden eximed in unison at the sudden appearance of their father''s close friend. "Hey boys. Themand center''s amazing right?" Sebastian asked once again to which both boys nodded. He then followed up with a question while stroking his chin. "Gotta ask though, what exactly are you guys doing here? The Tower doesn''t just allow sudden visits you know?" "Well, we wanted to get an idea about how The Tower functioned so I asked for my Dad to bring us over, but that''s not the only reason" Flynn replied. "Yeah. Anyway, we need to head to the 85th floor now. I''ll fill you in on the details as we go Baz" Leopold said. "No problem then" Sebastian responded while following Leopold who was now heading back towards the elevator. Aiden and Flynn followed closely behind and they all got into the elevator. Leopold set the floor number to 85 and began to fill Sebastian in on the actual reason his sons were here at The Tower. "So you''re telling me that he wants the {Moonveil Art}?" Sebastian asked Leopold with a bit of apprehension as they all stepped out of the elevator to the 85th floor. "Yeah" Leopold replied casually. ''Um, I''m right here you knowбн Why am I being talked about in the third person?'' Flynn inwardlyined. Leopold had filled Sebastian in on why they were actually here at The Tower and his reaction had been as Flynn and Aiden had expected. Aiden who had noticed the subtle changes in Flynn''s seemingly normal expression stifled a smallughter but his eyes had betrayed him and Flynn just squinted at him. ''And thisdies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons why it''s annoying to have someone who can urately guess your internal thoughtsбн haaaaбн'' Flynn inwardly said and sighed to himself. "Are you sure about this decision Flynn?" Sebastian asked Flynn carefully, a bit of uneasiness in his voice. The careful look on Sebastian''s face really didn''t suit someone with a boisterous personality like his and Flynn found it slightly amusing but he answered confidently as if to put his worries to rest. "Yes. I''m sticking with my decision" "You do know it''s the hardest weapon art to master?" Sebastian asked once again. "I know, but it''ll be fine. I think I can master it in due time" Flynn confidently responded again. "Don''t stress yourself Uncle Baz. He''s never going to change his mind" Aiden finally spoke up after sessfully stifling hisughter. "Haaaбн You boys are a real headache to deal with" Sebastian replied, seemingly giving up on trying to persuade Flynn. "Tell me about it" Leopold added, his calm voiceced with a bit of resignation. As soon as Leopoldpleted that statement, they finally reached the middle of the corridor of the 85th floor. Due to their conversation, Flynn and Aiden had been unable to ask why the 85th floor had a single narrow corridor without any other thing in sight asides the concrete walls on both sides which had the logo of The Tower on it. As both of them were about to ask, someone suddenly materialized out of thin air like dust particles and approached all four of them with light casual steps and an amiable smile on his lips. He was an old man who seemed to be in his seventies judging by the small wrinkles present on his face and he was wearing a ck suit that perfectly suited him. He had grey hair and a perfectly maintained beard and moustache, along with merlot red eyes that carried years of wisdom hidden deep within them. Even though he looked old, he looked very fit for someone his age. Aiden and Flynn were startled by this sudden appearance but Leopold and Sebastian just looked like they had expected this. His name, although currently unknown to Flynn and Aiden, was Julius Hargreaves. Chapter 28 - 26 - Fissure

Chapter 28: Chapter 26 - Fissure

"Leopold. Sebastian" Julius greeted calmly after reaching them. Both of them nodded respectfully in response to his greeting. He then turned his gaze and lowered it a bit towards Flynn and Aiden who were still waiting for someone to exin what all this was, as was evident from the startled and questioning looks they had on their faces. "And I presume you two must be Aiden and Flynn Belmont?" Julius rhetorically asked, his voice carrying a sagely feel to them. Both brothers nodded in response to this. Although they still had no idea who this was and still could not pinpoint anyone with simr features in the novel, they knew from his demeanor that he meant no harm. "Well this is certainly interestingбн" Julius said, his hands stroking his beard as he stared at Aiden. ''B-rank at such a young ageбн He''ll probably reach high-tier B-rank in the next few monthsбн'' Julius mused to himself. "Aiden. Flynn. Meet Julius Hargreaves. An executive of The Tower" Sebastian finally said to both teenagers, answering all the questioning looks they had on their faces. Aiden and Flynn had their eyes widen from surprise when Sebastian introduced who it was that was standing before them. To the rest of them there, it might''ve just seemed like both teenagers were amazed to have met one of the highest ranking people from The Tower but that was far from what was actually going on in their minds. ''Julius Hargreaves! One of the SSS rankers who took down three of the demon king''s general all on his own at towards the end of the novel'' both brothers inwardly thought to themselves. ''I always found it weird that he just popped out of nowhere towards the end of the novel but considering that the novel was written from Aiden''s point of view, it''s understandable that a few things would never get touched upon until they directly affected him. That''s probably why there were no descriptions of Julius Hargreavesбн'' Aiden continued inwardly. "Aiden Belmontбн Would you like to join The Tower once you''re done at the Academy?" Julius calmly asked. Sebastian was about to interject but Leopold beat him to it. "Julius, with all due respect, I''d appreciate it if you didn''t try to rope my son into joining the Tower. He should be allowed to make whatever decisions he''d like to without anyone''s influence" "I seeбн" Julius remarked, unperturbed by Leopold''s words. "It''s nothing really. I just thought he''d be a great addition to our forces in the future" Julius spoke again, after which he continued. "But you''re right. He should be allowed to make his own decisions" he finished with an amiable smile. A weird silence passed between all of them after Julius''s response. Flynn watched Aiden''s fingers subconsciously move over to tap his spatial ring and immediately smacked his hands quietly. He then gave him a look that said ''You were really nning to pull out that popcorn, weren''t you?'' Aiden responded to Flynn''s gesture with a simr look that replied ''What? It was just getting interesting. I couldn''t resist!'' The other three watched the weird interaction between both brothers without any idea what it was they were doing. Julius''s eyes however reflected his willingness to not push the topic any further. After another brief silence passed between all of them, Julius spoke up once again. "That being said, I would like to thank both of you on behalf of the Tower for your involvement in catching Corneo" Julius began. "Although that may not have been your intent considering you had asked Leopold to request for The Tower to keep what happened under wraps, it was still very important to us. Thank you once again" Julius concluded. Both brothers nodded once again in response to his words. "Now, with that out of the way, let''s get you that weapon art Flynn Belmont" Julius said, his arms outstretching and his hands ced onto the concrete wall. As he did, a white hue covered his palms and suddenly, the walls disintegrated into white dust-like particles to reveal a white room with arge transparent ss window and about a hundred scrolls carefully arranged onto small concrete pedestals on the other side of it, each scroll having its own pedestal. Julius calmly walked over into the white room, therge transparent ss window automatically opening in response to him. The ceiling lights illuminated the white room even further with a faint golden glow and Julius who was walking pretty leisurely upon reaching a certain pedestal came to a halt. He then picked up the scroll on it and walked back towards Flynn and the others. Upon stepping back out of the room, the walls immediately reassumed their structure and reintegrated. "I wonder what type of magic he uses to be able to do things like that" Aiden muttered to himself. "You must be pretty confident to want to practice this weapon art" Julius said with a bit of interest in his voice while giving the scroll to Flynn. Flynn just smiled at hisment while receiving the scroll. You see, the thing with the {Moonveil Art} was that it was a theoretical weapon art. No memories were infused into the scroll when it was created. Instead, it was written by someone purely based on theoretical application. To use or master it, an individual must be able to urately imagine and have a ridiculously strong visual representation of how the weapon art works and functions. There were a few weapon arts like that too in this world but it was exceptionally rare, with most of them being eithermon or rare grade. {Moonveil Art} art was the only epic one to have been created. It was created by an unknown individual around the early periods when mana was introduced to the world and its power, ording to the few people who had been able to learn it and use it, was exceptionally powerful, rivalling and even beating some of those that were created by the big families. Theoretical weapon arts like this were not exceptionally hard to learn but the {Moonveil Art} was just on another level. However, for Flynn who had yed "The Lone Hero" multiple times and had equipped that same weapon art so many times on multiple ythroughs, he had a very strong visual and mental representation of how the {Moonveil Art} functioned. "Thank you Mr. Hargreaves" Flynn eventually replied after a few seconds, a slight smile still adorning his face. *** After Flynn had been given the weapon art, Leopold who had expected his schedule to be rather free today, had an impromptu situatione up so he ended up staying back. He however gave the car keys to Aiden and Flynn, along with a sizable amount of Arceum, 5,000AR to be precise and told them to go get Flynn''s weapon. He had also informed them that after they were done with that, they coulde back at any time and he would be ready to head home along with them. With that, Aiden drove out of the gates of The Tower along with Flynn, a temporary guest pass given to both of them for when they wereing back. As Aiden drove through the city streets of New Eden, he pressed on a button that caused the convertible roof to open and retract. The cool breeze of thete morning blew both brother''s hair, ruffling their hair gently as they cruised through the streets. Both teenagers enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the car drive but suddenly, the radio which had been ying a soothing waltz immediately transitioned into the voice of a female news anchor. Aiden and Flynn perked their ears to listen to the reason for the sudden switch. "Good morningdies and gentlemen. We have breaking newsing in from downtown Little Redania where we''ve received intel that a sudden fissure has appeared at a nearby construction site. ording to our team who''s presently on ground, rankers from various guilds have arrived and are getting ready to delve into it. It has been rated B-tier based on its mana levels so it should be sorted out as soon as possible. As we receive more information, we will continue to bring you live updates. Do ensure to steer clear of getting too close to that area and remember to drive safely" Aiden and Flynn upon hearing those words immediately looked at each other, their eyes conveying their curiosity and without even a single hesitation, Aiden turned around at the next corner. They were literally 15 minutes away from Little Redania from the current district of Frostshire they were in. There was no way they wanted to miss seeing a fissure they had only read about in the novel for real. After about 11 minutes of "very" safe driving, Aiden and Flynn were now at downtown Little Redania and as expected, a crowd of people were also here, although they were being regted by multiple barricades from officials of The Tower who had probably been patrolling the area before the fissure''s appearance. Popr rankers and guild members were going to be here, and considering how they were treated like celebrities, you really couldn''t me so many people for being here and even disregarding the warnings of various news channel. "Look! The Onyx guild and Serpent guild members are about to go in!" "I wonder if any of their guild masters or big guilds are nning to show upбн" "Why would they? It''s only a B-tier fissure" "It sure would be nice if they could show up" "It''s Hamiel Brock from Onyx! God he''s so freaking cool!" "Like he could ever be a badass like Lisa Frostburn from the Serpent guild" Aiden and Flynn who were here due to their curiosity couldn''t help but hear the various conversations the crowd was having. They had seen the fissure, an irregrly shaped obsidian-ck vertical slit that was about 15m long in height and about 7m wide. Its dark exterior looked like a starry night and it was exuding quite a bit of mana. "So this is how a fissure looks likeбн" Flynn said, amazement in his voice. "Yeahбн It''s so unrealбн" Aiden responded, a simr trail of amazement present in his voice too. After waiting for a few more minutes, Flynn and Aiden watched as the rankers delved into the fissure,pletely armed to the teeth with theirbat attires, weapons, potions and other required equipment. "Yeahбн I think we should head on over and just get your weapon now Flynn" Aiden said, immediately igniting the car''s engine. "Sureбн we''ll find out about the results of their delve anywayter through the news" Flynn responded as his brother drove away from the site of the fissure''s appearance. They then went to a nearby weapons store where Flynn, after perusing through the variety of light weapons present in the store, settled on and bought about a dozen Katanas. Considering he was going to be using it for training, he had a feeling he was going to be needing more than just a few. Upon doing that, both brother''s headed over back to The Tower to pick up their dad. On their way back, they had heard from the same female news anchor that the fissure had been sessfully cleared. Chapter 29 - 27 - Butler Frank

Chapter 29: Chapter 27 - Butler Frank

-Skiddd! Flynn could be seen skidding back in an unstable manner on the grassy field while struggling to maintain his bnce. He struggled to regain control and as he did so, he raised his head, only to meet Aiden''s flying back as thetter crashed into him, resulting in both of themnding on the field with a roll. -Thwam! They both groaned at the heavy collision as theyy sprawled on the ground, especially Aiden. He had just been sent flying with a brutal palm strike from Frank and although he had tried to slow down his momentum mid-air by adjusting himself, the force from Frank''s palm strike was far stronger than he had anticipated, causing him to fly back in an instant and crash into Flynn who was struggling to regain his bnce. ''S-rankers are no joke!'' Aiden thought to himself even as he was groaning on the floor. Frank wasn''t in his butler attire today but instead, he wore a ck T-shirt which hugged his body and revealed all of the muscles he had been hiding under his tailored suit along with ck pants. He also had his hair in a less styled manner and even though he was in his early fifties, he very much looked like he was in his early forties. "You don''t have the luxury for that young masters" Frank said as he appeared in their field of view while raising his foot in a stomping motion. ''Shit!'' Flynn cursed as he saw the footing close to his face and in a split second, narrowly avoided it by rolling away. He then attempted to leg lock Frank in one swift motion while grabbing onto his sword which had left his hand from his collision with Aiden but the butler was prepared. "First rule of a swordfight young master Flynn" Frank said as he swung his leg and delivered a swift kick to Flynn''s gut, a move that was very effective as Flynn felt his stomach churn and twist, soliciting another painful sound to release from his mouth. -Kah! "Never ever loosen your grip on your weapon. The moment you do so, you''re at a severe disadvantage" Frank concluded. Frank''s kick sent him flying back again a few meters, but this time, he twisted his body in an unnatural manner at mid-air and regained his footing while skidding backwards, a tree halting his momentum as he dropped on one knee while holding his stomach with a painful grimace. This all happened in a matter of seconds. ''Those acrobatic skills are reallying in handy'' Flynn inwardly thought while strengthening his grip on his katana. "Noted Frank!" Flynn then responded with a groan as he took Frank''s advice to heart. Aiden during those seconds, had immediately gotten up with a no-hand Chinese kip-up and had reached for his greatsword which he then grabbed onto very firmly while also taking Frank''s advice very seriously. Like a bolt of lightning, he dashed at an immense speed towards Frank who had his back turned to him but he knew that Frank could still very much react to his speed. Frank was an S-ranker after all. Frank who had been keeping his eyes all along on Aiden with his mana sense, swiftly turned towards him and had expected a downward swing from Aiden''s greatsword but instead, he watched as Aiden immediately stopped a few meters in front of him and in double-quick motion, changed his stance into the first form of the {Berserker Art}. It was very sloppy but it was stillmendable. The butler watched this while inwardly thinking about how it had only been a day since the weapon art scroll had been given to him but he already had the concepts down. ''He really is a genius...'' Frank thought to himself. ''Butбн'' "{Berserker Art - First Form: Whir-}" Frank immediately disappeared from his spot and appeared directly behind Aiden, almost like he was jumping through space but it was actually because he was that fast. Aiden and Flynn were still not at a level where they could see such ridiculously fast movements so it appeared to them that way. "Second rule of a swordfightбн" Frank said while delivering another powerful palm strike to Aiden''s back. "Do not use a move that will put you at a disadvantage, especially if your opponent is stronger or faster than you" he concluded. "Kaaahhh!!!" Aiden let out a pained cry due to the powerful attack that he had to endure from Frank and he watched himself fly through the air and heading towards Flynn again. Flynn however was prepared this time and he immediately casted his force field spell. "[Telekic Series: Force Field]" -Bwump! Aiden smashed onto the green aquamarine transparent-like small dome that surrounded Flynn and bounced of off it while falling to the ground. "Thanksбн" he said gratefully, his voiceced with pain asnded with a little less force on the ground. "Don''t mention it. Now get up! Another attack will being any mi-" -Fwoosh! Flynn was not even able toplete his statement before Frank once again disappeared and appeared at their sides in a sh. As he did so, he spoke up once again. "Third rule in a swordfight, or any other fight for that matterбн" This time, Aiden and Flynn immediately jumped backwards but Frank once again appeared in their field of view while stretching out his two arms towards their heads. "Your eyes will deceive you more often than not so always have your mana sensitivity at its maximum" Frank concluded as he flicked his fingers against the head of the two brothers. The force from the impact of that single flick sent them flying once again as they both collided with the ground while rolling and spinning until their momentum came to a halt. The attack seemed to have been very painful as both brothers looked to be in a lot of pain, especially considering how they clutched their heads tightly while rolling around on the field. Throughout all of these, Frank still had the same amiable smile across his face. Ivar who had been watching all of these from afar had a chill run down his spine when he saw Frank''s amiable and gentle smile. "Mister Ivar, would you like to join us?" Frank asked Ivar with the same amiable smile he had been carrying all along. Ivar vehemently and rigorously shook his in refusal, so much that it seemed like he was trying to snap his own neck off. He had decided. He would only train with them once he broke into C-rank. Until then, he would focus on their dad''s research with his sister. Unless, there was no point in joining them as he could barely even keep up with their movements right now. "Very well then. Do feel free to join us whenever you''d like" Frank spoke once again with a smile. He then turned his gaze to look at the two teenagers who were struggling to get up on their feet. Aiden seemed to be in a much worse state, especially since he received more heavy attacks from him but even with that, Frank could see the resolution in their eyes. They stared at him with a powerful intensity. Like a wall they were going to climb and even surpass. Flynn especially, had an even more intense gaze and Frank couldn''t help but feel happy about this. He had known these kids since the day they had been born and he had seen them go through their highs and their lows. The fact that they could have this much resolution to get stronger meant that they had left the past in the past and were looking forward to the future. "I don''t even know if he''s happy or just being a sadist at this point" Aiden said in a hushed voice to Flynn while watching Frank, a pained wince present on his face even as he spoke. "And I thought you were a devil for always beating the crap out of me in our spars. I think I just found a new contender for that title" Flynn replied in a simr hushed tone with a slight groan. "Young masters, forgive my next few words but it needs to be said" Frank spoke up. This caused the brothers to stop their conversation and pay attention to Frank''s words. "Your fight with the members of the dark guild. The Duke told me all about it and I also watched the video feed myself. Although what you achieved was verymendable, I''d like you to understand that you were also very lucky. If you had encountered even just one more high-tier C-ranker or in the worst case, a B-ranker, you both may have very well lost your lives. This brings me to my next advice to both of you" "Never ever depend on luck in a battle with your life on the line" Frank concluded Aiden and Flynn responded in unison after taking in Frank''s word. "We understand!" "Very good. Now then, let''s continue" The moment Frank said those words, his expression morphed into an icy cold one and he released an insanely high intensity of bloodlust and pressure solely towards the two brothers. "Urk! Thisбн isn''tбн anything likeбн the oneбн from that bodyguard!" Aiden immediately said while taking a step back, barely struggling to utter the words and also maintain his stance as he did. "You think!" Flynn responded in annoyance, barely forcing the words out of his mouth. He felt like his life was going to be snuffed out if he so much as moved an inch from where he was. Added to that was the mana pressure that felt like a few truck tons were ced onto his whole body. He was currently standing on one foot with his other knee on the ground while gripping onto the katana that he had etched onto the grassy field as a way to support himself from the pressure that bore down on him. "Another useful advice. Intimidation in battle is a powerful weapon when used correctly" Frank spoke coldly, after which he then continued. "I will be training both of you like this with this same pressure and bloodlust every day from now on so you''ll need to get used to it young masters" "Now then, let''s start your training for real" Frank said ominously, his previously amiable smilepletely gone and reced with an icy, dangerous gaze, along with an even more dangerous glint in his eyes. Chapter 30 - 28 - Back To The Basics

Chapter 30: Chapter 28 - Back To The Basics

-Thwam! Flynn and Aiden mmed into each other with immense force, knocking both of them unconscious for a few seconds as they copsed to the ground. Both of them had tried to pincer Frank by attacking him from both his left and right side but the butler had skillfully evaded them by spinning on his heels, causing both of their weapons to harmlessly swoosh past him. He then used the momentum from his spin to grab both of them by the head and smack them into each other. "Arrrggghhh!!!" "Shhiiittt!!!" Flynn let out a painful groan while Aiden cussed in pain as their heads collided with immense force, after which they both fell to the ground while rolling around on the floor, still reeling from the pain of the head shattering m they had both just experienced. "That''s enough training for today young masters. You bothsted approximately five minutes today even with the immense pressure and bloodlust I was putting you under. That''s a lot of progresspared tost month" Frankmented, his eyes returning back to its gentility from his previously cold and dangerous demeanor. "I shall now go and prepare breakfast. We shall continue your trainingter in the evening" Frank continued with a bow, immediately transforming back into his graceful butler mode. Aiden and Flynn who were still in immense pain and were still groaning on the floor, couldn''t even respond to his words so instead, they both raised one of their hands up forcefully and gave a thumbs up with their fingers. Frank gave a bow one more time before gracefully walking away from them and towards the mansion to cook their morning meals. Although the duchess had told him several times that she would handle their meals pending the time he would be training both of her sons, he had respectfully declined her offer every time by telling her that it was his duty to do it since they had no chef. However, Anna Belmont being the stubborn and strong willed woman that she was would still asionally cook breakfast before Frank even had the chance to get to it. As Frank walked towards the mansion, he couldn''t help but be bewildered by how fast both brothers were adapting. He had originally expected that both of them would require a lot of corrections and guiding but to his surprise, after each fight, both brothers would strategize ande up with new ways to take him down, all while improving and fixing whatever inefficiencies they had and taking all of his instructions into ount. A week after he had started training them, both brothers had stopped trying to use their weapon arts to attack him and just focused on the basics of normal swordsmanship. As he continued thinking while heading into the mansion with the intent of going to prepare their breakfast and hoping that the duchess had not beaten him to it, he nced over at Ivar from one corner of his eye who had been sitting underneath a tree in a meditative position with immense concentration even as Aiden and Flynn were being beaten to a pulp. Frank smiled slightly at this and kept walking into the mansion. After the butler had left for about 5 minutes, Aiden struggled to get up, staggering like a drunkard till he finally stood up properly. "Master sure doesn''t hold backбн" he said with a painful grimace, his hands gripping tightly onto the greatsword even as he was barely struggling to maintain his stance. "Yeahбн" Flynn struggled to respond even as hey sprawled on the green grass of their backyard, a tinge of pain present on his face. He then got up a few secondster in a simr fashion, almost like a puppet being controlled by strings. He was also gripping his Katana tightly. This was the third Katana that he was using as the first two had broken during his training sessions with Frank. The first one broke when he had tried using the {Severance}, the first form of the {Moonveil Art} while the second broke during a spar with Frank who caught his de with his bare hands and snapped it in half like he was breaking a twig. Although Flynn had an immensely strong visual representation of how to use the weapon art, his mana could not maintain the immense force involved in cleaving things in a single strike and as a result, the katana broke and shatteredpletely, living only the hilt intact. He had been quite disappointed in himself for not being able to maintain it and also because he knew that it would take quite a while for him to be able to fully master it, all as a result of his low-tier C-rank core. He still needed a quite a lot of mana to sessfully and wlessly pull it off and as a result, he knew that it might take about five to six months because he had estimated that it was the time it would take him to reach the next tier. However, Leopold, Frank and Anna had been totally shocked that he could even pull off the first form of the most difficult weapon art to master, albeit very iplete in just over two weeks. This was something that took even the people who had sessfully mastered it in the past close to a year to even understand it''s concept, let alone pull it off. As a result, the three of them couldn''t help but marvel once again at just how insanely talented Flynn was. Aiden''s prowess was just as amazing as Flynn''s and it gave them just as much of a shocker as Flynn''s even though he had also pulled off an iplete version of {Whirlwind sh}, the first form of the {Berserker Art}. It was however to be expected considering they had all known that Aiden had always been very talented, but even then, it was still a magnificent feat. Aiden and Flynn who had now stood up properly, took deep breaths and instead of going to eat breakfast, walked a fair distance from each other and began practicing basic sword moves. They had bothe to a singr conclusion after their first week of sparring and training with Frank. "Our basic swordsmanship movements are absolutely shitty and we depend too much on magic and our weapon arts" That was what they had told themselves. As a result, ever since that day, for the past one and a half months, they had been practicing the basics of swordsmanship after every spar with Frank. Frank who had also been nning to tell them about this after training them for a week was quite surprised when he had seen them practicing the basic swordsmanship moves after he finished sparring with them that same day. Basic downward sh, upward sh, sideways sh and thrusts. Those were what they had kept practicing all this while without even practicing any other thing, asides training their mana cores and forming the mana veins. Frank had also ensured to correct their footwork, breathing and posture, ensuring that everything blended seamlessly into one another without even a single mistake. He had also exined to them that they should channel raw strength and power into every strike, making it so that whoever it was they had to face would be wary of even a singr strike from them. While keeping all this information and corrections in their head, they kept repeating the exact same movements, sweats dripping from their face as they focused with great intensity on their sword strikes, every single one of it making a whistling sound as it cut through the air. -Whish! -Whish! -Whish! As they kept doing this, Ivar opened his eyes to see both of them continuously repeating the same motions. He had also been vigorously training his mana core for the past one month and immediately he felt like he had reached his limit for the day, he would instantly pick himself up from the ground, go back to his room for a quick shower due to the sweat from training his core and then straight to the room in the mansion that the duke had remodeled into aboratory. Today was no different as well and Ivar, who after taking his shower, was heading to theb. -Pow! Ivar had been just a few steps away from the doors of theb and upon hearing the sound of a tiny explosion, immediately ran into theb. The moment he opened the doors, he was met with his sister whose hands contained a shattered vial of ss. "I shouldn''t have added thristlebloomбн" Ivelia muttered audibly to herself while staring at the broken vial of ss in her hands. She then turned around to look at Ivar who was just shaking his head in resignation as she spoke. "Hey Ivar" "Don''t you ''Hey'' me sis! You pulled another all-nighter didn''t you?" he said with a bit of annoyance in his tone. Ivelia just averted her gaze and looked away while turning around to face her apparatus. Underneath her eyes were very dark circles and it was also very obvious from the scrunched up whiteb coat that she was wearing and her disheveled hair that she had indeed pulled another all-nighter experimenting with the healing potion. The reason for this, asides from Ivelia being an absolute workaholic and just been utterly grateful towards the Belmonts for taking them in was also because her father''s documents only detailed how to push the potion''s efficacy to about 96%, and as a result, there were no particr instructions on how to push it past that so it was unknown territory from here on out. Ivelia and Ivar who had wanted originally wanted to get the potion''s efficacy to 99% due to Briar''s sickness, found an even stronger reason to push the potion''s efficacy to its highest. Ensuring their dad''s life work waspleted, improved upon and made known to the world. -Sighбн "Just pass me a vial" Ivar sighed in resignation and said while picking up ab coat from the rack beside the door. Chapter 31 - 29 - Memories

Chapter 31: Chapter 29 - Memories

Aiden dashed like a speeding bullet towards Frank with a devastating downward sh of his greatsword. However, the butler who had anticipated this, lightly sidestepped and easily evaded it but Aiden immediately changed the trajectory of his greatsword skillfully into a diagonal sh, the movement connecting seamlessly with his very first swing. Frank upon realizing he couldn''t escape the sudden change in the direction of the greatsword, parried the heavy weapon with his bare palms and smacked it with immense force into the ground, causing Aiden to lose control of his weapon for a second. -Twang!! His greatsword was now etched into the grassy field, digging up a sizable portion of grass and dirt and causing it to slightly spray about but despite this, Aiden''s grip on his greatsword was staunch and he immediately tried to pull it out from the ground after losing control for that one second. As Aiden tried to do so, he noticed a slight distortion in the air around him, albeit slightlyte, and immediately ducked while watching as Frank''s powerful kick passed over his head, nicking a few strands of his hair in the process. -Whish!!! ''That was friggin'' close!!! Anyter and I''d have been sent flying through the air like a ragdoll!'' Aiden inwardly eximed to himself, a few beads of sweat immediately forming on his face in response to the dangerous situation he had just narrowly escaped. ''Thisбн shouldn''tбн be possibleбн'' Frank thought to himself as he watched Aiden narrowly evade the brutal force of his kick as it whistled through the air with mana sense. As Frank did this, he noticed from his peripheral vision that Flynn had been cautiously circling around him since the spar began, calmly analyzing and looking for the right time to dash in to join the fight. Swiftly, after his footnded on the ground from the overhead kick that had harmlessly passed above Aiden''s head, Frank instantaneously followed up with a powerful hook punch that was aimed towards Aiden''s gut. Aiden, who by now had already removed his etched greatsword from the grassy field and also felt the immense weight of the punch that wasing due to another slight distortion in the air, immediately responded by using the greatsword''s body to block the oing punch from Frank. -Pang!! Frank''s fist connected with the body of the greatsword and sent Aiden skidding backwards from the immense force with which the weight of the butler''s punch was carrying. Aiden himself felt the powerful tremors run through his entire being from Frank''s devastating punch but still tightly gripped onto his weapon as he stopped skidding and came to a halt. Flynn who had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike had immediately lunged towards Frank from behind when he threw that powerful punch at Aiden and capitalized on attacking Frank before he could react to his presence. But even with that, Flynn knew that Frank would still effortlessly react in time to his presence as he attacked with a horizontal sideways sh of his katana. Frank who had turned around at a rapid speed from the moment he had noticed Flynn was dashing towards him with mana sense, instantly back-stepped lightly, causing Flynn''s attack to miss. But Flynn, as if expecting this, immediately took one more step forward and smoothly transitioned his attack into a perfect and powerful forward thrust by channeling all of the strength from his body into his arm which was wielding the Katana. All of this happened within seconds. ''Impressive'' Frank thought to himself as he watched Flynn''s attack immediately extend towards him even after dodging the first one. Their two months of constantly repeating the same motions over and over again had definitely paid off. Linking one attack to the next without a break in posture was one of the main essence of swordsmanship and both Aiden and Flynn had reached that level with immense dedication and hardwork. He really couldn''t help but be impressed by this. -Twing!! Frank immediately held the tip of Flynn''s katana with his bare hands as it lunged towards him, stopping the immense force it was carrying along with it while solidifying and pressing his fingers on it in another attempt to shatter it to pieces. Without even giving him the time to do so, Aiden appeared at the butler''s right side and swung his greatsword in a sideways horizontal sh with a powerful force but Frank stood unmoving, as if waiting for the attack to reach him. -Twang!! The greatsword which was carrying immense force with it when Aiden attacked, instantly came to a halt as Frank gripped the edge of Aiden''s greatsword with his bare hands. The butler then released the full extent of his pressure and bloodlust that he had been perfectly regting throughout their spar, causing both brothers to buckle underneath the sudden increase in the weight of their surroundings and the terrifying feeling of dread which sent continuous shivers down their spine. Frank immediately capitalized on this and spun around with a twirl, raising both teenagers off the ground by grabbing onto the des of their weapon with sheer strength even as they tightly gripped onto it and in one swift motion, threw Aiden first with the momentum he had gained from his spin and then threw Flynn immediately after. Aiden and Flynn watched as they were thrown effortlessly through the air and upon realizing they were headed straight for one of the nearby trees, both of them quickly spread their mana across their body to mitigate some of the pain from the oing impact. -Thrack!!! The tree trunk exploded into smithereens as both brother''s crashed into it, the rest of it being only it''s upper part which was now rolling through the air, it''s leaves scattering and spreading around as it did and the stump which was still rooted to its spot on the ground. "Not again!" Aidenmented with a pained wince as both he and Flynn collided with the ground after realizing that they had destroyed yet another tree this month due to their training. Although they had used mana to mitigate most of the pain they should have felt from forcefully crashing into the tree, Aiden had also taken the brunt of Flynn crashing into him so he was feeling a bit more pain. "We better roll away!" Flynn immediately spoke as he watched the upper part of the tree which was originally in the air, falling back towards the ground and directly aiming for their heads. Both of them quickly rolled away as the remaining part of the tree came crashing down to the ground. -Twump! "We really need to find a way to counter that darn bloodlust" Aidenmented after rolling away safely, his voiceced with a tinge of annoyance. "We can still manage under the increased pressure but that bloodlust is insanely terrifyingбн" Flynn remarked in response to his brother''sment, a bit of frustration present in his own voice. Both brothers then looked upwards as theyy on the grassy field to see Frank smiling down at them gently, his previously cold expression when he was sparring with thempletely gone. "That will be all for today. We shall continue tomorrow young masters" he said with a slight bow, after which he then turned around gracefully and began to head into the mansion. "Thank you master!" Flynn and Aiden replied respectfully in unison even as theyy sprawled on the ground. Frank just sighed at the remarks of the two young masters as he continued walking. He had told them not to address him like that but they wouldn''t listen no matter how much he tried. ''I should inform the duke and the duchess about this though... I can''t believe they can use mana sense that well despite being of lower core ranks'' Frank mused to himself as he walked away. He then nced over to his index finger and noticed that slightly, ever so slightly, Aiden''sst greatsword attack had grazed it, nicking a tiny bit of flesh. Frank however just kept walking on, slightly amused at the realization that a B-ranker''s attack had actually injured him, although the injury was almost close to non-existent. Aiden and Flynn stilly down on the ground, their eyes watching the sun as it began to lose its brightness and gradually changing into an orange color, painting the sky in slight shade of orange and also indicating that it was early evening. Flynn turned his head around to look at the remaining parts of the tree that was left from their collision. "Well that takes me backбн" he muttered to himself. "What takes you back?" Aiden who had overheard his mutter asked. "Hmmmбн well you remember how the queen diva of our school had asked you out when we were in ourst year of high school?" "Katie West?" Aiden immediately replied with a questioning tone, after which he then asked again. "How exactly does Katie West take you bac-бн Ohбн I see where you''re going with this" Aiden who had seemingly understood why Flynn had brought up a girl from their past lives, said with an understanding tone. Flynn chuckled at this after which he then spoke. "The girl you saved from a falling tree. She confessed not even a week after you did that. It''s nice that you remember her name" "Well I''d be a scumbag if I didn''t remember her or any other girl who had confessed their feelings to me. It takes a lot of courage to tell someone your feelings even when they know they''re going to get rejected. The least I could''ve done after rejecting them was to remember their names" Aiden replied after which he then continued. "That being said, I still really do not understand why I was asked out by so many girls in high schoolбн I mean, when youpare me to the most handsome or the richest people in our school, I probably wouldn''t even reach top 1000" "Although, if I were to have been born with this perfect looking face of mine now, I''d be the most handsome human being to have ever existed in our previous world" Aiden dered proudly. Flynn just shook his head at his brother''s shamelessness while rising up from hisying position and shifting into a sitting one, both of his hands interlocked and his arms ced on his knees. "First off, you''re starting to be more and more shameless" Flynn began. "Secondly, girls liked you a lot and were attracted to you because you acted very maturely for your age. I guess you were a stark contrast to most guys your age who were just trying to have fun and enjoying their lives, doing all the things guys their age should be doing" Flynn replied to Aiden''s previousment. "So that was the reason whyбн I never knewбн" Aiden responded, his back rising from the grassy fields while also shifting into a lotus sitting position and propping his head by cing it on his right hand which was curled into a fist. They both gazed at the vast grassy field before them which had so many patches of the bare ground, devoid of any form of greenery or shrub and a few destroyed trees here and there with only the stump remaining intact, an aftereffect of their continued training for the past three months. A brief butfortable silence passed between both brothers before Aiden spoke again. "Come to think of itбн You had Jeff Davis expelled, didn''t you?" "He was asking for it and you know it" Flynn replied casually. "But still, you sure didn''t hold back huh. You kept mocking him and pushing his buttons till he punched you. Then you got it on camera and discreetly leaked it to a social media site" Aiden started. "The bacsh was so much from peopleining about rich people and their horrible manners that the school who had originally been turning a blind eye to all his previous antics finally took action. Punching a disabled person was something the inte would never forgive them for if they had let him go scot free" Aiden concluded. "In my defense, he called you a son of a bitch, my mother a whore and my dad a wuss, all because Katie West kept bugging you even though he had been doing all he could to get her to date him. Why he took out most of his anger out on me though is something I will never understandбн" Flynn began. "Considering he had severe anger issues, I just needed to screw him over by acting on his weaknesses" Flynn continued. "Also, he just had to be a real piece of shit by uttering those words. Asides from making our life at school very unbearable for quite a long while, he disrespected you, disrespected our dead mother TWICE, and talked shit about our dead father. I think what I did was very much justified" Flynn concluded, a victorious grin on his face. "You really are a sadist huhбн can''t say I don''t agree though. He really did deserve it" Aiden replied in agreement to Flynn''s words. -Whooshбн The gentle, cool evening air blew past both brothers, carrying a refreshing feeling along with it. "You know, I''m kinda d that our previous lives were real. It may have been a very harsh world for both of us, harsh might even be an understatement butбн it makes me appreciate this one a whole lot more" Flynn remarked with a smile on his lips. "Yeah, and that''s why, we''re going to get stronger. Strong enough to protect this one" Aiden replied, a simr smile on his face as they both watched the sun gradually begin to descend beneath the horizon, painting the sky in a beautiful shade of crimson and orange hue. Chapter 32 - 30 - Sweet Tooth

Chapter 32: Chapter 30 - Sweet Tooth

"Okay! Let''s try adding a drop of crushed zrra roots sis" Ivar dered, his gloved hands holding onto a small pipette containing a silver-like substance. "And then a sprinkle of spinzar dust" Ivelia responded, her own gloved hands holding onto a small transparent crucible that contained tiny and shiny-looking crystallized particles. They looked almost simr to sugar but instead of its color being white, they had a pale blue color to them. "Well, here goes nothingбн" Ivar muttered to himself. Both siblings took a deep breath, contemting if this was really going to improve the efficacy of the light blue liquid just before them or result in another failure but as if already used to this situation, both of them quickly added the substances cautiously and carefully. They then watched on for a while, their eyes staring intently at the potion for any slight changes through the goggles on their faces. After a while of no reaction from the blue liquid, both of them heaved a sigh of relief. "At least there were no explosions this timeбн" Ivelia remarked positively. She then took off her goggles and ced it on the counter while reaching her hands for the appraisal ring just a few inches away from the healing potion they had just added a few substances into. She then slipped the ring onto her fingers and held the potion gently, appraising it with expectations in her eyes. ------------------------------------------------------- + + + Advanced Healing Potion + + + /// --- Previous Efficacy: 97.3% --- /// /// --- Current Efficacy: 97.6% --- /// ------------------------------------------------------- "We''re slowly getting thereбн" Ivelia quietly said, the corners of her rosy lips curling into a tired smile. "What did its percentage increasee up as sis?" Ivar asked while removing his own goggles and returning hisb coat onto the rack. "97.6 percent" Ivelia responded. "That''s good... We''re gradually making progress" Ivar replied after which he then continued after a short pause. "Ivelia, you really should sleep properly. You''re going to have a messed up sleep cycle at this rate" Ivar warned, his toneced with worry. "I''ll be fine Ivar. That being said, don''t you usually train your mana core around this time" Ivelia questioned. "It''s not past 5pm, is it?" Ivar answered, his gaze travelling over to his smartwatch and immediately widening upon seeing the time. "Oh shoot! It''s almost 6pm. Sis, take better care of yourself! I mean it!" Ivar hurriedly left theboratory after advising his sister. "I''ll try!" Ivelia responded with a small shout, her voice echoing through the corridors of the mansion as Ivar left. -Thrack!!! Ivelia who heard the sudden loud sound, chuckled to herself. ''Another tree bites the dustбн'' she thought. She then looked around theb, her tired eyes travelling across the long rows of light brown cupboards, cabs and shelves that where attached to the pristine white walls, each of them containing a multitude of potion ingredients. A long stainless steel counter was ced in one corner of theb, close to the wide windows which were slightly left open to allow a bit of air in. On it was ced a microscope with a projected holographic screen to the wall, a futuristic-looking centrifuge, a small-sized mass spectrometer that indicated this world''s scientific and technological advancements and other essentialb equipment, a testament to the immense amount of money that was poured into making theboratory as modern as possible. Her eyes then finally settled back on the long whiteboratory workbench which she closely sat by on a small stool. The workbench was skillfully fitted and merged into the white marbled tiles and situated directly in the middle of the smallb. On it was a multitude of apparatuses and gleaming sswares, along with a long rack containing multiple vials housing the light blue liquid and the current one whose efficacy they had just increased, gently ced in the palm of her hands. Ivelia returned the potion to a separate rack that wasbelled experimental and pulled out a small drawer from underneath the table. She then took out two transparent sachets containing small round pills. ''I should give this to Flynn and Aiden as soonбн'' *** "So you''re telling me that they can use mana sense that well?" Leopold asked again in bewilderment. "Yes sire" Frank responded after which he then continued. "Typically, that level of usage should onlye once an individual is about to advance to S-rank. Although both of them can''t use it extremely well right now, I presume that at this rate, they might just perfect it''s usage within a year" Frank concluded. The butler had headed straight for the duke''s office the moment he was done with the training session of the young masters and was now informing him about how weird it was that they could use mana sense quite well despite it being insanely difficult to use at lower core ranks. Although he had told both of them during their very first spar that they should always have their mana sensitivity at its max, he actually said that with the intent of them keeping it in mind as they progressed through their core ranks, thereby making it easier for them to master when they reached S-rank. He had never expected that they would actually be able to use it at this level even by now. "Haaaбн" Leopold sighed. ''Should I even be surprised at this point anymoreбн'' he thought to himself. He then continued after a brief pause. "Don''t inform them of it now. Keep training them. Let''s see how far they can push its mastery" "As you wish sire" Frank replied with a slight bow, after which he then turned around to take his leave. As he did, the duke spoke up, halting him in his steps. "Frankбн" "Yes sire?" "Thank you for training my sons so diligently" Leopold said with gratitude. "Just doing my duty sire" Frank replied with a slight smile. "I shall now take my leave" the butler concluded, walking gracefully out of the duke''s office. Leopold reclined into his leather chair while massaging his temples. Although a crap ton of documents were still on his table that he had to go through, he decided to take a small break. While doing this, he began to think about how his sons just kept doing things that were absolutely absurd in every sense of the word. Good, but still very much absurd. ''Need to find a time to join in on their training sessions thoughбн'' As he was thinking about this, the door to his office suddenly opened and Anna walked in, a smudge of paint on her cheeks. Leopold then watched his wife move over to him and plop into hisps while resting her head on his chest without even a single warning. He was pretty used to her doing this every once in a while and as a result, he just watched her with amusement in his eyes. "There''s a smudge of paint on your cheeks dear" Leopold said after a brief silence had passed between them, his hands moving to rub off the paint. "Hmmmбн" Anna replied as Leopold''s hands rubbed her cheeks. It was obvious from their interaction that this was not the first time this sort of thing was happening. "Frank informed me you knowбн" she said after her husband was done cleaning the smudge of paint off. "Weird isn''t it?" Leopold replied. "Very weird. It literally took even Selena and H who were hailed as rare geniuses two years to master mana sense. I still can''t use it properly even till now even though I''m also an S-ranker" "Well, at the end of the day, there isn''t really much we can do. It''s not like we understand why our sons are such oddities. The best we can do is to keep supporting them" "Yeahбн" Afortable silence then passed between both of them and after a while, Anna sprung up immediately, her hands on her hips with a contented smile gracing her face. "Fully recharged on my Leopold batteries!" she said with a beaming smile. "That''s such a weird thing to be confidently saying" Leopold replied with small chuckle. "Not to me. Anyway, I''m nning to bake a few pastries. Would you like some?" Anna asked. Leopold looked around his table for a bit and upon realizing he might not even be able to eat dinnerter today due to number of documents he still needed to work on, he responded to Anna''s offer positively. "I''d appreciate it dear. And remember-" "Light cheesecake with sliced strawberries. Honey, I''m beyond familiar with your tastes by now" Anna responded with a small wave as she walked out of Leopold''s office. Leopold just smiled in response to his wife''s gesture and resumed his work. The duchess who was heading to the kitchen decided to branch and check up on Ivelia in theb. Upon getting there, she saw her putting something back into the drawer but didn''t really pay any heed to it. "Ivelia. Look at you! You''ve been pulling all-nighters a bit too frequently these days. Your beautiful hair is a total mess and your eyes look like you haven''t slept in days" Anna immediatelyined with worry upon seeing her. "Hi Mrs. Annaбн About thatбн I''ll definitely get a much needed sleep tonight. I promise" Ivelia responded with a weak smile. "Sighбн what am I going to do with all of you in this family? You''re all workaholics. I''m guessing Ivar is also training his mana core by now?" Anna said, her toneced with a bit of resignation as she slowly moved towards Ivelia. "Yes. He left just a few minutes ago" Ivelia replied. "Well. I guess I''ll leave his portion down. That being said, Ivelia,e with me. We need to get some sugar into your system. I''m about to go bake some pastries" Anna said as she grabbed Ivelia''s arm and began pulling her gently. "I''d appreciate it Mrs. Anna, but I''d also like to help too" Ivelia replied as Anna gently dragged her while using her other free hand to hang theb coat she had previously removed on the rack as they left theb. "Absolutely not! You''re too tired to help me with baking now" Anna dered. "I can still tryбн" she replied in response to the duchess''sment. Anna just sighed in resignation at this. She wondered if it were her sons that were affecting everyone around them. They both eventually made their way into the kitchen and although Anna had tried to prevent Ivelia from doing anything, she eventually gave in to her request to help. She however ensured that Ivelia had something to eat first before they started anything. As a result, they both ended up baking everything together. Ivelia wondered why the duchess was making a few of the pastries insanely sweet and cing them separately while leaving the rest as normal as possible. Anna upon noticing Ivelia''s curiosity exined the reason to her. "Ohбн You probably may not know this, but Flynn has a very sweet tooth" she exined while chuckling. "It''s almost insatiable at times" she continued. Ivelia was really amused by this new information, especially considering how Flynn felt like someone who might have a thing for bitter things. Flynn''s sweet tooth aside though, Ivelia had never really had the chance to really spread her wings at baking and cooking due to their previous circumstances but now that she had the opportunity to learn a bunch of things about it, she was going to take it even if she was quite tired. Simply put, Ivelia had and still has a big ir for cooking and baking. As both females were putting the finishing touches on the pastries hey had baked, Aiden and Flynn strolled into the kitchen. They seemed to have freshened up, as was evident from the way a few droplets of water were still present in their hair. Aiden headed straight for the freezer and took out a jar full of pickles and immediately began to munch through it. Flynn however swiftly moved over to the tray containing pastries which he had known was definitely for him and without even a second thought, began to munch through it, a twinkle in his eyes and a very contented smile gracing his face. Ivelia watched him do this while chuckling to herself as she thought. ''He really does have a sweet tooth'' Chapter 33 - 31 - Mana Sense

Chapter 33: Chapter 31 - Mana Sense

Mana sense. A useful skill that only a select few are able to use proficiently after reaching S-rank. By raising your mana sensitivity to its max, an individual is able to see with an imaginary third eye made up of just colors and the range at which they could see things was limited based on the core ranks an individual possesses. This powerful skill also helped with reaction time as it would make it possible to spot distortions in the space around a person or an attack imbued with mana, effectively giving them enough time to react to it way before the attack happens. At its absolute peak, mana sense can also be used to widen a person''s range of view far beyond what the eyes could allow, determine a person''s core rank, and speak to people''s minds without even needing to activate it. That being said, understanding how to use mana sense itself was like trying to have a conversation with the mana in the air by pulling it in into your own body and exuding it almost immediately and constantly, just like the way breathing works. As a result, mana sense usage required either an insane talent or years of training and even an S-tier to SS-tier core rank and above topletely master its usage. The reason however for Flynn and Aiden''s absurd understanding and usage of mana sense, albeit still currently unknown to them was as a result of the mana veins circting through their body which was nearly reaching itspletion due to their diligentte night trainings. It also did not help that even in the novel, the way mana sense functions were never really touched upon and it was only brought up during fight scenes or whenever it was being used. Due to this, Aiden and Flynn werepletely oblivious to the fact that only S-rankers and above were able to use it proficiently and were of the belief that anyone, regardless of their core rank could eventuallye to master it with enough time, hardwork and dedication. *** Pitch ck. Pitch ck, total darkness. That was all Aiden and Flynn could see. Yet, despite this, both brothers watched the total darkness instantly light up and transform into a world full of only moving colors, like something that came out straight out a fresh acrylic painting. Due to this, both of them immediately ducked after sensing a minor distortion in the air. This slight distortion was caused by an orange figure holding onto a ck object, and as a result, both of them were able to harmlessly avoid the weapon that had almost hit their heads. Ivar''s big hammer swooshed passed the heads of both brothers but still, he was able to nick a few strands of Flynn''s silvery green hair. This was because although it might''ve seemed like Flynn ducked at exactly the same time as Aiden did, his reaction time was just a tiny bit slower. ''I need to react faster!'' Flynn inwardly said to himself after feeling Ivar''s hammer swoosh past his head. As both of them ducked, almost immediately, they quickly dashed backwards, safely evading a rocky spike that had suddenly jutted out of the grassy field, an indication of Ivar''s spell that would''ve very much punctured through their foot if they so much as wavered even for a second. -Twish! Twish! Without even giving them anytime to catch their breaths, Ivelia fired two arrows in quick session, infusing both of them with mana to increase their speed and power while targeting each brother. Aiden and Flynn skillfully evaded the arrows by slightly tilting their bodies to the left and right respectively while simultaneously back-stepping a bit, causing the arrows to safely swoosh past them. All of this happened in the span of seconds. Both brothers had a ck blindfold tied tightly across their eyes and were in their training outfits without any weapons in their hands. Aiden wore a ck shirt with slim grey joggers along with ck sneakers while Flynn wore a dark blue shirt and slim ck joggers which had white stripes along it''s sides along with matching dark blue sneakers. It was quite early in the morning at around 6am, way before the usual time of 7:30am when Frank would begin their usual training sessions and the twins were helping the two brothers to improve their reaction time when using mana sense. Ivar once again dashed towards Aiden and Flynn, his hammer swung in a downwards hammering motion with both of his arms but yet again, both of them had immediately jumped away just before the hammer hit the ground with a terrifying m, leaving the grassy area there pressed into the ground and unevenly levelled. -Thump!! Ivar who was not nning to let them evade any more of his attacks easily immediately used a spell by chanting inwardly. ''[Earth Series: Wall Formation]!'' Aiden and Flynn who had jumped backwards to avoid Ivar''s attacks, felt a brown structure that had suddenly surrounded them from behind. They wondered why Ivar seemed to have used a spell that posed no threat but soon, they understood just what Ivar had been nning as they heard a whistling sound speeding through the air. Ivelia who had ced her hands on the taut bowstring suddenly materialized four arrows one after the other via the spatial ring present on her fingers while thinking of Anna''s advice when she began instructing her on how to use the bow and arrow two months ago. ''Ground yourself. Aim true. Fire unwaveringly!'' The moment shepleted those words in her mind, Ivelia immediately fired all four arrows in rapid session, each coated with mana to increase the power of the arrows with deadly speed and precision. -Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! As if to remind both brothers that Ivar was not the only individual they should be wary of and was joining this particr training session they were having, four arrows which had been fired by Ivelia came whistling through air while aiming for both brothers, two for each of them. Flynn and Aiden upon now realizing, that the three-walled structures that slightly enclosed and curved around them, had been created by Ivar to make it hard for them to jump away and evade the oing arrows, rapidly began to rack their brains while thinking of how to escape the distortion in the air that was inching closer by every millisecond. Each brother, upon seeminglying up with how they were going to evade Ivelia''s arrows, quickly put their ns into motion. Flynn swiftly turned around and ran towards the wall directly behind him while jumping onto and immediately leaping off of it to perform a perfect side flip, spinning his body at mid-air like a seasoned gymnast to avoid the oing arrows. His n had been very sessful as both arrows swooshed past above and below him as he flipped, his body remaining suspended in the air due to the skillful spinning flip that he had wlessly pulled off. ''Buying those acrobatics and parkour skill arts was definitely an excellent choice'' Flynn thought to himself as hended gracefully from his flip, the two arrows that swooshed past him drilling holes into the walls and staying stuck in it. Aiden''s n however to evade the arrows did not require any form of movement whenpared to Flynn''s, as he had remained stagnant without moving. His concentration though, was at its maximum, and his hands had been coated with a thickyer of mana. Ivelia and Ivar had wondered what Aiden was up to because although Flynn had turned around to run towards the walls, Aiden however seemed to not even have a single muscle twitch in his body as he stayed glued to his spot like a statue. The moment the arrow was just a few inches from reaching Aiden''s face, Ivelia and Ivar had almost wanted to tell Aiden to duck but as if to put their worries to rest, Aiden''s hands moved at a blur, detailing the impressive and immense speed at which he was moving his body and caught both arrows, a wide grin on his face as he did. Flynn alsonded from his flip the moment this had happened. Ivelia heaved a sigh of relief while Ivar just shook his head in amazement at how both of them had immediately thought of solutions to deal with the trapped situation they had been in. ''I wonder when I''ll be as cool as themбн'' Ivar wondered to himself after which he then immediately shook his head. He was doing just well too considering he became a low-tier C-rankerst month. The Duke had immediately gotten him an epic weapon art called the {Thundering Strikes} which he had been so grateful to him for. Ivar however had decided to also practice basic movements with his hammer instead of going straight for the weapon art, just like Aiden and Flynn had done. ''It''s fine! Slow and steady Ivar. Don''t rush!'' he inwardly advised himself. Ivelia on the other hand, had been giving a bow and an arrow by the duchess about two months back and she had begun to teach her how to use it during her spare time. Ivelia who wanted to be able to at least protect herself in case she was put in a perilous situation likest time, was d for the lessons even if it meant that she had more work on her te. She however decided to learn a weapon art after she had increased the potion''s efficacy to its maximum. Learning a weapon art required a lot of time and dedication so she didn''t want half-ass it, especially considering that experimenting took up most of her time. As a result, she had decided to put it off until she could dedicate all of her time to learning it. Ivelia had also always wondered why she awakened as a low-tier C-ranker even though she was amoner. Although Ivar had been praising her as a rare gem back when their Dad was still alive and had taken them out to determine their core ranks, the actual reason, as she had surmised by herself after the warehouse incident was definitely because she was of noble blood and that maybe, just maybe, she inherited more of the Steelde family''s genes than Ivar. As a result, she understood why she had advanced to mid-tier C-rank even without consistently training her mana core for over the past few years since she had awakened. ''Well, it''s not like there''s anything I could''ve done if I didn''t know that I was from a noble family'' As Ivelia gradually settled her thoughts, she watched Flynn and Aiden sit down on the moist grass while removing their blindfolds. Aiden gave her a thumbs-up to which she slightly nodded back in response but Flynn instead was staring at her for almost a minute without giving any gestures, a mischievous smile ying on his lips. Ivelia wondered if there was something on her face but as if to mess with her, Flynn gave her a slight wink, his mischievous smile now turning into one of amusement. Ivelia''s cheeks turned a rosy shade of red and her ears also tinged with red due to this small gesture from him as she thought to herself while averting her gaze. ''He''s definitely teasing meбн'' Chapter 34 - 32 - FatherтАЩs Lesson

Chapter 34: Chapter 32 - Father''s Lesson

Right now, at anotherrge open field, present after the smallke on the Belmont''s Family''snd, a massivelyrge twister tornado was churning violently while creating a menacing dark funnel cloud that stretched into the sky, pulling everything in from its surrounding and threatening to leave destruction in its wake. Aiden and Flynn who were protected by Flynn''s [Force Field] spell, watched this phenomenon happen before them,pletely unsure of how to even react to it. Suddenly, the massive twister tornado slowly began to weaken and gradually dissipate, the ominous funnel cloud it had created gradually shrinking along with it into the air andpletely disappearing to reveal a ck-haired man in histe thirties with emerald green eyes, standing in the middle of a small but fairly deep crater, the greenery and trees aroundpletely uprooted and mangled in such a messy yet destructive manner. He had been the source of the violent tornado and he seemedpletely unfazed by the destruction he had just caused. The disappearance of the once fierce tornado left behind a calming and relieving atmosphere and Flynn and Aiden kept looking with bewildered looks on their faces. "What the actual fuckбн" Aiden said after a while, a rare curse subconsciously escaping his lips as his mind tried to process the utterly perplexing phenomenon he had just experienced. Flynn however had been too stunned to speak and he just kept looking, still deeply confused by the same phenomenon he had experienced along with his brother. ''That was definitely a tornado right?!'' he inwardly asked himself, the aquamarine shield surrounding him and Aiden dissipating into dust like particles. Leopold who had seeminglymitted a brutal act of deforestation on theirnds, jumped out of the small crater with his greatsword and casually walked towards his sons while making a mental note to inform Tim, their asional gardener, to bring a bunch of growth potions when next he would being. "And that Aiden, is the first form of the {Berserker Art}" Leopold said, stopping just a few inches from his sons and taking in their bewildered gazes. "So? What do you both think?" he asked with a slight smile. "What do I think?! That was a friggin'' tornado!!! And not just a small one, a massive one!" Aiden eximed vibrantly while pointing to the spot where the now non-existing tornado had previously taken form, the confusion on his face morphing into that of immense excitement. "It''s absolutely insaneбн" Flynn muttered audibly in amazement as he slowly recovered from his bewilderment. This morning, after both of them were done with their usual training sessions with Frank, Leopold had asked for both of them toe along with him. When they had asked why he had suddenly wanted to take them somewhere, he had responded that he wanted to show them a few things and also answer some of Aiden''s question regarding their family''s weapon art. Ivar whom Leopold had also invited along, respectfully refused his offer by exining that he needed to help his sister with the healing potion and that it might take a while for them to leave theb today because they were nning to break past 98%. The duke who understood the magnitude of the progress they were nning to make, gave an understanding nod in response to Ivar''s reasoning while imploring him to tell him if they needed anything at all that would make their research easier before leaving with his two sons. As they finally began to leave, Anna had popped out of the back door to the mansion while telling Leopold to be careful. Leopold had then exined to her that he would be taking them far beyond theke so she did not need to worry. Aiden and Flynn had wondered why their mum had asked their dad to be careful but they just brushed the thoughts aside without reading too much into it. When they had gotten to theke, Aiden and Flynn had been contemting if they were going to need to jump across because although theke was small in width, it was actually quite long. However, without even a single warning, Leopold had grabbed onto both of their hands and in an instant, Aiden and Flynn watched as they disappeared from their spot and appeared almost immediately at the far end of theke, a sense of weightlessness oveing them as theynded. Both of them had immediately asked what spell it was their dad had used as they had definitely felt the use of mana using mana sense and a somewhat invisible force propelling them forward and disappearing almost instantaneously the moment he held onto their hands. "[Gravity Series: Grav Boost]" Leopold had exined. "It''s my original spell" he had concluded but Aiden who had been really curious about how it worked asked his dad for more details to which he obliged. "Hmmmбн How do I break it down to a level that would be easy for you to understand?" Leopold had first said with a thoughtful look on his face for a few seconds before he then began to exin. "You know that initial boost of speed you get from moving either upwards or downwards in an elevator?" Leopold had asked to which Aiden replied. "Yes?" "That''s the phenomenon I use. However, instead of gradually stabilizing like an elevator would, I calcte a certain trajectory and unleash apressed burst of gravity behind myself tounch myself or any other thing else for that matter at ridiculous breakneck speeds in that direction" Leopold had concluded. "So it''s almost like you''re using an amp that''s boosting an audio signal but instead of sound waves being increased, you''re substituting it for gravitational waves. You''re using gravity as an amp to boost yourself at ridiculously immense speeds!!! That''s crazy!" Flynn had alsoe to his own conclusion with widened and excited eyes, indicating that he just had an epiphany. "That''s actually a way better exnation than I could''vee up with. Excellent elucidation son!" Leopold had said with a smile, his hands slightly ruffling Flynn''s hair who was sporting a charming grin. "Hmmmбн I think I understand how it works tooбн" Aiden had remarked after which he had then immediately dered shamelessly. "Yeah, I''m definitely looting this spell and adding it to my arsenal!" Leopold and Flynn just looked at themselves for a split second after which they both then burst intoughter. Aiden just chuckled to himself at this sight. Eventually they had all made their way to the open field and Aiden upon curiously asking his dad how theplete version of {Whirlwind sh} actually looked like, had been treated to seeing an actual tornado along with Flynn. Leopold had also ensured to tell Flynn to cast his [Force Field] spell to prevent any possible tree from smacking into them while he was demonstrating the first form of the {Berserker Art}. Flynn and Aiden had now also understood why their mother had warned their father to be careful. She had definitely been worried about him destroying something by ident if he was going to be demonstrating {Whirlwind sh}. That was also why Leopold had taken them far, far away from their mansion. As Aiden and Flynn expressed their varying reactions to the weapon art''s first form, Leopold spoke up again. "Well, you''ll probably only be able to do something akin to this when you reach SS-rank and above but nevertheless, the weapon art will fit itself to your core rank so just work on mastering it and it''ll eventually pay off in the long run" "SS-rank and above huhбн" Aiden muttered to himself but almost immediately, he and Flynn''s eyes widened in realization. "Dad! You reached SS-rank!!" they both eximed with excitement. Leopold just smiled at this and responded with a huge smile mirroring their excited ones. "I sure did. Just a month ago too" "Woohoo!" Aiden eximed, his pumped fists raised to the air. "Congrattions dad" Flynn said, a genuine smile present on his face. "Thanks son" Leopold replied with a fatherly smile after which he then spoke again. "I''d actually wanted to join in on your training sessions a month ago but the moment I broke through, I knew I''d need quite a bit of time to adjust to my newfound strength. Hence myte arrival" Leopold concluded. "Dad, I love you, but for the love of God, don''t! Flynn and I already have enough of our asses been handed to us every day by master. Let''s not add more pain to our suffering alright. I beg of you" Aiden said, one of his palm raised up and his previously excited expression instantly changing into a serious one while Flynn nodded vigorously in agreement. Leopold however just tilted his head slightly while leaning onto his own greatsword and sporting an amused smile without responding to his sons'' plea. "We''re screwed aren''t we?" Flynn asked with a nk expression. "Yep!" Aiden replied with a simrly nk expression. "Now that that''s resolved, what else would you like to know or see?" Leopold asked as he watched his sons'' moods take a severe hit due to his willingness to join their training sessions. -Sighбн "Fine... how about {Counterstance}? The second form of the {Berserker Art}" Aiden sighed in resignation and asked his dad. "Ah thatбн I''ll need someone to attack me to be able to demonstrate it" Leopold responded casually. The moment Flynn heard this, he immediately jumped backwards, leaving Aiden in the spotlight. Aiden who had immediately noticed Flynn''s sudden movement turned around to see him giving him a thumbs up with another nk expression. ''This punk!'' Aiden inwardlyined. "Well then,e at me son!" Leopoldmanded almost immediately, his own greatsword etched into the ground as he stood over it and ced both of his palms on it''s hilt in a knight''s stance. Aiden just sighed and took a deep breath, immediately retrieving his own greatsword from his spatial ring. He thenunched himself almost instantaneously at breakneck speed towards Leopold but upon reaching his father, he watched as his field of view instantly turned upside down without his father even moving a single inch from where he was standing, a slight smile present on his face. He was literally a few meters above the ground and in the air right now but he had not a single clue or idea as to how he had gotten up there in the first ce. -Thud! Aiden watched as hended on the ground from the air without even being able to make heads or tails about what had just happened. Flynn who was also watching the entire thing could not help but furrow his brows. Even with mana sense, he had not been able to sense what their father had just done. "What the hellбн" he remarked, confusion evident in his voice. Although the novel had exined how {Counterstance} worked, the actual way it was just presented to them now, right before their eyes, made them question if what they had read was even correct. "So, how did it feel?" Leopold asked, a slight smile still adorning his face. "I don''t even know what to sayбн" Aidenmented, while sitting on the grass with a very perplexed look on his face. "It''s natural that you feel that way. I also felt the same way back when my father had shown me too back then" Leopold remarked, a nostalgic look present on his face as he reminisced about Aiden and Flynn''s dead grandfather. "I will tell you this thoughбн" Leopold began. "It''s by far the easiest to master out of all the forms" Leopold concluded. Aiden let out a deep breath of air after his dad told him this and stood up from the ground. If he was telling him this, then it meant that he''d learn it in due time so there was no need to rush towards mastering it just yet. "Thanks dad" he said, his voice carrying genuine gratitude. "Anytime son" Leopold responded with a fatherly smile. Flynn who was also watching all these had a faint smile ying on his lips as he rested his back on the bark of a nearby tree. Afortable and brief silence passed between all three of them. Flynn was about to ask something but Leopold immediately raised one of his palms up from the hilt of the greatsword as if he had anticipated what his son was about to ask. "I most definitely will not perform the third and final form of the weapon art" he immediately said. "Why?" Aiden and Flynn asked even though they knew just how destructive it was but Leopold''s reply immediately made them realize once again that what they had read and what could actually happen in reality were two very different things. "If I did, I''d probably destroy everything within a one-kilometer radiusбн" the duke casually replied, his gaze slowly raised to face thete morning sky. Chapter 35 - 33 - Bloodlust

Chapter 35: Chapter 33 - Bloodlust

"Allow your deepest and darkest emotions, preferably one of immense hatred or anger, to grab a hold of you while still maintaining a phenomenal level of control over it" "Channel that feeling, that violent sensation, and embrace it. Then, use it to converse with the mana in the air to release that feeling, either over a wide range or towards a specific person. That is how you release a wave of bloodlust" "Considering both of you can already use mana sense quite well, releasing the emotions you''re feeling over a wide range or towards a specific person won''t be an issueбн" "However, you need to be very careful though because finding a very deep and dark emotion that you can actually control may prove to be a big challengeбн" "You might just get stuck in that infinite dark void for a while which is usually caused by mana when you begin to converse with it if you''re not able to control the emotion you''re feelingбн" "That being said, once you''re able to sessfully use it even once, you won''t need to go through the entire process of doing it all over again just the use it. It would instantly be like a switch that you can flip on and off whenever you want" Those were the words Leopold had told his sons about using bloodlust when both of them had asked a month and a week ago, after he had demonstrated the forms of their family''s weapon art to them. "It''s been a month and a week since then and yet, we seem to be making no progress at all" Aiden said while lying down on his bed and looking at the white-colored but ornately designed ceiling in his room in his room, thete morning suns'' rays spilling through the open windows to brighten up his room. "Just like dad had said, finding a very deep and dark emotion that we can control is proving to be very challenging" "No matter how much we try, we keep sinking into that endless dark void space that gives us an unspeakable feeling of dreadбн" This was a task that was easier said than done for both brothers, especially because they had a lot of dark emotions to draw from, both from their previous lives and their lives before they had realized that they were reincarnators. Looking at it from another perspective, Aiden and Flynn should have had an advantage and an edge in understanding and using bloodlust considering the amount of dark emotions they had, but deep down, both of them had realized why they had been stuck in that space. He and Flynn had just finished their usual training sessions with Frank and had gone back to their rooms for a bath. "I should just go and bathe for nowбн" As Aiden decided to head for his bathroom while rising up from the soft mattress, his expression changed into a pained wince as he tried to flex his arms. His muscles were absolutely aching him due to the training from earlier in the morning. ''It''s a pity we can''t use healing potionsбн'' he inwardly said to himself. Frank had told them not to use any healing potions for the entirety of their training period until the day they had finally stopped training. The reason for this, as he had told them, was to increase their pain tolerance. -Knock knock! Suddenly, Aiden heard a knock on his door and immediately went to check who it was. Upon opening the door, he met Ivelia who was standing there patiently with what seemed to be two small transparent sachets in her hands. Her waist long orange hair had also been cut and she was now rocking a pretty, smooth-rounded bob hairstyle with bangs. "Hey Ivelia. Love the new look by the way. What''s up?" Aidenmented and asked. "Hi Aiden. Thanks for thepliment!" Ivelia responded with a smile, after which she then continued. "I actually came here to give you this before you start your mana core training" she said while cing one of the transparent sachets containing small, light green pills in Aiden''s hands. "And what exactly are these?" Aiden asked in curiosity and Ivelia immediately responded. "They''re pain relievers. Potent ones. Use them before going to bed and it should ensure that you wake up without a single muscle ache. They''re lemon-vored too!" "Really! Thanks Ivelia! We''re always so sore when we wake up every morning so this is a godsend especially since we''re not permitted to use healing potions" Aiden replied, his toneced with gratitude. "You''re wee. Now, off to Flynn! You guys do have a tight schedule afterall" Ivelia said, immediately moving towards Flynn''s room which was just down the corridor. Aiden and Flynn had quite the strict schedule they had been following for the past five and a half months. After waking up in the morning at about 5am, they would head straight to their training grounds after consuming a snack and a healthy drink from the kitchen. They would then do a few warm-ups, especially the basic workouts or train their mana sense with the twins if they were avable until Frank came along to train them. Once the morning training sessions were over, both of them woulde back to take their baths and eat breakfast, after which they would then use the rest of the morning and early afternoon to train their mana cores. By mid-afternoon, they would eat lunch and after doing that, they would head back to the field to train theirbat art. Oncete afternoon came, they would go back to take a shower again, eat a few snacks here and there along with a sports drink and immediately go back to begin their evening training sessions with Frank. By the timete evening came around, they would once again take a shower and eat dinner along with everyone when night came. Usually, after dinner, everyone would disperse into their rooms to sleep. That was also what everyone else thought both brothers would also do but Aiden and Flynn would still stay up for three to four more hours to do their mana vein training. After that, they would then take a shower or a bathe one more time before finally heading to bed. Ivelia who quickly walked over to Flynn''s room so as to reach him before he started his core training, knocked on the door three times. -Knock knock knock! "Coming!" Flynn responded from the other side of the door, the sound of his footsteps moving towards it. Ivelia calmly waited for a few seconds until the door swung open. However, what she saw as the door swung open made her swallow hard. There Flynn was, in all his glory, with only a towel covering his waist down to his knees, his ripped body full of bruises and marks from the past five months of training. His body was practically glistening and his silver hair with green streaks which had grown a bit longer over the past few months was parted messily and covered one of his eye, indicating that he had juste out of the bathroom as beads of water trickled down the tips of his hair and his finely-toned abs. "Ivelia you pervert" Flynn said mischievously as Ivelia kept staring at his body. "Wha-! No! I didn''t mean to!" Ivelia responded while iling her hands, her facepletely red like a tomato. "Hmmmбн You were staring so hard though" Flynn replied with an amused smile. Ivelia who realized that she had been caught red-handed tried to avert her gaze away but could not help but sneak in a few more peeks. Flynn who was seemingly enjoying her reactions spoke once again., his face inching close to hers. "I have to say though Ivelia, you are one gorgeous youngdy. Really digging your new hairstyle" Flynn said, tucking a few strands of Ivelia''s hair behind her ear. "It ticklesбн" Ivelia meekly said, her cheeks blushing at Flynn''spliment. "It''s supposed to tickle" Flynn responded with a smile. ''He''s always doing things like this'' Ivelia inwardly said to herself as she watched Flynn''s hands slightly graze her ear that was tinged with red after tucking away a few strands of her hair. Flynn seemingly having enjoyed the reaction he got from her, asked with a little more seriousness in his voice. "So, what''s up?" "Nothing really. I just came to give you this" Ivelia replied, her hands cing another sachet that contained the pain-relieving pills into Flynn''s hands, but this time, the pills had a red color to them. She then exined, just as she had done when Aiden had asked but this time, before taking her leave and heading down to theb, she leaned in closely to Flynn''s ear and quietly said. "It''s strawberry-vored. I also tried to mitigate the slight sourness as much as I could while still keeping it extremely sweet. I hope you like it" After saying this, she immediately turned around and began to move towards the staircase that led up, into theb. Flynn who had been surprised by the extra effort she had put into meeting his preference, especially considering the insane amount of time she dedicated to perfecting the healing potion, slightly chuckled to himself and moved back into his room to dress up properly. ... ... ... ... ... ... Aiden and Flynn were sitting in the lotus position and facing each other while taking deep breaths, their eyes closed and the evening sun slowly painting the sky in a dull overcast shade of orange. As they were about to begin yet again another attempt to get to use bloodlust, Flynn spoke up. "Aidenбн" "Yeahбн" Aiden responded with his eyes still closed. "I think we''re both scared to really face our emotionsбн" Aiden finally opened his eyes to see a very serious look on Flynn''s face. "And by ''our'', I mean from both of our livesбн" "Why do you say that?" Aiden asked, even though his tone of speech gave away the fact that he knew that his brother was right. "First off, no matter which dark emotion we draw from, we''re always losing control once we get into that dark endless void but it''s not really us losing control. We''re just scared to experience those traumatic memories again. We might be in a good ce right now but our trauma runs deepбн" Flynn began. "You and I both know that we kept a lot of our emotions suppressed for the longest time, way before we even reincarnated to prevent ourselves from doing something irresponsibly dangerous" "Even the emotions from before the time I tried tomit suicide are no different" "I think we''re trying to run away instead of really facing them, more because of our trauma than that infinite dark void filled with an unexinable and an even more terrifying sense of dread" "As a result, we lose our control over our emotions and are unable to manifest bloodlust" Flynn exined lengthily. "бн" -Sighбн "Yesбн You''re right Flynn. It''s been a month-plus and we''re still stuck in that dreadful space. At this point, I already also had a feeling that we were the ones holding ourselves backбн" Aiden said with a sigh after a brief pause. "But if we really want to be able to use bloodlust, won''t we need to eventually face our fears. That horrible memory especially would be the most suitableбн" Flynn replied in response to his brother''s response. "You do realize that void space makes those memories seem a vivid as possible. Do we really have to relive that particr memory though?" Aiden said and asked with a deep frown, knowing fully well the answer Flynn was going to give. "That is our deepest and darkest emotion afterallбн" Flynn replied once again. After a short pause, both brothers let out slow deep breaths and began to touch on and relive their most traumatic memory. Their thoughts, as if in sync, immediately went back to when their parents had both died. Not even a weekter and their rtives had begun to mess with them in an effort to make them submit to their whims but both brothers had held out, far longer than any of their rtives could''ve expected. However, just a few yearster, they had watched as they all suddenly began toe to their house and without warning, started throwing all of their stuff out. They had even broken Ken''s electric wheelchair and Liam upon realizing that he might not have the money to buy a new one, began to beg their uncles and aunts to at least pay the expenses for that. However, all that a young and na?ve Liam had gotten from them was a good thrashing. Aiden also remembered how Ken''s amputated legs had crashed into the jagged pavement violently along with the electric wheelchair when it was thrown. This caused a deep gash to form on his amputated legs, revealing the fleshy white skin underneath which eventually began to bleed profusely but despite this, his brother did not cry, even though tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes. Flynn however remembered how Liam hadpletely prostrated in a kow-tow motion to ask for their help with his wheelchair. Yet, instead of showing mercy, Liam had gotten beaten ck and blue from it by his so-called uncles and aunts who had kept punching, kicking and pping his only brother, leaving one of his eyes swollen for weeks on end. But even then, all they had both felt was immense sadness at the way they were being treated. However, what really caused that emotion to morph into a deep-seated hatred was the smiling faces of their uncles, aunts and their kids, all of thempletely taking in their misery as if it was a fun spectacle to watch. Liam who was thirteen at the time had felt something almost snap inside of him but Ken''s groans as he struggled to keep his mouth shut from the pain of his seriously injured amputated leg along with his white shorts that were nowpletely painted in scarlet red by the profuse bleeding, had snapped Liam back to sanity. He had then immediately rushed over to him even with his own battered body and tore his own shirt to use as a makeshift bandage for the deep wound on his brother''s amputated leg. He also then carried him on his back and rushed him to the nearest hospital but before he did, he and Ken looked at the faces of all their rtives with a burning, seething and intense malevolent hatred in their eyes. By now, Flynn and Aiden had been stuck in the ck void for twenty minutes caused by mana as they tried to stay in control of their rampaging feelings of hatred. But this time, because they were aware of the fact that if they didn''t face a past that they hadpletely buried in the deepest parts of their soul, they would never achieve their goals. So, they both held on, and slowly, they began to embrace that feeling, their control over their emotions a string away from slipping out of their control. After about ten more minutes of staying in the void, they felt their controling back to them and their current emotions, although still immensely full of intense hatred for their rtives in their previous lives, was far more controlled and restrained. To currently describe the way their emotions were, it felt like a ridiculously sharpened sword, whose edge was ready to cut anything that so much as challenged it or stepped in it''s vicinity. Both of them then slowly opened their eyes, and just like the expression Butler Frank usually had when he was training them, their eyes werepletely cold, carrying no emotions whatsoever and a terrifying sense of dread was directed towards the entirety of their surroundings. Aiden and Flynn had finally learned how to use bloodlust. Chapter 36 - 34 - Completion

Chapter 36: Chapter 34 - Completion

"So this is how controlling bloodlust feels likeбн" Flynn said apathetically in an icy, spine-chilling cold voice. "It''s certainly an interesting experienceбн" Aiden replied, his lively emerald green eyespletely cold and devoid of all emotions. Both brothers kept staring at each other for a while withpletely emotionless eyes and without even a single word spoken between both of them, they immediately directed their bloodlust towards each other. However, to their surprise, they felt nothing. Both of them tried it once again and just like before, they felt nothing again. "Huhбн" Aiden voiced, his eyes still carrying its emotionless feel. "Guess they cancel each other out" Flynn spoke, his tone of speech stillced with an icy feel too. "Well, I guess we''ve found a way to mitigate master''s bloodlust" Aiden spoke in a nk tone devoid of emotions. "I guess we have" Flynn replied, his green aquamarine eyes carrying nothingness in them. As Aiden and Flynn kept exploring the new experience they were having, the back door of the mansion opened to reveal Ivar walking casually towards both of them. "Hey guys! Your mum asked if-" Ivar was not even able toplete his statement because the moment he stepped onto the grassy field from the concrete pavement, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread crawl up his skin and was glued to the spot he stood in as his eyes made contact with Flynn and Aiden''s apathetic eyes. Aiden and Flynn upon realizing what they had done, blinked their eyes a few times and as soon as they did, color and life returned to their eyes. They then immediately stood up while rushing over to Ivar. "Ha, ha, ha, haбн" Ivar immediately copsed to the floor while panting heavily and watched as both brothers ran up to him swiftly with very worried looks on their faces. "Are you okay man?" Aiden immediately asked while supporting Ivar''s weight on one arm while Flynn supported the other. "We''re so sorry about that Ivar. It was a mistake on our part" Flynn quickly apologized while moving Ivar over to the small stairs that led up to the concrete pavement along with Aiden and helping him sit down on the highest one. After catching his breath and rposing himself, Ivar asked carefully with a bit of apprehension. "What- What was that?" "That Ivar, is what Flynn and I have had to go through every day for the past five months" Aiden responded. "You mean bloodlust?" Ivar questioned. "Yeah. We just got the hang of it a few minutes ago and were exploring how it works. Sorry again for the sudden wave of bloodlust you must''ve felt man" Flynn replied. "Wowбн That''s amazingбн and also terrifying. Dreadfully terrifying!" Ivar said while wiping the beads of sweat away from his forehead before he then continued. "It was way worse than the one Kai had released" "Probably because you felt both of our bloodlust at the exact same timeбн" Flynn responded again. "You guys should''ve seen your faces. It looked like you werepletely emotionless and yet still felt so exceptionally dangerous. You looked exactly like Butler Frank when he''s training you" Ivar said, his hands gesticting slightly to exin what he had seen and experienced. "That''s actually quite worrying now that you say it like that but to be fair, Kai had also looked exactly like that when he emitted his too" Aiden replied with a thoughtful look after which he then immediately asked. "That aside though, what exactly was it that you hade out to tell us before our wave of bloodlust had stopped you?" "Yeah. You were saying something about our mum?" Flynn inquired further. "Oh that! She asked if you wanted to y the piano with her?" Ivar responded casually. "Piano? It''s been ages since I heard her y it! Sure, we''d love to join her!" Aiden responded with a vibrant smile. "It sure would be nice to know how to y it" Flynn replied with interest while getting up. "But before that, we''re gonna need to take a shower" he immediately added, to which Aiden gave a slight nod. After heading back into the mansion and ensuring that Ivar waspletely alright, both brothers headed to their respective rooms to freshen up. Flynn however after freshening up and before going to meet his mum along with Aiden, decided to branch into theboratory to check on Ivelia and just as he had expected, she was fast asleep. The dark circles under her eyes had be even more prominent and her now short, shoulder-length hair, was messily scattered across her face. She still had herb coat on and her head was ced on her crossed arms which was on the workbench, a few health potions and other apparatuses just a few inches away from her. Flynn just sighed at this and moved towards her to gently raise her up. He then removed her scrunched upb coat and began to carry her into her room, all while ensuring that he made as little noise as possible to prevent her from waking up. After entering her room and cing her on the bed gently while covering her with her nket, Flynn quietly said to her as he left the room, a bit of worry noticeable in his voice. "You really should take better care of yourself Iveliaбн" After leaving Ivelia''s room, Flynn headed straight for their mum''s fairlyrge art studio and upon getting there, could hear his mum and Aiden seemingly having a conversation about which score they were going to y. Upon opening the door, he asked curiously. "So, which one have you settled on?" "We''re not sure just yet. Come sweetie,e sit here" Anna said while gesturing to her son to sit beside her by lightly tapping on the space beside her on the long, leathered piano stool. *** Flynn sat down on the ground in a lotus position, his concentration levelspletely at its maximum as he continued to slowly drip the mana from his surroundings into his veins. He kept doing this for the next two hours and as he was about to reach the third hour mark, he suddenly felt a sensation he had never felt before. Suddenly, the mana he had been slowly dripping into his veins like a tap, instantly began gushing forth in a torrential and unrestrained manner, cascading forth with an unyielding force and powerful intensity. Flynn widened his eyes at this at the realization of what had just urred. He had finallypleted the formation of his mana veins!!! As a result, he was now currently experiencing an euphoric feeling that could only be described as being light as a feather or floating on the clouds. Everything was so much clearer to him, his body so much lighter and his perception of his surroundings was so much brighter. It was as if mana itself had taken a liking to him and was constantly flowing into almost every pore in his body and straight into his body''s vessels. But more than that, Flynn felt his core rank immediately reach and advance past mid-tier C-rank while rushing straight towards high-tier C-rank. The circle around his core was getting so unbelievably thick aspared to the previously thin line that was surrounding it before and Flynn had realized that in maybe two to three months, he would advance to high-tier C-rank as opposed to the usual five to six months. "What the hell?!!!" he muttered to himself in amazement. It was around 11pm at night and even though he knew that everyone would probably be sleeping by now, Flynn immediately walked out of his room and headed straight to Aiden''s room. Flynn upon reaching his brother''s room, didn''t even knock on it or ask for permission and just immediately barged in. He also was not particrly surprised to see that Aiden, just like him, was also awake and was about to remove his shirt, possibly to take a another bath or shower. "Flynn?! What gives man!" Aiden immediatelyined, his voice very silent even with the perplexed look on his face. "I did it! Ipleted the mana vein formation!!!" Flynn immediately said whilepletely ignoring and disregarding his brother''sint, his pitch slightly higher than normal due to his excitement. Aiden who heard this, had his eyes widen in surprise at what Flynn had just told him and without even skipping a beat, he immediately asked in curiosity, his own immense excitement mirroring Flynn''s. "So, how does it feel?! Did you notice any major changes?! Gimme the deets man!!!" "Oh there are some BIG changes alright!" Flynn responded excitedly. Flynn then began to exin to Aiden just how he was feeling in detail and also exined that he had advanced by one more tier and would soon even break into the next tier in the next few months. "Oh oh!!! This is so fascinating and exciting!" Aiden said while rubbing his palms together excitedly. "I know right! Haha! I''m on cloud nine right now bro!" Flynn said with an even more excited face. "I''m so happy for you man!" Aiden said with a wide grin on his face. "Thanks. I appreciate it!" Flynn replied with a smile filled with gratitude. "I have to say though, because I am quite curiousбн" Aiden muttered aloud with a thoughtful look that reced his previously excited one. "About what?" Flynn asked. Why isn''t mine done yet?" Aiden inquired curiously, his fingers ced on his chin. "Ah, I seeбн" Flynn began after which he then replied casually. "That''s probably because I always keep doing the mana vein training until I''mpletely spent" Aiden suddenly frowned at this after which he then spoke in a scolding tone. "You really should be careful you know. Something might have gone wrong if you so much as lost your concentration for even a single minute you know!" "I know. I know" Flynn replied, after which he then immediately continued. "But I have to catch up with you if I want to have any chance of making your future tribtions easier. I can''t afford to take it easy" Flynn responded in a resolute voice. "Haaaaбн You''re seriously reckless. You know that right?" Aiden sighed and said in resignation. "I know" Flynn replied nonchntly. A brief silence was shared between both brothers but after a while, Aiden spoke up with another big smile. "But damn! Those mana veins are crazy! Very soon man! I''ll also be done with mine very soon too" "I can''t wait!" Flynn replied with a genuine smile. After this, both brothers once again began to discuss how amazing the mana veins were and eventually, after one more hour conversing with each other, Flynn left Aiden''s room upon realizing that they would still need a good night''s rest considering their training sessions in the morning. A weekter, after Flynnpleted the formation of his mana veins, Aiden alsopleted his, and just like Flynn, the effects had been immediately obvious as Aiden immediately advanced to high-tier B-rank. However, it would still take a while for him to ascend to A-rank because it was the next level in mana core rank but nevertheless, Aiden had surmised that before the novel''s plot eventually began in the next few months, he would be a low-tier A-ranker. Chapter 37 - 35 - Spell & Dagger

Chapter 37: Chapter 35 - Spell & Dagger

Butler Frank was floating into the air slowly. Even as this was happening, the butler had a calm yet slightly amused expression on his face as he also watched Flynn, who was hurtling into the air towards him, his Katana poised and raised above his head to strike him. Frank slightly smiled at this sight while remembering what had happened a month ago. It was just like any other day and he had arrived at the field at 7:30am prompt to begin his training sessions with his two young masters. That day, as a sort of way to catch both brothers off-guard, hepletely released the full extent of his bloodlust towards both of them without holding back a single bit the moment their spar began. However, what he had gotten in return had really, really surprised him. Instead of buckling underneath his bloodlust, both teenagers had stared at him with a cold expression mirroring the one he usually had. Frank had immediately realized what was happening. He understood perfectly well the only way bloodlust could be countered, and that was through releasing a bloodlust of equal intensity. The butler then immediately stopped releasing his own bloodlust while staring at his young masters. He felt just how dangerous their bloodlust was and at first, he had wondered how they had ovee the ck void that so many people got stuck on for months and sometimes even years on end. Yet, despite this, Frank hade to understand one thing. Aiden and Flynn must''ve ovee their deepest and darkest emotion. That was the only way bloodlust could be used. He however had wrongly assumed that they drew their bloodlust from the hateful emotions they must''ve felt towards so many young nobles around them back when both of them had awakened and their core ranks were made known to almost everyone in the nobles'' social circle. To the butler, those entire periods were the darkest moments of both of their lives and even the Duke and Duchess would believe the exact same thing. Due to their control over the use of bloodlust, Frank had then told both brothers that he had no need to use bloodlust on them anymore since they could now also use it. That same day, he had also told them to not only attack him with their swordsmanship but also begin to use their awakened magic in their spars. Their spar that day had been quite the experience for both brothers as they had been able to let loose a bit even though they had known that they would still be of no match to Frank. They had kept relentlessly attacking, assaulting and bombarding him with all of their spells along with their nearly perfected basic swordsmanship, and as a result, their spars which usuallysted for a period of usually an hour, ended up crossing a two-hour span. Frank who had also only been using his palms from the day he had started sparring with the young masters, had been forced to pull out one of his daggers to counter some of their attacks. He however had not used even a single spell and that indicated that he was still holding back a lot. Aiden and Flynn had also realized this and had beening up with so many new ns centered around using their spells to give them and advantage. They very much knew that they still could not win against Frank but theypletely disregarded all thoughts of this and kept finding new ways to at least corner him even if they couldn''t win. Today had been no different either as both of them had kept attacking Frank relentlessly. First they had continuously and tenaciously attacked the butler in perfect synchronization with their weapons, their weapons continuously getting parried and blocked by the one dagger in Frank''s hand. If Aiden attacked from the right, Flynn would simultaneously attack from the left. If the butler blocked or evaded one of their strikes, another attack would immediately make its way towards him without even giving him a single break or breathing space. This continued act of relentlessly attacking while still covering for each other''s blind spots even as Aiden and Flynn were attacking Frank detailed just how immensely in sync both brother''s attacks were, leaving not even a single opening in each of their powerful strikes and a testament to the perfect teamwork they had acquired over the past seven months of continuous training. Their spar today had been going on for quite a long while, passing over the three-hour mark and the sounds of their weapons had kept shing, causing sparks to fly around and creating a cacophony of metallic sounds incessantly ringing and echoing throughout the entirety of the field. Frank had wondered while parrying two of Aiden and Flynn''s attack in quick sessions, why despite the fact that they had been using their spells consistently over the past one month in every single one of their spars with him, it seemed like they had not even a single n of using it today. Yet, as if to remind him once again that both of them were alwaysing with new ns every single day to take him down, Aiden instead of attacking with his greatsword, gave a feint and in an instant, spinned on his foot with a skillful twirl andunched a palm strike towards Frank''s abdomen. As Frank had tried to deflect Aiden''s oing palm strike with his free hand, Flynn had immediately attacked with a powerful thrust aimed towards his free hand, while knowing fully well that he had just deflected a previous attack from Aiden''s greatsword with his dagger just before the feint. This split second deflection had rendered Frank''s daggers unable to respond in time to Aiden''s palm strike and that was why he had chosen to use his other free hand. Flynn however had capitalized on this and immediatelyunched a powerful thrust towards Frank''s free hand to ensure that he would focus on him rather than Aiden. His n had been sessful as the butler swiftly moved his hands at a blur, holding the de of Flynn''s katana and immediately snapping it in half like a twig. However, Flynn had been unperturbed by this sudden development because their initial n to make Aiden''s palme in contact with Frank''s body hade to fruition. Frank watched had watched as Aiden''s palm strike connected with his torso but to his surprise, the palm strike did not carry any sort of force. Aiden however had a slight smile spread across his face as he inwardly chanted immediately. ''[Gravity Series: Zero]'' The butler who had wondered what his young masters were up to, had felt a coating of mana immediately surrounding him and start to move him up from the ground of the field. As he slowly moved up into the air, he had watched as Flynn ran back a few meters and immediately began to run towards Aiden while summoning another Katana from his spatial bracelet. Aiden who had seemingly known what to do, took a lowered stance and ced his greatsword behind him in a sideways motion, the body of the greatsword facing the sky. The moment Flynn had reached his brother, he instantly jumped andnded on his greatsword and Aiden who had been expecting this, hurled his brother into the air and towards Frank with sheer strength in a split second by twisting his body in a circr, rotational motion. Flynn who was hurled into the air by Aiden, hurtled towards Frank like a bullet while taking the stance of the first form of the {Moonveil Art} mid-air. That was how Frank had found himself floating in the air and in this slightly amusing situation. ''Butбн'' The moment Frank thought of those words to himself, he immediately created apressed ball of wind that was spinning and churning at ridiculous speeds in his hands. It even seemed to be pulling in the surrounding air. Flynn and Aiden who had thought they had the upper hand against Frank, had immediately realized once again that their master was someone who had seriously been holding back against them. More than that though, they were immensely surprised that Frank had deemed it necessary to use a spell to escape the situation they had put him in, along with the other fact that they had been itching to know for the longest time now. ''What type of magic does Butler Frank use?'' Aiden who had seemingly noticed what spell Frank was using along with Flynn, muttered to himself under his breath as he watched the circr ball of wind twist and churn violently. "[Wind Series: Whorl Sphere]!" Frank then hurled the spell towards Aiden who as a result, immediately released his spell on the butler after spinning his greatsword and etching it into the ground in one swift motion as he inwardly chanted another spell, his fists moving at a blur in quick session to release the spells. ''[Gravity Series: Gravity st]! -Fwoosh! Fwoosh! -Thwoom! Aiden upon releasing two afterimages of a punch with his spell, watched as both of them collided with the [Whorl Sphere], instantly canceling each other out and releasing a burst of air into the atmosphere like a wave. Frank who had begun to fall down back to the ground, watched as Flynn passed just over his head and literally by an inch due to his sudden descent. The butler however quickly grabbed onto his leg as he narrowly passed above him and immediately flung him downwards with a powerful force. Flynn who watched himself plummet down into the ground at an immense speed, twisted his body unnaturally at mid-air and regained control as hended on the ground unstably while skidding backwards a few meters. Frank alsonded on the ground almost immediately after Flynn with a small thud and immediately spoke with a smile as he returned his dagger into his spatial ring. "We shall continue your training tomorrow morning young masters" "Yes master!" The butler upon hearing this just shook his head in resignation. He then gave a curt and polite bow, after which he then began heading into the mansion. "Well, at least we didn''t have our asses handed to us today" Flynn said tiredly as he slumped backwards onto the field, his backying on the ground and his eyes facing the evening sky. "Yeah" Aiden also replied tiredly while moving over and sitting down on the ground beside his brother. "Haaaбн I guess that n was a bust. Back to the drawing board I guessбн" Flynn sighed and said. "It really was a bust. That being saidбн" Aiden replied after which he then immediately followed up with something he found odd while they had been sparring with Frank. "I noticed something when you were in the air and were about to attack master with your weapon artбн" "Hmmm? What was that?" Flynn asked curiously. "Using mana sense, I noticed that your colors oveppedбн" Aiden began. "Of course I could still see master''s color but yours was mostly ovepping and covering his. That was also why I really didn''t notice what he was up to until I saw the spell immediately take form on his hands" Aiden concluded. "Well that''s a weird but inconsequential wбн And here I thought mana sense was almostpletely buste-" Flynn said and was about to conclude before his eyes suddenly widened. "We can use this to our advantage Aiden!" he said excitedly while rising up from the field and looking at his brother. Aiden however just kept staring at his brother with a squint while wondering what he was up to but Flynn who was having another ne together in his mind immediately asked. "How long till you can use [Grav Boost]?" "Probably in the next few months. Why do you ask?" Aiden questioned. "Because that bro, is the key to my n!" Flynn responded while cing his hand on his brother''s shoulder with a smug grin across his face. Chapter 38 - 36 - Progress And Growth I

Chapter 38: Chapter 36 - Progress And Growth I

It had been a year since Frank had started training Aiden and Flynn and if there were a few things he could say regarding the two young masters, it was that asides from being exceptionally talented, they were more hardworking than he could ever have anticipated. Aiden was already someone who most of his peers could never catch up to even if they wanted to, solely based off of how fast he learns and adapts but Flynn seemed to have an even crazier aptitude for learning and adapting. In just over a year, Flynn had advanced from low-tier C rank to high-tier C rank, something that was unheard of, even from unrivalled geniuses. This was news that would shake all off Arcadia to its core but that information was something that was kept within the confines of their family and Sebastian who was a close family friend. Aiden was also notgging behind by any means as he was soon about to breakthrough to low-tier A rank. This was also a big news that would make just as much of a big ssh as Flynn''s. The world had never heard of a seventeen-year-old at A-rank before so this was going to be a massive achievement for Aiden. Their family had been in really high spiritstely and the happiest was the Duke. He had never been as talented as his kids when he was growing up but seeing his offspring''s being so talented, coupled with their insane hardwork and dedication, made him so proud of them and their achievements. There were a few more times when he had joined in and substituted for Frank with their spars and just like the butler would, he would adequately beat the crap out of them. Aiden especially, learnt quite a lot from his father''s magic spells andbat moves considering how simr it was to his and even incorporated some of it into his own style. Next in line was Anna and it was evident just how happy she was from the way a smile was always present on her face, along with her beautiful hums and the piano she began to y a few months ago. This gesture of hers always seemed to put the mansion in a warm andfy environment whenever she was at home. Aiden and Flynn had opted to learn the piano from their mum due to this and they would often sit with her from time to time to learn it whenever they were free. Often times, they would even sing along to her hums if they knew the song she was humming to. This made Anna even happier as she really loved and enjoyed bonding with her sons. Unknown to any of them though, asides Flynn and Aiden of course, the reason for their rapid progress happened about a few months back. The two brothers sessfullypleted the formation of the mana veins and immediately they both did, they felt its full effect at once as the rate at which they took in mana from the surroundings to train their mana core increased drastically, which in turn then allowed for even faster rank ups. Anna had also reallye to take Ivar and Ivelia as her own children over the past year and the twins had also opened up to her a lot, specifically Ivelia. The reason for this was pretty obvious. Anna had been the only female in a family full of males so Ivelia was a very wee addition to their family. They would discuss about so many topics and Ivelia learnt so many new things just by conversing and being around Anna. Aiden and Flynn had also been to The Tower again, this time along with the twins to see Corneo who had now been held in a secure underground prison room that The Tower held a lot of their worst offenders in. Much to Aiden and Flynn''s amazement, Corneo was a fatty. Fatty would even be an understatement because asides from being ridiculously fat, Corneo had a bulging stomach and his legs seemed like they would copse from his weight whenever he moved. Ivelia had asked if she could be allowed to speak to him, to which the Tower agreed to by taking him out of the prison room, still with a transparent handcuff made of mana that was attached to his legs and hands. Ivelia upon seeing him, quickly walked up to him and just like Ivar, jammed a powerful kick into the middle of his legs, effectively breaking his balls as was evident from the cracking sound and Corneo''s painful cry that echoed through the long corridor housing the prisoners in the underground prison rooms. Aiden, Ivar, Flynn and even Leopold and Sebastian had never expected Ivelia to be so feisty but judging from the contented and shameless smile she had on her face after ruining his manhood, they realized that this was what she had always wanted to do this to him from the moment she had requested to see him. Aiden and Flynn gulped at the sight before them and made a mental note not to piss Ivelia off no matter the circumstances. The twins also made significant progress on their research and experiments considering that they had brought up the healing potion to an efficacy rate of 98% but getting to thatst 1% was really putting them through the wringer. Especially Ivelia. Ivelia due to herplete dedication to ensuring that the Belmonts did not regret taking them in had been pushing herself so hard, so much that she now had apletely messed-up sleep schedule. Her eyes continued to house dark circles underneath it every day and although everyone had told her to rx every now and then and take it easy, she was still dead-set on reaching that 99% efficacy as soon as possible. Another strong reason for her absolute dedication to the Belmonts asides wanting to make her father''s work known to the world, had to be Briar. The Duke had ensured that she was transferred from the small hospital that she had been in and over to a very expensive one where she received one of the best treatments. Although it bit into their family''s wealth reserves by quite a lot, Leopold didn''t mind at all. "It''s being used to save a young child''s life. If that''s what I''m using it for, then it''s definitely worth it". That is what he had told himself. The hospital had also informed them that in about a few months from now on, she would be fully cured. They had all also gone to the hospital a few times to check up on her and ensure that she was really being treated properly. Flynn and Aiden had also been brought up to speed on all the things that the twins had discussed with Sebastian regarding their Father. This news had been an eye-opener for both brothers because they now understood how the twins were able to create the healing potion. A backstory like that had never appeared in the novel so they were really surprised to find out that both Ivar and Ivelia were nobles from the Steelde family, albeit disowned and that they also had a younger sister, even though she was their little cousin. Due to this fast progress in Briar''s recovery, Ivelia spent so much of her time researching and would often times sleep off in theboratory. Every time she did so though, Flynn would go and carry her into her room with a few rare days been an exception as either Anna, Ivar, Aiden or Butler Frank would be the one to drag or carry her back into her room. Considering how Flynn had now made it part of his daily routine to check up on her every day, the entire family had now mostly left it to him to check up on her most of the time. Ivelia would then usually wake up the next morning while looking for Flynn and apologizing to him, to which thetter would then scold her for overworking while either giving her a light head chop with his hand or stretching her cheeks painfully or on one of those rare days, tell her who it was that took her to her room. She would then proceed to also find said person and apologize again. Ivar on the other hand had been very hard at work too, effectively splitting his time into training with Aiden and Flynn along with Butler Frank recently in the mornings while also helping his sister with their research in the evenings. He was always exhausted everyday but he still kept a good sleeping routine and as a result, had also broken through to low-tier C rank from his previous high-tier D rank and was steadily advancing forward in mastering his weapon art. As much as he wanted to ensure that their dad''s life work came to fruition, he also wanted to be strong enough to protect his sister. He knew he was not suited forbat but the reality he faced a year and some few months back at his helplessness to save his sister kept pushing him to be better and stronger without also losing his passion for alchemy. All in all, the young teenagers were all advancing steadily in their respective endeavours and they were going to keep growing even in the future. Ivar and Ivelia were just as much of a hard worker as Flynn and Aiden were and it was evident from the way they all did the best they could with such an immense dedication and intensity. A/N: Guys, please, leave a review! Let me know your thoughts about this book. Where I should improve upon and how to make it better. Generally anything you feel like I should work on. It would be super helpful! Chapter 39 - 37 - Progress And Growth II

Chapter 39: Chapter 37 - Progress And Growth II

Frank watched as Aiden dashed towards him with his greatsword in tow. The butler stood his ground while locking eyes onto Aiden and as soon as he showed up in his field of vision, Aiden sidestepped to the right while swinging his greatsword in a straight horizontal sh before immediately transitioning into a smooth upwards diagonal sh. -ng! Frank parried this easily with one of his daggers but immediately sensed Flynning from his left due to mana sense. He then proceeded to use his right hand which was free, and was now moving at a blur, due to the immense speed at which he raised it to hit Flynn with an insanely powerful hand chop. However, Flynn skillfully dodged Frank''s arm by swiftly ducking while using the crouching position he now had as an advantage to attack with an upwards diagonal sh of his katana. ''Excellent mastery over mana senseбн'' Frank mused to himself as he watched Flynn effortlessly evade a strike that should have been impossible for him. As the attack from Flynn''s katana neared the butler, he immediately sidestepped, causing Flynn''s attack topletely miss but Flynn who wasn''t done yet, skillfully changed the trajectory of his katana once again into a horizontal sh. Frank once again, evaded this sudden switch in attack pattern effortlessly by back-stepping, causing the attack from Flynn''s katana to cut through the air andpletely miss him. All of this happened within seconds. After back-stepping, Frank grabbed Flynn''s arm, in one swift motion and threw him backwards through the air while spinning and in double-quick time, also attacked Aiden with his dagger. The force and mana put into the dagger was tremendous and Aiden who had sensed it using mana sense promptly blocked it with the body of his greatsword as the downward sh from Frank''s dagger hit him with tremendous force. This attack sent him skidding backwards, way faster than Flynn whom Frank had already flung away but thanks to his quick reaction to the attack from Frank''s dagger, Aiden regained his grip on his bnce and stance while still in the same blocking position he used to defend himself against Frank. As Aiden came to aplete halt, he noticed that Flynn was already losing momentum and was already dropping to the ground. Flynn who had also realized this immediately called out to Aiden with a shout. "Aiden! Send me back to him!" "That''s dangerous man! Wait, you''re not nni-" Aiden replied "Just do it!" "Fine!" Aiden watched as Flynn twisted his body unnaturally at mid-air and turned towards Frank even while losing his momentum and falling towards him. Aiden realizing what his brother was trying to do, took a deep breath and readied himself. The moment Flynn''s legs came into his view, Aiden immediately chanted a spell inwardly andunched a palm strike towards it. ''[Gravity Series: Grav Boost]!!!'' Aiden''s palm came into contact with the sole of Flynn''s sneakers and as soon as they touched, the air around Flynn distorted and he was immediately propelled towards Frank at a ridiculous speed. Aiden also immediately dashed after Flynn while staying behind him and although he was much slower than him, all of this was very much intentional. Flynn appeared in Frank''s field of view in the blink of an eye, almost like he phased through the air. The butler upon seeing this, instantly chanted a wind spell inwardly with an outstretched palm to slow down Flynn''s momentum. ''[Wind Series: Vacuum Cyclone]'' -Fwoosh! Suddenly, Flynn watched himself lose momentum and fall to the ground due to a wide circr vacuum of wind created by Frank''s hands which seemed to repel the speed he was moving at. Having already expected this due to the distortion he felt when he was hurtling through the air towards Frank, Flynn swiftly ran after dropping to the ground towards Frank who still had his arm raised up from chanting his spell, and instead of attacking with his katana, he immediately vaulted over Frank''s head with a front flip andnded behind him while facing him as he took a stance. Frank upon realizing that Flynn was about to perform the first form of his weapon art knew that he had to stop it but right now, he really couldn''t, because the moment Flynn vaulted over his head, Aiden came into his view, effectively using Flynn as a way to block himself from actually been seen, even with mana sense. Frank had of course sensed Aidening with mana sense but due to the ovepping of their colors, it had made it quite hard for him to spot what Aiden was nning to do. The two brothers had realized over the past year that if they wanted to have any chance of even attacking Frank properly, their teamwork had to be top notch. This was one of the very many ns they hade up with to use against their master while using mana sense''s weird w to their advantage. Added to that, they had kept one of the advices Frank had given them very closely to their minds from the very first time he had started training them. ''Do not use a move that will put you at a disadvantage, especially if your opponent is stronger or faster than you''. That was why both of them had never attacked with their weapon arts unless they were very sure it wasn''t going to miss over the period of the past one year that he had been training them. Frank now realized that he had been cornered as he watched Aiden also take his own stance to perform the first form of his own weapon art. "{Moonveil Art иC First Form: Severance}!!!" The air around Flynn immediately crackled with energy and increased in pressure by multiple folds as he raised his katana upwards and in one swift motion, immediately shed down, a bluish white hue surrounding him as he did so. "{Berserker Art иC First Form: Whirlwind sh}!!!" Aiden immediately raised his greatsword and swung it at an inhuman speed in three omnidirectional shes by rotating his body in circr motion which caused a massive whirlwind to ur with him as the point of origin and pull in the air around him, a reddish ck hue surrounding him as he did. -ng! ng! The two attacks were stopped by Frank but it could be seen just how devastating those two attacks were, especially considering how the grass beneath all three of them had been uprooted and all that was left beneath was a dry patch ofnd that had formed arge oval-shaped crater. Frank had what seemed to be a circr shield made of wind covering him and was left unscathed by their attack, but what made both Aiden and Flynn smile was that instead of one dagger, Frank was now holding two. "Woooooooooooo!!!" Anna shouted with both of her hands up while smiling proudly. Ivar and Ivelia could also be seen pping their hands while also smiling. Leopold would have given a proud smile if he was here but he had to go to The Tower and he was not back yet even though it was inching close into thete evening. The fight may have mostly seemed like a blur to the twins but they knew that Frank bringing out his second dagger was an amazing achievement for both brothers. Anna however, being an S-ranker had seen it all and that was exactly why she was so proud of how her sons had performed. They had all been watching their fights asionally at different intervals over the course of the past year and they had all seen firsthand how Aiden and Flynn had gone from having their asses beaten all the time to improving and then, to finally holding their ground against Frank. Now although Frank was still holding back a lot, it was still impressive that they managed to corner him to use his second dagger and even his spells. They had gone from Frank using his bare palms to pummel them to forcing him to use one dagger and the asional spell. But now, finally, they cornered him into using his two daggers and his spells, TWICE, in a single spar. "I must say, that was most impressive of both of you. Well done young masters!" Frank''s expression held a warm smile as he spoke, his hands returning his daggers into his spatial bracelet. "Thank you very much Master!" Aiden and Flynn replied in unison, excitement present on their faces. Butler Frank just shook his head once again in resignation at this. He had asked them so many times not to refer to him as that and that he was just a mere butler but the two brothers had stubbornly refused and insisted on calling him that as long as he kept training them. Frank had eventuallye to ept it once he realized that no matter what he said, the two would never back down. Aiden and Flynn just kept smiling while beaming at thepliment Frank gave them. He had notplimented them once over the past one year so they were really happy right now. They were practically over the moon. ''It really is impressive'' Frank thought to himself while watching the beaming faces of the two brothers. Considering the rapid growth they had both disyed in all aspects ofbat over the past one year, it really was immensely impressive to him. ''The young masters will continue to get stronger, and I will be here to guide them through that process'' Frank said to himself with resolution. He then watched Aiden grab onto Flynn while ruffling his hair andplimenting him, thetter quite visibly and slightly ufortable by the gesture but still smiling from thepliment his brother was giving him. Chapter 40 - 37.5 - Fun

Chapter 40: Chapter 37.5 - Fun

"We really did turn into training addicts without realizing itбн" Flynn said to Aiden, his head raised from the book he was reading while staring at his brother. They were both in one of the two living rooms in the mansion. They had two living rooms with one being superrge and the other being quite small. They were presently in the smaller one. The smaller living room was usually used to amodate guests while therger room was for family usage only, but, considering how the Belmonts had never had a single guest over the past year and seven months that Flynn and Aiden had be conscious that they originally had past lives, they had turned this space into their rxation spot. "I''m really bored. I can''t think of anything asides trainingбн" Aiden said while dragging his voice like a sloth. He really looked like a couch potato right now and it genuinely looked like he was about to melt into the chair just from boredom. "Muscle head! What about the library? You''d usually go there on days like these right?" Flynn responded to Aiden. He was genuinely finding the sight of his usually active brother looking like azy-ass person, really amusing. Today was one of the two days they''d set aside once every month to take a break from training as a way to honor their mum''s wish and rx every once in a while. Aiden was about to respond to Flynn''sment when the door to the room opened and Ivar walked down the small stairs and plopped onto the chair beside Flynn. "Haaaбн what do people even do for funбн" Ivar said with a sigh as he plopped onto the chair. "That boredom''s really getting to you too huh" Flynn said while ncing over at Ivar. "More than you could imagine. I feel absolutely restless not doing anything" Ivar replied with his eyes closed while also sinking into thefort of the chair. "Tell me about it! And Flynn, the library has no fun books to read. Just history books, magic spell books, maps and books containing information about Arcadia and the nearby nations. That''s no fun at all if I''m going to be reading them all the time!" "Is that so?" Flynn said, his concentration back on the book he was reading. ''This punk!'' Aiden inwardly thought to himself after realizing Flynn wasn''t paying attention to what he had said. "I need me some good ol'' fashioned light novel, or just a good novel in general!" Aiden said while moving both of his hands in a grabby motion. "Can''t you just read some with your smartwatch?" Ivar asked with curiosity. "Webnovels are great! They really are! But then again, nothing beats the feel of a real book in your hands. The smell of a fresh new book has to be one the best things! Also Flynn, stop reading that spell book about telekinesis magic! That''s no different from training but without going out! You wouldn''t want to let mum find out would you?" Aiden said with a smug smirk. Flynn''s face contorted into a frown when he heard that and with a sigh, threw the spell book on the table while also sinking into the sofa as he spoke. "I really wonder if you really aren''t a devil in a human''s clothing sometimesбн" "Maybeбн" Aiden replied, contented that he had caused his brother to join their couch potato gang. "Tch! No reaction today huh..." Flynn said. He then immediately spoke up as if remembering something. "Where''s Ivelia?" "She''s in theb. She said she has something she needs to check and that once she''s done, she''ll be here in a jiffy. Waitбн" Ivar said with a pause before he sighed and then continued. "You''re not nning on teasing her again, are you?" "What else am I supposed to do when I''m this bored?" Flynn replied with a smile before continuing. "Besides, Ivelia has the best reactions. It''s so much fun to watch and experience" Flynn concluded with an even brighter smile. Aiden and Ivar looked at each other for a moment then looked at Flynn with sly smiles as they both said in unison. "Is that so?" "You guys are doing that weird thing again?" Flynn replied, his face immediately reverting to that of a frown. "He doesn''t even realize it yet?" Ivar said with a smug look. "Oh you sweet summer childбн" Aiden said with a sly but sympathetic look. Flynn just looked at both of them like they had a brain tumor before he proceeded to just ignore them. As he did so, Ivar and Aiden looked at themselves and began to chuckle. A small butfortable silence passed between the three of them as they sunk into thefort of chairs but all of a sudden, Flynn''s eyes widened and he sprung up almost immediately from the chair while standing, his hands on the table as he did so. "I haven''t yed a single video game for the past one year and seven months!" Flynn eximed in a surprised tone, as if he had an epiphany. "Well, we''ve been training throughout the entirety of the past year after all" Aiden replied with a small shrug. "Also, can''t you just y it using your smartwatch?" Ivar asked, wondering why Flynn was making such a big deal out of it, just like the way Aiden had with his novels. "Nothing beats the feel of a keyboard or a game controller in your hands!" Flynn replied while looking at Ivar like he was an alien. "Both of you are really weird" Ivar said, his gaze alternating between the two brothers strangely. "Aiden! Ivar! We''re going to get a gaming console!" Flynn dered, his eyes shining with a rare twinkle as he did so. "I can also use that opportunity to find some good novels" Aiden also got up, his excitement ramping up as he did. "Hey guys! Sorry I''mte. Should''ve been here sooner" Ivelia said as soon as she came in. "Ivelia! You too! You''reing with us" Flynn said to her immediately she walked in. "W-What? To where?" Ivelia asked, surprise evident in her voice at the sudden deration from Flynn. Ivar immediately filled her in on what the two aliens were nning. "That does seem fun. I would also like to get some things in the city" Ivelia responded after listening to her brother''s exnation. "Well then! Off we go" Aiden dered as he marched out of the room with Flynn in tow. Ivelia and Ivar just shook their heads while smiling. "Never a dull moment with those two" Ivelia said as she and Ivar followed the two brothers out of the room. They first went to inform the Duke and Duchess before finally requesting for Frank to drive them to their various destinations. It was a weekend so both parents were at home. Aftering back home, Flynn set up the entire thing in the small living room while Aiden piled up a bunch of good novels he felt had the potential to keep him upied on the ss table. Ivelia had mostly gotten a few new headbands and some chemicals while Ivar had only gotten a full kit of a barbing clipper and all of the required tools required to cut his hair. Apparently, he wanted to change his hairstyle from the rough look it had and make his face a bit more refined to look at. "You just had to make it a harem you darn author?! World-toppling beauty my ass! The story was getting so good tooбн Why do people even like harems? Isn''t it like an eventual, over-glorified, roundabout way of cheating?" Aidenined bitterly while throwing away the light novel he was reading to pick up another one that he had hoped wouldn''t add that annoying trope. As each teen went about doing their own thing, they all eventually got interested in the fighting game Flynn was ying. Considering he had purposely bought four controllers for this very moment, he was suppressing the devilish smile that was threatening toe out when they had all asked to join a co-op match. Aiden who noticed this had a shiver run through his spine. "Dang it! Why are you falling off the tform you darn plumber!" Ivar cursed as his character fell of the stage. "Hahahaha! You''re horrible at this Ivar" Aiden said but soon, it was Ivar''s turn tough as the blue porcupine he was controlling was thrown off the stage by a blondie with a big-ass bat that Flynn was controlling. "Pfft! Hahahaha! And you were being so smug just a few seconds ago" Ivarughed as Aiden sent a death re at Flynn. Flynn just looked at him and winked, something which caused Aiden to get even more annoyed while Ivar''sughter echoed through the room as he rolled around on the rug. After a few minutes, one of the remaining two emerged victorious. "I won!" Ivelia said with a bit of surprise before she then sprung up and said with an even louder voice, this time while grinning from ear to ear. "I won!!!" Flynn could be seen sulking as he watched Ivelia''s excited face. Her character, a pink slime, had swallowed Flynn''s character and spat him off the stage, humiliating him even further. Aiden relished this moment and continued tough while poking fun at his brother. Flynn however, looked at Ivelia and requested for one more match. Ivelia seeing this a rare chance to get back at Flynn for all the teasing he had been putting her through, bent down and began to stroke his hair as she spoke. "There there child. Mommy will go easy on you this time" "Any opportunity to stroke his hair huh sis" Ivar said while watching his sister. "Flynn you hypocrite! If I was tussling your hair and ruffling it, you''d have smacked my hand away by now" Aiden said, almost as if he was hurt, although very obvious that he was clearly faking it. "You ruffle and scatter my hair! Do you know how much work I usually put into ensuring it doesn''t block my eyes?" "Eh. Fair enough" Aiden responded with a shrug. "So uh Iveliaбн are you happy now? Had enough? If you have, let''s get back to the game. I really want to win" Flynn dered. One could almost see thepetitive spirit that was radiating from him. "Just give me one more minute. Still need more time to recharge" Ivelia said as she kept stroking his hair with a contented look. "Fine! One minute it is" Flynn responded. After Ivelia had "recharged her batteries", she went back to the game with the rest of the boys but unfortunately for all of them, they all lost to her every time. Chapter 41 - 38 - Snow and Two Years

Chapter 41: Chapter 38 - Snow and Two Years

A/N: (Five-month time-skip) Aiden stepped out of the main doors of the mansion while wearing a very thick ck hoodie, ck pants and dark-brown winter boots. He had let the hoodie itself down and his ck hair was in full view as they spilled across the sides of his face in smooth waves. He then rubbed his hands together in an effort to generate a bit of warmth while blowing air into his palms from the cold. "Even mana has nothing on a freezing weather huhбн" Aiden muttered to himself. He then looked around the surroundings of the ridiculouslyrgepound and every nook and cranny of it was filled to brim with thickyers of pristine snow. Everywhere seemed to bepletely nketed in white by the snowyndscape, from the canopy in the corner protecting the cars, to the beautiful and expansive garden and its tall trees, to the crevices of the windows and the small ledges surrounding them which now had small icicles hanging from them and finally, the paved pathway which led to the mansion''s entrance. Traces of the now brown-colored grass could still be seen asionally sticking out of the snow though. Ivelia and Ivar could also be seen in the middle of this nket of white, just a few meters away from Aiden while staring at the snow-covered scenery around them. Aiden let out a puff of air and watched the vapor from his breath gradually disappear into the air, his gaze travelling to the sky as he watched the delicate snowkes drop. "This reminds me of back thenбн" As Aiden muttered to himself, he began to reminisce about his previous life, specifically a scene simr to this, where he had gone to take extra sses on a weekend at a nearby cram school for college that was tutoring for free. He remembered spending a much longer time than he had originally nned and after leaving the gates of the cram school, looked up at the sky just like this before he then hurried along to a nearby convenience store to buy a few groceries with which he could use to cook a meal for Ken. On getting home, he found two steaming hot bowls of soup which had already been prepared by Ken. He was really surprised that day and he really wasn''t sure what he should''ve been more amazed byбн that his younger brother could even cook or that he had done it all while dragging himself around the room without a wheelchair. Ken had casually responded that he had learned how to cook by watching him cook and that although it was a hassle to have been dragging himself around the room with his hands alone, their room was fairly small so getting from one point to the other wasn''t really a problem. "The least I could''ve done was prepare soup since you were runningte. I didn''t want youing home only to start immediately cooking again" Those were his younger brother''s exact words. The ck-haired youth smiled after remembering this and continued to do so while thinking about other few happy moments he had with his younger brother. Suddenly, Aiden began to squiggle like a worm as he felt something cold pouring into his back. He then turned around after stopping and saw Flynn trying to hold back hisughter. "What was that for man?!" "Well you were spaced out and you didn''t even notice meing out of the door. I even tried calling you a few times but it seemed like you were on anotherбн" Flynn said as he continued. "So I did the next best thing. Filling your hoodie with snow!" Flynn concluded, barely trying to suppress hisughter while doing so. "Haha! Very funny!" Aiden replied sarcastically. "In any case, it''s really been two years huhбн" Aiden spoke again after responding to Flynn. "It has. I''d have never expected you to be at A-rank at the start of the story. Doesn''t that make you OP?" "Low-tier A-rank remember?" Aiden replied to Flynn before continuing. "Also, you speak as if you don''t know what machinations I''m going to be facing from now on, especially at the Academy" "This time however, I''ll be there to make your life easier" Flynn said while cing his hands on his brother''s shoulders and patting it lightly, after which he then continued. "And it all begins with tomorrow''s royal banquet" "Yes it does. Thanks Flynn" Aiden said with a smile. "You''re wee" Flynn responded while moving away from Aiden and towards the twins but he stopped just a few inches from him with his back now facing him and spoke again. "Remember bro. I''ve always got your back" After Flynn said this, he walked in long but casual strides towards the twins and began to speak to them. Aiden just shook his head at his brother''sst words and smiled. The smile on Aiden''s face then began to change from a warm one to a devilish one as he scooped up a bunch of snow from the ground and threw it with just enough force directly at Flynn''s head. Flynn who was talking to Ivar and Ivelia immediately staggered from the unexpected snowball that hit him and fell on Ivelia. Normally, he would have immediately gone after Aiden for what he did but right now, he had another chance to tease Ivelia who was pinned below him and he was going to take it. "Um Flynn? I know it wasn''t on purpose that you fell on me but can you move aside?" Ivelia pleadingly asked. She had seen the usual glint of amusement in this handsome devil''s eye and she knew what wasing. "And if I don''t?" Flynn said while inching his face closer to her. His hair which was parted on one side was now tickling her ear and from the way she was squirming around like a worm, Flynn knew he was ying on one of Ivelia''s weakness. "Your hair''s tickling me!" Ivelia said meekly, her cheeks and ears gradually reddening as she tried to move her face away from Flynn''s face which was closely inching towards hers. ''Doesn''t this guy know how dangerous his face is up close! Nody can survive seeing such a handsome face like this up-close and personal'' Ivelia thought to herself, her heart racing as she did so. She had expected to have gotten used to seeing his face over the past year and a few months but moments like this really made her rethink that. He was always finding an opportunity to tease her and apparently when she asked him why, he said he liked her reactions. "But you love stroking my hair, don''t you?" Flynn continued with a teasing smile without even moving his face away. He just kept moving it closer towards Ivelia''s. Ivelia''s face waspletely red like a tomato and her brain had almost short-circuited at this point, causing her to close her eyes shut in anticipation from what Flynn would do and she didn''t have to wait long as she suddenly felt air blow into her ear. This caused her to let out a cute yelp. "Uwah!" "Your ears are too ticklish Iveliaбн" Flynn said with a very contented smile while finally getting up from where he pinned her down. He then stretched out his hands to her and pulled her up while still smiling contentedly, bits of snow dropping from the back of her coat as he did. Ivar and Aiden had watched the entire thing happen without even nning to help Ivelia out. They just shook their heads and enjoyed the show. Ivar however, wondered whether Aiden kept a popcorn in his spatial ring at all times as he watched him return the one he was currently munching on back into his spatial ring. "You''re always doing this Flynn" Ivelia said after recovering from what Flynn had done to her. She seemed like a mother who wanted to scold her son as she ced her hands on her waist and red at Flynn fiercely from below. Flynn just kept his amused smile while staring at her from above as she began to reprimand him. This was now their usual thing. Flynn would initiate the teasing and Ivelia would reprimand him after the teasing was done. ''I think my sis enjoys it tooбн'' Ivar thought to himself with a smug smile. "And you two! You couldn''t even help me out. Wait! Is that popcorn on your hoodie Aiden?!" Ivelia asked in confusion while ring at her brother and Aiden. "What? No! This is just a snowke that''s about to dissolve. See!" Aiden said as he flicked the popcorn away from his hoodie into the snow. "Pfft! She caught you red-handed man! Hahaha!" Ivar began tough. "Ivelia. There''s an easy way to make them pay" Flynn suddenly said, his hands cing three snowballs he had made in Ivelia''s hand while she was reprimanding the other boys. "And that''s a snowball fight!" Flynn immediately concluded and both he and Ivelia began to pelt Aiden with snowballs in rapid sessions. "Wait! Ivar''s right there. Target him first!" Aiden shouted in disbelief while trying to dodge all the snowballs heading his way. Although he could do it easily, it would have been no fun so instead, he tried to evade it and make his own snowballs to throw back at them like a normal human being. "Hahahahaбн" Ivar was stillughing when a snowball hit him directly in his mouth, some of it entering his mouth and effectively shutting him up. This caused Aiden to burst into a heartyughter. His throw had been so urate! "Bull''s eye baby! Hahaha!" Aiden dered with another burst of his heartyughter. "Oh it''s on like donkey-kong!!!" Ivar shouted and began to throw snowballs at Aiden too. Everyone had finally ganged up on him and they began tough as they kept watching him struggle to evade all the balls that kepting his way. "They seem to having so much fun" Anna who had been watching them for a while from the window in her room said with a motherly smile on her face. "We made the right choice to have Ivelia and Ivar stay with us, didn''t we honey?" Anna spoke once again, this time to Leopold who was standing beside her. "Yes dear. We really did" he responded to his wife with a warm smile of his own. -Knock knock! "Come on in Frank" Leopold responded to the knock on the door. "Good morning sire. Good morning Ma''am" Frank bowed slightly while greeting the Duke and Duchess before he continued. "An invitation letter has arrived from the Royal Family to the Belmont''s to request for your attendance at the annual royal banquet" Chapter 42 - 39 - Invitations

Chapter 42: Chapter 39 - Invitations

Butler Frank went out to inform the Aiden, Flynn, Ivelia and Ivar that the duke and duchess requested for their presence in the living room. Aiden and Flynn already knew exactly why they had been called. Along with the twins, they gathered in the living room after dusting off the snow which had gathered on their hair and other parts of their clothes. "An invitation from the Adencia Royal Family has arrived requesting all of us to attend thepulsory annual banquet" Leopold started. "Well, it''s not totallypulsory for us but it''ll leave a bad taste if we don''t attend" Leopold continued. The Adencia royal banquet is an annual event hosted by the royal family towards the end of every year. It is apulsory banquet where every and all noble family is required to attend and even though some families were given special permissions for exemption, it was still an event every noble family tried their absolute best not to miss. The purpose of these banquets were for noble families to familiarize themselves with one another and make connections just like any other social event, with the exception that this was obligatory. Originally, this wasn''t something that Leopold and Anna required to call the entire family for. Most noble families already knew that they had to go and a lot of them were usually really excited for it. Asides from it being an obligatory banquet they all had to attend, it was after all, a chance to be able to socialize with other families, gain connections and favors and even possibly, meet a prospective partner. It was something both small and big noble families looked forward too. The reason why Leopold and Anna requested for this was because even though Dukedoms could decide not to attend it and would be excused without any consequences, it would still paint a bad image for their family if they didn''t. Coupled with that fact, was the events that had happened over the past years to their sons and their eventual retreat from attending every social event that they had been invited to for the past three years. Anna and Leopold looked at their sons and were relieved to see that they were smiling even after hearing the news. Leopold then turned over to Ivar and Ivelia while asking them if they would attend. "Now although you''re both disowned nobles, you can still decide to attend or reject going to the banquet if you want to, especially considering that the Steelde family aren''t interested in your whereabouts ever since your father died" "It''s okay. Besides, we wouldn''t want to stick out like a sore thumb" Ivelia responded. "Very well then" Leopold said while nodding his head gently with an understanding look. "Now. The real reason why we''re calling this meeting is because of you two sweethearts" Anna finally spoke. "You worry too much mum" Flynn replied casually. "Yeah. Flynn''s right you know. We''re totally alright" Aiden added. "You both said the exact same thing three years ago before youpletely shut yourself out from any and all events unless it waspulsory, just like this oneбн" Anna said with a bit of sadness in her voice. Although she was happy that her sons were faring far better than she could ever have hoped, the scars of the past still brought back sad and painful memories for her. Aiden and Flynn''s face contorted into a simrly sad expression as they watched their mum''s lively face change into one of sadness. A small silence passed through the room and the atmosphere became heavy. Ivar who couldn''t hold back his curiosity, cautiously asked what had happened, hoping that he wouldn''t step on a possible minefield. Ivelia was also curious but she had held herself back from also asking. "If you don''t mind me asking, what exactly happened three years ago?" Ivar asked with a lot of care and caution in his voice. The Belmont''s looked at Ivar for a minute or two, making Ivar even more worried if he had really stepped on a minefield with his question but luckily for him, Flynn came to his rescue by giving a long sigh that broke the heavy silence. "Haaaaaaбн We were eventually going to need to tell both of you at some point or the otherбн" "Where should I even start fromбн" Flynn continued, his voice carrying a bit of solemnity. He then began to exin all that had transpired in as much detail as he possibly could. He started from the very beginning, exining how their family had always been the center of attention at almost every social event and how things drastically changed after the day of his and Aiden''s awakening. Flynn also detailed his gradual descent into fear and cowardice, mostly due to the bullying and insults he and Aiden had to tolerate, to how his rtionship with with his brother and his parents had taken a turn for the worst and finally, his breaking point, where he had attempted tomit suicide. Ivar and Ivelia had their expressions go through many variations, ranging from one of interest, to confusion, doubt, anger, shock and sadness. By the time Flynn was done, Ivar had a very somber look on his face while Ivelia had tears forming on her eyelids which were threatening to spill out. "That''s all I guessбн" Flynn concluded. "It''sбн it''s not fair" Ivelia began to speak, the tears on her eyelids now spilling out and running down her cheeks. "Itбн it wasn''t your faultбн How is your talent even a way to determine your worth!... It''s just not fair!" she continued, this time with a little more fierceness to her voice. Flynn who was sitting right beside her just ced his palms on her head and with gentle taps, he spoke. "It''s alright Ivelia. It really is. Now I don''t really know if what has happened was fair or not, but I''vee to ept that it was just an unfortunate phase in our livesбн" Flynn started. "But we''re all here now, aren''t we? That means we''re way past that phaseбн so, you shouldn''t be so sad over something that''s happened in the past" "Besides, crying doesn''t suit that beautiful face of yours. Weren''t you just blushing like a tomato some few minutes ago, hmm?" Flynn concluded with a slight tease, the corner of his lips curling into a little smile. "Flynnбн you shouldn''t be joking around at a time like this you know?" Ivelia responded while wiping her tears with the sleeves of her white jacket. "Well apparently I can" he responded calmly, his hands which were patting her head, finally retracting after consoling her. "A you twoбн That''s so sweet!" Anna finally spoke again, her lively face nowpletely restored. "Ivelia! What do you think about marrying Flynn!" Anna immediately followed up, her eyes thinning into slits with a gentle smile on her face. "I know right. We can even have the wedding dress bought!" Aiden responded, his eyes taking the exact same look as his mum, albeit with a very mischievous one instead of a gentle smile. Ivar on the other hand just nodded his head in a thoughtful yet approving manner, like he was totally onboard with the sudden proposition from the Duchess and Aiden. Ivelia''s face wentpletely red by that sudden request from Anna and she was iling her arms, unsure of how to even respond to the sudden proposal. Flynn however just burst intoughter at the obvious teasing from both Anna and Aiden. "Come on now. Let''s all stop teasing Ivelia. Her brain will short-circuit any minute from now if you guys continue doing that" Flynn eventually came to Ivelia''s rescue. "Teasing??" Anna asked while slightly tilting her head. "But I really meant it thoughбн" Anna continued with a confused look. "Huh?!" Flynn, Aiden and Ivar all replied in unison with simrly confused faces. -Ahem! Leopold finally called all their attention back to him and thankfully, Anna didn''t push the topic any further. "So it''s decided then" Leopold spoke again. "Ivar and Ivelia will stay at home while the rest of us will go to the banquet" "Flynn, Aiden, are you really sure that you still want to go?" Leopold asked his sons one more time. "Positive!" both brothers responded in unison. "Very well" After Leopold concluded the meeting, Aiden sat still for a minute as everyone left the living room for the dining room to have their morning meal. He was pondering over something. The first major event of the novel was the Adencia Royal Banquet Massacre. An event which led to the demise of the sons and daughters of many noble families both big and small. This sparked a bloodbath between many noble families and further caused a divide between most of them, thereby causing the strongest of humanity''s bastion of power, the nation of Arcadia to fall along with the rest of the world even though they eventually came to have so many SSS-rankers. This was also the reason why Obelisk had been silent for the past one year. They had been the one who instigated the event by impersonating some individuals from fairly small noble families which were rted to the bigger ones and this wasn''t revealed until muchter in the story. ''However, this isn''t a world in the pages of a book!'' Aiden inwardly said to himself, his fingers interlocked and his chin ced on it while also having a very serious expression on his face. ''If I''m beingpletely honest with myself, this whole MC thing will probably be far more of a burden than I''ll ever be able to handle.... I might not even be able to save as many people as I''ve hoped...'' ''Butбн'' "This is a world where all the people I''vee to love and care for are inhabiting. As a result, I cannot afford to lose anyoneбн not againбн" Aiden muttered under his breath with a burning resolution in his eyes. Aiden then felt someone''s hands on his shoulder and turned around to see Flynn standing beside him as he spoke. "And this is a world where I will ensure that both you, me and everyone else in this family will survive until the very end" Flynn reassured his brother. "No matter what!" Flynn concluded with an unwavering spirit. "Yeah. Whatever it takes" Aiden responded simrly. Maybe other people who had been reborn or quite possibly had simr scenarios happen to them would try to maintain the storyline and use it to their advantage but Aiden and Flynn didn''t really care about preserving the original events. If turning the story upside down from the beginning meant that they could save so many people''s lives and actually give humanity a fighting chance against their inevitable future, then that is what they decided that they would do. Whatever butterfly effect pops up due to their interference was something they decided they would deal with as they went on. Chapter 43 - 40 - Making An Entrance

Chapter 43: Chapter 40 - Making An Entrance

In the backdrop of thete evening slowly transforming into nightfall and a massive event hall that screamed opulence, wealth and extravagance, a single hover car which was levitating a few meters above the ground in the event hall''s expansive parking lot with a soft yet rhythmic hum, housed five individuals which were all dressed in ck three-piece suits. "So, are you all ready?" a young man who seemed to be in histe twenties asked the other individuals who also seemed to be in their early tote twenties that were in the hover car with him in amanding tone. "Yes Boss!" they all responded resolutely. "There''s no going back once we''re in there. It''s either do or die! So, once again, are you all ready for this?!" the boss asked his underlings once again with an even moremanding voice to confirm their resolution. This time, the individuals which were present in the hover car took a bit of time before they answered. They looked as if they were really contemting their decision and even though the silhouette of the hover car''s roof was casting a shadow across their faces and hiding their facial features, a few beads of sweat could be seen on all of their faces. It was an indication that they were very nervous and even their boss who seemed very calm about the whole thing was just as nervous as his underlings, especially considering how tightly he was gripping the rectangr steering wheel. What they were about to do could very well ensure that all their wishes woulde true if they seeded and escaped but at the same time, if they failed, there was no way out for them. Even death would be the least of their worries. But despite that, they all put on resolute expressions once again after contemting for a while and answered affirmatively to their boss. "Yes Boss!" "Good. Let''s move!" the boss answered while getting out of the car along with rest of his crew and began to move into the massive hall. ''We will definitely seed! We''ve been nning for more than a year now and we already have the guards switched out with some of our members. Everything should and will go smoothly'' the boss said to himself while moving towards the hall with a resolute look on his face. *** Inside a gigantic and morous modern hall which could be described as a grand disy of wealth and opulence were various people from all forms of nobility mingling, conversing,ughing and making small talks with one another. The banquet had yet to start and yet, the scenery was packed and filled with fever-like excitement and liveliness from both young and old alike. The grand halls were sectioned into three, each onerge enough to fit about 5000 people with a long corridor separating them from each other. The halls which were split into three, started with a fairlyrge hall to serve as a reception and was also where everyone was presently at. The second hall which was called the grand hall, was an evenrger one which was situated between the reception hall and the third hall. It was made for the adults to socialize with one another without having to keep watch over their sons and daughters. The third and final hall however, which was smaller than the one made for adults but still veryrge in its own right,rger than that of the reception hall, served as the hall to allow for interactions between young members of nobility. "Hahahaбн I would like for my son to marry into your family!" "Sure! He''d make for a good match with my daughter! Hahaha!" "I love that dress of yours! It''s so beautiful and stylish!" "Oh this! It''s in vogue! I can rmend the store I got it from if you''re interested" "Please do!" "I wonder when the big families will begin to arriveбн" "They tend to take their sweet time! They are the main characters today after all!" "Yeah. I''m most excited to see The Rosede Family! They''re filled to the brim with no shortage of beautiful women!" "It is a matriarchal family after all. Also, don''t forget The Ellfires'' and The Whites''!" "You''re forgetting the biggest of them all! The Adencia Royal Family itself who''s hosting this!" As everyone kept conversing with themselves, the receptionists began to usher everyone into the grand hall, guiding therge number of people effortlessly with graceful precision. The grand hall which they were guided into was even more morous and grander than that of the reception. The grand hall they were now in, along with thest one that was yet to be upied, were both adorned with shimmering crystal chandeliers, golden tapestries, illuminated towering pirs, exquisite art pieces that costed millions of AR''s and beautiful marbled floors on which a symphony of glittering lights danced across and cascaded over from the chandeliers. The announcer, as if already automated immediately began to speak once he spotted various big families been ushered in. His voice which had been fairly high with his announcements, suddenly increased in volumes after about 30 minutes. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed nobles, please join me in warmly weing the distinguished presences of The Rosede Family, The Ellfire Family, The White Family and most of all, The Adencia Royal Family as they grace us with their esteemed presence at this magnificent and splendorous gathering!" This sudden announcement garnered the attention of everyone in the hall as they all turned towards the door, each with different looks of admiration, envy, jealousy and reverence. "It''s the King and Queen! Just check out that aura radiating from them and their children!" "King Arthur! The most resourceful and youngest in the history of Arcadia to ascend the throne. Truly the greatest in all of the Royal Family''s history!" "And to top it off, his Queen, the Empress of the battlefield, her highness, H Adencia and their two children, Adrian and Beatrice Adencia who turned out to be just as talented as their mother and father!" "Wow! She looks so beautiful! Isn''t that Selina Rosede?! The Duchess of the Rosede Family?!" "Of course! Even her daughter, Caroline looks even more beautiful than her! She''s also one of the most talented prodigies of this generation!" "Don''t forget the Dukes of the Ellfire and White Family! Reinhart Ellfire and Noah White! They still look just as handsome and majestic as ever!" "I heard rumors that their families are nning to have their children marry each other. Lucas and Amelia, I heard? What about Bryan then?" "Marriage? Wasn''t the White family''s daughter engaged to the Belmont family''s youngest son?" "Belmont? Who''s that? They already lost their ce among the big families. It''s only natural that the Whites'' would want to search for greener pasture!" "Speaking of the Belmont''s, are they nning not to attend this event just like all the ones they rejected over the past year" "They surely wouldn''t do that. This ispulsory, those were not" "That been said, although they may have lost their standing they''re still very much a Dukedom. They could decide not toe and not face any consequences" Amidst all the praises, admirations, nders, reverence and murmurs that nobles were usually known for at social gatherings like this, the members of the big families kept moving, their expressions unchanging from the smiles they had all been ustomed to and taught to maintain from a very young age. The big families'' asides the Royal family found their way into spacious corners of the grand hall while the Royal Family kept ascending the staircase elegantly. On reaching the top of the staircases, King Arthur turned around along with the Queen, the flowing capes of their regal attires turning gracefully along with them. The Prince and Princess had also moved over to the Ellfire and Rosede Families respectively as they watched their father about to give the obligatory speech tomence the banquet. As the King was about tomence his speech, the wide doors of the of the grand hall suddenly opened. The sudden sound created by the door as it opened caused everyone''s attention to focus on the people that entered at such an important time, but upon seeing the appearance of the people who came in, almost everyone was entranced by what they were seeing. "Oh my goodness!!!" "Thisбн isn''t realбн" "Is it possible to even look that good??" The door had opened to reveal a family of four whose appearance couldn''t have been anything more ethereal and eye-catching to look at. On one side was the Duke of the Belmont Family along with his eldest son, who looked so simr to his father but yet still radiated his own charm which was very different from his father and on the other side was the Duchess along with their youngest son, who had seemed to mature greatly considering how he was oozing confidence just from the way he carried himself. ''He cameбн'' Caroline thought to herself. "Ohбн This is most interestingбн" Selina Rosede quietly said with a lot of interest in her voice. Caroline who had heard her mother''sment could not have been more surprised. This was due to the fact that her mother hardly ever showed interest in anything. Very few things caught her attention and she could say that her Mother was more aloof and oblivious than anything a lot of the time. "Mother, what do you mean by that?" Caroline asked with curiosity. "Noбн it''s just thatбн" Selina Rosede began before her voicepletely faded and she spoke directly into Caroline''s mind. "The eldest son of the Belmont familyбн He''s an A-rankerбн" "What?!" Caroline''s eyes widened with shock at her mother''s words. "And that''s not all. The youngest son will probably be a B-ranker very soonбн" Caroline was unable to even react this time around because she was still very much shocked from the first news, but reaching B-rank with Flynn''s initial core rank by two years was nothing short of a news that would turn over all of Arcadia and the world on its head. "I presume you know that this news should be kept between me and you" Selina still spoke to Caroline through her mind. "Yes Mother" Caroline responded while slightly nodding her head. She then turned to look at Aiden and Flynn again, specifically Aiden with new found interest. ''A-rank at the age of 17 huhбн'' she thought to herself, a smile forming on her lips as she did so. "The Belmonts! It''s so nice to see you attend a gathering after all such a long time!" King Arthur said with a genuine smile. "It is an honor to be able to attend this year''s Royal Banquet again. We apologize for interrupting themencement of your speech" Leopold responded while bowing slightly along with the rest of his family. "No. It isn''t anything to be so apologetic about" Arthur replied before continuing. "We shall continue our conversationster" Arthur said, returning to his majestic stance as he prepared to begin his speech. The Belmont''s upon hearing this bowed once more and moved to an empty space in one corner of the gigantic hall and waited for the King to begin his speech. The reason why no one felt anything was wrong even though the King spoke to the Belmont''s considering they had quite possibly prevented him from starting his initial speech when he actually wanted to was because things like this had happened in the past on several asions with previous Royal Family members and other families, both big and small. This was the modern world, not the medieval ages where things like this were considered punishable byw. There''s something called ''traffic'', and it sucks to say the least, especially when you''re in a hurry. Adding to that was the fact that in the past, the members of the Belmont Family hadid the groundwork and made it very easy for the Adencia Family to ascend to the throne, hence, the Royal Family always favored the Belmont''s even after all these years and their eventual decline from power. "Noble lords anddies, esteemed guests, and loyal subjects" King Arthur began. "I stand before you today as your King to mark themencement of this glorious banquet. Let the revelry begin, as we gather in celebration of our nation''s prosperity, unity, and the unwavering spirit that binds us all!" "May this banquet be a testament to the strength and grandeur of our nation, and may our hearts be filled with joy and gratitude as we partake in this banquet and feast fit for royalty!" Chapter 44 - 41 - Socializing I

Chapter 44: Chapter 41 - Socializing I

"Well then! Let the Royal Banquetmence!" The moment Arthur dered themencement of the banquet, the nobles immediately started socializing with one another. Some requested for dances from the other genders, some immediately began conversing while some immediately moved over to the tables where food was ced. The professional waiters and waitresses elegantly glided through the gigantic hall and began to serve and offer all manner of exquisite hors d''oeuvres, exotic drinks, wines and beverages, ensuring that the nobles were met with hospitality and utmost care. The far ends of the halls were filled with tables covered in pristine white linen cloth which contained all types of delicious and delectable dishes that exuded sophistication and a testament to a first rate chef''s culinary skills. All assortments of pastries, sds, main courses and even desserts, which included a chocte fountain could be found on the elegantly arranged tables. As if already used to it, the younger members of nobility began to usher themselves into their own hall, excitement evident in their eyes. This was after all, the Royal Family''s way over the years, of giving them an opportunity to mingle with people their age without worrying or being involved in the sophisticated talks, politics and world of the adults. Flynn and Aiden gave their parents a slight nod to ease their worries while leaving for the other hall, especially their mum, who then smiled back at them with her own nod. On getting into their own halls, the younger noble members immediately began to do their own thing. They were teenagers and young adults after all so they engaged in things that would interest them. Some could even be found kissing themselves in the secluded corners of the hall. ''Seriously?! These people should get a roomбн'' Aiden inwardly said as he and Flynn moved over to an empty table and some chairs in one corner of the hall. Popr noble members could be spotted amidst other teenagers their age. Lucas, Adrian, Amelia, Bryan, Caroline and Beatrice were the most surrounded, with Adrian, Caroline and Beatrice drawing the most number of people. ''Well it isn''t too surprising that they''re been given that much attentionбн'' Flynn mused to himself. This generation of nobles were packed chockful with no shortages of prodigies. Almost every popr young noble member was already at B-rank, something that was genuinely amazing considering how the previous generations would only have them in few numbers. ''That been said thoughбн'' "The stares hurtбн I''d totally forgotten how people usually went into a trance just by looking at us because we haven''t left our home in almost a year" Flynn said with a slight frown on his face. "You should enjoy it bro! Enjoy our parent''s gift to you! Bask in your handsomeness!" Aiden said with the usual yful smile on his face. "If I had been told that my older brother would be a narcissist three years back, I''d have vehemently denied it, but, here we areбн" "Hey! It''s not that bad you know!" Flynn scoffed at Aiden''s response while thinking about the reason they had beente. Unfortunately for both he and Aiden, they had really underestimated how much they had grown physically over the past two years. When they wanted to wear their old suits, they realized that it was way too tight and small for them. Their muscles had be so well-developed that they immediately had to go get new ones along with their mum, just a few hours before the banquet would begin, hence, their tardiness. Also, unknown to both Aiden and Flynn themselves, their originally handsome looks had be far more amplified after they hadpleted the creation of their mana veins. Aiden was wearing a suit with ck pants, inner white shirt, a cream colored vest and a ck tie along with a ck long coat. Flynn on the other hand dressed less formally as he sported ck pants too but wore a white shirt which he didn''t tuck in, along with a red tie and a white long coat. ''Well I''m d the King didn''t find it disrespectfulбн'' Flynn inwardly said. "Don''t forget to keep your mana sense activated though" Aiden said with a bit of seriousness to his voice. "Way ahead of you" Flynn replied. He had ced his hands on the table to support his head with very bored look on his face. "Wouldn''t hurt to maintain a smile you know?" Aiden said. "And how''s that supposed to help me or prevent that fool from creating a scene?" Flynn said while casually pointing to the red head along with his minionsing towards their table with his other hand. "Flynn! Who would''ve expected that you wouldn''t chicken out and actuallye to another social gathering again?" Ben Steelde said in a loud mocking tone along with the snickers from his minions from smaller noble families which garnered the attention of a fairlyrge number of people in the hall. "Ben Steelde!" Flynn excitedly said while purposely raising his voice a few volumes high, still with his hand supporting his face. It was obvious that he was faking his excitement but the immediate response from him truly caught both Ben and his minions off-guard. Flynn''s excited smile then changed into a mocking one, along with a mocking tone as he said something that really pissed Ben and his minions off. "Y''all still working as henchmen for Lucas? Wait? Did he by chance increase your sries over the past few years? Really hope you''re getting your money''s worth. Would really suck if you were paid nothing after going through all the stress ofing over here to quite possibly humiliate me" Ben and his minions were fuming from the words Flynn uttered. What had really pissed them off however were not even the words he said, but the rxed mocking look he gave them without even removing his hand from his face. He was basically telling them that they were not worth the hassle. "Hahahahaha! Good one Flynn!" Aiden said with a heartyughter. He had originally wanted to step in and stop Ben from continuing his bullshit but had decided against it and just allowed Flynn to handle himself. It was definitely the right choice as Flynn had turned their usual mockery against them in the coolest way possible. This really surprised everyone that was watching the scene before them and it even attracted others who weren''t originally interested because even at the previous social gatherings they had been at over the years after Flynn''s awakening which everyone knew off, Aiden had never smiled, not even once, much lesse to evenugh so loudly. This particrughter of his made him seem more human and even quite approachable. "Y-You! You''re just a pretty face with trash-like talent and you have the audacity to speak like that to me!" Ben said through his teeth which was seething with anger. "Yeah yeah! I''m weak. Very weak I know. Now can you kindly scurry along with your minions and report to your boss as soon as possible. He''s probably waiting for a detailed report so run along munchkins" Flynn replied without even batting an eye while using his other hand to signify a shooing motion. Lucas who had been watching all this from a distance immediately frowned his face at Flynn''sments which had been indirectly and slyly mocking him. "Munckin? That''s awfully nice of you bro!" Aiden said with a fake questioning gaze, one of his eyebrows arched up. "I know right! I was thinking of the exact same thing. Should have found a much more fitting word" Flynn said as if really contemting what his brother just said. Ben who had been thoroughly humiliated, along with his minions, curled his hand into a fist and raised it up as if to punch Flynn''s face but he suddenly felt an indescribable feeling of dread, causing his fist to stay hanging in the air. One singr thought was on his mind right now. ''If I move even a single step, I''ll die! I''ll fucking die!'' His body continuously spasmed with shivers which raced down his spine and he unknowingly took a step back. His face and back waspletely covered and drenched in sweat and the same could be said for his minions. "Aiden. y nice" Flynn said, his toneced with a bit of seriousness. "Fineбн" Aiden replied as he released the bloodlust he had specifically ced and concentrated on both Ben and his minions. Ben who had felt it the most immediately let out gasp of air which he had unknowingly held in.He was the one who Aiden had concentrated most of his bloodlust on. He had also realized that Aiden was the one who had done whatever he did to him because at the point of him raising his fist into the air, his eyes had darted over to Aiden''s for a brief moment and he had seen those cold piercing emerald eyes staring at him with so much malice contained in them. ''What the fuck was that???!!!'' Ben inwardly asked himself, fear still very much present in his eyes. Eventually, Ben finally regained hisposure from the indescribable sense of dread he felt, after which he then returned his facial expression into a mocking one and spoke a few words as he left. "Coward! Hiding behind his brother!" Everyone in the hall who had been staring at the scene that yed out before them, waspletely unaware of what had transpired between the three boys and they just thought that Ben had left because he felt humiliated. Everyone except a certain ck-haireddy with beautiful scarlet red eyes. "Wellбн that was easier to handle than I expectedбн" Flynn said, a bit of surprise present in his voice. He then continued after a short pause. "You shouldn''t have used it you know. They really weren''t worth it. Master would''ve also been disappointed" "I know. My bad. I guess my protective instincts aren''tpletely gone" Aiden said while running his hands through his hair with a nostalgic smile. "Well it''s alright bro. At least every other goober will stay away from this table till the rest of the party" Flynn replied. Chapter 45 - 42 - Socializing II

Chapter 45: Chapter 42 - Socializing II

Flynn and Aiden kept their mana sense fully activated from the moment they had stepped into the reception hall. So far, they had yet to spot anything but they both knew, a gigantic explosion which was going to im the lives of many young people here was going to happen today. One thing was certain though, the explosion will not be caused by magic as the hall was equipped with state of the art mana sensors to release a ring rm if a dangerous magic was about to be activated. Also, the hall guards made sure to search everyone for any form of dangerous weapons before they could be permitted to enter the hall and not even the big families or even the Royal Family was exempted from this search. Simply put, the halls were very secure. "Haaaaбн" Flynn sighed, still with the bored look on his face as he watched everyone dancing, eating, conversing,ughing and socializing, totally unaware of the impending deaths that was looming over their heads. Flynn''s bored look suddenly changed into one of interest as he raised his hands and took a te containing pastries from one of the waitresses who walked past their table. The waitress was surprised by how quickly his hands grabbed the te but she quickly regained her professionalposure and kept on doing her job as she moved on to the next group of young nobles who were also sitting at another table. "I will never understand your fascination with sweets" Aiden said, his hands stretching to take a macaron but Flynn pped his hands away with so much speed and precision. "Hands off punk! They''re mine. Grab yours!" Flynn snapped at his brother, a bit of disdain present in his voice and his eyes showing his greed and inability to share. "Ehhhhбн" Aiden was slightly shocked by his brother''s swift rejection to share his pastries but Flynn, as if contemting, decided to give him the pink-colored macaron he had originally wanted to reach for. "Damn bro! You''re a stingy one aren''t you?" Aiden replied to his brother''s gesture as he took a bite out of the macaron. Flynn just shrugged off Aiden''sment and continued stuffing his mouth. "Yuck! Yep! Sweets really aren''t my thing" Aidenmented while cing the half eaten macaron on the te in front of him. "Um, i-if y-you don''t mind, w-would you like to d-dance with me?" ''Huh?'' Aiden thought as he raised his head to see a small petite girl who could be described as cute. She had ck haired bangs covering most of her forehead while the rest flowed down her back but it did nothing to hide her beautiful big blue eyes. She was nervously fidgeting while holding the hem of her cream-colored dress with one hand and the other hand outstretched to request for Aiden''s hand to the dancefloor. Her eyes were tightened, as if she had expected Aiden to reject her request, and she was right, as Aiden gave her an answer. "I''m sorry but I can''t honor that request" Aiden said as he got up while slightly bowing politely. The girl''s heart sunk at this but the next few words from Aiden really surprised her. "I''m quiteбн No, I''m very horrible at dancing" Aiden said with a small chuckle as if to mock himself but he still continued. "However, I can promise you that when I get better at it, I will request for your hand, Miss?" Aiden asked in an effort to know the name of the youngdy before him. The youngdy who still seemed to be processing the words became even more puzzled by Aiden''s next words but after regaining herposure, suddenly blurted out her name. "Maya! It''s Maya Arendelle!" "Well then Miss. Arendelle, I look forward to our next social gathering" Aiden said with a charming smile while politely bowing once more. Maya''s face went beet red and her heartbeat increased rapidly as she stared at the dangerously handsome face before her. She then swiftly scurried along and ran off into the crowd which had been staring at them and their interaction from the moment she went out to ask for Aiden''s hand to the dancefloor. "Did I say something wrong?" Aiden said while lightly scratching the side of his face with a confused look. The crowd of onlookers which had been staring at Aiden and Maya suddenly erupted after hisstment as they began to speak in hushed but excited tones, especially the females. "Did you guys hear that! He promised to ask for her hand at the next social event!" "He might''ve just been doing it to help her save face" "But then he didn''t need to promise her that he would look for her at the next gathering. He definitely meant it!" "Maybe we should try our luck too!" "Yeah! Let''s do it!" "Lady Killer!" Flynn said to his brother with a yful smile. "Youбн You really should look at yourself in the mirror every now and then" Aiden replied with a slight frown. "That aside thoughбн Did you feel it just now?" Flynn responded, the yful smile reced by a serious look on his face. "Yeahбн the door just got sealed by an invisible barrierбн A mana equipment or magic spell maybe?" Aiden had noticed a guy that was seemingly their age dressed formally and wearing a three-piece ck suit quietly move over to the door and secretly erect what seemed to be a barrier that was invisible to the naked eye. Flynn and Aiden would probably never have noticed if their mana sense hadn''t been switched on and even then, the barrier seemed to not even exist anymore because as soon as they spotted it, itpletely disappeared as if it was never there, even with their mana sense still on. "I''ve already locked onto the guy who did it. Can you break the barrier though?" Flynn inquired "Yeah. Should be a piece of cake" As Aiden was about to sit down, he noticed that a bunch ofdies from different families were flocking towards him. They all then began to ask for his hand to the dancefloor, something which he politely declined and told them he had already been requested for and until that was fulfilled, he wouldn''t be able to ept anyone else''s dance request. Flynn just watched the entire scene unfold before him with amusement. His gaze then travelled over to the dancefloor and his eyes locked on to Lucas''s who was currently dancing to a waltz with Amelia who had her back turned to him. As if trying to mock Flynn, Lucas gave him a condescending look to show that he now had Amelia instead of him but Flynn instead gave him a thumbs up with the same bored look his face had now returned to. Lucas unfortunately, had no way to react to this and his face contorted into a frown to which Flynn chuckled at. "Finally! I responded to all of them the best way I could!" Aiden said while slumping into his chair. "Must''ve been fun huh?" Flynnmented. "Very. You should try it out sometime" Aiden sarcastically replied. "Thanks but I''ll pass" Flynn said as he popped another tart into his mouth. "Aiden and Flynn Belmont! It is so nice to finally meet you after such a long time. Quite the entrance you made today, eh?" Adrian Adencia walked towards Flynn and Aiden''s table with outstretched arms and a charismatic smile on his face. ''Why do people keeping over!'' Flynn inwardlyined but he kept a smile on the outside while responding to Adrian. "It''s a pleasure to meet you again your highness" both Aiden and Flynn got up from their seats while bowing their heads slightly. "Oh not this again! This is a hall for people our age to freely mingle with one another! Please, drop the pleasantries" "Alright then. I have to ask though Adrian, why are you here exactly?" Aiden inquired. "Oh can''t a person juste over for a greeting" Adrian said with a coy smile but Flynn and Aiden kept giving him squinting looks. Adrian who seemed undisturbed by their looks then spoke up. "It''s just that the Belmont''s rarely attend any events so it was a genuine surprise to see you both. I had to at least give my greetings" ''I guess he''s justying some groundwork and doing his job as future king'' Aiden thought to himself. "Well, I hope to see you at more events in the future!" Adrian waved and said as he walked off to greet the young heirs of other families. "It''s really rare to see a person our age without ulterior motives at events like theseбн" Flynn said after Adrian left. "Yeahбн It really isбн" Aiden responded. "Speaking of ulterior motives, why the heck is Caroline Rosede sashaying towards us?" Flynn asked with a bit of confusion in his voice. "What?!" Aiden eximed, his head turning around to spot Caroline who was dressed in a red velvet gown which was hugging all her assets in the right ces and had a slit on one side that showed of her lower thigh, walking towards their table just like Flynn said. Caroline never interacted with Aiden once throughout the entirety of the story in the novel. Not even once! Even though she was mentioned several times, it was only to describe how much of a sly and crafty vixen she was. She was someone who was known to allure men who purposely came after her with perverted intentions, use them as a means to achieve her goals and eventually discard them like they never even existed in the first ce. "Ohe on! I haven''t even done anything yet and another butterfly effect is already rearing its ugly head!" Aiden said, frustration evident in his voice. "Well, we did say we would deal with it as we went on" Flynn said while shrugging his shoulders. "Guess you''ll just have to deal with it this time bro. Godspeed!" Flynn continued. "What do you mean ''you''? I thought you said you''d always have my back! What about the bro code you punk!" "Good day to both of you" Caroline said with an alluring smile upon reaching their table after which she followed up with a request. "Do you mind if I sit down here?" She asked while pointing to the chair just beside Aiden. "No. I don''t mind. Please, have a seat" Aiden politely replied, his face nowpletely devoid of all emotions. "Thank you!" Caroline then proceeded to turn her chair around slightly while still smiling alluringly but this time, she had her sights set solely on Aiden. Aiden who maintained hisposure, just looked at her even as she stared at him seductively without any change in his facial expression but inwardly, Aiden cussed. ''Well shit!'' Chapter 46 - 43 - Socializing III

Chapter 46: Chapter 43 - Socializing III

Right now, in therge hall, envious gazes from almost all the males were directed towards Aiden and Flynn''s table. Their table had already attracted the attention of everyone a number of times today but this one really took the cake. Caroline Rosede, known to never approach males unless it required formalities had willingly approached the table of the brothers from the Belmont Family and as if that wasn''t enough, she was staring at Aiden seductively. "This is unbelievable!" "Caroline Rosede! That Caroline Rosede, who''s known to never approach males but instead, it''s usually the other way around!" "And she''s staring at him like that too! Damn I wish I was him! Is this what being handsome gets you?! Curse my genes!" The loud murmurs and hushed voices could be heard and Caroline who was very aware of what she had caused still kept staring seductively at the male teen before her. Shiny ck hair that was perfectly styled, piercing green eyes that shined like glowing emeralds, fair skin without a single blemish, thinly and beautifully shaped lips, a well-defined jaw and a face that held it all together perfectly. Yes, the teen before her was truly and ridiculously handsome in every sense of the word but that wasn''t what drew her to him. It was the way his eyes showed no signs of interest in her even though she was purposely increasing all of her charm at his face point nk. ''He''s just as I thought... Maybe even betterбн'' Caroline inwardly said to herself. To say that she had not been interested in this rare specimen of a male would be an understatement. Throughout all her life, as far back as she could remember, a lot of males had always eyed her lustfully without even trying to hide their dirty and filthy intentions. Although there were also those who weren''t interested in her for her beauty, they would instead approach her because of her status or other ulterior motives a lot of the time. As a young girl who was just trying to grow up as normally as she could, the gazes filled with carnal desires and fake admirations towards her made her screen crawl so much whenever she went out of her home or attended any social event like this one. Luckily for her, she eventually taught herself how to use it as a tool to get whatever she wanted and gradually she began to ept that this was how it should be. That was until she met Aiden at a ball when they were thirteen. He had such a clear and happy gaze that radiated from the way he carried himself, and even when he greeted her, his eyes showed not even a single speck of lust or interest in her, something she found really surprising. She had tried to approach him again after that, to get a chance to talk to him again, to have that feeling he once gave her but unfortunately for her, the next few times he attended a ball, he had such a dark and menacing feel to him, so much that it deterred anyone from evening close or trying to approach him. This continued for the next few years after which hepletely stopped attending any social event except forpulsory ones like this, and even when he did, he never bothered talking to anyone and just quietly stayed in a corner until the event was over. Now he was here again, but this time, he seemed so much more lively, so much more approachable, so much like his old self but with a sharpened edge. Caroline couldn''t help but feel like it was all because of the other teen that was now sitting beside him, his younger brother, Flynn Belmont. Almost every noble knew why Aiden stopped socializing and Caroline herself was no exception. To put it simply, Caroline Rosede had always had a crush on Aiden from the very first time she had met him and time had done nothing to reduce that feeling but had even amplified it instead. Unknown to the current Aiden and Flynn, the reason why she had never approached Aiden even once in the novel was because he hadpletely shut out all forms of rtionships with people, especially nobles, with the exception of his family after Flynn died, hence making him unapproachable. "Miss Rosede, might I ask why you''ve been staring at me for the past few minutes?" Aiden asked politely. He wondered what this sly vixen was up to and kept staring back at her. As he did, he also took in her features. Short ck silky hair, scarlet-red ruby eyes, beautiful fair skin, a small nose and small rosy-pink lips that held an alluring smile. The female before him could be described as alluringly beautiful and Aiden could see why so many males fell for her schemes without them ever even knowing. "No reason. You''re just so handsome to look at" Caroline replied. "I know. Thank you for thepliment" Aiden said without so much as a change in his expression. "Oh~" Caroline softly said, amused by his reply to herpliment. "You really are shameless huh?" Flynn interjected while grabbing a new te of pastries from another waitress. "As a wise man once said, it''s not shameless if it''s trueбн" Aidenmented. "Let me guess. That wise man was you?" Flynn followed up almost immediately. "Touchиж" Aiden replied. Flynn just rolled his eyes and took a bite out of a scone. Aiden on the other hand, now had a small smug smile on his face. "Pfft! Hahaha! That was fun to watch" Caroline said with a smallughter after which she continued. "Sorry. I just never took you for someone like that" she said with a slight chuckle. Aiden who watched the sight of Caroline chuckling rxed his guard a bit. This was something he wasn''t expecting from the crafty fox he had read so much about so it came as a slight surprise to him. He however was still wary of her but he was relieved that he didn''t have to constantly be at alert around her. "Well it is true" Aiden shrugged. "That it is" Caroline replied, still very much surprised and amused by the way Aiden was being so shameless. "I would like to dance with you but I overheard that you''re horrible at dancing. Is that the truth or are you just trying to evade countlessdies who are offering their hands to you?" Caroline continued, her hand propping her head as she rested it on the table. "Trust me. I''m probably the worst dancer Arcadia has yet to see. I''m also not particrly interested in embarrassing myself" Aiden replied with a slight gesture of his hands. "I would never have expected thatбн" Caroline said with a genuine smile, all of her allure gone and all that remained was just a teenage girl who wanted to have a normal conversation with a teenage boy her age. Everyone in the hall who saw this foreign sight of Caroline Rosede talking freely with a boy her age was genuinely amazed by this but what was even more amazing was how Aiden could talk freely to her without being affected by her charms. Right now, they just seemed like two friends having a nice conversation. Flynn who was hearing their conversation decided to just leave them be as he kept munching on the new batch of pastries he had procured. Although a lot of people were now staring in their direction, he had particrly been feeling someone''s strong gaze on him since the moment he entered the hall but he had chosen to ignore it because he knew whose gaze it was. ''How can someone change so much in just a year and a few months?'' Amelia who was staring at Flynn wondered. The boy she was now looking at seemed to have apletely different feel to him and yet, it still felt like the person she had known since they were kids. She couldn''t quite describe the feeling she was having right now but one thing was for sure. She didn''t like the way he waspletely ignoring her. She didn''t like it at all. As she kept staring at him, she watched his bored expression immediately transform to one with a deep frown. Flynn stood up immediately with a frown on his face. His expression waspletely serious and he immediately increased the radius of his mana sense. ''Five of them!'' he inwardly eximed. The guy whom he had noticed that had ced an invisible barrier on the open doors of the hallways quietly moved around the hall while secretlymunicating with four other people he hade in contact with. The same guy was now moving towards the middle of the dance floor with one of his hands in the side pockets of his suit jacket. Flynn could sense something that looked to be a small round red ball that he seemed to have activated upon putting his hands into his pockets. The other four also seemed to be doing the same thing. "Aiden!" Aiden who had also felt the same thing but slightlyter than Flynn due to his conversation with Caroline also got up withplete alertness. This sudden movement from Aiden and Flynn startled Caroline. She wondered what could have caused both brothers to suddenly stand up but as she wanted to ask what was going on, Aiden turned around and paused a few steps after walking from their table and spoke. "Flynn. Don''t lose!" Flynn looked over his shoulder and with a smirk, replied to his brother sarcastically. "Just what I needed Aiden. Helpful reassurance!" Aiden smiled at this and then immediately ran towards the open doors of the hall with immense speed andpletely halted just before it. Everyone was now looking at him and the sudden speed at which he ran towards the door but as if that wasn''t weird enough, they watched him ce his hands on the open space present within the middle of the door and wondered what he was doing. Aiden after cing his hands on the invisible barrier, got into a stance that seemed like he was about to attack someone with a punch and with an intense concentration, chanted a spell inwardly. ''[Gravity Series: Gravity st]'' Chapter 47 - 44 - Pandemonium

Chapter 47: Chapter 44 - Pandemonium

''[Gravity Series: Gravity st]'' The moment Aiden chanted the spell, the security sensors of the hall immediately picked up on the huge amounts of mana he was emitting and considered it dangerous, which in turn caused the security rms of the hall to go off. People were now beginning to feel uneasy by this stunt Aiden was pulling but, as if to shut down their doubts and make them aware of the situation they were in, Aiden''s mana-imbued fist collided with the invisible barrier. -BAM!!! -Crack! Shatter! His fists which had seemingly connected to nothing but empty space suddenly revealed a mirror-like crack in space which then shattered almost immediately and disintegrated into dust-like particles, causing the onlookers eyes to widen in shock at the phenomenon before them. Some nobles, at least the ones who were C-rankers and above among them immediately realized the situation they had been in. They had been trapped, and they didn''t even seem to realize it! Aiden upon smashing the invisible barrier to smithereens immediately bolted out of the hall without even so much as an exnation. Flynn upon watching his brother smash the barrier swiftly ran towards the center of the hall and casted his own spell upon seeing that the five people he noticed had thrown the red balls into the air. ''[Telekic Series: Force Field]'' As if what Aiden had done wasn''t enough, people who were now bing wary of the situation they were in, watched Flynn as he ran towards the center of the hall just as a gigantic explosion went off. -BOOOOOM!!! A gargantuan eruption of fiery chaos consumed the hall in a massive explosion, shattering all the high rise windows and chandeliers, the towering pirspletely torn apart from it''s very foundations and unleashing a tempest of debris, shattered ss and devastation. Yet, even as all these happened and a lot of young nobles released all manners of bloodcurdling screams, panic-stricken screeches, piercing cries and terrified yells to signify their impending deaths, the dust which had been covering the hall due to the sudden explosion and tempest of pressurized winds eventually died down to reveal a pulsing green aquamarine transparent dome which covered the entirety of the hall. Within it were all the nobles without so much as a single scratch on them. Realizing that they were all safe, they all looked around with deeply confused expressions on their faces but eventually, all of their eyes settled on a single silver-haired figure holding both of his hands as if suspended in the air. Suddenly, they watched him drop on one of his knees while panting heavily onto to the marbled floors which had now being cracked and shattered in many different ces while releasing a curse from his mouth. "Shit! I really overestimated myself this time!" *** (Immediately after Aiden left the hallбн) Aiden dashed through the long corridors of the hall, covering their lengthy distance in literal seconds. ''I really hope that Flynn stays safe!'' -Wooosh! Aiden who still didn''t stop running dashed through the adults hall without even caring that he had interrupted so many people''s socialization with the immense speed at which he dashed through the hall. "What''s a teen doing here?" "This is very disrespectful! Interrupting us that brat!" "Waitбн Isn''t thatбн" Anna, Leopold and Sebastian looked at themselves and without even skipping a beat, immediately ran after Aiden. Aiden who had noticed that his parents were running after him increased his speed even further. ''It would be a hassle to exin right now so I have no time to wait!'' He had now reached the reception hall and immediately covered its wide distance within a second and bolted out of its doors without even stopping. He then looked around and just like he and Flynn had surmised a few months back, it turned out that their thoughts had been correct. There were no guards at the front of the main entrance of the hall. Aiden and Flynn had a discussion a few months prior to this day. They had both wondered how a ce as secure as the Royal Family''s banquet hall had been infiltrated by the members of Obelisk. After pondering and thinking over it for days on end, they came to the conclusion that the only way something like that must''ve happened was if the guards had been in on it. They were the ones who allowed for entrance into the hall so if they had purposely yed the part and sneaked in a few of their members in, then there wouldn''t have been anyway for anyone to notice a thing. However, that still left a single question. Did some noble families join hands with Obelisk? It was highly unlikely that that was the case because even till the eventual extermination of Arcadia and eventually, all of humanity, noble families never joined hands with Obelisk even once in the novel. But still, both of them decided to notpletely eliminate that thought process. Discarding those thoughts however for the meantime, had led Flynn toe to a singr thought. One of those Obelisk bastards who infiltrated the hall was proficient in the use of [Illusion Series]. Aiden however had countered that thought by exining that it could never be the case because the sensors in the hall would''ve picked up on it when it was casted, even if said person had done it before or after entering the hall. So, Flynn revised his thought and made a more believable theory. The guards who were guarding the halls, or probably one of them, was a proficient user of the [Illusion Series]. As a result, the sensors will not be able to pick up on it because the person who activated the spell was not present in the hall so everything would appear normal to it. Even technology has its ws. ''We were right! There really are no guards here!'' Those were Aiden''s thought as he rushed down the staircase. ''Whoever it was who was inside the hall must''ve sent a signal to these guys that he was about to blow up the hall, causing them to leave before anyone else caught up to it. That definitely means that by now, they were not out of the vicinity just yet!'' Aiden inwardly continued. As soon as he reached thest steps of the staircase, he immediately ran towards the parking lot and lo and behold, there were two guards who were about to get onto different vehicles just a few meters ahead of him. One was about to climb a red futuristic motorcycle while the other had already ignited the engines of the hover car he was in. "Got you, you bastards!" Aiden muttered and immediately casted a spell afterwards. ''[Gravity Series: Suction] !!'' "W-What the hell is going on!!!" the guard that was about to start the motorcycle shouted as he felt himself being drawn towards a ck-haired teen that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The guard who was in the hover car however, immediately began to drive without even caring about his aplice, the circr holes which were present beneath the hover car where the tires were supposed to be, pulsing with energy as he drove off. Aiden grabbed on to the head of the guard which he pulled towards him and in one swift motion, jammed his head into the concrete of the floor, causing a small hole to form beneath his head and effectively putting him out ofmission. The spell had also pulled some cars and the sleek futuristic-looking motorcycle towards him but he wasn''t really concerned about that. The person he wanted to catch was about to get away. "Tch! He''s getting away!" Aiden said with a frustrated tone and frown as he watched the other guard drive off. "I can''t let him get away!" Aiden began to look around but immediately realized that there were no cars that were unlocked. He then settled his eyes on the red futuristic motorcycle before him with the keys already in the ignition. ''Can I drive this?'' he asked himself. Although Aiden had experience driving cars and motorcycles in his past life due to the many types of part-time delivery jobs he did to sustain both himself and Flynn, he was really unsure of whether he could actually drive this futuristic-looking motorcycle. "Screw this! It''s not like I have a choice!" Aiden resolutely said as he got onto the motorcycle and ignited its engine. ''It''s a bit weird but I can definitely manage'' he inwardly said to himself after igniting its engine. -Vroom! Vroom! Vroooooom! The sleek looking futuristic machine purred to life with a rhythmic hum, it''s engine emitting a symphony of smooth vibrations and low rumblings, akin to a contented feline. Aiden smiled at this and immediately drove out of the corner where vehicles were parked in while following the silhouette of the hover car in the distance that the other guard had drove off in. -BOOOOOM! "What the hell is going on!!!" Sebastian muttered in shock and confusion as he, Anna and Leopold felt the strong vibrations of what seemed to be a big explosion. "I have a very bad feeling about this!" Anna said while opening the doors of the main entrance, her toneced with immense worry. Anna, Leopold and Sebastian finally made it to the main entrance of the hall and watched Aiden drive off while effortlessly gliding through the open road on what seemed to be a red motorcycle. Aiden upon noticing them shouted at the top of his lungs as he drove off. "Mum! Dad! Uncle Baz! Check up on Flynn! I''ll exin everything once I get back!" "Where did he even learn how to drive thatбн" Sebastian muttered to himself in confusion again. ''This weird sense of deja-vuбн'' Leopold thought to himself as he watched his son drive off into the distance. He then promptly tapped on his smartwatch and contacted Frank who was near their limousine present at the other far end of the parking lot while giving him the order to go after Aiden. "Anna! He''ll be fine! I''ve contacted Frank. Let''s go check up on Flynn as he requested of us" Leopold said to his wife. "O-Okayбн" Anna said worriedly, still with an immensely disturbed look on her face as she heard the sound of the motorcycle Aiden took off in, humming in the distance. Chapter 48 - 45 - Fast & Furious

Chapter 48: Chapter 45 - Fast & Furious

Hover cars. Although they might''ve seemed like something everyone would use when it was first created and introduced in this semi-futuristic world, thepany who had produced them in bulk had forgotten to take one simple fact into consideration. Human beings dislike change and people are naturally hardwired to resist change, even on a sub-atomic level. So, when futuristic cars and motorcycles hit the market, it sold like hotcakes because it was something people were familiar with but it still offered a new sense of wonder. The hover cars that were newly created however, required you to unlearn everything you knew about driving cars for an alternatively new form of driving. It also didn''t help that although these cars could technically offer the sense of portable flight, they could only really be allowed to stay 10 to 15 meters above the ground. Hence the name, hover cars. The only advantage that they therefore had over normal futuristic looking cars and motorcycles was the ease of being able topletely bypass traffic but still, they were required to follow normal traffic regtions in the form of hover signs of their own which was littered around the city. This was also why a certain obelisk member who had infiltrated the annual Adencia Royal Banquet as a guard was cursing quite bitterly on his hover car. "Fuck! Why the hell is this brat so relentless?!" He checked the rear view mirrors again and spotted a ck-haired youth on a red motorcycle racing through the congested neon-lighted, night streets of Arcadia and hot on his tail! Aiden nced up to spot the escaping guard and his hover car about 17 meters ahead of him, the individual strands of his hair tousling and creating a wispy-like feel due to the immense speed at which he was riding the motorcycle at. ''Should have put on a helmetбн'' he thought to himself as he swerved and zoomed past the middle of two cars on the busy night street. "[Illusion Series: Titan Wall]!!!" "Try getting through this you fucking brat!" the guard said to himself with a derisive snicker. Aiden nced up again to see the hover car taking a swift right turn, after which he also proceeded to do the same but right as he sharply turned, he noticed that all the cars a few meters ahead of him suddenly began to halt, their tires screeching and creating a cacophony of ear ringing noises. Right ahead of him in the distance was what seemed to be a gargantuan concrete wall that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and was the reason car drivers suddenly began to halt their cars to aplete stop while also getting out of their respective cars in an effort to make heads or tails about what was happening. As if the weird urrence wasn''t enough, the people who had gotten out of their vehicle watched as a red motorcycle did a flip above them, along with a ck-haired boy in a suit who was holding onto the handlebars while sitting on the seats of the chair upside down as if glued to it. Prior to flipping through the air with the motorcycle, Aiden had immediately realized what was happening when he saw the wall, causing him to not even reduce his speed but instead, increase it even further and without skipping a beat, also extend his mana around the entirety of the motorcycle in an instant and using a spell. "[Gravity Series: Zero]!" Aiden watched his motorcycle levitate up into the air and above the halted cars to do a flip, using the momentum from the speed he had built up to traverse over the halted cars and the onlookers as the motorcyclepleted the flip and was now about to crash headfirst with it''s tires into the concrete wall. ''Man I hope I live to regret this!!!'' Aiden thought to himself anxiously. He then discontinued the [Zero] spell mid-air, and closed his eyes tightly as he was about to crash into the wall. However, just as he had surmised, his motorcycle phased through the walls as if it was just an illusion, shocking the onlookers as the motorcyclended on the other side without even so much as a scratch, it''s strong tires bouncing slightly bouncing off the ground as itnded on the asphalt of the road! "That was by far the riskiest thing I''ve ever done in my entire life! So d I was right!" Aiden said to himself in a relieved tone, a few beads of sweat forming across his head. However, an excited smile was also present on his face, indicating the undeniable wave of adrenaline rush he had gotten from sessfully pulling off his half-baked n out on the spur of the moment. The guard in the hover car looked through the rearview mirror again with a smug smile but was shocked to see Aidennding through the wall he had created without even a single problem. ''How did he even?!'' the guard expressed his shock without even being able toe up with a single answer to his own question. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he cursed to himself while banging his fist on the dashboard with the other still on the rectangr steering wheel. He knew that if he couldn''t even use his [Illusion Series] to stop the ck-haired youth chasing after him, he had no chance of escaping, especially since even normal cars and motorcycles were just as fast as hover cars, not to even talk about the special edition motorcycle the youth was riding. The only advantage he had was that he was in the air and if that was where he needed to stay till one of their fuel exhaust ran out, he sure as hell was going to remain in the air. Aiden kept on chasing the guard for about fifteen minutes on the busy streets and even had to swerve onto an oing traffes just to ensure he didn''t lose his trail due to some horrible traffic congestions in some parts of the city. "This guy! He''s basically trying to make it a chase of attrition" Aiden muttered to himself in annoyance. As he kept chasing the guard, he had noticed a ck limo that had been following both of them for the past few minutes and after ncing over to see who it was, he had not been surprised to see that it was Frank. ''Dad probably contacted him and ordered him to follow me'' Aiden thought to himself. ''In any case, this guy''s definitely an annoying one! I can''t use [Suction] because it would pull other cars in the vicinity and neither can I use [Zero] because the distance is too far. That leaves onlyбн'' While thinking of what he could do to catch the escaping member of Obelisk, he spotted a small construction site in the distance which seemed to be remodeling the lower floors of a skyscraper and immediately increased his motorcycle''s speed a bit while moving towards it. He then swiped a thin steel pipe which was lying uselessly on the ground and immediately ced it into his spatial ring, his lips curling into a smile as an idea struck his mind about how to take down the hover car he had been chasing for the past 15 minutes now. ''I just need to wait for the right momentбн'' After about another two to three minutes of continuous chasing from when Aiden swiped the pipe, the guard in the hover car swerved and made a very sharp U-turn while hovering onto and above a small but less crowded highway with little to no vehicles by cutting above traffic. He then smirked to himself because although he could effortlessly make that switch onto another road in an instant, Aiden could not and would require having to go forward a minute or two before making that U-turn and by then, he could have very well escaped. "Hahaha! That''s what you get you shitty brat!" he yelled at the top of his voice with a haughtyughter while looking at the rearview mirror and watched as Aiden''s motorcycle came to aplete halt. Aiden who had been waiting for an opportune moment like this quickly got off his ride, retrieved the thin steel pipe from his spatial ring and arched his back while positioning himself as if he wanted to throw the pipe, a dangerous smile on his face and an even more dangerous glint present in his eyes. "What is he doing?" the guard said as he watched Aiden at a distance from the rearview mirror even as he kept driving. Aiden after letting out a deep breath of air from his throwing stance, immediately threw the steel pipe he had coated with his own mana with such a devastating force while chanting his spell with a roar. "[Gravity Series: Grav Boost] !!!" -Thwoosh! The steel pipe hurtled through the air at breakneck speed and punctured through the internals of the hover car diagonally whileing out through the other side of the engine almost instantly in the blink of an eye. This caused the hover car to plummet down, tumble over, and skid a few times onto and along the asphalt of the empty highway road with a screeching sound beforeing to aplete halt with arge crash. -Screeeeech!! Crash!!! "What the...???" was all the guard could mutter in confusion as his vehicle plummeted to the road because everything that had just transpired happened in mere seconds. Aiden cupped his hands over his head to see the destruction he had caused and released a sigh of relief. "Phew! So d he isn''t deadбн yet. Better hurry on over before the car explodes to bits" he said to himself as he got onto the motorcycle and took the long U-turn before getting over to the site of the ident he had caused on the small highway. Although Aiden could''ve thrown the steel pipe much earlier, even whilst chasing the escaping guard through the crowded and congested night streets, he had been wary of coteral damage and he didn''t want to create a sudden ident to innocent onlookers and bystanders. This was why the less crowded small highway came as an opportune moment to strike and he was d he took it. The hover car had no hooded covering due to the crash from its fall when he got to the site of the ident he had caused so pulling the culprit out of the destroyed vehicle was really easy. He then dragged the Obelisk member who had now copsed and was knocked-out out of the wreckage. After dragging him a few meters away, the hover car suddenly caught fire and erupted in mes with a small explosion, causing Aiden to shield his face with one of his hands from the bright yellowish-red light of the sudden explosion. -Boom!! Aiden then heard the sound of a car pulling up on the highway behind him, causing him to turn around as he watched Frank alight from the car while hurriedly walking over to him. "I presume this man has something to do with therge explosion that went off at the Royal Banquet, young master?" Frank asked upon seeing the guard who had been knocked out and had a trail of blood leaking from his forehead. "Yeahбн anyway, we have to get back to the hall quickly. I''ll exin the rest when we get back" "As you wish young master" Frank said with a bow and tossed the knocked out guard into the Limo''s backseat while Aiden got back onto the bike as they both headed back to the hall. It was nowte into the night upon getting back to the venue where it all began. Aiden went around to the parking lot and dragged the other guy he had knocked out before he left, much to Frank''s surprise. He then removed his now wrinkled long coat and tossed into the backseat of the limo while simultaneously pulling the other guy from it and began to drag both culprits back into the hall. ''Weirdбн I''d have expected people to be outside in droves by nowбн'' Aiden inwardly said to himself at the absence of not a single person outside the hall. "I hope you''re safe Flynn!" he muttered as he ascended the long stairs to the hall, the sound of bodies scraping against and making dragging noises on the concrete steps as he dragged the knocked-out guards up the stairs along with him and Butler Frank in tow, following closely behind him. Chapter 49 - 46 - MotherтАЩs Rage

Chapter 49: Chapter 46 - Mother''s Rage

(A few seconds after Flynn saved everyone from the destructive explosion) "Shit! I really overestimated myself this time!" Flynn fell to the ground on one knee and cursed. He had burnt through almost all of his mana reserves just by holding his [Force Field] spell against the gigantic explosion that should have imed the lives of multiple innocent young nobles. He then discontinued the spell to save a bit of his already little mana reserve while taking a deep breath, the pulsing green aquamarine barrier also slowly vanishing as he did so. ''Mana veins are no joke at all. I can already feel my mana reserves replenishing quickly'' he inwardly said to himself while getting up. Flynn felt the confused stares of everyone on him but he didn''t even bother to acknowledge it as he calmly stood up and locked eyes onto the culprit just a few meters in front of him. The youth who had thrown the explosive balls upon signaling to his other four aplices, had been shocked to see someone break through the barrier tool they had spent a lot of money to research upon. As if to add salts to his wound, another brat hadpletely nullified their explosive bombs which they had modified for over a year to avoid even the most advanced of sensors and also, painstakingly set up after a year and a few months of nning with a barrier-like spell of his own. That same brat was now locking eyes onto him, letting him understand that he had been caught and he had no chance of escape. ''I was supposed to evacuate all five of us with my [Shadow Shift] the moment we threw those mana bombs into the air but everything''s messed up! Now that it''se to thisбн'' the young teenager who was also staring back at Flynn inwardly thought to himself. Suddenly, Adrian shouted up at the top of his voice, snapping everyone out of their confusion. "Everyone! Evacuate and move to the adult''s hall! The culprits might still be among us and might trigger another devastating explosion! Hurry up and go!!!" Upon hearing his voice, everyone swiftly and hurriedly began to run out of the hall while following Adrian''s lead. But even as they did, Flynn walked calmly, his pace blending in with the hurried footsteps of the crowd, all while staring at the culprit with a darkened gaze, causing him to eventually be left behind at the hall as it emptied. No one had bothered to approach Flynn as they were still very much disoriented, in a state of panic and still very confused from what had just happened and even Adrian was no different, but, he at least had the keen sense to evacuate everyone quickly. As expected of a future king. As the hall emptied, Flynn realized that all five were now surrounding him, especially considering that they had all already noticed that he had caught their ringleader. ''The only way to fulfill our mission now is to kill him!'' Those were the thoughts in their mind, but as if they had forgotten, their faces began to contort and fade to reveal their respective true faces. ''Fuck! The guards had already been issued an order to leave the moment the explosion went off!'' the main culprit cursed in his mind as he and the rest of his minions retrieved ominous looking demon masks from their spatial rings and bracelets before donning it on their faces. A trademark of Obelisk whenever they wanted to start their operations. Flynn watched on as they all wore their masks, almost as if to tell him that they would take care of him quickly and escape. ''Well they can actually still escape if they can reach onto those high rise windows at the top of the hall if they have a way to get up to itбн'' Flynn mused to himself. ''But they don''t seem to want to do thatбн'' After realizing that the youth before them seemed unfazed even by the fact that they were ganging up on him, the masked obelisk members became even more wary. They were all mid to low-tier C-rankers with the exception of their boss, who was a low tier B-ranker. They had all purposely being selected to effectively blend into the young noble''s part of the banquet so as not to arouse any suspicions. That''s why low tier rankers were used even though the operation was this dangerous. They then began to wonder why the teen before them was unfazed but as if to remind them that they were in a very dire situation, Flynn spoke up, the tone of his voice dripping with an icy spine-chilling coldness as he released a small but concentrated amount of bloodlust. "Should Ie to you, or will youe to me?" *** (A few seconds after Aiden left on the motorcycleбн) ''Leo''s right. He''ll be fine! Frank will definitely make sure of it'' Anna inwardly said to herself while running back into the hall along with her husband and Sebastian. As they all kept running at a very fast pace, Anna had her gown lifted up to allow her legs extend further as both Leopold and Sebastian ran at her sides while maintaining a simr pace to hers. She very much knew that they were both being considerate of her and didn''t want to leave her behind even though they both could''ve dashed at terrifying speeds. The three of them finally reached the adult''s hall in about a minute and a few seconds and were surprised to see an influx of various noble children running out of their own corridor and quickly filling up the adult''s hall with panicked expressions on their faces, turning their own hall into a crowded space in an instant. The children then began to exin what had transpired to their parents and guardians in such a disorderly and chaotic manner, so much that everyone''s voices just kept interfering with each other''s, causing even further confusion to the adults who couldn''t even seem to make head or tails about what their children were saying. Amidst the disorderly confusion, a few things could be gleaned from the chaotic racket of noises. One, Aiden Belmont broke through what seemed to be an invisible barrier that had trapped them, immediately dashing out afterwards and two, Flynn Belmont protected all of them from a massive explosion that could''ve imed a lot of their lives. Anna upon piecing bits of information here and there, quickly began to search and look around the hall along with Leopold and Sebastian for her son. "Flynn! Flynn!! FLYNN!!!" Anna shouted at the top of her lungs but the surrounding chatter and noises kept drowning her voice. Leopold and Sebastian also followed suit and began to shout Flynn''s name but he was nowhere to be found. Even after looking around and shouting at the top of their lungs for the past one minute, the three of them still couldn''t find him. Anna''s face gradually began to contort into one of fear and panic, and her heartbeat rapidly began to increase, as if trying to jump out of her chest. Leopold who noticed his wife''s ever increasing unstable state of mind decided to try something, hoping that he would be right. He quickly activated his mana sense and increased it to its maximum range covering the entire expanse of the hall from the main entrance to the veryst one. Leopold''s face immediately contorted into a frown when he realized that in thest hall the young nobles had run out of, a light green figure was battling five other individual figures who all had different colors of their own. "Flynn''s in thest hall!" Leopold dered, causing both Sebastian and Anna to look at him. Anna''s eyes which had been darting around frantically gradually settled and her heartbeat slowed down considerably. However, Leopold next words sent her into another state of panic. "He seems to be in a dangerous situation though! We have to hurry on over!" Anna didn''t even wait for her husband toplete his sentence before she began to run in the direction of thest hall while weaving her way through the now crowded hall with a sense of urgency. Leopold and Sebastian immediately followed after her, afraid she was going to do something really crazy. Anna upon reaching the corridor to thest hall noticed that the King along with his Queen and the big noble families were giving orders to a bunch of other noble families. King Arthur had also instructed one of them to erect a strong barrier there to possibly prevent the culprits from escaping, especially considering that he and the other dukes and duchesses had sensed some people left in the hall with his mana sense too, along with the corridor that led to the reception hall. Anna without even so much as an exnation immediately shouted at the guy who had justpleted the erection of the barrier with an authoritative tone. "Remove this barrier now!" shemanded. The noble who had erected the barrier was taken aback by the brazen attitude of the woman whose silvery green hair was disheveled and was even going against the orders of the King. "Did you not hear me?! I said take this barrier down now!!!" Anna shouted even louder, attracting the King, Queen and other big noble families along with their kids who were nearby. "I cannot do that. The King ordered for the barrier to be erected and I will not go against his Majesty''smand" the man responded resolutely. The King and Queen, along with the other people Anna had attracted with her shouts and even Leopold and Sebastian who had finally made their way over were about to calm her down while the others wanted to request for an exnation but Anna''s next words took them aback and really shook them to the core. "TO HELL WITH THE KING''S ORDERS!!! MY SON''S IN THERE AND HE''S IN DANGER!!!" she bellowed! Anna without even allowing anyone to recover from her words, outstretched her arm and released a destructive spell. "[Luminescence Series: Radiance Burst]!!!" A concentrated beam of bright golden light shot out like aser out from the palm of her outstretched arm and immediately sted through the blue pulsing barrier, immediately rendering it useless as the barrier cracked in multiple ces and disintegrated into dust-like particles. Anna immediately ripped off the lower part of her yellow gown, took off her heels and threw them to one side, much to the confusion of everyone watching from afar and ran past the noble who had erected the barrier and the now broken barrier itself with a pace so fast you wouldn''t expect it from someone with a stature like hers, all in a matter of literal seconds. "We''re so sorry your Majesty! We''ll ept whatever punishment you deem appropriate for my wife''s immense rudeness and disrespect" Leopold said with a slight bow before also hurriedly running after his wife. Sebastian also gave his own apologies to the King and Queen before dashing off after his friend. Everyone in the hall had been attracted by the blinding light which suddenly appeared out of nowhere and had moved towards it due to their curiosity. Although a lot of them were still in disarray by what had transpired, their curiosity got the better of them. Some even thought that the culprit for the explosion had been apprehended. The King and Queen, along with their children who had arrived at the scene, in addition to the Big Noble families and their own children who had watched everything transpire prior to the release of Anna''s destructive spell, immediately shook off their shock and also ran after the Duchess and the Duke of the Belmont Family with a sense of urgency after realizing how grave the situation was. All of Arcadia would not let them live it down if even one single noble died at a Royal Banquet where all the powerhouses were gathered! Theirpetence would be called to question and they would be under severe scrutiny for a very, very long time, especially the Royal Family. Anna who had now gotten to therge doors of thest hall with Leopold and Sebastian, including the other nobles closely behind her watched as Flynn stood up after seemingly bashing two masked men''s head into the ground. Flynn stood up weakly from the ground with a pained wince while clutching the sides of his white shirt which was now stained with a huge patch of blood. "Flynn!" Anna shouted worriedly while immediately running over to him. Chapter 50 - 47 - Beatdown

Chapter 50: Chapter 47 - Beatdown

(A few minutes after the young nobles had run out of their destroyed hall) There were a few reasons why Flynn was confident that he could take down all five people surrounding him. The first was because Frank had trained both he and Aiden to react with little to no time to iing danger, hence their insane mastery over the usage of mana sense in such a short amount of time. He really attacked both of them during their training sessions like he was out for blood. The second was because Flynn had guessed correctly that there was no way Obelisk would use any rankers above B-rank because they would considerably want to blend into the crowd and not use any high ranker that would instantly draw attention to some other powerful nobles. The third reason was what gave him the most advantage, and that was a single rule that had always been upheld since the advent of any social gathering for nobles. Weapons are not allowed to be taken into the hall, even in spatial rings or bracelet. The guards were tasked to search anyone who had spatial rings on their being and if for some reason or the other, a weapon was overlooked, the hall sensors would immediately indicate and pinpoint the individual. Now luckily for Flynn, the members of Obelisk had only brought in the bombs which they had modified without bringing in any other weapons because they had ultimately deemed it a severe waste of money and resources to also modify another set of weapons along with the bombs, especially considering the exorbitant amounts that was poured into modifying the bombs alone. So, ifbat art and magic was all Flynn had to rely on to beat the crap out of a bunch of people that were around his rank, then they were all at a very big disadvantage. *** (Some minutes prior to Anna and the other nobles arrival at thest hall...) "Should Ie to you, or will youe to me?" "What are you guys scared off?! He''s just a brat! Attack him!" the B-rank masked leader shouted, snapping his minions out of their state of fear. ''I can''t take them all on at the same time! I have to separate them! In that caseбн'' Flynn thought to himself as he watched the masked men dash towards him. The other four immediately rushed at Flynn along with their leader, all of them immediately dashing towards him now, but in an effort to take them all down one at a time, Flynn released the full extent of his bloodlust towards all of them. The sudden release of a bloodlust even more potent than the one he had originally been leaking out caused all the five obelisk members to stay rooted to their spot for a few seconds as a feeling of indescribable dread crawled up on their skins. Those few seconds were all Flynn needed as he immediately casted a spell to push the ringleader farther away. ''[Telekic Series: Force Push]!'' -Bam!!! The ringleader felt a sudden invisible force smack against him with a tremendous force, flinging him backwards as he crashed headfirst into a pir that was already on the verge of copsing, causing the rest of it to fall on him. -Crash!!! -Woosh!!! Flynn upon immobilizing who he thought was going to be the most troublesome for a few minutes, immediately dashed towards the closest masked member while attempting to jam a punch through his mask but the masked man had already recovered from his state of fear and immediately threw a flurry of heavy punches at him instead. Flynn quickly halted in his tracks and deflected all the punches with skillful palm strikes and after noticing an opening in the masked member''s wide swings,nded a solid uppercut to his jaw which caused him to stagger backwards but Flynn who wasn''t done with him, quicklynded a swift but powerful kick to his abdomen, causing the man to let out a painful sound as he flew through the air and collided with the walls of the hall, his eyes rolling back into his skull. Flynn then suddenly felt the space around him rise in temperature due to mana sense and immediately ducked as a ming arrow swooshed past his head. He then turned around and ran towards the man who was now shooting bolts of ming arrows at him in rapid session while dodging it nimbly but as he did, another masked member also raced immediately behind him, causing him to be cornered from both his front and his back. Flynn who had noticed this suddenly took of his coat after dodging another ming arrow, turned around in one fluid motion, and dashed towards the man behind him instantly, the ming arrows getting dangerously close to his back. Upon appearing in the field of view of the masked member who was confused by his sudden movement, Flynn vaulted over his head with a somersault and wrapped his coat around the masked man''s head, entangling it with the pointed edges of the mask and effectively blocking his field of vision. The ming arrows that were almost about to hit Flynn, attacked the body of the masked member instead due to the fact that he had vaulted over him, causing him to release a shriek of pain as he struggled between removing the coat Flynn had wrapped over his head or putting out the mes which were now burning his body. "Arrggghhh! Put it off! Someone put it off!!!" Luckily for the masked member who was screaming in pain and whose clothes were now burnt from the spell of his aplice, thetter had quickly discontinued the spell, causing the damage to be minimal. However, that was all Flynn needed as he quickly dashed towards him in an instant, held his outstretched arm which had been firing the ming arrow spell in ce and jammed his fists with a powerful force into his joint, causing the bones to jut out unnaturally from its original cement and a painful cry to be let out from his mouth. "Aaarrrghhh!!!" Flynn thennded a swift and powerful hand chop to the back of his neck, causing him to faint and copse lifelessly to the ground with a thud. The man who had been burnt was now fuming with anger and he tore off the rest of his upper garment while also removing the coat Flynn had wrapped around his head along with his mask after which he then proceeded to attack Flynn, but as if Flynn had predicted this, he instantly dashed back towards him while appearing in his field of view. The now burnt man upon seeing Flynn immediately threw a strong punch to which Flynn skillfully deflected with a palm strike and in one swift motion, immediately raised his legs and ced it on the man''s neck to take him down with another skillful neck scissors movement, something he sessfully did as the man tumbled to the ground along with him. Using that to his advantage, Flynn mounted on top of him and swiftly delivered two powerful punches to his face. -Bam! Bam! The man''s eyes had now rolled back into his skull leaving nothing but whiteness in it, an indication that he had passed out. As Flynn was about to get up from him, he then opted to instead roll to the side, narrowly evading a small but heavy metal ball which flew past him, smashed through an already half broken pir, and etched itself into the wall like a bullet. Flynn immediately got up with a starfish kip-up afterwards and stared at the fourth masked man who had been cautiously waiting for the right moment to strike ever since the fight started. ''The [Metallic Series] huhбн'' Flynn inwardly thought to himself. -Drip! A drop of blood dropped from the right side of Flynn''s abdomen and his white shirt slowly began to take a shade of red where the metal ball had narrowly pierced by. Flynn grimaced at this in pain and cursed. "Shit! I noticed it from the moment it was fired but my body was too slow to react to it! Guess this is the limit of being a C-ranker" Flynn muttered to himself while holding onto the side that was now slowly leaking out blood. "Was that all you could manage or do you still have more spells to fire?" Flynn said to the masked man who had fired the metal ball towards him. "Ha! You arrogant brat! I was just the distraction!" -Slip! The moment those words left the mouth of thest masked member, Flynn watched as the ringleader he had originally taken out of the fight at the very start, emerge from his very own shadow to deliver a powerful punch to his abdomen. Flynn quickly used both of his hands to reduce the impact of the punch but the force of it still sent him flying upwards into the air, his back now positioned to be punctured through by a sharp broken iron from the chandelier. "Die you fucking brat!!" the ringleader said with an evil grin. He already knew that they couldn''t escape anymore the moment their n had failed. That man would definitely kill them for their failure and even if he tried to escape, his [Shadow Shift] could only carry them as far as outside the halls where the guards were supposed to have been waiting for them. The nobles would be also on high alert now and considering just how powerful some of them were, they would definitely spot them. As a result, he had originally nned to injure Flynn and use him as a bargaining chip to escape from the hall and also cause irreparable damage to the image of the noble families. But he had never expected the brat to be so skillful to the extent that he could take out three of them. Due to this, he threw his original n out the window and just decided to kill the brat. Just doing that alone was enough for the Royal Family and all the other big family''spetency to be called to question and sow seeds of discord within the hearts of the citizens of Arcadia. He knew that this would definitely also result in The Tower either capturing them or him and his members being killed, but it was better than returning back to Obelisk where an even more painful and excruciating death would be awaiting them. Flynn who was now in the air suddenly raised his head up with a smirk on his lips, twisted his body unnaturally at mid-air, narrowly evading the jagged end of the broken chandelier and positioning himself to grab onto the chains of the chandelier itself. After grabbing onto the chains, he swung himself even higher with it while using the momentum with which he had been flung into the air with. As he did, he approached the ornate cream-colored ceiling of the hall and ced his legs on it and built a good amount of force and tension in it while repositioning himself to face downwards, after which he then dashed back at a terrifying speed by kicking off of it. All of this happened within seconds. -Twoosh!!! He had noticed that the ringleader was never really knocked out with mana sense, even after he smacked him into that sturdy half-broken pir and that both he and thest masked man, were biding their time and looking for the perfect time to strike, otherwise, the fourth masked man would have attacked alongside the other three he had defeated. That was why he had also decided not to use any more spells and also save all of his mana for a moment like this where they hadpletely thought they had trapped him. Now, as he dashed back with a terrifying speed which even thest two masked men couldn''t even keep up with, Flynn willed all of his mana reserves and used another spell. "[Telekic Series: Force Pull]!!!" Thest two masked members immediately tried to use other spells but it was toote. They both watched in horror as their bodies suddenly levitated off the ground and were pulled towards Flynn by an invisible force. Flynn then pushed onto both of their heads as he hurtled back to the ground and jammed it into the marbled floors with a terrifying force thatpletely shattered the spots he jammed their heads into. Both masked men were now knocked out, making a total of five Obelisk members that a young C-rank teenager had defeated all on his own. "Checkmate!" Flynn said as he stood up weakly from the ground. Chapter 51 - 48 - Aftermath

Chapter 51: Chapter 48 - Aftermath

"Checkmate!" Flynn looked around him as he got up from the floor to see the confused faces of the adults and young nobles, especially Lucas, Amelia and Ben who were now at the entrance of the hall along with the worried look of his parents. They all had an even more confused look on their faces as they surveyed around Flynn and saw the various knocked out masked people. He paid none of them any heed and slowly walked over to his parents and Sebastian. He winced a bit as he did so, clutching onto his side that was still bleeding but far slower than when the metal ball originally pierced through. "Flynn!" Anna said worriedly as she rushed over to him to support him. "Hey mumбн Sorry for worrying youбн" Flynn said, his voice filled with a hint of tiredness. "It''s okay sweetie. As long as you''re safe" she replied softly with a relieved smile. "Aren''t you being too lenient on me mum?" "Scolding cerбн For now, let''s treat your wounds" "You did good son" Leopold said with a slight nod of his head, a slight smile present on his lips. "Really! You''re just as crazy as your Dad!" eximed Sebastian with a chuckle. Flynn nodded his head approvingly with a weak smile. Both of them had now walked over to him as Anna sat him down on one of this broken pirs and began to heal him. The Royal Family along with the Dukes and Duchess of the other big families also began to walk over along with their children. They had all been very confused when they had first entered the hall and saw Flynn getting up from the ground. However, after piecing one and two together, they had realized that Flynn had been battling the culprits of the explosion alone even as the rest of them were still gathering their wits together. ''Impressiveбн Very impressiveбн'' King Arthur thought to himself. Flynn may have been dealt a wrong hand with his mana core but it seemed like he had gotten stronger even with the limitations that he had. It''s only a shame that he would probably grow at a much slower pacepared to his peers. Those were the thoughts he and the other Dukes were having as they moved towards Anna who was about to cast a spell. ''[Luminescence Series: Dhalion''s Grace]'' Anna inwardly chanted. A soft golden glow enveloped her hands which were ced on Flynn''s injury and began to heal at a rapid pace visible to the eye. ''I haven''t seen my mum''s spells in the longest timeбн'' Flynn thought to himself. ''Almost as fast as Ivelia and Ivar''s potion'' he inwardly said to himself. As he kept staring at the beautiful golden glow that was rapidly healing his wounds, he heard a familiar voice that was directed towards him. "Ohбн I''d expected you toe out unscathed but turns out, you still need to train more!" Flynn would recognize that haughty voice anywhere and without waiting, immediately replied. "Oh can it Aiden!" "I have to say though, that must''ve been one hell of a destructive explosion for the hall to be this wreckedбн" "What about you? How''d it go on your end?" Aiden along with Frank who had now also arrived at the hall, moved towards Flynn as people cleared a path for him, his hands dragging the two guards behind him. His usually perfectly styled hair now scattered around his face, giving his hair a messy feel. "I ran into a minorplicationбн" Aiden responded. "They almost got away didn''t they?" Flynn retorted. "It was just one. Besides, I caught him didn''t I?" "Well as long as you didбн" Aiden had now reached Flynn, his parents and the other noble members but instead, he moved past them, dropped the two guards close to where Flynn had knocked out thest two masked obelisk members and then walked back towards them. "Hey mumбн Dadбн Uncle Bazбн" "Sweetieбн We''ll talkter, but for now, I think the both of you owe everyone here an exnation" Anna replied. In agreement with Anna''s response, everyone looked to both Flynn and Aiden for an exnation on how exactly they had prevented a situation that could''ve caused a major devastation for all of Arcadia. "Son, why did you drag those guards in?" Leopold asked. "And where did you learn how to drive a motorcycle?" Sebastian followed up. ''That''s what you''re curious about?!'' Flynn thought to himself while staring at Sebastian with a slight confusion on his face. Aiden nced over to Flynn and after seeing him nod in approval, took a deep breath and began to exin how it had all happened and how they had realized that they were all in danger. He ensured to tweak the story and exin it based on one he and Flynn had agreed upon previously in case they were asked about it. He started his exnations with how both he and Flynn noticed the weird movement of a suspicious noble after setting up the invisible barrier with mana sense, to how they''d both immediately suspected that the guards must''ve been in on it, which eventually turned out to be right. Flynn picked up from there and also exined that he spotted the bombs with mana sense which caused him to react immediately and set up the [Force Field] spell. After they were done exining, Aiden had expected the nobles to have a look of understanding on their faces but instead, to his own confusion, he had not expected them to have even more confused and skeptic faces. Flynn also had a simrly confused look on his face and he was also wondering why they looked even more confused instead of having understanding looks on their faces. "What?" Aiden asked, confusion evident on his face. ''I didn''t say anything wrong did I?'' he inwardly asked himself. Aiden and Flynn looked over to their parents, Sebastian and Frank and all four of them had looks of understanding on their faces. ''Weirdбн'' Aiden thought to himself but soon enough, he understood just why they were shocked as Caroline spoke up. "Aidenбн Flynnбн I don''t know if you both know this, but mana sense is something only S-rankers are able to use proficiently..." "Huh?!" Aiden and Flynn said in unison, their expressions contorting into one of even deeper confusion. "Even some S-rankers struggle to use it proficientlyбн" Adrian continued, his face still very much surprised by what he had just heard from Aiden. Aiden and Flynn looked at each other again in confusion after which they both then looked at their parents, Frank and Sebastian with questioning looks on their faces. "It''s true young masters" Frank was the one who answered their questioning look. "I''d originally wanted to tell you but I refrained from doing so. I wanted to see how far you could push your mastery. The Duke also told me to hold off on telling you when I informed him" "You did?" Aiden asked his dad. "Yeah. All in good faith though. I also informed Anna and Sebastian and they also suggested the same thing" Leopold responded calmly. "Huhбн This is most curiousбн" Flynn muttered out loud. Upon hearing this, the nobles who were rankers among them and were originally doubting the authenticity of their story realized that both brothers weren''t joking about how they really could use mana sense proficiently. This caused all of them to be even more confused as it had never been heard of for someone in lower ranks to use mana sense that proficiently. ''Is this another effect of mana veins? It''s the only thing I can think ofбн'' Flynn thought to himself ''Considering how mana sense was exined in the novel from Aiden''s perspective, it seemed like something almost anyone could master after training it consistentlyбн'' Aiden mused to himself. ''Guess that was just an Aiden thingбн'' Aiden continued with his thoughts. ''Come to think of it though, he only really did start using mana sense in the second half of the novel and its concept was never really exinedбн'' Aiden inwardly said to himself. "Hahaha! You boys really are oddities" Sebastianughed, his boisterous voice booming and echoing through the entirety of the hall. "That aside though, you still haven''t told me where you learnt how to drive a motorcycle" he asked Aiden curiously. ''You''re still wondering about that?!'' Flynn inwardly eximed to himself again. "Ah thatбн Just had a feel for itбн" Aiden replied while rubbing the back of his hair, a wry smile adorning his face. "You just had a feel for it?" Sebastian prodded on with a questioning gaze. "I did. Weird right?" Aiden responded once again. "бн" "Leave him be Uncle Baz. He did learn how to drive a car by himself so I wouldn''t put it past him" Flynn said in an attempt to save his brother from the situation he was in. "Really?" Sebastian said, an even more questioning look on his face as he turned to look at Leopold and Anna for confirmation. Both of them nodded their heads casually in response to his questioning gaze. Sebastian just shook his head at this in resignation. His friend''s sons were always surprising him at every turn and it felt like there was no end to the things they kept doing. "All in all, thanks to both of you, ourpetence won''t be called to question by the citizens of Arcadia" King Arthur began. "Flynn and Aiden Belmont, thanks to your bravery, selflessness and quick thinking, you have saved so many lives from danger today and even caught the culprits in the process, ensuring that our annual banquet doesn''t end in tragedy." "For that, I am eternally grateful" he concluded, his voice resonating with genuine appreciation. Chapter 52 - 49 - Just Getting Started

Chapter 52: Chapter 49 - Just Getting Started

Immediately after King Arthur showed his gratitude towards Aiden and Flynn, the rankers of the Tower whom he had secretly contacted from the moment the explosion went off arrived. The situation was then exined to them, after which they began to drag the offenders away to the Tower for investigation and questioning. Following that, the nobles also began to go back to the adult''s hall while others decided to start heading home. Today had been a far more stressful experience than they could''ve ever expected. The King, Queen, Dukes and Duchesses from the big families and from some small families however, stayed behind, along with their children to discuss a few things. "We already have our hands full with delving into fissures but Obelisk really is a thorn in our sidesбн" Selena said with a frown. "We got too rxedбн" Leopold said with an even deeper frown. Duke Reinhart and Duke Noah nodded their heads in acknowledgement at Selena and Leopold''s words. "The Tower''s rankers and executives have been wondering why they suddenly reduced their vices drastically for the past year" Sebastian stated with a simr deep frown mirroring Leopold''s. "Maybe this was also part of their nбн" Duke Noah added. "They were trying to draw attention away from themselvesбн Give us a false sense of security so they could sneak under our radar" Queen H dered. "We really would''ve been screwed big time if not for your sons Leopold" King Arthur said to Leopold. Leopold who should''ve been ecstatic that the King praised his sons let out a sigh inwardly. ''Haaaaбн They''re always doing dangerous stuff like this. I''m worried about the futureбн'' Snapping Leopold out of his thoughts was Anna''s voice. "I would like to formally apologize for the way I behaved an hour ago. It was unbefitting of a Duchess and I also disrespected the Royal Family and his highness greatly. I''ll willingly ept any punishment that you decide to dish out" Anna said, her head respectfully and somberly bowed towards the King and Queen. "If you''re going to punish her, then please punish me along with her" Leopold also joined in, his head also bowed down. King Arthur who saw this inwardly let out a small chuckle. He then nced over to his Queen and saw a nostalgic smile on her face. Selena also had a simr nostalgic smile on her face. A rare urrence to say the least. ''The both of them really haven''t changed all that much since our academy daysбн'' King Arthur mused to himself after which he then spoke up. "Raise your heads" hemanded. Leopold and Anna promptly raised their heads up, awaiting whatever punishment Arthur was going to dish out to them. "Normally, a severe punishment would be given for going against my orders, but, due to your sons and their willingness to put themselves in harm''s way to protect so many other people, it would be distasteful of me to punish both of you considering just how much they saved our skins" Anna who listened to the King''s verdict felt so relieved after hearing his words and as a way to show her gratitude, kept bobbing her head up and down while thanking the King and Queen profusely for letting her off despite how improperly she behaved. Leopold also offered his gratitude, albeit more formally than Anna. "Well, all''s well that ends wellбн" Sebastian said to himself as he watched both of his friends thanking Arthur. He then heard a beep from his smartwatch, after which he then saw that it was a notification from one of his social media apps. Upon clicking upon the notification, the app navigated him to a video that was currently trending and after watching for a few seconds, his eyes widened. He then spoke up as he watched the video. "Anna, Leopoldбн You might want to see thisбн" Flynn who had been watching all of them while resting his back on the wall from a distance had a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched his mother''s head bobbing up and down as she thanked the king along with his father. After watching for a few more minutes, he proceeded to move towards the reception that was probably less crowded. He and Aiden needed to talk but right now, Aiden was talking to Adrian. He had no idea what they could''ve been discussing about, but upon seeing the smiles on their faces as they did, he figured it must''ve been nothing special. As he began to move towards the doors of the hall, he noticed that a lot of nobles were looking at him with newfound light in their eyes. Some even had looks of awe on their face but he kept walking at his own pace without even taking in their admiration. Suddenly, he heard someone call for him. "Flynn!" He knew whose voice it was and as if to express his annoyance, he turned around with a sigh and asked. "What do you want Lucas?" Lucas Ellfire, along with Ben Steelde and some other young nobles Flynn could not recognize were moving towards him and they all stopped a few meters away from him with Lucas at their front. ''What is this? A gang movie?'' Flynn inwardly asked himself. Lucas who still had the usual disdainful and haughty expression on his face spoke up after a few seconds. "Just because you can now somehow defend yourself in a fight means that you''re any better. Your mana core rank is still very much at trash-level so don''t even think for one moment that you''re hot stuff. At the academy, I''ll show you what true power is so you better be on your guard" "Haaaбн What are you really Lucas? Some third-rate viin in a novel?" Flynn asked with a tired expression. He then continued immediately after without even allowing Lucas to get a reply in. He could see that he was visibly annoyed by his response but he wasn''t in the mood to deal with some entitled noble brat. "Is that all you wanted to say? If that''s all, then goodbye" Flynn turned around and kept walking casually without waiting for Lucas''s response. Even if he did, Flynn had decided that he wouldn''t respond again. Although Lucas was visibly pissed by Flynn''s words, he held it in and looked at Flynn with disdain in his eyes, after which he muttered under his breath. "Just wait till we get to the academy..." Flynn who had now walked a fair distance away from Lucas looked forward to see Amelia staring at him withplex emotions in her eyes. The silvery green haired youth who couldn''t be bothered by her gaze just walked past her, pretending that he didn''t notice her. As he did, he inwardly thought to himself. ''I really just want to rest and get a good night''s sleep at this point. I wonder when the Royal Family and the Ducal houses will be done with their conversationsбн'' "Yo!" Aiden said as he walked over to Flynn. He had finally left Adrian and just as he was about to talk to Flynn regarding the huge changes they had already made at the early stages of story, he heard his mum''s voice calling him. "Aiden Belmont! Flynn Belmont! Get over here right now!" Both Aiden and Flynn felt a shiver run down their spines the moment they heard their mum call them like that. Their mum usually uses terms of endearment to call them but on the rare chance that she called them by their names, they knew they were screwed. ''I thought she said she''d scold uster!'' Flynn inwardlyined to himself as both he and Aiden swiftly walked back over to their mum. "On your knees now! Both of you!" Annamanded. "Yes ma''am!" the two brothers responded like they had been nurtured at a military school, immediately getting on their knees without even minding the confused stares they were getting from other nobles. "Do you know what you did Aiden?!" Anna asked, her voice icy and cold. Aiden who tried to rack his brain about what could''ve caused this sudden turn of events looked at Sebastian and Leopold who just shook their heads in sympathy. They had both tried to stop Anna a few minutes ago when they all saw the video of Aiden flipping through the air on a motorcycle and phasing through what seemed to be an illusion of a wall but Anna was not in the mood to listen to them. Anna upon seeing this immediately began to storm over to him, her aura switching into full-on scolding mode. She was already really worried and also quite annoyed that they had both done something so reckless after they had promised that they wouldn''t but she had decided to leave them be considering they had done it to save so many lives. However, after seeing the stunt Aiden had pulled with the motorcycle, she immediately lost whatever suppressive strength she had over her anger and decided that she was going to chew them out right here and now, especially Aiden because of how dangerous what he had done was. Flynn as a result, became coteral damage as she also scolded him along with Aiden, even though she had originally nned to leave them be. "You''re always so reckless! Both of you! You did something really simr just a year and some months ago!" Selena and Queen H who watched Anna continuously scold her two sons without care for the time and ce she was at, both nced at each other, chuckled at the sight before them and just smiled with a singr thought on their minds. ''She really hasn''t changed even after all these yearsбн'' Anna continued her motherly scolding for what seemed to be about ten minutes without a single care in the world. By the time she was done, Aiden felt and looked like as if his soul was barely hanging onto his body. Flynn on the other hand was in much better shape, although he looked even more tired than he previously was. Some of the younger nobles, especially Caroline, Adrian and Beatrice who saw this sight of the two brothers looking like they had their souls sucked out of them burst intoughter while wiping tears from their eyes. For the longest time, they all had not seen people who were so unfiltered with their lives despite the fact that they were nobles. It was a pretty amusing yet fresh sight to see for so many of them. Both brothers slowly dragged themselves out of the hall they were presently in and over to the reception hall that was now quite empty after they made another half-hearted promise to their mother that they wouldn''t do something so reckless again. "Why was I scolded even more than you?" Aiden asked bitterly with a mumble. "Perks of being the older brother" Flynn replied. "You!бн Haaa~бн" Aiden sighed and responded with a tired re to Flynn as they kept trudging through the long hallways. As they got to the reception hall, they proceeded to move out of the hall instead. Upon stepping out of therge automatic ss doors, a cool night breeze washed over both of them, tousling their hair and giving both of them a calming sensation. Aiden was the first to speak up. "Say Flynn?" "Yeah" "Do we have a thing for bashing people''s heads into the ground in our family?" "Huh?" "Well, remember the warehouse incident?" "I do, but what''s this about exactly?" Flynn asked with a squint. "Dad bashed the bodyguard''s head a few times into the concrete afternding on him. I did the same just a few hours ago to one of the guards and you probably also did the same, considering the hole that was left beneath the heads of those two masked men" "Hmmmбн I see your pointбн" "Maybe. Just maybe it''s hereditary" Aiden said with a slight smile on his lips. "Maybeбн" Flynn also replied, a slight smile also tugging on the corners of his lips. -Wooshбн Another cool breeze blew by, causing their shirts to flutter with the wind. Flynn was the one who spoke up this time. "We''vepletely messed up the storyline haven''t we?" "Yes we haveбн" Aiden responded calmly. "We won''t be able to depend on it anymore" Flynn continued. "I know" Aiden responded after which he then added. "But it''ll be alright... I hope. We''ll deal with the consequences of our actions as we move onбн" "Yeah, and this won''t be thest timeбн" Flynn said as he looked at his brother. Both of them then smiled knowingly at each other before they then chanted in unison. "Because we''re just getting started!" Chapter 53 - 50 - Umbra & White

Chapter 53: Chapter 50 - Umbra & White

"Ow, ow, owбн" Anna voiced in pain as Leopold held her feet up slightly while using his fingers to pull out shards of ss that had wedged themselves into the sole of her foot. "Stay still dear" he said gently while focusing his attention on the much smaller shards that were insanely tiny. Although Anna could''ve healed herself with her spell, or perhaps a low-tier healing potion when they finally got home, it wouldn''t help to expel the shards that were stuck in the sole of her foot, an aftereffect of running barefooted when she thought Flynn was in danger. Both of them, along with the three big noble families and the royal family along with their own sons and daughters, were now left at the venue of the event hall but to be more specific, they were all presently in the reception hall. It wasn''t particrly a surprising sight because asides from having to discuss what to do and how to take greater measures to prevent an incident like this from ever repeating itself, the royal family along with the big noble families had always been thest to arrive at events like these and also thest to leave. Since they were usually the ones involved in hosting a lot of events like this, they had deemed it their responsibility to ensure that everyone leaves first before they could take their own leave. "Done. You can heal yourself now Anna" Leopold said while gently cing his wife''s foot away from hisps where it had previously been onto the cold marbled tiles of the ground. "Thanks dear" she replied gratefully while activating her healing spell with an inward chant of the spell, a golden glow immediately covering the soles of her feet. "I''ll go check on our sons" Leopold spoke again while rising up slowly from the long ornate bench he had been sitting on with his wife. "Please do" she responded with a thankful smile as she watched her husband walk towards the automatic ss doors. After the golden glow had enveloped her feet for about a few seconds, Anna began to reach for her high heels. As she did, she spotted H and Selena who were walking towards her, their faces unable to hide the chuckle that was threatening to leave their lips. Anna herself chuckled softly at this sight, a wry smile spreading across her own face. Upon getting over to her, H Adencia had been the first to speak. "You haven''t changed one bit, have you Anna? Still just as brave as ever and motherhood has only made you even braver" she said with a very warm smile. "Are your feet alright?" Selena added with a lot of care in her voice. Even though her face seemed to not really disy the emotions that she was trying to convey, her ruby red eyes spoke volumes about how much she cared for her friend''s well-being, even with an injury as minute as the one Anna incurred. "I guess I haven''t Hбн and Selena, I''m just dandy as you can see" Anna responded to both of her closest friends while wiggling her toes. This caused them to all share a very small chuckle between themselves again. "We really need to find time to catch up with each other. How does next month or the month after sound? My ce?" Anna asked after chuckling. "Sure Anna. I would love that. I should be able to squeeze about two or three free days so I''ll be looking forward to it" H responded happily before continuing. "And truth be told, I really need to take a few days off. Even Arthur has been moring for it sincest year. I think it''s about time I take him up on that offer" "Count me in" Selena responded calmly, although her voice was slightly raised a few pitches higher, indicating that she was just as excited to have a few days off with her long-time friends. After seemingly agreeing on an undecided arrangement that would either be next month or the month after and making a few more small talks about rtively mundane things, they all eventually gave their goodbyes while moving out of the halls into their respective vehicles with their family. Selena upon stepping out of the reception hall''s automatic doors, watched as her daughter kept staring into the distance. After following her gaze, she was not surprised to see that she was gazing at the Belmonts, specifically Aiden Belmont who was slightly sitting and leaning on the bo of their limo while reading what seemed to be a small novel with a rxed expression on his face, the pole light next to their car illuminating him and shining light on his surroundings too. Flynn however seemed to just be waiting for his mum to arrive while having a conversation with his father, their backs resting on the sides of the limo. If one squinted their eyes too, they could also see Butler Frank through the slightly tinted mirrors of the limo, sitting in the driver''s seat. Selena moved over to her daughter and nudged her gently, causing Caroline to tear her gaze away from Aiden while looking at her mother who now had a rare amused smile on her face. "So, how was he?" Selena asked calmly. "He was far better than I had expected him to beбн" Caroline responded. "Ohбн So what do you n to do now?" Selena prodded on. "Nothingбн" Caroline responded coolly. "Really? You''ve had a crush on him for years you know?" Selena said to her daughter curiously. "Yeahбн I just really enjoy the feeling he gives meбн Makes me feel like I can be myself around him without having to put on a constant fa?ade. I think wanting anything more is just me being greedyбн" Caroline responded lengthily to her mother. "I seeбн" Selena replied without pushing her questions any further. She hade topletely respected her daughter''s decisions over the years and so, if this was what she wanted to do this time, then so be it. After a while, Anna who had already been walking over to them from the moment Selena herself had stepped out of the reception hall, finally got to them and without wasting a single second, all of the Belmont''s got into their limo and just like that, their limo left the event hall in a few seconds. "Caroline, let''s head home too" Selena spoke endearingly to her daughter. "Yes mother" she responded with a slight smile. бн бн бн бн бн бн бн White... Infinite, boundless and expansive white void as far as the eye could seeбн In this enigmatic and mysterious boundless expanse of an infinite white void, the figure of a lone man could be seen sitting in a cross legged position with his eyes closed while propping his head with one of his hands. The man who sat in this infinite white void, exuded an air of timeless wisdom and his hair was just as white as the boundless void that surrounded him. His presence seemingly embodied a lot of secrets that was held by the universe, inviting a sense of transcendence and mystery to whomever could dare to step foot into this realm. And yet, after millenniums upon millenniums, none had yet to step foot into this space except the very man who had been here from the very day this mysterious realm hade to be. Just above and slightly behind the enigmatic figure''s head was a hoveringrge orb that was almost the size of the earth and waspletely ck, like an immensely dark starry night, making the enigmatic figure look infinitesimally small inparison to its sheer scale and size. The orb casted an eerie glow across the white space along with a gigantic circr shadow upon the lone figure sitting in the white void with it. Adding even more to the mystery of this space were two very small floating orbs which were hovering directly in front and around the white-haired man slowly, both with small cracks on their surfaces and pulsing with a soft golden glow. A few small silver-like strings, like those of a spider webs'' silky thread extended from the body of the enigmatic figure and into the small cracks of the small floating orbs, seemingly transferring something into them. Suddenly, the seamless expanse of the white space slowly began to crack apart, like a rupture in the fabric of time and space to reveal a reddish dark hue that revealed glimpses into an unknown and unsettling realm beyond. This unsettling reddish-dark tear in the fabric of reality itself, had edges that shimmered with an ominous energy and seemed to want to forcefully break into the white realm andpletely consume it. However, the white-haired enigmatic man gently raised his other arm up, and without even so much as even opening his eyes, waved his hand as if to repel the ominous sense of threat and trepidation that the disquieting tear brought. That was all it took for the unsettling rupture in the seamlessly expansive white void to slowly mend itself with a whitish green hue surrounding it, like a needle and thread sewing two pieces of ripped fabric apart andpletely returning everything back to the tranquil and pristine white void. A faint ripple of energy then spread through the expansive white space, indicating that the fabric of reality had been subtly fixed and realigned as the enigmatic figure slowly lowered his hands back onto hisp, a sense of calm returning to the void. However, as if to add to the sudden oddity that had just urred, the eerie dark gigantic orb that was floating behind him, suddenly began to emit a strong beam of illuminated golden light on a specific small round spot that kept pulsing on its vast and expansive surface. The enigmatic white-haired man who had his eyes shut the entire time, suddenly opened them to reveal a pair of deep blue eyes that also immediately began to transition and shine with golden light along with the spot on therge orb that was beaming. The enigmatic male figure now had an unreadable expression on his face as his eyes shone with golden light but after a while, the glow in his eyes subsided and returned back to its shade of blue. The golden beam of light that had shone from a specific spot on the gigantic dark orb itself had now subsided but in ce of a beam of light, the small spot on the giant orb was nowpletely white, preventing the eerie darkness of the rest of the orb from encroaching upon it. The white-haired figure whose face previously contained an unreadable expression, suddenly had a small smile tug on the corners of his lips as a string of thoughts began to make its way into his head. ''This iteration it is thenбн'' ''Morrigan also seems to be doing as I''ve instructedбн'' ''I should also return Chrono''s memories too but more than thatбн'' ''This iteration seems like it''s going to be a sessful oneбн'' ''бн'' ''бн'' ''бн'' ''бн'' ''бн'' ''бн'' The white-haired man kept having so many other thoughts running through his mind like a torrential surge of information but after a while, his thoughts finally settled down while thinking of one singr thing in his head. "I guess I really did make the right decisionбн" Amael finally spoke up, his voice carrying a calm yet enigmatic allure. Chapter 54 - 50.5 - NOTICE!

Chapter 54: Chapter 50.5 - NOTICE!

So, I''ve been told by the doctor that I''m not getting enough sleep and judging by my sunken eyes which I myself have also noticed over the past month, she''s very right. Although it isn''t particrly the cause for this horrible fever and headache, she did exin that it had a hand in it. I''ve also been told to get vast amounts of rest without doing anything too tasking, much to my dismay.That literally means no work for me, even at my ce of work. As a result, I''d also like to apologize to all of you that I may not update for the next few days. I will try my absolute best to make up for it though by releasing maybe two to three chapters when I''m fit again but even that is really just up there for now. I genuinely am sorry for the sudden news but I hope you guys will understand. I just didn''t want to abruptly stop my updates without giving you a heads up. Once I''m much better though, I''ll remove this chapter and rece it with the proper one. Thank you for taking the time to read all this and I''ll see you guys very soon, I hope. Chapter 55 - 51 - In The Shadows

Chapter 55: Chapter 51 - In The Shadows

In a dark wide hall, the silhouettes of five individuals could be seen, of which three were men and the other two were women. They all sat down around a wide 108"-sized round table while sitting on the evenly spaced ornately designed chairs. From the looks of it, it wasn''t the first time they were doing this and it seemed as if they had all gathered today to discuss something important. Suddenly, rays of light spilled into the room as a blue-haired woman stood up from her chair, went towards the windows and pulled the curtains asides. "Damn it Evie! I was setting the mood!" a brown haired man who seemed to be in histe 30''s said in annoyance, his ck eyes carrying his resentment towards the blue-haired woman who had seemingly destroyed his ambience. "Set your mood at your damn house Magnus!" Evie replied, her deep blue eyes carrying a hint of mischief in them as she continued. "This is our meeting room, not your personal studio" "It''s for the theatricsбн Sighбн brats like you just don''t ge-" "Stop with the bickering Magnus" a man with ck hair which was tied into a man bun and obsidian ck eyes immediately interjected. He was tired of Evie and Magnus''s usual banters and he was having none of it today, especially considering the fact that he was in a very sour mood. "See Magnus, even Rigurd is tired of your bullshit" Evie uttered in a mocking tone, her voice barely above a whisper as she settled down into her chair. Therge hall however still carried her voice in an echo, causing Magnus''s face to contort into that of a deep frown while ring at Evie who now had a genuinely mischievous smile on her face. "What''s got your panties in a bunch Rigurd?" another man with ck hair who had also been sitting at the round table suddenly asked in a fake questioning tone, his red eyes clearly carrying a bit of amusement in them. "Ah yesбн Your n to plunge the royal nobles annual banquet into chaos failed, didn''t it?" he added, almost as if he was just finding out about the news. "Quinn. Watch that tongue of yours. I just might snap your neck if you keep up with that charade" Rigurd let out his words in a low and deep growling tone, his obsidian eyes carrying an unsettling amount of malice in them. "Please. Do strangle me! I would very much love for you to attack me and try to kill me with all of your might!" Quinn responded in an overly gleeful tone that instead made his response feel very eerie and disturbing. "Tch!" Rigurd muttered under his breath. Given the opportunity, he would have killed off the ck-haired man sitting a few meters away from him a long time ago but he was an important arm of Obelisk so there wasn''t really anything he could do. Sometimes he even wondered why their leader kept him in their ranks but who was he to question her whims. Quinn''s eyes however clearly showed a lot of interest in Rigurd''s word, indicating just how much of a battle manic he was. "Creep!" Evie said in a disdainful tone, the mischievous look on her face gone and reced with a clearly disgusted one. "Would you like to try and kill me too Evie? I would definitely love it if you could attack me too!" Quinn turned his attention towards Evie, soliciting an even more disdainful and disgusted expression from the blue-haireddy. "Hahahaбн I so much love it when he gets under your skin Evie!" Magnus said with a contentedughter after witnessing Evie''s change in expression. "Yuck! Ashildrбн Can you kindly request for Quinn to fuck off?! He''s creeping me the fuck out!" Evie suddenly asked, her gaze turning towards the one woman who had stayed silent from and throughout the entire moment they had all assembled here. "Quinnбн" the red-haired woman who Evie had requested help from quietly said, her auburn-colored eyes sending a warning to the man before her as she ced her cup of ck tea on the table before her. "Tchбн Fineбн" Quinn responded, his eyes and facial expression returning back to normality. He knew that after their leader, who was yet to arrive, the woman before him would actually kill him without a care in the world. Rigurd probably would have also done the same but he definitely wouldn''te out unscathed from their battle. Adding to that was also how Asildr was the only person whom he couldn''t rile up, no matter what he did. He was genuinely scared of what she would do to him if he rubbed off on her the wrong way. "Ashildr!!! Thank you so much!" Evie got up from her chair and went to hug Ashildr, something thetter clearly didn''t mind considering how she was lightly stroking and patting her blue hair. "I wonder why our Leader decided to add a kid to our ranks" Magnus scoffed after which he then continued inwardly. ''Speaking of her, when will she arriveбн'' "I am here Magnus" a cool female voice that sounded almost celestial suddenly responded out of nowhere. ''Ah fuck! Not my mind this time Leaderбн'' Suddenly, the air around the hall suddenly began to churn and twist, not violently but almost as if it was being controlled in a certain manner on thest empty chair that looked like a throne built for an empress. The color of the air then suddenly began to change from one of nothingness into a bright golden color and after a while, a feminine figure of a woman who seemed to be in her early thirties stepped out of the swirling golden air, leaving behind particles as she settled on her seat, one of her hands resting on the arm of the throne-like chair while the other was curled into an iplete fist on which she used to prop her face gently. The leader of Obelisk was here and shemanded an undeniable sense of reverence just from the way she carried herself. If, however, she was to have been seen outside, she would never be mistaken for the leader of the most destructive dark organization in the world considering just how beautiful she was. Waist long obsidian ck hair, piercing golden eyes with long eyshes, thinly shaped eyebrows, small but perfectly shaped nose and small lips, fair skin and even an indescribable aura and presence that made it hard to tear one''s eyes away from her. "Well thenбн" she started, her wordsmanding instant attention. Every single arm of Obelisk sat upright from the moment she spoke, all of thempletely serious without even a single trace of their previous selves to be found. "Let''s begin" she continued authoritatively. "Rigurdбн Your n seems to have failedбн What will you do now?" she asked first. "I have failed and I shall take full responsibility for that. I''ll make sure toe up with ways to rectify it ande up with a much better n to turn the citizens of Arcadia against their monarchyбн" Rigurd answered respectfully. "Hmmmбн Keep doing as you''ve been Rigurd" she answered without so much as a single change in her emotionless expression. "Yes Leader" Rigurd answered. "I know what you''re about to ask for Quinn. You have my permission. Go as crazy as you''d like but keep the citizen casualties to a bare minimum. Rankers are an exception though. Put them through hellбн" she said to Quinn. "Thank you Leader" Quinn gave a polite nod. His red eyes however had a maniacal glint to them and his polite smile was almost threatening to break apart into a sinister grin. "Magnusбн How''s that project on Flenor Indsing around?" she continued after reading through Quinn''s mind and granting him his request. She hadmanded him a year ago to stop his continued rampage through Arcadia to allow for Rigurd''s n to go smoothly without any interference, something Quinn had been quite upset about but knowing just how monstrously and supremely powerful the mysterious woman before him was, he had listened to her without any resistance. "It''s been going smoothlyбн The weapon should bepleted by thetter half of next year" Magnus replied almost immediately. "Hmmmбн that''s to be expectedбн" she responded after which she then turned her golden eyes over to Ashildr and Evie. Ashildr seemed quite rxed even after their leader had turned her gaze over to her and even took a sip out of her tea while Evie satpletely upright, her eyes looking at obsidian ck-haired woman before her with immense awe and reverence. "Ashildr?" "Yes Leader?" Ashildr responded calmly. "I presume everything is going as expected in Qilos Republic? Nothing out of the ordinary?" she asked. ''Morriganбн I think you know the answer to that'' Ashildr directly replied into her leader''s mind. ''I seeбн No changes this time tooбн'' she responded inwardly back to her. Ashildr gave a slight nod to her while taking another sip of her tea while the others looked onwards without any changes in their expressions. They all knew that Ashildr was the only one among them who was unaffected by the Leader''s imposing yet almost celestial aura but even till date, none of them knew exactly why. The Obelisk leader then closed her eyes, indicating that she was thinking about something. ''That being said, this is the first time in all the iterations that Rigurd''s n didn''t work outбн how oddбн'' After a while, she opened her eyes once again and this time, she stared directly at Evie. Evie who had been anticipating her turn suddenly had her blue eyes spark in anticipation the moment the Leader''s golden eyes hadnded on her. "Evie, I have a task for youter this year. It has something to do with Arcana Academyбн" she spoke once again. "I await your orders!" Evie resolutely answered, although she was still quite intrigued and curious by what the enigmatic woman before her had in store for her and the Academy. "Good. Now, with all that being said, this meeting will nowe to an end" the Obelisk leader dered. The moment she said that, the air around her began to swirl and convert into golden particles and eventually, theypletely surrounded her as she also slowly began to dissipate while still holding the very same position she had sat in from the moment she had first appeared. As she did, Morrigan thought to herself while slowly closing her eyes and fading away into little golden particles. ''Say Amael, Chronoбн How much longer do I need to keep doing this for?'' Chapter 56 - 52 - Briar

Chapter 56: Chapter 52 - Briar

Aiden was sitting in their family''s library while studying the fairlyrge map which was spread across the table, a handiwork of his. A fairly thick and big book was also ced directly in the middle of said map, covering a few certain portions of it, its pages opened to show thest few nations of the world. Arcadia which was the biggest of all the nations was situated right in the middle of the map, while the second, third, fourth and fifth nations upied the north, east, south and west portions of the map. Due to humanity''s constant battle for survival with the Demon King millenniums after millenniums, many countries and nations of the world had perished and only five major ones were now remaining. Although the "Last Five Nations" weren''t originally a thing, many countries that were left from the many years of battle had banded together over time and eventually became absorbed into one of the five respective nations that was now left in the world today. As Aiden kept staring at it while thinking of a few things here and there, the door of the library opened. Aiden who had wondered who it was that hade into the room, raised his head up to check who it was but after been unable to spot anyone, lowered his gaze downwards to spot Briar who was now running towards him with a huge smile on her face. She was wearing a small long-sleeved white round-neck which had a big yellow smiley face on it, dark blue jeans that were perfectly suited to her size, white socks and small ck ts. Her brown hair had also been styled into twin half-tails today, with a bow on each one and her big purple eyes reflected the childlike happiness she was feeling from seeing Aiden as she rushed over to with her small legs. "Brother Aiden!" she said while running over to him with a wide smile. ''Ack! God that''s dangerous for my heart!'' Aiden inwardly eximed. Briar upon getting to Aiden, clutched his legs tightly while still smiling happily with her eyes closed to which Aiden gently patted her head. "Hey Briar. How''re you?" he asked while patting her head with a warm smile. "I''m good!" she responded in a cheery tone. ''Dammit! Why the hell are you so cute!'' Aiden inwardly eximed again. "Who brought you here though Briar?" he asked curiously. "Papa did!" she replied immediately after which she then continued cheerily. "He carried me here!" "I will never get used to hearing thatбн" Aiden said with a chuckle. ''So dad did huhбн I''d have never expected he and my mum to be so enthralled by Briar but who am I to talk. I''m literally doing the exact same thing'' Aiden mused to himself inwardly. After Briar had answered Aiden''s questions, she then looked around curiously, specifically the ornately designed mahogany table that had piles of book on one side and the map Aiden had spread across it along with the thick big book he had ced in the middle of the map. In an effort to satisfy her childlike curiosity, Briar began to climb onto Aiden''spбн or at least she was trying to. Aiden who couldn''t be helped but be amused by this sight, just stared at her in her attempt to climb onto hisps. She was constantly struggling to get one leg up first on hisps first before trying to pull the rest of her body weight up in such an interesting manner but to Aiden, he couldn''t help but find her struggling cute. Also, considering how much smaller Briar lookedparison to an actual six-year old, which was also her own age, she was genuinely quite small. After continuously struggling for over a minute, Briar stopped trying to climb onto Aiden''sps and instead, resorted to looking up at him with teary eyes, hoping he would help her out. Aiden who was now feeling somewhat guilty by the fact that he had found her struggle amusing, quickly raised her up from the ground and gently ced her on hisps, much to Briar''s joy. Now that she was properly settled on hisps, Briar''s eyes firstnded on the fairly big map, her curiosity piqued by thebelled nations and its geographical features represented by vibrant colors. "Smoke!" Briar suddenly eximed while pointing to a cloud that was represented on a portion of the map. "This white thing, it''s smokeбн This is what I saw when I woke upбн" she continued in surprised tone. "Smoke?! Ohбн I seeбн" Aiden questioningly said at first but after seemingly understanding why she was referring to the clouds as that, he then tried to correct her misunderstanding. "These are clouds Briar" Aiden began. "Clouds?" she asked in a questioning yet curious tone. "Yeah, clouds. Those white things you usually see in the sky" Aiden exined. "In the skyбн" Briar responded again but almost immediately, she asked Aiden another question. "Are they not the same as smoke?" "No they are not. Don''t worry, you''ll understand in due time" Aiden said while patting her head again. "Okayбн" she replied, even though it was obvious that she still wanted more information. ''It''s not particrly surprising that she''s mistaking fog for smoke and smoke for clouds. She did wake up for the first time in the past four years to the fog from a cryogenic podбн'' Aiden thought to himself. Briar had woken up a month and a half ago, just a few days after the Royal Banquet incident. Everyone had gone to the hospital that day and Ivelia and Ivar upon seeing their cousinpletely healthy and cured, and with her contagiously cheerful smile on the hospital bed of one of the many rooms that they had transferred her to, had burst into an uncontroble state of crying. Ivelia especially. Seeing their little sister, as they liked to refer to her, all healthy and sound, had given them so much happiness and they couldn''t help but cry from joy. The Belmonts had also introduced themselves to her that same day. They had informed her that they were now also her family and that she could also refer to them in a familial manner. That same day, they had also brought her to their home. Briar however had been very wary of all of them for the first two weeks she had met them and was often hiding behind Ivar and Ivelia a lot of the time whenever they were around but after that, the warmth that the Belmonts had constantly been showing her had made herpletely open up to them. Now, she was even referring to Anna, Leopold and Butler Frank as Mama, Papa and Grandpa respectively, while also adding Brother to Aiden and Flynn''s name, something she had only been doing with the twins. After looking at the map for about two more minutes, the next thing that caught Briar''s big purple eyes was the big book that was ced in the middle of the map, the beautifully and elegantly big handwritten words drawing attention to themselves. "The Last Five Ma..Ma-jor Na..ti..ons of The Worldбн" Briar began slowly. Aiden''s eyes immediately widened at this. Over the past month and a half that they had all gotten to know Briar, Ivar and Ivelia had never once told them that Briar could actually read. Before he could even ask her who had taught her how to read, Briar continued without stopping. "ArcбнArca-di..a. Arcadia!" she said excitedly after struggling to pronounce the words after which she then continued, but this time, she took a bit more time before she began to pronounce the words. "So...ris. Ty..be..ros. Fle..nor Isnds. Q-Qi..los Re...pub..lic!" Briar concluded with a wide grin. She then looked at Aiden, hoping that he would praise her but all she got in return was Aiden''s stunned face. Briar slightly tilted her head in a confused manner but soon enough, Aiden recovered from his surprise and gently rubbed her head while praising her, causing Briar to elicit a small yet heartyughter. "Good girl!" Aiden said while praising her, his hands still rubbing her head while ensuring not to ruffle her hair too much. "Heheheбн" Briar let out a small yet proudughter. As Aiden kept praising Briar, he had a few other thoughts running through his mind. ''Flenor Inds and Qilos Republic huhбн'' ''Those two are the fourth and fifth biggest nations respectively, with Sris and Tyberos being the second and thirdбн'' ''That being said, those massive airship battles will take ce on Flenor Inds during the second year of our Academy lives but I''m notpletely sure if that''ll even happen at that same time anymore. Butterfly effects and what-notsбн'' As Aiden was thinking about this, the doors to the library opened again, interrupting his train of thoughts as Flynn, Ivelia and Ivar casually strolled in. "So this is where you were Briar" Ivar immediately spoke the moment he stepped into the library along with Flynn and Ivelia. "What''s got you so happy Briar?" Ivelia asked curiously. Aiden then exined what had happened to all of them, to which Ivelia then also exined that she had been the one who had been teaching her how to read when Briar was two and to her surprise, Briar was really good at picking up on things very easily so it made her endeavor to teach her all the more worthwhile. "Is that so?" Aiden said, immediately continuing afterwards. "Reminds me of a certain someoneбн" Aiden remarked while moving his gaze over to Flynn. Briar who had seen Flynn and the twins immediately got down from Aiden''sp while running over to Flynn. "Brother Flynn!" she said while running over to him. Flynn just bent down as she ran over to him and scooped her up into his arms. "Hi Briarбн" he said with a warm smile, after which he then immediately began to tickle her, his smile instantly changing into a yful yet mischievous one. "Hahaha! Stop it!" Briarughed yfully while struggling to stop Flynn''s ticklish assault on her. "I won''t!" Flynn immediately replied to her mischievously. However, after a few seconds, he stopped tickling her and instead of cing her back down, he opted to hoist her up and ce her on his shoulders, both of her small legs wrapping around his neck and her dainty hands on his silvery green hair. "Wow! So highбн" Briar eximed happily, after which she then said something thatpletely caught all of them off guard. "I''m taller than everyone!" she suddenly dered proudly, both of her small hands on her hips and a seemingly even prouder expression on her face. Both brothers and twins were taken aback by her sudden deration but almost immediately, they all burst intoughter. ''It sure is fun to have a little sisterбн'' Aiden thought to himself even in the midst of his heartyughter. "Ah! The real reason why we came here!" Ivar suddenly announced after they had all stoppedughing. Ivelia, as if on cue, immediately retrieved a blue vial from her spatial bracelet and tossed it over to Aiden. Aiden then looked at Ivelia and Ivar in anticipation, his heartbeat slowly increasing with each moment as he asked. "It''spleted?!" he asked, anticipation evident in his voice. Flynn, Ivelia and Ivar looked at themselves, smiled at each other and then, Ivelia responded, every single word that came out of her mouth,ced with a lot of pride and happiness. "Yeahбн It''s done! 99% efficacy!" she responded with a radiantly beautiful and beaming smile. Chapter 57 - 53 - Unexpected Visitor I

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 - Unexpected Visitor I

Caroline was sitting elegantly on the white sofa of the Belmont''s Family''s small living room while gently sipping from a cup of tea, her light red lipstick staining the edge of porcin white tea cup slightly. She was dressed pretty casually, wearing a crimson-colored, loose long-sleeved off shoulder frill top, which was tucked into her tight-fitting ck jeans along with ck sneakers, all of them perfectly suited to her size andplementing her already beautiful figure. The scarlet-red, ruby-eyed youngdy, also had an amused smile that hung on her lips as she watched Aiden who was sitting across from her on the other side of the sofa, his palms interlocked and ced just above his lips and below his nose, all while staring at her. He was staring at her, wondering what the hell this scenario was and how this even came to be in the first ce. ''How did I evennd myself in this scenario?'' Aiden asked himself inwardly, even though he very much had an inkling as to what had caused this. This morning, after he and Flynn had finished sparring with Frank, the butler who had already entered the mansion hade back out just a few minutester to inform both he & Flynn that the Duchess was requesting for their presence in the living room, something that both of them had found quite odd. However, without even wasting a second, they had quickly gone to meet her, despite usually taking a bath immediately after training. Upon entering therge living room, they were surprised to have seen Queen H herself, Selina Rosede who was the Duchess of the Rosede Family and their mum, all chatting away happily. Flynn and Aiden had immediately given their formal greetings, despite the fact that they were not even in presentable clothing, their shirts and sweat pants still having still having bits of snow here and there. Both H and Selena had responded to their greetings with warm smiles and had also asked for their welfare, something both of them who were mothers were pretty much ustomed too, causing both Flynn and Aiden to rx. This unexpected visit had left both brothers quite surprised because they had not known that their mum was such close friends with two immensely influential women in Arcadia but as if to add to Aiden''s already surprised demeanor, his mum had told him that he had a guest waiting for him in the smaller living room. Anna had also informed him to freshen up before he went to meet said person, something that had elicited a slight head tilt from him as he nced over to Flynn who shrugged his shoulders with a look that said "I guess you''ll have to find out yourself!". Aiden however had decided to do as his mum had instructed and he ensured to look his best while still dressing up casually. As a result, he had opted to wear a long sleeved ck t-shirt with another white shirt underneath, slim fitted dark-blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers. Before getting out of the room though, Aiden had passed by his long standing mirror and checked himself out, after which he then gave himself a charming smile tomend himself for looking so handsome and dressing up so well. Aiden finally left his room and began to head straight for the small living room where his supposed visitor was waiting for him. Even as he kept moving towards the room, he had been wondering who it was, especially because his mum had been saying it in such a coy manner. He had also surmised that his ''guest'' was definitely a female, judging by his mum''s demeanor but still, he was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, especially considering that a month had gone by after the banquet incident and not even a single noble their age hade to visit. Upon opening the doors to the small living room however, Aiden''s emerald green eyes had immediately locked on to Caroline''s figure as she picked up one of the many novels he had piled onto the ss tables. Caroline upon also raising her own head after picking a novel, had her eyes meet Aiden''s and without wasting a breath, she immediately spoke up with a soft smile. "You must really love reading novels huh Aiden Belmontбн" Aiden however just stared at her for a few seconds without responding, but after a short while, he then answered her with a question of his own instead. "Coffee or tea? Which would you like Miss. Rosede?" After she had responded with thetter, he had gone to prepare the tea himself instead of requesting for Butler Frank''s help, something which had caused Caroline to arch one of her eyebrows up in surprise. After cing both porcin white tea cups on the table, Aiden sat opposite from her on the other couch while pondering over how this situation hade to be. That was how he had found himself in this scenario. -Clink! Caroline who had now gently ced the tea cup on its saucer, looked at Aiden amusingly as he kept staring at her intently and initiated their conversation. "It''s interesting that you didn''t request for your butler''s help to make this" she said while pointing her finger to the warm cups of tea. "It''s a pretty mundane thing so there was no reason to bother him. He already has enough work on his te" Aiden responded while releasing his interlocked fingers and picking up his own cup of tea and taking a sip out of it. "Most nobles wouldn''t think the way you do though" Caroline replied to hisment. "Well I guess I''m not ''most'' nobles then" Aiden replied as a matter-of-factly, his hands cing the tea cup onto his own saucer. "I seeбн" Caroline responded with an even more amused smile. A brief silence passed between both of them for a few seconds but this time, Aiden was the one to break the silence with a question of his own. "So, what are you up to you foxy vixen?" Aiden asked bluntly, much to Caroline''s surprise. "Oh~" she voiced out, genuinely surprised by how straightforward Aiden was being with her but as if now totally invested in where this conversation of theirs was heading, Caroline quickly responded. "Foxy? Vixen? I''m not sure why but I absolutely love what you''ve just referred to me asбн" Caroline started with an amused smile, after which she then asked. "Do you also believe in the rumors that much Aiden?" "No. Not really" Aiden started with a slight wave of his hands to indicate a gesture of dismissal. "It''s just what I''ve noticed while studying you over the years" he continued. "You''ve studied me?" Caroline asked, surprise evident in her tone at this new information. ''I literally did read about you for years on end so it''s nothing too surprising honestly, but I can''t tell her thatбн'' Aiden mused to himself before he then spoke out almost immediately to respond to her surprised look. "Most people tend to believe that you''re the one who usually does the seduction and eventually, after using them to achieve your goals, you''d discard them as if they never even existed. That''s the general consensus" Aiden began. "But the truth is, you''d only ever use those who originally came towards you or approached you with either carnal intentions or if they were also nning to use you to achieve their own goals. However, people without ulterior motives arepletely safe from your antics" Aiden continued. "That''s how you y Caroline Rosede" Aiden continued. Caroline was stunned by Aiden''s excellent deduction of her psyche and she was unable to respond even after a few seconds had passed. Aiden however just waited for her to recover while taking another sip out of his own tea which was now slowly turning cold. "Howбн" Caroline audibly muttered after recovering from her shock, her mind still trying to process how someone asides her mother understood how she ticked. Aiden who had expected this reaction from her casually ced down his cup of tea while thinking of how he was going to respond to her. ''Wellбн I guess I''ll respond with a half-truthбн'' he mused to himself. "Social events" Aiden replied casually. "Social events?" Caroline questioningly asked. "Yeah. I may have stopped socializing with anyone over the years at so many social events following my brother''s ostracization seven years ago but it doesn''t mean I wasn''t aware of quite a lot of things that were going on" Aiden stated. "In fact, it''s more like I was given the freedom to openly study people without them ever knowing even if I only attended a fewpulsory events here and there" he added after which he then continued. "I guess among the people I was studying back then, I found you particrly interesting so I paid extra attentionбн" Aiden concluded. Caroline was once again amused by just how interesting the teen in front of her was. Just as she had deduced when she had met him again at the royal banquet a month and a half ago, Aiden Belmont now had a very sharp edge to him, one that had now been honed due to the incident with his brother all those years ago. This now sharpened edge, made it possible for him to be able to spot when people were approaching him with ulterior motives even if they thought they were doing a good job of concealing it, just like the way she also could. A honed skill of discernment. Those were the thoughts running through Caroline''s mind but as if to remind her that she still hadn''t answered his very first question and he very much knew that she had subtly deflected it, the ck-haired youth with emerald-green eyes inquired again. "So, with all that being said, I''d like to ask againбн What are you up to Caroline Rosede?" Chapter 58 Chapter 54 - Unexpected Visitor II 58 Chapter 54 - Unexpected Visitor II "So, with all that being said, I''d like to ask againбн What are you up to Caroline Rosede?" Caroline just stared at Aiden while smiling at him in response to his question, her scarlet red eyes holding theposed gaze of his emerald-green eyes. After about a minute, Caroline finally spoke up. "Well, I guess I do have a reason foring here..." she began while taking a sip out of her tea which was now almostpletely cold. "But it''s not nearly anything as crafty as you''d expectбн" she added while returning the tea cup back to its saucer. "In fact, it''s so simple you might regard it unbelievableбн" she continued, her palms now elegantly resting on herps. "Shoot Miss. Rosede. I''m all ears" Aiden responded calmly, despite his increasing interest in why this youngdy had approached him since the day of the royal banquet. The reason Aiden was being so blunt with Caroline was because, just like he had previously exined to her, she was someone who would reciprocate the type of approach you put forward to her. Asides from also actually understanding how Caroline''s mind ticks due to reading the novel for years on end, Aiden had also been telling the truth regarding how he had been studying her and a bunch of other nobles over the past few years. The ck-haired youth also wanted to know what the cause of this butterfly effect was and how it would y into the things that were still going to happen in the future, if that future could still even be depended upon anymore. Although Caroline never did anything particrly bad in the novel and was more neutral to most things to say the least, she did have a hand in a few major events due to her crafty nature. Aiden as a result was getting immensely curious about what the silky, ck-haired youngdy who was known for her foxy nature, had approached him for. "I would like toбн" Caroline began and then stopped abruptly, much to Aiden''s confusion. However, after a short pause, shepleted her statement. "бнbe your friendбн" she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper and her face now slightly facing downwards. ''Huh?!'' Aiden inwardly eximed in confusion. ''What''s with that expression?'' he inwardly asked himself while seeing the embarrassed expression on Caroline''s face. At first he had immediately thought she was joking when she responded but judging from the way the tips of her ear were also red, he knew that she had been very embarrassed to have said those words. Caroline then raised her head up, her cheeks a rosy flush of red as she stared at Aiden with expectations in her eyes. Aiden however who was still trying to make heads or tails about what was happening was suddenly put on the spot after locking eyes with Caroline''s gaze. A brief period of awkward yet palpable tension could be felt in the small living room but after a while, Aiden broke the tension with a deep sigh. "Haaaaaбн" he voiced in resignation. "That was totally unexpected butбн" he continued, his words seemingly lingering in air as Caroline kept staring expectantly. All of a sudden though, Aiden gave a slight chuckle, and then, gradually, he burst intoughter. Not the type ofughter to mock a person''s request but the type that was genuinely hearty. The awkward tension in the roompletely dissipated the moment Aiden began tough and Caroline just stared at him for a few seconds,pletely entranced by the sight before her. -Thump! "If that''s all Caroline, then it''s nothing" Aiden replied to her request with a smile after he had stopped hisughter. "It would be my pleasure to be a friend of yours" Aiden continued with a charming smile. -Thump! ''Haa~бн this is badбн this is really really badбн'' Caroline thought to herself while staring at Aiden who now had a charming smile on his face. -Thump! ''I said I wouldn''t be greedy but at this rate, I''ll be totally andpletely consumed by itбн'' she inwardly continued. Aiden on the other hand who waspletely unaware of Caroline''s internal thoughts, had apletely different thought process of his own. ''It''s really unexpected though. She''s just like Flynn and I before we had our memories returnedбн'' he thought to himself after which his internal monologues then continued. ''It must really suck I guess, being constantly surrounded by people who are only out for their own benefits most of the time, especially when you''re the daughter of one of the most prestigious family. Makes it even harder for you to have genuine friends your ageбн'' he inwardly concluded. After a while, Aiden looked up to see the Caroline was still staring at him without saying anything to his response, causing him to slightly tilt his head while calling out to her. "Caroline?" he called questioningly. Caroline upon realizing she had probably been staring at Aiden for the past few minutes without even replying to any of his responses was about to speak up when Aiden suddenly got up from his sofa and began to walk towards the door with a yful glint in his eyes. "Hmmm, so there''s a spy in this houseбн" Aiden said while immediately walking towards and up the small staircase leading to the door and swinging it wide open. Caroline who had been taken aback by his sudden movement, watched as the door opened to reveal a small cute girl who seemed to be around the age of four, her brown hair in a ponytail which was tied with a cute ribbon and big purple eyes that showed a wave of panic. The cute brown-haired girl was wearing a small, one-piece, green-colored dress with a small white sash tied gently around the waist of the dress into arge bow behind her back. Briar upon realizing she had been caught by Aiden after peeking through the small space that had been left slightly ajar by the door, immediately tried to run away but Aiden who was now mischievously smiling immediately chanted his [Suction] spell. Briar who was now running as fast as her small legs could take her, suddenly felt herself been pulled backwards towards Aiden who was now standing in the corridor. As soon as she neared him, Aiden discontinued his spell and scooped her up off the ground while smiling at her yfully. "Caught you, you little spy!" Aiden dered yfully, much to Briar''s relief. "Heheheбн" Briar let out a small yet mischievous chuckle. "Next time Briar, knock on the door alright" Aiden gently told her. "I will!" she immediately responded while nodding her head. "I have to say though Briar, how far did you think your tiny legs could carry you?" Aiden asked mischievously. Briar however was not having it and she immediately pouted at him while averting her gaze, as if to tell him that she was not happy with the oue of her intended escape. "Hmph!" she voiced unhappily. Caroline who had already moved out from the small living room into the corridor from the moment Briar had begun to run away, watched the interaction between Briar and Aiden y out. Aiden after noticing Caroline standing behind him immediately turned to her and apologized. "Ah! Caroline! Sorry for abruptly cutting our conversation short" "I don''t mind at all but who''s she?" Caroline asked curiously. "This little one here is Briar. She''s my little sister" Aiden answered immediately. The youngdy was immediately taken aback by this sudden information and wondered when exactly the Belmont''s had given birth to a child this young without anyone ever even knowing. "Briar, this is my friend Caroline. You can say hello to her" Aiden said to Briar. Caroline who had not expected Aiden to introduce her so informally, despite only epting her request a just a minute ago, was understandably surprised but yet, she was also happy at his "Hello Carolineбн" Briar said politely, her hands slightly waving to her. "And hello to you too Briar" Caroline immediately responded back with a warm smile. Although she had a lot of questions to ask, she had ultimately decided to save it forter. However, just as she was about to speak to Briar again, Flynn came out from the corner of the long corridor while carrying a sleeping Ivelia who was wrapped around him in Ko bear hug. Upon seeing all three in the distance Flynn walked up to them while greeting them and acknowledging Caroline''s presence. "Hey guys. So Miss. Caroline was your guest Aiden. Well that isn''t too surprisingбн" "Good day to you Flynn Belmont" Caroline gave her greetings with a smile, to which Flynn acknowledged with a slight yet respectful nod of his head. Caroline who was already trying to wrap her head around how Briar even came to be, watched the orange-haired girl who was sleeping as Flynn carried her, gently clutching her hands onto his head. "So you had guessed that it was her" Aiden remarked while looking at Flynn through squinted eyes. "I mean, eliminate a few variables here and there and it would either be her or Adrian. However, considering mum''s coy smile, I was definitely sure it was her" Flynn responded calmly. "Fair point" Aiden said in acknowledgement after which he then added. "I''d expected Ivelia to take it easy afterpleting it but good lord does she ever take a breakбн" "Well in her defense, she was testing for any possible ws. Gotta give props to her for that" Flynn replied. orange-haired figure suddenly arrived behind her. 14:30 "Good morning Miss" Ivar politely greeted. Caroline just watched with immense curiosity, and just as she did, she watched again as another orange-haired figure suddenly arrived behind her. "Good morning Miss" Ivar politely greeted. "Ah yesбн Good morningбн" Caroline responded to the sudden greeting from the youth behind her. "Why''s everyone here?" Ivar questioned with an interested look even though he was wondering who the beautiful ck-haireddy was. Before Aiden and Flynn could even respond to Ivar''s question, Butler Frank appeared in the long corridor too while gracefully walking over to them, causing Caroline to wonder what the hell was even going on at this point. The butler however upon reaching them, and politely giving a short bow, informed Caroline that her mother was about to leave and that she was requesting for her. Following this Caroline promptly gave her goodbyes to everyone present in the corridor while following Butler Frank who was going to guide her to her mum who was now already waiting outside in her car. Aiden had promptly given Briar whom he was carrying over to Ivar while following Caroline, in an effort to show appreciation by seeing her off as she began to leave. She dide over just to visit him after all. As the young, silky ck-haireddy got into the car with her mum who had already ignited the engines of the car, she watched as Aiden gave her a slight friendly wave. This caused her to give a slight smile while also waving back in a simr fashion. Now, as Selena drove out of the gates to the Belmont''s residence, she looked over to her daughter who now had a genuine smile on her lips, not the fake alluring one she usually kept on her face whenever she was in public. As the car kept gliding across the road smoothly, a testament to Selena''s excellent driving skills, Caroline requested something from her mother. "Motherбн" "Hmm?" Selena responded. "How did you and dad meet?" Caroline asked. Selena on the other hand just nced at her with a curious look, but almost immediately after, she spoke. "I don''t mind telling you but why ask now dear" she questioned curiously. "Wellбн I just thought it''d be nice to hear it at least onceбн" Caroline replied truthfully. "I see. Well, it isn''t anything too spectacr but it''s definitely a fun one" Selena began, her words along with a slight smile on her face, carrying a strong hint of nostalgia in them as she began to narrate the story of how her and her now dead husband had met themselves. I''ll be updating more character arts very very soon. Some characters are insanely hard to get with AI though. ~(>_<~) Chapter 59 Chapter 55 - Lakeside 59 Chapter 55 - Lakeside "Beautiful isn''t it?" Flynn asked. "It really isбн" Ivelia responded, her eyes still fixated on the sereneke which was reflecting the luminescent moon on its tranquil watery surface. She then turned her head to look at Flynn who was still gazing at theke as he spoke. "I thought mornings were the best time to enjoy the atmosphere here butбн" he stopped mid-sentence with a pause, after which he then continued with a small nod. "Yeahбн It''s just as beautiful at night, if not moreбн" Flynn concluded. The silvery green-haired youth then sat down on the grass, just a few inches away from Ivelia while asking. "You''re worried about tomorrow, aren''t you?" he asked calmly. "Hmmmбн It''s not really tomorrow I''m worried aboutбн" Ivelia began. "Well, I mean, I am pretty worried about tomorrow too but more than that, I''m worried about what the oue of tomorrow will bringбн" she continued. "Ivar and I may have wanted toplete our Dad''s life''s work but now that we have, I realize just how great of an achievement it is, and just how much of a precarious position it might also put us all in" the orange-haireddy continued speaking calmly, her words carrying a weight of maturity to it. "There''s a lot of challenges that I know will definitelye our way, especially once our identities are also revealed to the world but what really makes me worried is if Iбн noбн If we''ll be able to ovee it" Ivelia concluded, her thoughts seemingly already thinking so far ahead into the future. Flynn who was beside her could see just how much she felt weighed on not just her and her brother, but also how it would most definitely affect their family too. "Honestly Iveliaбн there''s not really much to think about or be so worried about when you really consider itбн" Flynn calmlymented after a moment of brief silence had passed between them. Ivelia looked at him as if she was trying to understand what he was trying to put across to her but luckily for her, she didn''t need to try too hard because Flynn followed up immediately after. "When that timees, we''ll deal with it. There''s really no use worrying about a future that''s yet to happen. In fact, worrying too much would be even more detrimental than beneficialбн" Flynn exined, after which he then added. "So, don''t worry too much about it Ivelia" he concluded with a gentle smile, the cool night breeze blowing past both of them as soon as hepleted his statement. Ivelia who had watched while he was exining and trying to make her heart feel lighter, pulled her knees slightly towards her chest and ced her head on it sideways while staring at Flynn. "I so much love your confidence Flynn Belmont" she said with a warm smile while still watching Flynn, the bangs of her short orange-hair slightly covering her eyes and yet, it did nothing to hide the genuineness in them as she uttered those words. "And I very much love your resilience Ivelia Steelde" Flynn responded with a simr look mirroring Ivelia''s as she stared at him. A brief yetfortable silence passed between both of them but after a while, Ivelia suddenly spoke up. "You have that glint in your eyes again Flynnбн You were nning to tease me just now, weren''t you?" Ivelia asked with an amused smile. "Busted huhбн I need to up my game then" Flynn responded without even denying the authenticity of her words but almost immediately, he asked with a simr amused smile of his own. "Waitбн were you expecting me to actually tease you again?" he asked with interest, one of his eyebrows arched upwards. "Maybeбн" Ivelia responded with a coquettish smile. "So you actually do enjoy it when I tease you???" Flynn inquired curiously again, his eyes lighting up with a lot of interest. "Maybeбн" Ivelia replied once again with an even more yful smile. "So, I know I''m interrupting a moment here but you''ll just have to forgive me" Aiden suddenly popped up and dered out of nowhere. "And before you ask, no, I definitely and totally wasn''t spying on you guys" he continued without a pause. "I will however like to inform you two that I''ve been here for about a few minutes though" Aiden seemingly continued exining. "And I sat on that tree with my trusty popcorn" Aiden gestured while pointing to a nearby tall tree with a particrly thick, wide branch. "I have to say though you two, you make the most popr soap operas seem like third-rate productions" he concluded while nodding his head with a satisfied smile, a few of his fingers ced on his chin. "Soбн you were definitely spying on us?" Flynn asked with a look that just seemed to imply that he had given up on his brother''s antics. "You really are shameless huh Aiden" Ivelia asked while shaking her head in resignation with a smile. "Hey! Flynn, you''re definitely rubbing off on her and I don''t like it one bit" Aiden dered with crossed arms across his chest, his face showing a slight expression of disappointment. "Yeah, I think I''m rubbing off on her in a good way" Flynn responded to his brother''s remark with a slight shrug of his shoulders, the edges of his lip curling into a proud smile. Aiden at this point just dropped the disappointed act he was trying to pull off and just smiled while putting his arms up in the air, as if to signal his surrender to Flynn and Ivelia''s remark. After Flynn and Ivelia shared a slight chuckle within themselves due to Aiden''s antics, the emerald-eyed youth just decided to tell them the actual reason he hade here to find them. As he was about to exin, all three of them heard the rustling of bushes and almost immediately, Ivar popped out whileining. "Man the night distorts your view! How''d Ind in those bushes anyway?!" "Oh hey guys!" he said almost immediately upon getting out of the bushes and seeing all three youths. "Well I had a feeling you''d all be here when I noticed that none of you were in the mansionбн" Ivar added. "Perfect timing Ivar!" Aiden suddenly said while pping his palms together. "Hmmm?" Ivar voiced with a slight tilt of his head. "So, regarding tomorrow''s negotiations with the potion-makingpany Dad has contacted, he wanted to ask if both of you would also like to apany him" Aiden began while gesturing with pointed fingers to both Ivelia and Ivar. "I already informed him that Flynn and I would definitely be willing toe along but I''d definitely understand if you guys wanted toy low-keyбн for now at least" he concluded with a thoughtful expression on his face but almost immediately, Ivar responded. "We would most definitely like toe along too!" "I understand that it would make it way easier for the media to find out that we were the ones who created the potion but sooner orter, that''s bound to happen anyway so there''s really no way around it" Ivar continued. "However, we''d like to see the culmination of the fruits of our dad''s effort, and maybe not just even that, but also the fruits of our own efforts being recognized. Isn''t that right sis?" Ivar concluded resolutely. "Yes Ivar" she replied to her brother with a slight nod while rising up from the grassy floor along with Flynn and dusting off the dirt on her clothes. "Well, that''s settled then" Aiden responded with a smile. "Let''s go inform Dad about it" he added while turning around, indicating that he was about to head back into the mansion. Flynn, Ivelia and Ivar also began to follow him too, all of their thoughts seemingly andpletely upied with how tomorrow''s negotiations were going to turn out. They had all heard from Leopold over the past week that most of the big and well-knownpanies had rejected his offer, seemingly because they had thought of his im as unbelievable. Leopold however on the other hand, had correctly guessed that most of them were probably in cahoots with some of The Tower''s executives and were probably making immense profits from being the only suppliers of the 95% efficacy potions. As a result, even if his ims had been true, they most likely would still have had it rejected. That was why Leopold had decided to contact smaller but promising uingpanies who would not mind taking a few risky moves. The potion-makingpany that had decided to respond to his summon however, was a potionpany that went by the name of ''Realm-Lore Elixirs''. The moment Flynn and Aiden had heard this name, they had been quite surprised to say the least. Almost immediately after hearing this information too, Flynn had moved over to the library, much to Aiden''s interest who had followed him. Aiden had then watched on as his brother began writing a note to give who he assumed was probably the second-inmand by now at thepany, detailing a few instructions here and there about something that would most definitely be of benefit to both thepany itself and their family. After seeing the contents of the note, the ck-haired youth had just looked over at his brother, and a single sentence had gone through his mind. ''Damn you''re scary Flynn!'' The reason why Flynn had immediately begun to write that note the moment he heard that the name of thepany was ''Realm-Lore Elixirs'', was because theirpany would eventually go on to be one of the biggest potion-makingpany with so many branches all around the rest of the world. However, right now, due to their absolutely incapable CEO, they were still struggling to ce a strong foot into the potion-making world that waspletely oversaturated. That problem however, was also going to be resolved in just a matter of days. Chapter 60 Chapter 56 - Proposal 60 Chapter 56 - Proposal "Fuuuбн" A fairly tall and slim but well-built man who was in his mid-thirties, let out a deep breath of air while staring at the mirror in front of him. His ck hair was a tad bit disheveled and his fairly good-looking yet stoic face showed immense signs of fatigue, indicating he definitely did not have a good night''s rest but despite this, the man in question had simrly ck eyes that were brimming with hopes and dreams for the future. After looking at himself for a few more minutes whilst inwardly repeating his daily mantras to help himself get in the right state of mind, the man opened the tap of the modern basin, cupped his hands to scoop out water and then used it to rinse his face. After seemingly doing a few more of this in an effort to maintain a much more presentable appearance, he tucked a few strands that were sticking out of his slicked back hair and straightened the red tie on his outfit, a business white t-shirt with ck suit pants and a simrly ck-colored vest along with ck derby leather shoes. "Just one more yearбн Just one more year and I''ll be able to kick him out and be the CEO of thispanyбн" he muttered to himself, after which he then spoke with conviction. "Let''s do this" he voiced calmly. Upon saying this, the man turned around, opened the doors leading out of the restroom and stepped into the office corridors of Realm-Lore Elixir''s Headquarters. Even though it was early morning, the corridors were bustling with office workers going about their duties in an organized fashion, all with the intent ofpleting their duties as soon as possible. "Good morning sir!" one of the office workers respectfully greeted him with a smile, immediately resuming on his own path without even waiting for the man''s response. The man who had also expected this, gave a slight nod in response while continuously walking forward with confident and purposeful strides while carrying an air of professionalism. As he kept moving towards, other workers did the same, greeting him either with respectful smiles or nods. From these interactions, it was obvious that whoever the man in question was, was without a doubt, someone who was of great importance to thepany. His name, was Donovan Silver, and he was unexpectedly, not the CEO of thispany, despite having all the skills to perform exceedingly well in such a position but instead, he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO), second-inmand only to the CEO. "Donovan!" a woman who was dressed professionally walked towards him with brisk steps, a smile on her lips as she closed the distance between them quickly. "How''s your morning going?" she asked while now walking side-by-side with him. "Like every other morning Rose. What''s on the agenda today?" Donovan bluntly answered. "It''s always as blunt as ever and down-to-business with you. That being said, you have a meeting with Duke Belmont regarding that peculiar message he sent. He''s presently in the conference room with four other youths, whom he ims are just as important to the negotiations that''ll be going down today" his long-time secretary lengthily replied. "I already have everyone stationed there, from the Director, Manager, Supervisor and ountant down to the representative of the sales and marketing department, especially considering how immensely groundbreaking it would be if his ims are actually trueбн" Rose concluded. Donovan stopped in his tracks after hearing this and contemted for a moment. ''As ridiculously unbelievable as it sounds, if it is actually as he says, forget even trying to ce our foot on the ground, we would exponentially rise to the top in just a matter of days. This could literally be what we''ve always neededбн'' "Okay Rose. Let''s head in" Donovan responded calmly after he was done with his thoughts. "Yes sir" she answered professionally, her smiles gone and reced with a stoic expression while now walking a few steps behind him. As soon as both of them entered the conference room, they were quite surprised to see the calmness that all five of the people in question were exuding despite being stared at by all the people Rose had previously listed sitting just across on the other side of the table from them. Starting from the Duke himself who was seated calmly, to the orange-haired youths who just from their eye-catchingly handsome and beautiful looks, was obvious that they were twins and two other young youths, one with an immensely handsome appearance mirroring the duke''s and the other with an almost otherworldly feel to his own handsome features. Rose who had walked in just seconds after Donovan did, had to admit, that in all her life, she had never seen so many insanely good-looking people gathered together in one ce at the same time but despite this, her and Donovan''s professional facial expressions did not waver even a millimeter. They were here concerning a serious im that could either take theirpany to the top or be an immense waste of their time. They were here for business. "Well then, let''s get this meeting started" Donovan spoke while sitting in the chairs that was purposely kept vacant for he and Rose by their co-workers. "Good Morning Duke Leopold. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person" Donovanmented professionally with outstretched palms, to which Leopold shook while responding in simr fashion. "The pleasure is mutual. I''ve been looking forward to this as well" "I won''t waste your time at all Mr. Donovan" Leopold immediately followed up. "So let''s get down to business immediately" he continued while procuring two potions from his spatial ring. "This is the 95% healing potion that the toppanies have been secretly manufacturing and selling at ridiculous prices" Leopold said while tossing over the potion to Donovan who nodded slightly in response to his words. After appraising it and seeing that it was also true, Donovan had a string of thoughts roll through his mind while passing the potion over to his team for appraisal too. ''This was so hard to get and procure, even for toppanies. So how exactly did he even get his hands on this?'' "And this, is the 99% healing potion that was created by the two youths beside me" Leopold said while gesturing over to Ivelia and Ivar who were seated on his right side, snapping Donovan out of his thoughts. Everyone present there looked at Leopold with genuinely skeptic looks, asides Donovan and Rose of course who maintained their stoic expressions, and then nced over to the twins who despite keeping a confident expression on their faces, were internally quite nervous about how the meeting was going. The eyes of the people staring at them conveyed just how much doubt they had but soon enough, Leopold tossed over the potion to them and Donovan who after appraising it, had a slight break in his unchanging professional expression. Rose however could not contain her shock and from her expression, it was evident how just in stupefied she was. Despite even knowing that the Tower had created a healing potion with an efficacy rate of 95%, it was still almost an unbelievable thing because for almost a decade and a few years now, 90% efficacy was what the world had known to be the absolute peak for a potion''s creation. So it hade as a real shocker to almost everyone that had secretly known about the 95% potion that had being created. Now however, she and Donovan along with the rest of their team, could not help but be genuinely baffled by this insane turn of events but soon enough again, Leopold along with his sons and the twins took them for another crazy ride. "To show just how immensely efficient the efficacy is, I''ve had a certain hospital test the 95% and 99% with a contract and an oath sworn to secrecy. Flynn, do the honors" Leopold spoke again. Flynn as if already expecting this, immediately retrieved a tiny te which could only be described as this world''s version of a USB from his bracelet and gently ced it on the wide office table. "In that drive, you''ll find said video so feel free to project it" Leopold exined with a gesture of his hands. One of the staff members who was promptly ordered by Rose following his exnation, quickly stood up and connected the drive to the giant holographic screen present in the conference room, navigated to the video and began to y it. The staff members of Realm-Lore Elixirs watched with bated breaths as the 95% potion which was administered to a patient with an amputated limb, instantly heal and reattached said limb that had being cut off from an ident years ago, the old flesh, bones, nerves and blood vessels seemingly bing fresher by the minute and slowly reattaching themselves as if already ordered to do so and looking as good as new. The potion with a 99% efficacy however did something almost miraculous to say the least as another patient, after ingesting the potion, watched as he regrew both of his lower limbs back from scratch without any single defect in it at an ultra-regenerative speed. "At this point, you''re probably wondering if it''s an edited video but honestly, there''s no way I can prove it further than what I''ve already shown you" Leopold spoke, snapping the staff members of thepany from their shocked state after watching the video. "I will however like to let you know that their creation was not a fluke and for that, we definitely have enough proof" Leopold stated with poise and calmness in his tone. As if on cue, Aiden and Ivar summoned multiple other potions with 99% efficacy from their spatial rings while cing them on the table while Ivelia summoned a copy of a file from her bracelet. The staff members at Realm-Lore Elixirs instantly began to pick the potions one after the other and they were once again dumbfounded as to how not even a single potion was less than 99%. Donovan and Rose however were now growing ever increasingly curious by who the heck these youths were and how they were able to create something that was beyond groundbreaking and was definitely going to put their name in the history books. Ivelia who had now perused through the contents of the file she had retrieved one more time, handed it over to Donovan and Rose who then had their eyes widen as Donovan himself continuously flipped through page after page, every single one of them detailing a step by step process as to how the potion was created. After a while of giving them enough time to gather their wits, Leopold spoke once more, this time, with a smile on his lips. "So Mr. Donovan, would Realm-Lore Elixirs like to sign a contract detailing the negotiations of a profit-sharing arrangement that will benefit both parties" he said calmly and professionally. "Let''s explore how we can create a mutually beneficial partnership" Leopold concluded, both of his palms interlocked and ced on therge modern ergonomic office table that they were all seated at. Anyone see the ''Scott Pilgrim Takes Off'' trailer?! It was absolute chef''s kiss! So hyped for it! Especially since they''re bringing almost the entire cast from the movie back as VA''s for their respective characters. Man, 2023''s line-up of anime, movies and series just keeps giving! Chapter 61 Chapter 57 - A Peculiar Note 61 Chapter 57 - A Peculiar Note -Krack!!! "You fucking idiot!! Why then do I leave thepany in your care! 25%?!! For something as groundbreaking as that!!! You should have secured it with a 50% share!!! And now, now they''re having a whole ass 75% to themselves! Tell me Donovan, what then did I invest into thispany for?!" -Drip! Donovan who had his head slightly bowed to a third generation master in his mid-twenties, had blood dripping from it due to a fresh wound that said young master had inflicted upon him when he threw his ss of wine at him. The youth reeked of booze and strong female perfume and judging by the smudge of lipstick present on the cor of the disheveled white shirt of the suit he was wearing, it was obvious that their CEO had once again spent his entire day frolicking about. "I apologize for that sir but regarding that, it was the best deal we could''vee up with, especially if you include that we''re still just a fairly small to mid-sizedpany" Donovan began. "Trying to bargain with them would mean that we would lose the deal and they would eventually go on to find anotherpany who would be willing to ept all of their demands without any objections. I was doing what was best for thepany" Donovan replied calmly, almost as if already used to this peculiar scenario. "I don''t care!!!" the brat roared in defiance, all of Donovan''s reasoning going through one of his ear and out the other. The youth in question was named Alex and he was thest child of a popr business mogul which was quite well known in all of Arcadia. His father, as a way to forcefully raise his immature son to be responsible, decided to have him take up the position of CEO at one of the many businesses that he had a few shares in with a few well-ced connections here and there. Realm-Lore Elixirs however, had been the unfortunatepany that had been chosen to house and maintain Alex''s money-floundering tendencies, even though he was now their CEO. Despite Donovan''s best efforts to mitigate this stupid young master''s destructive habits that was guing theirpany, there was only so much he could do when he was only second-inmand. As a result, instead of progressing gradually, the staffs at Realm-Lore Elixirs were more or less, constantly struggling to maintain theirpany and prevent it from going bankrupt instead. Alex who had now stopped his back-and-forth pacing along with his grumbles and yells, suddenly had a sinister grin form on his face. "You know what Donovan. It''s fine! Really!" he started. "What I need you to do now is quite simple. Out of that 25%, I want 24% of the profits. You can use the remaining 1% for whatever you need it for" he dered with a greedy look in his blue eyes. "But sir-" -p! "Who are you to go against my orders Donovan?! You will do as Imand!" Alex yelled afternding a heavy p on Donovan''s face. Donovan however, stood unmoving despite the youth''s temper tantrum and just maintained his bowed head, as if already used to all this. "Are we clear?" Alex asked authoritatively. "Yes sir" Donovan responded calmly. "Good. See, everything works out when you listen to me" Alex said while gently patting Donovan''s cheek. The third generation young master then walked out of the office, leaving Donovan to clear up his mess. After he did, Donovan slowly raised his head up with a tired sigh. ''Another day. Same old bullshitбн'' he thought to himself. He then moved over to his table and requested for the cleaner via a small round orb that was projecting a small screen with transparent buttons to issuemands, usually referred to as a holographicmunicator, toe clear up the mess that their so-called ''CEO'' had caused. After switching off themunicating device while also loosening his tie, Donovan heard a knock on his door, followed by a feminine voice. "Donovanбн May Ie in?" Rose asked from the other side of the door. "Come in" Donovan responded casually. It was already nightfall and most workers and staff members were not presently at thepany so Donovan found no need to maintain his professional ethics anymore. Rose who had been given the go-ahead, immediately opened the door and just as she had expected, Alex had once again gone overboard, judging by the messy state the office was in. The windows had been shattered, the blinds and curtains torn and the floor was littered with fractured and shattered sses of what Rose had surmised to be a broken wine bottle and a wine cup. "You''re hurt" she gently said while moving over to him. "It''s nothingбн" he responded casually. "Sit down. Let''s have this treated" she gestured to the chair, to which Donovan promptly listened and sat down. "I don''t know why you put up with his shit" Rose voiced with a tinge of annoyance in her tone while now dabbing a swab of wool across his head. "I do it because I''ll be removing him from that position very soon" he responded without even batting an eye. "A year is a long time Donovan. Even if you''re stealthily converting all of thepany''s assets to your name, it''ll take as long as that for it to bepletely done" Rose replied, this time retrieving a low-grade potion from her spatial ring and passing it over to him. "I can wait that much. I''ve already waited out four years. What''s one more?" he stated as a matter-of-fact, immediately downing the potion afterwards. "Haaaбн What am I going to do with you Donnie?" Rose responded while looking straight into her long-time friend''s eyes. "It''s alright Rose. Really. I can take it" Donovan responded calmly. "If you say soбн" she replied, now getting up from her crouching position. "I''ll be heading home then. My kids are probably starving by now. See you tomorrow Donnie" Rose said while waving as he walked out of his office. "Good night Rose. Drive safely and say hi to the kids for me" Donovan replied with a small smile. "Will do!" Rose responded, her voice echoing through the corridors. Now, as a wave of quietness descended on his office, Donovan noticed a folded piece of paper sticking out of his trouser pocket and almost immediately, he remembered the very odd thing the silvery white-haired boy had told him after the negotiations were done and finalized upon with the Duke. "You have a severe thorn in your path, don''t you? I can help you get rid of him faster. Read this paper and you''ll find all you need to put him down for good". Those were Flynn''s words as he stealthily snuck a piece of paper into Donovan''s pocket, even as they were all leaving the conference room after negotiations had been done with and finalized upon. Donovan who had been caught off-guard by this sudden gesture from Flynn, watched as Flynn himself, along with the ck-haired youth who was called Aiden, put a finger across their lips along with a gentle wink, as if to tell him to keep it a secret. Now that he was now alone, Donovan decided to peruse through the contents of the sheet of paper. As he unfurled the paper, his eyes immediately got stuck to the first sentence with bewilderment as he read it. *** --------------------------------------------- Alex Manchester. Real scumbag, isn''t he? Well, there''s an insanely easy way to get rid of him. Contact a detective from The Tower and have them investigate a small-time dark guild called the ''Purple Haze''. That''s all you need to do really. After that, you can sit back and enjoy the show. --------------------------------------------- *** Donovan was beyond dumfounded at this point as he reread the note over and over a few more times. After seemingly rposing himself, he then began to wonder once again who the hell these youths were. The first two he had met had created a potion that would leave their name in the history books forever. The other two who he felt had just been there for formalities, had now given him a note that contained information about someone, who by all means, they should never have had any reason toe in contact with. Donovan as a result, kept wondering over and over about the events that had happened today, wondering just where the Duke had found such geniuses and how his sons had known about his peculiar situation. He even wondered if the Duke himself, knowing fully well that he definitely had the resources to obtain confidential information about theirpany''s affairs, had also known about theirpany''s insufferable situation with their highly incapable and extremely useless CEO. However, even that felt odd because why then did he even approach theirpany if he had known how ipetent Alex, their figurehead CEO, was. After seemingly thinking for a few more minutes, Donovan''s eyesnded back on the piece of paper 18:11 in his hand and with a sigh, he spoke. "Well there''s no use thinking about something that I have no answers toбн" "That being said, this is worth a try. I literally have nothing to lose so let''s see how it goes" he said to himself, this time while getting up from his chair and leaving his office with the intent of also heading straight for The Tower even though it was nowte into night. бн бн бн бн бн бн "Hey Flynn?" Aiden spoke while tapping on the buttons of his controller to evade a sword strike from the AI-controlled enemy. "Mmm?" Flynn voiced while responding to his brother, his focuspletely on the screen as he controlled his character to pull a special attack to repel an oing projectile from another AI-controlled enemy. "You think Donovan will do as you wrote?" Aiden asked while countering and attacking with a powerful sword strike at the medieval knights that were nning to attack his in-game character. "Honestly, that''s really up to him. If he does, then good for him. He''ll be the CEO in a week''s time. If he doesn''t however, I guess he''ll eventually be the CEO in a year''s time as was exined in the novel" Flynn exined calmly, all while obliterating up to five mobs who had charged at his character with quick parries and clean sharp strikes, a testament to his pro-tier gaming skills. "Either one works for us really, especially considering we aren''t at a disadvantage at all now that the contract has already been signedбн butбн I figured it''d make things even easier if Donovan became the CEO as soon as possible" Flynn concluded with a lengthy exnation, all while simultaneously dispatching a few more mobs in the game he and Aiden were currently ying. "I seeбн" Aiden responded with a thoughtful yet understanding expression on his face. Both of them continued their co-op game in silence, dispatching waves upon waves of AI-controlled mobs. "Aidenбн" Flynn suddenly spoke again after a few more minutes had passed. "Yeah?" Aiden responded. "Your character''s about to dieбн" Flynn said with a nk look on his face. "Dang it!" Aiden cursed in annoyance, realization dawning upon him. My music ylist has to be one of the most interesting things I experience on a daily basis. Take today for instance; One minute I''m jamming to a punk rock, the next minute I''m waltzing to an oldie, then followed by a banger anime opening, a Daft Punk song, a good ol'' R&B that did a good job of calming me down, the rare heavy metal song that I have no idea that I still even have popped up, followed by an old song again that invoked a strong nostalgic feeling, and as soon as that ended, instantly once again, I''m bopping my head furiously to a recent pop song. (o^^)o o(^^o) Absolutely fun though! Caeruleum_ Chapter 62 Chapter 58 - Waves 62 Chapter 58 - Waves Just two weeks after negotiations were done with Realm-Lore Elixirs, a shocking yet unbelievable news that turned all of Arcadia and the world over its head was released. A potion with 99% efficacy was created. Following this almost unbelievable info however, the potions themselves began to make their way into the market,pletely shutting out all skepticism and disbeliefs about its creation. The potion was released by a mid-sizedpany called Realm-Lore Elixirs, and as soon as the validity of the potion''s effects were proven, their stocks skyrocketed to high heavens and soon enough, they gained ground among the biggestpanies in the world. Although Realm-Lore Elixirs maintained monopoly over the potions that had been created itself, they sold it at a price that was legitimately affordable for those who truly needed it. Coming just after the previously known 90% healing potion, which had also been termed high-grade healing potions and was priced at 500AR per one, the 99% healing potion, now termed as advanced-grade healing potion and even ''elixirs'' by some, was sold at 1000AR, exactly double the price of the previous one. This pricing had people even more stupefied but unknown to them, one of major things Leopold had outlined when deciding on the profit-models for the potions with Realm-Lore Elixirs was that it must be fairly essible to most people if they really needed it, especially Rankers. The advanced-grade healing potions had also been found to have even more amazing effects asides just being capable of ultra-regenerative healing. Several other incurable illnesses which had been guing the world for ages now were also found to be capable of being healed by it! Gic ailments however could not be healed and bringing a person back from the dead was also impossible. But even then, just being able to regrow lost limbs from scratch without any drawbacks or even side-effect was just so groundbreaking to Arcadia and the rest of world. Almost every mediapany however had been more interested in who it was that actually created the advanced-grade healing potions and soon enough, after just a single day, another shocking news was released to the world again. The creators of the advanced-grade healing potions were Ivelia and Ivar Steelde, two twins aged 16 years and the children of Isaac Steelde, a disowned noble who despite not being known by a lot of people before, was now found out to have been the head researcher of The Tower and the main individual who had pioneered the production of the previous high-grade potion. This bombshell of a news suddenly caused a huge surge of so many nobles to immediately begin to call the Steelde Family who were still in a state of disarray themselves over this sudden revtion. They however were super-ted that finally, their family was now gaining recognition simr to that of the three big families but just the day after, as if to pour cold icy water over their newfound joy, another popr media channel revealed another interesting article. The article had detailed that Ivelia and Ivar Steelde were actually backed, not by the Steeldes themselves but by one of the previously known big family in the past, the Belmonts. Following this revtion, the Belmonts themselves were instantly put into a state ofplete alertness and home lockdown. Starting from that day, their residence had constantly been disturbed with every form of paparazzi who had now made the fronts of their gate a permanent residence. Due to Ivelia, Ivar and the Belmont''s themselves ever-growing and explosive poprity, their family also constantly had to deal with letters requesting for visitation on a daily basis. From noble families, both from those they knew and those that they didn''t that were trying to curry favors with them, down to media outlets who wanted an interview with them and the twins and eventually, various organizations who wanted to have a piece of the cake of Realm-Lore Elixir''s exponential rise to the top in the form of the form for the creation of the advanced-grade healing potion. It also did not help that some dark guilds here and there even had the audacity to send a few assassination & stealth-based specialized mages to try and kidnap Ivar and Ivelia but all of them had been promptly dispatched by Butler Frank, The Duke and The Duchess who had pretty much been expecting this. Leopold especially had expected all this and had promptly began preparing for it the moment Donovan, who was now the CEO of thepany, had contacted him. Following the instructions on the paper that Flynn had given him, Donovan did not even have to wait long before an arrest for Alex Manchester was issued from The Tower just a day after he had contacted them. The third generation master had been found to be involved with a certain dark guild that was also found out to have being creating and smuggling extremely dangerous drugs and other substances upon further investigation. These drugs and substances, which had been abolished in Arcadia, was being smuggled in and out its various countries for almost an entire year now. Donovan had a moment of realization when this happened and realized that although Alex was a rich and spoilt brat, he never should''ve had so much money to constantly frolick around on a constant basis. His wealthy mogul of a father had made sure to cut off his supply of funds and even the money from thepany which he had been embezelling at intervals should have never given him so much. Now, Donovan hade to understand that that had only been possible because of Alex''s collusion with the Purple Haze dark guild. Also, due to this sudden removal of the long-time thorn in his path, Donovan had promptly converted all of thepany''s assets that belonged to Alex into his without wasting time at all and now, he was the CEO and he was ready to lead hispany to the very top. Donovan after also sorting out all the legalities of his ascension to the CEO''s position, had promptly began to mass produce the potions at their production branch. After about a week and a half of continuous mass production, he had then called the Duke to inform him that they would release the potions to the market in the next few days. Leopold upon hearing this had immediately requested for and took a one-month leave, something the Tower promptly granted him without fail due to his very efficient work ethic. The Duke of the Belmont Family had also ensured to give his closest friend a breakdown of all that had happened and was probably going to happen, something Sebastian had promptly agreed with while supporting his partner''s decision to take a long leave. As a result, the Duke had been at home to protect his family from all the pests that seemingly thought they couldy their despicable hands on them. He also made sure to reject every single request for visitation and interviews and soon enough, almost every noble family and a few mediapanies, stopped sending their requests for visitation. Every noble family except the Steelde family, who just like stubborn goats, seemed so intent on meeting Ivar and Ivelia, and as a result, consistently kept sending letters and requesting for visitations. The Duke however continuously kept rejecting each and every single one of their request for visitation without a single care in the world. Before doing this however, he had made sure to inform Ivelia and Ivar about his decision to do so. Both twins had also being supportive of his decision to reject their visit. They had both deemed it unnecessary to have anything to do with a family who was now only looking for them following their achievements. Besides, the Belmont''s were the only people they considered family asides Briar. That being said, the Belmonts residence was now also bustling with maids, maidservants and various other workers that should''ve been maintaining therge mansion from the very beginning. Considering the exponential increase in wealth he had predicted that they were going to have, the duke had deemed it necessary to employ them. He even went as far as splurging a huge sum of money to begin building arge residence just for them, a fair distance away from the mansion itself, in just over a day after negotiations were made with thepany. It had ended up being the perfect move because in just over a week before all the avnche and barrage of events had struck them, the residence had beenpletely built and the Belmont''s with all the extra hands they now had, were very self-sustainable without having to leave their mansion even for a month. This also greatly alleviated a lot of Butler Frank''s duties but at the same time, added a whole new plethora of things to do and manage now that he had now being promoted to Head Butler. The selection of the workers, maids and maidservants however had been done by the Duchess, just a few days too after Leopold had brought people to begin constructing the worker''s residence. Anna had made sure to mostly take in people who were in dire need of a job and money but yet, still very honorable and disciplined individuals. She had decided on this move based on the fact that desperate people tended to be very loyal to their helpers and were more willing to conform to whatever conditions were given to them. Leopold had also gone the extra mile by paying all of the workers separate yet magnanimous amounts of money asides from their already fat sries to keep their mouths shut regarding anything that would be going on in their family for the foreseeable future. The Duchess had also been the one who had asked for him to implement this despite being the one to have selected all the workers now presently in their mansion. She had told her husband that although all the servants now present in their mansion were people who were quite disciplined and honorable, it would further cement their loyalty to them if they did that. backyard, were now sopletely immersed in the creation and mastering of their own unique spells 18:12 that even all the crazy changes that were happening around them was not even affecting them in Despite all that was going on however, Aiden and Flynn were doing something pretty interesting. Something that had beenpletely consuming all of their time since a for more than a few weeks now. Both youths were now creating new spells! Flynn who had gotten a pretty interesting idea from reading through his telekinesis spell book along with something Julius Hargreaves had done when they had met him, and Aiden, who had fortunately stumbled upon his own idea for a new spell after watching Briar ying around in their mansion''s backyard, were now sopletely immersed in the creation and mastering of their own unique spells that even all the crazy changes that were happening around them was not even affecting them in the least. Although both of them had originally decided to create new spells in preparation for the academy, what they had not expected however was how hard yet immenselyбн fun???бн it was to actually master said created spells. They had also begun toe up with the ideas for these spells, just a week before they had met with Realm-Lore Elixirs and they had done it with the prediction that in a month''s time and a few weeks when they would receive their enrollment letters, they should''ve perfected the spell. Now though, the enrollment letters were just a week and a few more days away from getting to them. In just over a week and few days, just like the brothers had predicted, Arcana Academy began sending enrolment letters to various noble houses and youths as usual to invite them to join their new academic year. Unknown to anyone though, a very big change was being implemented in this year''s enrollment which was going to catch every single youth off-guard. Aiden and Flynn included. A change that was definitely as a result of their actions, but even they, in their wildest dreams, would never be able to understand just what they had done that had caused such huge changes. Finally, on the first day of a weekend, letters for enrollment to Arcana Academy finally reached the Belmonts. The letters hade in standard fashion, in a sheet of paper and an ornately designed envelope with gold & red engravings, a stark contrast to the digitized mails and letters that usually popped up in a small projection on their smartwatches, like a slice of bread from a toaster, which they were nowpletely used to. Ivelia and Ivar upon receiving their letters had been surprised and ted to see that they had been given a fully funded schrship by the Academy for their achievements in creating the advanced-grade healing potion. Flynn and Aiden on the other hand, upon opening their own letters and reading its content, had nced and stared at each other in confusion. ''What the hell did we do?!''. That was seemingly the question their eyes carried after ncing at each other. Perusing through the letter''s contents once again to ensure they had seen it right, both youths had looked at each other again, and in unison, had let out a rare curse from both of their mouths simultaneously. "Ah fuck!" Flynn? Aiden? What did you do??? Also, character arts have been updated. Go check ''em out! Chapter 63 Chapter 59 - Arcana Academy 63 Chapter 59 - Arcana Academy Arcana Academy. Located on a fairlyrge yet lush floating ind in the sky that was encircled by mystical cascading waterfalls that never seemed to reach the ground while being covered by a pulsing transparent dome, Arcana Academy was situated directly at the center of the nation of Arcadia. The academy architecture perfectlybined ethereal elements with a modern futuristic design, blending an enchanting yet seamless natural beauty to invoke a fantastical feeling of euphoria. This fantasy academy that stands as the epitome of excellence, was where almost every excellent ranker presently known to the world had graduated from and it was also the dream of almost every youth present in Arcadia that was of age to attend it. Teleportation portals which were situated at the ground levels were usually taken to gain ess to the academy because the pulsing dome asides serving as an imprable fortress of protection, also served as a repent to prevent people from getting into it the academy through various other means, specifically via their magical abilities. The ind which the academy was situated on, was literally a small nation of its own and every form of status, be it nobility or being amoner, waspletely cast away. It had its own currency, its own small quarters and districts asides the academy itself, its own set of guidelines to follow and live-by and most of all, it was self-sustainable. How they had done it, so many people still could not fathom till date but one thing waspletely and irrefutably certain in everyone''s mind. All of Arcana''s prestige and self-sustainability had only been possible because of one man who was the sole creator, owner and also the head and dean of the academy. This enigmatic and mysterious man was also the only EX-Ranker presently known to the world, but that''s a something we''ll eventually circle back to. At the academy, only strength and power would take you far, along with a good amount of reasonable intelligence and wit. Normally, Arcana Academy would have just sent letters to every youth who was of age in Arcadia when the time came and then, the youth themselves would then prepare to have all their luggage and what-nots packed to begin heading straight for their gates. This year however, much to everyone''s shock and surprise, the academy had decided to organize an entrance exam! The very first of its kind! When inquiries about the reason for this sudden change had been put forward and asked of by the Dean of the Academy, he had responded with a short official statement that although the entrance exams were now going to be a thing moving forward, it would not be a criterion for an individual to be selected for enrollment. Instead, he had exined in his statement that everyone who received a letter for enrollment was wee to join the academy, as long as they took part in the entrance exams, regardless of whether they passed or failed. This was also the reason why Aiden and Flynn had cursed after reading through the contents of their enrollment letters. Never, not even a single time did an ''entrance exam'' ur throughout the entirety of the novel, not even years after Aiden had graduated from the academy in the novel and had decided to be a ''Delver''. Both of them had known, that definitely, one way or the other, this was definitely as a result of their actions but what exactly it was that had caused it, they had no freaking idea. This was far too much and way too big of a butterfly effect than they had expected. This new yet odd rule from the Dean of the Academy, was also met with so much confusion from the masses at first but gradually, it began to transform into a fever-like excitement. This was because the Academy began releasing glimpses of what the entrance exams were going to entail while also detailing that parents, guardians and other people who were interested coulde and watch the entrance exams, along with the information that the exams were going to be broadcasted all over the nation of Arcadia. They had even gone as far as to almost make it seem like a big festival and as a result, it was now the hottest topic in Arcadia, making even the fervor and craze previously directed towards the creation of an advanced grade potion die down a little, much to the Belmont''s relief. Just a week after Flynn, Aiden, Ivar and Ivelia had received their letters, they were now presently in front of one of the many teleportation portals littered across Arcadia that could take them to the Academy along with the Duke who was currently carrying Briar and the Duchess who was telling her sons to be super careful. After she was done with them, the family of six turned to face the portal once more. Leopold had pulled a few strings here and there to ensure they were the only one who would be avable to take the portal at this specific time, precisely 7:25am in the morning. He really did not want to deal with the paparazzi and their bullshit so early in the morning. "Fuuuбн" Flynn let out a deep breath of air while watching the swirling white portal with a soft hum in front of him, his eyes ncing over to his brother who was standing right next to him. "Well, here goes nothingбн" Aiden said while also returning Flynn''s nce and without a single moment''s wait, they both stepped into the teleportation portal along with the rest of their family. The sensation all four teenagers along with Briar felt as they stepped through the portal, definitely gave them an exhrating experience when it was factored into consideration, that asides from this being the first time they were entering a portal, they had also traversed space and time in an instant. As they stepped out through the other side of the teleportation portal though, a tingling sensation and a lingering sense of weightlessness washing over them, all five of them watched in awe and wonder as the sights, scents, sounds and chatter of various other people who had alsoe here for the entrance exams came into full-view in an instant. Almost as if they were instantly thrust into a whole new region. The atmosphere was absolutely crackling with palpable yet boundless excitement but likewise, the air was also charged with a feel of nervous anticipation too. Maybe due to this peculiar atmosphere, no one had particrly noticed that the Belmonts were also moving among the crowd with them. As the Belmonts kept advancing forward on the very long yet modernly and beautifully designed walkway along with other candidates, parents and guardians, they soon reached the Academy''s courtyard. Arcana academy''s sprawling courtyard which was graced with gentle rays of sunshine that enveloped it in an inviting atmosphere waspletely packed, even at this early morning with a vibrant tapestry of different types of individuals. Candidates and their families or guardians who had gathered here from far and wide, could be seen chattering away while most continuously tried to suppress their excitement and nervousness. Parents and guardians could also be seen engaging in animated discussions about their children''s potential while impromptu friendships that had formed between candidates themselves in just over a few minutes, causing them to have detailed conversations involving their magical prowess, dreams and aspirations. This immediately transformed the courtyard into a buzzing atmosphere of intricate but almost chaotic conversations that just seemed to make no sense if one tried to listen to them. Booths and stalls lined the periphery of the courtyard, offering festival-like dishes, potions, peculiar and ''seemingly enchanted'' trinkets and unique talismans that quite a lot of parents and guardians were now perusing through, looking for charms that promised good luck or ''enchanted trinkets'' that might aid their children during the exams. Some families however, especially the noble ones like the Belmont''s, just took in the almost festival-like atmosphere. Soon though, the Belmont''s ambience was broken by a singr person who had eximed. "Wait a minuteбн. Isn''t that Ivelia & Ivar Steelde and The Belmonts?!!!" he screamed, almost as if he was meeting his most revered celebrity. "Oh crap!" Flynn muttered just as everyone now turned their eyes on them and suddenly, the vibe of the entire courtyard changed in an instant as people began to flock towards them to catch a glimpse of the two young geniuses who had created an almost miraculous healing potion. "It''s really them!" "They''ve been onplete lockdown for the past month so much that they subtly went under the radar! I can''t believe I forgot that they would also be showing up here today!" "She''s so young! And so beautiful too!" "Even the brother is just as good-looking!" "Amazing! They really are so young! What a phenomenal achievement you two!" "I''m sure they''ll create something even more groundbreaking in the future!" Briar who was still not used to the sudden onught of people moring around her and her family members, quickly buried her head in Leopold''s chest and closed her eyes tightly shut while Anna gently patted her head. Flynn however immediately casted his [Force Field] spell without batting an eye, seemingly surprising the people who kept flocking towards them and halting them in their steps but immediately almost after, Anna casted another barrier-like dome spell of her own that pulsed with a radiant golden hue. The silvery green-haired youth then turned towards the twins and asked in a yful manner, his voice raised to its max volume so they could hear him over every other person''s chatter. "So! How does it feel to be the most popr people in all of Arcadia?" "Overwhelming!" Ivar answered with a shout, stillpletely taken aback by everyone''s high opinions of them even after this past month. "Immensely overwhelming!" Ivelia added with a louder shout of her own, her hands raised to her ears to mitigate just how exponentially louder the crowd around them was getting. Aiden on the other just went over to them and ced his arms around both of the twin''s shoulders while speaking loudly enough for them to hear. "You guys better start getting used to it! Last month was bad enough but this is really how bad it can get!" he exined. The Duchess and Duke however just sighed at this. There really was nothing they could do in this scenario asides just maintaining the barrier spells and waiting for the entrance exams tomence. Chapter 64 Chapter 60 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams - Prelude 64 Chapter 60 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams - Prelude In the distance, just a fair few meters away from the Belmonts, the Steelde Family watched from afar. Brandon Steelde, whom was also referred to as the Baron of the Steelde Family watched with a tinge of annoyance and a lot of jealousy in his eyes at the Belmonts who were surrounded by two pulsing domes, one aquamarine in color and another in a golden color. When they were growing up, his step-brother Isaac, had always been the loser of their family. The one everyone liked to trample upon. He was an illegitimate son who had been born out of an affair that their now dead father had had with amoner woman and whom he waster forced to marry and take responsibility for by taking her in as a concubine. Although having to marry more than one person in Arcadia was a rare thing whenpared to some other nations, it wasn''t looked down upon in the least. It just wasn''t a widespread practice. The main family however, despite having no major reason to, hadpletely loathed Isaac''s mother because she was amoner. Brandon''s mother at the time, along with Brandon himself, put both Isaac and his mother through insufferable scenarios and situations, so much that Isaac''s mother eventually died, just from the stress alone of having to deal with their frequent antics, especially when it had been well known that she was a woman with a frail constitution. Despite his mother dying at a very young age though, this ended up being a source of motivation instead for Isaac to keep pushing forward unwaveringly. He had then eventually decided upon bing a researcher to help other people who also needed to be healed, something that had made his family disown him because their family were known to be rankers and dedicate their lives to operating their guild, much to Brandon and his mother''s glee. However, when Isaac had made the first high-tier potion, the Steelde family who had found out about his achievement had tried to get him to join their family again but Isaac had vehemently rejected them and had instead, cut off all forms of ties and rtions to them. When they had also received news of his death, they had just considered it a fitting end for an illegitimate son like him who was just being stubborn despite them trying to reinstate him as a member of their noble family again. But little did they know, that their seemingly nonchnt dismissal of his death, woulde back to bite them in ass in the most painful way possible. Although they had known that Isaac had given birth to two kids, they never would''ve expected that in their wildest dreams, Isaac''s kids would go on to do and achieve something even more crazier than what he did. As Brandon stared at Ivar and Ivelia in the distance, his jealousy and annoyance grew even more as he watched the sons of the Belmont family casually conversing with them while also realizing just how much both children resembled Isaac. Ivar was almost an exact clone of his father but without the unique eye color that Ivelia had, a beautiful orange with an encroaching blue on the sides of her irises, something Isaac also had. Adding to his now increasing annoyance and irritation was also how the Duke of the Belmont Family hadpletely rejected all of his letters over the past month despite his many attempts to meet with his step-brother''s children "So, those are my niecesбн" Ben Steelde suddenly spoke, snapping his father out of his thoughts. "Yes they are son" Brandon answered in a slightly irritated tone. "They even look just like him" Grace Steelde, Baroness of the Steelde Family, added with a scoff. She had been Brandon''s fiancиж since they were kids so of course she also knew about Isaac. "Listen to me son" Brandon began. "Do whatever it takes to befriend them. Even if you also have to be friends with the sons of the Belmont Family" he ordered his son without even a speck of shame in his words. Ben however who was now put on the spot couldn''t help but just slowly nod his head to his father''smand. ''Just as usualбн I''m being ordered around without care for my own opinionsбн'' he inwardly said to himself. In another area of the courtyard though, the Adencia Royal Family and the Rosede family were huddled up together with their own kids while watching the Belmonts too. "So those are the famed young geniusesбн" Adrian, the crown prince of Arcadia said, his eyes seemingly locked onto Ivelia especially. "Whatever you''re scheming in that mind of yours Adrian, I''d implore you to stop" Beatrice warned her brother as his eyes, which contained a glint of mischief lingered over the orange-haired girl. "I make no promises Beatrice" Adrian responded with a shrug to his sister''s words, a small smile ying on his lips. "I''m already getting a severe headache just thinking about whatever it is you''re nning to do" the crown princess of Arcadia voiced in resignation. The Queen, who after squeezing time and clearing a bit of her schedule, along with Selena who were directly behind Adrian and Beatrice, weren''t even paying attention to their words because they also seemed to be having a discussion of their own. Although the King had also wanted to show up to support his kids, he had way too many duties to attend to that could not be put off and as a result, couldn''t spare time toe along. Caroline however who was also with the prince and princess and had also overheard their conversation, watched with a lot of her curiosity resolved. Now that she now understood who the sleeping girl who had beenfortablytched around Flynn, and the orange-haired male youth she had seen a month and a few weeks ago were, a lot of her curiosity had been resolved. She was still however very curious about who exactly Briar was. ''That being saidбн I just want to walk over and talk to him! But, I can''t just do that can I?'' she inwardly conversed with herself while releasing a soft sigh. Before the Belmont''s had gone on full-on lockdown, Anna had contacted both Selina and H and had informed them about the scenario they would be in for the next month. As a result, both families had not been as shocked, as much as Arcadia and the world had been when the potion had been released into the market. Caroline however had been a bit sulky about her not being able to visit Aiden again and had predicted, that the next time she would probably be able to see him, would be at the Academy. As Caroline was having her own thoughts though, another female youth was having her own thoughts at some other ce in the expansive courtyard. 15:36 ''Ivelia Steeldeбн'' Amelia thought to herself as she watched Ivelia and Flynn converse over something while sharing a slight chuckle between themselves. "Are you perhaps wondering if he reced you with her?" Bryan said, his words clearly meant to poke fun at his sister but all he got instead was a re from her. "I was just joking little sis, c''mon!" Bryan spread his hands with a rxed gesture and a smile that clearly showed that he was messing around with his sister. "That smile on your face says otherwise though" Lucas who had also been standing next to Amelia, voiced his opinion with a bit of annoyance. Duke Noah of the White Family, along with Duke Reinhart of the Ellfire Family who were just behind their children too, also paid little to no heed to their children''s conversation and just continued discussing a few mundane things of their own here and there. "Stay out of our conversations Lucas" Bryan immediately snapped back coldly in a low tone, his mischievous smilepletely gone. Lucas however just scoffed in response to Bryan''s words and instead voiced out another opinion of his. "Flynn truly is an idiot though. Casting spells when he doesn''t even have that much mana right before an entrance exam" he said with a lot of contempt in his tone. Amelia and Bryan however did not respond to hisment but still, they also couldn''t help but agree with his statements. Although they all knew that he probably might''ve perfected hisbat art, today''s exams, based on the information they had previously been given, would require more than justbat arts but more of weapon arts usage and how well one could manipte their mana to perform spells. As the courtyard continued buzzing with people who were watching and surrounding the Belmonts, a loud voice echoed through the vast expanse of the courtyard''s sprawling grounds, immediately gathering all of their attention. "Wee everyone to Arcana Academy''s entrance exams!" an animated yet booming male voice resounded in the air. Everyone then raised their heads up to watch as a young man with slicked-back brown hair, probably in his veryte teens, dressed in a three-piece ck suit and a top hat, stand atop a small floating tform. This seemingly excited young man, beamed at the crowd below him with a delightful smile, his palms ced across the other and over a cane the he held directly to the ground in a poised manner. It was obvious to all the onlookers that whoever this youth was, he was totallymitted to his role as an announcer. "I, Derek Loyster, a member of our prestigious academy''s nningmittee will be your humble announcer for today!" "Now, without further adoбн" Derek dered with a snap of his fingers and instantly, every candidate that was supposed to partake in the Academy''s exams, immediately watched as white hue surrounded them till they faded away and disappeared, almost as if they were being transported and moved somewhere else. Their parents and guardian who had also been pre-informed about all these formalities and possible mass transportation of their wards to the arena where they were going to have their exams beforehand, gave their good wishes to their sons and daughters as they began to fade away. "Let the Arcana Academy entrance exams begin!" Derek concluded, his animated voice booming through the air with a delightful glee to it. Chapter 65 Chapter 61 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams I 65 Chapter 61 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams I Following the teleportation of their all their wards, parents and guardians, along with various individuals from far and wide who hade to witness the very first entrance exam that Arcana Academy was organizing, were immediately ushered and guided to the venue where the exams would take ce. The venue where the exams would take ce could be described in simple terms as a sprawling stadium that was two times wider than an actual standard stadium and three times longer than it. The in grassy fields of the stadium however, was instead reced with a mixture of open grassy ins, thickets of small forest-like regions, small streams and small rocky regions too, all specially designed by the academy itself to evoke the feeling of a miniature ind arena. Surrounding this miniature ind arena was a transparent yet crystalline-like curved dome that surrounded the arena''s wide expanse, a structure that was put in ce to provide the onlookers who sat around the arena on their respective seats a clear view of all that was going on and also protect them from stray spells the candidates could release. In addition to this eye-catching and stylizedndscape was a humongous holographic screen, it''s screens split into various regions of the arena to provide a panoramic view of everything that would be taking ce in the arena. But even as everyone settled down in their seats while waiting with feverish excitement and anticipation for the exam to begin, they all could not deny that they were immensely curious about the ck, rectangr floating structure with finely curved edges that was just below the crystalline dome that surrounded the arena. Soon enough though, in just over three minutes as they eagerly waited for the exams to begin, the structure suddenly disintegrated to reveal a genuinely shocking sight. What followed from the audience''s reaction were looks of immense shock, audible gasps, confusion and undoubtedly, unparalleled excitement as they all watched the previously transported candidates, free-falling from the sky. Yes, all the candidates were free-falling from the sky and towards the ground at a rapid speed, seemingly with no way ofnding safely on the arena. "You all weren''t expecting that, were you?!" Derek''s animated voice boomed like a cascading wave through the audience stands. "That''s what makes this so exciting! Unexpected situations!" the young announcer continued with a contagious yet gleeful excitement. "So, how will our candidates survive this sudden curveball? Only way to find out is to keep watching!" Derekmented and eximed like a seasonedmentator that was trying to ramp up everyone''s excitement. *** (A few seconds just after every candidate was teleported) "Where are we?!" "And why is it so dark?!" "Surely, this isn''t where the exam will take ce is it?!" "I can''t see shit! What is this ce even?!" "At least we can hear each other''s voices. It''d suck so bad if we couldn''t hear ourselves!" 15:37 "Yeah, let''s just stay calmбн" As all the youths who were mass transported into a floating rectangr dark structure, still currently unknown to them, were making remarks,menting and voicing their opinions about the weird situation they were currently in, a sudden gleefully animated voice rang through the expansive andpletely dark space they were in. "Wee, aspiring rankers, to Arcana Academy''s entrance exams!" "I know you guys can''t see a thing but don''t worry. You''re safe, for nowбн" the gleeful voice continued with an almost concealed snicker. ''Did he just snicker or was that just me? Well it is Derek after all so I wouldn''t put that past him'' Flynn inwardly asked and responded to himself following thest statement the gleeful voice made. "Now, although the details surrounding how this exam is supposed to y out have been giving to you all in your invitation letters, let''s reiterate it briefly just in case" "The arena your exams will be taking ce at, will be teeming with danger and robotic variants of popr fissure monsters created by the Academy''s top engineers" Derek began. "Use any means at your disposal to win against them!" "Once you''re moved to the arena, you''d better be prepared for anything!" he continued exining. "Your main goal for this exam is survival! Survive till the timer runs down!" "You''re also permitted to attack yourselves but trust me when I say thisбн" "You won''t even have time for that!" Derek stated with a delighted p that resounded through the expanse of the dark structure. "A marking spell has also been ced on all of you from the moment you were transported here so don''t be too worried about fatal injuries" "You''d immediately be taken out of the arena before anything minutely fatal can happen!" "I should remind you once again thoughбн" Derek said with a thoughtful tone. "Passing or failing, you''d still be epted into the academyбн" "Why then is the Academy organizing this exam you ask?" Derek questioned, seemingly with a tone that implied that he knew the exact reason why. His next answer however, really got on a lot of people''s nerves, especially because they thought he''d be kind enough to exin just why an entrance exam was included in this year''s enrollment. "Who cares as long as I''m enjoying this! Your sufferi-бн Ahem! I mean your battles will be fun to experience so make sure to go all out!" "Damn you Derek!" some candidates cursed in annoyance. "You cheeky bastard!" a few others voiced in resentment "My my! Are you guysplimenting me? That''s so nice of you!'' the top-hat wearing announcer responded happily to the few insults that were thrown at him. "I''d love to ept morepliments but I digress. Let''s get back to the main topic" he continued. ''Just as I remember him. A real menace to say the leastбн'' Aiden smiled to himself while shaking his head in resignation at Derek''s words. "In just ten seconds, your exams willmence so begin that countdown in your heads!" "10, 9, 8, 7бн Oh, before you go guys, I should give you one more advice!" Derek suddenly stopped counting and said, almost as if he remembered something really important. "Think fast!" The moment those words left his mouth, the dark space immediately disintegrated to reveal the beautiful white clouds and blue sky, along with a crystalline dome that was just above the now surprised yet very confused candidates. Almost immediately though, all of the candidates'' confusions were very short-lived as they soon realized that they were free-falling from the sky, several meters above the ground! "Aaaaahhhhh!!!" "Fuuckkkk!!!" "That damn bastard!!!" "Screw you Derek!!!" "Muuuummmmyyy!!!" So many different forms of frightened shouts, annoyed curses and screeching cries for help could be heard from so many wards as they fell downwards from the sky with no idea of how they were going tond safely. Although there were all super-humans and they could tank the fall if they wanted to, they all knew instinctively that falling from a height like this wouldn''t leave them with just small injuries. It also did not help that if the marking spell ced on them considered their fall a fatal injury, they would immediately be taken out of the arena without even getting the chance to show off their skills. Also, even though the Academy had made it known to them several times that as long as they participated in the entrance exam, they''d be admitted without issues, the pride of most of these youths which were brimming with determination, courage and immense hopes and dreams for the future, would not allow for them to take it easy. Coupled with that was a thirst to prove themselves worthy of being admitted to the most prestigious academy in the world. They wanted to prove to both everyone and themselves, that they weren''t just admitted just because they were of age to attend the academy but because they had the strength and willpower to see their academy life through till the end. Soon enough, different youths began to pull out different spells out of their arsenal to either lessen their fall damage as much as possible or evenpletely mitigate it. Some youths however, just had much shier spells than others and their immense skills immediately stood out, causing the crowd to go wild with excitement! The pair most people were now actively interested in, had been the first to pull out a massive spell. Ivar and Ivelia, as if almost coordinated, separately and simultaneously summoned individual towering yet smooth sliding walls of earth far from the ground from the moment they had started falling, causing both of them to reposition themselves properly and gracefully slide down to the ground, almost as if on a rollercoaster ride. Although their spell had ended up creating a pathway for so many other candidates, they didn''t really care because first and foremost, their survival was necessary. Next up was Caroline who had summoned arge gigantic green vine which jutted from the ground and had multiple red roses blooming all around the wide expanse of its body with her [Floral Series]. The ruby-eyeddy had then used her daggers which she usually kept for close-rangebat, as opposed to her retractable ded whip which was her main weapon, and stuck it into the sides of the vine while sliding downwards to the ground. She too just like Ivelia and Ivar had ended up creating a pathway for a lot of people. However, as if to prove people''s beliefs about her foxy nature right, the harmless-looking and inviting giant vine, suddenly began to jut out hardened green spikes from its sides, leaving only Caroline''s pathway harmless while causing other candidates who hadtched onto her gigantic rosy vine to either be immediately disqualified or thrown off of it and back into the air. Through all this, Caroline had a sly smile that hung on her face as she continued sliding downwards harmlessly. Ben Steelde had also ended up summoning a tall yet steep green diamond-like structure to also slide down harmlessly, a trademark of their families [Diamond Series] which was a much stronger variant of the [Earth Series]. Other candidates who also caught the attention of the now roaring crowd included the prince and princess of the nation of Arcadia as they summoned azure birds which seemed more akin to ming phoenixes to transport themselves safely to the ground with their [Azure Series]. Lucas on the other had immediately transformed into a trail of blue lightning as he streaked through the sky with his [Lightning Series] towards the rocky ins of the arena. Amelia and Bryan however had also used their [Nova Series], a stronger variant of the [Light Series], to transform themselves at intervals, into streams of white light particles, almost as if disintegrating and reintegrating as they phased through the air till they reached the ground. As the crowd was getting immensely entertained by just how talented a lot of their generation''s youths were, a good bunch of them watched as a certain ck-haired youth and along with a silvery green-haired youth who were very much far away from each other, tucked both of their hands into their pockets even as they kept free-falling and nearing the ground every ticking second, that too without a single change in their normal expressions. ''What are they up to?'' ''Had the Belmont brothers given up on the exams?'' ''Yes, they could take the fall, but wasn''t that too reckless?'' Those were the various thoughts that they had on their minds but soon enough, their minds changed once they saw just how both brothers hadnded gracefully but without anything remotely shy. Flynn upon getting about twenty meters close to the ground had casually activated his [Force Field] spell and had made its properties bouncy and flexible. As a result, when he came in contact with the ground, his [Force Field] spell had caused him to bounce upwards once more and he immediately did a single flip while discontinuing the spell andnded gracefully in a crouching position, all in a matter of seconds. Aiden on the hand had coated his entire body with mana and had activated his [Zero] spell just inches away from reaching the ground, and then, discontinued the spell almost immediately, causing him tond gently onto the grassy ins, still with his hands in his pockets. To the onlookers however, it seemed as if he slightly levitated for a few seconds and thennded on the ground like a hover car would. Some candidates however were not so fortunate tond on the arena safely and were immediately surrounded by a shimmering white light which then promptly took them out of the arena and into the rooms designated for healing and first aid. Now, as most candidates were now on the ground and lot of them were rejoicing at their sess, a big explosion shook the arena, immediately disqualifying a good chunk of them in an instant! -BOOOOM!!! Yes! Finally! I''ve brought the menace named Derek Loyster to life! (O ^ ~ ^ O) Chapter 66 Chapter 62 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams II Chapter 66 Chapter 62 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams II -BOOOOM!!! Following that very first explosion, multiple areas in the arena continued to explode, seemingly like a chain reaction had been set off. -BOOM!!! -BOOM!!! -BOOM!!! Many candidates who had been previously happy that they had survived their sudden drop from the atmosphere were now once again in a state of confused panic and disarray as they watched so many of their mates immediately be whisked away by the shimmering white light, indicating that they had been disqualified. "What the hell is this?!" some of them shouted in utter confusion. "This is too much, even for an entrance exam!!!" others voiced with simrly troubled expressions on their faces. "Oh look at that! I totally forgot to inform you guys that there would be explosive trip mines ced throughout the expanse of the arena! Oops! My bad! Do diligently ensure to survive okay?" Derek''s merry tone rang through the expanse of the arena. Even a good portion of the audience who had been previously excited were once again thrown into a state of dumbfounded disbelief as they heard Derek''s shameless yet thrilled voice. Most of the rankers who were in the stands however, were totally enjoying this chaotic cacophony of unexpected events and it was obvious from the exhrated smiles and excited glints in their eyes. Maybe it was due to a different form of excitement they were getting from not being on the field themselves or as a result of watching aspiring young rankers have to deal with something akin to their daily lives, but right now, they were thoroughly andpletely entertained. "Derrreeeekkkk!!!" some candidates screamed with a vengeful tone as the shimmering white light whisked them away due to another explosion that had seemingly disqualified them. "I''ll kill you, you damn bastard! I swear to high heavens I will!" one candidate in particr shouted while also being disqualified. "Just wait till we''re enrolled at the academy! You''ll receive countless duels till you lose you fucker!" others shouted with seething vengeance in their tones. Derek however responded to their continuous onught of ''prayers and good wishes'' with a mirthful and heartyughter that instead pissed off the candidates who had been disqualified even more. Despite so many participants who had taken the entrance exams now whittled from almost about five thousand to a mere six hundred, the candidates who had remained however, gradually waited out the continuous explosions while covering themselves with either a thickyer of mana or a defensive spell. Caroline had covered herself with a huge ball of thick rosy vines while Ivar and Ivelia, along with Ben had seemingly housed themselves in a circr and immensely hardened structure of earth and green diamond respectively, each of them immensely ced at lengthy and spaced out regions of the arena from themselves. Adrian and Beatrice however had re-summoned their azure phoenixes and just kept flying through the skies, while waiting out the explosions. Amelia and Bryan had continued phasing around the arena, narrowly evading every single explosion, same as Lucas had continuously kept doing with his blue streaks of lightning. Flynn on the other hand just stood unmoving, his [Force Field] tanking all of the explosive trip mine''s damages while Aiden had used [Grav Boost] to immediately cover the expanse of the arena''s grassy ins and reach the tail edge of it which waspletely safe in a split second. Much to a lot of people in the audience''s surprise and bewilderment, they had then watched the ck-haired youth move even closer towards tail edge of these grassy ins and rest his back on the crystalline dome, a mini box of popcorn appearing on his hands and an amused expression on his face as he watched the entire havoc y out like something that came straight out of an intense warfare movie. Briar who had her eyes on her brothers and sisters through the gigantic holographic screens, had burst into child-likeughter after watching Aiden do what he did. Although she had no idea why her siblings were doing whatever it was they were doing, she found Aiden''s antics very funny for some reason. The young girl felt like although her older brother was doing something he wasn''t supposed to be doing, he was still doing it regardless anyway. Almost soon enough, even Leopold and Anna were infected by her contagiousughter and had just chuckled while shaking their head at their son''s antics. It should also be noted that all the candidates were at vastly different and rtively far apart regions around the arena. From the moment they had been mass transported into the dark floating rectangr space by some of the Academy''s instructor''s teleportation spells when Derek had snapped his fingers, said instructors had also ensured to reshuffle them, ensuring that no one was close to the people they previously came with or might''ve possibly colluded with before the exams began. A lot of candidates had also not realized this until they were ''airdropped'' out of the sky and began falling towards the arena grounds. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Now, as the explosions of the trip mines settled and the arena seemingly went into an almost peaceful state, if anyone could even call it that, especially considering just how destroyed the arena now looked, mechanical hums quietly began to travel in subtle waves across the havoc-stricken arena. The crowds in the audience too were now also leaning at the edges of their seats, seemingly waiting in hushed anticipation and tingling excitement for the next phase of the entrance exam the academy had nned for them. Suddenly, in a grand disy of earth-shattering explosions, robotic variants of different fissure-like monsters emerged at different regions from the underground depths of the earthen grounds and onto the surface the expansive arena. The robotic monsters roared with a mechanical tone, putting a good chunk of the candidates into a severe wave of despair and even disqualified some unsuspecting ones due to the sudden impact of theirrge bodies colliding with them as the unearthed themselves from and onto the arena''s grounds in grand fashion. Some other candidates too, upon seeing the almost 5 to 8-meter-tall robotic beasts, instantly fell on their butts, hopelessness present in a lot of their eyes as they stared at the mechanical monsters they were tasked to defeat. From an assortment of robotic variants of Rhinobears, Arachnoworms, Elemental Golems and even ming Basilisks that numbered in hundreds, the academy spared no effort to let the candidates understand that even if the entrance exams seemingly held no actual detriment to them failing, they were not going to y around with them in the least. Arcana Academy was a ce where only the best of the best could and would thrive! Also, judging from the way the entrance exams had been structured from the very beginning, despite Derek''s seemingly gleeful persona that made it a quite fun andedic experience to a certain extent, the undeniable truth was that the exams were extremely hard and unfavorable to each and every single one of the participants. These set of phases in the exams, tested each and every candidate''s ability to react and adapt to seemingly unfavorable situations on the fly. It was also a trait that every aspiring ranker who was either nning to be a ''Delver'' that went into and conquered fissures, or were just nning to join the ranks of The Tower''s on-field force, must learn to have. Although some candidates who were also participating in the entrance exams just wanted to live a rxing academy life while getting an easy office job down the line, the Academy was also using this exam as a way to crush those mundane feelings. Asides from the butterfly effect that was yet to be exined and had caused this sudden entrance exam which was definitely as a result of Aiden and Flynn''s actions since they came to this world, Arcana Academy''s instructors had also noticed that so many youths came to the academy with the wrong mindset. This entrance exam which their Head Dean had suddenly implemented out of the blue, had been a way for them to curb a lot of those feeble mindsets and get them into a state of seriousness, something that was greatly appreciated by all of the instructors. Now, following the sudden appearance of the robotic-variants of the fissure monsters, the second phase of the academy''s entrance exams was going to test the candidate''s battle prowess, both with their [Series], weapon arts,bat arts and other possible aspects that makes one a fighter and a force to be reckoned with. The robotic monsters, as if already automated to do so, instantly began wreaking havoc through the vast expanse of the arena, instantly obliterating about a hundred among the participants that were remaining in the arena and were unable to gather their wits in time to attack their sudden adversaries. Despite this though, a lot of the remaining candidates had willed strength and courage into themselves, instantly taking up battle poses, summoning their weapons and preparing their spells forbat. The crowd by now was also roaring with excitement as sparks began to fly around the arena here and there, indicating that the candidates that were left were going all out and trying their best to survive. The timer, which had been closely attached to the sides of panoramic screens in the form of fairly big holographic boards that the audience from the stands had been previously viewing from, had now suddenly lighted up and began counting down. To the contestants however, an emotionless and automated robotic female voice had begun counting down from 30:00, indicating that the candidates needed to survive for thirty minutes in the arena. As Aiden kept watching everything y out, still with an amused smile on his lips, he watched as two rhinobears in the far distance that had seemingly locked their glowing red eyes onto him, immediately begin to charge towards him with their protruded long horns lowered, their hybrid-looking mechanical hind legs carrying them and propelling them forward at immense speeds. The emerald-eyed youth then sighed as he watched this sight, returned his popcorn to his spatial ring while also retrieving his greatsword, did a few stretches here and there and then, stood properly while speaking with an energized tone, a seemingly thrilled glint also present in his eyes. "Let''s do this!" Chapter 67 Chapter 63 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams III Chapter 67 Chapter 63 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams III -ng! -Pang! -Twoosh! -Boom! -Thrack! Different spells and weapon arts could be seen flying around the entirety of the arena. The candidates who had now resolved themselves to survive till the very end, kept giving everything they had to have the upper hand and luckily for them, it was working out. Unexpected alliances had been formed between many of the youths who were still left in the arena and as a result, they were doing a good job of taking down as many of the robotic monsters. When Derek had mentioned that they wouldn''t have time to even attack themselves, some had brushed it off as unbelievable but now, here they were,pletely discarding any such thoughts of it and working together just to survive. Some candidates however, had no need to form any alliance of their own as these guys were literally a walking powerhouse in their own right for their young age. Attracting the most attention from the audience presently was the Crown Prince of Arcadia, the longsword he was holding gleaming in the sunlight and dripping with ck oil as he stood in the midst of five robotic elemental golems he had put down, a testament to his prowess with the sword. Yet despite this, three more robotic golems rushed at him, each of them with the different affinities of water, me and wind as they opened their mechanized palms to shoot out various programmed spells. Adrian merely smirked at this sight and instantly dashed towards them from where he was, his shoulder length long red hair fluttering in the wind as he swiftly appeared directly behind one of the golems, the wind-based one to be exact, and sliced both of its leg off in one simultaneous motion. This caused the wind-based golem to instantlye crashing down on its own outstretched palms that was about to fire a devastating wind bomb but instead, the spell had ended up colliding with the ground as it fell on it, the kickback of its own spell quickly dispatching the golem itself and blowing a gaping hole through its chest, all of its internal circuitry in full view. As soon as this happened, Adrian immediately dashed towards the next two robotic elemental golems while also muttering his weapon art under his breath. ''{Sunburst Art иC First Form: Dragon''s Roar}'' Instantly, the red-haired youth''s longsword began to glow with a radiant golden hue and its form started to extend to reveal the gigantic head of an iplete dragon that was still merged with the body of the long sword, its mouth opened to release a devastating bite. Adrian upon reaching the two golems, immediately jumped into the air and brought his longsword down with a downward sh, the dragon''s head flowing at the body of his sword immediately chomping on the heads of the two robotic golems in one fell swoop, their spells immediately fizzling out as he did so. A lot of people in the crowd roared with excitement at this but Adrian, as if to show that he was not done yet, whipped his head around to see as an Arachnoworm, opened its worm-like robotic mouth while suspending itself upside down from the branch of a nearby tree with its five mechanical legs to fire what seemed to be a of searing hot mes. "mes?" Adrian asked while nimbly dodging the of fire, almost as if disappointed. "That''s my specialty you hunk of metal. Know your ce!" The moment he uttered those words, Adrian inwardly chanted a spell and suddenly snapped his fingers. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ''[Azure Series: Ignition]!'' Almost instantaneously, tiny azure explosions began to ur around the arachnoworm and soon enough, the explosions suddenly merged to increase into the size of a massive blue fireball,pletely melting the robotic monster into metallic goo. The crowd that was watching him, once again screamed in excitement and a few of them could be even heard praising their future king, not that he could hear it though considering the multitude of weapon arts and spells that so many candidates were using to sh with the monsters drowning out the audience''s noise despite how loud they were. Following the massive uproar of the crowd due to Adrian''s performance, another portion of the audience roared with excitement once again due to a certain ruby-eyeddy. Caroline upon noticing that the open ins wouldn''t suit her if she was going to need to battle more than one robotic monster at a time had promptly dashed into the small thicket of forest to restrict their movements to a certain extent and had made it her battle ground. She had swung from one branch to the other using her retractable ded whip while effortlessly dispatching every single robotic monster that came across her way. Just as shended on another tree branch, an arachnoworm had suddenly jumped her, its mouth opened to fire a searing of mes at her. However, Caroline promptly extended her ded whip around the mouth of the robotic hybrid of a worm''s head and a spider''s lower body and instantly coiled the ded whip around it, causing the mouth of the robotic monster to be tightly shut as it fired its programmed spell, the internals of the machine itself melting like hot magma due to its spell backfiring into its body. As the robotic arachnoworm stopped moving as a result of its internals been destroyed, Caroline jumped to another tree branch. However, as if the monsters of the exams had something against her, two rhinobears began charging into the mini forest, crashing everything in their path with the metallic steel horns on their heads. The tree Caroline was previously on, exploded into splinters since they also destroyed it almost immediately they began to rampage through the small forest and soon enough, the silky ck-haireddy who had been given little time to react to their sudden rampage, found herselfnding gracefully on the ground with a small thud. She then stood up and watched as the robotic rhinobears turned around after destroying most of the forest''s trees and charged at her rapidly with their robotic hybrid hinds of a rhino''s leg and a bear''s paw. Caroline however was unperturbed by these turn of events and she stood her ground while seemingly muttering a spell inwardly. ''[Floral Series: Thornsnare]'' Following the chanting of her spell,rge green vines with multiple thorns jutted out of the ground and immediately ensnared the rhinobears,pletely restricting their movements. The moment this was done, Caroline dashed forward like a speeding bullet and immediately used her weapon art to destroy the ensnared robotic hybrids. "{Rosede Art иC First Form: Wisp''s Embrace}!" Instantaneously, Caroline''s ded whip elongated and dissipated into tiny petals of red roses and danced around the body of the trapped rhinobears, almost like a mini hurricane. As soon as this had happened, the portion of the audience who were viewing her battle, watched as all that was left of the robotic rhinobears were their dismembered parts lying about on the ground, all in a span of a few seconds. However, as Caroline watched her ded whip return back to its original form while taking a deep breath, she suddenly jumped backwards as another robotic monster in the form of a ming basilisknded just in front of her and directly on the spot she previously was at. The ming basilisk immediately opened its mechanical mouth wide while aiming a condensed ball of fire that was building up in its mouth at Caroline, all in a matter of seconds without even giving her time topletely recover. Following this, the ruby-eyeddy had immediately retrieved one of her daggers from her spatial ring but before she could do anything, something whistled past her cheek. -Whish! As soon as the programmed robotic basilisk was about to release its concentrated beam of mes, Caroline had watched as an arrow swooshed past her and headed directly into the mouth of the ming basilisk. "Jump back further!" she heard a feminine voice call out to her with urgency. Caroline upon realizing that whoever it was that had fired the arrow seemingly wanted to help her, did as she was told and jumped further backwards as the robotic basilisk exploded into metallic pieces and a small cloud of mushroom smoke. The silky-ck haireddy then turned her head around to look at whoever it was that had helped her and was quite surprised to see, that it was one of the geniuses all of Arcadia had been talking about for almost a month and a few weeks now. "So, I don''t really know how noble etiquettes work but I guess I''ll just start by introducing myself" Ivelia said loudly whilst still standing on a tree branch of one of the remaining trees that had been left intact during the rhinobears rampaging assault. "There''s no need to. Everyone who isn''t living under a rock right now should know who you are" Caroline responded back, her voice a few volumes higher than usual due to the racket of noises caused by other candidate''s battles that were still ongoing. She wanted to ensure that Ivelia heard her loud and clear. Just as Ivelia wanted to respond though, another robotic arachnoworm tried to assault her but instead, all it got to its mouth as it tried to open it wide to fire a searing me of was a transparent vile containing a clear liquid. As soon as the vial cracked in its mouth though, the metallic hybrid of a worm and a spider exploded in a huge radius like a firecracker and scattered the robotic beast into tiny little pieces, detailing just how dangerous whatever was inside the vile of ss Ivelia had thrown was. Caroline widened her eyes at this and immediately looked back at Ivelia warily. The orange-haireddy however, kept staring with squinted eyes at the immenselyrge yet localized explosion she had caused, beads of sweat dripping from her face, probably due to the explosion itself and also her fighting with robotic monsters for the past ten minutes. "Seriously. I need to conduct more tests and reduce the explosive radius of that potionбн" Ivelia muttered aloud while jumping from the tree branch andnding just a few meters away from Caroline with a gentle thud. Caeruleum_ Chapter 68 Chapter 64 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams IV 68 Chapter 64 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams IV (A few minutes before Ivelia had run into Carolineбн) "Honestly, I''d expected their fighting prowess to be rock-bottom considering they seem more like alchemists but damn, they''re really using everything they''ve got to stay in the exams and survive till the end" a young man in histe twenties said to his friend who was seated beside him. "So true man. I''d never expected it eitherбн" his friend responded, his eyes darting away from a section that was showing Ivelia''s battle with a golem and onto a section of the holographic screen that was currently showing Ivar''s battle with a serpent and a rhinobear that had ganged up on him. The orange-haired youth had a frown on his face as he watched a robotic rhinobear and and the ming basilisk ready themselves to attack him and pincer him from both sides after spotting him. The rhinobear immediately charged at him with immense speed from one side while the ming basilisk opened its mouth to fire a concentrated beam of mes at him from the other side. ''Think Ivar! Think!'' the youth inwardly said to himself. Ivar''s eyes then lighted up and in a split second, he quickly summoned a single wall of earth that faced the charging rhinobear. His eyes then darted over to the ming basilisk who was almost about to fire the ming beam, immense concentration present in his eyes as he began an inward countdown and a few beads of sweat pooling towards his chin and ready to drop. ''3бн 2бн Now!'' The moment hepleted the countdown, the bead of sweat that had pooled at his chin, dropped down as Ivar himself leaped onto the earth wall he had created and almost immediately leaped off of it again and watched as the charging robotic rhinobear crashed into it, reducing it to rubble in an instant. The robotic ming basilisk however, had already fired the searing beam of me just as Ivar jumped and narrowly evaded it and now, it''s beam collided with the rhino bear that destroyed the earthen wall, melting the head of the charging rhinobear''s into molten magma. The rapid momentum that the robotic creature was carrying however even as it shut downpletely due to its head been meltedpletely, did not stop and instead, it crashed into the ground while skidding and hit the ming basilisk with an immense force, throwing it a few meters backwards. Ivar who witnessed his on-the-fly ne into fruition, made sure not to miss this opportunity and almost immediately, as soon as hended, dashed towards the disoriented robotic ming basilisk while raising his hammer in upwards motion and bringing it down almost instantly while using his weapon art. "{Thundering Strikes иC First Form: Impact st}!!!" The hammer that was rapidlying down towards the robotic basilisk, instantly crackled with lightning and immediately let out a thunderous bang as it mmed into the head of the mechanical creature andpletelypressed and pulverized its head, all the way downwards to its tail while also smashing the portion of the rocky floors into bits in an instant. Briar who currently had her eyes on her brother''s battle, let out a cheer, not that Ivar could hear it anyway. Ivar however, after dispatching the robotic creature, suddenly dropped to his knees while panting heavily. While recovering his stamina, Ivar raised his head and looked around the vicinity he was in. Although so many other candidates were still currently dealing with their respective robotic adversaries, the rocky area around him seemed rtively safeбн for now. As Ivar was gathering himself, he watched from a distance as a youngdy was who was seeminglyunched into the air, streaked forward like a bullet, her short orange hair fluttering in the air as two rhino bears were relentlessly charging after her. "What the hell?!" Ivar voiced in confusion but soon enough, he immediately had to roll sideways as a robotic elemental golem stomped his foot on the part of the ground he was previously at Along with that was a petite ck-haireddy with big blue eyes that was currently about to attack the golem from behind with her hands outstretched to release what seemed to be an attack spell. ''Sis will be fine! I believe that! But I also have to make sure I survive till the end'' Ivar willed himself and got up while retrieving an explosive potion from his spatial ring, immediately dashing towards the golem that had now turned around and was about to attack the ck-haireddy whose eyes now had a hint of panic in them. Prior to Ivelia flying through the air, the youngdy had previously been at a high vantage point a fair few minutes ago from the tallest tree in one of the small thickets of forest present in the vast expanse of arena. She had also been doing quite well despite hercking skills but she covered up for her weakness with her alchemical prowess. Ivelia from the moment she had read the enrollment letter and had also realized that she would need to participate in the entrance exams, had diligently started sharpening her skills, both with her weapon arts and a few basic spells here and there. The youngdy had also created variants of explosive potions, each one more dangerous than thest but due to a short time span of just a week, she had still required more time to tweak most of them. As a result, she had ended up just taking the potions as is, hoping she wouldn''t need to use the most dangerous ones among them. Adding to that, Flynn had also taught her a few tricks here and there, despite him spending most of his time trying to master his newly created spell. She had also coated each of the arrows along with some other things she felt would be needing today with ayer of explosive potion materials, hoping to maximizing her damage output as much as possible based on simple chemical reactions. As Ivelia fired her arrow at another robotic golem that had spotted her and was about to fire a wave of scalding hot acidic watery fluid through the red orb that also served as his eye, the arrow drilled into the red orb, sticking into it and in a moment, the head of the golem exploded into smithereens while crashing to the ground with a giant thud. Almost immediately, she watched as a green-haired youth was flung towards the tree she was currently standing on by three robotic rhinobears that had charged at him, his body instantly shimmering with a white light and indicating that he had been disqualified. The tree branch she was on quaked vigorously, almost as if it was about to fall from the impact of the youth''s collision. Now, the rhinobears who had gotten rid of their human adversary, immediately began to scan around the area with a mechanical whir and red holographic rays from their eyes while seemingly searching for their next prey, just as they had been programmed. Soon enough, they spotted Ivelia on the tree and without reason or motive, instantly began charging towards the tree she was on. Ivelia upon realizing that she had to find a new vantage point, instantly began to jump from one tree branch to the next. However, the youngdy had soon realized that she was about to run out of tree branches tond on as the robotic variants continued smashing through every single tree in the area, almost as if trying to instigate a stampede of raging destruction. Ivelia, as a result of this, while making her escape, had summoned one of the more dangerous explosive potions from her spatial bracelet. Uponnding outside the thickets of forest and onto the rocky ins, she had immediately thrown the explosive potion at the very first rhinobear who was in front and charging towards her rapidly while also nicking a bow into her taut bowstring and firing it simultaneously. The explosive potion and the simultaneously fired arrow, struck the charging rhinobear at almost the exact same time, resulting in a fiery explosion thatpletely obliterated the charging robotic creature into chunks of metal that was now raining down from the air. The other two however who were charging just behind the first rhinobear that was demolished, were unaffected by the explosion and kept their relentless assault on her. "Dammit! I need to find a new vantage point!" Ivelia had muttered to herself, her unique shade of orange and blue eyes rapidly scanning her surroundings and soon enough, her eyes settled on another thicket of forest in the distance. ''There!'' she had inwardly eximed while also retrieving a less dangerous explosive potion from her spatial bracelet. The orange-haireddy then took a quick deep breath and threw the potion to the ground, sttering its liquid content to the floor, all while the charging rhinobears were now getting dangerously close to her. Some of the people in the audience who were watching what she was doing, along with the two friends who were previously watching her before switching over to Ivar and had now diverted their attention back to her, had their brows furrow in confusion but soon enough, they watched as she retrieved another object from her spatial bracelet. Anna and Leopold who had diverted their attention back to her from Ivar and their sons, just shook their head at what she was about to do while having the same thoughts. ''Our sons'' recklessness has definitely rubbed off on her and Ivarбн'' Ivelia who had retrieved a long metal te all in the span of seconds as the rampaging rhinobears were just a few inches from her, had instantly mmed the metallic te on the spilled liquid while simultaneously jumping on it. Following this, a small crackle of sparks formed beneath the metal te and immediately transformed into a small localized explosion that propelled her through the air at a rapid speed, immediately covering a wide expanse of the arena from the rocky ins she had previously been at and straight towards the other small thicket of forest she had spotted in the distance. That was how Ivar had seen his sister speeding through the air like a bullet and how Ivelia had also ended up finding herself in the thicket of forest Caroline had been at, all while the two robotic rhinobears kept chasing after her and even smacking some other unsuspecting candidates and eliminating them along the way. After seemingly muttering loudly to herself about how she was supposed to tweak her explosive potion whilending just a few meters away from her, Caroline cautiously watched as Ivelia calmly walked over to her. ''Does she perhaps have something to tell me?'' Caroline asked herself. "Sorry about those rhinobears. I led them here thinking it''d be easier to get rid of them if I had a better vantage point but you were forced to deal with them insteadбн" Ivelia suddenly spoke apologetically. "No. It''s alrightбн I guessбн" Caroline replied calmly after which she then followed up. "You did just also save me from that basilisk so I''d say we''re even Ivelia Steelde" "Ah! That''s good then I guess Miss. Carolineбн" Ivelia responded with a sigh of relief. For some odd reason or the other, no robotic monster had attacked them while they were speaking but still, bothdies ensured to staypletely alert despite the current respite they were having. Caroline cocked one of her eyebrows in curiosity as Ivelia mentioned her name but before she could ask how Ivelia knew her, thetter had spoken. "You are Miss. Caroline Rosede, right?" Ivelia questioned again after which she then seemingly continued. "My younger sister talks about you a lot. You know her as Briarбн" Ivelia added while tentatively looking at Caroline. "Ohбн I seeбн Wait?! Your sister?" Caroline asked in a surprised tone. Ivelia just nodded her head at this while also responding with a genuinely happy smile. "She calls you a beautiful princess. Says you look like those ones she''s read about in her bedtime storybooks" Ivelia started and proceeded with a chuckle. "And she''s always describing how you look every so often to me, so much that I''d instantly realized it was you the moment I saw you from a distance" Ivelia concluded. Caroline who had been wary of Ivelia''s intentions from the moment she had arrived, instantly dropped her guard and rxed herself while also returning a sincere smile to her. She had realized too from the way Ivelia was conversing with her that she was being totally genuine without any other ulterior motives. However, as she was about to respond, two elemental golems appeared along with one ming basilisk and one arachnoworm, all poised and ready to attack bothdies. Bothdies immediately turned their back towards each other and took battle stances while getting ready to ovee the sudden ambush of the robotic creatures. As they did, Caroline quickly said what she had wanted to before they were interrupted. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Remind me to get a beautiful care-package for your sister once we''re done with this exam Ivelia" she said with a lovely smile on her lips, her ded whip suddenly elongating like a slithering metal snake. "Sure! I''m certain she''d love it Caroline" Ivelia responded with a simr smile mirroring Caroline''s, her hands immediately summoning three arrows on her taut, pulled-back bowstring. And here''s the second part! (-??) Caeruleum_ Chapter 69 Chapter 65 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams V 69 Chapter 65 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams V As the entrance exam went on and with only fifteen minutes left to spare on the clock for the candidates to survive till the very end, their previous number of about six hundred candidates which had been whittled to almost five hundred following the appearance of the robotic monsters, had now reduced to a measly sixty-nine. This rapid change in number put a sour taste in a lot of parents and guardians mouth due to the fact that a lot of their wards and children had been eliminated. However, for the rankers and the people who had juste here for the thrill and excitement of a survival-like show, this rapid whittling of numbers meant that they could now see the candidates that were truly skilled, very talented or abination of both. As a result, despite the number of magic spells and weapon arts going off here and there in the now almostpletely destroyed arena, a good number of ranker''s eyes, along with a sizable number of people in the audience, had their eyes almostpletely glued and mesmerized by the figure of two youths. The first youth, who was ck-haired and had deep emerald green eyes,pletely dominated the grassy ins he had been on since the exams began with pure and overwhelming strength. They watched as Aidennded his greatsword in a powerful downwards vertical sh, splitting a ming basilisk that was about to fire a fiery red beam of concentrated me into two equal halves, all of its internal mechanicalponents in full view. Almost immediately after, they watched him dash to a rhinobear in an instant and instead of attacking with his greatsword,nded a devastating punch to its side. The sheer impact of this destructive punch, sent shockwaves through the creature''srge body and messed up its robotic internals, instantly leading to the mechanical beast shutting down and going out ofmission. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om This also caused the rhinobear to fly through the air like a ragdoll despite its fairly big size and heavy weight, and crash sideways onto into an arachnoworm,pletely crushing and pulverizing the robotic creature that was about to fire a of searing hot mes like a soft mold of y. They then watched once again as the youth, effortlessly evaded apressed ball of wind from an elemental golem with a slight tilt of his body, almost as if predicting the attack before it even happened. In an instant, they watched him dash and jump at breakneck speed and appear directly in front of the golem''s head, his greatsword cleaving through the ironponents it was made of and beheading it in an instant. Despite himpletely dominating the part of the arena he was on, what had drawn most people to the way he was fighting however, was how he was effortlessly doing all these without using a single spell or weapon art and to top it all off, the youth had a genuinely excited smile ying on his lips. "Wowбн Just wowбн" one young male youth in his early twenties who had been sitting close to Anna said with a lot of admiration in her eyes. ''That''s my son!'' Anna said to herself proudly while also viewing the part of the screen that was projecting and now focusing solely on Aiden''s battle. Soon enough though, just like a lot of people in the audience had been doing, she diverted her attention to another screen that was now solely projecting Flynn''s battle. "And that''s my son too!" Anna proudly and unconsciously stated aloud this time, her chest seemingly almost puffed out in pride. Leopold just nced at his wife with a chuckle while Briar did a small little p for both of her brothers. "Manбн Flynn Belmont is one crazydбн Talk about not even moving from that particr spot on the hill for the past eight minutes since he started battling those monstersбн" a young man who was sitting directly beside Leopold, said to his female friend who was seated just beside him too. "It''s mesmerizingбн" thedy muttered, her eyespletely glued to the screen. She could not exin what it was about how he was fighting but to put it simply, it was almost like the silvery-green haired youth knew what was going to happen exactly before it happened and he reacted to it seamlessly with beautiful footwork, precisely clean strikes of his katana and a few well-ced spells here and there. As her and some of the other people in the arena continued viewing Flynn''s battle at the top of sloppy hill of the arena that was just near a small stream, they watched as the silvery-green haired youth seamlessly and skillfully changed the trajectory of his katana from a direct downwards sh, into diagonal downwards sh, immediately beheading a robotic arachnoworm that had tried to evade his very first attack. The youth then immediately sidestepped, just as a rhinobear charged past him and almost collided with his body. Flynn however did not miss this opportunity and swiftly coated his katana with mana, enforcing the metallic de of his sword and swiftly driving it straight into and along the sides of the robotic monster as it charged past him. The robotic creature then crashed and tumbled to the ground and shut down, just a fair few meters away from Flynn, indicating that the youth''s sudden attack had been definitely effective against it. As Flynn flicked his katana slightly to perform a chiburi to spray off the ck oil from his weapon, he suddenly raised his free arm in a sideways direction to his left without even looking at the ce itself and immediately chanted a spell inwardly. ''[Telekic Series: Force Push]'' An invisible wave of energy suddenly moved through the air from his open palm and collided with a ming fireball that a ming basilisk had fired from afar. The moment the two spells collided, the ming fireball was repelled and shot back directly with an even greater force at the robotic basilisk, instantly burning a gaping donut hole through its mechanical head as it had its attack reversed on it. Some people in the crowd couldn''t help but marvel at how the youth was seemingly attacking effortlessly without even having to look in the direction he needed to attack from, almost like he could see just a second into the future. To some of the rankers who didn''t know, especially those who had been alternating between Aiden and Flynn''s battles, they had wondered if the youths could use mana sense but almost immediately, they had discarded the idea. It was impossible for people who were not S-rankers and above to use mana sense! Much less kids who had not even reached A-rank. It was definitely and totally impossible! That was the belief that they had. Burying these thoughts into their minds, some of them resumed their viewing of the brother''s match and soon enough, they watched a blonde-haired figure appear out of a streak of blue lightning andnd on the ground, just near the stream Flynn had been at. Flynn who watched Lucasnd just a few meters from him, averted his gaze away from him while angling his gaze to the sky, a thoughtful expression gracing his face due to the phenomenon he was seeing taking form above the skies again. Lucas on the other hand despitending quite close to Flynn, did not even notice him because he was dealing with robotic monsters of his own. Two robotic rhinobears had seemingly locked on to him just a few moments after he had dispatched two elemental golems and were now relentlessly charging at him. Considering it had been nearing ever closer to him just after he had destroyed the two golems, the blonde-haired youth had decided to create a safe distance from the charging monster in an instant, something he had promptly achieved with his [Blitz Jump]. Now that he had achieved what he wanted to, the streak of blue lightning dissipating from his body in small sparks, Lucas raised his dual daggers in a cross-de form while taking a battle stance as the rhinobear relentlessly charged towards him. As soon as the charging monster was just a few meters away from him, Lucas took a crouching position and immediately dashed back towards it, muttering a weapon art under his breath. The moment Lucas muttered his weapon art, his dual daggers instantly gleamed and transformed into a dark purple hue. Soon enough, just as he came into striking zone of the charging rhinobear, he immediately shed downwards in a cross guard manner with his two daggers and instantly, two big purple dark lines in the form of an ''X'', swiftly cut the robotic beast into four equal parts, instantly ending their lives. Lucas then heaved a sigh of relief while standing upright from his crouching position, taking in his surroundings and scanning the area around him for more robotic monsters. Due to him doing this, it didn''t take long for him to spot Flynn in the distance, just a few meters away from him, slightly gazing at the sky for some reason. "Flynnбн" Lucas muttered in contempt while staring at the silvery-green haired youth. Following this, the blonde-haired youth who had a deep grudge against Flynn for some unknown reason that Flynn himself had no idea about, had his face morph into a deep frown and instantly retrieved his dagger while seemingly trying to ambush him. However, before he could, he watched as Flynn suddenly summoned his [Force Field] spell, all while still gazing at the sky. Before Lucas could even wonder why he did so, he watched as a golem with a gaping hole in its mechanical abdomen crashed onto his [Force Field] and bounced off of it, directly into the stream of water just below the hill Flynn was standing on. Lucas, along with the people in the crowd who had not expected this sudden urrence, watched as a brown-haireddy also materialized suddenly out of thin air, a few trails of white shimmering particles emerging from her body. Thedy in question thennded just a few meters away from Flynn while holding her spear in her hand, the tip of its de dripping with ck oil. "Amelia?" Lucas seemingly asked himself, immediately dashing and jumping onto the hill she and Flynn was at. Amelia who had now arrived at were Flynn waspletely by coincidence, watched as the silvery-green haired youth deactivated his barrier spell, a thoughtful expression on his face. Almost immediately too, she suddenly heard her fiancиж''s voice behind her. "How did you get here Amelia?" Lucas asked in curiosity, just as hended on the hill and began walking towards her. "That''s a long storyбн" she responded and then, her eyes travelled over back to Flynn who seemed to be thinking about something, a few of his fingers ced on his chin. ''What is he doingбн'' Amelia wondered to herself but almost instantly, she, along with Lucas watched as Flynn immediately nced downwards at the ground, almost as if he could spot something there. At this point, even Lucas who had wanted to ambush Flynn, just watched on at the weird actions the youth was doing. Flynn however, after looking at the ground for a few more seconds, suddenly let out a sigh of resignation while also having a few internal thoughts. ''Whatever the hell is been ced into that rectangr box in the sky again and whatever gigantic robotic creature it is that''s slithering underground the arena''s stage, we''ll all be finding out pretty soonбн'' Flynn mused to himself. ''Besides, Aiden will deal with whatever the hell it is. Pretty sure he''s definitely enjoying this entire entrance examбн'' he inwardly continued. ''That being said, I guess the robotic monsters in the arena''s now reaching maybe a few tensбн maybe even less. It''s a bit weird that I haven''t been attacked by any of them even after staying still for almost about a minute or soбн'' he added, his rxed expression returning to his face. Following this, the silvery-green haired youth raised his head, nced sideways towards where Lucas and Amelia were, and then, casually began walking down the slope of the small hill. Inte reception is genuinely horrible over here. Been battling with no inte for almost the past twenty minutes until I was finally able to upload this chapter. Caeruleum_ Creator''s Thought Chapter 70 Chapter 66 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VI 70 Chapter 66 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VI From the moment they had been dropped from the sky, Flynn who instead of looking downwards and figuring out a way to safelynd onto the arena, had instead decided to nce back upwards out of sheer curiosity of how the dark space worked. The green aquamarine-eyed youth had then noticed that the ck rectangr structure had almost immediately began taking form again slowly, almost as if the academy had ns to put something or someone in there again. Following this odd phenomenon that he had noticed, he had been ncing up at different intervals despite having to battle all manners of robotic beasts but at some point, he realized that it was inefficient for him if he had to keep ncing upwards at intervals. That was why he had gradually moved around the arena till he found a good elevated point (case in point, the small hill) that would make it easier for him to keep track of what was going on in the ck floating box easily while still battling the monsters. Considering how immensely high the ck rectangr structure was, the youth knew that the radius of his mana sense couldn''t reach that high of an altitude but he still used it anyway to check if there were any weird distortions in the atmosphere following the reformation of the ck box. As a result of using mana sense though, which he had initially never expected to work on the robotic beasts considering they were purely machinery, he had actually been able to sense and use it on them due to the tiny mana orbs ced inside their bodies, which was probably how they were also able to use specific programmed spells. Also, due to this, Flynn had noticed that another creature with many tiny orbs present within its body, was moving around the underground depths of the arena, seemingly waiting for the right time to strike. "The golemбн" Amelia suddenly spoke as she watched Flynn saunter away. "I didn''t mean for it to crash on you. I didn''t even know you were situated thereбн" she continued but despite this, Flynn still kept walking away, almost as if he didn''t care about her reasons. However, Amelia proceeded with her exnations without minding his dismissal. "It was an aftereffect of my weapon art and I was almost about to stop it from crashing on you but you already did thatбн" "Hey! She''s talking to you, you ungrateful bastard! Show some damn respect for her!" Lucas suddenly roared in annoyance due to how Flynn was ignoring his fiancиж. Flynn who had been calmly walking away without wanting to deal with both of them, suddenly stopped in his footsteps. The youth then turned around, his eyes carrying a hint of confusion in them as he spoke. "Hmmmбн but I''m not obligated to respond to her though" Flynn replied calmly with a slight tilt of his head. "What?!" Lucas responded with a perplexed expression, a frown now gracing his face too. "I meanбн I neverined about the golemnding on me so I don''t really need an exnation as to why that happened" Flynn began. "And neither do I have any reason to be annoyed. This is an entrance exam after all so stray spells or unexpected collisions are bound to happen" he continued, almost as if he was stating the obvious. "So yeah. I don''t see any reason as to why I should respond to her or even you for that matterбн" he concluded in a calm tone. "Also your shouts Lucasбн It sounds like a bleating goat. Very annoying to say the least" Flynn added casually, a deadpan expression on his face. Lucas who was now unable to say anything at Flynn''s sudden words of mockery, just stared at Flynn with an even more perplexed expression. Amelia however who had been just as shocked as Lucas when Flynn''s words hit him like a truckload of TNT, suddenly shook off her shock and was about to say something but she was suddenly interrupted by a localized earthquake that shook the arena immensely. Following this, the tremors in the arena continuously intensified and even the rankers in the audience who had thought the surprises the entrance exams had put the candidates through was all there was to it but it seemed like they were about to be proven wrong again. Then, as if no one had expected it, a deafening mechanical roar rang through the destroyed grounds of the arena as the earth beneath the candidates split open to reveal a gargantuan robotic serpent with frosty metallic scales that glistened in thete morning sunlight. *** (A few minutes before the localized earthquake shook the arenaбн) Two youths, a male and a female who had been battling at separate regions of the arena which were fairly close to themselves had run into each other and an unexpected alliance had formed. Although both youths could perform perfectly well on their own, they had realized that working together made it far easier for them to dispatch a few of the robotic beasts that were left. Due to their almost wless teamwork despite just fighting together for the very first time, a good portion of the audience was in awe at how well they were meshing together. The youths in question were none other than Beatrice Adencia, the crown princess of Arcadia and Bryan White, the sole heir and the next Duke of the White Family. "Princess. On your left" Bryan calmly said, as he himself used his gauntlet to bash a ming basilisk''s head in. "Noted Bryan!" Beatrice responded, her footwork causing her to perform a slight twirl on her heels and instantly avoid an arachnoworm''s searing of me''s spell. She then immediately dashed towards the robotic beast, and in one swift motion, struck her rapier in a piercing downwards motion, puncturing through the metallic worm-like head of the arachnoworm and killing it off in an instant. Bryan on the other hand, immediately appeared directly behind Beatrice in a stream of light particles with his [Haze], just as an elemental golem was about to fire a beam of condensed mes through its robotic palms. The youth then positioned himself, stepped his foot firmly onto the ground andunched himself towards the golem while using his weapon art. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "{Dawnbreaker Art иC First Form: Bloomburst}!" Following this, Bryan''s gauntlet immediately lighted up and changed to a crimson hue, and collided with the now fired spell of the golem. The collision of Bryan''s fist with the oing fired spell,pletely obliterated it, along with the arm of the elemental golem that had fired it while leaving a gaping hole in its chest and sending it flying backwards into the air at a rapid speed. Beatrice on the other hand had her palms outstretched while releasing a destructive blue ball of fire thatpletely melted two ming basilisks to mushy goo and was still melting everything currently in its path, a spell she termed [zeblue Inferno]. Immediately following this, the youngdy with deep red hair discontinued her spell and quickly tuned around to face where Bryan was while using her weapon art in quick session to summon a gigantic golden head of a dragon. Its body, which was now in the form of flowing golden wave,unched itself forwards at a rapid speed with a thrust of her rapier andpletely decimated two charging rhinobears that was heading towards Bryan in an instant. "I could''ve taken themбн" Bryanmented while watching Beatrice''s weapon art slowly dissipate and revert back to her sharpened and pointed de of steel. "I know" Beatrice responded. "I just wanted to steal your thunder!" she then added with an innocent smile. "The contrast between your smile and your intent is something I''ll never get used toбн" Bryanmented with a slight shake of his head. "Well at least I''m honest with my words. Have you by chance met my brother? He''s the master of mischiefбн" Beatrice replied sarcastically to Bryan''s remark. Before Bryan could even respond to the crown princess of Arcadia''s words though, a sudden earthquake began to shake the arena vigorously. Following this, Beatrice and Bryan, along with the rest of the audience, watched as a mechanical serpent''s massive form emerged from the depths of the arena''s grounds. They then watched in bewilderment as the giant robotic serpent, stretched its insane length in rampaging sinuous movements across the arena, instantly eliminating a few of the remaining candidates, it''s silvery metallic frosty scales gleaming in the sunlight. As the massive serpent slithered its robotic body around the arena, it left a trail of ice in its wake and as if trying to let the candidates know that they were absolutely fucked, it let out an exhale of billowing frosty breath onto the grounds, instantly eliminating even more of the few candidates that were left. Derek''s merry voice which had also been eerily silent for the past twenty minutes since the entrance exams had begun, once again, rang through the expanse of the vast arena that was now a few degrees colder. "Now then survivalis-бн -Ahem! I mean candidates! Your lovable announcer has returned, to give you an information of despair!" he announced, almost as if he had been waiting for this very moment. "If you thought a Frost Serpent was bad enough, just look to the skies!" "You shall see also see Vipertalons ready to strike!" he added with a delighted tone. Although quite a good number of people in the audience had also spotted the floating ck rectangr structure reintegrating itself back again, most of them had either dismissed its reformation or had been too distracted by the events happening in the arena to care about it. Now, as they all raised their heads to view the rectangr ck box dissipate once again to reveal the flying vipertalons this time, just as Derek had announced, they once again realized that the academy really was sparing no effort to push their wards to their absolute limits. Amidst a portion of the blue sky that was surrounded by the crystalline dome,rge robotic creatures that detailed a hybrid between the body of a hawk and the tail of a snake, glided through the skies in circles, the whirring of their gears humming as their metallic wings sliced through the rush of wind in the atmosphere. Their metallic feathers, along with their sharpened metallic talons too, gleamed in the sunlight, catching and reflecting the rays of the sun while also casting shadows of their avian-like structures that raced across the expanse of the arena''s ground. "You''ve all done well to survive till now but thisst ten minutes will really test your mettle as aspiring rankers!" Derek suddenly spoke again, almost as if he had given the audience a few minutes to take in the sights of the Vipertalons. "Will you give up and get disqualifiedбн orбн Will you prove your worth and survive till the very end?" "The choice is yours!" "Now. Let''s really see what you all can do against a monster that we never nned for you guys to win agai-бн" -BAM!!! A resounding strike rang through the arena, shocking even the audience that was viewing the urrence before them. An afterimage of a giganticrge fist had crashed headfirst into the massive serpent with such a devastating force that the massive creature itself had been forced to collide into the ground in an instant, it''s gargantuan body creating tremors as it crashed onto the arena''s grounds. As a mix of dust and frost settled, the audience who had been itching to know what had caused these turn of events, watched as the figure of a male youth with shiny jet ck hair and deep emerald-green eyes, stand directly in front of the gigantic fallen serpent that was now slowly rising back up. The youth had a greatsword in his hands and an excited grin on his face and soon enough, everyone recognized that it was Aiden Belmont. As the audience and even the arena itself was put into pin-drop silence, Aiden''s excited voice rang through a good portion of the arena''s expanse. "Derek! You''re having way too much fun man! It''s a pity that things won''t go as you wish though!" Aidenmented loudly. "Ai-Aiden? Yo?! Bro?! What are you doing messing up my grand spectacle?!" Derek instantly responded to Aiden''sment, almost as if he had known him for the longest time. "It''s not your grand spectacle! It''s our entrance exam so start treating it like one, you menace!" Aiden replied as a matter-of-fact. The audience at this point and even the candidates who were in the arena just listened to their conversations with a genuinely confused expression, almostpletely forgetting that they were still in the midst of an exam. In actuality though, most of the previous robotic monsters that numbered in hundreds had now been whittled down to just a mere few that didn''t even number in the tens. As a result, a lot of candidates had been able to take breathers without them even realizing it. "Oh and if you thought I was the only one nning to throw a big wrench into your ''grand spectacle'', you''d better think again Derekбн" Aiden said with a smile, the backdrop of the massively big robotic serpent now fully up and scanning him with its red eyes, almost as if considering him a priority target. "Because Derek, in your words, I''d also implore you to look up to skies!" Aiden said with his index finger raised up and pointing to the skies. Following his words, everyone in the audience once again directed their gaze to the skies and this time, even some of them watched in utter bewilderment. A green aquamarine-coloredet was streaking into the air and across the arena at a phenomenal speed while heading straight for the Vipertalons. Yes. Just as you had probably guessed. Flynn Belmont was flying through the air and into skies. As Aiden watched his brother hurtle into the skies for a few seconds, his gaze averted from it and instead settled back on the giant robotic serpent standing right before him, making he himself look tiny inparison to the serpent''s massive size. "So, big guy. You''re supposed to undefeatable huhбн" Aiden voiced calmly, his hands tightly gripping the hilt of his greatsword and a serious expression now on his face, recing his previously excited one he had. "Well, we''ll see how that ys outбн" the youth continued speaking, his legs carrying him in slow, casual yet purposeful steps. As the youth began walking forward slowly, his greatsword dragging slightly behind him on the ground, he added a few more words. "Let''s tango!" What? Why are you looking at me like that? It wasn''t a cliffhanger was it? In fact, I''m sure it''s building your anticipation for the next chapter. (???) ... ... ... Okay maybe it was a small cliffhanger. Just a little bit. Caeruleum_ Chapter 71 67 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VII Chapter 7167 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VII (A few seconds just after the Giant Robotic Serpent and Vipertalons had been released onto the arena) Lucas and Amelia who were listening to Derek''s merry tone as he gave hismentary just watched on in deep perplexity. The arena was now bing a few degrees colder but yet, the only thing running through both of their minds was one singr thought. ''How are we supposed to defeat that, let alone the Vipertalons in the sky?'' However, shaking them out of their state of immense confusion was a few calm words from Flynn as he spoke. "Ohбн that''s quite massiveбн Interestingбн" he had said, almost as if he had been expecting this. "That being said, I''d never expected them to actually transport robotic variants of Vipertalons tooбн" he added with a thoughtful look on his face. Both youths then slowly turned their heads around to see Flynn watching the scene of the frost serpent wreaking havoc across the arena with a very rxed expression on his face. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ''Why is he so rxed?!'' Amelia and Lucas had asked themselves with even more perplexed expressions on their face. A gigantic frost serpent and about fifty vipertalons in the air were about topletely put all of them past their absolute limits and the silvery green-haired youth was just calmly staring without a hint of panic on his face. Flynn on the other hand after staring for a few more seconds, had his rxed expression morph into a thoughtful one while having a few internal monologues. ''I was originally going to just pass the exams without going all out but thisбн this is a rare chance for me to test it outбн'' ''Besides, I''d love to throw a wrench into Derek''s nбн He''s having way too much funбн'' Flynn after deciding what he now wanted to do, had his expression once again change to a different one this time. A look of genuine excitement! The green aquamarine-eyed youth then took a deep breath and then walked backwards a few steps, adding even more to Amelia and Lucas''s confusion who were watching him. Flynn then started walking forwards, slowly transitioned his walk into a slow run, picked up his pace gradually as he ramped up his speed and then, finally jumped into the air while simultaneously activating his new spell with a chant. "[Telekic Series: Ether des]!" *** About half of the people in the audience roared with another wave of excitement as they watched Flynn Belmont once again, destroy another vipertalon with a clean slice of his katana which was coated in a thickyer of mana. They had watched him jump onto one of the vipertalon''s head with a front flip,nd directly on its back and cleanly slice of its metallic head, immediately leaping off of its back and into the air again with a backflip. He had also done all of this, just in time to evade another vipertalon that had been nning to attack him by using its dangerouslyrge metallic ws as he quickly positioned himself tond perfectly onto two of his mana tes that were hovering in the air, all in a matter of seconds. At first, when they had seen him hurtling through the sky at a rapid pace, they had all thought he was flying but upon closer inspection, especially when the panoramic screen zoomed in on him, they had realized that they had been very wrong. Surfing through the skies! That was the best way to exin what the youth was doing. His legs had been ced on two small mana tes that were each about the size of a small rectangr tile while four more others followed him like a homing missile, all six of thempletely under the effect of his spell it seemed. But even then, that had not been what had drawn half of the crowd in the audience to him. A lot of people were capable of flight in this world but not all of them were able to fight effectively at mid-air. However, to the crowds that were now roaring with fever-like excitement, Flynn Belmont to them, was perfectly capable of doing both, just from the way he was moving through the air. The vipertalons should have had the advantage in the air but yet, they were being absolutely,pletely and utterly dominated by the silvery-green haired youth. Using a perfect blend of jumps, flips and seasoned acrobatic movements along with precisely calcted areas to ce his mana tes at, Flynn Belmont navigated through the air while dispatching the vipertalons with such finesse that the audience found it so hard to tear their gaze away from him! Adding to that beautiful finesse was how he could even control the other four mana tes which were continuously floating and levitating around him, to also attack the robotic hybrid birds, their immensely sharpened and ded edges which had been coated with mana, severing through their metallic wings of the vipertalons like hot knife through butter. "So freaking awesome!" one child in particr who was about 10 years of age had shouted along with half of the audience, electrifying excitement in his voice. "Not as awesome as him though!" his younger sister had suddenly told him with a shout while pointing towards the grounds of the arena with child-like excitement in her own eyes. Despite the beautiful disy of finesse and skills Flynn Belmont was showing, the other half of the audience could not help but marvel at how Aiden Belmont was going toe-to-toe with a robotic variant of a fissure monster that even some seasoned low to mid-tier B-core rankers and below, with lots of experience on their belt and battling various fissure monsters, would have a hard time doing alone. Sure the robotic frost serpent didn''t have any free will of its own like actual fissure monsters would, but even then, it was a ridiculous feat to still be able topletely go toe-to-toe with a gigantic monster like that alone. From the moment the ck-haired youth had slowly began walking towards the massive creature that made him look quite small inparison, the frost serpent had let out bellow of ice cold, frosty breath from its mechanical mouth that would immediately freeze any candidate on the spot. Yet, Aiden Belmont had instead given a slight smirk, ced his dominant foot forward with so much force that it dug into the dirt and then, brought down his greatsword in one powerful downward arc,pletely cleaving through the zero-degree frosty breath and mitigating the dangerous attack from the massive robotic serpent altogether. Some normal people in the audience who had been watching him, and had initially wondered how he had been nning to deal with the gargantuan serpent, had their jaws drop in genuine awe at his strike. The strike had been so powerful that even after mitigating the frosty breath, itpletely dispersed it with a strong burst of pressurized wind just from the force of the swing of his greatsword alone! His attacks however didn''t stop there as Aiden suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the air with the use of his [Grav Boost], just behind the long length of the robotic serpent''s neck, it''s head decapitated from its body in an instant, causing even more people in the crowd to go wild with shouts and roars of excitement. However, the robotic frost serpent whose head had been severed in an instant, suddenly had its metallic scales and severed edges extend in an almost organic manner,pletely reattaching the severed head in an instant as the robotic serpent let out a loud, ear-deafening mechanical roar. Aiden however, almost as if he didn''t care,nded on the reattached head of the serpent while also inwardly chanting his new spell. ''[Gravity Series: Reversal]!'' Following that, Aiden struck his greatsword which was now coated with mana straight into the massive robotic beast''s reattached head, and then, ran through the entire length of it''s very long yet curvy body while dragging his greatsword and splitting through the metallic scales of its body with immense force, almost like an insanely sharpened chainsaw cutting through the thick bark of an ironwood tree. The giant robotic frost serpent tried to twist, shake and turn around in rampaging sinuous movements, almost in an effort to throw Aiden off but yet, the youth stuck to it like glue, almost as if defying gravity itself and instead, continuously dragged his greatsword across the expanse of its long, windy and massive body. ''How is he doing that?'' one ranker with a lower tier core in the audience had asked himself a question so many others were also asking themselves too but, almost immediately, he, along with the rest of the crowd had answered their own question by themselves. "It''s definitely a spell! Otherwise, it wouldn''t make any sense for him to not have been flung through the air like a ragdoll by now!" Yet, as the crowd seemingly watched on, the massive frost serpent once again re-attached and regenerated its frosty and silvery mechanical scales in an almost organic manner, causing even Aiden to give a slight frown as hended on the ground with a strong thud. Using mana sense, he had realized that the many small orbs in the serpent''s body was constantly shifting around the metallic expanse of it''s robotic internals. Those orbs were probably also what made the frost serpent regenerate its metallic body at a rapid pace. But unknown to Aiden, half of the audience that was watching him, once again went wild with excitement due to his dominating performance against the gargantuan robotic creature. "Hotбн/So coolбн" Caroline and Ivelia had unconsciously said out loud in unison while watching both brothers along with the audience. Almost immediately though, both of them whipped their heads to their sides while looking at each other with a look that seemed to ask almost simr questions. Almost. ''You weren''t just referring to Aiden/Flynn right?!'' That was what the question they had seemingly asked themselves with their eyes. But after realizing, just like a lot ofdies naturally could with very subtle expressions, they both went beet red aftering to another realization that they had both ratted out their feelings about each brother to themselves. Before they both could talk about what they had just done though, two vipertalons soaring through the sky suddenly began heading straight for them at rapid speeds, theirrge gleaming mechanical ws poised to strike. Although Flynn was handling most of the hybrid robotic birds in the sky, he could notpletely prevent most of them from heading downwards and onto the arena grounds in an effort to also wreak havoc there. Before all that had happened though, Ivelia and Caroline had also pulled off something akin to abo spell, using both their [Wall Formation] and [Rosebloom Stalk] to create a towering wall of earth that was strongly held in ce by a giant green vine with multiple blooming roses on it, coiling around the wall''s sides to avoid the previous onught of robotic beasts they had been required to face. As a result of their now altered altitude though, the vipertalons had made both of them their first targets as they propelled themselves at a rapid speed downwards towards them. This situation suddenly reminded both Ivelia and Caroline, along with the other candidates that despite the fact Aiden and Flynn were currently handling most of the most troublesome monsters, their entrance exams was far from over. As Ivelia fired two of her arrows at one of the vipertalons in an effort to defeat it, Caroline on the other hand, had extended her ded whip and caught onto another vipertalon that she had narrowly evaded. The ruby-eyeddy had then spoken with a twinge of annoyance in her tone, almost as if pissed that they had interrupted her from watching Aiden''s battle with the frost serpent. "Get! Over here!" she had voiced with a tinge of annoyance as her ded whiptched onto the vipertalon''s metallic ws and forcefully pulled it backwards while mming it straight into the sides of the towering wall of earth and flora that both her and Ivelia had created. Only 4:59 was left on the timer and as a result, the rest of the surviving candidates refocused their attention away from Aiden and Flynn''s battle and onto the oing flying robotic beasts along with the massive frost serpent, willing themselves to once again, survive till the very end of this rollercoaster of an entrance exam. Chapter 72 68 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VIII Chapter 7268 - Arcana Academy Entrance Exams VIII "Only five minutes left guys! Let''s go for the win!" a male candidate suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, spurring all the other candidates around him to respond affirmatively and with re-invigorated shouts. They only needed to survive for a few more minutes and the exams would be over! Just a few more minutes and they were definitely going toe out on top! But no! That was all that these proud few that were left wanted! Spurred on by Aiden and Flynn''s dominating performance, they all wanted to not juste out on top. Now, they wanted aplete victory over the robotic creatures that were left! As a result, the remaining candidates began to will thest of their mana reserves and strengths to battle their remaining robotic adversaries and once again, the arena became extremely chaotic and lively as spells and weapon arts began to fly around here and there, along with the roar of the excited audience! Following the battle cry from the remaining candidates that were left, Adrian and Beatrice Adencia had taken to the skies almost immediately along with some other candidates that were mostly young nobles. They had now also began battling with the vipertalons while using their [ming Phoenix] spell to summon their ming azure birds. Both of them, along with other candidates, especially the young nobles, who could use flight spells of their own had realized one thing after watching Flynn battling the robotic hybrid birds in the air. If Flynn could effortlessly destroy them with a few attacks of his katana, despite probably only having C-rank core by now, then they could too! However, the moment they, along with the few other candidates that had taken to the skies, actually began battling the vipertalons, they came to a stark realization that battling in the air, despite having even higher core ranks than the silvery green-haired youth, was not as easy as he made it seem. It was almost as if this was a battle style solely made for him to utilize. Considering most of them also could not utilize mana sense the way Flynn could, they were actually struggling to stay in control of the flow of their battle with therge robotic birds at mid-air. Beatrice and Adrian on the other hand, despite still not used to battling at mid-air, were holding their own quite well. Flynn however, kept destroying every vipertalon that he so much as crossed paths with. The youth once again jumped into the air, skillfully performing another spinning side flip to evade two vipertalons who had wanted to pincer him from his left and right side, each of them slightly above and below the other as they tried to attack him with their gleaming metallic ws. Both of them swooshed past him almost harmlessly though, the metallic des of their feathers nicking a few strands of his hair in the process despite his best efforts topletely evade them. The green aquamarine-eyed youth who had been spinning at mid-air nheless, had noticed from a slight nce towards to the arena grounds, that the robotic frost serpent was regenerating rapidly despite his brother''s attackspletely decimating it along with a bunch of other candidate''s magic spells and weapon arts that had now ganged up on it. ''Probably those mana orbs littered around its bodyбн'' Flynn thought to himself. ''It''ll need a singr strike that can destroy all of the cores in an instant'' he had quickly summarized inwardly. Following the end of his spinning flip though, Flynn had promptly reverted his attention back to the robotic birds and had immediately controlled and repositioned two of his tes at his feet while controlling the other four to spin dangerously like a fan, immediately using them to sear through the metallic wings of the vipertalons in an instant and causing them to plummet to the ground. "How are you even managing that crazy movement?!" Adrian had suddenly asked Flynn in curiosity with a shout while flying close to him as he himself beheaded the head of a vipertalon skillfully, its ck oil spraying about in the air. "Practice! Lots of practice!" Flynn had answered Adrian''s question with a shout of his own as he nced downwards for a moment, noticing that Aiden was leading the massive frost serpent towards and directly underneath him. Flynn then said something to Adrian upon noticing what his brother was about to do. "Adrian!" he called out to the prince. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Yeah?!" Adrian answered swiftly. "Can you rally everyone to go back towards the ground in the next few seconds?" Flynn had asked, his hair fluttering in the wind. The red-haired prince thought to himself for a split second before he then answered affirmatively while also asking another question. "Sure! But what are you nning to do?" "I''m not really nning to do anything! My brother on the other hand seems to have a pretty crazy ideaбн" Flynn had responded. "However, I''ll guarantee that both the frost serpent and most of the vipertalons will be taken out! You have my word!" Flynn continued while cutting the metallic wings of another vipertalon that had charged towards him with his katana. "That doesn''t exin anything but fine! I''ll do what I can. You owe me for this Flynn!" Adrian replied and almost immediately, he released a bellowing shout like a seasonedmander. "The Frost Serpent is heading for us all! Everyone, position yourselves to head to the ground and attack it. Leave the vipertalons to Flynn Belmont!" At first, the few candidates that were battling in the air were a bit confused by Adrian''s suddenmand but most of the nobles, after knowing just how shrewd of an individual he was, instantly heeded hismand and soon enough, every other candidate followed suit. The audience however was now being taken for another rollercoaster ride as they wondered what exactly their Crown Prince and Flynn Belmont were up to. A few minutes prior to Adrian''s bellowingmand though, Aiden on the other hand, along with other candidates who kept attacking the massive frost serpent with their weapon arts and spells, were getting quite frustrated at how annoyingly fast the slithering robotic creature was regenerating. Amelia, along with Bryan who had now also ganged up on the massive serpent with Aiden and the other candidates, had blown many gaping holes through the expanse of its long windy metallic torso with their {Dawnbreaker Art}, and even then, it still healed at a rapid pace. Ivar along with the ck-haireddy he had also saved, whose name he had found out to be Maya Arendelle, had also arrived at the scene of the candidates battling the giant frost serpent and instantly released their spells at its silvery yet frosty metallic body too. Even Ben Steelde had sliced off the robotic creature''s head again with a released emission of a dangerous silver arc of his bastard sword while using his {Crestfall Art} while Lucas simultaneously released a thunderous lightning spell towards said severed head. However, even that had not stopped the massive serpent from regenerating its metallic head. By now though, the audience watched while seating at the edge of their seats, hoping that these young aspiring rankers would be able to bring down the serpent, despite both they and the candidates themselves knowing that they only needed to survive the entrance exams till the timer stopped. Derek''s words for some reason, along with Aiden and Flynn''s performance had ignited a spark in them and had forced them to want to prove the academy wrong! They could not defeat the monster?! Was Arcana Academy looking down on them?! Then, if that was the case, then they most definitely would defeat the massive robotic serpent even if the theme of the entrance exam was survival. They wanted to not just prevail now. Now, they wanted toe outpletely victorious! Aiden however upon noticing that only a singr clean strike would destroy the giant slithering robotic creature without causing it to regenerate, had slowly began to lure it towards his brother. Upon reaching directly underneath where Flynn was, Aiden along with the other candidates, heard Adrian''s bellowing words ofmand and watched as the candidates in the air, rapidly began racing downwards to attack the giant robotic frost serpent. Aiden however, instantly tensed his legs and dashed upwards at a phenomenal speed as Flynn himself dashed downwards at the exact same time, leaving behind and positioning all of his mana tes in the air like a small floating tform, directly beneath Aiden''s feet. This sudden switcheroo did not go unnoticed by the audience and a lot of other candidates were also taken aback by what both brothers were doing. As Flynn fell from the sky with seemingly no way ofnding, the youth repositioned his legs to face downwards and reinforced his legs with mana. Using the force of the momentum he was gaining from suddenly dropping from the sky, the silvery green-haired youthnded on the robotic frost serpent''s head with a ridiculously powerful yet brutal curb stomp that brought the creature down to the ground with a thunderous bang, dust and frost rising and clouding everywhere as it happened. This sudden attack had caught not just the candidates themselves off guard but even the viewing audience too. However, as the air of frost and dusty particles settled and the gigantic serpent slowly began to raise its head back up, everyone watched as the youth raised his katana upwards with both of his hands, his fingers gripping tightly onto the hilt of his weapon as a pale blue hue began to emanate from his body. Simultaneously, Aiden hadnded on Flynn''s mana tes safely and took the stance his weapon art required when it needed to be used, a reddish dark hue releasing from his body even as he was now about to be attacked by some vipertalons while others were about to dash downwards to attack the other candidates. Now, in one synchronous movement, Flynn and Aiden released both of their weapon arts with a roar that defied the heavens. "{Moonveil Art иC First Form: Severance}!!!" "{Berserker Art иC First Form: Whirlwind sh}!!!" Following the devastating release of their weapon arts, the air crackled with electrifying intensity as a bluish white arc descended on the gargantuan robotic frost serpent,pletely obliterating all of it in an instant while the atmosphere in the air, swirled with dangerous intensity as a massivelyrge twister tornado suddenly emerged out of thin air and pulled in every surrounding robotic hybrid bird present in the sky like an infernal vortex,pletely reducing them to a mangled, unrecognizable mess of metals and wires. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!