ã€ŠRe: Sanguine War Eraã€‹


 Chapter 1: Assessment

    Side-note:

    The date format of this novel is changed for simpler understanding. The number of months and days is the same as reality. The months are named after the first twelve monarchs of Verserius.

    January - Juel

    February - Kencieus

    March - Greden

    April - Mervi

    May - Zenies

    June - Ruil

    July - Zuil

    August - Ludieus

    September - Temiun

    October - Ledia

    November - Seudi

    December - Deuki

    Unknown location, Unknown Date

    I stared up at the night sky expecting to see shimmering stars but only saw plumes of smoke. Annoyed at my view being disrupted, I turned my head to find the source of the smoke. The source was a familiar city that is being ravaged by soldiers of unknown origins.

    The silhouettes of the burning houses, temples, mansions, and castle are so familiar to my eyes. Small little humanoid figures ran around the blazing city frantically with frequent screams that reach my ears.

    I couldn''t feel anything even though I know I should be feeling a sense of despair or anger. I stared at the burning city blankly before my vision faded into darkness¡­

    ***

    School of Amicideus, Nation of Peacius, 15th Ledia 1325

    "WOI! TEIGA URA! WAKE UP!" screamed a voice.

    "Tch. Give me a few seconds more¡­" I replied, trying to squeeze out more time to sleep.

    "School is dismissed!" announced the voice.

    Hearing that, I perked up immediately without wiping the saliva off my cheeks.

    "Really!?" I asked anxiously.

    "In your dreams."

    "Then you shouldn''t have woken me up," I complained while trying to adjust my vision back to normal by rubbing my eyes.

    Finally, my eyes could see clearly again. But the first thing that I see was the "punchable" face of my geography teacher, Mr. Gardon Ior. His small eyes always look down upon me, paired with a grin. How annoying.

    "What a problematic -GRADUATING-middle schoolboy. Never mind that. Teiga, answer this simple question." asked Gardon while placing his hands on the rough blackboard. "Located and name all the empires and kingdoms on this map."

    "That grin again¡­ He must be expecting me to not be able to answer. How unfortunate for him." I confidently thought to myself.

    I stood up from my seat reluctantly, wiped off the saliva and opened my saliva-drained mouth.

    "In the middle is our small nation of Peacius. To our north-west, the Empire of Noct. To our north-east, the Empire of Verserius. To our south-west, the Kingdom of Alantieus. To our south-east, the Empire of Persidius."

    Satisfied with my answer to Gardon''s question, I sat back down so I could savor the sight of the now disappointed teacher knowing that he failed to humiliate me.

    "C-co-correct answer, T-t-teiga. Exemplary. Class, learn from Teiga. But not his attitude in class," said Gardon trying to hide his disappointment while trying hard to point out my bad points. "Carrying on, tomorrow will be your Mana Control Assessment. Which is also your graduation examination. Do save up your Ma-"

    Before Gardon could finish his sentence, the school bell interrupted him.

    "YES. FINALLY, I CAN ESCAPE THIS HELL HOLE." I excitedly thought to myself while rushing to pack my stuff. "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, BELL."

    "Let me say this before you all leave."

    "Tch."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    "The examination tomorrow will determine your future. Control your mana properly. That''s all. The class is dismissed."

    I ignored Gardon''s warning and simply thought "Hmph, as someone of the Ura Clan. Magic is nothing but peanuts. I will pass it with flying colours!"

    "Oie, Teiga!" shouted Liroi Fid, a young genius who is also my best friend. "Got anything that you want to talk about? To continue our discussions about worldly matters?"

    "Hmmm... The desertification of our southern borders maybe? But let''s talk about it while walking home. This school sucks."

    Liroi simply adjusted his circular glasses and shook his head before he started to walk to my side. His action told me that he disapproved of my statement stating that the school was sub-par.

    "C''mon. You know that there are better schools out there." I said while walking out of the school together with him.

    "Yes, I know. But a school is still a school. So long as I am taught something new, the school isn''t bad." Liroi argued.

    As we stepped out of the stuffy school and out onto the cobblestone streets busy with merchant carriages being pulled along by robust horses. I embraced the sunlight as if I was locked in a dull and dark prison for eons.

    "Whatever~ We are taking our graduation examinations tomorrow. Then I can finally be released from the shackles of Amicideus." I said trying to end the debate as soon as possible. "So, let''s discuss about the desertification, shall we?"

    His face lit up and he turned towards me swiftly as his glasses reflected the afternoon sun. With this action from him, I knew that Liroi''s undying curiosity has been aroused. Slowly, a smile stretched across his face. "At last, a change in the dull expression of his." I thought.

    "Hmm. About that. It is suspicious for a huge and random geographical change to just be labeled as an accident and nothing else. Maybe your father knows something."

    "Even though he is the Head of Intelligence Unit in Peacius, he only told me: Listen here Teiga, desertification is something caused by pollution made by mankind. Nothing else," I said in a deep voice, trying to mimic my father.

    "Looks like the adults also don''t want to tell us anything, huh. I guess we need to find out the truth ourselves. Which makes the examination tomorrow of utmost importance! We need to get into a prestigious school so that we can learn more and have more opportunities!" suggested Liroi with fervour in his high-pitched voice.

    "Yes. Let us both work towards the truth."

    Before I knew it, we are at the junction whereby we will part our ways. I was sad that we will be saying goodbye to each other, even for a short while. But, I was also motivated now that I have someone who has the same goal as me.

    "Alright, goodbye for now. We need to have our last-minute practice for the assessment. Can''t be failing at the first step of our journey." said Liroi as he waved me goodbye while walking down the other street.

    After saying our farewells, I continued my way home under the late afternoon sun. I am feeling extremely confident about the exam thinking that my mother being an excellent magic user meant that I also have excellent control without practice.

    "Pffft, last-minute practices have no meaning to me."

    ***

    School of Amicideus, Nation of Peacius, 16th Ledia 1325

    "Parents, please remain at your seats by the sides of the field while your children are being assessed." announced the principal of the school who is standing on top of a podium. His remaining hair flapped around in the gentle breeze that swept across the school field occasionally. I found that sight very distracting.

    "So, let me introduce our judging panel for today''s assessment. Sitting closest to me is Professor Diien. Next to him is Professor Filia. Next to her is Professor Nilun. They are from the Department of Education and will be judging our students according to their mana control and assigning them their middle schools."

    "Whoaaaaa, they sure look strict as hell eh? Especially that Nilun guy. Liroi?"

    "Indeed. But we should have nothing to fear. For our goal is more important than this assessment."

    I stood behind Liroi as the students queued up in our index number format, waiting to be called up. "Dammit, I am number 135. One of the last few¡­" I mumbled to myself. I was so excited to present my excellent control the night before that I couldn''t sleep well. "Never mind, as the saying goes. Save the best for the last." I thought to myself in order to distract myself from the fact that I am one of the last few students to be assessed.

    "With the introduction done. Student number 1, Irisus Verid. Please step onto the field and begin your mana release."

    "Yes!" shouted a girl with long black silky hair as she stepped onto the barren fields.

    "Ahahahahah. She is so short." I laughed.

    "Shush, Teiga. You don''t want to be heard by the adults."

    "Right¡­"

    As she stood in the middle of the field. I see her slender arms slowly rose up towards the azure sky. In a flash, blue flames burst out from the tips of her hands. But she quickly controlled the flames and shaped them into blue irregularly shaped ribbons and began dancing elegantly.

    My eyes were glued to her as she glided across the fields with the "ribbons" trailed behind her. She spun and leaped. All while maintaining her composure.

    "Wow¡­" I whispered in amazement.

    "Precisely why you shouldn''t judge people by their looks," said Liroi with a smirk on his face.

    Suddenly, Irisus threw her hands up in the sky and directed the "ribbons" up into the sky. I lifted my head up to see what is going to happen to the mana flames. Greeting my face, was a beautiful blue firework that was visible even under sunlight.

    Once the firework went off, the girl proceeded to bow to the judges and waited for her results.

    "Irisus Verid. You are hereby assigned to the Magic School of Ledia," announced Nilun with a poker face.

    The crowd cheered while I started to feel slightly nervous as I began to realise there are students here who are just as brilliant as me. Even with the nervousness, I turned my head back to Irisus to see her reaction. She was so happy that she skipped and hopped out of the field.

    "Well, this is going to be a bit tough," I said to Liroi who seems even more motivated now.

    "Yes¡­ This is becoming fun," he whispered with a smirk on his face.

    The assessment continued throughout the morning into the afternoon with only a few students standing out while the rest were posted to the normal schools. Slowly, my fatigue from last night started to set in. My eyes were getting slightly heavier by the minute and yawns were becoming more frequent.

    "How long moreeeeee¡­" I complained as I started to slouch.

    "I am next," said Liroi in an enthusiastic tone. It was obvious that he can''t wait for his name to be called out. His hands shook with excitement.

    "Damn, finally. All the best!"

    With that, the principal called for Liroi and he went up to the middle of the field with pride.

    In my heart, I cheered for my partner. "Come on, you can and will do it. Enter the Magic School of Ledia and our goal will be much closer than before!"

    He took in a deep breath and raised his hands. Subtly, blue sparks appeared around his body before growing big enough to cover his body.

    Once his body was fully covered with the blue flames, he quickly condensed it and separated his body from it. Leaving behind a blue humanoid figure.

    "That is¡­ so¡­ cool¡­" I mumbled while trying my best to get a good view of his presentation.

    Slowly, the figure began to move around like a normal human. From stumbling to walking and to running. Next, both Liroi and the figure got into a fighting stance.

    "Is this what he has been planning the whole time? A choreographed fight?" I thought to myself while getting excited for him.

    My eyes were fixated on the fight that was going to unfold in front of me. Step by step, the two got closer to each other before getting in kicking range. They burst out in a series of missed punches and kicks. The figure moved around as though it was sentient.

    It ducked and jumped like any normal human would as Liroi threw kicks and punches at it. It didn''t just dodge, it also went on the offensive by trying to grapple his creator.

    Liroi wriggled out of the grapple and decided to put an end to the fight by roundhouse kicking the blue figure in the head. With the impactful kick, the figure burst into smaller flames before dissipating. The boy then proceeded to bow to the judges and awaited his results.

    "Liroi Fid. You are hereby assigned to the Magic School of Ledia for your exceptional presentation!" announce Filia with an impressed smile on her face.

    "That was extremely impressive¡­ As expected of my partner." I whispered as my eyes followed him out of the field.

    "Student number 135. Teiga Ura. Please step up onto the field and begin."

    "Yes!" I shouted with assurance.

    I slowly walked towards the middle of the field while scanning the audience for my parents. Sadly, I couldn''t see where they were due to the huge standing crowd after my partner''s magnificent performance but I know they are there. "Hmph, it would seem that the crowd seems to have a high expectation of me. Very well, I shall not disappoint them."

    I swiftly raised my hands 90 degrees up, closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

    *FWOOM*

    Hearing that deafening ominous sound, I quickly opened my eyes. Only to see the whole field is covered by huge mana flames and the invisible magic barrier protecting the audience starting to reveal itself to signify danger.

    The flames grew in size by the passing seconds.

    The tongues of the fire started to lick the now cracking barrier.

    The temperature around me started to increase.

    It was as though I summoned a devil onto the field¡­

 Chapter 2: New Life

    School of Amicideus, Nation of Peacius, 16th Ledia 1325

    The wild flames grew larger and larger. I was losing control of them rapidly. It was as though I destroyed a dam and the stored-up water started to surge out uncontrollably. My mana continuously burst out in waves, with each wave stronger than the last.

    ¡°TEIGA! TEIGA! CEASE YOUR PRESENTATION IMMEDIATELY!¡± screamed the principal.

    I could barely see anyone through the turquoise flames. I had no visual contact but I could still hear clearly. The cracking of the magic barrier was becoming more evident. Showing that it was reaching its capacity.

    ¡°Bring forth water from the sky! Sky Rapids!¡± chanted someone.

    With utmost immediacy, a vast bubble of water materialised above me before crashing down. The bubble exploded as it hit me. Water surged in every direction, extinguishing the flames without hesitation.

    Within the gushing water, I felt comfort before everything else faded to darkness.

    ***

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 20th Ledia 1325

    An immense headache hit me, causing me to jerk awake.

    ¡°AHH!¡± I screamed in reaction to the headache.

    ¡°Awake now, are we?¡± asked a figure who stood in front of the bed that I was lying on.

    As he continued to hide in the shadows of the room he said, ¡°Then let us get down to business, shall we? Teiga of the Ura Clan?¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Where am I? What happened to the examinations?¡±

    The figure stepped forward into the sunlight that shone in from the windows, revealing a rather tall and well-built man wearing glasses, black blazer, pants, and a purple inner shirt.

    ¡°Let me summarise this for you. You failed the examination and your parents have decided to enroll you here instead.¡± The man said as he adjusted his glasses. ¡°My identity is of no importance to you now but know that I will give you the worst and best days of your life.  The bed that you lie on now, shall be the one that accompanies you throughout your 3 years here.¡±

    Finishing what he had to say, the man simply turned and walked towards the room¡¯s door and opened it.

    ¡°Ahhh yes. One more thing. You are in Company 1, Platoon 3 and your Cadet Number is 064. Training will start tomorrow for you. Just for your info, Company 1 is basically 1st Year and your platoon is your class.¡± Then he walked out of the room while the door closed by itself quietly.

    ¡°What¡­  I don¡¯t get it! Did I actually fail? I¡¯ve never even heard of this school before! What¡¯s worse is that my beloved parents were the ones who sent me here¡­¡±

    As I sat upright on the bed, I kept questioning everything about and around me more and more. Right before I nearly lost it, a knock came from outside the door and it opened.

    ¡°You sure are pathetic, aren¡¯t you?¡± said Liroi as he strolled in with a comforting smile on his face. ¡°Well, whatever. It is nice to know that you¡¯re awake.¡±

    ¡°Liroi! What happened at the examination!? Why did I fail?¡±

    ¡°Well, you couldn¡¯t even produce the slightest mana flame and when you realized you simply fainted from the shock of realisation,¡± said my partner as he turned his head towards the window as if looking for confirmation for what he said.

    But something about what he said doesn¡¯t sit well with me. I couldn¡¯t remember anything from the examinations except the comforting gush of water that was released on me.

    ¡°Hey, Teiga. You still remember our promise to find out the truth behind the desertification?¡± Liroi asked hastily.

    ¡°Of course. If there¡¯s one thing that I wouldn¡¯t forget, it will be that!¡± I excitedly replied.

    ¡°Well. Now both of us are one step closer to that. I am in a prestigious magic school and you¡¯re in a fully government-controlled school. At least that¡¯s what I heard. Both of us can find out about the phenomena through different means!¡±

    I immediately felt a tinge of jealousy when he said that he was in a prestigious school but before I could complain, Liroi jerked up and turned towards the exit.

    ¡°I have to go now. It would seem the visiting time is over, we will see each other soon¡­ I hope¡­¡± he said while hurrying out of the room.

    Everything seems so suspicious to me now. First was the weird man who said weird things. And now it is my best friend who seems to be hiding something from me.

    ¡°WHAT IS GOING ON!¡± I shouted at the top of my lungs.

    ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± shouted someone else outside of the room trying to top my volume.

    Hearing that, my courage shrank. I hid under the covers trying to hide my embarrassment. How unbecoming of a noble, I thought. In the midst of my embarrassment, I remembered my promise with Liroi and shook myself to wake up.

    ¡°Yes. Now¡¯s not the time to care about embarrassments or what not. He is finding out about our promise his own way. I must also do my part.¡± thinking that, I got out of bed and headed out of the room in a white shaggy shirt with brown shaggy shorts that I did not even realise I was wearing because it was just so comfortable.

    Once I was out of my room, I turned my head left and right to see a long stretch of hallway lit up by sunlight shining in from windows. I walked up towards one window and peeked out. What I saw was a rather nice view. Outside the buildings was a snowcapped mountain with a lush forest at its base. I could see the trees swaying gently which was calming.

    ¡°HUP! HUP! HUP!¡± with sounds of metal clanging.

    Hearing the sound, I looked down from the forest to see a parade square filled with half-naked men wearing only their lower-body armour while their upper body¡¯s muscles glistened with sweat. Each man held a long sword and swung them effortlessly in a routine exercise.

    ¡°BWOOOM!¡± the sound reverberated through the building as nesting birds from the forest tried to escape from the explosion.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    *gwak* *gwak* *gwak* sounded the birds as they flew away in search of a new home.

    The explosion came from within the forest. Yet, the half-naked men didn¡¯t seem to mind it. They continued with their own routines. Soon, more explosions followed. Small black-and-orange mushroom clouds raised themselves above the canopies of the trees.

    ¡°Just what is this school¡­  I know that this is a military school but what the¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahahahah. Looks like you are well enough to move around now.¡±

    I swiftly turned my whole body towards the voice and got into a weird stance. Must have been the explosions that perked me.

    ¡°Now, now. No need to be scared. You will get used to this soon enough.¡± said a muscular man that was at the same height as me. ¡°I am Virs Kingpin, one of the lecturers here. I¡¯ll be taking over as Principal tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°What happened to the last principal then?¡± I asked without thinking.

    ¡°Ahhh, you will know tomorrow. Come, I shall bring you around since I am free now.¡± Virs gestured his scar-filled hands to me.

    I followed him with clouds of doubt in my mind.

    ¡°The place that we are in now is the dorm. The female¡¯s dorm is perpendicular to the male¡¯s dorm. Once we reach the end of this hallway and you look to the left, you¡¯ll see the female dorm¡¯s wing.¡±

    The wooden floors creaked as we walked above them. My eyes traced the walls and ceilings to see plastered and mouldy walls. I cringed at the thought of having to breathe in their spores every day.

    However, when we reached the end of the hallway. I turned my head towards the female¡¯s dorm to see the total opposite of the male¡¯s. Their wooden floors were polished. The walls and ceilings freshly re-painted with the faint smell of paint lingering about.

    ¡°Hey, can I stay in the female¡¯s dorm instead?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Suit yourself. That is if you¡¯re prepared for the consequences. The females are extremely territorial. Worse off than the empires. AHAHAHAHAH!¡± replied Virs with a loud sinister laughter.

    ¡°May I ask? What are the consequences?¡±

    ¡°Well, you saw those explosions? Yeah, those can be one of the many consequences. And it is also why their dorms are so well-maintained. Because of those consequences. Anyways, on to our next location!¡± he said cheerfully while skipping down the stairs.

    I simply widened my eyes and squeezed my mouth together when I came to know of what would have happened to me if I shifted my residence.

    After climbing down 6 flights of stairs, we finally reached the ground level. I quickly glanced around before Virs could guide me along. The ground level was lit up by white glowing stones held by glass cages hanging off the ceiling. It was as though there were miniature suns. The ground level looked like a typical lounge area with a reception counter, sofas, tea tables and book shelves.

    ¡°This area is the common area where men and women can stay as and when they like. Interesting things may happen during free period,¡± the bulky and short man said. ¡°The lavatories are placed at each end of the wings by the way. As for showering, it is outdoors.¡±

    The way he placed emphasis on ¡°may¡± and ¡°outdoors¡± tells me that nothing good will come of showering and free time. I was already beginning to have a bad impression on the place I landed in before I¡¯ve even explored the whole premise.

    ¡°Does this place not have a single normal place?¡± I questioned seriously with slight irritation in my tone.

    ¡°Of course we have! This is a military school, my son. And I am going to bring you there now.¡± exclaimed Virs with obvious excitement hidden in his voice.

    Out of the stuffy dorm, we went. The late afternoon sunlight and heatwaves slapped my face the moment I took half a step out of the dorms.

    ¡°What is this! How does one train in such conditions?!¡± I complained while wiping off droplets of sweat.

    ¡°What are you complaining about? This is considered cooling already!¡± rebutted the lecturer.

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    The more steps I took, the hotter my feet felt. Then I looked down on my feet to check for any injuries only to realise I was barefooted and wearing shaggy clothing.

    *slap*

    I gave myself a hard facepalm knowing that I am dressing in the worst way a noble could dress as.

    A damn peasant.

    ¡°Father and Mother would have vomited at this sight if they were here.¡± I thought.

    ¡°Training your pain endurance already? Good job my son!¡± proudly shouted Virs as he walked further away from me while I was taking in my pathetic sight.

    ¡°STOP CALLING ME YOUR SON! I AM THE SON OF LEVI URA, NOT VIRS KINGPIN!¡± I shouted back.

    As I shouted, the men who were training turned their sweating heads towards me and each gave me a soul-piercing stare. It was as if I executed their parents right in front of them.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, my sons. He¡¯s new to the family here. Treat him well!¡±

    ¡°YES, SIR!¡± replied the men while slowly sheathing their sharp gazes and returning back to their training.

    I quickly ran up to Virs for some explanations and perhaps protection.

    Sensing my approach, he simply noted that calling us his sons was simply an act of affection from a mentor to his pupil and nothing else.

    ¡°We have reached our destination. The main school building!¡±

    I scanned the whole building and I did not know what to think, let alone speak. It is extremely contrasting to the dorm that seemed more like a prison.

    The whole fa?ade of the building looked as though it is the Royal Library with all the marble carvings about mythologies etched into the walls, elegantly framed windows, well-trimmed lush green hedges that line the first level, carefully laid out brickworks and smooth wall paints.

    ¡°wow¡­¡± I mumbled to myself.

    ¡°Let us move on.¡±

    I just dragged myself forward while my eyes glued to the outside. Once I stepped into the building a different air blew into my face. But before long, I recognized the air. It is the same as the dorm. I looked around again and I rubbed my eyes thinking that we somehow walked back into the dorms again. The same dull and constricting atmosphere.

    I¡¯ve never felt so done in my life. Even just my old room¡¯s design was a thousand times much better than this whole building¡¯s design. Enough said.

    ¡°Well erh. Let¡¯s just say that renovations are still ongoing?¡± Virs said quietly.

    ¡°You all spent it all on the outside, didn¡¯t you guys?¡± I asked even though I already knew the answer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s save this for another day. This building should be easy for you to explore, isn¡¯t it? With the signs and stuff. I have admin matters for tomorrow, to tend to. Bye, my son!¡± said the bulky man who was obviously trying his best to slip away.

    ¡°Tch, whatever. I have more freedom now.¡± I thought to myself as I searched around for something that may interest me.

    I walked further into the building and the whole entrance area was filled with cupboards that students are to put their shoes in. The stench of fermented shoes became more overpowering as I walked deeper. Soon I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and ran towards the hallways. At the end of the entrance area was the floorplans of the whole building.

    I took a step closer and checked the legends.

    ¡°First Level: Admin and Staff Rooms. Second Level: Laboratories. Third Level: 1St Year Classrooms. Fourth Level: 2nd Year Classrooms. Fifth Level: 3rd Year Classrooms. Rooftop: Portal to Training Grounds (Prohibited to students unless with the company of an authorized personnel.)¡±

    ¡°Hmm, the rooftop seems the most interesting but I can¡¯t go. Everything else is so generic. I guess I will just go back to the dorms and sleep the rest of the day away. It is such a weird day after all.¡± I thought.

    I glanced around once more to see if I left out anything interesting but only saw 2 separate wings of hallways. The West Wing and Right Wing. Each of them seemed to be the mirror image of each other.

    ¡°ARGHH. WHY DID I HAVE TO FAIL THAT TEST!!!¡± I screamed in my mind while rubbing my head violently.

    I traced my way back to the dorms looking at familiar landmarks, most notably the training men who stared at me again while I walked past them.

    Taking the 6 flights of stairs again and a long hallway lit up by the setting sun and a few glowing stones. I was finally back in my room.

    I simply threw myself onto the bed not realising that it is made of only hay covered by a cloth. The hay stabbed my face through the cloth and I rolled around the bed in pain. Again, the hay stabbed every part of my body as I rolled around. Then I realized my stupidity and stopped.

    ¡°I am so stupid¡­¡± I mumbled and fell deep asleep with the prickly feelings. My fatigue was strong enough to overshadow my grumbling stomach.

    ***

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 21st Ledia 1325

    *bang* *bang* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

    The sound of doors being banged against jolted me. The bangs were slowly getting closer to my room¡¯s and I braced myself for it. I took a deep breath and wiped off the saliva on my cheeks. I could hear my neighbouring room¡¯s door banged on.

    The moment when I predicted my door to be banged on, the room door slid open and Virs peeked in.

    ¡°Awake, my son? It is morning. Head down to the parade square after you wash up and dress in the uniform that we placed right by your bed last night. The shoes are also beside it.¡±

    ¡°Erh¡­Sure¡­¡± I was pleasantly surprised that my room door wasn¡¯t banged on like the rest.

    *BANG* *BANG* *bang* *bang*

    Virs continued down the hallway, waking up every inhabitant.

    Upon processing what he said, I peered over the side of my bed and saw a neatly folded white full body dress with a red silk robe by its sides lying on the floor.

    ¡°Damn it, now it is going to be dirty. Why can¡¯t they just hang it or put it on the bedside table¡­¡± I complained while looking for a cupboard or a bedside table.

    There were none. My room was totally bare except for the bed and the window.

    I didn¡¯t even realise it when I woke up yesterday. ¡°My god¡­ WHAT KIND OF ACCOMMODATION IS THIS!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± screamed someone again. Just like the previous day.

    At this point in time, someone telling me to shut up was already to be expected.

    Once I accepted that truth of my living quarters, I took up my uniform and changed out. The robe had a ferocious looking tiger wielding a long sword sewn onto the chest area. The uniform quality felt surprisingly good; cooling and smooth inner surface.

    I glided my hands over the dark floor trying to find the shoes trying hard to not touch the floor. Finally, my hands bumped into something that felt like straps.

    I grabbed it and held it up. I looked at it. It is just a black leather strapped-sandals.

    ¡°Haishhhh¡­¡±

    Once I was dressed up and all ready. I headed out of the room for the toilets to wash up before going down into the parade square.

    A few minutes of washing up passed and I went down to the parade square where all my fellow schoolmates were gathering in their supposed companies and platoons already. There were signs placed at the front of the parade square that marked out the companies and platoons. So, I went ahead to search for the sign that denoted my group in the midst of an increasing crowd.

    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going, shorty.¡± complained a chubby and tall student when I accidentally bumped into him but before I could argue, he went off in search of his company and platoon.

    ¡°Rude.¡±

    At last, I found my company and platoon. I proceeded to join the group and just stood there like a statue as I knew nobody here except for Virs and the dude that has a weird dress code.

    Luckily, my awkwardness was shared by my whole platoon and company as we are all freshmen. Thus, I felt a bit of comfort from knowing that. Everyone was just standing around with no aims and stared at any place that was empty to avoid eye contacts. I tried to find if there was anyone that I could get along with but all I found out was that my platoon has an equal number of guys and girls. Surprising for a military school.

    After what seemed like an awkward eternity, everyone finally settled down and a group of people appeared from inside the dorms, carrying forward what seems like a podium to the front of everyone.

    The moment the podium was sat down. The weird dude stepped on top of it and cleared his throat. This time, he was wearing purple blazer and pants with a blue inner shirt.

    ¡°Good morning to all you, young men and beautiful ladies! I am Henri Vici, the Principal of this military school. As of today, I am stepping down and Virs Kingpin will be taking over while I will be taking Company 1, Platoon 3 as their mentor. That¡¯s all.¡± announced Henri as he looked in my direction and gave me a disturbing smile before it faded into a poker face.

    His side-combed hair looked more serious than ever.

    His glasses reflected the morning sunlight.

    And his final smile sent a shiver down my spine¡­

 Chapter 3: Rough Start

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 21st Ledia 1325

    ¡°Young men and women. Let us get down to business,¡± announced Henri. ¡°All of you are considered nothing here. Not even worth a single dirt that is on the ground. Which is why I am going to make all of you into someone worthy of fear, respect, envy and so on and so forth.¡±

    It hasn¡¯t even been long after the entrance ceremony ended that I am feeling so bored. Bored of speeches. Bored of school. Bored with everything!

    ¡°Now! To end all these boring talks. All of you get changed into your physical training wear and get back here in 2 minutes.¡± Henri commanded as if he read my mind.

    Even though things were starting to become slightly more interesting. I still reluctantly dragged my feet. While my platoon mates were running. I kept on questioning why me. Why am I in this school?

    Suddenly, a pair of hands landed on my shoulders and a glinting pair of glasses glided to the side of my face.

    ¡°Feeling drained already, are we? Fear not, Henri Vici is here to help!¡±

    A ray of white light blinded my eyes for a few seconds and I felt so breezy as the light faded away. But after a few seconds, I felt as though something huge just left my body. Making me feel violated. Once the light faded away, I looked around me and I was already in my physical training attire. A white high-quality cloth singlet with black cloth pants that covered my thighs.

    ¡°WHAT WAS THAT LIGHT!?¡± shouted voices from the dorm.

    ¡°Hmmm, so it is true. Very well. Here, wear this ring,¡± Henri suggested while holding out a silver ring with weird inscriptions on it. ¡°It will help you in your time here.¡±

    ¡°Ermm. Okay¡­¡± I took the ring and fitted it onto my right index finger.

    ¡°AHH FUCK!¡±, the ring tightened itself quickly as if trying to break my finger.

    ¡°Now, now. That is not a very nice word. I shall mete out a suitable punishment.¡± said Henri as if he planned for me to shout that.

    He brought up his right hand and chanted some sort of spell and his hand shone red. His left hand adjusted his glasses and dashed forward to my face with his right hand trailing behind.

    *FWOOMMM*

    His right hand punched me in my abdomen and I flew back into the dorm. Knocking down a few platoon mates in the process.

    ¡°That is just the beginning, my lovelies. Now, all of you all are a second late. And that is a no-no. Push-up positions, down!¡±

    Before any of my platoon mates could rebut, the devil chanted another spell. An invincible force slammed us face first into the ground. Even the girls were not spared.

    ¡°Come on, you guys need to be faster than that. Even the leaf falling can fall faster.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck. Just what was that for? I don¡¯t deserve this.¡± I thought to myself.

    ¡°Let me repeat myself again. I said that you guys are nothing more than dirt. And this is how I treat dirt,¡± he spoke as if he read my mind again. ¡°When I say up, do one push-up. Understood?¡±

    None of us could speak with us face in the ground.

    ¡°When I say understood. You all say, YES SIR. Is that clear?¡± said Henri as he increased the force on us.

    ¡°Y-Y-YES. S-S-I-IR!¡± we all shouted with sand and dirt getting into our mouths.

    ¡°UP!¡±

    I tried my best to push myself up but forgot that the spell is still active. Same went for the rest of my platoon mates. Our hands trembled trying to push against the invincible force.

    ¡°Come on. What a weak bunch of dirt. Fine. Use whatever means to do the push-ups if you all want.¡±

    ¡°Just what is this man trying to achieve? Try to turn us into someone worthy? I will die before that happens!¡± I shouted in my heart.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you all won¡¯t die. After all, I do have a reputation of taking care of my underlings.¡±

    Again. Did he read my mind?

    ¡°UP!¡±

    I tried to push myself up with raw strength but to no avail. Each failure to push myself up resulted in my face getting shoved into the ground by the relentless force. While my face was getting a dirt facial, my platoon mates gathered mana in their arms to strengthen themselves. They eventually prevailed against the force.

    ¡°Very smart, you all are now promoted to ants!¡± said Henri in a sarcastic tone.

    ¡°UP!¡±

    I tried to gather mana in my arms as well. But I couldn¡¯t. Thus, I was slammed against the dirt yet again. This cycle continued throughout the whole exercise before the devil said that he was tired from using the spell to force us down.

    ¡°Ahhhh, with the warm-up done. I shall introduce myself again. I am Henri Vici, your mentor for the rest of your time here. I am expecting that you all can socialise, so please do get to know each other in your own time. Relationships with your mates will be very important.¡± said Henri as he glanced at me. ¡°Finally, if you have any questions, speak up now. I won¡¯t entertain you all anymore after this.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Who are you? Really."

    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I am Henri Vici.¡±

    "What is the real aim of this school?"

    ¡°To simply train all of you to be worthy of something.¡±

    "Is the warm-up going to be a routine?"

    ¡°No, more exciting things will be coming.¡±

    "Where are we in Peacius?"

    ¡°To the north, that¡¯s all I can say.¡±

    "How are we going to communicate with the outside?"

    All sorts of questions were asked and all of them were answered by Henri without a trace of doubt.

    ¡°If you all are lucky, you may receive letters or you may write letters to the outside. If not, there are no other ways. If that¡¯s all, let us truly begin training. Please pair up.¡±

    I glanced around and everyone was in pairs except a frail looking boy. Feeling like I was going to do him a favour, I strode towards him and asked him to be my partner. To which he just quietly nodded.

    ¡°Now, I want you all to spar with each other! But please do not kill each other or injure each other grievously. Minor injuries are accepted though!¡± shouted Henri as he slowly backed away from the platoon.

    Without warning, a ball of blue flames flew towards and burst right in front of my face before it could do any real damage.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be going easy on the next one, Teiga.¡± said the boy as he prepared another ball of flames.

    ¡°What. How did you know my name, we haven¡¯t even introduced ourselves yet. And don¡¯t look down on me!¡± I shouted. I did not know what to do. I couldn¡¯t even gather mana in my arms in the warm-up!

    ¡°Very well then. I am Fredrik Dash. Nice to meet you!¡± introduced Fredrik as he hurled another ball of mana flame at me while preparing another on his free hand.

    ¡°I. am. Teiga. Ura.¡± I introduced myself as I tried my best to dodge his onslaught of mana.

    ¡°Dude, can you retaliate. If not, I will just finish you off now. I¡¯m running out of mana.¡±

    ¡°Erh, I would if I could. But I can¡¯t seem to gather mana!¡±

    ¡°TEIGA! A SMALL TIP. JUST PICTURE YOUR HANDS HOLDING AIR THAT CAN BE FELT AND SEEN!¡± shouted Henri from the other side of the training grounds.

    ¡°Wha-¡± a ball of mana flame slammed into my chest and I stumbled back a few steps. The flames felt lukewarm but they sure pack a punch if used properly.

    ¡°Are you finally ready? And this is supposed to be called a spar? More like babysitting.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and give me a few seconds¡­¡± I closed my eyes trying to picture myself holding a ball of air that I can see and feel. Slowly, my hands felt lukewarm and I opened my eyes to a modest ball of flames.

    ¡°AHAHAHAHAH. You call that a ball of mana flames? It is more like a marble!¡± laughed Fredrik as he grabbed his stomach. Upon hearing him, all my platoon mates turned towards me and laughed as well.

    I was starting to feel annoyed at the fact that I, a noble, is losing to a frail-looking nobody and being laughed at by a crowd of commoners. The feeling grew stronger and so did the flames. But before it could grow beyond the grasp of my hand, the silver ring tightened itself causing me to lose control of the ball and allow it to fizzle out.

    ¡°AHAHAHAH. Looks like your marble is gone!¡± with this sentence. The laughter intensified.

    I never felt so disgraced. I could only lower my head to avoid all eye contacts. I wished that I could just run into the forest and stay there until things died down but I couldn¡¯t. I could only participate in the spar and either win it or lose it. Realising that the only choice for me is to continue with the spar.

    I closed my eyes again and tried to picture myself holding solid feeling air. Once I feel that my hand was getting warm. I opened my eyes and threw the ball with the aim of hitting Fredrik¡¯s ¡°punchable¡± face.

    It did hit his face but he didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°What was that supposed to be? I changed my mind. It isn¡¯t a marble but a bubble!¡±

    And so, the laughter continued.

    I was in total despair. My pride has been smashed. I truly am nothing but dirt now. I have been bested by a commoner. I wanted to cry. But I was too embarrassed to even let a droplet of tear form.

    ¡°If that is all you got. Then I shall show you all I got as well!¡± shouted Fredrik as he formed a sword using mana and leapt towards me.

    I stood rooted to the ground in embarrassment. I looked at Fredrik¡¯s face to see a look of excitement knowing that he is going to defeat me.

    Down, came the sword which sliced my chest. Even though the cut was very shallow, I could feel the intense heat of his mana cutting through my skin.

    ¡°Tch, this is no fun,¡± complained Fredrik as he backed off in search of another partner.

    I stood under the endlessly blue sky with the cut oozing out warm blood continuously. The smell of iron was starting to become stronger. But at least the singlet won¡¯t be stained with blood. After all, it was sliced in half as well. I can always get my maid to sow it back again. Then I remembered what Henri said about us being here for the next 3 years. I then realised I am truly alone for the first time. I don¡¯t even have a lot of mana. How am I going to find out the cause of the desertification with Leroi¡­

    ¡°Oh my god. Let me patch this up for you¡­¡± comforted a girl with short brown hair that reaches her shoulders. ¡°Oh, I am Venus Sora.¡±

    She placed her hands on my chest and produced mana while tracing the cut.

    ¡°I have only used my mana to speed up your cells¡¯ regeneration but the scar will still remain. I hope you are okay.¡± Informed the girl with a sad look in her eyes.

    Seeing her eyes agitated me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity, Venus.¡± I coldly turned away and grabbed my torn singlet before walking off into the dorm to change into another one.

    ¡°My, my. What an ungrateful dirt. I will definitely need to punish him for that.¡± said Henri as he stood beside Venus.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay,¡± Venus said quietly.

    ***

    Royal Bedroom, Cronberg Palace, Empire of Noct, 21st Ledia 1325

    *Knock* *Knock*

    ¡°Your majesty, urgent news has arrived from our sources in Peacius.¡±

    ¡°What is it.¡±

    ¡°It is reported that the Empire of Alantieus has found an omnipotent source of magic energy that will heavily improve their military might. And the Kingdom of Verserius has allied itself with them as of yesterday noon.¡±

    ¡°Hoh¡­ Interesting. Summon all the available ministers and generals to the throne room.¡±

    In the throne room, stained glass stretched all around with countless silk banners that signify previous Noctian rulers. At the end of the room was a decorated gold throne with bear pelt covering the seat and backrest.

    On the throne sat the emperor of Noct, Emperor Desion IV. His face scarred with sword cuts and hands missing a few fingers from hunts.

    Proud ministers line the throne room alongside their assistants while military generals lined up opposite them with their capes hanging behind them.

    ¡°My loyal subjects, it is with an unfortunate news that I summon all of you here today. God has it that we will be having a rivalling military might other than within ourselves. The hated Empire of Alantieus has discovered a source of power that will empower their people to be our equals, if not better.¡±

    Mumblings begin to spread around the throne room with some ministers either having a sly or worried smile on their face. While the generals stood silently.

    ¡°SILENCE! We are in the presence of his majesty,¡± commanded General Kogher with ferocity in his voice.

    ¡°Tch¡± mumbled some ministers.

    ¡°Continuing on. I have decided that it is time for us to begin preparations for war. We can¡¯t have the Empire of Alantieus becoming more powerful. For the generals, I command all of you to devote all of your time and effort into training steadfast and exemplary soldiers to fight for our empire''s wellbeing. For the ministers, I command all of you to begin preparations to support the military. Be it financial or welfare. And of course, whatever I have said in this room. Stays in this room. End of meeting.¡± announced Desion before standing up and retreating back to his room.

    ¡°Your command has been received, your majesty!¡± shouted all of the ministers and generals as they kneel down on one knee and placing their right hand on their chest.

    With those commands, the gears of war started to spin. Albeit slowly¡­

 Chapter 4: Fragmented Memories

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 27th Ledia 1325

    The gruelling physical ¡°warm-ups¡± continued daily every day and every few waking hours with the same sparring exercises for the rest of the day. But today things were slightly different. We had actual lessons that made this ¡°school¡± seem like any normal one.

    Walking in the hallway felt as if I was walking in the dorms. The floors were creaking with every step of mine. The pale-yellow plaster wall had brown spots on them. I have never seen such a dilapidated place of learning in my life. Yet I couldn¡¯t care less anymore about the environment when my body was already at its limit from the spars and my mental health deteriorate with every spar.

    As I walk down the hallway to my class, my mind constantly played back all the spars I¡¯ve had the past few days. ¡°What a great mind, huh.¡± My mana flames were still extremely lacklustre. The ring seems to be stuck to my finger now ever since it tightened during my first spar. It dug deep into my finger but not enough to stop blood from flowing.

    Finally, the playbacks paused when I saw my classroom sign. ¡°Company 1; Platoon 3¡±. Seeing the sign made me feel as if I landed myself in a prison. I just gave an exasperated sigh before sliding open the wooden door.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s here!¡± shouted Fredrik the punchable stickman. ¡°It¡¯s Mister Small Blue Balls!¡±

    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAH! MISTER SMALL BLUE BALLS! AHAHAHAHAHA!¡± the whole class burst out in incessant laughter.

    I took it and just looked down at my feet in search of some comfort only to find none. I constantly tried to think to myself to get used to it but even so, I still feel pathetic. The feeling shrinks with the same thing happening daily. ¡°I will show them someday. That I am not a laughing stock!¡±. With that comforting thought, I raised my head to find my seat but only came into eye contact with Venus who had the same look like the one that she gave me when she healed me.

    She wasn¡¯t laughing but I still felt bothered by her look. I didn¡¯t need someone to feel sorry for me. I am the son of a nobleman and a member of the Ura Clan. I may be a disgrace but my status doesn¡¯t change. Then I remembered what Henri said. ¡°All of you are considered nothing here. Not even worth a speck of dirt that is on the ground.¡±. My mood soured further immediately.

    I quickly found my seat and sat down to make myself feel at least physically relaxed.

    The wooden door slid open and Henri stepped in with the small fashion sense. This time, he was wearing a yellow blazer and pants with a purple inner shirt.

    ¡°Good morning class. I hope the past few days were productive for you. If not, no worries. This lesson will be productive if you listen. I will not be marking attendance as I believe that you all have the discipline to come to class even if you all are equivalent to ants.¡±

    I assume that the part about productivity of his greeting was directed at me as a few people turned to look at me with a smirk as he said that. I simply ignored them and wondered what the lesson going to be about.

    ¡°I am going to be honest with all of you. This is a military school, so it is going to be expected that once you all graduate, your job will have some relations to the military no matter how small or big. So, I will have to prepare all of you with all the general knowledge that a military-personnel should have. World events, basic communication skills and such.¡± said Henri in a surprisingly professional tone with his previous devilish exercises.

    When he said ¡°world events¡± I immediately perked up. ¡°World events? The desertification is definitely a world event! Finally, I can get a clue about what happened!¡± I passionately thought to myself.

    The lesson started and droned on with your average boring and basic introduction to the world. The empires, kingdoms and nations. Their borders, monarchs and culture. Henri talked about stories from different places occasionally to try to get the class¡¯ attention back. Surprisingly, I was able to sit through the lesson attentively. But it was only possible because I had thought that Henri would say something about the desert. To my disappointment, he did not.

    Towards the end of the end of the lesson, he asked the class if we had any question and of course I raised my hand and asked about the desert. And someone simply tried to enlighten me by writing it off as a result of pollution.

    ¡°All you, ants need to know about the desert is that it isn¡¯t just about pollution. And the border between us, the Empire of Persidius and the Empire of Alantieus has been blurred out because there are no longer any landmarks that demarcate the border. I¡¯ll talk about the consequences in the next lesson. Now, this is the end of the lesson. Consolidate whatever I taught and I will be testing you all in the next lesson tomorrow. Thank you, class.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± replied the class.

    Even though he only talked a little bit about the desertification. I was satisfied to know that it isn''t caused just by pollution.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    I went onto the next lesson feeling ecstatic over the new knowledge that I gained. The next lesson was Magic Theories and Practical. A lesson that I may never possibly get anything useful from. I don¡¯t have any magic prowess but either way, I still tried to listen in hopes that I can learn something to improve my current predicament. I even failed the assessment which is hard to fail by today¡¯s standards! At that moment the door slid open again. This time, Virs entered the class.

    ¡°I thought you are the principal now?¡± questioned Fredrik.

    ¡°Being the principal doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t teach anymore, my son.¡±

    Fredrik fell silent and looked down at his desk.

    ¡°Now, on to the lesson. And good morning, class!¡±

    ¡°Good morning, sir!¡± shouted the class in unison.

    Virs proceeded to talk about the theories of Mana. I took down notes in order to find ways to help myself.

    -It is common knowledge that mana is an omnipotent element that resides within our body right from birth.

    -Mana can be manipulated into different types of magic such as fire, air, water and more.

    -Everyone will get to choose their permanent magic specialization. But different people have different mana capacity.

    -Most people are only able to specialize in 2 types of magic due to the mana limits while 3 types and above areextremely rare.

    Based on what he said. Up till now, I have only learned about raw mana manipulation but not elemental manipulation. ¡°My god, I already failed in raw mana. How am I going to specialize?¡±

    ¡°AHAHAH. Mr Small Blue Balls will definitely fail this one!¡± shouted Fredrik as if he sensed my low self-esteem.

    ¡°Now, now Fredrik. He may have small ones but what you¡¯re doing makes you seem like you have none.¡± defended Virs.

    ¡°OOOOO.¡± the class reacted.

    He lowered his head further this time.

    Even though Virs defended me, I did not feel any better as I know it is true. There was no hiding from the truth.

    ¡°Now, back to topic. Tomorrow, we will detect your mana capacity and then you can decide your specialization but you all can only specialize in one type as the first one will be used for physical enhancement that is necessary for ALL military personnel. With that, I end the class. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡±

    I just realised that classes are quite brief in this school which really appeals to me! I hated lessons that drone on and on without the end in sight. It made me feel slightly better with that realisation in mind. Yet at the same time, I was sceptical about tomorrow.

    ***

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 28th Ledia 1325

    I could not sleep the whole night as I was worried about how embarrassed I would be when I am revealed that I don¡¯t have enough mana for the physical enhancement speciality. My eyes were feeling extremely heavy and dry.

    A minor headache set in as I walked towards the parade square where the testing will be taking place. There were queues of freshmen waiting to be tested with tables at the front of each queue with some sort of hand-held weird cuboid device that has a needle at its top and 3 teachers manning it.

    The scene reminded me of the middle school assessment, some people had anxious look while some had confidence written on their faces.

    ¡°I am so going to have at least 3 specialities. That¡¯s what my momma told me.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, shit. I can¡¯t wait to know my own limits!¡±

    ¡°I nearly failed my middle school assessment. I think I may have only one speciality¡­¡±

    I heard a lot of remarks about the testing, a few made me slightly comfortable as they are in the same boat as me while some just wrecked the boat. I then joined a queue feeling uneasy.

    Before I knew it, I was already at the halfway point of the queue. I looked around me at the other queues and a ¡°punchable¡± face greeted me.

    ¡°Hey, Teiga. Hey. I doubt you even have enough mana to endure this queue. AHAHAH!¡±

    I simply ignored him again as per usual but he seems to have a lot of perseverance in this sort of things.

    While queuing, I saw some people slouching with a look of disappointment if not despair on their faces. They simply trudged out of the parade square and back to the dorms. Some ran out instead of trudging. I could sense that they were trying to hide their embarrassment. I understood them. But most people had a satisfied look on their faces.

    Slowly, I reached the front of the queue. At the opposite side of the table stood Henri with a grin and 2 other teachers that I don¡¯t know. But my attention was only directed at the weird fashionista. I was so anxious that I did not look at his clothing today but looked only at the device and his face.

    ¡°Now, I will be pricking you on your forearm with this device. So just endure the sting,¡± he informed.

    As he finished the sentence, the needle was already stabbing the same spot on my skin as if trying to dig for treasures. Maroon blood gradually started to ooze out of the small hole made by the needle. Somehow, I was able to smell the iron from my blood even though it was in such small amounts.

    Within a few seconds of the blood appearing, the silver ring on my finger loosened a bit while the device started to vibrate more and more. The vibrations changed to uncontrollable shaking that caused it to fly out of Henri¡¯s pale hands.

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s this reaction? Hmmm¡­¡± remarked the fashionista.

    The other 2 teachers stood dumbfounded while I stood that awkwardly. Thinking that my lack of mana caused the device to malfunction. Cold sweat started to form on my forehead. My sleepiness aggravated the situation as my ability to think logically was greatly reduced.

    ¡°Why¡­ Why do I have no mana¡­¡± I complained, hoping for some comfort even if its from Henri.

    ¡°Calm down, Teiga,¡± comforted him. ¡°I have great news for you!¡±

    ¡°TEIGA IS A HUGE RESERVOIR OF MANA!¡± screamed Henri as if he was trying to warn the school of an impending apocalypse.

    ¡°WHAT! MR. SMALL BLUE BALLS IS A WHAT?!¡± shouted Fredrik in shock

    ¡°What¡­ No. No. This is impossible. I was unable to even create a proper ball of flames.¡±

    I scanned the parade square to see all the queues of students looking at me with different expressions. Some with disappointment, anger, envy and amazement. Then I saw Venus, with a gentle smile. I was confused as to how to think or feel after all the embarrassment and shame that I felt.

    An immense headache struck the whole of my head immediately. My face fell numb. My brain started to have a very blurred flashback to the assessment. I could only remember fragments of the assessment but one fragment that stood out the most was a huge turquoise flame. I was not able to piece the fragments together.

    Before long, the headache caused my vision to fade to darkness and I fell motionless to the ground¡­

 Chapter 5: Omens

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 5<sup>th</sup> Seudi 1325

    I opened my eyes to a starry sky. There were no clouds blocking my view. The moon shone serenely on the land. As if it was a mother looking at her child sleeping soundly. I looked down and saw a familiar silhouette of a city. Then I remembered that it was the burning city that I saw in my nap back in middle school.

    Right after remembering the last time I saw the familiarly unknown city, I was abruptly woken up by consistent needle stabs to my right arm.

    ¡°Rise and shine, Mr Fainter. You sure love to faint here and there huh? I¡¯ll cut right to the chase. I can¡¯t afford for you to sleep any longer. You need to choose and start training on your specialization now.¡± hurried Henri as he continued to stab and inject me with syringes that are filled with a translucent pale blue liquid.

    When I was clear enough to realise what he was doing I violently retracted my right arm from his hands.

    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°Just injecting you with mana to speed up your recovery. Don¡¯t worry, I did not inject your master hand,¡± he replied nonchalantly while keeping the unused syringes in a small wooden box and got up to leave the room. ¡°Now, get up and change into your physical training kit before meeting me in the parade square.¡±

    My mind was still in a blurry state. I fumbled around trying to find the shirt and pants. As I fumbled around, I began to remember what happened before I fainted.

    ¡°OH RIGHT! I WAS DECLARED TO HAVE A LOOOOT OF MANA!¡± I thought out loud as my face drew a bright smile. I became fully awake with an abundance of energy. It felt as though I could do anything!

    ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP DUDE. IT¡¯S A SATURDAY MORNING, LET ME US SLEEP! HOLY SHIT.¡±

    I felt as if this happened before, someone telling me to shut up. Finally, I found the kit and quickly changed out before heading down to the parade square.

    Standing at the front of the parade square was Henri and a table by his side. On the table sat a few different palm-sized coloured crystals. I looked at him for an explanation about what were the crystals for.

    ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering. Your class has already chosen their specialisations and started their specialisation training while you were still unconscious. Now, you are to choose which magic element catalyst to use to awaken your specialisation. Red is for fire, blue is for water, transparent is for air and brown is for earth. There are other elements but their catalysts and users are too rare to find. Make your choice now.¡±

    ¡°Ermm¡­¡± I stroked my chin while glancing at each of the catalysts. ¡° I¡¯ll-¡±

    ¡°By the way, everyone is to dedicate one of their specialisations to body enhancement magics which does not use a catalyst. However, even if you have a lot of mana. I can only allow you to choose one other specialisation to make it easier to teach. Additionally, because of the lack of time.¡±

    The limitation stated by Henri introduced a dilemma in my mind. My main goal, for now, was to uncover the truth of the desert. Which catalyst is going to be beneficial for me in the journey? The question bugged me in that few seconds of thinking. I was stuck between fire and water since they seem to be the most helpful to me in my journey to the answer. Fire keeps me warm in a cold desert night but water keeps me hydrated in a dry environment.

    I couldn¡¯t think further as Henri stared daggers at me, silently forcing me to quickly choose. I started to panic slightly as my choice will affect me greatly in the future. That¡¯s what I know.

    ¡°Er¡­ Ermm..¡±

    ¡°Will you please hurry up. I don¡¯t have all day to help you catch up.¡±

    ¡°ARGH. Fine! I¡¯ll take fire!¡± I was annoyed at the fact that I wasn¡¯t given enough time to make a life-changing decision.

    ¡°Good choice. Now catch the catalyst,¡± said Henri as he threw the red crystal at me as he would to a ball.

    Being surprised as to how someone could throw something precious, I flailed my arms around trying to catch the crystal. The crystal plopped itself onto my hands as if my hands were magnets and the crystal was a magnetic material. As my fingers wrapped themselves around the crystals, it started to glow and become warmer. Before long, it burst into flames and suddenly it engulfed my whole body.

    I staggered around and threw myself onto the floor thinking that I was burning to death.

    ¡°AHHHH HELP ME!¡±

    ¡°AHAHAHAH! Control yourself and pay more attention to your other senses other than your sight.¡±

    Hearing Henri¡¯s suggestion, I desperately gathered my attention and focus on my other senses. I don¡¯t even feel the slightest heat on my skin yet the flames were still raging on before they suddenly disappeared into thin air.

    *poof*

    ¡°Alright, now your specialisation has been awakened. Let us waste no time in training. Somewhat expecting your choice, I have brought along a more suitable person to train you in the fiery art of fire.¡±

    As if he was announcing a winner of a competition. Henri stood aside, bowed down ninety degrees and raised his arms to direct some from behind him towards me. After the introduction, Henri glided back into the dorms silently trying not to interrupt anything.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    *sha¡­sha¡­sha..*

    I turned my head from Henri to a tall familiar figure walking towards me as the rising sun shone behind him.

    ¡°Teiga, it has been quite a while, hasn¡¯t it?¡± said the man.

    As white clouds began to move in front of the orange sun like curtains, the man¡¯s facial features became clearer. The man standing before me is Levi Ura, my father.

    ¡°My father. I am deeply apologetic for disgracing the clan in not being able to enrol in a prestigious school,¡± by instinct I knelt down on one knee and lowered my head in guilt.

    ¡°Rise, my son. Now is not the time to be guilty or what not. The clan values result over anything else. No matter the situation. And now I am your instructor, address me as one would to an instructor.¡± Commanded Levi as he stretched himself as if preparing to duel with someone.

    I quickly stood up and replied, ¡°Yes, si-¡±

    Before I could finish my sentence, a ball of flames struck me and somehow only burned off my shirt.

    ¡°Oh right, I should work on your body enhancement first¡­¡±

    I was dumbfounded by the sudden hostility from a parental figure.

    ¡°Look here, cadet. At my hands. I am going to show you how to strengthen your body. I¡¯ll make my mana channelling visible.¡±

    Pale blue ¡°gas¡± started flowing from Levi¡¯s torso into both of his arms. As the ¡°gas¡± continued to gather in his arms, he took in a deep breath and raised his right arm into the air and slammed it into the ground in front of him.

    *kah.. keh¡­*

    I coughed as the impact raised a huge light brown dust cloud. My eyes were also stinging from the dust and face was sprinkled with dust.

    Straightaway, Levi swiped his left around him and the dust cloud was blown away with a strong gust of wind instantaneously.

    ¡°Saw how powerful mana can make your body?¡± asked Levi as he shook his arms to shake off the dust while mana was still being channelled. ¡°The only difficulty is to maintain the channelling. Believe it or not, most people can¡¯t maintain the channelling for even 2 minutes.¡±

    I silently nodded my head in awe. Without realising that almost 2 minutes have passed when my father started the channelling.

    ¡°Now, I want you to try to do the same thing as I did. Slam the ground and swipe away the dust cloud.¡± Commanded Levi as he stopped enhancing his arms and folded them.

    I hesitated for a bit as I remembered my past failures in mana manipulation.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? For your death to arrive?¡± questioned Levi with audible agitation in his voice. ¡°I will give you one simple hint. Imagine that you are moving something from your body to your other body parts. Be it water or blood.¡±

    Hearing the advice, I closed my eyes and imagined blood being pumped to my arms. Suddenly, I felt faint tickling the insides of my arms.

    *swish¡­*

    As sudden as the tickling appeared, it disappeared. I opened my eyes to see that nothing changed.

    ¡°Oh right, the ring¡­¡± mumbled Levi as he face-palmed himself as he jogged towards me.

    Cold sweat started to break out on my arms and face as my father approached me. It was as though I was prey and a predator sneaked around me. I shut my eyes in preparation from some sort of punishment. Instead, I sensed something break on my right index finger. And the only thing on my index finger was the ring Henri gave me.

    I slowly opened my eyes and only saw a red mark on where the ring was supposed to be. My body became lighter as if a weight was lifted from my body.

    ¡°There, now try it again.¡±

    I hesitated for a bit again before trying to imagine blood being pumped to my hands. The tickling sensation returned. My muscles started pulsating. I gently opened my eyes hoping that it was a success. Then I remembered that mana can¡¯t be seen by the naked eyes. So, I took a leap of faith and slammed the ground with all my strength.

    Expecting my hands to be hurting after the slam, I flinched. Surprisingly, my hands felt nothing. However, the dust cloud that I raised was nothing compared to what my father raised. Thinking that the dust cloud was too small for me to even bother swiping it away, I did not use my left hand to swipe it.

    ¡°Where did your swiping go? Shall I use your face to swipe instead?¡± questioned Levi sternly.

    I didn¡¯t dare to even look at my father¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Where. Is. Your. Swipe.¡± this time there wasn¡¯t even a hint of questioning but command.

    ¡°YES, SIR!¡± I screamed in instinct.

    I proceeded to use my left hand and threw it in front of me with all my strength. I felt stupid and embarrassed as there wasn¡¯t even anything to swipe away.

    ¡°What a nice gentle breeze that you created. Continue on. Don¡¯t stop the channelling.¡±

    I blindly followed my father¡¯s orders and continued to channel mana into arms and continue with the routine.

    Punch. Swipe. Punch. Swipe. Punch. Swipe. Punch. Swipe. Pun¡­

    The tickling sensation was long gone but the soreness in my arm just began. My movements slowed to a stop. Mana was gradually being restricted.

    ¡°Who said that you could stop!¡± shouted Levi as he tapped his right feet in annoyance.

    More terrified at what my father would do to me if I stopped than what could happen to my body if I didn¡¯t. I forced myself to endure through the routine.

    The afternoon sun rested on an invisible pedestal while glaring down on me. Even though I was half-naked, my body was on the verge of overheating. Droplets of sweat squeezed themselves out of my pores and formed tiny streams along my body. I was clueless about how many sets of the routine was finished and I couldn¡¯t care to count when my body was reaching its limits.

    My mouth was dry and shrivelled up like a piece of dead leaf on the ground. My arms were going to fall off, that was what my brain was telling me even though they were visibly still securely attached to the main body.

    ¡°One more set, Teiga! Then we shall rest.¡±

    Hearing that relieving phrase, I felt motivated again to put in my all in the last set.

    I imagined my heart forcefully pumping all the blood in my body to my arms. I swiftly punched the ground as hard as possible. Immediately, a dust cloud as large if not bigger than my father¡¯s raised up in response to the call of my fist. Annoyed at the dust cloud, I slapped the dust cloud as if I was slapping Fredrik with the intention to knock his head off.

    *SWISHHHH*

    The dust cloud swirled before disappearing. Seeing how I completed the last set, I back onto the ground while instinctively directing a bit of mana to my back to brace for the impact. I looked at the light blue afternoon sky with a few white fluffy clouds gliding past my line of vision. I never felt so relaxed before. Even with the soreness, I felt good in my mind.

    *Clap. Clap. Clap*

    ¡°Well done, Teiga. I¡¯m impressed you managed to maintain your mana channelling for so long. Now let us go have some lunch.¡± suggested Levi with a gentle smile on his rough looking face. He placed his hands behind his back before setting off for the dorms.

    I tardily stood up and looked at the back of my father. His broad shoulders and scarred arms. Features I¡¯ve never noticed before at home. I wondered, why did I not notice those features until now? As if not letting me come to a conclusion, my father turned around and screamed at me to catch up.

    ¡°YES, MY FATHER!¡±

    ***

    Xenis Battalion¡¯s Headquarters, Empire of Noct, 5<sup>th</sup> Seudi 1325

    ¡°General Kogher, soldier recruitment has been completed and training has begun in full force.¡±

    ¡°Very well, what about the planning of the invasion of the city of Hemia of Alantieus. How goes the progress of the strategists, Vice-General Ito.¡±

    ¡°They are still bickering over the routes, formations and-¡±

    ¡°Enough! I am going to their meeting room personally.¡± interrupted Kogher Bajer with visible anger on his face as he swung around his black cape that draped to his calves. His sheathed longsword, the Deathreaper knocked his jet-black armour occasionally as if excited to taste blood.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± replied Ito as he trailed behind the towering General.

    *BOOM*

    The wooden doors fell apart as Kogher kicked it open and splinters flew in all directions.

    In the room, stood 3 middle-aged men in white robes standing around a large table with a detailed map of the Empire of Alantieus. Not realising that their meeting was going to be interrupted by the General, they continued to shout at each other. Arguing whose suggestion is the best.

    ¡°My suggestion is the best¡­¡± murmured Kogher. ¡°That suggestion is to get rid of all of you¡­¡±

    Without warning, the General unsheathed his sword and deftly decapitated all 3 strategists in one strike. Their mouths were still in the midst of moving to voice their opinions as they died. Blood splattered from the arteries in their neck onto their white robes and the map. Truly an ominous sight. A bloodied map of the Empire of Alantieus.

    ¡°Get rid of their bodies without leaving any evidence behind,¡± commanded General Kogher.

    The General¡¯s command, Ito commanded a few of his personal guards to assist him in bringing away the headless bodies of the 3 strategists. None of the guards dared to even breath in the presence of the General.

    When all the guards left the room with the bodies. Ito gathered all his courage and politely asked the feared General who is going to plan the invasion now.

    ¡°This is why I hate the ministers and their mindless brain. Giving me such useless strategists and expect me to present victory to the King,¡± complained Kogher as he swung his sword to remove the fresh blood from his blade before sheathing it. ¡°I shall tend to the invasion myself.¡±

    ¡°As expected of the one and only General Kogher. The other Vice-Generals and I will assist you in anyway possible!¡± pledged Ito as he placed his right fist on his chestplate. ¡°I shall increase the training intensity and quality to hasten the invasion now.¡±

    General Kogher simply gave a nod as he stared at the bloody map, as if he was going to paint the whole Empire with the blood of its own people himself¡­

 Chapter 6: Fiery Passion

    Military School of Peacius, Nation of Peacius, 13th Seudi 1325

    After a few days of gruesome mana manipulation and body strengthening training. A steady supply of punishments (gravity restricted push-ups mostly), demanding repetitive routines, some bit of sparring with my father and delectable meals to charge me up again. Father finally decided that it was time that we start on fire magic lessons.

    Right before I went down to the parade square where I¡¯ll be having my daily training that starts early in the morning. Henri briskly walked to me and randomly grabbed me hard by the shoulders.

    ¡°Now, do not treat this like a good thing having a personal trainer to yourself,¡± warned Henri with a surprising worried look. ¡°The only reason for this is that time is running out faster than before. So, I need you to work harder than before.¡±

    ¡°What is coming such that we are rus-¡± I tried to ask but to no avail. Henri was long gone in a blink of an eye.

    Annoyance was seemingly the only feeling that was gradually building up within my heart as I continued my life here.

    I walked out into the parade square and stared at the still dark blue sky with the faint sparkling of distant stars. I thought about what Henri suddenly told me. Just why are we rushing? I am already working as hard as I can, what else could I do? My train of thoughts was derailed when Father shouted at me to hasten my footsteps.

    ¡°Your classmates may still be sleeping at this time, but they are much more proficient than you at magic already!¡± said Levi as he stretched his body as per usual. ¡°To make matters worse, you were terrible at mana manipulation.¡±

    I simply looked down at my feet as I was being berated by Father. Unfortunately, my feet could only wriggle the toes and not comfort me.

    I didn¡¯t realise that he was preventing me from getting on a high horse.

    ¡°Never mind that, let us get started with Fire magic.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± I replied with a rather faint voice.

    ¡°Tch¡­¡± Levi clicked his tongue as he looked to the sides with a frown. ¡°You¡¯re still mentally weak. Easily affected by comments. Come on, it is getting closer to your coming of age ceremony. Wake up your idea.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t refute that statement as I know that it is true. However, something else that I know is that I must get stronger. No matter the cost. No matter the pain. No matter the time required.

    I clenched my fists and teeth and braced myself mentally to start the training, with my newfound determination.

    ¡°Father, I-I am ready now. Please forgive my inabilities.¡±

    ¡°Remember what I said the other day about results. I care not of your inabilities but the end. Now, let us begin, cadet.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Fath-¡± I paused immediately having been stabbed by Levi¡¯s death stare. ¡°YES, SIR!¡±

    ¡°Before, we begin on fire training. I want to see how well you are able to use mana after the training sessions. Remember the presentation examinations? Present to me your skills again.¡±

    Upon hearing the words ¡°presentation examinations¡±, I let loose a few droplets of sweat and my heart started to beat faster. What if I fail this again? I was worried about disappointing my father yet again. Clouds of doubt covered my mind. Just as I was about to wallow in self-pity again, a light shone through those clouds. It was the fresh memories of how much I practised this past few days and my determination to get stronger.

    *Huuuuuu*

    I took a deep breath and thought about what to present. I immediately remembered seeing Liroi¡¯s presentation with his choreographed spar. Without hesitation, I condensed some of my mana on my skin. Covering my body with azure blue flames.

    Feeling that the flames have fully covered my body, I immediately separated the flames from myself. Thus, creating an exact replica of me. It wore the same kit as me. Though the humanoid figure was totally blue and glowing. Seeing how I have succeeded in creating a replica of me. I tried to form an astral connection between us.

    Remembering the lessons from before. To form a connection with an outside source of mana. I had to release some of my mana in the form of a thread and try to get the thread to connect to the source.

    Like a spider releasing its silk to spin a web, I carefully guided a thread of mana to the chest of the mana body. Finally, I managed to form a connection. Now, the hard part is to not break the connection as the connection is nought but a mana thread.

    ¡°Hoh. You decided to use a thread instead of something more visible but harder to break, like a rope?¡± Levi exclaimed proudly.

    ¡°I have to push myself, after all, a thread is harder for people to see making it hard for them to break as what Sir said two days ago.¡±

    Levi simply nodded his head in satisfaction hearing my explanation.

    Now comes the controlling of the mana body. Multitasking is the way to go. I treated the body as a puppet and my hands controlled it. If I moved my fingers moved a certain way, the body will move a certain way as well. It is like a script.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Thus, with the controls settled. The choreographed spar began. To start off, I made the mana body do a roundhouse kick while I dodged by taking a step back deftly. Continuing its combo, the mana body leapt forward while I sidestepped and punched it in the liver.

    ¡°Uuuuu~¡±

    I squeezed my face as I look at it stagger after the punch. With that punch, begun my counter attack. With the mana body trying to get his composure back. I leapt at it and grabbed its right arm with my left arm and its ¡°shirt¡± with my right arm. I threw its right arm across my shoulder and flung him in front of me as I forcefully turned my body.

    *BOOM*

    It slammed into the ground and knocked up some dust before dissipating into mana sparks. Its physical reaction to impacts was so lifelike such that I cringed knowing that it was a replica of me.

    *Clap. Clap. Clap.*

    ¡°Well done, Cadet Teiga. Impressive. Even in the examinations, Liroi didn¡¯t create such a detailed replica. But it would have been nice if you only used only your consciousness to control it instead. It is okay as you are still only 12.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    I was satisfied with myself knowing that Levi has accepted the presentation but a little disappointed at the same time as I couldn¡¯t control the mana body with just my consciousness.

    ¡°Now that you are all good to go with man control. Let us go on to fire!¡± exclaimed Levi.

    I could his burning hot passion for fire magic with that sentence. The fiery passion soon spread to me as well.

    ¡°YES, SIR!¡±

    ¡°Now, listen here. Fire magic is going to take much longer to learn and teach due to the risks it involves but the rewards for being able to use it is rich. So, be prepared.¡± warned Levi with passion still burning in his eyes.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Levi began to lecture me on the basics of mana. I¡¯ve already heard of the theories weeks ago in the theory lessons but yet I paid close attention to him. Maybe it was because of the fiery passion to learn that was still burning within me.

    Mana is an omnipotent element, substance and existence. Users can change their form just by their consciousness. But humans have a limited amount of mana and most only have enough to use to master 2 types of magic. As after specialisation, a certain amount of mana in one person changes itself to fit the user¡¯s specialised magic better. Each type of magic takes up a fixed amount of mana.

    To help me visualise better, Levi told me to imagine mana as a plot of land and I am the owner. I use 40% of the land for farming and the rest for housing. Now those percentages for the use of the land is permanent, unlike real life where the use of land can be changed. And each person has their own unique ¡°plot of land¡± that differs in sizes.

    Levi¡¯s explanation was a hundred times better than my teacher¡¯s.

    ¡°That being said. If I were to compare your land and other people¡¯s land. Your land is the size of an empire and normal people¡¯s the size of a town or two.¡±

    My eyes lit up hearing that I have such a quality.

    ¡°But don¡¯t get too excited. They may be just towns but they can control their land easier as it is small. Just like how a typical villager¡¯s life is much easier than an Emperor¡¯s or King¡¯s. There will come a day when your land goes out of your control.¡±

    Hearing the disclaimer, I was slightly upset but nonetheless, I was more ecstatic with the knowledge of how many types of magic I can learn and master.

    ¡°Back to fire training after that theory. I shall show you an example of a basic fire spell, Fireball.¡±

    Levi raised his right hand and opened his palms. Almost instantly, a ball of reddish-orange flames burst out on his hands and hovered on it. With all his strength, he launched the fireball up into the still dark blue sky and the fireball exploded like a firework. The firework bathed the whole parade square in warm yellow light.

    ¡°See that? If thrown at a person, it can set him or her on fire.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­ Oh. YES, SIR!¡± I was still admiring the beauty of the explosion.

    ¡°Fire is definitely going to be my favourite magic!¡± I thought to myself with a bright smile on my face.

    ¡°Now, I want you to try forming a fireball like that one and throw it up into the sky by strengthening your arm.¡±

    I nodded my head as I was too anxious to even utter a single word.

    ¡°An advice; Try to imagine dying your blue mana red and condense some of the red mana in the form of a ball on the palms of your hand. A good magician must have a good imagination.¡±

    Heeding Levi¡¯s words of advice. I tried to imagine the steps. Before long, yellow sparks started to appear on my right hand. More and more sparks appeared. I tried even harder to imagine a ball of flames.

    *FWOOOOMMMM*

    A pole of flames suddenly erected itself on my palms and I staggered back as I gaped at the flaming pole.

    ¡°Control yourself, Cadet Teiga! Fire is a good servant but a bad master! Make your imagination clearer in your mind!¡±

    With his advice again, I tried to sharpen the image of a fireball in my mind. In response to my imagination, the pole of flames shrunk into a ball of flames.

    ¡°AHAHAH. YES! I DID IT!¡±

    Finally, I was able to use magic. Tears of accomplishment welled up in my eyes as I remembered how I was ridiculed by my classmates for not even being able to control mana. I was contented. And I felt like I could do anything in the world.

    ¡°Woi! Where¡¯s. Your. Throwing.¡± demanded Levi with his hostility increasing with each word.

    ¡°YES, SIR!¡±

    I directed some mana into my right arm and pulled my arm back in preparation to throw. Sensing that my arm has been charged with enough mana. I flung the ball of flames into the sky before it exploded in a smaller firework compared to Levi¡¯s.

    ¡°Good job. Now do 10 sets of it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± I happily obliged as my morale was at an all-time high.

    *krak¡­Krak¡­KRAK¡­KRAKKKK¡­*

    After spewing out a handful of fireworks. I finally felt the toll on my body. It became increasingly hard to multitask. Trying to direct mana into my arms and trying to maintain the fireball. My mind was definitely becoming more and more drowsy with each set.

    *KRAKKKK~*

    Finally, I finished the last set. I stretched my neck to stay awake by looking around the parade square and back up at the dorms. The dorms that had dark windows when I first came down were now lit up. Some silhouettes stood behind the windows looking down on me from their rooms. I thought to myself. This shall be the only time that I allow people to look down on me.

    *grumbling¡­*

    My stomach vibrated as I stopped stretching.

    ¡°That was a nice alarm clock for your fellow schoolmates. The morning sun has risen. Let us go get some breakfast. We shall continue after breakfast.¡±

    That being said. Levi and I left for the canteen where delicious breakfast awaits.

    ***

    Palace of Stars, Empire of Verserius, 13th Seudi 1325

    ¡°What a truly eventful morning, isn¡¯t it? My brother, Prince Zachs?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more¡­ My brother, Emperor Josepf of Verserius.¡±

    ¡°AHAHAHAH. Set the Plan Annexation in motion now,¡± commanded Josepf as he quickly changed his laughing face to a poker face.

    This time, the gears of war increased in speed while Teiga only just started to pace himself properly¡­