ã€ŠReincarnated as a Dragonman (On Hiatus)ã€‹


 Prologue - Reborn

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that I was one of the 10 humans lucky enough to be reborn into a fantasy world for some random goddess¡¯s entertainment?¡± said Marcus, standing in a boundless dark room all alone.

    ¡°Basically, so are you up for it?¡± asked a female voice gentle to the ears.

    ¡°Are there any strings attached?¡±

    ¡°Of course there are none, or do you take my words for a liar¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Nope, but I¡¯m thinking about going to heaven or something.¡±

    ¡°This is a little backdoor information from someone who lived there for a few millennia, you¡¯d be bored out of your wits in about a decade or so. Why do you think I would choose a random wandering soul of a deceased human and give him another chance at life for a little entertainment?¡±

    ¡°Surprisingly, that makes sense. I guess I¡¯m up for it.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t go back on your words.¡±

    ¡°Of course I won¡¯t. If worst comes to worst, I¡¯ll just commit suicide.¡±

    ¡°Well then, without further ado.¡± shouted out the goddess as a sofa and a TV the size of a cinema screen appeared out of nowhere. ¡°Take a sit, would you?¡±

    Marcus sat down on the sofa as a remote appeared in his hands. The remote had buttons pointing up, right, down, left, and an OK button in the middle.

    ¡°I¡¯m not as heartless as the one who sent you to Earth, so I¡¯ll let you choose your origins, so be thankful.¡± she said, with a goddess-like attitude, which didn¡¯t exist before.

    Several pictures of people appeared on the screen, depicting different races. Below them were their descriptions.

    Human: A productive race, the humans are the shortest lived of the sentient populace. They often seek ambitious ends to enjoyed lives, regardless of content.

    Dwarf: Stout and stubborn are the words used to describe dwarven people. Whlist standing at a short height, their head strongedness makes them excellent soldiers and better enterpreneurs.

    Kobolds & Lizardfolk: The scaled citizens born of our warmer lands are known best for their cunning nature and intimidating appearance. A successful population that receives its share of negative discrimination.

    Wildkin: Less a single race and more an ancient alliance of three. Forestkin comprise of Wood Elves, Dryads and Satyr who met into a coalition now many centuries old. Their roots still grow strong.

    Ogre: Coming in shapes and breeds a-plenty, ogres are very large, very durable and very furcious as far as races go. They are tribal in practice and lacking in intelligence, but outstanding brutes.

    Chimeric Tribes: There are tribes of the world comprised of half-animal, those with the top of one and legs of another, they are the Centaurs, the Lamias and the Arachne.

    Merfolk: Renowned for their often vibrant appearances and wise notions, the Semi-Aquatic merfolk dwell in the water but may live among the land. They are often peaceful and kind.

    High Elf: The most noble of the worldly races, High-Elves and an intelligent and calculated people with immense pride. They often find themselves n the positions of authority within society.

    Goblin: Seemingly erratic as a race, Goblins are remarkably resourceful. Being one of the smaller and weaker races, they¡¯ve become artisan survivors, doing what needs be to sustain them and theirs.

    Giant: Physically one of the more fortunate of the native races to be born as, Giants are human-like and grow between 5 to 8 meters in height, with relative strength, often slow though.

    Orc: More ferocious than most beastmen, orcs are often quick tempered and very traditional. Standing just a foot or two taller than the average man, orcs are formidable friends or foes. Beastmen: There are remarkable varieties of tribes of people that walk on two legs and bare the features of animals, they are truly remarkable, even here.

    Gnomes: A race of tinyfolk, some no higher than a foot tall, that rely on nothing more than the remarkable brains they possess to outthink, outwit and outspeak their problems; with just a little luck. Drow: Banished from the High-Elf caste, not unlike the Wood Elves,

    Drows are quite shady and ambiguous people, some seeming apatethic, others ruthlessly emotional; but definitely mystical.

    After some pondering Marcus chose the Beastman race. As far as it goes, it seems to be the most versatile choice, with all the types of beasts there are.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ A good choice indeed. It¡¯ll be quite interesting to watch you, I think.¡±

    It quickly changed to the next page, and portraits appeared, accompanied by the same descriptions below them. They depicted beings best described as ¡®creatures¡¯.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The title of the page was ¡°Titans.¡±

    He was wondering about what he would gain by choosing a titan, but the goddess answered as if reading his mind ¡°You can choose a titan as a religious figure, and it will decide where you will be born to and what you will be taught by your elders, teachers and stuff. Choose wisely.¡±

    Although he was bothered by the goddess¡¯s informal figure of speech, Mark didn¡¯t mention it.

    ¡­

    After an hour or so of reading the descriptions of more than dozen titans, he chose one. Its name was Tjord of the Mountains. It was one of the few who didn¡¯t need to be worshipped and it was just there.

    According to the description, it lived in the mountains and protected its territory and it didn¡¯t mind people living in the mountains peacefully, some beastmen and humans decided to live there, who were soon called Mountainfolk.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s time to choose your beast part.¡±

    The screen and the remote disappeared and a laptop sat on a table before him. There was an ¡®insert name¡¯ box in the middle. He wrote down Dragon and pressed the Enter button.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s about all, now you choose your magic talent and off you go. You can pick 4 by the way.¡± said the goddess in a cheerful tone.

    Now there were several types of magic on the screen. By then, the screen had detached and had become a tablet, which Mark was holding.

    There were countless schools of magic, and after an hour or so, he came to a conclusion. It was [Lightning], [Air], [Shadow] and [Body Modification].

    ¡°Bye, bye. I¡¯ll occasionally talk to you telepathically, so you can ask some questions. And remember to have fun and entertain me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have fun, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be entertaining or not.¡± he said as he blacked out.

    ¡­

    When he came to his senses, he was blinded by a bright light. It was something akin to waking up during the day and coming out of the blanket, but a little more extreme.

    It took at least a minute for his eyes to adjust and he saw 2 people in front of him. There was a woman with red eyes and black hair, and a man with azure hair and green eyes. However, their most striking feature was their scales and wings.

    Their scales were of the same color as their hair, but a different shade. It was deep blue for the man and a little duller for the woman. The scales didn¡¯t fully cover them, unlike the lizardfolk. It could be seen from the shirtless man that there were almost no scales on the front side of their torso and facial area.

    The scales started from the right and left ends of the chest and covered the entire arm and it covered the sides and the back. As for the lower body, there was a tail, and were mostly covered in scales. It was the perfect balance between a human and a dragon.

    As for their ages, they looked like they were in their early twenties. The man would be considered handsome and was quite muscular, close to an athlete but not as much as a bodybuilder. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful and her skin color was light brown, contrary to the white skin of the man. They were wearing something the ancient Greek clothing, not by any means hindering their wings.

    As for their wings, they were right behind their chest. The man had giant wings, while the woman had a smaller one.

    ¡°I¡¯ll name you Raven.¡± said the woman.

    ¡°Haha, a befitting name for our son.¡± said the man while laughing.

    Marcus or by his new name, Raven was wondering why he could understand them. Wasn¡¯t another world supposed to have a different language, or is it a meddling of that goddess? Even if English existed here, wouldn¡¯t countries and kingdoms have different languages like Earth¡¯s countries do?

    But more importantly, it seems that he took after his mother, according to their speech.

    Now that he had seen his parents, Raven started observing the home they were in. He couldn¡¯t quite get a good look, but from what he saw, there was a wardrobe, a window revealing mountains tipped with snow, and a lamp on a small table near the bed he was lying on. The lamp didn¡¯t have any plugs and was most likely operated by magic.

    While turning he saw that his hands were covered in black scales and the blanket was of the green color. He was lying on a master sized bed and was embraced by his new mother.

    Then he noticed a woman he somehow didn¡¯t see until now or who just entered. It was a normal human, seemingly in her sixties. She gave off a reliable feeling and was smiling. It seems that woman was the midwife.

    His eyelids became heavier and he fell into slumber. Then he saw a woman with blue hair, who gave off a majestic aura. She was beautiful, even more so than his current mother, a beauty that no mortal could have. But it was all ruined by the smirk on her face.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Raven, and realized that he was in his old body, the body of a brown-haired teenager.

    ¡°You were only away from me for about half an hour and you forget about me? My heart aches.¡± she said sarcastically.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the goddess. What brings you to my dream world, your holiness?¡± said Raven, a sentence filled to the brim with sarcasm.

    ¡°I forgot to tell you something. You need to choose the challenge you¡¯ll be met, so choose 1 of the above.¡± she said as a laptop appeared on his lap, who was conveniently sitting on a sofa.

    After reading them, he couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°You just wanted me to entertain you right? I can become a clown, but how about saying no to these?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t choose, I¡¯ll make all of them happen at once.¡±

    After quite a time of thinking about the worst case scenarios, he chose the one named Blood Feud. Apparently, a kingdom composed of those with the vampire curse was slowly gaining power. Their leader, Vilges has a grudge against the Mountainfolk and their titan, and is planning to attack them.

    They have a way to deal with the titan, and will attack in 16 years from now and it is up to Raven to save the Mountainfolk or to escape.

    It was actually the safest one. The others included fighting an army of intelligent undead, a titan, a portal to hell and finally, the most dangerous one, was for him to be named the True Evil, which would lead to all but his most trustworthy to target him.

    ¡°Quite the safe playing one, aren¡¯t you?¡± said the goddess, in a heartbroken manner ¡°but they all exist, they just don¡¯t target you.¡±

    ¡°You mean the one with the portal will happen anyways?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± she said in a carefree tone.

    ¡°Screw this shit.¡±

    ¡°If you beg me to, I can give you some backdoor help.¡±

    ¡°Help me.¡±

    ¡°You should try better.¡±

    ¡°Then screw you too.¡± he said as he felt something warm towards his lower body and was taken back to the real world.

    After waking up, he realized. He had just peed in his pants, or specifically, on the blanket that covered him. With no other way, he cried for help which came out as a normal infant¡¯s cry as his tongue couldn¡¯t form words yet.

    A dragonman with black hair and scales came running into the room and lifted him off the crib. At least this world had developed a crib, ensuring his safety in case he moved while sleeping.

    She quickly changed the blanket and covered his mouth with her tits, which were by no means small, this was the start of his life as Raven, a dragonman.

 Chapter 1 - Kingdom of Kuruth

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me rest, oh so busy goddess?¡± asked Raven, quite annoyed. Although she said that she would be there for him to ask some questions, he didn¡¯t think she would haunt his dreams and nightmares alike.

    ¡°I was bored in heaven.¡± she said in a matter of fact tone.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I one of the 10, isn¡¯t there anyone else?¡±

    ¡°Dragonmen grow the fastest, it¡¯s been only a year and you can already run and fly. The others grow up slowly, so take my word for it. I¡¯ll be here for 2 years minimum.¡± Dragonmen grew faster than others, who would 4 times as fast as humans for 4 years, meaning they would be 16 biologically and would grow slowly from there; a perfect example of a warrior race.

    She was here for the last year, which annoyed him to no end, but it¡¯s not as if didn¡¯t have any uses. He learned almost everything he needed to know to survive in this world.

    This world was called Terra, and was roughly 4 times the size of Earth. It housed the races he could choose from, and many types of monsters and creatures.

    There were 5 continents and was named differently according to which continent you were in. From the viewpoint of those on the Central Continent, the others were known as Desolate East, Misty North, Land of the Fallen(West) and Incendium. The main continent was in the shape of a plus, and only few hundred meters of water separated them.

    Magic had many forms, and was created on daily basis. A fire mage who compressed fire into a laser would have created [Laser] magic and so on.

    The inhabitants of Terra worshipped titans instead of gods, who are capable of direct help. Although powerful, they don¡¯t have the ability to directly harm mortals, but can use collateral damage aka natural disasters to keep mortals in check.

    A person with a talent for magic could use it to create skills, and someone without talent in that particular school of magic could use spells to achieve results. Skills would need the user to control and manipulate mana particles to a certain degree while spells would need, often long, incantations.

    That was all he could get out of that airheaded excuse of a goddess. But now that he thought about it, it wasn¡¯t a small amount either. But for 12 months of nightly conversations, it didn¡¯t add up.

    In a years¡¯ time, the goddess gave him 2 books. The titles were: ¡°How to Magic for Dummies¡±, ¡°Friendly Goddess¡¯s Guide to Survival¡±. Although he felt humiliated at first, it soon turned into thankfulness after reading the content. The only downside was that he could only read it while sleeping, in the same room as that noisy girl.

    A light shone on his eyes as he opened it. It was morning. It didn¡¯t feel like he slept, except the fact that he was energized.

    Raven¡¯s black scales glistened in the sunlight as he fully opened the curtains. His half meter body had large wings for its size and they were hunched back, as if protecting him from the cold. His hair was cut short and was messy, as he didn¡¯t bother fixing it, but it didn¡¯t hinder the handsomeness he inherited from his mother.

    A mountain tipped with snow could be seen, and below were dozens of tall and short concrete houses with triangular roofs. A few people could be seen roaming the streets of Eaglemouth. Raven was already used to seeing many types of beastmen, humans and some Chimeras up to the level someone would have towards an Asian or Native American.

    Seeing that the sky was clear, he decided to go out. His room didn¡¯t have much furniture, just a bed, a lamp and a small table. It was the room he first found himself in.

    Raven turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, revealing a wide, but short corridor. The house was structured so that the second floor had a corridor that led to 3 rooms. One was on the right, one on the left and one at end of the corridor, opposite to the stairs.

    He lived on the right side, the left side belonged to his sister, who went travelling before he was born. The other room was the storage room. The ground in the mountainous area was hard, so basements weren¡¯t broadly used, resulting in storage rooms.

    At first, he was creeped out staying on a floor all alone, but started enjoying the newfound freedom soon.

    He descended the stairs, and was met by his mother cooking breakfast. His father could be seen lying on the sofa, looking at something similar to a TV. It was typically called a Crystal Vision, and was shortened to CV.

    At first, he was taken aback by what magic could do, but was used to it soon enough. After seeing the lamp, he expected something like this, but not this much. Stoves were common, while CVs were expensive, and only the rich could afford it. These worked by using a special magic conductive type of crystal, and could be powered by mana. But these could only be made by those talented at [Lightning] magic.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    If his father wasn¡¯t a Crystal Smith, he wouldn¡¯t have known about this for a long time and would have been taken aback in the future.

    ¡°Good morning Raven.¡± greeted a woman with a gentle voice. It was Elenora, his mother

    ¡°Good morning.¡± answered Raven as he headed towards the door. They didn¡¯t mind him being too intelligent for his age, and actually supported him. He just shook it off as dragonmens¡¯ maturing speed was as fast as the aging.

    ¡°Eat your breakfast before you go.¡±

    ¡°Kay, then call me when you¡¯re done.¡¯ he answered as he jumped at his father.

    ¡°Sup, little drake.¡± said Tristan, as he caught him with one of his hands. Although he was the size of a 2 year old, Tristan was big, standing a half meter higher than a muscular adult human. The size difference between his father and mother weren¡¯t small; one would wonder how they could have fun.

    Contrary to his body size, Tristan had a gentle face and was a kind person. The villagers were friendly towards him and the children liked to play with him.

    ¡°Sup.¡± answered Raven and Tristan put him down on his chest and both turned towards the CV. Raven nearly vomited blood when he saw the news. It was about a kingdom of vampires.

    (Due to the mysterious disappearance of villagers around the borders of Desolate East, a recon team consisting of 10 experienced personnel was sent to gather information. However, only 2 survivors returned. One was unable to make sense of anything, and is currently in an asylum, whereas, the other survivor is our special guest for today.) She said, as the camera moved to show a drow with dark lines under his eyes. He wore a black cloak, a black trouser and black shirt with grey lines under it. He was clearly shaken up by the experience. (Mr. Claudis, can you tell us what you have seen in detail?)

    (Yes, of course. When we landed there, there was no sign of life. Then we decided to go deeper to check for the missing villagers and found a trail of blood.) he said, with an emphasis on the last part (We followed it and reached a cave and we could hear screams. That¡¯s when we should have turned back to call for reinforcements. But we thought it was just a normal bandit group, oh how wrong we were, and decided to engage in combat. Having 2 clerics on our side, we didn¡¯t fear for minor injuries, everyone was strong enough to take on a hundred men, after all.)

    He paused for a while, and took a deep breath, as if bracing himself.

    (But what we saw were people inflicted with the vampire curse, biting into the flesh of boys and girls. We rushed in, without thinking of the consequences. The battle was fierce, and 4 corpses were left. And our captain asked the children ¡°Are there any others?¡± he didn¡¯t get a reply. The children were too scared to talk. Even when we told them that they were safe now, they didn¡¯t run. We went in even deeper and reached a clearing. It was a sight I shall never forget. There was a kingdom, those inflicted with the vampire curse. There were children and men and women, they were being kept as slaves. Then 2 approached us. Their skins were as pale as snow, their eyes were as red as blood. They started running towards us. We fought and then ¡­ it was a slaughter fest. They left 4 of us alive.) he halted speaking right then.

    (May I ask where the other 2 are?) the newswoman asked.

    (I¡¯m not finished yet!!!) he shouted and started bracing himself again (They threw us in a cell, and each day, they tortured one of us. I survived it with my sanity, while Theodore left his sanity on that accursed table of hell.) his fear turned into rage (They forced us to eat our fallen comrades, and tortured anyone who didn¡¯t listen. Soon, I was the only one who was sane, but we were all broken. Martha and Serenity were too scared to move, and resembled the children we met before entering. They brought me and Theodore to their king and he told me ¡°I am Ulacarnne, king of Khuruth. I will be the ruler of this world, and the sky needs only one moon.¡± and sent us back.)

    Tristan and Raven were both shocked to their cores, one realizing his future foe¡¯s power, the other hearing his old enemy¡¯s name.

    ¡°Breakfast¡¯s ready, you two.¡± said Elenora with a cheerful tone.

    They both stood up and walked up to the chair.

    ¡°Why the long faces?¡± she asked, surprised. As if caught by surprise, they just noticed that there were others in the same room and started acting cheerfully.

    ¡°Nah, just upset that I¡¯ll be leaving you two for a while.¡± said Tristan with a carefree tone.

    ¡°Oh, when are you going?¡± asked Elenora.

    ¡°After half a year or so, and I think I¡¯ll be gone for at least a year.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s still a long time until then, cheer up, would you?¡±

    Then they started gobbling up the food. It was fried pork with eggs, of some wild bird. As for a drink, they had juice right out of the cooler. It tasted like a mix of apple and orange.

    After a while of awkward silence, Tristan started ¡°I think it¡¯s time for us to teach Raven combat.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s not even 2 years old.¡±

    ¡°I want him to be able to protect himself in absence.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here for.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that you¡¯ll be with him 24/7/365?¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t¡± she said with guilt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry mom, I want to learn.¡± Raven accepted, truthfully, it was exactly what he wanted. He had started training from when he learned to fly. Raven would train at a place no one would disrupt him and would come back during the afternoon, and would play with other children.

    Currently, he had created 2 skills: [Spark] and [Shadow Pull]. The first one would create a spark of lightning, not really a combat skill as much as it is a utility. It was only useful for starting small fires, not unlike what a match would do, or pranking other children. The second one wasn¡¯t that useful either. It would pull a shadow out of the ground and make it corporeal for a second. It was only useful for tripping people.

    As for his physical prowess, it would easily pass as that of his old body, a week teenager¡¯s. His claws, were however, quite sharp. It left a mark on a tree. His flying was quite good; he was equal to a bird in terms of flying, but a dragon would be capable of much more.

    ¡°Then meet me at the yard this afternoon.¡± said Tristan, as he went into the storage room.

 Chapter 2 - Flying and Magic

    ¡°I have noticed that you are exceptionally smart for your age, so I want you to have the strength to back it up. After all, the strong rule this world while the weak are devoured.¡± said Tristan.

    ¡°I understand, father.¡± answered a little dragonman with black scales.

    Then, before all else, you must learn how to fly. This way you can easily run away from pursuers if they aren¡¯t skyborne.¡± he said, as his giant wings started moving. With one flap, he flew upwards. Raven looked up and realized that he could barely see his father.

    After a while, his father flew down and landed safely by back flipping and flapping his wings lightly when he was right above the house. Raven saw that and realized that a dragon¡¯s flight and a bird¡¯s flight were 2 different subjects.

    ¡°Now, try to do what I did. You must flap your wings with as much force as you can when you lift off the ground. When flying, use your chest instead of your wings to direct yourself. Use the momentum to your advantage.¡±

    Raven mustered all the strength he could get out of his wings and launched himself up. It resulted in him finding himself 5 meters above the ground.

    ¡°Nice going, now try to get the feel of flying until you can do it reflexively.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    He navigated himself using his chest, and found it far easier than using his wings to do so.

    After two hours, his flying became much smoother. After Tristan noticed, he flew up and motioned Raven to follow him.

    They flew around the city twice, when Raven¡¯s back started aching and his wings became unsteady. Tristan noticed it and said ¡°So that¡¯s your limit, so how some rest while eating?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but didn¡¯t mother say that I can¡¯t eat anything strange?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this one¡¯s on dad.¡± he said as they both descended.

    It was the market district. There were many people selling goods and foods alike. Tristan led Raven to a stall worked by a Crocodileman. ¡°How¡¯s it going, Franco.¡± asked Tristan.

    ¡°Same as always. Woah woah, do I see a little one behind ye?¡± asked the hoarse-voiced beastman.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s my son. Anyways, we¡¯ll take 3 bronzefish skewers.¡±

    ¡°Comin¡¯ right up. So, who¡¯s the lucky girl that got our Tristan?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more like I¡¯m the lucky boy who got her.¡±

    ¡°To hear our ¡®Proud Dragon¡¯ say that, she must be a real beauty.¡±

    After some chatting, the skewers came out. The skewer entered through the mouth of the fish and came out from near its tail. The scales were peeled off, so it was just meat in the shape of a fish. It gave off a smell that screamed delicious, and looked the part.

    He took a bite. It was a heavenly taste. It had the right amount of crunchiness and was juicy on the inside. Then he noticed that the middle part tasted even more delicious and it lacked bones.

    Surely enough, the fish had been cut and the bones were taken out. Then it was filled with something that tasted like the mixture of pepper and cumin, and it had the texture of a cheese.

    He quickly devoured the fish and for the first time in his life, wanted to be fat. That way, he could eat more of this.

    ¡°Delicious, right?¡± asked Tristan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s come here more often.¡± answered Raven.

    ¡°As long as you can get the hang of what I¡¯m teaching.¡±

    ¡°Believe me, I¡¯m a good student.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± said Tristan as a wicked smile appeared on his face.

    After they both ate their fill, Tristan suggested going home and Raven took up the offer. Tristan launched upwards, followed by Raven. The sky had turned red as daybreak approached.

    They flew homeward, to the edge of the city. Raven had already learned how to fly, but couldn¡¯t do complex maneuvers like his dad.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Middle-sized 2 story houses with a red roof stood around the north edge of the city, near other buildings of the same architecture. These houses were separated by a short fence, providing vision of the other yards. On one side, they could see the city and on the other side, they could see mountains. Raven¡¯s house was the fifth one from the left and the third one from the right.

    They jumped over the fence and opened the door, but were met with an angry Elenora.

    ¡°Where were you all day?!¡± she shouted out.

    ¡°Err, we were training.¡± said Tristan with a wronged expression.

    ¡°You should have said something before you left. Do you know how worried I was, when you two disappeared just like that?¡±

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I should have done just that.¡± he said innocently.

    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t blame dad, he was just teaching me how to fly.¡± Raven butted in.

    ¡°If you say so.¡± said Elenora, trying to calm down. No matter how much she tried, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to be angry at her son.

    After a while, they calmed down and they spent the evening like many before it. Elenora was cooking; Tristan and Raven were lying on the sofa. Dinner was served, the usual fried meat with a new kind of seasoning. Dragonmen needed meat to grow up, so Elenora insisted that they eat meat every day. Money wasn¡¯t a problem, considering that his father was a Crystal Smith.

    Just like that, Raven went to bed.

    ¡­

    He woke up in his bed. This was strange, as he spent the whole night in the black room. He just shrugged it off as the goddess having something else to do.

    It was early, the sun shining its first lights. The door was kicked open by a sleepy dragonman. ¡°Wake up!!!¡± he shouted.

    ¡°I¡¯m awake,¡± said Raven and asked as he sat up ¡°what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Today, your mom will be teaching you magic.¡± Tristan said with a sleepy voice ¡°When I mentioned it yesterday, she got all fired up. This morning she kicked me off the bed and told me to call you.¡±

    Raven¡¯s sleepiness faded as he heard the mention of magic. He couldn¡¯t get far without a teacher even if he had the guidebook. The goddess was too lazy to teach him, and only lazed around.

    He jumped out of the bed and ran past his father and down to the living room.

    Elenora had already made breakfast and was waiting at the table. She saw Raven and her eyes gleamed with excitement. ¡°Are you ready to learn magic?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± he answered as he nodded his head.

    Elenora¡¯s tail started wagging in excitement, not letting her down, Raven devoured the steak. His mother grabbed his hand and dragged him outside.

    For some reason, she became too excited when she heard about magic. It happened once before, when she heard that a famous mage was coming to town.

    ¡°First up, you have to learn how to collect the mana particles. Without doing that you can¡¯t use magic.¡± she said, with a know-it-all tone ¡°You must use your inner strength to call it forth.¡±

    Raven had already learned this part, so he willed for the mana particles to gather around his fingertips.

    Elenora¡¯s eyes almost bulged out. Even the most talented would need at least an hour to get it right. This made her happy, but jealous.

    It took a while to hide her shock, but she continued her lesson ¡°If you can gather the mana particles, the rest is easier.¡± she ran into the house and came out with a crystal ball. ¡°You can know your Magic Talents with this.¡±

    The ball started glowing and 2 orbs appeared within it. One was black and the other was grey. ¡°These two are my talents, the black represents [Shadow] and the grey one represents [Death] magic. Having 1 talent means you can use magic, having 2 means that you¡¯re talented and having 3 means you¡¯re a genius, having 4 means you¡¯ll be counted a mage even without training.¡± said Elenora proudly.

    ¡°Then that means you¡¯re kind of awesome, right mom?¡± asked Raven, feeding her ego.

    ¡°Of course I am.¡± she said, puffing her chest and gave him the ball ¡°Now, let¡¯s see yours.¡±

    When the ball touched his hand, he could feel an energy running through his body. It felt like an ant running around inside his body, making him uncomfortable. Seeing his expression, a smile appeared on Elenora¡¯s face.

    Finally, the glow disappeared, the energy with it. There were 4 orbs, cycling around. They were black, blue, grey and one was a mixture of yellow and white. The last one was significantly bigger than the others.

    Elenora shouted out for Tristan, and surprised at her sudden scream, he rushed out. She was looking at the crystal in Raven¡¯s hand while rubbing her eyes. Tristan walked up at them, and he felt a joy unlike any other. Their son was a genius.

    Tristan and Elenora started hugging each other and crying. It took almost an hour for them to calm down.

    ¡­

    They were now sitting around the table in the kitchen. Raven¡¯s mother was the one to break the silence. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you had to see us crying, but having four elements means that you¡¯re a mage. We were too happy just now.¡±

    ¡°I know mom, I was surprised too.¡± Raven said.

    ¡°Now then, let me tell you the meaning of those orbs.¡± Elenora cleared her throat ¡°You know what the grey and the black signify, the blue one is for lightning, the same one as your father. The big one means that you have the [Soul] attribute. It means that you can¡¯t be truly killed unless you fight someone who uses the same magic and shatters your soul.¡±

    ¡°So that means I¡¯m immortal?¡± Raven asked, shocked.

    ¡°Yes, as long as your soul isn¡¯t destroyed, you can recreate your body as you wish by using an elemental magic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unbelievable, so what is an elemental magic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a type of magic that you use to manipulate something that makes up this world. Both [Shadow] and [Lightning] are included in this. With your [Soul] magic, you are practically immortal and you can kill those who are deemed immortals.¡±

    (And this is all thanks to a certain goddess that reincarnated you into this world.) resounded a familiar voice inside his head.

    ¡®What the fuck?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    (I¡¯m inside your head) she said.

    ¡®Are you reading my mind?¡¯

    ¡®Yep.¡¯

    ¡°Are you fine?¡± asked Elenora.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine, a little shocked is all.¡± he answered.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s start your magic lesson.¡± she said and once again dragged him outside.

    ¡­

    ¡°To use shadow magic, you must will the mana particles into your shadow and control it from there.¡± she said.

 Chapter 3 - Farewell

    ¡°What do you mean that you don¡¯t have money?¡± shouted out a lizardfolk with a white suit. He was in a weapons shop and was shouting at the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was a bearman, by no means weak, but he was surrounded by several other lizardfolk.

    ¡°P-please give me 1 week.¡± begged the bearman. He had borrowed money from The Green Tail gang to start his shop, and they were here to take it back.

    ¡°We waited for a month, that¡¯s enough. Now, be a good boy and give us the money or I swear I¡¯m gonna make it hurt.¡± he licked his lips while saying that, and a shiver ran through the bearman¡¯s back.

    ¡°Daddy, dinner¡¯s ready.¡± said his daughter. The lizardfolks¡¯ eyes turned towards the girl, as she ran away. However, she was blocked by one of the gang members, and she was grabbed by the collar.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything, don¡¯t hurt my child.¡± said the bearman, now scared. The lizardfolk grabbed a dagger from a stall and stabbed it into his stomach. The bearman¡¯s body grew in size and he leaked a bloodthirsty aura.

    ¡°Hey, hey big guy, calm down. If you resist, your daughter dies.¡± threatened the leader of the gang. He helplessly shrunk to his old size. Another dagger stabbed into him, but this time it was his sides.

    A robed figure entered the shop and quietly looked through the weapons on sale. The gang members were dumbstruck at the ignorance of the uninvited guest.

    As if not noticing the hostile glares from the lizardfolk, he grabbed a sword and turned towards them. ¡°Which one of you is the shopkeeper?¡±

    The leader asked as he approached him ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Are you the shopkeeper, if so, how much for this sword?¡± said the robed man. Now that the lizard was near him, he saw that his height was near his own, a person deemed tall. But he was skinny, so the one in the robe supposedly had more body mass.

    ¡°I¡¯m Darius, the leader of the Green Tail gang, and you dare mistake me for a mere shopkeeper?¡± he shouted out as he unsheathed his blade. It wasn¡¯t a normal one, it grew increasingly wider as it neared the tip. He held the sword in one of his hands and he used the other one to rip off the robe.

    He saw that it was a dragonman with pitch black scales. But he was young, a teenager. This was the 4 year old Raven. Although shocked, the lizard slashed his sword at him. By then, he had already dropped the sword he was about to buy.

    He easily dodged it by moving to the side and a fist dug into the abdomen of the wielder, resulting in him coughing blood.

    Enraged, he moved back and pointed his sword at the dragonman ¡°Kill him!!!¡± The minions quickly charged at Raven, each with the same sword as their leader.

    Raven straightened his hand uttered [Shock Blade] as a static lightning covered his hands, in the shape of a triangle. He dodged a slash by ducking and slashed 2 of them with the blade. It served as a taser and knocked both of them out.

    ¡®2 down, 4 to go¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He used his tail hit one¡¯s hand and he dropped the blade, and was easily defeated. One tried to launch a sneak attack, but failed horribly by being hit by his muscular wings. The other two attacked together, blocking each other¡¯s openings. But Raven was their opponent.

    He used [Shadow Step] and disappeared. Having hit nothing, they stumbled down. By then, Raven had appeared out of their shadows and hit them with his [Shock Blade].

    Fearing for his life, the leader ran away, but tripped on nothing. Raven shocked him too and proceeded with his business. He took up the ring he had dropped and walked towards the shopkeeper.

    ¡°How much for this?¡± he said and showed him a two-handed claymore he was holding.

    ¡°As thanks for your help, I¡¯ll give it to you for free.¡± said the shopkeeper.

    ¡°Are you for real? Then I¡¯ll take up your offer.¡± said Raven happily.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you saved my daughter¡¯s life after all.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°So, what are you planning to do to them?¡± asked Raven, looking at the lying bodies.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry yourself about that, I¡¯ll take care of it. If a bear doesn¡¯t show his might, others might think that he is a sick weasel.¡± he said, with a gleam in his eyes.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± said Raven as he left the shop. He launched upwards, not nearly as good as his father. It¡¯s been 2 years since his father left, but not before teaching him how to wield a sword and hand-to-hand fighting. The goddess had left to after telling him not to fight others with the same mark as him.

    She left a purple tattoo on his neck, in the shape of a bird with a crown. He now covered it with a red scarf, sewn by his mother. It was enchanted so it wouldn¡¯t burn, get wet or be torn. Also it had a magic layer that protects it from being dirtied. How she could get it enchanted, he didn¡¯t know.

    He arrived home and opened the door. His mother was watching the CV as always, she became like this since Tristan left as she had nothing else to do.

    ¡°You¡¯re back, how did it go? Could you bargain enough?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nope, I got it for free.¡±

    ¡°What, did you steal it?!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°I just helped the shopkeeper settle something.¡± he said in a matter of fact tone.

    ¡°You fought didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but they were weaklings.¡±

    ¡°But you should be more careful about it, what if they happened to have a strong backer.¡±

    ¡°Sorry mom.¡± he apologized.

    ¡°Anyways, you¡¯re going to leave tomorrow.¡± she said.

    ¡°What do you mean mom?¡±

    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re going to take the exam for a magic academy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to trouble you. I heard the tuition fee is very high.¡± he said worriedly.

    ¡°Idiot, do you think they¡¯ll turn down a 4 talented student? They¡¯ll actually beg for you to join their academy.¡± she shouted. In truth, he had 5. It¡¯s just that his parents were unable to read it. [Body Modification] magic talent is signified by the orbs cycling around, but they were too caught up in their joy they didn¡¯t notice.

    Thanks to his parents he had already learned 5 skills: [Shock Blade], [Shadow Step], [Shadow Pull] was strengthened, [Lightning Movement], [Lightning Bolt]. And thanks to the goddess, he learned 2 skills: [Steel Claw] and [Soul Recovery]. The first makes his claws as tough as steel, the second one lets him recover his soul in case it¡¯s damaged. If it¡¯s not damaged, it would make it stronger, thus harder to break.

    Although shocked, he was happy that he was going to study at a magic academy. And he was going to leave home.

    ¡°So which academy am I going to attend?¡±

    ¡°With your talent I¡¯m sure you can attend any of them, so I¡¯ll send you to Trouxorth Academy. It¡¯s the school I graduated from.¡±

    ¡°The academy you graduated from? Then it must be good one.¡± he had learned that his mother was an arch-mage, a title granted to mage who has mastered one school of magic. For Elenora¡¯s case, it was Shadow.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the number 3 academy in this world.¡±

    ¡°Then why can¡¯t I go to the first?¡± asked Raven, curious.

    ¡°Because the number 1 is Flamewing Academy, only attended by those with the Fire Attribute and the number 2 is Serene Academy, an all-girls school.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s it. So how do I get there?¡± he asked again.

    ¡°By flying. It¡¯s in the next city over.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s hard to find my way.¡± Raven complained.

    She smirked and said ¡°It¡¯s easy to use maps when you¡¯re flying and you¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡±

    This was true, considering that maps show things from above. ¡°Okay, let me pack my belongings.¡± he said and ran up the stairs.

    He was quite surprised at the lack of attachment that his mother had, but soon remembered that his sister was already travelling the world, maybe that deafened her or are all dragonmen like this?

    He didn¡¯t need much, just his clothes, which amounted to not that much. After all, he was a dragonman so he didn¡¯t need many clothes. He packed 3 underwears and 5 trousers, which had holes for tailed people. This world was convenient for stuff like this. Now that his clothes were done, he thought of it and couldn¡¯t think of something other than food supplies.

    Raven descended the stairs and asked his mother ¡°What should I prepare anyways?¡±

    ¡°Here, everything¡¯s in this.¡± she threw something at him. It was a normal looking black ring, with no decorations. Once he put it on, it was almost indistinguishable from his scales. ¡°That¡¯s a storage ring with 5 cubic meters of space. Don¡¯t lose it, that cost a fortune.¡±

    ¡®How typical.¡¯ he thought but came out as ¡°Thanks mom, I¡¯ll treasure it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you¡¯ll become a famous mage so it¡¯s worth it.¡± she said and shooed him into his room.

    Night quickly came as he thought of the countless possibilities.

    ¡­

    It was noon, he quickly got up and ran down the stairway, his mother was already making lunch and she motioned for him to wait. She was frying some unknown fish meat and had rice as a side dish. An alluring aroma emanated from the dish in process the process of making.

    The taste was as expected, delicious. It was marinated in a substance like honey and there was a sour taste, the fish itself gave a unique taste, making it even tastier.

    He quickly finished it. Her mother dragged him outside. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time to say our goodbyes.¡± she said and gave him 2 bronze bracelets. ¡°They¡¯re your father¡¯s. It¡¯s called lightning bracelets and can help you use magic. And this is from me.¡± she said and gave him a pendant ¡°It¡¯ll help you in times of need.¡±

    He put the bracelets on and examined the pendant. It was in the shape of a diamond and it was a black gemstone, edged by metal. He put it on, under his scarf. None could see it.

    ¡°Thanks mom, and say thanks to dad too.¡± Raven said. It seems although advanced, they didn¡¯t create phones. ¡°And take care.¡± he turned his back to her, but was hugged from behind.

    ¡°Take care, my son.¡± she said with a shaky voice. It seems she was actually quite attached to him. Raven hugged her too; after all, she was the one who raised him through his childhood, although short.

    He launched upwards and said his final goodbyes to his childhood home.

 Chapter 4 - A Friend

    A mile from Eaglemouth village, a black spot could be seen in the sky. It was some kind of airborne variant of beastmen or a flying monster. However, it was moving with such speed that few would think of it as a beastman.

    This was Raven, flying towards Reinburg, where Krouxorth academy stood. Travel by foot would take around a month and travel by carriage would last half a month. But Raven was sure he¡¯d be there by evening.

    The road wasn¡¯t long, but took many detours because of the complicated terrain. Raven was holding a map, depicting the path in his hand, while using his wings to sustain flight. Currently, he wasn¡¯t moving, the air current would tear the map.

    He had traversed the fourth of the entire road and was over the monster infested Dark Forest, which most travelers feared. It started from 2 miles from Eaglemouth village and ended at a giant lake, which travellers would use ships to travel through. If it didn¡¯t cover most of the road to Reinburg, they wouldn¡¯t have taken such a measure.

    This lake was the home to merfolk who were on friendly terms with the locals, which made pirating hard if not impossible. This was one of the perks to befriending them.

    That very lake was in sight, and he flew there. He could only open his mouth in awe at the lake. This was beyond anything he has ever seen. His family moved to Middle Asia when he was too young, so he didn¡¯t have the chance to see the ocean. Although he knew that it wasn¡¯t as big as the ocean, Raven couldn¡¯t help but get shocked.

    The lake was clear, he could see the bottom. There were exquisite coral buildings, with merfolk continuing their daily lives. He heard that merfolk lived in here, but he didn¡¯t think that they would actually build a city this close to the shore. Without humans to look out from, this would be the case.

    He decided to rest his wings for a while before continuing his travel and descended towards the shore. The forest ended a few hundred meters back and there was a plain near the shore. He comfortably sat on the ground and took a water bottle from his ring. He took a drink and refilled it with the water from the lake. As expected, this was a clear water lake.

    Without nuclear waste and trash, he doubted it was unclean. Even with the merfolk living there.

    He checked the map for the last time and saw that he would have had to take a detour around the forest and then get on a ship from the harbor, which would then send you to another harbor on the other side.

    Roar!!!

    He heard a roar from behind himself and quickly got on his feet, turning around in the process. Raven saw a tiger. It had red and white instead of the usual orange and white. It was drooling, as if it saw something delicious. It roared once again before jumping at him.

    Raven then used [Shock Blade] and hit it with it, while moving to the side. It was futile, its hide didn¡¯t let anything pass. A claw scratched his right arm, but Raven¡¯s scales weren¡¯t anything to laugh at either. He got a light cut, nothing serious. But it ticked him off. Raven used [Shadow Step] to appear behind it, and grabbed it by the neck.

    He then launched upwards, at least 50 meters. Raven then plunged downwards, with the beast in his hand. With the momentum of the descent, he hit the ground with the tiger, leaving it crippled if not dead.

    This was the type of person Raven was, he would usually be a cheerful person, but when someone or something ticks him off, he would go berserk. Even though he couldn¡¯t be called strong in his past life, he would easily pass as ruthless. And by only being ruthless, he once defeated the school bully, not to mention the prey was a bodybuilder.

    Having blown off some steam, he continued with his travel. His speed was around 100 mph, so it took him 3 more hours to reach the shore.

    His hometown resided in the mountains of Eagleheart, at the edge. Thus, the climate was close to that of the tundra. But what was before his eyes was a far warmer land, filled with flowers and various plants, contrary to the grass and dirt of the tundra.

    Although it was hotter than he used to, his body adapted quickly. Dragons were cold-blooded creatures, so dragonmen were the mixture of warm and cold. By every means, he felt more comfortable in a warmer place.

    He could see the city over the horizon, and raised his speed. Although he wasn¡¯t a pure human anymore, he had etiquettes. He wouldn¡¯t trespass on foreign lands without being inspected. About few hundred meters from the city, he descended from the sky and landed near a carriage. He quickly got his robe from inside his ring and put it on. He clenched his wings, to wear it. It didn¡¯t feel comfortable at all, as if you are squatting with your extra pair of hands.

    A loud voice came out of the carriage. The carriage itself was a delicate one, likely that of a noble family. There was a crest with the head of a lion, and it was pulled by 4 white horses. The voice was that of a woman ¡°What was the name of the academy again?¡± She was calm, it seems that his hearing was acting up. When he wasn¡¯t in a city or such, he would usually get sensitive hearing. Maybe this was a self-defense mechanism that his race had.

    ¡°Krouxorth Academy, my lady.¡± said an elderly voice. He was likely the butler. Raven didn¡¯t feel like overhearing their conversation and decided to choose another route, but was stopped when he heard something interesting. ¡°I heard the acceptance rate is 2 out of 100 and only 20 new students are allowed. Even then, half of them are sent back.¡±

    ¡®Wow, dangerous¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He almost jumped back when he heard a voice inside his head. (Hello, I¡¯m back.)

    ¡®What the heck? You just jump out of nowhere after disappearing for 2 years.¡¯

    (It¡¯s not that much, I was just visiting the others, they were growing up so I had to feed them some information.)

    ¡®Then you should have done so forever.¡¯Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    (Then I shouldn¡¯t tell you that another one of them is in that carriage next to you.)

    ¡®Well, you just did. And what do you mean that she¡¯s one of them? Aren¡¯t I supposed to be the first to grow up?¡¯

    (Oh, did I say that? Teehee, did I tell you that you were the last of the 10? I guess so, the others were sent here before you and she¡¯s the first one.)

    ¡®So you mean you¡¯ve been doing it for years.¡¯

    (There¡¯s a time difference between heaven and the mortal worlds. The mortal world would be roughly 105¡¯120 times faster, meaning one hour is 12 years in here.)

    ¡®Wait, that doesn¡¯t add up, how can you even do that for 9 people in 1 hour, I think I took at least 3 hours?¡¯

    (Time distortion, my child. The room where you were slows time down with a ratio of 1:50, I had enough time to spare, actually.)

    ¡®You are really scatter-brained excuse of a goddess.¡¯

    (Bye, bye, I¡¯m gonna tell her now, so be close, kay?)

    ¡­

    A few minutes later. ¡°What!!!¡± this time, the woman was actually loud. ¡°I¡¯m the first one, right? How is the last one even here? He should be a baby.¡±

    An awkward pause occurred and she continued ¡°Fine, if you say so.¡± Coincidentally, she was on good terms with the goddess and the butler didn¡¯t seem to mind, which means he knows.

    The door swung open and a beauty was revealed. She had blue hair and matching eyes. She gave off a cold beauty type of aura, but her fiery temper was misplaced, or Raven thought so.

    ¡°Are you him?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± he said, and revealed the mark.

    ¡°Come in.¡± she was acting all cool and noble, as if the conversation with the goddess didn¡¯t even occur.

    The awkward silence returned when he entered the carriage and sat. He was sitting next to the butler, and opposite to the girl.

    Raven was currently wearing a robe, so he didn¡¯t reveal his dragonic features. Even when revealing the mark, he had covered his hand with his sleeve and showed her only his neck.

    ¡°Can you stop the carriage and leave the room for a while, Patrick. And I won¡¯t forgive eavesdropping.¡± she said as the butler left without a word. Soon, the carriage stopped. ¡°So, what race did you choose?¡± she asked.

    He showed her his hands and answered ¡°Dragonman.¡±

    ¡°Wait, there was a race like that?¡± she was clearly shocked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a variant of beastman, and isn¡¯t it proper manners to introduce yourself before asking something? Or does this world lack it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I am the third daughter of the Lionheard family, Liliana Lionheard.¡±

    ¡°I am Raven Cangard, a dragonman.¡± he said.

    ¡°Cangard? You¡¯re from that family?¡± It was Raven¡¯s turn to be shocked. He didn¡¯t know that his family name was a big deal.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re mistaken.¡±

    ¡°Maybe so, you have black scales, after all.¡± she said.

    ¡°Do they have blue scales?¡± he asked, just to make sure.

    ¡°Yes, and they are known as the Blue Reapers in the South. Their leading Primus branch¡¯s direct descendants have blue scales.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so? I guess I¡¯m from a branch family then.¡± he said. Raven didn¡¯t know if it was beneficial for him to let others know of his background. It might protect him from others, or it might even provoke them even more, he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    ¡°If my memory serves well, you¡¯re from the Quintus branch. Their trademark is their black scales. But it no longer exists and were scattered. Maybe you¡¯re one of them.¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re quite knowledgeable.¡± he fed her ego.

    ¡°What would you expect from a 16 year old?¡±

    It seems the goddess told her about his age. ¡°So, let¡¯s get to know each other a little.¡± said Raven.

    ¡­

    The conversation lasted for about an hour, and by then, she motioned for her carriage to move, and the butler was together with the coachman.

    During this time, he had learned quite a bit of information. He didn¡¯t probe for more information about the Quintus branch, as she might suspect something.

    Lionheard family was from the South, and was quite a wealthy one at that. They had their personal army, a thousand troops. It was a small kingdom of sorts. Cangard family seems to dominate the south, and was the royal family of the Eclair Kingdom.

    As for the world state, it was in an uneasy peace, much like the cold war. Ever since Kuruth Kingdom appeared, all the kingdoms slowly grew their military prowess. The vampire kingdom might be the reason for a war, it seems.

    Liliana and Raven were both teenagers in their last lives, so they became something like friends, but most people would see them as couples.

    The city guards checked for criminals, which used a liquid. They would prick their finger with a needle and let the blood mix with the liquid. If it turned green, they were fine, but if it turned red, they would be arrested. He didn¡¯t know how it worked and Liliana told him to just let it go. Old common sense is dead anyways.

    They also collected an entry fee of 5 silvers and gave them an ID card. Raven had 20 silver coins but she insisted that she pay them, so he let her. He was short on money anyways.

    100 copper equals 1 silver and 100 silver equals 1 gold, quite simple. The city was getting quieter as night approached. The sun had already set during their chat.

    A city was entirely different from a village. It was at least 4 times the size of his hometown and the buildings were taller, quite logical, as to save space. They had a wall, so it was common sense to save the little space inside it. Farm fields were outside the city so the poor lived outside, the middle-class lived around the edges and the rich lived around the center. As they neared the center, the buildings got shorter and shorter, resembling Victorian age houses.

    Thanks to Raven¡¯s newfound friend, he was going to stay in a high-class hotel, a luxury he didn¡¯t have even during his old lifetime. Asia was quite lacking in the hotel industry, at least where he lived.

    They finally stopped at a building taller than the others, and entered. It was luxurious inside, as suggested by the outer appearance. There was a red carpet on the ground with golden linings, and there was a counter at the side.

    ¡°May I ask lady¡¯s name?¡± asked the hotel personnel.

    ¡°Liliana Lionheard, there should be a room for one.¡± she said in a cold tone, which seems to be her outer layer. During their chat, she was just like any girl you would find in his old world.

    ¡°But of course, please follow me.¡± he said and led them to their room. It was on the third floor, on each floor were only 2 rooms, one on each side. A narrow corridor ran through their middle.

    The attendant opened the door and handed the key to Liliana politely, and left. Raven was shocked. This was a room that even royalty wouldn¡¯t mind staying in.

    It was spacious and had delicate furniture, he felt like they were sparkling. He stood at the door, clearly shocked, but was brought back to the material world by the girl entering the room.

    Now that he saw her, she was wearing a blue and white dress. He hadn¡¯t noticed it before because he was too focused on their conversation and her face, mostly the latter.

    There was a master-sized bed, a big sofa, a CV, a wardrobe, a table with a mirror for mostly make-up and a dinner table. Although there was too much furniture, it didn¡¯t look crowded.

    ¡°So, are noble houses like this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°I thought so.¡±

    ¡°These are too cheap compared to the furniture in our house.¡± she said and Raven almost fell to the ground from shock, but quickly recovered.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, where are your servants?¡± Raven asked.

    ¡°They¡¯ll stay somewhere else.¡± she said with a straight face.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they worried about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a mage with 4 talents. Do you think I¡¯m helpless?¡±

    ¡°Well, that was a mistake on my part, sorry.¡± he said. Raven had already told her about his talents except his [Body Modification], so she knew about him too. They had exchanged most of their information, but nothing of their old world except their age and gender. Her talents were quite extraordinary; it seems that she sat for a while. They were: [Ice], [Summoning], [Darkness] and [Gravity]. She might have wanted to roleplay the Demon Queen in this life.

    There was a knock on the door and an attendant brought in the dinner. It was high-class food, for one. So he excused himself to the one his mother made him. Night quickly came as they chatted about various things and they went to sleep.

 Chapter 5 - School and Rivals

    It was morning and the sun was shining down on Raven¡¯s face. He had fallen asleep on the giant sofa. Now that Raven thought about it, almost every day is sunny in this world and he wondered how they grew crops. Maybe they had a magical water system or something along the lines.

    He saw that Liliana was up and was currently eating breakfast. ¡°I asked for a breakfast for two.¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks, Lily.¡± said Raven.

    He took a seat and saw it was a typical dinner: fresh bread and butter, with fruit tea for a drink. Apparently, fresh bread was a delicacy in this world.

    ¡­

    They finally finished eating breakfast and Liliana opened her mouth ¡°The examination starts today.¡±

    ¡°Starts?¡±

    ¡°There are several stages. The first one is crystal ball test, the second one is knowledge test and the third one is a practical test.¡± she said.

    ¡°Oh, that makes sense.¡± Raven said.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be early than late.¡± said Lily as she got up and walked towards the door.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± said Raven as he followed.

    Although he could fly, he heard that there was something called Air Security in cities that would take fees for using the air. He wasn¡¯t familiar with the city, so he was in Liliana¡¯s care.

    The carriage was waiting for them, so they didn¡¯t have to walk. It saved the trouble of losing their way. He peeked out the window and saw that the city was bustling. Why wouldn¡¯t it be, after all, today was the examination day for the number 3 school in the world.

    ¡°Now that I think of it, why didn¡¯t you go to Serene Academy, I heard that they specialize in [Ice] magic and an all-girls school?¡±

    ¡°My brother studies at Krouxorth, so they wanted me to have a backing. You know, boarding schools have bullies and stuff.¡±

    ¡°Surprisingly, that makes sense.¡±

    The rest of the road, the 2 were silent. Raven was always wearing the robe, even when he slept. This way, he wouldn¡¯t attract unneeded attention.

    There was actually a traffic jam, with all the nobles¡¯ carriages. So they decided to walk. They weren¡¯t far away, only about a district away. The walk was short, after all, Liliana was almost running.

    There it was, a stage with a few examiners on top of it. There was a magic formation on the stage and anyone who stood in the middle would show their magic talents to others. Unlike a crystal ball in which the orb floated inside it, the magic formation would create orbs in the air for the public to see. This was developed to let them see that there was no backdoor in this examination.

    Countless examinees descended the stage with long faces, only 4 students passed as of then. They were a wolfman boy with a unique talent, 2 human girls with 3 talents and high elven 1 boy with 4. It was about time for them to make their appearance. First up was Liliana.

    She walked up the stage without the slightest trace of nervousness, as if she was sure to pass this test, in fact, she was. Four orbs floated in the air as the examiners stared at it in disbelief. ¡°[Gravity] and [Summoning], there are actually 2 rare talents!¡± they shouted.

    She walked down the stage as if it was normal. Then it was Raven¡¯s turn and he walked up the stage. ¡°Please take off your robe to proceed with the examination.¡± He took off the robe, revealing his black scales and massive wings.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dragonman!!!¡±

    ¡®¡±Amazing.¡±

    ¡°Woah, I didn¡¯t think I would see one in my lifetime.¡± the crowd chattered on. He didn¡¯t know that dragonmen were such a huge deal, maybe they were in a city of mostly humans.

    He walked towards the magic formation and stood in the middle. Four orbs flew around the air, one grey, one blue, one black and the other one a mix of yellow and white, significantly bigger than the others. They slowly rotated in the air.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Another four talented mage and this one has the [Soul] and [Death] attributes!!!¡± shouted one examiner.

    Another examiner slapped the back of his head and said ¡°Idiot, the orbs are moving through the air, he has [Body Modification] too.¡±

    ¡°Then, could it possibly be? A 5 talented mage, he¡¯d easily get accepted by this test alone.¡±

    And sure enough, he passed. He saw an angry Lily waiting for him below the stage. ¡°Why did you hide your fifth?!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it myself, there were only 4 orbs.¡±

    ¡°I can smell lies, you chose it before coming here, didn¡¯t you.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, why would I hide something from you.¡± they had become quite intimate in a short time aka 1 day.

    ¡°I hope so, I don¡¯t want you to become one of my enemies.¡±

    ¡®It seems she bought it¡¯ he thought to himself and said ¡°Me neither.¡±

    They both passed the first test with flying colors and decided to go to the shopping district. Lily insisted that she¡¯d pay it so all he had to do was follow her around and tell her when he wants to buy something.

    They were already near the center of the city, so they reached the high-end shopping district in no time at all. There were shops and the like, selling clothes and jewelry. Nothing caught Raven¡¯s eyes, as he didn¡¯t fancy clothes or jewelry unless it was given by someone. Luckily, nor did Liliana.

    Then they saw a tall monster. When they got closer, they noticed it was a robed man carrying boxes, stacked one over another. It was far above his head, at least a meter. While Raven¡¯s eyes were focused on that person, Liliana¡¯s eyes were focused on someone near him.

    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t it the princess of the Lionheard family?¡± asked out a woman sarcastically. She was around the same age as Liliana, long black hair and azure eyes. Her beauty rivaled Lily¡¯s, but didn¡¯t exceed it.

    Lily made a strange face, but didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Is that your boyfriend, perhaps?¡±.

    Clearly, Lily was ticked off, but her mouth was still closed. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m just a friend.¡± the one who replied ended up being Raven. He had put his robe back on when he left the stage, so she was oblivious to the fact that he was a dragonman.

    ¡°Oh, so you went and made a friend. Strange.¡± she commented.

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± shouted Liliana, finally at her limit.

    ¡°But it is, as your self-proclaimed bully, I take up the duty of humiliating you into my hands.¡± she said.

    Then Raven noticed, his body was several times heavier. The air around him felt stuffed, making trouble for breathing. ¡°You dare!!!¡± shouted out the woman as the robed man rushed from behind her.

    He sent a fist towards Lily¡¯s abdomen, so being the nice guy he is, Raven sent the other guy flying with a fist to the face. Clearly enraged, he threw away his robe and launched himself towards Raven. The reveal was quite shocking for Raven, but he quickly regained his senses.

    He used [Shadow Step] to move behind the red-scaled, and as always, used [Shock Blade] to electrify him by hitting his neck with it. The [Lightning Bracelets] showed its powers, as the power of the skill was at least twice as strong.

    ¡°Count yourself lucky.¡± she said, as she turned to leave, motioning for a previously hidden person to take the unconscious dragonman along.

    ¡°Who was she?¡± asked Raven, as if nothing appeared.

    ¡°The bride of The Cangard Family.¡± she said, her anger not nearly dissipated.

    ¡°That weakling¡¯s bride could act so tough, huh?¡±

    ¡°No, that was just a servant, from the Secundus Branch. His bride is the second prince of the family, who should be attending Krouxorth Academy too.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so she was a big shot after all.¡± said Raven.

    ¡°It¡¯s better to not mess with them.¡± said Lily, with a grave tone.

    ¡°I can¡¯t quite promise that. If the bride is like this, I don¡¯t think I can stomach the bridegroom.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re too dangerous.¡± she warned him yet again.

    Not in the mood, they decided to go get something to eat. The city was indeed large, it had a district for almost everything. The luxury diners were on the other side of the Central Pavilion, but they decided to go to the middle-class¡¯s diners.

    None of the two were too rich in their past lifetime, so their preferences lied in the middle-class. Even after 16 years, Lily wasn¡¯t used to it, the bravado and all.

    The buildings became taller, and the outer appearance of the said buildings became simpler as they got closer to the wall. The walk took at least an hour, as they arrived at the diners. Surprisingly, they weren¡¯t much different than the market district back home, with stalls and all. There were quite a few places with tables and chairs outside. Inside diners were the minority.

    After walking for a while, Raven saw someone he didn¡¯t think he would in here. It was none other than Franco the Croc, doing his business as usual. Raven motioned for Lily to follow him, and took her to Franco¡¯s place.

    ¡°Sup Franco, what you doing here?¡± Raven asked. He had come to Franco¡¯s place often before his dad went away, and visited with his mother occasionally when he wasn¡¯t. During these time, they became something like friends.

    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t it Raven, right back at ya.¡± said Franco, with his usual cheery yet hoarse voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna attend Krouxorth Academy.¡±

    ¡°Nothing less from the son of Tristan.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. And you didn¡¯t answer my question yet.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I had to deliver something to the city, and I¡¯m testing if people would buy my fish here.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, interesting, so what if they fancy it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll send my son to work here.¡± he answered.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll order the usual.¡±

    ¡°Comin¡¯ right up. Wait a sec, is it a gal I see behind ye?¡± previously oblivious to her existence.

    ¡°Yeah, a friend.¡±

    ¡°Well, you have your father¡¯s blood after all, can¡¯t say you¡¯d not be showered by girls.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m flattered.¡±

    Liliana was frozen stiff, her expression stuck in a frown. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Never seen a croc before?¡±

    As if snapping out of her trance, she sat down, all the while making a strange face. ¡°Is your father Tristan Cangard?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so?¡±

    ¡°I suggest you don¡¯t tell his name to anyone else.¡± she said with a hushed voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite get it, could you please explain.¡± Raven asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s the first prince of The Cangard Family.¡±

 Chapter 6 - Battle Arena

    It was morning, and Raven was sleeping on the sofa as always. ¡°You should pass on this one.¡± said Lily the other night. Apparently, the goddess was a bad teacher and he would be lucky to get a question right. As for Lily, she had the education of a proper noblewoman. She then proceeded by saying that he could pass by the first test alone, the 3<sup>rd</sup> test was just optional for him.

    Taking her words for advice, he was currently sleeping, and his mind was inside the black room. He was currently talking, or rather, arguing with a blue haired woman, a tad bit shorter than his 1.7 meter body.

    ¡°What the hell were you thinking?!¡± shouted Raven

    ¡°My avatars deserve the best, don¡¯t you think so?¡± said the goddess.

    ¡°How in the world does birthing me to a runaway prince¡¯s home beneficial?¡±

    ¡°Watch your words, mortal. Just because of your selfish desires, I had to destroy the Quintus branch.¡± she suddenly snapped, and said with a cold voice.

    ¡°What?¡± said Raven, surprised. This was the first time the always cheerful goddess became serious, at least the first for Raven.

    ¡°You see, this is a world of its own. Do you think it was easy to make you a dragonman with both the [Lightning] and [Shadow] attribute? The answer is ¡®No¡¯. I had to marry a member of the Primus branch of Cangard family to the Quintus branch, and the only one without a fiancee was Tristan Cangard, the first prince of the family. This led to them running away, and the Primus branch unleashed their fury on the poor branch, erasing it from existence.¡±

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know.¡± The goddess saw that he was devastated by the news, and happy that he got what he deserved.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I thought that someone as smart as you would figure it out.¡± her tone was back to the normal cheerful yet mocking one.

    ¡°Or you thought that would be my reaction. I don¡¯t give a shit about that.¡± laughed Raven.

    ¡°Wait, you indirectly killed hundreds, are you even human?¡± screamed the goddess.

    ¡°Half, to be exact.¡± he smirked.

    ¡°What have I done?¡± said the goddess depressed.

    ¡°Whatever you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I have unleashed a monster.¡± she said, and laughed hysterically.

    ¡°You¡¯re creeping me out.¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha, what do you expect from the goddess of chaos?¡±

    ¡°Woah, are you Eris?¡±

    ¡°I was called many names, the Greek called me Eris, before that Evrinom, the Babylonians called me Tiamat, the Norse called me Loki and some just called me Chaos.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a man?¡±

    ¡°Well, the chaos is formless, I can be anything. And as my avatar, you should have a little bit of this too.¡±

    ¡°So you mean we¡¯re both genderless?¡± asked Raven horrified.

    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly hate you, but if I had a glass of water and you were on fire, I¡¯d drink it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and get out.¡± she shouted.

    ¡°The problem is, this is my place.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°I do care.¡± Raven had nothing else to do, so he decided to tease her a little.

    [Lava Tsunami] she shouted out. A giant wave of lava rose appeared out of nowhere, behind Eris. ¡°Wait, you¡¯ll get burned too, if you do something like that.¡± shouted out Raven as he ran away.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, something like this won¡¯t affect me.¡±

    He felt for his real body and slapped himself. Luckily, he could wake up before the lava turned him into ashes.

    It was already noon, as reported by the sun. Lily was nowhere to be seen, likely taking the test. He got up and realized he had nothing to do. It¡¯s not like he could find his way if he ventured out, and flying around would get him charged with money.

    He walked towards the table and realized that there was a letter and breakfast on it. The breakfast had bacon with eggs and a small loaf of white bread. Now that he thought about it, he didn¡¯t ever eat bread before coming here. His mother always nagged about healthy growing.

    Even when his father sneaked out with him, he didn¡¯t fancy it, neither vegetables. When he ate one yesterday, he felt that it was a little bitter, and asked Lily about it. She told him ¡°It¡¯s just fine, I don¡¯t really see the problem.¡±

    Maybe the race¡¯s tongue worked differently and perceived non-meat products as bad tasting. He could only guess. He gobbled down everything and proceeded with opening the letter, with his claw. These claws were quite, useful. He didn¡¯t need scissors and the like or a toothpick, for instance. By the way, he had sharp teeth, and it would grow back in seconds if it falls off.

    It would fall off every two weeks, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about brushing his teeth except the bad breath problem.

    ¡° Dear Raven,

    I¡¯m leaving to take the written exam, I left breakfast for you. If you are bored, just watch the CV, you can control it with the remote,

    Yours truly, Liliana Lionheard.¡±

    Raven nearly snapped when he saw the last sentence. She just called him too poor to have a CV. But soon calmed down when he remembered being shocked by the hotel room, and brushed it off as a mistake of judgment.

    He had nothing else to do, so he followed the advice. The CV was in front of the sofa, so he lied down comfortably. There was a special channel for this city, named Rein-CV and it was currently showing a news broadcast. The reporter was dressed in a suit, holding something like a microphone. He was outside a building with long stairs, and had a shocked face.

    (This just in, Krouxorth Academy written test has finished, and as usual, 5 students passed this one. Surprisingly, 3 of them are commoners. This is something that has never happened before in the history of Krouxorth.)

    ¡®Woah, that¡¯s a small number.¡¯If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    (Here they are!) he said, as 4 students came out. There was a blue scaled dragnman, he assumed was the prince Lily was talking about. Lily followed closely behind, with her usual ponytail.

    (One of them has already left before the time limit, thus he isn¡¯t present.) he added. Raven was quite surprised, to think there was someone that smart without proper classes.

    He then proceeded to walk towards the so-called ¡°commoners¡± and asked them for their secret. As expected, the answers were humble enough.

    (I was lucky to be best at the topic this time.) said a boy with pale skin and blonde hair.

    (I had to study for a year straight to barely pass the exam.) said a girl with orange hair and amber skin. They were both wearing normal clothes, at least relatively.

    ¡­

    It took an hour for Lily to come back to the hotel, which Raven passed by watching something like a movie. He was quite disappointed at the lack of entertainment media in this world. What do the rich kids even do in their spare time?

    ¡°How was the test?¡± Raven asked.

    ¡°Easy.¡± she answered.

    ¡°So, couldn¡¯t you just come out before the time limit?¡±

    ¡°Idiot, how do you expect me to answer 300 questions in less than 2 hours?¡±

    ¡°But I heard that a commoner left before it.¡±

    ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about passing with half points, but that person might have done just enough to pass and left.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it means that he knew everything.¡± assured Raven.

    ¡°I think.¡±

    ¡°And, what¡¯s with the commoner and noble stuff?¡± asked Raven.

    Lily answered knowingly ¡°Generally, the population is divided into 4 parts. The ones at the bottom of the food-chain are slaves, and plebeians are slightly above that, in other words, the poor. Middle-class citizens are called commoners, while us of noble birth are called nobles. Then there is royalty too. By the way, Cangard family¡¯s Primus branch is considered royalty.¡±

    ¡°Wow, there was something like that. I didn¡¯t know about that.¡±

    ¡°Then you should be grateful.¡±

    ¡°I am, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t show it.¡±

    ¡°So, the practical test is when again?¡± Raven asked.

    ¡°Tomorrow, at midday. Anyways, I won¡¯t be taking the exam tomorrow, so I¡¯ll tell my servants to take you to the test spot.¡± said Lily.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°So, are we going out today?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, to the battle arena. You should train for tomorrow¡¯s match.¡± she said.

    ¡°Arena? Why? I¡¯m already good enough.¡± wondered Raven.

    ¡°You should get some pocked money.¡± she said.

    ¡­

    And here they were, outside a coliseum-like building, but in better condition. It was almost as tall as the city walls, which were tall, very tall.

    They walked in, along with many others. The gate was wide, 20 people would easily walk in at the same time and not feel crowded. The interior was modern-looking, with CVs placed everywhere, showing the current match.

    There was a counter at the middle of the enormous room, a few people had formed a line. He stood at the back of the line, but in less than 10 minutes, his turn was up.

    ¡°What would you like a ticket, sir?¡± asked the man dressed formally.

    But before Raven could say anything, Lily made the decision ¡°A bronze match, please.¡±

    ¡°Would you like to go for the pair battle, or the single one?¡±

    ¡°Single, I¡¯m not a fighter.¡± she said.

    ¡°Your alias?¡± asked the man, looking towards the robed Raven.

    ¡°Black Dragon¡± said Raven, this time.

    ¡°The registration fee is 15 silver, for each match won, you will be rewarded according to the matches won previously by the opponent and your performance aka entertainment?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No, here¡¯s the payment.¡± said Lily as she handed over the money.

    ¡°Your turn will be after 2 matches, please feel free to watch the remaining matches.¡± he said and showed them the entrance. Taking up the offer, they went into the room.

    The room was spacious, and several people were leaving the room, some injured. It was clearly the room for contestants.

    ¡°I could¡¯ve paid that.¡± said Raven.

    ¡°I¡¯m lending it to you, so you have to pay it back.¡± said Lily.

    ¡°Woah, so cheap.¡±

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t have unlimited cash.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.

    The CV was showing a match between a beastman and a drow. The beastman was that of the leopard variant, so the body mass didn¡¯t have much of a difference. The nimble drow and the agile leopard were currently clashing with speed.

    The leopard slashed with his claws, the drow ducked under it and slashed with his dagger. This battle lasted for at least 15 minutes. The battle was decided when the leopard tripped. Apparently, it didn¡¯t matter if the loser was injured or died. The leopard¡¯s life ended on the stage.

    ¡°The next match , our very own champion, Thunder Lion makes his appearance. And as for his opponent, a rookie, Black Dragon.¡± hearing it, Raven walked towards the entrance to the stage. It was the typical hole entrance to a coliseum.

    Sunlight washed over his face and robe, as he walked towards the stage. His opponent was a lionman, with blue fur. His body was brimming with muscle and his face had a scary expression on it. He was standing on a giant round field.

    ¡°Kid, I can smell your mother¡¯s milk from you. If you want to live, leave the stage now!¡± warned the champion.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not going until I get money.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking for death.¡± he shouted out.

    The commentator asked ¡°Boy, do you really wish to fight the champion?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no problem.¡± said Raven.

    ¡°Then as always, the one who leaves the field or is unable to fight loses. The bid is 1 to 20, so make your bets.¡± said the commentator.

    The crowd chattered, and supposedly they all placed their bets on Thunder Lion. They were shouting for him to defeat him.

    Then the beastman showed him one finger. ¡°Do you mean you can take me out with 1 move?¡± asked Raven, amused.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s one second.¡± he arrogantly corrected. For the second time since coming here, Raven was ticked off.

    ¡°MATCH START!!!¡± shouted out the commentator.

    Thunder Lion turned into lightning and launched at Raven. It was a piece of cake to hit an unexpecting prey, or so he thought. What he had hit was the robe Raven wore.

    As an experienced fighter, he panicked and turned around. He was nowhere to be seen. ¡®Black Dragon, so that means.¡¯ before he could look up, Raven fell down on him like a comet. Although muscular and thick-hided, they weren¡¯t enough to protect him from the impact.

    He coughed blood as his shoulders were dislocated. If he hadn¡¯t blocked with his hands the last second, it would¡¯ve been worse. In plain sight, he disappeared again. Luckily, Thunder Lion¡¯s hearing was top-notch, and saved himself from a [Shock Blade] to the neck.

    Thunder Lion realized that he was taking his opponent too lightly, and almost suffered a crippling injury. ¡®I¡¯ll counter attack when he attacks next time¡¯ he thought. Surprisingly, Raven launched upwards instead of towards him, up until he only looked like a spot in the sky.

    He then used the falling attack last time. Thunder Lion wasn¡¯t one to fall for the same trick twice and moved backwards. That was the worst decision of his life, except having to fight this dragonman.

    At that moment Raven had used [Shadow Pull] to trip him. He then proceeded by using [Lightning Movement] to turn into a lightning himself, and fell down on his fallen prey.

    It was like a lightning falling upon its unsuspecting victim, as Thunder Lion didn¡¯t have any means to protect himself. He vainly crossed his hands in front of him in hoping to block off at least a small portion of the damage.

    Raven stopped right before he hit him, and noticed that Thunder Lion had lost consciousness.

    The crowd got out of control, and everyone was rooting for Raven this time, and he easily won 4 more matches. It was the end of the day, and when he had to collect his reward.

    ¡°Where can I get my reward?¡± asked Raven from a worker.

    ¡°You just have to go to the end of the hall, the treasury¡¯s there.¡± said the old man.

    Even Lily was shocked by his combat prowess, as seen in the matches. He overpowered all of his opponents, and even scared 2 of the contestants out of the ring. One wasn¡¯t as lucky, and suffered the brunt force of his attack. The result was horrible, the victim¡¯s hand was missing and the right side of the chest, now missing arm¡¯s side had been crushed. His ribcages were all broken and he was immediately sent into a coma.

    As for the last one, it was better left untold.

    The crowd was cheering on him, and he was sure to get more reward for the entertainment part. He opened the giant door with one hand, and asked ¡°Can I get my reward?¡± in a commanding tone.

    ¡°Of course, sir, here it is.¡± said the fat treasurer and handed him a small pouch of money.¡± It wasn¡¯t as full as Raven thought, but then Lily kicked in. ¡°Huh, you think you can reward us with so few coins even after that, maybe we should just kill you and take your money?¡± she threatened after slapping the table.

    ¡°No, honorary guests, you¡¯re mistaken.¡± the treasurer had grown quite nervous.

    ¡°Do you think that I made a mistake?¡± said Lily in a grave tone.

    ¡°I mean, there are 50 gold coins inside the pouch.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be taking our leave.¡± said Raven and motioned for Lily to follow her. ¡°That worked out nicely, huh?¡± asked Raven from Lily.

    ¡°Of course, I devised this plan.¡±

    ¡°You might become a terrifying woman when you grow up.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m 30 years old including my old life.¡± she shouted.

    ¡°Actually, you were always a teenager, so you¡¯re not a woman quite yet.¡± said Raven sarcastically.

    ¡°The same goes for you.¡±

    It was already night time, and they were tired after all the work. Lily had bid 10 gold coins on the first match and won 200, and was currently richer than she ever was. As for Raven, Lily had bid for his 15 silver and made it into 3 gold coins. After that, they had bid on Raven for the rest of the matches, but only came out with 220 gold and 3 gold 30 silver each. Adding Raven¡¯s reward, he had 63 gold and 30 silver.

 Chapter 7 - Practical Examination

    ¡°Good morning, sleepyhead. You¡¯re running late.¡± said Lily while stroking his hair.

    Raven¡¯s eyes abruptly opened ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°The carriage is ready, eat something before you go.¡± she said as Raven started wearing his robe.

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been wondering, how do you contact your servants?¡± he asked, confused.

    ¡°There¡¯s a one-way telepathic ability for nobles.¡± she said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

    ¡°Oh, I suppose that could work.¡± he said as he walked towards the table. There was a salad this time, so he excused himself to the bread. He munched it down with tea and quickly finished. ¡°I¡¯m heading out.¡± said Raven as he opened the door.

    ¡°Here.¡± she threw something ¡°My servants wouldn¡¯t believe that you were sent by me if you don¡¯t have that.¡± she said. It was a coin shaped like the head of a lion, befitting the name of a Lionheard.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± said Raven as he walked through the door and descended the stairs.

    As mentioned, the carriage was standing outside, waiting for someone. And that person happened to be Raven. He showed them the coin, and they wordlessly took him to the examination site. It was a big space with fences covering its boundaries, and the wall was at one side.

    There were 10 teenagers standing there, and surely, the Primus prince was there, or is it uncle, next to him stood his bride and the red-scaled boy. As said by Lily, the Secundus branch of red-scaled dragonmen were born to serve the Primus branch, something like the relationship between Neji and Hinata in Naruto (this is just to showcase their relationship, by no means am I using any of them.)

    There were the 4 who passed the first test before them. Now that he saw them up close, he could see them much clearer. The wolfman boy had grey fur and hair, but his face wasn¡¯t covered in it, unlike most variants of beastmen. His eyes were gold-colored. It was called ¡°noble breed¡±, meaning they were closer to humans than beasts.

    The two girls had short brown hair, black eyes and pink twin-tails, red eyes correspondingly. The last high-elven boy had the usual blonde-haired boy with blue eyes, this was the feature of most high-elves.

    As for the other 3, he recognized 2 as the commoners. One of the girls wasn¡¯t here, and the one who was here had dark red hair and brown eyes. The last boy, he thought, was the one who left before the timeline. He was wearing something resembling gym clothes.

    As for his features, he had jet black hair and eyes, with skin paler than the other commoner boy.

    Soon enough, the examiner came out, holding a crystal in his hand. ¡®What¡¯s the deal with this abnormal number of crystals in this world?¡¯ he thought to himself. The examiner had a scar across his nose. Otherwise, he looked like a cherry boy, and had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail to back it up.

    ¡°The practical exam is a fight between examinees. It¡¯s not only the winner that passes this test, if done exceptionally well, even the loser can pass it.¡± he smirked ¡°But I can¡¯t promise that you¡¯ll get the same treatment.¡±

    ¡°The first fight is, between Nicholas Cangard and Tulga Chino.¡± said the examiner with a calm voice, but the crystal served as a microphone, so it came out loud.

    As expected, the first fight was the prince against the noble beastman boy. They both threw a glare at each other while walking towards the center of the field.

    ¡°Match Start!!!¡± a shout came out as a deafeningly loud one.

    Nicholas used his wings to launch at his opponent, while the recipient stood calmly. His golden eyes were glowing, signifying something was going to happen.

    The dragonman¡¯s attack hit air, as Tulga dodged with a hair¡¯s width. He then returned it with a fist to the face, sending his opponent flying. But the dragonman stopped his movement using his wings and launched upwards.

    [Thunderstrike] he shouted out as lightning mass appeared in his hand, and it fell at Tulga. But he wasn¡¯t standing idly while waiting to be hit. [Spirit Shield] he shouted out as a sphere of transparent white light shielded him from the brutal strike.

    The shield didn¡¯t show any signs of cracking, and Nicholas stopped his relentless attack.

    ¡°Great move, he drained his opponent¡¯s strength with minimum use of energy.¡± commentated the examiner.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    When his spirit shield let up, the dragonman used [Lightning Movement] to do something similar to what Raven did on Thunder Lion. However, Tulga easily dodged with minimum movement.

    [Spirit Claw], he uttered, as he slashed air with his claw. A white aura formed a claw mark and attacked Nicholas. Nicholas easily danced through them, but he got cut all over his body.

    ¡°That¡¯s qi!!!¡± shouted out the examiner, almost stopping Raven¡¯s heart.

    Qi wasn¡¯t enough to create such a devastating move, so he had mixed it with magic. Any skilled fighter would dance through the magic claws, but they would eventually be hit by the countless strings of qi connecting them. If it wasn¡¯t for the fragility of qi and a dragonman¡¯s scales, the result would be, simply put, disturbing.

    ¡®He¡¯ll become a terrifying opponent in the future.¡¯ thought Raven.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! You both pass. Any more would be dangerous.¡± he said as the two threw angry glances at each other and left the field.

    ¡°Now for the next match. Diana Lavastor against Mary Ravines.¡±

    The self-proclaimed bully¡¯s name was Diana and Mary was the girl with dark red hair. Diana was surprisingly calm, but Mary was all tensed up.

    Mary threw a knife at her opponent; Diana dodged it and threw something at Mary. It exploded mid-ways and formed purple gas, blocking her vision and possibly poisoning her. But her opponent wasn¡¯t helpless, as she moved out of the gas with a ninja mask on her face.

    ¡°A ninja!¡± said the examiner.

    The knife she had thrown was a kunai, and she was currently holding one. She rushed, as Diana unsheathed a knife with a purple edge, its sheath hanging from her belt.

    The knives clashed, and the two women had a few scratches. But supposedly, Diana¡¯s knife was poisonous, as Mary was holding her scratched left hand with her other, the kunai back in her belt pouch.

    ¡°The poison of our Lavastor family, isn¡¯t it potent?¡± she asked, amused.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate our Kyokoku (Ravines in Japanese) clan.¡± shouted out Mary as she rushed. She then multiplied, as 4 other clones appeared. It was as if she split, so there was no telling the real one. Against her relentless attack, Diana stood still.

    Then she jumped over the clones and launched a quick attack against her opponents¡¯ backs, feeling air.

    ¡°What? [Illusion] magic?¡± shouted out the examiner, Raven already used to his occasional shouts.

    Suddenly, another Mary appeared behind her and used a headlock on her.

    ¡°Battle over! Both contestants pass.¡± he said ¡°As for the next match, Mark Cangard against Blake Fannigan.¡±

    The red-scaled dragonman walked up against one of the commoners, the one with blonde hair.

    Mark used [Fireball] and threw it at his opponent, a book appeared in Blake¡¯s hand as he turned its pages.¡±

    ¡°[Holy] magic huh, interesting.¡±

    [Shield of Light] said Blake as a shield of yellowish white light appeared in front of him. He then grabbed it and bashed it against his opponent. The dragonman used his tail to strike his hand and he lost his shield. Then Mark breathed fire at his opponent¡¯s face.

    The examiner¡¯s seat was vacant as he appeared between the two. He had blocked Mark¡¯s mouth with his hand and Blake was shivering in fear, thinking what would be of him if the examiner hadn¡¯t interfered.

    The other matches went on and only one of the girls dropped out, which was the one with short brown hair. The pink twin-tailed girl had defeated her. She liked to show off, as he used all her 3 talents when her opponent could only use [Earth] to shield.

    Her talents were: [Fire], [Light] and [Air] and was quite rash and arrogant, supposedly a girl from a noble family, one without knowledge of the past.

    The purple-haired girl had [Ice] element, and used only that to win.

    Finally, it was Raven¡¯s turn to fight and his opponent was none other than the genius. Raven took off his robe, the sunlight revealing his scales¡¯ lustrous nature.

    ¡°Now, you guys seem interesting, so I left you 2 last. Jet Cross against Raven Cangard.¡± Jet¡¯s eyes were as calm as ever, not even caring about his opponents¡¯ dragon nature. ¡°Battle start.¡± said the examiner with a stupid grin.

    The two walked towards each other, until they were 5 meters apart, and then they took out their weapons. It would be wise to mention both had storage rings, as the weapons appeared out of nowhere.

    Raven was holding his claymore, on the other hand, Jet was holding a cross shaped sword. He was holding it from the blunt short end, and the long end had sharp edges. There was no point, so he couldn¡¯t thrust his sword, only slashing.

    Raven was already used to fighting with shadow weapons, but this was the first real time he had to use a real sword. It was heavy, but well-balanced, so it could deal more damage than his nigh-massless weapons in that regard.

    The two blades clashed, lightning ran through both swords, clashing. Raven¡¯s lightning was blue, while Jet¡¯s were yellow. Both backed down after seeing their opponent use the same move and decided to use long-range attacks.

    ¡°¡±[Lightning Bolt]¡±¡± both said at the same time, as 2 masses of lightning clashed, creating some kind of electromagnetic field and both canceling each other out.

    Realizing lightning wouldn¡¯t work, they resorted to their other talents. Raven used [Shadow Pull], catching Jet off guard, and launched himself forward, doing a superman punch, after storing his claymore. But Jet disappeared, as Raven found him behind. Being the cautious man he was, he landed.

    [Quickshadow] uttered Jet, as Raven¡¯s feet started sinking into his own shadow. He then jumped at his prey, which was unable to move, with his blade in hand. But what he didn¡¯t know was that Raven had [Shadow] too. He then disappeared into the shadow.

    [Earth Pillar] said Jet as the currently appearing Raven was sent up, with a few of his ribs broken. Knowing about [Shadow] attribute, Jet had used his other skill to hit him from below the ground.

    Using it to his advantage, Raven shot up with his wings and prepared to use [Lightning Movement], Jet was preparing his mana to use [Hard Earth Pyramid] to protect himself. In one moment, both skills were released at the same time.

    Raven launched himself, as a pyramid of condensed earth appeared from the ground. Within a moments¡¯ time, the examiner appeared. He caught Raven in his lightning form and shattered Jet¡¯s pyramid with his hands.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± he landed ¡°You both pass.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re good¡± said Jet.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t that bad yourself.¡±

 Chapter 8 - Around the World and Heaven

    A handsome white-haired man wearing a white suit stood on a cliff, the clouds visible below. No life could be seen except him and the one behind. It was a woman, with a long blue hair.

    ¡°Eris, did you bring them back?¡± he asked without looking back.

    ¡°No problem at all.¡± she said in a cheerful tone.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s good, now the frozen time can move on again.¡± smirked the man.

    ¡°Yeah, the countdown has finally started.¡± said Eris with a disturbing grin on her face.

    The man moved his arms, as the clouds below started changing colors. Now it was showing something. If you looked good enough, it would be seen showing the battle between Raven and Jet.

    ¡°This is interesting; this Jet kid couldn¡¯t be the reincarnation of Raul, could he?¡±

    ¡°Any human who can fight Crow¡¯s reincarnation would logically be him, isn¡¯t that right, Helios?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, only that Tyrant can do that.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile in Olympus, the gods were in shambles. The situation Asgard weren¡¯t better off. In fact, even the Pagans could feel it, a feeling they had long since forgotten. In fact, their respective paranoid leaders had actually called for a meeting.

    An old, yet muscular man with white beard and hair asked ¡°Odin, you can feel it too?¡±

    Another old man resembling the first, but with an eye patch said ¡°Yes, something I¡¯m sure all of us has forgotten.¡±

    ¡°I suggest we crush all the mortals before they can riot.¡±  Said a man with a fierce face and a scar across his eye.

    ¡°You dare show up here, Ares!!!¡± shouted out Zeus, the first man.

    A man with a gentle face and a red spot on his forehead said ¡°Instead of using brute force, how about knowing the details and trying to prevent it? You surely know something, Chronos.¡±

    The agelessly old man sitting on the end of the table said ¡°No, there are too many possibilities. Luckily, our loss is in the minority.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean it is safe?¡± asked the previous one.

    ¡°I hope so.¡± answered the oldest god.

    Right then, a beautiful woman with a stone mirror in her hand opened her mouth, everyone else closed their mouths. ¡°It feels like Helios is doing something.¡± she said, and looked at Ra.

    ¡°The same goes for me.¡± said the few worded god of Egypt.

    ¡°We can¡¯t interfere with the mortal world, so how about we let our children handle this?¡± said a wise looking man with the head of an ibis.

    ¡°The one move without losses, Thoth?¡± asked a wise looking woman.

    ¡°If Thoth and Seshat have the same opinion, we have no say in this matter.¡± said the chief god, Chronos. He asked the others for their opinion, but received silence ¡°Then, I hereby declare this meeting over.¡±

    ¡­

    On Terra, something interesting was brewing. And it was entirely Elis and Helios¡¯s fault for committing the taboo, summoning The 10 back.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°My king, we have sufficient food supply for 1000.¡± reported a pale-skinned burly man to another pale-skinned, yet smaller man. He was currently sitting on a throne and was wearing black and red formal clothes, and had one-eye glasses. Surprisingly, the millennia old vampire was handsome.

    ¡°How about the bandits?¡± he looked at his most trusted general, wearing military style, black and red clothes and asked.

    ¡°They¡¯ve been cursed, but the success rate, by estimation is 10%.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, we still don¡¯t have enough. Quality without quantity is weak. Find more strong and stronger men.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± he reported and turned to leave.

    ¡°Do you know what happened of the messenger?¡±

    ¡°The one four years ago?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that one.¡±

    ¡°It seems he has done his job.¡± answered the general.

    ¡°Find him.¡± he demanded.

    ¡­

    ¡°Do you understand your mission?¡± asked a man wearing majestic white clothes and a matching tall hat. He was old, almost ancient, and of course, was sitting on a throne like seat. He wasn¡¯t alone, with 8 more sitting with him.

    This was the Hall of God, where the most influential religious leaders sat. One of them looked far younger, others not that different from the first one.

    ¡°Yes, arch-bishop.¡± answered the currently kneeling man wearing a white shirt with a red cross on its chest and had a sword sheathed, possibly enchanted or blessed. His hair was jet black and so were his eyes. He then continued ¡°Our mission is to crush all who use the divine power without God¡¯s consent.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll bestow this responsibility upon you and your Templars¡± said the arch-bishop.

    ¡°It is my honor.¡±

    ¡­

    Shouted a man wearing army clothes ¡°What do you mean by ¡®disappeared¡¯?¡±

    Answered another man wearing the same clothes, but he had only 1 star on his medallion, instead of the 3 star standing in front of him. ¡°I mean, the cells are all empty.¡±

    ¡°They¡­ escaped.¡± said the first man, horror in his eyes.

    ¡°But how, commander?¡± asked the new recruit.

    ¡°If I knew that, they would be in their cells.¡± said the acting chief-in-command of the Faustian Prison, one of the most highly secured jails in Terra.

    ¡­

    ¡°Who dares awaken me from my slumber?!¡± said a deep-voiced woman in a building entirely made of ice.

    ¡°My queen, it has been millennia.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s that time again.¡± said the young looking woman, apparently older than at least millennia old, with white hair and deep blue eyes. She was emitting a cold aura, almost to the point of sparkling.

    She put her hand on the ice floor and the earth, or ice, started shaking. The ice cracked as a pure white dragon appeared. It was almost 16 meters long and 10 meters tall, but the spacious room provided enough space.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to dye the world in blue again, Shiro.¡± said the Ice Queen as she caressed the ice-cold dragon.

    ¡°Ah, it feels like centuries since I last came out.¡± said the dragon, supposedly female.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s been millennia. So, how about playing a little game on that fellow over there?¡±

    ¡°You never get bored of that, do you, Hina?¡± asked the goddess.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s so fun to see them begging for mercy.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s brilliant, you¡¯re a genius, Alysteir.¡± said a red-haired man wearing a hoodless red robe looking at a woman with the same type of clothing, but a lighter shade of the color. She had blue hair and was quite beautiful.

    ¡°Thank you, leader.¡± said the girl, a little shy.

    ¡°You can call me Roger. If you handed it over to the cult higher-ups, you can even become someone with a bigger rank than me.¡± said Roger, with eyes full of respect.

    They were in a cult called Cult of Primordial Destruction, a bunch of lunatics who believe the world must return to dust and is currently trying to open the portal to hell and bring forth destruction upon the world, with their lives unregarded.

    The girl named Alysteir had just created a part of the circle for optimizing power usage. With this, they would decrease the number of the sacrifices exponentially, thus, the chances of them being found out by the world, at least before it¡¯s too late.

    Roger then motioned for her to follow him and opened a door to an otherwise forbidden room, a room with a portal.

    ¡­

    Around the West end of the world, deep into the Land of the Fallen, the city of Tombator stood. It was a residing place of the necromancers responsible for bringing that name to the land. Most were liches and the minority was alive, and a few inbetween could be seen.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time for us to move.¡± said a floating skull.

    ¡°Winter is coming, shouldn¡¯t we wait it out.¡± said a lich, donning a tattered blue robe.

    A necromancer answered ¡°Our troops aren¡¯t dependent on climate, we can win this way.¡±

    ¡°But we will lose most of our forces to the dragon.¡± said the first one, in his defense.

    ¡°When have we been short on minions?¡± asked the floating skull.

    ¡°I understand, master.¡± answered the lich.

    Then the floating skull continued ¡°I have survived the Winter once before, I was alive then. It was indeed terrifying, but in the end, we won. How do you think?¡±

    ¡°With strategy.¡±

    ¡°With heroes.¡± and dozens of other answers resounded through the hall.

    ¡°No, it was resilience, and what we don¡¯t lack is just that. We can defeat the Winter and reign the world as its rulers!!!¡± the unsynchronized answers turned into perfectly tuned cheering.

 Chapter 9 - Arrival

    A giant mountain was surrounded by a fence, with a majestic white building at the top. Currently, he was outside Krouxorth Academy, with the other new students. In overall grades, 14 had passed. It was a small number, considering there were almost a thousand applicants.

    They had come here in carriages, following the one from the school. Even the commoners were given one, as a student of The 8 Great Academies was considered an official mage, and no worse than a noble.

    A formally clothed old man, with grey hair and a straight stature walked toward the door. He had a cane in hand and was holding his hat with the other. His steps were slow, almost taking an hour since he was seen.

    He waved his right hand, recently holding his hat, as the barred black metal doors opened slowly. The blond pony-tailed examiner bowed, and so did the other school personnel.

    ¡°Welcome to Krouxorth Academy, young ones.¡± he said and looked over the new students ¡°It seems we have an interesting bunch this time around.¡± After a short pause, he continued ¡°I¡¯m called Stein, the principal of this academy.¡±

    The principal moved his hand in a circling motion and when his palms were facing upwards, a jade ball appeared on his hand. Most crystals Raven has seen before were all blue or black, so he wondered if the color signified anything. It was clear that the others were stunned after seeing it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass this ball around all of you, and this will decide your future in this academy. Let me explain it to you.¡± said Stein as he cleared his throat ¡°There are 6 houses in Krouxorth Academy, each specialize in different types of magic and get different treatments. They are: House Radiant, House Regulus, , House Acritas, House Vespertine, House Glacius, and House Tyrannus.¡±

    He gave the ball to one he didn¡¯t see before and it shined a radiant golden color ¡°A righteous spirit, you are perfect for House Radiant.¡±

    He then went on and on until it reached the ones he knew. The principal neared Tulga, the wolfman and gave him the ball. Unlike the others, it shined a ferocious blue color ¡°House Acritas, one with a ferocious nature.¡± he said and walked towards the bride of the prince.

    The jade ball emitted a venomous green color ¡°House Vespertine, a poisonous spirit that benefits from others¡¯ pain. But we teach all and every talented mage in the world, so I have no say in this matter.¡±

    The ball went into Lily¡¯s hand and glowed in an icy blue color ¡°A cold spirit capable of enduring enormous suffering, you¡¯d be perfect for Glacius.¡±

    The ball then went into the prince¡¯s hand and it glowed in a proud yellow ¡°House Radiant, no, you¡¯re better in House Regulus, one who is fated to lead.¡±

    ¡­

    It was finally Raven¡¯s turn. He held the ball in his hand and the usual jolt ran through his body, but this time it penetrated his head and brain. The ball emitted a bloodthirsty red color ¡°House Tyrannus, one who is fated to bend the world to his will.¡± he said with his eyes glowing a white color and continued with a tear in his eye ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I saw one.¡±

    The ball passed on to the last person, Jet¡¯s hand. The ball glowed with calm, yet threatening red color ¡°Another one!¡± shouted out the principal in surprise ¡°There are actually 2 Tyranuses this year.¡± joy clear on his face. ¡°Your fate is to oppress the heavens.¡±

    Raven and Jet both shared a look, and the principal led them to the school grounds. The ground stretched as they walked on and on, until they reached the bottom of the mountain.

    The principal then flew off, without using wings and a slight distortion in mana particles, reporting that he used magic. ¡°Find your way to the top of the mountain before nightfall, or you¡¯ll be expelled.¡±

    The red and blue dragonmen quickly flew after him, the red one carrying Diana. The one with purple hair, called Annie Ionia, got into the shadow of the flying duo.

    Not wasting any time, Raven then started carrying Lily and took off. She said awfully loudly ¡°So we¡¯re separated, huh?¡±

    ¡°Looks like it.¡± he replied loudly as well.

    The rest of the flight continued without a conversation as they neared the school. The supposedly same occurrence as when they entered the school and walked towards the mountain started happening, and the road seemed to stretch on and on. It took twice as long as what the distance looked like.

    It was a space distortion spell placed by a skilled illusionist. They were different from mages in a fundamental part. Mages could fight and so much more, while illusionists could only cast spells, but were quite experienced in that area.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Finally, the 2 hour long flight ended as they descended. They were now standing right in front of the giant school building, which had 8 floors; each and every floor had quite the tall ceiling, resulting in it being taller than normal 8 floor buildings back on Earth.

    There was a plate over the wide door of the Academy, written Krouxorth in Terranian. They entered the building, as expected; the inside was luxurious as well. It was by no means inferior to the hotel, maybe better, and it was only a studying environment. There were 3 classrooms on the first floor and the way the building was built, most likely, every floor had the same.

    The principal and 5 students were already there. There was the prince¡¯s bunch and Jet, there was another one he didn¡¯t see before.

    The old man greeted Liliana and Raven, as they walked towards an unoccupied area. There was the janitor, a man with green hair in his twenties, inside a wooden cabin in the school. It was right next to the door and had a large windowless opening.

    The walls of the school had exquisite carvings depicting the creation of new magic skills. There was a single window at one side of the school, and it was a stained glass one. There was one part whole and the bottom part was divided into six, each depicting an animal

    A radiant lion, a venomous snake, a blooming phoenix, a white hare, an Asian dragon and an European dragon in the middle.

    ¡­

    Soon enough, all students came, some following an instructor, some by their own power. It wasn¡¯t meant to test our capabilities, but our willpower, perhaps. The principal prepared for his speech and produced the same kind of ball the examiner used during the practical examination, a microphone type.

    ¡°Dear freshmen, I would like to welcome you to our Krouxorth Academy, please make 6 groups according to which house you have been assigned to.¡±

    The students moved around and 6 groups were made.

    3 in House Radiant, 2 in House Vespertine, 3 in House Glacius, 2 in House Regulus, 2 in House Acritas and finally, 2 in House Tyrannus. Apparently, being in the Tyrannus was an honor, and producing 2 in one year was already an accomplishment enough.

    Then 5 instructors walked out, and the one who lead the incapable students walked towards House Glacius, a man with dark blue hair and was probably in his twenties. Not just him, all the teachers looked like that, if you exclude the young Vespertine instructor.

    They were all wearing the same clothes, a stylish blue and white jacket and trousers of the same color, skirt for the females. The only thing setting them apart from each other was their sign on the left side of the chest of their jacket.

    The assigned instructor of the Tyrannos was a rash looking man with short crimson hair, and was muscular, not too much. The mark on his chest was that of the European dragon, while the House Acritas had the mark of the Asian dragon.

    Ironic, how the prince of the dragonmen couldn¡¯t get into one of the 2 dragon houses, when a wolf did. The instructor of House Regulus was the examiner from before, the one with a scar over his nose.

    ¡°I¡¯m Litmus Tyran, your instructor. There is currently 1 aside you two, but he is a senior. And I should explain what going up a grade means. If you are exceptionally talented, the education given to you will increase, signifying the increase in grade. The school doesn¡¯t officially have such a thing, but it¡¯s used between students to measure their power.¡± he paused for a while ¡°One can take up to 15 years to graduate.¡± This didn¡¯t shock Raven, as his world needed 16, with the university included. Jet had an indifferent expression on his face. So Litmus continued after looking at the others giving long speeches ¡°I value practicality over theory, so let me get to the chase. There are ones called The 4 Rulers, who have authority comparable to the vice-principal, in other words, me. If you wish to compete for it, you may assume a challenge, but once you fail, you¡¯ll be expelled.¡±

    Raven raised his hand ¡°Is there a ranking between students except grades?¡± as if expecting the question, the instructor answered:

    ¡°There is, you¡¯ll be classified by F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS and X. This is usually used in the public as well. If it¡¯s F, it means you have a bad talent. But I assume you 2 have at least 4?¡± he asked, both nodded in response ¡°Then you are automatically C class, and it is then divided into 3 parts: Lower, Middle, Upper. B is the amount of power a strong student has, A is the amount of power a mage has, S is the lower limit of power a teacher has to have, SS is the level of one of the 4 Rulers, SSS is our principal and X is a terrifying amount, capable of crushing a country in no time.¡±

    For the first time, Jet was a little shocked, ever since the S part. Raven was, however, learning new stuff from the talk. Soon the teacher¡¯s explanation was over. He explained it in a way that even a fool would understand in a very short time and they learned all that they needed to.

    The school had different classes for each element, and Raven will be sharing 3 classes with Jet, [Shadow], [Lightning] and [Soul].

    If you were excellent in your studies of magic, you would be granted a chance to compete in the 8 Academies Festival, a battle between the most famous schools of magic around the world. If you won, then there was a special prize.

    The school was mostly for its library, while the students could abandon coming to class altogether and use the books for their own research of magic. It was a pretty straightforward way to explain it.

    The teachers mostly served as advisors and House Instructors were for delivering news to the students of the house. Naturally, Litmus was slacking off for 5 years, with only 1 student to take care of, who was 21 this year. He revealed a secret of the school too, while whispering to their ears.

    The teachers weren¡¯t actually 20 and were all over 60, the little looking one was 72. The principal was already over 150. This was because mages could use various means to prolong their life and eternal youth. In fact, the principal was like them until 3 years ago when he had an accident while researching [Transformation] magic.

    Finally, the talks finished, at least took an hour for the others to finish, whereas Litmus only took 20 minutes at most. Raven had already started liking the personality of the instructor, who didn¡¯t fancy people easily.

    ¡°School will start tomorrow, now you may rest in the dorms of your houses.¡± said the principal, with his crystal ball.

    Litmus motioned for them to follow him and took them into the basement.

 Chapter 10 - Tyrannos World

    ¡°This¡­ can¡¯t be happening!¡± exclaimed Jet in surprise, losing his cool for the first time. They had walked through a simple door in the basement. It revealed another world from the one outside.

    Moonlight basked over them, a giant yellow moon in the sky. The sky was purple and the clouds were pink, stars shining through them. The ground was covered in blue grass, and a castle-like building in the far distance. A road through blue-leaved tree forest led there.

    In short, the world was completely different from the two Raven knew, to even catch the calm Jet off guard.

    ¡°Do you like it, the Tyrannos World.¡± asked Litmus, smirking at the surprised expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± they said at once.

    ¡°The founding headmaster of the school was a great Space Mage, so he made 6 worlds for each house.¡± said the instructor with a smile.

    ¡°Hmm, interesting.¡± said Jet with his hands below his chin.

    Then he closed the door behind him, which was now a giant stone gate, however that happened. They walked towards the castle calmly, as a roar sounded from their right.

    Roar!!!

    Loud footsteps got closer and closer until the creature revealed its form. It was a giant baboon-like creature with four arms and green fur. Its fists were surprisingly big, and it towered above the 5 meter trees.

    ¡°This forest is infested with monsters for your training.¡± he smiled ¡°Take care.¡± and so left the instructor. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t follow Litmus, but kept its sight on Raven and Jet.

    [Earth Pillar] said Jet as a pillar appeared from the front of the creature and hit its solar plexus, followed by a flight supported punch from Raven at its face. It looked a little annoyed, but there was no sign of pain or discomfort.

    The baboon then hit him in the chest, its fist a blur. Raven was sent flying downwards, crashing into the ground with sufficient force to form a small crack. Another punch was sent at him, and then another, but the moment before it hit, he sunk into his shadow.

    ¡°Idiot, do you want to die or something?!¡± shouted Jet, snapping out of his shock, Raven got up. The punch did some damage to him, and he was having trouble breathing, but it was nothing serious.

    The baboon jumped at them [Earth Pyramid] shouted out Jet as the pyramid from their fight appeared, this time, Raven not in the receiving end.

    Thump!!!

    Thump!!!

    Thump!!!

    Crack!!!

    A crack appeared in the pyramid, and a piece of it fell off, revealing a part of their assailant¡¯s face. Then it inserted 2 of its hands into the hole, and starting pulling it apart. Before long, it could fit through the giant hole it had made.

    ¡°It¡¯s do or die.¡± said Raven.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± said Jet as they both prepared for their counter-attack.

    They both used [Lightning Movement] as the yellow and blue mixed, creating a green lightning. Two was better than one, moving the baboon for the first time. It took 2 steps back and punched the lightning down into the ground.

    The two separated and went both ways, turning back into their humanoid forms. 2 [Lightning Bolts] launched at the baboon, it hit them down with one hand on each side.

    [Shadow Spike] said Jet as spikes rose from the baboon¡¯s shadow, piercing its legs, holding one in his hand, rotating between the two.

    ¡®An Achilles¡¯ heel, huh?¡¯ thought Raven as he used [Steel Claws] to slash at its left leg it was currently holding. Although the fur absorbed impact, there was none on his feet and face. But a skill supported hit was stronger than a normal punch.

    Then Raven proceeded by hitting the right leg, supporting its weight with [Lightning Movement] as its balance crumbled. It fell on its back, giving them a certain hit attack.

    The two both used their [Lightning Movement] to move up and fused from there and shouted out [Green Lightning] as they launched downwards, at the baboon, from a height of about 100 meters.

    Kaboom!!!

    A giant crater formed below the creature as it vomited blood. Its eyes closed.

    Roar!!!

    A shiver ran down both of their spines when they heard it, it came from behind them. The baboon was standing up, with red eyes and drooling, its mouth making a frown.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The baboon¡¯s movement couldn¡¯t be seen as they crashed into a tree, and going through a few more, all broken. If they had more mana in them, they could fight, but they had used up all of it for the last combination skill.

    The baboon turned its gaze towards them, and moved with speed surpassing that of a speed train.

    ¡°OUT OF THE WAY!!!¡± roared a man with a deafening voice at the baboon. He was standing near it. But in its berserk state, it didn¡¯t know fear and attacked. Its multi-limbed assault was blocked with one hand.

    [Absolute Force] said the man as hit the air with its fist, as if punching it. Blood sprayed from the monster¡¯s back, as it had a hole in its body. But it couldn¡¯t be known which one was the real monster.

    He then approached the two. He had messy orange hair, with emerald eyes. He had muscle, but not that much, contrary to the strength shown by him. He was handsome, too handsome in fact.

    ¡°You two are my juniors, right?¡± he then instantly softened, and said with stars in his eyes ¡°I waited for so long to get a junior.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the help, Senior.¡± said Raven, smiling back.

    ¡°Appreciate it.¡± said Jet with the usual deadpan face.

    ¡°It¡¯s so great to have someone other than that sadist here. My name¡¯s Robert, Robert Pennison. You can ask for my help if the others bully you.¡± he said ¡°After all, I¡¯m one of the Rulers. Anyways, welcome to the Tyrannos World. The time is 3 times slower and to make up for it, lets you age 3 times slower which means it doesn¡¯t have a bad side-effect on your age. So you only have to go to school once in three days.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome.¡± exclaimed Raven.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± shouted out Jet. A time distortion field was far rarer than a space distortion one, one wrong step and magic overuse comes. To make one with such a strong effect, the headmaster should have been an impossibly strong mage.

    He then grabbed both of their hands and dragged them to the castle, all the while blurting out useful information like it was nothing.

    Soon they stood before the giant castle, a little shorter than the school building. It was built of cobblestone and didn¡¯t have any windows. The climate in this world was a constant 25 degrees Celsius, so it didn¡¯t need any. This was far warmer than his hometown with 5 degrees average.

    There was a giant wooden gate, one a castle gate would have, but it opened inside instead of outside. Robert snapped his fingers and the door fell inside, with chains supporting its weight, softening the fall.

    He then proceeded by walking in. There was a big cliff, with the door serving as a bridge. The things in the Tyrannos world couldn¡¯t be explained by using Earth¡¯s common sense. The inside looked cozy, resembling a living room and a kitchen joined together. There was a stairway to a floor above, and likely there as well.

    The furniture of the living room part included, but weren¡¯t limited to 2 sofas, one red and the other green, a CV on a wall, a game console-like thing below it, a fancy bordure and a rug under them.

    As for the kitchen part, there was a magic operated fridge, boiler and stove, both made of something resembling porcelain, and the other necessities. The kitchen was white and grey.

    The ceiling was tall and the room was spacy, everything necessary for human life was there. ¡°Nice, right?¡± asked Robert as he jumped on the sofa and took something awfully like the console controllers back on Earth. He then turned on the CV and a game was loading. ¡°Anyone wanna play?¡± he asked with a big grin.

    ¡°No.¡± bluntly refused Jet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to.¡± answered Raven.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± said Robert as he grabbed Raven¡¯s hand and looked at him with anticipation in his eyes. It resembled a child asking for something in a shop. It felt quite awkward for an adult to look at him that way, he should be in his early twenties, but he didn¡¯t act the part.

    He then dragged him to the sofa and threw him there while he took a seat on the other. The controller was pretty standard: Up, left, down and right on the left side and there were 4 Terranian letters on the right side. It was almost like an Xbox controller.

    The CV was showing the image of a mage with 5 orbs in his hand and there were texts in boxes to the left of her. They were: Single Player, Multi Player, Options and Save; the typical game screen. He didn¡¯t have memory of learning how to read Terranian or write for that matter, it just felt so natural, like it was English. There was the name of the game on top of the boxes with texts, the name was ¡°Battle of History¡±

    He then chose the Multi Player and pressed a button. ¡°You can choose your character by clicking the A button¡± explained Robert, it was located at the bottom. X was on the left and B was on the right, as for the top, it was Y. There were the 2 buttons behind each side, adding up to 4, a neigh-perfect replica of Xbox, or is it the other way around?

    There appeared a character selection, and Robert quickly chose his, it was a mage, a fireball floating over his right palm, which was wearing a robe.

    Raven scrolled through and chose a warrior holding an enormous red sword, and was wearing a plate mail, with a red cape sticking out of its back.

    It was a 3D game and one could move around as wanted, but the field had a ring out function. You could throw weapons or skills with X, hit with B, jump with A and mana gathering by Y, after pressing it, you could click another button to activate a skill. Pretty much like how the Ninja Storm games work.

    The result was, after one loss, Raven completely owned his opponent. Who could fight against a gamer high-schooler at his own forte?

    ¡°Why are you so good at this?¡± asked Robert.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m naturally talented.¡± bragged Raven.

    ¡°Next game.¡± he said as he changed the CD-like crystal inside the console. The night quickly came as they played game after game while Jet read a book he brought with him. ¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll go get some more games.¡± said Robert wide eyed.

    ¡°Now then, for your bedrooms.¡± he said as he motioned them to follow after him and walked up to the third floor. There was a cozy room resembling the one on the first floor, but it was sort of a library. All the books were about the history and some other useful books were there, he decided to read them sometime.

    There were doors between the book holders and it revealed 2 identical rooms. There was a spacious table with a lamp on it, probably for reading books during the night. The window didn¡¯t have glass and let the air enter, there was a wardrobe for clothes and a one-person bed, the head pointing to the opposite side of the wardrobe.

    ¡°These 2 rooms are exactly the same, one is for the early bird, which is the left one and the other is for lazy ass like me. ¡°There is the one opposite to me, but I used it as an office, so I hope you¡¯ll bear with it.¡±

    It was probably because of where the sun rose from. Jet chose the lazy early option, Jet didn¡¯t really mind it, he was quite lazy, after all.

    Now that Raven thought about it, he didn¡¯t use the [Soul Recovery] skill ever since he learned it. After using it for the whole night, if you took goddess¡¯s word for it, would make you feel refreshed.

 Chapter 11 - History and Qi

    ¡®It seems the goddess was saying the truth.¡¯ thought Raven as he snapped out of his meditation. He was feeling refreshed, at least his body. He couldn¡¯t let his brain rest so it was still full. Something like when the goddess was still in Raven¡¯s head. Maybe he should do it every three days or something.

    He couldn¡¯t quite feel his soul yet, but it was the closest he got. It felt like it was somewhere inside his body, but not there at the same time. He felt like he could catch it, so he played hide and seek, then catch with his soul for the whole night.

    Without anything else to do, he decided to read the books he saw yesterday. He opened the door and saw the hundreds upon hundreds of books. Raven¡¯s parents didn¡¯t really tell him about the history or anything for that matter, so he had to dig the information himself.

    He piled a few books on his hand and returned to his room. There were exactly 5 of them, and they were all about history. Their names were: History of Krouxorth, Beginning of Magic, The Past of the World, The Great Winter and Path of the Warrior and The black-scaled dragonman opened the first book, and started his learning of his new home.

    ¡­

    Approximately 3 hours later, he had finished reading it. Terranian language was created in such a way that allows one to read and understand the language in a day, which would take a week of cramming back on Earth, however that worked.

    So he had actually finished almost all the books, in fact. The Krouxorth Academy was founded 1000 years ago by a man named Krux Tyran and his wife, Carly Carmine. The man was a [X] rank space mage, while the woman was a [SSS] rank time mage, the one who distorted the time inside the worlds made by his husband.

    He created 5 houses to distinguish between the beliefs and wishes of the students, that which can be determined by a Soul Stone, the jade crystal from before.

    There were 4 principals in the history of the academy and the current one had served for 216 years. The others were longer, so the man wouldn¡¯t go away easily.

    The Tyrannos House was made in honor of the founder, and only accepted the ones with great talent. Every principal after the founder had [Divination] talent in magic, which would let them see the fate of the students, leading to better decisions. That was the thing with fate and spirit speech of the principal.

    The school has classes about all manners of magic except [Death] and [Dragon], due to the lack of experienced and free personnel. A [Dragon] talent was rare, and skilled mages even rarer. As for [Death], all the skilled ones were dead or in The Land of the Fallen. That was all for the first book.

    The second book was about magic and how it came to be. Magic was the power to create small to big-scale miracles using the matter called mana particles, which were comparable to dark matter back on Earth.

    The first mage was a woman named Ray, and she had a helper named Laurus. While she created most of the basic magic, while Laurus was the man who contributed most to the theoretical part of magic.

    Their children became the great mages, and their bloodline spread far and wide. This was almost a billion years ago, which made the most of the population able to use magic. The ones without it could learn about Qi, which needed Martial Spirit. There was absolutely no one in the world without both Qi and Martial Spirit, as all humans had it when they were first made.

    The humans weren¡¯t happy enough with what the gods gave them, so they stole the gods¡¯ own power, which is magic. Soon the humans mutated to adapt to the magic instead of relying on their God-given qi.

    Then there was the Great Winter, which supposedly happens every thousand years or so, and is approaching steadily. It was a catastrophic event that could bring upon the world and ice age, the world would be ruled by a ruthless queen, called Ice Queen and she had a trusty Absolute Frost dragon by her side. It was relatively shorter than the others.

    The winter came 4 times in the history of Terra, and took over the world, failing only once 2 millennia ago. She was defeated by someone called Raul, and he made her rest for 2 thousand years instead of one. That was all.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    The next one was The Path of the Warrior, and he was halfway through when a yawning Robert came into his room. His hair was messy and wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt.

    ¡°Good morning, senior.¡± politely greeted Raven.

    ¡°Yo.¡± said he as he approached the table with the books. ¡°Hmm¡­ Thinking of using Martial Arts?¡±

    ¡°If I have the talent to.¡± said Raven humbly.

    ¡°Of course my junior would have the talent for it. In fact, you could read my research on that topic.¡± suggested Robert.

    ¡°You researched it?¡± asked Raven, amazed.

    ¡°Yeah, and I actually have a prototype of Arcane Martial Spirit I made, it¡¯s so frustrating that I can¡¯t learn it even though I¡¯ve completed it. I¡¯d be happy if my cute junior learned about it?¡± said Robert as he looked slyly towards Raven. He knew nothing good would come out of it, so he decided to try it. Robert swiftly left the room and promptly returned with a stack of paper in his hand. It was tall, taller than a book.

    ¡°Read this first.¡± he said and left the room.

    So Raven decided to enjoy reading it.

    ¡°The martial spirit is a thing bestowed upon the humans by the higher beings. It has been proven that all humans practiced it in the times long forgotten. From what I could muster, I found that there were certain stages to it. Ignorance is bliss, as I delved deeper into my studies, I found that we aren¡¯t actually training it the proper way.

    Before that, to whoever reads my research, I should introduce myself. I am Robert Pennison, currently a student at Krouxorth Academy. I may have already left this school behind of you are reading this. If I haven¡¯t given this to you personally, then you probably found it at a room in the Tyrannos castle.

    There were certain stages to the practice, the latter ones forgotten by history. This excerpt is from a paper I found in the dusty corner of the academy¡¯s library

    They were: Practitioner, Apprentice, Master, Lord, Duke, King, Emperor, God and Dragon as its final stage.¡±

    ¡­

    After reading that, Raven¡¯s opinion of his senior got better and better. The Martial Spirit would run on Qi, but the Arcane Martial Spirit run on qi mixed with magic. One could even use the mixed magic to use his skills, which would give unexpectedly beneficial effects.

    The Martial Spirits had the shapes of animals and they were connected to the person¡¯s soul or spirit in other words. He turned to look at the window and almost fell off his chair from fear. Robert was standing right behind him, looking at him.

    ¡°What were you doing?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°I came in a while ago and since you were so focused, I didn¡¯t dare bother you.¡± he said and looked at Raven ¡°But, let me show you what a Martial Spirit looks like.¡±

    As Robert closed his eyes and concentrated, his hair started flying as if it was windy. A fiery red and yellow light emanated, then swept over Robert. He looked like Super Saiyan God Goku from Dragon Ball, but with orange hair.

    Then it formed a shape as it left Robert¡¯s body and beside him, was standing a proud looking red lion, almost as tall as the tall Robert on its fours. It then quickly turned into a flame and vanished

    ¡°That was the Martial Spirit which I call Red Lion, and it¡¯s non-mutated one is a normal spirit called Proud Lion. It can mutate the same number as your orbs, of which I have 4.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ really amazing. How do I do that?¡± shouted out Raven in excitement.

    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t do it right away. I¡¯m a Spirit Lord, and the strongest Qi practitioner in this world is at the rank of a Duke, though I doubt I can¡¯t beat that person. You can use Aura, which normally reflected your character. But since I completed my research, it can now reflect all of your talents, but the characteristic part won¡¯t change, in other words, no drawbacks.¡±

    ¡°So how do I learn it?¡± asked Raven, livelier than he ever was before.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple, wish for power with all your might. It is your birthright to have it, so it will to come to you!¡± said Robert as Raven started trying his best. Surprisingly, a sound came out within a minute.

    Caw!!!

    Caw!!!

    Caw!!!

    The flapping of large wings could be heard, as it quickly approached the castle. It then peeked through the window, its eyes almost covering the entire window space. A suffocating atmosphere resided in the room.

    ¡°What in the world is that?!¡± exclaimed Robert.

    It then turned into a black light and flew into Raven¡¯s body. The terrifying aura disappeared.

    ¡°That was your Martial Spirit¡± said Robert, surprised.

    ¡°So, that means I¡¯m talented.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it should have taken almost an hour and I was thinking of some encouragement words for you.¡±

    ¡°Woah, impressive.¡±

    A mark had appeared on his chest, where the light had hit him. It depicted a raven-like bird, which was flying in the sky.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste any time, now pour in all your magic into the mark!¡± shouted Robert.

    ¡°Right away.¡± said Raven as he put his hand, and used every last drop of his magic.

    Robert then said ¡°It¡¯s not turning purple, something¡¯s wrong.¡± and put his hand on his chest.

    He had a troubled face and the previous Aura covered him. After about an hour, Robert regained his senses. ¡°That was dangerous.¡± he said ¡°You could have lost your chance to get an Arcane Spirit.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t pour in enough magic, it wouldn¡¯t get stronger, but instead, get weaker. The spirit was strong, I used up my magic too.¡± he said while scratching his neck.

    ¡°Thanks, senior.¡± thanked Raven wholeheartedly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it.¡± said Robert, looking at the black mark with a purple tint.

 Chapter 12 - First Day (Part 1)

    The sun came out eventually, as it shone its first lights over the meditating Raven. He opened his eyes, as if responding to the sun¡¯s call. Finally, it was time for school. He was almost bored to death with only 2 guys for three whole days. Robert had a hint of not being a straight male, in a way.

    He then left his room, coming face-to-face, with his new housemates. Robert and Jet were opening the door in a similar fashion, but a little sleepier without the help of [Soul Recovery].

    ¡°Well, the school starts today. We should leave around noon, let¡¯s get breakfast.¡± he said groggily as the trio walked towards the kitchen.

    Robert then proceeded by preparing the breakfast, as usual. It was beast meat, but was cooked until it was tender. The seasoning was great too. Robert had a talent for cooking.

    Now appeared the instructor, who was who knows where all this time. He was wearing a robe, instead of his previous clothes, but the medallion was still on his chest.

    ¡°Litmus, why did you suddenly disappear?¡± complained Robert.

    ¡°You had company.¡± answered Litmus, straight-faced.

    ¡°Well, you have a point.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± Litmus said, as he walked towards the gateway, probably expecting them to follow.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little early?¡± asked Robert, finding it strange.

    ¡°Today¡¯s the first day, and you know what that means.¡±

    ¡°Oh crap, can I stay?¡±

    ¡°No, I was sent for that very purpose.¡±

    ¡°That old man is evil.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    The previously listening Raven asked ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Today, the Rulers must make a speech.¡± answered Robert.

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± jumped in Jet.

    ¡°I¡¯m ¡­ shy.¡±

    ¡°¡±¡±Huh?!¡±¡±¡± shouted out the other three at the same time.

    ¡°There¡¯s the girl I like, my ex, another ex and then there¡¯s my crush, not to mention my girlfriend.¡±

    Jet almost fell headfirst ¡°How big is your heart?¡±

    After an awkward silent walk later, they reached the gate. This felt as strange as it did before, when they walked out of the door after entering the gate. The environment changed too.

    Led by their instructor, the trio walked upstairs, to the third floor. Apparently, there was the conference hall on that floor. It was a normal door like any other, which made Raven suspect how people could differentiate between the seemingly normal doors.

    Walking through it, they noticed it was a lot bigger than it was supposed to. The seemingly small school building couldn¡¯t have hosted something as huge.

    They were met with a room, almost 1 hectare of space. The space was mostly for show, as the students could never dream to fill this space, considering the hard to pass exams.

    The seats had 6 rows, 3 on each side, with a pathway in the middle. The back seats were vacant, while mostly the ones closer to the stage were filled. There were spaces in-between the groups of students, most likely by their houses. But the most outstanding bunch was the ones with the white clothes.

    As a dragonman, Raven¡¯s sight was good, spotting the familiar blue-haired girl in the bunch, who was now wearing a white uniform. By the way, Raven wasn¡¯t wearing the uniform, nor was anyone in the Tyrannos House.

    Currently, Raven was dressed in supposedly Tyrannos¡¯s special uniform, consisting of a grey shirt under a black jacket, black trousers and delinquent-looking red fingerless gloves.

    Overall, they looked like a bunch of bullies. Robert was wearing other clothes, signifying that he was a Ruler. They apparently had to wear white and gold clothes. This was a nice contrast to his orange hair, and fit quite well.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Robert was emitting a bright aura, while Raven and Jet had a gloomy and dark aura to them. The senior walked towards the stage, up to the 3 other rulers already on the stage.

    There were 2 women and 1 man on the stage, most likely below 20, based on their looks. One was a fierce looking pretty woman with long red hair. The man was a smart-looking one with glasses and all, with a green hair on his head.

    The last woman was another deal, her beauty was unrivaled, and her snow white hair only did well to support it. She had blue eyes, glowing with a beautiful light. Raven¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he saw her. Now that he thought about it, she was around his old age too.

    The speech started, the Rulers passed on their speech from left to right, with Robert at the end.

    ¡°Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for enlisting into Krouxorth Academy. Our goal is to further our knowledge, even if it¡¯s just a tiny bit.¡± said the glassed man.

    The red-haired girl started her talk ¡°Our school is the 3<sup>rd</sup> in name only, as our hard-to-pass requirements turn away most but the talented and our academy is slowly detoriating because of the lack of students.¡± she continued as she looked at the roughly 100 students of the academy ¡°So, we must work our hardest to make up the quantity with quality.¡±

    Then continued the beautiful girl ¡°From today onwards, you aren¡¯t a noble or a commoner, you are all fellow students in Krouxorth Academy. No royalty or nobles have any power over in our school.¡± she smiled ¡°The strong rule in here.¡± This was scary, yet charming. Most of the seniors¡¯ hearts almost fell for her as the crowd started shouting out.

    ¡°I love you, Laura!¡±

    ¡°Please date me!¡± and such. She was probably the number 1 beauty in the school.

    Robert tried to sneak away, but the Laura who was currently being showered in praises grabbed him by the collar and placed him where he was.

    ¡°As we assume, you have a heavy load on your back and are striving to become great mages. Even so, the school can be harsh sometimes, but even so, don¡¯t give up. As long as you have the power to continue on with your life, the chance of success will never hit the bottom. But the most important thing is having fun and enjoying your school life!¡± Robert then ended the collective speech.

    The Rulers all went to their respective Houses as they waited for something. The glassed man was in House Radiant, the red-haired girl in Regulus and the beauty was in House Glacius, in the same one as Liliana.

    The principal appeared on the stage and gave an explanation about the classes and the rules of the school. There was only 1 rule in the school: That was as said before, the nobles and royalty have no power over the commoners here. If they try to use their outside influence, except for self-given loyalty by someone else, will be gravely punished.

    There was no rule prohibiting killing, raping, slavery and much of the stuff forbidden outside. This was completely off the charts, at least killing should be forbidden. Though Raven doubted that his senior would let him die, he couldn¡¯t help but worry. Jet, on the other hand, was grinning. Possibly for no rule prohibiting kills or something like that.

    The school was simple, there was a class everyone was divided into, and would participate in events by themselves. Houses didn¡¯t play a big role, except for backing and living under one roof.

    So the principal announced the classes and their students, ending the conference. Apparently, Raven was in the same class as pretty much everyone he knew, except for the prince¡¯s bunch.

    The class included the ninja girl, the shadow girl, Jet, Lily, Tulga and there were some he didn¡¯t know. There were 2 exams per year, and some had passed on the test before this one.

    The class was on the 5<sup>th</sup> floor, and surely, it was enlarged. It wasn¡¯t as big as the hall, but wasn¡¯t what one would expect from a class. This was because it had a garden and other optional stuff, with space to spare. There was no window to the outside world but had an open roof, revealing a clear blue sky.

    There were 10 students in the class 4 male. Then Lily approached, wearing honor student-like white attire. This one was white and blue instead of the ones worn by the Rulers.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s been a while since I saw you.¡± said Lily.

    ¡°Not that long, right?¡± said Raven, smiling.

    ¡°But a whole day without you feels kind of boring.¡±

    ¡°A day?¡± asked Raven, surprised.

    ¡°What, doesn¡¯t your house have it? We have to go to school once every 2 days.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you meant that.¡± answered Raven. Seems like the founder played favoritism on the time dilation part.

    Soon the teacher came in, who was actually a woman with grey hair reaching her shoulders and was wearing a mage robe, which was quite baggy and black. However, she wasn¡¯t old.

    ¡°Greetings, my students. Call me Lulu. From now on, I¡¯ll be your homeroom teacher.¡± she said in a cheerful tone.

    There was no organizer in the class, so the commoners who didn¡¯t attend school didn¡¯t know about greeting a teacher and only a few nobles stood up. Raven didn¡¯t quite know full well about it so decided to sit this one out.

    ¡°Greetings, teacher.¡± said the standing ones all at the same time.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be formal with me, let¡¯s all have a fulfilling school life, shall we not?!¡± she asked as she raised her hand in a presidential manner. ¡°So, to know more about each other, let¡¯s know our elements.¡±

    The testing went as normal, but when the teacher saw his elements, she went into a deep thought. It was about ten minutes when she finally opened her mouth ¡°Do you want to become my disciple?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. What is it, Lulu?¡± asked Raven, being the polite guy he was, taking up the offer.

    ¡°You have the same element as me.¡± she said as her face contorted into a smile.

    ¡°What element does teacher have?¡± asked Raven, curious.

    ¡°You only need to know one, that is [Disease].¡± as she said that, the noble students contorted in fear, not that the duo paid any mind to it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°I mean that is not [Death], but a mixture of both [Air] and [Death] which makes the [Disease] talent.¡±

    ¡®How could I ever forget one of my first choices.¡¯ he said he vainly facepalmed.

    The rest of the examination ended, resulting in some making new friends. Jet and Lily became instant friends, as it was the first time for both of them to meet someone as smart as themselves, not counting Raven, as he lacks knowledge of Terra.

    Tulga was sitting in the middle of the class all alone, so they decided to ask him to join their group.

 Chapter 13 - First Day (Part 2)

    ¡°Hey, wanna join in?¡± asked Lily, looking at the ¡°noble breed¡±, as others called it.

    ¡°Why would I?¡± asked Tulga, smirking.

    ¡°You look bored.¡± said Lily in return.

    ¡°I assume you aren¡¯t boring then.¡± he said and walked towards Jet and Raven, with Lily at the back.

    ¡°Sup.¡± greeted Raven

    ¡°Yo.¡± greeted Jet.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s introduce each other.¡± started Lily, seemingly abandoned her cold beauty act ¡°I¡¯m Liliana Lionheard, 16 years old.¡±

    ¡°Jet Cross, 15 years old.¡±

    ¡°Just call me Raven, 16 this year.¡± blatantly lied Raven. It would be just strange if a 4 year old was like him.

    ¡°Tulga Chino, 16.¡± said the guest.

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m the youngest?¡± asked Jet, apparently flustered. It seems he is opening up already. Lily had a funny face, likely pitying Jet.

    The teacher shouted ¡°Ok, homeroom¡¯s over! Please go to your chosen talent classes, everyone.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s about time we separate.¡± said Lily.

    ¡°Well then, smell ya later.¡± said Tulga as he left the class.

    Lily soon followed, leaving Jet and Raven together. ¡°Wanna go together?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°Sure, we have the same ones.¡± he said and followed Raven. His wings were sticking out of the uniform, which was strange. ¡®How does he even wear his clothes?¡¯ thought Jet.

    They left the half-empty classroom, meeting the other two dragonmen, followed by the bitch in the hallway.

    ¡°Are you from the Quintus branch?¡± asked the blue-scaled Nicholas.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about my parents.¡± by now, Raven was able to lie without even blinking, not that he was much different before.

    ¡°Oh, then take this.¡± he said and threw him a storage ring.

    ¡°What is this for?¡± asked Raven, wondering.

    ¡°Just an apology for something terrible my father did.¡± said the prince.

    Raven was dumbfounded. He didn¡¯t even imagine Nicholas to be even close to this, actually, he thought that he would despise Raven for being from the Quintus branch. But even before that, he thought that someone comparable to a crown prince of a kingdom would be much more arrogant.

    The surprised Raven walked, soon led by Jet, who was asking for directions to the [Shadow] class.

    On the other side.

    ¡°My prince, why did you do that?! That was your allowance for a month.¡± shouted out the red-scaled dragonman.

    ¡°It¡¯s but nothing compared to what they suffered.¡± said Nicholas in self-defense, with an empathetic face.

    ¡°But they deserve it, they took away the first prince.¡± said the red one with fire in his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault I didn¡¯t stop my brother!¡± said the prince with tears in his eyes. Realizing his mistake, and touching the prince¡¯s brother-loving heart, he decided to stop. His bride could only look at him doing all the irrational stuff. She was just his bride, and didn¡¯t have a say in a family matter, as of now.

    ¡­

    Finally, Raven was standing outside the [Shadow] classroom, which was on the third floor, with a previously non-existent sign. Jet knocked on the door and peeked inside. It seems the teacher wasn¡¯t there, and you know what you should expect from a school like this? You¡¯re right, a big classroom.

    It was similar to a lecture class, and it didn¡¯t have many people in it. There were many vacant seats, so they decided to take the front row. It didn¡¯t take long for the teacher to arrive, and she just started her class as if not noticing the lack of students, or rather, used to it.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°The essence of shadow magic lies in its ever-changing yet eternal form. Only by using that characteristic, one may bring out the full potential of the element.¡± she then proceeded by creating a moderate sized shadow ball. Unlike what Raven expected, it was in shambles. The ball changed shape, but not in a geometrical way. More like spikes and blobs appearing out of the ball and going back.

    ¡°Today¡¯s subject is this, [Shadow Ball]. Compress your magic into a ball, possibly a moderate amount. Then from there, instead of keeping it that way, use the minimal amount of magic to let it not dissipate into mana particles, and there you have it.¡± she said as she did it over and over again.

    Most students were having trouble with it, including the duo from Tyrannos. They could make it into a sphere as naturally as breathing, but loosening their grip wasn¡¯t as easy as it sounded. Just when they loosened it, the ball would dissipate or it would be short a little bit, which would then result in the first after a try.

    The teacher was sitting on the comfortable chair, enjoying her tea. She wasn¡¯t beautiful or anything special, just plain normal. This was quite strange, considering that all the other teachers were extravagant.

    ¡°I did it.¡± came an excited voice from behind; this was the ninja girl from the practical examination. Now that he saw her, she wasn¡¯t far behind in terms of beauty than Lily. However, none of them could rival the Ruler. Raven was in love with her after all, one who was picky about woman, who didn¡¯t even care for Lily, a significantly beautiful girl and didn¡¯t even shy away from staying in the same room.

    ¡°Wow great, now you can go to your other classes, Miss err¡­¡± she said while scrolling through the journal ¡°oh, right, Miss Ravines, you can go now.¡± said the teacher awkwardly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she taking the word ninja too far?¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°Yep¡± said Raven as an image of a Naruto with Kushina¡¯s hair passed Raven¡¯s otaku mind.

    She quietly left the class, as the other students started finishing up as well, including Jet and Raven, of course.

    [Shadow Ball] said Jet as ball appeared on his hand, Raven followed suit, to check in case it was a fluke, and surely enough, it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°All the rest fail, you are free to leave.¡± said the teacher heartlessly. Students left the class, some long-faced, some happy.

    ¡°So, wanna go to the [Lightning]?¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s finish these 2.¡± said Raven as he asked a passing teacher for directions.

    ¡­

    The lightning class teacher was a handsome man with almost no muscles, and had blue hair with matching eyes. He was wearing Acritas¡¯s clothes, which were mostly a grey suit.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s start class, shall we?¡± asked the teacher as he explained a few basic theories that everyone knew, except the talented commoners, who didn¡¯t give the written exam. Although Raven didn¡¯t take the written exam, he knew it from his chat with Liliana.

    For audience¡¯s sake, he felt it was his duty to think of it inside his head.

    <ol>

    <li>One had to absorb mana particles and make it into their own magic, which they then use to control the mana particles.</li>

    <li>Without magic inside them, forcing the mana particles to move will result in magic overuse.</li>

    <li>The container is small, so mages are advised to conserve their power.</li>

    </ol>

    This was the case for Raven, as his Arcane Qi had a much bigger container, so he didn¡¯t have to worry as much.

    ¡°So, how about learning a spell?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!!!¡± the students shouted, excluding Jet but not Raven.

    ¡°Well, to do that, we must learn the characteristic of lightning. You must be attractive yet repulsive, if you do that, you¡¯ll see the true might of [Lightning] magic.¡±

    He threw a metal pen to the air and said [Polarity Shift] as he held his hands below it. As the pen fell towards the teacher¡¯s hand, it then jumped back up.

    ¡°What I did was simple, I changed the electric charge in a certain area, which was above my hand just now. With training, you can use it in battle.¡± he said and watched the students perform it, like the other teacher.

    Raven easily pulled it off, which wasn¡¯t the case for Jet. His [Lightning] affinity was weaker than Raven¡¯s, it seems.

    Soon, the class ended. It wasn¡¯t as interesting as Raven thought, so he wanted to excuse himself to the library.

    ¡°So, that¡¯s about all, so let¡¯s separate.¡± said Jet.

    ¡°What about [Soul]?¡±

    ¡°There is no instructor.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    ¡­

    Raven was walking alone, towards the library and saw the homeroom teacher on his way.

    ¡°Hey, classes over?¡± asked the teacher, a tad bit shorter than Raven.

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no body modification class, so I guess I¡¯m free.¡±

    ¡°Great, come with me.¡± she said as she dragged him to one classroom. Raven had already lost count of the floor. The room was more like a lab than a class, with no seats whatsoever. But before the sight, the smell hit him.

    ¡°Just bear with the smell, you¡¯ll be used to it soon.¡±

    ¡°What in the world do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a [Disease] mage, something like this doesn¡¯t have the right to faze you.¡± she said as a bottle of liquor was grabbed by her. She then opened the plug and poured the green liquid into some kind of dish, a small one. ¡°A strain of Nether Delusion, a dangerous one.¡± she said as she threw the contents to Raven.

    He was caught unguarded, so he didn¡¯t quite have time to defend himself except by trying to grab it with his hands. But the unexpected happened. No liquid hit him. It was now in his palms, with a little distance.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Talented. You¡¯re my apprentice.¡± decided Lulu.

    ¡°What was that for, I almost had a heart attack.¡± shouted Raven.

    ¡°But now you know you won¡¯t be sick ever again.¡± she said, sniffing Raven¡¯s neck, which was some kind of a sexual harassment.

    ¡°So, how can I practice it?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°You¡¯re forbidden to use it outside of my vision, do you understand? This is too dangerous for a kid to be playing with.¡± said the carefree Lulu with a cute serious face.

    ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± answered Raven.

 Chapter 14 - Laura and Gambling

    The sun had already set, and the moon had taken its rightful place back at the Tyrannos World. It was a tiring day, with all the classes and such. Raven had somehow gotten himself into a problematic situation, which then quickly turned into an invitation to the student council thing.

    ¡­

    Raven had just left after listening to Lulu¡¯s lecture, he bumped into a surprisingly short girl who he didn¡¯t see before. It was a girl with healthy brown skin and pale blue hair. She was the clumsy-looking type, with a pile of books taller than her head.

    ¡°Do you need help?¡± asked Raven picking up one of the books on the ground. It was a book about Magic Pollution.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s hard to carry these books around all by myself.¡± she said as she neatly placed them into two piles, one for herself, the other for Raven. Of course, the taller one was for Raven.

    The girl motioned Raven to follow him to the highest floor, and curious, he asked ¡°What are these for?¡±

    ¡°There is the room for prefects at the highest floor, and they can study there without interruption.¡± she said, puffing up her chest.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re one of them.¡± asked Raven, nocking his head.

    ¡°Of course I am, in fact, there are only 7 of us.¡± said the girl with an exasperated tone.

    ¡°Wow, that means you¡¯re a big deal.¡±

    ¡°Not really, I don¡¯t really like being in the spotlight.¡±

    The rest of the walk continued without a single exchange of words, with the girl at the lead. There was a luxurious door, standing out from the rest. It had a gold nameplate and there was an engraving of a rose on it, the petals made of ruby.

    The girl unhesitatingly opened it, revealing 2 people inside. One was Laura, and the other was, surprisingly, Robert.

    ¡°Wow, just wow.¡± said Raven, directing his gaze at Robert.

    ¡°Did I leave you with such a pitiful expression of myself?¡± asked Robert, sighing.

    ¡°So, is this one of your juniors?¡± asked Laura, and at that moment, Raven realized that he was in love.

    ¡°Yeah, the master of games.¡± said Robert, throwing an amused look at Laura.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re forgetting someone.¡± said the girl with a wronged expression.

    ¡°Oh, thanks for the books, Phi.¡± said Laura as she grabbed the books from her hands and placed it on the table, soon repeating the same with Raven.

    She then patted the soft-looking coach and looked at Raven. Taking up the offer, he took a seat opposite to her. Robert stood up and walked towards the table with the same amused expression he had before.

    Laura then straightened her posture and cleared her throat, and said ¡°I challenge you to a game of Poker.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± said Raven, taking up the offer.

    ¡°Explain the rules, he is from a normal family.¡± said Robert.

    ¡°Oh, that makes sense. You take 13 cards from the deck ¡­ and you win if you don¡¯t have any cards in hand.¡± She explained the rules of 13 card poker, which was apparently Raven¡¯s favorite pastime in his last life.

    One is dealt 13 cards, and the one with the 3 of diamonds starts with a card or combo of his choice. It can be a pair, straight, flush, their royal counterparts or even poker. Then if the next player doesn¡¯t have one exceeding the opponent¡¯s, they pass their turn. It then continues on this way until one uses up his entire hand, which makes that person the winner.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    One thing to take note of was that the 2s were the strongest, with aces below them. One may only use the same number of cards to defeat the opponent¡¯s move, which has an exception in case of a poker. In case the players use the same combo, then the one with the superior number lead will win, or if they are equal, the one with the superior color will. (Spade>Heart>Club>Diamond)

    ¡°Poker is meaningless without a bet, so how about it.¡± said Laura with a wicked smile.

    ¡°Sure, but can we bet something small, I don¡¯t really want to lose much on my first game.¡± said Raven, with a hidden smile.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ How about 10 gold?¡± asked the opponent, sure that she would win.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re bullying him.¡± said Robert, likely protecting his junior.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, senior.¡± said Raven, showing a humble demeanor.

    ¡°Well then, here goes.¡± said Phi, who was acting as the dealer. A smile appeared on Laura¡¯s face, which was quite alluring as she threw a flush of diamonds, with the 3 included and led by 9.

    Raven then replied with a flush of clubs, led by 9. Then Laura returned it with a poker of 5.

    ¡°Pass.¡± said Raven. Then Laura proceeded by using a pair of 4, countered by a pair of 10.

    ¡°I pass.¡± said Laura, confident of her victory with a 2 of spades and a king of diamonds in her hand.

    But unexpectedly, Raven continued with a pair again. Without a move left, Laura passed. This then continued until Raven had one card in his hand, which was a 3 of spades, one of the weakest cards in the game.

    The cards in Laura¡¯s hands fell as she held her head, seemingly not believing in her loss.

    ¡­

    It all leads to the situation at hand now, Raven sat in the living room, still playing with Laura, who forcibly dragged him into the student council on a whim.

    Robert asked with a wondering expression ¡°Are you fine staying off from your campus?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Ruler, the instructor can¡¯t refrain me.¡± said Laura, as she fixed the positions of the chess pieces for the umpteenth time. After realizing that she won¡¯t ever be able to defeat her opponent in poker, she decided to use chess.

    This one didn¡¯t rely on luck, but on intelligence. Seems that she couldn¡¯t defeat him in this one either, but she kept on trying. If she knew that he was only 4, then Laura would have probably committed suicide, but if she knew that he was from a better developed world, then she would probably give up.

    Her losses were countless, and lost money in the 4 digits, all in gold. As for Raven, he started feeling bad for Laura, considering he has feelings for her, so he decided to give back the money, and she played with it until it was in the 3 digits again.

    ¡°Ok, I challenge you to a Battle of History.¡± a smirk appeared on her face, with Robert trying to stop her by pulling her hand, she shouted ¡°I don¡¯t care about his feelings, I¡¯m not a Morningstar if I can¡¯t defeat him at this game.¡± oblivious to the fact that Robert was actually on her side.

    The result was, a flawless win, without being hit at all. ¡°Hmph¡­ it was a fluke.¡± which soon turned into ¡°It¡¯s not fair, I¡¯m supposed to be the queen of games.¡± and she started throwing a tantrum. The surrounding then started freezing and Robert had a scared face.

    Picking up his signal, Jet and Raven quickly fled, leaving Robert to deal with her. They then could hear a masculine shriek from the castle, and if they hadn¡¯t used [Lightning Movement], theirs would probably come out at the same time.

    The animals at the edge of the forest started fleeing, as Raven quickly launched up, with Jet in his hands. [Earth Platform] said Jet as a mass of earth formed a stand in air. ¡°Let me go.¡± he said as Raven complied, turning their eyes to the fight-like thing below them.

    ¡°Out of my way, I¡¯ll murder that kid.¡± shouted Laura, launching at Robert. An icy blue light covered her.

    ¡°Calm down, you¡¯re the queen of games, but he¡¯s just a passing god, so please spare him.¡± asked Robert, putting his hands before himself.

    [Ice World] she said as the world was covered in a layer of white frost. Nor the trees or the beasts were spared from her wrath.

    Robert jumped up, riding his Lightning Lion, trying not to let her know of his juniors¡¯ positions.

    [Lance] said Laura as countless lances appeared out of the ground, aiming at Robert¡¯s life. It was then that the trio realized that [Ice World] was a field magic, a type that grants the caster absolute control over the surroundings.

    [Freeze], the air started turning into mist, which was the water molecules freezing. Soon, there was a thick fog below Jet and Raven. A red light shot upwards, dissipating the fog. It was [Fire Beam] of Robert, and he shot it up in hope of the impact freeing him from the fog. It achieved its purpose.

    [Hammer], an ice hammer appeared above Robert¡¯s head, launching him downwards, met with [Ice Lances]. The corpse of a bleeding Robert lied on the ground, with countless holes. ¡°You¡¯re next.¡± said Laura as she sent a cold glare towards the flying duo.

    Crash!!!

    A loud sound came as Laura was sent crashing into the castle by Robert¡¯s hit. He then used [Fire Beam] and [Lightning Bolt], throwing it at his opponent.

    [Shield] said Laura as a shield of frost appeared, but was easily broken by Robert¡¯s attack. Then Raven shot downwards to protect Laura. Although illogical, Robert wasn¡¯t himself now. He wouldn¡¯t attack someone when she was down, even his worst enemy. That was the type of person he was.

    Raven then princess carried her from the ground, and sure enough, Robert was going berserk. He proceeded by destroying the world below.

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± shouted Laura, as Raven did just what he wanted. She was currently in a free fall to the ground, 150m in the air. ¡°Help me!¡± she then shouted again.

    Then Raven grabbed the falling Laura, who was a little flustered, which was cute in a sense.

 Chapter 15 - Grimoire of Crow

    There were 5 figures in a moderate sized room. It had a simple desk and a computer-like thing in the corner and there was a CV with a sofa in front. Crumpled papers covered the desk and floor, seemingly not cleaned for a week at the very least.

    The room was Litmus¡¯s office, and the said person was having a talk with a normal looking female teacher. The 3 others were of course, the ones who escaped from the Tyrannos world by the skin of their teeth.

    ¡°Instructor, Robert is destroying the world.¡± said Jet, surprisingly calm.

    Litmus¡¯s eyes widened ¡°Did you fight him or something?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± said Raven, looking at Laura.

    ¡°Ah, you were classmates for 8 years and you actually didn¡¯t know about his Berserker Blood?¡± said Litmus sighing between breaths.

    ¡°I- I didn¡¯t know, he¡¯s a Pennison, right?¡± asked Laura.

    *Sigh* ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to reveal his background, but this is the right time, I guess.¡± said Litmus as he took a deep breath ¡°A 6 year old Robert was found in the Misty North by Krux Pennison and he decided to adopt him after seeing Robert¡¯s loneliness. At 8, when he fought thugs, protecting his step-sister, his blood awakened. His eyes turned red and his teeth started clacking, as he lost his senses and when he came to, the thugs were lying half-dead on the ground. As he grew, it became even more domineering, but Robert somehow found a way to suppress it until he was at death¡¯s door. I won¡¯t reveal much more about his past.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s it, to think he had that kind of blood, no wonder he became a Ruler as a sophomore.¡± said Laura.

    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ll take care of it, so don¡¯t worry.¡± said Litmus and gave thumbs up before leaving the room.

    The female teacher soon excused herself. ¡°So now what?¡± asked Jet, looking at his company.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know, it¡¯s only 7.¡± said Raven, putting his finger on his chin.

    Laura asked ¡°How about we visit the library?¡± and she blushed a little ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for before.¡± and quietly turned away. Not known to Raven, Laura was breathing heavily. In her 19 years of life, she never had to say sorry.

    Everyone agreed, so they then walked towards the library. The room was on the 5<sup>th</sup> floor, right in the middle. There was no door for it and it probably had the same size as the Houses. Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves could be seen, all as tall as the ceiling, which might even surpass the original height of the building.

    There was no ladder to climb up and Raven was wondering about it when Jet took a step in, resulting in him floating off the ground. ¡°Woah, it¡¯s oddly satisfying.¡± said Jet with his signature blank face.

    He then maneuvered through the air and was an expert in seconds. By then, Raven and Laura were already in the library, floating to shelves. Seeing that he was left in the dust, Jet flied after them.

    The floating was like they were in space, but Raven couldn¡¯t quite grasp the feeling they got. It was satisfying, yet strange, like he was in a free fall.

    The book shelves were grouped together by letters and each line of books had the same topic, lined in alphabetical order too. It was fairly organized and they could see a kind-looking green haired woman with glasses, in her thirties sitting inside a counter. Although she looked young, Raven had already heard Litmus¡¯s explanation.

    He then strolled through the Spellbook section and found a rather surprising one. It was about [Disease] magic and was called The Grimoire of Crow. Feeling oddly attracted to it, his hands moved on their own, taking it from the shelf.

    ¡°Hey, that book is¡­!¡± shouted the librarian, but Raven was oblivious to the fact.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    The book itself was old, maybe a century or even older than that, it was made of leather and the writing was black. There was a lock on it, which Raven recognized as a Condition Lock. Lily had told him that this was something like a Touch Lock on Earth, which opened if you were its owner or had the potential to.

    The lock bit into Raven¡¯s left thumb, greedily devouring his blood, changing the writing to a blood red color. Although surprised, he felt that this was the proper measure and remained unfazed.

    The lock then bashed open as the librarian¡¯s hand touched Raven¡¯s shoulder, bringing him back to reality. ¡°You actually opened the lock!!!¡± she shouted, completely ignoring the basic library rule.

    ¡°I guess.¡± answered Raven.

    ¡°12 people tried to do what you did, and dearly suffered for it. If another accident happened on my duty, I¡¯ll be kicked out you know.¡± she said in a lecturing manner ¡°But since you unlocked it, I have high hopes for you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± nodded Raven.

    The librarian then continued her speech ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to practice it without the supervision of Lucius Lynn, she¡¯s the only one who can deal with stuff like this.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Raven, nocking his head.

    ¡°That was written by the most notorious mage in the history of Terra, his name was K Row. He was one of the professors at here when it was founded, but suddenly left leaving that accursed book. He then murdered over a 100 gods and even more demons, which led to him being killed by the united effort of gods and demons. And in the history of Terra, he made the gods banish him and his 9 accomplices from Terra.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, so that Crow person was someone incredibly strong.¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­ You mustn¡¯t say out his name loud, it¡¯ll bring misfortune.¡± said the librarian.

    ¡®What is this? Some Harry Potter shit?¡¯ thought Raven.

    She then took her rightful place behind the counter and slept, after warning him to not take the book too lightly. He too wanted to ask Lulu about it, but the book beckoned him to open it. Losing his senses, he slowly floated into a corner, hidden from unexpected guests.

    A bright light flashed as he opened the book.

    ¡­

    A barren desert could be seen as far as the eyes could go, not a single cloud resided in the sky. In return, the sun was a lot bigger, which didn¡¯t help the currently standing man with a black hair and a black mage¡¯s robe.

    He opened his eyes, revealing two reptilian eyes with a red pupil. ¡°You shall pay for what you have done!!!¡± sounded a magnificent masculine voice with threat etched into it.

    ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t think you can make me.¡± said the black-haired man with a mocking smile to the man flying in the air.

    It was an almost naked man with orange hair, with a muscular body. There was white cloth covering his private regions, which was conveniently floating. ¡°But we can.¡± said the orange-haired man, giving a smirk of his own.

    The ground opened up before the other man and thousands of corpses appeared from the enormous hole, filling the endless plain. The black-haired man stood without a hint of fear, and opened his mouth ¡°Apollo, even with Hades help you can¡¯t possibly defeat me.¡±

    ¡°Foolish mortal, they are infected with a disease hand-made by me. Any living life form in their vicinity will slowly die!¡± shouted Apollo with a crazy smile.

    ¡°Disease, huh? I can do that too.¡± said the black-haired man, waving his hand and instantly turning the countless undead to dust. Apollo then retreated into the sky, only to be hit by a grey more to the black side beam from his back, losing one of his hands which were turned to dust, leaving the part of the arm, which was infected with the disease and turned grey.

    ¡­

    Raven, who was watching from a close distance snapped out of his daydream and saw that the pages were blank, and when he checked his memories, he found that the 2 spells were in his head.

    The first one was [Dust End] and the second one was [Disease Beam]. The former used too much magic, so Raven couldn¡¯t afford to use it while the second one was for optimal use, which would use a quarter of his magic as of now.

    ¡°Hey, what you doing there?¡± asked Jet, appearing out of nowhere.

    ¡°Just looking through the books.¡± said Raven, hiding the book behind his back. For some absurd reason, Jet might know about grimoires.

    ¡°Well, Litmus just came and said we should stay in another dorm.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess that makes sense. How about Glacius?¡±

    ¡°I guess, your friend is there, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± said Raven as they both followed Laura, who was of Glacius too. It was on the 4<sup>th</sup> floor, seemingly a random door. Although they had seen the Tyrannos World, they couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise.

    The House Glacius¡¯s guardian spirit was The Ice Fox and thus, the world was of ice too. Surprisingly, the temperature was normal, the snow seemingly for cosmetic only.

    ¡°Welcome.¡± said a woman with light blue hair who of course, looked young. She couldn¡¯t be said to be a beauty but wasn¡¯t ugly either, kind of to the beautiful side.

    There was no forest, but there were caves, all covered in frost. The dorm wasn¡¯t half-bad, an ice building resembling a noble house, but longer.

    Currently, the 4 of them were already outside the house ¡°There aren¡¯t any unoccupied rooms so feel free to ask your acquaintances.¡± said the instructor ¡°But one room can only fit 2.¡±

    Laura blushed a little and said ¡°If you want to, you can stay in my room.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take up the offer, you¡¯ll be fine with Lily, right?¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± said Raven hesitatingly and Laura had an annoyed expression.

 Chapter 16 - Sparring and Boredom

    A girl with blue hair lied on a bed, a book in hand. She resembled Eris to the point that took the saying ¡®made in god¡¯s image¡¯ a little too literally. Her room lacked any modern furniture. In fact, there weren¡¯t that many: a desk and a lamp on it, a wardrobe. The window was on the left hand side of the bed and revealed a charming park with dozens of ice sculptures.

    The girl was Liliana Lionheard, otherwise known as Lily. Without much delay, a series of knocks penetrated the door, alarming her. She hadn¡¯t really made any friends in the House, and was oblivious to the identity of the uninvited guest.

    Unlike the school cabinet doors, this one had a scope to see who was outside.  As her eye met the scope, she was presented with the all too familiar dragonman she befriended before coming here who also happened to be someone summoned from another world, just like her.

    She opened the door carefully, as if not to hit him or make any noise and quickly dragged him inside, not letting him have a chance to open his mouth. She then whispered ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    The black-scaled dragonman named Raven answered ¡°Robert is berserking back at the dorm, so the instructor made us stay here.¡± Lily had heard about Robert, who Raven described as a kind senior of the House Tyrannos.

    The girl then let out a sigh and said in her non-whispering voice ¡°Oh, I was scared that you sneaked in.¡±

    ¡°It seems I left a bad impression on you.¡± said Raven with a sarcastic voice.

    The chat then continued on until everything was settled and Raven directed his eye to the book lying on the bed. It was a book on Rune Engraving, which Lily was actually quite interested in. During her last life, she was in a family of Onmyodo, Japanese ghost hunters who use enchanted paper to fight them. By that conversation, it was revealed that she was of Japanese origin.

    Lily thought that she could somehow replicate it by combining [Enchantment] and [Rune Engraving]. But it would be quite challenging, considering everything starting from the most basic laws of physics were different, although it didn¡¯t bother Raven as much.

    Another knock was heard from the door, as Lily answered the door. It was a maid bringing everything Raven needed to pass the night. Although it wasn¡¯t as comfortable as a bed, it was better than sleeping without it.

    The awkward silence from the time Raven stayed in a hotel with Lily came back from vacation as they both slowly walked towards dreamland. However, Raven found himself in a nostalgic black room with Eris lying on a sofa, half-asleep.

    ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± she said, lazily getting up as Lily who he didn¡¯t notice before appeared next to him, patting him on the shoulders.

    ¡°An illusion, or something from my head? Don¡¯t tell me that I have to fight my inner demon or some Miyagi stuff.¡± said Raven with some anger behind his calm voice.

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m the real deal. She said that we should try sparring.¡± said Lily, who was quite up till now.

    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely right.¡± perked up the goddess.

    ¡°But I have to ask something from you.¡± said Raven, as the goddess tilted her head, signaling that she was listening.

    ¡°Why does Lily not have the [Soul] talent?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of complicated, you don¡¯t expect just any reincarnated person would get it as a starter pack, do you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I kind of thought it as that. And what is this [Disease] thing, and why did I forget about [Air] somehow? Is this one of your meddling?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your faulty memory, and time¡¯s precious, Battle Start!¡± said Eris as Lily used [Summon Hawk] and called forth a giant hawk, approximately the size of Raven. An airborne fight wasn¡¯t to his advantage, so he decided to use brute force to fight with it and used [Lightning Movement], hitting the hawk.

    A puff of smoke appeared as Raven lost his vision, a silent voice entering his ears [Gravity x 4]. Suddenly, Raven could barely keep his flight and fell down. His body weight was several times of what it was at the start of the fight.

    Lily used [Ice Pillars] as suggested by the name, dozens of pillars appeared and hit Raven, supported by the ground or the momentum of a fall.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to hold back, it won¡¯t damage your real bodies. Your magic is limitless too.¡± said Eris as an idea came about. He wouldn¡¯t have used a dangerous spell like this without further knowledge in real life, but this place was different.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    He then recalled the second move used by Crow, but to use it, he had to get clear of these attacks. A large amount of magic was poured into [Shock Blade], as bigger than usual and more solid looking blades appeared out of Raven¡¯s hand, which resembled a hidden blade.

    He then did movements that could only be called dancing, the blades shattering the pillars into mere shards of ice.

    ¡°Too bad, [Ice Coffin].¡± said Lily, as the shards covered Raven¡¯s body and as she clenched her fist, it was the size of a ball.

    ¡°Too bad, [Disease Wave]¡± said Raven from behind her as he pointed his finger at her. Realizing something was wrong, she quickly evaded, but her hand was hit by the deadly grey wave, resulting in the same outcome as the sun god, or slightly worse with it having taken a little more than a hand. Nonetheless, she was alive.

    [Summoning: A Thousand Locusts]

    A large brown cloud appeared from the transmutation circle-like thing floating in the air above the outstretched hand of Laura, which was the only one left. Something like this appeared when she summoned the hawk too, but he didn¡¯t really have time to examine it that time.

    Getting ahead of himself, he used the first spell of Crow, the one that defeated an army.

    [Dust End]

    As expected, the locusts turned to dust, and it was blown by an unseen wind. But that wasn¡¯t the end. Raven had already used his entire magic container, which was quite large, but it still kept drawing his magic non-stop after the cast. It soon turned Lily and then Eris to dust.

    ¡­

    It was an hour, but his mana was still being drawn, a little while back, the black room turned grey and Eris was here a few times, instantly turned into dust. Raven had made up his mind, that he would never use it unless it was completely necessary.

    He then had an idea, rather than staying in this now grey room all night doing nothing, he would rather practice controlling his Arcane Martial Spirit.

    A relapse of the giant crow entering him surfaced his mind, as the mark started glowing, to the point of penetrating the jacked he was wearing. Then after an unpleasant hour of pain later, he had actually learned how to use Aura. He then used different talents of his and realized that [Body Modification] didn¡¯t have a form, so he just brushed it off as it not being an orb resulted in some problem.

    He first tried [Disease] as a grey aura with a tint of green covered his body. He could feel the drain of his magic-infused qi, which he was currently burning through non-stop with the [Dust End] skill. All in all, the Aura was difficult to maintain, but he somehow understood the purposes of the different types of it corresponding to his talents. The [Disease Aura] was for prolonged fights, slowly chipping off the opponent¡¯s power.

    The next one was [Lighting] which had an electric blue aura. The drain was a lot lesser than the previous one. Maybe the stronger Auras burned more? Its purpose was to show strong bursts of power in a short period of time, which by then would be exhausted.

    [Shadow Aura] almost covered his entire body, hiding his features. The drain on magic was non-existent, it was maybe for scouting tasks and made it easy for hiding for long periods of time. The unique ability was that it could generate more power as long as light was here, which canceled out the drain.

    The last one, [Soul Magic] didn¡¯t drain any magic, but within seconds, Raven was breathing heavily and very drowsy. It was based around willpower, so it kind of explained itself. The Aura was golden, and he felt refreshed for a moment before he almost fell from exhaustion. This one was more to the cultivation side, as shown in some Wuxia and Xianxia novels. [Soul Recovery] could replace the so-called cultivation method easily, as both strengthened the soul but one was more specific to the use of qi.

    He then activated [Soul Aura] in correspondence to [Soul Recovery], creating a balance between the drain and recovery, soon the recovery overpowering the draining rate.

    *Crack!*

    A strange cracking sound entered Raven¡¯s ear, he wondered about what happened, but cultivation was a little more important. Ever since that noise, he was feeling wet. It wasn¡¯t his mental body, but maybe his real one?

    He then stopped both and activated [Soul Aura], and noticed that he could possibly hold it for 1 minute now. There was one additional thing, Raven felt that he could somehow control the qi particles, much like what he does to the mana particles to use skills. He should ask Robert about that [Absolute Force], which was outside of the natural talents later.

    He then woke up, due to the wet feeling, but mostly due to boredom. It felt rather uncomfortable, as if his clothes were soaked, which were in fact, soaked in some strange green liquid and there was a coal-like black material all around him.

    It was already morning, the first rays of the sun penetrating the blue curtains, illuminating the room in the process. He was already dirty with some strange green liquid so Raven decided to sweat a little.

    Raven did a push-up, but it didn¡¯t feel challenging at all. So he decided to do a handstand push-up which became hard after 10 reps and unbearable after 50 so he decided to do a set of 50 handstand push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 one-leg squats on each leg for 3 rounds.

    When he finally finished his exercise, Lily woke up and her nose caught the pungent smell in the room. Sweat and the stinky green liquid mixed into a horrible stench, which Raven was ignorant to.

    She quickly opened the windows and dragged the half-naked dragonman to the shower room. The floor was made of ice, but it somehow didn¡¯t melt in the hot water neither was uncomfortable to the leg when he stepped on it barefoot.

    He then left the shower, wearing a set of clothes he wore before, which was inside the storage ring. But this was after Raven looked in a mirror and noticed his muscles were better-toned, he seemed a little whiter and the scales were glowing without the need of the sunlight to shine on it.

    Raven wasn¡¯t a beginner to stuff like this, as he read a few Chinese novels, in which some depicted ¡®Cleansing of the Body¡¯.

 Chapter 17 - Tika

    A green-haired teen girl with tan skin sat on a tree branch, no shorter than 15 meters. Her gold eyes were focused on the setting sun and she had a calm expression on her face. She then talked to herself, or rather, someone inside her head ¡°They deserved it.¡± She had a tribal-looking clothes, which consisted of a short brown leather skirt and a sleeveless jacket of the same material. There was a blunt dagger on her waist. There were 2 red lines on her face.

    A majestic female voice resounded through her head (You¡¯re really irrational, you know?)

    ¡°Thanks, that is my forte.¡± said the girl, with a smirk on her face.

    (So, when are you leaving?)

    ¡°Maybe in a year, after I master [Shamanic] magic.¡± she said with her index finger on her chin.

    A loud horn sounded from the far distance, as she quickly said her goodbyes to the one called Eris and ran towards the originating place of the sound.

    She jumped down from the abnormally tall tree like it wasn¡¯t a big deal, and she looked like she didn¡¯t sustain any injuries, in fact, she didn¡¯t.

    (I¡¯m in your head.) After being bluntly ignored, the goddess left her consciousness after sighing.

    The girl navigated through the forest like it was her own bedroom, and in minutes, cut the distance of about 10km or so. This was all thanks to her speed that would shame the average horse. As a Woodkin, she would naturally be fast.

    She was a human, but not a full one. The Woodkin race started with the alliance of Wood Elves, Tribal Humans and Satyrs. Countless years of inbreeding between Humans and Satyrs led to superior physical prowess. The Wood Elves sometimes breed with one of the other two races, but they were in the minority.

    She reached her location, revealing countless yurts, most small and one big in the center. That was the yurt of The Chief. The tribesmen were all outside, flocked around that big one.

    She pushed through the crowd, and was met by a brown-skinned man with a muscular build, his brown hair was in the style of a Mohawk and his green eyes glistened with life. This was the village Chief.

    ¡°Tika, you¡¯re finally here.¡± said the man.

    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong, Chief?¡± asked the girl, surprised that he actually used the horn used for emergency meetings.

    ¡°The outsiders are attacking. You need to run.¡± said the Chief with a serious face.

    ¡°But I can fight too, with my magic.¡± insisted the girl.

    ¡°Listen Tika, most of our fighters were sent to the frontlines, we would be lucky to drag them to hell with us, let alone survive it.¡±

    ¡°How many are there?¡± asked Tika.

    ¡°About 50 fighters and 15 archers, it¡¯s said that there are 3 mages in their ranks.¡±

    ¡°I will help, even if I do, I won¡¯t let our tribesmen come into harm.¡± she said as her head tilted to look at the countless women and the elderly. There were no children, as most of the males left for war and couldn¡¯t do the reproductory ritual, aka sex. Although she was a female too, she would easily rival any talented male youth in terms of combat.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand it, if you live; our tribe will never truly be lost. We are entrusting the future of the tribe to you.¡± said the Chief as the tribesmen nodded their heads in approval, encouraging her to run.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take everyone and run together.¡± begged Tika.

    ¡°If it was as simple as that. You¡¯re one of our best hunters, I don¡¯t think they can catch you if you run alone, but it¡¯s another story if you took a large number of people and tried to escape with them.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°I can manage it, Chief. Please let-¡° before she finished her sentence, the Chief shouted ¡°Enough with your selfishness!!! Riku will go with you, no more, no less.¡± he said as he turned his back to her and the leftover fighters followed him to the south.

    A boy with brown messy brown hair and green eyes came out of the crowd. He was the son of The Chief. Tika and Riku hunted a lot together, so they were good friends. His age was 15, the same as Tika, so he was one of the futures of the tribe too.

    Tika insisted that she stay here and help them but Riku was a little more logical than her. He dragged her away from the village and she finally agreed to run away. This took almost ten minutes and this was after the sound of the battle reached her ears.

    She was formerly from a peaceful world, so even though she could kill, she didn¡¯t want to or was afraid of it.

    They were both hunters, so they knew of the habits of the animals and the dangerous parts of the forest, easily reaching the edge of the forest, or what it was supposed to be.

    The trees in a range of about a kilometer were all cut, resembling something from Tika¡¯s old world, Earth.

    There were lumberpersons chipping away at it with their axes. The ground was half-dyed in blood, revealing that there was a battle here. However, there weren¡¯t any corpses left there, most likely taken away.

    ¡°Unbelievable.¡± whispered Riku.

    ¡°Yeah, but we have to get to Rainwurth forest without being seen.¡± whispered Tika, likely back with her rationality. Rainwurth was the forest inhabited by Wood Elves, which is separated from Pirmin forest by a small amount of land. However, this was widened by the labor of the lumberpersons working on the site.

    ¡°How about we run through them, we are fast enough.¡± suggested Riku, still standing on a tree with Tika, covered in leaves as to not be seen.

    ¡°No, there are 2 watchtowers and who knows how many archers there are.¡± answered Tika, looking at the two wooden towers with a roof on top. This was a tactic normally used by the militia in cases of war on Terra.

    They would build watchtowers from wood and it would allow them to see their opponents, but was completely useless against mages. This was the most suitable tactic, as the Tribesmen would usually use [Shamanic] magic to strengthen their bodies, but not use it outside of their bodies.

    But building it near the Elven forest would most likely be a grave mistake, as their arrows could be embedded with [Fire] magic and easily burn it down. This was a mystery to the two teenagers.

    ¡°We will swim through Rilain.¡± said Tika.

    ¡°That¡¯s suicide, the current is too dangerous.¡±

    ¡±Don¡¯t worry, the water level should be down to about a meter or two.¡±

    ¡°That could work.¡±

    ¡­

    They looked at the river silently, or rather, where it should have been. There was no river. Tika however knew that this was the work of a dam, possibly made by humans.

    They crossed the dried river and walked easily entered the Elven forest. After a while of walking and as the sun set, the forest started to glow a gentle blue light. This was the work of Wisps, the spirits of trees. Although there weren¡¯t many in forests near human settlements, this wasn¡¯t the case for the Elven forest.

    It was literally right next to the kingdom of Rivain, but still remained untainted. This was thanks to the elves security which led to the forest being called The Dark Forest by many humans and their like.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we last came here.¡± said Riku, with a nostalgic look.

    ¡°Yeah, we used to play with the Wisps during the evening.¡± said Tika with a simle on her face.

    ¡°So, how about a little sprint.¡±

    ¡°Sure, the one who gets there last is a pig.¡± shouted Tika as she took the lead. They could afford to be carefree because of the protection of the elves.

    Soon enough, they stopped. There wasn¡¯t a single building or its like on the ground. But they looked up into the village of Glamour. It was beautiful, even more so than the luxurious villas of the nobles, although they hadn¡¯t seen it, it¡¯s a word from the narrator.

    They were built on a thick tree, about 30 meters in diameter. The capital of the elves was even better, with a tree of about 100 meters in diameter, which was called the World Tree.

    They were extended by some strange wood-like material and some buildings were built inside it and some were built on the branches. The branches were thick as well, capable of holding about 2 houses.

    The Wisps were highly concentrated up there and it was the same as day thanks to them.

    Then 2 elves descended from above and examined them. They were both wearing brown uniform resembling that of a military with a green emblem on their right chest. It depicted a growing vine.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked the elven man.

    ¡°We are from Pirmin, our tribe was attacked so we are here seeking sanctuary.¡± said Tika. Being a social person really pays off in this kinds of situations.

    ¡°Please follow us.¡± said the woman and they both turned around, entering through an invisible door into the thick tree. As they walked through the tree, they saw that there was a device like an elevator, though Riku didn¡¯t really understand what it was.

    She then pressed a button labeled with the number 8 and the lift ascended. The door opened, revealing a military office, but the furniture looked like it had grown from the tree itself, which it was located inside of.

    ¡°Lieutenant, they are here from Pirmin.¡± said the man as he showed the two behind him.

    ¡°I suppose you were attacked. We deeply regret being unable to help you.¡± said the one called Lieutenant with regretful eyes and then fixed his voice before opening his mouth again ¡°You can stay here for as long as you like, we will try to do what we can.¡±

 Chapter 18 - Mehmet

    There was an endless desert of golden sand, with the sun mercilessly using all its might to fry those below. This was deep into the Incendium and was home to many poisonous animals. Only the most peculiar life forms manage to live here, but there is a tribe of humans that manage to live in this barren land.

    They don¡¯t have any order and the strong rule. But there was one law no one was allowed to defy, and that is to never defile the sacred water. It was the only thing that keeps them alive and also the most precious treasure they have.

    It resided in a cave, which was kept cool by ancient runes. There was a stream that led here, and it would easily quench the thirst of those who live here.

    Although there were many caves and such, they were mostly infested by scorpionmen and arachnids, both were Chimeras. They could manage to get water in their own caves, and the 3 races had a truce between themselves, to never fight for water.

    The humans lived outside, in white tents. It reflected the sunlight and their doors faced the North, receiving at least a little bit of the cold northern wind.

    Without any chance to grow crops, the inhabitants would occasionally hunt for animals. Those included, but weren¡¯t limited to: Giant Scorpions, Sand Spiders, Desert Crabs, Sand Dragons and finally, Giant Lizards. Although there were smaller species, they couldn¡¯t possibly fill the bellies of humans, so they resorted to hunting the giant animals.

    As for the scorpions and spiders, their chimeric counterparts didn¡¯t mind as they looked at it by the logic of ¡®the survival of the fittest¡¯.

    There was a boy particularly talented at the use of a sword. His style wasn¡¯t the same as the others of the village, with martial arts no one knew how he learned, he easily defeated a Sand Dragon.

    His name was Mehmet, a boy of 12 years of age. He had purple hair tied in a braid and wasn¡¯t tall, or closer to short. His eyes were golden, revealing that he had some wolven genes in his body.

    Mehmet was currently lying on his bed and peeking at a certain book, or specifically a note. This was his diary that included everything he learned since coming here. Being an organized person, he used to keep a diary which followed him to this world. It wasn¡¯t written on paper, but some kind of brown leather which was from lizards and the ink was made by detoxinated scorpion poison.

    He had learned that there was in fact magic, but his village didn¡¯t have any knowledge of it. The people relied on weapons and strategy to best the predators of the land, a typical village. But there was something called ¡®Worldly Energy¡¯ which would amplify the user¡¯s physical strength.

    There were the weaknesses of creatures of the desert scrambled on one page, which was actually all in Korean. This made the ones who read his diary think that it was a record left by a great swordsman of the past. But in truth, it was just a mixture of some martial arts on earth.

    Mehmet, or Kim Son Gook in his past life was a sword fanatic. He learned Haidong Gumdo, Kendo, Kenjutsu, Fencing and some other lesser known ones. After some roaming, Kim settled down on a martial school called Sanat Oldurme. It was based around how the Arabians and Turks fought in the medieval ages.

    ¡°Mehmet, your father is calling!¡± shouted a woman from the outside. The tents could only fit 1 person, so they lived separately. He opened the hanging wool door and was blinded by the sharp light of the sun. It was especially big because it was closer to this side of Terra, and everyone was tan-skinned, but not black here.

    The inhabitants wore white clothes, most like Turks, but Mehmet was wearing a hoodie and trousers.

    ¡°Where is he?¡± asked Mehmet, looking at the woman that is his mother. She was average looking, and had green hair. Mehmet and she had no resemblance so he seemingly picked after his father.

    ¡°He¡¯s waiting for you at the entrance.¡± said Ayse, his mother. They were never really close, mostly because women were deemed lower than men. Ayse was one of his father¡¯s 7 wives and wasn¡¯t that special either, she only got better treatment because she gave birth to Mehmet, a talented youth.

    The entrance, as suggested by the name, was the entrance of the village. The village was surrounded by a cliff from both sides. There was the entrance at one side and the exit at the other side.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    He saw a man wearing white Turkish clothes with a medium body size. It was his father. ¡°Father, I¡¯m here.¡± said Mehmet.

    The man answered without turning around ¡°It seems its time for you to leave.¡±

    ¡°Father, are you sending me away?¡± he asked with a cold voice.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m disowning you. And that means-¡± said his father with a blank tone.

    ¡°I have to go, right? Fine, I¡¯ll go!¡± shouted Mehmet as he went to pack his things, not noticing the tears on his father¡¯s face. This was the hardest thing he had to face in his 50 years of life.

    He then mumbled to himself ¡°We are restricting your potential here.¡±

    ¡­

    Mehmet had packed everything he needed in his backpack. It was mostly water, but there were 2 sets of spare clothes, some food, which he would easily get by hunting or fighting them off anyways. There was a frying pan, which had runes that would allow it to cook by using the heat from the sun.

    Although there weren¡¯t any mages, Rune Engravers were many, so most of the fighters had enchanted swords, including Mehmet. His twin swords were on his belt, and there were 2 knives strapped to his loose fitting pants, making it tight. Being the son of the mayor was advantageous, as he could easily get the best Rune Engravers enchant his sword.

    As far as the eyes could see, there was sand. Anyone wouldn¡¯t be able to tell north from south, but the Desert Dwellers had the ability to do so. This was thanks to their sense of cold perception. The northern winds were cold, and they could tell where it was coming from.

    Two weeks passed without any mishaps, or rather, opportunities. His food was falling to the red zone, no matter how sparingly he ate. The desert would be raining him with monsters and such in normal cases, but this wasn¡¯t the case this time.

    ¡°Help!!!¡± shouted a woman. Mehmet searched for the person with his eyes, and saw a cart in the far distance. There were a few people dressed in black, seemingly trying to rob the cart.

    His hands were itching for a fight, and so were his swords. Seeing an opportunity, he rushed into the battle.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think that someone would conveniently come to your rescue? If you hand over your goods, I might let you become my wife¡± said the leader with a smirk on his face. He was the leader of the famous robber gang ¡®Black Demons¡¯, which had more than 100 bandits under its name.

    ¡°W-Why?¡± cried the girl.

    Another man answered ¡°You¡¯re a woman, after all.¡±

    The girl¡¯s father said ¡°Please let my daughter go, I¡¯ll do anything.¡± It was a man of a late age, with a messy beard and brown hair, the same as his daughter.

    ¡°Kill him.¡± said the leader as 1 large man slashed towards the old man, but it didn¡¯t him him.

    A short purple haired youth was standing before him, holding his arm in one hand, and a blade in the other. There were strange marks engraved on it, and it was emitting a gentle blue light. The rune was simple, yet delicate.

    The boy then rushed as the man¡¯s head flew off. Then Mehmet charged at the others. A man with a hammer swung it down on him. He fell down onto the ground as the man savagely pounded on him.

    However, after a minute of beating, the boy was still fine. No signs of broken bones or any shouts of pain. It was as if he died, but his body didn¡¯t say so. Mehmet then suddenly launched up into the air. He had shielded his body with [Worldly Energy], which looked like a heat wave, meaning colorless and almost invisible. The hammer hit him and the shockwave attacked his insides, but there was nothing serious.

    After the beating stopped, he had absorbed the energy used for shielding and empowered his body. That was how he jumped upwards so high.

    ¡°Back off, you guys can¡¯t handle him.¡± said the leader as the others obeyed his command.

    ¡°Is it a duel?¡± playfully asked Mehmet.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a domination.¡± said the man as he launched at Mehmet, who was doing the same. Both of them clashed with swords and were in a deadlock. The shockwave from the clash sent up the sand around them.

    The two retreated and looked at each other for a while. Normal eyes couldn¡¯t see it, but they were actually fighting a battle with their [Worldly Energy]. If one looked at it closer, they would notice that 2 nigh-colorless snakes were fighting. One had a tint of blue and the other had a tint of yellow. Of course, the yellow one was Mehmet¡¯s.

    Mehmet and the men clashed yet again, but this time, they weren¡¯t supported by energy, as it was fighting outside their bodies. Being young, Mehmet was being pushed back in the contest of power. The man then suddenly pulled back his sword and slashed at him.

    But the battle was over, in Mehmet¡¯s favor.

    This was thanks to a quickdraw with his other sword, and it sliced clean through the robber¡¯s unguarded body. Even if he was bested in strength, he would never lose in speed.

    The robbers stared at him with mouths agape. ¡°Scram!¡± shouted Mehmet and they did just that. But if they attacked him just now, he would probably lose. Mehmet had exerted too much energy and was on the brink of losing consciousness.

    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± said the father of the girl as he kneeled on the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I was itching for a fight anyways.¡± said Mehmet as he supported the man up.

    The girl was around the age of 14, older than Mehmet and taller by around 10 cm. The father was a little taller than the girl. They were both wearing white Turkish clothes and the man had a hat on.

    There weren¡¯t any bloodstains on his clothes, because the second sword had a burning effect and would burn the body, stopping the blood from leaking out. As for the first one, it became lighter when the runes were used, so he was too fast for the blood to hit him when he beheaded the first man.

    Mehmet then started traveling in the cart with the father and daughter duo. It somehow worked like a car, so it didn¡¯t need a horse or something to drag it. However, it used [Worldly Energy], so the man had almost none left when he encountered the burglars.

    The daughter occasionally drove when his father was dry on energy and the travel continued like that.

    Luckily, he met a few monsters on the road, which he hunted down.

 Chapter 19 - Grimgal

    ¡°You tryin to pick a fight?!¡± asked a muscular furry boy with grey animal ears on top of his head and golden eyes. He was currently inside a shop and was shouting at a boy with another furry boy with brown hair on his head.

    Actually, almost everyone was either furry with the exception of a few chimeras and were-creatures, who could only transform during the night.

    ¡°Of course not, why would I pick a fight with you.¡± said the little boy with a kind face.

    ¡°At least you know your place.¡± said the wolf boy as he put him down. He wasn¡¯t a ¡®noble breed¡¯ like Tulga, but was instead called ¡®shifter¡¯, so he wasn¡¯t a beast turned human, but a human turned beast.

    Shifters possessed the ability to turn into a stronger version of their beast counterpart. By how one looked at ¡®noble breed¡¯ and ¡®shifters¡¯, the shifters would seem more powerful.

    But that wasn¡¯t the case. While the ¡®noble breed¡¯ gained superior powers in human form, ¡®shifters¡¯ could only use their [Beast Form] to access that power. However, their physical strength was already better than normal humans.

    Then he continued ¡°Why should I pick a fight with weaklings.¡±

    ¡°You dare!!!¡± shouted the wolf boy as he pounced at Grimgal, the one with the brown fur. He turned into his [Beast Form] mid-air, which was a giant wolf.

    Then Grimgal also turned into his [Beast Form]. His body size didn¡¯t change, but he became a little more slender.

    What was standing before the wolf was a weasel half or maybe quarters its size.

    He then pounced at the wolf, but he didn¡¯t clash. Instead Grimgal circled his body.

    They resembled a vine around a tree, but the vine was alive and was attacking the head of the wolf.

    He bit off the back of the wolf¡¯s neck as it fell lifeless to the ground and turned into a human.

    The crowd then dissipated and didn¡¯t pay any mind to the corpse as if it was nothing strange. In fact, it wasn¡¯t.

    Desolate East was home to many, if not every possible supernatural creatures, as those from Earth would call it. Actually, they were seen as occult or strange on Terra too.

    Soon enough, a man with a black robe came pushing a cart and put the corpse on it. He, or is it she, walked back. They were called Cleaners and would clean the city, specifically the corpses.

    Some thought that they worshiped The Reaper, some thought that they were cannibals.

    ¡°You killed another one, didn¡¯t you?¡± asked a man with similar features to the boy, but a little taller.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Grimgal turned his head and looked at the man ¡°Yep, don¡¯t you think we look a little weak?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we are so good at killing.¡± said the man while narrowing his eyes.

    ¡°You have a point, bro.¡± agreed Grimgal.

    After a little pause, his older brother continued ¡°So, what did you fight for?¡±

    ¡°This.¡± he said and picked something from the pouch on the left side of his waist. Upon further inspection, Brimgal, his brother realized that it was an Ancestry Stone. When devoured, it would prolong the time of a ¡®shifter¡¯ in his/her [Beast Form].

    ...

    Grimgal and Brimgal were standing before a big mansion; it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that it looked like a palace.

    This was The Assassins¡¯ Guild and was mostly composed of their family. There were few ignorant enough to mess with them, and that wolf boy was one of them.

    Grimgal kicked open the door and entered. The interior wasn¡¯t luxurious, like the exterior.

    The walls were covered with red paint, a little bit of blood, or maybe a lot of it. The entrance showed a narrow corridor, leading to a counter, which could be seen below The Assassins¡¯ Mark drawn on a white carpet like thing, which was hanging from the ceiling.

    It is said that once someone outside of the guild finds that mark, they would be killed within a day without fail.

    The 2 walked towards the counter and the receptionist looked at them. ¡°May I know your names?¡±

    ¡°Grimgal and Brimgal Nevestulka.¡± said Brimgal.

    Suppressed horror came to the receptionist¡¯s face as she pointed her palm at the stairway ¡°T-This way.¡±

    The reaction wasn¡¯t that strange, after all, the family name Nevestulka would probably make the bravest men piss their pants, and it included the ones who work at the guild too.

    Over the stairway, there was a giant door which opened at their sight, as if fearing them. But that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± said a man with similar features to the brothers, but his fur was a little darker and he had a black eye patch over his right eye. He was currently smiling.

    ¡°You just abandoned us for several years and suddenly call us? Can you even do that?¡± shouted Brimgal.

    ¡°I can and I just did.¡±

    Grimgal then ushered his brother to listen to him ¡°Please go on, father.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my Grim for you.¡± said the man with a sweet voice, but suddenly his tone turned cold ¡°As you might know, there is a new kingdom rising. I fear that only I can possibly have a chance at infiltrating and murdering the king.¡±

    ¡°And what of it?¡± asked Grimgal.

    ¡°I fear that I can¡¯t come back alive.¡±

    ¡°Does that have anything to do with us?¡±

    ¡°I want you to replace me.¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it alluring enough for you? Then how about I let one of you go?¡± asked their father with a mischievous smile.

    Grimgal and Brimgal had always dreamed of crossing over to the Main Continent, but some assassins would always bring them back from the shore. It was this man¡¯s doing.

    Even if he died, rules were the rules. The rule was to never let ones from the direct bloodline of a former or current guild master leave the continent.

    But if a guild leader was to give them permission, they would be allowed.

    ¡°I accept.¡± this time it wasn¡¯t Grimgal, but his brother.

    ¡°But brother, you promised me to go together.¡±

    ¡°Listen, if I don¡¯t take old man¡¯s place, both of us will likely be killed.¡± said Brim as he put his hand on his brother¡¯s head and patted it. This was true. Ringal, their father, had an uncanny potential for killing, so the next leader might kill them in fear.

    ¡°Good child, that¡¯s exactly true. But if you take my position, you might survive.¡± This was also true, as the guild master, he would have to do a blood pact with 7 assassins of his choosing. They would never be able to betray him.

    ¡­

    ¡°Take care.¡± said Brimgal as he saw his brother slowly leave the continent on a ship. This ship took a detour, but he wouldn¡¯t fall into the clutches of other assassins, or the vampire kingdom for that matter.

    ¡°You too.¡± said Grimgal as he looked back at his trashy excuse of a hometown and his only friend in this cold world. A 14 year old Grimgal left the Desolate East just like this.

 Chapter 20 - Urgere

    Dragonar, an alliance of the strongest dragons on Terra united under the cause of ¡®keeping order¡¯. However righteous it may sound, you should know that order is perceived differently by every race.

    Protecting the weak and stopping crimes, that is the idea of humans. The dragons¡¯ outlook of the word ¡®order¡¯ wasn¡¯t that different, or two poles by how you judge it.

    Stopping the lower beings, as they call mortals other than themselves, from defiling the beautiful world is their idea of order.

    If they deemed someone as dangerous, then they would move out and annihilate that person no matter the cost.

    Dragonar was also known by humans as the Dragon Summit and some had forsaken their titans after seeing their magnificent form.

    The hierarchy wasn¡¯t complex, with only 17 dragons in it, they usually called them by their ranking. Any dragons below the first 9 were known as Great Dragons and the others were called Elder Dragons.

    This was the case for countless millennia, but they now numbered 18. This was since the birth of Urgere, the infant of two Elder Dragons. Currently, she was 20 years of age and was still considered a toddler by dragon standards.

    She was also one of the few brought to Terra for Helios and Eris¡¯ devious scheme.

    (How¡¯s it going?) asked a woman with a mocking voice. This was all inside Urgere¡¯s head and she knew it.

    ¡®What is?¡¯ she answered with her thoughts.

    (Your¡­ maturing.) Eris barely held her laugh.

    ¡°Enough of that, what kind of creatures consider 20 year olds toddlers, who actually are toddlers.¡± shouted Urgere out loud. Thankfully, no one heard her shout.

    (Heh, anyways, I can age you until you¡¯re 100 years old.)

    ¡®20 hellish years, and you fucking tell that to me now?¡¯

    (But I have one condition.)

    ¡®Fine, I¡¯ll do anything.¡¯

    (You have to escape and regroup with someone.)

    ¡®And how do you expect me to run away from this place?¡¯

    (I sent someone.)

    ¡®You actually sent someone to the Dragonar HQ?!¡¯

    (Well, yeah. But don¡¯t worry, he can easily handle 3 Elder Dragons no problem.)

    ¡®I¡¯ll be waiting then.¡¯

    The sun was just setting as the sunlight abandoned the 2 meter long Asian dragon with azure scales.

    She was currently lying on a soft green pillow. Surely enough, her parents came. One was an azure-scaled Asian dragon like her, but the other one was a red European dragon.

    If one saw their appearance, he/she would think that they didn¡¯t belong to the mortal realm.

    A green light flashed as a human appeared before the 2. ¡°Who dares venture into our land.¡± said the azure dragon with a loud, yet calm voice. The voice was that of a man, revealing that he was Urgere¡¯s father.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it proper to introduce yourself before asking someone¡¯s identity?¡± said the woman with a calm voice, completely unexpected of someone facing 2 of the strongest creatures in the mortal world.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°You have guts, human.¡± said the female dragon as she used [Flame Bomb]. A giant ball of condensed flame appeared from her mouth.

    She swallowed it, and slowly turned her head to the uninvited guest.

    She opened her mouth as a giant beam of fire shot out at a speed invisible to the eye. As it hit the woman, it exploded.

    *Bam!!!*

    The dust cleared, revealing a green ball of stone covering the woman and a crater below it.

    Then the azure dragon roared [Nine Heavens Thunder].

    The night sky changed colors numerous times as it settled on blue, the same as a sunny day. But this was only the calm before the storm.

    A thunder no less than 20 meters in radius fell down on the green ball, deepening the crater.

    *Bam!!!*

    [Burst Impact] shouted the female dragon as fire rushed out from the ground below the green ball, resembling a volcano.

    It was lifted from the ground and without wasting time, the azure dragon used a skill of his own.

    The name was [Divine Judgment].

    A giant hammer, no smaller than the previous thunder fell on the stone.

    *Crash!!!*

    There was nothing on the ground, revealing a deep crater.

    ¡®I knew she was kidding.¡¯ thought Urgere.

    ¡°What a terrifying move.¡± said a woman from behind the 2 dragons.

    It was a beautiful woman with a body that would tempt the purest of men to chase her. Her hair was black, with green endings. Her eyes were green and the cornea was black.

    ¡°Jade Empress, what are you doing here?!¡± shouted the azure dragon.

    ¡°Calm down, Leidan. I¡¯m not here to fight.¡± said the woman with a playful tone ¡°Give me your newborn and I¡¯ll go away peacefully.¡±

    ¡°You have grown arrogant, to act like that here.¡± said the female dragon.

    ¡°I think I was addressing Leidan.¡±

    ¡°You dare!!!¡± shouted the red dragon in self-defense.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Uvnai.¡± said Leidan, addressing the female dragon. ¡°State your reason.¡±

    ¡°You dare sell off your child!!!¡± shouted Uvnai at the top of her lungs.

    ¡°Calm down, will you? I can¡¯t reveal the reason, but I assure you that no harm will come her way.¡± promised the woman called Jade Empress.

    Uvnai then launched turned into her human form, becoming a beautiful woman capable of rivaling the Jade Empress in beauty. However, her face was contorted in anger.

    Her red hair turned blacker by the second and it became completely black in the end.

    [Hellfire Devourer] she shouted as a mass of black flame formed around her palm, which was pointed towards the Jade Empress.

    It didn¡¯t stop at that, as the air around was pulled towards it and it grew in size.

    [Jade Knight] said her opponent, as a giant soldier of jade appeared before her. It stood as tall as the sky, its head over the clouds. ¡°Attack.¡±

    The giant jade knight then condensed into a smaller size, about 20 meters in height. This way, it would become sturdier.

    It then drew its sword and slashed at the ball of flame.

    *Crackle!!!*

    The knight of jade burned down, turning into ash. Although rocks weren¡¯t supposed to turn to ash, it just did in front of her eyes.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s dangerous.¡± she said as she disappeared in a green light.

    The already launched black flame couldn¡¯t possibly be stopped.

    The flame devoured everything it encountered. The mountains turned into dust, growing in size until it was as big as 2 mountains put one over another.

    It was then that the Jade Empress came back. She had appeared from the ashes of the burnt [Jade Knight].

    ¡°So, do you have anything else?¡± she asked as she approached the black haired dragon.

    ¡°Leave!¡± said Leidan as the small dragon floated to her hands. Although small, it was still big, so it looked far bigger than the Jade Empress.

    She threw up a small jade from her pocket and a pillow resembling the one she was lying on formed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± said the woman as they both disappeared.

    Then Uvnai¡¯s anger turned to Leidan as she launched at him. It was then that Leidan turned into a human as well.

    He became a handsome man with azure hair and kissed her.

    Uvnai could feel her eyelids growing heavier as she fell into the warm embrace of sleep.

    ¡­

    Urgere was standing inside a forest clearing, which the Jade Empress brought her to.

    A purple light swallowed her up, startling the woman.

    It then lifted from the ground and grew in size, becoming not smaller than a truck.

    As the light subsided, there was a giant dragon standing there, at least 15 meters long.

    Dragons¡¯ physical growth would halt at 100 years of age and only the magic prowess would grow.

    ¡°Did Eris do that to you?¡± asked the Jade Empress.

    ¡°Seems like it.¡± said Urgere, now capable of speech. If one were to compare a dragon¡¯s age to a human¡¯s, 20 would be 2 while 100 would be 10.

    Dragons could practically live forever, considering that they aren¡¯t gravely injured in battle or cursed.

    ¡°Anyways, I don¡¯t know your name.¡± said Urgere.

    ¡°Oh, I never told you, did I? I¡¯m Lucy, the Jade Empress.¡± she said with a smile ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    From someone called an empress, she was surprisingly not arrogant and friendly. She probably got the name from her strength alone.

 Chapter 21 - 3 vs 1

    Once again, after a month, the students were in the conference hall of Krouxorth. As expected, the principal was giving a speech. Unlike the one before it, this speech was interesting, at least to the new students.

    He would give this speech every month, with a little tweaking so the seniors and sophomores were almost sleeping.

    ¡°¡­ students will be awarded according to their success in the tournament.¡± and so ended the speech. In short, there was a tournament conducted between the students once every month.

    If one were to place high in that tournament, they¡¯ll be rewarded. That was all, but the principal somehow prolonged it into a one hour lecture.

    Jet slapped the sleeping Robert, waking him up in the process. ¡°Phew, is it over?¡± asked Robert with a relieved voice. One would wonder if Robert had just woken up from a nightmare.

    ¡°Yep.¡± answered Jet.

    ¡°Finally.¡± he said as he stretched his body.

    ¡°Hey Robert, let¡¯s go to the cafeteria together.¡± said Laura as she walked towards the Tyrannos bunch with Lily at her back. After a month, or 3 months for Jet and Raven, their relationship had leveled up.

    ¡°Okay, you 2 can go on ahead.¡± said Robert as he lifted his body up from his seat.

    Then Laura said with a blushed face ¡°T-The juniors can come along too.¡± From this, anyone could see that she just wanted to ask Raven or Jet, but Robert was just that dense-headed.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll tag along.¡± said Tulga, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

    With this, the group of 6 walked towards the cafeteria. Strange glances could be seen being thrown at them.

    Both Jet and Raven had coupons so they could eat for free. But that wasn¡¯t the case for Lily, she paid with her allowance. As for Tulga, he was a prince of a country so he didn¡¯t lack money.

    The cafeteria was big, almost bigger than the conference hall. It resembled a mid-class restaurant, with the menus and the waiters. Light shone down from the glass windows covering the entire walls.

    It didn¡¯t become hot, as this was just a [Light Formation] that imitated the sun. However complex it may sound, it was one of the easiest.

    They took a seat prepared for eight and started reading the menu, all except Robert. No matter how many times he came here, he always chose one dish. That was Ramen.

    When Raven ¡°What if you get bored?¡± he just answered with ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I switch between the 8 flavors every time I come here.¡±

    ¡°Do you guys want to go shopping together?¡± asked Laura.

    ¡°Sure, but the tournament is coming.¡± answered Robert with a carefree tone.

    ¡°Its fine, Raven will definitely place in the first 10.¡± said Laura looking at him. By now, Raven had already found out that she was in love, but still waited for the perfect moment. He just answered with a half-assed laugh.

    ¡°What about me?¡± butted in Jet.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, I guess.¡± answered Laura with an uninterested tone.

    A waiter brought the dished on a big plate. It was a stir fry for Jet, a green soup for Laura and Lily, some fried meat for Tulga and a burger for Raven.

    Raven was notorious for eating burgers in his past life, and that carried on to his next life. When they didn¡¯t know about it, Raven actually taught them how to make it.

    In this aspect, he wasn¡¯t that different from Robert, who created the various flavors he was talking about.

    The bread tasted a little bitter, which he found out was a con of being a dragonman, but the patty¡¯s taste was amplified.

    A green flash momentarily blinded Raven and co.

    When the light subsided, they saw 2 women appearing from the light before.

    Feeling an ominous aura from them, Robert and Laura suddenly perked up and prepared for combat.

    One was a woman incomparable to Laura, and had black hair with green endings. Her cornea was black, surprisingly.

    The other one was a girl, beautiful, but not so much as his current crush. She had azure hair and a curvy body. Her eyes were reptilian, of the sky blue color.

    ¡°Are you Raven?¡± asked the older woman looking at the black-scaled dragonman.

    ¡°The one and only.¡± answered Raven between mouthfuls of burgers, without even budging from his seat.

    ¡°Hmm, we have guests I suppose.¡± she said as she looked at the others.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± shouted Raven as he threw a [Condensed Fire Ball] at her.

    [Jade Knight]

    A human-sized jade sculpture appeared from thin air, slashing the fire ball into two.

    A hoarse old voice resounded thorough the caf¨¦ ¡°Lucy, I thought you were imprisoned.¡±

    ¡°I broke out.¡± replied the woman with a carefree tone.

    ¡°You became stronger?¡± asked the principal.

    ¡°Nope, what about you, Stein?¡± she returned the question, now looking at the old principal ¡°Oh no, was I imprisoned for so long?!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a failed experiment, I was trying to get a moustache.¡± said Stein as his body gradually became younger, with speed visible to the eye ¡°But I thought I looked more like a principal that way.¡±

    Now there was a grey-haired middle-aged man with a handsome face standing before a woman of similar age. His blue eyes gave off the feeling of gentleness.

    ¡°Oh, thank the titans for that.¡± she said as a sigh escaped from her mouth.

    ¡°What are you here for anyways?¡± said the man with a now young voice.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to recommend a student.¡± she said and showed her the girl.

    He examined the girl with his eyes a little bit and closed them. After a while, he nodded his head.

    He then produced a jade ball from a storage ring and was trying to throw it at her. ¡°No need, she¡¯ll get into Tyrannos.¡±

    ¡°Well, it was made by you, after all.¡± said Stein as he stored the ball away ¡°Follow me.¡± he said as the girl followed.

    Then the woman approached Raven and whispered into his ear ¡°Eris sent her.¡±

    Just after she said those words, without Raven being able to ask her a question, she disappeared in a flash of green light.

    Finally, the tensed up Robert and Laura calmed down. Then Robert said as he looked at Laura ¡°She¡¯s stronger than the Ringo.¡±

    ¡°No, Ringo is no match for her, she might even be stronger than Pallas.¡± said Laura as a look of nervousness washed over them. ¡°What did she say to you?¡± she asked as she grabbed Raven¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Nothing important.¡± said Raven, ignoring their nervousness. He then noticed that the bustling cafeteria was deadly silent, with only a few shaken up students not being able to stand up. ¡°What about those names?¡±

    A green light flashed again as Robert fainted. ¡°I forgot to give you these.¡± said Lucy as she threw something at Raven.

    Raven grabbed it and saw that it was some kind of letter. It was titled ¡®To Raven, if anyone else reads it, they¡¯ll forever be cursed.¡¯

    Laura let him go without question as she had experienced the terrifying power of the messenger.

    ¡°Dear Raven,

    I ask that you do continue to learn from The Grimoire of Crow, and find Black Ice Manual for Lily, it should be in the library. As for the other boy, you should learn from the grimoire together.

    Yours Truly, Eris¡±

    He then passed the letter to Lily as she read it. After the 2 read the letter, it burned into ashes. ¡°She knows about Jet?¡± asked Lily.

    ¡°Somehow.¡± answered Raven.

    They lost the appetite for food as they decided to leave the cafeteria.

    ¡°Hey Jet, Tulga, let¡¯s go.¡± said Raven, but the two still sat at the table with blank faces.

    ¡°They lost consciousness.¡± concluded Laura as one of them fell at the slightest touch. So far, only Raven and Lily were unfazed.

    ¡­

    Back at the Tyrannos World, Jet and Robert had only woken up. Tulga was playing with Raven on the console, and of course, Raven was playing with one of his hands.

    After Robert¡¯s rampage, the self-repairing spell activated and it was in one piece again.

    ¡°Waah, Raven, I had a horrible dream. A super strong lady appeared out of nowhere and attacked you.¡± complained Robert.

    ¡°There, there. It¡¯s all over now.¡± comforted Raven and surely, Jet butted in.

    ¡°I had the same nightmare. But in mine, Robert pissed his pants.¡±

    Robert then touched his pants and ¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s spar.¡± said Robert.

    ¡°I refuse.¡± answered Jet.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± answered Raven.

    ¡°Gotta go.¡± said Tulga.

    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to mix magic and qi.¡± said Robert, looking at Tulga.

    ¡°I can do that.¡± he said as the skill he used in the fight against Nicholas was used on Robert.

    Robert imitated it and said [Fire Claw] as another claw appeared and clashed with the [Spirit Claw]. Robert¡¯s skill easily overpowered the other.

    ¡°You can do that?!¡± shouted Tulga.

    ¡°Yes, and I just did.¡± said Robert with a mocking smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± answered Tulga.

    Then Robert looked at Raven and said ¡°I¡¯ll get you out of the student council.¡±

    Raven shouted ¡°Count me in!!!¡±

    ¡°As for you, I¡¯ll tell you Laura¡¯s favorite flower.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really need it, but since you¡¯re so kind, I¡¯ll fight.¡± answered Jet.

    Robert was a really devious man, he easily used their weaknesses and made the 3 of the most stubborn men in the world fight him against their will.

    They then walked outside, to a plain full of grass.

    ¡°If you survive until this incense burns up, you¡¯ll get the rewards.¡± said Robert.

    ¡°Well, who starts?¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°You can all come at me together.¡± said Robert with a mocking voice ¡°Not that i-¡°

    His words were cut off by Raven¡¯s punch in [Lightning Movement] mode.

    [Shadow Pull]

    He then proceeded by tripping Robert with a shadow spell.

    [Spirit Claw]

    A white claw of energy assaulted Robert from the air, it was Tulga. It hit him, but could only rip his clothes.

    [Earth Pillar]

    A giant pillar of earth rose from below Robert at a speed invisible to the eye. As for Robert, he felt as if he was hit by a train.

    Even when he was hit by such a strong attack, he wasn¡¯t injured, just hurt.

    [Gigantic Fire Ball]

    A fireball the size of a mountain appeared over Robert, which he threw below.

    [Earth Pyramid]

    A giant pyramid appeared from the ground, guarding Jet and Tulga. As for Raven, he was flying above Robert, in his blind zone.

    [Lightning Bolt]

    He didn¡¯t need to say the name for this one, as this one was simple. A mass of lightning appeared in Raven¡¯s hand as he threw it at Robert.

    He dodged in the nick of time as he heard the cackling of the lightning.

    ¡°Not bad, but a sneak attack should be silent.¡± said Robert as he fired a [Fire Beam] at Raven.

    He maneuvered through the air, easily dodging it.

    [Spirit Fist]

    *Bam!!!*

    When Robert¡¯s attention was on Raven, Tulga had sneaked behind him. He then proceeded by using his skill to create a giant fist of light.

    Robert was sent flying through the air and landed at the outskirt of the forest.

    The power of [Spirit Fist] in point blank range was too immense.

    Something came flying towards them. It was the Fire Lion, an Arcane Martial Spirit.

    Then Raven decided to return it kindly. A black smoke oozed from his mark as it slowly formed a giant crow. It was the base form of his spirit, name Black

    It then launched towards the lion and clashed.

    *Crash!!!*

    The lion was on the ground, sent crashing by Black, who was no more.

    Raven¡¯s arcane qi container wasn¡¯t that big, so he could only use it for a bit before it disappeared.

    That wasn¡¯t the case for Robert.

    His Fire Lion had turned green ¡°Hah, did you think I only have [Lightning] and [Fire]?¡± shouted Robert.

    Indeed, the lion was now of the [Wind] element.

    It quickly pounced at them, the wind carrying it. The lion¡¯s target was Raven.

    The group of 3 separated as Raven took off. Now he was as good as not being in the battle.

    ¡°It¡¯s just us two now.¡± said Tulga.

    ¡°Seems so.¡± said Jet.

    [Shadow Step]

    Jet appeared behind Robert and slashed with his sword. It was his signature cross-shaped sword.

    Robert swung his leg like a whip, sending him crashing. Since he was using the lion, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use any magic, if so; it would be back to square one.

    Seeing that he didn¡¯t use magic, Tulga used up his magic too, with a skill of his own.

    [Spirit Bomb]

    A giant ball of yellow light formed above him. It was by no means smaller than the [Gigantic Fire Ball]. The ball descended upon the land, but not before it hit Robert.

    *Bam!!!*

    *Crush!!!*

    It soon dissipated, revealing a large crater, as deep as 30 meters. Robert wasn¡¯t there, not even his ashes.

    Tulga¡¯s turned into that of horror.

    It wasn¡¯t supposed to disintegrate him. At worst, he would be crushed.

    ¡°A melee fight, huh?¡± said Robert with a playful tone, from behind Tulga.

    Robert produced a giant hammer from his ring. One would wonder from its size, how someone would lift it up.

    The width was almost a meter and the height was half of that.

    He swung it at the wolf boy in front of him.

    *Bam!!!*

    The ground under it was cracked, revealing its terrifying power.

    Tulga had escaped with a hair¡¯s width thanks to his beast senses.

    He then counter-attacked by a slash to the chest, sneaking under Robert¡¯s hammer.

    Robert abandoned his hammer, hitting Tulga in the face.

    He was sent flying a few meters, but the attacks didn¡¯t let up on Robert.

    His back was slashed by Jet, who had sneaked up on him.

    Robert then looked at the lying Jet on the ground as it turned into a shadow.

    That was one of Jet¡¯s new skills [Shadow Clone]. He could only make 2 for now.

    Robert then swung his hammer at Jet, smashing him to the ground.

    *Slash!*

    His back was slashed yet again, revealing a nasty gash in the shape of an ¡®x¡¯.

    [Earth Spikes]

    Dozens of thick spikes of earth appeared from below Robert.

    [Embrace]

    Jet closed his fist as the spikes flew off the ground, covering Robert.

    It completely covered Robert. With this, Jet was sure of his victory.

    *Bam!!!*

    The spikes were sent flying as Robert¡¯s body exploded. He had withdrawn the lion and used a skill known as [Heatblast]. It literally created an explosion using the mana particles around him.

    *Crash!!!*

    A lightning fell on Robert, it was blue.

    ¡°Okay, time¡¯s up.¡± said Litmus, who was watching the fight.

    ¡°I guess.¡± said Robert who easily blocked the lightning. One of his eyes had turned red. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I was bringing a new junior for you.¡± said Litmus as he revealed the girl behind him.

    Robert froze in his tracks. It was the one who came with Lucy.

    ¡°My name is Ur, I hope we get along.¡± said the girl with a smile. Everyone was oblivious to the fact that this girl was actually 100 years old.

    However, mentally, she was still a teenager. ¡°Why?¡± you ask, because she was a teenager in her past life and hasn¡¯t learned a single thing since coming here.

 Character Designs

    If only I could draw, I would have drawn them myself.

    *Sigh*

    Well, here they are.

    BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!!If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

 Chapter 22 - Shopping

    (She is one of you.) said the goddess in a matter of fact tone.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯

    (I sent Lucy to deliver her to you.)

    ¡®Is it just me or are you showing favoritism to me?¡¯

    (It¡¯s just you. The others are in groups of 3 too.)

    ¡®Wow, I didn¡¯t think gods would be so bad at lying.¡¯

    (Did it seem like a lie to you?)

    ¡®Of course, you first told me that Lily was the oldest and then appeared this girl. She¡¯s actually 16, the same as Lily.¡¯

    (¡­)

    ¡®Hey, you bastard.¡¯

    (The number you have dialed is busy at the moment, please leave a message.) she said with a mechanical voice.

    ¡®I¡¯ll remember this.¡¯ thought Raven as he looked at Ur. Somehow, Raven felt attracted to her.

    This wasn¡¯t affection or love, but something else. As if she was his long lost relative.

    Now that he thought about it, he felt a vague feeling like this when he saw Nicholas (the 2<sup>nd</sup> prince if you don¡¯t remember)

    Then he remembered about his sister, Raven doesn¡¯t even know her name or how she looks. She had left before Raven was born, so it was highly unlikely for him to recognize her.

    Raven was currently lying on the sofa, watching Jet and Robert play. After Robert gave a few notes to Tulga, he went away.

    As for Jet, Robert told him a name of a flower he would never be able to find. It was named ¡®Blood Lotus¡¯ and only grew in places like ancient battlefields.

    If one were to buy it, it would at least cost 10¡¯000 gold. And so Jet shat up and was releasing his anger on Robert, by playing video games.

    As for Raven, Robert will do something about the student council problem. But this could be problematic with Laura as the president.

    Ur was lying on the other sofa, surprised to see video games on Terra. Laura barged into the room, wearing a short tank top revealing her belly and skin-tight jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, making her look a little more alluring.

    She was followed by Lily, who was wearing a green deep blue jacket and trousers of the same color. It suited her, and she looked more like a woman instead of a girl.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go shopping!¡± shouted Laura.

    ¡°Wait a sec. I¡¯m too busy killing Robert.¡± said Jet.

    Laura walked up and detached the plug connecting the console to the CV. The screen became blank.

    ¡°Dress up, it¡¯s getting late.¡± she said as the 2 went to their respective rooms with a humph, followed by Raven.

    ¡­

    5 minutes later, everyone was ready.

    Raven was dressed in his usual robe and he wore jeans and the shirt part of the uniform inside.

    Jet was wearing a sleeveless hoodie and baggy trousers.

    As for Robert, he wore an orange T-shirt with shorts of the same color. From the bunch, he looked the most childish, despite being the oldest aside from the artificially aged Ur.

    Ur was wearing the same thing she was wearing before, as she didn¡¯t have a uniform yet. It was a blue one-piece dress with a frilly skirt.

    Lily and Ur suddenly got along within a small timeframe of 5 minutes while Laura was looking at them with skeptical eyes.

    Meeting another normal girl after 16 and 20 years respectively, would of course be something to be overjoyed with.

    They finally left the Tyrannos world for no particular reason for the first time, though it was a big deal for the girls.

    This was even more so for Ur, who was confined in a boring mountain for 20 torturous years.

    Currently, they were standing before the counter on the first floor, Laura was talking with the janitor.

    ¡°We¡¯re going out for a while.¡± said Laura.

    ¡°Your names.¡± said the young janitor as he looked at the bunch.

    ¡°Laura Morningstar, Robert Pennison, Liliana Lionheard.¡± answered Laura as she looked at Raven, as if asking to continue it.

    ¡°Raven Cangard, Jet Cross, and Ur.¡± said Jet without waiting for Raven.

    ¡°The last name?¡± asked the janitor as he looked towards Ur. He couldn¡¯t have known about Ur being the girl with azure hair, which conflicted with Raven¡¯s common sense.

    Urgere was now racking her head to think of a normal sounding last name, this was further made difficult by the fact she didn¡¯t know anything about the world except the things the goddess told her.

    ¡°Levana, Ur Levana.¡± she said after some thinking.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Levana, huh? Didn¡¯t know you were from the west.¡± said the janitor as he told them to go.

    They descended the mountain, but this time, the spatial distortion didn¡¯t slow them down. This was thanks to it being turned off during the daytime, unless new students were coming.

    ¡®Is she that witch¡¯s daughter? Nah, she would be blonde if she were.¡¯ thought the janitor as a memory of a fight from a few decades ago surfaced into his mind, sending shivers down his spine.

    The door opened, as if allowing them to go. They took up the offer, leaving the school campus for the first time in a while.

    ¡°So, now what?¡± asked Lily as she looked at the empty plain.

    ¡°We fly.¡± said Laura as a carpet appeared from her ring. Once people became students, they would be given storage rings from the school.

    Normally, it would have a 1 cubic meters of space, but since Robert and Laura were Rulers, they were given one with 5.

    Raven still didn¡¯t know how much of a treasure he had on his hand, which would only be given to Rulers.

    The carped started floating and Laura quickly got on. She then looked at Raven, who just flew up. An annoyed look could be seen on her face.

    Ur excused herself on the carpet, as she didn¡¯t want to revert to her dragon form.

    Jet created a platform of earth and started riding it. Lily summoned a Hawk and started riding it too.

    Robert was using [Wind] magic to fly, like how his lion chased Raven in the sparring match before.

    They were flying at a steady pace as the carpet couldn¡¯t fly so well and the earth platform of Jet was only a little faster than that.

    ¡°By the way, you were talking about someone called Ringo and stuff. Who is he?¡± asked Raven while he was joy flying.

    ¡°He¡¯s the strongest person currently in the kingdom, and is titled King¡¯s Guard Dog.¡± answered Robert, who was lying in the air.

    ¡°What is his ranking?¡± asked Lily while hugging the soft feathered bird.

    ¡°Upper SS class, 2 ranks higher than us.¡± answered Laura with a solemn tone ¡°And there is a person called Pallas, who is at the Lower SSS class. He¡¯s currently travelling.¡±

    ¡°His title?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°The Hound.¡± answered Laura.

    I heard that our principal is at the SSS stage, why aren¡¯t you scared of him when you pissed your pants after seeing that woman.¡± wondered Jet, currently sitting on a stone sofa.

    ¡°We can¡¯t feel anything from him.¡± answered Robert.

    ¡°And that means?¡± asked Jet.

    Robert knowingly answered ¡°After reaching S class, we learn to sense the strength of others. Once over a certain power limit, people start generating an oppressive aura.¡±

    Then Laura continued ¡°Our principal is hiding his power by some means, so we don¡¯t have any problem with him.¡±

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t that mean the principal is stronger?¡¯ thought Raven as they approached a city. This city was significantly bigger than Reinburg.

    They descended as they reached the walls. It was tall, almost taller than the school building. There was a giant wooden door below it, currently open.

    Countless guards were standing guard and checking the travellers.

    There was a long line of people, but Robert and Laura didn¡¯t mind it and walked towards the entrance.

    Without knowing about what to do, they followed.

    The guard asked for their ID, which Robert showed them. It was the mark of Krouxorth Academy.

    The mark was in the shape of a coin and had a stylish ¡®K¡¯ on it. The mark glowed a gentle blue light, as a hologram appeared out of nowhere.

    It depicted Robert, which was wearing the standard school uniform. There were writings floating, which showed his name, class and such. Kind of like a status screen.

    They were let in without much resistance and the ones standing in a line didn¡¯t mind. Actually, some people were looking at them with jealousy but didn¡¯t have the guts to object.

    Surprisingly, the edge of the city wasn¡¯t a slum like Raven expected, revealing dozens of multi-floored buildings.

    The buildings resembled the houses that the rich people could afford on Earth, but to a smaller degree.

    They walked through the part of the city with buildings and reached a place a bustling street. It resembled a bazaar and the end of the Shopping District couldn¡¯t be seen.

    The noise gave Raven a headache although he was used to going to bazaars in his hometown. A big city was incomparable to a small end village like Eaglemouth.

    From there, Laura turned to the left and started walking. This didn¡¯t really shock them, with 2 nobles in their ranks, they wouldn¡¯t possibly go through a bazaar to buy what they wanted.

    Soon enough, a street with carriages parked next to the sidewalk came around. This was the high-end shopping district.

    There were a few people on foot, and they were wearing dignified-looking clothes. In other words, the Krouxorth bunch stood out like a sore thumb.

    ¡°So, what are we buying?¡± asked Lily and Ur with an excited voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, we¡¯ll visit every shop here.¡± said Laura with an innocent voice. However, this was like a stab through the heart for the guys.

    The first shop was named ¡®Vaira¡¯s Dresses.¡¯

    ¡­

    While the others were suffering, Jet left an auto-piloted [Shadow Clone] and escaped from the clutches of the notorious ¡®shoppers¡¯.

    He was currently walking down the streets, looking for some hidden shops. Jet heard a faint voice from an abandoned alley. It beckoned him.

    After some thought, he gave in to his desires and walked into the alley.

    It was abandoned, with broken down houses making it up.

    There was nothing interesting aside from an eerie shop with flashing signs. It read ¡®Randy¡®s Treasury¡¯. There was a stairway down to the door, which led to the shop.

    He opened the rusted metal door, creating a loud screeching sound.

    ¡°How may I help you?¡± said a middle-aged man with messy green hair. He had barman-like attire on.

    But Jet moved past him as if he didn¡¯t hear him. He walked straight to the ¡®Artifacts¡¯ section and grabbed a spear.

    It was purely black and surprisingly heavy, considering its 1.5 meter length.

    The blade covered about the quarter of it and was shaped like a slim triangle.

    *Grab!*

    Jet¡¯s heart almost jumped out of his mouth when he felt his hand grabbed. It was the man who welcomed him.

    ¡°Excuse me, sir. You¡¯re not allowed to touch the items on display without consent of the manager.¡± said the man with a polite voice, loosening his grip.

    ¡°Oh, is that so. Then may I meet him?¡± replied Jet, turning his eyes at the man.

    ¡°Right this way, sir.¡± said the man as he showed him the way to the manager¡¯s room.

    He descended yet another stairway, revealing a luxurious door. It had a manager nameplate on it.

    The door opened and the light blinded Jet¡¯s eyes for a moment after a walk in the dark stairway.

    As he regained his vision, he saw a comfy room. Not what you would expect from a shop.

    Lying on a brown sofa was a middle aged man with a plain green T-shirt and jeans. He also had green hair and a little bit of beard around his mouth.

    ¡°Manager, I have brought a customer.¡± he said as he pointed at Jet with his palm.

    The man looked up from his portable gaming console and continued playing it as if nothing happened.

    The attendant then walked towards him and chopped his head with his hands.

    ¡°What the hell, Simon?!¡± shouted the manager.

    ¡°He¡¯s the first customer in months and you¡¯re ignoring him?¡± asked Simon with a loud voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s all because you got us into a debt.¡± argued the manager with a loud voice.

    ¡°But it¡¯s because you were acting creepily that we lost customers, Randy.¡± argued Simon.

    ¡°And that¡¯s because she was cheating on me with you!¡± said Randy, grabbing Simon by the collar.

    Then Jet decided to let them know he was here ¡°Ahem.¡±

    The two looked at him and continued the abandoned act.

    ¡°You want that spear, right?¡± asked Randy who shouldn¡¯t know about that. ¡°As you have heard, you¡¯re the first customer in a while, so we¡¯ll be giving you a sale. But with a condition.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Jet with skeptical eyes.

    ¡°You just have to tell your friends about our shop.¡± said Randy with a sweet smile.

    ¡°How much is it.¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°5 gold.¡± answered Randy as Simon almost slit his neck with a knife.

    ¡®Cheap.¡¯ shouted Jet in his head.

    ¡°What the hell, dude? We talked about this.¡± mumbled the wronged Randy.

    ¡°Are you trying to lose our customer, make it 3.¡± he shouted in reply.

    ¡°Fine, 3 it is.¡± said Randy with a strange expression.

    Then Jet thought to himself ¡®How does this place even manage to make profit.¡¯

 Chapter 23 - Raul vs Crow

    ¡°What a long day.¡± exclaimed Raven as he collapsed on the sofa of the living room.

    Jet just looked at him with a mocking gaze. In fact, he didn¡¯t actually do anything during the shopping except enjoying himself.

    He peeked into the consciousness of the clone to see where they were and stuff, after seeing that Robert looking like a zombie, he almost collapsed from laughing.

    Ur was upstairs with Robert, cleaning the room filled with Robert¡¯s trash.

    Originally, The 4 Rulers were all from Tyrannos and it was made to accommodate 4 students.

    Soon, most talented students started attending Rulain Royal Academy, as the environment was better there.

    *Crash!!!*

    A loud thump could be heard from upstairs.

    The two ignored it and turned on the CV. Although it was mostly used for gaming, it also showed the news.

    (¡­ and Yeavershore Academy has been destroyed.) said the newswoman as the broadcast ended.

    ¡°What!?¡± shouted Jet.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± wondered Raven as he looked at Jet.

    ¡°Yeavershore Academy was destroyed.¡± said Jet, looking at him.

    ¡°Is it supposed to be a big deal?¡± he asked with an annoyed face.

    ¡°Of course it is, it¡¯s one of the 8 great academies.¡± said Jet with an all-knowing tone.

    ¡°What?!¡± shouted Raven with a surprised expression.

    Hearing the commotion, the 2 above rushed down the stairs.

    ¡°What happened, did someone die?¡± asked Robert urgently.

    ¡°Yeavershore was destroyed.¡± said Jet with a disturbed tone.

    ¡°What?!¡± shouted Robert. Of course Urgere didn¡¯t, as she was oblivious to most things. ¡°That can¡¯t be, then could Lux-¡± he mumbled, running off to the school.

    *An eerie silence.*

    ¡°So what now?¡± asked Raven.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna study.¡± said Jet with a smirk as he ran off to his bedroom.

    Raven then looked at Ur.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s have a talk.¡± said Raven

    ¡­

    Almost an hour passed since they started their talk. Raven became thirst and walked up to the fridge to get a soda, asking if she wanted any, replied by a nod.

    She was apparently a dragon and lived as a toddler for all those years. She didn¡¯t know much about the world, which Raven explained to him.

    Before coming to this world, she was a student in America and that¡¯s all he could get out of her.

    It was like an interrogation, with Raven being on the interrogated side.

    He then walked towards the sofa, seeing Jet on the stairs.

    ¡°How long?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Since ¡®I studied in America¡¯. Is that a school?¡± asked Jet, oblivious to the fact that America was a country.

    Conveniently, he didn¡¯t hear about the part that she was a dragon and didn¡¯t figure out about the strange names.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a famous school in the south.¡± answered Ur, remembering the thing she heard from the janitor.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know much about that.¡± said Jet as he helped himself to a soda from the fridge.

    *An awkward silence.*

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up.¡± suggested Raven. The other two followed him to the library and chose a book to read.

    Raven chose a random book, and Jet did that too.

    Ur gave a gentle tug at Raven¡¯s sleeve and asked ¡°Can I have that?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± he said before taking a glance at the title.

    It was ¡®Dragon Magic Basics¡¯. He then thought that he¡¯ll read it at a later date.

    Soon enough, everyone was in their room. Raven did 200 push-ups, 300 sit-ups, 500 squats and 100 punches.

    This was the training he did before sleep for 1 month, which means 3 months in the Tyrannos World.

    His training clothes were once again soaked in sweat. He¡¯d do training every evening and wash his clothes in the morning.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    It would be dried by evening, which he soaked in his sweat again.

    What he was wearing were a normal shirt and trousers, resembling gym clothes with 3 black lines running through their side.

    The color was originally light yellow, but was slowly turning white due to excessive washing.

    He then decided to have a bath.

    The dorm had a big bath, almost 10 square meters. It was built on a natural hot spring, so it didn¡¯t need to be heated prior to a bath.

    It was located on the second floor, which was filled with entertainment rooms. There was even one for playing.

    It wasn¡¯t used much, as they weren¡¯t people to play games, unless forced by someone, *cough* Robert *cough*.

    All in all, they only came here twice in their time living here.

    The bath, however, was a daily spot. They didn¡¯t go a couple days without a bath after experiencing the healing effects of the spring.

    There was a dressing room with a few baskets for clothes to sit and there were towels to wash their body with.

    Raven took a towel and messily threw his sweaty clothes to a basket, walking through the hanging cloth door.

    There was a Chinese letter for ¡®bath¡¯ on it, as Raven suspected.

    There were showers without any cover to wash his body and there was the bath at the end of the hall.

    Raven jumped into the bath, enjoying the warm water cleanse the sweat from his body.

    The warm sensation made him feel sleepy, but he decided to hold up.

    *Splat!*

    Something similar to a splash of water was heard from Raven¡¯s left, almost stopping his heart right there.

    ¡°Ah, finally, a bath.¡± said Ur, paying no mind to him.

    ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡± asked Raven, red like a tomato. This was his first time seeing a naked girl and a stream of blood couldn¡¯t help but flow down his nostril.

    ¡°Having a bath.¡± said Ur with a carefree tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m a man, you know.¡± warned Raven, barely suppressing his embarrassment.

    ¡°So?¡± asked Ur with a funny face.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you embarrassed?¡± asked Raven, he looked like he was going to burst into flames.

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯ve been seen by many men before. I¡¯m used to it.¡± she said with a smirk.

    ¡°Screw that, I¡¯m going out.¡± shouted Raven as he got up. After a second, he sat back.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving, Mr. Tomato?¡± asked Ur as she floated towards Raven.

    ¡°I-I forgot my towel at the shower.¡± said Raven as he looked away.

    Then her bootie pressed on Raven¡¯s shoulder and he felt himself heating up from inside. He then suddenly launched upwards like a maniac and covered his privates with his tail.

    ¡­

    ¡°Hah, hah, that was dangerous.¡± said Raven while heavily breathing. He looked towards the little ¡®Raven¡¯ and he ran towards his room.

    After calming himself down, he then remembered the letter.

    It said that he should learn from the grimoire with Jet, for some mysterious reason.

    He grabbed the grimoire and walked towards Jet¡¯s room. He then knocked on the door, but wasn¡¯t answered.

    Raven then peeked through an opening.

    He was practicing with a black spear. Jet¡¯s movements looked sloppy, since he was only learning and had absolutely no training in using weapons except for the few slashes he did with the cross sword.

    Raven then knocked even harder, alerting Jet. He swiftly turned his head towards Raven and motioned for him to come in.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Jet.

    ¡°Where did you find that?¡± asked Raven as he pointed at the spear, which then hid itself away in Jet¡¯s storage ring.

    ¡°At a shop.¡± answered Jet, turning his head away from Raven.

    ¡°What the hell? How come you saw it and I didn¡¯t?!¡± shouted Raven.

    ¡°That was just a clone following you.¡±

    ¡°What, you can do that?¡± asked the wronged Raven. He knew how to use [Shadow Clone], but he wasn¡¯t aware of the auto-pilot mode and could only create 1.

    ¡°Get to the chase already.¡± said Jet with an irritated tone.

    ¡°Here.¡± said Raven as he threw the grimoire to Jet.

    He then looked at the name and asked ¡°Where did you find this?¡±

    ¡°In the library.¡± said Raven as he looked away from Jet.

    ¡°This makes it even.¡± said Jet as he opened the page.

    Remembering the time he read the book for the first time, he peeked into it.

    A bright light flashed and both of their consciousnesses were dragged into the book.

    ¡­

    2 men were standing in a forest clearing, both wearing black.

    One of them was wearing a black leather jacket with a plain red T-shirt inside, that person had black trousers torn on the part that it connected to the dark green combat boots.

    The said person¡¯s eyes were glowing a ghostly purple color. His hair was black and he had a handsome face, his age couldn¡¯t be more than 25.

    As for the one standing opposite to him, it was a man with black military clothes. The buttons were made of gold and the belt was dark green. Surprisingly, there was no medal or mark on the military uniform.

    The said person had reptilian red eyes and black hair. Raven recognized this person as Crow.

    *Clash!!!*

    A sound of metal clashing another could be heard.

    The cause of the sound was the two combatants.

    Crow¡¯s hands had been covered by black scales and glistened in a metallic manner, clashing against the black spear in his opponent¡¯s hand.

    The shockwave made the trees shiver.

    *Clack!*

    *Clack!*

    *Clack!*

    An intense fist fight continued until Crow appeared from the other man¡¯s shadow.

    His shadows turned into spears and thrust Crow.

    He appeared from his clone¡¯s shadow and divided into 2, making it 3 Crows.

    Then they shuffled as they attacked their opponent.

    The other man swung his spear and a wave rushed at Crow.

    They jumped over it, as the wave cut several trees into halves.

    ¡°You¡¯re as good as ever, Crow.¡± said the purple-eyed man as he stabbed the air, aiming at Crow.

    ¡°You too, Raul.¡± said Crow as the 3 united and became a slightly muscular Crow.

    The skills that he just used were [True Shadow Clone] and [Shadow Absorption].

    The first one would create clones at 80% of his power, better than the 30% normal clones.

    The second one [Shadow] skills and magic attacks, strengthening the user.

    The 2 then savagely smiled as they both used a magic attack.

    [Disease Beam]

    A lifeless grey beam launched at his opponent.

    [Reverse Polarity]

    Gravity didn¡¯t apply to the 2 and they both floated off the ground, the wave missing in the process.

    This position was beneficial to the long-range physical fighter while being disadvantageous to Raven.

    *Crack!*

    Raul¡¯s ribcage cracked as he was hit by a red lightning. This was Crow¡¯s [Lightning Movement] form.

    He had made a miscalculation and forgot that his opponent had the [Lightning Element].

    But it didn¡¯t stop as just a crack, as Raul was sent crashing through countless trees, finally hitting a mountain and shaking it, which was almost a kilometer away from him.

    [Dust End]

    The trees started turning to dust and slowly moved towards the fallen Raul.

    *Stab!*

    *Stab!*

    *Stab!*

    *Stab!*

    *Stab!*

    *Stab!*

    ¡­

    Countless consecutive stabs were fired from Crow¡¯s back.

    Raul smiled and said ¡°I can use clones too.¡±

    There were currently 3 clones of Raul behind him and they had covered Crow¡¯s body with holes.

    Crow coughed blood, but he smiled.

    Crow¡¯s body turned to dust.

    Raul suddenly got to his knees, and held his head as if he was experiencing the worst migraine of his life.

    In fact, he was, Crow had attacked his soul in his [Soul Form].

    ¡­

    ¡°What the heck!¡± shouted Jet.

    ¡°Great, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Raven with a stupid grin on his face.

    They had just come out of the grimoire. Jet then suddenly got up and fired a few slashes with his spear. And unsurprisingly, it was far sharper than before.

    Then Raven hardened his scales and smiled. His hand felt a lot heavier, signifying it became harder.

 Chapter 24 - Battle Royale (Part 1)

    Finally, the day of the tournament has arrived. Every aspiring mage in the academy were there, which Robert wasn¡¯t.

    He instead stood on the stage with his normal Ruler uniform.

    Standing next to him were Laura and the other 2 Rulers.

    As for the location, it was held within a storage room-type of building, which was enlarged by magic.

    The rule of the tournament was simple. The first round would be a battle royale, divided into 2 divisions. The 10 standing would then pass to the next stage.

    The second stage was a team-battle. They would form teams of 4 and compete. The finalist 2 teams would pass.

    As for the third stage, they would fight individual matches. A fight between teammates was common, as it was shuffled.

    There were those who wanted to compete, but there were many who wanted to watch. Within that bunch, there were several people who tried to pick on junior girls.

    Lily came face to face to one of them.

    A man with a big nose and an average face walked up to her and started a conversation ¡°Hello, my name is Boris, what¡¯s yours.¡±

    ¡°Liliana.¡± answered Lily, turning her gaze away from him. She didn¡¯t want to offend the senior students.

    The other man then crossed the safe border, sniffed her neck and said ¡°Do you want to have a relationship with me? I¡¯m the son of Ivanov family and I won¡¯t make you feel lonely.¡±

    Lily snapped.

    Her body started emanating coldness and the mana particles around her turned blue.

    ¡°If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± said he, mistaking her for someone without a backing.

    As Boris raised his hand, a dozen or so people started glaring at her, the weakest one at the B rank.

    ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± said an unknown man from behind him.

    Turning around, he came face-to-face with the Glass Ruler, as Raven called him.

    ¡°What does it have to do with you?!¡± shouted Boris at him, with an irritated face. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t make an enemy of my family for a little girl, would you?¡± said he with a smirk.

    ¡°But if it¡¯s my little sister, I have more than enough.¡± said the Glass Ruler. He could easily kill off everyone on his side, but his family was troublesome, so he had to restrain himself.

    *Bam!!!*

    Boris was sent flying by a dropkick. The attacker was Raven.

    He crashed into the seats, breaking through a few. His face had swollen up, where Raven hit him.

    The audience couldn¡¯t help but laugh, forgetting his background.

    ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll remember your name!¡± he shouted as he left the room.

    ¡®Though he doesn¡¯t know it.¡¯ thought Raven as he restrained his laugh.

    ¡°Uwaaaa!¡± cried a man as Raven looked for the source. It was Boris.

    He was missing his left arm and blood was flowing from it. He then turned around and looked at the Glass Ruler.

    He was holding his right arm.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± shouted Boris as he pointed his finger at him.

    3 SS rank students jumped at the Ruler.

    However, the title of a Ruler wasn¡¯t just words.

    He had a red ball of light in his hand, surprisingly blinding.

    His opponents fired off attacks from the air. He threw the ball at one of them, and dodged the other attacks.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The man hit by the ball had flown through the ceiling.

    He then created another ball and threw it at another.

    The man didn¡¯t even have time to realize that this one was slightly different. He dodged it with a hair¡¯s width, but the ball exploded from his back, almost breaking his spine.

    Only one girl was left. She disappeared into the thin air.

    Marco didn¡¯t move after she disappeared, instead, his eyes turned red. His eyes moved around wildly before coming to a stop.

    He then slashed the air at the location his eyes had fallen.

    A claw of red light, similar to Tulga¡¯s, appeared and whistled through the air.

    A woman¡¯s shout was heard, her arm was severed as she appeared from nowhere.

    He then savagely bashed her head into the ground. The Ruler turned his look towards Boris as he ran off.

    Just before he was about to jump off at him, Lily stopped him.

    ¡°Bro, just one arm is enough.¡± she said quietly.

    ¡°Huuuh?!¡± he sighed extravagantly and continued ¡°He actually tried to force you into a relationship, I can¡¯t sleep peacefully knowing that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s was just an attempt, so please don¡¯t make trouble for the family.¡± she said, gently tugging his sleeve.

    ¡°You have your standards, I have my own.¡± he said as he flew off.

    ¡°If you kill him, I¡¯ll never talk to you again!!!¡± shouted Lily as he appeared in front of her again.

    ¡°Fine.¡± he said as hesitatingly and left the room.

    Just as he stepped foot outside the room, the young principal grabbed him by the ear, dragging him to the stage.

    The principal seemed to not care of the ones he had injured, likely killed.

    Cheers could be heard from the old students, but the new female students were only thinking of one thing, and that was ¡°So handsome!¡±

    He then swiped his hand, creating a hologram in the air.

    The rectangular field had one monitor on each side, floating in the air.

    It showed the 2 groups in the battle royale. The name of Robert and Laura weren¡¯t there, seems like the rulers don¡¯t allow them to enter.

    Raven and Lily were in one group, while Tulga and Jet were in another.

    He then regrouped with Lily and waited for a while, and became impatient.

    ¡­

    ¡°What in the world?! It¡¯s been almost an hour and it still hasn¡¯t started.¡± shouted Raven.

    ¡°Calm down, the principal just left the room and there should be time delay in here.¡± she said with a calm voice.

    It was then that the principal walked in, holding a cup and taking a sip from it time to time.

    ¡°Sorry everyone, the coffee maker was acting up so I had to wait for a while for it to work.¡±

    The new students were on the edge while the old ones only sighed in defeat. This was so like the principal.

    Well, without further ado, let¡¯s start the tournament.¡± said he and swiped his hand again, as a microphone appeared in his hand.

    He then shouted into it ¡°Group A, battle begin!!!¡± the competitors who were already stationed on the stage suddenly tensed up. This included Raven and Lily.

    The shout was deafening, some were even covering their ears. But some just woke up from their naps. Aren¡¯t you supposed to test it before using it?

    ¡°Want to team up?¡± asked Lily.

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t want to.¡± said Raven as he tried to flap his wings.

    He felt as if his wings lost their senses, but the principal clarified this ¡°No flying allowed, it¡¯s unfair.¡± he said.

    Raven couldn¡¯t help but sigh and then grabbed one senior¡¯s hand and threw her out of the stage.

    Suddenly, seemingly her friend, attacked him from the back with a dangerous-looking dagger.

    Raven appeared behind her and did the same. He was what you would call a border-line feminist.

    He didn¡¯t treat women any better than men, but didn¡¯t like hurting them. This doesn¡¯t mean can¡¯t.

    A man attacked Lily with a [Fireball], countered by a few [Ice Spears]. They pierced through him, but the principal shattered the last one with a Finger Chop.

    ¡°No killing allowed.¡± he said ¡°¡¯But don¡¯t worry about accidents.¡± Stein then smiled and left the stage, throwing the boy at a nurse.

    The said nurse caught him and took him to the emergency room.

    There were a few more nurses waiting, about 8.

    ¡­

    All the women except Lily were taken care of by Raven, or some non-feminists. The majority were defeated by Raven nonetheless.

    Now there remained 17 people on the stage.

    ¡®Time to get serious.¡¯ thought Raven, who was just running and throwing women off stage.

    After a 2 week training in the Tyrannos World, he had learned 4 techniques, 3 from the grimoire.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s team up.¡± said Lily, looking at the groups of 3 the opponents were forming.

    ¡°No need.¡± said Raven as he charged at one of them.

    [Lightning Movement]

    A boy turned into lightning and charged at Raven, and a [Fire Ball] was sent after him.

    Raven disappeared into his shadow and appeared behind the one who used the fire ball and hit him with [Shock Blade], instantly knocking him out.

    The dagger became longer and hit another one of the boy¡¯s teammates. He lost consciousness too.

    The lightning boy then forfeited.

    Lily was fighting another group right now.

    She was firing [Ice Lances] continuously. Before long, one of them was hit and knocked out of the field.

    Seeing them flinch, a hawk she summoned grabbed the two and threw them off bounds.

    The principal thought ¡®Those two are kind.¡¯ as he looked at the uninjured students.

    There was another fight going on, between 2 groups of 3.

    There was Nicholas, his servant and another normal boy.

    Their opponents were a group of seniors.

    One of them teleported behind Mark, the red-scaled dragonman and was instantly sent flying by Nicholas¡¯s punch.

    The others sent projectile attacks, but was caught off guard by the normal student. He sent roots through the ground, which went around the stage and grabbed them by the leg.

    Their opponents fell off, who were ruthlessly stomped to the ground by the dragonmen.

    ¡°A group first round, over!!!¡± shouted the principal again.

    ¡°That was surprisingly easy.¡± said Raven as he got off the stage.

    Lily replied ¡°They were conserving their power and were caught off guard, you idiot.¡±

 Q & A

    I know you have many questions, like how could Raven easily defeat senior girls who were strong AF.

    Why he isn''t using the claymore he bought and other stuff.

    The first one''s answer is, he had somewhat learned how to use Qi aside from summoning Black and using Aura.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The second one is, he was going to learn it back at Eaglemouth village, but was sent to Krouxorth before he could.

    You may ask any questions related to the story in here. If you ask it in another chapter, then I might overlook you, thus, I prefer to have you guys ask it in here.

    If you asked something, but wasn''t answered before, you can re-ask it here.

 Character Designs 2

    They are going to be important characters, so I made another character designs chapter.

    I hate being bad at drawing.

    *Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    https://imgur.com/vjU23jDhttps://imgur.com/vjU23jDhttps://imgur.com/vjU23jD

    https://imgur.com/vjU23jDhttps://imgur.com/vjU23jDhttps://imgur.com/vjU23jDhttps://imgur.com/vjU23jD

    am!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!

    **Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!**Bam!*

 Chapter 25 - Battle Royale (Part 2)

    ¡°B group battle royale, START!!!¡± shouted the principal with an energetic face, deafening the students again.

    The second part of the battle royale was just about to commence as the participants got on the stage.

    However, on this one, Tulga and Jet created an instant alliance and started their fight.

    Jet sent one flying with a [Lightning Bolt].

    Tulga slashed one with his [Spirit Claw].

    The fight went on, but the entire room became quiet when one of the students started emanating a killing intent.

    The one who did this was a girl with long pink hair, and had a fit body. Currently, her eyes were red and were glowing.

    The principal thought with a smirk ¡®Hmm, interesting. There¡¯s another berserker.¡¯

    But Litmus had a frown. The school had Robert to take care of, and there was actually another one.

    This made his job as the disciplinary teacher far harder, which was actually just stopping the dangerous ones from destroying the academy.

    All of their eyes were on her and after a while, one girl tried to sneak attack her, she was instantly beheaded.

    ¡°Shit!¡± shouted the principal as she caught the girl and her head, vainly trying to put them in place. ¡°Hey, kid, don¡¯t just go killing my students.¡± said Stein with a frown.

    He didn¡¯t really care about it, but it was troublesome making up lies.

    As expected, Krouxorth Academy didn¡¯t forbid killing. If Jet and Raven didn¡¯t have Robert¡¯s backing, then they would have been bullied at least a hundred times.

    Due to their respect for Tyrannos and fear of Robert, they restrained from making enemies of them.

    A group of delinquents tried. Let¡¯s just say that they had a very painful experience before going to meet their maker.

    The principal usually made up some believable lies and bounced off their anger. This was because he didn¡¯t want his students to grow up to become theorists; he wanted them to become great mages in the future.

    The girl then glared at him with her red eyes, sending shivers down his spine. It was more of an instinctual fear, as if a wolf cub was looking at an adult rabbit.

    No one tried to mess with her, so they continued their respective fights.

    Jet jabbed one on the temple, knocking him out.Stolen novel; please report.

    He then proceeded by roundhouse kicking a girl out of the boundary, using the momentum to kick another boy in the head.

    Tulga slashed left and right, man and woman, everything. Pained shouts could be heard from his direction.

    That was until it was drowned by another one. It was coming from the red-eyed girl¡¯s direction.

    She was tearing through the mages like they were nothing, using magic occasionally. As Jet observed it, he found out 2 of her elements.

    They were [Blood] and [Darkness]. [Darkness] and [Shadow] had a great difference. The former would control the darkness to a greater extent, while the latter would become the darkness and control it to a lesser degree.

    No matter how you look at it, becoming the darkness would be beneficial. However, [Darkness] magic could imbue its characteristic to other elements. This way, she was injecting [Dark Blood] into them, and destroying them from inside.

    This was done by using the air in their lungs and changing the hydrogen¡¯s chemical formula, or that would be what Raven would have told if he actually understood what was happening.

    ¡°WTF?¡± he mumbled as he looked at the bloody scene in front of him. ¡°Is that Stein guy apathetic or something?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Nope.¡± answered Laura from behind him, sitting on a floating ice chair. ¡°He¡¯s a sadist.¡±

    ¡°Woah!¡± shouted Raven ¡°At least make a noise or something before you do that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± she said with a smile and floated closer to the stage.

    The previously brown stage was dyed red, with a few corpses and few heavily injured students. The number of the injured ones decreased by the moment as Stein picked them up one after another.

    He wouldn¡¯t leave them to their fates if they surrendered anyways, that wouldn¡¯t be fun.

    Currently, there were only 12 left. If 2 of them were foolish enough to pick a fight with that berserker, then they would become fodder for the others to step on.

    If they attacked each other, the currently stopped girl would charge into the battle. Not to mention she was covered in blood, not her own.

    One of them decided to give up and held her hands up, walking to the edge of the stage.

    *Bam!!!*

    The senior was blown into the floor. The attacker was the girl with red eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about running.¡± she said with a large grin on her face. Her two eyes now looked like the windows to hell now.

    ¡°What did I even expect?¡± said Jet as he sighed, sinking into his shadow.

    ¡°Dude, wait.¡± said Tulga as he tried to grab Jet¡¯s hands who sunk into the shadow.

    He didn¡¯t appear from anyone¡¯s shadow, but instead, stayed there.

    Jet didn¡¯t leave the field so he wasn¡¯t disqualified.

    [Crimson Flash]

    A blinding red light flashed and blinded every single person in the room, excluding the principal with sunglasses. No one knew how he did it, but he would always have what he needs at the right time.

    Two heads rolled on the ground, Tulga recognized them as 2 of the top fighters in the sophomore year.

    ¡°Battle Over!!!¡± he shouted as a gentle yellow light covered the dead students, who were cleanly placed in a line.

    It formed a sphere over them and an image of a watch appeared from thin air. This was the pocket watch type.

    The principal then turned his hand, as if turning the big hand on the clock, which followed its movements with a sigh.

    The detached heads fell glued themselves to their bodies, the dead ones started breathing.

    Stein then clapped his hands as nurses came and took them to the emergency room.

    ¡°Thank you all for competing in the first stage of The Monthly Tournament, the second stage will take place tomorrow.¡± he then paused and looked at the students. ¡°So no class tomorrow.¡±

    Some sighed, some laughed. Raven thought that the other group had such violent contestants. Heck, he didn¡¯t even know Tulga was such a monster.

    ¡°That girl was scary.¡± said Tulga as his eyes were pressed down, still shaking.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± looked Raven at his shaking friend.

    ¡°She almost killed me there, I felt it.¡± said Tulga as he shook vigorously.

    ¡°Well, you survived, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± asked Raven with a carefree tone as he walked away into the dorm.

 Notice (not a chapter)

    Well, I saw a few people complaining about my incompetence as an author and saying that they¡¯ll drop the series.

    You know what?

    I don¡¯t care.

    If you don¡¯t want to read it anymore, just stop reading. Why would you even inform me of your quitting?This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Just so you know, I¡¯m not writing it for the world. This is mu story, you either read it or don¡¯t. I don¡¯t care.

    This doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t accept criticism, if you want to criticize for sake of the story, by all means do so.

    You¡¯ll be pleasantly surprised to read the next chapter.

    As for the ones who are reading this story of mine, I want to thank you all.

    Honestly, you¡¯re the only ones keeping me from dropping this series.

    Anyways, I only write for those who care, no matter if there are thousands or dozens of readers

 Side Story 1

    A dragonman with blue scales sat on a throne, looking at a holographic monitor.

    What was shown on it was someone resembling himself, a little younger.

    He was walking down a wide corridor, led by a female with red scales.

    The two appeared before a giant door, as the man on the throne turned off the hologram.

    Soon, the door opened, revealing the ones from the video feed.

    ¡°You came back.¡± said the man with a calm voice.

    ¡°Yes, father.¡± said the other man as he knelt on one knee.

    ¡°No need for that, I already know what you¡¯re here for.¡± said his father, looking at Tristan ¡°He¡¯s back, right?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, Ringal informed me with his last breath.¡±

    ¡°To think he failed, it seems he became stronger.¡± answered the man after a moment of thought.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.*Bam!!!*

    A teenage girl crashed through the wall and landed before Tristan.

    She had blue scales, red eyes and short blue hair.

    One would see that she was the definition of a tomboy.

    Aftet rubbing her head she turned to look at Tristan, and she gasped.

    ¡°Brother, run. I¡¯ll hold him off.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re fine now.¡± said Tristan, petting her head. He then looked at his father with questioning eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It was my fault after all.¡± said the man, sighing. ¡°Anyways, what about my grandchild.¡±

    ¡°He takes after his mother.¡± said Tristan with a shaky voice.

    ¡°A boy, huh? That¡¯s my son. Takes after his mother? Indeed this is-¡° he paused for a while.

    ¡°You scum¡± he shouted as he launched at Tristan.

 Chapter 26 - Cangard vs Seniors

    ¡°Wow, I couldn¡¯t even sleep last night.¡± said Raven as he looked at the stage before him.

    ¡°Were you so excited about fighting?¡± asked Jet, who was sitting next to him.

    ¡°Not really, we¡¯ll win anyways. I was excited about watching it.¡± said Raven in reply, with a bored expression.

    ¡°Seems we aren¡¯t really different.¡± said Ur, appearing out of nowhere.

    ¡°WTF, where were you all this time?¡± asked Jet while looking at her.

    ¡°Litmus said that he¡¯d give me personal classes.¡± she said with a smile.

    ¡°¡±I didn¡¯t think he was a lolicon.¡±¡± said Jet and Raven simultaneously.

    ¡°I¡¯m older than you, you know?¡± asked Ur with an irritated voice.

    ¡°I doubt you¡¯re older than that old man.¡± said Jet, oblivious to her biological age.

    Then Lily shouted ¡°Shut up! The principal is about to say something.¡±

    Indeed, he was holding the microphone and walked up the stage. ¡°Hello, everyone. The second round is about to start, please prepare yourselves.¡± he said with a sleepy voice and paused for a while, rubbing his eyes. ¡°Please form your teams and draw the lots.¡±

    He then waved his hand and a box appeared. Stein sloppily placed it in the middle of the stage as a hologram appeared. It was pretty simple.

    The teams would draw lots and get numbers from one through five. The last team would fight a seeded team while the others would fight by, Team 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4.

    They quickly formed their teams. Of course, Lily, Raven, Tulga and Jet were in one team.

    Nicholas had his attendant, the normal-looking boy and a girl who resembled his fianc¨¦.

    The other was a group of seniors.

    There was a group of newcomers, with the berserker girl in that team.

    The last one was a random team, consisting of the unorganized survivors.

    The representatives of each team went and picked their lots. Raven¡¯s face suddenly paled as he looked at the paper.

    The others facepalmed, but Tulga tried to cheer him up.

    Then Jet butted in, ¡°Let me pick it next time.¡±

    He then went and sat at a corner of the seats, overlooking the entire match.

    Now, Stein had woken up and was energetic ¡°Okay, the first match goes to, Team Cangard and Team Senior.¡±. He then smiled and sat on a lifeguard¡¯s seat ¡°Battle Start!¡±

    Now that they looked at it, the stage was a bit bigger. It was slightly bigger than 2 soccer fields merged together, instead of the previous one.

    The 2 teams charged off, leaving the plant boy at the back.

    *Boom!*

    A bomb exploded, revealing a pink smoke.

    The seniors had charged into the smoke while Nicholas¡¯s teammates had backed off.

    Their opponents got out of the smoke, but were visibly exhausted. The girl looking like his fianc¨¦ was smiling.

    This was obviously her doing.

    A female senior threw a [Fire Ball] at Mark. He ate it, and sent it back a little stronger.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Nicholas used his wings to charge at them, with his fist covered in lightning.

    *Bam!!!*

    A senior had clashed with him. His body was covered with an [Earth Armor].

    Nicholas hit him with his tail, but his opponent was unfazed. The tail hit imbued with Worldly Energy didn¡¯t faze it, so it should be harder than steel at worst.

    He was hit by a strong uppercut and was sent flying, falling near the plant boy.

    He tried to use [Vine Grasp] to trip the armored senior, but it was broken.

    At this time, Mark and the fire-using girl were in a heated long-range combat, literally.

    The field below them was scorched, as they fired off fire attacks.

    Then the Lavastor girl was fighting a man specializing with knives, and was on equal footing.

    This would seem impressive, but she was clearly being oppressed while using poison and magic.

    The other boy was creating knives non-stop and the ground was littered with them, threatening to pierce their foot, adding another depth to the fight.

    *Boom!!!*

    Another bomb exploded, creating green gas.

    Lavastor quickly withdrew and regrouped. Her opponent was nowhere to be seen.

    The principal jumped in and retrieved the boy. He breathed as if his lungs were as dry as the desert.

    The others didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    Nicholas was hit again and flew towards the edge of the stage.

    He landed just before it and was kicked by the armored senior and left the stage.

    At least, that¡¯s what would have happened.

    Mark had rushed off and pushed him into the stage, sacrificing himself.

    ¡°Too bad, his sacrifice will be in vain.¡± said the senior as he uppercut him and sent him to the air. He then waited patiently for him to come down, but he didn¡¯t.

    He was flying. His eyes had turned reptilian and were electric blue.

    ¡®Hmm, he is resisting my skill, interesting.¡¯ thought Stein.

    [Thunder Clap]

    A fat lightning fell on the earth giant, knocking him down. There was a crater under him.

    After a second, the recipient stood up as if nothing happened, and looked at the one flying above him.

    As for Nicholas, he had a strained expression on his face. He was obviously struggling to stay in the air.

    [Earth Burial]

    As the armored senior clapped his hands, the cracked pieces of the stage flew over and covered Nicholas. They clashed together, making a splashing sound.

    The attacker was suddenly paralyzed. It was the Lavastor¡¯s deed.

    The fire mage kicked blasted her off the stage. By this time, the plant boy was threatened to leave the stage.

    Now, it was 3v1, but one was paralyzed thankfully.

    *Roar!!!*

    A beastly roar made some of the students cover their ears.

    It was coming from the landmass in the air.

    *Boom!!!*

    The earth then exploded, pieces of earth raining upon the ground.

    After examining the stage, Nicholas started crying. It wasn¡¯t a cry of defeat.

    His expression was solemn, but the tears slid down his face.

    These were tears of anger.

    [Thunderstorm]

    Nicholas¡¯s mouth opened, a black gas emerging from it. It then formed a cloud above the stage.

    *Boom!!!*

    *Boom!!!*

    *Boom!!!*

    *Boom!!!*

    *Boom!!!*

    *Boom!!!*

    The thunders started falling upon the stage, covering it in craters. The craters were scorched black and were deeper than what was caused by the skill earlier.

    The opposing team had lost 3 members, and they were on the ground. Half of their flesh was charred black and had lost consciousness.

    The one covered in earth was standing, but the armor had started to crack.

    Then Nicholas¡¯s expression turned into that of rage and he shouted [Heaven Breaker].

    A mass of lightning formed over his hand as he tried to throw it. But his arms didn¡¯t budge. He then fell to the stage, the cloud soon dissipating.

    The senior with ¡®I¡¯m dead¡¯ expression stared at him in disbelief.

    ¡°Match over! Team Senior wins.¡± said Stein. He then looked at Nicholas and shouted to the nurses ¡°He has minor magic overuse!¡±

    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s strong.¡± said Jet with wide eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can survive that unscathed.¡± said Raven as he nodded.

    ¡°Do you even think you¡¯re his match? Honestly, he¡¯s the only son of the Cangard family head, Nicholas was surely nurtured to the brink by his family.¡± Lily then looked at the two who had blank expressions.

    ¡°¡±So?¡±¡± asked the two of them at the same time, with a face that surely meant ¡®I don¡¯t care.¡¯

    She then facepalmed, turning to Ur who had an amused expression on her face ¡°What do you think about him?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good.¡± she said, thinking of the old dragons back at Dragonar.

    ¡°Now, for the next match.¡± said Stein with a bored expression. ¡°It¡¯s a fight Team Dropouts and Team Berserking Girl.¡±

    Raven then turned to Lily ¡°I¡¯m gonna take a nap, wake me up when there¡¯s an interesting match.¡± He then proceeded by lying down on the bench and closing his eyes.

    He was snoring within seconds. Lily couldn¡¯t help but sigh in defeat. She then looked at the stage.

    ¡­

    He woke up in a grey room he recognized as the one he painted this color. The goddess was arguing with a ¡­ man?

    Raven then looked at the man with a strange expression and recognized him. It was Crow.

    ¡°Fuck off, it¡¯s my domain. You are not welcome here!¡± shouted Eris.

    ¡°Huh? What did you say? I can¡¯t hear you over a dog barking. Oh wait, you were barking.¡± Crow mocked her.

    ¡°You want divine judgement, mortal?¡± her tone turned cold.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you do this or that, get out!¡± he shouted.

    ¡°Divine judgement it is.¡± she said with a grin.

    ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± said Crow with a grin too.

    [Soul Destruction]

    [Chaos Eye]

    They looked each other in the eye and then, they passed out.

 Chapter 27 - Team Raven vs Rulers

    *Slap!*

    ¡°Ouch, can¡¯t you be a little gentler, woman.¡± said Raven as he was slapped awake.

    ¡°It¡¯s our turn and the principal are asking if we want to concede.¡± she said with a serious tone as she looked at him. Raven and Tulga were doing so too.

    ¡°Of course we¡¯ll fight!¡± shouted Raven as he looked at him.

    Surprise covered Stein¡¯s face but soon turned into a grin ¡°Team Raven vs Rulers.¡±

    ¡°Dafuq?! What is the meaning of this!?¡± shouted Raven as he cursed his own luck for drawing the wrong lot.

    They took the stage within minutes and Jet asked Robert ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Rulers don¡¯t fight?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re practically the first one to accept this match in ¡­¡± said Robert and looked at Stein.

    ¡°39 years.¡± he answered with a smirk. ¡°But they lost horribly.¡±

    Raven¡¯s team had lost half of its motivation.

    ¡°Battle Start!!!*

    The crowd started cheering for Raven¡¯s team, encouraging them to fight.

    ¡°What?!¡± shouted Stein with a surprised tone.

    He was right to be surprised, because what he saw would flabbergast anyone.

    As soon as the match started, 2 Rulers left the stage. They were Laura and Marco.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.¡± said Laura with a monotone voice.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather die than fight my sister.¡± said Marco as he walked towards the bench. Then he sat on it. ¡°Go! Go! Lily! You can do it.¡±

    Seeing his frantic cheerleading, the principal almost fell out of his seat.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you do the same, Robert?¡± asked Lily with a surprised expression while ignoring his brother.

    ¡°No need, he¡¯s a battle maniac.¡± said Jet as he patted on her back.

    Although they seemed to be having a conversation, the atmosphere was thick. Everyone stander by was quiet, well, except Marco.

    *Bam!!!*

    A [Condensed Fire Ball] hurled at Lily, which was blocked by an [Ice Shield].

    The attacker was Robert, he then launched at Jet, hitting him in the abdomen.

    However, Jet didn¡¯t budge, but slammed his hand into Robert¡¯s face.

    They were both assisted by qi, so it would be wise to say that their hits were more than strong.

    In the background, Tulga and Raven were fighting with the red-haired Ruler.

    She specialized in [Lava] and [Summoning].

    A giant rhino crashed into Tulga, almost sending him out of bounds.

    Lava burst out from where Raven was standing, which was dodged.

    An enormous hawk grabbed him by the shoulders, but he separated into two by using [True Shadow Clone].

    He then launched at the female Ruler by using his wings.

    *Crash!!!*

    Jet was sent flying towards Raven, hitting him. They were both sent crashing.

    Robert had punched him away while fighting Lily¡¯s buffalo.

    Then the two girls exchanged glances.

    *Bam!!!*

    Lava hit Ice and the buffalo clashed with the rhino.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    But Lily was punched away by Robert.

    ¡°Robert, I can take care of them, so you just fight the wolf boy.¡± said the girl with an overly cheerful tone.

    ¡°Whatever, I was planning on doing just that.¡± said Robert, grabbing Tulga by the face and dragging him away.

    He took a considerable amount of space from the others and stopped, softening his grip. Tulga didn¡¯t waste it and hit his arm away.

    ¡°Tulga, let me see the fruits of my research.¡± he said as he threw a [Fire Claw] at him.

    [Phantom Claw]

    A ghastly purple claw was sent towards it. Then Tulga ran to the side.

    It was the right thing to do, as his attack passed through the claw of flames and hit Robert straight in the chest.

    It didn¡¯t cut him up, but Robert shouted in pain.

    ¡°There, is that enough.¡± said Tulga with a smirk.

    ¡°As if, I know that there is a lot left in you!¡± shouted Robert with a grin as he activated his Aura.

    Tulga did the same.

    A man with a red Aura stood looking at a boy with a purple Aura.

    Then they clashed, or that was what was supposed to happen.

    Tulga passed right through Robert, giving him some pain while doing so.

    [Spirit Claw]

    Tulga¡¯s signature move hit Robert¡¯s back, tearing his clothes away.

    [Fire Dragon]

    A fire in the shape of an Asian dragon left Robert¡¯s hand and swirled in the sky. It then launched at Tulga faster than the eye could perceive.

    [Phantom Shield]

    [Phantom Claw]

    He was covered in a purple ball of light as a claw of the same color launched at his opponent.

    ¡®He can guard and attack at the same time?¡¯ thought Stein with a surprised expression.

    ¡°Fuckoff.¡± shouted Robert as used [Flame Devourer]

    A giant ball of flame appeared over his hand and slowly approached his opponent, devouring the claw in its path, or that was supposed to happen.

    He was hit again and screamed in pain.

    [Spirit Slicer]

    A series of boomerang shaped balls of yellow light left the purple ball and hit the [Flame Devourer]

    It cut it into pieces. But Robert smiled instead of frowning.

    [Explosion]

    The pieces exploded near Tulga and covered their battlefield in debris.

    ¡°The heck?! Is that a nemean lion or something?¡± said Robert with a big frown on his face, looking at the unscathed purple ball.

    Another series of [Phantom Claws] left the ball, attacking Robert.

    This was a fight of endurance. Would Robert outlast Tulga¡¯s painful assault, or would Tulga run out of magic and qi?

    As for the other side, things were bad.

    The red haired girl was completely dominating them.

    A giant green snake choked Jet, revealing its poisonous fangs.

    ¡°You move and you die.¡± said their opponent with a carefree tone.

    She was sending [Lava] magic skills from one of her hands and kept Lily at bay.

    As for Raven, she was beating him up with one hand, which held a stick. To beat a qi-using boy with such ease surely meant that she wasn¡¯t from the Central Continent.

    Why? Because if you possessed such strength, you should be from one of the Dynasties, The Misty North or The Incendium.

    The Dynasties had the strongest Qi Cultivators, the North had Berserkers and the South had Worldly Energy.

    As for Robert and The Berserking Girl, they were from the North.

    Nicholas was from the South, so it was only logical for him to use Worldly Energy. But Lily didn¡¯t use it for some unknown reason.

    *Bam!!!*

    The stick hit Raven right on the head, sending his mind to shuffles.

    A small drop of lava fell on Lily, resulting in a scream.

    Jet was being pecked by a giant hawk, which Lily¡¯s hawk tried to stop but couldn¡¯t.

    [Summoning: Chains of Suppression]

    Chains started erupting from the ground and covered Raven from neck to toe, rendering him immobile.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to use your skills anymore.¡± she said as she turned to Lily with a sadistic grin. ¡°Now, let¡¯s break you a little bit.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Aaaaaaah, heeeeelp!!!!!¡± a bloodcurdling scream was heard from the stage as the audience sat silently, some even closed their eyes and covered their ears. This was just too gruesome.

    On the field, Lily was being tortured while the other two were being suppressed with little effort.

    The Ruler was burning her with drops of lava all over her body while melting her ice with a little bit of fire.

    She could use both [Earth] and [Fire], which she combined into lava, so she had impaled her with a spike of earth.

    Then Robert who was interrupted by Lily¡¯s scream looked their way, after beating Tulga.

    His eyes widened as his expression contorted into that of pure rage.

    ¡°Vivian, you motherfucker!!!¡± he shouted as he appeared near her in a quarter of a second.

    *Bam!!!*

    A deafening sound could be heard from the stage, where Robert had punched something.

    He was sure it wasn¡¯t the Vivian, as she would be a lot softer. It was Stein.

    ¡°The fuck, out of my way!!!¡± shouted Robert as his drool jumped all over Stein¡¯s face.

    He only smiled in return and said ¡°Robert Pennison, disqualified for friendly fire. Now, SLEEP.¡± said Stein as Raven¡¯s eyes closed and he dropped to the ground.

    An enormous [Ice Spear] and a red light the size of a building were blocked by Stein, as he looked at the assailants.

    They were Laura and Marco. The audience could only watch it in silence.

    ¡°You two too, huh?¡± he said as his body started changing.

    He grew bigger, his eyes turned red, his previously slim body started bulging with muscles. Stein¡¯s skin turned darker until it became grey and his bloodthirsty eyes washed over the 2 in front of him.

    Even the ones on the other side of the field almost pissed their pants, while the ones behind Marco and Laura had fainted.

    ¡°Last time I checked, there were rules in this tournament.¡± he said with a suppressed angry voice.

    *Bam!!!*

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get even.¡± said Raven as he broke out of the chain and smiled at Marco.

    Laura¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she saw the attractive smile.

    *Bam!!!*

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± said Jet as he turned at Vivian and gave an eerie grin. ¡°You¡¯ll pay.¡±

    Vivian only smiled back at them ¡°You couldn¡¯t even make my use my full power, what makes you think you can beat me?!¡±

    Stein then turned back to his normal form and asked with a smile ¡°So don¡¯t make trouble, kay?¡±

    ¡±Time for round 2, pile of shit.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the second round, scum.¡± said Raven and Jet respectively at the exact same time.

 Chapter 28 - Stress Relief

    ¡°Well, since you had me use my trump card, at least entertain us a little!¡± shouted Jet as he grabbed his spear.

    ¡°I really wanted to hide this until the individual matches, but it seems I have to use it now.¡± said Raven as he looked at his arms, which visibly changed.

    Raven had used [Dragonic Scales]. When used on normal people, it would create scales for them, but if used for dragonmen, it would further strengthen their scales until the point of nigh-impenetrableness.

    The cosmetic change would make it a far darker tone of black and a metallic shine to it. His body area wasn¡¯t left unattended too.

    His claws started glistening as well, with the help of [Steel Claws].

    As for Jet, he was playing with his spear as if he was getting used to it.

    Then on the other side, Vivian had a bored expression. ¡°If you want to die, then come quickly.¡±

    Raven almost lost himself, but regained his senses when he was patted by Jet. ¡°Here we come.¡± he said calmly as the two rushed at her.

    [Lava Monster]

    Lava shot out from her hand and fell in front of her. It then started becoming humanoid and resembled an elemental.

    It swung its giant hand at the two.

    *Split!*

    *Split!*

    *Split!*

    *Split!*

    Then the two started splitting and soon became six.

    After a little pause, the monster attacked again. But now it threw a bit of lava that made it up.

    Its opponents circled it around and attacked its master. As for Vivian, she was ready.

    Just when Jet was about to reach her, she used a skill.

    [Gravity x 10]

    ¡°Guh!¡± Jet fell to the ground and dispersed into shadow. Vivan couldn¡¯t help but shout ¡°What the hell?!¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The real Raven and Jet were standing almost unbothered.

    [Shadow Absorption]

    With this, Raven became vulnerable for a while.

    [Summoning: Chains of Imprisonment]

    The chains that covered Raven were now attacking Jet.

    *Clack!*

    *Clack!*

    *Clack!*

    *Clack!*

    Jet was fending them off easily, but they didn¡¯t break nor did they let up. The lava monster attacked him from behind

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s annoying.¡± said Jet as he used [Reverse Polarity]

    Then it happened.

    Everything started lifting up floating in the air as if they were in space. This was logical, because the gravitational balance had been lost or erased.

    The chains weren¡¯t an exception, as they only dangled like seaweed in the water.

    [Lava Rain]

    A mass of lava gathered around Vivian¡¯s hand and would have rained upon the ground if they didn¡¯t fly up like earth.

    She controlled them manually and attacked Jet, who easily blocked it with thrusts from his spear.

    Vivian was visibly exhausted after forcing the lava to move in an unorthodox manner.

    [Summoning: Bird of Prey]

    A giant brown bird appeared from a summoning circle before Vivian and flapped its wings.

    It didn¡¯t move, but just floated. Actually, it did move, but it was nowhere similar to its normal speed.

    Jet then started hysterically thrusting his spear, raining Vivian and her minions with air bullets comparable to real ones.

    The bird soon dissipated, and the same could be said for the lava monster as it was left a formless puddle of lava floating in the air.

    Suddenly, everything started dropping.

    Jet couldn¡¯t use it for long, so he decided to release it after destroying her summonings.

    ¡°Was that all?¡± asked Vivian with a cute giggle.

    ¡°I¡¯m a gentleman.¡± said Jet as he turned around.

    The smile turned into a grin as she created a mass of lava in front of her hand and fire it at Jet.

    *Splat!*

    The lava stopped as if it hit a wall. In fact, it was a wall.

    Jet was covered in a brown Aura, which specialized in defense.

    He then turned his head towards her and said with a smile ¡°You should attack him while you can.¡± Then the brown aura around him dissipated, which Vivian who quickly turned her head towards Raven didn¡¯t notice.

    ¡°Yo.¡±

    As soon as she heard that, she felt as if she was hit by a speeding car in the abdomen.

    She started coughing up blood.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m a feminist, the stage only has warriors on it.¡± he said with an innocent smile while he grabbed her by the collar as she was about to fly out of bounds.

    He was covered in blue Aura, which specialized in speed.

    Raven uppercut her with fists covered in lighting, making her fly up a few meters and grabbed her when she fell down.

    What he used was [Paralyze Armor], his opponent¡¯s body would be gradually paralyzed with each hit he scored on them.

    He then head-butted her face with his and her nose was almost broke in.

    Raven then proceeded by slamming Vivian¡¯s head into the concrete.

    Although the audience was quiet, they only nodded in response.

    [Gravity x 20]

    Although the gravity multiplied, Raven was seemingly unbothered by it.

    His left hand then turned grey, and he punched her with it continuously.

    She could feel her magic going out of control and soon she completely lost any form of resistance.

    Vivian was now a prey waiting for her demise.

    She wouldn¡¯t usually be as weak as this, but thanks to Raven¡¯s [Mana Disease], she couldn¡¯t use her magic. And thanks to the continuous hits with [Paralyzing Armor], she couldn¡¯t move her body either.

    ¡­

    ¡°Whew, I blew off some steam.¡± said Raven as he looked at Stein.

    ¡®This kid is crazy.¡¯ he thought, but it came out as ¡°Do you want to become my apprentice?¡±

 Chapter 29 - Individual Matches Start

    ¡°Do you want to become my apprentice?¡± asked Stein, looking at Raven.

    ¡°Why would I have the honor of becoming your disciple?¡± said Raven as he looked back at him.

    ¡°Because we have the same talent.¡± he said, as his nails turned into claws. He then showed it off to him. He struggled to not include ¡®We¡¯re both crazy.¡¯

    ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± said Raven with a bored expression.

    ¡°What doesn¡¯t?¡± asked Stein, a little surprised.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine someone like you being a good teacher.¡± Hearing his statement, Litmus and Lulu almost choked on their saliva.

    ¡°Oh, I look a little too lazy.¡± said Stein as his lazy looking eyes turned serious. But that wasn¡¯t all, his entire body changed.

    Now he resembled a girl, which had white hair, serious orange eyes and a mocking expression on his face. There was a black line running through his left eye, giving off a feeling one would get from a joker.

    ¡°Do I look the part now?¡± asked Stein, with an annoyed voice. He had to transform to his true form to show off his ¡®seriousness¡¯.

    ¡°Nope, you look even worse.¡± Stein almost coughed blood when he heard it ¡°But you¡¯re pretty good at it, so why not.¡±

    Lulu then shouted from the audience ¡°You betrayed me!!!¡±

    ¡°You know you are my disciple, right?¡± said Stein as he looked at Lulu with a strange glare.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not your apprentice.¡± she frowned.

    There was a small difference between a disciple and apprentice.

    A disciple would be taught by a master and learn from him/her.

    An apprentice would inherit everything that his/her master owned.

    Currently, Lulu was in such a relationship with Raven, but Stein wanted to intrude on it.

    ¡°If he is our shared apprentice, then he¡¯ll become really strong, you know? Why would you reject?¡± asked Stein with a mocking voice.

    ¡°Because I want him to carry on with my studies, instead of indulging in battles like you.¡± she said angrily.

    ¡°What? I only fought about a trillion or so times, what makes you think I¡¯m a battle maniac.¡± shouted Stein with a wronged expression.

    The students could only stare at him in disbelief.

    Lulu was seen facepalming.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lulu, I don¡¯t mind.¡± said Raven, trying to comfort her.

    ¡°I mind!!!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°Let¡¯s settle this with a duel.¡± said Stein with a serious tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, for Raven!¡± she shouted while walking towards the stage.

    ¡°For Raven!!!¡± shouted Stein as he charged off. It awfully resembled a battle cry.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Then Litmus blocked their advances ¡°You idiots, can¡¯t you two be a little adult?¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s a life or death decision we¡¯re talking about.¡± frowned Stein.

    ¡°Like I care, do that after the tournament!¡± shouted Litmus, hitting him on the head. He then hit Lulu too.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± she complained.

    ¡°You were the one who made it this bad.¡± said Litmus with a headache.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re in the wrong.¡± said Stein, hiding behind Litmus.

    *Bam!!!*

    ¡°What was that for?!¡± shouted Stein with a tear in his right eye.

    ¡°You tried to pick a fight again.¡± he said as if scolding his younger siblings.

    ¡°Uwaah, Litmus is bullying me. Peter, please help me!¡± shouted Stein as he ran up to the blonde pony-tailed instructor and hid behind him.

    Peter then said with a calm voice ¡°You shouldn¡¯t bully them because they are small.¡± He then patted Stein¡¯s head.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point, you pedophile!!!¡± shouted Litmus at the top of his lungs.

    In the background, everyone subconsciously sighed.

    Litmus was the one who continued it ¡°The tournament continues. The next match is Team Senior against Team Berserking Girl. Would you like to concede?¡± he asked with a polite suggesting tone.

    ¡°I would like to do just that.¡± answered the now not-armored senior.

    ¡°Then without further ado, let¡¯s start the third round. The first match will be, Mary Ravines against Qu Xin.¡±

    The ninja girl walked towards the stage and looked at the boy with a braided blue hair.

    ¡°Match Start!¡±

    Mary instantly disappeared as the match started, Xin didn¡¯t seem to mind as he walked towards the center of the stage and punched the air.

    ¡°Guah!¡± coughed Mary as she was hit in the abdomen. ¡°How?!¡±

    A colorless aura started emitting from the boy and he thrust his palm forward, aiming towards the girl.

    [Eight Desolate Palm]

    A wave of transparent shockwave missed the girl by a hair¡¯s width. ¡°I suggest you surrender.¡± said the boy with a smile.

    ¡°No way, I came this far. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m backing out.¡± shouted Mary as she threw a few shuriken at him.

    Xin easily dodged them and appeared near the girl.

    *Slash!*

    A knife cut the boy¡¯s abdomen, but it didn¡¯t penetrate more than the clothes.

    ¡°I suggested you to surrender, [Sun Palm].¡±

    An enormous yellow palm appeared in the air and rained down on Mary.

    She soon lost consciousness, but there were no burns on her body as one would expect.

    ¡°Winner, Qu Xin.¡± shouted Stein.

    ¡°He¡¯s a qi cultivator.¡± said Robert, while patting Raven and Jet¡¯s back

    ¡°That was incredibly convenient.¡± said Jet with a surprised expression.

    But Raven was in deep thought. He wanted to make sense of it by using his wuxia novel knowledge.

    There is qi, and there are those who use it. Their body strengthens and have different types and animals based on their personality. But it can be integrated into magic, by using either Tulga¡¯s method or Robert¡¯s. Then there is using both of them separately like Qu Xin did.

    ¡°The next match is Raven Cangard vs Irina Svetlana.¡± said Stein with a bored tone.

    A girl with blonde hair, slightly pointy ears and a staff walked up to the stage. She was beautiful, but not much. This was Raven¡¯s first meeting with a High Elf.

    ¡°Ba-atle Sta-art.¡± said Stein, almost asleep.

    The girl instantly started chanting. Interested, Raven waited for her to finish.

    ¡°Idiot, interrupt her!¡± shouted Lily from the audience.

    ¡°Be quie-et.¡± said Stein.

    ¡°¡­ans reug sofj lgur dragsu lofari.¡± finished the elven girl as a gigantic fire ball appeared over the staff, almost 50 meters in radius.

    ¡°Interesting, I¡¯ll have you show me more of that.¡± said Raven as he threw a small ball of lightning at it.

    This was [Electric Bomb], a skill that does exactly what it sounds like.

    The two balls clashed.

    *Boom!*

    The fire ball changed trajectory to upwards and flew through the roof.

    Irina had a look of horror on her face as she hurriedly started chanting again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t interrupt you.¡± said Raven with an innocent smile.

    Another long chanting later, a small blue orb appeared in her hand, she threw it at Raven.

    Seeing that something was wrong, he moved to the side.

    *Boom!!!*

    The orb exploded behind him, sending him towards the chanting Irina. A medium sized fireball crashed into him.

    Raven fell to the ground. Irina had a triumphant smile on her face. But it turned to horror as Raven stood up unfazed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯m learning spells.¡± he then looked at her with a smile ¡°Could you surrender? I don¡¯t enjoy fighting women.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± she said.

    ¡°Battle Over!!!¡± announced Stein with his tired voice.

    His energy returned to him, as he stood up. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the next fight is: The Black Spear Jet vs The Wolf Warrior Emily.¡±

    ¡°¡±What the hell is with those names!!!¡± they shouted at the same time.

    Then Litmus, who was standing near Lulu mumbled ¡°She¡¯s an Ulfhednar?¡±

 Chapter 30 - Drago vs Iorund

    ¡°If she¡¯s an Ulfhednar, then she isn¡¯t actually berserking. Thank god.¡± continued Litmus.

    The pink-haired berserker girl walked towards the stage, so did the black-haired boy.

    The girl stared at Jet with an unsettling glare, making him uncomfortable.

    ¡°Battle Start!!!¡±

    The two rushed at each other, with their fists covered in their respective elements.

    Jet had covered his hand with earth, a brown aura around it, his spear inside the ring. Emily¡¯s hand was surrounded by darkness with a red tint.

    *Bam!!!*

    Pieces flew off Jet¡¯s [Earth Fist], while the darkness only reconstructed itself.

    A few punches were exchanged until one broke the standstill.

    It was Emily. She threw a little bit of dark green gooey liquid.

    Jet felt a bad omen so he instantly ran to the side, and was thankful for it.

    The green liquid had fallen on the concrete and was eating it away, kind of like sulfuric acid.

    This was [Venom] magic only a few are have, let alone use it. In a sense, it was even more dangerous than [Disease].

    Jet then split apart, cloning himself. Then he attacked from four directions, one from above.

    The girl then grinned.

    [Dark Blood]

    She imbued her hand with a skill and slashed all of them.

    ¡°What?¡± said Emily as she looked at them fading into shadows.

    *Grab!*

    A hand grabbed her ankle from below and pulled her downwards. Then they changed positions, now Jet was out in the open and the girl was in the shadow.

    ¡°Battle Ov-¡° paused Stein as he looked at the black spot in the air.

    ¡°The hell?!¡± shouted Jet as he looked at Emily emerging from inside.

    ¡°Shadow is only a pathetic excuse of a darkness.¡± she said with a smile.

    ¡®[Blood], [Venom], [Darkness] and a Berserker¡¯s bloodline. I can see her bright future.¡¯ thought Stein while smiling.

    ¡°Take this, [Earth Pillars].¡± shouted Jet as countless pillars started appearing out of the ground, aiming at Emily.

    She didn¡¯t use skills against it, but jumped on one and started running on it, dodging a few others while doing so.

    Soon she landed on the ground and started running towards Jet.

    [Static Shield]

    Two earth poles suddenly rose from two sides of the field and a static lightning travelled between them.

    It divided the field into two with the two contestants on different sides.

    [Blood Call]Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Jet¡¯s body started being dragged towards Emily, and into the shield.

    The audience was pulled in too, but as soon as Jet released the shield, she stopped too.

    Then Emily sent a punch towards his face, sending him away.

    ¡°The warm-up¡¯s over, so how about starting the fight.¡± said Emily with a bored voice.

    ¡°I guess you were playing around too.¡± said Jet with a bored voice too, using his sleeve to wipe away the blood coming from his mouth.

    The black spear appeared in his hand. Her eyes turned red as well.

    The two clashed again, but the shockwave was even stronger than before, which shocked most of the first-years.

    Jet had slashed with his spear while Emily had used the move she used before.

    Jet was covered in yellow Aura, which specialized in explosive power, unlike Raven¡¯s lightning variant.

    He then equally clashed with Emily in her berserk from equally.

    They then clashed for about five more minutes and suddenly stopped.

    Although there were extremely strong sophomores and seniors, they usually slept during the tournament, so the old students weren¡¯t strangers to these kinds of things.

    Then the two suddenly backed down, distancing from each other.

    [Dark Blood Rain]

    [Falling Moon]

    A black sphere of blood started forming above Emily¡¯s raised, supplied by a gourd hanging from her belt.

    A big mass of earth started gathering above Jet¡¯s raised hand as well, but it was big enough to cover the ceiling, or rather, where the ceiling was. It was used to create the giant ball of earth above him.

    The two then threw it at each other.

    The earth attacked her in a straightforward way.

    The rain then dissolved after meeting the ball of earth and turned into droplets. They then turned into sharp balls of black blood and assaulted Jet.

    The stage was covered in dust.

    ¡­

    The dust settled a minute later, revealing the two badly injured bodies.

    Emily was lying on the ground, half crushed.

    Jet was lying on the ground, with countless holes in his body.

    ¡°The battle ends in a dra-¡° stopped Stein halfway again and looked towards Emily.

    She was in no condition to stand, but red energy was constantly leaving her body.

    ¡°Well, then its Jet¡¯s loss.¡± said Stein with a carefree manner.

    Litmus then hit the back of his head and said ¡°Idiot, look at him.¡±

    The spear was now levitating in the air without an user, or that¡¯s how it looked to people who couldn¡¯t sense the small strand of energy connecting it to him.

    But Qu Xin had an amazed expression on his face ¡®That kid can actually use the Flying Sword technique.¡±

    However, how can it be so simple?

    The red energy from Emily¡¯s body soon formed a humanoid shape and it started gaining features.

    What now stood on the stage was a giant muscular man with a beard, he was chest-naked and had a heavy sword, as in very heavy in hand.

    ¡°Iorund, finish him.¡± said Emily with a soft voice. She was now thinking that it was an easy win now that the opponent couldn¡¯t move.

    The giant approached him with long steps and stomped down with his foot, wearing steel boots.

    *Clack!!!*

    Metal clashing with metal rung out through the stadium.

    The spear had blocked the stomp and pushed it away.

    ¡°A divine weapon?¡± mumbled Stein with a skeptic voice.

    [Drago: Armed] shouted Jet.

    What Jet picked up from Randy¡¯s was an artifact said to have a dragon sealed inside it, thus, it was called Arma Divina: Drago. Not to mention that it had intelligence.

    The spear then turned into black light, and covered Jet¡¯s body with its light.

    As the light subsided, it had created a paper-thin armor on Jet¡¯s body and his body had seemingly healed. It was pitch black and had a dragon head-shaped helmet.

    ¡°Damn it! Come, Iorund!¡± shouted Emily with an angry voice.

    A similar process happened to her, but her muscles started bulging out to the point where it would rival Raven empowered by 4 of his clones.

    *Clash!!!*

    The two fists clashed and made the rubble around them to get blown away.

    A dragon¡¯s image appeared behind Jet and the image of the prior giant appeared behind Emily.

    The two punched at each other from a distance, as the dragon breathed a black flame and the giant punched at the flames.

    ¡®I¡¯m not gonna last for long with borrowed power.¡¯ thought Jet as he glared at his opponent.

    ¡®If I don¡¯t finish this fast, I¡¯ll lose control.¡¯ thought Emily as she did the same.

    [Drago: Burst Stream]

    [Limit Break]

    Jet and Emily shouted at the same time, throwing their respective finishers.

    The dragon merged into the armor and Jet pointed his palm at Emily.

    By then, Emily prepared to throw a punch.

    Litmus and Lulu covered the two sides opposite to the competitors with a magic shield. One was grey while the other was blue.

    Then the two sent their attacks at each other.

    A shockwave capable of destroying buildings was launched from Emily¡¯s fist.

    A stream of destructive power capable of levelling a mountain was sent from Jet¡¯s hand.

    And then it clashed.

    *Bam!!!*

    The two finishers exploded when they hit each other, destroying the whole stage in the process.

    A large cloud of dust then covered the stage again.

    But when the dust settled, there were 2 unconscious bodies.

    They were both back to their respective forms.

 Chapter 31 - The Finale

    ¡°Wow, that was intense.¡± said Robert with a surprised expression.

    ¡°Wow, Jet never used that on me.¡± said Raven with an excited expression ¡°I should fight that later.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a battle maniac too.¡± said Laura with a depressed tone, looking at Raven.

    A faint giggle was heard behind them, coming from none other than Ur. ¡°So I guess your battle will be as exciting as this.¡±

    ¡°It depends on the opponent.¡± said Raven with a proud tone. The scariest thing was, he had the power to back up the statement.

    Stein had already turned back the time and fixed them to the point they weren¡¯t in any mortal danger, sending them away to the nurse¡¯s.

    ¡°Seeing as they are both out of bounds, that was a draw!¡± he shouted, looking at Peter.

    He raised his hand and used a skill called [Concrete Stage]. Normally, only some mages who work at an arena would learn this skill, but Peter gave in after the countless years of babbling from Stein.

    ¡°Now then, seeing that the other contestants are unconscious, the next match is the finale.¡± Stein then fixed his voice ¡°The Black Dragon Raven vs The Ferocious Tiger Qu Xin.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell with that name!!!¡± shouted Raven, but Qu Xin was unfazed by it and walked towards the stage. Raven soon followed.

    Xin put his left hand on the right and said ¡°Let¡¯s have a good match.¡± Something Raven knew as modesty and it meant a spar, not a death match.

    The fact that his fingers were straight meant that he wasn¡¯t that skilled in his martial art, as it would be clenched otherwise.

    ¡°Battle Start!!!¡± shouted Stein at the top of his now-girlish lungs.

    The two unexpectedly didn¡¯t charge at each other, but instead walked.

    Then Raven held his hand out, Xin didn¡¯t hesitate to form a handshake, all the while having innocent smiles on their faces.

    *Grab!*

    That¡¯s when the fight started.

    The two were pulling at each other¡¯s hand, trying to throw them away.

    Veins pulsated on the side of their head and the arm muscles bulged, but they maintained their smile.

    It was when Xin used his Aura that Raven was thrown away.

    He softly landed on his feet by doing a backflip in the air, but a punch in the abdomen sent him away.

    After flying dozens of meters, Raven stopped and coughed blood.

    Then Xin appeared right before and sent a punch toward his face, which Raven ducked under and threw an uppercut.

    His opponent moved backwards and threw a kick to his sides. A few of his ribs broke as he flew another dozen meters.

    ¡®Shit, he¡¯s way better than me in close-combat of this world. But boxing and taekwondo are another thing.¡¯ thought Raven as he took a boxing stance looking at the side and his feet separated.

    He had abandoned the style Tristan taught him. Now he was using his self-made martial art.

    He then used his Lightning Aura and covered his body with it.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Not letting his expectation down, Xin came with a palm aimed at his throat at an unbelievable speed.

    Raven then waited until it almost reached its target and moved sideways, jabbing Xin¡¯s nose with considerable force, forcing him to take a few steps back.

    But he slammed his head at Raven, seemingly unfazed by the punch.

    ¡®That¡¯s fantasy Kung Fu training for you.¡¯ cursed Raven as he threw a headbutt of his own.

    The two heads clashed, sending the dragonman another few dozen meters. It looked like Xin was playing baseball with Raven as the ball.

    Xin came with the previous move, but when Raven tried to jab him, he ducked under it and threw a low kick.

    Raven jumped over it and whipped his leg at the side of Xin¡¯s head.

    Xin only smiled and let his guard down. But Raven had lifted his leg up and threw it down in a axe kick manner.

    [Thunder Clap]

    The lightning landed right on Xin¡¯s head, baffling his mind for a bit.

    Raven didn¡¯t waste this opportunity and used his full power to kick him away.

    Then Xin flew to the edge of the stage and grabbed the ground to stop his movement.

    Then Raven proceeded by a hook to the ears again, now standing before the dizzy Xin

    But this time, Xin had grown cautious and had punched away the hook.

    That wasn¡¯t a problem for Raven, which used the momentum throw a spinning kick at his opponent.

    Xin took a few steps to the side, and used a skill.

    [Eight Desolate Palm]

    A shockwave hit Raven at the solar plexus and made him unable to breathe for a few seconds after it faded away.

    Xin had a big grin on his face, looking at Raven.

    Raven then appeared before Xin and threw an uppercut. But his opponent didn¡¯t even move.

    Then he sent a punch at Raven¡¯s abdomen and sent him flying up.

    Raven coughed blood and saw that his Aura and armor had disappeared.

    ¡°That attack just now, it¡¯s quite good.¡± said Raven, looking at his opponent.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a Martial Skill from the Blue Moon Dynasty.¡± said Xin while throwing away his shirt and jacket.

    There was a blue-colored crescent moon shape on the left side of his chest.

    ¡°Kid, why did you come to our kingdom?¡± asked Stein with a serious tone.

    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t discriminate.¡± said Xin, now looking at Stein.

    ¡°Of course, just wondering.¡± answered Stein with a smile.

    ¡°Now then, give up now. I¡¯ve sealed your dantian and mana pool, there¡¯s no way you can fight back.¡± said he, glaring at Raven.

    ¡°Heh, so what!¡± shouted Raven as a colorless energy surrounded his body.

    ¡°Y-You aren¡¯t from the main branch, how?!¡± shouted Xin in return. What he had used was Worldly Energy, something no one from the branches except Primus could learn, at least in the Cangard family.

    ¡°Just happened to discover it by luck.¡± said Raven, which was actually true. One late night, he was sitting, using [Soul Recovery].

    He then thought of an incredibly revolutionary idea: absorbing energy from the world itself, replenishing his supplies continuously.

    Although it didn¡¯t work out as expected, he still discovered Worldly Energy.

    A transparent snake then appeared out of thin air and was slithering towards Xin slowly.

    ¡°Heh, so it¡¯s only this much.¡± shouted Xin who was oblivious to the fact that he had materialized his Worldly Energy to the most basic form of a serpent. ¡°You¡¯ll repent in hell for scaring me like that!¡±

    ¡°Oh, then may I beg for forgiveness now?¡± asked Raven with a sincere tone, acting.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m a very short-tempered person, you see.¡± said Xin with an ego as tall as Everest, while slowly walking towards Raven. ¡°But, if you kneel and beg for forgiveness now, I might grant you a painless death.¡±

    *Bite!*

    ¡°Hahaha, dumbass!¡± shouted Raven while laughing, looking at the idiot who easily took the bait and swallowed it whole.

    What Raven had done just now was, he injected Worldly Energy into Xin¡¯s body. Through personal experience, he saw that Worldly Energy would dissipate anything concerning qi, including his mixture of mana and qi.

    This would of course work if this was injected into an opponent. But the biggest weakness was, that he had to completely deplete his magic first.

    Honestly, he wasn¡¯t really sure if he could win the fight, but he never expected for his opponent to be an idiot. Now that he thought about it, most cultivators in wuxia novels are idiots, except the main cast that is.

    ¡°N-No way, my qi is gone, even my magic.¡± said Xin as he looked at his hands vainly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this up then.¡± said Raven, who ran up to him.

    Raven threw an uppercut, lifting him off the ground. Although he didn¡¯t have anything to boost his strength, he still had superior physical strength.

    He then grabbed Xin by his head and threw him off the stage.

    A round of applause was heard, as the principal announced the result. ¡°The winner is, The Black Dragon Raven.¡± after a short pause, he continued ¡°I hereby declare him as the Third Ruler.¡±

    The audience chattered on ¡°Wow, so Vivian isn¡¯t a ruler anymore.¡±

    ¡°Thank god she was dethroned.¡±

    ¡°All hail Raven!¡± and the like.

    But the recipient himself had lost consciousness standing up. This was the side effect of depleting all of his energies.

    Although he didn¡¯t have many side-effects, due to not overusing it, but stopping right before it went to the critical zone would make him lose consciousness for a few days.

 Chapter 32 - An Omen of a War

    A girl with black hair and blue eyes was lying on a bed, looking at the ceiling of the small room she was in. Her hair was tied in a ponytail by a red cloth and her hair had blue endings. There was a mole over her right eye, on her eyelids.

    This girl was Isabella, and her looks weren¡¯t something to be proud of, or to be ashamed of. She was what you would call an average.

    There was a large poster of a woman with leather clothes and sunglasses on the wall and she was holding a microphone. This was Isabella¡¯s childhood idol.

    She then stood up after lying for a while, approximately 10 minutes, when a knock was heard on the door.

    Isabella was more of a tomboy and was wearing a red tank top revealing her belly, a short black leather jacket and dark blue jeans. The jeans had a tear on each knee and her clothes resembled the woman on the poster.

    She opened the door and was met with a handsome man. He had light green eyes and grey hair. Currently, that person was wearing a white suit over a white shirt.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re in that form I see.¡± said the man after examining her body.

    ¡°The wings are too annoying.¡± she said as she left the room.

    If one were to see the corridor they were in, they¡¯d recognize it as the house of Tristan Cangard¡¯s family.

    They chatted while descending the stairs. Isabella was the one who started the conversation.

    ¡°This place is awfully calm considering that it¡¯s going to be a battlefield soon.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t know about it yet. If it wasn¡¯t for your father hiding the treasure here, then the Cangard family would be destroyed instead.¡± said the man.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care for those old monsters. But having my hometown destroyed hurts my heart, you know. Anyways, it¡¯s not like that person is capable of dying.¡± answered Isabella with her eyes closed.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t met Ulacarnne yet, so you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s said that he fought Gerard toe-to-toe before becoming a progenitor.¡± said the man with a serious tone.

    ¡°You know an awful lot about him, don¡¯t you, Yamato?¡± she asked as she sharpened her gaze.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°I¡¯m a runaway lab rat, after all. He would occasionally come to check our progress and we¡¯d almost piss our pants.¡± said Yamato with wide eyes. This was some kind of trauma.

    ¡°I always wonder why you joined The Syndicate even though you¡¯re so scared of them.¡± said Isabella with a wondering expression.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the Nevestulkas freeing me, I would still be there, being experimented on day in and out. I have to pay them back.¡± said Yamato with a smile ¡°and I don¡¯t really mind dying for a noble cause.¡±

    ¡°Jeez, that¡¯s why I hate fighting your kin so much, you¡¯re too loyal.¡± she said with disgust on her face. She was capable of being a loyal comrade, but not to that extent.

    The two then walked with an eerie silence, as they left the house. Isabella then locked the door with the key she always had as a pendant.

    The city was as lively as ever, children playing, adults working and some housewives drying their laundry. Isabella felt something at her throat thinking about what this place would soon become.

    Yamato¡¯s slightly sharp ears stood up on end and he said ¡°Let¡¯s hide.¡±

    He then dragged her into an alley and jumped up the building. He then motioned for her to lie, which he was doing himself. Yamato then peeked at the street down below.

    There were a bunch of people with white cloaks over armor, with a red cross on their chest. They were currently having an argument with a bunch of men with suits.

    ¡°Those are our men, let¡¯s help them.¡± said Isabella while cracking her fists.

    ¡°They¡¯re just footmen, anyways, their opponents aren¡¯t pushovers.¡± said Yamato silently, hushing his accomplice.

    ¡­

    The argument below

    ¡°Who the heck are you to stand in our path?¡± shouted the thug-looking man with a suit. He had a bald head.

    ¡°May the lord have mercy upon your soul.¡± said the man with a small stature.

    ¡°Wha-¡° before he could finish his words, his head flew off from his body.

    The man in the white was holding a cross-shaped sword, and by his command, the others started unsheathing their blades.

    ¡°Attack!!!¡± shouted the second-in-command of the Syndicate group.

    ¡°In the name of the lord!!!¡± shouted the commander of the white group.

    It was complete annihilation; only one man was left standing.

    ¡°They were all strong mages, how in the world?¡± mumbled Isabella, dumbstruck.

    ¡°That, my child; is The Church.¡± said a woman behind her.

    The two of them turned around to see an earth-shaking beauty with black hair. Her hair had emerald endings and she had a smile on her face.

    ¡°May I know what the great Jade Empress is here for?¡± asked Yamato with a polite tone.

    ¡°I heard that IT is in this village, so I¡¯m here to enjoy the chaos.¡± she said as her smile turned into a grin ¡°It¡¯s the best show that a person like me could wish for.¡±

    ¡°I should¡¯ve known.¡± said Isabella with an annoyed tone.

    ¡°Hmm, it seems you¡¯ve grown a backbone.¡± said Lucy while glaring at her.

    ¡°I¡¯m 16, how can I not become strong?!¡± Isabella shouted.

    ¡°So you¡¯re still a toddler.¡± she said with a mocking tone.

    ¡°You always know how to get on my nerves.¡± said Isabella as her veins started bulging.

    ¡°Hey, calm down girl, you still have zero sense of humor, you know that?¡± complained Lucy ¡°Anyways, your grandpa will come with his army too.¡±

    ¡°This is becoming more troublesome by the second.¡± mumbled Isabella as she looked at the sky, noticing a few planes flying in the sky, which should be impossible without Sun Kingdom''s technology.

 Clarification

    Honestly, I¡¯m offended

    I mean, some critcisms were sent my way like a day ago, when I have written the chapter at least a week or two ago. And some random guy tells me that I¡¯m not following them. Not to mention he wrote it in the reviews.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Just WTF?!

    Am I supposed to rewrite everything???!!!

    The answer is NO, and I know none of those idiots will read it anyways, it¡¯s mostly to make myself feel better.

    Ok, I changed my mind. I¡¯m gonna start writing this one with the other one as a side project.

    You can expect to read the next chapter by Tuesday.

 Chapter 33 - Aftermath

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m in this place again.¡± said Raven as he looked at the endless grey nothingness. He then noticed a black spot far in the distance. Looking around, he couldn¡¯t see anything else, so he decided to go there.

    He flapped his wings and launched towards the spot. The feeling he got when flying just felt right, enjoyable. It was one of the things that make you feel good, like sleeping does.

    The black spot grew as he neared it and soon became a bed. Lying on it was a man, now Raven knew full well as Crow.

    He walked towards him.

    ¡°Julian!!!¡± shouted Crow as he woke up with a start.

    Raven nocked his head and looked at the one before him.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here brat.¡± said Crow with a smile ¡°So, how much of the grimoire did you read?¡±

    ¡°The first three?¡± said Raven with a questioning tone.

    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t try to read it further?¡± asked Crow.

    ¡°Well, I got a headache whenever I tried to.¡± answered Raven

    ¡°Figures, I believe you can¡¯t use [Dust End] then.¡± said Crow after some thinking.

    ¡°What of it?¡± said Raven with an irritated tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re too weak.¡± said Crow with a smirk.

    ¡°Thank you very much for your criticism, but I believe I didn¡¯t need to hear that.¡± answered Raven with a sigh.

    ¡°I¡¯ll train you.¡± said Crow.

    ¡°Thank you very much for that too, but I don¡¯t even know from where the fucking hell you came out from!¡± shouted Raven. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be, something like dead?¡±

    ¡°Well, my real body was destroyed and my soul was sent away to another dimension, but I sent a fragment of my soul into the grimoire at the last moment. That means I¡¯m technically dead.¡± said Crow.

    ¡°Is that even possible?¡± asked Raven with disbelief.

    ¡°The soul is an interesting thing, the magic even more so. ¡°said Crow as he got up and sat on the bed.

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°You can steal the gods¡¯ immortality and kill them, or on the other hand, you¡¯re invincible to mortals.¡± said Crow ¡°So let me give you a hint-¡°

    ¡°Why are you teaching me anyways? I¡¯m just some lucky kid who got the book.¡± asked Crow.

    ¡°Because you opened the nearly impossible to use grimoire and you have my talents, not to mention you¡¯re the first human I¡¯ve talked to, in about a thousand or so years. But maybe that¡¯s just me, I lost my sense of time a long time ago.¡± said Crow with a matter of fact tone.

    ¡°So, you just have too much free time and are so bored that you want to teach me.¡± said Raven with a bored tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re sharp. So let¡¯s get back to topic. I¡¯ll give you a hint, you have to strengthen your will.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°Basically, you have to get into situations that normal people wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable in and get out unfazed. You have a good foundation from a few months of [Soul Recovery], so you should do just that and you¡¯ll learn the first stage.¡±

    ¡°Is the first one referring to dangerous, or the other one?¡±

    ¡°Just go to the women¡¯s bath and stay calm.¡± blurted out Crow.

    ¡°What kind of training is that?!¡± shouted Raven, blushing.

    ¡°The hardest kind.¡± said Crow with a smirk as he waved his hands. Raven was now standing with dozens of nude women in a bath.

    ¡­

    ¡°Ugh! My body is aching all over.¡± said Jet as he groggily opened his eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you used an outside power source by using your body as the catalyst.¡± said a woman.

    Jet struggled to get up for a minute, resisting the warnings his body gave him. The girl on the next bed was far more injured than him, as suggested by the casts covering her body. Jet recognized her as the girl he fought.

    The room they were in was like a hospital room, with only 2 beds in it. Coincidentally, they were in the same room, or is it even considered a coincidence.

    ¡°You found out?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Of course, since you started wearing your weapon, I couldn¡¯t have not known.¡± said Emily as she struggled to look at Jet.

    ¡°You¡¯re in a far worse shape than I am.¡± said Jet as he fell to the bed again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not spiritually exhausted like you.¡± she said with an arrogant tone

    ¡°I guess, then I¡¯ll have to sleep it out.¡± he said and closed his eyes, dozing off to sleep.

    Emily on the other hand, only sighed and did the same. It¡¯s not like she had a choice.

    ¡­

    ¡°I lost?¡± asked Qu Xin as he sat on the bed in a far better condition than Raven, who was in a deep sleep for a while.

    Although his body was damaged, there was no real damage. This was thanks to the regenerative abilities of Qi, when properly trained.

    The recipient answered ¡°Yes, and with a rookie mistake.¡± answered a boy slightly older than him with blue hair with a bang at his left. He was handsome and was wearing the normal uniform of Krouxorth. That person was currently standing with his back to the wall.

    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d lose outside of the dynasty to the ones of the same generation.¡± said Xin with wide eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m way stronger than you, or is it not so now?¡± asked the other man with a smile.

    ¡°Of course I can¡¯t beat First Brother, we¡¯re on the same side anyways.¡± said Xin as he jumped off the bed.

    ¡°Hmm, I guess I¡¯ll meet the kid during the coronation. And I¡¯m not the only strong person here.¡± said the one with blue hair as he left the room.

    The door opened to a long corridor with nurses going in and out, making it cramped. There were many rooms, too many to count, but only a about 20 of them were in use, which was nonetheless a big number.

    He bumped into a boy with violet hair by not as much as an accident as it was intentional. ¡°Oh, what a coincidence to meet here, San.¡± said the one with violet hair with a smirk.

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what The Warmonger is doing in such a place?¡± asked the one known as San.

    ¡°Well, I want to check on the new Ruler. Now that Vivian has fallen, there will be many challenges for the kid.¡± said the Warmonger.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± said San with the ever present smirk on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m not obliged to.¡± he said, walking away.

    ¡®Geez, I¡¯m always on the edge when I meet that guy.¡¯ thought San as he walked out of the infirmary, which was a separate building, a normal sized one for heavens¡¯ sake.

    On the other hand, the one with violet hair was thinking while walking towards Raven¡¯s room. ¡®That kid must have used some trick to defeat her. Sigh, he doesn¡¯t know the consequences.¡¯

    The Warmonger opened a door with the number 145 on it and walked inside without a second thought. What he saw was a nurse attending to the currently sleeping Raven.

    ¡°Mr. Makarov, may I ask what you are doing here?¡± asked a feminine voice. The one with violet hair, The Warmonger, otherwise known as Makarov looked to the side and promptly walked back and closed the door behind him, before running off that is.

    Unknowingly, he walked into a trap and came back into the same room when he should have left the infirmary through the door.

    The one who scared him was the principal, in his true form. No good would come out of him in his True Form.

    ¡°I-I, wanted to congratulate my junior.¡± he said with a shaky voice.

    ¡°Is that all? I thought you wanted to recruit him or something. Just so you know, he¡¯s my apprentice.¡± said Stein while examining the boy like a wolf would do to its prey.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, The Violet Feather has enough members.¡± said Makarov as he turned to leave.

    ¡°Hey!¡± shouted Stein, scaring Makarov in the process ¡°Don¡¯t get any funny ideas.¡±

 Chapter 34 - Awake

    A boy with short brown hair and blue eyes stood in an empty hallway. One could see it was a school, with various class and club names over the doors.

    The hallway wasn¡¯t dark or old, but it gave off a creepy feeling from the emptiness alone. The boy was wearing some kind of school uniform, with a jacket and trousers of the same color, which was dark blue.

    The doors of the classrooms started moving, slowly, all of them. Then it gradually quickened, and it quickened even more. Soon, they were swinging full throttle.

    Countless things were thrown at the boy, which he simply took head on without movement. The objects included eggs, pens, pencils, water balloons, forks and spoons.

    Voices came out of the classrooms, belonging to seemingly invisible people. At first, they were only curse words, like ¡°Go die.¡±, ¡°Pathetic.¡±

    He stood indifferently all through them.

    It took only a minute for it to change to pleas of mercy ¡°Let me go!!!¡±, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to!¡±, and finally, the last spice needed in snapping him was ¡°Who are you?¡±, the one who said that was a girl, as implied by the voice.

    ¡°Guaaah!!!¡± shouted the boy as tears started rolling down his wide-open eyes, looking down at his bloody hands and the girl with a black brunette, now bleeding with a knife inserted into her stomach.

    She had a horrified expression on her face.

    The surroundings contorted and returned to its former form, an endless grey room.

    ¡°Well, I think I went a little too far.¡± said Crow with surprised eyes, looking at the boy in front of him.

    He looked too dangerous that Crow doubted that even the Devil, let alone puny gods wanted to mess with him now.

    The boy then started growing scales and wings, his eyes turning red and reptilian, like Crow¡¯s. But the current Crow had normal glowing red eyes, instead of its reptilian form.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a little too dangerous to let him out now.¡± said Crow as he started chanting a spell to calm him down. Then it happened. Raven simply disappeared.

    ¡°Shit!¡± shouted Crow as he looked around as much as he could, but he subconsciously knew that it wasn¡¯t possible for him to bring him back now. He had woken up.

    ¡­

    ¡°Ah!!!¡± shouted Raven as he woke up with a start. ¡®That was just a nightmare? No way, it¡¯s that bastard¡¯s doing.¡¯ he thought to himself, without even noticing that he was in a hospital room.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± sounded out a feminine voice from near him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± said Raven as he looked at Stein with slightly lifeless eyes, which Stein noticed instantly.

    ¡°Well, the party¡¯s ready in case you¡¯re fine.¡± said Stein with a carefree tone.

    ¡°Hmm, what party?¡± asked Raven with a surprised tone.

    ¡°Your coronation.¡± answered Stein as if stating the obvious.

    ¡°Is it connected with the lethargic beatdown I gave to the redhead?¡± asked Raven with a smirk.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s only a part of it. I just wanted you to learn more of the world.¡± answered Stein with a grin.

    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± asked Raven in a rude manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± answered Stein with one of his fingers before his lips.

    ¡°Tch, so when will our training start? I have things to do.¡± said Raven with a calm voice.

    Indeed, he had remembered something and that became his sole purpose for living now. As for what that is, most people would laugh at him while some would sympathize with Raven.

    ¡°Huh, the hell?! Why did you become a training maniac?¡± asked Stein with a wronged expression.

    ¡°In case you didn¡¯t know, I was close to that. And I just remembered something I have to do.¡± said Raven with a monotone voice, getting up promptly.

    Now that his powers came back, he didn¡¯t sustain much physical injuries, so it was easy for him to move around. In truth, the battle between Qu Xin and Raven was mostly mental, unlike the fight between Jet and Emily.

    ¡°Oh, then we¡¯ll start our training tomorrow.¡± said Stein, of course in real time.

    ¡°Let me guess, we¡¯ll celebrate in Tyrannos?¡± asked Raven in a sarcastic tone.

    ¡°Of course.¡± answered Stein with a smile, looking to the side ¡°You can come out now, Lucy.¡±

    The black and green haired woman appeared out of thin air next to Stein. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not that good at hiding.¡±

    ¡°You should at least hide your jades in a storage ring or something?¡± said Stein with a furrowed brow.

    ¡°No way, they¡¯re my identity.¡± she said while gently touching the necklace with 7 jades.

    ¡°Then just pop out from nowhere like you do, they¡¯re far better than being boo-ed in the middle of the night by someone I know where she is.¡± said Stein with a frown, looking at Lucy.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Oh, Raven, she said that due to some unforeseen circumstances your challenge will start in a month¡¯s time. Your sister will be there, and so will your grandpa, uncle and almost everyone connected to you by blood. Then there will be 2 of the 10 joining the fray.¡± said Lucy as she disappeared in a flash of green light.

    ¡°Well, this is better, I guess. Let¡¯s start full-speed training.¡± said Raven as he looked at Stein with strange eyes, eyes of someone with a purpose.

    Stein didn¡¯t get what Lucy meant, but he knew it was some kind of motivation for Raven, which was of course false.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± asked Raven with a clueless face.

    ¡°In the infirmary, you just exhausted all your energies, so you were just sleeping here.¡± answered Stein with a sigh. ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t think you would beat that qi boy.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡± asked Raven, as he knew those torturous times could never be a mere day.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Stein with curious eyes.

    ¡°How long have I been asleep?¡± clarified Raven with an irritated tone.

    ¡°3 days, if you count the day of the tournament.¡± answered Stein honestly.

    The two left the room in a moment as Raven rushed out the door. ¡°Where is the coronation taking place?¡±

    ¡°Outside.¡± answered Stein with a carefree tone while looking at him with curious eyes ¡°It¡¯s what the mountain is for.¡±

    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re starting it now. I don¡¯t want to waste precious time.¡± said Raven as his steps started quickening and he left the infirmary.

    Then Stein was thinking ¡®The hell, I didn¡¯t sign up for this.¡¯.

    He then took out something like a phone and clicked it a few times on different places and it started beeping. A voice came out of the crystal, asking what he wanted. Stein then answered ¡°Raven is awake and he wants the coronation to start.¡± The explanation was brief, but absolute.

    The other man answered (Ok, give me one hour.)

 Chapter 35 - Coronation (Part 1)

    The previously and always empty mountain was full of people today. It even made the desolated place look like a village of sorts. The one in the middle of all the attention was of course, the new Ruler, Raven.

    ¡°Did this school have so many students? ¡°asked Raven as he looked at the crowd and back at Stein a few times.

    ¡°No, there are some scouts here.¡± answered Stein.

    ¡°In case the Ruler is strong?¡± asked Raven with a bored tone.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± answered Stein with a weird smile.

    ¡®I wonder what this guy is thinking.¡± thought Raven as someone patted him on the back.

    ¡°Yo.¡± said Robert with a gleeful grin. ¡°Today¡¯ll be interesting.¡± He was dressed in casual clothes, much like the other students. He had a green short-sleeved shirt and blue shorts.

    ¡°The hell?! Even you?¡± shouted Raven in surprise.

    An unknown voice echoed through the mountain as a girl shouted loudly ¡°Raven Cangard, I challenge you for the seat of Ruler!!!¡±

    Looking at the owner of the voice, it was a petite girl with red twin tails and scarlet eyes. She was wearing a red one-piece dress.

    ¡°Here it comes.¡± mumbled Stein behind Raven¡¯s back. ¡°Today, anyone who challenges a Ruler and results in a loss will not be punished. Furthermore, a Ruler may not refuse.¡±

    Raven then facepalmed. ¡®This is what this stinky geezer was thinking.¡¯

    ¡°This works too.¡± he said with an evil smirk and gave his answer ¡°I accept your challenge.¡±

    [Blood Pact]

    Red lines started appearing all over her body in a mysterious looking manner and they shone a brilliant red. Raven could feel the girl¡¯s magic power plummet upwards.

    [Blood Lances]

    Dozens of sharp objects made of blood materialized all around Raven and launched at him with unbelievable speed. One would have been impaled with it, but that wasn¡¯t the case for Raven.

    He activated both [Steel Claws] and [Dragonic Scales], becoming impregnable. That wasn¡¯t all, he clawed and bit the hardened blood lances as if they were flesh.

    *Crack!*

    *Crack!*

    *Crack!*

    The lances all fell to the ground, turning into puddles of blood. He sinisterly licked his bloody lips and asked the girl ¡°Still want to fight?¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°Of course!!!¡± she shouted and the red lines brightened.

    [Soul Suppression]

    Raven used the skill he learned from Crow and days¡¯ worth of torture. It would allow one to, as implied by the name, suppress his opponent¡¯s spirit and overwhelm them.

    He had a smile on, on the other hand, the girl felt like she was being pushed to the ground by an unseen force. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if her opponent was using gravity magic, which in truth, he wasn¡¯t.

    She then channeled more energy into [Blood Pact], her empowerment skill and tried to resist the force. To her surprise, instead of fighting back, her body succumbed to the external power and fell to the ground.

    ¡°I give up!!!¡± shouted the girl. The pressure became even more and she couldn¡¯t move a muscle now. Fear hit her and she started screaming hysterically.

    Stein then interfered ¡°Okay, Adelaide has lost the match. If you WOULD, Raven.¡± He put an epitasis on the ¡®would¡¯.

    As if snapping out of a trance, Raven said ¡°Oh, I forgot.¡± and released the pressure on the poor girl. She quickly ran away.

    The crowd¡¯s eye was on him and he felt like he was suffocating. Raven in his past life, or Marcus for short, was quite the introvert in his past life. He regretted being such a gloomy kid before and decided to make sure that he would become a social person in this life.

    But, the anxiousness didn¡¯t disappear and he found himself in a situation that he was never in before. He could manage looking like some rare specimen, but this was different. Their eyes felt like flowers and daggers, some admiring, some lurking and some even hateful.

    ¡­

    1<sup>st</sup> Person POV (My first try, so tell me if I¡¯m doing it wrong.)

    Lao San (Qu Xin¡¯s first brother, the one with the blue hair, if you don¡¯t remember him)

    I looked at the crowd before me and could only smile in disbelief. This is the second time I saw this many people on the nearly abandoned mountain. The last one was during the coronation of Vivian. She was too cruel for the tastes of some and had attracted some dangerous people.

    If I really wanted to take the throne, Vivian wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect it. However, none of the stronger students wanted to risk permanent injuries. This of course, included me.

    A boy with orange hair approached me, who was dressed in awkward clothes. I knew this person all too well, even if I didn¡¯t want to. The person in front of me was, of course, The Kind King Robert.

    He was followed by a girl with snowy white hair, who of course, was The Ice Queen Laura. They were really close even though their personalities were different, at least from the outside. I knew that Laura would drop the cold act in private places which I found out accidentally.

    ¡°Hey San, long time no see.¡± said Robert with a smile.

    ¡°Yeah, had the honor of not meeting you since last year.¡± I answered with a sigh.

    ¡°Geez, you ought to stop that. You won¡¯t make friends like that.¡± said Robert pouting. Honestly, he was like a younger sibling.

    ¡°At least be more composed. I think the Ruler is in your house, what is he like?¡± I asked with a serious tone.

    Of course, Raven knew better than anger me in my serious mode. His eyes sharpened and he had a mature air around him now ¡°The best description would be a Freak.¡±

    ¡°So, he¡¯s just like you?¡± I asked with a surprised face.

    ¡°Nope, he¡¯s freakier than me.¡± answered Robert as the mature air disappeared.

    ¡°Oh, I got a big scoop this time around.¡± said I as I walked towards the Ruler¡¯s plateau.

    Raven was standing there with the principal and Litmus. I easily walked through the crowd with an unbelievable speed and patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°You should seriously stop that, Robe-¡° he said while turning back and stopped his sentence midway after seeing me ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m called Lao San, if you¡¯re interested, you can join the Disciplinary Committee.¡± I said as politely as possible.

    ¡°No way, I don¡¯t want to become some goody two shoes. I¡¯d rather join the mafia in the academy.¡± he answered, trampling on my expectations. Well, that¡¯s to be expected, he¡¯s that idiot¡¯s junior after all.

    ¡°Then how about joining the Committee if you lose a match against me?¡± asked San.

    The black-scaled dragonman looked back at the principal, who nodded and back at the smiling San. He should probably thinking something along these lines: ¡®I¡¯m so gonna get even.¡¯

 Chapter 36 - Coronation (Part 2)

    A black-scaled dragonman stood on the plateau, looking at a boy with blue hair. The former had a terrifying expression while the latter had a big grin on his face. He looked as if he managed to do something really great.

    But a party like this shouldn¡¯t start without a certain Warmonger who happened to be the rival of the blue-haired boy. ¡°Hey!!! I¡¯ll join in on the fun!¡± shouted a boy with purple hair, and sheepishly glanced at Stein who nodded with an annoyed expression.

    Raven saw the priceless look on San¡¯s face who was looking at Stein and Makarov at an interval. A little calmer, Raven¡¯s look softened considerably and he started laughing.

    He then took the time to look at the audience. Stein was standing with Robert and Laura at his side. Then there was Jet with a tired look standing near a mummy. Lily on the other hand, was as healthy as a deer. This made Raven a little bit relieved and his prior anger vanished.

    ¡°Principal, I was first, he shouldn¡¯t be allowed to join in.¡± said San with a begging look.

    ¡°Rules, my child.¡± said Stein with a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°He said it.¡± said Makarov with a wide grin, similar to the previous expression on San¡¯s face.

    The situation was already chaotic, but a certain someone decided to make it even more so. This was none other than the Boris from the cannon fodder group¡¯s minion. Although the servant of a weakling, he wasn¡¯t as such.

    He had a fearsome look and a muscular build, standing at around 2.5m tall, with a scar running through his right white eye. The person was wearing a dark green tank top and military pants. If one didn¡¯t see that he was attending Krouxorth, they¡¯d think the individual was a military general.

    This was a great contrast to the 2 teenagers, looking around the age of 18. They both didn¡¯t lack muscles, but they couldn¡¯t be called bulky. As for the clothes they were wearing, San wore loose brown pants and a long blue and white shirt without sleeves. He had tied the shirt with his belt and a small part could be seen hanging from below it.

    Makarov, on the other hand, was wearing a white tank top under an unbuttoned green military shirt and loose green military pants. In the fashion sense, he was close to the muscular one. They were both from the Larka Union, after all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll also join.¡± said the bulky man, to which the annoyed Stein, nodded his head.

    ¡°Geez, why do you have to ruin all the fun, Ivan?¡± asked Makarov.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who ruined it first!¡± shouted San.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll join in too.¡± said a girl. Stein looked at her and facepalmed. Why in the world would these idiots try to win him over?

    The last one was a girl with a petite build, but Raven got the feeling that she concealed immeasurable power. The girl had shoulder height black hair and hazel eyes. She was currently wearing a long red coat with a black sailor uniform under it, with a red tie, so this meant, she had a skirt.

    ¡°Wow, this is the first Japanese I saw since coming here.¡± mumbled Raven with a smirk.

    The girl had 2 sheathed tantos on her back, in horizontal positions. Raven knew that this was a far more logical choice than the upright one.

    There was also a small pouch tied to her right leg, who knows what is inside that.

    ¡°Not you too, Himiko!¡± shouted San with an expression showing that he was about to cry while Makarov almost fell to the ground while laughing.

    ¡°Battle Start!!!¡± shouted Stein, not even bothering to take out the microphone.

    The one who started the fight was Ivan, who threw a punch at Makarov. He dodged under it and sent an uppercut to his chin.

    Ivan kneed him in the abdomen and sent him flying. Makarov only smiled and grabbed the air as if it was solid, then he stood up in the air.

    During this time, Himiko and San were glaring at each other.

    *Bam!!!*

    The 2 clashed with their fists, and unbelievably, Himiko was gaining ground while San was clenching his teeth. She quickdrawed a tanto with her free hand and slashed at San¡¯s punching hand.

    He instantly pulled it back and leaped backwards at the same time. But Raven wouldn¡¯t just entrust his fate to some maniacs, so he attacked too. The means of attack was, of course, his favorite [Shadow Step] and [Shock Blade] combo.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    *Buzz!*

    The blade clearly hit him, but San stood unfazed.

    [Blue Lotus Flame]

    A blue flame appeared out of San¡¯s hand and rushed at Raven. But he skipped away through the shadows unhindered.

    Himiko, clearly angered that her opponent took his sight away from her, sent him flying with a punch to the abdomen.

    She then grabbed something from the pouch tied to her leg and threw it at San.

    *Boom!!!*

    A loud explosion occurred and San was sent flying due to the shockwave.

    ¡°You¡¯re using technology?!¡± he shouted.

    ¡°You¡¯re using qi, so it only makes sense.¡± she answered with a smirk.

    ¡°I¡¯m from a dynasty, qi is only natural to me.¡± retorted San.

    ¡°So that means it¡¯s only natural for me to use technology because I¡¯m from the Rising Empire.¡± said Himiko with a mocking tone.

    ¡°Have it your way!¡± shouted San and he started using qi in full throttle.

    A fist hit her in the stomach, sending her flying. But the assailant, San, looked at his hand in disbelief.

    ¡°Hey, is that even allowed?¡± he asked with wide eyes.

    ¡°Why of course, my dad¡¯s the Head Alchemist.¡± she answered and started shooting him.

    The reason San was startled was because of the armor she was wearing underneath her uniform. It was invisible so it couldn¡¯t be seen, but the effect was amazing, contrary to its slimness. It was called ¡®Bunkatsu Armor¡¯. It¡¯d divide the shockwave through the full body and lessen the initial impact. This was only given to military personnel or important people.

    The gun she was holding wasn¡¯t normal either. It was a jet black pistol, named ¡®Ryu Gun¡¯. It was named that because if used properly, it could possibly injure a dragon. Although Himiko wasn¡¯t far from that, it wasn¡¯t at that level yet.

    The pistol didn¡¯t shoot bullets. It used mana to create destructive blasts. So several rounds of blasts hit the place San was standing before. He had already run away.

    On the other side, Makarov and Ivan were in a fist fight.

    After seeing this, Stein said with a sigh ¡°This is a magic academy, guys, at least use a little bit of it.¡± He then looked at Himiko and smiled.

    ¡°The hell is with that look!?¡± she shouted with a blush.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only one who is using mana.¡± said Stein with a carefree tone. He then pointed at some seemingly random place and said ¡°He isn¡¯t using pure magic.¡±

    Where he pointed, was Raven, who was hiding in the shadows and looking for an opportunity. When he was fully submersed in shadows, he appeared somewhere he liked to call, The Shadow Realm.

    It was just like the real world, but there was no light, at all. However, there were some places that showed events on the other side, meaning, in the real world. Those places were the places with shadow and the ones devoid of it were the places filled with light.

    Raven and Jet could access it freely, but their magic would run out and they¡¯d be trapped there if they stayed there for long, at least in theory. They didn¡¯t know if they would actually be forced back. None of the two were willing to take such a risk.

    San punched Ivan away, sending him flying and used a qi-based attack.

    [Lotus Flame Fist]

    His fists got enveloped by blue flames and he punched Makarov in the abdomen. It left a charred skin in its wake and sent the recipient flying.

    What he did was similar to magic, but he used the ability of his Martial Spirit. Although most were normal animals, in some rare cases, mythical animals or plants and objects could occur. The one he had was a Mythical Plant-type Martial Spirit.

    The name was ¡®Geocentric Flame Lotus¡¯, as such, he could use fire even though he doesn¡¯t have a talent in magic for it.

    Makarov jumped out of the building he crashed into and sent a punch at San¡¯s face, sending him flying away. If one would look at Makarov, they¡¯d see that the previously charred skin had already healed. However, his tank top had a nasty hole.

    Himiko shot at Makarov, which he blocked by swing of his hand.

    What made Terra interesting was, in fact not the widespread magic alone, but what could rival it. There were many kinds of energies in the world: Qi, Worldly Energy, Mana and many more. There were some that dominated the others, but they went extinct with time, only leaving the most adaptive in doing that.

    Currently, there were 8 widespread, or specifically, well-known types of energies and bloodlines.

    <ol>

    <li>Magic</li>

    <li>Qi</li>

    <li>Worldly Energy</li>

    <li>Berserker Blood</li>

    <li>Curse</li>

    <li>Chaos</li>

    <li>Miasma</li>

    <li>Virtue</li>

    </ol>

    Although the first 5 were equal, the last 3 were in another league. As they were the energies used by the 3 primordial beings. Which were Virtue by Angels and descendants of Yahweh, Miasma by demons and devils, Chaos by Drakons otherwise known as Dragon Gods.

    After some research, Raven found out that there are in fact Angels and a church, not to mention The One, Demons and Devils too. Surprisingly, they came into existence before the Titans and Gods. The timeline was somehow blurred and he couldn¡¯t know if Gods, Demons and Angels were connected or not.

    If Terra was like Earth, then the Church might have blurred the past and made it so that their Lord was primordial or who knows, that was just a theory.

    Anyways, back to the story. Makarov was using the energy known as Curse, Ivan too. Actually, the Larka Union consisted of Curse users. In this sense, they were like Kuruth Kingdom.

    Curse, unlike magic or qi and worldly energy, was unique to every person. No two people could be born with the same type of Curse. Although named a Curse, it was more of a blessing with a slight drawback.

    Makarov¡¯s curse was ¡®Crystal Physique¡¯. His body was actually made of crystal and was harder than steel and comparable to diamond. The side-effect would be something really stupid, and that was ¡­ let¡¯s leave it for a later date.

    He then shot up towards Himiko, who used the shockwave from the shot to send herself to the side.

    She then consecutively fired her gun in desperation. Thankfully, Ivan punched him away.

    ¡°Okay, the other 2 contestants are out of bounds!¡± shouted Stein gleefully.

    ¡°The hell!? At least tell the conditions before you do that!¡± shouted San, red like a tomato.

    ¡°I agree, that¡¯s unfair!!!¡± shouted Makarov with an angry expression.

    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m strong, you¡¯re weak. I¡¯m right, you¡¯re wrong.¡± said Stein, covering his ears and acting as if he didn¡¯t hear it.

    The 2 knew that an argument with him would only waste their breath and they didn¡¯t want to anger him either.

    Ivan¡¯s eyes were wide when he heard that. ¡°I give up!!!¡± he shouted hurriedly as Himiko innocently pulled out a large rifle from the small pouch, and slowly aimed it at him.

 Chapter 37 - Research Club

    Himiko was walking towards the Research Clubroom with a smile, holding Raven¡¯s hand. Behind the 2, Laura was walking, ready to pounce at her in a moment¡¯s notice.

    The coronation stuff ended with Himiko winning and no one wanted to fight her for Raven¡¯s allegiance. As for why he gave up, it was simple. After watching her utterly dominate San and scare away Ivan, fighting her was the last thing on his list. Anyways, joining a Research Club didn¡¯t sound so bad.

    Stein had a large smile on his face. He supposedly wanted Raven to join the Research Club and get his hands on some weapons, which would in turn strengthen him. Remembering his conversation with Lulu, it seemed the case.

    She dragged him into a room to the fourth floor and opened a door. The ones tailing them were left behind as Himiko closed the door.

    What Raven saw inside was a high-tech lab. It was arranged in a neat manner with weapons lined one after another on the left side and a big window on the other side, with a metal sliding door next to it.

    ¡°This is our clubroom.¡± said Himiko as she ran inside and pointed and started naming them feverishly, finishing with ¡°any one of the club members can use these sweeties.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, what¡¯s this place for?¡± asked Raven as he looked through the thick glass. What was on the other side a large room with white metal making up its walls, ceiling and floor.

    ¡°That¡¯s for target practice.¡± said Himiko as she pressed a button from one of the dozens on the control panel below the window.

    As she pressed the small yellow button, the floor opened up and 4 scarecrow-like things appeared from it, the floor closed up below them.

    Himiko pat his shoulder and handed him a big black rifle with one hand as if it was the normal thing to do. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can hit them.¡±

    *Nod*

    Honestly, although Raven knew about guns and stuff, he was never some weapon freak so there was no way for him to know how to use a gun. Except that one time he killed someone with a pistol he stole from a policeman, or that time he killed some annoying Christian that blabbered on about what was wrong or right, or the time he hit a kid in the head with a M4A1 model.

    When Himiko placed it on his hands and took away her hands, Raven noticed its weight. ¡®Wow, these things might be heavier than Earth¡¯s guns.¡¯

    Although heavy, his dragonman physique could still move it, but not to the point of using a normal sword. ¡°That¡¯s called Bakufu, it can release a big explosion but the recoil isn¡¯t something that normal people should be messing with.¡± she smiled ¡°but you can use qi, right?¡±

    ¡°I suppose. And can I ask something?¡± said Raven as dozens of thought ran across his mind.

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re my precious club member, after all.¡± said Himiko with a carefree tone. Raven got the impression that she was acting all innocent and stuff.

    ¡°How do these work?¡±

    ¡°You want me to reveal classified information?¡± asked Himiko with a mocking tone as she looked at him in a playful manner.

    ¡°Nah, I won¡¯t force you if you don¡¯t want to.¡± said Raven and turned to leave.

    ¡°Hey, wait up. I was just kidding.¡± she said and her expression turned to the time that she was explaining the weapons ¡°The handles have mana absorbers that can intake energy, of which half is used to create the force to fire the remaining rest that is condensed into a mana ball. We like to call it ¡®bullet¡¯.¡± she said, puffing up her chest as if it was something great and all.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Does it have some kind of mana crystal or something like that to do that?¡± asked Raven, now curious.

    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s all mechanic. Once mana is input, it starts moving the gears inside and voila, you can shoot.¡± said Himiko as she did a hand gesture as if she was shooting.

    ¡°Interesting, let¡¯s try it.¡± said Raven with an excited tone. He wanted to try this world¡¯s firearms.

    ¡°Ok.¡± she said as she pressed a big green button. The door opened and Raven descended down stairs made of the same material as its surroundings.

    Himiko had stayed upstairs and was watching him through the thick and probably bullet-proof window. ¡°Ok, just let your mana flow into the handles and aim as much as you can.¡±

    Raven then nodded and wore the glasses he was given just now. This was probably made of very hard material, and it was like sunglasses.

    He willed his mana into the handle as she said and he heard something click. The rifle started heating up considerably and a giant beam of blue light shot through the air.

    *Bang!!!*

    The beam hit a wall and Raven hit his face with the gun because of the recoil. But what was left astonished even Himiko.

    Raven was close to mastering the power output of the weapon, even closer than herself after years of practice, is what she thought. But in truth, it was all thanks to his qi-infused mana, not to mention the elemental affinities.

    What he did just now was due to his Lightning Aura subconsciously being released instead of mana.

    ¡°Hey, kid, do you want to marry me?¡± asked Himiko with an amazed expression.

    ¡°Wait, what? Isn¡¯t it too fast?¡± asked Raven with a calm look.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that the empire might need you.¡± she answered as her face contorted to a perverse one ¡°And you¡¯re handsome anyways.¡±

    At times like these, Raven could only curse Robert for teaching him qi. Although he couldn¡¯t say that he wasn¡¯t handsome before, it became apparent after the cleansing thingy. He could feel the entire room dropping a few degrees in temperature as she said that.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get to the main point. In a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you think I¡¯d measure in talent?¡± asked Raven as he noticed that Himiko was acting strange.

    ¡°It¡¯d be hovering in the high thirties.¡± she said with a giggle and looked at him with playful eyes.

    ¡°Seriously? So I only need to learn how to aim?¡± asked Raven with a proud look.

    ¡°That¡¯s only the first part. The great thing about weapons is that different kinds can do different things. Let¡¯s take the Bakufu model you¡¯re holding and the pistols I used during the previous fight. While your rifle offers explosive power but needs some time to charge and aim while my pistols can be fired almost instantly which needs nearly no time to charge.¡± she said knowingly.

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it. I was wondering why there are so many kinds.¡± said a male voice from behind Himiko. She responded by quickly spinning around and pointing her pistol at point blank range to the speaker¡¯s head.

    ¡°If I remember right, you¡¯re the one that fought the berserker girl. What are you doing here?¡± said Himiko with a serious tone.

    ¡°Well, I saw my best friend going in and thought I could learn something new. Anyways, I have blackmail material.¡± said Jet as he jiggled with the camera in his hand.

    Raven only sighed and told Himiko ¡°Sorry for his rudeness, he doesn¡¯t care about the consequences of his actions.¡±

    ¡°Nah, whatever. Do you wanna join the club?¡± asked Himiko with stars in her eyes.

    ¡°Umm¡­ What club?¡± asked Jet with a clueless face. Raven sighed again but Himiko started energetically introducing the club again.

    ¡°This is the Magic Weapon Research Club, which most people shorten to Research Club. We study magic weapons and how to use them, the models are mostly from The Rising Empire¡¯s Sun and Moon Kingdoms. Currently there are 3 members in this club, so do you wanna join?¡±

    ¡°3? Isn¡¯t that below the requirements for a club?¡± Jet asked extravagantly.

    A vein started bulging on Himiko¡¯s temple, but she was still smiling. ¡°Yes, and if you join, we¡¯ll become an official club and get funding from the school.¡±

    ¡°Wait a sec, does that mean these weapons weren¡¯t bought with the school fund?¡± asked Raven, not believing his ears.

    ¡°Nope, and I can¡¯t say I bought them. Someone I know sends me prototypes of the weapons monthly and these aren¡¯t the complete versions.¡± said Himiko holding her head as if she was having a headache.

    ¡°That means these weapons are weaker?!¡± shouted Raven with wide eyes.

    ¡°Nope, some are too strong and use up more energy while some are flawed and might break easily.¡± she said, pointing to her back with her thumb ¡°Those are the broken ones.¡±

    Raven and Jet turned their eyes to the broken parts and were shocked senseless. Jet asked ¡°I-Is it safe to use these?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± said Himiko with an overly sweet tone.

 Chapter 38 - Ogre Lord

    A black scaled dragonman stood looking at a white-haired boy a foot shorter than him. Actually, it wasn¡¯t a boy at all and his age probably exceeded hundred.

    They were in a forest and Raven could hear loud footsteps coming from everywhere. The boy broke the long lasting silence ¡°Ok, I enraged the monsters in the forest so they¡¯ll attack you. Think of this as some kind of entrance exam.¡± He then flew up with magic.

    ¡°Good luck!¡± he shouted at the top of his child voice.

    Raven only sighed and looked to the right, where the first one appeared. It was the same baboon as the one he met when first coming into the pocket dimension. The baboon pushed aside the two trees, breaking them apart.

    A smirk appeared on Raven¡¯s face and he shouted while launching at the baboon with a wicked grin ¡°Let¡¯s see how much I improved!¡±

    He enveloped himself with Lightning Aura mid-flight and his speed drastically increased.

    ¡°Bam!!!*

    The baboon was sent flying, through more than a dozen trees. As the trees that obstructed his vision were no more, he could see that there were many more, so many more monsters.

    A small hyena-like monster jumped at him with incredible speed, but he punched it in the abdomen and it went back the way it came.

    A big hawk flew down to him and used a peck attack, hitting the busy Raven on the head. Currently, his hands were full of miniature monsters as the bigger ones only stood without doing anything.

    He threw the ones on his right hand to the hawk and punched away all the monsters on his other hand.

    *Crack!*

    Sensing something amiss, Raven instantly jumped to the side. He was right.

    An enormous centipede, twice as long as a bus, burst out from the ground where he stood mere seconds ago. Its pincers looked sharp, more like a blade than a body part. He could only imagine what would have become of him if that hit.

    The centipede then maneuvered its body sloppily and attacked Raven yet again. He of course, was far faster than the centipede and dodged. It then dove into the ground, concealing itself again.

    Looking at the monsters watching from the side, he knew it was far from over. ¡°Geezer, just know that I¡¯ll get even!!!¡± shouted Raven as he activated Soul Aura and braced himself.

    ¡­

    I am a reincarnator. Yes, I was brought to a fantastic world called Terra by a kind goddess named Eris. It¡¯s what many people wish and only a few people have the chance of their wish being granted.

    Luckily, she chose me as one of the fortunate 10 who had the opportunity to have a second try at life, so I decided, that I¡¯d do everything in my power to become a figure of influence and change the world. Yes, it¡¯s exactly the opposite of my old life as a single worker. Oh, did I mention that I¡¯ll try to get a harem by any means necessary. It doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ll force them, it just means I¡¯ll be extremely active at wooing them.

    Many would think that might not be possible, after all, I¡¯m an ogre. Although an ogre, the goddess was kind enough to bless me with the best possible vessel for my soul.

    Unlike the other ugly variants, I became a giant muscular man with dark skin, white hair and red eyes. The middle-sized horns on my head only served to enhance my handsomeness.

    At first, it was tough to fend off all the hungry ogres that looked at me with ravenous eyes, but it soon became a norm and evolved into an obsession. Now I was quite fond of beating up those weaker than me. I admit it, I was a weakling in my old life, but this one, not so much.

    ¡°Boss, we have a new harvest.¡± said the left head of a two headed ogre to his left. It was a male. His skin was blue and one head had a fang sticking out of its mouth while the other one had horns. This ogre was called Ra¡¯gukk. He¡¯d be handsome by ogre standards, but if any human woman saw her, well, you get the point.

    ¡°How many?¡± I asked while resting my head on one of my knuckles, sitting on a big wooden chair with lots of pillows aka the throne.

    ¡°8 men, 4 women and 1 boy.¡± said Ra¡¯gukk with a gleeful smile as he spelled the last part.

    ¡°Stop that foolishness. I won¡¯t allow my subordinates to do such things!¡± I hissed at him, making a scary expression.

    As if realizing his mistakes, the ogre kneeled on one knee ¡°Of course, that was just a slip of the tongue.¡±

    Although Ra¡¯gukk was vulgar, he was smarter than most, comparable to an average human. Some could only obey orders and speak broken Terranian while some would just scratch their heads at my complicated commands. I made them do the hard labor, teaching them the hard way.

    The hanging woolen door swung up as several women were thrown in. As they said, there was one boy.

    One was an old woman with grey hair, the other was a pretty young girl with brown hair and the last one was a 30 something woman with red hair and killing intent. She might be a warrior.

    As for the boy, he seemed to be the son of the last woman, as I saw the woman trying to calm him. He had the same color hair and was around 10.

    The horrified expression on their faces turned into that of hope as they saw me, at least until they saw my horns.

    ¡°W-Who are you!¡± shouted the old one ¡°Why did you attack our village?¡±

    ¡°You can call me The Ogre Lord. As for the reason, I think you know.¡± I said with a sweet smile.

    ¡°You can do whatever you like with us, but please let my brother go.¡± begged the woman with red hair.

    ¡°I think you know how futile it is.¡± I answered, sending her to the depths of despair. Although I was quite a kind person in my last life, now I somehow get pleasure from others¡¯ pain and suffering. The problem was soon pushed away as a something that all ogres have. Anyways, I chose the path of the Dark Lord this time around, roleplaying included.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can get away with this, my father is a Marquis. He¡¯ll start an inquisition to purge you all!!!¡± shouted the young one. Now that I looked at her attire, she might have been a noble.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so scared. I¡¯ll let you go this instant.¡± I said with a sarcastic tone as I motioned at Ra¡¯gukk with my hand. He only smiled in return, producing a few knights with torn and dent armors from a storage ring, previously a storage bracer in human hands. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, those warriors should be the comrades of these weaklings.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The corpses were wearing shiny armor with a red wolf insignia on the right side of their chest. The armors looked well-made and shouldn¡¯t have dented so easily.

    ¡°Y-You killed The Red Wolves?!¡± shouted the girl in shock as the others similarly paled.

    ¡°Hmm? Were they supposed to be some kind of elite unit?¡± I asked, knowing the answer full-well. Apparently, they were the strongest unit under the control of Barta Kingdom, the one nearest to my home, Laughing Ocelot Wood.

    ¡°Well, they shouldn¡¯t resist now, take them away.¡± I said with a calm, yet loud voice as a few ugly ogres came in and dragged them away, all the while smiling. ¡°Send the boy to heavy labor, if anyone harasses him, I¡¯ll personally give a lesson to that fool.¡±

    The sentence sent shivers down Ra¡¯gukk¡¯s back and one ogre stopped for a moment before continuing his movement.

    I sighed ¡®Geez, is the beauty standard so low in this world? Or was I born in a bad place?¡¯

    ¡°Ra¡¯gukk, prepare the White Skulls, we¡¯re going for a siege.¡± I said, promptly standing up, and walking towards my wardrobe.

    He left the room with a gleeful grin on his face, licking his lips occasionally.

    I looked at the cracked mirror and admired my razor fangs and handsome face. 5 years of plundering and still no undamaged mirror came into my hands.

    Ogres grew quickly, too quickly. By the age of 5, I was already a grown-up. From then on, I conquered the tribe in a half year and easily became the chief. Then I started plundering some travelers and soon started attacking villages. Another 5 years passed in a flash, and now I was currently 10 years old, sitting on a throne.

    Although the maximum age of ogres was set at 20, it was mostly due to their barbaric and foolish nature, sacrificing their lives for something insignificant or just simply walking into traps. I¡¯m not one of them, so I¡¯ll live a long life.

    I opened the closet, revealing a few sets of pseudo-clean clothes. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m going for a bloodbath, so I guess this would suffice.¡± I said, pulling out a red long jacket and black trousers. I then changed into those clothes from my usual yellow jacket and white pants.

    I don¡¯t wear shirts or tank-tops, wearing a jacket over my naked chest, revealing the rock-hard muscles, intimidating most opponents.

    Walking out the door, I saw a large group of bulky and giant green men with big fangs protruding from their bottom lip. They would stand shoulder to shoulder with most giants, and they had pointy green ears. These were called ¡®Orcs¡¯, one of the strongest variants of Ogre and one of the most widespread.

    The orcs wore brown short-like clothing and nothing else, their muscles easily making up for light armor. Their most striking feature would be the white paint on their faces, looking like a painting of a skull, the name White Skulls coming from that.

    I stood looking at them from a higher wooden platform, dozens of huts surrounding my larger one, ogres and humans shambling around, the ogres being the majority.

    ¡°My brothers, today, we¡¯ll attack the accursed Barta Kingdom, the one that nearly drove our people to extinction!!!¡± I shouted with all my might. ¡°This time, we¡¯ll bring the fight to them!¡±

    Cheers started echoing from below, some not understanding, yet celebrating. None of my words led them to misfortune, after all. The humans shivered and the tribesmen cheered with the bunch.

    Ra¡¯gukk jumped up to the platform and taking his rightful place at my side, as my right hand man. He too, was happy, but didn¡¯t cheer, with the grin residing on his face. Ra¡¯gukk was a variant of Ogre called ¡®Magi¡¯, who could access the energy of magic and use spells. Fearing their might, the humans killed all but 2, Ra¡¯gukk and his younger brother, who were hunting during the fight.

    I whispered to Ra¡¯gukk ¡°Assemble the alliance.¡± A small creature with the face of a pig appeared near him and nodded, promptly disappearing as quickly as he appeared. As for the alliance, I brought the 7 Warlords of the forest together and created something akin to an alliance.

    ¡°Rise, brothers, for tomorrow we¡¯ll feast. But we will have to slaughter those pesky humans before.¡± The orcs stood up, flexing their muscular body. ¡°Prepare for war.¡± I said, before walking towards the forest clearing.

    I passed the dozens of huts and loving gazes of many female ogres, shrugging them off. The forest clearing was a few hundred meters away from the village and that was the place we call The Summit.

    A wild boar stood before me, ignoring my presence or just unaware. After turning to look at me, it stood in place for a few seconds before rushing away, breaking countless trees in the process. It would be wise to mention that the boar was 2 meters in height and 3 in length, with tusks the size of a sword.

    The clearing was in plain sight as it made its way, rushing to the side after seeing the others, perhaps. I appeared there in a matter of seconds, 300 meters away, with my improved speed.

    ¡°Oh, Yakur, you¡¯re here.¡± said a small man with the face of a pig, the same race as the scout from before, a Kobold. His height was around a meter at best.

    ¡°As fast as always, Vark.¡±  I said, looking at the small man, wearing the fur of a small brown beast, holding a thick bone the size of a dagger.

    ¡°The others should be here about now.¡± said Vark, closing his eyes.

    A big red humanoid that would dwarf the ogres, standing over 3 meters, walked out of the woods, pushing trees to the side. He had bulging muscles and had a giant wooden club at his waist, kept in place by a giant green silk belt. It was a Giant.

    He had 3 pairs of small yellow eyes and a bald head. His voice was deep, and would shatter eardrums if screamed with ¡°Well, well, if it isn¡¯t our ¡®King¡¯.¡± he said with a sarcastic tone.

    ¡°Do you want me to teach you some manners again?!¡± I shouted with a grin, showing off my fangs.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to pass on that.¡± he said, taking a seat on the ground and making himself comfortable. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to fight before her, right?¡±

    I looked at the place he pointed and saw a petite woman, smaller than the average human, with wings on her back, flying in the air. She was followed by 2 similar people. Their faces and clothes were exactly the same, all except their hair color.

    The one in the lead had scarlet hair while the 2 in the back had yellow. She was the queen of the Fairies, called Titania by her people. She didn¡¯t have any weapons

    Then another woman appeared from the woods. This time, it was a normal-sized person, for titan¡¯s sake. She had a fiery look and brown eyes, with 2 beast ears and unkempt yellow hair. There was also a fluffy yellow tail at her back. Her body wasn¡¯t muscular, but looked athletic. She didn¡¯t have any weapons either.

    ¡°Hmm, so it only leaves Tigra and Shasha.¡± said Vark with a know-it-all tone.

    ¡°¡±I¡¯m here.¡±¡± said 2 people as they appeared from 2 sides of the forest. Tigra was the king of tigers, as implied by the name, with 2 round reddish orange ears on top of her head with black patterns and hair the same color as that. As for his body, he was quite muscular, wearing a green tank top and military trousers. He also had the tail the same color as his hair. Somehow, they got their hands on, or could make military clothes. There was also a sheathed dagger, tied into his thigs, not to mention a longsword on his back.

    As for Shasha, it was a lizardman with red skin and a muscular big tail. He had a giant bone at his waist, kept in place by a belt. He was wearing something like a skirt and didn¡¯t wear anything on his upper body.

    ¡°Now that you have all assembled, let me ask you a question.¡± I said, as the others nodded, implying that they¡¯d answer truthfully. ¡°Do you hate humans?¡±

    The kobold, lizardman, tiger and lion instantly shouted ¡°Yes!¡±

    The Titania said ¡°Although I can¡¯t call it hate, I won¡¯t idly stand still while they chip away at our forest.¡±

    The giant then stated his opinion ¡°They¡¯re tasty, so I¡¯m in.¡±

    ¡°Then let me tell you, I¡¯m launching a siege on the Kingdom of Barta. Even if you won¡¯t come with me, even if I¡¯m alone, the siege will take place.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t that bring more harm than good?¡± said the giant. Although he acted and looked dumb, he wasn¡¯t like that.

    ¡°Oh, how so?¡± asked Titania, who was oblivious to the workings of the world, contrary to her queen position.

    ¡°Barta is the weakest of the kingdoms in the Graki Empire, they might see us as a threat and truly destroy us after our win.¡± reasoned the giant.

    ¡°Grakk has a point, we should think this more thoroughly.¡± said Lioness, the lionwoman.

    ¡°I said it before, even if you don¡¯t join me, the siege will happen.¡± I insisted.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t blame me for trying to stop you.¡± said the giant, Grakk, readying his mace and standing up.

    ¡°Hmm, looking for another beating!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°My life is insignificant compared to my clan as a whole. Even if I have to die, I must stop you.¡± said Grakk ¡°Won¡¯t you join me, Titania, Lioness?¡±

    ¡°No, it might be better for us.¡± said Tigra, breaking the minute-long silence.

    ¡°What do you mean?! We¡¯ll all die if he attacks!¡± shouted Grakk.

    ¡°The attacks are starting to become more frequent and the warriors are undoubtedly far stronger than the initial waves.¡± said Vark, he was the brains of the Warlords, even more so than Grakk.

    ¡°So that means, they are cooperating with another kingdom?¡± said Grakk as he sat down.

    ¡°That might be the case, if we catch them off guard, we might be able to fight them off.¡± said Tigra, ¡°We might gain the advantage with walls.¡± he added.

    ¡°Mark my word, Yakur, if it puts my clan in danger, I¡¯ll be the one to take your life.¡± said Grakk, as he calmed down.

    ¡°Of course, if you can that is.¡± I answered, before standing up ¡°Prepare your troops, we¡¯ll meet at the southern border at noon.¡±

 Chapter 39 - Human Form

    ¡°Eris, say, can I bring souls from Earth to Terra?¡± said Raven, looking up at the endless grey sky, lying on a sofa.

    The beautiful woman with blue hair, currently playing some video game answered ¡°Well, you can, but you have a far way to go.¡±

    The man with black hair and red eyes, no scales in sight, asked ¡°Which means?¡±

    ¡°A divine being like myself used up all my mana to summon only 10 people, what makes you think you can do it?¡± said Eris with an amused voice.

    ¡°Because Crow is sitting next to me, who utterly dominates gods and the like that helps me, by the way.¡± said Raven, pointing to a man looking much like himself, but wearing a cloak with feathers at the top.

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you unless you tell me the reason.¡± pouted the goddess, looking cute while doing that.

    ¡°I just want to bring an old friend.¡± he said, looking away.

    ¡°That person has to be dead to bring him or her here, do you truly want to kill that person just to sate your selfish desires?¡± asked the goddess, with a more mature tone than before.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± said Raven with a long sigh.

    ¡°That could work, oh look, it¡¯s time.¡± said Crow from the side as Raven was forced out from the dream world.

    ¡­

    Raven opened his eyes, noticing the childish face of Stein looking at him from point blank range. ¡°The hell?!¡± shouted Raven, pushing him away.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t wake up so I was thinking of trying more serious measures.¡± said Stein, standing up from the ground. ¡°Today is the last day of your training, so I think a spar will suffice.¡±

    ¡°With you?¡± asked Raven, regaining his composure.

    ¡°Of course not, you can spar with Himiko, San, Ivan and Makarov.¡± said Stein with a large smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s better than fighting a monster.¡± said Raven with a smirk. Indeed, Stein served as his sparring partner for the past 3 months, even though he wasn¡¯t serious even a little bit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so arrogant, they aren¡¯t as weak as you think they are.¡± pouted Stein ¡°Although you have the power to back it up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m flattered.¡± said Raven, as he looked at a mirror, admiring his human body. By using [Body Modification], he could now freely change between human and dragonman form.

    ¡­

    (Flashback)

    *Puff!*

    A green smoke emanated from Raven¡¯s body, soon dissipating. What was left now was a fragile looking old man. He then spoke with a hoarse voice ¡°Stein, what the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°Failure is the road to success, you can use that for hiding for example.¡± said the overly excited Stein as he went through the basics of [Body Modification] magic and all.

    *Puff!*

    A putrid-smelling purple smoke came out as Raven changed yet again, this time he became a ¡­ baby dragon.

    Indeed, he had turned into a terrifyingly adorable small baby dragon with glistening black scales and shiny fangs. It had small wings, incapable of providing flight yet.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s close, but you need to go to the other side.¡± taught Stein as he looked at the failed attempt with interest.

    Raven had modified his body into his draconic side, instead of the desired human form. Then it happened.

    *Puff!*

    A black-haired 4-year old appeared out of the smoke, which had a look as if he was about to cry, not to mention him being naked.

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s close, but you have to modify your body to your liking how I taught you.¡± added in Stein as Raven prepared to use it.

    He tried to change his bone and flesh, bringing unbelievable pain. ¡°Hold on.¡± encouraged Stein from the side. His spine cracked in a painful manner and his skin felt like it was being stretched, not to mention the aching muscles.

    What now stood before Stein was a handsome 16 year old boy with black hair and red eyes. ¡°Stein, give me antibiotics next time.¡±

    That was how he first learned how to transform into a human, the hard way.

    ¡­

    He looked at the fruits of his hard work and smiled. That was a painful experience indeed, growing his bones and stretching his flesh forcefully.

    ¡°Lucy said that she¡¯ll come pick you up the day after tomorrow.¡± said Stein with a smile, looking for any signs of surprise on the boy¡¯s face, finding none.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going, I want some rest before the war.¡± answered Raven and thought of the secret technique Crow taught him, although he didn¡¯t want to use it if he had a choice.

    ¡°Sure, sure, my dear apprentice.¡± said Stein with an overly sweet tone, as they exited through the door, finding themselves in a bizarre world both of them knew fully well. This was the depths Tyrannos World, with strong monsters and sudden climate changes.

    Before long, dozens of beasts attracted by the smell of humans appeared out of the thick jungle: a pack of brown wolves with strange purple claws and eyes, too many to count orange-furred monkeys hanging from the trees, their eyes filled with bloodthirst.

    Raven released his claws and the scales on his hand, slashing at the relentless attack of the wolves. The monkeys threw hard stones at Raven with a speed comparable to a speeding car.

    But he didn¡¯t bother dodging it. He instead chose the straightforward way of parrying them with his claws and kicking some away in the process. His movements didn¡¯t resemble a martial art or any intelligent series of movements, no, it resembled a beast fighting with its instincts alone.

    After 3 months¡¯ worth of fighting with animals, he started copying the movements of some animals and it soon developed into some kind of fighting form, if it could be called that. He even gave it a name: Mixed Animal Movements shortened to MAM.

    A wolf scratched him from the side and another one sunk its fangs into his ribs, yet another one biting his right arm. Annoyed by the bites, he used Lightning Aura, shocking the ones currently biting him.

    His speed doubled and he started tearing through the formation of 36 wolves as if warm knife through butter.

    A minute later, only shredded remains of wolves remained as the monkeys retreated.

    *Clap!

    *Clap!*

    *Clap!*

    ¡°Wow, you became quite the little monster yourself.¡± said Stein from the side, a few dozen fallen monkeys near him. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for you to enter the tournament.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going for a war and you want me to fight in a measly tournament?¡± shouted Raven angrily.

    ¡°Geez, there are some SSS ranks there, you know.¡± said Stein, scratching the back of his head.

    ¡°The same as you?¡± asked Raven with a surprised face.

    ¡°Nope, being in the same or lower class doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re weaker than them, as seen in your fight against Vivian.¡± answered Stein with a know-it-all tone.

    Reassured, they both flew towards the dorm, with no beast obstructing their path. This time, however, Raven didn¡¯t use his wings. He instead turned into a lightning. The seemingly long path took only an hour to traverse.

    And here they were, looking at the castle serving as a dorm.

    *Grab!*

    Someone hugged Raven from behind. He turned his back with much difficulty, noticing long blue hair. ¡°Ur?¡±

    ¡°Bingo!¡± shouted the girl from behind.

    ¡°Your grip is stronger.¡± commented Raven as he pushed her aside.

    ¡°Geez, you¡¯re no fun anymore.¡± pouted Ur as she revealed a part of her bosom, trying to make it look accidental.

    After some time looking at it, Raven said ¡°It became bigger too.¡±

    ¡°Yep, you aren¡¯t any fun.¡± she said and turned around to leave.

    The castle door screeched open and 3 people emerged. The childishly clothed Robert, Litmus in a white coat and Jet wearing some white martial arts clothes?

    Jet appeared near him instantly, swinging the spear he produced from his storage ring.

    *Grab!*

    Raven grabbed it without even looking to the side.

    *Swish!*

    the spear started rotating and pushed through his grip, similar to a drill.

    Raven turned into a blue lightning and launched upwards, with a yellow one following closely behind. The yellow lightning had a black tip, seemingly the spear.

    The two lightning danced around the sky, descending after a minute, turning back into humans.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the welcome!¡± shouted Raven as he threw a glare at Jet.

    ¡°I¡¯m just checking your new form.¡± said Jet with a nonchalant tone. ¡°It¡¯s sturdier than I thought.¡±

    ¡°I just changed the appearance and age, the base is the same.¡± answered Raven with a sigh.

 Hiatus

    Sorry everyone, I just became too busy to continue writing my fictions and will be for a long time. So I guess this means I''m on Hiatus because I might come back after a while or maybe not.

    There are 3 main reasons:If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    1)Exams, exams and many more exams.

    2)I''m in high school and have to study real hard unless I want to become some homeless writer.

    3)My little sister (1 year old) is coming back from her grandparents'' house and I have to look after her.

    And again,I hope you understand.

    Goodbye, maybe forever.