ã€ŠA Bored Immortal&#x27;s Adventure with Reincarnationã€‹


 Prologue Part 1 PR

    I was born immortal and possessed infinite powers, I had no parents, I simply popped into existence. In fact, I was the only thing that existed at that time, but luckily a single ball of indeterminate substance soon joined me.

    As soon as it appeared , I, of course, floated over to the ball and punched as hard as I could.

    What? Stop judging me, I was just born, it''s not like I had time to develop common sense.

    In fact, you should thank me, because as soon as I punched it, the ball exploded into an infinite number of smaller balls that in their own turn began to change slowly into spiral bits of particles, which their inhabitants would later call universes. Haha, that''s right, I''m the reason you exist at all~

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Anyway, the particles gradually grew into worlds and were populated with life, so then I had a fun time exploring, conquering, and occasionally destroying all of the worlds.

    The boredom hit after a couple millennia....

    EVERYTHING was too easy!!

    Everything was so weak that even against .00000001% it would be destroyed, nothing was a challenge to me.

    So then I drifted down to one of the planets I had accidentally turned into a bare rock and decided to mope around for a while, maybe in a few more millennia, there would be some stronger people around.

    I know, pathetic, but luckily for me, that was when I met the being known as Fate.

 Prologue Part 2 PR

    As I was sitting around on a pile of rocks, a beautiful girl suddenly appeared in front of me!

    She had brilliant blue eyes and a heart shaped face that was framed by wavy golden hair and her long lithe body was draped in a white dress that nicely offset her sun-kissed skin.

    She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "You there, tell me what happened to this world."

    I was actually startled for a moment, because at the time, I hadn''t bothered to take a visibly form, and was instead merely a swirl of energy that most people were unable to sense.

    A thread of hope rose in my soul, this girl, she was strong!

    Apparently I had taken to long to answer her, as the girl repeated her question.

    I obligingly searched my memory to answer her and a the same time took a visible, humanoid form.

    "Ah yes! This is the world I tried drinking alcohol and discovered I''m a depressed drunk.  By the time I sobered up, my darkened aura had spread through the whole world and caused every living thing to become self destructive. Unfortunately, that also included some rather powerful dragons, who literally bathed the world in fire as a final farewell."

    I thumped my head with my fist, closed one eye, and stuck my tongue out to one side in a classic pose.

    "Whoopsie, Tehee~~"

    The girl¡¯s mouth fell open in amazement, "You mean your getting drunk was the sole reason the path that was set for the world completely derailed?"

    I wasn''t completely sure what this "path" she was talking about it was, but I happily nodded. Just the fact that I didn''t know what she meant made me extremely excited.

    The girls face broke into a joyful grin, "I didn''t even see it coming! That¡¯s never happened before! Ah! Except, were you responsible for the destruction of these planets too? "

    She listed off a number of other planets I had accidentally destroyed. (All of them were pretty early on in my exploration, while I was getting a handle on how much power I could use)

    Hmmm, I was sensing a comrade spirit in boredom. I nodded again to confirm her question.

    She suddenly burst into tears and hugged me, "I finalllllyyyyy foundddd youuuuu!!!! "

    About five hours later, she finally stopped crying and introduced herself as Fate. She oversaw the threads of fate for each world, and could even nudge one way or another depending on what she wanted as the end result to be.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.The unfortunate effect of this was that she always knew what was going to happen, and her job soon became very boring.

    It was as I predicted, she was a comrade in boredom~~

    The only exceptions were the worlds I had visited. At those times, the future of the worlds I didn¡¯t destroy simply blurred from her sight while the ones I demolished completely vanished.

    While she was explaining this I sneakily determined she possessed 1/5th the amount of my power, far more than any other being I had encountered.

    At one point in our conversation, I even had to bow down in self-defeat as I learned she and the other forces of the universe (all with a similar level of power) had been born half a millennium after Creation, meaning they had been around for quite a long time, and I hadn''t even noticed them!

    In my defense, at least they hadn''t found me either. That would have really broken my pride...

    Finally Fate explained what she wanted from me, a contract to free both of us from our boredom!

    The conditions were:

    1: I would enter into a cycle of reincarnation, with Fate deciding which world I reincarnated into, though I got to pick who and what I was reincarnated as.

    2: Fate and the other forces of power would help me completely seal my powers away so each time I was reincarnated, I got to experience the hard work of gaining power. Unfortunately, they didn''t have enough power to seal my memories as well.

    3: I would be able to do whatever I wanted, but I had to promise not to ever purposely destroy a world if I ever gained enough power to do so.

    4: I would enter into a blood bond with Fate, so her sight would no longer be blurred, but she would still be unable to predict what would happen due to my action.

    Basically, I would be Fate''s entertainment, while she would in turn provide me with an escape from boredom.

    I instantly agreed with only one condition, one trial run, and if it didn''t interest me, the deal was off.

    She readily agreed and we made all the arrangements.

    The moment the trial began, I was hooked. The sense of accomplishment I felt with gaining power with my own hands was more powerful than any drug man or god could create.

    Since then, I''ve been through countless reincarnations and lived happily, whether it be with hands, paws, feather, or scales.

    This reincarnation though, is one of my favorites.

 Chapter 1: A New Fire of Determination PR

    I was drifting around the new world Fate had placed me on, trying to decide what to be reincarnated as this time, when a flickering spark of life caught my attention.

    It was clearly struggling for life, flashing a brilliant white for one moment, then dimming to almost nothing the next.

    It''s determination sparked my interest so I drifted closer, drifting down through the large building it resided in and eventually came into a room filled with the wails and animated curses of a laboring woman laying on a luxurious bed and surrounded by servants, she was most likely a noblewoman.

    Her hair was a pale blond, her eyes shut with pain and her body swollen from the pregnancy. By her side, a handsome, yet arrogant looking man with long black hair held her hand, trying to soothe her, his face pale and rather queasy.

    Another woman stood with her hands on the woman''s belly, glowing a pale white as she chanted a healing spell. Ah, I realized, this must be one of the worlds with magic.

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    The spark laid inside her belly, her baby, I realized. It had continued fluctuate, but the moments of brilliant light were becoming shorter and more dispersed. It was dying.

    I felt a rare pang of guilt as I watched the spark continue to valiantly struggle for life despite it''s inevitable end. If my powers weren''t sealed, I could have saved this brave little life.

    I had always admired mortals¡¯ thirst for life and had always envied the death waiting for them at the end of that journey.

    But that was it, ONLY at the end, never at the beginning.

    Yet I could only stand there powerlessly as the little life finally winked totally out of existence.

    That was when I made my decision and slowly drifted into the now vacated body of the baby.

    This regret, I would use to fuel my new life with the same determination that that little spark had shown. Living its life for it since I had been unable to let it live as itself.

 Chapter 2: My Parents are Heartless!!?? PR

    I became aware of a warm wetness surrounding me, slowing pushing me forward as it contracted, soon pushing my head free. The rest of my body quickly followed. I let out the customary wail, previous reincarnations having taught me that people tend to freak out when the baby stays silent. The air was fresh and clean, free from the pollution that came from a more industrialized era, probably a more medieval time period, though I wasn''t sure since I had encountered the spark shortly after arriving in this world.

    A jubilant cry announced, "It''s a healthy boy my lord and lady, the first born babe to the Redsword noble house is the new heir!"

    I felt myself be gently rocked in the midwives arms, then I was carefully handed over to my new mother. Curious, I opened my eyes to get a better look at her face, as the last time I had seen it, it had been scrunched tight with pain. All that met my eyes was darkness.

    At the same time, I felt my mother''s chest lurch as she gasped in horror, "Charles, His EYES!!!!!"

    I was snatched away from my mother''s arms by a pair of large hands, my father¡¯s I presume, and was held up for a moment. Then their grasp inexplicably tightened, to the point where I felt the need to let out a piercing wail, this guy, what did he think he was doing to a new born babe.

    His grip quickly loosened, but my troubles were not over yet.

    "He''s blind, completely USELESS. There is no way he can rule the Noble Redsword house, he won''t be able to do anything by himself."

    Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, DAD. I was interested in this blind thing though, this would be my first time to be permanently without sight, actually I would have gotten up and danced if I had been able to, this meant I got to learn how to do everything all over again.

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    I was rather disappointed in my mother though, was she just going to let this jerk keep calling her baby a piece of trash? I mean, where was that famous mothering instinct.

    My opinion of my mother dropped even further when she said, "We need to get rid of it"

    I was relegated to the "it" section, you were so happy I was a boy a few minutes ago. No, wait, that¡¯s not important, WHAT DO YOU MEAN GET RID OF!!!!

    I had just made my resolve to live with determination for that little spark, I can''t afford to die yet!

    "Ah, yes my dear, as brilliant as ever. To everyone in this room, my son was born ill and died shortly after his birth. If I hear anything to the contrary, you all will be executed, AM I CLEAR."

    Nervous murmurs of affirmation filled the room.

    "Good, now as for this thing..."

    He paused for a long moment, probably trying to decide how to best kill me.

    A cold sweat was beginning to trickle down my back when a new voice spoke in a deep tenor.

    "My Lord, my wife gave birth just yesterday, it could be announced that she had twins, let me take the child, his blindness may not be permanent, so he could serve some small purpose to you yet."

    Ah, my savior!

    "Excellent idea Seph, he was born healthy, so he may attain sight one day, and until then, he will be no stain upon my family name. I also realize the trouble raising him so I will also triple your salary."

    What, so you¡¯re nice enough to triple the salary, but not enough to take care of your own son?

    Well, at least I''ll be able to keeping living this way, so for once I''ll agree with my father, excellent idea Seph.

    And with that, I was handed over to me new adopted father.

 Chapter 3: My New Parents are a bit Strange? PR

    After my father handed me over to Seph, we immediately left the large mansion. I could feel the wind on my face as Seph moved quickly forward and there was a little lurch whenever he inexplicably shifted directions at a rapid speed. I later decided that he was probably avoiding any people we came across, as anyone seeing Seph leaving the castle with me in his arms so soon after my birth and supposed death would easily be able to guess my true identity.

    Suddenly the ringing footsteps of boots on stone changed to the dull thud of dirt and my new father''s gait had become a little more uneven. Shortly after, Seph paused; there was a metallic click and then the creak of a door being opened.

    A new voice met my ears.

    "Seph! What are you doing home so early? Your shift doesn''t end yet. Oh! is the queen alright? Her labor started early this morning..."

    It was a woman''s voice, sweet and melodic, but toward the end of her flurry of words, her voice had suddenly died off.

    Then a demonic shriek pierced my ears, actually sending a shiver of fear down my back.

    "Seph Bardon, you lying cheat of a husband, you dare bring the babe you fathered with some other woman the day after I gave birth to your son! GET OUT!!!!"

    It seems my new mother is the type to make outrageous conclusions in a split second.

    "Wha! No! Adrianne that''s not it at all!"

    He suddenly lurched to one side, seconds later there was the distinctive sound of shattering pottery. Hey! I''m here too you know, crazy woman, if you''re going to throw dishes at your husband, at least leave me out of it!

    "Whoa! Sweetie, j-just let me explain!"

    "Like I''d just stand here and listen to you explain how you slept with another woman!!"

    Well, I do approve of the sentiment, but Seph''s innocent, well, at least this time. Man, what did you do for your wife to so easily think you''re cheating on her, whatever it is, I suggest you stop. Cheating husbands never end their live well.

    Ignoring my silent pleas, four more dishes were shattered before Seph finally managed to get a word in.

    "He''s not mine!"

    Silence filled the room.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Positive"

    She sighed.

    "And I was sure I got you this time, really Seph, why are we such boring people. If this keeps up we''ll have no interesting stories to tell our children and they''ll label us as ''boring'' parents. I don''t want that!"

    Wait, what!!!!

    You did all of that just because you wanted a good story??!! Shouldn''t you be more worried about the unknown child in your husband''s arms? I mean, the illegitimate child is at least plausible.

    Seph suddenly relaxed.

    "Fufufufu, sorry sweetheart, but I can''t even dream of being with anyone but you, you are my world. Anyways, at least we have a legitimate dish throwing story now so it¡¯s alright, right?"

    What, Seph, not you too!  Uuuuuuu, I landed a really strange pair of parents this time... Oi, and put away that pink atmosphere, there''s a child present, even if I''m blind, I can still feel it!

    "Ah! Why do you have this child anyway Seph?."

    Yes! That''s the main point you should be discussing.

    "He''s the Lord and Ladies child."

    "Wha! but, then why do you have him?"

    "Look at his eyes"

    A small gasp met my ears.

    "H-his eyes, they have no pupil, it''s just a pure icy blue disk, Seph, this means he''s......"

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Blind"

    "So he was regarded as useless and was thrown away"

    Hmmmm, it seems my birth parents attitudes were well known.

    "Yes, they were going to kill him, but I managed to convince his Lordship to let me take him, that he might regain his sight and serve his Lordship in some way."

    "Ah, yes, that old healers song,

    A newborn babe born with no sight

    No healing magic can save him from his plight

    But chance endures in him regaining it through his own might!"

    Ah, well, interesting rhyme there mom, but I have no intention to give up my new toy *cough* I mean one of my defining traits.

    I was gently pulled away from Seph''s arms and into a new embrace.

    "Did they give him a name?"

    Her voice now came from right above my head.

    "No"

    There was a long stretch of silence.

    "Then let his name be Felix, the elvish word for luck, and let us hope that luck will guide his every step and keep him safe in his struggle."

    Hm, nice naming sense Mom, luck, I like it. I happily gurgled my approval at her.

    Her arms hugged me close and she giggled.

    "It seems Felix likes his new name, lets go introduce him to his new big brother Aaron."

    I felt her walk up a flight of stairs and then pause to open a door. Gently laying me down on a soft and cushy surface, Mom took one of my chubby little hands and pulled it to the side.

    "Felix, this is your big bro Aaron, who''s sleeping right now."

    I felt a small hand no less chubby as mine, this was the child Seph and Adrianna had just had.

    As for the big bro thing, that idea is vetoed Mom, I refuse to take the little brother role when he''s only physically one day older than me, you have no choice in the matter.

    "Awww, aren''t they so cute together, oooh, look, Felix''s closed his eyes, maybe he''s falling asleep?"

    I heard the floorboards creak as my parents tried to sneak away.

    Wait, No! You can''t leave yet, I haven''t been fed yet, and closing the eyes is only natural to avoid them getting dry and irritated.

    I waved my arms frantically, trying to get their attention without waking Aaron, but as they hadn''t returned even though I was sure they hadn''t left the room yet, I was forced to take the only other option left to me.

    I let out an ear piercing wail, announcing my hunger to the whole house. Aaron''s wails soon joined mine, unhappy to be so abruptly woken.

    They immediately rushed back over and frantically tried to figure out what was wrong, smelling diapers, rocking, offering toys, even singing.

    After five minutes of this, Seph FINALLY remembered that I haven''t been fed once since I was born (still, isn''t that one of the first things you should check?) and the matter of my empty stomach was soon resolved.

    After that, Aaron and I were both settled back down and our parents left. Aaron soon drifted back to sleep, but I remained awake, recalling the events of my first day.

    Fresh anger rolled through me as I recalled the harsh words of my birth parents. No one should be deemed useless simply because of a disability. I¡¯ll make them regret throwing their son away because he was blind.

    Yosh! I''ve decided, in this world I will become a bright star of strength and magic that will cause them to tremble with despair at the fact that they abandoned their own son.

 Chapter 4: The Basics of Stardom PR

    Throughout my many reincarnations, I have come to realize that the basics play the largest role in the pathway to strength.

    Without a proper foundation, further efforts will crumble. When learning the sword, harder techniques are impossible without a strong body, when learning magic, the higher level spells cannot be accomplished without a large mana pool.,

    Every step along the way is addicting to me as I can feel myself truly earning power.

    Usually on magic worlds like this, I would focus on developing the mana pool or whatever system of magic they had and strengthening my body in order to learn fighting styles. With my blindness however, I would have to alter my plan a bit.

    The blind generally have their other senses develop to a higher level than the average in order to compensate for the lack of sight, but it wouldn''t be enough for my path.

    I would need to able to hear the whisper of a blade or fist approaching me, to smell where the enemy is, to feel the vibrations in the earth and air so I could always tell where everything was, in short, I would have to train my senses.

    Unfortunately, a baby¡¯s senses aren''t completely developed when they''re first born, so I wouldn''t be able to start right away, but in the mean time I could still expand my mana.

    This also meant that the majority of my strengthening would have to wait till I mastered my senses, I would be able to do things like pushups and situps, but not anything like running or agility, where I would be likely to hit a tree or trip over a rock.

    I was unsure of how long it would take, a young body was the most adaptable to training, and having to wait too long would make it harder to develop.

    Well, no need to worry about it for now, I''ll just focus on what I can do, mana training. I settled myself and slowly relaxed, slipping into a meditation. In my minds eyes, a single drop of pure white shone in the darkness, miniscule trickles moving throughout my body in set paths, meridians.

    I sighed happily, mortals always start with such wonderfully small amounts of mana, it made the thrill of seeing it grow all the greater.

    I took hold of the little drop, and gently encouraged more mana to circulate and consequently causing the cycle to quicken. This would help smooth and strengthen my meridians, also pushing them to grow in size so they would be prepared for larger amounts of mana.

    The cycle also helps mana purity, but as a newborn I hadn''t yet gathered any impurities, so I would simply be able to retain the level of purity I have.

    Once I got everything running smoothly, I turned my focus back to the mana core. Depending on what magic system this world was set on, the mana would either increase naturally on its own with the meditation cycling, have to be absorbed from the world around me, or it would be a mixture of both.

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    Watching carefully, after  few hours, I notice a very small increase in size, natural increase was a check.

    Now to check for outer absorption.

    While still keeping a focus on my mana core, I sent a portion of my mind outward, searching for energies to see if I could absorb them.

    I slowly began to feel the energies swirling all around me, showing up as vibrant colors in my mind, blue for water, brown for earth, green wood and plants, red for fire, and a light yellow  for air.

    I gently pulled a strand of earth towards me, this stable element was the best for first absorptions, the other elements were more fluid in nature, and so more likely to cause damage to the meridians, which will slow my process considerably.

    I guided the earth energy to my mana core, and waited to see if it would be absorbed. After a few minutes, the energy finally moved, but instead of joining my mana pool, it moved beyond it.

    Curious, I followed the earth energy all the way to another core that I hadn''t noticed as it glowed an almost black purple that would easily blend into the surrounding darkness if you weren''t looking for it specifically.

    The energy easily sank into the unknown core and a very small part of the center of the core lit up a bright purple. At the same time, I felt a very small swell of strength surge through my body.

    Eeeeeehhhhhhhh!!!!!?????

    This world has a ki center!!??

    I had never been reincarnated into a world with a mana and ki core, it was always one or the other.

    Cool!!!!!!!! This world is even more interesting than I realized, Fate really out did herself in picking a world this time. I''ll have to figure out some way to thank her~~

    Hmmm, when I die again maybe I''ll use my full power to make her a new kind of flower or animal, since she love to collect them, ooooh, or maybe I should send her a assortment of candy from every world or even both! Giving flowers and candy (especially to a girl) was always a good move. Hmmm, I wonder if she''s ever had fire crystal chocolate caramels, those things are delicious.......

    Eh, no wait, I''m getting sidetracked, focus Fenix, remember, revenge, power, forcing them to grovel, playing with the awesome new toys...*cough* I mean figuring out how to use my blindness and ki core to my advantage.

    Ahem, well having the ki core would help out the strengthening problem, as I absorb more energies, the ki would gradually strengthen my body, so while I still plan to do the normal strengthening exercising, I don''t have to worry as much about the when.

    Mwahahahaha, let the rise to Power BEGINNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Chapter 5: The Rookie Mistake PR

    The first year of my life went by in a blur, I spent every possible moment circulating my mana and absorbing ki, the only event that drew my attention was the announcement only a few months after my birth that the Lady of Redsword house was once again pregnant.

    Wow! Isn''t it a little dangerous to enter into pregnancy so soon after the previous birth?

    Well, I guess this is a more medieval time period, where heirs are very important, and to my coldly calculating parents, the gains of such a valuable pawn was probably well worth the risks.

    Hmmm, I actually feel kind of sorry for their kid, with that kind of parents, he/she''ll probably end up like the typical noble brat, extremely prideful and conniving, with no true friends.

    Ah well, I''ll still need to defeat them, so back to training!

    Unfortunately, in my eagerness, I am ashamed to admit, I made a rookie mistake.

    The revelation of my misstep came into the house one fine spring day about one month after my birthday (Luckily I wasn''t bothered because they only celebrate on a child''s sixteenth birthday, when they''re acknowledged as a fully fledged adult.).

    The birds were singing happily, the sun pleasantly warmed the floorboards of my room, and the wind brought the refreshing scent of flowers into the house.

    I, of course, only noted these things in the back of my mind, as I was far too busy working on my rise to world domination *cough* *cough* I mean training...

    *Ahem* As I was saying, I was hard at work when my mother''s now familiar embrace suddenly scooped me off the floor of my and Aaron''s room, interrupting my training.

    She carried me downstairs, then settled me back on the the floor.

    What was that for Mom!!!???

    I was perfectly comfortable sitting on the floor upstairs you know, What''s the point of taking me downstairs if I''m just going to do the same thing???

    Well, whatever, I''ll just go back to training. I rapidly honed back in on my ki and mana centers, they had both grown considerably in the past year.

    My old ki center was comparable to the size of a pebble, while now it was the size of a small rock, several times larger than how it would have grown naturally.

    Similarly my mana core was the size of my small fist, where it had previously been comparable to a large drop of water, most children my age would have a mana core comparable to a small marble.

    My ki center, while having started larger than my mana core, was growing more slowly, though the whole core now glowed a brilliant purple equal to the shine of my mana core.

    I easily began circulating my mana and then started pulling small wisps of energy towards my ki center.

    But just a few minutes later, I was once again interrupted by my mother''s embrace, only this time, she spoke.

    "You see Lisa? He just sits there all the time, he hasn''t even tried to crawl, while Aaron''s been walking for a couple of months now. I know he''s blind, but that shouldn''t stop him from moving should it? I don''t know what to do any more sister."

    AH! Blast The Dark Forces Of The Universe!!!!

    I forgot to act like a normal baby!!!

    Uuuuuuuu, I just want to roll over and die of shame, my pride as a reincarnation pro is ruined, to make such a rookie mistake, I can even feel Fate laughing at me.

    A new voice interrupted my internal agony, it shared the same lilt as my mother, but it was a shade deeper in tone.

    "You just have to be patient little sister, not all children develop at the same pace, and I imagine it¡¯s even harder for my little nephew Felix with his blindness, it must be scary to not know what''s around you. When he''s sitting, however, he can be sure the spot all around him is safe, so he''s more comfortable there, I suggest you just keep moving him around and get Felix used to new spaces."

    "Ah! As expected of the mother of six children, elder sister is very wise and skilled in such matters, I''ll do just that then."

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    *Phew* I''m saved! Thanks Auntie!

    For a moment there I was recalling the experiences of my early reincarnations involving angry mobs demanding the death of the demon child, priests performing countless rituals to free the possessed child, and the like.

    Really though, you would think I''d remember to act properly after all of those experiences, but I guess I just got too excited this time.

    Yes, enough excitement to last a whole entire year.....

    Guuuu, I have no excuses......

    Eh, but wait, if she''s going to keep moving me around, it''ll interrupt my training!

    That cannot be allowed to happen, hmmmm, so how to stop her...

    Ah! I got it!

    I quickly began squirming in my mother''s arms, signaling that I wanted to be let down. Adrianne, wrapped in conversation, absent mindlessly let me down, having already been well trained by Aaron for such situations.

    I sneakily began to crawl away. The two women wrapped in conversation weren''t expecting me to move and so didn''t notice me.

    My crawl was steady, my body having been strengthened by all my ki training, as I moved to the area I was fairly sure my mother had first placed me (I remembered the general direction and distance)

    Once in position, I sat back down and waited.

    After what felt like an eternity of endless chatter, my mother finally noticed I was no longer by her feet.

    "Wha! Where is Felix!?"

    "Ah! Look Adri,  he''s back over where you first left him!"

    "Wait, that means he must have crawled there!"

    With my audience''s attention captured, I then began to crawl again, straight towards the stairs.

    The women were too startled to stop me, so I began the trek up the stairs without interruption, showing off my skillful crawling skills.

    "Ah, Lisa, do you think he understood what we were saying and is trying to show us he''s fine? My son is a genius!!"

    Yep, the typical new parent reaction, but I was counting on the experienced aunt of six children to stop that thought in its tracks.

    "What!? No! If anything its the opposite, children are  supposed to be walking at the age of one, not just crawling. That little Aaron of yours is a real ball of energy right? What probably happened was that the times Felix was crawling, you were distracted by whatever mischief Aaron had gotten himself into and didn''t notice. From what I''ve seen here today, your Felix is more of a quiet type, so its easier to lose track of them, especially in your case with Aaron."

    A perfectly logical explanation, excellent work Auntie Lisa,though it seems some credit will have to be given to my mischievous brat of a brother. He has a seemingly endless supply of energy that runs my mother ragged.

    "But then why is he always sitting in the same spot whenever I do see him, if he is moving around, then he should at least be seen in different places."

    Ah! I didn''t expect her to notice that inconsistency.

    Mom can be quite sharp in some places, despite her various quirks....

    Lucky aunt Lisa just waved it off.

    "Its probably his favorite spot to sit, you said it was right by his window correct? The sun''s warmth is probably very comfortable for him. I don''t think there''s any need for you to worry."

    "Ah, I see..."

    My mother was forced to concede defeat.

    By then I had made it to the top of the stairs, not a bit out of breath, and was eavesdropping on their conversation.

    My plan was a success!

    With this, my mother would feel no need to move me around, training would no longer be interrupted!

    I had also been reminded to act a bit more normal from this experience, luckily, my next stage of training would have me moving around a lot more.

    It was time to start sharpening my senses.

    Let the second stage to stardom BEGIN!!!

 Chapter 6: My Mischievous Brother Gets Into Big Trouble PR

    Three years passed with agonizing slowness as I experienced countless stubbed toes, bruised elbows and knees, and numerous small cuts.

    It was all worth it though, for at the age of four, I had completely mastered my senses!

    Within a basic sphere of influence approximately half a mile wide my senses could steadily give me a picture of my surroundings.

    With bare feet I could feel the vibrations of the earth and get a complete picture of anything touching the ground in my surroundings. (I never wear shoes any more because of that and it gives my mother  an immeasurable amount of grief.)

    My ears could pick up the slightest wisp of sound, telling me the location or anything in the air.

    I could parse through the most delicate of scents and track things down better than any hunting dog.

    By sliding my fingers across a page of a book and feeling the letters of ink, I could even read. (there is a very slight difference between the feel of plain paper and written letters, I had to make numerous painful begging faces of ''Mommy will you please read this to me?'', my pride took a considerable amount of damage.......)

    Mwahahaha, that''s only on a normal basis though.

    When I use mediation, my area of influence increases exponentially, allowing all my senses to expand to a three mile wide area.

    Hahaha, being blind is awesome~~

    That''s not even the best part!

    When I focus on just one sense, I can extend it to a nine mile basis.

    That''s eighteen times larger than normal~

    This toy is getting even better the more I play with it *cough* I mean, its only natural with the amount of training I''ve improved this much.

    Thanks to all the moving around I had done, Adrianne had stopped worrying about me, even though I refused to hang out with other kids my age, and had never spoken a word ( I had seen my parents reaction to Aaron''s first word, and I was determined to delay my own experience as long as possible)

    I guess with all of Aaron''s antics, my little quirks were more of a blessing to my mother than a reason to worry.

    For the past four years my brother''s impish nature has had him grabbing the sharpest objects he can reach in the house as a baby, constantly pulling all the drying, freshly cleaned laundry into the mud at the age of two like it was a fun game,and at the age of three, he became the head of his own pack of trickster toddlers that wreaked general havoc among our small village that sat at the doorstep of the Redsword Mansion.

    I suppose my brother was something of a genius in his own way, not many three year-old''s  managed to accomplish that much chaos.

    At the age of four, my brother and his friend''s only escalated their irksome actions.

    Luckily for them, the adults managed to wave off their antics, stating that ''it can¡¯t be helped, children don''t know any better'' despite several broken windows and various other small damages.

    I was rather disappointed in the adults, if they kept letting them get away with things, it would only make the situation worse.

    Sometimes a kind heart must be occasionally discarded for the sake of a child''s future.

    Not that I''ve done any better.

    I''ve basically avoided the rascal at every possible moment.

    The only time I actually initiated contact with Aaron was at the age of two when I brainwashed *cough**cough**ahem* when I introduced the concept of me being the older brother and him being the younger brother.

    Since then, despite my mother''s many efforts, Aaron has continued think of me as the older brother.

    (Hahaha Mom, take that! There''s no way that an immortal such as myself would ever allow myself to be referred to as little brother, even in worlds where I had significantly older siblings, I was never called little brother. My pride as the oldest being in the universe would never allow it!)

    In fact, as Big Bro Felix, I''m the only one that Aaron always listens to, but I''ve hidden the fact, because as soon as it was known, I would be continually bothered with requests to stop my twin brothers craziness.

    One day however, my brother got into a bit more trouble than he and his buddies could handle.

    It started off like any normal fall day, the coming winter adding the brisk scent of cold to the air, the sounds of countless migrating flocks of birds filling my ears, and there was a slight chill in the ground that the sun failed to warm.

    It was late in the afternoon, my father already home from his guard shift in the mansion, when my mother realized she hadn''t seen Aaron since this morning, which was unusual since he usually at least showed up for lunch.

    Not too worried just yet, Adrianne asked Seph to go and check on Aaron and to remind him about lunch.

    Curious, I quietly followed him, unnoticed.

    Generally, when Aaron disappears for a long time, it results in one of his more interesting experiences, which I tend to find quite amusing.

    However, upon asking around Seph and the other villagers realize that Aaron and his pack of brats have been missing for a few hours.

    Starting to worry, they organize a search and confirm that the children are no where in the village or the nearby fields.

    My brother knowing better than to trying sneaking into the Lord and Lady''s mansion, the only possible place was inside the Mistwood forest.

    It was one of the classified danger areas that our kingdom of Ediraseth had failed to fully explore, despite it being well within our vast borders. The Redsword noble house had tried for generations to fully conquer it, but the magical beasts that lived inside were just too strong.

    As children, we were told countless times to stay out of the woods, but looking back on it, that was just like leaving a piece of candy out unguarded and telling my brother not to eat.

    With the fearlessness only children had, my brother had led a secret expedition into the woods probably with the goal of finally being the ones who had finally conquered it. (I had noticed my brother eagerly listening to the stories of old soldiers describing their embellished exploits a few weeks ago, but had taken no note of it after several relatively uneventful days had passed, it seems my brother put even more planning into this than I had expected.)

    Luckily, most of the animals living in the outer edges of the forest were nocturnal, but the deeper the group of brats got, the higher the likelihood that they would meet a magical beast that didn''t sleep during the day.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Everyone was now frantic at this point, there was only a few hours left before night began to fall, and the chance of finding the children before that was close to nil and once dark fell, there was absolute certainty that Aaron and his friends would be killed by a magical beast.

    *sigh* I suppose I better help them out then.

    Still unnoticed, I sat down cross-legged and slipped into meditation.

    Not expecting four year old''s to be able to get too far with the twisted roots and crowded undergrowth hindering their way, I first stretched out all of my senses three miles  into the forest.

    The rustled of wind on leaves, the sound of birds, the feel of hundreds of towering trees and the long faded scent of my brother where the only things I found.

    Wow, I underestimated the brat pack''s determination, they must be really fired up this time.

    I then focused solely on my hearing and began slowly moving it past the original three mile boundary, I wanted to make sure I didn''t accidentally miss them, I was covering a lot of land after all.

    I finally found them five miles into the forest.

    What in the world!!!???

    Are these guys really four year-old''s!!???

    Tch, what a little pack of monsters, I should probably pay more attention to them.

    In my shock, I absentmindedly let my hearing spread its full nine miles

    What I heard made my blood run cold.

    About three miles away from Aaron and his group, a magical beast was beginning to stir, and on the children''s present course, they would walk straight into it in about an hour, the same amount of  time it would take the adults to reach them if they ran.

    I broke off the meditation and ran to my father, desperately tugging on his sleeve.

    Aaron may be a brat, but he was still my little brother and it was my duty to protect him.

    Haaaa, even I can be serious sometimes...

    "What is it Felix? Father is really busy right now, we need to find your brother and his friends."

    I didn''t even dare speak, in case it initiated the ''my child spoke his first word'' fiasco despite the serious moment, and ended up wasting precious time. (I''ve never been able to accurately predict how my parents would react to something)

    I pointed at the forest and used a little ki to begin pulling Seph towards it, by his sleeve, a physical feat that would be impossible even for my brother''s band of irregular monsters.

    Seph quickly caught on.

    "Are you trying to tell me you know where  they are?"

    I nodded vigorously.

    "Everyone, Felix knows where the kids are!"

    "What are you talking about Seph, the kid is blind, there''s no way he can know where they are"

    I recognized the voice, the old blacksmith Drake, who liked to often point out how I was blind and couldn''t do ''nothin''

    I ignored him and kept pulling on Seph''s arm, but I felt my father hesitate.

    Darn, we didn''t have time for this, time for plan B.

    I let go of my father''s arm and began to run towards the forest.

    "What is he... Everyone Stop Him!!!"

    I heard the adults begin to run after me.

    Strengthening my body with ki, I began to run even faster as I entered the forest, easily avoiding twisted roots and protruding rocks, or anything else that could trip me while the adults followed more clumsily, unsure of their footing.

    I made sure I always remained in sight as I carefully guided them towards Aaron''s group.

    I fell into a new half-meditative trance as I ran that stretched my normal senses to one and a half miles

    Hmmmm, it seems I still had more to learn and develop, despite what I had previously thought.

    That was how, when I was a mile and a half away, I heard the children''s first terrified screams.

    There was no time, I rocketed forward, ignoring the fading shouts of the people struggling to follow me as I turned my ki on full blast.

    Within five minutes I arrived at the clearing where the magical beast and Aaron''s group had met.

    Without pausing to check on the children, I rocketed towards the magical beast, having already examined it during the five minutes it took me to get here.

    It was a large feline the size of a horse, and from what I could tell, its fur was impervious to all attacks, physical and magical, but I had already located its weak point.

    I leaped forward and drove my foot through the cat''s eye and deep into it''s brain, killing it instantly.

    The danger at hand dealt with, I turned at check on the brat troupe.

    I heard Aaron and the other five kids (I had never bothered to learn their names) distinct heart beats and a breathing, both of which were just starting to slow down from the rapid beat of fear.

    They were all alive, worse for wear, but alive.

    It seems the feline had inherited the kitty instinct to play with its food before killing it.

    *Sigh* Those brats are really lucky...

    The adults arrived a few minutes later, with Seph in the lead.

    I had just managed to pull my leg out of the magical beast''s head (my foot had gotten stuck) and was wiping various chunks of brain off.

    *Blech* there goes a pair of perfectly good pants.

    The children had begun chatting happily the minute their fear had worn off, not even trying to help me.

    My annoyance level reached dangerous levels.

    I mean, they almost died, they should be a little more serious about it.

    Uugghh, and if I leave it like this, they''ll keep coming, sure that I''ll fish them out of dangerous moments.

    Ignoring the amazed stares of the adults who had frozen at the scene in the clearing, I walked over to Aaron and slapped him hard on the cheek.

    "Owww! What was that for big brother!!??"

    I spoke in a wintery voice

    "No more forest"

    I felt the air move as Aaron meekly nodded.

    I then turned to the adults and cracked my fist.

    "Nothing about what I did today will be spoken about, understood?"

    There were nervous murmurs of assent from the group.

    Then I heard a familiar roar.

    Drat! I had forgotten about Seph!!

    "My son spoke his first words!!"

    I refuse to tell you what happened afterwards.

 Chapter 7: I Unwillingly Gain A Pet!? PR

    After my annoying Dad had settled down, our party returned to the village without difficulty.

    For the next two days, I was stuck in bed, my body immobilized with pain.

    While solely training my ki did strengthen my body some, I was still too weak to use all of my ki at once normally and since I had just gotten a good handle on my sense, I haven''t been able  to do any serious physical training.

    Thus, I was inflicted with the backlash of burning muscles, creaking bones, and endless cramps.

    This unfortunately left me unable to flee from my mother''s creative tortures *cough* tender attentions as she persistently tried to get me to talk to her. (my father having immediately told her about my talking when we got home.)

    I, of course, remained silent.

    Hah!, I wasn''t stupid, there''s  no way I would let myself experience THAT twice.

    In the end, my mother decided that Seph had lied to her, despite the twenty plus testimonies of the other villagers saying otherwise, and refused to speak to him for two whole weeks.

    As for Aaron and his group, after being grounded for a few days with only bread and water to eat, immediately returned to their old antics, though they went no where near the forest.

    Haaa, I did a really good job on that brainwashing... *Ahem* I mean Aaron was a naturally proper obedient little brother.

    Regrettably, the villagers also noticed this, and as I had predicted, I was bombarded with requests to control the brat pack.

    It got to the point where I couldn''t get two steps without receiving pleas of help for things that before, people had just ignored.

    Annoyed, I tracked down Aaron and his friends and beat them up...*cough* *hrm..*Firmly trained them with a fist?

    *Errmm....*

    *Ah!*

    I politely requested that they stop and they agreed with  grimaces of pain *cough* smiles of happiness.

    Since then, they have been model children and I''ve experienced many tears of thanks from their parents.

    To make their parents cry...

    *Ahem* anyway...

    As for me killing the magical beast, the adults kept their word and remained silent, it turns out that the feline I killed was only a lower level magical beast, the Nemean lion.

    Still, it was unheard of for any four year-old, much less a blind one to accomplish such a feat, so I was quite impressed they managed to keep their mouths shut.

    Still, this experience made me realize I was still lacking in many areas, and that I still had a great deal more to learn in the area of my senses.

    So I devised a new training regimen that would work on physical prowess, ki manipulation, and develop new areas of my senses (like the half-trance I had discovered).

    I would run around in the Mistwood forest, running for miles to increase my strength, while using my senses in avoid magical beast in a dangerous game of tag.

    Only, instead of running on the ground, I would be using the trees to train my ki manipulation and accuracy.

    Ninja style~~

    No one even noticed I was gone, the advantage of being the quiet child.

    Months turned into a year of constant training passed, and my body slowly became more toned, and my skills improved, but I remained near the outer edge of the forest.

    I could sense far stronger presences in the deeper parts of the forest that I was no where near the level of being able to fight.

    I had asked my mother about my appearance a few days ago, curious as to what I looked like.

    If anyone had been walking through the forest today, they would have likely only  seen a dark shadow and flash of white as I rocketed through the air, occasionally pushing off from the trunk of a tree.

    However, if they were lucky, they would see me in one of the rare moments where I paused on a branch for a moment to catch my breath.

    They would see a five year-old kid, a bit tall for his age ,with long white hair that contrasted sharply with skin tanned from hundreds of days spent outside in the sun.

    Most likely, the child''s eyes would be gently closed, but if they were open, they would see icy blue eyes that shone coldly in contrast with the boy''s sun kissed face.

    Phwhahahaha

    I''m the perfect type for the icy silent genius~~

    It fits perfectly with my plans~

    Ah! Cool face, cool face, no smiling!!!

    *Ahem*

    I was dashing through the forest when I suddenly heard a noise I had never heard before.

    *Chiiiiiirrrrriiiiiiiippppp*

    It was a small squeak of pain a few miles away.

    Of course, in a forest full of hungry magical beasts, there would naturally be many cries of pain as animals became food.

    But this noise seemed......different?

    Almost like it had been unwillingly voiced...

    Generally, injured animals gave large roars of pain, trying to warn others away, which in my opinion, was pretty stupid.

    It was like they were advertising ''Come and Eat ME!''

    Could this be a Smart magical beast?

    Curiosity overrode caution and I headed to the place where I had heard it.

    The little body was so still and quiet, I almost didn''t notice it.

    It was curled up tightly under a bush, but even stretched out, the little creature would only be a long as my arm.

    I quietly pushed the bush out of the way and focused all of my senses on the little animal.

    As far as I could tell, it''s form was that of a lizard with a long, snake-like neck. It had scales that were just a bit harder than usual, and claws that were not fully developed.

    It was a baby?

    Magical beast usually zealously guarded their children, but my sense confirmed there was no possible Mama beast anywhere near by.

    There was a long gash on one side of its stomach that was slowly, but steadily gushing blood.

    The baby magical beast managed weakly lifted its head up for a moment, but I soon felt the small vibrations in the ground as it tiredly fell, too weak to even make an attempt to defend itself.

    I was amazed it had even lasted this long, the little lizard must have an incredibly strong spirit.

    It probably would have grown up to be very strong.

    I would have enjoyed playing with it......

    A feeling of charity rose in my heart and caused my hand to stretch out, pulling my mana into the very tips of my fingers

    I haven''t actually learned any of the spells of this world, nor do I intend to make any, as explaining how I came up with them to people was a huge pain.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    But for the sake of my own amusement, *cough* *cough* *ahem*for the sake of saving the lizard''s life, mana manipulation would be enough.

    Gently touching the lizard, I let my mana flow slowly into its body and focused all of my senses on the wound.

    Minutes passed as I knitted tissue back together, reconnected veins and arteries, and replenished the blood supply.

    So focused was I that I didn''t even notice the large presence sneaking up on me.

    Finished, I sat back and wiped the sweat that had accumulated off my brow.

    The concentration needed for healing had made me quite tired, even though I still had plenty of mana left.

    The lizard, full of energy now, though still a bit sluggish from the aftereffects of major healing, gratefully rubbed its smoothed scaled head on my hand.

    "Hah.... just grow up to be a strong opponent someday, K?"

    The lizard  gave a confused chirp and continued to rub my hand.

    Hmmmm, I don''t think it understood me.

    I was about to make a second attempt at communication when a loud growl rose from behind me.

    Snatching the baby lizard, I shot away from whatever was behind me while sending my senses out to determine the threat.

    It was a large wolf creature, with spikes growing along it spine that created a whistling sound in the air as the beast chased after me.

    From the size of its presence, it was an upper level middle class beast!

    Darn! It must have sneaked up on me when I was focused on healing my future amusement *cough* the lizard.

    I could smell the slight tang of the lizards blood on its claws, this must have been what injured the little lizard.

    Man, how did manage to get so far away from the wolf with that kind of wound?

    Well, whatever.

    It''s too bad Wolfie, but there''s no way I''m going to let you eat him after all of my hard work!

    Luckily, I was just a tad faster than the wolf, so I managed to always stay a safe distance away.

    After an hour, the  the huge wolf finally gave up and went in search of easier prey.

    After running a little longer just to make sure there was a large distance between us and the wolf, I collapsed on a large branch, gasping for breath.

    "......you.......hah.....better.....be......hah......worth..it......hah....little...hah....guy..."

    "...now.....go....away......and.....become.....strong......hahhhhhh......"

    I tried to shoo the little guy away.

    It rudely ignored me and loving wrapped its neck around my arm.

    There was suddenly a burning pain in my arm.

    "Owwwwwwwww! What are you doing!!!??"

    The lizard clung valiantly onto my arm, despite my vigorous attempts to shake it off.

    The pain suddenly stopped and the stubborn creature finally slid off.

    An intricate marking ran up my arm.

    I was now a five year-old with a tattoo

    Uuuuuu, my Mom is going to kill me!

    I glared at the little snake, who was looking up expectantly at me and waving its tail like a dog.

    There was now an identical marking running along the lizards back.

    "What was that for?"

    I suddenly heard the voice of a young boy in my head.

    -Pa....Papa!-

    Nooooooooo!!!!

    I''m only five, I''m too young to have fathered a son!!!!

    Eh, no, wait, different species...

    Few~~

    "I am Not your Papa"

    I sternly corrected the lizard on its mistake.

    -Papa!-

    He  ignored me.

    I jumped down from the tree and began walking home.

    He agilely climbed down from the tree and followed.

    I tried moving faster.

    He increased in speed as well.

    I tried losing him.

    He always found me, wherever I hid.

    All during that time, I was bombarded with an unending number of -Papa!-s

    ........

    "I Give UP!"

    As soon as I shouted the words, the little lizard climbed onto my shoulder in an amazing flash of speed.

    I looked sourly at it.

    "At least be Quiet"

    He nodded happily.

    Oh, so NOW you listen to me.

    At the edge of the forest, I stopped and wrapped my arm in a bandage, not wanting my mother *ahem* anyone to see it.

    As soon as I walked into the village, I was surrounded by females of all ages.

    "Kyaaaaaa! It''s so Cute! Felix, where did you find it!"

    I made up some story of finding him in one of the fields (not wanting anyone to know where I had been) and finally managed to escape into my house.

    The little lizard had been frightened by all the commotion and curled tightly around my shoulders.

    Ha, its only right you should experience some suffering as well after forcing yourself on me, little brat.

    My mother reacted similarly to the outside females,

    "Awwwww, he''s sooooo cute! And those glossy black scales look just amazing!"

    Hmmmm, so my new pet''s scales were black? Good to know.

    My father was far more reasonable.

    "What are you going to name him?"

    I thought it out for a moment, I reallllyyy wanted to call him something like Blackie, or Brat, but he was only a baby, I couldn''t honestly blame the little void for all the annoyance he had caused me, honestly at least.

    Ah! that was perfect!

    I grabbed a piece of paper and  introduced the lizard to my family.

    ''This little parasite shall be know as Void''

    There was a long silence.

    Hmmmm, I probably shouldn''t have written the parasite part?

    Oh well.

    I ignored my dumbfounded parents and began to move towards the stairs.

    Wait......

    What''s this familiar chill......

    Oh No, Could it Be!!!???

    "Our Son Can Write!!!!"

    My parents screamed in unison.

    Darn It.

    I should have seen that coming.....

    During the following torture *ahem* celebration, which I continue to refuse to tell reveal the details of, I caught a quiet whisper from from my little brother.

    "Li....Lizard......R...Rival....."

 Chapter 8: The Test PR

    The morning after the torture *cough* after my parents discovered I could write, my father dragged Aaron and I out into the yard.

    The dawn sun barely warmed my cold cheeks and there were still night bugs chirping, Void was draped across my shoulders asleep, lucky little worm, and Aaron was barely standing with his body occasionally tipping to one side or the other..

    I sent killing intent in the direction my chipper father, as the only other one even somewhat awake, I felt it my responsibility to express the group¡¯s displeasure at being roughly woken awake so early in the morning.

    Seph ignored my glare of death and continued to emit a cheerful aura.

    "Alright boys! Today is the start of your training for the level testing that will happen in two years, when you turn seven."

    I was fully awake now, Aaron even perked up a bit, this sounded interesting. I had yet to learn much about this world, having focused my attention on training.

    I couldn''t even read about it if I wanted to because the only access to books I had were the few children''s books in my house, our town didn''t even have a book store or library. I was amazed that my mother even knew how to read, most of the townspeople are illiterate, including my father.

    Darn nobles and their monopolization on education.

    My father continued his speech.

    "Your level test will determine whether you can enter a school or not, and what level of school you get into, your father here was only strong enough to get into a lower level warriors school, but even that ensured that I got a stable position in a high nobles house.

    Your mother is even more amazing, entering a lower mage school and becoming a fire mage, few commoners get such an opportunity  as mages require a deeper level of education than warriors and most schools don''t like having to teach their students how to read."

    Hmmmm, so that was how Mom knew how to read, but still, determining a kid¡¯s usefulness by level when they were only seven seemed a bit harsh...

    My father seemed to read my mind.

    "Training is easier the younger you are, so the schools decided to recruit children at the age of seven, determining that at that age they can leave home without too much difficulty, noble children are actually tested at the age of six, as their lifestyle requires  greater level of responsibility, so they mature faster.

    Wuuuuu, I''m glad I''m a commoner, but still, to think my two sons will be leaving me in just two years....."

    My father drifted off into his own little world of depression.

    I ignored him.

    Nobles get to test sooner because they mature faster?

    Hah! Yeah right!  They obviously want their children to enter when their younger so they can gain more strength, weaklings are useless to noble houses, my own situation was a clear example of this.

    Hmmm, that means that the That kid will be tested as the same as me...

    My mind drifted back to the day where that noble brat of a brother of mine had been born.

    It was about a month or two after I realized my rookie mistake, the town had interrupted in excitement at the news of her ladyship going into labor, placing bets on whether the baby would be a boy or girl, and if and when the child would be assassinated like the first child of the Redsword house was (That was me!).

    I''m rather disappointed that NONE of the villagers have guessed that  I''m not actually Seph and Adrianne''s child, apparently there was some tradition to announce commoners children one day after they were born, another was nobles separate themselves, as they announce it right away, so that was how I could be reasonably passed off as Aaron''s twin, but it still seemed absurd to me.

    The announcement came several hours after the Lady''s labor began, I now had a healthy little brother who would grow up never knowing that  his older brother wasn''t killed, but lived only a little ways away. I wonder if his heartless noble parents will even tell him he had an older brother.

    His name is Adrian.

    I wonder if that would have been my name if they hadn''t abandoned me...

    I haven''t ever met Adrian, he stays inside the Redsword Mansion, probably cooped up with a dozen tutors trying to create the perfect heir for the Redsword house.

    Few~~ I think I dodged a bullet.

    Still, I''m curious, will he have ended up like the arrogant, idiotic noble brat I predicted him to turn out as? Or will he somehow have turned into a decent human being........

    Pfffhhhhttt, not likely.

    I turned my thoughts away from Adrian and directed my focus back on my father.

    Hmmmmmm, seems he''s sunk even deeper into his world of delusion and depression...

    I walk up to my father and kick him *ahem* gently prompt him out of his self-made miasma.

    "Ahhhhhhh! Felix, Aaron, you''re still alive ! "

    What did this idiot think up this time? Never mind, I don''t even want to know.

    I lifted my leg threateningly.

    "Oh, ah, right! The test determines what your level of ki and mana is. Both use the same system to measure rankings, so its easier to keep track of.

    The main rankings are high, middle, and low, but these are then divided into further subdivisions, each rank has five levels.

    Low rank is divided into Sand, Pebble, Rock, Boulder, Mountain, this is known as the basic level, so its named with things of the earth, you need to be at least Rock level to get into school, most of the populous is naturally Sand or Pebble so they can''t get in.

    I was a Rock, and your Mom was a Boulder, so your levels should at least reach the minimum, potential is generally inherited, which is why the nobles are so strong.

    But I want you to get into the best school you can reach to improve your future lives, so we''re going to train to increase your levels. If you can reach Mountain, you should get into one of the higher tier low rank schools."

    Seph puffed out his chest, clearly proud of his parental foresight and looking for praise. I ignored him and let Aaron fulfill the customary pats on the head.

    I frowned, so a if its a high tier low rank school, there was probably middle rank and high rank schools as well..... Yet Seph thinks we can only make it to the low rank? I decided to ask him.

    "If its low rank, shouldn''t there be middle and high rank schools as well? Is it possible to get into one of those? And what are the levels for Middle and High ranks anyway? You never told us."

    "Ah, well for middle rank schools, those are mainly for nobles as they require the ability to read and at the very least a Mountain ranking, and high rank schools only recruit out of middle rank schools, what they care about it skill level rather than potential.

    A rough diamond is useless if it can''t be cut and polished.

    Middle rank is, Breeze, Wind, Gale, Storm, Hurricane, the air elements are between the earth and the heavens.

    As you can probably guess by now, the High rank levels are based off the stars, Comet, Meteor, Star, Sun, and Void.

    *Sigh* only the most powerful nobles are high rank after training, our king is actually the only Void rank in our kingdom, as far as I know, they say he could destroy mountains if he wanted to."

    This guy...... he couldn''t have possibly........

    "Father, you remember that I can read and write, right?"

    "Ah! I totally forgot!!!"

    This idiot airhead, they put me through that torture *cough* they found out just yesterday, he shouldn''t have forgotten it so soon!

    Another thought occurred to me.

    "I also killed that low rank magical beast in one blow a year ago, so I should at least already be a high tier low rank anyway right?

    And you should have at least seen that I was ready for training at that time, if you really wanted us to get stronger, why didn''t you start then? The younger the better, right?"

    "Ahhahaha, I.....it...must have slipped my mind......"

    Seph began to nervously scoot back.

    What a terrible liar.

    "Tell the truth"

    I leaned in Seph''s direction menacingly, once again raising my leg in preparation for a kick.

    ''''Ah, All Right! You got me! Father was just really focused on his fantasy of training is cute little sons at the age of five like all the other parents do! It never occurred to me to do it at age four...."

    I began to walk away.

    "Wait! Daddy has trained to middle rank Wind, I can still train you to be strong even though I lied about the reason, and I can offer training advice, like how it¡¯s hardest to level to new ranks and it gets harder the stronger you get."

    Well, you just gave away the one piece of information I might have been interested in, thanks Dad, I can figure out everything else out on my own. Anyways, from what you''ve said, since I''m of noble origin, my level should be naturally higher anyway.

    I turned back to my father and politely declined.

    "Wuuuuuuuu, my own five year old son called me a weakling, he even said a useless idiot like me couldn''t teach him anything, so cold......But Aaron, you''ll train with father right? Wait! Where are you going!?"

    "Sorry Dad, but I have to agree with big bro Felix on this matter."

    "Waaaaa, Adrianne, the kids are bullying me......wu....uuuuuu"

    There was the sound of shutter clacking open and my mother''s sour voice filled the air.

    "Be quiet Seph, I''m Trying to get some sleep here, its your fault for getting them up so early, if you had managed to wait a while. They might have not been as grumpy."

    *BAM* The shutter was slammed shut.

    I heard Aaron''s familiar footfalls rapidly chase after me and turned to face him, not that it made much of a difference to me, but I''ve found that it makes other people more comfortable, so I''ve made a habit of doing for people that don''t bother me too much.

    "Hey Big Bro, will you help me train?"

    I immediately turned away, not even bothering to answer him.

    "Awwww, come on Felix, with the training of a strong big brother like you, I could definitely get into a better rank school than with that useless dad''s training, I promise to work really hard and not complain..."

    I considered it, thinking back on all of Aaron and his pack''s old antics, I had caught not a few glimmers of genius within their chaos, especially in Aaron.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    If polished correctly, he could even become an interesting toy....*cough* rival, maybe even on par with the little parasite draped across my shoulders.

    Void suddenly lifted his head up and hissed in the direction of Aaron, hmmmm, what got him riled up?

    A delicious thought came to me and I smiled evilly.

    "I''ll do it, bring those other brats *cough* friends of yours as well."

    They were soon lined up in front of me, eager  to see what I had teach, they already knew I was strong after seeing me kill that Nemean Lion a while ago.

    "Alright, as your instructor, you shall address me as sir, and I shall you brat *cough* kid 1, kid 2, kid 3, kid 4, and Aaron."

    "Ummm, Feli-"

    "Sir"

    "Ah! Ummm, s-sir, why can''t you just call us by our names like Aaron."

    The voice came in the direction of kid 3.

    *Groan* Children are such a pain, I couldn''t just tell them I didn''t want to bother learning their names, it would hurt their feelings which would in turn affect their training. guuuuuhhhhhh.....

    Hmmm, what''s a reasonable excuse, Ah! of course, that''ll do!

    "I''ll only speak the names of those that are strong, you are all weak, and so are delegated to numbers, as for Aaron, he''s my brother, so he gets special privileges, though at the moment he is at the same level as you.

    If not for my unpredictable mother, I would have happily delegated Aaron a number as well.

    "Alright! Lets begin training!"

    For the next two years, I tortured *cough* pushed Aaron and the numbers to their limits, causing them to reach levels they would have never reached with their parents training.

    From meditation, to running, to sparring, to rock lifting and throwing, they were never given a moments unnecessary break.

    No matter how far they ran away, I always dragged them back............

    *Ahem*

    However hard the training got, they struggled on with tears of determination in their eyes.

    Aaron''s level had risen even faster than I had predicted, all because of an unexpected addition, Void.

    The first few days of training, Void didn''t participate, and Aaron started hanging around really close to me, saying things like ''I made it through the whole schedule without collapsing like the others, aren''t I really amazing and useful big bro?'' and ''I just ran the fastest of everyone, p-praise me please!''

    I, of course, ignored him.

    Then Void joined in one day and easily beat Aaron in running and weight lifting, the running I could understand, but I had no idea how he managed to lift that big rock with his tail. The little worm then eagerly returned to my side, thumping his tail on the ground expectantly.

    ........ignored.

    The next day, Aaron ran faster than he ever had and  lifted more weight than he ever had. Though he still lost in speed, he beat Void in strength.

    They then both came up to me, I once again ignored their senseless antics.

    Since then a healthy rivalry has arisen between the two, though I''m not exactly sure why it started, as long as it improves their training, I don''t care.

    My best guess, however, is that they''re training idiots because they often disappear at night and return hours later both covered in various small wounds, then come and ask me to patch them up for some reason, Aaron with words and Void with motions and ¡®Papa¡¯s.

    I just pass them off to Mom, you think they''d learn their lesson after the first few noxious homemade salves, but for some reason they keep on doing it.

    Anyway, the day for the test finally came, and we all packed for a several weeks travel. We were traveling to the city capital for the test. There were centers closer to us, but nobles prefer to travel to the capital because there are more middle rank school representatives that gather there, and they of course, also wanted to show their children off to the other nobles, if they were any good that is, it was something of a gamble with their reputation, they would be hugely embarrassed if their child turned out to be weaker than the other nobles¡¯ kids.

    All of the village kids were crammed into one carriage while the Lord and heir of Redsword house got their own carriage, because of this, none of the children''s parents were able to  come, and though we were accompanied by guards, my father was still unable to come because his horse came up lame.

    After the first hour of obnoxious excited chatter and repeated accidental elbow jabs into my stomach, I elected to sit on the roof alone, and the rest of the journey passed with surprising ease.

    Darn....... I would really liked to have fought with some bandits........

    The capital was grand, I couldn''t see it, but it was filled with thousands of different noises and smells, and the numerous buildings caused the wind to move in a strange, erratic way that was somewhat charming.

    After stopping at an inn so the nobles could freshen up, we headed directly to the Testing hall, hundreds of people were crowded in front of the test hall, all of them commoners waiting for a chance to enter the hall for testing, which was only held 6 times a year, so the representatives could always be present during a test.

    The Lord and Adrian both cut through the crowd, everyone moving aside once they saw they were nobles, and stood at the front. The rest of us were forced to remain in the back of the crowd. Soon the doors creaked open, and the crowd eagerly forward.

    "Stop! No need to rush, once you enter the hall, form a line, no pushing or jostling for better positions, you will all get a turn."

    It was an old man''s voice, full of power, I wonder what level of expert he is.

    My question was answered moments later.

    "My name is Elder Shaw, I am a middle rank Hurricane, and will be presiding over this Test, please enter."

    Hmmm, a fairly strong guy, just below high rank, impressive~

    Nobles entering first, the crowd was soon completely within the confines of the hall. I could feel a vast space around me, this Test hall was very big, smart considering the number of people they had to process, still, it seemed bigger than it felt like from the outside.

    Curious, I stretched my mana sense out..

    Defense ward, defense ward, defense wa- Ah! There it is, a ward that causes the space inside the room to expand or contract depending on the number of people within it.

    The line began to move forward at a steady pace, all the test consisted of was having the child place their hands on two orbs, one for mana and one for ki, which would then begin to glow either red for low rank, blue for middle rank, and purple for high rank, and the level of brightness that was emitted determined which subdivision they were placed in. Afterwards, the child would gather in the certain grouped area for his or her rank and wait. Only once all the tests were completed would recruitment for schools begin.

    I, of course, couldn''t see the light or colors, so I had to rely on the examiner''s voice announcing the results to know the turn out of the other children. Nobles, of course, went first.

    After about a dozen calls for nobles of either Middle  Breeze or Low Mountain and the occasional lower score that resulted in loud tears, Adrian''s name and rank was finally called.

    "Adrian Redsword, Middle rank Wind mana and Breeze ki"

    Ha, a whole level above his peers, pretty good for a prospective rival, I wonder when I''ll finally be able to meet him.

    My mind drifted off for a bit after that, not really caring about the hundreds of low score commoners in front of us, I only began paying attention again when it was our groups turn.

    "Aaron Bardon, m....Middle Wind for both mana and ki!"

    The entire hall was silent, a commoner, getting a middle rank? And not only that, a middle rank higher than all of the nobles present!?

    Mwahahaha, my training paid off, take that you judgmental buffoons.

    After Aaron came numbers 1,2,3,and 4, and the hall was struck speechless once again, they all got Middle Breeze mage and ki rankings.

    M-my l-legs, are shaking........ with the effort to not roll on the ground laughing my guts out.

    Oh man, mortals are sooo fun to prank like this, those toys*cough* kids played their roles perfectly.

    After that, there were several more kids from the village that I had never interacted with, their normal low levels began to relax the crowd, perfect, this was just the reason I chose to go in back of my group.

    A little tense, but not expecting another surprise, the perfect stage for my entry.

    .

    Just as I was walking up to the orbs, a voice rang out.

    "Test proctor, is there even any point in testing this kid? he''s blind, even if his power level is not bad, he won''t ever be able to read, none of the schools will take him, so what''s the point?"

    It was stupid Redsword.

    Laughter filled the hall, completely dispersing the tension I had so carefully cultivated.....*sigh* two years of training those brats, all down the drain.

    Oh well, on to plan B.

    Ignoring Redsword for the moment, I took out a piece of paper, an ink well, and a pen, and placed them on the table where the orbs were sitting. I then began to write.

    "What, are you mute too brat? What can you do with a pen and paper when you can''t even see?"

    His voice now held the slightest tinge of worry, good.

    I held up the paper, displaying the words I had neatly and clearly written, then spoke them out loud.

    "Sight does not determine ability you dunder-headed idiot."

    The crowd was once again silent, surprised at my extremely rude words directed at the Lord of a high noble house, they would have been even more shocked if they knew that Redsword was actually my own Lord as well.

    Ah~ That felt Good

    I then placed my hands on the orbs and the silence in the hall seemed to deepen.

    Finally the proctor managed to stutter out my rank.

    "Felix Bardon, Middle rank Gale mana and S-s-storm ki."

    Mwahahahahahahahahahahaaha

    <blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Sorry this chapter took so long, I had three projects due for the end of school, so I didn''t have any time to write chapters</blockquote>

 Chapter 9: School Selection PR

    Oh man, I sooooo wish I could see their faces right now.

    After reveling in their shocked silence for a few moments, I got bored and prompted the examiner to show me where to stand.

    Still shocked. he just silently pointed in the direction, I could feel the air move as he raised his arm.

    Well, his brain must still not be working.

    The direction he pointed to was just a bit left to where I felt Aaron and Adrian standing, well, that makes sense, as I was stronger than both of them.

    As I walked steadily to my spot, I happily stroked the ring that was on my ring finger, recalling how I had found it a few weeks before we left for the Testing.

    During those two years of training the brats, a lot of my training in the Mistwood forest had to be stopped, but instead I went into the forest once or twice a week and tracked down what I estimated to be a middle rank magical beast to fight. I never killed them, I only wanted the experience, as dealing with all of the all the magical materials I would harvest from them would be a pain, and I didn''t have the heart to kill them and then just leave them to rot in the forest.

    Unfortunately one day, while I was having fun bugging *cough* fighting a top level middle rank beast. I was ambushed by another magical beast of a similar level and had no choice to kill them both in order to preserve my own life.

    I harvested both animals, who were some sort of wolf-bird hybrid, their bodies were covered in defensive but surprisingly soft fur and their heads had sharp beaks.

    After skinning them and collect their claws and beaks, I gutted both of the creatures. A lot of interesting items have been found in the stomachs of magical beasts, often from the people they''ve eaten.

    The first wolf hybrid had a few weapons, but they were all useless after having being corroded by the beast¡¯s stomach acids.

    However, in the second wolf hybrid''s stomach I found a small ring in perfect condition. I tapped it with my fingernail, hmmmmm, probably metal, high quality too if its fine, the iron and steel weapons in the first wolfs stomach had had big chunks eaten out of them.

    Curious, I probed out with my mana, hrmmmmm...... good mana conduction, but no spells inlaid, what idiot used good mana conducting material for a plain ring?

    Still, this means I could design whatever spell I wanted.....

    An idea came into my mind and I grinned, ohohoh, That would be Perfect!

    It took me two full days to fully inlay the magical spell into the surface of the ring. Then the brat pack got their first day off in two years.

    Time to test my new toy~~

    I ran to the nearest Testing center, which was about 200 miles away, it took me about four hours to get there.

    Once there, I sneaked into the hall and began interrogating *ahem* asking  the people within if they knew how to recognize the levels with the lights of the orbs. Three guards and two maids later, I finally found some sort of  apprentice dude who would suit my needs..

    Dragging him to the empty central hall where the orbs were, I ordered *cough* asked him to tell me what my levels were when I touched orbs.

    He had no choice but to obey......Eeerrrrmm, he politely agreed.

    Sliding the ring onto my finger, I placed my hands on the orbs.

    "M-middle rank Gale mana a-and S-storm ki"

    I took the ring off and slid it into my pocket, then placed my hands onto the orbs again.

    "M-m........middle rank H-h-hurricane for both mana and ki."

    Hmmmmm, seems that because the ring is made of a mana based material, it couldn''t suppress ki as well, but still.......

    I grinned evilly, with this my plan could grow to even greater awesomeness!

    True, displaying Hurricane rank at the age of seven would undoubtedly gain me the title of amazing genius, but my lower level would still earn me the title of genius, and this way, I could create a greater stage for the name of an ultimate genius that rose levels at an unheard of speed.

    Instead of a flashing comet, I would be an ever present star that continually burned its presence into people¡¯s minds.

    Elder Shaw''s announcement that the Testing was now over and the school representatives would now enter broke through my recollection.

    I felt the wind move as a door was opened and a small crowd of people entered the hall. School representatives were only allowed to enter the hall after the testing was complete, in order to avoid any advantages that might be gained, like early recruitment of a powerful potential.

    I sensed the more powerful people move in my direction, and the weaker towards the lower ranking children. Hmmmm, so the stronger the school, the stronger the representative?

    An obnoxious voice suddenly burst out, it came from the group of stronger representatives.

    "Hey, this kid is blind! Hey kid, you''re standing in the wrong area, the failures are to the far right, not left."

    I felt the air move as the pathetic idiot reached out to shove me, I prepared to teach him a Very Painful lesson, but before I could, a figure appeared rapidly in front of me, the speed of his travel blowing my long hair back.

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    Awwwwww........

    Ugh, smells like an old person, probably that Elder Shaw guy, that movement was at about the same level as my unsuppressed speed.

    "This boy is Middle rank Gale mana and Storm ki, I suggest you revise your opinion of him."

    Yep, it was Shaw alright.

    I heard murmurs from the group of representatives.

    "......Pity he''s blind..."

    "...Yeah, if he could see, we would have taken him in a heartbeat, even if he didn''t know how to read......."

    "Such a waste of potential........."

    Ah, prejudice at its finest.

    I ignored them and began to evaluate each and every member of their group, trying to find the strongest person there. If my guess was correct, the strongest person there would belong to the best middle rank school available.

    There! In the back, there was a silent man in the back who exuded an air of calm and control and he was a little apart from the group, as is no one dared approach him.

    I immediately darted through the group and stopped in front of the man, then put my hands behind my back, tilted my head up as if I was looking up at him, and opened my eyes wide to complete the innocent fa?ade.

    "Ne~~ Mister, you''re the strongest person here right? What school do you belong to?"

    A bemused tenor voice answered my query.

    "I''m the representative of the top ranked Middle level school, Dagda, and how exactly did you figure out

    I was the strongest, little boy?"

    Score!

    "Aaaa~ since I''m blind, my other senses are a lot strong, so its only natural~~  Say, does your school have a dress code mister?"

    "Ummmm, no? We allow our students to wear whatever they want, we recruit from all of the four kingdoms, so we like to encourage cultural exchange and interaction, and clothing plays a large part in that, what does it matter to you?"

    Meaning, you''re blind and shouldn''t care about appearances. right?

    "Ne~ I don''t like to wear shoes , mister, do you think I could join your school?"

    The representative wasn''t sure how to respond to that, I couldn''t practically feel his gaze on my bare feet.

    "Ah, ummmm, our school requires a lot of reading and note taking so I don''t think you would do well......."

    Oho~~, he''s also troubled by the blindness?

    This might be fun~

    I decided to play it dumb.

    "Ara? why would reading and writing mean I wouldn''t do well?"

    "Well, um, because you can''t read or write?"

    Hahaha, here it comes~~

    "Ah? But those things are really easy for me mister, why would you say I can''t do them?"

    "What! you can read and write! No Way!"

    His surprise caused his true thoughts to be spoken~

    Similar murmurs of disbelief ran through the crowd behind us.

    At this point, Elder Shaw cut in.

    "Ah, yes, young Felix displayed his ability to write quite well right before his Testing, for ermmm..... certain reasons."

    What~ You don''t want to say I caused the Redsword Lord to lose major face? Fine, I''ll say it for you.

    "Ah yeah, someone was being mean to me so I wrote this and said it out loud for everyone to hear, I think it was some noble guy......"

    I pulled out the paper and made a show of waving it around at the whole group of representatives. Soon most of them were chuckling nervously.

    The man in front of me patted my head.

    "If I may ask clever little one, how exactly do you manage to read and write, when you''re blind?"

    "Ara? For reading the inked letters feel different from the plain paper and writing I just have to visualize it in my mind, its pretty simple you know~~"

    "S-simple? Ah, um, well I guess it seems that way to you....."

    Just get over it already, so I''m blind and can read, deal with it!

    "So mister, can I join your school?"

    "It seems so...."

    Aaron''s voice suddenly broke into our conversation.

    "Ah! If Big Bro is going there I want to go too. Mom taught me to read too, so it shouldn''t be a problem."

    His arms wrapped determinedly around one of my own, as if worried he would be immediately left behind if he didn''t hold on.

    "Ah, I would like to go as well sir."

    A polite, yet confident voice met my ears, it was Adrian. Hmmmmm, he didn''t Sound like a prideful noble brat.....what a pity.......I had so many wonderful things planned out for him  if he turned out as a brat.........Ehhhh, it¡¯s too soon to decide things, there may be hope yet!

    "Well, you''re all qualified so I guess I have no problem with that."

    And with that we were all enrolled into the top Middle rank school Dagda.

 Chapter 10: Leaving Home

    With the Testing and school selection done, we took the long journey home so we could pack for school.

    Tch, no bandits again.......

    When we arrived home, I was knocked flat on my back when an exuberant Void bulldozed into my stomach. I had decided to leave him home in case he freaked out in the chaotic capital, so when our departure day arrived, I trapped him in my closet because it was a bother*cough*  firmly explained to him to him why he couldn''t come and eventually gained his reluctant agreement.

    -Papa, Papa, Papa!-

    Still haven''t learned any other words huh?

    I shoved Void off my chest and stood up, he immediately raced up my body and drooped happily around my shoulders. Haaaa, just can''t take a hint can you little bugger.......

    I ran and hid *cough**cough* I went to my room and packed my bag while leaving Aaron to tell our parents about everything that happened at the testing and face the apocalypse*cough**Ahem* their reactions.

    All of my clothes had gained mysterious tears since the last time I had seen them. I focused my attention on Void.

    "So you did hold a grudge for me locking you in the closet and leaving you here."

    Void gave a proud chirp and rubbed his scaly head on my cheek.

    Well.....at least you have some guts.....I patted him approvingly on the head.

    An idea occurred to me and I grinned, That would be Fun........I happily added a needle and some thread to my packed bag.

    Leaning back, I pondered something.........why exactly did I have a thread and needle in my room?...........I''m forgetting something............hmmmm............what was it............

    Ah!

    I grabbed a knife and slid under the bed. feeling around the bottom of my mattress, I felt a roughly sown seam and carefully cut through it. Reaching through the straw stuffing, I grabbed a thick bundle and wiggled out from underneath my bed. Inside the bundle was the spoils from the two magical beasts I had killed before the testing. I pulled everything out of my bag and placed the bundle at the bottom, then carefully replaced everything.

    All of the things I had gathered over seven years fit into a single small bag, I''ve never been much of a materialistic person. My side of the room felt bare and empty, with only a bed to disrupt the vibrations of the wooden floor. It had been home for a short time, but that was all it was, a short time, like all the others.....

    I sigh and then turn and go pack Aaron''s bag as well, after my parent''s ermmmmm, ''reactions'' he wouldn''t be in any state to pack for awhile. Three bags later, Aaron''s side of our room was bare as well. I sat on the floorboards in front of my window one last time, letting the sun warm my face.

    When I estimated enough time for my parents to calm down, I stood up and went to the doorway with all four bags in my hands. Turning once more to the room, I gave a small bow.

    "Thank you for being such an excellent nest for mischief."

    The room hummed sadly back at me, after all those years of mediation, my room had been infused with mana and gained a slight conscience of its own that had a surprisingly similar personalty, we had become great partners in crime *cough* friends.

    I turned to leave, but suddenly there was a loud creak from behind me. Not bothering to turn around, I focused my senses. a small strip of wood was peeling itself from the floor boards, and I could feel the familiar warmth of my room concentrating around it. The wood strand floated towards me, and on instinct I turned to face it and gently stretched my hand out to meet it.  It instantly wrapped itself around my wrist and hummed with pride and amusement.

    "Haaa, as expected for something with my personality, it let me think until the last minute that I would have to leave it. I grinned down at my new bracelet.

    "Ready to make some new mischief at school?"

    -hummmmmm!!!-

    "Me too!"

    Far away, a certain building shivered for no apparent reason, causing its occupants to look around curiously.

    Finally leaving my room, I headed downstairs quietly. Aaron was slumped in a corner while my parents were sobbing off in their own world on the other side of the room. I silently walked over to Aaron and shook his shoulder. I felt him weakly lift his head up.

    "S....save.....me...big....bro......mom.......scary....dad.....too......"

    His breath was shaky, his body was limp with exhaustion , and he smelled strongly of singed hair.

    Idiot, you should have learned to run away from their episodes by now.....well, you did a good job as scapegoat so I''ll help you this time.

    "Ah! There''s Felix!"

    Ah! The monsters *cough* idiotic parents noticed me!

    No time to be gentle, I slung Aaron over my shoulders, grabbed the bags and sprinted through the front door.

    The carriage was waiting a short ways away, Adrian already inside and ready to go. Having excellent foresight, I had had Aaron wait with me two hours after we arrived, asking Adrian to get packed as quickly as possible. Even he had heard of some of my parents..ermmm....eccentricities and he readily agreed with a sympathetic nod, he didn''t seem to eager to stay either. This time we would all be riding in one carriage, so it was essential for him to be ready.

    Half way to the carriage, I shouted at the driver, always conscious of the forms of my parents chasing behind me.

    "Start moving right now, FULL SPEED!"

    Hearing my desperate tone, the driver immediately urged the horses into motion.

    "Kyaaaaa, my son can talk!"

    Darn! I forgot!

    I felt heat begin to rush from my mother''s form as she entered the horrifying super excited state, flames running uncontrolled along her arms and through her hair, her speed increased as well.

    Noooooo!

    With difficulty I raised my arm up and used my teeth to remove the suppression ring on my finger, time to pull out all the stops!

    Running as fast as I could with my arms full of luggage and Aaron jostling around on my shoulder as dead weight, I rapidly increased the distance between me and my parents and barely managed to grab hold of one of the carriages as the horses broke.

    Finally safe, I shouted cheerfully at the comfortingly shrinking figures of my parents.

    "By Mom and Dad, see you in a few years!"

    Despite their craziness, they deserved a proper......ish farewell.

    On my shoulder, Aaron weakily muttered.

    "Please let age have mellowed you by then."

    My thoughts exactly little brother.

    After some shifting, I managed to open the carriage door and we slid inside, bags and all. I could feel Adrian staring at us, his heart beating with amazement.

    "I had heard the stories, but they really don''t do your parents justice."

    Aaron and I silently nodded.

    We were travelling to one of the outer cities, where we would meet the mister school representative  with any other new students from our kingdom of Ediraseth, from there we would travel as a group to the school, which was located at the point where all four kingdoms of our vast continent met.

    Hmmmmm......what was his name again........Ronnie?.....Rolly?...........Rocky?.........Ah, whatever, Mister suits him just fine.

    The journey to the outer city named Garden was uneventful, to say the least.

    Grrrrr....And to think I even ordered*cough* asked Adrian to skimp on the guards, I refuse to believe this country didn''t have bandits......

    In my disappointment, I made my own little dungeon of gloom in one of the corners of the carriage, and spent the whole time stitching up the rips in my clothes.

    Adrian was a surprisingly nice guy, though a little awkward as this was his first time talking with people his own age. He even offered to buy me new clothes after he saw all the tears in mine, he certainly had the money to do so, but I politely turned him down. These clothes would be perfect for the first part of my prank..*cough**Ahem* I mean these would suit me just fine for school......*chuckle*

    I still can''t believe that Adrian turned out to be a decent being (which fact I had by now sadly confirmed as true, uuuuuu, all those awesome plans.......).

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    According to him, it was all thanks to a stern but motherly nurse who raised him, she had knocked any prideful noble notions out of his head the moment she spotted them showing with her ever sharp tongue that could bring even grown men to tears. Adrian basically hadn''t even had a chance.

    We arrived in Garden city safe and sound, though Void and Aaron were both covered in scratches for no apparent reason. Adrian leaned towards me and nervously.

    "I hope Mr. Roland is at the GreenDragon inn where we''re supposed to meet..."

    I turned my face towards him so he could see my frown.

    "Who''s that?"

    "Ummmm, just the representative who''s the very reason we are even enrolled in Dagda, the top middle rank school?"

    Hmmmm, was that sarcasm I was hearing? Looks like I was rubbing off on Adrian.....

    "Ah! you mean Mister!"

    "His name is Roland, not Mister...."

    "No, its Mister"

    "Its Roland"

    "Mister"

    "Roland"

    "Fine! I''ll make a concession, Mister R"

    Adrain sighed and slid away from me, fufufufu, no one can beat me in a battle of stubbornness......well......except for the parasite and the brat, but they were really special cases so they don''t count...

    Mister R was indeed waiting for us at the Something-Dragon inn, along with five other children, who all gave off the air of noble brats.

    I almost cried with joy, the plans, all the plots I so carefully conceived for a bratty Adrian in my whole seven years, instead of being discarded, could now have five whole targets!

    The five children in front of me shivered, despite it being a warm and rather muggy day, hmmmm, could they all have caught colds? I immediately took a step away, I had too many plots *cough* things to do to waste time being sick.

    We were all herded to a large carriage, I elected to sit on the roof, away from any possible sickness and our journey to school began.

    After about a week of peaceful travel, I was sitting bored on top of the carriage when my ears caught the sound of distant thrumming.

    I stood up, my grinning smile feeling like it would split my face.

    Bandits!

    Finally!!!!!

    But first, I need to get rid of any possible interference.

    I moved off the roof and slid through one of the open carriage windows, then smiled innocently and turned my face towards Mister.

    "Ne~ Mister R, I can hear some bandits heading our way."

    "Ah, must be the usual raid, they always try to capture the noble children heading to our school so they can hold them for ransoms, don''t worry, this is the reason I''m here, I''ll take care of them, they''ve never succeeded even once."

    "Ehhh, I''ll take care of them, no need for you to get involved."

    "There''ll be too many for you to-"

    I cut him off.

    "Behhh, I can do it, it''ll be a good learning experience for them *cough* me, and if it really looks like I can''t handle it you can step in......But, ONLY then."

    I let a light killing intent flood the carriage.

    "If any of you unnecessarily interfere with my playtim-*cough* battle, I''ll rend you into bloody chunks of lifeless meat...............*Ahem* I mean I''ll be unhappy, you understand, Ne~"

    Not bothering to wait for an answer, I flipped off the window seal and landed easily on the ground, eagerly waiting for the bandits. The carriage slowed and stopped a short distance away, but no one exited the carriage.

    Fufufufuuu, very good.

    The tremors of the earth under my bare feet gradually grew, hmmmm, not a harsh enough tremor for horses, they must be on foot......how were they planning to catch the carriage?

    Hmmmmm, Mister R had said that something about this being a usual thing and it never working, hmmmmm, they must be the stupid and stubborn type of  bandits, that take the failure as a challenge.......Well, I can work with that.

    Roland AKA Mister R''s point of view:

    "If any of you unnecessarily interfere with my playtim-*cough* battle, I''ll rend you into bloody chunks of lifeless meat...............*Ahem* I mean I''ll be unhappy, you understand, Ne~"

    The boy smiled innocently at me, a deep contrast with the heavy killing intent filling the carriage, the other children''s faces had started to turn blue, well, except for his brother, that strange Aaron kid, who''s eyes literally sparkled. Felix then easily flipped out of the carriage and landed on the ground.

    "*Sigh* I want to become as strong as Big Bro some day.......but that''s impossible so I''ll just become his second hand, grrrrr, I won''t lose to that stupid lizard......."

    I ordered the carriage to stop, then prepared to get out and stop the strange little blind kid, as a medium rank Hurricane, I couldn''t just let the kid go out there and get killed, I''d totally lose my job. The Aaron kid grabbed my arm and looked at me, his little face serious,  blue eyes piercing and blond hair tousled.

    "Better to stay here Mister Roland, you heard what my brother said about rending*cough* I mean being  unhappy, he killed a low rank magical beast in one blow when we were only four years old, haaaaaaaaa, Felix is really awesome........."

    Aaron''s grip loosened and his eyes lost focus as he seemed to drift off into his own little world.

    A drop of cold sweat rolled down my back, killing a magical beast at the age of four? Even if it was a low rank? Unheard of....... I recalled how innocent and sweet little Felix had been, and then the ruthless killing intent he had just shown.........

    Thi-this kid is scary......

    Back to Felix:

    I raced towards the approaching bandits, letting my senses fully sharpen for the battle. I had found that keeping my senses on full power all the time tired me out mentally, so I loosened them for daily use, though their detection ability still remained formidable, my surroundings would feel blurry.

    On full power, I could tell exactly where each and every bandit was, how they moved, the reach of their weapons, and even read their heartbeats and tensing of muscles to predict their next attack.

    Needless to say, each bandit only took one chop to the back to knock them unconscious, I didn''t want to kill, I had......plans for them, puhahaha. After knocking the hundred or so bandits into dreamland, I stopped in front of the guy who I had determined to be the leader, he had the best weapons and none of the bandits stood too close to him. The bandit leader stood firmly but, I could smell his fear. Well done, I like it when they show courage, they become better toys*cough**cough* enemies.

    For show, I leaned expectantly towards the bandit leader, letting of an air of menace.

    "W-what do you want from me"

    Smart, he immediately noticed that since I didn''t knock  him unconscious like the others, I had other plans for him.

    "I just want to give you this, Mister Bandit."

    I handed a small little quarts rock to him, the moment he took it I felt it give off a flash of heat, good it had worked~

    "T-this is......."

    "Yep, training methods, I wasn''t sure you''d be able to read, so I compiled them into the quartz as memories so they could be transferred directly to your mind. Train your men hard and if you give me a good fight next time, I''ll give you even better training methods. Good luck~~"

    I waved happily at him and began to walk away, more amusement for me in the future~~

    Ah! almost forgot! I turned back around so he could see me flash  a menacing smile.

    "Oh, and if you don''t do well, it won''t turn out as well for you as in this battle you know~~"

    With that, I returned to the carriage with a spring in my step.

    Sorry this chapter took a few days to come out, my computer stopped working for a bit....

    Can you tell me how to do a poll? I can''t figure it out :dizzy:

 Chapter 11: The Welcoming Ceremony

    Returning to the carriage and leaped onto the roof with a small thump, moments later I heard Mister R tell the coachman to go, the carriage lurched into motion. I laid back on the carriage and let the sun warm my face, sighing happily.

    "That''s going to be fun."

    -hum-hummmm!-

    -Papa?-

    I ignored Void and addressed the wooden bracelet on my wrist.

    "You agree? Thanks for helping me infuse that quartz, its usually harder to infuse anything into such low grade crystals, but you managed to pack quite a few in there."

    The bracelet hummed with pride.

    "Mmmmmmnnnn, I suppose I should give you a name, how about Woody, or Hummer?

    It replied with a disapproving tone.

    "Haaa, I suppose I should be a bit serious...."

    "Ah! I know, what about Arvid, it means wood in some other language."

    -Hummmmmm!!!-

    "You like it, that''s good......."

    My nose suddenly caught the heavy scent of lighting and rain, I frowned, storm must be coming....I''ll have to go back inside the carriage....I addressed the sky.

    "If I get sick, I Will find a away to get revenge."

    There was a nervous sounding roll of thunder in the distance.

    I slid through the carriage and settled on the only open spot on the seats. Mister R turned towards me, his motion disturbing to air in the carriage.

    "What''s wrong this time?"

    "Storm...."

    "Ah....."

    The carriage fell into silence for the rest of the trip to school, for a moment I felt sorry for the driver when the rain began to pound down on the roof, but then Mister R explained that there was a special protection spell on the drivers seat so he wouldn''t get wet.

    Darn, that meant I could''ve just sat up with the driver......

    Luckily the rain let up just as we arrived at school. I hopped happily out of the carriage, feeling mud squish between my toes, hmmmmmm, the water conducted vibrations even better. I The school was large, I could feel numerous columns through thee earth, and the winds whistled through many carvings and statues. Obviously nobles wouldn''t attend a plain school.....

    Mister R guided inside to a large room  where the principal of the school would greet all the new students. There were already several groups of children inside the room. I heard them begin to whisper as we entered the room.

    "Hey, do you see those two kids....."

    "I heard commoners made it into the school this year, but I didn''t believe it....."

    "That blond haired and blued eyed kid isn''t too bad, but do you see what that long white haired kid is wearing......."

    "His clothes are all ripped, he looks like a beggar....."

    Fufufufuuuu, phase one of the clothing plan is complete......

    Ignoring them, I walked to the back of the room and settled into one of the chairs, settling my bag next to it. Aaron and Adrian took my lead and settled into chairs next to me. They had offered to take my bag, and all the others had excepted, but I had worried that some nosy porter would rummage through my bag and find the magical beast materials, so I chose to keep it with me.

    I felt the warmth of Arvid reach out to the surrounding, then pull back slightly.

    -hummm..hum..hummmmmm!-

    Hmmmmm, so this building has a living conscience too? I guess it makes sense since there would be a lot of people meditating here, there must be a lot of gathered energy.

    I whispered quietly to Arvid.

    "Better wait until we''re alone to take control, just gather your strength for now."

    We waited for a couple of hours, during that time I focused on feeding energy to Arvid, there really was more elemental energy gathered around here. Finally after several more groups arrived, the welcoming ceremony began.

    "Hello everyone, I am the head principal of Dagda, my name is Barack Halifax, I am a High rank Meteor, I could''ve gone on to a learn in a high rank school, but I found my life to feel more fulfilled when I mentor young bright sparks like you. I will do my best to make sure you have a nourishing environment to grow in. Right now, packets are being passed around, they contain all the classes we have and their descriptions, you have the next hour and a half to choose seven of them, choose wisely. We will interfere if we feel you are taking a class beyond your scopes, but other than that you will have full control over your schedule. As you realize, there are people here from all four kingdoms of our vast

    Cerulean continent, I encourage you to interact and make long lasting connections. I hope you all have a good time training."

    The principal then left, he had a mellow, young sounding voice, hmmmmmm.....reaching High rank must rejuvenate the body, but all that junk about ''nourishing bright young sparks'' was probably a huge pile of lies, he probably just couldn''t make it into any high rank schools.

    Still, the speech was short and sweet, that sure is rare.  I liked him just for that.

    I could feel dozens of packets  floating through the air, each landing in front a student. What a flashy use of mana, I approve.

    Once my packet floated down to me, I carefully ran my fingers over the pages, perusing each and every class. My first six classes were fairly easy pick.

    Basic Spells

    I hadn''t learned anything about the way mana was manipulated in this world, any magic I had discretely done was based off my unmatched amount of experience, but I needed to make sure I didn''t openly do anything beyond the scopes of this worlds known capabilities. That would have to wait until I was strong enough to deal with any pests.

    Martial Arts

    Same as spells, I hadn''t learned any of this world''s fighting styles, but I plan to use the personal fighting style I had developed  throughout many reincarnations, I just wanted to see competition I would have.

    Magical Theory

    The perfect stage for me to show off*cough**cough**Ahem* I mean  improve the world''s magical standard.

    History

    A reincarnation basic, I always like to know the past so I know how to stir up the most trouble......*Ahem* History is always Very interesting.

    Politics and Etiquette

    Perfect place to constantly irritate the bratty nobles just by being present.

    Meditation

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.Everyone in the school did it, so I would be able to evaluate everyone and pick new targets..*cough* I mean make new ''friends''.

    As for the last class, it should be something I could use to train my senses even more or play with a lot of people......hmmmmmmm,,,,,I ran my fingers along the classes, trying to decide.

    Ah! Puhahahahahaha, that would be perfect!

    With an evil grin on my face, I wrote down my seventh class. It had only taken thirty minutes to decide which classes to take, so I spent the next hour funneling more energy into Arvid.

    When the time was up, everyone was told file into a single line to turn our forms in for inspection, I ended somewhere in the middle of the line, a wide space created around me by the nobles in front and behind me, I could feel Aaron was a few people back and had the same problem, though not as bad. Adrian was a few people in front of me and he was a bit squashed, ha, the advantages of being a lowly commoner was that nobles avoided us like being low born was a disease they could catch, so we always had plenty of space.

    When my turn finally came, I handed over my paper of selections with an expectant grin on my face.

    "Ah, Basic spell, Martial Arts, History, and Meditation  are all fine, ummm Politics and Etiquette, and Magical Theory will have to be a determine later, when we''ve seen how you do in the class, but ermmmm..... I don''t think you can do the last class kid."

    Hmmm, so they have a wait and see policy, that cuts down some of the headaches *cough* arguments I had planned to make sure I got into Magical Theory and Politics and Etiquette..........Well, at least the best one was still left. I smiled innocently and tilted my head to the left in a cute, puzzled manner.

    "Eh~ But this class specifically said any one could take it~~"

    "Kid, you do realize you''re BLIND"

    "Soooo??"

    "This is an ART class."

    Fufufuuuu, I could feel the class adviser''s headache building.

    "What does that have to do with me being blind mister?"

    "Umm, for one iart generally requires VISUAL observation."

    "Ehhhhh, but I think I''ll still be fine......"

    "No, you won''t..."

    "Will"

    "Won''t"

    Mwahahaha, the battle of atrition has come!

    "Will"

    "Won-"

    "Mr. Jasper, I think you should just let this kid do what he wants...."

    Curses, Mister R cut off my fun...*cough* ended our heated conversation. Grrrrr.... I''ll  get you back for this!

    Mister R''s body suddenly slumped.

    "J....just put it in the see later pile, if he really doesn''t do well you can take him out of it, until then, you still have about half of the students to go through and if you get into an argument with him, who knows what will happen..............."

    Mr...........what was it?..................... ah whatever...... unhappily handed me an approved schedule and a key to my dorm room.

    I grumpily walked away, heading to the group of checked children and slumping against a wall.

    I wanted to see how long the Will and Won''t war would have lasted......................

    Adrain walked over to me.

    "Man, all that stuff about choosing classes is a load of junk, as first year students, they only let us start with basic classes, hey, Felix, what classes are you taking?"

    I showed him my paper.

    "Ah, same classes as me except for Magical Theory and......ummm....Art........they actually let you take that? Oh, that must be why Mr. Roland interfered up there just now......"

    I felt Aaron walk over.

    "What classes did you chooses Big Bro?"

    I tossed my schedule towards him.

    "Ah, same as me! This means we''ll have all the same classes, what a coincidence, we must really be twins!"

    I heard Adrian mutter something under his breath.

    "...because..you....copied....his...sheet....."

    Strange.........

    Once everyone''s classes were checked and confirmed, we were finally allowed to leave the hall and head to our dorms.

    Time to hack the school*cough* check out my new home~

    Following the flow of people, I entered the dorms and felt engravings on my dorm key.

    Number 555, hmmmm.... The number five often stood for adventure, unpredictability, and chaos.....and grouped in the auspicious number of three..........It suits me Perfectly.

    Seems Fate decided to play one of her little jokes, I grinned to myself.

    I began walking down the hall, stretching my arm out so my fingers could brush the right side of room numbers, I passed  the hundreds, two hundreds, three hundreds, and four hundreds in only about ten minutes. Hmmmmmm, the door were all set right next together.....too close for normal rooms, so they must be enchanted with dimensional spells, but when I stretched out my mana sense to check, it was blocked by a privacy ward......hmph, as expected of a rich kids school, they try to suck the fun out of everything........but...Arvid and I would being changing that soon enough....*chuckle*

    Lets see.....513.....527.......539.....551......Ah! 555, here it is!

    Before using the key to open the door, I laid my hand on the sturdy oak and focused my senses.

    -MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM-

    Hmmmm, so this building did have more power than Arvid, but...........What''s with this bland personality?

    This school has definitely been absorbing energy for a much longer time than Arvid, and in a greater quantity, yet it''s consciousness had failed to develop even a spark of personality.

    Pondering, I absentmindedly unlocked the door and stepped into the room, space distortion as I had expected.............Hrmmmmmmm, maybe it was because so many different people had gathered energy here? Did it not get a chance to fully assimilate with one personality.

    I tapped Arvid.

    "You think you can handle this?"

    True partners in crime *cough**cough* friends  are hard for me to come by.....

    -Hmm.....Hmmmm.......HHHMMMMmmmmm!!!-

    "So you can do it? Is it because you''ve already developed a personality, unlike the school?"

    -MmmmmmHmmmmmm!-

    "I see, then shall we begin?"

    -HmmHmm!-

 Chapter 12: Breakfast, My First Royal Encounter

    I settled onto the smooth wood floor with my legs crossed and pulled Arvid off, holding him  in my hands. Carefully, I reached out with my mind and merged my power with Arvid''s consciousness, he would need the extra boost to take over all of the power the school had accumulated. Done, I leaned back and let Arvid do his thing.

    He stretched out his warm conscious, much strong now with the aid of my own energy, and pushed gently against the schools power, drew back, then pushed again, then hovered near the wall, imitating the gathering of elemental energy. The difference of power meant Arvid couldn''t make a straight forward attack, but rather act craftily. Unfortunately for the school, it was something we both excelled at.

    Thinking Arvid was just a mass of energy, the school reached out and swallowed him, then tried to absorb the energy it had absorbed...but Arvid resisted, and began absorbing the school''s energy instead. In this instance, the lack of personality was the school''s downfall, it was unable to defend itself from Arvid''s attack. The more energy Arvid asorbed, the faster he spread, and soon the whole school was under his control.

    Once I felt that he had finished, I gently pulled my own power back, and grinned.

    "So, how does it feel Arvid?"

    -Intermmmm.......hhhiiisssttiinnngggg.........-

    "Oh, you can use words now?"

    -Mmmmm....Lhhaaaargggge.....Bbbhheeetter......inhhhhterrrrfaceeee......-

    "Ah, so it''s because the school is larger and has more energy?"

    -Mmm....Hmm....-

    "Nice! Well, start scoping things out, I''m going to go to sleep now, I want to be fully awake for the first day of school.....*chuckle*...I can''t wait!"

    I tossed my bag in a corner and flopped onto the large bed in my room, Void squawked at my sudden movement, then moved off my shoulders and curled up next to me . Haaaaa, as expected, its very cushy. I quickly fell asleep.

    I was wakened a new but strangely familiar voice.

    "Hey Boss~~ Time to get up, breakfast starts in 20 minutes, and then classes start, I found out a lot of things about this school last night too~ There no time now, but I''ll tell you all about it tonight. Eh! Boss! Don''t roll back over! Get up!"

    "............................Is that.....Arvid?"

    "Yep! Turns out I hadn''t fully integrated when you went to sleep last night, but I finished being changed by that awesome amount of energy I figured that instead of just using vibrations to communicate, I was able to project a voice out~~"

    I lurched sleepily out of the bed, letting my feet thump on the plush carpet..........wait.............carpet? Didn''t I have wooden floors last night? Curious, I clicked my tongue and listened to the resulting soft reverberations. My room was several times larger than I remembered last time, there was more furniture too, now that I think of it, the bed was bigger too.......and was that a chandelier!?

    "......Arvid......What did you do?"

    "Ah, you''re talking about the room right? I overheard that headmaster and teachers talking last night, they say these rooms configure in degree to your potential, but in reality the teachers are designing the rooms to favor more politically powerful nobles, they had a really nasty design planned out for you, but I''ve completely changed it, you now have the best room of all the students. I''m working on changing the other students rooms as well so they...properly suit their level."

    I grinned maliciously.

    "Oh man, this is going to be awesome."

    I moved over to my bag and rummaged through my clothes, looking for the worst set, then pulled them on. I re-wrapped the bandage covering my mark from Void and flexed my hand, making sure it didn''t interfere with my movement, I didn''t want to show it off until I figured how I could use it for pranks *cough* until I knew what it meant.

    "Boss, I can''t wait for when you finish your clothing prank~ Is there any way I can help out?"

    "Na, I got this one handled, and I have other things planned for you to do."

    "Oooohhh, what is it Boss, what can I do!!"

    "Patience Arvid, we''re starting slow so they can build up resistance so they survive *cough* can handle the bigger stuff, you can''t do too much right now, I also need that info you have to fully complete my plans, so you''ll have to wait until tonight just like me."

    "Awwww....."

    "If I have to wait, you have to wait too, deal with it."

    I grabbed my room key and left the room, Void scurried onto my shoulder and draped himself around my neck, completely cover by my long hair. Following my nose, I soon tracked down the eating hall.

    "Hey Big Bro!"

    "Hey Felix!"

    Aaron and Adrian greeted me as soon as I pushed open the doors, they were sitting at a small table near the entrance, one of the many I could feel in the large cafeteria. I ignored them both, brushing past their table just long enough to drop a small  folded note I had prepared earlier onto in front of Aaron. I heard the crackle of paper. I heard Aaron whisper to Adrian.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Looks like Big Bro is plotting something, so he doesn''t want us to associate with him for this week."

    Good.

    I then spread my senses, focusing on the room while grabbing a tray and some food from a buffet table, free of charge, just the way I like it.

    Ah, there they are, the table of elites, all the tables surrounding them were empty because no one dared to sit near them. I immediately walked over and settled into one of those empty tables, then hunched over and began sloppily shoveling food into my mouth in a very uncivilized manner. The elited, of course, immediately noticed me.

    "What is this beggar doing?"

    ''What''s with his clothes and hair......he''s not even wearing shoes......and the way he''s eating food.......so disgusting......."

    "How did such a lowly commoner even manage to get into this school..."

    "Your highness, I''ll get rid of this pest for you"

    Hmmmm, so a boot-licker was coming over....just as I expected.

    "Hey, you piece of trash, are you blind? Only the best nobles can sit here, so move, preferably to a garbage can, that''s where you commoners spend most of your time anyway right? It should feel just like home to you see, its better for everyone one that way."

    Giggles erupted from the surrounding tables.

    I sighed sadly, such an uncreative joke, I would have to work on improving that.....But first, the fun stuff.

    I leaned back in my chair and tilted my head back so they could see the evil grin *cough* friendly smile on my face, then opened my eyes wide so they would be able to see their icy pale color.

    "As a matter of fact, I am blind you idiotic kiddo, so I reaaalllllyy can''t See any reason for me to move."

    The guy sputtered, unable to come up with a response. A new wave of nervous laughter filled the room.

    A new guy''s voice cut in, cultured and refined.

    "This area has always been reserved for the strongest and top tier nobles, though a blind commoner like you may have somehow miraculously managed to claw your way into this school, you''re still a pathetic weakling compared to us, don''t get cocky you little sewer rat."

    Better.........

    "Y-your highness, there is no need to address this trash personally....."

    Hmmmm, so the top dog had gotten involved personally.....fun!

    I let my grin spread even further across my face.

    "Ehhhhhhh, but I don''t think I''m all that weak, Princey boy~~ What''s your rank?"

    Out raged sputters erupted from the boot-licker. He was ignored. I felt his ''royal highness'' stand up and walk over, his breath brushing my face as he leaned over me in an attempt of intimidation.

    Mmmmmm, nice and minty, do nobles in this world get to use  form of tooth cleanser? I myself had perfect teeth because of a quick brush of purified mana each morning, but that was a method of my own personal creation. Sore teeth can distract from plotting *cough* important things.

    "I am a Middle rank Gale in mana and ki."

    "Ara? Pretty impressive, I''m a Middle rank Gale in mana as well......but I''m just............. Storm rank in ki......*sigh* so I guess you should leave me alone you know~~"

    Disbelieving mutters ran through the room.

    "Y-you''re lying"

    "Ehhh, no I''m not, but I guess you''ll feel more comfortable when you ask a teacher, so I suggest you wait to label someone a liar until you''re sure of all the facts~~"

    Finished with my food, I stood up suddenly, causing the prince boy to take several stumbling steps back. I turned my back on him and walked away arrogantly, leaving my dirty plate at the table.

    "W-wait, how can we ask a teacher if you aren''t even brave enough to tell us your name coward."

    I waved my hand idly in the air, not bothering to turn around.

    "Ah, thanks, almost forgot that bit.The name''s Felix Bardon, first year student, arrived yesterday, that should be enough right? See ya around Princey~~

    Haaaaa, that was relaxing.......

    Letting the doors close easily behind me, I tapped on the wall.

    "Ne~ Arvid, where''s my first class."

    "Kakakaaa, Boss that was awesome, you''re first class is Basic Spells right? Go straight down this hall and turn left then keep going, it''s the second door to right.

    "Thanks"

    Time to see what other havoc I could create~~

 Chapter 13: The First Day of Classes; Part One

    Basic spells.........................

    .....B.......boring............All the teacher did was have us do self-introductions....I had Arvid break some chair legs and trip people just to break up the dullness....some girls skirts were flipped too...

    I raced out of the class as soon as the bell rang, tears *cough* sweat in my eyes, they had better do something interesting tomorrow, or I''ll make sure there won''t be basic spells class anymore, I hate boring things the most........

    "Aaa, Boss that was painful, but next is Martial Arts.....it should be a lot more pleasant, indeed, from what I saw of the first class, this instructor has real style~ Just turn right here and go straight, the doors at the end of the hall lead to the outside field where the class is being held."

    "Hmmm, if he''s a martial artist with the kind of style we like, he''s probably a training idiot with a crafty side right? "

    "Ah-ha, yep, you''ve mostly guessed it~"

    "Great! Those guys are the best kind of pawns *cough* teachers."

    Hmmmmmm, how best to proceed......Best to check things out first, there are several different brands of those kind of idiots after all......... I slowed my pace, allowing most of the other students heading to the field flow past by me, then tagged along with the end of the pack. As the morning sun warmed my face, a stern voice rang out.

    "All right kiddos, I am Raina Sunder, your instructor, today is your first day so I''m just going to have you go through this little obstacle course to test the level of your actual abilities, not that pitiful system of power rankings. "

    Hmmmmm, a woman? Ah that kid Arivd really is a being after my own heart, I ''mostly guessed it'' was what he said, just what I would have done, I approve~~

    And from what I could tell, the ''obstacle course'' was a most definetly not ''small'' mass behind where the teacher''s voice had originated, hmmmmmm,  the sound of whooshing blades, crackling fire, lots of creaking from moving objects, ooooh, there are pits of sloshing mysterious substances as well. Nice, it really is my kind of style~

    "Ms, Raina, there''s no way we could get through that, you''ve got to be kidding right? And don''t we need to change clothes?"

    One of the few girls in the class quickly complained.

    "Nonsense! We live in a world where strength is everything! Your opponent won''t wait while you change clothes, and you never know what kind of obstacles you might come to face, before you can learn a fighting style, you must learn how to survive!

    This is a test to see how far this years cream puffs *Ahem* class is from being able to actually get into some of the real stuff, don''t worry, you''re not required to get all the way through today, just as far as you can, in fact, no one has made it through in the fifty years I''ve started doing this, don;t worry, it''s set to a nonlethal level, so you can try your hardest without fear of injury, unlike a few years ago when the blades were sharpened and that kid lost his arm.............stupid school safety committee........without the danger it''s not as interesting.........."

    Ah, truly my kind of person, let''s add some spice to the situation~

    I shifted to the front of the crowd, darting through gaps in the crown of students, then raised my hand and lifted onto the tip of my toes, adding a little bounce to create the picture of an over-eager student wanting to ask an urgent question.

    "Yes?"

    "Ne~~ Miss Teacher, if someone makes through today, shouldn''t they get some sort of prize? After all, you said that no one had mad it through, so it would be pretty amazing right~ Everyone would probably try harder to if there was a prize~"

    "Aahhh! That''s a good idea! Ok, if any one makes it through, they can make one request of me, anything goes, they can even get an automatic 100 for the year or............... even have this pretty teacher of yours get you a high grade weapon, I''m a pretty good friend of the famous Roseblade black smith you know~~Hey kid, nice thinking there, what''s your na- ehhh, where did he go?"

    I had slipped back into the crowd once she had taken the bait.

    The nobles were now extremely excited, high grade weapons took several years to forge were hard to obtain even for most top tier nobles, most of them monopolized by those in the high rank of power, yet here was someone offering to make a personalized weapon just as a prize for getting through an obstacle course, not only that, the Roseblade smith was a fairly well known female weapons smith that specialized in creating extremely sharp blades.

    I, of course, don''t care about any weapons, I have plenty of top-gear forging methods I''ve picked up over the years that can easily create unmatched blades with the right materials, I had a different goal in mind.

    The students rushed to get in line, desperate to get the best position possible, so they could make it through the course before someone else won the prize. I didn''t bother, moving directly to the back of the line, from what I could tell, none of these cream puff nobles would have a chance making it, and even Aaron who I had trained personally, without some serious luck, would never make it fully through.

    Complying with my earlier order *cough* request Aaron and Adrian both  avoided joining me at the back of the line, ending up somewhere in the middle.

    As I had predicted, none of the babied nobles made it past the beginning of the course, all failing to get past the area where I could hear the crackling of flames coming from, Adrain just barely managed to get through the passed the flames, but ended up falling into some kind of sludge that smelled REALLY bad. Aaron, of course easily made it past the flame area, hah, it was nothing compared to that monst-*cough* our mother...... And after my training, he could easily make it past the sludge area that had defeated Adrian, but failed when he encountered the area where I heard the whistling of a lot blades.

    Hmmmmm, if Adrian kept hanging around, I would have to add him to my personal torture *cough**cough**Ahem* training list, I don''t allow weaklings to remain by my side........

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Finally, I was the last one to go, all of the failures gathered together on one side of the field watching me. Yes, the perfect audience is one that has already face the challenge and determined it impossible to surpass in their hearts. Time to crush their beliefs into hundreds of little pieces~~

    Our instructor, of course, recognized me as soon as I hopped onto the wooden starting platform.

    "Ah, kid, there you are, I was starting to think I had imagined you~ Thanks  to your advice, the kids this year have gotten farther than any of the previous years, so, what''s your name?"

    "Felix Bardon. and I''ll be taking that request miss Teacher~"

    Without a further word, I focused my senses and hopped into the course, time to have some fun~

    First, the fire area, low heat flame ran along dozens objects swinging randomly over a deep pit that I could feel was filled with mud, the only way across was a narrow log that began turn as soon as I placed my foot on it. Hmmm, so you have to keep your balance while dodging flaming pieces of junk heading towards your head? Heh, child-play.

    I ran steadily across the smooth log, easily dodging the flaming obstacles as I sensed them approaching.

    The next section, small pathway led to all 50 meter tall wall that generated a turbulent wind from various random section shooting in and out of the wall. Below was a pit of the terrible smelling substance I had smelled on Adrian, hmmm, as expected, the second challenge is a bit more interesting~

    The sections popping in and out were the only handholds to climb the wall. Ehh, it''s just like the forest, easily defeated.

    The next section was where the sound of whistling blades, the sounds echoed around a small enclosed corridor. The space was filled with blades, the was no place big enough for a person to slip through...

    Heeeeee, this teacher really does have style~

    Hmmmmmm, I could just climb over and skip it completely, but that wouldn''t be any fun~

    I started walking though the hallway, using my arms to block the blades at top speed, they thumped pretty hard on my forearms, but the dull blades couldn''t cause me any damage. Haaaa, if they were sharp it would be a lot more interesting........

    Adding some spiked traps and flying knives would be fun too........

    Gahhhhhh, all that fun taken away because some kid lost a limb........

    I''ll have to see how to work around that.... maybe there''s some blackmailing in my future....*chuckle*

    I passed through the hall of blades with an evil grin on my face.

    Finally, the last obstacle was a combination of all the previous obstacles.

    It was a 65 meter tall cylinder that was spinning around quickly, dully blades shooting out from various sections, other parts were burning,  and other parts would suddenly sink deep into the surface. Below the cylinder was a bubbling pit of a substance that smelled the worse of anything had smelled yet, urgh, there are downsides to a more advanced sense of smell.

    Still, aside from the smell.......awesome!!! This was a Real challenge.

    I dashed forward and grabbed onto one of the lower handholds and held on, letting my body whip around with the spinning motion, ahhh, the wind feels so nice~

    The block of wood I was holding onto begn to sink back into the surface of the cylinder, ehhh, better get going then....

    I moved rapidly upwards, dodging random blades and block that would suddenly pop out, and changing my course whenever I met an area covered in fire, must be magic if it hasn''t spread or gone out by now.

    I flipped happily to the top and stood steadily, despite the force whirling me around and around. I felt a rope hanging in the air above me, I grabbed it and tugged hard. Hmmm, the vibration feel like it angled down to the field, I was quite high up in the air by now. I jumped easily up onto the rope, balancing on it with my bare feet, and began easily sliding down the rope.

    Over the years, while my feet''s sense of touch had remained extremely sensitive, they had also toughened from all the running on rough bark and sharp stones I had encountered during my training, to the point that they were comparable to metal, so the friction from the rope didn''t even bother them.

    Disbeliveing whispers met my ears as I leapt easily to the courtyard, I welcomed their disbelief happily, hahaha, foolish mortals, down down before my glory *Cough* it was only natural.

    The instructor burst out laughing.

    "Ahahahah, no wonder you asked for a prize, you must have been pretty confident, looks like I finally got a good one this year, well, what request do  you want to make of this pretty Auntie, probably a weapon right~~"

    Whats with all this pretty stuff? From what I could tell, she definitely had a nice body, and her long hair made nice sounds in the wind, but it''s really weird to keep saying saying it about yourself.  Eh, whatever, I''ll just roll with it~

    "Ne~ Pretty lady, I have a different plan in mind,  can I help out with the training schedule?"

    "Hmmmm, you made it through the course, so you''ve had some good training, this is my schedule for the year...."

    "Aa~ This is pretty good, but if you add this......and change that......."

    "Oohh, that would really push them to their limits......."

    "Ehe, that''s the way people become strong you know~"

    "Ah! what if we did this......."

    "That;s even better, you''re smart and pretty too teacher, but if we do that then we should do this too......."

    "And this............"

    "Puhahaha, and......."

    "And......"

    "hahaha........"

    Felix''s class slowly moved away from their pretty female instructor and the weird blind kid who had made it through that impossible monstrosity, they were now huddled together, with a evil dark aurora gathering around them, even blocking out the sun.

 Chapter 14: The First Day of Class; Part Two

    Well, Instructor Raina and I hit it off right away~ But for some reason, my class seemed rather distant......Oh whatever~

    After spending the rest of the class period plotting *cough* offering ideas, I headed to my next class, Magical Theory.

    "Hello everyone, my name is Eamon Callahan, I will be your teacher for Magical Theory for as long as you want to take it.

    I will tell all you arrogant brats right now that this is not a easy class, to the many of you first years that I know took this class because you think the class will be just like Basic Spells and be an easy filler for your schedule, I strongly suggest you drop out now."

    Hmmmm, calling the nobles arrogant brats right to their faces, nice~ And now I think of it, Raina didn''t seem that friendly either..... So far it seems all the good teachers hate nobles, it would probably make sense if they were all commoners, but this is a top noble school, would they hire commoners to teach nobles? This requires further investigation...

    A light killing intent filled the room.

    "I''m not going to bother with a introduction to this class,  as like every year, most of you will be gone tomorrow, you have the rest of the class time to visit the administrators office to submit an application to leave my class, they''re quite used to it by now, so it''ll barely even take up a bit of your precious time."

    The stern voiced man then walked out of the classroom with light steps, slamming the door behind him.

    So he''s the grouchy scholar type? Eh, it''ll make class interesting~

    Moments after the door slammed shut, more than half of the class stood up and rushed to the door, causing the ground to tremble with their combined footsteps.

    ".........That guy is insane!"

    "Did you feel that huge killing intent, I almost passed out......"

    "........There is no way I''m going to stay in the class of that crackpot......."

    What gutless worms.....

    Still, now I have nothing to do......

    "Tch, Arvid, now I''m bored.........Where did that teacher guy go? I think I''ll  go bug him~"

    "Ah, I think he''s going to his personal workshop, at least he''s heading in that direction, so you want to annoy him Boss?"

    "Of course, poking a beehive is always a fun adventure, you know~"

    "Ahaha, as expected of Boss, well then, I''ll lead you there now then, give me a good show, K?"

    I slid back my chair and stood up, heading to the door.

    "Ah, Big Bro are you-"

    *KILLING INTENT*

    "Ahahaha, of course I mean strong blind kid that I''ve definitely never met before, are you changing out of this class?"

    That''s right Aaron, don''t forget your place.

    "No"

    "Ah......"

    I walked out of the class, slamming the door behind me. Arvid guided me through the halls to my destination.

    The smell of old books and fresh ink drifted from the door in front of me, yep, the smell of a true scholars den...

    I placed my hand on the cold metal door knob and twisted.

    *Clunk*

    Locked.

    "Arvid........."

    "Ah, sorry Boss, I''ll unlock that right now, don''t get mad...."

    The door swung open and I walked in.

    I could feel the space cluttered with piles of books, topped with old plates of half-finished food. The room of a dedicated researcher....

    "Hey, what are you doing in here!.......I''m sure I locked the door this time..........."

    The teacher''s annoyed voice came from the center of the room, where the chaos of the room was concentrated, I''m not completely sure, but I think there was the buzz of a desk under the flutter of all those book pages......

    Wow~ This guy just made my list of the top 100 messiest people I''ve ever met, and I''ve met A LOT of people......

    Ah! Focus Felix, playtime now, walk down memory lane later...

    "Ne~ The door swung open so I walked in, Mister teacher~"

    "Wha, but.... Whatever, that still doesn''t mean you should walk into someone else''s room!"

    "Ehhhh, but how would I tell that Mister, it''s not like I can see it you know~"

    "Not see it... Ah, you''re that blind commoner kid that got in this year, did you get lost then?"

    "Na, I followed you after you stormed out of class. you were very dramatic you know~"

    "I-I was not! But wait.... I you followed me, that means you knew this was my room, and how did you follow me in the first place, I''ve been here for over ten minutes, you would have come in a lot earlier if you had followed me."

    "Ehehe, you got me about the room~ But as for following you, blind people have their ways you know~"

    "Wait what way...Whatever, just get out, why did you even follow me?"

    "Na~ I just didn''t want want to have to wait until tomorrow to bug *cough* learn about Magical Theory from you~"

    "Wait until tomorrow like everyone else."

    "I refuse"

    "....LEAVE"

    "No"

    "......."

    "I''m not going to until you tell me~"

    "Haaaaaa, if I tell you, will you really leave me alone?"

    "Maybe~"

    "Guh........If you really want to know, you should just read this."

    I heard him shuffling things around, then there was a whooshing in the air. I barely caught the thin book before it hit my face.

    "Ehhhhh, are you bullying a blind person, this is a book you know~"

    "You said blind people have their ways, right? Besides, if you really didn''t have some way to read and write, they would have never let you in this school, no matter how impressive your power levels turned out to be."

    Pretty sharp~

    Arvid''s voice suddenly echoed quietly in my ear.

    "Boss, your history class is pretty far away from here, if you want to get there on time, you should probably leave soon.

    "Tch, no fun at all........"

    "Teachers are not here to  amuse you"

    Heh, that''s what you think.

    "Fine....I''ll leave if you answer just one simple question."

    "*Groan* Just get it over with fast...."

    "I''ve only been to three classes so far, but it seems to me that all the interesting teachers tend to not have a very friendly attitude towards the nobles and the ranking system, why is that?"

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    A cold silence filled the room.

    "Umm, I''m waiting~"

    "......What classes have you had, Boy"

    "Basic Spells, Martial Arts, and your class, my Basic Spells teacher kept fauning over the all the noble kids during self-introductions, it made me want to puke, but Raina was pretty awesome, and she didn''t seem to care much for the rankings."

    "I see.......To spot that so quickly is quite impressive."

    "Ehe, I like to pay attention to discordant things, for various reasons~~"

    Yes, my observation is all for the sake of making mischief at the most opportune times.

    "I see, well, since you''ve basically figured it out, I guess I can tell you before you go sticking your nose in everything to try and find out and get into Real trouble. The only thing is that you must swear never to tell anyone about this, Ever"

    Wow, he''s already got a pretty good evaluation of me down~

    "I swear never to tell anyone about this secret, if I should ever break this oath of promise, lighting shall strike me dead and shatter my soul."

    Well, it couldn''t actually shatter my soul, I had tried once out of curiosity, but it still was one of the coolest oaths I knew~

    A soft roll of thunder ran through the room, nature had witnessed and accepted my oath.

    "Y-you, that was a true oath, not one I''ve heard before, how did you-"

    ""Ye~ blind people have their ways, now spill it~"

    "Urgh, fine. These......interesting teachers, as you call them, including myself, are....the original teachers of the true Dagda school."

    My ears perked up, a possible messy past to play in has been located~

    "What do you mean, True Dagda school?"

    "I mean until seven years ago, the top Dagda middle rank school was nothing like the farce it is today."

    Oh man, I wish I had some popcorn right now....

    "True, we still chose from the best, but there was none of this sickening favoritism towards high tier nobles, nor was the level of ranking our main focus. We held our own tests, and selected from true ability, not power level, a skilled Wind, or even Breeze, could get in while a unskilled Gale ranker was rejected. Our school motto was the belief that low ranks could beat middle ranks, and middle ranks beat high ranks, if they could accurately use their own power, Skill over Power, the ideal that high rank schools are supposed to follow."

    "That high rank schools are supposed to follow?"

    "Yes, you know how it''s always said that high rank schools recruit from middle rank schools because they care more about skill level than power rank?"

    "Yeah, are you saying that''s a load of lies?"

    "Yep, they don''t care about skill level, they just want to collect as many of the best as they can show them off to other schools like pretty little trophies, our high rank division of the school was the only one that truly held to those ideals."

    "Wait, Dagda had a high rank school?"

    "Yes,  The Great Dagda high rank school,it was actually set up first, by like-minded high rankers that wanted to truly follow the ideals of Skill over Power, then they set up a middle rank division to gather more students, of course, you weren''t requires to join if you didn''t want to, but most of the students we taught chose remain with our schools. By the time the other high rank schools, we were far too formidable to combat recklessly. We passed eight hundred years in piece, happily teaching students and always seeking to improve ourselves, but it all ended seven years ago, on that horrible day....."

    He paused, his voice trembling, I let him sit there silently, knowing that bad memories are difficult to recall, much less remember. I could fill an ocean with my own accumulation of unpleasant memories.... oh course it''s mostly memories of boring stuff, like peaceful picnics, that time I tried an office job, and those times when I run out of things to do......it''s all serious stuff!

    "T-the other high rank schools all came together....something unheard of.......and demolished our Great Dagda school, killing most of its members, causing the remaining survivors to scatter, then they sent two dozen high rank Stars to this school,, we managed to take down a few, but in the end, we were outnumbered and they killed all of the students.....but they left us alive, and bound us to that idiotic principal with some kind of seal so we couldn''t disobey any of his orders, or attack him. You see, while they don''t like our power, or ideals, they did recognize our teaching skills, so they decided to have us make them more top quality trophies, based on their rules of course. "

    Wow, I do not like that principal anymore, pity, he gave such a nice short speech....and that must also mean that my guess was mostly wrong, I was right that he didn''t really chose to teach students, but it seems that he didn''t stay around because he couldn''t get into a high rank school, but instead because he was ordered too.....

    "Wait, then shouldn''t there some kind of order for you not to tell anyone about this? And Raina is still all about how ranking means nothing, they shouldn''t want that right?"

    "they did give us the order not to tell anyone who didn''t know about this, but I managed to get past it by constituting the fact that since you guessed about the animosity, you technically ''knew something about it.'', bindings do tend to have loop holes like that, and as for Raina.....Well, lets just say she''s not the easiest person to control, and..well, that gutless worm Barack Halifax also seems to be a bit afraid of her, despite the fact that the binding should protect him, so he usually just lets her do what she wants, unless pressured to do otherwise by the Safety Committee."

    Ehe, as expected of someone I befriended so easily~

    But that Halifax guy, is that the principal? I can''t remember.....but it fits the context so probably.......

    "Boss, I know this is very interesting, but you really should start heading to class...."

    Haaaa, fine, it sounds like he''s done with the story anyway....

    "That was pretty interesting, but I probably need to go now if I want to make it to my history class,  Oh, and I think I''m interested in messing *cough* helping you out with your little problem, so we''ll talk later, K~~"

    I darted out of the room without letting him get another word in.

    Puhahahaha, what a wonderful thing I''ve found to play with~~

 No updates this week

I will be stuck in a place with no access to any electronics, so I will be unable to post any chapters.

 Chapter 15: Plotting to My Hearts Content

    I slid into History class with seconds to spare, and moved quickly to the back of the room where I could feel an empty seat through the vibrations of my steps, and settled down into it, letting the chair tilt back so it balanced on it''s two back legs. I could feel peoples'' eyes on me, but no one said anything. Pity.........

    The teacher soon began to speak, in a high, raspy voice that made it impossible for me to determine whether the teacher was a he or a she based on sound alone, and the annoying voice also strongly reminded me of a sewer rat, which didn''t help gender identification one bit.

    "The four magnificent kingdoms of the Cerulean continent have been at peace for several hundred years, this of course, is all do to the exceptional rule of the grand noble houses and the godlike leadership skills of the royal families. This year, we will be learning about blah, blah, blah."

    Tch, looks like I''ve got another gutless worm.........still, was the worm a he, or a she......

    I sniffed quietly, parsing through the scents of the room, hmmmm, the fresher scents were that of the students, deeper down was the smell of new textbooks and old ink, even deeper.... The smell of sweat and rancid cologne filled my nose, I sneezed violently and the class dropped into a momentary silence. A man.......if he could be classified as such.

    The rat man''s voice broke through the silence.

    "Is something wrong.....rag boy?"

    Laughter filled the room.

    I see, no need to curry my favor, since I''m just a poor commoner, eh?

    There was no way I was staying in this trash class any longer.

    "Ah, sorry, it''s just...... do you take showers? Because you smell even worse than something this lowly rag boy is used to ~"

    More laughter filled the room.

    Heh, how is it like to taste your own medicine?

    "Wha-Wha-wha, h-ow d-dare you speak to me like that, I am your teacher!"

    "Ehhhh, but you''re just a sniveling rat, a boot-licker like you isn''t worthy of my respect."

    "Th-th-that''s it, get out of my class!"

    "Gladly, I think I would puke if I had to listen to any more of your pathetically obvious groveling."

    Heh, just what I wanted to happen, there was no way I was letting a pathetic rat like him look down on me when there was no gain for me, rat people aren''t interesting at all, they just snivel all the time no matter what tricks you play on them.....

    I let the chair thump back down and stood up, then walked happily out of the room with a grin on my face.

    The door slammed shut behind me and I turned my mind to more pressing matters of mischief, taking back the school.

    This original Dagda sounded quite interesting, a much better playground *cough* learning environment than the current system. Once that messy guy had told me that all the ''interesting teachers'' were from the old Dagda school, I had immediately decided that it was time for the old Dagda to make a comeback, with my help, of course.

    Hmmmmm, how to do it in the most interesting way..........

    I spent the rest of the class period plotting and absent mindlessly wandering around the halls. I did the same in Meditation while the female teacher explained simple mediation techniques that were far inferior to my own, luckily, she didn''t seem to be one of the grovelers.

    I didn''t bother to go to lunch.

    I was so caught up in my plans, that I almost forgot to enjoy the annoyed murmurs that surrounded me during Politics and Etiquette, Almost.

    Ahh.....annoying people brings light to my life........

    It was Art class that finally snapped me fully out of my tangled web of plotting. Seriously, this was the class I was most looking forward to!

    "Well, normally at this time I would just have everyone do self-introductions, but I have ermm....received orders to verify whether, um, everyone in this class has the abilities to take art."

    Heh, I could smell that grouchy class checker guy all over this, how wonderful~

    "So today, each of you will create one painting, it can be whatever you want as long as it displays your skill level.

    Around the art room was scatter canvases and stools, all already set up for use, I chose one at random and sat down. I ran my fingers along a row of paint filled tubes.

    "Arvid, tell me which one is white and which one is black."

    One of the paint tubes shivered slightly and my right hand and I picked it up with my other hand.

    "That one is the black, and this one is the white."

    Another tube shuddered under my hand, and I picked it up while shoving all the other tubes a short distance away.

    Opening each tube, I took a good whiff, memorizing the different smells of black and white paint. I had become a master painter in a few reincarnations as a hobby, but this would be the first time I would be painting blind, so I would start off a little easy.

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    I searched idly through my memories until something caught my interest, then held the image in my mind as I began to paint. I felt peace wash over me as I focused all my senses on the canvas. I mixed and brushed the paint onto the rough canvas with my fingertips, using experience ans smell to judge the tones of gray I was creating.

    Time flowed by as I felt the picture slowly take life on the canvas. It burned in my mind, a glowing forest clearing with towering, ancient trees. In the midst of the clearing was a unicorn gently helping its weak legged colt to stand.

    In any world, unicorns are creatures of legend, rarely seen, but there wasn''t even legends about baby unicorns, only yearning whispers. I, of course, had immediately taken that as a challenge, and spent an entire reincarnation searching for a unicorn''s child, finally, when time had aged me into an old man of ninety years, I was searching through an old forest, and wandered into this clearing at the very heart of the forest.

    What met my eyes was the scene I was now painting.  My old heart couldn''t handle my exuberant excitement at finally accomplishing my goal and I died of a heart attack moments later. Haaa, I wanted to raise it as a pet.....

    I felt people begin to gather behind me as more and more students finished their own works, their amazed whispers gradually growing in volume. I felt Void pop his head slightly out from under my hair, also mesmerized by my painting.

    -Papa, p-p-pretty!-

    I paused in surprise, since when had he learned a new word?

    ......Eh, whatever.

    I added the finishing touches to my painting, and leaned back, wiping the paint on my hands off on my clothes.

    I felt the art teacher lean in closer to me.

    "A-a m-masterpiece......"

    Hmm, did my first blind painting attempt really turn out that well? Curious, I tapped the canvas on the side, then left my hand there to read the resulting vibrations to get a full image of the painting.

    Haaaa, I''ve done better.....Eh, well, at least it achieved my goal~

    Kekekeke, who would expect a blind person to even be able create something like this~

    The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and I hopped off the stool, time for dinner~

    I navigated my way dining room quite quickly, skipping lunch made me hungrier than usual.

    I settled into the same place as breakfast this morning with a heaping tray of food, but noble brat table didn''t bother me this time.......How sad....I would need to give them a lesson in guts later, but for now, I had more interesting things to do~

    When I finished off my pile of food, I darted off to my room, Void squawking as my rapid pace jolted his perch on my shoulders.

    "So, Arvid, what did you find out last night?"

    "Ah, Boss, it was a lot of interesting stuff that didn''t seem to fit in to me at the time, but after what that really messy guy told you  I realized  that was all connected to that interesting matter."

    "I see.....that new information has also changed my plans, this matter is far too interesting to ignore~"

    "What can I do to help you Boss?"

    "Let''s see....first of all, I need you to form some secret passages for me, it doesn''t matter whether this school has some or not, I''ll need one that no one knows about......and I need you to find a high quality crystal, I can''t take over *cough* free this school without it."

    "Ah, got it, I''ll get you that crystal by morning, the secret tunnels will take a bit longer though....maybe a week?"

    "That should be good enough."

    "Oh! bring me some books about history and basic spells while you''re at it, I''ll be changing out of those classes in the morning."

    "Got it Boss, I''ve found some books like that should fit your needs in that Magical Theory guy''s room~"

    An evil grin grin flashed onto my face as a fun idea suddenly popped into my mind.

    "Clean and organize his room while you''re at it.

    "......Boss.....This is for the locked door earlier, isn''t it....."

    "Naaa, not at all Arvid, I just enjoy messing with that guy~"

    Its just a happy coincidence that it aligns with my revenge~

    I shucked off my clothes and slipped on a comfortable pair of soft shorts, then plopped into bed.

    Haaaaa, what a fun first day of school......

    I soon drifted off to sleep.

    I woke to a face full of feathers attempting to smother me, and began violently shoving them away.

    -Ita~ Ouch, P-papa, it hurts!-

    I paused at Void''s words, then began to feel around carefully.

    .........

    Void had grown........bird wings?

    .......

    But he''s a lizard!!

 Chapter 16: Class Changes

    Indeed, my little scaled parasite had grown a pair of fluffy wings roughly proportional to the size of his body.

    He could apparently talk more as well.........that would make things easier.

    I grabbed Void''s neck and maneuvered his head so he could stare directly at my displeased face.

    "Explain Yourself."

    -V-void family grow up based on pretty things they see, Void saw Papa''s pretty picture yesterday and changed into a form more like the fluffy horses.-

    So his species evolve into different forms as they grow up,  based on what ''pretty things'' they see? Hmmmm, by ''pretty things'' he probably means things that stimulate the soul...but still....

    "Unicorns are NOT fluffy."

    -Are too-

    "Whatever, that still doesn''t mean you should have grown Bird Wings, those are nowhere near anything that could be compared to a unicorn."

    -Y-yes they do.....because they''re fluffy!-

    "Too have wings because they''re ''fluffy'', have you no male pride....."

    -O-of course! Fluffy attracts girls!-

    ....Well, he might have a point there......

    But he''s still an idiot!!

    "How do you know about your species evolution path?"

    -They were in one of the sealed bubbles that popped when I grew up!-

    Hereditary memories then? And from the sound of it, there''s more of them?

    Whatever, I''ll just wait for a couple more evolutions, maybe by then, he''ll have gotten a bit smarter and would be able to explain things properly.

    "Hey Arvid, do you have the crystal and those books ready for me?"

    "Yeah I do, but it''s still hours before you need to get up, are you sure you don''t want to just go back to sleep?"

    "No need, an idiot lizard-chicken has me fully awake."

    "I see.....well, here you go."

    Several objects thumped roughly  into my lap, I barely caught a round crystal before it rolled off the bed.

    "......I assume this grumpy treatment  means you cleaned up that messy guy''s room?"

    "......Yes"

    "Do you want me to assign you a similar task today?"

    "N-no, please forgive me...."

    "I''ve had experience with chaotic rooms like that, so I will forgive you this time, but I suggest that in the future you channel your frustrations in other, more profitable directions, like mischief making."

    "Thank you for your mercy Boss, I will take your words to heart."

    "Good"

    I rummaged through the small pile of books until I felt one labeled Introduction To Basic Spells, the rest of the books seemed to be history books except for one.

    "You got me a book on intermediate and advance spells as well?"

    "Yes, I thought they might be useful for you in getting a fuller picture of this worlds magical capabilities."

    "Well done"

    I flipped through both books quickly, letting my fingers skim the pages.

    "Hmmm, truly the basics of the basics, its all about spells focused purely on one element and the more advanced spells are basically the same thing, but at a higher power level......Arvid, bring me that Magical theory book the messy guy gave me yesterday, I think I left it somewhere."

    "Ah, yes Boss, you accidentally left it in that horrid history class yesterday, I took the liberty of retrieving it for you."

    I held my hand out and a book floated gently onto my palm.

    "Thanks."

    "Anything for the Boss~"

    I flipped quickly through the Magical Theory book.

    "Guh, as I suspected, they''ve just started to research spells that involve intertwining two elements, they haven''t even realized that their spells that distort space and the like are actually spells involving multiple elements......Looks like I really will have to speed things up if I want to make things more interesting..."

    "Ah right, one must fatten the lambs before they''re led to the slaughter, right Boss?"

    Ahhh, truly a well suited person for my partner in crime...

    "Anyways, this means I''ll have to be very sneaky about the magic I use for this playtime *cough* plan.......You said those secret pathways would take a week, right?"

    "Yeah, I have to be careful, or I might cause the whole building to collapse."

    "I see...Then I want you to tell me as soon as you finish a pathway to that principal guys rooms, even if the other tunnels aren''t ready, that''s the only one I really need to start my plan."

    "Ah, I''ll start working on that right away Boss, but his place is a bit far away from your dorm, so it''ll still take me a day or two to finish."

    "I''m going to head to that messy guy''s room now, I want to get a list of the old Dagda teachers that teach classes first years take so that I can get interesting classes when I change out of Basic Spells and History."

    "Do you want directions?"

    "Naw, I remember his scent from yesterday, I can track him down."

    "I  see, but, wouldn''t it be easier to ask that Raina lady? She seemed to like you a lot yesterday, so shouldn''t it be easier to get information from her?"

    "Ah, no, she''s the type that only focuses on things she likes, in this case, training, I doubt she remembers any of her colleagues names."

    "....No wonder you two along so well....."

    "Did you say something just now?"

    "Ahaha, n-no, just, you should probably go now if you want to see that guy and change classes before breakfast."

    "Hmm, you''re right, well, work hard on the secret passages today~"

    Several minutes later, I opened the door to a room whose open vibrations I almost didn''t recognize. Wow, cleaning can really make a difference.....

    I listened to the Magical Theory professor slowly bang his head on his desk and mutter to himself.

    "Not haunted, not crazy...... how, how, how......and my beef from last week that was still good is gone....Now I can''t find Anything........"

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    Kekekeke, what a perfectly wonderful reaction.

    "Hey Mister Messy Guy, your room sure has changed from yesterday~"

    "My name is Eamon, not ''Mister Messy Guy'' Ah! and what are you doing here again!?"

    "Ahh, I want to change out of my boring classes, so I want you to make a list of classes I can take that have interesting teachers."

    "Y-you, I''m not some person you can use at your own convenience..."

    "Ehhh, but teachers are supposed to help students right? And yesterday I did say I was going to help you with your problem~"

    "There is NO way a child like you can do anything to help us!"

    "Hehehe, don''t be too sure about that~ But, I guess I can understand your difficulty in believing me, so instead, when you help me, II''ll help you with your Magical Theory research~"

    Two birds with one stone~

    "Bah! There is no way a child like you, who hasn''t learned anything about Magical Theory, can understand the intricacies of figuring out how to use two elements in one spell."

    "Eh, but I read all of that book you gave me yesterday, and it seems pretty clear to me that spacial magics already utilize several elements at once, but it wasn''t mentioned in the book~"

    "Reading those basics won''t give you a high enough understanding to- Wait. what did you just say?"

    "It wasn''t mentioned in the book?"

    "N-no, the other part, about spacial magic!"

    "That spacial magic clearly uses several elements at once, not just the two part elemental spells you''re trying to create~"

    "......."

    "Mister, ummm, Eamon?"

    "What can I do to help you?"

    Heh, what a surprising change in attitude~

    "Just the list for now~"

    "Ah, now that I think of it, why are there even boring teachers here in the first place? Wasn''t there teachers for History and Basic Spells in the old Dagda, did they get killed or something?

    "Well, the Basic Spells teacher was killed in the initial attack, but most of the teachers of your ''boring'' classes, like the History teacher, replaced our teachers in the subject because the teaching materials were completely different. For example, you could say that we taught the true history of this continent, not all that noble-praising junk they''re teaching now. All the teachers that were replaced are now housed in the restricted wing of the school, with orders to not leave their rooms. The only reason they''re alive is to protect the school if we ever came under attack, or more likely, if we were approached by remnants of the High Dagda school."

    "I see, well I''d better get going if I want to change classes before breakfast, can I have that list now Mister?"

    Moments later, I was walking to the office with a short list of classes in my hand.

    Hmmm, what to pick.....and why had that Eamon guy put his signature at the bottom of the page!?

    With the guidence of Arvid I soon stepped into the office and up to a desk, where the flowery scent of the female councilor wafted over to me.

    "Hello Miss, I''d like to change out of History and Basic Spells, and into the Study of Magical Beast and the Advanced Technique Spells class."

    I could hear papers being shuffled around.

    "You''re the blind kid Felix Bardon, right? The switch to the Study of Magical Beasts is fine, but I''m afraid that the Advanced technique spells class requires a teachers signature of approval and a test of ability to confirm you are at a proper level for the class, usually only the older students are able to take this class....."

    Hmmm, so That was why that Eamon guy had signed my paper... I held the small sheet out towards and felt her take it. Then there was a small surge of magic in her direction.

    "Wow, I had never heard of Eamon Callahan providing a signature for a student, but this does contain his magical signature.....well then,  it shows here that you had Basic Spells first thing, so just come back here after breakfast for the test, the teacher in charge of the class has to administer the test, and, well, er, Miss Drake doesn''t function well in the morning without her breakfast."

    Sounds interesting~

    "Ah, got it Miss~"

    I turned to leave.

    "Wait! What''s that on your shoulders?"

    Urk, with Void''s new wings, he couldn''t fully tuck under my hair to hide. I pulled him off and held him out so she could see him fully."

    "He''s just my harmless pet Miss..."

    "Awww, he''s kind of cute, and those golden wings are just adorable against his black scales, oooh, his little claws are gold too...."

    His wings were gold? And his claws too, weren''t those black before? I had assumed the wings would be black.....

    But now that I think of it, the unicorns I had seen had had golden hooves and marking on their horns, but the picture I had painted yesterday was in black and white, so there was no way Void could have known that.......Unless our bond was a little more complicated than just telepathy...

    Or maybe I was just putting too much thought into this, it was simple minded Void after all...

    "*Ahem* Anyway, you need to fill out a form so that we know you have a pet, just in case it causes any trouble."

    Tch, if only Void showed such an inclination, instead of just sitting on my shoulders all the time...

    I filled out the sheet of paper, then left the office.

    Breakfast was dreadfully boring, once again, but I was too excited about meeting my new toy *cough* teacher, to take my time to teach a lesson in guts.

    If one is not in a state to properly conduct mischief, one should not engage in mischief-making at all.

    I stepped into the office and a new scent met my nose. It was spicy and wild, and brought only a single phrase to my mind.

    ............Dragon Lady!?

 Chapter 17: The Takeover

    Indeed, I could recognize the sharp musk that accompanied a dragon of any world, and there was an unmistakable tint of the scent of curry  to the dragon scent that signaled that the dragon was female, yet below that, there was also a base scent of human. Thus the term, Dragon Lady.

    Heh, how interesting~

    A sharp voice interrupted my thoughts.

    "You boy, are you the first year wasting my time by applying to test into class?"

    "Um, yes he is, Miss Drake."

    "I''m sure this Felix can answer for himself, he''s blind, not mute!"

    Yes! so she IS my new toy*cough* teacher!

    "I am Felix Bardon, and I have to say, Miss Drake, your name suits you Perfectly"

    I tilted my face up and smiled innocently.

    "Whatever, let''s just get this over with."

    Hmmm, no sign that my innocent act effected her.....even better.

    The Dragon Lady led me to a room in the back of the office, I could feel spells fortifying the walls.

    "In order to enter my class, you are required to display that you have already gained an adequate understanding of Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced spells."

    "Eh, so simple?"

    "Just display the range of your abilities..........stupid principal stopped me from requiring full mastery......"

    She muttered the last bit under her breath, but my enhanced hearing easily picked up on her quiet words.

    Hmmm, how to make the biggest  impact, yet keep it somewhat realistic.........

    Ooooh, I know, I''ll use voiceless incantations!

    I reached into my center  and pulled away four small strands of mana then formed each one into a small ball and let them float in front of me, Then I mentally ordered each sphere to morph into a different element.

    I heard a small gasp from the female attendant behind me, but the Dragon Lady remained resolute at my display.

    Eh, well, I was only just getting started~

    I focused my attention back on the four spheres of element and forced them to shrink, packing the energy even tighter.

    By compacting the basic level fireball, waterball, windball, and  earthball, I would cause their energy to become explosive, thus transitioning them to the intermediate level fire bomb, water bomb, etc.

    Then I began to form a centimeter thick thread from each ball, pulling until all of the magic had been shaped into thread. Once I accomplished that, I connected each respective elemental strands together so they each formed a circle, then spread the strand out so it formed a paper thin blade. These bladed halos were the advanced level spell that involved using an element to form a blade that could cut through most things.

    Predictably, the name of the spells was along the lines of fire blade, water blade, man they really need a better naming system...

    "*Ahem* Use of basic, intermediate, and advanced spells with voiceless incantation....well, I suppose you can join my class...."

    The Dragon Lady was playing it cool, but I could hear her rapidly beating heartbeat, Heh. she was quite surprised~

    "Eh, alright Dragon Lady, I hope your class is as interesting as it sounds~"

    "W-what did you call me?"

    "Dragon Lady, I think it really suits you for some strange reason~"

    I heard the Dragon Lady''s already rapid heartbeat pick up, and I picked up a hint of worry mingling with her spicy scent.

    "Wh-wha, how?"

    "Ah, you smell really interesting, it reminds me of fire and curry, as a blind person I have a reaaalllllllyyy good nose~"

    "Y-you, curry is just one of my favorite foods, that''s no r-reason to refer to me as a dragon."

    The female attendent suddenly cut into our conversation, hrm, I had forgotten she was there.

    "Really? I never heard your favorite food was curry?"

    "Ahaha, t-that''s because the cooks don''t make it all that often...."

    Heh, the Dragon Lady was really getting flustered now, I guess I''ve played with her enough for now~

    "Ah, yes, it can be said that a person smells like their favorite food, don''t worry Miss, spicy things often remind me of dragons~"

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    I dispersed all of my spells, except my fire blade, which I formed into a miniature version of a dragon, which I had fly in the direction of the Dragon Lady, then circle her twice, a generic greeting among dragons, but also something that only dragons should know~

    The Dragon Lady inhaled sharply, clearly recognizing the greeting.

    Kekeke, it wasn''t like I was going to let her completely off the hook~

    I dispersed the dragon and walked out of the office, time to go to torture *cough* go to Martial Arts class~~

    The rest of the school day went by fairly quickly, I was actually late to Magical Theory because I had to help Raina carry the corpses *cough* unconscious bodies of my classmates to the infirmary.

    The Magical Beast class was fairly interesting, though the teacher wasn''t able to identitfy what type of creature Void was, she actually spent half of the class measuring and examining Void, to no avail....

    Finally, I was once again in my rooms.

    "Ne~ Arvid, what''s the status on the tunnel?"

    "Ah, it''s being going fairly well Boss, I should be done by tomorrow~"

    "Excellent!"

    I spent the rest of the night embedding a spell into the crystal Arvid had procured for me.

    The next evening, it was time to enact my takeover *cough* plan.

    "Void is securely contained?"

    "Yes~"

    "Alright, is the target in the predicted location?"

    "Yes Boss!"

    Good, well then, here I go!"

    I moved confidently through the small passage had formed for me, sometimes walking long stretches, other times climbing tall heights on stone hewed ladders.

    Apparently, the headmaster''s rooms were at the very top of the school, no wonder it took Arvid so long to create the single tunnel.

    Finally, I reached my destination, and quietly tapped on the wall. the stone melted away at my touch, no visible doorways are permitted for My secret passages, one of the major flaws found in most of such creations, whats the point of it being hidden if a entrance can be easily located by a keen eye?

    I stepped quietly into a large bedroom, I could hear the principal snoring from a large bed.

    I slowly crept closer to the sound, pulling the crystal from my pocket. I clicked my tongue quietly to determine where exactly the principal was on the bed.

    Tch, huddled up on one side, it would have been more interesting if he was in the center of the bed where I couldn''t reach him easily....

    Once I reached the principal''s sleeping form, I began to slowly pull the blanket off his shoulders, his back was facing me. I could''ve had Arvid do all of this much more easily, but I enjoy the thrill of sneaking around~

    Concentrating a tiny bit of ki at the tip of my finger, I used it to slice easily through the back of the principal''s night shirt, then pressed the stone against the bare skin of his back, right along the spine.

    There was a small flash of power, and I felt the stone sink into the man''s flesh.

    Perfect, the mind magic I had embedded  into the stone was now taking full control of the principal, he wouldn''t even realize anything was different, but he was now under my full control and would feel and react any way I wanted~

    I slipped back into the secret passage and was soon back in my room.

    "Mwahahahaha, I did it! This school is now fully under my control~"

    "Heh, Boss is truly amazing~"

    I changed into sleeping attire and flopped onto the bed happily.

    I suddenly frowned, something felt wrong......I wiggled slightly on the bed.

    Yes, I hadn''t noticed before, but now that I was lying flat on my back, I noticed that my back felt.....strange....

    .....Sort of itchy too....

    For a moment, my mind turned to Void''s sudden growth of wings, and the bond he had created between us, I absentmindedly stroked the wrist where the marking was.

    ...........

    ....................

    Naw, I''m probably  just overthinking things.....

 Chapter 18: A Pleasant Chat with Fate.....Or Not~

    I opened my eyes to see a brilliant blue sky...

    Nooooo, why can I see!!!!!

    I shot up into a sitting position and saw Fate standing in front of me, the landscape around us fading into a swirling technicolor dreamscape.

    Phew~ It''s just a dream....

    "Ne~ Fate, how is it going?"

    "Aaaa, it''s Felix now right? You''ve made things very entertaining for me~ I see you''ve really been enjoying the new world I picked for you~~"

    "Yep, it''s been quite interesting~"

    "I thought you''d like, it''s one of my favorite world''s you know~"

    That comment pulled my thoughts to something that that messy Eamon guy had said.

    ......She didn''t......Eh, who am I kidding, she''s fate, the meddlers of meddlers....

    Still, I don''t like being manipulated......

    I smiled at Fate.

    "Yes, there''s quite an interesting situation going on at the school I''m attending, as I''m sure you''ve seen...You know fate, now that I think of it, that situation began about seven years ago, around the Same time I was reborn into this world...Funny coincidence, isn''t it?"

    A flash of nervousness ran across Fate''s face.

    "Ehehe..... Yeah, I suppose it was quite the coincidence....But hey, it should be counted as a good thing since it brought you to a more interesting situation, right?"

    Yeah.....No

    "I also recall that in my previous reincarnation, I was just about to defeat that world''s widely recognized top swordsman, when several large bees miraculously flew down my throat at the same time and I choked to death..."

    "Ahaha, i-it was quite a strange death, F-Felix always ends up surprising me. I-I totally didn''t see that coming......"

    Beads of sweat were dripping down Fate''s forehead.

    I patiently waited for her to break.

    "......................"

    "......I-I''m sorryyyyyyy!!! I really like to watch this world and that school Dagda was one of my favorite things about it. When I saw it was going to be destroyed by those dull schools, I tried to do everything I could to prevent it, but every single path I could see led to the same Fate, so I decided to send you this world, knowing that you would like their style and probably help them......."

    "And my choice of reincarnation as a human?"

    "I made a gamble, and placed you near that fading spark...."

    .....Wow, I hadn''t realized she knew me so well....but still...

    "You couldn''t even wait until AFTER I beat  that swordsman guy!? Do you realize how ridiculous I must have looked!!!"

    "......P-please forgive me, I acted without thinking....."

    Heh, there was no way I was just going to let her go.

    "As punishment, you will go to that world and tell every single person what really happened.......while dressed in a maid outfit with bunny ears and tail!"

    "Uuuuu......I-I understand..........b-but can it at least be cat ears and tail....."

    "Cat is no good since you like it."

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    "Urk....."

    "Be glad I didn''t decide to block your view of this world."

    "Yes.....T-thank you for your mercy...."

    "Eh, we''re companions in the fight against mercy after all, I can''t be too harsh on you~"

    "Mmhmmm......."

    We stood there silently for a moment...

    "Well, was there a reason you decided to speak to me?"

    "Ah, yes! This matter you''re playing with is bigger than what you can tell so far, so Death requested that I ask you to be lenient whenever possible, as there is still a large back up in soul placement from the last surge you sent them....."

    "Hmmm, she''s still not done? Eh, well I''ll keep that in mind then...."

    "Well, it''s about time for you to wake up, I can''t wait to see what you''ll do~"

    ".....There''s something you''re not telling me....."

    "Ehehe, yep! But this is a matter that will be more interesting if you don''t know about it~ I''ve also added a couple of things to make in even more fun~~"

    She was starting to regain her cheerful attitude from the beginning of our conversation.

    "I see....Then you better keep it to yourself if it''ll be more entertaining that way....Don''t forget about your punishment"

    Her shoulders slumped down.

    ".....Yes...."

    "Well then, I suppose I''ll see you sometime later~"

    "Ye~ Bye Felix..."

    I woke easily, opening my eyes to a familiar blackness.

    Yep, I''m still blind~

    I sat up easily, then froze.

    My back felt even stranger than last night....

    I stretched an arm back and felt around as much of my back as I could reach.

    .......

    Yep, there were two slightly raised lumps running vertically along my back.

    .......

    I snatched Void from the spot where he was curled up on the bed, my hand closing firmly around his throat.

    "If the wings I''m growing end up fluffy and gold, I Will be having lizard-chicken barbeque some time in the near future."

    -T-the color will m-match Papa''s personality, s-so it most definitely won''t be gold!-

    ......I think I''ll take that comment as a compliment.

    "And the fluffy problem?"

    -..............-

    I tightened my grip.

    -V-Void is not too sure...Ack! Papa! I can''t breath!-

    I reluctantly loosened my grip, the little parasite could still have his uses....

    Leaning back on the sturdy headboard of my bed, I pondered my new situation.

    I, of course, have had various types of wings in previous reincarnations, so they wouldn''t inhibit my fighting capabilities....

    Hmmm, and with wings, I could open up a whole new avenue of pranks...the fluffy problem might even be useful....

    Oooooh, the wings would go awesome with That prank.....

    ...Puhahahahahaha, this is going to be fun~

 Chapter 18.5: A Maid Outfit

    Fate was in a severe state of depression.

    The reason for this deep sorrow was because of That Person''s punishment.....

    "Uuuuuuuuuuu, why couldn''t I have at least worn cat ears......I don''t even like bunnies....Uuuuuuu"

    "Oh please, you know what that guy is like, it''s your fault for messing with his fight in the first place"

    Her dear friend Death, whom she had gone to in hope of finding a sympathetic ear to vent her misery, failed to offer her any comfort at all.

    "S-so cruel....."

    "Yeah, whatever you crybaby, just get it over with and leave me in peace."

    "B-but I don''t even own a maid outfit....."

    "That is a terrible excuse, you''re one of the major powers of existence, you can just conjure an outfit."

    "Urk!"

    "If you don''t leave right now, I''ll send an incurable epidemic to all of your favorite worlds, except the one he''s on, of course."

    "Ara! I-I''m going, don''t take away my entertainment!"

    Fate vanished from Death''s couch.

    Death, a beauty with pale skin, black hair, and red eyes, gave a tired sigh.

    "That idiot is finally gone, how did she ever get the impression that we were friends.....she even ended up getting me involved as well...."

    She stared grumpily at the small crystal in her palm.

    ........

    In a large tavern on a very distant world, people were loudly discussing the latest challenge against the world renowned swordsman, namely the one that occurred seven years ago.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Yeah, I heard the guy just dropped dead during the middle of the fight"

    "He choked on something, right? What a ridiculous way to go...."

    "Yeah, I can''t believe a guy with such bad luck actually challenged the best swordsman that has ever existed"

    "He must have been a real moron"

    Fate suddenly appeared in the rowdy bar room, dressed in a frilly maid outfit with fluffy white bunny ears perched on top of her head.

    "E-everyone, L-listen UP!"

    The crowd immediately quieted, stunned by her appearance.

    Tears of embarrassment glittered in her eyes as she continued her speech.

    "I-I am Fate, I''m here to set right a wrong I committed. Seven years ago, you should know that a stranger challenged the best swordsman of this entire world, but died mid=way during the battle. I-I''m here to tell you that that person would have most definitely have won, had I not caused his death because I needed him elsewhere....I-I know I must look strange with these horrible bunny ears and tail, b-but please stop staring at me....."

    There was only one thought that filled the minds of the people in the room.

    Those ears fit perfectly with her tearful appearance......causing one to want to comfort her......

    "Eh! Why are you all moving closer.......N-no, I don''t want to be hugged!"

    .........

    Felix grinned at the video crystal Death had sent him, his revenge had gone perfectly~~

 Chapter 19: The Liberation of the Old Dagda

    I turned my thoughts away from my new wings, no need to start plotting too much until my wings emerged I knew exactly what kind of material I would have to work with.

    What I could do right now was return Dagda to it''s more interesting self~

    The spell crystal I used to take control of the principal had a link directly to my mind so I could give him orders at anytime. Using this link, I reached into the principal''s mind and began searching through it.

    I paused at a certain memory.....Heh, no wonder this guy is afraid of Raina, what a painful experience....

    Finally, I found the spell lodged deep in the depths of his mind. The core of the spell looked like a giant bundle of yarn, with tiny threads stretching out in all different directions, theses threads were probably what bound the teachers to the principal guy''s orders....

    I followed one thread to its end, and as I suspected, it connected to an intricate magic circle placed within an unfamiliar teacher''s mind.

    Hmmm, this kind of magical circle, I would have to undo in person and it would take me a while to undo all of them....

    I sent an order down each thread for the teachers to gather in the restricted wing of the school immediately, then I had the principal get up and tell his assistant that something important had occurred and classes would be canceled for the day.

    With that settled, I hopped up, got dressed and walked happily to the cafeteria, better grab some food while I had the chance, I would be very busy today~

    Settling down at my usual spot, I noted that the top noble brat table was still ignoring me.

    I ate my food quickly, then placed my elbow on the table and propped my head up so it would be facing their table.

    "Sigh~~ You guys really don''t have any guts....and here I thought the table of ''the best'' wouldn''t roll over so easily to show their bellies in submission."

    I sensed their backs stiffen as my loud comment rolled through the cafeteria, easily audible.

    It was the voice of that prince brat that finally answered me.

    "You, what did you just say?"

    "Hmmm, you didn''t get it the first time? Let me try again,  you''re a pathetic dog that''s all bark and no bite."

    "W-why you, we were giving you face since you''re a commoner who''s managed to rise to our level, but you actually dare to continue to insult us!"

    "Heh, yeah right, and I refuse to be compared to a lowly dog like you."

    "Stop calling me a dog, I am Cedric Paragon, Crown Prince of Ediraseth!"

    Eh, so he''s the prince of my home kingdom? Still, his name....the first letters were the same as the first letters of crown prince.......did his parents do that on purpose?

    "Those are pretty interesting initials you''ve got there, I think I''ll call you CP2, who knows, it might help me remember you''re a crown prince~"

    "H-how dare you address me so informally!"

    "Eh, get used to it CP2"

    "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

    "Pfffhhhttttt, I''m definitely not stopping after that reaction~"

    Hmmm, I should probably wrap this up and head over to the restricted wing....

    "Why you lowly commone-"

    I shot to my feet and moved in front of the infuriated prince, interrupting him mid-sentence.

    "Now now, you''re starting to get repetitive, I suggest you stop your little tantrum until you come up with better insults, if you even manage to come up with something good, I might call you by your real name, Ne?"

    I drew a breath in, preparing to leave, then paused and inhaled sharply with my nose.

    Almost impossible to catch, there was a faint scent coming from the prince that shouldn''t be there.

    Ohohoho, how interesting~

    I leaned in and whispered quietly to the irate child.

    "Don''t worry, I''ll keep your little secret if you play my game.......Princess~"

    Indeed, there was the slightly sweet scent of a girl child coming from the ''prince'', a scent that I hadn''t detected until I came into close range, since hormones don''t produce a truly strong scent until puberty.

    I heard CP2 catch her breath, yep, I was right~

    Time to let her stew for while....I walked away without another word.

    Checking my link with the principal, I confirmed that all of the teachers had gathered in the closed wing.

    Following Raina''s and Eamon''s scents, I easily made my way towards their location, stopping at a large set of double doors, the entrance.

    I could hear many murmurs coming from just behind the doors, the teachers of Dagda clearly wondering why the principal who had ordered them to come here and had also canceled classes for the day, wasn''t even present.

    I flung the doors open and strode in confidently.

    Man, this is one of the few times where I could actually see, I bet their expressions are priceless right now.....

    The hallway where the teachers were fell into a dead silence, there weren''t even any proverbial crickets chirping.

    Kekekeke, I got them good~

    It was the messy guy Eamon, who recovered enough to speak first, probably because he''s had a bit of a chance to get used to me....

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    "What are you Doing here! Get out, Halifax could be here at any moment! "

    I tilted my head, confused.

    "Who''s this Halifax guy you''re talking about?"

    "He''s the principal of this school, remember!!!"

    "Aaahhhh, that guy, you don''t have to worry about him, he''s not coming here~"

    "What are you talking about, he''s the one who ordered us to come here!?"

    "Eh, no, that was me, I said I could help you with your problem, right~~"

    Silence once again fell in the crowded hall, but this time, it was accompanied by shocked choking sounds.

    "H-how?"

    "Ehehehe, blind people have their ways, you know~"

    "A SERIOUS answer, please..."

    I nodded, morphing my face into a suitably serious expression.

    "I''m an immortal, all=powerful being with knowledge of magical concepts way beyond the grasp of understanding that got bored and decided to be reincarnated with no powers."

    My answer was immediately shot down.

    "Pffhht, yeah right, a real answer please, this IS SERIOUS!"

    Haaaaaaa, for some reason, they never believe me when I tell the truth.......

    "I''m a genius who''s grasped concepts of mind magic that have so far only been theoretical."

    Mind magic was a thing in this world, but it was still in the early stages of development, and was usually not considered a legitimate kind of magic.

    After my ''discovery'' that spacial magic already used more than two elements at once, Messy Eamon was far more inclined to believe this explanation.

    "I see...what  did you actually do?"

    "I achieved an absolute mind control over the principal, nothing like the partial mind magic that''s binding all of you"

    "......How?"

    "It''s quite simple, unlike partial mind magics which can be placed directly into human beings, absolute spells require a material that won''t deteriorate, such as a crystal, to act as a home for the spell."

    Of course, that was only for lower level absolute spells, the spell I had used on the principal required an excellent understanding of the mind, but they weren''t anywhere near ready for that high of a level.

    "Amazing, it was always thought that mind spells required a living source to function, but to think that was completely untrue....."

    As expected of a scholar, Eamon began to drift off into thought at my startling revelation.

    "Anyhow, I gathered you all here today so that I could free you from the bond placed on you."

    I could have just taken control of the bond entirely and leave it in place, but puppets without free will are no fun at all....

    Raina was the first to step forward, Eamon too caught up in his own thoughts, and the rest of the teachers hesitant to trust the words of a seven year old kid.

    Gesturing for Raina sit down on the floor, I placed my palm against her forehead.  I continued to talk casually as I began working a strand of my own mana through the magic circle within her mind

    "All bindings spells have a major weakness, and that is that they all require a key. All I have to do to release the binding is to match the key."

    Of course, I was likely the only being on this planet that possessed the adequate level of mana control to achieve this feat, but hey~ It might give them a goal to shoot for.....

    Feeling my mana suddenly lock into place, I grinned and gave a sharp twist. The binding on Raina''s mind burst apart and vanished.

    I heard Raina give a small gasp as she felt the spell vanish.

    "It''s gone.........Now I don''t have to listen to the stupid School Safety committee when I decide the training schedule!"

    As exspected, training was the first thing she thought of in the implications of her freedom.

    "All right, next person~"

    By then, Messy Eamon had recovered enough to start peppering me with questions as he settled onto the floor in front of me so that I could remove his  binding.

    ........Oho! The person who made these bindings wasn''t half bad, Eamon''s key was completely different from Raina''s.......Heh, I bet playing with *cough* meeting him would be intersting~

    ............................

    Thousands of miles aways, a man shrouded in a dark cloak meditates in a deep cave located near the peak of a very tall tower.

    He suddenly opens his eyes, which glow green for a few moments, then dim to a normal appearance.

    "Hmmm, I suddenly got a bad feeling that interrupted my meditation........That binding spell I was hired to place on those people......I feel as though I should go check on it......but I''m so close to reaching Void level.......Alright, as soon as I achieve Void rank, I''ll go check it out, it should only take a few more months!"

    The mysterious man shut his eyes and continued his mediation.

    .............................

    Moments after I finished removing Eamon''s binding, I sneezed violently.

    A strange feeling caused my body to tremble for a moment, and I grinned.

    Heh, I feel as though a strong opponent will be coming soon......Time to power up~~

 Chapter 20: Breakthrough.....In A Strange Way?

    By the time I had finally finished releasing all the bindings on the teachers, a large amount of my appreciation had been eroded by my annoyance at the fact that since each magic circle took a different key, it took me longer than calculated to release all 900 or so teachers.

    Dinner had ended an hour before I finished with the last toy *cough* person. Luckily, the teachers were quite eager to provide me with food, and I was treated several new delicacies that were generally not available to students.

    The nice treats, and the delicate shudder of my sixth sense....or was it seventh?.......Well, whatever sense that alerted me to possible strong opponents, managed to keep me in a mainly cheerful mood, despite my irritation.

    As soon as I had finished, I dashed out of the hall, leaving the hundreds of newly freed teachers who had no clue of what to do now alone without any instruction.

    Eh, they''re adults, they can handle themselves........probably~

    Either way, I wasn''t going to waste any more time on talking,now that a strong opponent is on the way I need to start training!

    I skidded eagerly into my room and immediately settled down on my favored spot for mediation.

    Due to travel time, it had been about three months since the Test, but my level was still at Hurricane level. Right before entering school, I had actually started feeling like I was going to reach a breakthrough, but.....welllll.....I had gotten a bit Distracted since....Ehe~

    But No More! A strong opponent was coming, and I wanted to be able to play *Cough* fight with him properly!

    I felt my mana and ki begin to cycle familiarly as soon as I dropped fully into a meditative state, I also began to reflexivly pull elemental power from the air around me into my ki core. The thick power gathered around the school was very beneficial for training, probably one of the main benefits of enrolling in a top tier.

    I soon noticed there was something wrong with the ki in my body. The energy I was gathering was being sucked away......following the vanishing ki, I soon discovered the source of my problem.

    ......

    "Void...Is there possibly something you want to tell me?"

    -Nnn, I don''t think so? Is something wrong Papa?-

    "I see.......Then why are my wings absorbing all my ki?"

    -Ah! P-Papa, It truly isn''t'' Void''s fault this time, i-it''s true that the wings should absorb tiny amounts of ki over time in order to grow, but it should definitely not be all of it, or even at a noticeable level, t-this is something Void is quite sure about!-

    Hmmmm, it sounds like the idiotic parasite is telling the truth.......Which means the fault likely falls with the only other idiot I know that could have effected the wings........

    I recalled my recent conversation with Fate.......Yep, the crybaby had most definitely added some things to make it more interesting.......it seems  she''s ''added'' something to my wings......

    But if they keep eating up all of my ki, who knows how long it''ll take for me to breakthrough into high rank!

    Frustrated, I began channeling as much energy as I could into the wings, these things Had to have limit to how much energy they could take!

    I felt several days pass as I single-mindedly channeled energy into the two seemingly endless black holes on my back, pausing only to instruct Arvid to block off any access to my room when the knocks and worried shouts of Aaron and Adrian coming from my door became too distracting.

    I was beginning to despair, as the sheer amount of energy I had poured into my wings seemed to changed nothing when, suddenly, my consciousness shut down.

    ..............

    I woke to the feel of a cold liquid sliding down my back, my face pressed against a pillow......Strange, I don''t remember getting to bed.......and there was a rather wet and heavy blanket pressing against my back.....

    I stretched, preparing to get up and go back to meditation, when I felt a new set of nerves respond to urge to stretch, and suddenly the heavy wet blanket lifted off me.

    No......Not a blanket, my wings!

    I sniffed, and the smell of wet feathers and my own fresh blood filled my nose. Hmmmm, so these were the kind that burst out of the skin at the moment of full growth? No wonder I hadn''t felt the energy causing any change to my wings...

    "Arvid, what color are my wings!?"

    The chicken-lizard''s miserable life hangs in the balance!

    "Ah! Boss, you''re awake! I moved you to your bed after the wings finished emerging. I can''t tell what color they are right now because they''re drenched in blood, I was just about to start working on a cleaning spell when you woke up."

    "Mmmm, it''s a good thing I woke up when I did then, some types of wings can be quite sensitive to foreign magic, so it would be best to use a normal means of cleaning until I determine what exactly I have here"

    "I see.....Then it was quite fortunate that Boss woke up when you did then......Well, then when Boss was meditating, I decided to enlarge the shower so it should be able to fit Boss and his new wings."

    "Heh, excellent foresight as always Arvid, tell me what''s been going on in school during my absence while I shower."

    Stripping off a now completely ruined shirt and blood stained pants, I walked to the shower and let a slightly warm stream of water run down my back and onto my wings. Still tender from the recent emergence, my wings involuntarily flinched at the foreign contact.

    "Hmmmmm, well lets see.......the first day, a few minutes after you left those teachers alone, they stormed the principal''s office, beat him up, and locked him in the dungeon."

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "We have a dungeon!? No, Wait, they did WHAT!?"

    "They stormed the principa-"

    "You don''t actually need to repeat it, I was just venting my emotions. But Still! Those Idiots! Have they no sense of discretion! If they take such obvious actions, it''ll be sure to draw attention, something that my plans aren''t prepared for....Yet."

    "....They almost did worse...."

    ".........Urk, just get it over with."

    My just reward for actually trusting adults.

    "After they locked the principal up, they started discussing how they should get rid of the ''replacement teachers'', once  I heard that, I blocked off any exit in the dungeon and trapped them there. They''ve been stuck there ever since, that Raina lady actually managed to break down a few walls until I gave her a message that you were behind it. I also left a note on the principals desk explaining that he and all the teachers missing were away dealing with a problem, so nothing has gotten too panicked, but there basically hasn''t been any classes held since....."

    "Good thinking Arvid, that should wage off most of the damaged caused, but still.........Do those teachers not have one crafty person among them!"

    "Apparently not Boss......"

    "Eh, whatever, hey Arvid, now that I''m thinking about it, take those magical beast skins and turn them into suitably extravagant clothes, with these wings, I''ll have to move up the clothing plan if I want to make the biggest impact, oh, and see if you can dye them black as well. "

    I stepped out of the shower and shook my wings dry, enjoying the feel of new muscles flexing under my control.

    "Well, what do they look like?"

    "Erm........Fluffy....and...............G-Gold......"

    What The! THEY''RE GOLD!? But that Chicken-Lizard had said........

    My killing intent surged and I began to stalk to my large bed where the PREY still slept unaware,

    What would the best way to eat a chicken-lizard, barbeque? Spitted on a stick and roasted on a fire?.........OR Maybe Raw, Using His Fresh Scarlet Blood to Dye My Wings A Color Other Than GOLDDDD!!!!!!!!

    "Ah! They just turned a murderous red!"

    I froze on the spot, killing intent dissipating.

    "What did you say?"

    "Y-your wings Boss, they turned from gold to a bloody red!"

    Could it be.......I began to visualize something in my mind.

    "Ah, now they''ve turned black and are a lot sleeker too!"

    Hmmmm, so my wings would change according to my will? This must be the little ''extra something'' Fate had added.....

    "It seems the Lizard-Chicken will live to see another day........"

    Time to test how far they could change. I began imagining large black bat wings, suitable to what a devil would have.

    "What about now?"

    "Erm, they''re still the same..."

    "And now?"

    "They''re bright blue and a lot fluffier......"

    So the change was limited to bird variant wing types.....Still......

    "Puhahahaha, This Is Awesome!!!!!!!! So many tricks I could do......."

    I could feel pure evil genius *cough* ingenuity surge joyfully around my soul, reaching a peak I had yet to experience in this world.

    Suddenly, with this surge of mischievous creativity came a sharp pain in my chest that caused me to double over, wheezing in pain.

    "B-Boss!?"

    Another surge of pain came and I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my chest.

    Sending a mental probe in the direction of the pain, I soon discovered the source of my problem.

    My dark purple ki and blazing white mana cores were clashing against each other, every impact causing a fresh surge of pain. At the exact point of their interaction, a small glowing speck of light purple with red edges was slowly growing bigger with each contact.

    Puhahahaha, my killing intent and evil *cough* dark emotions must have prompted the breakthrough into high rank, like how the high emotions of a life and death battle can do!

    Another surge of pain rolled through my chest and my humor abruptly cut off, I heard nor read about this intense pain during a breakthrough in this world, and there was definitely nothing said about a new core forming!

    Was this another one of Fate''s little ''changes'', like the wings had been? Or was it something else entirely!?

    Before I think any more on the matter, my cores slammed together once more, far harder than any of the previous hits, my mind was wiped blank by the pain.

    When the pain cleared enough for my thoughts to return, I found my mana and ki cores had settled quietly in an orbit around the slightly small new core.

    Prodding gingerly at the new core, I realized it seemed to be some bizarre mix of ki and mana that hummed with a massive amount of energy.

    Before I could investigate any further into the state of my new core, all three cores suddenly burned brilliantly and let of a massive flash of power.

    The last thing I could remember before my brain defensively shut itself down was the feeling of every inch of my body burning with pain and energy.

    Author''s Note:

    Sooooo sorry this chapter has taken so long to come out, I''ve been sick and just didn''t have the energy to write. Also, with medicine I was taking, I was worried I might write something Truly Crazy~~

    :criesBo:

 Chapter 21: A Completely New Look

    I was floating on a soft feathery cloud......

    Ah, so comfortable...........

    ......Hrmm? Something''s wrong......

    ..........

    Urrggg.....something tastes terrible.....

    ........My mouth has that dry cotton taste you get when you haven''t had water for a long time, ugh and my tongue feels like a swollen piece of sandpaper.....

    W-why am I in this terrible yet comfortable state?

    Ah, yes, before I fell asleep, no.... became unconscious, there was.....

    I blearily opened my eyes in a useless attempt to see as my memories of the burning pain that had hit my body right before I had passed out began to return.

    Man, how long had I been out?

    I groaned and sat up, my wings dragging like dead weight behind me, completely numb from being laid on for so long.

    So the heavenly place I had been sleeping on was my wings......how interesting, I had never realized fluffy wings could be so comfortable to sleep on.....

    "B-Boss, You''re Awake!"

    Arvid''s excited voice clashed against my ears, causing my dehydrated brain to spin.

    "......WATER!"

    "Ah Yeah! You''ve been out for three days, so I suppose you would be thirsty..."

    ......Sometimes I forget that Arvid isn''t a living, breathing person....

    I felt a glass of water appear in the air in front of me, the displaced air from it''s sudden appearance brushing gently against my face.

    Snatching it out of the air, I desperately gulped down the refreshingly cold water, then held out the glass.

    "More!"

    A moment later, the glass was once again heavy with water. I drained it dry.

    "More!"

    Ten glasses of water later, I leaned back with a satisfied sigh. Dehydration is a very uncomfortable state to be in, and ever since that horrible death in the Fiery Desert of Hel, where I had plenty of dry food to sustain me, but not a single drop of liquid, I have held an extreme importance in keeping hydrated.

    Now that I was feeling considerably better, I sent my awareness out to investigate what the painful  wave of energy had done to my body.

    Hmmm, nothing that could be called a visible change, I was still the same height and all, but my muscles and bones were now extremely dense, and full of energy.

    "Ne, Arvid, has there been any visual changes that I can''t sense?"

    "Hmmmm, well the tips of your hair have turned gold, oh and so have your eyes...."

    "Hrmmm, so a bit like how Void''s claws also turned color.......but wouldn''t they have changed color after my wings grew, and not because of my breakthrough?"

    "Yes, that does seem strange Boss.....Then maybe the hair and eyes are a separate matter from your wings?"

    "You may be right, my breakthrough seemed a bit strange as well.....But now is not the time to ponder about that!"

    I hopped out of bed and began to stretch, time to see the capabilities of my new body~

    My newly forged muscles responded eagerly to my command and I reveled in the feeling of strength they sent me. Ah, yes, gaining power slowly on your own is truly my favorite method......

    Then my wings began to tingle painfully, the blood beginning to flow back into them properly.

    "Ita! It hurts!  This problem  with blood flow and limbs falling asleep is one of the only things I slightly dislike about having a mortal body...."

    I flapped my wings frantically to speed up the painful experience, lifting a few feet into the air.

    ''It sure is a good thing Arvid made the ceiling so high...''

    When the pins and needles finally stopped, I settled back down and finished my stretches.

    Clenching my right hand into a fist, I fired a light punch into the air. There was a loud crunch as the air waves sent off by my fist completely shattered the wall 16 meters in front of me.

    "Ow! Boss that hurt!"

    "Ah, sorry Arvid, that was an accident, I''ll do the rest of my testing outside."

    "Just be glad I completely separated this room from the outside, otherwise you would have opened a new door to the hallway, one that I wouldn''t be able to block off it time to stop that Aaron kid from getting in."

    "Ah, yes, I wasn''t thinking of that possibility when I decided to face that wall...."

    Still, from that one punch I could tell that my strength and speed had increased by three or four times...Heh, not bad~

    "Right, but before you do that Boss, you might want to set things in order first, those teachers are still locked up in the dungeon...."

    "I want to test my abilities right now, but that dull work is also important...... I guess you''re right.......but I really don''t wanna do that right now*sigh*"

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.I could feel a dark aura pulling me to a corner of the room, I went over and crouched down to investigate it.

    "Aw, don''t be like that Boss."

    H-he''s talking like I''m acting depressed, t-there really is a dark aura in this corner!......or am I creating it?

    "I hate having to act responsible, or having to do dull things......"

    I could feel the  darkness thicken, ah, so comfortable..........

    "Nonsense Boss! This isn''t being responsible, it''s simply prep work to maximize the fun of your next plan!"

    "Mmmmmm"

    I felt the darkness begin to lift a little. No, don''t go!

    "And you still need to scold those teachers for their overly honest actions!"

    That''s right....I still have many fun things to do, putting things in order can be a fun thing!

    I immediately rose from my crouch and the darkness vanished.

    "Ahaha! I''m Back! Thanks Arvid!"

    "Eh, what do you mean Boss?"

    "Ara? I suppose I forgot to tell you, when I am approached by things that seem to be dull or like work, I tend to sink into a deep depression in which I can spend years of sitting comfortably in my own dark aura if I''m not brought out of it soon enough."

    "This.........seems a bit extreme, even for the Boss......"

    "Ahahaha, it''s a soul curse someone put on me in one of my reincarnations."

    "B-but Boss could easily remove that......"

    "Ah, it was interesting so I decided to keep it and by now it''s been so deeply ingrained into my own psyche that it''d be a pain to remove it~"

    "That does sound like Boss......"

    "It suits my lifestyle quite well so I usually don''t have any real problem with it, but there are incidences like these...."

    "Mmmm, well, I''ll be sure to keep an eye out for these incidences in the future, Boss."

    "Eh, it probably won''t happen anytime soon, so don''t worry too much."

    "Ah right, because Boss has a lot of amusing things to play with right now."

    "Yep, I was just caught a bit off guard this time but that''s alright because it keeps me on my toes~"

    I began to head for the door, then stopped.

    "Ne~ Arvid those clothes should be ready for me, right?"

    "Yes, I managed to die them black as well, they''re hanging in your closet."

    "Good."

    I walked over and opened the closet, then began feeling through my clothes.

    Hmmmm, which one would make the best impact....

    Finally, I decided on a leather vest with a fur collar, leather pants, and finger-less leather gloves.

    My new clothes were all leather because they were made from the tanned skins of the magical beasts I had killed.

    "Ah, so Boss, you''re going to go for the completely deadly look to intimidate the teachers?"

    I shook my head and shifted my wing color back to gold.

    "Nope, that''s only if things get too boring, first of all, I''m going to try controlling them with my sweet and innocent look. How do I look?"

    ".......Perfect for the roll Boss intends to play."

    "Good!"

    "And the complete opposite of your true nature.....those poor people....."

    "Eh? Did you just say something else?"

    "Ah, ummmmmm, j-just wondering why you want your clothes to be black if you''re going for the innocent look... "

    "Ha, obviously because the contrast only heightens my mind wiping aura of child cuteness!"

    "I suppose that''s true....."

    I walked to the door, and was just about to leave, when.

    -W-wait for me Papa!-

    Void flew rapidly over from the bed where he had been sleeping and settled on my shoulder.

    ........Why wasn''t he saying anything about how he was so happy I woke up?

    "Ah, Boss, I almost forgot to tell you, Void has been asleep the entire time you were unconscious."

    Could it be.......

    I ran a mental probe over Void''s body.

    .......Yep

    The idiot chicken-lizard body was also had much denser muscles and bones than before. His body also hummed with a strong energy he hadn''t possessed before.

    .......

    I got wings and he was raised from the strength of about a medium strength middle rank monster to the level of a weak high rank beast without even training or having to work for a breakthrough......

    N-not fair....

    "You truly are a parasite in every sense of the word....."

    -Eh?-

    "......Nevermind, Arvid, show me the way to the dungeon. Also, I might be changing my innocent plan a bit."

    I suddenly have a lot of anger I need to work off.

 Chapter 22: An Angel......No! A Demon!

    I stood in front of the door to the dungeons, rubbing my hands together eagerly.

    "Alright Arvid, let me in!"

    "Got it Boss!"

    The door swung open and I walked into the surprisingly spacious room, the door closing shut behind me.

    ......They call this a dungeon!? It smells too clean, and I can''t hear any rats or water dripping!

    "Tch, how disappointing..."

    "Eh! Felix, why do you have wings, and why are your eyes gold!?"

    ...........................

    The Teachers'' Point of View:

    We have been stuck in the dungeon for days, with no way out.

    At first, we were all extremely happy to see that stupid principal wrapped in chains and hanging from the ceiling of one of our sturdiest cells, but then we discovered that the door wouldn''t open.

    Every wall in the dungeon was somehow magically strengthened to a level that we could only put cracks in it, but even that small amount of damaged as the walls repaired themselves. Our only  hope in succeeding was Raina, who had broken through several walls by herself, but then she suddenly stopped her assault and refused to give an explanation as to why.

    After a few days, we were forced to give up hope and enter into meditative trances, a state that requires no food or water, as we had access to neither in the dungeon.

    After an uncertain length of time that stretched at least several days, a new sound suddenly cut through the silence of our attention.

    To be exact, this sound was that of a door opening and closing.

    Our eyes shot open to see a childlike angel  standing in front of the dungeon door. Tears began to flow down many of the teachers faces, their minds wondering if heaven had food and water.

    The angel looked to be a small child of  about seven, the tips of his long white hair looking as through they had been dipped in gold, and similarly gold wings that seemed to emit a soft and gentle air. Hazy golden eyes stared in their direction, as if they were looking at nothing and everything. The angels tanned cheeks even seemed to emit a heavenly golden glow.

    The smooth black leather and fur the child seemed to be strange attire for an angel to wear at first, but then the teachers realized the black toughness of his attire only seemed to emphasize the child''s own gentle appearance.

    The angel''s lips moved as though he was speaking, but they couldn''t hear anything.

    Likely because such a heavenly thing was not meant to be heard by their mortal ears...

    Suddenly, the well-known voice of the irritable Magical Theory teacher Eamon rang out sharply.

    "Eh! Felix, why do you have wings, and why are your eyes gold!?"

    The angel smiled brilliantly in amusement, displaying sparkly white teeth, causing his already heavenly appearance to morph into an unmatched radiance that caused their hearts to unconsciously beat faster.

    "Ah, as expected of Eamon, to ask such a question in this situation, your priorities can be said to be similar to mine......As for the wings, its because of this idiotic pet of mine. The eyes......well, they changed to this color when I made a breakthrough to a certain level~"

    A slight coldness touch the warmth in their hearts.

    T-that voice......It was the scary kid that had saved them all from the binding!

    After a long pause, Eamon''s voice rang out with shock.

    "T-this, you''ve broken into high rank! But with those eyes, and that hair, it means you have That legendary kind of body....But it''s extremely rare! I''ve never heard of a commoner possessing..........But then again, with this kind of crazy kid who reached high rank at the age of seven, anything can be possible, even the Berserker body......."

    Felix looked dejected all of the sudden, and pulled a ring off his finger.

    "To think the suppression ring''s material wouldn''t be strong enough to work after reaching high rank.......what a pity.......but Messy Guy, you said something interesting about a type of body, tell me more about this Beserker thing~"

    "Wait a second, did you say suppression ring! Those are very rare magical artifacts, how did you get your hands on one!?"

    "I found the ring in the stomach of a magical beast and inlaid the spell into it myself!"

    "......So your not going to tell me the answer, whatever, why were you even wearing the ring in the first place!"

    "Because things would be more interesting that way!"

    "Guh, you really have an abnormal personality....."

    "Yep~ Now tell me about this Berserker body thing!"

    "......Fine.........A few hundred years ago, a beautiful and strong lady who called herself Fate descended from the heavens with a goblet of golden liquid, which she then sprinkled across the entire world while saying''This blood shall grant those it deems worthy the blessing of the Berserker, and be granted a body unmatched in physical power,and shall be passed long through bloodlines in sleeping peace until one who is worthy wakes it.'' It is also rumored she said something about this making her favorite show even more interesting, but historians agree that that is some strange storytellers embellishment. The royal families of all four kingdoms belong to this bloodline. You must also belong to one of the hidden Beserker bloodlines that was never awakened."

    "So that''s what she did with the blood she won off of me in that bet......."

    "Hrm? What did you say?"

    "That Fate won that blood off me in a bet."

    "Yeah right, more of that all-powerful immortal being nonsense you keep joking about, what did you really say?"

    "Haaaa, the truth was shot down again......"

    "Ummmmm, let''s see........have any of the royal family awakened in this generation?"

    "I love having durable toys~"

    "Haven''t you heard, this is being called the Golden Era because all four kingdoms kings have awakened the Berserker body in their bloodlines, and have made a pact of peace that has lasted all six hundred years of their reign."

    "Wait, how have they ruled for six hundred years, does high rank make you immortal or something?"

    "It rejuvenates the body to the prime of youth and greatly slows aging, but it doesn''t actually make a person immortal. Usually the lifeline is extended to about a thousand years, if you don''t die, that is. Berserkers usually last a bit longer than that."

    "Eh, but my body didn''t rejuvenate or anything like that?"

    "I personally have never heard of anyone reaching high rank at the age of seven, but there is a single record of a genius reaching high rank at the age of 15. The record states that the rejuvenation simply didn''t happen, as in your case, and it simply took him along time to age."

    "So I''m going to look like a little kid for a long time? Heh, how useful~"

    Eamon suddenly seemed to remember they were still stuck in the dungeon with all of the teachers, not the best time to have a casual conversation.

    "Eh! Wait, what Are you even doing here and how did you get in!"

    "Obviously I''m here to deal with all of you naughty teachers~"

    The Felix kid''s smile then turned into an adorable pout and he placed his fists on his hips an authoritative stance that only succeeded in making him look cuter.

    "Your actions have created a big mess for me to clean up, you know....."

    The short moment of ice in their hearts, that had grown during that very strange conversation, vanished with a new swell of warmth at Felix''s adorable appearance.

    ......Wait.....what had he said again?

    Eamon was the only one with enough resistance to Felix''s charms to speak, besides Raina, of course, but she didn''t care about such paltry matters.

    "What mess?"

    "Ehehe, did you really think you could just beat up and imprison the principal without consequences."

    Stolen story; please report.

    "What? But you said you had him under your control, so there shouldn''t be any problem right? We just didn''t want that guy at the head of our school, even as a puppet."

    "Idiots, that guy is clearly just a grunt, if I hadn''t covered up for you, your actions would have brought the attention of his superiors down on us and put you right back under the binding I spent a good day''s worth of my time releasing."

    "Ah.......that''s true....But still, how did you even get in here?"

    "Ah, my associate was the one who locked you guys in here, so it was quite easy for me to gain entrance."

    A chill ran down the teacher''s back.

    "Wait, are you the one who locked us up here? And how did your ''associate'' even manage trap us in here in the first place!?"

    "Eh, technically I didn''t give the order since I was busy working on my breakthrough, but he did act according to what my wishes would have been if I had been available. As for how he trapped you, it''s because he has complete control over the school, of course!"

    "Wha-b-ut why, a-and how?"

    Eamon had almost been struck speechless, a rare sight to see to the teachers, but for some reason, they felt as though they would be seeing the event happen a lot more often in the future......

    "Well, Arvid heard you talking about getting rid of the replacement teachers all at once, which would have been even more noticeable than your beating up the principal fiasco, so he wisely decided to stop all of you. As for how......I think it would be best if he simply introduced himself~"

    The teachers began looking around for this ''Arvid'', wondering how they had missed his presence in the room earlier.

    "Ah, Hello everyone~ Wow, this is actually the first time I''ve talked to anyone besides Boss~"

    The voice came from all around them, with no discernible source.

    "Show yourself!"

    "Hrmmm, I don''t have a physical form........but I could project an image, I''ve never bothered since Boss is blind, alright!"

    A young boy suddenly appeared, he looked exactly like Felix, minus the wings, with black hair instead of white and glowing silver eyes. The edges of his form suddenly flickered and Arvid blinked his eyes rapidly.

    "Woah, it might take me a bit of time to get used to this...."

    Felix seemed a bit put out, and frowned, turning his face towards the projection.

    "Eh, Arvid, why didn''t you tell me that you could manifest an appearance?"

    The Arvid kid took a step back nervously, Felix followed him.

    "Ah, well, since Boss couldn''t see, I figured there was no need to?"

    "Bah! It could be very useful in certain tri-"

    Felix suddenly stopped for no reason that the teachers could see.

    "I mean in certain, erm.....Situations."

    Arvid''s figure seemed to relax, and he adopted a thoughtful look.

    "I see, that was truly short sighted of me......but Boss, how can you tell where I am?"

    Felix snorted.

    "Bah, obviously I can feel the mana in your projection, the spell you''re using needs a lot of work as well, if we tweak it properly, you could create a complete physical manifestation."

    "T-that would be awesome Boss!"

    "Yeah, then we could spare together!"

    "That......I''m not sure I can match up to Boss......"

    "Nonsense! you''ve been watching me for years, you should have the basics of my fighting style down in memory, and if we can perfect that, imagine what would happen in battle if you appeared looking exactly like me~"

    "Ahaha, that''s true, one Boss is already enough to scare the enemy, to suddenly see two.......Man, I can see their faces now......"

    "Arvid truly is a being after my own heart......"

    "It''s only natural since I exist because of Boss~"

    Eamon cut into the two boys cheerful conversation.

    "Sorry to interrupt, but could we get back on subject and discuss What this Arvid kid is?"

    Both boys turned and glared in his direction. A dreadful feeling of danger pressed down on all of the teachers.

    Eamon wisely took a step back, raising his hands nervously.

    "I-if that''s not too much of a bother to you..........."

    Arivd turned to look at Felix, waiting to see what he wanted to do. Felix continued to stare at Eamon for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

    "I''ll let you off with a warning this time, don''t interrupt me when I''m having fun."

    Arvid seemed to take this as a sign to go ahead and explain.

    "I am an intelligence that formed after years of Boss''s mediation gathering elemental energy in his room, this school had something similar, but due to the many different people gathering the energy, the awareness never gained enough experience with one person to develop a personality, which made it practically defenseless against my takeover when I came here with Boss~"

    "I-impossible, there is no record of a such a being coming into existence like this due to the gathering of elemental energies, and plenty people have meditated in a single place, alone, for as long as a century!"

    Felix seemed surprised.

    "Eh!? Really? I thought there would at least be a few......"

    Arvid turned towards him.

    "There probably is a few, people likely just don''t realize they''re there. It was due to Boss''s amazing senses that we were able to communicate at all in the first place, remember I couldn''t talk back then, only send vibrations. Also, Boss''s soul is also unmatched in strength, so it helped me develop quickly, most personalities would take all of hundreds of years to develop, not just the few years it took me, so by the time they finished the practitioner would likely have left or died of old age."

    "I see, that makes sense......We should go look for them sometime~"

    "That would be fun~"

    They could see the boys were starting to get off track again, but Eamon showed no sign of interrupting them again, and the rest of them wisely decided to follow his example.

    After several minutes of idle chatter, Felix seemed to remember the teachers. Later that day, they would wish he had forgotten them for all eternity.

    He smiled happily at them.

    "Well then, since you all seem to have recognized the error of your past ways, we can get started on the real business now, Raina, please come here for a moment."

    Raina stood up from the corner she was standing in and walked over to the boy, all the teachers in her way scurrying nervously out of her way.

    Fenix gestured at her and she leaned down so he could whisper in her ear.

    "The rest of the teachers are going to go through a special program of my own making for next few days, while I''m busy with that, I want you to put all the students through that special training we discussed, the one that was only hypothetical unless you were given full reign. Get started now, Arvid will open the door for you."

    The other teachers couldn''t tell what he was saying, but the brilliant smile on Raina''s face as she walked to the exit and left easily sent a true shiver of terror down their backs.

    Felix turned to them with a smile almost identical to Raina''s grin. He began to slowly beat his right fist against his left palm. Then his angelic golden wings morphed into a pair of sleek black wings that made the charming aura around him become magnetically evil.

    "Time to beat some cunning into all of you, oh, and of course, up your strength in preparation for the revival of Dagda~"

    Screams soon began to fill the dungeon. In any other case, the cries that were clearly heard even several  floors away from the dungeon would have become a school legend, but in this instance the students were far too busy filling the air with their own screams at the hands of Raina to notice any other sound of torment.

    .............................

    Felix''s Point of View:

    Kekekeke, I do so Love training~~

 Chapter 23: The Older Students Arrive!

    Large piles of bodies filled the training. Raina and I stood in front of them in silent contemplation.

    Finally, Raina spoke hopefully.

    "......Do you think they''re ready for another round yet?"

    I walked over to a large simmering pot of soup and stirred it a couple of times, letting the tantalizing smell of it waft through the room.

    Not a single body twitched.

    "*Sigh* Not even my addictive energy increasing soup is causing a reaction, looks like they truly don''t have enough strength to go on....."

    Earlier that day....

    This was the fourth day of the ''special training'' and the teachers and students had been combined together.

    At this point in time, the unwilling participants had realized that Raina and I stopped training when they were completely out of energy, and attempted to fake complete exhaustion in order to get out of training sooner.

    The fake collapsed bodies were greeted by an angelic smile, and the words, that since they were so tired, they could have an early lunch of revitalizing soup that he had been cooking on the side of the field to regain their energy.

    Believing their ploy had worked, the worn out teachers and students eagerly began eating the delicious soup Felix had prepared for them.

    Heh, what fools~~

    They were amazed at new swell of energy that filled their bodies from the soup, and were quite complacent in returning to training, believing that if it got to hard, they could just wimp out.

    Their energy did indeed soon fade away, and once more the training grounds were covered in fallen bodies.

    But instead of letting them rest, Felix brought out a spoon and stirred the soup, using a little bit of wind magic to send its scent all around the field.

    All of their heads suddenly perked up, mouths watering.

    "Heh, seems you guys still have some energy after all, get back to work!"

    They got back to work reluctantly, but there was still hope in their hearts, they had just made a mistake this time, if they didn''t react to the soup next time, they could still cut their training short.

    Yet, when collapsed bodies once again filled the field and Felix once again sent the scent out, their head popped up against their wills.

    "Ah, I suppose I should mention, that while this soup does revive energy quite well, it is also extremely addictive, so if you have any energy left at all, you most definitely will react~"

    Despair immediately filled all of the poor souls trapped under the rule of Felix and Raina.

    Back to the Present

    "It''s a pity we couldn''t squeeze any more out of them, but we did get several more rounds out of them with the soup~"

    "Ah, yes, I would like the recipe, if I could have it."

    "Sure thing Raina! I''ll have Arvid  write it down and leave it in your room."

    "Thanks!"

    Suddenly, loud horns filled the air.

    I felt Raina turn towards the sound, her body brimming with excitement.

    "Fresh meat has arrive!"

    ".........Do you mean literally, or figuratively?"

    "Both. The older students go on a long expedition for the first few weeks or so to one of the nearby low level danger areas to fight magical beasts. They usually bring back quite a bit of magical beast meat, and they last a lot longer in training than the first years........"

    ........I had been wondering where the older students were.......

    I dived for the nearest pile of dead bodies, and pretended be just as corpse-like as they were, shifting my wings from their sleek and black form to the golden and fluffy.

    "Felix, what are you doing!"

    "There is no way I''m going to chance missing out on the interesting interactions with the older students! To do so, they can''t find out I was involved with this!"

    "I see, but won''t the other first years tell them about you?"

    I pulled up a magical formation I already had prepared in my mind, and snapped my fingers twice.

    "Already dealt with, the students memories of all these strange days have been replaced with normal class days in their minds. It looks like our special training will be cut short, since I was planning to use this anyways since scared toys are boring, this even has moved up my plans."

    "You said the students....so the teachers will still remember?"

    "Of course! I don''t want all the conditioning I worked into their minds to be undone!"

    "Mmmm, then be sure to advise them not to say anything when they wake up."

    "That was the second part of my spell, once they regain consciousness, they will hear my voice instructing them to say nothing of the matter, or face the consequences."

    "As expected, you''ve thought of everything. "

    "Heh, of course I have~ Oh, I hear them coming!"

    Several minutes later, the approaching footsteps I could hear finally rang clearly through the hall.

    "Still, I wonder why nobody greeted us at the gate, there should have been at least one to lead-Ah! What happened here!"

    Kekeke, what a wonderful reaction~

    Older Students Point of View:

    We had spent weeks in the low danger area Sweet Scent Forest. The sweet scent the trees in the forest gave off attracted many low level magical beasts and even some medium level creatures as well.

    After facing many life or death battles, we were quite eager to return to school, greeted by the sweet smiles of our juniors.

    But upon our arrival, laden with delicious magical beast meat, not a single person greeted us, not even when we sounded the horns to announce our arrival!

    What was wrong? Could we have gotten the rare batch of evil tempered juniors that didn''t feel any need to show respect to their seniors!?

    The gates swung open easily at our touch. Why weren''t they locked?

    Could it be that our juniors were inside, with a surprise for us?

    Our hearts began to warm and we hurried inside.

    Maybe we had good juniors afterall!

    The Crown Prince of Lothyde kingdom, Darius Starbright, took the lead. He was the strongest student in their school, breaking into high rank last year at the legendary  age of 12. It was said that the only reason he hadn''t applied to enter a high rank school was because he wanted to guide his close acquaintance, the Crown Prince of Ediraseth, who would be a first year this year.

    The peace agreement between the four kingdoms had caused the royal families to grow quite close, but the bond was especially strong between Ediraseth and Lothyde.

    The classrooms we passed were all empty, solidifying our theory that the first years were all gathered somewhere to greet us. But.....where?

    The first princess of  Aleridon, Sophia Heartstone,also near the front, finally guessed.

    "They are probably at the training fields, that''s the only area big enough to fit them all, and it is an excellent place for presentations."

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    With a goal now in mind, we hurried our pace. As we approached the entrance to the training field, Darius, in a pondering tone, asked.

    "Still, I wonder why nobody greeted us at the gate, there should have been at least one to lead-Ah! What happened here!"

    His startled exclamation came as we entered the training field and saw the horrific view panning out before us.

    The bodies of our juniors and teachers alike were strewn about in limp piles around the field, with professor Raina standing in front of them with a small smile on her face.

    "Welcome Back~"

    At those cheerful words, our blood turned to ice.

    "P-professor R-Raina, what happened here?"

    Prince Darius barely managed to speak through cold lips.

    It was an unnecessary question, really, we all Knew what had happened, but the question helped break the silence that had fallen at Raina''s cheerful greeting.

    "Ah, we had a Special training session, ehehehe~ "

    A truly joyful smile broke out on professor Raina''s face,, and we all felt a strong urge to take a step back, but for some reason, our legs wouldn''t move.

    "You must be tired from your journey, why don''t you come and have some of this soup!"

    .........Maybe she wasn''t going to have us train?

    Cautiously, we all took a bowl of soup and tasted it.

    Delicious!

    But for some reason, the warmth of the soup was failing to heat our frozen blood.

    "Now that you''ve all recovered your energy, why don''t you join me in a training lesson, I won''t let you refuse~"

    ............*Cry*

    Felix''s Point of View:

    Hrmmm, it seems the older students aren''t the brightest, having previous experience with Raina''s training fanaticism, I thought they would have at least seen that coming.....

    "B-but Professor, shouldn''t we take our juniors and teachers to the infirmary? This really isn''t the time for training......"

    Oho, not bad, the guy with the tenor voice actually tried to refuse~

    "........They''re fine....."

    "No, from even just appearances alone, you really can''t say that......."

    "......I said they''re fine, so they''re fine!"

    Raina..........can''t you come up with a better argument than that? Your precious training is in peril....of course, an constantly honest type of person like you probably can''t do any better......

    "That.....surely their health will effected saying outside unconscious like this, and make it harder to participate in training later on!"

    Using what she loves most to persuade her, nice!

    ".......they''re not unconscious, just sleeping....."

    I could feel a heated gaze on my wings.

    What, Raina, you can''t handle them on your own, so instead of admitting defeat, you''re calling for help!?

    "No, that''s clearly not sleeping......"

    Hey, if you stare any harder, my wings are are going to catch on fire!

    Ugh, if I help her, my future interesting interactions with the older students might be harmed.....but if I don''t Raina will probably be mad at me and not let me help out with training secessions any more......

    .......I''ll just have to get as much fun out of this moment as I can and help Raina out at the same time!

    I let my wings twitch and let out a small moan as I slowly sat up and faced towards the older students and Raina.

    Crown Prince Darius''s Point of View:

    I could see Raina weakening at my argument! After so many years, it was only natural that I learn some methods for dealing with her.

    ............But for some reason, she was staring really hard at something on one of the nearby piles of my poor juniors and teachers....

    I turned a little bit to get a better look at the pile.......why was there a pair of fluffy golden wings on the pile!?

    Suddenly, the wings twitched, and moved, revealing a small kid who sat up slowly and turned his face in our direction.

    The little......girl?.....no......boy? had a loose black cotton sleeveless shirt on that displayed finely toned tanned arms and small black leather shorts that revealed long lean legs. Long white hair with golden tips spilled over slender shoulders and big gold eyes blinked sleepily at me. All of this was framed perfectly by fluffy gold feathers.

    C-cute! Boy or girl, this kid had to be the most adorable thing I had ever seen!

    "T-teacher, who are these strange people I''m feeling?"

    That voice, so the kid was definitely a boy, but...Feeling? why hadn''t he said seeing?

    I took a step forward and looked closer......there was no pupil! This little boy is blind?

    "These are your seniors in school, Felix."

    Felix lept off the pile of bodies he had been sitting on and gave a small bow, then looked up and smiled sweetly.

    "Welcome Back~"

    Something sounded familiar about that phrase....but all my thoughts were washed away by the greeting of my adorable junior.

    Felix took a step forward and then tripped, falling flat on his face, wings spreading out clumsily.

    I stepped forward, intending to help him up, but Felix pushed himself up easily into a kneeling position.

    He rubbed at tears in his eyes and his wings turned a pale pink color, as though they were blushing from embarrassment.

    "Ita! How embarrassing......Sowy Seniors, I''m a bit clumsy since I''m blind...."

    My heart began to beat rapidly.....I-I want to protect this cute junior.

    "Ne~ I heard that the seniors are really strong right? You''ve been hunting magic monsters for a long time right? You must be really strong~"

    T-this is the adoring respect that all seniors long for!

    "Ah, that''s right little brother, this senior is even the strongest of the school!"

    The kids mouth seemed to twitch downwards in a frown for a moment, but then he gave a brilliant smile....I must have been imagining the frown...

    "Ah, I would really like to feel a display of seniors strength, would you show me!"

    "This senior would do anything for a cute junior like you....."

    Professor Raina suddenly cut in, I had almost forgotten she was there.

    "I think a training secession would be the best way to display the seniors strength, don''t you?"

    Urk!

    Felix opened his big gold eyes wide and looked in my direction hopefully.

    "Oh, would you really!"

    "......Ok......"

    For my cute junior, I''ll do anything, even subject myself to Raina''s training!

    Felix''s Point of View:

    As the idiotic seniors began their training, I walked casually over to Raina, and had her bend over so I could whisper into her ear.

    "Pull out all the stops, don''t hold anything back."

    NOBODY gets away with calling me ''little brother''!!!!!

 Chapter 24: Two More Toys *Cough* Royals~

    I observed the seniors with interest as they trained, my senses noting several promising prospective toys.

    The idiot who had called me ''little brother'' was especially promising as a high rank, with a little education in proper behavioral conduct (AKA, Don''t Call Me Little Brother), he would turn out to be an interesting opponent in the matters of manipulation and battle.....

    Reaching that level of strength at his age, he was likely a member of one of the royal families, which meant if  I could manage  to awaken his Berserker body, he could even become a durable and interesting toy, one of my favorite kinds~

    The very target of my thoughts came trotting over, barely able to breath from exertion.

    "S-so........*Hah*.....what do you.....think of your seniors strength?"

    I tilted my head, smiled sweetly, and even opened my eyes wide for effect.

    "Wellllllll, most of the people here are pretty weak, but senior and some others have real potential as toys~"

    "Yeah, we''re pretty stron- EH!?"

    Whoops! My true thoughts slipped out........and I had even prepared my appearance so carefully.....

    Prince Darius''s  Point of View:

    I jerked out of the happy haze that had clouded my mind because of my adorable junior,s smile. Hadn''t he just said something strange?

    "Ummmm, what did you just say?"

    Felix clapped his hands and smiled even brighter than before, his blind eyes seeming to sparkle.

    "Senior is really strong! Everyone else has impressive strength as well, but Senior is truly the best, if I may ask, since Senior is so strong, he is definetly from one of the royal families, right? It''s a good thing he wasn''t paying attention, now to change the subject!"

    Hrmmmm, was that really what he said? I could have sworn I heard something about toys.......Naw.....I must have imagined it, there is no way such a cute junior would refer to his seniors as toys......I wasn''t paying attention either, so it''s only natural that I mishear somethings.......

    "Ah, how rude of me, I haven''t introduced myself, I am the Crown Prince of Lothyde Kingdom, Darius Starbright."

    Felix''s wings began flashing dozens of color and he began to jump up and down in excitement, his wings flapping slightly to give even greater heights to joyful actions.

    "That means you have the potential of awakening the Berserker body, right!"

    Such excitement.....how adorable....*blush*

    "Y-yes, I do, it is my great hope to be found worthy of the blood in my body and awaken the Berserker body, as my father has done."

    ......Now that I think of it, little Felix''s eyes are a surprisingly similar color to Father''s, I thought that color only belonged to Berserkers, but I guess I was wrong.........

    "Awesome! Bro Darius, can I help you with your dream? I''m aspiring to become a great trainer like Professor Raina, and I would love to help Senior reach even greater heights!"

    To be called Bro warms my heart, though I would have preferred to be called Big Bro...........

    Wait, had he just said he wanted to become like Professor Raina! I can''t let this happen!

    I laid a hand on Felix''s shoulder and addressed him in a serious tone.

    "Felix, you don''t know what you''re saying, ummmm, how many of Professor Raina''s classes have you been too?"

    He''s been at school for several week, so there shouldn''t be any way for him to have a good impression of her.....

    "Ah, I''ve only attended the first few days of school because I reached a breakthrough and had to go into seclusion....."

    ......So it only took him a few weeks  to break through? Impressive, usually people take longer than that to surpass levels in a rank, and three time as long to break through ranks........I wonder what level of middle rank he reached?

    I sent out a thread of my my own power to test his level.

    "I see, congratulations on your breakthrough..........Y-you reached  high rank!?"

    Felix''s wings turned pale pink once again, slightly darker than the first time I had seen them do so the first time, and he smiled shyly at me.

    "Ahahaha, training is my favorite thing to do, so somehow I reach this level quickly........."

    T-this kid is a monster, to reach high rank at the age of seven, and to only take a few weeks to do so! A-and if he''s such a monster, that means that his eyes likely mean.........

    "K-kid, you couldn''t possibly have the Berserker body as well......"

    "Tehee~ Sorry~~"

    A monster......... he said he wanted to become like Professor Raina too......I took a subconscious step back.

    "Eh? What''s wrong Senpai, your heart-rate has suddenly gone up?"

    "Ah, no um, I just want to say that i-if I''ve done anything to offend you, I truly am sorry........"

    The monster pouted and his wings changed to a sleek black form.

    "Tch, so the innocent act won''t work on you any more......Well, whatever, stand still so I can see if I can wake your Berserker body."

    Like I''d really just stand here! I turned to run........

    M-my legs won''t move!

    Felix grinned evilly at me.

    "Oh, those words about not moving were only a courtesy, you don''t have any choice in the matter~"

    I-if I can''t flee, then I must fight!

    I began to murmur a spell under my breath.

    "Nice guts, but that''s not going to work~"

    My lips were suddenly sealed shut.

    What! But I hadn''t heard him say any incantations.....that means.....voiceless incantations!?

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    T-this kid is already way past Professor Raina''s league of scary!

    "Don''t worry, you won''t remember any of this when I''m done, it would be boring to have such a wonderful toy be scared of me~"

    Uuuuuuu, I''m sorry my future self............

    Felix''s Point of View:

    Heh, time for some experimentation~

    I placed my hand against Prince Darius''s chest and sent a surge of power through him, searching for the hint of my blood that would be running through his system.

    Hrmmmmm, how did this awakening work in the first place......when I reached high rank, my cores naturally released a wave of power that changed my body......but this guy was already in high rank......

    Did I simply need to activate a surge of energy that would travel through his body and awaken the blood?.....No......that sounded too simple, especially for my blood............let''s see what would cause My blood to recognize someone as worthy........Ahaha, of course! I broke through because of my mischievous plans and joyful feelings of evil! That was probably what set off my blood as well!

    But how to replicate that feeling in someone else''s body........I could tamper with his brain, but those things are so delicate that they''re a pain to deal with.....

    Well.....since it was originally my blood, it might simply obey my command to awaken?

    Eh, it''s worth a try......

    -Awaken And Turn This Kid Into A Suitable Toy For Me!-

    I felt my blood surge towards the Prince guys cores and surround them. The cores began to clash against each other, the same way mine had when I awakened.

    Heh, it actually worked!

    The prince''s body fell away from me as he slumped into unconsciousness.

    Eh, what a wussy, he couldn''t even stand the first clash.......I would have to work on his pain tolerance......

    A sharp female voice suddenly cut into my thoughts.

    "Hey! What did you do to Darius!"

    Oho, one of the other potentials had noticed us~

    I shifted my wings to a pale blue color and adopted a worried expression.

    "I don''t know Miss senior, we were talking and he suddenly fainted......"

    "Well that sure is strange......Ah! The ends of his hair are starting to turn gold! Argh, I''m so jealous, he''s awakened his Berserker body!"

    Her surprised voice would have been loud enough to catch the attention of everyone in the field if not for the fact that

    I had place a silence ward around us as soon as she noticed us, for just such an instance.

    Oho, the way she''s speaking....could she have a Berserker body too?

    "Sis, you sound very familiar with senior Darius, could it be that you''re a member of the royal families as well?"

    "Ah, yes, I''m the first princess of  Aleridon, Sophia Heartstone, "

    Hehe, sweet~

    "Ne~ Sis, your voice is quite pretty, I bet your looks are even more impressive, will you let me touch your face a bit so I can get a picture of what a beautiful princess you are?"

    "*Blush*, you''re quite the smooth talker......Alright!"

    Moments later, she was slumped on the ground next to Darius.

    Reaching out, I place a finger on each of their forehead, settling a simple mind spell into their minds.

    Now they would have no memories connecting me to their awakening their Berserker body, instead believing they managed it with their own power. I also mixed a little extra in, heh, neither of them would ever think of calling me ''little brother''

    Two perfect toys~

    I dispersed the silence ward and turned my attention back to the training field.

    Hrmmm, the seniors seemed to almost be at the end of their rope......and I don''t want to have to carry all the bodies back to their rooms......It would probably be best to stop them now so they can do the heavy lifting.....

    I walked over to Raina.

    "That''s enough for today, I want them to take all the first years back to their rooms so nothing seems strange when they wake up."

    "But..........."

    "Don''t worry, you''ll still be able to do as much serious training as you want, but it would be best if normal classes were to resume, a mind can only take so many mind spells you know~"

    "Haaaa, alright.........STOP! Training is over, take the first years and teachers back to their rooms, then return to your own rooms to retire for the day!"

    Grateful cheers filled the field.

    Hrmm? Now that I think of it, that little girl pretending to be the Crown Prince had enough natural strength to be a royal as well....Should I awaken her as well?.......No, three royals awakening at the same time might catch too much attention.....Two  was already stretching it......Pity....Well, I can always do it later~

    One of the piles of unconscious bodies suddenly seemed to shiver slightly.

    I began walking to the exit of the training field.

    "Well, I''m going to go back to my room and train some more, if they slack off at all, feel free to deal out punishment training."

    "Ok!"

    Raina suddenly sounded extremely cheerful.

    Heh, she really is an easy person to please~

    As I walked out of the field, I suddenly heard a startled shout.

    "Ah! Why are Prince Darius and Princess Sophia over here unconscious!"

    Ah, for some reason, I feel as though tomorrow is going to be a Very good day~

 Chapter 25: An Ox and Horns!

    I sat on the stool quietly as I tapped a paintbrush against my chin and considered what to paint. Whatever I drew could have serious consequences if Void took a liking to it.....

    As a part of my mind rifled through my subconscious for ideas, the majority of my mind recalled the wonderful things that had occurred this morning.....

    "Boss, it''s time for breakfast! I have that new suppression ring you asked for as well~"

    At Arvid''s words, I immediately broke out of my meditation and snatched the crystal ring he had hovering in the air in front of me.

    Today would be the first day of school with the older students attending! There''s no way I''m going to miss this~

    I quickly pulled some clothes on and dashed out the door, Void barely making it to my shoulder.

    The cafeteria had expanded, and there were many more tables within the room as well.

    Hrmmmmm, looks like the seating arrangements have changed as well.....

    The older students mingled easily with the younger students, basking happily in their juniors awe as they told tales of what happened during their long hunting trip.

    There did still seem to be an order of power, the strongest people were seated at a large table, and the only first years at that table was the ''Crown Prince''s'' group.

    Aww......Those two new toys aren''t there.....well, it did take a few days for my Berserker body to develop so they probably won''t show up for a while......

    I suddenly felt a body rushing towards me.

    "Big Bro!"

    I dodged.

    As Aaron went skidding across the floor, I felt Adrian approach me at a much slower pace.

    "Hey Felix, where have you been for the past few weeks? We knocked on your door, but you didn''t answer... Man, I am really sore for some reason...And why Do You Have Wings!?"

    Ah, right, I had forgotten to exclude Aaron and Adrian from the memory spell......should I let them remember?

    Eh, too much of a bother, I''ll just have to let them create new memories of torturous training at school....Hehehehe~

    "Ah, I had a breakthrough, so I was stuck in meditation for a while.......the wings grew a little bit before that because of this parasite....."

    I pointed at the creature in question on my shoulder.

    "Wow, to have a breakthrough so quickly......Felix is as impressive as ever......As for the wings.......that''s just strange......And while the color suits your appearance, they really don''t match your personality......."

    "Heh, with so much training, it''s only natural, do you want to join me?"

    "Hrmmm, I would like to get a lot stronger.......but with so many classes, we''d never have time for it...."

    "No worries, I have some methods that can make even everyday actions seem like training."

    "Big Bro, why did you dodge me!? We''ve been separated for so many weeks, you should at least show a bit of happiness when we finally meet."

    "..........you''re starting to get really annoying....."

    Seriously, why was he so fixated on me, could I have messed up his ''Don''t call me little brother'' hypnosis? Really, I already have one annoying hanger on in Void, I don''t need another......He''s probably learned very well to not call me little brother too.....

    "Big Bro that''s a really mean thing to say to your dear little brother!"

    Yep, I''m releasing the hypnosis.

    I held a hand out, completely closed except for my pointer finger.

    "Follow my finger."

    I felt Aaron''s gaze lock onto my finger and I began to move it back and forth, focusing a small bit of power at the very tip so that it would glow.

    After a sufficient amount of time had passed, I let my finger slowly curl down so that hand hand formed a fist.

    "Release!"

    I punched Aaron hard in the face.

    "Owwwwww! Wha! Ahhhhhhhhhh, what have I been doing all these years, I''m so embarrassed......."

    I felt Aaron slump to the ground and curl into an quivering ball of injured pride.

    Man, if I knew releasing the hypnosis would result in such a interesting reaction, I would have released it years ago.....

    "Um, Felix, why did you just do that?"

    "Ah, I placed a hypnosis on Aaron years ago so that he wouldn''t call me little brother, he''s been getting really annoying lately so I decided to release it."

    "......I-I see........Wait! Aaron is your big brother!"

    I placed a hand on Adrian''s shoulder and pressed down.

    "No One is my older brother.........UNDERSTAND?"

    "Ahahaha, Y-yes, of course, d-definitely no older brothers."

    "Good!"

    I left the frozen Adrian and the depressed Aaron and walked towards the large table of big shots. I wonder if that little girl told the older students about my rude attitude~

    "Yeah, so we found all of you unconscious in piles, Professor Raina said you had done a special training program, What!? What do you mean you don''t remember anything!? NO, I''m not joking-"

    "Ah! Senior, there''s the crude commoner I was telling you about! Senior, you should teach him a lesson for daring to insult his highness!"

    Ah, so it was the bootlicker who tattled? Well, since it came to the same result, I suppose it doesn''t matter who told.....

    I felt a huge presence stand up in front of me, the displaced airwaves indicating that his massive form was all muscle.

    Wow, this guy must really like his protein....

    "Hey, you''re that kid who woke up yesterday!, You remember what happened, right!?"

    Tch, why is he so focused on that, I wanted to shove the seniors approvals of my actions right back into his face.......Well, might as well play it dumb and see what happens....

    "Eh? What are you talking about? What happened yesterday?"

    "Y-YARGHH!!!! NOT YOU TOO!!!!!!!"

    ......Hehehehehe

    "Ne~ I wonder why senior is so angry.....Well, whatever, little Crown Prince, have you thought of any good insults?"

    "Well...ummm...."

    "Hey, you shouldn''t talk to his highness like that! Senior, you really should punish him for his impudence!"

    Hmmm, the bootlicker is sort of useful in his own way......

    "Hrmmm? Ah, you''re right, little kid, you shouldn''t be so rude to your superiors, do you need this big brother to teach you a lesson? Or are you smart enough to figure it out with just words?"

    *Snap!*

    "And why should  I show respect to someone weaker than me?"

    The First Year''s Point of View:

    We were shocked to hear the arrogant words from Felix''s mouth.

    Ever since his rude attitude to us nobles and his plotting with Professor Raina, we had being dying for someone to put the guy in his place. We had fully enjoyed the many days where he had vanished without a word, speculating that he had been expelled, or was locked in the dungeon for being so rude t the history teachers that first day.....

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    When the senior confronted Felix, we thought he would back down and apologize, finally giving us the scene we desired most. The senior towered over Felix, making the blind commoner look very small and weak. Surely Felix would finally be forced to show some respect!

    .....Instead he continued to act arrogantly, without a trace of fear.

    D-does this guy not have a sense of survival.

    The strong-looking senior in front of Felix began to smoke slightly, he specialized in fire magic.

    "WHAT did you just say to me?"

    Felix smiled, and his golden wings (Wait, he hadn''t had those before!?) began to turn black, the fluffy feathers turning sleek, the ends of his wings also began to turn a bright red, as though they were dipped in blood.

    ......For some reason, the sight of the black feathers caused our bodies to shiver unconsciously.

    "You should get your ears cleaned out, you big fat ox, I Said, why should I have to show respect to someone weaker than me, oh, that includes you by the way, in case your pea-sized brain didn''t catch that~"

    The seniors face began to turn red, and the smoke began to flow even more rapidly from his form, and there were even small sparks running along his skin.

    We began to edge away, fearful of getting caught in the impending explosion.

    "Y-y-y-y-you!"

    "Oooooh, so you actually managed to say a word, congratulations~ For a moment there, it sounded as though you wouldn''t be able to manage it~"

    "GRAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    Fully fledged flames burst out of the seniors nostrils and he charged at Felix.

    "Hmph, this is nothing compared to HER......Adrianne is truly a scary person..."

    Felix calmly stepped to the side and stuck a foot out.

    The senior, unable to stop his charge, whether because of rage, or speed, clashed against Felix''s foot and went flying into a nearby table that had only just been evacuated.

    Felix suddenly appeared next to the senior''s body amidst the shattered wood and stomped down hard, forcing the senior''s head to create a crater in the stone floor.

    "Don''t Ever Refer To Yourself As My Big Brother Again!!!"

    A low groan was the only response.

    Several teachers burst into the room.

    "What is going on in here- Ah! Ummmmm, Never mind........W-we don''t see anything wrong here, ahahahaha *sweat*"

    The teachers faces turned white and they began to slowly back towards the door.

    Felix appeared in front of them, his wings back to their original gold smile, a sweet smile on his face.

    "What are you talking about teachers? You''re talking as though you saw something wrong~ The senior and I were just discussing codes of respect and it got a little out of hand, ehehe~ Shouldn''t you take him to the infirmary?"

    "Ahahaha, o-of course! W-we''ll do that right now!"

    Moments later, the teachers hurried out of the room with the big senior floating behind them.

    "Now then, I suppose I should get some food before breakfast ends~ Ah wait, did you come up with any good insults."

    Felix turned back to the Crown Prince''s table.

    *Silence*

    "I''m Waiting~~"

    "Y-you''re a lowly p-piece of trash who can''t see because you aren''t even worthy of seeing dirt!"

    The Crow prince looked like he was about to cry, tears welling in his violet eyes,  no one could really blame him....

    Felix frowned, tapping his chin for a long long moment.

    "Well, it is better than before, and it IS your first time truly thinking up insults......I''ll let you pass this time, but strive to be even more creative next time!"

    The Crown Prince collapsed on the ground, tears of relief rolling down his face. Felix walked away.

    A small kid with blond hair and blue eyes walked over to the Crown Prince, his face pale, and knelt beside him, gently patting his short curly black hair.

    "It''s alright, Brother Felix is really evil, but he won''t really hurt anyone he considers his toy-Erm, an interesting person, and even better, he won''t let anyone mess with them, I know what it''s like to live under his rule, don''t worry, I''ll help you think of insults, so think on the bright side, you''ve gained a super powerful protector...... "

    The Crown Prince sniffed and looked up, wiping tears fro his eyes. Then for s-some reason, his cheeks flushed bright red and he looked down again.

    "U-uummm, T-thank you, can I ask what your name is?"

    "Ah, I''m Aaron Bardon, I''m Aaron Bardon. I know you''re the Crown Prince of my home kingdom, but what was your name again?"

    "Celia-um, I mean I''m Cedric Paragon!"

    "Ah, well nice to meet you Cedric, I''ll be happy to help you with my brother anytime."

    "T-thank you.......A-Aaron *blush*"

    ............................

    Felix''s Point Of View:

    Ah, beating up that ox was truly satisfying.......

    I turned my thoughts back to my canvas.

    Lets see, if I had to grow a new limb, what would it be........

    Horns! Gorgeous black ones that curled like a rams! Like the ones that one of my Demon King subordinates had!

    Holding a picture of him in my mind, I began to paint on the canvas, using red along with the black and white.

    He sat on a large black throne, with a luxurious black fur coat on, this guy had gone for a completely barbaric look and dressed all in animal skins. Flames surrounded his throne, causing his large black horns to glow a slight red.

    After a long time of focused strokes and delicate dabbles, I sat back and considered my image, hrmmm, I should be about done, but.....something was missing....

    Ah! Of course! He always had his pet saber-tooth cat sitting at the foot of his throne!

    I quickly painted in the large cat.

    Ah~ Finished! A True Masterpiece, if I do say so myself~

    A scream suddenly burst out from right behind me.

    "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

    Then there was a loud thump as my art teacher fainted and hit the floor behind my stool.

    Hehehehe, a true masterpiece indeed,

    -It looks really cool Papa! Why did that lady scream and faint?-

    "Not all art is supposed to inspire awe you know~ Some are made to inspire fear~ Ehehehehe"

    So Void took interest! Here come my black horns!

    Void''s Point of View:

    Papa''s painting really does look cool, those black horns are pretty nice, but.......I really like that big kitty the most!

 Chapter 26: Mist

    Void''s Point of View:

    Papa seemed very excited as he got ready for bed, he kept muttering something about horns.....Eh, well, Papa often talks about strange things that I can''t understand, so it probably isn''t related to me.

    I could feel the change starting to bubble up within me, as soon as I fell asleep, my form would change once again....but how should I change it?

    That big kitty was what inspired my growth, it''s fur looked really soft and fluffy, especially it''s tail.....but I like my scales.......I know! I''ll just have a small strip be fur!.......But that would look weird on Papa.....Eh, then I''ll just make his transformation different, I hope he likes it~

    With my decision made, I drifted to sleep on Papa''s comfy bed.....

    Felix''s Point of View:

    The moment I felt my consciousness drift awake, I shot up and began to feel around my head.

    .......N....No horns......

    I reached over and felt Void''s body.

    ......Fur was running along his spine, starting from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.......

    Curse my artistic sense! I shouldn''t have added That Darn CAT!

    A dreadful thought occurred in my mind and my hands shot to my back, feeling along my back.

    Phew~ NO fur on my back....

    My hands drifted lower and they encountered something soft that twitched at their touch.....

    A TAIL, SERIOUSLY!!!???

    Where are my horns, Uuuuuuuuu.

    My long tail lifted up and gently stroked my face, as though trying to comfort me.......wow, it''s really soft.......

    NO! Who cares how soft it is, why didn''t that stupid lizard give me horns!?

    I shook Void awake.

    -P-Papa?-

    "Why didn''t you give me horns......"

    -Eh? Papa wanted horns?-

    "......."

    -If that really was what Papa wanted, Void will make sure you get horns next time........-

    "......No, a fluffy tail and horns don''t go together........I better just use the cards given to me......"

    -Ah, well, if it makes Papa feel better, you should be growing cat ears as well soon, those go on the head like horns, right-

    I thumped  my head against the headboard.

    ".....Arvid?"

    "Your tail is white with a gold tip."

    How excellent, he predicted my question.

    Let''s, will my tail change color and shape like my wings?

    I focused on an image and opened my mouth to ask.

    "No, it hasn''t changed color or shape...."

    Dang, he''s on a roll today.

    "Haaa, what is the use of it then"

    My tail suddenly hit me on the head and then drifted in front of my face.

    *Chink!*

    "Um, it''s just sprouted very sharp and large spikes on the tip Boss.....Ah, watch out!"

    I barley caught the tail below it''s spikes before it hit me in the face.

    -Ummm, I pretty sure Papa''s tail wasn''t supposed to end up like that......-

    So this was another one of Fate''s ''interesting additions'', my tail had a mind of it''s own and could sprout spikes........That might be interesting.....But I can''t have it attacking me!

    "Um, I''m sorry for calling you useless?"

    One should always be polite to allies, especially if they are attached to you.

    *Shink!*

    I felt the spikes retract and I released the tail cautiously. It rubbed against my face affectionately, then settled down across my legs.

    I stroked it absentmindedly as I thought over my past few days. Playing with the seniors had been fun.....but now that I had beat up that fat ox, it would likely get boring again since they would be wary of messing with me......

    "Hey, Arvid, do you think those two new toys will be waking up any time soon?"

    "Hrmmm, I don''t think so Boss, I''ve also been looking through the school''s libraries in hope of finding things to help Boss with his Berserker Body, but so far, all I''ve found is that it usually takes a very long time for an Awakening to fully develop the Berserker Body. I think it took you such a short time because it is the blood from your original body and more easily excepted you."

    "I see.........Well, when do you think they''ll be ready?"

    "Let''s see....According to the records, the shortest time has been three weeks and the longest three months."

    "And it only took me three days........As expected of my blood, it chose such an auspicious number as three...."

    Still, that means it''ll take a awhile for my new toys to be ready to play with.......

    "I''m going to go see how the bandits are doing, while I''m gone, have the principal run a special schedule where the majority of the day is spent in Raina''s class, I can feel a strong guy coming, and I plan to fully restore Dagda''s strength some time soon after that."

    "Ah, but.....The principal is still locked up in the dungeon Boss......"

    "Ehhhh, I totally forgot about that.......Well, let him out and get him cleaned up, I made sure that you also have control of him, so make sure he doesn''t remember anything, oh, and send all of the Dagada teachers a warning so they don''t do anything this time."

    "Got it Boss~"

    "Oh!, and work on slowly firing the trash teachers, start with that history guy, I really don''t like him."

    "Okay~"

    "Hehe, time to pay those guys a visit~"

    I walked out of the door happily.

    Later that day in the Principal''s office.....

    "W-what do you mean I''m fired! I''ve taught this job well for almost seven years!? And how could I have upset you recently, you''ve had all the teachers that stayed here to shut ourselves in our rooms while you went who knows where to solve a problem you still refuse to tell us about."

    ".....Your conduct was found offensive before my absence by one of our most promising students, he threatened to leave if you weren''t fired, I am also aware that several other students have left because of your disgusting attitude, and I worry if you haven''t caused us to lose more prospective talents, indeed, if  I hadn''t personally been aware of Felix Bardon''s amazing talent, we might have lost him as well..."

    "T-that''s a load of bull, there''s no way a commoner kid be talented, and he hasn''t been in my class since the first day of school!"

    "Felix Bardon is already stronger than most of the students in this school......and he said the very thought of you being in the same vicinity makes him sick...."

    "W-Wha, B-but that''s!"

    "Please leave before I have to call Professor Raina to escort you out"

    "I-I''m going, why would I want to stay in a trash school that would throw out one of the best teachers it has because of a single commoner!"

    "....You have far too high of an opinion of yourself...."

    The history teacher stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

    Inside the  office, the principal''s body suddenly slumped in his chair and a strange voice could be heard.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "Phew, I hope Boss will be happy to hear this story when he returns...."

    Outside of the castle, the rat man suddenly stopped, his enraged appearance melting away into icy coolness. He pulled a black stone out of his pocket and infused it with mana, causing it to glow red. He raised it to his lips and began to speak.

    "Master, it seems that the teachers of Dagda have escaped the binding you placed on them, and have also managed to somehow take control of Barack Halifax as well...."

    A very long distance away, an identical stone began to glow in a hidden cave and the rat man''s voice echoed out into the cave. The black robed man snapped out of his meditation in surprise and murmured quietly to himself.

    "They actually managed to free themselves? No......There was no one with a level of ability to do that, I checked......They must have gotten outside help! The breaking must have been when I felt that strange apprehension a while ago......I''m so close to reaching Void level, but if this matter gets out, the high rank schools will make things troublesome for me......"

    The mysterious man grabbed the glowing stone and held it up to his face.

    "I''ll head over immediately, it should only take me a week or so,have a place ready for me to stay when I arrive."

    "I shall do as you instruct, master."

    Felix''s Point of View:

    I was running happily down the road to the bandits, when the slight pressure I had been feeling from my fighter sense suddenly increased sharply.

    "What! Suddenly I feel like that strong guy is coming a lot sooner! Tch, what could have made him change his mind.....This means I won''t have enough time to reach a level where I can fight him equally......"

    I slowed my pace to a steady walk as I considered my problem.

    Hmmmm, if I can''t use strength, than trickery will have to be the way to go....Yeah, this new development could be interesting~

    My mind set, I picked up the paced once again, I''ll play with the bandits for a bit, then return to school to plan and prepare!

    I reveled at the speed of my new body, my wings tucked tightly against my body to avoid any air resistance.....

    Wait........I haven''t tried to fly yet!

    I let my wings spread out,  they immediately caught the wind created from my running and lifted me into the air.

    Flapping them several times, I was soon soaring through the air!

    Kekekeke, flying is as awesome as ever~

    Void left his usual perch on my shoulder and glided happily next to me.

    My heightened senses could easily find the best air currents, and I was soon hovering over the forest where the bandits had run out of in our first encounter.

    Focusing on my hearing, I soon located the noisy camp near the center of the small forest.

    Hehehe, time to go play~

    I tucked my wings in and dived down to the camp, flapping them only once to easy my fall as I landed in the center of the busy camp of bandits.

    "Hey guys, I''ve come to play again~"

    The bandits charged.

    "Ha, we''ll beat you this time kid!"

    Truly, they were idiots that didn''t back down from a challenge.....wonderful~

    About fifteen minutes later, the unconscious  bodies of the bandits were strewn about the camp, I sat happily on a pile of bodies I had placed there just for that purpose. The bandit leader lay collapsed in front of me, conscious, but unable to move.

    "Very good, I see you all have been training diligently~ "

    I tossed two memory crystals at the leader, they thumped onto the ground beside his face. The bandit leader smiled weakly.

    "For too long people have looked down on bandits as weak existences, with young master''s training methods, we hope to prove to everyone what it is to have pride as a bandit, it''s only natural that we work hard!"

    "Heh, your goal sounds interesting, if I have time later, I''ll come visit and help you train~"

    "I''m sure with your direct guidance, we could gain strength even more quickly, you are welcome at any time! "

    "A wonderful response~"

    I tossed another crystal at him and rose to leave.

    Suddenly, I felt a weak warmth emanate from the farthest edge of the forest, calling me.

    Eh? How strange.......I turned to go towards it.

    "Ah, young master, don''t go in that direction! Nothing living can enter that area of the forest because of the Demon sword that is there!"

    Oho, a Demon sword, is it? How interesting.....

    I began running quickly through the forest, straight towards the so-called ''Demon sword'', I will most definitely not avoid such an amusing thing!

    I darted through the trees, and soon came to an area where the trees were dead, their branches bare of leaves and their cores rotting.

    Slowing down slightly, I sent my senses out, checking for danger.

    Hmmmm, there really isn''t any life here.......but that presence I felt didn''t feel demonic....

    More and more bones of dead animals were piled up along the ground as I moved closer to the source of the warmth that had called to me.

    My journey finally ended when I came upon an open clearing free of bones, with the sword stuck in the very center.

    As soon as I stepped into the clearing, I became aware of a weak force that was directed at my soul.

    Hrmmm, a protective spell.....well, I suppose most ordinary or animal souls would be unable to resist this kind of attack, it''s range is probably as far as the dead trees, but to me this level of force was nothing so I didn''t notice it until now...

    Void fluttered onto my shoulder.

    -Yuck! This feels weird Papa! Let''s leave soon!-

    Hrmmm, I had forgot about Void.....So his soul was strong enough to resist the force as well? Tch, it''s probably another thing the stupid parasite gained from our bond.....

    I moved towards the sword I could feel stuck in the ground, each step causing a noticeable increase in pressure. By the time I reached the sword, the pressure was actually at a level that made me feel a slight discomfort. Who ever had laid this spell Really hadn''t wanted anyone to reach the sword......

    I placed my hand on the pommel of the sword and the pressure vanished, the spell dispersed.

    The sword hummed at my touch, then melted and wrapped around me hand until it formed a warm metal finger less glove.

    A cheerful feminine voice echoed in my mind.

    -Puahaha, after so many hundreds of years, I''ve finally been freed! Greetings new master, I am Mist, the Sword of Illusion and Space! Back in the day, I was the most hated sword in all the land due to some of the pranks I pulled, hahahaha, now that I''ve recognized you as my master, you definitely won''t be able to escape~-

    I grinned at her introduction.

    "No need for escaping, I have a feeling we''ll get along just fine Mist~~"

 Chapter 27: A Rebellion.....Im So Proud~

    I walked through the forest happily chatting with Mist, and regaling her with tales of some of my most impressive misdeeds.

    As my new associate in crime, I had naturally told Mist who I was and she immediately said she believed me. Haa, finally, instead of dismissing the truth when I said it, someone outright believed me!

    "Ah yes, there was that one reincarnation where I became a world-renowned master chef just so one of the imperial families would hire me. In that world, there were four continents and an imperial family ruled each of them. Every three years, they would gather together for a meeting. When the time came for their next meeting, I was naturally chosen to prepare dinner for them. Kekekeke, I spiked the food with a fast-acting drug I made that caused a person to fart and burp at the same time, then I sent holograms throughout the land so the people could watch the result. Haaaaa, I was executed soon after, but it was definitely worth it~"

    -Wow, compared to Master, this one is not even worthy to be held at the level of dirt in the realm of mischief making......I''ll need to work a lot harder if I want to keep up with you.....-

    "What are you talking about Misty? That time you told me about, when you gathered together the top experts of this world for a fake contest to determine the top dog, then pulled their pants down and sprayed onion juice in their eyes to make them cry in front of the huge audience you gathered for the event, is pretty impressive even in my rankings~"

    -Ehe, it was a rare moment of genius that has become one of my most prized memories......-

    "Ah, I know what you mean...."

    Mist and I both drifted into a comfortable silence, reminiscing happily  about past mischief''s.

    My nose was suddenly assaulted by a familiar pungent smell that jolted me out of my memories.

    I stopped in my tracks and sniffed once more, confirming my joyful suspicion.

    "T-to actually find that plant here!"

    I felt Void shift on my shoulder as he turned to lean his head against my cheek questioningly.

    -Eh? What are you talking about, Papa? That smell definitely not from a plant, it''s definitely from something dead and rotting...-

    -Ha? Since I''m a sword, I can''t smell, but from logic, a plant shouldn''t smell like a dead body, right?-

    I began to walk, following the smell as I explained.

    "Remember that drug I was just talking about? Well, the component that causes the burping is a plant called Corpse Breath, named, as you can guess, for it''s distinctive smell. They''re quite rare since when people come upon them, they generally have a distinctive urge to destroy it to permanently get rid of the smell."

    Void shoved his nose into my hair, trying to block out the smell.

    -I can smell why, but Papa, if it smells so bad, how did all of those royal people not realize it was in their food?-

    I grinned at his question.

    "That''s what I love most about this plant, when you boil it, it becomes scentless, tasteless, and colorless, but remains just as effective as it is in it''s raw form."

    Misty suddenly melted off my hand and moved along my forearm until she wrapped around my forearm tightly.

    -Master, you''re going to pick it, aren''t you? Well, even if I can''t smell myself, there is no way any girl can allow herself to smell like a dead body, even if the end result is useful.-

    At her words, my tail suddenly wrapped around my waist. I frowned, why had it done that?

    "....could it be that you don''t want to get smelly either?"

    The tailed tightened around my waist in affirmation.

    A horrible thought occurred to me.

    "C-could.....it be that your awareness is female?"

    Another affirmation.

    ......

    "But, as one of my appendages, even if you posses your own separate awareness isn''t logical to be male, not female........Ah!"

    Spikes were suddenly pressing through my shirt  into the soft skin of my belly. I stopped walking immediately.

    "Ahahaha.....w-well, in the end, I suppose it doesn''t matter what gender you are....."

    The spikes broke skin and I could feel blood begin to drip down from my stomach. Misty seemed quite amused by the situation.

    -Master, that was the wrong thing to say, girls must be flattered, not dismissed, despite being an immortal being, it seems you still lack skill in a very important area~-

    I growled quietly at her.

    "I am perfectly capable, I''m just not used to having to sweet talk my own appendages...."

    I felt the spikes begin to go deeper and grow larger, I needed to defuse the situation now!

    "Ah, umm, of course I meant to say that it''s only natural that such a soft white tail be a girl, i-it suits you perfectly...."

    The spikes stopped for a moment, as though my tail was considering my apology, then I felt them shrink rapidly away.

    Phew~

    My tail then tightened against my wounds, I winced at the pain, then I felt a pleasant warmth radiate out from my tail, completely washing away the pain of the holes it had punctured in my stomach.

    Eh? My tail had healing magic? It seems growing spikes isn''t it''s...erm... Her only ability....I wonder what other things she can do.....but for some reason I feel as though if I try to find out, bad things will happen......

    The dangerous situation suffused, I continued to follow the scent, and soon came upon a tiny clearing filled with dead plants and leaves that crackled under the soles of my bare feet. The scent of the Corpse Breath came from the very center of the clearing. Misty suddenly spoke up.

    -Um, Master, this just occurred to me, but that plant was from another world, right? Isn''t it possible that it doesn''t have the same properties here as it did in that world?-

    I smiled slightly at her question.

    "No, I''m quite sure."

    Misty seemed more confused than ever.

    "Eh? How can you be sure? This is the first time you''ve seen it in this world, right? So there''s no way you''ve verified that it has the same properties....."

    My smile grew even wider.

    "I know because it''s one of the interesting plants I created and spread throughout the universe before I made my deal with Fate~"

    -This does seem to be the kind of plant Master would call interesting.....-

    An evil thought passed into my mind and I plucked a leaf off the plant, conscious to not breath through my nose since the smell was a bit too overpowering for my sensitive sense of smell at close quarters.

    "Of course....it could have cross-pollinated with other plants and created a variant species that didn''t have the same properties as the original plant....Here Void, eat this, I made sure that it would effect all species the same way."

    Void began to slink away from my shoulder, I grabbed him and held to smelly leaf to where I sensed his face.

    -Papa......do I really have to eat that smelly thing? Can''t you boil it first?-

    Bah, and give up on some revenge for all the grief you''ve given me over the years!? No Way!!!

    "Eat It!"

    Void reluctantly took the leaf from my hand and I could here him begin to chew it.

    -Blergh, it tastes almost as bad at it smells.....-

    Void quickly swallowed the leaf.

    I stood there for several minutes, waiting for the plant to take effect.

    Void suddenly straightened on my shoulder and twitched.

    .......bbbbBBBBBUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPPpppppppp........

    Void relaxed slightly.

    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    Mere seconds after Void burped, I felt a sphere of space a little ways away from me vanish, destroying several tree trunks at the same time. The tree''s foliage, now unsupported by their trunks, began to crash down onto the clearing. Snatching the Corpse Breath, I then turned and dashed quickly away from the crashing wave of leaves and branches that thundered in my ears.

    Hrm, Void''s burp had done that? It seems the little parasite might have a use after all......

    Before I could expound further on my track of thoughts, Void once again stiffened on my shoulder.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Hrmmm, it seems I''ll have to delay going to school until the effects wears off......how long did it last again?

    ..................

    Back At The School:

    Arvid stared worriedly at the impenetrable sphere of black that surrounded the teachers.

    "Hrm.....Maybe telling them I existed wasn''t Boss''s best decision in the long run.....What could they be talking about in there? Ergh, if only I had thought to leave a little bit of consciousness with Boss, then I could have warned him, but it''s impossible at the moment......"

    As soon as the teachers had heard that the little monster known as Felix wasn''t present in school, they had immediately gathered together, minus Professor Raina, of course, and cast a spell that created a bubble of space that was completely separate from the area around them, thus, Arvid was unable to hear their conversation, or even touch them so he could break their conspiratorial group apart.

    Arvid was quite right to worry, for within the distorted space, the teachers were discussing the best way to ensure Felix Bardon could never return to their school again.

    Eamon was leading the discussion. While in the beginning of their acquaintance, Felix''s innovative ideas in magical theory might have led to a good friendship, the ''special training'' Felix forced all of the teachers through soon ended any chance of that.

    "No, how many times do I have to say it, we can''t just curse him or bind him to ensure he stays away, that little monsters understanding of magical theory is beyond anything I''ve ever seen before, he''d be able to free himself in mere seconds from any spell we place directly on him. What we need to do is somehow keep him away from the school and the origin of the spell we use to do so. Probably something with a large range of effect, but a point of origin that can only be dispelled in person...."

    One of the other teachers spoke up.

    "Well, the kid is blind, right? Can''t we somehow use that to our advantage?"

    Eamon began to shake his head in rejection of the idea, then paused, considering something.

    "The level of that monsters senses is extremely hard to deal with, but I don''t believe they''re infallible, there must be something we can use to disorient him.....Ah, if I remember correctly, that kid''s file said he was from Ediraseth......That place is well known for it''s rocky ground, it''s possible that Felix doesn''t have much experience navigating looser earth.....Let''s cast a wide range spell that turns the surrounding area into sand! Hrm.....but that kid has wings too, though I''ve never seen him fly, he most definetly can......we''ll need to cast a Very strong wind spell to keep him out of the air.....That should mess with his hearing and sense of smell as well....."

    Miss Drake stepped forward, pointing out a major flaw in his plan.

    "What if he just gets someone to lead him to the school..."

    Eamon frowned.

    "I hadn''t thought about that.......Ah, there is a spell that blinds anyone in it''s radius, that should work pretty well, though I''ll need to alter it a bit so it doesn''t effect the school.......Still, it seems we have a pretty good plan laid out, let''s get started, oh, though we''ll need to set up the spells outside of the school so that Arvid thing can''t mess with our plan...We had best get started right away, there''s no telling when that kid might come back, though he''s visiting the bandits, which is a few days ride by carriage away, that kid''s body can definitely travel a lot faster than that."

    At Eamon''s words, the teachers immediately began to manipulate the spacial spell to move it out of the reach of the school. They weren''t taking any chances, whether with being caught by Arvid, or having Felix return before they finish their work.

    ................

    Felix''s Point of View:

    Void finally stopped emitting burps of destruction after almost an entire day had passed. I was a bit sweaty from having to dodge falling trees all the time, I didn''t dare fly in case one of Void''s burps my wings, and being at the heart of the forest, it would take at least a day to make it out on foot. I had been making my way steadily in that direction between the incidences of destruction.

    "Hrmmm, it seems this actually was a variant, the effects last a lot longer than the original.......still, nothing else seems to have changed, so I guess it''s fine~"

    Void was sagging on my shoulders, exhausted from all the energy he had expended in his burps. Misty rippled around my forearm in amusement.

    -Heh, Master, so the chicken-lizard had magical burps? It''s weirdness seems to fit him perfectly~-

    I flicked Void''s weary head.

    "Hmph, through our bond, I get wings, a tail, and soon-to-be in existence ears, while he gets a power up grade and destructive burps..........It''s Not FAIR!!!!"

    -Master.......-

    My tail stroked my face comfortingly.

    "..........Argh! Whatever, let''s just get back to the school, I need to rework my plans to involve these new factors..."

    I happily patted my chest, sensing the Corpse Breath stored safely in a little storage stone I had just created while running away from falling trees.

    I could feel the air around me began to clear of objects as I came closer to the more sparse forest edge.

    Finally, I stepped clear of all the trees.........and fell flat on my face. Void went tumbling off my shoulder.

    -P-Papa!? Ah! I can''t see!-

    I spat sand out of my mouth, Eh? Had Void inherited my blindness? Sweet! It serves him right!

    Misty spoke up, crushing my hopes.

    -Erm, I know I don''t have eyes, but the sense I use to ''see'' isn''t working either.....-

    "Ugh, it must be some kind of magical effect then..."

    I stretched my magical sense out....yep, the air was full of mana, there were some major spells going on around here.

    "No wonder I don''t remember feeling sand here from before, someone''s conjured it!"

    Hrm....from the level of mana filling the air, it''s a very large range spell.....could those teachers have finally worked up the nerve to get rid of me?

    I struggled to my feet and took at step forward, or more accurately, attempted to take a step.

    The sand caused the strong vibrations I was used to feeling from solid ground shatter and spin in a way that completely disoriented me. I swayed to the side, my balance completely upset by the change.

    "It seems I overlooked the aspect of terrain in my development of my senses...... I''ll need to address this problem later....But for now I need to get back to school, it sure is a good thing I''m able to fly~"

    As I was unfurling my wings in preparation for flight, an unnaturally strong gust of wind suddenly blew from the direction of the school and caught my open wings, blasting my body back into a tree.

    "Oof! That hurt! Ehehe, it seems as though that conditioning I gave them in planning and plotting paid off, they''ve covered all their bases properly, Ahhh, I''m so proud~"

    Misty shifted uncertainly on my arm.

    -Um, Master? I don''t think this is the time for you to be overcome by the pride of a teacher. It seems that it is impossible to return to your school now....-

    I blinked at Misty''s words.

    "Eh? While the timing of their rebellion is quite unfortunate, it doesn''t mean we can''t return to school, it just means that it''ll take a little longer because of this unexpected training opportunity."

    -......Eh?-

    Void tiredly stumbled to my leg and began to climb slowly back to his perch.

    -Papa has a fixation with training, once he finds something lacking, he tries to solve it as soon as possible, because he really enjoys working with something he stinks at and then slowly getting better, though slow might not be the best term with Papa''s comprehension and training speed. Since he already has a fairly strong basis in his senses, altering his approach for this new terrain will only take a few days....-

    .....Was it just me, or did Void just sound kind of smart just then?.......Eh, whatever, time to start training~

    <hr />

    Sorry there weren''t any updates last week, I was so busy that I didn''t even have time to log onto the computer to announce there would be no chapters.  [th_0gotas.gif]

 Chapter 28: Come Over To My Place Mister~

    A Few Days Later:

    A fast-moving black figure suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing sand to shoot out in a wave around him.

    "Hrm, just a little while ago, the land turned to sand, and now I''ve encountered a strong magical wind and a blinding spell as well......could those brats that escaped my binding have realized I was coming and set up counter measures? But at this level, even though the blindness is troublesome, with my sense of direction, it will only slow me down....How foolish of them!"

    The man began to move once again at a pace considerably slower than before, but after a few hours he suddenly slowed.

    "Urk, it may not have been the best idea to rely on my sense of direction when I''ve been blinded, by my calculations I should have reached the school by now if I traveled in a straight line, but it seems I''ve become lost instead.... Well, now I can only move forward in hope of accidentally finding the school, or getting out of the range of the blindness spell so that I can figure out where I am......"

    The man began to walk forward, moving even slower than before.

    He had indeed gotten lost, his ''straight line curving to the right the farther he moved. But little did he know that this course would bring him an even greater misfortune than simply getting lost, for it brought him closer to a ''certain person.''

    After an indiscernible amount of time walking, the man''s ears caught the sound of a distressed young boy''s voice.

    "Ita! Ouch! Ouch! My head hurts! Why didn''t the ears emerge while I was asleep like my tail, Eh!? What do you mean that it''s might fault because I have been training instead of sleeping these last days! Training would most definitely not have such a negative outcome!"

    The man''s thoughts were immediately sent racing, a kid doing training out here? Could it be he was close to the school? But what was all that talk about growing ears and a tail? Eh, whatever, what mattered most was getting to the school. The man walked towards where the boy''s voice was coming from.

    "Phew~ They''ve finally finished......Eh, someone else is here!? Ah, it''s that strong guy I''ve been sensing, to think he would get so close while I was distracted....."

    Hrm? This kid''s talent isn''t bad, from his sense, he could tel the kid was only at Comet level, yet the boy sensed his presence as soon as he wasn''t distracted.....As expected of a Dagda student, this kid was also probably one of the top level older students of the school....

    "Hey kid, why are you out here in the sand and wind with a wide range blindness spell in effect?"

    A surprisingly small hand touched his arm, eh? Was the kid small for his age or something?

    "There you are! Ah, I was out playing in the forest and when I decided it was time to go home, it was like this so I decided to use it as a training opportunity!"

    To be so eager to train at any opportunity, this kid reminded him of his younger self, he would be a good candidate for an apprentice....but if those teachers had told him or any of the other students about the real Dagda, he would be forced to kill them.....Pity.......Reaching out, he carefully found the boy''s head and started patting it.

    "To be so eager to train, you''ll likely grow up to be a strong person like this uncle if you get the chance......Eh? Kid, your head is all wet and sticky!? And something moving is attached to it!"

    Was some kind of mind-controlling magical beast attached to the kid''s head?

    "Ita! Mister, don''t try to pull them off! I just grew these ears!"

    ......Hadn''t he heard the kid saying something like that earlier? He cast a cleaning spell and then felt carefully at the strange shapes.

    "Ah, so soft.........they really are ears........but why did you grow cat ears kid? Are you some kind of human-form magical beast?"

    The kid seemed to purr for a moment, then coughed and pushed at his hand, he reluctantly stopped petting the soft ears.

    "That will be troublesome in the future... Ah, I''m completely human Mister, but for some reason I''ve been growing this strange kind of stuff....It would  be best to not mention Void at the moment..."

    "I see.....you''ve probably been cursed or something, what''s your name kid?"

    "Ah, I''m Felix Bardon, and you, Mister?"

    Hmmm, his last name wasn''t one of the major noble houses....could he be one of the rare talents from the lower noble houses?

    "My name is Zale, and before you ask for my last name, I don''t have one, I''m an orphan."

    Zale tensed slightly, prepared for the usual scathing remarks that came with the realization of his true nature, his status as an orphan was one of the main reasons he had agreed to destroy Dagda, whose standards he actually admired. Orphans are considered the lowest of the low and weren''t even given the opportunity to test into a school, despite that he had endeavored and in the end reached this level through his own perseverance. Still, because of his birth, no one would stand behind him and support him so he was forced to bow to the wishes of the nobles.

    "Ah, that''s awesome, Mister! I''m a commoner myself, so it''s already impressive for me to reach this level, but for you to reach your level of strength all on your own is truly extraordinary!"

    Warmth began to spread in Zale''s heart, this was the first time someone had reacted so positively to his past.....wait, the kid was a commoner? How had he managed to get into Dagda with it''s changed rules? Even if he showed considerable promise, as a commoner his level still wouldn''t have been strong enough to qualify him to get into Dagda, right?

    "Hey kid, what was your level when you were first tested?"

    "Ah, the test showed I was Middle rank Gale mana and S-s-storm ki.....but what do you mean by first tested? Does that mean that there are other times we are tested?"

    The kid''s talent was truly uprecedented for a commoner, but how did he not now about testing? Every school was required to test their students once a year, and to reach comet level, he would have had to spend several years at Dagda in the least......

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Kid, how long have you been in school?"

    "This is my first year, why?"

    ....A Monster, to rise ranks so quickly, the boy was a monster! How far would his unnatural rise go? His talent is even higher than what mine would have had to be, I only reached Comet level when I was twenty, though with proper guidence, I would have probably reached it at about twelve......Yet he reached it at seven! That''s something that had never happened!

    "H-hey kid, how would you like to be my apprentice? I would really like to see how far you can go with your unprecedented talent. This Mister is quite skilled at creating spells that no one knows how to counter."

    The advantage of figuring everything else is that no one knows the counter for the new spell you come up with. That thought brought his mind back to why he was even here. Dagda! How had they managed to break his binding! No one should know the key to releasing their seals, especially since he had made every seal different just in case! The boy''s voice broke him out of his confused thoughts.

    "Apprentice? Heh, that might be an interesting development, hey mister, do you want to come to my place so we can discuss this more deeply?"

    "Eh? Kid, can you even FIND your way home?"

    "Ahaha, of course Mister! That''s what the whole focus of my recent training has been about, and my new ears are helping my pick through sound a lot better as well! I was just heading there now, we''re actually quite close!"

    Well, the kid at least seemed more confident in finding the school than he did......Zale settled his hand on the kid''s shoulder.

    "Lead on....wait, what is on your shoulder!"

    Cool scales slid under his touch, along with the brush of a line of soft fur.

    "Ah, that''s just my pet, his name is Void."

    Zale sent out his senses to check out the Felix''s pet.

    "F-Felix, your pet is a High Rank magical beast!"

    "Ne~ I saved this little guy from a magical beast when he was weaker, and he ended up growing to this level, but really Mister Zale, you wouldn''t be surprised if you knew how much grief the little parasite has put me through over the years..."

    Zale let out an exasperated sigh......not matter how much grief is given, it should be nothing in the face of having a high rank beast loyal to you, most people would kill for such a thing, yet this little kid didn''t seem to care at all......

    ".........The more I find out about you, the scarier your potential becomes........"

    Felix grabbed his wrist, his small hand barely covering half of it, causing his hand to slide off his shoulder, and began tugging it forward.

    "Eh, you''ll get used to it, let''s go Mister, I can''t Wait to see how how my teachers react to bringing you to school~"

    Something soft once again brushed against his arm.......were those wings?..........Ah, well, the kid was right, he was starting to get used to it.

    They trudged through the loose sand for about an hour, Felix never wavering in his course.

    "Ah! Here it is....But the gates are closed.....Could that guy have not realized I''ve arrived?"

    How in the world could he tell that? Were they that close? Zale stretched his arm out, trying to feel the gate, his fingers met empty air. Nope, not near to the gate....

    "Hey Felix, I''ll open the gate, take me to it."

    "Ah, no need for you to open it, Mister~"

    Felix pulled him several meters forward and stopped, Zale stretched his hand out and felt warm wood beneath his hand. How had the kid been able to tell they were closed from that far away? Felix knocked loudly on the gate.

    "Ne~ Arvid! How dare you ignore me, open up!"

    Just as Zale was wondering how this Arvid was, the gates swung open under his palm, and a nervous voice rang around him.

    "Ahaha, s-sorry Boss, I was a bit distracted with things......U-um, who is this guy with you?"

    Felix pulled him forward and Zale felt the effects of the blindness spell vanish. He looked down to finally see what Felix looked like.

    Gold eyes stared blankly in his direction, set in an adorable tanned face that was tilted up at him, long white hair framed Felix''s face, trailing down to his waist, where it ended with gold tips. Gold ears poked out of the hair on the top of Felix''s head, and fluffy gold wings fluttered softly behind him. A long white tail with a gold tip danced proudly through the air. The simple black clothes he wore only magnified the effect of his appearance.

    ......C-cute! Is this really a little boy!?

    A small lizard poked it''s head out of Felix''s curtain of hair, it had smooth black scales, gold claws, and an adorable strip of fluffy fur running from the top of it''s head down it''s spine, running in between a pair of wings that were a miniature version of Felix''s wings.

    ......No high rank beast should look so cute!!!

    Felix turned his head away and spoke once more.

    "Ah, this is a Special guest I brought for the teachers, Ne~ Where are they right now?"

    Zale looked around for who he was talking to, but he saw no one in the courtyard beyond the gates. The strange voice rang out once more with no discernible source.

    "Ah, it''s lunchtime, so they''re all gathered in the teachers'' dinning hall"

    Felix smiled sweetly, causing Zale''s heart beat to quicken slightly.

    "Perfect, that means I won''t have to waste time gathering them together~"

    Felix began to walk forward with a light spring in his step, gesturing for Zale to follow. They wound through several long stone hallways before arriving at a sturdy set of oak double doors. Felix easily pushed them open without even bothering to knock. He walked confidently into the room with Zale trailing in behind him.

    "Hello everyone, I''ve brought someone I know you''ll be delighted to see~"

 Chapter 29: Tea Time Torture~

    Felix''s Point of View:

    Ahhhhhh, I can feel it, their shock and terror at my return and that of the man who had first bound them against their wills........It was really a good choice to bring Zale here for the punishment for their rebellion~

    I smiled brightly at the deadly quiet room, then turned to Zale.

    "Ne~ Well, Mister Zale, I''ll go back in the kitchen to prepare some nice drinks while you greet my teachers, ehe~"

    I skipped happily away.

    Zale''s point of view:

    I watched Felix skip cheerfully away, then turned my attention on the teachers of Dagda. Every single one of the Dagda teachers faces were starch white, with a few confused faces of the teachers that were not original teachers of the school mixed into the crowd. The weird thing was that the Dagda teachers pale faces weren''t facing him, instead, they were turned in Felix''s direction......Strange......

    "*Ahem* Everyone who doesn''t know who I am, Get Out!"

    After a long pause, the confused teachers shuffled through the crowd and left through the open doors. None of the Dagda teachers bothered trying to escape, sitting stiffly in their seats, their attention finally focused on me. I grabbed a chair,sat down and leaned back with a smirk on my face.

    "Long time no see everyone~ Well, with the pleasantries over, I would REALLY like to know how you got free of my binding."

    The teachers all shuffled nervously and as one they glanced at the door Felix had gone through, presumably the kitchen. Seriously, what was their problem!? I slammed my boot on the floor, their heads snapped back to me.

    "I''m not going to ask twice."

    The teachers once again turned their heads, though this time it was to single out a single teacher, a lean framed man with disarrayed salt and pepper hair and an above average face.. Hmmmm, if I remember right, that guy is the Magical Theory teacher, though he would have the best base for figuring out my binding, from my estimate when I first investigated this school seven years ago, the E-urm.....Edmund? guy was no where near a level of understanding to comprehend my bindings, even seven years of study shouldn''t have been anywhere near enough for the guy to break through ALL of the bindings.....

    The man looked nervously around, then seemed to gather some determination. He stood up and walked slowly towards me, then suddenly stopped and collapsed onto the ground in a desperate bow.

    "I''ll tell you everything if you promise to get rid of the person who released us!"

    I frowned, they wanted to get rid of the person that freed them? But that would mean they wouldn''t have anyone to release them from their binding when I replaced it..........Was a fate of living without freewill worse than dealing with this mysterious person? Hmmmm, if so, I better not be too hasty in making promises that I might find troublesome to keep...

    "I refuse to promise such a thing when I don''t know what kind of person I would have to take care of, but I will strongly consider it if you tell me who the person is."

    The kneeling man''s shoulders slumped.

    "Well, I suppose it''s better than nothing......The person who freed us is F-*Gack*"

    Just as the magical theory teacher was about to reveal the identity of the one that released them, a slender but well proportion woman with long blue hair and a beautiful face darted out from the crowd and tackled him. Startled, I sat up in the chair and tensed, i definitely remember This woman, she was Raina, the scariest woman I''ve ever met. She sat on the poor man''s back and had him in a secure choke-hold.

    "There is no way I''m going to let you get rid of him! This has been the most fun I''ve had in years!"

    The man gasped for air, but still managed to choke out.

    "T-that kid is a little monster.....*Kuhk*.....I-I would rather die than live under his reign any longer!....*Gahk*"

    Raina smiled evilly.

    "I can grant you that wish~"

    The man''s face began to turn blue. Urk, I can''t have her killing my source of information, I''d better step in....especially since he just said a kid broke my binding!

    Drawing up a spell in my mind, I snapped my fingers and thick steel chains appeared from thin air, then wrapped themselves tightly around Raina and pulled her away from her victim. The man collapsed completely on the ground and gasped rapidly for breath. I glared at him.

    "Hurry up and tell me who this kid is, an easily caste spell like that won''t hold her for long!"

    As if to accentuate my point, one of the chains holding the wildly struggling Raina broke with a loud *Snap!* Sweat began to pour down the man''s face and he gasped desperately for enough air to speak. Apparently realising that might take too long of a time, the man pointed at the kitchen door, just as Felix swung it open with a silver tray of steaming cups.

    "Aha, I made this wonderful drink called hot chocolate that you should really like Mister Zale~ Ah! Why is Eamon''s breathing wierd? And why can I hear Raina tied up with metal chains!? Ehehe~ Mister Zale, you must have given them a very exciting greeting~"

    Felix smiled sweetly, and I felt my heart flutter once more. I turned my attention back to the man on the floor, Eamon. His hand was pointing straight at Felix, and followed him as the cute boy walked over to me with the steaming drinks.

    N-no way, he meant this cute little boy had released my bindings!? Slightly shocked, I reached for one of the steaming cups. Felix slid the tray slightly away.

    "Ah, not that cup, I made that one especially for Eamon as a reward since I''m positive he''s the one that designed that blindness spell, not that it effected me, but if he made that spell, he was probably behind the whole change in terrain as well~"

    He handed me a different cup and then walked over and gave Eamon his ''special'' drink. I carefully examined the drink for any signs of poison. Determining it to be safe, I took a small sip of the brown liquid. A heavenly sweetness filled my mouth, delighting my tongue with its rich, creamy and sweet flavor. I swallowed and the warm liquid ran smoothly down my throat, seeming to bring a wave a relaxing wave along with it, that traveled from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I stared at Felix and he grinned, his eyes looking vaguely off into space.

    "Pretty good job for a blind person, right Mister?"

    One of the best drinks I''ve ever had......but wait! Did he just say he was blind!? I lurched forward to grab Felix''s face, careful not to spill my drink, and stared at his blank eyes. His eyes were like a pool of molten gold, as I had noted earlier, that seemed to almost swirl slightly, they were extremely beautiful, but......There was no pupil! The kid really was blind!

    A blind commoner that reached Comet level at age seven!? Even compared to my status as an orphan, this kid was a far greater monster than me! And if he was such a monster, there was a string possibility that he was the one that released.......I spoke carefully, my voice slightly higher than normal due to shock.

    "Um, Felix? Where you the one to release the teachers bindings?"

    He tilted his head, a puzzled expression on his face.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    "What, have they not told you that yet? And I even left you all alone so that they would....."

    Put out, Felix pouted adorably. There was another loud crack as Raina broke the chain keeping her mouth shut.

    "No Felix! You shouldn''t have told him that! He''s the guy who put that dreadfully boring binding on me in the first place!"

    Felix walked over to Raina and patted her on the head comfortingly.

    "Ne~ I am touched at your concern Raina, but I''ve felt that a strong guy has been coming here for quite some time and when Zale told me he was an orphan, I immediately realized he must be the person who placed those interesting bindings on all of the teachers, I could have run away quite easily, but I brought him here instead, so calm down because I know what I''m doing~"

    That crazy Raina actually settled down at his words, and Felix snapped his fingers, causing the chains I had placed to vanish into thin air.She remained seated on the floor, staring up confidently at Felix.

    "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

    Felix shook his head at this question.

    "Nah, what I''m doing right now doesn''t need your skill set right now, just go off and finish your lunch for now~"

    Raina nodded docilely and stood up, then walked off to a table in the far corner of the room with the crowd parting before her. Felix turned towards me and smiled, waiting.

    I cleared my throat roughly.

    "*Ahem* Urrr, so how did you release my bindings..."

    Felix shrugged.

    "Releasing any kind of binding is quite simple, like picking a lock.  Instead of the stupid standard approach to releasing a binding, creating the key and then inserting it into the ''lock'' to release a binding, you can just push mana inside the keyhole, guiding it to form the proper shape of the key and the binding disperses."

    I stared at him, then laughter bubbled up inside me from his absurd words.

    "Puahahahahaha, y-you make it sound so easy, manipulating mana like that would require a huge amount of control and technique accumulated over centuries of experience. H-how did you really do it kid, or did someone else do it"

    Felix''s face turned serious, slightly red with anger and golden eyes swirling blankly.

    "I did too do it that way, and I have far more than centuries of experience, which is clearly testified by the fact that I released all of your bindings in a single day!"

    I laughed even harder.

    "Kekakakakakakaah! That just makes your story more unbelievable, who do you think you are? An immortal!? Kekekekekhaaaaa! Ridiculous!"

    Felix''s face turned even darker, and somehow the gold of his wings seemed darker. Then a metal band wrapped around his forearm suddenly melt and morphed into a silver blob that promptly launched itself from his arm and smacked his face. Felix blinked and grabbed the blob with his right hand. The blob promptly melted around his fist, forming into a smooth finger-less metal glove. Felix frowned, his face lighter and his wings a bright gold.

    "Ne~ I suppose I am being a bit foolish, Misty, at this time my strength is not enough to physically re-correct him......"

    His tail waved around and rubbed his face comfortingly, Felix sat slowly on the floor while cuddling the fluffy tail. He tilted his face up and I was surprised to see big tears welling up in Felix''s big gold eyes. Felix''s expression was that of an adorable young child that felt horrible wronged. I felt my mind haze over with inherent parental bliss at the sight, I had always wanted to be a father, and at this moment, Felix could be named the cutest type of son in existence.

    "I-I reawlly managed too do it Mwister, is there anywab I can pwove it?"

    Felix''s usually clear speech was mussed by a tear-choked voice. I felt my heart beating even faster, and I suddenly regretted my harsh rebuttal of Felix''s words. No matter how much of a genius the kid was, he was still a just a seven year-old kid....I began to pull up a particularly complicated binding spell I had been developing and reconstruct it in my mind. I reached out and patted Felix''s head, taking the opportunity to rub the kid''s incredibly soft golden ears at the same. Felix twitched, his cheeks turning a pale pink and his wings shimmering to a similar color. He batted weakly at my hand. I couldn''t help a small smile breaking out on my face at seeing his embarrassed expression.

    "Alright, I''ll give you a chance to prove yourself, if you can dispel this binding by today, I''ll believe you."

    I grabbed an empty plate and tossed it into the air, casting the binding around it as it met the peak of it''s flight. To everyone else it would look as though the plate had frozen in mid-air, but to me, I could see a complex weaving of lines, the complex pattern disguised which gap was the required key-hole to unlock the binding, and even then, the key required was extremely intricate. Felix tilted his head up at the plate, as though he was looking at it, and I felt a slight brush of mana against the binding, not strong enough to set off any of the little traps I had placed throughout it, but still enough to examine it. Felix looked slightly surprised.

    "It''s a binding that freezes the object it has bound in time and place, something I''ve never heard about in this world, have you downplayed the level because what you are binding is just a plate? Or have you not managed to figure out how to encompass living beings without killing them..... "

    I blinked, surprised that he had so quickly deduced how my binding worked, but that still didn''t mean he''d be able to dispel it. I opened my mouth to answer the kid when he suddenly spoke again.

    "I see, you''ve come up with a weaving wire variety that naturally works on both animate and inanimate objects, and is very difficulty to release due to it''s complexity.......The problem with that type is that it can only encompass small spaced and the object had to be completely ensconced, so no conjuring it around a person''s head and trapping them that way....but in terms of security, it''s still lacking a bit......."

    Felix snapped his fingers, and my binding shattered, the key having been properly locked into place. He turned to me, the proud smile of a child who knew he had proved an adult wrong.

    "I told you I could do it!".

    My shocked mind barely managed Felix''s adorable childish pride. H-he had actually managed to solve it! And in barely under a few minutes as well! I felt my mind instinctively begin to shut down in reaction to the severe shock I had just received. As blackness began to swallow the edges of my vision, I heard a very strange sound.

    ....bbbbBBBBUUURRRRPPPPpppppp..........

    ...........

    Felix''s Point of View:

    I felt Zale slump in his chair, his breath indicating unconsciousness. Tch, to faint at only that much........

    I turned into direction of Eamon.

    ........bbbbbbbBBBBBBUUUUUUURRRRRRPPPPPPppppppp.........

    I smirked, it''s seems the Corpse Breath had kicked in, time to see if it lasted as long as it had for Void~

 Chapter 30: Adoption

    An hour had passed before I had gotten slightly tired of hearing Eamon''s agonized burps echoing around the now empty dining room, I had allowed the teachers to escape to their classes once lunch time ended.

    I leaned back in my chair, balancing on it''s two back legs. What should I do with Zale? The man was still slumped on his chair in blissful unconsciousness. I wanted to keep him¡­..but he had come here to redo the binding on the teachers, so he was technically an enemy¡­..

    I sighed and tilted to the right so the chair was balanced on one chair leg. How to bring him over to my side¡­..Let¡¯s see, from what I know so far, he¡¯s an orphan¡­..but that didn¡¯t make sense! From what I had heard about the treatment of orphans, and their being banned from Testing, Zale should have inclination to help the very people who deemed him as trash¡­..unless he didn¡¯t have a choice!

    That¡¯s right! As an orphan, no one would give Zale their support, so he had no choice to obey the nobles when they threatened. No single strength, no matter how unique, can survive an onslaught of massive numbers!

    I used a spell to bind myself to the chair and then cast float on it. The chair drifted upwards and began to flip over and over slowly. So if Zale wasn¡¯t cooperating willingly, there was a greater chance that I could bring him over to my side, but there was still the problem that I didn¡¯t have enough amassed strength to support Zale against all of the other schools and nobility¡­..I tilted to the side, causing the chair to begin flipping sideways instead of from top to bottom. If I could give him a solid enough promise to persuade him to join us and keep a low profile for a while, it might work, but what would be an important enough promise to sway Zale?

    I suddenly recalled how affected Zale had been by my cute little kid act, he had acted like an adoring father who couldn¡¯t say no to his child¡¯s wishes¡­..Heh, That might actually work! I flipped the chair back to it¡¯s proper position, and released the float spell. The chair¡¯s four legs thumped firmly onto the floor. Time to set the scene!

    ¡°Ne~ Arvid! I¡¯m need to change into clean clothes, help me move Mister Zale to my room~¡±

    I walked to the door and Zale¡¯s chair followed smoothly behind me, the floor beneath it moving in a liquid wave.

    The door to my room opened quietly at my approach, and I strode inside.

    ¡°Arvid, lay him on the couch and elevate his feet. Get a cloth and a bowl of cool water too.¡±

    I went to my closet and began to feel through the clothes hanging there.

    ¡°Hmmm, which one would create the best effected¡­..¡±

    Misty spoke up.

    -Master, are you going for the angelic nurse effect?-

    As expected of a fellow trickster, she guessed my intent immediately.

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    Misty melted off my arm and moved to my head, starting to do something with my hair.

    -Then you should leave this to us girls, hey tail, pick something nice for the master to wear~-

    I frowned.

    ¡°But I wanted too- Ah!¡±

    Misty was suddenly squeezing my head tightly, and my tail had her spikes pressed lightly against my throat. I swallowed nervously.

    ¡°Ahaha, of course you can do anything you want¡­..¡±

    Women can be very scary when it comes to fashion¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­¡­

    Zale¡¯s Point of View:

    I slowly became aware of a soothing coolness being swept across my forehead. I sighed at the pleasant sensation, blinking my eyes open slowly to search for the source of it.

    A young girl¡¯s face floated in front of me, her gold eyes set in long thick white and gold lashes blinked slowly at me, wet with tears and her lovely childish face was creased with worry. A band of intricately woven silver ran across her forehead, and her long white hair was caught up in in an intricate weave that was woven in with silver vines and flowers. Golden cat ears poked up through the delicate arrangement, twitching adorably¡­...Wait¡­...I know someone with gold ears, and long white hair, and a cute face and swirling gold eyes¡­...only that person was a boy¡­.Yes, his name was Felix and he had dispelled the most difficult binding I had developed yet in mere minutes¡­..I bolted straight up as memories of what happened, just before the darkness of unconsciousness swallowed me, rushed back to my mind.

    ¡°That kid actually dispelled my binding, he was telling the truth!!!¡±

    A small hand tugged on his arm.

    ¡°Ne~ Mister, you shouldn¡¯t be sitting up so sooner after fainting¡­.¡±

    I looked down to see the little girl¡­..no¡­...Felix! The little boy was dressed in a long floaty pale pink shirt, the front of the shirt tucked into small white shorts and the tail of the shirt ending at mid-thigh. His wings were now white with the edges of their feathers a pale gold. Felix¡¯s lean bare legs were only interrupted by several silver bangles on each of his slim ankles. I slid a hand over my face to hide my fatherly blush, h-he looked so cute!

    ¡°Ah, ummmm¡­.., why are you dressed like that Felix?¡±

    Felix pouted, his adorable little pink lips making a small bow. The tears in his eyes seemed to grow slightly larger.

    ¡°Misty and my tail mwade me dress like this, they treawted me like their personal dwess-up doll¡­...I¡¯m a boy, yet I look like a girl now¡­..Uuuuuuuu¡±

    I reached out and gently rubbed his soft ears to comfort him, while silently praising his tail and this ¡®Misty¡¯ for their actions. Felix blushed, but slumped, a slightly dazed smile on his face. His tail rose up, and began to flick happily, as if knowing I was silently praising it.

    ¡°Who is this Misty, and how did she and your own tail conspire against you?¡±

    Felix blinked slowly at me, then pointed at the silver metal wound in his hair.

    ¡°Misty is my new sword, and my tail has a female consciousness that isn¡¯t under my control at all¡­...They also have no qualms about threatening bodily harm¡­¡­.¡±

    I frowned as I processed what he said¡­..the metal was actually a sword? And his tail had it¡¯s own consciousness? And a female one? The sword was feasible, there were rare old artifact swords that developed their own consciousness¡­.. but why in the world did the tail of a boy have a FEMALE consciousness!!?? I opened my mouth to ask him, but Felix quickly placed his small hand over my mouth.

    ¡°I know what you want to ask, I¡¯ve asked my tail myself, and trust me, asking her will be taking your life in your own hands.¡±

    Felix¡¯s face was pale, what in the world had his tail done to him? I nodded to assure him I took his warning seriously, but then remembered he wouldn¡¯t be able to see it. Felix smiled.

    ¡°Ne~ I felt you nod in agreement mister~ Now onto more serious matters, Mister, do you really want to destroy my school?¡±

    How in the world had he been able to tell I nodded!? Oh whatever, this kid was an ocean of puzzles that would take thousands of years to solve. I turned my attention to his question. Haaaa, that¡¯s right, I came here to replace the binding on his teachers¡­..but why did he say I was going to destroy his school? I placed my hand on Felix¡¯s shoulder.

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    ¡°Felix, I have no intention of destroying your school, I just have to bind your teachers so they and I don¡¯t get in big trouble with some very strong groups of people.¡±

    Felix frowned, looking hurt, with big tears in his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong Mister Zwale, without the teawchers free will, Dagda isn¡¯t really Dagda, it¡¯s just anowther of those trash schools that focus on strength and cosying up to the royals, instead of technique and true strength. In short, it¡¯s BORING!!!¡±

    I chuckled at his adamant words at first, then paused, truly considering them. I sighed.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I also think Dagda¡¯s way of teaching is far better than the set standard, but on my own, I have to obey the high rank schools orders even if I¡¯m not affiliated with them¡­...¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but twist my face in disgust. Felix wilted for a moment, then shot back up with a brilliant smile on his face, as though something had just occurred to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re on your own because of you don¡¯t have a family, right Mister!? Then why don¡¯t I just adopt you! As a part of my family, even if it is a commoner family, there won¡¯t be any problems with your orphan status any more!¡±

    I was shocked at the boys offer, it was of course, possible, but almost no one did it because it was considered as a lowering of the family''s status, even for commoners, it was a very bad thing to do.

    ¡°Kid, you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, this would ruin your family completely, besides, as a commoner family, you wouldn¡¯t be able to offer any support to me anyway.¡±

    Felix snorted in an adorable manner.

    ¡°Of course I know what adopting you means in this society''s trash rules mister, and I don¡¯t care! As a part of my family, I can get you the support of this school, and another source that I¡¯m working on right now!¡±

    I frowned, he didn¡¯t care? And what was this other source?

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t care about the effects of adopting me into your family, this middle rank school, no matter how unique, is no where near strong enough to face off against all of the high schools. And what is this other source you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    Felix waved his hand dismissively, and adorably adult smile on his face.

    ¡°Not right now it isn¡¯t, but if you give me enough time I can change that, and the other source is a group of people in the forest I¡¯m training right now. Ne~ I have something else that might persuade you as well, Mister Zale~¡±

    Without letting me respond, Felix smiled eagerly and leaned towards me.

    ¡°I¡¯m working on a big plan right now, how would you like to join in a rebellion with me against this stupid social structure~¡±

    I stared at the young boy, this was probably one of the craziest things he had said yet¡­¡­.No, that¡¯s not true, he has said far crazier things¡­...but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t dismiss his proposal, I felt strongly that he, this strange little boy, could accomplish something no one else could.

    A grin broke out across my face.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in!¡±

    Felix smiled happily, clapping his hands in delight.

    ¡°That¡¯s great Mister, now first things first! Time for me to become your Papa!¡±

    I froze.

    ¡°Ah, um, what did you just say?¡±

    Felix tilted his head, confused.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m adopting you, I¡¯m becoming your Papa, right? Don¡¯t worry Mister Zale, I¡¯m already quite used to be called that because of Void¡­.¡±

    A high rank monster is calling a seven year old kid Papa!? No¡­.Wait¡­.That doesn¡¯t matter. I don¡¯t want to call this kid Papa, I want to be able to call him son¡­..

    ¡°Um, kid, isn¡¯t more natural with our age difference to call me Papa, and you be the son?¡±

    Felix frowned.

    ¡°But you can¡¯t be my Papa because I already have a dad, and in actual age difference, I really should be the one to take the father role¡­...but in this mortal form, Zale¡¯s common sense is the right one¡­¡­..Alright Mister, you can be my Uncle Zale!¡±

    Felix puffed his chest out proudly at his idea. I sighed quietly in relief. Felix hopped up onto the couch next to me and held out his hand.

    ¡°Tail, if you would do the honors~¡±

    Felix¡¯s tail drifted happily to Felix¡¯s hand. A single spike suddenly appeared on the tail¡¯s tip and she quickly sliced Felix¡¯s palm open.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, Uncle~¡±

    I cautiously stretched out my hand and the tail sliced my palm open in a flash. Felix grasped my hand, allowing our blood to mix together. There was a flash of power and paper scrolls suddenly appeared in front of Felix and I. Hrmm, was this how an adoption worked? I was a little fuzzy on the details. I pulled my hand gently away from Felix¡¯s hand and reached to grab the scroll that had appeared in front of me. Before I could, Felix¡¯s tail wrapped around my hand and emitted a warm light. It released my hand and I saw that the wound on my palm had vanished¡­.Healing powers!? Hmmmm, I placed it in the growing bin at the back of my mind labeled Strange Thing About The Adorable Kid Named Felix.

    I opened the scroll, it read:

    Congratulations on becoming a family member of the mysterious all-powerful being whose current name is Felix Bardon! You will find that people will instinctively sense that you¡¯re a member of a powerful family! The only drawback of this bond is that you are not allowed to hurt any members of your family.

    The properly bonded members of your new family are:

    Void the Parasite Lizard-Chicken

    The infamous Misty, the Sword of Illusion and Space!

    The Crybaby Known As Fate

    Though not properly acknowledged with a bond yet, the honorary members of your new family are:

    Seph Bardon

    Adrianne Bardon

    Aaron Bardon

    Adrian Redsword

    Arvid

    The Monster Known as Raina

    All other honorary member are not listed because due to their location on different worlds, they are inconsequential.

    Felix¡¯s surprised voice interrupted my focus on the incredibly strange letter.

    ¡°Eh!? Why isn¡¯t Arvid a part of my properly bonded family member, he practically came into existence because of me¡­..Eh, well I can get his and Raina bonds done later. Why in the world did this happen!? It¡¯s never happened in other worlds that I¡¯ve made bonds¡­¡­.Could it be because this body has some of my actual blood in it!? Ehe, how interesting!¡±

    Felix was running the tips of his fingers across a scroll almost identical to mine. I was just starting to realise how weird the child that I had just become ¡®Uncle¡¯ to really was¡­¡­..

 Chapter 31: Shock

    Zale¡¯s Point of View:

    Felix suddenly clapped his hand to his forehead.

    ¡°Ah! What am I thinking, I can bond with Arvid right now! Ne~ Arvid, manifest your physical form.¡±

    I watched in amazement as little boy almost identical to Felix, minus the strange attachments, with black hair tied back neatly into a ponytail and brilliant silver eyes, and dressed in a suit that only butlers would wear, flickered into existence. The little boy frowned at Felix.

    ¡°Boss, did you actually forget¡­...You still haven¡¯t taught me to manifest a fully physical form!!!¡±

    Felix once again slapped his forehead.

    ¡°Ah! I totally forgot! Come here, I¡¯ll tweak the spell you¡¯re using right now.¡±

    Arvid stepped forward and I was slightly disturbed as Felix plunged his hand into Arvid¡¯s chest. Arvid¡¯s form flickered slightly, and I realized he was only a projected image. After a few minutes, Felix quickly pulled his hand away.

    ¡°There, done!¡±

    Arvid froze for a moment and blinked rapidly, then he fell backwards. Felix frowned.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t supposed to happen¡­.¡±

    Arvid struggled to a sitting position on the ground. He looked rather sheepish.

    ¡°Sorry Boss, I¡¯m not used to having to deal with this sense of balance stuff, and I made my hair long like yours, so it ended up pulling me down¡­..Should I make it shorter?¡±

    Felix grinned at Arvid¡¯s words.

    ¡°Ha, sense of balance, eh? I have some training that can help with that~ And don¡¯t make it shorter, remember that twin battle thing we were talking about? You¡¯ll need to be used to long hair.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but snort at their conversation, what adorable children¡­...Eh, wait, why am I acting normally right now, that letter just said Felix is a mysterious all-powerful being! And there was that stuff about a crybaby Fate and other worlds!!?? I moved to grab Felix by his neck, then reconsidered. Instead, I grabbed him carefully by the shoulder and turned him towards me.

    ¡°Felix¡­...WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    Felix blinked up at me.

    ¡°.....I¡¯m the oldest being in the universe, with an unimaginable amount of power which gets boring pretty quickly so I made a deal with Fate to enter into a cycle of reincarnation. Pretty simple actually, got it?¡±

    I stared at him, flabbergasted.

    ¡°NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Not at ALLL!!!!!!!¡±

    Nononononono, this can¡¯t be true, i-it must be a joke! Ahahaha, that¡¯s right, he must be playing a prank on me, little kids do that all the time! I started to chuckle, my laughter rather high pitched.

    ¡°Teheheeheehee, y-you got me good, kid, this is just some elaborate joke, right?¡±

    Felix clicked his tongue in irritation.

    ¡°Tch, he¡¯s gotten hysterical, I don¡¯t want to deal with this right now¡­..Ne~ Fate, since you¡¯re definitely watching right now, I¡¯m going to knock this guy out, deal with him~¡±

    Before I could register Felix¡¯s words, there was a flash of movement and darkness swallowed my vision for the second time that day.

    I opened my eyes to find myself in a white and gold pavilion, sitting on the most comfortable chair I had ever sat on. Brilliant green fields of lush grass spread out from the pavilion, peppered with flowers of every color in existence. A small cough came from the side, and I turned to see a gorgeous woman, with long thick hair like spun gold, and blue eyes like sapphires set in a lovely heart-shaped face with delicately tanned skin. She had a long shapely body that was draped in a simple white gown.The woman smiled at me happily, adorable dimples forming in her rosy cheeks.

    ¡°I am happy to finally meet you face to face, Zale, you''ve been one of my favorite characters in this world~ I am Fate¡±

    I blinked, was this a dream? Or was it a continuation of Felix''s prank¡­.

    Fate giggled delicately.

    ¡°No, this is not a dream, nor is it one of Felix''s tricks, though I can''t blame you for thinking so, that fellow is quite infamous when it comes to mischief¡­.With a longer acquaintance with Felix, I''m sure you''ll find it quite as amusing as I do¡­.though not when it''s directed towards you...¡±

    For a second, Fate seemed to slump slightly with depression, but it must have been my imagination because by the time the observation entered my mind, she was once again smiling brightly at me. My mind was reeling, she could read my mind!? And she said she was Fate, could she be that Crybaby Fate person from the letter? Fate pouted.

    ¡°I Am Not A Crybaby, Life is in charge of enabling family bonds, she like to tease me sometimes¡­.¡±

    ¡­.So she Was the person the letter was talking about¡­...No! Why am I taking this seriously! There''s no way she can be real! This had got to be Felix''s doing¡­¡­.It Has To Be!

    Fate frowned fiercely.

    ¡°I am too real! How rude, to think someone doesn''t exist right to their face!¡±

    Perhaps as rude as reading someone else''s thoughts without their permission? I became more confident in the fact that none of this was real and decided to finally speak for the first time.

    ¡°If you really are Fate, then prove it!¡±

    Fate sighed.

    ¡°To have to make a display of power just so some puny powerless mortal will believe me¡­.well, you are one of my favorites, so I''ll do it. Hmmm, how to do it though¡­...¡±

    Fate sat quietly pondering for a few moments, then gave him a considering look.

    ¡°I will tell you something only you yourself are supposed to know, something that you discovered long ago and buried deep within yourself, protected by spells no one can break through, not even yourself.¡±

    It was my turn to frown, what was she talking about, what secret have I hidden? Fate smiled sadly at my thoughts.

    ¡°Of course you wouldn''t know, I said it was sealed by spells even you couldn''t break, that means you can''t reach the memory, or anything pertaining to it. When you found out about this secret, you were so devastated that you immediately tried to seal it away, seeing your pain, I gave you a helping hand. The spells inside your head are far beyond any level of binding you''ve managed to create¡­.¡±

    So devastating that I had to seal it? Worry began to rise in my throat, but it was over-powered by curiosity. I stared firmly at Fate.

    ¡°Tell me.¡±

    She paused slightly, then shrugged.

    ¡°You''re probably old enough to handle it now¡­..The secret you sealed is something every orphan left as a babe on the doorsteps of an orphanage wants to know¡­..Who your parents were, why they abandoned you, and¡­.if they were still alive. Your parents, who are still living, are¡­..¡±

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Fate leaned towards me and whispered two names quietly into my ear. I felt something snap in my mind and several memories began to run through my mind. Tears rolled down my face, she was right, I remembered now, that horrible day when I¡­¡­.Grief and hatred rolled through me, Those haughty people, I would make them pay!!! Fate looked sadly at me.

    ¡°Truly a horrible thing for parents to do to their second son¡­.Well, do you believe me now?¡±

    I blinked and the hate-filled and grief-laden haze I had fallen into vanished. That was right, she had been telling the truth...which meant she really Was Fate¡­¡­.which in turn meant that that adorable child named Felix, who I already felt was something like a cute son to me, was an immortal being with huge power who had reincarnated¡­...and gone to many others worlds. T-that innocent child was actually an immortal, all-powerful being far older than I¡­...I felt something in me die, my pride perhaps¡­.

    Fate cried out worriedly.

    ¡°Ah, no! Don''t petrify, Felix will punish me again! Aaaah, pieces are breaking off! D-duct tape! That fixes everything!¡±

    Tears started running down her face, which was turning an adorable shade of pink, completely ruining her first dignified impression¡­..I couldn''t help but smile inwardly, heh, the title Crybaby Fate really suits her¡­.I drifted off into peaceful darkness.

    Back to Felix~

    Zale''s body slumped back onto the couch as I knocked him unconscious with a firm chop to the back of the neck. I turned to Arvid with a grin on my face.

    ¡°Now let''s make you a member of the family~¡±

    My tail once again served well as a tool to slice both my and Arvid''s palms open. I grasped Arvid''s hand and felt our blood mix together. There was a familiar flash of power and two letters once again appeared. I didn''t bother to read it this time. I held my hand out to the side.

    ¡°Ne~ Tail, heal my hand, please¡­.¡±

    My tail didn''t respond. Arvid spoke up nervously.

    ¡°Um, Boss, it seems to be feeling the letter you got, and I''m pretty sure it can read it because it''s starting to get Very spiky¡­...¡±

    Ah, that''s right, she wasn''t on the list of family, probably because I consider my tail to still simply be a part of me¡­...This might be bad¡­.

    ¡°Ahaha, I was just about to bond with you next, tail~ I can''t believe Life neglected to put you on the list¡­..but first we should give you a name. ¡±

    Soft fur rubbed happily against my face, phew~ she had put the spikes away¡­..But I could tell I still wasn''t out of the danger zone, time to think of a really good name¡­¡­

    ¡°How about Zoe? It''s a sort of sort sounding name, like you¡­.¡±

    My tailing paused in her rubbing, considering my choice, then continued to rub, showing her approval at her new name. A sigh of relief broke past my lips and I held out my still bleeding hand.

    ¡°Well then tail..urm...Zoe, I''ll need some of your blood¡­..though now that I think of it, shouldn''t we have the same blood? Oh well, please just let this work¡­.¡±

    I felt my tail twist flexibly, presumably cutting herself, then she laid a bleeding section of herself on my palm, allowing our blood to mingle together. Half-surprised, I felt the familiar warmth of a family bond activate, and two letters once again. Opening the letter, I felt through and found Zoe''s name.

    The psychotically sweet tail named Zoe

    ¡­¡­.Life sure had an excellent naming sense¡­¡­

    Luckily Zoe seemed fine with it. I turned to where I felt Arvid watching, still in his physical form.

    ¡°Ne~ Call Raina, Aaron, and Adrian over here, I might as well get all of the bonds done that I can do right now...¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, Boss~¡±

    Arvid vanished. A groan came from the couch where Zale lay. Oh? Was Fate''s talk already over? I turned around and felt Zale sluggishly move to a sitting position. I placed my hand on my hips and tilted my head to the side.

    ¡°Welllllll?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I¡­..believe you¡­¡­..¡±

    Hrm? Was something wrong? Zale seems somewhat dispirited¡­...Eh, it''s probably just shock~

    A few minutes of comfortable silence later, there was an excited knock on the door. The weight and speed behind the rapid knocks told me it was Raina. I stepped lightly to the door and opened it with a wide smile on my face. Raina shot inside, her breath slightly harder than usual.

    ¡°Haaaa, Felix! Arvid told me you had something interesting for me so I ran here as fast as I could from the opposite side of the school! What is it?¡±

    Ehe, such enthusiasm, as expected of Raina¡­..

    ¡°Ne~ Raina, how would you like to become a part of my family? You''ll find something interesting out if you do~¡±

    Raina paused for a long moment, considering.

    ¡°Alright! Is the interesting thing new training methods?¡±

    I chuckled at her typical focus on training.

    ¡°No, it isn''t, but I will be able to provide some more unique training methods~¡±

    Raina grabbed my shoulders.

    ¡°What do I need to do!¡±

    I held out my bloody hand and motioned for Raina to do the same.

    ¡°Zoe, if you would do the honors...¡±

    Raina''s palm soon had a similar cut to mine, and I grasped her hand. Moments later, two letters once again appeared. Raina studied her letter for a moment.

    ¡°Hmmm, so you''re an all-powerful immortal? That''s means you must know a lot of training methods, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, we haven¡¯t even touched the surface~¡±

    ¡°Should I call you Pops, or Bro?¡±

    ¡­..She sure knew how to adapt fast, I wish Zale was a bit more like her¡­..

    ¡°Eh, Felix is fine, we¡¯re partners in torturous training, there¡¯s no need for formalities~¡±

    Anyways, it would feel kind of strange to have Raina call me Bro or Pops, it doesn¡¯t fit her personality¡­.

    There was another knock on the door. Aaron and Adrian, those two always seem to show up together¡­..

    Heh, I wonder what their reaction will be~

    <hr />

    Ah, almost forgot~ I am pleased to announce that I now have a proofreader, Cheepers, who will be going through my past chapters and the new ones that come out~

 Chapter 32: The Chicken-Lizard Is A.......!!??

    I walked happily to the door, opening it with a wide smile, and then froze. There was the faint sound of another person mixed in with Aaron¡¯s and Adrian¡¯s familiar sounds. Hmmmm, I think I remember this heartbeat¡­¡­.Aaron and Adrian both greeted me.

    ¡°Hey brother¡­..¡±

    ¡°Hello Felix, why did you have Arvid call us here?¡±

    I ignored both of them.

    ¡°Ne~ Dragon Lady, why are you here? And Arvid, why didn¡¯t you stop her from coming? Or at least tell me that she came here along with these kids¡­...¡±

    There was a long pause, and then Arvid spoke in a confused voice.

    ¡°Um, Boss, the Dragon Lady is in her room on the other side of the school, she isn¡¯t here¡­..¡±

    I took a step towards where I could hear the sound

    ¡°No, I can hear her heartbeat, even though it¡¯s a bit faint, she¡¯s definitely here, though I can¡¯t smell or feel her¡­.Ne~ Come out!¡±

    There was an awkwardly long moment of silence, and then I felt the Dragon Lady¡¯s form appear right in front of me. Her spicy dragon scent washed over me.

    ¡°.......That was one of my clan¡¯s strongest stealth spells. it should be impossible for the user to be detected in any way¡­¡­.¡±

    I pointed at my new cat ears.

    ¡°I probably wouldn¡¯t have heard it before these, but now my hearing has reached a whole new level~¡±

    Miss Drake was silent for a long moment.

    ¡°.....You really are weird, anyways I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to you for a while, but haven¡¯t had the chance with you busy playing around with all of those idiotic humans.¡±

    I suppose she means the behavioral education I gave to those teachers¡­...She sure seems to have a low opinion of her fellow colleagues¡­..

    ¡°Ah, yep! I got pretty sidetracked by that¡­.I suppose this ¡®talk¡¯ involves dragons?¡±

    I heard her grit her teeth.

    ¡°I would prefer you didn¡¯t talk about that so openly¡­. ¡±

    I waved my hand dismissively, and began to walk to one of the plush couches in my room, this sounded like it might be a long conversation.

    ¡°Eh, All of the people here can be trusted¡­...probably~¡±

    I hopped into the comfy couches and sat back happily. I felt the Dragon lady follow my lead, plopping down in a chair across from mine.

    ¡°That is not very reassuring¡­..¡±

    I thought about it for a long moment, wondering how to hurry the conversation on to the interesting stuff¡­...Aaron and Adrian walked over and sat next to me on the couch. Why were they here again? Ah, that¡¯s right, the family bond¡­..An idea occurred to me.

    ¡°Heh, I have a way to ensure that everyone here won¡¯t hurt you Miss Drake~, All three of you hold out your hands.¡±

    Aaron and Adrian didn¡¯t hesitate to do as I asked, but Miss Drake hesitated.

    ¡°What about the man over there, the one that bound all of the teachers? Not that the binding had much effect on me, I could have escaped it at any time, but he¡¯s still connected to those brutish high rankers¡­..¡±

    I felt Zale rise from the couch he was sitting on and walked over to the woman. I made no move to stop him, curious to see what he would do next. He spoke with his voice rough from anger.

    ¡°I Will Never Cooperate With Those Disgusting Excuses For Human Beings Ever Again, No Matter What The Stakes, I Intend To ELIMINATE EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!!¡±

    Hrmmmm, something sure was itching under his skin¡­..Fate probably told him something about himself in order to prove her real identity¡­¡­..I didn¡¯t mind his intentions too much, as they pretty much aligned with mine, but I would have to be careful to protect any interesting toys I found among the high rankers¡­.Done with his little tantrum, Zale sat in one of the chairs near my couch and sat down. I gave a slight cough.

    ¡°*Ahem*, Well, as you can see, Zale¡¯s intention have changed, and for extra security, he has already gone through the thing I¡¯m offering to do for you, oh, I¡¯ve done for Raina over there too.¡±

    I felt all three of them tense as they realized Raina was in the room, Aaron and Adrian I easily accepted, but I couldn¡¯t help but inwardly snickered a bit at the Dragon Lady¡¯s reaction, even though she was a dragon, she was scared of Raina¡­..Still, Miss Drake seemed like she would be an interesting card to have on my side, so I didn¡¯t mind giving her a family bond. After a long pause, she finally held out her hand. The couch and her chair were close enough that she barely had to stretch to get her hand next to Aaron¡¯s and Adrian¡¯s smaller hands. Without even having to be asked, Zoe quickly sliced each of their palms, eliciting small gasps of surprise from the two little boys beside me and a snarl from the Dragon Lady. I quickly pressed my still bloody palm to each of theirs, allowing our blood to mix. I felt letters appear in front of all of them, and three fell into my lap. There was the usual pause as all three opened their letters and read them. The Dragon Lady was the first to comment.

    ¡°.....No Way, You Just Made Me A Part Of Your Family!? Oh, and it says your immortal, and there are hints about different worlds¡­...That¡¯s how you know the greeting, isn¡¯t it! You¡¯ve met other members of the clan in different worlds!......Wait, that means¡­¡­...you¡¯re the Wandering Trickster, the guy all the mothers tell stories about to keep all the dragonlings in line, I never thought you were actually real!?¡±

    Yep, the dragon clan was one of the few species that had connections throughout many of the worlds. Still¡­...When had they started using me as a boogeyman? The fact that they did so didn¡¯t really surprise me, dragons made excellent toys to play with since they were so durable, and they had this ¡®better than anyone¡¯ attitude that was always fun to trample¡­..Aaron suddenly spoke up, interrupting my drift to happy memories of dragon torture.

    ¡°Bro, if you¡¯re really immortal, why do you act afraid of things?¡±

    Hmmmm, not a bad question.

    ¡°Right now, I¡¯m in a deal with Fate, she and the other powers sealed my power, and I¡¯ve entered into a cycle of reincarnation, Fate decides what worlds I am sent to, so when I find a world I really like, I tend to have a stronger life-preserving instincts. This has been one of my favorite worlds so far, so I¡¯ve been acting a bit more cautious than usual, but as soon as I get some real strength, it¡¯ll be an entirely different matter. Also, it¡¯s fun to act like a mortal~ ¡±

    There was a long silence at that, and then Adrian spoke up.

    ¡°Wait¡­..If you¡¯re an all-powerful being, why didn¡¯t you just seal yourself and reincarnate through your own power, why have others bind your power?¡±

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    I had already considered this when I was deciding whether to accept Fate¡¯s deal.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, really, if I¡¯m the one to bind my powers, then I could release them at any time I wanted to, it¡¯s not interesting that way. With my powers bound by others, I can¡¯t reach them even in situations where I might be strongly tempted to do so, it makes my experience feel more realistic.¡±

    Feeling that I had explained myself enough, I turned my attention back to the Dragon Lady.

    ¡°Well, what did you want to talk to me about?¡±

    ¡°Ah, erm, well the first thing I want to discuss with you is the little dragonling on your shoulder¡­.¡±

    My mind went blank for a moment, and then I snatched Void off of my shoulder and held him up in front of me for her to see.

    ¡°There is NO WAY this idiotic chicken-lizard is a dragon!¡±

    It was true that dragons didn¡¯t start smelling like dragons until they were fully matured, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if Void actually was a dragon, but No Self-Respecting Dragon Would GROW FLUFFY WINGS!!!!! The Dragon Lady coughed slightly.

    ¡°It is true that his development has been, well, UNUSUAL, but the imperial family of this world is well-known for being a bit eccentric¡­..though this little prince has certainly reached levels of weird yet to be seen in his family¡­..¡±

    A large headache was starting to beat at my forehead.

    ¡°Ok, so if Void really is who he says he is, why did I find one of the imperial family wandering around in the woods without protection, about to get eaten!?¡±

    I heard the woman shift in her chair slightly, uncomfortable.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how you found him? Errr, well, you should know that though the dragon clan is blood related, we develop differently depending on what world we are on. In this world, we develop when we experience things that stimulate our souls. This way of change has varied levels of success, sometimes it can cause one to become weaker, and other times, become stronger. In order to ensure that the ruling emperor of the dragon clan was always strong, the imperial family sends it heirs out into the world almost as soon as they hatch. Through study, it has been found that more advantageous growths occur when we are in contact with unique beings, so a spell is cast on the children to urge them to find the being with the greatest potential they can and bond with them. With that link, they grow in strength as their bonded does, and the bonded is affected by the evolutions of the dragon. When the time come for succession, all the dragonlings that survived are called back, and whoever is the strongest becomes the new head of the family.¡±

    Unique being, eh? No wonder the little brat bonded with me, but¡­¡­.

    ¡°Why does he call me Papa?¡±

    She was silent for a long moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that happening¡­¡­.this child really is a weird one¡­...¡±

    Well, I certainly agree with that fact.

    ¡°So, is Void¡¯s identity all you wanted to talk to me about?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, it isn¡¯t. I was sent here thirty years ago to investigate this school and determine whether they were strong enough to be offered an alliance, we dragons admired their teaching efforts and thought they might be a good place to send our children. Seven years ago, we were about to send an offer when this school was attacked and overtaken by the other schools. We dragons do not ally with anyone who cannot stand by themselves, so it was decided I would wait and see if Dagda managed to free itself from it¡¯s mess. Now it has been freed, but not through the school¡¯s own strength, but instead a single person, you. Since Dagda failed to free itself through it¡¯s own power, we cannot in good conscience, offer it a contract, but I have received orders to offer you an alliance.¡±

    Hmmmm, so she was basically a spy? The alliance might be interesting, but I didn¡¯t really need any of the benefits I would gain from it and the conditions were often constricting for my kind of lifestyle¡­¡­.but the school¡­¡­

    ¡°What would the school have to do in order to be considered for an alliance again?¡±

    ¡°Hmmmm, they would have to prove they had a suitable base of power, probably even stronger than they had before¡­.I¡¯ll have to check with my superiors, but if they win overpoweringly in the school tournament that¡¯s happening this year, they probably would be offered an alliance in consideration of their potential¡­..Does this mean you¡¯re not accepting the single alliance involving just you?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like to be directly involved in alliances, they can be restricting, if the school is the one in the alliance, I¡¯ll be able to use it without having restrictions on myself. Tell me more about this tournament, I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s conducted every ten years and determines school rank, but that¡¯s all I¡¯ve gathered from gossip.¡±

    She gave a long sigh.

    ¡°Basically schools send their best students to face off against each other, and at the end, whoever has the most wins is ranked the top school. Right now, Dagda still has the title of the top school because of it¡¯s win ten years ago, but now it¡¯s far weaker than it was, I highly doubt it¡¯ll be able to face any of it¡¯s serious competition.¡±

    I grinned widely at her.

    ¡°Ehe~ I¡¯m pretty sure I can fix that~¡±

    I felt Raina perk up in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re going to use some of those unique training methods you were talking about earlier?¡±

    My grin widened. Aaron spoke up hesitantly.

    ¡°Are they worse than what you had me and my friends do?¡±

    ¡°Yep, all I can promise is the students won¡¯t die¡­.. barely~¡±

    ¡°........I suppose there¡¯s no hope of escape¡­..¡±

    Heh, of course not¡­.But what I had the students do during special training was far worse than what I did to the brat pack¡­¡­.Ah, that¡¯s right! I erased their memories of that time¡­..

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t worry, as my brother, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to handle it~¡±

    I was starting to drift into thought, planning what training schedule I would do, when Adrian suddenly spoke up.

    ¡°I know this is really off topic, but for twins, you and Aaron really look nothing alike¡­¡­...¡±

    My thoughts were still distracted, and I answered absentmindedly.

    ¡°That¡¯s because Aaron and I aren¡¯t really brothers, blood wise at least.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!!!???¡±

    Hmmmm, I had sort of forgotten about that whole thing¡­¡­..there was something important about Aaron not being my brother¡­¡­.Ah! That¡¯s right, my revenge! I totally forgot!!!

 Chapter 33: A New Little Brother

    I rubbed my head ruefully.

    ¡°Ara, to forget such an important thing¡­¡­..Geh, it sounds exactly like something I would do so I can¡¯t even really act ashamed¡­...Well then Raina, shall we start training-Urk¡±

    I was starting to stand up from the couch when Aaron and Adrian each grabbed one of my arms and pulled me back down. Aaron punched me in the gut, further ensuring my immobility as I was forced to wheeze for air.

    ¡°Wait! You can¡¯t just walk off after saying something like that! Explain yourself!!!¡±

    Recovering my breathing, I wrenched my arms out of their grasp.

    ¡°Hmph, you could have just asked nicely, you know¡­..¡±

    They answered simultaneously.

    ¡°No, we couldn¡¯t have.¡±

    Hmmmm, I suppose they are right¡­¡­.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m not actually Aaron¡¯s twin brother, I was abandoned by my birth parents because I was blind¡­.Ne, Adrian, what do you think would be the best way to shame your parents?¡±

    Best to get some good information before Adrian might decide he needs to protect our parents from my revenge¡­..

    ¡°Hrm, I suppose the best way would be to somehow embarrass them in front of the entire court¡­.But wait! Why are you suddenly turning the subject to my parents, you still haven¡¯t really answered anything about you not being Aaron¡¯s twin¡­..Do you know who your real parents are?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Embarrass them in front of the court¡­..it definitely is a generic answer to shaming nobles¡­..I¡¯ll see what I can add to spice it up though¡­¡­.Hmmmm, yeah I do know who my parents were, I was aware when I was first born, Adrian, I¡¯m your older brother.¡±

    There was a Very long silence. Suddenly Aaron shot up from the couch.

    ¡°YES!!!!!! I can see the family resemblance now that I¡¯m looking for it, so it¡¯s true!!! WAHOOOOO, I¡¯m not related to the evil training monster that hypnotized me into being completely fixated on him for years!!! I¡¯m so happy *cry*¡±

    I tapped Aaron¡¯s arm to signal him to turn around and then smiled very sweetly up at him.

    ¡°Congratulations, you just earned yourself a special training regime~¡±

    I felt him slump to the floor, satisfied, I turned my attention to Adrian, he was as stiff as a statue.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re my older brother? But I heard he died shortly after birth from an illness¡­..though I can definitely see my parents abandoning you because of your blindness¡­¡­.¡±

    Hmmm, Adrian definitely had a clear picture of what is parents were like¡­..My thoughts were  interrupted when Adrian suddenly hugged me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted a sibling!¡±

    T-this seems a bit out of character from what I know of Adrian¡¯s personality¡­..he should be more of a cool, mature type that isn¡¯t prone to sudden displays of affection¡­.As though he had read my thoughts, Adrian hurriedly jerked away from me.

    ¡°S-sorry, it was just terrible having to grow up as an only child to those kind of parents, I hate them¡­..¡±

    I patted Adrian on the head.

    ¡°Well, if you hate them so much, how would you like to join Big Bro in getting some revenge~¡±

    Aaron suddenly pulled me away from Adrian, eh? Could this be a fit of jealousy? But I thought I got rid of the hypnotized obsessed Aaron¡­.

    ¡°Adrian, listen to me, it¡¯s better to be alone than to have this guy as your broth-Urk!¡±

    Nope, not jealousy. I punched Aaron in the stomach, stopping him mid-sentence. I smiled happily.

    ¡°Aaron, your training has been upgraded to another difficulty, if you don¡¯t work Very hard, it¡¯s almost certain you¡¯ll die~¡±

    Adrian tugged on my sleeve hesitantly.

    ¡°You said something about revenge?¡±

    I could practically feel the excited sparkles in his eyes, heh, he must really hate his parents¡­..My grin widened.

    ¡°Yeah, I want to make them pay for all that they¡¯ve done~¡±

    Adrian¡¯s grip on my sleeve tightened.

    ¡°What do we need to do first? Can I help!?¡±

    ¡°The first thing we need to do is confirm their belief of my complete uselessness!¡±

    Adrian¡¯s grip loosened in confusion.

    ¡°Eh? How will that be revenge? It will only feed their self-righteous arrogance...¡±

    I flicked him in the forehead.

    ¡°Fool! Before revenge, we must build the best stage. By heightening their arrogance, it will create a higher and more painful fall! This is the basics of the basics of mischief-making!¡±

    ¡°I-I see¡­..Then how are we going to do that, B-Big B-Brother? *blush*¡±

    Ah, adoring little brothers are so cute¡­¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll take the entire school for an ultimate training session deep in Mistwood forest, and have me act like a weak gopher whenever your parents see us, ehe, it¡¯ll be hitting two birds with one stone~¡±

    Zale suddenly spoke up.

    ¡°How deep are you planning to take them? Mistwood forest is classified as a unique danger area, as the magical beasts increase in level the deeper you go in, I heard a rumor that the four kings made an expedition there when they all reached Void level a few hundred years ago, and even at that level of power, they didn¡¯t make it to the center¡­.¡­..¡±

    Oho, sounds like an interesting challenge~ It sounds like there might be something very interesting in the forest center¡­¡­.

    ¡°Ne~ Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll only take them to the area where high level middle rank beasts and low level high rank beasts show up! Hey, Arvid, tell the students and Dagda teachers to start packing!¡±

    ¡°Got it Boss~¡±

    I stood to rise, but Zale suddenly appeared in front of me and grasped my shoulder.

    ¡°Wait a sec, there¡¯s no way the students can handle high level middle rank beasts at their current level! Much less any kind of high rank beast!¡±

    I patted the hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, by the time I get there, they will be~¡±

    There was a heavy silence.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean we?¡±

    ¡°Nope! I¡¯ll be the only one physically traveling~¡±

    Aha, I can almost feel their confusion, I don¡¯t even need to see their faces to know they¡¯re very amusing right now~

    ¡°Ehe, don¡¯t worry about the details for now~ Go get packed. Ne~ Arvid, pack my bags for me, mostly with my poor clothes, I need to prepare for the journey, also, get those other trinkets I asked for ready~¡±

    I slipped away from Zale¡¯s grasp and walked out of the room, leaving a several stunned statues of people behind me~

    Ehe, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve used THAT to train my toys¡­¡­.

    Well, it is a special world~

    ¡­¡­¡­

    Two Hours later:

    I finished scratching the last line of the intricate circle into the dirt of the training field and leaned back, stretching my slightly stiff back.

    ¡°I forgot what a pain it was to draw this¡­...Eh, the resulting toys will be worth it~¡±

    The circle complete, I placed a hand on it and began channeling mana into it. The earth beneath my fingers began to warm. My tail tapped me slightly on the shoulder, I turned my head slightly to the side to acknowledge it.

    ¡±Ah? Are you already done with that other circle I asked you to draw?¡±

    It waved happily in affirmation.

    ¡°Ne~ Misty, did she do a good job?¡±

    ¡°Yes Master, just like the memory you sent both of us~¡±

    The ground beneath my hand suddenly flared with heat for a moment, then any trace of heat vanished, the spell was set. I gave a tired sigh and flopped on the ground. My body felt like a sack of bricks, in order to complete the spell at my current level, my ki and mana  cores had to be drained of power. I had already calculated that this would happen, but I always forgot what being drained of power felt like. As was usual when I drained myself of power in reincarnations, small smile graced my lips, at this moment, I wouldn¡¯t be able to even lift a finger to defend myself if someone attacked me, yet this was the time that I was overcome with an addicting sense of peace and accomplishment that I had come to love over the years¡­.Void suddenly nudged my face with his nose, breaking me out of my thoughts.

    -Papa, are you ok?-

    I groaned, the moment was over, and began pulling power from the air.

    ¡°Void, you just ruined a wonderful feeling¡­¡­.Eh, for some reason I don¡¯t feel like strangling you¡­..be thankful, my old age must be catching up to me¡­..But I suggest you leave me alone next time, if you value your life~¡±

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    My body was starting to revive under the outside energy I was dragging in, and I dragged myself to a sitting position.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to wait a bit before opening Adrian¡¯s Special portal¡­...Oh! It seems like the students are coming¡±

    My cat ears had caught the early onslaught of curious chatter and pattering footsteps. Oh, right! if I want the gopher act to work, I had better hide! Struggling to my feet, I moved quickly away from the circle, my legs slightly wobbly. (Author: Aha, like a penguin!)

    I managed to make it to the outer wall just before the students began to flow out of the double doors. Phew~Just in time¡­¡­

    Their nervous voices filled the field as more and more students filed into the field.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Why were we suddenly told to pack our bags?¡±

    ¡°Has something bad happened?¡±

    I felt Raina, Adrian, Zale, and Aaron slide next to me. Adrian nudged me slightly in the shoulder.

    ¡°So Big Brother, how¡¯s this going to work?¡±

    ¡°Ah, Raina, I want you to guide the students into the big portal that will appear soon, it leads to a special training dimension, which I like to call the toy factory~ I use it whenever I want to strengthen up a lot of people so they can do something more interesting!¡±

    Raina suddenly hugged me.

    ¡°Oooh, a new kind of training area, sounds fun!¡±

    C-can¡¯t breath! My head was buried in her chest, but that wasn¡¯t the problem! Raina¡¯s hug was squeezing the air out of my lungs¡­¡­..I could feel bright spots spark to life in my mind, Ara? Is that a tunnel? Oohh, there¡¯s an interesting light at the end¡­¡­.Wait! No, I recognise this! It¡¯s often referred to as a sign of passing to the other side! In other words, death! I began to rush towards the light, death is said to be the greatest adventure! True death the one thing I¡¯ve never been able to truly reach!

    Suddenly, the light vanished, Raina had released me¡­...I collapsed to the ground, ah¡­..it feels so nice and dark here, I could stay here Forever, who cares about dying! Though Death herself is kinda hot¡­.Not that it matters since she¡¯s turned me down every time I¡¯ve asked her out¡­..Uuuuuuu, staying in the dark is the best thing to do¡­..A brick suddenly shot out of the wall I was slumped against and smacked me in the back of the head.

    ¡°Ack! What was that for!¡±

    I heard  Arvid give a relieved sigh.

    ¡°Phew, you were starting to drop into that dangerous depressed state you told me about Boss¡±

    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re right, I almost did it again, didn¡¯t I Arvid! Thanks~¡±

    ¡°Anyway Boss, you had better activate the portal soon¡­.¡±

    Ah, right¡­...I focused on the portal and snapped my fingers. I felt it flare to life. Aaron nudged my leg with his shoe.

    ¡°You were just acting really weird for a moment¡­..whatever, should we go in the portal too, Bro?¡±

    He was probably referring to our whole little group.

    ¡°Ne~ Everyone except Adrian, I have something special prepared for him!¡±

    I felt them all begin to trundle away, and Adrian crouched down next to me.

    ¡°You prepared something special just for me Big B-Brother? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Acting lessons!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Adrian was clearly confused by my words, I decided to explain further.

    ¡°You see, for one to become a lowly gopher, it is essential to have a bully! I¡¯m going to have you play that part~¡±

    Adrian poked my shoulder

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to bully you!¡±

    I thumped his head lightly.

    ¡°You won¡¯t Actually be bullying me, just pretending to, it¡¯ll be fine~¡±

    ¡°I-I see¡­...¡±

    It took about an hour for the entire school to file through the portal. I pulled myself to my feet and walked over to the portal, where Raina was waiting for me. I tilted my face up at her and grinned.

    ¡°Have Fun~¡±

    I could feel the excitement buzzing around her as she nodded firmly, the movement sending a slight breeze against my face. Then she too vanished through the portal. I placed a palm against the portal, the energy buzzed at my touch, but my hand didn¡¯t pass through, the special spacial dimension was tied to me, so I was unable to enter it. The buzz grew stronger, and I felt the portal begin to contract. My hand began to burn as the magic began to fuse with my palm. After a long agonizing minute, the portal was gone, I traced a finger over my right hand. A miniature version of the giant magic circle I had carved into the ground was now etched into my palm.

    Adrian was standing behind me and I turned to him.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn!¡±

    The smaller circle was much easier to power, and I was soon bidding Adrian farwell. A thought occurred to me, and I grabbed Adrian¡¯s arm, stopping him just before he entered the portal.

    ¡°Hey, why do you hate our parents so much? I know they¡¯ve given me more than enough reason, but as their heir, they should have treated you well.¡±

    Adrian flinched at my words.

    ¡°I-I wasn¡¯t exactly perfect heir material when I was a kid, you¡¯ve seen how I act all cool and collected, right? Well, when I was younger, I was¡­..a lot different. My parents weren¡¯t happy about this¡­¡­..so they decided to beat it out of me.¡±

    Rage. It boiled up inside me. I pulled Adrian to me in a tight hug, he was shaking slightly, and it only served to make me angrier. No one is allowed to mess with my toys, in the past, present, or future. I took a deep breath and shoved my burning fury down, storing it away for later. When I spoke, my voice, though a little sharp, was as cheerful as usual.

    ¡°Adrian, the base set up of the plan is going to stay the same, but instead of just humiliating those disgusting worms, I¡¯m Going To Take Every Single Thing They Have And Demolish It Right In Front Of Their Eyes.¡±

    Adrian pulled away from my hug.

    ¡°You¡¯re the best older brother I could have ever wished for!¡±

    Then he stepped through the portal and left me alone in the training field. I fused the smaller circle to the back of my right hand, then tilted my head back and clenched my fists.

    I WOULD MAKE THEM PAY!!!

    ¡°B-Boss, are you all right? You¡¯ve got a Really Scary aura right now.¡±

    I took another deep breath and shoved away my infuriated thoughts to focus on the things I needed to do right now.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine Arvid, I just HATE when people hurt my toys¡­¡­...Hah, but it¡¯ll have to wait for a bit¡­¡­..Arvid, do you have my luggage and those things I asked for ready?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all ready to go at the front gate., I also have a arm brace ready so I can come with you, it¡¯s the smallest thing I can fit in now¡­..Here, put it on so I can make sure it fits.¡±

    I held out my hands and felt a metal arm brace drop lightly into my open palms. I slid it on over my left hand, and it molded to my arm, metal plating slid to cover the top of my hand, and smooth metal strands wove over my palm, the metal section on my fore arm fit snugly. I flexed my hand, checking to make sure the brace didn¡¯t hinder any of my movements. Satisfied, I smiled. I totally see bashing this into that arrogant Redsword guy¡¯s face, even though I can¡¯t see¡­...

    ¡°Eh, this was an excellent work of craftsmanship Arvid~¡±

    The arm brace hummed happily and Arvid¡¯s voice rang easily from it.

    ¡°Aha, thanks Boss, I made it from some high quality ore I found in the school¡¯s top tier craft department, it can hold up against almost any attack, so you can use your left arm to block attacks without any worry.¡±

    Hmm? This school had a craft department? Eh, it might be an interesting source of materials¡­.Leaving the training field, I walked quickly through the silent halls of the empty school. My bag was at the front gate, right where Arvid had said it would be. Ten rings were laid out on the ground beside it. I slid each of them on, and grinned as I felt weight press down on my body until I could barely stand. Gravity rings, one of my favorite kind of training materials. I would need to build up strength in order to accomplish what I wanted to do.

    I pushed the gates open and left the school.

    As I began to trod through the sand, a horrible thought occurred to me. If I was returning home¡­¡­.that meant I would have to deal with those abnormal parents again!

 Chapter 33.5: The Toy Factory

    Heat and Pressure surrounded all of them, pressing down on their backs as the evil demon forced them to do terrible things. Silent tears evaporated quickly on agonized faces that longed for death, but could never reach it, no matter what they did. All the while, the demon smiled happily at them, her long blue hair free of sweat and her form showing no sign of stress under the overwhelming effect of the environment around them. Whenever they tried to rest, flames burst from the ground beneath them, lashing them back into motion.

    Slowly as months stretched by, tiredness and fear died off, unable to survive their overuse, and in their place stood a firm deadness that gave the users a sense of relief¡­¡­.Until freezing cold water suddenly poured from the evil blood-red sky and tore up the lovely deadness and revived the fear and weariness. Over and over the process was repeated and many sought the sanctity of insanity, but even that mental escape was somehow barred from them. There was only one other emotion that filled their mind during that beyond torturous time. Pity.

    One little blond haired and blue eyed child of the fellows tormented, had it far worse than the others. Giant, inescapable chains were wrapped around his body, burning with a flame that did not burn, but added to the pressure and heat. Monstrous beasts with giant teeth and sharp claws chased him far ahead of the group as he cried pitifully with any spare breath he had.

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    ¡°I¡¯m SORRY Bro!!!!!!! Please forgive me!!!!!!!!!¡±

    ¡­¡­.For some reason, the tortured people had a feeling that even more was in store for them¡­¡­.and that the poor child would not be granted forgiveness¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­

    In another dimension, far far away¡­¡­..

    ¡°Cut!!! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! New guy, you need to act more evil! I need more emotion! No not tears ya crybaby! Gah, why in the world did the Boss want this guy in the bully role, he much better suited to be bullied¡­¡­.but I¡¯ll work with what I have! Take a short break brat, then we¡¯re going through it again and you¡¯re bringing your all¡±

    A small boy with slightly tanned skin, long black hair and icy blue eyes was slumped tiredly on a stage, tears swelling in his determined eyes. Adrian muttered quietly to himself.

    ¡°I-it¡¯s hard, but I¡¯ll do for the sake of Big Bro and beating those monstrous parents of mine.¡±

    He staggered to his feet, the gravity in this dimension stronger than what he was used to, and stared at the red faced director with determined eyes.

    ¡°N-No need for a break Mister Director! I will give it my all every time with no need to rest!¡±

    The director grinned evilly.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you forget those words, kid, ok let¡¯s do it again, everyone get in your places! Action!¡±

 Chapter 34: A Proposal

    I smiled happily as sweat drenched my clothes and my body screamed in pain. Ah, the feeling of gaining strength is truly wonderful, hmmmm, I wonder if I can manage another gravity ring yet¡­...since I¡¯m going to be a kid for a long time, I don¡¯t need to worry about the effects stunting my growth¡­..Yeah! Let¡¯s ask Arvid to make me another one! I opened my mouth.

    ¡°I refuse!¡±

    Arvid cut me off before I could ask¡­.

    ¡°Eh!? But I really want to add another level of gravity!¡±

    For some reason, I felt like the metal forebrace that was Arvid was tightening around my arm.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already had me make you another ten rings in the month we¡¯ve been traveling, even for a training freak, you¡¯re taking it too far Boss!¡±

    Misty suddenly shifted to my neck and wrapped around it.

    -Arvid¡¯s right, Master, this side of you is far too scary! You¡¯ve already gone up two ranks since you left school, TWO LEVELS IN ONE MONTH, AAAAAHHHHHH, it should be IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!-

    Ara? I had risen two levels? I had better check that out, but first¡­¡­

    ¡°M-Misty¡­¡­.st¡­.stop choking me!¡±

    -Not until you stop! Hey, Void, help me out here! Zoe, you too!-

    I felt a  fluffy tail join Misty in strangling my neck. Void stayed slumped around my shoulders.

    -Ne~ Misty, it¡¯s Papa, so things like this are only natural, right? Oh, by the way Papa, I feel like all this hard work you¡¯ve been doing is leading me to another inspiration.-

    I skidded to a halt and collapsed on the ground, ¡®accidentally¡¯ falling on Void.

    ¡°I am lazy and boring. I am lazy and boring. I am lazy and boring. I am lazy and boring.¡±

    Void wriggled out from under me and slapped my head with one of his wings.

    -That¡¯s not going to help you, tomorrow morning, when we wake up, you¡¯re going to have a special surprise for working so hard.-

    ¡°.......Please just let it not be something too weird¡­..*cry*¡±

    I struggled to my feet, rubbing at my eyes because they had gotten dirt in them, and started running again, hrmmm, at this pace, I should arrive at home in a few hours! When I do, I need to find a source of caffeine or sugar! Void and I shall not sleep tonight!!! Arvid sighed.

    ¡°Boss, caffeine and sugar won¡¯t work very long in your system, or Void¡¯s, with your special body, it¡¯s processed faster, and since Void is a high rank magical beast, he also won¡¯t be affected very much¡­...¡±

    Curse it! Arvid, why are you so good at reading my thoughts! And why couldn¡¯t you let me hold onto that false hope for even a moment¡­...I pushed all my thoughts away, and ran as fast as I could. If it¡¯s going to happen no matter what, there¡¯s no point in thinking about it!

    ¡°Yeah Boss, you just keep telling yourself that¡­..¡±

    ¡°......¡±

    A few miles away from home, I stopped and sent my senses out to check that there wasn¡¯t anybody nearby, sadly confirming there was nobody for me to sneak up on and knock out, I began channeling mana into my two marks. Adrian¡¯s gate opened first, now that they had been set, each circle only cost a fraction of the mana they had cost in the first activation. Several minutes after Adrian¡¯s gate opened, the large gate flared into existence. Waiting another minute, I frowned.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t anyone come out yet?¡±

    -Boss¡­...didn¡¯t you say that once they entered the dimensions you created, they could only get out if you summoned them out?-

    I slapped my forehead.

    ¡°Ah! I always forget that bit, I added it into the spell after people kept escaping from the gate when I was closing¡­..¡±

    I focused on the two gates and the magical circles appeared slowly in my mind. Focusing on a few special lines set in each circle, I reached out with my mind and pulled. I felt the mana surge in the circles for a moment, and then they vanished, leaving in their place, a group of very confused people. One figure was considerably separated from the rest of the group, and was moving very quickly.

    ¡°Ahhhhh, I¡¯m Sorry Bro, PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEE!!!!!!!......Eh?¡±

    Oh, it was just Aaron, I had designed a special program for him within the dimension. Heh, I wonder if he was screaming like that the entire time¡­..I¡¯ll have to check the visual record spells I placed in there later, it could make excellent blackmail material¡­..My thoughts were cut off as two figures slammed into me, one considerably smaller than the other.

    ¡°Big Bro, it¡¯s nice to see you again!¡±

    ¡°That was the best training experience I¡¯ve ever had! Marry me!¡±

    Ah, it was Adrian and Raina¡­¡­..WAIT, have I just been proposed to?

    ¡°.....Raina, what did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Marry me, you¡¯re the only person who¡¯s had the same, no a greater fixation on training than me, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting you or the training methods go!¡±

    Basically she wants to marry me for my training methods¡­.well, it¡¯s not the worse reason a woman has wanted to marry me for, but¡­..

    ¡°Raina¡­¡­..I¡¯m only seven years old!!! And so, I must REFUSE!!!!¡±

    I tried to push Raina away, but she just held me tighter. How strong was she!? I was now Star rank in both mana and ki, combined with my Berserker body, I should have an incredible amount of strength, yet I couldn¡¯t budge Raina¡¯s arms¡­..maybe  if I didn¡¯t have the gravity rings on? But my hands can¡¯t reach each other to take them off right now¡­... Raina rubbed her face against my ears and felt a strong urge to stop struggling.

    ¡°You¡¯re an immortal, you¡¯re not seven, you¡¯re far older than me!¡±

    I started wiggling my fingers, trying to move the rings off as I responded to her rebuttal of my refusal.

    ¡°If we¡¯re thinking in those terms, then I would be a cradle robber! A more than just reason to REFUSE!¡±

    Why did I have Arvid make sure these rings were such a good fit? Ah! One is starting to come loose!

    ¡°I like having someone a bit older than me, they can handle more training!¡±

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    Where is her logic coming from!?? One ring slipped off, but I was still unable to budged Raina off.

    ¡°I¡¯m far more than just a ¡®bit¡¯ older! Anyway, in this worlds eyes, you would still be seen as a weirdo marrying a seven year-old!¡±

    I managed to get another two rings off, but when I pushed at Raina¡¯s arms, there was still no movement¡­..

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what people will think of me, I won¡¯t let go of the perfect training partner and training methods!¡±

    Another two rings came off, why did I have so many on again!? Ah, I managed to move them a tiny bit, but it¡¯s still not enough!

    ¡°Why are you so fixated on marrying me, you¡¯ll still have a partner and training methods!¡±

    Two more rings off, and I budged the entrapping arms a little farther away.

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise I made to my parents three years ago, that if I didn¡¯t find a partner on my own in fifteen years, I would marry someone of their choosing!¡±

    ¡­..Raina¡¯s parents could actually force her into a promise¡­...SCARY!!! They sound like they¡¯re on the same level as my own parents!

    ¡°T-that means you still have twelve years left! You still have plenty of time to find someone else!¡±

    By now I had gotten four more rings off and was slowly but steadily pushing her arms away.

    ¡°I won¡¯t find anyone as interesting as you!¡±

    Guh, I give up!

    ¡°Alright! in twelve years, if you still haven¡¯t found anyone AND if I don¡¯t look like a seven year old, I¡¯ll marry you, but ONLY THEN!¡±

    Even if both of those conditions are somehow met, I¡¯ll still be able to run away!

    ¡°I accept, and don¡¯t even think about escaping!¡±

    ¡°Boss¡­..I suggest you start saving money up for a ring¡­.¡±

    Why do I always attract the strange ones¡­¡­An amused voice rang out from behind me.

    ¡°Ahem, now that this interesting matter has been settled, we should get to the students to the village where they can rest safely.¡±

    Zale, you were just watching the whole time!? Why didn¡¯t you help me¡­¡­.That¡¯s it! Somehow, in these twelve years, I¡¯ll turn Raina¡¯s attention on you! I smiled sweetly at Zale.

    Zale¡¯s point of view:

    Felix¡¯s mouth twisted into a familiar sweet smile, but for some reason I felt like I had just been targeted by a predator¡­...I shook the troubling thought away, i-it was probably just my imagination¡­..

    ¡°What a brilliant idea, Uncle, yes, I¡¯ll get everyone moving, while I do that, you should talk to Raina¡­.about how you¡¯re going to manage the training in Mistwood~ Oh, it feels like you¡¯ve reached Void level, congratulations~¡±

    I frowned, I was actually very excited about reaching Void level, but¡­..

    ¡°......Aren¡¯t you going lead the training?¡±

    Felix shook his head, his golden ears twitching happily.

    ¡°Ne~ I have something far more interesting to do!¡±

    Apprehension filled my heart, he couldn¡¯t be planning¡­..

    ¡°What is this ¡®interesting¡¯ thing you¡¯re talking about¡­..¡±

    Felix¡¯s tail was now twitching cheerfully as well.

    ¡°Ah, obviously I¡¯m going to check out what¡¯s in the center of the forest!¡±

    Yep, he was. I grabbed Felix¡¯s shoulders and shook him.

    ¡°The four kings together at VOID level couldn¡¯t get to the forest, there¡¯s no way you who is at¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...What the! How did you rise two levels in one month!!?? NO, actually, i Don¡¯t want to know, even at Star level, you can¡¯t handle the level of monsters even somewhat close to the center!!¡±

    Felix snorted and slapped my hands off, managing to do so easily despite the fact I had Void level strength now¡­..

    ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot, I¡¯m not planning to fight the magical creatures¡­..Yet. I¡¯m going to sneak in, my stealth skills are beyond comparison!¡±

    ¡­..Well, he could probably manage that¡­..I turned to Raina.

    ¡°So, what do you want to do, and how can I help you?¡±

    Felix¡¯s Point of View:

    Awwww, I wanted Zale to argue with me more, I had so many interesting arguments¡­...Oh well, I turned to Adrian, who had stood hesitantly to the side ever since hugging me.

    ¡°Adrian, go tell everyone that we¡¯re traveling a few miles to your home.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why do I have to do it?¡±

    ¡°You need to appear to have some power if you want to succeed in the bully role, and I want to see how far your new acting skills reach.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­.¡±

    Adrian walked a few steps away from me, and I felt his aura change. He clapped his hands, using a spell to make them loud enough to catch everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Ahem, all right everyone, please grab your bags and head this way, our destination, my home, is only a few miles away, and then you can all rest!¡±

    Good, good, a gracious noble host, a proper attitude when the crowd he was addressing had several royals in it¡­¡­.Hmmm, those two toys should have woken up by now as well¡­.Eh, I trust Raina to polish them well~

    With everyone distracted with getting ready, I walked up to Adrian.

    ¡°Hmmm, so far it looks like you¡¯ll do fine. Let¡¯s plan out what¡¯s going to happen when we meet the stuck-up Lord and Lady Redsword.¡±

    Adrian turned and grabbed my shoulders.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening!¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­.

    A few miles away in a small home¡­.

    Adrianne suddenly froze as she was just about to put lunch on the table in front of her husband, Seph. She turned her head to stare at the front door.

    ¡°Dear¡­...I have a feeling we¡¯ll be seeing our children soon¡­.¡±

    Seph turned to look in the same direction as his wife.

    ¡°I do believe you¡¯re right Adri¡­..¡±

    They looked at each other and smiled. They spoke at the same time.

    ¡°Sounds like a good welcome home story opportunity.¡±

    They bolted out of the house.

 Chapter 35: Blackmail Material~

    I could feel the familiar hums and vibrations of the village through the bottoms of my feet grow stronger as we neared the village. Suddenly, I felt two Very familiar vibrations shoot away from the village and the blood drained from my face. I turned to Adrian, who was walking in front of me, pretending to lead the whole group while I carried A LOT of luggage on my back, or more accurately, my wings. the bags were mine, Adrian¡¯s, and the three royals, who were walking next to Adrian. I grabbed his shoulder and leaned forward so I could whisper in his ear.

    ¡°My parents are coming, you need to get everyone to pick up the pace while I throw them I distraction.¡±

    I slipped away from him and darted through the crowd of students, where was he¡­¡­..Ah! there he is! As soon as I got close, Aaron started running away from me, but it was too late, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the front of the line. Hiding behind the front of now running students, I waited until my parents were much closer then heaved Aaron up with one arm and threw him as far as I could away from the road.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!¡±

    Ignoring Aaron¡¯s screams, I turned my attention to my parents¡­¡­..Yes! They had changed course! Our running group passed by my crazy parents and soon passed through the village to the big sturdy doors of the Redsword Mansion. We flowed through the doors and they shut firmly behind us. I gave a relieved sigh.

    Lord Redsword¡¯s point of view:

    A servant rushed into the study where my wife and I were discussing the possible marriage aspects of our disappointing heir.

    ¡°As one of the higher nobles, we are in the running for a match with the first princess, but I fear Adrian is too lacking in the aspects of a noble to make the match, despite the fact he got both of our fine looks¡­..what do you want!?¡±

    The servant panted for breath.

    ¡°The¡­..young¡­.master¡­.is here¡­..¡±

    I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°He should not be home from school so soon, did the little weakling get kicked out.¡±

    It still burned at me that his blind older brother had ranked highest in the Testing group, but the boy did have Redsword blood and a year longer than most other noble children to reach that level naturally. Beating Adrian had cooled my anger. The blind creature probably wouldn¡¯t rise any farther than what level his blood could take him to¡­ The servant rubbed his hands nervously.

    ¡°N-no sir, he¡¯s here with his entire school.¡±

    I barely managed to hide my surprised expression. The boy had brought his school here? What in the world was going on!? If I remember correctly, there were three royals currently attending I stood up from my chair and my wife followed my example.

    ¡°Then we should naturally greet them.¡±

    We hurried out of the study. Our very large entrance hall was packed with people. My son stood at the front of the crowd, along with who I recognized as three members of the royals families. The blind abomination, I noticed, was standing just behind the group, and I was pleased to see he was burdened by a large number of bags. It seems the failure has become a gopher, how fitting¡­.but something seemed very different about him¡­..were those cat ears?I walked down the wide staircase and smiled cooly at my son.

    ¡°Adrian, we did not expect you to be home so soon¡­.and with so many guests as well.¡±

    I turned my head to the three young royals and nodded graciously at them, my wife gave a small curtsy and smiled smoothly at them as she spoke with the perfection of an excellent hostess.

    ¡°Ah, your highnesses, it is a pleasure to have you grace our lovely home. I hope you enjoy your stay here for however you stay here.¡±

    Aaron bowed slightly at me in greeting and the royals nodded their head slightly in acknowledgment.

    ¡°Father, I am sure you are puzzled as to why our whole school is here without warning, but we are all tired from the long travel and I suggest we find a place for our guests to rest before we explain.¡±

    Amazing, his conduct is perfect¡­.

    ¡°Of course son, though it may take awhile for the servants to clean out all of our spare rooms, they haven¡¯t been used in quite some time...¡±

    The Redsword manor actually had an amazing number of bedrooms. It had actually first been built in order to house the many troops gathered in past attempts to conquer Mistwood forest. but it had been a while since the last attempt, so all of the rooms had been closed and left alone, gathering dust and grime. Adrian waved his hand at the blind abomination dismissively...what was all of those gold feathers on the things back...a magical beast body?

    ¡°Creature can take care of it. While he¡¯s useless at most things, he Is excellent at menial tasks...Go on Creature¡±

    Adrian sneered at the hunched figure and the bag ladened boy scurried away¡­..was that a tail? Adrian smirked at his receding figure..

    ¡°I punished him quite thoroughly at school for being so rude to you at the testing, Father, he knows his proper place now~¡±

    Oho, my son had suddenly become an excellent noble¡­..and that disgrace of a son had actually turned out to be useful like Seph suggested at his birth, the child seemed to have the excellent making of a lowly servant for my son...I smiled proudly at my son.

    ¡°It seems you have done very well in school, Adrian, well, I suppose the servants can at least find a place for everyone to rest while your Creature cleans, Adrian, and¡­..whoever the representative of Dagda is, please come to my study so we can discuss your unexpected appearance.¡±

    A beautiful blue-haired woman stepped forward and nodded. I turned and moved back up the stairs, servants gathering around the crowd of people to lead them to places to sit. Striding to my study, I held the door open for my wife, Adrian, and the beautiful woman. With all of them inside, I firmly shut the door and walked to my desk, settling down in the big chair sent behind it. I stared at the woman.

    ¡°Well, can you explain why you¡¯ve come here without any prior notice?¡±

    A happy smile flitted onto her face.

    ¡°We¡¯ve decided to do a special training session in Mistwood forest to prepare the students for the school ranking tournament!¡±

    Her face was radiant, and really should have been invoking a feeling of admiration, but¡­¡­.for some reason all I felt was a cold shiver of fear. I narrowed my eyes at the woman.

    ¡°Is that really all you¡¯re doing?¡±

    The woman tilted her head to the side in confusion.

    ¡°What else could we ever possibly want to do?¡±

    ¡­¡­.Another shiver, but I didn¡¯t sense any lie in her words, and as a noble, my lie detecting skills were polished to a level of complete mastery as a matter of course. (Author: or maybe not buddy~) I sighed and leaned back in my seat.

    ¡°Even if that¡¯s all your doing, training children in Mistwood forest is dangerous on it¡¯s own, and there are several important figures included in your group. I want there to be an understanding that no matter what happens in the forest, the Redsword house will not be held responsible.¡±

    The woman snorted.

    ¡°We teachers can handle any difficult problems in our way, and we won¡¯t be going too deep into the forest, just where the high level middle rank beasts and low level high rank beasts tend to appear.¡±

    I choked on thin air, and I felt my eyes bugged out. I leaned forward and hissed at the woman.

    ¡°Are you insane!!! You would be putting members of the royal families, heirs of high nobles and my only heir in danger!!!¡±

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    The woman leaned forward until she was mere inches from my red face and stared coolly into my eyes.

    ¡°Training is worth any danger, anyhow, Redsword house will not be implicated in anyway, so I don¡¯t see how you have any right to stop my lovely training session!¡±

    ¡­...I only understood a small part of that argument¡­¡­

    ¡°I want it written on paper as an oath, I don¡¯t there to be any chances for trouble of misunderstandings¡­¡±

    Raina pulled a scroll from out of her travel bag.

    ¡°The oath has already been prepared and signed by myself.¡±

    I took the scroll and opened it, reading through the oath.

    I, Raina Obsessie Sunder, on the behalf of the Dagda middle rank school, swear an oath to hold the line of Redsword nobles free of responsibility of any harm or incident that may befall my students in their time of training in Mistwood forest.

    ¡­...For some reason the handwriting looks familiar¡­...it makes me feel irritated for some reason¡­¡­.but the oath seemed fine, no loop-holes anywhere, and there was no sign of mana except for the signature used to verify the document¡­¡­.I rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into a drawer of my desk for safe-keeping.

    ¡°Well then, Adrian, long do you think it¡¯ll take your Creature to clean all of the rooms.¡±

    My son gave an elegant shrug.

    ¡°Knowing him, he¡¯ll probably be done by now.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°That would require inhuman cleaning talents.¡±

    My son smiled.

    ¡°I did say he was practically born to it.¡±

    ¡­¡­..

    Felix¡¯s Point of View:

    I sneezed, causing a chunk of not yet cleaned up dust to billow up into the air. I rubbed my nose as I monitored the cleaning spell that was sweeping through the rooms at a rapid speed, it should only take a few more minutes to clean everything up.

    ¡°......when did he come up with the nickname Creature?.......It was a good touch, I¡¯m disappointed I didn¡¯t think of it¡­¡­.well, at least I know the acting lessons paid off, Adrian was brilliant!¡±

    Misty squeezed my arm with her metal bands.

    -What I want to know is when I¡±LL be able to do something interesting!!!-

    I gently ran a hand over her liquid metal form.

    ¡°Hmmmmm, we haven¡¯t really encountered any suitable situations yet¡­...but knowing myself, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be long!¡±

    I felt the cleaning spelll suddenly vanish from my preception.

    ¡°Eh? Where did my spell go¡­...¡±

    I moved through the various halls and rooms to where I had last felt the spell, in a corner of on of the larger rooms. A tapestry hung on the wall where I felt the final traces of my spell. I stood there for a long moment¡­.amd sighed.

    ¡°It¡¯s so cliche¡­...¡±

    Confused, Arvid spoke up at my muttered complaint.

    ¡°.....but Boss, you had me make hidden passages at the school?¡±

    I slapped a palm against the heavy woven tapestry.

    ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t have you hide any of the entrances behind a a stupid tapestry!!!¡±

    There was a long moment of silence.

    ¡°Boss¡­¡­¡­.you¡¯re seriously upset about that?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am! Hidden passages shouldn¡¯t be so easily found, wall tapestries practically scream ¡®Something''s hidden behind me, come check it out!¡¯¡±

    I stomped a foot on the floor and heard a click. A stone door swung open, pushing the tapestry away, and my cleaning spell shot out of it, and then contiued it¡¯s crusade against cobwebs and dust bunnies.

    ¡°Tch, they have a floor lever installed to open the door as well, those things are terrible at sensing pressure, the stone I stomped isn¡¯t even the one that was supposed to be pressed! So terrible¡­...At least they used some kind of material that blocks magic¡­..¡±

    Misty used a metal strand to poke my head.

    -Who cares how terrible it is, there still might be something interesting in there, let¡¯s go check it out!-

    Grumbling, I stepped into the passageway and the door swung shut behind me, once again blocking my connection with the cleaning spell. The passage was very narrow and only led in one direction. My echoing steps on the stone floor made it easy to feel out the passage. It led to an opening in the floor which I promptly stepped through. Wind whipped my hair up as I fell dozens of meters downwards. I braced for impact, my legs bent and grinned, now This was fun. I landed in an unexpected fluffy pile of of high quality silk and cotton, which served to soften my fall greatly. I dug myself out of the pile of what I realised wasn¡¯t just cloth, but frilly dresses, and let my senses explore the area around me. A smile began to break across my face as I took in the rows and rows of frilly dresses of all different sizes and styles.

    ¡°I smell blackmail material! Everyone, help me find a diary, there has got to be one in there!¡±

    I began to dart through the rows of dresses, searching every nook and cranny.

    -.....Arvid! ignore him, get all of the dresses into a special ring, this is great material to use to dress Master up in!-

    I froze mid-search at Misty¡¯s words.

    ¡°Arvid, don¡¯t listen to her!¡±

    Misty swirled up to my throat, forming a sharp blade that pressed into my throat.

    -This is my revenge for your crazy training! Arvid, do it!-

    I felt the mass of dresses vanish from the room.

    ¡°Sorry Boss¡­¡­..but I want to get revenge as well¡­¡­.but hey, I found the diary you were looking for!¡±

    ¡­¡­..I held my hand out with reluctance, knowing I was being bribed to forget the incident¡­¡­.and a small, well-worn journal dropped into my waiting hand. The pages crackled with age as I opened it, and began to run the tips of my fingers across the first page.

    Oh journal, as a Redsword Lord, I know it is improper from me to have such a habit, but I just can¡¯t seem to stay away from dresses, makeup, jewelry, and all things feminine. Thus, I have created this hidden room, my wonderful paradise where I can indulge my crossdressing habit without worry of ridicule¡­..You, dear journal, are now the only one who knows my disreputable secret, but I know you won¡¯t be able to tell any tales as I have made sure to hide you very well.

    An evil smile broke across my face, I personally didn¡¯t really care what kind of hobbies a person had, in fact, I was of the opinion the weirder the better, but I have found that most nobles in any world are not so¡­¡­.understanding.

    ¡°Hehehe, perfect material to shame the Redsword house even further¡­..Too bad this guy didn¡¯t put his name anywhere¡­¡­.I wonder who it belongs to?¡±

    In a distant corner of the Redsword house only ever visited by servants, a sixty year-old looking man who was actually MUCH older, suddenly sneezed, and looked up from the trending fashion paper  he was reading. His eyes peered around the room, surprisingly sharp and on closer inspection, his somewhat frail appearing body radiated with strength.

    ¡°Hrmph, why did I suddenly get a bad feeling?¡±

    He looked around for another long moment, and then shrugged.

    ¡°Eh, it isn¡¯t my problem, I retired just so I could avoid such things and focus on what really mattered.¡±

    He turned his attention back to the fashion paper.

 Chapter 36: I Get Interrogated......

    After an interesting climb out of the hidden room ninja style~ (there had been a ladder, but I opted not to use it) I gathered up my heavy bundle of bags and went to find Adrian. I didn¡¯t get far before I found Adrian and everyone else heading in my direction. Hmmm, he must have guessed that I would finish my job quickly. I immediately slumped my head and shoulders in a defeated and tired manner. I moved slowly to Adrian.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ve cleaned all of the r-rooms sir¡­...¡±

    I bent even lower as I addressed Adrian, a boot suddenly collided with my ribs, but I barely felt it because of my sturdy body. The Lord Redsword was the one who had kicked me.

    ¡°You address me first, Creature, and then my son. Hmph, trash like you must be disciplined at every opportunity.¡±

    Hold it in...Hold it in Felix, it would be over too soon if you just rip him to shreds before utterly humiliating him, Deep breaths¡­¡­¡­.Haaaaaaaaa¡­¡­¡­¡­..I groveled in front of the abhorrent Lord.

    ¡°S-sorry my Lord, I-I will remember to do better next time¡­...¡±

    I took a few submissive steps back, taking the Redsword Lord out of a easily reachable range of attack¡­...for his own safety. Man, usually I was better at controlling myself, but ever since I¡¯d learned about what he did to Adrian, all I wanted to do was rip his ¡®Lordship¡¯ and her ¡®Ladyship¡¯ into shreds¡­..

    Lord Deathwish swept past me with a derisive swipe and moved towards the rooms, calling out for everyone to follow him. As soon as I had unloaded all the bags I was held responsible for in the appropriate rooms, his Lordship caught my arm in a firm grip, stopping me from heading to a room of my own.

    ¡°You do not have the station to stay in my house, you will sleep in the village with your¡­.parents.¡±

    Yeah right, I wasn¡¯t planning to visit my parents until they calmed down from the excitement of their children''s early return, which by my estimate, would take about three or four days. Oh well, I can always just sleep in the forest¡­¡­..wasn¡¯t there some reason I didn¡¯t want to go to sleep?.......Eh, if I can¡¯t remember, it was probably not important¡­..or too dreadful to remember¡­..I left the mansion under the eyes of the Redswords in a properly lowly and pitiful manner, then as soon as I was out of sight, I sprinted towards the forest. No way was I taking a chance of the monsters catching me, using Aaron as a distraction only worked once every incidence.

    I felt the forest swallow me in it¡¯s warm embrace as I darted into the trees. It was a familiar feeling that any forest gave me, my shoulders instinctively relaxed, but I continued to move into the forest at a quick pace, I couldn¡¯t pick a spot too close to the forest, or else I would risk being found by my parents. I finally slowed when I entered the middle rank magical beast area, and darted up into one of the large trees. Moving high enough up the tree that no one would be able to see me from the ground, I found two sturdy branches on roughly the same level and strung up a cloth hammock I had made during my training run to brush up my concentration by doing two things at once.

    Settling into the hammock, I sighed as the soft rocking of the hammock soothed my tortured and tired body to sleep.

    Void¡¯s point of view:

    I sat on Papa¡¯s chest, looking at his peaceful face for a long moment, then turned to the metal band and foreband that were my friends Misty and Arvid.

    -To fall asleep so easily.......Did he forget about my next growth?-

    Misty swirled slightly around Papa¡¯s arm.

    -Yep, he didn¡¯t want to deal with it, so he totally forgot about it¡­...we¡¯ll have to keep an eye out for this in the future, such a habit could be troublesome¡­¡­.-

    ¡°Yeah, for an immortal, Boss sure is forgetful¡­.or maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s immortal that he forgets so easily? Too many memories?¡±

    At Arvid¡¯s words, I turned my head to look at Papa¡¯s face again, despite the fact that sleep had relaxed his face, he still gave off a mischievous air, yet there were also one or two tired lines around the corners of Papa¡¯s eyes that actually made him look older than his current youthful appearance. I gave a soft sigh and laid my head on Papa¡¯s chest.

    -I think you may be right, Arvid¡­..I also think we haven¡¯t seen all of the real Papa, I think we caught a glimpse when he got so angry about what Adrian¡¯s parents did to him¡­...but most of the time Papa is just fun and focused on playing with people¡­..-

    Misty stroked my head with a soft metal strand.

    -I get the feeling that master doesn¡¯t even realize he¡¯s doing this, some people get so good at lying and illusions that they don¡¯t even realize when they¡¯re doing it to themselves, and master is the best trickster I¡¯ve ever met¡­...-

    I gave a small nod, pressing my chin into Papa¡¯s chest.

    -Then we¡¯ll just have to work on digging out the real Papa!-

    ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s the right attitude kid, now, onto more merry topics, what are you going to do to Boss?¡±

    I turned my head to look at Arvid, who had materialized on one of the branches Papa used to set up his hammock thingy.

    -Mh, I was thinking the ability to change size, I¡¯m getting tired of being small all the time, but I don¡¯t want it to be permanent because I like laying on Papa¡¯s shoulders¡­..-

    A wide grin broke across Arvid¡¯s face.

    ¡°And it would erase one of the excuses Boss is using to stop from marrying that crazy Raina lady~¡±

    I blinked at him innocently.

    -I think she¡¯s a good match for Papa in intensity! I would like to have an interesting Mama!-

    Arvid stared at me for a long moment, then patted my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand your thought process, but I have a feeling you¡¯ve picked up Boss¡¯s deviousness.¡±

    I blinked sleepily at him, the pull of my next growth¡­..no...evolution drawing me into sleep. Why is my thought process wierd?

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    Felix¡¯s Point of View.

    I-I CAN¡±T BREATHE!!!

    I woke to an Extremely Heavy weight pressing down on my chest, I seized the heavy thing and with much difficulty, tossed it out of my hammock. I sighed, and settled back into my hammock, intending to go back to sleep¡­¡­..had my hammock shrunk? For some reason it felt a lot smaller than when I first fell asleep¡­¡­..Heavy wings beats interrupted my puzzled thoughts, and made my hammock swing wildly.

    -Papa! Why did you throw me out so suddenly!-

    ¡­¡­...It couldn¡¯t be¡­¡­.

    ¡°.......Void?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    I suddenly became aware that my body was much bigger than it used to be¡­¡­¡­.and stark naked!

    ¡°Nonononononononono, I don¡¯t want to get married, shrink! shrink! shrink! shrink!¡±

    Surprisingly¡­...I shrunk! I sighed with relief as I returned to my natural child size¡­¡­then grabbed Void out of the air, he was also back to his original size.

    ¡°No one will speak of this, Void, you will not change shape unless there are dire circumstances, Raina is brilliant at figuring things out that she is interested in! I don¡¯t want to get married!¡±

    I felt Void nod frantically, giving a short wheeze of air. I let him go.

    ¡°Boss¡­¡­¡­..why are you so set against getting married?¡±

    I held out a hand.

    ¡°Arvid, please give me some clothes.¡±

    There was an awkward stretch of silence.

    ¡°........nice try, no answer, no clothes!¡±

    Tch¡­¡­

    ¡°I-I prefer women who are closer to my age!¡±

    ¡­...Silence.

    ¡°.......Boss, you like old grandmas!!!???¡±

    My face flushed, people always say that!

    ¡°No!!!! I don¡¯t mean appearance wise, just¡­..experience wise, I prefer Young-looking mature woman who have had at least a few thousand years of experience behind them¡±

    Misty swirled on my arm.

    -Hehe, so you¡¯re a picky one, master, that¡¯s it, neh?-

    My face was burning, I held a hand out.

    ¡°Clothes!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­..I suppose you did answer the question¡­..here you go Boss!¡±

    A pile of suspiciously frilly clothes dropped onto my arm¡­...I promptly burned them.

    Misty poked me.

    -Awwww, I spent all night altering that dress to fit you¡­¡­.-

    ¡°I do not crossdress when there is not a reason to do so! I¡¯m going to check out the center of the forest, so I need clothes that blend in and are easy to move in!¡±

    -But it suits you so well¡­¡­.-

    Yes it did¡­..but that¡¯s not a reason to wear it all the time!

    I held out my arm again.

    ¡°Arvid?¡±

    Proper stealth clothes dropped onto my arm, Formfitting but flexible leggings and longsleeved tunic, which I assumed Arvid had properly colored a dark mix of browns and green. Hopping out of the tree, I darted to the edge of the forest and waited, I had to guide the students to their training spot before having my fun adventure¡­¡­.It took thirty minutes for the students to arrive, Raina at the head of their group. Hmmmm, Raina¡¯s steps sounded heavier than usual, as though she was carrying a body¡­¡­.Ah! That must be Aaron! I remained hidden in the edge of the forest, no way of knowing if the reality-defying parents could be nearby¡­...Raina marched straight into the forest, not even pausing to look for me, while everyone else hesitantly followed her after a long look at the forest. Following the group for another ten minutes as they trekked into the forest without revealing myself, I then determined it was safe enough from my parents to reveal myself, I silently slid up next to Raina. She continued walking, not verbally acknowledging me, but I felt her dip her head slightly in greeting.

    It took six hours hours to get the students to the area I picked because they had no idea how to move through the forest, which caused us to move just a bit faster than a snail''s pace¡­..Aaron woke up halfway through the arduously slow hike, and I promptly slapped several bands onto his wrists that increase gravity, heat, and the all-important complete control band that would force Aaron¡¯s body to train in the very rigorous training regime I had crafted for him! As soon as he realized the bands were on his arms, I could feel Aaron staring at me in horror, I waved happily at him as his body shot away from the group at top speed.

    Ehehehe, I love revenge training!

    As soon as we reached the place I had selected for the training area, I turned and bowed slightly to Raina.

    ¡°I leave them in your capable hands.¡±

    Then I shot away from the group, darting up into the trees and then going straight for the center of the forest.

    YAAAAYYYYYY!!! Fun Stuff Here I come!!!

    Once I reached the area where the top high rank beasts stayed, I slowed down, now was a time to focus on stealth, not speed. I leapt from branch to branch, my bare feet placed careful in order to not make any sound. As I gradually passed the high rank area, I sensed beasts below me beyond the level of high rank, it sent my mind spinning, could there be a rank in this world above the human high rank?.....Or were these all just extraordinary magical beasts whose high rank levels were higher than normal magical beasts? Either option would be exciting¡­..The further I went, the higher in strength I felt in the magical beasts that occasionally passed below me. I held my breath in excitement, so many fun toys! I got so excited, in fact, that I am ashamed to admit¡­¡­..I lost my concentration and awareness of my surroundings¡­¡­..and suddenly a blade was being pressed against my neck.

    ¡°What are you doing in my people''s territory?¡±

 Ranks

    Sorry there hasn''t been any updates for a while, my computer screen broke.... [th_009_v2.gif]

    So I had to order a replacement, which took a while.....but now it''s fixed! So I should be getting another chapter out soon.

    I received a request for this so...here''s a refresher for the rankings!

    <hr />

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Humans-

    Low rank:  Sand, Pebble, Rock, Boulder, Mountain

    Middle rank:  Breeze, Wind, Gale, Storm, Hurricane

    High rank: Comet, Meteor, Star, Sun, and Void

    Magical beasts-

    low rank: low, medium, high

    middle rank: -same

    high rank: -same

 Chapter 37: Elves..........That Are Ninjas!?

    ¡°What are you doing in my people''s territory?¡±

    I swallowed carefully against the sharp blade then leaned slightly away from it¡­.that smell¡­.a woman?

    ¡°Well? Explain yourself, we have a treaty with the four kings guaranteeing that no one will come this far into the forest.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at that, I hadn¡¯t ever heard anything about a treaty¡­...but if four Void ranked beings felt the need to form a treaty with these people instead of just conquering them¡­.a shiver ran down my back. I slowly raised my hands and started to gather tears in my eyes.

    ¡°I-I haven¡¯t heard about a treaty, Miss, b-but  m-my school is doing a training session in the forest and I got separated from the group. I¡¯m blind, you see, so I tend to get lost easily.¡±

    I let big fat tears start to roll down my cheeks and slowly began to turn, the mysterious woman let me move, drawing her blade back and moving a few steps away.

    ¡°Your eyes¡­...it really does seem like you¡¯re blind, you must the devil''s luck to make it this far into the forest without being killed¡­¡­.Hmmm, you haven¡¯t heard anything about a treaty? ¡±

    I shook my head, giving a loud sniff.

    ¡°No Miss, there hasn¡¯t been any announcement about a treaty, of course I¡¯m only seven years old so it could have been announced and I just don¡¯t know about it¡­..¡±

    Yeah right, I have pride in my information gathering abilities, there¡¯s no way something like that would slip by me!

    ¡°No¡­¡­.there was a specific clause in the agreement that ensured that the people be taught not to enter this deep into the forest, because of the treaty, at a very young age¡­..Those guys must have gone back on their word¡­...tch, we shouldn¡¯t have let those arrogant weaklings live¡­..¡±

    Oho, she¡¯s calling void level berserkers weaklings! This is getting more interesting by the minute!

    ¡°Ne~ Miss, what are you going to do with me?¡±

    Please, please take me to your village!

    ¡°Hmmmm, usually I would just take you back to your group, but it¡¯s already getting dark and the more troublesome beasties come out a night¡­...It would be hard to deal with them with baggage to keep safe¡­..Well, since you can¡¯t see, I guess there¡¯s no harm in letting you stay the night in the village, you¡¯ll be going back in the morning though, okay?¡±

    I was called baggage¡­¡­.But still! I get to go whoohoo!

    The strange lady grabbed and swung me onto her back and started to dart through the trees. I settled my head on her shoulder and spoke quietly into her¡­¡­.pointed ear? She must be an elf¡­

    ¡°Ne~ Miss, you¡¯re moving really fast, you must be very strong, are you at Void level?¡±

    The woman snorted.

    ¡°I passed the Void level years ago kid, really, the lower realms truly are weak.¡±

    Ooooooooh, I getting even more excited!

    ¡°So Miss there are levels above Void? And what do you mean, lower realms?¡±

    The woman suddenly skidded to a stop on one of the branches.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for you to hear that, I just muttered it under my breath, how did you even hear that?¡±

    Whoops!

    ¡°Ah, because I¡¯m blind, my other senses have developed to compensate some.¡±

    The woman still didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°My people have excellent hearing, and I still said it soft enough for one of them to not be able to hear it!¡±

    Basically, she wasn¡¯t buying it¡­.now that I think about it, she hasn¡¯t made any comment about my appearance either¡­..

    ¡°It helps that I have two sets of ears too¡­.¡±

    The woman gave a slight jerk of surprise.

    ¡°You mean those cat ears aren¡¯t fake? and the tail and wings too? I thought for sure someone had just played a prank on the blind kid¡­.¡±

    My tail bopped her slightly on the head in reproach, luckily, she didn¡¯t  bring out the spikes.

    ¡°Nope! They¡¯re all real¡­¡­.¡±

    Guuuuu, I really hate that little parasite!

    ¡°Wow¡­...that must quite the story¡­.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost too painful to tell¡­¡­.guh, no good deeds go unpunished...¡±

    Not that my motives for saving Void were entirely pure¡­.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been pranked pretty badly by my student a couple of times, just imagining the effect being permanent¡­..*shudder*¡±

    We both fell silent after this remark, but there was a comfortable sense of camaraderie between us now¡­¡­Is this what all the people I¡¯ve pranked felt like when they met each other? Fufufufu it seems I¡¯ve been helping people make friends~

    After another thirty minutes of travel, the woman moving at a comfortable speed that out matched my own careful pace, the woman suddenly dropped from the tree onto the ground and ran a few more minutes until I felt the trees suddenly fall away into a huge clearing. The woman let me slide off her back, and I used the resulting thump of my bare feet against the earth to get a clear few of what was in the clearing. The half of clearing itself was full of strangely familiar obstacles, obviously a training ground, the other half was a large lake. In the air far above the training area I could feel a huge village suspended in the air by the trees circling the clearing. A grin wanted to spread across my face, but the lingering familiarity of the obstacle course obstructed it with a shiver of worry. Why was it so familiar?

    ¡°Serena! You¡¯re back early from patrol, ah! Who is this cute kid!?¡±

    I heard the woman, Serena, standing beside me slap her forehead.

    ¡°Misty, you are a graduated ninja and the mother of the prospective next chief of the village, can¡¯t you properly follow the ninja codes of secrecy and solidity for once!!!¡±

    Ninjas! Fufufufu, I have to get these guys as my allies somehow! Ninjas are awesome toys!

    ¡°Mou, Sis, I could never handle being the proper ice block you are, that¡¯s why I was never sent on any missions!¡±

    Serena¡¯s¡­..sister? bounced happily forward and crouched down in front of me.

    ¡°So who¡¯s this little guy? And why is he wearing a costume?¡±

    ¡­¡­.You know, you could actually ask me instead of acting like I can¡¯t hear you¡­¡­.And what¡¯s with these people thinking my wings and stuff are a costume!!???

    ¡°Ah, those are real, not fake, as for his name¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I forgot it?¡±

    No, you never asked for it!!!

    ¡°Sis¡­¡­.you didn¡¯t even ask, did you¡­¡­.and you were just haranguing me about not following the codes!¡±

    Hmmm, it seems she knows Serena quite well, as expected of a sister¡­.

    ¡°I do follow the codes, I just occasionally make mistakes, you on the other hand, don¡¯t even make an attempt to follow them! You even slack off on training! I mean look of those useless hunks of meat you have!!¡±

    Ooooh, sounds like sibling jealousy~ Serena¡¯s certainly didn¡¯t take up as much air as her sister¡¯s did¡­.

    ¡°Pah, you¡¯re just jealous! Anyway, Miss Code Follower, what is this kid even doing here?¡±

    By now, I could feel a group of people gathering around us, but for now they remained as just spectators.

    ¡°Ah, this kid is blind and says he got lost from his training group, it¡¯s going to be dark soon, which would make it a pain to take him back now, so I figured since he couldn¡¯t see, he wouldn¡¯t break rule number 47 about outsiders seeing the village, so he could stay the night and I could take him back in the morning!¡±

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    At this point, I felt a figure break from the crowd of people and approach the two women. The whiffs of scent I caught coming off from him indicated he was an old man, but his steps were steady and firm with no sign of weakness.

    ¡°I agree with you Serena, traveling at night alone with a child can be dangerous, and it¡¯s rare for us to have a simple visitor, fufufufu, besides, I¡¯d like to know how that little kid had bonded with one of the royal family of dragons at such a young age~¡±

    I stiffened slightly, crap, this old man was sharp! With this kind of guy, it was safest to be as honest as possible! I tugged Void out from under my hair.

    ¡°Aha, you mean this little parasite here mister?¡±

    The old man chuckled.

    ¡°Ohohoho, yes, though I¡¯ve never heard one of the royal families bonded refer to them as a parasite, you¡¯re quite an interesting one kid, I¡¯ve never seen one of the dragon royals with such unique traits developed either, and that is saying something when it come to the imperial family¡­..I have a feeling my father eccentric daughter would like you, you would be of legal age when her time limit to find a husband runs out.¡±

    Ahaha, this sounds Very familiar, I recognize the obstacles too, they¡¯re very similar to what Raina had back at school¡­¡­.A shiver ran down my back, b-best not to ask right now, or i might truly be trapped in a training arrangement¡­¡­.but that woman! She would have know I was checking out her home¡­..she must have not have mentioned this on purpose!

    ¡°I-I¡¯m just a seven years old mister¡­¡­..ah, um my name is Felix, what¡¯s your name mister?¡±

    Best option, changing the subject!

    ¡°Aha, how amusing, well, I¡¯ll play along kid, my name is Oakun, and I am the chief of this village~¡±

    Tch! He caught on...well, I didn¡¯t really do a good job of hiding it¡­.might as well fish for information.

    ¡°Ne~ Mister chief, why does everyone here feel so strong?¡±

    ¡°Oho kid, you¡¯ve got pretty good senses, unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you that, but maybe one day you¡¯ll figure it out on your own, you¡¯re quite strong yourself for a seven year old kid, not even any of our children reach Sun level at the age of seven, it usually takes them until they reach twelve or thirteen years¡­.¡±

    A few gasps ran through the crowd, and I stiffened for a moment at the old man¡¯s words, but then I relaxed and pouted.

    ¡°Eh, Mister, that¡¯s no fair, I was even wearing a ring that¡¯s supposed to suppress my cultivation level¡­¡­.how could you tell?¡±

    The old man waved his arm and the crowd began to disperse.

    ¡°Fufufu, that ring you have is quite good, but it doesn¡¯t hide the gathering of worldly energy that occurs around a cultivator about to enter Void level.¡±

    My ears perked up at that.

    ¡°Oooooh, I¡¯m going to enter Void level soon, Mister?¡±

    ¡°I do believe so, judging by the amount of energy you¡¯ve gathered, it should only take about two years~¡±

    I slumped slightly.

    ¡°Aaaaah, so I¡¯m going to have to wait another two years before I reach Void level? I¡¯m sure I can speed the process up, but still¡­..it¡¯s quite disheartening to hear¡­.¡±

    The old man bopped me on the head with his fist.

    ¡°Ow! That actually hurt!¡±

    He hit me again.

    ¡°What world have you been living in kid, it generally even takes my people a decade to enter Void rank, and we have enhanced cultivation speed, most of the humans in your lower realm take five times as much as that!¡±

    ¡°Yeah Boss, you can¡¯t keep breaking reality like this, I mean, you already broke through several ranks in just half a year because of your crazy training methods!¡±

    The old man froze as Arvid suddenly joined the conversation.

    ¡°Oho, you obtained a spiritual conscience kid, you must have trained at a pretty impressive place¡­..but w-what else did he just say?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve only been to school for about half a year? I started at comet level, and now I¡¯m Sun level~¡±

    The old man¡¯s heart suddenly began to beat faster and he grabbed my hands excitedly.

    ¡°You¡¯re Him, aren¡¯t you!¡±

    Ah? That¡¯s right, the elven clan is spaced across worlds like the dragon clan¡­.though they tended to not to spread as much thanks the occasional unfortunate transformations that occurred to them in other world¡­.like the shoe elves, or Santa¡¯s helpers¡­.or even the keebler elves¡­..poor guys, they have no choice but to act cheerful all the time¡­

    I let my natural evil grin appear on my face.

    ¡°Oho, Mister, so the elves tales of me have spread to this world¡­...but why do you sound so excited about it? Most of the elven clans don¡¯t care for me¡­.¡±

    Oakun snorted and slung an arm around my shoulders, guiding me towards a nearby rope ladder.

    ¡®Geh, those tree huggers, our clan doesn¡¯t get along with them very well, nature, trees, the well-being of the world, we don¡¯t care about any of that stupid stuff they care about, in this world, the only things elves care about are becoming the best ninjas we can! ¡­...Well, most of us, a few get side tracked, like Misty¡­.and my daughter only cares about the training part of our lifestyle¡­..but every clan has a few exceptions¡­.¡°

    My grin grew even wider as Oakun continued to talk, it sounds like I could get along with theses guys pretty well¡­...so long as they don¡¯t find out my connection to Raina, then I¡¯ll truly be trapped in a marriage¡­.We climbed up the ladder and Oakun guided me to his house, and showed me where I would be staying for the night. Then I got to join in the clan dinner.

    The clan dinner was held on the grounds, fires were not a good idea when your home was mainly a giant wooden treehouse. I sat leaned against a tree on the edge of the clearing with a plate of steaming cooked beast meat and greens that were absolutely delicious. I was chowing down happily when Serena walked over and sat next to me with her own plate of food.

    ¡°.....So, you weren¡¯t really lost, were you?¡±

    I shrugged.

    ¡°Eh, I was curious about what was in the center of the forest, but I wasn¡¯t lying about the part of the kings not announcing any treaty about your people and the forest, those guys were probably too embarrassed to admit they got beaten, especially when they were supposed to be the strongest people in this continent.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­..that does make sense...¡±

    ¡°Ummmm, why are are you petting my tail?¡±

    ¡°It looked soft and I wanted to touch it, it¡¯s even softer than it looks...¡±

    She kept petting my tail and Misty trailed over.

    ¡°Ah, Serena, with such a happy look on your face, that kids fur must be really soft, I¡¯ve been eyeing it for a while now¡­...Ooooh, this IS soft¡­..¡±

    N-not the ears!.....it feels too n...nice¡­¡­

    More women began to drift over and soon I was surrounded.

    Rea¡­.lly¡­...n¡­..n...nice¡­¡­..I¡­.hate¡­..th...that¡­...stupid¡­..ch¡­.chicken¡­..lizzzzardddd¡­.

 Chapter 38: Dreams

    I slumped limply onto a nicely padded cot in the room Oakun had given me for the night.

    ¡°I¡­...was finally able to escape¡­¡­.¡±

    Void rubbed his head against my cheek.

    -Poor Papa¡­...-

    ¡­.You¡¯re the reason I¡¯m even like this!!!!

    Whatever, I¡¯m just going to get some sleep¡­.

    ¡°EEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!!!! SPIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    I was jerked from a comfortable sleep by the shrill screams belonging to the voice I remember as Misty¡¯s¡­...hmmmm, now that I think of it, she has the same name as¡­¡­

    ¡°Ne~ Misty, this is your doing right?¡±

    My mischievous sword had been surprisingly silent since we were discovered by Serena¡­..that I could understand, but now that I think of it, I¡¯m surprised she hadn¡¯t spoken when Arvid made his comments yesterday to the old man and me¡­¡­

    -Hmph, such a silly thing should not have the same name as the magnificient me! I always duly punish those who dare to bear my name!-

    ¡°Ah, I see¡­..¡±

    I turned over and went back to sleep, according to my internal clock, there should still be a few hours of sleep left until the sun rose.

    ¡°Hey Felix!¡±

    I groaned and opened my eyes to see Fate¡¯s cheerful face.

    ¡°You know, even though this is a dream, you¡¯re still stealing my mental rest time¡­..¡±

    She pouted a little at my words.

    ¡°Puuuu, I just wanted to check in on you and tell you about the little tweak I made to your newest skill~¡±

    I stared at her expectant face for a long moment.

    ¡°Let me guess¡­... I can change genders?¡±

    Her shoulders slumped.

    ¡°Awwww, I hate it when you guess right¡­¡­.I like surprising you¡­..¡±

    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t make such uncreative changes¡­...¡±

    Her shoulders slumped even more and she slunk away, I had to suppress a grin, it was quite fun to tease a crybaby like Fate~

    ¡°Fufufu, don¡¯t be so depressed Fate, surely you¡¯ve gotten used to this from all the times you¡¯ve ¡®checked up¡¯ on me¡­..anything interesting going on that I might want to know?¡±

    Fate sniffed and turned to look at me with watery eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to tell you now¡­¡­..¡±

    Tch, so childish. I stared her down, and after a long few minutes, she ducked her head and muttered something.

    ¡°Haaaa? I didn¡¯t hear that~¡±

    She glared at me.

    ¡°One of those minor gods that think they rule the world has been messing around with some things ever since he felt you reincarnated there, you should have some interesting surprises for the school tournament! And I think I¡¯m going to make them even more interesting now!¡±

    I tilted my head in confusion.

    ¡°Ara? I don¡¯t remember hearing anything about minor gods being worshiped in this world¡­..¡±

    Fate pouted at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you immediately ignore that ¡®boring stuff¡¯ as you put it, and automatically forget anything you hear about it!¡±

    I nodded seriously in comprehension.

    ¡°Ahhh, that does sound like me, what was this boring stuff we were talking about?¡±

    Fate stared blankly at me.

    ¡°Nnnnn, you already forgot¡­¡­..well, let¡¯s put it this way, a force has meddled and created some extra-strong people that you¡¯ll encounter in the tournament!¡±

    I grinned.

    ¡°Ne~ Sounds like it¡¯ll be more fun than I first thought!¡±

    Fate gave a small smile.

    ¡°Yep! Make it even more interesting for me, ok?¡±

    I gave a small nod.

    ¡°Yep, I was already planning too~¡±

    Fate leaned back in her chair.

    ¡°Well then, I suppose I should let you get back to your peaceful sleep...¡±

    I smiled wryly at her.

    ¡°Please do¡­..¡±

    I felt my eyes close and I soon slipped away into peaceful darkness.

    Something was drawing me forward¡­¡­.it was warm and full of energy. My body floated forward without my control, through cold murkiness to the pleasant warmth, it glowed like a bright sun to my senses but all my eyes perceived was darkness. I curled around the warmth, letting it¡¯s heat push away the cold and the darkness had brought me. A voice quietly whispered to me.

    ¡°Oh, little one¡­¡­.when will you remember what you truly are?¡±

    I felt myself curl even tighter to the warmth as a gush of sadness flooded my soul. I responded to the whisper with one of my own.

    ¡°I don''t want to remember¡­¡­.but I will have eventually, won¡¯t I?¡±

    The warmth grew even larger, enveloping me entirely in it¡¯s warmth, almost like a hug.

    ¡°Yes, you will¡­¡­.but you still have a little more time to be free of it, as is your right, and even then, it will be a long time in coming until you actually have to fulfill your duty.¡±

    I felt myself nod and then gently uncurl, pushing myself away from the warmth and back into the icy black surrounding it.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to wake up¡­.¡±

    I jerked awake at those words, my senses bring in the feel of the unfamiliar room and bed.

    ¡°What in The World Was That!?¡±

    I felt Void poke his head up wearily from his spot on the bed.

    -Eh? Papa¡­.what are you talking about¡­¡­*Yawn* still sleepy¡­...-

    I shook my head silently in response, what in the world was that dream? It was so strange¡­...and yet the warmth had felt so familiar¡­...I shook my head again, this time to brush the thoughts away. It was just a weird dream, I had those pretty often, though this one is top of the list¡­.I slipped from the bed and began putting on my clothes. Void slowly climbed up my body to my shoulders, then promptly slung himself around my neck and went back to sleep. I imagined he kinda resembled a strange scarf made of scales, feathers, and fur¡­..I felt Oakun stick his head into my room.

    ¡°Oho? Felix, you¡¯re awake so late? I¡¯m surprised you slept through the ruckus Misty made earlier this morning, she kept yelling something about spiders¡­..that girl really is a strange one¡­.but we took the opportunity to get the village started on training early today~  It¡¯s a little late, but do you want to join in?¡±

    I grinned at him.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Sure~¡±

    The old man led me out of the house to one of the ladders and I happily slid down in, not bothering to climb down. My feet hit the ground pretty hard, but I still absorbed the impact fine. I paused to observe the training ninjas through my senses while the old man climbed down the ladder.

    The younger kids were  training on the less interesting parts of the obstacle and as the obstacle increased, the older the kids were, stopping at about age sixteen for the highest difficulty. All of the older adults were just meditating around the lake, only a few were supervising the kids.

    My study finished, I stepped lightly over to the very beginning of the course, time to see how far I could get!

    The first part of the obstacle course was fairly easy, it was a lot like the one Raina had set up at Dagda. When I entered the second area, I felt a bit of pressure weigh me down, though not nearly enough to inhibit me. The second area was just a little more interesting, involving a lot of climbing with moving hand holds, disabling traps, and dodging sharp flying blades and balancing on the tops on tiny metal poles while traversing a spike filled pit¡­..the pressure gradually grew as I moved forward, but I still passed the area easily. Finally, I reached the part of the course that the fifteen and sixteen kids were trying to pass.

    My next obstacle was quite a bit different. It was a tiny metal thread that stretched across a long stretch of thorny brambles that had winds spells that was generated randomly and caused the thread to swing wildly. As I stepped onto the thread, it immediately sunk under my weight, and I quickly stepped off. Hmmmm, it¡¯s seems this obstacle requires a body lightening technique as well as balance¡­.I hadn¡¯t used one of those in a while¡­...I preferred to rely on my body instead techniques, one is far less likely to be thwarted than the other¡­¡­and I enjoyed mighty experts gaping at my ability to do things that they had to use difficult techniques to accomplish¡­¡­..but in these cases, it was necessary. I reached smoothly into my ki core and began running ki through my body, giving it a slightly upward motion so my body would resist the pull of gravity. This time, when I stepped on the thread, it barely sank at all. The thin thread pressed into the pads of my feet, but not so tight that it would slice them. The wind that caused the thread to lurch around was irritating, but I had developed this body¡¯s sense of balance quite well so I crossed the thread fairly quickly and leapt lightly to the adjoining platform. The largest number of kids were stuck on on this stage, from what I could tell, they were having trouble traversing a set of suspended walls that were so far apart that only the tips of their fingers and toes could be used to brace themselves in between the walls and slowly scoot forward. I frowned, at the size of my current seven year old body, I had no hope of reaching the boards, but I couldn¡¯t use my new size changing ability because Oakun was probably Raina¡¯s father and if she found out about it, that would be the last nail in my coffin¡­..I clapped my hands together as an idea came to me. Since I was using techniques, I might as well show off!

    Focusing ki into the base of my feet, I lept over the group of kids, twisting as I was in mid-air, and lightly planting both of my feet on one of the boards. Now perpendicular to the ground, I walked easily to the other side of the wall and stepped easily onto the next platform. A burst of surprised exclamations burst from the group of kids behind me and I smirked as I examined the next obstacle.

    Oakun¡¯s Point of View:

    I tugged at my beard in amazement as Felix easily crossed to the hardest part of our training course, true, it was only setup to test technique at the moment so with his strength of level he would be able to easily pass the first two area, but the last area couldn¡¯t be passed by strength alone¡­.yet the kid still looked like he was just taking a walk in the park!

    A grin unconsciously began to grow on my face, fufufu, I¡¯ll have to have him teach me that technique he used to cross the walls, it seemed a bit different from the Shadow walk technique that all of the elders of the clan were given at the end of training¡­.the body lightening technique he used was quite high-class as well¡­¡­.as expected, he really is That Guy¡­..A flash of light from the very end of the course suddenly caught my eye, and turned to look. A small orb had appeared, glowing dimly. I tilted my head to the side in confusion, that had never happened before¡­...oh, wait, I think I remember something about it from the clan history¡­..ah, that¡¯s right, one of the clan geniuses angered the training courses spirit and that orb appeared, causing him to vanish¡­¡­.Hrmmmm, even if I wanted to, I wouldn¡¯t dare intervene, that consciousness that the ancestor created is way too powerful¡­..well, since it¡¯s him, I suppose he¡¯ll be fine, one way or another~........but it looks like I won¡¯t be learning those techniques anytime soon¡­..pity¡­.I turned my attention back to Felix as he continued to move forward. Really, what kind of training had he used to strengthen his body¡­.even a Void level user would have a lot trouble moving, but this guy doesn¡¯t even seem very affected!

    Felix¡¯s Point of View:

    The pressure was starting to actually inhibit my movements some, which made the harder parts of the course all the more interesting for me~ These guys had some really wonderful hidden traps in here, even with my experience in such matter, I was almost caught a few times¡­..I¡¯ll have to see if I can pry any clan secrets from Oakun¡­.Sadly, I eventually reached the end of the course¡­..and it had just been getting interesting¡­¡­.On the finally platform, there was a pedestal with an orb resting on it, I quirked my head in confusion. I don¡¯t remember sensing this when I first checked out the course¡­...my hand started to twitch, and my soul itched to touch the orb, I had a feeling that something fun was about to happen. I gave into my curiosities urgings and place my right hand on the orb. Pain ripped through my body as the orb rapidly pulled me into it¡¯s depths, breaking almost all of my bones along the way. I felt my body begin to shut down, tch, it still wasn¡¯t strong enough to resist this much damage¡­..I had wanted to be conscious to see what interesting place the orb was taking me, but it seems I still haven¡¯t overridden enough of this body''s automatic functions¡­..

    The last thing I heard before my mind forcibly shut off was Arvid saying¡­.

    ¡°Boss¡­...I think I¡¯m in love¡­...¡±

    ¡­¡­..Seriously!?

 Hiatus...

    I''m am sorry to announce that I am putting this story on hiatus. I''m sure you''ve noticed that I''ve really slowed down on writing chapters and at the rate I''m going, I might as well just stop for a bit. I''m really sorry, I''m just really busy right now... :itwhyit:

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Hopefully it''ll only be a month or two though!

 Fufufufu, I have returned!

    Hello everyone, I know it''s been a while, but I''ve finally escaped from the prison of Real Life! However, since I''m still on the run, I won''t be able to update chapters as often as I used to, but I can guarantee there will be an update at least once a week!

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Now, to the next chapter!

 Chapter 39: Bonding

    -In a clearing of the forest full of the collapsed bodies of young children-

    Raina was staring fixedly at the bare muscled chest of Zale, which was covered in various scars. Zale was looked down at her in confusion, he had just been changing out of his dirty and sweaty shirt for a new one when Raina had suddenly appeared in front of him, her eyes fixed on the bulging muscles of his stomach and chest. She started prodding at various muscles, circling around him like a wolf examining prey, she grabbed one of Zale¡¯s arms and began poking at it, gauging the development of his muscles. She kept muttering the whole time.

    ¡°The ratio of white and red muscles are quite strange, but the potential¡­..stamina and hardiness is pretty good but there¡¯s a lot of room for improvement¡­..still if this unique development were to be polished correctly¡­¡­..hehehehe~¡±

    Unnerved, Zale tried to pull away, but Raina easily stopped him, not showing even a hint of difficulty containing his Void level strength. Zale cleared his throat nervously, the woman was muttering about a lot of weird things he couldn¡¯t understand, red and white muscle? Wasn¡¯t muscle just...muscle? The strange look on her face wasn¡¯t making him feel better either...

    ¡°Uh...Ummmm, Miss Raina, what are you doing?¡±

    Raina glanced up briefly at his words, but then turned her attention back to Zale¡¯s muscles. Irritated at being ignored, Zale formed a spell on his fingertips and flicked Raina on the forehead. Her whole body stiffened, unable to move. Zale poked her again and she fell over, still stiff as a board. The only that could move was her eyes, they glared grumpily at Zale. He quickly pulled a clean shirt on and then smirked while crouched down in front of her face.

    ¡°Miss Raina, it is not polite to go around randomly poking and prodding other people''s bodies without their permission, I have gathered that you have an amazing amount of strength, but you don¡¯t seem to have a strong defense against binding magic, so let me warn you, I am an expert at binding magic, and I will not hesitate to use it against you, blink twice if you understand.¡±

    Raina deliberately blinked once, Zale frowned, what was so hard for her to understand. Pushing another little bit of mana out to his fingertip, he reached out and tapped Raina¡¯s mouth carefully removing the part of his spell that kept her mouth from moving. He tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow in a question.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Being polite is boring! Anything else besides training is boring too! I won¡¯t do it if it¡¯s not beneficial to training! Become my new training guinea pig!¡±

    Really, her fixation on training is way too absurd¡­...and there was something added on at the end about a guinea pig¡­..Zale rubbed his face wearily with his hand and gave a long sigh. He leaned back and stood up from his crouch, this woman was truly uncivilized, who in the world would willingly submit to whatever atrocities she could think up¡­.he began to turn around.

    ¡°I can make you three times stronger!¡±

    Zale froze and turned slowly back around, considering. If he was three times stronger, he could more easily fight Them¡­¡­

    ¡°How about this, every training session I let you put me through, you first have to a master a social grace to a level I¡¯m satisfied with.¡±

    Three times the strength is very tempting, but he wasn¡¯t going down without a fight! As an orphan, he had had to struggle to learn the proper etiquette so people would have to show him at least some respect! He wouldn¡¯t let anyone get away with looking down on etiquette!

    ¡°But social stuff is boring!¡±

    ¡°Ah, but you¡¯d do anything if it was for the sake of training, right?¡±

    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re right, I agree, let¡¯s start training!¡±

    Raina uselessly tried to struggle up from the ground, but her body was still unable to move. Zale waggled a finger at her.

    ¡°Ah-ah-ah, not so fast, I said you¡¯d have to master a social grace Before you can start a session of training me. I think we can start with please and thank you as the first lesson~

    Now, Raina, what do you think you need to say to get me to release you from this binding?¡±

    ¡°Please release the binding!¡±

    Zale smiled sweetly and snapped his fingers. Raina shot to her feet and grabbed Zale¡¯s arm.

    ¡°And thank you! Ok, we¡¯re done, now let¡¯s start training!¡±

    Zale sighed and seconds later, Raina was once again laying frozen on the ground. He stared down at her, a slight sinking feeling filling his heart. This might actually take longer than he thought.

    ¡°I said when I¡¯m satisfied your progress, Then we can do a session of training, you don¡¯t decide when we¡¯re done, I do, and just saying please and thank you once in context is not satisfactory.¡±

    ¡°Tch...I understand, please let me up now...¡±

    Zale studied her face for a long moment, and then snapped his fingers. Raina moved slowly up from the ground this time.

    ¡°Thank you...¡±

    She turned away from Zale and began walking towards a large pot of boiling soup, over which two tied up figures were suspended head down by metal chains. The two figures were swinging back and forth as much as they could, the steam from the pot below them heating up the chains that bound, making their movement the only thing stopping the chains from reaching a level of heat that would burn skin.

    ¡°Miss Raina, I am the first princess of Aleridon and Darius is the Crown Prince of Lothyde, and we are both awakened Berserkers, you cannot treat us this way! And Mister Zale, as a citizen not affiliated with a school, you especially should be helping us!¡±

    Raina just ignored them and began stirring the soup, occasionally turning her head to look hopefully at the heaps of still bodies. Zale however, stared darkly at Princess Sophia and Prince Darius. Heavy killing intent suddenly flooded the clearing.

    ¡°I will never help the royal families, not ever again. If I had my way, you would already be strung up to be eaten alive by wild beasts! It¡¯s only because Raina insisted you are Felix¡¯s toys and he would be mad if I harmed you that you¡¯re even still alive!¡±

    Sophia Heartstone¡¯s face turned pale and she quickly averted her eyes, Darius, however, held eye contact with Zale even as his mouth slowly began to trickle blood from the extreme force Zale was putting out.

    ¡°I¡­.I don¡¯t know why you hated the royal families so much, b-but we haven¡¯t done anything to you! If you have any quarrel, it should be with our parents, not us!¡±

    Zale snorted disdainfully and turned away, letting his killing intent vanish, though the air around him was still bitter.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the royal families nature, at any age, to manipulate and harm each other? I¡¯m only following your families tradition, so all you have to blame is yourselves!¡±

    Darius frowned at Zale, the manipulation was a key part of ruling any kingdom, and everyone knew it¡­..but the way Zale had put it made it sound a lot more personal, as though he had been directly involved in a royal family¡¯s dispute¡­.but they usually tried to keep those within the family in order to not show weakness¡­.Machinations of the court were one thing, but the royal disputes were supposed to be kept much more quietly¡­..Sophia suddenly spoke out sharply beside him.

    ¡°So what if that is tradition, it trains the heirs to better rule the kingdom one day, but that is only within the royals of the kingdoms, a commoner like you has no right to treat us in such a way!¡±

    Zale stayed turned away from them, put the bitter air around him seemed to turn even darker.

    ¡°......I never said I was a commoner, you should be careful about making assumptions, Princess¡±

    He spoke the last word as though it was the dirtiest thing that had ever passed his lips. Sophia and Darius were both silent for a long moment, confusion flooding their minds. Was he insinuating that he was¡­¡­..royal!? Zale snorted, guessing their thoughts.

    ¡°What, your parents have been alive for a very long time, you really don¡¯t think it''s strange that they all have children that are relatively young, not one of you are over eighteen, right? I imagine this is just one of the royal families''s unique strategies that is taught at a much later date. They don¡¯t raise their earlier children, they place them randomly throughout the kingdom in low born situations as babies, then keep track of them. When we get older, we naturally show the talent carried within the royal bloodline. The royal family ¡®graciously¡¯ offers to support us, and in return, we children, who have always been in lowly situations, feel indebted to the the royal family and become loyal servants. Of course, I have no real evidence to back this up, the royal family has always been good at not getting caught, but I am living proof, as are the several others I have met, they usually keep us apart, but I was placed in an orphanage by accident and they lost track of me so they don¡¯t know who I am¡­.I, myself wouldn¡¯t have even known who I was if it wasn¡¯t for that day¡­...¡±

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Raina suddenly left the pot of soup (it had failed to revive any victims for her to train) and dashed over to Zale and gave him a hug.

    ¡°Poor thing, such potential, yet it was purposefully neglected and wasn¡¯t given proper training¡­...it hurts just to think about it¡­...I¡¯ll help you kill those people who dare look down on training¡­..except for Felix¡¯s toys of course¡­...¡±

    The dark air around Zale slowly faded away and he looked down at the woman pressed to his chest, an uncertain look on his face.

    ¡°Ummm¡­¡­¡­..thanks¡­¡­¡­.I think?¡±

    The strange moment was shattered as a black and gold blur sped into the clearing, screeching frantically. Zale started and hastily pushed Raina away¡­.or at least tried to. Void hovered in front of them, his wings beating frantically. Raina stepped away from Zale and turned to face the hysterical Void with a worried look on her face.

    ¡°Something bad has happened...¡±

    Zale and Raina ran swiftly through the forest, following the darting figure of Void. Zale turned his head to look at Raina.

    ¡°Do you think that little monster Felix actually encountered a magical beast he couldn¡¯t handle? Could the center of this forest really be that dangerous?¡±

    ¡°No¡­.Anyways, They wouldn¡¯t hurt a child¡­¡­.¡±

    He sharpened his gaze at Raina, what did she mean, They¡­¡­.could she know what was in the center of the forest?.......Zale shook his head, time to think about that later, right now, Felix probably needed their help.

    Arvid¡¯s Point of View:

    ¡°Boss¡­...I think I¡¯m in love¡­...¡±

    I stare fixedly at the beautiful girl hovering in front of me in the otherwise dark surroundings. Her pale skin shone softly, like a star shining in the sky, far out of my reach. Her long silver hair reached below her slim waist, ending in blackened tips. Her lips were a lush pink that made me want to kiss them. Her eyes were a ruby red color that would pierce into my very soul if she actually looked at me, instead they were glaring at my unconscious boss. Ahhhh, she looks so cute when she¡¯s angry¡­¡­..She pointed empirically at my boss.

    ¡°Thou hast made fun of this one, for this, thou must die!¡±

    Ooooh, she has the old fashioned princess thing going on that Boss told me about¡­...wait didn¡¯t she just say something about killing Felix? Then she turned her eyes on me and my thoughts turned to mud.

    ¡°And thou, what is this about loving this one?¡±

    A faint blush painted her ivory cheeks, and I almost swooned. Instead, I got down on one knee and stared dreamily up at her.

    ¡°Yes, Milady, as soon as this humble servant saw you, I inevitably fell in love with you. Your beauty surpasses the heavens above, and your proud, elegant demeanor has struck me through the heart. May I please know your sacred name?¡±

    The glorious blush in her cheeks grew a little redder and she answered my question in a slightly quivering voice.

    ¡°T-this one¡¯s name is Attela, what is thou¡¯s name?¡±

    My heart, or what I imagined was my heart, gave a small jump, she wanted to know my name! And her name really suits her¡­..heh, both of our names start with A, it must be fate~

    ¡°My humble name is Arvid, Lady Attela, would you tell me a little about yourself?¡±

    Attela twitched, and absentmindedly began to fiddle with the rich red kimono she wore. Awwww. she¡¯s shy~

    ¡°Please just call this one Attlea.This one was made thousands of years ago by my mistress, this one has been helping train the young shinobi of this village ever since Arivd¡­..ye are from the outside, what is it like?¡±

    On impulse, I stood up and embraced her, her body stiffening slightly at my touch. The poor thing, she had never left this place after thousands of years!? I can¡¯t even imagine staying in one place for so long, I would get so bored!

    ¡°Oh Attela, the outside world is a wonderful place, full of adventure and excitement and beautiful things, though none as lovely as you. Will you let me take you there?¡±

    Attela slowly softened in my embrace, looking up at me with confusion in her face.

    ¡°That sounds nice, but, what are you doing to this one, it feels quite pleasant¡­..¡±

    ¡­..So innocent¡­...I¡¯m kinda glad she¡¯s been stuck here for thousands of years¡­.

    ¡°This is what humans call a hug, they use it to comfort each other.¡±

    Attela smiled and snuggled into my chest. I had to struggle to keep my material form from bursting out into a nosebleed. So Cuuuuuuuteee! And so innocent too!!! I unconsciously tightened my embrace, hugging Attela¡¯s slim body to my own. Haaa, I¡¯ve never been so glad that I¡¯m not a human...

    ¡°I quite like this ¡®comforting¡¯ but Arvid¡­.how do you plan to take this one away from this place? Entities like ourselves cannot move on our own¡­..¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s alright, you can just hook a ride with my Boss, he¡¯s the guy who created me, ah¡­...that is if you change your mind about killing him¡­...he really didn¡¯t mean to make light of you, you know, my Boss is just an abnormality¡­...¡±

    Attela glanced at the unconscious form of my Boss, a troubled look on her face.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a problem¡­..this one has already cast the killing curse¡­..I can¡¯t stop it, but I suppose I can alter it, it¡¯s only eliminated a little bit of his body so far, that tail is quite resistant¡­...but this one doesn¡¯t want to just let it go, even if that one is an abnormality....¡±

    Heh, it seems like my woman can hold a grudge, I should probably remember that¡­..

    ¡°You can do whatever you want, so long as Boss is still alive and can move, he¡¯s been reincarnated a lot of times, so he should be able to handle anything you do to him¡­.Heh, if you really want to get revenge on him, you should make him as cute as possible, Boss will be swarmed every time someone sees him~¡±

    Attela seemed to consider it for a moment.

    ¡°I see¡­.this one could probably alter That curse to do it¡­¡­.he will be human occasionally though, since he¡¯s your Boss I¡¯ll give him a little slack.¡±

    I gave her a peck on the forehead (even though I really wanted to kiss her on the lips, I had a feeling she wasn¡¯t ready to handle That much yet.)

    ¡°That¡¯s great! So, what are you going to do? I can give you some suggestions if you like¡­..¡±

    Raina and Zale:

    Void led them straight to a clearing, which Zale was surprised to see was filled with a large construction that looked like some sort of training course, and even more surprisingly, a significant number of people gathered around said contraption. Raina didn¡¯t even pause at the sight, but instead just dashed forward.

    Void was darting frantically above the end of the strange monolith, but neither Raina nor Zale could see any trace of Felix. The crowd murmured in surprise as Raina pushed past them, but their murmurs soon turned those of familiarity and welcome. Zale followed after her, but the people were a bit more suspicious of him, and only reluctantly stepped aside for him, something, he discovered, that was the only way for him to get past him, as even with his Void level strength, they didn¡¯t budge an inch. He was also starting to notice that many members of the crowd have various shades of blue hair¡­.a small shiver ran down his spine and he unconsciously drew his dark cloak around his body in an attempt to hide his body. Both of them finally making it to the front of the crowd, they saw that there was nothing there at the end of the contraption except for a chuckling old man. Seeing this, Raina stormed forward and landed a punch in the white haired old man¡¯s gut.

    ¡°Idiot old man, where¡¯s Felix!?¡±

    The old man doubled over and clutched his stomach.

    ¡°Gaahhh! Raina, is that how you treat your own father? You didn¡¯t even give me time to use energy to protect my organs¡­..And who are you calling old, I¡¯m only 2,000 years old! I¡¯m still in my prime!¡±

    Before they could say anything else though, there was a blinding flash of light. While everyone was hastily blinking dark spots from their vision, a distraught and rather squeaky howl pierced the air.

 Chapter 40: .......

    Felix¡¯s Point of View:

    When my mind surfaced from unconsciousness, I quickly became aware of a feeling of uncomfort, as though my body had suddenly been squeezed into a far too small container. I let out a small grumble and attempted to stretch, but I stumbled, my hands and feet feeling way too big for my current body¡­.I gave a small shake and let my senses roll through my body as the uncomfortable feeling slowly faded. Adorably too big paws, thick and soft fur, two pairs of soft furry ears, wings, ten fluffy tails, small body¡­¡­..#@!%$ I¡¯m a puppy!!!

    An irate howl burst from my small muzzle, which only served to make me even angrier, what kind of a pathetic sound is that!?

    -ARVID!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you have something to do with this!!!!!!!!!!!-

    Seriously, a dog!!?? Couldn¡¯t it at least have been a kitten!? Cats suit me much better¡­. A small earring hanging in one of my right ears suddenly buzzed.

    -Aha¡­¡­.H-hi Boss¡­...Ummm, it was either this or you dying, so don¡¯t get too mad please¡­..-

    Another earring right next to Arvid suddenly buzzed as well.

    -Eh? But Arivd, you were the one that suggested this one turn him into a puppy¡­.Originally, this one was going to just do a normal wolf form¡­.-

    -.....Attela, darling, I do love your innocence¡­...but I really wish you hadn¡¯t said that¡­..-

    -P-Papa, is that you!?-

    -Aha, great timing Void! Distract Felix for me!-

    -What is this creature? This one has never seen anything like it before¡­.-

    -Master! I suddenly lost connection with you¡­..who¡¯s the new chick? And why are you a puppy, is it one of your new pranks?-

    -.....Everyone, SHUT UP!!!!!!!!-

    Blessed silence filled my head, really, there was way too much unlabeled mind transmission going on at the same time. I quickly drew up a magical formation and tagged Arivd¡¯s, Void¡¯s, Misty¡¯s, and the new chick¡¯s auras, though for some reason, I couldn¡¯t get a hold of Zoe.

    Felix: Ok, now, Arvid, I think it¡¯s time that you explain yourself! What was this suggestion I hear your lady friend talking about?

    Arvid:........................................Boss, please forgive me!!!

    Felix: Fat chance of that! I¡¯m sealing your human form! If I have to be a ridiculously cute puppy, you have to be one too!!!

    Arvid:......Crap! I didn¡¯t realize you could actually do that! What am I going to do now!? Attela, can you still love me, even though I¡¯m in this unmanly form!?

    Attela:......This one thinks you look cute¡­¡­.Mnnnn, but if Arvid is embarrassed, I¡¯ll become a puppy too!

    Arvid: *Blood Spurts From Mouth* To be called cute by the woman I love¡­¡­.Booosssssss, please forgive me, I understand your pain now¡­¡­¡­..Wah, wait, Attela, why are you taking off you clothes?

    Attela: Eh? Obviously so I can change forms, these clothes have a lot of spells woven into them, so it¡¯s a pain to deconstruct them. It¡¯s much simpler to take them off and then change. What, is it wrong to take off my clothes?

    Arvid: Aha, o-of course not Attela, my love, please feel free to change in front of me whenever you want to!

    Felix:........

    Arvid: Ah? I¡¯m back to human form!?

    Attela: Eh? seems like there¡¯s no need for this one to change forms then.

    Arvid: What! But I was about to see¡­¡­...BOSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! How can you be so cruel!!!!!!!

    Felix: Heh, this is only the beginning, welcome Miss Attela, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve joined us, I¡¯m sure there is a very interesting future ahead of us~......um, I assume you¡¯re the presence of this training obstacle? Why did you try to kill me?

    Attela: Ah¡­...This one felt like you were making fun of this one, Master told this one that for this offense, the perpetrator should be eliminated without hesitation¡­.

    Felix:.......I think I¡¯d really like your Master¡­...but please don¡¯t ever do that to me again, That response is overkill¡­.anyways, I wasn¡¯t trying to make fun of you, I was just having fun, it¡¯s two different things.

    Attela: Ah¡­¡­..this one understands¡­..

    Felix: Great! Then can yo- Eh?

    I felt myself suddenly get scooped up, Raina¡¯s familiar scent washing over me, even more distinctive with my new canine senses. I had been so busy dealing with the conversation in my head that I hadn¡¯t noticed her approaching.

    ¡°......Felix? Is that you?¡±

    Felix: Hey, Attela, did you add anyways for me to normally communicate when you cursed me?

    Attela: Ah, just try speaking normally, our human voice will come out from the magic crystal I embedded in your forehead.

    Eh? I hadn¡¯t realised that was there¡­..I can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m mad or happy about being blind right now¡­...I wonder how ridiculous I look right now¡­.No, just don¡¯t think about it Felix! This form can be useful, despite the damage to my pride¡­..I shoved my thoughts away and tried to speak.

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s me¡­.what are you doing here Raina?....Ah, and Zale too? Who''s staying with the students to make sure they don¡¯t escape?¡±

    Raina brought me to her chest and began to stroke my fur. I melted into her embrace, haaaaaa, t-that feels way too good¡­..

    ¡°Void brought us, he was pretty frantic, as for the students¡­...they don¡¯t have the energy to even move an inch~¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see, you got a good training session in then¡­.did you prepare the soup properly?¡±

    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s my first success at cooking too!¡±

    ¡°I see¡­.that makes sense, ne, Raina, you grew up here right? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it!?¡±

    ¡°I thought you might run away if I told you, after all, meeting my parents would make it harder for you to escape my proposal¡­..though I suppose that won¡¯t really work out now¡­.¡±

    Ah! I hadn¡¯t thought of that, in this form, I definitely won¡¯t have to marry Raina!....Still, to think she laid out a trap like this¡­..it might be better to get her focused on a new victim as soon as possible¡­.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t marry me now! Do you have anyone else in mind.¡±

    Raina still for a moment, clearly thinking it through.

    ¡°Nope!¡±

    Tch, I had Zale work with Raina so he would attract her attention, she should have noticed what I realised a while ago¡­..Wait, Raina doesn¡¯t think like a normal person¡­.

    ¡°Then, what about any interesting people? Did you find anyone with good potential?¡±

    That¡¯s right! Raina only thought in terms of training, her brain isn¡¯t wired for love!

    ¡°Hmmm, well¡­..You promise not to snatch him?¡±

    Eh? Why would I want to snatch him¡­..Ah, I see, she wants to keep the toy to herself.

    ¡°En, I already I plenty of playthings, I won¡¯t steal yours.¡±

    ¡°Alright, that Zale guy has an interesting build of muscles, if it were to be polished properly¡­...but he¡¯s making me practice manners before I can train him¡­..it¡¯s so painful¡­¡­¡±

    Hah! So she had noticed¡­.but Zale¡­..I clearly hadn¡¯t given him enough credit, he¡¯s actually trying to tame Raina a bit¡­..but still, I need to figure out a way to fully unleash Raina on Zale¡­¡­.

    ¡°Ah! Raina, how do you really know if he¡¯ll let you train him? The manners thing could just be a way to avoid training¡­.¡±

    Raina stiffened, her hand gripping fistfulls of my thick fur, I felt her murderous intent burst out as she began to turn slowly.

    ¡°.......I KILL HIM!¡±

    Whoops, I may have pushed the wrong button there¡­.

    ¡°WAIT! If you kill him, you won¡¯t be able to train him! All you need to do is figure out a way to tie him to you so he can¡¯t get away!¡±

    Raina froze. her murderous intent fading away.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­.but how do I tie him to me? He¡¯s the one whose skilled in that bindy magic stuff¡­..¡±

    Phew, the bomb is diffused, momentarily at least¡­.

    ¡°Think about it, you need a husband, and you need to bind Zale to you, it¡¯s like killing two birds with one stone!¡±

    Raina considered my words for a long moment, her hands slowly relaxing, releasing my fur.

    ¡°I see¡­...but¡­..how would I get him to agree to marry me? He can use his bindy magic on me and run away¡­..¡±

    I felt my snout twitch as I tried to smirk.

    ¡°Hah, it seems that you¡¯ve forgotten where you are, and that we have an audience, one that would very much like to see you get married~¡±

    Indeed, while Raina had been absorbed in talking with me, I had been monitoring the surroundings. When I brought up the possibility of Zale marrying Raina, his heartbeat had shot through the roof, and he had tried to discreetly move to the edge of the clearing to escape. The only problem was that all the shinobi villagers near him had latched onto him, and unlike Raina, who focused only on physical training, they were equally adept at both, and thus somewhat immune to Zale¡¯s spells. Raina turned to see the scene that had occurred while we were talking, and I could feel Zale¡¯s angry glare prickling at my skin as I came into his view.

    ¡°Felix!!!!¡±

    ¡°Heh, what¡¯s the matter Zale? Aren¡¯t you just overjoyed by the fact that you get to marry a beautiful woman like Raina?¡±

    ¡°Why you little- Why would I want to marry her!? And why isn¡¯t anyone freaking out about the fact that you¡¯re a freaking mutant puppy now!!!¡±

    A new chill of killing intent killed the air, far stronger than Raina¡¯s, it was the chief.

    ¡°And why, exactly, do you find it so abhorrent to marry my darling daughter, young man?¡±

    Wow, that old guy packs a punch¡­..Zale doesn¡¯t have a chance!

    ¡°Uh..uh...n-nothing sir?¡±

    The chill in the air didn¡¯t vanish, but it change from killing intent to simple pressure, which doubled in force.

    ¡°Fufufu, well then, you had better start calling me Pops, we¡¯re going to be family after all~¡±

    ¡°But!-¡±

    The pressure tripled.

    ¡°.....yes¡­..si-errrr, Pops¡­¡­.¡±

    Zale has been conquered! An idea popped into my mind and I let my mouth loll open in a toothy grin as I began to construct a magical formation in my mind.

    ¡°Congratulations! I would like to give a gift to the happy couple!¡±

    Zale¡¯s killing intent poured out at me, but I felt it shatter as I let the formation form in the air in front of me. The formation was two intricately constructed rings that were linked together, this spell was originally quite simple, but I had to tinker with it so that Zale couldn¡¯t break it. Zale started struggling futilely in the iron grips of the villagers.

    ¡°Y-you wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±

    I activated the formation.

    I watched mentally as the two rings separated and flew to Zale and Raina, wrapping around their left ring fingers. The spell was the marriage ritual of this world, so they were now linked together forever, Raina would always know where Zale was, no matter where he tried to flee. Of course, it worked the other way around as well, but I had a feeling Zale wouldn¡¯t ever want to use it¡­.

    ¡°Heh, congrats guys, well, now that that¡¯s done, I¡¯m going to go check on the students. Have fun on your honeymoon, you two~¡±

    Wiggling out of Raina¡¯s grasp, I used my wings to lift into the air and then sped for the clearing. With my current body, flying would be much faster that running. Zale cursed and yelled out after me.

    ¡°!@#@! FELIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    Sorry, my friend¡­...but I¡¯ll always treasure your willing sacrifice in my heart.

    Arvid: Boss¡­¡­...that was in no way willing¡­¡­¡­..

 Illustrations.....

Well, I''ll be uploading my occasional drawing of characters here, though right now it''s only Felix...

    <hr />

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

 Chapter 41: Pain

    The months flew by as I accustomed myself to my new body while Raina put the students of Dagda through a hellish training schedule. Adrian and Aaron were quite surprised to see my new form, but they didn¡¯t have long to think about it once Raina arrived soon after me at the camp. The other students were too tired to even notice me yet, and that state didn¡¯t change for the whole time, still, I¡¯m proud about their progress, they¡¯ve gone from only being able to last an hour before collapsing, to going through three full days non-stop, though I don¡¯t think they''re as happy about it as I am.

    My new body was around the size of a small melon, I could easily sit on an adult¡¯s cupped palms, and my short legs made it a pain to walk anywhere, so my flight ability has made drastic improvement. It¡¯s lucky  I got the ability to change my size, so I can appear as an adult wolf, but since my current form is from a curse, it costs me a massive amount of mana to maintain the wolf form, so I can only stay in it for about an hour, and that¡¯s without using any spells. Basically, it was useless in a battle.

    Despite the many inconveniences of my curse, I gained something useful, control over Zoe¡¯s spike ability. Zoe was gone, she had been completely destroyed by Attela¡¯s death spell before she changed it, but Attela had added in the ability to harden fur into spikes as a sort of apology for destroying my tail, though honestly, I wasn¡¯t really bothered about losing Zoe. Most surprising, though, is that there is some time when I can escape my cursed form and return to my human one. I get one hour of time every week, and I can choose when to use it. After long consideration, I had decided to save all my hours for the upcoming tournament.

    A little more than half a month before the tournament started I had everyone go back in the Toy Factory Dimension, though with a lot more resistance from the teachers and students. Luckily, Raina¡¯s relatives were more than happy to help me out, and a few of them actually decided to come along with me, curious about the world outside of their home. Lord and Lady Redsword had left several weeks earlier, they and just about every other noble on the continent would be attending the tournament. The tournament was being held in our own country this time, each of the four kingdoms took a turn hosting the ranking tournament occurred, it gave them a chance to show off to their neighbors, and the large amount of years afterwards gave them a chance to re-accumulate the money they had blown on the affair. All in all, it was a well-organized affair.

    My double pair of ears twitched as they caught the first sounds of the capital. I let myself glide gently towards the ground, snapping my wings shut the last few feet so that my small paws hit the earth with a dull thud, Void joining me moments later. Staying still for a long moment, I examined the vibrations in the earth around me, feeling with paws was a little bit different than feeling with feet, so I had to focus a bit more. I could feel the vibrations of the busy capital, but they were even fainter than I expected, even with the thicker pads of my paws. I must be farther away from the capital than I¡¯d estimated, my transformation had caused my hearing to jump up a level, which I still sometimes forgot to take account for. Still, it¡¯s close enough that everyone can walk there before the sun falls too low, anyways, my wing muscles are sore¡­..

    I sat happily on top of Aaron¡¯s head, his thick and naturally soft short hair acting as a very comfortable pillow for me to lay on. Void was happily slumped around his shoulders.

    ¡°Hey Felix, why don¡¯t you got sit on Adrian¡¯s head, even though you¡¯re not that heavy, my neck is starting to hurt¡­¡­..I¡¯m getting some pretty evil glares from him too¡­¡­.¡±

    ¡°Nah, short hair is a lot more comfortable to sit on than long hair¡­¡­¡­¡­. and I get to bug you at the same time~¡±

    My ears flinched as a grating snip hit the air.

    ¡°Big Brother, my hair¡¯s short now too, you can bug Aaron without having to sit on his head too¡­..¡±

    Hmmm, I should have seen that coming, Adrian¡¯s become even more clingy lately¡­..

    ¡°No way, you just want a chance to pet me some more! Anyways, I don¡¯t feel like moving right now.¡±

    Petting is way too dangerous! For some reason, this form is extremely sensitive, when ever someone pets me, my thoughts get all muddled and it feels as though my brain is melting. I previously incarnated as other animals but had never experience this big of an effect with petting¡­.Sure, it had felt pretty good, but this¡­..this reaction is over the top¡­.Well, at least since Aaron didn¡¯t like me much, he could resist the pull to pet me, and after the first few times I turned my fur to spikes when he tried to get rid of me through petting, he had obediently become my designated safe perch. Too bad I was too soft hearted to try the same thing with Adrian, the poor kid was just starved for attention¡­.and Raina¡­.well, she just ignored the spikes¡­..Ugh, that time really hurt, I thought for sure big chunks of my fur had been torn out¡­..

    ¡°Awww, come on, I promise not to try anything, please¡­¡­.¡±

    ¡°Nope, we both know you can¡¯t keep that promise, and a half-month isn¡¯t nearly big enough of a break to recover from the period of petting¡­¡­.it was actually pretty nice at first, but then I got too much and now my stomach starts to hurt whenever I think about getting petted¡­..Urk, now I feel like barfing¡­.¡±

    In an instant, I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and allowed to dangle in the air.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m gonna let you barf on me!¡±

    I snorted at Aaron¡¯s indignant words, latching a paw around the wrist of the hand that was holding me suspended and easily pulled myself free of his grip and latched onto his arm.

    ¡°Relax, I haven¡¯t had anything to eat in a while, so there¡¯s nothing for me to barf up, anyways, if I really wanted to barf on you, you wouldn¡¯t have any say in the matter. You¡¯re a satisfactory perch right now, so naturally I won¡¯t do anything to make you dirty and bad smelling.¡±

    Aaron groaned in defeat as I hopped my way back to my perch. I curled up into a small ball.

    ¡°Mmmm, I¡¯m going to take a quick nap, try not to shake your head to much, or I might accidentally claw you in my sleep, I can be weird that way~¡±

    I drifted asleep to the soft lullaby of Aaron¡¯s unhappy grumbles.

    ¡­¡­

    A growing discomfort began to stir through my dreams, gradually attempting to pull my mind from the depths of sleep. Grumbling, I struggled against it, I had just been having a nice dream¡­..I can¡¯t remember what is was about though¡­..something about a really strong person¡­¡­¡­¡­.Mnnnnn, I want to go back and remember it¡­..sleep¡­.sleepy¡­..

    Suddenly, a burning, white hot pain blasted its way through my eardrums, jolting my mind into complete awareness. A shrieking howl burst from my muzzle as I buried my head in my paws. Sound, SO MUCH SOUND. Voices, shouting, singing, whispering, carts creaking, doors slamming, clothes swishing, boots thudding¡­¡­..All of it was swirling together and Drilling through my ears drums.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The hard crack of my head against stone pavement cut through the ocean of pain enough for me to snap a barrier of magic around me before my mind shut down.

    Aaron¡¯s Point of View:

    I was swept up in the colorful crowds of people and vendors, the streets fill with things I had never seen before when a horrid, high pitched sound, that I instinctively knew would haunt my dreams for years to come, hit my ears like a hammer blow to the head. I felt Felix¡¯s body slip from his perch on my head, my eyes following his rapid fall through the air as my hands seemed to move like they were weighed down with mountains to try and catch him. Felix¡¯s small furry body hit the ground like a rag doll, seemingly lifeless except for the the brilliant translucent red sphere of mana that appeared around him moments later, vaporizing the cobbled street his body laid on so his limp form hung suspended mid air within the sphere. It felt as the whole world froze for a moment everyone around me realized what had happened, Felix¡¯s scream had caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    Then I blinked, and Adrian was kneeling on the ground, stretching his hand out towards Felix.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡±

    The dark clothed man Felix had picked up darted forward and threw Adrian back just before his hand brushed the orb. Zale¡¯s cloak swept forward from the speed of his movement swept across the orb. A loud sizzle snapped through the air and the chunk of Zale¡¯s cloak was vaporized¡­¡­.Slapping a hand over Void to stop the frantic creature from pulverizing himself, I took a big step back, at the same time glancing at the now white faced Adrian, if Zale had taken any longer, Adrian¡¯s hand would have been¡­¡­.I took another step back, just for safe measure.

    Zale crouched down to examine the orb of destruction surrounding Felix, his careful movements the only possible sign of caution towards the sphere.

    ¡°His ears¡­.there¡¯s blood coming out from them¡­.¡±

    Squinting, I leaned forward slightly. A dark stain was spreading from the fur around Felix¡¯s ears, the dark red of blood barely distinguishable from the red sheen of the barrier. Bro¡­..was hurt, actually hurt¡­.I had seen him get injured before of course, cuts and bruises and all that but¡­..nothing like this, nothing that had made Felix show actual Pain before. Sure, I had certainly spent most of my time in the Toy Factory daydreaming about beating some real pain into Felix, but¡­..Felix was never supposed to look this Weak, in dreams or reality. He¡¯s supposed to be a freaking all-powerful immortal playing around with reincarnation that tortures me at every opportunity, not the small, lifeless ball of bloody fur and feathers hiding away in an impervious barrier floating before my eyes.

    ¡°W-....what happened, how did he suddenly get hurt?¡±

    I could barely croak the words out, my mouth was suddenly bone dry. Zale shook his head helplessly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I didn¡¯t sense any sort of attack¡­..his ears have clearly been damaged¡­.his hearing is a lot more sensitive than usual, but if the noise of the city was too much, he should have woken up before now and left before it could cause this much damage¡­¡­...maybe some sort of sound attack? But, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone here that has a reason to attack Felix¡­..at least not yet. Hey kid, Felix hasn¡¯t been to the capital before, right?¡±

    ¡°We came here for the Testing, we weren¡¯t here for long though, and he stayed in the group, I don¡¯t think he was left alone for any long amount of time, though admittedly, he can do a lot in even just a minute¡­..¡±

    Zale sighed and scratched his head.

    ¡°So he may already have enemies here¡­...but they wouldn¡¯t know about what he looks like now¡­¡­.maybe an automatic attack that targets his mana signature when he gets in range?......but I probably would have sensed that, Felix too¡­...Argh! We¡¯ll just have to wait for Felix to explain, let''s just get to a secure position for now.¡±

    Zale stretched out his hand and I watched as Felix¡¯s red sphere floated into the air, blue sparks bursting into life randomly around the sphere. A groan burst from Zale¡¯s lips, his face slightly pale.

    ¡°Guh, he¡¯s packed a lot of mana in there, Raina, how fast can we get to wherever we need to go? It¡¯s draining quite a bit of energy for me to move this safely.¡±

    ¡­..Zale¡¯s void rank, right? How much energy did Bro manage to pack in there while he was overwhelmed by pain?........Ah, that was a stupid question, it is Felix after all¡­¡­¡­ Raina moved to Zale¡¯s side, her eyes fixed on Felix as though she had found a new toy.

    ¡°Hmmmm¡­¡­..Ah, I only remember the fighting parts of the last tournament? I wanna try and touch it, could be good for resistance training¡­..¡±

    If it¡¯s the tournament, we have to register our arrival somewhere, right? And then we¡¯ll be assigned to one of the makeshift barracks set up just outside the city, but I don¡¯t know where registration takes place, I didn¡¯t hear anything from the gossip in school¡­

    At this point, the Magical Theory teacher¡­¡­¡­.Ah, Eamon, stepped forward, sighing as he readjusted his glasses. Hmmm, I had almost forgotten he had existed because of everything that has been going on¡­.

    ¡°We need to register at the Magistrates office near the castle, but it takes needlessly long, so I suggest you simply take Felix somewhere where he can¡¯t accidentally cause mass destruction when he wakes up. We should be able to handle ourselves safely here in the city.¡±

    ¡°I see, then I¡¯ll take him out of the city then. I¡¯ll contact Raina when he wakes up.¡±

    I watched Zale turn back the way we came, and then lurch to a stop. I turned my gaze towards the ground, Adrian was latched onto Zale¡¯s leg.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you!¡±

    ¡­¡­.It feels as though I¡¯m watching my past self¡­.I¡¯m pretty sure Felix didn¡¯t hypnotize Adrian though¡­...which makes it even scarier¡­.

    Zale sighed and grabbed onto the scruff of Adrian¡¯s collar, lifting him into the air and slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

    ¡°Fine, but you won¡¯t be able to keep up with me.¡±

    Zale vanished from my line of sight and I was hoisted into the air. The air rushed out of my lungs as my stomach hit a hard shoulder and I found myself staring down at Zale¡¯s slightly dirty black cloak.

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll want to come along as well, you might want to close your eyes.¡±

    I stared helplessly as the ground turned into a blur.

    No, I didn¡¯t really want to come along at all¡­¡­*cry*

    ¡­..

    Felix¡¯s Point of View:

    When I regained consciousness, there was a blessed absence of pain that launched a wave of relief through my mind.

    ¡°....Are you an idiot?¡±

    A lovely and familiar voice rang through my ears and I slowly opened my eyes. The delicate face with ruby red eyes hovering over my face slowly came into focus, lush dark purple lips pursed with disapproval. A strand of silky black hair brushed against my face and I smiled.

    ¡°Death, my darling, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±

 Chapter 42: False Alarm~

    Death rolled her eyes and leaned back.

    ¡°Still as much of an idiot as always, I see. And don¡¯t call me darling, you weirdo.¡±

    I grinned and slowly pushed myself up from the soft cushions of the couch I was laying on.

    ¡°Hmmm, so does this mean I died? But we¡¯re not at your place¡­.¡±

    Indeed, I was back in the usual pavilion of Fate¡¯s, not the room I returned to whenever I died, which was Death¡¯s office. Fate popped into my field of vision, a grin on her face as she handed me a cup of juice.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not dead, we were just having some snacks together when you fell unconscious. Dee-chan wanted to ridicule how stupid you were, so she decided to stay and wait for you to wake up~¡±

    Death, or Dee for short, nodded, a smirk on her face.

    ¡°Your overly sensitive ear drums were badly damaged by the natural noise of the city just because you refused to wake up. I can¡¯t wait to see how you explain this one to your mortal friends~¡±

    Groaning, I slumped back onto couch and stared up at the sparkling white ceiling of the pavilion.

    ¡°Ah, sometimes I surprise even myself with the new ways I find to embarrass myself¡­.Well, at least I didn¡¯t die, there are a lot more things I¡¯ve planned to do in this world¡­..Fufuuuu¡±

    Poking a finger into my forehead, Death smirked down at me.

    ¡°Nice try, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting this drop so easily. You know, the mortals were wondering if you were attacked by a sound spell, they were confused because even though you had previously been in the capital for a bit, any enemies you had wouldn¡¯t have been able recognize you in your¡­.Kekekekeke, Puppy form~¡±

    She snapped her fingers and my field of view changed in a flash. I growled unhappily as Dee¡¯s slim white hands lifted my small furry form into the air. My growl died off as she held me close and started to stroke my fur.

    ¡°Really, you¡¯re just too cute in this form, your furs so soft too¡­...I¡¯ll definitely revive this body as my pet once you finally die¡­.¡±

    Oooh, this is the closest Death has ever let me get to her¡­.her petting technique is really good too¡­...Mnnnnn, it¡¯s not making me feel nauseous at all, so nice¡­...Ah, but even though her necromancer side is cute, I don¡¯t want anything, even one of my old bodies, to become a new rival for Dee¡¯s attention¡­...I already have enough trouble as it is! Note to self, when I die in this world, make sure the entire body is completely destroyed!

    Eh!? The belly!? No one¡¯s tried to pet there¡­.Ahhhhhhhhh, Heaven¡­...have I finally broke past your gates like I¡¯ve been trying for years? So g-gooooooddddd, more please¡­..I couldn¡¯t move an inch even if I want too¡­...Mnnnnn, so warm and nice¡­...soft¡­¡­.

    ¡°Ah, Felix, where are you going!?¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­

    Warmth wound itself around me once more, my being morphing back into it¡¯s original form. I opened my eye to stare into soft light instead of darkness, fully in control of my body this time.

    ¡°Who are you? What were you talking about last time!? What have I forgotten? Why did you bring me here again? I was finally getting some attention from Death!¡±

    I received no answer.

    I felt my eyes shut and my anger washed away under a new wave of warmth. It filled every inch my body and I unwillingly felt myself begin to drift into sleep¡­.Hmm, but can you really fall asleep when you¡¯re already technically sleeping?

    Caught up in the interesting question, my mind resisted the pull of sleep for a moment, but the darkness soon rose up through my mind once again and I drifted away into the mortal dreamscape of sleep.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡®It¡¯ watched the hovering form of the ¡®Key¡¯ for a moment, making sure the consciousness was properly unaware and dreaming, before gently drawing the ¡®Key¡¯ closer. Sometimes it knew the answers to the questions the ¡®Key¡¯ asked, other times they were gone, scattered once more amongst the existence of ¡®everything¡¯. More was beginning to stay though, ¡®It¡¯s¡¯ mind gathering together in preparation of ¡®The End¡¯, it¡¯s ¡®Body¡¯ growing weary as the ¡®Mind¡¯ sharpened. Last time, ¡®It¡¯ had gathered enough to send a warning to the ¡®Key¡¯, but now ¡®It¡¯ couldn¡¯t remember why. It had something to do with the current ¡®Cycle¡¯, yes¡­¡­ ¡®It¡¯ had tried something new¡­..for the ¡®Key¡¯, yes, because the ¡®Key¡¯ was in pain¡­¡­.and the ¡®Key¡¯ was ¡®It¡¯s¡¯ only¡­..friend¡­.

    ¡°Yes¡­..because the ¡®Key¡¯ pays the biggest price¡­...for ¡®Me¡¯......I wanted to give the ¡®Key¡¯.......peace¡­.for a bit...¡±

    Yes, that must be why things seemed¡­...off. The ¡®Key¡¯ had never lived through a cycle in this ¡®state¡¯ before¡­.there was no need to worry. Everything was fine.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Dee stared down in surprise at her now empty hands, Felix had just¡­..vanished. Fate sighed and plopped down beside her on the couch, unconcerned.

    ¡°Ara, that happens sometimes, Felix¡¯s mind is quite bizarre, as you¡¯d expect. I can¡¯t ever get a good grasp on it, so when I sometimes bring it to this realm, it can slip away at any moment¡­.He seemed to be really enjoying himself at the moment so it¡¯s a bit strange...but I think even Felix doesn¡¯t completely understands what¡¯s going on inside his head¡­¡­...It certainly has been like that for me lately¡­..¡±

    Straightening to attention, Death grabbed one of Fate¡¯s shoulders and tugged her to face her.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been having visions as well?¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.Fate blinked in surprise at Dee¡¯s sudden intensity.

    ¡°I always have visions¡­...but I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s not what you mean¡­..¡±

    She shook her head in confirmation.

    ¡°One moment I¡¯ll be doing paperwork at my desk or judging a high level soul, the next, I¡¯m somewhere else, as someone who¡¯s me, but not me at the same time¡­..it¡¯s like what I¡¯d imagine dreaming to be like¡­.¡±

    Fate¡¯s expression turned unusually serious.

    ¡°Nnnnnn, I haven¡¯t had anything like that, but I¡¯ll start feeling sleepily and then suddenly wake up with a lapse of time missing where I have no idea what happened¡­...Ah, and the voice has been a lot more frequent as well¡­.¡±

    Death tilted her head in confusion.

    ¡°Voice? You haven¡¯t told me about anything like that before¡­.¡±

    Fate shrugged.

    ¡°Eh, it just pops in and tells me to do something sometimes. The result has always been quite interesting so it¡¯s fine~¡±

    ¡­.Death scooted a little away from Fate.

    ¡°I knew you had a few screws loose, but I didn¡¯t know it was this bad¡­¡­.Anyways, do you think something is happening?¡±

    Pouting at the swipe at her level of sanity, Fate closed the distance between her and Dee and plopped her head on Death¡¯s lap so she was looking directly up at her face.

    ¡°Ara, I don¡¯t know, nothing I¡¯ve seen seems that bad¡­..Everything has actually been pretty dull lately, well, except for Felix¡¯s current world~......But I guess I should start looking into it¡­.umb, boulb byou leb gob ob my nobse?¡±

    Dee¡¯s fingers tightened on Fate¡¯s nose and pulled.

    ¡°Itbah, owb!owb!owb!¡±

    ¡°Get your head off my lap first. Also, you were having blackouts and hearing voices and didn¡¯t think it was important enough to already look into!? You control some major forces, some crazy things could happen during your blackouts.¡±

    In the processing of removing her head from Death¡¯s lap Fate¡¯s face blanched.

    ¡°Ah!? You mean I could have missed something interesting during my blackouts!? This is terrible¡­..¡±

    Dee shoved her head the rest of the way up and then slapped her in the forehead.

    ¡°Idiot!!!!!You should be more concerned about mass destruction and the like!!! No wonder you and Felix get along so well¡­¡­.Well, there hasn¡¯t been any influx of souls, so nothing bad should have happened¡­..¡±

    Fate flopped over on her back, rubbing her forehead.

    ¡°Owwwww! Hey, how can you say Felix and I get together, he always bullies me!¡±

    ¡°Eh? But don¡¯t you enjoy getting bullied?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Dee raised a delicate black eyebrow.

    ¡°........Really?¡±

    ¡°........guh¡­..¡±

    Fate¡¯s shoulder¡¯s slumped slightly.

    ¡°I thought so.¡±

    Dee gave a triumphant smirk. Fate shoved a foot against Death¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have any other way to relieve my boredom, whenever I try to turn the tables it just turns out worse for me¡­¡­...¡±

    Dee gave an uncharacteristic giggle.

    ¡°Ah yes, it¡¯s quite amusing to watch~¡±

    Fate snorted.

    ¡°Yeah, you can only laugh like that because Felix lets you walk all over him with nothing more than a few complaints, it¡¯s not fair!¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, that true¡­.. You know, he claims he loves me, that¡¯s probably why. But even if so, I¡¯ve made it clear that I don¡¯t want anything to with a weirdo like him¡­.It¡¯s a bit strange I guess¡­.but no matter what I do, I get the feeling that he won¡¯t do anything mean to me?¡±

    Fate sighed sadly.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so lucky¡­¡­.but I suppose I wouldn¡¯t like that guy showing love towards me either¡­..En, just imagining it gives me chills¡­..but what happened to make him love you so much?¡±

    Dee shrugged.

    ¡°No idea, all of the sudden he just started professing his love for me¡­...I wouldn¡¯t surprised if even Felix didn¡¯t understand why he holds affection for me¡­¡­.which may explain why although he clearly has a soft spot for me, I¡¯ve always gotten the feeling that he doesn¡¯t actually want me to return his feeling¡­...If not for that, I might have¡­¡­¡­...¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­..that seems like it might be right, considering the way Felix¡¯s brain works¡­...Wanna cookie?¡±

    Dee took one of the sweet shortbread cookies from the plate proffered by Fate.

    ¡°En, thanks.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Arvid: Boss!.......Boss! Wake up!

    Felix: Guh, shut up¡­..

    The throbbing mass of pain that was my head certified that I was no longer sleeping, as much as I wished otherwise right now¡­¡­.and holding back the urge to sneeze in this state is quite a painful thing to do, though actually sneezing would undoubtable be worse¡­¡­¡­...but as expected, Dee is probably saying some good things about me, right?..........En, no doubt about it, so the effort on my part is probably worth it¡­..

    Arvid: Boss¡­¡­

    Misty: Yeah, whatever you''re thinking, I have a feeling it¡¯s wrong¡­

    Felix: ¡­..

 Chapter 43: Revelations

    Ignoring the skeptics, I labored to concentrate through the pain of my head and gathered mana around my ears to examine them.

    Guh, they really are badly damaged, just like Dee said¡­.there¡¯s also a little bit of healing tissue already, I must have been unconscious for at least a few days¡­...I really messed up this time, didn¡¯t I¡­¡­

    I carefully blocked off the nerves to my ears, the sudden absence of pain like a fresh burst of sea breeze on a sunny morning. The major source of my pain gone, I ran a delicate wave of mana through the rest of my head, easing the muscles that had tensed into a killer headache because of the pain.

    With my mind clearer, I could concentrate a delicate thread of mana and send it into my right ear. Stitch by stitch I began the long and arduous process of repairing my right ear drum. Repairing the delicate muscle would take hours, looks like I¡¯ll be busy for a day or two¡­..

    Arvid: Boss, what happened to you?

    I paused for a short moment in my work.

    Felix: Busy, talk later.

    Then I blocked everyone off from my mind. I didn¡¯t really feel like talking right now.

    ¡­¡­.

    Aaron¡¯s point of view:

    Arvid materialized outside the ¡®sphere of doom¡¯ surrounding Felix, looking mostly relieved but a little worried. Adrian darted in front of him and seized his shoulders.

    ¡°Arvid! Do you know what happened, is Felix okay? He¡¯s been unconscious for three days!!!¡±

    Sighing, Arvid gently freed himself from Adrian¡¯s death grip.

    ¡°Boss just woke up, he¡¯s fine, I think¡­¡­.¡±

    I took a few steps forward, the ¡®I think¡¯ part didn¡¯t sound too reassuring, if there¡¯s something off with Felix, he¡¯ll probably be fine no matter what, but we could end up in serious danger¡­..

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®I think¡¯ ? Is something wrong with Felix?¡±

    Arvid shifted his attention to me as I asked my question, his silvery eyes focusing sharply on me.

    ¡°When Boss woke up, he was naturally in a serious pain, but he was dealing with it fine while having one of his ¡®moments¡¯, normal behavior for him. When I asked him how he was though, he shut me and everyone else off from his mind after saying he was ¡®busy¡¯.

    Judging from the mana activity around his ears, he¡¯s focusing on repairing the damage, but even though the process should be quite complicated, he could still split his mind and talk and work at the same time. Which means he really just doesn¡¯t want to talk right now¡­..I think he¡¯s pretty unhappy¡­.¡±

    A cold shiver ran down my spine, the really dangerous and troublesome things happened when Felix got quiet¡­¡­.Still, if it¡¯s just at that level, I don¡¯t think Arvid would be this concerned, since he¡¯s got quite a lot of Felix¡¯s personality¡­.

    I stared at the glowing red sphere, out of everyone here, I could be considered to be the one that has known Felix the longest, even if a large period of that time was spent hypnotized.

    ¡°Do you think¡­¡­.Felix is actually unhappy this time?¡±

    The worried glance Arvid flickered towards Felix was all the answer I needed. I sighed while Adrian looked back and forth at Arvid and I in confusion.

    ¡°It looks like Felix has lost a bit his composure for the first time¡­...¡±

    Arvid shrugged.

    ¡°Well, he slipped a bit when he heard about Adrian¡¯s treatment as a child, but yeah, I don¡¯t thinks he¡¯s in a very playful mood right now¡­.¡±

    Adrian¡¯s growing confusion at our conversation finally exploded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get what you guys are talking about!!!! Felix has been upset and embarrassed lots of times, hasn¡¯t he!?? Why are you guys so worried about my brother!???¡±

    ¡°I would like to know the answer to that as well.¡±

    Zale appeared in our small campsite, a sack of food slung over his shoulder, lunch. Arvid and I exchanged glances, silently waging a war to determine who would have to be the one to have to explain.

    Arvid won.

    Sighing, I looped an arm around Adrian¡¯s shoulders and led him one of the tree trunks that we substituted for chairs. He sat down and I settled down on a nearby rock, taking a long moment to figure out how exactly I¡¯d explain this.

    ¡°Adrian¡­..have you ever felt that Felix has been a bit¡­.off, even considering his extreme personality?¡±

    Adrian shook his head.

    ¡°With Felix, I just assume everything strange is normal for him?¡±

    Yeah, I thought he might think that way, Adrian hasn¡¯t spent nearly as much time with Felix as Arvid and I have¡­

    ¡°Well, once you get to know Felix as long as Arvid and I have, you¡¯ll get a feel for what Felix¡¯s ¡®norm¡¯ is, and then you¡¯ll realize how much of it is a total farce. All those times he goofs around and then messes up, or gets bullied, or hurts himself, he acts as though he¡¯s angry or embarrassed or in pain, but in reality, he doesn¡¯t even care about it, he¡¯s just acting out what the character feels in this whole game he¡¯s playing¡­¡­.

    All this time, we¡¯ve only seen the Felix he wants us to see, not the real him. He¡¯s keeping himself separate from us, pretending to be a close friend or caring brother, but in reality, he¡¯s something completely different. What he really is, I¡¯m not sure, but Felix.....I don¡¯t think he views us as anything more than a way to amuse himself, otherwise, he would let us see the real him¡­¡­..Felix doesn¡¯t trust any of us.¡±

    Adrian stood up and took a step away, slowly shaking his head, his wide, sad eyes fixed on my face.

    ¡°.....No¡­¡­..he cares about us, he got really mad when he heard that my parents beat me, he definitely wasn¡¯t acting!¡±

    Adrian¡¯s parents beat him!!!!? Anger surged through me, sealing my lips shut. While I was overwhelmed by anger, Arvid stepped forward and placed a hand on Adrian¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°About that¡­.Boss definitely was angry when he heard about that, but when you left through the portal, I asked him if he was okay, and he told me that he just hated when people hurt his¡­..toys¡­.¡±

    I pushed the anger swirling around me back for the moment as Adrian slumped to the ground, what his parents had done to him could be dealt with later, it was Adrian who needed my attention right now. Sliding off my stone, I knelt down beside Adrian. He leaned his head dully against my shoulder.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Does Felix really only think of us as toys?¡±

    I glanced at Arvid, who settled down on the other side of Adrian. A helpless shrug was the only response I got.

    ¡°Perhaps we can better define this situation.¡±

    A doll-like girl with shining silver hair suddenly appeared in front of us, her delicate face serious. A shimmery silver blob sat on her shoulder, almost perfectly blending in with her hair.

    ¡°This one and Misty have both been alive far longer than any of the ones now present here, unlike thou, we have watched those we care for age and die while we live on, frozen in time. Immortality can be a very lonely path to walk, one can lose their sense of self if they''re not careful. This one chose to remain withdrawn from the world to protect myself, while friend Misty here chose to interact with mortals in the way of a tormentor and imp, a bond less painful to break than that of a caring friend or companion.

    Felix, this one believes, has chosen to always seek the wonder in life, to always be moving forward so as to distance himself from the pain of the past. Even so, these paths still take their toll on us eventually. If Arvid had not brought out this one from mine home when he had, I fear mine mind may have gone mad in the next few centuries.

    From what this one has come to understand, the thousands of years of my life is small crumb compared next to the many years of Felix¡¯s life. To stand and watch as so many left him, there is no doubt Felix¡¯s heart would draw away to ease the pain, whether he wants it to or not. It is likely that we ¡®toys¡¯ receive the highest level of care Felix is capable of giving.¡±

    My head dropped in shame as the girl¡¯s words washed over me. Ever since I had been released from the hypnosis I had distanced myself from Felix, the new clarity in my mind reaching the realization of Felix¡¯s acting through an analysis of my past memories. But now, it seems that I¡¯ve actually greatly misjudged Felix¡­...I can¡¯t even imagine how it would feel to live on and on while the people I cared about, Mom, Dad, Adrian¡­...How much pain and hurt would Felix have hidden away by now?.....So all that acting and carefree attitude¡­...was to hide his pain¡­..I slammed a fist into the ground.

    ¡°Tch, that makes me even angrier. We¡¯re his family and friends, yet we can¡¯t do anything to help him while he hides all his problems away deep inside¡­.¡±

    I was almost knocked over when Adrian suddenly rose to his feet.

    ¡°No, there is something we can do, when Felix has fun, he forgets about the pain for a bit, right? So we should just act like we usually do, but create as many interesting situations as we can when we see the opportunity!¡±

    My head flopped back so I was staring up at the leafy green canopy above me, little shards of the blue sky peeking through the various shades of green like the shards of hope that had suddenly appeared in my heart. Adrian¡¯s suggestion could be a way to help Felix¡­¡­..a wry grin stretched across my face, it looks like the future is going to be pretty troublesome~

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Arvid:......I¡¯m not completely convinced¡­.the conclusion doesn¡¯t feel quite right when I think of it together with the Boss¡­...but I¡¯ll keep it in mind, guess it¡¯ll be more interesting from now on~

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Celia Paragon, First Princess of Ediraseth, rushed into her father¡¯s private study while tearing off the jacket that was tailored to morph her slighter, feminine form into a more boyish, angular one similar to her twin brother Cedric¡¯s build.

    ¡°Has there been any news on Cedric¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    Her father looked up from the stack of papers he was perusing in his hand, his face as expressionless and unreadable as usual. Placing the stack of papers to one side of his neat and orderly polished oak desk, the king slid open a drawer from the left side of the desk. Pulling out a thin stack of papers he handed it over to Celia. Taking a short moment to scan through the pages, she slammed the papers onto the dress.

    ¡°This is all useless! There¡¯s hardly any new information from when I left for school disguised as Cedric!¡±

    The king leaned back, a small crease between his eyebrows the only sign of his frustration.

    ¡°Indeed, the lack of information discovered by our information network is disappointing. The excuse of your supposed ¡®illness¡¯ keeping you out of the eye of society won¡¯t last much longer either¡­...You should begin preparing to take the title of heir. The Crown Prince is likely dead, after such a long time with no new information or ransom letters.¡±

    Celia leaned back as disbelief and surprise slammed into her.

    ¡°You¡¯re giving up just like that? Cedric is your son, remember!? Don¡¯t call him the Crown Prince as though he has no relation to you! How can you drop this so easily!!?¡±

    Even as those words passed her lips, Celia flinched, she knew had gone too far. Silence filled the study for a long, cold minute. She didn¡¯t dare breathe, or even blink, her eyes fixed fearfully on her father for his reaction. Finally, her father moved, slowly standing up. Closing her eyes, Celia tried to make herself as small as possible as her body tensed in expectation for whatever was coming. Instead of being yelled at or barraged by spirit pressure or being forcefully thrown from the study, all she felt was a light brush of wind as her father swept past her to the door. She heard his footsteps pause before opening the solid door.

    ¡°Starting preparing for your crowning ceremony now, your conduct is not befitting one who will bear the privilege and responsibilities of a monarch. Rid yourself of foolish feelings, Crown Princess, a Ruler of Ediraseth cannot show weakness.¡±

    With those cold words, he was gone.

    Celia Paragon, future Crown Princess of Ediraseth, collapsed to her knees and began to sob.