《Spirit [Dropped]》 Vol. 1; Chapter 1: Freyport City Chapter 1: Freyport City In Magehollow Orphanage in Freyport city, three young, beautiful siblings stared at the sky expectantly. The oldest of the three, Lilith, has wavy, light blonde hair that falls short to her shoulders and cat-like, silver eyes. She stands at 114 centimeters (3.75 ft.) tall at the age of 7. The second oldest and also twins with the youngest, Evangeline has straight, light blonde hair that reaches above her butt and round, silver eyes. At the age 5, Evangeline, whom is called Eve, stands at the height of 99 (3.25 ft.) centimeters. Finally, the youngest, Malachi, who sometimes resembles a girl, has straight, light blonde hair that falls slightly above the shoulders and sharp, silver eyes. He is slightly taller than his twin sister, at the height of 102 centimeters (3.35 ft.). ¡°Sis,¡± Malachi, Kai for short, slurred out, ¡°If we keep staring at the sky, will God send us a miracle to cure our boredom?¡± ¡°Not particularly,¡± Lilith replied. ¡°If he does, however, it would especially be good for us.¡± These siblings were living a detached life, with no sense of ambition. They didn¡¯t know their parents, due to them dying when they were still young. However, at least they had each other. ¡°I want to eat,¡± Eve suddenly said. ¡°Mmm¡­ Granny Lilah is making apple pie right now,¡± Kai said. ¡°I call the first slice!¡± Eve yelled, jumping up and racing towards the kitchen in record speed. ¡°No fair!¡± yelled Kai, following shortly after her. After a moment of silence, Lilith, too, slowly got up and followed them. ¡°Don¡¯t run in the halls!¡± a nanny yelled at them, as they zoomed past several rooms filled with playing children. When they reached Granny Lilah, however, a young, handsome stranger with long, red hair and green eyes was talking with her. ¡°Granny! Did you finish making your apple pie?¡± Kai asked excitedly, dismissing the stranger from his mind and suspicions. Although Lilith, being the most cautious, held her siblings close. The stranger¡¯s beautiful eyes widened in surprise and a crinkle appeared next to his eyes, his lips forming a smile that seemed ethereal. ¡°Oh¡­ interesting,¡± he mumbled to himself, as he eyed the beautiful children. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude to guests!¡± Granny Lilah slapped Kai¡¯s head on the top. ¡°Ouch! That hurt, Granny!¡± Kai yelled, rubbing his head as small tears formed in the corner of his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to!¡± Granny Lilah turned to the stranger with apologetic eyes, ¡°Apologies for his rudeness. I¡¯ll be right back to get the pie, in the mean time, you three entertain our guest. Show him to the living room.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Kai mumbled and stared at the stranger, with newfound determination. ¡°Nice to meetcha!¡± Kai bowed, placing a hand on his heart, ¡°I¡¯m the man of this house, Malachi - Kai for short!¡± ¡°Oh? The man of this house?¡± The man smiled mysteriously, ¡°I¡¯m Ezra, pleasure is all mine.¡± He then looked at the two girls next to Malachi, ¡°and may I have the honor of knowing your names?¡± ¡°Lilith, the oldest of these two,¡± Lilith answered shortly. ¡°I apologize for his short rudeness earlier, he¡¯s still learning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Evangeline, sir! Eve for short!¡± Eve saluted, her eyes turning serious. ¡°I¡¯m older than Kai-¡± ¡°By a minute-¡± ¡°Still older!¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Lilith growled. ¡°Mr. Ezra, come, we¡¯ll escort you to the living room.¡± Ezra was surprised by the maturity of the girl, but soon dismissed it in his mind. After all, some kids grow up faster than others, whether by force or not. Especially since he was in an orphanage, did this thought appear into his mind. The two kids hissed at each other, yet still obeyed their older sister. The both of them quietly went to the kitchen to get refreshments for the guests - as always. After getting settled into the antique-like room, Granny Lilah came back, an apple pie in hand, followed by the squeals of two growing children. ¡°Go to the dining room,¡± she told them. ¡°Tell me, Mr. Ezra, why are you here?¡± Ezra smiled, ¡°I¡¯m interested in adopting some children.¡± ¡°Some?¡± Granny Lilah frowned, ¡°I- I see¡­¡± A few feet away from the living room stood three curious youngsters, eavesdropping with careful eyes and ears. ¡°Adoption?!¡± Eve exclaimed. ¡°Shh!¡± Kai whispered harshly, glaring at her. ¡°I can¡¯t hear!¡± ¡°The both of you shut up,¡± Lilith glared. The three shuffled back and forth with the hushing of whispers that included many derogatory phrases and words. After a minute, they settled into a comfortable silence. ¡°I see¡­¡± Granny Lilah sighed. ¡°I knew this day would come.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ you truly love them, huh? I apologize for taking them away so soon, but I believe it¡¯s in their best interest. Also, many kids at this orphanage are being adopted at a fast rate.¡° Granny Lilah shifted uncomfortably, ¡°that¡¯s topic I¡¯d like to not talk about.¡± ¡°Apologies, it must be tough, right?¡± Ezra gazed at her sympathetically. Granny Lilah sighed and nodded her head. ¡°When will I be able to take them away?¡± After a minute of silence, she slid a stack of papers across the wooden coffee table. ¡°Fill this out - this should be settled in a few days.¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Lilah,¡± Ezra gave her a wide smile, showing his straight, pearly-white teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few days.¡± The two figures stood up and she led him out of the house, Ezra gave her a small nod and walked out the door. ¡°Granny!¡± Kai yelled, running up to her. ¡°Who¡¯s he gonna take?!¡± Granny Lilah sighed and gave him a smile. ¡°Unfortunately, my love, it would be you three.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Lilith yelled, shocked by the news. ¡°No way! I won¡¯t let him take us away from you!¡± Eve yelled, her eyes glistening with tears. ¡°Yeah, we won¡¯t let him take us away! That dirty- but handsome- scum!¡± Kai growled, his eyes growing menacing. ¡°It¡¯s alright, my love,¡± Granny Lilah smiled warmly, ¡°It¡¯s in your best interest.¡± She patted their heads, ¡°alright, it¡¯s almost night! Go shower while I make supper- also, bring in the other children.¡± ¡°Yes~!¡± they smiled happily and ran off. Granny Lilah sighed and muttered something under her breath, a slight smile on her face. ¡°Fools.¡± ... As night time rolled around, the children gathered around their beds to do their nightly prayer. After that, they would tuck themselves in and sleep. Granny Lilah, after a while, would come and check on them. ¡°Psst!¡± ¡°PSST!¡± ¡°Who is it?!¡± Lilith grumbled sleepily. ¡°It¡¯s me, Kai.¡± ¡°Kai, why are you awake so early? Where¡¯s Eve?¡± ¡°She¡¯s here with me,¡± Kai said while gesturing to the sleeping girl on his back, ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ Alright, come with me,¡± Lilith stood up and grabbed his hand. ¡°Be careful with Eve.¡± ¡°Yes!" Lilith guided him outside, ¡°follow quickly.¡± She walked towards the forest and lead him to a small meadow with long, soft grass. The grass and flowers would sway every few seconds as the warm wind passed by gently. ¡°Ah~!¡± Kai let down Eve and stretched his back. ¡°Whoa¡­!¡± Eve said sleepily, as she rubbed her eyes and relaxed her body against the grass. Lilith smirked, ¡°I go here everytime I can¡¯t sleep.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Eh? No fair! You didn¡¯t tell us?¡± Kai frowned, Eve nodded her head, agreeing with her brother for once. ¡°No way~! This is too precious for a bunch of brats to handle,¡± Lilith humphed. ¡°Grr¡­ Fine, be that way!¡± Kai fell on his back and stretched his arms out, his feet kicking up and falling back down. Eve followed in a similar manner. ¡°Haha!¡± Lilith laughed, and laid next to them. ¡°This feels so nice,¡± she mumbled. ¡°I want to forget everything.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± The twins inaudibly mumurmed. The wind whispered gently against their pale skin and played with the wisps of their hair. The grass tickled their body in a friendly manner and the sweet smell of flowers wafted through the air. The moon enveloped their body in a faint light. ¡°Oh?¡± A sudden voice interrupted their relaxation. Lilith jumped up in surprise and turned to the voice. Granny Lilah stood there in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect people to find this place,¡± Granny Lilah smiled warmly. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just Granny. Don¡¯t scare us like that,¡± Kai said flippantly and fell back on his back. ¡°What¡­¡± Eve stared wide-eyed at Granny Lilah. ¡°W-what¡¯s is that¡­ Granny Lilah?¡± Eve¡¯s voice crumbled. ¡°Oh, this?¡± Granny Lilah threw a large object in front of the three. A part of the object touched Kai. Kai looked at the object and crawled towards Lilith, releasing a muffled scream. Lilith paled with fear and grabbed her siblings quickly. ¡°What are you?!¡± she yelled. The object was, in fact, a child from the orphanage. However, it was certain he dead, as his head was separated from his body. ¡°Haha!¡± Granny Lilah laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this for years- ever since you three joined, I¡¯ve felt it. A large amount of spirit power resides in you- it was too delicious for me to give it to that scruffy man. Ezra, right? In all my life doing this, I¡¯ve never desired something so much.¡± ¡°Life?¡± Lilith whispered. ¡°Ah, yes¡­ This area is the grave that holds a hundred-years worth of children¡¯s bodies! In fact, it will be your grave, too!¡± Lilith felt a need to vomit. She looked down at the once-peaceful place and all she could see was red. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± ¡°Prepare yourselves, children.¡± Granny Lilah turned into a black creature with red eyes and a horribly disfigured body. Her arms and legs were mangled and the skin that held her muscles was almost transparent. Kai vomited at the scene. ¡°Gross,¡± Eve commented, but began to sweat in fear. ¡°Shut up, she¡¯s horrifically disgusting.¡± Kai glared. The two¡¯s small spat woke them up from their fear and cleared their minds. It calmed them down to know they had each other. ¡°What should we do?¡± Eve asked Lilith. ¡°I¡¯m thinking,¡± Lilith mumbled. She concluded they weren¡¯t strong enough to take this monster down. Heck, they don¡¯t have any experience in fighting, either. It was hopeless, but she was determined to survive. ¡°Eve, you think, too!¡± ¡°Then go distract her!¡± Eve said. ¡°No!¡± Lilith glared. ¡°Have you forgotten me already?¡± the monster growled in a voice that had a mixture between Granny Lilah¡¯s voice and the devil¡¯s. ¡°N-no!¡± Kai replied. The monster slowly closed in on them, walking step-by-step. ¡°Get up,¡± Lilith muttered and pulled the two up easily. ¡°We¡¯ll run, we don¡¯t have a choice.¡± Determination flashed through the siblings¡¯ eyes and they nodded. ¡°On my word,¡± she mumbled, ¡°dodge to the left.¡± The monster was sixteen feet away. ¡°One,¡± she muttered. In a second, it was ten feet away. ¡°Two.¡± Seven feet- almost arm¡¯s distance. ¡°Three¡­!¡± Four feet away and it swung its arms back, as to load for a punch. ¡°Dodge!¡± They jumped to the left and moved out of the way. The three scrambled to get up and ran towards the forest. ¡°Faster!¡± Lilith cried, holding onto her siblings, pushing them along the way. As they were getting closer to the forest, the monster leaped and landed before them. With a sudden stop, Lilith pulled her siblings close and stood in front of them. The monster swung its arms back and they screamed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I stole your pie slice, Kai! I love you!¡± Eve cried aloud, tears flowing down her face. ¡°Me, too!¡± Kai yelled, in a similar manner. Lilith turned her back to the monster and hugged the two tightly. ¡°I love you two,¡± she mumbled. A thunderous sound echoed through the forest and a screech could be heard from the next town over. Hundreds of birds flew from the forest due to the sound. ¡°...¡± ¡°What?¡± Kai pried open one eye and looked around. ¡°S-sis¡­ L-look.¡± The girls turned and looked at the monster- with its head cut cleanly off. ¡°Oof~!¡± A masculine voice was heard. ¡°I made it in time!¡± His red hair flowed freely in the wind and his cat-like, green eyes were filled with amusement. One leg was propped on top of the monster¡¯s body, his other hand sheathing a rapier. His heroic-like figure bathed in the moonlight was imprinted on the children¡¯s minds. It was the stranger from the orphanage. ¡°Mr. Ezra!¡± they shouted in unison. ¡°Good evening,¡± Ezra smiled charmingly, ¡°or should I say good night?¡± ¡°Mr. Ezra, where did you come from?¡± Kai asked. ¡°I was taking a stroll,¡± he replied casually. ¡°Where?¡± Eve asked, her eyes sparkling in admiration. ¡°There,¡± Ezra pointed towards the sky filled with stars and galaxies. ¡°Whoa,¡± the children breathed out in admiration, staring at the countless, beautiful stars that filled the night sky. ¡°Well, I finished my paperwork,¡± Ezra frowned. ¡°However, it seems as if¡­ the person whom I should¡¯ve returned it to was just slayed by my rapier.¡± Lilith paused once more and looked towards the direction of the orphanage. ¡°The other kids¡­¡± she mumbled. ¡°Taken care of,¡± Ezra smiled. ¡°My subordinates are having them transferred to a safer facility.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Lilith looked at her siblings, ¡°what now?¡± ¡°What now?¡± Ezra looked at them incredulously. ¡°I saved your lives, you know! I expect you to pay me back.¡± ¡°Wha- but how?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°we¡¯re only orphans.¡± ¡°Mmm... Worry not, young ones!¡± Ezra smiled, ¡°As my first job as the strongest teacher in the world, I expect you to be my apprentices!¡± Strongest teacher¡­? ¡°Is this the only way?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Only way!¡± Ezra nodded firmly. ¡°T-then!¡± Lilith took a deep breath and grabbed her siblings¡¯ hands. ¡°Please take care of us!¡± they yelled in unison, bowing down. Ezra smiled warmly, ¡°good. You did good.¡± Within a matter of seconds, tears flowed down the soft cheeks of the children. Sounds of hiccuping could occasionally be heard. The shock of death creeping near finally sank in their young heads, as well as the betrayal of the person closest to them as a parent. A parent they longed for. They sank to the ground, wailing for their broken heart. A feeling of loneliness and longing settling down deep within their hearts. Ezra smiled sympathetically and rubbed their heads, he repeated, ¡°you did good.¡± _____ Criticism and any sort of comment is welcomed. Thanks for reading. :) Chapter 2 World Domination Spoiler : Chapter 2: World Domination ¡°As my apprentices, you must first gain insight about this world- you must know its history, geography, and everything inbetween!¡± Ezra said, pacing back and forth. Everyone once in awhile he would stop in front of the lined-up children. They were currently inside an inn at Belmill City- a few miles north of Freyport. ¡°So tell me, what do you know?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°Ergh!¡± Kai flinched at that question. ¡°At the orphanage, we only received general information such as the continents, the biggest kingdoms, and the current king- nothing else,¡± Lilith supplied information about their current situation. Ezra sighed, it looks like they¡¯re more sheltered than I thought. ¡°Alright, first lesson! Listen up, kids¡­¡± ¡­ The world we live on is currently called Tellus- named after Terra Matra, who gave us the land we stand on today. Tellus is split up into five great regions: to the farthest west is Nereida- land of the naiads and aquatic creatures. Northeast to Nereida is Polymetis, the region of great technology and crafts. The central region is Ophir, known to create the greatest weapons and produce the strongest heroes. East of Ophir is Gwydion, the land of magic- it¡¯s where we currently reside- known for the most advanced magic and is home to many magical creatures. South of Gwydion is Eradion, the largest region and home to the most humans. We have our capital built there. Currently, they are the strongest fighting force. Tellus is larger than what humans think. In fact, there are still many undiscovered places beyond the waters. Perhaps this planet is made of 98% water and our lands are the minority? No one knows- ¡­ ¡°Whoa, seriously?!¡± Kai exclaimed, interrupting the lesson. ¡°Yes, now be quiet.¡± ¡­ Around a thousand years ago, Polymetis had a technological boom. They created new weapons for the magic-less to use, as well as invent new ways to travel. This was all without magic. However, Gwydion would lose all of its advantages if magic were to be pushed aside. Therefore leading to a new magic-advancement frenzy. By taking the newest technology and adding magic to it, new types of weapon were created. More and more spells and weapons were invented. It was the modernization of Tellus. See, for example, this communication spell allows me to telepathically talk with someone on the other side of Gwydion- quite far, actually. Of course, it¡¯s still under development and hopefully people will be able to talk across regions. However, not only did weaponry and magic advance, but humans as a whole advanced. The standard infrastructure upgraded, as well as the education and military (for obvious reasons). Unfortunately, talent has become even more important. Before, someone who¡¯s hard working could achieve the same success as someone with more talent and a bigger mana pool. Now, those with more talent will be able to utilize the newly-developed weapons better- resulting in more power. A clear line has been cut between those with talent and those without. Although talent is hard to find nowadays. The group against technology was called exigo, while the group for it was called novus. Fights started erupting throughout the world and continued on for around a hundred years. At first it was small spats, then it turned to large injuries, and then finally they began to shed blood. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The rulers thought they wanted to vent out their anger, so they created a special type of battle-arena. Dying in this special arena doesn¡¯t kill you, but teleports you to safety. For an odd reason, this was an extremely popular way to vent anger against those who used the new technology and those who didn¡¯t. The arena evolved into tournaments that are held every summer and winter. It became a sport. Finally, they added rankings to the world. They made it so that the easiest way to climb the ranking ladder is through the tournaments. After hundreds of years, both sides backed down and accepted the new technology as well as the battle-arena that became an international craze. ¡­ ¡°... That¡¯s our current situation,¡± Ezra sighed. ¡°Although I wouldn¡¯t mind choosing kids without talent, it would cause too much difficulty and pressure on them. Ah¡­ to be the apprentice of the strongest man in the world.¡± Arrogant, the children thought. ¡°Master, what rank are you?¡± Eve asked, her eyes accusing him. ¡°Don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Eh? Then how do you know you¡¯re the strongest?¡± Eve asked. ¡°Please, the strong shouldn¡¯t flaunt their strength. Although, being ranked 1 gives you a lot of benefits¡­¡± Ezra mumbled beneath his breath, ¡°reputation, money, food¡­¡± ¡°Sir, what¡¯s this about ranks?¡± Lilith questioned, frowning. She has never heard of such a system, but then again, they were isolated in a small city that did nothing. Only small amounts of information came to it. Heck, they didn¡¯t even know their world¡¯s history or geography. ¡°A long time ago, the rulers thought it would be fun if people were to fight each other in order to determine the strongest. At first, everyone disregarded it and only the exigo and novus used the tournaments. Then they added rewards: fame, reputation, glory, money. It became a part of life, you could say. In order to be ranked, however, you must register- everyone starts off with no rank. Your number starts to show when you reach a million.¡± Ezra sighed, ¡°our rulers are stupid. Thankfully they died, but their system stuck around.¡± ¡°So¡­ our rulers are stupid?¡± Kai asked innocently. ¡°Hmph, I wouldn¡¯t say they¡¯re stupid, but they¡¯re not wise.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not wise?¡± Eve asked this time, looking at Ezra for confirmation. The two children¡¯s auras changing. ¡°Yes.¡± The three children looked at each other, sending signals from their eyes. As if they wanted to propose something to him, but couldn¡¯t come up with a way to bring it up. ¡°So what do you conclude we do, Mr. Ezra?¡± Lilith asked, all three children¡¯s eyes changing. Ezra noticed the change and a sudden thought flitted across his mind. He quickly pushed the thought into the innermost corner of his mind. These children¡­ are quite evil, but¡­ The thoughts of them crying last night caused him to comply with their thoughts. ¡°What do you propose we do?¡± he asked. ¡°World domination!¡± Eh? _____________________ Shorter chapter, but here it is. :) Any criticism and comments are welcomed- a must actually. Anything to improve the story is a big help (after all, this is my first fiction). Map of Tellus below. Spoiler : Chapter 3: A Small Adventure Chapter 3: A Small Adventure ¡°Huh?¡± Ezra stared at the children with a baffled look. After a moment of silence, he regained his composure and began to think to himself. ¡°So? How is it?" Kai asked excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s perfect! Once we conquer the world we can banish all demons and live in a place full of love and peace. No loneliness!¡± Kai smiled. ¡°Hm¡­ interesting indeed,¡± Ezra laughed. After contemplating for nearly a second, Ezra agreed. ¡°Alright! New goal: world domination, it is!¡± ¡°Then¡­ how do we start?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°First, we¡¯ll meet your teachers and fellow apprentices,¡± Ezra chuckled. ¡°Whoa! You have more apprentices? How many people did you save, Ezra?!¡± Kai said excitedly. ¡°Ah¡­ just two other children- they¡¯re a lot like you, so be sure to treat them kindly, alright?¡± ¡°Yes~!¡± ¡­ Their destination was Skystead City- one of the main cities in the region of Gwydion. It was a neutral city that was located a several miles into the sky- directly above a large lake called the reflection lake. The Reflection Lake is sandwiched between Eradion and Gwydion. However, a war thousands of years before settled the city into Gwydion¡¯s territory. It took them several days before they made it to the base of the lake. The floating air transporter would take them up there. However, it would be a few hours before they could go on. ¡°This is taking forever,¡± Kai pouted, unable to sit still. ¡°Patience is key,¡± Eve told him, ¡°at least, that¡¯s what Master told me.¡± She turned to look around and whispered to him, ¡°I don¡¯t believe him.¡± ¡°Patience is key,¡± Lilith mumbled. ¡°You should believe in him. I believe Ezra has good intentions with those words.¡± Over the past few days, Lilith became more comfortable with Ezra and eventually dropped any honorifics associated with his name. Albeit, Ezra preferred being called ¡®Mr.¡¯ In the end, he allowed her to do what she wanted, as long as Eve continued to call him ¡®master.¡¯ ¡°Sis, do you really think Ezra¡¯s the strongest?¡± Kai asked. ¡°Considering he killed that demon¡­ I think he might be,¡± Lilith said unsure of herself. Little did the children know, that the demon he slayed was undeniably weak. To look more heroic, however, he opted out to tell them. This was his biggest secret. A few hours later, a large, metal platform with railings floated down gently. It had small, white wings attached to the side of it. ¡°W-whoa? What¡¯s this, Master?¡± Eve asked. ¡°We call it an elevator.¡± ¡°How did they decide on that?¡± ¡°Only the gods know,¡± Ezra sighed. ¡°Come along.¡± He pulled the children onto the elevator and locked the gate behind them. They finally lifted off and started to slowly fly upwards, the scenery below them disappearing into the distance. Only the clouds and sky surrounded them. ¡°Wowee! This is so cool!¡± Eve exclaimed in ecstasy, the wind rushing and tumbling messily with her long hair. ¡°Hoh? Wait ¡®til we reach the top,¡± Ezra chuckled, staring above to their destination. ¡°Good man, how long ¡®til we¡¯ve arrived?¡± ¡°Only a few more minutes, Sir!¡± the operator replied. ¡°Wow! Y¡¯hear that Lilith? We¡¯re going to Skystead City!¡± Eve swooned. It was only one of the more romantic destinations in the world. Also one of the only cities they¡¯ve heard about in the orphanage, despite not knowing what region it belonged to. ¡°Haha!¡± Lilith laughed, it was possibly first time she¡¯s laughed in awhile. This thought made her a little upset. Her face turned into a frown again. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Eve asked, concerned for her sister''s wellbeing. "I-it''s nothing!" Lilith smiled to assure her sister. Eve stared at her suspiciously before dropping the subject. "Fine," she humphed. Lilith could only let out a breath of relief. She didn''t want to trouble her siblings, especially when they''re entering a new environment. Little did she know, Ezra was watching the two''s exchange with careful eyes. He analyzed the situation and deducted a conclusion. These children were in dire need of help, yet they didn''t know. He would let them figure out their emotions first, so he let this slide. "We''re here!" The operator called. Ezra handed him a few coins before telling the children to get off. "Let''s hurry now, we don''t want them to wait forever." Eve felt anxious. She wanted to make a good impression on the other apprentices. However, she couldn''t understand why. What drove her to meet more people? A deep feeling settled down in her stomach, to which she ignored. Skystead City was filled with tall, glass buildings. On one half they had those large buildings, on the other half, they had normal buildings- the tourist destination and residential area. They followed Ezra into a nice looking building. It was the inn they were to stay at for their time at this city. "Sorry we''re late," Ezra said, opening the door to their suite. "You''re late," a female voice said, annoyed. "By an hour." "The elevator took a while." The voice humphed. "Hey, let him off," a deeper, noble voice told the female. "Anyway, I brought three more apprentices-" "You what?! Let them in, quick!" The female ushered Ezra. "Alright, kids, meet Brent and Atira," Ezra gestured to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man and to the plain looking woman with brown hair and amber eyes. Albeit, she looked kind. Brent whistled. "And I thought you got lucky with the first two. Are you sure you''re not a pedophile aiming for good looking kids?" Ezra gave him a pointed look, to which Brent put his hands up in surrender. "T-they''re so... cute!" Atira squealed, hugging the three. She began to pant. "Orion and Caelus are so cold to me, but that''s okay, it''s all a part of their charm. But you three, you''re just like dolls!" She began to mumble inaudible words beneath her breath. Thankfully for her, no one heard her. "Ah. Where''s Orion and Caelus?" Ezra asked. "Hehe," Brent smiled smugly. "I gave them their first mission!" "And what''s that?" "Find a member for your apprenticeship!" Brent laughed heartily. "I even pretended to kick them out if they didn''t complete it!" "... YOU IDIOT!" Ezra roared. ... Two handsome, young boys sit next to each other in a deserted park. One boy had silver hair that fell to his shoulders and icy blue eyes. He stood above average for a six-year-old at the height of 122 centimeters (4 ft.). His name is Caelus. The dark-haired boy with scarlet red eyes next to him is Orion, the oldest at seven. He stood even taller at 130 centimeters (4.27 ft.). This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "What do we do?" Caelus asked, frustration building up inside of him. Normally he was lazy and had passive emotions. However, one of their teachers threatened to end their apprenticeship if they didn''t complete the task. "We look to the sky and pray for Mufasa''s guidance," Orion said, a serious expression on his face and his hands put together. "Who''s Mufasa?" "Only the gods know," Orion shrugged. "We''ve only checked the town... I know Ezra said to avoid this, but... the forest is all we have left." Caelus looked around, "should we go?" "Be a man," Orion said, getting off the bench and walking towards the forest. "So cool," Caelus said underneath his breath, before shortly following Orion. ... "Knowing those two, they will definitely enter the forest!" Ezra rubbed his temples. "Why''s the forest bad?" Eve asked. "A strong deity resides there," Ezra sighed. "There has been cases of injuries and deaths reported from there." "So... what do we do?" Brent asked nervously. "No good!" Atira cried. "They''re not answering to my telepathic messages!" Ezra glared at him. "Find them. Now. Atira, come with me. Brent, stay here and watch the kids." "Wha- but-" Ezra and Atira departed before he could say anything. "Hi?" Brent smiled, an awkward silence loomed over the room as the children carefully analyzed the man before them. "Do you know how to assassinate a ruler?" "Eh?" Brent blinked. ... Meanwhile, Orion and Caelus walk through the dark forest... After an hour or two, the boys got lost within the deep woods with nowhere else to go. They couldn¡¯t even find a ravine or any source of water. After three hours, they started to rely on luck. Thankfully, they haven¡¯t run into any trouble yet. "It''s getting dark," Orion commented, staring at the sky. "We should find some shelter." Caelus nodded, his eyes growing heavy. After all, a young boy needs his sleep. While treading through the thick forest, Caelus trips over one of the random tree¡¯s roots and rolls down a small steep to the left of them. "Wah!" "Caelus!" Orion yelled, sliding down the steep after him. He quickly grabbed a hold of him and checked for any injuries as soon as they reached the ground. ¡°That was dangerous,¡± Orion glared, scolding the boy. ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going next time.¡± After that small incident, they managed to love their path. However, they continued forward. The deeper they went into the woods, the stronger the mana was. It was almost intoxicating. The mana eventually lead them to a small set of stairs that moved uphill. Looking at one another, the boys decide to go for it. Why not? After reaching the top, they were disappointed to find nothing. They quickly turn around to leave, but felt as if their bodies were glued to the ground. "WHO GOES THERE?" An intimidating voice boomed. The boys turned to a small shrine in front of them. A sudden nervous look on their face. "ANSWER ME!" "Caelus and Orion, sir!" Orion said. The voice paused, as if it were surprised by the tiny voice that answered. "HM... I SEE THAT YOU''RE LOST." "Yes, sir." "TELL YOU WHAT, IF YOU RELEASE ME, I''LL GIVE YOU ONE WISH." ¡°If you promise,¡± Orion said jokingly, pretending to glare at the tiny shrine with no power. ¡°HAHA, BOY. YOU¡¯RE A SMART ONE.¡± It was just a joke? Orion frowned and wondered whether this person was competent or not. However, for the sake of not getting kicked out, he would do anything. Without giving it another thought, they agreed. "Okay!" A little while ago, Brent taught them how to dispel a small curse. They figured it was the same level as this curse. Their thoughts were partially due to the voice sounding like an idiot. "Ready? Go!" Orion started pouring in mana into a small, thin paper. Caelus soon followed after him. Actually, this paper was a dispelling rune given to them for extra protection by Atira. It was a higher level spell than what they could currently do. Something she shouldn¡¯t have done. However, like Brent, she has her blunders. "Ergh!" They grit their teeth as they felt all of the mana leave their tiny bodies. Their mana began to disappear faster than they thought, they tried feeding the small rune even more power. "Haaaah!¡± "AHHH!" The children yelled as they finally gave the last drop of mana they had, completing the low-grade rune. It took more mana than expected, but at least they completed it. Caelus crawled over to the shrine and stuck the rune onto it. A sudden light surrounded the shrine and encompassed it. "OH? YOU... UWAAH!" The voice yelled. Suddenly, an eagle with electricity surrounding its body appeared. "Wahahaha! Free at last! I must thank you, boys. Now tell me, what is it you wish for?" The eagle stared at them expectantly, with its large, glowing eyes. Orion coughed and wheezed out a few words without thinking, "a teammate." "Oh? Hm..." the deity paused to think. He didn¡¯t expect that, he thought they would ask to find a way to leave the forest. However, a promise is a promise. "Alright, then!" Like a drop of a hat, the eagle disappeared and smoke built up where it used to be. "What?!" Caelus exclaimed, coughing after he yelled. "Take care of him, boys!" The eagle''s voice echoed in their minds, before a cackling sound could be heard in the background. "Waaaaaah!" A cry could be heard. With an alarmed look, the boys looked at each other. They didn¡¯t think the eagle was strong enough to create a teammate for them. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t what they thought it was. As soon as the smoke cleared out, a newborn baby laid where the eagle once was. A message was written next to the baby. His name shall be Ley. Crap. "W-what do we do?" Caelus asked. "Uh..." ____________ Here''s chapter three! Comments and criticism is welcomed. Please feel free to voice your thoughts. Next chapter won''t be posted until sometime later this week, or maybe on Wednesday/Thursday. Chapter 4: The Mystical Baby and More Chapter 4: The Mystical Baby and More ¡°Uhn¡­¡± Ley gurgled, his golden eyes staring into a pair of blue eyes and red eyes. ¡°H-he opened his eyes fast,¡± Caelus commented. ¡°Well, his dad is a deity, after all¡­¡± Orion muttered. ¡°So, what do we do with¡­ this?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave him here,¡± Orion glared. ¡°He¡¯ll die. We¡¯ll just have to take him and explain it to Ezra-¡± ¡°Waooo!¡± Ley smiled and gave gurgled laughter. ¡°We don¡¯t know how to get back,¡± Caelus told him. ¡°Which is why we¡¯re in trouble,¡± Orion sighed, ¡°does your telepathy work? Mine isn¡¯t strong enough to go far distances.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, what makes you think I can?¡± ¡°Waooo!¡± Ley yelled again. ¡°This baby¡­ can already make noises besides crying,¡± Caelus frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s try to find a stream,¡± Orion suggested. With no other options, the two boys - plus one baby - left. ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s been three hours,¡± Atira choked. ¡°What if they¡¯re hurt? If they¡¯re hurt, I swear to Primus, Brent I will kill you.¡± ¡°No need to issue death threats,¡± Brent said, raising his hands up in surrender. ¡°Well, they¡¯re big boys now, so¡­¡± Atira glared. ¡°They¡¯re seven and six.¡± ¡°Slightly big boys.¡± Ezra sighed, ¡°We searched the entire town already and nobody has seen them. Where could they be?¡± ¡°Maybe in the forest,¡± Lilith said, gaining stares from the adults. ¡°Right.¡± ¡­ After another hour of searching, they finally found a stream. However, they were hungry and they guessed that Ley was hungry, too. Due to his nonstop crying for the past thirty minutes. ¡°WAAAH!¡± ¡°Annoying,¡± Caelus said. ¡°He¡¯s a baby, what do you expect?¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°We follow the stream¡­ I think. Atira never truly explained survival methods to us.¡± Orion stared at the stream, squinting his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ it¡¯s going¡­ that way!¡± ¡°Are you sure we¡¯re supposed to follow it? What if it leads us into the forest even more?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ do you have any other plans?¡± ¡°Yes, sit here and hope someone will find us.¡± ¡°Lazy,¡± Orion scoffed. ¡°You just don¡¯t want to walk.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m caught.¡± ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do it your way.¡± So they sat and waited. And waited, waited, waited, waited, waited- and lied down. The sky above them turning a purple-orange hue, the clouds dispersing. ¡°This would be great, if it weren¡¯t for Ley crying,¡± Caelus sighed in happiness. And yes, Ley has been crying¡­ For the past hour already. ¡°Ley,¡± Caelus turned his body to face the baby. ¡°Big boys don¡¯t cry.¡± For an odd reason, it seemed as if the baby understood and stopped crying. Caelus blinked in surprise, which caused the baby to laugh in pure joy. ¡°Orion,¡± Caelus whispered, slapping his back, his eyes never taken off from the baby. ¡°Orion!¡± ¡°What is it?!¡± ¡°I- I think the baby¡­ understands me?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± ¡°Seriously, look for yourself!¡± Orion turned around to face the baby, who was staring intently at him. ¡°You, do you know your father?¡± The baby shook his head no. ¡°Do you know where you came from?¡± Another no. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°In the forest,¡± a clear voice said in their minds. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Do you know how to get out?¡± Ley released a small amount of electricity, which crackled on the ground and moved until it made a line to show where to go. After doing that, Ley fainted, seemingly using up all of his energy. ¡°...¡± ¡°Well? What are we waiting for?¡± Caelus asked, getting up. ¡°The sun¡¯s almost down.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± So the two boys followed the small electric path that was given to them by a deity-born, talking, hours-old baby. Their minds couldn¡¯t even comprehend what Ley would become when he gets older... ¡­ ¡°So, what is this?¡± Ezra asked, glaring at the two boys. He held the baby carefully in his arms, rocking it back and forth. It took them two hours to get back, they traveled farther than expected. However, when they got back, they faced a trio of strangers and an angry, red-haired devil. Behind him, was another secret, brown-haired mid-boss. Two bosses at once! ¡°A baby,¡± Orion said nonchalantly. ¡°And who¡¯s baby is it?¡± ¡°A deity¡¯s,¡± the two boys simultaneously gulped. ¡°And where did find this deity?¡± ¡°In the forest,¡± small beads of sweat rolled down their faces. ¡°I see¡­¡± Ezra smiled. ¡°YOU IDIOTS.¡± He slapped the two hard. Very hard. ¡°Did I not tell you to don¡¯t go near the ******* forest?¡± He let out a stream of curse words, every insult there was, he said it. Every threat, he made it. The two would¡¯ve pissed themselves, if it weren¡¯t for them trying to save face in front of the three new apprentices. ¡°Also, did I not teach you to disregard Brent?!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± they said, their eyes tearing a bit from the slap. Atira sighed, ¡°just let them go this one time, Ezra.¡± ¡°... Fine.¡± Ezra let out a sigh of frustration and anger. ¡°Kids these days are impetuous,¡± Brent snickered. ¡°Someday, your devil-may-care attitudes will get you killed,¡± Ezra glared, ¡°we¡¯re going to fix that. However, this can¡¯t go one-way. And Brent, you!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Come,¡± Ezra grabbed him and lead him to a different room. ¡°NO! Nooooo!¡± Brent yelled, struggling. ¡°Ahh! Ah-!¡± The door shut tightly behind him. They came out twenty minutes later, Ezra looked refreshed and dignified. Brent, on the other hand, looked as if he went to hell and back- three times. ¡°Anyway, care to explain the baby?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°The baby can explain himself,¡± Caelus said, staring at the now-wide-awake baby. ¡°My name is, Ley,¡± the baby said. ¡°According to Orion and Caelus, I was born from an eagle deity. Although I don¡¯t know the exact reasons why, but a few hours after my birth, I quickly gained insight and the ability to talk telepathically, as well as open my eyes. However, my body seems to grow at the same pace as a regular baby.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Ezra looked at Ley intently. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ll be staying with us from now on. You¡¯ll be my sixth apprentices, but you¡¯ll start training when you¡¯re able to walk around at least. Also, regarding apprentices, Orion, Caelus, meet Lilith, Malachi, and Evangeline- your fellow teammates. From now on, they¡¯ll start training along with you.¡± ¡°Eh? That¡¯s it?¡± The children looked surprised. ¡°Please, once you¡¯re strong enough, cases like these aren¡¯t strange.¡± With that, the children stared in awe of Ley. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well? Aren¡¯t you going to greet one another?¡± Atira asked from behind, staring intently at the children. ¡°Pleased to meet you,¡± the boys said, bowing down, before glancing at Atira a couple of times. ¡°Call me Kai!¡± Kai grinned. ¡°Wow! Can you tell me about your adventure later?¡± His random excitement and curiosity caused the boys to raise an eyebrow, but they agreed. ¡°Call me Eve, I¡¯m the older twin of Kai,¡± Eve grinned, however her eyes were more mischievous and mysterious than Kai¡¯s. They felt she would definitely be a troublemaker when she grows up. ¡°Lilith, I¡¯m the oldest sister at 7, pleased to meet you.¡± Lilith, on the other hand, seemed more mature and smart... calculating. Following in the same manner, the boys introduced themselves and their age. Ley, too, introduced himself, however he was only a few hours old. Although it was odd, they believed they would get used to it later on. ¡°In order to start training, we¡¯ll have to take the elemental and potential test.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Kai asked. ¡°It¡¯s a test to determine what element you have and how high your potential is.¡± Ezra explained that potential was used to determine how far you¡¯ll go in terms of strength and abilities. With potential, they can somewhat gauge how big your mana pool will be. It can also help with finding how rare of an element you can receive. Elements are wind, fire, water, and earth. Some rare elements would be light, darkness, lightning, and poison. However, a person could receive a variant of an element, making it stronger than the actual element itself. Or they could get a rare variant, which changes the element itself. For example, earth could become metal, water becomes ice. An even further step from rare, would be epic. Epic variants transform the ability and make it an entirely new ability, they¡¯re sometimes classified as ¡®exclusive.¡¯ There are some odd cases of abilities not falling underneath any element- making it an arcane element. These elements are unknown and mysterious, for the most part. They¡¯re as rare as an element with full affinity. Elements with full affinities can be considered just as powerful as arcane magic and variants of that element. However, they¡¯re more rare than an arcane element type, but not as rare as a full affinity one. ¡°Also, potential would be measured out of 100,¡± Ezra concluded. ¡°Unfortunately, the testings only happen twice a year. However, we¡¯re two months away from the next testing. In the meantime, we can teach you a few more things about mana, ki, and spirit.¡± The kids, including the older disciples, tilted their heads in confusion. They had the general idea of mana, but not ki or spirit. Ezra explained that ki was similar to mana, but for physical attacks, rather than magical attacks. There were three types of beings, mana-suited beings, balanced beings, or ki-suited beings. Mana-suited beings were people who had more mana favored spirit, however the difference had to be significant enough. Ki-suited beings were people who, instead of mana, had a more favored ki spirit. A balanced being was a rare person who had a balance between the two, or only a small difference between the two. Spirit was another way of calling a person¡¯s core or soul. The spirit usually determined what type of practice a person would have: would they follow the footsteps of a grand magician, a fierce and intense warrior, or a powerful overlord with both physical and magical prowess? Spirit importance was comparable to potential. Although, it follows an odd rule. One would either have to have exaggerated favoritism to either ki or mana to be extremely strong, or be balanced. If it was inbetween balanced and high favoritism, the person would not be as strong. ¡°Which is why we have to wait a month after the testing to test your spiritual prowess. Which reminds me, we have yet to talk about ranks,¡± Ezra inhaled deeply before starting his explanation again. Ranks were a simpler subject to talk about, thus easing Kai¡¯s mind. There were seven ranks in this world: basic, basic-intermediate, intermediate, intermediate-advanced, advanced, king, saint, emperor, and finally immortal. However, there were even more ranks within the immortal world, one which Ezra wouldn¡¯t explain to them yet, as it was a bit more complex. ¡°As of now, in terms of potential, you six would at least be in the 90¡¯s,¡± Ezra told them. From what they deduced, 1-30 potential is considered low, 31-60 is medium, 61-80 is high, 81-99 is genius-level potential, and 100 is monster-like potential. ¡°If you weren¡¯t at least in the 90¡¯s, I wouldn¡¯t have accepted you as my apprentices.¡± ¡°But how do you know?¡± asked Kai, who stared at Ezra with undying curiosity. ¡°Hum¡­ Let¡¯s just say I have an ability that helps me determine such things,¡± Ezra said, smiling at him mysteriously. The children earnestly believed he was the strongest. So, of course, they believed him naively. ¡°Anyway, regarding your training, we¡¯ll start tomorrow. Based on what Atira, Brent, and I have discussed upon, you¡¯ll be learning hand-to-hand combat in the morning, academics in the afternoon, and finally, mana at night. We¡¯ll limit your mana training only to activation and cultivation before the test.¡± ¡°Alright, children~!¡± Atira said in a sing-songy voice, ¡°time to go to bed~.¡± At night, a warm, buzzing atmosphere could be felt throughout the house. This atmosphere was caused by the children who were finally excited to start real training. _____ Thanks for reading, please comment and criticize! :) Rave/Rant vvv Okay, honestly, my characters'' personalities are everywhere. I couldn''t decide on what I wanted them to be when they grow up, so during the first few chapters, they were very... dull and (how should I say it) irrelevant(?) or 2-D. They basically had no personalities (especially the twins). One moment, Eve had Kai''s enthusiasm and curiosity, the next, Kai was similar to Eve- more mischievous and laid-back. I kind''ve hated Lilith in the the beginning, tbh. I wanted her to be more mature, calculating, and cautious, but she ended up being a cold-hearted, 2-D, and boring. (Although, yes, she seemed slightly more mature than the others). I managed to get the other characters right (discluding Ley, Orion, and Caelus). However, only Brent and Atira seemed to have the right personalities I wanted them to have (more Brent than Atira). Conclusion: I definitely won''t give up this book, despite messing up the characters in the beginning. During this chapter and the next few ones, I hope I could start defining their traits in which they''ll grow up to be more like. Also, I hope I can solve more plot hole that I know will show up in the future. This chapter marks the beginning of their training/strengthening/OP-ness. Chapter 5: Training Start! Chapter 5: Training Start! ¡°Listen up, kids!¡± Atira said, pacing back and forth between the children, who stood in a line. ¡°Before I start teaching you hand-to-hand combat, you¡¯ll need to reach a certain level in your physicality. In the morning, we¡¯ll start off with a mile run - I¡¯ll be increasing it every other day.¡± She then went on to ramble about their training regime. ¡°Any questions?¡± Caelus raised his hand. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Why are we doing this so early in the morning?¡± Caelus asked drowsily, glaring. The sun wasn¡¯t even up yet. Next to him, the other children, excluding Ley, were yawning and dozing off. However, none of them were as pissed off as Caelus, who cherished sleep and relaxation. ¡°Building your physique takes a lot of time and energy,¡± Atira answered. ¡°Therefore, I woke you up earlier to have you train longer. Now, stop complaining, it¡¯ll be like this from now on.¡± Caelus huffed, stopping his inner thoughts from leaking out. ¡°A mile run would be from this point to the bottom of this mountain and back up.¡± Last night, after the children slept, Ezra decided to relocate where they would stay. Instead of their comfortable inn, he rented a small, log house in the mountains - thankfully, it was safe and had a path. Unfortunately for the children, the mountain was steep. Very steep. The children peered at the stone stairs before them and looked down at the path they had to take. It looked like the path to the devil. ¡°Now, go! I expect you to be back before breakfast, or you¡¯ll be punished!¡± With that, the children began to run down the stairs, a complicated expression on their faces. Before breakfast? ¡°Oh, right. No stopping or walking! I¡¯ll be watching.¡± Demon! The children cursed in their minds, as they traveled further down the mountain. Meanwhile, Atira stared at the children, a disgusting look on her face. Heh, when they¡¯re older and more fit, they¡¯ll look like¡­ As the children went down the mountain, they thought it wasn¡¯t too bad. However, as they reached the bottom, they realized going back up would be 10x more painful. Currently, they were sweating more than they thought they would, and they still had to run up the stairs. A small feeling of reluctance was felt at that moment. However, one person started running up the stairs already. His dark-hair was wet with sweat and his soaked shirt was removed. ¡°EVERYONE, MOVE IT.¡± Orion commanded, his commanding, yet shaky voice galvanized the other children to slowly move. Orion pushed his legs further up the stairs, his limbs trembling with each step. They watched him push through the burning pain, a small amount of respect and inspiration was born deep within their hearts. ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± They replied, smiling behind him, as they worked even harder. Thus, the nickname ¡®Captain¡¯ was born and would forever follow the boy into the heavens and beyond. ¡­ ¡°Ugh,¡± everyone groaned, lying on the ground. Their legs felt numb and their bodies were irresponsive. ¡°Hah¡­ teacher¡­ we¡¯re done,¡± Orion panted. ¡°Hm¡­ five minutes late,¡± as Atira said this, the children¡¯s faces turned pale. ¡°However, since it¡¯s your first, I¡¯ll let this slide. BUT, this is the only time. Got it?¡± They nodded. ¡°Good, now let¡¯s eat breakfast.¡± Surprisingly, Brent was the cook of the group. He was exceptionally good at it, too. ¡°You see, I used to be a culinary connoisseur,¡± Brent sighed happily, as he took a sip of his wine. ¡°I worked as the executive chef under a high noble in Eradion - he had close ties with the king. Those were the happy days, but¡­ I don¡¯t regret following Ezra,¡± Brent laughed heartily. ¡°Wow, Uncle Brent is so cool!¡± Kai exclaimed excitedly, a newfound respect for him. ¡°HAHAHA, aren¡¯t I?¡± An annoyed look flashed on everyone¡¯s face, except for Kai, who respected him even more. ¡°Hohoho,¡± Atira smiled, ¡°Kai, come here.¡± ¡°Eh? Why?¡± ¡°Kai, listen to her,¡± Lilith joined in. By the command of his older sister, he reluctantly went to Atira who kept him away from Brent. With that, breakfast came to an end and academics or ¡°school¡± time came, Ley would be joining them, as he had the same mental capabilities as the others. Another surprise, Brent was their teacher for academics. Though they highly doubted his abilities and competence for teaching. However, they were wrong. ¡°Hehe,¡± Brent smiled evilly. ¡°I may treat you guys nice in the morning and at night, but the afternoon is where you¡¯ll learn your place.¡± Beads of sweat rolled down their faces. It was pure hell, perhaps even worse than this morning¡¯s run. Brent stuffed information in their minds, allowed them to take a minute break in between every hour, and then continued it. By the end of this session, they knew more, but they were also partly brain dead. As for history, they learned more about the formation of the great 5 regions. However, back then, there were 6 great regions. The sixth great region, Medius, was the largest and most advanced of all of them. The region was in the central of all five, where Ophir now laid. Ophir, back then, was pushed further east to where Gwydion and Eradion were. However, Medius¡¯s downfall was a mystery. Perhaps it was a secret, internal fight? No one knew, but no one questioned it. If Medius were to come back now, they would still be the most advanced, maybe slightly more than Polymetis. After their lesson of the day, they had spare time. So, Brent decided to ask them a few questions. ¡°So, I heard you wanted to dominate the world?¡± asked Brent. ¡°Eh?¡± Caelus and Orion frowned, this was news to them. ¡°Yep! Everything, even those overseas!¡± Eve agreed happily. ¡°And, how are you going to do this?¡± What?! Caelus and Orion eyes widened with surprise. Not at the plan, but how easily Brent accepted it. ¡°Hmm, we grow stronger and¡­ take over the rulers?¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why you asked me that¡­ Heh, hehe¡­ hahaha,¡± Brent let out a full-blown laughter. ¡°HAHAHA. Is that so?! Fortunately, you asked the wrong person. I¡¯m well-versed in magic, but not as skilled as Ezra. I can handle myself in a physical fight, but not as good as Atira. HOWEVER, I am the best in smarts. Let¡¯s make a plan to rule the world!¡± ¡°Yay!¡± The children cheered, Orion and Caelus going with the flow. Slowly, though, their minds will tune in with the siblings and have a desire to achieve that goal, too. Academics turned into secret, world-domination planning. Of course, they would still learn about history, technology, math, and more, but their main interest was taking over the world. And soon, it was night time. The children already had dinner, and it was time to learn about mana. ¡°What is mana?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°It¡¯s a mysterious force or energy that vitalizes magic,¡± Ley answered, he was currently being carried by Lilith. ¡°Hm.. true, but not quite there. Mana is, essentially, life. It is found everywhere, in the trees, ground, in the sky, and in the atmosphere that surrounds us. Ki is similar to mana, but rather resides living, breathing, and moving organisms. It¡¯s more restricted than mana.¡± Ezra explained the general gist of mana and ki. He then said, ¡°today, I will be teaching you how to activate it - which, of course, I expect you to do within the small amount of time we have. Those who cannot achieve it, will resign from being my apprentices.¡± A tense silence hushed the children, who went from excited to nervous, yet serious. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Now, listen to me carefully¡­ I want you to sit down comfortably,¡± Ezra joined them and sat with both legs crossed. ¡°Close your eyes. Now, concentrate- this is the most crucial part, otherwise you¡¯ll fail. Try to find your mana, and when you grab a hold of it, welco¡­¡± Ezra¡¯s voice began to fade. Lilith was concentrating, all feelings and thoughts washing away from her mind. A warm, gentle feeling replaced all of her troubles and flowed inside of her. She felt something residing in her, deep within her. It was elusive and escaped easily. Everytime she tried to grab a hold of it, it ran away. She didn¡¯t understand why. A small frustration built inside of her. She tried and tried and tried and tried, but failed. She was running out of time, too. Lilith wanted to scream, but withheld herself from doing so. So, she decided to ask it a question. Why not? It wouldn¡¯t matter anyway. ¡°Why are you running away?¡± she asked. Nothing, no answer or reply. She sighed, it was too good to be true. ¡°Why are you running away?¡± a mysterious voice asked her. Lilith slightly jumped in surprise. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lilith asked calmly. ¡°I am life, everything, existence¡­ mana,¡± Mana replied back. ¡°But I am your mana.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re my mana, why do you escape?¡± Lilith questioned, she couldn¡¯t add up mana¡¯s logic. ¡°Because you do not welcome me.¡± What? Lilith couldn¡¯t understand. She soon felt mana slowly leave her presence. Wait! Lilith chased after mana, her mind confused and filled with desperation. It felt like hours, when in reality, it was only minutes. She wanted to cry, but refused to. How can she be the oldest of her siblings if she didn¡¯t accomplish this one task? So she ran after mana. Her concentration and determination doubled, until finally, she met mana again. ¡°Don¡¯t run,¡± Lilith said. ¡°Don¡¯t run,¡± mana repeated Lilith, then disappeared once more. Why?! Why do you run?! Lilith¡¯s mind was in turmoil, everything around her was red and she couldn¡¯t see anything nor hear anything. She was about to explode, but her mind stopped her from doing so. She was stuck, nowhere to go. Her emotions were dying and felt trapped. Lilith couldn¡¯t understand why she felt the way she did. ¡°Lilith...¡± A calm voice called. She didn¡¯t recognize it and continued to drown herself in confusion, frustration, anger. ¡°Lilith,¡± this time, the voice was stronger, more determined. It was familiar and warm. ¡°Lilith, listen to me.¡± It was Ezra. ¡°What?¡± Lilith asked, she didn¡¯t understand how Ezra entered her mind. ¡°Lilith, it¡¯s okay to depend on people, you know?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go through with this yourself, you don¡¯t have to be alone.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not alone!¡± ¡°You¡­ you remember your parents, don¡¯t you?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°... So what?¡± Yes, Lilith knew of her parents and remembered them, however, she kept that information to herself. Her siblings don¡¯t remember them, so they weren¡¯t as affected as she was. After all, they died when she was four, her siblings two. Of course she¡¯d remember, they were the best parents in the world. ¡°You know, Lilith, it¡¯s alright to cry sometimes, you¡¯re still a child. It¡¯s okay to depend on someone, you¡¯re too young to take on the world by yourself. You¡¯re not alone, Lilith. You have your siblings and you have us - Atira, Brent, Caelus, Orion, and I.¡± ¡°W-we just met,¡± Lilith said hesitantly, how could you love someone or treat them this way if you just met them? ¡°You know, Lilith. We might have just met, but everyone feels that you three are family. Love can take only mere seconds, but it can last a lifetime.¡± ¡°H-how do you know that?¡± Lilith asked, she felt a small, warm trail roll down her cheeks. What is this? She wanted to open her eyes to see, but she felt afraid. It was a sign of weakness. For her siblings¡¯ sake, she can¡¯t show any. They depend on her. Ezra laughed, as if she asked something childish. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I know everything.¡± Then Lilith laughed, because he never told her that. ¡°Do you understand?¡± Mana asked, Lilith nodded her head. ¡°Come child, lean on me.¡± And a warm embrace surrounded her and she, once again, felt everything melt away. Lilith opened her eyes, her two siblings watched her with concern. ¡°Sis?¡± Kai asked, scared. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Eve, on the other hand, had tears rolling down her face. ¡°Sis, don¡¯t leave! Don¡¯t leave us like mom and dad did!¡± Lilith stared, shocked at her siblings¡¯ behavior. Then¡­ she laughed, tears still flowing down her face. She explained that she remembered her parents and released all of her pent-up feelings and thoughts. Orion and Caelus watched in the back, they felt concerned and had a desire to join them, but didn¡¯t want to impede on the family. It was not their place, nor their right. ¡°You can join in, too, you know?¡± Ezra whispered to them, a mischievous smile on his face. Their faces turned red. ¡°W-we know that!¡± Orion grumbled, before getting up and joining the two. Caelus, however, stayed where he was. ¡°Caelus?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± Caelus told him. ¡°Alright,¡± Ezra frowned, this one is more difficult. And so Caelus stayed and watched the others interact, Lilith and Eve both crying, yet laughing at the same time. Kai nervously asking questions about their parents, while Orion sat stiff, unsure what to do. With that, Caelus felt satisfied and decided to leave the room. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re leaving?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°Yes, I completed the mission.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ fine, have a good night.¡± As he left the room, a small voice asked Ezra. ¡°Why is Caelus leaving?¡± Eve asked, turning to look where he went. ¡°He felt tired,¡± Ezra smiled. ¡°So, now that everyone has accomplished the mission, you¡¯re free to do what you want for the remaining time.¡± Eve eyed him suspiciously. An oddly sharp one, Ezra thought, as Eve stared off to where Caelus left. She manages to pick up things easily. The eventful night finally came to an end, and so did their first day of training. The children felt stronger, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It was hard, but they could overcome it. With each other, they knew they could. __________ Thanks for reading! Please comment/criticize - tell me your thoughts. :) Humm.... more emotional trouble coming soon, as well as the strengthening of the children, yaaay. Needs more suffering, though. Not a Chapter (POLL) This is not a chapter. I created several covers for this book, but I don''t know which one to choose (the others will be used as volume covers). 1st Spoiler : 2nd Spoiler : 3rd Spoiler : If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. 4th Spoiler : 5th Spoiler : Chapter 5 - 2: An Outsiders Dialogue + Side Story Chapter 5 - 2: An Outsider¡¯s Dialogue Skystead was a beautiful place filled with life, harmony, and energy. In the morning, you would see the sun peaking through the clouds and the sky turn into a warm gold color. Only in the mornings would the cold, crisp air would nip at your skin. However, when it warmed up, the wind would retain the same amount of coldness, leaving behind a nice feeling. From the mountain peak, one could see mana-powered machinery zooming through the streets and students of the local schools rushing through. A train filled with passengers going to work and from work would travel across Skystead within twenty minutes. A sturdy machine, it was. In front of a certain log-house are five children and a brown-haired woman whose looks are average, but if you continued to stare at her, she somehow became attractive. The five children would diligently listen to what she has to say before doing their morning run. This time, the woman increased their run to five miles within a time limit of 35 minutes - their average mile time would be 7 minutes. However, today¡¯s focus is not on the beautiful children or on the woman. It¡¯s certainly not focused on a blond-haired, blue-eyed man or a charming, red-haired man. In fact, today¡¯s focus is on a cute, brown-haired boy with golden eyes. His name is Ley, and he is currently a month old. Within one month, the children continued to do physical exercises in the morning, ¡°study¡± in the afternoon, and cultivate their mana during the night. Ezra made a deal with the six of them, if they continued to work hard, he would reward them by letting them shop at Skystead for a day. While the children worked hard, Ley could only do one thing - study. (Although, he can now train his mana, with permission from Ezra and supervision with at least one of them). He sometimes felt lonely and like an outsider. It was probably due to his age and his genius mentality. Sometimes, though, he would feel warm. A deep, hearty voice would tell him to cheer up. The voice told him he was loved, although he didn¡¯t know who it was. Everyday, the voice would come randomly and tell him warm things that left him fuzzy in the inside. He couldn¡¯t blame the other children, though. They tried their best to include him in their activities, but he only took a fraction of their day. He only saw the others face-to-face during breakfast, academics, lunch, and dinner. However, he would watch them when he had free time, like now. ¡°Hm¡­ 15 seconds before the time limit, good job.¡± Atira praised, rubbing the children¡¯s heads and telling them to get breakfast. Ah, I guess it¡¯s time to eat, Ley thought. During this time, he had to wait for one of the adults to pick him up and take him downstairs. ¡°Ley,¡± an enchanting voice called. A certain handsome man appeared in Ley¡¯s vision. ¡°It¡¯s time for breakfast¡­ Ley, what are you doing?¡± It was Ezra. ¡°Thinking,¡± Ley replied. ¡°I see¡­¡± A small trace of concern on Ezra¡¯s face, however it quickly washed to neutral. This man hides his emotions well, Ley thought. Ezra picked him up and carried him downstairs. ¡°Ley!¡± Lilith exclaimed happily, running over to hold him. Out of the five, he liked Lilith the best. She was warm, cuddly, and felt like a mother. She was also very pretty, but then again, all of them are. Since a month ago, Lilith became visibly more happier. She came into terms with her parents¡¯ deaths and let her walls down. Although she would appear to be sad sometimes, she was definitely improving. Ley held his arms out, indicating to Lilith he wanted to be carried. ¡°Cute,¡± Lilith smiled. ¡°Good morning, Ley,¡± Eve greeted, smiling. Ley liked her smile the most. When she smiled, her eyes would lift up and appear to smile as she was smiling - it was like a double smile (?). He thought it was cute. It also made him feel welcomed. Over the month, Eve toned down her excitement and became more calm, yet retained the same sharp, yet mischievous personality. Although, he liked it when she smiled more, he felt her smile became more special, because she didn¡¯t do it as often. ¡°Good morning!¡± Kai exclaimed. On the other hand, her brother¡¯s excitement went up by a few levels and his curiosity, as well as a desire for an adventure went up. Oddly, he felt like a younger brother, though Ley was younger. ¡°Good-¡± a yawn, ¡°-morning, Ley,¡± Caelus said sleepily. The running didn¡¯t rejuvenate him, like it did the others, but rather tired him out even more. Caelus became more sleepy, lazy, and quiet. Due to his laziness, he would sometimes reply in one-word answers. The upside was that he became more calm, less likely to panic. Caelus would sometimes nap with Ley, too. He liked that. ¡°Morning, Ley,¡± Orion nodded. Ley respected Orion - a lot. He was hard-working, handsome, and powerful. He was also charismatic, commanding, and had a fierce side of him that could make even Ezra twitch at least once - he witnessed it. One day, someone stole Orion¡¯s honey, which caused him to go into a rampage, searching for the instigator. However, he just misplaced his honey and, in the end, everything ended well. Although, his rampage caused a commotion in town - someone thought they were being attacked. Right, honey. Orion became obsessed with honey after their very first visit to Skystead after living in the log-house. He told them he went on an adventure and defeated the demon queen bee (which Ley highly doubted was an actual demon queen bee) who was terrorizing a lady¡¯s honey business, the lady then gave him the most delicious honey he ever tasted. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t find the same lady who sold him the honey and tried every honey there was in Skystead, therefore becoming obsessed. Anyway, back on track. ¡°Good morning,¡± Ley greeted, a soft voice coming out. Ley could now talk without using telepathy. He made a theory that he could probably walk within three months or so, but his body would still be the same. ¡°I made pancakes!¡± Brent said, laying down plates full of delicious food. ¡°Here, Orion, honey.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Orion smiled gratefully, taking the honey. ¡°So, when do you want to visit Skystead?¡± asked Ezra, who was currently cutting up his pancakes. ¡°How about tomorrow?¡± Orion suggested, dumping an entire bottle of honey on top of his pancakes. As per usual, everyone agreed with Orion. Well, there was nothing to disagree about. They could¡¯ve gone with any day. Breakfast ended with Ley eating only half of his food and Kai eating the rest. Kai developed an appetite during the past month, Atira told him he was now a growing boy. Ley saw no differences, he ate before, he ate after. It was now academics time, or world-domination period. Brent would teach them military tactics as well as glaze over history, science, and math. He also taught them certain, sure-kill techniques without permission. Ley thought Brent was very laid-back, honest, and sometimes rude. He learned of Brent and Atira¡¯s small antics, they would insult each other from time to time, yet take no offense from it. Brent was also very handsome, which wasn¡¯t very compatible with his crazy personality. He was reckless with his decisions and asked for the craziest things. He once asked Ezra if he could build a magic missile and send it directly to the ruler of Nereida. Brent also had a thing against Nereida¡¯s ruler, but he didn¡¯t say why he did. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Atira, on the other hand, was hot-headed and perverted. She sometimes thinks people don¡¯t hear her small, self-dialogues, but everyone knew - everyone. Her favorite pastime was to watch strangers and decide who would look good together. Of course, she had her own personal ¡°couples¡± within the group, but refused to tell anyone. She was a brute, yet she was kind-hearted - only to children, though. Ley couldn¡¯t think any more of her than Brent, because she was just as crazy. In fact, everyone was crazy in this household. Maybe even Ley. Lunch would pass by quickly and so would break and dinner. Ley could now join mana lessons - he could spend more time with his fellow apprentices. As if it were natural, Ley sat in Lilith¡¯s lap. You could say it was her maternal instincts? Her older-sister instincts? As long as it was warm, he was fine. In fact, he would even sit in the brute¡¯s (Atira) lap. She had large breasts, it was soft and comfortable for him. The children learned how to meditate two weeks ago, it was to help them cultivate their mana and core. The more they meditated, the stronger their spirit - or core - was. They learned that they can strengthen their spirit, and in return, their spirit would strengthen their ki and mana. During this class, Ley always notices Caelus leaving early, Ezra smiling suspiciously and giving an excuse to Eve, who¡¯s exceptionally sharp, who stares off to where Caelus left. One day, Ley hoped she would chase after him. This caused Ley to smile, I feel like Atira. ¡°Ley, what are you smiling about?¡± asked Lilith, everyone staring at him curiously - even Caelus, who rarely shows his thoughts and emotions nowadays. ¡°Happy,¡± Ley smiled widely, a small blush appearing on their faces. ¡°Yep! Happy,¡± Ezra smiled, rubbing Lilith¡¯s head. During times like these, Ley felt the most warm - he felt like he belonged. He knew, at the end of the day, they were family. Side Story: A Quest for Honey It was their first time shopping by themselves at Skystead. Sure Caelus and Orion wandered around before, but they never truly absorbed the place. Skystead was very jubilant and exciting. People were always bustling about, whether they just wanted to take a stroll or they had somewhere to go - people to see. Cars (powered by mana) rushing by and teenagers hanging out. Today, Orion went by himself, without Caelus or the others. As he walking down the street, he noticed a pink-haired lady, perhaps in the mid-twenties, running around the park. ¡°Excuse me, miss,¡± Orion tugged on her shirt, ¡°are you alright?¡± The lady, looking pissed, turned to the boy - only to stop herself and to smile at him kindly. ¡°Yes, big sis is alright.¡± Orion frowned, ¡°then why are you running?¡± This instigated a sigh from the pink-haired stranger. ¡°You see, boy, I run a honey stall - over there, but lately, bees have been bothering me.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been taking my honey,¡± the woman grumbled, a hand on one hip. ¡°And I know exactly which hive is doing this!¡± ¡°Miss, do you need¡­ help?¡± Orion asked. Brent told them to never leave a lady in trouble - or a damsel in distress. The lady paused, staring at the boy. ¡°Do you know how to get rid of a hive?¡± ¡°I know of a method, but I¡¯ve never trie-¡± ¡°Good enough, you can help.¡± The lady grabbed his hand and lead him down a path, ¡°it¡¯s over there.¡± In fact, the stall was directly in front of the beehive. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just move your stall?¡± Orion questioned, frowning. ¡°No! I was there first, therefore I won¡¯t move.¡± The lady huffed stubbornly. Orion felt his frustration rise, but resisted from taking action upon it. ¡°Now hurry up and help.¡± Orion walked closer to the hive. A week ago, Ezra taught them a simple fire spell - strong enough to burn wood. It could also work on beehives. ¡°Ignis,¡± Orion muttered, a small flame forming at the tip of his index finger. He raised his arm and pointed it at the hive. ¡°Initium.¡± The flame moved forward and encompassed the hive, burning it to the ground. ¡°Perfect!¡± The lady said happily. ¡°Tha-¡± ¡°Not so fast!¡± Another voice yelled. ¡°Tina, I knew it! You burnt my hive!¡± An orange-haired woman came into his view, she wore a yellow-black striped dress, similar to what the stranger, named Tina, was wearing. ¡°Rosa!¡± Tina yelled. ¡°Darn it, I thought you were gone for the week.¡± ¡°Heh, did you think I would leave with your stall in front of my hive?¡± Tina blushed. ¡°You even recruited an innocent, young boy to dirty his hands for you?!¡± ¡°You destroyed my hive, first!¡± Tina yelled, her blush more visible. ¡°Gah?! Hey, don¡¯t make me the bad guy in front of this boy!¡± Rosa yelled back, her cheeks dyed red with embarrassment. Orion sighed, ¡°can I go no-¡± ¡°Orion, defeat this demon, queen bee and I¡¯ll reward you with something!¡± Tina yelled. Reward? Was it worth it? Of course it was. ¡°Okay,¡± Orion turned to Rosa, ¡°ignis initium.¡± Rosa quickly fell to the ground, rolling around to stop the flames. She coughed, ¡°you might¡¯ve won today, Tina¡­ but one day- one day!¡± Rosa transformed into a small bee and buzzed away. Tina squealed with joy, ¡°thank yo-¡± ¡°Reward.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my reward?¡± ¡°Ehehe, about that¡­ a hug-¡± ¡°No.¡± Tina pouted, ¡°fine.¡± She handed him a jar of honey. Whatever, as long as it¡¯s something I can touch - excluding physical touches. ¡°Thanks again, stranger!¡± Tina yelled after him, as he walked away, jar in hand. That night, as Orion was in bed, he woke up due to hunger - it was his punishment for going to Skystead alone. He remembered he had a jar of honey. Might as well try it, Orion thought. Well, here goes nothing. He dipped his index finger into the jar and sucked on it. During this time, the world exploded three times due to the strength and taste of the honey. The heavens called for Orion to join their honey festival and the angels rejoiced in their discovery. Orion went to heaven that night. However, the next day, he couldn¡¯t find Tina, nor Rosa. It was as if it were a dream. He searched all of Skystead, yet to no avail. A sudden determination filled Orion, he swore to find that same honey and eat it one more. From then on, he tasted every honey in Skystead in search of that one honey - the holy honey. Meanwhile, a small rumor spreads throughout the world of two women starting a cult based on honey - their fanatics desperately search the world for the same taste. ___________ Thanks for reading! Comments are welcomed. :) Wanted more Ley, lol. I felt I wasn''t showing him enough since I introduced him. Also, side story with Orion''s new obsession, a small quirk I wanted to add to his personality. First time skip, although it''s only one month. This chapter is more about character development. :P I need to start proofreading... Chapter 6: The Legendary Ingenium Chapter 6: The Legendary Ingenium Orion¡¯s arms trembled as he swung down the sword for the 717th time. Sweat soaked through his clothes and dripped off of his chin and hair. ¡°Almost there!¡± Atira yelled, notifying them of their progress. After a month of rigorous, physical training, they shortened their 5 mile run to a good 33 minutes. With that, they had more time to train other parts of their body, as well as learn actual hand-to-hand combat. Atira gave them the option to choose what weapon they wanted to learn, Orion and Caelus chose the sword, Kai chose a double-bladed dagger, Lilith wanted to learn how to use a bow, whereas Eve¡­ wanted to learn how to use a hammer and mace - both of them. A shiver ran down Orion¡¯s spine as he watched the young girl swing the hammer around as if it were nothing. She was even laughing. An hour or so later, Atira told them they were done for the day. Orion completed the day with over 1,000 swings - he lost track after 1,000. ¡°Good morning!¡± Brent greeted, holding Ley who was reading a complex book about the art of magic circles. Today he made a mushy-like substance called ¡®oatmeal,¡¯ it was surprisingly good. Orion had it with honey - a lot of honey. ¡°Geez, Orion,¡± Atira pouted, ¡°we¡¯ve been spending a lot of money on your honey lately. You keep using three bottles a day!¡± ¡°My bad, my bad,¡± Orion chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll cut down.¡± He didn¡¯t mean it. ¡°Good.¡± Honey was his motivation. After breakfast came world-domination lessons, as usual Brent gave them a good time, always introducing new tactics and assassination techniques. For a cook, he knew a lot - suspiciously a lot. The children assumed he used to be an assassin in his previous life, or a military general. ¡°...And you can see, if two allies on opposite sides attack the enemy in the middle, you can cut the enemy off from retreat and additional support. They call this the pincer movement, it¡¯s fairly easy and one of the basics, if I do say so myself,¡± Brent explained the tactic for the day - the pincer movement. So the day rolled on, after lunch, break, and dinner, finally comes mana lessons by Ezra. The lesson they wait for each day. ¡°We¡¯re doing mediation again today,¡± Ezra told them. Simple enough. Actually, Lilith, Eve, and Ley were very close to breaking through to intermediate - they would be the first ones. Ezra concluded that they were more talented in mana, rather than in ki or physical activities. Although, Orion would like to object, after seeing Eve swing her hammer and mace around as if it were nothing, her special smile on her face. She¡¯s a monster, Orion shivered. Thirty minutes into the session, a feminine voice grumbled. ¡°Ezra, I feel weird,¡± Lilith told him, frowning as she meditated. Ezra jumped up excitedly. ¡°Lilith, don¡¯t stop meditating! Quickly now, concentrate even more.¡± She yelped, ¡°yes, sir!¡± Although she had no clue what was going on, she calmly followed his orders. Another thirty minutes in, she let out a small scream and started panting heavily. ¡°W-whoa?¡± Lilith paused, and looked at her body, as if she saw something miraculous. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sis?¡± Eve asked, peeking at her with one eye. ¡°I think I might¡¯ve.. had a breakthrough.¡± So we celebrated and congratulated her. Like this, another month passed by fairly quickly. Orion, Caelus, and Kai had a breakthrough with their ki (they were now intermediate) - although they¡¯re very close for their mana. On the other hand, Eve and Ley quickly followed Lilith and had their breakthrough to intermediate. Surprisingly, Ley was the first one to break through with his ki as well as his mana. In the morning, by himself, he was doing secret activities to help himself along. Right now, Ley could be considered the strongest - only in terms of ki and mana, of course. He knew of no techniques or spells. And so the day for the testing arrived¡­ Brent turned to look at them, ¡°when we get there, ignore everyone else. Got it?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Of course, Kai was the one who asked the question. ¡°Listen to him,¡± Ezra laughed. ¡°He¡¯s up to one of his evil plans already.¡± ¡°Moron,¡± Atira muttered. ¡°We¡¯re going to make you guys the coolest kids on the block,¡± Brent said cheesily, winking at them. A shiver passed through every living organism within a 2 mile radius. ¡°Well, I am, at least.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan, General?¡± Kai asked, a serious look on his face. ¡°In order to conquer the world, you must first conquer your local peers, then the town, then two towns, until finally you can conquer the world.¡± ¡°How do we conquer the world like that, General?¡± Eve played along, tiny smirk peeking through. ¡°If everyone looks at you favorably, they won¡¯t be as inclined to resist your rule or your.. coup d''etat.¡± His logic, in a way, made sense. So they decided to follow him, after all, he was the smartest around here - discluding Ezra, who seemed to always be holding back knowledge. ¡°Ah. Atira, you have to be left behind.¡± ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not¡­ well, yeah.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± She huffed. ¡°Face is plain,¡± Brent muttered. ¡°Fine, go along with your stupid plan.¡± ¡°You can watch in the shadows?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± The testing place was actually a temple-like building in the midst of the skyscrapers and modern homes. It was placed in a high area within the city, in order to get there, you had to walk up a long staircase - although it wasn¡¯t as long as the one they had to run up and down to every morning. It was around half a mile, and it took them no time to walk up it. Once they reached the top, a long line of children and young adults alike stood, waiting for their turn to come up. As they passed the gate that looked similarly like a torii, a bell sound echoed throughout the place -signaling new arrivals. People turned to look at them, but they followed Brent¡¯s plans to ignore them. This made them look either arrogant, or cool - they couldn¡¯t tell. But judging by the looks of it, people were quite enchanted by the group. ¡°The baby is even cute!¡± One woman muttered to her friend, licking her lips. ¡°Ah, but those adults are also very good¡­¡± Whispers about them caused the children to shift around somewhat nervously. They disliked being stared at. People were openly staring at them, gawking - they found it rude and awkward. ¡°I hate this,¡± Lilith muttered. ¡°Sis¡­¡± Eve tugged on her shirt, hiding behind her. ¡°You can¡¯t handle this?¡± Caelus teased. ¡°Shut up, Caelus,¡± Eve stuck her tongue out at him. The line passed by rather quickly, they were moved to the front in no time - perhaps within a span of ten minutes. An old man sat near the gate, a book in his hands. ¡°Names and ages of those taking the test?¡± ¡°Orion, seven years old, Lilith, seven years old, Caelus, six years old, Malachi and Evangeline, five years old, Ley, two months old,¡± Ezra listed off. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. In this world, nobody was born with a last name - there were only titles. In order to distinguish yourself from another man with the same name, you had to do something special or at least a great enough feat to earn a title. People with titles are held in higher esteem than those without. The old man raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else. He jotted down a few notes in his tiny book and told them to go through. The room was pitch black and the only things noticeable were a pair of stairs that lead up to an old man and a large orb - the orb was around 10 feet wide and long. ¡°Welcome,¡± another old man greeted, albeit he looked younger than the one at the gate. He had a long beard and no hair - the average old person. However, he looked wise. ¡°We¡¯ll be going in orderly fashion¡­ by age. Ah, that¡¯s right, my name is Eldrick the Wise II, I¡¯ll be the operator of today¡¯s test.¡± ¡°Ahem, Orion - yes, please come up.¡± Eldrick ushered the boy, who jogged up the stairs to where the man was. ¡°Place your hand on this orb and let your mana flow through.¡± Orion hesitated before placing his right hand on the orb - it was warm and sometimes a spark of energy would reach up and touch the area where Orion¡¯s hand was at. He closed his eyes and concentrated on letting his mana flow to his right hand. ¡°Ah¡­ let¡¯s see- eh?¡± He heard Eldrick stop talking. Orion opened his eyes to see a black orb and three large, bold numbers hovering above the orb. ¡°R-rare e-element darkness, potential 100,¡± Eldrick gaped at the young boy. A rare element as well as full innate potential? He would be a monster. ¡°N-next,¡± Lilith came up, a little worried about her element - although she had no trouble when it came to her potential. ¡°Ha- huh? What?¡± Eldrick paused again. The orb was a light purple hue - almost violet. ¡°Element¡­ arcane, unable to identify. Potential, 96.¡± ¡°N-next,¡± Eldrick calmed himself, he deduced that the children were are monsters in terms of potential and element. He would stop acting surprised. ¡°Hello~,¡± Caelus greeted, his eyes half open, but his icy blue eyes still peeked through. ¡°Uncommon element is sky - holy variant detected. Potential is 99,¡± Eldrick sighed. ¡°Next.¡± ¡°Good morning,¡± Eve greeted happily, her eyes gleaming at him with a certain devilry. She placed her hand on the orb. ¡°Morning,¡± Eldrick greeted back, gaining his senses. The orb was purple with a hint of yellow and white. ¡°Element arcane - unable to detect. However, certain light elements can be seen. Potential 96.¡± ¡°Boring,¡± Eve muttered. ¡°Yay, I¡¯m the same as big sis!¡± Eve exclaimed, running down to meet her peers. ¡°Next.¡± This time, an overly excited boy came up, causing Eldrick to smile a bit. He reminded him of his grandson. ¡°Hi, Eldrick!¡± Kai grinned, although his manners needed work. ¡°Element wind - epic variant detected. Potential 98.¡± ¡°Boo, I have less potential than Caelus,¡± Kai frowned. ¡°Nex- what?¡± He swore to not be surprised, but he couldn¡¯t help it with the baby - who was being carried by a blonde-haired man. ¡°What?¡± the baby growled. ¡°N-nothing¡­ R-rare element thunder - rare variant detected. Potential 100, full innate¡­¡± This baby is a monster! Eldrick thought to himself, gaping at the baby who glared at him. ¡°Wooow, Ley!¡± the kids below whistled. ¡°You¡¯re so strong!¡± It was obviously Kai and Caelus. ¡°Hmph,¡± Ley pouted, before being carried downstairs. Ley turned to stare a the man and mouthed to words, ¡°watch yourself.¡± A shiver ran down his spine. Unbeknownst to the children, because they were ignoring everything besides each other, their results were announced in public. As soon as they walked outside, people gaped at them. Academy scouts wanted to approach them, but saw two men walking with them - they were probably their teachers. ¡°Alright, next month we have the spirit test¡­¡± Ezra muttered. ¡°Back to more training! This time we¡¯ll teach you how to incorporate your elements into your combat and I¡¯ll teach you how to strengthen it. Brent will teach you about the different types, as well as the variants.¡± ¡°Master,¡± Eve tugged on his shirt. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Lilith and I have arcane, what do we do?¡± Eve asked, worried. ¡°You two will have separate lessons with me, we¡¯ll discover your element. There¡¯s no need to worry.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Eve said, unsure of herself. That day, all of the children watched in awe of the group of six. They were both good-looking and extremely talented! Not only that, but they were all friends. The six children and their caretakers came to be known as the ingenium. However, unbeknownst to even them, Brent was the mastermind behind the entire event. He, next to a group of hand-chosen children, whispered words of praise and the word ingenium. Satisfied, he left with his group, knowing the kids probably impacted those around their age. Rumors spread throughout Skystead of a group of six people called the ingenium who will become the rulers in the entire world, including those overseas... Of course, this rumor followed people who went outside of town and spread it to others. Eventually, it reached a royal spy who, in turn, reported it to the king himself... ¡°Oh? Ingenium, was it?¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± the spy said, kneeling down. ¡°And what about them?¡± ¡°Apparently two out of six of the group had full innate potential, while the lowest amount of potential was 95. They all had uncommon or above elements with variants, they even had two arcane elementals. One even had a rare element, with a rare variant, and full innate potential.¡± ¡°Hoh¡­ that¡¯s¡­ well, talent.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°And their caretakers?¡± ¡°Unknown, but they should be strong if they¡¯re the masters of the six.¡± ¡°Hm.. I want you to search for these individuals and bring them to me. If they¡¯re not real, dismiss the rumor.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± With that, the legend of the six ingenium and their masters started - it spread throughout a small portion of Gwydion. Of course, rumors were rumors, therefore only those in Skystead truly believed it¡­ _________ Thanks for reading, remember to comment! :) (I really want to hear your opinions so far, criticism goes a long way.) Also, if you could tell what kind of mistakes I made, it would help a lot. (Even after proofreading myself, I find it hard to catch my own mistakes). Ah, almost done with the first volume/arc - just a couple more chapters. I''m planning something exciting for the next few arcs. :) This arc was kind of slow (apologies), but we had to introduce the characters somehow. Also, I had to explain what kind of world they lived in. Chapter 7: King of the Forest Sorry I''m really late. I''ve been busy these past couple days, add onto the fact that I couldn''t write this chapter for the life of me. Anyway, here''s -cough- a father''s day special -cough- the chapter! ___________ Chapter 7: King of the Forest ¡°You are now officially, novice elementals!¡± Brent declared, pointing at them. ¡°Novice.¡± ¡°Er, Brent¡­¡± Lilith¡¯s eyebrows knotted together as she hesitated to tell him her inner thoughts. ¡°Yes, novice?¡± ¡°Well¡­ as a master and senior, aren¡¯t you supposed to teach Eve and I how to discover our element?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ master and senior.. Yes, young fledgling! I, Brent the Spontaneous Genius Who¡¯s Reckless, shall teach you how to find your abilities.¡± Indeed, that was his title - given to him by the ruler of Nereida himself. ¡°And how do we do that?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± He snorted. ¡°It¡¯s like science, create a hypothesis - well, no. Don¡¯t do that. Just skip to where you test your ¡°hypothesis¡± - meaning, use it.¡± ¡°Is that why we¡¯re here?¡± asked Eve, who was previously twirling around randomly. Currently, the group of three were outside - on the left side of the mountain. The others were on the other side of the mountain, they were to test their abilities and variants. However, there was a chance their arcane elements could be dangerous, therefore they were separated. All classes were to be postponed until everyone had control over their abilities. After they were controlled, they would take the next step in their lessons and learn more things about their abilities. Also, they had to prepare for the upcoming spirit test that was in a month. ¡°Of course, why else would I be outside in this heat?¡± Brent scoffed. ¡°Now, hush. We¡¯re starting classes now.¡± ¡°Yes~!¡± ¡°Lilith, you start first.¡± ¡°What do I do?¡± she asked. ¡°What has Ezra taught you?¡± Brent muttered to himself. ¡°Activate your mana and will it to obey you. It should come to you naturally, hon.¡± Lilith breathed in and began to activate her mana - lavender-colored orbs of light surrounded her. A purple magic circle began to assemble by itself in front of her - it was as if someone were writing it one-by-one. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Eve¡¯s eyes sparkled in excitement as she watched the circle unravel itself before her eyes - it was beautiful. Truly beautiful. A bright light burst through the circle and radiated fragments of light that were different hues of purple. As the light faded away, a large, pink rabbit stood in its place. It was around 7 feet tall and resembled a stuff toy. ¡°Greetings, master!¡± The rabbit talked, its voice sounded like a childish adult. It was awfully cute. ¡°Wha- hello?¡± Lilith stared at it in bewilderment. ¡°My name is Leverett! You may call me what you want!¡± ¡°Er¡­ Hi, Leverett.¡± ¡°You may call me what you want!¡± The rabbit repeated again, sounding desperate. ¡°Then¡­ Rhett, your name shall be Rhett.¡± ¡°Oh thank God,¡± Rhett moaned dramatically, relieved. ¡°I hated that name - who would give the name of a rabbit Leverett? It means young hare, for God¡¯s sake!¡± Everyone stared at the talking rabbit with curious looks, as well as surprise, confusion, and understanding (Brent). ¡°I know how you feel,¡± Brent sighed exasperated. ¡°How could my parents name me Brent? Something so simple and easy?¡± He sighed once more, ¡°people these days.¡± ¡°I agree, brother,¡± Rhett sighed. ¡°Wait a second,¡± Lilith interrupted. ¡°Not to be rude, but what are you?¡± ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know, and you summoned me?¡± An awkward, tense silence filled the atmosphere as the rabbit stared at her with a serious gaze. ¡°WAHAHAHA. No wonder why!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°HAHA. My name is Leverett, King of the Forest! I¡¯m what you call a familiar. I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t know much about your powers, eh? My dear master, ah.. Can I call you Lilith?¡± She nodded. "Well, Lilith, it seems that your element - that¡¯s what humans call it, I think - is summoning!¡± ¡°HAHA, NOTHING LESS FROM MY APPRENTICE.¡± Brent bragged loudly, despite only four(?) of them being present. ¡°Can you explain to me more about my powers?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°You struck, gold, darling. Most of the time, when a person receives a mysterious element, they would have to figure it out on their own. Luckily, you have me! Lev- Rhett!¡± Rhett explained that Lilith summoned Rhett, a familiar. She can only have one main familiar - and that is Rhett. A main familiar is the first familiar you summon. It¡¯s a thousand times more efficient to use a main familiar rather than a secondary. When you first try to summon a familiar it automatically chooses the most compatible familiar. Your main familiar would be able to use all of your mana and strength, rather than a fraction of it - what secondaries can only use. Of course, the stronger you are, the stronger your familiar is, and also the more mana a secondary familiar can use. However, they will never be able to truly use all of your strength. Also, the stronger you are when you try your first summoning, the stronger the familiar you choose would be. Familiars itself had rankings, from F rank to SSS rank. Rhett was, surprisingly, a B rank summon. However, the ranks of your familiar can rise - they can train the same way humans do. Brent sighed, ¡°I guess we have another one tagging along for the training sessions.¡± ¡°HAHAHA, I¡¯ll be in your care then! Oh, also, Lilith, I can survive and exist in this world without using your mana - it¡¯s just when you use my skills do I use your mana. Also, when I run out of mana, I¡¯ll temporarily disappear from this world to recover it. Hmm¡­ what else is there?¡± Rhett paused to think, ¡°ah, you can never unsummon me, so let¡¯s get along now, eh? You should try more of your summoning abilities, too. Most summoners receive an extra skill or two to help them along. That¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Rhett!¡± Lilith smiled happily. Rhett paused and beads of sweat rolled down his face. He stared at the two girls before him and muttered quietly to himself, ¡°nope. No¡­ not into that. Not a pedophile.¡± ¡°I guess I should try discovering mine?¡± Eve sighed, knowing it would probably be a thousand times harder than Lilith to figure her element out. She guessed she wouldn¡¯t have a person to help her. Meanwhile, Rhett picked up Lilith and placed her on his shoulders. She sighed in content, a new way to transport herself to places. Although, she would now have to worry about gaining weight, as she would walk less. ¡°Ah, then I¡¯ll be starting now,¡± Eve tried to recall what Eldrick said about her element - he detected several hints of light element. She concluded her element would resemble the light element. Eve gathered the mana around her and activated it. Instinctually, she raised her arms and a bright tattoo began to form itself onto her arms, starting from her hands to her shoulders. ¡°Uwah!¡± Eve squealed, releasing a burst of mana. A glowing, transparent, golden-colored ¡°shield¡± that was around 9 feet tall and wide materialized in front of her. Eve stared curiously at it and began to move her hands, the shield followed her motion. ¡°Well? Are you going to try anything else?¡± Brent sighed, tapping his feet. Eve separated her hands and the shield split in two. This time, it was around 6 feet tall and wide, although it was more transparent than the complete shield. She figured that the more shields she created, the less strong and large it was. ¡°Is this it?¡± Eve said dejectedly. ¡°How lame.¡± ¡°Fool,¡± Brent scolded. ¡°You haven¡¯t even touched the surface yet.¡± ¡°Then what do you suppose I do?¡± ¡°I guess I should help you then,¡± Brent smirked. ¡°Huh?¡± .... On the other side of the mountain, the boys were actively casting their abilities with no problems. Some even discovered their variants, while others failed to see what theirs were. Orion was told his element was darkness, making it easy on him, as there were record data on it. He could manipulate it and give shape to darkness. He even learned he could utilize shadows, too. A surprising ability he had was his shadow transportation skill. He could disappear into the shadows and move around in it and to other shadows. Orion could even hide in another person''s shadow. Caelus, on the other hand, learned of his ability, but not his variant. The sky was a branch of the wind element, allowing him to use some wind abilities. Also, he could float around in the air as if it were nothing. Ezra told him only a minuscule amount of wind elementals could fly in the air, making him special. He even gave him a speech on how important this ability was. "Very comfortable, easy to nap in," Caelus commented, floating in the air, disregarding Ezra¡¯s explanation on how flying was very important and should be treasured. They were told that their powers would continue to be used and activated, as long as they don''t run out of mana. Caelus sighed happily, flying took no mana whatsoever. Kai''s element would be the most surprising. It was sound. He could move at the speed of sound and manipulate it itself. If he yelled loudly, he could probably be heard miles away. Kai could mute sound, too. Making it easier for him to get away with things or sneaking off. Though, he still had more to learn about his element. Ley''s element was also very simple. His thunder was purple instead of its regular color. Also, it was more powerful and more complex than a regular one. It could roll on the ground without harming those he wished for it not to harm (he learned that by accidentally releasing thunder on the ground, causing a major panic). ¡°This is so cool!¡± Kai yelled, disappearing from one place to the other. As he moved, he left behind an afterimage and a cloud of dirt. ¡°Careful to not run out of mana,¡± Ezra told him, ¡°especially if you jump into the sky.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°I can do that?¡± Kai paused, stopping for a mere second, only to disappear. ¡°Wah!¡± Caelus yelled out in surprise. He was previously lazing around before Kai randomly appeared in front of him - scaring the daylights out of him. ¡°W-what? But you can¡¯t fly?¡± Caelus sputtered out. ¡°Ah, I really can¡¯t,¡± Kai admitted bluntly, as he dropped to the floor. ¡°But I can do¡­ this!¡± He kicked the air and appeared before Caelus once more. ¡°Now I can¡¯t lose to you!¡± ¡°How?¡± Caelus frowned, floating in a position where he lied on his stomach with his arms propped up. ¡°How should I know?¡± Kai shrugged, falling towards the earth again, but appearing in front of him a second later. ¡°It¡¯s due to his wind element,¡± Ley answered. ¡°I¡¯m guessing he uses the wind to push himself at the speed of sound to move from one place to the other. Also, it¡¯s most definitely strong enough to keep himself in the air. Although I speculate that it only comes in bursts of wind - not continuous like Caelus¡¯s.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Caelus agreed. Thump. ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone turned around, searching for the cause of the sound. Thump, thump, thump. BOOM. ¡°KYAAAA!¡± Two distant voices screamed in harmony. However, the voices soon became louder, and louder, and louder, until they saw where it was coming from. The sky. ¡°WATCH OUT BELOW!¡± Eve screamed, descending from the sky with her back towards the ground. She was falling at record speed. ¡°Eve?!¡± Everyone yelled, shocked. Eve flipped around in the sky, so that her head faced towards the ground. She raised her hands in front of her and created a golden, shield-shaped barrier. The barrier hit the ground, causing a large depression and a cloud of dirt. She gracefully stopped moving midair and floated 20 feet above the ground. Meanwhile, above her a strange-looking rabbit holding a young girl was descending at an even faster rate, and it seemed as if it had no means of stopping. ¡°Lilith?!¡± Kai yelled once more, as others were sobering up, he was still in a state of shock. BOOM. The rabbit landed on the ground, an even deeper depression than Eve¡¯s barrier formed in the ground. Lilith, on the other hand, casually sat on its shoulders. ¡°Kai,¡± she acknowledged nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯M COMING.¡± ¡°Crap!¡± Eve cursed, flipping around, ¡°he¡¯s here!¡± The barrier in front of her split in half and moved below and above her. A blurred figure teleported on top of Eve¡¯s barrier and punched it, causing a small crack in the shield. Below them, an even greater depression formed on the ground. However, both of Eve¡¯s barrier glowed momentarily and sent the figure flying across the field, while gently propelling Eve higher into the air. This all happened within a few seconds. ¡°Rhett, attack!¡± Lilith yelled, getting down from the rabbit. What¡¯s going on? Everyone, but Ezra and Caelus, stared at the three in confusion. ¡°Yes, Lilith!¡± Rhett jumped into the air towards the flying person. He drew his fist back and punched it. The figure grabbed Rhett¡¯s fist and pulled it towards him, simultaneously drawing back his free hand and forming a fist, thrusting it towards Rhett¡¯s face. Rhett blocked with his free arm, but the force of the punch pushed him away and drove him deep into the ground. Eve, on the other hand, materialized a hammer and used her barrier to push her towards the figure. She swung back and slammed the hammer down onto the figure. He had no time to dodge, but could only block it with an arm, he plummeted towards the ground. The figure landed on the ground with grace, only causing a small depression on the ground. However, now that the figure has stopped moving, the party below could now identify who this figure was. ¡°Whoa, Brent?!¡± Kai exclaimed, ¡°I thought you were a monster attacking my sisters!¡± ¡°Huhu, did I resemble one?¡± Without giving him time to reply, he said, ¡°of course I did. I¡¯m a strong, yet beautiful monster.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Caelus with nonchalance. ¡°Sorry, kiddo, but I gotta finish this before I explai-¡± A rabbit wielding a familiar hammer suddenly attacked Brent, interrupting him. Rhett swung ferociously, a gust of wind forming with every swing. ¡°Fine!¡± Brent yelled, running towards Lilith, who had no defenses. Supposedly. Lilith calmly raised her hand towards Rhett and snapped her finger, switching places with him. ¡°Wha?!¡± Brent¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, before calmly kicking the rabbit, who managed to block and was only sent a few feet back. ¡°Hey, kid! When did you learn about this?!¡± Brent frowned, not faltering with his attacks against Rhett, the intensity even raised. ¡°Uh, Rhett told me when we were in the sky!¡± ¡°Tch,¡± Brent glared at the rabbit, he raised his hand and created a small orb of light. A bright flash blinded the rabbit, who, seconds later, was seen flying in the air. Brent turned his attention towards Eve, who shielded the rabbit from Brent¡¯s barrage of attacks. ¡°Annoying,¡± Brent pouted, ¡°this is annoying. Hey, hey, do I have to hold back?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ezra immediately affirmed. ¡°Agh!¡± Brent let out a shout of frustration. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± He lifted both hands into the air and materialized a glowing rope which bound Eve, Lilith, and Rhett together. Brent pulled all three of them together and brought them to down to meet with the rest of the group. ¡°I hate sparring with apprentices,¡± Brent sighed. ¡°It¡¯s hard to hold back.¡± ¡°Ah, so that wasn¡¯t your true strength,¡± Eve bluntly revealed her thoughts. ¡°Of course not! What made you think that?!¡± Brent gasped, a horrified countenance. Eve smiled sheepishly, ¡°when I hit you with my hammer, I thought you went down pretty easily.¡± Brent scoffed, ¡°sweetie, if I wanted to, I could¡¯ve taken you three down a long time ago.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Rhett yelled, glaring - at least that¡¯s what they thought he was doing. ¡°So, care to explain what this is?¡± asked Ezra, staring at the pink rabbit who blushed and covered his face. ¡°Kya! This is the most attention I¡¯ve ever gotten!¡± Rhett giggled. ¡°Are you a girl?¡± Eve questioned. ¡°No! Definitely a man - a man.¡± ¡°EHEM. Greetings, friends, family, and master of my master - Lilith,¡± Rhett bowed. ¡®My name is Rhett, previously Leverett. However, please call me Rhett. Please.¡± He went on to explain what he was and what Lilith¡¯s power was. ¡°And what was that earlier?¡± Brent crossed his arms, glaring at the rabbit. ¡°Oh? The teleporting thing? I had a feeling it was one of Lilith¡¯s abilities - I mean, a voice told me her special abilities when I was summoned.¡± ¡°Do I have anything else?¡± asked Lilith. ¡°Eh¡­ let¡¯s see¡­ Ah.¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Lilith instinctively yelled, losing her cool. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll remember as time goes on¡­¡± Rhett winked and lightly knocked his head. ¡°Teehee~.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I want a new familiar.¡± ¡°W-wait sorry! I¡¯ll remember, I promise!¡± ¡°And what about Eve?¡± Ezra stared at her with curiosity. ¡°Vague,¡± Brent answered. ¡°As of now, she can form a shield-like barrier that rebounds a few hits and can knockback by her will. Also, it has some healing properties - not too strong, though. It can heal a few scratches, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll get stronger.¡± ¡°And the hammer?¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Brent¡¯s face darkened. ¡°That¡¯s a prototype.¡± Eve frowned, ¡°the hammer broke.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a prototype,¡± a feminine voice reiterated. Atira smiled, ¡°how was it?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ can you make it heavier?¡± ¡°Ah? Alright then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no fair,¡± Kai pouted. Atira laughed, ¡°don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m making one for all six of you. I only managed to make Eve¡¯s prototype, because I asked her first.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Lilith¡¯s weapon?¡± Kai questioned, tilting his head. ¡°Here,¡± Lilith showed them a large book. ¡°I found that bows were not meant for me. Instead I¡¯m using a grimoire Rhett gave me.¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s one of the largest collections of spell-type summons,¡± Rhett bragged. This way, Lilith could use spells to help with combat or fighting against foes. ¡°I still need to learn them, though,¡± Lilith frowned. Luckily for her, all of the spells were either one-word incantations or two words. Most took little mana, too. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯re done for the day,¡± Ezra clapped his hands together. ¡°Now about the weapons¡­¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask,¡± Atira grinned. _____________ Thanks for reading! Comment below and tell me what you think/point out any mistakes. On the side note, apologies for Rhett. Yes, he''s supposed to be like that - loud, rambunctious, random, and plain weird in general. Similar to Brent, lol. Well, it''s because of these two that this chapter doesn''t seem a serious. But then again, I don''t think this FF ever has been serious (except for a few times). First fight scene, hope it wasn''t too bad (which I doubt it wasn''t). Will -probably... not really - get better in the future, lol. Note: Yes the bunny is Usa-chan from Ouran, however I slightly edited the image. Original: http://pre10.deviantart.net/1e6b/th/pre/i/2012/293/7/c/usa_chan_color_by_saya00a-d5ifh18.jpg Credits to Saya00A Eve''s hammer design made by Stellar (me lol) Chapter 8: Next Stop Is... Small announcement at the bottom, so if you want to see that, go ahead... I''m not stopping you. Nope. ____ Chapter 8: Next Stop Is... ¡°Ta-dah!¡± Atira opened the door to her room, revealing multitudes of weapons and hard material. ¡°This is what I used for the prototype,¡± Atira picked up a bag full of small stones that were a variety of colors. ¡°This¡­!¡± Ezra gasped, ¡°Lapidus.¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Atira smiled proudly, ¡°I had a few bags of them, so I thought I¡¯d make everyone weapons of their choice.¡± Ezra grinned, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen this in a while.¡± ¡°The last time you saw it was when I made your rapier,¡± she shivered. ¡°It was a masterpiece.¡± ¡°What¡¯s lapidus?¡± Kai asked, tilting his head back and forth. Atira explained that Lapidus was the only magic stone in the world that allowed you to bind it to yourself. It¡¯s highly recommended rankers and adventurers use this for their weapons and gear due to its durability, strength, and its binding magic. However, it¡¯s very expensive and rare. Those who have pure lapidus weapons are probably rich, in the top 100 ranks, or found it lying around somewhere - like Atira did. But she won¡¯t tell them that. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s so cool!¡± Kai shouted, moving side to side at the speed of sound. ¡°Why did mine break?¡± Eve pouted. ¡°Ah, that¡­ you see,¡± Atira said that weapons with only a partial amount of lapidus aren¡¯t as strong as those with more lapidus mixed in with the metal. However, pure lapidus weapons can only truly be seen within the top 10 ranks in the world. ¡°But look what we have here!¡± Atira jumped in excitement, ¡°bags of lapidus! I can make pure lapidus weapons for everyone here, even Rhett!¡± ¡°It¡¯d be an honor,¡± Rhett bowed, placing his right hand on his heart. ¡°How long would it take you?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°About a month or so,¡± Atira sighed. ¡°I can get it done within three weeks tops - if I skip meals and sleeping¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, just take your time,¡± Ezra then told the children, ¡°go ahead and ask what you want.¡± ¡°A hammer!¡± Eve yelled. ¡°Wait, wait!¡± Atira yelled, putting her hands up. ¡°Let me just ask, who wants a different weapon than their starting one?¡± Everyone but Caelus and Eve raised their hands. She sighed, ¡°alright, get in a line.¡± One by one, the children lined up and told them what they wanted. From one child to the next, her face became more and more disbelieving. Until finally, Kai went up and whispered what he wanted in her ear. ¡°What?!¡± Atira exclaimed. ¡°What would you need that for?¡± ¡°Hehe,¡± Kai giggled, grinning up at her, ¡°if I¡¯m gonna be the fastest, I gotta have the fastest there is!¡± Caelus snorted and said, ¡°he gave up on being the strongest and went for the fastest.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh!¡± Kai stuck his tongue out at Caelus, who lazily rolled his eyes and closed them again. ¡°Huh¡­ I might need someone else to make this, I mean, I¡¯ve never attempted this before,¡± Atira groaned, rubbing her temples. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll get it done.¡± ¡°Yay! I love you, Atira!¡± Kai smiled brightly. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Atira started panting to herself, thinking of unimaginable fantasies. ¡°Okay!¡± Brent yelled, sobering her up. ¡°If I want to get this done by this month, I need to start now! Everyone, out, out!¡± Atira pushed them outside. ¡°Until a month from now, don¡¯t bother me!¡± She slammed the door in their faces. ¡°Hm¡­ well, it¡¯s already dark outside,¡± Ezra commented, staring through the window. ¡°Time to go to bed!¡± ¡°Night, night!¡± Kai yelled, holding Lilith¡¯s right hand, Eve was holding her left hand. ¡°....Mm,¡± Caelus nodded, floating to his room. Everyone soon dispersed and the hallway became empty. ¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Eve mumbled, opening her eyes, the moonlight directly on her face. She got up from her bed, not feeling tired at all, but perhaps a little hungry. Eve walked downstairs, rubbing her eyes. She headed towards the kitchen and opened the freezing compartment, grabbing the last cookie rather than the healthy sandwich. ¡°What are you doing?¡± a voice asked. ¡°Eh?¡± Eve reacted with nonchalance to the voice, ¡°who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, moron,¡± Caelus replied, floating into the kitchen, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness of the room. ¡°I was hungry.¡± Eve told him, then she asked, ¡°why are you up?¡± ¡°I was hungry,¡± he repeated after her. ¡°I see...¡± Eve stared at her cookie - the last cookie. ¡°Want some?¡± she offered. ¡°Do you want me to say no?¡± ¡°...I can¡¯t answer that.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said. Eve split the cookie in half and handed him the smaller side, to which he raised his eyebrows at. ¡°At least I¡¯m sharing,¡± she shrugged, closing the freezing compartment, which she almost forgot about as Caelus interrupted her. Eve slowly walked upstairs, Caelus trailing behind her. ¡°Slow,¡± he commented. ¡°Then why are you here?¡± she glared. ¡°I¡¯m bored,¡± he yawned. ¡°You¡¯re tired.¡± ¡°No,¡± he shook his head, ¡°bored.¡± He stared at her, his eyes boring into her. ¡°Entertain me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Go away,¡± Eve frowned, walking to her room and closing the door in front of his face. Thus, Eve and Caelus¡¯s first night encounter ended, with many more to still come¡­ ¡­ For the past few days, Ezra made them spar against Brent. He told them it was to gain experience with their new abilities and get used to it. Also, he would award them if they took down Brent (who will be holding back). They were allowed to draw blood, but they couldn¡¯t seriously injure anyone. Weapons were allowed, but only those that they provided. Orion glared at Brent, holding onto him. Then, in a blink of an eye, Brent was sent flying into the air. Orion chased after the direction where Brent was flying towards. After catching up, he touched Brent¡¯s shadow, grabbed it, and threw it up in the air, causing Brent to fly in a different direction. ¡°I hate this!¡± Brent yelled, ¡°take this!¡± Brent sent a beam of light towards Orion, who dodged by melting into his own shadow. ¡°Tch.¡± Orion materialized two disks and sent them flying towards Brent¡¯s head. Brent made a finger gun with his right hand, ¡°bang! Bang!¡± Two beams of light shot from his finger and pierced the disks, breaking it. ¡°Time!¡± Ezra yelled. ¡°Darn it,¡± Orion frowned. The next person who went up was Kai. Brent, still in the air, was taken by surprise by Kai who teleported in front of his face. ¡°Hi!¡± Kai smiled, taking both of his hands and clapping it by Brent¡¯s ears. Brent frowned, he couldn¡¯t hear in that ear anymore. Kai drew back his fist, wind circulating around it, and punched Brent, causing Brent to plummet to the floor. He¡¯s fast, Brent commented, landing gracefully on the floor. Kai inhaled and whistled - albeit no sound came out. However, Brent noticed one thing, a cut on his sleeve. This brat¡¯s sound is strong enough to cut, he grinned. ¡°Missed,¡± Kai exhaled, falling to the ground. Right before he touched the ground, Brent caught him. ¡°He ran out of mana,¡± Brent told Ezra, handing him a powerless Kai, who slept peacefully. ¡°He tried something new,¡± he showed him the cut on his sleeve. ¡°At least he made progress,¡± Ezra nodded. ¡°Next!¡± Ley would be up next, but he could only shoot thunder while toddling around - not much he can do. Therefore, Caelus went up against Brent. However, Caelus floated around in one spot, holding a sword. Brent twitched and decided to attack first. He jumped towards Caelus, leaving behind a gust of wind. Caelus watched carefully, then, using his index finger, pointed towards Brent. The sword became alive. Caelus commanded the sword to chop down at Brent, who dodged back. Brent grabbed the sword¡¯s hilt and threw it to the side, but it only went a few feet away before coming back again. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°This power is convenient,¡± Caelus nodded. The sword and Brent battled it out for a few minutes, before he finally got into hitting range of Caelus. However, Caelus held out his hand and a wind-like barrier separated them, knocking Brent back. The earth began to chip away due to Caelus¡¯s barrier, until a small crater stood in its place. It was similar to Eve¡¯s barrier, but closer to Kai¡¯s method of sound - a burst of wind. As Brent was knocked back, he shot a beam of light at Caelus, who flew out of the way. Caelus circulated wind around his hand and threw disks of wind at Brent one at a time. Brent dodged the disks and sent his own disk at Caelus. Caelus dodged and made a finger gun with his hand. ¡°Thanks for teaching me this,¡± Caelus smiled, shooting small, bullets of wind at Brent. Each bullet pierced through the ground and created small holes in it. ¡°You¡¯re trying to kill me!¡± Brent yelled. ¡°I thought you said you could take us down easily,¡± Caelus smiled. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Brent shot up from the ground and punched Caelus¡¯s sword - breaking it. He then used the sword as leverage to get to Caelus from the air. ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± Brent yelled, throwing a punch at Caelus. Caelus redirected the punch by using a strong gust of wind. However, Brent anticipated this and grabbed Caelus with his free hand, throwing him to the floor. ¡°Time!¡± yelled Ezra. Caelus fell at a fast rate, only stopping mere centimeters above the ground. A cloud of dirt and dust rises around him. ¡°Better luck next time, kids,¡± Brent winked, giving them a peace sign. And so the days passed like so, getting beat everyday by Brent and later meditating to cultivate their mana and ki. Finally, a month passed and their spirit test has arrived. Like last time, they walked up to the temple-like building and waited in line, some people were staring, others were making comments. However, they ignored it all and continued on their way. The same old man was guarding the door, he eyed them and just waved them in, without asking for their information. Surprisingly, they had the same operator - Eldrick. ¡°Oh?¡± Eldrick watched the children with surprise, noticing that they had gotten stronger. ¡°Long time no see. Well, it will be the same as last time - oldest goes first.¡± Orion exhaled nervously. What you get on your spirit test entirely changes your fighting style and career. If his spirit turned to be mana-favored, he would practice developing his spells and skill set, whereas ki practitioners were more hand-to-hand combat and weapons. Orion walked up the stairs and gently placed his hand on the large orb. He felt a mixed energy surge through his body and exit out of his fingertips. A warm and fuzzy feeling was left behind inside him. ¡°Orion, balanced practitioner.¡± Eldrick announced, ¡°you have good talent, boy.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± he smiled graciously. ¡°Next!¡± One by one, they each went their turns. Some results were as expected, some were surprising, and some were disappointing. Ley and Lilith were mana-favored, while Eve, sadly, was also mana-favored. Caelus was balanced and Kai was the only ki practitioner. ¡°Only real men fight hand-to-hand!¡± Kai declared after getting his results. ¡°Why did I get mana-favored?¡± Eve pouted, she wanted to be a ki practitioner to strengthen her hammer skills more. Mere seconds later, she accepted being a mana user, thinking she could develop spells that allowed her to utilize her hammer more. ¡°Atira should be done sometime this week,¡± Ezra told Brent, as they walked down the street - the children following. ¡°Or today,¡± a voice huffed behind them. Atira was currently panting, carrying a box that looked light. ¡°Here, hold this.¡± She handed the box to Brent who couldn¡¯t reject fast enough, the weight surprised him and almost made him drop it. ¡°Don¡¯t drop it,¡± she glared. ¡°Anyway, we have to get going. Like, now.¡± ¡°Why the rush?¡± Ezra asked. ¡°Well, you see¡­ I kind of learned that a noble in Skystead lost his bag of lapidus and was currently looking for the thief¡­¡± ¡°Are you the thief?¡± ¡°Maybe, kind of¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°Do they know?¡± ¡°Hum¡­ They might¡¯ve saw my face.¡± ¡°Alright, everyone!¡± Ezra yelled, ¡°today we¡¯ll be going to a new destination after we arrive at-¡± ¡°There she is!¡± a man dressed in black yelled. ¡°Thief! We finally caught you!¡± a noble-looking man with green hair pointed at her. ¡°Get her!¡± ¡°Run!¡± Atira yelled. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to carry the kids!¡± Ezra picked up Orion, Caelus, and Kai, while Atira carried Lilith - who was carrying Ley - and Eve. Simultaneously, Brent, Ezra, and Atira then jumped into the air, leaving a large depression on the ground. ¡°We have a car at the log house!¡± Brent yelled, gasping for air as he tried to get a tighter grip on the box. From a bystander¡¯s point of view, one would see three blurred figures jumping from one rooftop to the other. Some would assume they were either monsters, or they were hallucinating. However, all would watch as they passed by, ignoring the group of guard and their noble¡¯s incessant shouting. As they arrived at the log house, Brent quickly placed the box on the ground and ran to the back of the house. ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± asked Kai, eyeing the box. ¡°Your weapons, what else?¡± ¡°Candy?¡± Atira opened the box and revealed metal crystals that were of a variety of colors. ¡°Here, bind these quickly.¡± She passed the colored crystals to the children. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time.¡± ¡°How do we bind them?¡± asked Orion. ¡°Infuse your mana or ki in it - doesn¡¯t matter which.¡± As Orion binded the crystal to himself, the crystal disappeared into his body. He opened his hand, palm down, and a black scythe materialized in it. ¡°Cool!¡± Kai yelled, binding his, too. Unlike everyone else, Kai chose a more modern weapon - a gun. More importantly, dual guns. They were a sleek, black color that radiated a light blue color on the side of it. Kai pointed one of the guns at the ground and pulled the trigger, a sonic boom was released and hit the ground - leaving a large imprint. ¡°Cool! Cool! Cool! Thank you, Atira!¡± Kai jumped up and down, dematerializing his guns. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m late!¡± Brent yelled, pulling up next to them in his eight seat car. Ezra, naturally, got the passenger seat. ¡°Where to, boss?¡± ¡°We go to Eradion - it¡¯s time we show the children the kingdom of humans.¡± ¡°Got it. Next stop, Eradion!¡± ______ Thanks for reading, comment what you think/give criticism! On the side note, I finally added some of the romance elements. Small rave/rant/thoughts right now: Okay, so I feel that I''m getting stuck in a writer''s block - but I''m trying to push through. Unfortunately, my writing quality dropped. I''m having a hard time moving from one event to the next and it''s making me impatient of myself. I mean, I kind of planned for them to go to Eradion a few chapters back, but I added a few more elements. The way I ended last chapter gave me a bad start for this one - a really bad start. I even randomly added the nobles in the end. (Although I did hint Atira stole it without realizing it). Anyway, new ideas will start to come to me, now that we''re in a different setting. (I''m thinking of one right now, too). Oh, for those who want to know/don''t want to know, but I''m still telling you: I have an art section that contains a few of Spirit''s future artwork in it/reject artwork. So if you want to check it out, here''s the link. Also, I''ll be accepting any suggestions for the story, so PM me your ideas/comment below on what you want to see more. Hopefully I''ll be adding in more of Kai, Orion, and Ley - I feel like I''m leaving them out a lot, despite Orion being one of the stronger figures in the story. Vol. 2; Chapter 9: Clarus Academy and the Case of Dillon Here''s chapter 9! Dedicated to more world-building, since I felt I haven''t truly given you Tellus. I also flopped out on Skystead, but maybe one day I''ll get back to it. _________________ Chapter 9: Clarus Academy and the Case of Dillon Eradion was very different compared to Gwydion. Albeit, Gwydion had a few cities that were modernized, most of its cities were still mana-powered and had a medieval feeling to it. Gwydion was also mostly forestry and filled with many magical creatures and races. Eradion, on the other hand, was second in technology compared to Polymetis. It was known to be the kingdom of humans, due to its largest population being humans and a long-lasting line of human rulers. Still, Eradion opens its arms to all races, genders, and sexuality. It has no problem with anyone of any kind. The first thing the party noticed while crossing the borderlines from Gwydion to Eradion, was the homes. Unlike in Skystead, who borderlined Gwydion and Eradion, whose houses were closely placed together and was overpopulated. All homes near the borders were spaced out nicely, and each home was spacious, large enough for a family of five or six to comfortably live in. The closer they got to the border, the taller, more fierce the buildings became. Until finally, they crossed the border. It was unlike anything they¡¯ve imagined. Eradion was a mixture of life, trees were planted everywhere - even in the middle of the road - yet skyscrapers ruled the sky. Hovercrafts zoomed around the city, elevators lifted people, holograms of commercials of the newest products played, using the trees as a background. ¡°Wow!¡± Kai gaped in awe, he watched as a part of a building tore away from the original building and floated above it, disassembling itself. The building parts then raced towards the sky, to a part of the higher floors, while the broken building began to close itself. ¡°Eradion is a mixture of technology and magic, no other country besides Ophir, does this,¡± Ezra explained. ¡°That reminds me,¡± he turned to look at Lilith and Ley. ¡°Weapons?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± Atira slapped her thigh. ¡°I almost forgot!¡± Atira took out the box and began to hand out crystals to those who didn¡¯t receive theirs. ¡°Try not to materialize it in the car, they¡¯re kind of big.¡± ¡°More importantly, where are we staying?¡± Caelus asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Ezra waved him off. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not in the mountains again,¡± Atira frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Brent giggled. ¡°It¡¯s much better than that.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like it,¡± Orion commented. Brent drove further down the street, taking a sharp left, and finally reaching their destination. A large, white skyscraper loomed over them, casting a large, cold shadow over the group. It was almost entirely made out of one-way glass, yet had vegetation peaking through some cracks. ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Brent sighed happily, ¡°modern life. I¡¯ve missed it so.¡± They headed inside; Brent went to the reception desk, while Ezra and Atira remained with the children. ¡°Why are we staying here?¡± Ley stared suspiciously at Ezra, who was smiling mischievously. ¡°The city we¡¯re currently at is called Clarus - the bright city of Eradion. It¡¯s called Clarus due to it being bright at night.¡± ¡°How can it be bright at night?¡± Kai questioned, tilting his head. ¡°I was getting there. Clarus is known to have a lot of city lights, holograms, cars, essentially anything that can create light. So, what does that tell you about Clarus?¡± Ezra paused and waited for their answers. ¡°It¡¯s given a lot of mana by the ruler of Eradion,¡± answered Ley. In regions, the rulers decide which region within their region receives the most power to run their cities on. The smaller region¡¯s ruler then decides which city would benefit them more if they gave them more mana. However, in some cases, the ruler of the entire region can choose to power certain cities - these cities would be called regals. Regals are known to attract many tourists and earn a lot of income for the region as a whole. Sometimes regals are strategic places in their region, other times, they are used for commercial purposes. Clarus was a commercial-purpose regal. More importantly, however, Clarus was the most important commercial regal in Eradion. In Clarus, Eradion held their international tournaments or region-wide tournament. Not only that, but this city was located near the capital of Eradion and close to the heart of the region, which is protected by strategic regals. It was completely safe, probably the second most guarded city underneath the capital. ¡°Disregarding that, though, why do you think I brought you here?¡± No answer. ¡°Specifically, it¡¯s for the tournaments. I¡¯ve thought a lot about your desire for world conquest, and the fastest way to the top is through tournaments. Unfortunately, some of you are still too young,¡± he eyed Ley. ¡°Therefore, we¡¯ll start participating in tournaments when Ley turns 2 years old. Exactly 2 years from now!¡± ¡°From here on out, we¡¯ll be training your abilities day and night - with only an hour break inbetween and one day off every two weeks. Simple, right?¡± ¡°Not simple at all!¡± Caelus burst out, ¡°what about my sleep?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll sleep at night, obviously.¡± ¡°No! I need more than that!¡± Caelus protested, ¡°I thought the mountains were hard, but this¡­¡± ¡°Oh, well!¡± Atira smiled, slapping his back. ¡°Guess you¡¯ll have to deal with it.¡± She then muttered, ¡°or we¡¯ll deal with you.¡± A sudden shiver ran down everyone¡¯s spine. ¡°I got our rooms!¡± Brent smiled, ¡°we¡¯re on the 30th floor.¡± ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that the highest? How¡¯d you do that?¡± ¡°Obviously, with my good looks-¡± ¡°Stop right there.¡± ¡­ ¡°So, who goes in what room?¡± Brent stared at the two rooms - they were side by side. Each room contained four beds, it was enough for all of them. However, there was an imbalance with their group. There were more males than females and more apprentices than masters. Either way they split it, the outcome would still be the same - a person leftover. ¡°Should we just split between masters and apprentices?¡± suggested Brent. ¡°Heaven¡¯s no! What will happen to the girls?¡± Atira glared, slapping his arm. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Eve asked, tilting her head, Kai and Ley looked confused as well. However, the other three knew exactly what she meant. Orion, especially, turned a deep red. ¡°Nothing,¡± Lilith shook her head at Eve, who eyed the adults and the three older kids suspiciously. ¡°It¡¯s something dirty, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Gross!¡± Kai yelled, covering his ears. ¡°We can do that, I¡¯ll just share a bed with Eve and Ley can sleep in your room, he is a baby after all,¡± Lilith agreed. ¡°Also, I have Rhett.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± everyone turned to stare at her, mystified. ¡°I forgot about him, where is he?¡± asked Brent. ¡°Here,¡± Lilith pulled a stuffed bear keychain from her dress¡¯s pocket. ¡°Rhett, wake up.¡± ¡°Man, I¡¯ve been waiting ten years already!¡± Rhett yawned, morphing to a 3 foot tall bear. ¡°Eh, you can shapeshift?¡± Brent pulled on Rhett¡¯s ears, who slapped his hand away with his soft ¡°paws.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been shapeshifting for the past month,¡± he glared. ¡°Where do you think I go at night?¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s settled?¡± Atira sighed. ¡°We¡¯re definitely putting a barrier inbetween my side of the room and yours.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Brent rolled his eyes. ¡°Not like anyone wants to see any of that-¡± That earned him a punch to the face. ¡­ ¡°What are we doing today?¡± asked Lilith, holding Ley who glared at every person who passed by them. They were currently standing in front of their hotel, waiting for Ezra to give them instructions - or rather they were just standing there. Staring at him with anticipation. ¡°I rented out an arena we could use. However, we were limited to only half of it - the other half was going to be used for a school-¡± ¡°A school?¡± They frowned at him. The children haven¡¯t been exposed to others their age for three months, that and they were told to ignore others (by Brent). ¡°Clarus Official Academy. Anyway, concerning your new training regime¡­¡± Ezra explained that Kai would learn with Atira in the morning, learning how to utilize his ki and weapons. Orion, Caelus, and Rhett would be with Ezra, learning how to mix both mana and ki - except for Rhett, who was there to tag along. Ley, Lilith, and Eve would be with Brent - learning more magic and about their elements. Ley would tag along, because he¡¯s still too young to participate in physical activities. In the afternoon, they would learn academics from Brent, as per usual. At night, they would spar and later cultivate their ki or mana. Oh, and of course, they would do even harder, longer runs in the morning - as requested by Atira. ¡°Ley, you are to train your perception,¡± Ezra ended. ¡°Any questions? None? Alright, we¡¯ll head to the place now.¡± ¡­ The arena was actually a dome - a glass dome. The dome was large enough to carry around 80,000 people, yet, despite its large size, wasn¡¯t the main tournament dome in the area. The main tournament dome could perhaps carry 100,000 people - enough to hold the entire Clarus city - perhaps even more. By the time they got to the dome, the other side was being used. Also, they managed to spot someone familiar - very familiar. In fact, he kind of looked like someone they knew¡­ ¡°Ah! It¡¯s Eldrick!¡± Kai yelled, jumping up and down - this caught Eldrick¡¯s attention, whose eyes widened in surprise. ¡°I never expected to see you here,¡± Eldrick walked up to them. ¡°Why are you here?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°We thought it was a good time for a change of scenery,¡± Ezra smiled, lying smoothly. ¡°We got what wanted there, and the children were getting sick of the mountains already.¡± That part wasn¡¯t a lie. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Ezra asked, directing the topic away from them. ¡°You see, my actual job was a teacher at Clarus Academy. I was chosen to help at Skystead as an operator - seeing as those in Gwydion were full with their hands.¡± ¡°Oh? What happened in Gwydion?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a case of growing demons,¡± Eldrick sighed. Demons was the term they used to identify elementals who broke their limit and were unable to control it. Those like Grandmother Lilah. The memories caused the three siblings¡¯ excitement to dampen. A small frown on their faces as they continued to listen to the conversation. ¡°Strange,¡± Atira frowned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they know any better?¡± ¡°Perhaps not,¡± Eldrick shrugged. ¡°Anyway, I gotta get back to my students, they¡¯re starting to look over here.¡± ¡°Alright, kids!¡± Atira yelled, ¡°we¡¯re going to start today off with 5 miles in 45 minutes. Since we haven¡¯t been exercising, I¡¯ll go easy. After that, you are to head to your morning instructors. Got it? Good. Now, get going!¡± It was much easier than usual - this time, the ground was flat and easy to run on. No climbing up and down mountains. Perhaps they didn¡¯t even need 45 minutes. As they jogged around the arena, a kid with light green hair and aqua eyes ran up next to them. They glanced at him once, before ignoring him. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your names?¡± he asked, struggling to keep up with their pace. ¡°W-where¡¯d you come from?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Kai asked bluntly, not even sparing another glance. ¡°Hehe¡­ my name is Dillon!¡± Dillon smiled brightly, ¡°so, who are you? Everyone¡¯s curious - I mean, we don¡¯t see Master Eldrick socializing much with others, so we thought you were special. I mean, you look special - that¡¯s for sure. Are you strong? If you¡¯re strong, we might have to¡­¡± Dillon rambled on, still struggling to keep up. They wondered whether or not he would be able to finish. ¡°Stop,¡± Caelus glared, shutting Dillon up. ¡°Why do you care so much?¡± ¡°You guys look interesting,¡± he simply said, shrugging his petite shoulders. ¡°So, are you strong?¡± ¡°Do we look like it?¡± asked Kai, hoping to hear the answer he wanted. ¡°You look intimidating, especially him,¡± Dillon pointed at Orion, who was running at the front. Orion simply ignored him. ¡°His eyes scare me.¡± This caused Orion to frown, running even faster. Naturally, the pack followed his pace. ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Dillon chased after them, ¡°how about that baby? Does he belong to that woman? She doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯d produce a baby that looks like, well¡­ amazing.¡± ¡°Annoying,¡± Eve snapped, turning to stare at him. ¡°You talk too much.¡± Dillon blushed, ¡°people tell me that all the time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, you should listen to them,¡± Caelus said. ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t care what others say.¡± ¡°Bravo,¡± Caelus raised his eyebrows, clapping for him. Dillon, surprisingly, had a lot of stamina. That, and he was persistent and determined. An annoying combination, Caelus told him. He finished the five miles with them, albeit he looked dead tired afterwards. ¡°Do you do this everyday?¡± he panted, flopping on his back. ¡°We normally run under a shorter time limit,¡± Kai smiled, ¡°can¡¯t handle it?¡± ¡°I can!¡± ¡°Then get up.¡± A few seconds later, Dillon attempted to stand up. His legs shaking, eyes watering. At this moment, the children stared at him, anticipating whether he would get up or not. Of course, if he didn¡¯t they¡¯d be slightly disappointed, but be alright with it. After all, they, too, had trouble standing up at first. However, they still managed to do it - even if it took a couple.. or several tries. After falling several times, Dillon finally stood up, although he was panting even harder than he was when he ran. Raising a fist in the air, he stared at Kai, as if saying he did it. He achieved standing up. ¡°Hi, my name is Malachi, but you can call me Kai!¡± Kai grinned cheekily, supporting Dillon up. Dillon smiled happily at him. Although this small acknowledgement didn¡¯t mean anything to them, Dillon felt absolutely ecstatic. ¡°Evangeline, call me Eve!¡± Eve smiled, joining her brother. If her brother approved of someone, she would be alright with them, too. It became an unspoken rule, after she and Lilith became popular in Skystead. One by one, they introduced themselves, until finally, Orion was the last one. Orion still felt bothered by the eye-color incident. A long time ago, however, he would¡¯ve been more hurt by the comment. Orion sighed, staring at the determined boy in front of him. ¡°Orion,¡± he said, giving him a slight smile. ¡°So, Dillon, how old are you?¡± asked Kai. ¡°I just turned six years old last week!¡± he grinned, Kai frowned. He was younger than Dillon, but he won¡¯t tell him that. Lilith came back, walking over with a young baby in her hands. ¡°Ah!¡± Dillon stared at the baby, ¡°what¡¯s his name?¡± Ley glared. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Eh..?¡± Dillon stared at Ley with bewilderment. Could babies talk so fluently at a young age? He doubted the baby was even a year old! ¡°How?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a looong story,¡± Kai jumped up and down. ¡°So, Caelus and Orion went to the forest¡­¡± He explained to him what happened and how Ley came to be. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing!¡± he stared at Orion and Caelus with awe, a newfound respect for them. He wondered, are they really kids his age? They seemed to have seen a lot of things. Dillon has never went outside of Clarus before, that, and he barely got in Clarus Academy, too. He was currently ranked last in his class - that, and he was also the youngest. The older kids didn¡¯t like him very much, so they ignored him, leaving him out of their groups and friendships. ¡°Oh? Who is this?¡± Ezra asked, walking over to them. He stared at the green-haired child before smiling. ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°D-Dillon, sir,¡± Dillon casted his eyes down to the ground. ¡°Hm,¡± Ezra stared at him for an extensive amount of time - well, that¡¯s what Dillon felt. ¡°Not too shabby,¡± Ezra commented, ¡°determination, persistence¡­¡± Ezra continued to analyze Dillon, even as Atira and Brent walked over. They stared at the child with expectation and anticipation. ¡°Well, you¡¯re alright talent-wise,¡± Ezra said, although the words seemed harsh to Dillon. He thought his talent was pretty decent - even above average. ¡°But if you worked hard enough, you could bridge the gap between you and those more talented.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Dillon brightened up. ¡°Yes, hard work is everything,¡± Ezra nodded. ¡°So, where¡¯d you come from?¡± ¡°Clarus Academy, sir!¡± ¡°One of Eldrick¡¯s kids, I see¡­¡± Ezra stared at Dillon, before sighing. ¡°You best hurry back.¡± ¡°Right!¡± Dillon felt something amiss, as if he were dismissed. ¡°See you later! Oh, we can hang out now, right?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Kai yelled back, watching the small figure of Dillon run back to a fuming Eldrick. ¡°No good?¡± Atira asked, frowning. ¡°Good enough, but¡­ I don¡¯t know whether or not being surrounded by geniuses will either make him or break him,¡± Ezra sighed. Dillon would either become disheartened by those with higher talent or work even harder to bridge to gap between them. Orion stared at Dillon, who was currently doing the same training as those around him - but he was alone. He clenched his fist, remembering a certain incident where he, too, was alone. ¡°Ezra,¡± Orion called out, staring at Dillon. ¡°I think he can do it.¡± Dillon watched the older kids, who were swinging their weapons effortlessly. Dillon frowned and started to work even harder - copying those older and perfecting his current skills. He ignored those who giggled at him or tried to dishearten him by making comments. ¡°No, I know he can do it,¡± Orion stated, as if it were a fact. Dillon, who was the youngest and weakest of his class, was working harder than those older than him. Ezra¡¯s lips twitched upwards, he stared at the children who were looking over at the young Dillon. Even Ley stared at Dillon with some expectation, albeit he still looked cold. ¡°I¡¯ll have a chat with Eldrick later¡­¡± ¡°You mean it?!¡± Kai yelled excitedly, when Ezra nodded, he let out a roar - yes, it¡¯s exactly was it sounds like. A roar. Those from the opposite side jumped in fright and looked around to see who caused the roar. ¡°Now let¡¯s start your training,¡± Ezra smiled evilly. ___________ Thanks for reading, remember to give me some feedback - it helps a lot. Yay, new character, lols. I really wanted someone who was less talented, yet hard-working enough to bridge the gap between him and the other characters. He''ll definitely help with character development. Hopefully you''ll like him, he''ll soften them up a bit... I wrote this chapter, legit, twenty times. I felt that certain parts were weak and lacking information. Am I adding too many characters? I feel like I have a moderate amount, especially since it''ll be just these guys until perhaps a few more chapters. So, someone pointed out that they''ve gotten strong - fast. I totally agree with this, even as I was typing the chapters, I thought that they were too skilled for only 3 months training prior. I then realized, I did, in fact, added their training - but glazed over it. That''s why it might''ve been seen as "too fast." TLDR; I''ll be doing a DETAILED chapter about their TRAINING. Yep, so... thanks for reading. Bye! Chapter 10: Electrfied + Side Story Here''s chapter 10! Exactly 3,800 words dedicated to training. -Wink wink- ____________ Chapter 10: Electrified ¡°For our training,¡± Atira glared viciously at Kai, ¡°I¡¯ll be teaching you how to use your weapons and how to use a knife.¡± ¡°Why a dagger?¡± Kai asked, tilting his side to side. ¡°What if you lose your weapons and somehow the enemy got in close range of you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lose my weapons-¡± ¡°Fool!¡± Atira scolded, sending a chop to his head. ¡°In a battle, anything can happen. What if your sisters were behind you, you lost your guns, don¡¯t know how to fight hand-to-hand, and the enemy was closing in? What would you do then?¡± ¡°I thought we learned hand-to-hand combat?¡± ¡°I only taught you how to punch and kick correctly,¡± she corrected him. ¡°Then¡­ what do I do?¡± ¡°Here,¡± she handed him a wooden knife with blunt edges. ¡°Grip it like this,¡± she moved his fingers around until the knife was pointed blade up and his hands gripped it like a hammer. ¡°This is a type of forward grip¡­ there¡¯s a few other types.¡± ¡°Eh? There¡¯s different types of grips?¡± ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ll be teaching you all of them,¡± she nodded. ¡°You will use all of them, but today, we¡¯ll learn the hammer grip.¡± Atira took away the wooden knife and handed him a stick, around the same size as the knife - perhaps a bit larger. ¡°Can you guess what the purpose of this grip is by looking at it?¡± Kai stared at his hands, before making stabbing motions and finally a slashing motion. ¡°Slashing?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Atira lead him over to a small dummy with red marks placed in vital areas. ¡°Get into position.¡± Kai lowered his body and positioned his hands in front of him. ¡°I want you to slash at this dummy.¡± ¡°Eh? That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Practice makes perfect,¡± she smiled. Kai moved forward and slashed at the dummy - skinning some of the rope off. However, Atira frowned. Kai continuously leaned forward to slash, leaving his back open - that and he was just aiming for random places. ¡°Are you just randomly hacking away?¡± she snapped. ¡°Aim for the vital spots - and stop leaning forward so much!¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Kai shouted back. Although it didn¡¯t seem much now, Kai never thought they would continue this. For hours. Until the time overlapped with Brent¡¯s lessons¡­ Demon! He thought to himself. ¡­ Meanwhile, with Ezra, Orion, Caelus, and Rhett were sitting on the floor, waiting for Ezra¡¯s instructions. ¡°I¡¯ll be teaching you how to mix your mana and ki,¡± Ezra finally said. ¡°However,¡± Ezra continued. ¡°This process takes a long time - therefore, we¡¯ll only do it for an hour a day. After that, we¡¯ll learn how to incorporate our mixed energy into our weapons.¡± ¡°Mixing your energies is similar to meditating. However, when meditating, one would normally connect with their mana or connect with their ki. The process of mixing them is to connect the two sides together, bringing them together to create something even stronger. We call is spirit essence,¡± Ezra explained, sitting down in front of the three. ¡°How do we connect them?¡± asked Orion, getting comfortable in his sitting position. ¡°It¡¯s simple - try activating both ki and mana at the same time and holding onto it. The longer you can go, the more mixed it will be. Eventually, over time, both sides will mix with each other, creating spirit essence.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not as simple as it seems,¡± Rhett sighed. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Caelus eyed Rhett. ¡°I mean, try activating both at the same time,¡± Rhett urged them to try it. The boys looked at each other before trying to activate both sides. Orion felt the energy suddenly build up inside of him, before he felt it being released suddenly. ¡°Huh?¡± he opened his eyes, looking confused. Ezra smiled. ¡°Both ki and mana are what you call alphas - they dominate. When you activate the both of them, they¡¯ll push to fill your core. However, due to this, they would exceed your core limit and disperse itself before they destroy their host.¡± ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Caelus frowned. ¡°Try controlling it. When I taught you how to meditate, I taught you how to let your energy flow into you - not how to control how much energy you receive. To control it, try letting mana and ki in one-by-one.¡± Orion exhaled before inhaling and trying to control his energies. It was hard - definitely. Everytime he tried to let it in one-by-one, he would lose grip on either mana or ki. If he focused on controlling one side more, the other side would lose focus and start filling his core. He felt frustrated, but determined to get stronger. After all, his family called him Captain - he was the leader. How would they see him as if he were to give up now? Orion divided his attention on controlling the energies. This process took a lot of concentration. ¡°Well, time¡¯s up!¡± Ezra clapped his hands, smiling at the two boys with satisfaction. Rhett, on the other hand, already accomplished mixing his energies long ago. He was told to join Atira and Kai with their training while they meditated. ¡°Ah,¡± Orion frowned, letting out a sigh. Caelus, too, looked frustrated. Probably the most he¡¯s ever been. ¡°Get up, I¡¯ll be teaching you how to incorporate this somewhat mixed energy into your weapons.¡± Ezra told them to use the weapons they received from Atira. ¡°This time, try activating your mana or ki.¡± Orion activated his mana, only to find a small amount of ki mixed in. This time, he activated his ki, to find the same result. ¡°Now try activating your mixed energy. The reason why mixing the energies take a long time, is due to the human¡¯s core being too incompetent to hold both energies. As a result of this, the mixed energies end up creating a new pocket in the core - one to hold your spirit essence.¡± Orion activated the small amount of mixed energy he had - it was easier to activate it now, but he still found it difficult to increase the amount of energy coming in. ¡°Concentrate that energy onto your weapons.¡± Beads of sweat fell off of Orion¡¯s face, his eyebrows twitched as he concentrated on moving the energy to his weapon. The energy slowly traveled from his body into the weapon, until finally, all of it filled the weapon. He swung his scythe around, feeling no difference. Orion frowned, then what was the point? There must be more than this. ¡°The reason why balanced elementals are valued is due to their ability to mix their energies. Mixing your energy¡­ well, try swinging your weapon at the ground.¡± Orion gripped his scythe tightly before swinging towards the ground. A chunk of the ground blew away due to the blow and dispersed in the air. Coming down as particles of dirt. A small depression was made in the ground. ¡°W-whoa!¡± Orion uttered out. It was for weapons induced with mana or ki normal for it to leave a crack in the ground, perhaps even a small depression. However, that was if they were swinging with full strength. What Orion did was a regular, light swing of his weapon. He wondered what would happen if he mixed all of his energy. What kind of destruction would he do? ¡°Good, now use this instead,¡± he handed them a long stick - each according to their weapon size. ¡°Practice concentrating your mixed energy into these.¡± ¡­ Brent stared at the children before him - especially the baby. He sighed. He had the most difficult bunch to train. One, there was a baby who couldn''t do much activities. Two, he had two arcane ability users. ¡°What are we doing today, Brent?¡± asked Eve, tilting her head. ¡°Since you guys are mana-favored, you¡¯re most definitely going to be either support or long-ranged attackers,¡± Brent told them. ¡°Except for maybe Eve¡­¡± he muttered, eyeing the child who gleefully smiled at him. He instinctually shuddered. ¡°Right, what we know about Eve¡¯s power is that she can form a barrier that has rebound and some healing properties, Lilith¡¯s is summoning - oh, that¡¯s right! Have you discovered any other skills?¡± ¡°Apparently I inherited some of Rhett¡¯s abilities, but currently, I don¡¯t know any or I¡¯m too weak to use them,¡± Lilith informed. ¡°And for Ley, you can use thunder,¡± Brent ended. ¡°Uhn,¡± Ley nodded. Brent sighed, it seems as if he¡¯s starting to act his age - or he dislikes talking. ¡°We can¡¯t do much now, so we¡¯ll spend a few more weeks learning about your abilities and increasing them.¡± For the rest of the time at Brent¡¯s lessons, they continued to test their abilities and spar for a bit. He told them, the more they used their abilities, the more efficient and stronger they¡¯ll get. He was looking forward to Eve¡¯s healing abilities and Lilith¡¯s summoning skills. For Lilith, he wondered what skills she inherited from Rhett - the king of the forest¡­ supposedly. As for Ley, he wondered if he could send him to Ezra so he, too, could incorporate his energy into his weapon. ¡­ Ezra clapped his hands together, ¡°alright, time for the next step!¡± Orion and Caelus were gasping for air. Ezra continuously made them use all of their mana and concentration to swing the sticks down. Their arms trembled and their mana was absolutely exhausted. However, to remedy this, Ezra bought a stack of mana regeneration potions. It was hell for them. Not only does becoming mana exhausted completely tire out the person, it slowly starts to shut down their body so that the person would sleep to regain more mana. That is, if they didn¡¯t know how to regenerate mana or if they didn¡¯t have potions to remedy it. However, an exhausted body is ten times harder to work with. Yet they continued to do the same rigorous training. Ezra made them run two miles for every time he thought they were slacking. Though, when they looked over at Kai and Rhett¡¯s training, they felt grateful. Ezra handed them four bracelets each, ¡°put one on your ankles and wrists.¡± ¡°What do these do?¡± asked Caelus, eyeing the black ringlets. ¡°Ah, they do this-¡± Ezra snapped his fingers. Orion and Caelus fell on their knees promptly. ¡°These are gravity rings, they¡¯re used to train the body. I set the gravity on low, since this is a new method. Also, I don¡¯t want to destroy your young bodies. Hm.. right, now start swinging again.¡± ¡°Ergh..¡± Orion pushed himself up and grabbed his stick, Caelus followed after him. ¡°Don¡¯t slack off now,¡± Ezra smiled. ¡°Or you¡¯ll do three miles.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡­ It was the end of their ¡°morning¡± activities. After they ate breakfast, which Atira brought with her, they had lessons with Brent - their usual world-conquering plans coming along nicely. ¡°If we were to attack a region, which one should we attack first?¡± asked Eve, eyeing the map in front of them. It was marked with red spots of regal cities - either commercial or strategic. ¡°Hum, Polymetis would normally be the weakest, but they have the highest technology. Those new weapons are dangerous. Gwydion is too advanced with magic, Eradion is¡­ well, too strong in general. Either Ophir or Nereida,¡± Lilith analyzed the map. ¡°Ophir,¡± Orion finally added in. ¡°Why?¡± Ley asked. ¡°Please include a detailed explanation as to why we should attack Ophir rather than Nereida.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see, Nereida, although being the smallest region, is called the waterlands for a reason. They¡¯re surrounded by water. Not only that, but their main forces are made of water elementals. That enough would put us in a disadvantage.¡± ¡°Despite your thunder abilities, Nereida has earth users to neutralize them - as seen in report 8, page 2,¡± Orion continued. ¡°Ophir has a more diverse amount of elementals. However, they¡¯re also known to be one of the weakest in terms of military and fighting power. That, and they¡¯re not as close to water.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡°My thunder abilities can run on the ground, too,¡± Ley objected. ¡°Ophir is also known to produce the strongest heroes, however their military drags them down. These ¡°heroes¡± are the special force they use against overly powerful enemies.¡± ¡°Nereida, too, has a secret force. Although no one has seen them, they¡¯ve been recorded in the history books,¡± Orion added in. ¡°The Azures.¡± The Azures were a specialized force that took care of incoming enemy attacks long ago, they were recorded in the history books, but no one has actually seen them. Everyone believes they¡¯re real. ¡°Ophir¡¯s military is actually stronger than Polymetis¡¯s,¡± Lilith said. ¡°This opens us up to Polymetis, too. Every country, by now, has some type of special technology. Although they¡¯re known to be advanced, they¡¯re not too far ahead of everyone else.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s choose randomly,¡± Caelus added in. ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright,¡± everyone agreed. They spun a bottle to see which region they should attack. It landed on Ophir. ¡°Ophir it is,¡± Orion smiled. ¡­ After they had dinner, they were to start their last activity - sparring and meditating afterwards. As they set up their weapons and cleared the area, Ezra walked casually over, a boy next to him. ¡°Everyone,¡± Ezra said, catching their attention. ¡°Dillon will now be joining us.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Kai turned to see a familiar green-haired boy. ¡°Dillon! Long time no see!¡± It¡¯s actually been several hours, but he ignored that. ¡°H-hi,¡± Dillon stuttered, watching the group of children nervously. This would be his new ¡°class.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you get Eldrick to agree?¡± Orion raised an eyebrow. ¡°Ah, he said it¡¯d be fine, after watching our training regime earlier in the morning,¡± Ezra smiled. Who wouldn¡¯t? In fact, shouldn¡¯t he be scared? The kids thought to themselves, keeping a neutral face. Eldrick¡­ so cruel. ¡°Today Dillon will be joining us in sparring. That reminds me, Dillon, what¡¯s your element and spirit type?¡± Ezra inquired. ¡°E-earth,¡± Dillon stuttered. Ezra informed Dillon of everyone¡¯s elements earlier, of course he¡¯d be nervous of his own. ¡°I¡¯m a ki practitioner.¡± ¡°Ooh!¡± Kai yelled, ¡°can you make a part of the ground move up?¡± ¡°Move up?¡± ¡°Like, shwaaa!¡± Kai exclaimed, moving his hands up from the ground to the air. ¡°Oh, like this?¡± Dillon lightly stomped on the ground and a small pillar of earth shot up to around 10 feet in the air. ¡°Wow, so cool!¡± Kai yelled, shaking Dillon¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Alright, so we¡¯ll do teams, there¡¯s an even amount of us, since Ley can¡¯t spar yet,¡± Ezra stared the the children before nodding his head. ¡°On team one, we have Eve, Dillon, and Orion. On team two, we have Caelus, Lilith, and Kai. Ley will act as a part of the area and send random electric waves to the ground.¡± ¡°Oh, Dillon, use this,¡± Ezra handed him a sword - an actual sword. ¡°Everyone will be using their weapons, but since you don¡¯t have one, take this.¡± Dillon gulped, taking the sword with trembling fingers. Everyone took their positions on their side of the field. On team one, Orion stood in the front next to Dillon, Eve stood in the back. Her job was to defend the frontlines, and if someone attacked her, she was allowed to do what she wanted. Orion¡¯s job was the main damage dealer - also he was to fend off Caelus. Dillon¡¯s job was to take down Lilith and, if possible, Kai, too. On team two, Caelus stood in the front with Lilith in the back. Kai stood to the very right of them, his job was to get in, deal damage, and get out. Lilith was to cast spells with Rhett acting as her bodyguard - he was limited to only that much. Caelus was the main offensive, he had the more diverse skills and usage. ¡°Ready?¡± Brent asked. Everyone tensed up. Dillon stared nervously at the opposite side - they looked fierce. ¡°Hey, shake it off,¡± Orion smiled gently at him. ¡°We got your back.¡± ¡°Right!¡± Eve smiled. ¡°T-thanks,¡± Dillon gave them a weak smile, albeit it made him feel better to have strong teammates, he was worried he couldn¡¯t get the job done. ¡°Set?¡± Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, Dillon trembled nervously. ¡°Go!¡± Brent yelled, snapping his fingers. A burst of light signaled the start of the fight. Orion moved in swiftly, using the shadows to get closer to the frontlines. Dillon launched himself using the earth, he didn¡¯t go very far, so Eve shot him farther away using her rebound barrier. ¡°Wah!¡± Dillon shouted in surprise, turning to stare at his teammate. Eve laughed, a glint of mischief in her eyes. ¡°Turn around,¡± she mouthed. Dillon turned around to see a battlefield at work. Orion manipulating the shadows to get behind Caelus and swinging his scythe, only to be blown back by Caelus¡¯s wind. Caelus utilized his sword in ways he¡¯s never seen before - he commanded it to move and attack Orion while using hand-to-hand combat himself. Lilith, on the other hand, was summoning fire to Eve, who stood in the back, protecting her teammates from Lilith¡¯s oncoming attacks. Eve, of course, materialized her hammer and attacked Lilith herself, despite that being Dillon¡¯s job. ¡°Eh?¡± Dillon said aloud, ¡°what do I do then-?¡± ¡°HAHA,¡± a loud laugh echoed in his head. ¡°Did you forget me?¡± Kai appeared in front of a surprised Dillon and shot him with his gun. Luckily, all weapons were modified, for now, to deal no harm to others. Dillon plummeted to the earth. He quickly created a soft area in the earth for him to land in. Once Dillon landed, he looked for Kai, but to no avail. ¡°Ergh,¡± Dillon paled, he raised the earth where Lilith stood and made her lose balance. ¡°That should be fine, right?¡± He was wrong. Rhett came by to attack him. ¡°Wah!¡± Dillon quickly shot a wall of earth to block Rhett¡¯s punch - to no avail. Rhett punched through the wall, so Dillon raised the earth below him, successfully dodging the punch. Eve yelled, ¡°use your sword!¡± She used her barrier to shoot him out of Rhett¡¯s area of control. After that, she continued to attack Lilith, who controlled her disk-like weapon to block and attack Eve. Right, my sword! Dillon reached for the sword around his waist. However, before he could unsheathe it, a wave of electricity rolled through the ground, covering the entire arena. Eve quickly placed a barrier underneath Orion, Dillon, and herself. They bounced up lightly in the air, successfully dodging the wave of electricity. Caelus, on the other hand, floated casually in the air, attacking Orion who could only send small orbs of darkness at him. Eve used her barrier to shoot Orion towards Caelus. ¡°Dillon, step!¡± Orion quickly called. ¡°R-right!¡± Dillon shot a pillar of earth for Orion to use as a step. Orion gracefully landed on it before jumping at Caelus. Lilith, on the other hand, had Rhett pick her up and jump into the air - a simple strategy, but effective enough. Kai was still nowhere to be seen. ¡°Again, pay attention,¡± Kai whispered, kicking Dillon who landed on the electrified ground. ¡°U-UWAH!¡± Dillon yelled. ¡°Oh, crap,¡± Kai said, that was the last thing Dillon heard. ¡­ ¡°Hey, he¡¯s waking up,¡± a feminine voice said. ¡°Good, I¡¯m getting tired,¡± another female voice said. ¡°Who knew healing took so much mana?¡± ¡°I feel bad,¡± a childish voice groaned. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d faint on contact with Ley¡¯s electricity. ¡°Or maybe Ley¡¯s electricity is too powerful?¡± Suggested a cold, lazy voice. ¡°Enough, look, he¡¯s awake,¡± a charismatic voice said. Dillon opened his eyes to see six children surrounding him. ¡°I fainted?¡± Dillon blushed. ¡°Sorry,¡± Ley apologized. ¡°Electricity was too powerful. I¡¯ll work on controlling it.¡± ¡°Hehe,¡± Kai laughed, ¡°Rhett fainted from the electricity, too.¡± ¡°I am the king of the forest,¡± Rhett muttered. ¡°Sparring is over,¡± Lilith smiled, ¡°we¡¯re doing meditation now. ¡°Do you need some honey?¡± asked Orion, who stared at him with worried eyes. ¡°It could help.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m good,¡± Dillon¡¯s face turned an even darker shade of red. ¡°No need to be embarrassed,¡± Caelus yawned, floating upside down in the air. ¡°You should see the things Rhett and Brent do.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ maybe we should end it for today,¡± Atira suggested. ¡°No,¡± Dillon¡¯s face became determined. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ezra asked, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. ¡°Alright then, everyone sit down¡­¡± That day, Dillon became determined to accomplish cool things in life - enough so that this memory would forever be erased from history, or at least from his mind¡­ ____________________ Side Story: Dillon¡¯s Offer Dillon stared at the older kids who gave him looks of contempt. However, he chose to ignore them. He watched as the more mature kids, who ignored him, swung their swords down. Dillon positioned himself to copy them and swung down his sword the same way. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll lose to them, Dillon glared. He continued like this until lunch, skipping breakfast. I¡¯m hungry, he sighed. As he went to leave for lunch, he noticed a handsome red-haired man talking with Master Eldrick. Eldrick nodded and pointed to where Dillon stood. ¡°Eh?¡± Dillon noticed it was the same man who evaluated him earlier. The cool-looking, handsome man walked up to him. ¡°Hello,¡± the red-haired man smiled charmingly at him - he was so brilliant, Dillon couldn¡¯t help but squint his eyes. ¡°My name is Ezra, the master of the those children you were talking to earlier.¡± ¡°O-oh, hello!¡± Dillon bowed. Ezra stared at him, before saying, ¡°I finished talking to your master about this. Dillon, I¡¯m going to offer you a choice that might change your life.¡± A tense silence passed between the two. ¡°Do you want to become one of my apprentices?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Dillon¡¯s eyes widen in surprise. ¡°Of course, my training is ten times harder than what you do here. However, I guarantee you¡¯ll pass your peers.¡± ¡°I-I¡­¡± Dillon wanted to ask him, why me? ¡°Dillon, I see in you, hard work, determination, and persistence,¡± Ezra told him, as if he read Dillon¡¯s mind. ¡°These traits would allow you to become stronger than your peers. Of course, you¡¯ll still attend Clarus, however, you¡¯ll train under me.¡± Dillon gulped nervously. ¡°My parents?¡± ¡°You can tell them your decision. Also, you don¡¯t have to come with me after we leave here.¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What do you want to do?¡± asked Ezra. ¡°I¡­ can I become your apprentice?¡± Ezra smiled softly. ¡°Of course.¡± That day, Dillon joined a group full of unique people with unique abilities and strengths. However, he never realized that this decision would forever change his life, and he would be a part of something bigger than he, himself, would ever be¡­ ________ Thanks for reading, remember to comment/give feedback! I love, love, love Dillon - he''s sooo cute! (Albeit I like the twins more, lol). So, LOOOOONG chapter about training. Yep, a more detailed description on what they actually do. Every time I think about increasing their difficulty, I remember how old they are, so I tend to limit myself. Trying to make it as realistic AS POSSIBLE. (Although I kind of failed in that aspect). Is it just me, or do other authors add a word minimum to their chapters? I think, since chapter one, all of my chapters have been more than 2,200 words each. Looking for people to help proofread, too. Or at least point out any grammatical errors in the comment sections. THANKS TO SARCZE FOR HELPING CORRECT SOME MISTAKES IN THIS CHAPTER. Chapter 11: In Three Years From Now... Chapter 11: In Three Years From Now... It¡¯s been a few days since Dillon joined the group, everyone slowly warmed up to him and finally accepted him as one of their own. A part of their family. Sadly they knew that once they were finished with the tournament, they would leave this place. Dillon¡¯s parents would probably object to him leaving, too. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯ll go after you leave?¡± Dillon asked. He was currently hanging out with the ¡®alpha males¡¯ - as he would like to call it - of the group. ¡°Somewhere far,¡± Orion answered, looking off into the distance. ¡°Maybe in a new region.¡± Dillon paused. He liked his new friends, he didn¡¯t want them to leave, either. It was the first time kids his age treated him well and nice. ¡°...Will you ever come back?¡± he asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. This earned him a head rub from all three boys. They all saw him as a younger brother, even Kai, who was younger. Dillon, of course, learned about Kai¡¯s age yesterday, but accepted this hierarchy. ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s okay, Dillon!¡± Kai chirped happily, smiling at him. ¡°One day, we¡¯ll come back for you.¡± Caelus snorted, floating upside down. ¡°You act like we¡¯re leaving now - we still have two more years.¡± ¡°R-right,¡± Dillon stuttered, his cheeks dyed red. ¡°We should get back,¡± Orion said, staring at the sky. They were currently taking a break from their training and opted to sit outside rather than stay inside, where it had a so-called ¡°stuffy¡± atmosphere. ¡°So, you¡¯re joining the tournaments?¡± Dillon smiled, ¡°I guess we¡¯ll be up against each other! That is¡­ if I make the team.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t make the team, you can join ours,¡± Kai told him, skipping back inside. ¡°Really?¡± His eyes brightened, following Kai inside. ¡°Do you mean it?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Kai grinned, puffing his chest out arrogantly. ¡°Arrogant,¡± a feminine voice commented. Eve smiled at them, ¡°welcome back.¡± ¡°Yup!¡± Kai smiled cheekily, giving her a peace sign. Dillon swooned, all of the girls in this group were very beautiful. However, he saw how protective Kai was and thought of them as ¡°untouchable.¡± Eve grabbed their hands, ¡°let¡¯s hurry back!¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Dillon blushed. ¡°Welcome back,¡± Lilith said, holding onto Ley. ¡°H-hi, Lilith,¡± Dillon stuttered, to which Lilith giggled at. Eve urged him to sit down. Dillon felt flustered by the sisters who were both younger and older than him. Is this heaven? He thought to himself. Kai smiled at Dillon, which caused a bead of sweat to roll down Dillon¡¯s face. Kai¡¯s smile seemed platonic - and that was terrifying. He mouthed to him, while smiling, ¡°don¡¯t look, don¡¯t touch.¡± ¡°G-got it,¡± Dillon mouthed back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Eve asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Dillon got up and sat next to one of the boys. The children chattered and played around until Ezra walked over, a grim look on his face. He sighed and sat down near the children, who looked at him with concern. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Orion. ¡°Tournament has been pushed back a year, due to the increase of demons,¡± Ezra groaned. ¡°This ruins all of my future plans.¡± ¡°What? We¡¯ll be staying here for another year?¡± Brent asked, walking over. He overheard the conversation. Ezra nodded with a glum expression on his face. ¡°Yes! Civilization for three years!¡± ¡°Oh, well,¡± Ezra waved off the situation easily. ¡°Everything will be pushed back a year, no matter. Anyway, to continue on with our morning training.¡± Everyone groaned. ¡­ ¡°You¡¯re pretty proficient with mixed energy,¡± Ezra commented, staring at the two boys meditating. ¡°Alright¡­. and¡­ stop.¡± ¡°Will we be testing out our weapons again?¡± asked Caelus, slowly opening his eyes. ¡°Nope, today you¡¯ll learn how to charge your weapons with your element,¡± Ezra smiled mischievously, ¡°later, when you become more proficient at this, you can mix both element and spirit essence.¡± Wait, wouldn¡¯t that be too strong? The boys thought, frowning. ¡°In the next three years, I highly doubt you¡¯ll cover even one-eighth of it,¡± Ezra snorted. ¡°Now, get up. Materialize your weapons.¡± They quickly complied, not wanting to get abandoned. Ezra explained that this was similar to concentrating their energy into one area - except using their element. They called this elemental augment. ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± Orion frowned. ¡°This time it¡¯s simple, but don¡¯t get used to it, kid,¡± Ezra replied. ¡°Well? Are you going to try it out?¡± It was exactly as Ezra said. Simple. Orion activated his element and concentrated it at his weapon - a dark substance crawled up from Orion¡¯s arm and into the weapon. If you were to glance at the substance, you¡¯d think it was black lightning. However, this substance was actually Orion¡¯s darkness - it was wild and powerful. Caelus, on the other hand, was told that he¡¯s been using element augmentation this entire time, without him realizing it. He, apparently, uses it to control his sword. ¡°I knew there was a name for it,¡± Caelus mumbled, eyeing his sword and swinging it around. Orion swung his scythe around, black ¡°lightning¡± rippling around it. ¡°Cool,¡± he muttered, nodding his head in approval. ¡­ ¡°So you¡¯re a ki practitioner, too?¡± Kai asked, while attacking the dummy - he became more proficient in the hammer grip. Also, he doesn¡¯t lean forward¡­ that much. ¡°Yep!¡± Dillon said, waiting for Atira to return. She told him to wait here with Rhett and Kai as she went to get something for him. Rhett, on the other hand, despite being told to stay with Atira, was training by himself. He said it was the most efficient and practical way for familiars to get stronger - battle or train in seclusion. At first, Atira wouldn¡¯t allow him, but then... ¡°In two years,¡± Rhett told them, ¡°I might breakthrough to A rank. Or maybe three years¡­ who knows. Ah, well the spirit god knows - of course, but I mean, I don¡¯t. Kind of jealous actually - you know, I¡¯ve met him before? He¡¯s big. Real big.¡± And so, Rhett would ramble on. Thus, to make him shut up, she allowed him to train in seclusion. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Atira yelled, a green crystal in her hand. ¡°This is for you,¡± she handed it to him. Dillon hesitantly grabbed the crystal. It was much bigger and heavier than he thought. ¡°What is this?¡± he asked. ¡°Lapidus-¡± ¡°What?! I can¡¯t take this!¡± ¡°Take it, it¡¯s a sign you¡¯re my apprentice, too, you know,¡± Atira pouted, which Dillon couldn¡¯t resist. ¡°What?¡± Kai frowned, ¡°you¡¯re weak to women! I mean, I expected my sisters, but Atira-? Ouch!¡± Atira karate chopped Kai¡¯s head while glaring. ¡°Shut up,¡± Atira growled. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Kai saluted and continued to attack the dummy. ¡°Try to materialize it,¡± Atira ordered, to which Dillon complied. He stuck his hand out and a red-colored energy began to gather in his hands, seemingly forming itself. However, after a while, he realized the red energy was getting larger, and larger, and larger, until¡­ a large, red axe took its place. The size was around 8 feet, about the same as Eve¡¯s hammer. ¡°W-whoa!¡± Dillon almost the dropped the weapon, the sheer weight of it was hard enough on him. He then wondered how Eve could swing around her hammer like that. A shiver passed through him ¡°Wow,¡± Kai whistled. ¡°It¡¯s big.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dillon said breathlessly. This would be his weapon from now. A feeling of pure joy spread inside of him. ¡°I¡¯ll name him Gravis.¡± ¡°Oh, I should name mine, too!¡± Kai grinned, ¡°let¡¯s see¡­ I want to name him ¡®awesome.¡¯¡± Kai nodded. Atira groaned, ¡°how about using a synonym?¡± ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°In the ancient language,¡± Dillon said, ¡°awesome, or amazing, was Mirificus.¡± ¡°Ooh! That sounds cool! Okay, let¡¯s go with that,¡± Kai grinned. ¡°Alright, now get back to training,¡± Atira clapped her hands. ¡°Dillon, come with me, I¡¯ll teach you how to use the axe.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Dillon chirped happily. However, he noticed Kai¡¯s sad face. ¡°Good luck,¡± Kai mouthed, making a cross motion with his hand and putting them together in prayer. Eh? Dillon thought, as he followed Atira. ¡­ ¡°Do you think I can attach barriers onto people?¡± Eve asked suddenly, playing around with her element. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Brent stared down at her. ¡°If I could attach my barriers onto people, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about constantly using my barrier to block others and focus more on the fight. Also, my barrier can heal, so they¡¯ll have a constant heal on them, right?¡± Eve explained. ¡°You can try,¡± Brent shrugged, ¡°this is to discover your abilities, after all.¡± Eve stood up and called for Lilith to come to her. ¡°I need your help,¡± she said. ¡°With what?¡± Lilith questioned, holding her grimoire in her hand. Just recently, Lilith learned of a secondary familiar that allows her to pick up things and move them around - perfect for her disk weapon. ¡°Just stand still for me.¡± ¡°Hm? Alright.¡± Eve raised her hand and placed a small barrier around Lilith. However, this time she tried concentrating the mana for the barrier around the person, instead of in the surroundings. She felt the mana drain from her body quickly, yet continued to focus on concentrating the mana on Lilith. Eve dropped to the floor, exhausted. ¡°Try moving,¡± Eve panted out. ¡°Alright?¡± Lilith didn¡¯t understand, it seemed like a regular barrier to her. That is, until she took the first step, the barrier moved around with her, surrounding her body in protection and warmth. ¡°Eve!¡± Lilith yelled excitedly. ¡°I-it¡¯s moving!¡± ¡°Wah! Seriously?!¡± Eve looked up, excitement written all over her face. ¡°Yes! Look!¡± ¡°WHOA! I¡¯m a genius!¡± Eve laughed. ¡°Ah¡­ but it takes too much mana,¡± she groaned. ¡°Here you go,¡± Brent handed her a flask filled with a blue substance. A mana-regenerating potion. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Eve reluctantly took the vial and drank it, knowing that their masters wouldn¡¯t allow them to stop training. ¡°Hm¡­¡± Brent paused, ¡°again. Do it over and over and over again for the rest of this period.¡± ¡°Y-yes, master,¡± Eve said, looking away. Thus, Eve was forced to use the barrier on Brent for the rest of the period - exhausting herself and then regenerating her mana, only to repeat the process again. Brent then told her to work on this skill for the next few weeks, to which Eve almost cried after hearing him say that. ¡­ ¡°It was definitely a good idea to choose Ophir,¡± Ley agreed, staring at the map. From what Ezra told them, both Gwydion and Ophir were having an increase in demons - making the two regions weak. ¡°Nereida and Polymetis will probably start raising their defenses, ah, but so will Eradion,¡± Eve commented, staring at the map. The map, by now, was marked by several different colors. Red for regal cities, green for demons, blue for raising defenses, and a variety of others. ¡°W-what is this?¡± Dillon asked nervously, staring at the serious-looking children and their master, Brent, sleeping in the back near a tree. He wasn¡¯t able to join this class yet, seeing as Atira made him due laps for the past few days until she became satisfied. For world domination period, the children moved it to the grassy portion of the dome. It was in the corner and in the shade, also, they could tell if someone were to walk nearby more easily. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡± Kai pointed at the map, ¡°this is our world conquering plan.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to conquer the world,¡± Kai said more slowly. ¡°I get that¡­ but why?¡± ¡°For fun,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Also, I want to get rid of all the demons in the world.¡± His sisters nodded at this. ¡°I want all of the honey in the world,¡± Orion muttered. ¡°Sleep,¡± Caelus answered. But you can sleep now?! Dillon thought to himself, he then stared at Ley. ¡°I just want to,¡± Ley said. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to?¡± ¡°Why would I want to do that?¡± ¡°I mean, if you conquered the world, doesn¡¯t that technically mean you¡¯re the strongest?¡± Ley said, ever so slyly. Dillon gulped. Of course he wanted to be the strongest, who wouldn¡¯t? He stared over at his school and watched them train in harmony. If he became the strongest, they wouldn¡¯t dare to bully him anymore. ¡°I mean¡­ of course,¡± Dillon muttered. ¡°Dillon is now our comrade in this!¡± Kai shouted, ¡°if he backs out or tells on us, he¡¯ll die by the lightning of Ley!¡± ¡°W-wait!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Lilith mumbled, staring at him evilly. In fact, all of them were. Dillon gulped and prayed he chose right to join this group, he then wondered what it would be like in three years from now, when they would join the tournament. In three years from now¡­ I will be stronger, faster¡­ Different. ¡­ And so the months would pass by, working hard every day - morning to night. The children would steadily increase their training and with that, came even better results than they expected. Ezra still forced Caelus and Orion to use their gravity bracelets, he even increased it to high. Also, he forced them to have it on low even after training ended - always increasing their strength. Though they were allowed to take it off when they sleep. Even after a few months, Caelus and Orion haven¡¯t even touched the surface of mixing the energies together. It was frustrating, but at least they were making little progress every day. To cheer them up, Rhett told them it took him forty years to finally mix all of the energy. They were going at a faster rate than him, which they were glad about. They still wanted to be young and handsome by the time they finally became strong. As for Rhett¡¯s progress, he stated that he was close to breaking through, which made Lilith absolutely ecstatic. Lilith, on the other hand, summoned a secondary familiar and made a contract with her. Her name was Bell - the handmaiden familiar. Unlike Rhett, Bell could be returned to the spirit world, only to come back when needed. Her powers included lifting objects, but that was about it for now. Eve could easily attach barriers onto one person, although it would take a lot of mana to create a second one to place onto someone. For now, she¡¯s stuck with one. Also, her barrier¡¯s healing abilities have increased from some healing properties, to a small amount. She could now turn the healing on and off, conserving mana for herself. The shield, itself, was slightly thicker than it was when she first started. Also, her hammer skills have improved a lot. In fact, all of their combat skills increased, due to sparring every day. Unfortunately for Ley, who still couldn¡¯t participate. However, his lightning was stronger, therefore making their sparring harder - as he could now control how much lightning he could release. As for the power, not so much. To which everyone forgot, Ley, in fact, did have a weapon - or two. However, he refused to tell anyone about it. Dillon could finally lift his axe without trouble. Although, he still had to learn how to swing it around. Still, he was getting there. He also learned several ways to use his earth element. This one was an accident, but still helped him: earth armor. He found it by covering his body in earth before Eve obliterated him with her hammer - it saved him broken bones. Kai, surprisingly, improved the most. He became proficient with the knife. In fact, Atira made him practice with the knife so much, it became a habit to spin a knife inbetween his fingers - or anything for that matter. After Atira approved of his skills, she finally taught him how to use his guns. He - again - was surprisingly talented with it. Coupled with his speed, he was given the official role of the one-man guerrilla team. Kai would randomly appear, fire off his guns, and disappear. He was impossible to catch. However, Brent and his masters could still easily catch him. His only weakness was that he had no defensive abilities, making him easy to take care of if you caught them. Each one of them had a glaring weakness. Eve¡¯s weakness was her poor offense, despite how skilled she was with her hammer, her abilities were meant to support others. Although if you got hit by her hammer, you¡¯d break a few bones. Lilith¡¯s was her defense and her mobility - she was meant to be a glass cannon. Packs a strong punch, yet is easy to break. For Ley, well¡­ he his mobility was lacking as he was still¡­ a baby. Dillon¡¯s weakness was his mobility. He was definitely the slowest out of the six, discluding Ley. Dillon also had trouble with his offense, seeing as his element was more defensive. For Caelus and Orion¡­ they were monsters. Their offense was outstandingly scary, their speed was second to Eve and Kai, and their defense - well, they had their own abilities to escape and block attacks. It was troubling to know that they barely had any weaknesses. Eve became a pillar in the group. Her abilities allow her to cover for most of their weaknesses. Speed? No problem, she¡¯ll rebound you away. Defense? Also no problem, her abilities were made for that. Got hurt? She¡¯ll heal you. As for offense, she left it to the group, albeit she could hold her own. She thought of herself as the trump card for offense. ¡°No one would suspect a thing,¡± she laughed evilly. ¡°They¡¯ll think of me as weak and aim for me¡­ and then I¡¯ll-¡± The rest was omitted for your imagination. Even more time would pass by, the children getting stronger everyday. Their training changed as well, more hard, rigorous training - enough to make a few of them cry after the first day. Yes, it was very hard on them. Their running increased to 5 miles in 35 minutes with gravity bracelets on. They even sparred with gravity bracelets. However, they continued to push through. Rhett finally broke through to rank A, years earlier than he thought it would be. Of course, he joined the children¡¯s morning runs and workouts - training his plush-like body. Albeit his body looks soft, if you lied on it, it would feel like bricks. Lilith told him he wasn¡¯t comfortable anymore and he was to sleep on the bottom of the bed - right at the edge. Also, he was transform into his smallest form, which is keychain sized. ¡°Harsh,¡± Rhett cried. ¡°That¡¯s what you get,¡± Lilith said coldly, lying down onto her side of the bed. Her younger sister asleep, right next to her. At night, the children would sleep, but one girl would sometimes randomly wake up, searching for food, then realizing they weren¡¯t in their log houses anymore. ¡°Oh, I forgot,¡± she mumbled to herself. Eve was now wide awake, unable to fall asleep again, she wondered what she could do to help her sleep. ¡°Why are you awake?¡± a familiar voice whispered, the figure sat up and stared at her with his icy blue eyes. ¡°I was hungry,¡± she pouted. ¡°Again?¡± It was Caelus, he, too, barely sleeps at night. Rather, during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he sleeps. ¡°Why are you up?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m always awake at night,¡± he replied quietly. ¡°Are you bored again?¡± He contemplated, before nodding and saying, ¡°I guess.¡± As he said this, Eve grabbed something from the side of her bed and walked over to his bed. Eve and Lilith¡¯s bed was located near the door, whereas Caelus¡¯s bed was the closest to the window. The moon shone on his bed sheets, highlighting where his body laid. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± he whispered harshly, frowning at her. ¡°Last time you asked me to entertain you,¡± Eve told him, sitting down at the edge of his bed, the moon illuminating her round, silver eyes. ¡°I have cards. Wanna play blackjack?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked, scrunching up his nose. ¡°It¡¯s a game Brent taught me, he said it¡¯d help me in the future - I don¡¯t know how, though,¡± Eve scratched her head in confusion. ¡°I think he said the person closest to the number 21 wins.¡± ¡°Simple¡­ how do we play?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ like this,¡± Eve explained to him all that she could remember. Caelus interjected a few rules, which he thought would be a part of the game if you thought about it logically. So the two children played for the rest of the night, and talked from time to time. However, they only talked when Eve was frustrated about losing in blackjack to him - over a hundred times. ¡°Cheater,¡± she muttered, sticking her tongue out at him. ¡°Spoil sport,¡± he shot back. ¡°Hmph,¡± Eve turned away from him and looked outside of the window. The city was alive - even more so than in the morning. Cars were rushing down the street, people, young and drunk, were walking with their friends. ¡°Hey,¡± she whispered, lying down on his bed. ¡°Hm?¡± Caelus mumbled incoherently, and turned around to face her. ¡°What will it be like in three years from now?¡± she asked, fidgeting her spot, her eyelids slowly feeling heavier and heavier. Caelus grinned, ¡°I¡¯ll be the strongest boy alive.¡± She snorted at his immature answer, ¡°that¡¯s if you beat Kai and Orion.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already beaten Kai, not Orion.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked, her eyelids closing. ¡°Definitely.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± she laughed, her body feeling heavy "Sleep," a soft voice whispered, that was the last thing she heard before falling asleep. ______________ Stellar''s Corner: Thanks for reading! Remember to comment/give feedback! So I was hesitating whether or not to put more Eve and Caelus scenes, because they''re still young and it might seem inappropriate. But then I realized, they''re freaking 5/6 - this stuff probably means nothing to them. Heck, when I was 5/6 I was sleeping next to those of the opposite gender, too. In fact, your pre-k/kindergarten teacher tells you to sleep with the whole class. TLDR; don''t say these scenes are "inappropriate," they''re more innocent. If I ever saw 5 and 6 year old children sleeping next to each other, I would think so, too. Woof, we''re finally getting into the story-ish, if you know what I mean. c; Also, are my chapters long enough? When I scroll through the page, it seems rather short. On google docs, though, they''re around 7-13 pages. (Except for ch. 2 which was a pathetic 4 pages -sigh-). So, is this enough? Or should I write more, but take a longer time... In my art thread, someone mentioned that I should try doing an LN-style fiction - aka for pictures. Should I try that? Lol, I also realized I write a lot in my corners, oops. Welp, thanks for reading! Look forward to next chapter, hehehe.... Chapter 12: A Planned Revenge Chapter 12: A Planned Revenge Two years have passed by, the children are stronger than ever. The tournament hype was soaring and most teams participating were having their try-outs. As an official student of Clarus Academy, Dillon was obligated to join. It was more mandatory. However, he was still excited. He felt like he had a chance to make it, now that he¡¯s been doing rigorous training for the past two years - his training was fruitful. The try-outs for the team was located in the arena where they¡¯ve been training in, those who did not take part of the training also joined the try-outs, although their chances of getting in were much lower. Dillon nervously stood in line, his friends were waiting for him at the sidelines, them being present made him feel less nervous and more confident in himself. Yes, they¡¯ve spent two years combatting three demons. There¡¯s no way he could fail this! ¡°I can¡¯t believe he came,¡± someone snickered behind him. ¡°Does he think he¡¯ll actually pass?¡± More laughter erupted throughout the line, some, although it didn¡¯t seem like it, were trembling with laughter - holding it in. Their faces turned pink as they made fun of him. Dillon clenched his fists. Stay cool, he told himself. ¡°He¡¯s probably arrogant because he got to learn with that other group,¡± another person whispered, a partaker in the training. ¡°Really? I thought he did well,¡± a soothing voice said. Dillon felt grateful for this person - at least not everyone in the school was a jerk. The person snorted back, ¡°yeah, right. Don¡¯t fool your eyes.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± a familiar voice growled. ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± It was Orion. Over the two years, Orion has grown in height, strength, and¡­ looks. Not only that, but his element somehow gave him a permanent intimidating aura. Orion, along with the rest of his friends, stood next to the person who was bad-mouthing him. Dillon felt his eyes prick with tears - hold it in, he thought to himself. ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± The person shot back, his face full of arrogance. Dillon recognized him - his rough, brown hair and sharp, pink eyes. This person was Michael, one of the more popular kids in his class, he was a year older than Dillon. He was also in the top 10 of the school, the number kid in his grade. Due to his rank, he felt like he had a right to pick on Dillon, who was one of the youngest and weakest people in the entire school. Dillon never truly disliked Michael, but would prefer if he never existed in the first place. What can he say? He had a big heart. ¡°Cowards like you don¡¯t deserve to know,¡± Orion said coldly, glaring at the person. ¡°What¡¯d you call me?!¡± Michael yelled, reaching to grab Orion¡¯s shirt, only to have his hand deflected. Caelus snorted, his index finger pointing at Michael¡¯s hand, ¡°what are you trying to play at?¡± Caelus, too, has changed. His medium-length hair was cut to a shorter length. Now, it was barely below his ears. Michael turned red and glared at them. ¡°You-!¡± ¡°Michael,¡± a soothing voice called out, it was the same voice who stuck up for him. ¡°Enough.¡± It was Everett, Michael¡¯s older brother of a year, and also the number 1 ranked person in his grade - two grade above Dillon¡¯s and a grade above Michael¡¯s. Grades in magic schools didn¡¯t follow the norm, instead, they¡¯re placed based on how strong they are. Dillon admired Everett - not only was he handsome, but he was nice and cool. He didn¡¯t bully others, rather he stood up for the bullied. Everyone loves him. Everett shared a similar appearance to Michael, except his brown hair was longer and fell to his shoulders, it was braided on one side. His eyes were more gentle, rounder, and a brighter shade of pink. Definitely more handsome than his bratty brother, Dillon thought to himself. ¡°I apologize for my brother,¡± Everett said, a troubling look on his face. He karate chopped Michael¡¯s head while saying, ¡°why are you like this? Huh?¡± ¡°O-ow! Brother, that hurts!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Orion stared at the two siblings, a small trace of surprise on his face, before remaining neutral. ¡°He needs to apologize to my friend, Dillon.¡± ¡°Huh? You¡¯re friends with that lo-?¡± Another karate chop - two actually. Michael turned to Dillon, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. ¡°S-sorry.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± Dillon waved it off. So the peace resumed, yet some of the stares didn¡¯t. He knew what they were thinking about, but he opted out on thinking about it. No matter where you go, someone will hate you. Unless you¡¯re perfect, which, of course, he highly doubted anyone was. Finally, Dillon made it to the front of the line - he was up next. His heart thumped nervously as he fidgeted in his spot. The wait was agonizing, it felt like hours, when, in reality, it¡¯s been a few seconds. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale- argh! That¡¯s making me even more nervous! Dillon scratched his head in frustration. ¡°Dillon!¡± A voice called out. ¡°Y-yes!¡± he yelped, which caused some people to giggle. Dillon walked up the stairs and onto a small platform. On the platform were two orbs - one to measure potential and check for your element, the other is, of course, the spirit orb. The most nervewracking experience about this was that your information would be public to others. ¡°We¡¯ll be testing for your element, potential, and spirit. Afterwards, you¡¯ll fight with one of our instructors to test your combat abilities and efficiency,¡± a lady said monotonously, she was like a robot. Her hair was gelled back and she wore a fashionable, business suit - very professional. ¡°We will be your judges,¡± she said once more, before gesturing to the three other people next to her. Eldrick was to the right, and on the left of her, was another man, although he seemed to be in his 20¡¯s. ¡°Begin.¡± Dillon went up to the potential orb first, he breathed in and then placed his hand on the orb. He knew his potential and element weren¡¯t much, but he hoped they would overlook it once they tested his combat abilities. ¡°Element, earth,¡± the operator said, then frowned. ¡°Potential 59 - medium.¡± ¡°Rejected,¡± the lady quickly said. ¡°Next!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Dillon looked shocked. ¡°W-wait, what do you mean?¡± The lady snorted, ¡°listen, sweetie. We have no room or time for those with potential lower than 60 - now move so the next person can come up.¡± ¡°Wait a second, Mira,¡± Eldrick stopped her. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we at least have an e-¡± ¡°No,¡± Mira glared. ¡°That would be unfair to the other participants we rejected with 59 potential. Next!¡± Eldrick looked at the shocked Dillon with apologetic eyes. Eldrick knew how strong Dillon became, he could possibly be in the top 20 of the school. ¡°Sorry,¡± Eldrick muttered, Dillon just nodded, as he walked down the stairs, starstrucked. A person behind him laughed and whispered to his friend. ¡°I knew it,¡± he laughed. Dillon clenched his fists and turned to glare at the person, ¡°Yo-!¡± He stopped himself from yelling. ¡°What? What¡¯re you going to do about it, huh?¡± The boy mocked, glaring back at him. He stared at Dillon as if he were a cockroach on the floor. Dillon glared and kept his mouth shut, walking away from the line and to his friends, who looked furious. He would show them. He would show all of them. ¡°They¡¯ll regret crossing me,¡± Dillon growled underneath his breath, fists clenched tightly. ¡°We¡¯ll show them, Dillon,¡± Orion said, rubbing the young boy¡¯s head, as tears continued to spill down in face. ¡°We¡¯ll show them,¡± Orion repeated, guiding Dillon back to their side of the arena. ¡­ Over the course of one year, everyone improved tremendously. Ley, too, could now walk more stably. In fact, more stable than kids his age. They wondered whether or not the officials would allow a baby to participate. Lilith improved her secondary familiar¡¯s rank from a C rank to a B rank. She could now bind with Bell and lift heavy objects, as well as push them back or create a small invisible wall. This would combat her somewhat poor defense. Also, Bell could create platforms for Lilith to step on - this made it better for her to escape, besides switching spots with Rhett. Rhett, on the other hand, is still an A rank. However, his strength has improved, too. He could jump farther distances and throw harder punches. Also, Lilith could now use some of his magic. Rhett ''s ability was that of nature - plants, essentially. She utilized Rhett to bind opponents (or Brent, in this case) and attack him using small spells. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As for Eve, she could now stick barriers onto three people easily, four if it was an emergency. Her barrier also transformed - it could turn into a dome that completely surrounds a large area, though that took a lot of energy and time to form and it was weaker than her condensed shield. However, it was useful to block skills that were attacking all of them at the same time. Kai could now pierce through harder materials, such as low quality metal. If he tried hard and used all of his mana, he could pierce through Eve¡¯s shield. He could also manipulate the sound waves around him and create more sound bullets, as well as a small bomb that releases sound waves. This bomb could either mute the sound or create a loud sound, also, it was powerful enough to push away enemies. Orion¡¯s darkness improved to an impressive level, he could absorb the light surrounding him, albeit the distance is small. However, this small area of darkness gives him a bigger advantage by creating more shadows to hide in. Caelus learned how to use a skill he called the ¡®divine sense.¡¯ If he spread his wind around, it gave him the general gist of the area and how many people were on it. Although he found it troubling to know the details, such as gender, ki or mana, height, and more. Concerning their spirit essence, Kai and Caelus could now easily use a small amount of their mixed energy in their weapons. Also, they could use both element and mixed energy at the same time, for a small period of time, of course. Perhaps 10 minutes at most. Ezra taught the others how to use their elements on their weapons, too. However, most of them already knew how to do this, such as Lilith, who used Bell, Kai, who shot out sonic waves and beams, and Ley, who still refuses to talk about his weapons. Eve, on the other hand, could now apply her rebound to her weapon, propelling enemies even farther and faster than her regular swings. Dillon improved the most out of all of them. Although his potential could be considered medium or a little above average, he could still hold his own against them. He went from fainting from a electrocution to being able to neutralize most of it using his own element. Also, started utilizing his earth armor more and even used the earth to cover some of his axe, therefore making it harder. Currently, the children were in their usual world-domination period spot. However, they weren¡¯t planning their world takeover plans, they were discussing something much more important to them¡­ ¡°We should just have Dillon one-handedly take them on,¡± Kai nodded, satisfied with his answer. Kai, too, cut his hair. His once girly appearance was replaced with a more boyish look - he liked it this way. ¡°No way, I want to fight, too!¡± Eve complained, her long hair now in low twintails - she said it was a part of the plan to deceive enemies. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can take them all at once,¡± Dillon admitted. ¡°No worries, as long as we get rid of them,¡± Caelus smiled evilly. ¡°Obliterate,¡± Orion corrected, his arms folded. ¡°Also, I hate that Mira lady.¡± ¡°Same,¡± they all agreed. She was too uptight, strict, and narrow-minded. The worst combinations. Well, at least she was decisive. Eve looked at Dillon darkly before saying, ¡°let¡¯s get rid of her, to-¡± ¡°Rejected,¡± Lilith said, slapping Eve¡¯s shoulder. ¡°In books, the main character, despite being treated horribly, would defeat them all with flying colors, causing a change on how people look at him,¡± Ley recited, as if he¡¯s read something similar before. ¡°It¡¯s in Brent¡¯s How To book.¡± ¡°Ah, the answer is simple, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lilith smiled, ¡°you just have to get stronger. We have a year left, after all.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± a charming voice said. Alarmed the children looked around, only to see Ezra appear before them. ¡°I just registered our team for the 15 and below tournament. We have a year until the competition¡­¡± Ezra trailed off, his face getting darker every second, ¡°get ready for more training.¡± As he said this, the children trembled in fear. ¡­ Like this 11 months have passed by, with even more rigorous training - believe it or not. At first, they, too, didn¡¯t believe such a thing was possible.. until they experienced it themselves. The children were forced to wear gravity bracelets the entire day on high, medium after practice. Even during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were allowed to set the bracelet on low when they sleep. Running increased to 10 miles a day, then 10 miles with the bracelets, after that it became 10 miles a day with the bracelets within 65 minutes. Their new training regime included exhausting themselves of their energy and then using mana potions. They did this for 2 hours straight everyday. This method helped increase their core limit - allowing them to take in more mana and ki. As usual, they would spar. However, this time they were to spar against Brent who would increase his power to 50%. They were told it was to stimulate their senses and get used to fast-paced battles, as well as opponents who were clearly stronger than themselves. This time, however, Atira sparred with them, too. She explained to them that it wouldn¡¯t help them if they were always fighting the same opponents. She¡¯s an absolute demon on the battlefield. Everyday, she would switch her weapons and style, so they wouldn¡¯t get used to her. This allowed them to learn how to adapt quickly. Ah, Ley joined in on the fights, too. Although he stays with Lilith, they cover each other''s backs. Concerning their spars, towards the end of their 11 month training, Brent and Atira would spar against them together (holding back, of course). Eve sighed, ¡°it¡¯s been awhile since we got a break.¡± She was now eight years old, her brother, too, was eight. Orion and Lilith were 10, Caelus was 9, Dillon was still 8, Eve and Kai were 8, and Ley was 3. Ley could sprint around, although slowly. ¡°The tournament is next month, right?¡± asked Dillon, trembling with excitement. He couldn¡¯t wait to show the world how strong he¡¯s gotten. Also, his family would be coming - he told them it¡¯d be a surprise. Dillon shifted nervously in his spot, then, with determined eyes, said, ¡°I want you guys to meet my family.¡± He had a hard time coming out with this, seeing as he knew they were all without parents. ¡°Oh? When?¡± Orion asked casually. ¡°Eh?¡± Dillon looked at them with surprise. ¡°Well, they¡¯ll be at the tournament, so¡­¡± Dillon trailed off. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see them there, then,¡± Kai grinned. ¡°When we¡¯re there¡­¡± Caelus trailed off. ¡°Urgh, stop it! You¡¯re making me feel nervous!¡± Kai shouted, slapping his cheeks, to which Caelus grinned at. ¡°Wuss,¡± he said. ¡°Am not!¡± ¡°Immature,¡± Eve commented, to which the boys glared at her for. ¡°Ooh, I can¡¯t wait now!¡± Kai shouted, using his element to create an even louder sound. Everyone covered their ears and glared at him. ¡°Just wait, we¡¯ll win this small tournament!¡± Dillon grinned, and shouted, ¡°yeah!¡± ___________ Stellar''s Box (?) Thanks for reading, remember to comment/give feedback! GASP. Can you guess what the next chapter is? Could it be? The long-awaited tournament arc? Yep, sorry for the delay - I had a little writer''s block when writing this. Anyway, I needed a reason for Dillon to, well... y''know. Artwork for this arc: Spoiler : Not everyone, sadly. I feel bad, Dillon kind of resembles Eve - BUT OH WELL. Anyywaaaay, look forward to the next few chapters. c; Time for their years of training to finally profit. Chapter 13: Day 1 Chapter 13: Day 1 ¡°It¡¯s so cold!¡± Eve complained, rubbing her arms. ¡°I thought it was summer!¡± ¡°It is summer,¡± Lilith said, standing perfectly still and calm, despite the cold wind nipping at her bare legs. ¡°It¡¯s morning right now.¡± Currently, they were in a line to get inside of the tournament. After they get inside, they have to go through another line, and another line, and another line. ¡°Argh!¡± Kai yelled, clutching his temples. ¡°This gives me a headache. I thought we already registered!¡± ¡°This is to make sure everyone is here,¡± Ezra told him, similarly to Lilith, he stood perfectly calm and still. However, he was wearing a jacket and a pair of thick jeans. ¡°They made sure it was in the morning, so it doesn¡¯t overlap with the tournament itself.¡± Ezra explained that people from all over the world come to Clarus, just to join this tournament. Although it was for people ages 15 and below, it was still the official rookies¡¯ tournament - the debut tournament. The top rankers start young, the younger they are while winning, the more fame and ranks they¡¯ll gain. Therefore, starting young was beneficial to them. Despite letting them join the tournament, Ezra still held a deep hate for the system. He said it was pointless, worthless, and only useful for those gaining fame to conquer the world. (Which is essentially their plan). Two hours passed of going through lines, reciting through information, and moving onto the next line. This process was truly annoying and overly complicated, it even frustrated Ezra - who was practically impenetrable with his emotions. ¡°It¡¯s still morning,¡± Eve said with wonder, she thought of how long they¡¯ve been walking around and how many times her information has examined. Sometimes they even made her check her potential and element again, with unbelief on their faces. A small tinge of annoyance bothered Eve. ¡°We¡¯re finally done!¡± Kai shouted, stretching his arms out to the ceiling. As participants, they were given their own personal room. They could¡¯ve shared, but Ezra paid for the more expensive option - alone and spacious. Which had them thinking, how much money did Ezra have? How and where did he get it from? Though these questions will never be answered, that never stopped them from asking. Of course, Ezra would smile at them and redirect the conversation elsewhere. ¡°We should head out,¡± Ezra said, ¡°Brent and Atira have found our seats for the tournament. Ezra lead them to the wide and spacious dome, this was the arena for their tournament. It was much larger than the one they rented out, and it could carry 20,000 more people, too. In the arena itself, there were large platforms scattered uniformly across the ground. However, one platform stood out. It was the largest of all of them and stood exactly inbetween them. It was the main platform. To fight on the main platform was everyone¡¯s wish in tournaments. It meant you were well-liked, strong, interesting, and entertaining. People wanted to watch you - that enough was important. Those who fought on the main platform were more favored throughout the crowd and were known to be strong, gaining them fame. Fame was practically everything nowadays. Want to rule a city? Citizens prefer having someone who¡¯s well-known rule. Want a discount? Of course they¡¯ll let you have one, you¡¯re famous! Region ruler? Not to worry, being famous for the strongest person in your region will grant you a spot up there. In fact, the long line of rulers all became famous through tournaments. Therefore, everyone¡¯s desire was to fight on that simple, yet intimidating platform. Even the children desired it, as they stared at it with wishful looks. ¡°If we fought on that, it¡¯d be a lot easier to take over the world,¡± Ley murmured. Oddly, he was given the a-okay to fight on, although they were laughing when they said that. Still, he was allowed. ¡°It counts more for the higher tournaments,¡± Eve said simply. A fight was a fight. Whether on that large platform or not. They should continue to do well, even if they¡¯ll never fight on it. ¡°What¡¯s so special about it?¡± Kai asked, frowning. ¡°It makes you look cool,¡± Orion said simply, causing Kai to look back at it with excitement. Caelus laughed at this. ¡°Wow! Really?¡± Dillon asked, too. His face full of excitement. Gullible, they thought, watching the two boys eye the platform. ¡°Over here!¡± a voice yelled, it was Brent. He waved his arms around like a madman, attracting attention from those around him. Some giggled, some glared. Either way, Atira facepalmed himself and groaned in embarrassment. The children giggled. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Ezra said, unfazed by Brent¡¯s unusual behavior. Well, no. This was his normal behavior. Their team¡¯s seats were in the middle row, close to the middle of the arena where the main platform was. They stared at Ezra with wonderment, how much money did he have? After settling down, more teams and viewers poured into the stadiums. Filling all of the chairs, until it felt stuffy and uncomfortable. Some people opted out to stand up. Then, a hologram with the number 10 on it appeared in front of them. Cheers and applauds could be heard throughout the dome - it was deafening. However, the excitement boiled in their blood and the beat of the claps echoed in their hearts. Kai felt goosebumps on his skin. For the first time in 3 years, he¡¯ll be fighting someone his own age - someone he doesn¡¯t know. ¡°10!¡± The crowd yelled. ¡°9!¡± ¡°8!¡± This time, they yelled even louder. ¡°7!¡± ¡°6!¡± The participants, including Kai and his teammates, joined. ¡°5!¡± ¡°4! 3! 2! ¡­¡± ¡°1!¡± A loud burst could be heard, water exploded above them and scattered across the dome. It shined in the light and drizzled over those sitting in the stadium. ¡°Welcome to the annual rookies¡¯ tournament!¡± A voice boomed. The crowd went wild. ¡°I¡¯m Lothar, the host for this tournament!¡± Lothar grinned, standing on a special platform next to the main platform. The host only narrates the main platform fighters, which is why it¡¯s difficult to gain fame throughout the crowd. ¡°Before we start this tournament - as protocol, we have to go over the rules,¡± Lothar shrugged. He explained that teams must consist of 6 people maximum. For teams who have more members than the opposing team, they must obey the maximum amount - however, they can swap out players. As long as said player hasn¡¯t ¡°died.¡± Those who die will get sent out of the platform, they will be checked for any injuries, in case the system didn¡¯t work properly. They are unable to continue in the current match, and another teammate cannot substitute in for those who already died. If you¡¯re pushed out off of the platform, you will be considered ¡°dead.¡± Weapons are allowed, as long as you get it registered. All weapons should have been registered this morning, if not, you can always register it any time of the day. Cheating of any kind will not be allowed and the team associated with said cheater will automatically be disqualified from the tournament. Attacking outside of the platform will result in disqualification of the player. Killing a person on purpose will result in permanent ban. Said person will be injected with a magic that allows everyone in the world to know of their ban. However, if the person accidentally kills another due to a system failure, Eradion will personally pay the dead person¡¯s family. Of course, failures in systems are rare. It happened only once in the entire history of tournaments. Participants are to stay in their seats at all times - otherwise, when it¡¯s their turn to fight, they won¡¯t get transferred with the rest of their teammates. The bracelets the officials gave participants should be on at all times. It says your rank, when you¡¯re going to fight, when your next fight is, and your HP - the amount of health given to you is based on the ¡®status¡¯ system. The status system is what adventurers and professionals use. It¡¯s used to hold their data such as how much health they have, the rough size of their mana pool, and their abilities and skills. ¡°...With that being said!¡± Lothar grinned, ¡°let the games begin!¡± He snapped his fingers and a light burst above them, raining down beautiful colors on the audience. And a flash of light illuminated teams throughout the stadium - transporting them to a designated platform. Of course, Clarus was sent straight away to the main platform. Meanwhile, a brilliant blue light surrounded Kai and the others. It was beautiful and if you ran your hand through it, it felt cool - like mint in your mouth. A screen appeared in front of him - as courtesy of the status bracelets.
Transporting in 3... 2.. 1...
Another light flashed and blinded them. It transported them to a platform near the main platform.
CHOOSE 6 PLAYERS
ORION[OFFENSE][CAPT]
LILITH[LR-OFFENSE][VICE]
CAELUS[OFFENSE][VICE]
DILLON[DEFENSE][OFFENSE]
EVANGELINE[SUPPORT][DEFENSE]
MALACHI[AGILITY][OFFENSE]
LEY[LR-OFFENSE][STRATEGIST]
¡°W-what is this?¡± Kai stuttered, staring at the screen. ¡°Oh, this,¡± Ley quickly tapped on a few names - everyone but him. ¡°Here, we¡¯ll go like this for today. The players that should stay permanent are Eve, Orion, and Dillon. Dillon because of his defense and revenge.¡±
OK! Processing 3.. 2.. 1...
A light encompassed Ley and he was then transported off of the platform and back to where Ezra and the others sat waiting. The crowed erupted in cheers and hoots, battles started throughout the arena - and so did Team Ingenium¡¯s. ... Team Slayers was an all-boy team. They focused solely on offense, as they had no support, but one defender - however, he, too, attacked the team. They grinned as they chose their players, excited to see who their opponents were. After all, for the first match, you aren¡¯t told who you¡¯re up against. This method was used to eliminate those who couldn¡¯t adapt quickly. (Of course, the losers of this match would fight those who lost, too. That way, they can evenly rank themselves). ¡°Let¡¯s destroy them,¡± their captain grinned at them, he was a young boy of age 14. The rest were similar in ages, the youngest being 9. ¡°Right!¡± They agreed, shouting. As the members teleported to their platform, they saw their opponents waiting for them. However, they felt shocked. All of them were young! A strange feeling creeped in the pit of their stomachs, they were very¡­ beautiful. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Greetings,¡± a charming, black-haired boy smiled chillingly. ¡°H-hello,¡± the captain of the Slayers¡¯ greeted nervously, nodding his head. Start in 3.. 2¡­ 1¡­ Go! ¡­ Orion materialized his scythe as he charged towards the oldest boy - their captain he recognized automatically. He swung his scythe at the boy¡¯s head, only to have it blocked by their team¡¯s defender. Their defender quickly placed a wall of earth inbetween Orion and their captain. Not only that, but small walls appeared throughout their side of the platform. Similarly, Eve set up a barrier on Orion and Caelus, who were fighting on the frontlines. Caelus trailed behind Orion, quietly fending off those who interfered Orion and the other team¡¯s captain. He controlled his sword to attack a couple members, while slyly taking control of the other team¡¯s weapons and using it against them. ¡°Michael starts off by attacking Eclipse¡¯s support!¡± Lothar yelled in the background, Dillon frowned, a flame of annoyance sparking within him. Dillon materialized his axe, causing people from the stadiums to gasp and whisper - it was large and a brilliant red color. Of course it would catch attention. He ran towards the enemy and swung his axe at them, a boy with water element quickly blocked Dillon¡¯s attack and gave him a daring look. Dillon covered his axe in earth and jumped at the boy, who did his best to defend back. Getting tired, he threw his axe at the boy, who ducked and glared at Dillon¡­ who came charging at the distracted boy. Dillon punched the boy, who was sent lightly into the air due to the force. Dillon stomped on the ground, an earth pillar shot up at the boy, who blocked, but was sent flying off of the platform. ¡°Next,¡± Dillon panted, staring at the other teammates. Orion grinned. ¡°DON¡¯T FORGET ABOUT ME,¡± a loud voice boomed, catching everyone¡¯s attention in the stadium, including those from different teams and matches. Kai appeared in the air, upside down, next to him was a floating Caelus who rolled his eyes. He materialized his guns and shot down at the other team. The sound of the sonic booms echoing throughout the stadium. ¡°Crap!¡± One of the boys cursed, watching as their health chip away at an alarmingly fast rate. He, too, was a long ranged user. ¡°Kylus, defend me!¡± The boy named Kylus quickly set up an earth wall in front of him. The boy concentrated his mana in both of his hands, the wall crumbling by the seconds. Finally, determined, he stepped out from behind the falling wall of earth and released a his charged skill. A strong, beam of fire shot at the two boys in the air. One who was controlling and taking away their weapons, the other laying down heavy sonic booms. He watched as the two boys stare casually beam before returning to their job. The boy frowned and wondered why they weren¡¯t reacting. Before the beam reached the boys, a golden shield appeared in front of them, it glowed momentarily before shooting the fire back at its caster. ¡°Shoot,¡± he cursed running to the right and dodging his own attack. He looked at the opponent¡¯s side and saw two girls. One of the girls was sitting on the shoulder of a pink rabbit, using some sort of magic to push his teammates back. The other girl, he guessed, was their support and defender. ¡°Guys,¡± he pointed to the girls. They nodded back at him and two other people, besides him, charged towards them. ¡°Lilith,¡± Eve said calmly, she gestured to the boys. ¡°Fire boy is there, too.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Lilith sighed, getting off of Rhett. ¡°Rhett, go fight. Hm¡­ you can use a little of my mana to deal with them.¡± ¡°FINALLY!¡± Rhett laughed heartily and jumped at the boys, leaving a small depression in the ground. One of the boys screamed in surprise, seeing a pink rabbit attacking them. ¡°HELLO THERE!¡± Rhett laughed, drawing his fist back and punching one of them off of the platform. Just like that, another person was easily eliminated, leaving them with four more people. Fire boy quickly stopped moving and used his fire to propel him upwards and over Rhett, who busied himself with his other teammate. He quickly ran towards Eve and Lilith, who seemed to be defenseless. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Eve grinned, seemingly innocent. She¡¯s been waiting for this the entire match. Eve raised her hand out, her hammer slowly materializing. Fire boy frowned, the closer he got, the more he felt like something was wrong. Like something bad was about to happen. And then he saw it. The hammer of hell. No, not from a far distance, but rather¡­ in front of his face. Eve swung her hammer at the boy¡¯s face and sent him propelling out of the platform, into another match that just ended. They were shocked to see someone land in their platform, seeing as each platform was spaced far apart. They looked towards the platform where he was sent flying from. One word to describe what they saw: chaos. In the sky were two boys mocking the enemy team, laying down attacks strong enough to crumble their defenses, but weak enough so they don¡¯t automatically destroy the other team. Not only that, but they were waving the enemy team¡¯s weapons around in the air, laughing. Their captain was fighting with the other team¡¯s captain, who snuck up behind him and pushed him around, before dealing a large blow and disappearing again. A green-haired boy with an axe was on a rampage, shoving one person around and then leaving to go find another. They also saw a pink¡­ rabbit? Laughing and punching the other team off of the platform. This continued until the captain was left, who was currently panting and glaring at Orion, who looked somewhat amused. ¡°Well,¡± Orion coughed awkwardly. ¡°Bye.¡± He picked up the other team captain¡¯s shadow and threw him off of the platform. Ending their match in complete victory. ¡°That was anticlimactic,¡± Caelus commented, yawning and stretching his body. He spent the entire time floating in the air, playing with the other team¡¯s weapons. He didn¡¯t worry much about being attacked, seeing as Eve can just block it. Eve sighed, knowing Caelus and Kai, they would much rather play around then fight seriously. She ended up protecting them the entire match. ¡°Kya!¡± Rhett squealed, covering his face. He was currently at the height of 6 feet. ¡°That was so embarrassing! I can¡¯t believe I did that!¡± ¡°Rhett is so cool!¡± Kai yelled, laughing. They were transported to where Ley, Ezra, Atira, and Brent were at - in the stands. ¡°Good job,¡± Ley nodded. ¡°Although, that might¡¯ve garnered some hate.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about that,¡± Brent grinned, shutting his ¡®future plans¡¯ book quickly and hiding it. ¡°Is that it?¡± asked Kai. ¡°No, there are more matches later today,¡± Ezra said. ¡°You guys were only a portion of the teams that joined this tournament.¡± ¡°Then, do we sit here until the next day?¡± Kai frowned. Ezra checked his bracelet and nodded, ¡°yep. Next match won¡¯t start until tomorrow. Also, your enemies¡­ the Clarus kids are in the block. You probably won¡¯t go up against them until later this week.¡± ¡°Aw,¡± Dillon pouted. ¡°Also,¡± Ezra glared and karate chopped their heads - except for Ley. ¡°Don¡¯t pull what you did earlier ever again. Get things done efficiently and quickly. The strong never bully the weak.¡± ¡°Y-yes,¡± they whimpered. ¡°Hmph,¡± he glared, before turning away. They sighed, today was going to be a long day. ¡°Winner is Clarus!¡± yelled Lothar, the crowd cheered. ¡°Alright, next up we have Ares vs. Winifred!¡± Orion looked over at the main platform with an interested look. Both teams were a combination of both boys and girls. However, one blue-haired, amber-eyed boy caught Orion¡¯s eye. Orion grinned mischievously as he watched in anticipation for their match to begin. ¡­ Zephyrus, known as Zeph, was transported from his seat and onto the platform. He calmly chose who would fight in today¡¯s match and watched as his fellow teammates encouraged them and disappear back into the stands. He sighed. Zeph hated being the captain of the team, not only that, but he also the strategist. Why would they push two jobs on one person? Simple, they weren¡¯t competent enough to do it themselves. The school Zeph joined was called Ares Academy - one of the top 10 schools in the entire world. It was known to produce some of the strongest elementals in the entire region of Eradion. They were pretty much a big deal around here. Especially Zeph, since he was the captain. Still, he hated the attention. He¡¯d much rather be a random person on the team designated to fight the enemy without having to care about whether or not his teammates were working properly. They were dragging him down. However, if he thought about it, he¡¯d rather not join this tournament at all. Sadly, Zeph was chosen to be captain of the team, due to being the strongest in the entire academy. It was mandatory. And yes, he was 10-years-old, yet he was already the strongest in Ares Academy. They praised him for being a genius. Zeph believed them, too. After all, at the age 5, when he learned of his abilities, he had full innate potential as well as a rare variant: ice. Not only that, but his spirit was balanced as well. He started his training at the age of 4, so he was fairly proficient in hand-to-hand combat. He believed he, himself, was one of the only geniuses in his generation. That was, until he joined this tournament and saw how much talent there was in the entire world. He was a fool to believe in himself like that. Zeph quickly realized this and stopped his arrogance before it continued to spread deeper into his mind. He felt a stare as he stood on the platform, waiting for his match to start. Zeph looked around curiously and finally his amber eyes met scarlet red. An handsome, yet chillingly cold boy stared at Zeph, an arrogant smirk planted on his face. Zeph recognized him. He was one of the talents that caught his eye in the first round. That, and his teammates were all unique themselves. Some of them had elements he¡¯s never seen of before, some were using their elements in ways he couldn¡¯t understand, and others were so strong, they plowed through their enemies. Or, in this case, shoved them. Zeph glared at the boy, but a small grin escaped his cool facade. He wanted to fight him. He wanted to fight him and his teammates. He wondered how strong they could be. The excitement killed him. Zephyrus never felt excited, he disliked feeling emotions that made him feel impulsive. However, this time¡­ He might actually like it. ____________ Stellar''s Box WHOOAAAA, WE''RE HERE. Finally, first big arc -tears- What do you guys think about Zeph? Or any of the newer characters for that matter. How about the fight scene? It wasn''t much, but still... ALSO, quick advertisement: I started a second project that I''ll be writing whenever I have bad writer''s block with Spirit! (However, I''ll still update is regularly). Re: Heroes'' Mount <<<<---- Check it out. It''ll be written in a lighter tone/more comedic. c: I tried using tables... takes forever, I stopped halfway. HAHA. Chapter 14: Zephyrus the Rival?! Day 2 of the Tournament! Chapter 14: Zephyrus the Rival?! Day 2 of the Tournament! Orion watched as the blue-haired boy defeated the enemy team one-by-one. Pillars of ice formed from the ground and covered the entire arena. His teammates, seemingly used to this, slid across with ease, whereas the enemy slipped around. ¡°Oh my word! Zephyrus quickly changes the environment to suit him! He truly is the Prince of Ice!¡± Caelus snorted at Zeph¡¯s nickname, but continued to watch. Zeph easily defeated two enemies at one time, leaving the enemy team with one person left - their defender and their captain. ¡°Uh-oh! Trouble for Winifred! The only person left standing is their Captain, Cleo!¡± Lothar shouted. ¡°You got this Cleo!¡± Shouts from the girl¡¯s team aroused. Zeph slid across the ice and Cleo sent waves of wind at him, slicing the ice pillars in half. She managed to push two of Zeph¡¯s teammates off of the platform. ¡°Tch,¡± Zeph clicked his tongue angrily, he would speak to those two later about this. Cleo sent another wave of wind at him. Zeph covered his forearms with an azure-colored ice and lifted them in front of him, blocking the sharp wind. Cleo looked surprise, but continued her attacks. Zeph bent down, gaining more speed, until he finally reached the girl. ¡°Dang it!¡± she yelled, throwing a punch at him. Zeph jumped up, using a small pillar of ice to propel him above her. He landed behind her and pulled the back of her shirt, causing her to fall off of the platform. ¡°WINNER IS TEAM ARES!¡± Zeph smiled with contempt, ¡°you have legs, you know.¡± Cleo blushed at his comment, as she realized, the entire time he was charging at him, she didn¡¯t move from her spot. ¡°Shut up!¡± She growled, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told that by someone like yo- hey, wait! Why are you walking away?!¡± Zeph ignored her annoying yells as he walked towards his teammates to be transported. However, before he did, he turned to stare at the red-eyed boy, then pointed at him - a challenging glare in his eyes. The boy smiled with satisfaction, before giving him an A-OK with his hand. ¡°Z-Zeph?!¡± his teammates reacted with surprise. ¡°Oh?¡± Lathor said, taking notice of their small interactions, ¡°there seems to be a friendly rivalry already! Between Are¡¯s Captain, Zephyrus, and¡­ Ingenium¡¯s Captain, Orion!¡± ¡°Who is that?¡± asked Mia, with suspicious eyes. She was Zeph¡¯s vice-captain and was very annoying. She thought of herself as the closest person to him and always tried to intrude in his personal life or hang around him. ¡°None of your business,¡± he glared, walking towards the two people who fell off of the platform. ¡°Next time, you better not fall to someone like her, got it?¡± ¡°Y-yes,¡± they stuttered. ¡­ The day passed by eventfully. After Lothar announced that - and pointed him out - their team gained more attention and popularity. Once again, the children were burdened by popularity. The only person happy about this was Kai, Rhett, and Brent - even Dillon disliked it. At the end of the day, the results came out, it showed who lost and who won. They made sure to mark Ares¡¯s and Clarus¡¯s progress. Also, Ezra¡¯s bracelet notified him of the new rules and who they were up against next. ¡°The next team you¡¯re up against is Team Rampardos,¡± Ezra said, checking his bracelet. ¡°First day, they physically pushed everyone off of the platform, rather than defeating them.¡± ¡°After that team, you go up against the winner of Team Scyther versus Team Clefairy,¡± Ezra listed, along with their information. ¡°Three matches in one day. Hm.. a lot of people must¡¯ve signed up this year. Well, no problem, just defeat them as efficiently as possible.¡± ¡°As efficiently as possible?¡± Ley and Lilith turned to Orion, who looked at them with a confused face. ¡°Oh, no¡­¡± Orion tried protesting. ¡°Yes, it''ll be perfect!¡± Lilith interrupted, her eyes shining. Ley agreed. ¡°Err¡­¡± Orion frowned, unable to reject them. As for the change in rules, they decided to change the rule and allow people to use their designated strategists in a game. With this, the team member count bumped to 7. However, having a strategist came with a price. If they were to ¡°die¡± in a match, they will be considered ¡°dead¡± the next match, as well. Also, teams that faced other teams who only had 6 members were forced to stay at the maximum of 6 members. This was to keep things even and fair. The officials explained that they will continue to add more strategic rules and factors to the game, this was made in order to test the participants more. This tournament would test their minds, adaptability, strength, and talent. ¡°Wow, they¡¯re really trying hard,¡± Brent sighed, shaking his head. ¡°At least this way it¡¯ll be more entertaining - it gets boring watching a bunch of newbies fight.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Atira glared, slapping his arm. ¡°Ouch!¡± Brent glared back. ¡°Wuss.¡± ¡­ ¡°Are you ready?!¡± Lothar shouted, cupping his ear. The crowed erupted in shouts and screams, some even whistled. ¡°I SAID, ARE YOU READY?!¡± The booming crowd exploded, passing on their excitement and adrenaline to the participants, who smiled widely at each other. They trembled in excitement, unknown of what the results would be. ¡°Hello, everyone! I am your host, Lothar,¡± Lothar greeted, bowing. He received whoops and whistles. ¡°Today we¡¯ll start round 2 with our newest strategist rule!¡± Lothar stared at a camera, ¡°for those of you watching through your television, we¡¯ll have all of the rules and new ones on our hologram site!¡± ¡°For our main platform, we have the mighty Team Clarus against the raging Team Machamp! Remember to vote your favorite teams before you leave today! Now, let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡± All of the participants who passed the first round were surrounded by a cool, bright light. They were then transported to their respective platforms, those with 7 members automatically skipped the selection process. ¡°Here, hold Ley,¡± Lilith said to Rhett, who obediently put the child on his shoulders. ¡°Protect him, he¡¯s our strategist.¡± ¡°YES, MA¡¯AM!¡± Rhett yelled, saluting her. He moved suddenly, causing Ley to almost fall off. Ley glared and punched Rhett¡¯s head, which made no damage. [Can you hear me?] A familiar voice echoed in their heads, catching all of them by surprise. However, they quickly regained their composure. [It¡¯s me, Ley.] ¡°Ley?!¡± They shouted in surprise, watching as the small child struggled to hang onto the boisterous Rhett. [Yes, I am manipulating electromagnetism to communicate with you. I¡¯ve been trying this technique out with Ezra for a while. Ah¡­ just wanted to give you the heads-up.] Kai laughed, ¡°wow, Ley! That¡¯s so cool!¡± [Hm¡­ well, this is how I¡¯ll communicate with you in matches, so get used to it.] The other team finally appeared on the platform. Ley immediately went to analyzing the group. He couldn¡¯t use his skills on them yet, but the least he could do was observe their body types, facial expressions, and any other small perks that could give away what they were. He observed how thin and slender each of them were. They could¡¯ve fooled him, as they looked to be around their age, but, in reality, were older than them. Then, something caught Ley¡¯s eyes. Ley¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the conditions of their hands - it looked rough and hard. However, he needed more information to confirm his hypothesis. [Be wary, their physical appearances are masking their true abilities.
Processing new rules¡­
OK!
Game start in 3.. 2.. 1¡­ Go! Ley quickly released a small burst of seemingly harmless electricity. However, this small electricity could scan a partial amount of information on them - he had yet to train it to its full potential. Ley¡¯s stared shocked at the other team. [Careful! This group- they¡¯re all earth elementals-] ¡°What?¡± Orion asked, frowning. Then, as if they read Ley¡¯s thoughts, each of them quickly bent down and slammed the ground, causing pillars of earth to rise up against them - they intended to push them all off of the platform in one go. Eve glared and released her hardest shield, bouncing the pillars away. However, they were continuous. [The air.] Eve smacked the ground with her palm and a small shield propelled them in the air, away from the pillars that moved forward like waves. Dillon clapped his hands together and a pillar with a blunt end was created for them to land on. [Dillon and Caelus, control the earth.] ¡°Tch,¡± Caelus glared floating up and away from their range of attacks. He shot a wave of wind at the continuous waves and cut them in half. Dillon, on the other hand, slammed his palms against the earth - causing a wave of pillars to crash with the other team¡¯s - stopping it. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [If you can get down there, Orion, you can push about half of them off with your shadow skills.] Orion sighed, they wanted him to do this in the first place. Now, he had no choice but to use this skill. Orion jumped down from the pillar and, on contact with the ground below, disappeared into the shadows. The earth elementals looked worried, before propelling themselves up in the air. ¡°Alright, like this, then,¡± Lilith raised her hand, ¡°I call upon thee - handmaiden, Bell!¡± A small, white bird who resembled a stuff toy appeared next to her. It attached itself onto her arm and melted into it, forming a dove-shaped tattoo on her right arm, starting from her hand to her forearm. Lilith raised her arm and pointed at one of the boys on the enemy team. She flicked her finger and he was sent backwards. Unfortunately, he stopped himself by created an earth wall between his back and the edge of the platform. ¡°That¡¯ll hurt,¡± Eve muttered, staring at him. [Kai, distract them.] Kai instantly disappeared and reappeared next to the boy who stopped himself from falling out. He grabbed his ankle and threw him out of the platform. ¡°Ah!¡± The boy yelled, but it was too late for him. The enemy team saw Kai and immediately went to attack him. However, they were too slow, and Kai reappeared next to Rhett, who tapped his foot impatiently. ¡°Hm,¡± Lilith stared at him, while she busied herself with pushing the enemy backwards. ¡°Well¡­ I guess you can go-¡± Rhett immediately left Ley behind and quickly went to go attack the enemy. He landed on the rough ground, causing a deep depression. [While you¡¯re at it, get them down to the ground for Orion. It¡¯s much easier that way.] ¡°Got it~!¡± Rhett smiled happily, running and jumping on one of the pillars they created. He touched the pillar and green vines sprouted from the ground below. It took ahold of the pillar and fastened around it, before crushing it to pieces and returning to the ground. Orion immediately came out from a shadow and grabbed the fallen girl¡¯s shadow, quickly casting it to the side. She was sent flying off of the platform. ¡°Five more to go!¡± Orion yelled, materializing his scythe and attacking one person - who was also sent flying. After all, Ezra told them to fight efficiently. One by one, the pillars collapsed to the might of the vines and the people on it were sent flying by Orion. Meanwhile, Eve, Ley, Kai, Caelus, Dillon, and Lilith sat on the ground - waiting for Rhett and Orion to finish the opponent. They sighed and wondered whether or not it¡¯ll be like this for the rest of the competition. Their fight barely lasted ten minutes. ¡°You¡¯re too overpowered!¡± Lilith complained, slapping Orion¡¯s shoulder, she might not fight as much as everyone else does, but she liked testing her abilities on others. Also, doing this allowed her rank up Bell. ¡°Sorry?¡± Orion said, tilting his head in confusion. He thought she wanted him to get rid of them efficiently. After all, it was her plan to have him throw the enemy off of the platform using his shadow abilities. ¡°Don¡¯t look innocent!¡± She pouted, crossing her arms. ¡°At least try to hold back so we can fight, too.¡± Orion laughed, ¡°next time, then.¡± ¡°And you!¡± Lilith glared at Rhett. ¡°Idiot, did I allow you to use mana? What if our next opponent is much stronger?!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ My bad, my bad!¡± Rhett laughed it off, transforming to the size of 3 feet. However, what they didn¡¯t know was that their fights would continue on like this for the rest of the day¡­ ¡­ After all of their matches ended, they decided to stay behind and watch Clarus¡¯s and, upon Orion¡¯s request, Ares¡¯s, too. Surprisingly, Everett was not the captain of their team, but rather a 14-year-old who nobody knew of. He wasn¡¯t stronger than Everett either, but was chosen for his leadership skills, despite his lack of talent compared to the two brothers (Michael and Everett). ¡°Clarus vs. Cresselia!¡± Lothar shouted. ¡°On our right, we have team Clarus who specializes with teamwork and offense! On our left, we have team Cresselia who are known for their outstanding defense!¡± Game start 3.. 2.. 1.. Go! It started off with Michael, who specialized in speed, charging forward. Unfortunately, he was stopped by a wall of earth, and was later surrounded by a dome. Everett raised his hand and a ball of light encompassed the dome, destroying it. ¡°Everett!¡± Their captain yelled, rushing forward after Michael. Everett nodded and ran towards the enemy team, who also charged forward. They clashed. Everett created balls of light and threw them at the enemy team, who easily blocked by creating a wave of water. Their team captain rushed forward, his arms trailing behind him, surrounding him was a large body of water. Once he got mid-way, he stopped and flung his arms forward, causing the water to flow out like a huge flood. This was countered by a wind elemental blocking the water by continuously releasing waves of wind. ¡°It looks like Cresselia and Clarus are an even match!¡± While doing this, however, they seemed to have forgotten Michael who fell long ago. He quickly rose to his feet and released a burst of fire, taking down two enemies and ¡°killing¡± their strategist - who had the lowest amount of health. ¡°WOAH! AND IT SEEMS LIKE MICHAEL DOWNED 3 MEMBERS OF CRESSELIA!¡± Lothar shouted in surprise, the crowd went wild, screaming Michael¡¯s name. ¡°Michael, come back!¡± Their captain yelled, Michael scoffed, but obediently left. Moments later a wave off water attacked the spot where Michael used to be. Dillon scoffed and said, ¡°he¡¯s even rude to his own captain. What a brat.¡± Concerning Michael, Dillon¡¯s attitude turned a complete 360. With only half of their members left, the team went down quickly - ending with Everett and a few of their offensive players attacking from both sides. After Clarus¡¯s match, a few matches later, Ares came up. Ares was the most popular contender to win the tournament. Everyone had high hopes for them, especially for their captain. Many advanced academies were currently waiting for him to graduate so that they could recruit him. Ares vs. Entei* Game start.. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Go! Once again, the floor was covered in ice and a wave of wind knocked the opponents to the ground. This was followed up by a water elementalist pushing the entire team off of the platform. ¡°AND ARES WINS! THIS IS THEIR THIRD WIN LIKE THIS. THIS TEAM JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER.¡± The crowd yelled in excitement, some even stood up and jumped around. Whistles and whoops further excited the crowd, who watched the team get transported back to their seats. People surrounding them congratulated them and tried hi-fiving them. Zeph ignored them and glared at those who tried to touch him. Meanwhile, Mia stared at Zeph with happiness and started asking him questions, to which he replied in one-word answers. Brent sighed, ¡°well, that ends the day for us.¡± ¡°That was anticlimactic,¡± Caelus yawned, floating up from his seat. Orion watched as Zeph turned to look around, finally meeting his eyes. A small, victorious smirk on his face. Orion smiled, which caused Zeph to look surprise. He turned away and walked towards the exit, his teammates following behind him. Once out of sight, a small scowl appeared on his face. ¡°Brat,¡± he muttered, before walking away. _________ Stellar''s Box *Okay, sorry I got lazy and didn''t really want to make a picture. Later in the future, if I remember, I probs will. THANKS FOR READING - REMEMBER TO COMMENT/GIVE FEEDBACK. :) Okay, quick announcement: From now on, I''ll probably take my time creating the chapters. Since chapter 1, I''ve been stressing to write 7-13 pages a day for Spirit. Honestly, it wasn''t working out. I felt like it was eating my summer away. Hence, my now-slowing-down on updating/writing. Also, I''m starting my summer classes**, so I''ll have even less time writing. However, fret not, it''s an online course, meaning it will probably take me a week and a half to complete (if I do 4-5 hours a day). ** Rant: OKAY. THIS CLASS, LEGIT, PISSES ME OFF. So, since my health class didn''t count from middle school, I have to do health again in high school - yaaaay. However, what pisses me off is that it''s made for 8th graders, so it''s suuuper easy, but each lesson video takes 1 hour. -facepalm- Also, I ran out of team names, so I used pokemon... MAKE SUGGESTION OF A TEAM NAME BELOW! (I''ll let you even create your own captain [of course I''ll mod it if he/she is too OP]) NOT A CHAPTER + RESULTS Hellooo, so the polls came out and the 4th picture won as the cover. Thank you for voting! Also, concerning spirit, I have not dropped it and will continue to work on it at a slower pace. Actually, main reason I''m writing this is a quest for a 3rd player to my little duo in video games - cause it''s summer, and we''re bored. (Also to relieve stress and to have fun in general). Cover that won: About the game/3rd person: Spoiler : Requirements: -High school or older (this is more so we can have something in common, but if you''re younger then it''s cool - you just gotta be mature) If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.-Has some way to communicate, preferably skype (you don''t have to talk) -Lives in the United States (this is so we don''t have any time troubles) -Able to get on mostly during the afternoon (aka 12 pm in the west or 3pm in the east), if you can, earlier. It''ll be great if you can stay on for quite some time, too. If you can''t, that''s coolios. -Not a douchebag Optional -If you already play archeage on salphira server and you''re around level 30, give us a heads up too lol -Just starting - we''ll discuss on what we should do (either help you or create new characters with you) More info: PM me if you''re interested in joining us. We''ll be picking one or two (or maybe three for that party) at most. c: Where have I been and Hiatus For those of you who don''t read my other story, I just left a small note about my whereabouts, etc. From July to August, I''ve been busy doing my summer courses and traveling in Arizona with my family. Unfortunately, as soon as I came back to California, my school started. Things have been pretty rough lately, especially with adjusting to new classes and with how much homework/reports/essays I''m getting, etc. I''m not sure when I''ll be able to sit down and write a full chapter for both stories (Spirit and Re: Heroes'' Mount). If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I''ll be going on a hiatus, for who knows how long. Unfortunately for this story, unlike Re: Heroes'' Mount, this story is more complex and difficult to write about. During my hiatus, I might write chapters for Heroes'' Mount instead, since it''s more simple. Also, I would like to rethink my characters/plot, as it needs major reworking (I might rework chapters too). Thanks for reading :) and hopefully I''ll see you soon, Stellar