《The Rise of the Dark King》


 Chapter 1

    Today was a day like any other or so Matthew wanted to believe, he was a 12-year-old boy, a little taller than the average for his age, and had brown wavy hair that matched his brown eyes. He was raised in the Fallen Kingdom under the name of the Blackcrow family.


    To tell the truth, Matthew had not been feeling well these last few days, he felt that something did not fit in the attitudes of the others.


    It all started a week ago when his father''s exploration group returned from a hunt and with them they brought a dragon, apparently somehow they had managed to not only capture a dragon but one of the 3 Emperor Dragons.


    The Dragon was immobilized with magic seals and several steel beams, then it was displayed in a large hall so that everyone could observe it. The school where Matthew attended did not wait and organized several groups of different grades to go visit the dragon.


    It was on the day of his visit to the dragon that he felt something inside him break, it was a sensation he had felt several times throughout his short life, but that day was different, it was much stronger.


    When the group of young people was satisfied and wanted to leave, Matthew decided to stay behind secretly, he wanted to know more about this dragon, he wanted to talk to him, without knowing that this simple conversation would completely change both his life and that of the dragon.


    That same night a great rumble was heard throughout the kingdom followed by the news that the dragon had broken free and escaped to the east.


    It was from that moment that things got strange for Matthew, little by little he noticed that the attitude of the others in the kingdom was... strange, for some reason they hated non-human races and classified them as wild and uncivilized, which made no sense to him since it had been shown throughout history that other races possessed an intellect similar to that of humans.


    It wasn''t until yesterday that he knew something was truly wrong, he felt as if something was constantly watching him from the shadows and apparently he wasn''t the only one who noticed it. His father had asked him not to leave the kingdom for any reason and when he walked through the city he could see several members of his house (Blackcrow) watching him carefully, as if they were waiting for something to happen.


    Matthew arrived home after a long day at school noticing that there was no one on the entire ground floor except for a letter on the table. Matthew focused his senses managing to perceive a magic as weak as that of a normal civilian on the upper floor, assuming it was his mother, Matthew looked at the letter again noticing that it was in fact from his mother and was addressed to him, making him a reminder.


    Matthew opened the letter noticing that it was slightly damp in some parts, as if small drops had fallen on it.


    "Matthew, remember that today is the big banquet at Blackcrow Manor. Your father and I will go ahead to help set up the banquet, get ready and come quickly to the banquet.


    P.S.: put on some nice clothes otherwise I will spank your ass in front of everyone at the banquet to embarrass you"


    Matthew''s eye twitched in irritation at his mother''s tyranny and he placed the letter on the table being careful not to make any noise. This letter told him that his parents were not at home so whoever was on the second floor was not someone from his family.


    Matthew walked stealthily until he reached the living room where he took the wooden sword that his school had given him at the beginning of the year. Slowly, Matthew headed up the stairs to the second floor, managing to hear the noise coming from his own room. Matthew kicked open the door and saw a creature that he had never seen before in his life, not even in history books.


    The creature had a humanoid body, it walked using its hands and feet at the same time, its body was black like coal with red lines running all over its body, on its head it had bright white horns that contrasted with its body. The scariest thing was its face, it had no eyes as such, only simple red spiral marks and from its mouth came a strange black liquid that stained the few sharp teeth it had.


    "So these are the effects of the drugs"


    Matthew joked to calm his fear.


    The strange creature turned to where Matthew was and let out a horrible screech, like a pig being killed, then launched itself at Matthew.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Matthew easily dodged it by stepping to the side and gave it a strong blow with his sword, sending the creature down the stairs.


    "It''s no different than a normal civilian in terms of strength and speed"


    Matthew quickly assessed, calmly going down the stairs he could see the creature growling at him and then launching itself again.


    "It seems that it has no use of reason, what the hell is it?" he wondered.


    Matthew extended his hand using his pure magic to push the creature into the air towards the table, then extended his fingers firing a lightning bolt that electrocuted the creature causing it to writhe in pain. After a few seconds, the creature stood up clearly angrier only to repeat its same attack and launch itself at Matthew again.


    "Logic and you don''t seem to get along, do you?"


    With these few attacks Matthew had already deduced that this creature lacked any use of reason and logic, it was as if it could simply follow an order, attack. Matthew grabbed the creature by the horns with his left hand slamming it against the ground, then put his knee on the creature''s back and grabbing it by the horns again he turned its head snapping its neck.


    "I would say that I expected more from you, but my mother taught me not to lie"


    Matthew stood looking at the lifeless body of the creature and how that black liquid was still coming out of its mouth, ''disgusting'' Matthew thought ready to go to the bank to report what had happened, but before he could get close to the door it was knocked down.


    3 of the same creatures entered accompanied by another larger creature, it seemed to be a combination of one of those creatures and an orc. Its body was muscular and its horns were much smaller, they barely came out of its head.


    -Is there no security in this Kingdom? - Matthew wondered when he saw that after so much scandal still no guard came to find out what was going on.


    The 3 smaller creatures gave exactly the same scream that the other had given when they saw Matthew making him understand that it was not a war cry as he had thought before, they were asking for reinforcements.


    Matthew quickly extended his hand, casting a spell and throwing a powerful flame towards the creatures in order to interrupt their call. The largest creature noticed Matthew''s intentions and quickly stood in front of the creatures, receiving the attack head on as if it were nothing. Matthew, seeing that the flames did not affect the big one and could not reach the smaller ones, took a big breath of air and then blew, casting an air spell that enhanced the fire spell. The huge creature barely stood on its feet, enduring the attack. Matthew, seeing it, amplified his control over magic, forcing it to increase its power.


    The fire suddenly grew, knocking down the large creature and directly hitting the 3 small creatures. It continued to grow until it hit the windows where it spread out of the house. Matthew exhaled tiredly. This was the first time he had used so many consecutive spells in a single day, in addition to forcing himself to increase his control over natural magic.


    Matthew inhaled and exhaled heavily trying to regain his breath and some energy, the 3 small creatures were charred on the ground while the large one was standing up, barely affected by the fire.


    "Why the hell is there so much difference between them?" Matthew asked into the nothingness


    The large creature, already standing, looked at Matthew radiating anger and with a powerful roar unleashed a large stream of air from its body that pushed Matthew a little. The creature''s body swelled making it look more muscular and the lines that were previously painted on its body now danced furiously around it in the form of lightning.


    "Is that enhancement magic?... no this isn''t magic, what is it?"


    Matthew felt the energy around the creature, it was nothing he had seen before, it was dark and lifeless, lacking that lively and pure essence that magic possessed. The creature launched itself at Matthew at high speed without letting him react.


    Matthew was rammed at high speed through the wall and was thrown into the yard of his house, Matthew rolled on the ground trying to catch his breath, while he saw how the creature approached little by little.


    ''Am I going to die?'' Matthew thought scared, those creatures came for him specifically. They had entered his house and invaded his room, they had not entered another room.


    "You must die for the sake of my King!!" The creature spoke for the first time, declaring that it came to kill Matthew. The creature raised its arms to give one last blow.


    "You are the only one who will die here!!"


    A voice was heard not far from them followed by the sound of a stick hitting the floor. Matthew caught sight of an old man with a long beard. He was wearing a long tunic with long dark blue sleeves and in his hand he was carrying a white staff that matched his hat.


    A white wave came out of the staff and spread in less than a second, hitting the creature directly and turning it into ashes as soon as it touched it.


    "Look, sending a second-class corrupt for just one child"


    The old man quickly approached Matthew with a worried expression, leaning in front of him and passing his hand a few centimeters from his body making sure he was okay. After checking Matthew''s condition, the old man sighed calmly and a white light came out of his hand quickly healing the minor wounds on Matthew''s body.


    "Thank you for the help, but who are you?" Matthew asked, looking at the old man.


    "I am Merlin Emrys. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, young Matthew."

 Chapter 2

    "Finally meet me?" Matthew asked, not understanding how Merlin knew who he was.


    "Your parents have told me about you, that''s why I''m here," Merlin revealed, leaving Matthew even more confused.


    "Why would his parents talk about him to this old man who smells like cheap coffee?" was what Matthew was thinking at that very moment.


    "The coffee I drink isn''t cheap¡­ and if it were, there''s nothing wrong with it. In fact, I think it''s very foolish to pay more for a product that fulfills exactly the same purpose just because of the brand name." Merlin tried to justify himself quickly.


    Before Merlin could continue speaking, a silhouette appeared between them, quickly approaching Matthew who was now sitting on the grass in the yard.


    "Matthew, are you okay!?" asked Gerald, Matthew''s father.


    Gerald was a tall, burly man, around 2 meters tall. He had blue eyes and black hair, as well as a short beard. He wore a smart black suit with a golden eagle embroidered on the left side of his shirt. He was clearly dressed for the banquet Matthew was supposed to attend.


    "Dad, I¡­ I''m fine, that homeless wizard helped me. He calls himself Merlin," Matthew quickly replied.


    "I''m not homeless!" Merlin replied offended.


    Gerald looked at Merlin and gave him a grateful nod, which Merlin responded with another nod. Gerald helped Matthew to his feet and then checked again to make sure he was okay, then looked at the house noticing a light crystalline cloth on it, it was an illusion spell.


    Merlin looked at the house as well, a bit of worry and regret could be seen on his face, even though he could easily get rid of the spell he decided to leave it intact so Gerald could see and examine it.


    "Did they put it there?" Gerald asked incredulously.


    "*sigh* I''m afraid they did" Merlin confirmed "They''ve been getting smarter over the last 50 years¡­"


    Matthew looked at the thin cloth over the house quickly understanding why no one had come to help him since the start of the fight, but then he quickly noticed something strange, all the creatures were dead but the spell didn''t fade in the slightest.


    "Is it normal for an illusion spell to last so long even after the death of the person who cast it?" Matthew asked.


    "Not in normal cases, young Matthew. This is not a normal spell like the one we use," Merlin revealed. "This is a special spell, created by the corrupted, the creatures that attacked you. It was made in order to remain active even after the death of its caster."


    Gerald extended his hand towards the cloth and it instantly disappeared.


    "That doesn''t matter... the corrupted managed to enter the blessed land somehow. When I felt them wandering around here a few days ago I didn''t want to believe it, but it seems it''s true... he''s coming back," Gerald said.


    Gerald looked at Matthew again, this time his gaze showed something more than concern, it was almost as if he were apologizing.


    Gerald shook Matthew''s hair and ordered him to go prepare for the banquet, there was still an hour before it started. While Matthew was getting ready, Gerald and Merlin talked and examined the body of the corrupted man whose neck Matthew had broken.


    "In one go... almost as if it had been made of paper" Merlin examined the corrupted man''s neck noting Matthew''s great physical strength to break his neck almost effortlessly. "Now I''m not surprised that he was able to survive the attack of the second class corrupted man"


    "He learned well. They weren''t going to show him mercy, he doesn''t have to either" Gerald said with a proud tone seeing the other 3 corrupted men completely charred.


    Merlin watched the scene fascinated, he quickly realized that Matthew had used two spells together to enhance the attack.


    "I thought you only focused on enhancing magic, when did you teach him this?" Merlin asked remembering that the way Gerald fights was based only on the sword and not on magic itself.


    "I didn''t, he learned it on his own. I think he just winged it" Gerald said, although he had seen Matthew use spells several times to fight he didn''t remember seeing him use two spells at the same time.


    Merlin nodded in amazement, according to what Gerald told him, Matthew was barely 12 years old but he could already use 2 spells at the same time, normally only wizards over 15 could achieve such a feat.


    "Young Matthew has great potential... and power"


    Merlin stated as he felt Matthew''s magical power on the second floor. His carrier magic was very strong for his age and natural magic seemed to constantly dance around him, ready to follow his commands.


    "If he has it..." Gerald confirmed.


    Ever since Matthew was able to manifest magic he had shown great talent for both spells and hand-to-hand combat, in fact many members of the Blackcrow family had already taken for granted that Matthew would become the next head of the family.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    A few minutes later heels were heard approaching quickly from the street, it was Beatrice Blackcrow, Gerald''s wife and Matthew''s mother. Beatrice was a simple civilian who could not use magic, she was a beautiful woman, her hair was black and wavy which matched her black eyes, she wore a dark red dress with black flower embroidery and on the left side of her chest she wore a golden eagle next to a black crow.


    Beatrice had come to pick up a gift she had forgotten and to make sure Matthew was dressed properly, but she found herself in a totally unexpected situation. The living room of her house was completely burned, her table was destroyed and on the floor there were 4 horrible dead creatures. Beatrice quickly recognized the creatures, as she had seen them once 13 years ago, when her husband had traveled to the land of ash to end the tyranny of Orwena Goldfire.


    Beatrice''s heart began to beat strongly and her lips began to tremble, she looked at Gerald and Merlin in the middle of it all and with her words halfway she spoke to Gerald.


    "Please tell me it''s you" Beatrice said, her tears threatening to come out. "Please!"


    Gerald only limited himself to shaking his head with a little pity and hugging her.


    "No, please no... don''t let him take Matthew!" Beatrice begged crying in Gerald''s arms "Why? I did everything to prevent this from happening, in the house there is not a single book of other races and even less of damnatus, then why was the curse broken!!"


    Merlin only heard Beatrice''s cries while Gerald comforted her, this was the hardest part of his job. He had never liked having to separate families even though he knew it was for the good of everyone.


    Gerald looked at Merlin making him sigh in resignation "I suppose we can wait until tomorrow to leave" said Merlin


    "I did everything they recommended me to so this wouldn''t happen, why did it end like this!!?" Beatrice asked still crying.


    Merlin listened to the question, considering whether or not to tell them the real reason why Matthew broke the curse of hatred, after a few seconds he decided that he had no reason to hide the answer.


    "It was because of Fiegnis, the dragon that was brought to the city" Merlin answered "at some point Fiegnis and Matthew met and talked, according to Fiegnis Matthew already had his doubts about the treatment of other races before they met, probably his doubts were generated in history classes at his school which was weakening the curse little by little and when Fiegnis and Matthew talked the curse was broken completely"


    In that moment, Gerald realized that the dragon had escaped just the same day that Matthew''s class group visited the dragon. Beatrice also remembered Matthew''s class trip, she never thought that just one day would be enough to ruin all her effort.


    A few minutes later Matthew came down already changed, Beatrice had already calmed down and cleaned her smudged makeup. She was wearing a black suit similar to her father''s with the only difference being that it didn''t have a golden eagle embroidered on it but a black raven.


    "Oh, mom, what are you doing here? Did you forget something?" Matthew asked.


    "Uh... yes. A gift for your grandmother" Beatrice said distractedly but she could notice some slight bruises on Matthew''s face, this worried her more. "Oh, my boy, look how those vermin left you" she said holding Matthew''s face.


    "It''s nothing, father has left me with worse wounds, like that time he broke my arm" Matthew said without worrying about his wounds.


    Behind Beatrice was Gerald nervously telling her to stop talking, Beatrice still hadn''t completely forgiven him for breaking Matthew''s arm just before the family photo. Beatrice gave Gerald a quick glance indicating that they would talk about this again.


    "Oh, the homeless wizard is Merlin, but I guess dad already introduced you to him" Matthew said introducing Merlin trying to divert the topic.


    ''I''m not homeless'' Merlin thought irritated.


    "Yes he already did"


    Gerald led everyone out while calling some people through a communicator he had as a bracelet, after he finished speaking he took everyone to the banquet as if nothing had happened.


    ''The homeless man is sneaking into the banquet'' Matthew thought as he saw Merlin accompanying them to the banquet.


    Merlin raised his staff giving Matthew a hit on the head "I already told you I''m not homeless"


    "Of course¡­ you are just a person of limited resources" Matthew answered trying to calm Merlin''s anger.


    Merlin, hearing Matthew''s answer, did not know what to answer, he did not need money at all so he never carries money with him, in other words he was a person of limited resources.


    "That''s enough Matthew, I told you not to make fun of beggars" Beatrice insulted Merlin directly.


    The 4 of them quickly arrived at a huge mansion, the guests were still arriving which meant that they were not late. The mansion was decorated with large canvases with a black crow painted on them. After walking for a few minutes in the huge mansion, they arrived at a large room where there were 3 long tables, positioned vertically one next to the other and carefully decorated, at the back there was a fourth table placed horizontally, this table was much more decorated than the others making it easily shine.


    In the middle of the fourth table was an elderly man, although not as old as Merlin. He had a short, gray beard and barely any hair on his head. He was wearing a dark blue suit, which, from the way the man acted, seemed to make him very uncomfortable.


    The man saw them arrive and immediately stood up, pointing at Merlin.


    "Who let the vagabond in?" the man asked.


    "Geron Blackcrow!!" Merlin exclaimed indignantly, seeing the man.


    Geron burst out laughing and walked quickly towards Merlin, giving him a big hug. Apparently they were old friends.


    ''The homeless man not only knows my parents, he also knows my grandparents'' thought Matthew surprised.


    "Matthew, in a few moments when we sit down have your grandmother come talk to me, there is something important I need to discuss with her" Gerald asked Matthew.


    "Of course, I will make sure she goes that way for you" Matthew responded politely.


    Geron led them to the fourth table while he spoke animatedly with Merlin. Matthew sat right next to his grandmother, Merely Blackcrow, who looked at him surprised and confused by the bruises Matthew had.


    "Boy, what happened to you?" Merely asked.


    "Father woke up in a bad mood" Matthew lied.


    Merely turned to see Gerald who greeted her from the other side of the table without knowing what was happening. Merely stood up giving Matthew a kiss on the head and saying "I''ll be back in a moment" Matthew watched with a smile as his grandmother lifted his father up pulling him by the ear and took him to another room.


    "Father ordered me to make my grandmother go to him and I just follow orders" Matthew said to himself and then waited for the food to arrive ''the only good thing about these meetings is the food¡­ and the games where grandpa gives us money, I have never lost a game''.

 Chapter 3

    "So the only option I have is to go with the homeless wizard?" she asked, looking at her parents and grandparents. Both her mother and grandmother were crying while her father and grandfather looked serious.


    "I''m afraid it is like that" Geron replied "if it were like 20 or 30 years ago then there would be no problem with you staying since before the corrupt had no way of entering the blessed land¡­"


    "...But now they do and they have managed to sneak into the kingdom without anyone seeing them" Gerald continued "they took advantage of the moment when we were not near you and made sure that we did not notice when they attacked you"


    "and that is not all, having broken the curse of hatred you tend to influence the people around you more" Merlin revealed


    "that means that other people could break the curse of hatred and then the corrupt would come for them too" Matthew said realizing the seriousness of the problem.


    Matthew looked at his mother, she was a simple civilian, she could not even defend herself from the weaker corrupt if she were to break the curse.


    "Salusbreath is a floating city that is always moving and no corrupted person has ever managed to reach it. Besides, its school has great magicians and warriors. I am sure that you will be able to develop yourself there in a way that you will not be able to do in other schools," Merlin said, trying to convince Matthew not to think it was a bad idea to travel to Salusbreath.


    "But there are the followers of Damnatus," Merely replied with evident disgust.


    Merely had already been to Salusbreath once and happened to witness one of the attacks of the followers of Damnatus on the city. It was a terrible sight. The followers had no mercy on the citizens and killed them in the cruelest way possible.


    "No place is exempt from danger¡­ now not even the blessed land," Geron replied to his wife.


    "The followers of Damnatus are the ones who rule the land of ash, right?" asked Matthew.


    Merlin nodded heavily, no matter how hard they tried to reclaim the lands they couldn''t do anything, the followers were simply too many and too strong.


    Matthew nodded, understanding what he had to do. He was going to Salusbreath and he would make sure that his family was not affected by the curse, even if it prevented him from seeing them again.


    "Okay¡­ when do we leave?" Matthew asked determinedly.


    "Right away, there is another young man we have to pick up," Merlin replied, rubbing his head as he thought of who they had to pick up.


    "Another one who broke the curse?" Gerald asked.


    "Yes, young Caralsen did," Merlin said.


    Gerald stood still for a moment. He knew that name from 13 years ago, Themur Caralsen, a great man and warrior who fought at his side at the end of the ''10 Years of Tears'' war. Gerald remained silent, remembering all the atrocities that had happened just a decade ago.


    Matthew nodded, recognizing the last name. His father had told him about that family and how incredibly strong they were, as well as their strong code that they refused to break for any reason.


    "Well, young Matthew, get your things ready, we have to leave," said Merlin.


    ¡ªBreak¡ª


    Merlin led the way to the outskirts of the Fallen Kingdom. Six hours ago they had begun their journey to the portal that led to the Ashen Land. Matthew observed the entire landscape with great attention. This was the first time he had been so far from the kingdom. The meadows had a very vibrant color that brightened the sight just by looking at them. Without a doubt, a sight you would expect from a place called the Blessed Land.


    "Hey Merlin, when they divided the unique land, did they put a spell on this land to make it look this good?" Matthew asked. According to the history books, both the divine land and the ash land did not have this appearance.


    "Mmm¡­ not that I remember. In fact, when we divided it, all the lands looked the same, but over time they changed little by little. Maybe, not being influenced by Damnatus or some god, maybe the Elder Tree has regained its reign over this land, making it look like this," Merlin speculated without giving it much importance.


    The two continued walking for 4 more hours, they had passed a river and a tower abandoned for several years until they reached a bridge that connected the lands of the Fallen Kingdom with a foreign kingdom. Merlin stood in the middle of the bridge, watching the water pass beneath them. "We arrived," he said.


    "Are we there?" Matthew asked, not seeing the huge portal he had imagined in his head.


    "Yeah, look," Merlin said, pointing to the water just below them.


    Matthew looked out, unable to see anything. When he was about to ask what it had to do with, Merlin pushed him, causing him to fall into the water.


    Matthew fell into the water, realizing that it was deeper than he thought. Before he wanted to swim out, he felt something pulling him into the depths. The water around Matthew began to change color and the water eventually disappeared. He felt as if he were in the air, unable to move. After a few seconds, the colors disappeared and he felt himself begin to fall.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Watch your head," he heard Merlin''s voice in his head.


    "What head?" Matthew tried to say, but his surroundings quickly changed allowing him to see that he was falling through the air directly into a forest "Shit!" Matthew fell head first into a tree breaking several branches.


    When Matthew got up he saw Merlin at his side with a slight smile, he could swear that he had done it in revenge for all the times he called him homeless.


    "Don''t be ridiculous, the benign ones don''t know the concept of revenge" said Merlin answering Matthew''s thoughts "come on we have to meet up with my other clone"


    Matthew stood up and shook himself as he looked at him confused "another clone? Are you a clone?" he asked


    "Of course, I have to pick up several people throughout the year, I can''t be everywhere at the same time¡­ well if I can that''s what clones are for" Merlin said amused.


    Before Matthew could speak again they heard some voices approaching, it was another Merlin being accompanied by a young man of the same age as Matthew. The young man had blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a red shirt with white stripes around his neck and chest, along with loose brown pants and boots of the same color. On his back he carried a custom-made iron axe.


    The young man quickly noticed Matthew and the Merlin at his side, the young man let out a loud laugh and approached Matthew.


    "HAHA, did this old piss kidnap you too?" The young man approached and gave Matthew a big hug "I''m Trygve Caralsen, but you can call me Tryg, that''s what everyone calls me in the communal house" he introduced himself


    "Then I''ll call you Tryg. I''m Matthew Blackcrow, as for a nickname I''ve never had one" said Matthew with a smile, something told him they would be great friends.


    "I see, Matthew¡­ wait did you say blackcrow?" Tryg asked surprised


    "Yes, I come from the blessed land, I grew up as a blackcrow" Matthew confirmed.


    "Ha, who would have thought, when the old piss told me that we were going for someone else I never imagined that I would be a blackcrow" Tryg confessed with a big smile "and tell me do you know him?" he asked


    "Who?" Matthew asked confused although he already had an idea of ??who he was asking about.


    "You know, Gerald Blackcrow¡­ Well I understand that he is now called Gerald Goldeagle" Tryg said excitedly


    "Oh, of course I know him. He is my father" Matthew revealed


    "WHAT!!? Impossible according to father, he told me that Gerald could not have children" Tryg said surprised "Did he lie to me¡­?"


    "Oh, I see. Your father didn''t lie to you, you see, I''m adopted" Matthew revealed, Tryg turned to look at Merlin who nodded confirming Matthew''s identity.


    "That explains everything! Ha, I knew that a man as powerful as your father couldn''t leave the world without leaving a legacy, it''s the law of life." Tryg affirmed "You know, your father and my father met once, on the battlefield, the two fought hand to hand just like you and I are going to do against those bastard followers"


    Matthew laughed at Tryg''s words, he undoubtedly liked him.


    "Of course I know, Themur caralsen, right? Father told me a lot about him" Matthew affirmed leaving Tryg more excited


    "Of course I do! I knew that the old man was too impressive not to make a name for himself in that war" Tryg said happily.


    "And tell me, how long has the homeless wizard been here for you?" asked Matthew


    "Two days ago, I found him pissing in the hills near my village while I was hunting some of those corrupted ones"


    "Were you hunting them? They didn''t come for you?"


    "Yes, two of them came to my house looking for me, but they didn''t last a second, I cut off both of their heads and put them on a spear, then I tracked down where they had come from, finding a group of 5 to whom I showed the heads of the ones I killed" Tryg said excitedly while moving his hands to give more details.


    Matthew and Trygve quickly became friends, drawing a sigh from Merlin who was already imagining everything he was going to have to go through with these two to get to Salusbreath.


    "Come on young people, we have a long way to go to get to Salusbreath" Merlin ordered as he began his walk towards Salusbreath.


    "Don''t walk so fast old man, don''t get tired" said Tryg running towards Merlin


    "Tired? The homeless man is going to faint" said Matthew following them


    Merlin at that moment regretted having been the one to go looking for these two fools and even worse, having brought them together.


    ¡ªBreak¡ª


    Merlin walked in front of the group, his face showing tiredness and irritation, only two days had passed since Matthew and Trygve met, but Merlin could no longer stand them, alone they were manageable and could even be fun, but together they were a disaster. For some reason since they got together they had acquired the peculiar ability to get into trouble, it was almost as if they were naturally attracted to each other.


    "Tryg, look there are corrupted ones" said Matthew looking out from a cliff


    Tryg quickly approached and saw a group of 10 corrupted ones, who were eating a raw deer. "Let''s kick them." he suggested


    "Whoever kicks the least corrupted ones will have to listen to Merlin sing" said Matthew as he jumped off the cliff.


    "You didn''t count to 3 like we had yesterday!!" shouted Tryg jumping as well.


    While Matthew and Tryg fought with the corrupted, Merlin kept walking and talking without noticing that those two had left.


    "And that''s why you should avoid the gray forests, you don''t want to run into wizards or creatures of the night" said Merlin explaining the rumors that circulated through the lands they were in.


    After a while in silence, Merlin began to suspect that something was not right, Tryg and Matthew never stopped talking and even less when it came to magical creatures. Merlin turned back noticing that neither of them was following him, Merlin''s face paled again, this was the fourth time they left his side in just two days.


    "These damned children, don''t they know how to stay still!?" Merlin wondered as he tried to feel Matthew and Tryg''s magic.


    Merlin felt Matthew''s magic not far from him, apparently he was next to Tryg and what seemed to be a group of corrupted people.


    "These kids are going to make my hair fall out from stress" said Merlin walking quickly towards Matthew and Tryg.


    Below the cliff were Matthew and Tryg bothering a corrupted person, they had already taken care of killing the others and only one was left, who was tied by the feet and hung from a tree while with a branch they hit him as if it were a punching bag.


    "Since I was a child, Father told me about these things, by the way he described them I always imagined them much stronger" admitted Tryg hitting the corrupted person.


    "There are some stronger ones, I think you''ve only met the weaker ones" said Matthew hitting the corrupted person


    "You mean there are others like these, but stronger?" Tryg asked and Matthew nodded


    "Yes, in fact, one almost killed me. Merlin said something about it being a second class or something, I just know that these are the weakest of all"


    "I see, that makes sense... and well, I''m bored now, shall we kill it at once?" Tryg asked to which Matthew shrugged accepting the idea.


    At that moment Merlin appeared in front of them, hitting each of them on the head with his staff. "What the hell were you thinking when you left, this is a dangerous place!"


    "Calm old man, we''re fine. The last 3 times you didn''t even notice that we left" Tryg revealed


    "What!? Well how many times have they left my side!?" Merlin asked angrily


    "With this 7... I think" Matthew said and tried to remember all the times they had escaped.


    Merlin was about to strike them again when the sound of a bird''s wings fluttered. The bird flew over to Merlin, hovering over his shoulder, in its beak it carried a note which was addressed to Merlin.


    Merlin read the note rubbing his forehead, things seemed to be getting more and more complicated. Merlin sighed thinking of what to do, the note informed him of an attack on Corinth, home of the benign of love, Arlene. Damnatus'' followers had decided to attack together, they wanted to take Corinth. Merline sighed resignedly, knowing that he had no other choice.


    "Listen carefully, you two apes. Damnatus'' followers are attacking Corinth, to be more specific, they are attacking Corinth, home of the benign of love. I have to go help her, so I will have to let you go alone to Salusbreath." Merlin explained approaching them and hitting them with his staff


    "Ouch, and that''s because it was... wait, this is..." Matthew realized that he had received Merlin''s memories which showed them the way.


    "Those are my memories, use them to get to the city, there you will meet the lord of the mustache, he will take you to Salusbreath safe and sound, understood?" Merlin asked


    "I think so..." Tryg said trying to process the information, Merlin not receiving a satisfactory answer raised his staff in a threatening manner scaring the two and making them nod quickly.


    "... well, then I will withdraw, I cannot waste time" said Merlin raising his staff. Merlin''s figure shine for a few seconds before disappearing in a flash.

 Chapter 4

    Matthew and Tryg walked through the dense grey forest, it had only been a day since Merlin had left for Corinth. Matthew found the appearance of this forest very depressing, while Tryg was alert at all times, he remembered the stories his grandfather told him about when he visited the grey forest.


    "You have to be careful, Matthew. My grandfather told me that witches and wizards appear in these types of forests" warned Tryg with the axe in hand "My grandfather faced a witch once, he said that they are very deceitful and that you can''t trust them"


    Matthew nodded at the warning, his father had also told him about wizards and how powerful they were.


    The two continued walking through the forest for a few minutes until Matthew stopped in front of a tree, if his eyes didn''t deceive him, they had already passed by that same tree several times.


    "We''ve already passed this tree 3 times in a row" said Matthew putting Tryg on alert.


    "I knew something smelled around here..." Tryg said, glancing back at them. "You know, we''ve been walking for over 20 minutes, but strangely there hasn''t been any sound or presence of any animal, even though this place is full of wild fruits," Tryg said loudly so that the person following them could hear him.


    "If you''re going to do this kind of mediocre illusions, you''d better not do anything," Matthew said, turning to look directly at where the illusion caster was.


    The illusion slowly faded away, showing that they were being directed towards another path completely opposite to the one they should go. In front of Matthew and Tryg appeared a woman around 30 years old, wearing a black one-piece dress which seemed to be slightly burned at the bottom and high heels, her hair was light brown and her eyes were hazel. Her nails were painted black and her fingers seemed to be stained black, as if she had grabbed coal.


    "So both of you always suspected my illusion, not bad for some children, maybe they would be useful to Miss Vera, she likes talented children"


    "So, she is a pedophile" said Matthew with a mocking smile


    "I assumed so, apart from being deceitful they are craft. damned witches" followed Tryg


    "Tch, don''t you dare disrespect the great witch Vera, she is the greatest witch that has ever existed, and I Almena, her faithful follower, will not allow such disrespect!!"


    "..."


    "..."


    "... I only heard ''hit me'' and you Matthew?"


    "What a coincidence, I heard exactly the same thing, Tryg"


    A big smile formed on the faces of Matthew and Tryve as they looked directly at Almena, Tryg tightly gripped his axe and Matthew slowly reached for the hilt of his sword that was at his waist.


    "Stupid kids, you dare to face me, a high-level witch!?"


    Almena''s hands lit up with a dark red glow, a second later a red ray shot towards Tryg and Matthew. Tryg threw his axe towards the ray, preventing it from advancing and allowing them to move from there.


    Matthew moved quickly towards Almena, without unsheathing his sword he gave her a powerful blow to the ribs causing her to moan in pain. Tryg instantly appeared above Almena, landing a powerful punch that sent her flying into some trees.


    ''Where the hell did these kids come from!'' Almena thought, touching her cheek where Tryg had hit her. Not even the Salusbreath students she had faced had hit her with such force. ''Whatever, they''re both warriors, I just have to keep my distance. It won''t be difficult!''


    "Try this, a spell that Miss Vera herself taught me!"


    Almena raised her hands, forming several seals and conjuring a large ball of red lightning.


    Tryg looked at the large sphere of lightning a little worried. It was obvious that it was an area attack. Matthew smiled, raising his hand and saying.


    "Hey witch, haven''t they ever taught you not to combine lightning with water?"


    Almenas, still charging her attack, looked at Matthew confused only to then feel the magic build up around her and think ''is he a magician!?'' before she could undo her own spell, a sphere of water materialized around her causing the ball of red lightning to expand throughout the water and hitting her completely.


    The red lightning struck Almenas''s body paralyzing her instantly and giving her a strong shock, this magic not only electrocuted her but also temporarily sealed her magic preventing her from healing herself.


    ''Damn kid!'' Almena thought falling to the ground.


    "Stupid witch, these are basic rules of magic and nature" said Matthew mocking Almena


    "Of course, natural water is a great conductor of electricity¡­ although how did you know that those red lightnings were electricity and not pure magic?" asked Tryg


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Matthew just pointed to Tryg''s iron axe which still emitted a bit of red electricity from it.


    "It''s not completely electricity but just a little is enough to spread through the water" said Matthew


    He had learned this the hard way when he trained with his grandfather, Geron, 3 years ago.


    Tryg took a rope he had in his leather bag and tied Almena''s hands and feet.


    "Well, it''s better to do it at once¡­"


    Tryg began to unbutton his pants confusing Matthew and worrying Almena.


    ''Hey, hey, hey, isn''t he too young to be thinking about such things!!?'' thought Almena terrified.


    "What do you intend to do to him?" asked Matthew confused


    "She''s a witch. My grandfather told me that they can curse a person they''ve seen even if they''re thousands of kilometers away, but fortunately, there''s a way to prevent that¡­ and for that we have to urinate on them!!"


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, believe me, my grandfather told me"


    Tryg said completely sure making Matthew believe him, Matthew would never doubt the knowledge of older people, after all they have lived a lot and have a lot of experience, especially Tryg''s family which had been raised in the Ash world.


    ''NO, IT''S A LIE, ONLY HIGH-LEVEL WITCHES LIKE MISS VERA CAN DO SUCH A THING, NOT ME!!''


    Almena tried to scream, but her own spell had completely paralyzed her and she could only watch as the two children approached her, seconds later, two streams fell on her face. The two streams did not let the tears that ran down Almena''s face be seen, her face showed shame but also a bit of regret, ''I shouldn''t have approached them'' she thought as she closed her eyes resigning herself to her fate.


    Matthew and Tryg walked away at a slow but steady pace, leaving Amelia lying on the ground crying. ''Matthew¡­ Tryg¡­ I will remember this, I SWEAR I WILL NOT LET THIS STAY LIKE THIS. I WILL FOLLOW THEM TO THE END OF THE ASH LAND AND BRING THEM TO THE FEET OF MY LADY!!''


    ¡ªBreak¡ª


    "For a high level witch she was very weak"


    Tryg sounded a little disappointed because the encounter with his first witch was not an epic fight like the ones his grandfather used to tell him about.


    "She was probably lying to scare us, my father told me about some witches he met years ago and from what I heard they were incredibly powerful. Besides, even Merlin warned us about the power of witches and wizards."


    "It''s true, we just had no luck¡­ at least we peed on her so she couldn''t cast a spell on us."


    "...yes¡­ at least¡­"


    The two walked through the forest for an hour, managing to get out and see a small town not far from them. Matthew looked towards the town thinking that maybe they were just at the edge of the forest because they left faster than he expected. After a few minutes of walking they arrived at the town, it looked in very bad condition and gave off a slight feeling of abandonment despite having people living there.


    "These are the less fortunate towns, those that don''t have the way to fight against the followers of Damnatus."


    A man of 1.70 meters and a little overweight was standing right behind Tryg and Matthew. He had a tanned complexion and a very funny mustache which stood out a lot, he wore a formal navy blue suit and a black hat which matched his black shoes.


    Matthew turned around as quickly as he could thinking ''when did he get behind us!?'' and Tryg took a big leap away as far as he could while looking at where the strange man should be, but he couldn''t see him at all.


    "Don''t be scared young Tryg, I''m here to take you to Salusbreath"


    Tryg turned around and this time he managed to see the man behind him. Both Tryg and Matthew didn''t know how the strange man moved that way, they didn''t know if it was his speed or a type of teleportation.


    "You are..."


    "That''s right! I am one of the masters of the great Salusbreath school and, of course, protector of the city. I am¡­ The sir of the mustache"


    The sir of the mustache interrupted Matthew and revealed his identity. After a few seconds he turned to look at the town and continued his talk.


    "Despite not having any established protector, this and many other towns around the world remain standing against the creatures of the night and the followers of Damnatus, isn''t that curious?..."


    The sir of the mustache asked, turning to look at Tryg and Matthew with a raised eyebrow.


    "I suppose¡­ my city can barely stand up to the attacks of the creatures of the night and the crazy followers" ??Tryg answered


    "PERFECT!!" the sir of the mustache exclaimed excitedly "Today I will satisfy that curiosity. Young Tryg may not know this because his city remains very isolated from us, for safety of course, but there are several guilds all over the world, even the Salusbreath school is directly linked to one in case students want to join and contribute their seed to our noble cause"


    "Guilds?" Matthew asked curiously


    "Yes, there are two types of guilds, the legal guilds, those that accept and follow Damnatus'' orders, and the illegal guilds, those that oppose Damnatus'' regime. There are a total of 13 guilds, 5 illegal and 8 legal"


    "Very good and all, but what good is a guild to me?"


    "I''m glad you asked. A guild serves to measure your attributes and ranking in the world. Guilds assign a rank depending on the strength and achievements of their members, with ''F'' being the lowest and ''S'' being the highest, but don''t be confused, even though the S rank is the highest it doesn''t mean that there aren''t higher ranks, it''s just that it''s very unusual for someone to reach those ranks, these ranks are ''SS'', ''U'' and ''I'', and only a few people have managed to reach those ranks, in fact, it''s because of them that these ranks exist"


    "Oh, so these ''illegal guilds'' protect towns like this" Tryg guessed


    "Yes, towns make requests to guilds and guilds send their members to help, although, of course, each mission carries a risk depending on their ranking¡­"


    The sir of the mustache looked towards the horizon, with a lost look, where the gigantic sun was setting over the hills that could be seen in the distance and the rays of the sun illuminated the melancholic face of the sir of the mustache.


    "Did you notice that suddenly a kind of scene was created around him?" Matthew asked Tryg which nodded quickly


    "Did you notice it too? For a second I thought I was going crazy and it was just my imagination"


    Upon hearing Tryg and Matthew talk, the sir of the mustache turned to look at them again, examining them completely. He couldn''t believe that Merlin had left them alone at the entrance of the gray forest and sent them to the town without any protection, although he understood that it was a very desperate situation and there weren''t many options. The sir of the mustache took a watch out of his pocket realizing that it was almost the time that he and the other teachers had agreed on in which they would take the new members of the city.


    Once a month, Merlin''s clones would go to certain strategically chosen towns to meet with the teachers of the Salusbreath school so that they could take those who broke the curse of hatred to the city of Salusbreath. From what he understood, all the clones had arrived at the chosen towns except for this one, apparently he had many problems on the way.


    "Alright young men, it''s time to go to Salusbreath. We don''t want to make Miss Irene angry"


    "Finally! I''ve been walking for a whole week since I left my city. I can''t wait to see the much mentioned city of Salusbreath"


    "Have you been walking so much? I left the Fallen Kingdom the same day I met you"


    "Oh what!? And why did I have to walk so much?


    "A great sage once said that donkeys work twice as hard"


    "What are you implying?"


    "Me? Nothing, remember that a great sage said it, not me¡­"


    "Alright that''s enough, it''s time to go"


    The sir of the mustache interrupted them, approaching the two and taking them by the shoulder, he said "hold on tight, this might make you a little dizzy."


    Before anyone could ask, their entire surroundings changed instantly. There was no magic portal, no transportation magic, nothing, just a change of place in an instant. Matthew didn''t even pay attention to where he was now, he just focused on trying not to fall down from the sudden dizziness while an amused smile formed on his face, he had never experienced magic like that. Trygve, on the other hand, quickly covered his mouth and ran staggering towards the edge of the bridge they were on. Seconds later, a scream was heard in the distance and Trygve returned with a worried look.


    "We have to go¡­ quickly, and please don''t do that again¡­" Tryg said a little desperate.


    "Why not? It was amazing!!" Matthew said quickly.


    "No, it wasn''t¡­ now let''s go, please."


    The sir of the mustache simply laughed at Tryg''s reaction, this happens to almost anyone who travels with him.


    "Well, young men, we have reached our destination. "This is Salusbreath!"


    The three of them were standing on a brick bridge which led to a large city, as big as the capital of a kingdom, and a little ways away from the city, a huge castle could be seen that was on a hill.

 Chapter 5

    ¡°By Merlin¡¯s beard! What took you so long boy!?¡±


    The angry voice of a woman was heard in the distance, it was one of the teachers of Salusbreath, Irene. The teacher was wearing a long and elegant pastel blue dress and a large white cape decorated with golden arcane symbols that matched her white boots.


    From her expression, one could tell that she was angry but with certain traces of concern. Irene looked at the sir of the mustache sternly, without even turning to see Matthew and Tryg, only to end up giving a sigh of resignation and relief.


    ¡°We are very sorry Miss Irene, it seems there was a problem on Merlin¡¯s trip.¡± The sir of the mustache bowed a little in apology.


    ¡°I know, I was with Merlin''s clone when they asked for help, but that''s no excuse for being late. For a second I thought something had happened to you all.¡±


    Irene motioned for them to follow her, heading straight to the castle on the hill.


    ¡°I''m afraid I had to wait for the young, Matthew and Trygve, to arrive. I honestly don''t know what took them so long to get to the village.¡±


    Irene looked at Matthew and Tryg for the first time in search of an answer but ended up paying more attention to Matthew, his face seemed very similar to someone she had met in the past.


    Matthew and Tryg looked at each other for a few seconds and it was Matthew who decided to explain the reason for their delay.


    ¡°We''re very sorry, Professor Irene, on our way here we were intercepted by many corrupted people¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­yes, yes, besides the witch we met just before arriving at the village,¡± Tryg continued.


    ¡°Witch!? ¡°Did she attack you!?¡± Irene asked worriedly stopping her walk.


    ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s nothing to worry about, we took care of her very quickly!¡± Matthew said proudly


    ¡°Yes, we even took care of urinating on her so she wouldn¡¯t curse us later. It was an advice from my grandfather.¡±


    ¡®urinate on a witch? What kind of advice is that?¡¯ Irene thought


    ¡®What kind of advice does his grandfather give to him?¡¯ thought the man with the mustache looking at Tryg. ¡®And why does he believe him?¡¯


    ¡°I¡­ whatever, we have to hurry, it¡¯s almost time for the new students to be assigned to classes¡± Irene said, quickening her pace toward the school.


    Matthew and Tryg followed Irene closely, finally entering the big city. The first thing they noticed was the large number of people in the city, but the most surprising thing for them was the great variety of races that lived there, humans, elves, dwarves, and even vampires. The scene was very cheerful although they could notice several people working in some damaged houses, they seemed to have been attacked.


    ¡°Hurry, you don¡¯t want to be left behind and not be assigned to a class!¡±


    After several minutes of walking through the large stone streets of the city, the four of them went out of the city through a large door that led to the path to the school. Although it was a small stone path, the four of them could walk on it without any problems or feeling cramped.


    The path was very long, so long that they found some students resting on a bench. The sir of the mustache was the first to notice them and approach them.


    ¡°By Arlene''s tits, what are you still doing here!?¡± The sir of the mustache exclaimed seriously.


    ¡°Sir! I have told you several times not to use that expression, especially not in front of the students!¡± Irene angrily complained.


    ¡°Everyone says ¡®by Merlin''s beard¡¯ so I can also say ¡®By Arlene''s tits¡¯. She is also a benign!¡±


    ¡°But it is not the same¡­ enough, we do not have time to discuss this, let''s go quickly.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The now group of 6 arrived at the doors of the huge school. Matthew looked at the castle in awe, he didn''t know how he couldn''t feel such a tremendous amount of magic from afar. The castle emitted a great amount of magic, flooding Matthew and Tryg''s senses instantly.


    "incredible..."


    Irene just smiled at Matthew''s comment, this was one of the school''s greatest achievements, no other school could emit such power as Salusbreath did, so much was its power that even those who couldn''t use magic or sense it could feel a great pressure when standing in front of the school.


    Everyone entered the huge school leaving Matthew and Tryg even more impressed, outside the doors, the school was just a huge castle surrounded by a large wall that protected the school, but once they passed through the doors everything changed, the school was as big as the city they had just passed through.


    The path from the gate led directly to a huge castle, the same castle that was on the hill, and surrounding the castle was a city that was divided into three different sections by a river that ran through the whole city. Each section of the city was decorated in a different color, dark green, dark red, and dark blue with each section having large training grounds for the students.


    ¡°This is the Salusbreath school, each student is assigned to a different section, the greens are control, the reds are will, and the blues are knowledge, each of them represents the rule of the three uses in magic. In a few moments, you will have to choose the section that you like the most and feel comfortable in, then you will be assigned a house in the section you have chosen. Although you will have to live with someone else, each house has a capacity of up to three people¡±


    Professor Irene explained as she closed the doors they passed through, then she let out a sigh of relief and snapped her fingers muttering ¡®we¡¯re finally here¡¯. Matthew and Tryg felt as if they were being pulled into the castle and everything around them became blurry, the next second everyone was inside the castle along with the other students who were waiting for the ceremony to start.


    ¡°Not again!¡±


    Tryg quickly covered his mouth, wanting to run to a corner to vomit, but was stopped by Professor Irene.


    ¡°Nuh uh, we don¡¯t have time¡±


    Professor Irene touched Tryg¡¯s forehead with the tip of her index finger and emitted a white light which cured Tryg¡¯s dizziness.


    ¡°These¡­ transportation spells¡­ are the worst thing they could have invented¡± Tryg said haltingly, recovering from his dizziness.


    ¡°Get in line quickly, the ceremony will begin in a few minutes¡±


    The teachers entered a room with large silver doors, the doors had all kinds of arcane drawings on them. Although Matthew could not understand most of the drawings he could notice some of them which were used in teleportation spells.


    Matthew and Tryg quickly went with a group of young people who seemed to be their age, all the new students who were lined up were of different ages and races, from 12 years old to 17 or 18 years old.


    Matthew and Tryg began to talk about which section to choose and both agreed that knowledge would be ideal for them, while they talked Tryg could hear other students talking among themselves about what had happened to some students just before they entered.


    ¡°So the rumors are true?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ they were all under the big bridge in Salusbreath City when someone threw something weird from the top of the bridge.¡±


    ¡°I heard it was vomit that fell on them.¡±


    ¡°eww¡±


    Tryg turned pale upon hearing the conversation, remembering the scream that was heard right after he vomited on the bridge that he was teleported to by the sir of the mustache. Matthew quickly noticed Tryg''s change of attitude, wondering if he was okay.


    ¡°Tryg, are you okay? Are you still feeling dizzy from Professor Irene''s spell?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I''m fine, just a little anxious for the selection¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, it''s normal.¡±


    A few minutes later Professor Irene left the classroom, indicating to the students to enter in an orderly fashion behind her. All the students followed the teacher, entering the large hall which was divided into 4 parts, 3 parts were decorated in green, red and blue, in these places the students sat, and at the head were the teachers with silver decorations.


    ¡°Welcome, young students!¡±


    A man who appeared to be no more than 40 years old, stood up from his chair welcoming the students, he had a well-kept brown beard and wore an elegant black suit with a brown tie, this man was the director of the Salusbreath school, Edward Mate.


    ¡°We are pleased to have you here, at the Salusbreath school, where you will be able to develop your full potential and live a dignified life free from bad influences. As the incredible teacher Irene has already explained to you, today you will have to choose your place in this school, either with the faction of control, will or knowledge. Yesterday you were given a tour of each faction so that you could check yourself and make sure you chose the right one.¡±


    As Headmaster Edward continued to speak, Tryg pulled Matthew along, looking a little confused.


    ¡°A tour? We didn¡¯t have a tour. I thought we all arrived today, during the day.¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­ Merlin never told us we had to take a tour.¡±


    The director raised his hand and snapped his fingers, drawing everyone''s attention. Within seconds, a semi-transparent cloth in the color of the faction they belonged to formed in front of each faction.


    ¡°Now is when you choose your faction, you just need to go to the faction you want and pass through the cloth to confirm your decision.¡±


    All the students quickly separated, heading to their favorite factions. A large portion of the students entered the faction of will, leaving only a handful of students who were divided between the faction of control and knowledge. Matthew and Tryg did not hesitate and quickly headed to the faction of knowledge where they were happily greeted by the rest of their classmates.


    The older students quickly took the newcomers and led them out of the great hall, taking them to their respective dining rooms. Matthew and Tryg were taken to the blue area of ??the city along with the other new students who had chosen the knowledge faction, in the city they went to a large building that was adorned with several blue banners with the figure of a wolf on it, this building was the great dining room of the knowledge faction, here there were several citizens working as waiters and chefs.


    "Welcome to the Knowledge Faction or also known as the Wolf Faction! This will be your home from now on and we will be your family, do not hesitate to ask for our help!"


    One of the older students spoke, from his way of speaking and expressing himself, Matthew deduced that he was the representative of the Wolf faction, as well as the most respected student among them, after all, all the students fell silent as soon as he spoke.


    ¡°Let me introduce myself, my name is Jonathan Renn and I am the prefect of the wolf faction, if you need help or have any problems do not hesitate to come to me or my partner¡±


    At that moment a slightly younger girl stepped forward and with a sigh introduced herself.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet new faces, my name is Sofia and I am the second prefect of the wolf faction, you can also count on me if you ever have a question or difficulty.¡±


    Without much more to say Jonathan ordered everyone to take a seat, the food was made and ready to be served at any time he indicated.

 Chapter 6

    "I think it''s this one..."


    Matthew looked at the paper in his hands, the paper had directions on how to get to his new house and then he looked at the house that was in front of him. Tryg, behind Matthew, also looked at the house a little anxiously.


    Prefect Jonathan had allowed the new younger students to choose where they would live and with whom, everyone quickly began to form groups of three people while Matthew and Tryg did not hesitate to form their own group. Apparently many students formed only couples so that left a lot of space for the new students that will arrive throughout the school year cycle.


    "I always thought that we would sleep in some rooms inside the school, not that the school literally had its own city where its students can live"


    "Yeah, I didn''t expect this either. For a school that is attacked from time to time by the followers of a madman, it is very well equipped"


    The two entered their new house, it was very simple in Matthew''s opinion. The house had a fairly spacious living room with three armchairs surrounding a kind of crystal that floated in the middle of the room, it had three bedrooms with bathrooms included and a kitchen with a table for four.


    "What could that crystal be that floats in the middle?"


    Tryg looked curiously at the strange crystal, he had never seen one of those in his life. Matthew looked at the crystal noticing that the crystal was enchanted with several projection and sound spells.


    "It''s a kind of real-time magic transmitter, the spells on the crystal are very similar to those of a magic viewer only this one only projects in real time."


    Tryg nodded understanding what was fast, magic transmitters were very popular these days, even his family had bought one 7 years ago, although they were usually very different from the crystal he had in front of him right now. Magic transmitters are usually a huge orb which can show the news and lately theaters previously recorded by a magic recorder.


    Tryg was about to go to his room to put his things away when he realized what Matthew just did. Tryg, in disbelief, turned to see Matthew who was searching the refrigerator for something to eat.


    "Matthew, did you just feel the magic in the crystal?"


    "Magic?... oh yeah, I just analyzed the type of magic it uses and all that... you know."


    "No, I don''t know. Can you feel the magic around us and differentiate them?"


    Tryg asked again, watching as Matthew continued looking for something to eat without paying much attention to him.


    "Mmm... more or less, not only can I feel and differentiate them, I can also see them and to a certain extent analyze and replicate them, although the more complicated and powerful the magic is, the harder it is for me to understand it... but I have to concentrate to see and analyze it"


    Tryg just looked at his friend surprised, he didn''t expect Matthew to have such talent, there were very few who could feel magic and even fewer who could differentiate them, but Matthew here could see it and even analyze it with a little effort. Now he had no doubt how Matthew could be a magical warrior and be able to be a magician at the same time.


    ---break¡ª


    It was the morning of the next day, today Matthew and Tryg began their first classes so they decided to get up early so as not to be late for class on their first day.


    Matthew and Tryg walked through the city, the day before they had not been able to observe the city well due to the rush of the former students, they were very excited to show them the dining room and talk to the new ones. The two walked until they reached the main road which leads to the entrance of the city and to the school.


    Matthew looked at the school fascinated, it was so big that he didn''t know how it had remained standing for so long, according to what Merlin said, Salusbreath was more than eight thousand years old and yet it looked as if it had just been built.


    When they reached the doors of the school, they could see a group of young people gathered in front of a mural, these were the youngest students who had just entered the school, unlike the older ones who have classmates in their same classes who can help them, they don''t have anyone.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°It seems that we all had the same idea¡±


    ¡°I guess no one wants to be late on their first day of school, especially those who come from poor towns. For them, this is not just another school like us. For them, this may be their first time at school.¡±


    Tryg nodded, understanding the students¡¯ situation. Then he looked at the mural, quickly finding his classes and the classrooms. This made him wonder why the other students couldn¡¯t find their classes. It was then that he realized that not one of them had ever attended school before, which means that they don¡¯t know how to read.


    The students just limited themselves to looking at the mural and then at their classmates waiting for someone among them to say something, but not wanting to talk either since they did not want to expose to their classmates that they could not read.


    ¡°poor apes... I almost feel sorry for them¡±


    Matthew just smiled slightly at Tryg''s comment and quickly advanced towards the new students raising his voice.


    ¡°Oh, look Tryg the first class is on the second floor of the school in the first room on the right after going up the stairs!¡±


    Tryg quickly understood what Matthew was doing and played along.


    ¡°mh, it seems that it is the magic theory class with the teacher the sir of the mustache!¡±


    ¡®Sir of the mustache?¡¯


    All the students thought confused without knowing whether to believe them or not


    .


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go to the classroom, I don¡¯t want to be late on my first day.¡±


    Matthew and Tryg had done this to help the students without having to expose them to the others about not knowing how to read. Matthew and Tryg quickly headed towards the classroom, followed by the other students, who were still a little unsure of whether they should follow them.


    The students¡¯ insecurity vanished when they arrived at the classroom and saw a man with a strange mustache sitting at what they believed to be the teacher¡¯s desk. The sir of the mustache stood up from his desk as soon as he saw the students arrive and with a gentle gesture he indicated that they should take a seat.


    ¡°Please, take a seat wherever you like. I am the sir of the mustache and I will be your teacher of magical theory, but if you like you can refer to me as Mr. Professor or just professor.¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s actually his name!!¡¯


    everyone thought a the same time.


    Before sitting down, Matthew saw that some students had already arrived and taken their seats before they arrived. The small group of students who had arrived earlier sat in a corner, marking a clear line between themselves and the students who had just arrived.


    ¡°The lack of solidarity abounds around here, Tryg¡±


    ¡°Just look at the faces they make, they look like they saw Merlin taking a bath¡±


    Everyone quickly took their seats, leaving Matthew and Tryg to sit at the back, this of course did not matter to them at all, in fact, they preferred it that way.


    The professor began his class, quickly noticing the clear lack of studies in most of the students, this was nothing new since most of the students in all the years had never attended a school, so the teachers discreetly taught them during the lessons, this so as not to delay the students in their subjects.


    ¡°Well, young people, I can only say that you are very lucky since today is the beginning of the school year, so you will be able to progress correctly during school. Today, being the first day, we will only do a quick review of magic and its functions.¡±


    Tryg, upon hearing the review, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes ready to sleep, there was no gain in reviewing something he had already learned. Matthew, upon hearing that they would review the functions of magic, leaned on the desk listening attentively, there was no better gain than learning from the experiences of others.


    ¡°As you all know, magic or spells, are divided into 4 different sections, each with its rules and impediments. These 4 sections are Charms, Incantations, Invocations and Conjured Charms.¡±


    The professor began to write on the board while speaking to the attentive new students.


    ¡°Some of these sections require a different energy or several different energies, it all depends on what spell you use. If you want to use enchantments, you will use your own energy which is known as carrier magic. If you want to use a spell, you will need to use the energy that is around us which is known as natural magic. If you want to use invocations you will also need to use natural magic, but first you will have to obtain a contract with a magic creature in order to summon it. Lastly, if you want to use the conjured charms you will have to use not one but two energies, natural magic and carrier magic¡±


    The teacher continued explaining as the students copied everything he was writing on the board. They didn''t know what he meant, but they were sure that it would help them later.


    The class continued just as the professor had planned, he wrote down everything he said and the students copied everything he wrote, these were notes so that when they developed their reading they could read and review everything they were seeing today.


    The classes continued as normal, Matthew and Tryg guided the students to each of the classes so they wouldn''t get lost, on this day they would only have three classes, the theoretical magic class with the professor. Then the magic writing class with Professor Donna Nato, a woman of around 25 years old, fair skin and blonde hair, she wore loose clothing and was barefoot. The last one was Professor Irene, she teaches magic history and predictions.


    ¡°What a boring day¡­¡±


    ¡°You fell asleep in all your classes, how could you not be bored?¡±


    ¡°They just reviewed what we had already seen in other schools¡­ by the way, did you realize that even though they separate us into different factions, we all study in the same classes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I noticed that too, I thought we would also be divided into classes but apparently not.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can tell you why.¡±


    A voice came from behind Matthew and Tryg, it was Jonathan, the prefect of the wolves. Jonathan had just arrived at the large main dining room, right after Matthew and Tryg, here all the factions could meet to chat and eat among themselves if they didn''t want to go to the dining room of each faction in their respective areas.


    ¡°Although we are separated into different factions, it is not done with the purpose of generating rivalry or animosity between us, this is done with the purpose of finding a more comfortable place for each student, a place where they can be calm. Therefore, even though they separate us into factions, we all have the same classes at the same time. Even in the magic tournaments that we do, the teams are usually made up of different students from each faction, it is rare when there is a team from a single faction other than in the end-of-year competitions.¡±


    Matthew and Tryg looked at him with curiosity, they wanted to know more about these end-of-year tournaments and competitions. Jonathan quickly remembered that Matthew and Tryg knew nothing about this and he prepared to tell them.


    ¡°You see, every beginning of the year several teams are formed at school, these teams have only 5 members, and every end of the month a competition is held between two teams, the one that wins will get the right to ask something from their rival, a spell, grades, or even force them to do your academic homework. As for the end of the year competition, a massive selection is held in each faction and the best 5 of them compete in the final tournament against the other factions, the winning faction does not receive tasks for the rest of the year and can request enrollment in a guild, only if you want of course.¡±