《How I Became The Strongest Sovereign》 Chapter 1 - Prologue "Listen, the tournaments are just around the corner and acting like this won''t give you a higher chance of keeping your seat." hissed the lightning queen as she grasped onto her crystal sceptre like it was the only way she could control her rage. "You keep your mouth shut before I make you! Both you and the Lightning monarch have been getting too big for your boots! I''m not putting up with your crap any longer!" the fire element''s monarch roared as he got up from his seat and slammed his fists on the Cherrywood table. Flickers and sparks rose up as the flames of his fists burned the table. His black eyes turned a hue of red with rage and scanned the 6 other monarchs challenging them to oppose him. "Baron, quiet down. I''m not in the mood for your nonsense right now, we both know I could slap you silly if I wanted to, humble yourself." The lightning monarch spoke softly, averting his ice cold gaze at him. "What did you just say?! Say that one more time and see what happ-"Baron stopped mid sentence as his wife tugged at his arm, trying to make him come back to his senses. He sat back down in his chair in fury, not saying a word. The lightning monarch embodied total authority, power and Status. He was the most powerful of all and gave the final say on all matters. "I''ve been getting tired and bored out of my mind for this role and it is true that I have been in control for too long; it is time that there''s a shift in the balance of power. As my queen just stated the candidate tournaments are soon and I''m willing to put a handicap on my candidate." The lightning monarch continued speaking. "That would be great, as for the handicap I believe you, picking a human would be the best idea. What do you say?" The monarch of darkness smiled under his hood. "I agree." the monarch of beasts spoke up. "Me too." "Me too" "Me too" "Me too" "All of us agree this would be a good handicap, do you have a final say on anything?" the shadow monarch offered. "I have nothing to say. I will accept your requests," The lightning monarch said under his hood, "This meeting is now over." ** This magical world was split into two realms: the upper realm and the lower realm, each bound to one another like a mother and her foetus. Beings from the demon, dwarven, human, elven, and Were men races all inhabit the lower realm. The ones that can utilise the abundant special energy of the world, called mana are named mages. Mages are ranked from F to A, F rank having the weakest Mages, ascending all the way to A rank, holding the strongest Mages. However, there''s a step above A rank, that is almost impossible to reach - S rank. The S rank is given to special top tier mages - based on their prowess. Only S rankers are allowed to ascend to the Upper realms and live a life of luxury, by climbing the 100 Floor tower called the Tower of truth (It acts as a connection between the upper realm and the lower realm, like stairs in common terms). The monarchs rule the Upper realm, they are not exactly gods but they are extremely powerful beings who have surpassed the S rank. There are 7 monarchs, they represent the pure elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Light, Darkness and Beast and keep the two worlds in balance, acting as a form of parliament for the Upper realm, and descending to the lower realms in rare cases to fix certain issues. There were other unknown elements too that haven''t been mastered yet but those seven were the main elements. Special people were born with a pure elements eg 1 in 1000 people would have the pure fire element. These special people usually became powerful and rich. Normal magical beings were born with a branch of an element eg. the power to create earthquakes is related to the Earth element. There are also further rarer elements than the pure elements like gravity, ice, magnetism and wind; these are called unknown elements because the chance people have these are 1 in a million people. Not many people have unknown elements which means its hard to practice it, hence the name ''Unknown''. Unknown elements don''t have branched elements and are strictly special and hard to figure out. Every 300 years, monarchs pick their own candidates in the lower realm to replace them. They don''t pick residents of the Upper realm as that would provide no enjoyment for them to watch. These candidates have to ascend to the upper realm and challenge the monarchs for their seats, since the monarchs themselves are not immortal, ascenders are picked to battle them and take their seats. You may think that that''s super unfair, however when ascenders reach the upper realm, they go through a series of tests determining whether they have the right to challenge the monarchs. Furthermore, every resident in the upper realms watches this tournament, it''s like their form of the Olympics. Therefore, monarchs make sure to pick candidates in the lower realms with the most potential, to represent their faction. The 7 factions of the Upper realm are segregated based on the elements and the Monarch for each element and their respective wives (named serpentines) lead them. Sometimes if the new generation of candidates fail to beat the old generation, the old monarchs get to keep their seats, and the candidates become residents. If a monarch dies of old age, a game is held to determine which of the monarchs will occupy the vacant seat and it''s said in myths that if a monarch can somehow occupy all the seats, they''ll have control over all realms The next chapters are records of King Lance/ Zeref Amara''s POV. Let''s begin... Chapter 2 - The Magic Academy *Note: The events that are going to happen now is in the MC''s previous life, in a different world from the described one in the prologue. This is before he becomes the Candidate.* __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Your majesty. Your majestyYour breakfast is waiting for you downstairs in the dining hall." Who was it, that was ruining my precious sleep? My drowsy eyes slowly opened to see the royal butler standing by my bedside. How was it that the only day I slept late due to the paperwork, I had to be abruptly woken up! "I''ll be there in 10 minutes." I sighed, closing my eyes again. As enticing as being a king sounds, it''s hugely overrated. In this world where magic and beasts exist, only the powerful deserve respect. From young I had worked my ass off to get to this position - King of my kingdom. Only the strongest was given the title of King and tournament and duels were held every year to decide the next ruler. At the young age of 24 I had obtained everything, but there was one thing I never had. A family. After I had finished that delicious meal, I decided to go visit the academy again, where the young were honed into trained hunters and adventurers. To be honest, it does sound a bit weird to be looking at young students but I was only there for that beautiful teacher - General Sanders. Beauty of a woman, how she wasn''t married yet was beyond me but I know she''s the one for me. I could feel it in my bones. "King Lance, how nice it is to see you again." General Sanders spoke in a sexy tone. I blushed. "It''s nice to see you too, should we get on with it?" I returned, looking away diverting my eyes. "Sure!" She walked in front of me swaying her hips from side to side like a model directing me to the arena, where the students were having combat classes. "Your highness, would you like some tea or anything else?" General Sanders turned around, and a cup of tea was in her hands. It was like magic. Haha, see what I done there. "Yeah, sure, I don''t mind if it''s been made by you." I smiled and accepted the cup of tea. We kept on walking but it did cut me, to be quite strange that she''d ask so late. Maybe I was overthinking it. I took a couple sips and incinerated the cup with my wind ability. ** As I walked into the arena I could hear gasps and whispers. "It''s the King, why is he here?" I heard a student whisper, "Might he be teaching us today?" "Isn''t he that king, that everyone''s talking about, who gave half of our land away to the druids, that useless king." another student whispered. That stung a bit, but I just ignored the whispers and sat down on the VIP bench with General Sanders. The arena was circular like a Colosseum and was surrounded by benches, almost awaiting for gladiators to fight. Duels and demonstrations were often demonstrated to students by veteran hunters and generals, but today it was my turn. "OK students, Settle down. Today we have a very important guest who''ll be gifting all of us with a one in a lifetime demonstration, no king has ever taken interest in our academy, so today is a very special day." the headmaster spoke. "Now if you will all applaud for our king!" As he finished, a burst of deafening claps began and ended when I reached the platform. "Good Morning everyone, I''m here today, to provide you with an important skill, which will help you gravely as you all mature and grow as hunters; I will be demonstrating an advanced skill called Intent energy circulation." I began amplifying my voice using my magic energy. "This technique is the foundation to all other advanced magic spells. It works so a hunter is easily able to control his or her magic energy at will. Usually, young hunters and students your age tend to only activate their magic energy right before a spell or an attack. However, this can take a lot of time and your opponent could already finish you off by then. This technique is done by redirecting magic energy from your heart throughout your body, and releasing killing intent with it. An end result should look like this." I released 20% of my magic energy throughout my body and decided to add a spice of killing intent to shake up those few who doubted my power. The atmosphere vibrated with my energy and the students and teachers alike froze, as if they just saw a beast. Now my presence was being recognised. I felt satisfied. Their eyes peered at me, in fear and awe; some students started to choke and gasp for air, that''s when I relaxed my energy. The headmaster still startled, snapped out of his trance and got up and started clapping. Again the arena burst into claps. The headmaster took over and decided to demonstrate more moves, but I was already leaving. I noticed something though, there was something odd. Something I couldn''t explain. After I had exercised only 20% of my power, a strange fatigue took over my body like a virus. My body felt so drained as if I had just battled a demon lord. What was happening? Could it have been something I consumed? I had reached my carriage already by this point. My mind still in thought. Then it happened. A deafening blast erupted blasting through the arena roof. Shaken out of my thoughts, I turned back and saw the destruction. Immediately, the young students popped up in my head, "The kids!" I shouted. Shrouding myself in wind energy I dashed for the arena and used my echolocation spell to identify what was happening inside, as I was still too far. I didn''t know what to expect, but this was horrifying. Over half of the students were dead, some injured and unconscious, some teachers dead and some fighting some sort of beast. Their bodies laid limp on the ground like dolls: some had their bodies folded like an ironed shirt. When I had finally made it through the entrance and into the hall, my ears rang with cries and screams from the people around me. Then I looked down at the headmaster in the corner, covered in blood. Blood flowed, thick and sluggish, from a slash across his torso, spilling out a pile of mixed up guts. I stepped forward to hear a small squash under my foot. Ewww! I felt nauseous. What the hell was that? It was a pile of what looked like a bundle of spaghetti or rubber hoses drenched in sticky blood. "Wake up! Somebody help!" I heard an agonising yelp filled with sheer sorrow from behind me. I turned to her and the look on her face said it all. I was so caught up in the moment. I quickly turned but- THUD! I flew across the air into a cement wall. As soon as my back hit contact with the wall, "Arghhh!" I screamed out. I slid down to the cold floor, feet first but when my feet touched the ground, it was like my body was unable to hold itself up. It felt as if my whole body was cut off from my consciousness. My legs gave up and I fell into a sitting position on the wall. I clenched my fist and squeezed my eyes shut. Peering down at my leg, I felt like I was going to faint at the sight. Raven black blood oozed out of my arm and that''s when the wave of reality smacked me right in the face. A pearl white stick looking thing poked out of my arm, tainted in blood. Heh, I broke it. Why wasn''t I healing? I charged up all my strength to quicken up the healing process and the effort it took was ridiculous. What was wrong with me today? Heal any slower and my kingdom will be the only kingdom with no people in it. The bone receded back into my arm and as soon as I heard a click of it reattaching itself, I pounced up like a jaguar, facing the epic beast playing in front of me. I say playing because it was throwing my people like balls at the wall and watching intently as every bone in their weak body crushed and they bounced off onto the floor like toys. What was it? What was that thing? I had never seen something that huge! Then I realised what it must have been. "Dragon!!!" I shouted in my head. Dragons were magical beasts that were capable of anything. They were like deities in this world and never showed themselves in front of humans. But what was it doing here? The 100 foot beast exhaled pure blue flames at the teachers, who were struggling to fight. I needed to help them. Out of instinct I activated 100% of my magic energy and released all my killing intent. "Pick on someone your own size!" I roared, as I conjured tornadoes, directing them towards the dragon, but its black scales were too strong. The tornadoes only managed to push the large beast backwards against the walls of the arena momentarily. "Remaining teachers take anyone that''s alive and evacuate ASAP!" I ordered the teachers, not leaving any room for discussion. The remaining teachers stopped firing their spells at the dragon and left to do their job. After they had evacuated and the dragon had gotten up from the ground, it shook its head and roared, making the air reverberate in fear; then it got serious, pulling itself into an offensive stance. A grin stretched across my face. "Shackles, release." I uttered. Now the dragon had stopped, to see this peculiar being. My hair changed from black to an ice white and my eyes glowed a hue of red, two dark horns propped out of my forehead and my magic energy grew exponentially, adding gravitas to my deadly presence. My breathing halted for a second before I let out a relieved and satisfied sigh. The side of my lip pulled up into a devilish grin and I cracked my neck on both sides. The beast knew something had changed and it decided to not underestimate me. I wasn''t a normal human like these other weaklings. I had a special trait. I had human and demon blood coursing through me. I had only decided to use this transformation twice before in times of crisis. Now it was this dragon''s turn. Deity or not. I was going to slay it Chapter 3 - Death And Reincarnation... The dragon growled as an attempt to frighten me while slowly taking a step back. When it realised I wasn''t like the ones he played with, it swished its big claws at me, trying to pick me up and throw me at the wall. Of course, I easily dodged it and dashed forward at a super human speed. To a normal hunter, I would''ve looked like a blur but the dragon could still keep up. I zig-zagged across the arena, advancing my way towards him while trying to evade the dragon''s pure flames. I built up my wind magic to create extra clones of myself to confuse the mighty beast. Immediately, I unsheathed my two holy grade short swords, when I got close enough and dashed up the dragon''s back. I leapt into the air with wind magic and was directly above the dragon''s head. "Holy grail twin dragons!" I shouted, activating one of my strongest spells, two wind dragons formulated around my body dashing down with a swing from both my short swords. The dragons bit down on the beast''s neck making it roar in pain. I felt satisfied but worried. My energy was plummeting at an alarming rate. The more I used my powers, the faster I was being drained. I had never felt this before. It twisted its head to look above at me and breathed its blue flames at my body. I saw it coming but my body reacted way too slow. Pain shot up my nerves, burning them. My blood felt like lava and I could feel the beating of my pulse against my skin. My magic armour spell broke and I tried to escape the flames, but they were relentless. After a good incinerating, the flames had stopped and my body dropped like a meteor towards the ground, leaving a crater in the arena floor; my body aching, pain spread throughout my body like a virus. So the mighty dragon wasn''t that easy to kill after all. I got up huffing and puffing, trying to gather the energy to fight, but I dropped back on one knee. Just one of its attacks was enough to get me to this state. However it still struck me peculiar that I was so fatigued; I had noticed that even my transformation had left me. Normally these burns would''ve healed by now, but they weren''t going. I felt the same thing after that demonstration. It must have been something I consumed. That cup of tea! That wretched General. I had no time to curse at my luck as the dragon exhaled its flames once again, leaving me no time to regain my strength. I was on the defensive. I danced around, my speed significantly slower and the pain still agonizing my body with every step. I knew I couldn''t hold this up for much longer. ''What should I do? Think James, Think!'' I tried to think of a plan, just then the beast swiped with its claws impacting the right side of my body, I tried to parry the blow but I was sent flying backwards like a pebble bouncing on water. My body crashed into the walls of the arena, imprinting itself onto it. From the corner of my eye, I saw someone conjuring a fireball, a small figure. The fireball the size of a boulder connected with the dragon''s dark scales. The beast turned its head in annoyance to take a glance at the small figure. It was a student! "Get away from there!" I yelled. The dragon was mustering up another one of its flame breaths, instinctively, I activated my demon form and dashed for the small girl. My body cried out in sheer pain at the toll of activating the demon form once again. The mighty dragon''s flame hotter than hell itself, again scorched my skin, this time I knew I wouldn''t be able to take it. As my golden armour shattered and my consciousness started to drift, I blocked the flames from affecting the small child with my final desperate efforts; every second in the flames, burned my arms and body. The dragon flung me out of the way and I was sent flying into something sharp. "ARGHH!" The pain was unbearable. My hand reached down to my stomach to feel a red hot liquid gushing out. I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut so hard. "RRRRGH" I struggled to control the pain. Nothing could heal this. I didn''t have enough strength to do this. I glared down in horror and saw the big pole which had been penetrated through me from the impact of my fall. Blood squirted out of my arm from the torn artery and it hit me. Laying on my side, I realised, I was hopelessly broken, just like all the others, a hole through my centre and broken limbs. The mighty king is laying on the dusty ground with all these corpses which were once his people. What kind of king am I? Now I was going to watch this student get grilled like a fresh stake while I slowly bled out on the ground. From the corner of my eyes I saw a figure walk out into the centre of the arena, in front of the dragon. My vision was blotchy and I couldn''t make out the face but I knew it was the general. I''m not an idiot. Only she could be capable of walking like one leg is shorter than the other. God, I really wanted to snap her hips upright but it hurt to even part my lips. My throat felt dry like the inside was rubbed violently in sandpaper and the pain was giving me the hottest fever. The dragon backed away from the general and the student was about to speak when I heard the general speak "Sorry sweetheart. Cant have no witnesses now, can we?" and with a swift move, she shoved her full hand down the students throat, forcing her to swallow whatever was in her hand. I rolled my eyes. Jeez, poisoning was a little unnecessary. I choked on the dry cough making its way through my lips. Ouch. The general faced me and smirked. She strutted out of the stadium in pride and I loathed every step she took. I averted my gaze back to the student. She stumbled across the stadium over to me. I could tell she was struggling with indescribable pain flowing through her. She squeezed her chest right above her heart as she fell over. Her ribs snapped like twigs. Blood flooded through her eyes, and her guts came tumbling out of her mouth. Her horrified eyes were drowned in the blood but her bright black iris beamed straight into mine. I could tell she was crying as she gagged on the blood clots flowing out of her mouth. What kind of poison was that?! She tried to say words so hard. I could tell she wanted to apologise to me and my heart ached for her pure soul. Her body shook vigorously and the shaking developed into flopping on the floor like a fish out of the water. I gulped at her pain. Then she stopped and fell to an eerie stop. She lay in agony as her stomach ripped open and all her intestines and body fluids poured out. She drooled red blood. Her head was still facing up towards me but I couldn''t make out her facial features anymore. She was unrecognisable with the amount of blood on her. I faced the sky one last time. Wow. My death was going slower than I expected. Am I healing? I looked down again despite the agonising pain shooting up my veins. Nope- I gasped for air. Oxygen was violently ripped and snatched from my lungs. Every waking minute was pain. Every movement sent screaming death dancing across my burning, vulnerable flesh. Everything became fuzzy; then I saw nothing at all. The pain was gone, feeling my body drain away until finally all was black. My mind plunged into darkness. ** My consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static black. Throughout the inky space, I felt someone''s heavy stare fall onto me. "Am I dead? I can''t be, death shouldn''t look like this, didn''t people say there would be beautiful women or something, where are they?." The last thing I remembered was feeling the ruthless last bit of pain before it all was gone, and now I was here. What a pitiful way to die? Just my luck! Everything was dark. Then I could feel my heart beating again, the blood coursing through my veins and arteries. I was alive? I tried to move but my limbs, they wouldn''t budge. What was going on? I was certain that I was alive, but I still couldn''t understand why everything was dark. I tried to circulate magic energy throughout my body but nothing was working. In fact I couldn''t even feel my magic energy at all. Then, a flicker of blue light appeared directly in front of me, the size of a small firefly. I studied it for a moment, then the light slowly started to grow larger and larger until the blue light had transformed into a human figure shrouded in this blue light. What the hell was that thing? I had never seen anything like it; a part of me told me that this was not a good sign but even if I wanted to run my body would''ve never listened any ways. "James Lance, I have determined you as a candidate, you will be transported shortly, Any questions you have will be answered by you in your next life." the unknown figure spoke. I was dumbstruck. What was this figure talking about? Me, a candidate for what? As anyone would, I was questioning everything this figure talked about in my head, but the last bit resonated in my head the most, ''in your next life'' Was I going to be reincarnated? "Preparations are ready. Good luck my candidate." the blue figure spoke clicking his figures. The figure disappeared and my consciousness left me again Chapter 4 - I’m A Baby?! "Honey, Honey, look he''s waking up." a soothing voice spoke, coming from a woman. I opened my eyes gradually. My vision was blurred. I had never heard such a heart-warming voice before. ''Was I in heaven?'' I thought. After a couple seconds, my vision became clear. I was flabbergasted to see a beautiful woman peering down at me, She had a mesmerising smile, walnut hair and beautiful green eyes. "Pass him to me, let me hold my son." I heard a man say, as he picked me up from the arms of the woman. ''Wait! What!'' I shouted in my head. I had just realised it, he said ''son''. I''m a baby! The man had a good build, with a sharp jawline. Almost as good looking as my old self. They both looked like they were at least in their mid 20''s. So I wasn''t in heaven. "Have you thought of a name yet?" the woman asked, or should I call her mother. "Zeref Amara, just like his grandfather." my ''father'' returned. I wasn''t too keen on the name but I had no chance to argue. If I suddenly talked, it would be really weird. Wait. I didn''t even know if I could talk. The system somehow helped to translate their language to the English I was used to. Thank God! "Rosaline, you need to change his diaper, He smells like a sewer!" my father pinched his nose. ''how dare he act like this against a king!'' I thought as I used my left leg to kick his face. "Ow! Damn! He''s going to be a fighter for sure!" he said smiling at me, rubbing his left cheek. My anger turned into tears and I started to cry, ''I didn''t even want to cry! Stupid baby body!'' I moaned in my head. "Give him to me! Look what you done!" My mother shouted as she snatched me from his arms and my tears automatically stopped. Did mothers have special powers? ** 4 months had passed and I could finally start crawling. What a task that was. I noticed something very strange pop up though, after 1 month of me opening my eyes for the first time. I had two bars on the top left of my vision, one named HP and the other named MP; the HP bar was always full at 100 HP and only went down when I got injured and the MP bar was always fully empty. HP was short for Health Points while MP was short for Mana points (similar to the magic energy of my old world). I had figured out how they would react through a series of experiments. For example, I jumped off a bed to see what would happen, and turns out my HP bar fell to 5 HP and off course I wept, crying my eyes out. What amazed me the most was that my mother Rosaline had cast some sort of healing magic on me after scolding me. I had come to the conclusion that this world was similar to the one in my last life at least, and my body was special. I had a system in my head. I would get notifications for most things such as when I was hungry: [You''re suffering from hunger, you will lose 5 HP every hour] Or when I lost HP due to an injury: [You have sustained 65 damage] This struck me as extremely peculiar but I had already gotten used to it. In fact I already had a goal, to find out more about this world and my first step was to somehow sneak into the library room, which was near my room. After my mother had put me to sleep - at least that''s what she thought - she left me in my cradle and left the room to go wash the dishes. This was my chance! I climbed the cradle and jumped off it. Oof! Bad idea. [You have sustained 50 damage] ''Stupid baby body!'' I thought as I rubbed my miniscule legs. I crawled to the door and opened it slowly with all my strength. I peered into the corridor looking left and right, then I charged for the library room, crawling at my fastest speed, to which I can only thank my luck for, was already open. Thank god! I crawled into the room and grabbed a book from one of the low shelves. It read ''The History of Vrimeon'', I was surprised I was able to read it, maybe it was the system. ''It doesn''t matter'' I thought, as I started to read the book. ** After an hour of reading I had gotten the gist of where I was. There were 5 kingdoms and Vrimeon was the largest - the one I was in, I knew this as I heard my parents talking about moving to the main city of this kingdom. That means at the moment we were in the outskirts. Most importantly, we were in a medieval period, where technology or science hadn''t advanced as far as in my old world. I skimmed for another book and my eyes fell upon a dusty old book, to my surprise this book I found was the jackpot, it was the one that would answer my MP issue, the title reading ''Basics of Mana control and manipulation''. I yanked the book off the bottom shelf, but I accidentally dropped it on my foot. ''Stupid baby fingers!'' I yelled in my head, as my foot screamed in pain. [You have sustained 20 damage] [Your HP is now 30] I tried to hold it in as best as I could but my tears couldn''t stop formulating around my eyes. I screamed and wept in pain. ''Curse this body!'' I thought for the thousandth time. My mother came running from the kitchen and ran straight for where the crying was coming from, peculiarly from the library. "Oh you naughty child!" she said lovingly as she picked me up with both hands and started to cast her healing magic on me. [HP is being restored] My eyes felt heavy as I cast into deep slumber. ** I tried for another week every night trying to get into the library room, but each time it wasn''t open. Then one day my mother had slipped up, she was tired so she had already slept and left the library room open. HaHa! This was my chance! Now my body had become a bit more sturdy, after the drop I had only sustained 20 damage and I got used to the notifications. [You have sustained 20 damage] I crawled into the room next door and crawled straight for the mana basics book. I yanked it off the lowest shelf once again and opened it. I was reading so hastily in case my mother came in again, surprisingly my reading speed and comprehension was way faster than an average human being, thanks to my system. So it did have its perks apart from its stupid and annoying notifications. From the book I had grasped that in this world instead of magic energy, they called it Mana. Mana was the principle behind everything and life, the same as magic energy in my previous life. At the age of 7, children awakened their mana pool. This was found just below the diaphragm, and constant meditation and the exercise of mana would improve the quality of the mana in the mana pool and the depth of it. Mana pools also had different stages, each stage determining the purity of the mana and the depth of the mana pool. They were ranked from stages 1 - 9, 1 being the smallest mana pool with the most impurities, making it quite inefficient and stage 9 being the biggest mana pool with the best efficiency and purity. The efficiency of the mana output also increased with each stage; so a mage at grade 5 would require less mana and effort to produce the same attack as a mage with mana pool at grade 4. From then on I decided to meditate everyday, I could feel the mana around me in the atmosphere moving about abundantly. The trick was to pull the mana particles into the centre of your body using your mental strength - make the mana obey you; using visualisation one should see the droplets of mana falling into a visualised container, for me I decided to go with a spring as my container. Day by day my mana pool started to fill up drop by drop as I meditated at night. I knew this would take huge amounts of time but it would be worth it at the end of the day. ** 3 Years Later: "Honey! Where''s my sword and my back pack, I''m leaving for hunting." My father shouted from outside our house. I was still asleep but his constant shouting broke my slumber. I was extremely drained by the meditation last night, in fact I was so close to breaking through to the first stage. "I think it''s in your dimension ring!" my mother replied. A dimension ring was enchanted with a spell that could house many things. "Oops! Yes I found it!" my moron of a father replied. ''Honestly! How loud can one be?!'' I thought. My father jumped on his carriage, said his goodbyes and left for hunting. I still didn''t know much about my father and mother, but I could tell we were a middle class family. "I guess, it''s just you and me huh Zeref?" my mother spoke softly as she picked me up from my cradle. She bathed me first before feeding me some sort of porridge. I was an orphan in my old life, so I never experienced things like this. Getting comforted by a mother or getting spanked by your dad, this was all new to me, and I thanked that blue figure everyday for reincarnating me and blessing me with such beautiful parents. "Zeref, it''s your birthday in a week''s time! How time flies! We are going to hold a huge party, so we need some things, we are going shopping today, is that fine?" my mother explained, talking to me. "Okay!" I replied, not saying any more. I had also picked up their language; the system helped me understand what they were saying but they wouldn''t understand if I suddenly started speaking English. Therefore, I picked up slowly on what they were saying and matching their words along with the English subtitles. It took a great amount of effort but It was worth it. ''How has 3 years passed already'' I thought, in confusion, ''Strange''. Honestly, I wanted to stay home and read more about mana manipulation but my mother made me tag along in her adventures. Even though I could walk now, I couldn''t walk that far so my mother used levitation magic to cast me in the air when I got tired, my body followed her floating through the air. At first it felt odd, but also felt quite comfortable. My enemies in my previous life would have laughed if they saw my current state. We reached the centre of the busy town, many market stands were built here and there, and all sorts of shops were present, from blacksmiths to butchery shops. "Get two swords and a shield for the price of two swords!" an old man shouted. "Two for one offers are being held now!" another woman screamed. The centre of town wasn''t very pleasant for my infant ears, so the loud bustling and noise annoyed me and the horrid stench of sweat and body odour wafted through my nose, as we passed people, who never showered in their lives "Just one more thing, Zeref, hang in there." my mother said softly after an hour of rummaging for goods, which seemed to me like an eternity. ''Are women ever satisfied when shopping?'' I smiled at the thought, soon my eyes had gotten tired from the long journey and I drowsed off into sleep. Chapter 5 - The Unexpected ''Just a bit more, a bit more, Come on!'' I thought in my head, concentrating on pulling the mana particles into my mana pool. I was so close to breaking through to the first stage. Coincidentally, it was my birthday the next day, maybe I could try to surprise everyone. After a couple minutes it finally happened! I broke through! Mana leaked out of my mana pool and spread throughout my body mixing with my blood and organs. Pain agonized my body and I screamed. Why was it hurting so much?! I fell to the floor, writhing in pain. My parents came rushing into the room and were dumbstruck, they knew what was happening and immediately moved my body outside. "Honey, he''s breaking into the first stage!" my father spoke horrified as he took my aching body outside. "I''ve never heard anyone breaking through so early, why is this happening?" my mother replied hastily, as she started casting her healing magic on me, for the first time I could hear fear in her voice. The pain kept worsening as all of my cells were being destroyed and being reborn with a mix of mana. I had read that breaking into the first stage didn''t inflict any pain, then why was it affecting me like this. Then notifications started popping up. [You have sustained 40 damage] [Health is being restored] [Your mana pool is almost at Stage 1] [Congratulations!] That was the last message I saw before my brain shut down and my eyes closed. ** As my consciousness returned so did my body''s functions. I slowly opened my eyes to see my parents by my side and a really old man, hair all white with a long beard, his build reminded me of a mighty warrior. "He''s finally awake!" my mum cried as she grasped my hand. "It seems that your son seems to be a peculiar case, not only did he transcend to stage 1 at the age of 3, which is astonishing, his physical body also forcibly developed. This should stunt his growth for a couple years as he already has a 5 year old''s body. How strange." the old man spoke stroking his beard. "Son how are you feeling?" my father asked. ''Should I reply normally or like a kid, if what the old man had said was true, does it matter?'' I thought to myself before answering, "Yeah dad, I seem to be fine, but I need some rest." "Seems like even his speech has also become clear. How peculiar?" the old man spoke, still stroking his beard. Who even was this old geezer? "Honey, I think we should let our son rest, especially as he''s gone through something very strange." my father said sweetly, grabbing my mother''s arm. "Okay, that''s fine, Zeref you rest, get a good sleep." my mother returned, as she got up and left the room. Now everyone had left the room. I got out of bed, the pain still there in the distance and I examined my body, that old geezer was right, my body seemed more developed and I was way taller. I checked my HP bar and it was full, but my HP max had risen to 150HP and my MP was also full at 100MP. What had struck me to be weird the most was that three new icons had popped up, one on top of the HP bar showing: [Level: 1] The other icon below my MP bar named: [Status Menu] And the last icon on the top right of my vision: [Skills Menu] Status menu and Skills menu? I had never heard of something so odd, the system surprised me everyday. Was this system like those games, kids from my old world used to play? I tried to touch the icon but nothing happened, I figured maybe if I touched somewhere on my body it would cause a reaction but nothing happened; instead I just looked like a fool doing an awkward dance. What if I called out its name? "Status menu." I said loudly, hoping for a reaction but still nothing happened, I tried again, losing my patience, "Status menu Reveal!" still revealing nothing, then an idea popped up in my head, "Status menu open!" Immediately, a blue screen propped up in my line of vision with different texts written on it, which I could actually interact with, each time I pressed something, it made a bell noise and information about it propped up. The texts showed: [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Human] [Level: 1] [Exp: 0/ 100] [Mana Pool: Stage 1] [HP: 150] [MP: 100] [Strength: 5] [Stamina: 5] [Agility: 10] [Defence/ Durability: 5] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] ''Eggs really?'' I thought in my head, that was my favourite food, what a shame. However right at the bottom there was a last text that my eye only fell upon when I was going to close the tab: [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic Fast healing Heightened Senses Sixth Sense (Unlock at Level 50)] These perks looked nice, especially As I had resistance against the strong elements and I had fast healing, which could come in handy. I understood all the roles of the different stat variables but ''Exp'', what was that about, I pressed the Exp icon and information popped up as a new tab: [Exp: 0/100] [ Exp or Experience points are credits that can be used to level yourself up, these can be earned through killing beasts in dungeons or defeating strong foes or even doing daily quests (these will be available at level 3 or when your Strength and Defence stats reach 10 points. Leveling up is the fastest way to get stronger so Get Grinding!] So the system replicated a game? How peculiar? I wasn''t sure how many people in this world had systems like mine, so I decided to keep it a secret. I lay down in my bed and opened up my last icon the Skills menu: [Skills Menu] There were many locked skills and some that were already unlocked: [Lightning Mana Skills:] [Lightning Aura: Level 1] [Lightning Cloak: Level 1] [Skill locked: Unlocks at Level 5] [Skill locked: Unlocks at Level 10] [Skill locked: Unlocks at Level 20] [Skill locked: Unlocks at Level 40] [Skill Locked: ???] [Skill Locked: ???] [Skill Locked: ???] [Skill Locked: ???] [Skill Locked: ???] It seems like at my level I''m still extremely weak and can only use two skills, and what were those question mark locked skills? A smile stretched across my face as the excitement of the unknown gave me another goal, grinding levels to figure out the truth about my body and why I was chosen as this ''candidate''. This new information that I had received drained my mind, as I kept thinking about the answers to all my questions. I didn''t realise as my eyes became heavy and I fell into a deep slumber again. ** "Why did this have to happen to our son?" my mother cried hugging my father, "Why us? What have we done wrong? We were the saviours of this kingdom, why did the monarchs curse us like this? I just want a normal life." her eyes bawled out with tears of remorse and frustration. "It''s okay Rosaline, we can get through this, don''t worry about it. Me and father will sort something out for us." my father replied comforting her by stroking her hair. "He is quite an odd boy, I have to say myself, I could sense no stop to his potential, I had used my All seeing eyes skill to see what was happening to his mana veins and arteries, I can tell you he''s extremely special, the mana flowing through him is extremely pure, I''ve never seen anything like it and he''s only been in this world for a couple years. If he gets any stronger nobles will start hunting for his head, we need to train him Peter." the old man suggested stroking his long white beard again. "Peter, do you think this is anything to do with that contract we made with that monarch? He said we''d have to repay him somehow for the power he gave us? Is this our fault?" Rosaline (my mother) wept for the end of innocence, pulling my father closer. From the other room, my sleep was being abruptly broken by their arguing. It was still so early in the morning, I got up to see what the fuss was about, rubbing my eyes, I slowly opened the door and sneaked next to the counter to get a better look and listen at what was happening. The living room was quite standard, with an open plan kitchen with a counter separating the living room from the kitchen. I hid behind that counter looking over and listening. I tried to gauge their power levels or their mana pool stages but nothing was popping up from the system, I thought maybe some levels would show like on me but nothing popped up. After a lot of squinting a notification popped up. [Congratulations!] [You have discovered a new skill - Inspect: Level 1] I ignored the notifications and activated my inspect skill. My green eyes Changed their hue to blue, as texts popped up on top of each person in the room''s heads. I looked at the old man first, as he interested me the most. [You have activated Inspect, you will lose 1 MP every 5 seconds] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Level: ???] [Mana pool stage: ???] [Weaknesses: ???] I couldn''t see much apart from his name, maybe because it was because my inspect skill was still so low, another reason why I had to level up! I used my inspect skill on my father next. [Name: Peter Amara] [Level: ???] [Mana pool stage: ???] [Weaknesses: ???] Again the skill wouldn''t let me see any more than just the name, at this point I didn''t even want to check my mother''s level. I stopped using the skill, checked my MP and it went down by 7MP, leaving my MP at 93MP. [MP will regenerate by itself at 1MP per minute or through meditation] Well, even though that was pretty slow, I had no other choice apart from letting it regenerate itself, I had to listen to the argument. "I think it would be better if I take your boy under me, I wouldn''t mind training my own grandson." the oldest man in the room spoke. Wait, he''s my grandfather? "I don''t know father, do you think the nobles, elves or the other will be looking for him after what happened to him last night?" my father returned, "If so, it might be the best option if he''s under your custody." "I can also tell he''s special, I don''t know if it''s anything to do with our contract with that monarch, but from now, he will become a target for the other races, what happened last night exposed incredibly pure mana signatures across the kingdom -" "NO! I will not let my son be taken away from me! How can you say that Peter, he''s only three years old, he''s an infant, he hasn''t even had a proper childhood yet and you want to train him and expose him to the horrors of this world. I don''t care whatever happens to me, that''s my son and I want him to live a normal life!" my mother butted in, shouting, the mana in the atmosphere trembled with her speech. I could see the rage in her eyes, something that I had never seen before, it made me realise how scary mothers could be if the matter was about their children. Who were these people? My body shivered as her mana caused the surrounding to become ice cold. "That''s enough!" my grandfather bellowed, the atmosphere reverberated, even the mana shaking in fear, "Why don''t we just ask the little boy himself, of what he thinks of this matter." I blinked and he was gone. One second he was there and then he disappeared. I couldn''t fathom the idea, did he teleport? "Kiddo!" I jumped from the heavy human contact on my shoulders, the old geezer had his arm on my shoulder, the grip so strong, I thought my clavicle would snap. "How did you know I was here?" I asked in shock, I genuinely thought they couldn''t sense me, a mere toddler eavesdropping on their conversation. "Who do you take us for?" the geezer chuckled, releasing his grip, "Come sit with us." I followed the physically built old man to the sofas and sat down. I could see the grim expressions of my parents, I didn''t know much about my parents so it was best I knew their real identities before I left. "Don''t mind me asking but who are you guys actually?" I asked hoping that life could just go back to its peaceful state, when my only worry was the rash on my bum. "Before we answer you, I want to ask you one question." my mother spoke up with a soft tone, she wiped her tears and spoke again, "Are you still our son?" tears rolled down her face, for the first time it made me want to also bawl my eyes out of my own will. "Of course mother, I am and will always be your son." I lied, how could I tell them, I was reborn into their child''s body? "Okay, that''s enough of the sentimental talk, Rosaline even though your son is only three years old he''s very peculiar and very mature in fact, however, I sternly do believe that he''s still your son," the geezer comforted, he then turned and looked at me, "Now to answer your questions, kiddo make sure you listen carefully to what I''m about to explain." I nodded and sat down on a sofa nearest to him. "This world is separated into two realms, the upper realm and the lower realm, mages are ranked from F to A, then S rank - which is given to special top tier mages - based on their powers and mana ability. I''m pretty sure you know what mana pools are, every mage above rank B has a mana pool at stage 6 or over." he explained, "These mages inhabit the lower realm." "What about the upper realm?" I questioned, intrigued by this new information. As me and the geezer spoke I could hear whispers, "He reminds me a lot about you, you know, he''ll be a prodigy, I can sense it." I heard my mother whisper. I ignored it and continued listening to the old geezer. "Answering your question now, Beings that transcend the S rank gain new powers unimaginable to man, they''re transcendent beings known as monarchs. They''re not exactly gods but they''re extremely powerful beings. There are 7 monarchs, each a master in a specific element, some even mastering different elements. "There are monarchs for Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Nature, Darkness and Beasts. Every 300 years, monarchs pick their own candidate in the lower realm, these candidates have to ascend to the upper realm and challenge the monarchs for their seats. "Since the monarchs themselves are not immortal, ascenders are picked to battle them and take their seats, the most powerful ascenders can sometimes occupy more than 1 seat, and it''s said in myths that if an ascender can occupy all the seats, they''ll have control over all realms, even the parallel realms ." Immediately, a wave of understanding struck me, so that blue figure I met after my death, might have been a monarch? I decided not to ask any further about that matter to not raise any suspicions, but what did that last bit mean. "Gramps, what are the parallel realms?" I asked hoping for an answer but he ignored my query and continued talking. "Now that I''ve given you the context about our little world, let me summarise your parent''s histories quickly. 100 years ago, there was a great war between kingdoms. Although our kingdom was the biggest -" he stopped mid sentence and stared with wide eyes at the door. What was shocking him? A droplet of sweat rolled down my face as I felt the intense pressure being emitted by not one, but a dozen beings that were standing behind our door. "Father, leave with Rosaline and my son now, use our emergency portal, I''ll try my best to fend them off." my father spoke sternly. His reactions were quick. "Honey please be rational, just come with us! We''re used to running." my mother tugged at his arm, tears forming around her eyes.. "Please, don''t be dramatic, both of us know that only 3 people can use a portal at a time, plus what are the chances that they won''t try searching for you after. I won''t let that slide." leaving no room for discussion, my father drew his sword and prepared for combat. The old geezer immediately advanced forwards, I grabbed my mother''s hand and followed the old man. It all happened so fast! Gramps still hadn''t answered all my questions! Who was after us? Why were they after us?! He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a circular device with his veiny hands. I turned around and saw the door being smashed into smithereens, as figures shrouded in darkness appeared, at least 10 of them, all of them giving off this intense unimaginable pressure, my breathing halted as the atmosphere became dense with dark magic mana. How ominous could someone''s mana pressure be? Why was everything happening so quick, one event right after another?! "Please Peter don''t overdo it, we love you, make it back to us safely." my mother cried as we entered into the blue coloured circular portal. [You have entered a Blue portal] Chapter 6 - A Test? The portal shut behind us, and the intense pressure of the sinister mana disappeared. I hoped my father would be able to take on those monsters. Then every muscle in my body tensed up as I peered at the magnificent sight. Woah My mouth instinctively fell in awe. The place was an endless azure blue, I could see no end, the blue ground stretched on for acres and acres. What the hell was this place? this was not how I imagined a portal to be. I stepped towards my shaking mother to comfort her. She must still be worried about father. "You better hurry up, or else you''ll be trapped here forever," the geezer said as he walked on. I grabbed my mother''s arm as we both followed him, still looking round at the odd place. Then a sudden realisation hit me. I couldn''t feel a floor. There was nothing underneath us? Due to the vastness of this place, I couldn''t tell if we were falling or if we were in the air. Pulling me out of my panic, my mother squeezed my hand and we both followed my grandfather in unison. I felt like I was walking on a cloud. "Get ready" the geezer warned. Ready? Ready for what? I looked up at my mother to see if she was as concerned as I was but when I looked back, Gramps was already gone. My eyes widened in surprise. My mum stayed calm and bent down to touch the non existent floor. "Mum what-" All at once before I could finish my sentence my foot ceased to travel forwards and my body sunk into the empty void forming underneath me, the scenery started to blur like a poorly shot action photograph, as my body fell. The colours swirled and blended as my head became tilted towards the forest floor. My body was still free falling. "Aaaahhhh!" my mother screamed, grabbing me tightly. How was a 3 year old going to save her? We were still a thousand or so metres in the air. [1000 metres till ground level. Do you want to activate Lightning Cloak (Level 1) to cushion the fall?] [Yes/ No] The notifications popped up, I quickly glanced at the text on the left side of my vision and looked at my struggling mother. Will she be affected by my skill? [500 metres till ground level. Do you want to activate Lightning Cloak (Level 1) to cushion the fall?] [Yes/ No] I was hesitant but the safety of my mother came first. "Yes!" I thought in my head accepting the system''s request, blue streaks of lightning started to form around me cackling as they moved about my body like snakes. The snakes of lightning bolts wrapped around my body forming a cloak. I hugged my mum tighter as the ground became closer and closer by the second. [Lightning Cloak will drain 1MP every second] [Defence/ Durability has been increased by 10 to 15] I looked at my MP bar getting drained at a steady rate. How long are we going to fall for? Then the moment of truth arrived. [50 metres till impact] I clenched my mother in my arms, and leaned back, so my body would hit the ground first. I closed my eyes hoping for the worst. As my body impacted with the ground, my consciousness fluctuated making my vision a blur of darkness and blue sky. My broken bones and the weight of my mother made the pain excruciating. A large crater formed underneath me, as if a meteor had just rained down towards the ground. My Lightning Cloak skill deactivated as I gasped for air, painfully as two of my ribs had been utterly smashed and bent inwards, causing severe internal bleeding and sheer unfathomable pain. "Aaahhhh!" I cried out as the pain started to amplify and notifications of warnings popped up into my vision. [You have sustained 135 damage] [You have 2 shattered ribs, 3 fractured ribs, a spinal fracture, fractured radius and ulna, dislocated shoulder, damage to internal organs and severe blood loss] [You will lose 5HP every minute due to blood loss] [HP is now at 14] "This is bad!" I thought, trying to keep sane as the pain drove my sanity into a wall. My mother got up from on top of my body, it seemed like during the fall she must have fallen unconscious. "Oh My God! Zeref!" she shouted immediately, getting up and casting some sort of green spell, "2 shattered ribs, 3 fractured ribs, damage to internal organs" she muttered to herself, the spell must have been some sort of medical skill. "This will feel like hell my poor boy, just bear with it." she talked hastily, I couldn''t muster up the energy to even speak back. [HP is now at 13] "Let''s fix this blood loss situation first," she spoke as she bit her finger until blood started flowing out of her thumb. What was she doing? "Oh monarch of beasts! Heed my request and allow me to summon the great medic!" she shouted infusing mana into her finger and striking the ground, "Release and appear!" Immediately a small tornado of green mana formed on her left and a weird monkey beast, with emerald green armour appeared. "It''s fine, no need to tell me what the situation is, I''ll stop the blood flow and repair damage to the internal organs, You repair the bones." The weird monkey beast crouched down and cast his red coloured mana on me. Immediately a warm feeling of relief engulfed my body dimming the excruciating pain, [Blood loss has stopped, blood levels are rising again] [Internal organs are being restored] [HP is rising 17/150] My mother listened and straight away copied the same movements as the monkey beast and cast her familiar green mana, but this time it didn''t feel as welcoming and warming as the first time. Again pain shot up my nerves, as the pain of bones being crushed and remoulded made me scream in pain and agony, I could feel the bones bending and twisting like vines being moulded into wires. "I''m going to make him unconscious Rosaline, the pain will drive him insane." the beast spoke moving one of his hands away and putting it over my head. The red mana flowed over my head and started to shroud my body. [A mental spell has been cast on you, Spell has been rejected] "Strange it seems he''s rejecting my spell." That reminded me, I was immune to mental spells. As good as these perks were, now they were causing me pain. "Aaaahhhhh!!" I screamed again, as the pain was driving me insane. [You have discovered a new skill: Rapid healing (Level 1)] [This skill can consume MP to raise HP at a fast rate] All this pain was worth it then. I looked at my HP. It was already at 47/ 150, then a thought came across my head, "Let''s test this new skill, I''m tired of their stupid slow healing." "That''s enough!" I shouted as lightning mana cackled around me, I activated my lightning aura skill, and energy flowed throughout my body, recharging my depleted mana pool. Lightning mana particles in the atmosphere flowed into my body as if I was a magnet, and my mana pool finally started to fill up. My mother and the monkey beast backed away as the atmosphere became dense with lightning mana and they became unsure of what was happening. [Lightning aura has caused intimidation, mana from the atmosphere is being absorbed] [MP is now 78/100] ''Rapid Healing.'' I thought, immediately a green coloured lightning bolt appeared around my body and started to circulate. [Rapid healing has been used] [You will lose 5MP every 30 seconds] [3 HP points will be regained every 5 seconds] I got up to my feet. "Son what''s happening?" my mother said worriedly, as she continued to witness the weird phenomenon. My body reacted on its own. I ducked as an overhead kick was directed at me from behind. What was that? I moved backwards to a safe distance out of the large crater to see the old geezer standing sternly, with a serious look on his face. I glanced back at my mother and the monkey beast started to disappear. Her spell must have been deteriorating. I didn''t realise the toll it took on her body, She started to collapse. "Mum!" I shouted as I reached out with one hand, hoping for my arms to magically extend and cushion her fall. "There''s no time to worry about her, worry about yourself boy!" the old geezer shouted, disappearing out of my field of view. In a second, the geezer closed the distance and threw two straight punches towards me, there was this gravity to his punches I could not explain, but then again I couldn''t explain anything. Why was he attacking me in the first place? Is he a good guy or bad guy? I wasn''t going to let him keep attacking, I needed answers! Just then a new notification I had never seen popped up. [New Quest: Defeat Zeref Amara for an Instant Level Up!] [Do you want to accept the quest?] [Yes/No] Of course I had to pick ''Yes'', even though I wasn''t going to beat him, it was worth the try. From my old world, I remembered the unique mixed martial arts style I had created through countless battles, maybe it could work here, worth a shot. "Time to test it out then." I said as I used a mana infused step, vanishing out of sight and appearing behind the giant foe, he turned his bulky body and blocked my full forced roundhouse kick with two arms. I dashed backwards to a safe position to assess the situation. I glanced at my HP, it was at 116 and most of my injuries had already healed, my MP was at 44; I decided to deactivate the rapid healing skill and keep my lightning aura skill on. The peculiar thing about this mana skill was it helped me gain MP at a steady rate 1MP per 20 seconds while moving, plus it allowed me to intimidate my opponent by mixing in my killing intent. It was different to meditating which had no limit to the absorption of mana, but it kept me still. It was the best combat skill, recharging on the go. I was like a solar powered car. The only downside was it made my body more fatigued physically draining my stamina, and at an exponential rate at that. Especially as my body still was that of a 4 year old infant, i couldn''t use this skill to its max potential. [MP has reached 90/ 100] I straight away activated my lightning cloak ability and used 5MP to cover the distance infusing my legs with lightning mana, making me travel at an above average speed. I jumped up and aimed a Brazilian kick at his head, my leg moved like a little whip, as the lightning mana gave my legs temporary hardening and strength, he blocked the kick with his forearm, flinching from the effects of the lightning mana. Again I shifted my weight into my right hand throwing a right hook then a low kick, all being blocked or dodged in succession. I moved back again, as the effects of my mana expenditure and the toll of the constant mana absorption caused me intense fatigue. I hunched over holding my knees trying to gasp for air and energy. "Okay, that''s enough kiddo, I''ve confirmed my suspicions." the old geezer spoke, showing no hint of negative intent in his voice. He closed the distance in an instant and came closer to me. I immediately put up my hands and moved my legs into a kickboxing stance. Did he want another round? He raised his arms showing his friendly intentions. I relaxed my stance and deactivated my skills and fell to the ground sitting down, regaining my stamina. Does that mean it was a technical win? [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have levelled up! You are now level 2!] [All stats have increased by 1!] "Kiddo, you really surprised me, You use the lightning element which surprised me the most, and your weird combat style, you''re definitely not from this world, and let''s not forget you''re still an infant." The geezer spoke as he picked me up and gave me a piggyback to where my mother lay in the large crater. "That unique fighting style and your combat instincts, honestly I thought I was fighting a E ranker at least. At times though it seemed like you weren''t accustomed to your small body, who are you exactly?" he asked. I pondered the idea of telling him my little secret. Then what he said next made me spill it all. "I had a hunch you were the lightning monarch''s candidate but I couldn''t get myself to believe it. After that deal your parents had made, something like this was bound to happen. The lightning monarch''s candidates always come from a different universe it''s rumoured, and our fight just now proved it all to me. "Anything you tell me, I will make sure to keep a secret, I was planning on erasing the memories of you mother of this encounter anyways to ensure your relationship isn''t harmed. You see your parents and I made a contract with the lightning monarch long ago, in exchange for power to fight off the beings from the parallel realms, we''d have to return the favour by doing one thing he requested, we all got different requests that we weren''t allowed to share with each other. My task he gave me was to train you." the geezer spoke, finally we were by my mother''s side. Now that everything made sense, I decided to tell him everything about me from my past identity to my old status. By the time my little story was done, gramps had already healed my mother and patched her memories erasing the incident and giving her a different memory. "By the way where are we exactly?" I asked Gramps, this being the first time I actually thought about it. I looked around, only acres of trees and the blue sky was in view, there was not even a single sign of life. "We are in my personal training grounds, this is a dimension I created in anticipation of the lightning monarch''s candidate. Let''s get out of here and leave your mother at our house in the village." the old built man replied. "Wait there''s a village? So there are other people here?" "Yes off course and this village isn''t just any old village, they''re filled with masters of all different specialities. I created this village in hopes of nurturing you, but who would''ve guessed that my grandson was the candidate. To be fair I was a little bit sad that i was creating all this for some other person and not my family, but look how the tides have turned." he spoke as he slapped my shoulder, making it sting. My mother was still unconscious, so gramps was still holding her in his arms. "Are you ready to leave?" "Yes, let''s go." I said. Then the old man clicked his fingers and a portal appeared. I followed him into the green coloured portal. [You have entered a green portal] Chapter 7 - Let’s Party! As I stepped out of the portal I was met with the familiar interior of my parent''s house. A wooden two floor detached house, open plan kitchen and 4 bedrooms, not too shabby. "Kiddo, or should I call you your highness, listen, your bedroom is the furthest to left upstairs, go get yourself washed and get dressed. I know you must be tired but before we end this day I need you to meet some people." the old geezer spoke looking down at me, still carrying my mother. He took her to her room and placed her on the bed to allow her to rest. I also went towards my room, I didn''t know what to expect but this was gobsmacking. There was a huge double bed at the centre of the room against the wall made of Cherrywood and other luxurious furniture. The room was connected to a bathroom which had a Japanese hot spring. I stripped off my clothes and jumped into the hot pool. I could feel my body relaxing and my mana rejuvenating, did this pool have other special properties? I used my inspect skill, and the hue of my green eyes switched to blue. [Sage water] [An extremely rare type of liquid which restores MP and purifies the mana pool of impurities] I thought about how hectic the past day was, I remembered my brave father''s actions. He should be fine, I could not grasp his level with my inspect skill after all. Indeed I was too tired after all these battles, and especially as I was in a 4 year old''s body; the fatigue hit me harder than ever, I looked outside through the window, it musta been afternoon already. ** For some reason all the lights were off and the whole house was completely dark. I activated my inspect skill and my vision improved as I got a weak version of night vision. I walked along the small corridor looking into rooms, there was no sign of life, even my mother wasn''t there. What the hell was happening? It would''ve been good if I had an echo location spell like in my old life, maybe I''ll be able to discover one. I creeped closer to the living room slowly. I knew something was fishy. I activated my lightning aura, and my hazelnut hair rose up, small bolts of lightning moved around my body like snakes, appearing then disappearing. This made me feel better, at least if something were to happen I''d be able to dodge in time. "Surprise!!!" A loud sound ringed my ears as a crowd of people of all age groups appeared out of nowhere, I could see my mother and my gramps among them smiling. So all this was just for some party act. Then gramps approached me and the crowd died down. "Kiddo, you can relax now, your presence is a bit intimidating right now." He whispered into my ear, immediately I deactivated my spell and my body returned to normal. "Everyone, I''d like you to meet my grandson, the reason I created this village. Even though he may be 4 years old, his combat and mana manipulation abilities are beyond anything I''ve ever seen, so don''t underestimate him." as my old geezer spoke, I could see the 10-12 people all glaring at me, some looking down at me in distaste and others in awe. "He is actually-" "Zeref, don''t you think you''re over rating the boy, he''s still only a mana pool stage 1, at the age of 4, that''s nothing special, even with the lightning element, the boy looks freakishly weak and frail." A bulky man with red hair and a long red beard spoke, folding his arms. Was this man powerful as well? I cast my inspect skill, and the hue of my eyes switched to blue. [Name: Leywin Stronghold] [Level: ???] [Mana pool stage: ???] [Weaknesses: ???] Guess I was still too weak. I still couldn''t see his level or any of the other info. "Actually, I''ve already fought him, when he wasn''t even at his full strength, now that he''s at his full strength, he''d definitely put some pressure on you. But I mean, you can do whatever you want with him tomorrow during our introductory classes, now let''s just enjoy the little kiddo''s birthday, shall we?" gramps spoke loudly lifting one arm in the air and putting his other heavy arm on my shoulder. "Besides what I''m trying to say is, he is only-" I held my grandfather''s hand to signal him not to tell them anymore, there was no need. "Ahm," I cleared my throat in an attempt to avert their attention from my grandpa who stopped talking mid sentence. "I hope everyone enjoys the party," I said and cringed as the words left my mouth. Ew. My voice was so squeaky and annoying. After that, my grandpa chuckled and nodded at the crowd. The group broke into a loud cheer and everyone started moving towards the wine bar, me included. "Where do you think you''re going mister?" After a long turn of events, I heard the sweet voice of my mother again, I turned around and gave her a huge hug. "I''ve missed you so much son, I''m sorry I separated from you in the forest after we landed, your grandfather told me how he saved you, then found me unconscious," she explained, then i remembered that gramps had changed her memories. She started rambling about how everything was fine as long as she was here and I was touched but the conversion was boring. "Mum, is it fine if I go talk to the other people?" I asked as her rambling was starting to tire me. "Yeah sure honey." she replied as she got up and started to talk to one of the women there. I was aimlessly walking around, exploring the place and smiling at the women who peered down at me. Especially one woman who smiled at me and I dashed a charming smile at her. To my surprise she turned and walked away awkwardly. That''s never happened... "Hey your majesty, you know you''re still in a 4 year old''s body right, so act like it a little, I know it''s a hassle." the old geezer whispered into my ear, chuckled a little then left. I mean he was right but come on, how am I meant to find the love of my life with these short square teeth and baby voice, I have to wait another 15 years! Wait I have to be a VIRGIN for another 15 years! What bullshit! So who should I talk to? I looked around looking for a beauty to flirt with, but then that stupid thought hit me again, I was still a child. "Hey! I didn''t catch your name. Grandpa Amara seems very keen on me meeting you." I heard a small baby-ish voice suddenly pop up behind me. As soon as I turned around, my eyes fixed onto the biggest pair of hazelnut eyes. A little girl, shorter than me, smiled brightly at me and tilted her head a little to the side. Her cheeks were puffy and looked like strawberry mochi. Arghhhhh! What a cute child! I wanted to pinch her cheeks off her face! She had small pouty lips and a little bit of freckles on her tiny nose and under her eyes. Her skin was tan, almost light brown. Her chocolate brown hair was put into two pigtails and she had big, spring-like curls. Don''t get me wrong! I wasn''t crushing on a baby! As a 24 (well technically 28) year old, I simply thought the child was cute and wanted to touch her cheeks. Great! This body is definitely a curse. Instead of being approached by beautiful women, I''m now a magnet to little children. Even speaking with kids my own "age" feels like I''m some paedophile! Disgusting... makes me want to puke. I was so deep in my thoughts, I didn''t realise she was waiting for me to say something. The girl''s smile dropped. Her eyebrows furrowed as she waved her hand in front of me while leaning closer to my face, making me snap back into reality. I flinched and jumped back a step. "THtay BACK child!" the words fell out of my mouth with a big lisp, unintentionally. How does a 4ish year old just- I was speechless. Giggling at my reaction, she smirked "You''re funny." her voice was soft and small. I stared at her in disbelief. "D-did you just try to kiss me?" I stuttered. She stared at me blankly before opening her mouth again. "What''s a kiss?" she asked in a confused tone. "There was an eyelash on your cheek" she pointed at where it was and I wiped it off. I sighed a breath of relief. What was I thinking? "Coulda told me" I said rolling my eyes. "You still didn''t answer my question. Whats k-" "I''m Zeref Amara. I''m a lightning mage." I cut her off in an attempt to change the topic. No way was I telling a cute innocent child what kissing was. "Oh my god! You have the same name as Grandpa Amara." I nodded stiffly, hoping she''d read the vibes and leave but she continued. "I''m Malia, Malia Stronghold" she held out her hand and I shook it quickly, hoping she would go away. "So you''re a lightning mage, you know that''s extremely rare, and people would kill to awaken such an element!" she smiled at me expectantly waiting for me to reply. "Uhuh" I used my best ''I''m not interested'' voice but this child did not read my signs. "How old are you?" I asked, trying to fasten the pace of the conversation. She paused. "It''s rude to ask a WOMAN for her age." her voice was cold. Her gaze was strong and I almost thought it was a glare. "Pfffffft" I burst out laughing like a hyena. Her angry voice was the least intimidating thing I''ve ever heard. She looked at me confused before giggling. "What? What''s so funny?" she giggled as my eyes started to water. She smiled sweetly again. "You aren''t a woman" my shoulders shook up and down as I tried to contain my laugh. She gasped loudly and yelled, "AM TOO! Mommy says I''m mature. In. the. Mind." she said the last three words while tapping her temple. "Mhm. sure you caHHOHnn" I couldn''t finish my sentence as I laughed. I cringed at the sound of my laughter. It was like a crazy donkey. "Stop laughing Zeref!" she stomped her foot. "I''m serious," she giggled. I guess my laughter was contagious because she burst out laughing too. "You sound like a donkey," she laughed. "Okay kiddos that''s enough, you''ve had your little fun, good to see my grandson is getting on well with one of my little students. It''s time for both of your bed times." he spoke, breaking up, he picked us both up by the collar like we were feathers and walked as to our rooms, her room being directly opposite mine. How convenient? Everyone laughed and continued to drink their wine and talk with their friends. It was already night and the day was over. How quick. As I entered, my eyes quickly scanned the room. The walls were an old crme colour and the floor was plain, old wood. There was a table, cupboard and a door to the bathroom. Everything else was plain. There were no decorations and there was a small window next to my bed. I laid down in my bed and looked back over what had happened. What a strange girl, Malia Stronghold. Our conversation was super short but I could get a hint about something. She was definitely different, or maybe I was overthinking it again. She''s a child! I smacked my cheeks with both my hands. Disgusting! -Malia''s POV- I was laying in my bed thinking of the new boy I met today. My father forced me to have a sleepover at Grandpa Amara''s house tonight because he had an international meeting to attend with my step-mother. They took my step-brother and Mike (my real brother) but I couldn''t come because I was a girl and father would be embarrassed to bring me. I pouted, feeling left out but my thoughts quickly flashed back to Zeref. I can''t seem to get his small face out of my head. He had raven blackish brown hair and bright green eyes. My real mum used to say boys with the brightest eyes have the most captivating soul. I can''t wait to be friends with him. He intrigues me. The way he tried to sound manly and cringed at his own voice, I chuckled again. Out of nowhere, mana particles were passing through the door of my room. What the hell? I gulped. Why is grandpa Amara meditating in the hallways again? But then it struck me. The particles were tiny white glowing orbs. Grandpa Amara''s mana particles were purple. The angelic white particles filled my room. "So pure" I whispered, astonished by what I was seeing. I''ve never seen pure white mana particles. Even dads were a glowing orange colour and that was considered super powerful. I couldn''t sit around and wait. I had to check this weird phenomenon out. I stormed out of my room and walked into the corridor, to see no one there. The whole hallway was filled with mana particles. I scanned my eyes across the place looking for a lead on where it was coming from. My eyes halted in front of Zeref''s door. The outline of his door was gleaming white light. I ran across to his door worried. I knocked on the door but no one answered, I knocked again, still nothing. "I''m coming in!" I shouted and with a fist imbued with orange flames, I struck the door, blasting it open, and burning half of it. There he sat on the ground, feet wrapped in on top of each other in a meditating position. What! How did he learn that? That level of advanced meditation took me years to learn. What the hell! He really is a prodigy. "By the way you''re paying for the door," Zeref spoke, opening both of his eyes now, "Aren''t you Gramp''s student, you should''ve guessed I was meditating, or did you just want to see my handsome face that badly." a grin appeared on his face. Who did he think he was? Prince charming? "Like I''d want to see that ugly face of yours, the lightning mana kept bothering my sleep, so I wanted to warn you to stop, otherwise next time I''d be burning more than just your door down." I replied sternly then walked out of the room. I couldn''t stop my heart from palpitating so loud and fast. Chapter 8 - A Day Of Training -Back to Zeref''s POV- "Hey stupid, get up!" I was woken up by a sharp punch to my ribs. My eyes opened straight away and my body writhed in pain. What the hell? I looked to my left, where the cute, little girl was standing next to me, Malia. Her hair was out and her curls were shoulder length with light brown highlights in them. "You changed your hair?" I questioned while sitting up and rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes. "You noticed?" she smirked. "I change it a lot. I get bored quickly" she answered. I stared blankly at her. "Do you want me to use mana next time? Get up before I make you." she spoke sternly. "Geez man, relax." I immediately got out of bed and rushed for the bathroom, not looking back at the little baby monster still eyeing me down. I had quickly washed myself and got into a nice attire that was already in my wardrobe when I first arrived, then headed for the dining table. "Good morning son, how was your sleep?" my mother asked, placing the breakfast on the table, she made sausages. Great! "Mmh! Yeah it was good to be honest." I replied, sitting down at the table and grabbing a sausage. "Kiddo, hurry up and eat, today is your big day you''re going to meet your masters today and show them your skills, so eat up, I don''t want any excuses." Gramps spoke, stuffing his mouth. I simply nodded at him and continued to eat. We had finished eating and I followed the old man outside to the field, to be welcomed by a plain green field, with 3 people, roughly in their mid 30''s to 40''s standing side by side. Were they my masters? The male furthest to the right looked average except the bags around his eyes stood out so much, it was as if he hadn''t slept for days, his hair was messy and long. He had a hunched posture and wore an ice white coat, with white fur protruding out around the tips. The person next in line was surprisingly a woman, except she had her eyes closed, she had golden yellow hair and a beautiful white face. She carried a long sword on her waist and was decked out in elegantly designed silver armour, from neck all the way down to her toes; she was protected by armour. Finally the man furthest to the left, was that man who critiqued me at the party; his head was turned elsewhere, not glancing at me, arms crossed, this man looked like a noble, wearing a maroon coated armour set, matching perfectly with his short red hair and beard. I could tell he was powerful. "Okay kiddo, these are your masters that will be helping me to train you, but before we begin let''s get all the formalities out of the way. That ignorant man on the left is Leywin Stronghold, he specialises in fire magic." Leywin nodded at me, his eyebrows tightened into a worn out frown. "The beautiful woman in the middle is Elena, she specialises in hand to hand combat, even though she can''t use magic, be wary of her, she''s already surpassed the regular human by far, she''ll cut your head off before you can even blink." grandpa continued. Elena peered down at me. Her eyes filled with curiosity, she spoke soothingly "Hello child." she shook my hand. "The skinny man on the right is Xanxus, he specialises in ice magic and assassination. So be a bit careful." gramps chuckled and slapped my shoulder with his heavy hands playfully. "SKINNY?!" Xanxus gasped in disbelief and Elena chuckled at his reaction. "Xanxus the shrimp." she laughed. "And finally you have me, I specialise in gravity magic, Earth Magic and Beast magic. Now that that''s done, follow Miss Elena, she will determine what elements you have an affinity to." "Okay," I replied, still trying to take in all the information. I did as the old man said and followed Elena, the other three men followed silently behind me. After walking straight on for 5 minutes, we were already far away from our house, then she clicked her fingers and a small cottage appeared. I thought she couldn''t do magic. I shrugged and followed her inside. The interior was extremely simple with only a small kitchen to the right and a bed to the left, in the middle was a round table with 6 seats with a large crystal orb of some sort in the middle of it. "Sit." she ordered in a subtle voice, sitting down herself. We all copied her and sat down. "Listen Zeref, I want you to input as much mana into this orb as possible. Is that fine?" Elena asked facing her head towards me, her eyes still closed. "Yeah sure." I replied, as she shoved the orb towards me. My body was still small compared to theirs so my chest was still at the table''s height. I was probably about 4ft 2. I did as she ordered and I placed both my hands on the orb and closed my eyes concentrating. Nothing happened for a while until my mana started getting drained at an alarming rate. What was this thing, all my mana was being pulled out of me. A sweat fell down my face as I struggled to control my mana output. I could feel the adult''s gaze on me as I struggled, but I couldn''t see their reactions. There was no time for that. [MP is being lost at an alarming rate, MP loss will be capped at 10/100] That was good, at least my Mana wouldn''t be completely drained. After about 20 seconds my mana had plummeted to 10, and the feeling of my soul being sucked out of me retracted from my body. I removed my hands from the weird orb and opened my eyes, to see all adults looking at me wide eyed. What happened? I then looked at the orb. It was shaking. Did that mean something bad? Then suddenly, 4 spheres popped up on top of the crystal ball, each with their own colour. One was dark blue, with bolts of lightning sparking out of it, the next was completely engulfed by flames, the third was frozen by ice and the last one was purple, but emitted a powerful feeling. Did these represent the elements that I had an affinity for? Actually this came up in my normal data, in my affinity/ perks section. "Unbelievable! That thing is broken. How can he have 4 elements! That''s absurd. What''s the meaning of this. Who is this boy?! I demand an answer now." the red headed man got up and slammed his large fists on the table. I was clearly an anomaly by the looks of it. "I''m just as shocked as you are, stop throwing a fit. I knew he would wield the lightning element but having 3 other rare elements, I''ve never heard of something like this either." gramps responded to the shocked and enraged man, "And lower your voice, lately I think you''ve forgotten who I am." Gramps widened his eyes and a sharp pressure affected the atmosphere. Was he using his gravity magic? The red headed man fell to his knees under the great pressure. Cool! "Okay Zeref that''s enough, I don''t think we were gathered here by you to get a beating, let''s move on to the next stage of the boy''s tests." Elena insisted, "Follow me boy, we will now test your combat prowess at this moment." She already started to head out and the assassin followed, then later on gramps and the red headed man also following behind. Again we were out on the field. "For the next stage, who wants to spar with the boy?" Gramps spoke questioning the group. I stood nervously, I had to fight one of these monsters. The hunched assassin raised his hand, Oh no! I''m definitely dying today. "I don''t think I can spar the kid, I''d end up killing him and i don''t want that" the hunched assassin spoke. Thank god! Then the red headed man spoke, "I wanna test this boy out and see why you rate him so highly." "Mmh," Gramps stroked his beard in thought, "Okay go ahead, just don''t kill the boy or go too far, he''s still only 4." he warned. Gramps made both of us face each other at 3 metres from each other. My foe got into his fighting position, he stood normally except raising both his hands face up, Is he a caster? A caster was a magician who only relied on mana spells, while I was both a caster and a striker, a striker being a magician using mana to augment their bodies for close combat. I copied his gesture and got into my kickboxing stance and activated my Lightning aura. That buzzing feeling of electricity flowing through my body rushed through my veins and arteries. My walnut hair stood up due to the electricity. I cracked my knuckles and neck to loosen up. Now I am ready. Just before the fight, a notification popped up in front of me. [Lightning aura has failed to cause intimidation, mana from the atmosphere is being absorbed] I smirked. I forgot about what grandpa had told me. Mana is like oxygen. It''s everywhere: in the air, in the water, in the plants but it is rare for people to be able to absorb it while moving. "Now that both fighters are ready, the fight will now commence, you have exactly 5 minutes till the fight will be halted, 3... 2...1, Begin!" Gramps shouted. Immediately the caster in front of me conjured two fireballs the size of boulders, in each palm and threw them at me like dodgeballs. I infused lightning mana into the sole of my feet and sprinted a circle around him, the fireballs were too slow. I knew he was just testing me out, so I had to keep my guard up. I still didn''t have any offensive spells, which annoyed me. I engulfed my fist in lightning mana, and covered the short distance between me and the red headed man in 2 steps, I jumped up and threw a straight punch to the man''s jaw. His body tumbled backwards under the force, he then wiped the blood off his mouth and conjured two flame spears, I knew he would throw them, so instinctively I maneuvered around him throwing a Brazilian kick to his head, making his centre of gravity shift the left. Before he turned around to see what hit him I got him into a choke hold with my skinny arms and wrapped both my legs around his torso. I infused more Mana into my arms to prevent him trying to get loose from my grip. He grabbed my skinny arms in an attempt to break free, but I tightened my grip instead. He started to choke, this was good, I needed him to tap out. My mana wasn''t going to keep up. [MP levels have reached 52/100] "Now I''m going to get a bit more serious," the red headed man croaked. A weird burning sensation was enveloping my body. Was it me or one of his spells? The burning was becoming more intense. "I suggest you let go before I stop being nice and burn you to ashes." he spoke calmly. The atmosphere changed, I quickly withdrew my arms and hopped back a couple metres backwards to safety. "2 minutes left." Gramps spoke. "Boy how about we finish this?" the red headed man spoke for the first time smiling, "Come at me with your strongest spell." What spell! I had no offensive spells. Maybe I could make one. That reminded me, in my past life I had a spell which shaped like a spear around my hand, I used it to concentrate damage to a small surface area. This technique was good against foes with a strong defence, as it pierced defence well. Something like that could really help right now. I knew my normal punches or kicks wouldn''t do any damage to his body being protected by flames. Well, let''s give it a shot. I started by condensing the mana around me into my hand, I kept my hands together like a spear, after a couple seconds the lightning mana started to cackle and vibrate, it still wasn''t enough. My concentration faltered as I stopped imagining the imagery of my past wind syphoned spear. I had to try again. "You seem like you''re struggling boy," the red headed man spoke, condensing his fireball in his palm. It kind of looked like an attack from a show I used to watch in my old life. This time I''d get it right, I had a total of 25 years of experience, I can do this! Again I imagined a lightning spear being wrapped around my palm in lightning mana. It was working! The lightning mana was slowly being formed into a blade shaping round the tips of my fingers. I had used more than half of my MP already. I glanced at my MP, it was at 24/100. Come on, I''m so close! [Congratulations!] [You have discovered a new skill! What would you like to name it?] Mmh. How about ''Indra''s Spear''. [New skill: Indra''s Spear (Level 1)] Now I am ready! Looking at my eyes filled with satisfaction, the red headed man charged at me, I also charged bracing my right hand with my left to make sure I could pierce through his flame armour with precision, he thrusted his arm, with the condensed fireball straight towards my chest, I dodged under and like an uppercut, I struck my hand engulfed by lightning towards his flame armour. I could see another shadow above my head; what the hell?! I looked up instinctively and took a short glimpse before my lightning reflexes helped me to dodge the second red headed man''s fist. There were two of them? How? Just before I could resume attacking, I was stopped. The hunched assassin stood in front of me facing the two red headed men. "Lower your killing intent. I thought you were told not to hurt the boy, thank god he has amazing combat prowess otherwise he''d be dead and you know the repercussions right if he actually did die; I''d wipe your whole bloodline out for hurting my student." he spoke coldly, still hunched. Who was this guy? Another important person? "My apologies, I forgot I was fighting a mere kid, I should''ve held back sir and Zeref, I apologise to you too." The red headed man bowed in distaste and the two red headed men became one again. So the other guy was a clone? I could tell the red headed man was definitely a noble, his arrogance always bothered me, but that just meant my masters were of a higher calibre than him. Now both Elena and gramps walked up to me and patted me on the back. "Good job kiddo! That skill looked amazing! You never used that on me, how come?" gramps chuckled. "I created the skill just now." I replied. "Wait what did he just say? He created a skill! Even seasoned masters find it hard to -"the red headed man was cut off. "Mmh, I like you kid, Ima make a fine assassin out of you." the hunched assassin spoke up. "Assassin!? I''m going to make him a well respected soldier." Miss Elena shot back and the two started to argue. It was actually amusing to watch. "Pfft! A soldier?! That''s way below his true potential!" "Yeah well it''s better than being an assassin. Running around like a bimbo in a dark suit and nun chucks." Miss Elena retorted. The hunched assassin''s face twisted into a growl. "For the last time! We don''t do that! Besides, you could catch me wearing a dress before I ever use nun chucks! Flipping soldiers they can kiss my a-" I laughed as Miss Elena towered over Xanxus. "You better not say it or i will snatch off the tiny patch of hair you have left and bury it next to your old wife Martha." she stuck her index finger in his face. Everyone''s mouth dropped including Xanxus. Miss Elena smirked and the man was about to slap her right in the face before she held his shoulders and looked down at him. "Shh, sh. Hold still. I''m trying to imagine you with personality." she said. "Oh go kill yourself, you flat board." he rolled his eyes. "Keep rolling your eyes. You might find a brain back there. Oh and FYI, if I wanted to kill myself, I''d climb up your ego and jump down to your IQ level. It has a 100% success rate." she plastered a forced smile onto her lips, knowing she won. "B*tch-" he grabbed her hair and yanked her head down to his eye level. "Arrrrghhhh" she slapped his nearly bald head while kicking her feet back like a bull. "Stoppp-ah! Hey- you cu--!" They were both tangled in each other''s fists and I couldn''t contain my laugh. They seemed so calm and composed when we first met. I looked around to see everyone else''s reactions but they seemed unbothered. Instead, they were ignoring them. I guess their fighting was a normal thing around here. That was a surprise, they looked so professional and mature when I first met them. "Okay kiddo, well done for passing this test, now we move on to the next stage. Let''s go home first." Gramps spoke putting his arm on my shoulder. What was this next stage? To be honest I was drained of MP and my stamina was almost done too, whatever the next stage it better be an aptitude test. We arrived home to be welcomed by the joyous smell of roast beef, grilled chicken, steak, Rice, a feast, in simple terms! "Rosaline, what''s the occasion?" Gramps asked. "Nothing father, it''s just that it was Zeref''s first day of his training and I wanted to throw a big feast for him, off course I won''t always do this." she replied, sweetly smiling at me. "Thank you mum!" I hugged her tightly, being grateful for being blessed with the experience of knowing having a mother. We all sat down including my masters and we all feasted. I scanned around for Malia but she was nowhere to be seen; I decided not to ask as it would come out as weird. The feast finished and after we all helped clean up, we sat around the dining table to carry on with the next test. What could it be? "Listen Zeref, this will be your final test, okay. This test is more of an academic test to determine how intelligent you are academically," gramps spoke, then stopped to whisper in my ear," They don''t know your real mental age but I do, so I made up some story so by acing this test, you could skip going to school at the age of 5 and join school when you''re 11." That was a nice gesture from him, I wouldn''t have to suffer in a primary school, learning what shapes are. In my old life I was fairly smart, I had lots of knowledge in physics, maths and other topics. Due to boredom I was cooped up in my library when I was free. How hard could their questions be? Gramps handed me three test papers, all of them faced upside down so the back was facing towards me. "On the count of three, you can turn your papers round and answer the questions, you will have 2.5 hours to finish the papers ," Gramps spoke, I nodded showing my comprehension. "3...2...1... You may begin." When was the last time I was actually in an exam? This whole event amused me. I turned around all the papers and glanced at the names of the papers. There was a problem I couldn''t read! The letters and words were in a completely different language to my old world! Before the texts would just translate themselves automatically because of the system, but why when I''m in the middle of a test, it doesn''t! How helpful! Maybe the system was joking with me. How was I meant to pass these tests if I couldn''t read what the questions were. My face went pale as I realised I''d have to go to a primary school to learn about shapes with little kids. I will never let that happen! Then an idea popped into my head. What if I cast my inspection skill? Would it translate the letters? I cast my inspection skill and the hue of my eyes changed to blue once again. [You have activated Inspect, you will lose 1 MP every 5 seconds] Then another notification popped into view after this one. [You have encountered a foreign language. Do you want to translate it?] [Yes/ No] Thank God! This system was going to save me but with a cost, I chose ''yes'' and all the words got translated, I grabbed the language paper first and started flying through the questions before my 8 minutes and 20 seconds of my inspecting skill was over. Surprisingly the questions were easy and I had already finished a 1/3rd of the test paper. 2 minutes went by. I didn''t really worry about the 2 maths papers as they were just normal numeracy questions that I could understand. Thank god! I reached the last page and was met with horror. I had to write a 20 mark essay. What the f*ck! I scratched my head, how was I meant to answer this? I should be able to still pass this test anyways without the essay. I folded the test paper and moved it to the side, I hated language exams. I grabbed the numeracy paper nearest to me and opened up the first page. Now this was the language I was used to. These questions were easier than breathing. I flew through the questions and the first paper was done. It consisted of simple questions such as word problems, addition and subtraction etc. The second paper was a bit different, it had more complex questions probably at my world''s high school level questions. Were they preparing for me to skip high school too? Anyhow, I was now done and I had only used 30 min of my 2h 30minutes. I handed my papers to Gramps. "You only spent 30 minutes. How many questions did you skip?" He asked, stroking his grey beard. "Only the essay in the language paper, everything else I answered." I replied truthfully. "Okay then let me mark his papers now, our little game here is also over." Miss Elena got up from the sofa and I could see the hunched assassin cursing to himself, as he had just lost to her in a chess game for the fifth time. Gramps handed Miss Elena the papers and just then someone knocked at the door. Who could it be at this time in the afternoon? Everyone ignored it and sat down at the sofas. Gramps hinted for me to go answer it. I approached the door and twisted the handle, then pulled it open. To my surprise it was Malia. "Hey! How''s everything?!" She spoke in glee as she held out her hands to give me a hug. I gave her a plain glare and the room fell silent. Miss Elena chuckled. "What the hell! That wasn''t very nice." she swung her hands back to her sides. Damn! Had she grown?! She was at least a head taller than me, how? I literally just realised and her aura, it was different, had she been training? "So what brings you here, I thought you had to go to school and learn about your shapes." I spoke, giving her a mocking smile. "You shut up, okay! It wasn''t my choice anyways, I was forced to go. All nobles have to go, plus my brother''s been training with me in the chrono chamber. Do you wanna spar?" She spoke hastily. Before I could ask her any questions or even reply, she grabbed my hand and yanked me outside into the green field. It hadn''t even been 5 minutes and this girl was doing whatever she wanted. "Guess, I can be the referee of this sparring match, since I have nothing to do anyways." The hunched assassin spoke, following us both outside with Gramps by his side, intrigued to watch. "The rules are as follows, the match will last 5 minutes, the match will stop when one of you surrenders or when one of you is unable to fight any longer. Kids I want a clean fight, I will step in if there''s something wrong. Any questions?" "No." Malia and I replied in unison. I knew there was no going back now. This whole day was full of sparring and tests, I didn''t even know if I had the energy to fight her. "I am so gonna get back at you for dodging me." Malia smirked. Her facial expression sent chills down my back. "You scare me." I cringed. "Ready to die?" she replied cockily. "Okay, Begin!" The hunched assassin declared raising his arm. Chapter 9 - The Tragic News Malia leaped forward covering her fists with flame mana, throwing two straight punches. I didn''t have time to reinforce my body with lightning mana, so I used simple footwork to move into her second punch, I grabbed her arm and shifted her momentum towards the ground, twisting her whole body forward, sending her tumbling to the ground. "Aaaaghh!" she let out as she threw a fireball at my face, I leapt backwards to a safe distance and the fireball flew upwards and exploded. I covered my face with my arm as the heat reached me. Damn! Was she trying to incinerate me with that blast? I immediately used my lightning aura skill, and small sparks of blue lightning encircled my body and limbs. With this my body was reinforced with my mana and I could move in to finish this swiftly. I was too drained to prolong this fight. I moved out of her line of sight sprinting towards the right side of her body in a circular fashion, making sure to keep a distance radius of at least 10 metres, otherwise she''d use the same technique as her father covering her body with flames. I shaped a lightning spear in my hand and threw it like a javelin at her. The spear flew through the air, gathering momentum from the lightning mana in the atmosphere. Malia moved her eyes to where the spear was heading. At her! She immediately conjured a thick wall of flames to cushion the spear and leapt backwards. The spear pierced through the wall of flames and showed signs of slowing. She smiled as she leaned her body to the right and successfully parried the spear with her fist engulfed in flames, redirecting the spear away from her body. Seeing the intricate mana control and perfect timing she used, surprised me a little but I wasn''t just standing still while she was busy defending my lightning spear, I was waiting for the perfect time to get close to her when her guard was down. I obviously didn''t want to hurt her but I didn''t want to lose either. My teachers may think I''m weak and Malia will never leave me alone if I let her win. I waited a few seconds then pounced towards her, flash stepping in front of her and tapping my pam against her forehead lightly with a low voltage touch. Malia lost all balance and fell backwards as the electricity seized her body into a total numbness, nearly hitting her head but I caught her, a clean K.O. The hunched assassin immediately came over and told me to go inside, shaking his head at me. Did I go too hard on her? I only did that out of respect for her, if i held back she would''ve noticed, but I guess it was a bit dumb of me to go so hard on a girl. ** I went inside with everyone and we all sat at the dining table, it seemed Gramps had something to say to me. He looked grim. Malia had already left with her father, and my mother was nowhere to be seen. "Wait Gramps, where''s mother?" I was curious. "She''s gone to her father''s place due to personal issues." He replied grimly. I looked around and everyone had the same expressions. What was I missing out on? I stood up to grab a glass of water. When everyone had settled down, Gramps began to speak. "Zeref, I know this is going to be hard for you and normally none of us would agree to tell a 4 year old this, but we know your mental maturity is already at an adult''s, so we wanted to tell you this devastating message at an early age." I grabbed my chair and pulled it out of the table as it made a slight screeching noise. Before I could sit down, I heard something that I wish I never did. "Your father is dead." Gramps spoke looking down. The room fell into silence. I tried to say something but like a sudden lock, my breath jammed in my throat. It took me a second so that I could process what he had just said. Automatically tears started to roll down my cheeks and I nearly fell to my knees. I clasped onto something for support, anything, and then my whole body started to slightly shake. The sobs that left my lips were stifled at first as I was determined to hide my tears of grief, then all my defences washed away in those salty tears. He is dead. A surge of emotions I had never felt before burst out wreaking havoc inside me. Pain. Anger. Grief. It all hit me at once. I didn''t know how to react. I felt so weak. So little. So hopeless. Everyone there except my grandfather saw me as a 4 year old, so they all came together to hug me and comfort me. I had no words to reply to Gramps. "Move" I inhaled in between my tears, trying not to suffocate in the room full of pitiful eyes. ''No, don''t pity me! I''m a king!'' I wanted to scream into their faces but I didn''t. I ran. I ran to my room, slamming the door shut behind me, and that''s where I collapsed into a state of chaos. I hated it. My heart ached. I never had to deal with losing someone before; my mind was everywhere. I was trying to collect my thoughts but everything scattered everywhere. My throat clumped shut and I exhaled in a series of short breaths. Why did it feel like I was dying? Tears started falling helplessly down my face and my knees locked in as I tried not to fall onto the floor. It hurt. My heart; it hurt. I hung my head down, listening to the whispers coming from the living room. I slowly sunk down in the corner of my room and sobbed into my hands as the tears dripped between my fingers, raining down onto the cold, wooden floor. I cried until there was nothing left inside but a raw emptiness that munched away at my insides. My eyeballs hung heavy in their sockets. Slowly picking myself up, I made my way down to where my grandpa was. My lips were chapped and I yearned for some water. Although I knew there was nothing to be ashamed of, I still felt a little embarrassed at my breakdown in front of everyone. I avoided everyone''s gaze following me while I grabbed my cup of water. They really waited 2 hours for me to come back down huh. I scoffed, feeling an unknown anger rising in me. No matter how much I tried to push it down into the deepest part of my stomach, the feeling would rise again like a helium balloon. It was the thirst for revenge and I was excited to quench it. I want to get my hands bloody. I gritted my teeth while gulping down waves of water as I leaned my back against the table. "Did you find out who killed my father?" I asked Gramps coldly, glaring at the plain wall in front of me, not looking directly at him. "Yes kid. They were Darkness element assassins hired by a man proclaiming to be the fire candidate." Gramps replied in a small, low voice. "Well I have a request for you all. Please train me!" I put my glass down but it shattered before it could even touch the table. The assassin flinched. I looked at each of them in the eyes while my hands dripped in blood, cut by glass. "Till I wish I was dead! Make me so strong that no other person in this world will oppose me! Make me so strong that even the monarchs will fear me. Every being shall know my name! I want strength that shakes the upper and the lower realms!" I roared shrouding myself with lightning mana. My mana was rampant like my emotions. Tears of agony and pain rolled down my cheek again. The hunched assassin approached me and put one arm on my shoulder and spoke into my ear. "Well kiddo, channel those emotions and let''s get training, Let''s unleash the beast inside you." Chapter 10 - The Monarchs Meeting The 7 monarchs and their respective assistants (the serpentines) sat around Arthur''s round table ready, to discuss the progress of the candidate tournament. Arthur was the first ever Monarch that ascended to the Upper realm and gathered other monarchs to lead the first generation. During a time of crisis Arthur left his home and ascended in hope of seizing control over the lower realms from above but this led to a great revolt from the other races, they forced him to let one candidate from each race to ascend and occupy a seat of the monarchs. He made sure to pick a monarch from each race minimum to avoid a revolution of any kind again and to form a balance. Arthur being human meant that he was at an incredible disadvantage, due to humans being the weakest of all races, soon a grand civil war took place, some siding in favour of Arthur leading the Monarchs, and some following the side that a more powerful race should lead the monarchs. The 10 year civil war ended in Arthur''s loss and since then there hasn''t been a single human monarch; human candidates are either targeted early in the candidate games by the other races or are picked due to the monarchs making foolish bets. Humans were weak. However, pushing aside their poor battle prowess, they were second to none in terms of advancements in magic and technology. The human civilisation was more advanced than any other race. Only the Dwarven and the Elven Kingdoms coming close to the humans. The human Kingdom, Vrimion, was the largest of all and was protected by an almost unbreakable barrier, that was made by High grade runes in ancient times after Arthur''s fall and the humans'' loss. Now in this day and age, the prejudice and distaste against humans has almost gone and is a thing of the past. All races now have learnt to coexist with each other leaving disputing days in the past. "Lightning Monarch, did you pick a good human candidate?" the Monarch of Darkness chuckled, and everyone joined mockingly. "You guys still hold prejudice against the human kind, remember my candidate is not a human from this world but a human from a different world. Plus I hand picked him myself, so there shouldn''t be any issues, he will definitely reign at the top if he can take my seat respectively." the lightning Monarch replied. "I actually think my candidate has the highest chance of claiming all the seats." the monarch of fire spoke arrogantly. The Monarchs giggled in response. "What did you say?" the monarch of light mocked, laughing uncontrollably. They all knew the fire monarch was all fists and no brain. The fire monarch pouted in annoyance and crossed his arms. "I actually picked a candidate from the demon race, he''s from an elite bloodline." the shadow monarch spoke up boasting. "I thought the demon race was independent and didn''t like our rules." the monarch of beasts spoke up, frowning. "You''re right about that, but I have my ways you see." the darkness monarch replied. Everyone was in a good mood as the official start of the tournament would be soon. The candidate tournament had rules that weren''t officially revealed to the candidates themselves yet, since the official start of the tournament hadn''t been announced. The rules and objective of the tournament was simple, climb the tower of truth and ascend to the upper realm, challenge the monarchs for their seats, once that''s done, a battle royale will take place to see the power ranking of the monarchs and the hierarchy. However, this couldn''t happen until all candidates reached the minimum age of 12. There was one problem though, a type of flaw in the rules. Candidates were allowed to kill other candidates in the lower realms, and take their chance at challenging their monarch, that way the candidate could occupy more seats, giving them more political power. The tournament had 4 official stages: 1) The Growth Period - This lasted 10 years from the announcement of the tournament, this short period let the candidates climb the ranks to S rank. 2) The Tower of Truth - This 100 floor tower allowed the candidates to become ascenders and provided extra entertainment to the watchers in the Upper realm. Candidates were allowed to bring up to 4 companions with them. 3)Challenges with the Monarch - Just as it sounds, each candidate has to have a battle to the death with their respective monarchs. 4)Monarch Games - The final stage, where the ultimate battle royale of the monarchs took place to determine the rankings and hierarchy. "Let the growth period begin!" the Lightning monarch announced and all the monarchs grabbed their glasses of wine and lifted them up to a toast. Chapter 11 - Time Skip 8 Years "Status Menu open!" [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Human] [Level: 57] [Exp: 34,500/ 58,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 5] [HP: 5700] [MP: 5000] [Strength: 40] [Stamina: 49] [Agility: 52] [Defence/ Durability: 48] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Gravity Magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic Fast healing Heightened Senses Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] [Skills Menu:] [General Skills:] [Inspect Skill: Level MAX] [Seikuken: Level 35] [Lightning Mana Skills:] [Lightning Aura: Level 54] [Lightning Cloak: Level 24] [Indra''s Blade: Level 42] [Lightning Gauntlets: Level 46] [Indra''s arrow: Level 44 ] [Godspeed: Level 20] [Skill Locked: ???] [Skill Locked: ???] [Do you want to see your skills for your other Elements: Gravity, Fire and Ice?] [Yes/No] "No." I uttered. "Status Menu and Skill Menu Close." I lay down on my bed, hands behind my head staring up at the white ceiling. 8 years had passed just like that huh? My growth was good and steady I guess. The dream about the announcement of the candidate games remained vivid in my brain. It occurred 3 days ago. Around a round table there were about 14 people, all wearing hoods and dark robes; I could tell there were both men and women there. The last monarch said something about the ''growth period''; this period should last about 10 years, so by the time I became 22, the next stage of the candidate tournament would begin. In these 10 years I had to reach S rank; even this life was going to be stressful. I got up shaking away those thoughts and walked to the mirror, My body was now that of a teenager, thank god! Not that of a small infant any longer. I examined my face, as I tilted my head around looking at the different angles. Damn! I''m hairy! I hadn''t cut my hair once, so my brown hair made me look more like a girl than a boy. I really should cut my hair. I spent my 8 years training with my teachers, day after day, with no break in a solitary dimension that was owned by Gramps, occasionally they''d take me to a chrono chamber too for sparring practice (a place where time is fastened inside to multiply the fruits of training, while time on the outside goes normally). I had only gotten back from that dimension to the village this morning. During these 8 years I barely had time to cut my hair or look at my body, so I really didn''t realise how much my body changed till now. I was about 5''6ish now, pretty tall, and my muscles were very slim but toned. I wasn''t that frail and weak infant anymore. Over the 8 years I had received all the techniques of my masters and special educational classes on Mana manipulation and basic school tutoring so I didn''t miss out on anything, while I skipped the Primary school. What a blessing that was! I learned many new things and improved my martial arts adding the art of killing into it. My dual short sword techniques were also revised and reformed. I was definitely stronger than in my previous life too. However, I really missed my demon form, that sensational feeling of power surging through one''s veins and letting one move beyond the potentials of a basic human, I really missed that feeling. I looked at the clock, 11am! Crap! I hadn''t done my Compulsory quest yet. I looked at the top right corner of my vision. When I reached Level 3, I started receiving daily quests which I had to get done before 12 am, if not I''d receive punishments. Debuffs! Punishments varied but normally one of my main stats was halved, which was a great nuisance. Every 10 levels these quests got progressively harder and harder. "Quests Menu Open." [Quests Menu:] [General Quests: None] [Compulsory Quests:0/20 Km ran 0/300 Push ups 0/300 Sit ups 0/300 Squats 0/30 min meditation] [Rewards: 5000 Exp] I had exactly 1 hour to do all these. Crap! "Quests Menu Close." I immediately got down to the floor and started doing my push ups, sit ups and squats. After about 10 minutes I was done. That left me with 50 minutes to finish my 20Km run and half an hour meditation. I decided to meditate first and for my run I decided I would cheat a little. After my meditation and mana gathering was done I activated my most powerful skill: Godspeed! Godspeed was one of the recent skills I unlocked so I barely had time to level up the skill, levelling up skills took a lot of time, with constant use only did skills level up. Anyhow, I activated Godspeed, and My hair rose up and violent lightning bolts were forming around my body, moving like snakes. Time slowed around me as I moved, I left a thunderclap moving faster than the speed of sound, I broke the sound barrier. However, this took 500MP per second and put a huge toll on my body, a huge price to pay. That didn''t matter though, I wasn''t fighting right now so I didn''t need to worry about my MP, I just wanted to let loose and use the skill for fun, I stopped using the skill and did some calculations in my head; Am I stupid? If I ran at 1.25 times the speed of sound and my mana depleted 500 MP/s, I still wouldn''t make it due to exhaustion. I could run for about 10 seconds max before my mana depleted; now for the distance covered, the speed of sound is roughly 340 m/s, but I can travel 25% faster than that, so in conclusion I could theoretically cover 425 metres in a second. That leads to me covering 4.25km in 10 seconds max, I''m still 15.75km short from my goal and I''d most likely not have enough energy to even run the rest. Therefore, I decided to use the more rational method, just use my lightning aura for a 30% boost in my natural speed and run the 20km. My average running speed without the lightning aura boost was 20m/s, so it should take me roughly under 15 minutes to run the 20km. Perfect! And so I headed out. ** "You''re finally back. Where were you kiddo?" Gramps spoke inviting me in, as I entered into the house still huffing and puffing. Everyone was at the table. Including mum! A burst of joy ran circles around my heart. When was the last time I saw her beautiful face? "Mum! It''s been so long!" I shrieked overzealously as I ran to hug my mother for the first time in 8 years. She had left me abruptly after my father''s death, to this day I don''t know why. "I''ve missed you so much too. I am so sorry for leaving you like that, what an unmotherly thing to do!" she scolded herself as she wept and hugged me. Seeing her brought back memories of the past and our days together with Father. I clenched her tightly in my arms. "I will never let anyone harm my family ever again." I said with a smile, trying to comfort her. "Hey let us join in too!" the hunched assassin spoke as he joined the two and leapt in for the hug. "I''m here too you know!" Miss Elena spoke in glee, moving to the other side of where the hunched assassin was and joined the large hug. At this rate I was going to be squished. "Hahahaha! You young ones, let me show you what a hug really is!" Gramps smiled suspiciously. NOoo! We''re dead if he joins us! AAAggghhh!! ** "Okay, that''s enough back to the real task at hand. Zeref sit down, we were discussing something while you were out, it''s very important." Gramps spoke, I sat down accordingly and listened, "It''s time for you to go to school, High School to be exact." "School? I thought I didn''t have to go to school?" I questioned. "Sorry kid, it''s not our choice, your mother insisted you see more of the outside world now and be a normal person; she knows you were training for revenge but you have to remember your age, you''re still 12."Gramps replied, folding his arms like he had nothing to do with this. Miss Elena gave me a wry smile, "As a bonus You''ll be going to the same academy as Malia." "Wait, How''s that a bonus? What are you trying to imply woman." I replied straight away at the cunning women. "There''s no choice kid, it''s your mother''s orders, no discussion needed, you''ll be going to school starting in 2 days, since you''ve already missed 1 year of the Academy, you''ll have to join and adjust, i have no doubts you will be fine." Gramps replied, stroking his beard. "That''s not the problem, I just don''t want t-" My complaint was cut off by Gramps. "Well that''s decided, now let''s get shopping! You need stuff for the academy, you''re going to be going there soon." Gramps laughed ignoring me. "Fine. Can I just ask what''s the name of the academy?" I queried, finally accepting my fate. "Xanxus Academy of Magic." the hunched assassin replied. "Whaaaat! You run an academy?! But I don''t want to be an assassin." I said out of surprise. "Don''t be stupid you fool!" the hunched assassin got up and wacked my head downwards with his fists. Ow man! "What''s wrong with being an assassin, it''s a well feared title, plus my academy is not just for aspiring assassins, my academy is prestigious and teaches all variants of magic. That''s not all the reputation of my academy is so great, many people from different races know it and send their children there to learn. Don''t make assumptions before you''ve even gone there." he snapped back at me. So Mr Xanxus was an extremely famous person whilst also being an assassin. "Okay, I''m sorry." I replied back. "I mean you can always join the military, I''ll make sure to make a good soldier out of you..." Miss Elena spoke while sipping her coffee. "Who do you think you are deciding that, you ironing board." the hunched assassin started. "I''m not deciding on it. I''m simply suggesting it." Miss Elena shrugged. "Well, don''t! The boy doesn''t need to join the fricking military like an average bimbo." Xanxus rolled his eyes. Instead of saying something back, Miss Elena shot her middle finger up at him. I laughed when Xanxus tried to bite her finger like a rabid dog. "AH-OW! You wild animal!" Miss Elena yanked her hand back and cradled it. "Big disgusting baldy might get rabies" she complained under her breath. Not this again! I shook my head. They were like little kids. Mother chuckled at their small fight. "What is it with you and my baldness, hahahaha! Is it cause my head is rounder than your chest." he laughed uncontrollably like a madman. I won''t lie, that was pretty funny, so I laughed fake coughing in between, trying to show that I was neutral in all of this. "You''ve gone and done it now, I''m going to send you to Martha!" She shouted, as wind started to gather up around her. "Come at me you old hag!" The hunched assassin finally stood up straight and his hands began to freeze due to his ice mana manipulation. In the 8 years, I sparred with them a dozen times. Both of them were powerful. Mr Xanxus was at Level 67 while Miss Elena was Level 64. Gramps was the highest at level 78. I wasn''t that far behind in terms of strength. Except for the fact that my ice and fire powers weren''t that fully developed and I couldn''t use it as well as my gravity and lightning. Their argument was escalating into a brawl now, both Miss Elena and Mr Xanxus were exercising their mana. I went to my mother''s side just in case. "Aaaaaghhhh!" they both screamed their battle cries, as they threw a straight punch at each other. However their punches didn''t reach each other. Gramps appeared in between the two and stopped both their fists with 1 finger. Cool! "Okay, that''s playtime over, Xanxus take Zeref to town and buy the stuff he needs, make sure you get him a weapon too." Gramps spoke sternly, "Now go." "Fine old man, Zeref come with me, we''re going to town." as he said that he reached into his pocket and took out a green portal, I had bad experiences with portals. Not again. He threw the device to the ground and a portal formed; he jumped straight in and I followed. "Bye everyone, see you guys in a bit." I said before jumping into the portal. They all waved back, even Miss Elena waved sourly. [You have entered a Green Portal] Chapter 12 - Preparing For School Once I stepped out of the portal, the air lost it''s thick rubber smell and instead, the marvellous smell of cakes filled my nose. The air was fresh today, almost sweet, and I couldn''t help but feel joyous for what was to come. Xanxus turned to check if I was there, then advanced towards the torturous bundle of people weaving in between each other, trying to get to their desired shops. I had no choice but to follow him. I was like a raindrop joining the ocean, I was instantly pulled into the bundle and merged into the chaos. Hands were everywhere and a mixture of different peoples breaths fanned into my face. EW, STANKY! I scrunched my nose and skimmed around for Xanxus, just to find him being rolled out of the crowd like an unwanted ball. Each person moved, shoulder to shoulder, creating a hot burning friction against my skin. I AM BEING DRAGGED!!!!!! I started to panic as my breathing became frantic. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shirt. I was pulled towards the person with such force, the people in my way were flung to the side. I fell head first with the person who pulled me and we both tumbled on the side of the street. Then I heard that familiar laugh I looked up and saw the same pair of brown doe eyes "Malia." I grunted. "Hello to you too Zeref." she pushed me off of her and got up. "You''ve grown... Jeez, you LOOK grown." her eyes scanned me up and down while she brushed herself off. I felt uncomfortable. "Don''t look at me like that." I pushed myself off the cobbled street. "Z-Zeref!!! Mali-AHH!" a strained voice called out behind us. We both turned our heads to see Xanxus drowning in the crowd still trying to reach us. He wasn''t making much progress. The crowd was brutal. I grimaced at the memory of those musty faces rubbing against mine. Euh "It''s been too long, you look more like a man now." Malia spoke as she patted my arm to feel my muscles. What the hell was she thinking? "I mean I''m not the only one that grew," I returned, looking down at her. Her gaze met mine and she realised what I was hinting at; she threw a straight punch at my face, mixed with mana. Out of instinct, I parried her fist to the right and stepped back a few steps. "You weren''t meant to block that stupid!" she groaned. Here I was thinking she had matured as much as her looks, guess I was wrong. Her hair was naturally curled like big springs around her shoulders, stopping just below her breasts, with lighter brown streaks. Her lips were more plump and pouty. She looked healthy and her light olive skin tone shone under the sun. She hasn''t changed at all except for the fact that her freckles were less visible under her eye but the cute little ones on her nose could still be seen. I smirked at her as I realised what she was wearing. "You''re the one wearing a napkin as a top," I protested while laughing. Although it felt weird since I was mentally older than Malia, I figured this was my life now. I should get used to it. I''m a kid. "It''s a freaking tube top you idiot" she said while hitting my bicep continuously. She had changed a lot since I saw her. You could tell she was going through the maturity phase but seriously, how do you not feel cold in a tube top?! I still found it funny how elements of my old world were in this world. People wear pretty modern clothes and shoes but things like technology hadn''t peaked yet. "Hey love birds, you realise we''re out in public right now, Zeref hurry up and follow me." the hunched assassin spoke annoyingly. "Anyhow, Zeref what brought you to town?" Malia asked this time, keeping her distance while we followed Xanxus. "I mean I could ask you the same thing, My mother is forcing me to join that old man''s academy and get some education. Bummer." I replied. "No way! I go to that academy too, I guess we''re going to be classmates then, that''s nice. To be honest I''m only in town to buy my books for the second year." "Mmh, great!" This situation was cringing me out. UGhh! I''ve become such an introvert. This is what 8 years of hiding from civilization does. "Zeref, hurry up! We don''t have all day you know!" Mr Xanxus spoke loudly, trying to speak over the bustling noise of people. He stood outside a red shop, covered with posters of new accessories and clothes on sale. I was finally getting some proper clothes! *** I stood up tall in front of the mirror. Hm. I looked at myself in satisfaction. Damn, this body is good looking. I''m impressed. The uniform was black: a black blazer with the golden crest symbol thingy, a black blouse with a yellow line outlining the V neck, a yellow and navy blue kriss kross tie, black trousers and black trainers. Not bad. I spun on my heels facing Xanxus and Malia. "I approve. Let''s buy it" I nodded while smirking. Xanxus scoffed and Malia rolled her eyes. "We weren''t asking. It''s the uniform." Xanxus chuckled. "It''s compulsory you fool." Malia patted my shoulder. I laughed and walked back into the changing room to take off the uniform. My black hair was so wavy to the point where I had curtain bangs. My hair was just above my ear. I had really grown a lot since I first came to Gramp''s house. People mistake me for being 15 years old. I have all muscle and no fat and have broad ass shoulders. However, I really needed to cut this long ass hair. For the time being I just kept it in a man bun. "Mr Xanxus, do you think we could take this thing to the hairdressers by any chance?" Malia asked the hunched assassin, pointing her finger at me. What?! Was I that hideous? She called me a ''thing''. Damn! To be honest I was going to ask the same thing. "I guess he does look a bit hideous, yeah, no worries we can go at the end." he replied annoyed. I believe he was still salty about what had happened at home. He didn''t win or lose, I guess he just hated draws. "Hideous?!" I gasped at his choice of words. "It''s the truth," Malia laughed. I couldn''t help but smile. We picked up some more high end clothes and exited the shop. "Oh shucks! Look at the time! Sorry Mr Xanxus, I have to run. Bye Zeref! See you at school!" she shouted hastily as she zigzagged through the crowd, why was she in such a hurry? Beats me. "Okay, next on the list" the hunched assassin, pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper, showing a list of things I needed, "Kiddo, I''m going to give you some money, go get your weapons that you need, I''m going to go buy your books." Before I could dispute he dropped a sac of Gold coins in my hands and pointed the way, then rushed away, disappearing into the crowd. I really couldn''t believe this man. Unbelievable! I went in the direction he pointed and walked on, moving in between the crowd. This reminded me of when I discovered one of my best defensive Skill: Seikuken. This skill allowed me to detect the movement in the atmosphere in a certain radius from my body. At my level it had a radius of a metre all around my body. In this radius, my perception, senses and physical abilities were heightened, so I could defend attacks from multiple directions or have enough time to block, evade, redirect, do all sorts of defensive moves efficiently, when an attack came in my seikuken range. It was really helpful! Especially against the hunched assassin''s close combat killing style. He was deadlier than he looked. I genuinely struggled when we faced each other. "Someone help!! I''m bein-" a muffled scream of a girl''s voice came from an alleyway 5 metres in front of me. I looked around to see what the public''s reaction was, but they all just looked away or ignored the sounds. Typical. I hastened my pace a little and got to the source of the scream. 4 men shrouded in black robes surrounded the poor girl, she had animalish ears, like a dog''s, she was from the Were men race! They were extremely rare and rumours have it that they''re almost extinct. I diminished my presence, by controlling the mana particles around me and listened to their conversation, I had to know what I was getting myself into. I activated my Inspect skill and my eyes turned to an azure blue again. The Inspect skill was all maxed out now so I could see all the texts. It was odd though they were all at the same level, they were named Recruits A, B,C,D. How unambitious. [Name: Recruit A] [Level: 17] [Mana pool stage: 2] [Weaknesses: Flame Magic, Hand-to-hand combat, Lightning Magic, Light Magic] [Name: Recruit B] [Level: 17] [Mana pool stage: 2] [Weaknesses: Flame Magic, Hand-to-hand combat, Lightning Magic, Light Magic] And the same showed for the other two. "Yes men! We''ve caught ourselves a hefty one, how much do you think she''d sell for? Maybe the boss may want to play with her instead?" I heard one of them say. The poor girl sobbed, while the largest man tied her and covered her mouth with a white cloth. They were black market human traffickers, lowest of the low! "Maybe we should kill her instead and sell her organs, do you think we''d make more money that way?" another one spoke. She tried to scream but the noise came out as a muffled yelp. "Stay quiet! Stupid girl!" the one on the right brought his arm up bringing it down as a slap." What the-" the man looked at his wrist, it was gone! "Aaghghhhh! My hand!" he screamed out in agony, as the blood gushed out like a fountain, that''s not the only thing that was going to be missing, next his head was sliced off clean by something, blood poured out of the top of the decapitated body, staining the floor with gooey red. "Aaaghhh! My legs!" this time the one on the left screamed out as his legs were smashed, so sharp white pieces could be seen protruding out of his red flesh. Then Snap! His head was twisted backwards a full 180 degrees . Thud! The body fell impacting the concrete floor, lifeless. "Wh- Who''s there! Show yourself! Do you know who we-" before he could finish his sentence, blood started gushing out from where his heart once was. He looked down in horror at the hole in his chest. "Looking for this?" I finally showed myself, wearing a mask that I made by ripping my vest, still holding his beating heart in my hands. His face went pale, losing all expression; he reached out with his hand to grab his heart, but his body fell in the same fashion as his peer. The were girl moved to the side flopping on the floor like a fish, since her body was all tied up. "You- You stay away from me! You monster!" the last lone survivor fell to the ground and started to crawl backwards out of sheer fear. "Can you smell that? It''s the smell of fear." I said advancing forwards. The man moved backwards still on the floor, and pissed his pants. "Please- I beg you have mercy!" he knew he''d suffer the same fate as his peers so he begged at my feet. I side kicked his body, smashing him into the wall of the alleyway, then grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up with one arm. He started to cry. "If you answer all my questions, I''ll think about letting you go. Stand here, if you make a noise or move from that spot I''ll end your life in seconds, is that clear?" I warned the lone pathetic survivor. I relaxed my grip and put him down, then turned backwards to where the poor girl was frantically moving, trying to get loose. I first removed the cloth covering her mouth, then untied the rope. She leapt forward and hugged me with two hands. What the- "What took you so long sis?!" she cried in my arms, still hugging me. LMAO!! Did she think I was her sister?! HAHAHA! Damn, I really needed to cut my hair and try some of those voice deepening exercises. "I''ll talk to you later, stand there," I pointed to my right and chuckled a little at her bold statement, she let go reluctantly and stared at the man with bloodlust. He shook with fear, not because of the girl but because my attention was finally on him. "First question, who hired you?" I asked coldly. "I don''t know, I swear I don''t know!" he said frantically, "AAaghhh!" both his legs snapped and he fell to the ground like a cripple. He wept again out of pain. "Don''t lie to me! Who hired you?" I exclaimed once again, this time raising my voice a little. "We- We were hired by Umbra," he said shakily, still holding his snapped legs out of agony. "Who''s Umbra?" I asked hastily, I could feel, 5 strong presences coming closer. "They''re, They''re-" "Spit it out already!" I grabbed his collar. "Stop right there! Don''t even think about moving! Did you do all this? Put your hands up now!" Like shadows the 5 men in navy blue armour surrounded us. Levels popped up on top of their heads, due to my inspect skill, the levels ranged from 20 - 24. "By order of the Metropolitan Criminal Defence Force, you are hereby under arrest," a person from behind moved into my 1 metre range from behind, I let go of the crippled guy''s collar, grabbed the arm that was coming from behind and shifted his body over my shoulder slamming him downwards, using a one handed shoulder roll. The man''s body collided with the crippled man, knocking them both out. "Brat! Don''t resist! Men, Grab him!" the man at level 30 shouted, throwing a straight fist imbued in flame mana at me. My seikuken was active so I could tell the other 3 were reaching in to grab me from behind, while their leader - the level 24 man - was going in for the attack. However, for me they were moving in slow motion. I parried the straight punch to the right, then aimed a screw shot using lightning mana at his chest. His body flew backwards tumbling to the ground. I turned back and used ice magic to freeze the other 3 men''s lower bodies, immobilising their movement. "AAghh! Stop! Don''t you move! You little brat!" one of them spoke up, pain showing in their voices. I smirked, grabbed the girl, picking her up in my arms and flash stepped from wall to wall reaching the roof of the buildings. I didn''t realise it but my mask had fallen off when I reached the roofs. "You''re not my sister! Who are you?! Let me go!" She started throwing punches at my chest frantically when she realised I was some stranger. [You have suffered 1 damage] LMAO! That made me giggle, all her struggling only for 1 damage. I ignored her useless attempt to hurt me and kept hopping from building to building until we were a safe distance away. No way! The Blacksmith''s shop was down there. I had forgotten my original goal. I jumped down from the roof and put her back down on the ground. She backed away out of caution. "I am gravely sorry for what you witnessed back there, I had initially just wanted to save you, but things got messy. Please pardon my behaviour." I quickly gave a sincere bow, trying not to initiate any further conversations. "You could''ve told me! Do you know who I am?! The way you treated me was outright disrespectful! I''m going to sue you!" she said loudly. Some people started to look our way. She was making a scene. I simply turned around and continued walking back to the shop ignoring her whining. I had things to do and quarrelling with her was not one of them. What an ungrateful brat. After killing 3 men, and confronting the police force just to save her she doesn''t even say thanks. Disgusting! I chuckled at the thought, Nobles and royals all acted the same, what was I expecting? I arrived at the weapons shop and glanced at my wrist watch. I glanced back at where I had left that whiny girl, she had already disappeared.The incident took around an hour. I reached for my pocket. Where''s the sac of gold?! I was panicking. Then a hand came from behind trying to grab my shoulder, out of instinct and habit I grabbed the arm for a shoulder roll, but my grip was broken with expert handling. I turned around to see who this person was. "Kiddo, relax! It''s just me, why are you so tense?!" Phew! It was just Mr Xanxus, I sighed in relief and answered him. "Oh sorry about that, I just got lost and thought you were a mugger or something." I scratched my head trying to show a genuine reaction. I looked down at his left hand and the sac of gold was there. What a cunning old man?! "Oh yeah this? You need to be more careful with your valuables, it was easy to steal from you." the hunched assassin remarked as he threw the sac of gold to me, and walked into the shop. I still had things to learn I guess. In my previous life I had no family and grew up in the streets, I taught myself how to fight from young; from joining underground illegal fights, I picked up fighting techniques and styles like Kick-boxing, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kyokushin Karate and how to dual wield swords. Mixing them together I made My own MMA style, called Re:MMA perfect for killing and self defense. I had recently polished it by the help of the hunched assassin''s killing style and Miss Elena''s expert knowledge with weapons. I improved a lot fighting wise, but not very much emotionally and mentally. That I had to work on. ** I walked briskly eyeing down the isles for good swords that I could use. Nothing. Nothing but absolute trash. All just heaps of scrap metal. I really missed my Holy Grade dual short swords. I returned back to the shop owner. "So young Sire, did you find anything you liked?" the man spoke smiling while rubbing his hands. He was at least 40 years old and was of the dwarf race. He was big, belly wise and was decked out in a brown coloured armour, his beard was a messy brown and his hair appeared to look like a bird''s nest. No sign of cleanliness in sight. When he smiled, one could see his crooked and bent yellow teeth and Ufff! His breath, don''t even let me begin. "Where are the real weapons? I don''t want these trainee weapons, show me where you keep the mana weapons. We''re willing to pay extra." I said looking at the old man, the hunched assassin looked at me and we gave each other a brief nod of approval. "Very well, if you''ll please follow me." Chapter 13 - New Quest! We both followed the small dwarf into a special chamber. Immediately the smell of metal wafted up my nose, and the clanging of swords could be heard coming from the end of the passage. We were in some sort of hallway. A red carpet spread from the entrance all the way to the end accompanied by large pillars, which stood like soldiers on each ends. Everything was dark, the only sources of light being the torches that were on the pillars. I activated my Seikuken just in case. [Seikuken (Level 35) will consume 1MP every minute] "We''ll be arriving shortly, sorry for not taking you there straight away sire," the humble dwarf apologised facing back at Mr Xanxus. "It''s fine Gandalf. You wanted to test him yourself right?" the hunched assassin queried. "As expected of you principal, I merely wanted to test the boy''s ability," the dwarf replied laughing loudly. What was he talking about? How does just looking through scrap metal count as a test? I shook the thoughts as we arrived. We were invited into a room filled with all sorts of luxuries by another midget dwarf. This time the swords weren''t dull like the previous ones. Each one had its own shimmer and character. "Hello Good Sirs! Welcome to the Jade Blacksmiths! We provide the highest quality weapons from across the whole kingdom of Vrimion at the most affordable prices. So what are you looking for, sir?" The merchant behind a glass counter said, gesturing at Mr Xanxus. The owner of the store, the dwarf that came with us - Gandalf - had already left and now it was just me, Mr Xanxus, the merchant and the other dwarf in the room. I studied the huge arsenal of weapons. "Actually, the weapons are not for me, it''s for my pupil here." the hunched assassin put his arm on my shoulder. The merchant smiled, unwantingly. It seemed like he doubted me. "I would like two short swords if possible please." I told the merchant, still searching for swords that suited my type. "Okay young sir, to make things faster would you like to test your mage rank, it will help determine the most suited weapons for you," "Sure." I had forgotten about the mage rankings, I had never taken a ranking test before, this was exciting! The merchant pulled out a crystal ball connected to a black gauge, from one of the cabinets and placed it on the counter. "Zeref, only use 50% of your mana, you''re going to raise too much fuss, this merchant will disclose information to anyone if it''s for money, so let''s stay low." the hunched assassin whispered into my ear, I nodded showing my understanding about the situation. "Now young sir, if you''ll please place your hands on the ball and infuse all your mana into here." "Okay." I listened to the merchant''s request and placed one hand on the ball. [MP is being drained at an exponential rate] [Do you want to cap MP output to 50%] [Yes/No] I picked ''yes'' as always. Lightning mana cackled around my hand as I kept infusing it, I tried to control my other elements from showing but my flame magic was leaking into the ball a little. I remembered what Mr Xanxus told me and removed my hand, before the merchant found out anything else about me. "Unbelievable! Ho - How is that possible?! C rank!" the merchant had a pale expression on his face. To be honest I was disappointed at hearing that but I had still capped myself at 50% power, so theoretically I was at B rank. That sounded extremely weak in my head at first, but I remembered that Miss Elena and Mr Xanxus were both at low A rank, while Gramps was at peak A rank. How powerful were the S rankers then? "Boy may I please know your name! This is unheard of, I''m talking to a prodigy." the merchant spoke up frantically, the sign of doubt gone from his face, now glowing with excitement. "Haha, I''ll tell you my name if you give me a 20% discount on some short swords." I smiled knowing I could exploit the situation, since this guy was an information addict, I could exploit the situation. The hunched assassin gave me a hidden thumbs up, the merchant''s face turned back to normal and he replied, "That''s fine, but you also need to tell me your age and what family you''re from." "Deal." I shook the man''s hand with a bright smile on my face. "Back to the main topic. Mmh, two short swords, How about you try these?" the merchant turned around and opened a glass cabinet all the way to the far left and pulled out two dark short swords. "Try these," the merchant handed me two sheathed dark black swords, I cast my Inspect skill on them: [C tier dual short swords] [Durability: 200] [Mana efficiency: 62%] [Abilities: Damage Increase 20%] [Weaknesses: Low Durability] "Take some swings at that dummy." the merchant pulled out a small button from his pocket and a hole in the ground formed, slowly a white dummy figure ascended from the hole, a complete replica of a human figure. I pulled out the shimmering swords and held the coal black hilts in my two hands. I took a couple steps forward and was near the dummy. To warm up I spun the two short swords in my hands, I could feel the merchant''s astonished gaze at my easy handling of the weapons; to me they were like toys. The swords were surprisingly light, it might''ve been because of my strength stat which was at 40. Who knows? I made a diagonal slash with the sword in my right hand and spun, slicing backwards as I spun anti-clockwise with the sword in my left. The dummy had two clean cuts through its torso, creating an ''X'' shape; it fell on the ground in pieces. I looked back at the swords, Shucks! Both blades were chipped. "Amazing!" I could hear the merchant''s admiration. "These blades won''t do," I said out loud placing the sheaths and the blades back on to the glass counter. The merchant frowned, "What do you mean? Those were the most beautiful cuts I have ever seen." "The swords aren''t the problem, he''s the problem." Mr Xanxus butted in looking at me. "Sorry, but I''m really confused right now. Could you elaborate, young sir." the merchant smiled scratching his head. "He''s too powerful for the swords, he only did two moves and they already have chips in them, show us something better." Mr Xanxus spoke crossing his arms in boredom. "Oh my goodness! Astonishing!" the merchant picked up the sword from the counter and studied the chips on the blades. Mr Xanxus gave him a sharp look and he put them straight back down. I was also getting tired of this fool. "Sorry about that. Ooo! I have the perfect blade for you young sir, wait here." the merchant said excitedly, what was this waffler going to bring now? He took out some keys and opened a door furthest to our right, he entered the mysterious room disappearing out of sight. After a couple minutes he came out with a rectangular box in his hand, coated in what looked like pure gold and red rubies engraved on its sides. Glamorous! "Here we are! I am extremely sorry but we don''t have any better dual swords than the ones you chipped, here is our finest short sword, the hilt was forged with the scales of the mighty dragon: Voadhailis, and the blade was crafted from its claws. There are only 10 replicas of these in the world, so you can tell how rare these are, this one is number 3 out of the 10 ." the merchant spoke taking out the sheathed sword and carefully placing it in my hand. I studied the weapon in my hand. Apart from the spectacular design of the red hilt, the silver blade was extremely well forged and refined; even with my inspect skill I couldn''t see any faults. It even emitted a powerful aura, I couldn''t even fathom how powerful the actual dragon was. [S tier Short Sword: Voadhailis''s claw (Original)] [Durability: 1000] [Mana efficiency: 98%] [Abilities: Damage Increase 70% Damage Increase with flame magic use 100% - 250% Increased power of flame attacks by 100%] [Weaknesses: Speed of attacks slowed by 15% when not using flame mana Reduces stamina rapidly when using its abilities Reduces MP at a fast rate when using abilities] ''Original?'' This was the original ''Voadhailis''s claw''. Damn!! My luck was great today! The good thing was the merchant didn''t even know himself. This weapon was extremely versatile, however it had its flaws, it was basically a double edged sword. I could only use flame magic with it, if I didn''t it would just become a normal weapon. My thoughts were interrupted. Some peculiar notifications popped up in my view and a smile stretched across my face. [Quest Title: Tame the Dragon of flames, become Voadhailis''s master!] [New Quest: Become the owner of S tier Short Sword: Voadhailis''s claw (Original)] [Rewards: 20,000 Exp] [New Quest: Retrieve Voadhailis''s Body from the Human Kingdom] [Rewards: 50,000 Exp] [New Quest: Retrieve the potion of life from the Elven Kingdom and revive The Dragon of Flames Voadhailis] [Rewards: Instant Level Up] [New Quest: Make a bond with the Dragon of Flames Voadhailis] [Reward: Instant Level Up x5] [Do you want to accept the quests?] [Yes/No] Sweet! After a long time, I had finally gotten some quests. If I was still in training I would have finished these quests by now but school washindering this progress. What a drag! I decided to just accept the quest. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up! You are now level 58 !] [You have 5 Spare stat points!] "Well sir, do you want to test out these weap-" before the merchant could finish, I spoke up. With my poker face on I replied, "How Much?" He picked up the vibe and replied, "500 platinum coins and 20,000 Gold coins." "That''s absurd! Zeref let''s just leave this time waster!" Mr Xanxus disputed turning around. I grabbed his sleeve and stopped him from leaving. "520 platinum coins and my name." I negotiated. "550 platinum coins and your name." the merchant returned with a smile. "530 or no deal." I renegotiated staying firm on my offer. "Do you have that kind of money young sir?" the merchant gave a cold glare. "Off course." "Done!" the merchant shouted, shaking my hand excitedly, "As a gift from us I''ll provide you with a top quality leather belt to hold your new sword as well." "Thank you." I smiled at the kind gesture. The man again, took out keys from his pocket and walked through the door he previously went into. After a couple minutes he came out with a dark brown belt and matching grieves. "Take this as a gift too, these are on the house. These grieves are scripted with defensive A grade spells." the merchant gave me the jacket and belt. "Do you mind if I give you a cheque instead, I''m not exactly carrying around that much money." I said, scratching my head. "Yeah that''s fine," he pulled out a cheque book and a pen. "If you''ll please sign here." As Instructed I did what he asked, then attached my sword to my back, grabbed the grieves and we were off. "Oh wait, what''s your name?!" the merchant shouted as we were leaving. "Zeref Amara." ** "We''re home!" It was already night time and the journey back was long, the stupid hunched assasin didn''t have a portal to return back, so we had to run back. [You are fatigued, all stats will be reduced by 50%] The system gave me debuffs like these all the time during my 8 years, but I never knew why. "Ohh honey you''re home!" my mother ran down the stairs and gave me a hug. We were the same height now, how time flew by. "Go get refreshed, your first day of school is tomorrow, Miss elena will pick you up in the morning." she said before letting go and heading to the kitchen. I will definitely protect her no matter what. Chapter 14 - Malia Is Late WARNING: This chapter contains the topic off CHILD ABUSE! After I left Zeref at the store, I ran into the school book shop, barging open the door, the bell rang loudly. Trying to catch my breath, I ran to the counter slamming a sac of silver in the concerned shop owners hand. "Level 6 magical history book please" I panted out as my heart pounded out of my chest. ''You idiot! How could you get distracted?'' I mentally scolded myself while pushing my hair back out of my face and biting my lip in a stressed state. I watched as the shopkeeper went to the back of the shop to get my book. Oh, hurry. Please hurry!!! I tapped my foot, impatiently. "Hey, look." I heard a creepy whisper behind me. I could feel the presence of older boys behind me, making me even more frustrated. Following the rhythm of my foot tapping, I tried taking calm, easy breaths but was interrupted when I heard a nasty whistle from one of those guys, and footsteps advancing towards me. A hand snaked its way around my waist and my breath went rigid for a second before I realised this guy really touched a 12 year old like that. I swiped his arm off my waist and maneuvered around him, with two hands I grabbed his neck and twisted him into a headlock before kneeing his back with all my strength. His friends gasped and the boy wheezed from the lack of oxygen. I finally pushed him to the ground and glared at them. "Did I say you could touch me?" I spat, shining my red fire eyes at him, showing him I was a noble. I smirked at their change in expression from lustful to fearful. When the boy tried to get up, I put my foot on his chest and he let me because he knew that he would never get away with touching a noble. "Stay down." I changed my face into an expressionless deadly stare. His friends stayed silent, praying for their friend''s fate. "S-Sorry I thought you were someone e-else." the guy under me put his arms up to surrender. I clenched my jaw. I HATE liars. The people in the shop were trembling as they noticed my change of stance. I took my foot off his chest and he quickly sat up. I knelt down to his level and glared into his eyes before forcing myself to speak through my anger. "Go." my voice came out deep and huskyish, clearly dripping in venom. I didn''t have to blink twice; they were out of the shop. I stood up again facing the counter with my eyebrows furrowed. What''s taking so long?! It''s one book!!! "Sir please can you hurry?" I peeked down the long hall of books. "Sorry miss but we ran out of those books. Our next shipment is on Wednesday. You-" A waste of time!!! I huffed and ran out before he could finish. I felt bad but I really was limited on time and I used most of it catching up with Zeref. I smiled at the thought of Zeref and his long ass hair but the thought left as soon as it came. Shit! My breaths came in small spurts. Trying to push myself forwards to run faster, a drop of sweat rolled down the side of my face. No, no, no!!! My nails dug into my palms, curled into tight fists, as I swung them faster to pick up more speed. My feet kicked back behind me and at that point, I was going as fast as I could. I finally saw my house ahead and sped towards it. I looked at the big clock at the top of the door and felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach, realising I was 5 minutes late. I stood, glued to my spot, feeling the world spin beneath me. I don''t want to go in. Please. I begged myself not to walk in but I knew I had too. My lip quivered slightly as I shook my head, refusing to cry. Spinning away from the door, I looked out into the greenery, my tears threatening to fall. I felt the pain in my throat itching to be released. Cautiously, I let a tiny whimper escape my lips before quickly sealing my lips into a tight, firm line, looking up and breathing through my nose with my eyes glossy. ''Don''t give into the ache, don''t give into the ache, don''t give into the ache'' I repeated in my head as I sniffed, trying to control my tears. I wasn''t crying about the fact that I was late. Jeez, I''m such a cry baby. I''m crying over everything... I hated feeling like this; the desperate feeling of having absolutely nowhere to turn for solace, and then just having to stand there and experience the anguish, realising that there was nothing you could do. It''s the most helpless feeling in the world but... I have experienced it too many times. I should be used to it. Get yourself together Malia. I squeezed my eyes shut and like they were never there, the tears disappeared. Inhaling and exhaling, I turned back to the door in determination. There''s nowhere to run; let''s just get it over with. Swinging open the heavy wooden door with all my might, the door banged against the wall and the view of the living room was wide into my view. To my horror, my father sat in his chair staring at me. My two elder brothers were sitting on the long sofa next to him and one of them (my step brother, Kenny) smirked at me knowing what was to come and my real brother (Mike) looked at me, apologetically because he knew he couldn''t stop my fate. "7 minutes late." my stepmother spoke from behind me, shutting the doors and locking them. My eyes darted around the room as my pulse pounded against my head. "Malia. What are you wearing?" my eldest step brother spoke, knowingly. I scoffed. This family can suck a cow. "You tell me Kenny. You''re the ones who shredded all my shirts and only left my crop tops. Pedo." I spoke in a civil tone but anyone could tell I was holding back my monstrous rage. The room gasped but my father kept staring at me. "Hah. No I didn''t. You have no proof," Kenny spoke, evilly. I knew this was my line to stop. I had proof but in no way was I allowed to prove my innocence. I sighed in defeat and my stepbrother snickered. "Malia, come here." my fathers cruel voice finally spoke. I hadn''t even stepped in front of him and I was already shaking. "I-I''m sorry I''m late. The book was sold out." I squeaked as tears automatically poured out of my eyes. My body shook noticeably and my fear grew higher and higher. The room felt suffocating. Hah, this house is suffocating. "I SAID COME HERE!!!!" His voice boomed through the house and I scurried in front of him, ignoring the wide smirks on Kenny and my stepmother''s face. My father stood up off of his seat and that was my brother and step-brothers cue to leave, unwillingly. "Father, I''m-" before I could finish, a hand smacked down onto my face full force causing my face to snap to the side and stumble a little, spitting out blood. I kept my head low and my gaze on the floor. My tears started to fall quicker and hotter. "Don''t call me your father, you MISTAKE!" he yanked my hair up, keeping me from collapsing. I knew not to make a noise, this happened way too often and I knew the rhythm of this song way too well. First, he will tell me I''m a mistake, then he''ll tell me how I was meant to be a boy. "I wanted a son but no, God gave me YOU!" he spat the words into my ear making sure it sunk into my brain. I wanted to scoff and spit in his face but ya girl needs a roof over her head so that''s not an option. At times like this, I''d talk to myself while he beat me unconscious. It made me feel less alone. After telling me how much I''m a disgrace to the family- "YOUR A DISGRACE TO THIS BLOODLINE!" - he''d either have mercy and choke me and punch me unconscious or he''d torture me till the neighbours knocked on our door. I laid limp like a ragdoll as he kicked my lower abdomen and choked me with both of his hands. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see his face. I focused on my breathing, taking quick short breaths. Sometimes, I''d even fake unconscious so he''d end it. He continuously punched my stomach while yelling, "You will never be good enough! Just kill yourself! I hate you! You may be the most talented but that just makes me think IF ONLY YOU WERE A BOY!!!!!" I faded his voice out and thought. If only I was a boy. I couldn''t fall into a peaceful trance because I was brought back to reality with a sharp pain piercing my arm. The shock was too sudden and I accidentally let out a blood curdling scream. My step-mother was cutting my flesh in short lines. "You thick skinned devil. Lets see how long you can put on a strong face when I peel off your wretched mask" she panted as she enjoyed cutting my skin. My father finally let me go and so did my step-mother. I laid there, too afraid to move. No joke I make will ever fix the fact that I am hated and will never be loved. A single tear dropped down and I laid on my side with no intention of getting up. I wasn''t expecting the knife part but it''s still the same old same old. My bloody arm was laid out in front of me and I saw the continuous row of lines all the way to my wrist. I can always tell myself I am beautiful and stuff but it doesn''t change the fact that deep down inside, I hate myself. "The thing I hate most is that you look. Just. like. your. Mother." he said as he stormed off with his plastic wife. I felt a sharp pang in my chest in the mentions of my mother, I hadn''t seen her face in 6 years. I sometimes like to imagine that she''s in a field full of flowers.. She was a beautiful woman, unlike my disgusting father who was pure trash. My mum was a wild, savage, rogue wolf who couldn''t be tamed but somehow, my father trapped her into marrying him. Mum was a free soul, living in the woods, until he came. She had the most enchanting smile and her and my brother were the only people I felt safe around. Sometimes, my step-brother would beat me black and blue, just because I was half ''rogue''. He treats me like I''m a rabid dog. I felt someone stroke my hair out of my face gently as I was still laying on my side. "Malia," Mike whispered. I instantly got up despite the excruciating pain I felt and smiled at him with all my teeth. "Mike." I smiled. His eyes watered and I frowned. Mike and I were only 2 years apart so we were really close. He was older but was always more immature, maybe because he was pampered since birth and I wasn''t. "Stop doing that," his voice cracked and a tear rolled down his face. "Doing what?" I giggled and wiped his tears with my thumb. "Doing THAT! Pretending you''re okay. I''m the elder brother. I''m meant to protect you!" he sniffed and I just giggled ignoring the itching feeling to take comfort in him. "You have a weak heart, big baby. I''m okay," I laughed more in an attempt to convince myself I was fine. "Shut up!" he cried into the crook of my neck and I patted his back letting him cry it out. *** "OW!" I flinched away from the cotton ball filled with a burning liquid. Mike ignored my yelps and pressed the medicine onto the corner of my lip. He was mad because I forced him not to bandage up the cuts on my arm. I just washed the blood off. I held the ice pack to my face and stared at him as he cleaned my busted lip. "I have school tomorrow. Lend me your scarf. The hand print isn''t attractive and Kenny tore up my-" I couldn''t finish my sentence because Mike shushed me. I gasped at his audacity. "You''re going to make your lip bleed again. Stop talking." he rolled his eyes as I giggled. I continued staring at his ugly face, reminiscing how grateful I felt to have at least one person, one person in my life, that I could share my happy moments with. "Thanks, Mike..." Chapter 15 - First Day Of School -Zeref''s POV- "First day of school, Mr King!" the old man splashed water at me and topped it off with a whack with a pillow at my face. I groaned "Grandpa, 2 more minutes." I laid on my side facing away from him but quickly grew annoyed at the water soaking my pillow making it really uncomfortable. "UGH" I flung the sheets off of my body and stood up, wiping the water off my face. Sometimes, I really missed being King. Grandpa chuckled and slapped my shoulder making me smirk to myself. I walked into my bathroom and brushed my teeth then made my way downstairs to do my Compulsory quests since I was going to sweat, I decided to take a shower later. I cracked my knuckles and neck and stretched my limbs then got to work. "Quests Menu Open." [Quests Menu:] [General Quests: None] [Compulsory Quests:0/20 Km ran 0/300 Push ups 0/300 Sit ups 0/300 Squats 0/30 min meditation] [Rewards: 5000 Exp] *** I finished showering and put on my dark uniform. I equipped my new grieves and belt too. For some reason I felt excited. Excited to go back to school. How many years had it been? The bell to our house rang and I rushed downstairs and opened the door to see Miss Elena. "Hey." she spoke before shoving me to the side so she could slip her way in. "Not even a Good Morning. Wow." I said out of annoyance. She scanned the house for what I''m guessing was a sight of the hunched assassin. Even under all their arguments and hate, anyone could tell that the two liked each other. It was 7:47 in the morning and we still had 1 hour left till school started, at 8:30. Yesterday, after I got back from shopping, my mother told me Miss Elena would take me to school but... why was she so early? "We got to leave early to pick up Malia." she wiggled her eyebrows while saying Malia''s name in a teasing voice. I grunted and decided not to argue with her, "Fine. Wait here," I said, running up the stairs to grab my bag. *** We rang the doorbell to her house. I was quite surprised at her big house. Malia was really well off, I forgot she was a noble. The wooden door opened to a muscular man at the door with eyes like Malia''s. "Arthur, how nice it is to see you?" Miss Elena spoke up, sweetly. "Why are you here? Commander Elena of the Vrimeon Army." he rolled his eyes. Miss Elena and I exchanged looks. This whole man''s persona bothered me. No respect whatsoever. "No actually...we are here for Malia, we''re going to drop your daughter off to school." she continued. "MALIA! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" his voice demanded respect and his posture showed authority. I hadn''t really seen the red headed man interact with his daughter before but this was shocking. This guy was a real prick! Even when he spoke with us back when I just arrived, his persona was too arrogant. I hated it. Peeking past his broad shoulders I saw Malia scurrying down the stairs in a panic state, her bag bouncing against her back. "Father I-!" Malia froze after seeing me and walked casually towards the door. "Zeref?" she sounded surprised. I averted my gaze from her, while Miss Elena told her we''d be dropping her to school. She smiled before looking at her father for approval. I stared at her fathers stiff face. Something was really off about that guy. Mr Stronghold nodded begrudgingly and mumbled something to her before walking back inside. Malia paused for a second before smiling back at Miss Elena and I. "Shall we go?" she said before advancing and closing the door behind her. "What happened to your face?" I asked her out of curiosity, her lip were busted and she had a reddish cheek which you couldn''t notice unless you were really paying attention. "Oh this! They''re nothing, I just foolishly fell down the stairs yesterday. Ooo! Nice hair cut, you finally look more manly! I might even fall for you," Malia giggled, changing the topic half way. I rolled my eyes at her teasing, last night I decided to cut my hair myself with some scissors, since we didn''t have time to go to the hairdressers as it was already getting late, I guess it worked out alright though. I stared at her face again. How do you get a busted lip from falling down the stairs? "What''s with all the layers Malia? It''s not that cold today," I chuckled, pointing at her scarf. She clutched it uncomfortably, her smile changed, "Malia is something wrong?" I asked, confused. "Let''s see who gets to school first, I''ll race you!" she blurted out laughing as she sprinted past Miss Elena. It didn''t take a genius to realise there was something wrong, but for the time being I decided to play her game. I sprinted after her. ** "Woah!" is all I thought in my head as I stood in front of the school gates, mesmerised by the campus I was going to step into. A solitary pathway going on for 200 metres, took us straight in front of the towering building. Almost as large and antique as my old castle. The glass was old and the walls were a yellowish red, showing age. How long ago was this made? A sharp blow to my ribs snapped me out of my trance, I hadn''t felt that in a long time. "The bell is going to ring soon, we need to go to our form rooms. What form room are you in?" Malia asked, grabbing my hand pulling me towards the inside of the capacious building. "Uh-uh Class 2C." I moved my hand out of her grip. "Yes! I''m not in your form room! Haha! Don''t miss me too much, your form room is the one on the right." She led me up a couple flights of stairs and into a wide corridor, then pointed to a room to her right - which was supposedly my form room. The halls were crowded with teenagers and I stood out like a sore thumb. Most of the children were short or really skinny. "See you later! Maybe at break!" she said excitedly before walking into the room opposite the one she pointed to. I waved back and walked into the room. The room was pretty big, the desks were all individual and independent, one for each student, pretty much like in Asia, the windows on the right side of the classroom were perfect, they let in the beautiful sunny light extremely well. Students all my age were around me chatting away; How did I agree to this? I had forgotten how going to school felt. Everyone already had their own friend groups, and huddled together talking about what they had done in the holidays. It must have been my bad luck again that I joined in the middle of the year. I was doomed to be a loner again. A hand was coming from behind to grab my shoulder while I slowly walked, instinctively I grabbed the hand in for a shoulder roll. The body moved up and over and slammed onto the ground. It was just a student. Oh damn! Did I kill him? He laid limp on the ground. Everyone looked my way. Oops. "Ow! Come on man, what was that for? At Least help me up," The kid groaned complaining. I sighed while lending him my arm. Once he took my hand, I pulled him up and his whole body lifted into the air for a second before he could find his footing and stand. He was up till my ears and wasn''t fat nor skinny. He had tanned dark brown skin and curly permed hair with black eyes. "Sorry about that. It was just a reflex." I stated. "What kind of monstrous reflexes are those?" He said, still massaging his sore back. "Dunno." I ignored him and continued walking to the back of the class to the window seat. Malia told me previously, the seat you picked was your seat for the rest of the year, so I wanted the peaceful one, of course! That was more important. "Hey! Wait up man," I heard the boy call from behind me as a I sat down. What did this guy want? "Wh-What''s your name?" he asked, sitting next to me. "Zeref Amara, and what''s yours?." "I''m Jace, Jace Stinkend, You must be a new foreign student, I haven''t seen you from around here. Where are you from?" "I was home schooled, that''s all," "The weather is nice today huh?" he asked, awkwardly. Jeez, am I really that hard to talk too? The weather?! Really?! I laughed in my head and let out a smile, looking out of the window. Out of everything in the world to talk about, ''the weather'' HAhaha! What a weird kid. I simply nodded with a "Mmh." Tuck! Tuck! Tuck! The noise of heels could be heard coming from the corridor, and all the students in the room stopped their talking and got into their respective seats. A woman, maybe in her late 20''s entered the room. She had black hair which was tied back into a strict tight bun and had a beautiful white face. Her square glasses fit her etiquette well. She wore a tight fitting black pencil skirt just above her knees and a white tucked in blouse. Swaying her waist from side to side, she entered the classroom. The way she moved bothered me. "Good morning and welcome back class to your second year at Xanxus Academy, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday" as she spoke I could see all the boys drooling over her, even the peculiar one on my right. I simply rested my head on my arms and dozed off into the world of dreams. "You over there! Sit up straight!" I lifted my head up from my arms yawning. "What''s your name?" she asked, raising her voice sternly. Her voice annoyed me. "Zeref Amara." "Oh, you''re the new student right, if I''m not mistaken. Well stand up and introduce yourself." she said, pushing her glasses up. "Yes miss," I replied, I did as she said and stood up, "My name is Zeref Amara and I was home-schooled for the past few years." I lied. "Okay sit down, and pay more attention in class." I could hear whispers from around the class, "He''s so cute! He looks like a senior. Do you think he''s boyfriend material?" I heard a girl whisper. ''Like hell I''m dating a school girl'' I thought. "Look at his broad shoulders, he looks like a model." another girl whispered. I ignored their gossip and stared out of the window, daydreaming about my past life. ** Fourth lesson of the day and I was a literal Zombie. I had to sit next to that annoying kid (Jace) for all my lessons somehow. Oh what a blessing! He just wouldn''t shut up. I was convinced school was just a prison for children. "Uh- Zeref, Maths is really not my forte, do you think you could help me with this question?" Jace asked, smiling innocently. He''d been saying that for the past 50 questions! Bro, NOTHING is your forte! Maybe I should''ve just acted dumb and never helped him on that first question. Ding! Ding! Ding! The school bell went off like a clocktower''s chime. Yes! My saviour! It was finally lunch! I grabbed my bag and walked down the rows of students, towards the exit. "Hey you! Where do you think you''re going?! Get back here right now! The bell doesn''t dismiss you, I do!" Professor Vanhelsing shouted, calling me back. I was extremely agitated already, so I ignored his deafening shouting. I simply walked past the teacher and continued walking down the hall. The Inspect skill came in handy and I used it to memorise the entire map of the school at the start of the day. "I thought I told you to stop." the professor appeared out of thin air in front of me and grabbed my wrist. I used the Inspect skill on him already and knew he was only at level 26. "Who said you could touch me." I said, with a cold gaze I made him fall to the ground, his body prostrated in front of me under the pressure. "Wh- What is this? Gr-Gravity magic." he let out, struggling to talk. "Zeref, what do you think you''re doing!?" Malia shouted running up to me, I released my gravity magic from him and kneeled down to his height. "If you ever touch me again, I''ll cripple you." I said coldly. He let out a slight shiver, then got up and started walking away, limping. "I-I-I''m reporting you!" the foolish teacher replied. "You fool! Do you know how many rules you just broke?" Malia scolded while smacking the back of my head. "Argh! Like I care." I rubbed my head. I didn''t want to be here and she knew it. "I know this is your first time being so restricted, but you have to follow the rules, otherwise, you''ll get expelled." she reasoned. "Who cares? At least I can escape from you," I joked but Malia''s face turned serious and her eyebrows furrowed. "You idiot," she said, rolling her eyes and pushing me to the side, clearly pissed off. I watched her walking off and an unfamiliar feeling rose in my chest regret. "Malia, I''m jokin-" "There you are!" ''Not again.'' is what I thought, as Jace ran out of the classroom and caught up to me. "You mother- You got a girlfriend already! Unbelievable, how could you leave such beautiful news from your best friend." he said smiling. "We''re not best friends." "How rude! After all I have done for you. No way! You''re dating the queen of Xanxus Academy!" his face became shocked as he stared at Malia, while she was walking. What was this fool talking about? Queen? I didn''t see any queen. As soon as he said Malia''s name, Malia turned around and stared directly into my eyes with a weird emotion filling them. "Are you coming?" she sighed. I laughed at her, "Are you mad?" "No." she said, bluntly and turned to walk again but this time I ran after her. "Hurry up, Stinkend. You''ll get left behind." I smiled back at the shocked guy. I had to learn to open up more. I realised my anger and frustration was hurting others. "Yeah, I have something to do. I''ll be there soon." he looked away from my eyes and ran in the opposite direction. Weird. Chapter 16 - Jace Where’s My Money?! -Jace Stinkend''s POV- I rushed down the hallway and exited the building, heading to the spot of the transaction. I glanced at my watch, two more minutes or I''m late! That Zeref is really peculiar. Running out of class like that to go meet his girlfriend. Hahaa! "You''re late Stinky, now give me the money." Tommy, the head dealer of the school ordered. He sat on the steps and was surrounded by 5 of his guys. All thugs like him. I couldn''t believe I was giving him my rent money for something I didn''t even do. If only I was stronger, I would''ve beat their asses by now. They were all seniors, aged 16. Who knows what they''ll do to me behind the school building where no one is around. "Do we have to beat it out of you, pay back the money for breaking his dagger," he sniggered, rubbing his hands. This kid was a noble, a fat rich one at that. Even if it wasn''t me, he wouldn''t listen. Gosh! How''d I get into this situation? All I did was dodge his dagger and it flew into a wall and shattered. Why was the thing aimed at me in the first place? I took out the sac of silver and shook with rage as I handed it to them. Another month of no lunch. As soon as it was in Tommy''s grasp, he smirked. "Well done, stinky. We will go easy on you" he chuckled. What? A wave of realisation hit me. Feeling like a fool, two of his boys grabbed my shoulders and pushed me onto my knees. "B-But I got the m-money. You said i-if I got the mo-" my body started to shiver. "Well you''re stupid to think I''d keep my word. You''re just a na?ve little orphan" he smirked. I was about to say something but someone punched the side of my face into the ground. "Argh!! NO PLEASE!" I begged and struggled, spitting out the hot blood from my bruised mouth. "P-please don''t! PLEASE!" I cried out feeling a kick to my ribs. "Stay still Stinky," Tommy yelled, holding my shirt into his fists and pulling me off the ground. "Lets see how far you can F L Y, stinky" his last words came out in slow motion. I let out my last scream, shutting my eyes. I flew into the air but was caught by someone. A rush of hope filled me as I looked to see who had shown me mercy. My face dropped to see one of his thugs smirking at me. "Nah let''s play piggy in the middle." he snickered, throwing me back up but this time my feet flew everywhere and I spun like a boomerang, hitting one of them in the face and landing on top of another. "Sorry!" I gasped, knowing I just made it worse for myself. All of them gathered around me and kicked me repeatedly. "STUPID STINKY" Tommy gritted his teeth. "Its Stinkend." a feminine voice said. Everyone stopped and turned to see Malia. "Oooh, pretty." Tommy smirked, stalking up to Malia while checking her out. A rush of adrenaline coursed my veins. "DON''T HURT HER" I got up and shoved him to the floor with all my might. I punched his face repeatedly and his arms were flying everywhere to stop me. I was expecting one of his friends to stop me but I could hear their screams behind me. I didn''t question anything and kept punching out my hate. -Zeref''s POV- (After Jace left) I sat next to Malia in the canteen and watched as she stabbed into her pasta in delight. "Aren''t you gonna take off the scarf? We are indoors" I said reaching my hand out to take it off. She rolled her eyes. "Drop it Zeref." her voice turned frosty as she smacked my hand away. "Are you okay?" I tried to stay calm and stabbed my fork into my pasta but the whole table shook. "Zeref!" she, stabled the table, "it''s not a big deal." "Then take the scarf off," I stared at the scarf. "No. I don''t want to," she started to become agitated and I knew I was breaking through to her. "Please," I said, embarrassed. "Did you just say please?" she raised her right eyebrow and smirked. "Don''t change the subject," I took in a mouthful of pasta. "I''m not" she gasped. I stared into her eyes pouting like she used to do when we were little. She shuffled uncomfortably and clenched the scarf in her fists. "Don''t freak out," she sighed in defeat and I nodded happily. "Okay." She pulled off the scarf a little and there was an evident purple hand mark wrapped around her neck. I put down my fork and my eyes flickered. "Who did it?" I whispered trying to not ''freak out''. Her eyes watered as she stared at her plate. I repeated my question, "Malia, who did it?" she shook her head and took in a stuttered breath, putting her scarf back on. She quickly wiped her tears and looked down. My face softened. Although I hated her at first, I grew to really care for her when I was a kid. She was always smiling and carried no evil intent. I didn''t see her for 8 years but yet she was still her same smiley, annoying self. It felt weird seeing her frown. "It was your dad." I stated. She instantly looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. "Wasn''t it?" I questioned again. She put down her fork and looked directly into my eyes. "Zeref, I said to leave it so just LEAVE IT!" she yelled and the whole canteen turned their heads to stare at us. At that, I went silent. She''s scared. I could see the fear in her eyes when I guessed correct. She was desperate for me to pretend like it was nothing like it would help her believe it too. I sighed and tried to change the subject and all eyes left us. "Where''s Jace?" I asked Malia but the stupid system answered me. [Sixth Sense is active (Echo-Location) - Range 10 metres] [Do you want to increase the range to 300 metres at a cost of 30MP/S] [Yes/No] I picked ''Yes'' in confusion. Immediately, I could sense the number of people in the whole canteen. No. The whole school! Each and every one of their locations. Now Jace where was he? I closed my eyes and focused on his mana signature. "Uhh, why are you closing your eyes like a weirdo?" Malia interrupted. "Just shush for a bit, I''m trying to sense him." "Say less." I focused harder. My vision expanded, I searched using my heightened senses for his mana signature. Strange. His mana signature stopped right at the point we all met at. I remembered he did seem a bit tense before running off. Did something happen to him? "Malia, I think something''s wrong with Jace, should we go and check?" "Mhm," We both rushed out of the hallway, dozens of students filled the hallways unlike in the beginning. I needed a shortcut. "I''m taking the window," I told Malia before jumping out of the window from the 3rd floor. "Don''t, idiot-" is the last thing I heard before I jumped. I couldn''t be bothered to go through the stairs. They were raided with potheads and I hated the smell. I patiently waited for Malia and to my surprise she was down in 3 seconds. Malia appeared at the exit huffing and puffing. I smiled satisfied. "I really hate you" she shook her head and huffed. "Awe, did you think I was dead?" I chuckled. "Yes and to my disappointment, you''re not." I scoffed at her comment and closed my eyes again but this time I didn''t need to search for his mana signature. Aaghhh! A dissipating shout came from the next building. I looked at Malia, she nodded; she must''ve heard it too. We both moved in sync, as we flash stepped to one of the windows. The shouting became much louder now. It was Jace for sure! "Let me go please! Please!" I could hear him screaming in pain. I turned the corner to see what was happening. Five guys, all in the older years were pushing him around, punching him and enjoying it. The anger inside me grew. Jace''s face was unrecognizable. His lips were busted, and it seemed like he had a broken arm too. Blood splattered on the floor as the biggest guy kicked him to the ground. "Zeref I can''t watch any longer, I''m stopping them." Malia whispered moving forward. I put my arm in front of her "Okay you go in there and just buy time, I''ll take them out." She nodded in approval. After a couple seconds we executed our plan. Malia walked over slowly to the scene of action and spoke something. I was too far away to hear anything but I could see this was my queue to jump in. Malia gave me the thumbs up. Activating my lightning aura skill, the familiar buzzing feeling enveloped my body. Lightning cackled around me and my hair rose. I cracked my neck side to side and flash stepped forward. I could finally release some stress. The first guy was taller than me and had a strong build but that wasn''t going to be a problem. He threw a fist directed at Malia''s face. She stood cockily with her arms crossed, knowing I would handle it. I chuckled while moving in front of her. I parried the blow to the side, then did a low kick aimed at his left leg. His face changed from a sinister smile to a face of pain as he realised what had just happened. His shin bone snapped and he fell to the ground clenching his shattered leg. I didn''t have time to break his other leg, as 2 other guys came in all at once using their mana to cover their fists. "Bring it on!" I shouted smiling, "Lightning Gauntlets." Gauntlets formed around my fists, they were like MMA gloves, thin but provided more damage. I used these during close combat situations. I activated my Seikuken and got into my Kickboxing stance. [Seikuken (Level 37) will consume 1MP every minute] [Lightning Gauntlets (Level 46) will consume 5 MP per second] Two guys rushed forward, one throwing a straight punch while the other moving around me. I flash stepped around the second guy and threw a right hook towards his chin, knocking him to the ground. My Seikuken helped to fasten my reactions to the punch that was coming from behind me, I grabbed the guy''s fist and spun his body round, then roundhouse kicked his head. I made sure to only knock them out. 2 more left. I looked to my right, they were conjuring some sort of Flame spell, chanting together. I stared at them and scratched my head. Did they really think a fire ball of that size would do damage. LMAO! It was the size of a boulder at least, but I was confident in my resistance perk against flame mana. "Flame Magic: Dual Fireball! Hah! Take that you pest!" One of them shouted, directing the flame ball at me. It moved with his command and travelled towards me. I let the flame ball hit my body, but as soon as it came in contact with my body, the flames dissipated. [You have suffered 20 damage] "What the- What happened!" The other thug blurted out shocked. Malia laughed, looking at their shocked faces, while proudly smirking. I shook my head, then flash stepped in front of the two amateurs. With a flick of my fingers on their foreheads, their bodies catapulted backwards and slid on the floor unconscious. The only other conscious thug left was the fatty that Jace was beating the shit out of. I actually felt bad for the guy. I deactivated my skills and moved near Jace and placed my hand on his shoulder. He froze and got off the bully, looking guilty. "It''s fine, it''s all over." I said softly. Jace cradled his stomach and spat out some blood. "Jeez what did they do to you?" Malia spoke in a worried tone and examined his fist. For a second, everything went quiet and Jace was just staring at Malia like an idiot. "Let''s just go." Jace let out in a quiet tone, turning around, "What in the bloody- Which monster did all this?" he chuckled looking at the bodies laying limp all over the floor. "We can talk later, let''s move before a teacher comes." Malia spoke holding Jace''s wrist. "I''ll join up with you guys later, I need to do something first." I said walking back to where the fatty was. "Mmh, Okay." Malia understood straight away so she pulled the beaten up Jace down the stairs. First day of school and I''m already breaking all the rules. I knelt down next to the fatty and slapped him awake. It took at least 6 continuous slaps to get him awake. "Wh-Who are you? Do you know what you and your stupid friends have done?!" even after all of that beating, this fat noble still had the audacity to speak in that way. I grabbed his collar and released my killing intent. The pressure in the atmosphere changed as my gravity magic took effect. I could finally see fear in his eyes. My gravity magic only worked with killing intent for some reason, but it was a great addition. "Listen here, you fat pig! If you ever get close to my friend ever again, I won''t think twice to wipe you out or your whole bloodline. Do you underst-" I stopped mid - sentence, my hearing picked up footsteps. After all this, I did not need to fight or threaten another teacher or student. I knocked the fatty out with a punch and decided to flee. Chapter 17 - Change Of Plan -Jace''s pov- I watched as Malia dragged me to the stairs and I couldn''t help but feel the same feelings I felt in our first year. I hope she can''t hear my heartbeat right now because I feel like it''s going to rip out of my chest. I gulped as I looked at her hand wrapped around my wrist. Wait, this is wrong. She''s Zeref''s girlfriend. I removed my hand from hers in guilt. She stopped and looked at me in confusion. "What''s wrong?" she grabbed my wrist again more firmly this time and I didn''t have the guts to pull away. How am I supposed to say this without being sus? "Isn''t Zeref going to get mad if you hold my wrist? He''s my first friend and I wouldn''t wanna upset him." I tried to sound nonchalant but my voice cracked near the end, leaving me red from embarrassment. "Ha. Why would Zeref be mad?" she scoffed and continued to lead me to the nurse. I shrugged, "Aren''t you both dating?" She stopped and stared at me, her cheeks blushing, "N-No. We are just friends." She laughed my question off and I felt relief wash over me. I have had a crush on Malia since the first year and have never had the guts to talk to her and here she is, helping me to the nurses office. I tried to calm my heart rate but my whole body felt alive and excited. I think I stared for too long because she looked back at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin in shock and instantly looked down, hearing a laugh from her. "Why are you so nervous?" she pulled me forwards to walk next to her. "I''m not nervous," I said nervously. I heard a hundred footsteps rushing towards us and I''m guessing Malia did too because she stopped and turned around. I watched her face twist into surprise and before I knew it, 100''s of students were rushing past us and into the library. It was like a bunch of elephants running together in a crowd. We were being crushed. Malia was pushed into my chest and I wrapped my arms around her to shield her as we were pushed to the side. She let out a muffled yelp into my chest and I shut my eyes, resting my chin on her head until the students were all gone and the halls were left empty again. This is one of the things I hate most about this school. The students were crazy!!! Crowds of students storming down the halls like they were fighting in a war, was very normal and it happened often. Gently, Malia untangled herself from my arms and brushed herself off. I laughed to see that someone ripped her sleeve off but stopped when she turned her arm around while brushing off her shirt, to see harsh cuts engraved into her skin. Her eyes followed mine as she realised her sleeve was gone. She quickly stuttered and mumbled but no words came out so instead she just hid her arm behind her like that was going to make me forget what I saw. "Do you wanna talk about it?" I said gently and she shook her head no, avoiding my eyes. I enlaced our fingers together and this time I was pulling her. "Don''t cut yourself," I didn''t look at her but I made sure she heard the worry in my tone. "I''m not." For an odd reason, she sounded offended and angry and the two word came out snappy and hot. She kept her arms to her side to cover the cuts and we walked the rest of the way in silence, mostly because I could feel the anger radiating off of her in strong waves. "Sorry," I whispered but she ignored me. ** -Back to Zeref''s POV- As we walked home, I couldn''t help but notice the tense atmosphere. What was wrong with these two? "Did I miss something at the nurse''s office? Why are you two so tense?" I asked, walking side by side in between the two. "Uh-HUh, Zeref can we talk, like man to man," Jace replied nervously. Malia shot him a sharp gaze and he turned his eyes away. "Mmh, Okay. Malia wait for us a bit." I started walking a couple metres away from Malia, I looked back at her and she ended up sitting on a nearby bench. Jace followed me trailing behind. "Okay now explain." "Ma-Malia, she has some really bad bruises on her and I''m worried, I was thinking if you knew anything about this." Jace spoke in a quiet tone, looking at the ground. Immediately the picture of the purple marks around her neck popped up in my head. Is that what he was talking about? "Do you mean those purple marks around her neck?" I asked, in thought. "What purple marks, No. I''m talking about the cuts on her arm." he said back, " I think she may be cutting herself." My blood boiled. Anger dissolved in my blood and I clenched my fists. I didn''t believe she was cutting herself. She wasn''t that type of person. Someone was hurting her for sure. I turned around and walked back to where Malia sat arms folded. "Ze-Zeref wait-"Jace followed behind. I sat next to her on the bench. "Malia show me." I said sternly, she looked away from my direction. "Show you what." She returned with an attitude. So this was what was bothering her. "Don''t play dumb with me!" I grabbed her arm and pulled back the sleeves to see the disgusting lines messily layed out all over her arm. The slashes on her arm seemed like a beast clawed it down. Large scabs had formed around the stitches that were on the cuts. It was as if her skin had been cut off and sewed back together. I grimaced at the horrifying sight. She covered her sleeve and snapped her arm away. Jace sat on the other side of her and stroked her back. The atmosphere dropped to a different type of silence. Malia sighed into her hands and a small sniffle escaped her lips before a trail of muffled sobs. "Malia" Jace stroked her hair to comfort her. I looked at Malia, contemplating on what to do. After a couple seconds, she turned around and hugged me tightly; I could feel my shirt becoming wet with a warm liquid. "Who did this to you?" I said in a cold voice, trying to control my anger. My chest reverberated out a snarled, bitter sight. The mana in the atmosphere vibrated with every syllable. "You already know, who di- did this." she replied, choking on her words as she cried without stop, almost drenching my shirt. She was completely broken. I pulled back and lifted her face up by her chin gently. Her puffy puppy eyes watered and her nose was red. I held both of my hands to the side of her cheeks, cupping her face while wiping her tears with my thumb. Dazed, she looked at my eyes while she stuttered on her breaths. How could a parent be this cruel? Parental abuse. Disgusting! My blood boiled at the thought of her monster of a father. I wondered how much shit she must''ve had to go through. Evil like this will never be condoned. I leaned my chin on top of her head and rubbed her back to comfort her. When she stopped crying, she moved back and wiped her tears with her sleeves. I could tell this must have been devastating for her. "I''m so sorry Malia," Jace looked at her as pity filled his eyes. "Don''t pity me." Malia bluntly said, holding onto my shirt. "I hate pity." she inhaled and tried to get her breathing back into its usual pace. I grabbed her hand and started walking in the direction of her house. "Where are we going Zeref?" Malia questioned, knowing well I wasn''t going to ignore this matter. Jace followed behind us without saying a word. "Change of plan. We have some business to attend to, and Jace thanks for telling me. You can go home now." "What do you mean? I''m coming with you, I''m involved in this too." Jace shot back. I gave him a warning glare and he froze in his tracks. [Congratulations!] [You have unlocked a new skill: Bloodlust (level1)] "Just go home. You need your rest. Did you forget the beating you took today?" I said averting my gaze, continuing to walk towards my destination. He kissed his teeth out of annoyance and crossed the road. A wide bundle of emotions were running through me, but anger was the only one that was clear. When did I get like this? I was never like this in my old life. Was this a sign that I was changing? Chapter 18 - Justice For Malia -Malia''s POV- "Don''t!" I struggled to pull my wrist away. "Zeref!" I pulled my body back, trying to stop him but he was too enraged. "ZEREF STOP!" Zeref finally turned to me, his eyes dark and his features scrunched into an angry frown. At that moment I knew what this crazy bastard was going to do. "You will NOT beat them!" I said firmly but regretted it as soon as he bent down and his eyes met mine. I gulped stepping back into the wall. He stepped forwards and closed me in. My back pressed against the wall as I tried to step back, shuffling uncomfortably. "Give me one reason why I shouldn''t." his voice was dangerously low and he searched my eyes. "It''s wrong. We can''t just-" before I could finish, Zeref stepped away from me and turned around, clutching his hair and pulling it in frustration. I got off the wall and stood behind him. "Zeref-" I didn''t get far with what I was about to say. He turned around quickly. "Malia, how long are you going to defend them?!" his words boomed out thick and hot and it was a slap to the face to wake up. He held my shoulders and shook me roughly. "They''ve already broken you! How long until you realise they won''t stop until you do something!?" He was right. "I''m scared," I whispered, my tears threatening to fall. "Why?" he rubbed my arm, comfortingly. "I''m right here. I''ll protect you." I shook my head. "No, not of my dad Of myself. You don''t understand; I''m not who you perceive me to be. If I get angry, I''ll lose control. Like a savage animal" Zeref furrowed his eyebrows, "Go on.." he urged me to continue. "My mum was a half were man and lived most of her life as a rogue in the woods. I didn''t inherit her wolf side but I did inherit the crazy animalistic instincts . That''s why I''m tamed like this. A girl wolf is always more crazy. I can''t get mad." I could feel Zeref sigh angrily. "They aren''t bloody taming you! They are beating you for no good reason." his jaw clenched. "God, how can you be so brainwashed!?" he punched the wall next to me and I flinched out of his arms. "Still, this is wrong." I tried to stay firm on the right side but fighting against Zeref was so confusing and hard. It''s like you''re talking to a brick wall and all your words are just bouncing right back at you. "I''m not letting them lay another hand on you." he grabbed my hand and stood in front of my door. T H U D ! With a straight kick, the door to my house smashed open. He pulled me into the house and I stumbled behind him. "Who do you think you-" before Kenny could speak, his body seized to fall to the ground, under the gravity magic. I flinched as he reached out to grab my foot but Zeref crushed his hand under his foot, letting out a loud CRUNCH. I watched Kenny crumble under me and I realised, I''m not living like this anymore and a wave of vengeance seeped into my heart. "Did he say you could speak?" I smirked, feeling safe. I lightly tapped Zeref''s shoulder telling him I wanted the lead. He dropped the gravity cloak pressurising my house and stepped back. Kenny quickly stood on his feet but before he could activate his mana, my fist collided with his nose. He screamed in pain and stumbled back a few steps, clutching his nose. "I''ve wanted to do that for a long time." I chuckled, feeling no remorse, but I didn''t care. I was never the hero type; deep within, I was a villain chained into the depths of hell, waiting to be unleashed. My eyes flickered and I smirked. Kenny came running towards me and I stepped to the side, feeling a gush of air fan my face as he ran past me, but he didn''t get far. I gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him back from colliding into the door. He fell back from how hard I pulled him. I didn''t spare him a breath and kneed him where it hurts before picking him up into the air and slamming him down with one hand. His back was hurled into the floor, pieces of the tiles flew everywhere as Kenny laid, indented into the floor. Where he belonged. "Don''t hold back. I got you." I could practically hear Zeref''s big smirk. "I''m waiting for my dad," I turned to face him while keeping a foot on Kenny''s chest, slowly pushing more pressure and enjoying the sound of his ribs snapping one by one. "M-Malia, stop I''m dying," Kenny spurted out blood while gradually losing his conscience. I turned back to Kenny under my foot. "Already?" I pouted in disappointment. "Don''t die on me yet Kenny. I haven''t even begun". Zeref pulled his lips into a side smile and cocked his head to the side, enjoying this side of me. "Nah, I dibs on your dad." He shook his head laughing and waved my comment off. "You evil bitch" Kenny said from behind me. I didn''t have to wait any longer, giving my foot an extra bit of pressure, the last rib broke and Kenny fell unconscious. I was about to end him when I felt someone''s hand grip my wrist. I snapped my head around and flung my arm out of Zeref''s. "Malia, don''t." I hesitated until I felt my anger dissolve and all the guilt rushed in. I looked down at the half-dead Kenny and rolled my eyes. What was I thinking? I shook my head and stepped away from Kenny. "Sorry... I was angry." I said with no emotion hinting at my speech. "Angry?!" Zeref gasped in disbelief. "You call that angry?" "Yeah well did you see what you did to Jace''s bullies?" I tried to push the blame off me. I don''t get him. He brings me here, lights my rage and then pushes a sac of guilt on me. This jerk. "I didn''t want to kill them." he sighed. "YEAH? WELL YOU HAVEN''T BEEN THROUGH HALF THE SHIT I HAVE!" I clenched my fists and turned my back on him. Seconds of silence went by and all that could be heard was the quiet gagging of Kenny as he choked on his blood. A firm grip pulled me around by the arm and pulled me into a hug. "I just don''t want you to do anything you''ll regret. I''ve never seen you like this." he pulled my head into his chest and I could feel his chest vibrate at his deepened voice. I sighed but quickly pushed him off when I saw Mike staring at the scene from the stairs with his jaw on the floor. "M-Mike! I-" I panicked. "MALIA!!!!!" my brother''s voice echoed through the house. Zeref took this as a bad thing and sped towards Mike. "NO! Zeref! He''s with me." Zeref paused in front of Mike with a predatory glare. Mike stepped up a step so he could tower over Zeref but I could see him shiver. I do admit, Zeref is scary when you''re against him. His aura is like a wild beast; you don''t need to be smart to know he''s dangerous. But when you''re on his side, you feel safe and protected, like nothing can harm you. "Mike get here now." I ordered my brother. He didn''t hesitate and followed my command, he rushed over to my side. Then a shout came from the upper floors. "Kenny!! What''s all that noise? Do I have to do everything around here? Has that useless Malia come back for another beating. HAhahaha!" Father laughed as he walked down and saw the state of his son before looking straight at Zeref who was at the bottom half of the stairs. "Mr Stronghold," Zeref gave him a fake smile before completely shutting off all his conscience. It happened so fast and I could see Mike flinch as my dad rolled down the stairs. I watched as a single drop of sweat rolled down Zeref''s forehead. Today, I heard the beautiful cries of my dad''s begs. Zeref covered his fist in high voltage lightning and continuously punched him square in the face. "AHHHHHHHH!" I turned towards the door of the kitchen to see my plastic step-mother holding a butcher knife and an uncooked chicken. I folded my arms and smirked at her, "just in time". Her eyes widened and I ran full speed at her like a bull. We both fell to the floor, me on top of her. I heated up my hand like a hot iron and smacked her face. Her cheek melted against my hand and I grimaced, but it was worth it, hearing her scream and seeing her white cheekbone and the inside of her mouth showing through the big hole of missing flesh. She tried slapping me off her but everytime she would manage to touch me, her fingers would burn off from the heat radiating off of me. I grabbed the knife and cut into her arm with a purpose. Her shrivelled screams soared through the halls but my dads screams were louder. I stepped off of her and admired her arm as she laid limply on the floor, covered in burns. The cuts on her arm spelled out, "Evil witch". I laughed and someone''s foot kicked into my step-mothers stomach. I looked at Mike in shock. He just used violence! I couldn''t contain my laugh. "Don''t look at me like that," he had a guilty, regretful look on his face. I turned around and my eyes met the back Zeref''s head, looking up, and a grunt coming from the ceiling. My gaze followed upwards and saw my dad pinned to the ceiling, looking at the ground in fear. Ugh, I wish I had gravity magic. That''s a cool trick. My dad tried to beg but nothing came out. His skull was bashed in and the middle of his forehead had a dent in it. One of his eyebrows was completely gone and his lip was swollen 10 times bigger. Let''s not mention his body. His thumbs were ripped off and his other fingers were broken beyond repair. A pool of flesh gathered under him on the floor. "Zeref," I looked at him and he let go of my dad who face planted into the marble, tiled floor. "Let''s go home," he walked to me and admired the state my step-mother was in before holding my hand and pulling me back out the house. "W-Wait for me!" Mike called out but stopped in front of my dad and step-brother, stealing their wallets. He ran and linked arms with me. Zeref was walking in front of us but was still holding my hand and I stared at his back. My gaze switched to our hands entwined with each other. A foreign feeling hit my heart and my heart boomed loudly as I felt heat rush up my cheeks. I''m happy. I''m genuinely happy. With Zeref. But was this strange feeling ONLY happiness? "Yo big guy, where are you taking us?" Mike spoke up. "My house. In case you guys didn''t realise, you''re kinda homeless now." Zeref laughed. I snapped out of my magical trance. "Oh um, Zeref this is my brother Mike and Mike this is Zeref." I said, introducing them to each other. "Is he your boyfriend?" Mike sounded angry. "What?" Zeref stopped and turned to look at Mike with an ''are you stupid?'' face. "N-Never mind then" Mike put his hands up in a surrender position. I couldn''t help but feel a disappointment in my heart but I ignored it and walked ahead of both of them. They followed behind me. Chapter 19 - Mansion? I’ll Just Buy One -Back to Zeref''s POV- "YOU did WHAT?!!!" A slap came from the side and went across my face, tilting my head to the side. Malia and Mike flinched back, behind me. "But mum-" I stopped midway; I didn''t want to argue with her. She was right. I went a little overboard, the Stronghold family even filed a report against us and I was suspended from school for two weeks along with my partners in crime: Malia and her brother. "Do you realise what you''ve done!? Did I raise you to do stuff like this?! Crippling people, just because you''re blessed with some power. Remember arrogance and pride will never get you far in life. There will always be someone better than you. Humble yourself!!!" My mother shouted at me furiously in front of all the adults. Mr Xanxus, Miss Elena and even Gramps were watching me get scolded. I didn''t resent my mother for her actions. I knew my mother wished well for me. She was scolding me because she loved me and cared for me, so a flicker of happiness glowed in my heart. I had people who cared for me. I had a family. I really needed to change my ways, come back down to Earth. My pride led me to become arrogant and selfish, I''m not the king I was before; I''m now Zeref Amara, a son, a friend, a warrior. Gramps came and walked in between us and faced my mother, "Rosaline, I feel your anger but know, he''s still a child and he acted on impulse. Who wouldn''t do what he did if they saw their friend in that state? So I suggest you calm down a little. Elena please take her away." Miss Elena nodded and took mother away to the other room. "Come on now" Miss Elena gently pushed mum into a different room. "No- No- This is- I need to- Zeref-" my mum glared at me with that one deadly ''we will talk later'' glare. I''ve never felt this scared in my life. Once she had left, Malia let out a sigh and everyone''s eyes landed on me. Gramps spun around and gave me the biggest smile, "That''s amazing! How did it feel?! Was he begging on the ground? Did you use your gravity magic?!", he started questioning excitedly. Seriously? I thought I was going to get another beating. LMAO! This man! Instead of shouting at me, he was praising me. I smirked in response. "It was okay I guess, I picked him up and dropped him a couple times, broke a couple ribs, battered his face. Nothing else to be fair." I chuckled arrogantly. "Humble yourself," Malia reminded me while smacking my shoulder. "Sweet!" Gramps shrieked and slapped my back out of excitement, "Anyhow getting to the main point, we don''t have space to house those two, do you have any plans to fix this matter?" "Yeah I already thought about that, since our house is too far from school anyways, I was going to buy a mansion move near the school." "Mmh. I guess with the amount of money you racked up in these 8 years, you''re probably one of the richest people in the kingdom. However, you''re going to need an adult to stay with-" "I wouldn''t mind supervising the kids, my house is a bit small. Zeref you better buy a luxurious one!" Mr Xanxus butted in, sitting next to us on a sofa. He''d help with security I guess. " Plus, I''m the headmaster. We can walk to school together!" he nodded at me for approval. Malia and I both made that ''no thank you'' face but stupid Mike said "Yes!". "Fine, I don''t mind. I''m going to town now and buying one as soon as possible, I''ll take those two with me as well." I said, getting up from my seat. "Great! Have fun." Gramps replied with a smile. ** We were again in the centre of town Malia skipped by my side and Mike and Mr Xanxus followed us behind. "By the way where are we going, I''m tired of walking." Mike groaned from behind me. "Shush! We''re going to make a transaction." Mr Xanxus replied. "Zeref I just wanted to say sorry for the inconvenience that my brother and I have caused you guys. I know we''re being a nuisance, If you really want we could go live in a foster home or something." Malia spoke to me, looking down at the ground. She probably felt ashamed about what happened, but a foster home. What a dumb thing to say. "You dummy, who do you think I am. I''d never let my friends be in those types of situations. In fact we''re here to buy a mansion owned by the bank, so we can live nearer to school." I scolded her for thinking so naively. "A mansion! Do you even have the funds for that?" Mike questioned from behind. "Do I have the funds?" I giggled, "Don''t worry about money." ** "Sir! Welcome! Welcome! Please come in! We have been eagerly waiting for your arrival master." a young elf wearing a black suit bowed in a submissive manner and his peers did the same bowing in respect. The bank entrance was grand, two large pillars stood like guards at the entrance and as you came in the marble floor glowed under the light. Mixed with the quiet atmosphere of elf workers'' quills on paper and people talking. The place was definitely luxurious and awe-inspiring. A long wide and solitary pathway stretched out to two large stairs at the end, which took people to the Asset department. The bottom floor was for usual transactions of money for everyday things, like taking out loans etc. while the second floor was for buying assets from the bank, like houses that the bank reclaimed from people, who couldn''t pay back their mortgages etc. To the side of my view, Counters and counters were lined up side by side, busy with people asking for money or discussing financial matters with counsellors. All the workers in the bottom floor were dwarves, humans worked in the second floor and all security from the elf race. "It''s fine, you can rise Tybalt. Take me to Miss Rose." I ordered the elf. "Right away sir!" he replied enthusiastically. During my 8 years I had succumbed to a huge sum of money. I defeated and sold thousands of A and B rank beasts, even a dozen or so S rank beasts with the help of Gramps, Miss Elena and Mr Xanxus. My funds soon became enough to buy more than 50% of the Bank of Vrimeon''s shares. Therefore, I automatically became its owner. The bank of Vrimeon was not owned by the government, it was a plc business, that''s why I could buy its shares. Good investment I must say, by buying it I automatically owned half all of its assets including it''s personal security force, money, land and some other things. "Zeref, why was the head of security calling you master? He''s never shown that much respect to my father before either." Malia whispered to me, her face showing me she was half shocked and half confused. "Well I am the owner of this bank." I smiled and cocked my eyebrows at her. She burst out laughing mockingly and stopped when she saw me not laughing with her, "You''re joking right." she gasped. "No, I''m actually dead serious. I bought more than half of its shares and all of its assets a year ago, so technically I''m one of the richest people in the whole kingdom." "Stop pulling my leg, how could you become such a businessman at your young age. I call bullsh*t,"" she punched my arm playfully then looked at the elf, "Hey, Mister. Who''s the owner of this bank?" "Of course that''s our dear master, Mr Amara he''s standing right next to you." he replied truthfully. "I told you so." I laughed, punching her arm back. "NO WAY! You didn''t tell me this! What else have you been keeping from me? A wife?!" "Maybe." I chuckled looking at her face turn red. "Don''t talk to me ever again!" she moved back to Mike''s side looking away from my gaze. After a couple minutes, the long walk to the stairs was over and we reached the second floor. The clicking of heels could be heard down the hall and then appeared Miss Rose; a tall Chinese woman with small sharp eyes and a killer smile just like Miss Elena but Miss Elena had fairer skin and a bigger forehead. "Young sir! It''s been ages, how have you been?" Miss Rose bowed to me. "Great, How about you?" "Very very busy sir, since you left. Pardon me if I''m being hasty, I''m on an extremely tight schedule. So sir, what can I help you with today?" "Could you kindly show us some properties near Xanxus Academy. We need a couple bedroom mansion." "And with a sage water pool in it too." Mr Xanxus butted in. I nodded in approval. "A-And an indoor pool," Mike stuttered before Malia smacked his arm and glared at him. "Ok," I nodded at Miss Rose. "Right away sir, actually there''s a new property on the market and it''s being auctioned, if you want sir, we can go and bid for it right now, the auction starts in 20 minutes." [New Quest: Bid and win the ownership to the luxury mansion] [Rewards: 20,000 Exp] [Would you like to accept the quest?] [Yes/No] I picked ''yes'' in my head straight away. "Yes! Let''s go right away!" I exclaimed, excited at the idea of killing two birds with one stone. ** The auction hall was a two minute walk from the bank, but the two minutes were hell, Mike just wouldn''t shut up. The moaning and whining left my ears bleeding. It was a relief when Mr Xanxus punched his head and made him stop. "Name sir." An old man with long white hair, wearing formal attire and holding a clipboard and pen, stood at the entrance of the auction house. If I remembered closely there were invites sent out to all the nobles when there was a new special inventory to sell, so this man just checked the tickets. "We''re under the name of Zeref Amara." The old man peered through his spectacles at the list in his hands, then gazed at us again. "Sorry but you''re not on the list, I can''t let you guys in." the old man blurted. "We didn''t ask if we were on the list, move." Tybalt declared with power in his voice. "I''m sure you know sir, I can''t just let you in like this." Tybalt grabbed the old man''s collar and lifted him up. "Hey! Hey! What''s all the ruckus here?!" another old man, this time a bit slimmer came exiting a door, he held a rapier by his waist and was coated in armour. He was a warrior for sure. "Oh my goodness! Zeref sir, Why are you waiting out here, ple- please come in." the startled old man gestured us in. "But-" the old geezer with the list was going to say something but stopped mid way. I guess I still wasn''t that renowned yet. The inside was extremely luxurious, shaped like a Shakespearean theatre, There were rows of red coloured seats descending downwards and a wooden stage was placed right at the back. I could see dozens of nobles from fat to skinny chatting away. Miss Rose had left us already as she had an appointment to attend to, but Tybalt (the elf and head of security) came with us. "Let''s sit over there, we always used to sit there when we used to come with dad." Mike pointed at some seats near the front row. Malia looked away in disapproval and distaste. "Welcome! Welcome ladies and gentlemen! I''m your host for today''s auction, Simon Crotchsmall. Please everyone can take their seats. The auction will now commence." a tall man at the centre of the stage spoke through a mic powered by mana. "Just sit the hell down already, it''s going to start!" Malia pushed through from the back and descended down the stairs and sat near where Mike had originally pointed. We all followed her down hastily. "Here are images of the house, it''s a 3 floor mansion, it has 8 bedrooms, 2 sage water pools, its own private 50 metre by 50 metre chrono chamber and an underground bunker, sorry let''s not forget it has its own defensive system too. Prices start at 500 platinum coins." The presenter pulled up a screen behind him and using mana portrayed the pictures onto it. It was a great property, I had to admit and it came with many benefits. *Note: 1 Platinum coin is equivalent to $100,000* "600 platinum coins!" A man to the furthest to our left put his hand up eagerly. "We have 600 from the nobleman to the right!" the presenter shouted. "750 platinum coins!" another man put his hand up. "850 platinum coins!" "1000 platinum coins!" "1050 platinum coins!" after this man put his hand up, the crowd went silent, in thought, 1000 platinum coins was a lot, even acres of land could be bought with that much. "Going for 1050 platinum coins in 5 seconds! 5..." the presenter said counting down. "Aren''t you going to vote? You fool!" Malia smacked the back of my head. "Chill! Geez." I rubbed my head in pain. "1500 platinum coins!" I bellowed lifting up my arm and the hall blasted up in whispers. All the nobles stared back at us and began chattering. "Kid, do you even have that type of money? What house are you from?" a fat nobleman queried from below. "You don''t need to know who I am, mind your own business." I replied reflecting a cold gaze at the nobleman. "You arrogant little-" before the man could finish, a sharp pressure could be felt in the atmosphere and the mana particles vibrated in the atmosphere. I was unfazed but looking around I could see the horror in all the nobles'' faces. This time I didn''t have to exercise any sort of mana, it was Tybalt. He was a low A rank mage at level 70. Tybalt relaxed his pressure, "Mr Crotchsmall, please proceed." "An-And it''s sold!" ** The presenter wasn''t lying, the mansion was more than grand and luxurious. As soon as I entered, sofas were placed in the middle of the room with a beautiful fireplace. Behind it was a big decorated table with cushioned chairs. I walked past the table and into the back of the house where I found a big door with a golden handle, leading me into the kitchen. I walked back out to see Xanxus coming in from the side of a sliding door. "Just checked the garden. It has a big sage water pool." he laughed before going into the kitchen. I smirked and walked into a sliding glass door next to the living room. The room was steamy with beautiful tiled walls and a big painting of a cherry blossom tree hung up on the side. I made my way into the room and found an enchanting sage pool surrounded by rocks and short waterfalls running into it. I sighed in content before leaving and entering back into the living room. The ceiling was high and arched above us. In the middle, hung a crystal chandelier. The colour scheme of crme, gold and white was really a good choice. Mother would have loved this house. I made my way to Tybalt and Xanxus who were standing in front of the bookcase next to the fireplace. In a rush of excitement, Mr Xanxus turned to me, "Zeref, the book shelf is actually a secret door to our underground bunker and chrono chamber! Can you believe that?!" He had the most stupid grin on his face and I chuckled, amused. "Wow, let''s see then." I replied. Tybalt made his way to one of the books named ''TSS'' and pulled it. The book shelf slid open and there was a staircase leading to the downstairs. Tybalt and Mr Xanxus happily ran down the stairs but I already knew what I would see down there so instead, I decided to stalk up the wide, marble steps with golden railings, to the 3rd floor.. As soon as I made my way up the stairs, I saw a long hallway with 8 doors, I''m assuming it was the bedrooms. At the end of the hall was a big, plain white door with golden carvings in it.. I was making my way down the stairs when one of the doors to a room swung open and Mike was thrown out into the hallway next to me. "OW!" Mike yelled. Malia stuck her tongue out at him before pushing past me and running downstairs. "What was that about?" I helped pull Mike back up. "The master bedroom! Malia said that you should have it but I really want it. You wouldn''t mind if I had it, right bro?" he smiled at me expectantly with pleading eyes. Malia''s beg was cuter- wait, no! What the hell is wrong with me? I furrowed my eyebrows. "No, my mum gets to have the master bedroom." I walked down the stairs. "Awe, your mums living here too?" he caught up to me. This brat! I hated him. "She is my mother," I said in a ''duh'' tone and rolled my eyes. "Right, sorry. I''m just used to speaking my mind." he chuckled nervously. "I can tell." Chapter 20 - Back To School The next week, we spent moving in. Mother was really happy and forgot all about the ''talk'' we were supposed to have. Grandpa visited a lot, along with Miss Elena but Mr Xanxus hated when they did because it meant he had to see Miss Elena. I still couldn''t get used to living with Malia. We hung out in my room a lot, talking or duelling in the garden but normally, she''d go out or stay in her room meditating. Sometimes I''d join her but I would ALWAYS knock because once, I walked into her room and she came out of her bathroom in a towel. "AHHHHH!" she screamed. "AHHHHH!" I screamed with her. She held onto the top of her towel and ran back into the bathroom, shutting the door. "ZEREF!" she yelled from the bathroom. "Sorry!!!" I rushed out of the room, red as a tomato. I couldn''t get used to living with Mike either. He is just so odd. I called him down for dinner but when I knocked and came in, he was belly dancing in nothing but a short, pink skirt. "What? It''s good for exercise." he said but I just walked out in disgust; not questioning him. Even Mr Xanxus was weird. I''d always find him belly dancing with Mike or singing in the kitchen or opening the bookshelf 100 times for NO reason! It''s not that fascinating!!! You own a whole ass school! Get yourself together!!! I think the only good things about this whole thing is my mum and Malia. They''re the least weird or bothersome. Except for the accidental walk in, living with Malia is somewhat fun. I''ve even tried giving her nicknames which she hated. Mal, Lili, Lia, Mali, Mochi etc. She hated them all. "Just call me Malia!" she yelled and I''d burst out laughing. Mum was really keen on Malia and my friendship, a little too keen But she seemed happy so I was ok I guess. She told me she was happy having another two kids in the house. She had always wanted more than two children but dad refused after seeing my birth. I was glad mum treated Mike and Malia like her own. The look on Malia and Mike''s face, when she addressed them as her children too, was priceless. It was nice to see them feel like they had a real family now. We sat for dinner together when Xanxus would come back home and Mr Xanxus would tell us funny stories while we ate. The two weeks went by in a blur and it was soon time to get back to school. ** "Mike! Zeref! Hurry the flip up! We are gonna be late!" Malia tapped her foot impatiently, waiting by the door. I ran down the stairs, swinging my bag over my back and standing next to Malia. "Good morning, you look pretty." I smiled genuinely and Malia laughed. "Thanks, you too." she smiled. Mum came out of the kitchen with three paper bags in her hands. "Wait! Wait! I packed lunch." she shook the bags in her hands and handed one to Malia and one to me. Malia gasped and jumped up and down while screaming ''thank you''. "Have you never had a packed lunch?" I chuckled. Mum smacked my arm before kissing Malia''s cheek. "Your welcome darling," she winked and Malia giggled. "I was always the one packing the lunch for Mike and Kenny. I''ve never had one made for me. Thank you, auntie." she smiled up at my mum again and my mum blushed at her words. "I''m done!" Mike came running down and stood next to Malia. "Here, I packed lunch. Now you all behave. Don''t make trouble please." she said before handing Mike his lunch and opening the door for us to leave. We all kissed mum before hurrying down the steps and through the gates, into the daylight. I really felt like a kid. Like I was living the childhood I never had. We walked to school which only took 5 minutes and on the way, we spotted Jace and he joined us. Mike also spotted his friends and ran off to walk with them. Jace was pretty excited when I told him how cool Malia was, beating up her step brother. "Oh shut up," she gushed, bringing up her sleeve to her mouth to blush. I really liked this life. If only I didn''t have to be a stupid contestant, I could enjoy this moment without thinking for what was to come. I still hadn''t forgotten about the vision I had about the start of the tournament. ** "..I know that some of you have already awoken your mana pool stages, so this year the focus is to teach you all the basics of meditation and mana control. Who''s that sleeping over there! How disrespectful! Get up right now." the professor spoke loudly, pointing his finger to the back of the class. "Psst! Zeref! Zeref! Bloody He''s staring at us, get up man!" Jace violently shook my shoulder and I lifted my head from my arms, I must''ve drowsed off again. The issue with these classes was that I already knew everything in the syllabus, Miss Elena had taught me most of the stuff during my 8 year training period and the rest was basic stuff. "You, what''s your name?!" "Zeref Amara." I replied, still rubbing my eyes. "What was I talking about just now?!" he shouted out of anger. Was this teacher trying to catch me out? "You were explaining about the pros and cons of meditation and cultivating mana. Meditating for too long can mentally tire someone out, but mana can be recovered at an extremely fast rate. However, some have skills which can help them to recover mana while moving. This can be dangerous as it consumes a lot of stamina. Want more?" I gazed at the teacher coldly. "Uh-Uh, that''s fine. Make sure you stay awake in my cla-class." he stuttered, then continued talking. "That went better than I thought." Jace whispered to me. "Who do you think I am?" I chuckled. "As I was saying before, to replenish your mana while moving is an advanced skill that can only be used by mages who have a mana pool stage of 4 or higher." This professor was completely wrong. What was this geezer teaching? I raised my hand. "Yes Zeref." he sighed. "Sir, I believe what you were saying is a little incorrect, replenishing one''s mana while moving isn''t such a hard task. In fact even mana pool stage 1 mages can use skills like those." I corrected the teacher as kindly as possible. "Do you think you know more than the teacher do you? I am a respected teacher at Xanxus Academy! Now stay silent!" the professor bellowed, shaking the room. Another student put his hand up to ask a question. He was a frail and skinny boy, of a commoner background. "Yes, Adam. What do you want?" the professor asked, rolling his eyes back in annoyance. I really hated his attitude. "Si-Sir, is it possible to have multiple elements?" "Adam that''s a stupid question! It''s Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" the professor shouted, releasing his frustration. I could see Adam look down in fear and shame. I smirked, leaning back on my chair smugly. Raising my hand, I lazily spoke up, "Actually, you''re wrong." The whole class looked back at me in confusion, giving me shocked looks. "Excuse me." the chubby professor retorted. "You''re wrong, people can wield multiple elements." "I''ve had enough of you! I''m the teacher here, you always have something to say! There''s a reason I''m standing here and you''re sitting back there. If you don''t want to learn, just leave this class!" his voice echoed in the large room, I smiled in satisfaction; this was my cue to leave. I kicked my chair backwards, startling Jace then proceeded to walk down the steps to the exit with both my hands in my pockets. "Say less." I scoffed giving the fat teacher a cold glare, which made him shiver. "Ze-Zeref, wait for me!" Jace rushed behind me, grabbing both of our bags in the process. I smiled back at him and we left the room together. Chapter 21 - The Fitness Tests "Listen up you useless bunch. As this is your first PE lesson this year, we are required to make you guys do a baseline test. Get ready, warm up folks. First test is the 100m sprint. Girls go first." the PE teacher spoke, he had a slim but toned body and was around 40ish years old. Did I really have to do more running? I had already ran 20km for my compulsory quests in the morning. Jace nudged my shoulder, trying to get my attention,"Oii, Zeref you see that girl over there, that beauty over there. I think she likes me. She''s been staring at me this whole lesson." he said in glee. I looked in the direction to see the same black hair, white half wolf I saved at the market, running around the race track. I recognised the girl she was talking to, Naz from my class. Naz had blonde hair blue eyes with a small face whereas, the wolf girl had black hair, black eyes and a sharp jaw and nose. "Oh, I know her. I saved her from being sold in the black market some time back, that ungrateful girl." I grunted as I remembered the scene she made in the centre of town. "Look she''s so fast- WAIT! You did what?!" I chuckled. "Cmon, it''s our turn to run." I walked to Malia and handed her my water bottle, seeing as she didn''t bring one. "I hate PE." she huffed out. Jace and I snickered and Jace handed her his little towel so she could wipe her sweat. "Hey by the way Z-" she drank a long chug from the bottle. "Sara keeps staring at you and during the run. Do you know her?" she rolled her eyes, wiping off the sweat on her hairline. Jace scoffed and started running on the track, annoyed that Sara wasn''t staring at him. "What?... Did I say something wrong?" Malia watched as Jace ran off. "No, he''s just upset." I laughed. "You said her name was Sara, right?" I raised my eyebrow. "Yes." she glared at me. I gave her a confused look. What did I do? Before she could say anything else, I ran onto the track, easily catching up to Jace and slowing down when I got to his pace. ** -Sara''s POV- "What''s that guys name?" I asked Naz while squinting my eyes at the boy who ''saved'' me. Naz let out a dreamy sigh next to me. "Zeref freaking Amara. Hot, isn''t he? Elder year girls are going crazy for him." she giggled. "Why? You got a cruuuuush?" she wiggled her eyebrows and poked me playfully. I giggled and smiled at her while shaking my head. "All you think about is love, huh?" I laughed again as she nodded, smirking. "He''s the creep who pretended to be my sister," I glared at Zeref who was laughing at a light-skinned boy who tripped and fell on the race track. "For the last time Sara, the guy SAVED you and stop glaring; the fur on your ear goes all fuzzy when you''re mad." she smacked my arm and my jaw dropped at her audacity. "He tricked me." I pouted. Naz sighed and stroked the fur on my wolf ears, to get it to stop frizzing. I giggled, "That tickles!" After the boys finished their laps, everyone gathered into the crowd. I was about to walk towards Zeref but the teacher spoke, "Okay ya lil twerps. Listen up. First three people to cross the finish line get to leave while the rest stay behind to clean up the equipment." Everyone hurried into position. The jerk of a teacher didn''t even count down, "GO!" he yelled, all of a sudden and the people with the quickest reaction ran ahead. I let my half werewolf take over, my eyes glowing yellow and my fangs forming. Naz and I were shoulder to shoulder. I didn''t want to win but I could see Naz didn''t want to clean up. We both gave each other that knowing look before I stopped so she could get on my back. "RUN SARA RUNNNN!" she pointed ahead as I wolf sped past everyone with her clinging onto my back. Could you blame us though? The canteen line was long as f*ck and I wasn''t waiting an hour just to eat. I pushed my legs faster and was winning by far but suddenly I heard a "hey" next to me. Naz and I turned our heads at the same time and saw Zeref with his friend on his back. The friend smirked at us and waved. We were all at the same pace. "Nooooo! Sara run faster!!!!" Naz started to panic and began slapping my shoulder like I was her horse. I nodded and pushed forwards but Zeref easily caught my footings, keeping in time with me. Was he running my speed on purpose?! I ran closer to him and Naz read my vibe quickly. She reached out her hand and flapped it at Zeref''s face. "Take that!!!" she laughed and continued to smack Zeref''s head. "HEY CHEATERS!" Zeref''s friend grabbed Naz''s wrist and they both started struggling to push each other. I turned to see Zeref and I shoulder to shoulder and the finish line was close. Zeref smirked at me. So this is a game to him? My food is no joke! Naz and Zeref''s friend were whacking each other behind us. "Jace you can''t hit. Girls." *WHACK* "Naz you''re a cave troll. Not a girl!" *WHACK* *WHACK* "Ow you-" Naz grabbed Jace''s hair. "AHHHHH!" Jace let out a girly scream and smacked Naz''s arms. "LET GO! MY PERM! MY PERMMMMM!" he screamed. "Stop resisting, Stinkend-" "ARGH!" we all yelled out in sync; someone barged in between us, making Zeref and Jace stubble and fall. "Move!" she said. Naz and I snickered as we jumped over them and continued running. The girl''s presence was faintly of a wolfs as she sped in front of me. Jeez, she was fast. I ran next to her but when I tried to push ahead, she would too. We ended up crossing the finish line together. "YEYYYYY!" Naz pulled my shoulder forward and backwards in joy. I screamed before tripping over my own foot and falling on top of Naz. "You idiot!" I laughed and we both started dying on the floor but stopped when we heard an annoyed scoff. Malia stood over us with her arms crossed before turning her head and leaving. I quickly got on my feet and dusted myself off, leaving Naz on the floor and running after Malia. "Hey Malia wait-" I ran behind her but she suddenly stopped and I accidentally bumped into her back. She turned to look at me with an emotionless poker face. "Yes?" she peered down at me and although we were both the same height, I felt so small, shrinking back as she squinted her eyes. "Uhm" I whimpered, "I''m Princess Sara, princess of the were men race". Hesitantly, I let out my hand, as a greeting. She looked down at my hand and crossed her hands in a bored manner. Why doesn''t she like me? She''s half wolf; I can smell it in her scent, but why doesn''t she like me? I''m literally her princess. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, scanning me up and down. Me being self conscious, I coughed a little and her eyes met mine again. "Ohhhhh" she gasped in realisation, "Right, my honour princess. Pleasure to see you." she bowed in a sarcastic manner before turning around, flipping her hair in my face. "W-wait, that''s not-" she turned the corner and left, "what I meant" I whispered. I wanted to be friends. ** -Zeref''s POV- Jace and I gobbled down our food, stuffing in as much as we could. We had made a bet to see who could eat faster; the loser was a cow. I tried to laugh at Jace choking but I ended up gagging and spitting out my food. "Ugh, can you both not? Lookin'' like constipated donkeys," Malia rolled her eyes at us and shoved her plate at Jace. "So embarrassing." her face twisted into disgust as Jace swallowed down her food in two bites. "Damn. What''s gotten into your pants?" Jace laughed before he realised what I realised. We both glanced at each other and burst out laughing like dying hyenas. "Wh-what''s gotten i-into her p-pants!!!" I repeated, snorting. Malia sighed, giving in. "Hey Zeref, you have something on your chin" she squinted her eyes at my chin and I stroked my hand around my chin. "Where?" I asked, not feeling anything. "No, your third chin." she smirked and Jace burst out laughing, twisting to the side to spit out his water which was already dripping out. "Disgusting." Malia walked away with her tray. "W-wait! Where are you g-going?!" I tried to speak seriously but my laugh just wouldn''t stop. "To the bathroom," she replied, not looking back and leaving the canteen. Jace slapped my arm continuously as we both died. Soon I was laughing so hard to the point where my laugh went silent because I couldn''t breath. "KHONK!" Jace snorted again and fell off his chair, making my stomach hurt from laughing. "S-stop!" I wheezed in tears. Abruptly, our table was slammed and we both sat up in shock. Expecting Malia, we were shocked to see two very familiar girls. I looked up to see Naz, the girl who slammed our table, standing over us; her eyes glaring at us. Frosty blue eyes looked down at me before glinting in joy. Her bright blonde hair went just below her shoulders and she flung it behind her shoulders, showing off her fair skin. I slid my attention to the girl next to her to meet sharp dark black eyes. The girl wore heavy eyeliner showing off her status as a princess. I let my eyes roam at her black wolf ears and straight shoulder cut hair. Her nose was small but her lips were plump. She had long curled eyelashes and pale skin with glowing cheekbones Sara. Sara was noticeably shorter than Naz, coming up to Naz''s ears. She bit her lip before speaking, "Can I sit?" To my surprise, her voice defied her features, coming out soft and small. "Uh, sure" Jace sat up, brushing his shirt off. He was clearly uncomfortable with Naz sitting in front of him, seeing as they both fought earlier on. He shuffled in his seat and I tried holding in my laugh, covering my mouth with my sleeve. "Hi I''m Saraphina Claws but people call me Sara," she smiled at me. Smirking at her, I noticed her cheeks going noticeably red. She was definitely the shy type. "Zeref Amara," I nodded at her politely. "We know!" Naz gushed, clasping her hands together and fluttering her eyes at me. Okay...? "I''m Naz Hosterwell," she smiled and I awkwardly sighed, not knowing what I was supposed to do. "We know," Jace scoffed. "Oh uh, I''m Zeref Amara. This is Jace Stinkend." I pointed at Jace. I didn''t get the whole introduction thing. We already knew each other''s names. What''s the point? "Hi," Jace waved at them with an unbothered face. "We were wondering if we could hang out with you!" Naz cut straight to the point. "Naz" Sara gently warned. "Why?" Jace questioned while wrapping up a piece of paper and attempting to throw it in the bin before missing. "Because Zeref''s hot and I like h- OW!" Naz was cut off by Sara jabbing her in the stomach. I blushed at her words and chuckled while rubbing the back of my head. "No. No. I don''t approve. I-" Jace was interrupted. "I think you''re very handsome too," Sara gazed at Jace, smartly. Jace choked on the air and stuttered before just nodding. I guess this was my cue then. "Sure," I smiled. I guess me saving her was a thing in the past because it wasn''t brought up and Sara soon loosened up enough to talk to me. I think Naz forced her to sit with us or something but she ended up liking us. I noticed Malia was taking a while and I think Jace noticed too because he would occasionally glance at the door, seeing if she would walk in. I didn''t notice I was doing it too before Naz pointed it out. A loud burp erupted from Naz and Jace flinched back, fanning his nose. "Damn, you TROLL!" he grimaced and I laughed at him. To our joy, the canteen door swung open and Malia came walking towards us. At first, she wore a beautiful smile but when she saw the extra girls on our table, her face dropped into an angry glare; mostly directed at me but I could see Jace shiver. I think she doesn''t like girls Stopping in her tracks, Malia just stood, staring at us. What did I do?! Girls are so confusing. I''ve never seen her talk to girls or hang out with them. Does she despise them or something? I don''t know! Thoughts rushed through my brain as my palms began to sweat. Damn she is scary sometimes. "M-Malia!" Jace waved at her, signalling at her to come sit. Sara and Naz also turned their attention to Malia who was standing in the middle of the canteen. Malia''s face changed into a poker face as she stared at Sara. Did I miss an episode? Turning around swiftly, Malia walked out of the canteen with her head still held high. Jace instantly got up from his seat and ran after her and so did I. We both just did it on instinct. Sara and Naz followed behind us. ** "Malia," Jace grabbed her arm and spun her around. Glaring at him, she pulled his hand off of hers. "What?" she whispered dangerously, making me stay silent. Jace can deal with this. Good luck. "I- You- Where are you going?" Jace tried to find the right words. The clacking of shoes echoed through the hall and soon, out of the corner, Sara and Naz came panting. Wrong timing. Malia stared at them; her face unreadable. "I''m going to return my library book. It''s past its due date." she sighed before turning to leave. Jace and I let out a breath of relief. So she wasn''t mad? "Have fun you two." she called over her shoulder, turning the corner and disappearing. I looked over at Jace and we both knew that wasn''t a good sign. "What''s her deal? She''s so rude," Naz rolled her eyes. "Mind your own business." Jace quickly flew to Malia''s defence. "Uh, we will see you later Naz and I have to go." Sara sighed, pulling her away from us. Chapter 22 - Is Malia Jealous? -Malia''s POV- I stormed down the halls, people rushing out of my way. Am I being too much of a bitch? UGH! I kicked the wall in confusion. I''ve never liked being friends with girls. They were all toxic like my step-mother and her little group of neighbourhood wives. I used to overhear the drama and gossip they''d spread. I hated that. Why did I feel so angry when Zeref was smiling and laughing at Sara? I''m so confused. I have a crush on Zeref but sometimes I feel like he looks at every girl BUT me. These weird feelings weren''t helping! ** Walking around the building aimlessly, I decided to go outside but when I got there, I saw Sara and Naz talking to two princesses and a noble. Ugh, why are they everywhere?! I turned back around when a small yelp changed my mind. I do enjoy some lovely drama. Sipping on my water, I watched intently. "If you talk to us again, we will beat you up!" Princess Stephanie snarled and her friend, Princess Pooja, snickered next to her. "We just came to give you your bracelet back. You dropped it." Naz rolled her eyes, shoving the bracelet into Stephanie''s palm. "EW! DONT TOUCH HER YOU FILTHY PEASANT!" the noble, Dora, spat. She was of the were men race so I was really confused as to why she wasn''t respecting Sara. It didn''t make sense. Sara was too nice. This was boring, I leaned off the wall and yawned, making all heads snap to me. Um time for me to leave. A hand roughly grabbed my shoulder but I easily rolled it off and spun around while twisting the girls hand too. "Dora. And what honour do I have to have your graceful hand touch upon my shoulder?" I said in a sarcastic but polite tone. Sara''s jaw dropped to the ground and Naz raised her eyebrows at me, impressed. "Ah! Get off!" Dora screamed in pain. Listening to her, I pushed her hand away from me, making her fall back on her butt. She looked up at me, terrified. "Bitch! I''ll beat you to a pulp!" she gritted her teeth, glaring up at me. "Dora. Either get up and fight me or stay on the ground where you belong. You''re all bark, no bite. Don''t you feel ashamed, talking to your princess like that? A pathetic excuse for a wolf." I lowered my voice so that everyone could focus on my words. She shook in anger before standing up and swinging her arms aimlessly towards me. I put my arm up protecting my face, waiting for her to get closer. Hearing a gasp escape from Naz, I glared up at her. "YES DORA! GET HER!" Princess Stephanie encouraged and as soon as she did, I turned the table, grabbing a fist full of Dora''s hair and yanking her head back. I lifted up my fist and swung down with a deadly force. Her head flew backwards onto the floor and with one punch, she was out like a light. Her face all bloody, she laid on the floor. I think I broke her nose. Princess Pooja gasped as I wiped my bloody fist on Dora''s shirt. "Keep your dog on a leash. Or it will get put down." I said calmly, stepping towards Stephanie and Pooja. They stumbled backwards, shaking like fragile leaves. "You''re crazy." Stephanie whispered under her breath. "I am." I agreed, stepping closer to her. "I''m telling my daddy about this," pooja tripped backwards and fell on her butt as I towered over her. "You don''t scare me pooja but I sure hope I scare you... coz I should." spinning on my heel, I left, not sparing a glance at Sara and Naz. The bell rang behind me and at the side of my eye, I could see all four girls jump at the deafening noise. I smiled to myself, making my way back into the building. Lunch time was over. Although I knew that they were royals, I wasn''t scared. In my eyes, a princess without a tiara, isn''t a princess at all. ** I walked into the classroom and found my seat in the corner back. There was an empty seat next to me because no one had the guts to sit with me. I placed my bag on the chair happily. I may look like the nice type to Zeref but all my scars have tainted me and painted me into the monster I am now. Of course, I''m not plain evil but that doesn''t mean I''m not rude sometimes. Everyone has their bitchy days. Laying my head on the table, I felt someone''s presence next to me and the screech of the chair, followed by the drop of my bag next to my feet. Who the hell? I swiftly stood up, whipping my hand around the person''s neck. "Ah!" the girl''s fragile hand wrapped around my wrist, trying to pry my hand away from her throat. I stared at her pretty face Sara. "Why are you sitting here?" I removed my hand from her neck, sitting back down. "I got into a fight with the princesses Please don''t make me sit alone." she whimpered, sadly. How do I say no to that?! I stared at her and turned my head down on the table, turning away from her. She took that as a yes and slowly sat down. "Why are you alone?" I said. "They teased me and called me a dog so I kinda bared my teeth at them," she whispered, sounding ashamed of herself. I scoffed, turning to smirk at her, "Cool." I complimented. She smiled back at me with a smile of accomplishment? Reaching out my fingers to her head, I stroked her ears. They looked cool. Sara''s eyes widened at that and I slowly pulled my hand back. "Sorry, they look soft" I smiled. She pulled her hand up to where I stroked and her face went bright red. "I thought you hated me," she looked at me in confusion. "I DISLIKE you. Not hate. It''s complicated." I sighed. "Oh," she looked at a loss of words. "By the way thanks for what you did back there. You were so cool!" she looked at me in awe. "Really?" I smiled in content. "Thanks, I guess." Maybe girls aren''t as bad as I thought. Like clockwork, the teacher came in exactly 3 minutes late. "Sorry students but I just got a message from the principal. The whole school needs to select a girl and a boy to represent them in the tournament against other schools urgently. He gave me a list of names who need to go outside to the field for auditions." A rush of whispers rolled through the classroom and I could hear the huge gasp next to me. "Josh, Prince Samuel, Daniel" the three boys stood up proudly, "Malia, Princess Saraphina and Princess Becky." she finished her list and looked up at us. I stood up slower than the others and made my way out of the room with my hands in my pockets; Sara walking next to me. "Are you nervous?" she looked at me, fear evident on her face. "No, you?" I asked and she nodded, her eyes watering. "You''ll be fine, just stay behind me." I rubbed her back, helping calm her down. Why am I being nice to her? Didn''t dislike her? Am I bipolar? My eyes widened at the thought. I followed the crowd and quickly found Zeref and Jace. The crowd was filled with older children and I even saw Mike. We were the youngest. Sara stood next to me, her arm hooked around mine. Zeref shot me a confused look and I shrugged. "Guys, I dont think I''m meant to be here. I''m on mana pool level 1!" Jace stressed. "I don''t want to fight," Sara complained in a hushed crying tone. "Shut up," Zeref and I said at the same time. "You''ll be fine." Zeref spoke again. Suddenly, a big bang echoed through the field and Mr Xanxus appeared, his back hunched, like always. "Students here are the strongest in the school," I scanned my surroundings to see at least 50 girls and 50 boys. "You will fight on this field, the last person standing will represent the school." he continued, nodding his head at us. "Why am I here?!?!?!?" Jace cried out to me, twisting his face into an ugly whiny face. I laughed. "Stop asking questions, the girls are first." Sara said, stretching her arms and rolling her shoulders back. ** The field emptied and all the girls stood in a circle. The referee stood in the middle of our big circle. "The rules are as follows, it''s every man for themselves. You 50 will fight at the sound of this bell; you can knock people out or push them out of this circle we''re standing in right now. This will cause them to be disqualified. I don''t want any deaths. Everyone get to your positions!" I scanned my eyes through each person. They were all noticeably bigger than me seeing as they were older. I could wipe out the girls here but that would mean I had to leave Sara alone and I said I''d protect her. Sara stood opposite me, far far away. God, why would she stand there?! The whistle blew in slow motion and I quickly activated my least deadly skill. I shrouded my fists in fire but was attacked by 3 girls at the same time. There was no coordination in this fight. They were raw attacks. I quickly stepped back a few steps, separating myself from the crowd of girls. Rushing my eyes everywhere, I spotted Sara running from two girls who were enjoying watching her cry. Running through the crowd, I bashed people out of my way and head butted one of the girls like a bull, throwing her off of her feet making her hit her head unconscious. Sara quickly stood behind me as I threw a straight punch at the other girl in the stomach, burning off her shirt and maneuvering around her, using her as a shield from the first girl. She used her useless earth magic to create ivy everywhere. Like long snakes, they tried biting me but it was easy to burn them into ashes. All the guys cheered in the crowd as I rolled my eyes. Spiral kicking the second girl, I left them unconscious. By the time I was done, another 2 attacked from behind, trying to get Sara. Swiftly, I picked up Sara by the back of her shirt and spun her behind me like a mother cat picks up her kittens. The girls both purposely collided into me, knocking the air out of me. One of them held me down with her knee pressing down on my chest, preventing me from breathing. The other activated her flash light mana, processing a large ball of light. My mana flickered on and off as I was continuously hit on the face. Damn these baboons! Sara cried out, "STOP!" leaping towards the girl next to me while transforming into her wolf form mid air, pushing one of them off of me and biting into her neck. "AHHHHHHHH!" the scream echoed through the whole school and Sara quickly jumped off of her with a guilty look on her face. I quickly pulled myself up, dodging the light beam flying at me. Her friend laid on the ground, her neck bloody from where Sara bit into her. I kicked her head to the side, making space for me to shroud myself in fire. I took in a breath before sharply exhaling. The girl''s fist was inches away from my face but it didn''t reach me because my fire repelled her off, burning her. There were only 6 people standing and 2 of them were in a tight fight so the third and fourth girl attacked Sara. Dodging the body, Sara''s wolf smacked her to the side with her big paw. Sara''s wolf was the size of a horse since she was a princess and it was amusing to watch. Her wolf was jet black just like her hair and she had crazy thick fur matted in blood. Her ivory teeth appeared between her jaws, as she opened her mouth to gnash the fourth girl''s leg between her loud animalistic growls. I stepped in between the occupied last two girls. They both glared at me before trying to punch me, both aiming for a different angle. I waited till they got close enough to punch both of their noses in, annihilating them. I looked up at Zeref who was watching me intently with a proud gaze and Jace who was cheering me on. I didn''t want to attend the tournaments. I just came to protect Sara. I walked off the field causing people to whisper. I looked back, seeing Sara win with her paw on top of the bloody girl, staring at me. "Malia, what happened?" Principal Xanxus asked. "I don''t want to compete in the tournaments." I shrugged, walking past him and into the building. Should I skip class? Chapter 23 - Let’s Finish This Quickly -Zeref''s POV- I looked to my side at the results of Malia''s and Sara''s match. Sara won! How unexpected. But I think if they fought, Malia would''ve easily won. Why did she walk away? "You over there! I suggest you focus! You''re going to be fighting with second and third years too." the referee shouted at me, and all the boys giggled mockingly at me. The circle was quite large, probably had a radius of about 150 meters, so 50 people fighting it out didn''t sound that bad. I scanned the people, for where Jace was. Crap! He was near the 2nd year for some reason; I have to save this guy. "3...2...1" DING! The sound of the bell went and bystanders began to cheer for their friends. I didn''t plan on showcasing my lightning ability so I just activated my Seikuken and planned to just use physical combat. [Seikuken (Level 37) will consume 1MP every minute] 4 guys rushed at me all at once. Did they have some personal vendetta or something? Teaming up in a battle royale, really? I parried all their attacks and hit the pressure points in their chests, making them fall like dominoes. I scanned the numerous people fighting. It really looked like a war; students were fighting like animals all around me, some limp on the ground, and others all bloody. Three others teamed up and came forward throwing punches and kicks towards me. I simply dodged the attacks or shifted their attacks away from me. Suddenly, the ground lifted up from below me and crawled up my legs, trapping me on the spot. Panic struck me as the 3 guys were coming in with mana imbued in their fists. I smiled. "Almighty Push!" My palm faced the three attackers and they were blown out of the circle. ''Almighty push ''was a gravity technique I created, I designed it after a wind move I had in my previous life. [You have used up 200 MP] "Oh My God! Did you see that?!" I could hear gasps and cheers from the watchers. So much for keeping a low profile about my abilities. Turning around, I saw Mike running at me at full speed but before he could reach me, a laser beam flew into him, making him fly off the field. Ouch! That must''ve hurt. "What''s with the beak? Are you a bird? People see your nose before they see you. CAWK!!! CAW-AHHHH" I heard Jace''s loud annoying voice in the crowd of fighters. He came into view, emerging from a bunch of angry older kids who were chasing him with their mana activated. "Zerefffffff! Heeeeelp!" I turned my head around to the opposite end of the battlefield, Jace was being chased by a dozen second years. Did he have to annoy everyone he met? I laughed at the hilarious scene, looking at him running frantically. I moved in his direction to save him, but a fire spear was hurled at me, due to my seikuken I dodged the spear, when it slowed down as it came into my range of perception. I turned around to see a slim guy running near the edge of the circle, a sniper huh. This was going to be long. ** "25 people remain. Hurry it up!" the referee shouted. I sprinted to Jace but before I could reach him he was picked up by a 6 ft 5 giant and thrown out of the circle. "Put me down! You oversized giant! What do you eat man?! Aaaghhh!!" Jace shrieked as he was hurled out of the circle. His body fell with a thud and his dark uniform lost its cleanliness. He picked himself up and gave me a thumbs up then shouted, "Just finish this! Use your full power!" "Fine then." I cracked my knuckles and neck side to side. "Godspeed." [MP is dropping at an alarming rate] [Skill will be automatically stopped when Mp reaches 10%] I had 9 seconds in their time to win; that was more than enough time because for me, in this state with one step I could cover 50 metres. Everything around me froze, even the mana in the atmosphere stopped vibrating. Running up to a contestant, I punched him in the face lightly and pushed others softly in the chest. I knew when time would resume again, the momentum would cause them all to go unconscious or fly out of the ring. This was perfect to finish this as hastily as possible. I deactivated Godspeed and dropped to my knees breathless. Sweat rolled down my forehead like a fountain. I looked around; I was the only one conscious. All the watchers became silent, shocked, Jace alike. "Cheater! He''s cheating!" "That can''t be real! How did he win?!" "Everyone just fell unconscious or flew out of the ring!" the bystanders roared in frustration. "That''s impossible! No magic or skill can do that!" "We protest!" "This is a con!" "Silence." the atmosphere became chilly with one word. This was Mr Xanxus''s mana for sure. "I don''t care what you guys think. Zeref Amara has won fair and square and will represent our academy!" he declared. I looked around at the dozen bodies lying scattered all over the ground. I could understand their perspective. Chapter 24 - Pre-tournament Training The next day, I woke up earlier to finish my daily quests. Jeez, yesterday was crazy and chaotic. Finishing my last quest, I took a shower and changed into my uniform. Quietly, I left my room and made my way to Malia''s, knocking before entering to see a sleeping girl in her bed. Her lips were slightly parted as she lightly snored and her hair was spread out onto her pillow. My heart beat in my throat and I found myself feeling very warm. Shrugging it off, I smiled down at her before falling on top of her. "Your bed is so comfy" I sighed in satisfaction. "Z-Zeref get offffffff! You big baffoon!" she wheezed. Chuckling, I got off and gave her a smile before leaving. "Wake up Malia." I said over my shoulder hearing her groan. Satisfied, I closed the door and stood in front of Mike''s door. I knew better than to enter so instead, I knocked. "Wake up Mike." I said. He was a light sleeper so he probably heard me; I ran down the stairs to prepare breakfast for Malia and I. Finishing the scrambled eggs, I turned around to get a plate to see Malia in front of me. "Oh my God!" I gasped, clutching my heart. "I thought I saw a monster. My life just flashed before my eyes!" She slapped my arm, offended. "Are you calling me ugly?" she pouted. I walked around her to grab a plate. "No, you''re just moderately ugly." I smiled to myself, knowing she was pissed. A swing came for my face but I dodged it in time. We lapsed into silence as she turned away in a sour mood and poured herself some tea and sat. I brought our plates and placed one in front of her before sitting on the opposite with my plate and kept one to the side for mum. We had small talk and I obviously teased her about random things before Mike came down. "Stop the flirtatious chatter now. I am here and I am single." he walked in, killing the mood with his sad life. Pouring himself some tea and biting into his sandwich, he leaned on the counter and stared at us as if he was studying the scene before him. "Tsk, we weren''t flirting, idiot." Malia rolled her eyes and I chuckled. Just in time, Mum came in, smiling. "Hurry up children. You''ll be late if you keep dilly-dallying!" she rushed us out the kitchen and handed us our bags before pushing us out the door and slamming it in our faces. "No lunch boxes?" Mike''s words came out muffled as his mouth was full of sandwich. I ignored him and walked down the steps, dragging Malia with me. ** "I could''ve easily won! You should''ve seen me Malia! I beat up like 6 guys by myself and made the others run for their lives." Jace boasted, swinging both of his arms around Malia and I as we walked down the halls. "Oh really?" Malia laughed, rolling his hand off her playfully. "Are you sure you weren''t the one running?" I chuckled, pulling his arm off me as well as he continued his altered story of what really happened. "Damn, I should have stayed and watched then." Malia pretended to believe him. "Yeah, why did you leave? I wanted you to win." I asked, looking at her red face. "I didn''t want to compete. I was there for Sara." she said casually, "So who actually won the boys fight?" "Zeref of course... but just know that I could have won if I wanted to but Zeref is my friend and I didn''t want to cripple him for the rest of his life, you know? So I ALLOWED some random big guy that I could''ve easily beat, to throw me out of the field." Jace answered, his eyes gleaming with excitement. For some odd reason Malia looked a bit shocked. Did she not expect me to win or something? "So thoughtful of you Jace," I smiled sarcastically at him and Malia giggled. "Your welcome Zeref," he patted my back. "Anyhow, I''ll catch up with you later, I need to attend some training sessions with Sara apparently. See ya!" I waved them goodbye. "I''m regretting not winning now." Malia grumbled and Jace snickered next to her. "You have me." Jace pointed at himself, making a cringe ''cute'' face. Grimacing, Malia and I palmed his face away from us at the same time. "Ow!" he whined, causing me to chuckle. "Good luck with him Malia." I winked at her and sprinted down the hallway towards the indoor battlegrounds. ** "You''re late, Zeref Amara." Sara stood with her arms folded. The meeting was going to be held here on the battle grounds for some reason, I didn''t know why. Probably another test. "Sorry about that," I looked around but it looked like we were the only two in the whole area, "So, where''s Mr Xanxus? Didn''t he say he''d meet us here?" "Look behind you." she averted her gaze from me in shock. I turned my head around, but was met with a corkscrew punch directed at my face, I dodged it successfully but was met with a low kick to my shin. I flash stepped behind my opponent and got him in a full rear naked choke hold and wrapped my legs around him. The man started to choke and tapped on my arms. "Zeref let him go, that''s your instructor." I heard Mr Xanxus speak from behind me. I released my grip and jumped to where Sara was standing. I studied the man in front of me, he wore glasses and wore a grey robe which stretched from his neck to his legs. He was probably a caster type. "You weren''t kidding Xanxus, the kid is definitely a prodigy. He didn''t even hesitate to fight back, it was almost like he was a master ranker. Kid, where did you learn that weird martial art and what noble household are you from?" the man queried. "I''m sorry but I can''t tell you that." I smiled back trying to shut down any more questions as politely as possible. "Listen up you two, Mr Hale here will be preparing you two for the tournament to come, he will be instructing you starting from today so go change into some better clothing." Mr Xanxus declared, immediately Sara nodded and walked towards the changing rooms. "Zeref why aren''t you going and getting changed?" Sara asked. "I''ll pass. I don''t need training from someone weaker than me, thanks for the offer but I''ll have to humbly decline. I have other important lessons to attend to." I replied to Mr Xanxus, on his left the instructor, I could see the instructor''s face turn red in anger. "A Bit cocky, don''t you think?" Sara tilted her head to the side, studying me. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" he advanced forward and grabbed my collar, "I don''t care what noble family you''re from but a little pest like you shouldn''t be talking so big against a seasoned veteran like me!" "I suggest you let go of my collar, otherwise you''ll be going home with one less arm. Plus, why act so high when I had you in a chokehold just a second ago? It''s embarrassing." I glared at the man with an expressionless face. "Is that a threat?" "Personally, Mr instructor, I wouldn''t have that..." Sara now stood next to Mr Xanxus, amused. She really wanted to see another fight. "Hale! Let him go, otherwise even I won''t be able to stop him if he gets angry." Mr Xanxus warned, but the instructor showed no signs of backing down. "I don''t care who he is! No one walks away after disrespecting me like that!" The fool boasted, gripping my collar tighter. "Your breath stinks!" I fanned my nose in disgust and flicked his arm off my collar.. "Now kneel!" My gravity magic made him fall down to his knees and he struggled to even look up. I looked at Mr Xanxus, he looked unphased but in real terms he was covering his and Sara''s whole body with Ice mana to oppose the gravity. Sara on the other hand, looked terrified, as if she had just witnessed a murder. "I will never for- forgive you for this!" his voice came out broken. I released the pressure and casually walked away. So much for rehearsals. I''ll crush the kids there anyways. ** I swung the doors wide open and took long strides out into the hallway. In the halls, many students whispered. "That wolf girl won, when actually her friend fought for her and then forfeited and the guy cheated." a girl behind me snickered. The hallway was packed with students yet, all eyes were subtly on me. "This year''s tournaments will suck." "Our school will come last instead of 5th this year." "The two representers aren''t even that strong." "It was all luck," a guy sneered and at that, I snapped. My calm, unbothered mask slipped as my anger started to shake the whole building. All the students screamed and I quickly gathered myself back into control, leaving the students shaken out of their pants. To my surprise, a group of boys stood in front of me, blocking my path. Normally I never got that much attention except for the fact that I looked older than I really was. That was what I was known for, but now, kids think of me now as the cheater who will attend the tournaments. Sara was a princess so understandably, no one could say anything to her but I wasn''t a royal, making me an easy target. Even in this world, there was discrimination in the class system. How pitiful! "Yo Zeref, teach us the trick you used to cheat." the blonde boy standing in the middle smirked at me. "I didn''t cheat." I grumbled, trying to get past but one of his friends blocked me, making me sigh. "Oh I''ve never heard of a power like that. What''s it called?" his voice dripped in sarcasm as he mocked me, thinking he was so cool. "Godspeed." I said, lifting my head to meet his beady eyes. "What element is it related to then?" he furrowed his eyebrows, intrigued. "Lightning." The whole hall fell into a dead silence. Having a branched lightning element was rare in their eyes. How would they react if I said I had the pure lightning element? I smirked at the thought. Having a pure element was super rare and only royals had them and some special noble families. Having a branched power from the lightning element was extremely rare to come by. "I mean it makes sense." one of his friends whispered. "Shut up. He''s lying." the blonde boy shoved me but I didn''t budge. "Believe what you want. I don''t care as long as you leave my friends and I alone." I walked around the blonde and his friends timidly moved out of my way. The students behind me busted into a loud wave of chatter and people started moving to their locations again. Sara walked behind me embarrassed, I could hear her rapid heart''s beating, since my senses were heightened. "Don''t listen to what they said, just train and get strong enough for the tournament." she rubbed my back but I dodged it off. "Whatever," I grumbled. ** "How was rehearsal?" Naz asked, sitting down next to Malia. "Horrible." Sara said, on the other side of Malia. "Zeref decided to beat up our coach". She tried to glare at me but it ended up looking like a hungry kitten. "What? For real? And you didn''t tell me?" Jace whacked my arm, playfully. "He was weak." rolling my eyes, I took another bite of my sandwich. Malia picked up her fork and pointed it at me, "You''re too cocky". She shook her head in disapproval before stabbing into her pasta. "Na, I think he''s cool!" Naz winked at me causing me to smirk at her. "Nice to know someone agrees with me." I had another bite. The conversation moved forwards but my mind zoned out, blurring out the chatter around me. My eyes wondered until it found Malia''s hand. It was covered with silver rings on her right hand. Two thin ones on her index finger, a chunky one in the middle, and 2 thin lines with a chunk of bold silver on the ring finger. Her pinkie had a snake wrapping around it. Wow, a lot of rings. "Hey Mali, when did you get those silver rings?" I pointed towards her hand and everyone''s eyes shifted to Malia''s rings. "Oh, Jace and I skipped class and there was a sale at the market." she smiled, twisting the thick ring with a skull pattern on it. "Cool, right?" she smirked at Jace. Jace chuckled in return, "She was feeling off so I agreed to pay." "They''re so hot!" Naz touched Malia''s hand and so did Sara. Malia took two of her rings off and gave it to Sara and Naz causing them to gasp. "Omg I literally LOVE you!" Naz admired the silver snake wrapping around her ring finger. "Okay. I regret asking." I spat, annoyed. Chapter 25 - Showtime The atmosphere was thick and tense as we huddled together. "Ok now listen up. As soon as we enter I want you guys to stay calm and relaxed okay? Calm and relaxed. Look at me, calm and relaxed okay?" Sara and I both nodded at Mr Xanxus but we knew he was the only one who probably really needed to stay calm, he was sweating buckets. "The tournament will begin as soon as we arrive so I want you both to be mentally prepared. Let''s bring the trophy home!" Mr Xanxus pulled his fist up in a determined stance trying to gesture ''Let''s win this''. "The school with the most points brings home the trophy basically." Sara finished for him. "Yes. When the portal opens, we will walk into the arena. You will need to wave our school crest" Mr Xanxus''s assistant said, handing us a flag of our school crest on it. Sara grabbed onto it in glee. "Then my assistant will go sign you both up and the tournaments will begin." Mr Xanxus nodded at me. "Actually could you not use my real name." I looked at him and everyone looked back at me, shocked. "Why?" Sara peered at me curious. "Okay, you heard him. Don''t put his real name. What should we put down?" Mr Xanxus told his assistant. "James Lance." I replied, before putting on my mask to cover my face. It was a simple black cloth that matched our uniform. This tournament was going to be broadcasted everywhere across the kingdom, I still had to worry about the other candidates of the monarchs. I couldn''t let them find out the real identity of the Lightning Candidate. Therefore, I decided to cover my face with a mask and only use my Ice magic as a cover up. ** "Here comes the long awaited Xanxus Academy!" A loud voice bellowed and a loud buzz of cheers bursted into my ear as we stepped out of the portal. The stadium was circular and filled with thousands of people, which made them like insects. We exited the portal at the centre of the stage. I could feel my legs shake a little. Was I nervous? I looked to my left and in a row, in perfect order other students and their headmasters stood waving their school crests. So this was like an inauguration? I looked to my sides to see different portals opened up with the school name on top, in a row, each student waved their school crests. "Don''t let the noise get to you, just wave the flag and smile. The tournament should begin shortly." Mr Xanxus shouted, trying to speak over the loud noise. Sara nodded in understanding and a smile stretched across her face; she waved the school flag in her arms ecstatically. A couple more schools came after us. "Welcome dear competitors to the well renowned high school tournament of the year!" A man''s face popped up on a big screen made of light mana, "Cutting down on chit chat, let''s get this show on the road! As you all know there will be 3 stages to this tournament. First being to capture the flag and second being the Magic Labyrinth. The last stage being the crowd favourite, 1 v 1 duels, Now I hope all watchers have gone to the restroom and have grabbed their snacks cause this tournament is starting now!" The crowd let out another deafening sound, unmatched to anything I''ve ever heard before. The presenter continued, "All schools may leave the stage now and go into the training facilities." A loud cheer shook the stadium and Mr Xanxus gestured to us to follow the other schools to leave. I could see him ringing his ears with his left hand. ** The training facility was underground and stretched for miles; using my inspect skill I could tell the white tiles on the walls were made of mana resistant materials. "Okay you two, warm up, use the loo, do whatever. I''m going to go sit with the other headmasters and piss them off. Just do your best out there." Mr Xanxus smiled at us before heading for the stairs, leaving both of us stranded. I walked with Sara to a corner and got ready stretching our limbs and muscles. For the first time, I felt knots tighten in my stomach and my palms were becoming sweaty. The atmosphere and pressure was getting to me; I couldn''t keep a clear and focused mind set and it felt as though my heart would pound out of my chest any minute. I thought I''d be fine as I gave speeches to a whole nation before, so this shouldn''t have been that bad. I looked at Sara practically shaking with every move; she had it worse than me, she had no experience with stuff like this. "Sara, take deep breaths and just do your best. Don''t worry about the results, okay? I''ll be with you every step of the way." I tried to reassure her. "But I-" before she could finish, she was cut off. "Zeref! Sara!" I heard a familiar voice echo from behind me, I turned my head round to see Malia, Jace and Naz run to us from the other end of the hall. The area was so colossal, people were scattered everywhere, some sparring and others meditating so seeing them relieved the atmosphere a little. "Mr Xanxus let us off school today so we could come and support you guys." Naz spoke up ecstatically then proceeded to hug Sara. "What''s with the mask weirdo? Want me to pull it off for you?" Naz smiled suspiciously and began to move forward. "I''m trying to keep my identity hidden for a reason." I replied, flicking her arm away from reaching my face. "Anyhow, don''t be so stiff! You got this." Malia smacked my shoulder and I smiled back at her awkwardly through the mask. "Don''t let me down. You know I let you win cause I felt bad for you right; don''t let my kind gesture go to waste!" Jace scoffed sarcastically, folding his arms. "You know Malia, it was so awesome! A guy came at me like this, then I punched his head in like this..." he again started his stupidity in front of everyone doing awkward moves and demonstrations. Some people were even beginning to look at us oddly. "Okay, we get it now shush!" Malia punched his head downwards making him rub his head; I had to admit the guy could take a beating. We all shared a few laughs, relaxing our nerves, when all of a sudden, a loud beep noise echoed through the arena. Everyone flinched at the loud noise and soon after, a woman walked through the door with a clipboard. She pushed her rectangular glasses up the bridge of her nose and scanned her eyes across the room. "All seven pairs shall make their way to the edge of the forest for the first stage." she said in a dull tone before walking back out of the room. Sara turned to Naz and Malia to engulf them in a warm hug. "We will be watching. Good luck you two." Malia smiled as I knocked fists with Jace. "We will be fine." I winked causing Naz to laugh. "Stay safe Sara." Jace acknowledged her with a nod before gripping Malia''s hand and leaving. Naz turned to us one last time and cupped Sara''s face in her hands. "I will be cheering for you. Have fun. I love you." Naz sighed before running after Jace and Malia. I looked down at Sara who was in tears. "Why are you crying?" I laughed. "I don''t knooooow," her voice wavered as she let out a loud weep, people turning their heads to look. "Naaaaaaz!" she started to ugly cry, wiping her snot on her sleeves. "Sara, you''re being a little dramatic." I laughed while hugging her. "Now stop crying, she''ll be watching us the whole time and we will see her after the tournaments finish." I comforted, wiping her tears and guiding her to the exit. Once she stopped crying and calmed down, we left the exit and made our way to the starting line. More students started to come out and join us, standing in their respective places. Scanning my eyes across our competition, I noticed all of the kids were 16 or 17 and I protectively put my hand over Sara''s shoulder, knowing that she noticed too. Her ears fell flat down against her head, unintentionally. I bent down to whisper at her, "Don''t show them you''re nervous. I''m right here." "I can''t help it, my ears just speak the truth." she whispered back, harshly, making a bulky girl smile evilly at her. She whimpered in worry. "What are you looking at?" I glared at the big girl with a stiff glare. "At your stupid wolfy friend. Watcha gonna do kid." she mocked. Stalking my way towards her, I tilted my head, scanning her large form. Everyone''s heads turned to us. The large girl looked shocked as I stepped towards her, glaring at her blazer with her crest on it. "Garsontine Prep. Pathetic." I scoffed, making her partner step forwards next to her. They both towered over me yet I wasn''t the one to back down. "I''ll crush you in the tournaments, you puny little brat." she snapped, pointing her chunky finger in my face. "What are you gonna do? Sit on me?" I pushed the sweaty finger out of my face and rolled my tongue through the side of my mouth, bored. I earned a few snickers and just as her partner was about to say something back, a hand dragged me back to my original spot. "Stop..." Sara glared at me and I put my hands up to show she won but not before glancing at the bulky girl who was red as a tomato. Another loud beep rang through the air, this time, followed by deafening shouts of parents and friends. The same woman from before walked in front of us with her clipboard. "Register!" she yelled at us and we all instantly fell silent. "Hebrion Academy, Lotus Academy, Garsonite Prep, Testaria Academy, Royal heir Prep, Benditwallow Academy and Xanxus Academy." each duo raised their hands at hearing their school names. "Okay listen up. Welcome to stage 1. The D rank beasts in this forest will have a key wrapped around it''s neck which will belong to your flag. There is no specific key you need to get, any key will unlock your flags. The flag will be locked in a hidden location. Slay the beast, get the key and retrieve your flag. Your ultimate goal is to be the first duo to run back to the arena with your crest." A hench boy with blonde hair raised his hand, "What if we can''t slay the beast but we manage to get the key?" Everyone whispered in protest, murmuring about how D rank beasts were ''deadly''. I tried not to roll my eyes. I slayed D rankers when I was 5 years old. "You will lose 500 points from your score." the lady stated, pushing up her glasses. "There is one rule though. No murder." she smirked and everyone laughed making Sara shiver next to me. "Invisible spectating magic will be cast on each partner and displayed in front of everyone in the arena so we will be able to watch each of you. Good luck. You will hear 3 beeps and then a loud bell. That is your queue to run in." she nodded at us and strutted her way back into the arena. Everyone burst back into chatter before a cheer was heard echoing through the air. I grabbed Sara''s hand. "We run after everyone else leaves." I stated, making sure she knew what to do. She nodded in understanding. "Let''s bring back a win." she whispered, determination glowing brightly in her dark eyes. Her ears perked up and stood proudly. I smiled down at her and gave her a nod. The first beep rang and everyone started to face the forest. The second beep echoed. "Ready?" I asked. The third beep resounded through the air. "No." Sara whispered back. An agonising silence settled in the air as I squeezed Sara''s hand, awaiting the last ring of the bell. Chapter 26 - Relying On Sara DING! The bell rang and everyone ran forwards, barging each other out of the way. "Looks like the Xanxus pair are observing the directions of the others! Great strategy!" a voice spoke loudly through the air from the arena. I ran left, bringing Sara with me, leaping over fallen branches and poisonous weeds sprawled out on the moist floor. The scent of anything living was hard to detect with only the smell of damp grass in the air, blocking out my sense of smell. The thick blanket of mist started to lay on top of the trees, blocking out all sunlight as darkness filled the forest in its eeriness. Beasts normally lived somewhere dark to catch unsuspecting prey which meant that the mist could lead us to our target easily but it was still a surprise as to what could happen. We were at a great disadvantage with the fact that the fog left us in nearly pitch black darkness. I tried using my inspect skill but the mist still clouded my vision; it must''ve been a spell; I would have to rely on my sense of touch then. I sped through the forest; making sure to move fast so if a beast spotted us, it couldn''t prance on our backs. [Seikuken (Level 35) will consume 1MP every minute] I also activated my Seikuken to help with obstacles in our path. Sara tugged at my arm, indicating me to stop. Hastily, I turned to her but realised the look on her face. "Zeref, what''s the plan?" Sara tried to catch her breath. "Sara activate your beast mana." my eyes darted around as I put my arm out in front of her in a protective stance, backing her to a large oak tree. Her eyes searched mine before she nodded in understanding. Cautiously, I took a step back, giving her the space. "I won''t be able to speak after this. I''ll just lead you to it." her teeth started to sharpen into canines as she emitted a low growl from her chest. Instantly, a burst of fur started to grow on her arms. Her ears were fuzzy and stood up as if it were listening out for any sound. Her eyes gleamed like a cat in the dark as she bent down on all fours, rapidly growing by size until her clothes started to tear and fell to her sides, shredded in pieces onto the floor. She fully transformed into a large wolf. Standing tall and full of pride, she looked down at my amazed gaze and nuzzled her snout into the crook of my neck. There was a spark of serenity in her gaze which enchanted me. Gently, I dragged my hands through her black silky fur. She knelt down, offering her back to me so I could get on and I didn''t hesitate to do so, grabbing a fist full of fur. As soon as she knew I had a firm grip on her, she lifted herself up with ease, raising her snout into the air. Her tail pointed upwards, signalling me to hold on, before she sprinted left in full speed. My breath went ragged as I gasped, feeling the wind against my face. Barely touching the ground, her paws kissed the earth with an effortless ease. She moved so elegantly and I could feel the minimal energy she needed to keep moving with every stride. After a couple minutes, she halted in her tracks, making me face plant into the fur on the back of her neck. "Ow" I hissed. She stood still, gesturing to me to get off with a low growl. We were now in clear light and had gotten out of the dark part of the forest. I looked up in awe, gazing at the bright, gleaming lagoon in front of us. The edges were emerald green but as my eyes moved it''s way into the middle of the water, the green started to fade and the sun helped illuminate the beautiful blue water underneath, waiting to be noticed. I stepped forwards but was stopped when Sara''s paw patted my shoulder. I turned and she stepped back, looking down and indicating the floor. I followed her line of vision and saw the big paw print, three times larger than Sara''s paw. Sara lifted her snout and stared into the lagoon. Again, I turned around, confused as to what she was trying to say but then it hit me. "The beast is in the water?" I questioned and she let out a tiny bark as a yes. I didn''t hesitate unbuttoning my shirt and putting it on Sara''s back but to my surprise, Sara put her paw into the surface of the water and looked back at me with a pleading look. "You want to handle this one?" I asked and she barked happily. I knew she would be fine. It was a D ranker after all and the less I used my powers, the less attention I''d attract. I nodded in agreement and she shook my shirt off of her happily before leaping into the lagoon. Only after she had jumped, I pondered. Why would a beast be in the water unless. My heart thumped out of my chest. We were dealing with a water beast. This was bad. I never encountered water beasts before. That just showed how rare they were. What was it about them that Mr Xanxus told me were extremely dangerous? "They are smart creatures who find their prey''s weak points in a few seconds." Then more of Xanxus''s words hit me. "It is the rarest but strongest type of beast, having the power to compel its prey with it''s eyes, playing with it before swallowing it whole." Of course, at first I wanted to leap in and save Sara but I knew she wanted to handle it. She had the beast element after all. I let out a sigh of relief when her head popped up out of the water to take a breath. It seemed she had transformed back to her human form. My eyes connected with hers and she seemed fine. She dipped back down into the water and my anticipation was killing me. ** -Sara''s POV- My body emerged into the water and a blurred cheer from the crowd could be heard, sending waves through the serene water. My eyes squinted as I forced myself to sink. My wolf couldn''t control the water filling my lungs and I swiftly whirled in the water, swirling the water as I switched back into my human form, now naked. This lagoon was deeper than I thought, I looked down at my feet, seeing the darkness under me as I kept sinking. I sunk farther down; the sunlight gave the water above me a soft diffused glow but I was sinking into the darkness. The deeper I sunk, the less the light could penetrate. The rocks were now silhouettes and I noticed no life in the peaceful water I was engulfed in. I flapped my arm slowly in the water, keeping myself from sinking or rising. If I sunk any deeper, I''d be blind from the darkness. A sudden shock of the water sent frost bites through the surface of my skin and a sudden dangerous feeling of being watched made my heart thump faster. Why do I have a feeling that this beast was not a D rank? My eyes scanned the opaque vastness of the mysterious lagoon. Nothing. There was nothing. I made sure to keep flapping to show Zeref a sign that I was still alive. My breathing started to plummet and I swam back to the surface, gasping for air, before ducking my head back into the water. Luckily, Zeref didn''t pay much attention to me. I stayed at the surface of the water this time, looking down into the deep darkness. Two glowing beams blinked out of the darkness and before my mind could realise what I just saw, waves of water was sent in an upward formation and large jaws emerged from the black water below me at a deadly speed. Its jaws were bigger than my whole body and I wondered How big was this thing?! The beast widened its mouth and roared, making the water around me shake in furious big waves. The waves moved my body up and down as I bobbed like a useless prey. Just as it was about to come any closer to the surface, I shot my dominant, glowing eyes at it, showing who he was going after. I shifted only my arm and released my claws. Swimming towards it and slashing it''s snout, I forced it to swerve back into the darkness but before it could, I caught a glimpse of the necklace around its neck. No way was this a D rank It''s mouth was twice the size of my wolf. I turned my body and to my horror, I met the beaming eyes of the beast. Right. In. Front. Of. Me. I could feel the tips of its fur on its face, tickle my stomach. It didn''t move and it just glared at me with its head tilted downwards, looking straight at me. I was confused, I felt that if I moved, it would kill me quicker than I could roar, so I just stood there. What the hell was I doing? My muscles tensed and I felt entranced by the creature''s glowing eyes. I wanted to stay with it and submit- A loud yell from Zeref erupted from outside the water but I couldn''t move. I didn''t want to move. Suddenly, another wave of water hit my back and I was pushed into the beast''s forehead. Slowly, the beast opened its mouth, taking its time to show me its teeth. They were beautiful and sharp, and I gazed at them in awe. Loud screams from the arena echoed through the forest making me anxious. Did someone complete the task? "GRAWWWW!!! " it whimpered in pain, shutting it''s eyes and I felt as if my heart started to beat again. Zeref shot spears of ice out of his hands at its head and the water started to bleed out red. I felt my muscles loosen again and I hastily formed into my wolf and sunk my teeth into the monster''s neck, instantly killing it. The icicles soared through it''s throat and pierced out of it''s nape. I swam to its neck and snatched the necklace in between my teeth before slashing the beasts neck one last time and swimming up. ** -Zeref''s POV- "It shows no mercy to ones who disturb it and is immortal." I didn''t understand how it was ''immortal''. I literally just killed it or- The beast''s face twitched as his eyes opened and its wounds sealed up. It looked more deadly. I was too shocked to think and blew a punch of ice at its face, pushing it downwards back into the darkness. I didn''t let it take a break this time and created a wall of ice where the dark and light water met. I watched as the beast clawed at the wall of ice, trying to get through to me but I knew it couldn''t. Swimming back up, I stared at Sara''s wolf who was waiting for me. She was braver than I thought. She knew how big the thing was and yet she still stood her ground, helping me. I looked at her like a brother would look at his sister. My heart swelled in pride. Chapter 27 - The Edge Of The Cliff -Sara''s POV- What''s taking him so long? I shook the water out of my fur and just as I started to worry, his head popped out of the surface and he swam to the edge, in front of me. To my disdain, he held my paw and the ground for support and lifted himself up, out of the water. His hair dripped down in front of his face and the water gave his muscled body a golden shine with the help of the sun. I couldn''t help but gawk at his toned skin and his muscles flexing as he lifted himself up. Taking in a large gulp, I prayed that he didn''t notice my staring. He stood next to me, shaking his hair, making the water from his hair flick everywhere and it took all of my focus to not purr. What the hell was wrong with me?! I shook my head feeling red. Picking up his clothes that I dropped when going in to save him, he went behind a tree and I stared back at the water, minding my business. After a couple minutes he appeared again. "Come on." he said, patting my head. I followed him through the forest but stopped when I saw a pair holding their flag and running through to the finish line. No words were exchanged but both Zeref and I ran towards them in full speed. They were the Hebrion Academy representatives. I body slammed the girl with the flag, knocking her off her feet. We both struggled but I was way larger than her, causing her to activate her mana. Her dark, rich skin turned to stone as she threw her fist into my snout, flying me back into a large tree. I searched for Zeref but could hear him running away with the Hebrion guy hot on his tail. I guess he spotted our flag. The girls box braids flung around her waist again as she stood up, grabbing the flag. My wolf let out a threatening growl at her, telling her I wasn''t done with her. My canines started to twinkle in the light, showing her I was thirsty for blood. Her eyes widened as she gripped her flag and ran towards the edge of the forest, away from the finish line. I thought it was quite stupid to run from a wolf, honestly. Her legs failed her as we reached the edge of a rocky cliff. She stumbled to the floor and grunted. Tauntingly, I circled her, snapping my teeth at her. I just had to buy time until Zeref came and we could both rush to the finish line. I closed in swiftly and striked her body with my paw, she tried to block but her guard broke and her body flailed into a large tree trunk knocking her out. She was older than me and much more experienced with tactics but I was a royal wolf. I didn''t blame her for failing to defeat me. She was quite strong though. Zeref burst out from the bushes with our flag and I let out a long howl of victory. His smile was wiped off when the Garsonite prep duo made an entrance, the Hebrion boy also emerged, bruised up, behind Zeref. At first everyone stood still, overwhelmed, but realisation hit us when the big Garsonite girl tackled me to the edge of the cliff. The fight broke out and Zeref looked strained and hesitant on using his full power. What was wrong with him?! We were getting teamed up on! My teeth snapped out a chunk of the fat on her stomach and she let out a deep yelp. The Hebrion girl focused on her flag, defending it from the Garsonite boy. I stood up on my feet to be knocked upwards by the jaw. Continuously throwing rock hard punches, my head bounced against her knuckles, leaving me dazed and unable to get in a breath. I was too distracted and to my surprise, a large hit aimed at my stomach flew me backwards, off of the cliff. My eyes captured everything in slow motion as I watched the reactions of my peers. They all stopped fighting in shocked faces and, in slow motion, tried to reach for me. The world swirled beneath me as my arms flew in front of me, trying to catch something so I could prevent my fate. "AHWWWW!!" my howl for help was faded out by the yells of the audience. I felt my stomach drop under me and my breath halted in my throat. The wind rushed angrily in my ear, yelling into my eardrums and pushing my hair into my eyes. To my relief, a lanky arm gripped my paw and a head popped into view from the rocky cliff. It was the Hebrion boy "Sara!!!" Zeref gripped my other paw and they both hoisted me up. My feet failed me and all I could think of was the fact that I was alive. My wolf form was much smaller now due to the mana expenditure so pulling me up didn''t seem to be a problem. Zeref fell next to me and pulled me into a tight hug, shaking next to me. The full picture came into my view. The Hebrion girl was fighting off the Garsonite duo with her mana fully activated. Stinging nettles laced around her hand like special jewellery. She whipped a rope of nettles around like a whip, summer salting around the two bimbos. Her hair was levitating behind her, growing out like hissing snakes, lashing and slashing at their prey. My eyes drowsed into a blur and my eyelids started to feel heavy. The pain in my stomach churned and nipped my insides slowly. Zeref held me tight and sighed into my fur. The other guy sitting next to us stared at me, relieved. "It''s okay Sara." I peeked through my eyelashes to see the awfully sharp jawline of Zeref Amara and his annoyingly defiant eyebrows, glaring at the fight. His jaw clenched as his Adam''s apple bobbed up and down showing the big gulp took in. I laid my head next to his chest, tired. "Johan... thank you. Let''s finish the line together." Zeref spoke to the Hebrion guy; his chest vibrating next to my ears as he spoke, making me feel fuzzy in the head. My cheeks felt warm and I could feel the fur on my ears frizz. Johan, the guy who saved me, picked up ours and his flag and led the way, after nodding. I cautiously followed, making sure to walk near Zeref. I noticed his partner was trailing right behind us. "Ciara, hold our flag." Johan said, handing his flag to his partner. I frowned as the pain dissipated in my stomach. Zeref''s pace sped up and the trees stopped standing in front of us like a barrier and revealed us the glory of the finish line. As if we had the most time in the world, all four of us crossed the finish line and into the arena in a slow pace. Instantly, the loud cheers of the audience shook my drowsy eyes awake, making me gasp in surprise. Ciara, the pretty Hebrion girl, placed her hand on Zeref''s shoulder while waving the Hebrion flag, proudly. By her side was her partner, Johan, who waved our flag, smirking to himself in content. Scanning the audience for Naz, Jace and Malia, I jumped up and down in joy, howling in victory to the cheering people. Pants escaped my lips as I flipped around to look at Zeref who was smiling at me through his mask. I barked and turned back to the endless crowds of people. "WE DID IT! WE DREW FIRST!" Johan said. ** "Ah!" I flinched back at the touch of the cold liquid. The nurse sighed, glancing up at me. "Be careful!" Naz scowled at the nurse. "You''re killing her." Naz crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair next to me. "Calm down. She''s just doing her job." Malia laughed slightly. I gripped onto Malia''s hand, squeezing it slightly as the nurse wiped the millions of grazes littered around my arms, legs and stomach. The cold rings on her fingers cooled my nerves, sending shivers up my spine slightly. The cool engraved patterns grazed my skin, making me jitter at the tickly sensation. "She nearly died out there!" Naz reprimanded as her eyes widened. She exaggerated her hand movements; flinging her arm to the direction of the forest. Malia and I laughed lightly at her drama. "I''m fine." I sighed, laying my head back on the pillow, providing my neck comfort. Right now, we were behind the arena, in the nurse''s room. The nurse had given me spare clothing which was just a plain white T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms. The door swung open and Jace walked in, followed by Zeref, Johan and Ciara. I smiled at the delectable scent of cake. Jace held up a bag and smiled at me, placing it on my lap. "I got you cake." he said and sat in the seat next to Malia. I didn''t hesitate to flash him a teethy, gummy smile before unwrapping the plastic and digging the plastic fork in. "Ugh, thanks. I''m gonna really need the sugar." I half chewed and half spoke. "I''m glad you''re ok," Zeref smiled, leaning against the cabinet, hands in his pockets. Damn. I fluttered my eyes back onto my cake, trying to keep my racing heart in control. "Yeah, I was super worried you were gonna die." Ciara smiled at me, sitting at the edge of my bed, making the edge sink down slightly. "Thanks for helping me." I smiled, shyly. "Yeah. I saw what you did out there. Pretty cool power." Malia gave Ciara a lopsided smile, tilting her head and leaning forwards in her seat with her elbows resting above her knees. Strings of her hair effortlessly fell to the side of her temples, from her ponytail. Ciara''s eyes widened and her dark toned cheeks flashed a tint of hot red. "Th-Thanks?". Ciara gestured for Malia''s name. "Malia Stronghold. This guy is Jace and that''s Naz," she pointed at the two; Malia gave her a genuine smile, making her eyes shrink a little and her cheeks puff. I turned my head to thank Johan but he was too preoccupied gazing at Malia so I just left him. I turned to Zeref but he was also busy glaring at the floor, deep in his thoughts. "You had us so worried-" Naz spoke but was interrupted by the sound of the door. "Sara!" Mr Xanxus frantically stumbled in. "Are you okay?! Can you still compete?!" he ran to me, his hair messy as ever. "She''s fine." Naz rolled her eyes at his interruption. "Just a few scratches." I reassured him with the ''don''t worry'' eyes. Johan laughed at something Jace had said and they both left with Malia and Ciara, giving me space. I looked at Naz and she hugged me again before leaving too. "Don''t die Sara." she threatened, glaring daggers at me. I gulped. "I love you" her eyes softened and she turned to leave before I could say anything. My head hung low as I took a bite of the Victoria sponge cake. "Nazzzzz!" I cried out with the cake filling my mouth. Tears rushed out of my eyes as I tried to swallow my bite. "Oh calm down Sara" Mr Xanxus said in a panic, looking lost. "Xanxus, you should go to your seat. Round 2 is starting. I''ll handle it." Zeref finally spoke, kicking the cabinet to his feet and standing up straight. "Well then. Good luck." Mr Xanxus nodded at my sobbing self and Zeref before leaving. Chapter 28 - The Magic Labyrinth -Zeref''s POV- "Welcome back contestants and viewers, to this joyous day for round 2 of the tournament. In 60 seconds the portals will open and all contestants will be permitted to jump in! Get ready as there''s no turning back now." The presenter''s voice echoed and the crowd boomed in excitement. Sara grabbed my hand and closed her eyes. I comforted her by grasping her hand tightly. "It''ll be fine, I know you''re still injured. I''ll protect you." I reassured her before facing the portal, waiting for the last 20 seconds. The portals were lined up side by side like during the inauguration, on the centre platform, except fewer contestants were next to us. Garsonite Prep and Benditwallow Academy had already been disqualified due to the lack of points in the first round, so we were lucky to even make it to round 2. "Contestants Ready?!" he asked, causing the contestants next to us to cheer. "3...2...1! Jump into the portals!" With that announcement I jumped into the portal without hesitation, still grabbing Sara''s hand behind me. The noise faded behind me with one leap. [You have entered a green portal] ** [You are now in a private dimension] The air had a cold feel to it and all my hairs rose in alertness. Shivers travelled down my spine and my senses were being dulled again. It must''ve been another spell. Immediately I activated my Seikuken and inspect skill, to see through the pitch black darkness and detect for life forms that were near us. [Sleep spell has been cast on you] [Mental spell has been rejected] No wonder my senses felt so groggy, it was a sleep spell. We were lucky, there were no signs of life on our path; I looked around to be met by large walls rising up for hundreds of meters and an eerie silence, which didn''t sit right with me. The pathway we were on, was stretched on for 10 metres or so, then moved right. Suddenly, Sara''s body fell forward from behind me and her head rested on my back; the sleep spell must have already made her pass out. I really needed to find out the layout of the maze we were in and I could use my sixth sense for that. Taking off my jacket, I laid it on the ground neatly and made Sara rest on top of it. Now for protection I created 3 metre dense, 20 metres high Ice walls on each side of the hallway and threw gravity mines. Knowing we were safe for now, I sat down and expanded my vision using my sixth sense. Twist after twist, the walls stretched on for 5 kilometres in all directions. After a couple minutes, I had a good overview of the positions of the other teams and our whereabouts, the number of beasts and our goal. The portals back to the stage were at the centre of this huge maze and conveniently we were placed the furthest away. I could probably get there with ''Godspeed'' immediately but that would show everyone my secrets. Rarrrggghhh! A deafening roar shook the air and large tremors passed through the ground with each step. Something was approaching and it was big. I slowly got up ready and unsheathed Voadhailis''s Claw for the first time from my waist, grabbing the hilt with two hands in a kendo stance. I gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, waiting for the right exact moment. Boom! With a large entrance, a huge troll about 10 metres clobbered the ice wall down to smithereens with its fists, it was disgusting in every way. Drooling from the mouth and reeking of a carcass, it wreaked. I inhaled deeply. Then Syphoning flame mana into the blade, I raised the blade above my head and slashed down in one swift motion. A blast of mana surged through me and I felt the power of the blade, rushing up my arms, emitting a wave of fire through the maze in all angles. The arc of dense pure flame mana cut through the troll cleanly and travelled on without signs of stopping, cutting through anything in its path. The thick smell of smoke filled the air as the walls were burnt to nothing more than ash, creating a clear space of a pathway for us. I might''ve gone a bit overboard. The troll was still standing, its eyes wide and still. Its legs wavered before it split in half, falling apart. The blood of all his sliced up brain and arteries squirted like a water fountain and the white of his ribs stood out, being engulfed in the fat flesh and red blood clots. His brain bubbled before falling onto the floor with a slop. I cringed at the gory sight. The skin I sliced through was burnt and crisp and there were some orange blood clots forming around the cut on his head. His dark blood left the artery it belonged to in big surges and pulsated from his carotid. [You have used up 500 MP] This was our chance to win! I picked up Sara and put her on my back and ran straight flash stepping, moving left, then right, then straight again... Since I knew the whole layout of the maze I could avoid unnecessary fights and get to the main point of the mission. This was going to be easier than I thought. ** "Look, it''s the Xanxus Academy pair! Hahahaha! Aren''t we lucky?" a sinister laugh echoed throughout the hall and a girl popped up in front of me blocking the pathway. I turned back to run but we were surrounded. "We all know there''s no point to this fight, just let us pass." I told the Royal Prep Academy Girl coldly, looking back at the guy behind me too. "We both know that''s not gonna happen, pretty boy! You guys stole the first position from us and you think we''d let you guys just go. Don''t make me laugh!" she sneered before charging at me like an angry bull. Her partner reciprocated her movements and charged in too from behind. They were both striker type mages, so I could''ve taken them both on, in hand to hand combat but Sara was on my back and my hands were occupied. I''d have to use taekwondo. As the girl came in first she threw a left straight, then a right hook aggressively. Dodging it, I then planted my left foot deep in the ground and spun on it. Shrouding my right leg in ice mana, the roundhouse kick connected with her temple and I used her own momentum to make my kick do more damage. Her body flew like a ragdoll against the wall of the maze and it slid down in a dead position. I hoped she wasn''t dead from just one kick. We''d be disqualified but, when I saw her breath I felt at ease. "Jade!!!" The royal Prep boy was smarter than the girl and backed out his sword. If I wasn''t mistaken it was a replica of the legendary sword ''Excalibur''. The golden hilt shined and the blade gleamed a perfect silver. A true work of art. "You fight like a coward! Unsheathe your sword!" he shouted furiously glancing at his team mate immobile on the ground, then at me. "Oh sorry. Did I hurt your puny little girlfriend?" I smirked, enraging him more. "She is my sister! You sick jerk!" he vociferated before charging at me, slicing furiously. His blade work was impeccable and precise but he just wasn''t fast enough; I dodged his inexperienced and predictable swings, then countered by parrying a random sword strike to the right. I followed through with a spinning tornado kick to his chin. My plan was to knock him out and run for the portal. I couldn''t wait around and waste time when the 3 other schools were close to winning. He recovered after a couple seconds and charged in again, but this time he used light magic to disorientate me. It was a good move from him but luckily my Seikuken helped me to see the path of every sword slash coming towards me. "I''m only starting!" he shrieked before, using light magic to create an afterimage of himself. This time I made a mistake and his Excalibur skimmed me cleanly against my torso. A red line formed on my chest through my shirt after a couple seconds, and a painful and burning sensation engulfed my chest. [You have suffered 200 damage] "You feel it don''t you, my light magic''s purification ability. Every slice that connects with your body will fatigue you twice as fast. So keep dancing around you arrogant sinner!" "Just shut your blabbering." I said coldly before disappearing from his view, "Did you think you were the only one with special tricks. It''s time for you to go to sleep, Mr royal." I flash stepped behind him and smashed his head with both my palms at his ears, then grabbed onto Sara again. The ears were an important organ not just for listening but also responsible for balance, so rupturing the eardrums was a great tactic to disorientate an opponent fast. "Wh-What did you d-" before he could finish, I finished him off with a kick to the head and his body toppled over and fell to the cold ground. I checked for his pulse. He was still alive. Good! Chapter 29 - Surprise Attack I was worried about Sara''s health and why she wasn''t getting up but I guessed that she was just still tired from the first round. She did end up in the infirmary. The portal was in sight and the win was in our grasp but An arrow shrouded in shadow mana skimmed past my face, I dodged it barely by a hair''s breadth. According to my past experiences, I knew none of the school kids had the shadow element, so who could it have been? The pathway we were in at this time was lit well, with the portal on one side, and the dark walls surrounding from every other side. However, It wasn''t the best site for a fight. I still had lots of MP and HP, but my battle prowess was only restricted to using ice mana. "It looks like the broadcasting is being blocked. We are trying our level best to fix this issue. Please bear with us." the presenter''s voice echoed into the maze. Now I was certain something was wrong. A dark hand moved out of one of the walls and grabbed Sara''s arm from behind. Immediately I froze it with Ice magic and continued running forwards towards the portal. "Zeref Amara." A voice echoed in the labyrinth and a sinister pressure enveloped the whole area. The mana felt familiar. I had felt this dark mana before but it didn''t ring a bell. Where? Where had I felt this type of Mana? 10 or more figures shrouded in darkness, slowly appeared out of the ground and blocked my path forward, I looked back but about the same number of figures were behind me, all holding swords and wands. Who were they and how did they know ''James Lance'' was a fake name? "You should''ve known you had limited days when you picked war with Umbra. Your execution is now a-" the lead figure at the front was going to finish speaking but I conjured large spears of ice in both hands and threw them like a javelin at the figures. A shadow wall rose from the ground and hands made of darkness mana grabbed the spears stopping them in their tracks, with ease. "Any sort of fighting back is futile, I can assure you that." the figure spoke confidently. I kissed my teeth in frustration. I didn''t care about these fools, time was of the essence. I laid Sara on the ground and checked all their levels with my inspect skill. This was going to be an easy fight. They were all at level 35, the leader being at level 40. Me being a level 58, this was going to be interesting. I cracked my neck left and right and activated my lightning aura. The atmosphere vibrated as the lightning rattled around me and my presence made some of the shadow soldiers move back. ''Almighty presence.'' With a single chant and a click of my fingers, my gravity magic activated and the labyrinth walls shook struggling to stay standing. The shadow soldiers and their leader fell to their knees involuntarily and in an instant. "H-How is this possible?!" the leader slowly got up resisting, "Aren''t you an ice mage? This is unfair!" "Maybe, but life isn''t always fair is it." I shrugged before beheading the shadow soldiers instantly using Godspeed, leaving the leader alive. "I''ll let you live. Go tell your organisation or whatever to not mess with me or my friends. Next time I won''t hesitate to annihilate Umbra off the face of this planet." I grabbed the leader''s collar, faced him dead in the eyes before letting him go. He didn''t say a word, except vanishing into thin air, lonely leaving a dark smoke. As soon as his departure, I grabbed Sara''s body and jumped into the portal. ** My eardrums almost burst as the crowd''s cheers blew up the stadium; I looked to the sidelines to see Jace, Malia and Naz waving in joy. We did it. We won. "What a surprise! The Xanxus Academy pair seem to have come in first place, leading them one step closer to winning the cup this year." The presenter''s voice bellowed and for the first time, I felt my body almost fall due to fatigue; I must have been drained. After a couple seconds the ROyal Prep duo that I beat up appeared out of the portal. "Wow! The Royal Prep Academy Duet finally exit the portal! They seem very beat up though. What could''ve happened, while the broadcasting system was down? Nevertheless, they make it out at second place." The presenter continued, "30 seconds remain and the last portal will close. Will the other schools be able to make it back in time?!" The Royal Prep duet looked at Sara and I, with eyes filled with hatred. This must''ve been their second loss now. Those two were spoiled brats, children of the King of the Vrimeon Kingdom; their life was filled with nothing but ease. What a bunch of inexperienced brats. "...And the gates are now closed! Royal Prep Academy and Xanxus Academy go to the finals!" With that the second round ended and the loud cheering of the crowd boomed through the arena. "YES! YES!" the faint voice of Xanxus could be heard in the crowds. Sara was finally awake now; I looked back at her and a proud smile stretched across her face. She stared at me then raised her eyebrow in acknowledgment. "You got us our second win. I''m impressed." she smiled. "What can I say? I''m just good." I winked. ** "YES MY VICTORIOUS DUO!" Xanxus came running backstage towards us. We laughed as he jumped up and down. "Mr Xanxus!" Sara squealed. "Do you know how happy I was to shove the victory in their faces for once?!" he squealed higher. I rolled my eyes making sure he saw me. After listening to Xanxus talk about his stupid bet with the other principals, my eyes started to wonder and paused on a particular duo packing their bags. Xanxus left, saying bye. "Johan! Ciara!" I waved, calling them over. They walked over and Ciara instantly pulled Sara into a hug. "Sara. Zeref. You both did so well!" Ciara complimented making me scratch my nape and nod gratefully. "Yeah, we hope you guys win." Johan smiled. "I''m so sad you guys didn''t make it," Sara pouted, holding both of Ciara''s hands. "Same but don''t cry. We will be cheering for you both in the audience." Ciara ruffled Sara''s hair and smiled at me. "Thanks, we-" I was about to say something when someone ran into me, hugging me. "ZEREF!" Naz yelled, squeezing me with her surprisingly strong arms. "Argh, Naz." I wheezed and to my relief, she finally let go. Jace and Malia were behind her but were too preoccupied by Ciara and Johan. "Malia!" Ciara smiled at Malia with a sparkling glint to her eyes. "Ciara! I''m sorry you guys didn''t make it" Malia swung her arm around Sara while talking. "Na it''s fine." Johan spoke, blushing. "We saw you both faint. It was a bummer." Jace spoke sympathetically, pulling Malia and Sara apart and stepping in between them. "Hey!" they both said at the same time, pushing him. I chuckled and so did everyone else. Damn. I was so ready to win this and return with a trophy. Chapter 30 - Sara Don’t Give Up! "Could the female representative for Xanxus Academy and the respective representative of Royal Heir Prep please make their way to the stage!" A loud voice echoed throughout the hall and Sara crumbled to her knees. She was devastated by the looks of it. "Why did I have to do this?" Sara started to weep, Naz crouched down to her level and reassured her. "Come on you big cry baby get out there! Not like you''re gonna win anyways but show some pride. You''re a princess!" Malia smirked, making Sara wipe her tears and get up. She walked over to the stairs and disappeared out of sight. "Hurry we need to cheer her on! Let''s go to the spectator room." Naz said before running away. We all exchanged looks before following the overzealous girl. ** -Sara''s POV- As I stepped out of the door, a loud cheer shook the atmosphere and my body began to shake under the pressure. I hated this. Not only did every of my steps leave me light headed, my body felt heavy like it was made out of lead. I stared at the girl I was facing, already situated at the centre of the huge stage. She was really grinning at me. I just wanted to run away to some distant land and never turn back. I just wanted to cry and let these stupid feelings out! "Sara! You got this! Cheer up and just do your best!" I could hear my friends shout at the top of their voices from the side lines. I smiled at them and planted my feet hard into the ground. "Hey missy! I don''t know why you''re smiling but I''m going to rip you from limb to limb. Especially those hideous ears of yours!" the girl laughed like an evil hag. I grimaced at her disgusting face. "Now that both contenders are in the ring. We will now go over the rules. Anything is allowed in this fight except weapons, the fight will stop once one of the contenders is unable to fight, if a contender surrenders or one of the contenders is out of bounds." I looked at the huge screen being broadcasted and my heartbeat quickened again and adrenaline rushed around my body. It was finally going to begin. " 3...2...1...Commence!" the presenter''s voice bellowed and a surge of cheers blew up the stadium. My opponent covered the distance immediately, then disappeared from my sight. What did she do? A hook connected with the left side of my face and everything went dark, then with another punch there was light again. I didn''t realise it till the 5th time but I was already on the ground taking a bloody beating. I used my arms to guard my face but the girl wasn''t stopping, her onslaught carried on, punch after punch, till my consciousness kept drifting in and out. "Sara come on get up!" I heard a frantic scream coming from the side lines. It was Naz''s voice. I shook myself back to reality activating my beasts magic, my claws came out and I shook the crazy girl off me, then slashed at her abdomen, causing blood to splatter on my face. ''I''m going to win this!'' is what I thought before a blinding light flashed in front of me, disorientating me. Then another sharp blow contacted my chin making me tumble backwards. She didn''t stop there and continued her combo using her light magic to disorientate me again and again punching me and breaking me down, step by step. I roared, releasing my fangs and backed up into a defensive stance, transforming into my black wolf and towering over her with my teeth on full display. She tried to take her height to an advantage and slid down low but my wolf was faster. She swung at my snout but I growled, biting her fists as she yanked it back to her side in a scream. I pounced on her but was shocked when she attacked my stomach. A huge chunk of ground, slammed into me, sending me flying. I let out a shrill scream of pain in my head, which came out as a small whimper in my wolf form. My mind raced to find strength. I could feel my form slowly slipping. At this rate, I''d have to shift back in front of everyone against my will. Another punch knocked my head to the floor. "Get up you little b*tch!" she sneered before kicking my stomach inwards. I held my focus on the little will I had left and tried to keep my wolf from force shifting me back to a human. "Princess of dogs. Whimpering beneath my feet, begging for mercy." she scoffed before kicking into my rib. I felt the slight snap and my conscience faltered. My wolf had no energy to heal and I gave up completely, feeling my condition worsen. The fur on my ears fuzzed up and I closed my eyes. ** -Zeref''s POV- "I''m going to kill that bitch!" Naz screamed, almost jumping out from her seat and onto the arena. Instinctively, Jace and I both held her down preventing her from moving. "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to get my revenge." I gritted my teeth, glaring at the floor. I couldn''t bring myself to see what Jade was doing. "This is brutal!" Ciara yelled out, booing. "Yeah! She is going too far. I can''t look!" Johan shut his eyes, cringing. "NO! SARA!!!" Naz cried out, her mouth wide open, screaming. "STOP!" she cried out, collapsing into Jace''s arms. Her chest heaved as she cried out Sara''s name; her eyes red and swollen from her desperation. "PLEASE! STOP!" she climbed over her chair in a swift movement and ran to Mr Xanxus. "MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP YOU IDIOT!" she had his shirt scrunched in her fists and shook him vigorously. She cried and begged desperately and all the other headmasters looked at her in pity. Malia got up next to me and made her way to the owner of the games. Before I could say anything, a large sound of a jaw cracking was sent through the air. Malia had punched him. The owner screamed out in pain, gripping his jaw in his hands in shock. Jace stood next to Malia, backing her up. "Stop the fucking game." Jace''s voice dropped an octave lower. The man stood bewildered before scurrying to the centre of the arena with a bunch of guards. They ripped Jade off of Sara and carried Sara backstage. I didn''t hesitate to rush past everyone and run to the nurse''s room; not before hearing Naz drop to her knees in relief and crying "It''s okay. She will be fine." Ciara cooed. Jace and Malia ran behind me as we stormed down the hall to the nurse''s office. Outside the door, we spotted a smug Jade, trying to get into the room. "You filthy rat!" Jace spoke behind me, running up to Jade and slamming her to the wall, forcing her back to collide with the hard bricks as he wrapped his hand around her throat. "Sto-" Jade tried to speak but choked on her words. "A bitch you say? Under your feet? BEGGING?!" he quoted her past words, tightening his grip on her neck and slightly lifting her up off her feet to meet his eye level. "We will show you begging" Malia grinned, pushing Jace aside, gently. He let go of Jade and she instantly collapsed onto her knees, clutching her neck and coughing. "Stop" she coughed out, red from the lack of oxygen. She looked up at him, trying to compel him into her sick trap but Jace didn''t falter. Malia scoffed and yanked her hair back as she let out a yelp. "Guys-" I tried to warn but something in me wanted them to hurt her. "AHHH! STOP!" she tried to free herself from Malia''s deadly hold, thrashing and kicking. "Beg me." Malia said softly although her eyes were ratting out her true intent. "W-What?" she looked offended and her eyes filled with pride. "I said beg me" she reiterated, yanking Jade''s greasy hair harder. "AHHH! Please! Please!" she cried out and with that, Malia let her go, satisfied. Jade scurried to her feet and left, not turning back. "Well damn." I scoffed, nudging them both jokingly but to my surprise, they ignored me and stormed into the nurses room; me following closely. "How is she?" Jace asked as soon as the nurse came into view. "Is it serious?" Malia frowned, walking to the hospital bed, Sara was laying in. I walked to the bed and looked at Sara in her human form, dressed in a long hospital gown. "She will heal. Her wolf form is pretty strong to take a beating like that." the nurse said, concern lacing her voice. "Will she be ok for the next round?" Xanxus stormed in, biting his nails in angst. "Surprisingly... yes. With the spell I have put on her and the fast healing of her wolf blood, she should be back to normal by tomorrow for the game." A breath of relief was shared among us and I sighed sitting myself next to the sleeping Sara. They were going to pay. Chapter 31 - Revenge With every step, I struggled to hold in my rage. I was going to beat this brat the same way his sister did to Sara. "Both contenders are now on the stage. Ready to duke it down! If Royal Prep gets another win. This tournament will move into a round of sudden death. Can Royal Prep Academy make a comeback and take this round into sudden death? Right now Xanxus Academy is in the lead with 2 wins but if Royal prep can win this round, they will be one step closer to win this year''s tournaments!" the presenter''s voice echoed in the stadium. The sickening sound of the crowd thundered into my poor eardrums as I walked into the arena. Unfortunately, the first thing I saw was the smirking face of Prince Brad, Jade''s brother, who was standing with his legs shoulder width apart and arms crossed. The cocky little brat forgot the beating I gave him so I guess I''d just have to remind him but this time, I''d make sure he remembered every second. My surroundings became a blur and the colour around me turned grey. The only thing in my vision was Brad. My target. I stepped onto the ''x'' marking my starting position. The faded sounds of beeping drowned out into the background. It sounded like I was underwater and all I could hear was the movement of the water and the distant blurry murmurs of people. "Begin!" Brad charged at me with his useless light magic unsheathing his Excalibur, then stopped midway and retreated, his face wide in shock. He switched to a defensive stance and waited for me to make a move. [You have used Bloodlust] [Bloodlust is extremely effective] I said no words as my expressionless face said plenty. He was going to die and he knew it. I advanced forward slowly, peering into his soul with my cold eyes. With every step, the mana in the atmosphere vibrated and ice formed behind me like a trail. I conjured ice spears and hurled them at him, but he dodged them by weaving and running in a zigzag motion. Using his light mana, he closed the gap between us in a split second and a slash ringed past my ears, as I instinctively dodged. Momentarily, I became shocked by his drastic speed but reciprocated his attempt to kill by coating my arm in ice mana and grabbing onto his neck. His body remained limp in the air, unable to move as the ice mana from my hand was infesting his bloodstream. This technique had a tranquiliser effect, great for what I was about to do next. I threw his body to the ground, slamming him hard into the concrete. A large crack formed under him as I pounced on top of him and punched his face down with a hammer fist. My continuous barrage of punches left his face bloody and unrecognizable and for the first time the crowd became silent, as well as the presenter. My onslaught continued for several minutes until I could hear the footsteps of the referee jumping on stage and running over to us; I simply continued battering his ugly face in. "Royal Prep Representative. Do you forfeit?" the referee shouted kneeling down to his level. "N-No-" even after this beating this guy refused to surrender. I felt a surge of light mana as he replied, but I shut him down again using the ice mana''s effects. I faced the referee, "You have your answer. Now leave." I could see him gulp as he stared at me in fear, not looking back he jumped off the stage. A final punch was going to travel across the beaten boy''s face but my arm was gripped strongly by someone. I looked up at the figure shrouded in a silver coated armour. "That''s enough." the man spoke in a strict tone. He had blue eyes and blonde hair; for some reason this person looked familiar. "What if I don''t?" I challenged the blonde soldier''s words. "Then we''ll have to make you." as he said that 10 more soldiers encircled us, coated in the same armoured attire; all having their swords and spears in their hands. They were the King''s Royal Guards. I cast my inspect skill on them and knew they were strong, their leader the blonde man was at level 76, while the others ranged from level 45-60. I was definitely not going to win, even if I used all my elements. I nodded in understanding and got up from my position, I took a quick glance back at the bloodied royal, before following the soldiers off stage. The crowd remained silent the whole way through. "Simon, bring that wolf girl as well. King''s orders." The blonde soldier ordered his subordinate and with swift motion he disappeared in search for Sara. Why would the king want to meet us? Strange. ** "Wait here." as he said that, Sara came into view from the opposite end of the hallway. She looked scared and frail and most importantly tired. She still hadn''t recovered from all the wounds engraved into her skin. We walked into the King''s room but just before I left, I met Malia''s big doe eyes watching me leave. She smiled at me, giving me a thumbs up. The guards had left and only the three of us remained. "Your majesty. It''s an honour to meet you. What can we amuse you with?" I questioned the King suspiciously as we came to a stop. He chuckled, turning to face Sara and I. "Your majesty" Sara started to grow concerned at the tension in the room. The King''s face started to morph into a blur of pixelated shades of yellow and gold. The skin on his face began to fall off like it was sliced up by a carrot peeler. Sara screamed in shock, already in tears by the gruesome sight. His new shoulders started to bulk and popped out of his bony frame like the puss of a pimple. Every bone was heard, popping and cracking into place and the end result was an 18 year old, young looking boy, about 6"3. He cracked his neck around, adjusting himself before looking at me again. "Zeref Amara, it''s an honour to finally meet you. I''ve been waiting to see you." "What did you do to the King?" I asked sternly, relaxing my posture with a cold expression. "He is fine. He is on my side. Practically worships me." the guy cockily smiled, copying my stance. "Yh so what''s it have to do with me?" I rolled my eyes. "I''m Blake Handmore. The light contestant." Chapter 32 - A Conversation With The King My eyes widened. Another contestant. "Zeref? W-What''s happening?" Sara stepped back, behind me; her ears flat on her head. I looked over my shoulder and met her scared and confused stare. "Yeah, tell her Zeref." Blake, the light contestant, mocked. I couldn''t tell Sara who I was. I just couldn''t. "I''m here to propose a deal to you. Kid hear me out here. You''re still very young and extremely weak, therefore out of the kindness of my heart, I''ve decided to take away the burden on your shoulders, as the lightning candidate. Just hand over your seat to me and I''ll make sure to never harm you or your family ever again. How about it?" He proposed smiling, with a malicious glint in his eyes. The cold chills of my ice mana coursed through my veins and the frosty bites of the cold fog bit my cheeks, as it shrouded my body. "Go take your proposal somewhere else," I scoffed. This useless light contestant really thought I would surrender my seat just like that. Without a fight? Don''t make me laugh. Sara stood back, awkwardly watching. Blake smirked. "Kid, you''re clearly too cocky. Maybe I should put you in your place. You picked a war with us already, maybe now I''ll officially declare it. As a general of the Umbra organization, I hereby declare war against the lightning candidate. Zeref Amara." a disgusting smile stretched across his ugly face and his greasy blonde hair moved up. Cloning himself into 5 people and pulling his swords out, he got ready to attack. Umbra. Again, that organization wanted to interfere with my life. I unsheathed Voadhailis''s Claw out of instinct and prepared for the worst. My MP was at 80% capacity due to my last fight and my HP was around 94% but more importantly I was drained of stamina. "Sara stay behind me." I said as 2 of the clones charged at me swinging and slicing from all directions. "B-But I can help." she whimpered. "Just stay back. You''re still injured." I argued before throwing a slice of flames from my sword. 1 down. Two more jumped at me, a sword swing was coming from the left so I dodged to the opposite side but a line of red still appeared on my chest. What technique was that?! Was my sense of depth faulty? These weird techniques continued and my sense of perception was being played with. I would think I''d dodged an attack but the damage still inflicted on me; the cuts started to build up and my HP was down to 2600. He was using illusions to his advantage, tricking me with refracting actual light. [You have suffered 1200 Damage] [MP is dropping 5 HP/S due to blood loss] I activated my flame mana then conjured a multitude of fireballs, which scorched through the air as they chased the clones. These balls of flames had a homing aspect so they wouldn''t stop until they hit their target. I recovered some HP as the homing spell brought me some time. "Disappointing. Blessed with God knows how many elements but useless in utilising them all of them." Blake laughed and mocked as he and his clones cut all of the flame balls in half with their swords; suddenly he disappeared out of my field of view. Was he faster than me? ''Godspeed.'' I thought in my head, but before I could move to end everything, it turned out my opponent was one step ahead of me. "Woah, whoa, whoa. Not so fast." Blake chuckled from behind me, as if he knew what I was about to do. "ZEREF!!!" I could hear Sara''s scream as my body failed to move out of the way in time and a few seconds later, I felt the touch of the floor make contact with my limp body. It took me a couple seconds to register what had just occurred. Blood poured out of the large slashes on my chest and back and the light mana stung and ate at my mana pool. What kind of technique was that? My body fell still in a state of paralysis. I couldn''t activate my spell. "How disappointing. That''s all you got. That''s all the so-called Lightning candidate has to offer. You''re not even worth my time. What did you say before to my subordinate. I''ll wipe UMbra of the face of the planet. Don''t make me laugh. You couldn''t even beat me. YOU filthy peasant!" He shouted before kicking my body, making me tumble backwards and smash against a wall. Sara rushed over and kneeled next to me, shaking. She probably didn''t understand a single thing about why this was happening and what role I was playing here. "L-Leave us alone. We a-are j-just kids." she stuttered, her tears falling onto my wounds. "Now, now. Don''t cry; you''ll make me look like the bad guy here." Blake chuckled coldly, walking over to Sara and stepping over me. I gripped his foot tightly. "P-Please don''t- I''m begging you. Don''t-" I tried to beg but he kicked me across the room again into a big white pillar. I felt every muscle in my body scream as I desperately tried to get up but not a single bone moved. Why was this happening?! "AHHHHH! PLEASE! PLEASE!" Sara screamed, pleading and calling out to me. Blake raised his fist and swung down on her in full force. A loud crack echoed through the room and Sara laid limp on the floor. "I''ll see you soon then Zeref." I laid on my side, choking on the blood pouring out of my mouth. [HP has fallen below 15%] [You are suffering from blood loss] [Light mana is interfering with the healing process] [MP use is on cool down] [Time until you can use MP again: 29 minutes 47 seconds] He stood over Sara and lifted her up, scooping his hand under both of her thighs and the other around her shoulder. I tried to tell him to stop but my throat felt dry and stiff as the only sound I could make was the croaky screech along with the gurgling of the blood at the back of my mouth. He looked at me one last time before throwing down a portal. It opened and he walked through it. I watched as he kidnapped Sara in front of me and I was completely helpless. I had never felt so desperate. This guy was way ahead of me in speed, moves, aggression and technique. I guess I wasn''t as special as I thought because if you think you are strong, remember, there is always someone stronger. I remembered Nina telling me that. I guess I just forgot. The power got to me. I miss her. "Humble yourself." Nina''s and mum''s words circled through my head as I laid helplessly on the floor; too weak to move. All my mistakes piled in my brain and regret wrapped its fingers around my heart. I was hopelessly going to die again. Chapter 33 - Nina Sprolf 16 year old me stood over the beast, proudly. It''s eggs would last me a week of food. No garbage food for a week made me content. I was strong for my age, surviving in the cold streets on my own. I came out at night to hunt for food but this particular night was special. "Damn." a soothing voice came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see the most beautiful girl standing before me. She wore a leather jacket and black jeans, showing off her curves. Her white shirt was stained with splashes of blood. She peered at me through her eyelashes with a slight smile. I was enchanted. She looked my age, with her short brown hair curling around her face. Her dark skin tone and bright green eyes left me breathless. "Nice catch." to my disappointment, I knew she was more interested in my food than me. It was normal for homeless teens to be in this area. This was the poorest side of the city. My instincts told me to protect my food. I stood in front of the eggs, blocking her vision. "What do you want?" I sneered. I wanted to be nice and impress her but my 16 years of fighting and trauma said no. Sneering was just my normal way of talking now. "I''m Nina Sprolf." she smiled, showing off her gorgeous smile. "James Lance." I said, suspicious of her intentions. She took a step towards me, still smiling but my instinct told me to beware. Her leg swung to the side of my head but I caught it mid air, staring at her like I was unfazed. "You''re a cocky one aren''t ya?" her soothing voice turned into a malicious growl, matching my sneer. "Maybe I am." I smirked, looking at her. She flung her foot out of my grasp and stumbled backwards, nearly falling. I reached out and caught her, pulling her into me. Her nose hit my chest as she grunted. "Why don''t you go look for another beast before I teach you who you''re messing with?" I whispered my threat gently into her ear. She pulled away from me and activated her magic; as did I, however the dramatic difference in combat ability was evident. Before I could do anything, she shot her palm into my rib, flinging me backwards onto the brick wall. I grunted and as I tried to pick myself up, but she kicked me back down again before I could. "Look. I get it. You''re strong. But if you wanna survive beyond this city, you''ll have to remember. If you think you are strong, there is always someone stronger, so humble yourself." she stiffened her voice as if she was going easy on me. She picked up my food for the week and started to walk away. I laughed to myself, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn around, confused. I laughed harder, still on the ground, like a mad man. "You think I''ll ever make it outta this city? There is no life for me out there! I''m stuck here and nothing will change! This is my destiny. You na?ve-" "No." she said one word but it defied my whole belief, boldly. "Try thinking bigger. Maybe then you''ll realise what you''re missing and who knows. Maybe I''ll meet you at the top." she smirked. I looked at her, confused. What did that mean? "Thanks for the food." she waved at me with the sac of eggs in her hand. Oh sugar honey iced tea! My food! I got up, scrambling to my feet but she had already disappeared. Only then did I realise what she meant. "I''ll meet you at the top..." her words made my stomach flutter. She had faith in me. Nina Sprolf. Chapter 34 - Popcorn -Malia''s POV- I sighed, waiting for them to finish their conversation with the King. We were still in the crowds of people who were watching the ending performance of dancers. "Where are they?" I grunted in frustration. "I mean, they can take as long as they want. LOOK at these dancers! Damn..." Jace''s eyes glistened, mesmerised, causing me to scoff. "Shut up Jace." Naz rolled her eyes. "Agreed." I smirked. "I- I mean y-you could probably do way better Malia" he scratched his nape, awkwardly, glancing at me. "I''m hungry. Do you guys want popcorn?" I asked, getting up out of my seat. Ciara and Johan nodded and Naz ignored my question, watching the dance. "I''ll come." Jace got up next to me, intently like an eager puppy. "N-No. Sit down you idiot." I left the arena, making my way to the outside stands which were luckily empty. "MOCHI, wait up!" Jace called after me. Halting, I waited for him to catch up. Why does he always go after me even after I tell him to stay?! Either way, we got the popcorn and made our way back into the arena. When we reached the isolated place of the back, an unsettling feeling bothered me. My eyes scanned my surroundings but I couldn''t spot anything except for Jace gulfing down my popcorn. "Ow!" I yelped, the popcorn in my hands falling onto the floor. My eyes looked up and met a large adult. The guy who bumped into me had a mask on his face and his body was filled with metallic armour, covering all of his skin. "Watch it-" I was about to send this guy to his grave but Jace gripped my arm next to me, shaking. "WHAT?!" I glared at him but when I saw the expression on his face, I followed his line of sight. A line of people, dressed exactly like the masked guy, stood afar from us, blocking our path. One guy standing in the middle caught my eye. He was dressed in normal attire with no mask. He was from the were men race with caramel skin and dark brown eyes. I tilted my head a little, studying his features. He was definitely around 18 to 22 years old and noticeably more muscular than his adult friends. Suddenly, the guy next to me just poofed and disappeared. "Where can I find Zeref Amara?" the guy spoke to Jace and I in an amused tone. "What do you want from Zeref?" I spoke my suspicions. "If you know where he is, please disclose us his current location." one of the adults spoke in a subtle but eerie tone. Zeref What sick, twisted secrets are you keeping? Zeref was always weird. I acted totally okay with the fact that he had THREE PURE elements. Pure elements were rare enough but he had three! Lightning being one of them yet he never showed it off. It was suspicious. Zeref is a natural show off so why not show off your lightning element? I had a lot of questions about Zeref but didn''t want to bore him. He intrigued me. "He is our friend." Jace tried to sound confident but his voice wavered. What happened to the guy who yelled at Jade?! I swear this guy had like 5 personalities. The tan guy stepped forwards, waving his men off. They also poofed and only he was left. "I am Ranveer Ali." he saluted lazily, his were men ears perking up as he looked at me. His hand started to glow bright red. His power probably being molten iron fists? To my surprise, his hair lit up in flames on his head. Fire element. I''ve never met another person who held the same pure element I did. "Uhm? So are we supposed to fight now? Or-" I looked at him awkwardly. "I''m on mana pool stage 1. I cant fight a scary ass dude like that!" Jace looked at Ranveer in disbelief. I giggled. "The most I could do is put out the fire on his head with the little water spurts shooting out of my finger tips." Jace panicked. "You have water spurts as your power?" I held in my laugh. "No. I have the pure water element but I''m adopted so I didn''t have the privilege of learning-'''' A loud bang interrupted him and he disappeared from my sight, flinging into the wall by a big fire ball. "Acknowledge me you fools!" Ranveer raged, his fists on fire from throwing the fire ball. "OW... Jeez. Desperate much?" Jace grunted, the rubble of the wall falling off of his uniform as he stood back up. At first he wobbled to find his balance and the middle of his shirt was gone with a nasty burn on the surface of his skin. "Fricking attention seeker." he grumbled under his breath, annoyed. "Are you okay?" I ran over to him, helping him find his balance. He grunted again in response. Spinning around, I faced Ranveer, glaring into his eyes and activating mana. "You prick." I scoffed. Who did this guy think he was? I decided to mimic him and turned my fists bright red. He whistled in response, amused. Before I could attack, Jace grabbed my shoulder. "Let''s just go." he said, his stiff stance showing how much pain he was in. The skin on his stomach had patches of indented and melted skin. Definitely a 3rd degree burn. A yellowish substance bubbled in the middle of the dents and the disgusting look of a graze in the peach coloured field of missing skin sent shivers up my spine. This Ranveer guy really didn''t hold back. It took all my power to subside my anger and start helping Jace walk back but Ranveer wasn''t too happy with that. His arm swung in the air and a slash of fire flew at me but I easily put up a shield out of fire, absorbing his attack and bouncing it back at him. His flame mana left me fatigued and I realised he was way stronger than I thought. Ranveer stood forward and all I saw was a flash. Jace let out a scream and like a fast motioned action scene, he was knocked far away from me. "JAC- AH!" I felt a strong grip push me down on my knees with my hands stretched behind my back. Two of his sidemen held me on my knees and a circle of fire surrounded me but this wasn''t like anything I had ever conjured. The smoke intoxicated me, leaving me nauseous and the most concerning thing was that my mana was weakened to nearly nothing. It was like his fire was oppressing mine. Who the HELL was he?! My eyes trailed Ranveer as he walked over to Jace who was cradled on the floor. Jace whimpered as his eyes met mine, showing the pain he was in. The desperate feeling to help was swirling my insides, drowning me with the fact that I physically couldn''t do anything. The cold look reflected on Ranveer''s face made me shiver. His knuckles were pale and tightly closed under the burning flames shrouding his fist. His facial expression changed to an inhuman smirk. I couldn''t miss the evil glint in his dark eyes; his scent finally released around me. It was the smell of blood. As soon as Jace was fully up, he sprang forwards, but Ranveer was too fast and slammed him down again. Jace gasped for air, hyperventilating. "STOP!" I yelled, gritting my teeth but obviously he didn''t listen. I struggled under the grasp of the two men. In the end, I was only 12 and two grown men were holding me down with their mana. I felt useless as I watched Ranveer crush Jace''s face, left hooking him unconscious. Jace dropped to the ground, looking at me as his eyes flickered off. "NO! JACE GET UP!" I screamed and as I did, the mana around us changed into something cold and dark. Ranveer looked as confused as I was. Jace''s eyes opened again, glaring into mine before his eyes rolled back, turning completely white. Plain white. The heels of his feet lifted him back up with force and a wave of energy flushed through the air, sending Ranveer stumbling backwards. "What the-" Ranveer stopped mid sentence as he noticed Jace''s stance. He was definitely unconscious. So how was he fighting? Jace tilted his head, the atmosphere shaking at his every move. His jaw was clenched and the traces of self conscience were gone. The way his shoulders were relaxed confidently, added to his deadly aura. The veins on his forehead popped out as he plainly glared at Ranveer but that spoke volumes for itself. Ranveer pissed off the real Jace. The Jace nobody wanted to see. "Jace." I called out to him but he didn''t flinch nor react. His blank eyes were fixed on Ranveer. "AGHHHH!" Ranveer ran forwards faster than my eyes could catch. Jace stood still, only moving his shoulder to dodge the attack. His foot slid under Ranveer, knocking him down onto the floor. Jace moved like he was drunk or on something strong. He stumbled a bit before turning to face Ranveer. Just like he said, water spurts shot out of his fingertips but it was different. The tiny water spurts merged together, turning into a big water ball. Ranveer looked at Jace in shock as the water formed into a black mamba. Ranveer stood up and as soon as he did, the snake engulfed him. I watched as he struggled in the water snake''s stomach. I guess the guy feared water. The irony. Ranveer let out an outburst of fire, exploding the water snake. Jace walked drunkenly upwards into the air, water spitting under his feet as he did so. Ranveer followed, drained from energy as he kicked up fire under his feet like those jet shoes in the movies. Jace raised both of his hands and the ground started to violently shake from underneath. His hand pointed to the fire around me and a rush of water shot out of his palms, cooling down the fire and knocking the guards and I backwards. My head hit the ground and an electric shock of pain emitted in my every nerve cell. The hot feeling of blood dripping down the side of my head and pooling out into a puddle on the floor left me dizzy. The last thing I saw was a forbidden war. A large spurge of water against the raging fire. The two fought for dominance as they met, receding backwards. Jace was being pushed backwards by the energy. Ranveer was still winning. Who was he? My eyes started to fail me. No. No. Stay awake. My eyelids started to feel heavy and the last thing I could catch was Jace falling from the sky, his body hitting the floor with a thud. My eyes shut and the distant footsteps of Ranveer started to get louder. I felt myself being lifted off of the floor. No. Jace. Zeref. I winced trying to keep myself from falling into the darkness. NO! Chapter 35 - Rush -Zeref''s pov- "Oh my god!" Johan''s voice called out behind me. "Zeref?!" Naz ran up to my limp body and helped me up. I leaned against her, as she swung left and right trying to hold me up. "What happened?! Where is Sara?" she looked at me, concern dripping in her voice. "Guys, we need to get him to the nurse!" Ciara swung my other arm around her shoulder, helping Naz. "N-No, just get me home. My mums a healer." I coughed out. "But-" "JUST DO IT!" blood spurted out onto the floor as I held in my anger. "Johan grab that portal opener." I nudged my head to the floor and he followed my directions, picking it up and opening the door for me to walk through with Naz and Jade helping me. "I''ll go find Mr Xanxus." Johan ran back into the backstage of the arena, handing the portal opener to me. Before we could get out of the building, a fit of coughs exploded through me. "Z-Zeref!" Ciara cried, scared. "KEEP G-GOING!" I urged as they dragged me out of the building. My house wasn''t far. I could make it. ** "MRS AMARA!!!" Naz screamed, kicking the entrance door open. Mum ran into the living room in shock as I collapsed forwards, nearly bringing Ciara and Naz down with me. "ZEREF! MY BOY!" she ran over to us, falling to her knees next to me. "My baby, what happened? Huh? W-Who did this???" she cried hugging my head into her arms. My mothers sweet voice soothed my wounds, giving me a feeling of security. My eyelids were half closed as she flipped me over to face the ceiling. I felt her soft touch while she ripped off my shirt, revealing the hundreds of wounds and cuts littered all over my body. She didn''t waste time, healing me straight away. Naz cried quietly next to me and the panicked breathing of Ciara invaded the room. "W-We found him like that. Sara''s gone." Ciara sniffled. The mention of Sara''s name shook my eyes open. "Mum." I croaked as she grimaced at my ugly wounds. My head went dizzy and I let myself fall into slumber. ** -Jace''s POV- My eyes shot open and I recognised the room I was in. I was in the nurse''s office. My head pounded against my skull as my full consciousness returned.. "Jace." Mr Xanxus spoke next to me. "You''re awake." My head spun and the memories of bumping into that Ranveer guy rushed into my brain. It stopped when he beat me unconscious. The last thing I saw was Malia''s worried face, screaming something out to me. ''GET UP!'' I think it was. Wait. Malia. My heart beat quickened impossibly fast. "Where''s Malia?" I sat up, despite the agonising pain in my stomach. "Probably with the others. But anyways-" "NO! She- She was with me when we were attacked!" The panic in my voice was enough for Mr Xanxus to know I wasn''t lying. His eyes grew wide and just as he was about to speak, the nurse''s door slammed open. Johan ran up to Mr Xanxus, heaving out jumbled words but stopped when he saw my condition. "You were there?" He looked confused. "I was where?" I was just as confused. "With Zeref." "No. Why? What happened to Zeref?" "What happened to you?" Johan''s confusion was rising. "What happened to the both of them?" Mr Xanxus interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Malia is missing. I think she was kidnapped by some Ranveer guy." I informed them. Mr Xanxus started to pace around the room, biting his fingernails. "Zeref will kill us if he finds out. I know how to trace mana. I''ll get her back before he comes." "What? No. This is stupid." I tried to reason with him but it seemed like Johan had no intention of siding with me. "Yeah. I''ll help." Johan looked at Mr Xanxus as they nodded at each other in agreement. "Listen here you muscular brick built monkey. I know you like Malia and you wanna be the hero of the day but you should think rationally. You didn''t even tell us what happened to Zeref. You keep sidetracking-" my words were interrupted by the disgusting feeling of needing to vomit. I fell to my side, vomiting onto the floor. "You''re clearly in no condition to stop us Jace. Sorry buddy." Johan sighed, following Mr Xanxus out of the room. I tried to get up but my stomach fizzed when I tried to. "Don''t call me buddy! You muscular donkey shit!" I yelled. ** -Zeref''s POV- My conscience fluttered open. I was in my room, the door closed. Hushed whispers were heard downstairs and I carefully stood up. All my wounds were healed and I felt as good as new. My hand dug into the depths of my pocket, fishing out the portal opener. I''m coming, Sara. I placed the portal that Johan gave on the floor and waited for the size of the portal to grow. Just then I heard a knock on the door. I ignored it. "Zeref what''s that noise? What''s happening in there?" mother''s concerned voice could be heard through the door, "Let me in. You''re still not fully healed!" The portal opened and a long hallway was on the other side; it was a castle''s hallway. Without further hesitation, I stepped in and just as I did, the entrance snapped close behind me. The floor was dusty brown and the walls were dove.The light of the many fire torches burnt my eyes; after the black gloom of my room, I found it abrasive. My eyes fell to the garish flowers in my hand, their dampness seeping through my woollen glove.The walls were decorated with paintings in colours as bright as glacier melted water. The air was stagnant and repulsive. From ahead came muffled voices, one angry, one placating. I heard a loud growl and a bang followed it, along with rustling metal. Muffled cries and whimpers led me to the room and when I got close enough, they stopped. I think Sara smelt me. Her wolf howled and barked. "SHUT UP!" the deep voice of Blake echoed through the castle. It didn''t take rocket science to figure out what I did next. I activated ''almighty push'', making my hand vibrate from all the mana coursing through my veins. ''Almighty push.'' I said in my head and a bounce of energy shot out of my hand, into the big door. The door burst into smithereens, giving me a clear view of Blake and Sara. Sara was chained up in her wolf form as Blake sat on a throne. How DARE he treat her like a pet? Instead of letting my anger get the best of me, I decided to calm down and assess the situation. "Ah, Zeref. Nice to see you made it." he stroked Sara''s head as she cowered under his touch, whimpering. "Shut up you ugly pedophile. You sicken me." I grumbled. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed huh. Like I told you before just step down as the lightning candidate and give me your seat and all this will never happen again. You have a mother right? Last time I checked she''s a widow right, she''d make a ni-" Blake spoke in a mocking tone. "Enough." I was going to rush head in out of anger but I squeezed my eyes shut and took deep breaths, then opened them again. "After this there''ll be no need as I''ll make you a cripple." with that I activated my lightning aura and my hair rose up and the cackling of lightning encircled my body. "Finally using the lightning I see." he smiled before disappearing out of my line of sight. This was the same move he pulled on me before and I still couldn''t understand the concept. A slice from his blade whizzed passed my face as I dodged it luckily due to my Seikuken being active; he didn''t stop as he split into two entities and faked with one and sliced down with the other. I fell for his trick again and a cut ran straight down my chest. Instinctively I jumped back to recover. ''Rapid healing'' ''Lightning Cloak'' ''Lightning Gauntlets'' I kitted myself with support spells, and unsheathed my sword. I wanted to use ''Godspeed'' to finish him off, but I knew it wasn''t going to be worth it. Last time he had countered it somehow and caught me off guard; he must''ve had a spell or countermeasure to ''Godspeed''. I had to be cautious. Chapter 36 - Trapped In The Pits Of Hell -Malia''s POV- The blurry voice of Ranveer coaxed me back into my conscience. I squinted my eyes at him, trying to adjust to the light. His disgusting fingers touched the side of my face and I eagerly tried to shove him off but I found my arms chained to the wall. "My queen. You''re finally awake." his disgusting breath invaded my personal space. "I''m sorry- your what now?" I looked at him, utterly confused at my surroundings. "What''s your name?" "Malia." I said, not realising I just gave this guy my name. I was in a red carpeted room with no windows and a large crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. "You will be my queen when I win the tournaments." he evaluated but it just added to my confusion. "You do know who Zeref is, right?" he questioned but the look of confusion in my face told him I didn''t. He smirked. "He is powerful?" I guessed. "He is the lightning contestant. He was taken from his real world and born into this one to compete in the tournaments of the monarchs." he said with a convincing face. ''Tournaments of the monarchs''... the phrase circled my head. That sounded familiar. I furrowed my eyebrows trying to recall from where I''ve heard it. History of Mana: Book 1- Higher. My mind clicked into place as I realised what he was talking about. There was no way. I laughed. "Funny." I scoffed at him but what he said made sense. Zeref had multiple elements and was super talented. But I couldn''t wrap my head around the fact that he was a contestant and wasn''t who I thought he was. "Prepare for the throning ceremony." Ranveer placed his crusty lips on my cheek. My blood ran cold as I kneed him where it hurt. "Don''t touch me." I cringed. He wheezed trying to catch his breath on the floor. "It looks like you won''t be with me willingly." he choked out. "Well no shit you pedophile." I scoffed, watching him hit the floor in pain. He clicked his fingers and poof. Two men appeared and unlocked the chains on my hand. I instantly activated my mana to find that I couldn''t. I looked at him, shocked. What did he do? "It''s the collar. It prevents the use of mana." he stood up, shaking. Just as he said that, a beep from something on my neck buzzed my neck, making me fall to my knees. Electric shocks invaded my veins, cutting off my air supply. "It looks like you will need to be convinced" he said, an evil glint to his tone and with that, I was dragged out of the room and down a dark staircase, into a dungeon or chamber. They stood me in front of a wall made off boulders with three missing for air. It slid open as they threw me in. It wasn''t a room like I expected. It was more like a tube. The wall slid shut and Ranveer looked at me through the gap. "Have fun. I''ll see you for dinner." he smirked before leaving with his men. There were no handles, just a chair and a little place to stand. Little shuffles were heard next to me and I saw a little missing boulder in the wall next to me. "Hello?" I whispered. Instead of a hello back, I heard small sniffles of a girl. "Hello?" I tried again but there was nothing. No response except for the small cries. I guess she was stuck in a tube made of rocks too. I mean it wasn''t that bad. Why was she crying? It''s just a tube. My head buzzed as I realised they hadn''t treated my head wound. I hated migraines. I probably had a concussion. Suddenly, a large sound of moving bricks from above me snapped my head upwards. Glowing red rubies filled the ceiling. What the... "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I fell to the floor trembling. The tube started to shift into a familiar room. My old room. I stood up again, tears running down my face. BAM! The door slammed open and in came my mother. Her beautiful eyes staring at me lovingly. "Mum? Am I dead?" I walked to her, holding her arms to see if she was real. My skin touched hers. I looked down at our intertwined hands and smiled. I felt as if my heart just stopped beating as if it would stop time so I could stay with her. I looked back up at her and met her beautiful green doe eyes, glinting at me. She smiled and shook her head as I looked down at her arms, tears rolling down my face and onto the floor. "Malia. You disappointment." she growled making me snap up to her face. The confusion and hurt resonating in my heart weighed down my whole body. "W-What? N-No." I shook my head. "Mama, I love you-" "I HATE YOU! I SHOULD''VE HAD A SON!" I screamed, closing my eyes as she raised her hand to slap me. Just like dad. I opened my eyes to see she had vanished. The room shifted into a field full of dead bodies. Zeref and Jace being among them. In the pathway stood me, bloodied as I ripped out Naz''s throat. The bodies littered all around me looked drained of colour and their faces held a permanent look of fear. Every atom in their bodies faded into a pale, decaying blue. Their hair was matted in blood and parts of them were missing. My teeth were coated in hot blood and my eyes darted everywhere, unfocused and wild. Blood dripped down my chin, colouring my neck dark red as blood pooled at my feet in a dark water consistency. "STOP!" I screamed, running to myself, holding her wrist. My anxiety heightened to the extreme, suffocating me into a panicked trance. She faced me, her eyes dark. I watched myself look crazily into my soul, like a rouge. I screamed again, letting the fear consume me as I stumbled backwards, running away as she ran after me. Her footsteps stormed closer behind me which drove me to push myself faster. What the hell is this?! I was knocked to the floor by someone strong as my surroundings shifted again into a dark hollowness. I turned to see Zeref on top of me. He gripped my neck, choking me as I struggled under him. "YOU MONSTER!" he yelled into my face with every intent to kill me. The hatred in his eyes made me tremble. No, No, No. His face changed into Jace then flashed into Mike''s. The shifting continued until it stopped. A face I never thought I''d see again roared at me. I trembled, screaming. Jerry. He was my imaginary friend until Kenny ruined him for me by saying that Jerry would kill me in my sleep. I never slept the same again and would wake up in tears, looking at Jerry''s deformed face in my dreams. Now he was here. Jerry was crumpled with broken scales and from its looks, it was clearly past the decaying stage and now onto decomposition, teeth dulled and rotting. "You left me Malia. I just wanted to play." his shrill voice snarled. No words came out, only screams. I screamed till I felt the fear eating up my throat. "Shut up." a cold voice snapped me out of my trance. The darkness shifted back into the tube I was in before. The red rubies stopped glowing as I cried loudly, hyperventilating. "Wh-What is this place?" I choked out in my cries to the person who spoke. "It''s a fear tube. It shows your worst fears until you slowly die from them." she said calmly. She was the same girl who was crying earlier on. Did she hear my screams? I stood up and peered through the gap. Her face popped up, shocking me. She was a beautiful Asian girl with sharp eyes and fair skin. She had a small mole under the corner of her eyebrow and puffy cheeks. "How come you''re so calm?" I sniffled, feeling my eyes swell. "Coz I''m not scared." she lied. "Mama, I love you Ahhhhh" she mocked me, laughing. I might just like this girl. I giggled, surprising her. What? Did she think I''d be embarrassed? "I''m Malia Stronghold. You?" "Soyeon Park." ** I rolled on the floor in a fit of laughter. "So you and your twin brother rejected the offer to be the fire contestant''s second in command?" I recalled. "Yeah, my brother and I have an ability. We can merge our powers together to make a rare element. We can control the wind. So Ranveer kidnapped me to convince my brother." "Damn, that''s cool. I''m here because Ranveer wants me to be his bride. I have the fire element." "Are you going to?" Soyeon asked, watching my expression change into disgust. "Of Course not! My friends are coming to get me outta here." I said but it was more directed at myself. Zeref would come for me. He will come. Then I can kill him with my bare hands for not telling me he was a contestant. "Same. My brother is coming for me. I just have to hold up with my fears long enough-" Soyeon looked up to see the glowing of the rubies. "What''s happening? I thought you didn''t have a fear." I looked into the gap at her rubies. "Yeah well the rubies are sensing that I have unlocked a new fear." she said, her voice cracking. "Huh?" "The fear that my brother won''t come for me." she whispered, tears filling her cat- like eyes. The bricks around her shuffled and the gap between us closed. My heart stopped beating as I felt the bricks around me start to shuffle too. The screams of Soyeon fuelled my anxiety and soon, it was joined by my screams. Hurry Zeref. Chapter 37 - Rescuing Sara -Zeref''s POV- I had to be smarter than him. He was clearly faster and more confident in his short range skills than I was. One thing better than speed was timing. He could land more hits but I could do the same amount of damage with one hit. All I had to do was wait for the perfect time. But how would I know when the time was perfect? That was another issue. His fighting style overwhelmed me and left very little openings. I zigzagged across the red carpet, aiming a Brazilian kick at his head. My leg moved like a whip as it connected with his forearm. He flinched and gritted his teeth at the impact before, jumping back and splitting into a dozen clones. They all charged at me but I danced around majestically. Lightning cackled with my every move, as I dodged and countered each of their blows. I was in the perfect state of mind. I was going to rescue Sara even if it killed me. A direct blow was coming for my head, I parried the fist and countered with a left hook. Just as I countered a clean cut stretched across my torso. I backed away in an instant and gripped at my aching chest, grimacing at the torn up skin on my chest. [You have suffered 700 damage] [You are suffering from blood loss] I had to focus! I waited patiently for an opening widening my senses to the max. [MP is dropping rapidly] "Aaargh!" the real Blake shouted as he leaped up from the ground and swung his sword down at my head. As soon as it came into my Seikuken''s range, I caught the blade between my palms and a large shockwave of mana rippled through the atmosphere. I then swung his body across the room making him tumble and fall. My nostrils flared, chest heaving with Blake''s blood smeared all over me. My wrist pulsed from the close contact I had with his blade. Conjuring two flame balls I hurled them at him, but he quickly recovered and disappeared out of my field of view. He was using his weird tricks again. I thought about it before, since his element was light he could''ve easily been changing the direction of the light refracting it and reflecting it; that would explain why my sense of perception was messed up and why he could suddenly disappear. He was removing all light being reflected off of his body and camouflaging into the background. Or it could''ve just been a skill like my ''inspect'', something unique, that couldn''t be taught or learnt. I feinted him with my left but swung right with my lightning shrouded fist, misleading him. Knowing he would dodge my blow because of his uncanny speed, I prepared my left fist for a powerful straight to the stomach. As soon as he barely dodged my right hook by stumbling back, I saw that split second of hesitation and shock in his eyes. This was the timing I was waiting for. My left fist blew low and straight into his stomach, folding his body around my fist as he flew backwards, his hair turned crisp from the high voltage. Every blow I landed had to be stronger than the last or I''d fall out of his pattern and rhythm of fighting, losing myself to his techniques. This one blow had my last ounces of strength and effort in it. If this didn''t work, I was done for. I flashed stepped towards him, picking him up and slamming him into the wall, leaving a large crack behind him. I slammed my palm into his face, electrocuting his brains. He let out a shrill scream, not being able to think of an escape route because of his panicked state. I let him go and threw him onto the throne he was sitting on when I came in. His body crashed into the arm rest, knocking down the whole throne. He coughed out blood and struggled to get up. I didn''t know why he showed me mercy but I certainly wasn''t going to do the same. "Get up." I ordered, stalking towards him as he cradled himself on the floor, covered in his own blood. "I said... Get. Up." I reiterated, not expecting him to be able to. He groaned, pushing himself up with all the fight he had left in him. [New Quest: Kill the Light Contestant to gain his seat!] [Do you want to accept the quest?] [Yes/No] ''Yes'' I thought, accepting the quest. Blake struggled, lifting up his hands to tell me to stop. I chuckled, letting my gaze fall to the ground, contemplating on how I was going to do it. He struggled on his feet in tears, his palms shaking while he trembled. "Please! I showed you mercy before, Please I''m be-begging you-" he screamed frantically, stepping back. I lifted my gaze to meet his and stated coldly, "Let''s end this quickly." His face morphed into a horrified expression as I zoomed in front of him with an unreadable poker face. My fingertips penetrated through his chest and it took a quick millisecond to locate his heart. I gripped it in my hands and yanked it out, warm gooey blood squirted out of the hole I had made in him. His eyes were wide in shock croaking a little before falling back onto the floor, next to his fallen throne. A notification popped up on the side of my vision. [Congratulations! You have successfully finished the quest!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You now have the option to take a skill of the Light Contestant ] A list of skills floated above Blake''s body. I already knew which one I wanted. ''Misdirection'' gleamed brightly at the bottom of the list. The power to create illusions of my next move and reflect my body to seem like it was going in a different direction than it actually was. It was perfect. ''Misdirection'' I whispered in my head. [Loading...] [''Misdirection'' has been successfully transferred to Zeref Amara''s skills list] Sara struggled against her chains, whimpering at me to help her so I walked over to her, breaking the chunky chains. I looked up at her large form but she was staring at something else. Following her line of vision, I saw the full view of blood smeared on the wall and the corpse of Blake Handmore with his heart and throne laid next to him. "It had to be done. Now come on. We have to get back." I whispered to her, slightly nudging her to the entrance. She whimpered again, sad over the corpse in the room but nonetheless, she exited with me as we made our way to the portal. I pressed the portal and as soon as it opened, I met the stern glares of three very angry people. Chapter 38 - Spirit Wolf -Malia''s POV- Sweat, mixed with my dried blood, trickled down my forehead as I sat staring at the ugly rubies. My energy was sucked out of me, leaving me tired, panting. The faded screams of Soyeon''s pleads and cries motivated me to stay awake because I knew that if I closed my eyes; I don''t think I''d ever wake up. "Malia." my drowsy eyes shot awake as I forced myself to get up. The wall I was facing slid open and Ranveer stood in front of me, smug and expecting me to comply. Soyeon''s voice stopped screaming, meaning her torture had stopped because of Ranveer''s voice. I heard her silently slide down to the floor, listening. "Stand up. Time for dinner." he coaxed as if he didn''t just torture me for what seemed like eternity. My feet wobbled under me like jelly before I found my footing. I coolly stepped out of the tube, trying to keep myself from ripping off his eyelids and scooping out his eyeballs to force feed them to him. I glared into his eyes, clenching my jaw. "No." my voice still came out strong, despite my sore throat. Ranveer looked taken aback by my answer. He knew I''d die if he put me back in and that would mean he loses what he wants. He didn''t seem like the type of guy to give up. He towered over me, the frown evident in his ugly face. "What?" he gritted out every syllable. I raised my eyebrows at him. "You heard me." Although he was taller and stronger than me, I made sure to stand my ground and exceed his threatening glare. "No." I seethed through my teeth, gritting out each syllable just like he did. He lifted his arm and brought it down in a quick motion but I caught it just in time. My fingers gripped around his wrist in an unforgiving hold. Because my mana wasn''t turned on, the pain stung my skin burning into my muscles. I did the same as he did, swinging my palm down onto his cheek, making sure the friction was hot and unforgiving. The skin to skin contact echoed through the chambers. "Daaaaamn" Soyeon quietly whispered, shocked but still cheering me on, through the little gap that gave her a small view of what was happening. Ranveer''s beady eyes widened while he cradled his red cheek. I smirked, satisfied. "Okay. Let''s go to dinner." I finally smiled, flashing him my innocent eyes. He grunted, gripping my wrist and leading me to the hall. ** The doors opened and I forcefully shook my wrist out of his. There was a long red table with many big, Hench guys sitting and watching as I casually strolled in and took a chair. I sat in front of a big, cooked chicken. It was the only thing on the long table. I was assuming they were on a diet or something. The guy next to me turned to me in disgust and confusion. He had a scar running down his eye which stopped just below his nose. Everyone stared at me but my eyes were fixed on the voluptuous chicken as steam rose from it. I grabbed the whole chicken, body and legs and slid it in front of me. I quickly threw my small plate behind me, listening to the satisfying sound of it smashing. Grabbing the big plate with the chicken on it, I finally acknowledged everyone''s eyes on me. "Did you guys want some?" I asked, pouting. After all, I was a child. This should work. Ranveer laughed, sitting at the head of the table. "Malia. Come here." I ignored him, chomping into the impeccably seasoned chicken. Everyone''s eyes were still on me. "Yo... Mr Scarface. Can you just NOT breath? You''re ruining my meal." I made an annoyed face, rolling my eyes. The big dude stood up, growling and towering over me. The people around us tensed in their seats watching the scene unfold. "MALIA!" Ranveer yelled this time, making everyone flinch around me. I continued to eat, intaking as much as I could but unfortunately, Ranveer grabbed my arm, picking me up. My feet barely scraped the floor as Ranveer held me up by my arms, dragging me out of the room. "HEY!" I tried to protest but the collar shocked me, sending electric waves through me. My vocal chords tensed, halting all movements. His crazy eyes glared at me with a ugly Grinch frown, pulling his facial muscles down. ** He dragged me out of the room and into the room I had first woken up in. The jerk pushed me to the wall and chained me back in the shackles, tightening them impossibly tight. "You WILL cooperate and you WILL be my bride!" he yelled at me but my unfazed stare frustrated him. "Paedophile." I bluntly said, not giving him any emotion. "UGHHHH!" he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him causing the walls to shake from the impact. "YOU''RE LIKE 20 YEARS OLD!" I yelled after him, making sure the whole castle heard my bold statement. After I knew he had gone, the feeling of dread slowly creeped its way into my heart. The aching feeling to scream overwhelmed my mind, pounding in my head. It choked me as I tried my best to hold it back, to sink it under my fake ''brave'' mask. I squeezed my eyes shut, begging myself to hold on to the tiny bit of hope I had left. The traitorous sobs started out quiet and slow, escaping my lips. My bright light of hope left me, fading out. The dry, painful cries started to ascend in volume. It felt as if I was being suffocated under the crushing weight of my own despair. Zeref, when are you coming? I looked up at the ceiling, hoping the monarchs could see me. I never believed in them but knowing Zeref was a contestant restored my faith. "Please Please" I cried, shaking. "If you can hear me...Help me. Please, SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" I cried, desperately. No one could hear me. No one was coming. The hollow feeling of darkness settled in my heart. I gave up. My eyes went blank and I felt as if everything turned black and white. . . . "Malia," a soft voice cooed. . "Malia," it repeated as I looked up, following the noise. . A bright light floated around the room an angel? I squinted my eyes and as I did, the ball of light flew into my head, banging me against the wall and reopening my wound from before. "Argh" I hissed in pain and reopened my eyes in shock. The room was changed into nothing. I was standing in a completely white room and the chains faded away, releasing my sore wrists. And in front of me stood a girl. She had short brown hair which curled around her face, dark glowing skin. She was much older than me. Her calming gaze emitted peace and her black hair flowed as she opened her eyes. A goddess??? "Malia Stronghold." she whispered, a tear rolling down the corner of her eyes in relief. "Who are you?" I said, taking a step back, cautiously. "Nina Sprolf." she smiled, knowingly. Chapter 39 - Repercussions -Zeref''s POV- "Zeref Amara-" Rosaline started. "You idiotic-" Ciara continued. "JERK!" Naz finished. "WHERE WERE YOU?!" They all said in unison, pulling me through the portal with Sara close behind. The portal snapped shut behind me. Rosaline took in my bloodied state, jumping to the worst conclusions she could think of while Ciara shoved me. "Do you KNOW how hard we tried to bring you here just for you to LEAVE and get injured AGAIN?!" Ciara yelled, frustrated. She slapped my chest and shoved me before yanking me closer to do it all over again. I stuttered, not being able to find the right words to say. Luckily, Rosaline finally held Ciara back and I sighed in relief. To my surprise, my own mother lunged at me next. "You stupid boy!" she pulled at my hair while I yelped, trying to keep the hair on my head. Ciara held my mother back a little by the waist. Since Ciara was older, she was nearly the same height as Rosaline, coming up to her neck. "AhRgHaaa!" I struggled while my mother physically dragged me by my hair. Everyone froze as Naz finally moved, shoving me to the side, onto the floor and out of my mothers hold. She ran past me, screaming in joy, "Sara! Oh my God!" Naz finally realised the gigantic wolf standing behind me in utter shock. "Sara! Are you hurt?!" Ciara stepped over my limp body and hugged Sara. Weird noises came out of Sara''s snout as Naz nodded, understanding every note of her whimpers. I felt light headed and groaned. "Zeref!" my mother shouted as she picked me up and swung my arm around her neck, then carried me to a seat. The warm, familiar feeling of mother''s healing enveloped my body and I could feel myself feel more relaxed as the pain over my body started to fade. ** -Malia''s POV- My mouth hung open, tears threatening to spill. "Who?" was I meant to somehow magically know who she was.. "You unlocked something in you, triggering your past life to come rushing into your present by mistake. It has taken over your wolf side, feeding off of your mana and duplicating it into something more powerful. This imbalance caused the mana in you to increase at a horribly fast rate. Now the barrier splitting you and your wolf side has been broken and has merged together." she said, walking towards me, talking and demonstrating with her hands.. "What does that mean?" "It means you are now sharing your body with me and I will take over your body in times of need in the form of a spirit wolf." she held my hand in her palms. My eyes widened. A spirit wolf was a legendary type of wolf which went extinct billions of years ago. They were said to have special powers like incredible strength and speed and were one of the original species to discover and tame mana. As the monarchs ascended, the spirit wolves were stronger than them holding their thrones, meaning they were in the way; so all the races came together against the special breed and slaughtered them. Damn, I really know my history. The room around me changed and I started to shake, thinking of the torture I faced. "Don''t worry. I''m showing you my memories." Nina laughed. Chapter 40 - Nina Sprolf’s Memories -Malia''s POV- I stood in a small room with baby cries bouncing off of the plain cream coloured walls. I turned around, trying to find the source of the noise. A woman in her late teens laid on the floor, crying as she held a baby in her arms. It seemed like she had just given birth as the umbilical cord was still connecting the baby to her mother. She sniffled, bleeding out, alone in a lonely room by herself. "Nina Sprolf, my baby." she cried, exasperated. A weird feeling puffed up in my chest, screwing my lungs tightly as I watched the woman in front of me cradle her baby and detach the umbilical cord. My mother. ''Our mother.'' Nina corrected in my head. I smiled, tears welling on my waterline and dripping down my face. The wooden door burst down and in came an old looking English man. He looked shocked, staring at the baby in my mothers arm. "Riya! You bitch! I said to abort-" he yanked us out of our mothers arms, slapping her in disgust. "PLEASE! PLEASE DON''T DO ANYTHING RONALD! SHE''S OURS-" she tried to stand but fell back on her butt with no luck. "Ours? No! You''re just a maid. My wife''s gonna kill me!" he paled, kicking our mother in the stomach. Damn, the lady just gave birth in a room by herself and now her baby''s father is kicking her?! On instinct, I fell on my knees next to her, trying to help her but when I tried to hold her, my hand went through her like I was a ghost. ''She can''t see you Malia.'' Nina reminded me as I sighed in frustration. "I have to kill her." the man spoke to himself, looking at the baby in his hands. "NOOOOOO!" Riya, our mother, stood on her feet as if it was a miracle. Blood dripped down her legs as her feet trembled from the immense pain she was forcing herself into. "DON''T. TOUCH. MY. CHILD!!!" she screamed, roaring like a maniac that had just snapped. She launched at Ronald, snatching us off of him. He looked in shock but quickly masked his surprise, swinging his fist at her face. Riya dodged by an inch and kicked low into the groin. She stumbled back in pain, struggling to keep standing. Ronald, on the other hand, was shaking in tears, his hands on his knees. Like second nature, our mother grabbed an alcohol bottle and smashed it on Ronald''s head. Pieces of glass flew everywhere but she didn''t stop. Picking up a piece of broken glass, she sliced the glass into Ronald''s throat with no remorse. "I said please." she justified in a raspy tone. "PERIOD." I fangirled, knowing she couldn''t hear or see me. My surroundings spun around me, flashing memories around me like a fast flipped photo book, flashing my tantrums, downfalls, firsts and more. It stopped at age 3. Baby Nina held onto her mothers arm, crying. Guards had cornered us into an alley. Mother was a thief, stealing to provide for us. She looked down at us, surprisingly calm as she gently pushed me behind her. "Now, now boys. No need to get violent. I''ll happily come with you." she said, her voice coming out gentle and cautious. She raised her hand in defeat but not before ushering me to stand next to the wall behind her. A few moments of silence was shared between the guards. I sat next to baby me- I mean Nina Baby Nina stared at me, her curly hair tied in tiny buns like fluffy cotton balls. She smiled at me and I was enchanted. I winked at her, hushing her as she giggled. "Okay. Somebody grab the child." the middle guard spoke, tilting his head to us. I watched in admiration as our mother stepped forwards, with a threatening expression at the mention of her child. Her eyes were wide, jaw tightened and chin raised. The guards instantly stumbled backwards, surprised. Faster than I could say ''wow'', our mother grabbed the middle guard, pulling him close to her and swinging his body like a sac to the group of guys who were too shocked to react. Her dark skin shone like gold under the sun while her silky hair flew everywhere, whipping her opponents with elegance. "Wooow" Baby Nina whispered, her eyes glistening, watching intently at her mothers swift moves. After all the guards were sprawled out on the floor, mother turned to us, with a stern look before it quickly changed into a smile. "Hurry. Lets go. Lets go." she grabbed us, jumping over the limp bodies. She never spoke harshly. Her voice was always soft. Again, my world swirled like a whirlpool conjoined with joyful memories and opinions I had. I really did look up at my mother. She was my role model. We lived in the shed of an old ladies cottage. The woman used to garden but when she fell sick, her shed was abandoned and forgotten. Riya was smart, sneaking in and building me a cot out of hay. I grew up in the little house, most days sitting there silently, waiting for mother to return with food or stolen goods for me to play with. Unfortunately, the lovely lady sadly died when I turned 10 and we were forced to flee as the cottage and its dead garden were put for sale. We were forced into living under an abandoned broken bridge which was beyond repair. I hated it there. The floor was cold and I''d wake up to bites all over my body. Mother tried her best to give me comfort but I was too young to understand, whining everyday, throwing tantrums. Memories flashed past me in fast motion like falling pictures, showering me in beautiful joyous images. Then everything slowed down at an important memory. The meeting of James Lance. I was out trying to find food because my mother wasn''t feeling well. I felt Nina''s emotions as if I was living through her. Her fluttering heart when she made contact with him and her fast heartbeat as she tried to act cool. I knew what she knew. I was Nina Sprolf. I experienced every memory and experience she faced from day to day. Her growth and failures. Her combat experiences, knowledge and habits were syncing with me. It was like I was her. Things fast motioned again. I was 17, secretly studying medicine with the identity of someone my mother had kidnapped. "I''m so proud. MY daughter, studying medicine." Riya smiled proudly as I peeled the egg shells. I giggled, feeding the boiled egg to her. My mind was contemplating on if I should tell her about the bullies at school. She tilted her head, smiling at me and I knew I couldn''t hide it from her so I told her. Time sped up until we reached the house of my bully. Oh God. Riya held her head up as I copied her. "Remember Nina, no matter what they say, you do not bark back at dogs." she peered down at me, warning me. "That''s not how they''re handled." I finished for her and she nodded in approval with a smirk on her face. I loved this side of her. "We are above screaming at people with no manners." I continued, taking in a deep breath and exhaling while she pressed the doorbell. A young girl opened the door and stared up at us with horror in her eyes. "AHHH! Mum! The blackies have come to kill us!" she screamed, running into the hallway with her hands on her cheeks. ''Okay, that''s out of line!'' I raged. Nina sighed in my head. ''White people were very opinionated in my world.'' ''I''m white.'' I reminded her. ''No, you''re me.'' she chuckled but I didn''t really get it. This conversation felt illegal and was pointless. Mother stepped in and let''s just say maybe the little kids'' warnings were right. WHOOSHH! The ground under me disappeared as I fell into my next memory. 18 year old Nina Sprolf, sneaking into the kingdom to steal. James Lance, now the King. Interesting. I started to feel dizzy, all the knowledge and fighting techniques exploded in me. Another fight, but this time they kissed Ew! Luckily, as the idiot I am, I stuttered like a pussy and jumped out of the window, running away. James tried to run after me but I leaped into the air like mother had taught me, spreading my legs into an arched split before spinning onto a tree and losing him. Time finally slowed down again. Church bells rang as I stood in a beautiful princess dress and walked down the aisle. As I looked up, I met the eyes of James Lance. My heart pounded out of my chest as I blushed. Why did it feel like I was getting married?! BOOM! My soul exited Nina''s body as I stood watching in third person. A wall had exploded. We were under attack. A woman wearing a mask and heels pointed at us, as a swarm of demons rushed the interior of the building. Mother stood up in her seat and it was as if time had finally slowed down. A demon grabbed my waist, teleporting me to a dungeon. The last thing I saw was my mothers horrified face as she watched her baby being taken before her own eyes. Time flicked through a few weeks and my body ached with the amount of torture I could feel in the memories of the time period. Nina was at her breaking point, just like I was. A bang of shattering metal echoed down the hall and my frail neck tilted slightly upwards to see the wild face of my beautiful mother. "Mum!" I cried out but before she could enter my cell, a sword sliced through her neck. It was short and quick but my heart shattered at the sound of my mothers last breath. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I practically screamed out my lungs as I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see my mother decapitated. ''Nina, I don''t wanna see it!'' I cried in my head, begging her to skip this memory but the little soul of Nina Sprolf was nowhere inside me right now. She was hiding in the back of my head, burying her head in the darkness, wishing the same as I was. For it all to stop now. The little clicking noise of our brains made us both gasp. The memory fully conjoined us into one person as my chest heaved, feeling at one but in a horrible way. WE were hurting. The soldier laughed like a maniac, finding my reaction amusing. "NINA!!!" James called out to me, down the hall. James you late idiot. The guard turned behind him in surprise. A little light flickered in him and as if he was trained on what to do, he pulled down the lever next to my cell door. The room around me started to rumble and groan as if a monster had just been awakened from its nap. I watched the mortified look on James face, still in my now bloodied and ripped wedding dress and tiara, as we both realised my fate. I stood helplessly as the ceilings came crashing down on me. The last thing I saw was the crying face of James, reaching for me. "AHHHH!" I gasped, snapping back into reality, back into the red room and chained to the wall. It was all a dream? Tears were rushing down my face. Dream or not, that was the most painful thing I had ever experienced. ''No, those were my memories.'' Nina spoke in my head. I think this concussion was driving me crazy. It felt so real. I looked up at my hands and noticed claws extending from them. I don''t have claws. I''m not connected to my wolf side. How? "Nina. I- What''s-" Nothing I was saying was coherent as I tried to keep my eyes open; but I could feel my eyeballs rolling to the back of my head. My vision came back to me but I felt different. I wanted to look around but I couldn''t. Nina. My wrists yanked off the shackles as a chunk of the wall came out with it. My teeth sharpened into canines and my claws extended. Cool. I snapped off the shackles and surprisingly, it didn''t take any mana so the collar didn''t shock me. My grip held the collar and in one tug, it was off. I was a head taller and my physique became more lean, I had wolfish mana ears protruding out of my head, claws and fangs. The increase in power made me feel like I could destroy anything that would come in my way; like I was on a powerful drug. I had the maturity needed of a 29 year old and I knew things that 12 year olds wouldn''t normally know. My mind went fuzzy as the colours around me dulled. I tried opening the door but it was mana proof. ''Nina, its not-'' My foot moved upwards, kicking down the door with such force that it shattered into tiny chunks. ''Your welcome'' I heard her smirk through the link in our mind. I didn''t waste time, Nina gave me back control. I kicked my feet behind me and ran, nearly losing balance because I was going unexpectedly fast. I made my way down to the chambers, running past some guards. They didn''t even see me, my feet were unimaginably fast. I could see the wavelength of their mana, sensing how strong they were. The cries of Soyeon echoed through the walls as I came closer. Once her cell was in view, I tried to stop my feet, but I ended up crashing through the wall. Rocks tumbled down on top of me but I didn''t feel any pain. My ears sunk back into my hair and my claws retreated into my fingernails. My teeth shifted back as she looked up at me in total shock. "Malia?" Soyeon looked up at me. "How''d you get so tall?" "What do you mean? I was always this tall." I towered over her. I was probably up to Zeref''s ear now. Her jaw hung open, taking in my appearance. I probably looked really different because of the rush of adrenaline coursing through me and the aftereffects of the transformation. I gripped her hand and picked her up bridal style. "Hold on." I told her, my voice dry as I spoke. She gasped as I sped past the guards again. We ran into the halls and again I was headed directly at two people. I tried to halt my feet as Soyeon yelped in her dizzy state. We crashed into the two people and we all grunted in unison. "Malia?!" Xanxus gasped, looking at my state. Why does everyone keep doing that?! "What are you doing here?" I hissed, still on the floor, clutching the wound on my head. Soyeon helped me up, offering me her hand. I grabbed it and tried to pull myself up and back onto my feet but instead, accidentally pulled Soyeon down with my new uncontrolled strength. We both stood up ourselves, giggling. "You look like you went through hell. We came to rescue you." Johan''s voice started to glitch in my head. ''You''re passing out. I studied health and was a nurse. I-'' Nina''s voice started to fade. ''I know! I have your memories meaning I studied health too-'' I clutched my head again. I cut my head like three times. "We did go through hell. You''re a little late." Soyeon rolled her eyes. Everyone''s attention turned to me as my footing faltered and I stumbled forwards into Mr Xanxus. He smelled like sweat and smoke. I looked up at him, my eyes lazily looking into his. "You stink." I stated. "Yeah well have you smelt yourself?" he countered, shoving me into Johan. Johan threw the portal to the ground and it opened into a forest. He then swung my arm around him and stepped through, Xanxus and Soyeon following close behind. "We have to get her to the hospital!" Johan panicked as the portal closed behind us. "Well no shit." Soyeon grunted, her vibe coming off bitchier than I remembered. "No, no, no hospital- I no needed" my words jumbled together as I smiled and shut my eyes; satisfied with the sentence I had just formed. ''Malia we speak good.'' The drunken voice of Nina boomed into my ear drums, echoing into the corners of my head. I groaned, clutching my head again. A gust of wind blew in the air, so strong that we all stumbled back. I let myself fall over, thinking the wind would catch me but it didn''t and Johan caught me before I hit my head for the hundredth time. Thanks Johan. Mr Xanxus flew through the air and into a big log, screaming like a girl as he did. Soyeon looked at me with a special eerie glint to her eyes. Her eyes started to glow white. I frowned, not in the right state of mind to voice any questions. My head was bleeding out. "My brother''s here." Soyeon took in the fresh scent of the minty wind and rolled her eyes back in satisfaction like she had just sniffed a line of cocaine. A tall guy, Zeref''s height, appeared through the trees, knocking down the ones behind him while he ran. As he came closer, the ground shook at the magnetic connection with the air. The wind howled as Soyeon and her brother hugged each other, wind swirling around them in celebration. He checked her for wounds as she cried in relief. He then turned to me, looking straight into my eyes. Both his eyes were white like Soyeon''s. He then let her go and the hyue of his eyes changed again to a dark black. "She''s my friend. Malia. She saved me." Soyeon quickly stated as if, if she didn''t, he''d kill me. He squinted his eyes at me as I smiled goofily. "I''ve hearing- um- a lot about you." I smirked as he looked at me like I was crazy. Not much of a talker? "She hit her head." Soyeon chuckled nervously as her brother peered at me in distaste. ''I don''t like him.'' Nina warned and on instinct my opinion faltered about him as I felt Nina''s emotions. Johan sized up Soyeon''s brother; he was way taller than him but also skinnier. "I''m Johan." he spoke in a deep tone trying to look intimidating. As soon as Johan left my side, the world spun under me and I fell on my butt. Mr Xanxus came stumbling back next to us, dizzy and confused. "Taejun Park." he said, unphased. Taejun''s eyes stayed trained on mine and I started to feel self-conscious. Johan was starting to get annoyed at the fact that Taejun wouldn''t acknowledge him. Soyeon held her brother''s wrist trying to subtly hint at him something important. "BLAGHGHH-" Johan and I turned to Mr Xanxus who started to puke onto the floor with no sign of stopping. Chunks of food poured down onto the floor. I looked back at Soyeon and Taejun to see that they had disappeared without a goodbye. This day has been so crappy. I couldn''t wait for this whole year to be over. Chapter 41 - A Tense Reunion -Zeref''s pov- I waited outside the house, sitting on the porch with Sara, Ciara and Naz. Rosaline went inside to cook up some food because we were starving. My heart pounded in my chest, awaiting for Malia and Jace to return. Where were they? It was past midnight and they weren''t at the arena. Ciara said they left to get popcorn but took too long so she went looking and found me. The loud footsteps of someone approaching the gates lit up my ears in joy. Sara ran to the entrance but stopped in disappointment when it wasn''t Malia. "Mike" my voice trailed in disappointment. "I searched the school grounds. No sign of her or Jace." he sighed on the verge of tears. "And Johan?" Ciara lifted her head up from Naz''s shoulder. Mike slowly shook his head, hating to be the bearer of bad news. We all sat in silence again as Mike joined us, sitting on the porch beside Ciara. I couldn''t piece together anything. Malia and Jace went to get popcorn but never came back. Johan went to inform Mr Xanxus about my injury but he never came back. As soon as I had defeated the light contestant, another problem surfaced. The gates swung open and everyone turned their head up in a synced motion. Jace limped through the gates, wrapped in bandages and a black eye. The unsettling feeling of fear fizzed up my insides, going crazy. "JACE?!" I ran over to his side, helping him walk while everyone bombarded him with questions. He lifted his hand, silencing us and leaving us thirsty for answers, awaiting to hear his words. "Malia and I were attacked by some powerful fire pedo, called Ranveer. He was looking for Zeref and we may have pissed him off, so he beat me up and took Malia." Jace uttered looking down at the ground. Naz raised her eyebrow in disbelief as Sara stayed silent next to her, looking at me with an unreadable expression. Ciara nudged Jace to keep going but it felt like everyones eyes had turned to me. "Explain." Mike was the first to speak up but Jace raised his hand again. "Wait, there is more. I woke up in the medical room because I was found by Mr Xanxus. Johan came in and I told them about Malia. They took it upon themselves to go and try to save her without you knowing. I told them not to but-" "They still aren''t here!" my voice echoed through the atmosphere, shocking everyone. Sara flinched away from me and into Naz''s arms, terrified. "You''re one to raise your voice! Who is Ranveer?!" Mike questioned. He pushed my chest, inching closer to my face in fury. Ciara stepped in between us, trying to make reason but everything she was saying went in one ear and out the other. Mike pushed Ciara aside and launched at me, throwing his fists everywhere in a fit of rage. "STOP HE IS STILL INJURED!" Ciara yanked Mike off as Sara helped me back up. Jace slowly sat down on the porch, gripping his stomach as he did so. Naz sat next to him, checking his wounds. He looked rough. I panted, glaring at Mike. "I promise. I don''t know who Ranveer is." "YOU liar!" he screamed charging at me, pushing Ciara off him and launching a fit of swings at me. I dodged them with ease then caught his fists in my hands. "Stop." I looked at him straight in the eyes coldly and fear enveloped his face. Sara pushed me further away from Mike, trying to calm me down while Ciara did the same to Mike. Ciara glared at me. "Zeref, his SISTER was taken by someone who CLAIMED they knew you. Stop acting like what he is doing right now is-" she was interrupted by a growling Sara. "Oh shut up! He said he doesn''t know Ranveer! Stop choosing sides!" Sara shoved me behind her, baring her canines at Ciara. "You''re one to talk!" Ciara spat as they both lunged at each other. "Shut it Ciara. You''re irrelevant! Who even invited you?!" Sara added on, making Ciara angrier. They both hit each other continuously and Mike saw this as an opportunity to attack me again. The darkness of the night looked peaceful but it couldn''t hide the raw, pained yells of Mike; a brother who had lost his sister. It couldn''t conceal the rage building up inside me as I roared in frustration; a tired and framed innocent. The loud screams of Sara and Ciara as they tried to rip each other apart for a fight that wasn''t theirs. We were all too far engrossed in the mixed up emotions to realise that nothing would come out of us fighting over who was to blame. "Everyone shut up!" Naz''s mana activated as mist swirled at her feet, slowly engulfing her until she disappeared and reappeared in between us. "Jace is trying to speak." she sighed in disappointment. Mike kissed his teeth in frustration then pushed me before walking away and standing next to Ciara. Sara was the first to get her claws out of the flesh in Ciara''s arm as they detached themselves from one another. Sara stood next to me, huffing in annoyance and I Well I was just too tired to even care how hard Mike hit me or how Ciara and Mike blamed me. Why did all this have to happen? Should I have just given Blake the seat? Would my family and friends still have been safe? No. I chose this path and I was going to stay on it. I was granted this opportunity and I had to become stronger. Much Stronger. To Protect, those who I loved and cared for and succeed. "There is no reason in fighting. Just remember, Mr Xanxus knows how to track. They''ll be here." Jace finally spoke in a dull tone. Everyone let out a collective sigh before he spoke again. "And Zeref, after I heal I''m gonna kill you." His voice was blunt and sad. Ciara sat next to him, Naz and Sara hugged next to the steps of the entrance and Mike just stood still, in tears. I sat down leaning my head against the entrance door. The atmosphere was stiff and cold. Everyone was miserable and damaged. This reminded me of the time I gave away land to the druids in exchange for Nina. They had kidnapped her during our wedding. The aftereffects and sadness still remained in my head. The disappointment I caused to my Kingdom for that. The countless losses. Oh Nina I''d give everything, to see you just one more time ** Finally a blue portal appeared in front of us and everyone''s heads tilted in its direction. We all got up in anticipation. The first person to exit the portal was a skinny hunched man, Xanxus! Next Johan and Malia followed behind. "Malia!!" the girls screamed in unison running over to her and hugging her tightly. She gave a wry smile in response but I could tell she was a changed person. Her mana had matured and was extremely pure and her eyes; they emitted a sense of change and maturity. Physically, her hair was rough and matted in dried blood. In fact, dried blood was all over her hairline and down her cheek too. Blood stained her shirt and she trembled at the warmth around her. What kind of suffering did she go through? Jace stood next to me as we both watched it unfold. Of course, Mike barged everyone to the side, crying into the crook of Malia''s bruised neck. Ciara ran over to Johan as they enveloped each other in their embraces. Mr Xanxus rushed past our joyful reunion, mumbling about somebody needing healing. I waited until she got around to me. She hugged Jace but I noticed the slight trembling as she walked over to him. Then it finally got to me. Her bright eyes dulled when they met mine. A few fleeting moments passed by. I looked at her regretfully, "Welcome back." I said smiling. I couldn''t see it, but a slap went across my face leaving a bright red mark on my cheek. What speed and power. I looked back at Malia''s hateful and furious eyes, confused. Did I do something wrong? Chapter 42 - Ending The Year In A Split "You fucking shithead!" she slurred out with a pained look on her face as she lightly patted her head. When she retracted her hand from her hair, fresh blood was painted on her fingers. "Malia?!" Sara gasped, trying to help but Malia shoved her to the floor. "Don''t touch me! You- You-" her words came out jumbled but her rage was clear. She held Mike''s shoulder for support, stumbling a little before her eyes focused back on me. She came into range instantly then stooped low before firing a screw punch at my chest. I used a cross armed block but my weakened body flew backwards and my back made contact with a tree. She had definitely gotten stronger. [You have suffered 300 damage] "Malia! What''s wrong with you?! Stop this!" this time Johan stepped in and gripped her arm. "Get off me!" she shouted and a wild, unknown and exotic mana enveloped the atmosphere. Naz and Ciara moved back from her, as if they had just seen a beast; picking up Sara and holding her behind them. What was wrong with her? I stumbled up before coughing out blood. The taste of copper became a familiar thing in my mouth now but the stinging as it poured down my throat never got old. She walked forwards towards me at a fast pace. Everyone watched her as she came closer to me. She gripped my ripped collar and tears started to roll down her eyes, "Where were you when I needed you?! I WAITED for you! I suffered FOR you! He took me BECAUSE of you! THIS ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE OF YOU!!! B-But you never came for me-" Sara screamed out in frustration. "AHHGH! You idiot!!! You can''t BLAME him for not knowing! He was saving ME! You act so high and strong but when you''re in trouble, you rely on Zeref and Jace like they are your little slaves! And when they don''t come, you go all beast mode! REALITY CHECK MALIA-" Sara''s speech was interrupted by the loud noise of a slap. Ciara slapped Sara, quickly but harshly. "This isn''t your case to defend." she gritted while Naz helped Sara up. Normally, Naz would have been quick to defend Sara but this was one of the rare occasions that she couldn''t. Sara''s eyes grew in shock and disbelief and before either could do any further harm, Naz and Johan held them back. Malia''s eyes welled in tears in shock at what Sara had just said, holding onto Mike again for support. "Malia. I didn''t know. I''m sor-" "Lies! Absolute lies! You''ve been lying to not just me but everyone! This whole time. We don''t even know who you really are.Why didn''t you tell us the truth?! Did you not trust us? You think you''re so important. Zeref Amara, the lightning candidate." she spoke, letting out her emotions, her words clear because of the amount of hurt pilling up in her. My heart skipped a beat as I heard the last part. So this really was all my fault. "What?!" Jace furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step away from me. "Please Mali-" This time Jace shoved me. "YOU''RE A WHAT?!" Everyone went silent. Luckily, it seemed Sara, Naz, Johan and Ciara didn''t hear what Malia had just said as they were too engulfed in the side drama. They all peered at me in confusion. Mike stood silently, standing by his sister, unphased by the news. Mike pushed me. Hard. Before trying to punch me. I gripped his fist. "Stop." I said coldly to everyone. "Or what?!" Malia screamed, holding onto Jace, " Are you going to hit me? Are you going to kill me? Are you going to dispose of me, because we''re all chess pieces in your game right?!" No one spoke. "Stop." I sighed, tired. I got beats from practically EVERYONE today. Mike tried to shove me but I dodged. The anger, guilt and confusion got the best of me. Dark clouds were starting to gather above us. "Malia, just stop it. You''re both injured." Johan spoke trying to calm her down, but she ignored him as she imbued her fist in flame mana. Jace did the same with water mana. My two best friends went through hell because of me and now, are standing against me. I deserve this. Everyone else stood on the sides, still confused. "I said stop!" ''Almighty Push'' Mike''s body flew backwards with extreme force. He gathered himself before trying to come for me again like an angry bull. He didn''t make it far because he fainted midway. Lightning mana rattled around me, thunder and bolts of lightning started to strike the ground from above as my emotions were a mix of guilt and anger at myself. The atmosphere reverberated with pure lightning mana and all my other elements were leaking out, causing the weather to feel cold and dense. "You think I wanted all this to happen?! You think you''re the only one that suffered? I''m not even going to bother." ''Godspeed'' ** -Malia''s POV- With that, he disappeared out of everyone''s sight. In a flash. All that was left was the remains of his mana signatures. Anger still whirled inside me like a whirlpool. Why didn''t he tell me? ''Malia, calm down. It''ll all be fine, just go inside. It''s starting to rain.'' Nina''s voice echoed in my head and I wiped my tears before getting up. I yanked Jace''s helping hands off me and stormed into the house. I didn''t want to see their faces. None of them. Jace followed inside, his arm wrapping around me in comfort. So much happened. "What just happened?" Naz whispered. Tiny murmurs of Johan and Ciara replied but no one really knew except for Mike, Jace and I. "We aren''t going after Zeref?" Sara questioned in disbelief, crossing her arms. Johan pulled Mike''s body up and dragged him inside as we all sat around the table in silence. "Zeref he has the lightning element." Ciara cautiously spoke, peering at me for approval. "Okay, listen here. No one will speak about ANYTHING that happened today to ANYONE. No one can know he holds these powers." Jace spoke strongly and everyone nodded intently. I sat in silence, staring at my ceramic white plate. Blood dripped down my forehead and all I could hear was concerned voices before I blacked out. A warm tingling sensation of someone healing me was music to my ears as I hummed in being able to release all my pain. Chapter 43 - Missing -Malia''s pov- The school bell rang and I exited my class to meet up with Jace. Sara and I hadn''t talked all lesson and I wasn''t planning on seeing Zeref either. Jace ran up to me, worried. "Zeref wasn''t in class." I couldn''t help but also feel worried. I left early this morning so I didn''t check if he returned last night or not. Naz walked over to us, whispering her concerns before being dragged away by Sara. Mike walked past me, smiling before coldly glaring at Jace, Sara and Naz. It looked like no one was on good terms with anyone. My worry was starting to rise. I wasn''t in the right state of mind yesterday because of all the head injuries and if I was, I wouldn''t have been so harsh on Zeref and exposed his secret. Of course, I would''ve yelled at him but not hit him after all the physical injuries on his body. Although I was still a little mad, I wanted Zeref to be here; so after a few days, I could apologize. I knew it wasn''t his fault and Sara did have a point. I shouldn''t have relied on Zeref and it''ll never happen again but every time I tried to approach Sara, she flicked me off. I just let her be. She was being a bitch for no reason. ** It has been 3 days and Zeref hadn''t returned. The end of year exams were coming up and so was Zeref''s 13th birthday. He better come back before auntie Rosaline realises he left. Our excuses weren''t going to work for much longer. I later tried to track his mana signature and trace them to where he might have gone when I arrived home, but they had already dissipated and weren''t of much help. ''It''ll be fine, I''m sure he''s just gone to cool off his head. Don''t worry too much.'' Nina comforted my guilt for the hundredth time. I knew it was my fault that he left and I didn''t know how to fix this. I didn''t know where he went. I didn''t know for how long he''d be gone. I just want him back. ** 5 days since Zeref left and Aunt Rosaline started to become more suspicious. I wanted to tell her but Mr Xanxus and Mike made sure I didn''t. They basically guilt tripped me into keeping my mouth shut. All hell would break loose if she found out and when she knows that I was at fault, she will never look at me the same. Jace and I sat at a bench outside, behind the school building, both of us lifelessly stabbing at our pasta. Luckily, no one was around this area of the building and it seemed like we were the only ones. The atmosphere just wasn''t the same. I knew Jace missed him more than I did and probably felt guilty too. We were both in the wrong yesterday, we blamed Zeref without looking at the bigger picture. "Hey-" a cheery greeting came from the side. It was Naz, but before she could proceed to sit down or carry on with the conversation, Sara pulled her away and into the building. "Hmph!" Sara huffed, sending me a dirty look while Naz mouthed a sorry. If I wasn''t in a sad mood right now, I would have already put her in her fucking place but I didn''t want to waste my energy. Don''t get me wrong, Sara chose the right side, defending Zeref and all that but she was just being so bitchy about it. She was making things harder than it already was and would constantly make Jace and I guiltier than we already were. It was evident a divide had been created between us now that Zeref was gone, and for some reason I disliked it. I never had many friends due to my father and the constant threatening. After mother had died, Father used to always threaten the other families if any of their children even used to look at me. He did this for me to suffer. To suffer, alone. All my life I knew only torture after that, until I met Zeref and Jace and everyone else. Zeref had freed me from that hell, he had saved me from what looked like an eternal despair. Now that he was gone, this new life of happiness was falling apart and for the first time, I felt guilty. Guilty of my actions. Lashing out wildly on a friend. A friend, who cared for me. ''I''m such an idiot'' I found comfort in talking to Nina. ''You weren''t in the right state of mind! It isn''t your fault'' Nina reassured me but it wasn''t working. Nothing she said could take away the immense guilt forming in my stomach. I couldn''t help myself anymore, as tears started to drop down on the now cold pasta. "Malia?" Jace asked as he got up from his seat and sat next to me. "It''s all my fault" I held my head down, staring at my lap as tears dropped down. I knew I looked really weak and vulnerable right now but I couldn''t stop it. The tears just burst out along with all the hurt and guilt building up. "Our fault." he corrected, bluntly. I looked up at him, tears pouring out of my eyes as he gave me a sympathetic look. I hate sympathy; but just this once, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and dug my head into the crook of his neck. My sobs were quiet and only loud enough for us two to hear. "It''s okay. He''ll come back and everything can go back to the way it was." he soothed me, stroking my hair to the side. Although I wanted to believe him, I knew things couldn''t. Jace and I still hadn''t talked about Zeref being a contestant but we silently acknowledged it. I could tell Jace had a lot of questions and so did I, but he didn''t want to make things more depressing than it already was. We held each other in silence. We miss Zeref. ** I sat next to aunt Rosaline, stroking her back as she cried. Mike stood awkwardly next to us like a statue while Mr Xanxus grabbed some water. "I just don''t understand." she bellowed in grief, clutching her heart and tugging her hair in pain. It had been 8 days since Zeref had left and I finally broke down and came clean. "I am so sorry." I cried, wrapping my arms around her. This was all my fault. If I hadn''t been so harsh and spoke so irresponsibly, he wouldn''t have left. Mike sat next to me, swinging his hand around my shoulder and leaning his head onto me. "Why? Why would he just leave?" Mr Xanxus came in, handing a glass of clear water to aunt Rosaline. He looked deep in thought, pondering, acting as if he had just found out about the shocking information but actually he was the one threatening me to be quiet. I knew why he left and it killed me to keep quiet. Would Zeref want me to tell them his secret? Probably not. But it hurts to see them so worried and questioning things I have the answers too. Mike shuffled in his seat, uncomfortably, coughing. Can this guy be any more obvious?! I whacked him in the arm, widening my eyes at him as a threat. He winced, shifting his weight away from me and looking down quietly. "My boy!" Rosaline cried louder, bellowing. "Please aunt Rosaline, I''m sure he''s just gone out for a couple days. We all know how psychoti- I mean weird he is. He will definitely be back." Mike did his best to comfort her, but instead she started crying even heavier and my jumper was becoming more drenched as a result. ''What. An. Idiot.'' Nina scoffed. I turned to him, giving him that ''Say one more word I dare you'' stare and he moved away looking down in fear. I get that Mike doesn''t like Zeref but why was he taking it out on Aunt Rosaline?! ''Results of a spoilt child.'' Nina hummed in my head. I agree. The best I could do for Zeref was take care of his mother for him. I couldn''t bring him back but I could take care of her for him. It''s the least I could do. Chapter 44 - I’m Weak -Zeref''s POV- (After he ran away from the group) I stood at the top of the town''s tallest building, glaring over the town with a feeling of hesitation tearing up my chest. The sky was roaring in anger, bringing out my emotions into reality, ruthlessly covering all light and sending things flying through the air with the impeccable strength of the wind. Rain drizzled down like a shower as thunder started to crackle in the clouds, preparing to attack the unsuspecting town like an animal does to its prey. After realising how weak I was, I decided I needed to train. If not, I''d be too weak to protect those I love. It was a hard decision but I knew it was the right one. After all, I had a plan. My hair dripped down, soaking wet as I shivered in the cold comfort of the rain and the melodic sound of the howling wind, as it tried to pierce through me. First step was to reunite with a man I hadn''t seen in a while. The old geezer himself. Zeref Amara. My shirt clung to my skin, suffocating me as I turned my back against the view and ran. I ran and with every step I took, my determination heightened. I stomped my feet into the rocky pathway, water splashing out of my way at the harsh contact. My mind was blank and all I could think of was how weak I was right now. I hadn''t even mastered my lightning element and my fire element was super weak. I relied on my ice and gravity elements constantly because I hadn''t met anyone who I needed to use the lightning element on; well until now. I was distracted for way too long and now it was time to train until my ass fell off because I won''t let another loved one come to harm due to my weakness. My pulse echoed in my ears and I took a step back before running to the edge of the cliff and jumping off. I found my footing in mid air and focused all my ice and gravity mana onto the pads of my feet. Like a miracle, I started leaping across the air, pads of ice creating under my feet to support me. I should be at gramps'' house in no time. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck right next to me, missing by inches. Woah! Jeez, what an ungrateful storm! I created you; have a little mercy! This just went to show how I knew nothing on how to control my lightning powers and how little I knew on what to do with them. I continued running through the air, the rain stinging my skin mercilessly. This was going to be a long journey. The clouds grumbled in agreement, filling the sky with its thick fog and leaving me in the darkness of the cruel night. Alone to fend for myself. ** At the edge of the cliff, I stood. It was like time slowed to an absolute stillness. The moment my eyes set its gaze upon the thin veil of haze, laid out in front of me like a piece of pure white silk; I knew the long agonising hike was worth it. The sun could finally be seen; penetrating it''s orange light rays through the atmosphere like knives as it shone onto me like a blessing. The heat and warmth kissed my face, embracing me and getting rid of the cold eating at my skin. The river ran right next to my feet; the light making the placid water glow, giving a sense of pureness to the atmosphere. I was finally at Gramps'' house. ** I walked up to the familiar door and as I approached, I heard loud arguing protruding from the small creaks of the windows. I recognised two of the voices to be Miss Elena and gramps but the other two voices seemed young and I couldn''t tell who it was because they were muffled. I knocked on the door twice, and all sound went silent. "Do you think it''s him?" Miss Elena whispered but it was clear enough for me to hear. Who were they talking about? I knocked again, once this time. I could hear shuffling on the other side but no other noise before someone spoke. "You open the door." a young girl''s voice spoke. "What no way. He could still be angry..." Gramps seethed back quietly. Who??? "Yes, way. This is your house." a young boy''s voice growled back. "Fine, how about rock, paper, scissors?" Miss Elena suggested and at this point, I had been waiting for 5 minutes. "Zeref, ya old geezer! Open up! It''s your grandson!" I yelled, knocking the door continuously. "Your gramps ain''t home!" Gramps replied through the door. When I heard that stupid reply, I grew desperate and more impatient, picking up the strength and pace of my knocks. My wrists were at its prime, knocking 100 times per second. "Haha, paper kills scissors." the young boy spoke. "No it doesn''t you f*cking fool." the young girl replied and a smack echoed through the door. "Fine, let''s just do it again-" Gramps was interrupted by something. I heard Miss Elena grumbling something and shoving them. Forced and hesitant footsteps came closer to the door and I awkwardly straightened myself, waiting for it to open but it didn''t. I knocked again, growing annoyed. What were they doing in there? Finally, the door opened but my wrist didn''t stop in time, knocking someone''s nose. "Ow!" the grumpy voice of my old man spoke, rubbing his nose. I couldn''t contain myself. "Grandpa!" I sighed in relief, feeling the urge to cry and lean into him. I wrapped my arms around him, patting his back quickly before pulling myself off him. "Zeref. I heard about what happened." he looked concerned, closing the door behind him so I could talk, "I was worried that you were still angry and not in control of your emotions yet. That''s why I didn''t open the door. Eheheh. But you look fine." "Oh." I sighed. Who told him about last night? Before I could say anything else, Gramps held his hand up to me and turned to the door, opening it. Three people fell through the entrance; they were clearly eavesdropping. That''s when I realised, I knew them. Miss Elena. Johan. Ciara. "Agh" Ciara got up, dazed. Johan grabbed her wrist, pulling himself up and nearly pushing her down while doing so. Miss Elena looked up at me with a guilty look on her face. "I know what it looks like but it isn''t-" "It is exactly what it looks like." Johan interrupted, smiling at me like he didn''t just eavesdrop in my personal conversation. This caused Elena to roll her eyes. Wait, how did Johan and Ciara know gramps? I gave them all confused glances, pointing at the gap between them. "Care to explain?" I asked. Ciara spoke first, slapping her hand over Johan''s mouth so she could speak. He struggled under her grip but she was relentless. "After that night, Malia fainted so we went home but Johan suggested we go look for you. You seemed like you needed help." I winced at the mention of Malia but let her continue. "It didn''t take us long to figure out this old man was your relative. You guys have the same name and he was a really famous warrior in his times so it wasn''t a surprise his grandson would be strong too. So the next day, we came here and explained everything we knew and to our surprise, you''re here." she finished off with jazz hands and a sarcastic smile. Johan pushed her off of him and grunted. "I wanted to say it. Bitc-" "No swearing." Miss Elena slapped the back of his head. "But we''re 14." Johan pouted. Gramps started to get impatient, shooing them off inside and putting up a shield so they wouldn''t listen to our conversation. I smiled at him, feeling a sense of relief wash over me again. "What were you going to say?" he rubbed his temples. I looked at him, giving him a serious look and he straightened his posture, raising his eyebrows. "I met a contestant." Chapter 45 - Training? "W-What?" he looked surprised but what was he expecting? I looked down as I inhaled in the fresh air of the countryside again. "The fire contestant who killed dad, kidnapped Malia but she escaped. The light contestant attacked me at the same time and I killed him by luck. He was way stronger than me and I''m scared that I''m not strong enough." I sighed; my energy drained from my body. Gramps looked at me with pitiful eyes, holding my shoulder and nodding at me. "I see" "I came here to ask if you''d help me train once again." I looked into his eyes, slightly begging. He smiled nodding at me and I relaxed myself, relieved. I finally gave in to my sore muscles and collapsed on the couch. Gramps'' eyes widened but I smiled at him, showing him I was good. "Pack the things you need. I''m taking a little nap." I closed my eyes after he went back in the house. "Where are you going?" Miss Elena''s voice was concerned. "Elena, look after the house while I''m gone. I''m going somewhere with Zeref." I could hear Gramps running around the house. "But-" Johan tried to reason with him but Gramps wasn''t listening. I decided eavesdropping wasn''t worth it and fell into a light nap. ** I was startled awake by an annoyed Ciara. "Wake up. Johan and I are leaving. Anything you want your mother and friends to know?" her voice was blurry as my sleep hadn''t worn off and I was only half listening. "Tell them I''ll be back after the holidays. So 3 months." I groaned, squinting my eyes at the bright sunlight. Ciara sighed, getting up and walking away with a small "Fine. Bye." Johan followed her, smiling at me and throwing his long, rain proof jacket at my face. "You look like you didn''t bring clothes. Have fun dude." he smirked and we nodded at each other with a sense of appreciation lingering between us before he left too. I grunted, standing up and walking into the house, making my way to my old room and jumping in the shower. When I got out, a white shirt, underwear and a grey tracksuit was laid out on my bed. I slipped into it. Luckily I left some of my clothes here or else I''d have had to use Gramps'' which would''ve been weird. I cringed at the thought as I made my way downstairs with Johan''s jacket in my hand. I smiled at Elena as I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and waited for Gramps. He came down a few minutes later with a large dimension ring on his finger and a straw hat on his head. He wore a red tacky Hawaiian shirt paired with crme coloured shorts. "Ew." Miss Elena spoke my thoughts as I laughed. "Damn I feel young again." the old man looked satisfied, grabbing a banana off the table. Elena and I shared a look of disbelief and laughed together. "Ok, we better get going before mother hears where I am and drags me home. Bye Miss Elena." I smiled, leaving. Gramps came out, waving at Miss Elena and joining me. Once we were quite far from the house, I looked up at him. "So where are we going?" "The beast forest to polish your skills and revise some things." ** The sun was definitely angry; my blood boiling under its scorching rage. My skin was bright red as I groaned, following grandpa through the cobbled, rocky pathway leading upwards in a spiral around a mountain. The higher we climbed, the more my throat clamped, whining for some water. "I. Need. Water." I complained, dragging my feet and dropping my shoulders. "No. Self discipline is the key to this hike Zeref." Gramps continued walking like a wise turtle, his hands held behind his back. I let out a groan of frustration. How is this dude not thirsty?! My head fell down as I gave up, throwing a little tantrum behind him before gaining my posture again and walking next to him. "Fine. Whatever." I said bluntly, scanning my surroundings. "Don''t even think about trying to find a lake. The place we are going too is the only lake in the 5 mile radius and it is located at the top of this mountain." Gramps informed me, crushing all my hopes. I rolled my eyes, annoyed. We continued walking and as we walked higher, I found it easier to cope with my needs. It felt as if a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders and I felt free as I relaxed into a tranquil zone in the depths of my mind. My mind felt more open and aware as thoughts of mischief circled my brain, wreaking havoc into the caverns of my head. I started to slow down my pace from grandpa and luckily, he didn''t think much of it. Slowly lifting up my hand, I grew tiny icicles at the tip of my fingers and rubbed it against my face and arms, feeling the cold, wet ice kiss my dry, red skin. I tried not to hum in satisfaction at the cool feeling sending goose bumps to run up my arms. I held my hands to my cheeks, feeling the ice melt against my heated body and dripping cool water down my chin. I started to close my eyes, smiling but was quickly snapped out of my high state. "Zeref, the heat really boiled your brain, huh? What did I say about self control?!" he slapped my hands away from my face, making the icicles fall off my fingertips. My face morphed into anger, feeling the irritation bubble in my chest, rising to my throat. "ITS HOT!" I vociferated. Gramps grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me down to his level and yelling, "WELL DEAL WITH IT! YOU WEAK-MINDED, EGOISTICAL, SPOILED KING!" I pushed myself out of his grip, towering over him. The mana around me started to shake and all I could see was red, filling my eyesight. I swung my fist up into the air and down at him but he dodged, easily sliding out of the way. "Predictable." he said, making me even angrier. I activated my mana but the heat in my head and the anger taking over, slowed down the process. Out of nowhere, Grandpa got out a fan, fanning himself and yawning, as if he was waiting for me to turn on my mana. "The enemy would have attacked by now-" "SHUT UP!" I raged, throwing a shot of ice at his shoulder. He rolled his shoulder backwards, dodging my blow again. "Stupid." he deadpanned before flash stepping towards me and whacking me all over the face with his fan. His hands were moving incredibly fast as I squeezed my eyes shut, not being able to see with the fan continuously hitting my head. *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* He finally stopped. "The enemy would''ve killed you by now." I opened my eyes, glaring at him which earned me another two whacks to the forehead. "If you want the training process to work, you must LISTEN to my instructions." he told me, flicking his wrist and fanning himself. Finally, I let myself cool down and nodded, following him again. If I wanted this training time period to work, I''d have to do everything the wise man said. He was right. Nobody could fight well with their mind filled with rage. ** We had arrived at the centre of the forest quite quickly slaying a couple beasts along the way. I stored them in my dimension ring so I could sell them off later. Making it to the peak of the green mountain we reached the top, a large wall of tropical trees faced us. Great. A jungle. Gramps walked in and I followed; the trees and soil started to lessen until we got to a field of grass and a plain, smooth floor. Gramps opened his dimension ring and pulled out a big, two room tent, setting it down. I further explored the place, discovering a glowing green lake and a waterfall, covering a cave. "Don''t go near that lake!" Grandpa called me back before I could do any further inspecting. Chapter 46 - Back To Basics I awoke in the tent, the birds chirping and the light seeping through the dark fabric. I did my daily quests and got ready before I woke up Gramps. ** "We''ll be going over the basics today." Gramps smiled as I groaned. "You spent 8 years doing advanced but I haven''t seen you do the basics." "But I don''t need to-" I tried to protest but one look from gramps and I knew there was no skipping this lesson. "The journey of big success will always begin with learning how to take the small steps at first. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference." he spoke wisely. Gramps positioned himself opposite me and I stood, shoulder width apart, ready. I smirked, rolling my shoulders back and Gramps looked at me carefully before returning a humble smile. His smile fell as he flexed his muscles and the shirt he had on, ripped into shreds. DAMMMN! HE BUILT DIFFERENT! The man had huge biceps that demanded awe and broad shoulders; straightening himself he almost grew a foot taller. His thighs tensed and formed. He sucked in his stomach and abs replaced the fat like stacked Lego bricks. He tilted his head, smirking back at me. "Damn." I scoffed, stretching my arms. Although I was considered fit for my age and had muscles, I wasn''t THAT fit. Gramps was built like a bodybuilder; he had no fat. It was all rock hard muscles. "You gotta teach me how to do that later on." I added on, my eyeballs popping out of their sockets. Gramps laughed. "Okay Zeref. Fight me." he said. I was taken aback a little. I thought we were training??? Nonetheless, I pounced at him like a jaguar. Deciding to use my ice mana, I formed a huge ball of glossy ice, chucking it at his centre but he easily dodged. I tried it again and again but he dodged every single one, despite his large and easy size. He should have been an easy target but he was still so fast! I switched up the mana into fire, throwing balls of fire in his direction, aiming for the most weak and vulnerable spots. Gramps yawned, letting the fire hit his arm and disintegrating it. UGHHH! His fist slammed into my jaw, throwing my head back before kicking my feet from under me and sitting me on my butt. I maneuvered my body into a twisted leap, swinging my leg under him and getting him on my level. I stood up while tumbling back, shaking off the pain resounding from my jaw. "Zeref, think small!" he yelled, giving me some time to breathe. Small? If I''m going to be fighting contestants, everyone''s going to be going big. Thinking small would be useless. I kissed my teeth, rolling my shoulders back and flash-stepping towards him. Reeling my ice fist back and swinging it full force onto his chest, he flew backwards but still on his feet. I didn''t waste time, growing icicles into the air and flicking my wrist towards him. The ice crystals flew into him but he dodged all of them, making his way towards me. His fist blew into my rib but I blocked him by a millisecond. I expanded a gravity wave from my body, sending him back into the air. In a second, he was back in my face like a relentless monster. How did he get there?! I brought up my hands in front of my face, below my eyes and braced for impact. The punch broke through my defence and made contact with my chest; flying back like a rag doll my body tumbled to the ground, bouncing like a pebble on water. [You have suffered 2000 damage] Ugh, he was strong! I picked myself up slowly and clenched my jaw tight fighting the pain. Gramps walked closer slowly, the mana particles in the atmosphere vibrating in fear with every step; my body felt heavy under his gravity mana. What kind of wild beast was he? ''Godspeed'' With a single chant the familiar feeling of lightning empowering me spread throughout my body and I let out a smile. With a single step I covered the distance and everything went black and white for me as I charged in, imbuing my hand with ''Indra''s Spear''. "You think you''re the only fast one?" Gramps spoke and my eyes widened in shock. The tips of my fingers were millimetres away from his stomach, Gramps swiftly maneuvered around me and grabbed my arm. He was faster than me?! "I told you to think small." he said as time went back to its normal state, he wacked my face with his fan again continuously, "Think down to the molecular level. The reason you''re weak is because you think that only big and advanced spells can do damage. Why don''t you compress your mana, increase your control over the finest molecules of mana, intricately controlling and ordering it; at the moment from what I''ve seen your mana control is poor, you''re wasting at least 45% of your mana with unnecessary moves like these stupid fire balls and ice crystals." He stopped his onslaught and I huffed and puffed, my face all swollen from the punishment. I could see why all the kingdoms feared this man. A total beast. I bet he was probably only using 20% of his power. ** We both sat down on boulders near the tent munching away at the food Miss Elena had made for us. I pondered what Gramps was talking about. I guess it was true, I had learned many advanced skills but that wasn''t going to be enough to beat the other contestants. I had to be fundamentally stronger, so my base power would be strong enough and my stamina would increase. "Zeref." Gramps called out, still chewing his food. "Yeah." "I don''t want you to use Godspeed ever again." As he said that my eyes widened in shock and my jaws stopped chewing. What was this man on about? ''Godspeed'' was my best skill. "What do you mean?! That''s my best skill. How am I meant to beat these contestants?" "Stop being childish, your highness and listen to me. First of all your body is still too weak to handle the sudden change in speeds and your mana control while using it is terrible. This is causing the mana meridians in your body to get damaged under the high resistance of the lightning mana." As he said that my mind focused on his last words. Resistance. So my body was like a circuit? The high voltage running through me whilst in ''Godspeed'' was too much for the wires or my mana meridians (vessels that carry mana around the body) to handle, causing them to become damaged. This was bad. "The more you use it the shorter your lifespan will be." Gramps stated, taking another bite into his sandwich. "So how can I overcome this?" I asked, worry resounding from my voice. "Of course, there is a solution to every problem, you''ll need to first strengthen the muscles in your body." "I don''t wanna look like you!" I retorted. "No. You fool." Gramps laughed, "The muscles you will be building will be different to mine, they will be extremely compressed high density muscle fibres." What the hell is that? I scratched my head hearing the last part but I nodded in understanding anyways. "Secondly, you''d have to increase your span of control over even the slightest of mana particle movements. This way your mana would deplete less rapidly; thirdly you have to increase your control over all your elements, especially the lightning element. Therefore, I''ve decided you''ll have to learn a new meditating method to overcome your mana control issue." "Can we start now then?" I asked, finishing the last bit of my sandwich and melting ice into water to drink. "No, your training will start in the night but for the time being go hunt some beasts." I nodded in understanding before getting up and equipping Voadhailis''s claw from my dimension ring. "Wait, there''s a challenge." He gestured to me to wait with his hand, "You can only use body augmenting. No spells. No nothing, only body augmenting." Body augmenting was strengthening the body using mana. In my case I could coat myself in lightning mana. I Hadn''t learnt the body augmenting spells for my other elements so that was on my to do list. This old man was two steps ahead of me in knowing my flaws. "Say less old man." with that I used ''lightning aura'', causing sparks of lightning bolts to form around me and I sped off into the jungle. Time to go hunting. ** When I returned I had slayed a total of 2 A rank beasts with increased difficulty so I kinda cheated using skills to kill them; 5 B rank beasts using lightning body augmenting and a couple C rank beasts. If I had to guess, by selling the number of beasts in my dimension ring, I could make about 400 platinum coins. Nice! "Stop slacking, your training begins now." Gramps said in a strict manner as I laid lazily on the cold grass. "But I''m tired as hell, how am I meant to train?" I groaned. "You''ll be learning how to meditate and control the mana flow in your meridians whilst you sleep." I cursed under my breath knowing this was going to be a long night. ** *Whack* *Whack* "Focus. You fell asleep again!" Gramps shouted. This technique was harder to master than I realised. I sighed heavily, before meditating and trying my best to not fall asleep. I just had to somehow split my consciousness so one part was asleep and recovering and the other was focusing on controlling the mana flow, but I hadn''t figured out how to do that yet. "You''re not sleeping until you master this technique!" "But that means you won''t sleep either. Hahahahhaaha!" I laughed as the fatigue was making me say stupid things. *Whack* *Whack* "Ow!" Chapter 47 - The Cave Of The Monarchs The month had finally ended and today was my 13th birthday. I yearned to go make up with Malia and everyone including seeing mother again, but I knew it wasn''t time yet. I would return in the next academic year, that was my plan but for now I''d train my ass off. In the past month I had accomplished a lot, I was able to master meditating while sleeping and controlling my mana more efficiently. With 1 to 1 guidance from Gramps and a harsh training regime I could feel myself getting stronger already; My level was at 60 and my ''lightning aura'' skill was also at level 60. Therefore I was able to raise my base power level higher. I had sparred a few times with Gramps and the outcomes were much different to the first time, I was actually able to put up a fight by not making stupid moves and using my mana much more cleverly. ** I woke up in the middle of the night, breaking out of my meditation. For some reason I had a dream about my past life, compared to this life. It still felt so surreal, I had a loving mother, a chill grandpa, friends. Did I deserve all this? My mind wandered as I traced patterns on the tent''s fabric with my finger tips. Gramps laid on his section of the tent, snoring soundly. I couldn''t sleep. Getting up, I left the tent and wandered to the lake again. Gramps had told me not to go near it but that just made me even more eager to go check it out. Every night I''d go near the lake and try to figure out what was so important, but each time I turned back. Today was going to be different, I would venture past that waterfall. The water glowed a shade of seafoam green and I peered past the waterfall, squinting at the cave with my inspect skill. It wouldn''t hurt to just look, would it? I froze the surface of the water, creating a pathway for me as I made my way across the lake and near the cave that was behind the waterfall . The further away from the land I walked, the more I could hear quiet hums beneath me. The darkness of the night was eerie and although I convinced myself that it was somewhat peaceful, my instincts were causing me to be unsettled and cautious. The hums started to become singing and the tune was oddly calming, drawing me further from the solid ground and onto the glass bridge I had created for myself. My eyes followed the noise, forgetting about the cave. I stood in the middle of the lake, reaching my hand down to touch the tip of the water and follow the singing. Suddenly, a hybrid humanoid fish creature leaped out from the water, jumping at my face with its razor teeth. I stumbled back, barely dodging it while it screamed an unholy sound. It was a Siren! ** Sirens were dangerous and mystical creatures. They used to be included in a race called the "mermen". The monarchs had assigned them the job of protecting the 5 key totems of power; these totems were artefacts that held deep secrets of the past, no one could explain. Rumours stated that the artefacts granted immeasurable power. However, the mermen race became tempted to exploit the artefacts. This caused a huge riot and all the monarchs descended for the first time in order to fix the issue. Their punishment was severe. They were formed into hideous and mindless creatures, who became obsessed with only guarding the totems. The monarchs thought nothing of the ethical issues this might have raised as the mermen or ''Sirens'' still got the job done. Anyone who invades the radius of the protected totem, will be slaughtered by the coven of sirens. ** I covered my ears in pain as the siren flopped onto the ice surface, flopping its way towards me like a fish out of the water, with its eyes rolled back and jaw snapping in the air. More screams joined it and sirens started to leap out of the water like dolphins, diving back in. They all swam towards my ice carpet across the lake; panic rising in me, as they did. I ran across the ice, flame mana lighting up my hands in case they decided to get touchy. A siren pulled my feet and the ice behind me shattered by the weight of hundreds of sirens flopping behind me. I quickly threw fire at the siren''s face, leaping for the cave, I pushed apart the waterfall with my gravity mana, flinging my arms apart in a curtain opening motion. Falling through the gap I had made, I rolled onto the rocky surface. The sirens leaped the same as I did but I closed the gap and froze a wall of water, watching their faces crash against the ice and slide down. I spun around to the cave, dripping in sweat and water. I hope gramps didn''t hear anything. Probably not. He was a deep sleeper. Cautiously, I entered, creating a line of harmless fire as I walked, for light. Droplets of water dripped down onto the floor, the noise of my footsteps echoing through the cold air. I continued walking until I quickly reached the end, a stone wall with carved symbols, blocked my path. The wall had intricate details, 7 circles within a large circle. Each circle held a jewel of a different colour, spiralling around like a swirl. There were patterns filling up the walls and symbols at the top of each symbol, which I couldn''t understand. I extended my hand, touching the gem I found most appealing. It was a light blue sapphire, shaped in a lightning bolt. As I did, the circles and patterns started to light up and the spirals spun around, forming into a straight line of jewels. The door slid open and to my surprise: it was a water cave, with a staircase leading up to a stone statue, chained against the wall with ropes of ivy. The water was glowing and everything in the room symbolized purity. Did this place really hold a totem? Is that why Gramps told me to stay away? "Oh, Zeref. Destiny has brought thou my way, just like I had foreseen." a voice protruded from the stone statue, bouncing off the rocky walls. My eyes widened in shock and I flinched slightly causing my gravity magic to accidentally explode the statue into smithereens. Damn, get yourself back into control! I mentally scolded myself, curling my hands into balls and regulating mana through my meridians. A man stood, covered in rubble. He had been buried inside the statue and I had just released him. He opened his red shot eyes and suddenly, the long distance between us, didn''t feel long enough. The ivy ropes that restrained him were torn off his body and now he was free. My legs failed under me as I found myself falling onto my knees at the sight of him, feeling the need to bow at his overwhelming presence. I found it hard to break eye contact, trying to find my voice. Who was this man?! "Happy Birthday, King James Lance the Lightning Contestant. Now known as Zeref Amara." he stalked his way down the steps and towards me. My body stiffened in the kneeling position I was in and my jaw clenched at not being able to breath in his suffocating presence. I felt powerless. "Who a-are you?" I spoke cautiously while trying my best to hold his overbearing stare. A few fleeting moments of silence passed by and the temperature in the cave chilled to a freezing level. "The Sovereign, or in other words the first monarch to occupy all the seats." as the words left his mouth, the cave rumbled and the stone statue I had destroyed, fixed itself back together. Tiny rocks fell from the ceiling and the ground under me shook. My arms fell in front of me and my body kowtowed at his declaration. The worst part was his level above his head. It was question marked... Chapter 48 - A Gift "I am the first totem of power and my name is Kayden Von Sinister." he whispered, more gently, releasing his tense pressure. I could finally breathe, picking myself up off the ground in embarrassment and shock. "Just call me Kayden." he smiled, brushing off some rocks that fell onto his ripped up, dirty shirt. The man was tall, a little bit above 6 foot, he had great red eyes that inspired awe and flowing dark hair that went down past his shoulders. His aristocratic attire reminded me of vampires from my previous world. I had felt his power and knew he could kill me at any second; I just had to play along with what he wanted. I managed to regain some of my confidence after a few breaths, "Why are you in here?" He smiled knowingly, "Power can be an unforgiving and torturous curse. Thou shall know in time my child." he spoke in cursive poetry. At my confusion, he sighed. "I''m stuck in here by the universe. I was forced against my will to be a totem. Soon I will get out and annihilate those stupid monarchs, taking back what is rightfully mine and I will finally be able to kill the man who hides from the eyes of destiny." he elaborated in a less complicated way. "Oh." I half smiled, awkwardly. "So you''re a friend or a foe?" "I am a friend until I decide otherwise." he smirked and something told me that he wasn''t fully telling me the truth. I decided against questioning his motives and chose to switch to a different interest. "What is this place?" my eyes wandered around. "The cave of the monarchs. It''s a sacred place where the first set of monarchs first met up before ascending into the upper realm. It holds many secrets." "What happened to the other monarchs that ascended with you?" An evil glint lit up in his eyes as he came closer to my face. "I killed them." Silence. A cold blooded murderous killer. I glared into his eyes with the most fiery hatred boiling inside me but it would be stupid to make such an asset go to waste. I had to be strategic if I wanted to survive this competition meaning I''d have to make the right allies. He scoffed, taking some steps back from my intense glare. "I can tell you doubt me so how about a birthday present?" I furrowed my eyebrows, tilting my head in confusion. "I can give you your demon powers back. You used to be half demon in your past life, right?" My eyes widened at the mention of my demonic powers. He smirked, knowing he got me. What would he gain from this? "Of course, I''ll make sure to tweak your demon powers so they''re suited to this world, but you would have your extraordinary strength back, your levitation, your inhumane speed and agility. You will be different from all the other contestants. What do you say Zeref? Do you accept my friendly gift?" he persuaded and for some reason, the idea seemed quite appealing to me and I didn''t want to miss such an opportunity, so I said: "Okay." His dusty, pale skin lit up a shade of blue as his face twisted into the most horrifying, psychotic smile. "From one friend to another." he said before shooting a ball of light, right into my face. I didn''t have the time to think as I fell into a state of unconsciousness. ** I woke up to a loud pounding in my head. Groaning, I picked myself off the floor to see I was still in the cave of the monarchs. My eyes scanned my surroundings, looking for Kayden but they stopped at the staircase leading up to the stone statue I had seen before. The ivy was once again, wrapped around the now fixed statue and everything was dead silent with the morning birds chirping outside. [System has detected an update file] [Update file is being scanned for malware] [File scanning successful!] [System Update is in progress 7%] A bombardment of notifications popped into my view. New ones I had never seen before. What was happening? Did he really give me back my demon side? I stared patiently as the percentage kept climbing; in a couple minutes the percentage reached 100. [System update has successfully been updated!] [System needs to restart. Do you want to let it restart?] [Yes/No] I better not die from this ''Yes''. Chapter 49 - Bad Idea! "AAaaaaaaaargghhhhhh!!!!!!" I shouted as the pain resonating in my body was growing intensely. Why does it hurt so bad?! My knees tried to buck in an attempt to keep myself from falling but failed. In a painful thud, my body collapsed as I started to convulse on the floor; dark spots appeared in my vision. It felt like thousands of insects were crawling under my skin, trying to penetrate their way out and my scalp felt like it had been set on fire, cooking up my brains. It was like my blood was being boiled and my meridians, arteries, veins, everything was being reshaped and remolded. With loud cracks, even my bones were morphing. This was a bad idea. "Zereeefff!" a distant shout echoed throughout the cave from outside. From my peripheral vision, I caught the shape of a man running into the cave. It was Gramps. Within seconds he had made it to where I was shrivelling up on the floor groaning as the pain was becoming unbearable. "Zeref you fool! I told you not to go near the monarch''s cave! I''m going to have to knock you out until whatever you''re going through is over, bear with it." with that Gramps chopped the back of my neck and the lights went out. ** My eyelids felt heavy as I stirred awake, surrounded by the warmth and comfort of my blanket. It felt like I was experiencing a hangover and my right eye stung. The past few days had been filled with never ending pain and cries. I forgot how long I had been out but I do remember waking up in yells and screams every few hours, feeling like my body was dunked into lava, burning through my flesh before gramps would snap me unconscious in a panic. His face was in a constant panic whenever I awoke and at one point, the tiring pain wore me out and I didn''t wake up after that. I don''t know how long I had been in a coma-like state but I felt every second going by. The desperate feeling of wanting to open my eyes again but not being able too. "Gramps" I croaked out, tilting my head to the side to see if he was there. The sound of things clattering outside caught my attention before loud stomps entered the tent. Gramps came in with bags under his eyes and disheveled, wrinkly clothes. "Zeref! You''re awake." his eyes widened while he walked towards me and sat next to my laying body. "You''ve been out for 3 weeks with no food or water. I was worried you were dying." he stated, staring at my face longer than normal, making me feel uneasy. I lifted myself up into a sitting position while Gramps had his hand on my back, supporting me in case I fell. I peered down at my arms to check my health but I didn''t look any different. In fact, my arms looked fitter with more muscles. I clenched my fists and snakey veins ran up my arm, shocking both Gramps and I. The weird thing was that I felt weak but my body was way stronger than before. "Zeref there is something else I have to tell you." My head shot up to look at him, waiting for the bad news. "Your eye. It''s red." he pointed to his right eye, indicating mine and my mind focused on the stinging pain the eye was emitting. My head spun in a state of panic and I sped out of the tent, standing in front of my reflection in the lake. Staring back at me was a 6ft giant with broad shoulders, a slim but not lanky figure with toned muscles. I didn''t look like a bodybuilder but I looked like I was working towards it. My legs were longer and felt more firm but all of that was the least of my worries. It was stunning but it couldn''t compare to my right eye. My once greyish green pair of eyes were gone and my right eye was replaced with a red one. My iris was blood red while my other eye stayed grey. The once green hint to it was gone. Mum was going to kill me! Gramps appeared next to me in my reflection. "What happened to you in that cave Zeref? That eye of yours, it''s the demon race''s mark." he whispered, staring at my reflection. My jaw clenched, not knowing if I could tell him. I hesitantly turned to look up at him. "There was a man. He gave me back the demon powers I had in my old life. He claimed to be the first sovereign." The old man''s face twisted into one of fear and shock but it soon returned back to normal in a couple seconds. He was about to speak when I interrupted him. Well more like my belly did as it let out a loud grumble. I chuckled awkwardly, scratching my nape in embarrassment but gramps just smiled, walking to the log and fire, where we normally sat and ate. He picked up the large spoon and scooped some hot chicken soup into a bowl. He turned to me and I read the signal quickly, eagerly making my way to sit on one of the logs. He grabbed a silver spoon and handed it to me, along with the soup. "Eat up Zeref. You must be hungry." he smiled, sitting next to me while holding his back. He looked like he was in pain. Maybe he had strained himself too hard when I was sick. I glanced at him from the side of my eye before putting my bowl down. He watched silently as I got up and filled a separate bowl and grabbed another silver spoon. "Zeref, you brat. I swear the bowl is clean-'''' I interrupted him by shoving the bowl and spoon in his hands and sitting down with mine. "Eat up Grandpa Zeref. You must be hungry after taking care of me for 3 weeks." I mimicked jokingly and he chuckled gently. "I''m just glad your alive-" "Aw-" I was touched. "-So that I can show you my wrath! I told you not to go near that lake!!" he whacked me twice with his fan. "OW! ARGH! Do you always have to carry that stupid fan around with you?" I grumbled, sipping my soup. "Do you always have to give me a reason too?" he mimicked my grumble, also sipping his soup. "I swear I will train you to the point it feels like torture." he continued. "Ok, Ok I get it." I chuckled. "Anyways, did you always know about that cave or something? Is that why you told me to stay away from it?" my voice changed to a more serious one. I was truly questioning what else Gramps was hiding. I could sense him getting uneasy. "Zeref, remember that time I explained to you about our past with the lightning monarch. This cave was the place where your parents and I forged the contract with him: the cave of the monarchs." Gramps played with his soup as he explained. I nodded in understanding. There were many things I wanted to ask him about the tournament and the monarchs but I had to clear that first. I even wanted to know the contents of their contract with that man, but I knew he wouldn''t tell me that. No matter how much I pondered, Some things just didn''t make sense to me; it was as if there were plot holes in the idea of the tournament. Why didn''t the offspring of the monarchs just inherit the seats instead of having these games every 500 years? If the lightning monarch was the strongest, why didn''t he just kill all the other monarchs and monopolize all the seats? Why was ''beast'' an element? Odd. The questions were endless but I needed the answers to these 3 questions at least. "Gramps, I''ve got a couple things that have been bugging me for a while about the tournaments. Do you mind answering them?" Gramps nodded silently before refilling his bowl with soup. "Why don''t the offspring of the monarchs just inherit the seats of the monarchs once the 500 year period is over?" "Monarchs and ascenders are not allowed to have children. It''s the law in the upper realm. If a monarch in that 500 year dies, their seat is handed over to the next monarch in the rankings. This law is also to control the population, that''s why many S rankers still stay in the lower realm instead of seeking the lavish life of the upper realm. You miss out on certain enjoyments due to the strict laws." Gramps replied solemnly. What an odd law. I can''t have children then! How absurd. "What about the lightning monarch, if he''s the strongest why doesn''t he just monopolize all the seats all the time; doesn''t that mean the system is unfair as it''s the easiest for the lightning monarch to become a sovereign?" I placed the empty bowl on the ground and wiped my lips. "Good question. It''s true lightning is the most powerful and potent element, however like you many of the candidates and monarchs will have multiple elements or expert skills in combat etc. Just having the lightning element won''t make you the strongest. Many variables will determine how strong a monarch is. Therefore, we can''t say that the lightning monarch will always be the strongest, but to my knowledge the current lightning monarch is extremely strong. He can even use time magic." At the last bit my interest peaked. Time magic. There was such a thing? If he can mess with time, How would I ever beat him? No. I remember there was a TV show I used to watch in my previous life: "The Slash" or something like that. The MC was hit by lightning and could run at the speed of light; soon he could travel between timelines and parallel dimensions. If multiverses exist, could I do that with Godspeed? Could I bend time at my will? Could I also travel to different dimensions? A smile stretched across my face at the thought of such theories and excitement riled up inside me. "Okay last question Gramps. Why the hell is ''beast'' a pure element? It doesn''t make sense." "Hahahahaa!" Gramps laughed hysterically then stopped before wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, then answering my query. "I actually don''t know myself, that''s something that cannot be explained. That''s like asking why the fire element is a pure element. However, you should be aware of beast magic users. Not all beast magic users are like the Weremen, beast magic provides the best body augmentation spells. They''re most suited to striker mages and hand to hand specialist mages." I nodded at his perfect answer; A sense of relief shrouded over me as I finally got some answers. I had other questions but for now I could wait on them. I didn''t wanna bombard Gramps with questions just yet; I knew he was tired too. Maybe another time. ** I sat on a branch to clear my head, swinging my feet and letting the gentle breeze lift my silver hair. The greenery was refreshing and beast didn''t even approach the area; I guessed the beasts knew the smell of demons and evolved to stay away from them. Demons really were a race to reckon with. I really wanted to see my stats though. Did they progress too? I just couldn''t wait. "Status Menu open!" [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Half demon Half Human] [Level: 63] [Exp:5400/ 63,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 5] [HP: 16300] [MP: 10000] [Strength: 145] [Stamina: 156] [Agility: 154] [Defence/ Durability: 148] [Intelligence: 50] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Vision Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] It seemed like I had a couple new perks like Levitation - something I hadn''t tried out yet - and even some amazing boosts. All my stats had been upgraded by 100, and I had received 10,000 stat points to my HP and 5000 to my MP. Wasn''t this overkill? Demons must have been monsters. Did they all have stats like these? No wonder Gramps needed help from the lightning monarch. ''Vision Prowess'', what could I do with that? Nothing could come to mind. "Status Menu Close." I then skimmed through my skills and they weren''t affected, there was only one new skill which made my eyes gleam at reading its name: ''Shackles Release''. So overall this was just a physical buff. Still Great! I also checked out what the intelligence stat was for; The intelligence stat determined the purity and strength of the mana in my mana pool reserve, so improving it would make my spells and skills more efficient and stronger. Now that I had the assets to become even stronger, it was time to grind... Chapter 50 - Shackles, Release” That same night, I stayed awake with a bad plan circling through my mind. It was time to make another bad decision. I turned my attention across to the other side of the room where Grandpa was laying. He snored loudly. Jeez, maybe that''s why we haven''t encountered any beast attacks in the night; The snoring scared away all the predators. His snoring sounded like the roars of an A- rank beast. My temptation was rising and I slowly got up, creeping my way out of the tent. I swung the fabric of the exit up, bending down to get out but to my surprise, I hit something hard. "And where do you think you''re going?" Gramps looked at me with his soulless, tired eyes. I flinched away from him, letting out a slight yelp. I looked back into the tent to see his empty bed. How did he get here so fast?! I looked back and forth before slowly straightening myself and clearing my throat. "I needed to take a sh*t!" I said on the spot, hoping it was believable. "You had soup." he furrowed his eyebrows, giving me a judgemental face. "And?" I fired back, pretending to be offended by his accusing tone. He sighed, giving up and dragged his feet back into the tent. "Yeah that''s what I thought-" I stopped mid sentence as he glared at me. "Sorry." I smiled, kicking my feet back and sprinting into the forest to ''poo''. My body definitely felt lighter and more agile; I was running faster than I ever could before, almost matching speeds similar to when I used my ''lightning aura''. Peering with my right eye back at where I came from, I could see past the trees, through the darkness and all the mana signatures and waves in the air, even Gramps''s body. This ''demon eye'' definitely was special. When I reached the clearing of a cliff, I stopped, almost tumbling over from the sudden stop. The moon shone brightly in its pure glory, radiating peace and the dark sky was filled with scattered starts, illuminating the night. This place was perfect. I stepped back from the edge, grass whipping around my feet. My dark hair blew back by the strong wind lashing my face. I inhaled a breath, preparing for something to go wrong. "Shackles, release." I whispered to myself and it felt as if my voice had been carried away by the wind. I gasped, feeling the nostalgic feeling of adrenaline rushing through me making me shiver in delight. My breath jammed in my throat as a euphoric feeling filled me. My black hair grew in length, becoming more tousled and grew in front of my forehead, laying messily just above my eyes. The mana in the atmosphere shifted as my black hair faded and the colour of bright red blood replaced it. Although my hair was long, it stood tall unlike my old demon form, which had the hair down to the shoulders. This demon form''s hair held volume and strength yet was fluffy and tousled, taking me aback. I could feel every muscle in my body flex and tighten like it was being tightened by a screw, making me stiffen up. I heard pops and clicks as every bone in my body expanded in a satisfying type of pain. My red eye emitted a glowing light as I was lifted off of my feet, levitating in the air. Waves of strength shot through me making me feel empowered. But that''s when the pain started. Two sharp horns started to forcefully grow on my head, piercing through my scalps'' skin and settling in my hair like an egg in it''s nest. The pain was shockingly quick but left me in a daze. My world started to spin, before I was finally let down back onto the ground in my new glorious form. I examined my hands, feeling like gold was running in my blood. "ZEREF!" "ARGH!" I flinched and the hill under me cracked in chunks, lifting from the earth and falling. I caught a glimpse of gramps before falling from the accidental impact of force I had put into the ground. For a second, I enjoyed the peaceful feeling of falling but then I realised that gramps was waiting for me to return. Leaping up on a few boulders and shooting back up, I resurfaced in front of Gramps, not noticing the pissed off glare he gave me because I was too happy with my powers. "Taking a shit huh?" he raised an eyebrow at me. I stroked my hair back out of my eyes and smiled at him cheekily. "Come on. You can''t lie. This is awesome!" I said as the veins in my hands started to glow a fiery red with light hints of gold. "STOP!" Gramps yelled, whacking me with the fan but it didn''t hurt. "You just recovered you immature brat!" he pulled me down to his level by my ear. "OW!" I lost my footing, stumbling behind him as he pulled me through the forest by my ear. My demon form disappeared making me disappointed but I didn''t have time to process it because the geezer wouldn''t give me a breath to protest. "You will NOT use your demonic form until you can control your base form. Focus on the priorities and for god''s sake get some SLEEP!" He pushed my head towards the tent and my whole body followed. I struggled to find my balance, my ears becoming an angry shade of red as I let out a groan. "Okay, Okay." I rolled my eyes, shoving through the thin fabric of the entrance and storming into bed, missing the euphoric feeling of my demonic form. I had never felt so connected to my powers before and I felt like it was a key to all my setbacks. Why won''t he let me use it?! If I was king, I could have done whatever I wanted. Well, I had to accept this was my new life; I was grateful for everything, from having family to amazing friends. This life was definitely less lonely than my previous. Chapter 51 - Balancing Four Two months had gone by and training continued as usual and I was getting used to my new body with each day, all thanks to the combat training I was doing with Gramps. The ability to move rapidly at ease, changing directions at blinding speeds, super strength; that feeling of ultimate power was coming back to me. I missed being half-demon, it felt like a missing part of me was being returned. I sat by the lake staring up at the tranquil and dark sky. Gramps was fast asleep and as usual I stayed awake; I realised with my new body the mana consumption at idle was quite high, so I was always constantly regulating mana around my body. I had learnt to do this subconsciously, the same way we breath. I meditated often, absorbing mana and strengthening my mana pool at night; I was still stuck at Stage 5 but I could feel it, I a little bit passed halfway done until I could reach the 6th stage. ** I sat at the hill again, waiting for Gramps to come. We usually trained here now as it helped my mind focus more. "Zeref." a voice called out from behind me. Gramps stood in front of me, a boulder levitating behind him as he held a glass of water in his hands. I broke out of my meditating stance and got up to confront him. "Since you''ve gotten used to that new body of yours and we''ve revised the basics, it''s time we up the training difficulty and this time try and improve your intricate control over your 4 elements." as he said that he pulled out a huge cauldron from his dimension ring, then pulled out extra firewood and started a fire; he then placed the huge cauldron on top of the fire and poured water into the cauldron, "Okay, now that that''s ready-" "Can you at least explain what''s happening? What''s the huge cauldron for? Am I gonna have a bath in that?" I laughed. "Close enough but not yet. Have you ever tried to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time, well the training that you''re about to do is something similar except it''ll be 100''s of times harder." he answered, before handing me the glass of water in his hand and dropping the levitating boulder on the ground, "what you''ll be doing for the first step is freezing the water in this glass then unfreezing it using your fire and ice mana constantly, whilst levitating this boulder above the glass; I want you to do this for at least 3 hours without dropping the boulder." "Can''t I do it a bit lat-" "Shush! Just get on with it." Gramps scolded, before leaving in a flash. I sighed heavily before beginning with the training. I first grabbed the glass of water, I could feel my ice mana passing through my meridians into the cup until the water froze down to the molecular level, then gently I heated it again until the water particles had enough energy to break free and the glass was filled with water again. I then used gravity mana to encase the particles in the glass of water from evaporating and escaping into the air. Now for the hardest part; the boulder that I had to levitate was about 10 metres in circumference. How the hell was I meant to keep that over my head for 3 hours? I faced my palm towards the large boulder, then pointed upwards with my index and middle finger, causing it to rise above the ground a couple inches; the concentration this was taking was immense. I fully exercised my gravity mana on it and kept my arm in the air; the boulder idly levitated above my head now, flying 2 feet above my head. Now it was just the waiting game; I just had to concentrate and continue to freeze and heat the water and make sure not to drop the boulder on my head. Easier said than done. ** My T-shirt was drenched under the sweat and my hair dripped wet; I had 2 more minutes to go and the 3 hours of torture would have passed. My MP was holding up fine and was still more than 80% full, the parts of me that were fatigued were not my body but my mind. The intense concentration I was using, intricately controlling the mana output left a huge toll on my brain. The good thing was that my body was getting used to controlling the mana much more efficiently. "Okay Kid, good job. You can relax now." at Gramps''s voice I could feel the relief as I Yeeeted that rock as far as I could and incinerated the frozen glass in my hand. "That was unnecessary. Anyhow, you''re ready for the next part of this mana controlling training." Gramps shook his head as I lay on the ground staring at the sky. "Let me rest a little at least." "2 minutes. You''ve got 2 minutes before we move on. Next stage is much harder and if you can do this I''ll let you rest for 3 days as a reward." Gramps said as he started a fire under the large cauldron that was next to him. "The technique I''m going to be teaching you is called ''mana skin''. It''s an advanced augmentation skill that boosts your defence and allows your body to use spells of the attribute at will, without delay. This is an example." As he said that the gravity around us changed; if I were to guess, the gravity increased around us by a hundred fold. I had to use my own gravity mana to stop myself from sinking into the ground. "Gramps, I can do this too. Was this the skill you wanted to teach?" I asked. He ignored me and closed his eyes instead. I could see him focusing but couldn''t understand what he was doing. Suddenly the gravity mana in the atmosphere all stopped and condensed around his body. Then he inhaled and exhaled deeply; the gravity mana formed a purple aura, covering his limbs and whole body. Was this it? I could feel the condensed mana pressure oozing off of him. I stared at him with interested eyes. "Okay now punch me." He said tensing his abdominal muscles. "Are you sure? I won''t hold back, you know." I smiled, before getting from the ground and cracking my knuckles. I stood an arm''s length away from him and reeled back my clenched right fist, "Can I use body augmentation?" "Yes." At that a familiar sound of cackling filled the air around us and the lightning ran violently around my fists. The thousands of volts of lightning coursed through my veins and my hair rose up. In a blitz my arm seemed to vanish as the speed of my punch cut through the air crisply, making contact with his body. The gravity mana acting as a cushion bounced my arm back but most of the damage still pierced through. Gramps''s body flew back smashing past trees, leaving a trail of destruction as his body catapulted backwards. After a while he stopped and laid limp, not moving. I stared at the destruction caused in front of me, then stared down at my biceps. What the hell just happened? I wasn''t even using half of my power. Damn! Gramps got up immediately shaking off the dirt on his muscle fit long sleeve T shirt. He slapped his head a couple times and shook it before coming over, cracking his neck from side to side "That was awesome! Hit me again!" he said ecstatically then his face twisted to a serious one, " How much of your power was that punch?" "Around 40%." I shrugged. Gramps stroked his beard in thought. "You''re still not used to that body of yours right?" "Yeah, no matter how much I try. It''s hard to control my power output, even though my mana manipulation is on point I can''t control my raw power." I sighed accepting the truth. "That''s not all. You haven''t noticed yet but why do you think there haven''t been many mana beasts around this area?" "Cause of your loud snoring!" I smirked before becoming serious; I realised this was no joking matter, "I don''t know." "It''s because of your mana pressure." Chapter 52 - Black Market "You haven''t even noticed but you have been exerting your mana pressure unknowingly. Mana Pressure is a force felt by all living things; it expresses the potency of one''s mana and yours at the moment is rampant. I''m pretty sure it''s because of your demon body but it''s extremely strong. That''s why most B rank and lower beasts have been avoiding this area." Gramps explained. Damn! No wonder it was so hard to hunt beasts these days. They always ran away. "Okay so how do I combat this issue though?" I queried the old geezer. "That''s easy. You need a limiter." "What''s that?" "It''s an artifact that can hide your mana pressure and hold back your power. We''re going to town to buy one; we also need something to suppress that dimon side of you." Gramps smiled. My eyes lit up at hearing the great news. I could finally get away from this hell hole. "Don''t get all excited you have to master this technique fi-"before Gramps could finish I shrouded my body in lightning mana. Gramps stepped back a few steps as the lightning rattled around me. It clearly looked like I was going out of control but it was the opposite. Within a couple seconds I had condensed the rampant mana. [You have successfully learnt the skill ''Mana Skin''] [Your understanding of mana has increased] [Mana skills are 25% easier to learn] It must have been because of my previous life experience but this ''Mana skin'' technique, it was extremely easy to learn; I had known about this skill for a while from the book I read a couple years ago, but I never thought I''d need it so I didn''t learn it. The navy blue aura shrouded my body and slight ripples of lightning cackles sparked out. Gramps was shocked, it was written all over his face. "I knew about this skill before already. Don''t act surprised, it was only a matter of applying what I already knew. Now let''s go to town!" ** Gramps and I strolled through town, both of us wore dark cloaks covering our bodies and faces. It really wasn''t the best idea, the scorching heat really was unbearable and I was struggling to suppress my demon presence; I didn''t want to get stopped by those metropolitan guards or whatever they were called, that would end badly. Raising awareness wasn''t our plan right now. Gramps even made me wear an eye patch to cover up my demon eye. People knew what the red hue resembled and it would get sticky if people found out. "So Gramps, which shop are we going to?" I asked, wiping my forehead with my hand. "Don''t worry and just follow me." The market really was busy even though it was still school time. From rich to poor, everyone was working hard. It was a nice feeling to be back in civilization. Suddenly, a person about my height collided with my left shoulder and fell backwards on the floor. I didn''t see their face and just apologised quickly before carrying on walking. "Ow! Guards catch that peasant beggar!" I heard a voice shriek from behind me. Peasant? Beggar? I shook my head before exchanging looks with Gramps. Nobles. They''d never learn. I looked back at the ''guards'' who ran after me at the order of the young boy, and clicked my fingers; the two guards running towards me collapsed unconscious and dropped to the ground like rag dolls. I could see the shock in the noble kid''s eyes. He was definitely born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Arrogant. "I won''t forget this! My father works in the Bank Of Vrimeon! He''ll have you killed." the young boy shouted before brushing himself off and running in the direction of the bank. He looked 15ish atleast and he was still acting like a spoiled brat, and his father worked in the bank. What was he going to do? Gramps chuckled at the irony, that boy''s father worked at the bank and he was going to complain against the boss! "Can we quickly visit the bank? I need to get rid of the dead beasts in my dimension ring." I spoke. "Are you sure, you''re not just curious how that noble kid will react after he sees you?" Gramps laughed. "Maybe." "Okay then, Just a little amusement shouldn''t hurt, but we have to be quick." Gramps jumped up and onto the roof of a building and started running without looking back. I smiled before following him, bypassers watched as the two of us jumped from building to building. ** The entrance of the bank looked the same and Tybalt came out bowing his head, when Gramps and I took off our hoods. "Welcome back my lord." Tybalt greeted sincerely. Damn, his level had increased again, he was now at level 80. Elves were astonishing. "It''s nice to be back, you can carry on with your work; I''m only here for a short while so I don''t want to cause a commotion." Tybalt nodded respectfully, "Please at Least take one of my guards with you. He''s still a trainee if you don''t mind. He''s part of my family from the Elven Kingdom of Elanor." A young boy looking to be around my age, appeared from behind him with nervous eyes and bowed before standing straight. He had the same golden hair and blue eyes, but he was leaner and shorter. He was at least 5''6. Tybalt must have wanted the young boy to talk to someone near his age, since all the people working at the bank were way older than him. I smiled, "Sure. Lead the way." Tybalt smiled back at me, showing gratitude and the nervous young elf rushed ahead of Gramps and I, "This way sirs." the young elf said while guiding us to the stairs. "What''s your name?" I asked calmly, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. "Ah, my name is A-Allefin. I''m from the house of Aragorn in the Elanor Kingdom." he stuttered a little before introducing himself. "So Allefin, what made you want to work at the bank?" Gramps asked this time. "I was always cooped up at home, protected by guards, so I decided to do what my brother did and followed him here. Leaving home to gather experience in the human kingdom is always encouraged, so here I am. " Brother? Did he mean Tybalt? "So your brother is Tybalt?" I asked. "Yes sir." "So what rank is your family in the Elanor Kingdom?" Gramps questioned. "We''re in the lower upper rank, that''s why many elven guards were sent to protect my brother and I. Many of the security forces of this bank are our guards." Gramps nodded at the answer and his expression seemed firm. I knew what he was thinking. I read it in the book about the kingdoms. The Elven Kingdom of Elanor was the second most advanced kingdom in terms of technology after the Vrimeon Kingdom. Elves had massive mana reserves and most were caster mages, so they were formidable in the usage of mana. Their society was split into upper, middle and lower ranks, and those ranks were also split into upper and lower sub categories. So Allefin''s house (or family name) being lower upper rank was a huge feat. Therefore, Allefin''s and Tybalt''s family were quite respected. If anything happened to them, it could complicate things. Maybe that''s why Gramps was a bit serious but it didn''t matter; I''d protect all my workers. "We''re here now, I''m not allowed to go any further. Take care, oh sorry I forgot to ask but what''s your name young master?" Allefin asked, smiling. "It''s Zeref Amara and you can drop the honorifics. We''re the same age." I saw a gleam in his eyes at my words but I ignored the young elf''s gaze and entered the third floor. The third floor of the bank was where my central office was situated along with where my assistant worked. There were of course highly intellectual workers here too. "Long time no see Miss Rose." I said, shining her a gummy smile. "Young master, it''s been quite some time. It''s nice to see you again. You''ve grown again in such a short time. I must tell you though, a lot of paperwork is waiting for your attention at your office; Sometimes it feels like I''m the owner of the bank and not you. I''ve been working so hard to fill in for your absence." Miss Rose rolled her eyes. She was an extremely trustworthy woman, that''s why I promoted her as my assistant. "Sorry about that, I''ll definitely repay your hard work soon. Anyhow, I need access to the black market again." "Mmh, I understand. I''ll tell George to activate the portal." Miss Rose said before leaving the office and entering a different room. A few minutes later she arrived with a small button in her hand. She pressed the button and a blue portal appeared in front of us. We exchanged brief nods before Gramps and I hopped into the portal. [You have entered a Blue portal] ** The other side appeared, Gramps walked out first and I followed. The place we were in was the underground of the Vrimeon Kingdom. This was where all the illegal commerce occured from hiring assassins to selling beasts, which we were here for. "Kill 2 people for the price of 1, flash sale!" a man in dirty clothing shouted. "Selling Weremen blood from prices as cheap as 700 gold coins!" another fiend shouted, This place was not attractive to the eyes in the least, the buildings were run down and the artificial sky was a cloudy gloom. It reminded me of a dystopian city I had visited in my previous life. The inhabitants here were worse, some hadn''t even heard of what showering was, most had crooked teeth and warts all over their faces. After a short time we arrived. "Mister Amara, please this way." A dwarf spoke, dropping his cigarette on the ground then guiding us into the dusty shop, "So what can I help you with today?" "I''m here to sell some beasts." I said in a poker face. "Of course. Please touch your dimension ring with that ball there. All beasts will be extracted and valued." the dwarf stood on a stool behind the counter and pointed at a crystal ball. I did as the dwarf said and touched my S grade dimension ring against the ball. "OOooh! What a harvest! 1 S grade Beast, 26 A grade beasts, 32 B rank beasts, 16 C rank beasts." I nodded at the statement. Gramps scoffed, folding his arms. He was clearly bored and wanted me to finish this quickly. "That will be 2300 platinum coins." the dwarf said. "That''s too low." Gramps intervened before I could open my mouth. "B-but 2300 Platinum coins. Do you know the value of these coins?!" the dwarf retorted. "I could buy your shop and this market tenfold. So shut up and pay at least 3000 platinum coins, or we''re going to the shop across the street." I threatened with my poker face, I would not lose when it came down to business. The dwarf''s face twisted into an angry mess, but it paled and relaxed again after I released a little of my demonic aura. "Okay I''ll pay you 3000 platinum coins." the dwarf showed a saddened expression before dropping a sac of coins on the counter. We made the exchange and the sac of gold was transported to my dimension ring. *Note: 1 Platinum coin is equivalent to $10,000* "One more thing, do you have any limiters or power dampeners available?" I asked. "What kind?" "Something that can hide my demon aura and mana presence." The ugly dwarf looked deep in thought before he spoke, "I think I have something for you. A new power dampener came in a couple days ago. It''s also an eye patch, as that''s your style. What are the chances?" He disappeared before appearing again in a puff of smoke. A delicate dark box was held in his hands, "This was stolen directly from the demon kingdom. Try it on." I opened the box and took off my bandage eye patch and the dwarf gulped at my red eye. I released my pressure after a long time of focusing and it felt like a burden lifted off my shoulders. The atmosphere became heavy with dense mana and the dwarf struggled to stay standing. Now for the moment of truth. I put on the power dampener, limiter. It was a regular black eye patch, however it had some sort of symbol or crest at that centre; I didn''t know if it was the crest of a demon''s. I just didn''t care. [A power dampener has been activated] [Mana presence will be limited] [Demon Aura will be silenced] Perfect! The atmosphere stopped shaking right after these notifications popped up. Just what I needed. "How much?" I asked putting my poker face back on. A gleam of mischief showed in the dwarf''s eyes, "2000 platinum coins." Was he crazy? "Don''t be daft. 1000 platinum coins at most." "That''s too low. 2500 platinum coins." he retorted. I picked up bargaining in my old world, it was an important life skill. The aim was to bring the price down as much as possible. I treated it as a game. Business, commerce, it was all a game. "1700 platinum coins and I''ll spare your life." I decided to be a little dirty and activated ''almighty presence'', the dwarf kneeled in front of me under the heavy pressure, his face twisted in a red anger and hatred, not even fear; that was new. "D-Deal." When the deal was done, I dropped the sac of coins on the counter and Gramps and I exited. Now it was time to get back to my dull life of training. 3 more weeks. Chapter 53 - Fight Your Desires "Last lesson of your training period, Zeref." Gramps smiled at me, whacking my back. Our training period was really coming to an end. I had come so far in terms of agility, mana malleability, confidence and strength in these couple of months. I couldn''t deny my heart beat rising at the mention of the training ending. I''d have to start a new year at school and the thought of the night I left still made me feel sick. I would have to confront Malia and everyone. "What are we doing today?" I queried as I followed him while he led me through the trees and back towards our tent. "Training your desire. All you have to do is stand in front of this magic lake and stare at the waterfall for a few hours while pouring all of your mana into your hands." We stopped, standing in front of the lake. "What? I don''t follow." I peered at him, confused. "Okay, so levitate using your gravity magic and keep your left hand shrouded in ice while your right hand shrouded in fire." I did as I was told, levitating 3ft into the air. I flicked my wrist and like claws, icicles extended from my fingertips rapidly, sharpening until the tip could cut through flesh. My right hand lit up with flame mana and I was ready to go. "Now just stare." he said, walking away. I gave him a confused look before following his peculiar instructions, staring at the waterfall flowing down in front of me. "And remember, stay focused!" he yelled from the distance as his footsteps faded. This was the weirdest thing he had me do by far, but nevertheless, I followed the instructions. ** It had been half an hour and I was starting to feel confidence swell up inside me. This was easy! Suddenly, a flash of light zoomed across my line of vision. I should have never thought that. The flash stopped but another one zoomed underwater in the shape of a girl. I squinted my eyes, knowing the sirens were finally starting to acknowledge my presence. "James Lance. My king! Forgive me." a crying voice echoed in the air but the voice was too familiar. General Sanders? Her voice was weak and sorrowful. "Please forgive me James! Please spare me!" she screamed, making my ears ring. I knew she wasn''t real. This was my last test. The test of my will and self-control. I kept my body stiff, keeping my focus on balancing my mana and staring ahead of me. NO!!! Ignore the siren. Ignore the siren. Ignore th- "My life is in your hands! Spare me my King!" General Sanders ran out from behind the waterfall, her hair matted in blood as she kneeled in front of me. "Shush you ugly chameleon, reptile siren thingy." I jumbled out, not finding the right words to describe her with the amount of disgust I was feeling. I inhaled and exhaled a few frustrated puffs of air, struggling to keep focus and not behead her. She still had that same walk. That SAME. FRICKING. WALK. The one that tempted me to break all her bones and rip out her hips. I wanted to rip her into shreds, take chunks of her flesh and force feed it to her. That student''s death will never leave my memory and when I do become monarch, you can bet I''ll find her and make her life worse than hell. Her face twisted into a horrid pout making me nearly throw up and gag out all my organs. She fell face first into the lagoon, her body stiff as a board when she hit the water. My whole body relaxed at the mental fight I was struggling to win after seeing such a strong desire I longed for. I braced myself, knowing it would get worse. I looked up at the waterfall to see dad staring at me with a goofy smile. The focus on my mana slipped but I held myself in control, fixing my posture as it circled me in big whirls. Dad stared back at me with his stubble beard. A few fresh wrinkle lines sat on his forehead but he still looked the same. "You have NO right to pose as my dad!" I glared with wide beaming eyes. My voice raised and the mana around me vibrated. Tears welled at my waterline but I didn''t falter the focus on my power. These sirens were heartless creatures; fishing out your darkest desires and displaying them to you. Even the ones that''d hurt you the most. The siren morphed into its original form, shrieking like a banshee. Dad''s skin fell off like a strip of dried glue. It knew I wasn''t going to enter the water and it was frustrated at my stubbornness. She jumped at me but I didn''t move. Her claws extended but when they reached inches away from my face, an invisible barrier bounced her back into the water, injuring her scaly skin. "Hah! You tried!" I tried to entertain myself but my mind kept forcing me to dwell on dad. Chapter 54 - Unknown Desire A girl stood at the entrance of the monarchs'' cave, her back turned towards me. A special aura surrounded her, almost like the beauty surrounding her was bold in my eyes. She was a kid my age but she stood tall, around 5ft 7 or 5ft 8. Her hair curled like big springs behind her. The light brown highlights enlightened the chocolaty brown illusion her silky hair provided. Her skin was smooth like honey and rich. I knew exactly who she was as my heart silenced at her presence. "Malia." I whispered, my eyebrows furrowing. What do my desires have to do with her? I guess the sirens have been digging into my subconscious desires. She turned, the light hitting her face at a perfect angle, making her cheekbones and jaw glow like gold. She gazed into my eyes, the slight pink tint to her chubby cheeks reddened into a blush. My focus faltered as I pushed my mana to the back of my head, too lost in her eyes to focus properly. "Zeref" she called out to me, smiling, her eyes barely showing because of her big cheeks. For some reason, my heart started to go crazy, beating random rhythms in my ear. I hadn''t seen her in so long. Maybe my desire was that I wanted to see her. I did miss her. My hypothesis was soon proven wrong by the words coming out of her mouth. "Zeref, I love you." this time she smiled with all her teeth, showing off her cute gummy smile. She held out her arms for a hug, reaching out to me. My eyes widened and all the focus I had dissipated. My deepest desire? "Zeref?" she tilted her head, waiting for a hug. Malia would never say that! I tried to snap out of it but her eyes were fixated on me and it was like my breathing was restricted. Another siren walked out from behind Malia, shapeshifted into a person I never thought I''d see again. In her tattered, bloody wedding dress, stood Nina. Her hair was the same as I remembered and her skin shimmered under the light. "James, I do." she smiled, holding Malia''s shoulder and flashing me a smile. They both stood close, arms around each other. "I do." she said again. "Stop" my voice was weak in shock and barely came out in a whimper. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I held my breath. It didn''t matter that this siren wasn''t Nina. The pain stabbed me everywhere, penetrating into my skin. I fell to my knees, choking out loud sobs. My head hung low as I cried, louder than I ever had. I let out a painful, frustrated scream; it shook my whole body, sending shivers into every joint. She never got to say it. They attacked before she could. The mana in my hands dissipated at my unstable condition. SHE NEVER SAID IT! ** It was just before the attack. The priest stood next to me. "Treat her well King James." Riya glared at me while I fixed my suit, waiting for her to walk down the aisle. "Of course I will. As soon as she says the two words, she will be my queen. I''ve been dreaming of her lips mouthing those words." I said dreamily, waiting at the door. I was so excited, I completely ignored the unsettling feeling in the back of my head. I should have listened to it. I could have saved my Nina. My senses warned me of the terrible events to come, but I ignored them. "Hurt her and I''ll murder you." Riya rolled her eyes, sitting back on her seat on the front row. I winked at her, smirking. I loved teasing mother Riya. ** "I''m sorry, Nina, I''m so so sorry" my head started to spin as I stayed on my knees, my mind returned to the current world. "Zeref, don''t cry." Malia fell onto her knees, on my level. I looked at her as she kneeled across me on the other side of the lake in front of the cave. My heart tugged when I looked at her but knowing Nina was next to her dissolved me. I couldn''t move on. I couldn''t. The confusion made me cry harder yet this time I made no noise. It was too painful to make noise. "AGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I yelled, my heart filling with regret. "GO AWAY!" I screamed at both of the sirens as they smirked at my misery. My eyes were swollen and red as the veins near my temples became apparent at my screams. Nina exploded, her flesh flying everywhere. The sick smell of dead fish flew up my nose. The siren''s organs were like slush, before slowly splashing into the lagoon. The other siren looked mortified at my strong use of gravity magic. I looked at Malia''s face and her big eyes glazed in tears at me. How come I wanted both to die yet only the Nina siren exploded? "Stop using Malia''s face to manipulate me." I gritted out, flash stepping across the water. My feet were so fast; I lightly ran across the surface of the water like a skipping pebble. I reached the cave entrance and before the siren could pounce, I held her neck in my hand, crushing her neck. The siren choked. I glared at my hand around Malia''s neck, watching as her eyes rolled back from the lack of air. At first, the screams sounded like Malia''s but after I squeezed harder, the siren''s deafening screams filled the air. It force shifted back into a siren, Malia''s innocent face disappearing and being replaced by a monstrous creature. I clenched my fingers until I heard a satisfying crack before throwing its dead body back into the lake. The rest of the sirens shrieked, making me grasp my ears, they attacked from each side. Using Seikuken, I avoided their attacks from each side and grabbed each of their heads one by one and crushing them using brute force. Blood splattered over my face and body but I didn''t care. I just wanted to relieve this feeling. Seeing Nina brought back a distant pain I tried to push back. "Zeref! Stop now!" Gramps shouted, as he came running out from the dense forest. I looked back at Gramps before crushing the last Siren''s head with my hand. I walked across the surface of the water, a pathway of ice being created as I walked. The devilish screams of the sirens finally dissipated. "Z-Zeref, what did you see?" Gramps asked as he stared at my expressionless face. I sat down on the floor, staring back at the lake. "My dead fianc." Chapter 55 - New Year New Me My training had finally ended; I ran past the huge front garden of our mansion and into the house, Gramps close behind me. Swinging the doors open with force, I walked in. "MUUUM!" I yelled, making the house shake. I had missed half of the first day of school and gramps had suggested I go straight away, but I wanted to see my mother first. My beautiful mother ran into the room frantically, her eyes zooming everywhere at the sound of my voice. Her eyes landed on me and she stiffened at my new appearance. She was definitely skinnier than the last time I saw her. Her frame was frail and small and her face looked like it had been in a frown for the longest time. Luckily, it looked like she still had some weight on her, as if someone forced her to eat. My eyes watered as I took in her weak appearance. I finally realised how selfish I was, running away without telling her. I was still used to the independence of a King. I wasn''t used to consulting a parent before making a decision because I never had one. I was so inconsiderate, leaving my mother for half a year to train without a goodbye. "Zeref?" her voice was croaky and she seemed shocked to see my appearance. Gramps stood next to me, lightly nudging me to respond as I was also surprised. I hesitantly stepped forward a few steps before running into mum''s arms. "I am so sorry!" I cried into her shoulder. I was taller than her now, towering over her. She stroked my back, crying into my chest. "My boy." she cried out.. "I''m never leaving again. I swear, I''ll always tell you. Everything." I squeezed her in my arms slightly, not wanting to let go. "You fool! Do you know how worried I was?! Do you know how much we all suffered because of your foolish actions?" mother wept, with a hint of rage in her voice. She really must have been in so much pain. "Ciara and Johan showed up at the house a few weeks after you had ran. They told me you had gone with Gramps therefore I didn''t worry too much. But you should tell me!" "I know, mother. I''ll never do this again without consulting with you." Gramps stood near us, watching the reunion. "You better, and What''s with that eye patch? What''s happened to you? My son''s become a delinquent." she looked at my eye patch then wept more. "Mu-Mum, I got into an incident, it''s hard to explain. I''ll make sure to explain everything when I return from school." I explained before letting her go from my grasp. "No, you can miss school today!" she held onto me tighter and I relaxed into her arms. "I can''t miss the first day. Plus I wanna see everyone." I explained, sighing. She hesitantly nodded and I sped upstairs to get ready. But there was only one issue I grew out of my blazer and my shirt sleeves became too short on me. So I decided to ditch the blazer and rolled up my sleeves instead. I ruffled my dark hair and fitted on my dimension rings. Peering at myself through the mirror, I looked almost like a whole new person. My white shirt fit perfectly with my black tie and dark trousers. Even though the shirt was a bit tight, it outlined my lean muscles underneath. I made my way down and said my goodbyes before leaving. I hopped from building to building, zig zagging across the skyline of the town. It would''ve been easier if I could use a teleportation technique. Maybe I could learn one. ** The school entrance looked as grand as ever. A colossal gate guarded the passage, detailed with intricate designs and a mixture of silver and gold coated it. I leaped up 10 metres or so, over the closed entrance and landed softly; guards surrounded me straight away. "Don''t move an inch. Who are you?" one of them asked, pointing his magic wand at me. All the guards were on high alert; they were all clad in a dark armour, some had swords and others had wands. They were well trained and all at B rank or C rank. "Oh, I''m sorry about that. I''m just really late for school. I kind of slept in." I laughed, rubbing my head, trying to lift the tension. "Do you think we''d believe that? Who do you take us for? You''re not even wearing the school blazer." I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed. "I''m Zeref Amara." I sighed, controlling myself. The men backed off, knowing my name. "How do we know it''s you? You imposter." one of them said, pointing a spear at my face. I laughed for a couple seconds before making them all kneel in front of me with gravity magic. "Do I still need to explain who I am?" I crouched down to the lead guard''s level and scoffed before relieving the pressure. "We-We''re sorry, Mr Amara. Have a great day!" The leader straightened himself then bowed respectfully and the others copied him. I walked past them, not acknowledging their words. ** It looked to be lunchtime and I walked around the building to the canteen. When I had arrived through the crowds of gawking students, I scanned around but I didn''t find Malia or Jace at our normal table. "Hey, have you seen Malia, Malia Stronghold?" I asked a random younger student, slightly bending down to her height. She gazed up at me, blushing. "Y-Yeah, she is out on the benches behind the school building." She pointed me in the direction. I flashed her a smile as her friends nudged her slightly, squealing behind her. I put my hands into my pockets and strolled out towards the benches outside. The canteen seemed smaller. Was it always this small? On my way there, people stared at me with shock filled eyes, some whispering and some just staring. I ignored them as they moved out of my way, creating a clearing for me, like I was an idol or something. "Stop right there pretty boy!" I heard a voice call me from behind. I sighed, before stopping reluctantly. "What year are you in and don''t you know we run this area. Pay up or else you ain''t going nowhere." a group of boys, maybe around the age of 15 or so stopped me. So the school was split into areas now? Were we pretending to play Gangster? Should I play too? I smiled lightly. "I''m sorry to bother you, will you let me pass please?" I spoke politely. "Hahaaahaha! What you think this is? Pay up or else you''ll feel pain." their boss, a boy with green hair, spoke. He had 2 A grade swords by his side and stood confidently. Oooo, nice. "Please, I don''t want to cause a commotion." As I said that, the leader grabbed my shoulder. I smiled before reciprocating and grabbing his shoulder. His grip loosened as he knelt in front of me. "Wh-What power." "Let''s not complicate things. I''m just trying to get to my friends, thank you for understanding." I said politely and continued past the delinquent older boys, towards where Malia and the others were supposedly based. The other boys were going to attack but the leader stood up gesturing to not attack. He grimaced while holding his shoulder. I probably broke his clavicle bone. I stopped in my tracks when a girl was thrown at my feet, crying her eyes out. How many obstacles were going to appear?! I peered down at her with annoyed eyes, before looking at the crowd, looking for the person who pushed her. The crowd looked around, also trying to find who had pushed her. Nobody owned up so I clenched my jaw, sighing. I held my hand out for her to take and she gratefully took it. The girl looked up at me and that''s when I realised who it was. It was Sara with a scared look on her face. "Get back h-" a girl said spitefully, pushing through the crowd. She stopped in shock when she saw my deathly glare and retreated. "Zeref?" Sara''s eyes watered. "Sara." I nodded at her. The crowd''s eyes went back and forth, observing our interaction. I looked at her shaking figure holding onto me and back at the bully who pushed her, raising my eyebrow for an explanation. "She bullies me." Sara whispered, scratching her head at the uncomfortable meeting. I nodded. Sara hadn''t changed a lot personality wise and still looked quite the same when it came to appearance. Her black ears were still cute and she still wore the same foxy eyeliner. Her hair was styled the same but her jaw became more defined. She was taller. Maybe 5ft 5 ish? She wore dark fishnet tights and her skirt came up to her mid thigh, held up by a metal chain belt. "Where is Naz?" I asked, making her let go. I started walking and the crowd made way for me while Sara struggled to catch up to me. She awkwardly half walked and half jogged beside me as my strides were longer than hers. "She hangs out with Malia and Jace." she scoffed, clearly annoyed. "You guys are still fighting?" Sara nodded, fiddling with her sleeve. "I''m glad you''re back Zeref." she admitted. I looked down at her as she blushed profusely. I continued walking, taking longer strides until she was running to catch up to me. I pushed the door open, making it to the back of the building. It was empty outside with no people in sight. I scanned my eyes across the place and from afar, I spotted a small bench with two figures sitting and one doing a weird dance. I was about to walk towards them when Sara grabbed my arm, pouting. "What?" I looked back at her. "Don''t leave me alone." a lone tear rolled down her cheek. I moved my arm out of her grip and placed them back into my pockets, feeling disgusted at her dramatic whimper. "Stop being childish and just come with me." I walked towards the bench not looking back if she had decided to follow me or leave. The first one to spot me was Jace who was standing in front of Naz and Malia, dancing while Naz snorted and Malia chuckled. He looked up at hearing the approaching footsteps and froze momentarily, with his mouth wide open Chapter 56 - Clearing The Fog "ZEREF!" Jace yelled, running up to me and flooring me to the ground with a large hug. I laughed as he got off me. "Jace!" I bro-hugged him again. Sara walked up to us, standing next to me awkwardly. We both stood up and I faced the bench. Naz came running up to me next, swinging her arms around my neck and pulling me down to her height. "Zeref! It''s really you!" her eyes widened, staring at my face and more specifically at my eyepatch. "Nice to see you guys again." I pulled myself away from Naz while ruffling up her blonde hair. It had become more wavy and I noticed that her hair came down to just below her rib. She rolled her eyes laughing. Hesitantly, I paused, looking up at Malia. She stared at me from a distance, surprised at my appearance. We all fell to a silence, realising the eye contact I had made with Malia. Surprisingly, her hair was up in a loose bun, strings of hair falling onto the sides of her face. She wore a large grey zip up hood over her uniform and light mascara. Her freckles were apparent under her eyes and her cheeks weren''t as chubby as last year. Although, she still wore the same silver rings and her nose was still small and button-like. I sped towards her, crushing her in a hug while inhaling her sweet scent. Letting out a muffled whelp, she tried to pull away before relaxing into my arms. I was a head taller than her, making it easy for me to lean my chin on her head. "I''m sorry Zeref." she wrapped her arms around my waist and for a moment, I felt like it was just us. My face felt warm as I stayed quiet for a second. "Likewise." I hesitantly returned. She pulled herself out of my arms, smirking at me. "You look nice." she complimented as I scoffed, brushing my shoulders as if to flex. Naz came up from behind me, poking and punching my biceps. "Damn! They''re real!" she squealed girlishly. I flexed them, smiling at her childish behaviour. Sara walked up to me, stroking my biceps too. "Cool!" she smiled enthusiastically. I flinched at her touch and moved away from both of them. "Yeah." Naz avoided looking in Sara''s direction and spoke bluntly, taking a step away from her with an awkward half smile with her lips in a line. Malia also stopped laughing as Jace sneaked behind Naz, taking her lunch. "What do you think you''re doing?!" Naz yelled before chasing him, "Come back here Stinkend!" "Shut up, you cave troll!" Jace smirked before running off with her lunch, "Aaarghh! She''s chasing me. She''s chasing me!" The remaining 3 of us laughed as Jace lit up the atmosphere with his foolishness. I missed this nostalgic feeling, I was grateful that the gang was back together again; it felt surreal. Suddenly, I felt a tug at my arm. I peered down to see Sara. "Let''s go Zeref" she pouted, sighing. I gave her a confused look before pulling my hand out of her grip for God knows what the 7th time. Why was she so touchy?! She looked shocked and a hint of anger started to rise in her eyes. "Stop being petty Sara. we forgive you." Malia smirked, biting into her red apple with a satisfying crunch. ** -Malia''s POV- ''Noooo! Why are you forgiving her? Put her in her f*cking place!'' Nina scolded me in my head but I ignored her, rolling my eyes. Sara''s face twisted into an angry cat. "ME?! PETTY?!" she stepped forward, trying to intimidate me. I chuckled, nodding my head at her. She gasped, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her eyeliner mingled with her crystal tears, turning them black as black tear marks appeared down her face. "Oh my god." Naz came to stand next to me with her hair messy and half a sandwich in her hand. "Sara. Really? You better shut your mouth or the next thing coming out of it will be your teeth." she raised her eyebrows, taking a step forward. "Threats only work on someone who has something to lose." Sara shot back. This shocked Naz as she staggered back. "But you do have something to lose. Your teeth." Jace humoured, laughing at his own joke while nudging me to laugh along too. I chuckled slightly when out of nowhere, Sara stormed right up to my face, inches away from me. She tiptoed, meeting my eyes, screaming in my face as if it would automatically make me cower. I scoffed, trying not to laugh as I looked at Jace. He held his mouth, laughing as quietly as he could. I knew better than to look at Naz as she disappeared behind me. All I could hear was cackling in the back along with Zeref who was wheezing. There was a lot of slapping behind me as well, along with aggressive laughs. "Clearly shutting up doesn''t exist in your dictionary." I bit my lip, holding in my laugh. A lot had happened since Zeref had left. Sara had become so consumed into who was right and soon transformed into a whole new person. She made it her mission to turn everyone against me and when it didn''t go as planned, she became more eager to hurt me. I let it slide, feeling like her mean pranks were karma. She would do small things like pour water over me or rip up my books and I held back, not wanting to hurt her. It was okay though. I had nothing against her; I didn''t get injured because I would heal straight away due to my spirit wolf''s power. ''The only thing injured was our pride.'' Nina said in an annoyed tone. Naz couldn''t stand back and watch so she finally sided with Jace and I, which made Sara even angrier. "You''re so fake." Jace Said, standing next to Zeref. Zeref looked between us, confused but he luckily stayed silent. He grabbed the apple from my hand and bit into it while walking to the bench behind us. I couldn''t help but smile to myself. Zeref was back. He sat on the bench, watching the drama unfold. I glared at her, already fed up with her constant need to start drama. She swung at me and I dodged easily. Naz gasped, grabbing Sara''s wrist with ease and glaring at her. "Stop." Sara whimpered, her ears flat on her head. We stared at her blankly, waiting for her to try and fight us like she normally did but surprisingly she ran away, accidentally flashing us with how short her skirt was. "I''ve been blinded!" Jace rubbed his eyes, as Naz burst out laughing. I shook my head at them, sitting next to Zeref. ** "So I''ve been training this whole time." Zeref finished his story, playing with the rings on my fingers. "I still can''t believe you''re the lightning contestant. I thought all that was a myth." Naz''s jaw was on the floor as she gawked at Zeref. "And I still can''t believe YOU both KNEW and didn''t tell me!" she slapped Jace''s shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Ow! Sorry, it wasn''t our place to tell you." Jace grunted, rubbing his shoulder. "So what now Zeref? What''s gonna happen?" I sighed, looking at his pondering state. He looked down at my rings, tracing the patterns carved into the metal. "I don''t know. I think I will finish school and keep levelling up. It will help me when the tournaments become more serious." he looked up at us, finally dropping my hands next to me. "But for now, I wanna get stronger. I''m glad there are no more secrets between us." he smiled, relieved. My heart stopped at the mention of secrets. Should I tell them? ''No! Malia, you don''t even know how to control your spirit wolf yet and you want to tell them?!'' Nina warned in my head. I wanted to tell them but in the end, I decided against it. I will tell them soon. "What about that eye patch?" Jace asked and all of us immediately looked at the odd thing. "Uh- this. Don''t worry about it." he replied before getting up from his seat and speeding into the building while pulling Jace along with him. "WAAAAAARGHHH!" Jace let out a scream as Zeref super sped across the school grounds. Naz sighed, also standing up. "They always seem to forget that I am in their class!" she rolled her eyes as I giggled. "Boys. I swear one day I am going to strangle that Stinkend. Like I am gonna crush his windpipe and cackle as his eyes roll back and he chokes from the lack of oxygen until he dies-" "I get it." I laughed. She laughed too; thick, black mist rolled around her feet in big wreaths, which gradually, as they started to crawl up her body, surrounded her body. The thick cloud around her dissipated, leaving nothing left except the traces of her mana signatures. She teleported. ''The smell of demon is oozing all over him.'' Nina scoffed. ''Mmh.'' I agreed with her. Although he covered his mana signatures and demon aura somehow, I could faintly smell it. Something happened to him in the past couple of months. ''He will tell us when he is ready.'' I sighed, also getting up from the bench. ''MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Or you could expose his secret to the whole school and rip off that stupid tacky eyepatch and-'' ''Shush.'' I turned off Nina''s voice in my head as I felt her retreat to the back of my mind. Chapter 57 - Dinner Party We returned home together, even Jace and Naz came for dinner. Only Sara wasn''t invited. The atmosphere was lively as a party was imminent. "Welcome back kids!" mother came out of the kitchen and gave me a huge hug before letting go and spudding Malia and the others. I taught her that. She made sure we all washed our hands from dirt, then we sat together in the huge living room. "Dayuum Zeref!" Jace shrieked overzealously as he looked around at the huge mansion. That reminded me, this was his first time here, "You''ve been living in this place without me. I thought we were friends. I heard even Malia is living with you." Jace joked around. I had never asked about Jace''s financial situation. I felt like a pr*ck. "You can live here too, my home is your home, what''s mine is sometimes yours." I swung my arm around his neck playfully. "Are you sure?" "Don''t be a daft man. You can sleep in my room. There''s enough space for even 3 more Jaces." I laughed. He laughed too, until Naz broke us up, "So Zeref, where''d you go off to after you left us. I''m sure we''re all wondering and what is that eye patch for?" Wow. Straight to the point as usual. "I went to train with Grandpa Zeref for a while and this eye patch, I got a scar on unfortunately during training, so I''m wearing the eye patch to cover it up." I lied. Naz scoffed at my answer before getting up and going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. A knock at the door could be heard right after and Malia got up instantly to go and open it. Both Jace and I turned our heads towards the door. "Surprise!!!" a group of people stood at the door, I recognized the familiar faces and a smile showed on my face. Miss Elena, Gramps, Johan and Ciara stood outside the door; Malia gestured for them to come in. "You! Why are you here, you witch! Who invited this fiend?!" Mr Xanxus showed up from the stairs and pointed at Miss Elena. "Shut up! This time I brought the Chess Board. We''re finishing what we started!" Miss Elena said energetically. Both of them rushed towards the dining table and set up their chess game like little kids. That reminded me, I had bought a poker set during my visit to the market with Gramps; we could play that too. Gramps greeted everybody before sitting down with us. "So, who wants to play Poker?" Gramps''s eyes gleamed at the word ''poker''. That professional gambler, he knew he was going to win anyways. I had only won twice against him, the scores were 36-2. Poor gameplay from me. "Poker? I''ll play." Mike came downstairs rubbing his hair with his blue towel. He gave me a dirty look before sitting down at the table. "Sure. Let''s play, you guys better be ready I''m gonna make you guys go bankrupt!" Jace laughed pulling me up from the sofa. Naz, Ciara and Johan all declined and decided to just watch instead, so the players were me, Jace, Gramps, Malia and Mike. We all moved to a Cherrywood round table that appeared from my dimension ring. The poker set sat on top, enticing us to play. ** Damn! My hand was amazing. I don''t know why my luck was so good this round; I tried to hide my excitement. I looked around at everyone''s faces. Jace went all in in the first round like a fool and lost all his money. Gramps was the richest right now, followed by Mike, Me and Malia. If I could win this round, I would be able to turn the tides and take the chips. Of course, the Poker we were playing was a baby game compared to real poker. I stared at my cards then stared at my opponents faces. Gramps and Mike were formidable, I couldn''t tell if they had good hands or not, I couldn''t read their faces. On the other hand, Malia had the worst face. "I''m folding." Malia sighed before placing her cards on the table. "Cat got your cards lil sis, quitting after betting half your chips." Mike mocked. "That was the deadest joke I''ve ever heard." Malia laughed. "Just like your useless life." Naz added, sneering at Mike before spudding Malia. "Okay, okay kiddos quiet down. We''re still in a game here." Gramps said seriously, eyeing Mike and I down. "I''m betting two more chips." I said as I added 2 from my pile, the both of them reciprocated. There was a huge sum to win this round. There looked to be around a sum of 40-ish chips, with this I could take the lead. "Is everyone done betting?" Gramps, who played the dealer, asked. Both Mike and I nodded; the last bet was over and we showed our cards. "No way a royal flush!" Mike exclaimed as he saw me place down my cards. Gramps sighed, "I win again." "What do you me-" Mike couldn''t finish. We all stared at the combinations of Gramps''s cards, he had a royal flush like me, plus he had a pair. Damn! Gramps smiled suspiciously before hugging all the chips at the centre. Something was telling me, this man was cheating. "Okay! Dinner is ready! Everyone at the dinner table." Mother ordered. We left the poker set and table there before heading to the dining room. "I win again! You bald assassin bimbo! Hahaha!" Everyone turned their heads at Miss Elena''s loud triumphant shout, "Sorry." She apologised looking at us. "Better luck next time Jace." Malia laughed looking back at Jace. "I don''t know why you''re laughing, you folded two consecutive rounds!" Jace argued back. "I had a bad hand, at least I didn''t bet all my chips in the first game like an idiot." Malia mocked. "B-But Naz told me that''s how you play the game." Jace tried to justify his stupid play. Naz giggled from behind. "And you believed her?" I laughed. Malia sighed, shaking her head at him while Naz laughed with me. "Idiot." she teased, nudging Jace''s arm which he shrugged off, annoyed. We all sat down at the dinner table and admired the countless dishes available. The fresh aroma of roasted chicken and lamb swifted in the air, making me drool. Everything was freshly made; there were loafs of bread, succulent chicken strips and even scrambled eggs - which I had to avoid unfortunately. Everyone started to help themselves, passing the food around like parcels. The food was simply unfathomably amazing. The lamb stew melted on my tongue, and travelled down my oesophagus, enlightening me with a buzzing sensation. The acute combination of spices and herbs especially on the chicken wings made the flavour an intense roller coaster. "Zeref, I''m never leaving this house. This food is heavenly!" Jace said before gulping down a whole lamb chop. "So Zeref, how did that training of yours go? Did you learn any new skills?" Johan was the first to open up the conversation. "Yeah it went well. Of course Gramps helped me, so my training went better than expected." I replied before taking in a mouthful of chicken. Gramps gave a Santa laugh in response. "Zeref, me and the rest of the group were wondering since we missed your birthday, we should all go out on the weekend." Jace spoke with a stuffed mouth. Naz elbowed him in disgust at his poor table manners. "I don''t mind going." Mr Xanxus spoke. Who invited him? We didn''t even decide where to go. "A new amusement park opened up near the outskirts of town, the alchemy company made new rides powered by mana. What do you guys think?" Ciara asked. "That sounds alright." I replied. Gramps and mother nodded in unison at my approval, showing that they agreed. "So everyone can go. That''s good." I announced. "Actually I got plans on that day, so I can''t come." Mike said quickly. "One less cry baby, fine by me." Malia mocked her older brother. "What did you say?" Another argument sparked and we all laughed as their petty sibling fight escalated into a food fight. "Food Fight!!!" Jace screamed as he threw food at Miss Elena''s face. She smirked and wiped her face clean with a handkerchief, before grabbing the roast turkey and smashing the plate on Mr Xanxus''s face. I laughed as I looked at Mr Xanxus''s ''What did I do?'' face. The food fight only begun and soon the whole room was becoming a mess, chicken and bits of food were all over the tables, chairs and even the walls. Johan, Ciara also joined in, even Gramps; he took it to a next level throwing dumpling rounds like a light machine gun. Dududududu! We took cover behind our chairs. Then a sharp mana presence enveloped the atmosphere and we all looked at the body emitting it. Mother was the only one not joining in. Her hair rose up and I swear I could see her eyes go a full shade of white. Damnn! She was scary! "All of you, clean this up now!!! No one''s leaving until this place is cleaned!" she shouted. Me and Jace exchanged scared looks. Everyone gulped before starting the clean up of the mess. This was going to be a long and fun night... Chapter 58 - Amusement Park "Zeref!" Johan and Ciara were the next to arrive after us. Mother, Malia and I, including Jace were the first to arrive outside the gates to the amusement park. Mike refused to go because he hated heights. I didn''t know what to expect so excitement rushed through me; I had never been to one of these places before. "Woah. You look nice." Malia exclaimed as she looked Ciara''s outfit up and down. Ciara wore a short light green summer jumpsuit with small white flowers and brown sandals. Malia, on the other hand, wore casual grey joggers paired with a black cropped vest. On top, she wore a thin, oversized white and black checkered open front, button up shirt. Her hair was put into a ponytail, showing off her collarbone and a silver chain hung loosely around her neck. "You too, you look amazing! Oh look, they''ve arrived too." Ciara pointed on the other side of the street. Dozens of people were moving around the streets, some buying tickets and others getting food. Miss Elena and the others, including Sara, waved at us and we all waved back. "Ugh, why is she here?" Ciara said in an annoyed tone. I elbowed her, as mother almost heard what she had said. Naz ran up to Malia, leaping into her arms. Surprisingly, Malia kept her balance, catching her and spinning Naz around before putting her down. I noticed the noticeable hurt on Sara''s face as she watched them. Naz squealed in excitement, holding both of Malia''s hands and jumping up and down. Ciara giggled before side hugging her. "You look amazing!" Ciara smiled, looking at Naz''s tight black leggings and loose white vest with a vaguely visible sports bra underneath. Malia slapped Naz''s ass, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows. Naz gasped, whacking Malia''s arm. I laughed, looking at Jace to see him blankly looking at the interaction. I tried to connect to who he was looking at but it was unclear. Hesitantly, I waved my hand in front of him, snapping him out of his daydream. Sara jogged towards us, trying to smile but I knew deep down she was upset about how close Naz and Malia had gotten. "Hi." she said quietly, half smiling. "Happy late birthday Zeref!" she tried to sound happy for me but I could hear the clear hurt in her voice. She hesitantly looked at Naz and they both stared at each other. We fell into silence. Naz held Malia''s wrist, clenching her jaw. I could tell that Naz noticed the hurt on Sara''s face. "You look nice." Sara smiled. Naz simply nodded before walking towards Johan and taking Ciara with her. "I love your outfit." Malia said, awkwardly before walking towards Miss Elena and Xanxus. Jace and I exchanged a look before looking back at Sara. She blinked away her tears, quickly wiping them away and sniffing. I was about to comfort her when Jace burst out laughing like an idiot. Glaring at him, I waited for him to finish wheezing. "S-sorry. I can''t-" he wheezed, cradling his stomach as Sara and I stared at him in silence. "I-I''ll go." he laughed some more before his eyes watered and he stumbled away, still laughing. "It''s okay, Sara. I''m sure if you say sorry, things can go back to normal." I awkwardly looked back at her, putting my hand on her shoulder. Her wolf ears fuzzed as she looked up at me. "All I did was defend you. Maybe it was harsh but I was just frustrated. You guys always choose Malia''s side." she sighed, trying not to cry. "Well maybe if you weren''t mean to everybody when I left, you wouldn''t be facing this problem." I said, mentally smacking my head after realising how harsh I sounded. All of a sudden, I felt chills running up my spine and a force pushing upon me. I looked up to see Malia looking straight into my eyes with a poker face while Naz and Ciara were talking next to her. I slowly retracted my hand from Sara''s shoulder, clearing my throat in discomfort. When the group finally got together, we entered the amusement park and went towards the ticket station. "Damn! This line is long! We''re never getting inside." Jace complained. I stared at the long line of people queuing at the ticket station, snaking left and right, it went on for a 100 or so meters. He was right, we''d be here for hours. "There should be a VIP line, we can try to get into that one," Gramps suggested. "Yeah let''s do that." I agreed and everyone nodded. We moved towards the alternate line, which was almost empty. "Excuse me, you''re not permitted to enter this line." A man wearing a dark suit held his hand out in front of me. "What do you mean? We''re willing to pay whatever amount is needed." I said politely. Mother was here and I didn''t want to cause a fuss. "Sorry, may I ask for your name please; just to double check because we weren''t told that this many VIP''s would be coming to the park today." The man stood in our way and flicked through his checklist. "It''s Zeref Amara." Malia spoke for me, stepping up to stand next to me. Everyone continued to chatter behind me and the loud talking from behind me made it hard for me to hear what the guy was saying. "There''s no one on the list with that name, I''m sorry but I''m going to have to ask you to join the other line." He finally stopped flicking and put the checklist under his arm. "What''s your manager''s name?" I asked. "I''m sorry but I can''t disclose that information." He answered strictly. This guy was annoying. "Tell him that the Bank of Vrimeon''s owner is here." I smiled. His eyes narrowed at my words, "Wait here, I''ll tell him now." With that he started walking away. "This is annoying." Jace said my thoughts out loud. "If this works out, we can at least skip that other line." Mr Xanxus tilted his head in the direction of the snaking line. A couple minutes went by and our light chatter was broken up. "Mr Amara! It''s an honour to meet you. I''m gravely sorry for making you and your family wait so much." A bald man in a lab coat bowed his head in front of us, then shook my hands violently. Sweat rolled down his forehead and he frantically wiped it off with his sleeve. He must''ve known who I really was then. Nice. "Likewise." "Please come in, you don''t need a ticket, just show them this," the bald man spoke, as he handed me a black card with the alchemy company''s logo, "Please have fun, try every ride; there''s also a VIP line especially for you, so you can skip the queues." "Thank you Mr" "Ohh, sorry, my name is Mr Hageshi." he replied politely, "One more thing, I''m really sorry to say this, but everyone who enters is not allowed to use mana, so you must wear these dampening bracelets." His eyes gleamed a little before his subordinate came out from behind and handed us the bracelets. I exchanged looks with Gramps before we all put the bracelets on. It was uncomfortable for sure, it automatically tightened around my wrist and restricted some movement. [Mana Use has been dampened by 30%] It must have been because of my abnormal body, the dampener worked worse than it was supposed to. "I really can''t feel my mana." mother said, looking at her hands. I basically had two dampeners on my body right now. The eye patch and this bloody bracelet. Everyone stared at their hands except Malia who looked directly at me before diverting her gaze. She looked unbothered by the fact that her mana had been dampened and her poker face exceeded Gramps. Even he was flexing his fingers in shock. "Okay, let''s go!" Mr Hageshi exclaimed, before guiding our group past the security checkpoint and finally into the actual amusement park. "Finally!!!" Jace shouted, stretching his arms out and yawning. "Zeref, the adults will go our own way, you kids have fun and stay safe." Gramps said. We nodded in understanding. Mother flashed me a wry smile before locking her arms with Miss Elena and the adults were off. "Don''t get kidnapped kids!" Mr Xanxus teased before swinging his arms around Gramps. "Okay, let''s stop wasting time. Where are we going first?" Ciara asked. "The punching machine!" Jace shouted as Naz flinched away, surprised by his yelling. She whacked his arm, rubbing her ear. "I actually wanna try that." Johan raised his arm up like he was in class and Ciara followed his movements. "Let''s go." Naz and Malia led the way while locking arms. ** "Ughh! I can''t do this. What if I break my hand or something." Naz moaned. "You can do it, it''s just for fun and just imagine the bag is Sara''s face." I grinned. "Hey!" Sara punched my arm, before distancing herself again, when her gaze met Malia''s. Naz took a deep breath and got into a fighting position; she threw a straight punch at the bag and it knocked back. I was actually surprised by her strength and she was quite strong physically. Numbers started popping up from a screen powered by mana, 50 120 200...300.. The number kept rising until it reached a stand still at 486. "486, not too shabby for a cave troll." Jace mocked, "My turn now, move out the way u fish." "Shut up you-" Naz didn''t know what to say and frustrated, she walked away from the punching machine and stood by Malia''s side. They both sat at the chair, observing and booing. Jace rolled his eyes, rolling his shoulders back and shaking his arms. Jace punched and missed about 3 times before his 4th one landed. "Ahahahahaha! 312! Don''t chat to me!" Naz bellowed, as she rolled around on the floor holding her stomach and laughing. Everyone giggled as Jace stared at the score dumbfounded. "This is rigged!" he shouted, pointing at the machine and catching stares. "Okay, okay move over. My turn." Ciara pushed him aside and rolled her arm around like she was going to unleash a catapult of a punch. Johan went after Ciara, both their scores were 516 and 700 respectively. Malia went second to last; sighing. As the machine yelled ''Go!'' Malia half heartedly tapped it causing ''boooos'' to come from Johan, Jace and Ciara. The machine rung "100" along with a "you suck." Jace laughed at the machine''s comment. "Come on! Try!" I cheered her on, earning me an eyeroll. "Fine." I watched as she took a deep breath, her arm moved at a fast speed. Was she always this fast? Dingg! Dingg! Dingg! The contact with the bag made the numbers sky rocket. A text appeared: ''Congratulations! New high score: 1000! You''re the boss!'' Everyone stared at her with open mouths. A crowd had built up around us for some reason after Malia''s punch. Johan looked a bit disappointed as he held the previous record. A fit of claps arose and Malia smiled at me. I smirked at her. How was she this strong without mana? Now it was my turn. I just had to hold back enough to get a good score and not break the machine; super strength really didn''t help in these situations. I knew how I would punch. Let''s try a jab. I got into a boxing stance and relaxed my shoulders. I could feel everyone''s eyes on me. I exhaled before throwing my jab at the punching bag. My hand cut through the air effortlessly and made contact with the bag. Ding!Ding!Ding! The sound of the machine made the atmosphere silent as everyone anticipated what the score would be. The number rose 100...300..500..700... Score: ??? "What?!" Jace shouted as he approached the screen and tapped it a few times. I must have broken the machine. Sh*t. "Zeref, try it again, your punch didn''t register." Johan insisted. "Look at that building! Let''s go there!" I pointed at some random building which looked the most interesting and dragged Jace and Malia by the arms and rushed off. "Wait! You need to punch it again." Johan said as the others followed behind us. Chapter 59 - Amusement Park II "Zeref, what the hell did you get us into?!" Jace yelled as he grabbed my arm and stared at the infinite reflections of ourselves. This was a terrible idea, we were in a mirror maze. "Where did Johan go? He was here a moment ago." I asked looking round pointlessly like that would help me find him. "Oww!" Jace rubbed his nose, he ran into a mirror by accident. This place was making me trip, I couldn''t tell which way we were meant to go and my sense of distance was all messed up. Luckily the girls didn''t come, otherwise not only Johan would have split from us. I let him be the test subject and lead the way, he bumped into mirrors left right and centre and it made me giggle each time. "We''re never getting out of here." Jace cried as he looked at me, "Can''t you get us out of here?" "Yeah, I''m tired of walking in circles myself." I replied before taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes and used my sixth sense to work out where the exit was roughly, "Yup, found the exit." I opened my eyes again and ran straight towards the direction of the exit, shattering the mix of mirrors and glass, creating a path of havoc behind me. I ran through the mirrors, breaking holes into them. I saw a figure while running through hundreds of mirrors. "OH MY GOD! YOU IDIOT!" Johan''s voice came from behind me but I kept breaking through the mirrors. "ZEREF WAIT FOR ME!" Jace yelled, jumping through the holes I made in the glass. "You guys broke the fucking maze!" Johan scolded before finally deciding to follow us. "Wait for me!" Jace shouted from behind me as he ran through the vast amounts of shattered glass on the ground. When we made it out I talked with the manager and ended up paying a couple of Gold coins for the fixture of their maze. More than anything they were suspicious of how I broke through the maze without mana, I shrugged. "Malia!" Jace yelled as he grabbed my shoulder for attention and pointed behind us. "You guys broke the whole maze! You dummies!" Malia said in shock as she walked out of the arcade, looking back at the destruction and wrecked glass spread on the ground. "That''s what I said." Johan rolled his eyes. I shrugged pointing at Jace, like it was his fault. ** The maze incident ended and the alchemy association accepted my apology and the compensation of 750 gold coins. I received a couple punches from Naz but I quickly saved myself by pulling them to the highest ride in the whole park, nicknamed ''the ride of death''. Jace screamed his lungs out next to me, singing continuous C7 notes in my ear. His mouth stayed wide open as if he was eating the air and he looked like he was being possessed. Everyone jumped on the rollercoaster except Sara, she refused when I asked her. This guy''s screams were louder than anyone else''s in the park and we had not even gotten to the drop yet. The ride had just begun and we were slowly being raised to the top. "SHUT UP!" Malia yelled next to me, trying to save her ears. Naz whacked Jace''s thigh, "We haven''t even started!". The rollercoaster had 4 rows, with each accommodating 2 seats. Malia and I sat at the front, followed by Jace and Naz, then Ciara and Johan just behind them. "I WANNA GO BACK DOWN!" Jace yelled again. "Just man up already!" Ciara shouted from behind, covering her ears. His loud screams didn''t stop until we had reached the apex point of the rollercoaster. Looking down from a 120 metre height, the roller coaster stopped in an inclined position. We all looked at the ground. This height didn''t bother me, but Jace''s non sensual screams did. "I''m going to diieee! I''m going to die today!!" he screamed, starting to gag. "JACE I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU-!" Naz screamed, turning away from him. Suddenly the ride dropped at a fast speed making me gasp in shock and hold onto Malia''s sleeve. I heard the vague sound of vomiting and screaming from behind be but I was laughing too much notice. Malia screamed next to me, smiling and holding onto her handle. I gripped her sleeve as the roller coaster twisted and turned. At some point, the loudest thing you could hear was Jace''s cries. The ride turned upside down at a rapid speed. Malia grabbed my arm tightly, as the wind brushed against us, gluing us to our seats. My heart dropped to my stomach and an adrenaline rush flushed my muscles. This feeling was intense! "Aaaarghhhh!" Everyone screamed in sync, Jace being louder than anyone, setting a world record for screaming the loudest. The drop finished in a couple seconds and we were at the bottom again, "Let''s do that again!" I suggested, Ciara and Johan agreed from behind. I turned back after helping Malia out to see Jace wobbling out of his seat with a red face and covered in vomit. He must have vomited when the rollercoaster dropped. I burst out laughing as the theme park staff walked past us, shaking their heads. "I am traumatised. Never again" Naz sighed, holding her chest and taking Malia''s hand to climb out. ** After that we bought Jace some new clothes and enjoyed scaring the sh*t out of him; we took him on almost every ride in the park. Thanks to the VIP black card we were able to go on almost all the rides without queuing up. The adults also met up with us after and we were getting ready to depart. "I''m going to the bathroom quickly." Malia said to me. "Oh want me to come?" Naz smiled at her but Malia shook her head. "I need to take a sh*t. Buy me a teddy though." Malia waved. I scoffed at her honesty, watching as she walked away. "I really want to get a drink." Naz turned to me. "Ok I''ll buy the teddy. You go get a drink." Chapter 60 - Perfume -Sara''s POV- I quickly washed my hands in the bathroom when the door opened. Turning my head to look at who it was, I met the brown doe eyes of Malia. As soon as she met my look, her face twisted into a look of annoyance while walking past the sink and into a toilet stall. I rolled my eyes, glaring at her as she dodged my attempt to bump her shoulder. When she locked the bathroom stall, I continued doing my eyeliner, focusing on the natural glow my skin emitted under the bathroom light. Suddenly, the door swung open again and in came three girls wearing short skirts and tight white blouses paired with a black tie. One girl connected her eyes with mine before I looked away, minding my business and sharpening the wing of my thick winged liner. I felt their presence walking towards me and soon they came into my vision, standing next to me to fix their hair and makeup. I was okay with it until I smelt a pungent strong scent and the sound of spraying. I turned my head to face them, "Stop spraying perfume. I can''t breathe." I rolled my eyes, pushing myself more towards the mirror and over the sink, to get a more precise wing. Wolves had a sensitive sense of smell and anything too strong could really hurt our lungs and possibly give us a headache. "What''d she say?!" the one spraying the perfume asked her brunette friend, smacking on her gum while continuing to spray the perfume over her blonde friend. "I don''t know HAHAHA!" her blonde friend cackled, flipping her hair. My lungs started to constrict from the burning smell of citrus as I started to fall into a fit of coughs. "I said stop spraying your f*cking perfume!" I said more confidently, glaring at the gum chewing bimbo. In perfect synchronisation, all three of them turned to face me with disgusted faces. "Brii, is she serious?" The brunette''s accent was heavy and raspy. "I fink she is serious." the ''leader'' snickered, crossing her arms and popping her right hip out. Brii stepped closer to me but I didn''t back down. I am definitely not the same whiny kid I was last year. I glared at her, holding her stare while growling and showing my royal status. "Oooooo" her backups fanned the fire, smirking. I furrowed my eyebrows at them but when I looked back, Brii''s hand was inches away from my face before it whacked my nose flat against her palm. "ARGH!!!" I let out a grunt, holding my nose and stumbling back with my eyes screwed shut in pain. Two pairs of hands wrapped around me; one holding my head by my hair and one keeping my arms behind my back. I looked up to see Brii stalking towards me like a predator does to its prey. Her hair flipped to the side, her hips swinging left and right like a psychotic clown. "Get off me-!" a hand connected with my jaw, nearly punching it out of place. I let out another scream of pain. "Let''s see how you like this." Brii and her duo snickered, lifting my head and holding it in place while Brii started to spray my face with her citrus perfume. I shook my head, coughing and screaming while kicking my feet everywhere. All I could hear was laughs as my eyes started to sting and breathing restricted again. I cried out, yelling while tears started to pour out of the cracks between my closed eyes. The laughs started to get louder as if they were enjoying my panicked state until someone''s voice interrupted us. "SHUT THE F*CK UP, IM TAKING A SH*T!" Malia screamed from the bathroom stall and everyone froze, giving me a chance to gasp for breath. My knees felt like jelly as I hit the floor, choking for air desperately. Brii whispered to her friends while a flush was heard from the bathroom stall. I thought it was over and they''d leave but unfortunately that wasn''t the case. A sharp kick bashed into my stomach, throwing me onto my side and into the wall. I let out another scream, cradling my stomach and staying on the floor. Brii pulled my head up to face the ceiling by my hair. I whimpered before she slapped my cheek, cracking my head to the side. I couldn''t let a noise out before another snapped down on the same cheek. "YES BRII-" the brunette cheered, walking towards us. Out of nowhere, a bathroom stall door flew into her body, smashing her against the wall at full speed. Brii dropped my head in absolute shock. With my eyes half open, I saw Malia walk out the now doorless stall with her sleeves rolled up. She rolled her tongue against the inside of her mouth while sighing. "Did I not tell you to shut up?" she raised her eyebrows at Brii. She casually strolled out, making her way towards the sink and turning on the water to wash her hands. The silence was held for a while, the blonde friend running to help the brunette. In a flash, Brii flashed towards Malia with her mana fully activated. She let out a battle cry, making it a few steps near Malia before she was stopped. Malia caught her face in her palms in a satisfying motion, freezing Brii an arms length away from her. Everyone stopped in fear and anticipation again, waiting to see her next move. Brii was paralysed by fear. Her face was squished against Malia''s hold. "Have some manners." she said before swinging Brii''s body up in the air by her face and smashing her down into the sink. The sink crumbled under the shocking force and so did Brii''s spine. She made no scream, an instant light out. Water gushed out of the pipe and over Brii. Not long after, the water pooled around Brii, mixing with her blood into a light red colour. Did she just kill her? My eyes widened, pushing myself up despite my stinging cheek, aching jaw, throbbing nose and burning stomach. "I didn''t need your help." I huffed, gulping as I met her calm gaze. Her jaw clenched slightly and her fists tightened, showing off her strong knuckles and silver rings. I still wore the one she gave me. It was pretty. I automatically circled my ring around my index finger, spacing out while staring at her clenched fist. Her fists loosened, snapping me out of my trance. Crap, she noticed me staring at her hands. Stop being an idiot Sara! I cleared my throat, snapping back to her face. She stared back at me with a confused face. I shrugged, my cheeks turning more red from embarrassment. This caused her to slightly smirk while pushing her hands into her pocket. She brang out a small item from her pocket and threw it at me, expecting me to catch it. It slipped through my fingers making her laugh. I looked down to see an ointment for swelling and bruises. I picked it up and when I turned to tell her I don''t need her stupid ointment, she was gone. I hate her. I squeezed the ointment and put a blob on my finger, turning to the mirror to notice the blonde girl was still in the corner, shaking like a leaf. I smirked at her through the mirror, satisfied with the scared look on her face before washing my ruined makeup off and applying the ointment. It was cool against my skin and for some reason, it gave me a slight excitement. It was soothing and relaxed my bruises like ice. I sighed as the pain faded. Soon, Zeref will like me. All I need to do is get Malia out of the picture. Chapter 61 - SHIFT! -Malia''s POV- I hate the beginning of a school week; it''s always so tiring waking up early on Mondays. After the amusement park, we had a big birthday cake and Sara took a shower in my room after Jace said she reeked of too much perfume. I couldn''t help but snicker, earning a glare from Sara. We had a huge cake and Mike blew out the candles- ''Because he is a self centred brat.'' Nina commented, causing me to smile. It was great. I sighed in content after recalling yesterday''s events. The halls were crowded; people maneuvering around each other like snakes. I held my head high, people moving out of my way, making some space for me and smiling, I held my book close to my chest. It was easier to walk to my lessons as I was taller. ''Shift! Shift! Shift!'' Nina urged in my head, causing me a headache. I tried to silence her but she was too pushy. She had been chanting that for the past few months and everyday, it got harder to ignore. ''Stop'' I pleaded. ''Shift! Shift! Shift!!!'' she yelled. I winced, grunting and holding my book tighter. The chattering around me became louder and everything felt so close to my ears. Soon, I started to feel the blood under my skin boiling and my pores letting out steam. Inhaling and exhaling in short puffs, I stumbled. "Malia?" a first year girl with pigtails looked up at me with a worried expression on her face. I stumbled, my weight shifting towards her. On instinct, she held my arm before letting out a loud yelp and flinching away from me. "You''re burning!" she looked at her red hand as skin started to peel off from her fingers in blisters. "Sorr-" I tried to say but the repeated voice of Nina had become louder than my voice. Another hand pulled me by my hood. My feet failed under me as I stumbled, walking backwards to avoid being choked by my collar. The person dragged me outside and threw me to the ground. My hands collided with the floor as the book flew out of my hands. At this point, I was dripping in sweat, breathing heavily. The scent of Sara filled my nostrils and I automatically grunted. "You won''t steal Zeref from me!!!" I felt a heavy slap across my face, snapping my head to the right. I said nothing, feeling Nina push the barrier of my skin as if she was trying to get out. Tears started to roll down my cheeks, panic rushing through me, leaving me no time to breathe. "Sara?" I cried, hyperventilating. I held onto her leg, trying to find focus but my vision was all a blur. "I-I can''t see." My eyes darted everywhere but every part of my vision was a mix of colours. I could barely make out the silhouette of Sara''s figure. "Get OFF me!" she kicked me away, the hesitation in her voice was clear. I could feel her gaze on me as I struggled to breathe on the floor. She had never seen me so panicked. It was probably scaring her shitless. I humoured myself, keeping my head on the cold concrete. My breathing felt heavy and soon, it stopped. "You ruined my life." Sara whispered, gritting her teeth in hatred. Running towards me, she kneed my face before dragging me by my hair to a blind spot. I accepted my fate, feeling as if I was dying. The heat surrounding me was unbearable and I felt like I was being cooked. She threw me at the wall, my head smashing into the bricks. My brown hair fell onto my face, covering my sight. "I''m not scared of you anymore. You''re weak." she scoffed. "I trained my ass off ever since Zeref left so I could duel you and THIS is all you got?!" She laughed like a maniac. "No wonder Zeref saved me and not you-" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I let out a blood curdling scream, making the ground shake violently. I tried to pull myself up but my wrists snapped with a loud crack. Sara flinched back, fear oozing off of her. ''SHIFT! SHIFT! SHIFT!'' Nina pressured me and it felt like someone was physically squeezing my skull. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I cried out desperately, the pain rising everywhere. My jaw ached and it felt like all of my teeth were being ripped out of my gums. My back arched, followed by the snap of my spine. "Malia?!?!" Sara stepped back, terrified. My eyes rolled back and all I saw was stars. All the bones in my body were breaking and healing. My throat seemed to be closing, restricting my breathing. Like a waterfall, all my pain came crashing down onto me, crushing me under its agonising weight. Flashes of a wolf appeared in my head, making my skull split from the pain. The wolf was a huge white wolf with shining, silky fur. Larger than Sara''s. It had gold glowing eyes with golden paws and 9 see-through, silky tails, almost like flowing scarves of shiny white china silk. They were opaque but still present as they flowed behind the wolf like a peacock''s feathers. It had a beautiful white tail in the middle of all the magical silk tails. Something in me clicked and I let out a big sigh of relief. Sara better run. ** -Sara''s POV- I was panicking when suddenly she stopped screaming, everything falling to an excruciatingly quiet silence. The ground stopped shaking and the emergency alarm inside the school building went off. The air became thick and it felt as if the power of an army was surrounding her. The amount of power she was emanating restricted my windpipe. What the hell. Her hair was covering her face but I swear I saw her eyes glowing golden. "Malia?" I approached her cautiously. She was terrifying. Her aura was deadly and I didn''t want to get too close. I just wanted to check if she was okay. "Run." a mix of voices said; the voice coming out demonic. I looked around trying to find the source of the voice. An aura of a godly wolf was in the air. The aura was a million times stronger than my dads who was the Wolven King. I thought of running but I couldn''t leave without Malia. I knelt down to her limp body, pulling her up. "We have to go, someone''s coming." I freaked out, trying to run with her. She pushed my arm off her and I didn''t hesitate to look back, thinking she was following me. A deadly strong growl came from behind me, followed by a roar. I let out a scream, running faster, nearly at the school building, when my body was slammed to the wall and my head was pushed against the wall. The power of the person behind me was unbelievable as I sobbed, thinking I was going to die "Please I beg you!" I choked out, too scared to move. My right wrist was held behind my back by the person while the other hand was holding my head against the wall. I could feel its sharp claws graze my scalp as it purred, satisfied with my begging. It was so close behind me, I could feel it''s hot breath fan against my neck. Squeezing my eyes shut, I held in my sobs. The hand holding my wrist wrapped around my fingers and pushed our intertwined hands next to my head as I squeaked at the close impact. I recognised that hand. The silver rings next to my head told me it was Malia but she had claws sharper than I had ever seen and three gold glowing lines circled around her wrist. "Malia?" I cried with a pleading tone. A gasp left my lips as she pulled my hair back, giving her access to my neck. She let out an unrecognizable sound; a mix of a growl and purr. Her canines grazed my tender flesh as I whimpered under her pressure. Her purr made me feel euphoric as I felt pleased with making her happy. I felt as if I had to submit to her. Her hand slowly let go of mine but I stayed still, feeling a headache grow from the pressure she was putting on my head. I jumped a little, yelping as she lightly placed her hand on my hip and spun me around to face her effortlessly. The first thing I was met with were her glowing eyes. They were a magnificent shiny gold with specs of sparkling stars. My jaw fell open as I watched the sweat drip down from her jawline and the slight blood at the corner of her lips from where I had slapped her. Her hand slammed into the wall next to my head, breaking the crumbling bricks and creating a large dent. I squeaked as she smirked, her pearly white canines showcasing themselves. The tip of her canines barely grazed her bottom lip, still drawing blood. Her chocolate brown hair had platinum silver highlights in and white wolf ears sat in her hair, just like mine. But that wasn''t the most enchanting part. The true beauty was in her aura. The tranquility, power and danger seeped from every part of her. My lungs burned from the heat radiating off her, I held my breath, silently begging her with my pleading eyes. All I wanted was for the pain to relinquish. She looked... unreachable. Untouchable. My legs grew weak and black dots started to appear in my vision at the overpowering aura suffocating me. I fainted. ** -Nina''s POV- The princess went limp under my hold as I let her fall. Disappointment filled me as I lightly kicked her with my foot to wake her up. Her scent was ravishing and I was so tempted to bite into her warm flesh. I wanted her blood dripping from my lips, her flesh between my teeth. Oh how tempting she was. I purred at the fuzzy thought. Her royal wolven blood made her scent so attractive. ''Look what you did!'' Malia grunted as I pushed her to the back of my head. ''Shush, shush. You should have let us shift.'' I rolled my eyes. ''What was that? Give me back control!'' she replied. ''Our wolf form needs to be released in it''s true form occasionally. You can''t keep it cooped up inside you forever. It needs to be let out once in a while or it will grow uneasy. If you don''t give in to the natural demands of your wolf form, you will force shift.'' ''Force shift?'' she questioned. ''It is when your spirit wolf forcefully shifts you in the most painful way possible. But you still didn''t give into the force shift so you stayed in your human form.'' I explained. ''I can''t give you back control until we can shift into our spirit wolf.'' Malia sighed, exhausted. Before I could transform into the spirit wolf, the white wolf ears on my head picked up footsteps, identifying who''s footsteps they were. Zeref, Jace, Naz and Mr Xanxus were coming this way. ''Run!'' Malia panicked in my head, automatically impacting me to become nervous. I shrouded my mana signatures and scent while speeding away, leaving my snack- I mean Sara, on the floor. Chapter 62 - Imposter -Zeref''s POV- Last lesson of the day and it felt worse than all the torture I went through during Gramps''s training. I had forgotten how boring school was. I wanted to come to school just for my friends; This studying thing just wasn''t for me. "Psst! Zeref, I think Fiona likes me. She''s been staring at me for the past 10 minutes." Jace whispered to me. I looked at the dwarven that was staring back at us and grimaced before shaking my head. This guy, I forgot how big of a simp he was. I looked to the front of the classroom to see Naz staring back at us. When I caught her staring, she quickly looked back at the teacher, shifting in her chair uncomfortably. Was she staring at me or Jace? "Who cares man, just let me sleep already. This mana history class is boring as hell." I complained before crossing my arms and leaning my head on them. "Now you know how I felt for these past couple months; we really missed you bro." Jace spoke, making me smile. "Stinkend and the one next to him stand up now!" a loud voice bellowed, echoing throughout the large room. I lifted my head slowly before yawning and rubbing my eyes; Jace and the girl sitting next to him on his left stood up shakily. Jace exchanged looks with me, his face showing that ''save me Zeref'' expression. "Not you, you stupid girl, the boy next to Stinkend." the professor shouted, his face red and spit flying out of his mouth, with every syllable he spoke. The students laughed as the embarrassed Naz sat back down hastily. The professor must have been talking about me. I stood up tall, kicking my chair back. "Boy that was sleeping during my lesson, what''s your name?" the old man questioned pushing up his spectacles. He had a bald patch at the centre of his head and crooked teeth; his skin was wrinkly and hairy pimples infested his face. He wore a dark robe and held a magic staff in his right hand. He reminded me of those dodgy beggars that would sell you poisoned apples. A girl called Snow white fell for that trick in my old world. Foolish girl. "Zeref Amara." I replied. A burst of chattering erupted in the room as the students gossiped about where they had heard that name. "Why aren''t you wearing the school blazer and take off that eye patch this instant!" he spat disgustingly. "Apologies sir, I don''t have a blazer and about the eye patch; it can''t be taken off." I tried to sound sincere, but it didn''t work. "As punishment, you and Stinkend will clean this room after the lesson is finished. Now sit back down." he laughed hideously and all the students stared back at me. "Zeref, don''t kill him. Please." Jace whispered, trying not to laugh. I smirked before sitting down in my chair again. Suddenly, the floor started to shake, the board fell off the wall. Everyone took cover under their tables. Jace grabbed Naz, towering over her like a shield. Tiny rubble started to fall onto the tables when I heard an ear-splitting scream. My heart stopped as Jace and I looked at each other, knowing exactly whose voice it was. Malia. "AGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" another scream filled the air, this time more pained and desperate. I ran to the door when suddenly the emergency alarm went off. Red flashes filled the room along with a loud ringing alarm. A blue opaque wall was made in front of all the windows and doors. "EVERYONE! GET DOWN UNDER A DESK! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" the stupid teacher yelled, already under his desk. Girls started to scream as boys yelled, everyone panicked and rushed under their desks. I flash stepped and grabbed Naz''s shoulder, spinning her around. "Teleport us out of here!" I yelled over the loud shaking of the ground and people''s screams. "I can''t! The blue wall is mana proof. It''ll just repel us back." she shouted, covering her ears. Jace rushed to her side and pulled her under a table. "Idiot! Get under the tables!" Jace yelled at her as he shoved her head under her desk while she tried to protest. He stood next to me, giving me the ''what''s the plan'' look. "I can''t break that barrier, I''ll most likely destroy the vicinity If I tried. We have to think of something else." I stressed, pacing back and forth while dodging rubble as it fell onto the ground. "What do you mean?! Did you HEAR her screams?! Just break that barrier." Jace yelled desperately. I avoided his eyes, shaking my head, trying to think. "I can''t show my powers." Jace gave out a frustrated sigh before facing the door. He raised his hands, slowly raising them as it conjured up a wave of water. Before he could attack, a familiar figure rushed to the barrier. "XANXUS!" I yelled at the hunched old assassin. "TEACHERS TAKE THE REGISTER!!!" Xanxus yelled through the barrier. He was about to leave but I yelled his name again. "GET ME OUTTA HERE!" I spat. Xanxus''s eyes widened as he saw me. The barrier instantly fell down; I looked back at Jace and Naz exchanging nods and ran through it. I could hear the professor''s shrieks as he tried to call us back but Xanxus shut him up thankfully. ** We followed Xanxus as he ran through each classroom, telling teachers to take the register for attendance. For some reason, I couldn''t find Malia''s mana signatures anywhere and there were no traces of her scent. I peeked in every classroom but she was nowhere to be found. "Good to have you back Zeref!" Xanxus said while making his way down the stairs. I was about to reply when a scream came from outside. "AHHHH! PLEASE!" A girl''s voice screamed. "SARA!" Naz identified, pushing me aside and sprinting down the stairs. We followed her, swinging the doors open and making our way to a blind spot behind a wall. When we arrived, we found Sara fainted on the floor. A deadly aura was in the air but nothing about it helped me identify whose it belonged to. I wasn''t even in school for that long and something stupid had to happen already. It was like I brought all the bad luck with me. "There''s an imposter in the school. This aura is too dangerous to be a student''s." Xanxus sounded panicked as Naz fell next to Sara''s limp body, cradling her while crying. "She looks fine. Just a few claw marks on her wrist and cheek." Jace inspected. "Looks like it was a wolven type beast." Xanxus said, the panic evident in his tone. Suddenly my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as the realisation hit me. "Malia screamed." I whispered. "Zeref, I need you to help me reinforce the school barrier with all your strength. The more power the stronger the barrier will be. We are locking down the school so the imposter can''t escape." Xanxus vociferated. "Naz, Jace, teleport Sara to the nurse''s office. Knock on the barrier and say the code to get in." he instructed. "What''s the code?" Jace spoke while picking Sara up in his arms. "0324" Everyone did as told and only I was left standing next to Xanxus. "Don''t hold back Zeref. This beast is one heck of a monster." "I know. It''s strength is abnormally high." I held up my hands towards the gates while Xanxus did the same. "Protecto Anyii!" he said and he linked his arm with mine. Both of our hands started to shoot out a long blast of magic, mine way bigger than his. The ground started to shake with the amount of mana I was releasing and the feeling sent shivers down my neck. [You have used 1000 MP] Soon an extra solid barrier was created around the school premises. No way in hell was this imposter leaving with the strength of this barrier holding it back. Chapter 63 - Force Shift -Nina''s POV- Walking to the exit of the school, I tried to push the wolf ears back into my head and retreat the canines in my mouth but they wouldn''t budge. My mind raced to nearby clear areas but the whole school was chaotic My teeth chattered as short breaths left my lips in puffs of mist. My claws turned blue while my skin paled. It was nearing the end of the day but the children were still in the building meaning the emergency alarm hadn''t turned off yet. I saw the exits wide open and held myself close, shivering as I ran to the gate. Every leap, every step and every movement, no longer felt like my brain was giving orders. Every joint that moved was negotiating with the others as my muscles strained. ''I need to shift!'' I panicked as I felt Malia slowly fading from my mind. ''Malia?!'' ''I- I think I''m dying.'' she whispered back in a weak voice. The spirit wolf was consuming her soul for energy to survive not shifting. ''You should have shifted into your wolf once a month! You went half a year without freeing the spirit wolf and letting it run in its natural form. Now look! We are doomed-'' I scolded her but when my foot went past the gate, a powerful barrier repelled me, flying me back into the wall of the school building. OW. My back collided with the brick wall before sliding down onto the floor from the impact. I gasped, feeling like all the bones in my body were misplaced. The urge to transform was getting heavier as I struggled to stand back up. It felt as if someone had blown a large hole through me with an icy cold magnum. "AAAAARGHHHHHHHH!" I let out an ear-splitting scream as my spine broke again. "I can''t fight it! I can''t! I need to shift!" I cried out, feeling every bone in my body shake as if they were all on the verge of snapping. ''You can do it! If I can fight the shift, so can you. We need to at least get to a more secret place to shift. People wil" Malia''s voice was croaky as I felt her presence start to fade away. ''Malia?!'' I called out to her but was met with an eerie silence, ''Malia can you hear me?!''. I tried to stay calm, shutting my eyes and trying to feel her soul. Nothing. "Okay, Okay calm down Nina. You still have time to bring her back. Come on, just shift." I told myself, determined. I pushed all the emotions and pain to the depths of my mind and focused on the white wolf. Shift. Shift. Shift. Shift. F*cking JUST SHIFT! Goosebumps grew all over me, fur spurted out of my skin as I fell onto all fours. Surprisingly, the more I wanted to shift, the less painful it was. My mind slipped into a tranquil state, as if I had been submerged in placid water. I felt myself expand, growing 10 times larger. It was like I was on a special type of morphine, better than any doctor could prescribe. I grew to the size of maybe 9ft 7 towering over Sara''s wolf who was 6ft 7 and she was considered big as she was royal blooded. I looked down at my paws, noticing the pads of my paws glowing gold. I was a snowy white wolf with thick fluffy, long fur. Most wolves had short smooth fur that laid flat on their bodies but mine wasn''t silky nor flat. It was wild and thick. If someone were to run their hand through my fur, the hand would barely be visible at how long my fur was. I had silky ears and gold eyes. Just like I had seen in my head, silk tails surrounded my back like I was a peacock. ''Malia? Are you there?'' I tried again, nervous. I was met with silence, no presence came back and my head felt empty. ''Malia?'' I whimpered, my ears laying flat on my head. Please come back. A feeling of grief washed over me as I realised I was too late. I couldn''t control the following whine emitting from my mouth as I let out a pained, loud howl. The strawberry sky towered over me like a taunting shadow; the world spinning under my paws. Footsteps approached as I stopped howling. Shit. Swiftly, I kicked back my feet and sprinted away, my speed unmatchable to any other. I can''t keep running around the building, I''ll have to destroy the barrier. I ran in zigzags, not knowing what to do. I automatically knew all the powers of a spirit wolf so I used that to my advantage. Focusing all my mana to the centre of my forehead, shutting out all colour from my vision. A slight tingle started to become apparent at the centre of my head as a gold light started to glow from my forehead. As I was running past a window at super speed, I took a glimpse of my appearance. A gold jewel at the middle of my head with a beautiful pattern swirled around like a royal crown. My silky tails elongated, wrapping around my body in a circular motion like snakes. I ran towards the barrier, growling in aggression, I could feel Zeref and Xanxus getting closer. I didn''t have enough time. I let out a dangerous roar creating a gust of mana particles to project out of me, killing anything that it touched. Birds fell from the sky as I let out my battle cry, running head first into the magical wall. As soon as my jewel hit the shield, the barrier shattered like glass. It had a particular sensation like when you float your hand at the surface of the water. That little force pushing against your palm, as it''s solidifying and thickening under your touch, feeling like you need to apply a slight force to push your hand under the thickness of the water. My silk tails whipped the remaining shards out of my way as I leaped out of the school''s territory like a bullet. I felt free, taking in the sensation of the wind stroking through my fur. I was in my true form, not holding back my shocking speed. Chapter 64 - Towards The East -Sara''s POV- "Sara?" a worried voice interrupted the darkness as I whirled myself back into conscience. I groaned in pain. My head pulsed against my skull as I winced in the dizzy discomfort. Opening my eyes, I met the ceiling of the nurses office and the stinging smell of hand sanitiser. My neck felt bare and fire set alight on the surface of my skin. "I-It''s hot" I whimpered, my head falling to the side to meet Naz''s worried eyes. My breathing fell in heavy puffs as my body rapidly started to produce gallons of sweat. "What''s happening?!" Jace said from my right, holding my wrist just to flinch back at the heat. The nurse frantically ran around the room, mumbling like a maniac. My teeth extended and my back arched while I let out an ear splitting scream. As my chest heaved and I panicked, the nurse poured a bucket of ice water over me and the bed. The cold ice engulfed me, taking out the burning on my skin as it dripped off my sides. My vision grew hazy as I rubbed the water off of my face and forced myself into a sitting position. "What is wrong with you?" the nurse looked at me angrily. I stared at her in confusion, trying to catch my breath. "What?" I gulped from the thirst building up inside my throat. "Why the hell have you been marked?" she glared accusingly. My eyes widened, dread rushing through me. I can''t be. There is no way I let that creature mark me. The marking process only worked if the beast was a lot more powerful than me. My head pounded as I tried to recall what happened but everything was blurry after I was slammed into the wall by that beast. ''Marking'' was a process that wolf beasts used, it left an imprint on the prey''s body, making sure the beast knew where its prey was the next time it would come back to kill it. In this case, I was the one being marked, meaning I was the prey. "I-I don''t know. I can''t remember. It''s all hazy. All I remember was a creature''s presence." "Do you remember what the creature was? Who... it was?" Naz elaborated, looking desperate. "Go into detail." Jace rolled his eyes, crossing his hands. I shifted in the soaking bed, fiddling with my sleeve. "Um, I went out to confront Malia and then she started to scream in pain. A presence filled the air so we both ran." "You did what?!" Naz gritted. "What happened to Malia?!" "I-I don''t know. I think she ran because I was caught." I started to cry, feeling scared and exhausted. "Well at least we know the wolf is a male because Sara is suffering from the marking''s side effects, which means he probably marked her. The special skill of marking can only be done by males." Jace asked Naz, who nodded back at him, he seemed to know a lot about the were men race for some reason. I gasped at the rising heat traveling up my legs and to my torso as I held onto the nurse. Grabbing a cold towel and leaving my side, hastily. The room started to get hotter again and all I could try to do was rub my skin against the damp bed in hopes of comfort. I felt like something was at the tip of my tongue but I couldn''t get to it. "Ma" I groaned, feeling the familiar sound in my mouth. What was I trying to say? ** -Zeref''s POV- Our search had come to an end when we had seen the shattered barrier Xanxus and I had forged. What beast could do this? A rank, B rank? The double barrier that was protecting the school was easily shattered. Furthermore, Malia was missing too, did she get abducted by the beast. Did we even confirm if it was a beast or another wereman? "Xanxus I''m going to find that beast. Check up on Sara and ask her what she remembers." Xanxus nodded in understanding and flash stepped away into the school building. I expanded my senses and vision using my sixth sense. [Sixth Sense radius has increased to 20 km] [Too much information is overloading your brain] [System is keeping you sane] [Mp is rapidly declining] Notifications popped up but I ignored them. I could sense everything in this 20 km radius, from people to animals to mana beasts. But what exactly was I looking for? There were claw marks on Sara. So a wolfish beast? I filtered my search down to mana beasts emitting mana signatures that resembled wolfish characteristics. East. In the forest. There were 6 wolfish type mana beasts. 3 of them were A rank at least and the other 3 were B rank. This wasn''t looking good. I had to gamble. I stopped the use of my sixth sense, it consumed a total of 600 MP in a matter of seconds. I couldn''t use ''Godspeed'' yet, due to my promise with Gramps, so I had to rely on ''lightning aura''. ''Lightning Aura''. With a simple incantation in my head, violent streaks of lightning danced around my body and the current running through my veins emitted a blue glow. I didn''t waste time and sped past the gates of the school zigzagging through town at a rapid speed. ** Raaarghhh! A deafening roar made the ground shake and the beast charged towards me. I dodged by leaping to a tree. It roared again in frustration. It was an A rank mutated wolf beast. It had wings for some reason and stood 20 metres tall. It used its ''accelerate'' skill to increase its speed dramatically and attack unprecedentedly. Luckily for me I had hunted a couple of these and memorised their attacking habits; they were pretty strong, but were one of the weakest A rank beasts. I pulled out Voadhailis''s claw from my dimension ring and removed my eye patch for the first time and exhaled at the relieving feeling. [Stats have returned back to normal] [Demon aura and Mana presence have been released] [A rank beast - Chimera Wolf is intimidated] I had trained in combat with Gramps a lot and discovered some interesting abilities of my demon eye. It could see through illusions and it helped me to predict movements. In combination with my Seikuken skill, My hand to hand combat had reached a new stage. I spun Voadhailis''s claw around my fingers before advancing, I skyrocketed towards the beast and with a clean and fluent cut, the beast''s head dropped down and met the ground with a large smacking sound. A few seconds later the body toppled over. I looked back at where I was and smiled. Sparks of lightning still sparked and a crater formed around my initial position. [You have killed an A rank beast] [You have received 10,000 EXP] That was 5 of the suspected beasts down. I looked at my HP: 12460/16300, I had taken quite some damage when fighting the previous A rank beasts; I should have removed my eye patch back then; It was quite difficult to take them down but I managed using wide range lightning attacks. Sh*t! Aarghhh!! I spaced out! My body flew through the air and I crashed into a tree, making a jagged branch pierce into me from the back. I looked down reluctantly at the branch protruding through my chest. This brought back bad memories. [You have suffered 3000 damage!] I broke the branch from behind using my arm, and slid down to the cold floor feet first. I grimaced as the S rank Forest King approached me. The inspect Skill had merged with my demon eye so I knew what the beast was straight away. It had a large plant based green body and controlled lower ranked mana beasts. If I were to fight that thing, I''d be fighting a whole army of B to D rank beasts. This was terrible! I needed to make a plan. I pulled out the branch from my chest and stared at the hole in my chest. [Rapid healing has activated] [MP is dropping rapidly!] I had to leave! My MP was below half already after fighting all those high ranked beasts. The Forest King roared and an army of C rank Ground Moles emerged from the ground; this was my queue to leave. The hole in my chest had sealed up leaving a scar and my ''rapid healing'' had stopped. My aim was to find Malia, so I couldn''t waste time here. Power returned to my body and I disappeared, jumping from branch to branch. There!! I found a feint mana signature, it belonged to Malia''s flame attribute. I looked back at the swarm of beasts chasing me, I had to find her quickly. I traced the faint mana signature hastily for a couple hundred metres until I finally found her Chapter 65 - Forest King "Maliaa!" I shouted as I rushed to her limp body. She rested against a tree, I could hear a heartbeat, that was good but her bpm was dropping. She was dying. Her mana was all used up; I searched her surroundings, there was a charred carcass of what seemed to be a B rank beast not too far away. She must have killed the beast that abducted her. I could smell a were man''s scent coming from the charred carcass; so my predictions were right, she was kidnapped but why? Why would anyone want to kidnap Malia? I looked back. Sh*t! I Wasted too much time here. Dozens of beasts surrounded me, from D rank to B rank beasts. Even for me, this was going to be a hard fight. I unsheathed Voadhailis''s Claw and intercepted a ground rat aiming for Malia''s limp body. Cleanly slicing the Ground rat in half, 3 more replaced it. Imbuing the blade in flame mana I sliced at the ground rats, a horizontal slash of flames cut crisply through the weak beasts; the slash carried on, killing a total of 12 ground rats. [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] The notifications kept piling up. [Congratulations! You have levelled up!] [You have received 10 stat points] [Total available stat points: 20] [MP has been restored] Perfect! My system was really a cheat code, every time I levelled up, my MP would replenish on its own. Now my MP was full again at 10,000; I did some calculations. I would use 3000 MP on the low rank beasts and 6000 MP on the S rank beast. Best case scenario: I stack up EXP from farming the low rank beasts and avoid fighting the Forest King. I looked for escape routes using my demon eye all while defending Malia. For some reason I could see the beasts only targeting her. Every time I opened up an escape route, the beasts would replace the dead ones. This was going to be troublesome. I had to conserve my mana. I put away my blade and activated ''Indra''s spear'', a violent voltage of blue lightning formed around my hand. I pounced off of the trees like a leopard, ricocheting off them; Using Gravity Magic I kept a number of them still. Quickening myself with ''lightning aura'', I pierced through the beasts, leaving blood splattered all over the forest floor. That was about ? of them killed. [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 8000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] I didn''t know If I was meant to be worried or happy. If the Forest King didn''t interfere, I would easily breeze through the hundred or so beasts and farm EXP but adding the Forest King into the equation, I doubted my win rate. Sh*t! I dodged a kick at the last second, I pounced backwards towards Malia''s limp body; she was still unconscious. I really needed help right now. Oh yeah! I could clone myself using Blake''s skill! I thought about it a little but I knew it wouldn''t work, my stats would divide by the number of clones I made; it meant that each clone would then have an equal number of Stat points including me. Halfling my stats in half, would cause more harm. The Forest King miniaturised to mirror my body type. Did it want to fight me hand to hand? "Hand over that girl Demon." The beast''s true voice echoed in my head. It could talk?! I had never even heard of this phenomenon. Just how strong was this S rank beast, that it had its own voice? I had hunted a couple S rank beasts before, but they were always with the help of Xanxus or Miss Elena or Gramps and they were on the weaker end of the spectrum. Sweat dripped down my forehead. "Why should I?" I stated, pulling out my short sword and spinning it in my hand before holding it in a reverse grip. "We have to take h-" "Aaaarghhhh!" It screamed in my head. I grabbed my head in pain as its true voice shrieked in my head. The Forest King also looked to be in a state of agony. The mental pain subsided due to the system protecting me. The S rank beast then stopped twitching and a red glow appeared from where its eyes were supposed to be. It didn''t waste a second and covered the distance in a flash. A fist aimed for my face was blocked using my forearm and I sliced down with my blade in my alternate hand. To my surprise, it twisted its body and kicked me instead in mid air. Was it learning from my previous moves I used on the other beasts? The hand-to-hand assault continued and it was learning at an incredible speed. It started landing more hits on me; this beast might have been more talented than even the great me. I smiled as I enjoyed the light spar. For the first time I wouldn''t need to hold back, I released my full demon Aura and Mana Pressure; my right eye glowed an intense hue of red and streaks of blue lightning formed around me. I released my killing intent and the beast flinched before stepping back. Its instincts kicked in. [S rank - Forest King is momentarily stunned] [All B rank beasts are intimidated] [All C rank beasts are intimidated] [All D rank beasts are intimidated] The notifications made me sigh as I now brought some time by removing the annoying low rank beasts out of the equation; now they wouldn''t bother with my fight. This time I attacked first and landed a huge overhand right, blowing its plant made head back. It froze on the ground before getting up and throwing a fit of punches and kicks at me, I avoided all of them using my ''levitation'' skill. All demons could fly, but for now I could only levitate; when I got my wings by levelling up would I be finally be able to fly. I couldn''t see it but a punch knocked me back. Did it get faster? I decided to stray from the hand to hand combat and I condensed flame balls in my hand before side flipping and flicking my wrists. The flame balls were dodged and instead made contact with the other low rank beasts. Huge explosions killed dozens of low rank beasts and some fled in fear. [You have massacred dozens of C rank beasts!] [You have earned 30,000 EXP] The S rank beast roared once again and this time grew to its original size. Was it going to attack seriously now? "I''ll just take the girl by force then!" A voice said in my head, this time it sounded like a human''s voice and was completely different to the Forest King''s. I peered at the Forest King with my Demon eye. I could see its meridians, it was definitely a beast, so where did the voice appear from? Vast amounts of plant magic enveloped the atmosphere and for the first time I panicked. Large, thick vines popped up from the ground as the beast raised its hand. The beast was aiming for Malia! I pounced, leaving a large crater in the ground. I skyrocketed towards her, breaking the sound barrier. Everything moved in slow motion, the vines were inches away from grabbing her. I reached my hand out and threw small lance-shaped lightning Bolts. They pierced through the air radiating lightning mana, in a second the vines were severed. I grabbed Malia up and sped through the forest, leaping from branch to branch. I could definitely not fight that beast. That sharp rise in mana pressure that was emitting from that beast was unreal. I would die if I fought that beast alone. Suddenly, vines strengthened by mana, popped up from the ground and grabbed onto my foot . I tried to kick it loose but it wouldn''t unfasten, instead it tightened and started rising up my body. NO! The vines started to wrap around Malia and I could feel her cold body moving out of my grasp Chapter 66 - Forest King II "Shackles Release!" I shouted, causing a surge of chaotic mana to engulf the atmosphere. My muscles pulsed and my veins glowed a hue of gold and a mix of red. I could feel every muscle fibre in my body tighten. My hair slowly changed to a blood colour and an overwhelming strength enveloped my body. The lightning around my body became concentrated with pure lightning mana, I pulled the vines off of my body and tore Malia free. I hopped off the branch and landed on the forest floor. I stared at the Forest King in front of me. A sharp pain on my forehead caused me to close my eyes, 2 horns propped up and the pain subsided. My transformation was finally over. More vines started to appear out of the ground but I incinerated them using Flame magic. [S rank - Forest King is intimidated] "It can''t be Luci-" The human voice in my head was interrupted, as I conjured a 10 foot lightning bolt and threw it with force. ''Indra''s Arrow!'' The lightning rod cackled, frying the air; it travelled at a mind splitting speed. I watched as the Forest King fell to its knees. The lightning rod went straight through, leaving a large hole in its chest; it didn''t stop there and continued to move past the trees causing havoc for another couple hundred metres. [You have massacred Dozens of C rank beasts!] [You have earned 40,000 EXP] [Congratulations! You have levelled up!] [You have received 10 stat points] [Available Stat points: 30] [Mana has been restored] I didn''t get a notification for killing the Forest King, instead I ended up killing other beasts behind it; I had to finish this before the forest king healed. I rested Malia against a tree and held Voadhailis''s Claw in my hand. I had to end this. The forest King got up and walked back holding the large hole in its chest, it pointed at me and dozens of beasts started running towards me, mindlessly. I pointed the blade towards the sky, dark clouds started forming and rain started to fall. Soon thunder and lightning started striking the ground mercilessly and blood splattered everywhere; it looked like Zeus''s wrath was being shunned on the Earth. [You have massacred dozens of C rank beasts!] I levitated up and swung my blade down, an ear splitting thunderclap shook the forest and millions of volts of electricity struck the Forest King. [Congratulations! You have created a new skill!] [What do you want to name it?] ''Zeus''s Wrath''. [You have used 4000 MP] The other beasts stopped moving. Did something happen? I peered past the dozens of beasts blocking my view with my demon eye; the green body of the Forest King made up of plants was now charred black; it stopped moving and flopped on the ground dead like a shriveled autumn leaf. [Congratulations! You have killed the S rank beast - Forest king (Clone)] [You have earned 100,000 EXP] [Congratulations! You have levelled up!] [Available stat points: 40] [MP has been restored] CLONE?! My eyes widened. What was the meaning of this?! So where was the real one situated? Did it switch consciousness at the last second to its main body? I dropped to one knee and gritted my teeth. My red hair started to go back to its dark hue and my horns were slowly receding. I was completely fatigued. My MP was back but that didn''t mean anything if my body didn''t let me use it. Where was help when I needed it? The beasts roared as they were still under control of the Forest King''s main body, hiding somewhere. The ground shook as the army of beasts were running towards me. I cursed my luck. I was going to die again. I really got played, huh? I didn''t even have energy to run, but if I gave up here, they''d kill Malia. I had to fight. Why weren''t there any potions to restore energy? Wait, what would happen if I increase my Stamina points? Would I recover energy? Gritting my teeth I stumbled up with my last ounces of energy, I sliced the ground 5 metres in front of me, a wall of fire appeared separating Malia and I from the beasts running havoc. That would buy some time. I opened up the system menu and placed 30 points into stamina and 10 into intelligence. [Stamina has increased 156 -> 186] [Intelligence has increased 50 -> 60] I felt a little energy come back to me, at least enough to run, I picked Malia and started to move but I was stopped by a familiar voice. I sweared internally as I realised whose voice it was. "I didn''t think you were this powerful, Young man." Another Forest King stood to my right; It had miniaturised from its usual 20 foot size to my height. The voice was definitely a human''s, how was this person controlling a S rank beast? "Who are you?" I asked, keeping on guard, Lightning cackled around me at my question. "You don''t need to know that; Although I''m surprised at how you''re half demon." I listened carefully to the human voice echoing in my head. "Especially that demonic Aura that you emitted during that transformation, you even intimidated the Forest King. Let me ask you a question, young one." I nodded. "Are you a descendant of Lucifer? You''re a one eyed demon after all." I frowned at the question. Lucifer? I had never heard of that name. What did one-eyed demons resemble? I felt a deep unease at the man''s question and the memory of receiving the gift from Kayden played through my head like a cassette tape. "Looking at your reaction, it doesn''t seem like you know what I''m talking about. Just a piece of advice though, if you ever visit the demon kingdom, hide that human eye of yours." A cold shiver ran down my spine at the man''s cold voice in my head. It felt like a brain freeze engulfing my skull in ice. "There! It''s there! Hurry!" A stern man''s shout travelled throughout the forest along with trampling footsteps. They were humans, it looked to be a party of 6 mages; they were all B and low C rank. Did they come due to the commotion? More importantly, who sent these mages? I flipped my gaze back to the S rank beast in front of me. "It was nice meeting you descendant of Lucifer, I shall take my leave now. I really do like you. Let''s meet again sometime." "What''s your name? At least tell me that." I pointed Voadhailis''s Claw at the beast. Suddenly, it disappeared out of my line of vision and reappeared in front of me again. It was so fast even I couldn''t see what had happened. Was it due to my fatigue? My senses felt sluggish. My blade was parried and a sharp punch connected with my sternum; my body refused to listen to me and I dropped to the ground in slow motion. "I''m Astaroth." The roar of beasts and distant shouts of the party of mages was the last thing I heard before my eyes closed Chapter 67 - Where Am I? What was this feeling? It was a feeling I had never felt before. This feeling of something wet messaging and cleansing my body. It felt refreshing and soothing. I slowly regained my energy and opened my eyes gradually. A cool wipe travelled smoothly across my abdomen, taking out the burning sensation tingling from my skin. There was a beautiful woman, I had never seen before. She turned away to a small table, which had a small wooden bucket placed on it. She twisted the wet cloth making water drip into the bucket, then dipped the cloth again and repeated, before turning to me and applying the cloth on my naked upper body. Who was she? I was too dumbstruck to speak. Her golden hair flowed and her white skin complimented her pink lips. She wore ragged and dirty clothing and her hands- they seemed tired from overworking. I suddenly remembered and instinctively closed my right eye. "It seems like you''re awake, young adventurer." She finally spoke looking at my surprised face, "You don''t need to worry, this old woman will take care of you." Old woman? I didn''t speak, instead I looked around the room. Everything was wooden, it was really a small room with only a bed and a single table that her utensils were on. I looked at the utensils. There were lots of plying tools and knives. "Sorry, but where am I?" I asked politely, before swinging my feet and sitting on the bedside. I looked down at my glistening body and especially looked at the large scar at the centre of my chest. That was where that wooden branch had pierced me from during my fight. "You''re at the infirmary." She said, still dipping the wet cloth into the bucket of water. "Which infirmary?" "You don''t need to know that, now stop talking and stay still!" she shouted and dark metal chains appeared around my wrists and feet. What the- I couldn''t resist as the chains tightened and I was pulled back onto the bed. I couldn''t use my mana. They were completely sealed. "I haven''t finished your treatment yet." She said sinisterly, I couldn''t see her face but I had a bad feeling about this. I heard loud cackles, which made my hairs stand up. Then she slowly turned her head and looked at me. My eyes widened and I felt an unsettling unease envelop me. Her beautiful face had aged into a disgusting old, wrinkled mess filled with hairy pimples. Her golden hair was turning white and her beautiful posture soon transformed into a round hunchback. A sinister smile stretched on her face from ear to ear, showing her crooked teeth. She shouldn''t have turned around. She started to approach me and touched my trousers with her disgusting nails. They started to slowly move up from the bottom of my leg all the way up, until they were going to reach my golden prizes. "You''re all mine." She laughed disgustingly. "Get your filthy hands off of me!" I shouted, my voice sounded demonic as it reverberated, my voice sounded layered. I opened my right eye and peered at her. She stepped back flinching, with fear written all over her face. I yanked the chains off, ripping them apart and stood tall towering over her. "D-Demon." She whispered, her body shivered and she fell backwards knocking the small table over, the bucket fell also and milky water spilled everywhere. Was that what she was putting on my body? What was that sh*t?! I grabbed her neck with my right arm and lifted her up against the wall. She struggled to get rid of my grip. "What is this place?!" I shouted, my demonic voice reverberating behind my real voice. "I-I can''t tell you, I-I''m not allowed." she stuttered. I let go of her and she dropped to the floor on her knees going into a fit of coughs. "Where are my belongings? My rings. My clothes. Where are they?!" I asked her with a deathly stare. I wasn''t in the mood to play games. I had to find Malia. "Th-They''re over there." She pointed at a small box in the corner of the room. I looked away and walked over to the box. "Aaaarghh!" I heard a loud battle cry and looked behind me, she held a large sword and swung it towards my neck. I didn''t move out of the way, instead I stopped the sword by grabbing the blade with my index finger and thumb, then pressed them together, shattering the sword''s blade into two. "W-Wait! P-Please spare me!" She screamed, crying in fear. I hated doing this but I had to, I flicked her forehead and she flew back and crashed against the wooden wall. She laid limp on the ground unable to move. I checked her pulse quickly before obtaining the things inside the box. I put on my silver rings one by one and pulled out fresh clothes from one of the dimension rings. I wore a plain black Shirt enhanced by Earth mana and black trousers and matching shoes. Lastly, I couldn''t forget my eye patch; Putting it on, my strength dwindled a little and my demonic aura disappeared. "What''s going on? Room 406!" Someone shouted from outside. I approached the door before kicking it with force, It blew backwards and shattered into smithereens. I strolled out and looked left and right. A wide hallway stretched both ways. I Was a bit surprised by the decorations on the walls and red carpet. "You! Get back to your room!" A guard clad in armour shouted, running towards me. I cracked my neck left and right before flash stepping towards the guard. I grabbed the man''s face with my hand and slammed him into the ground. A loud noise could be heard, as the floor became stained with blood and a crack stretched out on the stone ground like a spider''s web. "MALIA! Where are you?!" I shouted. For some reason I couldn''t use any mana in the hallway. Was this some sort of prison for mages? Instead of hearing a response from Malia , several dozen guards appeared from behind me holding spears and a dozen more from in front of me. "Step back and go back to your room!" one of them shouted, "Otherwise-" "Otherwise what?" I smiled, while rolling the sleeves of my shirt up. The men moved back a little at the question. They looked at their dead friend''s mushed head and gulped, then looked back at me. "I don''t want to kill you all, it would be quite sad causing a genocide for no reason. Don''t you agree? Now tell me what this place is, otherwise." I emphasised the ''Otherwise'', "Otherwise, there''ll be a lot of blood spilled today. Please, I''d rather you just let me go. I''m looking for someone." "G-Guards get him! Aarghhhhh!!!" the leader shouted before letting out a battle cry. Dozens of soldiers ran at me. I shook my head before putting my hands in my pockets. I couldn''t use Seikuken, so this would be good training. I weaved through the countless number of guards throwing a fit of kicks, I knocked a couple back with a single kick and dodged angry fists of guards. I parried a spear lunge coming from behind me and tornado kicked the guard''s jaw, he flew back taking 3 or 4 down with him. "Why can''t I hit him?!" One of them shouted in frustration. "Because-" I flash stepped towards him and roundhouse kicked his head with force, "I am stronger." "Okay that''s enough!" A domineering and powerful voice shook the air and the guards all stepped back as if they recognised whose voice it was. "Guards leave! I shall handle this matter." A man wearing a dark suit appeared 5 or so metres away from me. He had white hair and a white beard, with his hands behind his back, he showed off his confidence. I could tell he was strong when I saw the large scar on the side of his face, It expressed his experience in fighting. He looked to be around Gramps''s age, so I had to be cautious; the old guys were never to be underestimated. After the guards cleared the hallway and only the bodies of the unconscious and dead remained, the old man finally exerted his mana pressure on me. A dark glow coated his body; he was using ''mana skin''. This man was strong. He was opposing the anti magic in the hallway and was even able to show off his mana pressure to me. Interesting. I slowly took out my hands from my pockets and cracked my fingers. Chapter 68 - The Hunter Association "I''m surprised, you can withstand my pressure." the old man smiled. I released my mana pressure finally staring at the man with a stern face, it took a large amount of concentration to oppose the anti magic in the hallway. Our pressures collided and we exchanged looks of enjoyment. "What''s your name, young one?" the old man asked before relieving his mana pressure. "Zeref Amara." I did the same and relieved my pressure too. "You have the same name as an acquaintance of mine," he said. "Yeah, it''s my grandfather''s name." "No way! You''re lying." he said shocked, losing his composure, eyeing me down. "I may have learned a couple things from him." I smiled and the gravity around him intensified. Cracks formed underneath him but he looked unfazed. I was quite surprised, normally this trick would make people crumble and kneel in front of me, but this person was of course stronger. "Impressive, Impressive." he clapped his hands and smiled. The darkness mana surrounding his body trickled up his face and danced around like snakes. It was an odd sight but it looked interesting. He was definitely withstanding the gravity by augmenting his body with darkness mana. "I''m deeply sorry son that you had to witness this, since I owe your grandfather anyways I''ll help you out. Follow me to my office, we shall talk there." He said turning around and walking down the hallway; I hurried after him. "May I quickly ask if you know the whereabouts of my friend, she was near me when I was unconscious." I said politely. "Oh yes. She''s alive and well, she''s also in the infirmary." At his words my eyes opened, the memory of that old hag touching my body made me worry, what kind of infirmary was this place? Would they do the same to Malia? "Where?!" I said frantically. "Why in such a hurry son? You miss your girlfriend that much huh? She''s in room 354, one floor below us." He said, at the moment I found out the info I needed, I flash stepped past him towards the stairs. "Meet me in room 500, when you''re done. We have things to discuss, kid." the man shouted behind me as I was already running down the stairs. ** I kicked the door down and was met with 2 nurses looking at me shocked. Malia was on the bed sleeping peacefully. "Wh-" before one of them could speak I released my killing intent making them both fall in shock and fear. "You old hags, What did you do to her?!" I shouted. "Old hags? That''s a bit rude don''t you think. They''re 2 beautiful young ladies." A man spoke from behind me. I turned around and was almost about to punch his head in, but he shrieked, "Chill! We''re not here to harm you or your girlfriend, we''re the ones who saved you." As he said that the party of 6 that I saw running towards me back in the forest, all stood in front of me. There were 3 women, all over the age of 20 at least and 3 men around the same age. The moody man at the back must have been their leader. "Oooh. He''s a pretty boy, sad he''s got a girlfriend." one of the women pouted. I scoffed at her comment and looked back at the 2 nurses. "If you hurt her, know I will find you, skin you alive and feed you to an A rank beast. You understand?" I spoke coldly with pauses so the two nurses could understand. They nodded frantically. "Dude, that''s a bit harsh, what nurse did you have in your room?" the annoying man at the door laughed, I didn''t laugh back. "What''s your name?" I asked the guy. "Derek why?" "You talk too much." ** I had left Malia in the 2 nurse''s care and left for room 500. The party of 6 followed after me for some reason, it was unfortunate as I was constantly annoyed by the young man asking me all sorts of questions. "So were you the one who massacred all those beasts?" he asked me with curious gleaming eyes. "Yes." "No wayy! How old even are you?" "None of your business and stop talking." His constant nagging made my mood a bit lighter as he reminded me of Jace. "So young man, why were you and your girlfriend in the forest alone anyways?" one of the women elbowed me from my side. "Firstly, she''s just a friend and secondly, stop asking questions." When we had finally arrived, I knocked on the door. "Come in." the old man''s voice could be heard from the other side. I turned the handle of the door and we all entered the room. The room was of a decent size, maybe 7 metres by 7 metres, there were a couple chairs in front of the old man''s Cherrywood desk. He sat on an office style chair behind a desk; I stared at a wooden block on the table carved with the words ''Director''. I sat down when he gestured to us to sit. I didn''t know why the other hunters were here but I was about to find out. "So old man, what is this place exactly?" I asked. "This place is the infirmary of the Hunter Association campus. This is a 5 storey building, accommodating 499 rooms, all dedicated to healing hunters that have been hurt." the old man answered "Why did you have some old witch pin me down with mana sealing chains? I was this close to killing her. What kind of sick people do you hire?" I said in disgust. "What do you mean? What old woman? We only hire young medical mages." "That old witch, she was disguised as someone young then transformed, she had lots of plying and knife tools." I sighed, "You''re telling me, you have no clue who that old woman was?" "So that''s why you were so paranoid about those young nurses in your girlfriend''s room." Derek butted into our conversation. I glared at the talkative man before looking back at the old geezer''s pondering face. If he didn''t know what was happening, it meant that woman was purposely there to torture me or something; there was no other explanation. Maybe she was part of another organisation or something. "It''s fine, just get on with what you wanted to talk about. I need to get back home soon." I said. "Okay then," the old man finally spoke up, "Firstly, I''m sorry about what you experienced in these quarters and I''m ashamed to let such a thing happen in our vicinity. I will thoroughly investigate this incident. However, I wanted to discuss a couple things with you. "We have seen your power, these hunters (he pointed at the people sitting next to me) saw the direct massacre and aftermath of your fight with the beast king. You managed to kill its clone, something that was thought to be suicide before you attempted it, and you even killed hundreds of C rank and B rank beasts. "The mana output readings in that area were extraordinary and the hunter association even picked up demon aura somehow. "Therefore, I want to recruit you and make you a hunter for the hunter association, I will make you an A rank hunter straight away. This will allow you to gain many benefits, a fixed salary of 100 Diamond coins per year, plus a great authority in society. What do you say?" The director finally stopped talking. "You haven''t even explained what your association is." I stated. "Hahaaahha! My bad, I thought everyone knew about the Hunter association. Our organisation handles matters to do with magic beasts and atrocities such as sudden attacks from S rank beasts. We also get missions from the public such as protecting personnel-" "I refuse." I cut the old man off, and the hunters around me looked at me with wide eyes. "Do you know what you''re refusing?! Do you even know the worth of 1 diamond coin?!" the old man got up and slammed his palm on the table out of anger. Hunter my ass! Being a worker under their organisation would enclose me to rules and regulations I had to follow and money, money was not a problem for me and it never will. Joining them would bring me no benefits. "I very well know what I''m rejecting. Instead I want to propose a deal to you." I smiled, putting one leg over the other and spreading my arms out on the arm rest. The old man sat back down and the red that flushed on his face slowly disappeared. "Why don''t we become partners? I can provide you with funds and finance to help you grow your organisation and reduce the corporate taxes you will have to pay. In return, you will let my company use your assets and provide me with some other benefits." "Hahahahaha! That is the funniest thing I''ve heard till today. Last time I checked your old grandfather was a poor man and so were his ch-" A sharp pressure covered the whole room, making the hunters freeze, with wide eyes. "I''m the current owner and CEO of the Bank of Vrimeon. Please don''t anger me, I could click my fingers and I''d be sitting where you''re sitting, but I wouldn''t do that, wasting money on a company such as yours would bring me no benefits." I relieved the mana pressure and the hunters readjusted their seating positions. Even the annoying one, made sure to stay silent. Obviously I lied about the last bit, I wouldn''t be offering them a deal if there was nothing for me to gain. The real reason I needed their assets was for protecting my own. I owned a lot of land under the name of the bank; The bank''s army didn''t have enough numbers to protect these lands. "How do I know you''re not bluffing?" the old man asked with a serious face. I dropped 5 brown sacs on the table, by pulling them out from my dimension ring. The hunters'' eyes gleamed hungrily at the huge amount of money at the table. "There''s 1000 Platinum coins in each sac and 500 in the last one. If you sign the contract deal with me I''ll give you 4000 now, and give my saviours, the hunters 500." I said, cracking my fingers. The old man gulped, "You''re exactly like your old man, extremely cunning. I''ll sign the deal." I smiled at his words. ** We had come to terms with the contract and we both signed it. The bank would send 750 platinum coins each month to the Hunter association starting from next year for a duration of 1 year, then after that it would reduce to 500 platinum coins monthly; their taxes would also be reduced by 17.5%. In return, the bank would be able to use the army of hunters trained by the hunter''s association whenever for personal use. I would also receive 35% of the company''s shares and get a VIP card, which held the same authority as a ''vice director'' in the organisation. Overall it was a good deal and the bank wouldn''t really be suffering from this as most of the cash outflow was from my own pocket. The real reason I was so rich was because of hunting the beasts. Hunters did the same as me, but they sold their goods to the Hunter association, who payed them stupid amounts for their kills like 100 Gold coins for a B rank beast. In my case, I sold my kills to the underground black market dealers, where the demand for the beasts was extremely high. This way I bargained the maximum price I could, before walking away with hundreds of Platinum coins. My other plan was to buy the dead beasts that the Hunter association would buy from the Hunters. I would bargain a price for those beasts and then sell it to the black market for a way better price, Ultimately making me gain back the coins I would give to the Hunter Association. It would all work as a cycle of giving and taking but ultimately I would benefit the most. "Pleasure doing business with you." I shook the old man''s hand and exited the room. I left the hunters dumbfounded and astounded as I dropped a sac of platinum coins in Derek''s hands. I quickly picked up the unconscious Malia from her room and walked out of the infirmary. I was surprised that she was still unconscious. I wanted to find out what had happened to her but I wasn''t a healer like my mother, so I had to head home to figure out what had actually happened to her. What intrigued me the most was the campus of the Hunter Association, the infirmary was the smallest block of them all, there was a central building a couple 100 meters away - their headquarters - that made Xanxus''s school look like a child in comparison. It looked quite modern, lots of steel and glass was used. Hunters gave me interested looks as I walked past them, especially the girls, I walked past them and approached the central building of the Hunter Association. The entrance was made of see through glass, guards opened it at my arrival and gestured me in. I approached the counter. "Hi! How may I help you?" A young girl wearing formal black attire sat behind the counter. She briefly looked at Malia''s face resting on my shoulder, then smiled back at me. I gave Malia a piggyback instead of holding her heroine style. That would have been cringe worthy. "I want to use the Portal, I need to get back to the main city." I said sliding my VIP Black Card on the desk. Her face went pale, before she smiled at me again. "Y-Yes sir. Please follow that man over there, he will take you to the portal." She pointed at a man with a ginger beard, wearing a suit. They exchanged brief nods, before he gestured to me to follow him. We entered through a large door into a grand hall. The hall was extremely spacious with dimensions of probably 30 metres by 40 metres. At the end of the hall, A large blue portal was heavily guarded by 20 or more hunters, some talking while others stood by the gate. I followed the man to the portal. I felt a couple pervy gazes at Malia, resting on my back but I let it slide. I felt the urge to snap them in half but held myself back. I gave them a chilling glare instead, making them look at the floor, before readjusting my grip around Malia''s thighs. "Where to?" A man, wearing a long navy robe spoke, pressing buttons on a tab made up of mana. Technology definitely lacked in this world, but new inventions were coming out with the help of mana. "Xanxus Academy, Hysteria City." I said, looking at the tall man. Hysteria City was where Xanxus Academy and the market was situated. We lived on the east side of the city and never really ventured anywhere else. That just made me want to explore more; There were even other kingdoms, there was so much I didn''t know about. Xanxus Academy was outside the east of the city but my mansion still was only a 20 min walk away. The man nodded, "Please enter the portal, I''ve set coordinates for Xanxus Academy. Permission of transfer has also been granted." I didn''t waste a second and entered the portal. [You have entered a blue portal] Chapter 69 - Return As I exited the portal, I was met with Xanxus and everyone''s faces. I gave them a wry smile before Jace and Naz both hugged me in sync. "How''s she?" Xanxus asked nervously, rubbing his hands together. "She''s still unconscious for some reason, I don''t know what''s wrong with her. I''m taking her home, so mother can check up on her." I said, before Jace and Naz let go of me. I staggered a little but Jace and Naz held me up. "You need to rest Zeref." Naz''s voice was filled with concern. "Here, let me hold her." Jace offered. "No, it''s fine. You guys continue with your lessons; you''re already missing so much because of this incident. Exams are starting next week." I stated, lightning sparks formed around my body and my dark hair rose due to the electricity. "Zeref wa-" I didn''t let Jace finish, speeding through the hallways, I made it out of the school in seconds. I wanted to know what actually happened by asking Sara but that would have to wait, Malia was my priority right now. ** "Zeref! You''re finally home." Mother hugged me tightly, gesturing me to come inside, "I heard what happened from Mr Xanxus." I placed Malia''s body on the couch before taking a seat next to her. Mother didn''t waste a second and cast a diagnosing spell. "That was reckless of you." Mother''s voice was serious. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You think you''re alone in this world? That you don''t have people who care for you and worry for your safety, every second of the day? How can you keep making me worry? "You left without a warning and kept me in the dark again. "Don''t think you''re a god because of how gifted or talented you are. I can tell by your body''s state that you had a near death experience, especially looking at that large scar on your chest. How many beasts did you encounter? 50? 100? "That was extremely stupid and dumb of you. You had so many options but you became arrogant and chased after her. What if something happened to you? We''d have to save both of your foolish bums." Mother''s speech left me silent, playing with my fingers and in deep thought. I knew she was just worried for me but this was still all new to me. In my previous life I lived by my own rules and didn''t have to worry about others except Nina, but even her, I didn''t grow up with her; I grew up alone. I didn''t have people like a mother looking out for me or someone who worried for me. I didn''t have to worry about others either, I was a lone demon. "Sorry mother." I said sincerely. "It''s ok honey, it''s just I don''t want to lose you too." I saw her looking away from Malia''s body, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "You don''t have to worry, her body seems to be fine but her mind is in a bad condition right now. She''s in some state of coma, it may take weeks or months for her to wake up. I don''t know what happened but it definitely damaged her mentally." I gritted my teeth at the revelation. I needed answers! What happened between Sara and Malia? Nothing was adding up. How could a beast suddenly just show up? "Thank you mother, I''ll go for a shower, then study a little for the exams next week." I said, smiling at her. ** The warmth of the Sage water rejuvenated my mana pool and relieved all the stress from my body. I closed my eyes and meditated, drop by drop the mana around me syphoned into my mana pool. It had been years since I had a breakthrough, I was still stuck at mana pool stage 5. With every stage, I grew in strength exponentially and my body went through a metamorphosis. I had the skills and experience now but my body had reached a bottleneck in its evolution; I needed to improve my mana pool stage. "I''m coming in!!!" I heard a shout, someone slammed the door open and cannonballed into the pool. "Oww!! Why''s this pool so shallow?" Jace stood up rubbing his butt. I had forgotten I shared the room and pool with this guy. I shook my head, ignoring his stupidity and focusing on my meditation. "Meditating, I see you." Jace poked me, "So how are things going with Malia? Is she well?" "Yeah she''s good." "You even wear that eye patch in here? You psycho, what''s under there?" "I have my reasons... Now let me focus." "Zeref." his tone became serious, making me open my eyes and concentrate on what he was about to say. "I have something to tell you." I nodded to show I was listening. "Can you train me? I never thought I''d be saying this but I feel weak. I never sought power unlike you, but now I feel like I need to. "I''m trying to catch up to someone. I don''t know if I''m in love, but I feel inclined to protect her even if she doesn''t want my protection or isn''t interested in me." This was the first time I saw Jace being serious, it was really an odd sight. I liked this side of him, he switched so quickly I didn''t know if this person was Jace. "Jace, is that really you?" I joked, poking his chest. "Oh shut up man. Hahahaha! I''m being serious." He laughed, flicking my finger away. "I''ll train you but know that it will be hard." "Thanks bro." He hugged me with one arm, realising we were both just in our boxers he moved away to the other side of the pool, his face beet red. "Sooo, who''s this girl? I don''t even have a crush yet and you''re already knees deep in love." I said smiling at my pondering friend. He looked spaced out staring at the ceiling. "I''ve always been a loser, weak, bullied, poor, but then I was saved by you. You saved me from my miserable life. Thanks for that. Thanks for everything." his eyes gleamed the passion he was talking with. "What''s with the sentimental talk? You sound like an old geezer." I humoured but he didn''t laugh. "I liked many girls before but this one... these feelings are different. I feel like we connect so well, Awwwwhh! You''re making me blush!" he said loudly, covering his face. "Stop leaving me on edge and tell me who this girl is, you fool!" "It''s Drum roll please" he drum rolled, using his hands, making water splash everywhere. Chapter 70 - Jace’s Secret "HAH! I ain''t telling you." Jace laughed. I facepalmed myself at his stupidity. "It doesn''t matter anyways, you can go for whatever girl you want so I''ll help you get this girl. Meet me in the basement in the Chrono Chamber. We''re gonna do a light spar." I said getting up, water dripped down as I walked towards my towel. "Wait! I''ll tell you her name. Promise me you won''t tell anyone." "I promise." I said looking back at him and drying my body at the same time. "It''s Naz." as he said that, he covered his face again in embarrassment. "Okay." I really didn''t care who he liked, as long as he was happy. I dried myself and walked out of the pool room. I wore a dark t-shirt and cream shorts. Putting my rings on one by one, I stared at the mirror. Damn! I was a giant! 6 ft tall at the age of 13, that was unheard of. My skin had a white complexion due to the demon blood coursing through my veins. My dark hair grew again in length, long enough to be put in a bun. My muscles weren''t huge but extremely toned, which made me look lean like a track athlete. I made my way down to the chrono chamber grabbing something to eat on the way. I stretched my muscles and did a light jog around the white box. The chrono chamber was a 100 metre by 100 metre cube underneath the mansion; it allowed time to slow down inside meaning training in here allowed more progress. The side effects were that it''d slowly make you age quicker, which was the exact reason humans were only recommended to be in the chamber for a max time of 2 hours. For me it was different, demons aged at a different speed than humans and lived for centuries, still looking young. Lucky me, I could train for hours and not suffer any side effects. "Yoo! I''m back." Jace walked into the white hall wearing a white t-shirt with matching grey trousers, " So are we going to warm up first or what?" "Yeah. Do 50 push ups, 50 squats, 50 sit ups and 5 laps around the edge of the chamber, then we''ll begin." "What the hell! At Least half that. I''m a noob!" he whined. "I was tempted to give you a 100 of each. Stop whining and get on with it, this will build discipline in you and get rid of that laziness. Consistency is the key to improving." I rolled my eyes. Jace cursed his luck before getting started with his warm up routine. By the end he was already sweating buckets and lying on the ground panting. "I''m done for today. I''m leaving." he wheezed. "As if," I laughed, "I''m going to teach you a new technique, which will help you regain energy and mana while moving." "B-But that''s impossible. Even the professors at school always told us that''s impossible." Jace said, still panting, now sitting on the cold floor. "Well forget whatever rubbish techniques they taught you, I''m teaching you a technique I created on my own." "As you know everyone has a mana pool and there''s mana abundant in the atmosphere at all times, the same way oxygen and nitrogen are always present in the air." I started. "Wait wait! What''s this oxygen thing and the other thing you said?" Jace was finally focusing and listening. I had forgotten that science hadn''t advanced that far in this world. "It''s what the air is made up of. When we breathe in, oxygen goes into our lungs and diffuses into our bloodstream. The oxygen then is used for respiration etc." "I understood none of that. What gibberish are you talking about?" Jace scratched his head in confusion. I facepalmed myself taking a couple deep breaths before continuing to explain what I had initially planned. "Forget about all that, just focus on the info about the mana. As I was saying, mana is abundant in the air at all times. When our mana pools are depleted we can replenish them on the move through this technique. "Having a fine control over your own mana is the first step to mastering this technique, if you can manipulate your own mana that''s flowing through your meridians, controlling the mana particles in the air outside your body becomes a much easier task. "Therefore, the first step will be focusing on meditation. In the beginning we''ll be focusing on perfecting your meditation technique. Staying still and gathering the mana around you, I want you to direct your mana around your body instead of into your mana pool directly. This will help your body get used to circulating mana, helping you to do this while fighting and moving. "So begin your meditating, We''ll do this for half an hour, then some combat basics. We also need to study for the exams next week, so don''t waste time." Jace nodded and began his meditation. When I saw his eyes close I removed my eye patch, so I could see his mana flow in his meridians. He was doing well but when his concentration faltered the mana flow disrupted and started spreading uncontrollably. "This is harder than it looks." Jace said gritting his teeth, focusing hard on the mana in his body. I scoffed at his comment and put my eye patch back on, I also sat down and meditated, I wanted to break through to the 6th stage as soon as possible. My fight with the Forest King showed me no matter how much work I put in, neglecting the basic things such as the power of your mana pool played huge roles during fights. Grinding levels and gaining power would never stop no matter how strong I became, I always had to prepare for the worst. ** "Come on, hit me." I said as Jace struggled to land a hit on me. I taught him the basics of kickboxing and dilled basic combos into him. He didn''t act like it, but he was extremely talented in combat. Still, he was a beginner, maybe I could teach him assassin techniques too later on. "I''m trying! Stop moving all over the place." Jace''s frustration resounded in his voice, as he imbued water mana into his legs and roundhouse kicked my head. A loud noise echoed in the hall as I blocked the powerful kick with my forearm, I pushed the leg back and punched his chest making him tumble back on the ground. "Ouch. That one hurt. How are you so strong?" Jace rubbed his chest in pain before getting up and dashing towards me. "Aim for the vital points, the neck, the jaws, the groin. In a fight anything counts, there are no rules. Especially if you''re weaker than your opponent, utilise the small advantages you have or things around you." I blocked another punch and parried his leg, I then stepped around him and twisted his arm behind his back, making him kneel. "Aarghh.I tap out. I tap out!" He said, groaning. I let go but that was a mistake. His speed increased suddenly, his body twisted facing me before he leaped up like a frog throwing an uppercut. His fist was centimetres away from my face, on reflex I stepped back and instinctively threw a sharp left hook towards his chin. His body froze before dropping to the floor limp. Crap! I knocked him out. I checked if he was okay and everything seemed fine, he wasn''t dead. That caught me by surprise, I was so used to his slow punches that the sudden increase in speed almost cost me my chin. I let him rest on the ground. Facing the other way I continued my shadowboxing. A couple minutes passed before I felt a kick coming for my head. Guess he was awake now. I dodged the kick and pivoted to face myself towards Jace. Something was wrong. His eyes became plain white and I could sense his mana pressure growing with every second. He dashed towards me like a madman and threw a fit of punches and kicks, I struggled to dodge them and began parrying them instead. What was wrong with him? Was he fighting unconscious? "Jace, snap out of it. What''s wrong with you?" Jace didn''t answer back and instead shrieked like a beast before conjuring a wave of water. I levitated up into the air and used Ice mana to freeze the 10 metre water wave coming for me. Jace''s distraction worked well, he utilised it to flash step behind my line of vision. He leaped up and a water compressed gauntlet formed around his fist. The punch made contact with my back making me rocket down and smash into the hardened floor. [You have suffered 700 damage] I groaned before getting back on my feet. I didn''t know how he improved so much in such a short time. Maybe his new form was a transformation; I just wanted to make sure he was safe. His crazy shrieks made me feel scared for him but his combat prowess surprised me. He was getting stronger with every clash and as a teacher I felt elated. Maybe this lazy bum should always use this form. "Jace. I don''t care anymore, I''m putting your ass to sleep." the familiar buzz of lightning coursed through my veins and I advanced forward. Our clash made me smile as I enjoyed the hand to hand combat. Due to my experience I was able to take minimal damage but the same couldn''t be said for Jace. His body was becoming more and more battered by the minute, even though I was holding back. I tried to wake him up several times, using slaps, punches, grapples. Nothing worked. He was like a terminator, just looking to kill. Finally ending his crazy fit, I froze him with gravity magic and lightly knocked him out with a chop to the back of his neck. I made sure to chain him up with mana binding chains, which I had purchased from the black market for a hefty price. ** "Wakey, wakey!" I said splashing water on the still unconscious Jace''s face. Around half an hour passed and he still remained unconscious. Suddenly, he took a deep breath in like a drowning person breathing in air for the first time. "What the hell happened and why is it so cold?" Okay this was the Jace I knew. I smiled, warming him up with gentle flame mana. "Bruhh! What''s with the chains? Get me out of these." he moaned. "So you have no memory of what just happened? That crazy fit you went on?" I asked Jace, my arms folded. "Hell no! Does it look like I remember? Let me loose." I sighed, removing the dark chains wrapping his body. When he finally composed himself he asked, "So what happened? Last thing I remembered was trying to get a surprise uppercut on you, you somehow dodged and everything went black after that." "After I knocked you out, you turned into some madman. It was quite cool I must say, your eyes went all white and your mana pressure became menacing. Nevertheless, you were still weak." I Shrugged. "Damn! So do I suffer from some brain disease or something?" Jace scratched his head. "I''m not sure myself, you''re pretty stupid as it is, I don''t know if that counts but that thing you did when you went unconscious, it increased your battle prowess by miles. "I thought you were a whole new person, don''t worry though, we''ll figure out what your mental issue is." I sniggered at the last bit. "Oii!" "Anyhow, time to go study for the exams next week, we''ll train here at the same time everyday till the exams. You go get some rest. I still have some meditating to do before I go and study." "Okay. See you at dinner." Chapter 71 - Baseline Exams The days went by quickly, I trained Jace every afternoon after school; his progress was steady and he had a real knack for fighting. However, the same couldn''t be said for his studying capabilities. He was downright just dumb at this point, I tried my hardest tutoring him but nothing worked. Naz would also come over once in a while and we''d all study together. The flirtatious chatter between Naz and Jace always left my brain bugging, so very little studying actually happened. -Flashback to the study session- Jace sat on Naz''s right and occasionally glanced at her while Naz had her eyes glued to the textbook. I sat opposite Jace, trying not to sigh at his awkwardness. He looked up at me and I mouthed subtly to him, "Compliment her." I widened my eyes and slowly nodded in Naz''s direction. Jace looked like he was doing maths, his brain loading and intaking as to what I had just signalled him. "Ohhhhhh" he quietly whispered, making Naz look up at him. I quickly ducked my head back into my book, pretending to work. "What?" she said, putting her book down. Jace absolutely froze at her eye contact and his brain just buffered. His eyes darted everywhere and I could see the clear sweat running down his forehead. "Uh-uhm- you look pretty today" Naz froze, her cheeks growing noticeably red. Their eyes met and silence filled the air, creating an awkward atmosphere. Under the table, I slightly nudged Naz''s foot, snapping her out of her trance. "Ahem T-Thanks." she stuttered, her face now redder than ever. "I''m gonna go get some water." Naz ran out of the room in a hurry, towards the kitchen. I watched as Jace''s eyes trailed behind her. He sulked, dropping his shoulders. "I messed it up." he whined. "I think that went pretty well. I mean, you did get a reaction out of her which is a good thing." I picked up my pen, leaving him with his thoughts ** There was still no sign of Malia waking up, Mr Xanxus told us he''d just give her predicted grades, so she wouldn''t miss out just because she was unwell. Mother checked her state daily but no good news was shared each time. It made me worry. When would she wake up? Mike on the other hand blamed me for everything; his constant moaning and blaming further added to my anger and at one point I was tempted to rip his tongue out, but I had to control myself. ** I stared at the clock, I had 15 minutes left to finish the Mana history paper. I received face to face teaching from Miss Elena during my 8 year period training, due to that I knew most of the curriculum. In my free time, during my training period I visited the library that Gramps owned, often reading different types of books, from books about what kind of beasts existed in the world to autobiographies about famous mages. This helped me increase my general knowledge about the new world I was in. "Psst! What''s the answer to question 5b?" Jace whispered to me, coughing after to cover up and not bait out that he was cheating. "King Henry." I whispered back. I had helped him for almost all the written exams. Even though we were in a hall with many invigilators, we realised that the poor old invigilators had extremely bad hearing. This allowed Jace to cheat by getting answers from me. The time went by quickly and the written exam finished. I yawned, rotating my wrists. "That test was so hard!" Jace whined. "I found it quite easy." Naz popped up next to him and the both of them walked forward, leaving me behind. I didn''t bother catching up to the couple and continued walking with the crowd. Being the third wheel wasn''t my thing. "Shush you cave troll!" I heard Jace say as their voices muffled with the crowd''s noise. Suddenly, I got pulled by the arm and taken out of the crowd. I stared at the hair of the girl and knew who it was. I moved my hand out of her grasp in annoyance. "Sara. What do you want? I have no reason to talk to you. I asked you for the truth and you gave me false facts about what happened on that day." I said, my annoyance evident in my body language. After my return, I got the details from Naz and Jace (during our study sessions) about what Sara had told them. Sara argued that she didn''t remember anything but to me she told me a whole new different story, blaming Malia and making up a story that Malia was the beast. She really contradicted herself. "But Zeref, I told you what happened. She attacked me and even bruised my face with her claws." She came close to me and pointed at the light marks on her face; I stepped back instinctively. She was no longer the girl I knew and it disappointed me gravely. Thinking back at how innocent and fragile she was before, compared to how she acted now, it disgusted me. I felt betrayed. Was all that happened before just a fa?ade? Was it all just a mask she wore in front of us? How could she change so drastically? Did I even know Sara? "Please Zer-" "Get out of my sight." I said releasing a little killing intent. She whimpered and stepped back before heading out the exit with tears in her eyes. I pivoted on my foot and headed to class for my mana manipulation Practical assessment, in a sour mood. ** "Welcome back students, I hope you all revised well for this test. I expect all of you to pass. This exam will be fairly simple, all I want you to do is inject mana into this crystal ball. "This crystal ball will rapidly absorb your mana, people who can''t control their mana outflow will end up depleting their mana in a matter of seconds. Therefore, you must control your mana outflow and input a steady amount of mana into the ball. "The purpose of this exam is to see who among you actually practised and learned during my lessons. Now begin!" Professor Severin, our mana manipulation teacher announced and everyone started infusing their mana into their crystal balls. For Jace and I it was easy, we absorbed the world''s mana into our mana pools while also controlling the mana output into the crystal ball. As a result, we were able to create an endless cycle of balanced input and output of mana. I looked around and after 15 minutes ? of the students had already failed the test. Their crystal balls had shattered and most of them cursed at their luck. "This is a test for commoners! Why should we do this stupid test?!" A noble kid shouted, smashing his hands on the table. The room we were in was like the university lecture rooms back in my old world. Most of the lesson rooms were like these ones except the form rooms. "Behave yourself young man!" Professor Severin shouted, his voice amplified with mana. "Some students are still in the midst of their exams. Sit quietly, I''ll see you after this exam is over and 500 Merits will be deducted from your balance. " His voice was cold and strict, making the noble kid sit back down in his seat. I smirked at the teacher''s reaction. Merits were points that were awarded to students, it could be deducted or increased, even the grades could be converted to merits. At the end of every year, the official rankings would be released according to who had the most merits etc. The top 3 students were normally given special artefacts - specially designed and crafted for them - as rewards. They were also invited by the royal family to attend a party, with other top 3 students from other schools. I didn''t really care about the party but the artefacts were a different matter. I could get specially designed items for free, made by the most talented enchanted blacksmiths in the Kingdom. Who would miss this opportunity? I had missed almost half of my last year in school, so I couldn''t rack up as many merits. My rankings last year were 141/200 students. School became a bit different from the 4th year and onwards. Students would pick a subject or subjects they wanted to specialise in, this could be combat, mana history, mana manipulation, beasts & art and others to choose from. The qualifications they earned by graduating at the age of 18 would then help students to apply for different jobs or pursue further education after leaving school. For example, a student picking a specialisation in combat may pursue a job in the military. The 4th year was when school got serious. However, I had different plans; I wasn''t going to waste my time here. My goal was to succeed in the candidate tournament and to do that I needed to get stronger. Staying here and wasting my time studying here wouldn''t bring any benefits here. At the end I''d just be a servant of the kingdom, working under them. Therefore, I made a decision to quit school after this year.I wanted to travel to the other kingdoms and learn new techniques and venture for new experiences, being stuck up in this kingdom wouldn''t bring any benefits. I worried that revealing this information to my mother would cause havoc, that was my only issue. "5 minutes left! Don''t lose focus. 5 minutes more and you pass this exam." Professor Severin''s voice echoed throughout the hall. Chapter 72 - Survival Test "Finally all those boring exams are finally over!" Jace sighed in relief. "How do you think you did?" Naz asked, locking her arm around Jace''s. When did these two escalate it that far? "There are kids here." I pushed past them, breaking up their arm lock. "Hey! Someone''s jealous today." Jace laughed. It was the morning of the next day and we were called out to the school hall, all 200 of us. We didn''t know why but we were going to find out. "Okay listen up you maggots! I''m Mage Knight Eleus and your instructor that will watch over you. This is your final exam so listen carefully." A strong, well built man in silver armour stood on a pedestal. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes that inspired confidence; he stood tall with his longsword and shield by his side. I could tell he was powerful, my Inspect skill had disappeared and merged with my demon eye so I couldn''t tell for sure what his level was or what mana pool stage he was, but I could feel his mana pressure. "This final test will combine everything you''ve learnt so far. Each of you will be randomly put into groups of 5 and you will randomly be spawned with your group in the middle of the magic forest in the east. We''ve created a perimeter of 5 kilometres by 5 kilometres, where there are only D and E rank beasts. "Your task is to survive as long as you can. Each of you will spawn with a survival button, if you feel like you''re in danger just press that button and I or one of my other colleagues will teleport to pick you up or you will be teleported back to school, depending on if the teleporter is currently in use. "You are not allowed to fight or harm your teammates, anyone who harms their own teammates will immediately be punished and disqualified from the test. You need a minimum of 3 out of the 5 in your group to survive to continue with the exam, once your numbers drop below 3, you will automatically be brought back. "In addition, the Perimeter will close down by 500 metres every night until the 9th day where the box will only be 500metres by 500 meters, so make sure you plan your rotations smartly. Those students who survive till the end will receive an A*. Surviving 7 or 8 days is an A, 5-6 is a B and 3-4 is a C. Anything below is a fail, in this test you won''t get the other letters. "From the 6th day onwards we will release B rank beasts to make the test harder. Good luck students and make sure you press your survival button if you''re in trouble. "Now brace yourselves. In 10 seconds you will be transported." I could hear a couple screams of distress as the students realised what the man had just said. A vast majority of students never ventured outside the safe haven of school and the city walls so this test must have been their worst nightmare. A white light covered all of our bodies and we were transported. ** A dense greenery surrounded me as well as 4 other random faces I''d never seen before. The sun''s rays seeped through the thick green of the forest, leaving patches of light and dark. I didn''t like my situation one bit. If it was just solely surviving, there would have been no issue but this was a different situation; I had liabilities that I had to protect otherwise I''d fail. This exam was basically a babysitting exam. "All of you gather round. I''ve decided that I shall take command, as the only noble here among you peasants it''s only right that I lead." A chubby kid spoke, gold rings shining on his fingers. Great, just what I needed, a bratty noble kid. "Who are you calling a peasant?! Do you know who my father is? He works in the Hunter Association." Another boy argued, this one was about 5 ft 2 and had a decent build, his face was filled with freckles and his hair was greasy. I turned my head to the last 2 people. One of the girls was truly blessed with beauty, she had emerald green eyes and curly black hair, which matched with her white skin and curvaceous body. I struggled to believe she was 13, even her height, she stood tall at 5 ft 6. She shied away when she met my gaze and moved closer to the other girl for comfort. The other one was average, she had black hair, tied up in a ponytail and a little acne. I could tell she had a fighting background with her good build and hardened knuckles, maybe her family was in the military. "Ooohh! Look at what we have here. Aren''t you a beauty? " The chubby kid stopped his arguing with the short boy when he glanced over. He stopped talking and moved closer to the attractive girl at the back. "What''s your name?" the chubby kid demanded trying to touch her. The girl looked like she would cry, so I had to step in. "Just leave the kid alone." My voice came out cold and strict as I gripped the fat kid''s wrist. The military girl made space like she was showing respect. "And who may you be? Another peasant." The shorter kid stood in front of me trying to act big. I controlled my urge to rip the two brats to shreds and took a deep breath instead. "We''re not allowed to harm each other, so please refrain from touching her." I said in a serious tone, hiding my urge to kill. "Shut up peasant! Know your place. Who are you to give me orders?!" the short brat shouted and a couple birds flew away from the tree branches. "Incoming!" the military girl shouted. I had sensed that a couple D rank beasts were coming but I didn''t think any of them would notice either. "Ground Rats!" the short boy yelled as he started to run in the opposite direction. I scoffed as the chubby kid also began running following his noble peer. Ground rats were C rank magical beasts, they were nimble and 10 ft tall, they didn''t have much except for their long and sharp claws. Running from them wouldn''t make sense as Ground rats always attacked as a group surrounding their prey from all sides. "Don''t run." I said to the girls and they seemed to listen. The military girl got into a fighting pose and pulled out an enchanted dagger, the pretty girl on the other hand was frozen still out of fear. "Aaaaaarghhhh!!" CRUNCH! CRUNCH! We could hear distant screams and loud noises of bones breaking, as the two noble kids that decided to run were torn to shreds and eaten by the countless ground rats. I didn''t want to show the two girls my lightning element so I decided to use Ice magic instead. The ground rats had finally made their way to us, one leaped towards the girl cowered behind me. I conjured an Ice spear and hurled it at the beast, the spear penetrated through its thick skin and impaled the ugly beast to a nearby tree. Flicking my wrist a barrage of mini Ice spears were shot at the charging ground rats, when one fell another jumped over it but they all met the same fate. [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] I saw the military girl completely frozen too. She must have just tried to show some strength but failed when she saw the opponents she was facing. I didn''t blame the two girls for being scared as it was probably their first encounter with such beasts and they were ground rats at that. Hideous creatures. "Pass me your dagger," I said and the military girl immediately handed me her dagger, "Both of you don''t move from that spot and close your eyes." They didn''t hesitate to follow my instructions and did as I told them. I spun the dagger around my fingers like a butterfly knife before I darted round and slashed at the remaining Ground rats. One by one I killed them all leaving blood, guts, intestines and chopped heads all over the forest floor. [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] "Okay, they''re all dead now, I suggest you two follow me. We need to find somewhere to stay otherwise other beasts will come." I said flicking the dagger, removing blood from its blade. The girls opened their eyes slowly and looked around at the mess. The military girl''s face went green as she puked to her side, meanwhile the other one stood frozen in place like a statue before she also tilted her head to the side and vomited. When there was nothing left to vomit, I handed them handkerchiefs so they could clean up a little. I began walking away and they both rushed after me like baby chicks. This was the best case scenario for me, two not so annoying people to protect. I could easily survive with them if unprecedented circumstances didn''t occur. "Th-Thank you for saving us. I''m Leilani Ithirae and I''m an elf." The shy girl spoke from behind me, I gave her a quick glance from the corner of my eye while walking. "Thank you for your brave actions, I''m Rakeria Grimsworth, my family works with the military. I''ll make sure to owe you back in the future." she gave a salute. "Zeref." I smiled at her. "I-I know you. You''re the guy who represented our school for the tournaments. You played against my brother''s school-" she was interrupted by the noise of screams from a distance and an ear splitting roar. She squeaked, holding onto Rakeria "We better get moving," Rakeria suggested, following behind me. I needed to find a place to hide these baby chicks and protect them. After that performance, I didn''t trust their abilities and for some reason I couldn''t access my dimension ring. The teachers must have done this so the nobles wouldn''t just take out food from their dimension rings or spawn defence towers. This made the test a real survival test, it would require hunting skills, tracking skills, fighting skills and most importantly camaraderie. The Mage Knight never said teams couldn''t hurt each other, only teammates, so all this meant we could only trust our team mates and survive with them. "I''m Zeref Amara." I looked back and smiled at them, the military girl''s face paled when she heard my name but Leilani just smiled back with her pearly white teeth. The direction I was running in was north, for some reason we spawned right at the edge of the perimeter, I had to take these baby chicks to a safer location. C and D rank beasts could filter through the barrier, so staying near the edge was a bad idea. This was truly a dangerous test, most would fail. I stopped running and sat on a large rock, we stopped near a small river; having water was the most important and for food I could hunt for us. "We''re going to set up camp here." I said looking around and scanning the area, I faced my palm towards the ground and created walls of ice, I formed an igloo using ice mana. There were two 3x3 metre rooms with a door connecting them both. "I''m sorry, it may get cold in the night, I''ll make sure to place a fire in each room. You two will share. Is that fine?" Both of them nodded eagerly at my words. "Our dimension rings don''t work here so, I''ll bring us food and stuff. You guys can go take a wash in the waterfall down the river or just wait here for me, I''m going to get some firewood." "Please! Don''t leave us alone. What if they attack us again?" Leilani''s eyes started to water as she held my hand for safety, fear of the unknown was making her paranoid. "Don''t worry, this place is safe and Rakeria is here, she''s from the military." I reassured her, before letting go of her hand. "B-But I can''t" I couldn''t hear what Rakeria said as I ran through the forest. I took off my eye patch, removing all the limiters from my body. I sighed in relief, spinning the Rakeria''s enchanted dagger around my hands. Now I could see the different beasts around the forest. Even if the two were in danger, I''d be able to save them. I made sure to only be 1-2 Kilometres away from them, I could cover that distance in seconds using ''Lightning Aura'' if I had to. Time to grind! [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] [You have earned 2000 EXP for killing a C rank beast!] Chapter 73 - Survival Test II "So what does your family do?" Leilani was the first one to speak. It was already night time, I made blankets out of the skin of animals I hunted; they both wrapped themselves in them. We all sat around the fire, eating the skewered meat I prepared. "My mum is my only family, she works as a part time healer for the Vrimeon Hospital, but most of the time she stays home. I provide for us also as a hunter for the Hunter Association." I lied, biting into my meat. "The military has kept a record of you, you''re quite famous." Rakeria stared at me with curious eyes. "What do you mean I''m famous?" I asked. "Your ruthless killings, even I''ve seen your track record, you''ve hunted thousands of beasts from A to D rank. The military keeps track of people that may deem a threat to the kingdom in the future. At the moment your threat level is A rated." She picked up more meat and chomped it down. I didn''t know how they got this much information about me, it must have been the Hunter Association. Either Gramps gave this information to the hunter association to not get in trouble and they then passed it onto the Military. Normal civilians weren''t allowed to hunt beasts without permission from the Hunter Association, that''s why Gramps must have made a deal with them, so I could carry on hunting. Did that mean, the military had eyes on my friends as well? I knew what they would do, if they couldn''t tame me, they''d exploit my weakness: my family and friends. I didn''t plan on staying in this kingdom forever anyways. The growth period was 10 years long, so I had time till I was 22, to reach S rank and become powerful enough to ascend to the Upper realm through the Tower of Truth. "So do you have a girlfriend?" Leilani asked, looking at me awaiting my answer. "No." For some reason, an angry Malia face popped up in my head as I said that and I almost dropped my meat. "That''s a shame, do you mind if I take you to my parents one day?" she asked, smiling. Both Rakeria and I were surprised by her proposal. "Mmh, sure." I had no intention of marrying her if that''s what she was thinking, I just needed good ties in the Elven Kingdom, that was my next destination after all. "Let''s wrap this up, I''m heading to sleep." I said, getting up and going to the river to wash my hands. "Good night!" they both said, also getting up and going to wash their hands. Damn I was knackered! I had managed to level up once today; now I was at level 66 but that required me to clear almost all the beasts in the perimeter. In a way, I helped everyone pass the first day. I jumped on my self made bed and cuddled up underneath the blanket I made out of beast fur. The igloo made it cold but I made sure to keep a fire in both the rooms for warmth. ** My sleep was broken when I felt some unnecessary movement. A strange warmth enveloped the left side of my body. A warm cushion? What''s this soft thing touching my arm? I drowsily opened my eyes and looked to the left. WHAT THE- "Oh sorry, did I wake you up?" Leilani''s voice came out sluggish as she hugged my arm tighter. She was under my blanket with me! This psycho! I screamed in my mind leaping up from the bed. "What the hell are you doing?" I said, my face had turned red. Her shoulders were bare, meaning she probably didn''t have clothes on. "Sorry, I always sleep with someone and Rakeria''s snoring is too loud. Can I sleep with you, please?" She looked at me with puppy eyes. Another vision of Malia''s angry face popped up in my head making me shiver. "No! Go sleep with Rakeria." "But she snores so loud." ZZZzzzzzzzzz! Loud snores could be heard from the other room. Crap! This psycho was going to end up sleeping next to me. Leilani looked at me, biting her lower lip and smiled like I had lost the battle and I''d sleep with her now. Ahhh hell nahhh!!! Like hell was I going to sleep with this elf girl! I didn''t want to become a father yet!! "You sleep on my bed then, I''m making another room." I said taking my blanket, she gripped my arm looking like she was going to cry. ''Don''t fall for it Zeref!'' I kept repeating in my head. "Let go of my hand, this isn''t funny anymore. I barely even know you and this is extremely inappropriate. Go cover yourself." I said moving my gaze away from her. She looked down at her chest then whimpered before running into Rakeria''s room. I sighed jumping back into my self made bed and cuddling myself under the warmth of the blanket. ** The next few days went well, I did my job and protected the two while they also went hunting once in a while. I helped them improve their abilities too, Rakeria had a branched Earth element; she could create small tremors and earthquakes under the ground. I also showed her how to use her dagger properly but she insisted that I keep her enchanted dagger. Leilani on the other hand was a hard one to stay with. Every night I''d tell her off for trying to jump in my bed whilst I slept, it drove me crazy. She also had a knack for nature magic, true of an elf; her magical prowess was strong and with practise she became more confident. She was able to handle hordes of Ground rats by herself and needed my help with other C rank beasts. We survived without the other 2 noble kids, who died in the beginning and we went back to school after the 9 days were over. It was a good experience and our friendship became solid like steel. I didn''t know what they saw me as but I took them as sisters, that I nurtured and helped grow. "See you guys again." I waved at the two girls smiling. "See you Zeref!" Leilani blew me a kiss, making me roll my eyes. Rakeria, on the other hand, gave me a respected salute before walking off with Leilani. Both of them didn''t have many friends so in this 9 day period they had become best friends. We were the last team to make it back and survived the longest, for that we got bonus merits. I made sure to wipe all the beasts near our camp everyday and leave a couple strong ones so the other teams would fail. I was able to level up twice more in the 9 day period making this exam quite beneficial; I placed 30 stat points that I saved up into intelligence making it rise to 90. Our group also earned a 1000 merits and A*s for surviving the 9th day and making it back. This led to a lot of backlash and reports against us from nobles, that we were possibly cheating. Thank God Xanxus was the principal and not some other snot nosed noble. At least now the tests were over. Chapter 74 - A Break "Zeref. Wake up!" Jace rushed in on a Friday morning. As soon as I heard his voice, my eyes snapped open and I leaped out of the bed, rushing past him. I sped down the hall and nearly broke down Malia''s door while rushing in. My shoulders dropped in disappointment to see her still unconscious in her bed. She was even paler than yesterday. Jace came up from behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder in comfort. "I thought" my head spun from the sudden awakening. "You thought she woke up?" Jace finished off my sentence and I nodded, rubbing the sleep off my eyes. "Sorry I shouldn''t have woken you up like that. I came in to tell you we are late for school." "WHAT?!" my eyes widened before I scrambled to the bathroom. "I''ll get your bag ready." he yelled after me, carefully shutting Malia''s door and making his way downstairs for breakfast. ** "I''m planning to choose the study of shape shifting for our careers day." Jace said, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth. The school was arranging a careers day and each student had to pick one lesson out of 5 that they wanted to learn about for the day. It was supposed to help us decide what we wanted to be in the future. I wasn''t too sure on what any of the lessons meant so I''d have to discuss it with mum and Xanxus at the dinner table later on. "I plan on choosing treatment against mana loss since I wanna be a healer, just like your mum." Naz came in with her tray, sitting next to me. "You can''t be a healer. Your branched element is to do with darkness not Earth." Jace scoffed, shifting in his seat from her sudden presence. "Actually, a healer can be any element. Earth healers are just more common because their methods are easy. A shadow healer is possible but the way you heal others would be different to the way earth healers would because they both rely on a different element." I corrected him as Naz gave him a smug look. "Exactly. It''s going to be really hard but I can do it. Shadow healers are rare but the best type of healers. They can heal people who are near death." Naz smirked smugly, twirling a strand of her hair. "Okay, okay I surrender." Jace put his hands up in submission, rolling his eyes at Naz''s ''I win'' look. Naz and I laughed, high-fiving each other. "Any updates on Malia?" Naz said in a hopeful voice. "Paler than yesterday." Jace whispered, losing the smile on his face. "I''m trying to be optimistic but she looks like she''s dying." a lone tear fell down his face before he hurriedly wiped it off. "She''s not dying." I glared at him, feeling myself go red with anger. "Zeref, you said it yourself, it''s only so long before Malia becomes immune to your mum''s healing magic. Your mum''s one of the top healers of her time and even she is struggling to provide Malia enough nutrients. Whatever that beast was, it was strong enough to-" My mind buzzed as I roared, spiralling into a fit of chaos. The windows of the canteen burst at my outrage causing students to scream in shock. I stood up, flipping the table up into the air and fly-kicking it into bits. Food flew everywhere and Naz let out a shriek. Yells and screams swarmed the canteen before students leaped over each other to get through the exit. Before I could even blink, even the canteen staff were out, leaving Jace, Naz and I alone in the destruction. "SHE ISN''T GOING TO DIE!" I yelled in his face, losing my mind. The chairs and tables all flew into the walls as a wave of mana surged out of me. Jace shrunk under me, shocked to say the least. Flashes of Nina''s death flicked through my mind and I could feel Naz trying to shake me out of my trance. I could hear the faded voice of Jace and my heavy breathing. I tried to shake the memories out, yelling in the process and collapsing onto the floor with my head buried in my hands. I felt as if I was reliving the memory; watching as the ceiling collapsed on top of Nina. The last thing I saw was a glimpse of her tattered dress and her last scream of pain. I relived the feeling of fear, freezing my body in a merciless ice. "Zeref! What''s wrong?! Jace! Get Mr Xanxus!" Naz''s voice finally started to seep through my cracked walls of defence. "ZEREF! LISTEN TO ME!" she kneeled next to me and grabbed my face, forcing me to look at her. "She is okay. Everything is okay." her voice was slow and clear and her method of calming me was soothing. "Nothing is going to happen." She brought my face into her arms, hugging me and surrounding me with warmth and safety. Something in me snapped back in place and I finally felt my senses gather back into my mind. My panic retreated and a feeling of regret weighed me down. I sighed in her arms, my throat aching to let out even a small part of pain I was feeling, aching to let out a cry or whimper- but I didn''t. I stayed quiet, leaning into her hug, squeezing my eyes shut with the fear of a tear escaping. Why did I lose control like that? Naz rubbed my back, rocking my head back and forth and running her hands through my hair. "You like Malia don''t you?" she whispered cautiously. I had no energy to reply. What was my reply? Do I like Malia? Footsteps finally made their way into the canteen. ** I sat at the table, sucking on my straw and gulping down the orange juice while peering at the annoyed face on Mr Xanxus''s face. Jace sat next to me, also sipping his juice quietly. "It isn''t his fault." Mum defended me, glancing at me while I slurped the juice quietly. "My canteen is in pieces and some students were hurt from the bursting window! What am I meant to say to their parents?" Mr Xanxus frowned, dropping his fork. "Just say: ''I''m sorry. One of our students accidentally destroyed our canteen after experiencing a panic attack. Oh, and no, he wasn''t suspended nor got any professional help." Mike suggested sarcastically, stabbing his steak. "Mike." Mum warned, glaring at him. "Xanxus we will pay for the expenses, just don''t suspend-" "Suspend?! I''d never suspend Zeref. He is the strongest pupil in our school. I just want compensation for ruining my canteen." he said, chewing on the steak. Mum finished her food, leaving the room before coming back in with an envelope in her hand. She placed it in front of Mr Xanxus and picked up Jace and my plates without a word. "Sorry Rosaline. I need-" Mr Xanxus tried to say but she had already left. ** After that day, days started to turn grey for me; time went awfully slow and I couldn''t get myself to feel any emotions. I stabbed at my salad before I decided to stand up. My chair screeched and practically everyone in the canteen flinched. Sighing, I stormed out, needing a breather. Naz and Jace ran after me until we made it outside. "Zeref, are you okay?" Naz called from behind me, barely grasping the back of my shirt so I could stop walking. "No." I deadpanned. "Now leave me alone." Naz let go of my shirt, slightly pouting at my coldness. I felt hollow, like nothing could fill the large gap in me and it scared me. I felt so tired of waiting and my emotions just dulled into my open wounds, stinging them, but I didn''t flinch because I was already numb to it. I was numb from the waiting, the constant checking to see if Malia was awake, the never ending worry that she''d never wake up and the constant fear that I''d lose her. There was no skin over my pain; it''s swelling and the slightest brush of wind made it bleed but I didn''t retract from the pain anymore. It just sat heavily in my heart, growing and growing and eventually, the hole will keep growing till it eats me away, until there''s nothing left except a dead shell. "Dude, no need to get rude." Jace shook his head at me, patting Naz''s back. "I didn''t ask you to follow me." I rolled my eyes, turning back around and walking away from him. "I swear, your attitude these days-" Jace sighed and pulled my shoulder back before I could get far, spinning me around to face him. I looked down at him since he was just above my shoulders. "Hold me back Naz!" he said, sizing me up. Naz stood behind him with her hands in her pockets, not moving. "Naz, I said hold me back." he whisper-shouted, trying again, this time looking back at her. She looked at him with a disappointed ''seriously'' look on her face. "You haven''t even moved" she half smiled making me smirk. "I''m going to so you better prevent me or Imma punch his skull in." he was met with silence from her end so instead, he turned back to me, stepping forwards before taking two steps back. "This brat! I''ll show him." he jumped at me in an attempt to scare me but I didn''t move, looking unamused. "Uhuh sure." Naz nodded her head slowly, the sarcasm clear in her voice. I raised my fingers to flick his forehead but he was already on the floor before I''d even touched him, screaming his lungs out. Naz and I shared a look of ''omg what''s wrong with him'' before she nodded at me. I finally turned to leave, walking away from a screaming Jace cradling his stomach on the floor. I didn''t even punch him that hard. Chapter 75 - First Combat Class "Welcome Class I will be your Combat Class professor from now on till the end of the year. My name is Professor Conrad." A man in a military uniform spoke in a stern voice; he was a strong built tall man at 6ft 2. He had a buzz cut and a scar running down his left eye, leaving it closed. Jace looked at me scared like he was going to fail this class. "Don''t worry you''ll be fine, believe in your training." I whispered, making his shoulders drop relaxed. "I want all 30 of you in a straight line now!" he shouted and we all rushed into a straight line. He paced up and down studying our faces. "Now step forward if you have any combat experience." More than half of the class stepped forward, including Jace and I. The room we were in was spacious and had lots of weapons and punching bags, as well as a ring at the edge of it, for sparring and fights. "Okay that''s about more than half of you, good. Get back in line. As this is the first day of your combat class, I will teach you basic defense and attacking." He got himself into a fighting pose, putting one leg in front of the other and keeping both of his clenched fists near his face. "This is the basic fighting stance I want you to implement. When defending, I want you to block your face and head using your arms as cover. Add head movement and slips to make the other opponent miss. "Actually, I need someone to help me with a demonstration. Someone who''s got decent combat experience. You, come to the front." he pointed at Jace, who gulped in fear. He pushed me forward, trying to show that the professor pointed at me and not him. "Not you eyepatch, the other one behind you. Come to the front, you raised your hand before." he said pointing his index finger at Jace and issuing him to come to the front of the class. Some students sniggered as they thought Jace was weak. In fact during our break he hadn''t missed a single day of training. I drilled the basics and fighting instincts into him so now he could probably take care of himself and his crush. The incident of his ''berserk unconscious'' state also didn''t happen again (that''s what we decided to call it after discussing its features) which didn''t help in identifying why it happened or what triggered it. I smiled at Jace and pushed him forward to the front of the class. He looked at me scared but when he faced the military professor head on his face became serious, I taught him to always stay calm before confronting your opponent and observe. "Okay, now I want you to defend while I throw what''s called a jab. The jab is a basic and core punch that helps you determine distance and the timing you should use your dominant hand. "Ready kid?" Jace nodded and got into a southpaw stance, keeping his right hand at a right angle below his stomach and keeping his left hand near his face. The professor gave a wry smile before throwing a rapid succession of jabs, they whistled through the air with speed. Jace looked like a blur as he shoulder rolled some and blocked other ones, he managed to evade them all. Then at the end he threw his own counter jab making contact with the professor''s face. He stumbled back holding his cheek. "I''m so sorry professor, it happened on instinct." Jace apologised. "Good punch kid. Never apologise for being better, remember that kids. There''s no space for feeling sorry on the battlefield. " As the professor said that he looked around to teach the kids a lesson, Jace turned his head towards me and gave me a smile of accomplishment. "Good Job kid, get back in line. Now I want you all to find a partner, one of you will defend the same way this kid just did here, slip, dodge or block, practise them all, while the other person will practise the jab. Is that clear?" "Yes sir!!" ** Jace''s jabs were sharp, the whistles in the air even made heads turn to admire his skill, I dodged them successfully with my hands in my pockets, of course I had to flex a little. I honestly did not want to be in this boring class and the sooner I got kicked out the better. "You with the eye patch, come here." Everyone stopped to look at the professor. I approached him and stared at him in a standoff. "What''s your name?" he asked sternly, not backing down from my condescending stare. "Zeref Amara." He paled for a couple seconds before breaking the silence with a series of coughs, he was part of the military so he knew who I was. "It''s an honour to meet you young hunter." he offered to shake my hand and I did. "Do you mind if we have a light spar, I know you must be bored by these basics. I''ve always been intrigued by your inhuman battle prowess. If you manage to beat me I''ll let you skip these combat classes; Now pick a weapon." He proceeded to unsheath a katana blade. So this guy was a combat freak, Great. "Whilst for the rest of you, you can choose to watch and learn or continue your training." Of course they wouldn''t want to miss out on such an important demonstration they gathered around the ring, that we stepped in. It was huge, a 10 metre by 10 metre box. I pulled out Rakeria''s enchanted dagger from my dimension ring and spun the beautiful black dagger around my fingers, earning some ''OOooo''s and ''AAAhh''s. I didn''t care if I looked arrogant or whatever, I never planned on going to school. If not for my mother I wouldn''t even be here. The sergeant shouted a battle cry as he swung down with his Katana. I dodged effortlessly and stepped around him. I wrapped around him like a snake and pointed the black dagger against his neck. He broke my grip by elbowing me in the stomach. I retreated back to a safe distance, Sweat poured down the professor''s face like he had tasted death. "You weren''t hesitating to kill young hunter." he said, panting and wiping his sweat with his collar. "No sir." "Good! Now this is a fight!" he laughed hysterically and charged at me like a madman. What a weirdo... I dodged his swings swiftly, then roundhouse kicked his head as a perfect counter. He stumbled back and fell to the floor, this didn''t stop his momentum as he picked himself up immediately like he had done it millions of times and charged at me again. I kicked the blade out of his hand making him unarmed, then quickly grabbed his right arm and shoulder rolled him to the ground. He tried to get up but I kept him down by jumping on top of him; I lined the black dagger against his throat and stared at him with my one eye. "I surrender." the sergeant tapped my arm. I could hear a couple ''Boo''s'' as the students were disappointed with how quickly it ended and how bad the professor looked compared to me, they wanted a show and what I gave them was a 1 round finish. "Thank you for sparring with me Professor Conrad, I shall take my leave." I smiled, dragging Jace with me as we left the classroom. "Nice job, you even held back. Where are we going?" Jace asked. "To Xanxus''s office." ** "Come in, come in kids." Xanxus gestured us to come inside. The principal''s room was quite plain, Xanxus sat behind a darkwood desk and antique glass windows let light in through the back. "Rakell you can leave, attend to the remaining paperwork." he ordered and Rakell - his assistant - left the room hugging her clipboard tightly. "To what do I owe this visit?" Xanxus asked, playing with a small ice ball in his hands. "Xanxus, I need a private chrono chamber facility to train." I said. "Wait, what? Firstly, it''s Principle Xanxus to you and secondly, are you out of your mind?" He looked at me with annoyed eyes. "I left the combat class because there was no challenge, it''s an utter waste of time. I''m only staying here till the year ends, then I''m moving, so I need to utilise my time correctly." "What do you mean you''re staying here till the year ends?" Xanxus was about to speak but Jace asked first, almost at the edge of his seat. "Yeah, I''ve already planned it all. I''m going to travel to different kingdoms for experience. The Elven kingdom is next on my list; I''m not going to waste my time being trapped here serving the royal family blindly." "What What about your mum? What will she say?" Jace asked glumly, he knew there was no talking me out of it. "I''ll think about it when the time comes, but for now only you two know about my plan. I don''t want the others to worry yet. "Back to what I was saying I need a chrono chamber asap plus I need you to remove some lessons from my timetable. Mana manipulation class is a waste of time and so is combat class, if you could remove them and leave me with gap periods that would help a lot." "Anything else you want sir, maybe a 5 star ensuite or a diamond coated bed. Who do you think you are, making all these demands? Watch yourself young man, I may be scared of you half of the time but I have a role to play as the principal. "Do you think it will be fair If I treat you special and differently from the other kids. Zeref I respect you but don''t go past the limit. You''re only a student here, You''re not a king. Lastly, 300 points will be deducted from you for your insolent behaviour. "I''ll allow you to skip Combat classes, but attend every other class. I made a promise to your mother to help you study. Don''t make me break my promise and as for your plan, I recommend you think it through for the sake of your mother." Xanxus''s speech was long but it hit me hard. I thought he''d listen and understand my situation but it turned out differently. "Jace, let''s go." I said walking out of the door. I guess he was right. I''m not a king anymore, I should lose the arrogant attitude. Chapter 76 - Allefin Aragorn "There is a difference between Skills and Spells, Can anyone tell me what it is?" Professor Severin, the mana manipulation teacher asked. A young girl put up her hand. "Yes Applebottom." the professor sighed. This girl was the definition of ''tryhard''; there was always that one student in class that went over and beyond and it gets to the point that it becomes annoying. I mean, I had nothing against her but her know-it-all attitude was irritating. Aria Applebottom pushed up her round spectacles, "Skills are abilities that are similar to spells and require no incantation, whilst spells require incantations and hand signs to form." "Correct again, Applebottom." Professor Severin clapped but no one clapped with him. So other people''s spells took time, remembering back to my fight with Jace''s bullies, the last 2 required both their efforts and a long incantation to produce the fireball. In my case there was barely a difference between my spells and skills. I had skills like ''Cloning'' that required no incantations, whilst I also had simple spells like ''ice shards'' which also required no incantations. I put my hand up. "Yes Amara, go ahead." Professor Severin pointed at me. "Sir, is it possible to cast spells without incantations?" "Good question Amara, the answer is simple, yes and no. Spells always require incantations, most mages use incantations and very little require hand signs as they lack the visualisation of their spells. "However, there is a small percentage of mages that are extremely talented and can cast spells without incantations but that''s extremely rare and requires outstanding understanding and Visualisation of the spell. "An example is the Exploding fireball spell, which requires an incantation of ''Globus Ignis'', I can cast it without incantations because my understanding of the spell is great. You guys must remember that the simpler the spell, the easier it is to learn how to cast it without incantations." The professor aimed his arm at the right side of the classroom and shot a fireball without incantations, the fireball was the size of a standard football; it dissipated as soon as it came in contact with the barrier protecting the school walls. Everyone looked shocked and clapped, I mean he made it look flashy but I could tell he focused a lot for that spell. For me, I had overcome the need for focus during casting non-incantation spells, through experience in combat and constant adapting. I could cast spells by only thinking about it. "Thank you, thank you," He took a deep bow before smiling and continuing his lecture, "Now please open your books to page 146 and take down notes about incantations, hand signs and why they are important." There was a lot of moaning and whining but everyone reluctantly opened their books and started copying the information. ** "Damn that lesson was hella boring." Jace sighed walking next to me. "What do you mean? That was actually an interesting lesson. The content improved after our exams, before we were learning about boring stuff like how to control your mana inflow into a crystal ball. At Least now we''re learning more about incantations and tips that could help us get stronger." I said, lining up in the canteen queue. "Hey guys! How are you two?" Naz asked, tapping our shoulders. "We''re fine, why do you look like you''re in such a good mood?" Jace scoffed, interested. "Have you guys seen the new guy? He''s so handsome and tall! He transferred to Class A this morning. Apparently he came from the Elven kingdom; there''s even rumours that he''s got the lightning element like Zeref except he actually tells people that he has such a cool element" she rolled her eyes at me. "The girls are going crazy over him." Naz said excitedly. BOOM! "What the hell was that?!" Jace shouted covering his ears. "There''s a fight quick, come if you don''t want to miss it!" A kid shouted in the canteen. The students swarmed the exit like ants trying to get out and see what the commotion was about. "Come let''s go check it out." I walked towards the window of the canteen. "Where are you going?" Jace ran after me followed by Naz. "You don''t expect us to go through that do you?" I pointed at the swarming students trying to leave the canteen for the site of the fight, "We''re taking a different route." I jumped out of the window and landed on my feet. Naz teleported to my side while Jace reluctantly also jumped down; we all ran towards the commotion happening near the park area of the school. A large crowd surrounded watching the drama unfold. We pushed through the crowd to see what was happening. An elf boy swiftly dodged the attacks of 5 taller boys. SHIT! Isn''t that Allefin? I quickly recognised the elf boy that I met in the bank during my visit with Gramps. He was Tybalt''s brother, Allefin Aragorn of the Elven Kingdom. He kicked two away and jumped backwards, forming hand signs he silently said an incantation and blue streaks of lightning covered his feet until they formed boots. The other three picked up their fallen brethren and all attacked together. Allefin didn''t back down and encouraged them to attack him like he was showboating. They roared and threw fits of punches and kicks but he easily evaded them, I whistled at his swift movements. He then countered with a variety of kicking techniques knocking them all down injured. Did he learn taekwondo? I watched his lightning spell and noticed it wasn''t fully perfect, the lightning was consuming too much of his mana. I didn''t know if he had a branched element of lightning or access to the full element like me, but he looked inexperienced in handling the power. In a flash the fight was over and the crowd cheered. Allefin smiled, lowering his guard and deactivating his spell. He captivated the crowd with his looks and skills. He had gotten taller by 2 inches at least since the last time I saw him and his blonde hair was longer now, matched with his lean figure and blue eyes. He could easily be mistaken as a model or a prince. "Look out!!" Someone screamed as a sword was coming down at him vertically, it was a green haired boy. Hadn''t I seen this boy somewhere? I flash stepped in front of the off-guard Allefin and with my index finger and middle finger I caught the blade. "Boss!" Allefin exclaimed, shocked when he saw my face. I pushed the green haired boy back with one arm making him stumble to the ground, "Get lost." At my harsh words, the delinquent picked up his 5 other followers and ran with his tail between his legs, "This isn''t over!" he screamed, turning his head at Allefin and I. "Disperse." I said, releasing a little ripple of mana pressure in the atmosphere. The students in the crowd shrieked and spread out going back to their original areas. "Thanks boss, it''s nice to see you." Allefin scratched his head smiling. "No worries." Jace and Naz ran over to us, "Wait you two know each other?" Naz asked, giving Allefin a quick look. "Well yeah, something like that. He works in the Bank of Vrimeon so I met him there and we became friends." I shrugged, Allefin nodded his head in approval at my words. "Oh, forgot. Jace and Naz, this is Allefin from the House of Aragorn in the Elven Kingdom and Allefin, these two are Jace Stinkend and Naz Hosterwell, my good friends." I introduced the elf to the other two. "It''s an honour to meet you milady." Allefin kneeled and kissed Naz''s hand, Naz looked away, her face red. "Hey! Kiss my hand too then." Jace said annoyed, making Allefin get up and look at me confused. "Is that what humans do?" he asked with a confused look, then proceeded to kneel and grab Jace''s hand. "The hell are you doing? I was joking. This guy..." Jace flinched, recoiling his hand back. Naz and I laughed, as Allefin rubbed his head at the weird interaction. "We''ll talk in the canteen." I said walking off. Naz chased after me, locking her arm with mine; Jace and Allefin exchanged a brief awkward look before hurrying behind us. I took Naz like a little sister so I hope Jace didn''t get any ideas. ** We all sat down with our trays filled with food. Today''s food was pasta, same old same old; I sighed stabbing the pasta with my fork. I felt the countless jealous stares of the different girls looking at our table. Jace ended up sitting with Naz, while Allefin sat next to me. It made me feel uneasy as the people around the canteen watched us eat. "So Allefin, what made you move to Xanxus Academy?" Naz asked, munching down her pasta. "Uhm, I just wanted to experience the school life here for a bit. Plus my brother let me come as long as I protected Zeref instead of him; I''ll be returning to the elven Kingdom soon, maybe next year or so I''m not sure." Allefin answered truthfully not touching his food. "Interesting...Do you have a girlfriend?" Naz looked into Allefin''s blue eyes. Jace spat out his food and went into a fit of coughs when he heard that, I laughed at his reaction. Poor Jace, he might have competition now. "Uhm no and I''m not interested in having one either." I could see the sigh of relief Jace exhaled and smiled. "ZEREEFFF!!" I felt a warm sensation wrapping around my arms. THIS GIRL! "Leilani get off me." I said, rolling my eyes. "P-Princess, it''s an honour to meet you. Allefin Aragorn at your service." Allefin stuttered as he got up and kneeled in front of her. Then the realisation had hit me, Leilani was a princess all along! So the time she said she''d take me to her parents, they were the Elven King and Queen. "Leilani, let''s go." I glared at her, and she moved her arm away pouting. "You''re no fun. It''s fine Allefin, we''re not in Alanor, no need for the formalities." "As you wish milady." Allefin got up and sat back down. Rakoria also appeared 2 seconds later and sat down next to Jace, I could see him gulp as he met her cold military gaze. This was going to be a pleasant lunch. Chapter 77 - School Trip, Let’s Hunt! "Welcome students! As you all know I''m Mage Knight Eleus. I will be your instructor today for the survival lesson. All of you have again been given a lifeline button, the same as during the survival test. "If anything goes wrong I want all of you to press the button and you will automatically be sent back to the academy. Our purpose for this lesson is to understand how to track magic beasts and learn how to keep camp in an enchanted forest. "Therefore, we''ll be going to the east forest as our research site. We will split you into groups of 5 each group accompanied by either a professor or a military soldier. You will all carry out different research based on where tracks are and how they look etc. Your instructors will help you out. "Does anyone have any questions?" Mage Knight Eleus stood on a pedestal and amplified his voice with mana. There were about 50 of us students in the hall. As this was our first survival lesson, this year many professors and military soldiers were going to come with us. "Are you excited?" Jace asked, throwing his arm around my neck. "No, why would I be? We''re just going to a forest that I''ve been in dozens of times. The survival test was even held there." I scoffed, folding my arms. "Judging by the chattering and no hands up I take it that there are no questions, good. Now I''ll be calling out your groups. "Group 1: Katherine, Adiola, Becky, Keisha and Jake" he called out the groups one by one. Jace, Naz and I ended up together luckily but we had the 2 stuck up nobles that I met in my survival test. It turned out that they didn''t die and escaped with broken arms. Their family almost sued and shut the school down but Xanxus somehow got out of the situation. Surprisingly, no one died in that test; only some were mildly injured, nothing life threatening. "Okay enter the portal group by group. Group 1 follow me." Eleus took the first group through the portal and we all entered the portal in an orderly fashion. "See you on the other side!" Naz exclaimed, smiling as she went in first. The two noble kids gave her dirty looks and followed after, including Jace, the instructor then lastly me. [You have entered a blue portal] ** The familiar smell of plants and grass wafted up my nose and lots of bushes and greenery flashed into my view. "Okay everyone''s here, gather round kids." The military officer said sternly and we all circled round. "I know that you guys have had some issues," he looked at the two noble kids then looked at me, "...but you have to forget about it. I don''t want any of you dying because of trivial matters. Is that clear?" "Yes sir!" Our voices resonated. "Good. Now follow me, the first thing I will teach you is how to find the tracks of a magic beast." the officer began. We followed him in line and made sure to hide our mana presence. "As you know, magic beasts or mana beasts, doesn''t matter what you call them, evolved from normal animals by absorbing the world''s abundant mana. "This helped them to adapt and evolve, grow bigger, be able to utilise mana as skills etc. This doesn''t mean all of them are intelligent. They leave tracks, they emit mana pressure, in conclusion most aren''t as good as us. "We''re able to utilise the mana in different ways due to our intelligence, something that they lack. There are rumours though, that still haven''t been proven about some S rank beasts being able to communicate with humans. I personally find that hard to believe. "We are the superior beings." He said swatting long grass with his hunting knife. He put his arm up in the air signalling for us to stop, "Come round, see here, this is our first track, a large footprint." The officer pointed at a large footprint, which looked to belong to a large lizard like creature. Jace gulped looking at the size of it and moved closer to me, looking round in fear. "Jace, Naz, stay close to me if anything happens. I don''t trust this guy, at most we can use him as bait and escape by ourselves and those two stuck up kids, we can leave them too okay? Look out for each other and stay alert." I said quietly to the two. "Ayy! I heard that! You peasants will never learn. Trying to abandon us and run for safety, it''s your duty as the lower class to protect us." The chubby kid retorted and I took a deep breath, holding in my urge to kill him. "Yeahh! You lowly scum, trying to plot against us. See that officer, deduct points from them!" the short one whined pointing at us. I could hear Naz and Jace cursing under their breath in disgust. "I thought I told you guys to leave your past behind, I will not let your quarrelling put us in da- "AAAArghhhhhhhh! Help!!!!!" The officer screamed as a colossal 30 foot Lizard type beast grabbed the officer by his leg and threw him into its mouth. It crunched down on the officer''s lower body making the two nobles, Jace and Naz stand frozen in fear. The lizard type beast had Blue scales and a long tail, large jagged spikes poked out from its spine and an orange flame glowed on its ears like torches. The screaming stopped and the officer''s dead eyes stared back at us. Then the beast munched down the rest of his body in one bite. "AAaarghhhhhhhhhh!!!!" The fat boy screamed, falling to the ground in shock and taking the smaller noble kid down with him. "Jace, Naz RUNN!" I said pushing them both forward. We sped through the dense green, not looking back. I pulled out the black enchanted dagger from my dimension ring and kept it in my hand just in case. "WAIT! DON''T LEAVE US BEH-" Crunch! Crunch! "Helpppp!!!! Aarghhh-" The short one shouted as he was also picked up by the lizard and gulped down in one go like his friend and instructor. Thud! Thud! The lizard beast wasn''t delighted with its disgusting tasting food and chased after us in hopes of eating something better. "Jace, Naz. Hide here quick!" I ordered the two pointing at a huge bush. They didn''t say a word and both slid down into the bush and hid in crouched positions. "What about you?!" Jace exclaimed, his voice a bit shaky. "I''ll buy some time, I think I can kill it as long as it''s not S rank. I want you two to press your survival buttons; it will take time for a portal to open or even a professor to be sent. I''ll buy you time for that." I said sternly, spinning the enchanted dagger in my hand. Truth was I was fidgeting and itching to slay the beast. If my luck wasn''t too bad, it wouldn''t be some S rank beast, otherwise I''d have to make a run for it. "No! We''re fighting with you." Naz said, standing up and appearing out of the bush. I glared at her showing I was serious; she looked down at the ground slowly, evading my cold stare, knowing there was no arguing back and crouched down into the bush next to Jace. Thud! Thud! The ground shook as the beast got closer and closer. "Over here you btec ugly Dinosaur! Follow me! I''m delicious." I shouted, running laterally and catching its attention. Thud! Thud! I led the beast on for a good 200 metres or so before activating ''Lightning Aura''. I flash stepped in front of the beast before stabbing the dagger into its eye. Rarghhhh!!! It let out another deafening shriek as it shook its head violently making me let go. It then focused its vision on me with its last remaining eye and opened its mouth wide open. What? Was it going to breathe out fire now? I smirked, leaping up onto a tree. I spotted a burning orange glow at the back of its throat slowly getting larger and larger. What the fu- The flames burst out and almost scorched my skin; I luckily moved away in time but the merciless flames didn''t stop there. The beast turned its head and kept exhaling its breath of flames in the direction I was moving. No way! Could it be? A Drake! Drakes were part of the Dragon Family of magical beasts and the cousins of Wyverns. The Dragon Family stood at the top of the food chain along with other S rank beasts I forgot the names of. Drakes were exponentially weaker than their fathers: True Dragons, but had extremely strong flames compared to their cousins: Wyverns, and they couldn''t fly. What in the world?! How did such a creature make its way here? Into this magic forest? I took off my eye patch immediately and unsheathed Voadhailis''s Claw. I leaped into the air and swung down vertically, a violent streak of flames sliced down on the beast''s neck making it fall on its side. It got back unscathed and shook its head trying to find its enemy again. [Name: Baby Drake (Dragon Family)] [Level: 60] [Mana pool stage: 6] [Weaknesses: Water Magic, Lightning Magic, Earth Magic, Aerial attacks.] Great! I could only use Lightning attacks, Voadhailis''s Claw wouldn''t help much! This short sword only worked with Flame mana otherwise it was useless. It wasn''t compatible with any other element. Last time I was able to cast ''Zeus''s Wrath'' but even that, I didn''t need the sword to do it. Let''s give it a go. I cast Gravity mana on the large beast pinning it down on the ground; it tried to resist but every time it tried I raised the gravity by tenfold. Soon, cracks formed under the beast as it started to sink into the ground under the pressure. I levitated in the air gathering the lightning mana particles in the atmosphere, dark clouds formed on top of us and a dark storm brewed. Blue streaks of lightning struck down as punishment, hitting the Drake countless times. It shrieked each time as the millions of volts of electricity passed through its body. Now for the final swing. ''Zeus''s Wrath!'' I pushed my arms down towards the Dragon and a final thunderbolt struck violently arousing a loud thunderclap. [You have used 4000MP] I levitated back down gently and looked at the beast, its body was charred from navy blue to black and its eyes were closed, but for some reason the orange flames still glowed from the tips of its ears. Suddenly it opened its eye but before it could get up large vines wrapped around its body pinning it down to the ground. Who''s magic was this? "I''m only helping you this once because I need a favour from you." The Forest King''s true voice echoed in my head. I could tell there was no sign of hostility but I still kept my guard up. "What do you want?" my voice came out cold with hostility. Chapter 78 - Unexpected Allies The Forest King looked at me then walked over to the young drake, pinned to the ground. Sharp claws appeared out of its fingers and it pierced its claws into the beast''s chest, then pulled out a beating heart. Cool! The beast''s struggling stopped after a couple seconds and the flame lit up on its ears finally dissipated and blue blood started to spill out from the hole in its chest. "You can have this carcass as a present. As I said before, I''m only helping you because I need your help." The Forest king flicked its wrist to the side, removing the blue blood from its claws then faced me. He conversed with me with his true voice, it echoed in my head. "What do you mean you need my help? Why would such a powerful being like you need help from me? I''m a measly human after all." I said, cutting up the large vines holding the dead carcass of the drake down. "I don''t know why you''re trying to pretend to be human and live with them or what your end goal is, but I won''t hesitate to kill you if you harm the forest again. Next time, I won''t go easy on you, demon." The Forest King''s voice showed no hesitation. "Okay, so what kind of help do you need?" I asked, finally wrapping up what I was doing and absorbing the dead carcass of the drake into my dimension ring. "My master is the Demon King you coerced with: Astaroth. He commanded me to kidnap that girl you were desperately trying to save, but in the end he was satisfied with your abilities and he gave up on the idea and let both of you live." The forest King began. Sh*t! No wonder I couldn''t even see the speed of his attack. That was the power of a demon king. What if another powerful enemy comes for me or even my family and friends? What if they weren''t as generous as this demon king? Would I be strong enough? I gritted my teeth. "The fight we had, and the abnormal rise in mana in the forest caused a disaster to occur. It created a dimensional break and a dungeon appeared." It continued. "What do you mean a dungeon appeared?" I asked curious. "Are you stupid or stupid demon? Dungeons are dimensions created when there is a sudden change or imbalance in the world''s natural state. Powerful beasts roam in the dungeons and it''s everyone''s duty to clear the dungeon by defeating the beasts and challenges they offer. "The opening of this dungeon meant that the Eastern Enchanted Forest - my territory - has become a supernatural beacon attracting powerful beasts such as this Drake, to come to the forest. "That''s why I need your help in clearing this dungeon and saving the forest before the other worldly beings hiding in the dungeon start coming out and or time runs out and too many powerful beasts start fighting for dominance in this forest." Whatever the Forest King said made sense, but what would I gain from helping this guy? "What''s in it for me?" I grinned, sinisterly. "You Selfish piece of There are rewards. At the end of clearing the dungeon, there will be a reward, at least that''s what myths say. "Even if you don''t help me protect my home, If I fail in stopping whatever lurks in there, your human inhabitants will all be wiped out. So it''s your choice." The Forest King''s voice sounded irritated and he spoke with sighs and stops. Was there even a choice? I had to go. I could level up, while also saving the kingdom from destruction. "Okay I will come with you." ** I followed the Forest King into his lair; hundreds of beasts kneeled as he walked in front and I followed from behind. There were a variety of beasts from D rank all the way to a couple A rank beasts. Large trees stood as pillars on the side and a large throne fit for the Forest King rested in front of an extraordinary tree, towering over the rest of the beta trees like an alpha. I could feel the intense mana radiating from it. "Trees such as those are called Yggdrasil, they''re also known as the tree of life and hold large amounts of mana. They help keep the balance of mana in the Eastern Forest. This one here is a couple hundred years old so it''s still young." The Forest King pointed at the colossal tree, standing behind his throne. "There are many Yggdrasil trees out there and the strongest beasts normally guard and protect these trees. Humans don''t know about the countless Yggdrasils, otherwise they''d exploit its powers like some beasts before our times. "Many beasts have tried to absorb the Yggdrasil trees but have failed, only True Dragons were able to consume the vitality of the Yggdrasil trees. This helped them to become the strongest species at one point. "However, The monarchs descended and fought to the death with the dragons. Only the lesser dragons like the Wyverns and Drakes remained and even then they''re very few in number." The Forest King finally stopped talking and sat on his throne. I didn''t say anything as I pondered how much I still didn''t know about the world. "Since we''re friends now, do you mind if I come here to train and meditate here near this Yggdrasil tree." I smiled trying to exploit the Forest King''s kindness. "Don''t humour me, demon. Remember you''re in my lair." He pointed at me and a group of A rank humanoid type beasts surrounded me. They were at least at low A rank. Damn! They were plant based monsters, with similar appearances to the Forest King. They had no mouths or noses, only eyes and sharp claws. "Okay, okay, I understand." I said raising my hands up like I surrendered. Truth was I had a 40% chance of winning if the Forest King didn''t join the fight, I liked those odds. A 1000 or so beasts vs 1 half demon, I smiled at the thought. "I''m still waiting for one of my allies, when she arrives, we''ll leave." The forest King scoffed, folding his legs and resting his arm on his chin. I nodded and took a seat on the ground. I needed to absorb as much pure mana as I could from the Yggdrasil tree; my focus wasn''t as good, as I could constantly feel the stares of hundreds of beasts. It felt like my mind was constantly on high alert as my demon senses were constantly being poked. A couple or so minutes passed and I was able to recover some energy and restore my MP from the previous fight with the Drake. The Forest King finally stood up. "She''s here." At the Forest King''s words a storm started brewing and dark clouds filled the once sunny sky. A large thunderclap resounded and a beast with large wings descended, appearing out of the dark clouds. With every beat of its wings sparks of lightning cackled until it descended down to the ground. It stood at a height of 30 metres and its feathers had a darkish blue colour, which resonated with the lightning mana in the atmosphere. As it landed on the ground the clouds finally started to disappear and the sky became clear again. "I recommend you look away." The Forest King insisted as a bright blue light flashed and almost blinded me. I instinctively closed my eyes. "You can open your eyes now." The forest King instructed. "Who''s the boy?" A woman''s voice echoed through the air. I slowly opened my eyes to a surprise. I tried my best not to blush as the beautiful girl a little older than me stared back at me with a piercing glare. She had a white complexion which matched perfectly with her pink lips and blue eyes and her slim figure would have put many models to shame. Her azure hair was tied in a high ponytail and a dress made of the finest blue coloured silk covered her body. Large wings with the same darkish blue feathers protruded out of her back and she held a golden staff in her right hand. Who was this strangely attractive woman? "Dianmu, he''s an ally. He''ll be helping us in clearing the dungeon." The forest King miniaturised to our heights and descended from his throne. "B-But that''s a demon! We shall kill him right here and now, no matter how good-looking he looks," She demanded, blushing a little, "And why aren''t you changing into your humanoid form Numen." I wonder how she''d react if I told her I''m not 16 but in fact 13 years old. "My main body is not present at the moment, it''s still sleeping. We need to move quickly, let''s introduce ourselves formally before we leave." The Forest King replied sternly. "Okay then I''ll go first. I''m Dianmu, The Legendary Thunderbird." She said smiling, happy with her status. "I''m the Forest King, also known as Numen." The forest King folded his arms. "I''m Zeref Amara." I finally said, ending the introductions. "Zeref what? Don''t you have any titles?" The woman scoffed, looking unimpressed. "Zeref Amara, The Lightning Candidate." I replied smiling. I was tempted to also say the descendant of Lucifer but I didn''t even know who this ''Lucifer'' guy was, so even though it sounded cool I refrained from saying it. "Pfftt, like that''s meant to be impressive, actually it is but that''s besides the point. I heard rumours that the tournament was going on, I didn''t believe it. So how strong are you then?" She asked. "Enough of the chitchat, the dungeon could open up anytime, we need to enter it before it does and clear it." Numen began running east before leaping up on a tree. "You lot, protect Yggdrasil while I''m gone." He spoke looking back at his underlings. Dianmu and I exchanged looks before hurrying behind him. Her body cackled with lightning, every time she moved. Wasn''t that ''Lightning Aura''? I also activated ''Lightning Aura'' and caught up to the two speeding figures. Dianmu looked back at me and smiled as she saw the familiar technique I was using. Let''s hope she was as strong as the Forest King or more, otherwise we were doomed. Chapter 79 - Clearing The Dungeon I gazed at the huge red portal towering over us, it was at least 50 metres in diameter and a sinister mana pressure was being emitted from it. "Do you think just us 3 are going to be enough?" I asked, now worried about what powerful beings could be on the other side. "Mmh, the portal has grown since the last time I saw it. Someone definitely tampered with it." Numen extended his fingers and they compressed and hardened into razor sharp claws. "Don''t worry demon, just me being here is enough." Dianmu scoffed. I released my full mana pressure causing cracks to form under me and my demon eye glowed intensely. Dianmu whistled in approval and activated her ''lightning aura''. "Okay, everyone''s ready. Let''s enter." Numen was the first to disappear into the red coloured portal and the both of us followed behind. What I learned from mana history class was that portals had distinct colours. Blue was the most common one, it connected two places together and shortened the distance between them. Green took you to a private dimension like Gramp''s training grounds, which I visited a long time ago. Lastly, red represented the colour of dungeons. Dungeons were alternate dimensions created by imbalances in the world''s natural mana flow; they only formed this way at an extremely low chance. However, they also formed randomly in areas of high populations; that''s also a reason why the Hunter Association existed - to clear dungeons and protect the cities. [You have entered an A rank Dungeon] [Quest Title:Clear the A rank Dungeon!] [New Quest: Kill a 200 beasts] [Rewards: 100,000 Exp] [New Quest: Clear the First Floor] [Rewards: 50,000 Exp] [New Quests: Defeat 3 Golems] [Rewards: Instant Level up!] [New Quest: Clear the Second Floor] [Rewards: 50,000 Exp] [New Quest: Defeat the Dungeon Boss!] [Rewards: Instant Level up x3] As I stepped out of the portal I was bombarded with numerous notifications about quests. I smiled in satisfaction and Dianmu looked at me oddly before facing the 1000 or so Armoured Goblins in front of us. We seemed to be in some sort of tunnel, there were torches on each side and the passage went down for a couple hundred metres. The width and height of the walls were high so the tunnel was spacious. The Goblins were tall slender green things that represented humans; they wore ragged dark armour and held clubs in their hands. Their ugly faces and green teeth were the worst out of everything, showing they were beasts and not just green humanoid things. "Don''t mind me!" Dianmu charged ahead and started swatting the numerous goblins, killing a dozen with a single swing. Lightning bolts cackled with every swing of her golden staff. I can''t let her take all the kills, I charged ahead pulling out the enchanted dagger into my left hand in a reverse grip and Voadhailis''s Claw in my right hand. I zigzagged across the bloody battlefield, dodging their swings and burning hundreds of them with a swing of Voadhailis''s Claw. "So you''re not all talk! Hahahahaha! Nice! Real Nice!" Dianmu laughed as she tore the head off another goblin. So she was a battle freak like me? I smirked focusing on my mission of getting that 200 kills. Wait. Why wasn''t Numen joining us? I looked back at the green figure, still standing at the portal; entrance with his arms folded. Did he want to conserve his strength? Well, time to end this. ''Indra''s arrow!'' I concentrated, forming a large Spear-shaped Lightning bolt. It levitated above my palm and cut through the air at a blinding speed as I threw it. [You have used 1000 MP] The lightning bolt wiped the tunnel clean, mercilessly killing hundreds of Goblins, leaving traces of charred bodies and crisp blood on the walls. It left a trail of destruction. The lightning bolt reached the end of the tunnel and dissipated when it hit the tunnel''s end wall. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up! You are now level 70!] [You have 10 Available stat points] Dianmu whistled in approval. "Nice! I might even be tempted to make you my mate!" She laughed. "I think I''m still too young for that." I returned, swatting my two blades to the side, ridding them of the green gooey blood. Disgusting. "Nice job, Let''s move one to the next floor. Make sure you conserve your mana for the final boss. These guys are just small fry; the final boss is someone even we will struggle against, so stop messin around and focus." Numen spoke from behind as he walked past us coolly. What a cool b*stard. Dianmu scoffed at his comment and followed the Green figure to the end wall. "Okay, so now what? Do we just wait for it to open or break it down?" I asked, looking at the huge walls. As I said, a blue portal appeared in front of us. "I think that answers your question, demon." Numen said, walking into the portal. ** [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [50,000 Exp has been received] This time we were in a small forest. Large Rock Golems patrolled the forest in search of life forms and a large glass dome covered the sky. "Watch out, golems are slow but their defense is impeccable, you have to destroy their cores to beat them. Let''s go." Numen was the first to move. The golems looked like large rock Gorillas except they didn''t have any facial features apart from purple gems as eyes. They were colossal creatures standing at a height of 50 metres. "Watch out for their eyes, they shoot some sort of mana beam from them." Numen warned, as he captured and trapped a golem with his vines. "Now! Strike it down, Find and destroy its core!" He ordered, and both Dianmu and I darted forward. I scanned with my demon eye, looking for its core. Found it! "Dianmu, aim for its head!" I shouted as I leapt from above holding Rakoria''s enchanted dagger with both my hands. I struck deep with all my strength and managed to break past the dense layers of rock protecting its core. "Switch! My turn!" I forcefully took out the dagger from its head and leapt down from its frozen body. Dianmu switched with me and I could see her eyes going blue and violent streaks of lightning surrounding her. She swung down with her golden staff and a large crack split down the middle of the golem''s body splitting it in half. What a strike! "Okay that''s one down. Wai- Zeref MOVE!" Dianmu shouted from above. A painful sensation covered my body and I could feel my body burning under the pressure. It felt similar to the Dragon''s flames in my old world but it was much weaker and less damaging. I made an X shape with my forearms and withstood the mana beam directed at me. [You have suffered 1000 damage] The beam finally stopped and I could feel my blood boil with anger. ''Rapid Healing.'' "Demon, are you okay?" Numan asked as he shackled the Golem that had attacked me. "I''m fine." I grumbled, dusting off my now ragged school uniform. My whole upper body showed and a large circle shaped scar showed on my chest. Dianmu looked my way, before diverting her gaze away and dashing to attack another golem. I looked at Rakoria''s enchanted blade, it was broken. Sh*t! I cracked my neck left and right and activated ''lightning aura''. Taking out Voadhailis''s claw I darted forward and with my left hand, held one of the golems still with my Gravity Magic. I spun Voadhailis''s claw in my right hand before I leapt up into the air. I spun like a tornado before slicing down crisply on the Golem''s hard coated head. Violent and wild flames burst from the Golem as its head exploded from the intense heat radiating from my blade. I didn''t take a break and dashed for a Golem, Numen was struggling to cut down. ''Indra''s Spear!'' I chanted and condensed lightning mana shrouded my left hand. I threw Voadhailis Claw at one of the Golem''s eyes to prevent it from releasing another one of its beams. It shook its head in order to remove the blade but it couldn''t. I streamlined myself and cut through the last layer of its thick cranium, leaving the Golem dysfunctional. That was 2 down. "Wait Dianmu leave the last one for me!" I dashed forward leaping from tree to tree and ran up the Golem''s body. "This one''s all yours. I''ve weakened it already." Dianmu left a crack on its head and jumped away when the Golem released its powerful beam. I held Voadhailis''s Claw in a reverse grip and leapt into the air. A thunderclap echoed as lightning fused with my body''s movements and I struck down at the crack Dianmu formed, with force. A blue light appeared and the head of the Golem exploded like the others. I leapt down satisfied and wiped my sweat. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up! You are now level 71!] [You have 20 Available stat points] [MP has been restored] "Nice job out there! Those lightning moves reminded me of my youth. You got talent, demon." Dianmu smiled, stabbing her golden staff into the ground. "But you should maybe put on some clothes." She blushed. This woman, I shook my head; I pulled out a dark T shirt and a S tier Hunter''s Trench Coat. The ciat was long and came down to my knees, it''s overall colour was black, but it had streaks of blue lacing mixed with it. "Let''s move on to the next floor." I sighed, putting on some Grieves and new shoes. "Let''s go." Numen said, leading the trio. Chapter 80 - Clearing The Dungeon II [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [50,000 Exp has been received] That was two floors done. Now for the final one. "This one''s going to be an easy one." I said, taking out Voadhailis''s claw and cracking my neck left and right. We all stared at the ginormous three headed beast, saliva drooled from its mouth and sharp canines protruded out of its mouths. It tried several times to charge at us but large iron chains held it down. So this Cerberus was the final boss? Great. It seemed like we were in some sort of medieval tower. A massive two doored gate stood behind the Cerberus. What was it protecting? "Let''s begin." Numen and Dianmu both released their mana pressures making me stumble back. I had forgotten how powerful these guys were - S rank beasts. I also released my pressure and my demon aura. We spread out and darted from three directions and charged at the chained beast. Suddenly, the chains dropped from around its neck and limbs and it began charging towards the nearest target wildly. The Forest King was calm and immediately conjured thick green mana vines to appear out of the ground and wrap around the beast but it cut them all with its claws or shrugged them off with its might. I threw countless fireballs at it, causing them to detonate at contact with its dark fur. It howled in pain, before one of its heads looked at me and opened its mouth. I could see a dark glow coming from its mouth. "Don''t get hit by that!" Dianmu warned as she spun her golden staff and struck down, causing a blinding thunderbolt to strike down at the beast. The Cerberus shook its heads gathering itself from the shock before charging towards Dianmu. Lucky she could fly, she managed to weave around distracting the cerberus, while Numen and I thought of a plan. "I can''t distract this thing forever you know. Hurry up!" She yelled, showering the ground with lightning strikes. "Numen immobilise it, I''m going to get close and finish it off." I said zigzagging around, running up the walls and circling the beast. Numen nodded and captured the beast with its mana vines, this time he used a lot of mana to strengthen the vines. I spun Voadhailis''s Claw in my hand and leapt up into the air, violent streaks of lightning covered me and formed into a lightning dragon''s head; it opened its mouth ready to bite down with force. "Aaarrghhhhh!!!" I let out a battle cry, my voice reverberated in layers as my voice mixed with my demonic aura. I struck down with all my might. The dragon, made of violent streaks of lightning, bit down on the cerberus''s neck. It let out a loud and painful shriek before its pupils turned white and it fell dead as a doornail. [You have used 2000 MP] [Congratulations! You have Created a new Spell] [What do you want to call it?] ''Drago del Fulmine'' "What the h*ll was that?!" Dianmu rushed over to me and slapped my back playfully as I huffed and puffed. That technique was a modified version of the ''Holy Grail: Twin dragon'' spell I used to use in my previous life. If only I had two short swords, it would have been a perfect copy.. "It''s dead now." Numen walked over with Cerberus''s heart in his hand. "So what now? Haven''t we cleared it? Don''t we get rewards or something?" I asked, straightening myself and finally regaining my breath. "I''m not sure, I haven''t cleared a dungeon in such a long time." Dianmu shrugged. Why did I have an ominous feeling though? I looked back at the carcass of the cerberus. It was definitely dead. "What about those big doors? Do you want to check it out?" I pointed towards the large doors at the back of the hall. "That''s strange. This is my first time seeing doors like those in a dungeon. Come, Let''s check it out." Dianmu walked ahead of us. "Zeref! Watch out!!" I felt a strong push making me tumble to the side. A powerful dark beam burned the Forest King''s body crisply as he protected Dianmu from the powerful attack. He used his body to shield her from the attack. "Numen!!" Dianmu cried out. I picked myself up and saw the Cerberus up and well on its feet. But how? We killed it. Then I spotted something wrong, one of its heads was dead and limp. It made sense; the Cerberus probably had 3 hearts - one for each head. "Dianmu, calm down. That''s not the real Numen, it''s his clone. We need to focus and destroy its last 2 remaining hearts." I released my mana pressure and charged towards the beast, I took a quick glance at the still shocked Thunderbird. For some reason the Cerberus was much faster and reacted to my blade''s movements much more viciously. Its speed of firing that dark beam also quickened and I was taking damage. [You have taken 1000 damage] Sh*t! It only skimmed my arm. "Dianmu! Hurry up and help me." I shouted as I wrapped the beast in flames. It roared in agony and dashed towards me trying to bite me down. I side stepped quickly and sliced off one its heads cleanly, making it drop to the floor. The fire dissipated and the second head started to heal back. What the h*ll was this creature?! "I''ll destroy you!!" Loud thunderous cackles of lightning formed around Dianmu''s body; she leaped into the air holding her golden staff with both of her hands. Her eyes went blue and her navy blue wings spread out. "Don''t!!" I tried to warn her but it was too late. The Cerberus turned its now regenerated second head towards her and fired the same concentrated black beam. I threw an exploding fireball at its faces, making a large gulf of flames cover its heads. Dianmu''s unconscious body fell down, descending towards the ground. I quickly travelled towards her, catching her and holding her in my hands. Damn! She was heavy. How did these guys let their guard down? So much for being S rank beasts. I laid the knocked out Dianmu down next to the charred Forest King and formed an ice box around them. That should keep them safe for now. As for the Cerberus, I was going to end its whole career. ROOAARGHHH!!! The Cerberus let out a deafening shout. "Puppy Sit!" I said pointing at the beast. Immediately, its body sunk into the floor being pinned down. I released my killing intent, shaking the whole hall. Large cracks formed like spiderwebs underneath the Cerberus''s immobile body. [MP is dropping rapidly!] I approached the immobilised Cerberus and cut off one of its heads with a flick of my blade. It struggled and started charging up its beam to shoot it at me with its other head but its efforts were all in vain. "Bad dog." I said, piercing its tough skin and crushing the last two remaining hearts, "Someone didn''t train you properly." I didn''t want to show my full power to the other two. If they became enemies in the future, it was better they underestimated me. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You''re now level 74] [You have 50 Available stat points] [MP has been restored] I sighed before opening up the system. [Strength has increased 145 -> 155] [Intelligence has increased 90 -> 110] [Agility has increased 154 -> 174] I put 10 stat points into Strength and 20 into Intelligence and Agility. From this fight alone, I thanked myself for having a high agility stat, without it I would''ve been caught countless times by that strong mana beam. It was able to knock out two S rank Beasts. I also needed to increase the potency of my spells, most of my flame attacks were shrugged off by the beast, increasing intelligence was important. Lastly, Strength: I lacked the strength before to cleanly cut the Golem''s hard defence; I needed a good strength to overcome strong defences like the Golem''s. Creakk! Voadhailis''s Claw started to vibrate in my hand at the noise. I turned my head towards the Large two doors. They were finally opening ** ''Oh my god.'' is the thought that was constantly going through my brain. Why would such a thing even be here? I really had a thing for encountering dragons. I walked inside, it looked to be some sort of tomb for the dead lying carcass of a mighty dragon. It had bright red scales that still hadn''t lost their glow and a domineering presence. I could only imagine how powerful it was when it was alive. It had two large yellow horns protruding out of its head. I had bad experiences with dragons so seeing another true dragon made my hairs stand up. I read the name of the beast with my demon eye and as I got closer and closer to the dead beast Voadhailis''s Claw resonated more and more in my hand. [Name: The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis] [Level: ???] [Mana pool stage: ???] [Weaknesses: ???] Damn! So many question marks. Just how strong was this True Dragon? So this was the beast that my blade was made from. I remembered quests I received a year ago, to do with this Dragon. The first quest was to buy the blade and I did; the second was to retrieve the dead body and the third was to revive it using the potion of life. This guy could become an awesome asset! I put out my fist in front of the dead mighty Dragon''s body and it slowly absorbed into my dimension ring. Only dead things and tangible objects could be stored in the dimension rings. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up! You are now level 75!] [You have 10 Available stat points] I put stats into defense and continued searching around the tomb. [Defence/ Durability has increased 148 ->158] There seemed to be tonnes of Gold, armour, enchanted clothes, swords. I put most of it in my dimension ring, to sell them later on and make a better profit. "So you''ve been here, taking all the loot huh?" I turned my head around and looked at Dianmu struggling to stand upright. "Oh, yeah. Finders keepers, you guys were last in, plus I defeated that Cerberus so I thought I deserved to loot first." I said, walking up to her and helping her walk back. "Fair enough. Anyways, I wanted to ask you something." her voice was croaky and she looked dreadful. "Go ahead." "Do you want to sign a contract with me?" She asked, looking into my eyes. I heard contracts were mostly done with mages, who specialised in beast magic but normal mages could form pacts with magical beasts too. "What are the conditions?" I queried, helping her walk to the blue portal that opened up. "I will try to give you help whenever you demand it, just call my name and in return for my services I want you to take care of my kin if I ever die." She said solemnly, with the eyes of a mother. "You have kids?" I frowned. "Ahhah, I may look young but I''m over a hundred years old young demon. I have 4 young daughters and 2 sons. If you promise me to take care of them once I die, I will undoubtedly follow you to the ends of the world." I liked her offer but there was only one issue: I wasn''t too keen on babysitting Thunderbirds, let alone magical beasts. Taking care of people was fine, but that many magical beasts. Hell no!! "How about I give you a counter offer?" I smiled, "You become my familiar and come to me when I call for help and in return I will teach your kin your lightning techniques. "I know it''s hard for beasts to teach their kin spells and skills as that''s something they need to learn themselves. Most young magical beasts die at an early age due to that. So what do you say?" I offered. "I agree under one condition." "What." "You will also look out for them if they''re ever in trouble." I couldn''t guarantee the last bit but I accepted anyway. "Fine." I agreed. "Yayy! Now let''s sign the contract." Before I could react, she pulled me closer. Her lips nearly connected with mine but I pushed her away, accidentally pushing her by her throat making her cough. "I''d rather do it the traditional way" I awkwardly smiled, taking out Rakeria''s dagger and slitting my palm. She looked at me shocked as I grabbed her wrist. "What?! No!" she tried to pull away but I had already split the skin of her palms making her cry out in pain. "Too late." I smirked, shaking both of our bloody hands and shaking vigorously to increase the pain. I squeezed her hand slightly before she yanked her whole body away from me and fell backwards on her bum. "Yay! Now we are like siblings. Blood to blood bond." I smirked sarcastically as she glared up at me with a scowl on her face. I shook the blood of my hand, self healing. [Congratulations! You have Successfully made a Master and Familiar Contract!] "You''re no fun." She whined entering the portal pouting. She must have wanted the kiss instead. I looked back at Numen''s charred clone one more time and I made sure to put on my eye patch before finally exiting the portal. [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You''re now level 78] [You have 30 Available stat points] The portal closed behind me instantly and I was greeted with a shout. "Put your hands in the air! Now!" Chapter 81 - Legal Issues Dianmu looked at me with a pissed face. ''Why are these peasant humans here?'' She said through a mind link. She was my familiar now so we shared a mental link and could talk to each other without opening our mouths. ''It''s fine, I''ll take care of this.'' I reassured her. "I said hands up! Drop all your weapons and items." The military General commanded, aiming some sort of magic rifle at us. There were at least 100 or so soldiers surrounding us with mages in the air too. Dianmu glared at them ready to cause a massacre. "I''m from the Hunter''s Association. I cleared the dungeon with the help of my friend here." I said pulling out my Hunter''s ID card that I received from the old man as an extra gift. I didn''t think I''d ever need it as I already had the Vice Director card. "Go check his ID card." A thin frail boy walked over to me and analysed my Hunter ID "Sir, he''s the A rank Hunter." The thin boy replied, handing me my ID card back and bowing in respect. "Everyone, rest your weapons!" The Military General shouted and all the military personnel stood straight with their rifles by their side. "Follow me Mr Hunter." The Military General ordered; the soldiers all created a path for us as Dianmu and I followed the General. ''What''s happening? Why are we following these guys?'' Dianmu asked, annoyed at the situation. I could feel her yearning to go back to her nest and check up on her kids. ''I''m sorry I don''t know either and I can''t just let you transform and leave because I know that''s what you''re thinking. It''ll blow my cover and They''ll try and hunt you down.'' I tried to reason with her. ''Fine.'' she pouted mentally and carried on walking behind me. I could tell some officers were looking at her in a dirty manner, she was extremely mature and beautiful after all. ''How''d you hide your wings though?'' I asked, hinting at her plain back. ''Oh, I just fully transformed into my human form. All high tier beasts can do it.'' she answered, glaring at the soldiers eyeing her figure. ''These buffoons are disgusting. Looking at me like I''m material to be used.'' ''Yeah, I know. I''m getting the urge to rip their eyes out as we speak.'' I said through our mind link. ''Why don''t you then?'' she folded her arms, covering her body. ''It''s not that easy. I can''t just kill anyone I want, remember I''m trying to fit in.'' ** After a while we arrived at a military camp. There were dozens of tents set up with army soldiers walking here and there, some holding rifles, others holding paperwork. When did they set this up? "ZEREFF!!" Xanxus shrieked as he saw me from far away and ran towards me with open arms. Dianmu stepped in front of me instantly and pushed him back, making him fall to the ground. ''Dianmu, what are you doing?!'' I panicked, moving her aside and helping him get up. ''What, I just saved you from getting touched by these creatures.'' she scoffed. ''I''m trying to blend in with the human, dummy.'' I scolded her mentally. ''You''re the weirdest being I''ve ever met.'' she shook her head and folded her arms. "Zeref, who''s that overly sexy woman and why''d she push me?" Xanxus asked, dusting himself off and pointing his finger at her. "She''s a friend of mine, now relax." I said, hinting at the General''s confused glare. "I''ve been looking everywhere for you. We thought you died! And what happened to your uniform, why are you wearing hunter''s attire?" This hunched fool was getting on my nerves. "We''ll talk later." I whispered in his ear with a slight coldness in my tone. He shivered before looking at the Military General again. "Thank you for everything General. He''s indeed the missing student from 3 days ago; I can''t thank you enough." Xanxus smiled and shook the General''s hand wildly. 3 days? I''ve been in the dungeon for 3 days? "It''s fine I should be thanking the young hunter and his friend instead for saving us all. Thank you for your service, brave Hunter and huntress." The general saluted in respect. He had a strong build and a well groomed beard, His dark hair was short and his face was mostly wrinkled. ''At least one of them has manners.'' Dianmu complimented. "General, may I ask for your name?" I asked bowing. "I''m General Grimsworth." I thought so, that military girl Rakeria resembled the General a lot. I took out the broken black enchanted dagger from my dimension ring and handed it to him. "Th-That''s the family heirloom." He stuttered at the broken blade. "Your daughter gave it to me, It really helped in clearing the dungeon. Thank her for me." I smiled. The Military General almost started to weep in happiness as he realised his family heirloom helped to clear a hellish dungeon. "Thank you, Thank you so much!" He grabbed my hand and shook it hard. ''Ew! Why do humans like to touch each other so much?'' Dianmu asked in a disgusted tone. I ignored her comment. We said our goodbyes and the Military General promised to take care of the legal issues and reports for the dungeon clearance. I was curious as to what the military camp had to offer and wanted to explore it but Xanxus insisted we go back home as mother was worried about me. ** "So did Jace and Naz get back safe?" I asked, opening up the conversation. We were almost home, maybe another 4 or 5 minute run. "Yeah, they got back safely. Professors were sent to them and they were escorted to safety. They reported what happened to you and soldiers were dispatched immediately. "Then we spotted the dungeon portal and communicated with the Hunter''s Association. They told us that they sent one of their A rank Hunters there to take care of it, but she would arrive in a couple days time and clear the dungeon. "For some reason, you and your friend cleared it before that A rank hunter could return. "So yeah, that''s pretty much why everything was so hectic back at the Military Camp. The opening of dungeons are dangerous. " Xanxus sighed, explaining to me the details. I nodded in understanding, I basically got away by chance then. I cleared the dungeon before that other A rank hunter arrived; the military basically thought that I was the dispatched A rank Hunter. "However, things haven''t been going so well and I''ve been sued by some noble families. The two noble kids that were with you died and some other noble kids from the other groups also died. "I don''t know why there were so many magic beasts in the forest so suddenly. It really sucks coz now I''m most likely to lose my job, even though I founded the Academy. I can''t really blame them, I''m the reason so many kids died." He pitied himself and sulked. I didn''t say anything, as I simply did not care. He always made stupid decisions, this was his learning curb, an eye opener to finally be an adult. How could a guy like him even be an assassin? It was hard to believe. As for the sudden rise in the number of beasts, it was unfortunate. ''So that''s your nest? Looks huge!'' Dianmu said in my head, looking at the huge mansion in awe. ''Yep, but I''m afraid there''s gonna be a lot of shouting once I enter.'' ''What do you mean?'' She looked at me confused. ''You''re a mother, you''ll understand soon enough.'' I sighed. We finally arrived at the gates of the mansion, I honestly did not want to go inside as I knew what was going to happen: Another scolding session. I need to hurry up and grow up. "Zeref!!" The door swung open and a group of people ran outside overzealously. Mother was the first to hug me, then Jace and Naz also joined in. Even Gramps smiled, standing at the back, folding his arms. "What is wrong with you? Constantly making us worry! And this time you even brought a woman with you!" Mother cried in my arms. I smiled, hugging her tightly. ''So is that your wife?'' Dianmu asked, scratching her head. ''No stupid, this is my mother.'' I shook my head at her dumb comment. ''Woahh. She looks so young!'' she complimented. They finally let go and we all entered the house, mother gave Dianmu weird looks as she followed us inside. We all sat on sofas in the living room. ''Wow! So spacious.'' Dianmu looked around the mansion with wide eyes like she had just seen gold for the first time. "Firstly, who''s the woman?" Mother was the first to interrogate me, as she shot a killing stare at Dianmu, who was sitting next to me. "My name is Dianmu and I''m his familiar." Danmiu spoke up with a smile on her face. ''What the hell are you doing?!'' I scolded her straightforwardness. ''I''m just telling her the truth. Never lie to your parents, young demon.'' I sighed, knowing she was right. "What''s a familiar?" Mother asked, suspicious of her presence. "This!" She said energetically and a loud thunderclap shook the whole building. We all covered our eyes as bright light flashed before us. A lightning bolt had pierced through the roof and struck Dianmu''s body. We all slowly uncovered our eyes. "What the hell!" Jace was the first to say with a shocked face. I looked to my side and sighed in relief. Thank God she didn''t pull off some stupid stunt like go naked. ''Do you want me to?'' Dianmu asked through our mind link. ''Do I want what?'' ''I can hear your thoughts you know.'' She returned, I blushed knowing what she meant. "Interesting! Zeref you formed a contract with a Thunderbird. They''re legendary S rank magic beasts." Gramps''s eyes gleamed with wonder and awe . "Yes. As you know I entered the dungeon and ended up clearing it. In the end I formed a contract with her and yeah, she became my familiar." I said speaking truthfully. "You lucky b*stard. I bet I could''ve got a much better familiar or even a bond." Mike overheard our conversation and butted in. I could feel Dianmu''s bloodthirst rise as she was about to kill him in one go. ''Don''t Dianmu. Control yourself.'' Dianmu was now in a miniature bird form, she was maybe about a foot tall and rested on my shoulder. Her feathers were a navy blue colour and her beak had a golden hue. She resembled an eagle a lot. "Okay I believe you and for you Mr Hunter, we''ll have a secret chat later on." Mother smiled sinisterly, making me shiver all over. I was definitely getting another lecture. Jace gave me that ''Good luck bro'' look and I sighed, playing with my fingers. This was going to be a long day... Chapter 82 - Malia Awakes -Nina''s POV- Gradually, my eyes opened and my blurry vision began to stabilise. Cr*p! My body felt heavy and sluggish like I had just awoken from a long surgery. My limbs refused to listen to me and even when they did, my movements felt laggy and slow. I wriggled in the bed, letting my back relax against the soft mattress. Damn, how long was I unconscious? I rolled my neck back, my mind already clamouring for the ache relief to come. ''Malia, are you there?'' I asked through our mind link but there was no answer. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I still needed to get used to the feeling of having a body; I started slowly, beginning with opening and closing my hand, then I moved to moving my toes. I remember after arriving at the forest, Zeref was hot on our tail so I had to quickly think up a cover up plan. I decided to kill an A rank beast and scatter my mana signatures on it; I made sure to char the beast with flame mana to show that it was Malia who killed the beast and that it was all just a kidnapping. Then I lost consciousness due to the shift''s side effects and now I was here. ''Malia can you hear me?'' My voice echoed in my head, as no answer was received. ''Come on Malia. Give me something! You can''t be dead.'' Tears rolled down my eyes as I became desperate for an answer. ''Shut up with your whining, you''re hurting my head.'' A croaky voice returned and instantly I felt a blanket of joy cover me. The voice was broken and weak but she was alive. She was alive! I punched the air in joy. I was in my room somehow, confusion fogging my mind as I squinted around the room. ''I can sense Zeref approaching, let''s switch.'' I offered. ''No, I can''t, at least not yet. My mind is in shambles, resisting the urge to shift put a huge mental toll on me and I''m still recovering. You''re gonna have to cover for me for a couple weeks until I get my strength back.'' she sighed, her voice still weak. ''But how? I''m not you. They''ll know something is wrong.'' I argued, panicking and sitting up. I did have her memories but we were different. Malia didn''t answer. She must have gone back to sleep cr*p! The bustling of footsteps was getting closer. This was my first proper interaction with a person since my death, of course Malia and Sara didn''t count. Creeeak! The door opened ** -Zeref''s POV- I turned the knob of the door and entered the room. To my surprise this time I really wasn''t dreaming. I froze at the doorway taking in her glistening eyes and the bags hanging under her sunken eyes. She looked directly into my eyes and everything in me reconnected, all the snapped wires lit up in sparks and finally I felt emotions. She was awake! "Malia?" I whispered in disbelief, hesitantly stepping into the room. She blinked a few times, looking like a lost deer in headlights. I was overjoyed and rushed over and wrapped my arms around her in a huge hug. "Get off me you oversized teenager. I can''t breathe." Her voice came out muffled but I still didn''t let go. She gave up struggling and relaxed around my arms finally. She melted into me, making my insides feel fuzzy. I breathed in her fragrant scent and took a couple seconds before letting go. I sat beside her on the bed and not once did I take my eyes off her. "So how are you feeling? You were out for a good week." I said, checking her faded complexion and frail figure. "Uhm, good I guess. My body still feels sluggish, so I doubt I''ll come to school today. I''ll stay home for now." She answered, avoiding my gaze. She shuffled, finally looking back at me. "What''s with the staring weirdo?" she fiddled with her sleeve, peering at me through her eyelashes. I chuckled, leaning into her. I''m not taking her for granted anymore. She let out a shaky breath, her eyes widening and her irises expanding. I smirked at her reaction, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Are you hungry?" I said, retreating back to my spot next to her. She shook her head, her cheeks vividly red and shock still all over her face. "Not really hungry" she whispered, using short words as her voice was probably still soar. "That''s fine, take as much time as you need to rest. Make sure you take it easy, everyone''s been worried about you." I said in a calm tone. "Zeref!! Where are you?!" A loud shout could be heard coming from the hallway and the trampling of footsteps kept getting closer; Malia''s hand shot to her mouth as she yelped in surprise. I guess her ears were still sensitive. I furrowed my eyebrows, rubbing her arm. Nina used to react the same way to noise. Dianmu rushed through the door. "There you are!" She smiled sinisterly, before charging at me and jumping on top of me. What the hell was she thinking?! "We didn''t finish what we started." She bit her lip seductively. I turned away from her, looking at Malia. I looked at Malia''s poker face, not revealing any hints of her thoughts to me. She just stared at the girl, gripping the blanket a little tighter. The bloodthirst was rising in the air. Sh*t! "Malia, it''s not what it looks like." I pushed Dianmu aside. Dianmu finally acknowledged Malia''s frail looking frame and tilted her head in curiosity. "Get out. I''m tired." Malia sighed, dropping her head into her pillow. "Zeref who is sh-" Dianmu smiled only to be interrupted by Malia. "I don''t like repeating myself." she deadpanned, covering her body with the blanket and turning the other way. I tried to pull myself up but Dianmu scoffed, pinning my wrists down onto the bed and staying on top of me. WE ARE ONLY 13! I froze in shock and before I could snap out of it, Dianmu was ripped off of me by her neck and slammed down right next to me. Her shoulder hit mine, nearly breaking my shoulder blade at the force. Malia pulled her up by the collar and dragged her up to meet her tired eyes. "ARE YOU DEAF?!" she yelled, causing me to flinch. Sheesh I''d never seen her so short-tempered nor use that tone. Dianmu whimpered, trying to back away. Dianmu was a strong woman and I never imagined her to have such a fearful look on her face. The walls shook at Malia''s voice and even I couldn''t hide my shock. The ceiling rumbled and bits of dust fell down towards the floor. "I SAID LEAVE!!!" her eyes flickered gold, making Dianmu scream as she fell onto the floor and scramble away. She didn''t even look back at me, nearly slipping on her way out. Damn, she just got told by a 13 year old. "Your eyes" I whispered, staring at her flickering eyes. As soon as I said that, Malia''s face filled with confusion and her eyes turned back into the normal hazelnut colour. What the f She stared at me with an innocent look of confusion on her face. "Never mind" I smiled, not wanting to worry her. Was she suffering side effects?! "Get some rest, I''ll bring up some soup for you." She nodded as I stood up, leaving and closing the door behind me. What the hell just happened? I peered down the hall to see Dianmu curling up in a ball. "Dianmu what the hell is wrong with you?!" I walked up to her and started scolding. "H-Her eyes they glowed golden." Dianmu looked shocked and sat on the floor cooped up in a ball. "What do the glowing eyes mean?" I asked folding my arms. "Forget about that," her tone changed from dejected to jolly in seconds, "I asked if you wanted to play a game and you said yes and now that I was going to play with you, I''m getting scolded." "What kind of stupid game was that?! Do you even remotely know what you have just done?" I ruffled my hair in annoyance. "Don''t look at me like that. Your friend Jace told me humans love this game, should we play now that we are alone?" She started to approach me and smiled. "Get away from me, you''ve ruined everything. I''m gonna kill Jace when I find him." I rolled my eyes, walking into my room. "Wait! Zeref, don''t kill him. I like that brat!" She rushed behind me. ** I wasn''t able to find Malia, it was like she disappeared from the house. Dianmu also finally left to go to her nest, so it was just Jace, Naz and I at school. I made sure to scare him well and give him a couple punches to the arm. "Oww! My arms are still sore!" Jace rubbed his arm wincing in pain. "Stop being such a weakling. Grow up. You''ve been whining for the past 3 periods." Naz gave him another punch from the side. I ignored him and carried on listening to the mana history professor. "...There are two types of contracts magic beasts can form with Mages: A bonding contract and a Familiar and Master Contract. According to history only a handful of powerful S rankers have been able to form bonds with magic beasts. "Familiar and Master Contracts are much more common and most mages form these contracts. Bond contracts are much more strict and it''s extremely rare for beasts and mages to form these contracts. "Normally the beast''s mana pool is interconnected with the Mage and they become one entity in Bonding Contracts. The mage develops features of the beast like for example, let''s say one of you here bonds with a flying beast. You may develop wings or get the ability to fly, see where I''m going with this. "The stronger the beast you''re bonding with, the more abilities you as the mage will benefit from, so make sure if any of you ever make a bonding contract you''re double sure as once you''ve bonded with a magical beast your mana pools will become interconnected and you won''t be able to assimilate with any other beasts. "Familiar contracts on the other hand are much more simple. The mana pools are separate and both of the signers are separate entities. Both the magical beast and the mage will decide on a couple rules that they must follow and things they both will offer each other. It''s more of a partnership deal." The professor explained. I see, so the contract I formed with Dianmu was a Familiar and master deal. How much power could bonds provide? Would it be worth bonding with a magical beast? "Sir." I raised my hand. "Yes, Zeref." "Is it possible to have multiple Master and Familiar Contracts?" I asked, politely. "Excellent question Zeref. 500 Merits Points will be awarded." I could feel students glare at me when they heard I was getting 500 Merits. "The answer to that is it''s very unlikely and it''s normally extremely rare to find individuals who can pull this off. This person will have to be very strong and dominant. Let''s take a S rank Beast Element mage for example. They''re very attuned to magical beasts so they''ll have a better chance at forming multiple contracts. "However, you must remember that a mage can only bond with one magical beast. Master and familiar Contracts on the other hand don''t have limits to the number you can have. "Okay, now open your textbooks to page 315. I want you to take notes on the history of contract forming and the relationship between magic beasts and mages. You all have until the end of the lesson. Anyone who hasn''t done the work will stay behind and clean all the desks and chairs." Professor Winemyre, the history teacher, announced. I sighed before picking up my pen Chapter 83 - The Bank’s Predicament Knock! Knock! "There''s a person at the door. Someone get it!" Mike shouted from his room. Everyone was busy getting ready so I sighed, before travelling down the flight of stairs. Knock! Knock! The knocking didn''t stop, who was this urgent? I turned the handle of the door and looked out. To my surprise it was Tybalt. Why would he be here? Plus he came here personally? Odd. "Master, it''s a pleasure to see you." Tybalt gave a quick bow before speaking hastily, "Sir there''s a great issue brewing and we need you back at the bank as soon as possible." "Wait. What do you mean, there''s an issue?" I was slow on the uptake as I was still sleepy. "Sir, please we need you at the bank. Miss Rose says we need you back as soon as possible. I''ve even brought a portal device, so we can get there as soon as possible." Tybalt spoke, with urgency in his voice. "Okay, let me put on some proper clothes. Give me 5 minutes. Come inside and sit in the living room." "Okay young master." I ran up the stairs and into my room. Good, I had an excuse to finally skip school. I quickly put on a white T shirt and my hunter''s Trench Coat. I matched the clothes with black A tier trousers and A tier boots. I slid my rings one by one, and now I was ready. "Where are you going, dressed like that?" Jace came out of the bathroom rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "I have some important matters to attend to, see you in the afternoon." I said walking out. "Wait! Let me come with you! How are you leaving me behind? I don''t want to go to school!" Jace yelled running behind me. I accidentally bumped into Malia but she scoffed and turned her head in the opposite direction and walked away. Guess she was still mad over Dianmu''s stupidity. "What''s all the commotion about?" Mother popped up at the bottom of the stairs. Sh*t. I had to escape. "Mother, I got some issues at the bank I need to solve, so I''ll be skipping school today." I said quickly before she could comprehend what I was saying. "Tybalt open the portal, let''s go!" I clapped my hands telling him to pick up the pace. "Yes sir." he pulled out a portal device from his dimension ring and placed it on the floor. "Zeref, where are you going? You need to go to school." Mum spoke from behind me trying to make me stop. "No mum, I don''t need school. The school needs me." I smiled, leaving her confused and shocked, before jumping into the portal with Tybalt. "ZER-" Mother''s shout ended half way as the portal closed. I was in for a beating, when I returned. ** Chaos! That''s all I could see. The bank was upside down as people were running all over the place, dwarves and humans alike ran around frantically. What the hell was happening?! It was like the end of the world was near and everyone was hurrying to pack their belongings. "Sir, follow me quickly." Tybalt sped ahead walking in front of me, taking large strides. We reached my main office and the state of Miss Rose''s condition left me surprised. I gulped at her sight. She had large dark circles underneath her eyes and her hair was all frizzy and messy. I had never seen her in such an unpresentable manner. "Sir! You''re finally here!" She ran over to me and hugged me tightly. This was new. "Oh, you smell soo nice." She took a deep breath in. Was she high or something? "Miss Rose, are you okay?" I asked, as she finally let go. This was a good life skill, don''t let someone go until they let go. You never know what they may have been going through, sometimes a hug can change someone''s day. "NO! I''m not okay! The bank is going upside down." Miss Rose pouted, folding her arms. "Well I can see that. Tell me what happened. What''s the cause of all this?" I asked, getting straight to the point. "Please follow me to the board room." She said, walking past me. I followed her to a room near my office. There was a large glass display powered by water mana; it showed trendlines on a graph. "Firstly, the stock market crashed, and our stock values are declining. Secondly, someone has broken into our vault and stolen more than half of our coins. We''re running on fumes, here! "Lastly, some of our land has been seized by some unknown organisation near the Elven Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom is also demanding that we take care of the situation before that organisation starts plotting against their kingdom." "That''s not all, many of our workers have sent resignation letters, saying they''re going to quit. Everyone''s scared they won''t get paid etc." Miss Rose looked fed up and angry, I could feel her frustration. "Mmh, I see." I said, cracking my knuckles. "Let''s tackle the problems one at a time. First is our financial issue." I started, pacing up and down still deep in thought. Miss Rose gulped, in anticipation of my orders. "You said our vault was broken into. That''s almost impossible with the amount of defences and guards we have protecting it. It requires permission from the higher ups, including you, me and Tybalt to even access the vault. "The fact that our permission was bypassed and the defence spells were dismantled, We can only infer that there''s a traitor among us who''s helped the 3rd party to break into our vault. Tied in with the crash of the stock market, our stocks have dropped in value, decreasing our capital further. "How much of our coins are left?" I asked. "A-About 25% of our original amount." Miss Rose stuttered. I did some quick calculations in my head. "With that much plus taking our emergency funds into account, we can maintain ourselves for 3 months max before we go bankrupt. "Firstly, as our stock value is declining I want you to sell more shares and slowly raise our stock value up. The stock market should return back to normal in a few weeks, so we don''t have to worry about that. "Secondly, use the bank''s emergency funds and half of my own capital to maintain costs of the Bank. Make sure you announce to the workers not to worry, I''ll take care of the issues myself." I said, with a serious tone. "B-But sir, we can''t let you use your money." Miss Rose argued. "It''s fine, I''ll make that money back easily, now listen to me. Tybalt I want you to guard the vault and gather your most loyal guards to secure the vault; if there''s another robbery we won''t last even 2 months." "Yes sir!" Tybalt bowed in understanding. "Okay, now for the issue to do with land, you said that it was seized right?" "Yes sir." Miss Rose answered hastily. "Well, I''ll go there and solve that issue first hand. I''ll take some guards with me, I''ll be leaving as soon as possible. The sooner we retrieve our assets, the better. "Also assign me the guards that were on duty, on the day the robbery happened." I said. "Sir, please let me come with you. I''m familiar with the elven Kingdom." Tybalt stepped forward insisting that he come with me. "No, I need you to stay back and protect the vault. I''ll take Allefin with me and some other elves. Miss Rose, I have one last request for you." "Yes sir, please tell me what it is." She smiled, sighing a breath of relief. "I hunted some more beasts. 2 S rank beasts and a couple hundred C and B rank beasts. Take these and sell them to Black Market dealers. "Add 30% of the money to the Bank''s vault, Distribute 10% to the workers as a bonus. You and Tybalt can take 5% and leave the rest in my vault." I grabbed her hand and transferred the corpses of dead monsters I had accumulated into her dimension ring. She stood shocked and wanted to open her mouth to argue but I shook my head. "Thank you sir." She smiled earnestly. "Once you''ve done this, take a break for a few days. The bank''s state will soon go back to normal in a couple weeks, so relax and stop worrying. As long as I''m here, I won''t let this company dissolve." I cracked my fingers and left the room. ** Knock! Knock! "Come in!" Xanxus shouted from his office. I turned the handle of the room and entered his office. "Ohhh Zeref, to what do I owe you for this visit?" He smiled sarcastically. "Xanxus I-" "It''s principal Xanxus to you. Remember where you are." He corrected me. "I''m going to be away from home and school for a bit, I have an issue to solve so I''m just giving you a notice before I leave." I said, before turning to leave. "Wait! What do you think school is, just a place where you can stroll in and out whenever you want? "Who are you to demand when you can leave or stay? You do realise your attendance last year was 69%. If your attendance is bad again I will have no other reason to keep you here." He said from behind me. I ignored him and carried on walking. "You should listen to your elders when they''re speaking to you!" Xanxus grabbed my wrist forcefully, his ice cold mana pressure being released into the atmosphere. "Do you have a death wish, Xanxus?" Chapter 84 - Permission To Go Ahead I raised my mana pressure. The building foundations shook and the glass windows shattered. Xanxus fell to his knees gritting his teeth. Cracks formed under him as he tried to resist my pressure. I was in no mood to play games. "Don''t piss me off, Xanxus. I have no respect for you and I never will, after you emotionally blackmailed Malia into not telling my mother of my disappearance. Do you know how much she was tortured?! I trusted you to protect my friends as a principal, as that''s your job but you, you''re pathetic. A failure of a principal. A failure of an adult." I eased my pressure and slammed the door behind me. ** I wanted to go see mother next and tell her about my departure but I was met with a familiar face. Malia stood, leaning against a wall, wearing a grey hoodie and a leather jacket on top. Her hair was put in a bun and two strands of hair fell down the side of her face. She wore a checkered red and white skirt and white socks. I wanted to look at her pondering state forever. I was just grateful I didn''t lose her. I''ll never let her go; not like I did to Nina. When the time is right, I would tell her everything. I looked at her cute face and all my anger and stress washed away. I took in a deep breath, sighing before walking towards her. Her eyes met mine and she smiled, making my heart do flips in my stomach. "Zeref, there are a lot of things I want to tell you. A lot of secrets I''ve been hiding." her voice came out soft and quiet. "I-" I strolled up to her and pushed her against the wall, pinning her waist against the wall with one of my hands while the other cupped her cheek. She looked up at me with her lips parted, speechless. I lost myself in her chocolate orbs, ignoring the blush rising up her face. "Zeref?" she questioned, as I lowered myself down to her face. I could feel her breath fan against my neck as I lowered myself. " Hmm?" my voice vibrated to the back of my throat as if I was purring at my name being called by her. I lifted her chin up, lowering myself until our faces were inches away from each other. "I missed you so much." I whispered. "Me too." she hesitantly returned, slowly retracting her face away from my hold. "Oh Malia?" Sara stopped walking, staring at the space between Malia and I. "You''re awake." she sighed in what seemed like relief? I grunted, annoyed at the interruption. "Move along pup." I glared, looking back at Malia to see her looking at Sara in a weird way. She licked her lips, smirking while gazing at Sara. "Mali-" Sara was going to say something but Malia slipped under my arms and flash stepped at an alarming speed towards Sara. She was like a blitz and a little gasp was heard from Sara before Malia pushed her roughly against the wall. "Were you waiting for me to wake up?" she smirked before a tense silence was exchanged between the two of them. I could only see the back of Malia''s head but she tilted her head to the side and a weird atmosphere stung me. The same weird type of mana could be sensed in the air, the one from the night we had the big fight. The same exotic mana could faintly be felt in the air. Sara''s face was one of shock, as tears formed around her eyes, her mouth wide open from fear. "Malia?" I asked, concerned about the thick tension and the unimaginable fear oozing off of Sara. "Zeref." she replied with a big grin, craning her neck over her shoulder. Sara whimpered, pee running down her legs. Malia stepped back a few steps. "Sick." she laughed, patting Sara''s head. Slowly sliding down the wall, Sara looked at me with pleading eyes. I peered at Sara in confusion but she just shook her head at me, tears welling at her water line. Something was definitely wrong with Malia? She''d never find someone''s fear entertaining. She resembled Nina much more than I thought. However, I didn''t remember her being this much like Nina. From the tiniest looks to the grin on her face. The way she stood against the wall and the way she wore her leather jacket. Malia never wore leather. "I heard what happened in Mr Xanxus''s office. So where are you going then?" She asked changing the subject, while turning around to face me. She walked past me which led me to follow behind her, leaving the terrified Sara on the floor. "Firstly, do you forgive me for before?" I smiled, my eyes gleaming. "No! I don''t even know what else you did with that blue haired woman. So Malia- I mean I''ll forgive you when I feel like it." She scoffed, folding her arms. "I have some issues I need to solve, so I''m heading to the Elven Kingdom." I said, walking alongside her, down the corridor. "That''s fine. I needed a break from school anyways," She stretched her arms and clicked her neck left and right, "So when are we going?" "Ahahahahahah!" I expelled an incredulous laugh, "Who said you could come?" "I said." she shot me a blatant glare. "Fine. Fine. You can come, but we have to convince my mother first." "That''s easy, leave that to me." She smiled, cracking her knuckles. ** I watched as Malia back hugged my mother, resting her chin on her shoulder. "I said no. You just woke up!" she sighed, slowly breaking. Malia let out a half whimper and half whine noise, squeezing mum''s waist more. I laughed, crossing my arms and leaning at the doorway watching her ''master plan''. Mother looked back at me, pleading me to pry Malia off but instead, I pouted, begging her with my eyes. "You kids will be the death of me," she sighed before nodding, "Fine, you children can go. Just be caref-" "YESSSSS!" Malia squealed, punching her fist in the air and kissing Rosaline on the cheek. I laughed, shaking my head. "Okay, okay, let''s leave mother alone now." grabbing Malia by the arm, I pulled her out of the kitchen, ignoring her protests. "You need some rest." She jumped on my back, pointing up the stairs. "Up you go my knight!!!" she yelled, slapping my shoulder. My head spun as I grunted, wobbling on my feet as if the ground was spinning under me. "Zeref?" she got off me in concern. "I''m fine Just a little deja vu" I shook my head, walking up the stairs in my thoughts. ... Nina ran up behind me, jumping on my back. "Jaaaames!!!" she cooed in my ear, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Yes darling??" I cooed back, feeling my insides fuzz up at her soothing voice. "I''m hungry. I''m hungry. I''m hungry. I am hungryyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!" she whined on my back, wriggling. I laughed as she clapped happily before pointing down the stairs. "Down to the kitchen my knight!!!" she laughed as I zoomed down the stairs. ... "Zeref, are you sure you''re okay?" Malia caught up to me, her shoulder bumping against mine. She was getting taller. "Yes, I''m okay." I smiled reassuringly, holding her wrist in fear she would fall. She was still wobbly on her feet from the lack of food. When we reached the hallway, Jace stepped out of his room with a towel wrapped around his waist while he rubbed his wet curls with another smaller towel. I hadn''t checked up on his training for a while as I was busy but he really seemed to be doing well. Puberty had finally kicked in for him and he had noticeably broader shoulders. He looked around 5ft 9 and looked to be training as his biceps were toned and his abs were starting to show. He looked up at us, his pupils dilating to the size of saucers when he caught the sight of Malia. Malia looked at him blankly before realisation hit her. She hesitantly waved before furrowing her eyebrows. It seemed as if she was listening to someone or at conflict on how to react. She ran past me, leaping into Jace''s arms in laughter. He spun her around while I prayed his towel was magically superglued to his waist. Jace had the cheesiest smile on his face as he finally let Malia down. "When did you wake up?" "Oh just this morning. I was just convincing Aunty Rosaline if I could join Zeref in his quest." she replied, looking back at me. I stood behind her, holding her shoulder to make sure she didn''t fall. "What quest?" Jace looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Zereeeeeeffff... Can I cooooome?" "No." I deadpanned, "There are too many people." Malia and Jace both looked up at me with pleading eyes, cornering me to cave in. "N-No!" I repeated. Jace cupped Malia''s face in his hands, "How can you say no to these pleading eyes? She needs her best friend''s company" he tried to convince me, Malia''s cheeks looking so chubby in his hands. "Pleaseeee" Malia whined, her eyes looking glossy under the light. "Argh, fine." I sighed causing Jace and Malia to high five each other smugly. "Ok, so I''ll invite Naz too." Jace smiled, running away before I could protest. "That boy-" I grunted in annoyance. Malia chuckled, leaving me frustrated while she entered my room. I was about to enter after her but before I could, a loud scream was heard. "AHHHHHHHHH!" Malia screamed, as I ran into the room with lightning crackling around my arms. On the opposite side of the room stood Dianmu with her wings out. Dianmu mirrored Malia''s shocked face as they both just gawked at each other. "Zeref?" Dianmu whispered, her eyes widened at Malia''s presence. "Dianmu, why are you in here?" I questioned, relaxing my mana pressure and holding Malia''s shoulder. "Don''t touch me." Malia rumbled, whacking my hand off her. "That girl lives here? Is this an orphanage?" "Malia calm down. She''s-" "I''m Dianmu." Dianmu bowed her head in respect? Damn, I told her I was a contestant and she showed me nothing yet Malia gets a sign of submission??? How?!?! Malia stepped forward causing Dianmu to flinch. I cautiously watched, praying she wouldn''t try to fight this powerful creature. Don''t get me wrong, Malia was strong for her age but she had a lot to learn. Her fire element would only do so much damage to Dianmu. "Ni- Uh- Malia Stronghold." She lent Dianmu her hand in which Dianmu looked honoured to take. "I''m Zeref''s helper for the tournaments. I''m here to help fight alongside him." she explained, apologetically, firmly holding Malia''s hand in awe. Malia looked at me and I vigorously nodded to confirm what Dianmu was saying was true. "I''m Zeref''s friend." Ouch. That hurt. Dianmu looked at Malia in disbelief, before mumbling something inaudible to my ears to Malia, who shook her head. "No he doesn''t know yet." she whispered back, looking at Dianmu in a threatening way. "I-I''m loyal but I won''t tell. I-I promise." Dianmu squeaked as Malia physically relaxed her tense shoulders. "What? Not tell me what?" I queried, offended at their exchanging glances. Dianmu shrugged, sauntering past me and closing the door behind us but not before giving me a suggestive wink, signalling towards Malia. What kind of clue was that?! "What''s she talking about?" I turned to investigate a suspicious looking Malia. Malia looked shocked, looking around in a panic as I stepped forward, cornering her to the wall. The light wasn''t on and the moonlight shone on the side of Malia''s face, making her eyes glint and a soft glow shine on her lips. The silver rays enhanced her jawline and made the leather jacket reflect the light onto the wall. "I feel sick." she swayed a little as I held her from falling. "You should get some rest." I suggested picking her up and laying her in my bed. "I''ll get you some soup." "Soup again?!" she whined as I closed the door, making my way down the stairs. Maybe I should get her soup noodles instead? Chapter 85 - Journey To The East It was 6 am in the morning. I made sure to wake up early and prepare all my things. I put on black trousers and a black turtleneck that my mother had knit me; most of the clothes of this world weren''t that modern, so I drew up designs for my mother to make. She had a great talent for knitting and stitching etc. Maybe I could even start a retail business in the future with her help and copyright all my ideas as an invention. I slid my dimension rings on and wore my navy blue hunter''s Trench coat. I looked in the mirror and ruffled my hair; I got a haircut not too long ago. Okay, now I was ready. "Jace, get up!" I shoved Jace''s shoulder. He gave a couple whines and made strange noises but refused to get up from his bed. This guy, I shook my head. I had to use my last resort. I faintly wrapped my hand in ice mana and put my hand under his shirt and let the cold touch his bare back. "ARGHGHHH!! Cold! Cold!" He wriggled around and jumped up, "Geez man, you could have killed me." "Just go and get ready, if you''re not ready in 10 minutes I''ll leave without you." I said with a serious face. Jace immediately ran to grab his towel and entered the bathroom. I walked out and headed towards Malia''s room. To my surprise I didn''t need to knock or wake them up as they both opened the door as I was about to knock. "Zeref, good Morning." Malia smiled, before spudding me. She had a grey tracksuit (the top having a hood) and wore an oversized black jean jacket. It was going to be cold outside naturally as winter was nearing. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she wore a chain around her neck. Naz on the other hand wore black biker shorts and a sports bra. She wore an open black and white zip jacket and had her hair out, as always. "Morning- uh Naz Aren''t you gonna get cold in that?" I replied, pointing at her bare legs with genuine concern. Malia chuckled, "Told you." Naz rolled her eyes, before going back into the room, I''m assuming to change. Malia and I shook our heads, waiting for her. It didn''t take her long to swing the door open again with black leggings. I shook my head at her but she ignored me; I sighed, going downstairs to eat. "Where''s Jace?" Naz asked, yawning as her and Malia followed me downstairs. "He''s still getting ready." I said, rubbing my eyes. I pulled out a frying pan from one of the cupboards and placed it on the stove to heat up. I cracked several eggs on it and gently cooked them. I seasoned them with salt and pepper, then placed them on a plate for them to eat. I sliced a loaf of bread into slices and toasted them evenly with flame mana. I made sure to cook some sausages and beans for myself, as Eggs were my weakness for some reason. "Kids, you''re already downstairs." mother yawned. She also sat with us and ate her breakfast, next Jace rushed down too and joined us for a united meal. "...As I was saying, stay safe and make sure you three stay by Zeref''s side. Zeref take care of them and don''t let me worry about you again. I don''t want you or any of the rest of you coming home with mortal wounds." Mother said, pointing at us and making sure we understood. "Yes mother, don''t worry too much. We''ll be fine." I smiled at her before kissing her on the forehead. We all prepared to leave, gathering our things and making sure we had all the utilities we''d need for our trip. We''d be away for a week or more so mother couldn''t help but cry as she bid us goodbye. "Goodbye kids! Stay safe." She said, wiping her tears. We all waved back and regrouped with the dozen elves waiting for us outside the mansion gates. They were none other than the bank''s guards, including Allefin. We greeted each other and started moving. "Let''s move quickly, there''s no time to waste." I said as everyone followed behind me. We were going to travel by foot through the magic forest in the east. It would take approximately 3 to 4 days to arrive. I made sure to bring the guards that were guarding the vault the night of the robbery with us. The traitor was most likely one of them if not all of them. Wiping them out was the only reason I brought them along. I trusted Allefin more and knew that he wouldn''t do such a thing but just in case I brought him along too. The sky was still dark and signs of light were soon revealing themselves. The cold wind blew against us, making some of the elves, including Naz, shiver. We ran for a good 10 minutes before reaching the forest. We all used our mana to boost our body''s physical capabilities, so even the average mage could run for at least a couple dozen miles before getting tired. This was one of the dangerous parts of the journey: The forest. I didn''t know if the number of powerful beasts had declined after I cleared the dungeon and if it hadn''t then the safety of my friends would be at stake. Initially I didn''t want to bring them along but I felt it would be a good experience for them. I could bring a couple people with me to climb the tower of truth with me and my friends were probably the best people to take with me- the only people I trusted. I also weighed the risk of the traitors among our little group, to kill us. Therefore, I made sure to always stay on high alert, in case one of the elves made their move. I trusted Malia''s and Allefin''s capabilities to protect themselves the most; they wouldn''t be easy targets to kill. I only had to fully worry about Jace and Naz, who were weaker targets. We arrived at a waterfall and decided to take a short break and catch our breaths. "We''ll rest here for a couple minutes, catch your breaths." I ordered and everyone nodded. Malia shoved my arm, before whispering, "A couple of these guards are really suspicious. Their gazes are very pervy and I feel like they may have ill intentions." "Just stay on high alert, if they do something don''t hesitate to kill them." I whispered back before taking a sip of water from a metal flask. "Incoming!!" One of the guards shouted and the rest of them immediately got into a circular formation with Malia, Jace, Naz, Allefin and I at the centre. There were a pack of mutated C rank Ground rats; they were a bigger size than the usual ground rats and they seemed to be much more berserk. Screech!! Two of them charged first, but the elves were prepared and cleanly disposed of them, slicing their limbs or burning them alive with flame magic. Some had branch elements but most had pure elements such as fire and nature. Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground underneath us. "Look out!!" Malia acted instinctively and pushed the four of us away, making us disperse and fall; she then hopped away and the elves broke their formation. They moved on the offense and held the ground rats back in a head on fight. A large Alpha Ground Rat appeared out of the ground and gave a loud screech making the other beta pack members go berserk. "Allefin, take care of Jace and Naz. Malia you''re with me, we''re taking care of this one here, " I commanded leaping up and punching the beast''s crooked face with a lightning imbued fist, "And for the rest of you, guards wipe the other vermin out. We can''t waste too much time here." "Yes Sir!" The guards replied in unison; Allefin gave me a quick nod before grabbing Jace and Naz and taking them to a safe spot. "So what''s the plan? How are we going to defeat this thing?" Malia dodged leaping sideways in the air as the large beast tried to slice her into it with its sharp claws. I still had my eye patch on so I couldn''t tell what the beast''s weakness was or what rank it was. "There is no plan, just kill it." I said, zigzagging across the water then spinning like a Beyblade in the air. I couldn''t use Voadhailis''s Claw as its affinity was only flame mana. ''Drago del fulmine!'' I flexed the muscles in my leg before axe-kicking the beast''s nape, with all my might. A lightning dragon formed around me and bit down on the mutated Ground rat''s neck in a flash, causing violent streaks of lightning to run through the beast''s body. [You have used 500MP] [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] It let out a large screech before falling to its side. The immense voltage left the body charred and it''s irises turned white. Malia whistled, "Show off." I scoffed at her comment before unsheathing Voadhailis''s Claw and helping the Elven Guards beat the rest of the beta ground rats. I cleaned up the remaining beasts and we evacuated the area. Guess, the number of beasts hadn''t decreased yet. "I''m knackered, why couldn''t we just take a portal?" Jace moaned, sweating, under the morning sun. "For once I agree with you." Naz chimed in, sighing. "I told you, you guys shouldn''t have come. We can''t stop now, that sudden attack wasted a lot of time already. We''ll take another break in a couple hours." I replied. ** It was already nightfall. The cold in the morning had returned but it was much more intense. We set up our tents and a fire for light. The Elven Guards took it in turns to sleep and watch the surroundings. I made sure Naz and Malia slept in the same tent while Jace and Allefin slept in a tent near me. If one of the traitors made a move, I could handle it quickly. I used the meditation sleep technique I had learned from Gramps and kept my senses on a high sensitivity to changes in the surrounding. BOOM! BOOM! It had begun Chapter 86 - Journey To The East II Jace and Allefin woke up from the loud noise in panic. "What''s happening?" Jace asked frantically. "We''re under attack!!" I heard one of the elves shout from outside. What the- I exited the tent and examined the surroundings, some of the tents were blazing in raging flames and there were numerous bodies all over the ground scattered like worthless things. Then I set my eyes on what was causing the commotion "You two go check up on Naz and Malia. We''re leaving. I''ll buy some time, hurry!" I ordered and they immediately scurried on. The fear in their eyes was evident. "ARISE! MY LEGION!" The man shouted and the dead bodies of the elves were covered in a cloud of darkness mana, suddenly they started to rise one by one and their once coloured complexion had transformed into one of darkness, with no facial features. Their bodies cracked and their movements were abnormal. The man in the hood pointed at me and the mindless beasts started to charge at me. Sh*t! Wasn''t this necromancy? The lesser undead ran towards me like zombies. I dodged their desperate attempts to grab me or punch me, out of instinct I activated lightning aura and zigzagged around them, severing their bodies into smithereens with ''Indra''s spear.'' "Impressive! But what can you do against these? Ahahahaa" The Necromancer laughed as the ground shook. Thud! Thud! Thud! Loud footsteps matched with the tremors in the ground. Something big was approaching or was it a group of somethings? Roaaarghhhhh!!!! At the sight of the beasts, I cursed my luck. It was the herd of Ground rats we killed a couple hours back. This time their mana pressure felt much more ominous and much stronger. They were definitely at B rank and the large one at the back was A rank. I didn''t need my demon eye''s ''inspect'' to tell that much. "Enjoy your death while I go kill your friends." The man took off his hood to reveal his face. He was one of the Elven guards. His eyes were dark and streaks of darkness mana covered his face like an ugly infection. "Zeref! Let''s go, hurry!" Jace and the others appeared from the burning tents. "Naz take everyone back to the waterfall, I have to take care of this guy here." The ground rats charged at me screeching loudly. I grit my teeth blocking a tackle from one of the Ground rats with my forearms making me tumble back. "Bye!" Malia stepped back to hold onto Naz who held her wrist tightly. "HAVE FUN!" she added. "Don''t die Zeref." Naz said from behind me with a serious tone, before a dark smoke covered them. "How touching. You want to die alone. Haahahha! After I''m done here, I''ll just go and play with those beautiful young girls that ran. I will kill you and your whole f*cking team!" He shouted with a sinister laugh. "Shut up, peasant." I took off my eye patch and released the mana pressure and demon aura I was holding back. The undead beasts froze in their tracks immobile under the immense increase in gravity. I walked past the beasts with my hands in my pocket. My demon eye glowed in the night, making the elf shake like a frightened deer. He knew straight away what was before him: A Demon. "B-But-" The man stuttered. "Shhhhhh." I put my index finger against my lip making him shut up. "I''ll ask the questions. For every answer that dissatisfies me, I will break a limb. You understand?" I glared at the frozen necromancer, unable to do anything. Tears of fear streamed down his face and he started to sob. First, I clicked my fingers and violent bolts of lightning struck down from the sky decimating the undead beasts into dust. The elf shuddered at the sight. [You have used 500 MP] [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 12,000 EXP for killing an A rank beast!] [You have leveled up!] [You''re now level 79] [You have 40 Total Available stat points] "Now Tell me, who caused the robbery at the Vrimeon Vault?" I asked, piercing his soul with my glare. "I-I can''t say." The mage stuttered and it started to smell like piss as he had wet himself. I broke 2 of his fingers, making them bend backwards. "AAarghh!!" He screamed as more tears started falling down his face. "I can''t say, please! I beg you, try to understand." He begged. "Shhhhh." I shushed him, putting my index finger on my lips again. He immediately closed his mouth in fear. "How did you learn necromancy and darkness magic?" I asked. "Uh-Uhm, I was given it a-artificially. The organisation I work for experimented and in return for these abilities I only have 2 years to live." he replied, still stuttering and shivering in fear. So these people were making fake mages using experiments. Interesting. I placed my finger on a pressure point on his bicep and pressed down hard, he began screaming in response. I then passed lightning mana into him making his nerve cells cry due to the large voltage. His screams became louder. "Are you willing to tell me who''s behind you?" I looked the man straight into the eyes with no remorse. "Yes! Yes!" I let go of the pressure point and the man took deep breaths. "Umbra hired me." He finally said. I thought so, those guys were behind everything. Typical. "So are they behind the Bank''s issues and robbery?" "I don''t know." I gripped his collar and he started to tear up again looking at my demon eye and crumbling under my dominating presence. "I promise you, I-I was only hired to take care of the group going towards the elven Kingdom and the seized land. I-I don''t know anything else." I turned around and started walking away. I got most of the answers I needed; I knew he wasn''t going to tell me anything else, there was no point wasting any more time here. After a few steps I looked back at the still frozen man and lit him on fire with my flames. "Go to hell you scum." ** "You fool!" Naz scolded as she pushed through and hugged me. Jace smiled and joined in the hug. Finally Malia shot me a glare before joining the group hug too. Allefin was the only one still looking at us awkwardly. "Okay that''s enough," I said, "We''ll set up camp a bit further, we''ll move tomorrow morning." It was still night time, so we could still get a couple hours of sleep. Naz teleported us back to near where our original camp was situated, we walked past the countless dead bodies and the charred remains of the necromancer. Naz and Jace grimaced at the horrible sight but it didn''t last long, with a short walk we were already well and far from the rotting carcasses. "We''ll set up camp here." I stated pulling out a makeshift tent from my dimension ring. I was too tired to have another conversation and closed my eyes, lying down and cradling the warm comfort of my blanket. Malia and Naz slept in a separate tent, whilst Allefin and Jace ended up sharing one. There wasn''t enough space in mine and I only brought one extra, I knew one of them wouldn''t be well prepared, so I just brought one in case. Damn. I was knackered. I couldn''t help it as my eyes slowly closed and I dozed off to sleep... Chapter 87 - The Elven Kingdom Of Elanor "We''re finally here!!!" Jace yelled, looking at the entrance to the Elven Kingdom. We had been travelling non - stop for 2 days and we had finally arrived. The group followed the pathway to the entrance of the large gates. Many merchants and traders from all races except the demon kind, stood in line as the Elven guards waiting at the end did security searches. "We''ll easily pass through here, no need to worry. As zeref said, We need to go to the Landlord''s court to check up on details about the bank''s seized land first. So we''ll go there straight away. "For accomodation, I''ll bring you guys as guests to the Aragorn household." Allefin smiled. "Cool! So is your family rich?" Naz''s eyes gleamed, making Jace uncomfortable. "Yeah pretty much." Allefin laughed, scratching his head. "Allefin is right, we''ll check up in the Landlord''s hall first. Then we can-" "Explore and take a break for the day. We barely slept," Malia cut me off yawning and stretching, "And I''m dying for a shower." "I agree. You guys reek, especially Jace." Naz pinched her nose pointing at him. "What did you say you cave troll?" Jace retorted back. "It''s alright bro, chill out." I laughed, grabbing Jace''s shoulder then immediately retracting back. "Gosh you really do stink." I laughed, fist bumping Naz. Jace scoffed, folding his arms. "Please, you two smell like ground rat droppings." Malia smirked, causing Jace to snicker. They both stood up simultaneously with their hands in their pockets. "Now go shower." she added. "Guys it''s our turn next." Allefin hinted, tilting his head towards the security personnel. "Isn''t that a bit harsh?" Jace said, pointing at the guard''s treatment. "You think you could sneak in here!" The elven Guard raised his hand and swung down causing a loud slap to echo. "Please, I have children that I need to feed. I beg you. Please let us in." The poor woman begged. I gritted my teeth, holding myself back. "Hahaha. Take her to the back. Tell the men we''re gonna have fun tonight as for the kids, kill them all." The guard snarled laughing sinisterly before raising his hand again for another slap.. Malia was going to move but I gripped her wrist. "What are you doing?!" Malia snapped at me, "Can''t you see that''s wrong." "It''s not our place to do anything, we have no authority here. We can''t just step in and kill whoever we want." I let go of her wrist, when I saw she understood. "But I can." Allefin activated his branched lightning element and sped past us. He appeared in front of the Elven Guard exercising his mana pressure. I smiled at his demonstration. "We should help him." Jace spoke up, the anger showing on his face. "Let him handle it." I put my arm in front of them to stop them from running behind him. Allefin was a high ranking noble elf, while the others were mere humans including me. If we caused trouble here, it wouldn''t end well. "I, Allefin Aragorn, command you to stand down." Allefin ordered. The guards all kneeled at his sight as they knew his high status. "What''s happened here?" Allefin asked, deactivating his lightning spell. "Young master, this human lady wants to stay in the Elven Kingdom without a visa. It''s against the law to let her enter." The lead guard answered. "Let her return to where she came from, if I ever hear that you''re treating guests so disgustingly, I''ll get you fired. Do you understand?" "Yes sir." "Thank you, young lord." The woman fell grabbing Allefin''s feet. "Please, miss. Leave this place, no one is allowed to stay in the Kingdom without a visa or permanent residence. I''m greatly sorry." Allefin helped her up. The guards all stood up and nodded at Allefin before doing a check up on him. "Please proceed young master." The guard let him enter through the gates. Allefin waved at us, "See you on the other side!" "Okay we''re next I guess." Jace said as he pushed me to get checked first. The poor woman had already walked away taking her children back down the path. "Hands to your side." The guard ordered and I raised my arms up, so I looked like a ''T''. He had some sort of baton that scanned my body. "Okay he''s clear. Move on." He said, before he hushed me to get lost. I walked past the guard and tried to enter through the large entrance but some sort of forcefield was holding me back. I tried several times but the forcefield wouldn''t budge. It felt like a solid wall was in front of me. Sh*t! I was gathering attention. I felt the gazes of the soldiers on me. "Hurry up and enter or is it that you can''t?" I could hear the unsheathing of blades at the lead guard''s question. Why the hell couldn''t I enter? Could it be some sort of barrier to prevent demons from entering? This was bad. Then an idea popped into my head, I pulled out the limiter bracelet I duplicated from the amusement park and wore it. Immediately my stats were dampened further and so were my mana pressure and demon aura. I stepped forward and this time there was still a resistance like I was walking in water but after my whole body passed the barrier "He''s with me!" Allefin laughed awkwardly, putting his arm over my shoulders. I was taller than him so it looked funny. "He''s a bit sick, so he gets dizzy and can''t walk properly at times." Allefin explained. Nice thinking! "Oh okay, if you say so, young master?" The guards let their guard down again and did their check-ups on the rest of the group. "Allefin why''d you lie?" I asked. "Because, otherwise they''d think you''re a demon because you couldn''t walk through the anti-demon barrier. They''d capture you up and torture you till you die. Us elves are mortal enemies of demons, I thought you knew that." Allefin answered, moving his arm away. "Nice improvising skills." I smiled. What would happen if someone actually found out I was a demon? Could I escape before I''m captured? ** I waited for the rest of the group to come together before Allefin guided us to the Landlord''s Court. I watched as hundreds of elves traded their goods with merchants in carriages. From the bustling market atmosphere to the luscious greenery everywhere, it reminded me of my old world. After a 10 minute walk we arrived. "We''re here." Allefin said, pointing at the huge building. It had remnants of my old world''s roman architecture. Large pillars stood 100 metres high and a red carpet led people through 2 large doors inside. It was similar to the Bank''s structure. "You guys wait outside, Allefin and I will quickly get a report about our land." Everyone nodded at my words and we both set off, walking up the long flight of stairs. The red carpet stretched all the way to the reception. I entered with my right foot but felt the same resistance as trying to move underwater. "Why are you walking so slowly?" Allefin asked. "My legs are hurting." I said, finally stepping through the force field and walking normally. "Hello, gentlemen, how may I help you?" The elf behind the counter spoke, writing something with his quill. "My name is Zeref Amara. I''m here on behalf of the Vrimeon Bank; I need the report of the land that was seized." "Oh yes. I''ve already had it prepared for you, here it is." The elf handed us a large file, "If there''s anything else I can help you with please tell me." "No, that''s fine." Allefin and I reached the exit but the anti-demon barrier stopped me from leaving. What the f*ck man! Did I have to keep putting on dampeners?! I quickly pulled out the last duplicate I had left and wore the dampener on my right hand this time. Gosh did I feel weak. This must have been how Jace felt. My stats were all in their 30''s now and my MP was capped at 2000. If I had to fight now, I was sure to be dead. Allefin gave me a strange look before he looked away. Did he suspect me? I continued walking until we made it outside. It turned out every time I left an anti-demon protected facility, the extra dampeners I wore were losing their effects for some reason. In addition, only having the eyepatch wasn''t helping either, I couldn''t even enter or leave. This was terrible. I had to stay away from those types of places. ** "Allefin welcome home!" An elf woman opened the door and hugged Allefin straight away. She had blonde hair like him and blue eyes. She wore a nicely stitched blue dress. "Oh my god! My little Allefin has brought some friends. Please come in! I''m so happy!" I figured out that this woman was his mother. She shrieked in joy and let us in one by one. I was scared their house would have an anti - demon barrier but surprisingly it didn''t to my relief. If I came across one more my cover would blow. On second thoughts, maybe moving to the elven Kingdom wasn''t such a good idea. I''d rather not get captured. We were forced to sit down and have small talk with Allefin''s intrigued parents. They told us how Allefin had never brought friends home and how lonely his childhood was and a lot of other random boring stuff that I didn''t pay attention to. I just needed a good night''s rest so I could retrieve the land tomorrow. "That''s enough about us. What about you guys? Tell us more about yourselves." Allefin''s mother smiled at us, making me miss my mother. "I''ll go first then!" Jace said excitedly, "My name is Jace and I''m Zeref''s friend." I spat out my drink, making everyone look at me; I grabbed a handkerchief and wiped myself. What kind of introduction is that? I laughed internally at Jace''s stupidity. "I''m Naz and I''m also Zeref''s friend." Naz smiled, locking her arm around Jace''s. Was being my friend something to boast about? "And you, are you also Zeref''s friend, whoever he is." The father scoffed, pointing at Malia. I could tell he was a proud man but he was trying to be nice to his son''s friends. Allefin really must''ve been a loner. "Sup." Malia scoffed at them, half waving before letting her hand drop to her side. Okay that was a worse introduction than Jace and Naz. I have seen Malia introduce herself before. She used her formal voice which showed off her nobility. The more I looked at Malia, the more I started realising the similarity of Malia and Nina''s actions. Allefin''s mother looked at her strangely, her eyes gleaming slightly at her noble demeanour; she looked interested in her. Everyone''s gazes finally faced me. "It''s a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Zeref Amara and I''m the owner of the Bank of Vrimeon, where your son works." "Oh my god! I''ve heard a lot about you from my eldest son Tybalt and even Allefin. It''s a pleasure. You''ve accomplished so much at such a young age, it''s astonishing." The father stood up and even towered over me at 6''4, he was definitely a monster. I stood up too and shook his hand firmly. "You''ve got a firm grip." he smiled, before letting go and we all sat down again. I could see him shake his hand after, did I grip his hand that hard? Chapter 88 - Hostile Takeover "Nina Noooo!!!!" I shouted through the chaos. A large hole appeared out of the side of the church and a large group of bandits in black attire swarmed the inside. People screamed as they started exiting and running for their life. "Zereef!!" Nina screamed as people in masks grabbed her and placed a collar around her neck, making her unable to use her magic. "Let her go! Shackles-" "Not so fast mr king." A woman appeared in front of me. I felt a sharp pain in my chest and a blood red, started to seep through my white blazer staining it. Who was this woman?! She wore the same black mask as the rest of them except she wore heels and held a demon killing knife in her hand. Tuck! Tuck! Tuck! The sound of her heels. I loathed them. If I had the power, I would''ve given her a painful death FOR TOUCHING MY NINA. She had stabbed my heart, the weak point of us demons. I felt my strength leave me slowly and my magic energy being lost every second. I will not die here! I fell to the ground gravelling like a poor, weak, worthless beggar. NO! NINA! GIVE HER BACK TO ME! Give her back...please The world started to darken until a black void filled my vision. I felt cold. I felt alone in the darkness. Then a voice called to me. Was this the voice of an angel? "Zeref! Zeref!" The sound was getting louder, "Wake up Stupid!" I suddenly arose like a man returning from the dead. I took deep breaths, before looking at Jace and Allefin''s worried faces. "Bro, what the hell were you dreaming?" Jace asked, looking at me like I was a madman. "Are you okay? It seemed like you were having a nightmare." Allefin said, grabbing my shoulder, "I''ll get you a glass of water." Allefin left the room, leaving Jace and I in the room alone. "You kept saying Nina Nina in your sleep. So who''s this girl?" Jace asked. "She''s no one, I just had a nightmare that''s all." I said rubbing my face with my palms. "Are you sure? I''ve never seen you like that, it''s fine bro you can tell me." Jace reassured me but I wasn''t feeling it. "It''s nothing." Suddenly a large earthquake made the foundations of the house shake. "What was that?" Jace looked at me, holding onto the edge of the bed. Another tremor shook the foundations of the building, making Jace scream. Specks of dust fell from the ceiling making us cough. Allefin rushed upstairs and stumbled through the door, his face pale like he had just seen a ghost. "We need to evacuate!" Allefin said hastily before trampling over his footsteps and walking to the girls room to wake them up. "Wait, why?!" Jace chased after him. I had never seen Allefin in such a hurry. I took this as a worst case scenario so I jumped out of bed and equipped my hunter attire. "Hurry Kids!" Allefin''s father called from the bottom of the stairs. BOOM! BOOM! Loud explosions shook the ground, what was going on outside? The group rushed down the stairs and we all followed Allefin''s parents. "Where are we going?" Malia asked, as we ran out the door onto the main road, the adults didn''t answer back and continued running. AArghh!!! Loud screams of people swarmed the streets and what once looked to be a peaceful night seemed dystopian and apocalyptic. "We''re under attack, so we''re heading to the safe zone." Allefin''s father finally spoke up. "What do you mean? Who''s attacking the kingdom?" I asked, looking back at the burning buildings nearer to the city entrance. "Demons." That word said enough and caused everyone to close their mouths, We all stiffened at the word. How were they able to pass the anti-demon barrier? "A couple more minutes, we should be able to make it to the safe zone." Allefin''s father pointed at a large wall. It was at a similar height to the entrance gates we had come through the day before, except large swarms of people were entering it. They were thinking of abandoning this section off and encountering the demons, making this part of the walled kingdom a battlefield. "How did they get in? The anti-demon barrier means it''s impossible for them to come through." Allefin asked but the adults didn''t answer, making him curse under their breath. "I''ve found some strong prey! Hahahaha!" A sinister laugh came from behind and a purple beam was aimed for us. I reacted quickly and pushed the group away, taking the full damage of the attack on. [You have taken 400 Damage] "Zeref! Are you okay?" Naz appeared at my side helping me up while Malia jumped over my body, running for her life. "I''m fine. Listen, I''ll hold them off, you guys go to the Safe zone. You know I have ''Godspeed.'' I''ll be right behind you." I said quickly unsheathing Voadhailis''s Claw. 3 distant figures appeared out of the thick fog of dust. I could see their dark horns, making me grip my shortsword tighter. "NO! I''m helping you." Jace yelled, coming up to us. "Sorry, I have to do this." I said, taking off my mana dampening bracelets and attaching them both to Jace. He tried desperately to take them off but he couldn''t. "Take these off me Zeref!" Jace exclaimed furiously. "Allefin take them all to the safety zone. I''ll hold them off." I ordered. The 3 demons were getting closer by the second. I looked around for Malia to see she was far away, running towards the safe zone like it was the only thing that mattered. "I wo-" Allefin''s refusal was cut midway as Allefin''s father picked him and his wife up and started running. Jace and Naz exchanged quick glances with me before following Allefin. They had confidence that I''d make it back, staying back would only slow me down. "Hahahaha! Look at them running. Wow, one of them even stayed behind to sacrifice himself." One of the demons cackled mocking their desperate retreat. They were slowly walking towards me, eyeing me down. They were all at my height and had slender figures. They wore a black armour and had red eyes that glowed through the fog of dust. I released my mana pressure and lightning cackled around me violently. ''Seikuken'' and ''Lightning aura'' activated at my will. "We''ve found a strong one here." The demons finally appeared out of the fog. The one in the centre had a smile stretching from one ear to the other. "But 3 against 1 is a bit sad. He''ll just have to accept his fate and die." The demon on the right cackled before blitzing towards me. The others did the same zigzagging across the street. Their punches and kicks were co-ordinated and they had a well formation. When I blocked one of their kicks the other took this chance to attack me in a different vital spot. However, their speed was slow compared to opponents I had beaten before, so I was easily coping. "Wow! I''m impressed." The demon in the centre punched my chest making me tumble backwards. I quickly got up spinning Voadhailis''s Claw in my hand. How could I beat 3 well co-ordinated demons? Well, the easiest way was I just needed an opening. One mistake and I could end them quickly. I looked back at The group looking at my fight from inside the safe zone. Good. At Least they were safe. I didn''t get a chance to think as one of them attacked me straight away. This time their teamwork was a bit flawed and only one of them attacked me first without the help of the others. That was my opening. I capitalised this mistake and kneed the demon in the face before slicing down with Voadhailis''s Claw. A burning slice of flames cut through the demon, severing the body into several burning pieces. [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] The other demons grit their teeth in shock. One mistake caused one of their friends to die at the hands of a mere human. A soldier demon huh. These guys were probably the weakest among the army, I got lucky this time. The 2 demons exchanged looks before nodding and shouting out their battle cries. They charged at me with their full power but I was already behind them. [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] Clank. I put Voadhailis''s Claw back in my sheath swiftly. The 2 bodies fell to the ground a couple seconds later, their bodies cut into small little pieces. I began running for the safe zone, not looking back. I could hear the dozens of demons behind me running towards me. Were all the Elven Guards massacred? Where was the Elven Military? I was the last person. Sh*t! The gate was closing; they were closing the gates! "Zeref hurry!!!" Jace and the others screamed. 50 metres... 40 metres 20 metres I was almost there. Boom! My face collided with an invisible barrier at the entrance making me fall back on my backside. Of course there had to be an anti-demon barrier! "What are you doing?!" The gates are closing! Hurry up and get inside!" Malia screamed, trying to get free and run to my aid. However Allefin and Jace held her back. I picked myself up and banged on the barrier several times in desperate attempts with my fist, to get through but it wouldn''t let me pass. Just my luck... "I can''t." I said, putting my hands on the barrier, looking down at the ground. "What do you mean you can''t?! Hurry up Zeref!" Jace shouted in anger. "I think you know what this barrier prevents from entering." My statement silenced them. The group knew what I meant and their desperate yelps became quiet. I did not want to see their reactions so I turned my back towards them. Did they think I Was a monster? Clang! A metal gate finally fell down and shut off all access to the outside world. Now I just had to fight an army of demons Chapter 89 - Hostile Takeover II Who was I kidding? I started running east towards safety, a small proportion of the demon army followed me separating from the main army, who were charging for the safe zone. Facing all those demons, that''s suicide! Maybe I could massacre a few of them and gather Exp but what were the chances they were all weak foot soldiers? If I used my big spells, I would attract too much attention. I needed a plan. I took off my eye patch and attached it to my other eye. The dampening effect was still there but my demon eye could be seen now. I looked back, about 30 foot soldiers were following me. There seemed to be one strong one leading them. I could tell as his mana pressure was much stronger than the others. I finally stopped and faced them. "Who are you? Identify yourself!" The demon at the front spoke pointing his sword at me. "I''m a spy for the Demon Kingdom. I work under Astaroth." I said putting my arms up to show I was surrendering. "Astaroth huh? How do we know you''re not lying." The demon said. "I can smell a human''s scent from him. He''s lying!" The demon to his side hissed. Sh*t! "Nice try human! That fake demon eye of yours isn''t deceiving anyone, "Men attack!!" At least I tried. ''Lightning Aura.'' ''Lightning Gloves.'' I sped towards them parrying the leader''s blade to the side before I roundhouse kicked his head. He flew laterally crashing into one of the houses. "Boss!" The demons rushed to his side but I wasn''t giving them any room to pick their leader up. ''Indra''s arrow.'' My incantation caused a large 10 meter lightning bolt to form above my palm. I threw it towards the demons immediately; it cut through the air crisply causing the atmosphere to vibrate with lightning mana particles. Some were lucky to move out of the way but others weren''t as fortunate. The violent lightning bolt cut through half of them, leaving purple blood and gooey remains of carcasses all over the floor. [You have used 500 MP] The lightning bolt didn''t stop and decimated the housing behind them, causing a trail of destruction for 300 or so metres. The demons looked at their friends and the trail of destruction, then started to run in the other direction to flee. [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have levelled up!] [You''re now level 80] [You have 50 Total Available stat points] "Where are you guys going?! Come back!" The stronger demon finally appeared out of the house, his armour all dusty. "I''m going to kill you human!" He released his mana pressure and charged at me with a sword in his right hand. I unsheathed Voadhailis''s Claw and our blades collided together. We exchanged blows back and forth and it seemed like I was winning but with every move, he was getting faster. Slashing and parrying our blades moved at a mind splitting speed. This demon was experienced for sure. Thankfully I was able to predict most of his movements with my demon eye; this helped me to dodge his swings and counter successfully. He had the Earth Element so my lightning element was ineffective, I couldn''t use many lightning attacks and mainly used flame mana to boost my swings with power. "Take this!" Jumping up, the demon swung his blade down hard, imbuing it with Earth mana. I put up my blade to block the blow but his power was too strong and I had been caught off guard. A loud sonic boom erupted the atmosphere and Voadhailis''s Claw shattered in 2, his sword cut across my torso diagonally and a splatter of blood flew everywhere. [You have taken Critical damage] [You have lost 2000 HP] [Blood loss will cut 10 HP per second for 2 minutes] Sh*t! I winced at the pain and leapt backwards. I didn''t have time to curse my luck and he charged at me to deal the final blow. This time he conjured a rock solid shield in his left hand just in case and held his dark sword in his right. ''Gravity zone!'' I faced my palm towards him and he froze in place. [Mp is dropping at a fast rate] ''Indra''s Spear'' I channelled my mana into my right hand and flashed towards the demon. This was my final attack, I couldn''t waste any more time. "Die!!" My arm pierced through the frozen demon''s chest, leaving a large hole in his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. I deactivated ''Gravity Zone'' and fell to my knees in exhaustion. Gravity magic was strong but it drained MP very quickly. [You have earned 10,000 EXP for killing a Baron Demon!] "Look! There''s a rat!" A demon shouted a couple hundred metres away. I could hear trampling footsteps getting closer to the site of the massacre. I had to leave. I picked myself up and panted heavily, before I hid my mana signatures and sped towards the buildings that were still intact. I had to hide until I could regain my strength. The group coming for me had many numbers and had strong demons like the Baron I killed. I created an ice wall behind me as a diversion and started running in a different direction. I had to get far. Scanning with my demon eye I spotted 5 or 6 powerful life forms in the direction I was heading. Were they elves or demons I didn''t know. If they were demons I was done for, but if they were elves I could ask them for help. I wasn''t going to gamble, I had to imagine the worst case scenarios. I changed directions again and moved deeper into the vast amount of buildings. I put the eye patch back on to cover my demon eye. I closed it to let it rest, it was already strained from the overuse in my previous fight. Randomly entering a house, I closed all the blinds and headed for the basement to hide. Clack! I closed the hatch to the basement and looked around but I couldn''t see anything in the dark. Then suddenly 2 green glowing eyes popped up in the darkness. I tried to activate a spell but someone had grabbed me from behind with a rock solid grip. I tried to break loose from the person''s grip but it was no use. Who was this monster? A bright light finally illuminated the basement revealing the person standing in front of me. It was a young elf girl, maybe around my age. She held a knife to my throat and glared at me with her glowing green eyes. Menacing. I spotted 2 young boys behind her staring at me with fearful eyes; they wore tattered clothes and seemed to be around the age of 5 or 6. "Who are you?" the young elf girl demanded, shoving the blade in my face. "My name is Zeref Amara and I''m a human. I came to the elven Kingdom with my friends but this happened and they made it to the safe zone without me. "I ended up killing some demon soldiers and I stumbled here to hide, coincidentally." I answered without a sense of hesitation in my voice. "He''s telling the truth Michelle." A womanly voice echoed from behind me. So this strong monster was a woman? Nice. "How old are you?" Michelle, the elf girl with the knife asked. "I may not look it but I''m 13." I replied. "Oooo, he''s your age Michelle and he''s super tall. Interesting. I sense no ill intentions from him so I''ll let him go, he won''t harm us. You can put your guard down." The woman from behind me let go of her vice-like grip. Michelle put her knife back to her side and went to sit next to the two little kids on the ground; she still glared at me with her taunting eyes like she was warning me. "My name is Alfreda Morwen and these are my siblings." The woman from behind me swivelled round and appeared in front of me. She wore silver plated armour and I sensed a powerful mana pressure oozing from her. She had hazelnut brown hair and the same pair of green eyes as her sisters; she had a tanned complexion from being in the sun a lot and countless scars marked on her fists. All my instincts were telling me, she was a powerful warrior: A battle hardened beast. "I''m 18 years old and I''m part of the Valkyrie force of the Elven army. She''s Michelle, a 13 year old student mage." Alfreda began introducing the people in the room, pointing at Michelle first. "Those 2 little ones are Myshal and Pyshal. They''re non-identical twins." Myshal and Pyshal. I laughed internally at the elves'' funny naming. I''m sure the names must have had a good meaning to them. It cut me quite strange she trusted me so easily though, was she planning something? Or was I just being paranoid? "Why''d you trust me so easily?" I asked, curious. "My special skill allows me to sense the intentions of a person and if they''re trustworthy; you passed the test with flying colours that''s all." She replied. "Please take a seat over there. We have a lot to discuss." She said pointing at the corner of the room, where a cloth was placed on the ground. The basement wasn''t too big, maybe around 5 metres by 5 metres in size. Many wooden boxes were stacked up on top of each other in the back, making the room smaller than its actual size. I took a seat as she said and she did the same, sitting on the other side of the room with her siblings. I kept my guard up and still did not trust her. For all I knew she may have just been lying about this skill of hers. "So what''s the situation outside?" Alfreda asked, playing with the Knife that Michelle used on me. "Grim. The demons have taken over and there are literally no elven guards in sight. This side of the kingdom has been completely taken over." I replied. "I thought so. I was meant to be dispatched to fight them off but my parents went instead; they told me to stay here and protect the little ones." "Why didn''t you guys head for the safe zone?" I queried. "We can''t. Myshal and Pyshal both suffer from a lung disease, which doesn''t let them breathe properly when there''s lots of dust. The outside conditions were terrible for us." She answered. "Do you guys plan to stay here until the demons are all gone?" "Yes. That was the plan but we found out that our food supply was actually infested with maggots. We weren''t prepared for this happening so I''m not sure anymore." she sighed in disappointment. "I understand. This situation is just really disturbing. I''ll take a rest for a bit, I still haven''t healed from my battle." I said leaning back against the wall. "That''s fine. Rest well." Damn. What could I do now? I could either hide here with them with no food supply or fight. My dimension rings were empty from the long journey, meaning I had no food supply myself. If I could fend off the demons somehow, I could maybe get a reward from the Elven royal family. That would help me in the future in many ways but fending off that many demons was a stupid idea. I struggled against a small group, fighting a whole army was not in my strength yet. I needed more power. That brought me back to my broken blade, my poor, beautiful piece of art. I took out the remaining pieces of Voadhailis''s Claw and inspected the hilt of the sword. There was no way to fix it, no blacksmith would be able to fix it. Using my sixth sense, I enhanced my human vision and I could tell the blade was completely ruined. It''s magical capabilities and molecular structure were all messed up. Whatever that demon''s blade was, it was stronger than this claw. Eureka!!! That''s it!!! I had a lightbulb moment. I was in the Elven Kingdom! Hastily, I opened my status menu and went to the quests section. I didn''t have to navigate with my hands, instead I navigated the system with commands from my head. There it was! [Quest Title: Tame the Dragon of flames, become Voadhailis''s master!] [Quest: Retrieve the potion of life from the Elven Kingdom and revive The Dragon of Flames Voadhailis] [Rewards: Instant Level Up] [Quest: Make a bond with the Dragon of Flames Voadhailis] [Reward: Instant Level Up x5] Perfect! I just had to find this potion and revive the dead true dragon in my dimension ring. Bonding with it would bring me immense power and I may even have a chance to beat the demon army, if the elves helped. Now the only issue was, how do I find this potion of life? Chapter 90 - Hostile Takeover III "What do you know about the potion of life?" I asked, looking at Alfreda. The others had already slept, so it was just us 2 awake. "Why do you want to know?" She yawned, answering my question with a question. "I heard it''s some special liquid. I want to know if it''s a myth." "You''re right, it is a special liquid. It can revive magical beasts from the dead. It''s something that can only be found in the Elven Kingdom and it''s heavily guarded. "There''s a special tree, older than the kingdom itself, that releases that very liquid from the tips of its leaves. The potion of life consists of the tree''s secretion and it''s stored in special viles." She answered. "Where is this tree situated?" "Y-You''re asking me too many questions." She yawned once again, rubbing her eyes. "Where can I find it?" I asked her again, urgency resounding in my voice. "The Elven For-" She fell asleep mid sentence, lying her head on top of Michelle''s. God. This woman! I think she said The elven Forest. I had to head there, and for this special tree she was talking about, it was most likely a Yggdrasil tree. Things were getting interesting ** Boom! Boom! The ceiling shook and specks of dust from the ceiling of the basement. Everyone woke up abruptly at the sudden noise. The ceiling shook one more time and cracks started to form. "What was that?" One of the little ones asked, hugging Michelle. "We need to get out of here. This place is crumbling." Alfreda commanded getting up. I nodded in understanding and helped the others up. Alfreda opened the hatch carefully then climbed up first. We followed her, until we were all on level ground. A large explosion broke the windows and I shielded the kids instinctively. Michelle gave me a look of gratitude before pulling out some masks from a rucksack she was wearing. She immediately attached the see-through masks to Myshal and Pyshals'' mouths. "Let''s move." I said, taking the lead. Alfreda looked a bit offended but followed me anyways. The small group followed behind me as I created a pathway for us breaking one of the walls of the houses. "There are still peasants there! Kill them!" A demonic voice shook the atmosphere. The kids buried their faces into their siblings'' arms in fear.# "Which way is the Elven Forest?" I asked looking back. "It''s a couple kilometres west." Alfreda answered quickly, "And we''re definitely going there." I pulled out a portal artefact from my dimension ring and gave it to her. "This portal will take you to the human kingdom, to my house. It''s a huge mansion and my mother will be there to help you if anything happens; tell her I sent you." I said. "How do we know he''s not lying?! Why didn''t he use this when his friends were in trouble? This is stupid! It''s a trap." Michelle shouted over the explosions. Alfreda assessed all the variables then gripped me strongly with her hands. She glared at me for a good couple seconds before smiling. "I''m sure he has his reasons for what he did. The kid may be a cold blooded killer but he''s got good intentions with us." She smiled before activating the blue portal. "Hurry! They''re getting away!" Trampling footsteps were coming in our direction. "Let''s go." Alfreda said, taking her siblings with her into the portal, "And Thank you." The portal shut off behind her and only I was left. I ran in a different direction jumping from building to building. The reason I hadn''t used the portal before was because it still was recharging. Portals needed to recharge before they could be used and their long recharging time didn''t allow our escape. "Where do you think you''re going?" A dark figure appeared in front of me. It had a powerful mana pressure and its demonic aura was oozing out. I wanted to run in a different direction but I was surrounded by a bunch of soldier class demons. I took off my eye patch, cracking my neck left and right before getting into a fighting pose. Streaks of lightning circled me like wild snakes and my dark hair rose due to the static energy. "Lucifer! No. He''s an imposter. Lucifer didn''t have any offspring." One of the demon soldiers gasped in shock. I still didn''t know who this Lucifer guy was but at least he was a famous demon. Better to be mistaken for a powerful individual than a weak one. The strongest one folded his arms; he wore a dark robe covering him from head to toe. I could tell he was almost as strong as me, he was a step below me. "Get him." He ordered stepping back and watching the fight unfold. The demons roared their battle cries as they charged at me. ''Shambles!'' I froze half of the demons down to the molecular level then shattered the iced figures into smithereens. The strong one at the back chuckled at his subordinates'' deaths like he had found it amusing. In a matter of seconds I killed half of them. [You have used a 1000 MP] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] ''Almighty Pull'' The remaining shocked demons were pulled towards me like I was the centre of a black hole. ''Kuroi Hono.'' Black lances of burning flames spurt out from my body and impaled the demons in multiple spots. Purple blood and organs fell everywhere and the remaining pieces of their lifeless bodies were burnt to ashes. [You have used 750 MP] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] [You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Soldier Demon!] I panted, getting my breath back. Conjuring black flames was a high level spell and it required precise mana control and output; without it the flames would go out of control and even burn me to death. Clap. Clap. Clap. The remaining demon clapped his hands in appreciation. "That was a good show. You can even use Black Flames. I''m impressed, I must say. Well, time to have some fun." He cackled sinisterly, taking off his hood. His slender figure, his pale skin, it all made him look like a vampire if it weren''t for his horns; he did look around my age though, hopefully he wasn''t experienced. He took out a long dark coloured staff from his dimension ring and got into a fighting pose. Great. A staff user. He thrusted at me with his spear rapidly, but I dodged most of his strikes and parried others. I leapt back then cloned myself. "What?!" He said confused, his devilish smile now gone and a face of confusion filled him. This was my first time using Blake''s cloning skill. The me''s circled around him making him choose which one to fight but instead he conjured a wall of Earth between him and my clone, then intercepted me. I parried his staff and punched down at his face, my fist imbued with lightning mana. He fell backwards, spitting out one of his teeth. "You''ve done it now." His eyes glowed an intense red and his mana pressure blew me back. My clone returned to my side getting in a fighting pose.. "Return." I said and the clone''s cells started to join back to my body. The demon disappeared out of my sight and suddenly appeared back in front of me. A hit from his staff made me crash into a building. Oof! That one hurt. [You have suffered 700 damage] I still needed enough mana for another fight, staying here and fighting this freak was wasting time. I had to run. "Where do you think you''re going?" He smiled at me, kicking me from behind as I tried to run. "We don''t even have to fight. Why are you being such an annoying brat?!" I said, annoyed, punching his head. He flew backwards like a bullet crashing through several houses. He appeared out of the rubble, blood dripping down from his head. "I''m going to kill you!" He roared charging towards me. In the time he was out cold in the rubble I had already forged up a plan. Now to put it into action. "And how are you going to do that? You ugly, worthless pile of meat! "You''re so ugly when you tried to join an ugly contest, they said: Sorry, no professionals!" I antagonised him, making him roar in rage. His swings became wild and predictable and I began laughing at his fit of rage. "You''re so ugly, your pillow cries at night! Hahahahaha!" "SHUT UP!" He yelled, thrusting his staff towards my head. Bingo. I froze him momentarily with ''Gravity Zone'', before right hooking his jaw so hard it dislocated and he immediately dropped like a dead fly. "Sorry kid." I said, running off. Sadly I didn''t get any Exp for beating him but that was fine. I didn''t like killing young kids like him anyways, adults on the other hand were different. Chapter 91 - The Search For The Potion Of Life Raarghhh!! That was the 10th beast I had encountered in the Elven Forest. This place seemed to be swarming with beasts left, right and centre. I ran straight, not looking back as the beast was giving chase. I didn''t have Voadhailis''s Claw so it was difficult to kill most of them. I had to use gravity magic frequently, to finish them off as soon as possible. This ultimately depleted my MP drastically and I was left with 3000. The large chimera wolf beast swiped its claws at me but I dodged in time and leapt onto a nearby branch. It was a formidable creature standing at 10 metres in height; it had thick yellow fur and a scorpion''s stinger as a tail. The forest seemed to be about the same size as the one back in the Vrimeon Kingdom, only except the beasts here were much more powerful. I conjured two 10 metre ice lances in both my palms before hurling them like javelins at the beast. However, it was agile on its feet and dodged them in time; I predicted its movements and ricocheted off the branch for my attack. I pierced through the beast''s chest with ''Indra''s Spear'' in a sleek fashion. My lightning attack cut through its thick skin, revealing its beating heart. I ripped out its large heart and smashed it in my hands. A burst of yellow blood and gooey bits plunged all over my clothes but I didn''t care. The beast wasn''t going to go down without a fight and still moved somehow with its last remaining strength; it charged at me mindlessly. I dodged to the side and the large body toppled over, hitting a tree. It had finally died. [You have earned 6000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] I scanned my surroundings with my demon eye. My vision stretched through the dense greenery like a hawk. The largest tree dripping with dense and luscious mana, stood in the centre of the forest. It didn''t seem like there were any elves around protecting it like Alfreda had told me but there seemed to be thousands of beasts protecting it with 3 or 4 S rank beasts. This was terrible. My only option was to negotiate with them for the potion of life. I did have Dianmu at my disposal; she could help me in persuading them. There was no harm in talking. ** "Silence! Let him through!" A humanoid S rank beast spoke, commanding the other lower beasts to stand down. She had red fur covering her torso and she wore white trousers. She only revealed her arms, which had golden markings on them. She had a beautiful face and red hair that matched her fur. The other S rank beasts also assumed humanoid forms of varying genders and stood by her side like guards. I walked past the dozens of beasts eyeing me down with intent to kill. Suddenly, one of the S rank beasts appeared in front of me and threw a fist imbued with light mana. I didn''t dodge and instead grabbed his fist in my hands and smiled. He gritted his teeth moving his fist away from my grip. "Vesta! Why are we holding back against this demon?!" The man in front of me shouted, questioning the leader - The red haired woman sitting on the throne. Other beasts roared in approval, waiting for an order to kill me. "Stand down." She said, bored. The guy in front of me kissed his teeth and reluctantly moved out of the way. "I''m watching you, demon!" He glared at me trying to scare me. I scoffed as I walked past him, making contact with his shoulder. I appeared in front of the red haired woman and gave a short bow. "Mother told me you''re her partner and that I should listen to you but you look weak; I''m a bit disappointed if you ask me. She made a contract with a kid demon. Pathetic. "Although, you do have some nice looks." Vesta got up from her throne and circled me, eyeing my whole body. She began touching me but I flicked her hand away from me. On the way to the Yggdrasil tree, I spoke to Dianmu through the Telepathic link we had. It consumed a lot of mana as she wasn''t near me. I told her I needed her help with negotiating with the Alpha of the Elven Forest. Luckily, Dianmu informed me that one of her daughters was coincidentally the Alpha; that made my life much easier. I didn''t have to get the potion of life by force. For once luck was on my side. "I need the essence of life that drips from that Yggdrasil tree and I''m willing to make a trade for it." I cut to the chase, pointing at the tree sitting behind her. "And what do you need it for?" Vesta smirked, looking at me condescendingly. She was underestimating me. "You should listen to your master." I smiled, making her kneel. Cracks formed under her body and they grew every time she tried to get up. ''Gravity Zone.'' My spell froze the other S rank beasts before they could make a move. Meanwhile the lower rank beasts didn''t dare attack as my killing intent kept them silent. "I take it back. The offer is now off. Give me the potion of life." I demanded. [MP is dropping at a fast rate] "Okay, we will. Just release this pressure from our bodies." Vesta said, her voice shaky under the immense gravity. I removed the spell and immediately the beasts charged at me like wild animals. I knew this was going to happen, so I brought backup. CLAP! CRACK! Lightning struck the ground violently from the sky, injuring 2 of the S rank beasts and sending the others flying. "I guess you guys don''t want to take the easy way." I smiled looking at the injured Vesta, picking herself up. ''Nice to see you in person again Zeref.'' Dianmu said through our mind link as she appeared by my side. ''Nice entry." I replied. "Mother! Why are you here?!" Vesta looked shocked. "Just give him what he needs and we can all mind our own businesses. I need to take care of the other fledglings. Don''t make me get violent." Dianmu looked unbothered, as she folded her arms and examined her blue nails. ''Oh yeah, forgot to ask but why does Vesta look nothing like you?'' I asked Dianmu. ''I had an affair with a Phoenix beast once; I must say it was a fiery experience. She''s the child born from us two. Sadly she didn''t inherit my lightning element and only got the fire element. She was bullied by the other siblings due to her differences and she left the nest. ''It''s been 50 or more years since she left. She''s already the Alpha of this forest. I must say I''m proud of her but she''s forgotten how scary mothers can be.'' Dianmu explained. ''I see.'' "Mother. I''m disgusted with how low you''ve become. How can you become this demon''s b*tch?! The mighty Thunder-'''' Vesta couldn''t finish, as Dianmu flash stepped in front of her and gripped her by the neck tightly. The killing intent she was giving off was distorting the atmosphere as dark cumulonimbus clouds started to appear above us. "Say one more thing about him and I won''t hesitate to rip you to shreds." Dianmu stated. The other S rank beasts gulped at her words and didn''t bother helping their Alpha out. The S rank beasts of this Forest were all fledglings, they probably only recently evolved to S rank so they understood how powerful Dianmu was compared to them. Dianmu finally let her go and relaxed. The clouds started to dissipate and Vesta rubbed the red markings that formed on her neck. "Fine." Vesta sighed, finally giving in, "I''ll give you the essence of life. Grimor give it to them." "Yes milady." The guy, who stopped me before, bowed then jumped away to get some essence. After a couple minutes he came back with a large bottle of clear milky liquid. It looked hella sus but I didn''t care. The info popped up about it when I cast my demon eye on it, so it must have been the real deal. "This stuff is limited so use it wisely. We won''t give it to you again." Vesta said, gesturing to Gimor to pass the bottle to me. "That''s fine. Thank you for everything. I deeply appreciate it and sorry for what happened before." I bowed in respect, making her blush and look away. ''Okay Zeref I''ve done everything you needed. I''ll take my leave.'' I nodded at Dianmu and a lightning bolt struck her position and she vanished. I should learn that spell. Saying my goodbyes and thanks, I left the central part of the forest and moved to a more remote area. ** Time for the moment of truth!!! The dead body of the true dragon was transported to a plain field I had cleared. It still looked asleep, ready to be awoken at any time. Its red scales still shimmered in the light and they still hadn''t lost their glow. Now for the revival. Dianmu told me I had to pour it on its head but That didn''t sound right. Suddenly a notification popped up. [Do you want to revive The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis using The Potion of life?] [Yes/No] I picked ''Yes'' Straight Away but other new notifications popped up into my view. [Error] Chapter 92 - The Dragon Of Flames, Voadhailis [You have not met the requirements for Revival] [Revival of The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis has failed...] [Requirements for revival: Level 80 Intelligence 150 Potion of Life] My intelligence stat was still too low, that ''Status Menu open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Human, Demon Hybrid] [Level: 80] [Exp:54,000/ 82,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 5] [HP: 18100] [MP: 10000] [Strength: 155] [Stamina: 160] [Agility: 175] [Defence/ Durability: 160] [Intelligence: 110] [Total Available Stat Points: 60] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] I put 50 into intelligence and 10 into stamina [Intelligence has increased 110 -> 160] [Stamina has increased 160 -> 170] I took a deep breath in feeling the changes in my body. This system really helped balance out my strength and gave me special perks. I wondered if the other candidates got them too, I wouldn''t be able to call myself that special then. My battle with Blake - the light contestant - was a lucky win. He cloned himself several times and weakened himself. I only won due to that, otherwise I''d be dead already. The notification for the revival popped up again; hopefully this time I wouldn''t fail. [Do you want to revive The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis using The Potion of life?] [Yes/No] ''Yes''. The bottle in my hands disappeared and the body of the large dormant true dragon started to glow brightly. I covered my eyes with my forearms as the light was becoming unbearably bright. After a couple seconds the glow disappeared and a large tremor shook the ground accompanied with loud thuds. I moved my forearms and stepped back at the sight. The mana pressure being given off from the True Dragon was extremely menacing, making me sweat. I hadn''t felt such a difference in power since my encounter with Kayden - The first Sovereign. "How dare you wake me up from my eternal slumber?!" The dragon roared, raising its claws to strike me down but magical silver chains suddenly appeared out of the ground immobilising it. "What is this?!" [System is protecting you] Its pressure was still extremely hostile. ''Shackles Release!'' At my short incantation, my full demon transformation occurred. My dark hair slowly started to glow before turning red. A sharp pain poked on my forehead, before two dark horns curled up. I could feel every fibre in my body tighten like a screw and my full mana pressure and demonic aura oozing out. My senses heightened and I could feel every tremor, every mana particle in the air like I had become one with nature. The pressure burdening my body was lifted and now our mana pressures were almost at equal. "You!!! Lucifer! How dare you disturb my eternal sleep?!" The true dragon roared as a large chain formed around its neck pinning it to the ground. It stared at me with hatred, its eyes expressing its deadly killing intent. It seemed to have a past with the demon: Lucifer. It seemed everyone knew this fellow. "First of all, I''m not Lucifer. I''m Zeref Amara - the lightning candidate. I''ve awoken you from your slumber because I''m in need of your help. I want to form a bond with you." I said, introducing myself and cutting straight to the chase. "Zeref who? The lightning Candidate huh. I''m not meddling again with the monarchs. Don''t you know dragons hate the monarchs, kid?" The true Dragon''s voice calmed down a little but still looked at me with hatred filled eyes. "Well, we have some things in common. I plan to become a Sovereign and crush the Monarchy system. I''ll help you bring the True Dragon race back to their glory; I promise you with both of us working together, we can accomplish anything." I offered. "How can you guarantee something like that, when you''re not even a monarch yet. You''re a mere demon. "Let''s say I help you and accompany you on your journey. What will I get in return?" Voadhailis asked. "Me. I will offer myself as a vessel for you. If I become weak, you can take over my body. I know that your body now will perish; you''ve been dead for 100''s of years. "The revival only brought you back but your body will crumble, which means your consciousness will have to go somewhere ultimately or even that will disappear slowly. Therefore, I''m willing to share this body with you in return for your loyalty and help." I returned. "Ahahahahahahaha! Never have I met such an idiotic fool like you. Do you really think you can control my will? Do you really think you can bear the weight of a dragon''s blood? " The true dragon laughed hysterically, before glaring at me again bearing its sharp blade like teeth at me. "Yes." I said, with complete confidence. I knew as long as the system was there, he would never be able to take me over. "Well, I have a couple conditions that you need to meet. Firstly, you have to allow me to take small amounts of mana from you everyday. Since I won''t have a solid body anymore, I''ll be sharing it with you. "I''ll make my own separate mana pool." The true dragon spoke, relieving its killing intent and mana pressure. I also relaxed myself and my transformation disappeared. "Is that even possible?" I queried, taking a seat on a rock. "You have a lot to learn, kid. Once we bond, you won''t just be a demon; you''ll inherit my Dragon blood. You will evolve. "You will become a new species! A powerful being! Never seen before on this planet." Voadhailis explained. "But I''m a human, demon hybrid already. If I inherit your blood, does that mean I''ll be a tribrid?" "That doesn''t matter. My next requirement is that you''ll make a blood promise that you''ll kill all the other monarchs and get rid of the disgusting monarchy system of the upper realm." He demanded. "I have a plan and killing the other monarchs is not part of it. I can promise to use all my power to break the monarchy system if I become a Sovereign." I negotiated. "Fine. Lastly, you will help me revive the True dragon Family." I thought about the last one for a bit. This guy definitely had ulterior motives, reviving the rest of them could bring more harm than good. I''ll just think about it when that time comes. "Deal is done. I accept your conditions." I said, getting up. "Perfect. Now let''s begin the bonding process. Touch your fist with mine." He declared, slowly curling his hand into a fist and pointing it at me. I stretched my arm out and fist bumped his red scaled fist. Suddenly, another bright light flashed and a surge of pain spread throughout my body. My bones were being broken one by one and all the cells in my body were refurbishing themselves. Even my DNA was mixing with the Dragon''s DNA. I screamed in pain as I was being driven crazy. [System is keeping you sane] The metamorphosis had begun... Chapter 93 - Metamorphosis [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You''re now level 85] [You have 50 Available stat points] ''Wake up you buffoon!'' A hoarse voice spoke in my head. Whose voice was this? ''It''s me: The Mighty True Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis.'' The voice echoed in my head again. I slowly opened my eyes and got up from the cold ground. I felt as light as a feather, my meridians had been remodelled and there were a bigger number of them. It allowed more mana to pass around my body, which enhanced my physique. ''So the bonding process was successful?'' I asked. ''Well no sh*t sherlock! I''m talking to you through a mind link.'' Voadhailis retorted sarcastically. ''How do you even know who Sherlock is?'' ''I looked through your memories, while you were gone. Truly traumatic. Your life I mean. You had it worse than me. Sorry partner.'' Was this really the true dragon I knew? Where did that arrogant attitude go? I thought he''d have tried to take my body over several times by now. Did looking through my memories change him? ''How come I didn''t see your memories?'' I was curious. I stretched my newly enhanced body and flexed my hands. ''Because I haven''t let you. You were in a dream-like state due to the system''s protection. During the assimilation process, your mind was weak so I decided to check out your memories.'' ''Wait you know about the system?'' I was a bit surprised. ''I looked through your memories you dimwit. Anyways, you were out for a good 3 days. Your imperfect half demon body was enhanced due to the dragon blood. You can take on demon soldiers without using mana now. ''It also turns out I have some special quirks too but I''ll let you see them later. For the meantime, run! 50 hostiles are incoming. While you were out, a war broke out between the elven and demon army and some demons are coming this way.'' I began running, my feet felt as nimble as ever. It was the same feeling I had as when I first got my newly improved demon body from Kayden. I ricocheted off the branches of the trees, moving at a super human speed. ''I think they''ve spotted you. They''re tailing you.'' I stretched out my sixth sense and could feel their faint presences. There was one extremely strong demon among them. ''What can you tell me about the demons? I need as much info as possible.'' I said, speaking telepathically with Voadhailis. ''Firstly, there are different ranks of demons. This is the most important. The five ranks, in descending order are: king, duke, marquis, baron and soldier. As usual, demon kings are the strongest and Lucifer used to be one before he was banished. ''To scale power levels, you know how weak soldiers already are. They''re above average humans in terms of strength and speed but they can''t use magic. ''Barons and Marquis rank demons and above can use magic and they specialise in a specific element like Human mages. The powers of Barons and Marquis rank demons are equivalent to low A rank and B rank mages. ''Demons are superior to Humans so they don''t have branched elements like the weaklings - humans.'' Voadhailis explained. ''You''ll have to cut the explanation short.'' I said hastily as I dodged some light arrows. ''Hey! I''m not done explaining!'' ''Shush. I''m busy right now.'' I retorted. I conjured exploding flame balls in my palms and hurled them at the approaching demons, following me. The flame balls were condensed balls of mana that detonated when in contact. It caused a chain reaction with the neighbouring flame mana particles in the atmosphere and continued exploding until all the mana dissipated. BOOM! BOOM! They exploded causing a mass of orange flames to dwindle half of their numbers. I leapt down to a clear field and waited for them to arrive. "We''ll kill you! Damned Elf!" One of them roared as his group finally arrived. There seemed to be around 30ish of them still alive. The other soldiers died. "Wait! That''s the damned demon everyone keeps calling Lucifer." One of them pointed at me, referring to my right eye. "Enough! All forces attack him!" The strongest one roared, charging first. This guy was different to the young demon I beat before. Seikuken was already activated but even without it I could read all of the demon''s attack patterns. Left straight. Right kick I predicted all of his movements and evaded them successfully. "What the-" He silently cursed and the others joined in. They stabbed with their spears but I weaved around and broke their necks twisting them 180 degrees one by one. "I''ll kill you!!" The strong one roared as he punched my double guard. I flew backwards but kept my footing. Brown fur started to form on his skin and his red eyes turned yellow. He grew a furry tail and his legs had become beast-like. Was this the famous beast transformation of beast element mages? His dramatic speed increase caught me off guard as he punched my sternum. I flew backwards like a pebble taking down several trees with me. [You have suffered 700 damage] Only 700 damage?! Damn. ''Yeah your body has evolved even further. You haven''t checked your stats but some of them are over 200 due to the metamorphosis.'' Voadhailis explained. I got up and dusted myself off but another kick whistled through the air. I dodged successfully, throwing a counter uppercut to the large 3 meter demon beast''s stomach. The demon''s body arched like it was in pain. I continued with a barrage of punches, which sent the large demon tumbling to the floor. Blood dripped from its mouth and large visible bruises formed around where I had punched him. ''Indra''s Spear.'' I cut into the demon''s chest and ripped out his heart. [You have earned 10,000 Exp for killing a Baron demon!] The remaining demons gasped in shock, wide eyed. Their leader was wiped out in mere minutes. What would happen to them? I blitzed the remaining demons leaving a pile of dead bodies behind me. ''Nice job. Now get out of there. Your body still hasn''t fully recovered. We''ll talk on the way,'' Voadhailis said. I nodded mentally before running through the dense forest. I had to head for the safe zone somehow. Malia, Jace, Naz, Allefin, were they all fine? I hadn''t seen them in 4 days. ''As I was saying, Dukes and Demon Kings are extremely dangerous. They could be compared to high A rank and S rank mages. You should be aware of the darkness candidate the most. I believe he would be the biggest threat to you.'' Voadhailis continued explaining. ''And why''s that? Because he knows Necromancy?'' ''Well yes. Think about this. Imagine instead of you, that shadow candidate found my corpse and made me one of his minions by raising me from the dead. Do you think you could win against him then? Do you think you could take me down and him at the same time? ''Don''t underestimate necromancy by comparing him to that measly fake dark mage you fought back in the forest. This shadow candidate will have an army and a powerful one at that.'' Voadhailis warned. ''And how do you know this?'' I asked. ''Well, every Shadow Monarch that existed knew necromancy. It''s the dark art of the darkness element. That''s also why it''s one of the most powerful elements. ''Lightning being the strongest element is a myth. The darkness element as well as the Fire element trail behind it respectfully in terms of power. Those 3 are the most dangerous elements. ''I''ve also never met any individuals like you. Quad Elementalist. That''s extremely rare, worthy of being my bond.'' he praised. ''Thanks. So how do you think we can beat this guy then? We know he''s a demon and he''ll have an army of undead but there should be a weakness to his magic.'' I replied. ''Yes, necromancy has weaknesses. The caster can only have one attempt at resurrecting a dead beast or individual. If the dead beast''s will is stronger than the caster then it will fail. So in the previous scenario, it would most likely not work. He wouldn''t be able to resurrect me. ''Second, having the undead out will constantly drain mana so he won''t always have his undead to protect him. ''Third, the constant regeneration of his shadow soldiers will eat away at his mana. Tied in with the mana consumption of keeping them out, the mana consumption of necromancy is extremely high. ''He''ll most likely have his strongest undead soldiers out to fight other candidates, so if we keep killing them we''ll basically be cutting down his mana much more rapidly.'' Voadhailis finished his explanation. ''I''ve got a question for you. How come you''re being so nice to me. You were threatening to kill me before, back when I revived you. Why the sudden change?'' ''Believe me I tried several times to take over your damned body. That system of yours is invincible. It almost started to eat me away so I backed down, grabbed some popcorn and started watching your memories. ''I''ve seen everything you went through as a young James Lance all the way till your death, even your new life. I''ve seen it all.'' After a long run, I had finally made it to the buildings. Most houses were charred black and others were broken fully. I took out my eye patch and put it on just in case, covering my demon eye. "You there! Identify yourself!" A stern voice echoed and a group of elves wearing black masks appeared out of thin air. They must have disguised themselves. "I mean no harm. I''m a human, I couldn''t get to the safe zone in time so I hid in the magic forest. I ran out of food so I was forced to come back in search of help." I lied, trying to put up my most worried voice. "The safe zone has been destroyed." My eyes widened at the elf''s words. "What do you mean? But my friends are there!" I approached the elf in front of me, grabbing him by the collar. The other elves pointed their spears at me to threaten me. "Please calm down young man. There have been reports of survivors; Most of the inhabitants of the safe zone have evacuated to the other side." He answered. I let go of his collar backing up a bit. "Can you take me to the safe zone? I need to find my friends." I said, looking down. "We''ll take you there but we''ll have to restrain you just in case." "That''s fine." I sighed. An elf swivelled round and tied my hands together with anti - mana handcuffs. My power was dampened by 20% but I still had my super strength. I could break out if I wanted to later on. For now I had to play along and look for my friends. Please be safe everyone... Chapter 94 - The Fall Of The Safe Zone -Nina''s POV- 2 days ago, The safe zone wasn''t that large, which meant the area was cramped and crowded. I was one of the first ones to arrive. Many nobles used their statuses to exploit the situation and get proper housing and larger rations. This created disparity between the rich and the poor. Typical. Thanks to Allefin''s family though, we were more on the fortunate side; we shared a small house and got decent rations. I ran to safety but Malia was yelling at me to go back and help Zeref the whole time. Ofcourse I didn''t listen. I didn''t care if they died. What mattered was Malia and I were alive so Malia could heal. "I-I can''t believe that Zeref is a demon." Jace said, still shocked. It had already been a full day since he revealed it to us. Jace and Naz took it the hardest. He always kept secrets. Of course, I wasn''t that phased as I knew he was a demon from his smell. He always reeked of death - the smell of a demon. ''Well, we knew he''d tell us one day. That was just unprecedented. Do you think he''ll be fine?'' Malia asked. Her presence was weak but she spoke full sentences now. ''Yeah. I''m sure of it. I forgot that anti - demon barriers existed. That separated us, if only there was a way to disable the barrier just once. Anyhow, Zeref is the solo type of guy; he works better alone. He''ll definitely survive.'' I replied, mentally. Naz comforted Jace, lying his head against his shoulder. Ew, you hormonal 13 year olds. Kids these days have no- ''Spoken like a true adult.'' Malia mocked, still mad I didn''t stay back and help Zeref. ''I forgot I was now also a 13 year old.'' I mentally rolled my eyes. I sipped my tea, looking at the young couple in front of me - Jace and Naz. I never thought those two would get together. They looked good together. ''You''re missing Zeref already?'' I teased, sensing Malia''s sulking at the back of my head. ''No-'' she tried to say but her voice faded so I didn''t catch the last bit. Maybe I could get my own body when Malia recovered but I knew it couldn''t happen. It was still nice to dream. ''Nina, do you think it''s possible for us to transfer your consciousness to another body? So you could have your own body instead of sharing mine.'' ''Nah, it''s impossible. I''m linked with your wolf spirit; it''s complicated. As you evolve and get stronger I will one day cease to exist. I will perish like I was never there.'' I explained, leaving the atmosphere even more depressing than it already was. We passed around the last bit of food. It was a quarter loaf of bread which I really could use to give me some energy. Naz took in a bite, Jace watching the bread tentatively, waiting for his turn. She passed the loaf to me and I gladly snatched it away from her, eating the bread whole. I hummed in satisfaction, the simple fluffy texture melting against my tongue. "WHA-" Jace gasped, watching me swallow all the bread. "Malia!!!" he whined sadly making me chuckle. "I was really hungry" he whimpered. ''Wtf Nina. At least try to act like me!" Malia yelled but before I could answer, she blocked me from contact. Oops. I guess I was used to being provided for. Mother always let me have all the food. I dont see why it should be any different now. Naz laughed at Jace as they both sat down. I went and sat with Jace and Naz causing them both to sit upright. BOOM! BOOM! A small tremor shook the ground and specks of dust started to fall from the ceiling. AGAIN?! My arms ached and my legs were shaking from exhaustion. ''What was that?!'' Malia said my exact same thoughts. I got up from my chair and headed for the window. Cautiously, I moved the curtains to reveal a view of the cramped town. People ran hysterically, away from the gates screaming and shouting in distress. Were we under attack again? Why did we even come to this stupid kingdom? "What''s happening out there?" Jace appeared by my side looking through the window. "Oh my god" Jace gasped looking at the chaos. Knock! Knock! Naz headed for the door hastily, turning the handle and letting Allefin and his parents in. They looked out of breath, huffing and puffing. "The demons have somehow broken into the safe zone. We have to head further into the kingdom walls. We''re not safe anymore." "We''ve stacked up on enough food and water. We''re leaving straight away." Allefin''s father announced, coughing. We all started grabbing our things and putting on our gear. There was "Let''s go." I said, putting on my gloves. Heading out, we ran past the herds of people running in the opposite direction of the gates. Smoke filled the air and I was squinting to see past the dark fog, my hair flying against Jace''s face. He held my wrist tightly, scared I''d get lost. Naz held onto Allefin and his family as they led us to the exit. People were tumbling over each other, stepping over fallen children and screaming their heads off. Suddenly, black hands broke out of the ground and grabbed onto our feet. My ankle locked in someone''s grip as I looked back at Jace to reassure him. I knew he was panicking, especially with all the tents around us on fire. "What the hell are these?!" Jace shouted, severing the dark arms holding his feet down with water blades. "I have some business with one of you." A demonic voice reverberated in layers from behind us. We all turned around to see the figure shrouded in darkness mana standing in front of us. He clicked his fingers and undead shadow soldiers appeared from his shadow. It was the same magic, the darkness mage used back in the forest. Necromancy. ''Nina, stay sharp. This guy is strong. As strong as Zeref, maybe stronger.'' Malia warned. I think we may be looking at a candidate I smirked at the thought. "Which one of you is Malia Stronghold?" The demonic voice reverberated again in layers. Yup, definitely the shadow candidate or something. He is as strong as Zeref. "I am." My eyes glowed orange to show my fire element and I released my mana pressure. "Hoho. You''re quite the feisty one. You see Ranveer has some unfinished business with you. I made a deal with him in return for you; he''s taken quite a liking to you." The demon spoke. ''That paedophile again.'' Malia scoffed in annoyance. Everyone got into fighting poses including me. We knew we had to fight to get out of this place alive; we wouldn''t be able to run from this guy but the thing is I can''t show I''m a spirit wolf. News will spread fast. I didn''t want to expose anything to do with my spirit wolf side so I decided to use flames instead. Chapter 95 - The Fall Of The Safe Zone II -Nina''s POV- I held in my instincts to growl and my canines ached to show themselves but I held it in. All I had to do was handle the contestant. I knew the smartest decision would be to run. We were facing an army of demons here and there was no way I could show who I was without putting a bounty on my head. "You really think I''ll just come with you?" I scoffed mockingly. "Wasn''t planning on it." he returned with just as much mischief. Naz pinched my waist and from the side of my eye, I realised everyone was holding onto her. There''s no way she could teleport all of us. I didn''t give a flying mushroom if they didn''t make it out alive. I only cared about Malia and I. "Come get me." I returned firmly. ''If anyone is left behind because you couldn''t be bothered, I will rip you out of me and burn your scalp off.'' Malia sent through the mind link, sending shivers up my spine. Somehow, she made it clear how serious she was. I guess I''ll have to bring these baboons to safety then. At that second, the demons all charged at us horns first, roaring. It was the scariest moment of it all. The apex of the tension had finally reached its optimum point and there was only one way this could go now. Naz let out a scream, pushing all her mana around us. She just needed more time to accumulate all her power. "JACE!!!" I screamed, my hair flowing back from the shift of atmosphere. I flung both of my hands up, pushing them outwards and creating a wall of fire. Jace caught onto what I was trying to do, letting out a yell before water shot out of his hands and created a wall of strong thick water opposite mine. "Naz, hurry!!!" Allefin stressed, holding onto her belt in a frenzy. He could help!!! A force of power pushed around us as the demons tried to break through the barrier. I stood my ground, gritting my teeth and clenching my jaw while exerting all the fire I could. Even after just recovering, the undead soldiers and demons barely reached the first layer of my shield but I couldn''t afford to lose focus. All this power was euphoric. Malia was really lucky in this life. We were weak in my life. Now we are strong. I guess there is a sort of balance to the universes after all. I craned my neck over my shoulder, glancing at Jace behind me. Sweat dripped down his forehead, tears welling in his eyes as his hands shook. He was clearly struggling. A bad feeling tingled my back and before I knew it, a dark force tore Jace''s wall apart and we all went flying. I flew across the air, finding my footing mid-air. I could have caught Naz in my arms but I couldn''t be bothered to hold her. She was heavy. My feet skid against the floor, creating smoke before I halted. Naz on the other hand, fell on her ass, cursing and forcing herself up to stand next to me. The darkness contestant stood with his arms up. "Naz, grab them and teleport." I whispered while keeping eye contact with the contestant. "What about you?" her voice shook in fear. "Come back for me later." She was pathetic for caring about me. If I was in her position, I would have poofed myself out of here already. I wonder how Malia actually cared about these idiots. They are useless. Jace could barely even hold up a wall and Allefin''s family were all utterly stupid. They just stood there. "I''m impressed. I''ve never met commoners who could keep up a barrier against my shadow soldiers." he chuckled, darkly. "Shut up!" Jace yelled, running towards the dark cloaked guy but demons stepped in his way, attacking him. He dodged a few of their fists before he was side tackled by a demon''s horns. The dark contestant cackled as Jace struggled against 30 demons on the floor. "Jace!" Naz yelled, running towards him but I pulled her back. "Get Allefins family outta here. Trust me Naz." I cried, pushing her towards Allefin''s family, who were paralyzed by fear. I didn''t care to see if they had listened to me. I trusted Naz so I flash stepped towards the fight, yelling at Jace. "STOP FIGHTING!" I screamed, dodging the demons who tried to grab me and letting myself fall into complete tunnel vision towards the shadow contestant. "What?!" Jace yelled back in disbelief, letting go of the water rushing out of his fists and letting the demons leap onto him. I gotta say, the amount of trust he put in Malia is what I loved about his and Malia''s team. I know they''ll make it far. I unleashed the full energy of my fire mana, letting heat radiate off of me. The darkness candidate let out an annoyed puff at how easily I was dodging his soldiers'' attacks. I could see he was struggling to see me at how fast I was moving. He kicked off his heels, charging at me. We both glared into each other''s eyes as we met midway, him just missing my temple with a kick. My eyes watched his next move, stepping back at his fast fists as they barely missed me. In the most perfect timing, a burst of water extended outwards sending all of us flying. My theory was right. Here comes unconscious Jace. According to the memories in Malia''s mind, Jace fought Ranveer while being unconscious so lets hope he can hold up an army of demons with this trick. The shadow contestant stood back on his feet but I was still coughing up water a few metres away from him. The demons all turned into ash and it was only Jace, him and I. The shadow candidate flash stepped towards me as I let out a gasp of shock at the close proximity of his fist before Jace caught it from behind me. The back of my head bumped against his chest as I glanced at his eyes. They were blank with no iris and he looked deadly. "What the-" the shadow contestant stood in shock. Bad move on his side. I kicked his abdomen as Jace ran after his flying body, followed by me. Kicking the contestants head while he flew back, Jace mirrored my move, kicking the other side. Sadly, the contestant recovered quickly, teleporting himself out from between Jace and I. We both halted, spinning around; a gush of air rushed past us in a godly speed but we both caught the moving figure by the hand. He flung us off but Jace low kicked while I threw a slash of fire aimed at his eyes. "Argh!" he let out a shout of pain, stumbling back a few metres away from us, cradling his eyes. Undead soldiers immediately emerged from the ground to his aid, roaring in anger. Water gushed around Jace''s feet as his aura intensified. I needed a new distraction. An idea popped up into my head and at that moment, it seemed like the only option. Gathering up all my spiritual aura, I let out an ear splitting roar, the air reverberating and the ground shaking. The demons stumbled back along with their leader, shocked from my bold statement. I blinked my urging wolf back, taking a deep breath and exhaling. My golden eyes tried to glow through but I had already activated my fire mana, blocking it so my eyes glowed orange. "Who the hell-" A glimpse of blonde hair flew past me and the fresh scent of Naz filled my nose. Black Mist surrounded both Jace and I. It worked! I distracted them long enough! Jace''s body dropped against Naz''s shoulders as the mist fully submerged us. "NOOOO-" The shout dissipated as we were teleported back to our mansion''s living room. Chapter 96 - The Mage Of The Undead - Back to Zeref''s POV- We had finally arrived at the safe zone and it wasn''t a nice sight. The whole area was a mess: destroyed buildings, piles of dead bodies and live fires still burned. A fog of dust blocked our view as we walked, not helping the tense situation. For all I knew, we could be walking into an ambush. The leader put his arm up, signalling us to stop. I spotted a dark flicker, moving in the fog; the leader must have spotted it too and became cautious. "Defensive formation!" he shouted and the Elves circled around me, keeping their backs to me. This was the same tactic the Elven Guards from the Bank used. The dark shadow soon became more visible, speeding around us. It was a good strategy, assassins used it a lot, to distract a large group and kill the targets off one by one. "Aaarrghh" One of the Elves was dragged into the fog. His scream dissipated, when a loud crack echoed. The figure must have snapped his neck. "Help!" This time 4 of them were taken into the fog and they all met the same fate as the last one. "Show yourself! You coward! Fight with honour!" The leader shouted, releasing his mana pressure. The Elves were afraid. I could tell. These guys must have been an elite force, seeing their teammates being killed so easily must have scared them. This was the timing I was waiting for. Crack! Crack! I broke the mana binding chains around my legs and hands with brute force, making the elves turn to me in shock. I kicked one of the Elf''s heads and took his dagger. I hid my presence, making me untraceable; it was a technique Xanxus taught me. I zigzagged around making no noise, finishing off the confused and scared Elves one by one. "What''s going on?!" The elven leader demanded, turning his head and trying to look for his subordinates. He gripped his sword tightly, keeping his awareness on high alert. I flash stepped in front of him and sliced with the dagger at his neck but he instinctively dodged, swinging his longsword down at me. I leapt backwards into the fog, out of his sight. This guy was good. ''Return'' The dark flicker Returned to my side and fused into my body again. The flicker was none other than my clone. ''That Elf leader is a strong one, you don''t need to kill him. Just go look for the others.'' Voadhailis yawned in my head out of boredom. I didn''t reply and started running west towards where their mana signatures were the strongest. "AAarghhhh!" A deafening scream made my ears ring. What was that?! I turned my head back to where the noise came from. Did something attack that Elven leader? I took off my eye patch and scanned through the fog. Undead soldiers. Thousands of undead soldiers were marching in my direction. What mage could raise this many undead? A solitary drop of sweat rolled down my forehead. ''He''s here. That shadow brat. Prepare yourself.'' Voadhailis''s tone became serious, making me feel at edge. "I''ve heard many rumours about you, Zeref Amara. Being the youngest among all the candidates you were still able to beat the light candidate. "And now, you''re even a demon. Many mistake you to be a descendant of Lucifer. Rumours of your power have been spreading and I''m going to put an end to all that here and now. "I''m going to snatch the lightning seat from you. You don''t deserve it, you filthy experimental pawn." A demonic voice reverberated in the atmosphere and countless dark figures appeared in front of me. The army of shadows had arrived ** The undead soldiers had a blackish aura surrounding them and they felt no pain. They were simple and wild creatures that only followed what their master commanded. I weaved around dodging their thrusts from their swords and spears. ''Voad, Can''t you help me? I''m in a pinch here.'' I said, gritting my teeth. Every time I killed a dozen, they regenerated and attacked again. There seemed no end to their assault. ''Well yes. Check my features from the Skill menu and activate one.'' He retorted. ''Does it look like I have the time for that?'' ''Just clone yourself you stupid brat.'' I shook my head cloning myself into 4; the other 4 attacked the shadow soldiers killing them with single blows. My stats were divided equally among them, so their stats were probably around 30-50 per category. ''Skill Menu open.'' [The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis (Bond) features:] [Cambio Forma - (Requirement: Level 80)] [Control Delegation - (No requirement)] [Forma del Drago - (Requirement: Level 100, Mana Pool Stage 7 + Secondary Mana Pool Stage 2)] [???] [???] [???] ''Since there''s no time I''m trying the first one.'' I said, through our mind link, closing the skills tab. ''Go ahead.'' He scoffed. "Voadhailis, Cambio Forma!" My incantation caused flame mana to seep out from my meridians and form around my left hand. Next all my other elements seeped out and travelled to my right hand, causing streaks of blue, white and purple form around it. A blinding light made me close my eyes. I felt a cold feel cover my palms slowly. They felt like hilts; I gripped them instinctively. I opened my eyes when the light was finally gone. WTF! [Voadhailis''s Claws: Revised edition] Two short swords were in my grip. The one on my left had orange cracks on the blade that oozed out flame mana and a hilt which was made of the most dazzling red scales. The other one on my right was a beautiful and elegant navy blue. It sparked with little buzzes of lightning and was as light as a feather. The hilt had intricate markings, carved out of gold and purple, which matched perfectly with the navy colour. Perfect! ''Finally some short swords!'' A smile stretched across my face from ear to ear. ''Return'' The clones stopped fighting and returned to me one by one, raising my stats again to their former glory. I spun the short swords in my hands getting used to their grips. I sliced horizontally with the left one making a roaring slice of burning orange flames cut through all the remaining undead soldiers. "Not bad. Arise my legion!" The darkness candidate said from within the fog. Undead soldiers and magical beasts appeared from under his shadow and scattered round, surrounding me. I cracked my neck left and right, spinning the blades in my hands with joy. A large troll like beast standing at 20 metres in height attacked me first swinging his large club down at me. ''Lightning Aura'' I sped up his arm in a spiral slicing the arm like tofu into large chunks of black meat. I didn''t give it a chance to retaliate and blasted the beast into orange flames with the sword on my left. These two short swords were perfectly balanced. The left handled hell hot flames whilst the right could utilise the rest of my elements: Lightning, Ice and Gravity. This time a large 10 meter bear monster attacked me, swiping with its claws. I leapt back dodging its attack. Raising my right arm in the air I swung down, making a lightning bolt strike the large shadow beast decimating it. I danced around majestically with my dual short words killing hundreds with a single strike. Bolts of lightning snaked around me and ricocheted off one shadow soldier to the next in chain attacks. "You f*cker!" Finally the shadow candidate joined the battle. His body was still shrouded in darkness mana and he had an overbearing presence. All of his undead soldiers returned to his shadow and he immediately leapt swinging down his longsword towards my head. I got my 2 blades in an X shape to block the blow. BOOM! A shockwave sent both of us flying back. I spun the new Voadhalis''s Claws in my hands before zigzagging around at a speed invisible to the normal eye. I threw the left blade at him but he flicked it away with his own sword. That gave me the perfect moment to attack one of his vital points. My blade was inches away from his neck as he dodged my swing leaning back. Everything moved in slow motion as he pulled out a dagger from his side pocket and stabbed it into my rib. [You have taken 800 damage] Sh*t! I grimaced, leaping back. I opened my palm and the blade returned to my left hand like a boomerang. "You must be getting some sort of writing in your vision right?" The darkness mana disappeared revealing the demon under. He panted heavily, smiling like a maniac. He had black hair similar to mine and glowing red eyes. A purplish dark aura surrounded him, a technique I knew very well: ''mana skin''. He wore a black robe and held a longsword with two hands. He must have been referring to the system. "So you have one too?" I asked, regaining my stamina. The stab wound slowly healed with my super regeneration skill, whilst I tried to buy time. "Yes. All candidates have one; you''re very behind on the knowledge I see." He replied charging towards me. We exchanged sword strikes, making shockwaves destroy the surrounding buildings. I dodged, throwing counter strikes and parrying his blows. This guy was a good swordsman. "Where is Malia? Where are my friends?!" I demanded, thrusting for his chest. He parried the attack with his blade but was taken aback when I sliced his chest with my other blade. A red line appeared through his robe and he grimaced, leaping back. "Why should I tell you?" He smirked, dropping his longsword to the ground. He cracked his neck left and right, making his hair slowly transform white. His eyes changed white to a full pitch black hue. His mana pressure grew tenfold and even his normal demon horns grew in length. He covered the distance in a split second punching my chest. All the air in my lungs syphoned out leaving me winded. I flew backwards like a pebble crashing through countless buildings, leaving a trail of destruction. [You have taken 1500 Damage!] Guess he could transform too. This was going to be a hard battle Chapter 97 - The Mage Of The Undead II I dusted myself off and cracked my knuckles, spinning the two blades in my hands. ''Shackles Release.'' The familiar exotic feeling engulfed my body and a rush of power ran through my blood. My dark hair turned blood red and flowed with the wind. Two dark horns propped from my forehead and my canines sharpened. "Th-That transform-" I didn''t let him finish and covered the distance in a flash. Chunks of rock blew into the air with every step. I sliced down with the short sword in my right hand. Perfect! I finally felt a satisfying connection with his body. A deep diagonal cut appeared on his torso and he grimaced, throwing a counter punch at my face. I dodged, swinging the reverse gripped short sword in my left hand at his head. He leapt back a couple metres and tried to regain his breath. He seemed to be running out of stamina, something I could utilise. "Arise!" He shouted, lifting both his arms up. Undead soldiers appeared out of the ground and charged at me. The same trick wasn''t going to work a second time. ''Purgatory.'' I spun the blades in my hand and zoomed past the countless shadow soldiers cutting and slicing them into pieces. ''Purgatory'' was a skill I created in my past life; it made my dual swordsmanship deadly and mixed all my elements into one. Time to finish this battle. ''Zeus''s Wrath!'' I lifted my right blade into the air and swung down causing countless lightning bolts and thunderclaps to decimate the area. The shadow candidate roared under the millions of volts travelling through his body. His shadow soldiers had all turned to dust. I just had to deliver the final blow. "Arghhh!!!" I roared my battle cry and leapt up into the air. Lightning wrapped around my body as I swung down with both my blades in an X shape. ''Drago del Fulmine!'' Two dragons conjured out of lightning mana, twisted around and bit down at my strike. BOOM!! My blades shook as I made contact with someone''s blade. The shockwave dissipated and I examined the new figure standing in front of me. "You''re quite strong." The man shrouded in darkness mana said in a sinister voice, it sounded deep and reverberated at every syllable. The darkness candidate lay on the ground behind him, unconscious. ''That''s a Demon King''s vessel! Run!!'' Voadhailis roared in my head, making me jump in shock. I instinctively leapt back and got into a fighting pose. ''What are you doing?! Run! Use ''Godspeed''.'' Voadhailis shouted through our mind link, panicking. "The mana waves are coming from there! Hurry! Demons inbound!" I could hear a stern shout from what sounded to be an Elf. It was followed by dozens of footsteps. "I won''t kill you, Lucifer''s descendant. You have defeated my disciple fair and square but I do warn you, prepare yourself well for the heritage wars. You are still too weak to sit amongst us. "I''m Beelzebub. Remember my name, little demon." He said, disappearing into a puff of smoke. Immediately I dropped to my knees in exhaustion. My red hair shortened in length and turned black again; my horns receded and I quickly put my eyepatch on my right eye covering the red glow. ''That guy was one of the 3 demon kings controlling the Demon Kingdom: Beelzebub. Including this encounter you''ve met 2 demon kings so far: Astaroth and Beelzebub. You need to get stronger! ''You were weak! If he wanted to, he would''ve chopped your head off with a snap of his fingers and the heritage wars, we''ll talk about that later.'' Voadhailis sighed in my head. I didn''t reply as all my energy was drained, mentally and physically. "There''s someone there! A survivor." One of the elves yelled pointing at me. The group of elven guards finally came to my side. The leader crouched down to my level and waved his palm in front of my eyes. I was in a frozen state. "Anyone there?" He knocked on my forehead making me flinch. I shook my head, picking myself up. Everyone looked around at the destruction around them, forgetting I was even there. "What''s your name kid?" The leader asked, scanning the surroundings. "Zeref Amara." My answer came out dull. "Did you fight those monsters by yourself?" The leader glared at me, folding his arm. "Yes." "WHHATT?!!" The rest of the guards shouted in unison. They looked at me in shock. "Well, we''re taking you with us. We need to report what happened here." His voice faded towards the end as my vision blackened and I fell head first towards the ground. ** I rushed down the stairs. "Aaargh!!!" I roared holding the 2 holy grail short swords in my hands. "Get out of my f*cking way!" My killing intent and magic energy shook the foundations of the tower. The dozens of guards stepped back at the beast standing in front of them. I blitzed through them, amplifying my speed with wind magic. Blood splattered everywhere leaving dead bodies and gooey bits all over the floor as I danced swinging my baldes around. "Nina! Where are you?!" I shouted rushing down the next flight of stairs. "Jaaamesss!!!" Her voice was muffled but I found her location. I rushed for her location, killing anyone who came in my way. I blasted the walls in front of me creating a direct path to her cell. I felt a momentary feeling of joy when I finally spotted her. The feeling of joy was temporary and soon dissipated when I saw her ragged state. She was chained to a wall like an animal and her white dress had turned red and muddy from the constant torture; there were bite marks around her legs and arms and blood dripped from her head and mouth. Her stomach looked bloated and I didn''t want to know what that meant. I closed my eyes at the thought, trembling in anger and bloodthirst. WHAT DID THEY DO?!!!! WHAT DID THEY DO?!!! "NINAAAAA!!" I roared, charging for the fat ugly bastard standing outside the cell. He smiled at me before pulling a lever. The ceiling came crashing down on Nina, crashing her under the rubble. "NOOOO!!!!" I tried to reach her but I...I couldn''t MAKE IT. ...I couldn''t save her. "Zeref! Zeref! It''s okay honey. Wake up, we''re here for you." Mother''s soothing voice woke me up from my heart aching nightmare. She stroked my hair and kissed my forehead before giving me a hug. I breathed rapidly, before opening only my left eye. These stupid nurses got rid of my eye patch. I laid on a hospital bed with a clear tube connected to my arm. Only my mother was in the room with me and some nurses, who monitored my health with healing magic. "Zeref, how are you feeling? I''m really worried about you. You were shouting in your sleep." Mother sat beside me and smiled, speaking softly and her voice a little shaky from worry. "I''m fine mother, it was just a nightmare." I said, hugging her back. "Zeref, you have a lot to tell me. Starting with your right eye, I''ve cast my diagnosis spell on it countless times but nothing came back from it. Are you missing an eye?" "Something like that." I said, smiling before letting go. I needed to get out of this hospital room; I hated hospitals. I got up, my feet shaky, mother grabbed me immediately as I wobbled. "You need to rest, what are you doing?" She replied frantically as other nurses helped me by grabbing my arms. ''Rapid healing'' My HP slowly rejuvenated and I felt my strength returning to me. The battle wounds that I received didn''t heal when I tried during the battle. It must have been a special ability of darkness magic, the same way lightning magic was the most destructive and most penetrating. However, the healers'' magic must have dampened the effects allowing me to heal myself. I stood without support now. Ripping off the clear tube connected to my arm I went to grab my clothes. I put my eye patch on first before anything else. "Zeref, you need to rest!" she ordered. "Sorry mother. I have things to do; I still have a report I need to fill in. Scan me with your diagnosis spell, my body''s fine." "Since when have you been this rebellious?!" She smacked my arm playfully. She did as I told her and her face paled, "Zeref, I can''t see anything. What''s happened to your body? All the injuries have healed." She shook me violently, demanding an answer. "I have my own skills and spells that have kept me alive. How do you think I survived on the battlefield? "I''ll explain everything when I''m done with work. I still have to fix the bank''s issues and report the details of the demon infiltration." I explained trying to reason with her. "Please, take it easy. Don''t overwork yourself, you just recovered." She hugged me, knowing she wouldn''t be able to talk me out of it. Thunk. I closed the door behind me and was met with a group hug from Allefin, Jace and Naz. "Zeref!" they yelled in unison as they jumped on me in glee. Mother exited the room trailing behind me, wiping her tears. ''Bit dramatic. Are all human mothers like that? My mother kicked me out and told me to fend for myself.'' Voadhailis rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Guys I have to leave to do someth-" Naz grabbed my collar, pushing me against the wall, "What''s wrong with you?! Do you know how worried we were and you''re leaving again on one of your missions? Do you even care about us? Our feelings?" ''Did she just say feelings? Bahahaha! What''s that?'' Voadhailis mocked in my head laughing. I looked up at Malia who was leaning against the doorway eating gummy bears. She looked at me with no hint of emotions in her eyes and the same look of confliction in her eyes. After she had woken up, she had noticeably changed. I''m sure everyone else had noticed too. Her facial expressions, reactions and tones were all different. If I listened really closely, I also noticed she had an accent that sounded way too familiar. "I''m sorry" I smiled warmly at Naz. "I''m glad you all are okay." I said hastily. Jace stepped forwards, recognising the look on my face. "Don''t tell me you''re going on another one. And you kept secrets from us AGAIN! You''re a demon!" he grumbled as Naz''s face turned bright red from anger. Allefin stood awkwardly, watching it unfold. I stayed silent, only the sound of Malia''s loud chewing filled the room. "Bank''s matter. You guys can''t come. I can''t risk it." I replied, ignoring Jace''s attempt to talk about my demon side. "Yeah well how do you think we feel?! You can''t risk it and you think we can?! You''re being selfish!" Naz fumed, smoke practically blowing out from her ears. "Correction. How YOU feel. I feel he should go so he can earn more money and get me more of these delicious gummies." Malia smirked, shaking the empty packet of gummies before burping. "Okay- What the hell is wrong with you Mal?! You''re acting so weird." Jace turned to face her, also starting to get angry. "First the bread, then you jumped over Zeref when he fell, then you left us to fight while you ran to the safe zone. You''re being lousy, being rude and rolling your eyes every second!!" "Chill my dude. I can''t feel my legs." she swirled her hair, pushing herself off the doorway and walking past Allefin''s parents. "That has nothing to do with what I just said!" Jace yelled after her, also leaving the room. "Why are we all leaving?! This is off topic!" Naz ran a hand through her hair in a frustrated sigh. "Bye I guess." I shrugged, smiling at Naz before sprinting out of the room. "ZEREFFFF!!!" Chapter 98 - An Unfinished Mission I walked out of the Hospital and saw the same Elven Guards, who found me in the safe zone. This time they seemed to be lesser in number and only about 6 of them sat outside waiting for me. The leader stood up when he spotted me and greeted me straight away. "Good afternoon A rank Hunter Zeref Amara." He saluted me, showing respect and the others did the same, "I hope you''ve had a good rest at our best hospital." "Can we please proceed with the report? I have things to do." I said. "Of course Young Sir" The Elf leader proceeded to ask me a couple things about what had happened on that day. He pulled out a clipboard and a pen. "How many demons were there exactly and where did the elven patrol unit go? There was a report that they were escorting you." "They were all killed by a high ranking demon. He was probably a duke or marquis; I don''t know the power rankings that well." I replied, neglecting the part that It was I who killed the patrol unit. "And you managed to survive? Against a demon?" He retorted, sarcastically. "Please don''t underestimate me." I smiled, sending a shiver down his spine. "And this demon, what kind of magic did he use?" "He used darkness magic and Necromancy." "Necromancy?!" His voice peaked at surprise. "So you''re telling me you fought an army of undead soldiers created by a necromancer all by yourself and lived to tell the tale?" He sounded unimpressed by the story I was selling. I cackled some lightning on my palm, making his face go pale. "I''m a lightning mage." "That explains plenty."He sighed, taking notes on his clipboard. "Anyways, that''s what happened. You can choose to believe it or not I''m leaving. Sorry but I have important matters to attend to." "Please wait, the Elven Military seemed very interested in your short swords. Where did you get them? We''re willing to pay any price for them." The man gave an awkward laugh before stopping and realising I was in no mood for games. "They''re not for sale." I said walking past them. ''Those greedy bastards.'' Voadhailis scoffed in my head. "Take care young hunter." The man said, looking back at me as I walked towards the gates. Time to get back the bank''s sh*t ** I sneaked up in the bushes and analysed the situation. There were at least 500 personnel on the piece of land. They all wore a maroon coloured robe with Umbra''s Black skull Logo on the back. They managed to build a large facility in a matter of weeks. Guards stood waiting outside the 50 metre by 50 metre building and there were guards on the inside too. ''So what''s the plan? Are we attacking head on or going in, stealth mode?'' Voadhailis asked in my head.'' ''There are definitely researchers or important people in there. They could escape If I cause a commotion. I''ll break in there and capture a couple of them.'' I replied. Putting on my assassin clothing I creeped towards the nearest guard. I hid my mana presence, scent, sound, everything, becoming one with my surroundings. The S grade Assassin Class Clothes I bought were light and stuck to my body like spandex. It had a camouflage feature that ran on capsules that I kept charged with Lightning mana. Crack! I swiftly broke the guard''s neck, grabbing his keys and other equipment and burning them to dust. I had to do something about the watchtowers, Guards were meant to watch for intruders from the towers but it turned out that most of them were busy sleeping or half drunk - perfect for easy kills. There were 4 towers in total, I had to swiftly kill the watchmen without raising suspicions. I zigzagged across the field, before running up one of the towers. As expected both of the watchmen were asleep but in quite a weird way. Why were they spooning? I shook my head, before breaking their necks. 3 more to go Crack. I broke the last one''s neck and put his weapons in my dimension ring to sell to the black market later. Sitting down next to the dead bodies I deactivated the Assassin''s suit and closed my eyes. I expanded my vision using my sixth sense and scanned the vicinity. A total of 400 armed men were inside the facility and 100 outside; the fastest way into the laboratory, where the scientists were situated, was from the roof. There were around 20 men on the roof but over half were asleep. I opened my eyes, getting ready to execute my plan. Activating the Assassin clothes'' camouflage effect, I sneaked past a couple guards. Perfect. I levitated up using Gravity magic and made it to the roof, soundlessly. I zigzagged around rapidly snapping their necks 360 degrees. This was the best way to kill them without making a mess, especially as it didn''t make too much noise. Now that all of them were taken care of I switched to my Hunter''s attire and cracked my neck left and right, before punching down at the floor beneath me. BOOM! The ceiling shattered and pieces of rubble rained down. About half of the scientists were dead and the others were protected by one of them putting up some sort of magic dome. I descended from the sky to their level. Some of them cowered behind the mage, who put up the protection dome. "We''re under attack!" I could hear the soldiers reaching the research lab already. "Who are you?" The mage asked, backing out his wand and pointing it at me. Wands were magical objects that helped to cast spells and amplify their effects. Battle mages like me looked down on them but scholar mages (Mages that used Magic for research purposes) used them a lot. "I''ll ask the questions." I smiled, flash stepping in front of him and ripping his heart out. "Aaaarghhhhh!!!" The rest of the scientists screamed in fear and tried to run but I froze them in place with ''Gravity Zone.'' I crushed the still beating heart in my hand before wiping my hands clean with the dead mage''s white lab coat. I released my mana pressure and killing intent, making some of them pass out and others piss their pants. That should be enough to scare them a little. Removing ''Gravity Zone'', I walked past them and took a seat on top of a boulder, made of broken concrete. "If you people cherish your lives you will not move from your spots." I pulled out an apple from my dimension ring and bit into it. "The intruder is there! Get him! It''s only one guy." The Umbra soldiers finally appeared from all angles. "Just in time. Here hold my apple." I smiled before handing my apple to one of the female researchers. She was quite pretty but it was sad she was part of those Umbra scum. ''They seem to be all battle hardened mages. At least at D rank or higher.'' Voadhailis warned before going back to sleep. ''Nothing I can''t take care of.'' Since my awakening, from the hospital he seemed to sleep a lot and absorb more and more MP from my mana pool. ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma.'' The two short swords materialised around my hands; they vibrated with bursts of mana like they were itching to cause havoc. I glanced back at the scientists, before casting some spells. ''Lightning Aura.'' ''Purgatory.'' I danced around weaving through the hundreds of soldiers flinging body parts everywhere. These guys were strong and experienced but they were unable to harm me, no matter their numbers. I sliced horizontally causing a burning orange flame to cut through a dozen of them. Seeing the sight of dead bodies everywhere, some of the Umbra soldiers started to flee, running away. "Run! He''s a monster!" They started to scream. "Hehehehe. Where are you running? The party isn''t over yet." I cackled, flash stepping towards them severing their limbs and heads. It took me a couple seconds before they were all dead. I glanced back at the researchers, making them shiver in fear. They all closed their eyes and got on their knees. "Please spare us! Please!" They begged. I walked past their shivering bodies and sat at my original spot. The 2 short swords in my hands dematerialised and vanished into mana particles. "You. My apple." I gestured to the woman. She wept, handing over my apple. "Give me one good reason as to why I should spare your lives. First, you come here and take over my land unauthorised. Second, you experiment on the lives of innocent people and elves and third you dare to threaten my friends'' safety. "Do you really think you deserve to live?" I glared at them all momentarily, making them quiet down. "We didn''t want to do this. Umbra forced us!" "Yeah! He''s right. We didn''t want to harm those poor souls. Please let us go." Some of them pleaded but I made them stop by raising my hands. "How about this, since I''m feeling generous I will count to 30. You have 2 choices, you can either choose to run during the countdown or choose to stay kneeling in front of me. Those of you who choose to stay will have to gamble. Will I kill you or not, who knows." "Wait wh-" One of them whispered in confusion. "12" I started counting, continuing to bite my apple. All of them ran except 3 of the women, they stood sitting in front of me. "Skip a few, 29 and... 30. Ready or not, here I come..." I smiled, clicking my fingers. BOOM! A loud thunderclap made the 3 women cower in fear covering their ears. Several thunderbolts struck down at the running researchers. Their bodies turned to black dust and stained the floors. "Now that there are only 3 of you left, I''m willing to reconsider killing you. I will ask you several questions and If I think you''re lying you''ll all meet the same fate. Is that clear?" They nodded in understanding, knowing there was still hope. "First question: Why shouldn''t I kill you?" "Please spare me, I''m still young. I was forced to do this." One of them pleaded. "I still want to do so many things. I will do anything you want, I beg you let me live." The other one pleaded. I was curious at why the old woman at the back hadn''t said anything. "Don''t stain your hands young one by killing 1 and a half lives. It will haunt you forever; this life inside of me hasn''t even seen the world yet. You must have a heart! Why are you doing this?!" She yelled. That one struck a chord. ''Voad, is she lying?'' ''Firstly, don''t give me nicknames and secondly No. She''s telling the truth, I sense a small life form growing inside of her Uterus. I can confirm she''s carrying a child. It''s up to you if you want to kill her.'' he replied before going back to absorbing my mana. "Tell me more about Umbra''s schemes and research. Fake mages, Anything about Umbra''s plans etc." my voice was much calmer and gentle now and they relaxed a little too. "I''m a high ranking researcher so I know more about this than them." The old woman began. "Umbra is a filthy and corrupted organisation but I''m sure you already knew that. They forced me to work for them, first experimenting on magical beasts then on humans. "I remember some time ago there were rumours among the senior workers that Umbra made a deal with some powerful demons. Some top Umbra researchers experimented on the demons and gained insights into how their bodies and mana pools worked. "As you know demons don''t awaken branched elements like humans. They only awaken pure elements. Umbra researchers were able to find a way to replicate their mana pools and create Fake mages. "We turned normal soldiers into fake mages with enhanced magical abilities. However, this cut their regular life span down by over 90%. The first subjects survived a few days before dying. Now they can survive up to a couple months." Her words weren''t wrong. I knew a little about fake mages from my encounter with the Darkness Fake Mage back in the Forest. He said he had a couple years to live, whilst she was telling me their research only allowed them to live a couple months. Assuming the worst possible scenario, at the rate they were improving their Fake mages; Umbra would soon successfully create fake mages that could even rival regular mages. If they built an army of fake mages, it could be troublesome. I didn''t care about the Vrimeon Kingdom or The elven Kingdom, but my family''s safety was a different matter. I didn''t have a loyal army like the Shadow Candidate or Shadow Monarch. I only had myself - a one man army. Therefore, I had to get stronger. "Mmh, I see, so what did the demons get back exactly in return for such valuable information?" I asked throwing the leftover apple on the ground. "I heard rumours that Umbra handed over something that would mess with the Anti - Demon Barrier of the Elven Kingdom. That''s probably how they got in but everyone''s told me that the demons still failed their ambush and retreated." The other girl spoke up eagerly. "Okay I have my answers you all can leave. If I ever see you again working with such shitty organisations, I''ll bite you to death." I glared at them, before exiting the building. They didn''t say a word either and dispersed. ''Grande Sole'' I levitated up 100 metres up into the air and pointed my index finger up. Slowly a ball of flames started to grow until it was at least 50 metres in circumference. The intense heat made clouds disappear and life forms under me started to burn. I pointed down at the Umbra research facility and the giant ball of flames began to descend and collide with the large building. BOOM!! The explosions shook the atmosphere and Ground. All life forms within a kilometre radius disintegrated and burned to ashes. A large hole crater formed under me, where the facility once was. That was one of our lands taken care of. Earth Element mages would easily turn this piece of land back to its luscious green, ready for rent again. Hopefully. I descended back down and decided to retrieve the rest of the Bank''s land before the sun set and head back to the others. Chapter 99 - Elven Royal Family 3 months had passed and the Elven Kingdom had been fully rebuilt with the Dwarven race''s help. Now it was restored to its former beauty. I nodded at the guard standing at the entrance. Watching as the gates opened, I craned my neck over my shoulder, looking back at Malia who looked unimpressed. I was invited to meet the Elven royal family by Leilani a while ago and she kept sending invites to the mansion so I thought I might as well see how the elven royal family was doing after the demon attack. Jace told me that Johan was actually Prince Johan IV of the Elven Kingdom so I wanted to visit a good friend too. I was still surprised that Johan was the big brother of Leilani. I was actually quite stupid for not noticing he had a prince title and was of the elf race. I guess I was caught up in all the chaos. I decided to bring Malia, who progressively started to act less and less like the Malia I knew. It wasn''t a bad thing. She just reminded me a lot of Nina and it gave me some serious deja vu sometimes. The gates fully opened, giving us the full view of the huge house towering over the kingdom. "This way, Mr Amara and Ms Stronghold." The guard guided us, addressing us formally. We followed the straight red carpet laid out in front of us, leading us to the entrance where we were met by the King. I searched for his queen but she was nowhere to be seen, yet I shook his hand with a warm smile that was until I entered. Malia finally had a change of expression, her eyes widening and glowing orange. Why was she activating her fire mana? She started to radiate heat and I swear I heard a low purr. Surrounding the King''s throne, layed a harem of elves. They all wore the same attire: white silk high-waisted skirts which were to their ankles. Two slits went down the side of each leg and the skirt''s material was thin, leaving little to imagination. They wore gold belts and a gold bow on their heads, all styled in different ways. Their top was worse. The white vest they wore was also kind of see through and a single golden strap held it up. Sheesh, I was speechless. This man was living the life! "You like them?" the King said proudly. "You can choose anyone you like my friend." he smiled sickly. Ugh what a weirdo. I''d be embarrassed if he was the ruler of my kingdom. "No-" I tried to refuse but was interrupted by an excited and happy squeal. Malia jumped up and down in excitement while clapping her hand. "Choose that one Zeref. Oh actually that silver haired- no that curvy one." she scanned her options happily, pointing out different girls who looked more than happy to be considered an option. "Wha- No, No, No. We are not-'''' I met her eyes to see her look at me with big puppy eyes. She sniffed and her shoulders dropped in disappointment. I thought she would be happy I didn''t want one. She was always mad when I''d talk to Sara but I didn''t see how this was any different. I felt Voadhailis''s presence appear to the surface of my mind. ''That was before she started acting weird.'' he smirked. ''What''s that supposed to mean?'' I grumbled, putting up a defense. ''I''m just saying Zeref. She has been acting really suspicious after waking up. How do you know that is Malia?'' ''Don''t be stupid. She smells and looks the same.'' ''Who the f*ck sniffs a person?'' he said before I blocked him from giving me anymore input of his dumb thoughts. "They all look really yum- I mean pretty." she pouted. "Fair skin, nice smelling blood-" "What?" "Nice smelling perfume." she corrected herself, nervously. I sighed but before I could agree to getting one for her, the king opened his big fat mouth. "You know, she could be a really nice collection to my harem." he smirked, rubbing his beard while staring at Malia''s back then her bosom. I didn''t hesitate to lift him up by his collar. "WHAT THE F*CK DID YOU JUST SAY?!" "Oh sheeeeesh... F*CK HIM UP ZEREF!" Malia said, laughing excitedly. Normally, she would''ve slapped my hand and scolded me for being irrational and hot headed. Something was definitely wrong. ''I told you!'' Voadhailis yelled. ''Didn''t I block you?'' I sighed. "Shut up, you can''t block me. I''m in your head.'' he replied before I pushed his talking to the back of my head again. Why was this dragon so chatty today? I let go of the King''s collar causing Malia to awe in disappointment and the King to fall on his bum. What shocked me the most was what she did next? "I''m 13 years old, you weirdo." she scoffed, kicking his hip. Malia would never- ''I TOLD YOU!!'' Voadhails yelled. ''OK NOW SHUT UP! I''m trying to think MY thoughts!!!'' I yelled back in frustration. The King stood up absolutely infuriated. "HOW DARE YO-" "Father!!!" Leilani came in at a perfect timing, frolicking up to us in a showy dress. "I''m in a happy mood, don''t ruin it." she said in a sing-songy voice. The King''s face switched to a big smile at seeing his daughter. "M-My beloved princess Lani. Daddy would never upset yo-" "SHUSH!" she put her hand in his face before twirling her hair between her fingers and gazing at me. "Zer-" she reached her hand out to me just for it to be taken by an excited looking Malia. "Malia stronghold. Honour to meet you princess." she smiled charmingly. Surprisingly, Leilani blushed shyly, squeezing Malia''s hand while shaking it. "Father." someone else entered, swinging the door open swiftly while striding towards us. He was in his early 20s and was muscular. He stood tall at 6ft 5 and had black curly hair along with green eyes like Leilani. His eyes were more of a duller green whereas Leilani had bright and noticeable green eyes. Malia and Leilani both turned to look at him and they both mirrored each other''s expression. They looked equally as disgusted but I didn''t know why. "Ugh, another boring man." Malia whispered to Leilani causing her to giggle. "That''s my brother" she snickered, still holding Malia''s arms. "Ew." "Omg, I love you already." Leilani squealed, holding both of Malia''s hands in front of her. She turned and winked at me before dragging Malia away. "Bring the snacks- I mean harem." she said and all the women followed them out of the room. I noticed the clear mischievous smirk spread widely across Malia''s face. Bringing her was a terrible idea... ** "So you''re the hero, I''ve heard so much about. It''s a pleasure to meet you Zeref Amara. My name is Prince Landon IV; I''m the next in line in inheriting the throne." The Prince shook my hand, before gesturing to me to follow him. I smiled, nodding and following him to an open balcony. There was picturesque scenery just outside, which eased the tense atmosphere a little. The luscious greenery danced with the breeze and birds chirped flying from branch to branch. We both took a seat admiring the scenery. This reminded me of my times as a King, just aimlessly gazing into the green to escape responsibilities and reality. "Tell me more about yourself Mr Amara. Leilani never stops talking about you and I''m intrigued as to what kind of person you really are. Tell me more about yourself." He took a sip of tea from one of the cups. "I do a lot of things, such as being a hunter for the Hunter Association, being the Owner of the bank but most importantly I''m a businessman." "And about Leilani, she is like a sister to me. I have no intention of getting with her or becoming your brother in law." I said, grabbing a cup of tea and taking a sip too. "No matter how much I think about it, nothing adds up. There''s no answers on you; spies, researchers, they all found nothing from digging up your files and records. "Who are you really? How can a peasant from the boonies like you achieve so much? What''s your trick? Are you working with the demons?" Prince Landon''s voice became serious, as he raised his killing intent. He probably thought I was some sort of threat. "Firstly, Mr Prince. I''m not some peasant from the boonies and I have no tricks. Please do not disrespect me like this again," I smiled making shivers go down his spine. The warm temperature dropped in octaves as the atmosphere around us began to freeze at my words. "I have no ill intentions against you or anyone in that matter except for Umbra. I have made it this far with my own hard work and power." I said restraining my mana pressure. Landon straightened himself, wiping his lips with a handkerchief, "Now that I''ve made sure you''re who you say you are, I have some things that I need your help with. "As I said earlier, I''m going to become the next King of the Elanor Kingdom. At the moment my foolish father has slacked off after our mother''s death and the reputation and dignity of the Elven Kingdom is falling. "Our economy is dying and we''re making less advancements in technology than previous years. We''re suffering and I need a way to make the Elven Kingdom rise back to its former glory." Landon''s eyes showed sincerity this time and expressed his discontent with the matter. "I understand but why would you want my help? I''m just a mere human." I said, refilling my cup of tea. "I''m a businessman myself and I can tell when a business opportunity presents itself to me. You''re that business opportunity. I know you''re hiding a lot of things from me." Prince Landon put one leg over the other and played with a small ball in his hand. "How can I help you?" I asked. "The only thing I want you to do is help close the gap between the rich and the poor. Help the poor get richer and the rich stay the same. Overall, I want you to help the economy grow within our small kingdom." "So...You want me to help the poor by giving them their own businesses? Won''t that cause issues?" "No, not really. I''ll handle political matters using my father''s authority; You can do whatever you want in this 2 week period." He said, swirling the ball around his hand. "I think helping that many new businesses open up will be troublesome, I''ll only help a few; that should cause a positive multiplier effect and help the economy in itself." I said, placing the empty cup down, "...But what will I get in return?" "Firstly, we will become brothers in arms. I will help you whenever you are in need of anything and secondly, I will provide you with anything you want as long as your request is in my power." His offer sounded intriguing and having such a strong backer would be perfect for me. "That''s fine. I accept the deal." I smiled, shaking his hand. This deal would bring me more benefits in the future. Making the future Elven King be in my debt could help out with all sorts. Maybe I could even negotiate for a piece of the Elven Forest; Meditating near the Yggdrasil tree would help with ranking up my mana pool stage. Chapter 100 - School Dance! -Zeref''s POV- I walked to school, feeling heavy and tired. As soon as I entered, my eyes were blinded by rose petals scattered across the hall, balloons decorating the entrance and a big banner. ''VALENTINES DANCE!'' it read as people sat in the halls decorating posters and sticking up school dance posters. The squealing of girls filled my ears and everything just felt so ugh. "OMG there he is!" an older girl pointed at me. I turned to look at my sides, making sure she was pointing at me. "Zeref!" she called, signalling me over. I sighed, walking towards her and her friends. They giggled and squealed. "Do I know you?" I asked, peering down at her while putting both my hands in my pockets. "N-No but we know you. Uhm, we were wondering if you wanted to sign up for Valentines King-" "No." I deadpanned before turning around. "P-Please! We already forced Malia to sign up." I stopped at her words, craning my neck over my shoulder and furrowing my eyebrows. She took that as a sign to continue. "The king and queen get a portrait of both of them in front of the principal''s office a-and get to have a dance in front of the whole school. They also get crowns a-and it''s good for popularity-" "I don''t need popularity." I scoffed, continuing to walk away but they ran after me. We all stopped when a platinum blonde boy stopped me in my tracks. "Jessi" the girls all groaned simultaneously, their smiles dropping. "Signing up for Valentines King, Zeref?" he said with a strong posh accent. I looked him up and down. He looked like a noble or even a royal. He had pale skin which made it hard for me to tell where his forehead stopped and bright icy blue eyes. I shook my head no. "Well good because I want to win. I have been waiting to shoot my shot with Malia for a while." My blood boiled, imagining Malia dancing with this skunk. I glared at him while snatching the clipboard of the girl''s hand. She gasped as I aggressively scribbled my name down and handed it back to her. "HEY-" the boy yelled in disbelief. "Shush." I smirked, pushing past his small body. ** "ZEREF!!" a small girl with pigtails grabbed the back of my shirt. I sighed, letting my killing intent ooze off of me. I received looks of fear and the girl''s hand dropped from my shirt. I didn''t bother turning around, continuing to walk to my next lesson. So far, I had received countless proposals to this stupid dance and I realised the only way I would get through this day would be to look as threatening as possible. I do credit the girls who still tried to approach me despite my deadly aura. They were brave. I was thinking of asking Malia but what would I say? I''ve seen some overexaggerated grand proposals. I was planning on just asking her the simple way. ''You have no game.'' Voadhailis commented, interrupting my train of thoughts. ''And you do?'' I scoffed mentally. ''Yh. I do. Listen, all you gotta do is have a seizure in front of her then fall to the floor and flop like a fish.'' ''Where are you going with this?'' I grimaced, imagining if I took his advice. ''Wait, shush. Then you break out into a dance and do all these cool wavey moves with your arm and then make a heart out of fire and hand it to her, then ask her the big question.'' he finished, giving me a bigger headache than I already had. It''s not easy having a system and dragon in your head 24/7. Plus my demon side has just been growing stronger and soon I''ll have to use the powers and release the shackles. ''Wooooow. I am not doing that.'' I laughed at his stupid idea in my head and blocked him out again. ** I entered my classroom to see Jace already in there, being swarmed by girls asking him who he was taking to the dance. I really trained him so hard to the point he experienced a glow up hehe. He looked panicked, looking at Naz''s empty seat. He was lucky; Naz was probably with Malia right now. He looked at me, excusing himself and rushing towards me. "How do you not have girls drowning your fine ass right now?" he questioned in disbelief as I chuckled. "Everytime someone approaches me, I just scare them with my killing intent. I think the word spread so I have stopped getting random girls asking me." I said, walking up to the crowd of girls who were crowding Jace and I''s seats. They scattered, letting me swing my bag on my desk and sit down. "You gonna ask Naz?" I queried in which he nodded. Poor guy, he looked nervous just thinking about it. Naz walked in, waving at us before taking her seat at the front with her friends. The lesson started with a talk about the upcoming dance which was in two days. Everyone chattered and the teacher looked at me, saying I had signed up for King. Everyone cheered as I smiled and Jace slapped my back. She also mentioned how Jace and some other dude had also signed up. She called out a hefty list of girls who had signed up for Queen and to no surprise, Naz had signed up. ** "Ugh, can people stop talking about the stupid dance?" Malia came and sat opposite me with her tray of food. "I know right, all this pressure on asking a girl out is giving me high blood pressure." Jace groaned, sitting next to her. I laughed, stealing Malia''s apple which she didn''t even try to get back. She had gotten used to me stealing her apples now. I didn''t know why, her food just tasted better than mine even though we got the same thing. "You''re planning to ask Naz, right?" I asked. Naz wasn''t here yet so it was probably safe to do a little teasing. "I was actually planning on asking Mochiii." he smirked in a flirtatious voice, leaning his face into Malia''s. "Oh please!" she smacked his face away causing him and I to burst out laughing. "Be serious." "Okay okay. Of course I''m asking Naz. I just don''t know how." he said, sulking. "I''ve seen girls asking guys out. Maybe she''ll ask you. She is kind of direct." I comforted. "No way. Naz likes grande gestures. You gotta go all out Jace. I''ve seen people do dance routines, teddy bears and even a bouquet of money." she emphasised on the money bit with hungry eyes. "Or you could just simply ask her" I suggested, rolling my eyes at Malia''s ''ew that is a horrible idea'' face. Jace let out a cry, resting his head on the table dramatically. "Who hurt you this time?" Naz asked Jace, sitting next to me and looking at a whining Jace. "The dance." I replied, looking at his stupid whining. Naz laughed, eating her food. "Mali, did anyone ask you?" she looked at Malia, munching her sandwich. I shuffled in my seat, intently listening for her next words. "Yup. A few actually." she sighed, taking a bite of Jace''s pasta. "Same. I got asked by 5 guys today! Can you believe that?! And I heard Sara asked someone and got rejected." Jace lifted his head, raising his eyebrows for Naz to continue. "Well, Sara asked this guy to the dance and his girlfriend got really mad about it. Apparently she is going to confront her after school." I shook my head at Naz, "I don''t think that''s any of our business though." "Plus that''s not Sara''s fault. There''s not really anything to confront. I''m sure she didn''t know he was taken." Malia furrowed her eyebrows in concern like she was getting into defence mode. "Chill. I''m just saying the gossip I heard." Naz chuckled nervously, backing away from the topic. I wonder why Malia had such a different personality when it came to Sara. It''s like there was a connection between the two. Sometimes, when I saw them interact, I could feel some sort of strange pull between them like a bond. I''ve tried to shrug it off but Voadhailis always noted down every suspicious thing about Malia, making it hard for me to let it go. "Allefin asked me to the dance." Naz giggled bashfully. "Did you say yes?" Malia gasped. "No, I-" Suddenly, a loud fart ripped through all the chatter in the canteen, causing Naz to flinch so hard that she dropped her fork. Everyone went silent as I held in my laugh, looking at the ground to stop but my shoulders shook from laughter. People continued to chatter and that''s when Jace finally looked up at us. "I get an upset stomach when I''m nervous." he justified, holding his stomach. Naz and I burst out laughing, cackling like hyenas while gasping for air. We slapped each other and Naz went red from laughing while I laughed so hard, I went silent. We both wheezed as Jace excused himself, throwing his apple at my head before he left, which just made Naz and I laugh harder. "I''m gonna make sure he isn''t sick." Malia said, running after Jace. Chapter 101 - Sara’s Apology -Nina''s POV- "You okay dude?" I swung my arm around Jace''s shoulder, ruffling up his perm. He shrugged. "How am I gonna ask her out?" he sighed, pouting. "My stomach hurts~" he held his stomach while sulking. I giggled causing him to glare at me. ''Tell him he''s amazing. He lacks confidence.'' Malia advised in my head. Recently, I''ve been acting more like myself so I decided to listen more to Malia''s orders so I can seem more like her. I grabbed Jace''s face in my hands, pulling them down in front of me so he could look into my eyes. "Listen, you are better than Allefin. Your hair looks like pot noodles. Naz loves pot noodles-" "Do you like pot noodles?" he smiled, his cheeks squishing against the sides of my thumb. "Yes. I love pot noodles. You are handsome and funny. Plus, your smile is super cute." I finished off as he nodded, smiling. I finally pushed his head away from me, mentally rolling my eyes. ''Smile.'' Malia reminded me. I smiled up at him as we continued walking down the hall towards the bathroom. "Thanks Malia. I really love you, you know that?" he smiled, genuinely at me. Malia''s heart started to beat faster in me. I guess that made us happy? I looked back at him, "Same." I smirked, slapping his head. "Now go to the bathroom, I''m gonna take a walk around the school" He laughed, running into the bathroom and I didn''t realise I was genuinely smiling. My eyes widened as I wiped the smile off my face. The halls were empty and my nose picked up on a delicious smell Sara. ''How many times do I have to tell you? We are not going to eat her!'' Malia scolded me. ''But we already put our claim on herrrrr.'' I whined. I ignored Malia''s scolding and followed the smell to a small corridor. It was empty and the nearby corridors also were empty. I looked through the glass of the door to see Sara and a girl. The girl was yelling in her face and the room looked to be a storage room. There were no lights in the room and the only light came in from the window in the door which I could see through. How dare she yell at my prey?! ''Omg...'' Malia sighed, giving up. ''Give me control.'' ''How? You''re not strong enough. Don''t force it or you''ll be weaker than you are now. Malia, I''m serious; this is really dangerous!'' I panicked but a surge pushed through my skin making me gasp and everything went black. -Malia''s POV- I''m back. I looked down at my hands, rolling my shoulders and getting back into my own skin. Phew. It was so annoying watching Nina say all those stupid things to my friends. She was obviously not anything like me. I opened the door, casually walking in. The girl froze along with Sara as they both turned to look at me. I tilted my head at the random girl as she scurried out the room without me having to say a word. Sara tried to follow her but I stepped in front of her with my jaw clenched. The last memory I have of her was when I begged her to help me but she kicked me away all for Zeref. She made me bleed red. All for what? Why did she turn on me so aggressively? I get I was in the wrong when I hurt Zeref but I was in a weird state of mind. She was so aggressive about me being wrong. Why? I tried. I tried to reach out to her when even Naz didn''t. I protected her when she was attacked. I made sure Nina didn''t rip her head off when we woke up. I could feel the tempt and hunger swirling my insides. I wanted to rip her head off and munch into her neck. I wanted to watch her burst arteries pour out gallons of blood. I wanted to kill her. But I didn''t. I showed her vulnerability. I gave her my hand and she took advantage of me. She thought my friendliness was me being weak so she tried to ''teach me a lesson''. I showed her my golden eyes. I showed her my true form. My spirit wolf. "P-Please don''t kill me" she whimpered, baring her neck at me in submission. "I know what you are. I-I won''t tell a-anyone. I sw-swear." she pleaded, getting on her knees and keeping her eyes on the floor. I looked at the closed door behind me before looking back at her and kneeling down to her height. I reached my hand out and stroked her furry ears again, like the first time we became friends. "Soft." She looked up at me with a foreign look in her eyes. It wasn''t hatred or jealousy. It was a glint of admiration. I smiled short and softly at her, letting my hand drop to my side again. "I thought we were friends" I whispered in the dark. Before she could say anything, I stood up to leave. My brain fuzzed, blurring my vision and causing me to sway slightly. I stood still, trying to get back my balance. Sara held onto my shoulders, gasping. "Are you okay?" she whispered, hesitantly removing her hold off my shoulders at my deadly aura. "Listen, I know I betrayed you but I was in love with Zeref. He saved me and the way you treated him that night changed me. It was like a feral instinct to avenge him." "So you chose to break ties with Naz and all the people who cared about you, for a revenge that Zeref didn''t even want?" I seethed, spinning around to face her. Tears welled her eyes but those tears wouldn''t make up for the hurt Naz felt or the betrayal Jace and I felt. Tears wouldn''t make up for her letting Zeref down. "I''m sorry. That''s all I can offer you. When you showed me who you really were, all those memories of what really happened came back to me. You woke me up from the jealousy I was in. You spared my life-" "I had no choice. You would''ve been dead if Zeref wasn''t approaching us back then." I growled, my eyes glowing. She flinched as I took a deep breath in, controlling myself. "Malia You have always been what I couldn''t be. You had Zeref and Jace and now you have my best friend. I was jealous and I regret every second of turning on all of you. I was just so in love-" "You act like I''m stealing what''s yours. People aren''t objects you can own Sara. We have feelings, we make mistakes and we feel pain. If you liked Zeref, you should''ve taken that up with him, not me or Naz or Jace. You should''ve voiced yourself in a better way than turning on all of your friends." A single tear ran down her cheek as she nodded. We stood in silence as I watched her sniffle. "Please give me another chance." she cried out, wiping her tears and keeping her head down. I looked at her hesitantly, my mind starting to fog up with a growing pain. "I forgive you" I sighed finally. It felt as if a large weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. She looked up at me with a genuinely relieved smile and I had tried to return it but my eyes started to get droopy. "Mali-" I fell onto her, causing her to squeak as we both tumbled to the ground. I laid on top of her groaning as she turned bright red in the dark. Placing my right hand next to her head, I pushed myself up. Suddenly the door opened. "OH MY MONARCHS-" Jace''s voice came from behind me causing me to grunt. I got off of Sara as she awkwardly smiled at him. Annoyed at the bad timing, I turned to look at him standing at the doorway with his jaw on the floor. "MALIA STRONGHOLD- MISS MA''AM!" he yelled as I realised what it looked like. "You''re gay?" he whispered, looking at Sara up and down. "I feel lied too. As your best friend, I would have liked to know-" I burst out laughing which caused Sara to laugh with me. "I''m not gay Jace. Sara and I made up." "By made up you mean made out-" "No! We are friends again. I just accidentally fell onto her." I laughed as Sara nervously looked at him. I ran up to him, hugging him after not being able to for so long. "Let''s go, you two." I smiled, pulling on Jace and Sara''s hand. Jace glared at Sara in which she chuckled nervously. "Behave Jace." "I AM BEHAVING!" he returned grumpily. He wasn''t happy that I forgave her that easily but he would have to come to terms with it. I couldn''t wait to tell Naz that Sara was back to normal again. ''Im telling you Malia. It''s all fun and games until you drop dead during the dance in front of everyone.'' Nina warned. It panged the depth of my chest making me uneasy. ''I won''t.'' I replied hesitantly. Hopefully... Chapter 102 - Sara’s Apology II -Zeref''s POV- I sat on the bench behind the school building, staring at the art Naz had spray painted on the brick wall. It was a small but beautiful art of my name in colourful letters surrounded by lightning bolts and dark clouds. She shook the spray can vigorously, finishing off the last stroke before looking back at me with an accomplished look on her face. ''What is that hideous writing?'' Voad mocked in my head. ''Oh shush. It''s not that bad, like you can do any better.'' I shot back. ''Why don''t you delegate control to me and I''ll show you.'' ''You think I''m that dumb.'' I laughed blocking our mental link. I had to remember no matter how nice this mighty dragon acted, he wouldn''t miss an opening to stab me in the back and take control over my body. "Ta-da!" she sang, shaking her hands and showcasing her beautiful art. I laughed, clapping, "Looks good." Naz packed up the spray cans into her dimension ring and came to sit opposite me on the bench. "So tell me, when are you gonna ask out Malia?" She gave me a suggestive wink. Damn. That was sudden. "What are you talking about? I see her as a friend at most." I looked away from her. "Uhuh. I see the way you look at her. You should ask her out man, stop being a wuss!" She slapped my arm playfully. I was going to say something back, when my eyes caught the weirdest thing. Malia walked towards us with Jace as she dragged Sara?! Naz followed my line of sight and mirrored my surprised expression as we watched them walk forwards. "Guysssss! Guess who made up!" Malia gummy smiled at me, skipping toward the bench and sitting on the top of the bench. I hadn''t seen her this happy in a while. Jace sighed, looking annoyed as he stormed towards Naz, putting his hand around her shoulder and looking at her art. Sara followed behind the both of them, awkwardly standing in front of the bench while fiddling with her sleeve. She looked at Naz then me, holding eye contact. "Are you sure Malia?" Naz whispered, glaring at Sara causing Naz''s eyes to flicker to the floor and her face to go red. I furrowed my eyebrows, intensifying my glare. "Give her another chance guys. Please?" she sighed, standing next to Sara and dragging her to sit next to her. I sighed, "Naz c''mon just forgive her." I encouraged Naz, earning myself a glare from her. "I''m sorry. To all of you" Sara timidly looked down. Naz scoffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. Tears welled in her eyes as she glared at Sara; her face red. She was on the verge of crying and I could tell she was frustrated and confused. "Naz?" Jace whispered, nervous because he didn''t know how to comfort her. Malia stood up from the bench but before she could come to Naz''s side, Naz let out her tears, letting out a cry. "Naz." I said as she held her face in her hands and cried. Malia held her head into her chest, rubbing her hair. I stood next to Jace, nudging him towards her. He hesitantly hugged Naz''s back, leaning his chin on her shoulder. Malia let go of Naz, leaving her in Jace''s comfort. They both swayed before Naz turned to face Jace, wrapping both of her arms around his waist and screaming into his chest. He took a big gulp in, rubbing the back of her neck like Malia had done. This guy was doing well, even though one could see his shaky feet. Sara stood in front of them as they stayed in each other''s arms. "I''m sorry I left you Naz..." Sara whimpered on the verge of tears. Naz cried louder, gripping onto Jace''s shirt, shaking. She shook her head, refusing to listen to Sara''s apology. "I''m sorry!" Sara cried, tears rushing down her face as she stood in front of Naz and Jace. ''Oh what a party. Crying and crying. why are you wasting your time here with these kids?'' Voad scoffed in annoyance. ''They''re my friends and they''re probably going to be of big help in the future too, during the tower of truth climb. Think of it as a long term investment.'' I replied, mentally. Naz cried, finally looking up from Jace''s shirt, her eyes red and snot running down her nose. Jace took his sleeve, wiping her face while resting his other arm loosely around her back. Malia held my wrist as I looked down at her hand wrapped around my wrist. I looked up at her, admiring the side of her face as her eyes turned glossy from watching Naz being so hurt. "You were my best friend Sara!" she yelled, weeping. "I''m sorry!" Sara leaped onto Naz, hugging her neck and crying. Naz cried weakly, not embracing her back. "Do you know how many nights I spent, thinking about what I did for you to leave me?" Naz sighed weakly, the tears numbly trailing down her cheeks and onto Sara''s shoulder. Sara cried, shaking her head and holding onto Naz tighter. "You can''t just leave me for 6 months and expect me to be okay! You can''t glare at me for choosing to stay friends with Malia when you acted like that! You can''t say sorry when you didn''t even care to think what I would feel when you drifted away! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Naz yelled, wrapping her arms tightly around Sara while crying. They both shook in each other''s arms, finally being able to reunite. Malia squeezed my wrist, looking at Jace as they both dragged me away to leave them with some privacy. They needed the privacy to forgive each other. Otherwise, they''d both keep hurting on their own. It was a good thing Malia took the first step in making up with Sara. Naz really missed her. ** "Did you see that?! She hugged me!!!" Jace jumped in the hallway, causing a group of girls to flinch and rush away. Malia laughed, applauding as Jace did a happy dance. "I was thinking of asking her to the dance today? I made a big decorated sign." Jace said proudly. "Bad timing don''t ya think? She''s crying right now as we speak." Malia disagreed. "Yeah but that''s the perfect timing because it''ll cheer her up." I argued for Jace. Malia sighed, shaking her head and smacking her forehead. "Exactly! I got her 1000 roses." Jace said, directing us towards Jace and I''s form rooms. "Where''d you get that many roses?" Malia asked, surprised. Valentine''s day was coming up so all the roses were sold out in the stores. "Mr Xanxus''s school garden. Apparently students aren''t allowed in there because Mr Xanxus cherishes his flowers. I sneaked in and there were millions of different flowers and an amazing glowing lake with white glowing gems at the bottom. There was a haze on the floor and it was beautiful. He wouldn''t notice if I stole a couple of roses." he explained. "How did you find the garden? Apparently there''s a spell you have to say for the entrance to appear." Malia queried. At this point, I was confused. Was I the only one who didn''t know the cool secrets about this school? "I may have woken up extra early and spied on Mr Xanxus all morning. He waters his flowers in the morning so I watched him say the password." Jace shrugged. How do you spy on an assassin? I furrowed my eyebrows, still confused. ** Naz stood at her locker, grabbing a text book while Malia distracted her. Jace and I hid behind the wall a few feet away, waiting for Malia''s signal. "AHEM! FURBALL!" Malia coughed really loudly, signalling us to sneak behind Naz. I followed Jace''s steps, hugging the roses with my whole arms length. "Furball?" Naz asked, surprised. "Um yes. Ahem, in my th-throat." Malia covered up, earning a confused and concerned look from Naz. "NAZ HOSTERWELL!" Jace yelled a little too loud causing both Malia and Naz to flinch. Naz turned around, rolling her eyes but froze when she saw the sign bored. "WILL YOU GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME?!" he said, spontaneously. She looked speechless, looking at me as I held the bouquet of 1000 roses, struggling to keep them from falling. I smiled, nodding at her to answer. "Y-yes." she smiled as Jace dropped the board jumping on her. Naz screamed, hitting her head on the floor and groaning. "OH MY GOD NAZ!" Malia yelled, helping Naz up. "FINALLY!" I sighed, dropping the roses. "ZEREF AMARA ARE THOSE MY ROSES?!" Mr Xanxus yelled down the hall. We all looked at the half bold principal with guilty smiles. He stormed towards us in fury as we scurried away screaming. We rushed down the corridor, not looking back. "Split up!" I said, as I jumped out of a window making it safely to the ground. The others abided to my orders and split up in different directions. Mr Xanxus was left confused on who to chase and cursed his luck. Sooner or later he was going to catch us anyways. Chapter 103 - Allspice Flower -Malia''s POV- It had been 3 hours since Jace asked Naz to the dance. I looked at the clock ticking in front of the classroom. The lesson drained on in a slow agonizing pace and I found myself sweating in my hoodie. I shook the top of it exhaling and trying to let some air in. ''How long are you going to damage yourself like this?! Do you want to die?!'' Nina yelled, trying to convince me to give her back my body. ''Just until the dance.'' I reassured her, feeling my body temperature rising. Sara sat next to me, twirling her pen between her fingers while looking at the chalkboard with math symbols written all over it. I shifted in my seat, looking out of the window to check if it was open. It was. It was wide open. Yet I felt like the first time I was about to shift. The room started to blur and I felt as if the floor was moving up and down like a seesaw. I tried to control my breathing, holding onto Sara so I don''t lose my balance at the dizzy illusion. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale Inhale...Exh- "Malia?" My eyes shot wide open as my vision cleared. The teacher looked at me with a furious glare and all the students were now facing me. I stood up, holding myself up with all my will. Sara gave me a look of concern as to which I ignored, facing up at the teacher. "Yes sir?" I replied weakly. "The question on the board, Miss Stronghold. Please solve it." I looked at the board for a second before looking back at him. "6986" I deadpanned, before earning a nod from him. Sara pulled me down as I sat down again. "Are you okay?" she whispered, feeling my forehead. "I feel really hot." I sighed, leaning into her cold hand on my forehead. "Malia, you''re cold to the touch." Sara''s eyebrows furrowed, leaning over me to close the window. My eyes widened as I held her wrist with a swift movement. "Dont." I growled, looking at her with a glare. Her hand started to shake as she took in a big gulp, looking around. "Your eyes" she reminded me as I tilted my head before shaking myself out of whatever trance I was in. I loosened my grip on her wrist and she sat herself back down, rubbing the red mark I had accidently made. RIIIIIINGGG!!! The bell rang as the teacher hurried out of the classroom, not wanting to be stuck in a hall full of students. The others in the class hurried out after him, nearly jumping over the poor teacher whilst I waited for Sara to pack her things. I held my back but Sara took it off of me. "I''ll hold it for you. Let''s go to the infirmary." she said, holding my bag like a baby while holding my wrist. "I don''t think the nurse can treat ancient spirit wolves." I said but Sara didn''t listen, dragging me into the filled hallway. People moved out of our way like they always did when they saw me. I was well known in this school not only for my looks but because of last year''s tournament where I let Sara win. I was the strongest girl in the school apparently and had many senior friends. People gave me friendly smiles, making some space for Sara and I to walk through as I thanked them. We walked past Jace, Naz and Zeref but they were on the opposite side of the hallway. I made eye contact with Zeref and mouthed ''one sec'' before he disappeared from my sight. ** We entered the nurse''s room which smelt like lavenders and tea. The nurse walked up to us from behind a white curtain with a glass of half drunken water in her hands. "Oh dearie! Hello Malia and Princess Saraphina. How may I help you?" she smiled with her cheeks pink from working. I smiled, letting Sara do the talking. "Malia is feeling a little dizzy. May we borrow a bed for an hour?" Sara smiled as the nurse nodded. "Well of course dear. Follow me." she said, waddling her 5ft small body towards a white curtain near the cabinets. "Here you are. I''ll bring you some water." Sara and I entered the room, sitting on the bed while the nurse scurried out. As soon as the curtains closed, Sara zoomed into the cabinet searching through the bottles. "What are you doing?" I whispered, walking to the cabinet. "Looking for a crushed allspice flower." she whispered. "Isn''t that poisonous?" "Not to spirit wolves. It helps strengthen and recharge you." she said, still looking past all the labelled glass bottles. I reached down, helping her until I found a bottle labeled ''Crushed Calycanthus occidentalis''. I picked it up, handing it to her to which she quickly shoved it into her pocket and rushed us back to the bed. We waited a few minutes before the nurse came back with a glass of water which I gulped down quickly. "Thank you!" Sara said before holding my shoulders and pushing me out of the nurses room with her. ** We sat in the bathroom next to the sink as Sara shook her water bottle with the crushed allspice flower inside. I watched her carefully. That flower was poisonous. Could I trust her? She handed it to me and as soon as I sniffed it, my dizziness disappeared making my eyes widen. ''OMG OMG DRINK IT MALIA!'' Nina urged as I hesitantly put the bottle against my lips and took a large gulp. "Don''t drink too much. It''s a rare flower." Sara smiled as I put the bottle cap back on and handed it to her. "No, it''s fine. You keep it. It''ll kill me if I drink it hehe." she pushed the bottle back towards me. "Thank you." One of the stalls emitted a loud flush before the door opened. "Oh hey Malia!" a girl with pigtails walked out. She looked to be in a younger year and was super small and cute. "Hey," I smiled. I didn''t know her name so I just waved slightly as she washed her hands. "I''m voting for you as Valentine Queen-" "Of course you are. Now run along kid." Sara rolled her eyes, shooing the girl away. I smiled at her one last time before she was pushed out of the bathroom. Chapter 104 - Asked To The Dance -Malia''s POV- "Damn, why are you so annoyed?" I scoffed. "Ugh." Sara rolled her eyes, as we both walked out of the bathroom. I giggled, putting the bottle in my bag. She watched me intently before speaking, "Who else knows?" I froze, looking up at her with sad eyes. "Just you and this other girl called Dianmu." I smiled, the guilt rising in me. I looked into her eyes, doubting if I could confide in her. "I think I''m going to die" Her smile dropped as everything went silent. "What?" ** I told everything. I needed to. I couldn''t keep my secret in anymore. I told her about Nina''s life, my recovery and the risks I was taking right now. I told her why I acted like a predator around her and what happened the day I shifted. She sat opposite me as we sat on the side of the empty hallway. Sara''s eyes watered as she nodded at the overwhelming information. "Sorry for overwhelming you. I just felt so guilty for hiding it from the ones I love." I curled up in a ball, tucking my head in between my knees and trying not to cry. I felt like I''d been placed in a black vortex. An empty void. I spent months in my own shell with no power over myself and now that I finally did, I felt no better. I have nothing right now. I have a memory of my past life living inside me and I have what''s left of my broken self. Why? Why would the monarchs give me a power that would just kill me in the end. That would break me. That would separate me from the ones I loved most. "You''re not going to die. I''ll figure something out. The royal wolf family has a lot of remedies. I''ll find something." Sara rubbed my back, shaking and sniffling. "We just made up. I haven''t appreciated you enough. Please don''t leave..." she hugged me, wrapping her arms around my curled up figure. I sat with her cradling me for a while before I got up, wiping my puffy eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to alleviate the redness. "We should go." I sniffled. She followed my actions before we both swung our bags over our shoulders and walked to the canteen. The hunger got to us. ** I walked past the queue, jumping in front of someone and grabbing an apple. "Thanks." I nodded at the person who I pushed in front of, biting a chunk of my apple. We found our group at the usual table. "Where were you?" Jace asked, pouting at me. "Infirmary. I felt dizzy." I smiled. Zeref pulled my arm down, sitting me down next to him. My eyes widened. Since when did he get so touchy and stuff? ''So glad I don''t have to put up with it anymore,'' Nina gagged while I blushed, staring at Zeref''s concerned face. He put his hand to my forehead, checking for a fever. "You should eat more than an apple then," Jace tutted, scooping rice into his spoon and offering the bite to me. I smirked, taking the bite and shoving Zeref''s hand off my forehead. "I''m okay. The nurse gave me some water." I said after swallowing the bite. Naz tutted, shaking her head. "You have been having mood swings recently. Are you sure you''re ok?" I nodded. "Do you guys have a date to the dance yet?" Sara sighed. Jace and Naz nodded but Zeref and I shook our heads. Sara looked up at me with a smirk. "Malia wanna go together?" she cooed sarcastically, winking. "Oh Ha. Ha." I mocked causing her to roll her eyes playfully. "What about you Zeref?" Sara laughed. Everyone''s attention turned to Zeref who was half taking a bite of his rice. He swallowed awkwardly. "I''m planning on asking somebody already." he chuckled awkwardly, causing Sara to sigh. "Bummer. I guess I''ll have to find someone." I patted Sara''s back, "Don''t worry. The dance is quite a long while away." She groaned, taking a chug out of her juice box. ** Jace dragged me down the hall. School was over but instead of walking home with Zeref and I, he insisted on showing me something. He held my wrist, running past rooms and swerving corners. I kept up with him, still confused about the urgency. "Jaaaace!" I yelled, needing an answer. We stopped a few halls away from Xanxus''s office. This hall was strictly forbidden to students. Jace stood in front of a wall and mumbled, "Assasinsrule123." The wall shifted, as a door started to shuffle out of the bricks. ''Cool.'' Nina said my exact thoughts. Fog came out from under the creak of the door and ivy surrounded the door like a curtain to a window. "Do you trust me?" Jace whispered, staring at the door with a nervous expression. ''No.'' Nina scoffed, ''Is this some romance scene? Whack his head and ask what the hell is going on!'' I mentally rolled my eyes at Nina''s comment. "Jace, of course I do but I better not die." I warned as he opened the door for me. Fog rushed out of the door before it cleared up and a mystical garden was shown. The ceiling looked so high and had stars like the night sky. The garden was fancy with a beautiful clear pond glowing at the side. There was a lovely stone pathway to walk, leading to a fancy white gazebo. The grass was an emerald green and looked so dazzling to the point I thought it was fake. The pond had tiny mini waterfalls and steam coming from it and there were heart shaped stones everywhere, creating light. Rose petals were sprinkled down the pathway as I finally stepped in, feeling the door close behind me. A part of me was panicked but the other was curious. ''Curiosity kills the cat,'' Nina reminded me. Shush I followed the rose petals to the gazebo, looking around. I stepped into the gazebo, my eyes widening to see Zeref waiting for me. My face went noticeably red as he smiled up at me. "Zeref? What''s going on?" I tried not to stumble over my words, keeping myself cool. He walked towards me while maintaining eye contact. Butterflies swirled in my stomach as I looked up at him. He brushed my hair back, staring at me with a gentle look on his face. "Malia Stronghold. Would you like to go to the dance with me?" he smiled, offering me a dark blue rose. I couldn''t contain my smile as I took the rose from him. "You did all this just to ask me to some dance?" I smirked, grabbing his shirt in my fist and pulling him closer to my face. He looked surprised for a second before innocently grabbing my nape and pulling our faces even closer. "I wanted to go all out." he whispered, his tongue on the fringe of his lips. ''How does one look so harmless while doing such actions?!'' Nina yelled. "Then I guess I''ll have to say yes." I mused as we both pulled away at the same time. I looked up at him to see his face was slightly red. "Are you blushing?!" I gasped in disbelief. "What- n-no. You are!" he exclaimed, going even redder. I tried to hold in my laugh, my mouth wide open from disbelief. "Cute." I giggled, twirling the rose in between my fingers while my chest rose slightly from the malignant desire to tell him how I really felt about him. I let my breath go as I realised he was staring at me.. "What?" I looked up at him. "Your beauty is rare." he smirked, trying to sound poetic. I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "You know what isn''t rare though?" He furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Liars." I smirked. He let out a melodic laugh, shaking his head. "I wish you could see what I see." "Oh and what do you see?" I mocked, smirking. "A rare beauty. Inside and out." I dropped to the floor, closing my eyes. "Malia?!" I gasped, reaching into the air. "I-I''m dying of cringe! T-Tell Naz I love h-her!" I placed my hand over my heart before faking dead. Zeref burst out laughing, flicking my head. "Ow!" I rubbed my head, getting back up. "That''s enough playing. Let''s go home!" I pouted, crossing my arms and leaving towards the door. Suddenly, a strong arm wrapped around my waist. Zeref yanked me back into his torso causing me to squeak from shock. "Do not walk away from me." he rumbled into my hair. I swear he could feel and see the heat radiating off of my face. I chuckled nervously as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the pathway. He swung open the door to see Jace and Naz arguing right outside. They froze midsentence, smiling and gawking at our hands. "Sooooo, how''d it go?" Naz smiled. "She said yes." Zeref smirked, pushing past them and dragging me behind him. Why was he being like that?! Chapter 105 - The Valentine Dance! -Zeref''s POV- The music played, slow and warm as the rhythm ran up my spine. I watched one by one as girls walked down the pathway with flowers around their wrist. Jace and I really went out with our outfit choice, wearing matching black suits. I curled my hair making it more wavy and Jace kept his the same. We both wore expensive cologne and even mum said we looked good. Mike wore a pink suit and rolled his eyes at our lack of effort. Apparently he was going to the dance with Leilani and he wouldn''t stop talking about how she looked so impressed with his dance and chocolates to ask her out. Sara''s name was called out as she walked down the path, holding onto the skirt of her dress. Her hair was straightened and trimmed to just below her jaw. She wore long lashes and thick eyeliner along with black lipstick. Her dress was a black corset gown which flowed down to her ankles. She wore an expensive looking necklace around her neck and diamond earrings. "Danggg" Jace said as we smiled at her. She smiled back, waving before taking the hand of a small dude with wolf ears. "Naz Hosterwell." the host called out and the doors opened. Jace gasped as I looked up. She looked like cinderella; wearing a blue dress with flowers all over the skirt and her hair tied up in a beautiful fancy looking bun. She wore glitter heels and a gold swirly bracelet around her wrist along with a diamond ring. She had a blue butterfly hair clip at the centre of her bun and her two strands of hair were curled into small springs at the side of her face. She smiled happily walking towards us in a graceful manner. Jace held her hand, lowering his lips to her hand and kissing it gently. "I would bring down the upper realm for the opportunity to dance with you." he whispered against her hand, trailing his lip down to her ring before looking up for her approval. Naz blushed into a bright red, taking in her bottom lip between her teeth and nodding. Dangggggggg who possessed him?! Jace winked at me before leaving with her to the dance floor. "Malia Stronghold..." I lifted my head and the whole crowd went silent. Malia was quite popular so practically everyone was watching her entrance and god she looked beautiful. My heart stopped and everything felt as if it had stilled. Malia walked down, holding her gown while holding eye contact with me through her eyelashes. Her glinting brown orbs looked straight into mine as she gave the most gentle smile. Her whole aura was enchanting, from her eyes to her soft smile. A glow surrounded her and I knew everyone was as enchanted as I was. She wore a silverish grey A-line gown with intricate lace at the torso. It had one slit at her right leg and the skirt wasn''t as poofy as everyone else''s. She looked stunning. Her hair was straightened and silky, falling down to just above her waist and she wore the necklace I gave her along with a silver bracelet swirling around her wrist twinning with Naz. "There is more beauty in the touch of your hand than in every other girl in the world." I whispered poetically, taking her head and bowing. She giggled as everyone still had their eyes on us. I thought for a second. "I would raise hell for a dance with you." I smirked, matching Jace''s line. Malia nodded but before I could pull her to the dance floor, she stopped, turning around. "Leilani Ithirae" Everyone''s attention turned to her just like it did for Malia. Leilani scanned the room before walking through doors. She had a light green gown on with the biggest extravagant skirt. She smiled at Malia as she looked up at me with a sad look in her eyes. Her hair was put into a loose ponytail and she wore a rose choker. She held eye contact with me for a second before looking away with a sad and disappointed smile on her face. She took the hand of Mike and he smiled genuinely at her but she seemed not into him. Taking his hand and dragging him to the dance floor, she glanced at me one last time before finding Rakeria in the crowd. Rakeria wore a cream suit with a white lace fitted bra top underneath her blazer and her hair was up in the same high ponytail only neater. She danced with Leilani, crazily jumping to the slow song. "You smell nice." Malia smirked, flattening my blazer pocket and brushing a piece of hair off the shoulder of my blazer. I held her nape, tilting her head to the side before placing a kiss on her neck. "You too." I whispered, resting my arm around her waist. She smiled up at me, a blush rising in her cheeks. She was acting like herself again. "Do you want to dance Mochi?" I smiled as she slapped my arm at the old nickname. Taking her hand, we walked to a less crowded place and swayed to the melody of the slow song. She placed both of my hands around my neck before resting both of her hands on my shoulders. "Zeref" she called as I looked into the glint in her eyes. Oh my God "Yes?" "You''re dancing very awkwardly" I looked down at our feet placement, realising I was accidentally brushing our legs. Truth is I Was never good at dancing unlike Nina, she always used to take the lead. I chuckled nervously, watching as realisation flashed across Malia''s face. She raised her eyebrows before giving me a half smirk half smile. "I-" Before I could finish, she took my hand, gliding us into the middle of the dancefloor. "Relax and let me lead." she whispered as I stopped my body from tensing. We swayed effortlessly, catching gazes and I didn''t even realise but the attention was slowly turning towards us. "Oh my god. Look at those two" I could hear a couple whispers from the sidelines and it was making me feel uncomfortable. "Just ignore them. You''re doing fine." Malia smiled reassuring me. I spun her around before firming my hands around her waist. The music was slow and melodic. The musicians played their magic instruments controlling the pace of the dance and the whole atmosphere. When was the last time I had danced with anyone? ** Nina spun me, keeping my hands tight to her right. She always led the dances because I was clueless. "How are you so good?" I grunted. "Mother used to dance with me when I was young." she smiled, spinning me with an extraordinary strength which surprised me. "You look dashing, James" she complimented, making me blush. "Shh.. people are watching." I hushed her, smirking. "James-" . "Zeref," Malia furrowed her eyebrows. I smiled at her, slowly finding my lost feet and moving to the rhythm. My eyes travelled along her jaw and down to her collarbone. Her cavicles were shown in the most innocent but seductive way. I wanted to bury my face in her shoulder line. ''Stop you''re killing me with these thoughts!'' Voadhailis retorted. "How have you been?" I said, trying to make small talk. "Recently, I''ve been struggling but I am okay now that I am with you." her voice was succulent and soothing like honey and there was a soft touch of seduction hidden deep inside every note of sound she made. "Struggling?" I raised my eyebrows for her to elaborate. "There has been a lot going on in my mind," she shook her head before resting her forehead on my chest. She stopped dancing, letting go of my shoulders and hugging my waist. I froze, looking down at her head. I could tell people were looking; we were in the middle of the dance floor. I placed one of my hands gently at the back of her head and embraced her in my arms. We slowly started to sway, staying in that position for so long to the point I felt as if it were only us in the room. Just me and her. Her scent was strong as I was so close to her. She smelt of the sweetest flowers and a hint of light perfume. "Do you remember the first time we met?" I whispered, resting my chin on her head. I felt her giggle into my chest, as she nodded. I smiled. "You were so cute," I recalled the memory, replaying it in my head. Malia shuffled her face out of my chest, finally looking up at my jaw. I peered down at her to see her big doe eyes looking up at me. She scoffed, releasing one of her hands from my waist and flicking my head. "Ow." I smirked as she giggled. "Look, Jace and Naz are at the juice bar. Let''s go!" Malia swerved her skirt, dodging couples as she ran towards Naz. I shook my head, walking after her. Naz squealed, hugging Malia as they both scanned each other up and down, showering each other in compliments. "Dang Zeref. I saw you out there. You got game!" Jace teased, nudging me playfully. I laughed, shaking my head. "Ugh I''m so glad the music has changed to more upbeat music. Jace kept stepping on my feet." Naz pouted, making Malia laugh. I whacked Jace''s head, earning my head to be whacked by Malia. "What? He deserved it." I rubbed my head. "Argh, protect me Malia." Jace jumped behind Malia''s small figure, holding her shoulders and peeking behind her head. "It''s not his fault he can''t dance." Malia justified. "My poor feet." Naz whined. Jace took protection behind Malia whilst I stood behind Naz, not wanting another whack. "He should''ve learnt!" Naz rolled her eyes, taking off her heels. "Hey guys!" Sara came towards us. "I hate you! I was practicing all night with my pillow!" Jace yelled at Naz, pouting like a baby. Sara looked at us awkwardly. "Nevermind Bye guys!" she scrambled away as her poofy skirt bounced up and down. Dang that was a big skirt. Naz furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her arms. Malia slightly nudged Jace as he sighed in defeat. "I''m sorry-" he was about to finish apologizing but Naz threw her heel at him and stormed away. "Ah- Ow! Naz come back!" Jace pouted, running after her with her heels in his hands. Malia looked at me as we both burst out laughing. "Idiots" I scoffed as she nodded. I looked at the dancing crowd and accidentally made eye contact with Leilani. She jumped around with Rakeria as they both giggled. As soon as she saw me, she smiled. I returned her smile before she turned around, going back to Mike. "Attention students! It''s time to announce the Valentine''s King and Queen!" Xanxus spoke with his voice on blast. Everyone fell silent, looking to the front. "So with 798 votes. The Valentine couple is" Everyone started to pat tables and laps, imitating a drumroll. "Jace Stinky and Naz Hosterwell!!!" he boomed. Everyone gasped, turning to look at Malia and I. My face was shocked but Malia smiled, clapping really loudly and cheering. Seeing as Malia clapped, the crowd followed, cheering for Jace and Naz. I peered down at Malia as she had that mischievous glint in her eyes. She looked at me from the side of her eyes, still smiling. "I pulled a few strings." she whispered, winking at me. I expelled a laugh, shaking my head. "You really are full of surprises." Naz gasped as Jace offered his hand to her. I guess she was still mad because she completely ignored him, rushing onto stage and wearing her glowing tiara. Jace followed her before they both faced the crowd of most of the school. They were supposed to do a speech. I''m kind of glad it wasn''t Malia and I up there. "Ummm. First of all, it is Stinkend not stinky-" The crowd giggled as Jace glared at Xanxus, rolling his eyes. "Naz Hosterwell, you are the most beautiful and kind hearted cave troll I have ever seen-" Everyone laughed, making Naz roll her eyes. She tried to hide her smile but it was starting to rise to the surface. "-and I can''t think of a better time to ask you this big question." The crowd was silent as Jace searched the crowd. He looked directly at Malia with nervous eyes. Something about their communication was unreadable to me. Malia nodded at him, smiling for him to continue. I think he looked at her for comfort. "Will you be my girlfriend?" he turned to Naz as everyone cheered, screaming their lungs off and throwing roses in the air. "Hey! Those are the roses from my garden!" Xanxus yelled as everyone silenced again, holding in their laughter. We all waited on Naz for her answer. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned to him. "Yes!" she half sighed, half yelled, nodding while latching onto him like a koala. Chapter 106 - Prince Landon’s Mission I woke up rubbing my eyes. That dance was wholesome and helped to relieve some of the stress I had built up but now it was time to get back to work... ''Voad, what''s the time?'' I asked, yawning. ''Do I look like some sort of clock to you? I have some dignity you know.'' he retorted, going back to sleep. I sighed getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. Today was the day I would head to the Elven Kingdom again; I had to fulfil Prince Landon''s task to help the poor. It was better that I wouldn''t bring the others, it would distract me. I already planned some ideas I would be able to use that required little costs; I just had to put them in play. "Why are you up so early? It''s the weekend." Jace yawned, slapping my back, as I packed my bag with extra clothes. "I have things I need to do, so I''m leaving today. I''ll be back in a few days." I returned, getting up and heading out of the room. "Wait! I''m com-" I closed the door behind me and switched the light on. Sh*t. 3 women stood in front of me with their arms folded. "Where do you think you''re going, young man?" Mother asked with a serious tone. How did she know I was going out? She wasn''t too happy last time that we were in danger, especially as I sent a group of elves through a portal to our home without further notice. Mother scolded me a lot for it but she took care of them nevertheless. She wouldn''t leave a guest unattended. "I have a couple things I need to do." I sighed heavily. "Where?" Naz demanded. Both mother and Naz, including Malia, glared at me. "Prince Landon gave me a task to fulfil so I''m heading to the Elven Kingdom. I''ll be away for a couple days and I promise I''ll return home if anything bad happens." I replied. "You''re not going. I don''t care if the Prince gave you a task or the king himself. You were in so much danger last time" Mother began her lecture. I rolled my eyes. "Why don''t you guys come with me? You can do shopping or something; the Elven Kingdom''s security has been buffed up and I heard that they have really special garments available. "Come on mother, you''ve been cooped up at home for too long. You''ve become all grumpy." I said smiling. "Excuse me." Mother scoffed. I pulled out 2 sacs of gold from my dimension ring and held them up, "You guys can spend this money however you like, but whatever you do, please just don''t bother me when I''m working." "Yes! Let''s go!" Malia snatched the two sacs of gold from me with gleaming eyes, "I think we should go, what do you say auntie? Girls day out!" "It doesn''t look like such a bad offer." She scoffed. ''It seems I''ve been teaching you well. You have conquered the woman species it seems.'' Voad chuckled in my head. ''Shush. You''ve been talking too much nonsense these days.'' I said through our mind link, blocking him off and pushing him to the back of my head. "It wouldn''t hurt to spend all this money right auntie?" Malia smiled looking up at her. "Fine!" We''ll all go!" She said storming off into her bedroom, "Girls get ready. We''re going on a shopping spree." "I''m coming too!" Jace barged out of the room, his hair still messy and wet. I shook my head, going downstairs and preparing breakfast for all of them. ** Jace and I walked through the Elven market bustling with people. The dreadful atmosphere from before was gone and the old optimistic feel was back. Mother and the other 2 split up from us as soon as we arrived and went on their shopping spree. At least they were enjoying themselves. "So where are we heading?" Jace said, eyeing down all the beautiful elf girls that walked past us. "The Elven Kingdom is truly blessed." He winked at a group of Elven girls making them giggle. I shook my head at his stupidity. "Oii! Stop cheating on your girlfriend: Naz." I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah still getting used to that." I stopped at one of the sworn down cottages and knocked on the door. The building was so run down, the foundations of the building shook with each of my knocks. Hopefully, I could change their situations. Knock. Knock. "Why are we at a place like this?" Jace whispered but I ignored him. "Welcome! Welcome! Esteemed guests of the prince. We''ve been waiting eagerly for your arrival." An old man, maybe in his 50''s opened the door for us, bowed before gesturing us to come in. He wore ragged clothing and looked malnourished and frail. "Please take a seat." He said. I sat down on one of the empty seats and Jace reluctantly followed me, sitting next to me. It wasn''t only that old man, there seemed to be 10 other men sitting around the table. They all looked the same, ragged clothing and frail figures. Only a couple of them were more on the round side but that was probably due to drinking too much. "We''re ever so grateful for your help. Please let me introduce myself: My name is Rae Piste McKraken and I''m the elected representative of the poor here." He said smiling and taking a seat opposite me. Jace giggled at his name and gave a couple coughs to his side, holding his laugh in. I smiled awkwardly trying not to burst out laughing. Why did Elves have such weird naming. Rae piste, really? You couldn''t think of anything else to name your child? "...And I''m the Vice representative, Hue G.Rection Dawarin. It''s an honour to meet you." "Bahahahh-" Jace burst out laughing but I elbowed him so hard he twisted and folded up. He tried his best to stop laughing but it wasn''t working. "Jace, go stand outside." I said, with a strict tone. He got up and walked outside, still silently wheezing. "I''m sorry for his poor manners. He''s mentally unstable." I apologised. "BAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! RAE PISTE! AHAHAHAHA! HUE G. RECTION! AHAHAHA!" Loud laughing and mocking could be heard from the outside. I knew I shouldn''t have brought him along. ''What are these names? Ahahaha.'' Even Voad made fun of them. I didn''t want to hear the rest of their names. Who knew how many names I could hear before I too burst out laughing. "Yeah. He''s a bit crazy. He''s going through therapy at the moment, and apologies for his rudeness." I said solemnly. "No, no. It''s fine young sir. Please proceed with the meeting." Rae piste replied smiling. "I wanted to help you guys with starting a business but before that I will have to give you guys a study session first." All of the family leaders nodded at my words and listened attentively. "The business model we will be using is something similar to drop shipping. This means that we will not be holding any physical stocks. As you guys have very little capital (Money and resources) using this model will be very beneficial." I began. "Young sir? What''s this drop shipping?" One of the men asked. "Good question. I was getting to that. What''s your name?" "My name is Ben Dover Leolana." He replied. ''Ahahahaha. He''s telling you to bend over.'' Voad mocked. I really shouldn''t have asked for this gentleman''s name. "Dropshipping is a way people can pursue commerce without holding any physical stocks. I''ll give you a scenario that will show you how it will work. Let''s say I''m the business owner and I have very little money but I have assets like buildings and other valuables. "I will go to a supplier business like one of the rich businesses. I will negotiate with them and get some of their products and place them in my shop to sell. "People will buy our product and we will pass the orders over to the supplier business we negotiated with. They will then provide us with the stocks and we will deliver them to the customer''s houses." I explained. This would have been much easier if they had the internet but sadly they didn''t, I had to change the business model a little. In my old world many young teenagers and young guys followed this business model until everyone started to do it. "But sir, we don''t have anything to negotiate with." Hue G. Rection spoke with a glum tone. "The next thing I will be teaching you about is trade credit. Trade credit is like taking a loan. That''s what we will use to negotiate with the other rich supplier businesses. They will provide us with stock when we need it and we will return the money in monthly instalments." I replied. "Young sir, I think you''ve lost us all with these big words. Could you explain in simpler words please?" Rae piste asked, paying full attention to what I was preaching. I took a deep breath before explaining my idea much simply. "Firstly, our business will be split up into specific sectors: Logistics and Procurement, Marketing, Sales and lastly Finance. "I will split up the amount of people here into one of those sectors. Logistics and Procurement will involve working with the Supplier businesses and delivering the goods to the customer''s housing. "Marketing will involve advertising the business''s products and answering people''s questions on the products we will sell. "Sales will involve in hand selling of the products, one of the important roles and lastly finance will involve logging the business''s expenses and expenditures. "I will lend you guys 500 Platinum Coins to get you all started with the opening of this business. For this investment I will take a 30% stake in this business and will lower it to 25% when you guys repay me my investment." Their mouths dropped at the huge sum of money I was willing to invest and they all took big gulps. "As for the type of products we will be selling, I had a look around the Elven Market and have found that Armour and weaponry are scarce. Therefore, we will be negotiating with blacksmiths and selling their products. Are there any more questions?" I asked, looking around the small building. "No sir!" They replied like keen students. "Before we begin our business, I will be providing simple education so you all are smart enough to not get deceived by others. I''ll be taking my leave. I will return tomorrow to discuss other matters. Take care." I said, giving them a short bow before walking out of the room. They all paid their respects and waited for me to leave, before cheering in happiness when I closed the door behind me. Jace punched my arm happily when he saw me and we went over to meet with the elves at the party. This request of the Prince''s would require a lot of work... Chapter 107 - Prince Landon’s Mission II Two days had passed and I taught all of them basic education like reading, writing, mathematical skills etc. The other had already started to go to school except for me, I stayed at the Elven Kingdom to continue with my work. The Elves worked hard to learn everything on the first day. I must say they learn very efficiently, it took them 1 day to learn everything I wanted to teach them. On the second day I planned all the preparations like renting a big facility near the market, hiring Elven Guards and transferring the goods from the Blacksmith businesses. I ended up having to do the negotiations whilst some of the other Elves accompanied me to see how to do business. All in all the 2 days were extremely productive and today was the big day; we were finally going to open up to the public for the first time. The marketing sector did their job well and spread the word of the unique business. We decided to go with a simple name: ''Elanor Armoury''. "Today''s the big day. Is everything ready?" I asked, holding my clipboard in my hand. "Yes sir, everything is ready, our elves are on standby to guide customers and advise them. The Elves outside have already lined up around 50 customers." Hue G. Rection reported, standing by my side. "Good. Open the shop and let the commerce begin." I smiled. "Yes sir!" He said loudly, before finally opening the shutter and letting the swarm of elves enter. This was definitely more than I imagined. It was like people had never seen an armour shop before. Was I missing something here? Could it be illegal to sell these types of products? "Sir! There''s so many people, we can''t control them." Ben Dover cried out, pushing some of the elves to get in a line. "Everyone listen up! Get in a single file line or else prices will go up by 50%!" I shouted, amplifying my voice with mana. The dozen elves all looked at me, before hurriedly getting in a sensible line. That''s more like it. ** The lunch break was finally over and the elves began getting back to work. I spent a couple coins on getting them better clothing and now they all wore professional black suits. It was a perfect upgrade and made them look like professional salesmen. "Tell the delivery sector to start delivering the goods to the respectful owners, before the orders become too much. How many orders have we received so far?" I asked, gulping down a glass of water. "We''ve received 73 orders since we ordered and have made around 50 Gold coins and 700 silver coins." Rae Piste answered solemnly. "Not bad, not bad. Go pass the message on to the delivery sector. Start delivering the goods." "Yes sir, right away." Rae Piste replied before running away to pass the message on. The good thing about these elves were they were extremely hard working. When someone has seen and experienced life in poverty, they will do anything to bring their family and friends out of it. That''s what brought a burning drive in these poor elves. I laid back on my chair and closed my eyes. Nothing could go wrong right? "Sir! There are some men outside beating up our workers! Please come." Ben Dover cried out, his head was all bloody and his clothes looked battered. I got up immediately and followed him outside. There seemed to be around 20 elves clad in silver armour. They all laughed amused, beating up the Elven workers and guards. I had a feeling something like this would happen. "Sir, what should we do?" Ben Dover whispered. "I want you to move the Elves inside and attend to your wounds first before you attend to theirs. I''ll take care of these grunts." I ordered., putting my hands in my pockets. He nodded respectfully, before moving. "Oi! What do you think you''re doing? Don''t you know it''s treason going against the Elven Kingdom." I said, cracking my neck left and right. "Who''s this punk? I''ll just beat him up too." One of them laughed, charging towards me. I grabbed his disgusting face in my hand and slammed him down on the ground. Cracks formed under his body like spiderwebs and people nearby gasped in shock. "Who do you guys work for?" I asked, wiping my hand onto the unconscious Elf''s clothes. "Hahaha! Why should we tell you? Men get him!" The leader snickered, pointing at me. The rest of the Elven grunts attacked, charging towards me with their blades. Why did these thick skulled idiots always have to take the hard way? I shook my head. A barrage of swings and strikes all aimed towards me but I dodged them all successfully. My exquisite show of skills earned awes and praises from the crowd of elves watching from the side. I finally took out both my hands from my pockets and began my counter attack. I aimed for their pressure points, knocking them unconscious with simple attacks. It took a couple seconds for the dozen Grunts to be scattered all over the ground. "Do I have to do everything myself?" The leader scratched his head, before charging towards me with a longsword in his hand. "AArghhhh!! You''re finished, you punk!" He shouted, swinging his longsword down at my head. Clang! I stopped the blade with 2 fingers, then shattered it to pieces. "Let''s try this again. Who do you work for?" I asked, letting a trickle of killing intent loose. He shook in fear immobile and slowly tried to step back but I grabbed him by his neck. "Th-There''s an armoury business further down in the East side of the market. Th-They hired us to destroy your business." He uttered, stuttering. I could smell piss as he spoke, I looked down to a yellow liquid dripping from his feet. Disgusting. "What''s the name of the business that hired you?" I asked. "S-Star Armour and Weapons." He said, still stuttering out of fear. I threw him against the wall, leaving a large crack on the spot of contact. I turned around to go back inside but I felt a couple mana pressures pop up behind me. More people to fight. Great. "Stop right there. Put your hands up, where I can see them!" A stern man''s voice echoed behind me. I sighed, before turning around to face the Elven Police. "Please, can we talk ab-" I couldn''t finish as one of them shot me in the chest with a wand. Being Nice really wasn''t getting me anywhere. "Guards seize him!" The leader of the elves shouted. ''Get rid of these pests.'' Voad scoffed in my head. I released my deadly aura, making the ground under us shake like an earthquake had just occurred. People screamed and they all started to run away, evacuating the vicinity. Dark cumulonimbus clouds formed above us and loud thunderous noises erupted. The Elven Police all froze in fear, pointing their weapons at me. ''It''s been some time hasn''t it." A familiar voice of a woman came from behind me. Why did people love popping up from behind? Alfreda stood behind me with two iron gloves shrouding her fists. She was the woman I saved back in the Demon takeover along with her siblings: Michelle, Myshal And Pyshal. I relaxed myself, restraining my mana pressure. The clouds above us started to dissipate. I had no reason to fight and kill dozens of Elves for no benefit. ''What are you doing? Just kill her already.'' Voad spoke in my head. ''I can''t. There''s no point causing a massacre, we''re in the Elven Kingdom, I''m trying to get on their good side dummy.'' "I''m sorry for these imbeciles'' poor manners. You turds can leave, I''ll handle the rest." Alfreda said strictly, causing some of them to shake away the fear from before. They all left immediately, not looking back. "So what really happened here?" Alfreda asked. "It seems that some competitor business hired these goons to wreck up this business." "Mmh. I understand, I''ll take care of everything and report what happened here. There were rumours the Prince hired a cunning man to help rebuild the Kingdom but I didn''t expect it to be you kid. "Let''s catch up sometime. You know where we live right?" She smiled, reaching in to hug me tightly. I couldn''t dodge as she gripped me tightly with her monster grip. When she finally let go, I could finally breathe again. She smiled at me one last time, before heading in the opposite direction. ''What a feisty one. Exactly my type of woman.'' Voad spoke in a calm tone. ''Wait, don''t tell me you''re in love. The Mighty dragon of flames, in love. That''s hilarious.'' ''Oh shush. We have humanoid forms too, you know. Maybe I could raise the Dragon Race again with her.'' He sighed. ''Whatever. You''ll have to wait a couple years before that.'' I laughed going back inside the shop. At least the first day didn''t go as bad as it could have gone. We made sales and were caught up with a battle. ''Star weapons and armour.'' A competitor business huh. Things were getting interesting. Chapter 108 - The Morwen Family Sh*t. I didn''t even think things through. Where would I stay? The past 2 days I used portals to get home but now they ran out of charge, I had nowhere to go. The first day of work had finally ended and our business was doing well. Our suppliers were happy and customers were overjoyed; our brand awareness spread like fire along with rumours of my fight. "Sir. If you don''t have any place to stay, you can stay with us." Ben Dover offered but I refused, shaking my head. "I''ll find somewhere else. You guys go rest. There''s a big day ahead tomorrow." I said, smiling before waving them goodbye. ''Do you remember where Alfreda''s house was by any chance?'' I asked Voadhailis through our mind link. He had access to my memories so he probably knew roughly where their house was. ''Yeah it''s near the Elven Forest so you have to travel west. Now don''t bother me, I''m busy with building the secondary mana pool.'' He replied, blocking off our mental connection. Great. I put my hands in my trench coat pockets and walked through the cold street. Lamps powered with light mana lit up the dark and there were no signs of life. Odd. "You! What are you still doing out? Don''t you know the law?" I turned around to face the officer. What did he mean? "Sorry, I''m from the Human Kingdom. I don''t know what you mean." I spoke politely. "Oh ok. People are not allowed outside past 9pm in this part of the Kingdom." He replied. "Why is that?" "Shut up and move on before I arrest you." He snapped. I took that as my queue to leave and sped down the street and took a left turn. I ran on for a couple hundred meters before taking a right then another left. I kept travelling towards the west until I could finally faintly feel Alfreda''s mana signature. Knock. Knock. "I''m coming!" A girl''s voice faintly passed through the door. It must have been Michelle. "Oh it''s you." Michelle opened the door and rolled her eyes in annoyance at seeing me. "What, are you gonna stand there and stare at me like a buffoon? Come in then." She gestured for me to come in and I did. I removed my shoes and placed them on a rack. "Oh Zeref! You''re here, how come?" Alfreda asked. "Sorry for the rude intrusion. I didn''t have anywhere else to go and there weren''t any inns near the shop. This was the only place I could go to." I smiled. "That''s perfect. I was going to invite you for lunch tomorrow but dinner is fine too. We have a spare room downstairs for guests. You can sleep there tonight. "We were just about to have dinner, please take a seat." Alfreda welcomed me. She seemed to be busy placing the plates on the table. I did as she said and sat on one of the empty seats. The other 3 siblings sat on the opposite side. "So who came?" I heard another womanly voice, coming from the stairs, accompanied with the sound of footsteps. It was probably their mother. She descended down the stairs, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. I tried my best not to gawk at her beauty. She was about 5 ft 6 and had a beautiful figure; it was my first time seeing such a beautiful woman. She had hazelnut hair and glowing green eyes like her daughters and she hid her curves under a loose yellow coloured dress. ''I take what I said before back, this woman is even better.'' Voad commented, before going mute again. I shook my head in disbelief, my memories really changed him. "OOoo. It''s a boy. Alfreda, you didn''t tell us you were bringing a boy over." The mother teased Alfreda making the 18 year old girl blush. I think they were getting the wrong idea here. "Hi, it''s nice to meet you. I''m their mother Elena Morwen." She greeted me. "Nice to meet you, I''m Zeref Amara." I gave her a smile and nodded. Knock! Knock! "He''s here. Zeref dear, could you get the door please." Elena spoke softly, turning to help Alfreda with preparing the food. "Sure." I got up and swiveled round and headed for the door. I turned the handle of the door. Swish! A straight punch whistled through the air at an eye watering speed. I put up my hand immediately and caught the fist with my hand. This person was powerful for sure, what strength. "I knew I smelt a boy. What are you doing here, you pest? Get out of here before I skin you." A man maybe in his 30''s glared at me with eyes filled with hatred. He had Black hair and a well built body. There was a magic bow and a bag of arrows on his back, showing that he was an archer. He raised his mana pressure, making the house shake. The kids screamed at the sudden ruckus but I was unfazed. "Sir, I don''t know who you are but your attitude and demeanor is very inappropriate. There are kids here." I said in a cold tone, threatening the man even without raising my own mana pressure. "I like this one." He smiled, getting rid of his mana pressure. He brushed past me and went inside. Kissing the children and hugging the mother he sat down at the dinner table, this young guy must have been the father. I closed the door and went back to sit down at the dinner table. "What do you think you''re doing?" The father glared at me. "Dad!" Alfreda slapped his shoulder, making him sigh. I sat down reluctantly; the food was passed around like parcels and soon the only sound that could be heard was the clanking of cutlery with the plates and an awkward silence in the background. "So what''s your name and how old are you?" Alfreda''s father asked, looking up at me. I paused before answering, "My name is Zeref Amara and I''m 13." Clank! Both the father and the mother froze at hearing my name. They even dropped their cutlery. "Y-You mean that crazy kid, who single handedly took care of a battalion of demons." he replied. "I guess, yeah. You could say that." There was a moment of silence once I answered but it was broken immediately. "Do you have any plans for marriage?" the mother looked at me with gleaming eyes. "Mum! He''s only 13." Alfreda argued but she quieted down when she received 2 threatening glares from her parents. For some reason she knew what her parents were hinting at. "No, not really. As Alfreda said I''m still too young and I still have a lot to do before I even plan on getting married." I gave them an awkward smile before stabbing my fries in boredom. It was normal for kids to get married at young ages like 16 and onwards but that just didn''t seem right to me. "What''s the eye patch for?" The father looked at it suspiciously. "I damaged it during one of my battles, so I wear an eyepatch to cover up the scar." I lied like a pro. "So what do your parents do?" Michelle spoke up for the first time, looking at my direction. "My father died when I was young so I only have my mother and grandfather. My mother is an Expert healer and my grandfather is retired." I replied, taking another bite from the drum stick in my hand. "I''m sorry to hear that." Alfreda''s Father replied with a sympathetic voice like he had experienced pain like mine first hand. "Well, if there''s anything you need we''re here for you. How long are you in the Elven Kingdom for?" The mother asked. ''So many bloody questions. Is this an interview?'' Voad scoffed, clearly annoyed. ''They''re just trying to get to know me. Chill out.'' ''Just kill them. That''s what I would have done.'' He laughed. I blocked our mental link pushing his laughter to the back of my head. He was too annoying at times. "I''m here for business purposes, so I''m only here for a couple days at most. Well thank you for the dinner, I''ll head to bed now. I''m really tired." I got up and placed my plate in the sink. "Okay dear, everything is already ready for you, the bed etc. just get a good night''s sleep." the mother smiled at me as I left to go to the room Alfreda told me was mine. "Thank you Auntie." I smiled back, leaving the room. ''Well that was awkward.'' Voad commented in my head. I still didn''t understand how he managed to still talk even after I had blocked him. ''Thanks for telling me something I already knew. How''s the progress going with the secondary mana pool?'' I asked, laying down on the bed. ''It''s extremely hard and requires intricate control of mana. You''re lucky I''m an almighty dragon, I''ve been making good progress. ''I need to make the initial Mana pool first, so we can store MP in it. I''ll focus on enhancing its stages later. So far, I''m 30% done with the first mana pool stage. I should be done in a couple week''s time.'' He explained. I sighed, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply. ''Voad, remember that topic you were going to tell me about, something about the heritage wars. It''s what Beelzebub told me to prepare for. What even is it?'' I asked. ''Good question. The heritage wars are a demonic festival held when one or more of the demon kings ruling the demon kingdom dies or is banished. ''The heritage wars is a war between the 3 factions. Each faction has their own representative. Whoever wins the fight out of the three will take the vacant demon king position.'' he explained. ''Great another tournament.'' I rolled my eyes. ''Yes it''s similar to that.'' ''So why did I get dragged into this?'' I asked. ''Well, everyone believes you to be the descendant of Lucifer - one of the previous demon kings. Therefore, everyone clearly thinks you will fight in the heritage wars as a representative of his faction.'' he replied, happy to be sharing the vast knowledge he held. ''Tell me more about these factions, you still haven''t explained what they are.'' ''Oh yes. The demon kingdom is split into 3 areas, that''s why there are 3 demon kings so the rest is self explanatory, with the 3 factions and all.'' he replied. ''Do we have to join or should we ignore it?'' I asked. ''We can definitely not ignore it. That would cause an imbalance and all hell would break loose. All we can do is get stronger and participate; You should''ve thought things through before taking that offer from Kayden and becoming a half demon. ''Now You have a lot in your hands and have gotten yourself dragged into sh*t you could''ve avoided. ''We don''t know yet when the heritage wars are, so we have to diligently prepare ourselves.'' I nodded mentally at his reply before turning to the side. I still had a couple years before the growth period would end; I had to get as strong as possible in that time period. Chapter 109 - Star Weapons & Armour I yawned, getting up and rubbing my eyes. That was probably one of the nicest sleeps I ever had. ''What''s on our schedule today?'' I asked mentally. ''Getting rid of competitors.'' Voad replied, before going back to meditating. His work rate was extremely efficient and he was building the secondary mana pool at a great speed. I never knew something like that could be possible until he told me about it. Everyone would freak out if they found out I would have 2 mana pools. It just sounded absurd. It was still 7am in the morning so the Morwen Family weren''t awake yet. I quickly had a shower and went to the kitchen to have breakfast. It was surprisingly quiet in the house, I thought It would have been much more hectic but that wasn''t the case. I left a written note on the counter before leaving the house. It had a couple thanks and the usual kind words of a grateful guest. The streets were still quiet but people had started moving already; market stalls were being set up and the bustling of passing by wanderers had brought the area to life. "Sir! Would you like to buy some fresh bread? I''ll even give you a special offer." A man pointed at me, winging the bread in the air. "Sorry. I''ve already had breakfast." I denied his generous offer and continued walking through the growing crowd. "Aarghh!" I heard a shout coming from an alleyway. For some reason I felt like I knew whose voice it was. "Stop You''re killing him-" Pow! Pow! The sound of smacking flesh echoed and I didn''t hesitate to find out what was happening. I flash stepped towards the alleyway. What I saw made my blood boil. Rae piste and Hue G. rection were both on the ground beaten to a pulp. Blood seeped through their clothes and their old wrinkly faces were all busted up. The figures in black robes looked back at me, before snickering. Did they think this was funny? "Who''s this punk? We can''t have witnesses now can we? You. Go kill him." The one furthest to the back pointed to one of his men, not even calling him by his name. I took a deep breath in and exhaled. This helped to calm down my mind; the masked man charged towards me with a dagger in his right hand. He stabbed down towards my chest but missed, as I dodged to the side. I grabbed his arm and snapped it like a glow stick. "Aaaaaarghh!!!" The man let out a shriek and made the other men flinch and step back. I didn''t stop there and broke both his legs, leaving him disabled for life. "M-Men Get him!" The one at the back yelled in frustration. Suddenly, the heads of the 7 other blacked out men were decapitated and they all rolled off from their bodies to the ground, leaving squirting blood to redden the alley walls. I flicked my wrist, getting rid of their disgusting blood and slowly approached the lone survivor. I glared at him, my killing intent dropping the temperature in octaves. He panicked, falling down on the ground struggling to crawl back. This scene was similar to the time I saved Sara. These guys better not be Umbra members. My hand moved like a fishing line as I gripped his neck in an instant and lifted him up. "Who are you?" I asked, coldly. "I''ll- I''ll tell you e-everything. Please let me down." he replied, stuttering. I threw him against the wall, leaving him grovelling on the ground in pain. I then used Ice magic to immobilise his feet and hands, making temporary handcuffs. "We-We''re just regular bandits. We were hired to take those two old guys out. I don''t know anything else I promise!" The voice came out muffled through his black mask. I ripped the mask off his face revealing a young kid underneath, maybe the age of 19 or so. He had a large birthmark on his left cheek and multiple scars on his face. "Who hired you?" I shot him another glare making him gulp. He looked at the pile of headless bodies behind him before closing his eyes in fear. "Star weapons and Armour. That company that sells weapons; they gave us 500 Silver coins to kill them off." He replied, his voice shaky. "I thought so." I sliced with my hand in a blitz, chopping off his head. Turning around I knelt down and checked for both of the beaten old mens'' pulses. Good, they were alive but one of their pulses was extremely weak. They needed medical care as soon as possible. ** "Rae Piste. Rae Piste. Wake up." I took them both out of the alleyway, dragging their bodies to a safe building. I sprinkled some water on his face and wiped the blood from his head with a towel. These poor guys were my workers, I wasn''t going to let that company go freely for their crimes. Rae Piste finally opened his eyes, "S-Sir what are you doing here?" He had finally come to his senses and looked around. He tried to get up but he stumbled back down. "Hey. Take it easy. You''re still not well. I want you guys to rest well at the hospital for today. I''ll get back at those b*stards for doing this to you guys. They''ve messed with us enough." I said, reassuring him. "Sir. You don''t understand how much they beat us. I thought we were going to die and all I could think about was my children. What would they do without me?" The old man wept, covering his face with his hands. I looked away and gave him some space as he gathered himself. "Sir, Sir I came as fast as possible. The Elven Police force informed me about everything. Are you hurt?" Ben Dover huffed and puffed, trying to catch his breath. He arrived with a couple of the Elven Guards assigned to protect the store. "Has the store opened up yet?" I asked. "No sir." He replied. "Good. Firstly, take these 2 to a good hospital and pay the expenses with the Company''s cost. Secondly, Tell everyone to take the day off and focus on studying and going over the business plan and other things. We will open up again tomorrow." "Yes sir!" ** ''Star Weapons & Armour''. The shop name was written in bold letters and the entrance to the shop had extravagant carvings and designs on its walls. The building was definitely one of the nicer and more modern ones I saw in this world. It was probably about 5 storeys high. I took a deep breath before entering the shop. A hand popped up in front of me straight away and a 6 ft 8 giant stopped me in my tracks. "Please leave. You are not permitted to enter." The large giant''s voice came out deep and threatening. "Get out of my way. I''m in no mood to play games." I jumped up and flicked his forehead with my middle finger. Boom! His body flew backwards crashing through a wall, leaving a large hole into the next room. He laid unconscious on the ground, not even flinching. Loud sirens started to go off and the rushing of footsteps started to descend from the 2 stairs on the sides. Something was odd. Why weren''t there any personnel like receptionists etc? "Get your hands up now!" A man clad in heavy armour jumped in front of me holding an axe in his right hand. 1...2..30 There seemed to be at least 300 security guards surrounding me. The main reception of the building was spacious enough for all of them to descend to the ground floor. "Didn''t you hear me?! Hands where I can see them!" He shouted again like a barbarian. This man reminded me of a Viking. He had a long and messy hazelnut beard and wore a battle hardened face filled with scars and unpleasant spots. He even towered over me at 6 ft 5. What was with this place inhabiting all the giants? "You guys messed with us first so you brought this upon yourselves. Under the order of Prince Landon IV I will hereby kill every life form here and dissolve this shitty company." I said coldly. "Ahahahahaha!" The large giant in front of me laughed causing the other soldiers to join in with his hysterical laughter. ''Voad, Cambio Forma.'' SWISH! The short sword in my right hand cut through the air cleanly severing the stupid fool''s head from his body. The movement was swift and fast. His body toppled over a couple seconds later and blood oozed out from the severed arteries and veins. The rest of the guards stopped laughing when they saw the sight and charged at me like barbaric maniacs. A fit of lunges and swings were aimed towards me with the intent to kill but I dodged swiftly evading all of their blows. With one swing of my short swords arcs of flames and streaks of lightning cut over half of their numbers down to a mere 160. Lightning bounced around like snakes ricocheting off one body to the other zapping them to death with a million volts. The last few began running, leaving their dead bredrin and trying to escape the same fate. Death. A miserable death. I sped up the walls and leapt in front of the escaping group, before executing them one by one. ''Nice Job. Nothing beats a mass genocide.'' Voad remarked but I ignored him. ''Oh shut up. There''s no good in killing.'' I swatted my blades, removing the blood before they dematerialised into mana particles again. "Wh-What the h*ll happened here?! Father, come look at this!!" A panicked voice echoed from the ground floor. I looked down from the first floor at the new people that had entered the building. There seemed to be a young kid, maybe around my age, an extremely obese man (maybe in his 40''s) and another man. "As I was say-" The fat man''s speech stopped mid-sentence as his beady eyes caught vision of the countless piles of dead bodies stacked over each other like useless baggage. His face paled and he gaped in shock at the bloodshed. I flash stepped in front of them, making them jump in fear. "Who-Who are you?" The fat man asked in fear. "I work under Prince Landon IV. I have received reports that you have committed illegal crimes against another company and due to this you will be revoked of your trading license, all your assets will be seized and this company will dissolve." I said with a poker face. The scent of blood and splattered red on my clothes spoke volumes for who caused this mass killing, so they all gulped in fear, unable to speak. "Have a nice day. You filthy animals." I walked past them and exited the building. Chapter 110 - Above & Beyond Just a bit more I was close to Mana Pool stage 6. At the moment I was at peak stage 5. It was about time I leveled up and increased my mana efficiency and purity. It would be extremely helpful for my upcoming battles. In the past week I had finished Prince Landon''s Mission and he held his side of the bargain. He allowed me to meditate and cultivate near the Yggdrasil tree of the Elven Forest. Vesta and the other S rank beasts didn''t bother with me due to Dianmu''s orders, so my progress was steady. I didn''t care about going back to school and continued my meditation for 3 days and 3 nights without rest and finally I was close to a breakthrough. ''I''m almost done with building the secondary mana pool too. Although I''m going to need more time than you. The mana oozing off of this Yggdrasil is extremely potent so we''ve both been benefiting a lot.'' Voad spoke through our mind link. ''Keep working. We only have a couple more days before we have to return.'' I replied, focusing on my meditation once again. I knew time was scarce. That stupid Prince only gave me 5 days to cultivate near the Yggdrasil tree. I could always meditate in the Magic Forest in The Vrimeon Kingdom but that Yggdrasil tree was much smaller and still in its baby years. ** A burst of mana flowed throughout my meridians and body. It was getting harder to control the dense amounts of mana flowing around me. ''Voad. I''m almost there, help me a little.'' I said, struggling and gritting my teeth. The Mana pool was expanding as I was speaking. Voad mentally nodded before helping me out. The burden slowly lifted off me and I could feel the metamorphosis taking place. The mana pool was going through an evolution; newer and purer mana was being cyphoned into the empty mana pool. ''We''re done.'' Voad said, cutting off the mental link and going back to working on his own mana pool. [Congratulations! You have reached a new Stage!] [Mana pool 5 ->6] [Intelligence has increased] Suddenly, the urge to throw up engulfed me and I broke my meditation posture. I hunched over to the side before barfing out the sludge that built up inside me. The taste was horrible, it was like decaying meat and rotten apples were mixed together. Black Sludge splashed all over the ground and when the dark sludge stopped flowing out from my mouth, an overbearing stench engulfed the whole area. What the f*ck was this black sh*t?! I got up and wiped my mouth before distancing myself from the area. I was about 50 metres away. The horrid stench could still be smelt all the way from here. ''Voad. What the f*ck was that black sludge that I vomited?'' I asked, gulping down some water to get rid of the aftertaste. ''This normally only happens to magic beasts, after the leveling up of a mana pool stage all the impurities that built up in the body are excreted as that black sludge. ''If my hypothesis is right, since you''ve inherited my dragon blood you''re part beast now. Like I said before you''re a tribrid. The first of your kind: A human, True dragon and a Demon.'' Voad explained. ''So what''s the benefit of excreting these impurities?'' I asked. ''Your body is much more efficient in using your mana, muscles, everything. It''s like washing your body from the inside. You should feel much lighter and stronger.'' As he said that I flexed my hands, sparks of lightning formed around my fists. ''What rank would you say I am right now?'' ''If we were to scale you with Xanxus, that Geezer and Elena, I''d say you''re mid A rank at your full power. You still have a long way to go.'' He sighed. Mid A rank wasn''t half bad. At the moment I was at level 86, so theoretically S rank was at level 100. ''Status Menu Open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 86] [Exp: 2,000/ 86,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 6] [HP: 30,000] [MP: 12,000] [Strength: 205] [Stamina: 184] [Agility: 187] [Defence/ Durability: 209] [Intelligence: 180] [Total Available Stat Points: 60] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] This was the first time seeing my stats since the metamorphosis and assimilation with Voadhailis. He was right, my stats had all skyrocketed. I had 60 available stat points so I placed them into Agility, Intelligence and Stamina. [Intelligence has increased 180 -> 200] [Stamina has increased 184 -> 204] [Agility has increased 187 -> 207] I felt a surge of power flow through me as all my stats were above 200. Now to test out my upgraded body. ** How the h*ll did I get myself into this situation? RAarrrghhhh!!! The cyclops shrieked loudly, swinging down with his club. I dodged evading the attack and threw a fireball at its head. A large explosion made it stumble back but there didn''t seem to be any damage? How? ''Cyclops are fire proof you dimwit.'' Voad informed. Boom! I was hit from the back with another club, making me skyrocket towards a large boulder. [You have sustained 700 damage] Ow! I dusted myself and scanned my surroundings. 1..2...57 cyclops surrounded me, ready to clobber me to death. Time for a challenge I cracked my neck left and right and removed my eye patch feeling a surge of energy flow through me. [A rank - Cyclops are temporarily intimidated] I began first dashing towards them with my bare fists. A swing came for me but I dodged it by zigzagging up the beast''s arm and throwing a punch towards its head with my full power. The cyclop''s head kicked back like it had been hit by a shotgun; I finished it off with an axe kick at its forehead, crushing its brain to gooey bits. The others weren''t going to just stare and watch, they charged towards me in a frenzy throwing wild strikes. ''Vooadhailis, Cambio Forma!'' ''Zeus''s Wrath.'' BOOM! CRACKLE! The soon to be Lightning Monarch had descended Streaks of white lightning surrounded my body and dark clouds had formed above me. Multiple lightning strikes fried some of the Cyclops stunning them and I finished the rest of them cutting them up like sushi with an arsenal of different swings and cuts. [You have earned 12,000 EXP for killing an A rank beast!] [You have earned 12,000 EXP for killing an A rank beast!] [You have earned 12,000 EXP for killing an A rank beast!] [You have earned 12,000 EXP for killing an A rank beast!] [Congratulations! You have levelled up!] [You are now level 87] [You have 10 Total Available stat points] I looked back at the chopped up chunks of Cyclops carcass and wiped my sweat off my forehead. This might have been overkill. "Young Demon. Let''s talk." A familiar voice echoed from behind me. ** "Numen. Why are you here?" I asked, dematerialising the Voadhailis''s Claws in my hands. It was odd to see the Alpha of the Magic Forest here in the Elven Forest, in foreign territory. "This is my real body." He said, opening his arms. Slowly, the vines covering his body dropped to reveal the person underneath. Another Humanoid S rank beast, just like Dianmu. A man in his mid 20''s stood in front of me. He was a bit taller than me at 6 ft 2 and had a slick body figure. He had emerald green hair and green eyes; a long green coat stretched from his neck to his knees, similar to a trench coat. Underneath seemed to be black clothes. I couldn''t determine if they were part of his body or just clothes. "I have come to you in person as I have some things I want to discuss. Things are going to get rowdy soon and I need you to prepare yourself for the worst." He spoke, his voice resonating no hostile intentions. I nodded in understanding, sitting on one of the boulders. "Firstly, I want to warn you of the threat to come. There is a special phenomenon that happens in this world at random times, usually every 100 years or so: The Blood Moon. "On this day the moon turns a blood red and causes magic beasts that haven''t reached a humanoid form yet to lose their senses and wreck havoc. "I came here to warn you that this day is near. I received a premonition in a dream that it was coming and I''m sure all the Alpha''s have received the same premonition. "I need you to prepare yourself as this could bring the downfall of everything if we''re not prepared." He explained. ''A blood moon huh. You guys are doomed. Apart from S rank beasts all other magic beasts will be affected. They''ll grow in strength and attack whatever they see. You understand what that means?'' Voad asked. ''What?'' ''Double EXP.'' He grinned at the golden opportunity. This could be my ticket to level 100. "Thanks for warning me Numen, I''ll make sure to prepare myself and the others for it." I said, "...How come you came in your real body and not in another clone form?" "The real reason is I want to form a contract with you. The same one you made with Dianmu; I''ve met up with her a couple times and each time she seems to be growing stronger. Your growth is stimulating her growth." He replied truthfully. ''So he''s seen the benefits of forming a contract with us. That means he''s probably desperate to gain more power. We can use that as leverage and make him our slave.'' Voad spoke. "What are the contract details then?" I was interested in his offer. "I will send clones to your aid whenever you need me and I''ll stay loyal to your side till the end. In return, I want nothing. The growth in your strength will automatically boost mine, the same as Dianmu. That''s all I desire." ''That sounds fine. We''re ultimately getting his loyalty for free.'' Voad scoffed. "Deal. Let''s begin." I said. I made a cut in my hand and he did the same. We shook our hands together forming the contract seal. A surge of mana reverberated from us and after a couple seconds the contract deal was done. [Congratulations! You have formed a master and familiar contract with S rank - Forest KIng, Numen] A smile stretched across his face and immediately tight thick vines surrounded my body. Sh*t! I couldn''t move. "Now sit back and wait, while I take over your body for myself. You think I''d be your slave just like that?! Ahahahahaha. Don''t mess with me you imbecile!" Numen laughed hysterically, coming closer before placing his hand on my head. Everything immediately went dark ** I opened my eyes slowly. My body felt as light as ever like there was no gravity acting on it. Where the h*ll was I? Picking myself up I spotted where I was. Inside my mind. Why was it so white everywhere? Suddenly, a dark shadow engulfed the white ground under me. I looked back at the thing causing the shadow to form. Voadhailis! "We finally meet in person. This is the boring place I have been caged in by the system. This place is unbreakable. I''ve tried everything." He spoke this time with his true voice. It was deep and husky like during our mental talks but this time it had much more of a domineering feel. He towered over me at a great height of 150 metres. His fiery red scales shimmered under the light and his wings stretched out wide. I spotted an unconscious Numen in his hands and I couldn''t help but laugh. "Ahahhahahahaha!!!! He really thought he could take over." I laughed hysterically at the irony. Even a mighty True Dragon failed and this fool was really thinking to even try. "That''s enough. You''re invading my personal space. Seeing your face irritates me. Get out!" He said loudly and immediately everything went dark again. Maybe that was the only place he had control in; the system did in fact cage him there. Why was he in such a bad mood? That was our first encounter since the forming of the bond and he kicked me out already. I finally woke up with Numen shivering in fear in front of me on his knees. The vines that held me down were gone now and I was free. I smiled at his petrified state, "I see you''ve met my bond." His eyes met mine, then he remembered his experience with Voadhailis. "Just don''t do that again or your punishment will be worse than what Voad did to you. Now go." My voice came out cold and he immediately disappeared out of my sight. ''Voad what the h*ll did you do to him?'' I laughed mentally. ''Don''t worry. Just move on. We should carry on with our meditation.'' He replied shutting my question down. Chapter 111 - School Monster "Good Morning Class. Please take a seat and listen well. Today is a very special day as we will be covering an extremely crucial topic. This is the most important lesson all of you will receive this year, so I want you all to give your undivided lesson." Professor Severin began his 2 hour lecture making all of the students look at him in anticipation. He was one of the nicer teachers that all the students liked to listen to. Even the rowdy kids shut up and listened when he spoke. His subject was also extremely interesting and everyday I used to learn something new from the mana manipulation subject. "Firstly, please raise your hands up if you have a branched element." At his command about 85% of the students in the class hall raised their hands. "Okay that seems to be the majority of the class. Now I want to ask you students something. Would you believe me if I told you there was a way to turn your branched element into a full element. "You could then learn further diverse spells instead of limited spells to your branched element. Would you?" He paused, letting us take in the philosophical question at hand. Applebottom raised her hands up eagerly, shaking her hands vigorously. "Yes Miss Applebottom." "Sir, I thought it wasn''t possible to change a branched element into a full element. All these years we''ve been taught that it''s impossible. How is that possible?" She asked, pushing up her round spectacles. "A very good question Miss Applebottom, 100 Merits will be rewarded. The real reason we haven''t told you about this is, for this process to work you must reach a reasonable age preferably during adolescence. "If you guys began to experiment and begin this process It Could have ultimately led to your death." Everyone gulped at Professor Severin''s serious tone. "The real reason for some people being born with Branched elements are due to the fact that biologically humans are weak. We are born weak. "When some of us first awaken our mana pools are unstable, we get branched elements because our bodies are too weak to handle a full element. Unlike demons who are born with strong bodies, they''re able to awaken full elements. "Once we reach an age of adolescence our bodies start to strengthen but our mana pools stay unstable. The trick is to fortify and rebuild our mana pools through a specific method of meditation. "This method that we will teach all of you will help to revitalize your mana pools with purer mana of your chosen element. Once you all reach mana pool stage 2 you will automatically be able to wield the full element. "Do any of you have any questions?" He asked, scanning the large hall. Professor Severin was returned with silence, making him carry on with the lecture. "Good. Now If you will all follow me to a special facility. We have limited time. Make sure you all travel in single file lines and don''t make too much noise; there are still others studying in the other classes." He ordered, moving towards the door. We all got out of our seats and got into lines. We followed him into the corridor walking towards the special facility he was talking about. "This lesson is going to be an important one. I can feel it in my bones." Jace whispered to me, "...but us 2 won''t have to worry, especially you. I mean you have 4 full elements. You freak of nature." I rolled my eyes. "Oii! How did you forget me? You fool." Naz squealed from behind making Jace jump from behind. "Forgot she existed. In a bit bro." Just like that he left and joined Naz at the back of the line, leaving me on my own. We all entered the special facility and gasped at the special devices surrounding us. The room was a cube box at least 40 metres by 40 metres in length and width. There were magic runes aligned intricately in patterns on the side of the walls and black pads spread across the floors. Small windows could be seen near the top to allow air in otherwise there were no signs of the outside world. Magic runes were special tablets that had carvings storing mana. On their own they had no special effects but aligned and joined with others they formed special structures like force fields or just simple mana rich areas. "This room is filled with magic runes provided to us by the alchemy association. The vast number of runes means that the mana in this facility is extremely potent and pure. "All I want you guys to do for the rest of the lesson is meditate. Please sit on the pads placed on the grounds." Professor Severin ordered, pointing at the pads placed equally from each other. ''Zeref. These runes, I can feel something odd from their makeup. Don''t sit on those pads. They''ll get information on what elements you have and maybe even about your demon aura. Just be aware.'' Voad warned in my head. I had a bad feeling about the Alchemy Association. If it got Voad this edgy this was a bad sign. However, I did have the system, maybe it would block their attempt to infiltrate me. One by one everyone began sitting on the pads except me. Colours popped up on top of their heads indicating what element they had, then a couple seconds later the colours disappeared. "Mr Amara, please sit down." I rushed over to an empty one on the corner side and sat down on the pad. [Foreign Entity is trying to infiltrate] [Foreign Entity has been rejected access] Good. I sighed in relief, seeing that no colours flashed above my head. "Now I want you guys to meditate normally, feel the energy siphoning through your body into your mana pool. Feel every particle moving through your meridians. "Guide the mana. Direct it to your mana pool and keep going until you reach a bottle neck. Once you''ve done that, keep going until you reach a metamorphosis. "For the students that already have a solid mana pool carry on with your meditation and aim to reach a higher stage. Most of you here are still at mana pool stage 1, aim for the 2nd stage. "The top mages are ones with mana pool stages above 5. If you want a bright future, work harder!" Professor Severin''s voice was loud and dominant, instructing us on the method that would strengthen us as mages. Everyone began their meditation straight away absorbing the mana oozing out of the magic runes. ''Don''t you feel that?'' ''Feel what?'' I asked Voadhailis, confused. ''That demon aura. There''s a demon in this room and they''re surprisingly strong.'' he replied. I expanded my vision and senses. What the- Peter! That weak boy, a weak reddish aura surrounded him, especially concentrated around his mana pool. How did he become a demon and how was he hiding in broad daylight without a limiter like me? How were his eyes still black? I could sense the familiar demon aura around him. Demon Aura was the mana pressure demons gave off, it could be distinguished due to the reddish glow. The stronger the demon the more potent and red their demon aura, I had used it before a lot with my killing intent and mana pressure to intimidate my opponents. Peter was amongst the weakest in our year and was bullied constantly. How did he gain this much strength in such a short time? Was I missing something here? ''Keep an eye on that kid. He might be a threat.'' Voad warned. I nodded mentally agreeing with him for once, before beginning my meditation. Things might have become complicated... ** The lesson had finally ended and we were allowed to leave. One by one the students exited including Peter. I had to trail him and find some answers. I was about to follow him out but Jace jumped in front of me. "Yoo. Sorry about before bro. I had to attend to Naz, you wanna grab some lunch with us?" He asked, bro hugging me. "I''m good. You guys go on your couple date. I have to do something first." I said, moving his arm off my shoulder. "See you at our table then." He said, walking off and joining up with Naz, who was patiently waiting for him by the corridor. I took a left and walked straight down the corridor. This short disturbance caused me to lose sign of Peter. I had to find him as soon as possible, god knows how many people he could hurt with his power. ''He''s on the East wing of the school. I can feel his demonic aura and it''s rising continuously like he''s going to burst at any moment. Run!'' I listened to Voad''s warning and picked up the pace. He was about 100 meters away and I sensed 7 other mana pressures. They were probably kids from our year, who were picking on him. Sh*t! What were they thinking? Don''t antagonize him! Chapter 112 - School Monster II I was just around the corner but I stopped in my tracks. ''Zeref, wait. Let''s watch him, he might be able to control his demon side. What if he''s not a bad kid? Let''s watch him now and step in if things go south for those kids.'' Voad advised. I nodded mentally, before leaning against the wall. I peeked to the side, diminishing my presence and mana pressure completely like an assassin. Peter''s frail frame was passed around like a bag of bones, being beaten up, punched and kicked and with each hit I could feel the demonic aura that he was hiding in him growing exponentially. Was he going to burst? ''He''s gonna kill them. We have to save those kids and this school.'' I said urgently. ''Just watch. We don''t know if he''s good or bad yet, just wait.'' He replied. I shook my head as Peter started to cough up blood. "Had enough Peter. We told you peasants like you don''t belong in such a prestigious school like this. You should just go back to the hole you dug yourself out of." One of the bigger boys shouted, kicking him with force. Peter''s body hurled back bouncing against the floor before crashing into one of the walls. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, trying to hold something back. His demonic aura was finally starting to leak and some of the sharper boys had noticed it but they shrugged it off. "Get this fool!" The head boy charged at him punching his head down against the floor. How was Peter taking this much of a beating? This must have been a usual experience. ''Take notes. Look at how much he can control his anger. It''s actually scary.'' ''What are you trying to say? I can do that too but If I was in his case I''d rather fight back and take down 3 of them with me at least before accepting defeat.'' I replied, through our mental link. One of them threw a straight punch at Peter but this time instead of tanking the blow, he tilted his head to the right, slipping the punch. "My turn." A devilish smile appeared on Peter''s face and his full demonic aura released, shaking the whole corridor. A singular dark horn propped up from the centre of his head and both his irises transformed into blood red circles. The terrified kids stood no chance for Peter''s insane speed as he stepped towards them with intent to kill. ''Now. Go stop him.'' BOOM! I didn''t need him to tell me. Peter''s body flew back breaking through the wall falling out from the 3rd floor towards the ground. Maybe I punched him too hard. "Th-That Eye Patch-" "Get out of here and tell Xanxus we have a School Monster. Evacuate everyone." I said to the shocked boys before leaping down to the ground. Peter got up, dusting himself off and shaking his head. "Shit! Not now!" He roared, shaking his head violently like something was possessing him. ''That could be us but you''re playing.'' Voad remarked. ''Shut up and let me focus. It looks like he''s losing control.'' I said, pushing him to the back of my mind. "I''ll Kill you for touching my family!!!" His voice reverberated, mixing his real voice with his demonic voice. Something was wrong with him. His body started to grow in size until he was 6 foot 5" tall, along with his muscles growing in size, his skin darkened and his veins started to bulge and go red. What the h*ll was that transformation? He charged at me wildly, his reddish mana running rampant. I got into a Muay Thai stance preparing to defend myself. I couldn''t use my elements as we were still in school. There were students around us so I had to somehow hold him off with my physical abilities and my combat experience. He swung for my head like an amateur; I parried his fist to the right before twisting my body and throwing a heel kick towards his head. His body flew crashing through the school walls, causing students to scream and run in the other direction. Sirens finally went off and Xanxus''s voice could be heard echoing throughout the school. "EVERYONE DROP EVERYTHING AND EVACUATE THE SCHOOL. THERE IS A MONSTER ON LOOSE!!" Xanxus''s voice bellowed with urgency and loud screams of panic and trampling footsteps accompanied right after. The transformed Peter got up growling and showing me his fangs. He covered the distance in seconds, leaving holes in the ground of where he stepped. I dodged by the breadth of a hair and threw an uppercut towards his large body. He folded like a crumpled up piece of paper and I could hear him wheeze as he was winded. I was able to use my hardened body with his own momentum to strike a devastating blow. The onslaught continued and he was taking more damage than I did. His wild swings and kicks were predictable and my counter blows were starting to slow him down. Pow! I knocked his head back, making him lose consciousness for a short while; he regained his focus, roaring and swiping at my head with his claws. Roaaaarrghh!! I stepped back avoiding the slash to the face but I couldn''t evade the kick that came right after. I hardened my core muscles at impact, reducing the blow. [You have suffered 1000 damage!] I slid back on my heels, causing dust to engulf the area. Cracking my neck left I stood waiting for his next attack, this time lightning rattled around me and the atmosphere became heavy with lightning mana; by now the whole school was evacuated and I could feel Xanxus and 50 other personnel coming this way. His punch connected with my palm, as I grabbed his fist in my hand. CRACK! "Aaaaaarghhh!!" He roared but this time not to intimidate me but because he was in pain. I bent his arm down, snapping his Radius and Ulna bones (his forearm) in half; It was now a full 90 degrees and the excruciating pain was due to my previous hits to his body. I had made sure to hit specific pressure points in his body that would stimulate his pain receptors and make them more sensitive. ''Just Kill him.'' Voad spoke in a quiet tone. ''Why? You feeling bad for him? Aww.'' I mocked. ''Shut up. Hurry up and kill him before the others find him and interrogate him. He could spill a lot of sh*t.'' He blocked the mental pathway for the first time. Did he remember something traumatic? That was odd of him. Peter tried to move but I froze him with Gravity mana, he gritted his teeth trying to combat the immense combat, pinning his body down. "Sorry Peter." ''Shambles.'' His body immediately froze into a block of ice, before shattering into a million pieces. [Congratulations! You have earned 5000 EXP for killing a Mutated Fake Demon!] A mutated Fake Demon Huh. So he must have been an experiment? That could only mean Umbra was still experimenting on innocent lives. The trampling of footsteps finally arrived behind me after a couple minutes and I was surrounded. "Hands up now!!" ** I ended up being handcuffed and taken in by the Vrimeon Police Force. They chucked me into a solid anti - mana box and did a full body search on me. I had to make sure I closed my right eye at all times and hold back my demon aura. Everything could go south if they found out anything. "First question: Who are you?" A large well built military man slammed his fist down on the table and glared at me, trying to intimidate me. His presence was overbearing but it was nothing for me, anyone else would have already folded under his pressure. "My name is Zeref Amara. I''m 13 years old and a student at Xanxus Academy. "I suggest you don''t use your usual form of interrogation on me with all the torturing and disgracing you do to young men." I stared at him coldly, making his bearded face go pale. I knew their deepest, darkest crimes and secrets, the corruption in the Vrimeon Kingdom was immense and it boiled my blood every time I was forced to remember. "Wh-What the f*ck are you saying? Do you know why you''re here?! Tell me what I want and things will go much smoother." He smiled devilishly, getting a baton to beat me. He placed it on the steel table to show he wasn''t scared to use it on me. "What was that beast doing on the school grounds? Students described a Humanoid demon beast? Is that correct?" The large man interrogated with a stern voice. "Yes. The beast was some sort of demon beast." "Where did the beast go when we had arrived?" "I killed it." "Ahhahahahaha," he laughed hysterically, slamming his fists on the table again and shouting, "Don''t play with me! You''re telling me a student, a 13 year old with no experience, killed an A rank Beast?!" ''This guy''s yapping is getting on my nerves. Just kill this bug already.'' Voad scoffed, annoyed. As much as I wanted to, it wouldn''t do us any good if I was put on the wanted list for the murder of an officer. The man picked up his baton to beat me but I was saved in the Knick of time. Tybalt kicked the door down and flash stepped to pin the large man against the wall, lifting him up by the neck. I could see the large man struggling to breathe as his face went beet red. Cool. "Young Sir, are you okay? Can I Kill this fiend?" Tybalt''s voice was filled with killing intent. "I''ve had a long day, let''s just leave. I''ll head to the bank too on the way." I sighed, breaking the handcuffs. "Yes sir." Tybalt nodded respectfully before throwing the man like a bag of meat across the room, making him crash against a wall knocking him unconscious. I walked out of the anti - mana box with Tybalt shadowing me from behind. A trail of frightened officers hugged the edges of the corridor clearing a passage for us. They must have known who Tybalt represented and backed off. ''What a day.'' I sighed, placing my hands in my pockets. Chapter 113 - The New Principal The hall was compacted with students. Although the room was big, it couldn''t contain this many students. Xanxus created a stage of ice levitating above us as we all chattered amongst ourselves about what he could possibly be calling such a big meeting for. I had Malia in front of me with my arms swung around her torso, keeping her from being too squished by the older kids around us. Jace stood in front of us, making sure no one stepped backwards into Malia and I. Naz and Sara were on either side of me but we were all squished together. "Budge in, Budge in..." the teacher shoved students deeper into the crowd like sheep. "Keep em coming. Find every student in the school." Malia''s form tutor spoke, holding the doors open. Every teacher in the school was here. All of them stood at the doorways while the guards went searching for any bunking students. The hall was loud and humid, people complaining and kids screaming from being stepped on. Well this was clearly an organised event. Very well planned. "EVERYONE QUIET!" Xanxus bellowed but it was useless. The complaining kids overpowered his mana pressure. We were like one ball of mana mixing and merging. ''The only thing mixing and merging is everyone''s stinky ass breath!'' Voadhailis groaned as I sniffed the air. He''s right. A new man on the side of the stage snickered, shaking his head in disapproval. He wore a yellow suit and looked proper. His posture was fixed back and he looked overjoyed. "SHUSH!" A monstrous voice shook through my ears, making them ring. That new man yelled, releasing a loud sound wave. WHAT BRANCHED ELEMENT WAS THAT?! I wasn''t the only one who heard it because everyone let out a synced groan before going quiet and facing the front. The new man giggled at the obedience and smirked at Xanxus in triumph. He proceeded to scan the crowd of shaken children, zooming past me before returning his gaze on me. The tension grew in the air as the side of my face pulled up into a sly smirk. His intense glare weighed over me. Why did his glare feel personal? I clenched my jaw still smirking while holding his cold stare. The hall was dead silent, almost to a pindrop. Xanxus cleared his throat, snapping the man out of his trance and making him look away. "We gathered you all today to tell you some news." Xanxus started, hesitantly. "I am leaving my position as the head of this school." Students whispered amongst themselves in shock, some gasping and some aweing. They loved Xanxus as their headteacher. He tried his best to dig out opportunities for our individual dreams and goals. He listened to every complaint and retraced every mistake of his school. He set in safety lockdowns and always tried to stay in control of what was happening on his school grounds. I think it was only until I started at this school, things started to go wrong for him. I see his struggle, I see his faults but I can also see that he loved this school. Every tournament mattered to him. He dreamt of us all to be at the top with him and his academy. He tried his best and now something was terribly off. Xanxus Academy wouldn''t be the same without Xanxus. He cherished his school and its victories the most. He loved his school garden and his students even though he didn''t show it. He looked devastated. Xanxus would never willingly leave his school. "I will be handing my position to Mr Hundin E Roxeen." The man giggled like a girl, fanning himself with a feathered fan. Nobody cheered. Nobody. "It is rude not to cheer. What a bad impression? I guess I will have to change this whole system." The man''s voice fluttered in happy little circles in the air, causing me to contract terminal cancer. He sounded like a princess on helium and cannabis. The crowd hesitantly started to clap with short pauses between each clap. "Much better. Now, get Xanxus out of my school. SECURITY!" He yelled. The students started an uproar but Xanxus just looked heartbroken at the students coming to his defense. The guards grabbed Xanxus with pity in their eyes and dragged him out. "Classes shall go on as normal." Mr E Roxeen stated clapping his hands. "Chop, chop!" he said, slapping his fan in his hand. ** I sat in my form room, at the back with Jace and Naz sitting on my right and the window on my left. Our form tutor was late. The class was a mess. Children were huddling together, talking about the turn of events and about how things were going to change. "Zeref! Have you heard? Mr E Roxeen is handing out mana dampeners in the form of collars." a girl with ginger hair stood in front of me. "What?! He can''t do that!" Naz yelled in disbelief, leaning into the conversation. "Yeah, collars are a bit extreme." Jace agreed as the ginger head nodded. "I knew that man was trouble." I layed back in my chair, looking out the window. Students bunking had collars on them as they laughed at a bench. Suddenly their collars flashed red and they all screamed in pain, falling to the floor. "Guys look outside!" one of my classmates yelled as everyone rushed to the windows, watching the scene unfold. The students cried out in pain, tugging on their collars. "Students!" the nice nurse lady rushed outside frantically, not knowing what to do. "ArrgggHHHH!" one of the kids yelled out, going red. Suddenly, the headteacher teleported behind the kids with his hands held behind his back. "Skipping class?" he sneered, peering down at their wriggling bodies. "Sir! This is too much! Let these poor children g-" the nurse lady tried to protect them but was ignored. "NO!" Mr E Roxeen snapped, letting out a roar and emitting another soundwave but this time the nurse flew back into a wall, crashing into it with force. She let out a whimper, cradling her shoulder on the floor. "Off!" the headteacher snapped as the collars stopped flashing. "Now get back to class." Scurrying to help the nurse lady, the students all helped her up. "I said NOW!" he reiterated, causing them to hurry out with the nurse lady limping out with them. This guy was bad news. ** The teacher walked in with a box of collars in his hands and a smirk spread across his face. The class watched him walking, our heads in sync to his every movement. He shook the box, standing in front of the classroom with a smug look. "Please come to the front one by one and collect your collars. This is compulsory to wear at all times and anyone who refuses to wear these will be expelled without discussion." His voice had a malicious intent to it and I didn''t like it one bit. The other students also didn''t want to be treated like caged rats and a burst of uproar engulfed the classroom. "Why should we wear these?!" One of the students shouted. "Where are our rights?!" "This is stupid!" The uproar was starting to go out of control as students started to flip their tables and stand up in rage. "Silenceee!" Suddenly a chilling voice caused everyone to freeze except me. A deadly mana pressure and killing intent oozed off of the principle, who stood in front of us with an enraged expression. He scanned the room like a hawk, eyeing every one of us. The students all began sitting down one by one and became gentle like little children. I couldn''t tell what level he was due to my eye patch but I could tell he was stronger than Xanxus. Could I win against him? "I''m disappointed in all of you. I know this is a big change but the way you turds acted was downright animalistic. Now take your collars and wear them." he ordered and the students at the front reluctantly got out of their seats and picked up the dark collars from the box. "Zeref." Jace whispered, taking in a big gulp. It was soon going to be our turn. "...And the last row." The teacher spoke. "Don''t move." I said to Jace and he nodded in understanding. A glint of faith burned in his eyes again as held Naz''s hand. All eyes were on us as we were the only ones who hadn''t stood up. "Why aren''t you three moving? And you. Get rid of that filthy eye patch!" The principle shouted, pointing his fan towards me. I controlled my urge to kill and took a deep breath. Cracking my knuckles and making direct eye contact with the new principle, my voice came out cold. "Do you want to start a war?" He kissed his teeth and clenched his scrunched up fan in his hands. I knew he knew who I was and what status I held; The Hunter Association, The Bank, The Elven Royal Family, they were all under me. There was no way this mere Principal was going to risk danger falling on the Vrimeon Kingdom. I had strong backers and he wasn''t dumb enough to provoke me. Paired with my physical power, business mind set and wealth I was able to find strong backers for exactly these types of situations. I hated getting pushed around by the people up top. That''s why I always aimed to be at the peak. "If any of you dare to remove your collars, you will be sent to the detention chamber!" He snapped, averting his gaze from me and eyeing the students. After a couple seconds of an eerie silence, he disappeared into particles of light. RING! RING! The bell rang and the students got up to head to their lesson. "You have a lot of explaining to do." Jace eyed me, following me out of the room. Chapter 114 - The Truth Behind His Mask I sat at the canteen, noticing the collar around Malia and Sara''s necks and Sara''s bruised cheek. Malia looked down, picking at her food and as soon as I faced them, they both looked up, not surprised that I wasn''t wearing one. Jace sat opposite Malia and Naz sat opposite Sara. I sat next to Malia, taking her apple like always. Malia rolled her eyes, reaching for her apple but I slid my hand behind her neck, sending an electric signal through her collar. She gasped, feeling a slight sting before the collar fell off. "You don''t need to wear that stupid thing." I gritted my teeth, watching her rub her soar, red neck. "Why didn''t you both retaliate?" Jace clenched his jaw, also angry. Sara came next to me, turning around so I could take hers off too. "I did. I told him my father will be furious and he smacked me knowing my father doesn''t care about me." Sara pouted, rubbing her cheek. "Does it hurt? We can go to the nurse if you like?" Naz furrowed her eyebrows, staring at the apparent mark on Sara''s cheek. Sara shook her head no, going back to her seat with the collar off. Just in time, Allefin sat next to Jace with his tray of food and a collar around his neck. He looked pale. "You tried to zap it off didn''t you?" Naz sighed, shaking her head. "The collar doesn''t allow me to use mana. It shocks me when I activate it." he grunted, adjusting it. I chuckled, leaning over the table and zapping it. Allefin flinched back in pain before the collar fell off his neck. "Thanks." he groaned, rubbing his neck. "If the principal asks, just tell him Zeref took it off for you." I smirked, biting into the apple. Everyone nodded in understanding except Malia who had zoned out. I looked at Malia who was deep in thought, her hand still on her neck. I was about to ask her what was wrong but Jace had already voiced my thoughts. "Malia? Are you okay?" he questioned, looking at me to see if I knew. I shrugged. She looked up at me, her hand finally dropping from her neck. "That collar I''ve worn it before. The same exact model." We all automatically huddled in as I held the collar in my hands, looking at the black designs and the clear crystal in the middle. "What do you mean?" "Ranveer. He was the fire contestant. He had me wear one and it shocked me when I tried to use my mana." she replied, glaring at the collar in my hands. "Fire contestant?" Sara said in confusion. Oh I forgot she was out of the loop. "Wait, who is Ranveer?" Allefin mirrored Sara''s facial expression. Naz stood up, grabbing Sara and Allefin while pulling them both up. "Your cheek looks really red. We should get it checked out. Allefin, why don''t you go take her to the nurse?" she nervously laughed. Allefin hesitantly agreed, taking Sara''s hand and leaving. I turned back to Malia as she took the collar from my hand. Naz sat back down, listening intently. "These black engravings are in some foreign language but this symbol means Um and then that symbol is a B. Umb" Umbra. "When did you learn to read ancient languages?" Jace looked surprised but Malia turned pale. "U-Uh I think my dad got me lessons when I was young." she shrugged. "I think it''s Umbra." I sighed, tired of my constant encounter with them. I looked up at their faces to see confusion so I continued. "It''s an organisation that I have encountered a few times. They used to work for the light contestant but since I killed him off, they may have found a new leader. "They are making fake mages like the one we encountered while at the Elven Kingdom so they can form an army. The first fake mage I encountered was the necromancer; he was quite powerful, maybe a C ranker at most. I killed him off and found information about Umbra''s fake mages scheme. "Then Umbra took over land that was owned by the bank. That''s why we went to the Elven Kingdom, to take my assets back. From there, I destroyed their research facilities that they set up. "I was able to squeeze information out of some of the researchers there. They told me that Umbra made a deal with the demons. In return for a method to remove the anti - demon barriers, the demons would have to let Umbra experiment on them. "That leads me to my next point. The incident from a couple days back with the rumoured School Monster. It was actually Peter." I explained. "No way That weak Peter? That flimsy one?" Jace gasped in shock. "Yeah. I was surprised at first too, but I could sense the demonic aura he was giving off. I didn''t know how he was able to become a demon so suddenly but it was definitely Umbra. All the points add up to that conclusion. "If they can make an army of Peters, it would be a very difficult battle for us. I alone at full power could kill a couple thousand but the numbers could be overwhelming. That''s why I need you guys to get stronger. I don''t want to have to worry about you guys during a war. "Umbra is getting stronger constantly and now I think they have made me a target since they know I am the lightning contestant. They probably want my skills and seat." "Well that''s stupid. Surely they''d stay out of your way knowing the power you have. I mean, you''re a demon hybrid for god''s sake." Naz rolled her eyes. "And dragon." I added quickly. "What?!" they all said in unison. "Long story." I smiled. ** We walked down the halls, noticing there were no students in sight. Everything was dead silent and I knew it wasn''t a good sign. I looked down at Malia who appeared to be looking into the passage in front of us. "Malia?-" before I could say more, Malia ran forwards, spin kicking into nothing. Surprisingly, a grunt was heard before a man appeared and fell back from Malia''s kick. Invisibility?? Naz gasped as many men dressed in uniform appeared around us, taking off what looked like glasses, which made them invisible. How did Malia sense them so quickly? They didn''t hesitate nor give me time as they all pounced on us. "Naz, move back!" Jace yelled, pushing her behind him before spurting out a gush of water while punching one. Malia ran up to me, pushing herself up over my shoulder while spinning me around and kicking another invisible guy who had tried to pounce up from behind me. "Be careful." She said as she activated her mana, her fists glowing red like hot iron. She wasn''t using mana this whole time? Then how did she sense them?! I smirked knowing my power was limited with my eyepatch but I knew I could still make damage. I fought by Malia''s side, taking on men from her back. They were definitely not students but were fairly young. I swung my fist down on a guy with blue hair as he crashed his head into another one of his accomplices and they fell back like dominos. Unable to sense them, I relied on Seikuken''s range. The spell I had relied on so much before had finally become a skill and the range had expanded to a radius of 3 meters all around me. I parried another blow, while Malia threw a right hook to the man''s chin, making him crash through one of the class room windows. Jace protected Naz and held his own at the same time, using the Kick boxing techniques I taught him, mixing it with his water magic. "Combo move?" Malia smirked at me and I nodded, smiling. ''Gravity Zone!'' Immediately the men froze, still unable to move, letting Malia dance around and knock out all of them in a flash. It was a technique that allowed one to cover a distance in a literal ''flash''. It took decent amounts of mana to execute each time and drained stamina quickly. The bodies dropped like flies as my spell deactivated, Malia high fived me smiling before checking up on Naz. "You guys go on ahead. I''ll finish them off." I said, as the trio nodded at me walking on. I didn''t want them to ever kill. That burden was only mine; I wouldn''t let kids like them get blood on their hands for no reason. Using Gravity Mana I broke their necks one by one before burning their carcasses to ashes. I disposed of the ashes chucking them into a portal designated for a random location. The School barrier was a very powerful spell that was amplified with the use of runes in the school building. It was impossible for these hired assassins to get into the school without an alarm going off. That could only mean someone must have let them in. The only one with that authority was the Principal. Things were going to be complicated. Who knows how many more moles this man must have brought with him and what were his schemes? Was he working for Umbra too? What is his end goal? I had to tell the others.. Chapter 115 - Blood Moon Apocalypse The last lesson of the day came up and I was planning on telling them about the principle after school. Something in me ached as I felt my instincts go haywire. Something was wrong. Really wrong. A storm was brewing and the clouds darkened. This was pretty normal as it was still the rainy season but the darkness was noticeably early today. I stared out the window, the tugging feeling not leaving me to rest with my thoughts. "May I use the restroom?" I abruptly spoke while raising my hand. The teacher lifted his nose up from his book, peering at me before nodding. I stood up in a hurry, not knowing why I felt such urgency. I looked out of the windows in the hall to see the darkness had fully sucked out any light. The clouds rumbled and blared. I reached the bathrooms but before I could enter the mens, Malia stumbled out of the womens. She was pale, struggling to hold open the door for herself. "Malia?!" I gasped, as she fell onto me. Maybe this is why I had a bad feeling. She had been acting strange lately. Is she okay? She handed me her water bottle as I opened the lid for her. She groaned, taking a big chug and sighing. She melted into my arms as I noticed her slight fever. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned as she stared out of the window. We could see the dark clouds going on for miles with no light being able to seep through the thickness of the fog. "I have a bad feeling in my stomach. I feel sick." she whispered, as I cradled her. "Did you eat something bad?" She shook her head no before pulling herself off me with more stability. Her hand lifted from under me and she pointed at the large window at the hall. I turned around to see the moon was blood red and it seemed to have grown in size because it was large in the sky, staring back at us. Sh*t. The blood moon. I had prepared my weapons but I didn''t know it''d come so soon. I checked what I knew about it, activating my mana to find that I couldn''t tap into my mana pool. Voadhailis surfaced up to me. ''The secondary mana pool I created with dragon magic is complete. We should be able to utilise it. Remember it is accessible but it''s small and may only supply you with enough mana to make 4 or 5 large scale flame attacks.'' he said, and an image of a small mana pool appeared in my head. ''It''s better than nothing.'' I sighed, walking up to the window. "Zeref I can''t feel my mana." Malia shook, looking at her hands with surprise. "Have you ever heard of the blood moon?" I looked back at her. She hesitantly nodded, realising what was happening. "We are safe though, right? The barrier should be able to hold back any of the monsters possessed by the moon." she uttered, her face losing colour again. The red light shone upon us making her look like she was glowing. "Shit. I didn''t think of the beasts who would attack. Malia, the principle is twisted and I fear he''s working for Umbra. He probably let the barrier down so we''ll have to hold them off somehow or evacuate everyone." Malia walked up to me as I turned back to the window. The forest trees rustled vigorously and trees started to tumble down with force. An army of beasts was heading straight for the school. But not any beast. "A rankers" Malia whispered, watching as hundreds of A rank beasts thudded towards us. A look of determination flashed her eyes as she stepped back from the window in haste. She pressed the emergency button making the bells ring. Teachers peered out of their classrooms, thinking it was a surprise drill. They look at us in anger. "Stop messing around with the bell! It''s only used for em-" "LOOK OUTSIDE!" I yelled frantically, as their eyes met the big window and the bright red moon. "Holy-" One of the teachers whispered under his breath before turning to his class. "Everyone to the gymnasium!!!" Malia screamed as students and teachers started to rush out of their classrooms, screaming like headless chickens. The floors above and below us rumbled as all we could hear were running footsteps of hundreds of screaming people. Malia ran down the stairs as I ran after her. "Where are you going?!" I yelled, gripping her hand. She can''t use mana. "I''ll hold the beasts back from entering. You need to help everyone get safely into the gymnasium." she said, looking into my eyes. "Are you dumb? You have no mana-" Malia held my face, forcing me to look into her eyes. They flickered before turning bright gold. "I don''t need mana." her voice echoed as if there were two people saying it. My eyes widened as her eyes turned brown again. "Trust me." she begged, the crowd pushing in between us as we fell apart. "MALIA!!!" I called, watching as she ran down the stairs. Tears welled my eyes. What the hell just happened? I can''t lose her. I can''t- A cry shook me back into reality as random people bumped past me. I moved to the side, looking to see a small tiny dwarven girl with pigtails, crying at the side as people barged past her. It looked to be her first year here, which meant she was two years younger than me. I crouched down to her level, facing her towards me. I have to trust Malia. I''m going to protect everyone. I looked out the window to see Malia rushing outside, facing the school gates and waiting for the army of beasts. My heart dropped as I feared her death. ''Trust her.'' Voadhailis reminded me and I nodded, agreeing. "Don''t worry little girl. Everything will be fine." I whispered as I pulled an older year out of the crowd. He grunted, looking up to see me. His eyes widened. "Z-Zeref." his eyes dropped in respect. "Help this girl to the gymnasium safely please." I said, giving her hand to him. He nodded, picking her up and rushing into the crowd. I struggled through people, walking further down the hall until I reached a crowd of students who were in my class. I scanned their faces before I saw Naz and Jace. They spot me before I spot them, swimming through the crowd and towards me. "What''s happening?" Jace screamed over the noise. "The blood moon." I replied, holding onto the both of them and running to the gymnasium. Soon all the halls started to clear except for the two nurse ladies who were running with a trolley of first aid things. "Let us help." I stopped running, taking one trolley. "Thank you dearie." The nice nurse lady said while the mean one rolled her eyes. We soon reached the gymnasium to see there was more space because the stage wasn''t there. People huddled in corners and everyone was sectioned into their year groups. The nurse ladies took their trolley, finding themselves a little station. Naz ran up to Sara as they engulfed each other in a hug. Jace followed her as I walked away, having a plan laid out in my head. I walked up to the older kids who were in their last year at this school meaning they were 18. They all stayed fairly calm, some cradling their girlfriends and some talking to the teachers. I walked up to one who was the same height as me. He had a fair amount of muscles and looked strong. "Zeref." he smiled at me. Everyone knew me as the guy Xanxus respected. This gave some type of authority to them. He listened carefully to what I was about to say. "You look fairly strong." I said, scanning him up and down. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I''m on the school''s strength team." he said as I looked at him in confusion. They had a strength team? What the hell was that? He took my confusion as a sign to elaborate. "Strength wrestling was a popular sport when we were your age. It was like fighting but with no mana. It kind of lost it''s hype but I''m on the school''s last ever strength team." he said proudly. I nodded in understanding. This was perfect. "Can you introduce me to your team?" I asked. I liked the fact that he didn''t question me. He called a group of guys in the corner over to us. "What do you need, Zeref?" one of them said. "I have some powerful legendary swords but I need to give them to people who are capable of handling them. I need two of your strongest wrestlers to guard each entrance. Two people who are brave enough to defend the school when an A rank beast enters." I said, looking at their eyes. I saw one guy with bright red hair. He nodded at me in determination. "I''m the captain and Derek is also really strong. We can take it." he said, pointing at the guy I talked to earlier, as Derek. I looked at Derek as he also nodded. I don''t know if I could trust them. ''Just trust these fools. Better than nothing.'' Voadhailis reminded me as I summoned two of my golden swords from my dimension ring. They thanked me, bowing in respect like soldiers. The other wrestlers also bowed. "Do you know where I can find Moira Belle?" I said politely. One of them looked up, speaking. "The national sword fighter of the school?" I nodded. Another one spoke, pointing to a girl with short hair and a fringe. She huddled with her friends as they all had worried expressions on their faces. "She is in the year below us," he said. Moira was famous in the school for taking our school to the nationals with her sword fighting skills. Although she used mana when she fought. I saw her technique first hand and it was similar to Japanese Kendo. I was sure she''d be just as good without mana. She had just turned 17 and was supposed to take a scholarship for her amazing sword skills but she declined the offer, deciding to stay at Xanxus academy. Xanxus cherished her as she was a gifted student and took pride in her. It must''ve upsetted her to know that he left. I walked up to her, taking her by surprise. "Hello Zeref!" she smiled warmly. "Hi Moira. I need your help." I said in concern, holding a silver sword in my hand. She looked down at it and back up at me. "I need someone skilled to protect everyone when the beasts come. I only have limited swords." I explained as she took the sword from me, adjusting her grip around the handle. She nodded. "I''m glad you thought of asking me." she smirked, spinning the sword skillfully. I nodded, smiling at her. The amount of trust I was putting on these three better be worth it. Now I only had 2 more weapons left "Sir." I said, tapping the Combat Professor''s shoulder. He turned around facing me, giving me a wry smile. "Do you need something?" "Yes. The school barrier is down and I have an enchanted katana blade I want to give to you. I believe only you can wield it. Since no one can use mana this blade will allow the use of mana strike up to 5 times. Please guard and protect the students." I spoke, handing him the Katana. He nodded solemnly, before shaking my hand "Also tell the other professors capable of fighting that the beasts may infiltrate the building and head towards the students. Stay on your toes." I warned, turning around. "It sounds like you won''t be staying here with us. Do you have any other motives?" He asked. I looked back at him with my left eye, as it glowed an intense hue of yellow and my iris had become a tiny slit in the middle. "I''ve got plans." His face paled at the sight, before breaking out of the stance. Now I had more fighters capable of helping if any beasts got into the main building. The Dragon Dna in me was reacting to the secondary mana pool and my body was beginning to accept the new type of mana that flowed through my meridians. I could feel the sudden surges of mana fluctuating through me, giving me more and more mana. Numen had warned me that the Blood Moon was coming soon but this was unheard of. It was too soon! I rushed over to Jace, who was sitting in a corner comforting Naz. He got up when his gaze met mine. "Zeref, so what are we doing?" his voice had a sense of determination in it. "You guys won''t be doing anything. Here take these." I handed him some mana gauntlets, "The Blood Moon means you guys won''t be able to use mana. "These gauntlets have small magic runes that will boost your attack power. Use these if things get rough. I need to go help Malia." "What do you mean, go help her? Where is she?!" Naz got up, her voice showing desperation. "She''s fighting off the beasts outside." I replied, avoiding eye contact. "What?! By herself! What happened to the barrier?!" Naz gripped my collar. "She''ll handle it. She can use mana somehow. And that damned Principal, he''s evil. He let the barrier down." I flicked her hands away. I flash stepped away, jumping out of a window and ricocheting off of the walls of the buildings before making it to the roof. Removing my eyepatch, my limiter was removed off my body and I felt my strength returning and my body becoming much lighter. I scanned the battlefield in front of me. There seemed to be about a 1000 beasts in total coming for the school. I had to help Malia. I didn''t know what the flickering of her eyes meant but I hoped it was something good. I checked my MP and skills menu. I could only use flame attacks and the MP cap was at 2000. Not that bad. ''Do you know what that girl is?'' Voad asked, an amusement to his voice. ''What?'' ''She''s a Spirit Wolf. They''re ancient. A being on par with us Dragons. You want her to be your serpentine right, good choice.'' He smirked. A being on par with the mighty true dragons huh. Chapter 116 - Blood Moon Apocalypse II -Malia''s POV, after Zeref and her separated and she ran down the stairs- I ran down the stairs, seeing everything in a new light. My eyes were shining golden and canines formed in my mouth. There was no mana in the air but there was still spirit magic. Spirit magic was everywhere. It was a new type of magic particle I had discovered. It was the reason why spirit wolves were so powerful and ancient. They didn''t rely fully on mana. They had access to something more special. Something no one else knew existed or how to control. I ran into the clearing, watching as the army ran towards me. I stood at the gate for a second, not having a clear plan. ''Woooow! Just wing it.'' Nina encouraged sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, pushing my hands up. A blue opaque wall started to form at the gates as I started to create my own barrier. It was stupid to think the old barrier would hold these beasts. We needed a barrier a thousand times stronger but would mine be strong enough? I pushed my hands up and forwards, adding layers and layers. They approached at a deadly speed, crashing against my barrier and bouncing back. I slid back, screaming out while my hands shook. I stiffened, sliding back as hundreds of beasts banged at my barrier, pushing it. "ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I screamed, letting the barrier push back before springing forwards with all I had. The barrier flew towards them, pushing their force back at them and sending some flying. My nose started to bleed from the mental strength it took. Their eyes were all glowing red at me, staring at me through the barrier. Read eyes meant the blood moon had possessed them. I held my hands up, letting out another shout and pushing them back with my barrier while stepping forwards. One of them roared in anger, activating its mana fully. The blood moon had possessed them in a torturous way and now they wanted to take out their rage on the school. I refused to break, pushing the barrier against them again. They all jumped back as I forced them back into the forest, my eyes glowing like a torch. My hair blew back out of my face as I pushed an army. "Malia?!" Zeref said, his face in shock at the strength I had. His eyes widened looking at the beast at the other side of my shield. The A rank beasts roared, banging against the barrier and throwing attacks at it. "I can use a little mana. I can help!" Zeref said, activating his mana. But before he could do anything my barrier was already broken. I fell to my knees as an immense fatigue rushed over me. "Switch." He said and I got up and jumped back to where he was initially. "Rest up for a while, Ima bring us some time." He sped across the battlefield, before punching one of the beasts with such power it toppled backwards, dying instantly. His demon magic was helpful even without mana. He still had super speed and strength at his advantage. It just shows how much power he has access too. This was the first time I was seeing him without his eye patch. His eyes never rested and darted left and right processing every move the beasts were making, dodging them in succession. Even without the usage of mana he was still holding his own. Some beasts ran past Zeref as I lifted my hand up, pulling up what felt like millions of elephants. The ground started to rise before something exploded, creating a ripple effect and a large hole. Some of the beast lost balance, falling into the hole while others leaped over it, continuing their way to the school. I had no time to rest as I let my white ears surface on my head. I could hear every movement, clearer than I ever could. I blasted weird surges of energy out of my hands, leaping, twisting and killing. Heads fell to the ground, bodies flew back and beasts started to flee. Sweat ran down my forehead as I still haven''t gained a single scratch. I glanced at Zeref to see him overwhelmed, covered in blood and wounds. I was about to help when a loud noise rang through my ears. Boom!!! A large explosion made Zeref fly back and slide against the ground. I watched as he grimaced and got up. I rushed by his side. "What was that?" I asked, as the wild beasts began charging towards us again. "One of the A rank beasts can use mana attacks so be careful. It shoots a ball of exploding flames from its mouth." He replied providing me with intel, "You think you can fight now?" I nodded, even though my body was already feeling the fatigue. We both roared, speeding across and colliding with the army of beasts. Under the glowing red moon, the battlefield was becoming splattered with the blood of beasts. I didn''t know how Zeref had this much power even without using any lightning attacks but it was the same for me. Due to the beasts'' wild attacks and lack of teamwork we were able to dodge and counter attack in time. Soon around a quarter of them had been wiped out, but we were both running on fumes. "I''ve got a plan. Hold them off just for 2 minutes." Zeref stepped back onto a large boulder and extended his palm up facing the sky. What was he planning? I kept the monsters at bay as he gathered his mana into his palm. An orange ball of condensed flames grew larger and larger and soon he started to grit his teeth at the weight of it. He was putting in all of his remaining mana. Zeref it''s now or never. "Good job." He smiled, before levitating up about 100 meters. He spoke his incantation out loud and dropped the punishment from hell that he was brewing. "Grande Sole. Versione El Drago." The large ball of scorching heat had a total circumference of about 200m and radiated an intense heat that even began to melt my mana enhanced armour. With one flick of his wrist it descended from the sky like a meteor and at impact shook the Earth to its core. The tremor could be felt for miles and wiped out over half of the remaining mana beasts. A clear and barren crater was left as a mark of Zeref''s Colossal Spell, engraved into the Earth. I reappeared from my hiding spot, behind the boulder and spotted most of the A rank beasts rising again, shaking off the pain. The lower ranked beasts hadn''t survived and were decimated into dust, only the strong remained. Zeref''s body fell from the sky and I could see a smile on his face. Why was this crazy guy happy? I ran through the air in speed, catching his body and laying him down. His eyes were still open but he looked dizzy as he laid limp where I had placed him. ''How are we going to kill the rest of them you''re clearly fatigued.'' Nina''s voice echoed in my head. ''I don''t know but I''ll have to try. Zeref gave it his all so I have to as well.'' I turned my head round to see how far the Magic beasts were? Sh*t! I stood in front of Zeref''s body, charging with an opaque aura around me. I felt a surge of energy rush into me as I started to see everything in tunnel vision. The three strongest species of A rank beasts were coming for the school and I was taking them on head to head. Only one side will make it out alive and the school is depending on me. One of them tried to barge into me but I dodged it swiftly with no struggle. It was like my body was gathering all the spirit magic it could and expelling it in high voltages. I couldn''t keep track of my movements as the three beasts stopped in confusion, trying to catch sight of me. They were practically chasing their own tails before I pounced on one. It roared at the sky, lifting its paws up like a horse and trying to shake me off. I gripped onto its fur, my palm dripping in what looked like thick mist. The mist travelled the beast''s body like poison as the other two watched their accomplice, hesitantly stepping back. The mist entered its body though its mouth, suffocating it before I leaped off its back. I brang my hands up, splitting the air with a swift hand motion and the beast ripped in two, each one flying at the two remaining beasts. They roared in anger as the trees started to rustle again. My ears picked up on thousands of footsteps as trees tumbled down. There were not many trees left in this forest so when I looked up, an army of beasts charged. From A to D rank. I pissed off the whole forest. The two A rank beasts pounced at me but I quickly lifted my palm off, bouncing their bodies off with a shield. I grew a surge of energy in me while putting myself in a protection bubble. Something started to form in the sky from my magic but it wasn''t forming fast enough. I pushed as my bubble was being attacked by two A rank beasts. Hurry. Hurry! A glistening sound came from the sky as a ray of colours decorated the army of angered beasts. The dark clouds struck it with lightning but it was no use. I had formed something that looked like the northern lights. It looked like the aurora borealis except it was way bigger. I pushed my hand down, feeling as if I''m bringing down the upper realm. The colours crashed down onto the army, surprisingly even damaging the ground as a surge of wind gushed out from the impact. Sadly, it only wiped out half as there were still 1000s left who dodged the blow. My bubble finally burst as the army reached me. I can''t give up but it''s so tempting. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled in frustration, feeling something in me snap. It was like the chains that were holding me back had finally let go, releasing the demon inside. An image of a white wolf in shackles being freed flashed in my head as my eyes lit up again and I saw black. I expelled a roar, so mighty and holding so much dominance, everything shook around me. I expected the army of beasts to attack but they never did. I opened my eyes to see all the beasts surrounding me were now kneeling towards me in respect. My roar had broken the blood moons curse on them. Their eyes were back to normal as they all bowed their heads at my feet. I felt way taller as I looked to my feet to see paws. My silky tails shimmered around me like I was a peacock as I levitated towards the moon. It was so close to me. I faced it, not knowing my plan but I did know something. A spirit wolf''s roar means something to these animals. I howled at the moon as beasts started to howl and roar with me. Chapter 117 - Blood Moon Apocalypse III -Zeref''s POV- I gradually opened my eyes and my face dropped in awe at millions of beasts kneeling, howling at the moon. An enchanting white wolf with many silk tails lead the howl like a pack''s Alpha. What the he*ll was happening? ''That is Malia.'' Voadhailis smirked, impressed and for once, there was a hint of respect in his voice. I groaned, sitting up to see the moon''s blood red fading. I felt my mana start to resurface but not all of it. I remembered the last thing I saw before I blacked out. I was holding that fireball behind me, exerting all my mana into it and when I aimed it at the crowd of beasts, my body felt numb. The expense of the move was immense and it knocked me unconscious. Before falling into Malia''s arms and going in and out of consciousness, a blast of notification filled my vision, making me smile in content. [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have Levelled up!] [Congratulations! You are now level 87!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You are now on level 88!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You are on level 89!] [You have massacred a hundred A & B rank beasts!] [You have Levelled up!] [Congratulations! You are now level 90!] [Total Available Stat Points: 60] The Silky white wolf finally stopped its howl and so did the dozens of surviving beasts. Its body began to dematerialise until a faint human figure could be seen: Malia. She gave another roar and the remaining beasts began to turn around and turn towards the Magic Forest to retreat. I pulled myself up, looking at Malia who paced towards me before giving me a large hug. "Now we don''t have any secrets." She smiled. I could feel her warm breath against my neck and a blanket of warmth enveloped my body. It was like being in contact with her was rejuvenating my energy and healing my body. She looked at me with her glowing golden eyes, before beginning to walk towards the school building. "You hear that too right? It''s not over yet." She sighed, extending her claws. "I need you to go and head towards the students, I''ll take care of the Blood Moon. I have a way to get rid of it. If things get sticky I''ll come to help." She said quickly, before speeding up into a sprint. Since when was she this bossy? She was getting more and more like Nina by the day. -Cough! Cough! Suddenly, I broke out into a fit of painful coughs, I struggled to stay standing and my mind started spinning. Blood stained my hands and I quickly wiped them clean. Finally, finding my balance and standing up straight I ignored my body''s cries for rest and began running towards the school. I wore my eyepatch back on, on the way there and sighed as my body felt heavy like lead again. These dampeners were extremely inconvenient. The screams and smell of human blood hit me as soon as I made it near the school building. ''You''ve already overexerted yourself. Don''t overdo it. Wait till your mana returns, you''re not used to the potency of my Dragon Flames yet. It damages your body every time you use the secondary mana pool. I told you it wasn''t fully complete so don''t be reckless.'' Voad warned. I walked to the gymnasium but before I could reach, all I could hear were screams. Swinging the doors open and activating the little mana I had, I assessed the situation. Cr*p! This situation was all too familiar. The limp bodies of students were scattered all around and some even hung from the walls covered in blood. To my surprise I could sense life and they weren''t dead, Just unconscious. A cry came from the side as I looked to the right to see Moira, cradling the broken sword I had given to her beforehand. I rushed to her side, helping her up. She sniffled, wiping her tears. "The p-principle H-He attacked us and took three kids. Saraphina, Naz and that stink guy." Moira tried to catch her breath, crying while her mascara ran down her face. "Stinkend." I corrected her, mentally rolling my eyes. I knew the principle was the mole but why would he take them? "Y-Yeah. H-He was looking for you but N-Naz stepped forward and said you weren''t here. He attacked everyone and w-we tried to fight him off with our swords but h-he was way faster. He could use mana s-somehow." I nodded, rubbing her shoulder in comfort. Of course this traitor could. My suspicions were right after all. "Wake the teachers and nurses up, I''ll go look for him. Do you know where he headed?" "Your classroom. The one you were in b-before the moon appeared. He left me a-awake to tell you he is w-waiting." I nodded, thanking her as the old nurse lady groaned, slowly waking up. Moira helped her up and asked her if she was ok as I walked out. On my way, I passed Leilani''s limp body. She was pale and her friends were on top of her. Mike laid near her head, his arm wrapping around her in protection. I knelt down, scooping her out of the pile and out of Mike''s arms. Using the little gravity magic I had, I lifted up a bed from the ground and fixed it upright, laying her down on it. She had a bruise on her head and I brushed the hair out of her face, inspecting it. "Moira, Princess Leilani will be treated first when the nurses wake up." I told her and she nodded, picking up teachers who looked dazed. I owed it to Landon to make sure his sister was safe. This attack was in rage of not finding me after all so these casualties were my fault. I swung the door open with my gravity magic, a deadly aura surrounding me. I ripped my eye patch off and released the monstrous aura I was holding back. This principle messed with the wrong contestant. ''Shackles, release.'' I took my demon form as I stalked down the halls, my eyes filling with rage and my fist clenched. The more I walked, the more I felt my mana returning to me. Whatever Malia was doing to the moon, was working really well... ** "There you are, Zeref Amara. The Lightning Contestant. It''s an honour to meet you in person once again..." I glared at him as he spoke, smiling devilishly. I scanned past him to see Sara and Naz chained to a wall, unconscious. There seemed to be bruise marks on their faces and Jace, his face was the bloodiest, all beaten up and bruised. They must have refused to tell him my location. "...You''re the cold blooded killer of my little Brother Blake Handmoore. You showed him no mercy when he begged for his life so I will do the same. You will beg by my feet while I rape and kill your friends in fro-" Booom!!!! My punch created a sonic boom, as his body folded around my fist before rocketing backwards at an inhumane speed, smashing out of the school walls and flying towards the barren battlefield. A trail of destruction marked the ground as his body carried on toppling backwards. Dust and bits of rock created a blanket of brown mist filling the whole battlefield. The atmosphere shook at my immense mana pressure and dark cumulonimbus clouds began to stir in the sky. I jumped out of the building and landed on my feet and walked towards his filthy body. VIolent streaks of lightning snaked around my body and cackled, whilst the intense heat of the Dragon Flames oozed from my secondary mana pool and melted the air itself. "AAAarghhhhh!!!!!" The traitor roared, splitting up into clones and attacking me from every angle. So he had the light attribute like his pathetic brother? Sadly for him I had no intention of even giving him any hope of winning. ''Voad. Cambio Forma!'' I sped round faster than the speed of sound, causing sonic booms to echo and shake the atmosphere at each change in direction. In an instant the clones had all been cut to pieces and his main body finally hit me from behind. His sword pierced through my chest, severing through from behind, before retracting it again. I coughed out blood, back kicking him but he dodged and flash stepped around to punch my head. -Pow! [You have suffered 5000 Damage!] [Mp is dropping rapidly] [HP will drop at 5HP/second due to physical stress and fatigue] [Movement has been slowed and capped by 10%] The world blacked out for a second; I quickly regained my senses and swung down with two diagonal slashes, causing 2 arcs of Dragon magic enchanted flame arcs to fly towards him. ''Voad what do those notifications mean?'' ''Your system is protecting you from dying. I told you not to overexert yourself!'' He raised his voice at the dire situation. He danced around and dodged them. Blood ran down his forehead and I could see the internal damage my first blow caused him with my Demon eye. Some of his organs were completely ruptured and he had multiple rib fractures. It was a miracle he was even standing up. "This is your full power? You worthless piece of trash. Now I will dispose of you!" He laughed, holding his stomach with his right hand and panting. Uttering what seemed to be an incantation, a devilish smile stretched across his face from ear to ear. Suddenly, a bright red light burst out from his body and engulfed the whole area. It was like a red sun had descended on Earth and engulfed everything around me in a blinding red light. I looked away, shielding my eyes with my forearms. Pow! My body flew back crashing against a large boulder and I let out a cry of pain, as my transformation finally left me and the building up fatigue finally hit me. How did his power grow so exponentially? Could I really beat this fiend? Chapter 118 - Blood Moon Apocalypse IV [You have suffered 2000 Damage!] Sh*t! My MP was at a mere 10% and my HP had dwindled to 10,000. What could I do now? He had powered up even further and I went full throttle from the start. At this point, I was already gassed out. The Professor now was a monster. His skin tone had turned a hideous grey with streaks of red veins bulging out from his bulked muscles and 2 dark horns propped out from his forehead. ''He has wings. This is bad.'' Voad warned, as the Professor advanced forward walking towards me, with his sword in his right hand. He wanted to give the finishing blow, whilst I was weak. ''What do you mean?'' ''Those dark wings on his back. Only Demon Kings and High Level Marquiss demons have them, so all in all we''re f*cked!'' ''Isn''t he a fake demon though?'' ''Shut up and get out of there! He''s getting closer by the second.'' Voadhailis yelled. I tried to pick myself up but it felt like my body was chained to the ground with 1 tonne weights pulling me back. "This is for my brother" He had finally appeared in front of me and raised his sword up high to swing down and sever my head. Suddenly, thick green vines appeared out of the ground and wrapped the Professor''s demon body, pulling him back. BOOM! BOOM! Thunderous claps shook the ground, as bolts of lightning rained down from the sky striking the captured professor. ''Looks like reinforcements have arrived. Just in time.'' Voad smirked. "AAarghhh!!!!" The Professor screamed in pain, as millions of volts passed through his large body. "Are you okay?" Dianmu appeared by my side, holding her golding staff. She looked at me with worried eyes before waving her relic weapon one more time and bolts of lightning rained down, hitting the Professor knocking him unconscious. "Sir Voadhailis, called us here. Did you forget about us? You almost died, if you called us here before you wouldn''t have become this injured." Dianmu scolded as she helped me up and giving me a big hug. ''Is that right? Can you communicate with them?'' ''Of course. I''m a mighty true dragon. These peasants fall under my feet! HAhahaaha'' Voad laughed arrogantly. I shook my head, blocking his voice and pushing him to the back of my mind. "Okay. That''s enough you''re squishing me to death." Dianmu finally let me go before helping me up. She flung one of my arms around her neck and helped me limp towards a rock to sit down. "So where''s Numen?" I asked. "RAaaarghhh!! You f*cking peasants! I''ll kill you!" The professor ripped out of the thick shackle like vines that were pinning him down and charged towards us. If I didn''t have my demon eye, I wouldn''t have been able to see the perfect counter Numen executed. It all happened so fast. He used the momentum of the charging Professor and shoulder rolled him down, smashing his body into the ground. A large crack spread out under him like a spiderweb, causing a cloud of dust to arise and block the vision. Numen flash stepped in front of us and cast a spell. Colossal vines erupted from the ground and formed a coffin around the unconscious body of the Professor. "Dianmu and I will try to kill him off but I doubt we''ll be able to with our power level at the moment. Recover and regain your mana; The Blood Moon is residing somehow so we need you at full power. "That thing that you''re fighting is extremely strong. At most we can buy you half an hour." Numen began moving again, as soon as he spotted a tear in the coffin he had made to immobilise the mad experiment. Dianmu gave me a quick nod and flash stepped towards the battlefield. ''Rapid healing.'' My HP began rising again exponentially and I was able to get into a meditating position. ''Voad. You meditate too, We need to fill that Secondary Mana Pool too.'' ''I began ages ago. Don''t have to tell me twice.'' This was now a battle of attrition. Dianmu and Numen brought us time and wore him down, while we recovered as much as we could How long could this plan last? ** "How much longer? Our mana is almost depleted!" Numen shouted, blocking another hit from the professor. I opened my eyes and finally got up. 20 minutes had passed and they both worked well but it was time to pass the baton on. Suddenly, a crack formed in the sky and the red moon vanished and the normal moon returned. She done it! Malia stuck to her words and got rid of the Blood Moon somehow. The Professor looked stunned, unable to fathom what had just happened. "Switch." At my words, Both of the S rank Mana beasts nodded and jumped back. Everyone had done their bits, now I just had to finish him off. A surge of power flowed through me as my mana pool had no more restraints. ''Shackles Release.'' ''Lightning Aura.'' ''Cambio Forma.'' ''Purgatory.'' Zoom!! I covered the distance in a split second and cut down with the two blades in my hands. Surprisingly, his skin was reinforced with ''mana skin'' and he was able to lessen the damage. I smiled before, imbuing the two blades in mana. The Dragon Magic flowing out from my secondary mana pool flowed into the red blade in my left hand and burned his reinforced skin with every cut. I began my onslaught, throwing a fit of wild swings and combos. My speed and power increased with every blow. The Purgatory spell shunned the most when there were consecutive hits. With every successful hit the combo''s grew and my speed and power would increase over and over, causing more damage as time moved on. The Professor gritted his teeth at the barrage and roared, blasting a burst of light towards me. I evaded, flash stepping to the side and conjuring my own ball of flames. Condensing the mana flames into a concentrated grenade, I flicked my wrist and it flew towards the Professor''s chest. BOOOM! The explosion caused a chain reaction with the flame mana in the atmosphere and detonated causing black smoke to engulf the area. With a swing of my short sword the smoke dissipated and I walked towards the injured prey in front of me. At this point there was no way he had any more sudden power ups left. He had taken too much damage and with my demon eye I could see his life force dwindling by the second. Whatever that power up was, he traded his life force for it. "You f*cking peasant! You give me no choice!" he shouted. Blood dripped from the various cuts and burns on his body, as he fumbled to reach for something in his pocket. A portal?! I charged for him, accelerating into a sprint but I was a tad bit too slow. The tip of my short sword was a hair''s breadth away from his neck, before he portalled out. How did he portal so quickly? Sh*t! I cursed my luck at the missed opportunity. Dianmu and Numen had both disappeared and were both recovering so if he suddenly returned it wouldn''t turn out so well for me. My demon transformation started to disappear; my red hair was slowly returning to black and the horns started to recede. The extra power I received was also decreasing by the second. I began walking back to the school site to check up on everyone. A couple seconds later Voad shrieked, making me snap out of my trance. ''Behind you! He''s back! Get your head out of your a*s!'' I turned around and gripped the two shortswords tightly. I had little mana left and no matter how high my HP was my body was too tired for another bout. My eyes widened at the sight as I scanned the person the professor gripped by the hair. MOTHER! I gritted my teeth in bloodthirst. MY blood boiled at the sight of my poor mother. She wept and cried out of fear. "Son-" "What do you even want? Let her go!" I snapped. "What do I want? You''re really asking me that?! I want to see you suffer. I want to see your face as I kill your mother in front of your eyes, whilst you watch helplessly." I stepped forward at his words but he moved a blade to her neck instantly. "Make one more move and I''ll kill her. Never mind I''ll kill her anyways" NOOOOOOOooo!!! Time slowed down as I reached my hand out to somehow save my mother from the inevitable death. Even if I used Godspeed, I wouldn''t have been able to cover the distance in time and save her. His blade was too close to her neck. How could I let this happen?! Please This can''t be If only I could swap places with her! At my last thought, filled with urgency and desire, the world went black and white, everything stopped, even the flow of time. I couldn''t move a muscle. A demonic voice reverberated in layers, echoing from all sides, answering my call. "Just this once, young demon." Instantly, My body swapped situations with my mother... The world began ticking again, as colour returned and everything began moving again. My right eye spiked in pain and blood began dripping from it. I struck Voadhailis''s Claws into the professor''s torso, not wasting any time and heel kicking him back. He stepped back, dropping the blade in his hand before falling to the ground. Blood poured out of his mouth and he coughed severely. "H-How?" He uttered, grasping his chest. I didn''t answer and with a single swish his head rolled to the ground. What just happened? ''I''m not sure either but that trick you done. It''s in your skill menu now. Your visual Prowess has increased.'' Voad remarked. Chapter 119 - A Day I Never Thought Would Arise... -Zeref''s POV- The medical team and police force arrived on site and took care of students. It turned out beasts had attacked the whole city from different angles so the Police Force was occupied. I hugged my mother and surprisingly, she took the news well. It was the first time she had seen me properly without my eye patch. She didn''t argue and told me to rest instead; I could explain everything later on. I sat outside the hospital room. Naz, Jace and Sara were getting their check ups inside while I fiddled with my sleeve. People stared at me, whispering. I guess the news spread quickly. I fought the principle. I couldn''t ignore the looks any longer and ran out of the halls, finding an empty room. The soft moonlight shone into the dimly lit room and I stared out of the large windows, showing me a clear view of everything. This life was more chaotic than my last life. It feels so weird not being James Lance. I''m now Zeref Amara. I''m stronger, faster and have a carved path towards something people would kill for. But something feels missing I feel empty. I feel like I''m still holding onto something in my past life. The more I try to search deep and find what it is, the further I feel from it. What''s holding me back from fully moving onto this life? I sat on a chair and stared at the medicine vials all stacked in a tall cabinet. It was much more peaceful here. Plus, the door has a window so I can see if Jace, Naz or Sara walk past. "Zeref?!" Malia''s distant voice yelled out to me. I craned my neck over my shoulder and towards the door. "In here!" I yelled back, turning back around to stare at the night sky. I heard her footsteps trail closer until she swung the door open with little to no bruises. I stood up, about to run to her but she had already pounced on me, laughing with relief. "Thank god, you''re okay!" she dug her face into my neck, pulling me down while holding me closely. I wrapped my arms around her, taking in her scent. We swayed in each other''s arms, holding each other through the chaos of the night. I held her while thinking of how I could have lost her tonight. She really was amazing. I remember running outside to see her holding up a barrier against thousands of beasts. Her hair was blown out of her face and the fierce concentration in her eyes still flashes my memory. She looked powerful. Almost untouchable. "You''re a" I proceeded to say. "Spirit wolf." we both said in unison as she looked at me with guilt swirling in her eyes. This whole time she has been holding her powers in. Now that I know, I can have more help with fighting off armies. I wonder what would happen if I used my inspect skill on her... "I''m sorry I didn''t tell you Zeref." she sighed, her eyes puffy and red. I held her face in my hands, shaking my head. "It isn''t your fault. I never gave you time to tell me." I said. She was very weak and looked tired. She fought, held back and led an army tonight. She saved us. One thing for sure is that she is definitely useful and I can see her growing and fighting alongside me in the future. After all, she was Gramps''s student for a short time because she was also gifted like me. "There is so much I need to tell you." she shivered, pulling herself away from me, the guilt becoming more apparent in her face. "Same." I returned, the idea of telling her about how I bonded with a true dragon popping up in my head. Malia looked at me with a lost expression in her eyes. Her hands were shaking mine as she held in her urge to cry. I stared at her with mixed feelings, waiting for her to say something but instead she closed her eyes. "The powers of a spirit wolf were gifted to me from the monarchs. They put my past life''s soul inside of me to teach me how to control it I attacked Sara after losing control and shifting in school. I remember you chasing me and I fainted. "When I woke up, I was dying inside my shell. My past soul pretended to be me while I recovered. Therefore I was so strange- I-I-" she rambled in one go, not being able to look at my reaction. I tried to keep track of her story, letting myself process her words. A foreign feeling washed over me. I was right. All those weird times when she acted out wasn''t her. I held her chin up, forcing her eyes to raise and look at me. "Don''t feel guilty." A misty aura resonated around her as she gasped. It felt as if I was touching gold; she went dead cold. "I''ll show you." she said while a wave of power expanded out of her. I shut my eyes momentarily from the gush of wind but when I opened my eyes, I saw something I knew couldn''t be real. Standing in front of me was the woman who haunted my dreams. The woman I lost and my heart ached for. Malia dropped to the floor from the power it must''ve taken to exert her out. I couldn''t move. I couldn''t process anything. How? She was pale and a bit see through, looking at me with no expression. I found it hard to find words. I clenched my jaw, shaking with tears welling my eyes. "N-Nina?" Her expression changed to one of surprise as she stared into my eyes. I dropped to my knees, letting my tears run free. I cried on the floor, letting all my emotions rush out of me. It hurt so much to look at her. I couldn''t. The pain I kept all these years had finally rendered me immobile. It had finally devoured me as I stared into her eyes. "I''m sorry I was too late. I''m sorry I didn''t come in time. Y-You must''ve suffered so much. It must''ve been so painful. I couldn''t s-save you. I''m sorry-" I held my arms together, kneeling to her. She stepped back, her hands starting to shake while her gears turned. "James?" she wavered before looking me in the eyes. I looked back at her. Why did it have to be like this? We had a doomed fate. We were both empty voids, trying to become something that was supposed to be in the past. Everything was too late. She pulled me into the abyss; into a dream-like fantasy. We were happy but death was our only barrier. The only thing that can obstruct love... is death. And it broke us. Us. Why couldn''t I just go back to her? I ran up to her, trying to hug her but I stumbled through her. She cried as I screamed out in frustration. All these years of her running through my mind and now that she is in front of me I can''t even hold her!!! "James, is it really you?" she held her hand over her mouth in shock, tears running softly down her cheeks. I turned to her, weakly limping towards her. I stroked her face, feeling nothing but air. Nina will never come back. She wasn''t here. Not physically. I can''t feel her. I can''t hold her. Even after all these years... There was not a day where she didn''t come to my mind. She leaned into my hand but I felt numb. There was no warm skin to touch, no person to hug, no life. Just her soul. But it was enough. Please leave her with me. Please let me have my Nina. She looked conflicted, wrapping her arms around me, trying not to fall through me. I cried. That''s all I could do. Cry with the pain finally drowning me. How many times do I have to relive your death? How many times do I have to be reminded I was too late? Why does your essence follow me? "It isn''t your fault. None of it was. You made me the happiest" she cried, sniffling. "Don''t leave me again." I pleaded, feeling as if her reassurance was a farewell. "Don''t let my death hold you back okay? M-Move forwards Z-Zeref Amara, my lightning contestant." she caressed my cheek but again, I couldn''t feel her. Let me feel her warmth! Be real!!! I shook my head, refusing her words. "N-No. I''m your James. I''m not anyone else." She sighed, smiling as her tears finally stopped. "I''m very happy with how my next life is here. Malia is strong enough to control the spirit wolf transformation without me now. She doesn''t need my assistance." she looked down at Malia''s body. "You have all my blessings Zeref. Let go of James. He can rest with me. Our love will never die. Let your memories of me fade." she comforted as I fell to my knees again, falling to her feet and begging her. "Live well Zeref. You can start fresh. Our love can relive in Malia and Zeref. It''s time for us to rest." she reached her hand down to me as I stayed on the floor, still pleading. "PLEASE DON''T LEAVE!" "Make me proud. Zeref Amara." she smiled as she started to float up. "NOOO!" I leaped up, trying to hold onto her but my fingers slipped through her ankles. "NOOOOOO!" I wanted to scream, cry, shout but nothing would bring her back. Malia sat up, dazed. Somehow she looked like she knew everything. Like she had watched it unfold. "Zeref I am so sorry" she ran up to me, hugging my broken state. "SHE LEFT ME ALL OVER AGAIN!" I cried, leaning into her arms. Can anyone understand the pain eating me alive right now?... Why would you monarchs dangle her right in front of me and snatch her away again?! I''m going to kill you all!!! I''m going to make sure I send all of you down to hell. I will rule the upper realm and hell. If I can''t ascend to the upper realm, I''ll make the upper realm crumble down to me. "Why?" I cried, numbly. I had grieved her so many times. But the wound was still fresh, even after 20 years. A scar like this will never heal because it''s not on my skin like any normal wound. Although it stings when touched and reopens when there''s a sharp movement, this wound won''t be able to close or heal. I saw Nina after 20 years of constant dreams of her. I finally saw her but she is gone. Malia cried, cradling my head. "I know, I know." she cooed, rocking us both. I struggled to keep my eyes open; I was tired of hurting. The slumber wrapped around me as I was rocked back and forth on the floor, in Malia''s arms. She was with me. Malia. That was enough for my scar to go numb. "I''m sorry," she comforted, her tears dropping onto my cheek as I finally let myself melt into her. There was no point in holding onto my grief. "It is okay to cry. It is okay to hurt. It is okay to grieve." she whispered, running her fingers through my hair. It was a long night for the both of us. Malia and I. Me and Malia. Us. An eternal ''us''. "I''m here" she rubbed the tears from my cheeks, smiling through the pain and looking down at me. Somehow, I felt at ease. Like everything had been settled. James was really gone. I''m Zeref Amara. I closed my eyes, holding one arm around her. I hummed in her comfort as I sat in my empty mind of darkness. My eyes stung from the tears but as she rocked and rocked and rocked, I felt my thoughts release. I fell asleep. In her arms. Us. Chapter 120 - An Invitation… Knock! Knock! Knock! "Someone get the door!" Jace shouted from the kitchen, as he juggled 2 hot burger patties in his hands. I sighed, before getting up and heading for the double doors of the mansion. My body still ached from the stress I put it through, during the Blood moon; I had rested up well but it would take a couple more days until I was completely healthy. At opening the door I was met with two bright red eyes staring at me. The woman in front of me had a slender figure with flowing dark hair that danced with the gentle brushes of the wind. Her beauty captivated me for a couple seconds before I realised what her eyes resembled. A demon? What''s it doing so far from it''s enclosed society? I was about to get violent but she raised her hands in submission. "Please. I''m only a messenger! I come in peace." She closed her eyes and lifted her arms to protect her head, in anticipation for a hit. "Why are you here?" I asked, my voice still stern and my guard on high alert. "Can I come inside please? It''s cold out here." She pouted, rubbing her arms. To be fair I could see our breaths condensing in the air. ''I think she means no harm. I don''t sense any ill intentions from her. Stay on alert just in case.'' Voad warned. "We''ll talk elsewhere. Let''s go for a walk and hide those eyes of yours." I said, handing her some sunglasses. "T-Thanks." She accepted the dark glasses and wore them ecstatically, "Is this like a gift? I''ve never received one of those before." She turned around and began walking and I followed behind her. "Jace, I''ll be back. Gimme a couple minutes, I need to do something." I shouted, closing the doors behind me. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jaala, Daughter Of Tzitta and I''m here as a messenger from the Demon King Astaroth to relay you some information about the upcoming war." The light atmosphere dropped in octaves as she began speaking. Her voice was professional and mature, it worked well to show the seriousness of the message. "You mean the heritage wars?" I queried. "Yes. Exactly that. The heritage wars will begin in a couple months from now; you need to make it to the Demon Kingdom by then, prepared to fight till death. "The Demon Kingdom is extremely far and hostile towards outsiders, so I wouldn''t recommend you bring any of your human friends along. Your family''s faction is hated already and you''re the lone descendant of Lucifer so it''s better you don''t drag any more hate towards you." She explained. "Wait...why am I hated?" "You automatically inherited all of Lucifer''s followers and have become their leader. This has created an uproar from some of the followers and many demons will come for your head from the start, so I recommend you come prepared." "When do I have to reach the Demon Kingdom?" "3 Months. You have 3 Months to prepare for the worst; I will leave you the Portal device that will take you to the Demon Kingdom Entrance." She clicked her fingers and a black coloured, round portal device appeared into her hands. She threw it to me and I immediately stashed it away in my dimension ring. "That''s all." She smiled, clapping her hands together, "Prepare well Zeref Amara." And with that short message she disappeared into a puff of dark smoke. ''Well. We need to grind levels and check out the new visual prowess skill you gained. Spar with Jace.'' ''Good idea.'' ** "Ow!!!" Jace fell to the ground with a thud for the 47th time. We were training at a blind spot behind our house. "Why are you going so hard on me today?!" he groaned, rubbing his hip. "I told you, I need to train for the heritage war. An army would be great, when the real competition begins and I go head to head with other contestants. Have you seen the other contestants? They have organisations like umbra. I need to step up." I said, keeping light on my feet with my fists ready to swing when he got up. "This won''t do." a heavenly voice chuckled from behind us. I lazily turned around while smiling to myself, acknowledging the person watching us. "Malia." She gave a little mischievous wave, skipping towards us in a happy mood. "If you really want to train, knock Jace out." she said, swinging near Jace''s head as to which he barely dodged. "Huh?" I raised my eyebrows, not understanding. She looked at me with a smirk. "Hmmm I''ll tell you both later. Give Jace a break. I''ll take over." she said, pushing Jace to sit under the apple tree in our garden. ''What does she know? I''m curious. Just tell us now!'' Voadhailis groaned, annoyed. "Thank you!!! My sweet mochi, my love, m-my saviour!" Jace showered her in compliments, happy he could finally rest. I chuckled, rolling my shoulders back. "Last time I versed you, I knocked you out with one touch. Don''t think I''ll go easy on you this time." I smirked, adrenaline rushing through me. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don''t hold back." she returned, surprisingly mirroring my stance with ease. "Hey Zeref, if you give her even a tiny bruise, I will shave your hair at night." Jace glared, sitting forwards to watch the fight. Malia shook her wrists before lifting her rear hand to her cheek, protecting her chin and her lead hand in front of her chin. She was a visual learner; she managed to cop[y my fighting stance with a glance. I inhaled and before I could exhale she disappeared from my sight. In a split second, her fist collided with my chin and I fell into the grass, bouncing like a ball a little before resting. Groaning, I rubbed my neck and propped myself up on my elbows. I squinted up at her as Jace cackled at me. "Now just do that 46 more times and I will feel better." Jace laughed. I glared at him as I pushed myself up. How did I not see that coming? ''Maybe next time, don''t look at her lips.'' Voadhailis advised as I angrily blocked him off. Why did he have to expose me like that? "Zeref, demons won''t give you time to space out." Malia said, rubbing my shirt. I sighed, nodding before going back to my original spot. She looked at me, noticing my annoyance. "Don''t make the same mistake. I don''t want you dying in the demon kingdom." she glared coldly while also standing back in her place. That knock down reminded me of the famous saying: ''The strongest punch is the one you don''t see coming.'' This time I sped towards her, swinging my fist at her temple but she let her head fall back, dodging me. Her leg kicked underneath me but I jumped up, roundhouse kicking her but missing her head. I managed to kick her shoulder but it was a bad move because she jabbed into my stomach which I had accidentally left free as a target, making me stumble back as well. We both caught our breaths, standing a few metres away from each other. She rubbed her shoulder, nodding at me to come at her. I wasted no time, activating my lightning mana and using the same technique I used on her last time we fought. Her eyes followed me as she flash stepped to the side, dodging my lightning shrouded body but I knew she would, so I kicked her side at a perfect timing. She groaned as I leaped up to meet her flying body in the air. She landed on her feet surprisingly as I extended my finger towards her forehead. My fingertip zapped making her stand still in shock for a second. Her legs swayed as the paralysis took it''s effect. Suddenly, she stopped swaying, her eyes turning golden as she reflected my lightning off of her and onto me. I gasped, flying back like a thrown doll and landing on my side again. "You didn''t use enough voltage. I told you not to go easy on m-" "Did you want me to burn you to a crisp?!" I interrupted, pushing myself up angrily while Jace laughed. ''You are embarrassing us.'' Voadhailis reminded me as I rolled my eyes. What am I doing wrong? I always fight like this. ''Change your technique. Malia relies on speed and agility as well as power. She rarely uses mana for fire and only uses spirit magic for special cases like your lightning attack. You literally do the same thing but you''re clearly losing. So what do you think you should do?'' Voadhailis said, annoyed at my stupidity. I thought for a moment. If I want to make it far, I''ll have to constantly adapt my technique to my opponents and change my patterns. God! So many years of slacking with these kids dulled my fighting instincts. In my old world, I made sure to analyse my opponents before making my move, constantly adapting and exploiting their mistakes. "You''re predictable." Malia interrupted my trail of thoughts as I was brought back to reality. "Not for long.." I smirked, finally understanding what Voadhailis was trying to hint. Chapter 121 - Lesson Learnt "I''ll take this a tad bit seriously," I said, getting into a fighting pose. The golden hue of Malia''s eyes glowed orange, showing her fire mana was turned on and she gave a smile of accomplishment before charging at me. Using intense focus, time slowed down making it so I could see the trajectory of her punches and every move she was planning to make. Left straight Roundhouse Tornado Kick Left Right Uppercut. I parried them all and countered with my own punches throwing feints and actual attacks into the mix. My leg moved like a whip, faking a shot to the body and hitting her head instead. I made sure to hold back as I saw her not guarding the kick. Her body rocked and she leapt back to a safe distance, shaking her head. "Nice one." She uttered, getting into a fighting pose again. She probably didn''t expect the sudden change in trajectory. The infamous question mark kick or also known as the Brazilian Kick, was my favourite to use as a surprise attack. Most fighters instinctively block the body feint and don''t expect the trajectory to change. She flash stepped towards me, throwing an axe kick down towards my head; I instinctively dodged, pivoting my leg. Boom!! The ground underneath shook as her leg created a large crack in the ground; the crack spread out like a spider web. Jace held his mouth in fear, as he realised Malia''s power. I leaped up, using my gravity magic to keep me levitating in the air. It looked as if she had split the grounds apart, red fire being seen between the cracks. Her eyes were golden as she looked up at me with a scary glare. A shiver ran up my spine as she joined her hands together in a clap and the ground sealed itself. I zoomed towards her but she spun back, fire swirling around her hand before it flew towards me and grazed my shoulder. I hissed, reaching the ground and upper cutting her chin. She fell in an upwards motion but simultaneously kicked my throat. She fell on the floor as I stumbled back, coughing with my hand on my throat. "Let''s use weapons." She spat out some blood, before equipping some daggers. "Come." I urged her on with my hand. ''Lightning Aura.'' Streaks of lightning cackled around me and my hair rose due to the electricity running through my meridians. She threw the dagger in her right hand towards me, before circling around out of my field of view. I caught the knife mid air and faced her releasing an assault using the knife. "Where''d you learn to use daggers?" I smirked, switching the blade into my other hand. "I taught myself." She answered, making a shallow cut on my torso. I grimaced sideways, kicking her stomach, before retreating to a safe distance and regaining my energy. Charging in again, this time I split in two using Blake''s skill, which left Malia confused. She threw two fireballs leaping back. We both dodged, circling around her. My clone faked a punch, making her raise her guard. This gave me enough time to wrap around her from the back. Malia breathed heavily, trying to break out of my grip as my blade neared her neck. "Are you gonna give up?" I smiled. The clone joined back with me and I sent a large voltage threw her body, making her scream. "You want to play tricks with me. Fine." She sneered, as a monstrous aura surrounded her body. All my instincts roared, telling me to back up. Frightening. Truly scary, the Spirit Wolf. ''Finish this.'' Voad yawned. Opening up my palm, flame mana particles began to condense into a perfect ball of intense heat. Malia reciprocated my intentions and created a violent ball of fire in the palm of her hands. Jace gulped at the intense showdown. We both began running towards each other, I threw my dagger towards her head, but she dodged it easily as planned. Waiting for the perfect moment when the dagger had flown behind her, I activated my visual prowess. ''Switch.'' [You have used 400MP] I activated the new Visual Power I had achieved from Lucifer. I switched places with the knife that had flown behind her, instantly. It turned out that the further I teleported with this ability, the more mana it would consume. That arises the question, how far could I teleport? The condensed flame ball in my palms dissipated and I quickly got her in a headlock. "What the-" Jace stood up grabbing his head, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "You just teleported!! What the hell was that?!" Jace shrieked. Malia swung her foot back, almost making me lose balance but I kept my grip firm. She swayed a little from the lack of air before giving in... "You win." Malia tapped out, dissipating the mana in her hands and sighing. I let go, rubbing her hair making it go fuzzy. I looked down at her lips to see a bruise at the corner. I frowned, feeling guilty but Malia quickly noticed, rubbing it. "It''s okay. I heal quickly because my spirit magic is super pure." she assured me as I still frowned. "Are you okay?" she raised her eyebrows at me as the sting on my shoulder started to burn. I peered at it to see a hole had burned through my shirt. Malia tiptoed to reach my face, rubbing blood off my cheekbone with her thumb. My eyes dropped to her lips as they rested slightly apart. She realised where I was looking, intaking her bottom lip and biting down nervously. "Malia, you were amazing!!!" Jace pushed us apart with puppy eyes. He imitated Malia''s ''splitting the ground'' move as she giggled. "And you Zeref, what was that spell you used? You instantly teleported behind her." "Yeah. That caught me by surprise. "Sheeshhh, I''m so unfit." she yawned, rubbing her back and stretching her limbs. As she yawned, two furry white ears boinged out of her head. "AWWWW!" Jace ran towards her. "Ew why are you aweing at me?" Malia grimaced, turning to look at me. I smiled at her cute ears and stroked them. Her brain processed what we were awing at as the realisation hit her. Her hand swung up to her head as she tried to flatten her ears. "No! Ahhhhh!" she screamed, running inside the house with her hands on her head. "Come back! I want to stroke them!!!" Jace chased after her, leaving me outside by myself. ''That new move will come in handy but the more you use it, the less effective it will be. So leave it as a trump card. Now go meditate. We need to be at an optimum state before we begin the tournament. It will be one of the final events before we enter the Tower of truth.'' Voad advised. I nodded mentally, picking up the small dagger from the floor and heading inside. I had to get stronger.. Much stronger, and the fastest way was to level up and increase my mana pool stage. Chapter 122 - Back To School The school had finally been rebuilt and all the damages that were caused were fixed. Although it had taken 2 weeks to handle all the legal matters and reports with the government, it allowed me to focus on recovery and strengthen my mana pool. "Why do we have to go back to school? Zeref, you should have destroyed the whole building." Jace whined. "If he did that we''d still have to attend school but one that is even further away, dummy." Naz smacked his head. "Naz and I were waiting for 20 minutes for you three!" Sara added on. Malia walked by my side but she was quieter than usual. These past 2 weeks must have been lonely for her. She was probably used to talking to Nina on a daily basis and now that she is gone, it must have been hard for her to adjust. For me it was a hard concept to accept but I had already lost her once. The second time was just as painful but I was able to channel that frustration into my training. It was my therapy for two weeks. I live as Zeref Amara now and she was just a fragment of my past life. As soon as we had arrived, the guards rushed us to our form rooms urgently. We all scurried to our form as we were running late. "We''re going to be late on the first day back because you slept in!" Naz scolded Jace running into the school building. We followed behind her and the group split up when we made it to our own form rooms. Naz, Jace and I ran into our room while Sara and Malia ran into theirs which was opposite ours. "Sorry miss, we''re late." Jace apologised. Everyone looked at us, shaking their heads. "Well hurry up and sit down. Are you going to stare at me the whole day?" The teacher snapped. Once we settled down a register was taken. "Welcome back students. Firstly, I want to start off by commending all of you on your brave and outstanding attitude during the blood moon. "All the teachers have agreed you all handled the matter extremely well. If any of you need anyone to talk to about how you''re feeling, Miss Minche, our new school therapist will be in room 5 everyday after school. "Lastly, we all need to head to the hall for a special assembly." The teacher smiled, making the students burst into gossip. "What do you think it''s about?" Jace whispered as Naz leaned in. "It''s probably about the Blood Moon." I answered. "Okay that''s enough! Now head down to the hall in silence and in silence!" The professor shouted, silencing everyone. ** The whole school''s kids were huddled into the hall. "Students. Please move in, there are still students trying to get in." One of the teachers shouted over the bustling in the hall. Why was this hall so small? It made no sense. After a couple minutes, when everyone had settled down he made his entrance. Xanxus. The students burst out into a cheer, seeing their former principal again and understood the message. "Hello students. It''s an honour to be back on this stage and to be once again the principal of this prestigious academy. I''m still in shock by the betrayal of the previous principal''s devilish actions and I want to commend you all for the bravery that you all have shown. "This is the true essence of Xanxus Academy. No matter how strong the opponent, we will fight back." He began speech. A small burst of claps shook the hall before it died down again. "As I''m back I will bring in some new changes. Firstly, we will have a new disciplinary committee, consisting of the most elite and powerful students. Their numbers will show their strength and authority around the school. "The Blood Moon showed how weak our school defence system was and I plan to change that. Even though the security will ensure your safety to an extent from now on each and every one of you will receive an extra combat class in your timetables. "The world is changing and we must hone all of you into strong people, who can fend for themselves in times of danger. "Okay. I will now be announcing our 10 Disciplinary members. Please make your way to the stage, if I call your names out. Rank 1: Zeref Amara." Xanxus announced with a smile. Everyone''s heads turned towards me, shocked, before they started clapping. What was this geezer thinking?! "Go get ''em!" Jace slapped my back. I reluctantly made my way to the top of the stage and stood by his side. "Rank 2, Malia Stronghold. Rank 3, Moira Belle. Rank 4, Derek Fullman" As Xanxus carried on reading the list, one by one the students made their way to the stage until the 10 of us all stood side by side. A teacher came with golden badges, pinning it on our blazers with numbers of our ranking engraved on them. A final burst of claps and cheers arose for us, before Xanxus began speaking again. "These 10 new disciplinary members have been carefully picked by all the teachers and it was evident in how reliable they were during the Blood Moon. "That will be all for now. I look forward to seeing you all around the school. Can everyone apart from the new disciplinary committee members please leave." Xanxus concluded his speech earning a round of applause. The teachers slowly began to dismiss the students to their first lesson of the day and after a couple minutes only the 10 new committee members and Xanxus was left in the hall. "Okay team. I will be taking you all to the Disciplinary Committee Office. Please follow me." Xanxus hurried us along, making us all rush behind him as he sped walked out of the hall room and into the corridor. "During the rebuilding of the school we were able to create a special meeting room for the Disciplinary Committee and even make a training room for you all to spar and train during your free periods. Some lessons like combat classes have been removed from your time tables as you all are exceptional. "Prepare to be amazed." Xanxus looked back and smiled, before opening the 2 large doors that seemed to be enchanted with runes. "Woooaaahhh!" Most of the students cooed as we all entered the grand room. The white walls were decorated intricately with gold markings and colossal paintings of famous mages and historical beings spread around the room. A round table sat in the middle of the room with 10 chairs around it. It was amazing they were able to build this all and rebuild the school in a matter of 2 weeks. "Now that I''ve shown you this. We''ll be having a vote to elect the Leader of the committee. Just because Zeref is rank 001, it doesn''t mean he will automatically be the leader. "Do any of you want to lead?" Xanxus scanned the students around him and one of the older students raised his hand. He had an arrogant look as if he were looking down on all of us here. I could sense a strong mana pressure coming from him but it wasn''t anything out of the ordinary. ''Let''s test his abilities.'' Voad smirked. ''Why though? That''s just a hassle.'' ''Entertain me a little. School is boring.'' I sighed, raising my hand. Xanxus''s face beamed with happiness, when he spotted my hand go up. "Okay, how should we settle it then? A vote-" "No. I want to fight him." The older kid snapped, cutting Xanxus off. "That''s fine. We''ll also be able to see the training area too." Moira commented, earning some nods of agreements from the other curious students. It seemed that Malia and I were the youngest out of all the members so I would have to make them respect us. ** "Begin!" Mr Xanxus shouted, swinging his arm down and leaping back off the stage. The student smirked, weaving hand signs and zigzagging towards me. -Puff! A dark smoke surrounded the stage and my field of view had been covered. I coughed a little, realising there was poison in the smoke he had conjured. [You are immune to the poison effect] "What are you going to do Rank 1?" The student''s voice resonated from every angle of the cloud like he had become one with it. ''Seikuken: 20 Metres.'' [500 MP will be consumed per minute] Seikuken''s range increased and I could now sense every intricate movement within the circle. A swing of a blade came from behind but I dodged it easily. I already knew he was circling me, using the smoke as cover and trying to attack my blind spots. Even his exact positions and trajectory of attacks: I could sense them all. Gathering Ice mana in my hands, I punched the ground causing a large shockwave to shake the ground and cracks to form under me. A burst of ice spread around me and spiked all around. The shockwave caused the dense fog to disappear and reveal the panting student on the other end of the stage. "AAAARghhhhh!" He roared, charging towards me and throwing 2 knives simultaneously. I weaved to the side, dodging them successfully. His sword was inches away from my chest, failing to make contact. Gripping his sword harder, he quickly recovered and swung the sword in a desperate attempt to cut me down. I danced around, avoiding all of his swings, earning some cheers from the crowd of students. "Stop dancing around and fight me!" he yelled, getting frustrated. He leapt up, enhancing his body with mana. His sword swung down with force towards my head. Another shockwave shook the atmosphere and specks of dust flew everywhere. "What the-" I caught his sword with my hand and stopped his full brute attack. "Why can''t I move?" "Do you see the difference between us now?" I smiled. -BOOM! My punch sent him flying back like a baseball, as he crashed into a large boulder. I dusted myself off and jumped off the stage. An overwhelming victory. "You monster!" Derek slapped my back cheerfully, before wrapping his arm around my neck. "How the hell did you dodge all those attacks? That guy is the son of one of the kingdom''s strongest swordsmen." "Where did you learn to move like that?" The students surrounded me and it had become a full on interview. "Okay, okay that''s enough." Xanxus pushed through the students and stood by my side. "You two please take Mr Hardman to the infirmary. This was Zeref''s complete victory so he will keep his authority. You all will follow his commands. Great! You may all go back to your lessons now." he said cheerily. ** -South of the Vrimeon Kingdom- Pzzzzttt! Crackk! The distortion in the space and time rippled throughout the atmosphere, creating a crack. The crack slowly opened up until a red portal appeared, and countless large figures, clad in dark robes, had begun exiting. "That b*stard was right! We were able to exit through the portal. He actually kept his end of the deal. Vanos, come here." "Yes sire, what are your orders General?" "Begin infiltration. We were right, this planet is seething with life. Absorb every life form in this vicinity and gather resources so we can build a nest for the females to give birth. It''s almost time for them to give birth to the new generation of trolls.. From now on we''re claiming this place." Chapter 123 - Back To School II -Hunter Association- "Sir! There''s been a breach at the south side of the Kingdom near the outskirts of Border Town. Somehow, the beasts have begun to exit the portal before the cool down. How is this possible?" "This is bad. We have an anomaly. How far is the portal from Border Town?" The Director of the Hunter Association asked. "10 Km sir and the residents don''t seem to be aware of it yet." "Send 2 patrol teams right away and task them with scouting. We need to know how strong these monsters are. How many residents reside at Border Town?" The Director asked. "About 2000 sir." "We have to prepare for the worst. Do we have any S rankers available to be a part of the extermination team?" The director paced himself up and down in thought. This type of phenomenon had never occurred before and if boss level beasts began to come out of the portal, it could cause havoc. Recently, the number of portals spawning had increased; they were appearing all over the kingdom and nobody knew why. First, the number of portal spawns had suddenly jumped and now anomalies also had begun appearing. What was going on? "No sir. Most are busy with the other portals that have suddenly opened up this week; Over 10 portals have opened up around the kingdom. This has never occurred before." The psychic spoke, gulping. "What about A rankers? How many are available?" "Yes sir. There are 3 available, all unoccupied. 2 in the North and 1 in the East." The psychic replied. "Who''s the one in the East?" "Zeref Amara sir." "Send someone and bring him here." "Right away sir." ** -Zeref''s POV- "Pass to me!" Jace shouted running beside the kid with the ball. I watched and stood near the net as the kid with the ball dribbled past the defending players and approached me. He did a couple stepovers and feints before jumping up into a fade away. I reacted a tad bit too slow and was unable to block his shot. -Swish. The ball went in through the net perfectly, earning cheers from the girls and high fives from the benched spectators. I was surprised at first too but sports like basketball, Soccer, Baseball, they all existed. The scores were 37 - 18, my team was losing. For some reason the coach decided to put all the fat blobs on my team and all the athletic, skilled people in the other. Jace was an exception of course. The use of mana could not be used, only raw skill and athletic ability. The team we were opposing had the school''s basketball team ace (Danial - a 6 ft 4 basketball prodigy) and other good players excluding Jace. ''Play a bit more seriously. It''s getting boring. You still got 2 quarters left. Destroy them.'' Voad spoke in my head; I nodded, cracking my neck left and right. "Pass it." I ordered. "Y-Yes." The ball was passed over and I began dribbling. Strategically and skill wise they were better than us in every aspect but it didn''t matter. Basketball was my domain. I was going to teach them what overpowering defeat felt like. The kid from before got into a squat position and smiled. "Come on Zeref. Show me what you got. I may not be as strong as you but this is one thing I''ll Always be better than you at." he smirked. "Okay then. Try and keep up." I smiled. Getting low, I did a couple stepovers before driving to the right. His defence was good and he was able to keep up with my pace. Changing direction, I bounced the ball behind my back, spinning round him. My fingers gripped the ball tightly as I leapt up from the Free throw line until my head was about 5 inches above the rim. Throwing the ball with force towards the rim, it rocketed downwards passing through the net. ''Meteor Jam. Things are getting interesting, what other moves can you copy?'' Voad snickered. "What the f*ck was that?" Jace and the others froze in shock at the epic half dunk, half shot I had executed. "Let''s go Zeref!!!" Naz cheered from the sidelines. I looked over to see Malia throwing me a thumbs up, standing next to the ecstatic Naz. Danial, the basketball team''s ace, took it upon himself and walked over to mark me himself. Jace finally made it over to our half of the court with the ball and scanned for his options as the point guard. "Fatty. Mark him!" I ordered, pointing at one of the opposing players. All of my teammates looked at me, as if confused who I was ordering. Ah shit. That''s what I called all of them. ''HAHAHahahahaha!!'' Voad laughed hysterically. I cursed my luck. "Fine. I''ll do it myself." I muttered. "What?" Danial turned around to look for me but I had already disappeared. "How did he-" Intercepting Jace''s pass, the possession of the ball had been overturned and was in my hands finally. I leaped up into a jump shot. "Is this guy for real? He''s gonna shoot from there?! That''s almost a full court shot!" People from the benches stood up in shock as the ball left my hand. It travelled high up and into a beautiful curved arc, before passing through the centre of the rim with a satisfying Swoosh. I exhaled and a moment of silence had occupied the whole area as no one could comprehend what just happened, before bursts of cheers engulfed the area. Danial was the first to snap out of it, "What are you guys standing there gasping at?! Hurry up." His order came out with aggression and the enemy team immediately backed up to their end of the court. Now the tables would turn. I cracked my neck left and right, exhaling deeply... ** "Did you see that?! That guy is off the charts. How did he make 3 consecutive full court shorts?" "He just dunked over two guys! What a monster!" "Look at that dribbling! Is Zeref a pro? Was he holding back in the first quarter?" The crowd had grown twice the size as more and more students joined the crowd to see what the hype was about. Even some of the disciplinary committee members came over to cheer for me. My elegant show of skills had gathered everyone''s attention. Discussions had begun booming as the final quarter of the game was coming to an end. The scores were now 69 - 68, we were 1 point behind. This last play would determine the team that would be playing for the school this year. I ended up scoring all of our points, the whole game. My teammates were of no use, by the time they made it to one end of the court, the ball had already been overturned and was on the other side. They were pretty much useless, so I told them to just focus on defending. During one of our time outs I devised a defensive strategy: Box and 1. The other 4 would focus on defending around the free throw line compactly, whilst I handled the rest. Their stamina wasn''t that great and they were tired by the 3rd quarter so I made them stay in those positions. The Attack was all me and maybe the defence too a little. I was starting to feel a little tired as it had been an intense 5 v 1, with constant shuttle runs and high pace plays. I had to overexert myself to make steals and score all by myself at the same time. ''Last play of the game. Let''s make this one count.'' "You''re not getting past me Zeref. I''m putting my role as the captain of the basketball team on this wager! Come!" Danial shouted, crouching and getting into a flow state. His expression had changed to a poker face. Crossover. Drive right. Between the legs. Spin. Crossover. That was the combination that broke Danial''s ankles. "Danial got crossed!!!" The crowd went wild and all stood up from their seats in angst. I leapt up to dunk it but Jace and the other kid Jumped up with their arms up to block the dunk. "We won''t let yo-" I smiled, leaning back mid air into a fadeaway shot. "Impossible!" -Swoosh! The crowd burst into an uproar of gasps and cheers as the end of the game had been reached and the amazing show had come to an end. Students swarmed the court and began cheering and celebrating. "Zeref, you were amazing! Where''d you learn to play like that? You were dancing across the court like a pro!" Naz said overzealously, tugging Malia along. "I watched Jace play and learnt from him." I smiled, winking at Jace. Jace wrapped his arm around my neck, "Of course, I taught him everything he knows." Danial walked over with a glum expression and everyone''s attention switched to him. "You won fair and square. Good Game." He let out his hand for me to shake. "GG." I shook his hand. -Crack! -Pzzt! Suddenly, a blue portal appeared in the middle of the court with no warning. The coach jumped in front of it immediately, following safety protocols and ordered the students to step back. What could it be now? I still had energy for another fight but I really needed a break. 2 men in black suits and dark sunglasses exited the portal and showed an ID card to the coach, making him drop his guard. They walked over to me immediately, moving Danial aside. "Mr Amara. We are messengers sent by the Director from the Hunter Association. He needs you at the Hunter bureau as soon as possible. An anomalous portal has opened up and we need your help. Will you come with us?" The man on the right spoke, showing me his ID card too. I nodded, following them. The students watched as I walked towards the portal. "Zeref come back safe." Malia''s voice was filled with worry. Giving her a smile I tried to assure everything would be fine, before entering the portal Chapter 124 - The Anomalous Dungeon As I exited the portal, I was met with a familiar interior. I was in the Hunter Bureau. A red carpet stretched towards the reception desk, before splitting left and right into 2 staircases. On the side were cherrywood furniture and glamorous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. "Please, follow me this way." The man in front insisted, picking up the pace. I scanned around, spotting a group of hunters on the left, some of them wore silver armour, carrying swords and shields, whilst the others had staffs and wands; it seemed that they were preparing for a battle. They must have been a party - a group of hunters that cleared dungeons as a group. One of them gave me a condescending glare but I ignored his gaze. He was a well built 6 ft 4 man and had curly blonde hair paired with a well groomed beard. He was at least in his mid 30''s. From the mana pressures I could sense from them, the party members were at least B and C rank. -Knock. Knock. "Come in." The man escorting me turned the handle of the door and pushed it open; he gestured for me to enter and followed behind me into the room. "Zeref. Long time no see." The Old man (Director of the Hunter''s Association) turned his back to face me. He had a stern look on his face and I could tell he was stressed as the wrinkles on his forehead and around his cheeks had become more visible. It had been a long time since I had had a chat with the Hunter Association''s Ceo, and he''d never called me up before. What was so important that he had to call me in? "What''s the matter?" I asked, taking off my sweaty sports jumper and bringing out a new one from my dimension ring. "A portal has appeared in the South of the Kingdom, near a human town. The monsters have somehow already begun exiting the portal and the teams I sent to assess the situation haven''t returned. We believe they''ve been killed." The Old man had a grim look sprayed on his face. "What rank were those teams?" I questioned. "The hunters in those teams were composed of high level B,C and D rank hunters. The S rankers are all occupied with clearing their own dungeons all over the kingdom, otherwise I would''ve just sent one of them. We''re facing a shortage of strong hunters, our forces have been scattered. "The number of dungeons appearing has increased; something is happening. Therefore, I brought you here as you were the nearest available hunter that will be able to help with clearing this anomalous dungeon. "I have prepared a squadron for you to lead, they will be of great help to you. I hope you''re not too tired, I was planning on sending you there as soon as possible." He informed me. "Although I prefer to work alone, I''ll take them with me so they can handle evacuating the citizens and handling any monsters that have already infiltrated Border Town''s boundaries. I''ll take down the monsters and clear the dungeon myself." I replied, cracking my neck left and right. "Good. Please do be careful, the Trolls that have exited the Portal are all B rank in strength and have the ability to evolve via absorbing other life forms." "Sir! The trolls, they''re getting closer to Border Town. They''ve absorbed the nearby life forces of the mana beasts and are getting stronger by the minute. We need to hurry!" A man wearing some sort of helmet, joined with wires to a screen, shouted frantically. He must have been a sensory type mage - mages that could sense other things over a long distance with the help of mana. It was similar to my sixth sense. "Zeref, the situation is getting worse. The citizens will be at risk if we stall any longer. Quickly get changed, I have already set the coordinates of our transport portal for Border Town." The Old man insisted. "Fine. I''ll head out as soon as possible." I replied, giving him a quick nod, before walking out through the door. ** I wore a black long sleeve T shirt along with my new Black and Gold Hunter''s long coat on top. All of my clothes had been fortified with Earth Magic, to increase durability so wearing armour was not needed in my case. I preferred lightweight clothing that I could move in. "Sir, let me introduce you to the squadron you''ll be leading. Please follow me downstairs." The messenger from before appeared in front of me in his black suit, as I left the changing room. Following him downstairs, I could feel the condescending glares of the hunters towards me. I had a feeling this would happen. "Jason, meet Zeref, the A rank Hunter that will be leading your party." "A kid like him can become A rank? Have The Hunter Association''s standards become this low? Our Party won''t be following some kid''s orders, so go tell that old man we''ll be going ourselves; we don''t need some kid''s help." Jason, the leader of the party retorted.. "B-But Jason. It''s the President of the Association''s orders." "I couldn''t care less!!" He shouted in anger, raising his mana pressure. The escort gulped at the large man''s roar. "Oi. Lower your tone." My voice reverberated with mana, making the atmosphere shake. My mana pressure froze the Hunters like statues as they all gasped, wide eyed at the monstrous presence in front of them. Even Jason began sweating as I walked up to him slowly with an expressionless face. "Listen here. As long as I''m here, no one will be allowed to speak without my permission. You will all follow my orders without question. Is that clear?" I said, before releasing my mana pressure, letting them breathe in ease. "Yes sir." Jason gritted his teeth, giving me a submissive bow. "Good. Now let''s head out." Destination: Border Town. Chapter 125 - The Anomalous Dungeon II The situation was worse than expected. We had arrived a bit too late and the trolls had already begun causing havoc and absorbing the citizens'' mana. "Jason, take your crew and help in evacuating the citizens to the North; kill any stray trolls that are near the evacuation site. I''ll take care of the trolls'' main force." I ordered. "Yes sir, come on team." Jason began moving straight away, as his group split up into small organised groups. Raaaaararrrghhhh!!! A large boulder was hurled towards me. Leaping up, I imbued my fist with flame mana and decimated the large boulder into pieces with minimal effort. Fire mana worked extremely effectively against trolls, so I planned to only use my fire element against them. I also couldn''t show I was a Quad elemental to the other hunters, it would raise too much attention. I zigzagged across the battlefield leaping from building to building. ''Voad, Cambio Forma!'' The 2 shortswords materialised in my hands and I spun them before throwing the sword in my right hand. It pierced into the large trolls chest with force, knocking it back a couple metres. "OOWW! YOU PEASANT!" What?! I could understand what the troll said. ''Yes. You''re part Dragon remember now due to the Dragon DNA, which also makes you part magic beast. Therefore, the system probably updated itself.'' Voadhailis answered. The trolls were different to the ones I had fought till now. These ones were smarter and could even utilise mana. Apart from that they still were colossal and hideous green things standing at 30 metres in height. "GO TO HELL!" It yelled, conjuring 3 more boulders before hurling them at me. SH*T! ''Purgatory'' A reddish flame aura surrounded me as I rocketed towards the troll at a high speed. -Slice! The boulders were severed into dozens of fine pieces and using Gravity magic I compacted them into an even larger boulder with my other hand. "You can have this back." I pointed towards the Troll and the meteor sized boulder rocketed towards him immediately. [You have used 500MP] "AAArghhh!" Whilst it was busy stopping the boulder''s momentum pushing it back, I blitzed towards the troll running up its leg until I reached its chest. Gripping the shortsword that was still impaled in his chest, I cut through his flesh with the flame coated blade, leaving large chunks of Troll meat on the street grounds. [Congratulations! You have earned 8,000 EXP for killing a B rank beast!] Jason and the others rushed behind me and stopped to admire the large carcass on the ground. "You''re amazing! You took that mutated thing down by yours-" "Get back!" I yelled, conjuring a wall of ice by putting both my hands on the ground. -BOOM! ''Looks like they can use fire mana too. You might need to get serious with these guys.'' Voad warned. "Is everyone okay?" I looked back at the party, as they started to recover from the shock. "Sir! Look out!" One of the mage girls screamed. -POW! [You have suffered 3087 Damage!] I flew across the street, crashing through several houses. ''What the hell was that? I couldn''t sense it even when Seikuken was active.'' I shook my head standing up and dusting off the rubble. ''S rank beasts. Zeref, this situation is worse than I anticipated.'' ''What do you mean?'' ''Take off your eye patch now and go save those fools. There''s about 3 S rank level Humanoid beasts. How many life forms did they absorb?!'' Voad''s voice had a hint of worry and urgency that I had only heard before when the opponents were extremely strong, like the time Beelzebub had appeared in front of us back in the Elven Kingdom. I removed the eyepatch from my eye immediately and activated Lightning Aura straight away. Voad was right; there was 3 extremely powerful beasts with huge mana pressures. I opened my palms, and both Voadhailis''s Claws flew to my hands. "AARGHHH!!" Screams of the Party members has started to engulf the streets. Blitzing towards the first S rank beast, I managed to roundhouse kick its side sending it flying. The other 2 stood in wait, as if letting their friend take care of the Hunters for them. They were both slender in figure and still had the green colour of a demon''s but their faces ahd become more human like. "A strong one has appeared it seems. Oi Anos, prepare yourself." One of the humanoid S rank beasts ordered, taking his hands out of his pockets. I quickly peered back. Sh*t! Most of the party members had died or were extremely injured. I had to take this fight away from this place, so the town and these guys wouldn''t get hurt. ''Voad, can I also speak beast tongue?'' ''Yes. Just speak, The system will translate what you''re saying and it will come out in the beast tongue.'' "Let''s fight somewhere else." I uttered. [Your words have been translated to the beast tongue] "This demon can speak our language. Interesting." The strongest one spoke, looking at me like he was examining a weird specimen. "Wait sir. Aren''t demons meant to have 2 red ey-" "You measly F*cker!!!" The S rank beast from before jumped out from the rubble and rushed towards me. ''Looks like he had recovered from that kick from before.'' I dodged his barrage of punches and hits, throwing counters of my own. His skills were mediocre and he wasn''t even imbuing his body with mana. That could only mean one thing and it was good for me. These guys probably only recently evolved to S rank. I vanished out of his sight momentarily, before teleporting back to in front of him with Lucifer''s ''Switch'' skill. "Where did he-" ''Kuroi Hono!!'' "AAAARrghhhh!!!" The S rank troll beast roared in pain as black flames from my blade had engulfed his body and begun burning his body to ashes. "Black flames?! Anos." "Yes Sir." The other 2 S rank beasts exchanged quick words before charging towards me from both sides. What did they know about the black flames that made them attack me in urgency? ''You didn''t know this?'' Voad asked, with his raspy voice. ''Know what?'' ''The symbolism of Black flames. It''s dragon magic, the black flame is a type of fire that''s been nicknamed the ''non perishable flame'' due to its special ability. ''It will continue to burn until there is nothing left to burn and of course your mana will continuously be absorbed until the victim is dead. Now focus on the fight! These 2 look more experienced.'' ''Indra''s Arrow.'' I conjured a bolt of lightning hurling it at one of the S rank humanoid beasts and it successfully impaled its chest, sending it flying back, crashing into the church tower. The other had already reached me and punched my chest, imbuing his fist with darkness magic. His speed was unreal! "Darkness Pit!" A large dark shadow cast under us and large spikes of darkness mana had potruded up cutting through my body, impaling me from all sides. Air left my lungs as the excruciating pain shook every nerve in my body. [You have suffered 15,266 damage!] [The Darkness Mana''s attribute is preventing ''self healing''.] ''Exploding flames.'' I flicked my wrists throwing 2 fire balls before leaping back 10 metres. As the smoke of the blast dissipated both of the S rank beasts walked towards me in unison. These 2 were definitely different from the other inexperienced one. [You have earned 50,000 EXP for killing an S rank beast!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You are now level 92] [You have 80 Available Stat Points] It seemed that the Black flames had finally killed the other S rank beast. Good. I glanced over my HP, it was already down to less than half and my wounds were healing extremely slowly due to the Darkness Magic''s attributes. My limbs felt heavy due to the countless holes still slowly healing. "You put up a good fight! One eyed demon, but you''re just not strong enough.'' One of them cackled. Just as he said that, the other cast Earth Magic that locked my body''s movements in place. I was already unable to move well due to my injured body, this made it perfectly clear that I was unable to get out of what was coming next. Before I could get out, the other one raced towards me with a blade shrouded in darkness mana in his hands. [You have suffered 12,253 Damage!] My heart For a moment my vision went dark before I shook myself back to reality. My HP may have been low but I had plenty of MP. ''Gravity Zone'' ''Rapid healing'' ''Almighty Presence!'' [MP is dropping rapidly!] "Why can''t I move and what is this immense pressure?!" One of them gritted through his teeth. "You''re now in my domain." My voice reverberated in layers, as my other eye glowed a yellow hue.. The reddish flames of Dragon magic leaked from my body with every step, creating craters and sparks with every step. Chapter 126 - The Anomalous Dungeon III Opening my palms, Voadhailis''s Claws flew to my hands like magnets. I threw a crescent shaped arc of flames with a single swing, cutting off the boss''s left side. "Anos, do the thing. Hurry!" He cried desperately, still frozen from the Gravity Magic. "Y-Yes sir!" The S rank beast named ''Anos'', his body began dissipating into mana particles. What was happening? Suddenly, a burst of bright light blinded my vision. I covered my eyes with my forearm and stepped back. "Now you''re dead!" -Boom! A strong punch to my stomach sent me flying back, tumbling into one of the shops. [You have suffered 3,909 Damage] ''How did he-'' The beast had already made it in front of me and gripped my collar, picking me up. He powered up. Did he absorb his subordinate? "Get your hands off me!" ''Shackles Release.'' A burst of mana engulfed my body and my hair slowly transformed to a red hue. Two dark horns propped out of my head and my veins glowed, like gold flowed through my veins. The Draconic and demonic aura intensified, boosting my power and mana pressure. I sliced up with Voadhailis''s Claw cutting his arm off. "What the-" The beast leapt back to the open street but I blitzed after him. Freezing him with ''Gravity zone'', I sliced at his head but he evaded. He could still move in my gravity zone?! He threw a fit of punches, balls of flames, but I dodged them all dancing around and levitating. Somehow he had become much stronger than before but I could still beat him; I threw the short sword in my right hand and began running towards him. His arm glowed with a bright flame as he charged towards me. Turning his head slightly, Voadhailis''s Claw flew past his head. ''Bingo.'' Voad smiled. ''Switch!'' Time froze as I swapped situations with the Voadhailis''s Claw that had flown behind him. His face grew in shock as he realised what had just happened. -Swish! As my body spun in the air above him, a clean cut from Voadhailis''s Claw severed his head from his body. His body dropped to the ground along with his rolling head. "Y-You think this is over? The main army is probably already here. AHhaaha!" How was this guy still speaking? I concentrated a small fireball in my finger before blasting his creepy head to smithereens. [You have earned 100,000 EXP for killing a mutated S rank beast!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now level 93] [You have 90 Available Stat Points] Deactivating my demon form, I put on my eye patch once more. I had to check up on that Hunter Party. ''Voad, is what he said true? Are there more coming?'' I asked through our mental link. ''Yes. I sense about 500 or so C rank Trolls and a couple B and A rank mutated Trolls. There are also 2 powerful S rank beasts leading the front. Your MP is running low and your HP too, it''s only at 35%. There''s no way we''re winning this unless we get reinforcements. ''And remember we have to clear the dungeon itself too.'' Voad replied. I cursed my luck. Why was the technology so poor in this era? I couldn''t even communicate with the Hunter Association. ''Dianmu. Numen. I need your help.'' ''Okay. I''m on my way.'' Numen replied through the mental link. Surprisingly he had replied first. ''I''m taking care of the kids. I can''t right now.'' Dianmu was the next to answer. ''I''m going to be fighting a whole army, I don''t wanna hear no ifs, buts or maybes. Come here now.'' I ordered. ''Fine. Wait 10 Minutes.'' "Oi Jason. Can you walk?" I tapped Jason''s face, waking him up. "Oh it''s you. I mean, y-yes sir. I can walk." He picked himself up, dusting off the dust from his armour. "Wake up the others, we need to move. There''s a whole army coming." I looked in the direction of the trampling in the distance; they were getting closer by the minute. "Sir, may I ask if you don''t mind. What happened to those 3 powerful beasts?" Jason stuttered, still in shock from his near death experience. "I killed them." Jason gulped at my reply, before rushing away and waking up his party members. ''They''ll be here in 30 minutes. If we''re going to stay here and farm for Exp, then You should use those spare stat points that have piled up. I''m also meditating, I''m mid way through the first stage of the secondary mana pool.'' Voad gave some quick words before going back to meditating. I walked over to the side of a building before sitting down and exhaling. I gathered mana into my mana pool at a fast rate, if I meditated for 20 minutes I''d be able to increase my MP from 15% to 60% capacity at least. ''Status Menu Open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 93] [Exp: 26,000/ 93,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 6] [HP: 33,000] [MP: 12,000] [Strength: 205] [Stamina: 204] [Agility: 207] [Defence/ Durability: 209] [Intelligence: 200] [Total Available Stat Points: 90] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] I lacked power in that battle. S rank beasts normally always use close combat so my strength and defence/durability would have to be increased. Increasing my defence would lessen the damage I would take. Lastly, stamina, this played an extremely important role in fighting long battles. [Strength has increased 205 -> 245] [Stamina has increased 184 -> 224] [Defence/ Durability has increased 209 -> 239] The rejuvenating feeling of increasing stat points always felt good. "Sir. Our group of 17 awaits your orders. Sadly, 3 have died and 7 are injured, the rest of us are still in shock. I''m in awe of how you apprehended them all by yourself." Jason stood next to me, awaiting an answer. Getting up I took out a portal device from my Dimension ring and handed it to him. "Take your party and go back to the Hunter Bureau. I''ve already contacted backup, but I need more. Ask the Hunter Bureau to send strong Hunters. The main army of Mutated Trolls is almost here. I''ll stay behind and hold them off." I ordered. "But sir you couldn''t possibly survive against an army of-" As he was about to talk me out of it, several powerful mana pressures had appeared behind him. He immediately pulled out his sword, sweat dripping down his forehead from the beasts in front of him. However, to his surprise instead of attacking him the 11 humanoid, green plant Monsters bowed in his direction and the lone peculiar human-like beast: Numen. ''Hope I''m not too late Zeref. It took some time for me to make this many clones. This should be enough support but this way my mana will run out much quicker.'' Numen spoke through our mind link. I gave him a quick nod, which made him and his clones raise their heads. "S-Sir. What''s happening? Aren''t they S rank beasts? Why are they giving me a bow?" Jason shrieked. "Calm down. He''s my familiar, I''ve formed a contract with him and he''s not bowing to you, he''s bowing to me. "There''s no more time, they''re getting closer. I need you to hurry up and go, Go bring reinforcements." I ordered, pushing him hastily. He began running to his party of 17, rounding them up like a shepherd. Giving me a quick nod, Jason activated the portal and jumped through it with his party members. That settled the nuisance. ''So how many are we facing?'' As Numen said that, the ground began to shake from the marching of the troll army. They were almost here. ''This looks terrible.'' Numen remarked I ignored him as I replenished my mana. The plan that I had devised to win this battle would require a lot of mana; therefore, every second of meditation mattered to me.... Chapter 127 - The Anomalous Dungeon IV They had arrived The countless beasts roared, charging towards us. Scanning with my demon eye I could tell the S Rank beasts were right at the back whilst the A, B and C ranks were at the front. ''Numen. Let''s go. We''re just going to have to do this without Dianmu.'' I said, spinning Voadhailis''s Claws in my hand. Sparks of lightning snaked around me with every step as I charged for the army of Trolls. ''Zeus''s Wrath!'' I leapt up and swung my right blade down towards the Earth. Large thunderbolts struck down as punishment from the sky killing dozens of Trolls in one go but the gap was quickly covered as a new swarm of trolls charged onwards. [You have used 1500 MP] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You are now on level 94!] [You have 10 Available Stat Points] ''Numen constrict their movements and form a barrier.'' I ordered. Numen hastily did as told, running ahead of me with his clones. Levitating up, I faced my arms up and condensed Dragonic Flame Magic into a ball. With each second it grew in size until around 75% of my secondary mana pool had been used up and the Ball of condensed Dragonic flames was 200 metres in circumference. ''Grande Sole: Versione del Drago.'' I swung down with my hands, throwing the miniature sun towards the beasts. -BOOOOOMMM!!!! The detonation was almost on par with a nuclear bomb; dark smoke and debris covered the whole battlefield. Bursts of notifications filled up my view, making me smile in pleasure. [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [You have Levelled up!] [Congratulations! You are now level 95!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have killed an A rank beast!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You are now level 96!] [Total Available Stat Points: 30] ''What power.'' Numen smiled, as hope fired up his fighting spirit. I got down from the sky and charged in unison with him. That spell alone massacred around ? of their forces; Dragon Magic was truly destructive and I could see why they were such feared creatures. ''Ice Domain!!'' I stomped the ground with my foot causing a burst of ice to spark through the battlefield, freezing everything that it touched. More than a 100 of the mutated trolls had been frozen in a matter of seconds. [You have used 2500 MP] Some of the mutated trolls shook the ice off whilst others were almost done with breaking through. Well, I had a countermeasure for that too. ''Shambles.'' [You have used 1000MP] With a single incantation the ice became denser and shattered straight away, breaking the Frozen Trolls into bloody pieces of glass. [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] My onslaught continued as I danced around, spinning Voadhailis''s Claws in my hands. Even after 2 large scale attacks, their numbers weren''t dwindling. From the spells I had used, my MP was down to 5000. I had to spare the usage of mana. ''Numen. How much Mana do you have left?'' I asked. ''I have about 60% of my mana pool left. I''ll support you, keep going. You have to save up your mana for the S rank beasts.'' Numen gritted his teeth as more and more of his clones were dying. It wasn''t that our opponents were strong, in fact they were weak. The issue was their terrifying numbers. "ROOOAaaarghhh!!" One of them roared, smashing me with his club. I gasped, as all the air syphoned out of my lungs. [You have suffered 1389 Damage] Is it fatigue? I should''ve avoided that. ''Mistakes happen. You can''t evade all of their attacks, this is how a war is. If you want, you can delegate control to me.'' Voadhailis suggested. ''Hell no.'' I snapped, Picking myself up. ''Purgatory.'' Streaks of red aura mixed with the sparks of lightning amplifying my power. -Slice! 1...2...3...10...20....50 consecutive hits! My ''Purgatory'' spell boosted the critical damage until it only took 1 slice to kill each troll. With Numen''s restraining skill it looked like we stood a chance. He used his thick vines to stop their movements whilst I took them down one by one. [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [You have massacred dozens of B & C rank beasts!] [Level up!] [Congratulations! You are now on level 97!] [Total Available Stat Points: 40] Now only a couple of them were left including the 2 S rank beasts. The only issue was I had 4000MP left. "Peek a boo." I heard a woman''s voice suddenly appear from behind me but I couldn''t dodge her attack in time. A dark spike pierced through my chest from behind, making me spit out blood. Why did they always love impaling my chest?! I felt my energy get slowly drained via the effects of darkness magic. [You have taken 7563 Damage!] [Energy is being drained!] "You''re quite the pretty boy. Maybe I could make you my slave." The Humanoid S rank beast swivelled round to admire my face. She wore a Black dress that showed off her legs and curvaceous figure; she looked me up and down with her piercing green eyes and pale face. "He''s mine. You filthy witch!" A voice echoed from the sky along with the sounds of thunder. ''She''s finally here.'' I sighed. Boom! Cackle! Several thunderbolts rained down from the sky with the Mighty Thunderbird''s entrance, scarring the battlefield with red. ''There goes our EXP.'' I gritted my teeth breaking the dark stick protruding through my chest; that sly S rank beast had already retreated, probably some darkness magic technique. I watched as the hole in my chest slowly began to heal itself. Laying down on the floor, I took a breather; my body was completely exhausted, facing 3 S rank Beasts and An army of high level mutated trolls. ''Zeref are you okay?'' Dianmu descended from the sky and knelt down next to me. ''Yeah. I''ll be fine. You and Numen should really kill those 2 bosses and help me clear this dungeon. I need to recuperate some mana first.'' ''Roger that.'' Numen replied before Dianmu and already began charging for the last 2 Figures of the enemy lines. Glancing over, I could see both of the humanoid women S rank beasts looked identical, but what struck me the most was they were smiling? Sitting up, I got into a meditating position and quickly absorbed the mana particles around me. I had to help them if something went wrong. ** -Back at the Hunter''s Bureau- "I came as soon as I heard your desperate call. What is the situation this time Director?" A stern man''s voice echoed in the room. "Zeref is fighting a war with High level mutated trolls. I need you to go down there immediately! There is no time for discussion. What''s the report Elric?" The Director demanded. "S-Sir, it seems that another S rank magical humanoid beast has entered the battlefield and is helping Zeref fight the Boss. I think they''re his familiars sir. However, it looks like he''s struggling, we should send someone straight away. "Those 2 Bosses have fused together tripling the original threat level of this fight." The sensory mage reported stuttering midway. The Director was tempted to go down there himself looking at Zeref''s dire situation and join the battle but his subordinates had persuaded him there was another way. However, In the luck of the situation, Rank 11 S Rank Hunter Volk Kaiser had just finished clearing his dungeon and had returned to base. "Get that damned portal ready. I''m leaving right away." Volk ordered the worker on his right, before exchanging quick nods with the Director and heading out through the door. Volk Kaiser was a simple man, wherever there was a fight, that''s where he''d be. Violence coursed through his blood. He had multiple battle scars on his body, showing his experience but the ones that stood out most were the 2 scars on his face, one on his right eye and the other on his left cheek. With his flame attribute he climbed the ranks of the Hunter''s Association, getting promoted from D rank to S rank in 3 years. Now he headed for the battlefield to save the Director''s self praised prodigy A rank hunter: Zeref Amara. "Hope I''m not too late." Chapter 128 - The Anomalous Dungeon V "Well, Well, Well. Someone''s been having too much fun." Volk smiled looking at the bloodshed and dead carcases of mutated trolls laying all over the battlefield. He thought to himself, how powerful could this prodigy A rank Hunter be, that he managed to make a familiar contract with 2 S rank beasts and clear an army of trolls all by himself, without reinforcements. Even he would have a hard time fighting that many numbers. ''Truly frightening.'' He sprinted past the countless piles of bodies and large crater in the ground. ''What kind of destructive spell could make this crater? Is this guy a monster?'' Volk gulped looking at the crater to his left. It looked like a tiny meteor had smashed into the ground from above, wiping out 50 or more trolls. ''There.'' Volk could finally feel the clash of mana a couple hundred metres down but when he had arrived at the site of battle, his eyes widened in amazement. This fight, it was nothing like he had ever seen before. The conjoined Mutated S rank Boss was extremely powerful, he had never seen such a powerful beast, but a kid was fighting it off. Volk was stunned, he never thought he''d see something as fascinating as this. A smile stretched across his face from ear to ear as his blood pumped with excitement. The fast paced battle and exchange of blows was igniting the fighting spirit in him that had been dormant for so long. When was the last time he had faced a powerful opponent? His previous dungeon was also a disappointment so this was a blessing from God in his eyes. "This is what I''m talking about!" He roared, leaping up and throwing his ''Epic'' Rated Flame Axe at the beast. It roared in pain as Blazing flames exploded from its body igniting the beast into a torch. "Reinforcements have arrived. Rank 11 S Rank Hunter, Volk Kaiser at your service." He landed next to Zeref, flashing him a smile. He watched as Zeref and his 2 familiars looked at him in distaste. Was his entry not cool enough? And the Highly praised A runk Hunter was a kid? He was a bit taken aback by the sudden reveal. ** -Back to Zeref''s POV- I asked for reinforcements and they sent me one guy. ''This guy looks like a doofus.'' Voad commented, making me smile in agreement. "Why are you looking at me like that eyepatch?" Volk queried, but I ignored his question and averted my attention to the Dungeon Boss, who had just recovered. Voad had warned me that Volk was coming towards us to help, so I put on my eyepatch in time. "Do you think you could take this thing by yourself?" I asked. "Probably, but this one looks powerful," he replied, licking his lips. Nice another battle freak. ''Dianmu, Numen how much mana do you guys have left? I have just below 20% left and I''m fatigued. I was planning on leaving one of you here to support him and finish off the Boss whilst I went into the dungeon,through the portal and cleared it.'' Spoke through our mental link. ''I''ll stay, you and Dianmu should go. This new guy looks powerful enough. As much as I hate working with humans, I think I can work with this guy.'' Numen nodded. We all exchanged brief nods before splitting up. "Wait, where are you going kid?" Volk yelled. "You and Numen will take care of the boss, I''m going to clear the dungeon and shut off the portal before more of them come out." I replied, jumping into the portal with Dianmu. [You have entered a Red Portal] As soon as I exited with Dianmu, New notifications popped into my view. [You are unable to exit till the dungeon is cleared] [Time Limit: 1 Hour] ''That''s new.'' Voadhailis''s thoughts matched mine. This dungeon was completely different to the one I cleared before. [New Quest: Kill all of the remaining trolls!] [Rewards: Instant Level up x 3!] [Consequence(s): Unable to leave the Dungeon ] Expanding my sixth sense, I scanned past the darkness and spotted 2 large doors at the end. This dungeon had 4 floors, The Dungeon Boss would have normally been in the fourth one but it was already outside the Dungeon, fighting Volk and Numen. The Female Mutated Trolls were on the third floor; we would have to hurry and kill them off. I could also sense a couple trolls still left on the second floor. I could rely on Dianmu to be the damage dealer, whilst I finished them off. "Are we moving or not?" Dianmu questioned. "Let''s move." I said, breaking into a sprint. She followed behind me, sticking close. Taking off my eyepatch my vision increased and I could see through the dark. This pathway was surprisingly empty; most of the trolls had already been massacred anyway. Kicking the 2 doors open, a burst of light engulfed us. We were in a different terrain now: A forest. How big was this dungeon? "This floor looks big." Dianmu commented. The trees were colossal in size, standing at least at 150 Metres in height and 4 Metres in diameter. That just begged the question. How big were the trolls that were inhabiting this floor? The breaking of twigs and bustling of bushes made Dianmu and I prepare for battle. "Who the hell are you ants?!" A 50 Metre Cyclops appeared into our view roaring. It pulled out a club from its back and a shield charging towards us. ''Ice Lances!'' I conjured multiple Ice lances throwing them towards the large beast. This thing was at least S rank. [Name: Mutated Cyclops (Troll Family)] [Level: 72] [Mana pool stage: 3] [Strengths: Immense Power, High Durability/Defense, Immune to Fire Magic] [Weaknesses: Lightning Magic, Light Magic, Aerial attacks.] Great. This was going to be a tough one. The ice spears bounced off its tough skin, shattering into small glass pieces. It roared in annoyance, swinging its club down with force. Both Dianmu and I leapt back, successfully dodging the blow. Crack! Crack! A large spider web of cracks spiraled outwards from the epicentre of the attack, toppling over several trees. ''So what''s the plan?'' Dianmu questioned through our mental link. ''It''s weak against lightning Magic so you''re going to have to be the damage dealer. I have very little mana left. I''ll aim for its head to kill it quickly. Just deal damage and weaken it.'' I ordered. Dianmu nodded, pulling out her Golden Staff. She swirled it round in the air, causing thunderclouds to form above us in the artificial blue sky. The Cyclops began running towards her but I distracted it by circling round it Throwing small Ice spears. Ice Magic required the least amount of magic, so I was being efficient. With a single swing of Dianmu''s Golden staff, A powerful thunderbolt struck down on the Cyclops making it roar in agony. I watched as the millions of volts of electricity made its irises go white. It stumbled a little but regained its balance, shaking its head. ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma.'' Once I felt the hilts of my shortswords materialize, I blitzed towards the cyclops, spiraling up its leg till I reached its neck. Imbuing both blades in mana, I sliced horizontally with force. A fountain of blood poured out from the headless body, staining the forest floor. Its body dropped with a thud, shaking the ground and trees around it. [You have earned 20,000 EXP for killing a Mutated Cyclops!] That was one down. 5 more to go ** [Time Left: 5 Min 49 Seconds.] Wiping off the sweat from my forehead, I took deep breaths. I stepped over the bodies towards the portal that had opened up - our exit out of the dungeon. "Do you want a hand? You look like you''re gonna drop any minute." Dianmu offered. She was right. I had been fighting non-stop. It felt like my eyes would close any minute. "Fine." I accepted her help, letting my arm rest around her shoulder as she held me up. We both exited through the portal. We had managed to clear the dungeon with minimal difficulty; only the trolls gave us a hard time but we did end up clearing it. As we exited the portal, countless heads looked over at our direction. It seemed that more reinforcements were sent to aid in the clean up of the aftermath. [Congratulations! You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now Level 99!] [Total Available Stat Points: 70] It was odd, I couldn''t see Volk anywhere. Most of the people there were working on removing the dead bodies of the trolls and others were helping with the rebuilding of the town. Numen had also returned back to the Magic Forest in the east to rest up. "You''re back!" I spotted the Director from the side of my eye. He came my way, patting me on my back. ''I''ll be taking my leave then. Make sure you rest well.'' Dianmu spoke through our mind link. She gave me a brief nod, before a thunderbolt struck her position from the sky and she disappeared. "Was that a Thunderbird? Is she your familiar?" The Old man asked ecstatically, looking up at the sky, trying to look for her, "How many Familiars do you have? Even the Forest King, who helped Volk kill the Dungeon Boss was your familiar." "I have 2 Familiars." I replied, sighing. "I still don''t know how you did it. Jason reported that you took care of 3 S rank beasts all by yourself. Right after that you took care of an army of Mutated Trolls and cleared the dungeon too. You''re a monster! We''re going to have to re-evaluate your ranking." he laughed, grabbing onto my shoulder. He must have been in a happy mood, I did just save his Association''s reputation. "Something odd happened, while you were fighting. Our sensory mages couldn''t broadcast or see over your battles. Something powerful was interfering with their magic. Did you see or spot anything weird other than the mana beasts?" ''Say no. I made sure to block those mages, so they wouldn''t be able to see your transformations and strength.'' Voadhailis advised. "No. Not really. Anyways, Director, I''ve had a long day. I''ll talk to you another time; it''s also getting late, I''m going to head home." I smiled at him through my fatigue. He returned my smile, nodding in understanding. Shaking hands, we said our goodbyes, before I opened up a blue portal to my mansion. I really needed a break Chapter 129 - Xanxus Academy Vs Hebrion Academy Two weeks had passed since the Anomalous Dungeon clearance and I had returned to school. The school had formed a Basketball team and our first game was with our so called rivals Hebrion Academy. They had a team of prodigies, all aged 15 and older; they were so good that most players were scouted by national teams to play for them. I had no intention to play Basketball for Xanxus academy but the retired hunched assassin offered me a good deal. "If you play for the Xanxus Academy, you''re allowed a 2 week leave whenever you want." That was the offer he proposed to me. It didn''t sound so bad, so I accepted; I didn''t have to play extraordinarily well. I just had to blend in with the others. "Oi Eye patch! Why aren''t you in line?!" The coach shouted at me, as I watched the team members get in 3 lines for a 3 man weave. "I think we should talk about team strategies more instead of doing these pointless drills. Look at the other team - Hebrion Academy. They''re discussing tactics right now; our team is going to be clueless when we face off in 5 minutes." I replied. The coach''s wrinkled face went beet red as he roared in anger, "Am I the coach or are you the coach?! Get up and give me 50 Suicides." I sighed, getting up and running from one end of the court to the other. 50 Laps? Was that meant to be a punishment? After 3 minutes, I finished my 50 suicides and looked at the coach''s annoyed face, as he realised I was not tired one bit. In fact I looked in better shape than before I began running. "Okay you 5 get in a team and the rest of you go sit on the benches." He ordered strictly. The coach was a short 5 ft 4 man with a round belly and receding hairline. I didn''t know where Xanxus had found him but he was one of the worst coaches I had ever met. He had no management skills, no tactics, no nothing; this team was bound to fail. Our School team consisted of a lot of taller and older kids from the 5th and 6th year. That made me one of the younger ones on the team but I was personally submitted via Xanxus''s recommendation. Also being a part of the disciplinary committee, most of them had a bad taste towards me. A lot of the older year kids were involved in gangs, so they hated me and what I represented. "Don''t get in the way. You hear me." A towering 6 ft 6 guy brushed his shoulder past mine, but failed to move me. He looked back at me in annoyance before getting to his centre position. "I''ll be Point Guard." I said, but the rest of the older kids laughed. "I''m the point guard newbie. You can just sit there and look nice. We''re going to do this without you." One of the kids with a mohawk snickered, earning some chuckles from the other guys on my team. ''I think we should kill them all and parcel their heads to each of their parents.'' Voad commented. ''As appealing as that sounds, they''re just kids. I''m just going to put up with them for now.'' The blow of the whistle silenced the court and the tip off occurred. The ball went to the opposing team and the crowd around the court went wild with screams. "You got this Zeref!" Malia and Naz also came to the game, which was being hosted at Hebrion Academy. The other team juggled the ball around, passing it from one player to the other until they passed through the 2 arrogant tall guys defending the net and scored. "Oi! Newbie! What are you doing?!" The 6 ft 6 guy yelled at me but I shoved him back away from my face. Our attack began and all our players spread out across the opposing team''s court. "I''m open!" Modrik, the 6 ft 6 guy called for the pass, but as soon as the ball left the point guard''s hand, the ball was intercepted by the enemy team and they scored another point. Like that the ball was overturned over 5 times. I kissed my teeth at these idiots'' stupid plays. "Oi Newb-" Before he could say anything to blame the poor plays on me, Modrik stopped in his tracks as his gaze met mine. I let my bloodlust leak a bit, making him sweat. Gulping, he avoided my gaze before getting his head back into the game. "Come on Zeref!" Malia and Naz yelled from the sidelines. "Pass me the ball." I said, but I was being ignored. They all ignored my command and began their nonsensical plays again. They hadn''t even passed to me once. The point guard took a 3 pointer but the ball bounced off the rim. "Sh*t! Get the rebound!" He yelled. Modrik went up for the rebound but somehow was bested by the other centre, who was more athletic than him. ''What are these idiots doing? This is embarrassing!'' Voad moaned, as we had just conceived another bucket. The ref blew the whistle and that was the end of the first quarter. "What the f*ck are you guys doing out there. It''s 20 - 0!! 20! Get your heads in the game! And you! You''re not even contributing!" He snapped at me, making my blood boil. ''I say we kill them and feed their chopped up carcasses to S rank beasts.'' Voadhailis growled. His comments weren''t making the situation better. Sitting down on the bench, I put a towel over my head and took in deep breaths. The point guard budged past the other team mates, before slapping the towel off my head. "We''re losing because of you! You useless trash!" he yelled, about to punch down at me. Surprisingly, Modrik jumped in his way grabbing his arm, he looked at my face gulping, before taking his friend away. "Okay break is over. Get on that Bloody court and do something. You 2 switch out for the 2 skinny, lanky two on the benches." The coach pointed with his chubby fingers. He didn''t even know our names. This team was diabolical. I stepped back onto the court, cracking my neck. "We''re starting." Modrik said calmly. The game began again and they began passing the ball around. This time instead of getting passed to, I intercepted my own team mate''s pass. "Hey-" Leaping up into a jump shot, I sunk a 3 pointer with a clean swish. The crowd cheered as we had finally scored a bucket. The point guard with the mohawk kissed his teeth, in annoyance. "Next time pass to me." I ordered, getting back to defense. With our first bucket I managed to change the tempo of the game. The scores were now 27-12. They still had over double our points but that could be caught up easily. The opposing team began marking me with 2 defenders; these 2 were extremely athletic and I was struggling to shake them off. Luckily, my team mates weren''t completely useless and managed to score buckets even without my help. "Pass." I demanded. The kid with the mohawk reluctantly passed to me. Leaping up into a jump shot from our side of the court, I released the ball at the apex of my jump; the ball travelled in a perfect arc, before spinning through the centre of the rim. The crowd cheered at the spectacular shot and I could see the coach from the side of my eye, wide eyed in shock. The other team looked at me stunned like they still couldn''t fathom what had just happened. ** Final quarter of the game. The scores were 89-94. We were 5 points behind, with exactly 2 minutes left before the end of the game. I was tired from the constant running, the coach wanted to sub me off but I insisted on playing. Without me, this team would lose by a milestone. I did end up scoring 63 of our points by myself. I dribbled the ball, momentarily looking at the rim and fake shooting; the defender on me leapt up fearing that I would make another 3 pointer. I drove past him doing an euro step before finishing with a reverse layup. The opposing team kissed their teeth in annoyance. "We need to intercept this one." I said and all of them nodded in understanding. They finally quieted down from the high seats of their egos and respected my skill. The captain on Hebrion Academy''s team was the second best player on the court after me. He was shifty with his dribbling and his 3 point shots rarely missed; he was a dangerous sharpshooter. Therefore, I chose to mark him. He smiled at me like he was having fun. Doing a couple crossovers and behind the backs, he failed to drive past me. Instead he faked a shot before jumping into a 3 point shot. Cr*p! I reacted a tad bit too late and jumped up to block it. Luckily, the tip of my finger touched the ball altering its perfect route to the hoop. It rebounded off the backboard and Modrik successfully was able to get the rebound. "Zeref!" He yelled, throwing the ball to me with force. I smiled, jumping up and releasing my unlimited ranged shot -Swish! The crowd roared and leaped up from their seats as the game had come to a tie. We could still win. I focused every ounce of energy into this last play, revitalizing and energizing every cell in my body with mana. I could sense the opposing team also using small hints of mana to strengthen themselves. "Here they come!" Modrik shouted, getting into a defensive position. Erasing my presence, I swiftly skated around behind opposing players and my own players before going in for the steal from behind. "How did yo-" My hands gripped themselves around my hands as I drove towards the opposing basket. "Don''t let him score!!!" The hebrion Academy''s Coach yelled in frustration. The remaining players rushed behind me as the time on the clock timed down. Leaping up, I did a tomahawk dunk grabbing onto the rim. Crack! The rim snapped from the backboard, as it came down with me in my hands. "WE ACTUALLY WON!!!" The Xanxus Academy spectators rushed onto the court in happiness in joy. This was the Xanxus Academy''s first ever win against Hebrion Academy. ''That''s our side of the deal, done. Now xanxus better give us our 2 week holiday..'' Voadhailis grumbled. Chapter 130 - Soyeon Park -Malia''s POV- The Basketball game win caused an uproar and Mr Xanxus allowed us to stay at home for one extra day to celebrate the tough win. Zeref really put on a show - he mesmerised everyone and scouts even came up to him with offers but he refused them all. What was this guy not good at? I scribbled down notes with strong focus. Exams were in a week and I was one place away from being the smartest kid in our year. All I needed was to focus. "Maliaaaa." Sara whined, pushing my elbow. My pen ran across my page, creating a huge line over my notes as I glared down at Sara. "Seriously?" I raised my eyebrows at her, sighing as she guiltily picked up my pen. "I''m bored. This class sucks." she continued, shaking my arm. I yanked my pen off her hands as she continued whining. My patience was running thin and all I could think to do was to smash her face into the wall. "Sara, this is the third time I have asked you to do your work!" Mr Keen yelled, appearing behind our desk in a snap. We both turned to him with guilty looks as he shook his head. "Sit here. I am moving you." he grumbled, pointing to the empty seat in front of me. Sara scoffed, "That doesn''t make much of a difference-" "NOW!" his voice boomed as I winced, my ear ringing. The class fell silent, their eyes now all on us. "Okay, okay..." she put her arms up to surrender. I turned back around, not trying to pick an unnecessary argument with the already annoyed teacher as Sara stood up, throwing her bag at the desk in an act of defiance. She rolled her eyes, dragging her feet to her new desk next to a boy I didn''t know the name of. The teacher crossed his arm, tapping his foot impatiently while everyone had their eyes on Sara''s slow dragged movements. "JUST SIT!" he snapped as Sara smirked, dropping down in her chair. Mr Keen was now red faced, his features contorted into an annoyed expression. He grumbled a few complaints before dropping onto his chair and marking the rest of the papers. Sara turned to me with a saddened pout as we weren''t sitting next to each other anymore and I returned a mournful sigh. "Alright! Pay attention everybody!" Mr Xanxus swung open the door and stepped in before lightly half-closing it. "A new student will be joining your class. Please be nice to her." he stated, looking at me with a glint in his eyes. What was he up to? I heard footsteps down the hall, averting my attention from Mr Xanxus to the door. The teacher peered up from his desk, giving a side eye to the entrance. Everyone''s eyes followed his line of sight as the door seemed to slowly creak open. I sat up, an unsettling feeling sinking down into my stomach. The clicking of polished shoes could be heard before a girl with long legs and fierce eyes walked through the door. Her eyes immediately met mine and I almost tasted the blood rushing to my face. Soyeon. She looked just like how I remembered. Even through the little gap between our tubes, I still remembered those cunning cat eyes. Her gaze met mine, It felt as if her eyes were piercing through me. She then broke eye contact with me, running her gaze briefly across the classroom before smiling. "Hello everyone. I''m Soyeon Park. I moved from Hebrion academy." She spoke softly, almost seductively but I couldn''t ignore the darkness resonating from her eyes. Last time I saw those eyes, they were filled with fear and desperation. Now they were just dark and empty. She looked different, almost hollow and emotionless. The class burst into a wave of whispers after hearing she was from Hebrion Academy. Rumours circulated a few months ago that two kids from that academy had been expelled after beating the headmaster to near death. Everyone was shaken by the news but the identities of the two kids were never revealed due to legal reasons. If Soyeon and her brother had really beaten their principal, why would Xanxus accept them into our school? I furrowed my eyebrows, looking back at Xanxus. He looked back at me before smiling in accomplishment. "I will be leaving her with you all. Soyeon, why don''t you go sit next to Malia?" he smiled down at her knowingly as she looked at me smirking. I smiled, feeling a tangy sensation in my throat. I was nervous. Soon enough, she was walking towards me, everyone watched the atmosphere get tenser. Xanxus gave the teacher a little nod of acknowledgment before leaving. Soyeon sat gracefully next to me and soon the lesson went on. I didn''t spare her a look but I could feel her burning stare watching me Sara craned her neck over her shoulder, scanning Soyeon up and down before looking at me. I ignored her, continuing with my work before I felt shuffling next to me. "Hello Malia," she smirked as I continued writing. "Nice to see you again Soyeon," I smiled slightly, still writing. "You aren''t even looking at me." I didn''t reply. "It''s refreshing talking to you when we aren''t stuck in those torture chambers.'''' She advanced towards me until our chairs were touching each other. I finally turned to her to see our faces inches apart and our noses nearly touching. My eyes widened as I pulled back. She tilted her head, peering up at me with pure mischief before also pulling herself back to her side of the table. "You look show stopping," she winked as I felt my shoulders relax a little. I let out a small chuckle as she giggled. "You too," I returned, finally relaxing into her presence. "I missed you. Sorry I had to leave you in the forest without a goodbye." she said in a hushed tone. I looked at her deeply, trying to search for any hints of a lie but there was none. She wasn''t lying. "It''s okay. I''m glad you reunited with your brother." She nodded. "So tell me. When am I going to meet your ''amazing'' friends you kept talking about in the tube?" she said. I peered at her before throwing a rubber at Sara. "Ouch!" she turned around, rubbing her head. "This is Saraphina but we call her Sara." I introduced her as Soyeon''s eyes gleamed. "Ah, I''ve heard of you. The girl who was at the tournaments. You represented Xanxus academy along with that pretty boy." Sara glanced at me to see my reaction at the last bit but I kept a still face. "Hi! Are you and Malia friends? I''ve never heard of you." Sara returned in a fake happy voice. "Yeah we met through a shared traumatic experience." Soyeon side eyed me as I smirked. She offered her hand for Sara to shake which Sara did. "I can''t wait for the others to meet her." Sara spoke bitterly, smiling at me before turning back around. What was her problem? ** My stomach ached from laughing as I slapped the table. "And she said-" Soyeon wheezed, her voice going quiet from the immense laughter. "She said it-" she tried again, failing to speak. "AHAAHHHH!" I gasped, banging the table again. Soyeon held my shoulder, her laugh stuck in her throat as she rocked back and forth in her chair dramatically. Sara shook her head, holding in her laugh as I wiped the tears at the corner of my eyes. "Malia and Soyeon for the last time-" the teacher tried to interfere as our conversation spiralled out of control. "IT WAS GLUE!" Soyeon yelled out as Sara burst out of laughter from shock and I let out a scream. Soyeon fell off her chair slowly, cradling her stomach on the floor as the others around me giggled at Soyeon''s outburst. "Right! All three of you stand outside!" Mr Keen went red with anger. I tumbled out of my chair, offering Soyeon my hand which she gladly took. She yanked me up as we both tumbled into Sara who was biting her lip to stop laughing. All three of us giggled our butts out of the class, standing in the empty halls where we collapsed into fits of laughter. "I can''t breathe," Soyeon gasped for air, sitting on the floor and pulling my wrist to sit down with her. I pulled Sara down next to me and we all leaned on the wall, sitting. "So why did you come to Xanxus academy? Why not anywhere else, Soyeon?" Sara asked, finally warming up to the new kid. Soyeon went quiet as we both peered at her. There it was that dark aura surrounding her again. "I was assigned a mission to assassinate someone..." she spoke coldly, her voice falling deeper at every word. I felt the atmosphere fall as Sara''s smile dropped. She awkwardly shuffled, fear radiating from her. I squinted my eyes at Soyeon as she smirked at me with a hint of guilt. "AHAHAHA! I''m kidding!" she burst out laughing as Sara chuckled a little. "I came here because I heard good things about this school, '''' she explained, fiddling with her fingers and avoiding my stare of suspicion. Chapter 131 - Taejun Park -Zeref''s POV- Xanxus stood at the front of our class, telling us about a new kid. I looked out the window, zoning out until Jace grabbed my arm and shook it slightly. I snapped out of my trance, facing the front to see a tall boy standing at the front. He had his hands in his pockets and stood nonchalantly. The thing that caught my eye was his dark aura. He seemed dangerous and gave off a killer''s vibe; he had definitely killed before. All the girls had their eyes popped out of their sockets for him and it looked like I had missed his introduction. He had black hair and his sleeves were rolled up messily just below his elbows, showing his strong muscles and apparent veins. His eyes were sharp and cunning and his jaw was perfectly L shaped. Like me, he looked older than his age and had broad shoulders. He definitely was going to attract attention for his looks on his first day. Word would spread fast about him. The wind whistled near my ear, a little louder than usual as it blew past the smooth glass of the window. "What''s his name?" I whispered to Jace, still having my eyes on the new guy. "I think he said Taejun Park" Jace returned in a quiet hush. Somehow, Taejun heard us and his eyes snapped instantly to my position. We held each other''s cold glares, the place almost feeling frozen still, before he looked away. He seemed troublesome. Xanxus left the class and the teacher searched the room for empty seats. "It just so happens that there is one right in front of Naz; you can go sit there Taejun." He walked down to the back of the class, making eye contact with me again. It was like his eyes could speak words and he was sending me a threat. Jace shuffled in his seat uncomfortably as Naz smiled at him. Taejun didn''t return it and swung his bag on the desk and sat down, yawning. There was something really off about this guy and I knew not to doubt my instincts. ** We walked down the halls to the canteen, during lunch. "There''s this new girl. She is Malia''s friend." Sara said, giving Malia a look. Malia shrugged, drinking a box of chocolate milk quietly. "Yeah there was a new kid in our class too." Jace walked next to her. "They are siblings." Malia finally finished her milk and chucked it into the bin from afar. "Nice shot!" Naz giggled, cheering her. "They are?" I queried, starting to get interested. "Taejun and Soyeon Park. They both have branched wind elements but when they focus, they can conjoin their powers into the pure wind element." she spoke carefully, as if she was treading on ice just talking about them. "How do you know this-" I was interrupted when a scream echoed down the halls. We all looked at each other with concern, before Malia started running to where she thought the noise was. A boy was on his knees, drenched in blood as his friend laid limp on the floor. Standing in front of them were two furious looking twins. Soyeon and Taejun Park. "Next time you touch me, I''ll shatter your skull." Soyeon spoke in a cold tone. It was their first day and they were already causing trouble? How stupid were these two? I flash stepped in front of the bleeding boy grabbing Taejun''s arm, as he was just about to punch the bloody kid one more time. "You?!" Taejun glared at me, growling but I didn''t stand down. I was still part of the disciplinary committee so I had to step in. "Zeref don-" I heard Malia''s voice muffle out as a sudden gust of wind muffled all the noise and people covered themselves from the powerful wind pressure. "You dare to touch my brother?" His sister charged at me, throwing a right jab straight towards my head. I parried the blow and ducked, dodging Taejun''s kick from behind. These two were tag teaming? "I suggest you two stop this before you get in further trouble than you guys already are." I warned, "I''ll count to three, if you don''t stop by the time I get to 3 I''m pinning you guys down." "As if." Taejun''s sister mocked, moving in unison with her brother. She attacked me first, but I parried her blows along with Taejun''s attacks. "1" Soyeon jammed her elbow into my shoulder but I rolled her hit off me, my shoulder throbbing as I swung my fist at her jaw. She disappeared from my sight, her brother pouncing at me in her replacement. Our fists connected with such intensity, a gust of wind ran through the halls as electricity ran up his hand like poison. The friction was undeniable as I felt his knuckles shift back at my impact. He let out a scream of pain, his hand making a loud cracking sound as he leaped back, cradling his injured hand. "2" I pulled my fist back to my side, standing a few steps away from him as he glared at me with a deadly look in his eyes. He held his wrist, his eyes searching the area. His eyes stopped to my side and I already knew what that meant. "3." I said as Soyeon''s fist appeared out of nowhere and barely missed my cheek as I was expecting her too. I held her wrist, pulling her forwards in front of me and reeling my fist back. "You both have refused to follow my orders!" I raised my voice as Soyeon instinctively held her hand up to her face, preparing for the impact of my punch. I sighed as I dropped my fist to my side causing Soyeon and Taejun to flinch. I looked at Malia as we both summoned handcuffs from our dimension rings. She turned to Taejun who was still cradling his hand which was now purple and blue. "Don''t touch me!" he stepped back angrily as Malia put her hands up in defense. "Fine, I won''t cuff you but you need to come with us." she said, putting her cuffs back. I gave her a ''what are you doing?'' look as she pointed at his hand. His knuckles were bright blue and it seemed as if all the bones in his hands were forcefully pushed back and shattered. He needed a nurse. The boy that was on his knees earlier abruptly ran up to Taejun in full speed, bodying him to the ground as Naz let out a gasp. Malia quickly yanked him off but Taejun fell on his arm, causing him to yell, squeezing his eyes shut as his body went stiff from the immense pain. Malia pushed the puny boy to the side, rushing to help Taejun up. Damn, did I really hit him that hard? He sat up, folding over his hand. "Naz, get a nurse." Malia panicked. Naz nodded as her and Jace ran to find a nurse. The puny boy stayed on the floor, glaring at Taejun as Sara held his arm, making sure he didn''t try to pull the same trick. Soyeon was still in my hold as I held both of her hands behind her back. She pulled forwards, trying to get to her brother but I pulled her back, cuffing one of her hands. "Let me help my brother!" she protested as I hesitated, stopping at the second cuff for a second. Taejun let out another cry, standing up with the help of Malia. He stumbled forwards, sweat dripping down his forehead and his face red. Malia held him up by his shoulders as he was practically falling onto her. He looked at Soyeon with such pain, I almost felt an ounce of pity. I must have shattered the bones in his arms and knuckles. "Get off!" Soyeon roared, breaking all the windows and disorientating me from the high pitched scream. She slipped out of my hold and back hand slapped me while turning around to face me. Her hand ran across my cheek causing me to grunt. Her eyes glowed white and I felt Taejun''s mana pressure increase, as he pushed himself to stand up properly. He looked down at Malia with pure white eyes and I could feel Malia hesitantly shrink. Soyeon rushed to him, pulling him out of Malia''s grasp and checking his arm. I stared at their bond, feeling bad that I would have to ruin the moment in a second. Suddenly, Taejun''s arm started to reform at Soyeon''s touch and something in the air started to feel uneasy. I looked at Malia who looked just as confused. Not even a millisecond later, she let out a gasp, leaping forward to break their linked hands but it was too late. A wave of wind emitted from them, making me and Malia crash into the wall of the hall. Both of them squeezed each other''s hands, increasing their mana pressure. Were they crazy using this much power indoors? I stood back up but was smashed into the wall again due to their wind magic. Malia on the other hand, sat up behind them with a quiet glare of annoyance. I could tell she was done being nice. "You chose this. You peasant. How dare you touch my brother?" Soyeon''s voice resonated in the air. "Sit." Malia uttered. "What?" Taejun replied, chuckling. "Sit!" we both reiterated, our voices echoing each other, almost harmonising and syncing. My mana and her spirit magic mingled and something in us felt like our powers were being merged. The atmosphere became heavy and an immense power made both of them kneel in submission. They struggled to move or even breathe due to the immense pressure. I walked over to their sides and handcuffed them both with anti-mana handcuffs before releasing my mana pressure. "I''ll kill you. Just wait." Taejun glared at me, as Naz and Jace teleported in with a nurse and a few other disciplinary committee members who rushed to my side and took them both away. "What the hell was that?" Jace gasped, still in shock. "I had a bad feeling about those two. They''ve definitely killed before and that wind ability of theirs is dangerous. If the school walls hadn''t undermined their power I would''ve had to use more power to subdue them.." I replied. Chapter 132 - The Calamity Class Threat [1] I stood in the office, along with all the rest of the disciplinary committee members. We stood in a row and watched the silence before us. Xanxus was sipping coffee at his desk, staring at Soyeon and Taejun with a blank expression. "I don''t have time for this. I have a meeting to attend. You lot can decide the punishment and Zeref I want a note of their consequences on my desk by the end of the day." he said, abruptly getting up and packing his things after a long 10 minute silence of him just sipping coffee. Taejun looked at his sister as they both watched Xanxus leave without a care in the world. As soon as the door shut, the guy I had beaten up last time came forwards, sitting in Xanxus''s chair and staring at the twins. "I say we throw eggs at them at lunch." he sniggered, clasping his hands together. Soyeon glared, moving forwards, making the prestigious boy flinch back. "Don''t be rude, Sunny." Moira scoffed, crossing her arms and popping her hip out. "What? I don''t see anyone else making any suggestions." he smiled victoriously when he was met with silence. "Detention after school as a warning. If they do it again, we can give them a harsher consequence." Malia came forward, glancing at Soyeon as they shared a mutual look of agreement. "Awwww that''s no fun though!" Sunny frowned, standing up and towering over Malia in an attempt to intimidate her. His chest touched the tip of her nose and before he could come any closer, I pushed his shoulder back, making him lose balance and fold onto the floor like a branch snapping from the wind. He chuckled to himself, shaking it off and awkwardly standing up. "I agree with Malia''s idea." Derek put his hand up as another guy agreed, also putting his hand up. Soon enough, around 6 people had their hands raised. I looked at them before looking at Sunny again with a proud smile. I slowly raised my hand as he rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever." he brushed his blazer off and left the room, banging it shut behind him. "For now, you both will be sent home. Your detention will be tomorrow after school for 2 hours and both of you will do community service, cleaning up litter after the detention." I said, getting out a piece of paper and writing down their punishments to leave on Xanxus''s desk. "2 hours?!" Taejun exclaimed, clenching his fists. "And community service?!" Soyeung finished Taejun''s frustrated thoughts. "I will escort them out of the school." Derek said, ignoring Taejun''s sigh. ** The class droned on as my eyes started to feel heavy. I let out a quiet yawn and looked at Jace next to me who was drawing hearts on Naz''s wrist. How was this guy always so carefree? It baffled me. I then redirected my attention to the teacher to hear what he was preaching today. "...Many say that how will algebra ever help us in real life? Or how does trigonometry relate to real life things? We shouldn''t be learning stuff like this." The Magical Arts teacher explained, earning some whispers of agreement from the class. "Well, I will be answering those questions today. Has anyone heard of magic circles?" Applebottom put her hand up immediately. "Yes Miss Applebottom." The teacher sighed. "Magic circles are used to cast complex spells of powerful magnitudes; they require one to draw accurate shapes and symbols, if a single mistake is made, the whole spell could be ruined causing an explosion of mana to be released." She replied, pushing her round glasses up. "Correct. Magic circles are used in everyday appliances you use today, none of you have realised yet have you? Teleportation devices that open up portals. Magic circles have been condensed into them, allowing them to cast the portal spell. "Magic circles are made up of condensed mana, so therefore when the mana runs out, portal devices and other appliances stop working. What I want you to do now is open up the textbook to page" The Professor was interrupted as a couple students rushed out of their seats to run towards the window. "What are you guys doing? Get back in your seats!" The professor demanded, his face going red from the disrespect of the students. I looked out of the window to see what the huddled students were looking at and my eyes widened in fear. "What the f*ck is that?" Jace said my thoughts out loud, gawking at the atrocity that had popped up. I had never seen such a big red portal in my life. It was right in the centre of the city, floating above the ground, even covering the sky. It was at least several kilometres in diameter. ''This is bad.'' Voadhailis''s hoarse voice echoed in my head. ''Has this ever happened before?'' I asked. ''No. This is also my first time seeing a portal as big as this. It only makes me think about the hellish beast that must be inhabiting that dungeon, or beasts. We don''t know but we have to prepare ourselves. Otherwise, we could all die if whatever is in there manages to come out.'' Voadhailis warned. ''I should talk with the Hunter Association. This is a disaster.'' Voadhailis agreed, before going back to meditating. The secondary mana pool had already reached the second stage. Now I just needed to get to level 120, reach mana pool stage 7 and activate the ''Dragon Manifestation'' spell, this way he''d be able to finally get a new body. "Please get back to your seats." The Professor tried to calm everyone down. Suddenly, Xanxus''s voice echoed throughout the school as an announcement was being given. "Everyone please calm down. Stay in your classes, We are already preparing for precautions" I didn''t listen to the rest of the stuff he was saying; I already had a plan and I was going to move accordingly. "Jace. We''re leaving. We don''t know if monsters are going to come out of that portal now or when. We need to evacuate my mother and get to a safe place." I said, looking at him sternly. "Okay, so what''s the plan?" Jace asked, gripping Naz''s hand tightly. "We need to retrieve Malia first. Then mother. We''re heading to the Hunter Association." "What about Mr Xanxus? He won''t let us leave, aren''t you hearing this guy?" Naz asked, pointing at the ceiling. "F*ck him. We''re moving." I said, getting up and putting my jacket on. Naz and Jace followed me as we began heading out of the class. "Where do you guys think you''re going? The instructions are clear. We stay in our classrooms!" The teacher shouted. "Sorry, but I have disciplinary committee duties to attend to, Mr Xanxus needs us." I said, pointing at the red ribbon tied around my left arm with the number 001 embroidered on it. The professor kissed his teeth letting us go. This must have been what the Director was talking about. He said that multiple portals were popping up all over the kingdom and there was even an Anomalous Dungeon. Were they all just a build up to this? Why was this happening? Who was behind all this? I needed answers I knocked on the door of Malia''s classroom and all the kid''s attentions, including the teacher was turned away from the window towards me. "Miss. I''m going to have to ask Malia Stronghold and Saraphina Claws to come with me; we have a disciplinary committee meeting with Mr Xanxus." I said in a professional voice, showing my disciplinary committee ribbon on my left arm. "Why do you need Sara? She''s not part of the committee." The teacher looked at Sara. I gritted my teeth. "You can ask Mr Xanxus yourself miss. We really need to get going." I smiled politely, losing my patience. I gave Malia and Sara a look; they both nodded, picking up their stuff and speed walking past the countless tables and students. "That''s not fair! They''re his friends." "Yeah! Disciplinary bullsh*t!" "We should be able to leave too!" A ruckus had started as some of the boys began a stupid scene. Malia and Sara had regrouped with us and we left the room and the growing ruckus in there. "Do you have a plan?" Malia asked, walking beside me. "We''re going to pick up Mother first, then we''re heading to the Hunter Bureau. That''s probably one of the safest places to be in this kingdom. It''s far away from this city and a lot of strong people will be guarding it. I plan to stay there for a bit." I replied, as we walked down the hallways and stairs. "How are you going to manage that? I know you''re a hunter but will they allow that?" Jace asked. "Just trust me." I gave him a look of reassurement. "Where do you guys think you''re going?! I thought I said you all should stay in your classrooms! Why are you guys out of your classes!" I heard Xanxus''s rushing footsteps echo behind us. The hallways began flashing red and the defense mechanism of the school had been activated. We had to make it out of here. "Run!" I said, breaking into a sprint. The rest of the group followed behind me as we made a run for the exit of the school. I was planning on taking a portal home but portals malfunctioned inside the school buildings due to the defence mechanism, so we had to make it outside, before Xanxus caught up to us and Naz wouldn''t be able to teleport us all outside. "I knew you guys were going to do something. You didn''t even invite me." Allefin suddenly popped out from one of the hallways and began running with us. "Glad you could join. It''s like we''re trying to escape after having committed a robbery." Jace joked, wheezing while running. "Where are we going?" Naz whined, getting out of breath. "Outside." I replied. Dead end. The exit was now closed off as anti mana shutters slammed down and blocked our escape. I could hear Xanxus''s tattering footsteps. "You know you can''t escape Zeref. I thought I told you, you have to follow the rules. You can''t just do whatever you want." Xanxus''s voice echoed in the hallways. "What now?" Jace scratched his head, looking back as Xanxus was getting closer and closer. I clenched my fist tightly and punched the shutter with all my strength. A large hole had formed in the anti mana shutter from my punch and I immediately jumped through it. Even if I couldn''t use my mana properly, due to the defence mechanism I could still sue my strength. "Stop!" Xanxus roared behind us. ...But it was too late. We had already jumped into the portal and were already through to the other side at my mansion.. I knew there was no way to reason with Xanxus''s stupid rules so we had to do it this way. Chapter 133 - The Calamity Class Threat [2] We all rushed into the Mansion and everyone headed for their rooms to pack up some clothes. "What''s going on? And why are you all rushing?" Mother appeared out of her room, drying her hair with her towel. She had just come out of the shower. "Mother, A large portal has appeared in the middle of the city and this place is not safe anymore, so we''re going to have to move temporarily." I said, in a rush, setting up the coordinates on a portal device. "Wait, what are you talking about?" She asked, shaking her head. "Auntie, the city isn''t safe anymore. We''re moving to a safer location for the time being, so quickly pack your things. We need to depart." Malia reiterated, helping mother into the room. Jace rushed out of the room with a change of clothing. "Aren''t you going to change out of your school clothes?" He pointed at my dark blazer. "Who cares about what I''m wearing? The world could be ending, this is trivial." I replied. The portal finally opened and the other side could be seen. Malia and Mother rushed out of the room and we were all ready now. Allefin, Naz, Malia, Sara, Jace, Mother and lastly me We all entered the portal. [You have entered a blue portal] ** As we exited, the noise of a busy environment flowed through our ears. It was pure chaos. The Hunter Bureau was filled with office workers and Hunters running around in a frenzy. The large portal must have caused an uproar of questions and the Government was probably riddling them with questions. I could feel mother getting a bit worried so I told her to sit down with the others. The atmosphere must have been making her nervous. "I''ll have a chat with the Director, so just sit here. Everything will be fine." I smiled at my worried mother, making her expression relax a little. Malia, Naz and Sara sat beside her to comfort her. I nodded at Jace and Allefin, before walking up the stairs to the Director''s room. -Knock. Knock. "Come in!" The Director said. I turned the knob of the door, before entering. The wrinkles and frown on his face had become worse than ever and his aura had intensified. "Oh Zeref! Welcome back. I was going to call for you. I''m glad you came here anyways." The Director smiled, shaking my hand. "So what are the reports on this dungeon?" I asked, trying to get some information on what we were going up against. "This is the largest Dungeon Portal we have ever seen: A Calamity Class threat - the highest threat level. Our Sensory mages have predicted that it will open up in 3 weeks, so we''re planning on a raid in 2 weeks, so even if the first team fails. We will still have 1 week left to figure something out." He replied. "I want to participate in this raid, but I have a request for you." My voice was stern. I didn''t want to miss such an opportunity to farm levels; this could boost my levels by tonnes. "Yeah sure. What is it? As long as it''s in my capacity I will help as much as I can." "I''ve come here with my friends and my mother. I need you to provide some accommodation for them and give some combat training to my friends. If possible, they''ll need experience if the dungeon raid fails and monsters start to come out of the portal. If you want I''ll even pay for their expenses." I said. "No, No, No. That''s doable. The more fighters we have the better and you still are a very important person to the Hunter Association. I''ll assign a High Level A rank Hunter to train them in combat, then take them out to hunt beasts." He smiled, shaking my hand one more time. "Okay then. I''ll leave my mother and friends in your career; In the meanwhile I''m going to do my own training." ** "You can''t leave again! Not in such troubled times like this!" Mother argued back. I shook my head, before kneeling down and grabbing her hands. "Mother, please. It''s necessary. I must get stronger, strong enough to protect you all. At my power level, I''m unable to ensure your safety and everyone else''s." I tried to reason with her but her motherly instincts wouldn''t let me leave. "No! You''re not going anywhere. You said this place was safe, so why do you have to fight? Just let the adults handle this. You''re still just a kid." She replied, her voice filled with worry. "I''m not like other kids. You should know this by now, I''m different. I have to do this mother, as a Hunter, I must tend to my duties and attend this raid." I got up. "I know you miss your dad. I miss him too, but this is not the way to go about it. You don''t have to follow in his footsteps and become a Hunter. You don''t have to put yourself in danger like he did." Mother wiped her tears and looked at me with a saddened face. "Mother it''s not like th-" She got up and hugged me tightly. I could feel my chest become warm, as her tears began soaking my shirt. Mother and I had never even talked about Dad. After all these years, I forgot how much his death affected us. I knew him for a couple years, but mother that was her lover. She must have been struck so hard by the news. I wasn''t surprised when she hadn''t visited me during my 8 year training period. I would be broken too; in a way that feeling of loss was similar to when I lost Nina, so I never questioned Mother''s decisions to isolate herself for 8 years. "Just come back safe." She lifted her head, before she walked away and grabbed a tissue. "Mother, here take these please." "What." I pulled out a sac of coins from my dimension ring, a portal device, a Black ring and a White card. "This Black Ring is a safety device and a dimension ring. It''s one of the most precious and powerful rings in the world, it will protect you against any spell/ attack. Make sure you wear this at all times." I said, putting it on the index finger on her right hand. "No Zeref, Please. You can''t give this to me." She tried to give it back, realising how expensive it must have been, but I insisted. I had retrieved this ring from the Anomalous Dungeon Reward Vault. In total I had 5 of these rings; I was already wearing one. Now Mother wore the 2nd one. "If events turn bad and Everything goes south, I want you to take Malia and the others to the Elven Kingdom, with this portal device. "This White Card is a gift I received from their Prince. Go to the Eleven Palace and show the guards this card. You just have to introduce yourself and the Royal Family will take care of everything; they''ll provide you with everything, so you won''t have to worry." I reassured her, holding her hands, before kissing her forehead. "You can go Zeref but Just promise me you will get back safe." Her eyes were still filled with fear. "I promise.." I smiled. Chapter 134 - Solo Farming Levels [1] I ran through the forest, leaping from tree to tree. I had exactly 11 Days till the raid. I had to get much stronger in that time period. I had already bid the others goodbye and told them about the A rank Hunter who would be training them for a couple days and bestow them with some experience. I also made sure to give the Black rings to Malia and Jace. I had 1 ring left but I didn''t have rings for the others, it would look odd if Allefin, Sara and Naz found out they wouldn''t be getting one, so I told them to keep it a secret. Finally, reaching an empty field, I decided to sit by a boulder. ''Status Menu Open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 99] [Exp: 34,600/ 100,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 6] [HP: 37,000] [MP: 12,000] [Strength: 245] [Stamina: 226] [Agility: 207] [Defence/ Durability: 241] [Intelligence: 200] [Total Available Stat Points: 70] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] [Intelligence has increased 200 -> 220] [Stamina has increased 226 -> 256] [Agility has increased 207 -> 227] Now that that was done I had to have clear goals that I wanted to achieve in this 2 week training period. ''I''ve almost increased the secondary mana pool to stage 3; Now you just have to reach Level 120 and get to Mana pool Stage 7. Then finally, I''ll be able to get my own body.'' Voad spoke. ''What? How?'' ''Check the spells you learned from bonding with me.'' ''Skill Menu open.'' [The Dragon of Flames, Voadhailis (Bond) features:] [Cambio Forma - (Requirement: Level 80)] [Control Delegation - (No requirement)] [Forma del Drago - (Requirement: Level 100, Mana Pool Stage 7 + Secondary Mana Pool Stage 2)] [Dragon Manifestation - (Requirement: Level 120, Mana Pool Stage 7 + Secondary Mana Pool Stage 3)] [???] [???] ''Oh I see. You mean the Dragon Manifestation Spell.'' ''Yes. If you cast that spell, the secondary mana pool that''s in your body will separate from you and my consciousness will also exit your body for a while. I don''t know much about this spell so we''ll have to be patient and see what happens.'' ''What about the ''Forma del Drago spell''?'' ''It''s your very own Dragon Transformation spell. Similar to ''Shackles Release''. This spell will activate your Dormant Dragon characteristics.'' Voadhailis smiled. That just got me even more intrigued. A new Powerup! ''Let''s start with farming levels then.'' ** I leapt back from the powerful backlash of the Mighty A rank Wolf beast''s wind attack. It was powerful enough to send me flying. I caught the ground with my feet, stopping myself from crashing into a tree. ''Lightning Aura.'' Streaks of lightning surrounded my body as I ricocheted off the trees and charged at the Wolf beast. It roared to try and intimidate me and swiped at me with its sharp claws but I evaded then travelled up its arm. ''Indra''s Spear.'' Lightning mana concentrated around my hand violently. I aimed for the Wolf beast''s neck, cutting its throat. A fountain of blood poured out staining the Forest Floor; the beast stumbled a couple steps before passing out and dying. [You have earned 30,000 Exp for killing an A rank beast!] "AAAAOOooooooooooo!!!!" It seemed that more Wolven Beasts were charging this way. I could hear the trampling of their pack coming closer this way. It seemed to be a pack of 6. There were 2 A rank, 3 B rank and 1 C rank juvenile. The 2 at the front cast their wind magic in order to blow me backwards but I blitzed to the right, circling around them. The dead body of their Alpha made them furious and the pack of 40 metre tall beasts charged at me in fury. ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma'' I gripped the 2 cold hilts of the Revised Edition, Voadhailis''s Claws, strongly. Dark cumulonimbus clouds formed and rain started to pour down from above. The clouds grumbled before Several thunderclaps resounded and shook the atmosphere as I swung down with the sword in my left hand. ''Zeus''s Wrath!'' At my incantation, Thunderbolts rained down on the beasts countless times, killing them instantly. [You have used 3000 MP] [You have earned 30,000 Exp for killing an A rank beast!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now Level 104] [Total available Stat Points: 50] [You have earned 30,000 Exp for killing an A rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] I sighed in relief and both short swords dematerialised into specks of mana. This forest was different. The beasts here were much larger and the Wolf type beasts were dominating this side of the forest. Not only that, I was getting much more Exp for killing them. Normally, different variations and species of Magical beasts inhabited the forest. It was odd. It had now been 6 hours since I arrived and I managed to slay 2 S rank Beasts, who were both of the Wolven Type, 16 A rank Beasts and some other low rank beasts. Altogether I was able to level up by 5 Levels, taking me to Level 104. I still had to level up 16 more times. ''How are things looking on your side?'' I asked through the mental pathway. I had now begun running towards the waterfall I had found, which was rich in mana - a good spot for mediating. ''I''m almost at Stage 3. It will take me 3 days minimum to reach it though. You should continue farming those levels and put your stats into stamina and intelligence from now. ''If we were to fight the Shadow Candidate again or someone who has great defence, we would need to rely on our spells and stamina to beat them.'' ''Good Idea.'' I replied before leaping up to a tree branch. ** -5 Kilometres from Zeref''s position, in a remote village- "General, we have something to report." A young were woman spoke, kneeling down on one knee. Her subordinates behind her copied her, also kneeling on one knee and lowering their heads in respect to the General. "You may speak." The woman sitting behind the desk, replied. "An outsider has entered our Forest''s territory and is slaying the Protectors of our Forest. She seems to probably be a human. She''s got black hair and she wears a black eye patch. She seems very strong and we''ve only seen her use Lightning attacks." "Lightning attacks? How very interesting? Keep an eye on her movements and report to me if she gets near our village. Maybe we can turn her." The were woman in her mid 30''s ordered, with an authoritative tone. "Yes, General. We''ll watch her from afar; I don''t think she''s noticed we''ve been watching her." "You guys are dismissed." Chapter 135 - Solo Farming Levels [2] The large S rank Chimera beast whipped its scorpion tail, making me fly back from the force. [You have taken 2643 Damage] I picked myself and leapt back to safety, reassessing the situation. The S rank Chimera Beast wasn''t too difficult to handle. The only problem was its tough scorpion tail that moved at a frightening speed and its ability to fly, due to its wings. Not only was its maneuverability amazing, it was resistant to most element types, so I had to use Lightning mana a lot, leaving me with only 4000 MP. Could I finish this before my mana ran out? "ROOOAAarrghhhh!!!" It''s deafening roar made my ears bleed; dozens of reinforcements arrived at its call. ''Ahh. Great. More Wolf beasts to massacre.'' I cursed internally at the poor situation; I had been fighting for 5 hours straight now, this left me fatigued and mentally strained. ''Voadhailis. Cambio Forma.'' The 2 Short swords materialised in my hands and a burst of mana arose from my body. My killing intent froze the new pack of mana beasts that had arrived. ''Lightning Aura.'' ''Purgatory.'' I spun Voadhailis''s Claws in my hands before zigzagging towards the S rank Chimera beast at a blitz speed. The other B and C rank beasts snapped out of their trance and charged towards me but I evaded all their attempts to stomp me or rip me to shreds. Limbs and heads were flying all over the place as my rampant onslaught caused the forest floors to stain with red. [You have earned 30,000 Exp for killing an A rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have earned 15,000 Exp for killing a B rank beast!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now Level 118] [Total available Stat Points: 80] I threw the shortsword in my right hand towards the S rank Chimera beast; it ducked, making the shortsword miss. ''Switch.'' Using my Visual Prowess, I switched places with the sword in the air instantly. Lightning cackled viciously around my body as I spun downwards, slicing with the mana imbued Voadhailis''s Claw. The Chimera Beast put up its scorpion tail just in time to protect its head but I cut through it and managed to leave a deep cut on its shoulder. It Roared in agony, before flapping its wings and blowing me backwards. Now I had weakened it, I had to finish it off. I couldn''t miss this chance! Blitzing towards the mighty beast, my body was imbued with Lightning mana, ready to give the final blow but to my surprise it still had a surprise attack. A mana blast? BOOM! The mana blast that it had released from its mouth sent me flying back, crashing into a large tree. All air left my lungs, and the grip around my swords loosened. [You have taken Critical Damage!] [HP has fallen below 25%] [Activating ''Rapid Healing''] I felt the pain of broken bones and burned skin slowly fade away, as my body was regenerating with the system''s help. ''Just Kill this Peasant already!'' With Voadhailis''s annoyance, a burst of reddish orange Dragonic mana erupted from my body. The hue of my eye changed to a Golden yellow and my vision expanded in resolution. The Chimera beast tried to escape by flying away but I had other plans. "Sit!" ''Gravity Zone!'' [MP is dropping rapidly] The reason why I refrained from using Gravity Magic was due to its immense Mana consumption but at the end, it was still one of the most broken elements. With a clean cut, I had finally sliced off its large head. [You have earned 80,000 Exp for killing an S Rank Mutated beast] [Congratulations! You have completed the quest!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now Level 120] [Total Available Stat Points: 100] ** It had been a whole week since I started farming and finally I had reached Level 120. Levelling up had become even harder as each level required more Exp. ''Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig.'' Voadhailis commented with a jolly tone. ''Who said that one?'' ''Malcolm Gladwell.'' I shook my head, before sitting down next to the dead beast. He had binge watched my memories of the past world like they were Netflik shows and I must say, they were kind of influencing him. I absorbed the dead carcasses into my dimension ring, brimming its capacity to the max; there were now countless bodies in my dimension rings, ready for me to sell. At least this training period was profitable in many ways. Now I just had to meditate for the rest of the remaining time I had left. I was already close to Stage 7. Opening a portal device, I teleported to a waterfall at the edge of the forest. This waterfall had vast amounts of pure mana, perfect for me to absorb. The portal closed behind me. Now I had to sort out my stats first. ''Status Menu Open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 120] [Exp: 34,000/ 121,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 6] [HP: 40,000] [MP: 15,000] [Strength: 276] [Stamina: 283] [Agility: 257] [Defence/ Durability: 251] [Intelligence: 260] [Total Available Stat Points: 80] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] [Intelligence has increased 260 -> 300] [Stamina has increased 263 -> 283] [Agility has increased 257 -> 277] ''Status Menu Close.'' Now that that was taken care of, I immediately sat down and began meditating. I focused and visualised the mana particles syphon towards the centre of my body and into my mana pool. After 30 minutes, my MP was now full and the real growth of the Mana pool had begun I sat patiently, redirecting the mana in my meridians to the centre of my body. The mana pool was located underneath the solar plexus. One had to imagine their mana pool, in my case mine was like this waterfall. My mana pool was a large lagoon, connected to a waterfall, which inferred the millions of mana particles being poured into it. The idea of imagery was important in meditating; this technique was the most efficient way to increase the size of one''s mana pool. Comparing my mana pool to when I first reincarnated into this world, it was the size of a small bucket of water. Now I had expanded it; increasing my stats also helped in the growth of the mana pool as it made the vessel (my body) that it was inhabiting even more suitable to its size. In this 1 week period I had increased my strength in my base form. I hadn''t used my demon form once and only focused on practising and increasing the levels of my regular spells. Along with my intelligence stat now reaching 300, my spells would now be much more potent and effective. ** ''Dodge'' Voadhailis, interrupted my deep concentration. The hiss of an arrow went past my head but I couldn''t dodge it in time; a red line formed on my cheek and blood started to drip down from the cut. So I wasn''t alone in this forest? ''How many of them are there?'' I asked, getting up. ''A dozen or so and they''re all strong; all of their mana pools are 4 and above.'' ''This is going to be tricky.'' Chapter 136 - Weremen [1] There was a blur to my left. I turned in time to see three women launch themselves at me, eyes filled with fury. I flash step to the side, dodging their zooming bodies as they slid to a halt, their heads snapping towards me again. This time, I came for them with raw fists, punching my fist into one of their abdomens while rushing past the other two who could barely keep up with my movements. To my surprise, a large impactful kick slammed into the back of my head as I fell forwards. I groaned and rolled to my knees, dodging the punch aimed at my head. Three more women had appeared as I added the people up. Six. One of them was on the ground, breathing heavily and wheezing as they all stopped and stared at me. I put my hands up, stepping back. "Ladies, let''s talk about this," I suggested. They glanced at each other then back to me before yelling their battle cries in unison and charging at me. Well, I tried. It was like a choreographed tap dance. All I could hear was the clicking of their boots against the floor and the wind. I dodged every single blow from all 6 of them effortlessly. One of them hugged my body from behind, trying to keep me still but I was basically just running with her on my back as I lifted her off her feet by just standing up straight. She dug her sharp nails into me and without thinking twice, I reached my hand onto the side of her shirt and threw her off of me and into a tree. I heard a loud crack before she went limp. Another tried to grab me but I reeled my elbow back into her jaw. "Lights out." I teased, as her eyes rolled back and she fell onto the ground with a thud. "Listen, I really don''t want to continue-" I tried again but to no avail. A fist missed my cheek from behind me. I grabbed her wrist, throwing her over my shoulder and accidentally breaking her arm. She cried out, cradling her deformed arm. I stepped back, warily. Suddenly a pinch hit my neck and as my 6th sense was weak from the lack of energy, I didn''t see it coming. My body started to sway as my peripheral vision blurred. Shit. What was that? A dart? I pulled it out of my neck. It must have had a tranquiliser on the tip. Pew! Pew! Countless more darts made contact with my chest and I fell back. I tried to stay standing but black dots started to take over my vision and soon my eyes rolled back and I felt myself hitting the floor with a thud. ** I woke up to a knocking in my head. My eyebrows furrowed as I groaned, pushing the knuckles away from me and turning the other way, "I SAID UP BOY!" A loud voice boomed into my ears and I immediately shot up, gasping. The same six women from before, stared back at me with annoyed expressions. I blinked a few times, adjusting to my surroundings. They sat around me and I felt as if the ground was moving. My head turned left and right, looking around to see we were surrounded by wood, meaning we were in some kind of box. "Where am I?" I pushed my luck, looking at the quiet one with the arrow in the corner. "A carriage," she replied shortly, her voice deep and rough. She was quite muscular with broad shoulders and jaw length hair. She had a scar which looked like a past cut, running down the corner of her mouth to her chin. A tattoo of an arrow took up the side of her upper arm and she didn''t have the same uniform as the others, wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and jeans while the others wore armour. The girl looked much younger than the others. I''d say about 17 while the others looked around their mid 20s. "Do not converse with him." One of the angrier women glared at the young girl. I recognised her as the woman I punched first. The carriage ran over some rocks, making all of their heads sway in unison. "Why are you angry at me?" she retaliated, putting her bow down beside her. "We could''ve handled it-" "You could''ve handled shit!" she yelled, causing the injured woman next to her to slap her across the face. Well, damn. "We promoted you to hunting duty because you were talented, DON''T let it get to your head. This will be reported, whether you helped or not." So she was the one who shot me with the tranquiliser darts. I didn''t even notice her. "But-" "But NOTHING BAILEY!" The woman raised her hand, stopping the girl (Bailey) in her tracks. I cleared my throat uncomfortably, looking at the mana cuffs on me and sitting up a bit more. I could get out but I needed a place to recharge without being chased and fought. Bailey looked at me with soft eyes and I awkwardly looked back at her, pulling my lips into a half smile. "You have good aim." I said quietly and they all looked at me with disapproving looks. Nevermind then. ** They snapped a strong collar around me. My body was swung into the cell as I let out a grunt from my wrist hitting the wall. "I will kill you." I glared over my shoulder, my tone darkening by every word, ominously. The Female guard giggled, shutting the door with a bang and flirtatiously waving before strutting away with her nose held high. ''Ah, screw this,'' Voadhailis huffed, as I dragged myself to the small corner of the room, covered in darkness. This Anti-mana collar was made of a strong metal. Not only could I not use my mana completely but they were also sucking out my energy slowly with every second, so i probably couldn''t break it. What kind of collar was this? It was dampening my mana completely. This could be bad. I should''ve not let myself get caught. The truth was from the beginning I could sense their faint pressences when I trained for the past week but I thought they were just magical beasts. I never guessed that they were of the Weremen race. I looked at the bars with deep thoughts running past my mind. I hated cells. *flashback to James, age 13* "DIE YOU FILTHY RAT!" The guard threw me into the cell. My frail back hit the stone walls as I cried out. I was so hungry. I curled into a ball, hugging myself as the door slammed shut, the loud sound of metal clanking against metal. My stomach churned as a metallic taste stained my tongue. Blood. I drew blood from my lips forcefully, biting down on my urge to cry. The hunger ate my insides, leaving a hollow shell. I was desperate; I was so desperate. I didn''t regret stealing that piece of bread from the bakery I regret getting caught. Next time I wouldn''t get caught. I dropped my head into my folded arms, creating a pocket of warmth in the light gap between my chest and feet. I had no hope. The darkness smothered me in it''s cold, bitter comfort as I fell into a deep sleep. I tried.. I tried really, really hard to just sleep; to shut my eyes and let go of all the pain I was feeling but everytime I peered into the darkness for some peace, I''d see myself dying all alone in the cold streets. Chapter 137 - Weremen [2] I looked around, looking for a weak spot of the cell, snapping out of the flashback and shaking the shivers off my back. I am not as weak as I was before. My mind went haywire as I frantically dashed my eye around the cell, touching the bar just to be thrown back into the wall behind me. Well sh*t Even if I was to escape, they had taken my equipment, dimension rings, including my portals. They only left my eye patch, as it was protected by a spell. Anytime a foreign object touched the eye patch other than me, it would burn their hands unless they overcame this feature with mana. My only option was to talk with their leader. Unnecessary bloodshed was not needed; I''d only need to instil a little fear in them. ** After a couple of hours, the door opened and a group of women strutted in, closing the door behind themselves. I grunted as they lifted me up. Two women held me at each arm, struggling to keep me up as my legs were too wobbly to stand. The ''leader'' stood in front of me with her chin up and shoulders pushed back. She wore a different coloured armour, shining gold while the rest were a dull silver. Her hand ripped through the air before a palm made contact with my cheek. My head fell to the side before a throbbing sensation burned to the surface of my skin. Ouch. "Disgusting man," she spoke in a strong Russian accent, her face pulling into a disgusted frown. The grips on my arms started to tighten and their nails started to pierce my skin forcefully. "ARRRRGH!" I yanked my hands towards myself from instinct, making them lose balance and bump into each other with small yelps. Four more guards clung onto me as they all started panicking. None of them looked into my eyes, scared of my furious glare. "Hold him!" the gold woman yelled, eyes widening as my glare pierced through her with it''s intensity. She gulped before looking away. "I want him ready in 10 minutes," she said shaking, before turning around, walking out faster than she walked in. As soon as she left, the guards around me tensed as if there was no one to protect them anymore. Maybe if I cooperated, they''d get this over with and I could get to the centre of this place. I relaxed myself into their holds but as soon as I did, their hands became more aggressive, snaking around my torso and making their way under my shirt. Panic set in as they lifted my shirt and pulled my arms out, holding it there. "Oi, watch your hands." I warned as they recited spells that transformed my clothes. They rolled their eyes, tightening their hold on me. Lastly, they applied new mana binding chains to my hands and feet. Pushing me out of the cell, they held their spears to my throat and guided me into a hallway. Where were they taking me? Two doors at the end of the hallway swung open and two guards ''welcomed'' me in by pulling me inside. It seemed that all the inhabitants of the village had arrived at the hall; it still surprised me how there wasn''t even a single man among the 2 audience of women on each side. They all looked at me in disgust like I was some sort of lowly creature. A woman in her mid 30''s sat on a throne with one leg over the other. She scanned me up and down before ordering the guards escorting me to make me kneel. The 2 female guards behind me kicked the back of my thighs, making me fall onto my knees. "You filthy man, we have been tracking your movements for a long time. You have gone too far, killing all the protectors of our forest." The lady on the throne declared, with an authoritative tone. "You don''t own this forest and why didn''t you warn me beforehand? I would have farmed some-" "Silence!" She roared. ''I don''t like this were-woman. We should kill her.'' Voadhailis''s bloodthirst was beginning to influence me but I suppressed my feelings. "I don''t want to waste my time speaking to a mere human man. Now for the punishments of your crimes we will give you the bite. You shall be our slave for the rest of your life." She announced, standing up from her throne. Her canines began to sharpen and grow in length and fur grew on her arms. She was transforming into her beast form. ''What''s the bite?'' I asked Voadhailis. ''They want to turn you into a wereman. That''s probably the reason they let you do whatever you wanted so they''d have a reason to make you their slave. Judging from the amount of were women in this small village, this place is probably on the outskirts of the Weremen Kingdom. ''I think they want to use you as combat power and other reasons. What fools!'' Voadhailis scoffed. "Ladies, hold him still." She ordered and the chains binding me became tighter. She kneeled down to my height and grabbed my arm before biting down on my forearm. She got up smiling, as if she''d achieved something. [You have received ''The Bite''] [Do you wish to accept?] [Yes/No] It would help in powering me up but it also meant there was a risk that this was like a master and familiar type thing, where I''d have to follow whatever she ordered. I couldn''t take the risk. The weremen were known for their extreme strength but I was already of a superior species than them. I had Dragon and Demon DNA running through my veins. ''No.'' [''The Bite'' has been rejected] [Effects have been neutralised] "Why aren''t you writhing in pain? What''s happening?" She gasped in shock. The other werewomen looked towards my direction in shock. "It''s the eyepatch. It won''t allow me to be affected by external things." I lied. "I''ll just remove it then." She smiled, moving in to grab the eyepatch. She flinched back as she made contact; the eyepatch burned her fingers. "What is that thing? You think this is a game you filthy man!" She roared in her Russian accent, before kicking my head to the side. ''Ow.'' I spat out some blood, before glaring at her. "You dare look at the general in that manner! You filthy creature!" This time the guard standing next to her rushed towards me and kicked my head backwards. "That serves him right. What a gruesome creature. Disgusting." I could hear whispers from the villagers on the sides and it made it even harder to contain my bloodthirst. The General raised her mana pressure and coated her fingers with Beast mana. She grabbed the eye patch from my eye and yanked it off. "Bad Idea." I muttered through my breath. Immediately, a powerful mana pressure fell down on them, increasing the gravity by a tenfold. My killing intent and mana pressure made the guards holding my chains shake in fear and most of the villagers were already on the floor gasping and others had fainted from the enormous change in the atmosphere. "Wh-What is this hideous mana?" The general struggled to talk, she unsheathed her sword and gripped it tightly. So she could still move? ''So what if she can move. She''s shaking like a leaf.'' Voadhailis scoffed at her. I then opened my right eye and showed her my demon eye. With a click of my fingers the mana binding chains shattered into thousands of pieces. "Y-You''re a demon! But how did you break the mana binding chains?" She gasped in shock. I slowly walked towards her and roundhouse kicked her head. Her body flew to the left, crashing into one of the walls. Sadly for her, these chains only suppressed my mana. I could still use Dragonic Mana from the secondary mana pool. "That''s for the kick you gave me before." I then walked up to her sidekick and slapped her face, knocking her out instantly. "You guys wanted to use me? Really? You think it was going to be that easy? You guys are lucky your princess is my friend. I''m going to spare your lives today." With that I released my mana pressure and the women all still stood in fear. They had never felt such a bone chilling mana pressure before. I only released my full power for a short moment but It instilled a fear in them they had never encountered. The General picked herself up and scanned her surroundings. She knew her forces'' morale had been broken. "What do you want from us?" She asked, the acceptance of defeat oozing from her voice. "I will spare your lives this time as I''m an acquaintance of Saraphina Claws. In return, you will return all my belongings and allow me to finish my training here. Also, send me some food everyday. I''m tired from eating Magical beasts." I sighed. "Y-You know Saraphina Claws?" "Yes." "Then I apologise for my rude gestures and treatment. Please accept my apology." She gave me a bow. "Fine whatever. Now give me my belongings." ** The reason I let them catch me was due to my curiosity. I was intrigued; I wanted to maybe benefit from them in the future somehow. Although I used fear as my negotiating tool in the beginning, it worked. At least they didn''t suffer any casualties. I had received their loyalty and even got sent delicious food during my meditating periods. Soon, the villagers even began to like me and I would visit them at the end of the day to bring them new meat to cook.. Their cooking skills were almost on par to my mother''s cooking, it made me content knowing I wouldn''t have to eat unseasoned and burnt meat for the rest of my training period. Chapter 138 - Dragon Manifestation It had already been a day since I had reached Mana Pool Stage 7. My power and stats had grown exponentially since the last time. What excited me the most was that I had finally met the requirements for ''Dragon Manifestation''. Voadhailis would finally be able to fight beside me. ''I''ll check my stats first before beginning ''Dragon Manifestation ''Status Menu Open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 126] [Exp: 74,000/ 124,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 7 (+3)] [HP: 50,000] [MP: 25,000] [Strength: 276] [Stamina: 303] [Agility: 310] [Defence/ Durability: 251] [Intelligence: 300] [Total Available Stat Points: 0] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 80% Rapid healing Heightened Senses Super strength and Super speed Levitation Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] ''Status Menu Close.'' ''Should we begin the process?'' I asked. This was the last thing I was planning on doing, before heading back to the bureau. ''Brat. I''m not sure what will happen when you cast this spell as no one has ever used this before. It''s a spell that you received because of the system.'' ''Stop worrying. This is our first step in rebuilding the mighty Dragon Race.'' ''Okay. Shut up and just begin!'' I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth slowly. I then stretched my muscles and cracked my neck and knuckles. This was it. ''Dragon Manifestation!'' [Unique Spell: ''Dragon Manifestation'' has been used] [Requirements have been acquired] [Physical incarnation process is beginning] As the notifications popped up into my view, I felt the mana in my body being sucked through my meridians. All of my elements including the Dragonic mana from the secondary mana pool began to seep out through my fingers. The mana was forming into a blinding ball of light, with different hues of colour swirling in them. They must have represented my elements. Lightning: Dark Blue Gravity: Purple Ice: White Fire: Orange Dragonic: Reddish Orange I watched as the percentage bar was going up and up; the size of the ball of light also grew in proportion to the ball of light. [Physical Incarnation Process 34%] I breathed slowly, to regain control over the release of my mana. Most of it was being wasted; I had to increase efficiency otherwise the percentage would never reach 100%. It depended on how much mana I was infusing into this ball. I glanced over to my MP, to my surprise it was at 60% capacity already. [Physical Incarnation Process 45%] At 50%, something odd was beginning to happen. The secondary mana pool that was below my own mana pool was beginning to move upwards. A sharp pain soared through my body, as both mana pools were beginning to merge. Was this part of the process? [Physical Incarnation Process 69%] ''You''re doing well! Keep going. It''s almost done!'' Voadhailis, cheered me on with his hoarse voice. He must have been excited to receive his own body. [Physical Incarnation Process 78%] [Physical Incarnation Process 93%] By 90% the phenomenon had finished and both mana pools had merged into one, at my original mana pool''s spot. Now I just had to persevere and hold out till this process was over. The vast amounts of mana flowing out of me was draining. [Physical Incarnation Process 99%] [Congratulations! The Physical Incarnation Process was Successful!] [The Transferring Conscience Process was also successful!] At that message a blinding light Engulfed the whole area and I quickly closed my eyes, hoping for whatever result to come out would be the best. "Oi brat. I think the process failed." I opened my eyes when I heard a squeaky voice from in front of me. What the h*ll!! This was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Voadhailis''s body! He was a Dragon pup! Not only was he a baby, his scale colours were also different. The scales on his body were an elegant fiery orange and red like his old self but his horns. Instead of being Golden, it was predominantly dark blue and even hints of purple were mixed on them. His wings had a darker red and dark blue lines intricately imprinted on them. During the process, my mana was probably the basis for his body''s make-up. I began to laugh at his cute and miniature body, small enough to sit on the palms of both my hands. "Oi brat! Why are you laughing? And why are you so big? You''re a Giant. Don''t tell me-" It seemed that he had realised it too. He was a Dragon Pup. "I knew something was going to go wrong!" He shrieked with his squeaky and quiet voice, "Suddenly, I feel tired I''ll talk to you later." And with that, he had passed out and the mighty Dragon of Flames: Voadhailis was sleeping on the palms of my hands like a baby. Wait. He was a baby now! I chuckled at his cute reaction before sitting down and meditating. I let him sleep on the palms of my hands, whilst I meditated. It seemed that the mana I was absorbing, I wasn''t just absorbing Lightning mana from the atmosphere, Dragonic mana too, I could absorb Dragonic mana as well. Before, only Voadhailis was able to absorb it for the both of us. Now I could do it too. It must have been due to the secondary mana pool merging with my own. We were now finally and officially: Bond and Master ** "I''m hungry!" Voadhailis yelled with his squeaky voice, "I want food." "What do Dragon babies eat?" I asked, scratching my head. I had no experience with babies, especially dragon babies. "Don''t you still have the carcasses of those magical beasts? Burn some and feed them to me." He ordered. "Listen here. You little baby. You''re so small you can fit in the cups of my hands. How do you expect to eat those huge chunks of meat?" I said, shaking my head. He probably forgot he was a Dragon Pup and not in a colossal thousand year old body. "Oh yeah. You''re right. I''m stuck in this stupid baby body! I keep forgetting! This is worse than not having a body. I''m so weak." "That''s because you''re still a pup." I shook my head. "Do you remember what your mother used to feed you?" "Let me try and remember Oh yeah, she fed us her mana." He replied in his squeaky voice. "Should I just feed you Dragonic mana or should we experiment a little?" "Give me each of your elements first, then I can choose." ''What a demanding baby.'' I thought. ''Oi! I can still hear your thoughts, you know. Our mental connection is still there.'' He replied telepathically, but this time his deep and hoarse voice was now gone and instead was replaced with his squeaky baby voice. ''I don''t think new born Baby Dragon''s even know how to speak, that''s why my voice box is hurting. We''ll communicate the usual way.'' He said. I nodded at the small dragon, still in my hands. Focusing mana into the tip of my fingers, I first fed him ice mana. ''COLD! Brain freeze! Ow!'' He yelled. Next I fed him flame mana. ''This is not so bad. Unseasoned though.'' Then Gravity mana. ''Tastes sweet. I''ll keep this one as dessert.'' Penultimately, Lightning mana. ''Damn! This one''s tasty. I''ll have to decide if this one will be the starter or main dish. Onto the next one.'' And last but not least: Dragonic mana. The reddish orange mana flowed out of my fingers and into his mouth. ''I forgot how tasty this was. Brings back memories. This will definitely have to be my primary source of food.'' He continued to gulp down the Dragonic mana until I had none left. ''What?! I''m still hungry.'' ''You''re going to have to starve for a while. Dragonic mana is hard to absorb. Can''t you absorb some yourself?'' I sighed, tired. ''No. My body needs to develop some more.'' He replied. ''Anyways it''s night time already. We have to head back to the bureau tomorrow. So let''s sleep. We''ll bid the villagers goodbye tomorrow too.'' I said, getting up. I still held Voadhailis in my hands and walked into my tent. ** "Rise and Shine!!! Brat! Get up!" I felt an intense heat on my face, which made me get up straight away, but I fell back onto my low bed. What the hell?! My mana pool. Why was it empty? I hadn''t felt this weak in years. I had mastered meditating in my sleep so my mana shouldn''t have been lost but gained. "OI! I''m up here." Talk of the devil, why was Voadhailis''s voice less squeaky? I looked up at where his voice was coming from. "How the hell did you grow that much over night?" I asked in shock. He was at least 30 cm in height now and his wingspan was about 60 cm. He hovered above me, flapping his wings and blowing rings of fire from his mouth. "I absorbed all your mana throughout the night. Hehe!" He announced happily, flying around in circles. "Don''t hehe me?!" I got up and chopped his head. "We could''ve been in danger. What if a mana beast came for us and I had no mana and energy like just now? Don''t do this ever again." I scolded him. "This was just a one off thing. Just recover for 30 minutes so you''re fit enough to move. Then we''ll head for the Hunter Bureau." He said, flying out of the tent. Was his baby body making him act childish? I shook my head, before starting my meditation. Chapter 139 - Reunion At The Hunter Bureau [You have entered a Blue Portal] After recovering my mana that Voadhailis had stolen for his rapid growth, I had breakfast with the villagers and left for the Hunter Bureau. It seemed that the busyness of the Hunter Bureau had calmed down a little; now the problem was that the place was swarming with Hunters, who had arrived from all over the kingdom in preparation for the raid. A lot of hunters looked my way, especially at the odd flying familiar that was flying next to me. ''This is a trek. Let me sit on your shoulder.'' Voadhailis sighed, hovering down to my shoulder and resting on it. His tail wrapped around my neck to the other side and he tucked in his wings, sitting comfortably. ''Looks like you got some fans. Everyone''s loving your cuteness.'' I teased. ''Shut up. This is a mockery. I should''ve had a larger body. It''ll take me years to grow to my original size.'' He moaned telepathically. I had finally arrived at the Reception and all the Hunters looked my way. Being the youngest there, with the best fashion sense and with my adorable partner, we were bound to attract attention. I was already kitted out in an unusual attire. I wore a black turtleneck, a navy blue Hunter''s coat on top matched with dark cargo trousers. With my rings, eye patch and well built slender figure it looked like I had stumbled into the wrong place. However, the Little Dragon wrapped around my neck said otherwise. "Hi sir! Welcome back. May I see your ID card please?" The girl behind the desk blushed, looking at Voadhailis, before looking back at the Screen powered by light mana. I pulled out my black card and handed it over to her. She scanned it, smiling happily before handing it back. "Welcome back once again, Mr Amara. Your friends are in the training facility below us and your mother is there too. They''ve been patiently waiting for you." "How do I get there?" I asked, politely. "Ask the security over there. He will guide you downstairs." She smiled. ** I couldn''t help but gasp. So such a facility existed underneath the Hunter Bureau. Several fighting rings spanned out around the vast white facility. The walls around the edges were about 300 metres in height, till the ceiling could be seen, whilst the length of the facility was close to a kilometre. Anyone could''ve easily become lost in this huge place. "Are you Mr Amara?" I heard a voice come from behind me. "Yes." "If you''ll please follow me. I''ll be escorting you to where your friends are training." An old man with a grey moustache spoke. He wore a black suit and had a spectacle in one eye. I gave him a quick nod and followed him down the stairs to where the mock battles were being held. The Hunters that were fighting were strong. The clashing of weapons and explosions of spells echoed around the large facility. Some of the stronger looked my way, glaring at me and I returned the attitude whilst others complimented Voadhailis''s cuteness (mostly the females). After a good 5 minute walk I had finally arrived. There was a 50 metre by 50 metre platform that Malia, Jace and the others were fighting on. They all worked as a team jumping over one another and teaming against the instructor that was struggling to hold his own. "Zeref!!! You''re back!" Mother was the first to see me and the others stopped fighting at hearing her scream of joy. Voadhailis, opened his eyes and hovered up by flapping his wings. Mother came running and gave me a huge and tight hug, which I loved. I kissed her forehead, before letting go. "I missed you too ma." "Look at you. Every time I see you you look more and more like your father and what''s that strange beast hovering above you?" Mother smiled, before looking up at Voadhailis. "That''s my bond. He''s like my partner." I replied. "It''s so cute!" She squealed. ''Let her hug you too.'' I said through our mental network. ''Hell no.'' ''Come on. You might even like it.'' ''Fine!'' He rolled his eyes, before descending into mother''s open arms. She treated him like a baby rubbing his small head. ''See it''s not so bad.'' I teased, smiling. ''Shut up brat!'' "Zeref!!" Jace and the others rushed over and I bro hugged Jace. Malia pushed Jace away before pulling my neck down and hugging me too. I grabbed her waist in an embrace as she looked into my eyes. S he let go, moving back and letting the other see me. "My turn!" Naz butted as she and Sara hugged me at each side. She hugged me quickly before backing up again. Lastly, I shook Allefin''s hand, dragging him into a hug too. It had only been 2 weeks but I had missed the group a lot, it felt like months had gone by. "Next time you''re taking us with you! Something special always has to happen when you go away. Like what''s that?" Jace pointed at the cute Dragon Pup 1 foot in height, that mother held in her arms. "I want one! It''s so cute!" Naz squealed like a little girl rushing over to mother''s side. She asked if she could take Voadhailis into her arms, mother nodded reluctantly. However, Voadhailis had other plans and blew a small breath of fire, making Naz jump backwards in shock. "Did that small thing just blow fire?!! Don''t tell me it''s a-" "Yup. It''s a Dragon, or should I say Dragon Pup." I smiled, finishing off Jace''s sentence. "So this is the well respected Zeref Amara I''ve heard so much about. I must say I''m impressed, I can tell you''re an experienced fighter by the way you carry yourself "I''m Rank 7 A Rank Hunter, Eldrin Qinberos." Their instructor appeared last, offering to shake my hand. He had a slender figure and blonde hair. I spotted his pointy ears and realised he was an elf like Allefin. There was also a round rapier on his waist, so he must have been a swordsman. His light armour meant he was a speed type striker type mage. "It''s nice to meet you, Eldrin." I said, shaking his hand. "Yo, Zeref he''s been wanting to spar you for a long time." Jace spoke excited to see a standoff between us. "Oh really?" I smiled. Eldrin rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly, clearly embarrassed. "Fine. I''ll spar him first, then test how much you all have improved." I replied. "You think you could take all of us? Don''t get cocky." Malia teased, "Only a couple weeks ago I almost beat you." I shrugged, saying "I improved a lot since then as well," before stepping up and onto the platform. Taking off my trench coat, I placed it into my dimension ring. Everyone else took their seats besides my mother. She gave me a complicated look of worry. This must have been her first proper time seeing me fight. I had to give her hope. Eldrin pulled out his rapier and stood in front of me in wait, getting into a fighting stance. "Will you not be using any weapons?" He asked. "I won''t be needing them." I smiled, releasing my mana pressure. A gust of lightning mana spread throughout the platform and fighters all around stopped to look this way. I was making a statement here. "What a violent mana pressure." Eldrin gritted his teeth, before releasing his own. "Here I go!" He shouted charging towards me. Just like I thought he was fast and nimble on his feet. He disappeared then quickly appeared, throwing a variety of lunges with his rapier. His fencing was good and precise. He aimed for my pressure points, but none of his attacks could touch me, as I dodged them all. I flash stepped behind him, before side kicking his back. He flew forwards, before quickly recovering. He was weaker than I predicted. Much weaker. Or was I just that much stronger than him? Gritting his teeth he shrouded himself in nature magic, before charging towards me. His movements became much faster but I still dodged his attacks effortlessly, making him get frustrated. A burst of vines erupted from his body and they catapulted towards me. I blocked one of the blows but I was sent backwards. My feet skidded on the platform, and a large cloud of dust covered the arena. Suddenly, Eldrin appeared out of the smoke lunging forward with his rapier. "This is the end!" He roared, piercing through the air with his strong imbuing of nature magic. Leaning to the side, I watched as he moved in slow motion. My agility stat was so high that even without ''lightning aura'', in my eyes he was moving like a turtle. I grabbed onto his arm and shifted his body''s momentum over my shoulder, slamming him into the ground. BOOM! A quake shook the platform as a large crater formed under Eldrin''s body. He was knocked unconscious by the heavy impact with the reinforced platform. Did I use too much strength? The medics came straight away with a stretcher and took him away. The others jumped onto the platform with open eyes. "Don''t you know how to hold back?!" Malia shook her head. "What do you mean? I was holding back." I said, shrugging, "Are you sure you guys even learned anything from him, not to be rude." "Yeah, he was actually a great teacher. We learnt a lot from him." Sara chimed in to the convo. His performance made it hard to believe. Was he not trying against me? "Yeah why don''t we all fight you, since you beat the instructor so easily?" Jace put his arm on my shoulder. "No! That''s enough fighting. Aren''t you guys tired?" mother finally stood up with the Dragon Pup still in her arms. "You guys should catch up with each other, but make sure you''re upstairs by dinner time. It''s already late." Mother sighed, making her way to the elevators.. She took Voadhailis with her happily, cradling him like he was her own child. Chapter 140 - Training With The Group -Malia''s POV - After Zeref leaves the Hunter Bureau After Zeref had left, we started our training. I held my fire ball at the base of my palms, controlling every wave of heat radiating from it. My eyes were completely still, focused. Next to me, Naz was practicing her strength with Eldrin while Sara and Jace were already on the same level so they fought. Allefin sat next to me, struggling to form a high voltage of lightning around his whole hand. I sighed, wanting to be challenged. "Are you okay Malia?" Allefin asked, breaking his concentration. I looked up at him, still controlling the fire emerging from my palm. I smiled, nodding. I snapped my hand into a fist, extinguishing the fire in a single movement. "You seem frustrated." he looked concerned but I shrugged it off. "I''m fine. I''m gonna go get some water." I said, walking off. I thought about Zeref a lot. He was untouchable to me. No matter who I became, how I trained, who I trained with, he would always be untouchable. "Malia?" Eldrin called to me while he held Naz in a headlock. "I''m going for a walk in the woods. I''ll be back." I smiled, not waiting for a reply. My feet took off on the ground as I let myself run free and into the open arms of the woods. Why did I always feel so cornered? I felt as if I could run across the sea and leap higher than all the mountains in the world. My mind focused on shifting as claws started to grow on my fingertips. Before folding onto all fours, a glimpse of Zeref''s proud smile flashed through my mind. My paws kissed the surface of the soil as I was now speeding deeper and deeper into the forest, my tails cutting through the wind. All the colours changed around me and a majestic aura resonated from my feet. I felt powerful. I was going to be better. I was going to fight along Zeref and die making sure he earns a seat in the upper realm no matter what. I owed everything to him. ** -Back to the present- Zeref is about to fight the group. -Zeref''s POV- I watched them all get into a diamond like formation. Eldrin looked pleased. Surprisingly, Naz was at the front with Jace and Allefin behind her, on her left and right. Directly behind her was Sara and right at the back, Malia stood. What was this supposed to be? I chuckled a little. How cute. Naz smirked at me as I nodded at her to come forward. She scoffed, leaping forwards while the others followed her lead, staying in their formation. I also ran forwards, meeting them halfway. I jabbed Naz, extending my whole arms length but she dissipated into a dark mist, swirling around my arm. I felt a burning sensation following the mist like a snake around my arm. I looked at my arm for a split second, realizing it was fire mana. So they were combining strengths? This move would be fatal to any other person but they knew I was strong. Impressed, I activated the lightning glove, clenching my fist while dodging kicks and punches from the others. The mist around my arm soon turned a pale blue as my lightning swallowed it whole, zapping the mist away. The cloud of mist flew away from my arm and formed mid air into Naz, who fell onto the ground with a groan. Naz had definitely improved. From only being able to teleport to now fully transforming into a cloud of mist. As soon as Naz was down, Sara emerged straight after her with deadly eyes. I had no time to process as Sara was quicker than Naz. Malia was nowhere to be seen anymore and Sara attacked my front while Jace and Allefin ran circles around me, landing light blows while emerging from all angles. I was enjoying this. Sara was half in her transformation, her grip was strong as her claws dug into me with every blow I allowed her to land. I noticed she was much more coordinated and focused. There was a new found confidence when she swung and she seemed sure on every move she made. I let out a zap of lightning, shooting her backwards from the impact. Surprisingly, Malia appeared from nowhere, softening Sara''s landing. I couldn''t keep my eye on them any longer as mist swirled at my feet and a vibrant blue fist jammed into my face. I groaned, catching Allefin''s wrist. I see, he had succeeded in shrouding his arm in lightning. I flung him over my shoulders and into the ground but before I could do any more damage, Jace tackled me, water gushing into my face as I squeezed my eyes shut. Wow. I pushed upwards, switching to gravity mana. Jace flew upwards into the sky at a high speed, disappearing far up into space. Oops, too much gravity mana. Allefin''s jaw dropped and before I could get up, Naz''s mist shot towards me like a spear. My eyes widened as I barely dodged. The mist grazed my cheek, a burning tingly feeling stinging my cheekbone as she zoomed past my head. Again, Sara followed right after her like a bullet. I quickly flipped upright, standing and pushing a wall of fire towards her. She stopped running towards me, shocked and frozen in fear. Just in the nick of time, Malia pushed her out of the way, pushing her hands forward and also creating a fire wall. Our walls clashed, creating a wave of power as they both turned to nothing. The clash was so powerful, we were all knocked off our feet. I chuckled as I picked up on a noise above me. We all looked up to see Jace screaming his lungs out and his arms flailing everywhere in desperation. I wanted to laugh at everyone''s jaws dropping in disbelief. Malia leaped up catching him in her arms as they both tumbled onto the floor. I stood up, looking at them all on the floor. "Come on guys. I was holding back." I smirked, antagonising them while shrugging. Malia''s eyes met mine and that''s when I saw that beautiful tint of gold swirling in her eyes. Her spirit wolf. Everyone hesitantly stood up, looking at Malia like she was their secret weapon. Let''s see the team''s hidden ace then. I blinked and in a second, her fist was in my face and I was blown back with the strongest impact. I felt a crack somewhere and finally, I felt pain. She ran after my body, the fresh smell of honey dissipating my pain. Before I could reach the ground, a foot jammed into my back, kicking me forwards like a ball. How did she move so fast?! My body was kicked forwards again and I face planted the floor. I pushed myself up, spitting out blood. Well she had definitely improved. There was no time to breathe as the group came for me with the same formation but this time, Malia led the team with furious eyes. I felt a chill run down me at her fierce glare. She seemed determined. The essence of a queen in her aura. I wanted to see them in their new formation but my nose started to throb. Okay that''s enough. I zoomed forwards, wrapping my arms around Malia. A wave of fire emerged out of our contact and the others were flung away like dolls. She froze in my arms in surprise. "I''m so proud of you guys." I whispered into her hair before looking at her face. She hesitantly hugged me back. Slowly, I lifted my finger, quickly tapping her forehead with a smirk. She gasped, swaying in my arms before dropping onto the ground from the electricity running through her and paralysing her. "Fuck you." she smirked on the floor. "I always beat you." I smiled. "I WIN!" I raised my fist as they all sat up, smiling. Chapter 141 - Day Of The Raid Hunters all across the Kingdom had finally gathered to clear the largest dungeon in history. Even the Elven Kingdom sent some armed forces to help in the raid. Now it was finally time to enter. "What do you guys think you''re doing?" I said, grabbing Jace''s shoulder. The whole gang including Malia, Sara and the others were present waiting in front of the bureau with the other hunters. They all were kitted out in light battling armour, with weapons and wands. What were they thinking? "We''re gonna join the raid. What else?" Malia replied, spinning the 2 daggers in her hands. "Absolutely not. You guys are gonna kill yourselves." I shot back. "No we''re going to he-" "Zeref is right. You guys can''t put yourselves in danger." Mother butted in, cutting off Sara''s attempt to argue back. She held Voadhailis in her arms and had a strong frown on her face. "I can''t fight and protect you all at the same time, plus you guys aren''t even Hunters." I sighed. "Who said only Hunters can join?" Naz snapped, annoyed by the situation, "Plus we''ve trained so much. You can''t just let us stay here." "The purpose of your training was so you guys could be ready in case this raid fails. I need you guys to stick together and protect yourselves and my mother, so I can fight without worrying for your guys'' safety." They all sighed in dissatisfaction. I could tell they wanted to be of help but apart from Malia, none of them had enough experience hunting beasts, it was too risky taking such young inexperienced people with me. The sound of a horn blew loudly diverting everyone''s attention to the Director, who stood on a balcony above everyone. "It''s finally time to enter the Dungeon. Firstly, I''d like to say that Thank You all for coming here and volunteering to join in this raid. Not only will we be creating history by clearing this dungeon but we''ll return as heroes, who served this kingdom and saved it from its doom. "So keep your heads up high and grip them swords tightly. We will clear that dungeon! Please make your way to the large portal inside the bureau. This will teleport us to the centre of the city." With his short speech ending, everyone began moving. Mother hugged me tightly, stroking my hair. "My son, please come back safe and kick those monsters'' asses." She looked teary but she smiled at the last bit. "I''ll try my best and take care of my bond here too, while I''m gone." I replied. I hugged everyone and shook hands with Allefin before heading towards the Bureau Building. ''Brat. Don''t be foolish and take care of yourself. Our mental connection will cut off once you enter the Dungeon.'' Voadhailis warned. I gave him a brief nod before carrying on walking. ** 20 S rank Hunters and 53 A rank hunters stood at the front of the battalion of mages. The remaining 600 Hunters and 2000 soldiers stood behind. After a couple seconds the Rank 1 S Rank Hunter, Taras Black, entered the portal. We all rushed behind him and 1 by 1 we all entered into the towering red portal. [You have entered the Special Dungeon: Lucifer''s Lair] Immediately my head became heavy and my body seemed like energy was being drained out of it. [Debuffs of the First Floor have been applied: 50% Awareness Decrease 30% Strength Decrease 30% Increased Fatigue Increased Fear Increased Mana Disruption] [System has removed the Debuffs] [Body State is back to normal] Thanks to the system, my body went back to normal but it seemed that the Hunters around me were suffering worse than me. Most were throwing up and looked unfit to even pick up their swords. [Quest Title: Lucifer''s Lair] [New Quest: Clear the First Floor] [Rewards: Instant Level Up x3] [New Quest: Clear the Second Floor] [Rewards: Instant Level Up x3 Key to Lucifer''s Lair] [New Quest: Fulfil your duties as Lucifer''s descendant] [Rewards: Instant Level Up x5 Dungeon Clearance ??? ??? ] Sh*t! If this really was Lucifer''s Lair, this was going to be hard and what were these quests? They were specifically tailored to me. Was the appearance of this dungeon for me? I gulped, before scanning my surroundings. A dense grey fog covered a flat and barren land. Countless skeletons lay on the ground and the atmosphere itself reeked of death. It was a battlefield. "Everyone! Stick together!" The leader of the raid shouted. It was the Rank 1 S ranker. I rushed over to the group that he was leading; it was tempting to take off my eye patch to get better vision but I couldn''t risk anything. Suddenly, shrieks of soldiers and screams echoed around from the back where the Elven Soldiers had followed us in from. They were right at the back, were they killed off first? A black shadow zoomed around appearing and disappearing in and out of the fog. Screams could be heard left, right and centre but none of us moved, we couldn''t do anything to fight back. It was too fast, the thing that was hunting us, even the S rankers gripped their weapons tightly and gulped. It must have been that ''Increased Fear'' Debuff. "This fog, it''s no ordinary fog. I can''t see anything through it and what is that beast? I can''t even follow its movements." Volk said, appearing by my side. He looked worried, as a solitary drop of sweat ran down his cheek. "What''s that leader thinking, are we just going to sit here like ducks? This is a stupid plan." I replied under my breath. I had to do something, at least be a recon. I walked up to the towering Rank 1 S ranker cautiously. He broke out of his trance and gulped before looking down at me. "Are we just going to stay here in the middle of nowhere?" I said, looking into the towering man''s eyes. The Rank 1 S ranker had a domineering presence, standing at 6 ft 5. He had brown hair and carried a great long sword, which worked perfectly with his red armour. "You''re right. We should somehow remove this fog; I can''t even sense the amount of beasts there are." "I''ll take care of recon, You should focus on just surviving." I said turning around. "Who the f*ck is this guy acting all big?" Another Hunter from his side spoke up, but I had already disappeared into the fog. I took my eye patch off, finally seeing through the fog for the first time. What were those things? Dark floating ghost like beasts zoomed around zigzagging across the battlefield killing a couple soldiers at a time. No wonder they were unable to do anything. It was impossible to fight something you couldn''t track or see. ''Lightning Aura.'' I scanned around and found out that this domain was flat. There was no natural cover and only skeletons and barren, dead land surrounded the area. Apart from the dark figures, who fed on the dead bodies of the soldiers, before zooming away again we were alone here. ''Explosive Shuriken'' I Jumped up and threw a spiralling flame shuriken in my hands towards a group of Black figures that were feeding on dead bodies. If Voadhailis was with me he would''ve said I was copying another TV show again from my old world. BOOM!! The Explosion shook the ground and dozens of dark figures died with the flames. [You have earned 20,000 Exp for killing a Darkness Wraith] [You have earned 20,000 Exp for killing a Darkness Wraith] [You have earned 20,000 Exp for killing a Darkness Wraith] [You have levelled up!] [You are now level 124] [Total Available Stat Points: 10] If only I had wind magic I could somehow blow this fog away. "The fog''s clearing!" Someone shouted, from the area where the Wraiths had died. "Kill the Wraiths, those dark things. The fog will clear up!" I shouted from the top of my lungs. "CHARGE!" I heard the Rank 1 S ranker roar, raising the morale of the Hunters. Finally, the Hunters began dashing around working together to kill off the wraiths. The fear debuff really was scary. It completely immobilised all of the Hunters. I could only imagine how strong the next floor''s Debuffs were. Explosions and spells lit up the Barren land and little by little the fog cleared up. However, everything wasn''t perfect as lots of Hunters and Soldiers were still losing their lives to the Wraiths. Once the fog had completely disappeared, only the blood of fellow comrades and their dead bodies lay on the grounds. The casualties were mostly the lower rank Hunters and most of the Elven Soldiers. "You''re still alive." Volk said, appearing by my side. He looked injured, as he held his arm. "Those things were damn powerful but if it wasn''t for your quick thinking we''d have more casualties." He muttered, sitting down against a pile of skeletons and pulling out what seemed to be a potion from his dimension ring. He drank it down in one go and suddenly, the cut on his arm was gone and he seemed rejuvenated. "Was that a healing potion?" I asked, confused by what I had just seen. "Wait, don''t tell me you didn''t know about these. The Alchemy Association sold these at the Hunter Bureau''s Workshop. "You crazy guy, you really came into this dungeon without Healing potions; here take these, you probably won''t even need them." He got up shaking his head, then pulled out 3 bottles from his dimension ring before giving them to me. I stashed them away and scanned my surroundings. Over half our men seemed to have died from just the first floor. "Men Gather round! Get in a defensive formation. This isn''t over yet!" The Rank 1 S ranker (Taras Black) shouted, raising his Long sword into the air. I looked in the direction he was pointing at and I felt an adrenaline rush spike my body. Thousands of Mana Beasts of all species were charging towards us. "Holy F*ck!" Volk gasped at the sight, gripping his hammer tightly. "Close your mouth and stick with me. We''re going to survive this place." I said activating ''Lightning Aura'' once more. ''Voadhalis, Cambio Forma.'' I gripped the 2 hilts of the revised edition Voadhailis''s Claws tightly. Time for war Chapter 142 - The First Floor’s Tribulations BOOM! BOOM! Bodies were flying left and right as the low rank hunters were being killed by the trampling beasts. I grimaced at the bloodshed and destroyed organs lying around. Slapping myself, I regained my mindset and switched on my years of experience in combat. Volk and I worked together covering each other''s backs, cutting down the beasts that were coming for us. I scanned around using my sixth sense but there didn''t seem to be an end to their numbers. Just how big was this army? "HELP!" A woman screamed, as a gush of blood splashed everywhere and her body was ripped in 2 by a troll. Another young healer mage screamed in fear. ''Purgatory'' Red aura surrounded my body as I blitzed around ricocheting from one beast to another before finally arriving in front of the Healer mage. "Are you okay?" "Yes. Thank you!" She cried, picking herself up and running back to her party. I continued my onslaught releasing a barrage of sword skills and combinations, with each successful hit my critical hits were increasing. "STICK TOGETHER!" The rank 1 S rank Hunter roared, conjuring an arc of light magic that killed a dozen of the beasts. I scanned around, counting our numbers. It looked like in a matter of minutes around half our forces were already killed. The issue was this army was disco-ordinated, gaps were forming between the parties and our soldiers were splitting up. "Protect the Healer Mages. All Healer Mages get to the back, I want All B Rank and above Hunters in the frontline. Protect the injured!" He was finally giving some good orders. "Volk, Let''s fall back and join the main group. The healer''s are important for our survival here." I said, Throwing a Flame Ball at a troll, making it explode. Volk gave me a quick nod before slowly rejoining back to the main force. "Earth Mages build a wall! Everyone else clear a path for them, we need a safe zone. Use large scale Spells if you can. Dwindle their numbers." Taras ordered charging in and blasting a couple beasts away with each swing of his long sword. Voadhailis''s Claws dissipated into mana particles. Concentrating lightning mana in my hands, I leapt up and struck at the beasts. Bolts of lightning shot out of my hands and ricocheted off one beast to another like snakes, zapping and killing them instantly. Volk also showed off a little, jumping up and slamming the ground with his large hammer. The shockwave sent some of the beasts flying back whilst others were stunned. "Good! Keep pushing." Taras urged on. This was a battle of endurance. The beasts weren''t relatively strong, their numbers were in the thousands; they outnumbered us by at least 5 to 1, that was the issue. "The Earth wall has been built. Healers get behind that wall and treat the injured. Everyone else protect the wall. I want 2 groups of S rankers to split up and flank them wide from the sides. I''ll stay here with the others and dwindle their numbers. "You guys will need to get them from behind, so we can pinch them." Taras announced his improvised plan and everyone nodded. In this life and death situation, most S rank Hunters put their pride aside and followed his orders. A couple A rankers joined up with me and Volk as we began moving towards the right. ''Exploding Shurikens'' I conjured two swirling Flame Shurikens in my hands before levitating up and throwing them down at the army of beasts. BOOM! BOOM! [You have massacred dozens of B and C rank beasts!] [You have leveled up!] [You are now level 122] [Total Available Stat Points: 20] Large explosions erupted and shook the ground. "You guys go ahead I''m going to lessen these numbers with large spells." I said, looking at Volk. Volk nodded, before moving down the clear path I had created for them. The other Hunters looked at me in sadness. They probably thought I was sacrificing myself for them. I raised both my arms up and concentrated Dragonic Mana above me and mixed it with Flame Magic. The large Flame ball kept increasing in size until it was 100 metres in circumference. "Perish you f*ckers!" ''Grande Sole: Versione Del Drago'' [You have used 5000 MP] I swung the large ball of flames down at the ground. BOOM! A Violent eruption sent a shockwave throughout the surroundings. Around ? of the beasts were wiped out immediately with 1 spell but I had used too much mana. A large crater was scarred on the grey battlefield and burnt corpses stained the view. [You have massacred dozens of B and C rank beasts!] [You have massacred dozens of B and C rank beasts!] "Great job! You almost wiped us out too!" One of the Hunters yelled from below, throwing a dagger at me but I caught it in my hands. I descended down from the sky, deactivating my ''levitation'' skill. The Hunter rushed towards me swinging his fist at me. I dodged, sticking my foot out and letting him stumble over my foot, before falling. "You could''ve killed us! You-" His party was about to move in to help out their leader and attack me but they all froze in their spots. I walked past them, materializing Voadhailis''s Claw in my hands. I didn''t have to speak as my killing intent said plenty. I was in no mood for their ungrateful and meaningless words. ''Lightning Aura'' ''Purgatory'' Gathering power in my legs, I launched up into the air before smashing down on a group of monsters. With every slice and combination, bolts of lightning sparked around travelling from one beast to another. ''Arc Flame'' I sliced horizontally causing a large arc of flames to cut through hundreds of beasts. It seemed like this battle was coming to an end. "Zeref!" Volk waved through the fog. They had finished their flank too. That was quick. I killed the last goblin beast, slicing off his head. Voadhailis''s Claws dematerialized again into mana particles and I powered down. The group had finally reached me. "Did you do all this by yourself?" One of the women asked looking at the countless bodies around. She seemed to be a caster type mage, as she held a long magic staff in her left hand. "Yeah." I nodded, wiping off the sweat from my forehead. "What rank are you?" One of the other Hunters asked but I ignored him. "We should regroup with Taras''s group. We need to prepare for the second floor." I replied. Volk and the others gulped at the thought of progressing into the next floor. Everyone was clearly drained. I could tell from their mana pressures, their mana pools were close to emptying. Not everyone had immense mana pool sizes like mine so it was understandable. "DUCK!" I grabbed Volk''s shoulder pulling him down. Blood splattered all over us as all of the Hunters'' heads rolled over on the ground. Volk was about to shriek but he closed his mouth and took a deep breath, before calming down. "Those were warning shots." I said, looking in the direction the blade came from. The First Floor consisted of B and C rank beasts and a couple A rank beasts only it seemed. Now the real battle was going to begin. 1020 No There was at least 30 S rank beasts on the other side of the gate separating the first and second floor and they were all mature. "We need to regroup with Taras." I said, "Stay close to me." Volk nodded, gripping his hammer tightly. I got up to begin running but he began ravaging through their belongings. "What are you doing?" "They have healing potions Okay I''ve got them, let''s go." he replied, breaking into a sprint behind me. ** Our situation was looking bad. From the large army of soldiers and Hunters we had, only about 40% of our forces had survived and around 10% of the survivors were injured. I pushed through the crowd to the front, where Taras was giving instructions. "You''re that kid from bef-" Taras''s sidekick was silenced as Taras raised his hand, to let me speak. "I know you''ve already felt their faint mana pressures, the beasts on the other side of the gate, on the second floor. Warning shots have also already been fired." I said, as the crowd of S rank Hunters looked at me oddly. "Yeah, I felt it." "Wait. What is he talking about?" I heard a voice come from the side, "And who is this eye-patch kid, How come I''ve never seen him before." "There''s about 30 mature S rank Beasts that we will have to kill to clear the Second Floor." Taras revealed the details, earning gasps and sighs of despair from the Hunters around. 1 S Rank beast was hard enough to beat for them, but 30 was too much and even Taras knew it. I could probably take out 11 or 12 at full power but I wasn''t planning on revealing any secrets yet, I had already shown two of my 4 elements. "I think we should come back after a rest and clear the second floor with more reinforcements." Taras gripped his sword tightly, deep in thought. "I think we can clear it." I replied. "But how? There''s 30 S rank beasts and we only have about 100 of us, who''ve ever fought an S rank beast before." "If we work together and use our health potions correctly, we can win." I said, firmly. "Who does this guy think he is?" The rank 2 S rank Hunter roared, standing up and squaring up against me. Did it hurt his pride that he wasn''t contributing to this meeting? "Sit." I said coldly, looking directly into his eyes. "What?" "I said sit." My voice reverberated in layers as a great pressure fell down upon the Hunters. I intensified the gravity 50 times with Gravity Magic. Immediately, most of the Hunters fell to the ground immobile, whilst others were brought to their knees. Taras was the only one unfazed by the immense pressure as he was counteracting the Gravity with ''mana skin''. "You''ll speak when I tell you to. I don''t care if you are S rank Hunters, know your places." My voice echoed ominously. The Hunters gulped and relaxed a few seconds later when I released the spell. Most of these Hunters were stuck up noble kids from rich families, who felt threatened by anyone who stole their spotlight. It annoyed me heavily. Taras smiled before getting up from the boulder he was sitting on. "I guess we''ll be moving to the second floor then" Chapter 143 - The Penultimate Floor We had spent a couple hours preparing for the next floor, healing from injuries and filling up our mana reserves. A lot of the Hunters voted to go back through the portal to the real world whilst the brave ones remained. I looked around scanning the S rankers that had remained to clear the second floor. We had around 17 of us left and around 100 A and B rankers. The rest had fled. "Is everyone ready?!" Taras shouted and everyone roared back with a powerful battle cry. "Stay Close and watch each other''s backs." He turned around, putting on his helm and gripping his longsword tightly. Everyone released their mana pressures accordingly and got their weapons out. I took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma'' ''Lightning Aura'' "CHARGE!!!" Taras shouted from the top of his voice, opening the gate finally and running into the next floor. The first 3 S rank Beasts pounced on instinct but Taras blew them back with a condensed light blast. The second floor looked the same as the first floor. The eerie and dark atmosphere was just as strong and the dense fog messed with the visibility. We moved in a coordinated manner in pairs of 3. One support type mage, one caster and one striker on each group. My team consisted of Volk and one other support type mage. She was a 22 year old young woman with powerful nature magic. She covered our weak spots and provided us with buffs and quick heal spells: The perfect support. Rank 19 S Rank Hunter, Piper Stone. ** Things were going well as 3-4 teams focused on 1 S rank beast each. Our plan was immediately put into effect and it was seeming to work. I clashed with the Green Insect type S rank beast our team was dealing with. Its claws were sharp and it had an insanely strong exoskeleton. Even with my imbued mana attacks I couldn''t cut into its exoskeleton. "Zeref watch out!" Piper shouted from behind but I couldn''t dodge in time. I crossed my arms taking the impact of its spell full on. Another one?! [You have taken 4562 Damage!] Ow. I dusted myself off and jumped back into battle. Volk and I worked together. I held the beast down with Gravity Magic momentarily whilst the other Hunters dealt the final blow. Immediately we moved onto the next beast. This time it was a humanoid Troll; it swung its fists around blowing back several Hunters. Volk cast his flame Magic but the troll brushed the flames off with ease punching Volk back with force. "This thing is f*cking powerful!" Volk said, chugging down a healing potion. "Okay keep going. Zeref and Simon attack it from the side, Volk follow up and smash it down. I''ll support from behind." Piper ordered and we all nodded, getting into the motion. Simon the other Striker type mage flanked from the side with me. Augmenting his body with Earth Magic, he punched the Troll with his Earth Gauntlets but it blocked with its arm. Lightning cackled around me as I blitzed behind it and sliced horizontally with Voadhailis''s Claw. I needed the final kill more than they did. [You have levelled up!] [You are now level 125] [Total Available Stat Points: 40] "Great job. I didn''t even have to lay a finger on him." Volk chuckled. "GUYS WATCH OUT!!" Piper screamed from the top of her voice but her warning came too late. BOOM! We all were sent flying back from the huge detonation. What the h*ll was that? My ears rung from the large explosion and my feet felt heavy. A thick smoke of dust filled the whole area mixing with the dense white fog. [You have been stunned!] [State is returning back to normal] I shook my head, quickly picking up Voadhailis''s Claws and scanning the surroundings. Sh*t! I ran over to Piper''s limp body first. Was she unconscious? "Piper, Piper wake up!" I shook her awake and she regained her consciousness. "Zeref." She cried, sitting up. She peered forwards into the fog and her face went pale white. "What? What are you sensing?" I asked, looking in the direction she was staring in with fear. Nature Magic was the best for sensing things, so even with my sixth sense and all my efforts I still couldn''t see anything. Why was she so scared? "Wh-What is that?!" She said frantically pointing into the thick cloud of dust, like she had seen the harbinger of death. "Zeref RUNN!!!" She screamed. Then a sharp blow impacted my chest sending me flying back several meters, before I crashed through a boulder. [You have taken 8356 Damage!] "Zeref!! He-" Piper''s cry was cut short as I heard a clean cut and the splash of blood, then the thud of something rolling on the floor. I gripped my chest in pain, spitting out blood. What was that just now? I had several broken ribs from just one blow. Quickly pulling out some healing potions I chugged them down, getting up on my feet and removing my eyepatch. [You have recovered 5000 HP] Was that Insect beast feeding on them? My eyes shook in fury as I blitzed towards it. ''Purgatory.'' My dual Short Swords blazed with flame magic and lightning magic as I swung both blades in unison. The insect beast kept up with my speed and still wasn''t taking any damage. It''s black body in fact became even harder due to its darkness magic augmenting. I threw the blade in my left hand towards the beast but it dodged it, lunging forward aiming its claws for my throat. ''Switch'' I swapped situations with the blade that had flown behind it, immediately. Not wasting any time I spun downwards slashing down at the Insect beast''s body, Imbuing my other blade with potent Lightning Mana. SCREECH!!! It roared in pain as I chopped off one of its arms. How did it even manage to dodge so fast? My initial target was its head but it managed to somehow move to the left. I condensed a flame ball in my palm pressing it into its back. It was sent flying forward before the condensed flame ball detonated. I scanned frantically with my demon eye through the thick cloud of dust. Where did it disappear? SCREECH! I heard a loud insect cry, which caused the whole floor to shake. I cursed my luck. The Dark Insect beast had escaped; that thing was definitely the strongest of them all. I hadn''t realised it before but where were the other Hunters? No way they all died. BOOM! BOOM! Large bursts of light and painful screeches came from the left. That must have been Taras. I first searched the previous area for Volk. It seemed that Simon had passed away as he had no pulse and Piper was sadly decapitated. "Oi! Get up!" I slapped his face a couple times looking around for lurking beasts. He was lying unconscious with other piles of bodies. "Zeref?" He finally opened his eyes. "What happened to your eye?!" "Don''t speak. Just drink this." Opening up a bottle of healing potion, I poured the contents into his mouth. With each gulp the colour of his face was returning and the paleness began to disappear. I pulled him up when he had fully recovered and handed him his hammer. He looked around at the countless piles of bodies and he couldn''t help but shed a tear. "This isn''t over yet. We need to join Taras. And don''t worry about these Hunters; I''m certain they''re not dead yet. I can sense their heart beats. They''re alive; now hurry up and follow me." I said. "Zeref, you''re a demon?" He smirked, wiping his tears, "I knew there was something special about you." I ignored him, putting my eyepatch back on and heading for Taras''s location. ** Taras swung down with might, imbuing his whole body with light mana. The speed and power was almost close to my swings at full power. What a strong man. "It seems they retreated backwards." Taras wiped off the blood that was dripping from a cut on his forehead. The other S rank Hunters in his group also looked tired as they panted in exhaustion. "What do we do now? Are the others dead?" One of the S rankers asked in worry. "This is too much." One of them moaned, falling to the floor in exhaustion. The healing potions were good for recovering from physical injuries but mental scars and mental fatigue couldn''t be recovered without meditation and sleep. "I think I injured their leader; that''s why they all retreated. It''s a dark coloured insect beast with a ferocious battle strength. It wiped out my squad. We must move now whilst they''re vulnerable." I said, looking at Taras. "The kid is right. We have to finish it off while we can." He knelt down grimacing from the cut on his torso. Pulling out a healing potion from his dimension he chugged it down in one go before crushing the bottle. No one wanted to argue with Taras or me and reluctantly all got up from their resting positions for the penultimate battle. ** "AAARGHH!! HELP!!" "Nooo!!" "Kill those B*STARDS!" Yells of despair and pain echoed throughout the fog as Hunters fought with all their might against the remaining S rank Beasts. Was this my fault? Should we have rested before attacking? Many Hunters were dying whilst both Taras and I fought back to back against the Dark Insect beast - their leader. We had to finish it off first so the other remaining Insect S rank beasts would stop their coordinated attacks. "Pillar of JUDGEMENT!" Taras shouted, clapping both of his palms together. A burst of mana engulfed the whole area and like the spell''s name suggested a bright pillar of light engulfed the Dark Insect beast. SCREEECH!! It roared in agony calling its subordinates to help it. The other beasts'' attention all locked onto Taras and they all blitzed towards him. Kicking one in the stomach with full power the beast flew back tumbling back, the other Hunters pounced on it finishing it off. ''Ice Palace!'' With a powerful step, A burst of ice mana exploded out from underneath me freezing the 7 S rank Insect beasts that were targeting Taras. ''Purgatory'' My eyes glowed intensely as I unleashed the forbidden sword style I had vowed to never use. ''Blade Art: 3rd form, Final Slash!'' Using the sword style I had learned from the previous king in my old world I released one of my strongest techniques, slicing off all of their heads with a single slash. [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You are now Level 128] [Total Available Stat Points: 70] I wanted to stray away from this sword style but in the end, I still used it. This sword style was forbidden to use in my other world so I had forgotten about it. In this world I could use it freely SCREEECHH!!! A burst of darkness mana broke Taras''s spell and I saw a blur instantly teleport in front of the S rank Hunter. "DODGE!!" I yelled. I rushed towards him but I wasn''t fast enough. Taras''s body was flung towards me. I caught him but still fell backwards from the powerful force used. Good. I could still hear his heartbeat but his mana was completely depleted. "I AM THE KING!!!" The Insect yelled in beast tongue, finally speaking a normal language instead of screeching. Pushing him aside I got up, removing my eyepatch. I looked around, The Hunters were a good distance away. I looked at the Dark Insect beast that had grown some wings. Darkness mana oozed out from its body and it was even giving off a powerful mana pressure. ''Shackles Release'' The ecstatic buzz from the burst in power made me close my eyes. I gripped Voadhailis''s Claws tightly as my muscles grew in size and my hair grew in length and turned blood red. My veins glowed blood red and my senses heightened to a whole new level. Finally 2 horns propped out of my head and my feet left the ground as I levitated into the air. The insect beast roared once more to intimidate me but I showed no fear. The 2 short swords in my hand dematerialised leaving my hands free. It blitzed towards me reeling its claws back to slash at my face but instead of cutting me Its body curled around my fist and was sent rocketing backwards. A single of my punches caved in its exoskeleton cracking it, leaving a large whole through its body. I flash stepped behind it with my right hand, imbued with ''Indra''s Spear.'' My hand pierced through its exoskeleton until my hands wrapped around its mana core. Gripping it I pulled it out of its body killing it instantly. "So much for being the king. I am the only King" Chapter 144 - Lucifer’s Lair My head spun and I dragged my body by it''s last ounce of energy, sighing. I made sure to knock the remaining Hunters out without disposing of my identity. They all thought it was another beast but it was actually me. This allowed me to meditate in peace and recover a little before finally reaching the final floor. This was the end. The last stage: Lucifer''s Lair. I entered the tomb, my senses on high alert. The walls were stoned and built like the inside of a medieval castle but the only difference was it was completely dark. I relaxed into the bitter comfort of the darkness. I''d have to get used to it. The only source of warm light was coming from the end of the long passageway where I knew the end lied. I was walking towards an unknown fate but it didn''t scare me. I neared to the light and once I reached the door less entrance, an unforgiving heat scalded my skin, kissing it with horrifying torturous ashes. The floor under me was bright red like metal touched by fire. I scanned the contents of the large room from the entrance, deciding to enter once I was mentally prepared. Across the room, a large throne stood with glory. A man in his 30s sat comfortably, watching my face as I hissed from the heat. I knew exactly who he was from his appearance. His right demon eye, pair of dark horns and red hair gave it away. His features looked the same as my transformation when I used ''Shackles Release'' except he had dark wings on his back and the other difference was our eyes. His had a specific pattern whilst mine was plain red. What could that mean? "Took you long enough. I thought you''d never make it." he smirked, cunningly. "Lucifer," I addressed him with annoyance. "Zeref," he returned in a humble, deceiving tone. I activated my fire mana, trying to withstand the burning sensation and the waves of heat protruding the ground but it didn''t work. My skin was bright red in irritation. I looked at the ground and then at my tattered shoes. I decided not to delay any longer than three seconds. I looked the man in the eyes while stepping into the room. A feeling of relief washed over me as the room started to cool and the ground turned into a normal stone colour. "Illusion," he chuckled, laughing at my relief. What a maniac. "I commend you for clearing the previous floors. I must say I would have been very disappointed if you had failed to even pass those 2 floors. Did you like fighting my pet? That S Rank Dark Insect?" He asked, crossing his legs and resting his cheek against his fist. "Yeah. It was cannon fodder." I returned, with an expressionless face. "So this is where you''ve been hiding? You realise the whole world thinks you died right?" "Oh yes. I know but now I''m going to finally leave this hell hole." "What are you talking about?" "YOU! You''re my ticket out of here! Zeref Amara: The Lightning Contestant." He laughed sinisterly. "Do you think it was a coincidence that Kayden gave you my Demon Characteristics? Don''t you get it?! You''re a vessel! You''re going to be my new body!" He cackled wickedly. At that he suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of me. My body froze as I couldn''t move any further. What was happening? His demon eye. Was this his Visual Prowess? "Now I shall take over your body." He smiled devilishly. [Foreign entity is trying to take over your mind!] [System is protecting the host!] [Foreign entity has been blocked] "What''s happening?! Why can''t I get through?!" He looked shocked and tried again but failed. [Foreign entity is trying to take over your mind!] [System is protecting the host!] [Foreign entity has been blocked] "Hahahhahaa!" I laughed, breaking out of his spell, "You think taking me over was going to be that easy?!" ''Lightning Aura'' ''Lightning Armour'' ''Flame Fists'' I punched his face but he didn''t even flinch. Instead, he looked infuriated and punched my stomach, making all the air in my stomach funnel out of my lungs. What power! He then imbued his fist in a reddish Darkness mana before punching me. My body was flung backwards into the wall of the room. I coughed out blood and struggled to get up. [You have taken critical damage!] [HP is at 78%] One hit did that much damage?! I had no choice but to go full power from the start. ''Shackles Release.'' ''Rapid Healing.'' I charged towards him and our hands collided with each other. We both gritted our teeth as we wrestled using our strength to overpower the other. "Look at you, relying on my blood for extra power. YOU''RE WEAK! Extremely weak!" He laughed, conjuring a ball of darkness in his hands before detonating it close range. He burst into a puff of smoke teleporting back to near the throne. "It''s been a long time since I''ve had a guest so I''ll play with you a little. Just make sure to not take too much damage. That body will soon be mine anyways." He laughed, pulling out a dark longsword from his waist. The whole blade was dark, except for the red white hilt it oozed darkness. A burst of darkness mana exploded out of his body making the atmosphere heavy. I struggled to stay standing under the pressure. Could I even beat him? ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma.'' I gripped my trusty dual short swords tightly, activating my strongest augmenting spells. "Darkness Domain." He smiled devilishly revealing his hands like a magic trick was going to uncover. Suddenly the floor had turned pitch black and darkness mana rippled. What kind of spell was this? I could feel my spells breaking one by one due to the incredible pressure on my body. It was like he was controlling the atmosphere in this room. "Judging by your reaction you haven''t learned Domain magic. I''m surprised you''ve lived this long; Well this is the end." He covered the distance in an instant, swinging his longsword at my torso. I blocked with my 2 short swords but a cut still formed on my torso. ''How?'' I grimaced, leaping back. My mana consumption increased due to his ''domain spell''; I had to use more mana to withstand the darkness mana interfering with my spells and mana control. This ''Domain'' spell, why didn''t Gramps teach me this before? I shook my head in annoyance. The gap in power had increased a lot now. It made me think: Could I really beat this demon king? His Darkness magic was more effective in this room now, I could feel the potency of his mana increase tenfold in this domain. It was like it was buffing up all of his attacks. I imbued both my blades in condensed mana and clashed with his long sword. We burst into a frenzy of sword strikes. The sound of metal bashing against each other filled the room and sudden waves of magic would cause scars to form on the Dungeon walls. "Is this all you''ve got?!" Lucifer shouted, mocking me. "Shut up!" ''Gravity Zone'' I increased the Gravity 100 times making him struggle to move. "Gravity Magic, Interesting." I charged going in for the final kill but what happened next widened my eyes in shock. Why was I in the Gravity Zone and how was he charging towards me? Was this one of his visual prowess? We both had swapped places, but how? My visual prowess could only make me swap places with non-living objects. Thinking fast, I deactivated my Gravity Zone that was now acting on me and put both my blades in an X shape to block his lunge. -SHATTER My eyes widened as I saw Voadhailis''s Claws shatter into smithereens in front of me. His dark longsword pierced through my chest and I felt all my energy leave me. I began to feel lightheaded and spots of darkness filled up my vision. "Your body is now mine. Good Night, Zeref Amara, The Lightning Candidate." He laughed sinisterly, his smile stretching from one ear to the other. "What was that? Saying your final wishes are you?" Lucifer mocked as I whispered something. Suddenly, reddish orange streaks of aura started to envelope my body and an unknown power that I had never felt before rose up from within my mana pool. Dragonic Mana. I kicked at his stomach, making him fly back and crashing into the Dungeon walls. The ''Forma del Drago'' spell finally activated. My left eye glowed golden yellow like Voadhailis''s and red scales formed around my hands. I had around half of my mana pool left and using up both transformations was putting an extreme toll on my body. Blitzing towards him, I threw a corkscrew punch towards his face but he gripped my fist in rage, blocking my punch. How was he still this strong?! "You''re lucky this is only 30% of my original power. If I had a real body you''d be dead by now." He roared in anger; his mana pressure increased with his words. He was finally using all his power. Again we exchanged deadly blows with our fists, causing shockwaves to burst out with each one of our punches. My HP was dwindling and had already reached 30%. I had to end this quickly, his mana looked to be finishing like mine too. ''Indra''s Spear.'' Lightning snaked around my arm and concentrated in my palm. He did the same conjuring a concentrated darkness ball in his hands. We were inches away from contacting each other before he swapped places again with his longsword that I had run past. SH*t! He smiled devilishly, his darkness ball centimetres away from my back. ''Godspeed.'' Immediately, everything went black and white and froze in its place, the mana particles, Lucifer, everything froze. I inhaled and exhaled deeply. I missed this feeling. It turned out that I had to break my promise with gramps. Pivoting round I sliced down at Lucifer''s throat severing his head from his body. It was unfortunate he didn''t know I had several trump cards. Time went back to normal as all my mana had been depleted. Lucifer''s body toppled over and I fell to my knees in exhaustion. This was my hardest fight to date and this wasn''t even the Demon King''s full power. I truly was still weak. "I''m gutted that we had to meet this way but I''m glad you became my heir. You did well, take care of my people will you; they''ve suffered enough without a leader already. Farewell." Those were Lucifer''s last words and his body perished into darkness particles, before entering my body. [Congratulations! You have successfully cleared the Dungeon!] [Quest: Lucifer''s Lair has been Completed!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have levelled up!] [You have successfully completed the Hidden Quest: Lucifer''s Descendant] [Rewards will now be transferred to the host] [You have gained the Title: Demon King] [You have gained a new Stat Point: ''Influence''] [You have gained ''The True Demon eye''] [You have gained Lucifer''s Special Skills] I smiled at the last notification before an intense and excruciating pain rushed throughout my body. I closed my eyes tightly shut and gritted my teeth until my consciousness faded. Chapter 145 - The Aftermath I furrowed my eyebrows, the presence of others surrounding me, I could hear their breathing, the sounds of their heart beats and even the flow of mana in their meridians. I forced my eyes open, shooting up before squinting. Ouch, I should have let my eyes adjust first. The lights blurred my vision. I kept my right eye closed, realizing my mother was still here. "Zeref, Zeref, it''s just us." Mothers voice cooed as she gently pushed me to lay back down. I did, as she said and took slow, deep breaths. "Why are the lights so bright?" I groaned, squinting. Jace ran to the light controls, turning the brightness of the room down. I could finally see clearer as I looked around to see who was here. Mother, Jace, Malia, Naz, Sara, Allefin and lastly Voadhailis. ''Welcome back brat! And congrats. You beat that Lucifer b*stard.'' Voadhailis''s voice had matured a little while I was gone. ''Yeah he was a formidable opponent. I ended up using Godspeed to beat him as a last resort. That''s why my body is so messed up.'' "Zeref, you can open your right eye. They already informed me about your little secret." Mother spoke, stroking my hair, "Even though I''m disappointed you kept such a secret from me. I don''t want any more secrets between us." "I promise." I replied, giving her a wry smile. I slowly opened my right eye to reveal the new black pattern on my red iris. My body ached from the metamorphosis I went through after I had cleared the dungeon. I flexed my fist feeling a new found power running through me. My dormant demon DNA had finally activated. "So what happened to the large Dungeon. Did everyone return safely?" I asked. "Yeah. The Rank 1 S rank Hunter had apparently cleared the final floor, all the Hunters returned safely because of him. He''s so handsome omg." Naz blushed, staring into nothingness; Jace nudged her a little snapping her out of her trance. So he took all the credits. That wasn''t bad I guess, my peaceful life wouldn''t be affected by paparazzi. "Zeref, did something happen in that dungeon?." Malia said, with a stern voice. Everyone shuffled in their seats at her questions. "Why? Did something happen to me whilst I was unconscious?" "It was horrible. Your bones and everything reshaped, cracking open then healing again constantly. And don''t get me started on that hideous and bloodthirsty mana pressure you used to give off. The Doctors were too afraid to even go near you. Only yesterday your body returned back to normal. "The Hunter Association had to evacuate all the patients from this side of the wing as your mana pressure was too suffocating." Malia reported, folding her arms. Is that what Gramps had to go through during my first Metamorphosis? I''d have to catch up with him later. "I''m also tired of keeping secrets so I''ll tell you guys everything. Please keep this between us." They all nodded solemnly, vowing to keep whatever I was about to say between us and us only. "I''m now a Demon King." They all gasped at my words. I sighed knowing I''d have to explain everything from the start, including everything about Lucifer and Kayden. ** -Knock. Knock Our jolly moment of laughter and small anecdotes had been interrupted by 2 men wearing black suits and dark sunglasses. Mother handed me my Eye Patch, quickly helping me to put it on making sure they wouldn''t see.. "I''m sorry to interrupt your reunion with your family, Mr Amara but the Director is asking for you." The man at the front spoke, his voice a bit shaky out of fear. "Okay. tell him I''ll be there in 10 minutes." "Yes sir." The 2 men dressed in black left immediately not trying to cause a nuisance. ''Rapid healing'' A reddish aura surrounded my body, healing up all of the imperfections and injuries the forceful metamorphosis caused to my bodies. "Okay. I need to go see the Director. When I''m back we''ll all spend time together. I promise." I smiled, getting up from the bed. I cracked my neck left and right checking out my improved body. My muscle mass had increased again and I grew to 6ft 2. My face had matured a little and my wavy black hair had grown in length. "Okay take care." Mother said, "And be back quickly, we have a lot to discuss." her voice was serious on the last phrase. Did she want to talk about The Tournament and Candidate Games? She must have caught on by now, the events I was experiencing wouldn''t happen to a normal kid. I hugged everyone and said my quick goodbyes before leaving the room. I clicked my fingers, changing my outfit into more casual wear. I wore dark trousers and a grey turtle neck jumper. ''Brat. Slow down.'' Voadhailis flew out of mother''s arms flying above my head, before resting around my neck. ** As I walked into the Hunter Bureau, the gathered Hunters paved a way for me. Even the S rankers got up from their seats to watch me. I tapped the receptionist''s desk with my Hunter ID card. "I''m here to see the Director. May I know where he is?" I asked.. "Y-Yes sir, he''s at the Training Grounds." The receptionist stuttered. "Okay, thanks." I flashed her a smile, "And loosen up Rebecca. You''re good at your job." "Oh my god, he knows my name." She whispered. I smiled, walking down the stairs into the training facility. To my surprise the whole training facility was empty. Only the Director, a couple strange men and some bodyguards waited for me. "Welcome back. Zeref." The Director shook my hand. "Please follow me." he said, walking down another flight of stairs until we reached a training platform. "I heard from Taras about what happened. When he woke up and went into the next floor with the other Hunters, you were found there lying on the ground and the portal to the outside world had already appeared. "How did you clear the last floor by yourself?" The Director asked with a stern face. "I''m going to have to turn down your stupid question. Please stop wasting my time and get to the real reason you brought me down here, otherwise I''m leaving." I snapped. Voadhailis, blew a flame from his mouth out of annoyance too, showing that he agreed with me. "Is that a Dra-" I glared at the man who spoke up in shock, making him step back in fear. He shushed himself and avoided my glare. "I''m sorry to upset you Zeref. I just wanted to do a Hunter valuation and introduce you to the other important people of the Hunter Association." "Now if you''ll please place your hand on this orb, it will place you in a rank." A man wearing a white lab coat held a black orb in his hands. I did as the man said and released my mana pressure. The whole training facility shook with a murderous and bloodthirsty aura. The Director completely enveloped his body in darkness mana to overcome the pressure whilst the other board members also activated their mana skins, barely withstanding the pressure. -Crack. Crack. The dark orb shattered into smithereens like pieces of glass, leaving the men in a total state of shock. I withheld my mana pressure again, allowing them to ease up again. "T-The Orb. It broke." The man in the white lab coat stood wide eyed. "What''s the result then?" The Director spoke my words as I was going to ask the same thing. "It''s Unknown." ** We all had finally reached home and were enjoying ourselves near the fireplace. It was night time now and the wind began to become aggressive. Everyone had come over: Mr Xanxus, Naz, Sara, Allefin, Miss Elena and even Gramps. "What happened next?!" Gramps''s eyes gleamed as he let out his inner child listening to how I cleared the Dungeon. "And Mr Xanxus. I''m going to take some extra time off school, I need some time to rest after something like this." I tried to sound tired, to persuade him but mother stepped in too. "Xanxus if you don''t let him off I''m going to handle you myself." I swear her hair began to rise with her anger. "O-Okay. Yeah you can have as much time as you want off." Xanxus scratched his head in fear, giving an awkward laugh. "Alright, let''s all have a drink." Malia walked in with a tray of drinks in fancy glasses. A pale drink bubbled, popping against the clear wine glasses with golden rims. A hand reached up as we all fell silent. Jace looked at me with a warm smile, holding his glass up. "Let''s raise this toast to Zeref." he smiled, proudly. Malia raised her glass, looking at me as well. The slight twinkle in her eyes as she smiled softly. "For putting a roof over our heads." I exhaled, feeling warm inside. "For being an amazing grandson." gramps raised his glass as well. "Okay no need to be cheesy-" I tried to protest. "For saving me." Sara raised hers. "For being like my big brother." Naz put hers up next to Malia''s. "Okay guys-" I started to cringe. "For being a role model and leader." Allefin raised his, nodding at me as I awkwardly pulled my lips into a line. "I''m so proud." my mum finally finished. I thought it was over until Miss Elena and Xanxus put their glasses up, speaking in unison. "For being the best student." They both spoke, looking at each other with annoyed expressions. "Copycat!" Miss Elena yelled. "Have you no shame, lying to everyone''s faces like this? You copied me!" Xanxus flinched when Miss Elena stood up. "What you gonna do, you table leg?" he mocked, subconsciously moving back as she neared his face. "This." she smirked before splashing her drink over his bald head and rubbing it in. "Hands off! AHHH!" he screamed, protecting his head as she clawed him. "Um anyways." Jace awkwardly continued over both of their yelling. "Cheers to Zeref!" Malia yelled, standing up as we all drank. "CHEEERS!" Miss Elena screamed, snatching Xanxus''s drink as they both tried to drink from it at once. "Cheers." End of Volume 1 Chapter 146 - Back To The Academy -Zeref''s POV- A whole school year had passed by so quickly. I had missed half of it on missions, dungeons and training; my attendance was horrible. It was a new school year now. I now realised that life would just get harder every year and I''d have to be ready for whatever came my way. Our year group stood in form lines outside, teachers taking attendance. Xanxus stood at the front of all the lines, waiting. When they finished, all the teachers faced Xanxus. "As some of you may know, this year is very special. You all have met the requirements of compulsory military training for the kingdom. As students of Xanxus academy, I expect you all to honour our school name and exceed with determination, innovation and confidence. I wish you all the best time at military training which will be starting in two days. "Anyone not going without an approved reason will be put on the kingdom''s red list and restricted of their civilian rights for a year, no matter their status. This is an order from the King." he finished, making eye contact with me. He nodded at me in acknowledgment before going into the building with his hands behind his back. My teacher faced the line with a sigh. "The school day will end early for you! Please make your way home and pack your necessities." It looked like every teacher had said the same as students started to move towards the gates. I scanned their faces, looking for Jace or Malia. They all looked either annoyed or scared. I heard military training was strict and traumatising, even if we were 14. This Kingdom was definitely weak on soldiers. This was a ruthless tactic to make the teenagers who were in their youth, stronger and more capable to fend the villages if it came to it. But it was stupid. 14 years old seemed unreasonable. Sara grabbed my arm through the crowd and I stopped walking, waiting for her to catch up. She stood next to me. "I lost Malia in the crowd. She was right behind me." she turned back, her eyes hovering over the students. I held her forearm, dragging her to the side of all the running students as we both stood under a tree. "Zeref!" Jace called out, holding both Malia and Naz''s hands while helping them through the crowd. They all met us under the tree, smiling. "Where''s Allefin?" I asked. "He''ll see us. Just wai-" Sara was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Malia!" Soyeon waved at Malia while being dragged out of the gates by her brother who rolled his eyes. Malia laughed, waving back. "See you in two days!!" she flashed a big smile at her as the rest of us shook our heads. "I still don''t like her." Sara crossed her arms as Jace, Naz and I nodded in agreement. We waited for another minute before Allefin found us, holding Leilani''s arm and making sure no one bumped into her. As soon as Leilani and Malia made eye contact, they both squealed, running into each other''s embrace. "Omg Leilani!" Naz squealed, also running into their hug. "What are you guys packing?" Leilani giggled as Sara side-hugged her. "Definitely my favourite necklace." Sara nodded as Jace laughed at her stupidity. "I don''t know. Probably a bunch of hair ties and clothes I can be flexible in." Malia answered. "Oh don''t forget something warm guys." Naz reminded, looking at all of us with a warning to her eyes. "Apparently wherever we''re training is going to be cold." Allefin added in. "I''m going to pack snacks and just borrow Zeref''s clothes." Jace said proudly before I smacked his head. "You''ll drown in my clothes." I scoffed as he gasped. "Fine, I''ll borrow Allefin''s." Jace put his arm around Allefin who dodged his arm and stood next to me. "Nah, I''m good. No way I''m sharing my clothes with you." Allefin laughed. "Ouch. Losers." Jace sulked. "Okay, enough chatter. Let''s get home before a teacher finds out we are still here." Leilani stopped the commotion, leaving. Allefin nodded at me before tailing after her. "I''ll see you guys in two days." Sara half smiled, high fiving Malia before also leaving. Jace snaked his arm around Naz''s waist, digging his nose into the crook of her neck. She giggled, trying to resist. Malia and I exchanged a disgusted look as we both turned away. "Oh, get a room." Malia fake gagged as I chuckled. "We are being blinded." I added a dramatic sigh at the end as Jace groaned at our interruptions. He finally let go. "It''s just two days. I''ll see you guys at the entrance of our school in two days." Naz smiled, pulling away from Jace and waving at Malia and I. "Bye Naz," Malia and I said in unison, looking at each other with a ''stop copying me'' expression. She giggled before leaving through the gates and walking away. Jace turned to us with a pout. "Look at you. Love-sick." Malia mocked, crossing her arms and bumping his shoulder while walking towards the gate. I copied her, making the same expression. "Makes us sick." I bumped into his shoulder jokingly, following after Malia like a baby duckling. "YOU GUYS ARE JUST JEALOUS!" Jace screamed after us, running to catch up. "Ahhhh run! He''s chasing us!" I looked back before sprinting past the gates. "Ahhhhh!" Malia laughed, running with me. "THIS IS BULLYING! MY STAMINA IS AS LOW AS YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY!" Jace chased us down the road. "I''M LIVING A LONG LIFE!" Malia screamed back, not turning around. "VERY LONG!" I yelled over the wind rushing past my ears. "ARGHHHHH!" ** I stood in my room, my clothes on the bed as I mindlessly stared into nothing. I didn''t know what to pack. Sigh. "MALIAAA!" Jace yelled from his room. "WHAAAT?!" she screamed back. "COME HELP ME!!!" he yelled again. I heard the swing of a door and a bang. I decided to go to Jace''s room since I didn''t know what to pack either. I swung my door open, walking into Jace''s room as the door was already open. When I arrived, Jace and Malia were sitting on a suitcase, trying to zip it. "What are you guys doing?" I sighed, smacking my head. Jace bounced on the suitcase, trying to push it down. "Zeref, come sit." he said as Malia pulled on the zip. "No thanks. I came to see what you''re packing." I chuckled, watching them both struggle. "SNACKS! A LOT OF SNACKS! And a bag of necessities like my toothbrush and a set of clothes." I shook my head. What an idiot. "YES!" Malia smiled triumphantly as she zipped it up. The suitcase looked like it was about to burst but Jace didn''t care, jumping up as they both high fived each other. I stood there with my arms crossed. "Fine. I''ll help you pack." Malia sighed, taking my arm and leading me to my room. I cheered unenthusiastically, letting her lead me to my cupboard. She swung it open, pulling out different pieces of clothes and pairing them up while I watched her back. She was still so short in my eyes. Her hair now fell down to just above her hips as they curled like big waves; so silky and smooth. She tiptoed, stretching her arms up to reach my top shelf. Her fingers were tall and slender but she barely touched the shirt she wanted with her fingertips. I stepped behind her, resting my hand on her waist while grabbing the shirt for her. She looked up at me before I smiled, sliding my hand up her arm and putting the shirt in her hands. Smiling back, she blushed while moving around me and putting the shirt down on my bed. My eyes followed her as a smirk danced upon my lips. She sighed, dropping the clothes in her hands and stopping. "What?" her soft voice filled my ears with joy. She turned to me, her eyes looking straight into mine. I shrugged, letting out a small laugh. She rolled her eyes at my sudden childishness as I walked towards her. "Take care of yourself at the camp." I whispered, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and out of her face. She nodded, gulping. "You too. Don''t get into trouble." she looked up. My face hovered over hers as her eyes twinkled at me. "HAS ANYONE SEEN MY SKIRT?!" Mike yelled, peeking into my room as Malia and I jumped apart. Does this guy ever knock?! He groaned, leaving the door open while going into Jace''s. "Where is it? Have you seen it? It''s my favourite handmade pink sparkle extra puffy fluffy skirt." he questioned Jace. "Have you seen my f*ck? I can''t find it." Jace sarcastically replied. "Tsk, sad. Looks like I have no fucks to give. I lost my last one." he continued. "YOU TOOK IT DIDN''T YOU?!" Mike roared. Malia looked at me as we both knew what was about to happen. "OW!" Jace groaned as a loud thud shook through the walls. I ran out of my room and into Jace''s, followed by Malia. "What the he-" Malia scoffed in disbelief. Jace and Mike wrestled on the floor and Jace had him in a good headlock. "YOU UGLY WHALE! GIVE ME MY SKIRT!" "I DON''T HAVE IT YOU BRAINLESS DIAPERHEAD!" "GET YOUR RANCID BREATH AWAY FROM ME!" "Stop! The both of you!" Malia tried but their voices drowned hers out. "YOU STINK LIKE MY UNCLE''S ASHES!" Jace yelled, whacking Mike''s head. "AHHH-" Mike screamed while the door opened again. "I heard someone looking for a skirt. Here, I found it under the sofa." Xanxus threw the skirt at the fighting boys as they both ignored him. "MIKE! JACE! IT''S HERE!" I yelled, holding it up in my hands with an annoyed face. They both looked at me in sync. "So you had it the whole time?!" Jace and Mike said in unison. "Wha- no! Xanxus just-" I couldn''t finish as they both scrambled up off the floor with murderous glares. "Zeref, run." Malia looked at me as I dashed with Jace and Mike on my tail. "Take the bloody skirt!" I yelled, throwing it behind me. Mike tried to grab it but Xanxus came out of nowhere, catching it with ease. "Give that. It''s mine!" Mike jumped up, trying to snatch it out of Xanxus'' hands. "I''ll pay you for it. Name the price. Any." he gripped onto it desperately as they both pulled on it. "Psht, what kids. Could never be me." Jace crossed his arm, standing with Malia who shook her head at him. "I want it! Please!!!" Xanxus whined like a child. Oh my- I headed back to my room, grabbing Malia''s arm to come with me. "Let''s finish our packing." Chapter 147 - Entrance Check I hugged my mother, leaving the door. A portal opened outside of the house with a guard standing by it with a clipboard. On the other side was a mountain and a lot of teenagers in lines. Voadhailis wasn''t coming with us as he said that he wanted to hunt beasts and grow his mana pool and strengthen himself before the Heritage Wars, so it felt odd as my thoughts weren''t being interrupted all the time. "Here to collect Zeref Amara, Malia Stronghold and Jace Stinkend," he read from the clipboard, looking up afterwards. Malia was still inside collecting her bags and Jace was helping her. "I thought we were going to school first." I stepped forwards to talk to him. He stared at me with an unmoving expression. I held his stare, waiting for him to answer. His lip twitched as I stood, waiting for him to reply. He finally gave in, puffing. "Change of plans." The door opened behind me and Jace ran next to me, looking at me then to the guy in the portal. "Are you Jace?" he peered up at him. "No I''m Zeref," he made a ''duh'' expression, shoving a big suitcase into my chest. "Zeref Amara?" he double checked, his eyes squinting in suspicion. "Yeah, why? What are you tryna say?" Jace returned. "Zeref just seems like a" "Like a what? Are you raci-" "Now, now Jace. No need to cause a scene." Malia stepped out with her bags in her hand. Mike ran out behind her, giving her a tight hug. They both held each other while Mike cried She casually walked through the portal but was stopped by an arm. The guard looked down at her with his arm out. "Malia?" he questioned and she nodded. He ticked her name on the board. "Go left and find your school''s female line." She smiled at him as a thank you and carried her things there, not waiting to see if we were following behind her. Jace watched intently before rushing to follow her. I sighed, looking back at the house. Mother watched me through the window waving. "Hurry before the portal closes." the guard reminded me as I still watched the window. I lifted my hand, giving my last wave before running in. The place was crowded, packed with people and their large bags of clothing. A lot of rich kids were whining at the sides in a huddle and from a distance, I could see Jace''s noodle hair. I casually dodged people, swerving around many close encounters as I reached Xanxus Academy''s line. It was long and split into two separate lines - a female and a male line. There was a metal, barb wired fence that towered over us and tables in front of each line. Sitting at the tables were guards who I think were doing security checks. They opened each bag, taking their time as at least three guards were at each table. The students peered down the line, looking surprised to see a security check. They checked off the student''s names when they were finished and took a mana flow check to see our strength and keep a tab. Everyone was equal when they stepped inside the camp and apparently, many of the nobles and royals did not like that idea, running to the back of the line when they came close to the table. Jace sighed in front of me as I examined the place. Allefin came running to us from the girls line, probably dropping off Leilani. "Hey guys-" he tried to say but was whacked in the stomach, making him fold. "Get to the back! Don''t cut in!" a squeaky voice spoke from behind me. I peered down at him while Allefin begrudgingly walked to the back. The place was cold and dull, thick clouds loomed over us like a lid, shutting us into a pot to be cooked. In the middle of nowhere, was definitely an ideal place to take a bunch of scared kids who were shaking from the frost nipping at their skin. A brown building glared at us from behind the fence, waiting for our entry so it could welcome us into its merciless torture. The field around it was also large with different obstacle courses and muddy floors. Down the middle of the area was another fence to segregate the girls and boys. On the side, a house stood in solitude, it looked dry with no life as if rays of light had once tried to reach for those cold walls that shrunk away but had given up. The wood of the front steps looked like they were starting to rot and one could tell the place hadn''t been used in a while. Specs of dust clung to the windows, giving it a darkening tinted effect. The training area was unbelievably large, the wires looking like they went on forever, reaching out over the hills and around the whole mountain and with the months coming closer to the coldest month of all, I would expect it to snow after a while too. "Next!" a soldier yelled as Jace swung his bag onto the table. We had reached the front quicker than I had expected and I watched closely as they spun Jace''s luggage around to face them with great concentration. The bag looked like it was going to explode just looking at it and I could tell they were hesitant to open it. Some of them hesitantly stepped back with their hands out like a shield as a determined man slowly unzipped it. Before he could even fully unzip it, the bag bounced open, ripping off the zip and causing the soldiers to flinch. Even Jace had his arms up, yelling at the sudden pop. "What is the meaning of this?" one of them looked at Jace with a judgmental look. He slowly dropped his arms, taking a moment to process. "Snacks," "No snacks allowed." They shut him down quickly as his jaw practically fell off his face in shock. He scoffed nervously, scratching his nape as he looked at me with a ''I messed up'' look. "I-I''m not even meant to be here. I''m 14 and won''t be turning 15 till another 4 months." he chuckled nervously, stepping back at every word. "I didn''t even bring enough clothes." he continued as a few of them walked out from behind the table and towards him. "Name please." one of them picked up the board to tick him off seeing as he had no more luggage left. "No! Zeref tell them I''m 14!" Jace protested. "Name!" the man repeated, ignoring his whining. Two men held onto each arm as he tried to run. "We will drag him in and ask a teacher for his name," the one on his left said, gritting her teeth as Jace dropped to the floor, sticking his heels into the ground and pulling them both down. "Noooo! Tell them Zeref! Help! Let gooo!" he continued while being dragged into the gates and behind the barbed wire. He was handed to a man who pulled him up by the shirt and threw him over his shoulder like a sac. "ZEREFFFF!" was his last distant cry before everyone turned to me. "Next." she sighed, looking for my name on the board. "Zeref Amara?" she raised her eyebrow, peering up at me. The soldiers carelessly pushed his luggage off the table, the sweets and crisp packets falling to the floor. I nodded, swinging my luggage and bag onto the table while discreetly catching one of the crisp packets and using my Gravity Magic to hide it under my sleeve. Packets floated up as I concentrated, only taking Jace''s favourite ones and hiding them under the back of my shirt and sleeves. Luckily, they were all too busy rummaging through my luggage, they weren''t paying much attention to my sneaky stealing. "Zeref! Zeref! Help!" Jace''s face squished against the wire as he reached for me. "Get back here!" the soldier ran towards him. "NOOOO!" he continued running, kicking his feet behind his bum with his hands in the air. "Alright, you''re good. Please walk left to the group of people." they zipped up my things and I took them off the table, nodding at them innocently. I turned back to the line, seeing that it was nearly Allefin''s turn to get checked and I was going to look at the girls line for Malia but was nudged forwards before I could. "Keep it moving fatty." a boy from another school snickered, walking around me and I looked down at myself, realising the crisps and snacks under my clothes made me look plump and suspicious. I kept walking in and found the group of boys from different schools, huddling in small groups and watching the entrance, probably waiting for their friends to walk in. I found Jace sulking on a bench with his arms crossed but when he saw me, his eyes lit up in hope. "Did you find a way to get us out of this shit hole?" Jace smirked, knowing I always find a way out of things but this was non negotiable. "Good news and bad news." I was exasperated, dropping my bag on the bench and causing a few boys to turn and look at us before looking away. "Bad," his hopeful expression dropped. "We can''t get out of this. But the good news is" I swirled my finger and opened my bag. Packets of crisps and sweets floated out from under my clothes and into my bag. "Yes!" he leaped in the air happily, punching my shoulder multiple times. "I was gonna ask you why you looked so fat.." he laughed as I rolled my eyes, rubbing my arm. Chapter 148 - Tents Allefin joined us after a while and just like that, the torture began. We were told we wouldn''t be sleeping in the house as it was for the general and staff. We would be sleeping outside in tents and were expected to set them up ourselves. I, of course, had no problem with setting up tents but the royals looked mortified. If we couldn''t make our tents, we would have to sleep outside on the floor and the unused tent would go to someone else who then wouldn''t have to share. As there weren''t enough tents and most of them were given to the girls, the boys had to group up into threes and share which was convenient for us as Allefin and Jace would share mine. I tried to observe the place while the explanation was going on. None of the obstacle courses looked hard but they still looked challenging. The boys huddled together like penguins before being separated. Since there were thousands of boys, we were all split into our schools and weren''t allowed to mix with the others, just like classes. A man was assigned to Xanxus academy and took us into a cabin of supplies. He took a trolley of about 30 tents and told us to follow as we walked past different courses and fields. I felt a glare from the side of my head and turned to the direction of someone who I forgot existed. Taejun Park. He had his hands in his pockets, walking alone but confidently. It gave me a bad feeling. He was definitely up to something. Luckily, our campsite was on the opposite of the Xanxus girls'' campsite. The only thing separating us was a fence made of wire. Like everything was synchronised and assigned a strict time, the girls walked alongside us on the other side of the fence, led by a female instructor. Both instructors nodded at each other in acknowledgment as they walked the same pace, wearing the same expression. Suddenly, we came to a stop, both of the instructors turning around at the same lined point. "Alright, listen up girls and boys!" our instructor yelled. "You have 15 minutes to set up your tent and get your things inside! Girls, pair up. Boys, into threes!" The woman from the other side of the fence spoke even louder, almost like she was asserting competition between both sides. They both blew a whistle that sounded horrible when synchronised and everyone grabbed a tent together, running to the best spots. I, of course, chose a place with shade, making sure to give a signal to Malia to plant hers directly opposite. Malia grabbed a tent, the girls following her every step like lost bunnies. She set hers opposite mine and the others got into pairs, lining up their tents in a row opposite ours. Soyeon and Malia started to set up theirs and next to their spot was Naz and Sara''s tent. Their tent was placed in the middle and Leilani and Rakeria were next to them. Sara and Naz struggled but after mirroring everyone else and Malia double checking theirs was okay, they were fine. "Excuse me but you will have to share with an extra person. There are not enough tents for threes so there will have to be a group of four. Taejun Park wants to join your tent." The instructor said, his tone demanding and asserting dominance. It''s not like we had a choice so I just nodded, glaring at Taejun. What was this guy up to? The instructor left, leaving him with us. "What do you want?" Jace squinted his eyes in suspicion. Taejun shrugged, smirking. He liked the fact that he got on our nerves and enjoyed our annoyed expressions. "I''m here because your tent is opposite my sisters and I need to keep an eye on her incase she gets hurt." he said in honesty which made Allefin roll his eyes. The park siblings must be really close for him to be this concerned for her. Soyeon giggled on the other side of the fence, talking to Malia while coming out of the tent. Her eyes clicked onto her brothers and something cold was exchanged in their eye contact. Her smile faded before she forced it back up, sighing. "Damn she didn''t even wave." Allefin teased after raising enough courage to speak to Taejun. Jace burst out laughing, making it awkward as I continued setting up the tent. He ignored the remark, walking off with a darker aura then when he came. He was in a bad mood. What did that eye contact mean? It looked like a disagreement I couldn''t be sure but I did know that they were both planning something and couldn''t be trusted. How do I warn Malia? She was shaking hands with the unknown enemies and I couldn''t afford to risk her getting hurt. "Okay time is up! Get in a line now!" the instructor yelled as everyone scurried to comply. I stood in the middle of the line and Allefin followed whereas Jace ran to the back. "Where are you going?!" Allefin whispered to him. "I am going to the back so whatever course we are doing, I can go last." he winked and for a second I thought it was actually a smart idea, until the instructor made everyone turn around 180 degrees and now Jace was at the front. He looked at me with a scared look on his face, trying to walk to me but the instructor held his collar firmly, smirking. Poor Jace was terrified, following the instructor to wherever he was taking us. He took us down a long hill and I could tell everyone was exhausted even though we haven''t even got to the course yet. Jace was luckily fit enough from when I advised him to do 100 pushups, pull ups and squats a day so he found no trouble keeping up with the instructor, which earned him a look of surprise. I guess the instructor was fooled by Jace''s goofy front, he didn''t expect him to actually turn out to be keeping up with his pace. I could tell the instructor wanted to pick on him as he kept quickening his steps which Jace easily lapsed into, still with a nervous face of course. We stopped at a field, the only thing visible was the barbed fence but there was a gate. It had a large warning board on it but the instructor ignored it, fumbling in his pockets for a large key attached to many others. "Now I want everyone to take a big step back," he instructed before everyone eagerly followed, coming up with the worst case scenarios of what could happen if they didn''t. I put my hands behind my back, furrowing my eyebrows as the key was forced into the door and a spark lit. The gate shook and then I realised, not only was this a gate separating us, it was a magic barrier. The bubble shimmered and shook from the impact before exploding and creating a strong wave of power that blew into us. The instructor was unphased but all the people behind me flew back onto their bums and some even rolled on the floor. I peered down at them then looked at who was standing. Just me, the instructor and Taejun. Taejun and I looked at each other at the same time and I realised we were both mirroring each other''s stance. He also stood with arms held behind his back with a furrowed expression. "Get up! It''s open." he said as everyone groaned. He didn''t wait, swinging the door open and stepping into the girls field. I followed after him, the boys scurrying to their feet and also crossing. The gate slammed shut behind us but the instructor paid no mind to it, leading us to what looked like a team activity. Xanxus academy girls stood in a row opposite us as both instructors met once again. "Today will be an easy activity as you have just gotten here. It will be a friendly and safe game of capture the flag." the female instructor yelled. Kids turned to each other with determined faces, whispering amongst themselves. "The flag will be hidden by a chosen person on each team on their side of the forest. All the other team has to do is find and capture it. No rules except don''t kill each other." my instructor continued. I''m guessing this game isn''t that ''safe'' after all if the only rule they had to mention was not to kill each other. I was guessing the previous years faced some challenges with this game because both instructors looked at us with great seriousness about that one rule. "Losing team will wash the other team''s clothes for a week." Both sides groaned, putting their most determined faces on. I looked at Leilani who was pouting at her chipped nail while Naz examined it. They definitely weren''t listening. I mentally rolled my eyes at the team opposite us. None of them were focusing or taking this seriously. Some were scratching their legs from a mosquito bite and some were just staring into the trees and yawning.. Others just talked amongst themselves and it looked like the only people listening were Rakeria and a few other frightened girls. Chapter 149 - First Day Troubles We were given 10 minutes to decide on who should hide the flag and a strategy. The boys automatically huddled around me like pigeons, looking at me with hope. "Zeref what do you say?" one of the royals spoke. "Yeah, you''re the strongest in our school, and you''re amazing at these things." Another boy added. They all poked their heads at me. Well, okay then. "Since there are no rules, I say the flag stays moving. We can attach it under someone''s shirt and send the quickest and slipperiest to retrieve their flag." Everyone nodded eagerly, agreeing with impressed looks on their faces. "Try not to waste time fighting or injuring the opposing team. Once you have eyes on the flag, just dodge attacks and stay focused. Make sure not to use too much force or violence as-" "LET''S CRUSH THEMMMMM!" Leilani yelled out as all the girls cheered and screamed. We all looked at them, shaking our heads as they quieted down and went back to whispering. "Who do we put the flag on?" Jace shook as Naz sent him death threats across the field. I smirked at him as he realised. Everyone turned their heads to him as he shook his head. "No I am not- I am NOT!" he tried but we all grinned evilly, holding the flag towards him. "No! Not me-" ** "Zeref, I hate you!!!" he yelled as girls ran at us like it was a war. Even I admit, it was scary. Jace scurried away, Taejun and Allefin were hot on his tail like guards. I had assigned the both of them to make sure no one found out Jace was hiding the flag. In the meantime, 10 of us would rush in the forest and pretend like it was in there, distracting most of the team while a few nobles and I ran after their flag. The first person that dashed past me was Malia who had her eyes fixed on Jace. She smirked to herself, her hair brushing past my shoulder. Her eyes didn''t falter but her smirk told me she knew I was looking. Damn! Her stupid hearing was good enough to listen across the whole field?! I looked around realising none of the girls had bought into our trick which meant they knew Jace was the flag. Damn it! "THEY KNOW! PASS THE FLAG ON!!!" I boomed out as it felt like our whole team gasped in sync. I watched as Taejun snatched the flag out of Jace''s shirt and halted, making a few girls now turn to him as he now held the bright red flag. "IDIOT!" Allefin yelled as Taejun smirked. I rolled my eyes. I guess he enjoys the adrenaline and probably being chased by girls. "Zeref!" someone called out to me, pointing at a red flag standing in a clearing, in plain sight. They didn''t even try to hide the flag. I mentally sighed, knowing this would be easy and ran towards the flag. We all circled around it, looking around for any attackers but there were none. A stupid boy stepped forwards cautiously, grabbing the flag but his hand fell through it. Everyone looked at me in surprise, acting like they had never seen anything like it before. "It''s an illusion," I deadpanned as they all ''oh''ed. "Zeref grab the flag already!" Jace cried out before being tackled onto the floor by Naz. "Spread out. One of these illusions is the real thing." I ordered before we all spread out. I could feel someone''s eyes hovering over my every move like an owl. The girls were more strategic than I had thought. Watch the strongest and divert the smartest. The boys scattered like bunnies being chased by foxes. They were hungry and wild, nothing like they were in school and I could barely see anyone I knew. Soyeon tackled me but I wrapped my arm around her forearm, flipping her onto the floor effortlessly and continuing towards a well hidden flag. Just a bit further A figure flashed past me and the heavenly scent flew around my nose. My arm was grabbed and I was turned around in a split second. I tripped over my own foot, stumbling onto the person who pulled me as I fell onto her. She grunted as I smirked, meeting her eyes. "Hello beautiful," I winked at her, my hand next to her head as she huffed. "Get off." Malia''s hand ran up my chest to push me off, causing me to get Goosebumps. "If you wanted me to get off, why would you pull me down?" I teased, listening to the footsteps of one of the nobles sneaking past us towards the flag. Malia was put on lookout for anyone who approached the right flag since she was the strongest. Their strategy was obvious. "Zeref" she sighed, her eyes boring into mine as I lowered down closer to her face. I could feel the heat of her breath hit my jaw. Her hand stayed on my chest, scrunching my shirt in her fists from the nerves. I could hear her heart beat nearly as loud as mine. "WOOOO!" someone screamed as the whistle blew and she stiffened under me from the sudden noise. I cursed my luck, forcing myself off her before offering her my hand to get up too. "The girl''s flag has been captured!!" our instructor yelled with joy. Malia sighed next to me, not bothering to look at me twice before making her way to Soyeon. "Well girls, looks like you have filed our first challenge." their instructor bestowed a glare upon them, angrily. "Now, now Lora, no need to be angry. Well done to everyone. They all tried." our instructor held his nose high proudly, almost shoving the victory in the other woman''s face. ** We were escorted back to our side of the camp and the sun had started to go down, letting the cold creep in with the darkness. I activated my fire mana, keeping my skin warm. Jace shivered next to me, shuffling towards me like a penguin. "Am I your fire?" I scoffed, smirking as his teeth chattered. "Dude, you''re so warm!" he rubbed his arms as I increased the heat of my skin to help warm him more. Allefin walked around Jace to stand on my other side. I was being sandwiched by two frozen popsicles. I chuckled as they huddled into my clothes. I followed the crowd of students in front of us until we stopped outside a busy, large tent with bright lights, almost like stars, hanging over the top. From the outside, it looked small but when the instructor swung the curtain up for us to enter, a large canteen stretched out for miles with tables. The tables had long cloths over them with each school''s crests; Xanxus academy''s table stood out like a sore thumb with its unique designs. "Collect your food and sit down at your table. You have 30 minutes." the instructor dove into details, babbling on about the strict rules but I tuned him out, looking around at the interior. It was filled with boys holding trays of food and shivering, puffs of mist leaving their lips and dissipating into the frosty air. Even in the tent, there was no heat except for the little heat given off by a few kids with branched fire elements. Their mana was restricted meaning they could only heat up a small radius and I knew if I wanted, I could heat up the whole room. But that would be stupid as I''d rat out my ability and I''m only sticking to my ice element. I made my way down the carpet and rows of tables, taking in the warm smell of roasted lamb and tender chicken, seasoned with all types of spices. Maybe this wouldn''t be so bad after all. Jace rushed past me, running to the stacks of trays and grabbing three. He threw one at my head but I caught it in the nick of time and he flung Allefin''s at his. "Hey! No throwing!" our instructor screamed as the trey flew over his head and Allefin leaped in to catch it. We rushed to the line, knowing more schools were on their way and it was like luch had sided with us as just after we arrived in the cue, 3 more schools came in. ** I sat down with my tray of chicken, rice, salad and chocolate cake. "I heard they changed up the leader of this place, therefore the food is better than it was last year." A skinny boy spoke, digging in. "Thank the monarchs for the new leader!" Jace praised with his mouth half full. "My brother went five years ago and he said that the food was just gruel and an apple." The boy next to me picked his cake up first, fiddling for the tiny thin fork before giving up and taking it with his hands. I grimaced, holding in my gag as pieces fell out of the corner of his lips. "Lovely.." I stated, pulling myself together and digging in. Chapter 150 - First Month A week passed and the camp had evolved into a stricter and harder place to stay in. Training hours took from 9am to 9pm where each school had a different routine every day. We would have 6 sessions of different activities. "ZEREF!" a cold, hard pillow slammed into my face as I shot up. Allefin stood over me, the light seeping through the tent''s fabric behind him. "Get up you fools!" I groaned as he started to whack Taejun and Jace. The smell of freshly cut grass filled my nose and it made me feel sick. The constant stench of wet mud and grass had become numb to everyone''s nostrils but mine. I could still smell it no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I could only imagine how the were men felt. Taejun got up quietly, moving around my bed and swinging the flap open with his toothbrush and towel. Surprisingly, he didn''t cause any trouble and kept quiet. I was still suspicious of him though. He spent most of his time lurking behind us and inspecting the other schools. In the night, he would sneak out and sit at the gates where he would meet his sister and they''d briefly discuss something. It seemed secretive and they would whisper as quietly as they could, both of them holding up barriers to block eavesdroppers. I followed after him, looking over the fence to see Malia sitting on a log with a mug in her hands and her hair in a bun. Her eyes automatically connected to mine and my heart burned as I saw her pale face. All the were men in the camp were gathered and taken for a run which was essential to keep healthy. However, since Malia couldn''t tell anyone she was a spirit wolf, she couldn''t go. I could tell it was getting to her as she slightly shivered from the urge to shift right there and then. I gave her my most reassuring eyes, smiling. I have to find a way to help her. "Zeref! Get in!" the instructor yelled as he pushed me into the toilets. ** The mud squelched under my boots as I ran through the course. Jace groaned behind me, struggling to keep up. "Faster! Faster!" the instructor blew his whistle, rushing us. I jogged, rolling my eyes. "Zeref is the only one who is at a fast speed! He''s in the lead! Catch up! Come on! Come on!" he fiddled for his whistle before blowing it again. "B-But he''s Zeref! He''s not even- trying!" a boy from the back of the running crowd yelled out, taking gasps of air between his justification. "That''s no excuse! Zeref is trying unlike all of you!" Spurts of spit expelled out of the instructor''s mouth. I feigned fatigue, gasping for air while everyone behind me struggled to keep their feet standing up straight. Soon the mud started to feel like it was sucking at my feet and it felt harder to lift my foot off the ground. "Ahhhh!" One by one, people''s voices started to disappear behind me. "ZEREF!!!" Jace yelled out to me in a panicked voice, causing me to halt and turn around. It took a few seconds of searching before the mud started to suck in my feet like quick sand. I spotted Jaces arm waving as his head started to sink into the mud along with everyone else. Some people had fully gone under but the only one still running was Taejun. I was knee deep in it as I shot ice out of my fingers, helping me to leap out of it. I flash stepped on my toes towards Jace and yanked him out by his hand. The instructor''s jaw dropped while I created a thick pathway of ice and slid Jace across it like a slippery bag. "Ahhhhh!" he screamed as he slid down the ice and onto the hard cemented ground. I ran after him, also arriving at the safe ground. Taejun kissed his teeth at us, shaking his head as everyone else magically teleported next to us with mud all over them. "This place is hell," one of them said with mud in between the gaps of his teeth. "I can''t wait to get the hell out and sue it into oblivion" a royal spat, brown spit shooting out of his mouth. "Good luck with that." a familiar voice spoke up from behind us, heels being clicked in the distance. "This place has been running for centuries and your parents probably signed a contract agreeing to its existence." Everyone turned around, searching for the gentle but cunning voice. It was a feminine voice carrying a powerful presence. The familiar scent of camomile filled my nose after I also turned around. Miss Elena smirked as soon as our eyes met; she strutted towards us with two guards following behind her. Her hair was pulled up into a perfectly tied, neat high ponytail and she wore formal attire- black trousers and a white dress shirt matched with a black tie. It wasn''t tight over her figure, it was actually quite loose, but she made it look strict and composed. "And who are you?" the royal scoffed before the instructor whacked his head as a warning. His eyes widened as he caught Miss Elena''s attention and he quickly kneeled in her presence, looking to the floor. "General," he fumbled around with his collar, straightening his shirt and posture. "Instructor" she acknowledged him before scanning the crowd with piercing eyes. "I''m inspecting the progress of all schools and of course, I left the best for last," she smirked. The feud between her and Xanxus was definitely going to affect our school''s privileges now. "I want both sides to meet me at the front in an hour. Get clean." She barked out instructions before spinning around and leaving. "Zeref follow me." she added on while walking away. The guards turned to the crowd and I stepped forward. They both looked at me with unchanged expressions as I followed Miss Elena closely. I caught up to her, glancing at her side profile while she continued to walk. "How is your time here?" she smiled gently. I kicked my feet at the grass, looking around before we slowed down the pace of our walk. "It is not bad but I do have a request." I stopped. She turned around, facing me with questioning eyes. "Can Malia leave the grounds for an hour with me?" I asked, pleading with her with a desperate tone. I never asked Miss Elena for anything let alone pleaded so when I said it, her face contorted into an expression of shock. She looked at me puzzled for a moment before her eyes sunk to the ground in guilt. "Sorry Zeref, I want to but no one is allowed off grounds. It is vital to keep everyone behind the fences for their own protection-" "I do not need protection." I scoffed. "I know but the rules are there for a reason and I can''t just break them on my first year of leading this camp. It''ll look bad on me and I have great plans for this place." she sighed. I nodded in defeat. Nothing I say would be able to change her mind and she was right. She was put in charge and she had to make sure everything was in order. BOOM! The earth quivered beneath us and the fences surrounding the camp trembled. Miss Elena gasped, holding her arms out to balance herself from falling over. The force field around the camp started to crack and I could feel a powerful presence in the air. The familiar but foreign type of mana filled the air once again and this time, I clicked onto what it was. Spirit magic. Which means Malia. Crap. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach while the ground started to spin under me. "Get the kids underground," Miss Elena''s voice shook as she sensed the danger and foreign mana. "NOW!" she screamed at the guards, sprinting off to the gates of the camp. I ran after her, scanning my eyes around for a sign of Malia. Not soon after, teenagers ran out of their activities with their instructor herding them towards the underground passage. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" I yelled but she didn''t stop running. "I need to check the gates. Something shattered our whole triple security system!!" her hair strands flew near my nose before I pushed myself to pace with her. "Zeref, stay safe and follow everyone else!" "No! I am going to help!" I needed to find Malia before anyone else did. Her secret and life was at risk. "I am not Xanxus who will allow you to put your life at risk! Go!" she pushed my shoulder to leave so I stopped. I watched her sprint, not bothering to turn around and look at me. If she didn''t let me help, i had to find another way.. I looked around, looking for any strong traces of mana. Chapter 151 - Malia’s Issue -Malia''s POV, that day in the morning- I shivered, holding my mug to my lips and gulping down the warm water. I felt someone''s eyes on me and I instantly looked up, feeling a pull at my heart as my eyes latched onto Zeref''s across the field, behind the fence. He was so far yet he felt so close from just eye contact. His face was one of worry and his lips were slightly pulled downwards only the smallest amount, like a tiny frown. My body locked into place as I clenched my jaw, the urge to shift resurfacing. My mug nearly fell out of my hands as I shut my eyes, fearing the golden glint would flicker in them. My senses expanded as I heard chattering in my ear and exhales of people around me. So loud. I shivered, trying to concentrate on my own breathing but then I heard something else. Zeref. His heartbeat was calming and as soon as I opened my eyes to look at him again, all the other noises faded out and the only thing I could hear was Zeref''s heart beating. He gave me a reassuring smile but I knew he was worried. I also knew that there was nothing he could do to help. "ZEREF!" his instructor interrupted my senses, making my ears ring as I winced. "Stop wasting time and GET IN!" Zeref was pushed into the bathroom as I sighed, finishing off my water in one chug. Our sessions started late today since apparently we had an inspection by the head of the camp, first thing in the morning for an hour. Although I tried to protest to my instructor that I was sick, she insisted I had to join in. She was scared I''d make our group look weak and it would make her look bad. A hand laid on my shoulder as I froze in the process of trying not to flinch. I was shocked out of my train of thoughts as I looked to my side. "How are you feeling?" Sara asked, taking the mug out of my hands. I nodded, my throat aching like someone had shoved sandpaper down it. "I''m sorry I can''t help much. I don''t know what else to do." she sighed guiltily with a sorry look on her face. "It''s not your fault," I pushed the words out of my voice, rubbing my throat afterwards because of the dry pain. Soyeon leaped over the log in joy, sitting next to me. She didn''t say anything, instead she took her palm and placed it gently on my forehead. "That is one hell of a fever" she winced, withdrawing her hand from the heat. I groaned, leaning my head on her shoulder as she put her arm around me and rubbed my arm. Sara sat on my other side, putting her arm on mine. "I''ll go try and find you some medicine." she said before walking off. I let out a cough as it was just me and Soyeon now. I could hear her heart racing. She was nervous. "Malia I heard the underground safety tunnels" she stopped, hesitating or thinking on how to word her sentence. I looked up at her, my nose nearly touching her chin as our faces were so close. It made it easy to hear her rigid breathing pattern and the fiddling of her fingers. Why is she nervous? "Uh I heard the underground tunnels are suffocating. Y-you" she hesitated again. "Just do not go down there since you are sick. It''ll make you even more ill and I do not want you to hurt yourself." Why would I need to go to the underground safe place? "Okay?" I agreed, furrowing my eyebrows at the random mention of the safe grounds. She cleared her throat, her arms wrapping tighter around me like a blanket. I felt so secure, like I could fall asleep all over again but I was shaken out of her arms by the loud whistle blowing directly above us. "Get up! We are going!" our instructor yelled as Soyeon groaned, helping me up. ** We were running laps after Miss Elena had inspected us. I was not expecting her to be the owner of this camp. It seemed too cruel to be under someone so kind. Sara arrived empty handed, shaking her head at me meaning she didn''t find anything to help me. "Why are you late?!" the instructor yelled, as Sara rolled her eyes while ignoring her. "Hey! I am talking to you! Seraphin-" BOOM! An explosion ran through the air as I screamed, covering my ears from the loud noise. My ears were highly sensitive to any noise from the urge to shift so I felt this more than anyone else did. I could feel the vibrations run through my head as everything started to go muffled like I was underwater. "Get to the safe grounds!" someones blurry voice yelled but I was on the floor with my eyes shut. My ears burned and it felt like every nerve in my body was popping. People ran past me, screaming as the instructor led the group underground. Someone grabbed my arm, holding it up while trying to help me. "Malia! We have to go!" Sara screamed as Naz helped her pick me up. My head spun as I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned. I could feel their presence but it hurt too much to look or focus. "No! I''ll take her to the nurses underground layer. You guys can go!" Soyeon said, followed by muffled protests. They argued before I felt my body fall into someone else''s arms. "Malia, I got you." Soyeon whispered. "Be careful" Naz stressed before her and Sara''s footsteps disappeared. Soyeon hugged me, her heart racing and her breathing heavy as she looked around. "I need you to open your eyes and run with me," she spoke hastily. I had never heard her this worried. "I can''t! It burns!" I clenched my fists, scared. "We don''t have much tim-" she was interrupted by a growl, causing her to gasp. She slowly placed my limp body to the ground as my breathing intensified. What was that? Open your eyes! Chapter 152 - Attacked A roar rang through my ears before a gush of wind soothed it. I screamed in agony, grabbing my ears and digging my head into the grass. I wanted it to stop. The agony. The pain. The burning fire that rushed into my lungs as my breathing was all over the place "Malia, I''m right here!" Soyeon yelled but it was distant. I could hear her staggered breaths and slices of flesh along with the scent of blood. Soyeon screamed out in pain, letting out grunts. Everything was blurry as I forced my eyes open, squinting at the bright light. I looked around to absolute chaos. The camps were on fire and the fences were torn down. Soyeon screamed, leaping in front of me while pushing me back. An A rank beast leaped for us but Soyeon blew it away with the wind, causing it to hit a tree and slump down, unconscious. "Soyeon!" Taejun tan towards us. I turned to look at him, my neck sore. "Taejun!" They ran to each other as Taejun scanned her wounds. "What is she doing here?" He glared at me as I flipped the hair out of my face and faced him. He looked me up and down, taking in my condition in disgust. Damn, did I look that scruffy or was he just rude? "Malia!" a heavenly voice called from behind me. We all looked at the source of the voice to see Zeref. He flashed towards me, my hair blowing off my shoulders from his speed. In a second, his chest was in front of my face as I looked up at him. "Are you ok?" he held my shoulders, glaring at the park siblings. I looked at Soyeon who looked pained as if she was helpless. "Why aren''t you both underground?" Zeref held my head to his chest, protectively. "I could say the same for both of you," Taejun returned angrily. "What''s with the attitude? It is just a question" Zeref smirked as Taejun got angrier. The wind swirled around us as Zeref''s arm left the small of my back. "What did you both do?" he whispered but they both heard it. "AAAARGH!!" Taejun sprinted towards us as Zeref let go of me, leaping to catch Taejun''s fist. I turned to Soyeon who looked at me with utter sorrow and remorse. She ran towards me, hugging me as both Zeref and Taejun fought. "Everything is going to be different now. It is all going to change" she said as I looked at her confused. "I am so sorry" she pushed me back suddenly, pushing the wind onto Zeref and taking him by surprise. He fell to the floor as she ran and joined her brother. "Soyeon?!" I got up, joining Zeref. What is happening?! Her apology ran around my head as I looked at her now expressionless face. They both linked hands, throwing their hands up and causing a scream of wind that whistled into my ears. "AHHHH!!" I fell to my knees as the same pain coursed through me. I saw Soyeon flinch, her feet shuffling back as the wind got louder. "MALIA?!" Zeref kneeled next to me. "Stop!" he yelled at them. The earth rumbled again. Something powerful was on its way or it was already here. It felt like an army of something was rushing towards us. They were calling danger towards us. "We are pretty smart. The barriers were too hard to attack from the outside so we were sent to attack from the inside." Taejun snickered. So this is what they were planning. "Stay here and you''ll face death!" Soyeon spat as Zeref didn''t move from my side. "You are stupid to think you can fight what''s coming. Especially with her condition. She''ll get hurt." Soyeon continued almost as if she was persuading us to leave like she cared. "Let them sister. I''d like to step on their corpses." Taejun snickered as Zeref picked me up. "Oh no you don''t." Taejun tried to swirl Zeref into the air but instead a blast of ice shot out of Zeref''s arm, striking him in the head. Taejun winced as Soyeon fell to his aid while Zeref sprinted away with me. "STOP THEM!" Taejun ordered but Soyeon hesitated. "B-But you are injured!" she watched as we leaped away to the underground shelter. I peered over Zeref''s shoulder at her. She was the enemy after all. ** We stopped at the edge of the camp when I urged Zeref to stop running. "You need to save the people underground. I think they''re in danger." I said, getting down from his hold. He shook his head, turning back to the camp and squeezing my hand. I gently slipped my hand out of his and gulped. "I know this isn''t a good time but I need to shift Zeref. You need to save them alone and I know you can." He shook his head again. "I''m not leaving you alone. I can sense the army coming towards the camp right now. If you shift, you will be running directly into them." He stepped towards me as once again, I had to stare up at him. "I can buy you time. Go save our friends!" I said, turning away and sprinting into the woods. Don''t turn back Don''t. My hair flew into my face as I turned my head back at Zeref. He watched me run before nodding, turning away from me and running back towards the camp. I sighed, facing my fate with determination. My eyes flickered as I picked up deadly speed. Soon I lowered myself before taking a big leap and transforming into my wolf form. Howling, I called out to Zeref. I howled again warning the beasts of my presence. My ears picked up on dead silence. The army of footsteps stopped and I thought I successfully scared the beasts but then a shuffle was heard and the scent of hypnotising mana filled the air. Again, the thundering footsteps approached and now, I could see trees falling like dominoes. I leaped up into the sky, floating above the forest and looking down at a wall of mages riding on A rank beasts. What the hell is this? Chapter 153 - The Camp’s Downfall I opened my mouth wide, condensing a Golden Beam of mana in my mouth before unleashing the condensed mana blast from my mouth. BOOM! A large detonation exploded killing several of the A rank beasts but they still rushed forward. ''Guess I''ll let off some steam.'' I descended from the sky, landing in front of them and growing in size. I was now the size of a dragon, towering over the small A rank beasts under me. The strongest ones came up to my shoulders as I was now as tall as the trees surrounding us. I roared, releasing a menacing killing intent and a bone chilling mana pressure. A Golden aura surrounded my body, strengthening me like armour and 9 tails that flowed beautifully from behind me. Starting slow, I broke into a sprint gnashing a few small beasts with my teeth to pieces. Several A rank Fox type beasts smaller than me in size surrounded me with people in black figures riding on top of them. They all growled circling me, before also attacking me in unison. I swiftly danced around ripping several of them apart with my sharp fangs whilst smacking several of them away with my tails. "Kill that thing!" "Charge!" They all pushed towards me, throwing fireballs and spells towards me. Their sheer numbers made it impossible to keep track of who was where, as I gritted my fangs and blocked the onslaught of spells and attacks of the mages. My tails whipped the spells away like a tennis racket, not letting them get too close to me. I opened my mouth releasing several Golden condensed, mana bombs from my mouth flattening the trees and killing hundreds of the figures shrouded in Black robes. Suddenly, I felt a sharp and powerful blow of Wind mana contact with my side, making me wince as I was pushed back taking down and flattening several large 20 Metre trees under me. "Where did this beast even come from?" My eyes started to glow red as I hesitantly turned my fire mana on. I got up, puffing my chest out and roaring, fire spitting out of my mouth like a flame thrower. Suddenly, a familiar figure ran to the front of the crowd, shielding them from my strong magic. The figure screamed, falling back to the intensity of my fury but still managed to distinguish the blow. He looked up at me as mages helped him up. It was Ranveer. I growled, baring my bloody teeth at him and growling. They backed off slowly before Ranveer let out a small hand gesture. With that, everyone sprinted past me. I roared, stomping my paw onto the ground and causing a line of gold fire to erupt but I was too late. They leaped over it, sprinting away from the camp. I turned my head, about to chase them when an agonising burn set alight on my stomach. I whimpered, flinching back to see Ranveer on fire like a human torch. He latched onto my fur as I howled in pain. I tried to shake him off but failed so instead, I wrapped my fire proof tails around him like a snake, tightening my grip on him as I brung him to my face. I let out a mighty roar but he conjured a fireball without his arms and shot it into my mouth. I screamed, dropping him as he flew away propelling himself with his flames blasting out from his palms. I shook my head, my throat aching as he called his army to retreat. Suddenly, I felt a gust of wind woosh past me as Soyeon and Taejun ran past me on beasts. They looked at me in horror, not knowing I was Malia. I turned back to the camp, looking at the chaos they had wreaked and decided to sprint back too before one of them decided to ''tame'' me. ** The camp was in complete chaos and word spread quickly about the two teens who planned it all. Miss Elena was on hot fire as everyone started pointing fingers at her. She was the easiest to blame for this because she was the new leader. Zeref proceeded to lend her his protection, sending out leaflets of what really happened and making sure Miss Elena was in the royal''s good graces so they could also defend her name. A lot of children were injured. Soyeon warned me but not them of the dangers. The underground safe place was protected by mana laced doors but somehow, Taejun and Soyeon managed to unlock it from the inside which was how many evil mages entered. Luckily, there were no deaths but unfortunately, there were around 44 injured people. The camp was criticised for its weak security system but we all knew that wasn''t true. It''s just no one saw the attack coming from the kids. The Park siblings had wanted posters plastered all around the Kingdom''s for them and Miss Elena made sure to keep Zeref and I updated about the situations. Zeref was crowned hero of the day, attracting much unwanted attention as he stacked up fans from across the kingdoms. News papers praising him were everywhere and witnesses came forward with stories of his heroic activities. Xanxus academy was soon the most talked about academy seeing as the attackers and the hero came from the same school. Somehow, Xanxus managed to avoid the matter of how two of his students attacked the camp but instead, he managed to gain face for the school through praising Zeref. After a long two weeks of debating while the kids were all sent home, Miss Elena had finally come to the decision to continue the course. No year had ever missed this training and she was determined to restart the show again. Kids were forced back but this time, everything was much darker and tense. The instructors were strict and every trip to the toilet or journey off trail was carefully monitored. The lessons were much harder and even the injured were expected to participate. The security around the place was on high alert both inside and out since the strongest guards hand picked by Miss Elena were placed around it with the finest weaponry. I had no time to tell Zeref about Ranveer because every time I tried, he was either swarmed by people or knocked out from exhaustion. Chapter 154 - Final Week -Back to Zeref''s POV- "Everyone get in a straight line!" The instructor shouted and we all got in a single file line. "I am impressed with all of your performances thus far and we are already close to the end of our time here. I just want to say you have all worked really hard and continue to do so till the end of your time here. The army will always be open to all of you to join us whenever you desire. "As it''s the first day of the final week, the instructors as a collective have decided on several games we can play today-" As he said that all the boys broke out of character jumping up and down in joy. Everyday was filled with exhausting exercises, it might not have affected me much but I could tell, to ordinary humans this was hellish. A similar sight could be seen from the other side of the fences segregating the boys from the girls. Mine and Malia''s eyes locked each other''s and we exchanged smiles, before looking back at the instructor. "We have 3 options available: Capture the flag, 1v1 combat duels and lastly Elemental Basketball. We will be voting in a couple minutes. I''ll give you all 2 minutes to discuss what you want to do." Elemental basketball sounded fun but it wouldn''t be as fun as I''d be dominating anyways. "So what are we picking?" Jace looked at me, folding his arms. "Elemental Basketball." Allefin replied for me and I nodded. "Really? Do you enjoy dominating people that bad?" Jace punched my arm laughing. His question was rhetoric as he knew I''d be dominating any event we would be doing no matter the vote''s outcome. "Okay. Time''s up. We will now vote. Raise your hand for Capture the flag." The instructor immediately started counting as 1/4 of the boys picked ''capture the flag''. "Okay now Combat duels" This time around half of the students put their hands up for some reason and they all glared at me with hatred. I wasn''t surprised that it was all the noble kids. The recent news must have burnt a hole in their pride and they wanted to prove that I was actually cannon fodder. I sighed knowing what the outcome was going to be. "The result is 1v1 combat duelling. I am guessing you all want to verse Zeref in a duel." The instructor sighed in disappointment at how selfish the royal and noble boys were. "If that''s fine with you Zeref?" He asked. "Yes sir. I don''t mind." I replied respectfully, eyeing the tens of opponents, who all glared at me. "Okay. Everyone head to the Combat field. Those who aren''t fighting, go sit in the viewer''s section." "Sad. I knew something like this was bound to happen." Jace held my shoulder shaking his head, "Don''t kill them okay." ** It seemed like the whole camp had come to watch my duels. The girls sat on one side of the large platform my opponent and I were standing on whilst the other side was where the others sat. "I''ll kill you. Measly peasant." The boy in front of me smiled, clenching his longsword tightly with both his hands. His words were ironic as I was actually one of the richest in the Vrimeon Kingdom. "321 Commence." As the instructor commanded, the boy flash stepped towards me, imbuing his whole body with water mana. He swung his longsword desperately and executed several sword skills but I easily dodged them. ''Almighty Push.'' My incantation sent the boy flying backwards; he smartly lunged his sword into the platform stopping himself from falling off the platform. ''Almighty Pull.'' This time the opposite occurred and he was being pulled towards me due to the Gravity Magic. He gritted his teeth flying towards me with the sword pointed outwards towards me. I leaned back dodging his desperate lunge and uppercut his stomach. I could hear the cracks of his ribcage and could see his eyes roll back from losing consciousness. The crowd cheered crazily. Even though the fight was quick they still felt a buzz of excitement every time I moved effortlessly and danced around the platform. "Next opponent" Several battles like this passed and I ended each battle without breaking a sweat. I hadn''t even taken a single scratch whilst my opponents always left on a stretcher. After the 10th battle I had already grown bored and only used kicks to finish my opponents. After a 49 battle win streak an instructor decided to fight me and it wasn''t any old instructor. He actually had a powerful role within the army and had almost the same authority as Miss Elena. When he volunteered to fight me, there was an uproar. He was actually a special guest here only for today. "Sir. You can''t fight him. You''ll end up killing the boy. Please sir, can''t you feel it too sir, his mana pool stage is so low and he hasn''t even used a single element yet." One of the instructors tried to stop him. "You all still have a lot to learn. Can''t you see he''s masking his mana pool stage. He''s at least at the 7th stage close to breaking into the 8th. These kids won''t even let him use 5% of his power. Do you still think he''s weak?" He shut all of the instructors up and looked at me with glowing eyes. A smile appeared on my face as the well built man in his 30''s appeared in front of me wearing Golden coloured Gauntlets. He had a big and sturdy frame. His face was tanned brown, along with his brown hair and well groomed beard, a large battle scar ran past his left cheek. Several small medals were strapped on his army coat. "Don''t hold back." As he said that a burst of mana exploded from his body and his brown eyes glowed a Golden yellow. So he was a light Elementalist. 4 army soldiers stood on each corner of the platform making a barrier around it so we could go all out. The crowd''s cheer was now muffled by the barrier but I could still see the hundreds of students cheer me on. "321FIGHT!" The man charged towards me at an insane speed catching me off guard. I blocked his first punch, gritting my teeth. My arms felt numb from the impact. I then gathered ice mana around my left fist, ducking under his hook and throwing a liver blow at his body. The man momentarily froze before kicking my chest and leaping back. I knew the liver blow did more than physical damage. It must have affected him mentally too, he definitely thought he was stronger than me but after feeling my raw strength could he still underestimate me? I didn''t give him time to rest and conjured several ice spears throwing them at him. He lifted his gauntlets up to guard against the onslaught of sharp ice spears. Blood started to drip from the grazes of the sharp ice spears. I used this distraction to sprint around him in an arc before tornado kicking his side. He was sent flying into the barrier, causing a crack to form on it. The crowd''s cheer died down as everyone was shocked at what was happening. A high ranking Military General was getting his ass handed to him? How was he this weak? "You''re a monster kid. What''s your name?" The man smiled, getting up from the ground. "Zeref Amara." "I shall remember your name Ice Elementalist." As he said that a blinding light engulfed the whole area and I was momentarily blinded as so were the bystanders. Thanks to my Seikuken that had become a part of my body''s senses by now, I felt his mana imbued punch aiming for my head. At the last second I dodged it, with sparks of lightning flowing around me. I parried his gauntlet away from me and roundhouse kicked his head, making him grunt and move backwards. "How did he- Lightning! I''m sure I saw lightning just now." One of the instructors who was wearing sunglasses gasped from within the crowd. The lightning element was rare so I hadn''t shown it too much. Most instructors and people didn''t know I used Lightning. They thought I could only use Ice Magic only. "I think we should end it here sir. I''m feeling tired so I shall surrender." I said politely, bowing. "Okay." The man replied, nodding. He glared at me with wide eyes as I stepped off the platform. Did I show too much power? Chapter 155 - Second Wave Boom! The ground shook from a deafening detonation. We were all shaken awake from the large tremor and we all looked at each other with widened eyes. Was it another raid? Another attempt to overthrow the camp? "What the hell was that?!" Jace was the first to shout looking at me for answers. Loud screams and shouts echoed all around the camp. We were in danger. I closed my eyes using my sixth sense to expand my vision and see what was happening outside. Hundreds of people in black clothing with powerful mana pressures were pushing into the camp from the north side, with weapons in their hands. What were the guards doing? I located most of the guards but they all seemed to be unconscious, laying on the ground. Were they poisoned? "Aaaahhhh! Let go of m-" I heard Naz''s scream stop midway from the other side of the fence separating the boys from the girls as loud chains were attached to her and she suddenly lost all consciousness. I desperately sensed for Malia''s mana signature, and after a couple seconds finally found it. She was unconscious a couple hundred metres away from her tent, being chained up and taken away. "Sh*t! Wasn''t this place meant to be impenetrable?! Why do people keep attacking?" I cursed, activating my lightning aura. Lightning bolts buzzed around me and my hair frizzed up from the thousands of volts of electricity flowing through me. "What''s going on?" Jace looked at me confused and worried. "The camp''s been run over by bandits and they all seem to be powerful. The guards are unconscious. Malia and the others. We have to save them." I rushed outside, knowing Malia and the other girls were already being put in a container, which was almost ready to leave. "We''re coming with you!" Allefin said, rushing behind me. ''Voadhailis. Can you hear me?'' I said through our mental connection channelling Dragonic Fame Mana to my brain to strengthen the connection. ''Yes brat. What do you want? I''m busy hunting right now.'' he replied, annoyed. ''The camp''s been attacked and Malia and the other girls have been abducted, start making your way here. I have a feeling the person or organisation behind this is strong.'' ''Fine. I''m going to quickly kill this S rank Beast and make my way to you. Stay alive.'' He said sharply, before shutting off the mental connection between us. S rank beast? He had grown this strong in only a couple months. Dragons were truly something else. "Stay close to me." I looked back at the 2 sprinting behind me. Loud explosions flattened the landscape and hundreds of black figures moved trashing tent by tent. Most of the male mages were being killed and the females were being abducted. Did they only want the women? Bodies lay all over the bloodied Earth, making the camp come out as a battlefield. ''Indra''s spear.'' Lightning mana concentrated around my palm as I striked through several of the dark figures, causing them to roar out their last cry before they died, blood spilling down from where their heart once used to be. "Keep Moving." I ordered, breaking into a sprint towards Malia''s direction. At the moment we were in a terrible position. Especially for Allefin and Jace; I would be fine on my own but they were liabilities that would hold me back. I had to fight whilst focusing on their safety too. I took off my eyepatch finally and scanned forward. The bandits were speeding away with Malia and several other girls and women in some sort of a container. There was no way I was going to let them get away. Bang! A shockwave resounded as I gritted my teeth blocking a powerful punch aimed for my head. I reciprocated by condensing a flame ball in my left palm and pressing it into the man''s chest. He was blown backwards, exploding into bits of flesh when the condensed flame ball detonated. "You are surrounded! Step down demon boy." I heard a mature man''s voice from behind me. Several thousand black figures were still funnelling into the camp and with each second I could feel Malia''s mana signature becoming fainter and fainter. I had to catch up to them. "You are strong, and you''re a young demon. You''ll fetch a good price Don''t make this any harder or else we''ll have to use force." He smiled, taking off his hood and appearing in front of me. A man in his late 40''s with many battle scars confidently stood in front of me. I could hear Jace''s and Allefin''s heartbeats quicken as thousands of powerful soldiers all with mana pool stages 4 and higher surrounded us slowly like a swarm of insects. "Get out of my way." I said coldly, glaring at the man in front of me. "You still have such an attitude. I shall teach you some manners, little demon." He said, smiling devilishly. "I''ll tell you once more. This is an order. Move." I shot daggers towards the man with my gaze, making him flinch. He stepped back subconsciously from my killing intent but gritted his teeth and charged towards me with a punch. I shifted his momentum to the side grabbing his arm before imbuing my fist with Lightning mana and punching the side of his rib cage. He was sent flying towards the heaps of black bandits pummelling through several of them. "KILL THEM!" "AAARGHH!!" Several battle cries shook the army of bandits to life as they all charged at us from all sides. ''Shackles Release.'' ''Lightning Call.'' A burst of mana exploded from my body causing the Earth to shake like an Earthquake was taking place. I had no time to waste time on these weaklings, so I was going full on from the start. 2 Dark horns and black wings broke out from my body and a reddish tint emitted from the tip of my wings and horns. As my right eye glowed bright red with an ancient pattern, the left shone a spectacular Golden Yellow signalling my Dragon blood awakening. Lightning struck down from the clouds above towards my body, causing my hair to go from the demon transformation''s red to white. Large bolts of Lightning circled my body like Pythons and an overwhelming strength filled my body. Lightning Call was a new spell I had developed. I was able to absorb real lightning from the clouds into my body and use it instead of wasting mana. The electric buzz around my body and overwhelming power flowing through my veins, I exhaled slowly. It felt like I could shatter the heavens with my strength. [MP is dropping rapidly] "Gravity Zone." I expanded the spell''s range throughout the whole camp slowing down all of the bandits. "You should have listened when I told you to move." I said coldly. Jace and Allefin looked at me wide eyed like a monster had appeared before them. They were frozen still from fear and from the immense pressure I was emitting. I didn''t give them time to digest what had just happened to me as I blitzed towards the bandits sending large bolts of lightning and flames with a swing of my arm. I crushed and slaughtered half the bandits in a matter of seconds, staining my pyjamas red from blood. I swiped horizontally causing body parts and heads to fly everywhere. Loud screams of fear began resounding as I hunted them like flies, dismembering their bodies and sending them all to the afterlife with a single swing of my hand. Lightning bolts descended down from the sky punishing the swarms of black figures all around the camp like divine punishment. This night. A monster''s wrath was being unleashed. "You stupid dem-" The man appeared in front of me with his mana pressure unleashed. "Get out of my sight." I stared into the man''s eyes, causing him to freeze in fear. My demon eye had this effect to make people weaker than me feel extremely weak and frail under me. My arm moved like a whip as I cut off his head with my arm in a swift movement. BOOM! BOOM! Shockwaves exploded from every fine movement I executed as I kept breaking the sound barrier and causing large scale explosions with my spells. ** -A Kilometre away from the camp- "What monster is causing all that destruction?! The whole camp is being flattened! Even the Earth is shaking." A man exclaimed. "Sir, you should see this!" A young man threw his binoculars to the man in charge. The two men were riding on the back of the carriage holding the container filled with the abducted women and girls. Several armed personnel escorted the carriage and even they couldn''t help but turn their head back and see the destruction that was being caused behind them. "It''s a demon! What the hell! And it''s a demon King at that Tell the driver to go faster. And send a transmission to the boss!" "What should I say sir?" "A f*cking monarch has descended!" Chapter 156 - Rescue Mission My chest heaved up and down from the exhaustion. I had only 5% of my MP left and my body was too heavy for me to even move an inch. I fell to my knees and suffered from dizziness and blurry vision. "Zeref!" Jace and Allefin finally made it to my side helping me up. "That was crazy! You''re a f*cking monster man. We couldn''t even believe that was you." Jace gulped looking at my sorry condition. Both Allefin and JAce had witnessed the mass genocide of the unknown organisation that had attacked the camp. Bodies lay all around the destroyed camp and only the smell of dead bodies and blood could be smelt all around. It was like a war had just ended but the people had fought against themselves as only their bodies stained the battlefield. The deaths were in the thousands, it was truly a one sided slaughter. "We still need to save Malia." My eyes became drowsy from extreme tiredness, "Get my dimension rings from the warehouse where all our belongings are. Hurry." "B-But Zeref. You need to rest first. You are in no condition to f-" I glared at Jace, making him stop mid sentence. I was in no mood for sentimental talk and he knew it. Malia''s mana signature was faint but it seemed they had already reached 10 miles away from the camp and had finally stopped moving. This was the perfect moment to attack them and save them. "O-Okay. I''ll bring them right away." Jace looked at me one more time before sprinting off. ''Status Menu open.'' [Status Menu] [Name: Zeref Amara] [Species: Tribrid (Human, Demon, True Dragon)] [Level: 176] [Exp: 74,000/ 147,000] [Mana Pool: Stage 7] [HP: 60,000] [MP: 30,000] [Strength: 325] [Stamina: 325] [Agility: 360] [Defence/ Durability: 310] [Intelligence: 320] [Influence: 0] [Total Available Stat Points: 350] [Weakness: Increased damage taken from Earth Magic, Nature Magic and when consuming Eggs] [Affinity/ Perks: Lightning Magic, Fire Magic, Ice magic, Gravity magic. Dragonic Flame Magic Immune to Lightning magic attacks and Mental attacks Resistance against fire and ice magic by 100% Profound healing Heightened Senses Profound strength and Profound speed Flight Demon Eye (Increased Perception and Visual Prowess) Sixth Sense [Echo Location using mana instead of sound waves] ] I gained several levels by massacring all those soldiers. It was good as my stats were already great but I now had a staggering 350 Stat Points left over. The best option would be to increase my body''s fortitude by increasing my stamina, Defence stat and strength. ''Godspeed'' was my ultimate Spell and it tore my body apart every time I used it, even with the boosts of the several metamorphosis processes my body went through. [''Defence/ Durability'' has increased: 310 >>> 450] [''Stamina'' has increased: 325 >>> 400] [''Strength'' has increased: 325 >>> 375] [''Intelligence'' has increased: 320 >>> 405] Good. A surge of power spread throughout my body and I could physically feel myself becoming sturdier. I hadn''t realised this feature before but my stats would increase with physical efforts too. When my complimentary quests were removed at level 100, My stats would naturally increase with the more I exercised my body. Running would increase the Stamina Stat whilst exercising mana would increase the Intelligence stat. ''Status menu close.'' I had been neglecting the system for a long time as I had even forgotten it existed. Instead of waiting for Jace in silence and wasting time, I closed my eyes trying to rejuvenate as much energy as I could and absorbed mana at the same time. After a couple minutes Jace finally made it back and gave me my dimension rings. The first thing I did was take out several potions. 2 to replenish my energy, 2 to rejuvenate my mana and 1 to heal any injuries I sustained. When I was done, I changed into better clothing. My pyjamas were ragged, filled with holes and drenched in the blood of my foes. I put on a navy blue T shirt and dark trousers, both protected by strong Earth spells to up their durabilities. "I need you both to go back to the city and inform Xanxus of the matter. He''ll handle it with the authorities for sure. I''m gonna chase after them and try and rescue them. They must have used a strong sedative to knock out people as strong as Malia and Miss Elena." I said, looking up at the dark sky of the night.. "Okay." Jace nodded, gulping. After the bloodbath I caused, he wasn''t going to talk back. Allefin also nodded in silence. I pulled out a portal from my dimension ring and threw it on the ground. Both boys jumped through the portal without hesitation. When they were gone I breathed a sigh of relief. I sat down on the cold ground and got into a lotus meditation position. Mana syphoned towards me violently, like I was a black hole. I sat there for several minutes until I could finally sense something coming this way from the sky. Opening my eyes, I slowly got up from my seated position and cracked my neck. A reddish Orange Glow pierced through the holes in the clouds, illuminating the dark night. Powerful gusts of wind pushed downwards blowing several bodies away, as Voadhailis descended down from the sky. A 20 metre tall, young dragon stood in front of me with a dominating presence. An Apex Predator of the Magical beast hierarchy stood in front of me and I couldn''t help but feel at awe at his breath-taking appearance. His scales were red and orange in colour whilst the tips of his spine and wings also had traces of blue and purple. "You grew this much in a couple of months? What have you been eating?!" I smirked, looking up at the dragon. "Oh shut up. I had to hunt day and night to grow at this slow rate. The food here is horrible and so low in benefits. If I was in the upper realm I would have been much larger by now." He scoffed, blowing flames out of his nostrils. "True. The mana here is much more impure. Nevertheless, that''s not why I need you right now; I need your help in saving the others. You can change back to your chibi form right?" I smiled. "Yeah." "Oh wait. Do you have a humanoid form yet?" "No. I still need to reach Mana Pool stage 5. That''s still 1 more stage away before I can do that and it will take a long time before I can reach that far." I nodded at his response. "You can feel Malia''s mana signature right? Let''s go hunt." My voice reverberated along with killing intent. ** Both of us hid within the mass of trees, peering at the large fortress armed with thousands of soldiers. What the h*ll was this place? Voadhailis had switched back to his Chibi form and rested on my shoulder, around my neck. Counting up the number of Soldiers, it was a dumb move to go in head first. There was no guarantee that whoever abducted them wouldn''t kill them or use them as hostage if they found out we were here. So the best plan was to infiltrate the large fortress and save them before it was too late. ''I''ll wait outside. Just give me the signal and I''ll burn this whole place down.'' Voadhailis said through our mental connection. I nodded, activating the invisibility effect of a dark cloak that I had over my body. Immediately, my body disappeared from sight and to mask my mana pressure I used mana dampening bracelets until sensing me wasn''t possible anymore. Voadhailis came off from my neck and flew to a branch to watch the fortress as I had already punched out from our hiding spot. I sprinted past the bridge to the fortress and silently, chopped the back of the first guard. It seemed luck was on my side as the guards were drowsy and unexpected to my sneak attack. Chapter 157 - Infiltrating The Fortress Using my sixth sense, I scanned the whole fortress and there seemed to be around 5 floors. 2 floors underground where the hostages were kept and 3 floors above ground. Her mana signature was faint but I could feel it below; whatever they used to sedate her and the other powerful individuals like Miss Elena, I had to be wary of it. There were about 200ish guards just on the ground floor. Thanks to the S Grade invisibility Cloak I had bought a couple months ago, my presence was completely diminished. I sneaked past several guards whilst they talked and only stopped when I overheard some interesting information. "Can''t believe our boss relocated this far for a mere girl. What a stupid guy, we lost over 80% of our forces cause he was a damn simp." One of the guards mocked. "Shut up. Stop talking rubbish against the boss. He has utmost power, didn''t he tell us he''s the Fire Candidate, someone who has the right to challenge the Fire Monarch and rule the upper realm. What''s a mere couple thousand soldiers'' deaths to him? If he wants something, you know how he is. He''ll take it by force." The other soldier replied. So the guy behind this was the Fire Candidate? Sour memories returned to me making my blood boil. He was the one that tortured Malia and colluded with Blake Handmoore ( the light Candidate). Whilst kidnapped Sara, the other grabbed Malia. I took in a couple deep breaths calming myself down. Killing the Fire Candidate would come after, I had to first save Malia and the others. Efficiently slithering past the soldiers on standby I managed to descend several floors until I reached the Entrance to the bottom floors. I knocked out all of the guards there swiftly, tying them up and bunching them all in a corner. Without a second to lose I entered through the doors of the entrance and descended down the stairs to the first Underground floor of the large fortress. The underground first floor seemed to be a pocket dimension like a dungeon. It spread out for several miles covered by green vegetation and large trees. There was even an artificial blue sky. "So someone did finally arrive." I heard a voice echo from the trees. Several dark figures swarmed out from deep in the large forest. "It''s only one guy. HAhahahahaha!" One of the figures wearing the dark ninja attire laughed, mocking me. I knew going full power here would be a bad idea. This pocket dimension would collapse and the floor underneath may even break if something like that happened, placing the hostages in danger. "Good, the boss didn''t have to descend here himself. It''s just one guy. Oi! Just surrender and turn yourself in. You can be our boss''s personal lap dog slave. Did you really think we wouldn''t know that you strolled into our fortress?" Another spoke. I removed the invisibility cloak and removed my eye patch. Loud noises of metal breaking echoed as I removed the dozens of metal rings around my arms. These dampened my mana pressure and hid my presence as much as possible but it seemed I wouldn''t need them anymore. ''Voadhailis, Cambio Forma.'' A powerful wave of mana and killing intent spread across the pocket dimension dropping the temperature of the air by several degrees. The hundreds of black figures froze in fear. "I''m in no mood for games. You courted death when you took Malia from me." I pointed the flaming red short sword in my left hand towards them. ''Godspeed.'' Time froze as I blitzed around moving close to the speed of light. I sliced down every single of the soldiers, killing all of them and levelling up 10 times. They couldn''t even flinch as their heads were decapitated and separated from their bodies. I quickly put all the stats I received into ''defence/durability'' again building it up high to a whopping 500! Sprinting past the large trees I felt several powerful mana pressures nearing my position from all over the forest. ''Grande Sole'' I spammed several large balls of flames, resembling miniature suns down across the dense areas of forest trees. They descended from the roof of the pocket dimension appearing in the skies and causing several large explosions shaking the floor. I levelled up several times again as the scattered forces died throughout the forest. In a matter of seconds, I had made it to the next entrance. I descended down the stairs in a rush. Several different prison cells came into view with hundreds of different girls all cooped up in the different cells all around. "Please! Help!" "Save us please!" They began to scream and bang on the metal bars but I ignored them and frantically scanned around for Malia. For some reason her mana signature had disappeared when I entered the prison cell, making me feel anxious. The girls trapped in the cells wore ragged and dirty pieces of cloth, showing their skin. I felt bad for the poor girls but I had to find the others first. "Zeref." I heard a familiar but weak voice from my left making me stop running. Miss Elena gripped the metal bar, her body looking malnourished. What did they do to her? She fell to the floor as her body couldn''t support her any longer. I used my monstrous strength to break the enhanced metal bars and enter the prison cell. "Miss Elena." Crouching down next to her, I pulled out several potions from my dimension ring and her rapier; I let her drink the potions and watched as her pale complexion disappeared and her regular skin colour began to return. I felt several gazes of young girls looking at me in fear as they backed away from me huddling together. They must have been traumatised by their experiences here. "Thank you. Zeref, you have to save the kids from the camp. They were taken to a separate facility. Leave these girls to me, go after the others." She said, getting up from the ground and grabbing her rapier. "Take this portal. Round up all the girls and take them to safety, You may have to face off against several powerful mages, I can feel them coming down here-" I replied, handing her a portal device. I was stopped mid sentence as she hugged me in embrace. "I''m glad" She hugged me tightly, wiping her tears. I gave her a wry smile before heading out of the prison cell. Our reunion was brief due to the lack of time but I trusted her abilities as a General of the Army. She would definitely survive against those C and B rank mages that were descending. I dashed down the large corridor and took a left to see a large portal waiting for me. Without hesitation I pounced into the circling murky blue. "Malia, I''m coming." Chapter 158 - The Flame Candidate As I stepped out the portal, the smell of something burning entered my nose immediately. I expanded my senses far and wide, sensing that there was only one other person around in this large Hall. I was in some underground hall, the surface seemed to be 500 Metres above. The hall had intricate drawings and patterns on the walls and large pillars on the sides, with a red carpet following straight on to where a man sat on a throne nonchalantly. Dark, oily hair clumsily hung over a furrowed and tanned face. Woeful hazel eyes, set rooted within their sockets, watched in boredom towards me. [New Quest: Kill the Fire Contestant to gain his seat!] [Do you want to accept the quest?] [Yes/No] ''Yes'' There was no way I was going to decline such an opportunity. "Where is Malia?" My voice reverberated with a deadly aura of killing intent as I glared at the tanned man looking at me head on without fear. "I''m a bit disappointed. You''re the guy she has so much faith in? A weakling like you is her lover. Sickening. Well, it doesn''t matter because you''re going to die here today. I, Ranveer, will be taking your seat Mr Lightning Candidate and Malia for myself." He declared standing up and smiling devilishly at me. A burst of fierce mana expressed from his body as he lit up in flames like a Human torch. He created a longsword out of orange flames and got into a battle stance. ''Lightning Aura'' ''Cambio Forma'' ''Purgatory'' ''Lightning Gauntlets'' I cast several skills and a burst of lightning also erupted from my body circling around me protectively. Tendrils of electricity danced around me as my dark hair frizzed up from the high voltage. Gauntlets formed out of pure lightning mana also wrapped around my arms reinforcing them with extra defences. I had only fought one other candidate so far: The light candidate - Blake Handmoore. I had to be cautious fighting these guys; Candidates were the strongest in the Lower realm after all. We both rushed towards each other and clashed our weapons. With each swing, we were both dodging each other''s powerful blows simultaneously. Dancing around, several destructive shockwaves spread out from our powerful attacks. ''Lightning Arcs'' Powerful Slashes of Lightning travelled towards the Fire Candidate as I swung my short swords. He roared in fury tanking the slashes, covering himself with an even intense heat. If I didn''t have a high resistance to his flames, my skin would have been scorched by the intense heat he was radiating. ''Ice lances'' Conjuring several sharp icicles, I threw them towards him but he blew them all away using a sweep of scorching flames. "Stop playing games!" He shouted in anger charging towards me. He appeared in front of me in an instant and punched my chest with his full might. All the air syphoned out of my lungs as I was blown back catapulting through several pillars and smashing into one of the walls of the hall. [You have suffered 11367 Damage!] ''Rapid healing'' A green aura washed over my body rejuvenating the HP I lost with just one of his powerful attacks. I exhaled deeply, cracking my neck left and right. Was I losing my battle sense? I was making too many mistakes. I looked at my opponent realising how tired he was. His flame form must have been consuming mana continuously hence why he was rushing and always charging in to finish the battle quickly. Compared to Lucifer, this Ranveer guy was underwhelmingly much weaker. "I''m going to end you! Be honoured to die by the Mighty Ranveer''s hands!" He roared once more, releasing another surge of flame mana from his body. This time the flames expanded until his body morphed into a large fiery mythical phoenix with 2 menacing crimson eyes glaring back at me. RAAAA!!! A deafening roar shook the atmosphere with a fierce mana pressure. Several pillars of fire erupted from the ground pushing upwards like geysers. I danced around dodging the flame pillars. ''Shackles Release.'' A smile curled up on my face as I felt a burst of adrenalin rush throughout my arteries and veins. 2 devilish dark horns propped out of my forehead and black wings sprout from my shoulder blades, allowing me to fly. The colour of my hair transformed crimson red and my veins and muscles pulsed with power. The atmosphere vibrated with dense lightning mana. I flew around manoeuvring in the air expertly, dodging the onslaught of flame pillars that were emitting a hellish heat. It was becoming impossible to get close to his body to deal a final blow, as every time I''d get close, the flames would engulf me and scorch my skin, still hurting me even though I was resistant to the flames. I decided to use one of my most used combos and threw Voadhailis''s Claw towards the large Phoenix''s head but it just tilted its head slightly, allowing me the perfect angle to chop its neck off. ''Switch'' I used my Demon Eye''s special visual prowess to swap with the blade''s situation. Violent tendrils of Purple Lightning cackled around me as I Swung my blade down towards its neck. ''Purple Lightning'' ''Blade Art: First form, Wheel of fate'' I spun like a tornado, causing the powerful purple bolts of lightning around me to reinforce my blade attack with extra power. RAAAA!!! Another cry of sheer pain resounded as the phoenix''s head was cleanly sliced off its head. It didn''t even have a chance to defend as I executed the attack with insane speed. I didn''t stop there as I conjured several Dragonic flame Suns smashing it down on the recovering Pheonix. ''Grande Sole'' ''Grande Sole'' ''Grande Sole'' BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Several explosions shook the hall as a cloud of smoke covered my view. Did I kill him? My chest heaved up and down and I briefly glanced over my MP. I was down to half and it was still slowly declining. "Good Worthy of being called the Lightning Candidate but I feel bad for you. I have assimilated with a phoenix. I will never DIE! HAHAhaah!" He cackled, in the middle of a large crater. "Shut up!" ''Gravity Zone'' ''Kuroi Hono'' A powerful force of gravity pushed down on the regenerating body of Ranveer as his burned flesh and bones were visibly joining back together. "AAAArrghhh!!! What are these flames?!!!" He screamed in agony as the black flames ignored his regeneration and continued to burn him without perishing. "Ironic. The Fire Candidate, a future Flame monarch dying to flames." I smirked, throwing Voadhailis''s Claw at his chest causing him to be impaled into the ground. He wriggled in pain, screaming endlessly at the top of his lungs as he was being burned to death by the merciless and non perishing black flames. "Farewell.." I sighed seeing his body disintegrate to ash. The fight was quick and extremely underwhelming. His arrogance is what got him killed; this was a good reminder. I should never turn out like him and feel comfortable with the little strength I had. New notifications popped up on the side of my vision. [You have killed the Fire Candidate!] [Congratulations! You have successfully finished the quest!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] [You now have the option to take a skill of the Fire Candidate:] A range of skills popped up into my view, I decided to scan through a couple, before rushing to save Malia now that the threat was over. [Inferno: Unleash a hellish burst of flames onto your enemies that will deal direct damage bypassing any defence. (MP Cost: 5000)] [Status Boost: Increase all stats by 25% temporarily. (MP cost: 500/Min)] [Lesser MP Recovery: A passive skill that will Continuously rejuvenate mana at 10/sec. This value will be interchangeable with increased @"$%^$"$$%] For some reason I couldn''t read anything after a certain word for the description of the Lesser MP recovery. Strange. I closed the panel in front of me and sprinted out through some gates to look for Malia. After a couple minutes of travelling around the large passage I stumbled upon the jackpot I was looking for. "Who are-" Bzzztt! Pow! Pow! I knocked out several dark figures with swift moves moving like a deadly assassin, the lightning in my palm still buzzing with vigour. Smashing the gate doors open, I walked through to find several girls along with Malia''s unconscious body all piled together. I knelt down and hugged her in relief. "Thank God. You''re safe" Chapter 159 - Noblemens’ Circle As my body phased out through the blue portal several army officers aimed their magic weapons at me but eased as they saw Malia and the others begin to also phase out of the portal from behind me. "All the girls will follow me and you. You have been summoned by the higher ups, follow General snyder to the headquarters." A stern woman ordered. I nodded glancing back at Naz and Malia before following General Snyder, a man in his mid 30''s at the 6th mana pool stage. Whilst the girls were led to another site of the camp to freshen up and get questioned, I was directly taken to the Headquarters. I prepared myself for what was to come. "You may enter." A powerful voice resounded from inside a tent, which was being protected by 50 armed personnel. General Snyder, opened up the entrance into the tent allowing me to enter first before he followed behind me. Several eyes of high ranked individuals focused on me straight away but I kept my calm, not phased by their domineering gazes that would have made any other normal person melt. The general bowed when he entered the tent after me. He shot me a gaze to also bow but I ignored him. I would never bow to stick up nobles like these. "Tell us what happened word by word right this instant you peasant!" One of them shouted, slamming his fist on the round table that they all sat around. "Calm down. Is that how you speak to the saviour of those kids?" A familiar figure questioned with a powerful voice. It was the Vrimeon Kingdom''s king. He made the unruly noble man quiet down with a single command. After a couple seconds the king focused his arrogant eyes towards me. He picked up a file from the desk and opened it up. "Zeref Amara. A student at Xanxus Academy with exceptional abilities. Has shown the use of multiple elements. He owns the Bank of Vrimeon and also owns a large share in the Hunter Association. Whilst he''s a part time student he is also a famous Unranked S rank Hunter, recently involved in the closure of the Calamity class threat. "His father died when he was young and he lives with his lone mother and 3 friends: Jace Stinkend, Malia Stronghold and Mike Stronghold. Quite the profile." The King dropped the file on the desk and looked at me with eyes still filled with arrogance. "This second breakout has caused an uproar in the kingdom. We want to control this situation as swiftly as possible. Our sources have told us that it may be the works of an organisation that we''ve never heard of; we had suspicions that it was Umbra but we couldn''t confirm anything as when we arrived there, all the figures had been killed. We still haven''t said anything to the public but rumours are spreading ast. Therefore, it''s of great urgency that we know what happened that night, you must tell us the truth." The king looked at me nonchalantly. A silence covered the room as the noblemen all looked at me still trying to digest the information that had just been read out. "In the middle of the night, an army of dark figures attacked the camp. There must have been people working on the inside of the camp as most of the guards were unconscious when the ambush happened. "I kept track of The captured girls'' mana signatures and followed them. There was another figure that night who descended and wiped out all of the thousands of figures that were swarming the camp and when he was done he left just as fast as he had arrived. My friends and I hid while all this was happening and when it was over, I made sure to send my friends back and then go rescue the girls. By the time your personnel would arrive the girls would have already been sold away, so I took it upon myself to get them back." I summarised everything whilst also adding a lie. I knew it was unrealistic to say I murdered thousands of mages all above the 4th mana pool stage all by myself. It was stupid and I didn''t trust the arrogant eyes of the king enough to expose any more information. "What bullshit!" One of the fat noblemen with gold teeth shouted. I exhaled lightly, controlling my anger that was building up. "I have several powerful assassins waiting outside your mansion right now. Your mother, Rosaline, your friends, I''ve rounded them all up inside your little mansion. I suggest you tell us the truth otherwise it won''t end well for you." The king spoke without a trace of fear. A period of silence filled the room as the noblemen all looked at me smugly. "If anything happens to my mother and friends. I can assure you I will wipe out your entire lineage and every noble household with a click of my fingers." My monstrous mana pressure and killing intent shook the Earth and dark clouds began forming outside. All of the noblemen and even the personnel guarding the camp outside froze in fear, unable to comprehend which magisterial being''s pressure had descended on them. Fear showed on the king''s face for the first time as the arrogant glint in his eyes had disappeared. "Believe me, you do not want to make me an enemy. This kingdom" I walked forward and tapped my finger on the round table shattering it into fragments of wood. "will cease to exist." Powerful! Overbearing! Magisterial! My words resonated throughout their minds instilling a permanent and unforgettable message in their heads. Turning around, I left the tent with my hands in my pockets. All the soldiers looked at me wide eyed as They were still under the effects of my overbearing pressure, bringing them all to their knees. I opened a portal and jumped through it without hesitation. ** -After Zeref left the camp- An eerie silence fell over the whole camp as soldiers questioned what kind of powerful monster had appeared and gone in such a short time. Some of the lower ranking soldiers had even pissed themselves from utter fear and shock. The powerful gaze and statement of Zeref imprinted in the high positioned men inside the tent, repeating like a broken record in their minds. All the arrogance and highly thoughts they had about themselves ceased to exist. What an overbearing individual. The pressure he had unveiled on these poor souls was almost on par with many monarchs. "R-red list him. We can''t have such a dangerous individual running around. He could threaten all of our positions." The king regained his thoughts and spoke, still gulping everytime Zeref''s words would play out again in his mind. "Didn''t you see that monster? We don''t have anyone that can even come close to killing him." One of the nobles retorted, forgetting all of the formalities. "Hire all the top ranking S Rank Hunters and our most powerful soldiers. We''ll take help from neighbouring nations if we have to!" The king shouted, gripping his teeth. ''Such a threat to my existence must die!'' Chapter 160 - Wanted (1) As I stepped out of the portal several armed military soldiers faced their mana guns at me, ready to shoot. "Raise your hands in the air. If you don''t stop we will kill all of the hostages!" A man standing behind the dozens of armed soldiers commanded. Threat after threat. Why did they want me to be a villain so bad? ''Godspeed.'' Time froze as even the movement of bees and flies became still. Blue sparks of lightning shot behind me as I moved at a blinding speed to a normal person''s eyes. At this moment I was a speedster. Even Time dilated due to the speed at which I was moving. Walking around the several guards, I made sure to punch them lightly and throw their weapons towards each other. I strolled past the arrogant commander giving him a punch in the nose, before entering the mansion. I had around One Minute in real world time to use Godspeed but with the time dilation this was increased to several minutes. Only if I pushed my body past 3 minutes would injuries start to overcome my body. [MP is dropping rapidly!] Maybe in the future I could get a skill that could help solve my mana problem.For Godspeed to be active for longer periods of time, I had to go through more metamorphosis reactions and keep evolving my body to overcome the stress. Mother, Malia, Jace, Mike and even Naz. They were all cooped up in a corner of the Living room. Shackles were put around their arms and legs and several guards held spears to their throats, ready to kill them at a word''s notice. . ''Indra''s Spear.'' Violent tendrils of lightning focused around my palm as I weaved around piercing all of the culprits'' hearts swiftly. 2 Minutes had passed and my MP was down by 25%. Fatigue was already starting to build up in my superhuman body, so it was ideal I saved them quickly. I knew after I had threatened the arrogant king, he would definitely try to hunt me down so I had to relocate with my close ones. Godspeed was turned off and the sparks of lightning around me began to disappear. Time went back to its normal state, all the soldiers in the living room falling to the ground, with blood gushing out from the holes in their chests. "Mother, are you okay?" I hugged my mother tightly, feeling her cold hands wrap around me. "Thank God you''re safe. We''re all fine dear. Zeref what''s going on? They just stormed in here withou-'''' Mother''s face went pale as several powerful mana pressures appeared outside our mansion. All above the 6th mana pool stage. Several cloaked figures stepped over the dead bodies laid all over the ground, before entering the mansion. "Zeref, we need to get out of here. You can''t beat all of them." Jace grabbed my shoulder, fear showing on his face. I let go of my mother and walked a couple steps forward, releasing my own mana pressure. My friends and mother watched as I stepped forward to fight back the powerful figures that had arrived. ''Lightning Aura.'' "I''ll help." Malia also walked forward but I shook my head. I knew she was still weak from the drug they used on her to knock her out so as of this moment she was in no shape for a fight. "I''ll buy you some time, wait for the portal to open up, it will take a couple minutes, just stay together and don''t let them come near you." I threw a portal device down on the ground. Mana drained from my body and went towards the portal device, to begin the charging up of the large portal. This portal was connected directly to the Elven Kingdom. I had used it a couple times already, so the device only had a single usage left. A Single journey. The figures locked their gazes on the people behind me and the large portal beginning to form. One of them was about to move to apprehend me but she was stopped by the large man in the front. He was the tallest out of the group of cloaked Powerful mages and even had a large broadsword on his back. He took off his cloak revealing his unique and familiar appearance. It was the Rank 1, S rank Hunter - Taras Black. "Stand down everyone." He ordered, with a domineering voice. Immediately, the tense atmosphere disappeared as all the S rank Hunters standing behind him retracted their mana pressures. "I''m sorry that we had to meet this way again, Zeref. I came here because you saved my life back in the Calamity Class Dungeon. I''m here to repay that debt; I know you were the one who cleared the dungeon, most of the credit went to me but in real terms you were the one who deserved all the glory. I want to thank you for that. "...Thank you for saving me. You should hurry up and go with your family. I''ll take all responsibility for your disappearance here and handle all matters that may appear. These S rank Hunters are part of my party so they will follow my lead." He smiled solemnly, as his body glowed with light mana. He unsheathed his broad sword and struck himself in the chest. "Taras!" The S rank Hunter next to him took off her hood and grabbed him. "At least now it''s more believable. Hurry Zeref! Your name has been blacklisted all across the Vrimeon Kingdom, I suggest you get going as there are even more powerful mages coming." Bzzt! The large portal finally opened up to its full size, Allefin jumped in first into the portal directing to the Elven Kingdom. Mike followed right after along with Jace and Naz. Malia held onto my mother''s hand before also jumping into the portal. "Thank you, friend.." I smiled at Taras one last time before jumping into the blue portal, making it close behind me. Chapter 161 - Wanted (2) As I exited the portal, luscious greenery covered my view. Large trees stood tall all around and I could feel several mana pressures of magic beasts dispersed around in the dense forest that we had landed into. The mana concentration was also much more concentrated in this forest, meaning the beasts were probably powerful too. "We need to move; we are not safe in this forest. Malia stay close to mother. Jace pair up with Naz. Mike stay on the rear. " I said, walking in front of the group. "Son, you need to tell us what''s going on. Why are we running?" Mother asked, with worried eyes. Her wrinkles deepened around her eyes and she looked drained from the terrifying experience. "I promise I''ll explain everything once we get somewhere safe. At the moment we are in the centre of this magic forest filled with hundreds of beasts. First we move and get somewhere safe, then we''ll talk." I replied. Everyone nodded looking at my stern face. Their eyes wandered around the forest trees in fear except for Malia. Apart from Malia and I, the others didn''t have much experience in hunting beasts or surviving in magic forests like these. I closed my eyes, expanding my sixth sense throughout the whole 20 Kilometre wide forest. There were hundreds of A rank and B rank Beasts and even several S rank beasts. I had to plan the safest route out of here. This forest was different to the one near the Elven City that I was in before. My aim was to seek help from the Elven Royal family since I had ties with Prince Landon already. The portal device must have been corrupted as it teleported us to the Eleven Kingdom but it was to a random coordinate within it. "Okay Let''s move." I began running east after planning out a safe pathway. Our destination was towards a small elven village that was situated near the edge of this large forest. It was best we found out information first about where we were. Glancing up at the sky, I could tell we had about several hours before the sun set. That was when things would become much more dangerous. I could definitely survive on my own, but now I had to protect 5 other individuals. Even Malia''s help was out of the question, whatever drug they used on her, it must have been extremely potent as the effects still lingered on her. After several hours of running, I stopped by a river to take a break. We had managed to cover 30% of the journey. Fatigue was starting to show on everyone''s faces so I decided it was best we took a break, I knew they suffered a lot mentally due to the experience back at the mansion so it was best we rested for today. "We''ll camp here for the night, it''s already starting to get dark. Jace and Mike, look for firewood and don''t go too far. Naz, Malia and Mother will set up the tents. I''ll set up some defences and look for food." Jace and Mike nodded moving together into the forest, normally they would argue or complain about working together but they knew this wasn''t the time. A powerful magic beast could pounce at any moment. Whilst they looked for firewood and the girls set up the tents from their dimension rings, I set up thick Ice walls around the tents and set up explosive mines around that would activate when anyone other than my small party stepped on it. ''Clones'' Two figures appeared in front of me by splitting from my body, each figure containing a ? of my original stats. They both nodded at me before they sprinted in two different directions activating ''Lightning Aura'' and holding Voadhailis''s Claws in their hands. I sent both my clones to do some cleaning up of our pathway for tomorrow and to clear the surrounding area of dangerous beasts. That would help me level up a couple times and also make our journey safer. I sat down in a lotus meditation position absorbing the concentrated mana into my mana pool. The clone skill consumed a lot of mana due to the fact that mana was needed for the skill to stay continuously activated and also due to the fact that the clones would use their own skills from my arsenal. I had to expend my own MP for each of their attacks. ** We all sat around a fire and roasted the meat that my clones had brought back. The atmosphere lightened up as the fresh smell of succulent meat raised the serious atmosphere. "So are you going to tell us why the Royal Family is chasing us or not? I don''t want to live as a fugitive my whole life, you know." Mike spoke, emphasising ''Royal Family'' to show that the situation was really messed up. I cut up some meat and passed it round before speaking. "It''s simple, the King threatened me and in response I shook him up a little. He must have felt frightened of my presence and ordered for you all to be seized. He knew he could get to me by hurting you guys so I hurried over and here we are. There''s nothing to worry about though, I''ll make sure we live comfortable lives here in the Elven Kingdom. They will protect us." "How can you just say that so casually?" Mike retorted, "We could have been killed and how can you even dare to go against the King? We''re talking about the KING here." "And I''m a f*cking Demon King." The atmosphere reverberated at my words, making everyone look at me wide eyed. "Wait what does that mean?" Naz asked, looking at me weirdly. I took off my eyepatch revealing my Demon eye, an ancient black symbol was perfectly designed, mixing well with the red. Mother looked uncomfortable when she looked at the demon eye whilst the others inspected it in shock. Only my mother, Jace and Malia knew, the others were oblivious to the matter. "Y-You''re a demon. Since when? No wonder you wear an eyepatch all the time." Mike exclaimed. "During my training with Gramps, I met a man called Kayden Von Sinister and he bestowed me with a new bloodline, the blood of demons. This boosted my power and changed my body. What I didn''t know was that he had made me the lone successor of Demon King Lucifer. That Calamity Class threat that happened a couple months ago. That was all Lucifer''s doing. "I was the one who cleared the final floor, not Taras. That''s why Taras let us go, I saved his life and was the actual person who cleared the dungeon. The last floor was where a wisp of Lucifer''s soul lay. I had a fight with him and won. This ended up causing me to fully awaken the Demon Blood within me and gain some of Lucifer''s powers and other things. "However, now that I have officially become Lucifer''s successor, I''m now dragged into the Demon Kingdom''s politics. I have to attend a heritage war and officially take the title of a Demon King." Everyone stared at me in silence. This was the whole and entire truth about the demon incident. I hadn''t told anyone yet apart from this one time. "As you all know my life is different to the average man''s. I''m a candidate, in fact I''m the Lightning Candidate.. All these events must happen in order for me to have enough strength to become the Lightning monarch. They must happen in order for me to have the power to protect the people I love"