“What do you think Mr. Warwick?”
His teacher had just asked him something and he had no idea what it was. He was in monsters class but had been daydreaming. The teacher was a substitute for Ms. Griffith who had been gravely injured. The substitute’s name was Lilith Harktale. She was ok, but Jack really missed Ms. Griffith. Ms. Harktale was looking right at him and he needed something to say.
“Uhhhh,” Jack tried to think of what she had been talking about.
“I am waiting.” After a moment luckily someone else answered the question and he was able to relax. He was distracted by the monster. They were still hunting and hadn’t found it yet. Now they were also searching for the human machine because they found footprints near Ms. Griffith’s unconscious body. It had been a couple of days. They said it may be a while before she woke up and they were supposed to just go back to class like it was nothing. Ms. Griffith had been a very nice and supportive teacher. She had believed him from the beginning about the monster and had gone into the crypts to hunt it. She was one of the greatest hunters in the country and if she couldn’t handle the abomination then who could?
Class ended soon after and Jack headed to lunch. Now he was being escorted everywhere by two guards. They were doing a decent job of being inconspicuous by wearing academy clothing, but they were both monster specialists and they carried obvious weapons with them. Jack did his best to ignore them as he walked into the cafeteria. Jack saw the entire squad sitting together so he quickly grabbed some food and joined them. “Hey!” Sable said when he saw Jack.
“Hey.” It was quiet as Jack sat down. Everyone in the group knew about Ms. Griffith. Apparently, she was a teacher to many students, and everyone was sad. Jack decided to talk about how the squad did in the tournament to try and distract everybody. “Has anyone looked at the stats for our duels?” Even Chad didn’t seem enthused. Jack accessed the cyber pad on his wrist. He had been upgrading it and had connected it to the academy’s wireless network. He only had basic access but he could see information about himself and other students. Looking at his profile showed some simple stats that he had been given a ranking out of ten.
Jack Warwick
Offense - 5
Defense - 2
Intelligence - 3
Skill – 3
The stats were disappointing, but looking at Ariel’s showed a different result.
Ariel Rambova
Offense – 8
Defense – 8
Intelligence – 8
Skill – 8
“Holy cow Ariel! Your stats are really high, you must be one of the best first years.” Chad said. He seemed to have forgotten about Ms. Griffith and was leaning across the table looking at the stats. “Show me, show me!”
Chad Dromio
Offense – 9
Defense – 1
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Intelligence – 1
Skill – 5
“Awww man, I was really hoping for a ten in offense. I’ll do even better next time!” He didn’t seem to notice the score of any of the other attributes.
“uh, ok. I guess let’s see Sable.” Jack said.
Sable Barton
Offense – 5
Defense – 8
Intelligence – 3
Skill – 5
“All right!” Sable was happy with his scores.
“I guess that just leaves you Salem,” Jack said. Salem looked worried.
Salem Dunne
Offense – 10
Defense – 10
Intelligence – 10
Skill – 10
“Whoa,” Jack said. Salem just looked angry when he saw the data.
“This happens every time,” he said angrily. They are scared of making my family angry, so they rank me easily. I hate it!”
“I mean, that’s a pretty nice problem to have.” Sable retorted.
“Shut up. You don’t understand what it is like to have a family that only cares about its name!”
It was quiet. This was the first time the group had any sort of disagreement, and the tension was thick. After a moment Salem spoke again.
“I’m sorry. My whole life I’ve been working my ass off with a huge disability….” He pulled back a sleeve and examined the machinery that was attached to his arm. “Just once I want to be recognized for my own skill. Not that of my family name.”
Jack closed the screen. “Do you guys wanna go practice sparring?”
Chad spoke. “Naw, I gotta study for a test in Magic Fundamentals. Do you guys have Ms. Gigleberry?” Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. “Lucky. She is the worst. She loves tests.” With that Chad got up and left. Salem was sitting quietly staring at the table. Sable and Ariel were trying to look busy. Salem looked at Jack.
“So are you gonna tell us why two professional monster hunters are following you.”
“oh, uh, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.” The men were each standing inconspicuously around the room, but they looked on edge and were constantly looking around.
“I don’t know if Chad has noticed them, but we all have. Are you going to tell us?”
“I’m not really supposed to.”
“I understand,” He looked sad. “Do you know whom that is protecting you?” He asked changing the subject.
“Which one?”
Salem pointed toward the gentleman standing closer to the group. He was wearing simple security garb, but he had a very large sword attached to his back. “That is Igneus Irontail. He is a member of the Royal Whispers. He is one of the best swordsmen in the world, not just Lidad. I have seen him fight in the Coliseum, he has absorbed four metal cores. I looked up to him as a child.”
“Really? Well, why not go say hello to him?”
Salem looked appalled at the idea. “n..no I couldn’t.”
“well currently his job is to follow me around, so I don’t think he would mind something more interesting to think about for a bit.” Jack waved the man over.
He walked over. He was tall, blonde, and had multiple scars on his face. “What’s going on?”
Jack gestured towards Salem. “This is my friend Salem Dunne. He is a huge fan.”
“Salem Dunne?” Igneus asked. “I have heard of you.” He said holding out his hand.
“I hope this isn’t because of my name,” Salem replied.
“Your name?” Igneus asked confused. Pulling his hand back.
“Dunne. You don’t know that name?”
“I know the name,” Igneus confirmed. “But that’s not why I have heard of you. Multiple teachers have approached me about taking you under my wing due to your phenomenal metal control.”
Salem’s normal cocky and quiet demeanor collapsed into a mess. His face went white, and he started stuttering. “I..I…uh…I’m so sorry.”
“Well well well,” Jack mocked. “Looks like someone is known for something other than his family name.”
Salem completely ignored Jack and continued to profusely apologize. “I am so sorry. Please allow me to apologize for my demeanor. I have become accustomed to people only recognizing me for my name. I should have known an impressive individual such as yourself would not do something so simple.”
“I have been meaning to set up a meeting, but I have been preoccupied.” He said. The man was obviously good at his job. The entire time he was talking to the group he was looking around. Jack could see him constantly analyzing for threats. With the man standing closer, Jack looked at his sword. It was absolutely massive. It was a simple rectangle shape with the handle replacing a small piece of the rectangle. The sword was an inch thick and didn’t seem to have any sharp edges. Such a unique design, I wonder how he wields it.
The trumpet alarm sounded signaling that lunch would be over soon. The sound was every student’s least favorite part of the academy. It always seemed to come from everywhere. It was impossible to escape the sound. The group of students grumbled as they collected their things and headed off to afternoon classes.