Chapter 4: Unexpected Occurrence

The sun gradually fell, setting the sky with an orange tint. The road back was as clear and vacant as ever. No one could be seen except the two of them.

They’ve supported each other as they traveled towards the academy. As they continue walking, Yin noticed that it became more difficult to synchronize his pace with Vega. All it took were a few glances to see that Vega intentionally slowed his pace so that he wouldn’t lagged behind.

After entering the academy’s gate, Yin halted his steps and said, “Go on without me.”

Vega turned his head around with a curious expression. “What’s wrong?” Vega asked.

“I’m going to head over to my room and get my wand. Why don’t you decide our team name and register it with the Headmaster?” Yin suggested.

Vega agreed and they parted ways.

Yin languished towards a wooden bench near the gate of the academy. Every step felt unusually heavier than before. It was like his legs were anchored with two hundred-pound weights. A brief pause to breathe was set between every step. He struggled to muster all the remaining strength inside of him. One leg forward followed by a short rest, and then the next leg forward.

His body slumped onto a wooden bench stationed near the academy’s gate. The heavy thud sound captured the attention of the surrounding spectators. They were curious, but not invasive. They left him alone, passing it off as a student who wanted to take a nap before the festival.

It hasn’t even been a day, and yet Yin already began to have thoughts of his uncle and parents. Uncle would be calling for me to set up the table at this time. Mom and dad… The urge to sleep creep towards his eyes and gently closed the curtains. His mind drifted toward the deep abyss. The boy snoozed on the comfort of the rough, harden bench.

The boy slept soundly, unaware to the passage of time. The orange sky lost its vibrant color and the darkness soon dominated its entirety. Street lights along the road of the academy repelled the darkness from the students and their festivities. Students traveled from stall to stall, inspecting the vendor’s service or entertainments. The sounds of laughter and joy spreading through the air was contagious enough to infect every student with happiness.

The lids covering the boys’ eyes slowly peeled backwards.

Small specks of light hanged in the sky. Yin extended his hand, trying to grasp a single star that was deceptively close, but the only thing he grasped was the invisible, omnipresent air. So close, and yet so far away.

“What are you doing?” A familiar feminine voice asked.

Yin tilted his head back and noticed Vale in the academy’s uniform – a long dark brown shirt with a white shirt underneath it, and a tight, dark brown pants to accompany the shirt. The word “Highborn” was etched onto the collar of the shirt in a golden fiber.

“The same as always.” Yin replied. His head returned to its original position and his eyes gazed at the stars.

“That really explains a lot.” Vale sarcastically said. She took out a vial of red liquid from her breast-pocket and rested it on top of the boy’s hand.

“Don’t want it.” Yin said as soon as he realized the item in his hand.

“I’ve already gave one to Vega. It’s only fair that you receive one as well.” Vale insisted.

“You shouldn’t be giving expensive stuff like this to people for free.”

“The price of an item is subjective. What is pricey to one person may be cheap to another.”

“Please don’t flaunt your family’s money in front of a poor student. I would pay someone to think of a comeback if I was as rich as you.”

“The excessive amount of wealth is held by those who research and calculate their spending. You won’t stay rich if you hire someone to create an original, witty, and critical remark.”

“Is that what your father told you?”

“Much like how your uncle educates you on the way of life, my father also has his own unique way to show his love.”

Yin sighed and mentally calculated the amount of money he took for granted since his childhood. “Thanks Vale. I’ll pay the three of you back someday.”

“Gratitude is not something that you tell people – you show it through your actions. Isn’t that what your uncle once said?”

“Uncle’s Life Advice #34. I’m amaze that you’d actually remember it.”

“His tidbits are often worth listening to. Anyway, Melody and Vega will be waiting at the front gates in an hour or so. I have tasks to finish before tonight, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Vale was about to walk away, but stopped upon hearing the boy asking, “What are you going to do?”

“A young, naïve boy once said these famous words: ‘The same as always.’” Vale smiled and left, disappearing into the ocean of students.

Really? Using my own words against me? Yin stood up from the bench and navigated his way to the boy’s dormitory.

The boy’s dormitory and girl’s dormitory laid at the center of the four castles. Lights illuminated through the windows of the students’ rooms from both of the rectangular buildings. The silhouettes of students can be seen through the translucent curtains, shielding the student’s room from prying eyes.

Yin entered the left building and walked up a set of stairs to room #19914. His luggage was left here when he detoured with Aoblue earlier in the day.

The lock clicked upon having the key card inserted into the only slit found on the lock.

Yin turned the handle, open the door, and stepped inside.

A long, red carpet split the room in two. The preset items found on one side of the room mirrored the other side. A big, comfy bed was placed at the center of the left and right wall facing each other. Office desks, wooden chairs, lamps, dressers, and bookshelves sat to the side of the bed engraved with the word ‘Highborn.’ Two windows were positioned at the furthest wall from the door with white curtains.

Yin laid on the floor and rolled towards the left side of the room that had his luggage laying on the bed. The soft, brown carpet cushioned his body as the boy rolled towards the bed.

He reached for the wooden wand in his luggage and crawled towards the bathroom’s door located next to the window.

The bathtub’s faucet turned to the right and a burst of water came pouring out. The vial given to him by Vale was poured into the bathtub. The clear water turned light-red and splashed as he flopped into the tub.  The water rushed through the boy’s scalp that was positioned directly underneath the faucet and his skin and clothes began to wash away their impurities. The temperature of the water was adjusted with the wave of his wand.

After an hour of rest and preparation, Yin, rejuvenated and dressed in the school’s uniform, walked towards the academy’s gate.

A variety of assortments caught his eyes, but the one thing that made him drool was the variety of festival drinks on display. Grape Rockers, Cloudy Strawberry, Ice and Chill – Yin didn’t know if they were good or not, so he bought them. As expected, his judgement didn’t betray him. Yin indulged in the liquid sweets, and before he knew it, he arrived at the academy gates.

Looking left and right, he didn’t find the people he was expecting to see. Am I early? Yin thought as he sat down on the wooden bench.

Melody was wandering near the front gates until she found a lonely boy sitting on a wooden bench.

“Yin! Over here!” Melody raised her hand high into the air and waved at him.

Yin saw her, and walked up to her.

Melody couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle as she watched the boy approached her.

“Did something happen?” Yin asked.

“Nope, nothing at all. I just couldn’t help but think how sad it was to see you by yourself.” Melody giggled while suppressing her laughter.

Yin sighed and asked the whereabouts of the other two.

As if waiting for the exact question, Melody quickly grabbed his hand and led him to a crowd of students. The crowd of students encircled two other students who, presumably, attends Highborn Academy. The two encircled students wore the uniform that had ‘Highborn’ etched into the collar.

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“Isn’t that Vega?” Yin asked. Despite their identical uniform, Yin immediately knew it was Vega by seeing his one-of-a-kind hair and his fighting posture.

Melody nodded her head and said, “This is an educational one-on-one duel that allows people to learn from each other. Look over there.” Melody pointed to a line of students among the crowd.

At the front of the line was Vale comfortably sitting on a plastic chair with a sack of coins in her lap.

Educational? I don’t buy it at all. Yin thought as he scanned the crowd of students and saw a few with small cuts and bruises on their faces.

It was obvious to him that they were all benefiting from this one way or another. Vega gets to beat up anyone he wants without any repercussions. Vale looks calm, but he had a vibe that she was really happy hearing the coins clinging in her lap. Melody had an unsettling huge grin on her face; she seems way too happy watching a few people beat each other up.

“Next!” Vale shouted, cueing the next person in line to enter the encirclement.

A couple of students dragged the fallen student out of the ring, leaving Vega the only one left.

“No one is using magic. Is this a brawl only duel?” Yin asked.

“Yup,” Melody said gleefully, “This is for education, not an entertaining deathmatch.”

The crowd of students began gossiping upon Vega’s sixth victory.

“What’s going on? How can that kid be so strong?”

“Did you see that last kick he withstood? It didn’t even faze him at all!”

“Maybe he’s just putting up an act to trick us into thinking that he’s undefeatable?”

A bulky fighter entered the ring after paying the fee. It was hard to miss his bulging muscles that made his uniform cry. His thick eyebrows and dark red hair made his intimidating stature fiercer.

Vega tilted his head back to meet the eyes of the towering fighter. “Are you my next opponent?”

“Don’t mind me. I’m just here to relieve some stress.” His smirk combined with his reply seemed to rubbed Vega in a bad way.

“Don’t worry, stress will be the last thing on your mind after today’s fight.” Vega replied with disdainful eyes.

“Oh, those eyes… Looks like I’ve accidentally hit a weak spot.” The fighter laughed.

“Enough talk! Did you come here to fight or what?” Vega readied his defensive posture.

“I’ve never seen you around here before. Judging by your uniform, you must be a student here and not an outsider. What’s your name?” The fighter asked.

“I’m going to knock you out so hard, you won’t even remember my name.” Vega said, the impatience and annoyance could clearly be felt from his voice.

“I’ve been watching you, and you’re nothing impressive. I’ll teach you a lesson to really show where you belong.” The fighter cracked his knuckles and repeatedly shifted his center-of-gravity between his left leg and right leg.

Vegas’ brows narrowed as he glanced at Vale, waiting for the signal to commence the fight.

Just as Vale was about to signal the start of the fight, Melody’s impatience reached her utmost limit and she shouted, “Fight already!”

As if waiting for the words all along, the two quickly dashed at each other at their highest speed. In just a quick second, the two threw one punch at each other and exchanged blows.

The fighter, unexpected of the strength lying in Vega’s punch, intentionally took the hit and was sent flying back towards the crowd. Luckily there were people there to cushion his fall, otherwise the punch could have proven to be more fatal.

Vega smiled and boasted his victory with a pose. The girls screamed at his glamorous victory – a one-hit knockout! The crowd began to gossip again. They couldn’t believe that someone like Vega could actually have that much strength hidden within him, judging by his lean muscles. The previous fighters were of the same build as Vega, but this one was way out of his league. Most of the students thought that Vega would’ve been defeated.

That idiot! Vale mentally screamed.

The fighter shook off the stupor that haunted his mind and shouted, “He’s cheating!”

The crowd began to come to a complete silence upon hearing the challenger. Their thoughts aligned with his.

“He must be using some kind of physical enhancements and physical resistance,” the fighter insisted, “otherwise how else could he be so strong?”

“Do you have proof?” Vega calmly asked.

“Proof? Proof?! How can a stick such as yourself be stronger than a trunk like me?!” The fighter shouted.

The spectator thought the exact same thing. It only took one glance to see that there was no physical possibility for Vega to win in one punch. Only with the help of magic can one achieve such feats.

The fighter glared at Vale and exclaimed, “I thought there wasn’t magic involved in this fight! This is a scam!”

The background noise raised their volume in agreement with the defeated fighter. The previous fighters also voiced their opinions, siding with the fighter on this matter.

Vale was cursing and beating the living daylight out of Vega in her mind, but on the outside, she looked as calmed as ever. “Please,” she smiled, “those accusations will only taint your image. You could’ve proudly walked away as one of the many fighters who’ve lost today and felt absolutely zero remorse. However, you’re acting like a baby, throwing a tantrum because you didn’t win, and dumping these baseless accusations at me like a sore loser. You’re really destroying your image.”

The crowd rose in an uproar. Some students immediately switched sides and cheer for the silent girl who suddenly became badass.

Others were still siding with the fighter – Vale failed to mention anything in regards to Vega’s questionable strength.

The veins in the fighters' muscles were on the brink of popping. “What did you say?! This whole thing is rigged! I’ll pummel that pretty lips of yours, and we’ll see whose image will be destroyed!”

“Do I look like a practice dummy to you? There are plenty of trees outside the gates. Go hit those, and make sure to use your head - not your fist. Maybe your brain will fix itself if you rattle it hard enough.” Vale fearlessly said.

Vega, Melody, and Yin immediately rushed over and stood in front of Vale. They couldn’t just watch Vale handle this by herself.

Vale sighed upon seeing Vega rushing to her side. She really wanted to beat him up right now for ruining such a good plan. His defensive act solidifies the fact that they know each other.

The fighter laughed and said, “I knew it! These two were together! Boys, come on out and help me!”

Two students from the crowd emerge and stood beside the fighter, both wearing the school’s uniform. They held a wand in their hands, waiting for a cue from the fighter.

“I can’t believe this is really happening…” Yin took out his wand from his pocket and readied himself for battle.

Before anything could’ve happened, a bright light flashed before their eyes followed by a shout. “Stop!”

The dark night recovered its dominance, and all of the students’ eyes fell upon a man in a blue cloak.

“Magic is prohibited unless authorized by official faculties!” The man looked at the three students with their wands out. “You three, come with me. Everyone else, break it up! Go back and enjoy the festival. This may be your last one.”

Yin sighed and complied, and so did the other two students. They exited the festival under the guidance of the man whom Yin presumes to be a professor at this academy.

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I'm super late with this chapter. Lots of things happen, but the semester is almost over and I'll be pumping out more chapters in the summer!

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Fixed many typos.