[AN: And here comes the 1st (8th?) heroine! Enjoy.]
Edit May 11th 2015 - Formatted to newest standards.
Legend:
Italics style - what's happening in the Soul Realm.
Normal style - what's happening in the 'outside' World.
[Name: Normal Conversation.]
[Name: *SFX or actions*]
[Name: "Thoughts."]
[--Name--: Conversation inside Soul Realm or Telepathy]
[
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[Time: 2 days after the 'accident' T:12:31 / M:10th D:23rd Y:13251]
[Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship 'Hades' 12th Girls Dormitory]
Although it was already noon young girl was still laying covered inside her blanket. Eyes visibly swollen, with bags under them it was clear that this night she didn't get much sleep.
[Mersa: Vorst...]
A coarse voice whispered a name of a boy that was like a little brother to her. She already ran out of tears and couldn't even cry anymore. An unbelievable sadness washed over her... That's right he is no more...
Click.
A door to her room suddenly opened, several people entered it.
[Mersa: Leave me alone...]
Cold voice came from a living blanket.
[???: ...]
[Mersa: ...]
[???: My next words might shock you but you must remember to keep your calm.]
[Mersa: LEAVE. ME. ALONE!]
Young girl raised her voice to utmost levels.
[???: ... He woke up.]
At that moment girl felt as if a thunder ran through her body. With the sudden movement she threw the blanket away, her body was fully charged with nano-photons and she was already rushing towards the door.
[???: Please calm down.]
One of the people in the room caught her, despite having incredible potential she still was too young to pose a threat to those adults.
[Mersa: Is that true? LIES! If it is true then let me see him! Principal!]
Principal of the Heran Combat School was a man who in Earth standards looked like he was in his early 30s, but his real age was somewhere close to 700 years, he also was one of the strongest in the Kollos Alliance. Handsome, powerful, rich, with authority, he clearly had many secret admirers, however he stayed single the whole time, and no one knew the real reason.
[Principal: Please calm down young lady. We will let you see him in a while, but first you should change your clothes, it is hardly appropriate for you to leave the room in that attire.]
Mersa's face reddened, right now she was only in her colorful nightie with flowery pattern. After quick change of clothes she was walking down the corridor with the Principal.
[Principal: Do you understand? Although he woke up, he seems to be in serious situation. He didn't interacted with anyone at all. There is no response to anyone. We suspect that he is under the effect of the amnesia. He must have suffered quite a big blow...]
Doctor who was walking next to him was troubled.
[Doctor: "It's totally strange, he suffered a rank 8 poison and it was the most lethal type, one that dealt a direct blow towards his crystal core. And I myself saw that yesterday his crystal core was completely liquidized, how did he wake up?!"]
Principal continued.
[Principal: He didn't recognize me. He might not recognize you either. Also... He underwent a bit of transformation... please be prepared for that Mersa-san.]
[Mersa: Yes Principal-sensei.]
Young girl was now completely different from a while ago. With composed attitude she walked alongside those adults, her voice also regained her usual calm. And they finally arrived at their destination. She felt nervous as her hand touched the handle of the door... Behind this door... 'He' was there... With wildly beating heart she pressed the handle...
And there was 'he'. An youth sitting on the hospital bed, right at that moment he was calmly watching the scenery outside the window.
It was him. His face. His nose. His mouth. His hands. Then he turned his head towards her...
Green eyes.
[Mersa: "So this is what Principal talked about..."]
Previous Vorst had grey eyes with a little muddy feeling to them. Although he was older he behaved like a child thus to her he was nothing more than a little brother she doted on. However the Vorst before her was different. With amnesia or not his eyes had that crystal clear shine to them. The green spheres were carefully inspecting her, evaluating, analyzing... Before the incident she thought about him as a little brother. After the incident thinking about him caused her chest hurt. When she heard that he woke up she felt relieved. And now... Her vision blurred as tears uncontrollably swelled up.
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[Time: 2 hours earlier T:10:13 / M:10th D:23rd Y:13251]
[Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship 'Hades' Hospital Ward]
Gibberish. That's how everything sounded to him. It was completely different from that time inside his soul. Inside his 'domain' he could easily decipher the thoughts of the other person as well as deliver his. But outside it was a completely different matter, he didn't understood a word.
[Nurse-san: !^@^@#$^&%%@&(@#$!&.]
[Marc/Vorst: ...]
[Nurse-san: @%$!&*&%#^@$$&(!!@#]
[Marc: ...]
[Nurse-san: !@@%$#&(%&&#$^%&@#$]
[Marc: ...]
Then group of men entered the room.
[Principal: @!#^&%#$%^*@#$%&*!@#$!^@$]
[Marc: ...]
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[Time: 1 hour later]
[Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship 'Hades' Hospital Ward]
[Principal: How is he?]
[Doctor: He doesn't react at all, according to readings we get from his Photon Core he doesn't recognize anyone, no change in his photon movement, nothing..]
[Principal: And his eyes?]
[Doctor: That change... I don't know... I'm sorry... Maybe he is experiencing a sub-trans, but I'm not sure. Maybe it was because of the poison? Maybe because his crystal core reformed itself? But how could it reform? I... I don't know.]
Elder man only shook his head. Principal also shook his head.
[Principal: This is first in history. We have to keep this confidential, after all that we need to treat that girl with care. As she matures she will become one of the strongest, Kollos Alliance needs her. Crimson Empire is preparing for the war...]
[Doctor: Understood. Apart from me only you and 'she' knows that his core dissolved last night. Though that information...]
[Principal: Although possibility of reforming the crystal core might give us unimaginable possibilities we will risk too much. According to our intel Crimson Empire found and is cultivating 2 Elves. And you have to remember that she is a hybrid elf!]
Sub-race classification is divided into three tiers, Low, Med, and High. Low accounting for roughly 70% of the population, Med 25% and High 4% leaving 1% for hybrid Tier. Those three levels are then divided into 3 classes Bottom, normal and Upper, normal being 90% of the tier, leaving 5% for both Bottom and Upper class. Neo-Aris belong to Bottom Low(BLow), on the other hand Elves are Upper High (UHigh) level.
Just for comparison a Hybrid subs of two Low ranking sub-races are generally equal in power to normal Med ranking sub. Principal is also a hybrid, a Med/Med Tiger/Lion Hybrid and he is already considered to be one of the top in power. But Mersa? She is a UHigh/Med hybrid. First ever. She is also an Elf! One of the rarest High subs, any elf is known to show incredible Psychic powers which are capable of turning the tides of the entire battle. Principal knows that once she grows up the Crimson Empire will seriously have to think before lifting a finger on Kollos.
[Principal: Also, we were late. If not for that child she would be gone, there is no amount of service we can do to re compensate him for that. That child put his life on line for her.]
Both of men sighed. Black Scorpion incident definitely aimed at the 'Wolf Princess' and they let it happen right under their noses.
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Mersa was laying on her bed as she thought about the past. Six years ago she found herself in the orphanage. She couldn't remember her parents at all, no one knew what happened, all she knew that there was war and a lot of other children were in the same predicament as her.
As months passed by she found out that she was a bit different from other children. She loved the nature, and as other children were playing around she would rather sit down and watch clouds or flowers. It wasn't because she didn't like those children, it was more like nature fascinated her - way more than dolls or playing house. Thus bit by bit she was isolated from her peers which led to bullying. That day again several girls joined together to pressure and throw offensive remarks at her. She couldn't handle it anymore and ran away. Ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, ran until she couldn't anymore. She tripped. Well, running blindly while crying wasn't the smartest choice. As she laid on the ground sobbing 'he' approached her to help her. It was the first time they met.
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Orphanage's 'Loser'. 'He' belonged to the 'powerless' race, in fact any sub-race was stronger than Neo-Aris, in Photon world they were truly weakest of them all. 'He' endured bullies every day. 'He' endured verbal abuse everyday. If she were to tell adults they will scold her bullies, but 'he'... They turned the blind eye on him... 'He' was even forced to live outside the Orphanage... 'He' definitely had it way worse than her.
In the evening adults came to bring her back to Orphanage. The boy on the other hand was ignored... However after this event she continued to visit him and they quickly became friends, and in fact little Mersa would visit him everyday. One day boy confessed that his dream was to become a 'Swordsman'.
She was stunned. Becoming a Swordsman required to be at least 10th HST. Only 1 out of 1000 people would attain that level, and it was a common knowledge that even for Upper Low sub-race the limit was 5th HST. And 'powerless' one before her was aiming for a 'Swordsman'!
For Vorst life wasn't easy, in the morning he would go round the forest to gather some food in the wilderness, but in the evening he would enjoy time with Mersa who finished her duties in the Orphanage. Most of the time she would just sit and watch him swing the wooden stick.
Days, months, years passed by peacefully...
Then one day everything changed. That evening as usual she was watching the boy making some awkward swings, then a sharp pain ran through her forehead. Hearing her scream Vorst immediately arrived by her side...
There are two major elvish characteristic. One of them is a long, pointy ears. Mersa had those, in fact all of the Wolf sub-race had it... That's how it was hidden so well. Second is the 'elvish gem' that appears on the elf's forehead at the time when his first Psychic powers manifested. And that's what happened to Mersa.
After that everything happened in a flash. Next morning several women arrived in front of the orphanage...
"I'm not leaving Vorst!" Childish tantrum was quickly resolved by "Then you two can come together." Though escorts' faces froze as they saw the 'powerless' they didn't openly show their dissatisfaction. They were pro after all. That's how they joined one of the most elite academies in the Kollos Alliance. Mersa as an 'elf' received a VIP treatment, along with Vorst who was together with her.
Once again she recalled the image of Vorst and his green eyes...
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Several hours earlier.
Marc was leisurely watching the scenery outside his window, then he heard the doors open. When he turned his head he saw a girl. Her eyes were clearly swollen, seeing him her tears poured out with new vigor as she threw her arms around his neck. That was no way to treat a patient, but both Doctor and Principal knew that the boy was completely healthy. The poison that affected him was only harmful towards the crystal core.
[Mersa: Vorst! #$##^%#@**#$^%. Vorst... (Vorst! Thank God! You are alive... Vorst...) ]
[Marc: ...]
[Mersa: *sob sob*]
[Marc: ... Mer-sa.]
[Mersa: &^#$%@&*@$%%^$# Vor^@. ^$$#^@$^@$$ (I'll protect you. I'll absolutely protect Vor-chan. So please don't go anywhere...) ]
[Marc: ... *continues to pet her*]
And at that moment 'it' happened. Suddenly Marc felt that ever familiar stab feeling in his chest. Pupils in his eyes dilated, then immediately regained their sharpness. They contracted as he moved his sight down to the young girl in his arms. His face for a second had a hint of resignation... At that moment a scene shocked the other people present. Originally dark gray fur on girl's head slowly changed color. It became brighter and brighter until it reached a pure white...
Both men present were utterly speechless. They knew the rank of White Wolves. In the Kollos Alliance there were three White Wolves one was Upper Circle Tier. (After High Step Tier there are three Circle Tier). Two others were Rankers (people who achieved Rank level, past Circle). Rankers were definitely the strongest among the living beings. What's more White Wolves were definitely in Upper High category of sub-races... Which would imply that an UHigh/UHigh hybrid was born... Two men looked at each other... They both nodded... Tomorrow they will have her test her sub-race again to confirm it.
That's what happened several hours earlier...
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Right now Marc was still sitting on the hospital bed watching the outside world through his window. In fact that was just a facade, the real him was immersing himself in analyzing the sounds he heard today. All of today's lines were replaying in his mind indefinitely. He did the same with every single image, with every single gesture, every single muscle, everything was analyzed, divided. Conquered. Then he again stumbled on the image of the crying girl that was in his arm. And that feeling of something piercing inside his soul...
[--???--: Congratulations, you finally crossed the line. Now that the little girls are finally in your strike zone Dalia will be overjoyed.]
A voice resounded inside his consciousness.
[--Marc--: Lily! But.. You... Then...]
[--Lily--: That's right.]
As the voice confirmed his suspicions Marc immediately retracted back to his soul space. Young boy immediately appeared in front of the throne. In the middle there was a girl sitting in quite unladylike posture. Her partially disheveled red hair was reaching her hip line. Wearing a gorgeous white dress, which at this moment was a bit undone nearly showing a portion of her bust, she exerted a bewitching aura with her smile as if she was indirectly asking 'Do you like what you see?'
[Lily: Hey Marc.]
[???: Greetings m'lord.]
[Marc: Lily, Calla.]
Marcdrak answered as he turned his head towards the second girl that was now awake. A raven-haired girl was sitting on the arm of the throne with her legs crossed. With her side turned towards him she looked like a statue. Elegant, dignified aura surrounded her as she watched him cautiously.
[Lily: Marc's new look is sooooo cute, I could get used to it.]
[Marc: Don't I'll grow...]
[Calla: Black hair... Green eyes... It's as if he was m'lord and my... our c-child...]
[Marc & Lily: ...]
[Calla: N-no! Please don't misunderstand m'lord. It's not like I have an excessive urge to bear m'lord child, though I absolutely don't mind. It's just seeing m'lord like this I have an urge to hug him...]
[Lily: *Snicker*]
[Marc: ...]
[Lily: That reminds me, is that child Lord Marcdrak's new target?]
She was obviously referring to Mersa. Redhead quickly fixed her appearance as she carefully left the throne. There were five more girls sleeping there after all.
[Marc: ...]
When the question is too difficult to answer it's best to keep silent. 40,000 years of experience has it merits. Furthermore at this moment Marc face was also buried in something very soft. Calla was 1.86m high, and with Marc's new appearance as child his face was in perfect height for a treat. Though black haired goddess wasn't excessively endowed they weren't small either. They were absolutely perfect.
[Calla: I believe in m'lord. And even if he commits the crime I'll continue to follow m'lord no matter what.]
[Marc: ... Still... Calla, you should have called me.]
[Calla: But m'lord was busy, then he was busy with that little girl, then afterwards too...]
[Marc: ... *sigh*]
[Lily: Hmm... Marc, you were learning the language right?]
[Marc: Yes.]
[Lily: How far are you?]
[Marc: I'm halfway done, with what I got today I think I'll be able to reach 80% which will be more than enough for small talks. The rest can be finished tomorrow.]
[Lily: Hehe, you never cease to amaze. Even though it's a completely different language in completely different world with no clues you can still get a grasp of it in just few hours. My estimation is a week for me, with your help maybe three days...]
[Marc: Feel free to ask me if you need something... Now...]
Aura surrounding Marc suddenly became solemn as his face showed the majesty of the King. Feeling the change Calla immediately released him, then she knelt on one knee and bowed her head, Lily also immediately followed in the same fashion...
[Calla: M'lord.]
[Lily: Lord Marcdrak.]
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[AN: Mersa Power Up GET, I'll leave deeper introduction of other heroines in the next one. Ah, and Marc's hair before the banishment was blond.]