“Are you sure about your decision?”

Freya caressed Amelia’s hair as she asked again.

It has been since the young girl was discharged from the hospital situated in the middle of nowhere. Neither the commander, Jennifer, nor Freya had forced Amelia to stay in the Witch Association nor train under their tutelage.

They give her multiple choices and, eventually, Amelia agreed to stay and learn from the best.

In fact, Amelia could have gone to the prestigious academy in the capital of the Witch Association. This academy was no less inferior to Erys, but it only had female students and the overall number of students was significantly less than Erys or the school in the Serey Zhan Empire. However, in return, each and every student was incredibly talented.

“Alright. From this point forth, you are my and Jenny’s student.”

“I’ll be in your case.” Replied Amelia while politely bowing her head.

Once the brief conversation came to an end, the sulking Jennifer sitting behind her desk stood up. She cleaned her golden-rimmed spectacles and then pointed outside of the tent while sternly speaking,

“There’s no time to waste. We’re beginning now.”

Soon after, the three of them were at the center of the temporary camp, situated in a grassy and peaceful valley.

Freya cut a bit of her hand and dropped her blood on the ground, which formed a large barrier that blocked sound and shrouded their figures.

“Knowing how talkative Freya may be, I’m she told you about me.” Added the commander with her usual unchanging expression.

“W-well… not everything. Hehehe.” The assistant let out an embarrassed chuckle and stepped back, unwilling to suffer the wrath of her superior.

As for Amelia, she stood straight and quietly listened, determined to acquire power.

“You fused with the Crown of the Paths of Extinctions System whereas I merged with the one from the Royal Path System. They are entirely different Systems but they share a lot of fundamental functions and minor details. Do you remember what your ability was back then?”

Amelia pondered for a bit then hesitantly answered, “I think it was some sort of black-lightning?”

“Lightning-aspected? That’s a bit unusual. Anyway…”

Jennifer snapped her fingers, causing a dull and thin blade to appear in front of Amelia.

“The first step for any and all Witches is to master close-quarter combat. That way, even in the case of losing their powers, they can still protect themselves. Pick up your weapon and let’s start.”

Amelia was physically frail and never had to fight someone using a sword. Nevertheless, she followed her new teacher’s instructions and, soon enough, she was subjected to a torrent of violent and unstoppable attacks.

Her body was blown away repeatedly, resulting in bruises and cuts. However, compared to the suffering she underwent when she had forcefully removed the Crown, or the torture Amy’s mother subjected her to, this kind of training was nothing.

Amelia wasn’t a weak-willed person, and neither was she someone who gave up at the slightest hurdle. She might’ve been a Defect, someone inadequate to wield Aether, but that didn’t mean she lacked ambition or was afraid of hard work. Quite the opposite, in fact, she was quite studious and was second only to Zeke in regard to Theoretical Exams, which most- if not all- deemed pointless and unnecessary for graduation.

After two hours of intense ‘fighting’, Amelia was incapable of lifting a finger. She laid on the grassy ground, gasping for air. Her face and clothes were covered in sweat, but she still gritted her teeth and tried to stand up.

“That will be enough for now.”

“I-I can still cont-...”

The black-haired girl tried to squeeze a couple of words but she fell unconscious. Jennifer looked at her for a couple of breaths then walked out of the blood-colored barrier.

As for Freya, she stayed to take care of Amelia’s injuries and ‘clean-up’ the area.

Technically, Jennifer wasn’t allowed to take in any students, after all, she was a military commander and her sole task should be to watch over the border and eliminate any potential threats. It was for that reason that Freya raised the barrier, which blocked anyone from looking at what was happening inside, which decreased the chances of a spy catching scent of Amelia’s presence and informing the higher-ups.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It was true that the Witch Association welcomed any gifted girls, especially young ones like Amelia. However, her prior involvement with Jonathan and, notably, Zeke, made her situation particularly complicated, so much so that she might be exiled if the truth were to be found out.

Freya had already begun preparing to create an entirely new identity for Amelia, thus making sure her past remained buried forever.

…

“You need not be so depressed, Amelia. One can’t just become strong in a day or two. It takes effort and time.”

Late at night, as the three were eating a delicious dinner, Freya consoled the disheartened Amelia. Jennifer had a slightly flushed face, her head wobbling left and right but she still seemed to be somewhat conscious.

While hiccupping, she looked at her student and explained,

“Only those ‘blessed’ by the System can go through a substantial increase in prowess within a short period of time. However, even that takes arduous training and sometimes even life-threatening battles. Your friend Zeke wasn’t an exception.”

“I know…”

*****

After discussing the chaos that unfolded in Erys’ dormitories, Zeke returned to his room and slept for several hours. He felt unusually tired and mentally strained, especially after remembering how he had failed that sudden Urgent Mission.

Although the answer he had received from the Talking Sin was informative, he still didn’t know what he was going to do with it.

The mysterious man and the newborn baby were in Sulong’s care and Zeke wanted to know more about what occurred in the Sewers.

When the youth woke up, all of his three roommates were nowhere to be seen. He scratched his head and looked at the ground, deep in thought.

‘Let’s think about this; there were dozens of mangled corpses all over the Sewers. Black tentacles came out of the man and tried to kill us. Last but not least, I found a baby trapped in what could only be described as a dome made of organic matter. Logically, given what I had witnessed, that baby could be the product of a successful experiment made by the Blood Dusk Society. Basically, he’s the spawn of the so-called Blood God. Then again, the System didn’t warn me, so I assume it’s not dangerous? Or it didn’t detect anything that could specifically endanger me?’

Zeke swiftly ate breakfast and rushed to Sulong’s workplace. The classes were canceled for today, which gave him ample time to sort out a few things. Unfortunately, he had an appointment with Counselor Mary later this evening, which was something he felt slightly disinclined to do, more so due to the woman’s strange ability.

Much to Zeke’s surprise, when he entered the cramped office of the bald loanshark, he saw Jack quietly watching the TV and Sulong having a staring a contest with a very young boy with long blood-red hair.

Hearing the creaking door, Sulong turned around and spotted the stoic Zeke. He sighed and shrugged while explaining,

“That man has disappeared, leaving only a letter. As for this kid…”

With a forced smile, the man grunted and continued, “It’s that baby.”

“What?”

Zeke scrutinized the motionless boy, who was like a statue, eerily sitting on the couch without uttering a word.

“I know it’s hard to believe but he’s growing at an abnormal rate. Just yesterday, he was only able to crawl and was half this size. I mean… look at him! He looks like a 8-year-old kid!”

Although surprised and confused by this development, Sulong didn’t seem that worried about the kid. However, Zeke felt a sinister and bone-chilling aura emit from the boy.

When he approached him, the boy raised his head and stared back, his eyes as red as his eye-catching hair.

‘I was right. He’s not a normal human.’

While contemplating his choices, Zeke’s shoulder was tapped by Sulong, who handed him a shredded piece of paper with a few words written on it.

“ ‘I’ll not forget the favor’... what is that supposed to mean?”

The baldy shrugged in disinterest and walked away. He seemed slightly relieved that the mysterious man had vanished, as he didn’t feel right to let a strange, one found in the Sewers, stay here.

After a brief bout of silence, Sulong let out a second grunt of annoyance and asked,

“You’re not going to leave ‘him’ here, are you?”

“It’s not like I have a choice, Sulong. Considering his rapid growth, taking him to the police would implicate us and we could even be suspected to be part of the Blood Dusk Society.”

“Blood Dusk what? Is that one of them secret organizations? O’shit!”

Jack, who had been eavesdropping while pretending to watch the TV, suddenly freaked out and drifted away from the quiet red-haired boy.

“We can’t keep him here either!” Protested Sulong as he glared back at the Zeke.

“So you’re going to abandon the boy? Throw him in the streets and wish him good luck?”

Admittedly, Zeke definitely felt that something was off about the kid. He felt an ominous aura, one that made him on high alert, however, he still couldn’t bring himself to straight out abandon the kid.

If he was going to give up just like that, he might as well have not saved him in the first place.

Eventually, Zeke ignored the annoyed Sulong and approached the kid, attempting to strike a conversation. Unfortunately, the boy, once he heard Zeke’s greeting, stared at him for a couple of breaths then jumped to his feet and walked toward Sulong.

He grasped the muscular man’s large military pants and hid behind him, seemingly afraid of Zeke.

“Would you look at that… he has taken a liking to you, Sulong.” Zeke grinned at his disheartened friend.

“This is the first tim-”

Sulong’s words were cut-off by a feminine and soft voice that came out of the boy’s lips.

“Papa…”

“H-hold on there, kid!”

Sulong hastily got on his knees and held the boy by his shoulders, “I’m not your ‘papa’, okay?”

Alas, the child smiled and repeated the same word, which made Sulong’s face turn beet red. He no longer tried to convince the boy, nor did he look at Zeke, afraid that the student might see his embarrassed expression.

“F-Fine! I’ll let him stay here for a while. I assume you’re done, right? Piss off.”

“...”

Zeke wasn’t angered, he chuckled and unceremoniously waved his hand as he exited the workplace. Jack also chased after him, planning to ask some questions.