“Be quite Davy, he is sleeping?”
“But Iudy, those idiots are blaming us for everything. Even the boy we helped said that we were bullying him”
This was the conversation I heard when I next came to. The light felt too bright for me to open my eyes and so I kept them shut and continued lying down on the bed.
“You getting mad about it will only make things worse, so calm down. Let Zeph wake up”
“But..”
“That is enough Davy.” I could hear Iud’s voice go up suddenly. I knew that if I let things go as it was so I pretending to wake up and started stretching my hands, with a fake yawn. I blinked my eyes and then looked at them.
“Ah, he woke up. Took you long enough. It is already morning of the next day. Get up”
“What happened?”
“Ah, we don’t know either. All we saw was the barrier disappearing. A notification opened up declaring us as the winner. Our levels went up by three once again. So did the levels of most of the skill. When we came towards you we saw the woman lying on the floor, crying. Her face seemed pale and it looked like she saw something scary. Just what did you do?”
“I don’t really remember. The last thing I saw…” it was then that the words in the notification came running in to my mind.
“Emperor Rank” I blurted out unknowingly.
“Eh? What?” Iud questioned me with a confused look.
Ignoring his question, I called out. “Open notifications” and a list of the past notification opened up. Among them there were notification about my win and level ups and the bottom was the notification, ‘New skill’. But what was surprising was that there were two such notifications. I opened the first one, which read as,
New skill unlocked: Air Burst Wave(Active)Beginner Level 1(0%)Congratulations. You have successfully combined a magic spell and a sword art skill. Combining air strike with burst fang has generated a new original skill named air burst wave. The momentum from the skill burst fang not only adds to the attack power of the new skill but also helps in releasing a faster and longer wave. The skill is not upgradeable.
Rank: King
Mana cost: 120/ use
Cool down: 2min
Syncro level: 7
+5 to prestige for learning a custom advanced rank skill
“What the hell Zeph?” Davy roared at me and jumped on me, hitting me gently.
“As expected of a celebrity.” Iud said looking at us playing like small children and laughed.
“You little, you made a King rank skill just like that” Davy kept hitting me here and there occasionally tickling me.
“Stop tickling me. If I can do it so can you, besides you two know how to use a sacred sword art too. Why did you not tell me?”
At the mention of the sacred art the atmosphere in the room fell. When I looked at them I felt there faces going pale and sweat trickled down their faces.
‘Damn, wrong question eh’
“Well, say Iud what does syncro mean” I tried changing the topic.
“Ah, that. It is called harmony in some places. When you combine two skills the resultant skill will only be sauces if the parent skill are compatible. And this compatibility of the new skill is shown by the syncro level. Syncro levels start from 0 and ends at 10. A level 0 skill means the combining was a failure and the new skill cannot be used or produced. As the level increases, the harmony between the parent skill increases or a more powerful skill is produced. It is really hard to combine two skills to get a new and powerful skill. Usually what happens is the combined skill would be slightly more powerful than the parent skills. For example, suppose there is a skill called A and there is a skill called B. and let us also suppose that there is a skill rank indicating tool with us and the tool indicated that the rank of the skills A and B is advanced. Now I combine the skill A and B to give a new skill called C. now tell me what would be the rank of the new skill?” Iud asked pointing his finger at me.
“Eh? King or higher?” I answered.
He shook his head sideways to indicate that my answer was wrong and then continued his explanation. “In 90% percentage of the cases, the resultant skill had the same or even lower rank than the parent skills. Because of this reason, people normally do not try combining skills as the chances of getting a stronger skill is really low. But those who creates one are rewarded well”
“Why reward him?”
“Sigh! Listen carefully. When a new skill is created, the creator has the right to register the skill under his name. Once he registers the skill, the news about the new skill will spread rapidly. This would allow other’s to learn the skill too, for a price that is.”
“Price?”
“Yes. May be a few gold coins or so. A part of the income goes to the creator too and so there are those who try to create new skill whenever possible. And also they might ask you to do a quest for them and the skill would be the reward for it, the problem being, the higher the rank of the skill, the harder the quest. Normally people choose to pay for it”
“That means, if I register my skill then I can make money? Oh! Where do I register?”
“Sigh! Greedy brat. You register at the adventure guild. Oh, since you carry the name of your house, the might get some benefits too. Enough with this now. Show us the other skill”
New skill unlocked:Poseidon’s Trident (Active)Beginner Level 1(0%)A spell created by the fusion, yet co-existence of three contradicting affinities. A spell born from the desperation to protect things precious to you, its bounds are unknown, powerful enough to lay waste even huge armies.
This skill is currently locked as your mana level is low. The skill will unlock itself in times of grave danger but will exhaust your essence.
Rank: Emperor
Mana cost: 1500/use
Cool down: 1day
+25 to prestige for learning a custom advanced rank skill
I was speechless, paralyzed until something hard hit me on my head. Looking back I saw an enraged Davy holding his wooden sword in the air.
“You traitor. An Emperor rank skill?” he said, sobbing slightly.
“Now, now Davy. We can pay him back later. Right now, we do not have the time”
“Eh? Why is that?” I asked not knowing what Iud meant.
“Come with us” Iud gesture me to follow him.
Getting up from my seat, I asked, “Where to?”
And the reply was, “We have a patient to visit, my friend”
---***---
The academy had an infirmary located in each blocks. Right now the three of us were heading to the one in A block. On our way to there, I was explained the things that had transpired while I was asleep, actually unconscious. It seemed like Celia, the one in charge of the boys dormitory had aid us a visit in morning. Iud and Davy were told that a complaint has been filled against the three of us. The complaint was we had bullied a first year student like us and fought against the second year students who came to help the boy. There was another complaint against us too, for severely injuring the second year students.
“Seems like the boy was forced into this once again. This time by someone else” I said.
“Yeah. Seems so. Sigh! This is why I hate such troublesome things” Iud replied, sighing heavily while Davy gritted his teeth in anger. A few minutes walk and we reached the infirmary. There was a pretty big crowd outside the infirmary, all of them being second years.
“Damn! Not a good time to visit, it seems” I blurted out. “What should we do?” I asked the other two.
“Let us find Miss. Celia for now. Standing here is like suicide” Iud’s reply was instantaneous but we were too late.
“You, first years! What are you doing there?” A tall and well-built guy asked from the group, he slowly walked towards us, glaring at the three of us. With similar red hair as Aoki, the boy looked really angry. Two swords hung from either sides of his waste.
“Just passing by” I said politely.
“Just passing by? Aren’t you the lot that fought against my sister yesterday?”
“Sister? That woman? You both don’t look like siblings though” Davy said out loud. I did not if he was intentionally provoking him was blurting out nonsense, but nevertheless I gestured him to stop.
“Ho! So you were the one after all. Who among you three did that to her? You wretched bastards!” He roared and dashed towards us, with his swords unsheathed. “I will kill you two now. Die”
The three of us were empty handed. We had left our swords back at our room since we were not allowed to carry swords to the academy. But even so we could not just run away.
“Zeph, Davy and I will try to stop his swords. Use your magic to send him flying” came Iud’s order as he and Davy rushed forward.
“Do you know how to stop it?” I was a little worried. I knew the two were good with swords, but right now they did not have any weapon with them.
“Don’t worry. Just trust us” Iud smiled at me while Davy stuck out his tongue at me. I could not help but smile.
“You two are really fools”
Mana began to pool up in my hand and feet as I prepared myself to cast air burst wave. Iud and Davy had by then engaged the enraged senior student. The swords were no longer in his arms. I did not what they did. All I so was the two hitting the wrist of the senior. It could not even be called a hit, it was a slight touch and down went the sword. The senior was stunned, he did not understand what was going on but the next moment something even surprising happened. Iud and Davy were behind the senior. With their hands and legs they locked on to the senior’s limb, making him unable to move. They looked at me and nodded.
“Air burst wave”
Dashing forward towards the senior I activated my new skill, an air sword already forming in my right hand. The senior struggled hard to get out of the lock but he was unsuccessful. I could see others rush towards us to help the senior but my skill gave me an advantage in speed. The air sword released a slight wind and white waves emitted out of the sword. I neared on the guy and brought down my sword aiming right for his head. With the force of impact at a vital area would finish the battle fast, I knew it but this was not a battle, it was just a wild fight and such fights would only bring more problems. Just before the sword hit his head, I stopped and walk past the guy, as if nothing happened.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Guys, let’s go. We did not come here to fight”
“The guy is too soft, is he not Iudy” Davy complained.
“Let’s go. Besides we will plenty of opportunity in the future too, right senior?” Iud looked at the senior and smiled which was replied with a ‘tch’
The seniors around us were really mad, it was as if they would attack us any moment from now. The three of us walked forward slowly, our eyes measuring each of them standing in front of us. I could see some where already preparing for their attack while some just simply glared at us.
“Not even a week has passed and I have tons of enemies! Sigh” I whispered to the two besides me. We continued walking forward and when we hit the block of people inside I asked the person in front.
“Please move aside and let us pass, seniors” I said politely. The reply was a no with many trash talking. The atmosphere was so tense that cold sweat trickled down my face. Even if our levels were higher than before, there was no way in hell
we could win against this many opponents, even if I had the emperor ranked spell with me.
“That is enough every one. Move aside” a voice thundered out from behind us. When I looked behind I saw a group of three walking towards us. A boy followed by two girls. The school uniform of the academy was a white shirt, a black overcoat and black pants for men, and the pants was replaced by a skirt for girls, and some even wore a tie. The collar and sleeves of the white shirt were colored for the purpose of identification. The first years were given the color green, red for the second years, blue for third years, violet for fourth, silver for fifth years and gold color for any students above. Gold and silver were truly rare sights. Till now I have never seen one, I did not even know whether one even existed until I saw those guys.
With golden sleeves and color, the trio approached us at their own pace, their gaze fixed on us. I felt an incredible pressure coming from those guys. The boy who was in front had short black hairs, his eyes were hiding behind his spectacles. He was tall, with a commanding aura while the girls behind him did not lose either. The girl to the left was a brunette while the one on the right had natural black hair. The two were slightly shorter than the boy, but were incredibly beautiful.
“What is going on here?” the boy asked in a commanding voice and I could feel the second years behind me shudder.
“Nothing” someone said and soon the crowd dispersed.
‘What is with this turn of events?’ I thought to myself but at the same time was happy that things did not turn out bad as I expected.
“Iud, Davy let us go” I urged them to move forward and they complied. We walked a few steps forward when I felt a chill run down my spine. The three of us turned back in an instant, our bodies at full alert and ready to attack but there was nothing behind us. The three super seniors were a good ten meters away. All they were doing was looking at us.
“Oi, oi. Just their gazes can cause a chill? Just how strong are they?” Davy’s voice seemed a little shaky. My body was trembling slightly, but still my hands and feet were oozing out mana.
“You do not need to be so tensed. We just want to talk to you three” the girl to the left spoke, elegant and sweet.
The three of us still had our guards up. “Is that why the three of you are giving off such strong killing intent?” Davy asked, smirking, sarcasm filled his tone. Suddenly the boy stepped forward causing us to heighten our guard even more but to our surprise their killing intent suddenly vanished. We stared at them, not knowing what their motive was. Trusting people who suddenly let out killing intent was hard after all. The three of us kept observing the three super seniors. Then the boy spoke,
“My name is Vitrian Anbis, to my left is Sasha Hailbird and to my right is Eva Hailbird. I am an eight year student, to be precise one of the two eight years. These two are now in their sixth year. We just heard that once of you used a special spell against a senior woman causing her to be traumatized. Which one of you was it?”
“It was me” I stepped forward. It was not because I was proud about the spell or anything, I simply did not want the two behind me to get in any trouble cause of me.
“I see. Then tell me what was the reason for you to go to such extent?” there was a hint of anger budding from his voice causing me to sweat a little.
“It was not intentional. I did to protect my friends. The spell was created in the spur of the moment. I did not intent to cause any deep scars to her mind. I am sorry” I apologized as things seemed a little out of the normal. For an attack to traumatize a student, even if a bully was not right.
“Is that so? But still you are in the wrong! Not only for the spell incident but also for bullying a fellow first year student” the voice that replied was much colder than before.
“I would have to refuse the current statement. It was not us that were bullying that guy, it was them, those seniors. And I being an idiot dragged my friends into the mess to help the boy, later to be betrayed by the very boy we helped”
“What is with that tone of yours?” The girl behind, called Sasha spoke, her voice as cold as that of the boy.
“I am sorry for my rude behavior” and so I explained what transpired the previous day, about out training, the bullying, the fight and finally about the spell.
“Hm! Very different from what I was told by that boy and that woman’s brother. Eva, look into it. Investigate it thoroughly. If what these boys say is true then there is a chance that the boy victim might be bullied more. Deal with it as you please”
“Yes brother!” and the girl vanished.
“Then tell me boy, why are the three of here? To cause more problems?”
“No. I wanted to see the woman and apologize to her. It was never in my intention to emotionally scar her. But the second years began to attack us as soon as we appeared.”
“Fine. But I cannot allow you to meet her now. I do not think meeting the girl right now is a good idea. Let her rest for a while. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Favor?” I was confused.
“Yes, please show me the skill you created”
“Ah! I am sorry. I can’t, my level is too low for me to be able to use it. Since it is an emperor ranked spell, it requires quite a large amount of mana.”
“Emperor Rank? Don’t bluff boy” the voice was loud and impatient.
“I am not bluffing. Please see this” and I showed them the skill window causing their jaws to drop.
“An emperor rank spell and a king ranked skill in less than a week? Boy, tell me your mana and essence value”
“Is it really necessary? I do not want others to know about it” I tried avoiding the demand.
“You do not have to worry. The things you say will remain hidden.”
Without no other choice, I answered their question.
“You… what are you? That much mana and essence, even the Aduxria kings do not have those levels. Why are you here if you have so much potential?”
“I want to be from those big bellied greedy nobles and their lot. Treating people as tools for one’s own personal gain is something I hate the most”
“But you yourself are a noble, are you not?
“Ah, the Calmor house. The guy said that I only have to carry the name. I have full freedom over my life. This name does not bind me, or cage me.”
“I see. Good. The two with you, I heard they are quite strong too. Good, good. Things are getting interesting once again in this academy. Sasha, let us go. We have things to do” the smile on his face told me that things were going to get really bad for me, the two beside me felt the same.
---***---
‘Knock, knock, knock’
“Mr. Principal.”
“Ah Vitrian, it has been a while. Come in, come in. What brings you here this time?”
“Sir, I want you to sanction a special training course for three first year students, under me.”
“A special training? Under you? Who are the students?”
Vitrian produced a letter towards the principal.
“You? What are you scheming this time?” the principal looked at the boy and smiled lightly.
“I am going to overthrow the system, and take Itiferth to the top”
The principal laughed loudly, “Hahaha, to the top eh? Overthrowing the strong? Good, good. Seems your passion has not burned out completely. I thought, after that incident I would never see your bright and lively eyes. Very well my boy, permission granted. May you rise above all”
“Thank you Sir. Now please excuse me”
“One more thing Vitrian. Be careful, that guy is powerful than you think, do not be overwhelmed”
The reply was a light smile, and the door closed.
The principal laid back on his chair and closed his eyes. “Zephard Calmor, are you an Angel or a Devil?”
---***---
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