Kyrion awoke at a desk in a room with a scarce population of students. An older man with a long gray beard sat at a desk in front of the room near a door. In his hands was a large leather-bound tome. He held a contemplating expression on his face and when Kyrion opened his senses to gauge his power. The boy got nothing, which for him represented a lot.
Two rows to his right was a girl with multicolored hair and eyes that seemed to change colors the longer he looked at him. To Kyrion’s left was that Raven kid he knocked out yesterday.
Krion went to turn around when a loud slam impacted his desk.
“Eye’s in the front boy.”
“Can I plead my case?” Kyion asked innocently.
“Sure. Make sure to write it down and hand it to me at the end of this session.” The old man said.
Kyrion’s eye twitched. He eyed a window, and then he looked back at Raven, who proceeded to hide his face in his hands.
“My sister’s going to kill me.” He whispered.
Well, if Kyrion was stuck there, he might as well train. So Kyrion closed his eyes and mentally entered his space.
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“Hey Karl, I have some time to discuss training your power now.”
“So you have finally come for my cubic knowledge.”
“You’re what now?” Kyrion asked.
“When you use earth mana have you notice that everything is always a perfect cube no matter how much you try to shape it? It doesn’t seem malleable or versatile.”
“Huh. I did not notice.” Kyrion replied.
“Well you see cubes are the building blocks of my powers. The more you use the more you can alter the shape and the smaller you can make them the more control you have over the shape.” Karl conjured a sphere.
“Thats no cube.” Kyrion stated.
“No but it is made up of at least billions of tiny cubes. Thats my earth mana. Complex and rigid, but with the right for knowledge it can be easy to mold.”
“Is this why when I used your power to make the ground break it formed a square?”
“Precisely.”
“To use this power, knowledge of all kinds of higher mathematics will be required. Algebra Geometry, Calculus, Trigonometry…” Karl prattled on.
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Kyrion left his space as fear washed through him.
“Nope. Not happening. Those words sound evil.”
“Is something the matter Kyrion.” The old man said.
“No.” Kyrion replied.
“Well then. Keep your mouth shut. You’re in detention right now.”
Kyrion sighed and got to work on his “Homework.” from Ms.Nox. Just some rote memorization and examples, she said.
Kyrion did not like this Rote fellow, and if he ever found him, he’d throw them into the darkest pit he could find.
By the time detention had ended, the room had begun to turn into a sauna.
“Detention is now over. Now tell me what you learned.”
“Not to fire black birds anywhere near windows. It was reckless and someone could have gotten hurt. Experiments with magic should be done in a contained space with someone experienced to supervise.” Raven said while looking down.
“Good young Sid.”
“I thought your name was Raven?” Kyrion explained.
“Well Kyrion, since you’re so talkative? What did you learn?”
“That Raven’s name was Sid. Duh.” Kyrion scratched his bald head. He knew what the old man wanted him to say, but Kyrion held no remorse for those two.
“You broke school property. We don’t have the funds to replace tables willy nilly. Destruction of school property and vandalism are bad.”
“Wait. So you arn’t mad that I put Dee and Dumb through a table?”
“Those two have a month of detention for various accounts of bullying and assault. After they heal from their injuries. After that they will have to face a semester of empathy related classed. Finally they will be able to return to school on a prohibitory basis. One wrong move from there and it’s the ax.”
“So. All of this because I broke a table?”
“Today its a table, tomorrow it’s a wall and six months later a building is destroyed. You are playing with a scale of mana that is dangerous for someone your age. You of all people need to be accountable for your own actions.”
Kyrion shook his head and sighed. “I don’t have that much mana.”
“You kinda do. Those birds I hit you with during the trials should have downed you in moments. Since most of your abilities were physically based I thought that you were running low. That blow would have killed me, you know. Had it been anywhere else, I’d be a headless corpse. The head being pulp.” Sid didn’t look Kyrion in his eye or near his face. The boy seemed scared.
“Exactly. I understand that you don’t go around flaunting power at that level every day. But you need to know that your actions have consequences. We can’t afford to let you run around like a tool of demolition. Literally and figuratively.”
“Fine. Sorry, Sid, Raven?”
“It was a controlled environment. Still I was deafened by the blow even after getting healed it took a few hours to reach a state where I could move freely. I don’t begrudge you your victory. Next time maybe you should stop short and announce an obvious victory.”
“What?”
“Any time when you’d deal a blow that could be lethal it’s important to announce that that level of force is lethal. The wards will activate and put extra defenses on your opponent and if that blow would kill them all the damage is absorbed and your opponent is ejected from the arena. If it isn’t enough force then they take no damage from the blow.” The old man explained.
“So, none of you are mad? What’s with the guy rattling off crimes and such?”
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“Oh you me Jude, his father was a Justicar. He had been molded to take that position since he was young. Since the republic fell, that job is no more and his father is as well. He believes wholeheartedly that every law must be honored to the letter.”
“Got it. Jude is a stick in the mud. But he’s a good stick in the mud.”
“Now Freya, what did you learn?”
“That you people have no respect for art.” The rainbow-haired girl stated.
“Your art is considered unbecoming of a lady.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Freya asked, confused.
“I’ll lead your group to the scene of the crime.”
“Max what did you do?”
“Apparently I skipped first period.” Max had a scowl on his face.
Kyrion turned and saw the boy covered in bruises and scratches. He looked like he’d gotten beaten pretty badly.
“What happened?”
“No, you were colluding with Kyrion here. Though given your state, someone enacted their twisted sense of justice. Someone said that you were involved so we took you in. Who did that to you by the way?”
“N-nobody.” Maximus looked away.
“I see.”
“Why hasn’t anyone healed him yet!” Kyrion yelled as he moved toward his roommate.
“There are very few healers here. Some of which are working abroad, with our allies. The one we could get to heal him has a limited ability.”
“Why didn’t you let me heal him then.” Kyrion was now seething.
“Maximus, are you in any pain?”
“No sir.” Max said clearly.
“You are aware that you look really bad right?”
“I’ll be better in the morning.”
“See. It wasn’t anything to worry about. Better to get him in here before those who did that to him could return. We aren’t omnipotent; there are things we elders can miss. Some believe that there is a faction in our school that has taken to eliminating competition. The pain of trying to grow is that some must think they’d lose their opportunity to learn one on one.”
“So. You want us to deal with it.” Freya crossed her arms.
Kyrion got to work patching up Max. The wounds were surface level, and with his assistance, he removed the marks and bruises that were added to his body.
“So you’re a healer. Did not expect that.” Max stated
“No one expects a buff healer.” Kyrion removed his hands and examined his roommate.
“No, I want you to be aware. Five years from now there will be a nationwide tournament where schools will send out their strongest teams to compete for the opportunity to represent the country in a bigger event two months later. Those who compete will be the best and the brightest. I believe that when the selection of students begins that faction will try its best to eliminate the competition. Be wary and train hard, because life here isn’t going to be easy.”
“Who are you? I’ve been calling you old man in my head and I don’t think I’m right.” Kyrion asked the old man.
“I am Elder Shoe.” The old man groomed his beard.
“Like the things people put over their feet.” Max stated.
“Spot on. Some seem to think it’s Shu, but no. I am not of elven descent. I am from shoemakers.” Elder Shoe led the group to a large mural.
A stick figure with three legs was running towards someone holding two balls over their chest.
“It’s two people fighting.” Kyrion stated as he squinted at the picture.
“Yeah. The great Berzerker vs Amadeus.” Freya said with excitement.
Max stared at the painting and stifled a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Sid asked.
“It’s nothing.” Max covered his mouth with a hand.
“Some of the older boys seem to think that the third leg is something inappropriate. While some of the older girls think that the other figure is making seductive gestures.” Shoe coughed.
Maximus was the only one laughing as the other three kids seemed to blue screen.
“Nevermind. Please don’t paint your art on the walls without permission. Someone will have to remove it.”
“Hmmm… Can I try?” Kyrion asked as a ball of water appeared in his hand, slowly growing larger.
“Are you going to start breaking walls now, Kyrion?” Shoe raised an eyebrow.
“Ah. Maybe find a professional. Don’t need to break any walls.” Krion dropped the globe of water mana and watched with confusion as it expanded, taking up more space than it should have.
“See? Imagine if you tried using something as big as the wall to clean it. It’s concentrated, the density of the water increases drastically through magic. That’s what happens when you create those tendrils. The water is concentrated. Slightly pressurized..”
Max took a few steps away from his roommate. Not wanting to get any wetter than he was at the moment.
“Got it, got it. Are we free to go?”
“Yes you may go.” Elder Shoe crossed his arm and watched as the fledglings left his side.
“Those two sure know how to find recruits.”
The portrait came to life, and the stick figures began to fight. Reenacting the match from the day before.
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Gamodren was waiting in front of the dormitory with Tiffany and Ceres when Kyrion made it back.
“You’re late,” Gamodren stated the obvious.
“I got detention.” Kyrion replied.
“I see. Could you not make this an everyday occurance?”
“It’s only been one time.”
“Thats how it starts. The ratio is one to one. What did you even do, I doubt it could be…” Gamodren started to whine.
“I broke a table. By using two other students’ faces.” Kyrion said in a monotone.
“Did they at least deserve your wrath?” Gamoden’s tone became serious.
“Yes, they had it coming. Apparently they have been causing trouble with others.”
“Eww. Well, next time request a duel, or match. Do you know how much a good table cost?”
“At least a good tree?”
“That and the work of a good carpenter, who also has to get paid. Boy do you know how much of my own funds I had to scrounge up just to get the materials for that hotel.”
“No. I do not.”
“Over ten thousand gold. It will take two years to recoup my funds there. That’s excluding your cut and the paychecks of the workers. This building is much more ambitious. I have fifty grand riding on it and it’s on a tight schedule.”
Kyrion’s jaw dropped. Tiffany’s jaw dropped. Ceres tried to close their mouths for them.
“How are you so rich? Wait how much was that table?” Kyrion tried to compose himself but he didn’t even know money got that high.
“Probably 5 gold, unless it had durability runes on it.”
“Where did you get all that money?”
“I may or may not have borrowed some from a bank that no longer exists. I also may have cleaned out a dragon’s hoard. And when the dragon went on a rampage, I may or may not have claimed the reward for its bounty. I perhaps may have illegally won a few very high stakes poker games. Those casino’s also no longer exist, though that has nothing to do with me. Since Invan was razed by the Beast Blood empire.”
“Are you evil?”
“I knew it, you’re a monster,” Ceres said blankly. Her halberd slowly fell to her hands
“You… You’re the Legendary Prismatic Dragon!” Max said dumbstruck.
“You’re a dragon!?” Ceres then dropped her halberd dumbstruck.
“No, I’m not a literal dragon. It’s a title given to those in my year. There are four of us total.”
“Only four graduated?”
“Only four of us graduated that year. You know how we don’t let anyone who isn’t an expert graduate? Well, we also don’t keep those who haven’t reached that level at the age of twenty two. We already spent a good amount of time training you up. Since we skipped all the usual first semester indoctrination and ranking. It’s a wasted time for most, but a decisive one. What I did for you three was skip all that and train you to be better experienced and mostly flexible. You should be on par with those who got the training that the first year provides.”
“We shouldn’t be able to go toe to toe with their best. Which isn’t something you expected.” Kyrion stated.
“Right. They arn’t weak, but the experiences you obtained have put you all near the top. Ceres surpassed the head as well. But that could be because she’s a practitioner fighting fledglings. Even still winning against that one should be tough. Max, do you know how many times Amadeus has lost?”
“Only once, it was yesterday sir.” Max didn’t bring up the fact that this senior shouldn’t even know his name. The shock was leaving him dumbstruck.
“Right, do you know how many practitioners they beat?” Gamodren smirked.
“They’ve beaten twelve but only fought thirteen.” Max said in a trance.
“Right. And who trains this Amadeus kid.”
“The headmaster.”
“And do you know how i’m related to the headmaster?”
“Rumor’s say he’s your dad. Sir.”
“Well, he is, and there are also people who think i’m trying to take his seat. That’s a lie, I’m not trying to takes his spot. I’m going to inherit it, in ten or so years. Some faction’s in the school want to expedite this, thing is. I’m rarely here. But now, two of my students put the undefeated Amadues through the ringer. Those talks are going to start again and I’d rather they don’t. Be sure to let them know that we have nothing against them.” Gamodren patted Max on the back and sent him in the direction of another building.
Max seemed to understand the cryptic words and got to work leaving.” I need to get going. See you in a bit, Kyrion.”
“What? Why do I get the feeling something just went over my head?”
“Because it did. You’ll figure it out eventually. Think of it as part of your training.”
“I’m done for the day. Brain is all thunked out. Later.” Kyrion left to enter the dorm when someone grabbed his wrist.
“Meet me at the pens tomorrow morning. Max can show you the way. Also, remember to water you…”
“Willow has a system in place for watering plants in the morning.” Kyrion stated.
“Ah. Well then, just meet me in the pens. The faster this is done, the faster you can rest in a nice dorm. Without bugs.”
“Huh? Oh, I put down some bug repellent. Scares them right out.” Kyrion stated.
“I didn’t give you anything like that.”
“No, you didn’t.” Kyrion pulled out a book from his space.
A botanist guide to defensive plants.
“W-where did you get that?”
“I got it from Suzen. Your, girl friend, or whatever. She became a regular at the hotel while you were away.”
“Why didn’t you bring this up.”
“She said, ‘I’ll give you this book for free if you keep my usage of the baths a secret from Gamodren.’ I like the word free.” Kyrion replied innocently.
“I feel betrayed.”
“So was it related to those three numbers?” Kyrion asked, still trying to get a hint.
Gamodren did not fall for the childish provocation. “Who knows.”
“Booo…” Kyrion was free to go and he left. He needed a power nap before dinner and second dinner.
“What about those… and he’s gone.” Tiffany sighed.
“So that dragon that you killed.”
“Got rid of. No one here will see that dragon ever again.”
“I see. So your a liar. Why are you stringing us along?” Ceres asked.
“I’m stringing Kyrion along. You two are just collateral damage.”
“Why aren’t you a merchant?” Tiffany stated.
“I am. That wasn’t a lie. I even have a two star rank in that guild. Since most of my assets were claimed in non mecrential sources they need to be cleaned somewhere no one would second guess.”
“So you’re playing some kind of long game. Since chances are, you’ll live a very long time.”
“Exactly. If I’m lazy I’ll be counting my years in centuries.”
“You don’t make much sense.” Kyrion squinted.
“You’ll understand soon enough.” Gamodren shrugged.