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Condemned To Death
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16th September, 1507
"As all of you already know," Aldric began, his voice resonating with the wisdom of years, "Our Chimera Vale village is located on the first peak, and the second peak is currently uninhabited by us humans."
The students listened with their ears open.
"Our ancestors, when they first discovered Chimera Vale, saw that both peaks at the time were inhabited by Law beasts. The air itself at the time crackled with wild Laws, and the very soil pulsed with the potential for new Concepts. It was a place of raw, untamed power. Due to the abundance of wild Laws and the perfect environment for the natural creation of new Concepts, our ancestors decided to settle here and clear out all the Law beasts on the first peak to eventually create the village that we live in now."
A hand shot up, belonging to Finn. "But, how are there no beasts coming into the village now?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity. "I would assume the Law beasts on the second peak would eventually start migrating to the first peak."
Aldric's eyes twinkled with approval. "Yes, you're correct," he replied, a warm smile spreading across his face.
"Even now, some beasts do make their way over from the second peak onto the doorsteps of our village. To stop them from destroying our village," Aldric continued, his voice taking on a tone of pride, "the three major families decided to create a special organization whose sole goal is to hunt Law beasts and protect the village from unwanted outside trouble."
Aldric then reached under his desk and produced a large, intricately detailed poster. As he unfurled it and affixed it to the whiteboard, the students gasped in collective awe. The map of Chimera Vale came to life before their eyes, a masterpiece of cartography that revealed the true scope of their home.
The students saw on top of the poster the words ‘Chimera Vale, Topography map’. The map depicted two mountains viewed from an eagle's eye. The smaller mountain had the whole southwest part of it shaded. This represented the upper village and on the northeast side of the first peak was a small dot in the middle of a forest that had tens of swirly brown lines that connected it to the upper village. This dot represented the Chimera Academy that the students were currently attending.
A bit further from the boundaries of the upper village where the first peak joined the second peak, a thick blue line ran at the centre. This was the Crystalheart River that separated the two peaks. On the other side of the River was another shaded area that trailed the shape of the river. This was the lower village, where commoners typically lived, cultivated crops, and lived a normal human life. Beyond the lower village, everything was shaded red with no clear topography of the landscape or the second peak.
Aldric's finger landed on the red area.
"This area is the danger zone where the territory of the Law beasts begins. The organization the three major families created is called the Borderland Protectors Society, or BPS. They are responsible for clearing out any Law beasts that invade into the lower village and are also the ones that hand out missions to the academy students and other Lexarchs to help maintain the ecosystem of the second peak. All academy students must complete at least 1 mission assigned by the BPS once a week, failure to do so will result in a fine of 50 soul stones. Any questions?”. Aldric asked
The students listened with rapt attention as Aldric detailed the responsibilities of the BPS and the mandatory missions for academy students. When he mentioned the fine of 50 soul stones for failing to complete a mission, a ripple of mixed reactions swept through the class.
Some students, like Finn, could barely contain their excitement at the prospect of accumulating soul stones for their Lexarch journey. Others, however, paled at the thought of the hefty fine, their minds racing to calculate how they could possibly afford such a penalty.
Aldric scanned the classroom, his eyes searching for any signs of curiosity or confusion.
In the back, a tiny hand shot up, belonging to Emma, who was still nestled comfortably in Seren’s lap. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of innocence and keen interest, a stark contrast to the more seasoned expressions of the older students.
“Yes, Emma?” Aldric asked politely, his voice softening as he addressed the youngest member of the group.
“What are Law beasts?” Emma asked, her voice tinged with genuine curiosity.
Aldric was momentarily taken aback by the question. It was a fundamental piece of knowledge that every student was expected to know. But then he remembered that Emma wasn’t a formal student, and his expression softened into a gentle smile. He took a deep breath and began to explain, his tone patient and kind.
“The Law beasts are different from normal animals,” he began, his voice carrying a soothing cadence. “They have Sygyzy stones that reside in their bodies. Just like how humans use relics to harness the power of Sygyzy stones, these beasts use their bodies as relics to channel the stones' power.”
Aldric paused, ensuring he had Emma’s full attention before continuing. “Unlike humans, animals' bodies host small amounts of Heaven’s essence. This essence is a divine energy that lives within them. When an animal kills and eats another animal, it absorbs that animal’s Heaven’s essence into its own body. After consuming hundreds of animals, a beast can then begin the process of creating a Sygyzy stone inside its body.”
Emma’s eyes were peeled open as she listened intently.
“Laws, in and of themselves, are just wishes made by a being,” he explained. “And just like humans, animals, despite their lacking intelligence, also have emotions and wishes. The class of the Law born within a beast is equal to the amount of Heaven’s essence required to create these Laws. For example, a rank 1 Law beast would have a class 1 Law inside its body.”
He noticed Emma’s eyes glazing over slightly, so he simplified further.
“Every time a beast ranks up, it gains a bit of intelligence. Higher-ranking beasts can be tricky to deal with because they have superior bodies compared to humans and also higher intelligence compared to normal animals.”
Emma stared into space dumbfoundedly, her young mind struggling to grasp the full extent of Aldric’s explanation. Half of the information seemed to float past her, going through one ear and out the other.
“I will explain it to you after class,” Susie whispered to Emma, who nodded excitedly, her curiosity still piqued.
...
As class ended and lunchtime started, the students began to gather their belongings. Seren motioned for Susie and Elise to follow him to the registrar. Emma, her eyes wide with anticipation, tried to join them, but Seren refused stringently. “It’s too dangerous to bring a child along.”
Emma’s face fell, and she turned to Susie and Elise, her eyes pleading.
“Please, can you persuade Brother Seren to let me come?”
Susie and Elise exchanged sympathetic glances but ultimately shook their heads. They also agreed with Seren’s point, it was too dangerous to bring a child along on mission to the second peak.
“No, no! I want to go too!” Emma cried out, her voice filled with stubborn determination. “I want to know how Lexarchs do missions.”
Seren sighed deeply, he turned his head to Lorien, who was standing a few feet away, watching his sister’s outburst with a resigned expression. Lorien saw Seren’s gaze and shrugged his shoulders in defeat, indicating there was little he could do to help.
Emma noticed the exchange between Seren and her brother and a light bulb lit up in her little brain. She took a deep breath and, with a hint of defeat in her voice, said, “Brother Seren, alright, I understand that it’s too dangerous to bring a child on a mission.”
Seren was initially surprised by Emma’s sudden compliance. He then patted her on the head and said in a warm voice, “Good. I know you are a smart girl.”
But then Emma’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “So, I will just have to bring some bodyguards along.”
Seren had a bad feeling when he heard this, and Lorien, standing a few feet away, felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Emma abruptly turned her gaze toward him. Her large, bubbly eyes locked onto his, and she spoke with a sweet, manipulative tone.
“Oh, my strong, cool, and handsome brother. I am sure you wouldn’t want your innocent and cute little sister to get hurt.”
Lorien felt a mix of annoyance and helplessness. “I have some work I need to—”
“I wonder what grandmother would think if she knew that her grandson left his helpless little sister all alone, to go on a dangerous mission all by herself,” Emma interjected, her voice dripping with faux innocence. She knew exactly how to push Lorien’s buttons.
For the first time in his life, Lorien felt like hitting a child. Seren saw the situation was deteriorating fast and shot an intense glare at Lorien, silently urging him not to agree to Emma's request. But Lorien’s hands were tied, and he reluctantly agreed to accompany her on the mission.
“Awww, can our Lorien not even win against his little sister?” Finn, who was sitting at his desk, said sarcastically.
*Grab
Lorien grabbed Finn by the arm, dragging him off his seat and pulling him closer. He then looked at Seren and the group and said, “I will be bringing this idiot along as well.”
“WHAT?!” Finn gasped in surprise. “Hell no, I got my own missions to take care of. I don’t have time to play with you,” he retorted, trying to free himself from Lorien’s grasp.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Bang!
Lorien smacked Finn’s head hard against the desk, knocking him unconscious. He then asked, “That’s fine with you, right?”
Seren sighed, seeing there was nothing he could do about the situation. He thought for a moment and then turned his head to Kai, who was minding his own business. “Kai, do you want to come along as well? With you, we will have six Lexarchs and can take on a C-rank mission. The pay can be quite lucrative for all of us.”
Kai had been observing the situation silently and smiled when Seren made the proposal. He got up from his seat and agreed, his eyes gleaming with determination.
With Kai joining in, Seren motioned for everyone, including Emma, to follow him to the academy registrar. Emma clung to Seren’s arm, her face beaming with happiness. Susie and Elise followed behind with solemn looks, mentally preparing themselves for the mission. Lorien dragged Finn’s unconscious body along by the leg, while Kai walked beside him, excited at the prospect of his first mission being a C-rank.
As they walked, Seren explained the mission ranking system to the curious Emma.
Missions are divided into four ranks: A, B, C, and D. The requirements for each rank are as follows:
* D: Lesser – Intermediate rank 1 Lexarch
* C: Superior rank 1 – Lesser rank 2 Lexarch
* B: Intermediate rank 2 Lexarch
* A: Superior rank 2 Lexarch
The BPS allows Lexarchs who do not meet the requirements for these missions to make up for it with numbers. For a C-rank mission, which typically requires at least a superior rank 1 Lexarch, a party would need six members of lesser rank 1 Lexarchs.
“Brother Seren, what type of mission will we be taking?”
Seren, who had been considering various missions before their party expanded from three to six members, replied, “The mission is to hunt 50 gloom crawlers that have recently been rapidly increasing in population.”
Emma’s brow furrowed in confusion. She had never heard of this beast. Seren noticed her puzzled expression and explained, “Gloom crawlers are a earth-type Law beasts. They typically live in caves, underground, or other shadowy places.”
Emma’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Wait, does that mean we will get 50 Syzygy stones?”
Seren shook his head, “No, not every Law beast has a Syzygy stone. We call them Law beasts because over time, their lineage has grown to inherit specific Laws. So every one of their offspring can naturally use a Law’s power without the need for an actual Syzygy stone.”
Emma frowned slightly. “That’s too overpowered.”
Elise chimed in, “Yes, it is. Unlike us humans, beasts do not need to have a mind core and do not require soul energy to activate their Law powers. The worst part is because they don’t require soul energy, they can infinitely use the powers of their inherited Laws”.
Susie, who had been listening quietly, grew worried. She felt a pang of embarrassment as she admitted.
“I don’t have any attack relics,” she said meekly to Seren.
Susie’s Sentry pendant relic had no souls tied to it, and she couldn’t use her scythe for fear of being possessed again, which might cause her to turn on Seren and the others.
Kai, who had been walking alongside them, heard Susie’s concern and offered, “I have an extra relic that you can use. I’ll lend it to you for this mission.”
Susie turned her head to Kai, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “No, no, it’s fine. I can’t trouble you over this.”
Kai chuckled because this was his first time interacting with the timid Susie. “Don’t worry. I like helping others out.”
Susie still tried to refuse, but Seren intervened. “Just accept it. This is the type of stuff that makes Kai happy.”
Seren had spent enough time observing everyone in the class to accurately discern parts of their personalities and understand the deeper reasons behind their actions.
Susie thought it over and decided to listen to Seren, accepting Kai’s help. She repeatedly thanked Kai, who was a bit surprised by her gratitude. He realized that Susie was an extremely shy type, a stark contrast to the madman he had seen when she fought Finn.
…
“Welcome to the academy registry. What can I do for you today?” The receptionist, standing behind a long reception table, greeted them with a polite and professional voice.
“Hi, can you please give me all the rank C missions available that require a superior rank 1 Lexarch?” Seren requested, his voice steady and confident.
The receptionist nodded and turned around, walking to a door situated behind her. She disappeared inside and returned a few moments later with an orange orb in her hand. She handed the orb to Seren and explained, “All the C-rank missions can be found in this Image store relic. Just pour a bit of your soul energy into it, and you will be able to browse the missions. Please let me know if you need any help.”
Emma, standing beside Seren and holding his hand, looked at the relic with wide-eyed excitement. She wanted to touch and feel it herself but held back, realizing she might come off as too bratty if she caused a scene here.
Seren didn’t waste any time. He poured a bit of his soul energy into the relic, and instantly, his mind was flooded with images and descriptions of various missions. The missions ranged from hunting Law beasts, collecting herbs or other materials, escort missions, investigations, and even some that required infiltration to gather information.
Anyone could post a mission with the BPS as long as they had the funds. Lexarchs were busy people and sometimes required outside help to complete simple tasks or specific missions that required special abilities.
Seren skimmed through the extensive list of missions, searching for the gloom crawler hunt. After sifting through hundreds of missions, he finally found the one he was looking for. He handed the orb back to the receptionist and said, “My friends and I would like to take the rank C mission posted by BPS of hunting 50 gloom crawlers.”
The receptionist took out a pen and started scribbling in a notebook on her desk. “Class number, class teacher, and your name?” she asked, looking at Seren and the group behind him.
“Class 9, Aldric Stonefield, and Seren,” Seren replied.
Susie then stepped forward and said, “Susie Verlain from Class 9 as well.”
Following Susie, one by one, Kai, Elise, and Lorien stepped forward and stated their class, name, and teacher’s name.
The receptionist wrote down everyone’s names and, when she was done, she noticed there were only five names in total.
“That’s only five people. You need one more person to accept this mission,” she said, looking up at Seren.
Lorien stepped forward, lifting Finn, who was still unconscious, by the back of his neck and showing him to the receptionist.
“This guy will also be coming along as well. His name is Finn, and he’s from the same class as us.”
The receptionist raised an eyebrow when she saw Finn’s unconscious body but didn’t say anything about how he became like this. Instead, she maintained her professional demeanor and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept a confirmation like this. I would need the other person to be saying their name themselves. This is a policy by the BPS to prevent people from abusing the group missions.”
Lorien frowned slightly at the receptionist's words. He turned to Finn and slapped him across the face a couple of times in an attempt to wake him up, but Finn didn’t budge. Lorien slapped him even harder, but still, there was no effect.
The scene unfolded with a mix of comedy and awkwardness, leaving everyone in the hall stunned.
“Ah, wait, that might not—” Susie tried to stop Lorien, but he didn’t listen. He continued slapping Finn until his cheeks were puffed up red like balloons, but still, Finn didn’t wake up.
Lorien was caught in a bind now, regretting smashing Finn’s head to make him come along. He then got an idea and knew how to wake him up. Leaning in closer to Finn’s ear, he whispered.
“Wake up, or the gorgeous lady in front of you will be upset.”
“WHERE!” Finn yelped, his red puffy cheeks bouncing as he broke free from Lorien’s grasp and looked around frantically. His eyes then landed on the receptionist, who had short hair that covered one of her eyes, peach-colored lips, and a professional black dress that accentuated her figure. Finn’s eyes almost popped out of his head.
Finn then with an unreadable expression walked up to the receptionist, who looked confused at what was happening. When Finn reached her desk, he reached out and slightly lifted the receptionist’s chin, bringing it closer to his face. He looked into her eyes, with a slight smile on his face, and said, “Blessed are the eyes of anyone who witnesses such beauty in their lifetimes.”
“Huh?” The receptionist was taken aback by Finn’s bold actions, her professional facade momentarily slipping.
Finn's hand gently traced a path from her chin to her jaw, finally resting on her soft cheek. The warmth of her skin sent a subtle shiver through his fingertips. His voice was warm and inviting as he spoke, his breath carrying the faint scent of mint, "Your eyes are making my world disappear, trapping this poor soul in your mesmerizing spell of beauty." He paused, his eyes locking with hers, noticing flecks of gold in her irises. "Can I have the honour of knowing your name?"
The receptionist's lips curved into a polite smile as she grabbed Finn's hand gently, her touch firm but not unkind. She placed it to the side, the cool air rushing between their separated skin.
"Quite bold, indeed," she said, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. "I'm Aurora, and what about you, honey? What class are you from?"
Finn's confidence surged, emboldened by her response. He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a more intimate tone. "I like straightforward girls like you. I'm Finn from class 9. Why don't you come with me, and we can get to know more than just each other’s names" His words carried a hint of suggestion as his eyes twinkled with mischief.
Aurora's professional smile remained unwavering. She reached for the sleek, black pen and with practiced efficiency, she wrote Finn's name and class on the notebook before her.
"Ok, all your names have been added. All of you can start the mission day after tomorrow," she stated matter-of-factly.
Confusion clouded Finn's features as he processed Aurora's response. He turned around, to find Lorien's amused gaze fixed upon him. Susie stood nearby, her cheeks flushed with secondhand embarrassment from Finn's flirtation. Elise pressed her lips together, barely containing her laughter, while Seren maintained his characteristic apathetic expression, seemingly unaffected by the scene unfolding before him.
Without warning, Emma appeared at Finn's side. In a swift motion, she delivered a sharp kick to his knee, the impact resonating through the hall with tens of students walking by, giving a curious glance at the source of the sound.
"Ow!" Finn's exclamation as he clutched his knee, the pain cutting through his dazed state.
"Naughty Finn," Emma chided, her tone a mix of exasperation and annoyance.
Realization dawned on Finn as the fog of confusion lifted. He looked up at Lorien, his voice tinged with irritation. "Lorien, did you do this?"
Lorien's smirk widened, but he remained silent, clearly enjoying Finn's discomfort.
Finn's annoyance bubbled to the surface as he addressed the group, his voice carrying a hint of desperation. "I need to complete missions as well! My family won't give me soul stones, saying I should work for them. This group mission probably pays a measly 10 soul stones!"
Aurora's calm voice cut through his complaints. "The mission will pay 300 soul stones. That's 60 soul stones per person."
"Alright, when do we set off?" Finn's demeanor changed instantly, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of the reward.
Seren, who had been quietly observing, stepped forward. His brow furrowed as he addressed Aurora. "Why is the mission day after tomorrow? Usually, we can do them on the same day."
Aurora's expression turned serious as she explained, "There has been something weird going on lately in the area where Gloom crawlers live. We've dispatched some teams to go investigate this issue. We don't want other Lexarchs to interfere with the investigations, which is why we delayed the mission."
Seren's frown deepened, his plans clearly disrupted by this news. He turned to face the group, his voice steady as he spoke. "We will go on the mission two days from now. If you guys want to choose a different mission, we can do that as well."
A moment of silence fell over the group as they considered Seren's words. Emma broke the quiet, stepping close to Seren and wrapping her arms around his. Her voice was filled with enthusiasm as she declared, "Brother Seren, rest assured I will be here on the day of the mission."
Seren's sigh was almost imperceptible as he addressed the group one final time. "Okay then, on the 18th, we will head to the foot of the second peak."
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Condemned To Death
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