-- North of Styrtan Village --

In the north of Styrtan Village lies a road that would lead to the City of Taraj but the road was in the center of two woodlands. Deep in the right woodland, lies one of the hideout of the Vile Brigands.

Pryce entered the woodland by himself. He was quickly traversing the area and only slowing down after seeing a lone cabin from a distance.

"So where is he?" Jako asked, appearing behind a tree.

"There was an unforeseen situation. " Pryce answered, frowning at Jako.

"Heh! Excuses. Excuses. A month of preparation. You even sent your vice captain since you think he would be enough and you were still not able to get him! How incompetent! " Jako mockingly said.

"Do you think you are qualified to mock me. Have you forgotten that one of your men died from them." Pryce retorted. "Unlike you, my men were able to catch him. He was just lucky that someone from the capital arrived and took him from me."

"Oh! What a coincidence don't you think?" Jako sniggered. He thinks that Pryce was just giving some excuse from his failure. "Never mind, we still have another plan after all. Since you now failed, I'll be executing it. You don't have any problems with it, do you?"

"Hmph! I haven't failed yet." Pryce snorted. " You were so stressed last time but you seem really confident of that plan of yours so do what you want! I don't care. I'll use my own methods."

"Well, you definitely should. It would be problematic for us if they reach the capital."

Pryce chuckled. "Heh! Problematic for you but not for me. It would even be better for me if they just leave this place."

"Come on now! We are all in this together now. Your people just tried to capture him. He now knows that its this village's militia who wanted to get him." Jako laughed. "It would be bad if they came back even stronger don't you think?"

"I am just helping you because your stupid people killed someone that you should not have." Pryce massaged his forehead, seemingly stressed. "You don't plan to kill them do you? They are now high profile people. Them dying would cause us a lot of problems."

"You should not underestimate what we are capable. We don't need to kill them." Jako maliciously smiled, licking his lips. "We can break their minds with magic or drugs. We just need to capture one of them! The other two would eventually look for him."

"Tsk! I should not have asked." Pryce seemed displeased at Jako's answer but he knew that it was the best solution .

After a few more discussions, Pyrce left Jako. It would be even more suspicious if he went missing for a longer amount of time.

"Gabo!" Jako shouted as soon as Pryce went away.

"Yes captain!" Gabo jumped down from a tree.

"Bring my brother here!"

Gabo disappeared going to the cabin behind them. After a few minutes, he came back with Jaza.

"Uhh brother, is there anything you need?"

"You should know that this issue also started from you but it doesn't matter. Someone like them who have lots of potential and not on our side should be killed early. What's more, we can't let the death of Tarak be in vain." Jako brought out the letter that Gabo gave him. "Do you know what this is?"

"No- But that symbol! Its from the Illustra Society!" Jaza shouted.

"That is right! Do you know of anyone from the Society who has any conflicts with them?" Jako asked.

"No! Only a few members of the Illustra Society are known." Jaza answered.

"How about some students who are not on good terms with them?"

"Uhh... Me?"

Jako slapped Jaza. "Idiot! Except for you of course!"

Jaza rubbed his chin, feeling maltreated. "Who would even dare to antagonize them after knowing how strong they are? I haven't even seen that Cyziel in classes so it would be impo- Oh wait! There is one person!" He grinded his teeth. "That bastard who thinks that everyone else other than him is dumb!"

-- Styrtan Luxury Hotel --

Cyziel yawned, waking up from his sleep. "I actually got tired. That guy's questions were non stop! He said it would not take long but we finished past midnight. Worst of all is that he is not yet finished! He plans to stay here for a few more days. Fortunately, He reserved good rooms for each of us."

Cyziel washed his face before proceeding to get out of his room. He followed the instructions given to him where he should go for breakfast. He saw a huge room with multiple round tables. There were also countless of dishes that are placed in the side tables. The hotel was actually serving buffet for breakfast.

He could see Ortix, whose table was full of half empty plates, waving at him. Volus could also be seen taking breads and fruits from the side tables. He approached Ortix and sat down on one of the open seats.

"You actually woke up late!" Ortix chuckled.

"Yeah! Last night was pretty tiring! That guy asked us lots of questions!" Cyziel complainingly said.

"What? You have gone for days without sleep before. How are you getting tired from that!"

"You are right. I get easily tired these days. I also even crave a lot of food." Cyziel picked up one strip of meat from the table then munched on it. "Maybe because I train or study everyday during my free time."

"I also train a lot of times though and I am still fine." Ortix continued swallowing his food. "Maybe, you are training too much. You should limit yourself. We are not anywhere near danger."

I did say that I train a lot but I don't really think that I am overworking myself. Moreover, I regenerate energy far faster than normal people. Have I still not recovered perfectly? Cyziel contemplated. "Well, Maybe I actually should."

"That Linnaeus guy is not finished interviewing us isn't he? We should just ditch him!" Ortix grumbled.

"Ha! I would also like that but he seems to want to learn about us for our own good. He wants to learn next about our language and letters." Cyziel grinned. "And you are the one who would answer that! I can't share mine since I learned that there are existing texts of my people here. They would learn that I am actually from here."

"Ughh! I won't be talking to that guy by myself!" Ortix protested.

"Its fine. We will still come with you and luckily, he said that he would be busy for today so he would continue the questioning in another day. So, we could leave for today."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Volus finished looking for his snacks and deserts. He sat back down with Cyziel and Ortix. "So what are you planning to do now?"

Cyziel smiled. "Well, I'll probably look for that militia captain. I'll find out what he is up to."

"I knew you would say that but you should not. Unless, you are prepared to kill them then I would also accompany you." Volus uttered while slicing the bread in front of him.

"Oh! Are we going to play today? Count me in!" Ortix enthusiastically said. He hasn't been in any good action for quite some time.

"What do you mean? I'm not afraid of killing whoever is behind this, especially if I learned that they are not planning something not good." Cyziel answered.

"That's not enough. You would need to kill everyone who would be there."

"What? There is no need for that! Some of them are innocents and are just following orders." Cyziel argued, frowning at Volus.

"You still don't understand how other people think. It might be different for you since you grew respected but in my world, leaving related people alive would just cause you troubles in the future. What if they announced what you did while changing the actual story of how it happened? Wouldn't that make you the one who caused trouble?" Volus explained.

"I agree with Volus. From my own experience, you would most likely get killed if you left problematic people alive. You should not only tear down the root problem but also all its branches." Ortix added.

"Okay you guys might be exaggerating but what should we do?" Cyziel asked. "I am pretty sure that I might not be the only one who will be targeted starting today."

"Nothing. We should just keep on avoiding them and make them more desperate. In that way, they would naturally reveal their true purpose. We don't even know why they are looking for us." Volus said before drinking an orange colored juice in his glass.

"What if they are the one looking for trouble? We are not suppose to just run. Are we?" Ortix frowned. He would not like to run against people much weaker than him.

"That's why we should avoid them but if they still try to force us then of course we could teach them some lesson. Though it would be better not to kill them, specially if we are inside the village." Volus scowled. "Of course, if they are intending to kill us then we shall have no mercy."

"Heh! I like that!" Ortix smirked.

"Hmm... Fine! Let's do that. I do wonder though why would the militia want to bring me by force. If they just want to talk then they could just have told me! I don't even remember interacting with them recently. I have only gratitude for them since Volare helped me when I just arrived here. I probably should check him out if he knows something." Cyziel wondered.

"Do you think it has something to do with some of the organizations that we rejected or offended?" Ortix asked Volus.

"The Mundus group doesn't even dare to see us. The Illustra society was still enticing us to join them. The Aristocrats are the same. They think that we are some nobles that we should join them. The other groups like Champion's club are keeping their distance. They just keep sending messages instead of meeting us. They are either afraid of us or too shy to talk with us. Will those people really want to try mess with us?" Volus sarcastically said.

"You two seem to have also been invited by lots of organizations. I also received some but most of my invitation were personal. They are mostly old people who seem to be a member of this school's management. It seems that they are also members or advisers to the school organizations. I rejected them all though and they still seem respectful to me." Cyziel said.

"Of course they would be respectful to you! They want to use you for their own benefit! Fake people like that have always existed." Ortix snorted.

"If you also do not know it yet, being accepted into a university in the capital seems a really big occasion. I tried to research a bit regarding the capital and learned that most people here have never even stepped inside the capital and anyone who has a connection there is a powerful person. It would be a great boon for a member of their organization to be accepted their." Volus explained.

"Well, shouldn't it be no different for you or even Vera? The instructors probably already know that you have recommendations to enroll to the Capital's university." Cyziel inquisitively said.

"Mmm... You are right but there is one thing that you might not know yet which the organizations are privy to. I learnt it from my elder who is now in the capital."

Volus explained the information that he got from his elders. He learned that the kingdoms were actually like a country and the capital was the largest of them. The capital is also said to be divided into four parts.

The extended area which is a third of the area of the capital. Half of it is just for agriculture and fisheries while the other half are used by factories and by the military for training.

The outer capital which is the part where most people are allowed to go. It also occupies a third of the capital's area. There are countless fundamental schools in the outer capital but there are only 18 universities. These 18 universities are ranked and the rankings change from time to time.

As for the middle and inner capital, not much is actually known. The only thing known for the public is that the leaders of each race are usually located in the middle capital.

"Wait! Aren't you the leader of your race? Wouldn't you be allowed in the middle capital then?" Ortix asked.

"Hmph! Its not as easy as that. Your race should have significant contribution and you should get the trust of the other human races. You and Cyziel are also the only one representing your race so you would also have a chance to go there." Volus answered.

Cyziel chuckled, picking a grape-like fruit from the plates that Volus got. "Hah! They better let me. If I am correct, the inner capital should be where my family's castle was previously located. This middle and inner capital should also be the place that Vera was saying that they were not allowed to go. Whatever they are hiding there should be something related to my family."

Volus nodded. "Back to the topic, since the universities are ranked then you should expect that those who pass the higher universities would have a greater recognition. They probably think that you would have a higher chance to pass in any of the universities since it is possible to fail in all the 18."

"Huh! Are they thinking that we are still not that good yet?" Ortix scowled, piercing the meat in his plate with a fork.

"Calm down Ort. They probably think that I am good enough because of my test results which is in favor of me because of my connections with the elements and energies. Nevertheless, you two have your own abilities that are beyond normal magic." Cyziel said.

"There is another more immediate reason why they are respectful to you and that is due to the interschool competition. If you reached a good ranking in the tournament then the organization that you belong to would be allotted more budget." Volus uttered.

"Wait, I haven't asked you two yet. Are you participating in the interschool competition?" Cyziel asked.

"Oh yes! I am part of the main line up!" Ortix proudly said. "I believe that they just took the top 5 from the top 10"

"I was also chosen for secondary line up during the top 50 picks though I doubt that it was actually random." Volus said.

Cyziel shook his head. "No! I was not chosen. I was only informed that I could watch the interschool competition if I want."

"What? That's impossible! Do they not want to win? Come on Cyziel! Let's go petition that!" Ortix stood up.

"Sit down Ort!" Volus ordered before turning to Cyziel. "If my guess is correct then they should place you as a substitute. In this way, the other schools would not know of you early but they will suddenly use you if our enemies are too strong."

"Bwahaha!" Ortix laughed before sitting down. He ignored the people who stared at him. "That's unfortunate for you Cy! You won't be getting a turn. I'll probably beat all the enemies by myself."

Volus sighed. "Do you even know what the rules is?"

Ortix scratched his head. "Uhh.. No... But we just need to beat up our opponent right?"

"The early tournament would be against the other villages in the outskirt. This one would be pretty easy. Our school would probably only use non top 10 participants for this. It is a best of five battles. The top 3 in each region would proceed to the next tournament."

"Well, I won't also like to fight weaklings." Ortix chuckled.

"The next tournament is where our stronger members would go out. It is a one on one fight but it is a fight until you are down. Meaning, as long as the last one is from our team then we win. 10 members are allowed here. Like before, only the top 3 could proceed."

"So I could win this tournament just by myself?" Ortix asked.

"Yes. Its possible for you to keep fighting if you want to unless you are beaten."

Ortix punched his palm. "Oh! That's great!"

"The third one is a bit different. It is meant to cull the number of participants. Each kingdom could only have 20 member which would be taken from the 3 teams that proceeded. Additionally, there is no division between freshman, intermidis or maximas so it is mostly only the maximas that could proceed. A new team would be formed from the remaining participants.

"How are the participants culled?" Cyziel asked.

"Different ways. Challenges usually change every year but the test could go from the cultivation of the body to the mental strength of one person. It shouldn't be a problem for the 3 of us. This is the norm in Daraksta after all."

"Heh! I still remember my first days there. I thought I would go insane or just die." Ortix chuckled.

"You are not the only one! My souls almost got-" Volus shivered, pausing for a bit. "Anyway, the third tournament is just a preparation for the 4th tournament. It is still between each kingdoms but the format for the early battles are team versus team. The battles starting from the quarter finals seemed to be one on one but they could still change depending on what is decided by the organizer."

Cyziel nodded. "I see. This would keep us entertained for the next months."

"I sure hope that there would be some challenge for us!" Ortix said.

"More like this would keep you two away from trouble for some time!" Volus thought.

The three eventually finished their food. Cyziel went back to the campus to continue his studies. Volus went back to the place where his people are staying while Ortix went out of the village to train.