CHAPTER 123
THE LONG-AWAITED SECOND YEAR
"Hurry up, what were you doin'?" Hans needled, his impatience riding his face. He'd been standing by the Talons' castle gates, outside Chris's new dorm, for what felt like an eternity – a good half-hour. But Chris, still weary from the morning's events, wasn't in the mood for Hans's usual banter. He signalled for a breather. Hans, though, wasn't one to be easily deterred. "I've been waiting here forever," he complained, his tone a mix of jest and genuine annoyance. On the other hand, heaving, a wry smile curved Chris's lips, "C'mon, cut me some slack," he interjected. "I don't have the luxury like yours. My bathroom situation involves sharing with a senior who's in no hurry – seriously, it's like waiting for a girl to finish getting ready."
As they hurried along, their playful bickering persisted, with Hans often coming out on top in their exchanges. To steer the conversation in a different direction, Chris glanced around and inquired, "Hey, where's Deli?"
“Who knows?" Hans retorted irritably, "Let's just make it to class first. We're all in the same class anyway, right? Swordsmanship—"
"Yes," Chris replied, his head bobbing in agreement. But before he could elaborate, Hans interrupted, abruptly stopping him. "You also went for Soul Weaponry, didn't you? We're in that class together as well."
"Yes," Chris responded once more, adding, "Even Deli went for that one."
"What? She never mentioned..." Hans was momentarily baffled. He was sure she chose differently before, and seeing him contemplating, Chris nudged, “You would have known if you weren’t so busy.”
"Hey," Hans retorted with a frown, "I had to sort out the mentoring situation and help him settle in."
"That's precisely why I steered clear of that mess. Why add to your own stress?" Chris remarked.
“Yeah, tell me. I only wanted an errand boy, but I got scammed into the genuine thing.” He thought, but these weren't the words he wanted to share with Chris. Instead, he confidently stated, “I wanted to raise a subordinate.” But shaking his head, Chris shot him a disapproving look. "Yeah, right. Your face tells a different story—" "Ha, we reached the hall." Hans tried changing the subject, but another voice came from the back, interrupting him, “What took you idiots so much time?”
"Oh, thank God. She is here." A sneer stretched on Hans's face, and turning back, he answered first, “Apparently, Chris is living with a lady.” And, as he anticipated, Chris's expression changed. Disheartened, Chris replied,“ I’d have liked that, but sadly, my roommate senior takes dumps for a long time, and it's a battlefield after.”
"Ew, didn't need those details," Delimira chimed in, her face half-covered. Hans joined in with a playful imitation, "Me neither." Witnessing their synchronised reaction, Chris exclaimed, "Oh gawd, they're multiplying."
Sharing a chuckle, they made their way to the lecture hall. The setup wasn't all that unfamiliar from the previous year, except now there was no wooden sword but steel. With the second-year class being a selection of the best from the prior year, and for those inclined towards different weaponry like bows or spears, they also had separate classes for them, so the numbers dwindled further, garnering extra attention from instructors who provided tailored guidance to address their weaknesses.
Chris and Hans were sparing like usual and the result was not much different than the last year either. Blades clashed, whooshing through the air, but Chris was yet to land a hit on Hans. "Come on, Hans! I've been training for three whole months. Let me land one hit," he grumbled. But Hans kept switching stances to deflect or evade Chris’s jabs. It seems more like a dance than an actual spar which was rubbing salt on Chris's wounded pride. And, after doing everything, when his energy waned, Hans swiftly disarmed him with a single fluid motion. “It always feels refreshing to fight you, my friend.”Hans commented, and glancing at Deli, he added with a smirk, "Want to have a go, Deli?"
“No," She denied, surprising both Chris and Hans alike, and looking at their agape faces, she explained, "I know not to take extra stress. It's pointless to fight when I'm certain I'll end up losing anyway."
“Smartass.” Hans commented, sheathing his blade and Delimira being the one who must have the last say, responded, “That… I am.” And before leaving for her seat, she rubbed at Chris, “I told you. You can’t beat him in just swordsmanship —”
"I'm a knight, Deli. A knight," Chris declared, his grip firm on the hilt of his sword. Frustrated, he continued, "It doesn't make sense that I lack the skills to defeat a mage in a sword fight."
“Idiot," Deli retorted, "You are headbutting a wall here. Why not test your skills against someone else? I doubt there's another mage out there who could even withstand one of your strikes.”
They continued talking, pointing out the mistakes of others and discussing what to improve, and just like that, their two hours long class finally ended. Everyone was tired except for one, Hans who looked really energised. He asked, "When is our next class? I'm happy that we don't have to do morning exercises in the second year." But the two turned to him, almost shooting death stare, even when she knew she couldn't beat him, she teamed up with Chris and the result was still the same, Hans was unbeatable in terms of the sword, even Rudolf acknowledged that privately when he occasionally sparred with Deli.
“How can you have energy after this heavy training?” Chris asked gasping, and Hans responded, “That’s why I asked you to stop killing babies in the bathroom —”
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“Shut up man," Chris shouted, leaping with an unfounded burst of strength in his legs, to muffle this blabbermouth. And, leaning in close, he whispered, "That's not something you say out loud, you moron.”
Confused, Deli overheard and inquired, "What's going on?" Hans turned to her, "I was just asking him to take it easy, mpp—"
"Enough, buddy." Chris begged, cursing his roommate who spilt everything."
"Fine, you dolt." Removing his hand, Hans shifted his attention, asking, "So what's your next class?"
"Tomorrow it's Soul Weaponry. But today, in the afternoon, we have a discussion homeroom with Professor Walter. Don't skip it."
“I have a production class as well. Damn, Professor Walter went nuts with my schedule.” He then turned to Delimira, asking her the same, and she responded the same as Chris, so Hans went grunting to his agriculture class. "But then he quickly became happy because new ideas for experiments kept coming to him during the class. The professor introduced various herbs and things that make things better. He didn't realize when the class ended. After lunch, everyone got together in the Common room for second-year students. It was the first time all the second-years were in one place. Hans quietly said, 'How many of us are there?' Chris replied, 'There are more than eighty, and I'm the representative for our year again this time.'"
“Yes, congratulations, take care of my attendance. And this time, don’t mess with it. You did a fine job last time Chris," Hans complained, "Sending me for the make-up sessions.”
“Hey I told you that was not my fault, Professor Martha was hell-bent on singling you. All my proxies were caught, she even reduced my grades.”
“But you still got a top rank…stabbing the back of your friends is an impressive strategy to clear the competition.”
"Hey! —”
Our homeroom is here," Deli halted their chatter by redirecting their attention ahead. "Looks like he's really into our little friend here, Chris,” she remarked, pointing at Hans. He didn't miss a beat and replied with a sarcastic grin, “You just can’t help it, can you, Deli?”
"It's not my fault you make funny faces whenever your height comes up—"
"Just wait a bit, I'll be taller than you soon."
"That's what you said last year."
"Hey, farm boy!" Walter's voice boomed to the back where the trio was bickering. “Eyes at front and mouths shut.” he declared authoritatively, and when the trio looked settled, Walter continued, "Eyes to the front, mouths shut." Once they settled down, Walter continued, "I'm your homeroom teacher this year. You're all the elites, the cream of the crop. Those who didn't make it are learning trades on different islands. So if you miss your friends, you might see them. They might even have a second shot at your graduation ceremony." Walter looked around, everyone was paying their full attention to him, so knocking his table aloud, he stated with a sneer, “As I’ve mentioned before, I was head storming a project, a junior team for Glory Wars, and it got approved last year. We’ll be choosing a team from you brats, so get your shit together. And as you might have heard, the mentoring program is resumed from this year onward, and oddly enough it was for second years only. I don’t know what the higher-ups were thinking, but this is an opportunity for you all, to create an identity not backed by family or relation among your juniors.”
Suddenly, Cynthia of Sunfall and Hans’s House member raised her hand, “Is it possible to…support them financially?”
“I know what your support means, princess, but one who can sell himself once can sell himself twice. So be extra careful if you buy their loyalty that way.”
Class started whispering among themselves, and Hans was not one to miss the chance, “Chris, are you sure you are not taking one?” But bobbing his head, Chris nodded, “I don’t have time for that, you and Deli can play the mentors.”
"Hmm…" Hans pondered, then turned to Deli with a sly grin. "Hey, Deli. How about a friendly contest?"
"What do you want to bet?" she inquired.
"Wait, isn't the order usually the other way around? Shouldn't you ask what we're competing in first?"
"Hans," she paused for effect, "Have you ever actually won a bet against me?"
"Hm…well, that's reasonable, so let's skip the wager this time," Hans stated.
"Alright, you chicken. What's the challenge?"
"Well, it's not really between us. Since you've taken the talented princess under your wing, let's see which of our juniors becomes stronger.
“Fine, challenge accepted,” she smiled, commenting, “I’ll show how scary a raw talent is Hans.” And Hans sneered back, “And I’ll show you how far one can go when his life depends on it Deli.”
“Buddy,” Chirs chimed in with a concern, “You can’t kill your juniors —” But Hans with an innocent face commented, interrupting him, “Breaking a few bones in the name of training is fine, Chris.” When the three were discussing things of their own, others asked Walter some more questions about the year curriculum, and the class was let go. As Hans headed out, trailing behind his friends, Walter picked him out from the group. "Hey, farmboy, a moment."
"Ugh, what's up now?" Hans muttered, clicking his tongue. He made his way to Walter as everyone else swiftly disappeared.“Farmboy, really sir?” he asked with a pouting face, “Can’t you call me something decent, my name would be a good choice for once —”
"I hope our agreement hasn't slipped your mind," Walter stressed, his tone serious. "Your second book for the one in the Alliance treasury."
“Should I tell him that he was already robbed, no, he taught me to use everything I can, like a true Prophet member. It's your fault for losing it, sir.” Hans nodded, acknowledging Walter,
I already knew that. I'll secure the top spot in the glory wars and claim it. But, sir, is there anything else? I don't think you're holding me just for that."
"Aren't you getting rather familiar with me?" Walter inquired, his tone slightly probing. Hans, however, remained casual in his response. “We are talking about sneaking out one of the most powerful grimoires (magic books) with unmeasurable power. I deserve to get some leeway—”
“Fine, fine, Farmboy. I stopped you because some people from your homeland are coming next week. There is going to be another world summit in Midlands. Students won’t be affected, but they requested a private meeting with you.”
“I can’t catch a break, what am I? A third-grade novel’s protagonist?” He mumbled in thought and spoke, “Is it Prime Minister Arat?”
“You know him?” Walter asked, imitating a surprised look after knowing everything and it was not hidden from Hans either but he played along,“Sadly yes, is it him who asked for me?” Hans asked again and Walter acknowledged, “Yes, but why —”
“I sorta robbed him,” Hans quickly responded, “He probably wants it back.”
"Enough," Walter motioned with his hand, "I don't want to get involved." Hans grinned, nodding, and fired back, "Is there someone named Dijkstra coming, by any chance?"
"No, that lunatic is barred from entering Concordia," Walter responded, sensing Hans's query.
Hearing this, Hans kicked at the air and lamented, "That's a shame. I was looking forward to meeting him." And like that, a week flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the atmosphere at Concordia transformed to greet the esteemed delegates from all the nations.
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