Chapter 45

The First-Year Representatives

  When Aredehel ended her explanation about the Mage hierarchy and the difference in the levels. instead of satisfactory eyes, students were more startled. it was because she ended her lecture with an odd note, calling Warlocks, the most respected and powerful mages as a 'Nasty Existence' not to mention her being one of them too

She knew what her students were thinking so she cleared it once more,

Yes, you heard me right.

  Becoming a warlock is akin to an unachievable goal for every mage and even if later it turned out to be a pipe dream, every youth aspired to be one. The most talented mages of the era were the ones who could touch the dream of making it to the ninth circle that's why Genas had very few warlocks among the mana practitioners.

Aredhel added,

A single Warlock is capable of changing the geography of the lands, there is a popular saying in Clandor "The serpent, the king, the beast, the Warlock, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep."

A student raised her hand for a question and Aredhel allowed her to ask,

Then why not Warlords, professor?

Aredhel snickered and replied,

You can at least talk some sense to them, but not to the one I mentioned in the proverb.

She added,

I do not mean to look down on warlords but If we compare them to ninth circles, you will need at least three of them to deal with a single Warlock.

  The knight student did not refute it, because that was a universal truth, the definitive advantage the knights have over the mages was their numbers. Hans was eyeing at Chris, teasing him that he will never be able to beat him alone. Delimira suddenly raised her hand and Aredhel signalled her to ask what she wanted to know.

She stood up and pointed his finger towards Hans and asked her,

What about him, he does not have any circles but he can use spells.

  Delimira was constantly analysing things so she did not like something she could not understand, so Hans’s unknown way of using mana was something that was ticking her off. She has to know the ins and out of his method for devising a solution to deal with this variable's existence. Previously if Hans had used more spells or was a little less impulsive, then she did not have had the confidence to win a quick victory.

Hans was baffled, he didn't know that she realised it this early, he whispered to her,

You knew?

Delimira replied to him with her usual condescending tone,

Who do you think I am?

Aredhel sensed a tension between them and answered her daughter,

People have secrets, Ms Delimira, you have too, we better not pry into it.

  Aredhel dismissed the class, this was the last class for today. Hans felt quite good after Aredhel picked his side over her daughter. While everyone was planning to move out, their homeroom teacher had some other plans. The professor entered and pointed them to sit down for a bit.

She made her way to the podium of the hall and said,

As you all know, Concordia does not have a strict schedule for classes, so you should always look for new announcements on the notice board. Your professor will give you a theoretical lecture once in a while and then assign you a task that you have to finish in a limited time. You will be awarded credits by your professor's standards so don't be careless about them.

  It was not only for first years but for all of the students, Concordia focused on nurturing students so that they can find their own answers and have their professors guide them if they're stuck on something. This helps the children to learn and study on their own and promote bonding with their peers because most of the tasks required collective thinking.

Janet continued,

When you don't have lectures scheduled, you are free to spend the time as you wish but I recommend you visit the library from time to time. It's your future, not mine, you have to be responsible for your choices.

  She glanced Hans’s way and the boy started thinking, what did he do wrong this time but his worries vanished when she pointed at Chris and Delimira. She made them come forward to the podium and said,

And lastly, Concordia strictly bans private fights, so if you want to settle some differences, then officially challenge other parties for the duel in the vigilance of proctors. If any one of you witnessed a fight or was forced into one, Contact these two.

  Just like Hans, everyone was thinking about why she was saying to report the fights to these two. Janet coughed a little and answered their unasked question,

These two are selected as the strongest knight and mage of this year, so I made them representatives, they have the perks of receiving extra credit each month and if you want to replace them, you can challenge them for the duel, being a firstyear representative, they can't refuse any challenge, with some terms and conditions.

Hans raised a question,

What will happen if you participate in a private fight?

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

She suddenly became chirpy and answered him,

I am glad someone asked this, If you are found involved in private fights, then the instigator will have to pay a hefty fine with expulsion and a lifetime ban from Concordia and its facility. You might not know how severe this is so read the rule book.

  With the departure of their homeroom teacher, the class dismissed and the trio went straight to the cafeteria for lunch. There were many cafeterias on campus and the foundation department had its own. All three of them sat and Hans showed the perfect aristocratic way of eating which surprised his companions, his manners were too refined for a country bumpkin he appeared to be.

Delimira asked him with suspicion,

Hey, don't tell me you are an illegitimate child of some nobility.

Hans replied with a sarcastic tone,

What a way to start a conversation,

So, are you not?

Hans sighed and responded,

My sister is strict when it comes to manners.

And who is she?

Why are you so interested?

it was not a major secret that he could keep anyway so Chris replied instead of him,

She is the aide of Dean Sierra, he is from Edenberg county.

  Delimira was unknown of the fact, she felt backstabbed by her mother who was negligent enough to keep her in the dark about this vital information. She clenched her fist with a spoon in it but maintained her holier-than-thou attitude and said to him,

So, you are from Edenberg county

  Hans ignored her and looked at Chris who didn't even ask before sharing this with her. Chris was not gonna take the criticising looks from him and whispered in his ears.

Don't make her curious or else she will find out the things you intend to hide.

Hans suddenly realised that she could do things like that after all, in this new world money was a scary thing. He replied to her politely,

Yes, I am. I was kinda adopted by her family.

  This was news to Chris as well, and hard to believe because the affection between him and Vanessa didn't feel like he was adopted. Hans lacked the concept of blood relations so he really treated Vanessa as his real sister. He was not going to go into detail about her relationship with her, so for diverting their attention from the topic he asked Chris,

Do you have any siblings too?

Yeah, a punk little brother.

Hans turned toward Delimira expecting an answer but he was ignored as he expected. He continued to ask Chris while eating food elegantly,

So do I receive any special treatment for having a representative as my friend?

In your dreams buddy?

I can probably arrange a meeting with Rudolf..sir Rudolf I mean.

Chris looked at Hans with anticipating eyes and said,

You said you couldn't earlier.

Well, things change from time to time, like having you in power is a serious motivation.

Chris chuckled at his shamelessness and responded,

I am sticking with my earlier thoughts, I will impress him on my own.

Hans showed a mischievous smile and said,

What about our little sword fight?

Oh don't you worry, I don't run from sword fights, so let's go to the duelling arena after our meal.

  Both did not eat to the fullest so they could fight freely and after finishing the appropriate portion, they left for the duelling arena and Delimra accompanied them. It was their first time roaming around in these parts, so they were enjoying the view. Even Delimra who came here several times didn't get to enter the campus so it was also a fresh experience for her.

They finally reached the duelling area for first-years, it was empty as expected, well, no one was crazy enough to apply for duels like these two on the very first day. Chris asked Hans,

So you wanna fight for a representative title or just a regular fight?

Hans didn't have to think hard about this so he replied quickly,

Nah, why would I take unnecessary responsibility, it will be limiting my freedom.

Chris was genuinely surprised, he thought Hans would have wanted the representative title,

are you that confident about winning?

Yeah, you can keep doing the chores for professors, that title is nothing but a scam, brother.

Chris went to apply for proctor vigilance, and Hans was left with Delimira in awkward silence. She broke the ice by saying,

I don't mean to brag but Chris has practised swordsmanship from an early age, I never saw someone as talented as him.

So are you worried about me, Ms Winters?

Nah, just accept your loss and move on Shorty.

  She never said anything that didn't piss him off. Hans was adamant about venting his anger on this duel. Chris came with a yawing Proctor, the man didn't think that some first-year dare to apply for the duel this early. No one apart from the four of them was present in the scene and the proctor looked at Hans who didn't seem like an initiate (grade 0-10) so he confirmed with him,

So you two are fighting each other and the restraints are not using aura, right?

Both the participants replied in unison,

Yes.

The proctor sighed, his beauty sleep was disturbed by these two punks, he asked again,

Do you wish to record this duel?

Chris replied quickly,

Yes.

The proctored smiled like a merchant who was scamming a customer,

That would be a gold coin for you

***