It took the group the whole day to bring fresh water from a nearby well and let Koadriana use it to form water clones and send them in, rubbing and scrubbing every millimeter of their new tower. When one of her clones was filled with grime, turning black from blue, it came out and collapsed into an empty bucket that they had to carry away and dump into the sewers.
"This was more exhausting than my routine workout sessions!" Raufon said, wiping his forehead, breathing heavily, and sitting on the staircase leading into their tower.
"Yeah! I agree!" Ceiline moaned, stretching next to him as she used her spells to get the many different vines off from the outside and trim the overgrown garden around their tower.
"We'll go and get rid of the trash!" Sion said, standing in the garden next to Aurora and a multiple-meter-high pile made out of old furniture. They were in too bad of a shape to be salvaged, so they decided to simply throw them out.
"I'm beaten!" Koadriana arrived, descending the spiral staircase, dragging herself along, and collapsing next to Ceiline. "I spent 99% of my mana! Uuu, I won't wake up until noon tomorrow!"
"Then don't fall asleep here!" Raufon chuckled, "I can't carry you back! I think my arms refuse to be lifted for the rest of the day!"
"I'm out too!" Ceiline shrugged while Sion and Aurora were already stuffing them into their holding bags and heading out to find a place to dump them. Preferably somewhere where they may even pay some CP for it.
"Where are the other two?" Ceiline asked, looking into the first floor of the tower. It was sparkling clean, revealing the white and black marble floor, the smooth walls, and the decorated ceiling, having a mural painted on it, depicting an old battlefield against the Undead. Without any furniture, it was spacious enough to comfortably house more than a dozen people simultaneously. Of course, ascending the stairs, the rooms' sizes started to get smaller and smaller until one reached the last, sixth floor.
"Up top!" Koa replied, looking up from the stairs, "It seems those who learn fire spells have unlimited energy… They are exploring the observatory."
"That room is weird," Raufon said, tilting his head backward, looking at the slowly darkening sky as night was slowly descending onto the Island.
"I did not recognize the formation etched into the floor." Ceiline said, mulling over it a little, "Before ever activating it, I think we should look up what it was used for. If it can be activated at all. I felt nothing coming from it!"
"Well, it was not for stargazing, that is for sure!" Koa yawned loudly, "The roof is solid! Even if the windows are clear now and you can point any telescope towards the sky… you still can't do that directly upwards!"
"Maybe it was not to observe the stars!" Raufon said, but it was just a wild guess.
While they were talking, Keily and Lia were up at the observatory. It was the smallest room. The stairway that led up here was connected to the balcony outside, and they could enter it through one of the tall, rotating windows. They had a perfect panoramic view in all directions, but looking up, their view was obstructed by an utterly black roof. It was unnaturally black. No matter if a light shone on it or Sion's spell of light hit it, the roof simply ate it all and remained black.
"Hmmmm…" Lia hummed, tilting her head left then right, spinning around in the air as she was touching the rooftop, floating there, propelled upwards by fire coming from her feet. "I feel nothing! It's cold to the touch and doesn't reflect my flames… but nothing else!"
"The formation did not react when you touched it either!" Keily said, watching the complex magic circle on the floor, having eight focal points on its edges, not counting the empty circle in the center. They already deduced that the formation depicted the eight elements, but it has remained a mystery as to why and what its usage was. Keily and Lia tried many things in the past hour; the latter even hurled some fireballs, blasting them against it with full force. However, the formation remained undamaged and inactive, the same when she sat down where the focus point for fire should be and started meditating. Nothing. "What kind of observatory is this anyway?" Keily looked around, "There was no telescope to be found at all!"
"Not even markings where it should be!" Lia agreed, landing in the middle, "Maybe it was once but later on remodeled? And these are just the remains of it? Haaah! It seems I will be a frequently returning customer in the Rejects…."
"At where?" Keily flinched, raising both of his eyebrows.
"It's a bookstore! Many things there are truly nothing but nonsense… but I already found some gems! Even books that are almost 4000 years old!"
"That should be… expensive!"
"Not really." Lia said, thinking a little, "It is reasonably priced, I think! Anyway, I'll try to look for information about the tower there!"
"I'll go to the library tomorrow!" Keily said, crossing his arms, repeatedly nodding, "There is a section that collects the history of the Institute; maybe I can find who built it and when!"
"Good thinking!" Lia clasped his shoulder with a grin, "I'll task Ceiline and the rest to get us furniture and turn this empty base into a new home! I'll put all my books bought right into the library! This way, we can buy many things, and everyone can read them!"
"Um! That is a good idea, Boss!" Keily nodded with shining eyes.
"Fufufu, yes, it is!" Lia grinned, puffing up her chest, enjoying the fact he was calling her that. Keily also realized it, so he quickly switched to using it, not finding it weird.
The level below them had no windows as the walls were decorated with bookshelves, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, towering at 4 meters height. In the middle of the roof, a round, head-sized orb was embedded, emitting gentle sun-like light all the time. The old reading tables were thrown out with the rest as they were deteriorating, falling apart, unlike the shelves. They were clearly enchanted; after a scrubbing, they were shining like new, regaining their deep brown lusters. Standing there empty, it was questionable if the group would manage to fill them up entirely before the four years were over.
The level below it was already decided to be gifted to Ceiline. She would move from her current location and live here as their Overseer. She was not against the idea as it would be much more spacious than her previous tower. Moving all of her tools and experiments over would be easily done with her new bag of holding, and she was already excited to transform it to her liking from the ground up. The remaining three levels below were still undecided about what it would become, but everyone agreed that the most spacious bottom floor would be turned into a lounge area where everyone could relax, talk and have fun.
"Let's go down!" Lia said, stretching, yawning a little, the first time Keily saw a little bit of exhaustion on her face. "We have time to figure out everything!"
"Um. That is true." Keily nodded, "And we have the upcoming competition… We need to do something about that too! If what Sion said is true… there are going to be some problems!"
"We will face that trouble head-on!" Lia grinned confidently, "Don't worry about it. Leave it to me and the rest! You need to focus on learning to cast spells first!"
"I'll do it quickly!" Keily said, his voice oozing his resolution, wanting to be part of the group and not just a dead weight.
"Do it good and not quickly!" Lia replied, looking into his golden eyes, "That is what my Dad always repeated to me!"
…
….
……
Koadriana did not lie; when the next day came, she slept straight to noon, only waking up when Aurora returned to their dorm room.
"Mhm… 'Morning…" She moaned, sitting up naked in her bed and rubbing her eyes.
"It is noon." Aurora wrote as a reply, starting to strip and ready to take a shower as she was sweaty from top to bottom, and her hair was sticking to her face in long strands.
"And?" Koa yawned, reading it with half-open eyes, "Where were you? You look exhausted already!"
"At the tower with the rest, constantly moving furniture in and up! We also discovered that we have a cellar. The only problem is, it is blocked by a magically reinforced door, and we have no key to enter!"
"Oh! Another secret! Great…”
"Unlike you, Lia was ecstatic!" Aurora replied, walking into the bathroom, followed by Koa, who decided to take a shower with her.
"Well, it should not be dangerous; we are in the Institute of Eight Elements!" She shrugged, watching Aurora's slim and fit body from behind.
"True. Plus, you should focus on the upcoming competition. You are going to be the target of it. If you lose, you will lose face to the family!"
"Since when did you start to care about face?" Koa laughed, suddenly placing her hands on her hips, leaning close to her, and pushing her face next to Aurora's.
"Since Lia is here." She replied, the end of her hair forming the words, then flicking Koa's forehead, ignoring her and continuing to wash down her sweat. "I don't care what crazy stunts you pull off when you are alone or start traveling the continent after school is done… but you can't influence Lia's reputation! The main branch's reputation!"
"Owie, cooooold~" Koadriana giggled, slapping Aurora's bottom, making her flinch a little. "Relax, I am holding myself back, aren't I? I wouldn't worry about the girl in the competition!"
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"I would," Aurora replied, turning around and facing her with a serious look. "I wouldn't take anybody lightly here! We are still young and inexperienced… we may come from a good background, but everyone studying here has access to similar resources as us. Not to mention, I know you started playing around in the past two to three years! Those who took it seriously could easily surpass you or me!"
"I'm an Amarin," Koadriana said, as the falling water from the showerhead turned into small little hands, holding onto Aurora's body, exploring it and grabbing into her skin, making her open her mouth, silently screaming out as it was a genuinely bizarre feeling. Koadrina managed to turn her face deep red in an instant, which was a rare occasion. "Ahaha~" Koa laughed, letting her go with a perverted grin, "I may be a bad girl, but I won't lose to nobody when it comes to manipulating water~ Do you know why Grandpa is so angry with me?"
"Because you are a hopeless pervert who molests her own cousin?" Aurora wrote with an angry look, feeling that she was being taken advantage of, now involuntarily covering her privates.
"Not really~ Because I have the best talent in the Element of Water the family has seen in a thousand years~!" She whispered, finishing her shower and walking out with swaying hips, shaking off the water that way. "I may be only a Magi, waiting for her tribulation," she said, stopping at the door, looking back over her shoulder, licking her lips, "But I already bested my father in terms of technique~."
…
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……
While most of them were at their new tower, bringing in furniture and decorating the ground floor for first, Sion was in the office of the Student Council. It was a modest room, exactly one floor below the Headmaster's office. It had a similar, wide and tall window and a long conference table where its members usually held private meetings, discussing who knows what and who knows why.
The student council body is comprised of the 10 top members of the institute, most of whom belong to the third- and fourth-year students. All of them were either at the top of one of the many lists in the Academy or held some kind of record to their names. Currently, six of them were 4th-year students, all at the Speciali level, already set to graduate with Honorary, receiving their own titles. The remaining four 3rd-year students were all at the level of Adepti, looking to break through before they get to their 4th years, aiming to fix their position in the council after the six graduate and new ones come to replace the empty seats.
Stepping out into the world, they would immediately be leaders and have a voice in determining where some empires and kingdoms' future would lead millions. Sion rarely felt nervous, but he did now. He was only a Magi. By estimations, he would break through in his 4th year here, like everyone else. Even though Sion was experienced in fighting and not afraid of challenges from anyone he punished or of those who went against the rules, he was fearful of facing the Student Council. Mainly because they were proficient in bending the rules to their own ways.
It was supposed to be a routine event. He came with a filled-out request to grant their unofficial group of Supernatural Misfits the official title. It should have been reviewed and then approved, and everyone should be happy. He thought the only problem that may arise would be their name as he could not persuade Lia to change it. Especially because Koadriana was highly supportive of it, the mastermind behind it all, egging Lia on when choosing their name. After he submitted it, an hour later, he was asked to come to the office and wait for one of the Council members to come and talk with him. This was bad.
Something went horribly wrong, and Sion couldn't help but sweat. To his knowledge, he had no enemies in the student council. He was careful not to step on their toes, not until he was at the Adepti level at least. Then… it would be a different question altogether. Maybe the smuggling ring he busted previously? Students selling some rare ingredients only found on the floating Island to the outside world… perhaps they had a connection to one of the members here? It was a lucrative business and not in CP. No. In actual, tangible, shiny gold. No… That shouldn't be it. To his knowledge, all of the Council members were of high nobility. They had enough money back home; for most, even a solid gold crown awaited their return to take the mantle of leading their respective countries. If it was not about that, it had to be…
But he couldn't think further as the door opened behind him, and a woman entered. She was beautiful, wearing the fourth-year student's uniform, filling it out perfectly. Her hips were wide, swaying hypnotically while her ample breasts jiggled, capturing Sion's attention immediately. She just chuckled, used to being surrounded by teenagers' wild gazes, even though she was only 19. Tucking her wavy, black and red, two-toned hair behind her ears, she walked past him, watching Sion with her blazing, orange-colored eyes while sitting down at the other end of the table. Right at the head position.
Sion was mesmerized by her chest, but not because it was dancing to the tune of gravity, but because he only saw one badge there. The element of fire. Every council member had at least two elements, if not more. All talented mages picked up a supporting element for their main. Fire mages usually picked air, strengthening their flames, while nature mages could cast water spells, especially if they worked in potion creation. There were many combinations, and it was always encouraged by the teachers. Today, only one mage was known with only a singular element... And she was at the top of the Academy's list of geniuses: Olivia or Ember, as many called her.
She was not just the most powerful fire mage in the Academy but had held the number one position on the Duelist List for the past two years. She had never lost a duel since her first challenge. True, she only had 68 challenges to her name compared to some who were already nearing the four digits… but all of her opponents were stronger than her. Or at least, that is how everyone thought it at first. She was particularly fond of ending the winning streaks of others. If someone popped up with ten wins in a row or an immaculate status, 'never losing,' he or she found out that Olivia came for them personally. Doing this all with only wielding one… single… element.
"Sion Lavarentian from the Kingdom of Harren." She opened her mouth, snapping Sion back to reality with her gentle, caressing voice that was just at the right strength to command his attention and not sound too forceful.
"I am honored to know that Lady Olivia knows my name." He replied, nodding, tearing away his grey eyes from the emblem next to her deep cleavage and moving it upwards, meeting her orange-colored eyes.
"I know everyone's name in your group." She said, crossing her fingers and resting her hands on the table. "I am here to refuse your group's formation."
"Why?" Sion asked, his face turning cold, not expecting something like this.
"Because it would have four people in it who come from the Six Houses. Any other group, finding it out, would be hard-pressed to do anything. Let's speak honestly… they would steamroll anyone here!" She said bluntly, forming a small smile with her beautiful lips. "I… We can't allow that to happen."
"They wouldn't use their names in that way!" Sion replied, his voice firm and not backing down from her gaze, no matter how hard his heart was beating at that moment. He felt… wronged. He saw Lia refusing to do it the first time, and his instinct told him that she wouldn't go around flaunting her name for unfair advantages. Same with the other two of her sisters.
"Wouldn't? I am not that sure~ Put them in a corner, and you'll see~" Olivia chuckled. "Your group won't be allowed to form. Period."
"This is unfair!" Sion said, refraining from slapping the table but his hands were trembling and his voice was rising.
"It is the decision of the Council," Olivia replied, pulling out a rolled-up paper from her vest's inner pocket and throwing it towards Sion. It simply unfurled in the air, and he could see the ten signatures on it. This was a decision made by all Council members. All of them. He could maybe go to petition this at the Headmaster, but… He already knew the results. Lucian was letting the students govern themselves, and the teachers here acted as judges, only stepping in when extremely necessary. This was a place to prepare them for what life is like in the outside world… not a place for cuddling and handholding.
"I see…" Sion said, briefly closing his eyes, standing up, and fixing his uniform. "Sion, Disciplinary Committee. By my right, I invoke the review of the Student Council's actions regarding the refusal to form the 'Supernatural Misfits' association." As he said, reopening his eyes, it was filled with a cold light, now looking down, into Olivia's who wore an honest, surprised look. But it was also filled with the dancing fire of excitement, giving her a wild and erotic look.
When Sion finished speaking, both of their bracelets pinged, the same as those nine others who were elsewhere on the Island, surprising them completely.
"Review request recognized." The system's voice rang out in their heads. "Review in progress."
"You think the system will overrule it?" Olivia asked, leaning backward, watching Sion's trembling yet determined eyes. She felt his fear, yet she also saw someone who would, despite being afraid, still do what he believed was right. Now she finally understood why he wore the element of light on his chest. This was turning out to be much more interesting than she first thought. If the system overrules their decision, that means all council members receive a strike as punishment. That would mean that their Honorary Title may end up in jeopardy. There were already examples of 4th-year students who were set for receiving it when graduating… but were denied it because of their conduct. With one single sentence, Sion just turned ten of the most powerful young mages in Meriath against himself, regardless of the outcome.
"We'll see. What you did is unfair." He replied, his voice low, forcibly low, so he could mask its tremblings.
"Life is unfair," Olivia replied, and their bracelet pinged again.
"Review complete. The ruling of the Student Council does not go against the rules of the Institute of Eight Elements. The reason given for declining to recognize 'Supernatural Misfits' as an official student group is logical." It was simple and quick, and every council member's bracelet pinged again, informing them that the system upheld their decision.
"I told you…." Olivia said, sighing ever so softly, "The world is unfair."
"Laws should be fair." Sion said, balling up his fists, "Without bias and based on facts, not on assumptions…"
"The system-" Olivia sat up straight, starting to feel annoyed by Sion, who simply scoffed at her, surprising Olivia again.
"The system can go and fuck itself. I quit." He raised his wrist, bringing up a projection, and submitted his request, giving up his Disciplinary Committee position in anger. "Fuck the system, and fuck you too!" He snorted, turning around and storming out without shutting the door behind him, leaving a stunned Olivia sitting there.
A few moments later, another figure materialized in the room, stepping out from seemingly nothing and looking at the still-open door. He was lean and tall, around 190 centimeters in height, wearing white, shoulder-length hair. His golden eyes watched where Sion stood before smiling a little, speaking in a low baritone.
"Are we sure he has the element of light and not fire? He was just as explosive as you are!" He chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, he was!" Olivia nodded, closing her mouth and suddenly laughing heartily. "That was a first! I was not told 'fuck you' since my first year! Ahahaha! Damn! Now I want to trample all over him!"
"Battlecrazy bitch." The young man shook his head.
"Ahaha~ Well, this was… different! I did not expect it!"
"Me neither." He nodded, looking at his bracelet, "That message surprised me. Some of the others will… hold a grudge."
"Pft, who cares!" Olivia rolled her eyes, "If this Sion guy can hold his own, he will receive a great boost in power. The rest? Bah, nobody would move against one of the Houses! They are ambitious, not stupid!"
"I get your reasoning; that is why I agreed," the man continued after a brief pause, "But this may also pose some problems for us in the future, especially after seeing his reaction. Maybe this was a mistake?"
"Kafka, it is already set into stone. The system reviewed it. From now on, this is already done and a thing of the past!" Olivia answered, her voice firm and forceful.
"Okay, okay. I'm just saying! Many avenues are blocked from students who remain 'single' through the years just because they have no chance against groups… not to mention that forming unregistered groups is illegal. If caught, it can result from permanent strikes to instantly being expelled. They are going to feel angry about it."
"And it was us who ostracized them; I get what you want to say!" Olivia rolled her eyes, "But this is the Academy, not the territory of the Houses! If they attend the school, they better start joining groups and working with us, not making us work under them!"
"Your bias against the Houses is showing." Kafka said, walking towards the open door, without looking at Olivia, "Especially if it makes you forget who are the ones financing the Academy. Don't let your family's fate cloud your further judgments, Olivia." He warned, slowly closing the door, "Or you ought to repeat history."