Deeper in Seal Academy, the area where the second-years, third-years, and fourth-years stay, a man was casually admiring the scene in front of him. His garden had been growing extremely well as every blood-red plant had been feasting on fresh nutrition every day.
This particular garden was situated out in one of the open areas. It was directly in the open letting these plants bask underneath the artificial sun. The other students strayed clear of this area as it was particularly dangerous.
He took out a packet filled with blood and poked a hole through it using his finger. He then threw this blood-filled packet towards a random section of his garden. Numerous carnivorous plants sprouted up and tried to consume every bit of blood that was tempting them.
His elated mood immediately turned sour as a person came in with her dirt-filled boots giving his beautifully cultivated blood-red garden a hint of brownness. “This better be important.”
“Always so keen on your little garden. With that much focus, can’t you pay more attention to the academy? At this rate, you’ll be usurped by the new students.” She came closer to pet one of the carnivorous plants beside her. It initially wanted to grab a bite but it instinctively felt fear. If it dared to do such a thing then it would surely die an unjust death.
“Eriel, as I have stated before, I don’t care what happens to the academy. Just leave me and my garden alone.” This man seemed to be quite delicate as his small frame made it difficult for others to be intimidated.
“Hammel, don’t be like that. You know I’m just worried about you right?” Eriel’s tone turned flirtatious yet Hammel’s expression retained that look of disgust. “I’ll let you in on something interesting. A very promising person showed up and I was wondering if you would let me have him…”
Eriel came closer to him, her body had curves in the right places and her every motion seemed to seduce all living beings. She moved right behind Hammel and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her arms reached out and started to grab ahold of him, hugging him tightly.
“What does this have to do with me? I don’t think my people recruited anyone that interesting.” Hammel tried to recall anyone that stood out yet his subordinates didn’t say anything. “Out with it, what do you want?”
“Well… I want two things. The first one is that candidate and the second one…” Eriel came closer to Hammel’s ear and whispered. “You.”
Hammel felt his blood boil as an unnatural vine sprouted from Hammel’s body, piercing Eriel’s head. Her body seemed to have no resistance against his attack. Her very life force disappeared as Hammel was left with an empty corpse right beside him.
“How cruel, Hammel. Why couldn’t you just let yourself go?” Eriel’s voice continued right behind him. There was another Eriel that was speaking while the body that was wrapped in vines was still there. “Everyone that agreed so far has been quite satisfied right after.”
One of Hammel’s carnivorous plants came up and sniffed the corpse. “Don’t eat it. It’s corrupted. Dirty blood.” Hearing this, every single conscious plant in the garden backed off.
“Calling me dirty, my how harsh. That’s not how you should treat a lady.” Eriel lightly laughed as she covered her mouth with her hand. She came towards one of the carnivorous plants and sat down on its head. She wasn’t afraid of any retaliation from them.
“You’re more annoying than usual. Who is it?” Hammel crossed his arms. He just wanted to get this over with so he could tend to his plants.
“Arin Theo, the son of Kian Theo, one of the few Labyrinth Solvers in the city. I’m really surprised he joined the Flower Syndicate without much resistance. I’m really interested in having fun with him.” Eriel patted the carnivorous plant she sat on, lovingly.
“He’s not even his real son, just an adopted orphan. I highly doubt Arin’s interesting enough for you to put your grimy little hands on.” Hammel said with complete disdain.
Eriel’s previously flirtatious tone turned extremely serious. “We can be considered as friends. I’ll warn you to never say that in front of Arin. Of course, unless you want to die an unjust death.”
“Tch, so what? You’re treating him too highly. Just because his father is a Labyrinth Solver doesn’t mean he could get to the top that easily. That’s not how it works in Seal Academy, you very well know this.”
“That’s why you should pay more attention to the academy, Hammel.” Eriel’s flirtatious tone returned. “One the first day he got here, he took down a few hundred goons by himself. Although it’s the Rising Syndicate, one of their core people, Noland, was there and he was completely torn apart. On the second day, he got the three factions that banded together to all submit to him. A few days later, he achieved a Perfect Clear on his first try and managed to gain Fiona’s attention. He’s becoming quite a notable person, wouldn’t you agree?”
Hammel’s eyes contained a trace of understanding as to why Eriel was so keen on getting him. “A little. The only thing that I see being somewhat decent is getting a Perfect Clear. Everything else was irrelevant.”
“If you see him to be so inconsequential then why don’t I buy him from you? Name your price.” Eriel really wanted to gain this pawn. If Arin didn’t join any Syndicate then she would have difficulty getting him but since he had already given his affiliation, she had countless ways to grasp him.
“I want a Maze-level Trial,” Hammel spoke of an extremely high price. The sheer value of this was undeniable as this was a permanent resource that would constantly give out rewards.
“Deal.” Eriel didn’t even hesitate. She definitely knew that this was overkill but she could squeeze out much more from him. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Hammel saw that Eriel was backing down so easily. He knew that he was taken advantage of due to his lack of information but he didn’t mind at all. All he needed and wanted to do was tend to his garden. Everything else was inconsequential.
Eriel couldn’t help but giggle at how easy it was. “I wonder how much Fiona’s willing to pay for him. I bet I could even get her to pay for a Bind-level Trial. Ah, I love how easy people are...”
The paperwork had been sent over and the deal was established. A few words were all they needed to settle such an important exchange.
Eriel held the paperwork in her hands and carefully hid it away, “Fiona’s really easy to trick, a few words of gratitude and a pained expression and she’ll tremble right away. Let’s see what my spies have… that’s… huh?”
She looked at the letter that was on her private desk and reread it completely, “Arin and Fiona had struck another deal. He had been pointing out so many flaws in her organization that she immediately removed 70% of the members of the Student Body Committee. Some hidden spies were rooted out that even we didn’t know about.”
Eriel’s expression turned from confusion and shock into unbelievable joy, “I’ve struck gold! Hahahaha! I wonder how Hammel’s going to react after he hears about this… then again, I doubt anyone will inform him.” She took Arin’s affiliation paperwork and decided to keep it on her person. This just became an extremely valuable golden ticket.
~~~
Within the Student Body Committee’s personal area, Fiona had steeled her determination to do the right thing. She was calling out countless names to be purged out. The list had grown so long that she wouldn’t be able to call for all of them personally.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“What if what I said was wrong?” Arin didn’t expect Fiona to just completely believe his words. All he did was point out suspicious activities that some of them were doing to Fiona.
“As I already said, I knew about them a long time ago I just didn’t have the confidence to be independent. What you said was true, if I didn’t go all the way then there was no point in starting it.” Fiona took a deep breath and continued forward to finish everything up.
Without a shred of doubt, even more unruly problems would show up that she wouldn’t have normally been able to face. Despite this blatantly terrible move, she gathered up her courage and went forward. She had been playing safe for far too long in such a chaotic environment. A hint of madness is just what she might need.
“If you fail then everything you’ve done so far will fall apart. You’ll lose everything. The Student Body Committee has no more power, you barely have enough resources to keep everyone at bay, and you don’t have the time to do everything.” Arin accurately described the consequences of her actions.
“I know. But if I don’t do this much then you would think that I’m just speaking nonsense right?” Fiona showed a bright smile, it was as if she was sure that this was the path that she should be taking. She didn’t even think about failing, she couldn’t.
“You’re more of a pushover than I thought.” Arin’s harsh words went over Fiona. He wasn’t moved by her actions at all. His mindset had remained the same the entire time. In Arin’s mind, what Fiona was doing wasn’t anything but childish.
She was determined to make a change and if she needed to face the depths of hell to do it then she would. It wasn’t going to be an easy path but she would face it head-on.
“I’ve thought it through. Whatever you say must be what everyone else is thinking. Which means that you’re going to be the hardest person to convince. Then I’ll take the challenge and take risks I’ve never taken before.” She said this with such conviction that those who were already following her believed in her even more.
As for Arin, despite seeing how willing Fiona was to go this far, he wasn’t moved at all. He was more interested in the Secret Maze and Secret Bind Trials.
This should put a target on my back. I can’t say that this isn’t in my favor. Arin thought.
“Do what you want.” Arin shrugged his shoulders and waited for Fiona to finish cutting off those with malicious intent. As for those genuinely weak people who just wanted shelter, Fiona had kept them under her.
He started walking off after contemplating for a bit.
“Hey, where are you going?” Fiona felt bad that Arin had nothing to do but this was far too important to ignore.
“You can focus on the second-years and above. I’ll take care of the first years.” Arin had finally decided to start making his move.
“W-Wait, you’re going to use brute force to make them listen! That’s not what I stand for!” Fiona stood up and clenched her fists.
“So you would rather let people destroy each other?” Arin made her contradict her own actions and beliefs.
“No…” Fiona looked away in shame. She knew that what she wanted was too idealistic but she just couldn’t rule like they previously did.
Arin was getting annoyed at her mental gymnastics. “I’m doing what I want. I’m not doing it for you.”
Which is to get to those Trials faster. I can ditch her after getting those. Those Trials are far too valuable for me. Once I get my hands on them then my strength should skyrocket to an unbelievable degree. Maybe I can even get a decent Fragment out of it. Something that isn’t defective.
The temptation of acquiring a Fragment was just far too much for Arin. He had already seen what an extremely strong Fragment could do. Finding the perfect one for him was crucial for his future.
“That’s… still…” Before Fiona could finish her sentence, Arin had already disappeared. This wasn’t what she wanted but she couldn’t deny that this would be really helpful to her cause. “I’ll make it up to them.”
Arin went to Robert and Patrick. Their progress had been genuinely quite well. They took striving to get stronger a little bit more seriously. They didn’t exponentially grow in strength but at the very least they were making some progress.
“You acted faster than I thought,” Arin spoke the truth. His expectations placed both of them at a lower level.
“We were bound to focus up. Might as well do it now.” Robert explained.
“What is it that you need from us?” Robert carefully said his piece. He was looking at Arin’s expression the entire time to see if it would be anything crazy.
“Everyone needs to quieten down for a bit. Make a list of those that don’t listen.” Arin seemed to have been acting quite differently from how he usually did. This action at face value didn’t seem to derive any benefits at all.
“Arin… did Fiona already change your mind?” Robert couldn’t help but ask.
“She didn’t. She kept going on and on and I couldn’t be bothered to listen to it. This is just a faster way on how I’ll get what I want.”
“I understand.” Robert didn’t think that Fiona would have already been able to change his mind. With such a headstrong personality, fights only made sense.
After relaying the details, they finished up their conversation and separated. It was a quicker conversation without any nonsense. Direct and straight to the point.
Arin came back just in time for Fiona to finish up everything she needed to do. “I would like to patrol the inner sector of the academy now. Would you mind coming with me?”
“No.” Arin didn’t want to go and save people if it didn’t benefit him at all. There might be a few fights here and there but compared to getting a Perfect Clear on a Trial, the difference was just far too much.
“The Maze-level and Bind-level Trials are in the inner section of the academy. This is to ensure that there is no outside force that tries to influence them.” Fiona kindly informed Arin yet her voice was trembling.
Arin narrowed his eyes, “You are a terrible liar.” He shook his head. He wouldn’t be entering this if he hadn’t already learned about how everything worked. Getting such basic information wasn’t a hassle at all.
Fiona coughed, “I don’t know what you mean…”
“You have your own personal Trials as the strongest student… or that idiotic title, Student Body President. Where are they?” Arin knew a few things about Seal Academy. The strongest person in the school was given privileges that no other student could receive. Among the specialized areas and priority picks, they were also given a set of Trials that they could use as they pleased.
Fiona meekly informed Arin, “They are… in where I live…” Fiona spoke the truth. Other than going to the academy and working in the shelter, she had no time to go anywhere else. As such, her place of dwelling was the only place she could put them.
“Let’s go there instead. You can afford to not look around for a day. It’s not like they’ll actually die. So just skip this routine.” Arin made it seem as if he was in charge.
“I… I can’t. I’ve always gone around to try and show that kindness can-” Fiona was immediately cut off.
“You haven’t made any progress right? Stop doing stupid things and just focus on what’s important. Everyone knows that they can’t kill other students. There’s no point in patrolling the academy before and after school.”
“I understand your point but… who would…” Fiona was trying to minimize the amount of pain the world suffers. Even though it's as minimal as possible.
“You can’t be serious. You have your people right? What have they been doing this entire time? Sitting around all day hoping you do everything? Use them.” Arin couldn’t believe just how incompetent this girl was. No wonder she was struggling so much.
“They’re trying their best…” Fiona also knew that she had people to use but she didn’t want to bother them. Even if she had already let go of most of the students under her, they were just leeches that didn’t contribute anything at all.
Realistically speaking, despite having a lower amount of people, the organization had gotten somewhat stronger. Even if Fiona was the only person left, the organization would still be as strong because she alone was enough.
If not for Elliot’s proactiveness then there would be nothing happening at all. Fiona was the only person doing anything on the field.
“Tell them to bring the injured to the clinics. As simple as that. No fighting and you achieve your goal. What’s the point of your brain if you don’t use it?” Arin kept on mocking and insulting Fiona but she couldn’t fight back. What Arin said was correct, she’s the fool who kept on trying to do everything by herself.
This was why she was so happy when she worked together with everyone to try and get Perfect Clears. Such teamwork wasn’t a thing she had ever experienced in her entire time at Seal Academy.
“You… make sense. I’ll do that.” Fiona quickly gave out orders and after a sad look on her face. She turned it around and smiled.
“What’s so funny?” Arin’s mood was sour with how his nonexistent expectation wasn’t even reached.
“I haven’t even convinced you and you’re already helping me out so much. Thank you.” Fiona bowed and genuinely appreciated Arin’s help. No one dared to speak against her and no one even bothered to help her. This was a welcome change.
Arin’s temper was rising, “If you weren’t so incompetent then none of this would’ve happened. Being soft is one thing but your current situation is another. Just get me those Trials, I can’t stand seeing you be so inept.”
As hurtful as Arin’s words were, it just might be what Fiona needed to hear. “Follow me, it might be time to show you what I’ve been doing in my spare time. I hope you could also help me there.”
“What is it? Posters to tell other people to be nice? A few letters to government bigshots telling them to change their ways? Or perhaps going around people telling them that the world shouldn’t be that evil?” Arin’s expectations were extremely low for how much effort Fiona had been putting into her performance here.
Fiona quietly accepted all the insults, she had already grown numb to it. “It’s a shelter. I bring people with nowhere else to go and take care of them.”
A completely unexpected answer.