The door to Master Gregory’s office had just closed when a bundle of clothes was thrown into Alaric’s face. His heart sank as he saw a silver glint fly off in an entirely different direction.

[ Leave it ] Alia’s voice froze the boy in his tracks. He’d figured he could get the bracelet easily but now he was confused.

[ It will get lost ] the boy yelled back in panic.

[ And she will have to answer for that. Ugh, that old man stuck us with quite a nasty problem ] Alia said, irritation laced in her voice.

Quietly, they watched the silver bracelet tumble down the hollow tower. Following closely behind was a white full-body coat made of rich leather and fitted to Alaric’s current measurements.

The boy sighed and picked up what was left of his belongings on the platform, folding them neatly and holding them himself. For the first time since coming to the Tower, he was alone… with no signs of backup, whatsoever.

This girl was not going to help him like he’d initially thought.

“Why did you do that?” he asked calmly.

“You can drop the act now. You’re here to steal my chances at becoming Keeper, aren’t you? But I won’t let it happen… You see, I’m going to expose your true intentions,” the girl yelled louder than Alaric would have liked.

It was at times like these that he realised just how much sharper his hearing had gotten. Perhaps the girl thought she was being rather quiet. To Alaric, however, she was screaming.

“Do you want me to turn it down then?” Alaric asked the girl with a raise of his eyebrows, “It was your father that asked me to sign it after all.”

The girl froze for a bit… “But you’re just a peasant from the Five Hills. What would someone as powerful as my father want to do with a worthless boy?”

Alaric was taken aback by her words that he was utterly lost for words.

[To think that wise old man has this dolt for a daughter] Alia facepalmed.

“Are you… really Elder Gregory’s daughter?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” she asked.

“Well, for starters, you’re nothing like him. The man’s kind and knowledgeable and you’re…” Alaric was stopped halfway through his conversation. He drew his lips to a taut line. He’d just crossed a line he wasn’t coming back from.

“Are you looking down on me on your first day here?” the girl asked with a dangerous tone, “What gives some Five Hills boy the right to insult me, the daughter of the Master of the Eastern Tower of Seekers? Do you have some kind of death wish?”

Alaric sighed… It truly was difficult to reason with someone like her. And what exactly was so special about being the daughter of the Master of the Tower? It didn’t mean she inherited all his knowledge just by being his daughter.

He looked up at where they were coming from and down at where they were going and realised just how trapped he was.

“Forgive me,” Alaric replied with a respectful bow.

“Apology not accepted,” the girl responded with a devilish grin. Alaric’s actions, it seemed, had just given her the motivation to proceed with the way she was treating him, “I’ll show you to your room then you’re on your own from there.”

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“What about my coat… and the Storage Item?” Alaric asked with open eyes.

“Get those yourself,” the girl responded.

The blood drained from the boy’s face. The platform was already coming close to the sea of orbs. On one side, he could see the coat floating gently on the Sea of countless Awakening Orbs. On the other, he could see a gleaming bracelet nestled within them.

Looking back at the girl, her eyes remained closed and her face turned up in defiance. ‘I’m screwed. What did I ever do to her?’

Slowly, the platform descended below the sea of orbs and like that, Alaric gave his items a withering gaze as he descended below the sea of orbs.

‘Okay, that just happened… Let’s just land and…’ the boy’s expression turned even paler.

They didn’t land.

“You said you’d show me to my room…”

“Oh, it would be rude not to introduce yourself. This will only take a second…” the girl added with more malice in her voice.

Instead, the platform started moving horizontally, giving Alaric a great view of the vast Chamber with hundreds if not a few thousand scholars going through various experiments.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was trapped on the platform with a loose cannon, he would have watched in awe. He wanted to vanish from this platform. Already a few eyes had started to turn to them and he wasn’t liking the attention.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” Crystal’s voice boomed, enchanting the vast majority of males in the room with a rich feminine tone. Alaric could see literal hearts popping out of their eyes as they witnessed the majesty that was Elder Gregory’s daughter.

Well, Alaric knew why they were enchanted by her looks. Even he would be a fool not to see it. He just didn’t have the interest. He now knew it would be a lot harder to reason with anyone when she had this much influence over them. The females had varied expressions, some of admiration while others sneered with jealousy.

“I would like to introduce the soon-to-be newest addition to our esteemed Tower of Seekers. Now, this young lad happens to be from the Five Hills… I thought that village was so remote everyone there was extinct, am I right?” the girl announced with a laugh that echoed through the room like a ripple turning into a giant wave of laughter.

Alaric swallowed hard, then felt something stir within him… So many eyes were trained on him and each one of them was filled with malicious mirth. What frightened Alaric more was that he could feel this malice through their auras.

The world around him bubbled and a breeze picked up as he covered his ears, [ What is this? ]

[ She seeks to humiliate you so you quit the Tower. Do not let that happen ]

[ How… She’s clearly got everyone wrapped around her finger. What did she say that was so funny anyway? ] Alaric wondered, his heart beating hard.

[ Nothing… That’s just the kind of reaction you’d expect from everyone addressing Elder Gregory’s daughter. Look at her again… but not her face. Watch her shoulders… Watch her skin tone… Search for her true emotions. You can even feel her guardian’s emotions if you want. ]

Alaric did as he was told… “I see… nothing.”

[ Exactly. That's how much she’s used to riling people up. They look up at her with admiration and adoration… and yet she feels nothing towards them. She’s more lonely than you can imagine. ]

[ How would you know? ] Alaric asked, bringing his hands down from his ears. A tinge of sympathy bloomed in his heart. Not enough to make him forgive the obnoxious girl… but enough to somewhat understand how she got to this point.

[ Because I know a thing or two about being born into power. Everyone seeks a way to use you to get that power that you never make friends in the end. You develop a rotten personality to protect yourself… and end up lonely. Well… most of the time. ]

Alaric froze for a moment, trying to understand why his guardian sounded somewhat wistful as she spoke. He knew there was more to guardians than he could find in books and that’s what made moments like these all the more peculiar. He shelved these questions away as he had done plenty of times before.

When the noise had gone quiet, Crystal turned to Alaric with a smirk, “Anything you want to tell the audience, newbie?”

Alaric looked around, then stared at the girl hummed in thought then just said, “No… I think you pretty much covered it. Extinct little town that survives on agriculture. Are you going to take me on that tour or should I find my way?”

“Oh, the tour can wait. We want to get to know you more. What’s your favourite meal? Potatoes?” the girl added with a devilish grin.

Alaric’s eyebrows twitched, “And so what if it is? I bet you don’t even know where your food comes from. I bet the first time you tasted poison, you called it a new flavour!”

Alaric kept his voice calm and chilly…

[ Ouch! Good one! ] Alia cheered him on.

[ Too much? ]

[ Dial it down just a bit. ] the guardian chuckled.