With their matches completed, Alex stepped in front of the exhausted crowd, ready to give a big speech, only for the whole arena to shake more violently than it had during all the fights combined. Behind Alex, the crystal-confined Gorm wobbled in place before falling backwards, still stuck in his crouch position.

“What is happening now, sir?” Maxwell asked.

“He is trying to get a mana-spent fee added. MESO, WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THE CLAN PAYING FOR THE LESSON, NOT BY THE SPELL!!” Alex shouted to the entire arena.

The stands on the opposite side of the arena began to warp and change shape into that of a rough face. The face looked very displeased and moved its mouth as if speaking.

“MESO, YOU DON’T HAVE ROSY HERE TO CREATE THE VOICE. EITHER CAST PHANTOM NOISE OR COME OUT!!”

The face looked even more displeased at Alex’s words, only to freeze on a pained expression. The class were stuck wondering what the hell was going on—looking to Alex, who they suspected had cast some kind of spell at Meso. They got their answer when a pained voice began to echo down one of the entrance tunnels.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow stop it, Cyano…” a voice that seemed as soft as butter and as sweet as honey could be heard.

Being dragged out into the arena by his ear, which was firmly held in Cyano’s hand, was Meso. Looking at the elderly looking elf whose pointed ear was bright red from the ice witch’s grip.

“Hello, children of Alex… My gods, he had so many… Cyano you sure these are his kiddos? I mean, he was such a loser back when he travelled…. OH HEY, ALEX DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, BUD!!!” Meso said upon seeing Alex’s displeased expression.

“I told you already they are his students. Haddy and Rosy called them his kids because he teaches them. He is not a father…yet.”

“Oh yes… I wondered how he fathered children before he had met us; human biology is confusing to me sometimes.”

“Meso, you are centuries old. How don’t you understand human biology?”

“Cyano, I barely understand elven biology, and I am one. Expecting me to understand another race’s biology is beyond unreasonable,” Cyano, at these words, just let out a long sigh that came out in white vapour.

“Hello, children. My name is Cyano Huronian. This idiot here is Meso Archean; he is here to teach you. I am here to ensure he behaves and doesn’t bankrupt you.”

“Is there a danger of that happening?” Bea asked, ever worried about her empty piggy bank.

“Little lady, this guy is only good at two things,” Cyano said, grabbing the bored-looking elf by his head and forcefully holding him in place. “Earth magic and emptying people's pockets.”

“Hey, it’s called an idiot tax and anyone foolish enough to pay it deserves to lose their money.”

“You don’t have to worry, though. I will ensure he keeps to the curriculum,” Cyano reassured the class before turning to Alex.

“Hey Ali, you can leave the kiddos to me. You go to your big meeting.”

“Actually, me and Yuu found a way to skip the meeting this week, so we are going to the pub now,” Alex replied as the trio of teachers rose from their seats.

“Oh… You aren’t up to any mischief, are you? You know how much I dislike mischief, especially if it is from you and him,” Cyano asked, while gesturing to Meso, her tone being so cold it caused a chill to run down the spines of all present.

“What?.... Nooooo…. Who me?... Never happens… Ok-bye-gotta-go,” Alex hastily said as he ushered Yuu and Elissa, who had taken on the task of carrying the crystal containing Gorm, out of the arena before Cyano could ask any more questions.

“With them gone, I guess we can finally have some fun,” Meso said, rubbing his hands together.

“Ok, so who here knows earth magic spells?” Cyano opened with.

“One-second kiddos,” Meso said as he stomped on the ground, rising up four walls of obsidian-black-coloured stone, trapping Cyano inside.

“With the boring grownup out the way. I won’t be teaching you kiddos earth magic.”

“You won’t?” Kline asked.

“No, that brat Alex is already on par with my earth magic, and a single lesson from me won’t accomplish anything he can’t. I am going to enlighten you to the art of the con,” Meso explained as he rubbed his fingers together in the gesture all could recognise as the call for money.

“The art of the con?” Daisy repeated, looking nervous at the prospect of committing a criminal act.

“Yes, there are a lot of tricks. I was spying on you, kiddos, while you fought. Scary stuff, I’ll tell yah. But that little one there already knows one of my favourites,” Meso replied, gesturing to Bea. The class all glanced at Bea and then back to Meso, who had a sinister smirk growing on his face.

“Kiddos, you are my toys to play with till you complete one of three tasks,” Meso explained, holding up three fingers.

“These three would be?” Maxwell asked.

“The overall goal will end when I have five large golds. The three ways you can do this is one; by robbing a bank, two winning in the casino, and three con the public into handing over their money willingly. You can pick whichever one you want, and I will teach you how.”

“So if we said rob a bank?” Tasha asked.

“I would give you the ins and outs of robbing the main bank on Cherry-pit Road, and then we would go rob it together,” Meso replied as casually as if he were commenting on the weather. The obsidian black pillar at his words violently shook as frost and condensation began to appear on its surface.

“You won’t be getting out of that thing tonight, Cyano. I can’t have a wet blanket like you ruining my fun weekend out,” Meso shouted at the pillar, which only proceeded to shake more violently than before.

“So, which do you choose?”

“Can we ask about the options in more detail?” Maxwell asked to which Meso nodded.

“The best way to pop your crime cherry is to do a risk assessment.”

“So, the bank robbery option?”

“I have a plan and blueprints. I just need a crew to play their parts. You will each help me rob the city’s main bank.”

“So you want us to become criminals?” Meso dramatically clenched his hand to his heart.

“Criminals? Why, my dear…” Meso paused to look at the palm of his hand. “Doizy, I am a ne’er do well, a rogue, a confidence mage. You are only a criminal if you are caught.”

“So, are you a criminal?” Bea asked.

“I have yet to become acquainted with the Ebony Throne’s judicial system.”

“So we rob this bank, and what make a getaway with the loot?” Kline asked.

“Exactly. I have a safehouse prepared, and we have all we need to skip town if necessary. But you kiddos can cast a shimmer to change your appearance, right?”

“I still don’t like the idea of committing a crime,” Daisy replied.

“I thought as much. It’s why I offered the other two options.”

“The casino?” Daisy said, recalling the second option.

“Yes, in this town, large-scale gambling is illegal. Not sure why when the co-regents run a golem fighting ring. Regardless lots of money changes hands, and it is possible to make and lose a fortune in one night. Many a time, our clan has been strapped for cash, by no fault of any unnamed parties, and I, with charity in my heart, went in with a few coppers and walked out with enough to fund our fees for a month.”

“That one feels the most palatable,” Daisy said.

“Glad to hear that, Doizy… What about you…” he again paused to look at his palm. “Gather?”

“I am curious as to the third option.”

“Yes, I will teach you kiddos a few simple cons and pickpocket skills, and you go out and make your money from the hardworking elites of this town.”

“Can we opt out of this lesson?”

“No… I am in a contract, and I will honour it, and this means keeping you kids under my wing. If I had written it, though, I certainly would be able to do a lot more than I am constrained to do with you.”

“We will need a minute to discuss this,” Bea said as she gave the hand signal for the class to go into a huddle so they could discuss their options.

“So we are all agreed not to do the bank robbery?” Daisy asked, beginning their discussion. The whole group nodded except for Bea.

“Well, let’s not be too hasty. We could make a lot of money robbing the bank,” Bea said.

“Bea!” Daisy said with the forceful tone that a parent would use to admonish a problem child. “We are not going to rob a bank no matter how much money we can make.” The rest of the huddle nodded, and Bea just lowered her head, avoiding their eye line.

“So out of conning people we probably know and beating a casino which should we try?” Maxwell asked.

“Why don’t we hold out a hand with one finger raised for the casino and two for the conning people? We can vote and make it simple,” Kline suggested. Nodding to his suggestion, the class all shook their hands and then thrust them into the centre of the huddle, revealing three with a single finger and three with two fingers raised.

“A tie….” Tasha muttered, looking at the hands.

“Wow, so it’s decided you kiddos will help me con people and beat the casino,” Meso said, having snuck into the huddle during their vote.

“How do people keep getting in our huddles?” Maxwell asked, looking at the teacher.

“Your short friend Bea leaves an easy opening to get in,” Meso explained, gesturing to Bea, who was at his feet.

“Wait, sir; we haven’t decided which to do!” Maxwell said as Meso broke off from the huddle.

“You certainly have, though. You made a vote and picked con people and casino. I won’t lie; I was a bit disappointed you didn’t pick the bank. We would’ve been the hoolio gang with massive curly moustaches and everything,” Meso said, leaning against the obsidian pillar Cyano was contained in.

In response to his presence, the pillar shook violently again as some of the condensation on the outside suddenly sharpened into icicles. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Meso wiped a sheen of sweat off his brow and turned to the kids.

“We have a fun weekend ahead of us, kiddos,” he said with a big grin.

“Weekend?” Tasha repeated.

“Indeed. Tonight we will empty the pockets of the Academy City's finest. Then tomorrow, we hit the casino.”

“But we have a curfew?” Daisy said, looking increasingly nervous.

“Curfew, smurfew, you kids are in a long lesson which leaves you exempt.”

“But will we be excused from the-”

“Listen, Doizy; I have read the student's handbook of rules. It states, and I quote, ‘If a student is participating in the actions of a lesson during the point which curfew is set to begin, then the student will be granted an extension for their curfew till such time they safely return following said lesson’.”

“Wow, it says that?” Tasha said, marvelling at the clause that would let her out for a fun weekend night.

“Indeed it does,” Meso said with a nod.

“So first things first, you kids gotta change,” Meso said, leaning back and crossing his arms whilst tapping his chin. “It’s a tad too, debt collector rather than an investment opportunity.”

“So what should we wear, chief?”

“Good question Gather. We will need you, kids, in plain casual clothing. All except you, of course,” Meso said, gesturing to Maxwell.

“What should I wear?” Maxwell asked.

“A good suit. With your glasses and demeanour, you come across s the perfect person to play the expert.”

“Expert?” Maxwell repeated with an arched brow.

“All for later; go on, kiddos, get dressed, and I will meet you at the gatehouse to the upper plateau,” Meso said, striding out of the arena with nary a care in the world.

“So… should we bother meeting up with him?” Kline asked.

“Sure we will. I need some money. Demonology ain’t cheap, you know,” Bea said, clambering back up to her perch on Gunter’s shoulder.

“Think of it this way, guys. We can learn what to look out for so we won’t be conned ourselves,” Gunter suggested.

“I dunno… we were warned he would try to con us. What's to say we won’t get in trouble?” Daisy said, looking even more worried about the prospect of a weekend-long crime spree.

“Worst case, the chief or the Big Chief will bail us out. We are still underage, so the worst they could do for these petty crimes is a slap on the wrist.”

“Very well, but let’s get changed and meet him. We can always bail out of the lesson partway through if it is going too far,” Maxwell said to which the class all nodded, agreeing to the idea that they would abandon Meso and his schemes, the first sign of real danger.

It took them about twenty minutes to change into their casual clothing, except for Maxwell, who was asked to dress up a bit. Heading to the school gatehouse that led down to the upper plateau, they could see Meso sitting casually in a stone chair he had conjured.

“Ah, there you are!! Was worried I’d have to launch an assault on the dorm building to get you,” Meso said as he welcomed them with a casual wave.

“Assault?” Daisy repeated before taking an audible gulp.

“Sure thing, little….”

“Daisy.”

“Thank you. The ink had all rubbed off by the time I got here. But I am contracted to teach you six. Teach you I will whether you agree to it or not.”

“Sounds like bailing is less of an option,” Maxwell whispered to the class.

“So before we start any cons, we need to do a warm-up,” Meso said as they reached the main street of the Upper Plateau.

“Warm Up?” Daisy repeated.

“Indeed, you kids are very new to the rush of stealing. You have all gotten stuck under those weird books people always follow.”

“Books?? You mean laws?” Maxwell asked.

“Yeah, those. Minus the violent ones, I never understood why people follow them. Anyways your first task will be straightforward. You see that cart over there?” Meso asked, gesturing to a fruit stall just around the corner they were standing on.

“I want each of you to go up individually and steal me a different piece of fruit. Kline you first,” Meso said, gesturing to Kline.

“Why is it… Wait, you know my name?”

“As if I would forget Kline the Worderer. I won several small golds thanks to your skill.”

“Very well, I will steal an apple,” Kline said as he walked up to the stall. He seemed to be engaged in some kind of conversation with the stall merchant. Eventually, the merchant took a bag Kline offered and began bagging up a handful of apples. When he handed it over, Kline handed over some money and gave a nod of thanks before returning with his haul to the little corner the class were idling by.

“You bought them?” Meso asked, looking disappointed.

“I bought five apples,” Kline said as he opened his bag and handed each of the class an apple and then Meso.

“I asked if I could use my own bag, and when he wasn’t paying attention, I swooped it up, scooping a few extra apples,” Kline explained, to which Meso looked more pleased.

“Good going, Kline,” Meso said, slapping Kline’s back before taking a big bite out of his apple. ”You see what he did, kiddos? He distracted the merchant by buying a small number while not actually paying for the full number.”

“Ok, you next…”

“Gunter,” Gunter offered.

“Thank you. Gunter go over there and steal some fruit that isn’t an apple,” Meso said.

“One moment,” Gunter said as he reached into his breast pocket and took out Nicklas. He held the bird close to his face and whispered something.

“BWAAAAAKKKKK!!!” Nicklass squawked before flapping up into the air and over the roof of the building they were standing next to.

“It’ll be a few minutes,” Gunter said.

“Very well, while we wait, why doesn’t Daisy try,” Meso said with a grin that sent a shiver down all their spines.

“I-I-I will try my best!!” Daisy said as she rigidly began walking towards the stall. As she arrived at the stall, the merchant was just staring at her in confusion.

“You ok, miss?”

“YES!!!! I AM VERY FINE!!!! HOW ABOUT YOU!!!!!” Daisy shouted, unable to control her nerves.

“I’m… Are you sure you ok miss? You look very stiff.”

“WHY WOULDN’T I BE OK?!! OH, LOOK, A DRAGON!!!” Daisy shouted, pointing behind the merchant. The merchant briefly looked behind him before turning back to Daisy.

“Have you taken something, miss?”

“I HAVE NEVER DONE DRUGS!!!” Daisy shouted, looking even worse.

“Do you need me to send for someone to hel-” Just as he was about to offer to help, Nicklas swooped down with an ear-splitting screech and swiped an orange before flying away.

“HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!!!” The merchant shouted as he began to run down the road after Nicklas, who was climbing higher and higher.

Seeing her chance, Daisy grabbed a banana and ran as if her life depended on it back to where the rest of the class was standing. Arriving and panting out of breath, she held up the fruit for all to see. Meso, though just stared at her with pity.

“What a rush! I have never done anything naughty in my life… Is this what all crime feels like? Can we try the bank instead?!!!”

“Whoah, whoah, calm down, missy. That’s the adrenalin talking. Breathe in through your nose for five, hold for five, then exhale through your mouth for five. Repeat till you’re calm,” Meso said.

Following his orders, Daisy started taking controlled breaths, and the rush she had felt from committing her first-ever crime vanished, and all that was left was overwhelming guilt.

“I got to head back and pay for this,” Daisy said, turning on her heel only to have Meso clamp his hand on her shoulder.

“No, you don’t; you have done the crime. You go over there; you will do hard labour for the rest of your life.”

“My parents were right!!!”

“Ok, while she is stuck in a loop of panic and joy, Bea go over there and steal something that ain’t an Orange, Banana or Apple,” Meso said, gesturing to the stall where the merchant had returned, looking perplexed about how his day was going.

Bea headed over to the stall and looked over the variety of fruit with their prices. Eventually, she settled on a watermelon and held it up to the merchant.

“Hi, sorry, how much is this?”

“Five small coppers each,” the merchant replied.

“Ah, perfect got change for a small silver?” Bea asked.

“Sure, so nine large coppers and five small,” the merchant said, opening the till draw and taking out the coins. Bea handed him the small silver and took the nine coppers.

“Wait, I have enough to make this a whole large copper,” Bea said, handing back the five small coppers and reaching into her pocket for the extra coins.

“Oh sure, makes things easier to han-”

“Oh, you know what? I just realised I gave you the cost of the watermelon. You may as well just give me back the small silver. Sorry, I’m a right dunce sometimes,” Bea said, wrapping her knuckles against her temple while giving her head a comical tilt.

“Oh yeah, sure,” The merchant said, taking the small coppers and handing Bea back the small silver.”

“Will you need a bag?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I got a big friend who can carry it for me on our way home,” Bea said, giving a friendly wave as she picked up the watermelon and hastily made her getaway. Arriving back at her class, they all looked at her, confused.

“Bea, you just bought the fruit? Did you steal something while he was faffing with the change?” Tasha asked.

“Huh, no, I paid for the melon,” Bea said, looking confused. The only one not confused was Meso, who had an ear-to-ear grin.

“I should’ve known you’d know the change-swapping scam,” Meso said as he ruffled Bea’s hair.

“The change what?” Maxwell asked.

“She got him all turned around, swapping change back and forth; she walked away with nine large coppers more than she went up with,” Meso explained.

“My family does have the motto of ‘If you can’t blow them away with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit’,” Bea said, blushing. Looking over to the merchant, they could see he was looking more confused why these teenagers kept coming up acting all weird.

“Ok, next up, Maxwell,” Meso said, slapping him on the back, causing him to stumble forwards.

He walked up to the stall, looked over the fruit, and displayed prices, eventually deciding to go for a pear. Picking up a few of the fruit in question, Maxwell examined them, hemming and hawing as he did.

“Can I help, sir?”

“I was wondering what the cheapest you’d go with this fruit?”

“Prices are fixed, sorry, no bartering.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, all the profits go to help the orphanage on the lower plateau, so I cut the price, I cut their funding,” the merchant explained. Maxwell’s following words got caught in his throat.

“I’m… I'm sorry, did you say this is a charitable stall?”

“Sure is. My family runs one of the biggest stores in the city. But we like to help how we can. It is always best to help out those in need.” Maxwell felt a stabbing pain in his stomach at the thought of committing a crime against such a kind man.

“You ok, sir? You’ve suddenly gone pale,” the merchant said, looking genuinely worried.

“Yeah, just stomach pangs, don’t worry,” Maxwell groaned out.

“Ah… I see…” the merchant said as he took out his coin purse and put a few coins in the till throwing the pear to Maxwell.

“I understand how hard it can be to struggle. My family started from nothing and dressed all fancy when we were looking for work. Keep at it and remember me when you get to the top,” the merchant said with a wink as Maxwell staggered back to the class.

“Wow, you got the guy to pay for the fruit himself… a pity boy scam. Had you pegged as someone with too uppity an ego to stoop to that level,” Meso said, looking impressed.

“Guys, we need to return everything that is a char-hmmhmh,” Meso clamped a hand over Maxwell’s mouth.

“Ok, Tasha up next. Go steal me a new fruit,” Meso said as he dragged Maxwell away to have a private conversation with him.

Tasha confidently strode up to the stall and looked over the fruits still left that she could steal. In the end, she settled on a pineapple that was in a glass case.

“Sir, what’s that?” Tasha asked, all starry-eyed, looking at the pineapple.

“Ah, pride of my family’s store. It’s not even for sale, only available to rent for the rich folk to show off. Would your master be interested?”

“Sure would; how much would it be to rent?” Tasha asked.

“Hmm… Roughly three large golds per night,” the merchant said.

“Three small… How insulting!!! Anything under five small golds is not worth my master's time!!” Tasha shouted as she stormed back and forth.

“Five?! Ma’am, this is a charitable stall, so if your master wishes, he can pay whatever he wishes per night. Three is just the minimum,” the merchant said, trying to placate the irate Tasha.

“May I see it without the glass in the way?” Tasha asked.

“I don’t see why not,” the merchant said as he unlocked the case for her. Tasha walked next around the stall and stood next to the merchant, examining the pineapple before nodding.

“Very well. I shall pass the word to Ian, the butler, and he can arrange the offer with you,” Tasha said imperiously as she stormed off. Returning to the class, she gave a big grin while they, alongside Meso, all looked baffled.

“Did you steal anything?” Meso asked, looking confused.

“Yeah, this,” Tasha said, pulling a pot of strawberries out of her pocket.

“When did you steal those?” Daisy asked with a gasp.

“I bought from the guy's dad a few times in the past. He hides the strawberries in the stall.”

“Why does he hide them?”

“Because I kept trying to eat them all before paying,” Daisy replied casually.

“Well… Colour me surprised. You all succeeded. Now we can go onto the real con,” Meso said as he greedily rubbed his hands together.

“So the first con we’re going to do is the ancient artefact con. I have an appointment with the Doolyon family to sell them an ancient art piece they wish to add to their museum,” Meso explained as he began to lead the way.

“So, do you have the artefact?” Maxwell asked.

“Pfftttt!! Obviously not; otherwise, this would be a normal sale. The artefact is… hmmmm…” Meso began looking around at the floor. “Ah, here’s a good one,” Meso said, picking up a large stone from the roadside and tapping the top of it. All at once, the stone's surface cracked and broke away, revealing a figurine of a man sleeping on his side in perfect nirvana.

“Here we are. One three-thousand-year-old carving of the sleeping sage,” Meso said, handing the statuette over to the class to examine.

“But you just made it?” Tasha pointed out.

“I know that you kiddos know that. But the buyer doesn’t. That is where Doctor Victor Von Vanaheim comes in,” Meso explained as he gestured to Maxwell.

“How is your frozen north accent, by the way?”

“It iz, zo zo,” Maxwell said, putting on as heavy a fake frozen North nascent as he could.

“Never mind, we will just say you have spent so long working here your accent has faded. Ok, here, read this,” Meso said, handing Maxwell a note.

“Right now?”

“Not right now. That is your script on what to say.”

The class kept pace with Meso as he gave them a rough outline of the plan. They were the young escorts of an eccentric Youthful Vampire professor of antiquities. They were there to assist Meso in the sale of the figurine. Falling back a little to put some space between them and Meso, the class began whispering amongst themselves.

“Ok, we need to ditch him the first chance we get,” Maxwell muttered.

“Why, chief?”

“That stall we robbed was a charity stall.”

“Yeah, the merchant guy did mention something like that to me,” Tasha added. The rest of the class at this news began to go a ghostly shade of white out of sheer guilt at what they had done. Bea herself was looking at her spoils, looking even more guilty than the rest.

“We’ve got to make things right,” Bea said, clenching her fists and shooting a glare into Meso’s back.

“Exactly. I got a suggestion, guys.”

“What is it?” Daisy asked.

“Why don’t we con that old bastard ourselves.” The class visibly livened up to the idea of conning the man who had tricked them into stealing from what was an actually good person.

“Why don’t we find Professor Alex and let him…”

“Daisy, we have done wrong with our own hands. We need to put it right ourselves. We can’t overly rely on him for everything.”

“Right,” Daisy said, looking down while clenching her fists.

“So Tasha and Gunter can hold him down. Me and Bea will punch him, and Kline will take his wallet.”

“Daisy! We are going to con him. What you are suggesting would be just straight-up robbery and assault,” Bea said, looking at her suddenly violent friend with worry.

“Ok fine…” Daisy said with a huff before storming up to Meso, who they now only noticed was trying to pick up a blind beggar's bowl quietly.

“YOU DO NOT DO THAT,” Daisy hissed through clenched teeth.

“He won’t notice,” Meso protested with a shrug as he continued leading the way.

“I’m starting to reconsider the beating him up suggestion,” Bea said as she caught up to Daisy.

They progressed through the streets of the upper plateau for a few more minutes till they came to a fenced-in property with a large ornate metal gate. Above the entrance was a crest of an olive branch and a bunch of grapes.

“Hello, good sirs; my name is Revol Yenom Osem, but please just call me Osem. I believe I have an appointment,” Meso said to the two guards at the gate.

“You the one here to collect for the school?”

“Sadly, no, I am here to transact the sale of a statuette that came into my possession.”

“Oh, that one, the boss said to let you right in. Who are these kids?”

“Oh them…. They are Doctor Victor and his wide-eyed students; they accompany him on his appraisals and digs and the like,” Meso explained.

“Ah, very well, go on in. I’m sure your students will appreciate this place; the boss is nearly ready to open to the public,” the guard said as he and his companion opened the gates and let them through.

Walking through a beautifully maintained garden with statues of such finery that it boggled all the students' minds which in of itself was a feat considering the families most of them came from. They walked through the garden and went to the main door, where a man in butler garb was waiting.

“Greetings, sir and… associates. My name is Samson. I am the butler of the estate,” the butler said, greeting them with a stiff bow.

“The master is in the drawing room now, eagerly awaiting your arrival. Please follow me,” Samson said as he led the way through the cavernous mansion.

Looking around the mansion as they went, they found countless displays, all labelled and well-kept. Walking over to one of the displays, Daisy read the plaque and couldn’t help but gawk at what she read.

“I’m sorry, but is this real?”

“Yhes, the master is fond of all things history. That one is a spear forged by the second Dark Lord during his tenure as the first Lord Wrath. It is one of a kind and truly a piece worthy of display.”

“Seems a shame to keep such an item away from the public eye,” Maxwell muttered as he examined the spear himself.

“Indeed, my master agrees and plans to open this building to the public as a museum to educate people on their nation's history. He needs only one final piece to complete his collection enough for him to feel it worth opening,” Samson explained, glancing at Meso.

Arriving in the drawing room, they found a table and a few chairs surrounding it. Sat in the main chair was a man as tall as he was rotund who rose to greet Meso with a big handshake.

“Greetingsh Oshem,” the man said, his jowls causing him to slur his words.

“It is a pleasure to see you in fine health Lord Doolyon,” Meso said, taking the hand and bowing his head.

“Pleash, I know my appearansh ish not pleasant,” Doolyon replied with a chuckle.

“Who are thesh fine people?”

“This here is Doctor Victor Von Vanaheim. He is the professional appraiser I contacted to help with the confirmation I had the right article. The ones with him are his students.”

“AH, FELLOW SHTUDENTSH OF HISHTORY?!! Doolyon beamed as he rose again from his seat to shake each of their hands.

“So this here is the statuette I believe you were looking for,” Meso said, gently placing the fake on the table with all the reverence the real one would require.

“Beautiful,” Doolyon said as he gazed at it from all sides.

“Doctor would you be so kind,” Meso said, gesturing to Maxwell. Maxwell saw this as his chance to ruin Meso’s con by doing a lousy job and appraising it as a fake.

“Hmmm. Tis iz Wunderbar!!” Maxwell said, putting on as outrageous a Frozen Northern accent as he could. Ignoring Meso’s momentary glare, he examined the statuette.

“Look at zis herr Doolyon. Zis here leaves me most concerned,” Maxwell said, completely going off script.

“Oh, is that so?” Meso said with faux concern.

“I am hezitant to confirm its authenticity,” Maxwell said as he further examined the statuette, all while Meso looked only mildly concerned.

“Ish there any other ishues?”

“Yah, right here, herr Doolyon, zees look like magical crafting markations.”

“You don’t shay? Shamshon, get that man in here, pleash,” Doolyon said, turning to his butler.

“Other man?” Maxwell asked.

“Indeed, herr doctor,” Doolyon said, inclining his head a little. “Thish ish too big a purchash to make without confirmation from one of my own trusted men.”

Opening a side door in strode a man who looked like the most stereotypical ancient artefacts nerd you had ever seen. He looked like he barely saw daylight and was happiest when surrounded by objects from long-deceased cultures.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Doctor Herman. A pleasure to meet you all,” he said, giving a little wave to everyone in the room.

“An outside appraiser?” Meso said, glancing at the new arrival.

It took all of the classes combined will not to smirk at this unseen intrusion that worked in their favour. Herman walked up to the statuette and examined it from several angles. Primarily focusing on the points, Maxwell had pointed out.

“You are correct in stating this has magical crafting markations,” he said, moving his finger along the statuette. “But this culture is known to have used magic to craft their most important statuettes. So this may be even more valuable than first quoted,” the man went on to say, which felt like a gut punch to the class.

“Furthermore, there is a little maker signature right here,” Herman said, gesturing to a small part Maxwell had brushed over. “This is only done on such models made by the overseer and grand master of the pottery workshops. I would say this is worth considerably more than that.”

“But zit could be a fake,” Maxwell protested.

“I have gone over thirty different identifiers and confirmed a large majority, with the few missing being likely due to its monumental age. Sir, I would say this is worth roughly in the range of two to three large golds,” Herman said before stepping back.

“I am sorry that I seem to have hired such an amateur appraiser, Lord Doolyon,” Meso said, lowering his head. From where Maxwell stood, though, he could see an unmistakable smirk on Meso’s face.

“I shall defer to my expertsh opinion. Shorry, Doctor Victor,” Doolyon said, bowing his head slightly to Maxwell.

“Shamshon get the man hish money,” Doolyon said as he eventually picked up the statuette and exited the room. Meso just leant back in his chair, shooting the class a big smug look as Samson left to collect the money with Herman in tow.

“Thought you could undermine me, aye?” Meso asked as he glanced at Maxwell.

“Sir?” Maxwell replied, trying to play dumb.

“Come now; I gave you a script to follow,” Meso said, not letting his smirk leave his lips.

“I thought it might help sell the statuette if there are a few flaws. Having a perfect artefact is stupid.”

“I will agree with you there,” Meso said with a nod. “You would have bested me,” Meso said before chuckling as he shook his head.

“You would’ve bested me had you not joined the game so late,” Meso said, raising a bemused eyebrow.

“Well, it’s not too late; we can just go and tell him-”

“Tell him what? You were part of an effort to defraud him, but you are really sorry? I will be long gone before the guards get here, will you?”

“YOU BASTARD!!!” Daisy shouted, much to the surprise of the rest of the class.

“Look at this way, kiddos. You will get another chance to get me that Five Large gold tomorrow when we hit the Casino,” Meso said with a smirk that refused to break.

“Want me to hold him down and beat him?” Tasha asked.

“No…” Maxwell said, looking at Tasha gratefully. “I can tell at a glance he is far more dangerous than we could manage.”

“Exactly, and fighting me here of all places,” Meso said, tutting. “So many valuable artefacts that would be lost to the ages should we have to fight. Kiddos,” Meso rose from his seat for the first time since settling and stood in front of the class, towering over all except Gunter.

“I will bring this building down If I have to, and who will be blamed? A group of snot-nosed kids playing criminal. Kids taught by a criminal to further his nefarious evil schemes, and I will remind you… I am not a criminal.”

“I really want to hit you in the face right now,” Kline muttered through gritted teeth.

“Go ahead. For every hair out of place, I will destroy an artefact,” Meso said with a provoking smile.

The tension that had become suffocating vanished the moment a knock came at the door. Opening it, Samson stepped in carrying a little metallic lockbox which he handed to Meso.

“Full payment is in there. Do you wish to count it, sir Osem?” Meso gave the box a quick shake, then shook his head.

“No need, I know it’s all there,” Meso said with a smirk to the kids before walking out.

Trailing behind him, the class followed him out of the building and off the estate’s grounds. The class especially hesitated to act now there were civilians around. Considering Meso had threatened countless valuable artefacts, they wouldn’t put it past him to use hostages. Not to mention saying, ‘trust us, he’s a bad guy’ when he was visibly posing no threat wouldn’t look good and would end up with them in a cell and him free to skip town.

Meso paused at a crossroads where Herman was waiting for him to arrive. Meso and Herman seemed to be conversing every so often, gesturing to the class and laughing. It was then they saw Meso hand Herman a bag of what they suspected were coins.

Only now did they understand what he meant when he said they joined the game too late. He already had an appraiser infiltrated, and they were, at best, tag along.

“We need to beat him,” Maxwell growled, part of the beast rising to the surface.

“Both figuratively and literally,” Daisy added.

“No mercy,” Bea said, holding her hand out. The rest of the class worked out what she was trying to do, and they all held their hands together over hers and chanted ‘No mercy’ together.

“Ok, now you kiddos have had your little powwow regarding getting the better of me here,” Meso said through a small pouch that clinked the moment Maxwell caught it.

“That is a large silver worth of coins. Have fun, go to a pub get wasted. I don’t really care, just stay away from me and meet me at Cherry Tree square around ninth bell tomorrow morning,” Meso said as he walked off, abandoning the class to their own devices.

“What should we do then?” Tasha asked while Maxwell opened the pouch to examine the money inside.

“Well, I suggest we do exactly what he suggested,” Daisy said.

“Pardon?”

“No, listen. Professor Alex and the rest of them said they were going to a pub after our lesson. They might still be there and-”

“Daisy, we aren’t going to run crying to them. We need to solve this ourselves,” Maxwell said, cutting her off.

“No, I’m not saying we get them to intervene. I’m suggesting we gather intel on Meso. We know next to nothing about him other than he knows Earth magic and is a crook.”

“That… That isn’t a bad idea.”

“The best way to beat an enemy is to know them, after all,” Bea added with a nod.

“So we go to the tavern and try to get the teachers to reveal what they know about Meso?” Tasha asked to which the rest of the class nodded in agreement.

Setting off down the road, they took a few turns and made their way down to the middle plateau to the tavern; they suspected that Alex and the rest of their teachers would be enjoying their night out. Arriving at the tavern itself, Kline took a step in front of the class, halting their progress.

“Ok guys, please don’t embarrass me in there,” Kline asked near begging.

“Embarrass… how often do you come here, Kline?” Maxwell asked.

“Yo Kline, these your servants?” a bouncer near the doorway asked.

“He Tolonious, these here are my friends,” Kline replied suddenly, looking sheepish.

“Huh, really? But that stuffy glasses kid looks exactly how you described your idiot butler,” Tolonious said, gesturing to Maxwell, who in turn shot a glare at Kline.

“No, this is a dear old childhood friend,” Kline hastily said, trying to kill any chance the class had to ask further questions.

“Can we go in then?”

“Sure thing, boss. Far be it for me to block one of the part owners,” Tolonious said as he gestured for the class to enter. As Kline led the way into the tavern they hadn’t been in for a long time, they couldn’t help but stare at Kline mouths hanging agape.

“Part Owner?” Bea repeated, looking at Kline intently.

“Well, after that night, we went through the sewers. I had a lot of money, and they needed help fixing the damage done by a drunk patron. I offered to pay, and the small golds bought me… well, I now own ten percent of the business.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Maxwell asked.

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but when I come here, I feel freer than I have ever in my life. I was worried you might not approve, as I’m meant to be your servant when we graduate.”

“Oh, Kline…” Maxwell said, looking a little hurt at his friend's words.

“GORM THOUGHT HE HAD SEEN YOU HERE!!” Gorm boomed as he approached the class smashing any semblance of order the class had.

“Hello, sir,” Maxwell said, straightening his features and greeting the towering Titan.

“You here to enjoy the weekend?”

“Yessir, we thought we might join you and the others for a few drinks,” Daisy offered.

“Ah, perfect idea. Come, Gorm will show you where we are sitting!” Gorm led the way through the tavern and around the fight pit to the second floor, passing the marked table the class had sat at on their first outing.

On the second floor, there was a deep rumbling booming music that sent vibrations to the very cores of the class. Weaving through the already rowdy crowd, the class arrived at a far larger booth where Alex, Elissa, and Yuu were all sitting, with a pile of empty tankards piled high on their table.

“Gorm has brought a surprise!” Gorm boomed. Looking up from the table, Elissa and Yuu stared at the class with mild surprise before waving them over.

“Come on, kids, join us!!” Elissa slurred as she flopped against Alex.

“Been having fun with that Meso guy?” The class exchanged a look at Elissa’s question before reluctantly nodding.

“Yeah, we have learnt a lot,” Bea replied.

“Izzat, so?” Elissa slurred as she draped herself against Alex’s shoulder. It was now they were sitting in the booth they realised Alex was asleep.

“Is he out?”

“Alex has never been great at handling booze. His weak constitution leaves him as a lightweight,” Yuu explained, downing a fresh pitcher of mead before slamming it onto the table. Evidently, all the tankards on the table were her doing.

“We were wondering if you guys could give us a better insight into Meso,” Daisy asked, shouting to get her voice heard over the drum of the music.

“Meso?” Elissa repeated before giggling.

“Elissa barely knows the guy,” Gorm explained as he gently pushed Elissa back against Alex.

“Do you know him?”

“Gorm knows of him. He is said to be a truly unmatched earth mage. He is honourable and without fault, all that despite his abusive teammates. This is what Gorm has heard!”

“I only know what Alex has told me. My father has also spoken of him, but it was limited,” Yuu added.

“What did they say?” Maxwell asked.

“Alex said that he was someone he would never let his guard down around. My father said that he was famous even when he was my age and that I should be careful if I ever met him personally. He has been bumming around the Dark Continent since its founding.”

“So he’s dangerous?!” Kline shouted, trying his best to be heard as the music spiked in volume.

“Very…. OI ALEX!!” Yuu shouted as she threw her latest emptied tankard at Alex’s head. The tankard collided with a thud the class could feel, and Alex startled in his seat before looking around with bleary eyes.

“Oh… heeeyyyyy, when did you get here?”

“A little while ago, sir. We were just hoping for more insight into Meso.” Daisy explained to the clearly drunk, out-of-his-mind Alex.

“Oh, him… he not done anything, has he?”

“What?! No sir, we were just hoping to understand him better,” Bea rapidly replied, hoping she was convincing. With the fog of liquor, it seemed Alex was especially trusting this evening and just gave a dopey grin.

“Sure, I love to teash-” Alex began before holding a hand to his mouth to burp. “Sorry, so you want to know about Meso?”

“Yes, please, sir,” Maxwell said with a nod.

“That man is tricksy,” Alex began holding up a finger as if to emphasise his point. “Just to help you realise this is me saying it. If I’m tricksy by normal people's standards, how tricksy do you think he is?”

“Very, I imagine,” Maxwell said with a nod.

“Exactly. That man could sell hellfire to demons. His only fault is he will obsessively obey a contract to such a degree he even weirds out demons,” Alex continued before his head dropped and ultimately fell against the table, after which a faint snoring could be heard.

“Sir?” Maxwell asked as he poked Alex a few times.

“Don’t bother; he’s out like a light now, won’t wake up till tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Gorm feels pity for his lightweight friend!”

“If you want to know more, why don’t you just ask Haddy or Rosy?” Elissa slurred before breaking out in a fit of fresh giggles.

“We don’t know where they are staying,” Daisy replied.

“Oh, they’re on the upper-” Elissa paused for a fresh bout of giggles. “Upper plateau near whatcha-ma-call-it place. You know, the one with the tower,”

“Lookout Place?” Bea offered.

“Yeeeah, that’s the one,” Elissa said, snapping her fingers at the name.

“Well, we will leave you to it then. Thanks for the help,” Maxwell said as the class all rose and made their way out of the tavern. Pausing only to wave goodbye to the bouncer.

The class made their way back through the streets that were starting to become increasingly crowded, with people enjoying their Friday night as they made their way to where Hadean and Rozoic lived. Arriving at a large manor house with a tower on top of which was a brightly lit beacon.

“You sure this is the place?” Maxwell asked, turning to Bea.

“I grew up down the road from here; everyone knows about it. Though never knew it was where Haddy and Rosy lived.”

Looking through the fence, they could see, sitting on a deck in large comfy chairs were, Hadean and Rozoic, who were enjoying an evening looking out over the parts of the city on the lower plateaus. Walking up to the gate, they tried the handle finding it was unlocked.

Making their way inside, they approached the couple staying in the light and trying their best to draw attention to themselves. Only the pair were so occupied with each other they didn’t notice the half dozen students approaching them.

“Mr Haddy!” Tasha called out, which caused the pair to pause and turn to stare at the class.

“Oh hey, kids!” Hadean said with a big friendly wave.

“Meso said you’d be crashing at our place tonight,” Rozoic added as she walked up to welcome them.

“He did?” Daisy asked, looking worriedly at her classmates.

“Yeah, he said you’d come to us before the evening is out, and we should just let you crash,” Hadean explained.

“How many moves ahead does he plan?” Maxwell muttered, looking equally concerned as Daisy.

“Come on, kids, don’t just stand there; grab a seat and enjoy the view,” Rozoic said, gesturing to a set of sears along the decking.

“So guys, we were wondering if you could help us,” Daisy asked, broaching the topic right away.

“About what, hon?” Rozoic replied.

“Well, we want a bit more information about Meso. Like what makes him tick, what does he like and not like and-” Kline paused as Hadean held up a hand to stop him.

“His weaknesses?”

“Well…”

“Kids, I wouldn’t bother. That man is too slimy to get a hold on. Me and Rosy have been sent to prison when we tried to pin him down. He is ridiculously good at deflecting blame onto those around him, and if he feels threatened, he will make you rue the day you tried to best him.”

“Surely there is a way to-” Daisy stopped mid-sentence as it was Rozoic who held up a hand to stop her.

“The only one dogged enough to keep him in place is Cyano. It’s the reason she was commissioned to join in on his lessons. So long as she is around, he will behave.”

“What if, and this is purely hypothetical, what if she were restrained?” Tasha asked.

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“Then Meso will run rampant till she breaks free,” Hadean replied bluntly. “Kids, you want my biggest recommendation?” the class all nodded.

“The best way to beat him is not to play his game. He always makes sure anyone he plays against will never have any way of beating him. The moment you are on his board, you are his plaything.”

“So we can only abandon his lessons then?” Kline asked.

“Oh no, he is contractually obliged to teach you. He will make sure to get you wherever you run. See what I mean? The moment you realise you’re playing, you've already lost. Especially if you’re in his little black book of schemes and pieces.”

“What can we do then?”

“No clue, really. He is too careful, me and Haddy got arrested for some of his crimes when we went to try to get him imprisoned. Apparently, he has some very old and influential friends. You’d need hard proof to get anything to stick.”

“Hard proof?” Bea repeated.

“Yeah, as we said, he always has it set up so everyone but him is a fall guy. Nothing ever sticks, and he toes the line so expertly you can never pin him. It’s one reason why he hasn’t been expelled from the clan. He hasn’t broken any rules.”

“If only little Ali stayed. We could’ve used the replacement clause,” Rozoic lamented.

“Replacement clause?” Bea repeated, intrigued.

“Yeah, if a mage of equal or greater skill than an elemental appears, the clan can vote when they turn sixteen to become a full member and oust the existing elemental. Alex was very close to replacing Meso when he suddenly up and left for Sloth’s domain.”

“So it’s clear Meso got Alex to leave, right?” Maxwell suggested.

“We could never prove anything. Alex himself maintains he just felt like going here for some reason. Ultimately it worked out in his favour,” Hadean replied.

“If only he would mess up and get caught crossing the line, then Cyano would be able to nail him and get him locked away,” Rozoic said as she and Hadean clinked glasses to what they clearly felt was an impossible situation.

“Thanks, guys… I think we will need to get some sleep; we got a busy day tomorrow,” Maxwell said, looking defeated.

“Fair enough,” Hadean said as he gestured with a thumb to the manor behind him.

“Crash out in whatever room you want; we are barely here, so they are pretty much all free.”

With his offer, the class trudged into the manor and found a bedroom, and all collectively collapsed, exhausted from their day sparring and thieving. But their determination was still intact; they would find a way to beat him.

April 21st, year 024 Angels Descent

The class all woke up earlier than usual, dragging themselves out of bed before the morning bell had even been rung. They had all individually made their way to the kitchen and prepared their own breakfasts. Sitting down at the table in the kitchen, they all had similar expressions of apprehension and worry plastered on their face.

“I’ve been thinking, guys,” Bea said as she began her breakfast of bread and cheese.

“Thinking what exactly?” Kline asked before munching down on his own morning snack.

“They told us Cyano is the only one that can really contain him, right?” the class all nodded.

“But she got locked in that pillar yesterday?” Tasha pointed out around a mouthful of fried egg on toast.

“Exactly, and we didn’t have time to assess our situation, and before we knew what was going on, we were dragged out by Meso. If anything, it actually speaks volumes about how we react to things if we take someone being contained as a simple occurrence,” Bea explained, to which they all nodded, grimacing at how much they had changed since starting Alex’s lessons.

“But we are some exceptional mages ourselves. We have been taught by someone recognised by many as a truly powerful mage in his own right,” the class all nodded along.

“Why don’t we use our early morning to go to the arena and break her free?” the type all froze at this suggestion that, even in their still sleep-addled minds, seemed like an obvious solution to their problem and baffled them why it didn’t occur to them sooner.

“That is actually a brilliant idea, and with Kline and Gunter, two people specialised in earth magic, we should be able to break it down with ease!”

Tasha beamed as she slowly reached for Maxwell’s plate of bacon before having her hand slapped.

“So we should make our way to the arena and smash that pillar apart?” Tasha asked.

“Yes, we get some energy into our systems and get there, free Cyano and be done with this whole ordeal,” Bea said with a resounding nod before taking another bite of her breakfast.

“Problem is…” Maxwell paused to sigh and just moved his plate of bacon rashes in front of Tasha. “Problem is the school’s front gate won’t open till seventh bell. That’ll leave us less than two hours to bust through a spell gods only know how strong to beat Meso. Can it be done?”

“We don’t know till we try, chief,” Gunter said as he finished off the orange, he had gotten yesterday.

“He’s right, Maxwell; let's at least try,” Daisy said as she sipped from a cup of coffee.

The class spent the remainder of their morning just fixing up more meals to boost their energy reserves as they waited for the morning bell. Waiting a short time, after which they set off for the school, anticipating arriving in time for seventh bell to ring and the gates to open. Arriving at the gatehouse for the school, they were pleased to see the guardian golems already in the process of opening the gates.

“Perfect timing,” Tasha said with a fist pump, only to squirm as Maxwell took out a cloth and went about cleaning her face, which still had splotches of jam stuck to her cheeks.

“You are a mess, Tasha,” Maxwell admonished. “We want to greet Lady Cyano with our best appearance if we are going to ask for her help.” At his words, Tasha just gave a childish pout and stuck her tongue out in defiance.

“Let’s just make our way to the arena, guys,” Maxwell said with a sigh as he led the way around the eerily empty school grounds.

“Almost feels like a different world,” Bea observed.

“Yeah, never been out on the school grounds when it was empty like this,” Daisy replied as she looked around the wholly abandoned school grounds.

Arriving at the arena, they found the black obsidian pillar right where they had left it. It as previously had a sheen of condensation. Whether this was just morning dew or because Cyano was actively chilling the pillar, they were unsure.

“Lady Cyano?” Daisy asked, calling out. In response, the moisture on the pillar's surface began to freeze, taking the shape of letters spelling out the word ‘Hello?’

“Lady Cyano, we’re in trouble,” Bea said, calling out to the pillar, which responded by freezing the moisture into a new word. ‘Meso?’

“Yes, Meso has already gotten us to do some bad things,” Daisy replied guiltily. The words warped into a new word. ‘Murder?!!’

“Gods, no!!! He had us steal from a charitable stall and has us stuck helping him con a casino,” Daisy hastily replied. The pillar did not freeze the moisture into a new word at this statement.

“Lady Cyano?” Maxwell called out, worried. The pillar froze a few words this time round showing, ‘Get me out, and I can finally arrest him!’

“That’s why we are here, Lady Cyano please stay low; we will smash the pillar ourselves!” Klein said as he rolled up his sleeves and approached the pillar that was now covered in exclamation marks.

“Ready, Gunter?” Kline asked, turning to his helper in using earth magic. Gunter nodded, confirming he was.

“Lumus Rex!” Kline chanted, summoning a magic circle for the shatter stone spell. Pressing it against the obsidian pillar, he channelled mana directly into the circle and waited for it to activate. Only nothing happened.

“You try,” Kline said, turning to Gunter.

“MESTON, KLIXOS, PORTRAISIS!” With his chant completed, the spell shone, showing it had activated, but the pillar remained undamaged.

“Maybe we need to weaken it first?” Tasha suggested.

“Lumus Rex!” Kline, this time conjured up a heavy crystal lance spell. The crystalline javelin launched at high speed and shattered against the pillar's surface.

“It’s not working?!!! WHY IS IT NOT WORKING?!!! ” Daisy shouted, starting to go into a panic.

“That’ll be because it’s magically infused adamantine,” a voice said as footsteps approached from one of the entrances. Turning with a panic, the class all turned to see Sloth casually strolling into the arena.

“I did wonder why a pillar of adamantine was suddenly in the ruined arena only for me to find you children. Was my blasted apprentice responsible for this?”

“No sir, it was a guest teacher named Meso,” Maxwell explained.

“Meso?” Sloth repeated as he approached the pillar and held a hand against it.

“Well, now, didn’t expect to feel your magic again,” Sloth muttered as he took his hand away from the pillar.

“Sir?” Maxwell asked, confused.

“So, children, what do you know of the history of this nation we call home?” Sloth asked the class, who were unsure as to where he was going with this. The most they knew was that Meso was involved in the early years of the Shadow Empire, but to what degree, they couldn’t say. They could only assume Sloth meant to explain Meso’s part.

“Not much, I must admit. Even my family’s records only go back a few centuries long after the foundation of the Empire,” Maxwell replied.

“I, too, have only read a few old records from the Vampire Archives, but from my recollection, none mention Meso,” Daisy added.

“I’d be surprised if it did. He went by a very different name way back then,” Sloth replied as a look of deep recollection crossed his face.

“What name did he go by?” Tasha asked.

“Mestophalas,” Sloth replied, looking at the class expectantly before sighing in resignation. “No recollection of that name?” The class just shook their heads.

“I suppose not; it was a very chaotic time back then. Names were raised and lost just as quickly. You see, kids,” Sloth gave a broad gesture and all of a sudden, they were no longer in the arena but standing over a blackened land.

“Where are we?” Kline asked, his legs flailing as they appeared to be hovering in the air.

“I’ve pulled you into an illusion to show you how things used to be. This here is the Dark Continent.”

“This is the Dark Continent?” Bea asked, marvelling at the sight beneath their feet.

“Yes, a very fitting description of the way it used to be, is it not?” Sloth asked with a sly smirk. “This is back when the entire continent was still very volcanically active. During this time nearly a millennia ago, the land was in utter chaos,” as if to punctuate his words, an explosion boomed in the distance where the class could see two armies clashing.

“This land, as I’m sure you know, was the dumping ground for the other continents. All the races sent their undesirables, the political outcasts, the oddballs and those too dangerous to let remain,” Sloth gave a broad gesture, and suddenly the class shot into the sky, looking at their homeland from above.

“This is what it looked like back then. Back before Lord Hades unified all the disparate empires,” Sloth explained as lines of light shone along countless borders they didn’t recognise.

“Countless petty kings, warlords and all manner of evil fought in the hope of claiming a throne. It was not unheard of for several dynasties to rise and fall within a single year.”

“Why don’t the history books tell us about this?” Maxwell asked, shocked at the history he was learning.

“Lord Hades destroyed all records, of course. He wanted to eliminate any inspiration for rising through unnecessary warfare. When he forged the Ebony Throne, he wanted peace to last,” Sloth let out a deep sigh at this.

“Sadly, that nature was already in the foundations when he created his Empire of empires. It is why skill is prided over lineage. It is why even a humble peasant can rise to the ebony throne much like Apophis did.”

“I still fail to see where Meso comes into this?” Daisy pointed out.

“Mestophalas was one such warlord. He was born in the Ironwoodlands, a petty elven kingdom founded by exiles from the eastern continent.” Sloth explained as he gave a wave of his hand, causing the scene to transform, showing a much younger Meso decked out in ornate armour caked in blood.

“He’s an ironwood elf?!” Tasha exclaimed in shock as she tried to poke the illusion.

“Indeed he is. He often joked the first things he stole were the wit and guile of his people. Regardless he abandoned his home to become a warlord and forge a kingdom of his own.”

“I take it he succeeded then?” Kline asked.

“And then some. He not only stole a petty kingdom, but he also conquered all his neighbours. Then he continued till he was wedged between enemies who had conquered their own empires that he could not overcome with force of arms.” Sloth changed the illusion to show the map again, but this time focused on the western half of the Dark Continent.

“Who were they?”

“Well, there was Pillglas the Glutton, who held domain over the most fertile lands along the north of the Dark Continent. Then there was the Pride Lands Ruled over by Paeter Pridwyne to his southeast where mighty and skilled warriors in both battle and diplomacy resided.” As Sloth explained, lines of light shone along the borders of the domains. They were the borders that still held true today.

“The Pride Lands?” Maxwell muttered, shocked learning more about the domain his family took over from the founding family.

“Then to his immediate south was a fortified empire ruled over by a young upstart mage from the Dune Sea with a force of mages and crusaders all sent by a nascent church to bring down a growing evil within ‘The Land of the Abandoned’,” Sloth explained, creating a line of light along the border that was Sloth’s own domain. Leaving the outline of a domain, they recognised well.

“You mean…” the class were shocked by deduction; if Meso had to stop his conquest when his borders met the future Sinful Lords of Gluttony, Pride, and Sloth, then he must be…

“He is lord Avarice?!!” Daisy shouted in terror and shock.

“Yes, Mestophalas Archean Avarice. Emperor of the Shining Hills. A man so bound by his lust for riches he mastered Earth magic just to dig up more treasure.”

“Wait-wait-wait!!!” Bea said, trying to slow down the conversation. “If he the Sinful Lord of Greed. Why did he lose his throne?”

“He got too greedy. You see, when Lord Hades, in all his overwhelming power, approached us Sinful Lords with an offer of an alliance, we were all bound by an Imperial Soul Contract. We each had a unique contract written by Lord Hades himself. It outlined our responsibilities and duties when the Shadow Empire was founded.” Sloth altered the illusion to show the Ebony throne with seven silhouettes kneeling before a dark figure sat on the throne itself.

“I take it he abandoned his throne not to be bound by the contract anymore?” Maxwell suggested, to which Sloth shook his head no.

“No, he saw it as an opportunity to bide his time and aim for the Ebony Throne himself. Then he could nullify his own contract and subjugate those he was unable to with ease.”

“What happened?” Gunter asked.

“Well, you’ve met him. He is an unlikable detestable bastard with few redeeming qualities. The Ebony throne can only be ascended to with the consent of all Sinful Lords. No matter how much wealth he offered us, we refused to consent. In the end, Yuu’s Grandfather ascended and took the name Octoroisis.”

“And he ousted Meso?” Kline suggested.

“No, it was when he sat on the Ebony Throne that he understood the nature of Mestophalas’ contract. One which had many more clauses than the others, as even Lord Hades didn’t trust the bastard. Octoroisis being the Wrathful man that he was, activated all the clauses at once just to spite him.”

“What are they then?”

“He will be compelled to obey any and all contracts he has accepted willingly. He will forfeit all assets to the state, and he will never be permitted to hold more than Five Large gold in financial wealth nor have access to assets that exceed that amount through associates.”

“That… wow, I can’t imagine a more fitting punishment for someone so obsessed with wealth that even dragons think you’re too greedy,” Daisy muttered with an amazed whistle. Sloth nodded in agreement as his dispelled the illusions he had been using.

“What stopped him from rebelling?” Tasha asked.

“The contract held his soul. If he became a traitor, his soul would be forfeit, and he would not even get an afterlife.”

“You know this is where the curse of Greed originates as these clauses affected his position as well as him personally. So while a new Greed will be elected by the merchants guild every twenty-five years from their richest members, the moment they take the Gilded Throne, they become, in essence, the poorest ruler and must use their own assets to better the Empire.”

“Why haven’t they deactivated the clauses, then?” Maxwell asked curiously.

“It kind of works for us. It actually humbles a lot of them. There’s a reason they all move to the monastery of Poverty when they finish their terms.”

“You know, people have always wondered about that,” Daisy murmured aloud.

“So we are not dealing with just a powerful mage. But one of the founding fathers of our homeland who stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the most powerful beings that have ever lived? Great!!! Maybe it is better to take sir Haddy’s and miss Rosy’s advice and not bother.” Maxwell lamented as Sloth returned to examining the obsidian pillar with his analysis spell.

“Maybe or…” Bea muttered as she walked over to Sloth. “Sir, would you be able to dispel this pillar? There’s someone inside whose assistance we need.”

“It’ll take me a few hours to reverse engineer the spell enough to dispel it, but it should be possible.”

“Would you be able to do it any quicker, say before the ninth bell?”

“No, I can’t. But I will probably be able to manage midday,” Sloth offered as his eyes lit up the more he examined the pillar none of them could even dent in.

“Well, that should be fine. When Cyano gets out, tell her to go to the Hole in the Pocket Casino, as that’s the one closest to where he’s getting us to meet him,” Bea asked.

“Sure-sure,” Sloth muttered, barely paying attention to Bea; now he was entirely focused on unravelling a spell he didn’t know yet. Returning to her classmates, Bea put on a big grin.

“Meso will be playing our game now. We just need to delay him long enough for Lord Sloth to dispel the pillar and let Cyano loose. If she can catch him in the act, we win.”

“This is all assuming his casino con will last more than three hours,” Daisy pointed out.

“Good thing he has inept helpers who will be subverting his efforts. We don’t need to succeed in stopping him, only succeed in delaying him.”

“How can we tell he hasn’t accounted for this?” Gunter asked.

“Simple, he said; we can have a weekend of fun with her secured when he locked her away. Not a couple of days but a weekend. He obviously forgot to account for Sloth actively dispelling it for us.”

“I hope you’re right, Bea,” Maxwell muttered as they made their way out of the arena.

The class had assembled at Cherry Tree square, where Meso had told them to meet him, determined to delay whatever scheme he had cooked up. Mulling around, they could see a few weekend food stalls already selling their wares.

“Could anyone go for a bumble cake?” Tasha asked, gesturing to the stall in the square's corner.

“I would love one, but do you have any idea how expensive those are?” Bea asked, baulking at the prospect of spending so much money.

“Well, we got that large silver Meso gave us. We can just spend it and buy one for each of us,” Tasha suggested. Maxwell reached into his jacket pocket and took out the pouch containing the money Meso had given the previous evening.

“I don’t feel comfortable spending that man's money. Gods only know where he stole it from,” Maxwell replied, putting the pouch back into his pocket.

“But it was already stolen; not like we can return it,” Tasha protested.

“Tasha, it’s that kind of thinking that he uses to keep getting away with his crimes,” Daisy replied.

“But I wanted Bumble Cakes. The honey is so sweet it is addictive,” Tasha whined, slumping into the bench they were waiting around.

“Tasha…” Maxwell began looking at the gloomy elf before just exhaling a sigh. “How much do they cost?” Tasha instantly lit up when he said this, only for Daisy to scowl at him.

“You can’t keep spoiling her, Maxwell,” Daisy warned.

“It’s not spoiling. It’s preventing a headache later,” Maxwell replied. “I’ll buy everyone a Bumble Cake.”

“You sure? It’s just they cost one small silver and five large coppers each,” Bea asked to which Maxwell grimaced, opening his own coin pouch.

“When she said we’d have enough to buy it, I didn’t realise it would take nearly the entire coin?”

“If you can’t afford it, that’s ok,” Tasha said, looking down.

“I am the scion of the Greyback family; a small amount, such as a large silver, won’t stop the son of Pride!” Maxwell declared as he stormed over to the stall.

“Maxy is so nice,” Tasha said, looking at where he was standing while visibly drooling.

“Yes, he does seem to spoil you,” Meso said, arriving from behind where they were looking from.

“Aghhh!!!” Tasha yelped, falling to the floor, while Meso just looked down at her with a smirk.

“So you kiddos ready?” Meso asked as he opened a box he had at his feet and threw a pouch to each student.

“What’s this?” Daisy asked, opening the pouch only to gasp.

“Roughly seven small golds.”

“In each of these bags?” Bea asked, shocked.

“Yes, it would’ve been more had you not opted out.”

“You robbed the bank?” Daisy asked, shocked.

“What part of that is shocking to you? I have been planning it for a while; you would’ve, at best, been a tag-along for the fun of it. I honestly didn’t need you there,” Meso answered.

“So you have over five large gold, then?”

“No-no, four large gold and nine small golds worth of cash. All in a nice mix of silvers, both small and large,” Meso explained.

“Why so small an amount, if I may ask?” Bea asked, probing if he would divulge about the soul contract.

“I only have two arms. I’m not carrying chests of treasure for the fun of it. If the big guy or your elf friend had joined, I would’ve taken more,” Meso replied.

“Hey guys, I got the cakes, the price has actually gone up, so it cost a little bit more,” Maxwell said, returning with a bundle of paper-wrapped Bumble Cakes, slowly handing them out to his classmates.

“Thank you,” Meso said as he took the last one out of Maxwell’s hands. “Not getting one for yourself?” he asked around a mouthful of sweet cake.

“I… screw it… So what are we doing in the casino then?” Maxwell asked, looking done with the whole situation.

“I’m going to show you how to beat the house. Simple as can be,” Meso said with a grin.

“Beat the house? I thought the whole point is the house always wins?” Bea asked.

“Normally for the idiots. I know tricks that’ll shift the odds in our favour,” Meso replied.

“Like you ever play Dark Lord?” the class paused in thought.

“Isn’t that the one where you make twenty-one with the cards?” Gunter asked.

“Got it in one. There's a trick if you’re clever that you can work out the likelihood of the next card coming.”

“There is?” Bea eagerly asked.

“Yes, just gotta count the cards.”

“Well, I can count to fifty-two easily,” Tasha declared while spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Not like that. You start by thinking of the number zero. Then there are three groups of cards you need to keep in mind. Two to six, you will add one to the count. Seven to nine, you don’t add or take anything away. Finally, ten to ace all minus one. The higher the number, the better your odds of getting a Dark Lord are.”

“It’s that simple?” Bea asked, taking notes in a notebook.

“Simple in theory, but it takes practice. It can be easy to lose the count if you let the drinks ladies distract you,” Meso replied, nudging Kline in the ribs with a knowing grin.

“Is that the only trick, then?” Daisy asked.

“Nah, a few others, but you will be watching me do those as they take real skill. Like a dice throwing technique so broken it may as well be weighted dice.”

“So what are you kids waiting for? Get up, and we can go to the Temple of Fortuna Casino,” Meso said, trying to get them to stand up.

“Temple of Fortuna Casino?” Bea repeated, shooting a worried look to the rest of her classmates. “Not the Hole in the Pocket?”

“That place? Oh, you thought because I asked you to meet near where it is. Hah hah hah,” Meso broke down in a fit of laughter. “Like I’d ever let you kids know the target before we met. What would be to stop you from warning them?”

“Yes, I suppose you are right,” Bea replied, looking even more concerned. If Cyano got out, she would be heading for the wrong Casino.

“So, where is the Temple of Fortuna Casino?” Daisy asked.

“Right this way,” Meso said as he began leading the way to the upper plateau taking the backstreets and avoiding the main road heading towards what looked like an old church.

“Ok, we’re here,” Meso said, turning to face the class that was trailing behind him.

“It’s in a church?” Daisy muttered in disbelief.

“Yes and no. It’s in the catacombs beneath it. They may be gambling monsters, but they aren’t sacrilegious,” Meso said, tutting as he walked into the church, closely followed by the rest of the class.

“Greetings, my children; we rarely have visitors at this time of day,” a friendly priest welcomed them.

“Yes, we have come to pray to the gods for luck,” Meso replied, gesturing to the various nooks where statuettes for each pantheon resided.

“Which faith do you follow?”

“I follow the only faith that matters to the living,” Meso replied, placing a small gold into the donation bowl in front of the altar.

“Such a generous fellow; please allow me to grant you a blessing. Stand on the square between the houses of the gods, and they shall all grant you their divine blessings,” the priest said, directing the class and Meso to stand on a massive marble tile set on the floor.

“May the blessings of the divine be upon you and may fate and fortune smile upon you,” the priest gave a broad gesture, and the floor jolted as it began descending into the floor. Looking up, the class could see the priest giving a friendly wave before a new tile closed, covering the opening above them.

“Bit elaborate, isn’t it?” Maxwell asked.

“I agree you’d think Hadean was in control with all the showiness about it. But no, this is all extra security, you may not have felt it, but we went through a confirmation field.”

“Confirmation field?” Gunter repeated.

“They have a magical matrix that now knows exactly how much we have on us. It will also track how much we win or lose; if we leave with more than we’re meant to, it’ll stop the elevator.”

“What if we try and leave with less than we should?” Bea asked.

“Then you are an idiot who forfeited your winnings,” Meso replied, looking unimpressed at the prospect.

“So if we are meant to beat the house, how do we get past that thing?” Daisy asked, gesturing to the lift shaft above them.

“Beating and stealing are two entirely different things. We are tilting the odds in our favour, but that doesn’t mean we will be dishonest,” Meso replied with an increasingly bemused look.

The elevator came to a stop and in front of them was a tunnel at the end of which they could see a bright light. Walking towards the light itself, they came out into an open cavern with walls lined with hundreds, if not thousands, of skulls.

“Welcome to the Temple of Fortuna Casino. What are your preferred games?” a hostess of unbelievable beauty asked, approaching the class.

“No, thank you, these are kids,” Meso said, cutting off the hostess’s attempt to lightly touch one of the boys. The hostess just stared at the class and then looked at Meso with unrestrained disgust before walking away.

“You boys, as funny as it would be to watch, don’t let the hostess’ touch you. You ladies, same thing but with the hosts. Unless you swing the other way, thinking about it, kids, don’t let your preferred gender touch you,” Meso said for once, having a serious look on his face.

“Why?” Daisy asked, looking around Meso at a host entertaining a group of women who were rolling dice on a game.

“The hosts are all Incubi and succubi. They will get you hooked on their presence, then take you to the brothel down the hall and leave you with nothing.”

“They’re sex demons?!” Bea asked in a hissed whisper.

“THEY’RE WHAT?!!!” Daisy shouted as her cheeks were rapidly becoming beet red.

“Their whole goal is to get you loopy on their pheromones and get to screw up your plays and end the night by harvesting a few days of life force and the remainder of your money,” Meso explained.

“Sir Alex would never approve of this!” Daisy protested.

“Approve? He suggested this place. Said you kiddos need to let down your hair and that you’ve gotten too tight and paranoid. It’s the whole reason he even bothered to get me to teach you. He knows I know how to have fun.”

“By committing crimes?” Maxwell asked incredulously.

“Well, the contract left a lot to interpretation. Only a few rules I must follow the rest I can kinda free wheel it.”

“Sir would nev… no, this is exactly the kind of thing he would do.” Bea began before realising how dumb what she was about to say was.

“What were these rules?” Maxwell asked, probing for more detail on the contract knowing he would be compelled to obey.

“I can’t put you kiddos in mortal peril. I only have you till Sunday evening, after which you must be in a safe place. So no abandoning you, as funny as that would be. Finally, you must have learnt something of value. That one has a lot of wiggle room as what I may consider of value is not what others do,” Meso replied.

“And Sir wrote this contract?” Maxwell asked, unable to believe their teacher would let someone like Meos have such free rein.

“Well, there are countless other clauses I won’t go into, but your teacher has a good collar on my neck. In return, he is getting me something I have wanted for centuries,” Meso replied.

“That is?” Meso, though just tutted.

“And give you more pieces to play with? I am only telling you this much so it won’t be so one-sided. It gets boring winning without any challenge,” Meso said with a chuckle as he made his way to a roulette table, putting down half his money on double zero.

“You think we can do this?” Daisy asked, watching as he lost the money he had put down.

“It is going to be difficult. We could try winning lots more money and force more than five large golds on him,” Tasha suggested, to which the rest of the class stared at her with surprise.

“What?!”

“It’s just you are a bit of a ditz sometimes,” Maxwell pointed out.

“I have good ideas every so often!!” Tahsa protested.

“Ok, so what game should we play?” Bea asked getting the topic back on track.

“Why don’t we go try Dark lord? He taught us the trick, and we can give it a try,” Maxwell suggested.

“Why don’t we cover a few games? That way, we’re not all concentrated on the same spot,” Daisy suggested, to which they all nodded.

“Ok, dibs on Dark Lord with Maxy here,” Tasha said, clinging to Maxwell’s arm and dragging him to the table.

“Gunter, they got a spinning wheel. With your control over your strength, you could give it a precise spin,” Bea said, pointing out the large wheel at the back of the room.

“We can try it together,” Gunter said as he picked up Bea to put her on his shoulder and walked off.

“Just you and me then,” Kline nervously said, looking at Daisy.

“I used to play interrogate with my grandpa, so I’m going to try that,” Daisy said, glancing at Kline, who nervously stood still.

“You coming?” Kline just nodded and followed after her.

The pair walked over to the table, which had a couple of serious players, both wearing shaded glasses. They all looked at their hands with serious expressions.

“I raise,” the one with a hat worn backwards declared, throwing a few coins in the middle.

“I call,” the one playing with coins in his hand replied, throwing a few coins into the middle himself.

“Why are they wearing glasses? It’s so dim down here…. Can they even see?” Kline asked.

“My grandpa always said your eyes can give away how good a hand you have; I guess they are blocking that,” Daisy replied, sitting at the table.

“Two pair, sir Gilthord wins,” the dealer said, moving the pile of coins to the man who had been playing with coins.

“What’s the buy-in?”

“Three small gold. Your pocket money cover that?” the hat man teased.

“Funnily enough, yes,” Daisy snarkily replied, sitting down and thumping four small golds worth of silvers.

“Whew, It is a payday for me,” the hat man said with a big grin.

“How can I help?” Kline asked.

“Bank me back in if I lose; no point in us both playing as we’d be against each other,” Daisy replied. Kline settled into the seat to Daisy’s right to watch the game, only momentarily glancing over to the big wheel where Gunter and Bea were stood.

“ANOTHER WINNER!!!” The clerk overseeing the wheel declared, handing over a few more large silvers. “Be honest, sir; you’ve played this game before,” the clerk said, reaching out to touch Gunter only to have Bea slap her hand aside.

“Gunter here is a pro,” Bea proudly said, slapping his chest.

“You could always go to the high roller’s room,” the clerk suggested.

“What do we get in there?”

“You can bet more money. No bet limits in that room,” the clerk explained.

“We’ll get a bit more banked away before we try it,” Gunter said as the clerk nodded understandingly, watching Gunter give the wheel a fresh spin.

It spun around rapidly, slowing down and making a clicking noise as the pointer went over the pegs. Slowly but surely, the wheel began to near the jackpot section bordered by bankrupt markers.

“Go on, keep going,” Bea said, urging the wheel to keep going. The wheel kept slowly spinning, ultimately stopping on a one-and-a-half times section. “I wonder how the others are doing?” Bea muttered, looking around the casino room and seeing Tasha and a frustrated Maxwell at the Dark Lord table.

“Hit me!” Maxwell asked the dealer who gave him a Wrath of hammers.

“Bust,” the dealer said, taking the few small silvers Maxwell had put on the table.

“I will stand,” Tasha said.

“Ma’am, you have sixteen; I recommend you hit,” the dealer suggested.

“No, I’m ok, thanks,” Tasha replied. The dealer just shot a pitying look at Maxwell before flipping his cards over, revealing a ten and a four. Forced to hit, being unable to stand below fifteen, he took another card revealing another ten.

“The lady wins,” the dealer said, moving a few coins to Tasha’s pile.

“You are doing exceptionally well, ma’am,” the dealer complimented.

“Thanks, this is my first time playing,” Tasha replied with a shining smile.

“My first time as well,” Maxwell added despondently. It hadn’t even been half an hour, and he had lost nearly half his money. He kept losing the count, especially when a hostess brought him a drink and brushed against him.

“Ok, I want to bet everything!!” Tasha shouted, moving the whole pile of silvers into the betting area.

“One moment,” the dealer said, raising a hand up high. Soon a man in a suit approached and leant down while the dealer whispered in his ear.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, this table has a bet limit. If you’d like, though, as you have been such a gracious player, would you like to go to the high roller's room? Your gigolo is, of course, welcome to join,” the pit boss said, gesturing to Maxwell.

“Gig!!-” Maxwell began to protest, only for Meso to cut him off.

“She would like to refuse for the time being. Don’t want to lose everything so soon,” Meso said to which the pit boss scoffed, annoyed at his interference.

“Sir, why did you stop her going?” Maxwell asked in a whisper.

“She’d lose the count and be at a disadvantage back there. They use multiple decks,” Meso explained, patting Tasha’s back.

“You are doing great; keep at it!” Meso praised as he ambled over to the Interrogate table, where Daisy had a massive pile of coins piled in front of her.

“You must be cheating. There is no way I’d lose to a rookie!!” the hat man declared, throwing his cards down and folding.

“Not cheating. Unless you consider you being easier to read than a book cheating,” Daisy replied as she gestured to just check this round.

“So little missy, tell you what,” Gilthord said as he gestured to check finishing the round of betting.

“I’ll give you this,” he held up a large gold. “If you tell me his tell. I’ve played against Hank for years, and I never picked up on it.”

“HANG ON, THAT CAN’T BE ALLOWED!!!” Hank protested.

“Sir, I’ll ask you to remain calm,” the dealer warned as a pair of large titan bouncers edged near the table.

“Sure,” Daisy replied, holding out her hand for the coin, which he retracted.

“I’ll pay next round, and you can teach me his tell,” Gilthord said as he checked again.

“Raise,” Daisy said, throwing in a pair of large silvers. “Fair enough for three more of those. I’ll tell you your tell,” Daisy said with a smirk.

“I have one that even a little girl can see?” Gilthord asked as he called the bet.

“Yes,” Daisy nodded. “Like I can tell you are hoping to bluff me with your hand as you’ve got nothing,” Daisy said, gesturing to him.

“Oh, I do?” Gilthord asked.

“Yes, while I have a straight,” Daisy replied, flicking her two cards.

“Well, I guess I have no choice but to fold…” Gilthord said, pausing with his hand in the air. “Unless that is what you want me to do because you have nothing as well.”

“Good theory, but you have just played yourself by revealing you were bluffing,” Daisy pointed out.

“Hah-hah-hah-hah!” Gilthord burst into a fit of laughter as he put his cards down, folding. “You got me; here is the gold for his tell,” he said, sliding the large gold coin across the table to Daisy.

“Ok, dealer, let's go,” Hank said, looking antsy. “You won’t succeed; my face is still as stone.”

“It very much is,” Daisy said, nodding in agreement, paying in the blind. “Thing is, one of the lessons my teacher has been teaching me is to look for the less obvious details.”

“Like what?!” Hank snapped as the dealer handed him his hand.

“I fold,” Daisy said instantly.

“WHAT?!!!”

“You just got a very good hand. I’d guess pocket aces. Your thumb and forefinger twitch when it's good like you can barely contain your excitement. While if it’s crap, you tighten your grip like you want to cover up how bad it is. When it improves, your grip loosens. The looser your hand, the better it is and the more confident you are.”

Gilthord looked at Hank’s hands, then taking Daisy’s word for it, folded his own. Hank looked even more pissed and threw his hand against the table, revealing a pair of aces.

“Wow, so you were right; I always focused on his face,” Gilthord said, looking pleased.

“Often am,” Daisy replied.

“Ok, I think you’ve won enough to go the high roller room,” Meso said, gesturing for Daisy to get her winnings bagged up. Walking away from Daisy and Kline, he went over to Gunter and Bea, who had just won another spin.

“If I didn’t know better, sir, I’d say you were cheating,” the clerk said.

“Just skill, chief.”

“You guys, we’re going to the high roller room now,” Meso said, approaching the duo. His words brought a big smile to the clerk's face.

Walking right past the duo and towards the last pair, where Tasha had a massive pile of coins in front of her while Maxwell was now just standing behind her.

“Kiddos, we’re going to the high roller room now,” Meso said, watching as Tasha won even more.

“How much has she got there?” Meso asked the dealer.

“Roughly two large gold,” the dealer replied.

“Ah, good,” Meso said with a nod before ushering the pair to where the rest of the class was waiting with a pit boss.

“So you honoured guests ready to become the richest people in the realm?” the Pit Boss eagerly asked as he guided the way through a hallway with doors where lots of people were shouting.

“What’s going on behind those doors?” Daisy asked, half already knowing the answer.

“Ma’am, those are the brothel rooms. If you are interested, we can organise something,” the Pit Boss offered, gesturing to a pair of hosts who were ready at a doorway at the end of the hallway.

“No thanks,” Daisy replied, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red.

“Man, Daisy, you gotta get with a boy. You blushing at every little thing to do with sex is, if anything, a bit worrying,” Bea said, looking down at her friend from her perch.

“Worry not; they can do anything you want and be anyone you want,” the Pit Boss explained.

“Anyone…. Say like a certain general from the army?” Tasha asked, stepping forwards.

“Well… no taking on the appearance of officials is a major crime. But you describe your ideal person, and they will alter their form to it,” the Pit Boss explained.

“No, thank you, they are a bit young to be enjoying a brothel like this. It’s poison their tastes forever,” Meso said, interjecting the Pit Boss’ attempts.

“They’d poison us?” Daisy asked worriedly.

“No, I mean… damn, how can I put this,” Meso paused in thought before cupping his hands around Daisy’s ear and whispering his response. Daisy, as she listened, nodded every so often before going completely red and slapping Meso across the face.

“YOU DIRTY OLD MAN!!!!”

“What did you say to her chief?”

“Only the truth, anyways, Pit Boss, stop corrupting the kiddos. That’s my job,” Meso said, putting a sliver of anger into his voice, making it clear they shouldn’t continue to press.

“Very well, can’t blame a guy for doing his job,” the Pit Boss replied with a shrug as he took out a ring of keys from within his jacket and fumbled to pick out the right one before unlocking the door to the high roller’s room.

The class shuffled in behind the Pit Boss and Meso and looked around, paralysed in absolute wonder. Before them was a massive cavern with the ceiling held up by an enormous pair of ribs. Dotted around the room were people dressed in flamboyant clothes betting with massive piles of gold.

“I can see why sir recommended this place now. Full of people with obviously colourful personalities,” Maxwell muttered, looking around.

“Ok, kiddos, we can go hog wild here; make as much money as you can. Anything you make, you can keep,” Meso said with a devious smile.

“Wait, so if we want to leave now?”

“Well, I would need all of you to leave together, but if you want to, you can and leave with all those golds you have now,” Meso replied.

The class froze as a pang of temptation struck them. They had quite a large sum of money already from the pouches. The fact he was letting them keep it was something they hadn’t accounted for. They half suspected he would rob them of the most he could carry and then screw them out of the rest somehow.

“So what if we stay here and break the bank?” Bea asked.

“You make even more money,” Meso replied with a smirk that would’ve made a tempting demon feel inadequate. “Don’t know about you, kiddos, but I’m going to enjoy a game on the knife game table,” Meso said, gesturing to a table where people were playing the game where you stab a knife between your fingers.

“Ok, guys…” Maxwell began before trailing off and looking at the nearly empty pouch in his hand.

“He’s got us,” Bea muttered, looking at her and Gunter’s more heavily filled pouch.

“Bea?” Daisy asked, confused.

“It was one thing thinking we didn’t have to care about the money as we wouldn’t keep it. But now we know we can keep what we make; he is trying to trap us into playing more and more,” Bea explained.

“That’s good, though, right? The longer we play, the more time Cyano has to get here,” Daisy replied.

“True, but we will now have that nibbling temptation. Play a few more hands than we should, end this whole ordeal with a reward we deserve, and so forth.”

“Well, then we just have to be careful and not fall into the trap of over-extending. We only have…” Daisy paused to look around the room to try and find a clock. “What time is it?”

“I dunno, gimme a second,” Maxwell said, reaching for a pocket watch and opening it only to look perplexed. Holding it to his ear, he gave it a shake. “Ok, my watch stopped working?”

“I heard casinos like to do that. Make it impossible to know how long you’ve been playing for. It can’t be more than an hour at most,” Bea explained.

“Why don’t we just ask?” Kline suggested gesturing to one of the guards dotted around the room. Walking over to them, Kline gave a little nervous wave. “Hello, sir. Do you happen to have the time?”

“Sir, it is time to enjoy the facilities,” the guard reapplied.

“I more meant the numerical time.”

“Half past the time to be a winner,” the guard replied.

“PLEASE JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER!!”

“Sir, I will ask you to calm down another outburst like that, and you will be escorted out,” the guard warned with a less-than-friendly scowl. Kline bit his lower lip, restraining his desired response and stomped back to his classmates.

“He was no help,” Kline muttered through gritted teeth.

“Understandable; the longer we stay here, the less money we can end up making and the better the chances the house wins everything we have,” Bea replied.

“How do you know so much, Bea?” Gunter asked.

“My family…” Bea began before trailing off with a mumble.

“What was that?” Maxwell pressed.

“My family runs casinos. Best way to tempt people into contracts with our patron demons,” Bea replied. “It was part of why I was hoping it was the Hole in the Pocket,” Bea added.

“Let me guess, that is one of your family’s casinos?” Bea just nodded.

“So, do you know any other tricks?” Maxwell asked with a far more forceful tone than he usually used.

“No, I didn’t even know the card counting one before Meso told us,” Bea replied.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tasha said, cutting through the already bubbling tension.

“Huh?”

“I said it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter her family runs these kinds of places. We are here and need to either play or leave.”

“You… You are right, Tash,” Maxwell said, lowering his head to Bea in way of a minor apology.,

“So do we play and try to get enough money to trigger his contract, or delay enough to wait out for Cyano?” Daisy asked.

“Or vote to leave with our winnings,” Bea added.

“I vote to play on and try and delay. We can win more money and get Cyano to arrest him,” Daisy suggested. The rest of the class paused in thought before nodding and accepting this proposal.

As with the previous room, the class split up to go to their chosen games. Maxwell, this time was able to break free of Tasha’s grasp and his way to some artificer bandits. Putting in a few small silvers and watching the wheels spin, revealing three cherries. Maxwell looked pleased as a small pile of small silvers fell into the tray below and began putting in more coins hoping for more wins.

Daisy, meanwhile, had gone to the Interrogate table without Kline this time. The table had more people sitting at it than the previous one had. Looking at the pile of small golds already in the pot, she couldn’t help but audibly swallow a gulp. Worried she may be outclassed.

“May I sit in and watch a few hands before buying in?” Daisy asked to which the various players just gave a shrug showing they didn’t care either way.

While Daisy was settling in for the long haul, Tasha had sat down at the Dark Lord table and was having trouble with keeping the count due to the multiple decks.

“Wow, this game is tough,” Tasha muttered as her latest hand went bust.

“Oh, it is simple, ma’am,” the deal replied. “Especially when the artificers guild made this baby for us,” the dealer added, tapping the card shoe.

“What’s it do?” Tasha asked.

“It shuffles the cards between each deal. Add that to multiple decks. It makes the game as fair as can be,” the deal replied.

“SHUFFLES BETWEEN DEALS?!” Tasha cried out, clutching her head between her hands. “How am I meant to keep the count then?”

“Count?” the deal repeated, looking suspicious. “What count?”

“Well…” Tasha began before feeling Meso clamp a hand over her mouth.

“Sorry, she is a bit of a scatterbrain and likes to count how many cards she goes through. But without knowing how many decks there are, she’s worried she was counting the same card again,” Meso hastily explained.

“Uh-huh?” the deal replied, looking unconvinced.

“No, really, she’s an idiot. Between you and me, miss dealer, she has elf brain funk.”

“Oh… OHHH!!!” The deal exclaimed, looking at Tasha with pity.

“Is this nice man your carer? You shouldn’t leave him. He probably was worried.”

“Wha-!!”

“Don’t worry, Tasha, Uncle Meso is here,” Meso said, tapping the side of Tasha’s head.

“I brought her here as a treat for her birthday, gave her a big bag of pocket money, and she had lady luck on her side,” Meso explained before recoiling his hand that now had a bite mark on it.

“You little…” Meso began before taking a deep breath, calming himself. “Tasha, we use our words when we are angry, not our teeth. Now be nice to the dealer lady,” Meso said, slowly walking away from Tasha the way a hunter would with a wild animal.

“How are things going for you, kiddos?” Meso asked as he began sucking on the bite mark on his hand to soothe it.

“The wheel is a fickle mistress chief,” Gunter replied, looking perplexedly at the wheel of fortune he had just landed on bankrupt again.

“Awh, tough luck, sir. Care to spin again?” the clerk asked with a clearly fake smile.

“Sure, a large silver for this spin,” Gunter said, slapping the coin onto the table before walking up to the wheel and giving it a big spin.

“OH, NO, MY LEG!!!” Meso cried out, falling to the floor. The clerk looked worriedly between the wheel and Meso before deciding to step away and help him.

“Everything ok, sir?”

“My leg, aghhhh!!!” As she was occupied with helping him, the wheel slowly clicked its way, eventually landing on the jackpot spot.

“Oh, thank the gods, it was just a momentary cramp,” Meso said shakily, standing up. “Thank you for your assistance, ma’am. I would hate to break something at my old age,” he added with a wink while emphasising the word break to which the clerk slightly paled.

“You ok, chief?” Gunter asked, bending over so he was closer to the elf's height.

“Yeah, I am now. I would suggest a different game. I can see three ways they are already scamming you,” Meso whispered as he wrapped an arm around Gunter’s shoulder.

“Lad, help this old man to a seat near the bar,” Meso said, making his voice as hoarse and croaky as a stereotypical old man would sound.

Carefully carrying him over to the bar area where a few men were enjoying a show with very few clothes involved in the performance, Gunter gently put Meso into a seat.

“Ok, any guards watching?” Meso asked. Looking around, both Bea and Gunter nodded to confirm no one was watching.

“Ok yeah, you were being scammed on that wheel. There was a brake she was pressing to increase the rate it slowed down. Also, I could hear a second clicking noise.”

“Second?” Bea repeated.

“Secondary peg that keeps track of how many clicks to a lose tile. Clerk flips a switch, and boom, it will only land on something you won’t win on.”

“What about the third?” Gunter asked.

“She was short-changing you. You haven’t been paid the full amount. The moment you stopped counting, she took advantage,” Meso explained.

“Well, we can go up and get it sorted and-”

“Don’t bother. You failed to check; it’s your fault for getting greedy.”

“Rich coming from you,” Bea muttered.

“Pardon?” Meso asked back, looking confused.

“We know who you really are, sir,” Bea replied with a sharp tone before covering her mouth, realising she had let go of a card they were concealing. Meso, though had an even bigger grin.

“You know who I am then? You’re still so many moves behind me it’s not even funny,” Meso replied.

“Why don’t you check on Tasha? I am sure she has probably tried something stupid,” Meso suggested. Not hiding their contempt for him any longer, Gunter and Bea stepped away from the bar and could see Tasha struggling in the arms of a pair of guards who had lifted her off the ground.

“TASHA!!” Bea shouted, running over to their friend.

“Let her go!” Gunter warned.

“You her carers friends?” the dealer asked.

“LET ME GO!!!!!” Tasha snarled.

“Your friend just finished losing all her money and went wild,” the deal explained.

“YOU CHEATED!!!!” Tasha shouted.

“I dealt the cards as normal, ma’am. Lady Luck clearly is not with you,” the dealer replied.

“I’m sorry about this. Gunter, could you,” Bea asked to which Gunter secured the flailing Tasha in a bear hug.

“We will get her calmed down. Sorry again,” Bea said with a bow of her head as the trio went to a booth away from the gaming floor.

“What happened, Tasha?”

“The card thingy would only give me cards that made me lose,” Tasha replied.

“Your sure you didn’t just bet on bad hands?” Tasha vigorously shook her head.

“The dealer kept getting Dark Lords while I was stuck with fourteen and had to hit, leaving me forced to go bust.”

“That does seem suspicious,” Gunter muttered, glancing at the table where Tasha had been.

“How much you got left?” Bea asked. Tasha just lowered her head and shook it.

“Nothing?!” Tasha nodded, with tears already streaming down her cheeks.

“Well, we didn’t lose too much ourselves. We can still try to opt-out. Depending on what others think,” Bea suggested. “Gunter, keep Tasha company. I will go and check on the others.”

Bea hopped down from her perch and made her way across the floor, finding Maxwell still standing at the same machine he had started at. Like a zombie labourer, he picked up a coin, put it into the machine and pulled the lever. Not wavering or waiting, he kept this mechanical motion without fail.

“Maxwell!” Bea called out to him. However, he didn’t respond as if in a trance. “Oi Maxwell,” Bea shouted, jabbing him in the thigh.

“Oh hey, Bea… you ever played these machines? They are so…” Maxwell’s eyes lost their light as he went to go put another coin into the machine.

“Maxwell!!!” Bea shouted against smacking his thigh.

“Oh hey Bea… you ever played these-”

“No, I haven’t, and you should stop; you only have two small silvers left,” Bea pointed out.

“No, it’s ok. When I run out, the nice ladies bring me a tub with more coins,” Maxwell replied, still half in a trance.

“You took credit?”

“Yeah… I think… I’m not sure anymore,” Maxwell said, looking at his hands, confused.

“Ok, I think you’ve had enough. Go to the booth in the corner there,” Bea said, pointing to where Tasha and Gunter were sitting. “You need a break.” Maxwell just absent-mindedly nodded, slowly shuffling over to the others.

“Ok now, Daisy,” Bea muttered, walking over to where Daisy was sitting.

“Yo Daisy, we’re taking a break,” Bea said.

“Not now; I’m about to get back into my groove,” Daisy said, trying to get Bea to go away.

“Get back into… Daisy, have you been losing?”

“Just a run of bad luck is all… I have only lost a little. If I keep playing, I can make it back,” Daisy replied with the same overly focused look Maxwell had only moments ago.

“No, enough. You need a break. If you don’t come, I will tell Sir Alex you took drugs,” Bea warned. This warning was enough to get Daisy to snap out of whatever funk she was in and look at Bea with fear.

“You wouldn’t?”

“I would unless you go to the booth over there and join us,” Bea warned.

“Fine, just one more.”

“NOW!”

“Fine!!” Daisy said, picking up her much smaller pile of coins and heading over to the booth.

“Last Kline,” Bea muttered, looking around the floor for him, but failing to find him.

“Sorry, have you seen my friend? Blond hair, twitchy nature, looks like his own shadow gives him nightmares?” the guard she was asking just pointed to a small table in the corner of the game room. Walking over, she found Kline hunched over a control device, moving a claw, trying to pick up a little toy bunny.

“In a room full of gambling devices, you pick this one?” Bea asked.

“I’ve only gone through a small gold, but I am this close to winning. I can feel it!” Kline replied while holding his thumb and forefinger close together.

“Kline, they sell those toys on the middle plateau for five large copper,” Bea pointed out.

“But it wouldn’t have the memories of this place,” Kline replied.

“Kline… Daisy said if you don’t go to where we are sitting, she will never go on a date with you,” Bea said, already feeling guilty about using such an underhanded method.

“She what?!” Kline replied, snapping out of his own daze.

“Come join us; we’re taking a break,” Bea said, gesturing to the booth.

“A break…. Yes, I could use one,” Kline muttered as he staggered over to the booth where the rest of the class was sitting.

With the class all regrouped in a booth, they all began to realise they had somehow gotten drawn in and trapped by the games around them. The rings of bells that some of the machines gave to indicate there was a winner every so often went off despite there being few people in the high roller’s room.

“So guys…” Bea began before trailing off, unsure of how to broach the topic.

“I think there’s something off about this place,” Maxwell said.

“You think?” Bea replied with a sharp tone of sarcasm. “Maxwell, you took on credit to continue playing machines famous for emptying pockets.”

“Well, I would have won some of what I lost back if I had-” Daisy began before Bea cut her off.

“Daisy, you wouldn’t. For someone as sharp as you are, you didn’t notice the whole table was arrayed against you. The dealer was dealing your cards from the middle of the deck with a trick,” Bea replied, putting Daisy in her place.

“We have all lost and gotten tricked into playing the game. Meso must be laughing his ass off at us right now,” Bea muttered before the entire class paused and began looking around.

“Speaking of the unlikable bastard, where is he?” Maxwell asked.

“Last we saw, he was in the bar area,” Gunter replied, looking to where they had left him, only to find the table empty.

“Has he abandoned us?” Tasha asked, looking around for Meso herself.

“He said he wouldn’t be able to keep his contract. Which we know he has to obey,” Daisy replied.

“Hang on…” Bea said, holding up a finger to pause the whole conversation.

“How do we know we can trust what we were told?”

“Well, Bea, Lord Sloth told us,” Kline replied.

“I mean, how do we even know that was Lord Sloth? He barely leaves his lab or lecture room. But we just o happened to encounter him the moment we made an effort to free Cyano?”

“Now that you mention it,” Maxwell muttered as a look of concern began to take root on his face.

“We know he likes to play games with people and is always several moves ahead. There is no way someone like him didn’t account for Sloth.”

“The more you are saying, Bea, the more it feels like we are puppets with our strings firmly in his hands,” Daisy said, looking even more worried.

“Sir always said to maintain a level of paranoia when it comes to anything we are told. But we just kind of blindly took everything he said at face value,” Kline muttered as he stroked his chin in worry.

“Well, let’s just go and-” Bea began before pausing. “You guy hears that?” The majority of the class all looked confused; only Maxwell and Kline suddenly seemed more alert.

“We heard it,” Kline replied.

“Sounded like an explosion,” Maxwell added.

“An explosion?!” Daisy near shouted.

“Yeah, from the way we came in,” Maxwell replied, pointing a finger in the direction he heard the noise.

“Excuse me, what is going on?” Bea asked a serious-looking guard who was making his way to the front entrance.

“Worry not, patron, please continue to gamble,” the guard said, trying to reassure but failing to cover the fear colouring his voice before rushing off towards the entrance.

“Guys, we need to find a way out of here now,” Bea said, looking around for another tunnel they could try.

“What’s going on, guys?” Tasha asked.

“Looks like someone is raiding the casino,” Bea replied.

“A raid?!” Daisy repeated.

“Yeah, this place may be big, but it is still technically illegal,” Bea replied, gesturing to a tunnel that seemed about right.

“So the city guard is raiding the place?” Daisy asked.

“Sounds like it,” Maxwell replied. “I can hear them arresting people from here.”

“I can’t get in trouble!!! I’VE NEVER BEEN IN ANY REAL TROUBLE, GUYS!!!”

“Calm down, Daisy, we just need to find a back exit; these places always have a few,” Bea replied, trying to calm her panicking friend down.

The class made their way towards the bar area and hopped the bar itself, going through the door that linked to the storage area they assumed would be behind it.

“Bea, why are we here?”

“They aren’t going to be lugging dozens of barrels of booze through a church. They must have a delivery shute somewhere,” Bea explained as they began walking between barrels that had been stacked up.

“Ah, here we are,” Bea muttered with a grin, looking up a small shute that led vertically upwards.

“We will need to shimmy our way up, but we can get out through here,” Bea explained as she clambered onto Gunter’s shoulders.

“Gunter, bring up the rear. You are strong enough to carry everyone, so if anyone falls, you will be a stopper,” Bea explained as Kline begrudgingly took the lead spreading his arms and legs wide to climb up the walls of the shute.

“Please hurry,” Daisy begged as the noise of the raiding guards started to get louder as they had now gotten into the high roller’s room.

“I am going as fast as I can, Daisy,” Kline replied, shuffling up at a slightly faster pace.

“Ok, Daisy, you next,” Maxwell said, ushering the nervous girl into the shute.

“Tasha, you go after Daisy. If she falls before Gunter can get in there, it won’t be great,” Maxwell said, nudging the elf by the shoulder.

“You just want to look up my skirt,” Tasha said teasingly to Maxwell, who began to flush red.

“You aren’t even wearing a skirt,” Maxwell shot back, shoving the elf into the shute.

“Ok, me you next, Maxwell, then me and Gunter,” Bea said, watching as Maxwell shuffled up the shute himself.

“Might be a squeeze, Gunter but keep at it,” Bea said, giving a comforting pat to Gunter's head as the pair entered the supply shute.

As they began to climb up, they could hear the stomping of metallic boots as the guards started searching the supply room for any people they still needed to arrest.

“COME ON OUT, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED A BEATING!!!” The class collectively paused their climbing and held their breaths, not daring to make even the smallest of sounds. Bea held a hand to her mouth and hands against Gunter’s chest as she began to whisper.

“Lumus Rex,” with her chant, a very faint light circle appeared, taking the shape of the perfect vacuum magic circle. With a gentle tap, she activated it, creating a small bubble of vacuum between Gunter’s feet and the bottom of the shute.

“Bea, what are you doing?” Maxwell hissed.

“Sound can’t travel through a vacuum,” Bea hissed back. “This should help, if not stop, at the very least muffle the sound we make.”

With a begrudging nod, the class continued their climb to the top arriving at what looked like an old abandoned well. As Kline reached for the edge to pull himself over, he felt an icy cold pair of hands clamp down around his arm.

“AGHHHH!!!!” Kline screamed out and flailed in a panic losing all grip he had on the wall and now dangling over his classmates with only the icy hands holding him. With a firm tug, Kline was pulled out of the shute and into the open, where he could see Cyano was the one holding him.

“It’s ok, guys. It’s Lady Cyano!” Kline called out down the shute.

The class let out a collective sigh of relief as they continued to climb up out of the shute into the light of day. One by one, they all made it to the top and near all collapsed with relief.

“Thank you, lady-” Maxwell began before Cyano clamped a pair of mana-restraining manacles around his wrist. Looking at the rest of the class, Maxwell could see nearly a dozen guards had all been waiting and pounced when the class let their guards down.

“What?”

“You are under arrest for participating in illicit gambling, theft, bank robbery and aiding and abetting a known suspected criminal,” Cyano said, her expression remaining as serious as the grave.

“What?!!!” the class collectively chorused.

“No, we had no choice but to go and…”

“I have witnesses already stating you were not being coerced and entered the establishment of your own free will. Furthermore, you all participated in the games without coercion.”

“But Meso-”

“He may have entered the establishment but did not actually place any bets. He played for fun and did not wager any funds. We will not be able to arrest him for gambling.”

“But Lasy Cyano, we did not help him rob the bank?”

“You took ownership of the stolen funds,” Cyano bluntly replied.

“But we were using it to delay him so you could finally arrest him?”

“That is why you are being charged with aiding and abetting a criminal. You gave me the wrong address knowing I would fail to secure him in the process of a real crime. I wasted over a day searching that casino for you and him only to get word you were here instead.”

“Over a day?” Daisy repeated.

“Yes, it is Sunday now,” Cyano replied, looking none too pleased about the inadvertent run-around they had given her.

“WHAT ABOUT THE BANK ROBBERY? YOU CAN ARREST HIM FOR THAT!!!” Kline shouted in a panic.

“He was contracted to perform a white-hat robbery of the bank. You were initially meant to be subcontracted as accomplices but opted out. So taking possession of the goods stolen as part of a white-hat contract means you have taken stolen property illegally.”

“Kiddos, I am disappointed in you,” Meso said, sliding out into the opening.

“There he is; arrest him!!!” Maxwell shouted, flailing about as the guard tried to restrain him.

“On what charge? You, children, have seen to it that you are the only criminals here,” Cyano said, her breath already creating a fog around their feet. “And I so got my hopes up. Could I punish you for that I would.”

Cyano gestured to the rest of the guards to drag the class away and take them to jail. To make matters more painful, they had all their money confiscated as part of evidence.

“Oh, guards,” Cyano said, causing the guards escorting the class away to pause. “Be sure to add theft from a charitable organisation to the list of charges.” The class looked up to the guards escorting them and saw only pure disdain in their expressions.

The class were taken to the middle plateau main jailhouse and locked in the same cell. With their restraints still on, all mana flow had been temporarily severed. Even basic utility magic cantrips were a no-go. Daisy was sitting in the corner of the cell, rocking back and forth, tears already rolling down her cheeks.

“I-I-UHHHHHH-I HAVE NEBER BEEN IN TROBBLE WITH THE LAW BEFORE!!” Daisy mumbled between sobs.

“Daisy, we heard you the first dozen times. Please shut up,” Bea muttered, trying to peer as far through the bars as possible.

“I will deck that bastard the moment I see him,” Tasha grumbled, repeatedly punching her fist into her palm.

As they were all mulling over what to do, they heard footsteps approaching their cell. Peeking through the bars, they could see one of the jailers approaching their cell.

“You kids are in for a world of hurt,” the guard said with a big sinister grin.

“What are you going to do to us?” Maxwell asked.

“Nothing, your parents have arrived,” the guard replied. His words alone made the blood drain from every single member of the class. Their parents had come to bail them out. This was the worst-case scenario they could imagine.

“Can I opt for life in prison?” Maxwell asked.

“No, you are lucky your parents have a lot of political pull. Otherwise, you’d be spending a nice long stay in our care,” the guard replied with a chuckle as he continued his round. The class were now left alone in silence, waiting for the doom that was on the horizon to arrive.

After what they assumed was half an hour, they could hear a few sets of footsteps approaching the cell. They all collectively held their breaths, waiting to see whose parents had arrived to free and punish them. Stepping in front of the cell, the class couldn’t help but stare, mouths hanging agape, at the pair standing before them.

“I’m so sorry, officer. My children were always such nice little kids. WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!!” Alex said in a very forced, high-pitched voice as he dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

“It is my fault, honey. I did not beat them hard enough when they learnt to think,” Yuu replied with as forced a deep voice as she could manage.

Standing in front of them in a flowery dress with big curly hair and way too much makeup was Alex dressed in what a school play might deem as a stereotypical mother. At the same time, Yuu had a very large and fake-looking beard stuck to her face at a slightly weird angle.

“Aren’t you kids going to greet your parents?” the jailhouse master asked, looking furious at the class’ imprudence.

“Children, why did you do so many bad things? Did you take candy from a man with a white cart?” Alex asked, continuing his high-pitched performance.

“You kids are lucky mah beating belt is at the shop being repaired. But don think your asses are escaping mah wrath!!” Yuu added, putting on some kind of weird accent.

“I…” Maxwell began before trailing off, his brain having stalled at the image of their teachers dressed up in rather bad costumes playing their parents.

“If you could open the cell. They must be frightfully cold,” Alex asked the guar.

“NO, let em rot!!” Yuu replied, momentarily stopping the guard before relenting. Now in an utter daze, the class staggered out of the cell, being guided by Alex and Yuu.

“Thank you, sir; we will get them back to the home for wayward children and hopefully help them see the light,” Alex said, giving a goodbye wave with his handkerchief.

“Ma’am, it was no trouble. If you would like to discuss discipline over some drinks at some point, feel free to come on by,” the guard said, sidling up next to Alex.

“Oh, you naughty boy, I am happily married,” Alex replied, pushing off the guard's advances.

The class, with their strange teachers herding them, exited the guardhouse and made their way back up the ramps to the upper plateau then to the school grounds themselves. As they stepped through the gatehouse, the class finally regained enough sense of self to finally question their teachers.

“Why are you dressed as a woman, sir?” Maxwell asked.

“Well, someone needed to play your mother,” Alex replied.

“No, I mean… Why not Yuu or Elissa. YOU DIDN’T EVEN SHAVE YOUR BEARD!!!”

“Guys, is what we are wearing really the biggest question right now?”

“YES, IT IS!!” the class collectively yelled.

“Ok, want the truth?” the class nodded.

“Thought it would be funny seeing your reactions. Gotta say…” Alex paused to give a chef's kiss. “That will be a warm, happy memory for the rest of my days,” Alex said, clutching at his chest, causing a grapefruit to fall out.

“What about you, big chief?”

“Eh, like I’m not going to join in to see you crapping yourselves in a jail cell,” Yuu replied, breaking down laughing to such a degree her beard fell off.

“So, have fun this weekend?” Alex asked with an arched brow.

“No, we got arrested!” Daisy shouted back.

“I meant before that. You kids seemed to be having fun gambling.”

“You were watching us?”

“Kids, I trust Meso as far as I can throw him, and I am particularly physically weak. He will abide by the rules set, but he is a slippery bastard. When he took you where I told him there would be a raid this weekend, I kind of worked out his scheme.”

“And that was?” Maxwell asked.

“To get you kids to experience the arresting procedure, see how scams work, and above else…” Alex paused for a moment drawing the class in. “To see what a right bastard he really is. He loves nothing more than to win against someone who has done everything right against him and still fails. It’s why he doesn’t stop Cyano when he has a dozen ways to do it.”

“Because he likes the challenge?”

“Yes, she is the only one never to give up no matter how many times it has hit her in the face. They both are addicted to the chase. Now you’ve had a long weekend. Go back to the dorms and get some rest,” Alex said as he locked arms with Yuu, as the pair began walking back to his tower.