Aodhán awoke the next morning with a gasp, his heart pounding as his mind relived a familiar scene of lightning, broken bodies, and blood. It had been a while since he’d had the Raventhorn nightmare last; however, it seemed his mind was determined to remind him whenever he began forgetting.
He closed his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t quite sure what had triggered it this time; perhaps it was all the blood from the tower yesterday, or bottoming out his energy core, or as a result of his new perk. There were a number of things that could have triggered the nightmare, but Aodhán suspected there was a much simpler reason: his mind just wanted to torture him.
With a sigh, he stood up from his sweat-soaked sheets, giving the self-cleaning enchantments a chance to function, and moved to the window. It was only a few hours past midnight, barely four a.m., which was perhaps the perfect time to wake for some, but Aodhán usually preferred to get more sleep. Honestly, at this point he could go at least two or three days without sleeping. He would barely be functional on the third day, but Aodhán felt like he could do it. Perhaps if he stopped sleeping entirely, he could rid himself of this nightmare permanently.
Anyway, despite the early morning chill and the quiet night, Aodhán didn’t think he could go back to sleep. The thought of sleep wasn’t even enticing, so Aodhán just sat at the window and observed the golden clouds of the sunset nexus. This time he had nothing to distract himself with, so he began practicing the creation of complex storm and lightning constructs in a bid to sharpen his control.
At first, he tried to create a bird and then a giraffe, but those proved to be much more complex than he imagined. Creating 3-dimensiomal shapes and figures was much harder than Daruk made them seem; in fact, on his fifth attempt at creating a rabbit, Aodhán concluded that it was nigh impossible without the architect's skill. There were just so many moving parts to account for, unlike in 2- or 1-dimensional figures.
He didn’t give up though; instead, he decided to start on a much smaller level and build up from there. He began with a relatively easy spider. It had a somewhat spherical body with three limbs on each side. The spherical abdomen was quite easy to create. It was the movable joints attached to the limbs that was the problem.
While Aodhán worked quietly on the spider, his thoughts drifted to the events of the previous day, and he let out a small smile.
The events that came after he exited the tower had been surreal. Despite finally taking the top spot on the tower after almost two months, Aodhán had been too weary to actually celebrate it. He had exhausted all of his buffs, boons, and tricks to reach the 26th level, and when he exited, he’d felt as wrung out as a squeezed rag.
Speaking of buffs, Aodhán looked down at his chest to see his seal now glowing faintly. It was nowhere near fully regenerated, but it filled him with relief to see that it was almost halfway there. His spirit, on the other hand, felt sore from all the chaos essence he’d channeled through it, and Aodhán doubted he’d be opening himself up to the origin plane any time soon.
Nevertheless, it felt nice to knock down Cyrus’s ego in this manner. Cyrus's distaste and hatred of him would probably skyrocket after this, but Aodhán didn’t care.
When the light of dawn finally appeared in the sky, Aodhán sighed once more and released Varéc from his spirit. Varéc rushed out in a burst of chaos and storm essence before settling down on the bed with his tail dangling off the edge. Varéc had grown again; it was subtle, but when he arched his sinuous neck, his horns now scraped against the roof. It wasn’t quite cramped just yet, but Aodhán suspected things would be different in the next few months.
Varéc shuffled awkwardly, his claws easily tearing his bedsheets to pieces as he shifted to find a comfortable position. When he finally settled, Aodhán raised an eyebrow and said, “This is the last time I’m letting you sleep on that bed.”
Varéc growled dismissively, and Aodhán glared at him. “Fine, you can keep sleeping on the bed; however, when we return home, you’ll either have to remain in my spirit or sleep on the floor until I learn how to create those self-repair runes, which I doubt will be anytime soon.”
Varéc growled again and tucked his wings, obviously constricted by the limited space. This caused him to shuffle again, tearing another dozen furrows into the now-tattered mattress.
When he finally found a comfortable position, Varéc looked at him, sensing his somber mood, and growled in concern.
“I’m fine, Varéc.” Aodhán responded with a sad chuckle and a shrug. “I’m just mentally paying for my sins.”
Varéc cocked his head, and a grating screech rang out as his horns scraped against the roof. Aodhán grimaced at the offensive sound and glared at Varéc. “Get off the goddamned bed and stop ruining my house.”
Varéc growled in annoyance before complying, and Aodhán sighed. “Thank you.”
This wasn’t the first time Varéc was ruining his room, and although he usually just ignored it, it was particularly irksome today. Feeling a pang of guilt, Aodhán sighed and apologized. “I’m sorry. I’m a little on edge. You would be too if you had a hand in the deaths of over a dozen people, and your mind won't stop torturing you for it.”
Rather than the understanding he’d expected, Varéc let out a throaty growl that caused Aodhán’s eyes to widen in alarm, and he quickly cautioned the enthusiastic familiar. "No, Varéc, killing people is bad, whether accidentally or intentionally. Unless they’re bad people, which is still bad, but less bad if you understand what I mean.”
Varéc growled in confusion, and Aodhán chuckled. “How do I explain this? Okay, people have families and relatives. When you kill someone, you cause their families to feel bad. Besides, the life of a person is very important, and taking it is a crime or should be if it isn’t already.”
It was perhaps not the best way to explain why killing humans was a bad idea to a chaos-born creature, but it was the best way Aodhán could think of at the moment. Varéc, however, only seemed to get more confused. He growled again, his snout scrunched up in an expression Aodhán only recognized as confusion because of their telepathic link. Aodhán frowned, trying to come up with a response that would ease Varéc’s confusion, and after a moment, he replied. “I’m not quite sure what laws are in place for sentient creatures, Varéc. What I know is that humans killing monsters isn’t considered a crime, so I guess it’s a matter of perspective. For humans, monsters are cultivation resources, and I imagine that might be the case for sentient creatures too. However, because I’m human, I tend to feel bad when a fellow human being dies, so I guess that's why I think it’s bad for monsters to kill humans.”
It was a pretty shitty explanation, but it was the best Aodhán could come up with at the moment. Varéc growled again, and Aodhán shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to you anyway. You’re not a monster; you’re a familiar, which means you’re supposed to like humans.”
Varéc snorted and arched his shoulders as if to say humans were lesser beings, and he was supreme and magnificent. Silence descended after that, and Aodhán frowned, pondering the conversation for a moment longer. He’d heard that in the Advanced class, creatures usually developed a hint of intelligence, some much earlier than the others, which was apparent in the IceDrake he’d fought in the tower yesterday as well as the fire drake in level 19.
Now that he thought about it, was it possible that Dragonkin developed their intelligence faster than other creatures? If so, was that a sort of racial perk or system boon?
Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Aodhán continued his ruminations on the intelligence of monsters. Mythic-class creatures were said to possess the intelligence of a child, while calamity-class creatures were said to be capable of speech, which was weird. Was a creature who was capable of speech and emotional conversations even still a monster?
After a few more minutes of thought dedicated to the intelligence levels of monsters, Aodhán finally pushed the thought aside. It didn’t matter anyway. Whether a creature was intelligent or not, Aodhán wouldn’t hesitate to kill it the moment it tried to attack him.
It was still a little early, but with nothing else to do and no more foolish thoughts to distract himself, Aodhán finally made his way to the bathroom to freshen up and begin his day. When he exited the bathroom half an hour later, the day had brightened considerably, and so had his mood. He still wasn’t in an excitable mood, so he texted Daruk and Andrew and told them not to wait up for him this time as he wanted a quiet walk without their usual bickering.
Daruk replied almost instantly: It's alright. We’ll meet at the gymnasium.
With that out of the way, Aodhán moved to his wardrobe and pulled on a black vest and trouser. It wasn’t the official uniform for gym and extracurricular activities, but Aodhán doubted anyone would make too much of a fuss about it. With the outfit now reflecting his mood, Aodhán wrapped his storm scarf around his neck and downed a large cup of water to, well, hydrate himself before this depressing day began. Varéc returned to his spirit after that, and after making sure he had everything he needed for the day, Aodhán was ready to head to the gym. However, as soon as he began walking towards the door, he sensed Meredith’s water core blazing behind it and hesitated.
He contemplated whether to face her now or jump out the window instead. He truly wasn’t in the mood for a conversation with her this morning, but he had to admit that she had at least given him the space of two whole days before finally initiating this conversation. Also, it was only right, necessary even, to address what had happened between them in Makeba’s room, however hesitant he was to discuss the matter.
Taking a deep breath, Aodhán banished Aldric’s voice from his head and opened his door to find Meredith dressed in a flimsy nightgown, with her hands poised to knock. Her black hair was still wet from what seemed to be a recent bath, and the runic tattoos on her skin seemed to glow with pale light. She let out a surprised ‘eek’ when the door opened before letting out a coy smile. “Hi, Aodhán.”
“Hi Meredith.” Aodhán responded calmly, trying not to remember how her body had felt in his arms. “What do you want?”
“So broody.” Meredith rolled her eyes and gestured to her dress. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? I’m still wet from my shower, and the weather’s cold.”
Aodhán blinked, clenched his fist, and began counting back from hundred. Dallying with Meredith was a bad idea for several reasons, a few of which were the fact that she was Imani’s friend and Marcellus’s ex-whatever, not to mention that she was a noble. He didn’t want to get involved in that mess when it eventually broke out.
He’d barely counted to ninety when Meredith teased again. “Won’t you help me, sir? I’m soaked and shivering; I have no where else to go.”
“Ascendants help me.” Aodhán cursed and fixed Meredith with a glare. “You don’t need my help, Meredith. You’re your own shining knight.”
Meredith grimaced, disappointed he wasn’t playing along. “Glad to see you’re still your gloomy, dark, and broody self. After the Blackwell event, I was beginning to think that perhaps underneath all that doom and gloom, there was a part of you that understood the word fun.”
Aodhán glared at her and sighed, not at all in the mood to exchange words with her. “What do you want, Meredith?”
“I want to come in.”
“No.” Aodhán hastily blocked the entrance with his body. “As you can see, I was just about to head out.”
Meredith observed him for a moment before sighing. With a flick of her fingers, she manipulated all the water on her hair and skin into a ball the size of her fist before dumping it into the flower pot beside the door.
“You’re avoiding me.” She stated without doubt. “If this is about my fainting spell the other day, I assure you that I am fine.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Aodhán replied and sighed. "Look, Meredith, I’m attracted to you. I won’t deny that, but I just ended things with Lupin, and I’m certainly not in the mood for... for whatever this is.”
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“I hear you.” Meredith nodded and folded her arms. “You need time to nurse your broken heart. However, I hope that by the time you understand the extent of what I'm offering you, it won't be too late.” She turned around and marched to her room, leaving Aodhán just staring into space at the awkward conversation.
Pushing it to the back of his mind (which was already full of incomplete thoughts at this point), Aodhán headed down to the living room, where he found Eren seated by the kitchen counter, eating a bowl of cereal, while Marcellus had his legs propped up on the center table, filing his nails noisily. They both looked up, and although Eren nodded in greeting, Marcellus scowled at him. “Is it not too early to be going to the gym, or are there extra points for arriving early?”
Aodhán ignored Marcellus, but as he walked towards the exit, Eren called out. “We can go together if you'd like; I'm almost done with my meal.”
His relationship with Eren had softened ever since that day he’d subdued his housemates with his aura. It had gotten even better after the simulation exercise, and although Aodhán wouldn’t exactly call them friends, they were definitely civil to each other. On a good day, Aodhán might have accepted Eren’s offer, but today was definitely not that day.
“Thanks for offering, but I’d rather walk alone.” Aodhán responded, and Eren shrugged before fixing himself another bowl of cereal.
When Aodhán stepped out of the house, he glanced up at the clear blue sky and shook his head. It had been approximately four months since the dry season began, which meant that in a month or two, the raining season would begin. Aodhán couldn’t wait because the raining season translated into natural storms/cloudy skies, which he still hadn’t seen since his transmigration into this world.
He arrived at the gym fifteen minutes later, despite his slow walk, and wasn’t too surprised to see coach Harvey and his assistant already present. Coach Harvey smiled at him as he marked his usual register. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Rough night.” Aodhán admitted, and coach Harvey nodded somberly before waving him into the gymnasium. “Do you want me to get you started on an exercise to chase those thoughts away?”
Aodhán shook his head quickly. “No, thanks, coach. I’ll just do some light exercise to warm myself up.”
“Suit yourself.” Coach Harvey shrugged, and Aodhán moved towards a rack on the wall near some exercise equipment and pulled out a padded mat, which he spread on the floor before lying on it. He started with something light, a few push-ups, sit-ups, and plank stands. He ramped up the difficulty over time; however, even after twenty minutes of constant exercising, Aodhán was yet to break out a single bead of sweat. His muscles weren’t burning, and his breathing was even. It was severely unsatisfying, and Aodhán wondered if he should have accepted coach Harvey’s offer after all.
More people had come into the gym by then, and although it was still early, it seemed that about half the students were already present.
Aodhán was carrying out his 172nd pushup when a shadow suddenly fell over him. He already knew who it was, so he looked up and grinned. “Hi Scarlett, how are you doing?”
She smiled sweetly and bent down. “I should be asking you that, Mochi.”
“What’s Mochi?” he deflected, and Scarlett shrugged. “ It means sweet man in Calodan.”
Aodhán chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not sure anyone who really knows me would call me that.”
Calodan was a bizarre kingdom, which rather than being divided into twelve sectors like all the other kingdoms, was divided into what they called tribes instead. To make things more complicated, each tribe had their own unique language aside from the general Lutian language that they all spoke. Aodhán thought it was cozy and familiar in a way that the sectors weren’t.
Scarlett smiled and asked. “So, how are you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” Aodhán shrugged. “Did I cry myself to sleep last night when I realized I couldn’t share my victory with Lupin? No, but I nearly did.”
Scarlett’s expression softened, and Aodhán sighed. “I get it truly. It’s just disheartening.”
Scarlett frowned and shook her head. “I don’t get it. Things are a lot looser in Calodan, even for nobles.”
Aodhán wasn’t too familiar with Calodan customs and traditions, so he simply shrugged and let out a small smile. “Life’s a cruel mistress.”
“She is.” Scarlett agreed sagely and turned her gaze to the swarm of students warming up or just standing around the hall. After a moment, she added. “Not quite as cruel as the thoughts running through Grendar Bladewynn’s mind right now, though. It’s giving murder.”
Aodhán glanced towards his left, following the sense of metal affinity in close proximity to blood and space, but when his gaze landed on her, she looked away. Lilith however didn’t. Instead, she smirked, the expression seeming much more dangerous than it had any right to be. Cyrus stood by her side, his face scrunched up in pain as he benched a null-weight like his life depended on it. It was then Aodhán noticed that despite how they tried to hide it, the rest of the students were staring at them, their faces a mix of anticipation and excitement.
“It seems they do not appreciate your little stunt yesterday.” Scarlett giggled, and Aodhán’s gaze narrowed as he glared back at Lilith, and in a voice loud enough for them to hear, he responded. “Well, they can cry blood for all I care, but I’ll be damned if I let anyone take my new spot.”
Cyrus paused, his entire body straining from the null-weight, but in a rare display of restraint, he ignored Aodhán and continued his exercise. Grendar had a more violent reaction to his words, and a black blade suddenly appeared in her hands, but before she could attack him, an action Aodhán wished she’d taken as that would have given him the opportunity to bash her head against the reinforced walls to ease up some of his tension, Lilith dragged her back and hissed something unintelligible.
“Sheesh.” Scarlett sighed. “The next few weeks are going to be so dramatic, and you, Mochi, are at the center of it.”
Aodhán grimaced. “I hate drama.”
“Oh, but you’ll love this one.” Scarlett giggled. “Rumor has it; Cyrus intends to challenge the tower nonstop until he regains his previous rank.”
Aodhán snorted. “Ambitious much.”
Honestly, it wouldn’t be impossible for Cyrus to regain the top spot, but that would only happen if Aodhán didn’t challenge the tower again. However, unlike the first half of the term, Aodhán wasn’t willing to take things easy this time. Not only to knock some humility into Cyrus’s spatial brain, but because now that he’d claimed the top spot, his very nature was against the thought of letting it go so easily. Aodhán frowned and turned to stare at Scarlett. “Speaking of tower ranks, how are you not on the leaderboard?”
Scarlett shrugged casually. “It’s not my style. I’m more of a supporter than a direct fighter, and I prefer to fight in groups where I can enhance the skills and power of those around me.”
Aodhán nodded in understanding, not really thinking too much about her words. “Well, I wish you the best.”
“Thanks.”
Daruk and Andrew arrived a few minutes later, but before they got the chance to speak, coach Harvey bellowed. “Listen up. I’m aware that many of you have let yourself go during the break, drinking, partying, and putting your body parts in places where they frankly don’t belong yet.” Aodhán laughed along with the rest of the class, but coach Harvey’s next words shut them up. “Not to worry, because I’ve devised the perfect method to beat your bodies back into shape.” He waved a hand, and a jet black helmet appeared in his hands. “New gear.” He roared and put it on his head. “Since you already have a cuirass and gauntlets, I thought to myself, how about we complete the set with a helmet?”
***
Professor Zatya sat in her office, reviewing a list of champion candidates among the 4th year students. They would graduate in a few months and go into the world to become weapons aimed at the enemies of Ragnarok.
Principal Zatya smiled, extremely satisfied with this batch of students. Out of the hundred students the academy had admitted, only sixty seven of them remained; however, out of those sixty seven, eight of them were considered champion candidates, which was more than 10% of their total number. This was definitely something she could brag about in the next principal’s meeting.
With a self-satisfied smirk, she flipped the document to review some of the most promising students in the third year. While she scanned through the list, a knock sounded at her door, and she looked up with a frown. “Come in, Rahim.”
Rahim walked in, his brows creased in worry, and said. “Principal, there is something urgent that you must see.” His tone was unsteady, even slightly fearful, so Zatya arched her brows and quickly waved him forward. “What is it?
Rahim hurried towards her, which was weird because Rahim never hurried. Not to say that he was slow or sluggish; he just never hurried anywhere, and Zatya felt her stomach twist as she wondered what terrible thing had happened to make him so flustered.
“What is it?” She asked again when he reached her, but instead of responding, Rahim took out a tablet from his spatial storage and placed it on the table for her to see. “This is a clip of Aodhán’s level 25 battle.”
Zatya let out a sigh of relief and asked curiously. “The one he spent almost two hours in?”
“indeed.” Rahim nodded. “I was confused when the tower handlers worriedly presented the clip to me, but after reviewing it, I definitely understand their concerns.”
More curious than ever, Zatya grabbed the tablet and played the supposedly worrisome video. It began right from the moment Aodhán entered the tower; however, she didn’t have three and a half hours to waste watching a single clip, so she pulled on her aspect of time and sped up the flow of time within her office, shortening the entire clip to a few minutes in relative time.
Principal Zatya observed the video closely, scrutinizing every detail; however, as impressive as the first few levels were, Aodhán didn’t use any skills or tricks she didn’t already know he was capable of. She soon began to grow bored, but that only lasted until Aodhán entered the 24th level and obliterated the Kraken with a single move.
Okay, that was impressive. It was a little disappointing that he’d had to use his seal to defeat such a weak creature, but it was still impressive.
She pouted, mentally noting a few places she thought Aodhán was lacking, which was almost in every department if she were being honest. Von Amyl Argent would have obliterated that Kraken with a single glance.
She watched as Aodhán ascended to the next level and began battling the IceDrake. At first, the battle seemed extremely disappointing; however, just as she began growing weary of the battle, things suddenly escalated. Her eyes widened slightly as he watched the drake tear out Varéc’s neck and discard the familiar as if it were a rag doll. In that moment, Aodhán’s expression changed so drastically that, for the first time in years, Zatya felt genuine surprise. The only word that perfectly described Aodhán’s expression in that moment was bloodthirsty, and Zatya felt excitement lance through her like a bolt of lightning. Aodhán turned absolutely feral, and the ferocity with which he launched himself at the drake was simply astounding.
Zatya watched as her dear pet, now overcome with rage, tore his way into the drake’s belly without care or hesitation. It was violent, utterly sadistic, and extremely exciting. Zatya couldn’t help but grin as Aodhán hacked his way through tissue, bone, and viscera to emerge at the other side of the drake’s stomach, completely drenched in blood and bile.
She rewinded the clip, replaying it again and again from different angles.
Ever since she'd taken up the role of principal, she had never seen such raw, primal brutality in a young person before. If she could harness even an iota of that bestiality and keep Aodhán permanently within that state... Ah!
Ideas flowed into her head, and she began altering the plans she had made for Aodhán’s private sessions with Eldrith. The mastery of pain was important, but with such pure, unadulterated rage made manifest within Aodhán, it would be foolish of her not to harness it.
To keep Aodhán in a persistent state of rage would have severe downsides on his emotional and mental state, but if she could slowly chip away all the other pesky emotions and bring the rage closer to the surface, then the advantages that would bring would definitely outweigh the disadvantages. If she could—
“Principal Zatya?” Rahim called out, interrupting her train of thought.
Principal Zatya blinked and quickly morphed her expression into something other than deranged excitement. “I don’t seem to understand the problem, Rahim; what’s so worrisome about this video?”
Rahim stared at her as if she had gone insane and gestured towards the video still playing in her hands. “Principal Zatya... he tore his way into and through a creature several tiers above him. That’s not normal.”
principal Zatya scoffed. “Maybe not for elites like you, Rahim, but I’d say every champion out there has crawled their way through the guts of a monster once or twice in their adventurous careers.”
Rahim bristled at the slight insult and replied. “I do not understand the mental structure of champions, but I don’t need to to realize that crawling through the guts of monsters suggests a concerning emotional and mental state. More so, when it’s coupled with the utter rage he displayed in this video.”
Principal Zatya watched the clip again and sighed, conceding hesitantly. “Fine! It might be a tad concerning, but what champion isn’t a little unhinged? It’s nothing for you to worry about, truly.”
“But principal—
“Let it go, Rahim. Aodhán is perfectly fine.” Principal Zatya responded firmly, shutting down the conversation, and although Rahim was still concerned, it was obvious that the principal was done with the conversation. He took back the tablet and was about to leave the office when principal Zatya added. “Oh, and please find me, Professor Ender. I find myself in sudden need of one of his 3rd year students, the empath. What’s his name?”
“Helzavauth?” Rahim replied, suddenly confused. Didn’t principal Zatya just say everything was totally fine with Aodhán? What then did she need an empath for?
“Yes, the creepy one.” Zatya nodded. “I need his abilities immediately.”
Rahim sighed and left the office, not knowing what the principal was thinking. The ruthlessness and brutality Aodhán had displayed in the video had been unusually excessive, a contrast to his kind nature, which was very concerning, yet it was obvious that principal Zatya didn’t share his concerns. Rahim wished Aodhán would speak to him about the deal he had with the principal; perhaps then he could help.
Alas, Aodhán wasn’t keen on sharing. How could Rahim help him before principal Zatya pushed him to the verge of insanity like all of her previous pets?
When Rahim left the office, principal Zatya finally let her excitement show. This was good news. For a long time now, she had worried that Aodhán was too kind for the future she had planned for him, and although she had formulated a plan to harden up and inject him with a healthy dose of cruelty, it had involved cold murder, which was unethical at best.
This was more ethical and even better than what she had originally planned. Now she wouldn’t have to create the rage from scratch. It was already there, ready to be manipulated, and when Aodhán gained another seal, a feat she suspected would happen very soon, the twisted effect would have a base material to amplify and warp Aodhán’s spirit with.
At this rate, she didn’t even need to do anything; however, Helzavauth's skills would make the whole thing a little less unpleasant for Aodhán. After all, she wanted to mold him into the perfect weapon, not break him. With a grin, she continued her perusal of the 3rd year list of champion candidates—a less impressive list compared to that of the 4th years, but a good one nonetheless.
Finally, things were falling into place, and it was only a matter of time now before Lutia finally banded together to attack their real enemies.