Author's note: ( you can skip this and read it after the chapter)
First i want to say thank you to Kaellom for the review, it was very helpful. I took your advice and googled the difference between showing and telling. It was enlightening. I will try showing more in the future. From what i understand shwoing is more personal, more intimate. Telling seems aloof and more of a statement, a literal telling of what is happening without going too deeply into the emotional or physical aspect. I will try to balance the two out. And i plan to seriously edit my previous chapters in the future.
So, again, thank you. As for the other bits you mentioned, I did originally want to include the students more and not have them be just a bunch of mob characters but i didnt know how to do that right. I think i got it down now though. I feel more comfortable writing now, I suppose that's the reason. But rest assured that I do intend to work on my shortcomings as long as they are pointed out. As someone said, it feels like 99% of the story is explanations and such. I kinda feel the same so i will refrain from overly long explanations in the future. Well, i'll try to anyway. Also expect another chapter in like three or so days. Or maybe once i sleep. Not sure. Cause i did want to add more content, but im like really tired. Vision starting to get blurry.
also, F.Dj, i hope my reply to your comment helped a bit. I appreciate you taking the time to have typed that out. if anything else does not make sense, feel free to speak about it and i will try to explain the reason why i wrote it in that way. SilentHIll had said that it helps reader to understand the story better, and that is my intent.
In other news, i found some of my old notebooks and in them there was a scene I wrote. It was about Roland and he was 12 years old at the time. This made me remember another idea for a story i had previous to that one also featuring Roland, Reina and Lilith but being a lot different from the story of The Last King and the story of the scened i found in the notebook. Both stories would have featured Roland, Reina and Lilith but it would be a much different setting and plotline.. For fun, I will post what those two ideas were and you will see how different they are from this story. I tell you, this story you all are reading could have gone a totally different direction. I'll post that together with this chapter.
This chapter will be edited later
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As the couple followed behind the young woman, the two quietly conversed.
"Honestly that man, he has no common sense at all. What kind of person would let two beautiful underage maidens stay in the same roof as three men? Thats like throwing sheep into a lion's den." His wife sighed.
"Hmm. . ." The husband gave a noncommittal reply.
"Dont sound too concerned" His wife gave a dry comment over her husband's seeming lack of care.
The man suddenly frowned, changing the subject." Dear, next time, you should not speak out like that again."
"What?" She asked, confused..
"You probably dont know, , , But that man who you told off is a very influential person. Although we have strong allies, we cant be too disrespectful towards him. Luckily he didnt seems to care about such things, but I would not want to offend him if we can help it. Its best if we do not cross his path too often. As for the identity of the man. . . Perhaps it is best if you do not know. And that Roland character. . .He definitely is not simple" He finished vaguely.
The man already firmly believed that Roland person to be some old expert who was friends with Loki. For people like him, appearances meant nothing. Sometimes even the most powerul of people could have the form of a mere child. The young-looking ones were almost always the type who you couldnt underestimate. From the husband's calculations, that Roland should be very powerful, more powerful than even himself.
The story of the curses was probably true. Loki was known to be mischievious but he would not go to such trouble to make up a story like that, and something so simple was beneath him anyway. What's more, he was someone who lived for his own entertainment and sought things to amuse him. That Roland was unknown, but to keep the company of someone like Loki told that he was not your average person.
Two people like that had no reason to lie over something so trivial nor any reason to try currying favor even from the girls' true family. That said, it was most likely that the story was true and that the two had only agreed to help lift the curse because it was interesting. Of course it appeared the situation was getting more troublesome to deal with. Would they continue to help for much longer?
Probably not. In that case, the man will have to being making arrangements for the girls to be examined by someone with a vast knowledge on curses. Loki was not able to identify the curses specifically, but somone, somewhere, should have useful information.
Once the two men tire of helping, the husband would have to pick up where they left off. From what the two men found out, the curses on all four of the children had been placed at childhood or sometime arround their birth. Perhaps as they were still in their mothers' womb, even. The only real questions he had, was who would cast curses on four completely innocent and unrelated children, and for what purpose?
No matter how he thought of it, he couldnt find an answer.
Unbeknownst to the man, his wife stared at him quietly as he walked on. He gave no other comment on the matter they had just discussed and seemed lost in thought, his demeanour making it clear to her that he was worried about something. That steady, even pace of his as he stared ahead, seeming to gaze at something far away. That slight furrowing of his brows. Everything was characteristic of when something was weighing on his mind. Even the way he absently rubbed their daughter's little head as she slept on his shoulders was something that indicated this.
For her husband to say such things. . . Usually he was very indulgent and allowed her to speak freely, but now he was telling her to take caution with her words? She was curious on the reason why but didnt disturb him. She could only ponder to herself over his words.
In this world, how many people would they have to watch their tongues with? Very few.
The wife looked back at the direction they came, thinking of the supposed curse her adoptive daughters had somehow acquired.
My dear girls, what kind of situation have you been involved in? What kind of people have you gotten the attention of?
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Two figures traveled down a long hall.
" Well, that felt good. I have to say, that Lilith girl was pretty annoying. Hehe, I really want to see her expression right now" Loki let out a carefree laugh, his teeth showing as his mouth curled upward. He had shifted into his child form, floating softly in the air comfortably beside his friend.
"You dont seem to like her all that much." Roland commented.
Loki waved his words off. "Its just that she seems so stuffy you know? And she plays the role of the good sister but she really just seems to have a serious case of white knight syndrome. Even you said something to that affect right? Dont tell me you dont agree."
Roland shrugged. "I said that to show her that she needs to stop trying to protect her sister in a situation that she cant help with. Instead of getting angry over not knowing something that would serve only to cause needless worry, she should simply be there for her. You on the other hand just seemed to pick on her."
"So? I dont think any of the four thought very deeply about the type of situation they are in. They probably didnt about all the trouble helping them would be or think about how the two of us dont even have to help in the first place. They are simply going with the flow. And that Lilith girl annoys me the most. I can just feel how ridgid her personality is and I saw a chance to shake her up a bit. Obviously I would take it." He smiled cheerfully.
"So you just wanted to mess with her. Well, you've said and done worse for smaller reasons I suppose. Still, you could have held back."
"Nonsense, I didnt even say anything too harsh. Although my tone may have been a tad mocking and sadistic, I admit. Though she should know now that she had best control her emotions when talking to the only one who actually wants to help them. Which im not sure I really understand anymore." He said. " Sure, this situation is interesting but to be honest not many would continue helping at this point. We havent done much, but simply the fact that we have to find out several months worth of lost memory in addition to lifting curses neither of us know the origin of or reason for their placement, is kinda. . . .Well, few would really want to go to the trouble."
"Except for the two of us who have nothing better to do and an obsession for interesting things to make our boring lives more colorful, you mean?"
"Exactly! Even if i find the current situation annoying and troublesome, I really cant help getting excited. So many mysteries, so few answers~. It's like a mystery type of game where the more you play the more questions you have. And we're just starting! Now if only the four of them would stay quiet and let us enjoy ourselves instead of making things more difficult, then that would be great."
" Do you truly not care about their lives at all?"
" Please, you know im not as sentimental as you. I have no real reason to care for strangers who I know nothing of. Neither do you. But, well, I kinda think of it as my duty to take care of kids like that so I cant say I would just abandon them if they were in real danger. But of course I would expect some compensation. Or a future favor."
"Oh? Well, that is like you. Never overly kind nor cold. Lukewarm to the end."
"But of course. Although i'm much more kind than some of my other selves."
"True."
Roland looked at Loki, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. "You know, i'm surprised you let that woman talk to you like that. The great and powerful Loki shown such disrespect by a mortal woman? Why, such a thing would make you the laughingstock of your entire pantheon." he grinned.
Loki sniffed in indignation "Hmph, just a mere mortal, why should i get angry? It would be like being angered at a child--no, an ant--for thowing a fit. You can hardly expect the great me to take offense for something so trivial."
The god waved a hand. "Besides, i'm not like those arrogant younger gods who cant take a few insults. Seriously, those guys have a ego as vast as the sky and as soon as someone refuses to stroke it they jump straight to murder and mayhe,. Ha, just like posturing children. How could I be so uncivilized?"
"That coming from the mouth of a child . . ."
"That's different. I just choose to look like a child sometimes. I tell you, you have only met the older gods who dont really give a damn about a few disrespectful mortals, but most other gods would kill a guy for sneezing in their general direction. And those children born into high-ranking families are the same. It isnt their fault since its their families who nurtured them into insufferable arrogant brats, but that isnt an excuse for being annoying as well. A bit of arrogance and pride is fine, but they take it to new heights!" Loki exclaimed, his voice raising several volumes. "Ah, lets take a right here."
Roland absent-mindedly followed his lead.
"Really? The kids here dont seem to have that problem though?" They were well-behaved mostly.
" Most of them do, you just dont see it. You dont really interact with the students or other staff here. Really, people are not sure what to make of you yet. Although despite this the news of how you mercilessly beat down the people in your class has spread. Your logic is pretty messed up, so you dont know this but these students are actually quite strong. "
"Bullshit. By my estimation those kids are way too weak no matter how you look at it. Why, probably any Immortal could kill them with a flick of the wrist."
"No, again that is just your crooked logic speaking. These students, although the stage of power they are at isn't noteworthy to those like you and me, are quite competant. They are, after all, part of a generation of monsters. See, they have special abilities that are pretty dangerous to deal with.
For example, have you seen that kid who was able to use that Ignition ability? As you know, that move can greatly increase a person's power. At his current level he isnt anything amazing, but once his base power gets stronger, the boost in his strength will be greater as well. Going from ten to twenty isnt amazing, but one hundred to two hundred? That's a different story altogether. If any of these kids went all out, a normal Immortal would have a hard time keeping up."
"Ah, I do remember him. What was his name again?" Roland wasn't good with names.
"Alexander Bathory. Remember that Clan we once helped out when we went to the Thousand World Empire in the northern region of the Twelve Moons realm? The one with the pretty blonde who tried taking your head off at first sight? He comes from there. The Bathory Clan has since become a pretty large force. I hear the blondie is a pretty important member of the clan now, one of the core members actually. That Alexander boy is her little brother. Ah, turn left."
Roland's eyes brightened, a small smile on his lips. " Right, her. Heh, that girl was a fiery one alright. Good to know she's doing well. So, she had a brother? And one with an affinity for a ability like that, of all things?."
" It isnt a big surprise we didnt know. Blondie was never the sharing type and the brother of hers didnt show aptitude for the ability back then. Once it was discovered, it caused a bit of a stir. I heard that a few months ago, several families in the Higher Planes had tried to marry their daughters to him. Having someone who can display a rare ability like that in the family would really increase their status. Although he isnt too strong now, in the future perhaps he would even become almost comparable to true gods like me!" Loki said.
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"So, are there others like him here?"
" In a manner of speaking. He's exeptional even here--which has caused a pretty inflated opinion of himself, I might add-- but all the students posses some kind of interesting ability. Of course I wouldnt bother with ordinary brats, hehehe~.
A majority of the students come from powerful families who have a Bloodline Legacy lying inside them. Special bloodlines like theirs who possess unique powers usually dont appear often. The fact so many of the younger generation have inherited the Legacy of their bloodline is really astonishing. "
Indeed. In places like the Higher Planes, experts are everywhere. The families who have a foothold in such a place are usually descendants of very powerful experts who had created their own special abilities. These abilities are all rare or unique to their bloodline and have the possibility to be passed down. But not many inherit the power. The thing is though that if one does, they would posses power that outclassed others of their generation.
Did Loki mean ALL the students here have inherited a Legacy or posses a rare ability like that Alxander kid? The Ignition ability was not something one just learned. It was something one needed a natural affinity for. So, the other students here are the same, huh. . . How odd.
"So that means they will all become formidable once they mature."
"Yup. Actually, a lot of those here didnt even know they had these abilities. In the timeline of the Higher Planes, their abilities only appeared in the last few years around the time we were together. They started poping up everywhere! This really caused the Higher Planes to become pretty chaotic. And dont forget that we have a wide range of races here. Demon-kin, Beast-kin, vampires, gods, spirits, Elves, races of all kinds have gathered here. They each have some interesting tricks hidden inside them. There are even those who have had a hidden racial ability awaken, the kind not seen in many years. I dont know why, but this younger generation is,indeed, full of little monsters! In fact. . .We even have a dragon or two. "
"Dragon. . ." One of the most powerful of races, born to battle. Haughty and prideful. Most importantly, pretty durable too. If there are some here who have special abilites, then given the average dragon is on par with a peak level Celestial, the power of the ones here will be quite something. If there is one who has even unlocked a hidden racial ability. . .
Roland felt his blood starting to boil a bit.
"Heh, that look in your eyes really does make one shudder, you know? Battle maniac."
Roland couldnt exactly refute his words.
"Where are we going anyway?" He inquired. The two had made several turns by now due to Loki's lead. The hallway got wider and several doors were spotted opposite a row of large windows. Each door has a number and a letter carved on it in silver. He heard some voices in several room. Each one had to be filled with at least fifteen or so people.
Hey, arent these. . .
"These," Loki began, " Are classsrooms. Its almost time for classes to start, and I decided to change things up a bit. You will give lectures and such in a classroom until lunch, then later the last two hours of the school day will be held outside where the first and second year students will be learning the practical aspect of combat from you. I came up with this last night. What do you think?"
"Hate it"
"What? Why?" Loki seemed deeply offended, his face showing a look as if he had been wronged.
"Well, what was wrong before?"
"Nothing. I just thought that this would let you connect with the students on a more personal level. Plus, hehe, im interested on what kind of developments will occur." Loki, of course, was thinking of the fact that Morrigan was probably pretty close by now and was likely to arrive any day. Previously Roland was always outside, while Morrigan was mostly inside with the students. If things continued this way, even if they met how could anything interesting happen, especially if Roland took pains to try avoiding her?
This way he would have no escape, he would be stuck in the same building with her nearly the whole day! What kind of situations would that bring about he wondered.
Actually, Loki didnt know how the two really knew each other or what their history was. When they traveled together, there were times where they seperated for a month or three. He assumed the two must have met during one of those time, but he never understood why it seemed that their relationship was so complicated. More than it should have been.
Morrigan, that cold person, had never gotten close to anyone even from her own pantheon. She wasnt the type to care about anyone, the only exception being the mysterious little girl of her's. Even if you tried talking to her, most likely she would ignore you. So, what must have happened between the two to cause the kind of unique relationship they semed to have?
Loki was determined to find out! Hehe, Roland never told Loki anything about himself and Morrigan, but that wouldnt stop him from finding out everything! It was only a matter of time!
He hid a secret smile. "And all you did before was have them with beat on each other or beat them half to death and then revive them. Then beat them again. Boring~!"
Roland's hand twitched slightly. This guy . . . Everytime he did something he never bothered to tell others beforehand what his plans were.
"I was changing my approach, you know. I already have a fair grasp on their abilities in combat, and now i wanted to focus on improving their bodies. I could teach them some actual fighting skills once I know that they can handle it. I was even having some of them refine some of the universal energies. You understand how important it is for them to solidify their foundations before advancing, This is just going to mess up my plans."
" Whats the problem, you can have them do that in the two last hours. This wont get in the way of anything."
"Having one giant group isnt a good idea. I cant moniter them on an individual level as well, it would cause a bit of a delay. And for those who had more skill in magic, i was going to have them do a different training method than the others. Thst will make things even more difficult."
"Well, you'll figure it out." Loki replied airily. " Oh, just to warn you, I did move some of the students around. You're also going to see some new faces. Uh, and there are a few vampires in the first few classes. And one who specializes in blood magic. You might see these students more. This is you homeroom, and im making you personally responsible for their well-being once we go on that trip. Also, I think im going to plan several trips from now on.
I've not interacted much with this world or anywhere else and I think that should change. So in the future, i want to have some fun events and such to make things interesting. I dont have much space here to do anything excessive, you see."
Loki's eyes suddenly shined. "So, I was thinking something similar to a game of chess, but let the students conquer a few kingdoms and have them make the soldiers try to capture the other players' headquarters. Using actual tactics and strategies of course. Sounds pretty fun, eh?" Loki looked very pleased with this, letting out a short laugh. " Man, I really~ want to see that." His small floating body twisted in mid-air, eager to put the idea into action.
"Well, that does sound interesting but I dont think that's going to be appreciated. Lets hold off on that for now."
Loki, let out a sigh, clearly disappointed. "Fine. Oh, just a bit farther."
"You said you moved some of the students around. How many?"
"Dont worry, you'll recognize a few. I think that Michael kid is in this class. Oh, and I made her come as well. Just dont expect her to actually listen."
"If she doesnt I'll just make her."
" Yes, well, that may be harder than you think. Im her father, I've tried making her listen for several thousand years, No luck. I really doubt you will do any better. But go ahead. Try."
Loki stopped at a door, finally, and pointed to the inscription. " Remember, this is your classroom. Room 1-D. It's a bit bigger than most of the others, and I kinda told the students to come here at the last minute. Expect them to be a tad annoyed. As for me, Im off to fiddle with that damn bead some more. Well, good luck~ " Loki began floating away, leaving him standing in front of the door by himself.
Roland watched as his figure disappeared,
He then turned his attention to the door before him, hearing some voices talking on the inside. This was a thick door, they should be pretty loud if their voices made their way past.
Roland opened the door.
The room was quite large, as large as what one would expect even from a university. There were two columns of long desks that took up most of the room, each column stretching almost half the width of the room. Behind the two columns were five more rows of well-crafted wooden tables. The classroom was filled with no less than at least twenty students, nearly all of them conversing with one another with no restraint.
There were four exceptions. The first was a meek-looking boy near the front who Roland recongnised as Michael. The second exception was that boy, Alexander, whom Roland and Loki were just talking about. He looked at the surrounding students indifferently and raised his eyes to Roland's before frowning. He leaned back, closing his eyes and ignoring the noise around him.
Another was a boy with light blonde hair and fae-like beauty also turned to look at the newcomer. He turned away from the men and women whom he had been conversing with and sniffed the air, smelling a sudden delectable fragrance in the air that was heady and overpowering. The boy felt his incisors ache slightly. His eyes, usually a smokey silver-grey, flashed a bright red before turning back to their original color. He watched the newcomer with an almost predatory gaze, well-hidden behind his charming smile.
The last exception was a woman who was seated in the front row. Her glasses, fair skin. ponytail, and that calm aura of maturity which she gave off all added to her already considerably pretty features. She didnt seem to smile, but she didnt give off any coldness or the like either. Rather, one could not really tell what she thought or felt. Or at least that doll-like face was the type that gave nothing away. However Roland, who took a place in the front of the classroom beside the large desk meant for the teacher in attendance, did not think she was an unfriendly person.
This was actually the pretty librarian whom he had seen previously inside the library. He wondered if she was the actual librarian or if she was merely helping out at the time.
Other than these four people, the rest were busy chatting amongst themselves not even noticing his arrival. Michael watched Roland warily. He had of course been in the man's classes before. He did not like to think of the experiences but the man's figure was now forever etched into his mind. When he saw him, alarm bells went off in his head.
He had been told to come to the classroom early that morning via a letter being slipped uner his door. He was not sure what to do, as he thought that if he did not show up at Roland's class that day, he would be given a punishment that would leave all his muscles feeling torn. And that was if he was lucky. After much internal debate, he decided to heed the letter's instructions. If it was a order from Headmaster Loki then surely Roland could not hold him accountable, he had thought.
When he saw the other students as well after coming, he was convinced he had been transfered out of Roland's classes and was secretly relieved.
But for Roland to show up here . . . Did that mean he was going to teach the class here from now on?
Roland looked at the students ignoring him. He, right now, had stood for a full minute in the front of the classroom, and begun to feel thoroughly annoyed. He snapped his fingers to get their attention, the sound louder than it should have been normally. It resounded throughout the room, and yet still no reaction.
He didnt bother calling out like an idiot. Rather, he did the sensible thing.
He looked at the desk and found an unsharpened pencil. He extended his arm, picking up the small object and holding it lightly in his hand.
Micheal, seeing his strange action, suddenly had a premonition and quickly lowered his head.
Roland surveyed the students. Finally he found one to his liking. A brown-haired boy who had the back of his head toward Roland, talking to the students behind him.
With a flick of the wrist, the pencil flew from his hand. It traveled like lightning across the room, hitting the back of the brown-haired boy with a loud bang!
The force was incredible, making the pencil break upon impact and driving the boy's head into the desk behind him with great vigour.
Currently the only movement from the boy was a slight twitching of his muscles.
Silence.
Every eye turned towards Roland. The looks ranged from outright hostility to cool indifference and contempt.
Michael and the ponytailed girl were not at the recieving end of the gazes, but they could feel the suffocating tension and intimidation in the air.
"Well then, lets get started shall we?"