บท 39: Welcome to the Disciplinary Committee
Arthur followed Linda to the disciplinary committee headquarters. While heading there, the two students didn't exchange a single word until they reached a room with two large gold and white doors with a lion curved on the surface and two gray stone statues of knights stationed on the sides.
"What is that?" he asked, pointing at the lion.
"It's a sacred beast known as a world lion. They are a symbol of power and justice since they only choose those who are purest at heart," she answered with a sense of pride. She always had her curly brown tied up into a ponytail…which was cute from his perspective. And if it wasn't for his hatred, then maybe he could've developed feelings for someone like her.
"A world lion, so they are real," he murmured as he studied the image curved into the door: it was a large male lion facing the hallway.
And to be honest, the longer he stared at the curved lion, the more he started to feel like it was staring directly into his soul—though, he was sure it wasn't a pure one because of the demon that sleeps in it.
Suddenly, the door was opened after a brief moment of silence—and Arthur was pulled back to reality.
"The committee stands for justice, that's why we call ourselves a pride of world lions. We may technically not be the strongest in the academy, but we are all skilled and powerful in our ways. But I guess you already know that since you noticed the weakness in Grey's sword work."
He nodded. "I did, his physical strength is off the charts but his sword work is so weak."
"It can be compared to a monkey trying to swing a sword, right?" she chuckled a little as they walked past the entrance. Since they were alone, she had somehow gained the comfort she needed to become confident. Her broken speech was gone.
"…I wouldn't call him a 'monkey' He did beat me after all."
"Do you think he would have defeated you if you weren't holding back?" she stopped and faced him.
"I don't know; I am not strong like you guys, and my gift is nothing if I can't use that much of my mana," he answered, confused by her question. Also, he didn't know if he could beat Grey while not holding back—there were still too many gaps in his abilities.
Elizabeth mentioned that they were chosen for a reason, and his might be because of the gift of incantationless spell casting.
He wasn't loved by Mana like Bairon, nor did he have a skill to back up his weaknesses. Arthur saw himself as an asset for the academy—not as some special person.
"Hmm, you can alter natural mana, can't you…? The reason why you were able to cast so many spells is you were naturally able to control the mana around you, isn't that right?" her brown eyes shimmered with excitement.
Arthur was rattled by her statement—she saw all that in one fight?
"Yes, I can. I discovered it recently," he responded. "I can practically control both fire and wind."
"A dual magical user, classic. Your kind usually joins the mage sector."
"There are more?!"
"Yeah, but no one can manipulate natural mana. Natural mana is meant to amplify spells powered by mana but can't be manipulated," she said. "I now see why Theo was so interested in you."
They stepped into the committee headquarters and the first thing he saw was a very fast fireball shooting towards them.
Linda rushed to her hand forward, chanted out a few magic words and the ball of flames was blocked by a wall of water that had transmuted from the air.
"I leave for a few minutes, and you're already fighting!" she barked, canceling out the wall in an instant.
'She didn't use a wand.'
"Are you alright?" she asked, sounding mildly concerned about him.
He nodded in response, he still lacked words after what he just saw. And she immediately averted her attention back to the students battling within the room: one was a crimson-haired girl with flames in her hand—and the other was Adrian, who was holding out his wand.
They all paused the fighting and faced her. An odd silence followed before Linda returned to her socially awkward self because she was now being looked at.
"Arthur!" Adrian was the first to notice him. "You're also in the disciplinary committee?"
"Not yet…!" Arthur corrected him.
"Who's the pretty boy?" asked the crimson-haired girl, putting out the burning flames. She had bright round eyes that gleamed in the light of the room like two rubies. She looked similar to Eris, but her hair was long, and she was older.
You could tell she was from the dark knight sector because of the similarity in uniforms with Arthur.
"That is Arthur, the newest committee member," answered Grey as he walked out of another door alongside Theo.
"I haven't agreed to any of this, you know?"
"We've already ordered your uniform, and it's already been made," Theo added with a grin on his face. His hands were pocketed as usual, and he still had that always bored look on his face. But for today, he had a slight hint of excitement after seeing Arthur here.
"Really? Is that why you called me here…?"
"Maybe I just wanted to see you. I love it when I reunite with strong people," he answered, grinning even wider like he was up to something devious.
"A specific student came to me and told me you are searching for power. And I can help you with that, Arthur. Surrounding yourself with powerful people can help you a lot," he said.
Their eyes locked, and for a moment, everything went silent as the two exchanged death-threatening glares. But then, out of nowhere, Arthur broke into a loud laughter that surprised everyone else in the room.
"I can't turn you down, can I?"
Theo laughed back, "You can't. I want only diamonds; the six of us are the diamonds of this academy. Right guys?"
"Hell yah!" replied everyone at the top of their voices.
"So Arthur, do you want to join us?" Grey asked once again. "I will make sure we have fun in the training room the school built for us."
He smiled, "That's enough, you already won me over when I saw Linda cast a wall of water without the help of a wand. I thought mages could only channel with the help of wands. How did she do that?"
"I—I can control water without needing a wand sometimes…" she muttered anxiously. "It's a trick Theo taught me a—a—as we trained."
'So it's not a skill, I see.'
"O—Oh okay."
Arthur didn't get it at all—her answer was too vague.
"Since you are now one of us, I will introduce everyone else—that's Reyna Flamesworth, She's a third-year like Grey and me," he pointed at the mean-looking crimson-haired girl with bored eyes. "I picked her because she can use fire, and her skill is Immortality."
'Someone can have immortality as a skill?'
"Sup."
She nodded at him after being introduced, she had scars all over her hands, but they somehow made her look like a badass warrior.
"Since you're immortal--"
"No…I am seventeen years old; I discovered my skill at fourteen," she said. It was like she had read his mind.
"People tend to ask her that question a lot, but she still ages because her skill only activates when she's coming close to death. She regenerates like hell, and her blood can heal others," Linda explained.
"Exactly," approved Reyna.
"Next is Adrian, Grey's personal choice because he can alter gravity--and he's pretty good with a sword, despite being a wand user," said Theo.
"Yoo!" Adrian waved at him, putting away his wand--his short battle against Reyna had ended.
"The rest of us, you know," he said. "AS the president, I officially welcome you into the disciplinary committee, Arthur Bellrock—with you, we'll soon show those student council idiots that we're actually better than them."
"N—Noo…we keep the peace, remember!" Linda exclaimed.
"Yeah, there's also that. We ensure justice where needed, and we can use force as long as we don't kill the students," Grey added.
He cackled nervously at Grey's statement. The boy was huge and looked nothing like a seventeen—year—old. Personally, Arthur still held a grudge after hitting him so hard. But maybe, just maybe, this is what he needed to get stronger—joining this committee might be a stepping stone to the peace he longed for.
Linda clamped her hand onto his shoulder and smiled, "We're glad you're now one of us. I promise that we'll help you get stronger; you'll learn how to use your powers someday," she muttered to him. Her smile was mesmerizing.
He had never met a human with such an astonishing and positive aura. So far, she was the only human that had learned of his ability to alter natural mana. And weirdly, she had chosen to keep it a secret from the rest.
He uttered a single word, feeling nothing else but gratitude and relief. "Thanks."
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