Chương 21: Classmates

"Classmates?!" Hendrix uttered in surprise. They thought that they were the only people enrolled for the training. Apparently, it seemed he was wrong.

"Yes, we have enrolled a total of twenty students, and that's including both you and the others," Reina explained, briefly leading them out of the room.

It was similar to taking a tour around the school, going from place to place. The place they had just been to was the general convenience room. The other place from before was the training room.

Aside from Hendrix's question from earlier, it happened to be a quiet walk down the hallway. Garmond was left admiring the wonderful scenery of the bright green plants embracing the warmth of the sun, while still trying to absorb all the information he'd gotten from Ariana.

'There are even more powerful people than I'd thought. Living in this small world for so long has indeed deceived me,' Garmond thought to himself. He could remember how highly people revered both him and Castan.

But now, with this new knowledge, he couldn't even open his mouth to speak words of his former self being strong. He had been blinded by his own strength that he had failed to recognize that much still lay ahead.

Ariana's memories played in his head, showing him scenes of different powerful magicians she had witnessed during her lifetime.

As they drew closer to their destination, they could hear distant chatter; the noise grew louder with each passing second.

Reina's expression quickly changed to a deep frown. "They give these kids one second, and they turn the cafeteria into something else," she complained, walking a bit faster to reach up.

Hearing the word Cafeteria quickly made Garmond's stomach grumble strongly. He could feel the stinging pain of being hungry for so long.

His eyes were slightly becoming hazy, but he knew he couldn't just fall to the ground like that.

As the smell of the sweet food wafted into his nose, his stomach reacted even more, disorienting his movements.

However, with enough composure, he tightened his fist, ignoring his angry stomach. As they neared the door of the cafeteria, the noise instantly died out even before Reina could pull the door open.

"You sneaky little brats!!" she simmered with frustration. "You guys are lucky that I didn't get anyone. This is meant to be a cafeteria and not a concert hall," she said.

All the students sat quietly eating their meals, some looking at her with pure innocence, as though they apparently had no idea what she was speaking of.

"Miss Reina, did we do anything wrong?" a male voice teasingly said from the side, a hint of mischief creasing his voice. The class burst out into loud laughter at his remark.

However, to both Garmond and Hendrix's surprise, Reina hadn't reacted the way they had expected. Instead, she let out a deep breath.

"Welcome our new recruits, Gary Tullen and Nathan Hendrix," she introduced the two to the other students, who just kept staring at her blankly. Some had their attention fully focused on their meal, and others didn't even spare a glance towards them.

"This is actually very funny. This is one small group of rebellious idiots. If I were the one, they would be groveling at my feet, begging for my mercy," her sadistic voice played in his head, making shivers run down his spine.

"I'll just leave you two here. I'll be back; I need to go give the others their uniforms. You guys are in luck; the other test has been canceled," she said to the two of them, giving them a soft tap on the shoulder as she walked past them, heading out to continue with her duty.

"Tullen? What a weird name. Couldn't you find anything better for a last name?" a slender figure with bright green hair said as both he and his group of friends burst out into loud laughter.

Garmond simply ignored them, but he suddenly heard a feminine voice from the side. It came in quick response: "I don't blame you. I guess you're only jealous because your mom slept with a lot of men; she didn't know whose last name to give you."

"Ouch," Ariana's voice was the first to comment this time, as the others were just so shocked by the comeback that they didn't even know how to react.

There was a sudden pause, quickly followed by an outburst of laughter. The whole class joined in, and even Hendrix couldn't hold back his laughter.

The green-haired boy quickly threw a meaningful glance at his friends, making them cough up in their laughter, changing their faces to serious ones, trying to hold back the laughter.

Garmond looked towards the feminine figure. She was dressed in similar clothing as he was, yes, but her golden hair gave her another class of beauty Garmond couldn't comprehend.

He trailed his eyes down from the golden locks of her hair to her slender feminine figure. Her skin was fair and smooth, with no blemishes.

He kept staring at her until her green eyes jammed up with his. Quickly, he shifted his eyes in the opposite direction, walking towards an empty seat close to the brown walls of the cafeteria.

The green-haired boy threw a glance at the girl, seething his teeth in anger. He only turned back to look at Garmond.

"Garmond, I think you made a new friend."

"Yeah, I know right?" Garmond said with a smirk. "Now I feel like this school experience is going to be more fun than I expected," he added.

"See who's thinking of me as a sadist," the two crazed individuals heard their different thoughts on what they'd do to their 'new friend' if he crossed any lines.

**********

Far away from the Heather Kingdom, within the walls of a castle, footsteps could be heard. Walking gracefully through the hallways was a figure dressed in a long white gown, tightly fitted and accentuating her voluptuous curves. The tiara she had on gave a clear indication of her ranking.

An icy cold aura followed her steps; with each step she took, it was as though the surrounding air was freezing as well, her great power seeping out of her body.

As she neared the throne room, the two guards standing by the side quickly pulled the door open, letting her in.

Entering into the interior of the opulent royal castle was like a journey through time and extravagance. Every corner exuded grandeur and history, with towering ceilings adorned by intricate frescoes and chandeliers that cast a warm glow over the polished marble floor. Amid this beautiful interior, the sound of the shoe she wore striking against the floor could be heard as she made her way towards the large throne that stood in the center of the room, giving the imposing dominance of royalty.

"My queen, the Karta's have carried the children by the order of the Emperor," a fat, grumpy figure said, his hands cupped in a bow, a show of respect for the powerful figure standing before him.

"I'm aware; I kept watch on them until they left the boundaries of the kingdom. None of the kids were harmed," her cold voice answered in response.

"That is kind of you, my Queen. You have always remained kind to your people..."

"And what about the Malian group from before? I hope they've been dealt with accordingly?" she asked, fixing her stern gaze on the nearly neckless figure as she sat on the grandeur throne.

Her icy blue eyes stared at him as though trying to see through the very depths of his soul. Actually, it already was! Before those eyes, one would only dream of lying, and the old man before her knew this very well.

"Uhm, we are yet to do anything about it. We are still waiting for the group to come out of the village," he replied, fidgeting with his sweaty hands. He was yet to tell the queen his actual reason for being there, in fear that she would be angered.

"Uhm..." he paused slightly, still unable to get the words right out of his mouth, his body dripping with cold sweat.

"Speak!" she raised her voice in irritation. Apparently, she still had other important tasks to carry out and couldn't waste her time on trivial matters.

"The Emperor sent a message; he is still requesting more teenagers to be added to the army."

"What?!" Astonishment was clear in her voice. She had already offered just enough of her people to the empire, and he was still asking for more? They had even killed some of her people. Although this was due to their stupidity and lack of compliance, it still touched her a lot.

Despite all the changes that had occurred through the years, she still did her best to maintain peace within the Kingdom of Orion. She couldn't see everything they had built and fought for wither away.

"Yes! My friendly witch," another coarse voice rang out from behind the dark pillars, his mysterious voice carrying a hint of mischief.

"As sneaky as always, you sly rat," the witch of Athens, as she was known for, darted her eyes in the direction of the newcomer.

She was unable to tell what he looked like, thanks to the hoods he had on. The figure before her was well known throughout all the empire as the 'emperor's messenger,' a strange yet powerful being.

Many referred to him in many ways, often calling him different names, but up until this time, none had yet to know his true identity, even the witch herself, as she had only had a few encounters with him.

"Shadow, why are you here?" her voice was aggressive, like a tiger whose nest had been invaded.

"Is that how you welcome your visitors? At least offer me a meal first."

"You were never welcome in my castle," she said. Suddenly, a powerful pressure was felt. The pressure was so much that, despite being away from the two,