章節 1: First Day of School
I sat back in one of the bus seats and watched everything pass by as the low hum of the engine allowed me to escape into my thoughts. The bus stopped for the next passengers, one of which was a girl who walked towards me. Looking at her uniform she was a student of G.E. High like me. She had long, strikingly dark blue hair with gradient red eyes that briefly made contact with my own before sitting down in the seat diagonally to me. Thinking nothing of it I closed my eyes and began to think.
Seeing the uniform reminded me that I'm a transfer student meaning I'm gonna have to introduce myself in front of the whole of my class. Being sixteen years old and turning seventeen in a couple of months, I'm transferring quite late into the seven year stay at G.E. High, meaning groups and friendships have already been established so I'll need to make a good first impression. Especially because I don't think my classmates will be pleased to have someone like me in their class.
Let's see. Hi, my name is Nova and it's my honour to… no. If I say it like that I'll come across as a pushover. Hmm… Hi, my name is Nova and I know what you are thinking but don't try and start something with me ok… No. I'll look like a real asshole if I say that.
"Hey, you mind if could borrow your phone quickly."
I was interrupted from my thoughts and opened my eyes to see an elderly woman ask one of the many other students in uniform if they could borrow their phone.
"Sorry lady but mine just ran out of battery and I'm going to use it when it's recharged." The student said pulling a portable charger out of his pocket.
"Is they're anyone else who wouldn't me borrowing their phone?" the elderly woman asked.
Unsurprisingly there was a long silence while no one offered up their own phone. I suddenly found myself looking over at the girl with the gradient red eyes wondering what she would do. She looked to be leadership material, possibly a president of sorts in the school? She had a commanding aura around her, not to mention the fact that she was also very attractive looking.
I then spotted the badge on her shoulder.
And judging by the symbol of a dragon head in the centre of the badge she is also apparently very powerful.
Aged sixteen to seventeen and already at the Rank of Dragon. Well, G.E. is meant to be one the best Ethation schools in both the human world and Valhalla.
The girl also did nothing, and the long silence continued.
"Here you can borrow mine." Said a younger looking male student, finally breaking the silence and passed his phone to the old woman.
As this happened the girl I had been looking at turned around, catching my gaze as I was turning to face the bus window. I felt her stare for a few more seconds before she turned back round herself.
Let's just hope we're not in the same class.
I closed my eyes again to return to my thoughts on what to say when I introduce to myself.
I stood outside the school as all the students passed me heading inside while I could hear the bus drive off. The school looked pretty normal. In fact, it was surprising how average it looked for supposedly one of the greatest Ethation Schools out there… Then again.
This school is pretty damn big I thought practically screaming in my head even though none of my surprise registered on my face. Like how can the school have such an average looking aesthetic but then be as big as the castles you read about in Fantasy Novels.
"Hey Lion Rank."
Considering that all the students that had passed through the school gates and I was the only one still standing outside I'm guessing that voice is referring to me.
"Hm?" I murmured as I turned round to find that girl on the bus with the gradient red eyes.
Now I'm not ugly but neither would I say I'm an extremely attractive person by traditional standards. I'd say I'm a little above average when it comes it good looks, I was tall and people have complimented me on my lean build and blue eyes but not many people come up to talk to me, especially people who look similar to a super model like this girl here.
"Is there something I can help you with?" I said bluntly.
The girl stared at me with her gradient red eyes boring into my own almost as if she was trying to intimidate me.
"Why were you staring at me on the bus earlier?" she said getting straight to the point.
"You want to know that?"
She nodded.
"To be honest you look like someone who could be a student council president and was wondering if you were or not. If you went to give your phone to the lady, I would think there's a high probability of that."
"Because the student council president is meant to set and lead example?"
I nodded.
"Well, you're wrong" she said bluntly. " Even if I was the president why should I give my phone to someone who was careless and didn't bring their own on a bus."
Interesting.
"Anyway, I could ask you the same thing. Why didn't you give your phone?"
"Simple reason" I said. "Firstly, I agree with what you said about being careless."
She raised an eyebrow as I said that.
"Secondly I'm not a fan of drawing attention to myself."
The girl took a few step closer towards me making it so we were only a few inches away from each other while she looked up into my eyes as if she was trying to figure out if I was lying.
"What's your name?"
"Nova." I answered causing her to raise an eyebrow again.
"What's your surname?"
"Laos."
There was a pause before she nodded like she was satisfied before then walking past me towards the school gates.
"What's your name?" I asked stopping her.
"Why should I tell you."
"Because I told you mine."
"Fair enough" she shrugged her shoulders. "It's Shion Marble."
She then walked straight through the gates and out of view.
I paused for a moment as I processed everything.
Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing her a lot?
I shrugged my shoulders before walking through the gates and into the school, thus beginning my new life.
After walking for a bit through the school I came across seemingly two separate buildings that looked like they were designated for different students. I took out a note from my pocket that would supposedly tell me where to go.
Let's see. Enter the building titled Upper and attend Class One - S.
I looked at the two buildings and found the one titled Upper on the left. I looked at my note again just be sure and shrugged my shoulders.
Seems to be accurate.
I entered through the doors and came across a very typical school layout with multiple corridors and lockers on the walls all filled with students talking with one another. I walked down the corridors passing all the students, most not even noticing my presence like I hoped however a few spotted me and narrowed their eyes along with other unwelcoming expressions.
Class Three – A, Class Two – A, Class One – A, Class Three – S.
I took note of each class I passed as I walked down the corridor of the different classrooms, counting them down.
"Take that!"
I turned round after hearing a shout and a crash.
A male student collapsed to the ground clutching their stomach as a big brute of a student, at least six foot four, with bulging muscles stood over him.
"Come now you said you'd have the money." He snarled with a grin. "Time to cough it up."
Yeah. I ain't touching that
I turned my back to the commotion, the smaller student cowering in fear as the brute gave a nasty grin before beating him relentlessly. I merely ignored it and continued my towards class.
"Class One – S…" I muttered to myself as students passed behind me while I looked up at the sign above the door. "Seems like the one."
I put the note back into my pocket and pushed open the door. The classroom looked like the rest of the school, remarkably average, with multiple desks and chairs laid out with the larger teacher's desk in front, surveying the scene before it with a large chalkboard behind it. All the students were either sitting down minding their own business or standing and talking with friends.
I immediately counted twenty students in total, all of them being slightly more advanced for their age as this section of the school was for the more prodigy types. Most of them had a symbol of a many headed, serpent like creature, a Hydra, or had the symbol of Dragon head within the badge on their shoulder.
"Come along now class, quiet down."
Who I assumed was the teacher, passed me and started dishing out commands. She wore a very professional suit, had long black hair that was tied in a high ponytail with bright green eyes.
I began to walk down the classroom and the students finally noticed my presence and wore expressions of confusion while others wore expressions of contempt and glared at me. I sat down at the only free desk which was in the right corner all the way at the back of the classroom next to a window. To only add to the awkwardness I was graced by quite the coincidence of the person sitting at the desk next to mine being none other than the girl on the bus, Shion Marble.
I get the feeling she doesn't like me that much.
Her eyes locked onto my every movement as I sat down, even after she continued to stare at me as attempted to ignore her despite it proving very hard.
"For someone who says they dislike attention you have a funny way showing it." She whispered while glancing down at the Lion symbol in the middle of the badge that on my shoulder.
I ignored her and looked through the large window beside me and stared off into space.
The teacher suddenly slammed the multiple books she was carrying down onto her desk immediately catching everyone's attention causing her to grin slightly.
"Welcome everyone I'm sure you haven't missed school, but you came of your own volition so now you have to deal with it for seven years."
Everyone gave a mixed reaction of groans and giggles however I noticed that Shion made now reaction whatsoever.
She seems like quite the serious character.
"Now this break you had was a long one. A whole six months so even though I know you guys already know this, it's standard procedure to go through it after every break."
The students moaned and sighed while some even protest, but the teacher waved them off.
"Ok let's start things off." She said and began to write on the large board behind her.
"As we all know an Ethereal gets all their powers from abilities called Skills. They can be acquired through a multitude of ways but the main two ways of attaining them are through birth or being able meet certain conditions before attaining one."
She paused and turned to face the whole class.
"Question." She said aiming the chalk at the students. "Are all Skills the same?"
A female student with short brown hair raised her hand and answered when the teacher gave her the go.
"No there are a variety different types of Skills." She said with confidence.
"Correct." The teacher replied returning to the chalkboard. "There are a total of six different types of Skills. Active Skills, Passive Skills, Topic Skills, Unique Skills and Incarnation Skills."
She glanced back at her students with a sly grin.
"I'm going to explain all of these so pay attention and write this all down, I don't like to repeat myself."
All the students either rolled their eyes or got out their books and pencils while I did nothing but listen intently, curiosity beginning to itch my ears.
"I'll start of with Active Skills and Passive Skills as these are the most simple and basic. The majority of Skills fall into one of these two categories. Active Skills, like the name suggests, are Skills that need to be consiously activated and like most Skills, need to be fuelled with Ethos in order to be used. Contrary to Active Skills, Passive Skills are active at all times while they also don't consume Ethos in the way that Active Skills do and drain the user of their power. In fact they are continuously being fuelling by Ethos and recycling it back into the body ensuring the user doesn't become exhausted."
I noticed most people writing this down furiously especially Shion who was filled with concentration.
"Topic Skills are a fairly simple but a little more complex than the previous. These Skills act like a folder that house multiple Skills in one with all the Skills being connected or related to the theme of the Topic Skill in question. You!"
The Teacher whipped round and pointed at a male student.
"Explain to me what a Class is when relating to Ethereals."
The Student immediately stood up and explained.
"There are three Classes in total. Tanker, otherwise known as Tank, Assassin and Mage. A Class is given to all Ethereals at birth and dictates the way an Ethereal will fight by automatically giving them a set of Skills that become the user's primary armoury."
"Correct." Said the Teacher. "These Skills given to an Ethereal by their Class are simply dubbed as Class Skills and can only be permanently acquired by if the Ethereal is that specific Class. Can someone tell me what all the Class Specific Skills are?"
The teacher turned and surveyed the class before picking Shion to answer her question. She stood up and answered.
"The Tanker Skills are Wall: Allowing the user to harden their skin like armour. Enchantment Magic: An Active Skill that Allows the user to enhance a subjects properties. This could be a weapon or enhancing the user's as well as another person's certain skills or physical abilities. The Assassin Skills are Ultra Stealth: An Active Skill that completely hides the user's presence. Flash: An Active Skill that massively increases user's reflexes and overall speed of taking in visual information. The user can also move at superhuman speeds. Eagle Eyes: An Active Skill that allows the user to see distances that could be hundreds of miles in extreme detail. And lastly is the Mage Class which has a natural affinity for Skills seemingly based in the elements. The actual Class Specific Skills are Solar Magic: A Topic Skill that holds the following Skills. Solar Harness: can harness the power/energy of the Sun and light to manipulate it into almost anything like weapons, shields weapons and energy-based attacks almost as hot as the Sun. Light Speed: Can move at the speed of light as well as gain the ability to fly. Light Recovery: Gives user an extremely powerful healing factor. After this is another Topic Skill by the name of Lunar Magic and holds the following Skills. Lunar Harness: can harness the power/energy and of the Moon and Darkness to manipulate it into almost anything like weapons, shields weapons and energy-based attacks. Gravity Master: An Active Skill that gives the user complete control over gravity. Dark Travel: Can create portals out of shadows that take them anywhere they have been before. Fire Magic: Another Topic Skill and it holds Fire Manipulation: An Active Skill that allows the user to manipulate fire into anything like weapons, blasts, aura's, shields etc. Thermal Negate: A Passive Skill that grants immunity to all heat based Skills. Dragonification: An Active Skill that allows the user to take on the physical traits of a dragon like, wings, fire breath, scales, claws, etc. An incredibly hard Skill to use that only masterful fire based Ethereal Mages can use. Air Magic: A Topic Skill that holds the following Skills. Air Manipulation: An Active Skill that can manipulate air into anything like barriers, shockwaves, razor sharp gusts of wind, make the user fly, etc. Storm: An Active Skill that allows the user to create/manifest different types of storms like, Tornadoes, Hurricanes and even thunder/lightning storms. Earth Magic: An Active Skill that allows the user to manipulate earth in any way they wish. Water Magic: An Active Skill that allows the user to manipulate water in any way they wish. Hellfire: An Active Skill that gives the user access to a type of Fire that is almost if not hotter than the Heat produced from the Solar Element. Hellfire is said to burn the opponents very soul. Afterlife: An Active Skill that allows the user to open a portal to one of the many different underworlds in mythology. A Mage Class Ethereal however will not own all the Mage Class specific Skills and it is incredibly rare for an Ethereal to wield both Solar Magic and Lunar Magic because of the opposing nature of the two Skills."
I raised an eyebrow after Shion finished. That is quite a hefty amount of knowledge to know off by heart and while I remained slightly impressed all the other students rolled their eyes leading me to believe Shion was probably the A Star student of the class. Combined with her seemingly cold personality that I've been exposed to she also probably didn't have any friends.
The Teacher grinned.
"Well done Shion as to be expected." She said before returning to the board.
"We are not finished yet. Similar Class Specific Skills are Unique Skills. Unique Skills are very special Skills as they are all different and exclusive to the user. They don't apply to the rules that the other Skills do and therefore can be a fusion of all of them or be something else entirely. Each Ethereal only has one Unique Skill and it is impossible to get more than one."
Unique Skills are usually what makes or breaks an Ethereal and decides if they will become successful or not.
"Now we move to the final and rarest of Skills. Can someone tell me what they are called?"
A girl who wore glasses, had dark blue eyes and short red hair stood up.
"Incarnation Skills, Miss." She said like it had taken a bit of courage from leading me to believe she was socially awkward or had something like stage fright.
"Correct Lazuli." The teacher said. "The Incarnation Skill, as the same suggests, is exclusive power that belongs to an Incarnation Ethereal and the power in question will relate to the mythological being that the Ethereal is the Incarnation of. These Skills are very rare as they are only owned by Incarnations who are already a rare occurrence in the first place. I'd say only five exist within this school."
I was the only one who seemed to notice that number of students glanced at Shion immediately leading me to believe that she was an Incarnation. Well, well, well aren't we full of surprises.
The teacher then stopped writing and took a breath.
"I'll let you guys finish writing the information as well as let it sink in before continuing."
Everyone continued to write while I stared at the outside through the window listening to everything that was going on. I could feel gazes burning holes into my back as well as some comments like "why is he here?", "this is disgrace to the class not the school" and "if something isn't done then I'll do it myself."
Man, I knew I wasn't going to be welcome, but this is brutal. Eh not like I actual care about what people think of me in the first place, just as long as none of them get physical I couldn't care less.
"Ok class that's plenty of time," said the teacher probably sensing the growing hostility. "Let's move onto Ranks."
I glanced over at the teacher beginning write on the board after that comment. This should be good.
"As you all know, Ethereals are not all on the same level of power and the great Viro Cosmos saw this as well. So not only did he create Valhalla and Ethereal Society as we know it but also the Ranking System. This system ranks an Ethereal's power through the amount and quality of Ethos they produce before then giving them a Rank. Ranks refers to the titles given to an Ethereal as a unit of measurement to quantify the level of power of that specific Ethereal. There are seven Ranks in total, listen carefully as I will list them from weakest to strongest. Wolf Ranked beings are the weakest Ethereals but are much stronger than normal humans and can perform feats that are clearly superhuman when compared to any normal human as well match the power of a standard normal military unit. Lion Ranked beings are the average Rank when it comes to Ethereals. They are in a different league when it comes to normal Humans and can take down an entire military unit on their own. Cerberus Cerberus Ranked beings are considerably more powerful than Lion Ranked beings. Cerberus Ranked Ethereals are strong enough to match the fire power a nuclear bomb. Hydra Ranked beings are the limit an entire nation can deal with as they match the power of many nuclear bombs combined. They are the elite when it comes to Ethereals. Dragon Ranked beings are beyond the capabilities of normal humans to fight and can pose a significant threat to a planet, star. Some of the strongest can even pose a threat to galaxies. No normal manmade weapons can contend with them only other Ethereals can beat them making them the elite of the elite. Demon Ranked beings are those who are considered as 'living catastrophes. These beings easily have enough power to destroy a planet. They have enough power to erase many galaxies with ease can even destroy the universe. Demon Ranks and the strongest and rarest beings to exist as there are only six in the world. Omni Ranked beings are beyond powerful and are godlike. They have enough power to destroy the very fabric of the universe, space and time. Only one exists and he's the reason why humans and Ethereal's don't go to war as both sides fear him. Viro Cosmos. At the Ethation Schools we make sure the students know each other's Rank by having you all where badges on your shoulders with the symbol of the animal that represents your Rank in the centre of the badge."
She turned round to face the class looking slightly withered with a drop of sweat running down her head.
This teacher had earned my respect. For one to be capable of reciting such detailed knowledge by heart shows that they are very dedicated to it and for it to be as detailed as this it must also be a passion of some kind. However, judging by the aura coming off her I could only hope but wonder what poor fate would befall onto a student if they were to ask her to repeat it or that they did not quite get it. I was tempted to ask myself just to see but I held my tongue.
"I don't like repeating this every year so please write this down and remember it because I will not repeat this again today."
After she had finished, I instantly felt what must have been the entire class's gaze on me, burning holes into the back of my head as they looked at the badge of a Lion Rank attached to my shoulder.
Oh boy this too much attention. Nope. This is not fun. May you all please look away.
It appeared no one could read minds as they call continued making feel even more uncomfortable.
"Looks like you've made a number of enemies Lion Rank." Shion whispered to me with a sly smile. I couldn't quite tell if she was mocking me or not, so I just replied with a blank expression. I then saw on the other side of the classroom a male student staring daggers at me.
Is that... jealousy in his eyes? Don't tell me he hates me because of some stupid reason like the prettiest girl in the class whispering to me. How petty can you be? Come on man.
The male student stood up drawing the attention of everyone in the class including the Teacher.
"Miss, since we are on the topic of Ranks, I'm going to be the only one who seems to have the balls to point out the elephant in the room." He said, sounding incredibly furious and frustrated causing the teacher to cross her arms in amusement. "Miss with all due respect but isn't this section of the school meant to only house Cerberus Ranked students or higher with this class being the top where only Hydra Ranked Ethereals or higher are meant to be taught?"
"Everything you said is true Xander." The Teacher replied nodding.
"So!?" said Xander practically yelling and pointed directly at me. "Why is a Lion Ranked student sitting down in this classroom like he owns the place!?"
Great now everyone's attention is on me. Thank you Xander what a wonderful person you are.
The teacher giggled slightly swept her hair back.
"That's a simple answer. While it is true that the school entrance program labelled him a Lion Rank, the school staff as a collective decided it would be better if he attended the top class of the school."
"Why!?" Xander shouted.
The teacher looked over at me as if asking for confirmation.
I gave her a nod before she turned back to face Xander again.
"If you must know, Nova here is has become the fifth Incarnation at this school. He is the Incarnation of Zeus, the Greek God of the sky and lightning and combing this with his other Skills he's got quite the amount of potential so we thought it would be best if join this Class."
"No offence Miss, but I don't sense much Ethos coming from him and I doubt he's even well invested with much of the general knowledge of Ethereal culture."
The teacher looked at me.
"It is true that all you have done today Nova, is stare out of that window so would you mind explaining to everyone who the Six Demon Ranked Ethereals are and order them from weakest to strongest."
She was grinning like a Hyena.
"Your first name is the same as one of them after all."
I looked at the teacher. I glanced at Shion who didn't seem to register my presence before then looking at the rest of the class. I rolled my eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Fine. Weakest to strongest right? Ok." I said standing up.
"Off you go." The teacher said sitting down in her chair as I began to answer her request.
"The Six Demon Ranked Ethereals, better known as the Six Demon Ranks, are the Ethereals that lead and or govern Ethereal society as we know it. Besides Viro Cosmos they are currently the strongest Ethereals to exist with the strongest three being the actual children of Viro Cosmos himself. Each member of the Six Demon Ranks is capable of destroying the universe with some being able to do it many times over."
I paused took a deep breath before continuing.
"Starting off with the weakest of the group is Ariel High who is a Tanker Class and has been given the nickname The Devil Ape as she is the Incarnation of Sun Wukong, The Monkey King from Chinese mythology. The next is Vide Blackstone who is an Assassin Class and is nicknamed The Beast King since his Unique Skill, Animal Kingdom, allows him to use the powers, attributes as well as transform into all creatures that are real or from mythology. Eclipsis Hyde is who you have after and is nicknamed The Shadow Tyrant as her Unique Skill allows her to turn the dead into Shadow Soldiers which she can summon to fight for her. She is also a Mage Class The next three are the children of Viro Cosmos himself and are the three strongest Ethereals besides their father. The first of the three children and third strongest of the Six Demon Ranks is Diablo Cosmos. He is immensely powerful and owns the nickname The Hybrid Mage. He has this Nickname as he is the only Ethereal in existence to have the Class known as Hybrid which acts like a Topic Skill but for Classes and gives the user two different Classes instead of one. The two he owns being Mage and Assassin. The next is a Mage Class and is the eldest of the Cosmos children and her name is Kara Cosmos. Her nickname is The Sin Empress as she is the Incarnation of Lucifer which has made her the only one to own and master all the Seven Deadly Sins Skills."
I paused as I let everyone absorb the information as most seemed disappointed while others looked a little surprised.
"Don't tell me your done?" muttered Shion sarcastically while reading a book with her eyebrow raised before I continued.
"The final one is the twin of Diablo Cosmos and is the strongest Ethereal, beaten only by his father. His name is Nova Cosmos, better known as The Yin – Yang King because of his complete and utter mastery over Solar Magic and Lunar Magic whilst also being the most powerful Mage Class Ethereal. Unlike the rest of the Six Demon Ranks, the three children of Viro Cosmos have hidden their identity, so we only know their names and what some of their powers are. They reinforce this by wearing masks every time they make a public appearance."
I paused as a silence momentarily captured the atmosphere. Some would think that I would find it satisfying surprising the now dumbfounded class but it was actually quite the opposite. This was a scenario I didn't foresee but it was definitely an unwelcome one however beggars couldn't be choosers so I had no choice but to continue down this little route.
"I should probably take this time to formally introduce myself." I continued. "My name is Nova Laos and yes I'm well aware of the connection between my name and The Yin-Yang King but that is it. I don't know any of the Cosmos family personally so don't ask me about them."
I turned to face the teacher.
"I think that sums everything up Miss." I said as I sat back down, Shion still paying me no mind and continuing to read her book however I noticed her tapping away at her phone with one hand under her desk.
The teacher grinned and gave a little clap.
"It certainly does. Oh, and I should also introduce myself to you Nova as this is the first time we've met plus I'll be teaching you for the next few years. I'm Vana Skyline but please call me Miss Skyline or Miss for short. I look forward to see what you will do in the future." Vana said before turning to face Xander who was still standing up.
"Does that answer your question Xander?"
Xander looked at Miss Skyline and then glancing at me with a scowl but it didn't hold and was quickly replaced with a defeated expression.
"Y-yes Miss." He said wearily before sitting back down.
"Very good." Miss Skyline replied, standing back up. "This concludes the lesson for today. Since it's the first day back you all have an extended lunch period but before you go there's something important you need to know."
She took something out from one of the drawers in her desk and threw it into the air. It then exploded into dozens of envelopes with a student's name on each one.
"Starting from this year onwards you will be living at the school until you graduate with a roommate. You'll specifically be living in one of the rooms in the great apartment complex on the outskirts of the school, inside the envelope will be your room number and key card to let you in or out of your set rooms. By the way, the roommates are completely randomised however any perverted behaviour by anyone will result in immediate expulsion from the school. Do I make myself clear?" She said staring at the boys of the class specifically.
"Yes Miss." Everyone said simultaneously.
"Very good, take your envelope as you leave the class, and I will see you all tomorrow." She said before taking a bite out of an apple she pulled out her pocket. "Class dismissed."
I sat on my own in the lunch hall eating some rather delicious food which consisted of breaded chicken and chips with a variety of vegetables and pineapple juice in a carton for a drink.
Since when school food actually taste good. Maybe the next few years of my life here won't be as tedious as I first thought I mean if it's got good food, you can't say they're not treating you right. There's light at the end of the tunnel after all.
Perhaps I spoke too soon.
I saw Xander beginning to approach me as I was leaving the table. I pretended to not notice him and left the hall at a brisk pace to escape him.
Maybe he isn't a psycho and won't stalk me.
As I turned a corner in the school hallway, I just barely noticed him clearly following me.
This dude must crazy. Is he seriously that mad at me?
I continued along the school hallways, walking in the longest and most complex route I could think of that would lead to my destination, outside, and hopefully lose him in the process. Luckily the final stretch leading outside was very crowded and as soon as I entered it I ran as quickly as possible, running straight outside and speedily hid behind the outer wall of the building. I sneaked a peek to see Xander at the front of the entrance looking confused and scratching his head in frustration.
Now is the time I run to the apartment complex to move into my room.
As soon as I began walking away, Xander seemingly materialised in front me in a burst of blue smoke, stopping me in my tracks.
"Teleportation huh?" I said blankly, my eyes widening in surprise slightly. "A Hydra Rank attaining a Skill like that is impressive unless you're an Incarnation, but I doubt that."
A vein on Xander's forehead looked like it was about to burst as his face turned bright red.
"As you know," He snarled. "Killing isn't really punished here unless its needless murder but even then, the punishment wouldn't be any more than a couple months suspension."
He then got into a fighting stance as small chunks of the ground rose up into the air and turned into blades.
"You're a Mage?" I said dropping my bag.
"So, because punishment is so tame" He continued as the blades began to rotate in the air.
He can't be serious.
"I'm going to kill you right here and now!" Xander yelled and lunged forward in attack.
"Room 215." I muttered to myself as I looked at the note and key card from the envelope with my name on it. I looked up at the door which had the same numbers on it. "Yep, this the place."
Please let my roommate be someone either who will be nice or ignore me. I don't care which.
As I reached over to swipe my key card to unlock the door I noticed something. Something on my hand. It looked like some kind of stain as if something had splashed on my hand and dried there. It wasn't very noticeable but it was there, flecks of the stain tainting my knuckles and the tips of my fingers like someone had been flicking a maroon coloured paint at me. I quickly licked the fingers of my other hand and rubbed them against my knuckles for a few moments before the stain disappeared, only tiny specks left that could only be seen if someone was looking for them. I finished swiping my key card and opened the door before then stepping inside, closing it behind me.
"This is um… bigger than I expected." I mumbled to myself slightly in awe.
The room seemed to be as big as a house with a massive window for a wall that showed a beautiful view of the school way up from the two hundred floors in the air. There was kitchen and a living room with a TV seemingly in one area with a staircase that presumably led to the two bedrooms.
"You know what," I said dropping my bag and jumping onto the sofa, sinking in its soft embrace. "This ain't so bad after all."
To my right a door opened. It became very clear it led to the bathroom for outstepped a person along with a huge amount of steam. The person had towel wrapped over their chest, covering their naked body. It was very clear that this person was a girl. The towel was just managing to cover her supermodel figure. She had a pair of very familiar looking gradient red eyes and strikingly long dark blue hair that was even darker now after being soaked in hot water. It was very clear that the person standing in front of me was none other than Shion Marble.
Oh shit.
We stood completely still, staring at each other, quite surprised as neither of us were expecting to be roommates nor expecting that I would ever see Shion just barely covered up by a towel, basically butt naked. After a long while it was as if Shion registered what was happening as her face transformed into one of horror while it turned beet red. I immediately felt a murderous intent and aura coming from her.
"In my defence," I said raising a finger. "You were the one who was careless enough to take a bath and run the risk of meeting your roommate in this look of yours. The roommate also having an equal risk of being a boy."
I probably shouldn't have said that as she raised her hand and aimed it right in front of me. The room got notably hotter as what looked like a mini sun the size of a tennis ball formed in her hand.
She's a Mage that can use Solar Magic? Looks skilled as well.
"SUNLIGHT BURST!" Shion yelled and fired the blast at me.
I quickly leapt behind the sofa, the blast missing and slamming straight into the wall below the staircase. Somehow the wall did not blow up in an explosion of splinters and was only left charred a little bit.
"You know, trying to burn your roommate to ash isn't the best first impression." I called behind the sofa.
I looked up and saw another mini sun hovering in the air above my head.
"You have got to be kidding me."
I jumped out the way before the sun crashed into the ground before then sprinting behind Shion at a speed that from her perceptive would seem almost instantaneous.
"Look let's talk about this!" I muttered behind her.
Shion whipped round but I grabbed her hand.
"Look it was a simple accident, calm down, I was not spying on you and we are roommates." I said blankly. "If you don't believe me, you can check the note from my envelope next to my bag on the sofa."
Shion seemed to calm down as she saw the note lying next to my bag exactly where I said it was. The rage and embarrassment disappearing from her eyes.
"Ok I've calmed down; you can let go of my hand now." She said looking down at her feet as I released her.
"I'm going upstairs to get changed, we'll talk after."
I watched her turn round and walk up the stairs and into through the door first door on the landing before closing it behind her. I breathed a heavy sigh before falling onto the armchair beside the sofa.
First that Xander guy and now Shion. Why is everything I want happening in the exact opposite way?
After a couple of minutes Shion came back downstairs wearing some casual clothes and went into the kitchen area of the room.
"How are you with coffee?" She called from it.
"Coffee is fine with me, don't mind what kind it is either."
"Black coffee it is." I heard her mumble to herself.
After waiting another few minutes or so she returned holding two cups of coffee, handing me one before sitting on the sofa next to me.
"Think of this as my apology." She said, getting comfortable before taking a sip. She looked very professional.
"A hot drink apology for a nearly hot death. Sounds about right." I said taking a sip of my own.
"You're an Assassin Class, aren't you?"
I nearly spat out all the coffee in my mouth.
"How'd you know that?" I asked, recovering my composure.
"I didn't." She said rather smugly. "It was a suspicion that you've now confirmed."
"Got me there. How did you get that suspicion then?"
"Your speed." She said glancing at my legs. "The Assassin Class is designed for stealth and speed in order to make quick kills with as little trouble as possible. If you had a knife and we where fighting to the death just then."
She stared directly into my eyes.
"You could have slit my throat before I even blinked."
I laid back into the armchair before placing my drink on the side table, ignoring the morbidity of the comment she just said.
"I've met many Assassin Class Ethereals in my life and you're definitely the second fastest I've seen."
"The fastest being The Beast King, Vide Blackstone, I'm assuming."
"Correct you are." She said taking another sip from her cup.
"You said you've met many Assassin Classes before. I'm guessing you either have a lot of connections or are quite well known, maybe even both." I said.
It was Shion's turn to nearly spit out her coffee before then turning to look at me surprised.
"You don't know me!?"
She seemed quite exasperated.
"Does the nickname The Phantom Mage ring a bell?" She asked.
"Should it?" I replied raising an eyebrow. If I did why would I have asked for your name at the bus?"
"That's a fair point. I'm one of the Top Dragon Ranked Mage Class Ethereals in the world and have been given the nickname The Phantom Mage because of the lack of people to land even a single attack on me."
"Scary." I said causing Shion to roll her eyes.
"I'm the Incarnation of the Lernaean Hydra which allows to me regenerate from most injuries ranging up to lost limbs. I also have one of the Seven Deadly Sin Skills, Gluttony which is an Active Skill that allows the user to absorb the power of any non-physical attack that is below the user's rank and temporarily stores/stacks it onto the user's own power, plus I have my Unique Skill Spectre."
"The name of that Unique Skill does seem familiar." I said looking up, stroking my chin in thought.
"At least you know of something that I own." Shion said with a sigh. "It's a Skill that makes me intangible, basically anything will pass right through me as if I was made of air."
"What's the time limit?"
"Hm?" Shion raised an eyebrow.
"A Skill like that is very complex and would use up a substantial amount of Ethos meaning it would have time limit and presumably a cool down period which would be of similar length as the time limit itself." I explained.
Shion smiled.
"Let's say what you said is correct, I wouldn't tell you anyway." She said. "An Ethereal should always keep their special cards close to their chest."
I raised my eyebrows for a second as a sense of nostalgia entered my mind before I wished it away immediately while shrugging my shoulders.
"Can't disagree with you there. It's a smart thing to do however didn't you just tell me some of your other Skills?" I replied.
"I'm not so arrogant to think that I'm the only Ethereal to have the Skill Gluttony. I'm sure there are many others who have the Skill as well, plus there are other regenerative and self-healing Skills out there." She said bluntly, standing up and walking towards the wall of a window and looking out at the evening sky which now started to turn orange. "Note that I didn't tell any of the weaknesses of the Skills either."
"Also, true." I responded, taking another sip from my coffee.
"By the way," Shion said, turning around. "How powerful are you exactly?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Tomorrow we'll be taking part in duels."
"That should be obvious if you look at my shoulder." I said.
Shion was suddenly an inch away from my face, her red eyes I could feel trying to seemingly peer into my very soul, reading me for anything she could latch onto. I stared straight back with my own blue eyes, not flinching, and continued to drink my coffee.
"Don't be smart with me Lion Rank." Shion said in a deadly voice. "You've got a secret. You are labelled a Lion Rank yet you're in the top class of the school. That doesn't just happen."
"Your right, it doesn't. But I'm pretty sure teach explained why I am in that class though."
"I don't buy that." She said, her face completely blank. "Why are you really in that class?"
There was a long silence as we did nothing but stare into each other's eyes.
"Fine ok I'll tell you." I said putting my cup of coffee down. "Could you move back a bit? A girl being this close to a boy could very well lead to certain activities."
Shion blushed slightly as she realised just how close she was to my face and put some distance between us.
"Teach wasn't lying with what she said." I explained. "That is completely true however there is a second one, that being that I'm from Valhalla."
Shion raised an eyebrow at that.
"You transferred from Valhalla huh?"
"Yes. And the principle of G.E. High essentially wants me to compare the top students of this Ethation School to the top students from the Ethation Schools in Valhalla."
"I see. Ethation Schools from Valhalla are usually much better and house more powerful Ethereals than the schools in this world. If you can claim that your school produces stronger Ethereals than the schools in Valhalla, then you get more students wanting to come to this school and in turn make more profit."
Shion said this while pacing back and forth like a concerned mother.
"I'm a spy basically."
Shion looked at me for a few more seconds before nodding in satisfaction.
"That clears things up. One more question though." She said as she walked up the stairs before pausing halfway up.
"You seem to never run out of them." I said with a forced giggle.
"You don't have any limiters on, do you? I swear you were stronger in class than you are currently."
I narrowed my eyes.
"No. I don't possess such a thing." I said bluntly. "You were imagining things likely because of your suspicions of me which are now cleared up."
"Yeah, your probably right." Shion said as she started walking up the stairs again. "It'd be pointless for a Lion Rank to have something that restricts their dead average power. Only Dragon Ranked Ethereals or higher would need something like that."
She closed the door of her room behind her, leaving me alone, sitting on the armchair with the evening sky in now full form.
Shion Marble, you sure are interesting. I'll need to keep an eye on you.
The topic of the duels tomorrow suddenly popped into my head.
That could be trouble. I hate losing
I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes.
Why does my highest priority contradict the one below it? I'm gonna have to think of some excuse to not take part in the duels.
I looked at the bright orange sky before taking one more sip of coffee before walking up the stairs to my room.
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