(---)
"Killing a young student is a bit inhumane. But I take all requests."
The masked assailant slowly unsheathed his sword. It was unnecessary, as his victim was already put into a deep sleep.
He slowly pressed the blade to Julian's neck.
Ptoo!
Julian spit on the assailant.
"What the-"
[Spirit Cast: Flame Grab]
Julian's hand moved at rapid speeds, grabbing at the assailant's mask.
Quickly, he backed away. His mask was still ripped off, turning into dust.
At that moment, his face was revealed. A surprisingly youthful one. Light-purple hair with dark brown eyes. His skin was clear and his eyelashes were long.
"You've seen my face. Now I really have to kill you."
The assailant unsheathed his second sword. He wielded two blades.
"To think you could attack me on school grounds. I guess that old man is trying to move discreetly."
[Spirit Cast: Flashstep]
Julian jumped at the assailant.
[Spirit Cast: Flame Claws]
Julian swiped at the assailant's neck.
He easily blocked the attack, pushing Julian off.
"Kid, I really hope you aren't taking this personally. Your time has unfortunately come."
"Next time... I must bring that Guli Guli bastard with me if I want stronger [Casts]..."
"Eh?"
Julian spun around, gathering momentum.
He struck his side with a spinning backkick.
"Ack!"
⏤ His talking to himself caught me off guard! Focus, Faruk!
Faruk quickly recovered, sprinting at Julian with his swords out in front.
He slashed at Julian, each attack aiming for a lethal spot.
But Julian kept on avoiding it.
[Spirit Cast: Pyro Beam]
Julian blew a beam of fire, shooting at Faruk. It was so concentrated and compacted, that anyone would've thought it was a beam of light magic.
Faruk narrowly dodged. Or rather, Julian narrowly missed.
⏤ It seems like I'm naturally getting better with this whole system.
"I have to take you seriously, it appears." Faruk sighed.
[Cast: Hypersense]
"It's already embarrassing enough. I have no weapon, and I'm still winning."
"You!-"
Bsh!
Julian landed a quick punch to the gut.
[Spirit Cast: Blast]
His fist started warming up, gradually.
Baw!
An explosion was created at the tip of his knuckles, shooting into Faruk's gut.
"Keuk!-"
He was sent back a few meters into the school's gardens. He kicked his feet up, recovering in a manner that defended him.
"What an inefficient assassin. Do you even make a living like this?" Julian mocked.
"Shut the hell up!"
Faruk started running at Julian again.
⏤ I can't let him get into my head!
[Spirit Cast: Lightning Blade]
⏤ D-dual elementalist!
Crackle!
It wasn't exactly a lightning blade. In a regular [Cast: Lightning Blade], you could at least see the defining shape of the sword.
But this... was wild and untamed.
Julian sprinted toward Faruk.
[Spirit Cast: Flame Ball]
The orb of fire spawned in front of Julian, which he grabbed with his Lightning Blade.
⏤ N-No way! He's activating two different elements at the same time!
It was Julian... or Ailas's first time using mana. He grasped the idea in seconds.
. . .
. .
.
Scrrr...
The sound of a bag dragging across stone was heard.
Julian lifted the back, throwing it over his head, into the school's dumpster.
Crash!
He closed the lid.
"Dumping trash around this time? Aren't classes going on right now?"
Julian stopped in his tracks.
Ailza Denu, the demi-human part of the student council, that came with him in the dungeon stood in front of him, leaning on the brick wall next to the dumpster.
She tilted her head down, staring at his feet. She had a confident expression on her face, though. Somewhat smug.
"In that case, shouldn't you be in class as well?" Julian refuted, blankly.
"I-I'm part of the student council, so I'm here to monitor."
"I thought the student council was just a student council. Not... a hall monitor society."
"Hall monitor society!?"
"Now, if you don't mind me, I'll be on my way. I need to go to the headmaster's office."
⏤ I don't know him that well, but he's behaving strangely...
. . .
. .
.
"Ah, I nearly forgot to mention. The school's festival is coming closer and closer. I'd like to hear all the additional ideas."
The leader of the student council stood in front of everyone. She was a black-haired girl, with black eyes, and rectangular glasses. A plain appearance, to say the very least.
Her name was Valerie Rultrib. The tri-elementalist 2nd year who got into the school with a perfect score.
"I was thinking about a maid cafe!" The sharp-eared elf spoke. Beiric Fahno. A blonde-haired boy, with big yellow eyes. The type of eyes that had an optimistic look about everything.
"What a pervert!" Aliza scolded.
. . .
. .
.
(Anore)
"Then he told me I couldn't 'loiter around here!'" Jisvo yelled, obviously intoxicated. Everyone laughed.
It was a party. An outdoor party, just a few kilometers east of the coastal town. Royals from all around Anore came.
"Jisvo's doing a good job acting like those royals, huh?" Isalda said to Caelum. She spoke in a disappointed tone.
Caelum stared at Jisvo through his helmet, for a moment. Quickly, he looked back at Isalda. He felt a bit of secondhand shame.
"I wonder. Isalda. Do you consider yourself a royal? The way you speak about them…"
"Of course I am. I accept the benefits of royalty, along with the downsides. But I'll never act like one."
"…"
Caelum averted his gaze from her, looking back into the crowd of people.
— I wonder if Alize is coming.
Alize was the one who invited Caelum and Isalda here.
"I'm so sorry, you two! I'm late to a party that I invited you guys to. How embarrassing…"
There was a slight blush on her face. It was not certain whether it was from the cold temperature or her embarrassment.
"It's fine, Alize. Don't sweat it. Besides, you came 10 minutes after us."
Caelum stared at Isalda as she talked. There was something he was noticing.
— She seems… troubled.
There wasn't anything different about her face, really. It was the first time he took the time to actually pay attention.
"I'll talk to you guys later! I have to greet a bunch of people."
"See you later, Alize."
She smiled, nodding, and going on her way. Caelum stared at her as she walked. Isalda stared at him, a little disgusted.
Boom!
A loud, ringing sound could be heard from a distance.