Part 1

The room suddenly fell silent after my previous remark. Suspense and interest from one side while a slight scent of annoyance from the other. It was understandable that Youm would feel annoyed by what I was about to say. He was everything except stupid, so to some extent he already knew what I was about to propose.

“The plan is simple. Their objectives are, as we previously accorded, Saifri-san, Astar-san and Sora-san. I don’t know about Reville-san since I have no idea of her strength. So, what do you think the biggest variables are?”

“If they really plan a kidnapping-” Replied the white haired boy “- then their biggest variables are me and you, Raphael-san”

“Uh?! And what about me?” Asked slightly offended Lucas.

“It is not my intention to offend you, Lucas-san, but compared to me and your brother, whose strengths have been already proved, you are less of a bother to them. I believe the duels that you’ve partaken since recently were a way of testing your strength. Basically judging the level of threat”

[Though I don’t like how it sounds, it's true. While me and Youm use magic as our main means of attack, Lucas has still difficulties to do so. It’s obvious that they’d take him less seriously]

“Fuck, it’s all because I can’t bring a sword!”

“Calm down Lucas. If it makes you feel better, you may have your time to shine at the tournament...You know what I mean, right?”

A nod full of excitement and hope was all I received as a response. His usual fighting spirit had recently subdued due to the various losses in the duels and to make things worse, Youm’s last remark was a clean hit on his pride. So seeing his eyes full of excitement once again was more than reassuring.

“Now, back to the topic.-” I continued “- The best way to aim for the girls is when everyone is separated. The event is the ideal opportunity. If both me and Lucas were to participate, all the weight would eventually fall on your shoulders, Youm-san. So, I see only two ways to handle this situation. The first option is to just leave the event and get everyone in a single place easily defendable.”

“But that’s not really what you have in mind, right?” Interrupted Youm.

“Yes. What I want you to consider is the second option, especially you Youm-san...If we were to proceed with the first option we would certainly escape this kidnapping but our actions would also spell that we fear them, leading to another possible kidnapping. To prevent them I thought that we could ba-”

“-bait them!” Said the three of us in unison.

“I see you had my same idea” I said rather surprised.

“Baiting them to proceed with the kidnapping and making them pay a hard price for it. Is that what you had in mind, right?” Said Youm. His eyes were focused deep within the bottom of his cup as an expression full of worry rapidly formed on his face.

“Indeed, but I assure you Youm...I won't let anyone touch even a single hair on your sister’s head. You have my word on it!”

“...Alright!-” Said the worried brother as he raised his head from the cup “- If you go so far to give me your word I’ll have to trust you on this! So, what’s the plan?”

Our conversation ended around half an hour later with everyone going their own way to make the necessary preparations. The goal was to have Gallher and his people believe we fell for their trap, as such the best way to do so was to give them what they wanted. Me as far as possible from the others.

To make sure I was seen, I went around the gardens for a walk. Whether I was being followed or not didn’t really matter. The important part was that other students saw me approach the booth for inscriptions to the event and write down my name. With the way the academy is, rumors were bound to appear soon after. While I was doing so, Youm had to talk to Legis about the plan. Which in their case was simple. From the start to the end of the event they were to never leave each other’s side and stay away from the arena.

The last remaining role fell on Lucas who had to spend the night in the infirmary in order to give himself an alibi to skip the event. Of course I was to act all surprised and worried that night, only to tell the others that I wished to drop from the tournament and assist my brother. It was already decided that both Youm and Lucas would try and convince me to participate nevertheless, but it was surprising to see both Legis and Amelie try to do the same.

Not long passed until the day of the tournament came and, as I patiently waited for our enemies to make a move, the events began to unfold themselves just like we predicted.

Part 2

- LUCAS BLUESCALE’S POV -

“Let the contestants be ready and...start!”

For a moment that felt infinite, everything was still. There was no sound, only the deafening beating of my heart that reached the innermost parts of my ears. It was only a moment but in that time frame a slight smile appeared on my opponents lips, enough to make me instinctively try to step back.

Before I could even move my feet all the way back, a sudden bolt of red light was fired in my direction. A mass of red, hot fire the size of a ball. I had just enough time to dash on the side before the ball hit the barrier behind me, exploding in a thousand bright particles. It was a fireball, a pretty standard one considering Raphael’s standards.

I didn’t have time to stop and look at the aftermath of Danthe’s fireball. Another one was almost ready to be fired.

[Fuck he’s fast!]

With my lowered hips, I sprung myself forward, harnessing as much acceleration as I could. At that time I wished I could use the same boost magic that my brother used, but even though he spent months trying to teach it to me, I wasn’t able to even use a hint of them. But I was at least able to make use of basic spells.

“Waterball” I shouted as I approached the now dodging opponent.

My right arm was stretched as the sphere of blue water grew bigger. At first I thought I had him. He was trying to dodge but seemed too slow to do so. Alas it was a trap. With a swift movement using footwork I had never seen before he positioned on my left side. The fireball that was charging before was now a complete one and ready to fly.

“Fireball!” Shouted the red haired guy.

I had no time to dodge. My body was too unbalanced, as I was launching myself forward, to perform either a dodge or a dash. The only move possible was to use my own spell to stop his. The result was a point blank explosion of white, hot steam in my face.

The force of the explosion pushed me away from my opponent, thankfully I’d say since another fireball came flying my way through the thick barrier of steam. I only saw it at the last second as it passed about thirty centimeter away from my side.

Taking full advantage of the smoke, I repositioned myself as far away as possible, making sure not to stand in a direct trajectory from where the previous fireball came from. The explosion itself didn’t cause me too much damage, rather it was the hot steam that took a heavy toll on my breathing.

“You are not done with only this much I hope!” Shouted Danthe from the other side of the now dissipating smoke. He had his hands resting on his sides as if all he was doing was childplay. His cockyiness was getting on my nerves.

“Do I look like I’m done to you?”

“Then let’s kick up a notch, shall we? Fire Burst!”

At his command a torrent of flames erupted from his conjoint hands, rapidly covering the distance between us. I had no other choice but to run. At my current level countering the attack was way beyond foolish. My water magic barely surpassed the basic tier while my wind magic didn’t even reach it’s peak.

Exploiting the fact that “Flame Burst” requires a high control to maintain its trajectory and an even greater control to move while doing so, I ran in circles around Danthe. The length of the flame could reach the opposite end of the arena. Sitting still in a corner was not an option.

Simply the heat from the chasing flame was enough to make the iron bits of my uniform to burn my skin. I was surprised to see that the clothes didn’t catch fire when a faster movement of his arms caused the flames to swing harder and reach my back. The pain caused by the burns made me bite my lower lip. It felt as if I had just fallen back first into a raging fire.

“STONE WALL!” I shouted, hoping to stop that merciless onslaught.

The grey stone that composed the stage rose up and formed a barrier thick enough to only momentarily reduce the heat of the flames. In those brief moments I was able to completely gauge the intensity of Danthe’s flames. The stone around me touched by the flames turned from a light gray to a dark, charchoalish black.

[If I had been directly hit by that I’d be fucked! I need to turn this around!]

With my back firmly leaning on the increasingly hotter stone, I tried to think of a way to turn the situation around. It was ever since the match started that I was on the receiving end. If it continued like that my loss would have been certain. It was then, when I was discarding ideas, that the red flames stopped pouring from the side of the stone wall.

“Hiding? Seriously? Seeing as you are Raphael’s brother I thought you’d be somewhat interesting...must’ve misjudged ya!”

[Fuck now what? Is he taunting?! At the very least there are no more flames!]

“No answer uh? The allow me to finish this pointless duel!-”

A thought ran through my mind. I had been training with Raphael so that duels would not be one sided. We spent countless nights trying to come up with a way for me to fight on pair with the others. Boost magic, easier version of higher tier spells...nothing seemed to work, except for one single spell. It was a spell that Raphael came up with around two months after enrolling at the academy. The spell’s name was “Conjure sword”. A spell capable of forcing elements to take the shape of a sword. Though it sounded perfect for me, he suggested me not to use it if not as a last resort. The mana cost to form the sword was higher than a normal advanced tier spell and it required a constant supply of mana in order to maintain the shape. Furthermore, the mana cost could skyrocket based on the complexity of the shape and the volatility of the element. As such, simply creating and maintaining a stone stick for more than a couple of minutes at max would result in my mana being completely depleted.

[It’s not like I have much choice!]

“-Javelin ablaze!”

[Now!]

“Conjure sword!”

I dashed out of the cover given me by the stone wall only to be almost blinded by the light generated from my opponent’s spell. A javelin completely made out of flames the size of my head was flying towards the stone wall at an outstanding speed. If I was just a second late, the whole might of the spell would have fallen on me.

My dash did not stop even if my mind was still stuck on the flame javelin. What brought my concentration back was the absurd amount of mana drained and the heaviness that followed it. When that sensation kicked in I knew that my spell worked. Right now in my right hand I was holding a solid stick of stone fifty centimeters long.

I gripped the stick harder as if it was my sword and accelerated my dash almost into a flash stride. In less than a second the five meters that dived me and Danthe were covered. His face was in plain view. He was finally looking at me with wariness, but it was too late.

Mimicking a side slash, I swang my makeshift sword and struck the unprepared Danthe right below the shoulder. In an attempt to defend his exposed side, he decided to try and sacrifice his forearm failing just slightly. I finally had the upper hand.

I took full advantage of Danthe’s disability to raise his left arm and attempted a two handed strike on his left shoulder. The swing seemed to be able to hit but right in the last second my stick was soundly repelled.

“Stone shield!” Was what the red haired shouted.

A circular shield thrice the size of his forearms appeared just over his right wrist. His left arm still half limped down his side.

From then I fully took the advantage of being the attacker. We exchanged a series of blows with me ruthlessly attacking his open spots and him defending them with his small shield as he tried to distance himself from me.

Unfortunately the excitement of being on top didn’t last long. I could feel my mana being drained rapidly and the heaviness of my limbs increasing by the second. I had to finish it quickly otherwise I would have lost.

I summoned my last remaining bits of strength that my legs possessed and consecutively executed three flash strides on the sides to confuse my opponent. Then, with a war cry gushing right out of my stomach, I raised my stick one last time in an attempt to diagonally strike at his head from the right.

All of my strength was channeled in that one swift movement. My winning chances were all depending on that single last strike. As the stick reached it’s maximum height I could feel my whole body aching, then...the strike fell as a guillotine. In my head I could already picture his body falling unconscious on the ground and the whole arena cheering me as the victor.

Alas, reality hit me like a falling rock.

The shattering sound of stone against stone shook me off from that hopeful dream. The stick in my hand was shattering in thousands of smaller bits of brown stone. The target of my swing, the side of Danthe’s head, was not only still unwounded but also covered by that same shield he had attached to his wrist. He had been faster than me.

“It’s my win” Said Danthe with a satisfied smile.

“I guess so” I replied, reciprocating the smile.

The next thing that hit me was a strike of the stone shield on my left cheek.

As I fell knees first on the ground the whole stadium exploded in a chaos of claps and cheering. The ringing in my ears caused by the last hit caused me, once again, not to be able to make out anything that they said. I could only vaguely hear the composed female voice announcing my defeat.

“Tell me, Bluescale, how were you able to fool us? We were sure that the only one that went to sign up for the event was Raphael!”

“Haha, he knew you’d all think that! *spit*-” Saliva mixed with blood flowed down from my mouth “- He simply wrote ‘Bluescale’ when asked for a name. It was only before the tournament started that I went to those in charge to add my name!”

“HAHAHAHA! So simple yet so smart! In the booth they never asked for a full name but only for a nominative HAHAHA! That sly bastard!-” His tone wasn’t that of an enemy finding out why they’ve been beaten but it sounded more like that of someone spectating from the sides. I could do nothing but feel curiosity towards the figure in front of me “- By the way...you are strong, Lucas Bluescale! My left arm is still numb, you asshole haha!”

Without even looking back he began walking out of the stage as he victoriously greeted the cheering spectators. I was left behind, waiting for my depleted strength to let me raise on my legs. His last words kept echoing through my mind.

“I’m….strong?”

Part 3

- RAPHAEL BLUESCALE’S POV -

I couldn’t make out what was being said but it was clear to me that it was not a pleasant conversation by the way the girls acted.

[Five people in front of them...other six hidden around the trees...maybe seven or eight? Guess Gallher did some real preparation this time! Now then...let’s crush this formation!]

Around fifty meters separated me from Sora’s group and their assalitors, as such, even the smallest noise could have alerted everyone of my presence. I had to pay extra caution to move as swiftly as possible and, with light but fast steps, I began travelling around the trees directed towards the hidden mages.

The first was around ten meters away from me, with his back facing my way and his attention completely focused on the three girls. It would have been faster to just shoot him down with a stone bullet but what about the repercussions? If I were to injure a student outside of a duel my academic career would have been trashed. Basically using any spell would either mean me facing repercussions by the academy or the main group noticing my presence. So all in all I only had one solution, the simplest, brute force my way out of this situation.

Though using force seemed the best solution I was unsure as to how to apply it. As I was almost arriving at my destination I remembered something from my past life. A technique usually seen in action or martial art films where the characters would hit the back of the head of their opponent. I was unsure if it would actually succeed. Mixing films and reality was not the wisest choice one could make, but at the very least I had a backup plan. If I wasn’t able to knock them out with the first hit, I would just suffocate them until they lost consciousness. That or an even stronger hit at the head.

Once decided the course of action I mentally crossed my fingers and proceeded.

“Lower strength boost” I whispered before getting the act.

With my right hand already high over my opponent's head, the guy had no time to even turn around after hearing me whispering that, like the swing of a sword, my hand fell down on his neck. A low pitched gasp of hair was emitted from the now falling body in front of me. Before the body could hit the ground I grabbed it and sustained it with my free hand, only to then gently let it down without sound.

Only then I noticed that everyone in the group in front of Sora and the other was wearing the same black scarf that the unconscious guy had. The thought of a scenic entrance like the ones performed by the protagonists of fantasy books crossed my mind.

After the first one, the second fell. Then the third, the fourth, the fifth and finally, the last scarfed guy hiding behind a tree fell. Not all of them were knocked out with the first hit. A couple of them had to be suffocated. Still, I was amazed to see the move actually work efficiently. Furthermore, as I was dropping bodies, I also collected their scarfs and wore them as some kind of trophy all around my body.

All that remained was the group of five now surrounding my three friends.

“Am I interrupting something?” I said as I leisurely laid on a tree close to the stony path.

The expressions on the masked guys changed as soon as I spoke. Even though I could only see their eyes I could say for sure that the cockyness and superiority they showed before was now crushed. Was it wariness they felt? Fear? Hate even? I couldn’t understand it but one thing I was sure of, it made me feel good. Especially when the one who acted like their boss took a step back.

“Y-you are not supposed to be here!” Screamed in clear panic the guy closest to me.

“Oh is that it? Was I supposed to be busy fighting in the tournament, right? Too bad for you!”

“B-boss, those are o-our s-scarfs!” Whimpered another scared goon.

“I can fucking see that! Damn it all! Ghaller will get mad if we don’t get some results after Higora’s failure! Just beat him up!” Shouted the oily haired guy.

“Iron spike” My voice was followed by a swift moment of my arm, as if I was swinging it horizontally.

The ground opened at my command, revealing a series of various sharp spikes made out of iron-like metal that grew to the height of my hip. The spikes appeared in a semi circular way around the group of girls, a wall so to speak, that prevented both sides from attacking. Both parties seemed surprised, one more than the other.

“The fight’s between those fools and me. There is no need for you to intervene” I said facing my friends.

“It’s you who are intervening!-” Vented out Sora “- We could have handled it just fine!”

“Oh I know that, but I promised your brother that not even a hair on your head would be touched...plus I’m rather pissed since I couldn’t take part in the event!-” My words were accompanied by a loud cracking noise generated from me cracking my neck “- Now let’s whoop your asses!”

Loud shouts erupted from the attacking group now attempting to reach my position. None of them were a danger, not even those who carried a knife. Matter of fact, those were the first to fall. One got blown away by a gale palm and ended up falling onto one of his comrades. The other got first hit by an enhanced water ball in the middle of his chest followed by an strengthened uppercut. The knockout was instantaneous.

Those who casted a spell and their boss were a little trickier. So to face them I boosted my speed and defense. With a stone shield I tanked the first two spells and, when they were both busy casting, I swooped in and incapacitated one of them with a series of three punches. The first punch in the stomach made him bend over, rapidly after I followed with a punch on his chin that made his whole body spring back up in a flash. To finish him off, I dropped one heavy punch on his jaw. The knockout was so instantaneous that I could even witness his eyes roll until there was only white.

The only opponent still standing was their boss. Well, standing figuratively. After the last of his comrades fell, the boss’ legs stopped working and the man who acted soo great and mighty was now crawling backwards like a shrimp.

With one dash I was already in front of him. In a last attempt to take me down he fired a stone bullet. Not only was his aim completely off due to his shaking, but the fact that I kicked him in the middle of his chest made it so that the bullet flew up in the sky. Seeing as his last effort was fruitless, cold sweat began falling from his exposed forehead. His eyes were full of fear as his pupils twitched with anxiety.

Seeing that look, knowing that I myself was the source of such fear, it made me feel...powerful. In a way even exciting. Soo much that an involuntary smile began cracking on my face. As I was experiencing that excitement, memories began flooding my head as a burning sensation swelled in my stomach.

“Bind!” Shouted an unfamiliar female voice.

Turning around I saw one of the goons carrying a knife stuck in place as he was held by tentacles made of whitish stone that rose from the ground and reached all the way up to his neck. It was a spell I was unfamiliar with but a strong one at first glance. Surely none of those around me could perform a spell like that.

I looked around, searching for the source of the voice and the one who casted the spell, speculating them being the same person. And I was right as I saw a female figure approaching me. A porcelain white skin accentuated by golden blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Everything about her spelled elegance, though I could feel a scent of superiority in the way she looked at everyone else. I could recognize that figure everywhere. The student council president: Martha Algher Tinler.

“What’s going on here? Care to explain this ruckus?” Her wand was pointed at me as she approached my position.

With her reaching me and pressing her wand on my neck, the guy under me stopped squirming and trying to escape. Instead he began pleading the girl.

“Please Tinler-sama, this man has assoulted us without any reason! I tried to reason with him but he just kept attacking! Look at my friends there. They’ve all been beaten by him!”

“He’s lying!-” Shouted enraged Sora “- They’re the one who assaulted us!”

“There’s a misunderstanding, miss! We onl-” Squeaked the oily haired guy.

“Raphael has only been defending us!” Intervened Kiara.

“All of you, shut up!-” Shouted menacingly the girl holding the wand “- I ask the questions and I decide who answers! Now, I take it you are The infamous Raphael Bluescale”

“Correct, student council president” I replied calmly.

“Did you attack those guys?” She continued.

“I did”

“Was it self-defense?”

“I was defending my friends who were being assaulted by them”

“Assaulted you say?”

“If you look around you’ll see that some of those guys were carrying knives. Also you can see that they all hide their faces with black scarfs. Those six scarfs I’m carrying are from the other companions of those here who were hiding behind the trees”

Without taking her wand away from my throat, the girl moved in front of me, right over the masked guy under me. With a fast movement she took away the scarf from the guy’s face. A deep sigh was her only resposne upon seeing his face.

“*sigh* Clai Adam Roven…-” Said the blonde as she lowered her wand “- I should have expected this when I heard you were that Bluescale!”

“Sorry, you lost me there”

“What I’m saying is that I understand the situation. He’s part of Gallher-san’s group. If I’m correct, he received orders to attack your friends...though of course I have no proof of that and even if this fool was to make Gallher’s name, Gallher-san would simply say it’s false accusation and make full use of his father’s title”

“So nothing’s gonna change uh?”

“Exactly *sigh*”

“*sigh* Not that I expected much...By the way it was kidnapping”

“Pardon?”

“I meant that he was sent to kidnap my friends”

“How’d you know that?” Asked curiously the girl.

“I got my ways, I guess”

“Whatever...please stay here and wait for my colleague to bring a teacher. You will all need to state your version of the story to the teachers. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am!” We replied all together.

The teachers came rushing a couple of minutes later followed by one of the nurses. The student council president explained the situation and the teachers apprehended Clai and his group. Unfortunately a couple of the first six I took down were able to escape. We spent the whole day in the headmaster’s office, explaining various times over how the situation came to be. It was only when the tournament was already over and it was almost dinner time that we were finally released with the promise that the next day we would be informed of their punishment.

Part 4

- ALBERT MOLTHIR’S POV -

The dark of the night was falling slightly faster than yesterday, proof that winter was upon us. I always loved those kinds of winter nights. A hot tea after dinner while sitting near the crackling fire of my fireplace and reading an old book from my collection. The peacefulness of the winter was it’s most appreciable trait, only strengthened by the frequent snow here in Alamara.

Yet here I was, spending the night sitting on my office chair, listening to the complaints of a clearly already sided professor. I didn’t even like him in the first place and he was surely doing a bad job in hiding his favouritism. Though it was amusing in the first place since I already knew how things went down from the very start.

“...Headmaster, are you even listening to me?” Squeaked the upset Professor Shailad.

“We’ve already been through this for the whole day, Professor Shailad. Roven’s group ambushed and threatened with knives Evergard, Saifri and Reville. At that point Bluescale intervened and subdued the perpetrators. Is there anything else to say?”

“It surely is, headmaster!-” The professor’s fat cheeks and forehead were reddened to the point where it was becoming difficult to maintain a straight face “- That student, Bluescale, had no reason to attack them so violently!”

“Oh really? Then what do you suggest was the right course of action?”

“Of course it was to call a teacher!”

His stupidity and perseverance in trying to unjustly frame Raphael Bluescale was really getting on my nerves. I would have already fired that pig, unfit of being called professor, if his relatives weren’t one of the main families who donated money to the academy.

“Let me ask you this, Professor, have you ever been threatened with a knife?” I asked as I impatiently stroked my beard.

“I don’t see the point of this question, headmaster”

“Ohh but it’s simple. That student, Raphael Bluescale, saw three of his friends being surrounded by a group of guys covering their faces and carrying knives and ropes. Anyone who is at least a tiny bit proud of their own strength or has a solid sense of justice would have jumped in on the situation to protect their friend. Yet in doing so, Bluescale didn’t severely injure any of the assalitors...Furthermore, he didn’t know if a professor was close to the scene. What would have happened if his friends disappeared before he could find a professor? I believe Bluescale made the right decision in taking action!”

The red of his cheeks spreaded all the way to his neck. Veins started appearing between the fat rolls of his neck right over the painfully tight shirt’s collar. It was a rather painful on the eye sight to see.

“B-but...Oh, I bet that commoner put the knives there only to make the fault fall on Roven!”

[What utter bullshit! I’m getting sick and tired of this...I just wanna have my tea!]

“I find it difficult to believe, Professor Shailad. Furthermore, what good does it do bringing up Bluescale social status? Do I have to remind you how our academy works in that regard?”

“I-I simply believe that a commoner is more keen on doing such petty tricks, especially on someone more privileged than them!”

“I’m growing tired of that attitude of yours towards commoners, professor! I am sure you know but I am of commoner birth-” My words were followed by a sharp glare full of menace “- In any case, I can assure you that Bluescale is not one to use such methods”

“B-but how can you be so sure?! There were no witnesses!” He whimpered as a last resort.

“And who decided that? Come in”

The one who crossed the door was a young man in his twenty sixth year. Long, straight, blonde and black hairs fell down from his head down to half his back with just some bangs falling on his chest. The hairs that should have been falling on his face were all collected in a bun on the backside of his head. To top his look, a pair of black shaded, circular glasses covered his eyes, masing even to me their true colours.

“Greetings Headmaster, Professor Shaliad” Said in a composed tone the tall man.

“I’m very sorry for the late call but it seems it was necessary. Let me introduce him to you Professor Shailad. This young man here is a newly appointed professor, his name is Constantine Gildoor. He’ll be teaching monstrology from now on”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,-” Said with a slight bow Constantine “- professor Shailad”

“C-Costantine G-G-Gildoor? T-That Const-” Muttered the fat man.

“Professor Gildoor, would you mind telling us what you saw?”

“With pleasure. I saw, and heard, a group of five guys with their faces covered by a scarf threatening a group of three pretty ladies to basically kidnap them. Furthermore, six other people were hidden behind some closeby trees, probably ready to jump out if said three ladies tried resisting. Soon after these masked guys appeared, a student with black hair that I later learned was called Raphael Bluescale, jumped in action by knocking out the six guys in hiding and then proceeding to wipe out the remaining one and protect the girls. Once the student council president arrived on the scene, Raphael complied to her orders calmly, explaining the situation...I believe the rest is known”

“Yes, thank you very much for your help professor Gildoor. Do you have any other reason to defend a group of assailants, Professor Shailad?”

The room fell silent soon after I asked the question. Shailad was looking down on his own knees, clearly found at fault. How could he go against the word of both Constantine and mine? It was amusing seeing his reddened face turn again and again into a raging grimace.

“I take your silence as a no. You can all go back to your business now. I will decide their punishment by my own accord” A lazy gesture of my hand indicating the door followed my words.

“Good evening Headmaster” Said Constantine as he slightly bowed before leaving.

Shailad on the other hand didn’t even turn back. He simply left with a furious expression on his ugly face. As a loser should.

When the door was finally closed behind the two I could finally sigh in relief. It had been a very busy day. First the event, then this incident and now even a teacher blatantly sold on Gallher’s side. I had a feeling that this wasn’t the end.

I opened a drawer of my desk and took out the old wooden pipe that accompanied me for all those years. There were still some elven crunched, half burned leaves inside the pipe’s head. Those were precious leaves that one of my oldest friends liked to send me every once in a while as a gift. In return I would send bottles of a specific pub’s ale, one that he always loved every time he visited Alamara.

Creating a small flame on the tip of my index, I lit the remaining leaves and began making little frequent hits from the pipe. Soon the strong taste of the leaves’ smoke began filling my mouth. A sense of peace pervaded me as usual. The pipe was my little way to escape the chaos of reality.

“So he wasn’t joking when he declared war in front of the whole school. Haha that sly fow already knew they were trying to kidnap them and decided to give them all a lesson! Hahaha I was right to say he was a beast the first time I saw him! It feels like I’m looking at a cat playing with a mouse...I wonder how far this’ll go, Raphael Bluescale” I said to myself as I looked out of my window. The clear yellow moon up in the night’s sky was smiling upon me while spreading a dim light around the academy. I could do nothing but ponder on how much further would this situation go before turning into something more serious...a lot more serious.