A/N: Hey everyone, author here! First off special shout out to CPT Ratchet for PR! Also, Ii'm having a lot of difficulty finding an artist for the cover art so if you know of one please PM me. I am willing to pay a commission.

If you are enjoying the story, please leave a review and/or comment. Almost there in the top 50 +_+ ahaha well then enjoy the chp!

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“Hey Az! You got a letter!”

“Who’s it from Winst?”

“Dunno man. Here you go.”

“Thanks man.”

Winston hands off an envelope just as Azrael was coming back in after class. Curious as to who it was from, he goes over to his desk and opens it up. Seeing the familiar handwriting, a large smile comes up on his face.

My beautiful son. I pray that this reaches you safely. It has almost been two months since you’ve left when I began to write this letter. You cannot know how relieved I was to hear that you had such wonderful friends. Truthfully I had been really worried whether you would be able to make any friends when you left. There had been no children your age in the village and you had only spent time with Aurora and Azer.

I’m also very glad to hear that you are doing well in your studies, but don’t take it easy because of that. Always remember to study hard and learn as much as you can. I know that I don’t have to but a mom’s duty is to worry isn’t it?

Aurora and Azer really miss you darling. On the day you left, they cried so much that I thought they might flood the house! They have gotten over it though and have been practicing hard every day. When I asked them why they were training so hard, they both simply looked at me and told me they wanted to go to school with their older brother. Your father and I worry for them though, training so hard at a young age. Thankfully they don’t do any muscle training that may hamper their growth. It’d be such a pity. Every day they ask whether you’ll be back soon.

Your father also worries about you with me separately. Even though he wanted to act tough in front of you by saying to make sure to tell you to train hard and about something like being a good role model, he dearly misses training with you and seeing you every day. Some of the Soldiers have been complaining about your dad suddenly becoming much stricter and demanding in practice. Something about him yelling at them for being worse than a young child?

Even though we were all a little disappointed that you had decided not to come back at the end of the semester, we understand. It’s all just because we miss you son. Make sure that you even while you study to make sure to always eat your meals, vegetables included (I know you hate vegetables but you have to eat them). Also make sure to brush your teeth and wash every morning.

But above anything else, please stay safe my lovely son. Your father and I wouldn’t be able to handle if something went wrong with you. Know that and no matter whether you’re a genius or the worst student at the school, you will always be our pride and joy. We thank the lord to have been blessed with such an amazing son. Until the next letter,

- Azela Celeste

p.s. Remember that any girl you wish to marry has to go receive your mother’s approval!

Reading his mother’s letter, Azrael couldn’t help but smile. He could almost feel the love from his mom when she wrote it. He also felt relieved that his family was doing well. Hearing about his siblings thinking so much of him gave him a warm feeling in his chest.

“So is the letter from a lover?”

Seeing Azrael’s face as he focused on the letter and seeing him grin at it, Winston couldn’t help but throw out a joking retort. Azrael could only look at him with a helpless smile.

“From my family.”

Hearing that, Winston just nods his head. Living with Azrael for the two months, he knew that his roommate thought very dearly of his family. Just mentioning them would put a large grin on his face.

“Az, we need to head down to the lobby. You know how Zer will be if we’re late.”

Hearing that, Azrael couldn’t help but laugh and reminisce about what happened last time. About one month ago Winston had been late and kept him and Zer waiting for ten minutes in front of the cafeteria. Seeing him come, Zer had immediately went off on Winston, speaking about how it was rude and dishonorable to arrive later than the appointed time. It took close to fifteen minutes before he finally felt better and stopped.

“I swear, sometimes I have nightmares about that lecture he gave me last time. Anyways let’s head out.”

Azrael simply gave a nod with his head and they went down to the lobby on the first floor. When they enter the lobby, they see Zer leaned against a wall waiting silently for them. Seeing him, Azrael waves his hand to get his attention.

“Hey Zer, you ready?”

“Hey Az, Winst. Let’s go I’m starving.”

Seeing the two, Zer gets up and walks up beside them before the three head over to the cafeteria. The sidewalks were crowded with students who were heading toward the cafeteria or going back to their rooms from class. All around them, the students were whispering when they noticed the trio.

“Hey, isn’t that Zer Aiur? The genius that has two elementals and is Rhostaz Kingdom Prime Minister’s son?”

“Kyaaah he’s so handsome. That guy with the toned skin is also from the Wozeal family in the Sunder Kingdom. He’s also hot.”

“Who’s that guy walking with the two of them though? Even though he is good looking, I’ve never seen him before.”

“I heard that he’s from some commoner family in the Nifl Kingdom…”

“A mere commoner dares stands beside our dear Zer and Winston when we don’t? How dare he!”

“He should know his place!”

“Th…those damn punks why I ought to!”

“Come on Winst, just leave them be. It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“You know Az, I’m also quite infuriated by these low lives…. If it wasn’t for you asking us not to, I would shut them up and let them learn their place. If they saw how strong you were…”

Azrael truly felt grateful for his two best friends who got angry in his place. For the past two months, he had been just brushing off everyone’s sneers and scorns while being with them. Even though he tried not to be pay attention to any of it, it really didn’t feel good to hear them still. Seeing Winston and Zer standing up for him though helped make it endurable. With a feeble smile, he just urges the other two onward to the cafeteria.

While eating the delicious dinner courtesy of Winston, the three have a good time telling each other about their class and jokes. After they had eaten dinner the trio, just like all the previous days, head toward their training spot in the forest. After traveling for ten minutes, they arrive.

“So what you going to practice tonight Winst?”

“I’m going to go over each forms for a while. What about you and Az? You two going to spar again?”

“Yup we are. After you’re done practicing, we’ll spar with you also.”

“Haa… please go easy on me…”

During the past two months, Winston’s swordsmanship had rapidly improved. After a month he had finally perfected the stance that Zer had taught him and also the proper way to swing. Lately, Winston was constantly using the numerous forms that Zer and Azrael had shown him, doing them thousands of times each so that his body would memorize them. The two, being impressed by his drive and drastic improvement, also had started doing spars with him, giving him actual experiences in battle.

Zer and Azrael hadn’t been standing by idly during this time either. The two had constantly been sparring, receiving valuable lessons on the weak and strong points of their swordsmanship. The number of times that they over reached or swung too hard were also dropping as they gained a better feel. After the spars, the two would go to an open area and try to improve while looking back on the spar they just had.

After sparring for thirty minutes, Azrael and Zer were currently sprawled out on the ground sucking precious air into their bodies. After looking up at the starry night and getting his breath back, Azrael turns his head over toward where Zer was.

“Hey Zer.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking… I’m actually going to switch weapons…”

“WHAT?!?!”

Zer, who had been glazing up at the stars, violently turned his head over to where Azrael was with a face of shock. Azrael couldn’t help but inwardly laugh at seeing Zer’s face. He had figured Zer would react this way but actually seeing his friend face was too funny.

‘Well, it’s not surprising he’d be so surprised. If someone told you that they were going to switch from a weapon that they had trained with for years to a new one, you’d be surprised too…’

“Haha no, truthfully Zer I’m actually more familiar with a different weapon after all. I was just doing training with the sword because I thought it might help me become better with the other weapon.”

“…. If you’re so good with a sword, I really am curious how good you’re with your weapon. So what kind of weapon do you primarily use?”

“Well… it’s a pretty unique weapon.. It’s a hybrid of a sword and spear actually. It’s a spear with two long blades on either end.”

“…. That really is unique. I’ve never heard of a weapon like that…”

Hearing the description of the weapon, Zer starts to ponder about it. After debating its pros and cons, he could see how it could be an effective weapon, especially in the right hands.

“It does seem interesting, that weapon of yours. Why don’t you bring it tomorrow?”

“…. I have to get it made…”

“Ah, I can have that done for you Az.”

Azrael turned to his other side and looked at Winston who had just laid down also.

“You sure about that Winst? I could do it on my own during the weekend you know…”

“No worries bro. I’ll have someone go and put in a order for it tomorrow. Should be able to get it by Friday. So how do you want it made?”

“Thanks man, I appreciate it. So the spear should be...”

With that, Azrael went into the specifics of the weapon with Winston. To make sure that he understood everything correctly he went over the specific to Azrael who nodded in acknowledgement. Nodded his head, he tells Azrael he would make sure it would be made to those standards. Hearing that, Azrael was inwardly thrilled at the prospect of using his weapon once again in the near future.

Afterwards the trio stayed for one more hour to practice before calling it a night. Saying goodbye to each other at the lobby, they separate and head to their rooms to call it a night.

While lying on his bed, Azrael begins to think of how he would implement what he learned from all these years of swordsmanship training into his own style.

‘Now that I better understand swordsmanship, it should be easier for me to read them in future fights. Also there are many things that I learned from swordsmanship that I can transfer over to improve. Ahh, hopefully it won’t take too long to shake off the rust from not using the spear in so long...’

While thinking that, Azrael excitedly attempts to think of new methods of training. Even though he attempted to stay up for a long time to consider over this, his body was still that of a child and fatigue soon won over. Slowly he begins to fade into the plane of dreams and falls to sleep.

The next day, the teacher for History of Xiosu starts off the lecture with surprising news.

“Alright, it looks like everyone is here. Before we start the lecture I wanted to bring something to everyone’s attention. Have you all heard about the competition next month?”