Chapter 11: Finally, School! / Idiot, The Bracelet

A few years passed.

It was time for school to start.

“Lime, slow down!” Evan said, chasing after Lime as she ran into the dining room for breakfast

“It’s fine. I feel good today!” Lime said, humming

“Fine. You do look pretty good.” Evan relented

“Why, thank you, dear.” Lime said, smiling

“Ah. I meant health wise. If I’m talking about looks there isn’t really any scale or description that can accurately convey your beauty.” Evan said

“I’m surprised you can say that stuff with a straight face. Limes blushing horribly, see what you’ve done? You little Angels never cease to worry me.” Mom said, grinning

“Sorry, mom.” Evan said

“You two still feel that way? What am I to do with you two? Maybe you’ll realize that you two are wrong by the end of the week.” Father said, sighing.

“Dear, you’re still denying them?” Mom asked

“Honey, you do realize it’s illegal, right?” Father asked

“I looked into it. They can’t get married. And they haven’t done anything yet, so I’m not worried about that.” Mom said, matter-of-factly

“Guh.” Father replied

“Dad, why do you keep adamantly refusing them? It's too much of a pain to care about. Doesn't it give you a headache, too?” Flaine asked

“Ugh. Go back to your master and train, you stupid muscle head!” Father said

“Need I remind you why he turned out that way?” Mom asked smugly

“I’ll just shut up now.” Father said, looking away

“Anyways. You two, what are your plans for your first day?” Mom asked

“Establish our relationship publicly!” Lime said, determined

“Er. I’m going to be helping everyone train with actual magic. That stuffs... Not what I'm good at...I don't exactly like large crowds much. If it wasn't in person....” Evan said, his face a little red

“Oh. I forgot you were the shy type!” Mom said

“I’m not shy! Just…” Evan said

“Just what?” Mom asked

“Ugh. Nevermind. You win.” Evan said

“Mom, don’t tease him too much.” Lime said

“Fiiiine.” Mom said happily

“You always sound so cheerful. So cute.” Father said, not realizing he said it out loud

“Dear, you let your thoughts slip out again.” Mom said

“Eh? Ahhh! I mean. Ahem. Ignore that.” Father said, clearing his throat, and sitting up straighter

“Isn’t it time for you two to go?” Flaine asked, looking at his rubber duck watch

“Oh, yeah. let’s go, hurry up. We can't keep everyone waiting.” Lime said

“Wait! Are you two sure you’re going to be fine? The apartment you’re going to be living in is tiny. You can still stay here if you want.” Mom asked

“Mom, it’s fine. Don’t worry about us. It would be impossible to walk to school from here every day.” Lime said

“I told you that I could have someone drive you there!” Mom said

“We want to experience a normal life, mom. Most people walk to school around there. And this is a mansion. That isn’t exactly normal.” Evan said

“Yes, but that apartment is still tiny!” Mom said

“It's still more normal than a mansion. Ah! We were supposed to meet up out front a minute ago! Let’s hurry! Bye everyone!” Lime said, checking a clock

“Got it! Bye mom. Bye father. Bye big bro.” Evan said, waving

“Bye you two!" Mom said

"Bye... Don't screw anything up." Father said

"Seeya guys." Flaine said

Evan and lime headed out the front door

“Hey Evan. Hey lime. Mornin!” Gram said, clinging to the arm of the girl next to her, holding hands tightly.

“Hey guys!” Liz said, popping out of a small daydream. She had been smiling like a kid in a candy store.

“Hey Gram, morning Liz.” Evan said

“Hello.” Lime said

“Evan, today’s our first day of real training, right?” Gram asked

“Yeah. Ask lime about that stuff, though. She’s the organized one.” Evan said

“Lay is going to be here today, right?” Liz asked

“Do you not check your phone in the morning?” Evan asked

“Um. No….” Liz said sheepishly

“Well, lay bought a phone, what, a year ago now? So he can actually text us now, okay?” Evan said to Liz

“I know that much!! I’m not dumb!!” Liz yelled, stamping her foot on the ground

“Eep.” Evan said robotically (not beep. Eep.)

“Am I not even the least bit scary when I’m mad?” Liz asked, frowning

“No. You’re frightening. But only when you really are mad.” Evan said

“You didn’t answer me. Is he coming or not?” Lizzy asked

“No. Lay is sick.” Evan said, shaking his head

“You sure it wasn’t just him not wanting to come?” Liz asked

“Nope. He’s actually sick. I asked his mom, and Suika.” Evan said

“I still can’t wait to meet Suika and Lay. Liz has told me so much about all of you guys from back then.” Gram said, smiling

“True. Suika is looking forward to meeting ‘sword girl’ too.” Evan laughed

“Speaking of, are you still going to refuse to let us know anything about the other, what did you call them?” Liz asked

“Arks.” Evan said

“And how did you come up with that?” Gram asked

“Well, the full term is living marks, and Arks sound cool, so I used the Arks from marks.” Evan said

“Yeah, okay, we need to get your head checked out someday. Anyway, you won’t tell us about the other Arks?” Liz asked

“Hold on. Maybe I should call them something else, something unique. Ah. It’s not unique, but you can call the equipment half the uh.. whatever the hell it is, actually, and the other guy a mage. You can call both of them an Ark when they’re combined, though.” Evan said

“So… I would be called a sword, and Liz is just a magician? That… okay.” Gram said, giving up

“No, every equipment is based off of either a specific legendary item or power, or something I came up with, or randomized. For example, you aren’t a normal sword. You’re a holy sword. And you are a mix up of a few of them. Mainly Excalibur. So you would be referred to as Excalibur, or holy sword. We found what you can do, right?” Evan asked, about to lecture

“Yeah.” Gram said, rolling her eyes. She only heard him talk about it a few thousand times.

“Yeah. Excalibur, Gram, Durendal, and a few others. Lots of legendary Holy swords. You already figured out your Excalibur’s sheath ability. It passively heals your wounds. And stops any injuries from bleeding or hurting when you go into sword form. Then from the Durendal form you found the attacks, a blade that can cut almost anything depending on how much mana you put into it, and a slashing air attack thing. From the sword Gram you figured out how to block attacks and always keep your balance. I’ll tell you another ability from Gram, actually. It gives you the ability to slay myths and magic. So you can cut through magic with it. There’s a lot more, too. Some that even I probably don’t know. Anyhow, this town is full of Arks. Our school has a lot more than I thought, too.” Evan said excitedly

“Actually, Whats up with us all having to fight? Some sort of competition for ultimate power? A goal? Money?” Gram asked

“That depends on the person. Some are doing it to gain power. Some are using it for evil. Some are using it for good. Some want to prove their strength. Some are just using it in their everyday life. A lot just like fighting. Like you two. You guys are serious battle junkies.” Evan said

“It’s fun.” Liz said

“I love it!” Gram yelled

“See? Well, there is actually a competition, if you were curious. There’s a prize, but I’m not sure you guys care about that. Technically, both Arks and normal mages can join. Arks are a team, normal mages are solo. That’s why there’s a larger emphasis on Arks. Here, this is the paperwork to sign up.” Evan said, handing liz a stack of papers

“What exactly is the difference between Arks and normal mages in a fight? This doesn't say much of anything.” Liz asked, reading a section on the rules of the competition.

“Oh. Arks consist of a mage who can combine their mana with a living mark, and a living mark(s) that’s compatible with that mage. A normal mage is just that. Normal. Oh, about the pros and cons, one big issue is that Arks can start depending on just their powers, losing a lot of their talent as a normal mage. So in the end, it depends on a person's skill and practice. A con for a normal mage is that they lack the abilities that are unique to Arks as well as any passive benifits. They also only consist of a one person team. You guys just combine it. You swap between abilities without even having to think too hard. So you guys are used to it. Hmmm. I’m pretty curious as to what Liz will turn into actually. I’m especially curious as to what you guys will be like when you have a perfect combination.” Evan said, thinking

“Perfect combi-“ Liz started

“Ignore that little piece of irrelevant information.” Lime said, hitting Evan

“Um. Ok, then.” Liz said, signing the paperwork Evan had handed her and putting most of it in her storage

“Evan, did you work on this competition?” Liz asked

“Yeah, I set it up with a few of the leaders in this realities’ magic community. They let me choose what to call Arks. Considering the fact that I made them.” Evan said proudly

“Figured as much. This prize is crazy though.” Liz said

“Cool right?” Evan said

“I wouldn’t know. It’s a mystery, you idiot, though looking at prizes for second and third place first place has to be pretty insane. Hey, wait, first place also gets the prizes from second and third place on top of whatever the heck this is.” Liz said, reading a flyer for the competition.

“Oh, right. Some people are also fighting because of the prizes.” Evan said, remembering suddenly.

“How the heck did you make the leaders of the magic world agree with you?” Liz asked

“Me and the elders think similarly when it comes to things like this. I kinda make them.” Evan said, grinning

“So when’s it starting?” Gram asked

“Oh. Next year. That’s why I’m letting you all know now. AHH! I forgot to mention, Lay and Suika became an ark a few days ago, during their practice. Sorry for not letting you know sooner.” Evan said

“It’s fine! It will be interesting to see how they fight!” Gram said, suddenly excited

“Yeah. I agree with Gram. What weapon do they use?” Liz asked, looking up from the documents she hadn't put in her storage

“Oh. Lay becomes a lance or spear, with a shield and a cape. It can also make some pretty strong armor at will on the body. It’s like a weird knight. They can use holy type powers like a priest. But not like a paladin. Ehm. Honestly, the weirdest thing is that it’s actually a speed class ark. Unlike your universal class ark, theirs is mainly focused on speed. But they aren’t ready for fighting yet.” Evan said, shaking his head and sighing

“Huh? Why’s that?” Gram asked

“Well, that speed class is actually the main reason. If you look at the stats page, their total numbers are insane, but the distribution is horrible. It’s mostly jacked up in speed, and has almost no control. They almost instantaneously hit something like a wall the moment they try to move. Otherwise, it’s stats are about the same as yours.” Evan said

“Wasn't control the only stat that increases through training? Isn’t that kind of overwhelming powerful then?” Liz asked, thinking back on a few of Limes lessons

“Well, something to note about Arks is the fact that the stat pages actual stat values are useless. It’s the magician and equipment, as well as the Arks powers that are important. For example, if you guys are talking about only the number part of the stats, I would have the weakest Ark. It’s my Arks abilities that change it from the weakest to the strongest.” Evan said

“Oh. So are the classes useless, too?” Gram asked, slightly lost

“No, those are incredibly useful. They can instantly give you some basic info. If it says paladin or mage, you know generally what their abilities will be, right? Anyways. Here. This is a scanning bracelet. I call it I.d.i.o.t. It will scan another person’s Ark and give you information. It’s slow, though. It can take up to 45 seconds to scan an Ark completely, even if you’re in the middle of a fight. It can help, but it’s still like going in blind. It can give you the arks class immediately, though.” Evan said, tossing them each an elastic bracelet.

“Why do only you get a pink one?” Liz asked, jealous

“Pinks mine. I like pink.” Evan said childishly

“Lizzy, you can take my red one if you don’t like that black and white one.” Gram said, offering liz her bracelet

“Honestly though, the reason your bracelets aren’t some stupidly bright color like hot pink is so that it doesn’t stand out, or give you away.” Evan said

“Alright, shut up. I’m scanning you.” Liz said

{Error} the bracelet beeped

“Your bracelet doesn’t work.” Liz said

“I’m not in Ark form right now. Otherwise, the bracelet could just be used to scan any random person around you. Lime, you up for it?” Evan asked

“Yeah, me or you?” Lime asked

“Me first.” Evan said, starting the Ark transformation

“Not here! This is the middle of the street!” Lime said, breaking the Ark transformation

“There’s nobody around, it’s too early.” Evan argued

“That doesn’t change the fact that it’s the middle of the street.” Lime said

“Then where do we do it?” Evan asked

“There’s an abandoned lot over this way.” Gram said, leading them through an alley to a decrepit house