The air inside the classroom was filled with excitement, as animated students chatted about the pillar of light yesterday. The past whole week had been the most mind-blowing time they ever had in their entire lives. First was the arrival of Tusk... who was not only from the capital, but the son of the new governor, he did not even disappoint the expectations of the girls, as he is strikingly good looking as well.

Then there was the practical MAGIC exercise that went beyond their expectations in terms of action and excitement, the awesome display of control by their classmates, the earth turned-into concrete golem of Claire and Lyn, and last but certainly not the least, the red lighting of Tusk and Meilou.

Then the accident happened... but thank the gods Chitose was okay, some of the students who were close when it happened swore that Chitose looked smaller after the incident, Bruno then went along laughing after hearing that she was fine and started telling the others not to worry, and that all that was blasted away from Chi's body was her fat.

Because of this, those students who were far from the incident or from other classes were very curious, since Chitose is quite popular too... but not in a pleasing way. She was popular as the fattest person in school.

Hearing that rumor as it circulated around the academy, it's really not surprising that it became one of the hottest topics in history as bored students with nothing to do in this lazy part of the world found something that doesn't happen everyday.

Droves of students from other classes have gathered near Class-2 C's classroom. They were all curious to see if the rumours were true. All of them waiting for Chitose to arrive, the chatter and natter attracted more and more students until the corridor outside Class-2C became jam-packed with pupils eager to see this phenomena themselves.

Only one student was not joining the commotion. Claire sat silently by herself, her face resting atop her arms while she stared outside through the window, her thoughts are her own... her face, a picture of a person betrayed.

…………………………..

Lord Arsenon Regnum was standing in front of a full body mirror inside his room in the new house that was commissioned to him and his family by the king as the new governor of Triplance. He was invited to the school where his son Tusk studies by the School Headmaster himself as was stated in an official letter that he received the other day.

Lord Ars knew how important an institution the school in Triplance is, without this school, the people of this province won't be able to use MAGIC and would be very much defenseless if brigands decided to raid this town.

He also knew that this institution had been part of the history of this region for hundreds of years and it merits his utmost respect.

"Tusk, come here for a minute son…" Ars called, as he took a small wooden box from a large chest that he had brought from his old residence at the capital. He meticulously surveyed the box for any signs of tampering or damages.

Satisfied, he then slowly opened the box and took out it's content; a small cylindrical object with runes inscribed all over its body.

"The key…" Ars silently muttered, his piercing eyes observing the curious object.

The runes that lined the cylindrical key glowed in an eerie light. It was a gift from the king himself when they were still young, the king told him that the artifact belonged to his family for generations, but really had no known use, only that the mages of old referred to it as some sort of key. He gave it to him to study and perhaps uncover it's mysteries. But Ars never bothered to learn its secrets, and instead considered the key as his king's way of promising him of their unbreakable bond.

"Heh!" Lord Regnum chuckled, he suddenly remembered those fond days of their youth.

"Damnit Hans! Why did you throw me all the way out here?!" Lord Regnum mutters under his breath as he grips the artifact tightly in his left hand. He hears a knock from the door "It's probably Tusk… come in boy."

Tusk entered the room of his father, he closed the door behind him and then made sure that his posture was perfect as he approached his father. Lord Regnum has always reminded his son to walk and act dignified as one befitting of being a noble and a gentleman.

"You called my Lord Father?" Tusked asks, giving a slight bow. He knew that his father was scrutinizing him at the moment, looking for any flaws in his form. Yes his dad was quite the perfectionist, but also very warm and kind, it's just that sometimes, it felt too suffocating, for the young man.

Lord Regnum looked very amused, he knew very well what his son was thinking at the moment, he too was thinking those very same thoughts long ago when he was in the presence of his own father. Slowly, he walked closer to his son, then hugged him in a warm embrace, full of love and strength.

"Tusk, you must always be good to your fellow men, always uphold what is right and true. You are the son of house Regnum, protect the weak, protect your people always. This place is our home now, these people are our people now, remember that son."

Lord Regnum then let go of the hug and took his son's hand into his own.

"This artifact is very precious, it was given to me by that idiot Hans as an unbreakable promise of brotherhood. I now give this to you as a promise of brotherhood too… that even if I am your father, I will always listen to your thoughts and respect you as my equal. It is a gift I can give, now that you are a man. Keep it safe." He then pressed the cylindrical artifact into Tusk's palm.

"Get ready, we leave for your school as soon as possible." He said as he wore his heavy black coat.

Far away in the capital, King Hans Mendelos was walking in the palace gardens when he felt an itch on his nose and suddenly sneezed violently.

"Ahhh-Chooo!!! Hmm… someone must have been talking about me behind my back…" he said, wiping the snot from his black bushy mustache

………………………….

Chitose and Lyn came to school together, they noticed that the school seemed a little quiet as soon as they entered the gates. They crossed the quadrangle towards the main school building, Chitose couldn't help but notice the stolen glances that the students gave her, making the girl feel uneasy since she is not accustomed to this kind of attention.

She unconsciously wrapped her arms around Lyn's arm as they walked, which caused a startled Lyn's heart to skip a beat as a reaction. They started climbing the wide stairs that lead to the second floor of the building where their classroom is located.

As they became visible to the throng of students that had been patiently waiting outside the classroom, a sudden hushed silence greeted the two girls, all eyes staring at the adorably cute bob cut silver haired beauty with golden irises. Suddenly, a wild cheer of congratulations erupted from everyone present (except Claire).

Not only were they happy that Chitose was unharmed, but they were also happy at the results of the accident. Everyone agreed that Chitose is now officially hot, and that is always a good thing. One by one the students returned to their respective classrooms to start the day happily satisfied.

Lyn and Chitose also entered their classroom. The duo were just barely at the door when all of a sudden Claire walked towards them with haste, her eyes seething with jealous anger. Chi and Lyn were happy to see Claire and they were smiling when without warning, Claire grabbed Lyn's arm and pulled her close, then slapped Chitose on the face in one fluid motion.

"Traitor!" Claire lashed out at Chitose, her voice body shaking uncontrollably.

The whole class was agasp at what suddenly happened. No one expected that even in their wildest dreams, these three girls were friends since forever, they had no idea what the situation was about.

"Damn… this day sure is full of surprises…" Jane whispered to her seatmate Meilou.

"You said it sister…" Meilou nodded agreeing to Jane

………………………….

Tusk was sitting in the governor's carriage opposite to his father, staring at the artifact on his hand. The artifact was given to him by his father as a coming of age gift, but it also served as a promise of brotherly bond between them. Tusk placed it back in the wooden box that serves as its case and tucked it away in his school bag.

Lord Regnum stared at his son with swelling pride, he knew that he had raised a good boy. Her late wife Talia, bless her soul, would have been proud of how her son grew up to be. It's been four years since his wife Talia succumbed to an illness that causes one to waste away in just a mere month.

"My dear Talia, I miss you so much…"

The carriage finally arrived at the school gates, and Lord Regnum signaled the driver to halt. Like true highborn lords; father and son stepped off the carriage with grace. The headmaster and some teachers, including Miss Anne and Mr. Laymore, were at the gates to welcome the new governor.

"Father, I will be going to my class now." Tusk said as he bowed slightly to his father to show his respect.

"But of course, you go ahead my son, I wouldn't want to keep you from your studies." Lord Regnum answered his son.

Tusk then went on towards the school building towards his classroom.

The headmaster, with a bow, greeted the new governor. "Welcome my Lord to our humble institution."

"I am very honoured to be invited, my lord Headmaster" Lord Regnum also bowed to the Headmaster in respect as was only proper.

Then after some other pleasantries, the small group proceeded towards the Headmaster's office on the east side of the school compound.

………………………...

Far up in the sky, directly above them, Declan finally found his target. Smiling, he took out a small vial with a green slime inside. It was given to him by his master before they entered the palace, and ordered him to only use it if he was going to face a powerful opponent.

He told his master that such things are not needed, but his master insisted, as not to take any chances for failure. In the end, what his master says, he obeys.

Diving down at high speed, Declan, silent as a whisper, landed down in no time at the center of the school quadrangle. He wished to attract less people as possible, seeing that it's daytime and it's impossible to carry a stealthy assassination.

He then proceeded to uncork the small vial and released the green slime on the ground.

"Do not let anyone get past this point"

After commanding the slime, he casually walked towards the Headmasters office, ready to bring death.

…………………………..

The slime he left, started to grow into a blob, all it understood from the command was to not let anyone pass the point where it was released.

Slimes are dumb creatures and extremely dangerous if left unsupervised by it's recognised master. They are the lowest form of primordials, but have infinite potential… or so the mages of old say, it meant that they are a serious problem for anybody.

The slime started to head in the opposite direction, towards the school building, where it sensed people that could potentially pass to the area it was supposed to guard. In the logic of a slime, better to kill any potential threats than to fail it's duty.

Oblivious to the impending danger, the students were cheering for the safe return of their fellow student Chitose.

……………………………

Chitose's eyes were wide from shock. As was rubbing gently the left side of her face where Claire bitch-slapped her, tears started flowing from her eyes. She did not understand why Claire would do such a thing, she looked at Lyn, both in confusion and support. Lyn by the looks of it was also clueless of what had come to Claire to do such an act… Unless…

Realisation has finally dawned unto Lyn.

"She saw us!" Lyn concluded as she looked at Claire's face, seething with anger for the betrayal.

*POP*

Out of nowhere Hunai appeared before Chitose, this time visible only to her master.

With the same blank look and funny way of speaking, she announced,

Warning!!!

Primordial Detected!!!

Error… Error!!!

Angelic Skill... Forced Activation

Unsealing Passive Skills

Mana expansion sonar skill: Passive

Enhanced strength: Passive

Enhanced speed: Passive

Unique Skill: Curse Destroyer

Once again Chitose had no idea what Hunai was talking about. But all of a sudden, goosebumps formed on her arms she felt a very menacing presence, a danger that felt too powerful for the people around her. With a horrored look on her face, she turned to Claire and Lyn, and uttered one word.

"RUN!!!"

Her classmates looked at her in surprise, not understanding the reason why she suddenly shouted run.

It was Bong who first felt something down at his feet, something like a sharp pain that is growing. He looked down and saw what were once his feet now two white bones covered in a greenish goo.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" Shrieks Bong in terror and pain.

His classmates turned from Chitose to him, confused why he was the one screaming now. What they saw was a very horrible scene as Bong was being eaten alive by a greenish goo, slowly his body was being melted in front of his classmates' horrified eyes.

His skin, disintegrating, then his muscles, then his organs until he no longer felt the excruciating pain of being digested, as Bong was now a mere skeleton.

"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone was screaming and scrambling. Complete chaos was in the classroom, as the slime, after eating Bong, was now looking for a new victim.

Chitose then grabbed Claire and Lyn, and dragged them to the far side of the classroom near the windows.

"What is happening?! What is that thing?!" A distressed Claire was asking Lyn and Chi.

"I don't know… But somehow I felt it before it showed itself. I also feel that it's very dangerous, you need to make a bridge Claire, get us out of here NOW!!!"

Confused and terrified, Claire only nodded and started to create a land bridge by controlling the earth below to form pillars to act as stairs leading to the school grounds.

"Go now quick!" Chitose told her friends, pushing them towards the window to save themselves.

"What about you?!" Lyn protested, there's no way she was leaving Chitose behind.

"I will be right behind, don't worry, I have a feeling that I can deal with this." Chitose assured her.

"Don't be stupid, you don't even know how to control anything. Come with us now!" Claire angrily said as she started to regain some of her senses and assessed the situation more clearly.

With a confident smile at Claire, Chitose held up her right hand, showing her friends the wisps of white light pulsing with strange power swirling around her arm like an ethereal serpent... With a flourish, Chitose raised her arm and summoned her katana in a spectacular fashion.