Chapter 3: A Fresh Start

"Dr. Gavin, enlighten us on what transpired today," a voice asked as Dr. Gavin sat in his office facing a wall with nine giant screens, each completely black and with a Roman numeral at the center of each screen.

"It is an honor to speak with the nine powers of the world," Dr. Gavin said. "As you are aware, I am the head scientist of the Testing Center, the headquarters of the world's scientific research on Mazoku. Four Exiles came to Black Gate City, three of them compatible with the virus."

"Why were we to be notified?" a voice from the screen with the Roman numeral 4, IV, asked. "They are just Exiles. Nothing more. Sure, some are powerful, but that matters not. They are all just good seeds."

"What if I were to tell you that all three of them had all five paths available? What if I were to tell you that even though there should not be signs of the powers of the three other paths, those three children could already harness some of their powers?" Dr, Gavin grinned.

"Impossible. They cannot access the powers of the other three paths until they awaken. Maybe one, two at most, would appear at the bare minimum. Are you saying all three of the other paths can already be harnessed? To what level?" the screen with the number 8, XIII, asked. What are their names?"

"Edward Jones Turner, Catherine Melissa Turner, and Vincent Edris Turner. All three of them have the potential to use their powers above the bare minimum. How far along, it is premature to make a valid evaluation," Dr. Gavin said.

"Turner. Didn't know there were some Exiles who had family names...." the screen with the number 7, VII, said as the others were heard discussing with other people who were present.

"They are, as the fourth power said, good seeds. Still, I would ask the doctor to watch over their progress. I believe it is also premature for us to make a decision to recruit the children," the screen with the Roman numeral 1, I, said.

"Yes, that is true. In any event, are there other children who displayed any similar talents? Perhaps one from the noble clans?" the screen with the Roman numeral 9, IX, asked.

"None in my city. I will ensure the three children receive acceptable training until they come of age," Dr. Gavin bowed as all but the third numbered screen cut the connection.

"Dr. Gavin, make sure the two boys decide a combative occupation. I don't care if they join my forces or not. Exiles are different. Most are weak, but three of the same family having compatibility to the virus? They are sure to be strong. Also, one of the other eight powers might be trying to find out what we are doing in Black City. Take extra precautions with the new hands that are available," the voice from the screen warned.

"Of course. As always, I am extremely grateful for the anonymous funds and material donated for the research. I will not betray our expectations," the doctor said as the final screen lost connection and caused all nine screens to return to displaying various images of the security cameras all over the Testing Center.

----------------The Turner Family-----------------

"Wow! This is our new home?" Catherine beamed as she and her two remaining relatives arrived in front of a white marble wall with a golden gate at the center. They had waited for Dr. Gavin to drive them as he was gone for an hour.

"This is actually the academy. You will be living in the dorms. Upon the age of ten, all children live in the academies of each of the eighteen districts. Black Gate City is the largest and most secure city in the world as it is the headquarters of the most advanced scientific research on the Mazoku," Dr. Gavin said as he looked out the driver's seat of his Chinese car.. "Many outsiders dream of living in this city but only Exiles can easily become citizens as they paid for it with their very lives. People who were born in other cities? They had to be prodigies in their occupations to live here. Now, you will live in separate dorms with three other people and a butler or maid. Worry not, I made sure to have you three attend the same teacher for class. Rest tonight and enjoy living as a human in modern society. Well, modern for us anyway. Our technology is not as great as it had been many centuries ago. This academy is in the district most Chinese live in. It is an ethnicity of forgotten time but the culture and traditions remain. Don't worry. Other people of different ethnicity live and go to school here."

"Thank you," Edward said and was the first to go in, excited as three guards arrived to take them to their dorms. "See you tomorrow guys. We can sleep on clean beds and without fear of an attack. This is great."

"I can take a regular shower," Catherine grinned and eagerly followed the female guard to her own dorm.

"You are about month late, but you will do fine," the guard said as he led Vincent to a large, five-story pagoda. "Your room is the entire third floor. There is a full bathroom, theater room, bedroom, living room, and half of the floor is a training hall. This academy is highly exclusive. You must have made quite the impression to attend the academy."

"Thank you for leading me here," Vincent said as he touched the healed scar on his left cheek in front of the ear. Due to awakening his orb of power, his wound healed but the scar remained as it had happened before his awakening. Such a wound wouldn't scar him anymore, but the scar was faint and the skin was smooth. It only looked like a scar now.

"It is my job. Now, your first day of school is tomorrow. It may seem soon, but you are a month late. Your teacher is the same for all subjects, but your combat lessons will be dependent on the path you chose and gave up. An expert of each of the five paths will assist your teacher during your combat lessons. There is an ancient saying that knowledge is power. There is no greater fountain of knowledge than Black Gate City's Testing Center and the eighteen academies.

You are in the third ranked academy of the eighteen, but one with the closest ties to the Testing Center. If you choose an intellectual occupation, this is the best academy for you. My name is Jian Zhu. Mr. Zhu is fine. I'm told my son is in your class and he lives on the fourth floor. If you need any questions, feel free to ask me or Xin. Welcome to White Dragon Academy," the guard said and the two shook hands before Vincent saw him leave.

"The third floor," Vincent said as he held a dragon shaped key and walked up the pagoda. He immediately unlocked and locked the room behind him. He was too tired and fell asleep. As he did, his orb of power made the final changes to his body. His muscles became leaner and stronger. A silver energy spread from the spiked orb and strengthened his muscles and organs. When Vincent awoke, even his sky blue irises had a tinge of white silver close to the pupils.

"Another cold shower," Vincent sighed with relief as he stepped out in his uniform. Apparently, the doctor had made very fast arrangements and even had twenty sets of his uniform for him in the dressers. His uniform consisted of a white shirt and khaki cotton pants one would wear in a dojo. Both had an emblem of a white and gold dragon somewhere visible. Vincent kept the medallion and silver ring on and wore a white leather jacket with a checkered line across the center of the unzipped jacket. The jacket was one his mother claimed belonged to her father. Once he got older, he would have another one made. As he put on his black and crimson laced running shoes, he left the pagoda and saw three other kids at the dining table on the first floor with a butler smiling at him.

"Greetings, Master Turner. I am George Hunt. I am the butler of you four students here," the old man smiled as he gestured to an empty seat with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and stripped hash browns in front.

"You must have met my dad. I am Xin Zhu," a boy grinned with small eyes and a muscular physique laughed. "Everyone does."

"I'm Shigure Hamada. Nice to meet you," a Japanese boy nodded as he stabbed his pancakes. "An Exile in our pagoda. Glad it's not a noble."

"True that man," a red-haired kid grinned. "My name is Nick Van. We know you are an Exile as either an Exile or a noble would transfer so late. Unfortunately, me and Shigure are already fourteen. It's our last year here. If you need any help, just tell us. Even if our dorm is only four people, we have a lot of talent. Otherwise, a noble would complain about his room not being as big and nice as ours. HAHAHAHAHA!"

"We're all commoners," Xin answered as Vincent stared at him. "We got here through our own talent and hard work. My dad loves me too much and had to go through so many trials to get a job as a guard here. After all, the Testing Center is closest to our academy."

"It's also the only academy of the top five not prejudiced against commoners. Even if the nobles are extremely talented, they would be severely punished for attacking a commoner," Shigure said as Nick ran out of the pagoda as he stared at the clock. "Nick and I got early morning practice. See you guys later."

"Wicked scar. Was it a Mazoku?" Xin asked as the two boys ate and thanked George before leaving for class.

"Yeah. A four-eyed Mazoku wolf with twin tails. It was a juvenile," Vincent nodded. "I killed it though. I got the money for it in my black satchel."

"I would have wanted to see a Mazoku but nice," Xin said as he had a green belt. Apparently, his storage item was a belt while Vincent wore the strap of his black satchel over his shoulder. "Was it just you?"

"My twin cousins came with me," Vincent said.

"Oh no. This is bad," Xin said as he pointed to a crowd of kids in front of a blonde-pony-tailed teacher as they stood in front of a large, marble building. "That's our teacher, Ms. Mu. If she's outside, that means we got combat class. So not good. It's Monday. Combat class on Mondays and Fridays are for the whole day."

"Ah, here comes the last two students," Ms. Mu said as Xin and Vincent arrived. "Beside Xin is the last of the three Exiles who has transferred to our class. His name is Vincent Turner. Now, let us be off to the coliseum. The five trainers are waiting."

"Y~es," the students groaned. It was obvious they hated combat classes on Mondays.

"I'm Edward and this is my younger twin, Catherine," Edward said as the two tins walked with Xin and Vincent.

"I'm Xin Zhu. I live in the same pagoda as Vincent," Xin said.

"Why is everyone so scared today?" Catherine asked as she hugged her brother's arm.

"Whole day combat classes are brutal. You'll see. Only the upperclassmen like combat classes that are the whole day. As we are first years, ten year old kids. Thus, we have a random day of combat classes, between Mondays and Fridays. Second, third, and fourth year students take the three days between. The fifth year students have combat class on either Monday or Friday. As we have Monday this week, they have Friday. All classes of each year train together in the coliseum. It allows us to interact and connect with others. Weekends are our free days. You are not obligated to go to class, but you can't skip out on combat class," Xin said.

"You can skip class? I won't. I always wanted to be a regular kid," Edward said as Catherine nodded in agreement.

"You can, but if you want a combative occupation, it is best to learn stuff from the books in the library and train on your own. If you head to the training halls all over campus, the teachers there can guide you. I do it all the time. I plan on being a fighter. Which occupation, my old man said we all learn it when we are in our last year," Xin shrugged.

"Training on my own? Learning from experts?" Vincent asked as Xin grinned and nodded. "I'll do that too."

"Cool! We can be dojo traveling brothers. We can pick up tips from the experts. I'll also take you to the Exhibit Hall. All the fighting styles of the world are there. I don't like the style I picked up last week and my dad said it's also not suitable for me. I'll take you there tomorrow before we visit a dojo," Xin smiled. "Course you will be Second Brother and I'll be Eldest Brother. Yeah. That's right. I can tell you are Chinese. You look like one. From your mom?"

"My dad, but I'd rather not talk about my dad," Vincent said and Xin nodded, seeing that maybe Vincent had a bad history. Otherwise, why would he have the same family name as his cousins?

"It's time for a fresh start, Vincent. Like my dad always said: Let go of the past and seize the future. Live for today and strive for a better tomorrow. The past can't be wound back anyway. Cheer up," Edward said but his cousin remained silent as they gathered in a large coliseum.

A total of twenty first year classes had arrived, the largest number. With every year, the number of classes dropped as it was very difficult in their academy and some students chose to transfer for easier progress. One hundred experts arrived, five going before each class. Ms. Mu told them all to sit down and await their instructions.

"Class, as you know, it is Monday and the first years were randomly selected to have their combat class today. For the sake of the three Exiles who transferred, allowed me to go over how our combat class works," Ms. Mu said as the five experts nodded and gazed upon three unfamiliar faces. "Our combat class focuses on teaching the basics of fighting to you kids and requiring you to have a fit body in the event that the city is attacked. No city is forever invincible. Thus, we train you young people until the age of fifteen. If you choose to continue living a life of combat, you can decide now and the experts will increase your training to assist you in passing that occupation's prospect exam. Catherine, can you tell me the names of the five paths of power?"

"Um, it is beast, knight, guardian, mage, and shaman," Catherine said as she counted with her fingers.

"Correct. Each path has its advantage and disadvantage. Choosing to go down one path only is the easiest to master, but limits your potential the most. You three Exiles are exceptionally powerful. You already have access to the three other powers, numbering the complete four. I don't know how far you can master those three paths as they are currently dormant and can't unveil their true power. Still, you three are quite talented," Ms. Mu beamed with pleasure as the experts and other students stared between her and the three Exiles in shock.

"You must definitely pick a combat occupation. Your potential would be wasted if you don't. You might even have an easier time being accepted by the nine most powerful organizations of the world," one of the experts said as the other four nodded in unison.

"What is the paths you specialize and which did you sacrifice?" Ms. Mu asked.

"My twin and I sacrificed the shaman path. I chose the knight path and my sister chose the mage path," Edward said as a muscular man with a scar down his neck shouted with approval as a red-haired woman nodded as she stared at Catherine.

"I chose the beast path and sacrificed the knight path," Vincent said. Most students looked at him as they had all given up on the shaman path as they preferred magic. After all, controlling the elements was every kids fantasy.

"Come again?" one of the five, a short man with lean muscles and long black hair asked as he looked at Vincent. "You did not sacrifice the shaman path?"

"No. I aim to use both the powers of a mage and shaman to assist me as I wield my sword. I want to depend on my own power and not my weapon. That's why I sacrificed the knight path," Vincent said.

"You finally have someone to teach," a large man with a long beard laughed. "The beast path is the way to go kid. Physical strength? Too much of that kills your flexibility, speed, and reflexes. The body is the foundation. You and Xin are the onyl ones who chose the beast path of this class. There are a few others. Come, I will teach you two boys. My name is Ming Tang. Old Gao Ji will also come with us as he will teach you about your psychic power and talismans and all that voodoo stuff. The powers of the mage and guardian path can wait. You can actually learn those on your own."

"Voodoo? Would you like me to control your body as a puppet again?" Gao warned as Ming just laughed and led the two boys away from the others.

"Which one is the most talented between you three?" Ming asked as Xin and Gao looked at him.

"Edward is. However, I've never lost a spar against him. I've always been the better fighter," Vincent answered.

"Heh. Good. You two will be physically training far harder than any other kids who chose the other four paths. It will be hell. There is no other word for it. As I and Gao have no other students. We can just teach you everyday until you turn thirteen. We can also give you advice on the other paths from our own experiences. What do you say?" Ming asked.

"We can be the personal students of an expert, you with two. This is awesome. I mean, I'll learn the shaman path too, as I gave up magic," Xin said. "We don't have to go looking for dojos, or look for an awesome fighting style to master, but we can choose to now."

"Learning from experts everyday for three years. Training harder than all others with the greatest results. How can I not?" Vincent grinned.

------------Three years later------------------

"You're gonna lose today Second Brother," a tall youth grinned as he brandished his twin swords.

"Xin, don't make me laugh," Vincent grinned as he wielded Silver Thorn. Both boys were already five feet seven inches at thirteen with a lean, muscular build. One boy had dark brown skin and brown eyes while the other had raven-black hair and sky blue eyes with a tinge of white silver. Both were half naked and sparks flew as their swords clashed. As Vincent had grown taller, Silver Thorn was no longer a sword that had to be wielded with two hands. Now, it was truly the length of a regular, one-handed sword.

A man laughed as he saw a boy with a six-eyed, silver jaguar tattoo fought another with an emerald two-headed tortoise tattoo. As their blades nicked each other, the man watched as their wounds regenerated quickly. Such was the advantage of the beast path. He clapped his hands as both boys had their swords on the others neck.

"A draw?" Xin grinned as he saw a drop of blood fall down Vincent's neck.

"I let you draw as your dad is watching," Vincent said as Xin shook his head, laughing.

"Eldest Brother. Second Brother," two boys said as they bowed their heads at Vincent and Xin.

"A fourth? You staying or leaving like the others?" Xin asked.

"I just started this year. My name is Jing Zhou," the shaved boy with tattoos on his head grinned. "I have also chosen the beast path. Please take care of me."

"Your best friend, the one who came to the city from another one?" Vincent asked Fang Tu as the latter nodded . Fang was also thirteen years old and the only one who did not transfer due to the rigorous combat classes since Vincent arrived. Fang and Jing were best friends since they were five. Jing used to live in Black Gate City but his father worked in another city and he had lived with him for three years before returning to live with his mother as his father got a job transfer back to Black Gate City.

"Yeah. He chose the beast path like me. He aims to be a warrior monk and kept the shaman path and gave up the mage path," Fang nodded. "We're both nobles, you know. We have restored copies from the ancient times and he loves reading wuxia novels with Shaolin monks and Wudang Sect martial artists."

"Glad to have you aboard. Name's Xin Zhu and this is Vincent Turner. You need anything, come to us. We are fourth year students. Very few fourth year students and only some fifth year students can match us in combat," Xin grinned. "Let's go eat breakfast. George's cooking is the best. Come too, dad. It's your day off and it's Sunday."

"Alright, you rascal," Jian laughed as he followed the four boys into the pagoda for breakfast.