Author's Note: There were some concerns about my last chapter being fairly dark/grim. It will never be all dark or all grim, I will usually follow such a scene with something more light-hearted :) Just a heads up though, those scenes are essential to the plot and atmosphere I'm trying to create.

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While Ymil was out fighting Luke, the rest of the gang went looking for Theo. It took them awhile but in the end Ariel was able to find him in the library, reading a book on External Magic.

“Hey Theo,” said Ariel as he quietly approached the reading guy. “I know you want to succeed as quickly as possible, but I don’t think cramming will help right now. Not in the state you’re in.”

“Shut up, I won’t know unless I try.” Theo kept reading the book as intensely as he could. His eyes were bright red from all the crying he’d done before.

“Come Theo, the others are worried about you.” Ariel placed his hand on Theo’s book and tried to slowly close it.

Theo pulled his book away and continued reading. “No! I will not fail! Leave me alone!”

Ariel didn’t give up though, he reached out to the book again and calmly pressed it close.

“NOOO!!!” Theo’s hand flew towards Ariel’s face.

*Thud*

The blow was caught by Ariel’s hand and Ariel used this opportunity to snatch the book out of Theo’s hands.

“There,” said Ariel. “You’ll get this back once you’ve calmed down a bit.”

Theo’s eyes fixated on Ariel, fury sparking from his pupils.

“Screw you, we’re in a library, you know?!” Theo immediately reached out to a book on another shelf.

*Smack*

“Ouch!” Ariel smacked Theo’s hand away before it could reach a book.

“Don’t make me get angry,” said the southerner with a calm voice. “Let’s get out of here and discuss our next plan of action.”

“Like hell!”

A flash of spiritual energy emanated from Theo and two tonfas materialized in his hands. They were made of light wood again, a material Theo was more accustomed to.

But before Theo could assume a defensive position Ariel was already standing behind him. He felt the surge of energy coming from behind and a cold metallic object pressed against his neck. It was Ariel’s scimitar.

“What the…?!” exclaimed Theo.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” whispered Ariel. “You might shrink a head in size.”

“How did you…”

Theo was interrupted by another library goer. “Shut up, you two! We’re in a library! Go fight somewhere else.”

Both boys turned around and saw a young boy holding a candle in his hand. The boy was sitting on a goat, a real, live, goat. The animal was looking dully in front of him and looked incredibly bored.

The two of them fell silent for just a moment but then they burst out laughing. Their arms and weapons fell to the side as they started to laugh hysterically.

“Wahaha, what the heck is that thing?!” shouted Theo as he pointed at the goat. “Is that thing a student here?”

“No, man, I bet that’s his brother!” exclaimed Ariel. “I see the resemblance.”

“What?! How dare you! This is Jinny, my trusty companion!” The boy looked visibly upset.

This made the two laugh even harder. So hard that they couldn’t even utter another word.

“Now you’ve done it!” shouted the boy and with a sudden flash of energy he summoned his soul. In his hands appeared a wooden bow, decorated by a single orange gemstone. The wood was light brown and the string was practically invisible. He drew the bow and an arrow materialized in place, aiming right for Theo’s head.

This sobered the two up immediately and Theo raised his tonfas to his head. Ariel quickly raised his weapon and stood beside Theo. They both leered at the bow wielding boy and were ready to react at any moment.

“Mehehehehe!” exclaimed the goat and the animal lifted his front feet. The boy on top of him fell to the ground, his arrow flying out towards the ceiling.

Ariel and Theo were both surprised by this sudden action of the beast. It was truly weird to see an overly confident boy be knocked to the ground by such a dumb looking creature. The boy’s face made the scene even more comedic than it already was.

“What is the meaning of this?!” shouted a nearby voice and an elderly man came hurrying towards the children. As the man saw the bow wielding boy lying next to his goat, the open flame of his candle exposed to the floor, he became bright red with anger.

“Why you, what the hell do you think you’re doing?! This isn’t a circus, you know! You will…” The man started to rant at the boy with everything he got. Apparently, flames were not permitted in the library, and neither were animals.

“But Jinny isn’t just any….”

“No buts, young man! You will be…” The man didn’t give the boy a chance to speak. He obviously didn’t see the two guys standing nearby with their weapons drawn.

“Pshh, Theo. I think we should bail.”

“Good idea,” whispered Theo.

The two boys dematerialized their souls and quickly ran out of the Library. Only when they were outside did they stop to rest, they still heard the man ranting all the way outside. They looked at each other and started to laugh. So hard that they were literally rolling on the floor. That whole scene just now was the most ridiculous thing they’d ever seen.

“Did that really just happen?!” asked Theo.

“You tell me!” exclaimed Ariel.

“We’ve got to tell the others about this!”

Recovering from that laughter, the two of them sprinted towards the cafeteria where everyone else would meet up sooner or later.

Theo couldn’t wait to tell Lance about all this, but then he remembered that his brother wouldn’t be there. Sad as though as it was, he realised that he’d have to hide those feelings as to not worry his friends. He vowed never to cry again in front of other people, it could only lead to misery. Only when no-one was paying attention would he allow himself to wallow in self pity. The wounds would heal eventually.

…

Once the librarian was done with his spiel, the boy was tossed out of the library. It didn’t matter how much he tried to tell the man he wasn’t the one at fault, it didn’t matter. This had been so humiliating that he felt like sinking through the ground. He got up quickly and dusted off his clothes.

“You should have let me beat them,” he said to his goat. “That man wouldn’t have come if you didn’t make a scene.”

“You wouldn’t have won,” answered the goat in a low grave voice.

“How so? Aren’t I the Chosen One?”

The goat shook its head.

“Yes, and when the time is right you will be the strongest man on earth. But that boy isn’t someone you can beat just yet. His lineage is far scarier than the things you’ve faced up until now.”

“Bah, as if a Noble would scare me. I know I’m stronger than most of them.”

The goat shook his head. “Not the blond guy, the black one. He’s the one you should be wary of. He’s Anthropofagos.”

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“…And then this guy riding a goat walked in and…,” explained Theo to everyone at their table.

“Wait… did you just say goat?” asked Ragnar.

“Yeah! It was the weirdest thing ever. This normal looking guy riding a goat in the middle of the library, it was hilarious!”’

Only the boys had gathered together to eat lunch together. Ymil was back from his fight Amalia and Rena were both fighting their own opponents.

“To be honest, I expected you to be a lot more depressed than this,” said Ymil as he looked at the pieces of bread in front of him. They were each given two pieces of stale bread and another paper thin slice of bear meat. After what had just happened, he really didn’t have an appetite.

“Nah,” answered Theo and he gave Ymil the brightest smile he could muster. “You just told me you beat the guy that sent my brother away. Can’t get any better than that. No use crying over spilt milk, right?”

“That’s right!” exclaimed Ragnar. “That’s exactly how you should face this. Don’t live in the past, live in the future!”

“Yessir!” said Theo and he bumped his fist to his chest in salute.

“That’s the way!” Ragnar padded Theo on the back.

“So what’s the plan now?” asked Ymil, still ignoring his food.

“I think we should form an alliance,” said Theo. “We need to form a group for the Royal Finals!”

“You’re really going to aim for the Finals, are you?” Ariel smiled at the notion.

“Why not? We’re all good in a fight, right?”

“Well, yeah, but we’re fairly monotone. All of us are offensive weapon users. I really don’t think we’ll get very far,” answered Ariel and then he took another bite from his bread. “Yuck…”

“That, and there are only four of us,” added Ragnar. “Or do you mean to ask Amalia or Rena to join us?”

“Well, yeah. Amalia’s flame magic could be really useful to our team.”

“Our team composition would still be imbalanced,” said Ariel. “Four melee fighters and one cast isn’t going to cut it.”

“Well,” said Theo, “I could always pick up the shield as a secondary weapon. I’ve seen Lance use his techniques quite a few times.”

“And I’ll act as support,” added Ymil. “I’ll provide backup support for those that need it. I could pick a bow or something. I think it’s a great idea.”

“I like it!” exclaimed Ragnar. He’d thought about it for a while but considering the brutality of the fights they’d witnessed, he wasn’t sure how he was going to convince his friends.

“I guess I’ll join too,” said Ariel. “But I don’t want to end up being someone’s sacrifice.”

“Don’t worry, we’re all in this together.” Ragnar had a huge smile on his face.

At this point both Rena and Amalia walked in. They both seemed unharmed and were carrying their lunches on a plate.

“Hi there, hun!” Ragnar got up and offered her his seat. She took it without as much as a thank you. Ragnar sat next to her. Rena took an empty chair and sat down between Ymil and Theo.

“Hey guys,” said Rena. “Looks like we’re in for another round.”

“Seriously, that fight was too easy. I expected something more.” Amalia looked at the food on her plate and grimaced. “I find this food to be much more dangerous.”

Rena looked at Ymil. “How was your fight?”

Ymil immediately froze and turned towards her. He said, as calmly as he could. “It went fine. I won.”

“Really? Congratulations!”

“Uhm, yeah. You too….”

Everyone at the table started to talk about their fights that day, Theo explaining to the girls about the guy on the goat and Amalia and Rena talked a lot about their own fights. They were all listening carefully and the girls laughed when they heard the guy fell off his mount after threatening them. It was all jolly until….

“Hey dweebs!” said a familiar voice. “Looks like we’re not rid of you yet.”

Everyone turned around and saw Alex Chrysos standing at the end of the table. Behind him were his two goons and Kyra, chuckling at Alex’s lame jokes.

“Get lost, Alex.” Amalia was the first to react.

“Oh, have I hurt your pride, princess? You should hang out with us, you know you’ll love it.”

“Hey! Don’t talk to my girlfriend that way!” Ragnar shot up and spread his arms in front of Amalia.

“Your girlfriend? You’ve got to be kidding me. Look at her, there’s no way someone like you could be her boyfriend.”

“I’m his girlfriend for this semester,” she said without looking up.

“This semester only? Then allow me to invite you to the hotspring with me once you’ve dumped this loser.” He gave Amalia a seductive wink. His entourage laughed.

Rena looked up in surprise. “They have hot springs around here?”

“Why yes, little green riding hood, the Academy’s got some of… darn it! Why am I telling you this?!”

Theo, Ymil and Ariel snickered as they saw Alex’s flustered face. He had the tendency to talk too much.

“Well, thanks for the offer, oh great lord strawhead, but I think I’d rather die than show myself naked to you. I’m far too pretty for you.”

“We’ll see about that.” Alex turned around and looked back over his shoulder. ”I’ve got to go now, I have to beat down some loser into submission. Later, dweebs!” He walked away and his ‘friends’ followed closely behind him.

“What was up with that?” asked Ragnar as he sat back down.

“I think he was fishing,” said Ariel. “Ymil just beat one of his henchmen, after all.”

“Oh yeah! The guy Ymil fought was one of his friends. That’s why he wasn’t there just now.”

Ariel’s mouth turned into a sly smile and said, “I don’t think you’ll ever see the guy again….Ouch!” Ymil was pinching Ariel’s thighs.

“More importantly,” said Theo. “That guy just mentioned hot springs at the Academy. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Peeking at the bathing girls?!” exclaimed Ragnar. “Ouch!” Amalia kicked him in the shin as well.

“Off course not,” said Theo as he looked up at the ceiling. “Hot springs have good healing properties, that’s all!”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Ragnar got up and started beckoned everyone to follow him. “Let’s find that place!”

Even though Ragnar’s motivations were somewhat dubious, they all thought that bathing would be very refreshing after a fight. They all got up and decided to help with the search for the hot springs.

“And besides, I think bathing in hot water is ideal to prepare for a fight.”

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3 weeks later, Halram Academy Hot Springs

“Wow, this feels great…”

Once they set out to find the academy’s hot springs it didn’t take long for them to find them. Ever since then they decided to go there after each fight. Everyone one of them had won their fights in the past 3 weeks and were getting ready for their last fight, the final acceptance fight. The guys had gone to the hot springs to release some tension. Theo was right, hot springs did soothe their aching muscles.

“We really gotta thank Alex for this tip someday,” said Ragnar as he laid back in the water. He wore a single cloth around his crotch.

“He’d totally laugh at you if he ever heard that,” said Ymil, also enjoying the warm water. He’d also covered his nether regions with a cloth.

“Ain’t that the truth? Why must he be such a… twat?”

“He’s full blown Nobility, I think it comes with the territory.” Theo was sitting on the edge, his feet dangling in the water. He was still wearing his clothes though.

“Geez, Theo, get in here!” Ragnar got up and splashed some water at Theo. Theo immediately covered his face and then splashed some back.

“I’m fine right here, thank you very much. I don’t like to be seen naked, even if you’re guys.”

“Then at least take off your shirt!” said Ragnar, splashing some more water at the guy.

“Hay Ragnar, I think that’s enough.” Ariel got up and stood between Theo and Ragnar. Theo had never gone in the water with them and Ariel could somewhat understand why.

“Duuuude, at least cover yourself!” Ragnar turned away and shielded his eyes. Ariel obviously had no qualms being seen ‘au naturel’. The black boy was standing stark naked in front of Ragnar.

Ariel grinned. “What’s wrong with a little piece of nature?”

Ymil snorted. “Nothing little about that.”

“Pfft.” This made Theo laugh. “Agreed, that thing is a freak of nature.”

“Oh, you’re just jealous,” said Ariel. “But don’t worry guys, you’ll hit puberty at some point.” He turned around to Theo and winked.

“But in all seriousness, how do you guys estimate your chances of winning the last match?” Ymil tried to save Ragnar who was clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

Ariel looked at Ymil and sat back down in the water. “I think everyone’s got a good chance. Nobody’s been paired up with a Noble.”

“If only I was paired with that Alex guy, that would have been amazing.” Ragnar could already picture himself beating the crap out of that snobby dude.

“I actually think Rena’s got a tough fight,” said Ymil. “She’s set to fight Kyle Bellua.”

“You mean Luke Bellua’s brother, the brother of the guy that beat my brother?” Hearing this made Theo sit up straight again.

“Yup, the one and only. I think Rena can beat him, but I don’t think she’s got what it takes to do ‘it’.” Ymil looked at Ariel as he said that.

“Hmm, we’ll see,” said Ariel. Both he and Ymil had already finished their test for the Night Courses but Rena still had to complete hers. Ariel didn’t exactly say how he completed it but when he showed Ymil the head of a Xenthian boy, he didn’t doubt. With the due date approaching rapidly, this was Rena’s last chance to complete the task.

“You don’t think she can do it?” asked Theo, thinking they were talking about the fight itself.

“Like I said, we’ll see.”

Edited By: Wesley Au (Paradox), 1Jayds, Codra