The Sword King's Palace
Fifth Division Main Building
Ares district
Lumerian Island
Headquarters of Global Hunter Association
The council was filled with noise, and bickering which didn't do much to help sway the tension between the security council members as they debated over the situation that was occurring within the Eastern continent. Alexander Kinsway was watching the shitshow over a corner in the huge dark chambers behind a curtain wall. All the security council members were hidden behind a wall as well, their identities hidden from all to view. No one knew who the security council members were, a rule that had been put within the Global charter millennia ago. The mess in the middle east had spilled over to the Eastern continent. Lexa had no idea what the Militants that were causing ruckus would want with the lands in the Kazhan wastelands. The place was a desolate and barren land. Not to talk about the fact that if they attack the cities within the wasteland, that would mean breaking the peace treaty that had ensured peace for almost two Millennia. Though the Union did not want war, they had no problem sending King class Hunters to deal with the situation. Some of her squads from her Division had been stationed in the East to observe the crisis delicately. Only a matter of time before they might decide to send her-
"We should send the Sword King right away," One of the council members said. "That way the situation can be dealt with quickly,"
"The situation in the east doesn't call for a King class Hunter yet," Another rebutted. "Especially the Sword King."
"What do you mean? They have pushed past the border into the wasteland. It's only a matter of time before they breach the Walls of Kazak city."
"If that should happen, there would be chaos. Many lives wasted when we could have ended it before it even happened,"
"And that's why we sent a squad of Hunters to back up the local team within the border. If we send a King to the area, we might as well be declaring war to the Mid-east alliance,"
"If we send the Sword King, the Mid-east alliance would have no choice but to back down," A louder voice said.
"The Sword King is too much for the delicate situation in the east-"
"Delicate…You speak of a foreign nation stepping on our territory as delicate…"
"Which is why I said the Hunters there should be able to handle it," And then they continued arguing all over again. Lexa sighed and switched off her Holo cell. The projection device that had projected her body into the Security council chamber to watch the meeting was cut off, and Lexa was back in her office in the Hunter Association building.. Though she was not a member of the council, Magic Kings and Battle kings were authorized to attend it, though she had been the only one there. The rest didn't seem to care that much for politics. Lexa didn't care either, but she had been curious to know if the council was going to send her over to the Eastern front. Alastor had been there, and from what he had told her, there wasn't that much action there. Alastor...Lexa thought of her older brother and how she hadn't heard anything from him still. She wasn't panicking because she knew he could take care of himself, but for him to cease communication...it wasn't like him. Which was why she had sent Reyna, Alastor's protege, to link up with him. She was looking at the information that Alastor had sent to her, the last one. Alastor said that he was investigating an Irregularity within the Nation of Haumea, and for some reason, the strange Mana that had broken into the Zangretus Library was involved with the Irregularity. Lexa still didn't get how an Irregularity would exist and she hadn't been aware of it. As far as she was concerned, Irregulars were a rare breed, with only three of them existing within the Global Union, and two in the Eastern empire and one within the underworld. So where did this seventh one come from? As an Irregular, Lexa was able to sense the presence of others like her, and she was quite aware of where her fellow Irregulars were, but she couldn't sense anything in the Western continent...Ugh...it was such a pain to try to comprehend the mess the Star King had left for them...and it wasn't Alexander's style to think on things too much. She got up from her desk and opened the door to her office where her secretary was waiting by the door.
"Captain, I have the documents you asked for," Ana squeaked as she handed a parchment to Lexa. She was shaking as she bowed to Lexa, who took the parchment from her while acknowledging her with a nod. Ana was a new addition to Lexa's staff, so she was still going through the phase of being around her. As she walked through the barracks of her Division's main building, Lexa read the parchment. She smiled as she rolled the parchment up, stopping by the training center where some drills were taking place. The fifth Division of the Hunter Association was the most battle crazy of all the Divisions, especially since the Kinsway family was always in charge of it. The Division not only fell under the command of the Hunter Association, but it also acted as the personal military of Lumerian Island, the seat of power for the Global Union. So it was essential that they were prepared for anything as protecting this Holy land was their sworn duty.. Lexa thought went to Alastor again. She felt like ever since he left she had been swarmed with so much paperworks that she was going insane. Even though he was missing right now, Lexa wasn't worried that he was dead. His Vital status- the relic responsible for showing if one's family member were alive or not- was still active so Lexa's concern for him was not as high as Rey. She trusted her brother's judgment to know how to stay alive.
"What's on your mind, Captain," Lexa turned around to see Reyna Greyron approaching her. So the girl took her advice. Lexa thought.
"You're back," the Sword King said. Rey hadn't been happy when Lexa told her to return back to the base.
"You said you had something in mind," Rey said coldly. Lexa had nothing against the Princess, but even she couldn't stand the constant look of haughtiness that was always on the girl's face. Lexa guessed she couldn't help it. Growing up as a Princess of the Holy empire, and a member of the Great family would fuck up anyone's view of themselves. Still, Rey was different from the other ones. She may look arrogant, but she definitely didn't act like one. She handed the parchment to Rey. She took it and read it quickly.
"Please, don't tell me your plan..."
"It's simple," Lexa said. Rey opened the parchment again and reread the written words within it. It was a formal request for a new Instructor at Namer University for Gifted Awakeners.
"No...No it's not simple," Rey said.
"The boy is going to be at Namer," Lexa said.
"Maybe, Maybe not. You made me mess with him, remember," Rey said. "I doubt the board of examiner would allow him to pass."
"You never know," Lexa said.
"You're still a Battle King," Rey said. "You can't just leave your post here and go off playing instructor.."
"Ramesh can take care of things here," Lexa said. Ramesh was the Captain of the second Squad in her Division and was the third seat after Alastor. The Second squad's job was basically just policing the Holy land. Ramesh could handle it well.
"What makes you think you can be an instructor when you barely do..."
"Yeah...You're right," Lexa said. "Teaching can be just a drag…..uh!…,"
"What are you thinking," Rey asked. She cursed herself for asking when she already knew the answer to her question.
"You're coming also," Alexander grinned. "If I recall, Teachers can bring an assistant with them,"
"Are you out of your mind," Rey said. "I..I need to go back to Haumea to search for Alastor, I can't just leave him behind.."
"Alastor isn't in Haumea anymore," Lexa said. Her expression changed when she spoke of her brother.
"His last known location was in Haumea," Rey said. "What makes you think he's not there,"
"Intuition." Lexa said softly. "If we're going to find Alastor, following Eren Walker is our best bet."
"Is it because the boy is an Irregular," Rey asked. She flashed back to the scene of the boy's instant regeneration. That power he had displayed just felt like a fluke to her, but just the look that was on her Captain's face said the opposite. Eren Walker. How the hell did you gain the interest of someone like the Sword King?
"Something like that," Lexa said. "Anyway, Prepare for the start of the school year. We'll be leaving for Namer Island when the new school year begins,' Rey sighed knowing that there was no changing her Captain's mind. Though she had spent most of her life under her tutelage, Rey still didn't understand her Captain's way of thinking. Alastor was the only one who could handle her...but he was gone, leaving Rey to fill in that position. She squeezed the parchment in her hand, the thought of Eren Walker bought up a feeling of anger. What was so damn special about him? Maybe the next time she sees him, she might try to figure it out for herself.
*
Weeks had passed since the exam, and Eren and Ash hadn't gotten any letter from the Exam association regarding the result of the exam. Eren had been a nervous wreck, waiting desperately for the letter that would decide his future. But after a week of waiting, he had forced himself to focus only on his training, to put his mind out of it. Now he was out in the yard, surrounded by rock targets, courtesy of sister Judith again. He took a deep breath, holding it within his lungs, and then he felt the rush of power as his battle aura flowed within his fist. Erem let go of all the stress, the anxiety, the thought of being a failure, and he unleashed his fist on his targets. He moved through all the rocks easily, smashing them apart like they were nothing. They reacted to his movements, the spell sister Judith had cast on them, animated them so they could respond and counter his attacks. His targets were equipped with weapons, and Eren was moving in and out of their range and also countering them when he couldn't avoid their weapons. One of the rock golems moved in behind him as he was dealing with the biggest one in front of him. Eren knew what he had to do. This was the whole point of this training-He was going over the fight with the Hunter Reyna Greyron, and how useless he had been against her. He summoned his ring blade, the blue chakram vibrated with intense heat, as Eren let go of it. The ring blade spinned and moved under the command of Eren, slashing through the Golem that had appeared behind Eren. Since he started his training, Eren had discovered more things about the power of the Ring blade. First, the elements could increase the cutting power of the blade- this one he already knew from the first time he used it with the Blade spell he had released against the Maleficant. The downside to that was that the spell cost a lot of Mana to use. Two, the blue flames and light that were released from the blade, also had the effect of boosting his physical stats, especially when it came to his speed. It was almost similar to his innate ability of physical enhancement. Third, Eren had discovered that he could summon the blue flames without the ring blade, able to cast low level spells for attacks. The downside is that it cost a lot of Mana to use the spells unlike when he used his Mana for his Battle aura. It seemed that Magic arts were more complicated than Battle arts. Fourth, by reading through his grimoire, Eren had discovered some basic Battle arts techniques that even a Novice rank could use. The problem with Eren was that he had advanced through his cultivation to the Intermediate rank without learning any spells or aura skills, something that should be ridiculous in the first place according to Ash. Now he was learning Novice rank skills that should help improve his strength. Just relying on his innate ability to increase his physical ability was not enough. Eren realized this as he mastered the Mana skin technique. This was an Aura skill that provided both offensive and defensive powers to a Body cultivator. It was the basic requirement for learning the Fortification technique that increased one's physical and spiritual prowess. The Mana skin technique was what Eren was using now. Due to how low his Mana reserves were in his Mana circuit, Eren could only focus the aura around his fist, increasing his striking power by a lot. Fifth, he had discovered that he could control the ring blade to attack without physically touching it. He could use his mind to control the trajectory and direction that the Chakram traveled through. This was good as it gave him more freedom in his battle style. Which was what Eren was using against the Golems he was practicing with. While the ring blade tore through the Golem behind him by cleaving through the rocks with an intense heat, Eren focused on the Golem in front of him.
[Fa Jin style-Dynamic fist] Eren unleashed a wave of blue light around his fist, which swirled around due to his chaotic Mana control before settling down as it flowed out in a thin layer around his fist. Upon impact, the battle aura around his fist exploded in a flash of blue mana. The golem splintered apart from the explosion. His ring blade made a trail of fire, burning through the golems. He summoned the blade back to his hand and then it turned back to a ring.
"What was that technique?" Ash's voice came. He had come out of the back door from the kitchen and was standing by it.
"What do you want," Eren groaned. Though it wasn't Ash's fault, Eren couldn't help but be annoyed to see him. He truly sucked at being a teacher. Being a Genius as he was, Ash had a hard time giving Eren points on how to use his power. Eren had been forced to go to his Grimoire.
"You're not gonna answer my question," Ash said with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a technique I found in my Grimoire," Eren said. "Somehow my Fa Jin style was already inscribed within it." That was the sixth discovery Eren had made. Eren's goal of reorganizing his Battle art to fit with his Battle aura had turned out to be easy upon him discovering that his Grimoire contained techniques relating to his Battle art. He had no idea how the book had knowledge of his Battle art but he was glad to see that not only could the Grimoire help with growing his Magic, it could also help with his Body cultivation. Eren couldn't wait to truly explore everything that he could do with his grimoire.
"Hmm, I've never heard of Mana warriors gaining Grimoires," Ash said. "But since you're a special case, it makes senses that your Grimoire could also act as a Battle art manual,"
"Do you need something," Eren said.
"Mail's here," Ash said. "Mother Ruth said I should get you," Eren felt his stomach twist at the thought of what his future could be. He and Ash exchanged looks before returning back into the building. Mother Ruth was surrounded by Patry, Ina and Carla in the dining room. Around the table were mails and deliveries, and Mother Ruth was going through them.
"Anything worthwhile," Eren said as he took a seat. He began helping Mother Ruth with sorting the mails. There were some bills from the Powerplant company, mortgage bills for the building, and then random credit loan mails. He was tired of feeling anxious about his future and would do-
"Yes, there are two mails from the Exam association," Carla said. She plucked out two packages from the mess, handing one to Ash first who was by Mother's side. And then she turned to pass the other one to Patry to give to Eren. He nervously took it from Patry, his hands fumbling as he tried to open it. The package was thick so...maybe...maybe...he- Eren took a deep breath. Relax. If he didn't get in, there was always a next time- Eren tore open the package, and the first thing he saw was a letter in it. He picked it up and opened it, unable to believe the words he saw.
"Well, what does it say," Ash said. He had already opened his own letter and read his acceptance into Namer University. He hadn't been as nervous as Eren had been, confident that he was set to get in. Eren''s face broke into a large grin, drawing out the dimples in his cheeks and then it was gone, replaced by a somber mood.
"I got in.." He said. Patry and Carla screamed in happiness for Eren, jumping around him. Even Mother Ruth was smiling as she picked up the letter that
Eren had left on the table.
Dear Mr.Walker,
We are pleased to inform you that the committee of admissions has selected you to join the Prestigious School for the Mystical gifted. Please accept our personal congratulations on your outstanding achievements.
As you know, Namer Academy is a school for the Mystical gifted as such thousands of students have applied for the limited space in the freshmen year but not many were able to meet expectations.
In Selecting you, the committee has demonstrated their belief in your skills and strengths as a Mana Warrior. If you accept the admission, please be aware that the start of the school year begins on the eighth month of this year. Included within the package are course catalogs, information about Campus life, and various items one must have in attending Namer Academy.
We look forward to you attending Namer academy and joining us this fall.
Yours Sincerely
William R. Fitz
Dean of admissions.
"Congratulations boys," Mother Ruth said. "It seems the gods have answered my prayers for you both." Eren wasn't sure if the gods had anything to do with it, but he sure was glad that he had gained admittance. Sure, he didn't perform as well as he had hoped-he barely performed anything- but it didn't matter. What mattered was what happened from here on. He was one step closer to becoming a Hunter and his dream becoming a reality. If he was going to succeed and do well in school, Eren had no choice but to become stronger than he was now. He felt like if he had some of the skills he had now, he would have easily breezed through the test. It was only because of that crazy Princess.
"You know what this calls for," Mother Ruth said, standing up. "It's time to go shopping for your school supplies."