The Beginning After The End (Beckoning Fates Book 3) (8 page)

“Hmph!
 
Seems like the Disciplinary Committee is
low enough to recruit twerps now.”
 
Theodore stands up and I swear I thought he was a bear.
 
He stood at about 2 meters high at
least, easily around the same height as Gawrtor, Curtis’ World Lion.
  
His uniform was just a vest that
was unbuttoned, revealing his bulging muscles.
 
By the tear marks on the arm openings of
the vest, I can assume that it wasn’t originally a vest.
 

He stood in front of me and placed
a hand on my shoulder.
 

“VMMMMM”

Suddenly, I felt the weight on top
of me increase several times over as my feet began sinking, the floor around me
beginning to crack.
 
This was a
deviant capable of manipulating gravity.

My body was able to withstand it
thanks to the assimilation I went through with Sylvia’s Dragon Will but I still
definitely felt my body begin to protest.
 
I strengthen my body further with mana as I look at Theodore dead in the
eye.
 

He wanted to test ME?
 

“Hmph.”
 
Feeling the cold, wordless gaze I give
to him, Theodore releases his skill and walks away, muttering “not bad.”

*Whistles*

“Arthur has guts.
 
Feyrith crumbled to his knees when
Theodore did that to him.”
 
Kai
snickers from the side.

“I’m a Conjurer while Arthur is an
Augmenter!
 
Please do not compare me
to brutes like you guys.”
 
He lashes
out, his face red from embarrassment.

“Now now!
 
I’m excited as to what this semester
will bring us!
 
We’re going to be a
team from now on guys!
 
We’ll get
chances to bond and get closer so look forward to it!”
 
Claire pipes up in a cheery voice as she
puts her hand out.

“I’m looking forward to it!”
 
Kai puts his bandaged hands on top of
Claire, his face still a mocking smile.
 

“Aye!
 
Sounds like we’re going to have some
interesting times!”
 
Doradrea gets
on her toes as she puts her beefy hand on top of Kai’s.

“Haha!
 
Yes! Let’s do our best!”
 
Curtis places his hand in as well,
Kathyln wordlessly following suit.
 

I just met everyone and I’m already
tired. “Sigh…I’m sure it’ll be a blast.”
 
I let out while placing my hand on top of Kathyln’s, Sylvie running down
my arm and placing her paw as well.
 

Theodore puts his massive hand on
top of Sylvie and my hand, making the whole circle stumble a step forward.
 
As Theodore gives a silent nod, Claire
gives us a big, confident smile and shouts, “TO US!
 
THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE!”
 

“““““““ AYE!”””””””

______________________________________________

“Before the club rush commences,
the Student Council would like to formally introduce to you students of this
academy, a group that was personally picked by the Director in hopes to resolve
and prevent disputes amongst students as well as enforce penalizing measures
for troublemakers.
 
While the
Student Council’s main job is to help the Director make sure this academy and
the events that are held run smoothly, this group’s job allows them to use
magic appropriately to uphold the peace and safety of students, whether it may
be from other students or from trespassers.
 
Please join me in welcoming the
Disciplinary Committee!”
 
Tessia’s
voice rings at her last words.

f

The auditorium fills with applause
as the red curtains that we stood behind are raised.
 
We stood there, shoulders square and our
hands glued to our sides.
 
I had to
admit that with people like Curtis with Grawder behind him, Theodore, Claire
and even Feyrith, we looked pretty damn impressive in our color-coordinated
uniforms.

I took a peek at Tessia and I
realized she was staring at me but as soon as our eyes met, she quickly turned
her head away.
 
As we stood in front
of the students of Xyrus on the stage side by side, we pulled out our knives
and held it out in front of us so the insignia showed.
 
Unsheathing our knife, we proceeded to
do a small, choreographed routine before we saluted.

Claire spoke out on behalf of the
Disciplinary Committee with a small speech before we all headed out towards the
back of the stage, leaving the crowd with mixed emotions.
 

For some students, the Disciplinary
Committee meant to serve as a shackle that prohibited their spoiled
behavior.
 
For others, the
Disciplinary Committee served as an aegis for them, protecting the students
from needless harm.

“Hey isn’t that one of the DC
officers?
 
I think his name was
Arthur, right?”
 

“Isn’t he only a first year?
 
How was he able to get into the
Disciplinary Committee?
 
Does he
have connections or something?”

“Stupid.
 
Even if he had connections, I hear
everyone from the Disciplinary Committee needs to be really strong.”

“He’s kinda cute, no?”
 
“Yeah, he’s totally my type.”

“That white fox on top of his head
is so adorable!”

I sat towards the back in the class
with Elijah next to me.
 
The
constant murmurs and whispers that echoed in the classroom made my head
hurt.
 
The professor for our first
class, Fundamentals of Magic Theory, had yet to arrive, allowing the
discussions of this morning’s ceremony to ceaselessly go on.

“Look at how popular you are Mr. DC
Officer.”
 
Elijah nudges me with his
elbow while giving me a sarcastic smirk.
 

Before I had the chance to respond,
the person who I assume is the
professor,
walks in
with confident strides.

Using the folder he was holding
unto as a gavel, he thumps it on the front podium before starts speaking.
 
“Now now… I realize that there are many
wonderful things to talk about, but you guys aren’t very good at
gossiping.
 
If the person of topic
is in the same room and can hear what you guys are saying, then it really isn’t
gossip now, is it?”
 
He looks in my
direction and gives me a wink, making me shake my head in defeat.

Our professor seemed pretty young,
at most in his mid thirties.
 
He had
well parted brown hair that he kept neat and styled.
 
His face was freshly shaven to reveal
his narrow jaw.
 
He was on the
thinner side, but in no ways out of shape.
 
He had very good proportions, considering he was a Conjurer, which I
could tell by the wand strapped to his side.

Some of the students gossiping
shrank down in embarrassment but most of the students just laughed.
 

“My name is Professor Avius and I
must say that it’s great to meet you all.
 
While this is technically a basic class and some may think that it is
unnecessary, I, on the other hand, believe this class is the foundations for
what will make you a great mage.
 
We
won’t be doing much casting in this class but there will be fun assignments and
projects that I will assign along the way, so look forward to it!”

With that last note, the class
erupted in a synchronized groan at the thought of doing projects.
 
I couldn’t imagine what sort of projects
he was going to assign 12-14 year olds but it should be rather easy.

“On that note, I think today is a
rather fine day to have a lecture for!
 
You are not going to get any younger so absorb as much knowledge as you
can while your brains are still fresh! Take out your notebooks and writing
utensils!”
 
His thin face wrinkles
as he smiles.

Elijah adjusts his glasses and
promptly takes out a fresh new notebook and pen while eagerly writing the title
of the class and today’s date.

I just lean forward and rest my
chin on my hand as I begin to listen.

“Today’s topic will focus on the
segregation between Conjurers and Augmenters!”
 
He writes messily on the chalkboard.

“There is a deeply embedded
discrimination against Augmenters by Conjurers on the premise that Augmenters
are ‘brutes’ or ‘savages’ that can only fight by getting themselves
dirty.”
 
He uses his fingers to air
quote.

“This is a rather uneducated stigma
that everyone should get rid of right here and right now.”
 
He leans forward, his face turning
serious.

This causes a few murmurs of
disagreement and some of acknowledgement.

“Coming from the point of view of a
Conjurer, it is silly to say that we are above Augmenters because our bodies
are more suitable for influencing mana remotely because this is an advantage we
have only while we are in lower levels.”
  
He scribbles some key points on
the chalkboard.

 
“When a mage’s mana core, Conjurers and
Augmenters alike, reach the silver stage, the ability to manipulate mana
becomes much more unrestricted.
 
There becomes less of a distinction between the usage of mana veins and
mana channels because the purity of mana that is produced from our mana core
enables us to freely manipulate mana remotely and directly.”
 
He underlines remotely and directly
while circling the point “less of a distinction”

I hear Elijah ‘ooh’ in
understanding and furiously scribble the statement into his notebook.

Hmm… This professor at least knew
what he was talking about.
 
While
training, I’ve become more and more aware that the higher the stage you reached
into your mana core cultivation, the less of a true distinction there
would.
 

“So tell me class, if, in the end,
two mages, one Conjurer and one Augmenter, both reach the silver core stage,
who would have the advantage?
 
I for
one say that it’s is either evenly matched or that even the Augmenter would
have an advantage.”
 
This statement
creates even a louder protest from the students.

“Before you shoot me down, think
about this.
 
Until the Silver stage,
assuming that we have both the talent and necessary luck to get there, both
Conjurers and Augmenters train in developing their magic.
 
However, Augmenters, since the time they
awaken, which is usually during the prepubescent age, also train in
hand-to-hand combat, refining their bodies along with their skills.
 
As the Augmenter becomes stronger and
reaches the latter stages of his core, he will continue to develop his
long-range skills, although it may be inferior to Conjurers at this point.
  
However, once the Augmenter
reaches closer and closer to the pinnacle of his core development, casting
long-range spells will become more and more natural while the Augmenter will
still naturally keep his combat skills.
 
So tell me… are Conjurers REALLY the more noble, more dominant types of
mage?”
 

“Some old fashioned mages continue
to believe that conjurers remain the prevailing mana manipulator but Director
Cynthia, along with many other influential figures in this Continent are trying
to establish ways to inhibit this belief.
 
I implore you youngsters to keep this fact in mind.
 
Augmenters, don’t get hot headed because
of this topic since, at this stage, you are still clearly at a disadvantage
against Conjurers.
 
Conjurers, don’t
just mope at this news and develop your combat skills.
 
While it may be harder for you to defend
yourselves without the natural competency in forging mana around your body
internally, that doesn’t mean there is no way to use spells to strengthen your
body.
 
So learn how to fight
hand-to-hand.”
 
He closes his notes
and stops talking, leaving a moment of silence for us to digest what we just
heard.
 

“Any questions?”
 
He says softly, giving us a sincere
smile.

Elijah’s hand immediately shoots up
and the Professor points at him to ask away.

“Professor, if what you’re saying
is true, what is really the end result between the two category of mages when
they reach the Silver stage or even higher?”
 
He asks seriously, not a hint of the
girl-thirsty friend in sight.

“Good question…Elijah Knight.”
 
He looks down at his notes before he
responds.
 
“The end result is two
mages with different preferences in styles of fighting.
 
The Conjurer at this stage will be able
to imbue their body with mana just like an Augmenter can at lower stages, but
his or her fighting style will lean more towards long-range combat, consisting
of many layers of spells to trick and weave around an Augmenter who may be more
adept if they get close.”
 
He writes
down some of the major points.

“As for the Augmenter, while long
range spells will become more natural for him or her just like the Conjurers at
this stage, they usually lean more towards fighting up closer and using
projectile spells more straight-forwardly.
 
Augmenters, after all, are not as accustomed to remotely fighting like
the Conjurers who, in order to distance themselves from close-range threats,
prepare many layers of spells through multi-casting and chain-casting.”
  
He circles the key words for us to
remember.

Elijah just nods in understanding
as he again writes down, almost word for word, what the professor just
explained.

The class ended with a few more
minor questions from various classmates.
 
As the giant bell tower rang, the professor wrapped up the discussion
and we prepared for our next class.

“I’ll see you at lunch then?”
 
Elijah asks while he was packing up his
bag.

“Sure.
 
The person who gets there first saves
the other a spot in line.”
 
I pat my
friend on the back before leaving through the door.

As I walked through the densely
packed hall, I sensed some gazes here and there after they recognized my
appearance and uniform.
 
On the way
to my next class, which was Practical Mana Manipulation, I realized that there
were quite a bit of students who had bonds.
 
Most weren’t so impressive, like the
horned rat I saw on a student’s shoulder, but there were some rather large
beasts that students were proudly showing off.
 
This boy who looked to be around 15 was
riding on top of a giant lizard and had his chin proudly out.
 
I didn’t even know what that lizard’s name
was but from the amount of mana it had inside its beast core, it couldn’t be
more than a C class mana beast.

When I arrived to my next class, I
noticed that the layout of this room was very different.
 
It was shaped like a miniature arena,
with a battling platform in the middle, encased in a barrier field, and rows of
seats circling around it.
 

I made my way to a random spot and
sat down. ‘I’m hungry,’ Sylvie grumbles as she starts thumping her head on top
of mine.
 
‘Yeah, me too; lunch is
still a bit away though, do you want to go and catch something?’
 
Sylvie nods and scurries off at a speed
that startled me.
 
She was
surprisingly fast when it comes to food.

More and more students started
filling the room after a few minutes.
 
While most were first years, there were some second years that decided
to take this class later.

“May I sit here?”
 
I turn my head to find Kathyln in her
Disciplinary Committee uniform standing besides me.

“Sure, go ahead.”
 
I move my bag that I had on the seat
next to me so she could sit.
 
Her
expression doesn’t change but she does give me a slight bow before removing her
notes, carefully straightening out her skirt in a lady-like manner before
taking a seat.

“Well look who we have here!
 
If it isn’t Princess Kathyln and my
rival, Arthur Leywin.”
 
From the
front of the door, Feyrith spots me as he confidently walks towards where
Kathyln and I were sitting.

Since when did he become my rival…
and a rival in what exactly?

“Aren’t you loud this
morning.”
 
I lean my head on my
hands as I look at him.

“Well it is a fine morning
today.
 
Didn’t the commencement
ceremony today make you excited?”
 
He harrumphs as he takes a seat next to on the other side.

Why is he sitting next to me? I
thought he wasn’t very fond of me.
 

“While it is a bit late into the
morning, it is still technically the morning so…Good Morning!”
 
A rather upbeat, bulky man that wore a
light armor clapped to get everyone’s attention.
 
He looked more like a low class
Adventurer instead of a Professor but when I inspected his mana core level, I
was surprised to see that he was light yellow stage.