Noelle walked leisurely through the busy streets of the school. The whole place was brimming with activities. Her silver hair swayed in the wind as she walked, garnering attention from the boys who seemed like hungry wolves.
She was dressed in the school uniform, which she gotten at the tailor's shop a few days back for a gold note.
It was a different version entirely when compared with the one Lukas and Ayleen wore. Her uniform still followed the outline but the colors were different.
Her inner shirt which hugged her chest perfectly was white in color. Her jacket was a deep navy blue and her skirt, which was a bit short, was the same color as her jacket. Her spectacular long legs were also covered with knee high socks.
The uniform which brought out her stunning figure and her extremely pretty face served as an incentive to various boys.
Her mind was currently occupied with two things so she could care less about the boys who she felt worried too much about outward appearances.
The first thing on her mind was the class she just attended. She could still feel the exhilaration she had when she first swung a broadsword. According to her teacher, the Berserker class was one of the few awakened classes that were blessed with abnormal physical strength, and that their strength would increase as they rank up.
They were going to be taught the basics on swordsmanship before anything else. She looked forward to her next class as she couldn't get enough of the feeling of strength she felt earlier.
The second thing on her mind was a bit trivial, as it was accommodation issues. She had found an apartment she liked and wanted to stay there but she didn't want to stay alone. She would feel really lonely if she stayed alone as she wanted someone to talk to.
She subconsciously thought of Emily as soon as her thoughts went towards that direction. It had barely been a week since they last saw each other but she missed her already.
She remembered her promise to come back to school and wondered if she would really do so. She missed Emily's chattering and felt that she would be a great roommate for her.
"-oelle! Noelle! Noelle!"
Noelle heard someone shouting her name. Now that she thought about it the voice seemed really familiar. She turned and when she saw who was calling her name the expression on her face changed into one of joy.
"Emily!"
The familiar redhead broke out into a huge smile as she crashed into Noelle's outstretched arms. Her huge breasts dug into Noelle's perky ones as she hugged her wholeheartedly. After a few seconds they broke apart.
"Did you miss me?" Emily asked in a playful tone as she separated from her.
"Yes I did." Noelle replied truthfully as they resumed walking.
"How did you do it? For a moment I thought you weren't going to come back anymore!"
Emily winked before giving a reply. "Hehe! It's a secret."
"Oh come on!" Noelle whined.
"Not telling."
Noelle pouted, looking really adorable, as they walked.
"Alright. Do you really want to know?" Emily asked as she donned a mischievous expression.
Noelle didn't reply but it was obvious from her expression that she was dying to know. Emily noted that as well and decided to give her a break.
"It was because of my father that they decided to accept me."
"Your father?" Noelle asked, surprised. She didn't know that the cheerful girl would have such an imposing background that could move the steel hearts of the high school.
"Yes my father." Emily replied. She noted the expression of confusion on Noelle's face and smiled. It seemed she had forgotten her last name.
"My father is the Patriarch of the Auger family."
Noelle gasped in shock. The Auger family! One of the 3 ducal families in the empire! And her father was the Patriarch! No wonder she was able to be admitted.
Emily sighed when she saw Noelle's expression.
"I wasn't supposed to take the entrance test as I was already a seeded student of the school. I took the test because I wanted to prove that I was capable of entering the school with my own abilities, but I failed. Basically I'm just entering the normal way I should have."
Noelle nodded her head in understanding. Basically she was supposed to enter through the backdoor.
"But why were you crying like you had no way of entering the school after the tests?"
Emily had a wronged expression on her face after hearing her question.
"Isn't it normal to cry after failing a test?"
"But I feel it's wrong. Think about the people who actually 'failed' the test. Don't you feel bad for them?"
Emily had a rich expression on her face after listening to Noelle. It wasn't her fault that they failed the test now, was it? Besides, what else was she supposed to do after failing the tests? Laugh?
"Hmph!" Emily harrumphed before strutting away angrily. Noelle shook her head and laughed, before going after Emily. Soon, the duo was out of sight.
***
"Fuck!" Lukas cursed for the umpteenth time. The fragile magic circle he had formed had dissolved when he failed to connect the 3rd symbol. He had failed yet again.
When Lukas came back from classes he had thought that the assignment was fairly easy after seeing Mr. Luis cast his magic and felt that he would be able to do the same after a few tries. It was only after trying and failing repeatedly did he realize how naive he was.
It was freaking hard. He really wondered if it was possible to complete the magic circle in a week.
He had lost track of how long he had been trying to cast his magic but his best result was connecting 2 symbols. Any other person might have given up but Lukas didn't. This was just the start. The journey to absolute strength had never been easy. The first step of checking his mana pool and mana circuit was fairly easy for him, but after that the difficulty rose exponentially.
Lukas breathed in slowly and calmed down.
"Let's try again."
He decided to take a different approach. This time instead of drawing the magic circle and supplying mana to it immediately he was done he was going to draw the magic circle and delay supplying mana to it.
Lukas cleared his mind and tried the method he just thought of. Soon his mind was empty of any thoughts. There. Everything was now like a blank canvas in his mind.
He started drawing the magic circle on the canvas. 1 symbol, 4 symbols, 7 symbols, 14 symbols. Soon the magic circle was complete. It was time to supply mana. He didn't supply it with mana immediately but waited for a bit before he started.
The first symbol lit up, followed by the second, and by the third. Lukas held his breath as he watched the magic circle in his mind.
This was the most crucial part of the processes involved. He had never gone past the 3rd symbol as the magic had always dissolved. He watched with bated breath as the 4th symbol lit up.
Success!
The 4th symbol had finally lit up! Before he could begin to celebrate the magic circle started dissolving. Like a lie, the magic circle disappeared.
Lukas didn't mind. The fact the 4th symbol lit up meant that he was on the right track. He stood up from his bed and checked the calendar on the wall. There were only 4 days before the week ended. That meant he only had four days left to complete the assignment. Lukas frowned. The time seemed really short.
"Well no use thinking about it now. No pain, No gain." Lukas said before sitting down. He was going to try again, despite being worn out. Since he felt had already followed the right step, he would continue on it.
Lukas cleared his mind and started meditating. He tried the same method again but this time he couldn't get past the 4th symbol. He didn't give up though, and kept on trying new ways to complete the circle.
After the last failure, he stood up and decided to take a break. He was already dripping with sweat and his stomach was growling. He ordered some food before taking his bath to freshen up.
He looked at the time and found out that it was already noon and his dorm mates had all left the dorm. He decided not to go for the general classes and focus on his assignments. After checking his phone and seeing that there were no unread messages he sat down and started meditating.
Since he had failed to light up the 5th symbol after so many tries he wondered if his approach had been wrong all along and whether his previous success had been lucky tries.
He drew the magic circle again but this time he didn't delay or supply it with mana immediately. He just stared at it. As he stared at it a flash of inspiration hit him.
He had noticed that the symbols on the circle felt conscious to him. He had been trying the gentle way since and there was no progress. Perhaps if he tried to light them up forcefully they would agree.
He immediately put his thoughts to actions. The first 4 symbols were already tamed so it was easy for him to light them up. The 5th symbol had refused to light up when he tried injecting mana in them. In that case, he would do the opposite!
He instantly injected mana from his mana pool into the 5th symbol forcefully. The 5th symbol lit up after he did so.
Haha! It's working!
Lukas was extremely pleased with himself. He had finally figured out the trick behind the symbols. Treat them how they wanted to be treated. That was the trick behind it.
The 5th symbol was like a maiden who rejected the gentlemen proposing to her but immediately accepted the rascal who abducted her forcefully.
Lukas smiled before trying again. It seemed like he could complete the magic circle before the week ended.
He went after the 6th symbol without delay and started coaxing her gently to see if she was like her elder sisters. After a bit of teasing, the 6th symbol couldn't bear it anymore and accepted the mana. The 6th symbol lit up.
Lukas giggled. It wasn't all that hard all of a sudden. It was the feeling one had after trying to defeat the main boss in a video game and losing countless times. Then by accident you figure out a cheat combination and the boss dies after 2 hits!
Lukas soon lost track of how long he had maintained his current posture. He often heard voices, probably his dorm mates, but they were very faint. He paid little attention to his surroundings and just sat on his bed, focusing on completing the magic circle.
He was finally rewarded for his relentless hard work when the 14th symbol lit up. Lukas opened his eyes. He was thoroughly exhausted, but despite his exhaustion his eyes were brimming with pride.
He had finally completed the magic circle. He tried supplying the symbols with mana and this time there was no hiccups. The circle did not dissolve. He clenched his fists in joy.
He stood up, or tried to, before falling down on the bed. The room was empty again. He checked the time on the clock. 1:22 pm. He checked the calendar and saw that he had been meditating for 2 whole days. There was only one day before the time for the assignment was up.
It suddenly occurred to him that he had not checked for the element he had an affinity with. Mr. Luis had said that when the magic circle was completed it would show them the element they had an affinity with. He tried to remember if his circle showed any element but his memory was already fuzzy.
Lukas pushed all thoughts about it from his head. He had already done the hardest part.
Right now, all he needed was rest. Lukas lay on the bed and in a matter of seconds, he had fallen asleep.
In what seemed to be an extremely expensive apartment, a young girl sat on the bed. Her room was filled with luxurious decorations, her wardrobe was packed with costly clothes, designers shoes sat on the shoe racks, and her bed was queen sized.Ayleen snarled in anger when the 3rd symbol didn't light up and the magic circle dissolved. Her attractive face twisted into a grimace. She had lost track of how many times she had failed.Today was the last day for the assignment, and she was still stuck at the 3rd symbol. The assignment was simply too hard. It was so hard that it was nearly impossible to complete.She looked at the clock in her bedroom. 9:47 am. There was still some time before Mr. Luis class commenced. Bella had left some hours ago to practice her spear wielding. She had awakened as a lancer. She seemed happy with her class, as she had not stopped practicing the spear since she got one.Ayleen shook her head before getting up from the bed. She undressed herself and walked in
"You've completed the assignment I gave you? In one week?" Mr. Luis asked again, his voice laced with disbelief.Lukas looked at his teacher with a doubtful expression on his face. Wasn't the assignment supposed to be completed in a week? Why did he still doubt him?Lukas looked at his fellow classmates and saw them looking at him with wide eyes. He felt uncomfortable from their gazes, as they were all looking at him like he was an alien.Ayleen in particular was staring at him with a more intense gaze than anyone present. Despite her stoic face, her mind was reeling with bewilderment. She couldn't believe her ears.How did he complete the magic circle?! It was nigh impossible for her to do so. The difficulty of the task was off the charts! So how did he?! Was he really human?!Mr. Luis was the first to recover from the shock. He adjusted his monocle, a deep-rooted habit of his."Well, since you said you have completed the task, you don't mind casting a basic magic circle now right?"
Lukas looked at Mr. Luis for a few seconds, his mind failing to register the words he just heard.A deviant element? I awakened a deviant element? And the element is mercury?Lukas looked at the fading magic circle in disbelief. After a few seconds, the disbelief turned into irritation.What is this? This wasn't what I wanted to awaken! I wanted the violent fire! Or the cool wind! The solid earth was a good choice too, and water didn't seem too bad either.But why this? I don't know a thing about this element! It's not even common among the known deviant elements!Mr. Luis noticed Lukas look of irritation and laughed quietly. That was the normal expression one had when faced with something they knew little about. Once he climbed the ranks he would know how important his element was.Mr. Luis coughed and everyone directed their attention to him. They had gone through a series of shocking episodes in the last 2 hours. This was probably the most shocked they had ever been in their lives.
Lukas didn't know how long he slept for but it was noon when he woke up. This time around the room wasn't empty. There were two boys present in the room.He looked at them closely and saw that they were the ones who refused to return his greetings. This time he didn't bother greeting them; he just stood and went towards the bathroom.After taking a shower he was now feeling refreshed. Since there was nothing for him to do as today was a Saturday he decided to meditate. He wanted to increase his speed at drawing a magic circle.He was about to enter a meditative state when his phone rang. He wore a puzzled look on his face. He rarely received calls, as he didn't have many friends to begin with. The few he had he always texted them on social media.He picked up his phone and was further confused. It was an unknown number, which meant he hadn't gotten a call from this person before. He swiped his screen before placing the phone to his ear."Hello?" the person calling him was the first to
-Sires City, Storm Empire-The moon shone brightly on the city of Sires, a trade hub city of the powerful Storm Empire. Different people walked on the streets, and the traders hawked their goods.The red light district was fairly active, with attractive ladies hustling for men or women to warm their beds.In what seemed to be a local restaurant, a group of people sat around a table. There were different types of food on the table and empty beer bottles littered the ground.The people seated around the table all had flushed cheeks and their head were spinning. They were very drunk. Their voices were loud and slurred, making them incomprehensible."-so I told him to f*ck off! And you know what he did?! He f*cking pushed me!" A male voice echoed, seemingly talking to a young woman in front of him.The young woman in question looked like a typical salary worker, with short black hair, round glasses and the white shirt-black skirt get up.She looked to be in her late twenties and was fairl
Lukas walked side by side with Ayleen, drawing attention because of her beauty. She didn't pay them any mind and walked confidently to the bus stop.When they got there, Lukas expected her to board the bus, but she didn't do that. She brought out her phone from her purse instead.Lukas noticed that the phone looked really expensive and wondered how much she would have spent to get it.Ayleen made a phone call, and in a few seconds she disconnected the call. Just a minute after the phone call, a pricey looking car with tinted windows came to a stop in front of them.A muscular bald man in suit came out of the car in a hurry and rushed to open the backseat of the car. Ayleen went in elegantly and sat down.When she saw Lukas still looking conflicted, she waved her hands and Lukas got in the car. The bald man closed the car and went to the driver's seat before driving away.Lukas sank into the soft leather seats of the car and nearly let out a groan. The seats were extremely comfortable.
The next morning Ayleen woke up late. She had slept in probably because she didn't sleep early the previous night.When she stood up, she remembered everything that happened yesterday and blushed profusely.She really didn't know what came over her, but it was her who initiated it. She sighed. Now that she thought about it she didn't have any strong feelings towards him.Yes, he was very attractive but she felt that it was due to her joy of making a breakthrough that she locked lips with him. Hopefully he didn't think that there was something between them because of that.She shook her head and stopped thinking about yesterday. It was time for her to meditate. She had gotten a clear grasp on the direction to follow, thanks to Lukas. She didn't want to waste any more of her time.Mr. Luis had made it clear that they weren't to take a step into his class until they had completed his assignment. So she couldn't attend his classes yet. She made it a priority to complete his task before an
Lukas looked at Mr. Luis with a befuddled expression on his face. He didn't understand a thing Mr. Luis said."Innate talent?" Lukas asked in a bemused tone."Yes. You have an innate talent." Mr. Luis replied confidently.Lukas scrunched his eyebrows, refusing to believe his teacher. Mr. Luis looked at the boy and like as if a truck hit him; all the pieces of the puzzle named Lukas Kerr became evidently clear.The reason why he took a week to complete the assignment that should have taken months, and the reason he was able to keep going despite the fact that he had been using mana continuously for the past 3 hours.It was all due to his innate talent. He was shocked when he saw the size of his mana pool. It was the size of a bona-fide Grand Mage. It meant that Lukas had the amount of mana seen in a Grand Mage's mana pool.The amount of mana he had was simply ridiculous.Normally, a basic mage would have different sizes of mana pools, those with larger mana pools would be able to cast
Ciel was still shocked at the identity of the masked hunter. Although she had some suspicions, there were merely suspicions. What were the odds of the masked hunter that was her teammate being Lukas himself?From what she could tell, she could see that Lukas was very experienced as a hunter, even more experienced than her. She easily deduced that Lukas had thoughts along the same line as her after the traumatic experience at the Zivel forests, and decided to increase his strength by becoming a hunter.However, she did not account for the speed at which he grew. By some coincidence, they even managed to join the same guild, and were assigned to the same team, which was the only reason she was able to deduce his identity. With tumultous emotions raging wildly in her heart, she joined the village guards and started to help evacuate the helpless villagers while fighting against the saber toothed tigers, taking a passive stance in the heated battle.Lukas who had no idea that his identity
A surprised expression immediately appeared on Chief Keef's face, and the powerful aura that he had kept hidden suddenly skyrocketed. Without even sparing the three guests in his small hut a glance, he exited the hut in a haste. Amanda glanced at Lukas and Ciel briefly before exiting the small hut, leaving both Lukas and Ciel no other choice than to do so. When Lukas and Ciel appeared outside the small hut, the scene before them was one that they did not expect at all. Several huge monsters could be seen charging at the weak villagers. These monsters were incredibly huge, easily towering the villagers at more than 3 meters tall. They bore an uncanny resemblance to the tigers on earth, with few differences. The teeth of these monsters were incredibly sharp, cutting through the weak defenses of the villagers like tofu, and the four front canines were shaped like sabers, hence their name saber toothed tigers. At a single glance they could see more than fifty saber toothed tigers; an
“What do you think you’re doing in my village?”Amanda swung her wand when she heard the voice, pausing the terrified villager’s fall. The villager had his heart in his mouth at that moment, as his face inches away from the ground. If the voice hadn’t interrupted Amanda from her actions, he had no doubt that he would have been face planted on the hard ground and turned into mashed paste.Lukas and Ciel were both shocked and curious that someone was capable of making Amanda cease her actions. They had no doubt in their minds that the villager was a goner when he mocked Amanda’s outfit. They were instead worried about how they would explain the injury of the villager to the Hunter Association when they submitted their quest report for clearing.Amanda slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice. There was shock in her eyes as she gazed at the chief. She was a silver ranked hunter and a Great Mage, which spoke volumes for her physical strength, but she was unable to sense the chi
The journey to Gien village was a smooth one, albeit a long one. It took seven hours for them to get to their destination, one hour longer than the usual time needed. Throughout the duration of the journey, both Lukas and Ciel maintained complete silence. Lukas instead spent the whole time looking outside the window of the van. He found himself missing Eipi all of a sudden. At least, the journey would not have been this boring.When they arrived at Gien village, the van dropped the three of them off before driving off speedily.Lukas and Ciel looked around the village as soon as they alighted from the van. As the name suggested, Gien village was truly a village. At a single glance both Lukas and Ciel could tell that it was very underdeveloped.The van had dropped them at Gien village, but they still had to walk a short distance before they got to the gate to the village.As the trio walked towards the gate, they ran their eyes around their surroundings. Lukas in particular was very al
The night passed quickly with Lukas following his daily routines which were his usual meditation and exercises.The next morning Lukas woke up early as usual. Amanda had informed them to arrive on time to the Guild building so that they could leave early and get to Gien village on time.Lukas dressed up in his usual hunting outfit, which were his stylish combat clothes, his jacket and most importantly his mask, before exiting the dorm.The dorm was still empty as usual, as the backlash from the attack had yet to die down. Lukas however wasn’t bothered about that. He would use this period to increase his personal strength. That had always been his goal.He took the cab as usual and got to the Guild building early. The meeting room was empty meaning that he was the first to arrive.Only a few minutes passed before the door to the room opened and a beautiful lady with blue hair stepped inside the room.It was of course Ciel. She was also dressed in her combat suit, which was blue in colo
“Denied.” Amanda said authoritatively, twirling her wand as she spoke.Ciel let out a light groan when she heard Amanda’s response. This was the fourth quest she had suggested to Amanda but she had denied it just like the other three she submitted to Amanda.Lukas stood up and handed over a document to Amanda. He didn’t read it this time because Amanda told them not to read out loud anymore. Their voices were sickening and would give her endless nightmares according to her.“Denied.” Amanda said again, still twirling her wand as she spoke.Lukas didn’t groan like Ciel. Instead he just turned and went back to searching for a new quest. After having his quests rejected eight times, twice that of Ciel, he gave up on complaining about the rejection. The time he used to complain was better spent on searching for new quests. He had learned from numerous rejections that his complaints meant nothing to Amanda.And just like that, two hours of their time were spent searching for new quests. Af
The reason for their shock was obvious and understandable. At their level as Basic Mages the feat that their team leader performed was completely shocking to them. Casting a magic spell without the use of a magic circle was something they couldn’t comprehend.They had been taught that it was impossible to cast a magic spell without a medium which was why magic circles were required for casting spells so seeing Amanda cast a magic spell without a magic circle was utterly shocking to them.Amanda paid them no heed. She could clearly see their confused gazes and shock at her method of casting magic but made no plans to explain it to them. Not only was it stressful to do so there was absolutely no need for her to do so. She saw no reason to explain the mystery to them.“These documents contain several quests issued by the Hunter Association. Completing the quests will give us contribution points which in turn can be used to level you both to the silver rank.”Lukas and Ciel leaned forward
A beautiful lady with light blue hair and very curvy body walked in. She was dressed in a fitting hunter’s outfit and at a single glance Lukas could tell that her outfit was enchanted.Her blue eyes that were just as beautiful as her hair scanned the room and came to rest on Lukas. However, her incredibly beautiful face scrunched up into a light frown of confusion when she saw Lukas.For one, Lukas face was as usual covered up with a mask, so she was unable to see his face. His silver hair was now long enough to be packed in a small ponytail, which was what he did.She looked at him for a few seconds before removing her gaze. Hunters were eccentric people anyways. It wasn’t abnormal to see someone wearing a mask.Meanwhile, Lukas was extremely glad that he had decided to wear a mask. The lady wasn’t able to recognize him because of the mask, but he was able to recognize her the instant she walked in.She was none other his senior at Aegis Imperial High School who followed them to the
The new rule passed by the Chairman of the Hunter Alliance created a buzz among the Hunters. As expected, the hunters and Guilds were not welcoming of such rule. They had reported to the Hunter Alliance in hopes of them providing a reasonable solution, but instead all they got was a ban telling bronze ranked hunters not to participate in dungeon runs. Of course they were several bronze ranked hunters or Guilds who disregarded this rule and went ahead on dungeon runs. However their ending was far from ideal. The bronze ranked hunters all had their hunter’s license revoked permanently while the Guilds involved were given a 12 month ban on participating in dungeon runs. A 12 month ban was similar to crippling the Guild’s flow of profit because they couldn’t rely on expeditions alone, needless to say that dungeon runs were twice as profitable as expedition. When several hunters heard the harsh punishment passed on the hunters and Guilds that violated the rule, several bronze ranked hunt