Life's a strange thing, don't you think? One day you're minding your business in some shoddy backward alley; sneaking around like a dirty rat for scraps.
And before you know it, you've stumbled into paradise. But even heaven is beset with problems; perhaps this is the price I've paid for trespassing into the realm of the gods.
I should probably stop being vague and get to the point. I'm in a bit of a jiffy, friends. I've been caught.
This girl's intense, man. She's too honest and straightforward; I mean, she kidnapped me for god's sake.
Look, I'm flattered, but I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm sure that if I tried doing what she did to me on a girl, I'd be branded as a deviant for the rest of my days.
I guess that's the privilege you have when you're powerful; you can just steal cute guys like me whenever you want. Heh heh heh.
Truth be told, it's not a bad feeling, you know, being popular with the ladies. I just wish I had gotten the attention of a calmer type of girl instead...
Look at me, spouting out complaints about my blooming love life, but I'm serious; it's hard getting a handle on this princess. I can't read her at all; one moment she's happy and in the next, I've displeased her...
Ah, I'm too talented and handsome for my own good. I should seriously focus on being more low-key from now on...
What? Why're you looking at me like that? I can do it if I put my mind on it, I swear! Just watch.
...
We arrived in front of a luxurious villa that was built beside a beach. It was warm and a comfortable breeze passed by us as I started at the vibrant scenery.
There's no way in hell this was in the North, so where had this princess taken me? This...could be the South, right? Right?!
I might've finally gotten my lucky streak; I suppose this was my silver lining. Nice going, Violett!
"It's beautiful here, isn't it? The Reef's designed to sustain an artificial environment; in that sense, it was created to house its own miniature world."
"So this isn't the South after all... Ah, it's truly beautiful here, Lady Violett. May I ask why we've come here?"
Violett pinched my arm, and I felt my soul leave my body for a moment. I think she was trying to be cute, but I genuinely almost fainted from the pain. She's so strong even a pinch almost took me out of commission. Goddamnit...
"You can just call me Violett, Reed. Just drop the formalities and address me by my name. There's no need to act so distantly, considering we'll be spending a lot of time together from now on." She continued marching up the steps towards the villa as she hummed a pleasant tune.
Oh no, that's no good. That last sentence, in particular, is worrying me to death.
A sense of foreboding began growing inside Reed as he stared at the beautiful villa.
"C-Can you explain what you meant by that, Violett? Spending time together? I don't follow..."
"Well, what else is there to explain? You and I are going to be living here until everyone else completes their training. I'm going to be your personal teacher at the request of Instructor Axtorius. Didn't he tell you beforehand?"
Ahh... That old bastard was the one who set this all up?! Hahaha, of course, he sold me out to this princess.
Raised me like a dog just to sell me off to this girl; I'm a dumbass for believing that I'd escaped his grasp.
The only that's changed is who's holding the leash now. From an old man to a beautiful woman.
I know, I know. I shouldn't be complaining about this kind of development as a man. I do not doubt in my mind that some of you would strangle me if you could.
You guys would quickly change your minds once you realized the truth. You'd be manhandled and overwhelmed all the same.
"No he didn't; this is the first that I've heard of this arrangement. Do I have any say in this by chance? Don't you think it's a bit inappropriate for a commoner like me to cohabitate with you? Especially in regards to the fact that we're both of the...opposite sex." Reed felt his face burn up as he tried to explain his reasoning.
Violett's eyes gleamed as if she had seen something precious. A subtle smile formed across her face as she suddenly pulled Reed into her embrace.
"That's what you're worried about? Silly goose, none of that matters a single bit. Why you ask?"
"Because. I. Said. So."
"I don't care where you've come from, Reed. I'll take care of anyone that'd oppress you here in the North. Just give me the word. I can even give you a noble title if you want."
"Regarding us being a man and a woman...I don't have an issue with it. What's the problem here; you're going live with a princess. Or are you scared of living with a girl? I don't bite, heh."
She whispered, "I know what you were thinking about, you know. If you think you've got the guts to try something, go ahead. You're welcome to prove me wrong..." Her large chest smothered me as she provoked me into doing something dangerous.
Aaaah, holy shit. Too close! Big tits! Stop breathing in my ear like that...
...Men are such sad creatures, don't you think? All it takes is a simple move to take them down.
Warning signals blared in my head; the rational part of my mind overloaded as it struggled with a justifiable reason for her overly intimate behavior. She barely knew me and was already acting this affectionate out the gate.
My instincts screamed that this was a ploy of some sort, but I couldn't understand what she'd gain out of seducing me. I struggled to keep my exploding emotions in check and she knew it.
Violett finally released Reed and said, "There'll be more of that if you can manage to be a good boy for me. Naturally, I'll reward you for your achievements, haha. I'm not like instructor Axtorius; being tough isn't my strong suit. I'd prefer using the carrot over the stick any day."
"In any case, the answer to your first question is going to be a definite no. You'll be staying with from now on and that's final. There's no room for discussion. If you want to leave, you're welcome to do so; just beat me in a fight and I'll let you do as you please."
She grabbed me and I resigned myself to my fate that day. From then on, my days became much more interesting in certain ways...
I'll admit that she was pretty good when it came to teaching, jokes aside. The first day of our lessons, she cleared up a lot of questions we had about Anima and how it was used by contenders and conquerors.
Anima was the fundamental energy that supported all of creation. Blessed individuals such as contenders and conquerors who possessed an Alma, could shape Anima to perform anything they wished.
One could do anything with Anima if they were talented enough and spent enough time honing their skills. Alas, most people were not gifted with exceptional talent when it came to shaping Anima.
The majority of contenders and even conquerors will eventually reach a limit; even with the blessing of immortality and the abundance of time it provided, these people would never develop further.
You needed to be born with a special spark, something unique, to truly comprehend Anima and utilize its infinite potential. The Goddess was the best example of this. She possessed such a deep understanding of Anima that she was the first and only person to have ever naturally shaped of her will. She was the origin of every Alma in existence, after all.
After the Goddess's departure, the art of Anima came into being and was refined over endless years.
Anima was used to attack, defend, support, restrain, evade, and just about everything else. An ultimate multipurpose tool that was only limited by the skill of its wielder.
The first thing Violett taught us was that there was no correct way to use Anima in a fight. We were encouraged to learn, adapt, and create our own fighting style with it. Every single conqueror had his or her own style of using it, whether they specialized in a certain facet of combat or several.
Some conquerors heavily focused on developing Anima combat skills exclusively, aiming to obliterate their enemies before they could react. They'd call forth all manner of chaos, paying no mind to the destruction they caused around them; unholy berserkers that destroyed everything in their way.
Others preferred to develop defensive skills instead and relied on fortifying their bodies; a type of path where they reinforced their physical abilities by using Anima. These people would become terrifying close-quarters specialists; they could kill anything that fell within arm's reach.
A few only liked to fight battles they could control; they used Anima to restrain, confuse, and charm their opponents. Tacticians that manipulated the flow of battle to their advantage; they'd harass their enemies and support their allies. A great majority of these fellows end up becoming generals for the four empires.
Because shaping Anima required a calm and steady mind, it was best that one walked their own path when it came down to it. You needed to feel the flow of Anima, and copying others would only end up distracting you.
Instead of naturally creating your own skills, you'd end up wasting time and effort trying to figure out how others shaped Anima...
The Reef was divided into several sections for various purposes; the residential area was a miniature island that held the Violett's villa and the rest of the student's housing.
It an enormous section of the Reef held a massive staircase that descended down into the unknown depths. The area was created to challenge the students' creativity as the more you walked down the staircase, the greater the pressure would be. Several thousand feet down and the Anima became so concentrated it condensed into visible motes of Anima.
They were informed that those who made it to the bottom by the end of the training period would receive a special reward...
The concentrated energy contained within one of those motes was enough to power an entire city for a day. You would have to either tread extremely carefully or find a way to disperse the endless amount of floating motes that drifted around aimlessly.
Were it not for the safety devices created to teleport one out of the staircase when a mote got too close, death was all but guaranteed for an unlucky follow who stumbled into an Anima mote. They'd be instantly vaporized into oblivion, along with anything unfortunate enough to be around them at the time of the explosion...
And of course, the Reef had numerous training chambers for them to create and practice their own individual Anima skills. The chambers naturally contained sparring systems integrated into them in the form of the familiar android combatants. Who'd ever forget these delightful friends?
What more could I wish for in this situation, am I right? My 'wonderful' days in this sunny paradise had just begun...