Above the Lost Woods, hidden from sight due to the invisibility enchantment of his fox mask, Seventeen floated in the sky as he watched the three youths make their way towards Cardinal Town.
'He is exactly like you, Prime.', he thought.
(I guess every parallel version of me has that side to them. That feeling of absolute thrill in battle, where you would momentarily forget the pain you are suffering and just enjoy the fight.)
'That sounds interesting but I don't have pain receptors.', Seventeen looked down and noticed something.
"What are those two doing there?", he asked himself as he saw two young men sitting on a tree at the edge of the Lost Woods. They were looking at the trio who just entered Cardinal Town.
(Aren't they second years?)
'Yep. And one of them is from Special class A.', Seventeen replied as he took off his mask and floated down to them.
"What are you up to Jason?", he asked one of them as he landed.
Jason Kain smiled as he jumped off the tree and landed on the ground. He's nineteen years old and very handsome with a tall athletic frame. He had a fair complexion with long spiky black hair and scarlet eyes.
"Hello, instructor Seventeen. Fancy meeting you here.", he greeted with a smile.
The second-year students of Special class A didn't have their own instructor. Their classes and combat sessions were taken by Marcus Lesley and his co-worker until Seventeen and Ruth came to the academy as instructors.
Jason and four others were the first batches of students in Special class A which was revived by headmaster Zephyrus after three years of disuse.
The young man next to Jason was Aaron Cadis of Class S. Aaron was a tall and athletic young man with an olive complexion. He had the signature cyan-colored hair of the Cadis Family and dark blue eyes.
The Cadis Family is very well known in Arken due to its huge presence in the growing fashion industry. Most boutiques in the great cities belong to them and their high-quality goods are really popular and some are even affordable.
They are also known for their powerful air magia. But Aaron was gifted with three attributes, air, water, and space. He is a genius and had fully mastered the first two and is working on mastering the space attribute.
Seventeen figured that Aaron's strength would be on par with a vice-captain as he is right now, essentially making him the strongest student in the academy despite being a second year.
Aaron is a calm young man with a pleasant personality. One could have a nice conversation with him over tea or lunch. Despite being top in his class, he is a pretty laid-back person and would usually be found relaxing under a tree in the great gardens of the academy.
Jason on the other hand is the opposite of Aaron. He is a loud and energetic young man with a bright personality.
Due to him skipping classes and causing a lot of trouble in high school and even managing to instigate chaos in the entrance exams of Cardinal Academy, he was put in Special class A.
Jason loves a good fight so he challenges Seventeen to a duel once every day only to get utterly beaten.
Despite this, Jason is pretty powerful with his darkness attribute and is said to be second only to Aaron. Though this fact is not accepted by most students in the academy because of the reputation of Special class A.
Both he and Aaron are best friends despite their opposite personalities.
"What are you two up to?", Seventeen asked again. "Just checking up on our juniors.", Jason replied with a mischievous smile. His eyes lit up, "Hey can we have another fight today?"
"No Jason. I'm a bit busy but you can ask instructor Ruth to spar against you."
"Oh yeah. I think I'll ask her.", Jason said with excitement.
Seventeen smiled, "So what do you think of my students?", he asked both of them.
"They are an interesting bunch.", Jason said, "Especially that boy who looks like you."
Aaron nodded in agreement, "According to what I heard, he's from the Night Family.", he placed a hand on his chin, "My father once told me that among all the Arken Families, the one we should never mess with is the Night Family."
"Is that so? I think I get what he means. Arthur showed no remorse as he beat those guys up.", Seventeen noted.
"Yep. He's a badass.", Jason said as he nodded in approval. "Are you not going to introduce yourself to your juniors? Knowing you, I bet you would do it in a flashy way.", Seventeen asked with a chuckle.
Jason winked, "You're in for a surprise, instructor."
Seventeen sighed, "Just make sure you don't cause trouble. I and the ice queen get a lot of paperwork whenever you make something go BOOM. I now have deep respect towards Marcus for not zapping you to the Corvinian mountains when he taught you."
"Don't worry sir. I'll not make things go BOOM. You can trust me!", Jason replied with a grin.
"Why do I feel like you are going to do the exact opposite?", Seventeen crossed his arms. He looked at Aaron, "Just keep an eye on him, Aaron."
Aaron smiled, "That's what I've been doing since day one in the academy."
"Yeah. Well see you later and Jason, the next time you cause trouble, I will personally blast you to Ascalon.", Seventeen threatened with a smile and walked away.
Jason shuddered, "He's joking right?", he asked nervously. "Maybe. You should know that since you get beaten by him every day.", Aaron said as he saw Seventeen enter the gates of Cardinal town.
*******
Seventeen counted the money he had and sighed. He started his life in this world with about 5 crystals. Now he's down to only 1000 gold and 5 silver.
"Damn.", he said as he made his way towards the academy workshop. The massive chimney of the workshop loomed over him as he reached the counter.
"Good day to you sir, how can I help you?", the elven clerk greeted him with a smile. "Good day to you too. I'm here to see Mr. Tom Callen.", Seventeen replied.
"Ah yes. Instructor Seventeen right? We were expecting you. The boss is at the forge right now. Please wait here, I will go get him.", the clerk said and went inside the workshop.
Seventeen looked at the different weapons on display while he waited. There were swords, daggers, polearms, spears, magia staff, and a lot more curious stuff.
"Who do we have here?.", he heard a familiar voice and turned around. "Well well well. Haven't seen you since morning.", he replied as Ruth came up to him.
She was holding some official-looking papers that looked worryingly similar to the damage reports he wrote when Jason caused trouble. "Is that what I think it is?", he asked.
Ruth shook her head, "Nope. These are my re-evaluation results.", she replied.
"Re-evaluation as a warlock?"
"Yeah.", she nodded, "I must say I am pretty happy with the results."
"Oh? So what is your new rank?", Seventeen asked, intrigued.
Ruth smiled, "Mid-level CAT 2."
Seventeen whistled, "Damn. That's a big jump. That is about the level of a Captain right?"
Ruth nodded, "Yep. The examiner even told me that I have the potential to reach Cardinal level.", she said with a smug face.
"That sounds nice.", Seventeen nodded.
"But I'm not up to your level yet.", she said and pointed, "One day I will surpass your skills."
Seventeen chuckled, "I accept that challenge."
Ruth looked past his shoulder and at the workshop, "Buying something?"
Seventeen nodded, "Yep. A limiter for my sword."
"A limiter?", Ruth was confused. Seventeen heard heavy boots behind him. He turned around and saw a burly dwarf coming up to the counter. He was middle-aged and had the biggest mustache Seventeen had ever seen and a huge smile on his face.
"Aye, young halfling. You heard right.", he said in a deep but jolly voice. He shook hands with Seventeen, "I hope you're doing well, young Seventeen."
The latter smiled, "Doing well Mr. Tom. How's business?"
"Oh, business is going well. I believe this young lady is a friend of yours?", he asked nodding to Ruth. "My co-worker, Ruth Aeva.", Seventeen replied.
Tom's eyes lit up, "Hoho. So you're Ruth Aeva. Your ice sculptures are the best out there and the craftsmanship even puts us Callens to shame. Most of the outer designs of our mechanical animals are inspired by your sculptures."
Ruth blushed, "Oh please don't flatter me. Most of the works I do are perfected by my grandmother."
"But that doesn't deny your incredible talent.", Tom said with a jolly grin. Ruth blushed more, "Anyway. Why do you need a limiter for your sword?", she asked Seventeen, changing the subject.
"I can answer that.", Tom said and held out his hand to Seventeen. The latter nodded and materialized Nyx with his weapon gloves. The black blade glinted in the sun and Ruth felt the temperature drop around the blade.
She remembered how cold the blade was when it nicked her. She then noticed the silver chain on the hilt had corroded.
"You see Miss Aeva.", Tom said as he ran a finger along the flat of the katana, "This is a unique sword with a design that had never been seen anywhere. But the most striking feature of this sword is the powerful enchantment etched into the blade."
He touched the runes on the blade, "This is a deadly enchantment that inflicts unbearable pain throughout the body of the being whose blood comes in contact with the blade. If this sword tastes the blood of a dragon, the next strike would deal unbearable pain that could bring down the mighty being."
"This sword can also 'remember' the type of blood it came in contact with so other dragons would stand no chance against this blade. A truly terrifying weapon."
Ruth shuddered. She recalled how the rune on the blade glowed when a small drop of blood fell on it.
"So that's why I need a limiter on this sword.", Seventeen interrupted, "I can't go around inflicting immense pain on people so I requested Tom to make a limiter for the enchantments."
"Aye. So I made this small chain for that.", Tom removed the corroded limiter from the hilt, "Unfortunately the enchantment is very powerful and eats away at the limiter so it needs to be replaced every month."
The moment he removed the limiter, the runes on the black blade pulsed, and the temperature dipped so much that Ruth's breath immediately turned into mist. She shivered.
Tom took out a new chain and expertly attached it to the hilt. A thin film of magia spread over the blade. It calmed the pulsing runes and the temperature returned to normal.
"There. All done!", Tom said as he cleaned the sword with a cloth and handed it to Seventeen, "That will be 600 gold."
Seventeen raised his eyebrows, "Come on Mr. Tom. Can I get a discount? I am currently a bit low."
Tom frowned, "But that was my price for you. That is a truly beautiful sword. Creating this limiter ain't cheap. Hm. How about 550 gold?"
"500 gold"
"520. My final price."
Seventeen sighed, "Alright. 520 it is.", he paid the clerk and retracted Nyx into his gloves. "Thanks, Mr. Tom. Sorry for interrupting your work."
Tom laughed, "It's fine. I must thank you for letting me work on your blade. Just call me and I will be there to help you. That is a Callen guarantee. Also, take good care of Ray. He may be trouble, but he is a good and bright kid with a gift of making things.", he said.
Seventeen smiled, "Sure. See you later."
Ruth joined Seventeen as they walked back to the dorm, "Why do you have such a dangerous weapon with you?", she asked him.
Seventeen thought about it, "Well. Nyx was a gift from my creator."
"Excuse me?"
"I mean my, um, father. Yes. The sword was a gift from my father.", Seventeen quickly corrected himself.
(Awww. You think I am your dad?)
'Shut up. That feels so weird.'
"Oh.", Ruth said, "A gift from your father? That's nice."
They finally reached the dorm. There was some sort of commotion in the common area. Everyone in the class was gathered there.
"What's going on?", Seventeen asked. They all turned around. Minerva smiled mischievously, "Oh hello instructors. We have a surprise for you."
They moved away to reveal a really beautiful girl. She had a slim figure and was of average height with long black hair, fair skin, and bright purple eyes with red eyeshadow. She wore a beautiful blue full-sleeved dress.
"Whoa.", Seventeen was taken aback by this girl. She is incredibly pretty. 'Must be a cousin of Minerva.', he thought as he looked at black hair. It is not unusual for family members of students to visit them in Cardinal town.
But for some reason, Seventeen felt like the girl looked familiar. He noticed some bandages poking out from underneath the sleeve on her hand.
He glanced at Ruth and it looked like she was having the same thought.
"I see you guys have a visitor. What is your name Miss?", Seventeen asked the girl. The other girls were holding back their laughter and the guys shifted uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?", he was confused. Ray raised a finger, "Um sir. Please look carefully."
Confused Seventeen looked carefully at the girl. She fidgeted a bit.
"Wait a minute.", he heard Ruth say in disbelief.
His mouth went slack. He now knows why she looked familiar.
"No way. Is that you Arthur?"