"By Arkenstein's name! Ruth, you are holding back a lot.", Alice said as she and Seventeen entered the bar and sat with them on the counter.
Ruth sighed, "Not you too, Alice.", she glanced at Seventeen and immediately became flustered.
She asked for another drink and downed it quickly. The conversation she had with Jade is still ringing in her head.
"Welcome Lady Alice and Instructor Seventeen.", Faras the establishment's owner and bartender, came over to the other side of the counter and greeted them in a deep voice.
He is a Vaharis and like all Vahari, he had rough basalt-like scales covering his body, making it seem like he was made of rock. The gaps between the scales glowed bright blue which shifts to red, indicating his possessing both Lightning and Fire Attributes.
His eyes glowed and shifted between bright blue and red. Vahari doesn't have hair, except they have spikes or horns on top of their heads. Faras has numerous spikes that are swept back on his head.
Vahari can make themselves smaller using magia. But even with him becoming smaller, Faras stood at an impressive 7 feet and he is muscular. His clawed hands are well-manicured and he handled drinks and bottles with absolute precision and care.
He is an engaging and calm person who likes tight shirts that emphasize his muscular body and mixing drinks.
"Hey, Faras. How's your wife?", Seventeen asked the bartender. "Oh, she's doing well. She's pregnant."
"Again?"
Faras nodded, "This is our fifteenth child."
"Well, that explains the recent earthquakes that have been happening.", Seventeen joked. The Vaharis laughed and the three young women were trying not to laugh.
"Jeez Seventeen. That is a pretty decent one.", Ruth said, between small laughs.
Seventeen looked proud, "Well it is a known fact that some earthquakes are caused by Vahari having s-"
"And you ruined it.", she sighed. Alice and Jade couldn't help but chuckle at this exchange between them.
"Anyway. Congratulations, Mr. Faras.", Alice said with a smile. The Vaharis smiled like the happy father he was, "Thank you, Lady Alice. I believe you'll have the usual?"
She nodded. Alice came to this bar with her friends when she was a student. Being a light drinker, she had once asked Faras for a drink with only a small amount of alcohol.
Ever the master bartender and mixer, the Vaharis created a new drink for all light drinkers. The Luminous Special is named after Alice as she was the first person to taste it.
"Do you think the Headmaster is done with the preparations?", Seventeen asked as he drank his favorite apple wine.
Jade nodded, "I believe so. That man is quick at these things. Especially if it involves competition."
"I doubt he will choose a training hall of the academy. It won't be able to withstand the combined magia energy from the four of us.", Ruth said.
Just as she finished speaking, Zephyrus's elf secretary walked into the bar.
"Lady Night, Lady Aria. Instructors Seventeen and Ruth.", she nodded her head to them. "The Headmaster is waiting at the old warp gate behind Cardinal Town."
She turned to Seventeen, "He has asked you to bring your students with you guys."
The four of them nodded. Jade put down her glass and Alice finished her drink. Each of them took out two gold and placed them on the counter, "Thanks Faras. The Special is still amazing.", Alice told the bartender.
The Vaharis bowed, "I'm glad you liked it. Please visit again."
"Of course. You're the best bartender in Crystalia.", Jade laughed and looked at Ruth, "Alice and I will go ahead. You guys bring your students. We'll be waiting."
Ruth nodded with a smile, "Alright. We'll be there in half an hour."
"You guys be ready for a proper confrontation.", The Sword Princess said with a grin and the two Captains followed Zephyrus's secretary out of the bar.
Ruth looked at Seventeen who was still enjoying his apple wine. The guys seem to love the stuff. And they are alone at the counter...
She shook her head. Now's not the time for thoughts like that.
"So. What do you think? How should we handle them? They are, after all, two of the strongest Captains of the Cardinal Knights.", she asked him.
Seventeen just gave a sinister smile, "Let's put that to the test. Shall we?"
Ruth has a bad feeling already.
*******
Arthur wanted to see the Taler.
He might get valuable information about the Vampire of the Purple Rose from the wandering storyteller.
"Don't worry.", Vesta said, noticing his expression. "I have already got in touch with him. The Taler is staying in the city for a week. He's not going anywhere."
"He was a funny guy.", she thought back to her visit with the quirky man, "He looked rather young but spoke like an old man."
"Talers can be weird. Maybe they are like that for attention. Also, thanks for doing that.", Arthur replied.
They were relaxing on the grass where he and Alice had their duel. As he bit into his sandwich, Arthur thought about the vision he had earlier in the day.
He really hopes it isn't true. But the other visions he had in the past came true.
'So much for living a long healthy life.', he thought. The vision didn't give him any clue except that he will be stabbed in the back and through his heart. He was also in the woods in the vision.
He should avoid going to the woods, especially alone. But that will only delay the inevitable. In the past, he had tried to change the future but in the end, he failed and in some cases, things happened much worse than what he saw in the vision.
'What's the use of seeing the future if you can't change it?', he grumbled internally and frowned.
"That frown doesn't belong on your handsome face.", Vanessa Dracule walked up to the two of them.
He smiled, "Hey Vanessa. Didn't see you around when I was getting beaten up by my sister."
"An old friend of mine was nearby, so I hurried off to meet her. She was on a journey and had stopped near the city for an hour."
"Ah. The two of you must be close judging by how you immediately went to meet her as soon as you heard she was nearby.", Arthur said.
Vanessa's eye twitched but she laughed, "Yeah, you can say that."
"Oh yes.", Arthur clapped, "This is Vesta Freydis. My first friend and also my Shadow.", he introduced Vesta to their new classmate.
Vanessa nodded, "Pleasure to meet you. I am Vanessa Dracule.", she shook hands with Vesta. "The pleasure is all mine.", the latter said with a smile.
"You are young for a Shadow.", Vanessa noted.
"Yes. I am the youngest to come out of the Shadow Sect."
"That is impressive. The Sect is known for its harsh training."
"Yes, it is. But you get used to it with time."
Arthur noticed the two girls slowly opening up to each other, "How about you two talk for some time? I'll go take a walk."
Vesta looked worried, "Are you sure?"
He smirked, "Don't worry about me. I am more worried about you spilling out your embarrassing secrets when you get too excited."
"Hey!"
He chuckled. It was a bad habit of his friend and a source of endless teasing from him. Before Vesta could say anything else, he quickly walked away, leaving the two awkward girls alone.
A short walk alone will help clear his mind.
All the girls went to the practice room upstairs while the guys indulged in extreme dodgeball using their attributes. Among them, it seems like Oliver is winning due to his Earth attribute. The big guy brings up a wall every time the ball comes like a meteor at him.
Robin is having the time of his life, slipping into the shadows and spooking Damien whenever he gets the ball.
An explosion of lightning charged the air as Ray countered the lightning-infused ball from Damien and launched it back using his lightning.
Keen on keeping the bones of his face intact, Arthur had declined to join them.
Watching his friends have fun with their attributes made him sigh. He envied those guys. "Not having an attribute seriously sucks.", he muttered.
He shook his head. No use wallowing in self-pity. He needs to focus on the present. Particularly, how to not die a rather gruesome death. There was a lot of blood in his vision. Is that amount of blood even possible?
As he was thinking, he saw Seventeen and Ruth at the dorm gate. The former waved at him cheerfully.
"Hey, Arthur!", he said as they came near. "Let's get the class together. We're going somewhere.", Ruth said.
"Oh yeah. You guys did say that there will be a surprise in the afternoon.", he looked at them, "What is it?"
Seventeen just grinned, "Oh you'll know soon enough."
*******
Half an hour later everyone was gathered at the old warp gate beyond the back gate of Cardinal Town.
Zephyrus, Alice, and Jade were already there when they came.
The Cardinal smiled, "Hey guys! Hope you guys are well. How are the preparations for the Battle Festival?"
"It's going very well, Headmaster.", Minerva replied with a smile. "That's good.", Zephyrus was elated by her response, "I am looking forward to you guys competing."
He looked at each of them and asked Seventeen, "Is this the entire Special Class A?"
"Most of the second years are currently in Raveria.", he replied.
"Ah yes, the field exercise. I believe two of them already finished it?"
Seventeen nodded, "Yes. Jason and Kate. Well, Jason said to go on without him."
"If that's what he wishes then very well.", Zephyrus turned to the students gathered. "Guys, as you know, we have two very important guests with us. Alice Night and Jade Aria. They are among our top alumni, are Captains of their respective squads, and are also Arken Family Heads."
"Now some of us will have a question. Just how strong is a Cardinal Knight Captain? How strong is an instructor of Cardinal Academy? So Jade and Seventeen came up with a rather simple solution."
Everyone could see where this was heading and just the thought of it is just exciting.
Zephyrus smiled.
"Captains vs Instructors."