The academy fell into an uproar after everyone got their free leisure time advocating and exploring the newly-made central capital under the Henry regime. Many of them spend their time playing outside the academy and going on a spree despite the never-ending sessions. Contrary to that are candidates who would visit their hometown outside the capital while the others just hang out on the fields. Nevertheless, there could have been a few candidates who were left inside the academy without anything to do.
Except for Huck and Nikki.
Leaving the room, Huck silently headed downstairs with his training clothes. Seeing that there are only a few members of the facility hanging on the hall and in the lobby, he made his way to the second building to reach the training ground. The pillars were as compact and beautiful as ever. The way it was pronounced on the building supports its foundation and gives a variety of designs to the whole concept itself.
Reaching the training grounds is one of the first things that Huck always does in the morning. Specifically training his body every day and gauging in on an exercise the first thing in the morning had become a hobby for him despite learning magic without any output to consider.
He glanced outside the field on the left area, under the cloud of leaves from underneath its branch where a woman who is constantly breathing in and out, concentrating her mana in a compact space to produce more magic. However, despite all of the efforts she had exerted, there wasn't any unique event on how she is going to cast a spell.
"Is that... Nikki? I thought she was going with Aran..." He mumbled as he walked across the hall.
Failing in her daily attempt, Nikki spotted Huck walking. She raised her hand and waved at him.
"Oh! Good morning!" Noticing his presence, Huck stopped on his way and shifted his direction on the field near the trees.
"Yoo Nikki, how are you?"
The open field is pretty large enough to provide the necessary space for all of the candidates who are willing to take a break under the trees at this site.
"I am okay, just doing a little bit of mana session," She answered, keeping her arms on mid-air with a calm and focused expression.
"A mana session, what's that?" Huck asked.
"Oh, well, it is basically just training using your magic molecule. You will do a certain loop of spells that can help you improve your chant and activation sequence. It is pretty hard to maintain the loop for such a long time and I still haven't perfected most of it." She explained.
"That sounds really rough..."
"Oh yeah, what are you up to?" She returned the question.
"Oh, well if you are going with mana session, I am going with a fighting session, haha! I was just about to go to the training grounds to do my daily routine. It is pretty much more of a bodywork though so yeah..."
"I see, so we are definitely going with the opposite side. Haha..."
"By the way, Nikki... I thought you are going with Aran and the others?" Huck asked.
"Oh umm... I don't think I should go with them. Not like there's a need for me too." She answered.
"Why is that?"
"I mean, I am not really close with them at all... I think I will just be a nuisance. Besides, Aran wouldn't want me to add another fuel for that war." She answered, descending her arms down and generating another compact of mana.
"War huh... I see what you mean, but like, I don't think you will be a nuisance. You just have to be assertive." Huck said.
"W-Wha?!" Suddenly, Nikki's face became flustered. She twitched her left eyebrow while she squirmed in embarrassment.
"A-Assertive?! What are you saying all of a sudden?!" Seeing her entitled reaction and weird ignorance, Huck closed his eyes and sighed.
"Look, you don't have to hide it. I know that you like him as well. And yeah, when you say that you would be a nuisance, you are pertaining to the fact that you are going to be instigated as a rival as well. Damn, Aran is one lucky boy!" He chuckled.
Getting busted in the middle of her own session, Nikki lowered her head as she pouts in silence. Her tingling face and cute reaction had an effect on her concentration after thinking about Aran.
"Come on, you should go with them on their next adventure. I am pretty sure you will like it as well. Oh and if you don't, you will lose the war. Good luck, Nikki!" As he ended their embarrassing conversation about Aran, Huck waved his arm and headed straight on the second building, leaving Nikki on her session.
Reluctant about her feelings, she shook her head and shrugged the topic off her head, she tried to focus again on her mana session.
WhilecContemplating at her use of mana, a sudden burst in the air permeated throughout the entire field. Nikki looked upwards at the sky, seeing as if the atmosphere had dropped into the lower ground. It was like a break free of a cryptic feeling, chilling in her spine. Weirded out by the sudden immense feeling, she goes inside the hall to see what is happening.
"What is that?" she muttered.
Continuing down the path, an echo of strange whispers and murmurings touched her ear, prominently covering the whole area without anyone noticing but her. Getting louder as seconds passed, Nikki covered her ears. The slick of its airy breathing compromised the exhaustive act of the voice, it tells a simple array of weird statements but without any sense. It continued to grow louder, understanding the murmurings was very hard at the moment, even for Nikki who has an envelope of magic resistance.
"Tsk! What the hell is this?"
Noticing that everyone in the hall was fine, it became clear that she is the only one who can hear the breathing of a cursed individual who is slowly returning back to the living. An unforgettable moment of truth from where the academy stood. A nightmare that will turn out to be a legend in the near future.
The awakening of the undead through the cursed book of knowledge.
After dealing with the voice for a long period of time, it finally stopped. It doesn't seem like everyone is affected by this phenomenon. A lot of the candidates weren't able to hear it except for Nikki. Her cold expression silently froze into the void. She was kneeling down to the chilling emotion and being afraid of that cursing voice.
Where that sound came from, has a vague root. It looks like the voice was calling for a lot of attention that can be only heard by a few gifted magicians and warriors who possessed a great amount of mana. In her case, she might be the only one who can figure out the rest of the direction of where the sound originated. The sound of someone calling for an eternal revolution.
***
Meanwhile, in the shopping district on the inner part of the central capital, Knightstar, Aran and the other girls walked through the road. Some shops were optimally improved by adding more spaces and workload and items while the other shops are constantly binging for customers because no one can afford such a high pricing product.
Aran looked around for a bit, there was a lot of citizen rounding up in the district as if there was a ceremony every day in this area.
"Wow, I never expected that there would be a lot of people this day. Should we call it off? Everyone looks kinda tired–"
"NO!" All three of them responded with an aggressive look and glare at Aran. He raised his two arms in defense as he realized that no is willing to give up on their day.
"Why are you guys so desperate anyway?" Aran sighed and asked.
"Duh, we're already here and we've already spent a lot of time navigating. We should at least finish it until the end." Lisa replied.
"We came here to buy clothes for you right? Let's not waste the opportunity and let's have some fun." Mahrisse gave them a charming insight.
Withdrawing from their opposition, Aran continued to walk with them as they reach the area where they sell different kinds of clothing.
"Oh! I see the shop now! Let's go there!" Lisa glanced through the window of the shop that they were talking about. As it turns out, they are selling a few good tailor-made clothes today with some discounts.
"Alright! Let's go, Aran!" Mahrisse grabbed Aran's left arm and pulled him inside.
"W-Woah! Wait!" He struggled.
Inside the clothing shop, the spaces were varied in each section. The enormous packages and pillars with a touch of different racks and chests hanging on the top of the ceiling made the inner part of the shop more appealing and sophisticated. All of the designs were displayed on the window as more people come in. The shop is very spacious, it is probably because they have upgraded its space as well in terms of the newly built central capital.
Other than that, there are also a lot of expensive clothes on the left side of the shop. A few of the clearer and cheap ones are handled on the other bar which is located on the backside. The most notable one that is pure and made out of abstract designs are assigned on the first array of the racks, exploring the whole shop will take about half an hour if they were to continue goofing off.
"Welcome!" The main draper behind the desk greeted them.
"Woah! Look at this, there's a lot of clothes! I love it!" Eunice commended the store for its high-quality product and designs.
"You're right, and they are not that expensive either. The discount is very effective as for today." Lisa agreed as they continue on venturing each section of the shop.
"Come on, Aran..." Mahrisse pulled Aran once again until they reached the main reception desk.
"Hi there, what can I get for you?" The lady asked Mahrisse.
"We're looking for formal novelty clothe for this young man, do you have any recommendation?" Mahrisse inquired.
"Of course, please follow me." The lady opened the latch of the desk and headed through the right section of the shop. Some of the noble clothes were hung on the wall while the rest are on the rack on either side of the shelves. Aran and Mahrisse followed the draper on her way.
"Here, we have a lot of collections for novelty fashion that can be used for events. They are 100% legit and high quality, their cotton, and fabrics are pretty much tailored by professional embroiders. I am sure that you will like this one as well." She began introducing the clothes.
"There is a lot of collection, what do you think, Aran?" Mahrisse asked him. Lisa and Eunice joined them in their look.
"Oh! Seems like we have something valuable here!" Eunice said as she grabbed a few clothes on the rack.
"Hmm... I don't really know, I am not good at this fashion stuff..." Aran backed off for a second as he made a weary smile.
"Can you recommend us a particular noble cloth for his size?" Mahrisse asked.
"Of course, Ma'am." The draper went on the other rack and grabbed a few full sets of clothing. Afterward, she handed it out to Mahrisse.
There were three choices of a set, the first one is a royalty-made set with a touch of thick fabric and less design. The first one had a large cape and an enormous boot. It is the perfect clothing if you want to stand out in the presence of other people.
"What do you think about this one?" Mahrisse said.
"It looks pretty good and fancy, but it takes too much attention. I think I will burn to death if I wear that kind of clothes." Aran replied as he statistically computed permutation of him being scorched in the heat after wearing such fancy and thick clothing.
The next set involves a thick-layered coat with a combination of blue and red colors. It does have a nice nature but the laces and other extra fabric on each cuff and collar are getting in the way.
"How about this?" she asked.
"Hmm... Nope, it doesn't fit my nature at all. And I can't stand those heaves and laces." Aran replied.
"You are pretty picky..." Lisa mocked him.
"I can't help it! It looks good but I don't like the style." He retaliated.
The last one showed the full potential of Aran's nature. With its long red coat followed by a thin inner contribution. The color of the set is a combination of red and black, it is pretty much more convenient and it looks endearing and professionally weaved. The long red coat partnered with the buttoned shirt inside plus the golden design on the cuffs and collar is directly proportional. The black linear color on the side is pretty good as well. And the pants are totally perfect for Aran's style.
"And this?" Mahrisse held him the set.
"I'll take this one!" Aran immediately responded.
"HEH?! THAT'S FAST!" Eunice was shocked by this sudden response.
"We will take this one, how much is it?" Mahrisse asked the draper.
"That will be 10 Gold coins, Ma'am." She replied.
"OH MY GOD! THAT'S EXPENSIVE, I CAN'T TAKE THIS! I UMM–"
"Shh..." Mahrisse stopped Aran's ramble by placing her index finger on his lips, closing it out.
"We will take it..." She answered.
"Very well then, Sir, you may now go to the changing room to see if it fits your size." She instructed Aran.
"A-Alright..." being a little nervous, Aran went inside the changing room and took his time trying to figure out how to wear the full set.
After spending some time, he finally brushed off the curtain. Mahrisse paid off the clothing set on the desk.
"Thank you very much for your purchase." The lady bowed.
"I'm done..." muttering in embarrassment, Aran finally went outside the changing room and struck everyone inside with his overly charming appeal and charismatic character. Every single one of them dropped their jaw, inspired by the attractiveness of this young man, they ganged up on him and ask him questions.
"Excuse me, Sir! Are you a noble?"
"Huh? What?" Confused by the sudden interaction of many people, he vented out in distress. Seeing that he is struggling to push and ignore them, Lisa grabbed Aran's arm and they all went outside the shop.
The three were finally outside, seeing Aran's beautiful output with his new set of clothing for the dinner, the three girls couldn't find the words to compliment him. They were fully captivated by the view and how it fits perfectly with Aran's nature. Just the change of his appearance put them in a dilemma.
"Aran... Umm..."
(As expected, they are not saying something. The clothes didn't fit my ugly appearance. That's for sure) Aran sighed as he thought that they are being in silence because they were disappointed in his look.
"A-Aran... Y-You, look good..." Lisa said as she averted her gaze from him. Her face has a slight color of pink. The other two were expressing the same reaction as well.
"Umm... Thank you... I think, I really like this one." He replied.
"Yes, it really suits you. I am very confident that my father will see you as one of us now. The only thing that we need to care about now is that you need to practice your formality." Breaking the awkward staring, Mahrisse suggested another learning capability.
"Formality?" Aran asked.
"Yes, the formality of your personality and how you should act on the table. I am pretty sure that they will be asking you a lot of questions as you head inside. So you need to practice your answer without losing your composure and with precise answers as well with a lot of formal gestures." She explained. Making a worried and weary expression, Aran sighed.
"So I'll have to memorize as well? Oh, man..." He dropped his eyes.
"Don't worry, Aran. You are smart, I am pretty sure you can do it." Eunice pats him on his back to reassure him.