Aether waited outside the dean's office patiently, if not awkwardly. It took everything in him not to crawl underneath the bench he was sitting on and hide. Normally he would have been ignored and honestly he kind of wanted that, but with the two Professors who were towering over him as he sat, staring at him intently, it was hard for people to ignore.
When they first returned, Leon had given him strict orders to stay by his side. So, he did. It was easy to blend into the small group they made and the three intruders who were being dragged were more eye-catching than them.
When they had walked into the Dean's office with the three intruders, the Dean all but had a heart attack. As Leon and Nox began to explain the incident, the Dean was already calling the King and their father.
Because the situation was considered dangerous, at least for him, he was placed right outside the office with two Professors watching his every move.
To make matters worse, if not stranger, he was pretty sure these were not normal Professors. Not only did they tower over him when they were sitting, but they were also extremely muscular.
The female Professor, which he had first assumed was a visiting soldier, had a very opposing aura even though her calm and almost friendly voice said otherwise. She had long dark purple hair that was styled into a high ponytail. Her eyes were the same color and she wore a simple white shirt with black pants, with a single necklace with a blue pendant around her neck. The most startling thing about her, besides her muscles, was the black eye patch covering her left eye. He wondered what had happened for her to have such an injury.
The other Professor, who he had assumed must have been related to the training combat Professor in some way, was slightly smaller than his counterpart, though still as bulky. He wore a short sleeved black shirt that revealed all the different scars decorating his skin. His short blonde hair was styled back in a professional way, though it did little to make him look professional.
"Um, do you know how much longer it's going to be?" Aether was at first okay waiting for his brother to finish speaking with the dean, but after learning that his father as well as the King would come, he had no desire to hang around.
The Professors just glanced at him, not saying a damn thing.
Aether frowned and turned back to facing the boring wall. "I have other classes to attend to you know." He grumbled, kicking his feet as he did so. "I was really looking forward to the mythical and demonic beast class." And he was. It was the one thing on his schedule that actually resemble anything fantasy like that he could actually participate in learning about.
"Mythical and Demonic beast?" The male professor spoke up, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Wait, are you my new student?" The smile spreading on his face was hard to miss.
'Could there be such a coincidence?' Aether nodded his head.
"Wonderful!" The man patted Aether on his back causing Aether to cough slightly. "I didn't think that my new student would be another Frenzel." His eyes turned serious, "Now tell me, are you actually interested in learning about mythical and demonic beasts or are you just interested in messing around like all the others?"
Aether felt like if he didn't answer this question correctly then his life would be on the line. He nodded his head with as much enthusiasm as he could, "I really am interested! I heard that mythical and demonic beasts have powers and abilities more powerful and advanced than humans and that we can make contacts with them in order to borrow their powers! Is that true?" Aether listed off the top questions he had asked the author about mythical and demonic beasts.
He had been interested in learning more about the topic, but was disappointed when the entire topic was glanced over in the novel, especially when it came to Prince Sean and his strange unique ability to communicate and command these creatures.
The Professor smiled a genuine and excited smile. "Very good, very good! Hahaha! I haven't had a student this interested in my class in a very long time." He slapped Aether on the back once more, "Alright, since we are both missing our precious class, I'll give you a special lesson."
Aether smiled and nodded his head. 'A lesson, a personal lesson just for him. Heck yes!'
"Alright, now I don't have any books with me, but we can start with some basic knowledge. What do you know about Mythical and Demonic Beasts?"
Aether took a second to think before responding, "Demonic beasts are considered one of the most dangerous beasts to be around. Unlike their counterpart, they are unable to make a contract with anyone." The Professor nodded, urging him to continue, "Mythical beasts are known to have specialized abilities and powers that are beyond what we are capable of, even with unique abilities. They are able to make contracts with us, but it is rarely done."
Aether paused after he spoke a question already on the tip of his tongue, "Why is it rare for mythical beasts to form contracts?"
The Professor smiled gently, "Do you know the origin of the mythical beast?"
Aether shook his head.
"It's alright, not many people do." The Professor let out a small chuckle, "Their origin is more like a legend of sorts. It is said that in our darkest times our ancestors came across a mythical beast that could grant its contractor the ability to harness and wield the abilities of nature."
Aether gazed up at the Professor in shock. "Wait, are you saying…"
"Yes, that ancestor was the first person to be gifted an ability." The Professor stopped to take in Aether's reaction before continuing, "But that's not all. The gift given to him could be shared, so in order to give everyone a chance of survival, he shared his abilities with everyone. You could imagine what had happened since. After all, a gift given by a mythical beast could be passed onto the next generation through blood."
"Could?"
The Professor nodded, "Yes, could. It is not guaranteed that a gift from a mythical beast can be passed down by blood, but in some rare cases it can." He paused, "Even today, there are a couple of families that have retained a gift from a mythical beast in their family."
"Really?" Aether didn't remember any families with gifts from mythical beats being mentioned in the novel.
"Yeah, though those families are few in number, they tend to be found in the north."
Aether took every word in like it was a life force. The longer he stayed in this world the more he learned.
"So," He paused, the words stuck in his throat, "So, um, why are there people who are born without an ability?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The Professor gazed down at him, a look of shock crossing his features. "Well-"
"Aether!"
Aether jumped at the voice. His head snapping to where his father was walking towards him like he was on a mission. He stopped in front of him, his eyes dark yet a glimmer of happiness still shined through.
"Father." Aether lowered his head a little worried about what his father was going to say, "I'm sorry. I didn't think-"
A hand was placed on his shoulder. Aether's head snapped up. He gazed at his father with complicated eyes.
His father gave a demented smile, "As intelligent as always. We will discuss this later. You two, watch him."
It was only then that Aether noticed the two shadowy figures standing behind his father. They were covered head to toe in black, with only their faces showing.
'Why would father bring them here?' Aether was almost certain that these guards, assassins, or whatever they were, were not supposed to be out in the open like this.
The Professors frowned, arms crossing as they glared at the two shadowy figures.
His father glared back at them, "Well what do we have here." He said in a mocking tone. His head leaning back slightly as he looked down at the two. "Ha! Go ahead and glare, but that will do nothing but prove that you are still worthless."
The Professors at his side bristled, but his father ignored them. He wrapped an arm around Aether and pulled him close, "I mean, with Professors like you hanging around it's insane to imagine that three intruders would be able to walk these halls so openly." He gestured to the empty halls around them then gave Aether's face a quick squish, "Allowing them to almost kill my son." His eyes darkened and the two Professors broke away from his gaze.
"I don't care if you useless fools stay, but these two are my personal guards. Unlike you two, they will be able to protect Aether." With that his father pushed him to the side, fixed the sleeves of his shirt and walked into the Dean's office.
"So this is the famed secret guard that the Frenzel's have." The female Professor spoke up as soon as the door closed. She stood up, circling around the two guards with great interest. She clicked her tongue, "Just as I have heard, these things are very obedient to their masters order. Nothing will distract them from their missions." As if to prove her point, she waved her hand in front of them, but their eyes never left Aether's.
"They." Aether said, "They are not things, but people." Aether did not miss the way the Professor talked about them as if they were objects. It was one thing that he hated about this world. That they so easily call and treat those that don't fit their standers like objects. He hadn't expected a Professor to say something like that and yet here he was witnessing it for himself.
He stood up and pointed a finger at her, "Just because they are loyal doesn't mean you can go around saying that they are things to be controlled. They have emotions, they have a beating heart just like you. As a Professor I expect you to have the decorum to act like a civilized human being."
The Professor balked. "You-"
CLAP CALP.
"Spoken like a true leader."
The two Professors became pale and both kneeled, "Your Majesty." They said in unison.
Aether stood up, getting ready to kneel as well, but was stopped by two hands grasping his arms.
"No need to kneel. Not after everything you have done for this Kingdom." His hands gently smoothed out the few crinkles on Aether's shirt.
"Ah, no I didn't…" Aether had no idea how to respond. His interactions with the King had not been ideal, but here he was standing in front of him spouting words that sounded very similar to that of a compliment.
"I heard from your father that you would be attending more advance classes starting today. I didn't think that you would also be uncovering intruders as well."
Aether was stunned, "No, no, no. I didn't mean to discover them and Nox was the one to actually defeat them, so he deserves the credit."
"Nox?" The King's demeanor shifted slightly, but Aether did not notice.
"Yeah, if not for Nox I don't think I would be here right now." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, looking every where but at the King. "He really helped me out there. I'm truly grateful for his help."
"Oh?"
"Your Majesty, I believe the Dean is waiting for you." The male Professor stepped forward, gesturing to the Dean's office.
The King's eyes were dark as he stared at the Professor like he was looking at a bug. He gave Aether one last look, "Aether, we will speak later."
The two guards who were standing silently behind him took a quick look at one another before taking a single step closer to Aether. Their eyes trained on the King as he entered the Dean's office.
The door closed behind him leaving Aether alone with the two guards who had yet to speak and two Professors who were glaring daggers at each other for some odd reason.
Aether tried his best to put back on his smile. He turned on his heel and clapped his hand, "So, where were we at?"