Richard's wife was giddy to see her kids. "Oh my goodness! Look at all of you. Vincent, my name is Patricia. You can call me Mom or Patty. I will not answer to anything else." She was firm in her statement, and Vincent nodded along.
The young man that was next to them both introduced himself. "Hey Vinny, I'm Ryker. I'm the firstborn, so I will take over the family when the old man kicks the bucket." Vincent strangely didn't get upset when Ryker called him Vinny. Theo was the only one who called him that. Freddy cleared his throat, and Ryker sat up in his chair. "Sorry about that, Vincent. I tend to become too relaxed sometimes."
"Don't worry about it, Ryker. I tend to speak or rather think before I can control myself." "Haha! Let me guess, you think about how beautiful women are." Vincent smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. Ryker chuckled. "Let me guess, it was the principal at the academy." Vincent stuffed his mouth with food.
"Man, I remember when I was a student there. She was so fuc-." Patty slapped him aside his head. Ryker stuffed his mouth with food, too. "I will go next. I am the second kid. My name is Blake. I am a traveling merchant and handle the financial side of things."
"I'm Lyla, the third kid. I'm in charge of the food side of things. I love drinking wine, so let me know if you see anything good." She drained her entire glass and then refilled it. The guy sitting next to her grunted.
"I'm Kyle, and I am the third son. I serve in the military. I handle the recruitment of the guards for the family and clan." Kyle turned and faced Richard. He started to speak in a language Vincent never heard of. "Kyle, do not speak in that language at the table. Your brother does not understand it." Kyle bit the inside of his cheek and stopped talking.
"I'm Bridget, and I lead a group of mercenaries." Bridget exuded an aura of strength and experience. Vincent got the feeling of familiarity from her. He focused on his food and waited for the last two to introduce themselves.
"My name is Janet. I work as a priestess at the Holy Church." "I'm Kandice. I recruit, train, and watch over all of the employees." Kandice was the closest age to Vincent, who was 22 years old. "Well, tell us about you, Vincent."
Vincent cleared his throat. "I'm Vincent, and I come from Earth. I am 16 years old this year and just started attending the academy." The table was quiet from his lackluster introduction. Patty urged him to speak some more. "How was your day today, Vincent?"
"It was thrilling, if I am, to be honest. I went there to do some physical training but ended up almost dying." The temperature plummeted. Vincent's entire vision got cloudy until a hand landed on his shoulder. In an instant, things returned to normal. "Old man, let him explain before you do something stupid." Ryker was in two places at once.
Richard calmed down and took Ryker's advice. Vincent caught his breath and drank some water. Richard apologized to him. The Ryker that was by Vincent vanished. "Now that everyone is calm, Vincent, continue, please."
"Um, well, I chose the halberd as my weapon. I was brought to this worn and decrypted hallway. Instructor Gus told me that the combat specialist stayed there and left me alone." Vincent told them everything. He told them he was attacked and acknowledged the combat specialists as his masters.
No one said anything as he narrated what happened, and when he was finished, he pulled up his sleeves. He showed them his tattoo and asked why he couldn't summon it anymore. Richard broke the silence by laughing uproariously. Bridget crushed her glass in her hands and gave Vincent a look of challenge.
By instinct, Vincent summoned his staff. Bridget summoned her weapon, and it was a long battle axe. "Enough! There will be no fighting at the table." Patty yelled. Vincent put away his staff and apologized, and so did Bridget. "Sorry, Patty." "Sorry, Mom."
Richard still chuckled softly. Patty glared at him, and that made him get serious again.
"Vincent, let me explain who those 'combat specialists' are. They are called the seven harbingers of death. They are all over 300 hundred years old. Caden, the Reaper, taught them. He is a man of fearsome power that even his majesty must show respect to."
"I tried to become their disciple when I was young and had just entered the academy. They only took me as a student." Bridget admitted begrudgingly. "I also chose the halberd as my weapon and had talent, but I was not good enough."
Vincent shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know why they chose me either. I'm just some kid who woke up from a coma a few days ago." Bridget let her head fall on the table. Janet and Kandice rubbed her back.
Vincent looked at the others for help. They all became deaf and blind in that moment.
"H-hey, don't be so down. I have to spar against Horton, and I don't want that, so if you could spar with me, that would help a lot." Bridget's head shot up. "Deal!" She left the table and went off somewhere.
"Why do I feel like I will regret offering her to be my sparring partner?" Everyone laughed at him. Vincent joined in the laughter.
'Maybe this place won't be so bad?'