Volume 1: Path – [Academy Arc]
Chapter 18: Weapon selection
Caelus's eyes froze for a moment, but then he lowered his head slightly, biting his lip as he took a deep breath in and out. He tried to calm the rising tide of emotion threatening to break through. The swirl of feelings clawed at his chest, but he managed to hold them back by keeping the tears from forming before they even began.
For some reason, just laying eyes on Uriel made his emotions stir more violently than anything else. It was like his heart knew before his mind could process it. That's why he fought so hard to stay composed and to keep himself from crying again.
With a slow exhale, he raised his head, eyes locked forward as he met her gaze. He and Aiv walked side by side, but as they moved, Caelus noticed Aiv watching him out of the corner of his eye.
When he glanced to his right side, Aiv gave him a subtle signal with a quick flick of his eyes like a silent question.
Caelus understood instantly.
"Is that her?" Aiv was asking without words.
Caelus blinked once in reply, a quiet affirmation.
Aiv, communicating without speaking, mirrored his silence. Caelus picked up on it. 'There must be a reason he's using signals,' he thought. 'I'll ask him about it later.'
As they walked forward, the sound of scrambling echoed from behind. More students had begun climbing the wall, following the same path Caelus and Aiv had taken earlier. One by one, they leapt down from the ledge, landing with hurried footsteps before sprinting toward the center of the courtyard.
By the time the rest of the students who had crossed the wall arrived, Caelus and Aiv were already standing at the center having reached it a few seconds earlier.
"Now that you're all here, we're going to divide the groups into two: those who passed the first test and those who didn't," the giant man said, his booming voice echoing through the entirety of Courtyard E.
"You, you, you, you, you four go stand on the right side," he commanded, pointing at Uriel, the boy beside her, Aiv, and Caelus.
They followed his order and walked to the right side of the courtyard.
The man then turned toward the group of twenty-three students in front of him and said, "You all failed the first test. Run ten laps around the courtyard."
"How does that make sense? We came on time before the class even started!"
"Yeah, that's unfair. How were we supposed to know it was a test if no one told us?"
"Exactly!"
"Twenty laps," the man said flatly.
"Huh?!"
"Thirty laps," he added, his tone even colder.
"Guys, I think we should start running before he says something worse."
"Yeah, let's go. One day when I'm stronger than him, I'll beat him to a pulp."
"The one who just said that you're running a hundred laps. Even if it means skipping class, you're doing all of them," the man replied with a smirk.
"That is why you better shut your fucking mouth phrase is created for."
As the twenty-three students moved away from the center and began running laps around Courtyard E, their footsteps echoed faintly against the high stone walls.
The giant man turned his attention to the four students on his right and smirked.
"Well then, now that the weak, puny trash is gone, I'll introduce myself. I'm your instructor, Garron Vex Talhart. You kids who just stepped into this magical world probably don't know me, but let me make it simple: I'm one of the top 100 strongest individuals in this world."
He raised a thick thumb and pointed it at himself with pride.
"I respect strength and intelligence. But I hate weaklings, people who give up the will to fight, who surrender without trying their best, and who let others control their life. If you're that kind of person, I don't need you here."
With that, his eyes locked onto Caelus.
"My name is Caelus Throne. I just recently awakened and got admitted to the academy because I'm a worshipper of the Church of Thalos. I don't know much about this magical world, and I don't even know my own affinity yet. I'm weak right now, but I want to grow stronger and stronger than anyone else," Caelus said, his voice loud and clear.
"That's what I'm talking about, you brat! Even though you're weak, I like you. Since you want to become stronger than anyone else, you're going to receive special training every day. Are you good with that?" Garron said with a smirk.
'I shouldn't have said that much. Who would've thought trying to curry favor with this guy would turn out like this? Fuck my life,' Caelus thought, then shouted, "Yes, sir!"
"That's the spirit," he said as he looked at Aiv, who was standing beside Caelus.
"My name is Aiven Serel. I awakened two months ago, and I'm already a disciple of someone in the Awakeners Association. My affinity is water, since I had water I should be high in rank however, due to my lack of talent in controlling Leym energy, my rank ended up lower than expected. I love helping people and hate those who betray the trust given to them."
"You brat, tell me who's your master?"
"Sir, I can't say. My master didn't give me permission to reveal their name and even warned me not to tell anyone."
"Hmph. I respect people's choices. I'll let it go just this once." He then turned his gaze to the boy beside Aiv.
"My name is Aeren Ashford. I'm the second-born of the Ashford family. I awakened one month ago, but I've known about the magical world for the last two years, thanks to my elder sister already being part of it. My affinity is Darkness and partial light, which is why my hair turned black rather white. Otherwise, it would've been white like most of my family, since we typically possess light affinity."
"My name is Uriel Evernight. I am from the Evernight family, and the one and only daughter of the household. I awakened my Time affinity two days ago. I don't know much about the world of awakeners yet, so please take care of me. Also, he is my fiancé," she said, pointing to Aeren at the end.
"Okay, now that you all introduced yourselves, we're gonna start with hard training that'll make you guys hard."
'What the fuck you mean by hard, sir?' that was the exact thought running through the minds of the three boys.
As he spoke, Garron reached into a pouch on the side of his pants. His massive hand vanished inside as if the pouch was bottomless hole. A moment later, he slowly pulled his arm back out gripping a heap of weapons like it was nothing.
Swords, spears, scythes, axes, everything clattered as he dumped the arsenal on the ground in front of them.
"Choose your weapon," he said, his tone sharp. "Remember, once you decide, there's no going back."
All four of them stepped forward, each scanning the heap of weapons laid out before them. Aeren moved first, his steps confident and sure. Without hesitation, he picked up a sleek, dark-edged longsword. It fit into his grip as if molded for him with fluid and elegant, yet with a dangerous edge. Caelus thought to himself, 'He probably trained with swords since childhood. Being part of a noble family like the Ashfords, that makes sense.'
Next was Aiv. He chose a slightly curved blade a saber with a silver-blue tint. Caelus could tell from the way Aiv tested its balance mid-air that he wasn't just familiar with swordplay; he had been taught professionally. 'Of course,' Caelus thought. 'He's a disciple of someone from the Awakeners Association. His style must've come from strict training under that master.'
Uriel took a while to decide which weapon she should choose cause there were too many options, and she wasn't exactly sure what would suit her. First, she immediately excluded the axe; it was too heavy, and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it properly. Then came the scythe it felt too unfamiliar, almost like it rejected her presence. Her eyes lingered on the spear next. Something about its length, balance, and precision felt right. With a quiet nod, she picked up the spear and it fit her grip with a sense of assurance.
Caelus was the last to choose. His mind swirled with indecision. The sword, the most common choice, felt like a logical pick. But when he touched its hilt, a sharp jolt ran through his thoughts and his mind instinctively rejected it. He placed it back and reached for a spear next, but it felt wrong in his hands, awkward and distant. Then he touched the scythe. A wave of calm familiarity washed over him, like returning to something long-lost. As if he had known how to use a sycthe his entire life.
[End of chapter 18]