Chapter Four – Railgun
The next day, classes started again, and Instructor Sara had told Class VII that they were having a practical exam on the coming Wednesday, which came as a surprise to everyone, especially since she deliberately omitted what the exam would entail.
Cyrus couldn't help but see the humour in Sara's actions. It was evident to him that she was still upset with her students for the things they said, and while some of them were mad at Cyrus for telling Sara about it, he wasn't bothered. He knew this was a good way for everyone to understand the simple concept that actions have consequences, and keeping secrets about how everyone felt about one another would be detrimental to their ability to work together.
Along with this revelation came the undeniable fact that Cyrus felt a bit hypocritical, as there were still things he hadn't shared with his classmates, but that was because he knew they were not ready to learn of such things. He knew how they reacted to him being a Le Guin, and how they reacted to him being a Master of the Vander School, trained by the Thunder God, Matteus Vander himself. He knew that they'd react similarly to the other secrets he had, one of them being the secret he had shared with both Sara and Instructor Neithardt.
There was one thing that Cyrus had learned of last night, and it made him curious. He had waited the appropriate time before bringing it up, and he had now turned to Rean, who was sat next to him.
"I heard you did some work for the Student Council yesterday, Rean," Cyrus muttered.
"Oh, yeah, I ended up going to see Towa after you gave me my Student Handbook, and one thing led to another, and I offered to help her with some of their requests on my Free Day," Rean responded.
"I heard from Elliot that you guys went to the Old Schoolhouse again and did some more exploring," Cyrus stated, more than asked.
"That's right. Principal Vandyck asked me to go and investigate, and since Elliot and Gaius weren't busy, they tagged along. Did you join the Wind Orchestra with Elliot? He told me you stopped by there yesterday," Rean asked.
"No, but I might consider using their resources, as it can only be a benefit to me in the long run. Anyway, that's not important. The next time you go to the Old Schoolhouse, I would like to accompany you," Cyrus declared, surprising Rean.
"O-oh, o-okay… I mean, would you want to? It wasn't exactly that interesting. Aside from the entire layout being different from last time, there wasn't much to report," Rean commented.
"What?" Cyrus looked at Rean with a strange look. "What do you mean 'the entire layout being different from the last time'?"
"Exactly what I meant. The entire layout of the Old Schoolhouse had changed since we were last down there," Rean responded.
"Anything else you're not telling me?" Cyrus asked, narrowing his eyes at Rean.
"Uhh, no… I think that's all of it," Rean said, before Cyrus slammed his hand down on Rean's desk.
"Don't fuck with me, Schwarzer! I already know everything, or did you forget Elliot and I are good friends? We spent all of last night working on some sheet music together. You think he didn't tell me about what happened down there?" Cyrus snapped, getting shocked looks from everyone in the class.
"Cyrus? Is there something you'd like to share with us?" Sara asked.
"Not at all, Instructor. Please, continue whatever it was you were talking about," Cyrus muttered, waving a hand to signal that Sara could carry on.
"Thank you, Cyrus! I'm so happy I have your express permission to continue after being so rudely interrupted," Sara smiled, before scowling at Cyrus when he smirked at her. "Anyway, what I was saying was that after your practical exam, I'll have a special announcement about your curriculum, and it's incredibly important so I want all of you to pay attention!"
At Sara's comments, Class VII started to all talk at once in regards to what Sara's 'special announcement' could be. Satisfied she had received the desired response, Sara gathered up her things and left the classroom.
"What do you think it could be? I hope it's nothing too dangerous," Elliot muttered, looking worried.
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It'll probably have something to do with why Class VII was established, and why we're all in it," Laura responded, trying to ease Elliot's worries.
"Yeah, Laura's right, you have nothing to worry about, Elliot," Cyrus stated as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk.
"And how exactly do you know that?" Machias asked, looking at Cyrus with a scowl.
"That's not important, all you need to know is that I already know, and it's gonna be fun," Cyrus grinned.
"How do you already know? Instructor Sara only just told us about it, whatever 'it' is. You're bullshitting us," Alisa claimed.
"Hardly. Look, can't you guys just trust me on this? I already know, but Sara doesn't know that I know, as far as I'm aware. I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but, if you don't believe me, here..." Cyrus muttered as he reached into his bag and pulled out a workbook, and proceeded to rip a page out of it and started to write on it.
"What in Aidios' name are you doing?" Jusis scoffed.
"I'm proving to you that I know what Sara's big secret is," Cyrus commented, not looking up as he continued to write. "Ok, here it is. Now, I just need someone to hold on to it… Gaius, how about you?"
"I don't mind doing that for you. What exactly do you want me to do with it though?" Gaius asked as Cyrus handed him the folded-up piece of paper.
"Hold onto that bit of paper and don't look at it until Sara's reveal on Wednesday. Once she tells everyone what her big secret is, I want you to open that piece of paper and show everyone what it says," Cyrus explained.
"Hmm, sounds easy enough. I can do that for you," Gaius nodded as he tucked the folded piece of paper into his back pocket.
"Come on, Gaius! You can't seriously be willing to go through with this, can you?!" Alisa shouted.
"Why not? I have no reason to doubt Cyrus. He's been upfront with us on a lot of things, and if he says he knows what Sara is planning, then I don't see why I shouldn't believe him," Gaius responded.
"Thanks, Gaius. Now, I'm gonna head out. I have stuff to do," Cyrus stated as he stood up and stretched before picking up his bag and leaving.
"Hey, wait a second!" Rean called out as he ran after Cyrus.
"What is it, Rean?" Cyrus sighed, turning to look at the boy.
"You can't reprimand me about not being completely honest about something, when you're doing the same thing," Rean declared, pointing at Cyrus.
"Excuse me?" Cyrus scowled. He wasn't in the mood for Rean's games.
"I didn't say anything at the time, because I thought you might have brought it up later, but since you've failed to, I want to know something..." Rean began.
"Ok, I'll bite; what do you want to know?" Cyrus asked, rolling his eyes when he knew Rean wasn't going to leave him alone.
"Have you received any training in the Eight Leaves One Blade Style?" Rean asked, taking Cyrus by surprise.
"Oh… So that's what this is about… Alright, Rean, allow me to indulge you; the answer is yes," Cyrus responded, understanding why Rean had asked. "Cassius Bright showed me the basics of the Eighth Form after the Red Constellation attacked my mother and I. What you all saw when crushed the Fencing Club was a combination of both the Vander Style, and the Eighth Form of the Eight Leaves One Blade Style."
"Is that how you're able to hold your sword with one hand, and still have a perfect stance?" Rean asked.
"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Cyrus asked, forcing Rean on the back foot.
"What? It… It's not. I just..." Rean began.
"Just what, Rean? Do you not like the idea of someone else learning from the same school as you? My sister is a Master of the Arseid School, and yet you don't see Laura throwing her toys out of the cot. All Cassius showed me was the Eighth Form. I learned to incorporate that into my own fighting style, that's all," Cyrus snapped, giving Rean a hard stare.
"I'm sorry, Cyrus… I didn't mean for it to sound like I'm jealous…" Rean muttered.
"Then how did you want it to sound? Are you afraid I might have been better than you at the Eight Leaves Style?" Cyrus scoffed.
"Well, I don't think that would be too difficult. I mean, you're a Master of the Vander Style, and trained under Matteus Vander himself. I was only a Beginner who wasn't good enough to advance any higher," Rean laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
Rean's attempts to lighten the mood didn't go down well with Cyrus. No sooner had the words left Rean's mouth, Cyrus had grabbed the boy by his collar and pulled him up off the ground.
"Do you think this is a fucking game, Schwarzer? To make light of any kind of Swordsmanship is not only an insult to the craft, but to each and every swordsman who ever existed, yourself included. What would Master Ka-Fai say if he knew you were making a joke out of his teachings?" Cyrus growled, glaring at Rean.
"What's going on out here?" Emma asked as she left the classroom and saw Rean hanging off the ground, thanks to Cyrus.
"Nothing. I was just leaving," Cyrus stated as he put Rean down and walked away.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Jusis snapped, demanding an answer.
"I don't know, but I guess I shouldn't talk about the Way of the Sword so casually to Cyrus..." Rean mumbled as he straightened out his jacket.
Wednesday quickly arrived, and it was now time for Class VII's first 'practical exam'. When the class arrived on the practice field, Sara was already waiting for them, a big smile on her face. Immediately, everyone in Class VII was suspicious.
"Hello, everyone! I hope we're all ready for our first practical exam of the year!" Sara smiled as the students all gathered in a semi-circle around Sara.
"Would it make any difference if we said 'no'?" Elliot asked.
"Not in the slightest," Sara responded, her smile remaining.
"Ok, we're all here, what exactly are we doing?" Jusis snapped.
"I'm going to test your combat skills! Oh, come on! You can't say you didn't see this coming! I am the Academy's Combat and Practical Skills Instructor after all," Sara laughed, looking at all the worried looks on her student's faces.
"Yes, we know that, Instructor, but what worries us is how you're going to conduct the exam. If it's anything like our first day here, you shouldn't be surprised that we're worried," Emma explained, getting a nod from Sara.
"Fair enough. But I can assure you, it's nothing like that!" Sara stated as she snapped her fingers.
When Sara snapped her fingers, a strange doll-like object appeared, seemingly out of thin air, which took everyone by surprise. All the students started talking at once, all expressing their shock at the object.
The object was a strange construct that could float and had arms that were seemingly attached to the body by nothing. They simply floated in place near the top of the main body and acted independently, as if there were a separate entity altogether.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Machias shouted.
"Who cares what it is, how did it just appear out of nowhere like that?!" Alisa gawked.
"It looks like some kind of doll… I'm guessing this thing is how you're going to evaluate our combat abilities?" Gaius asked, looking at Sara.
"Exactly right, Gaius, well done!" Sara smiled. "Alright, now I was going to have you all pair up, since there's ten of you, but I want to see how you perform with three people in a group. However, one group will need to be a four, but don't worry; you're being graded on your overall ability, and your ability to work together in a group, so the four won't have an advantage."
"That won't be necessary, Instructor. You can have your three groups of three. I'll take this exam on my own," Cyrus stated, getting looks from everyone.
"Weren't you listening? The Instructor just said we were being graded on how we work together as a team," Jusis scoffed, looking at Cyrus incredulously.
"Oh, yeah, nah, I heard her… It's just, well..." Cyrus began, trying to find a way to phrase his sentence.
"What? You think you're too good to work with us?" Machias growled.
"Hardly, but when I could destroy this thing in one shot, it hardly seems fair that I let you guys do nothing," Cyrus responded casually.
"You could defeat this thing in one shot? That I'd like to see," Alisa stated, placing her hands on her hips.
"Alisa..." Cyrus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You should all know by now that I am very particular with my words. When I said I can destroy this thing, that's what I meant. There is no room for interpretation."
"Ok, now I have to see this," Fie smirked, getting a nod from Emma and Laura.
"Instructor?" Cyrus turned to Sara expectantly.
"Alrighty… I'd be lying if I said even I wasn't curious to see how you'd pull off this bold claim, but you'll be going last, because I don't want the others to miss out on their exam because of you," Sara stated.
"That's fine by me; I need time to prepare anyway," Cyrus nodded as he walked over to the nearby tree and sat underneath it, crossing his legs and pressing his hands together in fists so his fingers were pressed against each other.
"Is… Is he meditating?" Gaius asked.
"Yes. It's a very common practice among swordsmen. Meditation allows for us to reach a higher plane of mental acuity, allowing our power to increase," Laura explained as she watched Cyrus.
"Alright, let's get into it! Rean, Elliot, and Gaius! You're the first trio, so let's get this show on the road!" Sara called out, summoning the trio to the head of the group.
Whilst the rest of the class were taking their practical exam, Cyrus was off in his own world, meditating. He knew he needed to be fully prepared in order to follow through on his claims. He allowed no distractions from the outside world to impede his preparations, which meant he missed Machias and Jusis fighting over them being in a group with Laura, and Sara smacking both their heads together in order to shut the pair of them up.
After half an hour, the three groups had all been and finished their exam, and all of them had managed to defeat the combat-doll, even Machias and Jusis, but that was more thanks to Laura, who was taking their exam seriously.
"Alright, well done, everyone! It looks like you all managed to beat the Combat Shell; good work!" Sara smiled as everyone looked completely exhausted.
"Whoo, that was pretty tough, but we did it!" Elliot sighed, a big grin on his face.
"Indeed, you did really well supporting us, Elliot," Gaius smiled as he put a friendly hand on Elliot's shoulder.
"That was all your fault! Why didn't you listen to me when I said I had it?!" Machias shouted.
"What nonsense, the only thing you 'had' was going to be a face full of dirt if I hadn't stepped in to save your foolish arse!" Jusis scoffed, glaring at Machias.
"Actually, it was only because of Laura either of you managed to win," Alisa stated.
"Hush, woman! I don't need to hear that from you! If I recall, wasn't it Fie who saved you in your exam?" Jusis responded, which got a rise out of Alisa.
"Shut up! At least I can admit when I mess up, so–" Alisa shouted, before being silenced.
"Enough! Don't ruin a perfectly good exam by fighting amongst each other, honestly!" Sara shouted, clapping her hands together in order to get everyone's attention. "That being said, it looks like it's almost time for the last exam to begin."
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot! Let's see Mr. Big Shot destroy this thing then," Alisa stated, looking over at Cyrus, who was now approaching the rest of the class.
Immediately, Class VII and Sara knew there was something different about Cyrus. Even though he looked calm and almost serene, the air around him felt like he was about to go to war.
"Alisa, your hair!" Emma gasped, as she pointed at Alisa.
"What about it?" Alisa asked, turning to look at Emma, and immediately got her answer.
As Cyrus approached the group, the air became incredibly heavy and humid. The closer he got, the more intense it got, and it started to make everyone's hair stand up from the static.
"Wow, this is really going to be difficult to fix..." Sara muttered as she tried pushing her own hair back down, but to no avail.
When Cyrus walked over to the Combat Shell, everyone noticed he didn't have his weapon on him. This got the class talking, and the main question being asked was 'How is he going to win without a weapon?'
"Before I begin, I have to ask… Does anyone have a coin I can borrow? Fifty Mira should be more than enough," Cyrus turned to address the group.
"I have one… But why do you need it now?" Laura asked.
"Well, I intend on using a coin to destroy this thing," Cyrus stated calmly as he pointed to the Combat Shell over his shoulder.
"Ok, now I know this is bullshit! You can't defeat that thing with a coin! We used swords and guns, and we didn't even scratch it," Machias shouted.
"What part of 'I'm very particular with my words' did you not get? I'm going to destroy this thing with a coin, not defeat it," Cyrus sighed, as he watched Laura approach him with a coin. "Excellent, now if you would please simply drop the coin into my hand, but under no circumstances are you to touch me, alright? I'd rather not have you getting hurt."
That comment really confused and concerned the class. How would Cyrus hurt Laura just from her simply touching him? The class was about to find out as they all watched Laura drop the coin into Cyrus' open palm and back away as Cyrus turned to fact the Combat Shell, which was a considerable distance away.
"How is he going to destroy that thing from there? He must be at least thirty metres away from it," Emma whispered.
"Are you ready, Cyrus?" Sara asked, looking at Cyrus, who was starting to crackle with electricity.
"Absolutely. On you call, Instructor," Cyrus nodded, staring at the Combat Shell.
"Begin," Sara commanded as she watched the events unfold.
Immediately, Cyrus began to discharge an incredible amount of lightning, thunder roaring as the bolts of azure lightning arced up into the sky. As Cyrus raised his left arm, which held the coin Laura gave him, the lightning began to crackle from his hand.
"Disintegrate," Cyrus muttered, as he flicked the coin out of his hand with his thumb, and directly at the Combat Shell.
The moment Cyrus flicked the coin, a massive clap of thunder exploded in the area as the coin was fired right at the Combat Shell. The speed of the coin was so absolute that no-one could keep up with it. In the time it took for people to register Cyrus flicking the coin at the Combat Shell, the coin had already ripped through the Combat Shell, destroying it.
Destroying, however, was a very basic way to describe what happened to the Combat Shell. If Cyrus had simply destroyed it, there would still be pieces of it left. What Cyrus had done was he had disintegrated the Combat Shell. The moment the coin tore through the Combat Shell's body, it was struck with an incredible bolt of lightning, turning it into ash.
The entire display took no more than five seconds, and when it was over, no-one could even formulate a response to what they had just witnessed. What they had seen should not have been possible for any normal human, and yet they just watched Cyrus perform such an act.
"What… What are you?" Alisa breathed.
"Someone who knows just how powerful meditating can be. The ability I just used is called 'Railgun'. By becoming a conduit for the static in the air, I can amplify it with my own power and turn static electricity into real electricity, and when I add a small metal object, like a coin, I can turn the electricity into electromagnetic energy. It's all basic science. In short, I have the ability to fire projectiles at a much more powerful rate than any Orbal Gun, albeit considerably slower," Cyrus explained.
"Incredible… It seems he really is worthy of the title given to him..." Sara thought as she stared at Cyrus, starting to get a picture as to how powerful he could become.
"Just how fast was that thing anyway? I couldn't even see it!" Laura remarked, stunned by what she had witnessed.
"At a guess, I'd say somewhere in the region of about three kilometres per second… So, about three thousand metres per second; whatever is best for you to comprehend," Cyrus shrugged.
"That's crazy! When did you learn something like that?" Elliot asked.
"Funny you should ask that, I actually learned it when I visited Crossbell about two years ago. It's definitely not perfect yet, but it's getting there," Cyrus laughed.
"Are you trying to say you can improve on that?" Emma asked, clearly bewildered.
"I think so. Ideally, I won't need to meditate to gather enough energy to use it, and the firing capability could be improved upon, either to allow rapid fire at a decreased velocity, or to allow more powerful shots, but…" Cyrus muttered.
"Alright, so I think we're all in agreement that Cyrus gets an A+ on this exam," Sara stated as she approached the class.
"What?! Why?!" Alisa shouted, not happy with Sara's statement.
"Why not? No-one else here could do what he did, so I don't understand why you're so against it," Laura pointed out.
"But then what was the point of us doing everything in threes if he's just gonna come along and do that?!" Alisa cried.
"I have to agree with Laura, Alisa… The fact Cyrus completely obliterated that training dummy, with absolutely no effort… We would have only got in his way," Rean remarked, getting nods from everyone else.
"Hey, don't be upset. I'm not going to make a habit out of destroying a Combat Shell every time we have a practical exam, and I do understand the importance of teamwork, but this was my opportunity to show you what I am capable of. Sure, it's barely scratching at the surface, but it's something," Cyrus explained, putting a hand on Alisa's shoulder, who shrugged it off.
"Ugh, you're so unbelievable!" Alisa yelled.
"Alright, settle down everyone, because now I have an announcement to make!" Sara grinned as she pulled several manilla folders out from her jacket.
"Here it comes. Gaius, get that piece of paper ready," Cyrus muttered, nodding at Gaius, who pulled the piece of paper Cyrus had given him two days ago out of his pocket.
"Now, I'm sure you've all been wondering what this is about, and how it relates to your curriculum, well, here it is! The start of the reason why you're all in Class VII; your very first Field Study!" Sara smiled as she handed out a folder to every student.
"A 'Field Study'? What's that?" Rean asked.
"An excellent question, my dear Rean!" Sara grinned. "A Field Study is an assignment where you all get sent to a location in Erebonia and given a set of tasks to complete. The tasks are chosen at random by a contact who lives in the area you're assigned to, and you have to help them out by completing the tasks that have been assigned to you."
"Alright, seems interesting. Where are we going?" Fie muttered.
"Open those folders I've given you, and you'll see," Sara stated, as she watched the class open their folders and read the information inside, and continued to watch as two students' faces changed from curious to angry.
"What the hell is this?!" Machias shouted after reading the documents.
"This has to be a joke," Jusis stated, putting the papers away and throwing the folder on the ground at Sara's feet.
When Class VII had opened and read their documents, they found they had been split into two groups of five. On the documents, the groups were listed.
Group A; Alisa, Elliot, Fie, Laura, Rean – Location; Celdic – The Market Town.
Group B; Cyrus, Emma, Gaius, Jusis, Machias – Location; Parm – The Spinning Town.
"Oho, it's not a joke. Those are the groups I have picked, and if you don't like them, well I'm afraid you're just going to have to suck it up, buttercup," Sara stated, her tone telling everyone she was not going to argue about group placements.
"Come on, you two, it'll be fine. Parm's a nice place, and you guys can continue hating each other once we get back, alright?" Cyrus said as he picked up Jusis' folder and handed it back to the young Noble.
"If you think I'm going to work with someone like him, then you're a bigger fool than I thought!" Jusis shouted, slapping the folder out of Cyrus' hand.
"There's no way in hell I'm gonna work with a stuck-up Noble like him… Or you, for that matter!" Machias yelled.
"Is that right? Well, I apologise, as I don't think I made myself clear. You will work together on this assignment, and you will not jeopardise the Field Study for the rest of us. If you do, well… Let's just say, I've never tested my Railgun ability on a human before, but I am curious to know if it'll do to a human what it did to that Combat Shell. Do I make myself clear?" Cyrus responded, looking at both boys with a very kind smile that made both Jusis and Machias very uncomfortable.
"Wow, looks like someone isn't messing about..." Gaius muttered, getting a nod from Elliot.
"Alright, you've made your point, you're a scary person," Alisa huffed before changing the subject. "I've never been to Celdic before, so does anyone know what it's like?"
"Well, as the name suggests, it's a market town on the East side of Erebonia, in the Kreuzen Province," Laura stated.
"What about Parm? Is that also in the East of Erebonia?" Gaius asked.
"No, Parm is in the deep south, in the Sutherland Province," Cyrus responded. "For a small town, it's really well known by a majority of the citizens of the Empire for its spinners."
"Hmm, I wonder if I could pick up some souvenirs for my family while I'm there?" Gaius muttered.
"As long as you guys know why you're there, then you can do whatever you like for the entire weekend," Sara commented.
"Wait, are you not coming with us, Instructor?" Emma asked.
"I might pop in on you guys every now and again, but I won't be there to hold your hands and tell you what to do, if that's what you're meaning," Sara replied. "Nope, you're completely on your own this weekend."
"Hmph, sounds like it could be fun… I guess," Fie shrugged.
"Oh, and one last thing; you'll all be getting to your respective locations by train, which will be leaving early on Saturday morning, so don't be late, otherwise you'll miss your train, and you'll automatically fail. See ya!" Sara waved as she turned around and walked off.
The rest of the class began to follow suit, until they were stopped by Alisa, who looked somewhat serious.
"Aren't you guys forgetting something?" Alisa called out, getting the rest of the class to stop and look at her.
"No…? I don't – Oh, wait! I remember!" Elliot exclaimed, before turning to Cyrus.
"Hey, don't look at me, Gaius has the piece of paper," Cyrus pointed to the Nord boy.
With everyone staring at him, Gaius unfolded the piece of paper and read what Cyrus had written, and as soon as he did, he gasped and looked at Cyrus with shock.
"How did–? That's incredible," Gaius breathed.
"What? What does it say?" Rean asked.
Gaius simply turned the piece of paper around so the rest of Class VII could read what Cyrus had written down.
Sara's 'Special Announcement' is about a part of our curriculum called 'Field Studies'. Dated this day, Monday April 19th S.1204. Cyrus Le Guin.
At the bottom of the page was Cyrus' signature, which made the whole thing that much more authentic. No-one could deny that this was Cyrus' signature, or handwriting. Everyone simply gawked at Cyrus, who had somehow managed to predict exactly what Sara had been planning.
"That shouldn't even be possible..." Emma whispered, still trying to comprehend what she had seen.
"Why not? It's not magic," Cyrus shrugged.
"So, how did you know what it was going to be about?" Machias asked, trying to hide his bewilderment behind annoyance.
"Let's just say, Sara can be really talkative, provided you know how to exploit her weaknesses," Cyrus smirked.
"You're so disgusting, you pervert!" Alisa cried.
"Are you fucking joking?! How was that perverted? Son of a bitch, alright, since you won't even let me have that; Sara got hammered Sunday afternoon while you were all out at your clubs, and she told me about them. That's why I said I didn't think she was aware that I knew," Cyrus stated, shaking his head at Alisa.
"Yeah, I can believe that," Fie muttered, rolling her eyes.
"She's really bad at the self-control bit, isn't she?" Emma chuckled nervously.
"Ah, leave her be. Sundays are her Free Days too. As long as she doesn't do it during school hours again, I don't care," Cyrus muttered, before turning and walking off. He wasn't about to admit that Sara had managed to get him to change his opinion of her day drinking, especially when she managed to do it whilst drunk.
As Cyrus made his way back to the Third Dormitory, he was spotted by Bridget and Ferris, who had seen him coming down the street from the Upper Class Dormitory.
"Cyrus! Come here for a second!" Ferris called out as she waved him down.
"Ferrie? What's wrong?" Cyrus asked as he approached his cousin.
"Nothing, I just heard from Bridget that you put on a little performance in the Music Room yesterday," Ferris grinned.
"Hah, a few bars from one song is hardly a 'performance'," Cyrus laughed.
"Too bad I missed it; I would have asked you to sing my favourite song by Corvo Octavius," Ferris smiled.
"Ah, well, maybe next time," Cyrus responded, patting Ferris' head.
"I still find it odd that you two are cousins," Bridget commented.
"Just wait until you see our mothers. To be fair, we're probably closer to half-siblings, since our mothers are biologically identical. According to our grandparents, they used to be little devils and swap themselves out to play pranks on people as kids," Cyrus responded, making Bridget giggle at the thought.
"Sounds exactly like the sort of thing Vivi does with her sister, Linde," Bridget smirked.
"Yeah, I've heard about that myself. Though, fortunately for Ferrie and I, growing up with mothers who are twins makes it easier for us to tell them apart," Cyrus nodded.
"That's right; you just have to look for specific mannerisms that are unique to each twin. Once you figure that out, telling them apart is easy," Ferris nodded.
"What are you doing?" Alisa snapped as she saw Cyrus with Ferris and Bridget.
"You want to try that again, but without the snarky attitude?" Cyrus asked, looking at Alisa with an unimpressed scowl. Along with Alisa was the rest of Class VII, except Fie, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Yeah, you have no right to talk to a Noble that way, you dirty Commoner!" Ferris shouted, glaring at Alisa from behind Cyrus.
"Hey, whoa, be nice. That isn't what I was annoyed about," Cyrus turned, looking at Ferris with a surprised look.
"But… But she's always acting like she's better than me in Lacrosse Club!" Ferris shouted, pointing at Alisa accusingly.
"What?! I do not!" Alisa gasped, looking at everyone with bewilderment.
"Ferrie, please, this isn't something you should be getting into a fight over. Alisa might be a Commoner, but she's still a human, and all humans deserve dignity and respect," Cyrus explained, patting Ferris on the head.
"Isn't that a bit hypocritical, coming from you?" Alisa asked accusingly, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh, so that's what this is about. I already told you what that was, and it had nothing to do with you personally. Besides, this about my cousin, not me; but I don't want Ferris being unnecessarily rude and judgemental, just because someone isn't a Noble," Cyrus responded, looking at Alisa with an impassive stare.
Alisa stood there looking at Cyrus with a hard frown on her face, making it clear she was annoyed with him. For a few moments, no-one said anything, until Machias stepped forward, and addressed Ferris and Bridget.
"What exactly are you two doing out of class anyway? Classes don't end for another half an hour," Machias stared at the two Noble girls, scowling at them.
"Not that it's any business of yours, but I have a free period at the moment, as Vice Principal Heinrich was called away on urgent business, so he dismissed our entire class," Ferris snapped, glaring at Machias. "Bridget had a free period now anyway, so here we are."
"Oh, would that have anything to do with the thunder and lighting that we heard and saw a few minutes ago? I can imagine that would have grabbed everyone's attention," Bridget mused, whilst the entirety of Class VII all looked at Cyrus, who simply shrugged with indifference.
"Oh, you were right, they are here," a voice from the Upper Class Dormitory sneered, gaining everyone's attention.
"Son of a bitch..." Ferris muttered under her breath.
The person who spoke was a male student from Class I, who was now marching down the steps towards Class VII, and the two Noble girls. Behind him were three more people, one of them everyone noticed immediately; Patrick T. Hyarms.
Normally, it would have been Patrick who had declared his presence, but since his jaw was still wired shut, it was another Noble from the Sutherland Province. A boy who Class VII knew as Eric; Patrick's temporary mouthpiece.
"What the hell are you doing here, Patrick?" Ferris hissed.
"Excuse you? This is our Dormitory. What are these Class VII rats doing here? None of them belong here… Except for Lord Jusis and Lady Laura," Eric scoffed, using his position from the steps he was on to look down his nose at Class VII.
"What does your Master want, Eric? Ferris is my cousin; I can talk to her if I so wish," Cyrus turned to address Eric, but stared right at Patrick.
"It has recently occurred to us that you never apologised to His Lordship for what you did to him, so we've come to collect on that," Eric stated, frowning at Cyrus.
"Surely you jest. He has nothing to apologise for, as you willingly walked into a fight with him. Not only that, but you acted like a coward and stabbed him in the back, whilst he was unarmed. To be quite frank, Your Lordship, you deserved that broken jaw," Jusis scoffed, showing disdain at Patrick being called 'His Lordship' by Eric.
"With respect, Lord Jusis, I would ask that you stay out of this, as it does not concern the Noble House of Albarea. This concerns the Noble House of Hyarms, and the lowly House of Le Guin," Eric snorted, spitting upon the mention of Cyrus' family name.
"You want your jaw broken too, you arsehole?" Cyrus growled, cracking his knuckles and taking a step forward.
"Cyrus, don't," Laura whispered. "He's not worth you getting in trouble."
"Hmph, you're right. Human trash is usually complimented by human waste, and neither one is worth my time," Cyrus muttered as he turned and walked away.
"I would watch who you're addressing, scum. You might think yourself arrogant enough to be untouchable, but I know there are those around you who are not..." Eric sneered, staring darkly at Ferris.
At that threat, Cyrus stopped in his tracks and turned around, and saw Eric was looking at Ferris. A flood of anger consumed Cyrus as he marched back towards him. His eyes were fixed solely on Patrick's servant as he clenched his left hand into a fist, which began to spark slightly.
"I dare you to say that again, motherfucker," Cyrus hissed, his eyes burning with rage.
"Tch, you're only acting tough because your friends are here. If they weren't you'd be on your knees, begging for clemency," Eric scoffed.
"Are you joking? Cyrus would crush you without even trying. Cease this disgusting display, before I am forced to stop you myself!" Laura shouted, her hand going to her Greatsword that was currently strapped to her back.
With a snap of his fingers, Patrick called for Eric to back down, and he and his entourage returned to the Dormitory. Class VII all watched on with looks of anger and disgust. Was Patrick really so depraved that he would try and hurt someone else, just to send a message? Cyrus definitely seemed to think so, and it appeared that Ferris knew Patrick was capable of such a thing too, as she had a worried look on her face, which was why Cyrus chose to approach her.
"Hey, don't let him get to you. I'd never let anything happen to you, or Vincent. He might be the son of Marquis Hyarms, but if he ever tries to harm you, I'll hang him from the school's rooftop," Cyrus growled, staring at the direction of the Upper Class Dormitory.
"That won't be necessary, but thank you. I know you wouldn't let him hurt me, so don't worry about it. Besides, he might very well be the son of Marquis Hyarms, but his cousin isn't Lamare's Golden Rakshasa, now, is it?" Ferris smiled as Cyrus put a hand on her head.
"You're absolutely right. Aurelia is many things, but even she would not tolerate people who bring harm to her family," Cyrus chuckled.
"He's almost as scary as his sister..." Alisa muttered.
"Perhaps, but it's clear he cares about his family. I'd do anything to protect my little sister," Rean commented, causing Alisa to do a double-take.
"Wait, you have a little sister?!" Alisa cried.
"You never told us about that, Rean," Elliot added, sounding surprised.
"Oh, I guess it just never came up. I have a younger sister called Elise. She's fifteen years old, and goes to school in Heimdallr," Rean explained.
"Heimdallr? What school, exactly?" Machias asked, narrowing his eyes at Rean.
"Machias, if I were you, I'd stop myself right there before someone decides to call the Police," Cyrus stated, getting a scoff of amusement from Jusis, and a snort of laughter from Emma, who immediately felt bad about it.
"What…?" Machias muttered, looking at Cyrus, and slowly putting the pieces together. "Hey! That is not what I meant, and you know it!"
"Ah, well… Someone had to check, right?" Cyrus laughed as he walked off back to the Third Dormitory. "I'll see you later, Ferrie. Bye, Bridget."
The rest of Class VII followed suit and returned to the Third Dormitory, with Machias grumbling under his breath. When they returned, they found Fie sat on the couch, and Sara stood greeting them, with an object wrapped in cloth.
"Instructor? What have you got there?" Emma asked, as she looked at Sara with curiosity.
"I… Don't actually know. I found this waiting for me when I got back after our class. I mean, it's not actually mine; I don't know who it's for," Sara stated, holding up a piece of paper.
On the paper, the name 'Ishkur' was written. The handwriting was very elegant, and had a flare to it that showed the person who wrote it was very well versed in calligraphic writing.
"Fuck..." Cyrus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That would be for me."
"What is it?" Laura asked.
"A response I didn't want, but nonetheless expected," Cyrus muttered as he walked over to Sara and took the object and proceeded to make his way over to the table and set the object down on it.
As Cyrus unwrapped the cloth, he found himself looking at a sheathed sword. The scabbard was made from lacquered black wood and had gold accents trimmed into the top and bottom, and the handle of the sword was wrapped in dark blue silk with a black pommel and guard.
When Cyrus pulled the sword from the sheathe, he let out a snort of amusement when he saw the blade. The blade itself was around seventy centimetres in length and was completely black, but under the right light, it was different.
"It's blue!" Emma gasped, looking at Cyrus' new sword.
"Impossible! A weapon cannot change colour unless it's magic," Jusis scoffed.
"Emma's right. I can see a faint bit of blue in the blade," Fie nodded.
"I can't believe they did it..." Cyrus muttered as he put the sword down and turned his attention to the letter.
Ishkur,
I received word from the Rakshasa about your condition. She expressed her concern about your lack of restraint, which has now started to concern me as well. Unfortunately, I am currently away on business and cannot make it to you at this time. In my stead, I have sent the sword I promised you after your ascension. I decided to have it designed similarly to the sword the Remiferian Royal Guard uses.
As I'm sure you're aware by now, having looked at the sword before my letter, we were successful in refining the meteorite that crashed in the location of your final test, less than a day after your ascension was confirmed. Not only that, but we managed to galvanise the blade with Trillium; an exceedingly rare metal found only in the southern-eastern parts of Remiferia, near the borders of Calvard. With this addition, your blade will not only be tougher, but will allow you to fully utilise your abilities you have learned under me. We have decided to name your sword 'The Black Emperor', a name chosen for obvious reasons.
Rest assured, Ishkur, I will be there in person as soon as I am able. I would send another in my place, but unfortunately, all are busy with their own duties. Until that time, I ask that you remain steadfast in your convictions, both to your goal, and the Way of the Sword.
Master
"Trillium? I've never heard of such a thing," Machias muttered.
"Do you mind? If I wanted an audience, I would have asked for one," Cyrus snapped, turning around to find everyone had been reading the letter over his shoulder.
"The Remiferian Royal Guard? I believe they use something called a Dao as their primary sword of choice..." Laura mused.
"That's right. It's somewhat similar to Rean's Tachi, as Remiferia shared their knowledge of sword crafting with Calvard long ago, but their swords are broader, and with this addition of Trillium..." Cyrus muttered, looking over at the black blade.
"What is it?" Gaius asked.
"With my sword being augmented by Trillium, I could slice through Rean's Tachi like it were made of wood," Cyrus stated, looking at Rean, who went wide-eyed.
"Surely something like that can't be possible," Rean responded, laughing nervously. "R-right?"
"No, it is… I've heard about Trillium Ore being used in the production in some weapons. It's an incredibly hard mineral, that increases metal's breaking point, making the metal it's combined with nigh indestructible," Sara stated.
"It would seem Matteus Vander really went above and beyond to make this weapon for you… Forged out of a meteorite and enhanced with Trillium. Incredible," Laura muttered, looking over at the sword.
"Yeah…" Cyrus trailed off, re-reading the note.
"Is something wrong?" Elliot asked.
"No, it's nothing," Cyrus responded as he folded up the note and put it in his pocket.
"Hold on, is no-one else going to ask the question we all have?" Alisa asked, looking at everyone. "What's with all the codenames in the letter. I mean, I know 'Rakshasa' is your sister, but why are you 'Ishkur'?"
"That is just something the Master does will all his students; we use aliases on paper so, on the off chance a letter gets lost or stolen, no-one would be able to understand who the intended recipient is," Cyrus shrugged.
"Ah, I suppose that makes sense; Matteus Vander is the Emperor's personal bodyguard. I'm sure he spends a lot of time writing letters and messages to people that include a lot of sensitive information, so by using codewords and aliases, it makes it harder for anyone other than the person meant to be reading the letter to understand what's actually being discussed," Laura reasoned.
Cyrus simply said nothing and allowed his classmates to come up with their own ideas regarding the contents of the letter.
Saturday morning had finally arrived, and Cyrus had been up since the crack of dawn. He was all set and ready to go, and was currently sitting in Trista Train Station, waiting for the rest of his group, which he heard before he saw.
"I don't care what you think; I will not be taking orders from the likes of you!" Machias shouted from outside the station.
"Cease your prattle. It's far too early to be listening to you shout like a child," Jusis snapped as the rest of Group B entered the station.
"It's not even seven in the morning and you two idiots are already fighting?" Cyrus sighed as he walked over to the group.
"Yes, it's been a bit of a struggle just to make sure we all had everything before leaving," Emma smiled weakly. Even Cyrus could see she was already over the group.
"Come on you two. Can't you just get along for this weekend? It's only while we're on this Field Study," Gaius pleaded.
"I am not going to prance about acting like we're best buddies! I'd sooner be locked up in Heimdallr Prison than be friends with someone like him!" Machias shouted.
"Alright, I'm going to make this very easy for you both; you can shut up now, and I won't crack your fucking heads together. Understand?!" Cyrus shouted, silencing the two boys. "Good. Now, let's go."
As Group B approached the Ticket Desk, the train station employee had pulled out five train tickets and laid them out in front of her.
"Five tickets to Parm, travelling on the Sutherland Main Line," the employee smiled as she watched Cyrus gather up the tickets and distribute them to the rest of the group.
"How did they know we needed these tickets?" Gaius asked, as he looked at his own ticket.
"Oh, Instructor Sara came by yesterday and asked me to prepare them for you. You'll need to swap trains in Heimdallr, but those tickets will get you all the way to Parm," the employee nodded as she explained things to the group.
"Hmph, maybe our Instructor is actually good for something," Jusis snorted as he put his ticket in the breast pocket of his jacket.
"Jusis, that's not really fair. Instructor Sara has been working really hard since she found out we were… Less than accommodating. I think we should cut her some slack," Emma stated as she frowned at Jusis.
"Yeah, I agree with Emma. We were unnecessarily hurtful to her, even though it was someone's fault she found out," Machias stated, scowling at Cyrus.
"Yeah, and if she didn't who's to say she wouldn't have remained the same, or gotten worse? You should be thanking me," Cyrus shrugged as he walked off towards the platform with Emma, Gaius, and Jusis in tow.
"What?! Are you–!? Grrr!" Machias growled as he stomped off to join the rest of his group on the platform.
"Hey, what about Rean's group? Shouldn't we wait for them?" Gaius asked.
"No, their train isn't for another hour, so they will be back at the dorm getting ready," Jusis responded, getting a nod from Emma.
"I just hope Fie gets out of bed in time..." Emma mumbled, looking worried.
"Attention all passengers; the train bound for Heimdallr is now arriving on Platform Two. All passengers wishing to board this train, please wait until the train has come to a complete stop and all passengers have disembarked before boarding," a monotone voice over the tannoy announced as a train starting to come into view just outside Trista Station.
As the train arrived in the station, Group B waited on the platform until the train had come to a complete stop, and watched as a dozen or so passengers got off the train. Once they were sure everyone had disembarked, the students boarded the train and took a set of seats in one of the carriages and waited for the train to depart.
After a five-minute stop, the train doors closed and a whistle sounded, signalling that the train was now departing the station. A few seconds later, the train lurched forward and slowly began pulling out of Trista, and towards Heimdallr.
Twenty minutes after leaving Trista, the train had arrived at Heimdallr Central Station. It was here that Group B had to disembark and make their way over to the Sutherland Line.
"Hmm, let's see here… We arrived on Platform Five, and the Sutherland Line departs from..." Machias muttered as he read the directory.
"Here; Platform Four. That's on the other side of the station," Cyrus pointed to the directory which had 'Parm' listed as the terminus of the line.
"Honestly, what fool puts sequentially numbered platforms on opposite sides of a station?" Jusis scoffed, looking at the station directory to locate Platform Four.
"That's alright, we still have ten minutes until our train leaves," Emma stated.
"Yes, but it takes at least seven minutes to get to Platform Four from here, provided we don't get lost," Machias responded, adjusting his glasses as he stood up straight.
"Then we had best get moving," Jusis said walking off on his own.
"Hey! Don't go running off on your own! If you get lost, it'll be your own fault!" Machias shouted.
"Please, I do not 'get lost'," Jusis scoffed, turning back to look at Machias with an irritated look.
"Grr, why don't you just–!" Machias growled.
"Jusis, it's all well and good saying you don't get lost, but this is Heimdallr Central Station. Look around you, it's not even eight o'clock, and this place is quickly filling up," Cyrus cut in, ultimately stopping another fight.
Jusis looked around and realised Cyrus was right. The station was seeing a rapid increase in people using the trains, most of them were people who were commuting to their jobs. While he wasn't about to admit it, Jusis knew there was a good possibility that he would get lost in the station with all these people.
"We need to be careful. We should stick together and make our way over to the platform as a group," Gaius declared, getting a nod from Emma and Cyrus.
"Machias, you're from Heimdallr, right? That means you'd be the best one to escort us to Platform Four without anyone getting lost," Cyrus looked at the bespectacled boy, who frowned.
"Yeah, but why should I escort you? Surely you two know where to go, because you Nobles obviously have a secret ability that allows you always know exactly where you're going," Machias huffed.
"Can we not do this now? Machias, please just take us to Platform Four; we don't have time for this petty nonsense," Emma sighed, showing annoyance, which took everyone by surprise.
"Ugh, fine. This way," Machias rolled his eyes as he turned and prepared to escort the group to their designated platform.
"Nice work, Emma," Cyrus whispered as he walked up alongside the Class VII President.
"Sometimes all it takes is a woman's touch," Emma giggled as the group began to climb a set of stairs that would take them across a bridge to the other side of the station.
As the group made their way across the bridge, Cyrus noticed a man who was looking around very nervously. When he saw Emma, he started to quickly walk over to her, his eyes focused directly on her.
Emma was too distracted by the size of Heimdallr Central to even notice the man who was rapidly approaching her, so it came as a surprise when she saw Cyrus appear in front of her and reached out to grab the man. What took Cyrus by surprise was how quickly the man had reacted, and before anyone could do anything, Cyrus found himself falling over the bridge and down onto the train tracks below.
"Cyrus!" Emma cried out, trying to reach out to Cyrus, to no avail.
Cyrus crashed into the ground with a dull thud, which was followed by a shocked uproar from the passengers who had seen him fell. Groaning, Cyrus sat up and tried to assess what had happened.
"Fucking hell… That hurt..." Cyrus muttered as he rolled his shoulders to make sure nothing was dislocated.
Attention passengers; the Transcontinental Train Service bound for Crossbell is now arriving on Platform Three. Please stand clear of the train as it makes its arrival into the station, and wait until the train has come to a complete stop before boarding. Thank you for travelling on the Transcontinental Railroad Service bound for Crossbell.
The tannoy announcement was loud and cut through the general panic that had started to spread after dozens of people had seen a young man fall from the skybridge that was almost ten metres above the tracks.
After hearing the announcement, Cyrus looked up and saw the sign directly above him. Platform Three.
"Of course..." Cyrus sighed as he tried to stand up as he heard the whistle of the approaching train.
"You fool! Stop pissing about and get off the tracks!" Jusis shouted from above Cyrus. He sounded mad, but Cyrus also knew he was little panicked.
Cyrus knew he wasn't going to make off the tracks before the train barrelled into the station, ultimately killing him. Not by normal means at least.
"I really hope this works..." Cyrus whispered as he stood up and closed his eyes.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Machias shouted in disbelief.
"Samadhi!" Cyrus shouted, punching his fists together, causing a roar of thunder and a flash of white light.
When the light had subsided, the train that was arriving on Platform Three had started to come to a stop. No-one saw Cyrus on the platform and had begun to assume the worst. People were shouting in shock and several people in grey uniforms had rushed onto the platform and started to move people away from the train.
"What happened?" Gaius asked, looking around but unable to see Cyrus.
"I don't know…" Emma whispered, staring at the spot where Cyrus had been, which was now filled by a train carriage.
"Hey, behind you," a male voice whispered, which made Emma jump. When she turned around, she saw a tall figure in with a dark grey hood obscuring most of his face, but the red jacket he was wearing was unmistakable; it was the jacket of Thors' Military Academy's Class VII. Gaius, Jusis, and Machias were also staring at the person in shock.
"Cyrus?! Wha-? How?" Emma gasped, trying to comprehend how Cyrus was standing before her.
"I'll explain later, but right now, I want to get out of here," Cyrus muttered.
"Shouldn't we tell someone that you're alright?" Gaius asked as Cyrus started leading everyone across the skybridge.
"As much as I'd like to, I feel like that would just piss people off," Cyrus explained as they rushed down the opposite set of stairs.
"You've got that right; someone falls off a bridge onto train tracks with an oncoming train and vanishes in the blink of an eye? Some would assume you're magic," Jusis snorted at the ludicrous statement.
"Yeah, and if we want to get to Parm on time, I'd very much like to avoid that third degree, so just shut up and keep moving," Cyrus whispered as he pushed everyone ahead of him, and looking back over his shoulder only to see everyone was still distracted by the train on Platform Three… Almost everyone.
Across the station, under one of the skybridges, two people were stood watching Cyrus and his classmates. One was a woman, and the other was a man.
"So, are we satisfied?" The man asked as he started to take his wig and facial prosthetics off.
"Definitely. He's a prime candidate; exactly what we're looking for. I don't even think Matteus Vander could have done something like that," the woman responded.
"True… He'd have simply cut the train in half," the man chuckled dryly as he threw away his disguise.
"Are you suggesting he couldn't?" the woman looked at her companion with a raised eyebrow.
"Not at all… With his potential, I strongly believe he could have cleaved that train out of existence… Time will tell if such a thing will be possible though..." the man responded as the woman turned to leave. "You going to let the boss know?"
"Someone has to. It's not every day we have someone like the Thunder Emperor right in front of us. You know they would be disappointed if we didn't at least try and offer him a position within our ranks," the woman responded without looking back.
Cyrus and the rest of his group had managed to successfully get on board the train to Parm, which had been delayed by about fifteen minutes due to what had happened to Cyrus. However, no-one questioned him or his classmates when getting on the train, and after the all clear had been given, the train to Parm was off and desperately trying to make up for lost time.
It was mid-afternoon by the time the train had reached Saint-Arkh, and Cyrus knew the final leg of the journey would take another hour or so, meaning they'd get into Parm just before the early hours of the evening. Since leaving Heimdallr, Cyrus had pretended to be asleep, as he knew the rest of the group would be trying to bombard him with questions about what had happened in Heimdallr Central Station, and he just wasn't up for a Q&A session at that point in time.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, Group B had arrived in Parm. They decided the best thing to do first was to get settled in at their lodgings, an inn known as The White Footpath. As soon as they left the station, Group B went looking for the inn, and found it relatively easily.
They crossed the town square and entered the inn. When the group walked in, the barman saw them and immediately knew who they were. He put down the glass he was polishing and walked from out behind the bar and over to the students.
"Ah, you must be them Thors students I was told about. The name's Bertrand; the owner of this here inn," the barman nodded, smiling at the students.
"You knew we were coming?" Machias responded, sounding surprised.
"I'm not familiar with all Erebonian customs, but wouldn't it be right to introduce ourselves first?" Gaius asked, looking a little confused.
"Indeed. Please, forgive our friend. We are students from Thors' Military Academy's Class VII. I am Emma Millstein, the Class President," Emma introduced herself to Bertrand, bowing to the man.
"A pleasure, Miss Millstein. I take it you're the one in charge of this little group?" Bertrand asked, looking at the five students.
"Ehh, not exactly… I'll defer to Cyrus on that matter. I feel like he'd be more suited for that role. This is our first Field Study, and he's definitely the most capable out of the group," Emma responded, pointing at Cyrus.
"Ah, I see… Well, it's nice to meet you, lad. I'm Bertrand," Bertrand held out a hand to Cyrus.
"Well met, Bertrand. I am Cyrus Le Guin, and this is Gaius Worzel, Machias Regnitz, and Jusis Albarea," Cyrus shook Bertrand's hand and introduced the rest of the group.
"Oho! It's not every day we get the son of a Duke, and the son of the Imperial Governor visiting our humble little town, and by the looks of the other lad, I'd say he was from Nord," Bertrand nodded in wonder.
"That's correct. I am from Nord. I was able to attend Thors' thanks to a recommendation sent from the Lieutenant General of the Imperial Army's Third Armoured Division," Gaius explained.
"I didn't know you got into Thors' because of One-Eyed Zechs. How'd you manage that?" Cyrus turned to look at Gaius.
"I assisted him and his soldiers in wiping out a swarm of monsters and he believed my expertise with a spear would only be a benefit to the Empire in the future, so he gave me a recommendation to attend Thors'," Gaius stated.
"Can the pair of you focus on the task at hand? We're here to do a Field Study, not have a picnic," Jusis stated as he pushed his way to the front the group and stood in front of Bertrand. "What exactly are we doing while we're here?"
"Easy there, Little Duke… I'm not the man you need to speak to about that; I'm just a simple innkeeper," Bertrand shook his head.
"Jusis! Don't be so rude!" Emma whispered, scowling at Jusis. "I'm sorry about that, Bertrand."
"It's quite alright. I'll bet the young lad hasn't ever had to ask for anything before, so he's not quite sure how to do it," Bertrand laughed.
"I beg your pardon?" Jusis scoffed, glaring at the man.
"Give it a rest, Jusis. Since you were expecting us, I'd assume you know who we have to go and see?" Cyrus asked.
"I do, sir… But first, let me show you to your rooms," Bertrand turned and walked towards the stairs, indicating for the group to follow him. "Now, I know here are five of you, but in order to save space, it's been decided that it'll be two to a room, and the young lady will be by herself, for obvious reasons."
"You didn't have to do that, Bertrand. We are students of a Military Academy after all. Communal living is part of being in the Military," Emma smiled as she followed Bertrand.
"Perhaps, but these orders came from your Instructor. She told me who would be put into what room," Bertrand replied as he stopped outside a wooden door.
"Sara picked our room-mates? I can see where this is going..." Cyrus muttered, hanging his head in pre-emptive despair.
"The first pair will be Jusis and Machias. This here is your room," Bertrand stated as he opened the door he was standing in front of.
"ARE YOU JOKING?!" Jusis and Machias shouted together, before glaring at each other.
"I'm afraid not, young sirs… Miss Sara was very clear on the living arrangements during your stay," Bertrand said as he guided the two boys into the room. "Please, unpack whatever belongings you'll need and then meet downstairs."
Bertrand quickly left the room and closed the door before either boy could respond in protest. Their dark glares were more than enough of a protest to Bertrand, who took the other three further down the corridor.
"I really hope those two don't cause any trouble..." Emma whispered.
"I'm just worried they'll keep the entire inn up at night with all the noise they're bound to make," Gaius spoke, which caused Emma to freeze up.
"Uhh, wh-what was that?" Emma asked, turning to Gaius, her cheeks looking a little flushed.
"What? Is my assessment of the situation wrong? I figured if anyone could go at it all night, it'd be those two..." Gaius shrugged, looking from Emma to Cyrus.
"I don't think that was the best way to word that, Gaius..." Cyrus muttered as he stared at Emma, who shuddered slightly.
"Is everything alright?" Bertrand asked. "Is Miss Millstein not feeling well?"
"I don't think that's it… Hey, Emma?" Cyrus snapped his fingers in front of Emma's face, making her jump.
"I wasn't doing anything!" Emma cried, before looking at Cyrus and turning bright red.
"Oh, good, we haven't lost you. Come on, you still need to know where your room is," Cyrus smiled as he walked past Emma and gently patted her shoulder.
At the far end of the corridor, Emma was shown to her room, and Cyrus and Gaius' room was around the corner, about halfway down another corridor. Once Bertrand had shown Group B to their rooms, he returned back downstairs and waited for the five to return.
About fifteen minutes later, the students had all congregated down at the bar, where Bertrand was standing, putting bottles of liquor on the shelves.
"Are you all ready to go? Good. You can get your first tasks from the Mayor; Gallart. He should have a few simple tasks for you to complete before the end of the day, just to ease you into what is expected of you during your Field Study," Bertrand explained.
"Sounds fair. Where does Mayor Gallart live?" Cyrus asked.
"Right next door, actually. Convenient, no?" Bertrand laughed.
"Very convenient. Come on, let's get this over with," Jusis sighed, turning around and walking over to the door and leaving the building.
"Hmph, someone's keen," Machias snorted.
"He has a point though; we aren't here for a vacation," Cyrus stated as he followed Jusis and left the building.
"He better not start acting like he's in charge. If he does, we're going to have problems," Machias muttered as he left too, leaving only Emma and Gaius who looked at each other with trepidation.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a long weekend?" Emma sighed as she and Gaius went to join the rest of the group.
"Hello? Oh, you must be the students from Thors' Military Academy! Come in, come in; we've been expecting you!" Mayor Gallart smiled as he opened the door to his home and found five teenagers standing before him.
Machias and Jusis simply walked into the house, shoving each other to try and be the first one inside, which caused Emma to look at Gallart with an apologetic smile and bow to him. Cyrus nodded to Gallart, who nodded back, but Gaius was the only one who offered a verbal response to the man.
"Thank you for opening up your home to us, Mayor Gallart. You are a most generous man," Gaius bowed before taking Gallart's hand and shaking it.
"Oh, such wonderful manners… You're not from Erebonia, are you?" Gallart smiled as he returned Gaius' firm handshake with his own.
"No, sir, I am from the Nord Highlands," Gaius responded, causing Gallart to nod.
"Ah, I see… I've never been, but I heard it is a beautiful place," Gallart smiled as he ushered Gaius into the Living Room and beckoned the group to take a seat. "Now then, I have your first set of Field Study Tasks for you right here."
As Gallart reached over to a small table next to his seat, he picked up a manilla folder which had the Horned Lion of Thors printed on it. He took a second to decide who he would pass it to, before he ultimately settled on Cyrus, which seemed to annoy Jusis and Machias, something that Cyrus chose to ignore.
"I decided on these two tasks as they're in the same general area around Parm, and they'll allow you to get a good understanding of how a Field Study works. Your Instructor gave me a general rundown of what she would like you to do, but the choice of the tasks themselves were left up to me," Gallart explained as Cyrus opened the folder and read what was on the page.
When Cyrus read what tasks had been selected for Group B, he couldn't help but smile for two reasons. The first reason was that he now understood just what Sara was trying to accomplish with these Field Studies, and the second was because one of the tasks Gallart had given them was interesting to him.
"What are you smirking about?" Machias snapped, demanding to know what was on the page.
"Nothing that you'd understand," Cyrus quipped before passing the folder off to Emma, which only annoyed Machias further.
"Oh, these don't seem too bad. A monster extermination request, and a request to find a strange chemical..." Emma muttered as she passed the folder over to Gaius.
"Hmm, Emma is right. I've never heard of… 'Ferrous-Ferric Oxide'..." Gaius muttered, reading the name of the chemical they were asked to find.
"It's called Magnetite. Its common name is Iron Sand. It's a sedimentary rock that is good for a lot of metallurgic work. Depending on its use, it can have several applications in everyday life," Cyrus explained, getting an impressed nod from Gallart.
"That's exactly right. Not many people know that, especially someone so young," Gallart smiled.
"Hmph, I guess that explains why the request came from the person who owns the weapon store in town," Jusis scoffed, slapping the corner of the page upright before throwing it at Machias without even looking.
"What the hell was that for?! I'm sat right here, you dick!" Machias shouted.
"Stop it, you two!" Emma commanded, staring at the two boys who simply growled and turned away from each other. "We're so sorry about those two… They haven't yet learned how to work as a team."
"No, that's quite alright; Sara gave me fair warning about how these two don't get along," Gallart nodded, shrugging slightly. "As long as it doesn't impact on your ability to complete your tasks, it's not an issue to me."
"You say that now, but..." Cyrus muttered, trailing off as he looked at Jusis and Machias, who were still turned away from each other. "Well, this looks like a job for me, so everybody just follow me."
"Who died and made you Emperor?" Machias snapped as Cyrus stood up and made his way over to the door.
"Well, you sure as shit won't know where to find Magnetite, so I don't know what the hell you're getting pissy over," Cyrus bit back, glaring at Machias.
"You wanna take this outside?! You might be a Master of the Vander School, but I'm not scared of you!" Machias shouted, jumping up from his seat.
"Alright, let's go. But I'm going to tell you this right now. If you wish to proceed down this path, I will let you throw the first punch, but that punch had better knock me the fuck out, because if it doesn't..." Cyrus growled as he walked over to Machias and was now stood so close to the bespectacled boy that he could feel Cyrus' breath on his face. "If it doesn't, I'm going to get up and beat the shit out of you."
For several seconds, no-one dared to move or speak. Cyrus' words were delivered with so much ice that everyone in the room could feel a slight chill as he spoke. Machias knew Cyrus wasn't bluffing, and he knew he wasn't strong enough to knock Cyrus unconscious, especially not with one punch. That had been made abundantly clear to him when he punched Cyrus in the face instead of Jusis on their first day at Thors.
"Ok, boys, take it easy… Sara wanted me to let you know that you'd also be graded on how well you work as a team, so leaving all the work to one person will mean you'll fail. Even if you complete all your tasks, you'd best learn how to co-operate, lest you wish to fail your very first Field Study," Gallart warned, not taking his eyes off Cyrus or Machias.
"Instructor Sara seems to have told you a great deal about what she expects of us. Did she tell you anything else?" Jusis asked, turning to Gallart, who simply tapped the side of his nose with his index finger, grinning as he did so.
"Come one, everyone, let's get going," Emma said as she stood up gingerly and tried to separate Cyrus and Machias.
Cyrus said nothing as he backed away from Machias, and left the building, with the rest of the group following him. As they left Gallart's home, the sun was still quite high in the sky; they knew they still had about three hours before it got dark.
With this knowledge, and their tasks in hand, Thors' Military Academy Class VII, Group B, set out on their very first Field Study.