Rose

"Hunters, Huntsman, Huntresses. I never got the need for a distinction. Maybe Ozpin is just some crazy old coot." It was truly amazing how he could always perfectly time his rambling right as she began to enjoy the quiet. Glancing to her right, Rose glared down the red spectre, attempting to will him away with nothing but her mind. "Ooh, scary look." Of course, it didn't work. It never did.

Choosing instead to pick up the pace, Rose kept walking. The dirt road was thankfully dry, she wouldn't want to deal with muddy boots. Especially since she didn't have another pair. What clothes she had packed in her trunk before leaving the castle had never been removed, there wasn't much point in worrying about that stuff, not to her. Still, it was becoming an issue... Rose hadn't had a shower in months. Nor washed her clothes.

Rory loved pointing this out, of course. He would say things like: 'Wow! The mighty Rose, strutting about smelling like a wet dog!' Honestly, Rose thought it was lazy. If she was going to be insulted, she would prefer it be creative. Perhaps that's why he was so simple with them, simply to annoy her further.

Besides, the clothes were Magic, they couldn't really get dirty. Sure, things could get caught in crevices or gaps, but the actual material wouldn't carry smells or dirt. Still, picking that stuff out by hand was more trouble than it was worth. At the very least, her cloak didn't have that issue. Rory had suggested simply using a Fire Lily to incinerate the gunk out of her attire, but that was just a little too stupid of an idea for her to do.

Ruby probably would have done it.

Cleanliness was one of the two main reasons she was walking instead of flying. There was a small town up ahead, with any hope, there would be an inn. Also, a way to make some Lien, that would be helpful. Of all the things she could have taken with her, she had chosen to take clothes that she wouldn't wear. Every day, Rose was frustrated with herself for that, even Rory chimed in with similar thoughts.

"Why didn't I take any Lien? Or Dust for that matter?" She had been very... Generous... With her usage of bullets in the first few weeks, by the time she had realised, they were all gone. Still, the gun was only an added benefit, Crescent Rose was still the most powerful weapon in The World even without bullets. But if she wanted more, that would require Dust, and a very robust workshop. Neither of which would probably be found at this town.

"So... Are you trying to walk my feet off?" Rory chimed in after a silence that apparently lasted too long.

Annoyed, Rose replied, "They're my feet. And are you trying to talk my ears off?" His playful taunting was juxtaposed by her genuine anger. Despite that, that particular point was one Rose had to concede. After months of flying everywhere, it was incredibly slow and boring to walk somewhere. There wasn't even anyone around in the first place, and the town was still out of sight.

Now, she faced a conundrum. On the one hand, flying the majority of the way there from here sounded good. On the other hand, doing that would no doubt make Rory smug about his 'victory'. Debating over this for a few minutes, eventually Rose turned to him with a smaller frown than usual. "If I fly to the town, can you refrain from giving me shit for it?"

Resting his hand on his chin for a moment, Rory posed as if he were dramatically thinking before shrugging. "Sure. This is pretty boring."

Not wasting another moment, Rose ducked into the tree line before bursting through the forest as a gust of rose petals. Ducking past trees, sifting through plants, the flight took seconds when the walk would have taken hours. Eventually reforming in the woods near the town, Rose glanced at Rory to find him looking smug.

"I hate you." She spat.

"I know." He retorted. Even if she wouldn't admit it, he had won.

Moving out of the forest, Rose threw her hood over her head as she stepped into town. It was quaint, closer to a village than a town. It bore the title from days past, back when it was believed to be the start of a popular trade hub. Sitting at the base of Mountain Glenn, originally it would have connected directly to the fortress high above. But when the fortress was abandoned, it left the town without a purpose. Without a supported path over the mountain, it was separated from the City of Vale by the Emerald Forest. Unlike the woods Rose had just exited, no one went into the Emerald Forest unless they wished to be eaten by Grimm.

Eyeing a sign just at the entrance to town, Rose raised her eyebrow at the name on the sign. "Glenfall." An uncreative name, one Rose had to stop and admire for a moment. Eventually the moment passed, and she stepped past it with a small mumble. "Not any worse than 'Crescent Rose', I suppose." That wasn't even starting on her own name.

It was surprisingly nice, walking around civilisation once again. By no means was the town bustling, but seeing someone was by no means a rare sight. When she spotted a carriage approaching down the road, Rose ducked onto the paths by the buildings, only to pass by someone. The woman had looked pleasant enough, but the second she got a whiff of Rose, she practically threw up in her mouth.

Watching the woman as she hurried away, Rose had to relent once again that Rory was right. "It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to get cleaned up." Taking that wound to her pride in stride, Rose continued through the town before finding what she was looking for. She was quite lucky that a place like this even had an inn. No doubt it suffered from a lack of customers.

Moving inside, her curiosity was sated when she discovered it had a bar. That was almost certainly how this place stayed afloat. The interior was as rustic as the outside, the whole town had a very strange feel to it, the main street may as well have been all there was to the town. Walking down it was like walking down a giant hallway. In the small tavern part of the inn, Rose spotted what looked like probably too few tables, as well as a rather lacklustre selection of alcohol. It wasn't the time for drinking, but she was tempted upon seeing some of the bottles; she had kept Ruby's preference for whisky.

Not bothering to sit at the bar, Rose waited patiently as the short man working the bar toddled over. At first glance, he appeared to be a Dwarf, but neither his height nor his belly were unique markers of the species. "Can I get ya anything?" He asked with a grin, one that quickly faltered as he got close enough to smell her. "We have plenty of rooms available. Baths too."

Rose couldn't really dispute the insult; it was more helpful than rude anyway. "I don't have any Lien for a room," It would have been plenty easy enough to steal it, but stealing what she had needed for Thorn and her new Magic Items had left a bad taste in both her and Rory's mouth. "There any work I could do for some?" Cleaning dishes was below her, but so was smelling like this.

"Got nothing worth paying someone else to do." He shrugged with his answer. It was fair enough; this didn't seem like a busy enough place to need multiple sets of hands. "Maybe try talking to the mayor? Sure there's some trouble he'll give you something for. Always is." Her surprise that a town this small even had a mayor aside, the information was helpful. Giving him a nod before taking her leave, Rose realised pretty quickly that she should have asked for directions.

After an unfortunate amount of searching that Rory found hilarious, Rose eventually found the building she was looking for. Walking in, once again, they were reminded of how small this town really was. There was no wait or even anyone to talk to, seemed that the mayor didn't even have a secretary. Though, how much work could he possibly have here, of all places?

Unlike the barkeep, the mayor was an obvious pick immediately when she set foot in his office. Pointy ears were a clear indicator of an Elf, his other characteristics only supported that. Slicked back blonde hair, Green eyes, tall, and he wore a suit that looked too expensive for this place. He had the look of a man who believed himself too great for his station, which was ironic, given he was only an Elf.

Taking one look at her, he nodded. "You're the Hunter sent from Vale?"

Music to her ears, looks like he did have work after all. "No, but I am a registered Hunter." Well, Ruby was. "I was looking for work anyway, what is it you needed?"

"You're a Hunter?" Green eyes flicked up and down as he judged her. "Well, I don't imagine anyone normal would wear an outfit like that."

"Rude." Rory commented.

"As for the work," He continued, "There has been a sighting near here, a Grimm. One that seemed more dangerous than others." Rose glanced at Rory, they both knew the Grimm he described, after all, it was the only one that had managed to slip into Vale so far past her. "If you could track and kill it, I would be thankful."

"Thanks is fine, but I'll need Lien too." Perhaps she should have led with that.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked her over more curiously now. "A freelancer? Or a rogue Hunter, maybe?" Technically, he wasn't too far off with that second guess. "I could just wait for the Hunter from Vale we sent for; I wouldn't have to pay them."

Once again, he was right. Hunters were paid for going on missions, sure, but they were paid by the crown. Getting a Hunter out here to do a mission wouldn't cost the mayor a cent. "How long do you think they'll take? A day, maybe more? Either they go over Mountain Glenn or go around the Emerald Forest, either way isn't a short trip." Rose couldn't see them sending a Dragon out for something as small as this. "I'm here now, and I can have the job done this afternoon. All I'd need is ten thousand Lien."

Both his attention and his curiosity were hers and hers alone now. "Only that much? I'd thought you'd need more."

It was a small amount, pathetic, especially for a Hunter mission. Rose doubted it would last her two nights if she spent them both at an inn. But her priority was securing a bath over consistent nights in a bed. "Let's just say I'm desperate."

There wasn't a lie for him to detect, so, begrudgingly, he agreed. However, the deal would become moot if she failed to complete the mission by nightfall.

"Easy enough." Rose thought.

Tracking Grimm wasn't an easy thing, in fact, tracking anyone was rather difficult. Magic left traces behind, but even the least competent of Mage's could cover it up. Luckily, the Grimm she hunted wasn't competent at all. While they did use Magic, they lacked practice or skill; acting entirely off of instinct.

Finding the trail was difficult, following it was easy.

Having been told where the Grimm was last seen, Rose was quick to leave town and head that way, flying the majority of the way once she was out of sight. Upon arrival, it took only a few minutes of searching the ambient Mana in the area before spotting the inconsistences. It was odd to see, like a field of long grass that waved back and forth against the wind, only revealing a trail of black blades as the wind pushed in the right direction.

While following the crumbs was indeed easy, it was time consuming. Rose faltered after ten minutes of it, having realised that she was risking a lot by assuming the tracking would be a short process. Already, it had led her high above the tree line as she floated slowly as a cloud of rose petals.

"You know..." As if to make things worse, Rory floated into view. "Maybe this doesn't have to be as hard." While transformed into petals Rose wasn't able to speak, but Rory took her silence as invitation to continue. "We can assume where it's going from this trail, after all, it's been straight for a while."

Annoyingly, he was right. Looking past where she was, further down the invisible line the trail had been following, in the distance was the Emerald Forest. "That makes sense." Rose thought, before abandoning the crumbs of Mana and zipping into the forest in the distance. Spearing through the forest past trees, bushes, and the odd Grimm, Rose kept her search for the particular one she followed.

It took only a minute, before eventually, she felt the presence of someone's Mana. Assuming it to be the Dragon-shaped Grimm, Rose quickly turned and flooded through the canopy of leaves. She kept her presence concealed, making sure to mask the pressure of her Mana before eventually stopping just before a clearing. Her body, still broken apart as rose petals, slowly sifted into the tree above her. It was a perfect hiding spot, neither her Mana nor her form could be detected, all while she watched the curious sight ahead.

There it was, the Grimm she had been chasing. But, more importantly, it was laying down, waiting. In front of it, there was a person, a woman. Rose could now tell that it was actually her Mana she had detected, it was much more potent than the Grimm's. On her back, there were two sabres crossed in their sheaths. She looked odd, her head was nearly completely shaven save for a long brown mohawk in the middle. Whenever her mouth opened, it revealed long and incredibly sharp teeth, and along her arms and face there were patches of scales.

"A Faunas... Probably..." Rose didn't know what else she could be, but more importantly, her eyes were an interesting sight. They were Yellow, mostly, with a hint of another colour. Bronze.

That, combined with the Summon circle she was drawing on the ground, and Rose was satisfied with her assumption that this was indeed a Bronze Wizard. Judging from the weight of her Mana, she was probably the Bronze High Wizard too. This day just kept getting better, thought Rose. After all, she had found her target, and also one of Salem's lackeys.

Watching for a bit longer, it became clear that she was attempting to make a connection between here and somewhere else. Likely, the circle would be a way for those Grimm to teleport directly into Vale's borders, rather than fly in. "They're trying to get past me." Rose thought with amusement. Eventually, just watching lost its entertainment, and Rose drifted down to the forest floor, reforming before stepping out into the clearing.

The Dragon-shaped Grimm reacted first, standing and roaring directly at her. Rose, however, ignored it, keeping her eyes on the summoner at all times. "So, who're you." She spoke without a care, not even turning to look at Rose.

"Is it really necessary to know the name of your killer?" Rose's equally calm voice rattled the Bronze Wizard, and she finally turned to look at her. "Rose."

"Tock." Introductions were quick, and the preamble was even faster. Without a word nor command, the Grimm lunged for Rose, maw open and teeth ready to clamp around her. Rose didn't move to dodge or react, Crescent Rose was still stored on her back, her guard down, she didn't have one bit of a care.

When the Grimm's jaw closed around Rose, the clearing was filled with the noise of its teeth shattering. At the last moment, Rose had entered her half form, her scales easily stopped the attack. Rearing back from the pain and shock, the Grimm was ready to let loose a burst of flames. It never got the chance, however. Before it could, a vine made of red scales shot from Rose's stomach, piercing straight through the Grimm's mouth and slicing the inside of its head apart. Even still, Rose had kept her eyes only on the summoner.

Retracting her vine as the Grimm began to fade away into smoke, Rose spoke again. "Do they have a specific name?" She was getting quite tired of just calling them Grimm. After all, every other type of Grimm had a name.

"Lesser Grimm Dragon." Tock answered without complaint. The two of them were quite similar in how they spoke, both of them perfectly calm and uncaring towards their opponent. After all, the both of them believed that the other was far weaker than themselves. Rory, of course, teased Rose for this. "You're the Queen, right?"

"Someone was." Rose didn't want to have to talk about Ruby, it was frustrating enough dealing with her memories.

Raising an eyebrow, Tock thought for a moment. "Arthur said your Magic Items wouldn't be that strong. The dragon should have been able to bite you." Her knowledge on the Grimm's power was likely far better than Rose's own. And that other person, Arthur... Were they the Silver High Wizard?

"I got new ones." Rose explained. "Fun new toys, I'm sure he'd love to see them." It served no purpose, but Rose was actually eager to share what her Magic Items were with anyone that wasn't Rory. "The Anti-Aegis and Titan's Bracelet served Ruby well, but my own are far more potent. Relics tend to have that effect." Hearing that made Tock frown. "The first, Rose Sign. It's meant to dramatically increase one's speed, but I limited it to only apply to my Rose Burst ability which increased the effects even further. Now, while in that form, I can fly between every Kingdom in a matter of hours." Tapping the place where the Anti-Aegis had once been on her belt, there was instead a metal emblem of a rose.

Tock followed along; she was perfectly fine with getting this information freely. "I see, so it was you that guarded the border."

Grinning, Rose continued. "Next, I replaced the Titan's Bracelet with something I call the Dragon's Bracelet. It does the same thing, in a way; boosting my strength and durability. However, now it has an added condition. It only works when my weapon isn't drawn."

Seemingly disappointed, Tock questioned, "Isn't that counter intuitive?"

"You would think," Rose was quite smug now. "But by imbuing the condition into it that I can't use my weapon, it's effects amplified to a point nearly equal to the power my weapon grants me." In essence, taking the power of Crescent Rose into consideration, the Dragon's Bracelet raised Rose's strength when Crescent Rose was not drawn to make her power equal to when it was drawn.

While Tock understood that, there was a specific piece she missed from the equation. So, Rose alleviated that.

She drew Crescent Rose.

Before the scythe was even fully unfurled, Tock's eyes widened in understanding. What little she could gleam from the weapon was the essence of perfection. But as quick as it had entered her view, it disappeared again, folded back up across Rose's lower back. No doubt Tock had questions, but even more than that, Rose could see her questioning if she could even win now.

Tock was beginning to understand the difference. Ruby had given her life for power, and to everyone but those who loved her, the power she gained had been far more than a fair exchange. "So... This is the true power of a Silver Wizard... Of a Dragon."

Raising her hand, a Fire Tulip made of red scales sprouted from Rose's palm. "I am curious... What can a Bronze Wizard do?" Pointing it suddenly towards Tock, the Tulip engulfed the clearing in a roaring flame on a scale equal to what Pyrrha Nikos could create with her replicated Fire Affinity. When Ruby had used them, the plants had been nowhere near this strong. However, thanks to careful construction, the Dragon's Bracelet also counted Rose's plants as a part of her. They too were enhanced by its power.

When the flame vanished, Rose was surprised to see Tock unharmed. Around her, covering her skin, there was a strange Yellow and White glow. It was like a barrier that covered her skin. "Holy Magic?" Thats what those colours meant, but Rose didn't understand until something moved behind Tock.

It was a small figure, a shape made of Golden chains, pulsing eyes, and six White wings. Rose recognised it, but her shock was plain to see. "An Angel? But they're all dead." Surprise was her strongest emotion, even Rory looked on in awe.

"Indeed, they are." Tock spoke arrogantly. "And so is this one." She gestured to the figure behind her, which suddenly vanished. It wasn't just invisibility, Rose couldn't even detect it's Mana anymore, save for whatever Spell it had wreathed Tock in. Rose knew nothing about Holy Magic, save for how it interacted with other kinds of Mana. Neither she, nor Rory, nor Ruby, had ever seen any Spells exclusive to the Mana type.

"If the Hero knew even one of those Spells... He might have won the Vytal Festival." Focusing her gaze, Rose did her best to try and read the Magic of the barrier. "You found an Angel's corpse and animated it using something else... But you managed to keep the Angel's knowledge and ability with Holy Magic." To Rose, that sounded impossible. But no doubt the Magic Items she used seemed impossible to everyone else.

Drawing her swords, Tock grinned with those sharp teeth of hers as the barrier wreathed her weapons as well. "I wouldn't bother trying to hit me." Despite Rose's confidence in Crescent Rose, this actually made her nervous. Holy Magic was always dangerous, especially in the hand of someone who knew what they were doing. Even just from the weight of its Mana, Rose knew the barrier was strong. But its strength was mostly irrelevant, no matter how strong, Crescent Rose would cut through it just as easy. The part that worried her, was how exactly the barrier worked.

Crescent Rose could cut through anything thanks to the two-dimensional blade, that's where it got its infinite sharpness and its anti-magic properties. Magic that touched the blade would collapse when trying to interact with the strange Magic that made up the barrier. But, despite that, it was possible to stop the blade. While direct influence would always fail, the handle of the weapon had no such immunity, neither did Rose's body itself. It was like one of Carmine's wolves had done, and even Carmine herself. One of them caught the handle mid-swing, while Carmine had used Magic to pin Rose's body still.

"Depending on how this barrier works exactly... It may actually be able to stop my slices." But that was only a possibility, and while that chance did exist, Rose knew that it was a guarantee that none of her other attacks would make it through the barrier. Left with no other choice, she drew Crescent Rose again.

Tock once again faltered at the sight of Crescent Rose, and Rose used that chance to strike. Soaring across the distance between them as a cloud of rose petals, Tock was surprised when Rose was an inch away from her within a moment. While Rose's strength and durability dropped when drawing Crescent Rose, her speed while traveling as petals was always insanely fast. Swinging with the intent to cut Tock in half, the Bronze Wizard took the smartest action she could.

At the same time she dodged back, Tock swung one of her own swords to meet Crescent Rose. Seeing this, Rose was honestly impressed with the Faunas. She was both testing her barrier against Crescent Rose, while also keeping her body safe. Good thing she did, as well. Since when the blades met, Crescent Rose passed straight through the sabre like it wasn't even there. Tock dropped the half of the blade she still had, and both sets of eyes widened on seeing this interaction. One set in fear, one set in excitement.

Immediately dancing around in another swing, Rose twirled her scythe around at speeds that bordered on ridiculous. "Looks like I had nothing to worry about." She thought as she kept her attacks coming. Despite still being cloaked in that barrier, Tock was only dodging her way across the clearing. Rose was always right in front of her, the blade of her scythe always less than an inch from Tock's body with every swing.

It was a matter of time; they both knew it. Eventually, Rose would strike her, eventually, Crescent Rose would be bathed in blood again. Looking into her eyes, Rose could see Tock scrambling for a plan, for something, anything that might work. Rose refused to give her that chance, her efforts redoubled, her swings grew wilder and more deadly. While Rose was putting herself in danger now of a counterattack, they both knew Tock wouldn't risk it. If Tock did try to counter, it would result in her getting hit too. The Bronze Wizard couldn't guarantee a killing blow with one strike, but Rose could.

Eventually, the time came. Tock made a mistake, a dodge that was just a centimetre out of place, but still ages too far. Grinning, Rose struck at her wildly, a slice that would bisect Tock completely. Left without options, she took the risk of stepping forward, entering Rose's range even further. Unbeknownst to her, however... Was that was the perfect move to make. Rose had aimed her strike for where Tock had been, in moving closer, the handle hit Tock's side instead of the blade.

Crescent Rose stopped dead in its track, the handle essentially glued to the space around Tock's body as the barrier held it tight. Both women's eyes went wide again, but this time, it was Tock who lit up with excitement.

Managing to rip Crescent Rose away from her just in time to dodge an attack, Rose moved back before Tock followed up with more attacks. Despite her earlier caution, the Bronze Wizard moved even more wildly than Rose did. It would take only one strike for Crescent Rose to kill her, but instead of being careful, she let herself go wild and give in to instincts. She now knew how to 'block' the scythe, and both women engaged in a fight proper as they swung back and forth.

Rose danced with the scythe, her swings constant and flowing from one to the next without fail. Tock, meanwhile, swung her blade like she was possessed, it was wild, dangerous, almost terrifying. In the midst of this combat, Rose grew frustrated. "How?!" It didn't make any sense. Even without the buff of the Dragon's Bracelet, she was still a Dragon, and Tock a Faunas. Rose should have easily outstated her; she should have easily been stronger, faster.

That raised the question, of course. How was this Bronze Wizard fighting her equally with just her sword?

The answer was so obvious, Rose was embarrassed she hadn't realised.

Suddenly stopping the tempo of her dance, Rose cut her attack off halfway and swung directly for Tock's sword. The Faunas hadn't been expecting it, and couldn't pull away in time. Crescent Rose sliced through the sabre without issue, and as Rose expected, it vanished before it hit the ground. "It was a summon, they both were." Grinning up at Tock, Rose suddenly swung wildly at her, but just an instant too late.

A giant claw sprung from the ground between them, the red skin and black claws matched the visage of a Lesser Devil. While the hand was bigger than Rose's whole body, she cut it off at the wrist without a care and rushed past, chasing Tock who had fled to the summoning circle she had drawn earlier. Rose was still too far, the portal opened and Tock was ready to step through.

"Not this time." A feeling welled from within her. One part of her was filled with rage at not being able to kill someone responsible for summoning a Lesser Grimm Dragon. Another part of her was filled with hatred for not being able to kill someone who no doubt put Ruby Schnee's family in danger. The last part, the smallest part... It was filled with a cold animosity, a thirst for blood that needed to be quenched born from a frustration of so many other foes having escaped their fates.

Those pieces of Rose, the corrupted Rory, the cloak, and Ruby. All of them put in their full power as they sent Crescent Rose spinning straight at Tock.

While it missed Tock, it instead sailed straight through the portal. But Crescent Rose's blade didn't interact with Magic so easily. Instead of traveling through the portal, it cut the doorway in half, destroying the Magic that made it up. Tock stopped in her tracks, no doubt confused and terrified before turning around.

It had been only half a second since she had thrown Crescent Rose, but Rose had reached Tock. The claw on her right wing reached forward and grabbed Tock's head by her face, raising her up and thrusting her back against a tree as her other wing grabbed Crescent Rose and stored it on her back. Strength pulsed through Rose's body and wing, and Tock screamed as the claw squeezed her head.

She had been foolish; she had dismissed her angel the second she tried to flee. There was no more barrier keeping her safe.

Rose panted with rage as she squeezed. "This time, it's different."

Rose's fists resting by her sides squeezed so hard they drew blood. "This time, you're not getting away."

Salem's forces had escaped too many times.

Rose's mouth opened in a scream of anger. "This time, you don't get to keep your life!"

When her scream overpowered Tock's own scream of pain, Tock suddenly went silent as her head popped like a cherry. The claw that held her clamped shut as it finally crushed her head and brain. All that remained of Tock's head was a bloody stump connecting to her neck. While the rest of the Faunas' body went limp, Rose breathed heavily, having worked herself up too much.

When her breath finally settled, Rose dropped the body, her wings collapsing back into a leathery cloak on her back. Looking up into the sky, Rose let out a roar of victory.

Cinder Fall

Golden eyes widened as she watched him fall. Hazel, of all people, he had collapsed to his knees. Despite her new Title, Cinder was still weaker than him, so to see him suddenly collapse was worrisome.

"Hazel?" Tyrion asked with a giggle, "What's wrong? Find something on the ground down there?"

Still on his hands and knees, Hazel kept silent. Meanwhile, it began to sink in as Cinder realised what had happened. Glancing over, her eyes met Arthur's, and for once they didn't show their hatred for one another as they silently agreed what had happened.

"But who did it?" Arthur asked, feeling curious over anything else.

Cinder already knew, and she said as much, "It couldn't be anyone else. It had to be her."

Tyrion looked between them both, no doubt incredibly confused. Still, that stupid grin of his never left his face.

Finally, Hazel stood. Now on his feet again, he towered over the others. He didn't look at them, instead, he stared down at his head, clenching it into a fist. "I wasn't aware I was the next in line." What little surprise there was in his voice was still plenty more than Cinder had ever heard from him.

Scoffing, Arthur commented, "You must have cheated, no doubt thanks to the strength of your Affinity."

Still, Cinder was nervous. "Now that you have one, I can only think of one person who could be next." The others looked at her, and she frowned. "The one who did this. The one who gave me The Golden High Wizard Title... and now gave Hazel The Bronze High Wizard Title."

Now, standing in this room, were three of the four High Wizards.

If you've been following this story since the start of The Dragon Formula, you would remember when it used to be one chapter a day.

I'm fine with it not being like that anymore, mainly because I think my writing has gotten a lot better. But, this has still been a fun throw back to then.

Not that I wrote so much on purpose, just kinda wanted to.

Basically, I'm just trying not to get your hopes up, I don't think this speed will continue.