The Beginning After The End (Beckoning Fates Book 3)

by TurtleMe

  Practical Mana Manipulation was a class that didn’t have any extra work to grade, which is why it might even be easier for me to just teach the class. Even if it wasn’t easier, it did help build a good position for myself and would be a lot more interesting. Seeing as how I probably can’t escape attention from the students anyway, I might as well do things a bit differently. Of course I don’t plan on revealing my full set of skills to anyone just yet, but I don’t see the point in trying to be completely inconspicuous anymore.

  “…Arthur?” I get snapped out of my thoughts to see that Director Goodsky was looking at me with a rather worried expression.

  “Ah yes. Although I’m not sure how competent I’d be, I’d like to try my hand at being a Professor.” I look over the document stating my duties and responsibilities as a teacher.

  “I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job.” She smiles.

  Looking at her, I ask, “Were there any other classes that Professor Geist taught besides mine?”

  “Fortunately, no. We hired him this year after he retired from being an Adventurer. For this semester, the other professors and I decided to only have him teach one class, as a sort of test run.” She shakes her head at the pitiful results he produced.

  “Before I sign, I have one last question.” I state as I read over the final paragraph of the document.

  “Go on.” She urges.

  “Wouldn’t it be counterintuitive that I’m not allowed to hurt students but I’m part of the Disciplinary Committee?” I quiz.

  “Ah, good question. The ‘not hurting students’ rule is for the inside of the classroom. While the situation is always investigated for every case, as long as it is for the safety of other students, using a certain degree of force to quell a fight or suppress a rampant student. As for outside of class during your Disciplinary Committee duties, I’ll trust your judgment on that.”

  With that, I nod and sign the document. “I expect great things from you Arthur, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.” She gives me a gentle pat on the shoulder before ushering me to go eat lunch.

  CYNTHIA GOODSKY’S POV:

  “Whew, what is it about that boy that always keeps me on my toes. Negotiating with him is more heart straining than dealing with the Royal Families. What was your take on him, Avier?” My bond gently lands on the arm I held out, his intelligent eyes pondering what to say.

  “He is… different. Do not view Arthur Leywin as a child. Whether it is mental acuity or emotional maturity, there is much more to him than the eye can see.” The clear words that came out of my bond didn’t seem natural from the movement of his beak.

  “What makes you so certain?” I lean back in my seat.

  “His bond. That white fox’s true form should be a dragon…”

  I bolt up from my seat. “What?! How is that possible? How do you know?”

  “It is because we are of the same kind. I may be a lesser species of dragons but Wyverns are still part of the same family as Dragons.” Avier goes back to grooming himself.

  “Are you saying that bond of his is more powerful than you?” I couldn’t help but be utterly baffled by all of this.

  “No, that child has yet to mature. She shouldn’t have hatched more than a few of years ago. However, I suspect that when she does develop, she will not be comparable to the likes of me.” He states matter-of-factly.

  I couldn’t imagine anyone stronger than Avier. The fact that he was my bond was only because he grew a liking to me when I happened by him, deep in the Beast Glades. He usually does his own thing and I don’t dare treat him like pet, but the fact that Arthur’s bond was actually a dragon and that it was so subservient to him makes me wonder what that boy really was.

  “Do not make him your enemy, Cynthia. If treated with trust and respect, he will become the greatest ally, but if betrayed, he may be the cause of this Continent’s demise.” With that warning, Avier flies off.

  I lean forward on my seat, rubbing my throbbing temples as I recall what happened a couple of hours back.

  ___________________________________________

  *Boom*

  “Director Goodsky, I request that you remove a boy named Arthur Leywin from my class!”

  “Professor Geist, you look shaken up. What’s wrong?” I’m taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion.

  “The boy has no respect for me, his Professor! Please do not listen to any of the rumors that you may hear. I’m being framed.” The man’s wide face is filled with desperation and anger.

  *Knock* *Knock*

  “Please come in.” I state. At least this person had the decency to knock.

  “I apologize for the intrusion, Director.” The petite Kathyln gives me a small bow before walking up next to the, now pale faced, Professor.

  “What’s the matter, Kathyln?” I lean forward, taking a look at the both of them.

  “This sorry excuse for a Professor needs to be expelled.” She says, expressionlessly.

  Professor Geist grabs Kathyln by the arm, pulling her close to him. “HOW DARE YOU! Sorry excuse? Me?”

  “You dare touch me with your filthy hand?” Her expression doesn’t change, as she somehow seems to be looking down at Professor Geist.

  “Professor, I suggest you immediately remove your hand, or else, whatever the case may have been, it will not be in your favor.” I stand up at this point. Using force to get your point across is deplorable.

  “Ahem… as I was saying. Please do not take to heart the rumors that you may hear. I swear that this was all a misunderstanding and that I’m being framed.” He immediately lets go of Kathyln’s arm before talking.

  “I have not yet heard of any rumors. Do you mind indulging me, Kathyln?”

  “This scum dares to pick on students to feel good about himself. Even ignoring the fact that he utterly humiliated Feyrith, if Arthur didn’t step in, I would’ve…” Without finishing her last sentence, she glares at the Professor.

  I turn to Professor Geist, who was desperately denying this accusation. “I’m telling you that it was a misunderstanding. I simply wanted to demonstrate in front of the class the level that the Disciplinary Committee is at; you know, for the other students to know.”

  “If that was simply what this was, then there would be no reason for you to come into my room and insist that Arthur be removed from your class.” I couldn’t help but sigh internally at the thought of handling this dilemma.

  “Tricia, please gather information for me from Professor Geist’s class regarding this incident.” My secretary bows before running off.

  “Now, please be patient as this is figured out. I will do my best to be just about this.” Before I’m able to dismiss the two of them, Princess Kathyln walks up to me.

  “I trust that you will handle this fairly, but just know that, if it wasn’t for Arthur, you wouldn’t be handling this Professor’s ethic case but a Student’s injury case, MY injury case. I bid you good day, Director.” She turns around, completely ignoring Professor Geist, who was taken aback by her last statement.

  _____________________________________________

  Recalling the testimonies I received, it seemed like Arthur completely overwhelmed Professor Geist. While this professor’s personality never did sit well with me, his skills were more than enough to teach a basic mana manipulation class. Even while being a light yellow core Augmenter, and quite a capable one at that, he was completely defeated by a 12 year old.

  I let out a sigh in regret that I didn’t measure the level of the boy’s core while he was just here.

  A twelve year old defeating a veteran Adventurer using only his wind and earth attribute mana, which I remember him mentioning were his weakest, and also having a bond with a dragon. What more was there to him? If I ask, would he tell me?

  ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

  “Art! Over here!” I see Elijah waving at me across the dining hall.

  I notice he was sitting with a girl when I went over.

  “Thi
s is Charlotte! Charlotte, this is my best friend and roommate, Arthur Leywin.” He stands up, gesturing the both of us to shake hands.

  “Hi Arthur, I’ve heard a lot about you.” She gave a coquettish smile while twiddling her hair.

  “Mmm… It’s a pleasure.” I respond brusquely before focusing my attention on Elijah.

  “How were your classes?” I ask my friend while I feed Sylvie a piece of broccoli.

  “Kyu!” ‘noo!’

  “Aww~ your little mana beast is so cute! Do you mind if I pet it?” Charlotte gets awfully close to me, almost leaning on me while she reaches up on top of my head.

  Before she gets the chance to pet the growling Sylvie, I grab her wrist.

  “Sorry, she doesn’t like strangers touching her.” I look her dead in the eye, making her blush by how close her face was to mine.

  “O-oh, I’m sorry!” She shrinks back, focusing back on the food.

  Seemingly ignorant of what was happening, Elijah responds, his mouth full of food. “Classes were great! I especially like my basic chain-casting class and mana utilization class. Although for mana utilization, I feel like the professor that’s teaching is going over the exact same thing that you’re telling me to do. By the way, I met Charlotte in my chain-casting class! She’s really good!”

  “Haha, please, you’re making me blush.” Charlotte puts on a bashful face as she squirms in her seat.

  “…”

  “Anyways, how were your classes! I’ve heard you already beat up a professor! What happened to keeping it cool man?” He gives me a smirk while he points his fork at me accusingly.

  “Yeah, about that, so I ended up becoming a Professor for that class.” I respond coolly, shoving a piece of meat in my mouth while avoiding Sylvie’s attempts at trying to steal it.

  “PFFFFFFFFFF”

  “kya!”

  Elijah splutters the food he was chewing on towards us as I instinctively lean back, trying to get out of range.

  “Elijah, that’s gross.” I wipe some of the stray food particles that I didn’t manage to avoid from my face.

  “Sorry sorry…what? You’re going to be a Professor?” He wipes his mouth before trying to wipe Charlotte’s face, Charlotte rejecting the offer.

  “Mm… I ended up replacing the Professor that was teaching the class. So you may now call me Professor Leywin.” I smirk at my friend.

  “Professor, my ass. But maybe I should ditch my class sometimes and go to yours. It’d be interesting to see you teach.” He retorts back.

  As we continued talking, I was growing annoyed at the flirting attempts from Charlotte, and even more annoyed by the fact that Elijah was clueless about this all.

  “Oh yeah! Charlotte and I were going to go downtown Academy to do some shopping. Do you want to join us?” He asks nonchalantly.

  “Yes! Arthur you should join us.” She leans in closer again. There was a small strip on the corner of the Academy where there were fancy restaurants and cafes, along with shopping booths for the rich nobles to spoil themselves in. With that, you could imagine how enormous the Academy was.

  “I have three more classes, remember? I’m taking the upper division classes after lunch.”

  Elijah just shrugs at this. “Oh yeah, I forgot. No big deal! I guess it’ll just be me and Charlotte.”

  Charlotte smiles awkwardly at Elijah’s happy-go-lucky face and responds, “Ah sorry. I totally forgot that I had different plans. I’m so sorry! We should definitely go next time, though! All three of us! Bye.”

  With that, she walks off, leaving my friend and I alone at the small dining table.

  “I guess she was really busy.” Elijah looked a bit disappointed.

  Oh Elijah…

  Leaning close, he asks me in a serious voice. “So, what did you think about Charlotte? She’s pretty, huh! Do you think I have a shot at her?”

  Oh Elijah…

  “I think you can do better, buddy.” I pat my clueless friend on the back as we walk out of the dining hall together.

  Elijah decided that he wanted to go to the library after his plans suddenly washed away, so after walking him there on the way, I made my way to my first upper division class, Team-Fighting Mechanics I.

  The classroom, or should say field to be more accurate, was on the other side of the Academy, where all of the upper division classes were held.

  The “room” consisted of a huge grass field with several obstacles placed randomly, encased by high walls with runes engraved on them. On top of one of the walls was a separate little room protected by a glass encasing. I assumed that the room was used to be a viewing platform for the rest of the students.

  I see some students arrived before me talking to each other and I immediately notice some familiar figures

  “Ah! I didn’t know you’d be in an upper division class, Arthur.” Curtis Glayder waves at me as soon as he realized who I was. Grawder, Curtis’ bond was lying with his eyes closed right next to him.

  “Yeah, I didn’t think I’d have a class with you. Please take care of me.” I grasp his hand.

  “Good to see you again, Arthur!” Claire Bladeheart puts her arm around my neck while smiling brightly. “We have to do our best not to embarrass the Disciplinary Committee, right?”

  “Haha, I’ll do my best. Is this everyone that’s going to be in the class?” I reply, turning back to Curtis. I heard that this class had a fairly small number of students, and that it was one of the most popular classes.

  “Hmmm, there should be a few… ah, there they come!” Looking back, I see several more students and I couldn’t help but smile wearily.

  “Princess Tessia is as beautiful as always, isn’t she?” I hear one of the students murmur.

  Walking this way amongst the small group of students was Tessia Eralith, my childhood friend, and Clive Graves, the Student Vice President.

  She notices me and I could tell she was about to greet me but she notices that I have an older woman’s arm around my neck, so instead she shoots me a glare before snapping her head away, pouting.

  Clive, oblivious of why she got angry, straight up gives me the death glare as his narrow eyes become even sharper.

  “Good afternoon, Princess Tessia!” Not bothering to remove the arm around my neck, Claire smiles and waves at Tess.

  “Pleasure.” She responds, her expression fierce.

  After she walks past us, she secretly sneaks in a pinch to my side, jolting me up.

  “Hmm, I wonder if she’s in a bad mood today.” Claire ponders.

  It’s because of you!

  Removing her arm around my neck, I turn to see someone behind in the back of the group. As soon as I recognize who it was, my face starts burning in anger while my clenched fists turn white. It was Lucas Wykes.

  Chapter 54: Match Start

  My body couldn’t help but tremble in suppressed anger at the thought of being in the same class as that brat Lucas; and of all classes, a team fighting class. The sick irony of having that traitor in a class focused on learning team cohesion in battles almost makes me want to laugh.

  Our eyes met but he looked at me apathetically, like I was an insect on the ground.

  “Good! Everyone’s here!” A loud voice suddenly booms over the field. As all of the students start turning their heads to locate where the voice came from, I look straight up to see a massive hawk-like mana beast hovering over the field.

  This beast was at least 4 meters long and its wingspan was well over 8 meters. With its sharp talons tucked underneath it, the beast slowly made its descent, revealing a well-toned woman with a giant sword strapped to her back, standing up on the back of the hawk.

  “Welcome! My name is Professor Glory and I will be the one teaching all of you brats! This Flare Hawk is Torch, my precious bond.”

  The first thing I did was measure the stage our professor’s mana core was at, but upon trying to inspect her level, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my head as Professor Glory whipped her gaze at m
e. Giving me a confident smile, she gazed down to my direction. Hopping off of her Flare Hawk, she makes her way around the group of students in her class. Studying each of the students she passes, she takes a closer look at some of them before making her way towards me.

  It wasn’t unusual for mages to build defenses around their core stages, especially the higher level ones. It was also lot more difficult to hide which element they use, since the mana particles of their element naturally surrounded them. Most don’t find the need to hide their elemental attribute so it wasn’t a big deal even if they couldn’t, but needless to say, it was surprising to see how strong Professor Glory’s defenses were.

  I couldn’t tell what her core stage was or even her elemental attribute. While I got the hang of masking my core stage level, I needed to use seals in order to completely hide my elemental attributes. I wasn’t sure whether she used seals like I did in order to hide her abilities but one thing for sure is that she knew I was the one inspecting her.

  “I have to say, you guys have set the bar pretty high for all of the other classes.” She announces after inspecting Lucas. She took quite a bit longer to inspect the Disciplinary Committee and the Student Council Members, nodding every once in a while.

  “Well if it isn’t my newest colleague, Arthur Leywin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Professor Glory gives me a playful grin, as if she was itching to tease me.

  The students start murmuring amongst the group in confusion at her greeting.

  “Professor Glory, what do you mean by colleague?” One of the upperclassman males raised his hand.

  “Ah! Most of you have probably seen him from the commencement this morning but this boy is a freshman Disciplinary Committee Officer. A real prodigy if I do say so myself. He’s also a newly appointed Professor for the Practical Mana Manipulation class that you guys all took during your underclassman years.” She gives me a firm pat to my back.