Chapter 47 ~~ First Exam ~~ Multiple ruffling sounds occurred simultaneously as the students turned their exam scripts over. With only a glance, most of them began answering the questions, while the others took their time to reminisce on the questions. The question paper was filled at either sides of the paper. Ian turned his over and read it from the top meticulously. Just for the fact that the written exam was little or less beneficial to his final grades, didn't mean he shouldn't take it very seriously. The words on the paper were written with bold black ink. The time limit written on it was just an hour. There was space for names too. He ignored this and read further. Although, there wasn't anything else to read other than the questions themselves. He recalled reading a few instructions on his question papers every single time during an exam on earth. It included prohibiting exam malpractice, choice of pencil and how to answer questions correctly. But this had none; it was li
Chapter 48 ~~ Progress ~~ With an elongated sigh, Ian dropped his pencil and rested his back on the chair. He was done with the history questions, thanks to Karen, who took her time to give him answers to each of the questions. Although, she was reluctant at first. She was puzzled why he wouldn't know any of the historical events that had happened in Dhemistaria. If at all he was to ask for help, it wasn't to be history; everyone naturally knows at least 30% of Dhemistaria's history. They were either taught in school, or told as evening/bedtime stories at home. Ian had to lie that he had exam fever and was experiencing a short time amnesia. Luckily for him, he had his Math and English scripts to prove that he actually knew something. Karen was momentarily stunned by this. He had solved the 'hardest' questions so quickly, and when she crosschecked them with the ones she had solved, he was correct all through while she made some mistakes in hers. It was after this confirmation, tha
Chapter 49 ~~ Agreement ~~ Gasp! Ian jolted in shock as an arm suddenly curled around his neck. He tilted his head to the side in search of the arm's owner. His eyes fell upon a smirking Kurt. His frightened mood switched to an irritated one. He rolled his eyes. “Hehe...” Kurt laughed. “You're such a baby.” With pouted lips, Ian grabbed Kurt's arm and unfurled it from his neck. “You almost strangled me!” Kurt tucked his hands into his pockets, a smirk still on his face, “And what did you do about it? Scream like a lady in distress? Heh... You really need to man up before tomorrow or else you'll loose woefully.” Ian had a brow raised, “Since when did you become a counselor?” Kurt shrugged, “Today's the last day, Harlow. I've decided to live it to the fullest. I might never get a second shot at this.” “Did Karen tell you that?” Ian had to ask because he knew the kind of person Kurt was. Stoic, arrogant and stubborn. There was no way he'd have thought of what he just said by hi
Chapter 50 ~~ Etnum ~~ Crunch... Crunch... Crunch... As much as they tried to move silently, the damp brown grasses on the ground made them do the exact opposite. The grasses let out crisp noises with each footstep, forcing the teenage Dhemistarians to move at a snail's pace. “... How should I know? I can't possibly think of a strategy to win if I don't know who I'll be fighting,” Ian shrugged walking side by side with Karen and Kurt. “Well, you should at least have like a readied combo attack or something,” Karen said, meticulously placing each foot after the other. Ian scratched the side of his hair as he thought about it, “Uh... I don't think my blessing really allows me to do such. I'd mostly be defensive and evasive till I spot an opening... I guess.” “Tch,” Kurt scoffed. “And you claim to have fought in a war. How did you survive?” Ian contorted his face not knowing what expression to make, “Err... I didn't literally go to war. I was like their last resort or something.”
Chapter 51 ~~ Escapade ~~ “Yes. What where you expecting?” Kurt asked defensively. The somewhat grave and stunned expressions on Ian and Karen's faces caused him to frown a bit. “Metal… Real metal, not the waste products of winged horses,” Ian replied as he recovered from his shock. ‘Is this guy crazy?’ he couldn’t help but ask inwardly. Kurt dipped a hand in his pocket and sighed, “We’re in a stable, what other stuff is here other than the hays? I still don’t get why you’re surprised.” “No one in their right mind would ever think that an horse's dung has such an attribute. Which is still confusing by the way,” Karen folded her hands, “Mind explaining how this irritating thing is Etnum?” “Well…” Kurt smiled nervously. “We can’t call this Etnum per say… It’s more like a mixture containing a sparse amount of it…” “Excuse me?” Ian interrupted, almost shouting. ‘This isn’t the real deal? Don’t tell me we risked coming here for nothing,’ Ian was having it in mind to at least punch
Chapter 52 ~~ The Test of Strength ~~ The two suns rose from the eastern horizon, dispelling a warm orange light across the realm of Dhemistaria, ushering in the dawn of a new day. Today was Friday. For most of the Dhemistarian populace, the day was business as usual. The young minority however knew today wasn’t just another day, it was a day that held great importance to their future. Today was the Test of strength. Ian jolted awake and sat up on his bed. His eyes were squinted and a little red. He barely had enough sleep overnight as he got into training immediately he got home the previous day. He had his dinner in between and continued till he could barely move his limbs. Lumbering into his room, he took a weary glance at the analogue clock hung on the wall. The time was 03:48am; it was way past midnight. Aside the frustration that he wouldn’t get enough sleep, he was also intrigued as to why neither Achlys nor Annabelle bothered to call him in. They went to bed without him. ‘
Chapter 53 ~~ First Match ~~ The audience kept cheering at the call of Amelia Cassius. Two palace guards walked by the red haired princess' sides, escorting her towards the battleground. By the expression on her face, one could tell she was embarrassed. That silly escort made her feel vulnerable. It didn’t stop her from showcasing her royal etiquette though — she held her gown up and moved gracefully. They stopped in front of the commentator. The guards bowed slightly before marching away. Amelia exhaled in relief. By now, the cheers had receded and she looked round at the audience. She caught sight of a tall, well built youth with long silky blonde hair. His deep blue jacket was buttoned all the way to his neck. There was a crown crest on his left chest. His trouser was black, likewise his shoe. He was standing with folded arms and a stern face. Seated next to him was teenage girl with pink hair and pink glossy eyes. Her pink dress had the same embroideries as Amelia’s. Her sma
Chapter 54 ~~ Power of the Sun ~~ The ultraviolet radiation around her shone brighter and exuded a more corrosive effect to the entire battle ground as she levitated off the ground, reaching a height of five feet in the air. Amelia's brows arched down as her eyelids closed halfway. It was as though she was looking at a different colored sun. The fringes of her green regal dress swayed as she moved her feet back one after the other. ‘What sort of light is this? My skin burns even from this distance. Why is it so… corrosive? One could die from this, but it seems she can’t exude any higher…’ She stopped moving back and sighed. ‘But I never knew having a blessing that absorbs sun power could grant such ability. Either way I can’t let this linger more than it already has.’ She swept the sand back with her right feet, moving her arms in that direction. Then she threw her arms forward. The sandy ground shook from her side to were Karen was floating. As the tremor got to Karen, the grou