They were crowded around a little boy in a polo shirt and cargo shorts. He was “cute” as women say, and he grinned from ear to ear as he absorbed their compliments.
I turned to Marcus. “I hope he doesn’t grow up to be like Epios…”
“Shut your mouth street trash.”
I turned to face him. “Are you following me around or something? Have you recovered from that ass whooping the teacher gave you?”
“I have unfortunately been saddled with the curse of being in the same squad as someone as fiendish as yourself. Therefore, we share the same classes. And yes, I took a royal supplement that healed my injuries. It costs more than your life.”
“Great. Two classes with you was more than enough, but now I have to deal with your pompous ass for the entire semester?”
Marcus moaned. “His presence makes all of our days grow longer…”
“It looks like the other vermin has added a bit more to his vocabulary than, ‘die’ or ‘leave me alone.’”
“Die in a fire and leave me the hell alone.”
I balled my fist. “Hey look, say one more thing to me or my friend and I’m gonna have to expedite the payment of that ass whooping I owe you!”
“Vermin A has grown quite bold it seems. Very well, I shall deliver you another lesson in pain.”
CRASH!
We squared up as the door burst open. A petite woman stood in the doorway with a gatling gun. “GET AWAY FROM WINSTON YOU WHORES!”
POW! POW! POW!
She fired wildly toward the cluster of girls as Marcus and I hit the deck.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The women screamed as they scattered.
Winston looked very disappointed.
She walked over to her desk, set the gun behind it, and pulled her child close. “There, there, Winston. It’s ok! Don’t listen to a word those hussy’s say! Now come sit at my desk.”
After instructing him to read a novel, she addressed the class. “Now as for all of you! You hoes should be ashamed of yourselves! The next time you corner my son like that I might not miss on purpose! And you men! For failing to lift a finger to stop those whores from assaulting my son, you’ve also been found guilty! As punishment we are having, you guessed it! Another pop quiz!”
“Not again…”. “Aww…”. “Dammit, man…”
“Quit your groaning and come get your tests! Also, I need to see James Fos.”
I thought it was hilarious how this small woman ran her class with an iron fist, while the last teacher couldn’t even keep his head above water. The students lined up to get their tests and I went to see the teacher. When she saw me, her scowl instantly shifted into a bright smile.
“Hi James! I’m Ms. Williams! I’m so excited to have you in my class this year!” She glared at her students. “I’m sorry about how I had to start class, but I can’t have those whores seducing my Winston!”
“I’m happy to be here, and I understand. We must make sure he doesn’t grow up to be like some people I know…” We turned our heads toward Epios in unison.
“That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I’m glad you understand. The quiz is going to take them a while, so I’m going to tell you everything you need to get caught up. Come with me.”
Every classroom had a separate study room in the back. As we sat down, I started to notice something. She’s kinda bad! She was a smaller woman, much smaller than my usual type, but despite that she had a beautiful face and a banging body. She was Caucasian and therefore outside of the demographic I usually go for, but the way her dress hugged her body was intriguing me. She looked so good that she couldn’t have been older than 35.
She pressed a button on the wall and gatling guns came out of the ceiling and hovered over the students as they took their quiz. “That’s a gift from Mr. Writing to make sure there’s never any cheating.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Isn’t that dangerous? Wouldn’t you have a lawsuit on your hands if someone was shot?”
“Nope, parents are forbidden from knowing what occurs within these walls. They know the risks. They are also forbidden from knowing any of the information I’m about to tell you. Please don’t ask me why because it's above my pay grade. It’s our nation’s policy.”
She turned to the whiteboard, and I struggled to keep my eyes up. “Milliard has already explained your situation to me, so let’s start with a brief synopsis.”
She spoke with passion as she drew illustrations to match her words. “This world has five countries, or tribes as we call them. They are identified by the predominant Spirit Art of their people. They are the Flame Tribe, Ocean Tribe, Earth Tribe, and Wind Tribe. The fifth is the Dragon Isles but they’re an independent nation like the Wind Tribe. Our principal also believes there is a group living in the dense forests up north, but there is no evidence of that nonsense to this point. No group of people could survive out there with spirits roaming around. Nobody has ever been willing to associate with the Wind Tribe due to their heinous crimes, but each of the other tribes have seceded from the union in the past several months. The reasons relate to high-level politics, but we can discuss that on another day if you’re interested…”
“I’m very…very interested…” I muttered as I was mesmerized by her beautiful caramel eyes.
“Much about this world’s origin is unknown to us but each nation primarily consists of individuals with the same or similar Spirit Arts. Each tribe has built its own unique culture and…”
I don’t know what she’s talking about, but her voice is so hot!
“Now let me explain Spirit Arts. In this world, individuals can be much more in tune with their soul, or the eternal aspect of every person’s being. Through testing, we have found that souls contain an infinite amount of energy and cannot be destroyed by human means. By manipulating the energy of the soul, each person can utilize a Spirit Art that usually manifests itself into the ability to control a specific aspect of creation. We call the use of these abilities ‘Spirit Craft’. The standard techniques that have been derived from the utilization of Spirit Craft are called Spirit Arts. Some individuals called specialists have unique abilities that do not fall into any particular category. For example, Mr. Writing can imbue his Spirit Energy into technology to give it new properties and powerful effects...”
I wonder if she’s single? Would I date a woman with a child?
She continued fervently, and her rate of speech increased exponentially as her passion raged. “Each type of Spirit Craft has 10 Arts. Above those arts are Progress Arts and above those are Esoteric Arts that can only be utilized by Archigos in possession of an Esoteric weapon. Esoteric weapons are the signature weapons of the Archigos and are forged during the Arch exams. They grant the wielder boundless Spirit Energy reserves. Most of these weapons have unique restrictions and can only be utilized by the individual who crafted it. The Kai Fos, for example, can only be wielded by an individual with a pure, selfless heart. If someone that didn’t fit that description tried to wield it, they would be burnt to a crisp. It is the last remnant of the lost Sun Warrior nation. Our king and his successor…Epios, are the only descendants of the Sun Warrior line…”
I wonder who the baby daddy is though…He could cause problems down the line…I wonder if she’s already mentioned him…Maybe I should be listening to what she’s saying…
“Each nation has also adapted a unique fighting style that blends well with the terrain where they live that synergizes with the Spirit Arts their tribe normally utilizes. My last point on Spirit Craft is that it is very difficult to learn and master. As a result, even the finest of our nation’s warriors can usually only master three Arts. I have never seen anyone but an Archigos, or someone on that level, master more than 3 techniques, and frankly I doubt it’s possible. Also, without an Esoteric weapon, most warriors run out of Spirit Energy quickly during a fight, so the way you utilize it must be spent strategically. That should be all the basics. Do you have any questions?
“U…h, no? Actually yes…could you go over all of that again and start from the beginning. And speak much slower this time.”
“Sure, I’d love to! In fact, Winston should be done reading that novel by now so I’m going to bring him in here so he can soak up this great knowledge too!”
We spent the rest of the period rehashing what she just explained until the bell rang.
“Alright, I think I understand a bit better now, and I have a lot of questions, but the most important one is…IS IT REALLY TRUE THAT I’LL ONLY BE ABLE TO USE 3 ARTS?! I CAN USE PRETTY MUCH EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT! HOW IS THAT FAIR?”
She covered Winston’s ears. “YES! IT’S TRUE SO STOP YELLING! YOU’RE GOING TO DAMAGE MY POOR WINSTON’S EARDRUMS AND IF THAT HAPPENS, I’LL KILL YOU! HE NEEDS THOSE TO BECOME AN ARCHIGOS DAMMIT!” She took a deep breath. “But yes, while it is still valuable to be able to utilize Spirit Energy to manipulate the natural elements of your environment during combat, along with physical reinforcement, you will likely only be able to utilize 3 techniques. That is, unless you prove yourself to be one of the most exceptional individuals we have ever seen, someone on the level of a Milliard or an Archigos. In fact, you will most likely only be able to utilize 3 techniques from a single element because even the warriors who are exceptional at utilizing one element can only learn three techniques in their lifetime.”
I sighed. “What a bummer…”
“The truth hurts.” She pointed. “NOW GO! IT’S TIME FOR WINSTON’S PRIVATE COMBAT TRAINING WITH GERALDO!”
I left class and caught up with Marcus. “Man, I learned a lot of great stuff in that class! Where are we off to next?”
“Technology class with the villain Mr. Writing”
I sighed. “Great…what did he do that irks you so much?”
“He is the herald and bastion of some of the greatest technological achievements known to man. Yet he uses them exclusively for the capital and does not spread his knowledge across the world. The lives that could be saved are boundless.”
“Interesting. He seemed like a stand-up guy to me. I’ll have to ask him about it then.”
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