Guilt and Punishmen

by Sophia Schmidt

  "How do you know it?" Orion was flabbergasted. Necromancy being one of the rarest mystical arts, only those who served the Crown, the Mage Association, and veterans in fighting undead knew such things.

  He was about to teach them about the elements, but Lith took the words out of his mouth.

  "I have a lot of free time during the Necromancy classes. I do not spend it by idly waiting for the lesson to end, I raise undead and experiment on them instead. To truly master any discipline, I need to understand its flaws and limitations, becoming capable of exploiting them when it will be used against me."

  Lith's reply made Phloria's and Jirni's heart flutter. To the former, he sounded like a cool hero always one step ahead of his enemies, to the latter he sounded like the perfect son in law and an excellent royal constable candidate.

  Jirni and Orion stayed for dinner and with them a lot of other parents. The canteen had never been so full and noisy before. The hall was split into two sides. One with the noble families warning their heirs, giving them advice and equipment.

  The other where commoners were grouped up, still unaware of the imminent threat.

  Lith was sitting at the Ernas's table while Yurial was at the table next to them with his parents and fianc¨¦. She was as cute as a button blond girl, around fifteen years old, and definitely overdressed. She seemed to be attending a gala rather than an academy.

  That and the scornful glances she threw at the other side of the canteen made her obnoxious at first sight to Lith.

  The following day, the morning gong resounded early and after a quick breakfast, all the students were assembled in front of the academy's gates. Dozens of Warp Steps were open, allowing the staff to go back to their homes.

  Linjos's plan included leaving the academy empty and locked from the inside so that even if Balkor's undead managed to break in, the number of casualties would be zero.

  Not having anyone to interrogate, finding their new location would hopefully require more time than the creatures' lifespan allowed, so the White Griffon would win the battle without even moving a finger.

  When only the students and Professors remained, Linjos closed the Warp Steps, opening new ones leading to their refuge. It looked like a medium sized mining town, composed by a hundred of small houses entirely made out of wood.

  Doubting that Linjos would make such a blunder, underestimating Balkor's fury to that extent, Lith activated Life Vision while Solus used her mana sense to scan their surroundings.

  The whole area had a mana flow vigorous enough to put to shame even the academy's one. The houses, the ground, even the flowers glowed like a Christmas tree. Aside from the shabby look, it seemed Linjos had spared no efforts in his creation.

  Lith noticed that the youngest students were terrified by the presence of their seniors, staying as far as possible from them. Magical beasts could be seen everywhere in the town, some perched on the nearby trees, others leisurely walking along the streets.

  Lith was searching for a Professor, to know which was his accommodation, when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder.

  "Hey, you are Lith from Lutia, right?"

  Lith pushed the hand away like it was an annoying fly before answering.

  "Depends. Who's asking?" He found himself staring at a sixteen year old boy, probably a fifth year student. He was very tall, around 1.85 meters (6'1") high, with chestnut hair and eyes that gave him an oddly familiar look.

  "You are that commoner sht that had my brother and cousins expelled! All because you and the fcking stick up your a*s can't take a practical joke." Vinor Pontus was seething with anger.

  His family was already on the verge of disaster, the expulsion and arrest of three of their most promising talents had been the final straw that broke the camel's back.

  Their reputation was ruined. It would take them decades to recover from all the recent blows and rebuild their good name from scratch. Lith looked around for a Professor, finding only M'Rook the Ry, that was staring at the scene with interest, wagging its tail in anticipation.

  "Three men ambushing a girl at night can hardly be called a practical joke, unless one is a pervert and a degenerate. You Pontus guys seem to perfectly fit the bill. It's no surprise that Balkor wants you morons dead. Idiots with more power than brain are the perfect recipe for disaster."

  Just Balkor's name was enough to make most of those present shudder, but not Vinor Pontus. He had been looking for a pretext to attack Lith. Insulting him and his whole family in front of so many witnesses was more than enough.

  Vinor raised his arms, pretending to be just shrugging before throwing a straight at Lith with all the strength he was capable of. Lith reacted accordingly, raising a single finger and stopping the punch a dozen centimeters from his face.

  He had used first magic to generate an air cushion, giving Vinor the impression of hitting an invisible pillow. Before he could pull back the punch, the air cushion exploded.

  It released many air blades, strong enough to pierce the uniform's protection. They scratched his face, giving him the look of someone that had fought and lost against a stray cat. Lith snapped his fingers, conjuring an air wave that sent Vinor tumbling on the ground.

  The students watching the scene burst into laughter, making Vinor's blood boil. He got back on his feet with one fluid movement, releasing a spell from one of his rings. It conjured an icicle as long and thick as an arm, aimed at Lith's heart.

  Before Lith could react, the icicle turned to dust, while a strong grip was squeezing Vinor's hand, to the point of almost breaking his fingers.

  "What the heck do you think you are doing?" Professor Wil Ironhelm was in charge of the Battle Magic class and the Forgemaster specialization for the fifth year. He was muscular as a bull and almost as patient.

  "He started it, Professor! He attacked me with magic for no reason." Vinor whined while twisting and lowering his body, trying to relieve the pressure on his fingers.

  "Is it true?" He asked staring at Lith with his ice blue eyes.

  "No. I'm Lith from Lutia and he is a member of the Pontus family." Lith replied like it explained everything.

  "That Lith from Lutia?" Ironhelm threw Vinor back on the ground with a flick of the wrist, while rushing towards Lith with his extended hand.

  "It's an honor to meet you. I have heard a lot about you from Lyca Wanemyre. The gods know why she got the talent, the looks, and a promising student while all I got is this shirt and a bunch of morons!" He cursed shaking his fist against the heavens.

  "Minus one hundred points for assaulting a junior and minus another hundred for getting your a*s kicked despite attacking first."

  "How can you believe him instead of me? This isn't fair!" Vinor whined, two of his still charged rings had permanently shut down because of the points deficit.

  "You need proof. Everyone here is my witness!" The younger students stepped away, while the others started to turn around and leave.

  "Proof, uh? Well, let's do this your way. Is he speaking the truth?" Ironhelm asked to M'Rook, who promptly shook its head.

  "No. The dumb oaf attacked the young wolf for no reason. After his defeat, the oaf attacked with magic. You know the rest."

  "It speaks?" The whole crowd of students went into an uproar.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

  Chapter 211 Dead on Time

  Vinor almost choked from the surprise, many students stared at M'Rook like they were seeing a magical beast for the first time in their lives.

  "Yeah, he can." Ironhelm corrected Vinor. "Minus two hundred points for lying to a teacher." The rest of Vinor's rings turned grey.

  "How can you believe to stupid beast instead of a student? Are you even human? What side are you on?" Vinor whined, jumping away after hearing a snarl right beside his head.

  "Who are you calling stupid?" M'Rook was so close that Vinor could smell his pungent breath. His lips were curled up, revealing fangs t
he size of a small dagger.

  "Minus five hundred points for offending our protectors." Vinor's uniform turned from white to grey, losing all of its magical properties.

  "Listen up, you idiots." Professor Ironhelm's voice roared.

  "For the next three days, we are guests in this forest. Magical beasts are our landlords, protectors, and first line of defense. Whoever dares to attack another student or disrespects them will have all of their points null and void.

  "It's time for you to learn that if a magical beast lives long enough, it develops mystical wisdom. They can talk, reason, and read, just like us humans. Before opening your stuck up mouths, remember where you are if you want to live.

  "If they refuse to protect us because of your behavior, I'll gladly sacrifice an idiot or two to save everyone else. Is it clear?"

  The students from the fourth and fifth year looked around, finally seeing that the town had no blind spots. Magical beasts could be seen soaring the skies, patrolling the streets, and even felt while tunneling underground.

  Unlike inside the academy, every single move they made was watched, every word heard. Now they also knew that magical beast could talk, making them a living security system with heightened senses.

  Lith walked away after giving M'Rook a polite bow, starting to look out for Phloria and the rest of the group.

  "If they live long enough. That's a good joke." Lith inwardly laughed at the charade magical beasts had put up for humans.

  "Yeah, even Nok could talk and he was just a Byk cub." Solus smiled remembering their little friend. -

  Meanwhile, Professor Ironhelm's curiosity had been piqued.

  "Why didn't you intervene? If I hadn't stopped that icicle¡"

  "Nothing would have happened." M'Rook cut him short. "The oaf was a threat only to himself. I would kill him if I were you. He's a bad apple. He will bring only harm to your pack."

  The Ry's words made another question arise.

  "Why are you calling the big one 'oaf' and the other one 'young wolf'?"

  "The big one is one of you, the small one is one of us." M'Rook snorted like someone had asked him if the water was wet.

  "One of us?" Ironhelm was getting more confused by the second.

  "The oaf is a human. Sees food, wants food. Sees female, wants female. Sees things, wants things. No matter if he needs them, he takes them with violence. That is human nature.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

  We don't eat unless hungry, we have a mate for life, we don't need useless trinkets. He is one of us."

  Professor Ironhelm felt slightly offended by M'Rook's words. They sounded a lot like racism. His problem was that he couldn't argue with them. Without law and order, the world of men would take days at most to plunge into chaos, while magical beasts lived according to unwritten rules that every one of them adhered to.

  ***

  Lith was amazed by the total number of people the White Griffon hosted. The first three years were composed of at least one thousand students, making him doubt that the mining town could accommodate them all.

  "Damn, I'm here for less than five minutes and I am already lost. I hate crowded places. They give me a headache." Lith thought.

  "We need to find a Professor and fast!"

  "Or you could call them and ask them where they are." Solus suggested, making Lith sneer.

  "My sweet, innocent Solus. If after carrying out this monumental work Linjos has left the communications open, he would be too much of an idiot to be the Headmaster."¨C

  As Lith predicted, the communication amulet was as dead as a doornail.

  "Lith, nice to meet you again. I wish our circumstances were better." Lith turned around, meeting the eyes of Colonel Varegrave.

  "Colonel, this is an unexpected surprise. Is the army involved too?" Lith replied, giving him a small bow.

  "Yes, of course. We cannot take any chances. I assume you already know everything." Lith nodded, asking him for help in finding his teammates.

  "Not a problem." The Colonel touched his communication earpiece, requesting information. While waiting for the reply, he and Lith talked about the situation at hand.

  "Can the Small World be used here?"

  "Sadly, no." Varegrave sighed. "It works with principles similar to the academy's arrays, it's just more powerful. Those creatures would barely be slowed down, while we would be powerless.

  Follow me, the show is about to begin."

  Varegrave lead Lith to the town's outskirts where students and Professors were still waiting. Suddenly, the earth started to tremble and a rock plateau four meters (14 feet) high emerged from the ground.

  Linjos had chosen a spot that allowed all those present to have a clear view and listen to his magically amplified voice.

  "My dear students, this will be our home for the following days. The rules here are the same as the academy, but without lessons. At least for the fourth and fifth year students." At those words, most of the crowd erupted into groans, which Linjos ignored.

  "You need to keep your hands and minds busy to avoid the stress from our current situation to eating you up from the inside. For this reason, fourth and fifth year students have two choices: help the Professors teaching their juniors the basics of magic, or mine magic crystals.

  Both the endeavors will be awarded with magic crystals or points according to your contributions. I have assigned you your housing based on your social status and age, but don't misunderstand.

  I did it only to prevent the seniors from harassing the younger students. All houses are identical and have the same comforts." More groans filled the air, many students spit on the ground, disgusted by Linjos's words.

  They had hoped to get some fun at the expenses of the commoners.

  "As Professor Ironhelm already pointed out, remember we are guests here. Allow me to introduce you to our Lord."

  Scarlett the Scorpicore plunged from the skies, right beside Linjos, its landing as soft as a plume.

  "I'll be brief, humans." Its voice was harsh but feminine, allowing the students to understand she was a female.

  "Respect my rules and you won't even notice our presence. My rules are simple. One: do as Linjos says. Two: never harm a cub, human or otherwise, in my presence." One of the reasons the Scorpicore had decided to help the academy was that, having lost many of her offspring before turning into a Scorpicore, Scarlett had a soft spot for children.

  The other was that, according to Linjos's words, the undead had too many abilities that reminded her of Abominations. She wanted to use that opportunity to check if the so-called god of death and her mysterious enemy were somehow related.

  "Third: respect my underlings. They are risking their lives for you, those who do not appreciate their sacrifice can as well as die for what I care. If any of you needs help, whatever the reason, you can go to any of the magical beasts surrounding the city or my seconds in command."

  Another monster descended from the skies on Scarlett's left side.

  It was a giant wolf with two curved horns coming out of its forehead, right in front of the ears. Eagle-like feathered wings came out from his back and the tail seemed to be made out of dancing flames.

  "Ryman?"¨C Lith was shocked by his friend's arrival.

  "He is Protector the Skoll. He will lead my troops in battle since I am forced to mantain all the protective arrays by myself." It was actually a lie. Many had contributed to securing the zone. Scarlett said that because she knew humans needed to be impressed to obtain their respect.

  Also, it would make it easier to find out traitors since she had just made herself a target, pretending that her energies were all directed at the arrays.

  A second creature appeared, this time slowly emerging from the ground.

  It was a huge mass of shadows as big as a small house, which kept shapeshifting until it resembled a bear. Its only distinctive features were the glowing red eyes and its massive s
keleton that glimpses could be caught of from time to time underneath the ever-changing darkness composing its body.

  "This is Kalla the Wraith, our resident expert in the field of undead. She'll secure the perimeter in case things go south. Goodbye."

  "Kalla?" Her new appearance had shocked Lith, who was now fearing the worst.

  "Is that an evolution or has she turned into an undead?"

  "An evolution." Solus replied. "She now has a blue mana core, not a blood core. Yet judging from the red eyes and the black smoke exuding from her body, I'd say she's somehow related to them."¨C

  The three Monsters disappeared as fast as they had arrived, leaving the center of the scene to Linjos again. With a clap of his hands, several boards materialized from thin air. Each one of them was a huge list of names in alphabetical order.

  Beside each name, there was a number associated with one of the houses indicated on the map. Much to his surprise, Lith discovered that his housing was marked as one of an old noble family.

  The Ernas couple had threatened the poor Headmaster, each one their own way, leaving him still pondering if to find Orion's yells or Jirni's subtle insinuations more menacing.

  Having faced and lost against both in the past, he had made no objection to their request to keep together the five youths despite their different social status. When Archmage Deirus had also pressed Linjos towards such accommodation, there was very little he could do.

  Putting together three members of an old noble family, albeit one in name only, one of a young noble family, and a commoner was something that he would never allow if not for their excellent relationship.

  The hours passed until evening arrived. Lith worked in the mines, preferring to avoid both nobles and kids. Quylla and Yurial chose to help the Professors to teach the basics of magic.

  Quylla was considering to pursuing an academic career. All the dangers she was going through were making her understand how much she loved her peaceful life inside the academy, away from bloodsheds and fights. Those things made her feel out of place.