(A/N: This takes place after Alistair and Arthur return home.)
Arthur POV:
"Arthur! Alistair!"
The sound of my mother's voice snapped me back to reality. She and my father came running forward, both with relieved and joyful expressions lined in their faces.
My father, whose body seemed to even be muscular despite his age, scooped me up with a bright grin.
"My boys!" he beamed. "You haven't grown at all!"
"Your beard's longer, old man. Trying to match the wrinkles on your face?" I smirked, wrapping my arm around my dad's neck.
"Hey! That's my husband you're talking about!" my mother chided as my father put me back down. "Now come here."
My mother wrapped her arms around me in warm embrace. As she let me go, I could tell by her red eyes that she was trying her best to keep her tears back.
"Sorry for worrying you," I said, seeing the pain in her eyes.
Sniffing a sob back, she looked up and quickly wiped away a stray tear before smiling at me. "You take just after your father, you know that? Always getting into trouble, always worrying me. W-When the ring activated..."
She stopped talking as tears rolled down her cheeks. Still, her smile never went away as she chided me, her eyes peering at me with love and worry.
My father wrapped his arm around Mother's shoulder, pulling her close. "Your mother couldn't sleep for days after the ring activated. We both knew you wouldn't have died that easily, but it couldn't stop us from worrying."
"I'm sorry for worrying you," I repeated as my heart dropped to my stomach.
"Thankfully, the status on the masked swordsman, or Note, was updated at Guild Hall, saying that you and your party arrived at the branch near the Beast Glades," my father continued, tousling my hair with his free hand.
Ellie, who was hiding behind Father for some reason, took a peek out from behind him.
"I seem to cause nothing but concerns for you guys," I said with a wry smile before looking at my sister. "I'm sorry, Ellie, for being away so much and making Mom and Dad cry."
"I forgive you," Ellie sniffled, hiding behind our father again.
"It's a parent's job to worry for her children," my mother soothed. "Although, you seem to be fulfilling your end of the bargain a little too well."
My mother, taking a glance at my little sister, turned to me and whispered just loudly enough for everyone to hear, "And don't worry about your sister. She was waiting by the window the whole day since your friend, Elijah, came in with Jasmine."
"Mom!" Ellie gasped. "That was supposed to be a secret!"
My little sister clung hard onto my mother, making her submit as we all laughed.
"I guess that's my cue?" Elijah chimed in from the top of the stairs leading to the second floor. My newfound friend had been waiting for our little family reunion to end with Vincent and Tabitha.
"Took you long enough to get here. Did you decide to take a small tour before coming here?" Elijah joked as he hopped down the stairs.
"I wanted a break from your unsightly mug," I retorted, giving him a snide grin. "Where's Jasmine, anyway?"
"She already went back with the Twin Horns," he answered, removing his glasses and wiping them with the end of his shirt.
Looking at the bespectacled young man, it was hard for me to recall how inexpressive and cold he appeared to be when I had first seen him in the testing grounds.
"Arthur and Alistair Leywin! The prodigious sons return!" Vincent clasped my back, locking his arms around me with a tight bearhug.
"We're glad you're back safe, Arthur, Alistair." Tabitha followed behind him, pulling us into a lavender-scented hug as well.
I realized that there was one person absent from the Helstea Family. But before I could ask, Vincent caught my gaze and let out a chuckle.
"If you're looking for Lily, she's not here." Vincent had a wicked smile on his face while Tabitha rolled her eyes at him.
"Lily got accepted into Xyrus Academy. She started attending last fall after she turned twelve," Tabitha filled me in.
"Wow," I beamed. "So she's really learning to be a mage! I'm glad!"
Tabitha nodded at this. "Yes. She really wanted to be here when you came back to tell you herself but unfortunately, spring semester started, so she's stuck in the dorms until break."
"But it's all thanks to you, Arthur! Never would've figured, after generations of nothing, that a mage would be born into the Helstea House! Now come—all of you—no need to stand around here when we have a perfectly good set of couches in the living room!"
After being herded into the next room over, we began discussing my time as an adventurer.
There were some details that I left out for my family's sake—I exchanged glances with Elijah when I skipped the part where Lucas betrayed us—but other than that, I made sure to fill them in to the best of my ability.
"Speaking of core. Dad, what stage are you at?" I asked.
Giving me an embarrassed chuckle, he answered, "I've been stuck at the bottleneck of the dark orange stage since you left. No matter how much I meditate and purify mana, I can't seem to break through."
"Perfect. Use this then." I tossed the core to my father, catching him by surprise. "I had to use a bit while I was healing but there should be enough in this beast core to help you break through."
Handling the small orb like it was made godsent, he shook his head with a frozen expression. "Son, I can't. This is something you fought for with your life. I can't just take this from you."
I was prepared to shove the orb down my father's throat when my mother chimed in. "Honey, I'm sure Arthur isn't giving this to you on a whim. If he wants you to have it, it's for a good reason."
"Listen to your wife, Rey. The boy must have his reasons. You're his father, for God's sake. Get stronger, it'll help me as well!" Vincent laughed.
Tabitha just chuckled at this. "Alice, your sons brought quite the present."
"For the amount of worrying he caused me, I'm still weighing whether it was worth it!" my mother joked, exchanging a laugh with her friend.
"You have to catch up to us, Dad. You can't let your son leave you in the dust, right?" Alistair smirked, attracting confused gazes.
My father looked up at me. "Don't tell me..."
"Yup"—I leaned back on the couch—"Light orange stage."
"I am at the dark yellow stage," Alistair chimed in.
Vincent's eyes practically bulged as his wife let out a sharp breath in awe.
"Sweet mother of—that's just ridiculous," Vincent breathed out, shaking his head.
My family took the news a lot better, indicating that they were used to their monster of a son.
My father held up the elderwood's beast core with a renewed fervor in his eyes. "Don't cry when your old man beats you down the next time we duel, then."
"You're on," I grinned back.
We shifted topics after a few more awestruck comments by Vincent and Tabitha.
The next order of things had to do with Elijah. He had told everyone about his background before I had arrived but left it at that. I explained to my family and the Helstea wife and husband that he was both a close friend and a benefactor who saved both Jasmine's life and mine.
It was decided that he would attend Xyrus Academy alongside Alistair and I. Well, we still needed the meeting with Director Goodsky but it was definitely possible.
Elijah decided to leave for Darv tomorrow so that he could catch up with his family before coming back here to attend Xyrus Academy.
______________________________________
Arthur POV:
Eventually, we arrived back home, my physical and mental strength depleted by the time father came back home soon after.
"How was your day, sons?" He chuckled, taking a seat next to me on the dining table.
"I never thought shopping could be so utterly tiring," I groaned. Alistair nodded his head tiredly.
As if hearing my complaints, Vincent and Tabitha sat down across from us.
"HAHA! I heard you got beat up by a bunch of women today, Arthur!" Vincent exclaimed.
I just feebly nod while Tabitha smirked at looks at Mother, "These little prodigies of yours aren't as big of a deal as I thought they were." Lilia and Ellie giggled at this.
"I will admit that a woman's endurance can not be matched when they're out shopping." I just wryly refuted.
My father and Vincent laughed harder at this and nodded their head in agreement.
The sound of a doorbell followed by a couple of knocks gets everyone's attention.
"Ah! Looks like she's here!" Vincent perked up.
The look on everyone else's face told me that Vincent was the only one who knew what was going on.
Vincent came back, leading an elderly woman into dining room.
"Rey, Alice, Arthur, Alistair, I know you guys said that you want to put off school for later but I think it's about time now. Everyone. Meet Cynthia Goodsky! She's the Director of Xyrus Academy."
Noticing the slight twinge of annoyance on my face, Vincent immediately said, "Don't worry, I didn't bring her here to make you go to school right away. I just wanted her to meet you."
The Director gave me a smile that I couldn't quite understand the meaning of and held out her hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Arthur, Alistair."
"Nice to finally meet you, Arthur," She said holding her hand out.
I just went with the safe route and shook her hand.
"Err... Nice to meet you too, Director."
The Director seemed a little taken aback by my introduction.
"Arthur! You're being rude! I'm so sorry for my son, Director Goodsky. He just returned home and is ignorant about formal customs." My mother pushed my head down with her hand while bowing herself, getting on one knee.
Apparently, when meeting someone of high standing, it was customary to get on one knee and shake the hand, while bowing.
How stupid.
Looks like Alistair disagreed with me as he greeted her properly, much to my annoyance and my mother's joy.
"Kukuku, no it is quite all right. No offence taken at all. And please, Arthur, Alistair, call me Cynthia." She let out a polite laugh with her free hand covering her mouth.
"I'm sorry to intrude on you at such a late time but unfortunately, the only free time I could make was after my meeting tonight. I hope you don't mind," she explained, looking at my parents.
"Nonono, we're thankful that you'd be willing to take the time out just to visit our son." My father was the one to speak this time.
By the amount of formality I had started wondering if this granny could compare to Grandpa Virion.
Director Cynthia nodded at this. "True, it isn't very often that I take a house trip to visit a potential student. Otherwise, even with a hundred bodies, I wouldn't be able to fit the time."
"However, Vincent is a good friend and has contributed greatly to Xyrus Academy. So when he had excitedly come up to me about two prodigies that are living in his home, I couldn't help but get excited as well. I must say that my curiosity got the best of me. Do you mind leading me to an open space so I can see a demonstration?" She continued on, her gaze fixed at me in an assessing manner.
"Can I at least eat din...Ouch!" My mother slapped me in the butt before I could finish my sentence.
"Of course! Please follow us, Director Cynthia." My mother ushers me, leading Director Cynthia while the rest followed.
My dinner...
Sylvie, who had been hiding underneath the dinner table from the unfamiliar human, trotted behind me, causing Director Cynthia to raise an eyebrow.
"Oh my... What a lovely mana beast. I assume it is your contracted beast, Arthur?" she asked me inquisitively while kneeling down to get a closer view at Sylvie.
"Yeah, she hatched a few months ago. Her name is Sylvie," I simply responded, my mother's hand still grabbing onto the back of my shirt to keep me from escaping.
"I have to say, while it is common for nobles to buy beasts to contract, I have never seen a mana beast like yours."
Shrugging my shoulders, I explained, "I'm not exactly sure what she is either. Her mother seemed to be some sort of scaled wolf like creature. She was already gravely wounded when I stumbled into her nest. She was protecting her egg."
She reached to pet Sylvie but she scampered away and climbed on top of my head.
"Sorry, she's a bit shy around strangers."
"I see. Well enough about her. Let us see if what Vincent said wasn't just exaggeration. He didn't tell me much except that you're an augmenter, saying the rest would be a surprise. Arthur, you should come first." She let out a wry smile, making Vincent blush.
We had arrived at the backyard and everyone took seats, giving us enough space, Sylvie struggling to escape the grasp of my little sister, whom I entrusted her with.
I unsheathed Dawn's Ballad and happily took in the Director's shocked expression before she composed herself and took out her wand.
I stomped my right foot into the ground and a piece of the ground the size of my body thrusted up. I kicked the rock towards her.
A wind wall appeared instantly in front of her, knocking up the rock I had just kicked high into the air.
'Ooh, Insta-casting.'
I guess she wasn't just a director that sat in front of her desk signing papers.
Her brows raised in surprise by the sudden attack I threw at her, but she quickly composed herself. I could tell she hadn't been expecting an elemental attack from me, especially since she knew I was an augmenter.
I willed a gust of wind underneath my feet and propel myself to her.
Her expression grew even more surprised as I easily jumped up three meters into the air with the help of my wind attribute skill as a swirling whirlwind enveloped my sword. Using the boulder that had just been knocked up by the Director as a foothold, I kicked off it to gain enough momentum to hopefully break through her barrier.
The collision of her our two spells created an erratic current of wind, forcing the audience to cover themselves.
The collision blew me back, but Director Cynthia remained steady on her feet. Before I was able to recompose myself, the director had already finished her next move as gusts of wind swirled and shaped themselves into four twisters the size of small trees. Without even a visible command from her, the twisters shot themselves towards me.
Gathering wind attribute mana around me, I will a small tornado to form around me, spinning the opposite direction of Director Goodsky's spell. Using the centrifugal force generated by my cyclone, I began spinning along with it, using my hands to create blades of wind.
The clash between the four twisters and my cyclone created a small crater but otherwise didn't do me any harm besides making me very dizzy.
"Impressive. It seems like I will have to take you just a bit more seriously."
Instantly I'm knocked back, my ears ringing and my vision unsteady.
She was a deviant... a sound mage at that.
I steadied myself, taking a glance at my opponent who was staring back at me with a mildly impressed expression on her face.
My head began spinning, trying to think of different possible moves I could take to win, but she had me in a checkmate. Suppressing my pride and stubbornness, I took a seat on the ground, admitting defeat.
'I could give her a good fight if I used Integrate, but it's not worth it.'
"That should be enough for a demonstration, right, Director?" I rubbed my temples.
"Yes... That is quite sufficient," she muttered. There was a long pause as she began studying me with a newly found interest.
She regained her senses and made her way towards me when I hear my father's voice.
"A-Arthur... You know how to use earth and wind attribute spells as well?"
"What do you mean, 'as well'?" Director Cynthia interrupted, her composed look turning into a look of confusion.
My mother continued on for my baffled father.
"H-he, my son, we thought he was a fire elemental. He's a deviant as well that can use lightning magic!"
I could hear Director Cynthia's breath turn short, and for the first time, her expression of someone truly in shock.
"S-surely you jest... you mean to say that he is capable of controlling three elements?"
"Four actually. I can control all four," I cut in. Everyone was going to find out anyway. This wasn't something that I could, nor wanted to hide.
"Earth and wind are my weakest elements. I'm a lot more adept in controlling fire and water. I also happen to be deviants in both those elements, although I had just began training in them." I got up to my feet, shaking off my dizziness from the previous attack. I wasn't expecting a sound user so I didn't bother enhancing my ears. The director was quite cruel, though. If my body hadn't gone through assimilation, my hearing would have been quite damaged.
No one responded back to what I had just said, the only sound nearby being the clichéd chirps of crickets. It was understandable that they'd be this surprised, but I was getting tired of the shocked expressions.
The noble figure that controlled the most prominent school in the continent, stumbled forward, barely making it to a chair. Then, unexpectedly, she began laughing. She started off with a low chuckle, but that soon escalated into a wild laugh of what seemed to me like sheer joy.
Finally, turning back to me, she said, "Arthur, If I may repeat, you are a quadra elemental capable of controlling two higher elements, correct?"
I'm also a Dragon Tamer, but that's about it. I wonder how they would react if I told them that.
"Correct," I immediately answered, not bothering to elaborate.
"Please demonstrate." Director Cynthia's eyes grew menacing and the once friendly grandmother now had the look of a veteran killer as she raised her hand, the mana around her fluctuating.
Suddenly, a vacuum of wind began sucking me towards her as a visible sphere of wind formed in her other palm.
This woman...
I willed water into my right palm and a condensed ball of fire in my left. She wanted to see so badly; I'd just have to show her.
Combining the two opposing skills together, I created a massive cloud of steam, completely enshrouding the both of us from everyone else's sight.
The cloud of steam didn't last long against the wind mage, but it did give me enough time for me to create a spear of ice. I quickly repositioned myself after throwing the spear of ice just as the steam dissipated. As expected, the director easily blocked my ice spear just before I was in range to land a fist encased in lightning. However, just like before, I was blown away by a powerful sound wave. Fortunately, I had reinforced mana over my ears, but there was no way for me to get near her.
"Whew! I must say that I'm thoroughly convinced! You pass, Arthur Leywin." She clapped her hands, breaking the silence.
"Sorry for hiding this from you guys," I said, turning to my parents. I was a bit worried that that my parents might be angry for keeping this from them, but fortunately, my father took it pretty well.
"My son is the first ever quadra elemental!" He scooped me up by my armpits and swung me around like he did when I was an infant.
Suddenly, the traumatic memories began popping back up.
"Please Art, no more secrets." My mother just wryly smiled, concern still etched on her face.
I couldn't promise her that, but I'd like to believe it was for her protection, not for my convenience.
"Forget a quadra elemental, in this continent, there aren't even any tri elementals but you, Art..." Tabitha chimed in, her voice trailing into a sigh.
After everyone calmed down from my proclamation, Director turned towards Alistair, "It's your chance now,"
He nodded and got ready.
The Director attacked first by shooting several blades of wind towards him. Alistair easily avoided them before using lightning to coat his body.
Alistair POV:
'I guess I should go all out,' I thought as lightning enveloped my entire body.
The Director had a shocked expression on her face as she attacked me using her invisible wind magic.
Invisible to the normal person.
I could track the mana flow and was able to easily dodge her attacks while closing the distance between us.
She created a cyclone around her which I instantly copied, surprising her. As she blocked my attacks, I got closer to her when I was suddenly hit by her sound magic.
However, I predicted her and managed to guard against her magic using lightning. I summoned blue fire in my right hand and wind in my left hand before shooting it towards her.
'Wind enhanced the power of fire,' I thought as my attacks was just barely stopped by her spell.
"So, you are a dual elemental with one deviancy," she asked me to which I nodded. "Good, I am impressed. You pass as well," she clapped her hands.
(A/N: Alistair's true potential is when he's fighting against augmenters also Cynthia didn't want to push Alistair and Arthur to their limits, she just wanted to see if they passed a certain benchmark of strength.)
Arthur POV:
(A/N: I messed up the timeline a bit because I thought that Arthur was 10 when he went to Dire Tombs. I found out he was 12 so I made the changes.)
My father set me down and I turned to Director Cynthia, giving her a stern gaze, a gaze that I knew didn't fit a twelve-year-old.
"Director Goodsky. There's actually a reason Alistair and I didn't hide my capabilities today."
Picking up on the seriousness in my voice, she nodded in understanding. "I had a hunch that you weren't just brazenly showing off your skills, Arthur. You seemed too sharp for that."
Agreeing with her, I responded, "There are only a few benefits I can gain from attending your school. One is learning how to utilise my Lightning and Ice elements. However, that is something I can learn on my own with due time. No. The main reason I would attend your academy, if I chose to at all, is for protection. Right now, I'm not strong enough to protect everyone. However, you hold a position of power and influence that can provide safety for my family and I, at least until I can gain the strength to protect them myself."
"Arthur! You're being rude to Director Goodsky! How can you..."
"No, it's fine Alice." Immediately after she said this, the director mumbled a soft chant before speaking again.
"Arthur, Alistair, I believe you both hold the ability to make changes in this world. For that, if you're willing to attend Xyrus Academy and become a rightful citizen that will do anything to protect his land, then I will abide by any criteria you set." Director Goodsky's voice was clear and determined.
(A/N: Alistair is going to let Arthur do much of the talk for now since he is just a ten year old child. This will change in the Xyrus Academy arc when he becomes more independent and maturer.)
"Very well, I will learn what I feel is valuable from the classes your school offers and train my own powers. As long as you give me the tools and freedom to do so, as well as keep my loved ones safe, then I will consider you as an important benefactor," I promised.
Director Goodsky's lips curve up into a smile as we shook hands. At this, I'm suddenly able to hear the voices of everyone else again. Looking at the director, she gave me wink.
By the confused looks of everyone around us, I could only assume that what Director Goodsky had done was make everyone else unable to hear our voices.
Clarifying for everyone who couldn't hear, I said aloud, "I will abide by our agreement when I enroll in your academy."
"Oh? Were you not planning on enrolling into my Academy anytime soon?" The Director as well as every other adult had looks of puzzlement on their faces.
"I don't plan on entering Xyrus Academy until I would be of a normal age to actually attend. No. I've decided to enter your academy on my twelfth birthday, a very average age for one to enter your Academy. I assume that will not be a problem?" I tilted my head.
"Of course not, in fact, I'm glad you are attending then," she replied with a glad voice.
"Hmm?" Alistair questioned to which she replied with a wry smile, "Lancelot and Gary are also going to be attending then. In fact, there are going to many geniuses to challenge you two in two years, so it's better for you guys to join then."