School of... What was it again?

After a few days of travel, Sir Steward and company managed to finally arrive at the kingdom, Maghim. A place where those who can use mana are welcomed and celebrated. The streets are full of luxurious goods and magical artifacts available to the public.

Sir Steward talked with the guards at the massive reinforced iron gate. As the confirmation of the order was given, the gate slowly opened letting the children see what's inside.

Richard and the other children gazed at amazement at how grand the kingdom is. Streets full of vigor and life compared to the lifeless and dull streets of their village.

The caravans gained the attention of the people on the streets.

"Hey, there's a lot of new blood this time around, eh?"

"The school is going to be even more lively than it was before."

"Why do I feel like there's something missing?"

Gazes and gossip directed at the caravans were afloat. The caravans continued its journey towards the school grounds. After they arrived, the caravans stopped alongside the green fields of the school.

"Welcome to your new home, School of Maghim! Our king has graciously reformed this kingdom from the ground up so that its people may prosper! I am the head of this school, Nero the Principal."

Richard spoke up, "Why did you add a title to your own name?"

"Ohohohoho! Quite a curious chap aren't ya? See, I came from a normal household and the name Nero is quite common around here. So in order to solidify my name, those with important positions or achievements get titles so people will not mistake their identity. Any more questions? No more? Then let us-"

After thinking for a bit Richard then said,"Then you can call me Beast King Richard, nice to you." Without any fluster or embarrassment Richard gave himself a title.

"Ohohohoho! That's not how it works! Well, no matter, let's see if you can rightfully defend that title, Beast King Richard."

Sir Steward gave a wry smile, "Nero, that title is actually quite perfect. He holds the trait to command beasts and monsters at will. Though his dueling technique is certainly lacking, he holds enough power to go toe to toe with an elite."

"Sounds quite intriguing. Well, I will be looking forward to what you can do! There are a few more reminders for you all and its all in this handy book."

Nero gave out a few books but was a little embarrassed when not all of the children didn't receive one.

"I didn't expect there to be so many children enrolling in our school so it took me by surprise. Well, no matter I will just give out the remaining at a later date. Now if you would be so kind as to follow this woman to your classrooms."

The woman led the students to their rooms and made a few appointments to get more rooms since there were more students than expected.

"Tell me, Steward, why is a caravan missing? I thought your party would be strong enough to ensure that there would be no problems." Nero's eyes gleamed, interested at what could've happened in the wasteland.

"Heh, it's a funny story, there is another kid named Adam. He seems to be quite the mischievous brat, he took the caravans right under our noses and we didn't even notice. He also seemed to be quite capable to play around with Richard."

"Then it seems this new era won't be as boring as the previous ones, right?"

"Certainly."

A running knight came towards them huffing out air.

"Sir Steward, a caravan is outside the gates and a kid is manning it saying that he knows Sir Steward and will definitely let him in. He said his name is Adam, he also told me to tell you to hurry up and give him food, he's been starving since a few days ago."

"Ohohoho! I would like to meet this kid. Come along, he shouldn't let a kid starve, right?"

"Right."

Nero and Sir Steward went forth and arrived at the gates where a young kid wearing a dirty black cloak is patting the horse.

"Well, if it isn't Sir Steward! Nice to finally meet you, I am Adam. And you are?" Adam gazed at the person near Sir Steward.

"Nero the Principal, aren't you a little late for enrollment?"

"Apologies, I was caught up during travel. There was something that caught my eye during my travels."

"Ohohohoho! No matter we can just-"

*Thud*

"What was that, Adam?"

"Nothing that you should trouble yourself with, principal. I assure you this is something-"

*Thud*

Muffled, "HELP!"

Adam slowly backed away, sweating.

"On second thought, I think I'll go back home. The weather today seems good for an adventure!"

*Thud*

"A-Ah yes! Nice meeting you and all so-"

Muffled, "THIS GUY IS A MANIAC! HELP!"

"Adam, there seems to be a person in the caravan behind you, would care to explain?"

"I do not know what you are talking about. I am just a weak 12-year-old kid, who traveled alone starving for 2 days not knowing if there is an end to the journey!"

*Thud*

Muffled, "YOU LIAR! This man isn't normal! Watch out!"

"Guards, surround him."

After the kidnapped person was set free, she lashed out instantly. She had bruises on her skin and was dehydrated, seeing her situation it could be said that she was treated badly.

"You goddamn, monster! How could you do that!"

Adam was now encircled and nervous, "Now, now, don't be hasty I am sure there is a perfectly logical reason why you ended up there."

She then instantly conjured spells.

"Ignite my enemy into flames, Fireball!"

Adam swiftly dodged the fireball which then hit a few guards. Those guards were burnt and a nearby wizard conjured water and healed them.

"Slash through all obstacle, Razor Slash!"

Adam then dashes to the side.

"Crumble beath your feet, Shattered Earth!"

Before Adam could even land, the earth beneath him shattered breaking his balance.

"Strike down those who defy, Lightning Strike!"

A final strike to hit Adam, he then covered his body under his black cloak.

Breathing hard after "Huff, huff. Serves you right! You maniac!"

Sir Steward said in interest, "A pseudo-Elementalist, interesting, by far the only person who has the qualifications to be an Elementalist is Lady Isabelle of the Mason household."

Nero spoke up after, "Well, Lady Isabelle, do tell what happened? I was informed that you would be undergoing training in the barren wasteland to hone your skills. Plus considering your skill you could've easily removed those ropes binding you. Care to explain?"

"I was training in the wasteland with a few of my family guards when we were separated and I encountered a few hoodlums. They saw my family crest and decided to kidnap me, I managed to kill a few of them but I was overwhelmed with their numbers. I don't know how but they seemed to have something that blocked mana so I couldn't escape. That old man is planning to go to the kingdom and sell me!"

"Old man? Sell you? What do you mean? First of all, that man there is a young boy, he is named Adam and only 12 years old. Second, what kind of idiot would sell a noble in the same kingdom?"

"Ah!" It then dawned on her, that made sense as she checked back at the person she was attacking.

Sir Steward ordered a few medics to assist Adam after he was shot with electricity.

Adam spat out blood, "Gah! I told you I had a perfectly reasonable excuse! I saved you from those bandits! I was planning on presenting you to your family so they can reward me! So this is how you reward those who help you? So much for a noble!" Adam voiced out half of his intent.

Sir Steward noticed something off, "Adam, follow me. Nero, you deal with this."

After finishing this whole dramatic event, Lady Isabelle felt ashamed at what she had done.

"Well, we are now alone Adam. Let me ask you something, did your plan succeed? At first, saving a noble would make sense but then again you are from a village in the wasteland, how would you know she was a noble? Second, I heard all of your schemes from that lady in your village, it seems there's more to you than meets the eye. Third, why wouldn't you instantly set her free after rescuing her, you would still gain the reward of saving a noble. And lastly fourth, she didn't have that much mana left at her last strike, it seemed as if her mana only had enough to barely form the spell and didn't even have any power yet you threw up blood. Quite interesting if I do say so myself."

Under Sir Steward's barrage of speculations, Adam looked quite cheeky.

"Well, I guess the jig is up. Well, the plan did work anyways and all that's left is to reap what I sowed. To entertain you, I'll answer. This isn't the first time I've been here. Remember what that woman said? I've been living here for quite a while now only going back once in a while to have some fun. I know the ins and outs of the city. I saw her crest and figured that making her attack her own benefactor would hurt her pride and reward me even more. And lastly, its a secret." Adam made an innocent smile as he said the last sentence.

Sir Steward lost his composure at the maturity of this kid to form plans and deviousness to make other people feel at a loss.

"Now, it makes sense what you are doing to the valuable resources that you got from Richard. Well, I'll tell Lady Isabelle what you did and-"

"Spit it out. How much?"

"30%"

"25% and you got yourself a deal!"

After a secret trade under the table, Sir Steward and Adam arrived at the school.

"I am guessing you already are enrolled in this school, right?"

"Nope. Just a few lectures here and there from the public lectures. I didn't want to risk my identity, just in case."

"Well, go on now. Go to Classroom 1."

Adam opened the classroom door and an interesting scene played out in front of him.

The students were in a circle screaming and cheering for the fight in between. Even the teacher is playing alongside them and said in an announcer-kind voice, "30 seconds remaining! Ivan hits Finn right in the jaw! What a shocking blow! Oh, what's this? Finn for a comeback! A straight right hook to the gut! A double knockout! We have to see to the judges for the scoring."

*Ding Ding Ding*

A bell rings out!

Adam leans in and looks at the makeshift referee table and spots 3 students and a... janitor? What the hell is going on?

The first student said, "Hmm, quite a difficult decision to make here. Ivan did land more hits than Finn but Finn did knock Ivan down more times so it seems to be quite the tie here. Overall, I would like to give Ivan my vote."

The second student said, "Ah yes, truly hard to determine a who to give this to, Finn gave a shocking comeback which deserves my respect! So my vote goes to Finn."

The third student said, "Wahhhh!"

Adam thought to himself, that's a literal baby... I knew this school was odd but I didn't know it meant this way.

The janitor now stood up, seemingly going to deliver a strong speech, "Finn or Ivan a truly difficult choice, I would like to give my vote to I-"

Midway his speech, Finn woke up from the grave a discreetly threw a gold coin towards the janitor.

The janitor continued, "Ahem, as I was saying I would like to give my vote to Fi-"

Once again midway his speech, Ivan woke up as well and delivered 2 gold coins, discreetly of course.

"Ahem, again to continue my vote-"

This continued for a while.

Adam thought to himself once again, skipping class once a while doesn't seem too bad. As he was about to go back, he faced Sir Steward.

"Hmm? What seems to be the matter?"

"What do you mean 'What seems to be the matter?' Just look at-"

When Adam looked back everything was normal, no shouting students, no fighting, the teacher was carrying on lessons, as usual, the baby was gone(?) and the janitor was innocently sweeping the floor.

Adam's eyes widened and looked back at Sir Steward. What gazed back him was a sinister smile that asked, "What's the matter? Hehehe."

"This will be your classroom, have fun, and learn together! Don't worry this is the most promising class in this school!"

Adam smiled and thought, most promising my ass!