2 Chapter 1: The New Student

 The noisy students of class 2-C hurriedly returned to their seats, not even bothering to pick up the pieces of paper they used as makeshift stones to throw at each other in a mock battle they were playing earlier. Pieces of trash and crumpled paper scattered across the classroom floor was what the homeroom teacher Miss Anne first saw as she entered the room. 

 "Okay class, settle down" said Miss Anne as she placed the books she was carrying on her desk with a resounding thud. 

  She then took the black board eraser and started to wipe the blackboard clean with grace, to the delight of the boys enjoying her swinging hips rhythmically as she was erasing the chalk marks from the board. She was aware of this of course, she intentionally teased the boys as she enjoyed the lewd stares thrown at her.

   Miss Anne is one of the most popular teachers in Triplance Middle School. Still single at twenty four years old, she is a slim beauty with wavy shoulder length hair that has the colour of honey. 

   "Listen, everyone, be quiet for a minute..." Miss Anne said in her usual sweet voice, "I have an announcement to make!" 

 She paused, looking at her seated students with a serious face, wanting to let the suspense build up, letting them anticipate the importance of this news, crossing her arms across her ample breasts, she then closed her eyes as if something ominous had happened, making her students much more curious. She enjoyed doing these kinds of things to her class, hogging all the attention unto her.

 The students were silent now, their interest piqued by Miss Anne's masterful use of dramatics to grab their interest.

 "We have a new transfer student!" Miss Anne gleefully announced, as she observed the reaction from the class, if the news had made her students thrilled in any way. Silence at first, then the whole classroom erupted in cheers as everyone was ecstatic that something interesting was about to happen on this fine morning.

 "His father was transferred here in our province as the new governor. So please, please mind your manners." She reminds her students looking at each of their eyes to accentuate her point.

 "The new governor's kid?" gasped one student. This caused a lot of buzzing among the students of class 2-C of course. It's not everyday that a new student arrives at school this far out in the boonies, much more a son of a governor. 

  "I wonder what he looks like, I hope he is hot!" Said a girl with pigtails, who excitedly grabbed her seatmate, unable to contain her emotions. The seatmate who was also a girl wearing a pair of round glasses, just rolled her eyes in indifference.

              ...….

 Triplance is a province located in the southern part of the kingdom of Melenos. A rural province that comprises mostly fishing villages and lush small forests, scattered throughout the area like patches of fur from a mangy dog. The population is minimal at best, with just around twenty thousand people living as permanent residents.

  The local noble is house Fineline who, if popular rumours are to be believed, are said to be the founders of this province. The current head of the house is Lord Tobias Fineline, a man regarded by merchants alike as a genius in enterprising and distribution.

 The province boasts it's white sand beaches, probably the best in the whole kingdom, unfortunately, due to the distance from the capital, only few people ever visit them, and fewer still even know of this hidden treasures of nature.

  The central town is where the only school in about a hundred kilometres in any direction where magic is being taught is located. Most of the townsfolk have never even been in the capital.

 Life is simple and lazy here, with hardly anything really happening. Folks here are only interested in things that affect their daily lives, like if the weather is good for fishing and farming vegetables and raising livestock, and the local youth who are more busy helping their parent's work or businesses.

 One famous establishment frequently visited by traveling merchants is the Dancing Turtle Inn. Located near banks of the Asu River, it serves as a stop over and hub for trading exotic goods like amulets, charms, magic rings, love potions and most importantly, information. The latter being more discreetly traded through the inn's secret black market.

 In the village of Colibao, about twenty kilometers from the town of Triplance, the local Adventurers guild is located, although most members here are washed up adventurers, who cannot get any job from more populated cities, and soldiers that were dishonorably dismissed trying to find their luck and to build a reputation.

 Many of these so-called adventurers and mercenaries are poorly equipped and can't even control mana to cast magic, since they lack the schooling to do so. They serve their purpose as hired bodyguards for merchants when they are visiting these parts of the kingdom. They also charge cheap, very cheap.

  So when something like a new governor is arriving (hasn't happened in quite a long while) it's almost expected that it will make the town busy with gossip and speculation. Nothing much to do in this sleepy side of the country but to talk about these petty things.

 Back in the classroom, the excitement hasn't died down in the least, the sheer curiosity of these spirited youth is starting to boil over and cannot be contained.

 "Hey, teacher!" A female student in a braided ponytail called as she raised her hands frantically for Miss Anne to notice. 

  "What is it Meilou?" Miss Ann asked the ponytailed student with a smile creasing her luscious lips. "Is there something you want to say to the class?"

 "Oh, not at all miss Anne!" Meilou responded with a flustered look on her face. She seemed uneasy and her face turned red for some reason.

 "Uh, I just wanted to know if our new classmate is… uhm… ah nevermind…"

  Asking that question in front of the whole class seemed too much for Meilou to do, so she just silently slumped back on her seat and kept her thoughts to herself.

                 ...…

  He was a nervous wreck, but even so, he did his best to look composed. Tusk Regnum is the first born son of the newly appointed Governor of Triplance Arsenon Regnum.

 Arsenon Regnum (Tusk's father) is a person who is trusted by the current king Hans Mendelos. He and the king are childhood friends. A man of great stature, both physically and politically, he leads the noble faction that supports the crown without question.

 At first Ars protested to the king, he doesn't want to be sent away from the capital, especially in an obscure province like Triplance, this was due to the fact that he can't very well leave his friend in the hands of other nobles whom he doesn't trust, especially a certain noble named Lord Mar Randal, who seems to be building his power base and gathering allies.

 The king's wishes prevailed however, so Ars had no choice but to relocate, much to his heart's discontent.

 Tusk was quite tall for his age, standing at five foot ten inches, and has a well toned physique, his looks was inherited from his father Arsenon Regnum which was devilishly handsome.

 His jet black hair flows in  soft waves just below his striking eyebrows, adding a sense of mystery to the youth. His eyes are black alabaster that is mesmerizing to behold. He has light brown skin which clearly shows his mother's island roots.

  "This is it-- this is my world now, I have to forget about the capital and accept that this is my new hometown." Tusk though while standing just outside the classroom. 

  He scratched his head thinking what would have happened if he tried to talk to his father about him staying in the capital instead.

  "Well, here goes nothing…" Tusk told himself as he let his lightning MAGIC crack blue electric sparks around his right arm, a sign of his uncontrollable nervousness.

"Let's see what the fates have in store for me…" steeling himself, he opened the door that will lead him to a room where his new classmates are eagerly awaiting to see him for the first time.

..........

  One student was indifferent however, she did not join in the excitement of her classmates, opting instead to continue writing in her notebook. She is the class president and one of the most respected girls in the whole school, Lyn Holden. Lyn is the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Triplance. Wealthy in Triplance standards at least. 

 She is what you would call a natural beauty, with long straight black hair in a 'Hime-cut' hairstyle, dark eyes, long eyelashes, a petite but slim build. 

   Her beauty is not only the asset she had, she is also very athletic and kind hearted, but she can also be extremely clumsy at times. That clumsiness can't overshadow her true talent though. As it is, Lyn Holden is a true prodigy of MAGIC. 

  Lyn even when she was a little girl has already shown great affinity to water MAGIC. Her control over water is exemplary and astounding. Because of this, her parents have hired an advanced MAGIC tutor for her inorder to hone this innate talent.

 At age of six, she can control the flow of water freely in any direction she wished, this kind of manipulation normally manifests during a person's late puberty and only after years of basic elementary education. 

 The reason for this is because pre-teen children are overflowing with Mana, which is the fuel that powers MAGIC. The amount of Mana a person can hold in their body varies. 

  There are others that are gifted with strong mana while others are deficient. But even if a person lacks mana, they can increase it and even those who have an abundance of mana can also increase it by training and other means. 

  There are plenty of ways to increase mana, and many of these methods are well documented and used. But there are a few that even the wisest Masters knew nothing about, these secret methods are lost in times passing.

  Lyn is one of those few who were blessed by an absurd amount of mana, and had the intelligence to actually control it with relative ease.

 Natural control of mana is an ability that is so rare that it's almost legendary, and yet here it manifested itself in a girl in the far side of the world. Even her tutor Mr. Allentown was astonished when he first saw how much control young Lyn can do with water. 

  "Outstanding," Mr. Allentown said as he watched Lyn create a floating water sphere twice her size and made it rise fifteen feet into the air. 

 "This is something else entirely" He muttered, as he stroked his white goatee with a solemn expression, his keen blue eyes never leaving the floating water sphere, looking for any weakness in the magic, but ultimately finding none.

  "Ah, this is far too perfect… even the masters will be impressed that a six year old girl can conjure such a thing of beauty… all right dear, you can stop that now, this demonstration is over." 

 Mr. Allentown waved his hands as he motioned Lyn to dispel the water sphere and to come closer to him. 

  He then proceeded to check the child's hands for any sign of damage, since sometimes MAGIC causes the hand to bruise if the spell is too strong for the conjurer.

 "Hmmm… everything seems to be in order, no bruising or any signs of lacerations… very good, very good indeed" 

 The old tutor was filled with relief and elation as he turned the hands of Lyn palm up and palm down. 

 "Well then, shall we now proceed to studying the more intricate side of magic my dear?"

   "Lyn-- LYN!!!" 

 

 Hearing her name brought Lyn back from her melancholy, startling the girl, but was able to quickly compose herself, Lyn faced her classmate who shouted her name with an annoyed glare, it was a boy named Bruno, a happy go lucky kid that is very friendly with everyone.

  "What is it Bruno?" Asked Lyn as she fixed her desk and put away her notes from the previous class into her bag beside the desk. 

 "Aren't you excited to meet our new classmate?" A beaming Bruno asked with a wide smile, his cherubic face perfectly shows unhidden excitement of what this wonderful day would bring. A new potential friend for him and a person from the capital to boot.

 "Not really," Lyn replied nonchalantly, brushing off Bruno.

  "As the student president it is my duty to welcome our new classmate of course, but that's the gist of it." 

  She then straightened her blouse and skirt in a lady-like manner, and adjusted her necktie. 

  "Now then, maybe I should greet our new classmate and make him feel welcome here" she said to Bruno with a playful wink as she stood up from her chair.

  With an impish grin and a lot of confidence as befits a class president, Lyn Holden walked towards the front and stood beside Miss Anne, ready to welcome their new classmate.

  "You should give up bro…" A guy with short cropped red hair named Greg told Bruno from behind his seat, giving him a condescending pat at the back, while smirking.

  "There is no way Lyn would date you, her standards are too high… believe me, I tried… hehehe!" Greg said matter of factly, annoying Bruno all the more.

  It was no secret that Bruno has been gunning for Lyn since they were first years, he has been rejected a couple of times, but he never lost the will to continue his pursuit of the elusive dark haired beauty as for him those rejections are just temporary setbacks. 

  "Shut it, you ginger prick! Should I tell your sweetheart Jane, what I saw earlier at the back of the school building? About you flirting with that first year girl with freckles?" Bruno whispered to Greg, causing the latter to back off and shut his mouth.

  "I thought so…" A very satisfied Bruno said with a wide grin.

   In the corner of her eye, Lyn sees the one who is truly precious in her heart, of course the person doesn't know this, and this is the most kept secret Lyn Holden had, and the only thing that makes her heart flutter. Then she saw another classmate hugging her special person, and she couldn't help controlling her face from showing her feelings.

 The door slowly opens and the new student nervously enters the classroom.

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