Chapter 100 - New destination: The Lyceum

Berial looked impassively at Cynthia and said, "I've also talked to your father. You have some options available. The first choice, You will resign from your post immediately, you will be punished by having a leave from the army, with no salary, nor pension, your brother will be removed from the candidacy to the Seed of the Super Soldier, and the post will be given to Nerun as compensation."

"This… No way… My brother had nothing to do with this. My brother has shown great value and talent in the School and he has rightfully claimed his position, with no help from father or me whatsoever. He is not inferior in any way to that boy, in fact in many ways he is even better", retorted Cynthia. She felt as if a knife had delved deeply into her heart. She could not believe that her punishment for a small lapse in judgement could be so severe. She now realized just what offending a Dragon General in the Kingdom of Ansem amounted to, and just how much did his Majesty valued Elijah and Rafal.

"You have another choice. You can retain your position, however you will not be able to be promoted or get any salary for a year. You will also have to kowtow in front of Elijah's quarters until he decides to forgive you. Your brother's candidacy will still be forfeit unless you convince Elijah and Nerun to leave the matters be."

Every option seemed worse and worse to Cynthia. "This is seeking to humiliate me. I can't possibly accept this." she said with tears in the corners of her eyes. However, Berial seemed to think nothing of it. He was, after all, a seasoned military man. He did have a soft spot for her, since he had taken care of her for some time during her training, and he knew that she was usually quite a competent officer and attendant. However, her mistake had also directly affected him, and his standing in both the School and in the Kingdom, especially to the eyes of two Dragon Generals and his Majesty. He needed to take a proper stand, otherwise everything he had built so far could be jeopardized if his Majesty decided that he could no longer be trusted.

Therefore Berial hardened his heart, and told her,

"I heard you found some blood of a Flood Dragon, that you were hoping to use to further boost your brother's foundation in order to help him in the Super Soldier program. You will apologize formally to Nerun and Elijah and give them that blood for him to use. Don't retort. This has already been decided by your father. If you don't bleed a little, his Majesty won't be appeased.

Second, your brother can remain as a candidate, but as a punishment for your meddling and in order to compensate Nerun, half of the resources that were to be allocated to him, will go to Nerun. You will personally make sure of this, and if at any point in time, such resources are withheld for even a second, your punishment now will seem light compared to what will happen to you.

Third, you can retain your position, however you will not be able to be promoted or get any salary for a year. This is the lightest punishment you can get."

Cynthia found this last choice harsh, however she could see that both Lord Berial and her Father had helped her the most with this third choice. She did not need to humiliate herself in front of Elijah. Her brother's candidacy would not be lost, and even though half his resources would be gone to Nerun, the latter would not be able to become the Super Soldier. The Blood of the Flood Dragon was actually what hurt the most. Her family had spent quite a bit of wealth and manpower to get it. Close to a tenth of her family's wealth was used to get it, but now it would be used on someone else. This just showed how much her father wanted to appease his Majesty and the Titan. For she knew that her father had no need to fear Elijah.

In the end she nodded in agreement and left. Berial wanted to do something about the rumours as well, however he could not think of any good measure that would not soil the institution. He knew that he had lost all decorum with Elijah because of this. So for now, he could only try to stop them by using his contacts, however the damage had already been done.

…

Nerun arrived at his brother's study. He heard someone talking to his brother inside the room.

"Lord Elijah, what I've said is the truth. There are a lot of nasty rumours floating around and saying that you tried to force your brother into the Military School and that it was a clear case of nepotism. Such rumours are even slandering you saying that you tried to kill Lieutenant Cynthia after you were rejected due to your brother's inferiority."

When Nerun heard that he could not help but clench his fists, but then relaxed. He then entered the room after knocking.

Elijah saw Nerun entering with his kind smile, and saw that he had already recovered from the setback, which made him quite happy inside. He knew that his brother would rise from this.

"Let them talk all they want. True gold will always shine through, and it's only under pressure that true gems can show their worth. Is that not right brother?" said Elijah with a smile.

Nerun smiled back and nodded at Elijah's attendant, who saw Nerun, his commander's little brother and the one that had brought no small amount of trouble for his general. Many of Elijah's men had not yet got to know their general's little brother, but many of the rumours were far from good, and they did not want Elijah's reputation built on so many merits on the frontier to be besmirched by a good for nothing boy. However as the attendant saw Nerun, he actually saw a very good looking and humble young boy, and he could not help to have some very good feelings for him. Also, Nerun seemed to be unfazed by the rumours, and seemed quite tranquil, and what's more these feelings seemed to be genuine. This was the demeanour of an expert.

"You are absolutely right brother. They will come to know the truth eventually. I was just coming to ask about what we were going to do? Do you want me to enter the military as well? I want a place where I can hone and better myself and I have no idea yet where to start."

"Sergi, you can leave us for now. Appease the men, and tell them not to worry. We'll soon be getting reinforcements, and I'm about to name my attendant. Have Lieutenant Serena Dai Vanilla come as soon as she can with her platoon. I need to talk to her."

"Roger General. Once more, remember that our platoon is completely loyal to you and his Majesty. Please General, lead us into Glory for the Kingdom." said the man going on one knee and later saying his goodbyes.

"Sit little brother. Have some snacks. You need to eat properly to restore your strength. Actually, before you arrived, I had planned for you to enter a school. I did not want you to go into the military and Father had agreed with me. We had different plants back then."

Nerun remembered Maikal's letter and told Elijah, "Father had mentioned about coming to meet an old friend of his."

When Nerun mentioned this "old friend", Elijah's face could not help but twitch a little, but he managed to hide it somewhat… "Friend… Yeah. Originally I was going to introduce you to him, but meeting him is somewhat difficult, since that old coot is quite hard to talk to, and he does whatever he wants. I wanted you to enter the martial academy he is a part of. It's one of the greatest schools in the land, and it's right here in Eonia. Its name is the Lyceum. Entering the Lyceum is quite hard, and usually you need to be tested rigorously before entering in the Martial Way, history of the Kingdom, and many more subjects. There are few students in each class, and it's considered an Elite School in the continent. It's a good environment to say the least.

The thing was that the testing period for entering the school had actually passed already, they were a month ago, about a week before your arrival. So you can not take part in the tests. Also, unlike the Super Soldier program, where the student will be able to meet regularly with Legendary Warriors from the Kingdom, and receive their full support, the Lyceum offers no such program. Their core students are trained properly and given a lot of resources but they pale to what you would be given had you been the Seed of the Super Soldier. That being said, the Lyceum has been considered the best Academy in the Kingdom for many years now, their Library is top notch in the world, and their education is wholesome. You will not only learn about the Martial Way, but also about History, Languages, Politics, and many other subjects. They also teach the way of Pill Refinement, Alchemy, and Blacksmithing. If you talk about overall knowledge, then the Lyceum is vastly superior to the Military School in this matter."

When Nerun thought about this and the chance to read many books, and increase his overall knowledge, not limited to the martial path, he felt that this was also a EON given opportunity. So he looked expectantly towards his brother.

"I can see by the look on your face that you are interested. It's not impossible for you to start attending the Lyceum. We in the military have the ability to recommend someone to attend the school. However, we rarely use this prerogative, since most of the brass prefer the Military School, and most people in the Army are quite proud and if any wanted to enter, they'd go through the tests, since this way their talent can be readily evaluated and they could be given better treatment inside. If you enter through this you will not enter as a core disciple, but as an inner class student, and there might be even more rumours about you once you enter through this method, since you would have in fact entered using a back door. So, what do you say? Are you willing to withstand the rumours and the slander you might suffer by entering the school through a back door? Or would you prefer waiting for a year before attempting to enter. I'd have you do something else in the meantime, I would help in your training, and I would give you some missions to complete. However, you would miss the chance to enter the All-Youth Grand Continental Tournament for next year. The choice is yours."

Elijah was quite stern when saying these words. He wanted Nerun to be sure of whatever choice he made. However, Nerun did not seem to think much. He wanted to participate in the Tournament. If he entered any other school, or took too much to enter a proper academy, he would not be able to take part in the competition. He knew that in the Lyceum he would find some major opposition and challenges in order to vie for a position to participate in the Tournament, but if he missed this chance he would not be able to do so in the future. After all, four years later he would be older than 15. He could not wait so long.

"Brother, I will enter the school. Whatever comes my way I will confront it upfront without hiding or backing down. I will make sure to participate in the Grand Tournament." Nerun was being quite serious, and Elijah smiled at his decisive words.

"Good. Then consider it done. After the whole debacle in the Military School, I'm sure that his Majesty and the Top Brass will help me with this little favour."

Elijah said it as if it was easy, but although this recommendation was not used regularly, Elijah would still face some backlash and pressure from his rivals, especially since this was right after the debacle with the Military School. However, he could care less about this small issue. He wanted Nerun to receive the very best education he could, and for the latter to be able to develop the furthest. He was even feeling a bit guilty about the matter with the Military School, he should have pressured them a bit more, but it was already too late.

So, having made the choice, Nerun left his brother's study and once again restarted his training regime. He would make sure to silence every dissenting voice with his own power. This had become an issue of personal honor and dignity, as well as his brother's.

Elijah was about to go out to the Council of Generals, when he received a formal letter of apology from Cynthia, to which he could only humph. Afterwards he was told about his Majesty's and Lord Berial's arrangements for Nerun, and was even offered the chance for Nerun to become the Super Soldier if he so wanted. However, Elijah knew that even if the people found out the truth of what had really happened his brother would still be under too much pressure and vigilance in the Military School. After what happened with Cynthia, he also noticed some of the extent that his enemies and rivals in the Army would be willing to go to, so he was reluctant to have his brother enter the Army openly. Therefore he had decided to go with his original plan and have Nerun enter the Lyceum.