74

Chapter 74

Flange Orphanage, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2030, Planet: Grimoire

This wasn't a great way to be introduced to new facilities. Grifton winced. "I see." He surveyed the communal bath warily. "It seems that there're more than teams here, sir."

Grifton realized there were more than merely workers gathered there. "I hope nothing bad happens." The entire male population from within the Orphanage had appeared there.

However, after Denby's explanation, Grifton resigned from remaining there if he wanted to get thoroughly cleaned.

Denby nudged him. "The good news is that there are separate areas throughout this place. I'll see if we can grab one of them." He smiled because he knew why Grifton didn't care to mingle with big crowds.

Resigned that there was no getting out of this, he nodded uncomfortably. "I'll appreciate your efforts, no matter the outcome." Grifton crossed his arms and leaned against a wall.

The others on the same team also waited patiently. They were well aware of his reasons for disliking big crowds. Mainly when that crowd contained bullies who'd beaten Grifton up in the past under any pretext they could find.

"You recognized some voices?" It was Morton from the team.

Grifton glanced at Morton in surprise. "Yep, all twelve of the worst are in there." He indicated the biggest and most crowded pool with his left hand. "That's why I wanted to pass on even entering this place." Grifton shrugged. "I'd rather bathe in one of the coldest streams." He knew which one he could utilize without worrying about polluting the rest of the land.

Morton shook his head. "Nah, better remain with the rest of us. There's no telling who'll be acting as a lookout for the bunch of them." Morton's response surprised Grifton.

Morton scratched his head. "I'm no longer the moron I was before, kid." He muttered with chagrin. That was because Morton had been the most hostile to Grifton. Initially, Morton believed him to be a weak-minded individual with no actual ability to fight back. At least, that was his belief until he witnessed the cruelty of a few bigger and older boys ganging up on Grifton.

Without being aware of Morton's presence, Grifton fought back without restrictions on the arena's rules and regulations. He'd won the unfair fight because of his powerful psychic skills and ability to cast with his mental acuity alone.

As it turned out, the bullies had come prepared. They'd reinforcements lurking out of sight. As soon as the leading group was down for the count, the lurkers went straight for Grifton's back, and they had knives and other sharp implements with intent to kill. Once Morton saw that he'd waded in and cleared up the remnants before they tried ganging up on Grifton when his back was turned.

Quite the commotion had reached Denby even though he'd been a few miles away. It turned out that Morton recorded everything and streamed it to the Director and Denby. He was taking no chances of the gangs not being identifiable later during investigations.

Grifton's most recent wounds were accrued through his fights and brawls in the disappointing magical combat sparring tournaments. In those tournaments, he'd accumulated more than his fair share of near-fatal severe wounds and scarring that wasn't going to vanish no matter how much treatment he underwent.

Grifton shifted his weight as he considered the problem, shook his head wearily, and muttered, "This can't go on." A sigh escaped him. What should I do in the future?"

On one hand, he wanted to remain in the Orphanage. On the other hand, Grifton didn't know how long he could tolerate the favoritism beneath the Director's nose. Why was the Director turning a blind eye to what was going on? He could've seen that Director Moline hadn't wanted this to become a problem in the scope of his building.

However, it became worse with each successive year that Grifton remained there. "Well, I'm sure the unexpected events happening right now have something to do with that announcement earlier." He reflected with some resignation.

It had reached the point that Grifton no longer mingled with the newcomers to prevent them from becoming new targets for the bullies. His thoughts on that tangent cut off abruptly when he saw Denby heading toward them.

Denby came over to where the team was waiting for him. "Come on, we have a smaller pool reserved," he beckoned with a smile. "Not only that, but I have some good news." He glanced at Grifton. "This sparring thing will have some new additions and altered rules."

Grifton's gut sank. He had not anticipated that with positive thoughts. However, he merely nodded with a sigh. "I'm all ears." He hoped it would be something good, but he was wary now.

Denby's eyes glinted. "It seems as though the local merchant groups want to encourage competition between similar organizations to Flange," he said, knowing just how skeptical Grifton was. He continued, "This includes the academies scattered all over Three Pronged Forks."

Grifton blinked because he had a dreadful premonition of what could result from such disadvantageous matchups. He said nothing since Denby believed it could be a good break for Grifton and the others.

Denby chattered. "It will also allow the academies to see that orphans and commoners are just as gifted and talented as the elites." He paused when something else occurred to him. "The regulations requiring vocal speech and hand gestures will be removed." Denby shrugged. "I guess there's been several complaints from the instructors." He glanced at Grifton, who merely tilted his head in confusion. "Well, their most promising students in the orphanage dropped out completely." He shook his head angrily. "They opted to leave early despite still being minors."

Grifton rolled his eyes. "I'm not surprised." Huh, so the unfairness was finally being noticed at this late stage? What was the impetus for the alteration in the rules and regulations? He grunted. "I'll be honest. I was thinking of doing the same myself." He regarded Denby calmly. "You aren't surprised."

Denby shook his head. The same with the team members. All of them had witnessed the brutality of the acknowledged casters compared to Grifton and others who couldn't speak and motion swiftly. To say that the disadvantage was unfair, put it mildly. They were usually stomped into the ground and permanently disabled to ensure they could never use magic again.