Chapter 13

Zeph's POV

I was confused. Did I do something wrong? Why did it feel like I was gonna be interrogated? I sat down opposite both of them.

"I am Artins Drugh, Vice Principal of this institute. I along with my father run this place. And, we decide who can join our prestigious institute. We prepare the best of " Slayers "(a term used for everyone who passes out from the institute ) our world has to offer. We are the harbingers of peace and our mission is to keep it at all costs." Artins addressed me in a very calm and collected manner.

Artins and Alexis looked so much alike. They were tall and strong but not muscular like werewolves. Both had dreadlocks and chocolate brown skin which seemed to shine. The most prominent feature was their glowing eyes, which were goldish yellow and almost glowed. It was mesmerising to look into their eyes as if one has been placed in a trance.

I had met Alexis before when I came to apply for the institute but this was the first time I was meeting his son. Both had the same authoritative unique aura about them but it wasn't cold. One felt warmth emanating from them.

"I understand, that's why I applied to this institute. But, I don't understand why I am here." I told him blandly.

"You showed immense talent during the entry test. It's not easy to defeat a werewolf and a monster like "Khidal". No one has defeated him so far. So, good job on that front. But what we really wanna know is where you got that sword?" he pointed towards my sword.

"It has been in my family for generations. My father inherited it from my grandfather and he did it from his father." I was a little taken aback by his question.

"Can I see it?" Artins extended his hand towards me. I handed him the sword.

He took it out of its holster and held it in his hand. Sword was forged using Cramum and rare black crystal. The Center part of the sword contained the crystals which gave it immense power. I didn't know many details yet but I had heard from my father that it was a rare sword and I must take care of it.

"Hmm, this is indeed one of the three rare black crystal swords to have ever been forged. Only three of them exist in the world. How did your family obtain it? I hope you people didn't steal it from a royal family," he said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

I was outraged at such an accusation. Since I belonged to a family of commoners. He believed we couldn't possess such a powerful sword. It was only meant for royals and powerful families.

"We may be poor but we are not thieves and we didn't steal it from anyone. You do realise our realm is known for forging weapons for all the realms. And, the only tree on which black crystals have bloomed exists in our realm. My family is in the business of forging weapons. My ancestor might have forged it," I replied rather angrily.

"My purpose is not to anger you Mr Zeph but we can't grant admission to someone who might be one. We have to be very careful when it comes to these things," he answered back.

"Well, if a royal had brought that sword with him. I don't think he would have been questioned like this. You are only questioning me because I don't belong to a prominent family. So, much for the integrity of this institute," I spat back.

"Oh! believe me, we don't consider colour, race, class or creed when it comes to our students. Everyone is equal here regardless of their background and will be treated equally. I will just need to run some background checks. The truth always comes to light. If you are speaking the truth you have nothing to worry about. But, if not then I am afraid we don't have any place for liars and thieves." He replied calmly while handing me my weapon back.

I just kept glaring at him. I could feel the heat radiating from my face because of how angry I was.

"Oh my! that was intense. Now now, no need to get angry little raven. Let's get you some refreshments. Mr Artins has a habit of going overboard sometimes." Shumal replied while approaching me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

I took my sword from him and kept glaring. He kept looking back at me with his calm and collected demeanour. There was no sign of anger on his face.

"Come on now, let's go," Shumal kinda tried to drag me from my arm. I jerked my arm and freed it. "I can walk on my own."

"Sure sure," she stepped back and held up her hands. "Follow me, then," and we left the room.

She took me to the dining area. It had huge tables lined up with hundreds of chairs. On the far right corner table, I saw my companions. Ralph noticed me and started waving frantically as if he hadn't seen me for years. We headed for the table.

"Well, delinquents enjoy the meal and then you people can use the institute portal to head back. Hopefully will see you in two weeks." She left us to have our meal in peace.

"What did they want?" Ralph asked me once Shumal was gone.

"Nothing," I was too annoyed to talk about it and didn't want to say anything in front of others. Ralph seemed to take the cue and didn't press me further.

"Eat something," he nudged me and placed a plate in front of me with grilled meat. My stomach was growling so, I took a few bites.

Once we were done, we headed to the portal to make our head back home. It was located near the grounds where we had our test. It was a circular metal structure placed on a huge podium. Inside it seemed like made up of sea-green jelly. It was guarded by two guards.

We showed them our permission slips and they entered the designation on them. We then stepped in and Ralph blurted out: "Let's go, homeee."