26 Inviting Derek 2

"Is that it?"

Green couldn't help but stare perplexedly at Derek who asked Jack a question as if they were mates.

Surprisingly, Jack didn't take offence and replied softly,

"I know that you have magic, a special one at that so I want to offer to train you... It's not everyday that you see a magic mentor"

"I'm not interested"

Derek replied lackadaisically,

"Why? Is it because you feel that I'm not competent?"

Jack shot back, he was seated with his hands clasped under his chin and the two boys stood opposite him.

"Kinda.. but why do you want me? I'm not the strongest student mage in this school. Even this green haired boy beside me is also a mage thought I don't know how he got it"

Derek said and Green shot him a hostile look because of the rude way he addressed him.

"I want to train the both of you because you both have the potential to become the greatest mages that this school can ever produce"

Jack explained,

"Does the school management know about this?"

Derek asked,

"No, this is all my doing"

Jack replied,

Derek scoffed and said,

"You don't even have magic, how can you teach mages?"

"I'm a Mid Expert mage"

Jack replied,

"What kind of lie is that? There's only one man in the world who's a mid expert mage and his name is Jack Snow.."

Jack almost chuckled at Derek's obstinacy,

"What if I tell you that I'm Jack Snow?"

"..."

Derek's eyes widened briefly,

"No, it can't be. Jack Snow has black hair, brown eyes and he doesn't wear glasses"

The black bracelet blocking Jack's magic fell off and he said,

[Battle Arena: Land of Snow]

Once again, the three people in Jack's office were plunged into Jack's battle arena.

'Gosh! How strong is this guy? You can only create a battle arena after reaching Mid Proficient and look at the size of this arena!'

Derek thought as a cold gust of wind whipped fiercely against his face.

Now that the bracelet that was blocking his magic was off, Jack's aura danced majestically around him. He smirked as the boys in front of him had grave expressions on their face as a result of the intense pressure that his aura emitted.

"Y..you...are you truly Jack Snow, the strongest mage in the world? What are you doing in this school?"

Derek's face was stricken with surprise.

"To meet talented mages like you and bring you to my side of course!"

Jack said with a smile,

"... your side? What do you mean?"

Derek asked,

"Derek, no need to act naive, I know that your guardian is Carl Cameron and I also know that he's a member of the fraternity"

Jack said,

Derek began to back away from Jack, a dark flame ball began to form on his left hand.

"What do you want with me?"

"Calm down Derek, if I wanted to hurt you, you would've been dead by now so can you just dispel your magic so that we can talk normally okay?"

Derek realized that even if they were to fight, he would stand no chance against this man with the terrifying aura so he quickly dispelled his flames

"Mr Jack? What are you two talking about? What fraternity?"

Green asked,

"The fraternity of the Sinister six is the greatest evil in the world currently, the bane of the Mage Association, made up of the six strongest evil mages and ability users who seek for nothing but to control the world"

Jack explained,

"Whaaat! And Derek's guardian is a member?"

Green said loudly and Derek flashed him an angry look,

'No wonder he's so rude!'

"Look here Mr Jack, I don't want any problem with you, please just let me go"

Derek's voice remained calm and unwavering even as he pleaded,

'As expected of Carl's ward...'

Jack thought as a smile appeared on his face.

"I don't want to hurt you Derek"

Jack bent a little so that he and Derek would be at eye level,

"Derek you and I know that you have a good heart and that you don't approve of the evil that your 'father' is perpetuating..."

"My father is not evil! He's a good man!..."

Derek shot back,

"...he saved me when the world turned their back to me"

Jack and Derek said simultaneously,

"What? How?... Who are you?"

Derek was surprised as Jack recited the words that Carl drilled into them from childhood.

"I know about all the inhumane things that Carl does to you and the other children at his mansion. I know that you don't want to be a mindless killing machine like him..."

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

Derek shouted, ignoring the fact that he was talking to his superior and closed his ears with his hands.

Jack placed his strong hand on Derek's shoulder and said,

"Look here Derek, I didn't call you here to talk about your past, I called you here so that we can talk about your future. I can train you to become even stronger than your father, after all I'm the strongest mage on Earth"

"..."

Derek was so terrified that he couldn't speak to the scary man that stood before him, a man that knew things about him that only very few people in the world knew.

"I know that there is some goodness deep inside your heart. I want you to think about your future with your father and your future if you train with me. There's a behemoth of good things you could do with your power.... When you brought Green to the infirmary, my curiosity was piqued because I realized that you were different from your 'siblings', for the very first time in my life. I saw a Cameron show sympathy. There's good inside you Derek..."

Jack's words sunk deep into Derek and he knew that Jack was saying the truth. Though he was a prodigy amongst his siblings, mastering his only element affinity, fire to it's fullest, sitting on top of all his siblings at the Cameron mansion despite his young age. He always rejected killing missions and because of that his father sent him to Wilhelm Stubbe's high school for social rejects as a punishment.

He didn't need to think twice about this offer, this man standing before him was the strongest mage in the world and could protect him if his father hunts him down. He could be looking at a better future with Jack but.....

"I'll agree for you to be my mentor on one condition"

Derek said coldly and shrugged Jack's hand off his shoulder,

"That's my boy. What's your condition?"

Jack asked,

"If you can prove your teaching skills to me by training this green haired boy to beat me in a duel by the end of this term, I'll agree to be your student"

There was a look of obstinacy on Derek's face as he spoke,

A smile appeared on Jack's face,

"You're a natural challenger Derek... We accept your challenge"

He turned to Green and said,

"Did you hear that Green? You need to get stronger fast!"

Green looked from Derek to Jack and back again while thinking,

'What? How do you expect me to fight against a beast like that? I haven't even begun to use my magic yet!..'

'Thanks to the Library of Knowledge, I was able to get comprehensive information on Derek's past... Now I'm one step ahead of the fraternity... Again'

Jack thought while smiling satisfactorily.