Chapter 4: Charm Academia 1

"A pipe!?" Purplexed, he inspected the weapon more clearly and came to a realization.

'So much for not finding his armament!'

He bent down and flipped as he fluidly avoided Chris who once again appeared close to him.

'His speed increased by threefold and even his strength had risen!'

Chris' eyes turned sharp and in an instant, his staff turned limp and divided into three. Chains connected then together which made it turn out into a three stick nunchucks.

With swift maneuver of his weapon, he jumped forward and made an exaggerated twist which added more force.

The man, feeling elated by their exchange, tightened his grip to his fishing rod and smiled maniacally.

Boooom!!

Their simple collision made web like cracks to the ground. Wild birds and other beast has long vacated the area, afraid of getting in the way.

Chris snickered and made a distance before he wildly turned around and swiftly guided his weapon towards the man.

The latter was able to block it and even made few attempts to counter attack but Chris always manage to distance himself before harassing him again.

Mr. Eel sighed and with one swift move, his fishing tool bounded Chris and immobilised him.

He tried to exert his strength and break free but it not only became tighter but it also gives him few cuts in his arms.

"Calm down now, boy. I'm only assessing your ability so don't push your luck."

Fixing his disheveled clothes, the man casually pulled out a card and casually slid his hand inside as if looking for something.

Soon after, he pulled out a quilt and a rolled up paper and wrote something in it. Chris who witnessed this show was not surprised nor fascinated.

"What's your full name?" Mr. Eel stopped writing and glanced towards the still immobilised kid.

"Chris..." Halting for a second, Chris sighed and relaxed his bounded body. "Chris Matthews"

"Hmm..."

Mr. Eel then continued writing at the paper and soon rolled it and slid it back to the card.

Controling his fishing tool, the wire soon came loose and let go of Chris' bloodied body. Surprisingly enough, his wounds are already healing itself in a slow but visible rate.

"That's new." Mr. Eel commented

After that, deafening silence drowned the both of them but neither was too interested to talk.

Chris just slumped on the ground and let out a small groan as he stretched. His weapon returned back to its staff form before it shrunk.

With nothing much to do, he just pulled out his daggers and sharpened it by running them to each others blade.

"Can you not do that? It's annoying!" Mr. Eel snapped at him and Chris tilted his head before keeping his weapons and putting them back.

It took another half an hour before Mr. Eel groaned and looked at a certain direction with annoyance.

"What took you so long, Old Murk!?" He grumbled in frustration.

"Hohoho.... Still impatient as ever!"

This casual remark almost popped a vein in Mr. Eel's forehead. However, for someone who asked for a favor, he must keep his calm and be patient.

Chris just looked at the pub owner casually, even nodding his head a little as a greet. His eyes soon directed towards the other two people at the back who seems to be about his age.

The pair also looked at him with obvious disdain. Both came from the inner city unlike Chris who grew up in the Dregs. This made them both to regard Chris with indifference.

"What's a peasant doing here?" One of them whispered in disdain which was obviously heard by everyone.

Old Murk and Mr. Eel distanced themselves and had a chat for a while before the old pub owner casually vanished.

The two new comers was filled with fascination and excitement. Both were inspired and awestruck by what they have seen.

"Alright, enough with that stupid look! Let's get going and I'll brief you on what's to come next."

Mr. Eel walked towards the wall and flicked his fishing rod. It made a sonorous flicking sound and soon, a ripple can be seen at the surface of the wall.

Chris stood up and followed the man inside, not giving any of his attention to the other two with him.

Passing through the ripple, he soon opened his eyes and this time, an obvious shock and fascination can be seen in his face.

Unlike the Dregs, the scene he's currently looking at can be considered as a paradise to a Dregrats like him.

In front of him is a steam powered train which many are currently boarding right now. What caught his attention though is the scenery beyond!

Beautiful landscape with trees growing pink petal like leaves. It emenates a floral fragrance which soothes the mind and even the other two gasped in awe at the sight.

Mr. Eel though felt annoyed at the country bumpkin attitude they're giving off making him grumble and curse.

"Oi, quit gawking at the stupid tree! Fucking board the train!"

Chris and the other two snapped out of their daze and followed Mr. Eel immediately.

They boarded the train and entered their designated compartment. Chris sat down beside Mr. Eel and quietly waited for the so called briefing to start.

Noticing the impatient look of the two kids sitting in front of him, Mr. Eel sighed and cleared his throat.

"Listen up! You guys are given the chance to be admitted to the prestigious Charm Academia. This place aims to train you and let you learn to control your individual abilities. You will also learn here the reality of this world and as well as other knowledge required to fit the needs of your survival."

"You guys are chosen to be admitted as soon as you are discovered to have awakened and attuned into the mystic realm. What we aim is simply to make you hone your abilities to the fullest and aid us into our grand mission."

Eel was about to continue speaking when Eric Smith raised his hand to ask a question. This made the latter roll his eyes in annoyance but still nodded as a signal to ask.

"Mr. Eel, what's that mission that you've talked about?"

"You'll know it eventually."

Eric Smith grumbled in annoyance after hearing that answer but Eel did not give a damn and continued his briefing.

"Charm Academia will be providing you with resources within the first month. Food, clothes and lodging will also be provided as a perk. Missions will be assigned as well after a month and at that time, your contribution point will be the basis for the resources to be provided."

After his long speech, Eel cleared his throat and an attendant who happens to be nearby smiled professionally and pushed a cart to their compartment.

"Would you like some snacks or beverages?"

"Give me some of your spicy nut crack and spirit water." Eel smile and handed over a black metallic card.

The attendant smiled more sweetly and handed over a bag of nut crack and spirit water.

Chris watched the man eat for quite some time before diverting his attention outside the window. Soon enough, he saw a huge castle standing tall and the river surrounding it accentuated this tall infrastructure.

"That's the Charm Academia."