Grey Clouds And White Light

Brooke fidgeted as he waited anxiously for their Teacher to step into the classroom. He hadn't been able to sleep yesterday, not because he had been excited about finally breaking into the Fourth Tier, but because he couldn't get Deltan's words out of his mind.

Every time he closed his eyes and tried to drift off, the prince's words would echo in his mind. It kept circling round and round till he finally realized what had been bugging him the past couple of days.

He really hadn't apologized to his Teacher. Just the thought of it made him rather upset at the memory of the acidic things he had spewed at the younger teen. He reflected on his actions. He had let things get out of hand. He silently resolved to do better next time. He wouldn't judge a book by its cover and jump to conclusions on his own.

He perked up when his teacher teleported into the room with Deltan in tow. He exchanged glares with the prince on reflex before he stood up abruptly.

"I'm sorry for all the things I've said on the first day of school! I'll follow whatever you say from now on. I won't question you anymore!" Brooke shouted, instinctively dropping to his knees. Inwardly, he swore loyalty to the Crown Prince. Even if he hadn't said it out loud, he would keep to his word.

Nine's eyes flashed with approval. Brooke was rash and impatient, but he was honest and straightforward. It was easy for a person like this to advance in magic. "I accept your apology," she said. "Sit down. Class is starting."

Nine subtly spread out her magic, making an in-depth analysis in the changes that had occurred in her students over the course of the past seven days. She was pleasantly surprised when she realized that each of them had stepped through the doorway of Fourth Tier magic. Even the students yesterday who had been hovering between the boundaries of Third and Fourth Tier magic had already stepped through.

She had been planning to push back the practical training for a couple of days to let those who hadn't yet achieved Fourth Tier to advance, but she could carry out her plans now.

A gentle smile broke out on her face, sending chills down the backs of her various students. They had a bad feeling.

"Very good you've all achieved Fourth Tier," she praised. Carrot and stick.

She brought them to an empty training area in the back of the school, activating the rune that would allow privacy. She wouldn't allow them to be distracted at the start of their training, otherwise it would be detrimental to their progress.

Nine slowly made a circle around them, leaving a clone every couple of steps. They widened their eyes at the casual display of magic. Their Teacher was just too cool! Even the royal mages had trouble making a single clone, let alone twenty.

A clone took a student each, bringing them to a slightly more secluded area to start their training. She had prepared a training program based on each student's performance during the seven days in the Forest of Calamity. She would correct their weaknesses and sharpen their strengths.

The original Nine's eyes darkened after she took care of her students. Her mind was still whirling as she thought about the various ways she could potentially handle the situation. She leapt up and settled herself in the tree branches, leaning back as the gentle breeze brushed across her face, almost as if reassuring her that she would find a way.

What was it that caused the person marked with the Red Spider Lily to fall into an eternal sleep? By the end of the transformation, those marked already developed the physique of a Vampire, so what was the factor that was forcing the body to stop functioning? Was it something to do with the blood itself, or was it something to do with the way it was administered?

Nine hummed, annoyed. There was just too much information to work with, and too little time to narrow everything down.

She took a deep breath and cast aside her doubts. There wasn't any time to lose on doubts. Closing her eyes, Nine started her daily training, working on depleting her magic.

"Shade."

Shade appeared on the branch, kneeling as he awaited his orders.

"Go bring me all the information about the Red Spider Lily. You have one month. Doesn't matter if it might not be true. Bring everything."

"Yes!" Shade said, leaving immediately.

Nine stood on the tree branches, observing her students. They seemed to be coming along fine, so she could leave them be for today with her clones. She would go and pay a visit to the school library, then head over to the royal library.

With her plan of action settled, Nine looked up into the sky. The clouds were hanging low, looking as if it was about to rain at any moment. Amidst the grey clouds, there was a patch of white, where the sun light shone down like a beam of light. Her lips curled. She still had time. Even if she didn't, she would just make more. That's right. It wasn't like her to doubt herself, because if even she didn't believe in herself, then who would?

Walking off gently, she fell off the tree and landed on the ground without a sound, not a hair out of place. Her movements never paused even as she hit the ground, continuing to walk to her destination.

In this manner, she made her way to the school library without any urgency in her movements. Every step of hers was steady and elegant, as if nothing in the world could touch her.

She walked, unaffected even as students of all ages and years whispered and pointed at her. They mocked her as she passed them. The useless Crown Prince was throwing his weight around in the school. They couldn't believe that he had such thick skin even after everyone already knew that he'd come in here as a student through connections. It made them feel disappointed in the school. Looks like the school wasn't as clean as it appeared on the surface.

They whispered amongst friends and wondered why the Fourth Tier magic class hadn't yet lodged a complaint.

"Maybe they already did, but the school ignored them?"

"Yeah," another student agreed. "I think that's very plausible. The Emperor probably said something."

"Shh, don't talk about the Emperor like that. You never know if the Crown Prince will complain about you and execute you," the student mocked.

The group surrounding them burst into obnoxious laughter.

It wasn't that Nine was intentionally ignoring them, but it was just that her subconscious was tuning them out. Even if she had noticed, they weren't worth her effort anyway. Who were they? They meant nothing to her. Eventually, they would be convinced by her achievements anyway, so why would she waste her breath to argue with them and put them in their place?

Nine continued walking, but her silence and indifference angered them.

"Hah," the student scoffed. "Not like the cowardly Crown Prince has any courage to do that anyway. He'll probably just go back and hole up like a turtle"

"Haha," another student laughed. "Isn't that better? Then he won't pollute our sacred learning space with his presence and incompetence. Does he really think those without any magic talent deserve to be in this school? He can't even use magic!"

Nine's eyes darkened as she walked away. Truly, it seemed like the good parts of this city was limited. Humans were the same everywhere, whether on Earth or here. It really made her wonder why her class was so special. Even faced in life-threatening situations in the Forest of Calamity, no one had been willing to abandon someone else.

Behind her, the student who had been mouthing off all this time was angered to the point of losing his mind. He threw a punch at the prince, disregarding the consequences and the gasps of shock around him.