The Tale Of A Steadfast Noble

"With every reason to hate, comes an origin. An origin which decides the fate of an individual, my origin begins with a girl named Bridget." Alexander uttered with a faint smile on his face.

"A girl?" Rai said, quite flustered at the reason for his hate towards commoners. "A girl made you grow hate for commoners?" Rai inquired, feeling disappointed to his reasons.

"She wasn't just any girl Rai Voltia, she was a child who showed this noble that there was meaning to life." He added. Although it was a terrible experience for him, he cherished the good moments as they turned out to be one of the best moments of his life.

"It all began two years ago, back then my feelings towards all status type was neutral. There was no difference in power between these various status to me, it was just those who were privileged and those who weren't and fortunately for me I ended up as a privileged one." He said as he began narrating his story.

"The source of a nobles hatred sprung from so many reasons with the difference in power being one of the greatest. I'm sure you've experienced first hand, the attitude of nobles towards your kind when you first enrolled as a participant in the exams." Alexander said, having in mind he was part of those nobles.

"Yeah.."Rai replied softly, recalling memories of the count's son the time he went in search for a suitable weapon.

"Like I said, back then I was neutral. I refused to meddle in the affairs of both the commoner's and nobles feud, to me their reasons for looking down on the less privileged was invalid and it made me lose sight to what the true meaning of equality was. I guess you could say they abused their privileges." He continued with his story.

"Why is it so? Why must your kind look down on us like we are some kind of abominations that aren't suppose to exist!?" Rai asked softly, he remembered clearly what happened to Selena and that made him think about finishing off what his subconscious started.

"Believe it or not, that was the same question I pondered upon each time I witnessed the never-ending feud between the two kinds. In this harsh world we are forced to live in, the weak will always be trampled upon by the strong. That was the idealogy carved into the mindset of all nobles." Alexander said in response to his question.

"And you? Is that what you thought as well?" Rai inquired.

"Yeah...it was the inevitable conclusion anyone would reach. However that all changed when I met Bridget, she was just a girl no older than the age of 13. Even at that, it didn't stop the nobles from harassing her. They shunned her and spat at her just because she stood by her beliefs." With a deep breath, he replied.

"Beliefs?" Out of curiosity, Rai questioned.

"That female friend of yours, Selena was it? She reminded me so much of her. Her unwavering beliefs and determination, it was much like Bridgets and that re-lit the flames of anger I tried so much to bury." Closing his eyes, Alexander tried suppressing the anger that slowly rose to the surface the more he remembered what happened.

"I saved her, in a way I felt like I had betrayed my kind. But given the rush of doing good for others I wasn't bothered much about it. I took her in and taught her everything I knew about essence, fighting and pursuing your goals, the difference between good and evil and with all these I made her into an Essenmage. Each moment I spent training her became memorable to me, she made me realize that not all humans were the same. There were those who stood by what's right and what they believe in and there were those who didn't, she made me realize the difference between them. However.." Alexander paused.

Rai's eyebrows twitched a bit as that one word was enough to make a major twist in the story.

"As time past, she grew more distant, more colder. She neglected all I taught her on letting power consume you. The more I tried to reason with her, the farther my grasp was from her." Alexander continued.

"I'm guessing what happens next doesn't go smoothly does it?" Being able to tell the next part of the story won't be nice, Rai asked.

"One year had passed and I never set my eyes on Abigail since then, till she came back with a group of commoners and launched a full scale attack in the Rikuru district...in that conflict she created, she killed the love of my life." He opened his eyes as tears rolled slowly down his cheeks.

"I.. don't understand. She killed.. your-" Rai stammered before he got interrupted by Alexander.

"She used my teachings in her pursuit for vengeance and I paid the ultimate price for helping her." He said.

"I...didn't realize.." Rai stammered once again as light had finally been shed on Alexander's true hate for commoners.

"With this I ask you Rai, why do you intend on becoming an Essenmage? And what assurance do you have that you won't let your strength misguide you?" Alexander questioned him with a stern look.

Rai became silent, the gentle breeze that flew through the environment made his hair flap gracefully in the wind.

"I haven't really thought much about what I'd do once I become an Essenmage, but I do know this much. Friends, family... especially the ones who are there for you even after they no longer exist in this world are worth dying for. I can't guarantee that I won't feel the need to avenge my loved ones, but I know what it feels like to be betrayed by a loved one." Rai said as he stood up slowly to his feet, a smile drawn on his face.

"I was clueless even after I entered the exams, but after meeting you I've finally realized what I want. I didn't attain this strength to find peace in someone else downfall, commoners, nobles, no matter what I'll protect the ones that I cherish." Rai said as he turned around and walked away from the physical beaten down Alexander.

"And someday, I'll come after all that hate in their hearts." He added as he left the battle arena and towards the medical center.

Alexander smiled as he drifted slowly into an unconscious state. "You truly are something else, Rai Voltia. Truly I have lost to you, not only in the battle of might, but in the battle of life. Till we meet again Rai Voltia, I bid you farewell in all your endeavors." He said in his thoughts, drifting completely away into darkness with a smile on his face.