17: Arrival Of The Five Hotshots

At The Villa Of The Zeccammons.

"Wilson! Your training with me ends today."

Griff walked into the training arena of the Zeccammons' manor, where young talents who were not yet attending the academy had gathered. As he entered, he spoke those words. It was still the same Griff who had brought Evelyn and Elvis to the academy a few days ago. This time, he was elegantly dressed in a long black robe with a blue cloak draping behind his shoulders.

As Griff entered the arena, he noticed a tall, muscular boy who appeared to be around sixteen years old already standing there. He stood majestically with one hand placed behind his back, wearing a red training robe. As Griff came into view, the boy gave him a slight bow. His hair, a mix of dark green and black strands, waved in the air. Lifting his head, he fixed his black eyes on his uncle, Griff, who had been training him since he was small.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Griff. I pledge to never let you or our family down," he said, his eyes filled with determination.

"Good. I saw you sparring with seniors who have graduated from the academy. I must say that you have improved significantly. Your strikes, predictions, tactics, and control over your lightning ability are all impressive. Now, you have to go meet the Patriarch. He has requested your presence before leaving for the academy," Griff said with a smile. After speaking, he turned around and walked towards the manor.

Just as Griff left, Wilson also walked towards the patriarch's chamber.

"Wilson is certainly powerful! I'm sure he will easily defeat the geniuses from the other great families," said one of the youngsters in the arena.

"Why wouldn't he be? When he had the support of the family, along with resources and a Master mage as his trainer. All because he was deemed the young master and genius of our family," another one said, mulling over his words as if he were sad.

"But he really is a genius. Don't you think his lightning is significantly different from ours?" the first guy asked again.

"Just because he has two elementals, both blue lightning and thunderclap. Still, it is not even a fragment of Sir Marcus's Sun Flame and Fiery Lightning... But he is even more arrogant as if he owns the world. He was only able to increase his power because of the pills and beast cores provided to him by the Patriarch himself. If not, don't you think he will still be at the same level as us?" Another guy standing close to the other two chimed in.

"Exactly! He is very arrogant. I can't wait to join the academy next year," said the second guy.

The young people here kept talking; it seemed like they don't like Wilson. Perhaps they were simply envious of the young master, or perhaps there was another reason altogether. After about two hours, Griff was seen leaving the villa with Wilson, presumably heading to the academy

—— — ——

Rylinth Academia Of Mages, Rylinth of Humaldor.

The new students had just finished their classes for the morning and were headed to the canteen because it was already noon.

Today's classes were not very relevant. The students were simply introduced to the different subjects they will be learning throughout their first year at the academy, as well as some basic explanations of magic arts. However, most of the students had already been taught these basics at home. After these classes, the students left the Department of General Magic and went to the canteen for lunch.

There was something that all the students were discussing at every table they sat at. It was the five geniuses from the five great families who had just arrived at the academy today. They were considered the top students of their families.

Elvis, Cedric, Zoya, and Evelyn were all seated around the same table, eating their food. They grew fond of each other after the incident at the library.

"Who are these five hotshots that I have been hearing others discuss since we arrived at the canteen?" Evelyn couldn't help but ask, her expectations evident as she looked at Zoya. Whenever she has a question that needs to be answered, she always does this. After what happened with their room's door, she never wants to make a fool of herself due to ignorance. Elvis's eyes twitched upon hearing his sister initiate a conversation for the first time, but he only grinned slyly.

"Do you not know them? Aren't you a Zeccammon?" Zoya asked, surprised by Evelyn's question. Who doesn't know the five hotshots that are very popular throughout Humaldor?

Evelyn glanced at Elvis, who had his head bowed, stuffing food into his mouth. This reaction confirmed that he, too, was unaware of them. It seemed as though they had lived in seclusion their entire lives within the confines of their hometown. They had only ever been taught by their mother and had practiced diligently. They don't know about these things, and even the way the world operates seems new to them.

"Uhmmm... Uh... Since you guys are our roommates, I don't think I should hide it from you, especially since we've become more like friends," said Elvis, noticing that Evelyn was unsure how to respond to the question.

"We two," he pointed at himself and his sister, "are not from the Zeccammon family." Just as he finished speaking, Zoya turned her head and looked at Evelyn, who nodded in agreement with Elvis's statement.

"Really? It all makes sense now. I've always wondered why you seem so ignorant of most things here in the academy. It's almost as if you two didn't grow up in Zeccammon's Villa," Cedric said, looking at the twin siblings, especially Elvis.

"We aren't Zeccammons at all. Although our mom was, before she married our father. Our actual family name is Calder," Evelyn spoke before Elvis could even utter a word.

"So, she got us a slot here through the family, but made us take on the Zeccammons family name," said Elvis.

"She must be a respected person in the Zeccammon family," Zoya chimed in.

"Yes, she is the daughter of the current patriarch," Elvis replied.

"Okay. Evelyn, let me tell you about the five hotshots then... They are the young masters and mistresses of the five great families of Humaldor, who have been ruling over the five cities as well. Among their peers, they are considered geniuses who may even succeed the family patriarch or matriarch one day." Zoya did her best to explain things about these important people.

"Yes, their elementals and variants are also of high quality. In fact, many of them are already expert mages. What's interesting is that they are all the same age as us and they just arrived at the academy today." Cedric said as he scooped the food on his table into his mouth.

"Who is the genius of the Zeccammons?" asked Evelyn, glancing at the two people who were explaining.

"It's that brat, Wilson Zeccamm...," Zoya said, but before she could finish her sentence, a commotion erupted in the canteen. They turned their heads towards the canteen entrance, where a guy with dark green hair was walking in. It was Wilson Zeccammon.

"Speak of the devil. "That's him," Zoya whispered to Evelyn, who was glaring at the averagely handsome guy who had caused all this commotion. Upon his entry, most of the students immediately left the canteen.

"The other four are: Greg Hamilton, Ivory Dwight, Logan Brown, and Lisa Chesterfield," said Zoya looking at the other three who had their as fixed on the canteen entrance.

Just then, an elegant girl walked into the canteen and sat down with Wilson. The entire canteen turned icy, colder than even what Zoya could achieve, as if announcing her arrival. After a while, the chilly canteen returned to normal.

"Isn't that the genius of the Dwights, Zoya? The so-called Ice Queen and Water Manipulator, Ivory Dwight!" exclaimed Cedric in a whisper, looking at Zoya's furrowed face.

"Yeah, that bitch. Ice queen my foot! I will soon surpass her." Zoya declared, pumping her fist in a fit of anger. It was obvious that she harbored a strong hatred towards Ivory, but the reason for their feud was unknown to the group.

Just then, Ivory turned to their table as if she had heard Zoya's voice.

"Hey Zoya, how are you doing?" she asked, waving at them with a smirk on her face.

"Who are they?" Wilson asked, looking at them intently.

"They're probably just a bunch of losers, just like Zoya," she replied, raising her voice so the group could hear her. Zoya was infuriated. The table they sat at began to freeze, causing even the plates of food to chill. This made the other three surprised; she certainly had anger issues.

Evelyn placed one of her hands at the center of the table and the other on top of Zoya's hand that was on the table. Her two hands were red hot giving off heat that melted the ice, turning them to vapours instantly.

The eyes of the other trio were almost popping out. Even Zoya, who had calmed down, was surprised by what had just happened. Their stupefied faces locked onto Evelyn.

"Weren't you finding it difficult to produce a flicker during the test? When did you gain such mastery over your elemental magic that you could use it without producing any flames?" Zoya, whose attention had shifted from Ivory, asked.

"Oh, there is always room for improvement. Remember when you told me that. I have been practicing so hard since then," Evelyn awkwardly replied.

Elvis wasn't buying it this time. Just like what had happened previously at the transporter, her powers seemed strange. Not only Elvis but Zoya and Cedric were also left dumbfounded. Even fire elemental mages at an expert level would find it challenging to raise the temperature of their surroundings without creating flames.

Unless her flame was different, unless her flame was a variant!