READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 41 – The Horth Family
Winter didn't last as long as the girls were used to. On the territory of Amarins, at least half of the year was spent under thick clouds and heavy snowfall. Yet here, by the time the second month of the year had come, the weather was clearing up, and it was getting warmer and warmer. The nights were still chilly, the temperature falling below 0 celsius but during the day it was dancing between 10 and 15. Around the tower of the Misfits, the grass was healthy, lush, and brimming with energy, almost looking like it was glowing with greenness.
One of the reasons was attributed to the fact that the newcomers, accepted into the rank of Misfits, were constantly having training and mock battles with each other. It was to help them form a team and learn the habits and strengths of the other so that when proper spring came in a week or so, they wouldn't be surprised by anything. Everyone knew they would be thrown into the deep waters as the fact quickly spread that a 1st-year group signed up for the annual 'Egg Hunt,' putting Lia's group into the crosshairs of everyone this time.
Many who signed up, wanting to join quickly pulled out, feeling this was a bit reckless and they lost their mind. Those who remained and, finally, were chosen by one of the founders were excited and eager to prove themselves. When everything was finalized, there was not a day when one of the groups of Misfits did not face off against each other. On this bright, sunny but chilly morning, Koa's boys were facing off against Lia's chosen ones as water and fire spells clashed against each other, leaving behind sounds of bubbles popping and rain falling.
Koadriana's men were surprisingly cohesive from the start. One was a truly big guy, a 2nd-year student, almost as big as Kawu, yet only 16 years old. His water spells were unique, as he could conjure a jelly-like substance, soft, almost rubbery, absorbing many impacts effortlessly. So Koa simply named him Jellybean without asking anything. He then was immediately made the group's primary shield bearer, tasked to defend and support the others. Then there were a thin, tall pair of twins, also 2nd-year students. They had short, viridian-colored hair and eyes and were surprisingly fast in casting spells, specializing in long-range attacks and water manipulation, and performing precise strikes. When they pulled a prank on her on the first day, introducing themselves and then constantly changing which of them was which, Koa simply shrugged, calling them the 'Twins' from then on.
The third boy of her choosing was a muscular, heavy-built guy from the 3rd-year students. He had spiky, black hair and eyes, and a deep, strict voice, towering over everybody else, the only exception being Koa's 'Jellybean.' His name was Ash, and he embodied a raging river as his spells were explosive and wild, quickly finding his way to the frontlines of every battle.
The last member of their group was another 1st-year student, a 14 years old kid named Lox. He had spiky, iridescent hair and brimming with energy, even more than Lia, which was a surprise. Yet unlike her, he could focus on it and more importantly, share it. His, for now, weak spells were not just capable of healing someone but also rejuvenating others when they felt tired.
They were facing off Lia and her group at this moment, going toe to toe on the grass field. Lia was battling Koa, fire, and water, meeting mid-air, canceling each other with rapid successions. Her group was similarly put together, as besides Keily now there were four others. One was a 2nd-year student, Shishi, staying further back, casting spells constantly, summoning shields before the others, made out of orange flames. She mainly focused on Keily, who, with her at his back, could cast attacking spells and not worry about his defenses. The other three were siblings; The oldest was named Eliott, a 3rd-year student, and currently, he was coated in flaming armor, wielding swords of fire like an agile warrior, going blow to blow with Ash.
As classmates, the two clashed multiple times throughout the years and were always evenly matched. His two younger brothers, Actis and Alzen, being 2nd-year students, were zig-zagging everywhere, countering Koa's twins' attacks, keeping the battle in its stalemate. When the trio was chosen, they were excited and felt greatly honored for one simple reason. All of them were from the territory of the Amarins, and they immediately knew who Lia, Koa, and Aurora were. They came and signed up as soon as they recognized them, keeping it secret amongst themselves. Now, being under Lia's command, it was the greatest honor for their families, and they couldn't wait to go back home in the summer and tell them about it.
"Let's stop it here!" Lia and Koa parted, speaking up simultaneously as their subordinates quickly came to a halt, panting for air.
"I just can't seem to get ahead of you, eh?" Ash said, shaking his sore hands and grinning at Eliott.
"I wanted to say the same!" He replied, shaking his head as the two were good friends and rivals at the same time.
"Your brothers are also good, keeping up with our twins!" He commented, watching them plop to the ground not that far away, feeling exhausted.
"I told you where we are from!" Eliott answered, "After graduating from here, we ought to join the Amarin's army. To be someone in that organization, we need credentials first."
"Yeah, yeah. Wanting to be an officer there, like your father. You told me a million times! I think I've heard it… a 100 times? Only this year?"
"Who wants to be who?" Jellybean came up, jiggling all the way with every step he made.
"Don't-!" Ash yelped, but it was too late… Eliott was already ranting about his family and their history of proud warriors in service of the House of Amarin. "Now he will go on for hours…"
On the other side, Keily was sitting in the grass, his bracelet projecting his statistics and recordings. By now, he realized their bracelet had many functions hidden from them. He set it up to record everything if he was meditating, practicing, or fighting.
"There." came a kind voice, pointing at one of the recordings. "You missed three spells from the twins. They would have hit you in the back without my shield." Shishi explained, crouching next to him with her slim, fit body, wearing her brown hair in a long braid, watching Keily with a caring look, her golden eyes shining as an older sister would.
"Thanks!" He smiled at her, marking it for a later review.
"No worries! Fighting as a team is what we are here for!" She chuckled, rubbing his head and scratching the base of his ears.
"And we are getting great at it!" Lia laughed, clapping happily. "I get the feeling that we are going to outperform everyone's expectations, ahaha!"
"Of course!" Koa agreed, "Especially with Aurora's and Sion's group joining in." The sheer mention made them shiver as Aurora used her live combat experience to train her chosen men like real soldiers. It was… much more brutal than any of them expected. Surprisingly… Sion was the same, expecting his subordinates to be decisive, quick, and deadly, amongst many other things.
"I only hope Raufon can perform too!" Koa grinned as his group was more into simply brawling, partying, and having fun. Well… his men were all beast folk, and it seemed they were acting like a wild pack from the get-go, butting heads amongst each other too.
"We should be good!"
Lia waved her hand. Her enthusiasm in the past weeks easily spread among them, and everyone was excited to join the Egg Hunt. Because every group of Misfits will join separately, and alliances are not forbidden, they will have one of the most people in the competition. Even if they meet with stronger mages, they can fend them off or win by sheer numbers.
"If you reach the top three," Ceiline walked closer to them, coming from the tower, "All of your names will be remembered for a long time! It was more than a hundred years ago when any 1st-year student participated and more than two hundred years since they reached the top five! Not to mention the top three!"
"See?" Lia said, with a puffed-up chest. "It is time to put our names to the test!"
…
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……
While they were getting ready, in the Headmaster's office, Lucian was sipping on a hot, freshly brewed tea, reading multiple reports from his teachers and leaders of the eight towers.
"Finally…" He murmured, after enjoying the feeling of the rich taste flowing down his slender neck. "A group of freshmen who are not afraid! I was waiting for centuries for some to dare to face real adversity! I almost thought we were training nothing but weaklings here! None of the old heroes stood up to the Undead because they knew they could win!" He laughed, intent on spectating the event for the whole week and playing the role of Head Judge. "I am curious as to what will happen… Two Council members joining too? Fishy~" He tapped on his chair's armrest, bringing up the image of Olivia. "You are on thin ice, little girl. Yet you still dare to jump around like nobody's business!" With a few taps with his index finger, he was already reading the family history of Olivia. "The Horth's Sin…"
Even in her school's registry, Olivia only had that simple name to herself. Besides a select few, nobody knew that her family's name was Horth. A name that was expunged from many records, and even the living descendants were made to change it, forbidden to use it. It all happened when Olivia was six years old. Her family was influential and powerful, tasked with governing an enormous swath of land under the rule of House Marduk. Their history went back more than a thousand years, and they grew from a small family to a powerhouse that was only second to one of the Six Houses. Some dared to guess that they may be capable of standing up to some of them, too, as the leader of the family was at the 7th Tier, a Magi Supri.
There were talks that the Family of Horth may soon transform into the House of Horth. Something that would shake up Meriath, that was for sure. But it never happened. Instead, one-day, news broke from all of the Houses simultaneously that the Horth family was wiped out for crimes against Meriath. There was little that the broader public managed to glimpse at, but the rumors went by that they were creating Undead. What Lucian was reading at that moment went into much more detail.
What they were doing made the Lord of House Marduk, Lakhmu, to come down in person, accompanied by another 8th Tier mage, Reyra. With many of Marduk's warriors, they rounded up all adult family members and then burned them to death. Every. Single. One. Not just blood-related members but any family associated with them and working with them, no matter for how long. Decades? A Year? A week? A day? Everyone over the age of 16 was killed, and only the youngest generation was spared, those who were left in the dark and did not know about it. If they did... they were also burned to ash.
"The corruption of the Undead can run deep…." Lucian sighed, watching a horrifying image that very few have seen besides him, the Tower Masters, and the essential persons in the Six Houses.
It displayed a vast, underground stone laboratory where people were dissected, isolated from each other, and being experimented on. Worse, they were killing them and waiting to see what makes someone turn into an Undead. It was not just simple torture, but systematically going through methods, testing different causes of death, including the ones rendered by an Undead. They were studying the process of how they were coming back to 'life.' Many of their tests resulted in another one rising, then being kept for further experiments. They had experiments and decades' worth of studies on trying to control the created Undead. None, that genuinely worked. Olivia's father and mother were direct descendants of the Horth's leader and, as so, key scientists in their experiments. Countless lives disappeared under their hands, thinking they were working towards a greater good. To rid Meriath of the Undead menace.
"Yet when the two Exalts came…." Lucian sighed, closing the gruesome image, "They found a Brood Lair, almost completed, filled with Undead, on the verge of gaining intelligence. How can someone be so blind that they are manipulated and led to ruin so easily? The stench and rot of theirs blind not just the physical eyes but the eyes of the mind!" He moaned, standing up and walking to his window, watching the students come and go from the main building of the Academy. "I can't imagine how it was in the Apocalypse. Not knowing if your allies had already fallen, they just don't realize it yet… harboring or letting in Undeads and stabbing you in the back… haaahhh… No wonder some called Erias a butcher in the ancient texts." He clapped at his face, shaking out the depressing thoughts. "This will be your last chance, Olivia." He added with a heavy tone, his eyes filled with sadness, "If you can't let it go, you are going to seal your fate forever."
The next chapter starts the next arc, focusing on Misfits vs. Olivia in the Egg Hunt. I also plan that the end of it will kinda wrap up their first year in the Academy. Now, what do you want to see after that? Should I include some summer-break stuff or get into the 2nd year? And yes, I am planning on doing the four years and using it to let mainly Lia and Keily grow up while attending the Academy.
Oh, and yes, if you are worried that too many new characters were dumped on you in this chapter, don't. They are supporting characters; I just dislike having Random Guy 1 and Random Girl 4, like blank-faced anime characters running around, so I like to give them a little bit of extra, something that makes them more than NPCs running around. Something more human.
I'm open to any feedback and willing to adjust the story as I write this to entertain you all :3