House of Amarin

It was a warm autumn night, and Lia was sitting atop their tower, occupying their weird observatory for herself. She had multiple tables brought up, and she had around two dozen books open as she was taking notes, walking around, and working on numerous things at once. A soft knock on the nearby wall jolted her back to reality, and looking at the staircase, it was Opparu who had arrived.

"Bad time?" He asked.

"No, I'm just trying to figure out something related to my No-Space studies. Your insight and translation of Somia's book is a great help!" Lia smiled happily. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure! Reading that book is something that made me feel young once again! I just can't put it down!" He laughed, "I will have another batch of my notes ready in a week or so! What I am coming for you is about our basement."

"Basement?" Lia tilted her head then she remembered. "Oh… we do have one!"

"I was studying it. The lock on it is not normal, as you already deduced. It is a spatial lock."

"Wait…" Lia raised her hands. "It leads to a sub-realm?"

"Most likely." Opparu nodded, "I am decoding the method behind it. How it was made and then locked down, and I can tell you now, it was not the Headmaster who set it up! It is a much older design! At least a thousand years old! I have to find references for age-old diagrams to not break it."

"Can you open it?"

"In time." Opparu nodded, "I am not afraid of where it should lead. The Headmaster would have sealed it for good if it was dangerous."

"Awesome! Do you have an estimation for when it will be opened?" Lia asked, thinking about what it could hide.

"By new year. I think."

"That… long?!" She gawked, expecting a much sooner date from him.

"It is complex. I got the idea of how to start working on it from Somia's book! So yes. It will take some time!" He said, crossing his arms, grumbling a little, "You started learning about No-Space, no? You should understand that it is not an easy thing to deal with!"

"Yeaaaah… I got that already!" She groaned, watching the thick books, "And now I have a second, an equally as hard subject dropped on me by Master Zorgan! I don't like him! Not at all!"

"I can't help you out with that!" Opparu smiled, "But I know of him. His title is Warlock of Many Flames. I don't know many who can wield so many different fires! Do not underestimate his powers!"

"I didn't know about different flames until now… And he expects me to learn it all and be a judge at the end of the year in one of his competitions! Tsk!"

"If you want to experience the different flames and their properties, why not go out and hunt a little?"

"Hm?" Lia raised an eyebrow, looking up at Opparu, who continued in a gentle, grandfather-like voice.

"There are many beasts on the Island. You can opt-in for hunting them. With a good reason, you will be permitted and supported by the school! There are groups that make money from it! Many professions need raw materials, and magical beasts have them in abundance from their blood down to their bones!"

"And… the different fires come into the picture because…?"

"Think." Opparu grinned, and as Lia was racking her brain, she looked at one of the books that were opened on a page describing the white fire of an albino salamander.

"Oh! I see! Many beasts have different fires they can use!"

"Exactly!" He clapped, patting her head, "Hunting them down will help you experience those flames and learn about their true characteristics directly! Looking at your sunken-in face now, it is clear to me that reading books is not your way! You need direct experience!"

"Ehehehe, you are right, Gramps!"

"Of course! I lived a long life! I have the experience to see things~!"

…
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……

It didn't take long for Lia to find what Opparu was talking about. The next day, after her classes, she visited the Academy's mission board, accompanied by Keily. They were looking for all of the hunting excursions aimed at beasts, any one of them that had some kind of relation to fire.

"I found some, Boss!" He joined her at the giant wall, where many such missions were pinned to.

"Let me see!" She took the pamphlets from him, flipping through them, "I didn't know we had this many salamander problems and with such varied kinds!"

"Me neither!" Keily nodded, looking at them, "It said that the summer was especially hot, so they were breeding wildly! Before winter comes and they hide underground, their numbers need to be culled!"

"Here!" Lia gave four papers to him, "Sign up our newcomers to these! They are the most common Orange Salamanders, with regular fire as their weapon of choice! Let them be led by our officers and form mixed groups! Now that we have our Air, Metal, and Nature company, we can use this to choose their leaders! Tell them that those with the best results can join us as the leaders of their element!"

"Yes, Boss!" Keily saluted.

"I am going to sign us up for this!" She showed him the one with a salamander's image with black scales and golden stripes. Its deep, yellow eyes were dangerous, even on the still image between her fingers. "A Goldencrown Salamander. It says its black fire can melt anything and commands the other salamanders in its vicinity! We are going to take it down! The CP reward for it is also good~!"

"Looks dangerous!" He said, licking his lips, much braver than when he joined the Academy.

"It is!" She agreed, watching the image, "But so are we!"

…
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…..

A few days later, multiple groups of Misfits were given permission from the school to travel into the wild parts of the flying island. It was a regular occurrence within the Institute, and Lia was surprised to see so many students and locals also signing up, traveling away for a few days to gather raw materials that then they could use or sell. She was already thinking that they should always have one or two groups out on a mission like this and come back, their pockets full of goodies.

"Looking at the map, we are going to go on a hiking trip?" Aurora asked as their group headed towards the docks to rent a small, flying boat.

"Yes," Keily replied while Lia was busy choosing and paying for one. "I researched our target with Boss! The mountains in the north have pockets of lava rivers hidden under the surface. That is where most salamanders retreat in the winter! While the weather is warm, they come to the surface but do not leave the mountains."

"Lava? Are those mountains… volcanoes?" Raufon asked with surprise.

"They are not," Ceiline answered him, coming along with them. "The lava rivers are an energy source for the Island and are magically reinforced. Think of it as one of the engine rooms that keep the Island afloat, hidden below the surface!"

"I hope we won't damage it and make us crash into Meriath!" Sion joked, but then Aurora glanced at Koa, who was suggestively sucking on a lollipop.

"What?" She asked, pulling it out from her mouth with a loud pop, "I would look at Lia if anybody! She is the one that can freeze fire!"

"What about me?" She hopped between them, returning with a grin.

"We were discussing whether you would make the Island drop from the sky or not." Raufon explained calmly, looking at her, "I say there is a chance for it…. Who wants to bet with me?"

"Eeeh? Why would I do that?" She pursed her lips before laughing, "Heh! Come! I rented out a small ship! Sion, you drive!"

"Sure." He nodded without question as they boarded a small cog-type ship. After everyone was onboard, he kicked in its small, noisy engines and rose to the sky, leisurely heading towards the north.

"Have you driven one before?" Raufon asked, standing beside him, looking at the control wheel with interest.

"Yep! But only small ones! The biggest was a sloop-type! Want to try it out?"

"Let's do that when we are not on a mission!" Ceiline joined them, "It is not easy to control a ship, even if it is this tiny!"

"Can you go faster?" Echoed Lia's voice, who was already at the back. Koa and Aurora already knew why, as she was holding a longboard, ready to jump over and start surfing.

"Sorry!" Sion shook his head, "This one is not a speedster! This is as fast as it gets! Any more, and the old wooden frame of it will start falling apart!"

"Eeehhh? Really?" Lia moaned, lowering her head defeatedly, dropping her surfboard. "I should have chosen a better one…."

"Why is that?" Keily asked, approaching her and picking up her surfboard from the floor. "What is this?"

"One of her favorite toys." Koa giggled, joining in. "She likes going fast!"

"Because it is awesome!" Lia explained with a loud sigh, "Surfing, skiing, all of that is so cool! Speeding, jumping, avoiding obstacles! It makes me fuzzy inside!"

"That, I can't argue with." Aurora nodded, "I was taught by Solren how to pilot our Retribution-class vessels!"

"The what?" Keily, Raufon, and Sion asked simultaneously.

"It is an Amarin warship," Ceiline said, looking at Aurora, who nodded.

"It is not really a ship." She explained, "It is a four-man precision strike vessel. Think of a speedy little boat! It has extremely high speed and maneuverability and is designed to bring troops into the heat of the battle. It zooms in faster than sound and drops the warriors right on the Undead's head before they hear it coming! I never rode one in live combat, but all the exercises were… exhilarating!"

"I want one!" Lia said immediately.

"You will get your chance if you join the 4th." Aurora smiled a little, "Your brother is an expert using it! Okay… your mother would say otherwise." She added after a brief pause.

"Why is that?" Koa and Lia asked curiously.

"He usually uses them as weapons. Crashing them into the target and using the explosion to cause a distraction."

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……

Around noon, their ship neared the long mountain range up north on the giant, floating island. It was sneaking and crossing over the floating landmass from north to the east, cutting the upper part of it into two. It was not overly high, only reaching 2000 meters in height at its tallest point yet never going below 1000 meters. Right now, none of its peaks were covered in snow; instead, they showcased their grassy and rocky sides and thick trees at their bases.

"We are closing in on our destination!" Sion raised his voice, looking at the map that was projected in front of him from his bracelet.

"We should find a spot to land. Try not to spook our target!" Lia said seriously, walking up next to him.

"My thoughts exactly." He agreed, already looking at a small, perfect clearing to put down their ship. "The last known location of it is relatively close. If our intel is right, the salamander is up on the mountain somewhere around here! A winding path leads up and around its supposed living space. We can climb that and look for it!"

"I guess we won't be back by night, huh?" Koa asked, smiling weirdly.

"I told you all to bring everything and prepare as if it is going to be a week-long expedition!" Lia said, her voice reprimanding Koa which was surprising to everyone.

"I did, I did!" She moaned, patting the holding back on her belt. "I just like sleeping with my boys… and not on cold rocks. I do not mind if it is hard... but it has to be hot! Well… I hoped we could come and go, but that was a long shot, wasn't it? Heehh… whatever! Let's go!"

"That is the spirit!" Lia grinned as Sion gently landed on a grassy patch between two parts of the thick pine forest around them. "Misfits! Get ready for our first adventure!"