CHAPTER 84

  THE UPCOMING GRADUATION TEST

  With wind riding on his back, Hans sprinted. “Hey, I told you to wait for me! What kind of girl comes before time?” he exclaimed as he reached his friends waiting in the new teaching block of final years.

  The sole girl in the group replied with a smug face. “The kind who doesn’t need her nose powdering.”

  “Always the last word, Winters.” Hans sighed; there was something he couldn’t quite pinpoint, but the air around her felt different. He opened and closed his mouth to say something, but the words didn’t follow.

  Chris, the onlooker among them, thought hard. “Ah, man, she is making an effort on how she appears before him. At this rate, this greenhorn will fall for her. What should I do?” With a tight slap on Hans’ back, he jolted him out of his puzzling mind.

  “Man! That hurts! You are a knight of grade sixty, for god’s sake.” Hans shouted as he rubbed his unreaching back.

  Chris chuckled in response, stressing, “You are late in your comeback, buddy. Keep this up, and you won't be able to say nada, just like your Master Rudolf.”

  “Not gonna happen… ever.” Hans confidently confirmed.

  As they bickered in slow strides, Delimira paced and already reached the doors. Not listening to them, she stressed, “We are going to sit in front today!”

  The response of Chris and Hans was unanimous. “NO FRONT SEATS.” But at the end, they had to sit in front with her. The instructor was supposed to come from Concordia, so Hans was a bit excited to see a friendly face for once, but he turned sour when the man of the hour finally surfaced in the class.

  “Zephyr Wonderba. Just my damn luck—

  “I heard you two are close.” Delimira nudged him.

  “I heard you two are close too, Winters.”

  “I don’t like your eyes.” Delimira questioned Hans’ narrowed gaze, searching for some meaning. But he ignored her as he felt the man in the talk staring at him.

  “I belatedly understand why that bastard fucked me over.” He looked at Zephyr, whose face got contorted as Delimira spoke something into his ear, which he didn’t even listen to. His whole focus was dedicated to Zephyr. “Just look at that bastard; he is shooting daggers from his eyes. Well, I’m not someone who’ll just leave you at that.”

  He quickly turned his head, coming quite close to her face, and whispered. Neither she nor Zephyr understood what was said, but her reaction of turning red was enough to put fire on Zephyr’s pants.

  “Revenge is sweet.” Hans laughed inside while Chris, seeing the whole fiasco from the side, sighed, “Stop doing it, buddy. She is already having a hard time as it is.”

  Whatever their beef was, but to Concordia, Zephyr was someone the students aspired to be. He had broken Rudolf’s record of becoming a Dominion Knight by three years, and his friendly nature, which treated everyone with respect, was a welcoming thing for others.

  Catching on Hans’ intentions, Zephyr quickly moved his eyes away from the trio. “My name is Zephyr Wonderba.” He stated loudly, “I’m one of the people sponsored by ‘The Winters Company’. A Dominion Knight of the Blood Monks faction of Concordia Node—and you are free to ask anything.” He smiled warmly, prompting many students to buzz.

  One of them asked, “Senior Zephyr. What is your Knight rank?”

  “Sadly, I haven’t participated in the Knight’s Convention but am planning next year. We could even become a fellow contender. Go easy on me, will ya?”

  “Oh, come on, senior. As if I can compete with you.” The student said, embarrassed.

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  “Thinking is the first step.” Zephyr said wisely, “The moment you take the first step. You will start to see the options.”

  “Hypocrite, Bastard” Hans commented, and it was as silent as a waitress waiting for a table.

  All eyes turned to the loud whisperer. Chris and Delimira continuously hushed. “Don’t screw this, Hans. We just had a war not long ago.” Delimira also added, “Keep your emotions in your pants, princess.”

  “That's why I didn't want to sit in first, you idiots. I can’t even shit-talk about the instructors.” Ironically enough, Hans complained. “Don't blame me, it was all Winters’ fault.”

  “Shut up, you moron,” Delimira pressed on when she saw Zephyr coming their way. And as he reached them, she spoke up, “You should have told me that you were coming here, senior Zephyr.”

  “I wanted to surprise you. But your company…” He turned towards Hans and said, “Ah, I almost didn’t recognise you. Here is our not-so-little Hans.”

  “It seems you’ve forgotten how little my fists were?” Hans rebuked, and the whole class began to anticipate the outcome of the impending fight between these two. One was the youngest Dominion knight in history, with an unknown calibre, while the other was the boy who outshone everyone in the civil war – the Ripper of Galenhall. Ideally, the difference in strength was quite significant, but for some reason, there was an unknown belief in the student that they could witness an upset.

  But disappointing them, Zephyr contained his emotions very well. ”Still feisty, scary.” He messed with Hans’ hair and moved on.

  Addressing the class, he continued, “You people are fledged soldiers of Genas now. Not the scrawny kids you used to be.” He began to raise his voice, “Most of you are reaching sixteen, meaning adulthood. You will be responsible for your life along with others; that is the meaning of being a part of Concordia.”

  “For a hypocrite, he sure has way with the words,” Hans mumbled, but it had no impact on Zephyr’s rising vigour.

  Zephyr ignored him once more and continued, “Last time some of you volunteered and might’ve stumbled on the chance to see a red demon. One of them even broke the law and went inside the barrier.” His eyes were already singling Hans out. “But whatever you know about them, you must forget it and relearn. They are not something you can face unprepared.”

  He searched his pockets and pulled out a memory stone. Placing it on the tabletop, he activated the projection. A grim sight of a mutated insect with a humanoid frame of at least six feet and a deep red streak: “This is a red demon.” Zephyr pointed out, “Specifically called a Two-Hands or an infantry soldier.”

  As the class listened, the projection changed. This time it was a well-built humanoid shape with insect-like wings and four strong hands with sharp edges extending from their limbs.

  “This is what we call Captains or four-hands. These are the ones who kill the most. They are capable of planning and giving orders. Ambush is their daily routine. And with wings on the back, you have to be careful of them the most.”

  Zephyr waved his hand, and the projection switched again. This time it was far gruesome than the class had seen. A commanding presence with six strong hands, all weaponised, and the body far larger than the previous.

  “This is what you call Commanders. Don’t worry much. You can only see one on your last unlucky day.” Zephyr tried the dark joke, but the response of the class was nothing but silent. The memory stone he carried was a bit different; the weak-minded young ones could feel the extraordinary power the projection was emitting.

  Even Hans was feeling fear. “The hell is that?” He mumbled.

  Zephyr waved his hand once again, and the class became normal. “A commander is equivalent to a class six or seven. I won’t be surprised if you compare it with a sovereign class beast.”

  “Is there more?” A girl asked, raising her hand. She wanted a ‘No’ for an answer, but Zephyr disappointed her.

  “Yes.” With another gesture, another projection erupted from the stone, a murky, shadowy look with unclear features. “There have only been four sightings; somehow, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t recreate the stone in memory. An armoured, gigantic body which is faster than any knight of existence. Several attempts have been made to neutralise them, but none succeeded. The result was only loss on our side. They are all placed in four directions, controlling every region like kings. Hence their name —Red demon kings.”

  A buzz ran in the class wild. They all started discussing and Zephyr didn’t mind an engaging audience. A student raised his hand and asked, “Senior Zephyr, are they all using space magic?”

  “Yes.” Zephyr nodded.

  Another student asked, “Is there someone stronger in the hierarchy than Red Demon Kings?”

  “I hope not so.” Zephyr chuckled warmly.

  “Do you know how the graduation exam will proceed?” asked Garen, the dwarven student who had fought alongside the trio once. This question was almost what every student was curious about.

  “Hmm.. Let me see how much I’m allowed to share. Almost all nodes release the young people to train in Deadlands. Concordia node calls this Graduation test. You will be tasked with several objectives, finishing it will give you points and when you reach the threshold you’ll be graduated.”

  The class started to buzz again but this time Zephyr didn’t entertain them. He quietened them down and added, “But to even participate in the graduation test. You have to reach at least fifth circle or Grade sixty.”