An odour of rotten meats and putrid turds assaulted my nostrils. Khallar, my new teacher, did not smell very nice. Not that I expected much from a commoner.

  But still, this was the royal palace. At least take a bath!

  "......page 234."

  And he's so, sooooo boring.

  "Jahn!" shouted the stinky teacher.

  "Yes Commoner?"

  "Open up your damn book this once! You have an exam tomorrow."

  YAWN "I could throw you in the dungeon for your crass words, you know?"

  "How are you going to gain your mana stone if you fail the examination?"

  It seems he was a bit more feisty than the rest.

  "Grandpa will get me one. The test is for my lessers, after all."

  "What about the prestige of the royal family?"

  "Who cares what a bunch of low-borns think? Just give up already."

  A look of utter terror came upon his face. I guess he didn't want to lose his job on the first day.

  "No, no, no no.... Alright, how about this? Kids like candy, right? I'll get you some Noktalan chocolate if you just help me out here."

  "Noktalan? Never heard of it. Must be some commoner treat."

  "No, not commoner. It's actually a Merman speciality, and it's so hard to come by that the king himself has only ever had it once before."

  "Well, grandpa might like it then... Sure, I'll do some reading."

  "Great! Now, just open up page-"

  "Give me the chocolate first."

  "Open up your boo-"

  I extended my hand out. "Chocolate."

  "Let's first get through-"

  "No. You either give me the chocolate, or I fire you."

  hmph

  Although he seemed angry, he had some sense in him.

  "Here."

  He handed me a very strangely shaped brown sphere. It was filled with holes, as if something wormed its way through the structure. But it smelled very nice.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  "I guess even commoners have their uses."

  He didn't seem too happy about that comment. Good.

  "Now, dear Jahn, let's get back to the lesson at hand."

  I smirked. This silly commoner clearly didn't know his place. "Guard! Get this commoner out of my face."

  A dark grimace overtook him. Serves him right for daring to disrespect royalty.

  snap

  As soon as he snapped his fingers, his face morphed from terrified to terrifying. Before I had time to understand what exactly was happening, I was already admiring the beautiful marble floor, face first.

  tsk tsk tsk

  I could not see him, but I could swear he was shaking his head. And then something opened up my hand, snatching away the chocolate from it, from its rightful owner, from me!

  "This is why I hate flesh bags. So untrustworthy."

  What the hell was he on about?

  I wanted to retort, to remind this low-born that he was messing with royalty. But before I could, a mighty chill overtook me.

  My flesh felt frozen, as if its very essence was snuffed out. I could not understand what was happening, yet all I could do was sit there like a toppled statue.

  Knock knock

  The guards! Yes, finally, salvation.

  "Is everything alright?" asked one of those slow-witted men.

  Of course not! Open the fucking door and deal with this madman!

  "No problems here. Everything's fine. Right Jahn?"

  "Right." My mouth moved on its own.

  This cannot be! What magic could do such a thing? Madness!

  "Alright. Don't take too long, the examination is pretty early in the morning." And with that, they left.

  And then, I stood up. I don't know how, for I never gave my body the command to stand. But it now stood.

  "Next time, don't disrespect your elders."

  What!? What respect? You're a filthy commoner!

  "Yes." My mouth moved without my command once more.

  Staring at Khallar, I could feel my blood boiling. I still had no clue how he did it, but I would be damned if I let some commoner's mana bind me!

  "JJ, tell him the gist of the situation. I got more people to liberate."

  "Yes master."

  JJ? Who's he talking to...

  A skeleton walked out from behind me. A living, breathing skeleton! Although it wasn't really living or breathing, but it was definitely moving.

  "My master is Khallar. Your master is also Khallar. You cannot fight him, so you might as well accept it. If you don't.." he then pointed at my ribcage. "..then you'll be stripped of your flesh. At that point, the only thing keeping you alive would be master's mana."

  sigh

  "Trust me, you do not wish to go there." He gave me a look of.. regret? Disappointment? I'm not sure how an ugly skeleton could show emotions, but it was definitely trying to tell me something.

  "Stupid skeleton. My grandpa would never allow your master to get away with this. He will skin him alive once he finds out how he disrespected me!"

  Huh, my mouth actually moved. I guess my 'master' wasn't that powerful after all.

  "It is my job to ensure that such a thing does not happen. Lead me to your chambers."

  My body moved on its own, again. But my mouth was free at least.

  "Guards, I-I'm fine."

  Wait till my grandpa finds out about this!

  "I would advise you to stop that if you want to keep your speaking rights."

  "You're disrespecting royalty by using your filthy mana to control me. Who do you think you are?" As I said this, we had already arrived at my chambers.

  "I am JJ, though I was called Dorn until last month. And for your own good, I would advise you to shut up."

  "Dorn... what the fuck dude?"