I QUIT!

 “Get up, the school director wants to meet with all of the candidates in his office before we speak to the media,” Lucy said, her palms resting on her hips and her gaze fixed on him. Nelanian appeared to be in a state of flux, with no response to her comments.

“Hey, am I talking to a rock?” She queried,"  We have to leave right now, I'm not going to repeat it again,” she stated emphatically, gripping the armrest of the chair in which Nelanian had seated.

“I... I can't go out there like this,” Nelanian replied, alluding to the food stains on his tie and his shaggy hair.

“Of course, that's why I came down here, you moron. You should clean up and get ready because all of us are going to address the media,”

“I don’t want to address the media,”

“I don't like it either, but I'm going to do it for the benefit of the school, and you should too,”

“Well, you may go on without me; I don't want to be seen in public,” he replied sinking back into his chair.

Lucy eased the tense muscles in her arms, relaxing her hard grip on the chair, and gazed outside for a moment, attempting to avoid being unpleasant with her comments.

“You know what, Nelanian, the world doesn't revolve around you. Rhaizen Gale was not only your mentor but also mine. We're all heartbroken about his passing. But we already know what he'd like from us. He would want us to continue on with his efforts and defend the kingdom. And I'm starting to doubt whether you truly want to live up to his name by acting like this.”

Nelanian got up and began reorganizing his books on his table. He gathered a few and tucked them under his armpit before turning to face Luciana.

“I'm going to the library, now would you please excuse me,”

“I knew it, you're such a coward. You'll never be the next champion, and you're a disgrace to this kingdom! ”

“To hell with this kingdom, I don’t care one bit about it. I don't care if it burns to the ground with its people...”

A slap ripped through the air and smacked Nelanian in the face, causing him to lose his footing and stumble. When he looked up, his gaze fell on her. The shiny eyeballs glistened with tears, reflecting the flapping curtains that danced behind them. Her bottom lip quivered as the hand that had delivered the smack trembled from an adrenaline surge.

“You disgusting scumbag. When you had no one else, this kingdom took you in. Rhaizen Gale offered you a place to call home, and his family adopted you. And this is how you refer to his homeland after he has passed away. He died defending you in front of the entire world. Because you are weak, he came to your rescue, like he always did. You are a coward who could never defend himself, yet he campaigned for your enrollment as a candidate at this school. I'm not sure what he saw in you, and Rhaizen Gale was never wrong about anything he did, but I know taking you under his wing was the worst decision he'd ever made!”

As he was being addressed, Nelanian lacked the bravery to look Lucy in the eyes, but once she finished her rant, he raised his head and glared her down. “Rhaizen Gale took me in, but I never acknowledged myself as his family,” he added without stuttering, and Lucy could see by his glare that he meant every word he said, which made it much harder for her to hear. " Because his disabled little brother couldn't do it, he placed his sibling's desires and unfulfilled hopes on me. For far too long, I relied on borrowed dreams and fantasies. Now that I am free, I shall declare my intention to withdraw from the trials at sunset. Go forth and become the next Champion; we both know the king paid off the examiners, so you might as well sleep through it all because no one else will challenge you,”

He finished by straddling over the smashed door and joining the crowd in the corridor. Luciana struggled to fight back her emotions, but they soon overpowered her, and she dashed to the balcony. She broke into sobs as soon as she gripped the railings. Was this the same man she'd known for years? Was Nelanian, the vibrant and amusing person she knew, just a facade? Did his actual self emerge as a result of his grief?

She tried hard to believe that he didn't mean what he said, that his anguish, sadness, and rage drove him to say those things. However, as she pondered on the encounter, he appeared to be a man who was not grieving at all.

As Nelanian proceeded down the corridor, the other lads made way for him. Before leaving the dorm, he removed his tie and tossed it on the floor. He was getting a headache and thought it might be because his tie was too tight around his neck. Another migraine hit him a few steps outside the dorm, and it knocked him senseless. He slipped, toppling the books in his arms and scattering papers across the stairwell. To gain traction, he tumbled onto the railings. The image and recollection began to repeat over and over in his mind, and he felt every second of it.

//………………………………………..//

“Nelanian!  Get out of here now, and go seek assistance from the town's soldiers; I'll keep them at bay!”

“But, there are just too many of them. Gale, you're outnumbered; let me fight with you; together, we can take them out.”

“For once, pay attention to what I'm saying! You should not be concerned about me; if I allow them to push much further, the residents of the town will be in danger. Now go get some assistance, and I'll hold them off... GO! RIGHT NOW!”

The sight of the enemies made Nelanian tremble. One of them was wearing a leather-covered grimoire across his chest, meaning he was either a Lorth or a Yulcite. Lorths and Yulcites practiced magic that needed them to repeat incantations and spells in order to cast their magic, hence they carried their sacred scriptures with them when fighting. The Lorths' magic was distinct in that it required them to tear a page from a book and repeat the incantation in order for it to work.

Only beginners had to bring their scriptures to a fight, according to Nelanian. Yulcite mages who had mastered Religion magic had mastered their scriptures and did not need to carry them to a fight. The quality of a Lorth's grimoire, on the other hand, may be used to rank them. Grimoires with soft covers showed that the mage was still a novice, while those with finer covers, such as leather or embellished covers with gems and gold, showed that the magician was at a higher level. When Nelanian saw the brilliant ruby on the grimoire's cover, he knew he couldn't compete with him. In addition, there were three more.

Two of them wielded swords, while the third wore a rack of vials around his waist, indicating that he was an Ithean alchemist.

“Youngling, it would be prudent for you to listen to your master. I didn't come all the way across the ocean to fight a newcomer; I came to fight the legendary Rhaizen Gale! “Said the man with the grimoire

“I have heard tales of your glory all around my realm. He went on to say, "The man who went up against the trerth and lived to tell the tale."

“If you're seeking for trouble, you've come to the wrong place,” he said.

“On the contrary, I believe we've got the best man for the job. The Necessary Evil has brought us here. “We serve to carry out his orders,” the man explained.

“That spineless coward. Tell him to emerge from the shadows and fight like a man against me! ”

“Many have fallen by my blade. I was born to serve the Necessary Evil, and I will continue to do so until my death. I've never let him down, and today won't be any different,” the man finished, releasing the grimoire's strap. It landed on his palm.

Rhaizen Gale snatched a stoppered vial from his waistband and yanked the cork out with his teeth. He then proceeded to consume the mutagen contained in the glassware before discarding it. His toes tore holes in front of his leather boots, and the baggy garments he was wearing immediately tightened. His muscles bulged out.

Nelanian crept behind one of the bushes, preparing to run, but his curiosity got the best of him, and it seemed as if they had forgotten about him, their attention drawn solely to Rhaizen Gale.