Divine Excalibur

The class progressed normally as always, and like for the past few days, my head was in a daze all the time - was what I would 'like' to say, however, things were much more interesting today.

"Huang Fen! What is the next stage after the Caster stage called?" The homeroom teacher asked.

"The Wizard and Witches stage!" I answered triumphantly with a smug.

"Very good!" The teacher cried. "How about another question then? This next one is difficult - Think you're up for the challenge?"

I nodded lightly at him.

"Very good! Now listen up - all elements in a single affinity have more or less the same spells a mage can learn. Then what differs a mage with the same affinity but with different elements?" The teacher asked.

"The unique spells!" I answered almost immediately. "Different elements have unique spells of their own, at least one for each tier with no exception."

"Can you give us an example?" The teacher asked again with a hopeful smile.

"Of course!" I replied. "Take the 9th rank, Fire: Red Phoenix and the 1st rank, Fire: Ifrit for example. They both would most definitely have the same learnable spells except for the unique spells."

"The Red Phoenix has the low-tier unique spell 'Rebirth Flames', while Ifrit has the low-tier unique spell 'Alpha Flames'... Both are low-tier unique spells but since Ifrit is superior in rank, 'Alpha Flames' is obviously the more potent one!"

I paused for a moment while looking around the room, searching for a specific individual. To my expectation, the person I was looking for was also glaring at me intently, this person was Zhu Huo. I smirked at him before turning back to the teacher.

"... Is that good enough?" I asked.

"Yes! Yes, that will do nicely! You're on a roll today Huang Fen!" The teacher praised. "You're up for more questions? Ah - actually, nevermind, a genius like you won't even need to bat an eye to any questions thrown at you! I'll just ask someone else then."

The entirety of the class time passed by with the teacher asking everyone questions. As more and more questions were asked, they became more difficult every time. Eventually, there would be a question where everyone in the class failed to answer and it was up to me to answer it with absolute confidence. The teacher was extremely proud of me that he even decided to ignore my late arrival this morning!

Soon it was recess and the class was dismissed, several students came up to me and started asking me about my sudden change. Unfortunately for them, I'm not the type of person that like to disclose my personal information with others, so I just shrugged them all off. I'm, however, the type of person to hold grudges, for the past few weeks they were quite unfriendly to me, so seeing all of them starting to fawn over me made me feel disgusted.

I made my way to the courtyard and immediately search for an isolated area. I spotted an unoccupied space to my far right with an oak tree growing in the center, I decided to settle there. Once I'm sure that I'm completely alone, I slowly began to loudly chuckle to myself.

"Roland - You're amazing! Who would've thought you could do stuff like that?" I laughed.

Suddenly, the space above me distorted slightly and a golden outlined figure manifested out of thin air. The figure was none other than Roland, who had been concealing himself beside me this entire time, with a concealment ability. His eyes flashed slightly before turning his attention to me.

"I am glad that I could be of use to master." He replied. "Although I cannot fulfill master's each and every desires, I shall serve you to the best of my abilities."

"Hey now - you don't have to go that far..." I laughed again. "But it really is convenient that you possess such an amazing ability."

"I don't think master could consider this as an ability." Said Roland. "It is merely a connection between me and master, to put into better words, what I know and perceives, master would too, and vice-versa."

I smiled at the Knight and sat on the grass-dirt ground with my back leaning on the tree. My gaze wandered around the courtyard for a moment before it settled on the sky above. The atmosphere was soothing and tranquil and my eyes felt heavy, my unusual exhaustion was taking its effects again.

"Roland... Wake me up a few minutes before class starts..." I yawned. "I'm taking a power nap..."

I close my eyes and let my mind drift off into a peaceful slumber. I felt the before, undetectable breeze brushed against my face and the soft texture of the grass on my skin. Nothing beats a peaceful rest and being one with nature if I do say so myself, and I had Roland to watch over me as well, so I wouldn't have to worry about external interference.

...

...

Time slowly passed and I didn't know exactly how much time had passed, but all of a sudden, I heard loud noises coming from afar and was rudely awakened by it. The noise was the sound of a person's shrill as if he or she was running away from something, it didn't last long and soon it was quiet again. Still feeling quite drowsy, I decided to just scowl at the person and return to my nap.

...

...

"No please!" Yelled a voice. "I swear I didn't do anything!"

Once again I heard the noise, this time, however, it was much clearer and close. From the sound of it, the person that the voice belonged to was not alone and was currently in some sort of predicament. Although I was still feeling somewhat irritated by the commotion, my curiosity was slightly piqued so I decided to have a look at what's going on.

"Can it!" Roared another voice. "You think you can stare at our boss's goddess and get away with it?"

"Yeah who do you think you are!" Said a third voice.

"Only beating you up won't do!" Said a fourth. "We need to teach you a lesson so you won't do it ever again!"

"Yo-you guys! This is still within the school vicinity!" The first voice yelped. "D-d-don't make me call the teachers!"

There was a slight pause before waves of laughter could be heard.

"Could it be that you're new to this school?" The second voice sneered. "Fighting is encouraged in this school, so long as you don't end up killing or crippling them!"

"Yeah, yeah!" The third voice cried. "This school is number one for producing some of the best mages in the world for a reason freshman!"

"Haha! What an idiot!" The fourth voice scowled.

"Ah..." The first voice winced, clearly feeling dejected. "Fuck..."

As the argument was going on, I peered over a bench hidden behind thick bushes. Roland was right behind me, hovering in the air, undetectable by normal people. What I saw was a brown-haired male student being cornered by three other male students against a wall. The brown-haired student was feeling extremely aggravated by the situation and the other three students were slowly advancing towards him in a V-Shape position, quite menacingly.

"N-No! Stay back, please!" The brown-haired boy begged. "I swear I wasn't looking at her! Plus... even if I did - Why do you people make such a big deal out of it!?"

"Huh!?" Growled the student standing in the middle. "Why is it such a big deal you say!? So you don't even know why! Oh, no, no... I'm not going to tell you why dumbass! If you don't want your sorry ass to get screwed even more! You're gonna have to tell me why yourself!"

"Yeah! Why is it punk!?" Said the student on the right mockingly, he continued to violently swear at the brown-haired boy but had suddenly paused halfway through. "...Wait... Elder Brother... why is it?"

The student in the middle groaned slightly without saying another word, while the student on the left rolled his eyes and extended his arm towards the brown-haired student. A bright green magical circle suddenly appeared directly across his palm and it gradually grew brighter.

"Seeing that you're just a mere tier-4 Freelance Mage... There's nothing you can do against us!" The student on the left bellowed. "I'll let you have a taste of what a low-tier spell is like! Wind Blades!"

With that, several wind arches flew out of the magic circle and they charged towards the brown-haired student. The student shook in fear as the blades of wind rapidly approached him.

SHWING!

The blades sliced through the brown-haired student's arms and thighs, removing chunks of flesh from his limbs. The wounds were so deep that the blood was dripping toward the ground like a fountain.

"Ah!!!" The brown-haired student bellowed.

He tumbled backward roughly while gripping his arms and thighs into a huddle, weeping in agony. The trio was now right beside him, kicking him like a sack of meat while laughing sadistically.

"Hey Elder Brother! Watch this!" The student on the right called out while extending his arms towards the brown-haired student. "Spring Veil!"

A blue magical circle appeared across his palm and a stream of water gushed through it. The water rippled around the injured student like a veil, slowly treating his injuries.

"Ah! I see." Said the student in the middle. "We heal him then inflict more damage on him! You're a genius, junior brother!"

"Ahahaha! Elder brother, you think too highly of me!" The student on the right laughed but paused after a moment. "... Wait - heal him? I thought this spell was supposed to damage him... crap wrong spell I guess..."

"Give me a break! This guy's a dumbass!" The student on the left sighed. "I don't know who's smarter... him in general or his stupidity!"

Nevertheless, the brown-haired student was gradually recovering and in a few minutes, his wounds were fully healed. Although his injuries were treated, he was still physically exhausted. The trio grabbed him and continued to thrash him until his body was covered in bruises and cuts.

"Wauugghh!" The brown-haired student cried, coughing a mouthful of blood. "Gauugghh!"

"Learn your lesson yet!?" Yelled the student in the middle. "Wait - Let me answer that for you! NO!"

Like before, the student on the right healed the injured student with his magic and they waited for him to recover before thrashing him again. At this point, I couldn't bear to sit and watch this any longer, however, I also couldn't afford to get myself involve in this. It seemed like whoever was the backer of these three students, he or she must have quite the reputation to be able to go around beating anyone they want. Getting involved in such a predicament was out of the question.

"Right!" The student in the middle yelled while grabbing the brown-haired student by the collar and pulling him up against the wall. "We're not quite done yet! There's still a good solid 10 minutes left before next class!"

"Hahaha! Elder brother let's do something more drastic to him!" The student on the right chuckled.

"Agreed!" The student on the left concurred. "Let's give him a piece of our mind! Something he won't ever forget for the rest of his pathetic life!"

"Sure!" The student in the middle replied and glared at the brown-haired student with a twisted smile. "I know a thing or two about torture - "

"Fuck!" The brown-haired student shrieked while squirming hysterically. "Fuck this! I can't take it anymore! Go die fuckers!"

In response to that, the brown-haired student flailed his legs wildly and kneed the student grabbing his collar squarely on his abdomen. The student in the middle was taken aback and loosen his grip on the brown-haired student.

"You - !" He cried.

However, before he could continue his sentence, he was kneed once again on the groin and was fisted on the nose painfully by the brown-haired student. Blood gushed from the nose of the student in the middle and fountained all over the ground.

"Why you!" The student on the left yelled while charging towards the brown-haired student. "Take this!"

The brown-haired student predicted this and he'd managed to dodge the incoming tackle and parried a fist attack by the student on the left, however, he was unable to dodge or block the surprise attack by the student on the right and was knocked hard, straight against the wall.

The student in the middle was now somewhat recovered due to the water healing spell of the student on the right. His face was unsightly and was full of murderous intent.

"How dare you!?" The student in the middle roared. "Who do you think you are, pleb?!"

There was no response from the brown-haired student, only faint chuckles could be heard from his direction. It sounded almost pitiful.

"H-ha-h-haha-h-hahaHAHAHA!" The brown-haired student cackled, his eyes were glaring at the trio with hate. "Then you... you... HOW ABOUT YOU!? Who do YOU think YOU are!? Did becoming a lackey of that bastard Zhu Shao suddenly make you a king or something! HUH!? Did your fucking arrogance blind you to the point where you start seeing others on the same level as you trash!? You and I are just like everyone else without a background, TRASH! So stop acting like you're higher up on the pedestal you PET DOG!"

"You-! I don't give a crap anymore! Beat him like a sack of shit!" The student in the middle cried. "DO IT NOW! Screw him all you want if you swing that way!"

"Umm no..." The student on the left replied. "I'll just stick to the beating..."

"Actually... Yeah, nevermind." The student of the right sighed.

The trio quickly advanced towards the brown-haired student, however before the trio could get closer, the brown-haired student stood up and changed into a fighting stance which caused the trio to be slightly wary of him. As they were almost upon him, I extended my arms out towards the brown-haired student without revealing myself.

"Roland this will somewhat aid him in the fight right?" I asked.

"I am positive - no I am sure, master!" Replied Roland. "His chance of winning, if you were to lend him 'that', will skyrocket by 90 percent!"

"Alright then... here goes!" I nodded, a golden magical circle appeared before my palm and it radiated with a brilliant light. "Bestow Weapon!"

Myriads of attacks were about to land upon the brown-haired student when suddenly, his arms were illuminated with a golden light, blinding both him and the attackers.

"Wah!?" The brown-haired student exclaimed.

"Fuck! What's this!?" The student in the middle cried.

"Elder brother I can't see!" Yelled the student on the right.

"Shit! I don't like where this is going!" The student on the left said.

The light shone brightly for a few seconds before it gradually dimmed. As it dimmed, there on the hands of the brown-haired student, was a golden-hilted silver broadsword. The broadsword was roughly the length of an adult's leg and was as wide as a fist, it shone brilliantly from the reflection of the sun's rays and strong magical energy radiated from within the blade.

There was a slight pause and a moment of silence, nobody spoke and everybody's attention was fixed on the sword. My gaze was glued to the sword as well, as this was the first time I had ever cast the spell 'Bestow Weapon' and I have to say, I'm quite proud of my creation.

"Th-this..." The brown-haired student muttered while staring at the sword, he glanced at the startled trio and back at the sword, he grinned. "Well, well, well... looks like the world has not forsaken me yet!"

He stared coldly towards the trio and grinned sinisterly. The sudden change of personality and atmosphere caused the trio to feel chills. The trio couldn't help but feel like their very beings were being suppressed and that they were being overwhelmed by sheer pressure alone. Cold sweat dripped down their foreheads and napes as they were gradually retreating backward.

"Damn it..." The student in the middle muttered. "Br-brother Chen! Pl-please forgive us!"

"Yeah please!" The student on the right blurted, he then leaned and whispered to the student in the middle. "Elder brother, what's going on!?"

"Hell, like I know!?" The student in the middle replied irritatedly.

They start to increase their pace in retreating but the brown-haired student started to pursue them even faster as well.

"Crap! Where did that sword come from..." The student on the left muttered. "And this aura... Brother Chen let's reconcile! We'll leave you alone from now on if you let us go! If you were to hurt us now, I fear you would only provoke the wrath of senior brother Zhu! Think about it, brother Chen!"

"Shut the hell up!" The brown-haired student roared. "You had your fun with me and you think I'll let you all off just like that!? Screw you all - now it's my turn!"

The brown-haired student, as if it was second-nature, instinctively poured mana into the hilt of the sword and swung it in a crescent motion. Magical energy surged from within the blade and shot towards the trio.

"Fuck! Run!" The student in the middle cried.

Before they could turn around and retreat, however, the arch was already upon them and it sliced through each of their backs. Blood sprayed from their backs like a broken dam and they all collapsed on the ground. Although the slash was not deep, it wasn't that shallow as well and without proper treatment, they would die from blood loss. The brown-haired student was about to continue attacking them, however, the sword disappeared before he had the chance.

"Ah..." He sighed. "Guess there's a time limit to this new found power."

The student on the right saw this and he used the opportunity to desperately cast water healing spells on his friends. After a moment they all flimsily got up on their feet and slowly trodded away from the brown-haired student. The brown-haired student was too preoccupied on his 'newly found power' that he chose to ignore them. Meanwhile, behind the bush, I retracted my arm and sighed deeply.

"Damn! Who would've thought he was crazy as well! Good thing I can return any weapon I bestow back if not, I fear those three would be severely crippled if not dead!" I muttered.

"Agreed, master!" Roland nodded. "My scanning shows that the boy right there currently has a high abnormal mental state, although that was to be expected due to being almost severely tortured not too long ago. It's best if we leave him time to calm down before you attempt to approach him."

"Huh? How did you know - "

"What you know and perceive, I do too, remember master?" Said Roland.

"Ah... yeah... I guess we'll leave him alone for now." I nodded. "I'm quite interested with his circumstance with that member of the Zhu family, it's always nice to know someone with a grudge against them like me."

Roland nodded and hovered away from the bench. As I was about to leave as well, I could hear the joyful shrill of the brown-haired student behind me.

"Ahahaha! I'm blessed! I'm definitely a chosen of some sort!" He yelled. "That's right! I'm not a normal mage, I'm special! I'm still a tier-4 mage but I already possess something so amazing! I need to name it! That's right a name! I'll name it, Divine Excalibur! Yeah, mmhmm, good name! I'm such a genius! I'm probably like a main character of a story or something! Even better, I'm probably the protagonist! If so I want a harem and - "

"Alright, nothing to see here anymore..." I sighed and started walking. "He's gonna get himself in a whole lot of trouble..."

"Master! I suggest that you should help him understand the true reason for why he possessed that sword in the first place or else I fear that - "

"No Roland... Just leave that idiot be..." I interrupted.

I looked behind me again and then at Roland while sighing deeply. In the end, I chose to let the brown-haired student be and left.

"Ahahaha! Soon! Soon I'm gonna be an all-powerful mage in no time! That is... Just right after when I'll finally figure out how to activate that ability!" The brown-haired student mumbled.

Did I make a mistake? I asked myself... I shrugged and sighed deeply again while making my way out of the courtyard and back into the school building.