Splica Poppa the Dragon

"Weld," Edmund whispered, "no pressure, but you're scores have to be high, the rest of us are stupid."

"Oh, no pressure at all."

Dan waved his hand, scattering papers and landing them all evenly on their tables. The first question was, "what is Splica Poppa famous for?"

'Who?'

'Oh, I remember her. She was a dragon with quite a sense of fashion. But I suppose the question is regarding her unique skill. She was famous back in the day for miraculously being all around the world at once.'

'Clones?'

'She split her body into hundreds of herself and scattered them around the world. When she met one that was ready she could absorb the clone, gaining everything they learned and earned and gain back her body. She told me it was excruciating to be separated so thinly but she knew it would make her stronger so she stuck with it. The incredible part was it nearly made her immortal all on her own. When a clone died, it fell and died like a normal creature but she could still absorb all of its knowledge and power. The only way to truly kill her was by ending every single clone and her life force was so strong her death couldn't be predicted. I don't know what she's doing now.'

'Do you know what the general knows? I don't want to give too much that others don't know about.'

'Just write about her dividing spell. It should be enough.'

The rest of the test went in a similar fashion, Black told him what he remembered and he wrote it in general terms. There were questions about history, about the various vital body parts, how to channel magic, how circles work, etc. black was incredibly knowledgeable on all aspects, having lived thousands of years and experienced countless techniques through numerous bodies.

He flipped to the back and saw a blank page so he flipped back to the front with all his answers filled out, having completed the test early. He asked Black, 'do you have a layout of the school yet? I've been sending out waves of Animo and Magic all night yesterday.'

'Yes, everything in and around the school.'

'Where's the library? Linda said this school has one of the greatest libraries in the nation from the funding and donations from rich families that come here.'

'It's in the back of the school. It's quite a collection but… nowhere near the library my friend had. Adra had the brightest brain of anyone.'

'Those books should be good enough. I just need to read up on some things. If I'm to rule the world, I should probably look into some historical kings and leaders who were able to go far. And new skills.'

'I can read the books from here. Oh, here's one by Adra. Skills are made when you need to create more complex magic than you can create yourself by moving the mana in the air. They are created by performing difficult magic once, which will cause the magic to altar you and etch the skill into your soul and body so the next time it will be easier to use. This is why skills are so hard to create or learn and why you can't have more than your body can handle, they could overlap or cut too deep when there isn't enough space on your body and soul, ripping you apart. You can activate a skill by saying the name, the easier and widely accepted method, or doing it mentally by thinking of it.'

'So can we carve new skills into our bodies and souls with tools? Like reverse engineering it?'

'Skills theoretically can be carved into our bodies and souls without first trying to learn the skills through natural means but no one has done so yet because no one has the ability to carve onto souls yet. But I firmly believe there is a way to literally carve the imprint of a skill, for example, the ability to raise the dead, onto the soul of any living thing, even the souls of magicians focused on completely different affinities or even plants and animals. I just don't know how or what the effects will be.'

'Fascinating.'

Dan stood up and said, "test is over. Throw your papers up."

Everyone magiced their papers to him, using wind, rocks, or anything else to give it to Dan. Zeeth was about to use wind but he didn't want to reveal too much. Edmund finished on his paper and created a stream of wind so he simply tossed the paper onto Edmunds, carrying both to Dan.

"Can I? Uh, thanks," Zeeth awkwardly mumbled.

Page stood in front of the massive, tilted temple made of cracked grey boulders and old magic. An edge of the temple sunk into the ground, covered in sand and rubble. The rest stood behind him with the sun shining behind them.

"Don't enter yet. This temple is filled with deadly traps. I can remember most of them but I haven't completed my training yet so I might forget some."

"What's the plan?" Elton asked.

"We have two choices. Either, I tell you everythingI know now and burst in with my half baked plan with my faulty memory, to disassemble and take all the traps and any loot left behind, or give me some time, maybe a month or two to complete my training so I can remember everything and go in with a complete layout and plan."

Elton and Eddie both spoke immediately. Elton said, "full plan."

Eddie yelled, "burst now!"

Elton twisted his bony neck fully around, staring at Eddie. "If we go in without a full layout we could die. Why would we risk that?"

"Waiting. Boring! I kill everything!!"

"It won't be just living things. What if there are poisons or endless quicksand? We could be stuck for an eternity. I don't even know if we should enter, it's not like I need the money."

Page mentioned, "We should go. If we can get everything inside, we can go on the fast track to an easy living. You will never have to live in fear or discomfort again, you will never have to worry about danger. Besides, it's not that dangerous once you know everything inside."

Skwil commented, "I agree with the skeleton. That we should wait a few months until you know everything, not the leaving part. The village nearby should be safe."

Nadaho didn't care, he simply shrugged when Page looked at him.

"A'ight, three of us want to go to the village."

"No! Only two!" Eddie roared at Eddie and Skwil, neither of whom even flinched.

"No, I want to train as well. If there is a fatal hidden trap that I forgot, we will most likely die."

Dan clapped his hand, causing all the desks to fold together and jump to the side of the classroom.

"Now, I would typically have us duel each other. But I know I have a set of disappointing tests to grade and I just can't right now. Class is over, go have fun." He whispered, "At least more than I'll have."

Everyone got up to leave. As they went out the door, Edmund turned to the small girl closest to him and said, "those questions on the back were hard, huh?"

"There were questions on the back?!" She yelled.

"Yeah, I don't know why he put more this time."

"You're lying."

"Why would I do that? Didn't you complete the test too early? Go back and ask! Quick!"

She ran back in the classroom and didn't seem to notice Zeeth's quizzical look. "There were no questions on the back."

"Hehe, but isn't it fun?"

Edmund was a lot more comical than he had first thought. They walked out in silence with Edmund looking back. Zeeth asked Edmund, "how much longer does the class typically go?"

"Oh, you got lucky today, Dan's class goes for four hours and we have some variation of a knowledge class after. Today was supposed to be Mana Courses but Mr.Harris has been absent for a while so we're free for the rest of the day."

"Wow, four hours?"

"Yup. He's the only teacher who can handle Class S for that long. He's paid more than the other teachers and works less hours because he's the only one who can keep us calm. The other teachers use him as a threat against us."

Zeeth nodded but didn't say anything, planning what he was going to do next when Edmund asked, "hey, do you know anything about the last transfer?"

"No, not much, just heard that there was one. Why?"

"Nothing. I was just curious."

"Do you know anything about him?" Zeeth asked and quickly added so he didn't seem weird, "I just wanna know what his excuse for transferring was."

"He told me he had an abusive family that he wanted to get away from."

"Wow, he told you that? You guys must've been pretty close."

"We were."

"Then, where is he?"

"A while ago he just disappeared. Went into the Dark Edge of the forest and vanished."

"Dark Edge? Where is that?"

"Trust me, you don't want to go. Tons of gruesome deaths happen there, plenty of overconfident kids and even some teachers have died accidentally."

"But what else am I supposed to do for a day?" He wanted to ask more but as a student he felt it would be strange to keep prying after hearing that. The strength he had shown wasn't even a twentieth of his full power.

"We have a pretty great library. And a large swimming pool, try those."

"I could." He was genuinely happy, knowing such a large body of water was nearby. It was amongst the first things he located upon arriving.

Edmund slyly glanced at him and whispered, "or we could get your talent tested."

"What?" His curiosity was piqued.

"Dude, keep quiet about this, okay?"

"Sure."

"Not long ago, I heard the school got a new machine for the new teacher. Super advanced stuff to test your probability to awaken a talent. It's just a prototype but I heard it's pretty accurate."

"How do you know about this?"

"Dan is very relaxed about his secrets. I heard him telling another teacher."

"Where is it?"

"Follow me."

They had been walking for a while, at first just out of the classroom and to the dorms but Edmund made a sudden turn. The people around them jostled like he was going to punch someone but they had just lazily turned.

"Oh," Edmund added, noticing Zeeth's reaction, "the people not in Special Classes all act like that around us. Get used to it. The people here hate those that aren't like them and love the people that are. Simpletons.

So they don't like us, the Special Class. Which means we don't like them. They think we're all a bunch of crazy, loose cannons."

In Darkone Dungeon, the hunters cautiously walked through the darkness. One of the reasons this dungeon was so dangerous and why it's called Darkone was because of its special feature, it's so dark people can't see a finger in front of their eyes. Artificial light didn't work and no light was able to penetrate the hole from atop. The only way to navigate the area was to use something to map out the dungeon and constantly be alert so no monsters surprise you.

All of the hunters here were specifically chosen for that exact reason, they were all top of their class, versatile and quick witted. But most importantly, they all had some ability to map out their surroundings without eyesight. Some had Animo, some had mana skills, some used echolocation.

One man, dressed in a long black cape that wrapped around like a dress and large, pointed ears opened his mouth and let out a few high screeches. His ears then twitched and he whispered, "there's the girl's body on the left. We're almost there."

"You mean months away?"

"Just wanted to make small talk. The darkness is bad enough for some, they don't need the defending silence."

"Thank you, Nate," the Dark Empress interjected, hoping to prevent her teammates from arguing, "guys, he's just trying-"

But when she "trying", she heard nothing. She felt her lips moving and the air coming out yet nothing reached her ears. She tried yelling, "WHAT?!"

But she heard nothing either.

The other hunters asked, "why'd you stop?"

But they all realized the same thing. Sound had stopped working for them. They all expanded their detection areas and found nothing but those still using animo or mana could sense the others. But Nate had lost both his vision and hearing, now he had nothing to tell him where he was other than touch.

'I'm supposed to just stumble around until I find the altar room?'

Just as he began panicking, two hands one either side grabbed his wrists and led him forward. The others saw him standing there and noticed his troubles. They walked in silence, everyone held each other in a circle. One mage took his wand, connected it two buttons to the hilt and casted a spell. No one else could hear or see him cast it but they all felt it, something grew from their wand tips and connected to each other like ropes, binding everyone together.

"Technology has grown like crazy these past few years," Edmund said, "I heard they were creating a prototype that allows one person to cast magic from several wands just by using one. I don't know how they do it, some kind of ether connection. But with these advancements, came this machine."

He pointed to a massive, metallic instrument with a red chair, two horns pointed at the chair, gloves and shoes at the appropriate end of the chair and a large box attachment at the back. Everything but the chair was painted yellow and slightly shimmered.

"What does it do?"

"Like I said, tests your aptitude for developing a talent. It reads your body and gives you a predicted percent for getting a talent."

"How does it work?"

"Who knows? I just know it's a prototype the school ordered. Saw it coming in from the back and heard the new teacher talking about it from my room. Wanna try it?"

"You don't even know if it works. What if it kills you?"

"Dude, everyone I know has their talent, it's about time I figure out if I even stand a chance."

Edmund was always smiling and cheerful but he frowned when he said that.

Back in the monks area, people were noticeably slower paced and more relaxed. When Zeeth went, monks were rushing around in preparation for the once in a century battle, carrying the metal and traps around to assist hunters. But now, the battle was over and Zeeth even promised the impossible, the ultimate death of Rah.

Monks still stayed in case he was wrong, but he had done another impossibility, waking a hundred previously dead hunters of extreme skill so they took his words with just a bit of salt. Many monks had left, but it was only the newcomers. Many monks joined the monastery to see Rah in action with the thousands of brave or stupid hunters around the world. But now that it's death was promised, many believed him and left, pursuing greater battles or their own life fulfillment. While some of the newcomers left, many of the old monks stayed for the comrades and practices that helped them.