Viv's Duties And The Duke

It's been a month since I started going to school normally. I tried my best not to make trouble and nobody in class or the other classes wanted to fight me. When they found out about the death of the teachers, they all became scared. Even though it wasn't me who killed them, they were afraid of fighting me.

Cera had been pretty busy from what I can tell, going out every morning and dealing with people in the kingdom's royalty. She was suspected of killing a prince, but they had no proof or a way to prove that she did it. She had an alibi and the royalty of this kingdom was having a hard time since the death of the prince.

The prince was against the academy holding so much power over the kingdom and he wanted to get rid of it. Many people agreed and were aiming to support the prince's ambition until he was found dead with a hole in his head.

Since then, the academy has been making a lot of moves and has been gaining the upper hand against the higher ups in the kingdom. Stabilizing their power and the fact that they can do as they want because they're responsible for the protection of the kingdom.

The political fighting in the country was heating up and affecting even the citizens. Creating sides and riots. It didn't affect us, but if things keep escalating, we will be forced to leave the kingdom.

"Stop getting distracted, Zara." I was sparring with Paisely because no one else would.

"Sorry." I've been suspicious of her since Cera called her a witch.

There was definitely something odd about her, but I didn't know what. When we sparred it seemed like she was weaker, but something about her power bothered me. Her eyes shone when she was fighting. Like there was more to her power. I couldn't tell what it was, so I kept an eye on her even though she was my first friend here.

"Sparring is over and we will be meeting with the second years soon. Please line up and don't cause a scene."

The teacher looked my way. The second years were supposed to be stronger than some teachers and the third years were supposed to be considered soldiers for the kingdom. Their power was supposed to surpass expectations.

The academy created soldiers to fight. That was how they held so much power in the Rena kingdom. They were the frontlines and the backlines of the country's army. While there was no royalty attending the academy now, they were also known for their power. Hybrid users of fire and wind.

Of course, as far as my understanding goes, only the king or queen of this kingdom could possibly rival Cera. As she is now, she's a walking natural disaster that is only going to get bigger. A tempestuous tornado of death.

Not only has she been more mindful of her actions, but she started keeping an eye on me through Viv and Noire. Being spied on and alerted of every move. Since Viv can join me in school now, she's basically next to me all day and tells Cera everything and anything that happens. What we learn in class and what spells consist of and how to use them. I'm sure Cera can learn everything this school has to offer and more by simply listening to explanations from Viv.

"Yup! My baby is the smartest!" I spoke out loud and Viv told me to be quiet while the second years were walking into the training arena.

Viv looked at me with a disappointed look in her eyes and continued to watch me with a sigh.

Apparently, a duke from the kingdom was in the second year and was a big deal. He became duke at a young age because his family died early on. He is supposed to be a powerful heir and on the rise of power. I'm excited to see a fellow ice user. Even though I'm a hybrid, I could probably learn a thing or two from him.

The second years came with a black and silver outfit. Cera would look gorgeous in that.

I didn't know who the duke was, but I was hoping I'd get to see him in action today. They're supposed to demonstrate their fighting abilities for the first years because our classes are scared of fighting. I don't think I had anything to do with that, but I've heard whispers and rumors that they don't want to fight me.

Well, Viv has been doing all my fighting for me since the first day of school. She was able to attend as my aid and bodyguard and has been doing miscellaneous things for me like getting my books and taking care of my fights. I do appreciate everything she's doing, but I also want to have some fun and spar with some of the students.

Although, she's been getting stronger and training more ever since we met up with her brother. She's been training at night and skipping out on meals. I'm a little worried about her, but I don't think I should interfere with her routine unless she starts getting worse or stops doing her duties.

After all the students from the second-year class came in, I looked around and tried to point out who was the strongest among them. They all seemed pretty weak except for a few who stood out.

I saw that one of the boys was wearing a crest of nobility and my eyes were glued on him instantly.

That must be him. I have to fight him.

Viv noticed my gaze and stopped me by patting my shoulder.

"I'll take care of it, my lady."

Viv then went and talked to the teacher, of the second years and I assumed she was going to ask for me to fight him, but instead, she asked if she could fight him.

I was slightly shocked and somewhat surprised that she would take the initiative like this.

In the end, the teacher agreed and she shot me an innocent smile. I think she misunderstood my intentions. Although it made me happy that she wanted to take care of my problems, I still wanted to spar.

"My name is David Cross. It is a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman like yourself and an honor to spar with you."

Viv was a beautiful woman if you consider her appearance and background, but she's ferocious in battle. She particularly likes cutting and since I've known her, she always used a sword to cut even the smallest rocks in order to increase her precision and Alm reinforcement. The harder the material, the better.

"Training will now begin." Said the second-year teacher and Viv and the boy I assumed was the duke went to one of the arenas.

They didn't say anything to each other. They simply pulled out their weapons. Viv with her sword in hand and the duke with two daggers.

At first, nothing happened. They simply swung their weapons and clashed with each other at incredible speed. Shortly after they jumped away from each other.

"Why is someone as strong as you serving someone else?" Asked David.

I wasn't expecting that question, and some of the other students turned their eyes toward me. Expecting me to answer the question or something stupid. But I was also curious. I knew her circumstances, and still, she didn't need to be as devoted as she is.

"Someone who chooses their family name over everything else wouldn't understand." Well, she is royalty. Not too different from being a duke.

"I see. Good for you. I'm happy you found something to believe in." It sounded like he was mocking her, but I could sense he was being serious.

Viv then slashed him with her sword, lightning coming down from it and David turned his daggers into ice swords. Blocking her attack and creating a crackling sound between ice and lightning.

They went a few more rounds with their weapons releasing their attribute and slashing at incredible speeds. Viv would slash from above, below, side to side, horizontally and even lunged at him, but he blocked every single attack, even though he looked like it was easy, I could tell he was struggling to block the lightning attacks with his ice. He was using it as a shield. Which I found to be awesome. I hadn't used my powers like that.

I tried to cover my skin with a bit of ice and found it to be more difficult than I thought. It dispersed quickly and created a small explosion because of my attributes.

"Sorry." I apologized to Paisely, whom was next to me for startling her.

"The fight continued and David finally took action. He threw his dagger with a trail of ice behind it. A thin line of ice. Viv smashed it down, but the second dagger came at her right away while the dagger that had been slapped down was being pulled by the ice string. Viv had been put on the defensive. The duke was now controlling the fight from afar and Viv had to get closer to do damage with her sword.

Viv then made the mistake of grabbing onto a dagger. Quickly being pulled by the ice that wrapped around her wrist. The duke took advantage of this and closed in on her by pulling himself toward her while pulling her toward him. Viv then jumped and did a spin, breaking the thin ice by cladding her sword with a massive amount of lightning and sending a sharp, Alm manifestation of a lightning dragon toward David.

He was hit straight on and then sent flying out of the arena, leaving him with a burnt uniform and a large gash of blood across his chest.

While Viv looked like she had the upper hand, she had been stabbed by the other dagger on her left arm. Frostbite covering her arm.

They had traded blows.

That was when a teacher stepped in and paused the fight.

"That is how a fight should be. Put everything into it and fight like your lives depend on it. Starting today, if any of you pull your punches, you will be expelled."

I don't pull my punches but nobody seems to want to fight me. It's a shame, but the duke is not as strong as I thought. He's at least at Viv's level. However, I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of him.