Prince Lucian

"Put more strength in your grip when you swing." the trainer advised. "The most important factor is using the centrifugal force of the staff to strike. if you don't have a strong grip on the staff, it will fly off."

After learning the ways to defend myself yesterday, I was getting trained to attack properly. my arms felt weak and my legs felt sore. It was noon and I had had no break since dawn. I shoved the staff into the ground to catch my breath.

"Why are you stopping? you still have 25 targets left." The trainer walked towards me. it was clear that he was annoyed. "do that in five minutes or the number of targets will double."

{Really? Alright…} I picked up the staff and rushed to destroy the targets. After breaking the staff in the process, I tore apart the last standing target. "Can I get a break now?"

"How many statues have you taken down?" The trainer summoned a staff member. Similar to mom, he used spatial magic to do that. I can't make invisible circles yet, but I did know the basics of it. seeing him approaching, I picked up one of the remaining staff. "about six hundred and thirty-four."

"Then I think we should round that number up to a five." he gave a grin and began attacking.

{Right shoulder… middle chest… head…} I carefully watched his movements and blocked each hit. {left elbow… right rib…} soon, my body started moving faster than I thought.

I swung the staff all around my torso while blocking each hit and started my counterattack. the way his face turned from confident to astonished to troubled made a smile appear on my face. {open neck} I stopped the staff just before it touched his neck. "That's… enough for now," he said after he realized that his staff was falling apart at its ends.

I simply bowed down and left for the medical room. {damn it hurts} although I acted cool and all, my arms were killing me. my joints hurt when moving arms. and even though I defeated my trainer in the duel, all the hits blocked had a significant effect on me. I trotted to a bed and sat down.

"looks like you passed." Dad came in and sat on the bed. He handed me a bottle of juice, "drink this before you go to sleep."

"I will. Wait, what do you mean by I passed? Was this also a test?" I opened the bottle and took a sip. {Dog Cherry Juice?}

"The fight with the trainer is the test. you are here, fully conscious, that means you passed the test." Dad left to check on other people who were entering the room.

{This isn't that bad.} I finished the juice and went to sleep. As my body slowly relaxed, I drifted deeper into sleep.

(Welcome back Ray) a very familiar voice welcomed me.

"I thought you said that you are only going to watch over my life?"

(I am. you just barged in on me. what do you want?)

"Wait Wait Wait. Did something happen to me again? The last time I came here was when I almost died."

(Nothing happened. you are just too tired and your brain is focused on healing.) he put down the book he was reading. (if you don't have anything to ask, then get out.)

"Okay, one question before you kick me out. What is your name?"

(Well… I don't actually have any memory of my name. but if you want to call me by a name, then let me see…) he disappeared in the dark. I looked around but saw nothing. There was no sound and I started getting worried. just then (sorry about that. I had to ask others what they call me.) he appeared right beside me.

(Now, to answer your question, you can call me Scribe.)

"Scribe? as in, the person who keeps records?"

(yeah, they call me that cause I manage most of the library.)

"you're a manager now? congrats."

(oh, no. I don't hold the position officially. I am just the guy who visits the place most often, after the official Scribe of course.)

"Oh. Well then, I'll get going. talk to you later."

(Please, don't come back. Ever again.)

"don't say that. we're soul-mates after all."

he scoffed and waved his hand in front of his body. the floor disappeared and I started to fall. The falling sensation woke me up almost immediately.

"that always feels weird." my throat felt dry. I pushed myself up and took a sip of water. The room was filled with both snoring and groaning sounds of sleeping teammates. there was a slight sound of rain hitting the windows. I looked outside and saw that it was raining heavily, accompanied by lightning moving within the clouds. and although it was pretty dark, I saw a single person standing out in the grounds.

Lucian, now his hair cut shorter, was standing there in the pouring rain. I left the room to go outside and see what he was doing. The teachers, standing at the entrance, stopped me with them. they all seemed to be observing Lucian.

"What is he doing?" I asked the principal.

"Showing us that he is capable." Principal crossed his arms, eyes gleaming with anticipation. {A test?}

I looked back at Lucian, and at that instant, the sky flashed white. I focussed my eyes and everything slowed down. a bolt of lightning appeared, slowly moving downward. Lucian placed his hand above his head. {Lightning should have struck the building} the bolt touched him and vanished, it certainly didn't go to the ground. Then, he spread his arms beside himself. In just a second, a cyclone formed around him, raised upwards, and covered the ground. The rain stopped falling when the winds reached us. Lucian fell to his knees after the gusts of wind stopped. The rain returned, accompanied by hail. {What the hell was that?} my ears were still ringing from the sound of thunder.

"Get him some water and take him to the changing room." the principal ordered staff members standing beside him.

"Did you see that?" I asked Tom, who probably just woke up.

"See what?" he questioned.

"I saw that." Jin said. "that prince absorbed freaking lightning."

"to be precise, he converted the lightning to mana and then used that to create a cyclone," Sarah explained. "I don't think his body can hold that much power for long." It seems that she has gotten comfortable with this team.

"I mean, it is lightning" I sat on my bed, "how much can a human body handle anyway."

"but it is still impressive," Rose commented. "We all know how hard it is to absorb mana itself. to convert natural energy into mana, absorb and release it in just that instant, it kind of seems absurd."

"explains why he is the candidate to be the prince." Eve shrugged and left the room. She took a quick glance at Sarah when she turned at the door.

"I- well- I also gotta go." Robin trotted after her. {Seriously dude, you gotta be less obvious.} "See you later robin."

The weather didn't seem to be getting better, so we were trapped inside the school grounds. We played games meanwhile to pass the time.

"Hey everyone, pop quiz." Eve suddenly asked during a round of cards. "how many candidates are usually chosen for the position of the prince?"

"five?"

"Nah, it has to be more than that. I say eight."

"It's fifteen." Lucian entered the room, "one from each state of the nation."

"and how is the prince selected?" Robin asked.

"Each position has a different role-based test designed for it. but it includes commanding a team at the least. The rule is that the team members should not be older than the leader and should have no experience in military warfare. everything else has no bar set on it."

"what about the minimum age?" there had to be the least age set.

"second year of higher education. and as I am four years older than you, that is the maximum age for our team."

"How did you qualify for candidacy?" Tom asked.

"well… that is a long story." Lucian tried to leave.

"oh, that's alright." Jin grabbed his shoulder. "We have a lot of time. right everyone?" we all nodded, pressing Lucian to stay.

"Alright." he gave in after a while. "I had to attend an exam. It usually takes place after graduation. excluding the necessary physical exams, most tests are done to judge the mental capacity of the examinee. I didn't know I got selected until the letter arrived with the message."

"How long ago was that?"

"this week."

"WHAT?" we all yelled at once.

"Yes, it's true. Why do you think I came here?"

"Because this is the best institute in the state?" Eve muttered. {is that so?}

"precisely. mainly because I don't need to train you all to be perfect teammates." he tilted his head as he spoke.

"An easy way is to ask during the physical exams. you already sorted out students." Eve gave a closing statement. {did she figure all that out on her own?}

"exactly." He stayed silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth again. "you people are too sharp for your age."

we all shared a good laugh at that statement. "no, I really mean it." Lucian clarified. "okay. how many of you know how to use circles without pre-drawing them?"

we all knew that, hell, it was needed to pass the second test of the first round. We all looked at each other and had a show of hands. Lucian smiled, "you see, most of my year learned after we failed the first term. and spatial circles are still part of the third year's final exam."

"We had no choice." I commented, "it was kind of needed to pass the exam."

"Yes, but you all learned it in a span of two days." he motioned to all of us, "some even had to pick up both casting circles and using spatial circles together, yet you passed."

We all nodded awkwardly at his honest compliments. The winds outside were getting stronger and rain turned to hail. {not getting better anytime soon.}

"Alright team." Lucian addressed us. "today, I am gonna give you all a treat. eat whatever you want from the cafeteria. it is on me."

We all had a feast, draining his wallet in the process. Usually, we had a limit set on how much we can spend daily, but this time was different. The food went down the throat smoothly as I ate.

"so Mr.Prince-"

"don't call me that." Lucian interrupted Jin. "I still don't know if I will get the position. just call me by my name, or Luke if you want it short."

"alright. So Luke, what do we have to do to become better teammates?" Jin asked. we all stopped talking to hear what he was gonna say. {what can we even do for someone like him?}

"You all have different prospects, different knowledge, and different thought processes. I need all of that to be a better leader." he took a sip from his glass, "so train your strengths and be yourself."

"Is that all?"

"Yes." he got up to leave. "See you all after a month. till then, keep training. I have already sent helpful items to your homes through school. please try to go through that as you all will be given leave during next month." he left the room.

Lucian left the school as soon as it stopped raining. We were forced to stay until the sky cleared up. I landed in front of the house, where mom was waiting for me. "I got here earlier than expected."

"Welcome back. before you get changed, there are some gifts sent for you." I understood why she rushed me after I opened the first box. {Is this what he meant by 'helpful items'? This is awesome.}