A Fist Fight-1

James and Jarad talked about a lot of things during their journey. And after their journey ended, they went their separate ways…

It was merely a coincidence that Jarad found James at the station. At first, he was about to ignore him, but when he saw that James was reading an advanced level Rune book, he got interested in him. And when it was then he realized that he met him at his birthday party.

The only reason that Jarad even talked to James and revealed his true identity was because James had the potential to become the candidate. From the start, Jarad didn't twist his words and was upright and open about his motives. He told James that there are very few people who are well-versed in the Runic language. And out of those few people, only a few of them have the capability to even participate in the competition…

The competition is called Merlin Cup. This competition takes place every 20 years. It is one of the most prestigious competitions in the awakened one society.

The way that Jarad told James about the competition, it became clear that this competition was like an all-out war between the different schools. This competition serves as a battleground where different schools from different countries come and show off their respective student's prowess.

Any student can participate in the competition. But because there is a significant difference between the skill level of the students in different years. That is why this year the rules of the competition had been changed. This year the competition will be held in the form of three different divisions. This is to ensure that every student of a school would have a fair chance to participate in the competition.

There are three divisions in which students can compete. Junior division would consist of students from 1st year to 3rd year. Senior division would consist of students from the 4th and 5th years. While the Sophmore division would consist of 6th and 7th-year students.

A four-person team would be made for each division. Jarad is the leader of the Junior division team. As he had already made a name for himself from his accomplishments, that is why he was personally selected by the headmistress to lead the Junior division team.

The main problem that the junior division team would face will be Runic Engineering. It is a well-known fact that Runic Language and its application are topics which students start studying from the 3rd year of their school life. This topic is very difficult to master, that is why not a lot of people choose it as their additional subject. Only a handful amount of students people in the Emerald Garden have advanced-level knowledge of the topic.

James on the other hand is an exception. He simply started studying the Runic Language because it was the field that was very suitable for him. He knew the fact that there was a chance that he may not be able to become a high-ranking awakened one in his lifetime. And he didn't want to gamble his life on a small chance that he could become someone great someday. So he started focusing on the field that doesn't necessarily have the requirement to be a high-ranked awakened one.

There is only one such field. And that field is Runic Language. He started studying the language because he wanted to earn a lot of money for his mother. But soon he started enjoying the subject altogether.

There are a lot of amazing things that could be accomplished by Runic Engineering. Like the MCD or Mobile communication device. It is a device that is made by extensive Runic Coding and it enables an awakened one to contact a person that sitting miles away from them. Its range is still a big problem but still, this device had worked wonders in this era.

James also has an MCD. It is a green color tablet that is small enough to fit in his pocket. His MCD has the range from which he could easily talk to his mother from any part of the Faction. And all of this was possible only by the Runic Engineering.

James studied this difficult subject from a young age. He started studying it because he feared that because of his inability he won't be able to give a better life to his mother. And now his hard work would finally pay off….

***

James lost sight of Jarad as soon as they got off the train. After getting off, James straight away went outside the train station. He knew that his aunt Marcella would have sent some of the soldiers to fetch him from the station. As he got out of the station he started looking for a carriage which was manned by official soldiers of Faction.

And he soon spotted a carriage matching the description outside the train station. The said carriage had the insignia of the Faction. As well as soldiers were standing by the carriage with white color leather armor. James assumed that these must be the soldiers that his aunt Marcella had sent. So he walked up to them to speak with…

"Excuse me, were you perhaps sent here to pick me up by aunt Marcella?" James asked while approaching the soldiers.

"You must be James." One of the soldiers said as he heard James's voice.

"Yes," Jame replied.

"Come on then, hop in." One of the soldiers said and James hopped in the carriage.

James didn't like his aunt Marcella very much. She was not even his real aunt, but she was a good friend of his father. She is a very cruel and strict woman who always reprimanded James for small things like his tidiness, his dressing style, his eating manners, etc. He hated her for that.

While he didn't like her, he couldn't deny the fact that she is a good woman. She is the only one of his late father's friends that is still in contact with them. She regularly checks up on him and his mother from time to time. She is a good woman from her heart, but she is unbearable.

Marcella is also an official Commander in the army of Faction. She is in charge of the port town of Valgoor where Battalion number 786 is posted. The two soldiers that came to fetch James are the soldiers under Marcella's battalion...

The carriage ride from the train station to The HQ of the battalion was relatively short. It was only after 10 min of travel that the carriage came to a stop in front of a big mansion just behind the HQ.

The mansion was very big and was surrounded by 10 feet walls from all sides. There were barbed wires on the wall which made the villa look like a prison. But inside the wall was a very beautiful garden with a variety of flowers and plants. There were several statues and pedestals arranged around the garden which gave the garden a very royal look.

Right at the center of the garden was the big villa. It was two stories tall and brightly lit and was giving a grand feeling…

This was the house of his aunt Marcella, a Rank-39 mage of the Faction army.