The Beginning After The End

For the past several weeks, nothing noteworthy happened, yet I was kept busy enough to not have time to visit my family . Disciplinary committee duties took up all of my remaining time not designated to school and training .

The class I taught had a harder time than I expected when it came to "divergent training," which was what I decided to call it . The whole aspect of focusing mana into a single point proved to be difficult for all of the augmenters in the class while reabsorbing a conjured spell was an even more arduous task for the conjurers .

So far, out of the augmenters, only a student named Benson managed to do anything remotely close to what I had in mind . As for the conjurers, only Kathyln succeeded in reabsorbing her spell and enhancing her body . Even then, she only succeeded in augmenting her hand . Feyrith was a close second as he was the only other student on the brink of success .

My Deviant Magic Theory class had been moving along quite slowly as our professor explicitly explained that she would cover new material after we finished our mid-semester tests . Since a semester was sixteen weeks long and we'd only gone through four weeks of school, it'd take another four weeks until she'd start going over what I wanted to know .

"Are you excited for the class dungeon excursion this weekend?" Tess leaned in closer as she asked .

The two of us, along with Sylvie, were inside the training room during lunch . I had just finished helping her with assimilation . By my estimation, Tess needed about one or two more weeks to fully assimilate, which worried me because, until then, her magic use would be very limited .

"Hmm? Eh, we're only exploring the first three floors, right? I doubt we'll find anything worth getting excited over . " I just shrugged .

This Saturday, we were to have a one-night trip to the outskirts of the Beast Glades with our Team-Fighting Mechanics class . Professor Glory received permission from Director Goodsky on the condition that we were not allowed to go past the third floor of the dungeon we planned on exploring .

The dungeon was a minor one and a popular site for new adventurers since the mana beasts in the upper levels were only E class, so Professor Glory thought it would be a great way to have the class get in some real life team-fighting mechanics practice .

"Pshhh… You're no fun . I bet you're actually really nervous that we'll be in the Beast Glades . I heard about it a lot from Grandpa . He says that it's filled with a lot of mysteries and wonders but also dangers . Grandpa said to never truly trust any source of information about the Beast Glades because it always changes . " Tess got lost in her thoughts, fantasizing about how exciting our short trip was going to be .

"We're going to be fighting against real mana beasts! Can you believe it? I mean, I've fought against a couple in Elshire Forest while I was training with Grandpa but I heard mana beasts are different in the Beast Glades . You know, more vicious . We're going to be sleeping in the dungeon too! That's so exciting!" Her eyes began to sparkle as she imagined camping underground, surrounded by mana beasts .

Giving her a soft flick to her forehead, I woke up Tess from her dreamland . "Just remember, you're probably not even at half your strength right now and the assimilation isn't going to be completed in time for the class expedition . Don't get full of yourself . "

"Oww… I know, I know! Sheesh, you don't have to baby me so much . " She pouted while rubbing her forehead .

"Do you remember when we slept together in the same tent?" My face turned into an evil grin as Tess' face turned red immediately .

"Kyu?" Sylvie tilted her head in curiosity since she hadn't been born when this happened . "What did you say again? Ahh!" Putting on a frightened face, I look at my blushing childhood friend .

"'A-Arthur? W-Well! You see… beasts will more likely appear if they notice you because they will see that you are a child . Therefore, I propose that for our s-safety, that it would be better for you to c-come inside the tent,'" I said in a high-pitched voice, mocking Tess .

"Uuu! You asked for it!" She jumped on top of me and started poking me hard as I continued laughing .

"Owowowow! Hahaha~ okay! I'm sorry, I give, I give! Tess… hahaha… I'll stop!" Tears formed in my eyes as I continued laughing and crying in pain .

"Kyuu!" 'Me too, I want to play too!' Sylvie hopped around us .

Eventually, she came to a stop as I laid panting on the ground, catching my breath, with Tess sitting on top of me . Looking at my childhood friend, I noticed that her face was still red . Realizing almost immediately what sort of position we were in, I couldn't help but get hot as well, as Tess lowered her head closer to mine .

"Hoho~ I see you two are getting along well . Virion will surely be happy . " The voice caught the both of us by surprise and Tess immediately got off me while we distanced ourselves from each other in embarrassment .

Director Goodsky walked up to us with an amused look on her face . How she got in without either of us noticing was beyond me but I couldn't hide the awkwardness in my face as she looked at me .

Saving us some face, Director Goodsky changed the topic . "Fufu~ how is the assimilation going?"

"It-It's going well! Art helped me a lot these past couple of weeks and I feel a lot better! I haven't been feeling any pain from the rejection lately and as long as I don't use magic too much, I think I'll be okay!" The flustered Tess scrambled her words as she flailed her arms to hide her embarrassment .

"She should be fully assimilated with her beast will in about a week or two," I clarified after calming myself .

"Hmmm…" Director Goodsky nodded at me before kneeling down in front of the still red Tess . Gently placing her hand above Tess' stomach, Director Goodsky closed her eyes to sense Tess' mana core .

After a brief moment, she retracted her hand and nodded, satisfied . "Good, good . I'm glad that there were no troubles along the way . I knew I could trust you, Arthur," she said to me before getting back up .

"Where have you been these past couple of weeks though, Director? You were always in contact from what I heard, but I noticed you haven't been inside the academy for a while now . Did you just get back?" I said, tilting my head . My eyes couldn't help focusing on the small cut she had on her other hand .

"Ah, yes . I've been away for some personal reasons . I am back now though, so come to my office if you need anything . " Director Goodsky quickly covered her hand and gave me a soft, grandmotherly smile . "I better get going now, though . I have a lot of work to catch up on . Be sure not to overexert yourself, little one . Be especially careful while you are inside the dungeons . One should never underestimate even the lowest level mana beasts . " Director Goodsky gently patted Tess' hair before disappearing with a wisp .

"S-So what are your plans after this?" Tessia said, trying to break the awkward silence that the Director had left us . "After classes, there's an emergency meeting for the disciplinary committee since Curtis, Claire and I are going to be away from campus over the weekend . We'll have to work on some of the details in case an emergency arises while we aren't here . After that, I'll probably go back home for the first time in a while and sleep there . I'll get back to campus by tomorrow morning in time to head out for the excursion . What about you?" I said while leaning back .

"Well, Professor Glory said there won't be any class today since she wanted us to rest before the excursion tomorrow so I'm free until the student council meeting . We have to go over a couple of things on the agenda since both Clive and I won't be there either . " Tess responded a lot more calmly now . I had to admit she looked pretty cute, sitting on the ground and playing with Sylvie's paws .

After spending a bit more time talking to Tess, I eventually had to leave to go to my remaining classes . Even though we didn't have our Team-Fighting Mechanics class, my other two classes seemed to drag on forever as we already started reviewing for our mid-semester exams .

"That will be it for today, class . Remember to keep up with your studies instead of procrastinating and cramming for everything the night before . I know you all love doing that," Professor Mayner said sarcastically as he handed out some review sheets on basic spell formations . After my last class was over, I trudged on towards the disciplinary committee room with Sylvie weighing down particularly heavily on my head tonight .

"I trust that you guys will be able to handle keeping the academy in check while the three of us are out . We've been through a couple of the emergency procedures these past two weeks so I'm confident that everything will be fine . As you all know, Kai is in command while I am out . Remember that Director Goodsky is back and on campus so if things go for the worse, don't hesitate to have her help, although, unless it's serious, I doubt there will be a need to . Dismissed!" Claire clapped her hands as the rest of us got up .

"Twer…I mean, Arthur . I want another practice match with you . " Theo placed a hand on my shoulder as I headed down the stairs .

"No! It's my turn . You lost to him last time so I get to try now!" Doradrea squeezed between us and looked up at me with her masculine face .

"That didn't count! It was a lucky break that he just had, that's all . " Theo refuted, his face red from both anger and embarrassment .

"No can do, Theo, Doradrea . I'm going home to my family tonight . My driver is already waiting for me outside of the academy," I shrugged, hopping down the stairs without giving them the time to convince me to stay .

"You have the protection ring that Father gave you, right? Use it immediately if you feel like you're in trouble . Promise me that, okay?" I heard Curtis worriedly nag his younger sister . We'd be leaving early tomorrow morning so tonight was probably the last time he'd be able to see her until we got back Sunday night .

Kathyln just responded with a silent nod, her face expressionless as always . She caught me looking at the both of them and quickly turned her head away . Curtis left his sister and walked towards me .

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Arthur . I heard Professor Glory was thinking of assigning teams . Let's join the same team if we can," he said, giving me a fist bump to the arm .

"Yeah, sounds good . " I offered a friendly nod . Before walking out I gave everyone a wave goodbye .

It was already pretty dark outside with the only source of light coming from the soft glow of the floating orbs . The campus grounds gave off a very mystical feeling at night, totally different from how the world was in my previous life .

Upon reaching the main gate to the academy, a familiar driver was waiting for me . "Good evening, Mr . Arthur . I take it that you have prepared everything?" he said while taking off his hat and giving me a slight bow . "Yeah . The meeting ran a little late so let's leave right away . " I got into the carriage after my driver opened the door for me .

I dozed off during the ride back home so it felt like the familiar Helstea Mansion came into view a lot faster than I'd expected .

"We have arrived, Mr . Leywin . Have a great night . " Opening the door, the polite driver tipped his hat once again as I stepped off the carriage . Walking up the stairs brought up nostalgic thoughts of when I'd come back from the kingdom of Elenoir and when I came back from the Dire Tombs . This was probably the first time I was coming back home in a while without giving my parents a reason to worry for my life .

Before even having the chance to knock, the giant front door swung open and an Ellie missile shot out at a speed that surprised me .

"BROTTTHERRR! Welcome hommeeeee!" Ellie wrapped her arms around my waist as I mustered up the strength to keep the both of us from toppling down the stairs .

"Kyu!" Sylvie hopped off my head and onto Ellie's, licking her face .

"Haha~ that tickles, Sylvie!" My sister unwrapped herself from me as she held Sylvie and tickled her back .

"I was wondering what the noise was; you're back a little late, Son!" My father leaned against the front door and gave me a grin .

"The meeting ran a little late . It's been awhile, Dad . " I gave my father a hug as my sister followed behind me, still cuddling with my bond .

"Ah! You're back, Art . You must be so tired . " My mother, who was upstairs, ran down and wrapped her arms around me .

"Hey, Mom . Yeah, I'm back . " I smiled, accepting the family love I cherished so much .

"How's your body? Are you all better now?" My mother examined my body, lifting up my shirt and turning me around to make sure I didn't have a wound left on me .

"Haha, I'm fine now . You're worrying too much . " I gave her a comforting smile but I couldn't help but remember the short conversation I had had with my father about why my mother wasn't able to heal me back then . However, I quickly shook the thoughts from my head . I was sure there was a reason and the only thing I could do was wait for her to tell me .

"Brother, how long are you staying?" Ellie was practically hopping around me as we all headed towards the living room .

"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning . " I let out a sigh .

"Wha~at? Why?" My sister's face visibly saddened, her shoulders slumping at my response .

"Yeah, why are you leaving so soon?" my father chimed in, taking a seat on the sofa .

"One of my classes has an excursion to the Beast Glades tomorrow for one night . We leave in the morning so I'll have to head out pretty early at dawn . " I was already tired at the thought of waking up that early .

"The Beast Glades?!" My mother's face turned pale with concern . I wasn't surprised since I'd almost died the last time I was in the Beast Glades . Even my father had a worried look on his face .

"Don't worry . We're only going to be on the outskirts and our professor will be with us at all times . Besides, I still have the ring . " I pulled out the ring that the Helstea family had given us from my pocket . The ring used mana circulation to indicate to the other ring-holder whether I was still alive or not . I kept it off while I was at school since I didn't really have a need for it but I brought it just in case .

"But still… is it mandatory for you to go?" My mother furrowed her brows, the concern refusing to leave her face .

"We'll be fine . It's one of the lowest-ranked dungeons and we're not allowed to go below the third floor anyways . " I comforted my mother .

She still wasn't entirely happy with the whole situation but she just kept silent, giving me a hesitant nod . The four of us spent a few more hours just catching up while Sylvie fell asleep on Ellie's lap . Ellie was apparently doing well in her ladies' school while my father and mother both still looked very healthy and in love . It'd only been a few weeks since I'd last seen them so there weren't really any surprises . Upon my asking where the Helstea family was, Father said that Vincent and Tabitha were both out for a couple of days on a business trip to a different city .

Eventually, my parents ushered my sister and I into our rooms since it was pretty late . I almost fell asleep while taking a shower and after drying myself; I couldn't help but let out a big sigh of relief as I sunk into bed .

It was good to be back home .

Before I could get too comfortable, a series of knocks sounded from my door .

I turned my head, too tired to get up, and I saw a small head peeking out from the other side of the door .

"C-Can I sleep with you tonight, Brother?" Ellie walked in with her arms clinging onto a stuffed animal .

"Sure," I smiled, lifting the blanket next to me so she could get under .

"Hehe, yay!" Ellie jumped into the bed, making herself comfortable . The bed was more than big enough for the both of us but she scooted in close and faced me .

"Goodnight . " Patting my baby sister's head, the both of us fell asleep to each other's steady breaths .