The group made one last final revision on their plan before wrapping it up altogether. After that, they decided on the date on when they will be going to take their leave to accomplish the mission that they accepted.
"Andrew, regarding our proposal the other day. Do you already have a plan in mind???"
Niccoli asked in a whisper as he discreetly closed the distance between him and his friend, Andrew. When Audrey heard Niccoli and realization dawned on her, three back lines streaked down on her face.
'Here we are again... Uhrrrg!'
Niccoli seemed to be the stubborn colds during cold winter days that persistently latched on Audrey all day and night. It was as if almost every single day, he won't ever forget to come bugging his friend about the progress for their secret operation or if there is any plan at all regarding the 'OPLAN duped Fiona in'.
"What do you guys talking about????"
Jace butted in as he stood in between Audrey and
"I need to wash my face. I'll be leaving."After bidding his farewell like that, Jace immediately left his friends who were still plastered by his weird action."Why is he so obsessed about washing his face today????!"Niccoli asked in bewilderment when Jace's departing figure was already out from earshot."He must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."Steve said as he shakes his head."Should we asked him to sleep again and wake him up on the other side of his bed instead???"Allan suggested with an earnest expression on his face. His friends, on the other hand, look at him as if something weird had grown from his face."Allan, don't bother using your brain anymore. It is not meant to be used anyways."Niccoli said as he looked at Allan with sympathy. He even patted the other part's shoulder after saying that.He can't take an idiom when he heard one. He is taking it word by
"But Andrew, we should start planning it now. Or else Allan will get used to not seeing us already. When that time comes, it will be too late for sorry. We will lose our friend."Niccoli had no plan of backing away. It was like he would not give it a rest until he was able to persuade his friend, Andrew, to agree to his request. On the other hand, Audrey was no pushover either. She was also adamant about turning down Niccoli's request. After all, the thing that she will have to do under Niccoli's plan is not something that she would feel some sense of pride after accomplishing. Just the name of the plan itself was more than enough to turn even Audrey's innards into another shade of green.Operation Dupe Fiona inWhy it has to be me???Why do I have to end up duping another girl when I am also a girl, myself???Sadly, Niccoli and the others were not aware of it, yet."I don't think that would be the case
Meanwhile, since he already gets what he wanted, Niccoli finally excused himself and took his leave; allowing the master and cat duo to finally have the time for themselves. On the other hand, when Niccoli was no longer around, Nero suddenly recalled something.[Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I asked around with my friends to look for any job opening within Brujeria. I just got news from them this morning. Currently, there is an opening for a part-time job.]Nero was supposed to share this news with Audrey early this morning but the relentless nagging of Niccoli did not allow him to do so.He almost forgot about it."Oh, that's great! What would be the job description then?"[It is not that hard. You just have to do some menial stuff like refilling arrows and sharpening daggers.]"Huh???? Will I be part of some maintenance team in that job?"[Sort of. You will be working in some kind of Sports Complex.
"Andrew, I heard that you will be going to work at Zodiac Arena, is that true?"Allan asked when he got a chance to talk to Audrey while they were packing their things and ensuring that they had everything they need."Oh yes, that is right. I will be doing some minor work there every after class. As you know, I'm short of some mage coins as of the moment. So needed to earn some.""Well, good luck with your new job then. I guess we will be seeing each other more often. I usually go there to train.""Jace also goes to that same stadium. What a pity that I decided to enroll in the other sports complex instead. If I had known earlier, I should have chosen Zodiac Arena over Affinity Arena."Steve butted in when he heard what his friends were talking about."It's okay Steve, I heard that Affinity Arena hires a far more experienced sword master than Zodiac Arena. So you cannot say that you are at the losing end of the stick. In any case, your stadi
"Andrew, I heard that you will be going to work at Zodiac Arena, is that true?"Allan asked when he got a chance to talk to Audrey while they were packing their things and ensuring that they had everything they need."Oh yes, that is right. I will be doing some minor work there every after class. As you know, I'm short of some mage coins as of the moment. So needed to earn some.""Well, good luck with your new job then. I guess we will be seeing each other more often. I usually go there to train.""Jace also goes to that same stadium. What a pity that I decided to enroll in the other sports complex instead. If I had known earlier, I should have chosen Zodiac Arena over Affinity Arena."Steve butted in when he heard what his friends were talking about."It's okay Steve, I heard that Affinity Arena hires a far more experienced sword master than Zodiac Arena. So you cannot say that you are at the losing end of the stick. In any ca
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the guardian tree's dilemma, the students proceeded on their task and since they already knew what has to be done, they no ling dally and started ripping off their student emblems.Audrey, and her friends raised their right hand in the air and recited the required ritual almost all at the same time."Andrew of the Red Realm request permission to exit""Jace of the Red Realm request permission to exit""Niccoli of the Red Realm request permission to exit""Nike of the Red Realm request permission to exit""Steve of the Red Realm request permission to exit""Allan of the Red Realm request permission to exit"When the dazzling light emanated by the golden leaves of the talking oak tree finally subsided, the group of warlocks was nowhere to be found.They are now teleported somewhere outside the premises of IridosThe world warped around Audrey and her friends, placing th
When Audrey got the warning from her cat, Nero, the frown between her eyebrows formed a tight-knit."It seemed like this is really no ordinary desert."She said as she scans the area around her once more."Hey, look! There are footprints over there."Allan shouted as he saw some traces of human footprints amidst the sand."Let's head over to take a look."Nike ushered his friends as he leads the way. They follow the trace left by the footprints and not long ago, they discovered a group of warlocks ahead of them.The group ahead of them had their wands on their hands and where casting spells one after another which seemed to suggest that they were battling with some other entity.All of them were dressed in a magic robe but its design was entirely different from what Audrey and the rest of them were wearing.It only means one thing. They are student warlocks from different School of Magic!Nike put hi
Nike nodded her head in delight upon finding a clue as to what they should be looking for. But before he could continue his interrogation, one of the warlocks from the other group intercepted him."Wait a moment, I just happened to recall something really weird about this place. No matter how much water we drink, it doesn't seem to quench our thirst. Instead, the more we drink the feebler we become."After some time, the third warlock from the other group speaks what was in his mind."Now that you said that, I also realized that it was only when we were resting to alleviate our exhaustion and quench our thirst when that fellow suddenly appeared and attacked us!"The first warlock who offered a handshake with Nike butted in as recognition dawned on his tired and pale face."Does that mean drinking water does not work and instead it attracts the sandman???"Steve asked to reconfirm the details. So far, their group has not yet dru
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou