The next day, the truth was finally made known to every party currently present on the ship. At first, everyone was mind blown which was within normal expectations. But since they knew that the crew meant them no harm albeit their frightful appearances, Audrey and her friends eventually learned to come to terms with these minor differences. “To be able to observe your great captainship firsthand not to mention being able to experience how it got to feel boarding your legendary spectral ship was truly an extraordinary opportunity.”Steve still could not bring his eyes to believe that he finally met the infamous captain of the ghost ship who he only come to know through the stories passed down to generations of mariners by word of mouth.To say that he was beyond astonishment was an underestimation. On the other hand, Captain Styles and his crew were caught off guard because they did not expect that their ‘coming out’ would be well received. They were at a loss for words to say.“It’s
“I still can’t believe we are finally here.”Audrey was still a little breathy when she muttered this under her breath. Her eyes were fixated on a far-off distance as she was watching the dark silhouette of Shamrock start to bleed into a more solid figure, and its outline got clearer as their sail neared the horizon.This would be their second time coming in close proximity to the said landmark; their first was ultimately that one incident just when right before they were attacked by the sea monster.At that time, a series of unexplainable events hindered them from successfully reaching Shamrock; one of which was the sudden formation of a raging tempest that foundered their ship. After that, they were taken by Kraken and the rest was history.But now looking back, Audrey and the others had arrived at a single conclusion, more likely, someone was pulling the strings from behind.“I bet if it were not for Alec Romanov and his beast, we have already made it halfway through our quest by n
“Alright, now,, let me educate you on how to get past Shamrock and cross to it safely.”Captain Styles started and Audrey and the others pricked their ear to listen attentively to everything that the other party was about to say next. They were unwilling to miss out on even the slightest detail of it. In their mind, they were thinking that the pointers were important and could come in handy if they wanted to survive the island.“You should have figured out by now that a magic array was set up around the vicinity of Isle of De Los.”Everyone nodded when they heard this. Exactly just like that captain’s words the group pretty much arrived at this conclusion already.“That island holds great treasure that should not be allowed outside the normal world, nor something that just anyone could have access to because either way, it would spell trouble to humankind in general.”The group have no idea what direction of his explanation was Captain Styles was going but since they trusted him, they
The night descended once again, but fierce battles raged on in the Isle of De Los. Many teams of five chased the four targets that ran in front of them. The four sorry figures ran as fast as they could to escape the mobs. They were none other than Audrey’s friends. The girl and her cat was not with the group at the moment because they got separated when one time, they fall under attack.“Would they cut it out already! We’ve already told them that we are willing to split the earning to other teams, but why are they still unwilling to give up!”Niccoli dodged an arrow from behind him as he raged angrily.It was as if the heavens wanted to test them as they had encountered about seven teams who had chased after them ever since they entered the forest. Their motive was to discourage them from continuing the mission before they could recover their strength thoroughly. However, no matter how hard they had explained their situation to the other teams, their opponents insisted on body searche
“Are they trying to die!?”The students who chased after them saw what had happened, and they quickly dashed to the edge of the slope. It was pitch black when they looked down the hill, but they could still make out the faint silhouettes of four figures before they disappear into the darkness.The rest of the students gulped when they realized how steep the slope was. They wondered if the four of them were injured after they jumped down the hill.In the dark, Allan shielded Steve as they rolled down the slope with Jace, Nike and Niccoli following closely behind them. Even with the grasses that cushioned their fall, the stones caused them some injuries too. They felt as if their bones had been crushed. It was dark too, so it was hard for them to move around easily.As someone from prestigious background, this was the first time that Jace and the rest of them were pushed to such an extent. What aggravated them more was the fact that the people who pushed them thus far were only ordinary
The group of students looked at them in shock. They had appeared without any warning at all. They clearly saw Jace’s team jumped down the steep slope just moments ago, and they had not seen any movements when they stared down the dark hillside. How did they manage to climb back onto the hill?But what surprised them even more was the scars on their body seemed to have disappeared too. They had regained their fair and handsome faces, so they no longer looked as defeated as before.“Thank you for your previous care and concern. It is only right that we have the opportunity to return the favor.”A smile curled on Nike’s lips, and the cold glint in his eyes flickered. He might have looked like a gentleman, but his appearance could make one tremble from within. Those students subconsciously took a step backward as they cautiously stared at every action of their opponent.The five of them seemed to have changed completely. They exhaustion and weakness seemed to have disappeared. Instead, th
The group of valiant and spirited youths immediately deflated and then scattered like the birds and the beasts. They fear that these freaks of a student would trample on them if they were slow to escape.No one could be so sure that Allan, the top student in the Knight Division, would not summon a mount and proceed to massacre them. If they bid their time, would they not be eliminated?! However, Jace did not give them the opportunity to escape. The tiny snowflakes suddenly enlarged and froze the feet of those students. One could only hear muffled sounds as the feet of those students were frozen, one by one. Eyes looked toward the handsome gentlemen in fright.“Please, don’t be in a rush to leave. You have not received your presents yet.”Jace raised his jaw slightly, and he had a horrifying smile on his face. In the middle of the night, anguished screams echoed throughout the Isle of De Los.When it was finally daybreak, six tall and lean figures left the white battlefield under the w
Audrey already understood the effect of the Illusion Construct curse, and after she cast the Enervation curse on the swordsman, she felt even more satisfied. When she saw the swordsman’s strength, she knew that it was impossible for him to rank five levels above her. The Enervation curse had an extreme effect on its victim. It could not only suppress one’s movement, but it could also turn one’s mind into a puddle of mush.How could she have the heart to refuse someone who had sent themselves as guinea pigs for her training?The few people who stood some distance away nearly lost their minds when their teammate fell onto the ground and became motionless.“What’s wrong with him?”The archer kept his hold on his arrows and turned to quest
[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