Revenge pact

"Whatever, let's just play." Adonis sighed and faced the targets before him while he reached for the dozens of throwing knives in his leather pouch.

"Don't get too serious, I'm still a beginner." Flora pouted.

"Hehe!" He chuckled.

"Would you like to start?" Flora asked.

"Okay. Best out of ten?"

"Yep!" She smiled, intrigued to witness the boy's performance.

"Got it..."

Adonis sharpened his gazed and steeled his resolve, focusing on the targets before him.

'It's been a while since I practised.'

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

The purple-haired teenage boy threw ten knives at the targets, accurately hitting nine out of the ten.

'Lord Eos would give me an earfull for that performance.' He sighed.

"I can't believe you went easy on me." Flora frowned.

'Went easy?' He raised his brow.

"I'll go fetch my knives..." Slightly irritated by his imperfect performance, Adonis began walking towards the targets to retrieve his blades.

"Don't bother." Flora said flatly.

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

"Huh?" Ten thin wooden arrows whizzed past Adonis's face, with one leaving him with a small cut on his ear.

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

All ten arrows accurately hit their intended targets, splitting the knives left by Adonis in half.

"Wha-"

"Are you hurt?" A small grin managed to display itself on the teenage girl's face as she observed Adonis's perplexed expression.

"Yo-"

"Yep! I win. Heeehee!" Cutting off Adonis once more, Flora exclaimed happily.

"You tricked me?!"

"Nope, you're just an amazing teacher." Flora giggled.

"Don-"

"I'd like to cash in my blank cheque now please!"

"Huh?"

'That's what she was after! What does she want? Does she want me to do her homework? A fight? Or even worse... Money?' With the looming possibility that he might suffer a monetary deficit, the cheapskate shuddered.

"So what do you wa-"

"A date!"

"A wha-"

"A date, I'll tell you when I'm available." Flora grinned.

'She's making this interrupting me thing a habit.' Adonis narrowed his brows.

***

Lunch

Mathematics and Science

***

Class 1A, Politics and History

Adonis sat peacefully at his desk, staring at the swaying trees outside.

'I'm getting concerned about Lord Eos's absence. He's never quiet for this long...'

'Is he asleep?'

'No... I can usually still feel his soul when he sleeps... Is it something akin to a coma? '

'This feels weird... He still exists within me, but it feels like his vitality is gone.'

'I'm assuming this has to do with me recently taming my mana core.'

'I wonder when he'll be back... I kinda miss him' Adonis sighed.

"As you are all aware, there are seven Empires in the world... "

"The Norse Empires: Pax, governed by the Odin family; Fulgar, governed by the Thor family; The matriachy Elegans, governed the Freyja family; and Tempesta, governed by the Freyr family."

"Then there are the Roman Empires: Mors, governed by the Pluto family; Mare, governed by the Neptune family; and the Caelum Empire, governed by the Jupiter family." The blonde professor continued.

"Why isn't the Wakoku nation recognized as an Empire even though their size is comparable to the rest?" Flora asked.

"That's a fair question. This is simply because the Wakoku Nation isn't supposed to exist and all the Wa people are merely aliens who invaded our home."

'That's such a crude way of putting it.' Feeling slightly insulted by the professor's words, Adonis furrowed his brows.

"Today we will be focusing on one particular Empire, the Caelum Empire's greatest enemy... Fulgar."

"Fulgar is similar to ours in many different ways such as surface area, population and military might which is why they pose such a huge threat to our Empire, and them being the closest Empire to ours doesn't help either."

'The reason the two Empires are constantly feuding is because of greed... There's no need to sugarcoat it.' Adonis stared blankly at the professor.

"Kjarr Thor, the leader of the Fulgar Empire is a transcendant on par with Emperor Jupiter, standing at the peak of humanity. He inheritted the Thor family's special magic affinity, Thunder Magic; further adding to his magical power, the Kjarr has been blessed by the Greater God Thor."

"The Savior of the Loki family is Skollr Loki, a transcendant who like the Kjarr, stands at the pinnacle of power. Like his Emperor, Skollr inherinted a powerful magic affinity, Illusion magic, making him an incredibly tricky opponent."

"Although it is unlikely that any of you will ever face any of these figures in battle, it is important for you to undrstand the power dynamics that exist in other Empires, especiallly those that pose a threat to our great Empire."

"We're always hearing about the tension between Fulgar and Caelum, but we're never actually given specifics as to why the two are at each other's throats." Flora raised her brow.

'There's no point in asking, we'll just be given the cover story, a mere illusion of what really transpired. All details about Their involvement has been erased.' Adonis scowled.

"Good question Miss Evergreen, fifteen years ago there was a huge battle between the Wakoku Nation's Shogun and Caelum's previous Emperor, this grand battle between transendants went on for five whole days, each day ending in a stalement."

"After numerous days of draws, the battle reached its turning point when a young Wa Liutenant intervened."

"This lieutenant managed to catch the heavily fatigued Emperor Jupiter off guard and steal the Caelum Empire's Imperial regalia 'Jupiter's Lightning bolt.', giving the Shogun an opportunity to finish the fight."

"So dirty!"

"No honour!"

"What does that have to do with the Fulgar though?"

"After the Emperor's death at the hands of Shogun Amaterasu, the Lieutenant fled the battlefield along with our Empire's Regalia... This is when the conflict with Fulgar evolved from a mere rivalry to being sworn enemies."

"Upon hearing the news about the death of Emperor Jupiter, Fulgar contacted the Wakoku Nation and formed a temporary alliance, in return for the Imperial Regalia, Fulgar protected the Wakoku Nation during its time of temporary weakness, since Shogun Amaterasu was injured."

"With the Lightning bolt in Fulgar's hands and the Caelum Empire now having only one transcendant, Fulgar invaded Caelum destroying multiple towns and major cities."

'Father wasn't kidding when he said he stole Jupiter's lightning.' Adonis giggled.

***

Worship

***

After school, 7PM

Dormitory Alpha, Adonis's training room

'Let's see...'

"Chokuto." With a quick flick of the wrist, Adonis summoned a long straight sword with a single edge.

The teenage boy's silver eyes sharpened as he aimed his straight blade at the large straw dummy standing a few meters before him.

"I need to sharpen my skills so that I can impress Lord Eos when he returns."

DUMMM

'Just because he isn't here, it doesn't mean I should slack off.'

"Supreme Devil Arts: Divine Divider!"

Adonis took a long stride forward and swung his luminated blade at the unsespecting straw doll...

***

In an unknown place at an unknown time.

A group of three figures of various sizes sat around a tame fire.

The short figure dressed in a large black robe holding a long stick poked at the calm fire, slightly provoking its yellow flames.

"Apparently the new batch of recruits is going to be really strong!" The figure's voice abstained from the customary distorted pitch, revealing a hoarse feminine voice.

"That's good right?" The slightly shorter figure beside the girl spoke, his soft voice piercing through the forest's silence.

"That means you'll be replaced soon, Shephard. " The cloaked girl said sternly.

"Wait really?!" Shephard shrieked.

"Of course. Apparently their's a dark elf first year capable of sniping from over five kilometers away." Usomi replied.

"I can't compete against that..." Shephard slumped his shoulders and stared at the ground.

"It's not just the archer, there are way more strong first years. The superiors said there are about nine to look out for."

"What?!" He sulked.

"The most interesting of them all is a Roman who has a special magic affinity never seen before."

"A new magic affinity? What is it?"

"He calls it Inferno magic...."

"Inferno magic?! That sounds so cool, that's way better than my regular flame magic." Shepherd's voice cracked.

"You're being loud." A tall figure a few meters away from the two said irritably.

"Is that jealousy I hear, Joyeuse?"

"Jealousy?" The figure turned to face Usoki.

"Yes, I hear the kid's Tier 9 low rank. That's right around how strong you were last year. I hear he's a real prodigy."

"Jealousy? We've seen plenty of so called 'prodigies' come and go, strength isn't the only only quality necessary to succeed."

"I hear he's also really smart too." Usoki giggled.

"If he's as impressive as you say he'll simply prove himself during the recruitment exam. Will he be an outlier or merely another typical data point?" Joyeuse, the knight clarified.

***

There exists three types of lies in this world: Deception, Illusion and Statistics.

***

*Extra Information:

Joyeuse is from Fulgar.

Usoki is from the Wakoku nation.

Shepherd is from Mare.