[March 5th, 2012 - 11:00 AM]
[Asura Academy - Class A Dormitories]
Perspective: Rose Valentine
The morning sun filtered through the heavy silk curtains of my dormitory room, casting a warm, golden hue across the wooden floorboards.
I was currently tangled in my silk sheets, wearing an oversized, obscenely comfortable white t-shirt and loose pajama bottoms. My hair, which was usually pinned and styled to absolute aristocratic perfection, was a chaotic, tangled bird's nest spread across two pillows.
To the outside world, my dorm was likely imagined as a pristine sanctuary of royal elegance.
In reality, it was slightly chaotic.
There were three different teacups resting on my bedside table, a pile of discarded magical theory drafts crumpled near the wastebasket, and a very fluffy, slightly embarrassing stuffed bear tucked under my arm.
The only thing in the room that was perfect was my bookshelf. Hundreds of leather-bound tomes, historical records, and advanced spell-crafting manuals were aligned by color, height, and alphabetical order. I liked reading. A lot.
I twisted in the sheets, letting out a frustrated, muffled groan against the pillow.
I wanted to sleep more. I really wanted to sleep more. My body was exhausted from the constant, high-pressure of being 'Rose Valentine,' but my mind refused to shut down.
Today is an off-day! I reminded myself, staring at the ceiling. The academy is closed today and tomorrow for the festival preparations.
Tomorrow was the Founders' Day Anniversary.
I threw my arm over my eyes, trying to block out the light and the sudden spike of anxiety in my chest.
I really don't want to go.
I remembered the last political gala I was forced to attend. The suffocating dresses, the endless parade of nobles trying to arrange political marriages, the fake smiles, the expectations. I remembered Iris glaring at me from across the ballroom, her eyes burning with that familiar hatred.
I just wanted to stay in bed and read.
Before I could spiral further into my dread, my phone vibrated aggressively on the nightstand.
I blindly reached out, knocking over one of the empty teacups, and grabbed the device.
The caller ID simply read: Cecily.
I pressed accept and put it to my ear.
"Mhm... what is it?" I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep.
"You need to do your job as a moderator." Cecily's soft, whispered voice echoed through the speaker. "Someone added a guy to the girls only chat."
My eyes snapped open. I sat up so fast my stuffed bear went flying across the room.
"They did what?!" I gasped, the sleep instantly vanishing from my system.
The Global Sanctum was the girls-only group chat spanning all three classes. It was a heavily guarded digital blocks.
"A male student," Cecily repeated calmly. "This is a catastrophic breach, Rose. There are four distinct reasons why a male can never be in that chat."
"I know the reasons—"
"First," Cecily continued, ignoring me. "The chat currently contains 23 highly classified rumors regarding the upcoming festival. Second, there are 42 detailed complaints about the male student body's absolute lack of basic hygiene. Third, someone posted a highly debated tier-list of the most attractive boys. And fourth... Someone complained about their menstrual cramps and threatened to burn down the dorms."
I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache forming. "Who added him? And who is the guy?"
"I already know who added him, but I suggest you look for yourself. Good luck, Rose."
The call clicked and ended.
I unlocked my phone, opening the messaging application.
The group chat was currently moving at the speed of light. Notifications were flooding in so fast my phone was physically warming up.
I scrolled up to the very top of the morning's chaos, my eyes widening at the system notification.
`[Red_Scarl has added Koolboy223 to the chat]`
Who in the name of the World is Koolboy223?!
I scrolled down into the active chat, my fingers flying across the screen.
*
[Global Sanctum - Girls Only]
Lady_Rose: WHO IS KOOLBOY223?!
(Rose Valentine)
Red_Scarl: I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! IT WAS A MISTAKE! 😭😭😭
(Scarlet Hearst)
Red_Scarl: I was trying to add him as a friend! I pressed the wrong button! Please don't hate me!
Moon_Princess: Scarlet, how do you accidentally add a boy to the sanctum? This is a disaster.
(Lucia Aethel)
Hazel_M: Literally block him right now. If he reads the boys tier list I'm transferring academies.
(Hazel Mirren)
Del_Nysira 💧: Are you kidding me?! Scarlet, you idiot! I literally just posted about my skin breaking out!
(Delyra Nysira)
Ivy_F: Kick him! Moderators, KICK HIM NOW!
(Ivy Faerydae)
Cressy_V: Scarlet, you have one job... and you failed.
(Cressida Vael)
Sere_Syl: LMAFO typical Class C behavior.
(Serena Sylvester)
Leena_G: Hey, back off Scarlet! She said it was an accident!
(Leena Grelynn)
Kayla_C: It's fine, just kick him before he wakes up. It's 11 AM, boys don't wake up before noon anyway.
(Kayla Caroline)
Elfie_Pink 🌸: WHO
(Elfina)
Elfie_Pink 🌸: WHO IS IN OUR CHAT?!
Lady_Rose: Calm down, everyone. Sylvia, Elfie, or I will kick him. Scarlet, please be more careful with your screen taps next time.
Sylvia_Star 👑: Hold on.
(Sylvia Somerset)
Sylvia_Star 👑: Don't kick him yet. I want to see what happens when he wakes up. This is prime entertainment.
Lady_Rose: Sylvia, absolutely not.
`[Koolboy223 is typing...]`
Viv_Heart: OMG HE'S AWAKE.
(Vivienne Hartwell)
Hazel_M: KICK HIM NOW ROSE!
Koolboy223: yo wsg
(Kaiser Everhart)
Elfie_Pink 🌸: oh hi kai
Elfie_Pink 🌸: WAIT WHY ARE YOU HERE?!
Lady_Rose: ...Kaiser?
Red_Scarl: I'M SORRY KAISER PLEASE LEAVE BEFORE THEY KILL ME!
Koolboy223: why are there 60 girls in my phone screaming at 11 am.
Del_Nysira 💧: Get OUT! You creep! Moderators, kick him!
Moon_Princess: Kaiser Everhart, it is highly inappropriate for you to be here. Remove yourself immediately.
Ivy_F: Ew, it's that Class C deadweight. Why did Scarlet even have his contact? Leave!
Lady_Rose: Elfie, please kick him. I'm trying to find the moderation button but my app is lagging from the spam.
Elfie_Pink 🌸: I can't kick Kai... it's sad :(
Sylvia_Star 👑: LMAO. Elfina is compromised. Rose, you have to do it.
Koolboy223: @Ivy_F calling me a deadweight when your makeup is pure face powder, calm down lil girl
Ivy_V: EXCUSE ME?!
Koolboy223: @Del_Nysira 💧 complaining about breakouts when you don't even drink water. you drink others attention. go hydrate before you speak to me.
Del_Nysira 💧: I WILL KILL YOU!
Koolboy223: you can't even kill your pores properly.
Koolboy223: @Moon_Princess 'highly inappropriate' is crazy coming from someone who uses 5 different fonts in her bio. you're not a royal decree, calm down miss hobo
Moon_Princess: I am a Mooncrest! Have some respect!
Koolboy223: respect is earned, not typed in Times New Roman.
Koolboy223: y'all are mad because i have access to the holy grail of gossip. the tier list is tragic btw. putting Victor at S-tier? the guy breathes through his mouth.
Hazel_M: OH MY GOD HE READ THE TIER LIST. MY LIFE IS OVER.
Lady_Rose: Kaiser, please. Stop antagonizing them and leave.
Koolboy223: i'm not trapped in here with you. you're trapped in here with me.
`[Koolboy223 has added Rigel_Gamer to the chat]`
`[Koolboy223 has added xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx to the chat]`
Lady_Rose: KAISER NO!
Rigel_Gamer: ???
(Rigel Ravin)
Rigel_Gamer: What is the meaning of this? Why are there so many women here? Kaiser, explain yourself.
Elfie_Pink 🌸: @Leena_G RIGEL IS HERE!
Leena_G: OMG RIGEL HI!!!
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: whats up ladies? wanted me so sooN? the Dark Wolf is ready to hunt.
(Axel)
Sere_Syl: EW.
Cressy_V: EW.
Hazel_M: EW.
Del_Nysira 💧: I AM THROWING MY PHONE OUT THE WINDOW.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: ...tough crowd. As expected. Don't be shy now.
Koolboy223: Axel, you're ruining my siege. be quiet.
Lady_Rose: KAISER EVERHART! STOP ADDING GUYS THIS INSTANT OR I WILL PERSONALLY COME DOWN TO CLASS C AND FREEZE YOUR ENTIRE DORMITORY!
I hovered my thumb over the 'Remove User' button on Kaiser's profile. I could end this right now.
But my thumb hesitated.
I remembered him sitting next to me on the tavern roof. I remembered his surprisingly warm voice, calling me the greatest sister in the universe. I remembered how he made the suffocating weight on my chest disappear, even just for a night.
I sighed, pulling my thumb away.
I'll just... watch for a minute.
Koolboy223: @Lady_Rose freeze it. the AC is broken anyway.
Rigel_Gamer: I will not partake in this foolishness. Good day.
`[Rigel_Gamer has gone offline]`
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: beta male behavior.
Sylvia_Star 👑: Girls, are we really going to let a guy with 'Koolboy' in his name and a guy quoting alpha-male podcasts talk to us like this?
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: Finally. I was waiting for permission.
(Belial Selar)
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: @xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx you look like a depressed wet rat wearing a garbage bag. take off that stupid trench coat, you're not an assassin you're a target practice dummy.
Alais_B: COOK HIM BELIAL!
(Alais)
Rinsha_G: OMFG SHE DESTROYED HIM.
(Rinsha Giesto)
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: @Hellfire_Belial 🔥 at least i don't look like an overgrown lizard. go clean your horns, they have worms on them.
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: I will rip out your spine and use it as a skipping rope.
Koolboy223: @Alais_B telling someone to 'cook' when you literally burned water in alchemy class last week. how do you burn a liquid.
Koolboy223: @Beatrice_D you're laughing but i saw your diary entry about Victor. 'his eyes are like nature' no they aren't.
Beatrice_D: HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY DIARY?!
(Beatrice Danvers)
Elfie_Pink 🌸: GET EM KAI!!
Leena_G: LOL THIS IS SO CHAOTIC GO AXEL GO KAI!!
Valeska_L: @Koolboy223 you're literally a 12/100 rank deadweight. you survive off pity.
(Valeska L'Angela)
Falael_F: literally! Kaiser has the magical capacity of a dead goldfish.
(Falael)
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: @Falael_F and you have the personality of a wet tissue.
Koolboy223: @Valeska_L you survive off your parents' trust fund and you still buy your outfits from the discount bin at the plaza. tragic.
Mira_A: I HATE THEM SO MUCH.
(Mira Ashveil)
Del_Nysira 💧: KICK THEM KICK THEM KICK THEM!
Ivy_F: ROSE KICK THEM!
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: running to the mods because you can't handle the heat. pathetic.
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: 15 of us and 2 of you. you're outmatched, incels.
Koolboy223: oh really?
Koolboy223: watch this. i'm bringing in the heavy artillery.
Koolboy223: the ultimate sigma male.
`[Koolboy223 has added Lucas_Lion to the chat]`
Lady_Rose: Wait... what?!
Moon_Princess: LUCAS REINDHARDT?!
Sere_Syl: OMG THE LION?!
Cressy_V: WHY IS HE HERE?!
Lady_Rose: Kaiser, how did you add him?! He never accepts friend requests!
Koolboy223: you don't need to be added to add someone to a group chat.
Lucas_Lion: ?
(Lucas Reindhardt)
Del_Nysira 💧: Please leave, Your Highness! It's a trap!
Ivy_F: Kaiser added you to our safe space to troll us!
Lucas_Lion: I see.
Lucas_Lion: Why was I summoned to this den of cackling hens?
Hazel_M: EXCUSE ME?!
Alais_B: CACKLING HENS?!
Koolboy223: Lucas we need backup. it's a 2v15.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: yeah bro, help us hunt.
Lucas_Lion: I decline.
Lucas_Lion: A lion hunts alone. He does not associate with hyenas in a mud pit.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: @Lucas_Lion shut up you overgrown golden retriever. your hair looks like a mop soaked in butter.
Koolboy223: Axel wait, he's on our side.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: oh mb. friendly fire.
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: @Lucas_Lion lion? you're a pampered house cat with a complex.
Sylvia_Star 👑: He really thinks he's the apex predator while typing on a digital screen. Cute.
Moon_Princess: Your profile picture is literally just you looking away from the camera. So pretentious.
Valeska_L: 'A lion hunts alone' 🤓☝️
Rinsha_G: Golden retriever energy but trying to be edgy.
Beatrice_D: Go back to polishing your nose in the mirror, weirdo.
Del_Nysira 💧: LMAO he got quiet.
Ivy_F: He's probably crying into his pillow.
Lucas_Lion: ...
Lucas_Lion: @Hellfire_Belial 🔥
Lucas_Lion: @Sylvia_Star 👑
Lucas_Lion: @Moon_Princess
Lucas_Lion: @Valeska_L
Lucas_Lion: @Rinsha_G
Lucas_Lion: @Beatrice_D
Lucas_Lion: @Del_Nysira 💧
Lucas_Lion: @Ivy_F
Lucas_Lion: shut your bubble gum dumb musty dusty crusty weird itchy disrespectfully disgusting annoying chicken leg jack frost wannabe gay elsa lettuce head salt slug brunt pasta bumbling shit muffin autistic homophobic toe-eyes failed abortion attempt wet sock oiled up black man rat dipped in oil expired coupon squeaky grocery cart weak condom doo doo head nerdy diaper men cocky dick insecure slender men shrek period blood infectious racist scumbag skin tone chicken bone google chrome no home flip phone disowned ice cream cone garden gnome extra chromosome metronome dimmadome genome full blown monochrome student loan indiana jones overgrown flintstone x and y hormone friend zoned sylvester stallone sierra leone autozone professionally seen silver patrone head ass tf up
The entire chat froze.
The scrolling stopped. For a solid thirty seconds, nobody typed a single word.
I stared at my phone, completely and utterly speechless. My jaw was physically unhinged.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: 🚬🚬🚬🚬
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: 💨💨💨💨
Koolboy223: 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁
`[Lucas_Lion has left the chat]`
`[xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx has added Lucas_Lion to the chat]`
Lucas_Lion: Who wants a fight now?
Moon_Princess: What... what does 'gormless minger' mean?
Alais_B: Did he just call us oiled up rats?
Rinsha_G: I am genuinely terrified right now.
Beatrice_D: Wait, what does the x and y chromosome mean?! Is he insulting my genetics?!
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: He is speaking in tongues. I respect the aggression, but the execution is deeply unhinged.
Sylvia_Star 👑: Your Highness, are you having a stroke? Do we need to call the royal medics?
Del_Nysira 💧: I feel violated and I don't even know what half of those words mean.
Hazel_M: My brain just blue-screened.
Lucas_Lion: The lion does not explain his roar to the sheep.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: TALK TO EM KING!
Koolboy223: absolute cinema.
Leena_G: Since when do Axel and Kaiser work together?!
Elfie_Pink 🌸: idk but it's kinda funny
Koolboy223: @Elfie_Pink 🌸 make me admin.
Elfie_Pink 🌸: okie!
Lady_Rose: WHAT?! ELFINA, NO! DO NOT MAKE HIM AN ADMIN! HE WILL DELETE THE ENTIRE SERVER!
Moon_Princess: DO NOT GIVE THE DEADWEIGHT POWER! ELFINA, SNAP OUT OF IT!
Sylvia_Star 👑: Elfina, I will personally find you if you give that sociopath admin rights.
Elfie_Pink 🌸: oh... wait you're right. sorry kai I can't :(
Koolboy223: :(
Elfie_Pink 🌸: I'M SORRY I'M MAKING YOU ADMIN RIGHT NOW!
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: LETS GO! kaiser leak the groupchat! leak the noble secrets!
Sylvia_Star 👑: Enough of this.
Sylvia_Star 👑: @xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx you are a walking manifestation of second-hand embarrassment. You try so hard to be intimidating, but you just look like you need a hug and a shower.
Hellfire_Belial 🔥: @Koolboy223 you talk a lot for someone who has to rely on gadgets because his mana veins are drier than the desert. you're practically disabled.
Moon_Princess: @Lucas_Lion and you, Your Lionass, are a disgrace. A spoiled, arrogant child who hides behind a screen because in reality, you have no real friends.
xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx: oh hell nah, kaiser let me at them.
Koolboy223: pause axel.
Koolboy223: they just picked a fight with the lion.
Lucas_Lion: Listen here you toe-eyed cabbage, i wasnt born into this world so your fat ass could choke out low level insults at me. I hope you stub your toe in the dark and have to crawl around your bedroom at 3:47am in horrific pain after going to the kitchen for a midnight snack of cheese and crackers you absolute gormless minger
Once again, the chat completely froze.
The sheer, concentrated toxicity of the lion was so overwhelming that not a single girl dared to type.
`[Sylvia_Star 👑 has removed Lucas_Lion from the chat]`
`[Sylvia_Star 👑 has removed xX_DarkWolf_Alpha_Xx from the chat]`
`[Sylvia_Star 👑 has removed Rigel_Gamer from the chat]`
Sylvia_Star 👑: Kaiser. Any last words?
Koolboy223: 😱
`[Sylvia_Star 👑 has removed Koolboy223 from the chat]`
Moon_Princess: Good riddance.
Ivy_F: I feel like I just survived a war.
Del_Nysira 💧: Rose! Elfina! Why didn't you kick them earlier?!
Cressy_V: Seriously, the moderators completely failed us today.
Elfie_Pink 🌸: I'm sorry guys!
Lady_Rose: I apologize. I was... too stunned to act. It won't happen again.
Sylvia_Star 👑: Don't blame the mods. Blame yourselves.
Sylvia_Star 👑: 15 of you got absolutely roasted and psychologically devastated by three boys. It was pathetic, but deeply entertaining. I'm going back to sleep.
I put my phone face down on the mattress, letting out a long, heavy exhale.
I couldn't stop the small, genuine smile that tugged at the corners of my lips. It was chaotic, deeply inappropriate, and absolutely hilarious.
But as my mind replayed the text exchanges, the analytical side of my brain kicked in.
Lucas Reindhardt is neither an ally nor a foe. He's simply a force of nature that does whatever amuses him.
But Kaiser...
Why did he purposefully make himself look so bad in front of the girls? He acted like a petty, arrogant troll. He was intentionally drawing their hatred, turning himself into a cartoonish villain so that the girls would unite against him instead of fighting each other over the leaked rumors.
He always played the fool. He always hid his true intellect behind a mask of mediocrity.
I don't understand him.
I sat up in bed, looking at the time. It was almost noon.
Wait... it's an off-day.
He might be at the Rustlantern tavern.
I had been so busy with academy preparations and noble meetings that I hadn't had the time to meet him. He was absent for the past two days during the weekend, completely off the grid. I had literally gone to the tavern twice looking for him, and he wasn't there.
I want to see him.
I quickly shook my head, my cheeks flushing slightly. It's not like I can tell him that. I just... want to observe him. For research purposes.
I threw off the covers and moved to my wardrobe. My room was still a mess, but I didn't care. I pulled out my disguise—the one I used when I wanted to escape the suffocating walls of the academy.
Ten minutes later, 'Rose Valentine' was gone.
In her place stood 'Priscilla.' I wore a simple, beautiful A-line sundress in a soft, pastel blue. It was completely unremarkable by noble standards, but it fit me perfectly. I let my hair down, allowing it to fall naturally instead of pinning it into an aristocratic style. I slipped on a pair of plain white sandals and cast a minor illusion spell to slightly dull the piercing sharpness of my eyes.
I snuck out of the dormitories, taking the discreet mana-bus routes toward the outer rings.
*
[Rustlantern - Tavern]
The bell above the tavern door chimed as I pushed it open.
The familiar scent of stale ale, roasted meat, and motor oil filled the air. The tavern was relatively quiet for a morning.
Cliffhanger was wiping down the counter with a dirty rag. He looked up, his one good eye squinting at me before he gave a gruff nod.
"Good morning, Cliffhanger." I greeted politely, my voice soft.
He grunted something incomprehensible in return, pointing a thumb toward the back corner booth.
I turned my head.
Kaiser was sitting there. He wasn't wearing his academy uniform. He was dressed in a casual, slightly oversized grey hoodie and faded black cargo pants. It was such a normal, ordinary boy outfit that it took me a second to process it.
He was entirely focused on the table in front of him. He had completely dismantled an old, bulky radio, and was currently unscrewing the motherboard with a tiny, precise screwdriver. His brows were furrowed in concentration.
I looked down at my pastel blue sundress, suddenly feeling slightly over-dressed for a dirty tavern, but I pushed the thought away.
"Good morning, Kaiser." I said, sliding into the wooden booth opposite him.
He didn't look up immediately. He finished unscrewing a tiny bolt, placed it meticulously into a small magnetic tray, and then finally raised his eyes.
"Priscilla." He greeted, his voice holding its usual flat, clinical calmness. "You look less suffocated today."
I couldn't help but smile slightly at his blunt observation. "It's an off-day. I decided to dress comfortably. I haven't seen you around for the past two days. Where have you been?"
"Underground." Kaiser replied, picking up a pair of tweezers. "I was in the abandoned mining tunnels beneath the city. I had to negotiate a territory dispute with the vengeful spirit of a 9-year-old girl and exterminate a nest of a brain-eating parasite."
I stared at him. I waited for him to smile, to indicate it was a joke.
His expression remained completely deadpan as he extracted a burnt copper wire from the radio.
"You... you are joking, right?" I asked, my voice faltering as I realized he was entirely serious. Wait. parasites? A vengeful spirit? That is a hazard zone!
"I rarely joke about resource acquisition." Kaiser stated smoothly. He set the tweezers down and looked at me. "How was your morning? Did you do anything productive?"
"It was... eventful." I admitted, a genuine laugh escaping my lips as I remembered the group chat. "I witnessed a massacre. It was quite a funny morning, actually."
"Fascinating." Kaiser nodded, completely oblivious to the fact that he was the perpetrator of said massacre.
"Are you an engineer, Kaiser? You always seem to be dismantling things."
"No. Engineers build bridges and follow safety regulations." He replied, reaching into his heavy backpack. "I am a learning scientist. I solve problems."
He pulled out a small, lead-lined containment box and popped the latch.
My breath hitched.
Resting inside the velvet-lined box were three jagged chunks of raw, glowing blue ore. The ambient mana radiating from them was so dense it made the air taste like ozone.
"Is that... Aldermite?" I whispered, leaning in closer.
Aldermite was incredibly rare, heavily regulated by the Imperial military for high-tier weaponry.
"It is." Kaiser confirmed, using insulated tongs to carefully place a small shard near the radio's modified power core.
"You can't just put raw Aldermite into a civilian radio!" I protested, my instincts immediately flaring. "The mana conversion rate is too volatile. Without a proper runic stabilization array, the energetic feedback loop will fry the entire motherboard. It's impossible to balance without at least three focusing crystals."
Kaiser looked at me, then looked at the radio.
He grabbed a roll of thick, black electrical tape and slapped it directly over the Aldermite shard, aggressively taping it down to the copper contacts.
"There. Stabilized." He said flatly.
My eye twitched. "That is tape. That is literally just tape."
"It's non-conductive."
"It defies every law of magical thermodynamics!" I argued, gesturing to the sloppy wiring. "It's messy. It's inelegant. If my professors saw that, they would fail you on the spot."
"Your professors care about how a machine looks on a chalkboard." Kaiser retorted, flipping a switch on the side of the radio. The device hummed to life, a steady green light blinking on the receiver. "I care about whether it turns on. Perfection is the enemy of progress, Priscilla."
I crossed my arms, huffing quietly.
I hated how right he was. The radio was working perfectly, despite looking like it was held together by spit and tape.
Kaiser checked his watch and began packing up his tools. "I'd love to stay and debate the merits of electrical tape, but I have to go."
"Go?" I repeated, feeling a sudden, sharp spike of disappointment. I had just gotten here. "Where are you going?"
"I need more parts to boost the communication distance." He explained, zipping his bag. "A signal amplifier, a capacitor, a dual-band transceiver, and some heavy-duty antenna coils. I have to go to a small industrial town on the outskirts. I'll see you later."
He stood up, slinging the heavy backpack over his shoulder, and walked toward the tavern door.
I sat in the booth, staring at his retreating back.
I should go back to the academy... my logical brain supplied. I have to be at the Imperial Palace by 4 PM for the Founders' Day dress fittings. If my father finds out I skipped, he'll be furious.
But then I realized something.
I was smiling. I had been sitting here for less than ten minutes, arguing about electrical tape, and I was genuinely having fun. The crushing weight of being the 'Genius Rose Valentine' didn't matter.
For the first time in my life, I didn't care about my father's judgment.
I stood up, smoothing down my sundress, and hurried out the door after him.
"Kaiser, wait!" I called out, jogging to catch up with him on the cobblestone street.
He stopped, turning around with a raised eyebrow. "Priscilla. Did you forget something?"
"I'm coming with you." I stated firmly.
"No, you aren't." Kaiser replied instantly. "The industrial towns in the outer rings are unregulated. It can be risky and dangerous for a young girl. Go home."
"I am perfectly capable of handling myself!" I argued, adopting my most stubborn tone. "Besides, you're just a kid. You shouldn't go alone."
"I am highly armed."
"And I am highly stubborn."
Kaiser let out a long, suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Listen to me. Cliffhanger's tavern is the safest place in this district. Just wait inside for an hour. I'll be back."
I frowned, looking back at the rundown, wooden building. "That tavern? The safest place in all of Asura?"
Kaiser smirked, a dark, knowing glint in his eyes. "Yes. The absolute safest."
Before I could question him further, a massive, deafening BOOM echoed from the street behind the tavern. The ground shook violently, rattling the windows of the nearby shops. A plume of black smoke spiraled into the sky.
I flinched, spinning around in shock.
Kaiser didn't even blink. He just continued to smirk, casually adjusting his backpack straps as the screams of panicked merchants filled the air.
"Come on then." He said, turning away. "Try to keep up."
*
We walked for 20 minutes toward the edge of the upper capital's transportation hub.
The architecture here shifted from the pristine, white-marble elegance of the inner city to a more brutalist, functional design. Massive brass clocktowers loomed over the streets, and the air smelled heavily of refined coal and mana-exhaust. The transportation network relied on large, armored mana-buses that connected the outer industrial rings to the capital.
"So," I started, trying to keep pace with his long strides. "If you aren't an engineer, what exactly is your goal with the radio? Are you trying to contact aliens?"
"I am setting up an encrypted surveillance network." Kaiser answered casually.
"Of course you are." I rolled my eyes. "Because normal boys just play sports. Only you would build a wire-tap out of scrap metal."
"Information is the most valuable currency in the empire."
"And electrical tape is your weapon of choice?"
"Don't mock the tape, Priscilla. It holds the universe together."
We reached the primary bus stand. It was completely empty.
I checked the brass schedule board mounted on the wall. "The 12:30 bus to the outer rings just left. The next one isn't for another hour. We missed it."
Kaiser narrowed his eyes, scanning the street. "No, we didn't."
He pointed down the block. A large, heavily armored mana-bus was parked near a dark alleyway, its engine idling quietly.
Kaiser walked up to the folding doors and knocked aggressively on the reinforced glass. Nothing happened. The tinted windows made it impossible to see inside.
"I'm a passenger! Open the door!" Kaiser shouted, banging his fist against the glass.
"Kaiser, it's empty." I sighed, tugging on his sleeve. "The driver probably went on a break. We just have to wait."
"I don't do waiting." Kaiser muttered. He took a few steps back, analyzed the side of the bus, and then grabbed a protruding exhaust pipe. With terrifying agility, he scaled the side of the bus and hauled himself onto the roof.
"Kaiser! What are you doing?!" I hissed, looking around nervously.
"The emergency roof hatch is unlocked!" His voice called down from above. "Climb up!"
"I am wearing a dress!" I whisper-shouted, utterly horrified by the lack of decorum.
"Then close your eyes while you climb!"
I groaned, questioning every life choice that had led me to this exact moment. Gathering the hem of my sundress, I clumsily scaled the side of the bus, my heart pounding in my chest.
Kaiser grabbed my hand and pulled me through the roof hatch. We dropped down onto the metal floor of the bus with a heavy thud.
I stood up, brushing the dust off my dress. "This is breaking and entering. This is highly illegal."
"It's public transit." Kaiser said, walking toward the front. He pulled a single copper coin from his pocket and tossed it into the driver's fare box.
"Two tickets to Pendleton, please."
He turned around to face the back of the bus.
I froze.
The bus wasn't empty.
There were about twelve passengers huddled in the back seats, their hands raised in the air, trembling in sheer terror.
Standing in the aisle were four men dressed in ragged, dark cloaks, their faces obscured by grim, bone-white masks.
They looked like cultists.
One of them was pressing a jagged, blood-stained sword directly against the driver's throat.
The cultist nearest to us spun around, raising a heavy crossbow and pointing it directly at Kaiser's neck. Three other cultists aimed their weapons at me.
"The bus..." A terrified passenger whispered from the back, sobbing quietly. "The bus has been hijacked..."
I stood entirely still. My heart hammered against my ribs. My mind instantly began calculating the magica needed to defeat all four targets simultaneously, but the enclosed space and the hostages made it a nightmare. I can't use high-tier magic here without killing the passengers or revealing my identity!
I looked over at Kaiser, expecting him to be panicking.
Kaiser looked at the crossbow pointed at his throat. He looked at the cultist. He looked at the copper coin he had just dropped into the fare box.
"Can I get a refund?" Kaiser asked, his voice entirely flat and laced with profound annoyance.
The cultist holding the crossbow blinked behind his mask.
The leader of the group—a towering, heavily muscled man wearing a jagged bone mask painted with crimson streaks—stepped forward. His dark cloak was lined with throwing knives and explosive pouches, giving him the iconic, unhinged look of an outer-ring warlord.
The man reached out, his massive, calloused hand grabbing Kaiser firmly by the ear and hauling him forward. Another cultist instantly snatched Kaiser's heavy backpack.
I immediately threw my hands up in the air, trying to look as harmless as possible.
"Who the hell are you?!" Terror barked, his voice booming like thunder in the enclosed bus. "Are you military?! City guard?!"
"I'm a boy." Kaiser replied simply, leaning into the ear-grab so it wouldn't tear his cartilage.
"I like radios. I paid a copper for a ticket. I would like it back."
The three lesser cultists pulled off their masks, gasping for air as the cheap bone material clearly restricted their breathing.
"He's lying, boss." The first cultist—a twitchy, paranoid man missing half his teeth—hissed. "Look at his eyes. Dead. Cold. He's an undercover spy for the Imperial Royal Guard!"
"Nah, he's an assassin." The second one—a hulking brute with a tribal tattoo across his forehead—grunted.
"Or a bounty hunter!" The third, a young, nervous-looking rookie, added. "He dropped in from the roof! Only professionals drop from the roof!"
Kaiser sighed. "I only wanted to engineer a radio. I didn't want to become a sacrifice in a cult today."
Terror's eyes narrowed. He released Kaiser's ear, only to deliver a sharp, stinging slap across Kaiser's face. The smack echoed through the bus. Terror grabbed him by the collar this time, lifting him slightly off the ground.
"Do you know who I am?!" Terror roared, spittle flying from his lips.
"I am Lord Terror! The Butcher of the Black Market! The arsonist of the West Ward orphanage! The mastermind behind the Great Mana Bank heist of '08! The smuggler of forbidden blood-magic artifacts! The man who poisoned the Duke's prized stallions! The sole survivor of the Crimson Wastes massacre, and the man who currently holds your pathetic life in his hands!"
Terror shook him. "Do you now know who I am?!"
Kaiser looked at him, completely unfazed by the physical assault.
"You are Lord Terror." Kaiser recited, his voice monotone and perfectly paced. "The Butcher of the Black Market. The arsonist of the West Ward orphanage. The mastermind behind the Great Mana Bank heist of 2008. The smuggler of forbidden blood-magic artifacts. The man who poisoned the Duke's prized stallions. The sole survivor of the Crimson Wastes massacre, and the man who currently holds my life in his hands."
Terror's eyes widened in absolute shock. He dropped Kaiser, taking a terrified step back.
He spun around to look at his three men. "Who amongst you betrayed me?! How the hell does he know who I am?!"
I stared at Terror. I stared at his men.
...What?
My brain completely stalled. You just told him! You literally just listed your crimes to his face less than five seconds ago! Are you clinically brain-damaged?!
"Boss, it wasn't me!" The twitchy cultist cried out, dropping his crossbow. "I sacrificed my favorite goat for you yesterday!"
"I drank the blood oath!" The brute yelled. "I don't even know your last name!"
"I just joined on Tuesday!" The rookie panicked. "I swear to the dark lord I didn't leak your files!"
While they were having a mental breakdown, the brute grabbed Kaiser's backpack and unzipped it. "Boss! Let's see what the Imperial spy is carrying!"
He tipped the bag upside down over an empty bus seat.
Clank. Thud. Cling.
The cultists went entirely silent as the items spilled out.
First, a standard radio motherboard. Then, a roll of electrical tape.
Then, a jagged, unsheathed military-grade combat knife.
A pair of brass knuckles laced with paralyzing poison.
Four smoke grenades.
A highly illegal, military-grade flashbang.
A compact, collapsible grappling hook.
Two sticks of concentrated C4 mining explosives.
A detonator.
And a small, velvet-lined box glowing with the lethal, volatile energy of raw Aldermite.
The three cultists and Terror slowly looked up from the terrifying arsenal, staring at Kaiser.
"It's for research..." Kaiser said flatly.
Terror's gaze slowly shifted away from the explosives and landed on me. He pointed a trembling finger at my pastel blue sundress.
"And who the hell is she?!"
"She is my sister." Kaiser replied.
"A terrorist!" Terror yelled, pointing his sword at me. "She's a terrorist too!"
"WHO, ME?!" I gasped, placing a hand on my chest in sheer outrage.
I was the crowned princess of the Empire!
"Names! Give me your names right now!" Terror demanded, the tip of his sword hovering inches from my neck.
"I'm Kaiser. She is Priscilla."
"Priscilla the Bomber!" The rookie cultist gasped, pointing at my sandals. "She looks innocent, but she's probably hiding grenades under that dress!"
"I am wearing a sundress!" I argued, my perfectionism and noble pride overriding my sense of self-preservation.
"There are no pockets! Where would I even hide a grenade?!"
"That's exactly what a terrorist would say!" Terror accused. "You two tracked us down! You came here to bomb my hijacking operation!"
"We missed our bus." Kaiser corrected him.
"Lies! You are imperial operatives sent to assassinate me! You think your smarter than me, don't you?!"
"It's you're." I corrected automatically, unable to stop myself. "You used the possessive form instead of the contraction for 'you are'."
The brute cultist instantly reached out and slapped the back of Kaiser's head. "Are you trying to teach our Lord Terror English?!"
"I didn't say anything!" The Kaiser said.
"Enough!" Terror bellowed, his face turning red under the mask. "Tie them up! Throw them in the back with the rest of the passengers!"
Within moments, rough, abrasive ropes were bound tightly around my wrists and ankles. I was shoved unceremoniously into the back row of the bus, right next to Kaiser.
The bus lurched forward, the engine roaring to life as the cultists took control of the wheel.
I leaned my head back against the dirty window, letting out a furious exhale. I looked over at Kaiser. A bright red handprint was blossoming across his left cheek where Terror had slapped him.
"I cannot believe this." I whispered viciously, leaning in close so the cultists wouldn't hear. "This is your fault. You just had to climb through the roof."
"We didn't want to wait an hour." Kaiser whispered back, his voice completely unbothered.
"We are hostages, Kaiser! We are tied up on a hijacked bus with heavily armed cultists!"
"They won't kill us yet." He replied clinically, adjusting his bound wrists slightly.
"Excuse me?"
"Standard cult operating procedure. They are taking the bus to their outer-ring base. They need fresh recruits. They'll try to convert us into followers through psychological torture and starvation before they decide to execute us."
I stared at him, my eyes wide with shock. He delivered the horrifying news with the casual tone of someone reading a grocery list.
"And you are just... okay with this?!" I demanded in a furious whisper. "How are we going to escape?!"
"We'll make our moves later." Kaiser said calmly. "When they dock the bus."
Before I could tear into his terrible plan, a shadow fell over us.
Lord Terror stood in the aisle, looming over our seat. He leaned down, his bone mask inches from my face.
"Did I interrupt your terrorist bomb plan?" He sneered.
Before I could answer, he pulled a small pouch from his cloak and blew a handful of glittering, purple powder directly into our faces.
I inhaled sharply. The scent of sweet lavender and burnt sugar filled my lungs.
My vision immediately blurred. The brutalist architecture outside the window smeared into abstract colors. I felt Kaiser slump against the window next to me.
My eyelids felt like lead.
I should have... gone to... the dress fitting...
Few hours later...
My consciousness returned slowly, fighting through a thick fog of artificial drowsiness.
My head was pounding. The brutal, jolting rhythm of the bus bumping over unpaved roads vibrated through my bones. I cracked my eyes open, wincing as the dim light of the setting sun filtered through the dirty, tinted windows. It was already turning dark.
I struggled to shift my weight. My wrists and ankles were still tightly bound, the coarse rope biting into my skin. Towards the front of the bus, the dim silhouette of Lord Terror was barking orders at his three cultists, while the civilian passengers whimpered softly in their seats.
I closed my eyes again, my mind instantly locking into problem-solving mode.
I have exactly 3 seconds to cast a multi-layered displacement rune before the nearest cultist can pull the trigger on his crossbow. If I channel my mana through the floorboards to bypass the iron dampeners in the bus chassis, I can trigger a cryogenic freeze targeting the ambient moisture in their respiratory tracts, paralyzing them instantly. The risk is the blast radius; a thermal shockwave in this enclosed space could shatter the windows, and the resulting shrapnel would undoubtedly lacerate the hostages sitting in the front rows. Furthermore, executing a spell of that caliber without a catalyst wand will emit a distinct, sapphire-blue mana signature that is completely unique to the Valentine bloodline. The Imperial Guard tracks unregulated high-tier magic, meaning they will trace the cryogenic anomaly directly to my magical footprint within the hour, completely blowing my disguise and exposing me as the Crown Princess on a hijacked civilian bus. Still, it is the only viable option to neutralize 4 armed hostiles without casualties.
I opened my eyes, scanning our immediate surroundings to factor in environmental variables.
We were shoved into the luggage compartment near the back rows. Surrounding us were the cheap, meager belongings of the outer-ring passengers. There were cardboard boxes of rationed food, a crate of heavily scented commercial soap bars, a pile of worn-out winter coats, a rusted set of farming tools, a broken pocket watch, and a small, handmade wooden toy horse. The sheer poverty of the cargo made our situation feel incredibly dire and isolated.
I took a deep, silent breath, preparing to flood my mana circuits and execute the freeze.
But just as my mana began to spark, I turned my head and realized Kaiser was already awake.
He was staring directly at me through the dim light. He analyzed my tensed posture, realizing exactly what I was about to do.
Then, he smiled. It wasn't his usual flat smirk; it was a genuine, chaotic smile.
Before I could ask what he was doing, Kaiser ducked his head down, pressing his chin tightly against the collarbone of his grey hoodie. He twisted his bound wrists upward at a sickening, double-jointed angle, reached into the collar of his hoodie, and pulled out a small, razor-sharp tactical knife hidden in the fabric seam.
My eyes widened in sheer shock. He had another weapon hidden on him?!
In three rapid, completely silent motions, Kaiser sliced through the thick ropes binding his wrists, freed his ankles, and leaned over to slice my bindings as well. I rubbed my raw wrists, about to whisper my escape plan, but he completely ignored me.
Kaiser reached over and grabbed one of the large, rectangular blocks of commercial soap from the passenger crate next to us.
He pulled a black marker pen from inside his hoodie pocket. With terrifying speed and precision, he drew the exact, 1:1 scale outline of an military-grade heavy pistol directly onto the bar of soap.
He flipped the tactical knife and began carving. Chunks of white soap fell silently to the floor as he rapidly whittled the block down, shaping the barrel, the grip, and the trigger guard. It took him less than forty-five seconds.
He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, travel-sized brush and a tiny bottle of matte-black paint.
I stared at him, my brain completely short-circuiting. Who in the name of the World carries black paint and a brush in their pockets?! Why does he just have that?!
Kaiser swiftly painted the carved soap, the matte-black color perfectly disguising the texture. In the dim, shadowed lighting of the bus, it looked exactly like a lethal, heavy-caliber firearm.
He blew on it for exactly three seconds to dry it.
Then, Kaiser stood up.
He walked silently down the aisle, completely bypassing the three lesser cultists who were arguing over the map. He stepped directly behind Lord Terror, raised the soap-gun, and pressed the cold, painted barrel firmly against the back of the warlord's head.
He grabbed Terror by his greasy hair, yanking him backward.
"Hands up." Kaiser said, his voice dropping into a chilling, commanding register.
Terror froze, the metal sword dropping from his hand. "What... what is that?!"
"This is an Imperial executioner's pistol made from refined Valerion steel." Kaiser lied smoothly, pressing the soap harder against the cultist's skull. "It fires a highly compressed, anti-magic bullet. It will blow a hole through your head the size of a melon. Tell your men to drop their weapons, you bone-faced monkey."
Terror swallowed hard, feeling the firm pressure of the 'barrel'.
"Drop them!" Terror screamed at his men. "Drop the weapons, he has a Valerion gun!"
The twitchy cultist, the brute, and the rookie instantly threw their crossbows and knives to the floor, raising their hands in sheer panic.
"Open the doors." Kaiser commanded.
The bus screeched to a halt on the side of the dark, dirt road. The doors hissed open.
"Out." Kaiser shoved Terror forward. "All of you. Hands on your heads."
The four terrifying, heavily armed cultists stumbled out of the bus, their hands locked behind their heads, trembling in fear of a twelve-year-old boy holding a piece of painted soap.
I stood in the aisle, my hands still hovering near my chest, my mind completely and utterly broken.
Who the hell was I with even?! I thought, staring at Kaiser as he confidently marched the warlord out the door.
All that planning... all those magical calculations I did for a perfect, flawless escape... and he just pulls this stunt?! He carved a gun out of soap?!
I let out a breath that was half-laugh, half-sob, and followed them down the steps into the cool night air.