September 4th, 2018

  “Ah… I think he is upset with us.” Helo says at the breakfast table. He finished eating before everyone else and started going through his notifications on his tablet. A lot of them were about classes starting, which Helo has zero interest in. Sure, some of the classes seemed interesting. But the advanced classes on enchanting or combat are not available for him. As a first year he will spend half the year away from the school, so the classes he can take as electives are limited.

  Swiping away all the notifications Helo finds one that he actually has an interest in. It is from Jorden. Last night they sent him a message about how Helo got himself involved in protecting someone’s store.

  This isn’t something that Jorden would normally worry about. They have one store, a female clothing store, fancy dresses and stuff. It is called ‘The Moon’s Reflection’. Everyone knows that it belongs to the BrightMoon family, so nobody touches it. But getting involved in actively patrolling and guarding certain stores. Well, it will cut into a lot of his free time.

  In his message he describes in detail how he pushed off his graduation and how this next year was supposed to be a mix of vacation, a few graduate classes for his team and making sure Alli and Hinata had backup. But now they are giving him real work to do.

  Alli just waves her hand, “Nah he is fine. Elder Anthony is mostly human, and Shelby is cat beast-kin. He didn’t inherit any beast traits, but he definitely likes to sleep.”

  Tilting his head Helo starts to think about her words. She mentioned that as the son of a cat beast-kin he likes to sleep. Helo has been sleeping a lot more lately. Am I some kind of cat?

  Shaking his head and refocusing he drops the subject. Hinata finishes her own food and turns to Helo. “You are aware of what your expected to do today, right?”

  Slowly nodding he starts to wonder if this is some kind of trick question. “Um… Yeah? Follow you around and look busy. Send everything important to Luna or Aiko?”

  Helo’s lackluster response gets a few snorts from the party and Alli is chuckling off to the side. Hinata wants to tell him that he has more to do, but after a second of thought she realizes he is right. “Huh, yeah I guess that about sums it up.”

  Checking her tablet, she grabs Helo and pushes him away. Looking at the rest of the party, she says. “Go. Get changed, you have class at eight.” Their first class is a history based on that the nobles are already expected to know. As Helo leaves, she shouts after him. “Don’t be late etiquette at ten!”

  Hearing the work ‘etiquette’ makes Helo shiver. He has zero desire to learn how to bow to people, or how to dab his face correctly after eating soup. But he gets changed and meets the party at the front. He is a little surprised when Rocco, Luna, Aiko and Arisah are not changed.

  “We grew up either attached to Alli and Hinata, or as nobles ourselves. We already learned most of this.” Arisah says with a sweet voice. She is extremely empathetic and saw Helo’s confusion.

  “Plus, the heiresses need a guard.” Rocco says with his arms crossed. He might have started to respect Helo, but it doesn’t change the fact he can be standoffish.

  Nodding his head in understanding he leads Rurgrim, Cody, Bibbin, Gabi and Carl to their first class. It doesn’t take them long to find it. The phones and tablets are all connected to what they call the Mana-Net. It is like the internet but uses mana. Each clan has their own servers and ways to access the Mana-Net. But they all do have access, so even using the fancy tablets that were made by the beast-kin people, Helo can access the school’s map from his tablet.

  Everyone is following behind him and talking or laughing. Helo is still walking with his cane. With his attractive and sharp features, black hair, and slightly glowing eyes he cuts quite the figure. Especially since his clothes were modified by Alli to fit him perfectly.

  He draws a lot of attention as he opens the doors and steps into the room. The room looks like a generic classroom with stepped seating. There is a door at the back of the class, and another smaller door at the front. The aura around him is subdued but powerful, like a restrained beast. Following behind him the five others all unconsciously flank him. This display lets everyone know that he is someone special.

  Ignoring all the gazes Helo finds a cluster of desks and takes a seat. He grimaces as he plants himself in the corner back seat. He knows how it looks; it is the anime protagonist seat. But he wasn’t putting much thought into where he was going, and this seat is where his instincts directed him.

  The corner location means that the five others can array in a semi-circle. The sloped seating means he is in the high ground. Finally, being in the back mean’s that nobody is behind him. Setting his head on his desk a little too hard, Gabi laughs. “Ha, you’re setting yourself up to be the main character, Helo.” Slapping her knee everyone in the class relaxes a little. They can see his embarrassment and how his party is joking around with him. There are over one-hundred people in the class, and each is a first-year like them.

  With his head on his desk his aura slips free. Not enough to pressure those around him, or even enough for people to feel it, although that is mostly because of Helo’s own skill at concealing his aura. Especially since nobody in the room has their own auras awakened. It is just enough for him to get a feel for the levels of power in the classroom.

  He isn’t surprised when nobody is in the second tier. But he is a little surprised that nobody is even close to high tier 1. Turning to Carl he asks, “Why is everyone here so weak?”

  Carl gives him a pondering look and then Helo can see as he decides. “Sir Helo, I mean this as a way to enlighten your understanding, not as disrespect.” Helo just tilts his head and nods for him to continue. “You have no idea about the baseline of our community. You went from a homeless orphan. To the confidant of two heiresses.”

  Helo takes a second to answer, but he thinks he understands “So they are not weak. My expectations are just flawed?”

  Carl and everyone else around him nod their heads. “Ohhh yeah.” Gabi says with a chuckle. “Rocco told us about how you paid someone with a random enchanted item.”

  Helo looks at her in confusion, “It was one of my practice pieces, it was basically worthless.”

  Gabi laughs again. Chuckling her slaps her legs again. Helo’s eyes are drawn to the way her arguably thick thighs are jiggling. But he doesn’t focus long. Looking back up, Gabi eventually stops laughing. “Yeah, worthless to you, but to normal people. That was a small fortune. What did it even do?”

  Helo just sits there in silence, eventually all he says is “Oh.” After another minute of silence, he says. “It created a small radius of heat. But with our increased endurance it was pretty much worthless.”

  Gabi just smacks her head. Rurgrim steps in, “I got this missy.” He says to Gabi. “Helo, that would have probably sold for a gold piece, maybe with some extra silver.”

  Helo’s face doesn’t change. He has no idea how much a gold piece is worth. Actually, he has a few hundred in his necklace. In the end he just shrugs.

  “He’s a lost cause.” Rurgrim sighs and leans back in his seat. The rest of the group shakes their heads.

  To Helo’s surprise it is Bibbin that is having the hardest time accepting Helo’s nonchalance with wealth. In a soft voice, that is closer to a squeak he speaks up. “One gold could feed a family for a month. Bronze, Silver and Gold are what most of the multiverse runs on. They keep their value into tier 2. For most of the universe tier 2 is the highest they will go. At tier 3 people start using mana cores and crystals.”

  That is the longest Bibbin has even spoken to Helo, and he isn’t sure how to react. He doesn’t want to scare Bibbin by talking. But at the same time, he is interested in what he mentioned. He never realized how lucky he ended up being. Before he can say anything the door at the front of the classroom slams closed.

  Looking toward the front of the classroom Helo can see a large man walking in. He steps onto the stage, and he wears a coat like everyone else at school, but his clothes underneath is different. He has a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of khaki pants on. As he reaches the center he turns and bares to the class his full glory. The man’s shirt is barely closed, and his chest hair is bursting forth like a mighty bear.

  “HELLO. Dear students.” A voice bursts forth from the man like he is using some kind of roar skill. But no mana was used, this is just the sheer power of the man’s lungs. “I am Professor Thoe Ronulus.”

  “This is a class that you might not be excited about. But I can assure you that you will find this class much more interesting than you expected. With me, you all will be exploring how the world has developed and how we awakened played a role in the world’s growth, or in some places where we might have hindered it.”

  The man’s powerful voice draws in the students, and they all seem to focus on the man. For a moment Helo is worried that some kind of mental skill is being used. But entering meditation he can see that all his mental energy is flowing smoothly. Helo realizes that this is just pure charisma, the man is just that good at talking.

  The class lasts for another fifty minutes and in that time, they go over the syllabus for the class. They will be learning a lot about major wars in history and the part the awakened have taken in them. They will also learn about how they helped shape technology.

  As the class ends Helo and the party get up from their seats. As Helo is packing his bag he looks up and sees all the eyes in the class on him. Nobody is leaving and for a second, he thinks they are waiting for him to give a speech. Before he can make a fool of himself Gabi grabs his arm and pulls him out of the class. “Come on idiot.”

  Out of the classroom Gabi lets go of Helo and he stands up straight. “What was that about?” He says to her with some annoyance in his voice.

  “Nobody was going to leave without you leaving first.” Gabi answers like it is obvious.

  Helo is just baffled. “Why? That’s dumb.”

  Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Helo looks behind him. Cody is standing there like a massive cold radiator. Once Helo is turned around, he taps Helo on the chest a few times, then he clenches his fist.

  It takes a second and then Helo asks. “I am the strongest, so they waited for me?” At that Cody nods.

  “Helo, everyone in this class is probably a civilian whose parents saved up to get their child into this school. They were repeatedly warned that anyone with power can do whatever they want. Nobody wanted to offend you.” Gabi says.

  “Oh… That is a little sad. But having met people like Dorimer, I can see it.” Helo says and just shrugs. He sympathizes with them. But that isn’t really something he has to worry about. The rest of the group just shake their heads and follow him. They are in the middle of the school town. Helo finds a nice spot to sit and decides to wait for Alli and Hinata. They found a nice, shaded table at a diner.

  He has very low expectations for his next two classes. Both are meant for Nobles and Helo just knows it will be filled with drama. “How many noble first years are their anyway.” He says to the air. “The only other person I have heard about is Maria.”

  Putting his next class out of his mind Helo has an hour before he has to go there. Pulling out a notebook filled with his enchanting sketches he starts going over some of his designs. He has put a lot of work into enchantments that generate or move energy. But he is trying to finalize the enchantment for his second dagger.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Helo gets a little zoned out sketching, erasing, and thinking through his work. As he is doing this the group around him is ordering their food and enjoying the area. Not paying much attention to the world around him, he does come back to when he feels a cold gaze on his back.

  Quickly looking up and turning around he can see Dorimer walk past. His face is full of rage, and his unconscious aura is projecting it to the world around him. “What poor emotional control.” Helo mutters to himself.

  Dorimer is walking past with another man a half step behind him. Following them there are five women. Watching them walk past Helo starts to wonder. Did he turn his party into a harem?

  Letting his aura slip out he uses it to get a feel for Dorimer and his party as they pass. Helo is a little surprised that Dormier is only glaring, he expected a lot more from the arrogant elf. “It seems he is listening to the favor I got from his father. I wonder how long it will last.”

  As the party gets into range he starts to estimate their strength. Dorimer and the man that is following him are both tier 2. This doesn’t surprise him much. It is the expectation that noble will reach tier 2 before their second year. When they are past Helo continues to follow them with his gaze. Off in the distance Alli and Hinata are walking up from the same way.

  “Huh.” Helo checks the time and is surprised that it has been over thirty minutes. Continuing to watch, Dorimer seems to try and talk to Alli. She just ignores him and keeps walking. Dorimer turns back like he wants to argue, but the man that is with him grabs his arm and keeps pilling him forward.

  Watching the whole thing go down, Helo just laughs as he can see Dorimer’s anger. Alli just looks smug as she walks up to him. “Ready to go? We have a class to get to.”

  With a nod, Helo gets up and they leave the rest of the group behind. Following Alli and Hinata they lead him to the classes for Noble students. The entire way he is complaining, “Why do I even need to be here?”, “What is the reason for this?” and “This is so stupid.”

  Alli chuckles at his demeanor and Hinata is just shaking her head in exasperation. They have told him many times about how this works. The Personal Guard is like the right hand of the person. School has them start early.

  Following the girls they lead him to a large and beautifully crafted building. The entire structure appears to be made from marble, and it shines in the morning light. Coming in and out of the building are students with more power than every single student in Helo’s previous class. Most of them even have their heads in the air and are strutting around like they are special.

  He chuckles a little but at the thought that he will still kick any of their asses. There are a lot of students going into the building with them and Helo is dismayed to realize that most of them are heading the same way that he is. I really didn’t think there would be so many nobles.

  Entering the classroom, it looks surprisingly similar to the one Helo was in earlier in the morning. He is a little disappointed, he was expected bejeweled walls and gold desk. Instead, it is the same, the only difference is the size of the class and that the walls are painted white. The classroom is a bit smaller, and it is about half full right now.

  Helo like many others, is following behind Alli and Hinata. It seems to be an easy way to find out who is the Personal Guard or Attendant of the individual. The lead people tend to be dressed in crisper clothing with embellishes of their own, like rings, gloves, bracelets and other things.

  Just quietly following behind Alli and Hinata they decide to sit somewhere in the middle of the class and closer to the front. As they take their seat Alli and Hinata flank Helo like they are used to doing. This causes a lot of other teenagers to give them weird looks. Most of the Guards or Attendants are sitting in the row behind their charges, but Helo is sitting between his.

  Many people in the class can identify Alli and Hinata. They are two of the most popular heirs and are daughters of clan leaders. Only a portion of the other nobles know about the close alliance between the Kashiwagi and BrightMoon families. But those that do understand that Alli and Hinata being in a party together isn’t just about childhood friendship, but an alliance that might be first in strength when it comes to the Integration.

  Chatting causally as the rest of the people slowly trickle into the class, Helo is mostly ignoring the girls and focusing on listening around him. This is something he is used to, they tend to talk to one another a lot, about everything. Helo often doesn’t really care, but being sat between them means they are always talking around him. He is proud of his developing skill to sense when they are talking to him and when they are just chatting around him.

  As he listens to the conversations around him, he is also subtly feeling around with his aura. Most of the people around him are a mix of nervousness and pride. But there are a few that have other emotions in their aura, like lust, greed or confusion. Some are even feeling a dopamine rush as they start to gossip. A lot of the gossip is about the trio.

  “Do you think Maria will show up soon?” Alli asks Hinata. The two girls are resting back in their chairs and looking at one another. Helo is laying with his head down on his desk.

  “Mhm. I heard that she was going to school this year. But I haven’t actually spoken to her for a while.” Hinata says while looking around.

  Listening to the conversations around him Helo focuses on the people with the strongest emotions. In the back of the room located in the ‘protag’ corner there is a ball of fury and anger. Focusing his powerful hearing he listens to the man talk to the person sitting in front of him. “Jorge, I want my bed changed, it was horrible last night and have someone send over another batch of maids. The ones we have now are not enough.” The man says with a ton filled with barely hidden rage.

  In response a quivering voice speaks up. “Yes Lord Adan. I will contact the Lopez estate.”

  After that Helo stops listening and tries to pinpoint where he heard that name. Lopez… Lopez. He is about to sit up and ask the girls, but he remembers. They are the Guatemalan family. Something about Werewolves and partial shifters. Helo thinks to himself. After realizing who he is he starts to understand the rage. He read about how the Were-races have a much harder time with their anger and rage. Something about them being created as a worrier monster race to fight for liches. They bred into their lines a fury and natural berserker fighting style.

  Shifting the focus of his hearing he listens to someone who is sitting down in the center of the class. This is a girl, and she is surrounded by multiple other men and woman. From what Helo can tell, she is incredibly popular. She is also radiating glee with a malevolent undertone.

  “Do you see them just sitting there? He is supposed to be their servant, but he is sleeping. How pitiful.” The girl starts talking and it takes a second for Helo to realize she is talking about him.

  One of the men around the girl that has lust in his aura quickly agrees. “Definitely it makes you wonder how far those two houses have fallen. Letting their servants sit with them is an honor. But him sleeping is just disrespectful.”

  “I heard… That they were all sleeping together.” This comes from the same girl in the center of the group. Helo almost gets up from this, but he also realizes how it might look, plus the girls do flirt with him a lot.

  He realizes where the emotions come from. The girl enjoys gossiping but she also enjoys putting others down, hence the malevolence. Helo never got a name, but he does keep in mind that she might try to stab them in the back.

  Just as he was thinking that, the girl and her group get up and walk the few steps down to where the trio is sitting. “Alli! Hinata! It is soo good to see you.” She says as her voice is filled with fake cheer. Her aura is even showing her happiness. But from his earlier observations Helo can tell that the happiness is because the girl loves talking and manipulating conversations. The malevolent undertone is still in her aura.

  “Isla-San, it has been a few years. How is your father?” Hinata politely asks her. As she does, she casually sets her hand on Helo’s shoulder. It is an instinctual possessive action, but it also causes Helo to sit up.

  “My father Lord Willams is doing well.” She says with the same politeness as Hinata.

  As they have the conversation, Alli gets up and hugs her. Helo is really impressed. If he wasn’t so focused on people’s auras and the emotions, they are displaying. When people can actively control their aura, they can hide their emotions better. Then he would have totally been won over by the girl. She is an expert manipulator.

  She is open and joyful. But she gives out exactly what people need. Alli is happy and chaotic. Hinata is polite and calmer. But Isla treated both girls like their own preferences. I will have to talk to them about this later.

  “And who is this? Mhmmm your face looks familiar?” Isla says as she studies Helo. She does have to admit that if the rumors are true, then she can understand why both girls are sharing the guy. He is attractive and his aura is powerful for someone their age, and deep, like a mysterious tunnel that beckons you in.

  Finally getting a good look at her Helo is impressed. She is beautiful with strawberry blonde hair and tan skin. Her hair almost radiant, a pink aura and her eyes, which Helo expected to see a faint hint of contempt in, show pure happiness. Her figure isn’t as full as Alli’s, but she has modest features that go extremely well with her fit frame.

  “Hello, I’m Helo.” He says with a slight dip in his head. He isn’t paying her much attention; he is mostly focusing on her aura. Helo’s tone was polite and his actions barely acceptable. For most it would be the cause of offence. For Isla it definitely is, but his actions make her feel more intrigued than upset.

  The flare of anger within her aura is quickly changed into curiosity. Giving her a faint smile Helo’s sharp and point fang is briefly displayed and the curiosity in the woman only increases.

  As this byplay happens Hinata picks up on some of it, but Alli just blazes on through. “Hey, we should all get together soon. Isla you should come to our place! The view is beautiful.” Alli pauses at this, “Well, I think we all share the same view…”

  Isla laughs in a polite but beautiful way and nods. “Yes, that would be amazing. Alli, you always were the best at just blazing your own way.” Not sure what she is talking about, Alli just smiles at her. But Helo and Hinata think that she has some hidden meaning.

  As the conversation ends there is a cough from behind Isla. “Ahem.” They all turn and the other five nobles are looking at them expectantly. Both Hinata and Isla realize they want an invite. Hinata isn’t interested, Isla doesn’t care much but she would prefer to not have them around, and Helo just doesn’t care enough.

  Alli though completely ignores it. “Oh, it’s good to see you all too.” She smiles awkwardly and it is kind of obvious that she doesn’t know their names. Helo wants to laugh but before he can the teacher steps into the room. All eyes are drawn up front as a brief aura flare catches their attention. Oh. A tier 3 teacher.

  The teacher is an older woman with an elegant and aged appearance. She is obviously beautiful but her once bright hair is now shining white. She walks with a cane, but her posture is straight, and she has an aura of dignity around her.

  As her eyes scan the crowd she stops on Helo. She can feel his own subtle aura effects. She is impressed by how he hides it within the natural energies. Even if there are better ways to go about concealing one’s aura. She does admit that using this technique would greatly increase the concealment in a forest environment that is filled with vitality. She knows that she can’t do something like that. She has no connection to nature that this boy obviously does.

  Making eye contact Helo knows that she felt his aura and he quickly retracted it to cover himself and the girls. This is something he has started trying to maintain. Layering auras are a way to fight against larger numbers or a stronger opponent. Also, auras have effects that can be beneficial to allies. Lastly, with his aura around the girls, he should feel if anyone does anything or is trying to do anything to them.

  The professor feels this, and subtlety nods her head. Only a few people in the room catch it, but it is only Helo and the professor that knows why. Helo has a small smirk as he realizes his aura control was approved.

  This all took place over a second or two and the teacher goes back to scanning the class. Taking a breath, she speaks in a soft tone, but it is magically carried through the room, not using a skill or mana, but through her aura.

  “I am Professor Alexia Runeglass, you all know by now that I am tier 3. I will be teaching you about Etiquette on Monday and Wednesday and Leadership on Friday. I know that none of you are happy about etiquette, but it is much more than it seems. It is more than table manners and greeting lords. It is a way to move so that you can control a room, how you treat your party members and lead them to success. Half of etiquette will feel like leadership. But believe me, the framework I will teach you will help you be a better leader and grow stronger.”

  From her words a lot of the class perks up. The idea that she will teach them behaviors to enhance their teams is remarkable. But the most aware in the class truly understand what she is getting at. If you take etiquette from the dining room and into the battle fields. What is etiquette, it is now how you set up your tents, man the watch, command your team, but in a way that ensures mutual respect.

  She is essentially giving them a code to follow to increase productivity and respect. Mixing that in with a class on leadership and battle strategies will probably make for very competent party leaders.

  The rest of the class goes by quickly and at eleven the teacher stops and glances at the door behind her. Looking back, she mysteriously says. “It was only by a few seconds.”

  Then the door swings open and another person appears. This is a man, but he looks remarkably similar to the woman. He has a broader frame and sharper jaw, but the rest of his features are the same.

  His voice rings out like a soothing instrument and he steps into the center of the stage. “I am Alex Runeglass. It’s a pleasure.” Then he gives a flourishing bow that is perfect in timing, height, speed and even in the way his now white hair flutters as he moves.

  “My younger sister.” A snort is heard from the female professor. He just ignores her. “She might be teaching you about how to act. But I lived it. I was the Senechal to the Lord of Hornhiem for over two-hundred years.” Many in the room gasp at that and the man remains stoic and aloof. “With my knowledge I will teach you how to run a realm so that not only to you prosper, but so do your citizens.”

  For any of the teens who are inheriting a title or land, this is the class they are most excited about. They will be taking over for their fathers, mothers, siblings, or grandparents and learning how to run their territory well will be important. Most were sent to school with specific instructions to pay attention to this class. Now leaning that the man who is teaching them was the right hand of one of the most powerful and wealthy men in the world, it feels like a dream come true.

  The class quickly ends, and everyone is now brimming with more excitement than when they entered. Most expected boring lectures about proper bow heights and tax laws.