Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
AURELIA
Lirien jumped up. “Oh no, we have to hurry! That’s training class. Come on, change quickly.”
As we put on our uniforms, she spoke really fast. “Okay, quick explanation. There are six ranks: D is bottom, like us. C is a bit better. B is respected. A is elite. S is only two students and they’re scary powerful. Divine is a myth. You’ll know someone’s rank by the color on their uniform collar and how people treat them. D-Ranks wear plain black. Don’t drink from the A-Rank coolers or touch their equipment. They get really mad.”
We rushed to the training grounds. It was a huge open field with different areas for practice. We did basic warm-ups for a while. Running, stretching, simple strength exercises. I was already tired and my mind kept going back to Dad.
After thirty minutes I was thirsty. I saw some water coolers nearby and walked over without thinking. I poured myself a cup and drank it fast.
Suddenly, someone slammed me against the wall.
My back hit the stone hard. A huge hand pressed against my shoulder, pinning me in place. The water cup fell from my fingers and spilled across the ground. I gasped, my heart slamming in my chest.
The boy in front of me was massive. Dark hair, broad shoulders, and golden-amber eyes that burned with pure anger. Power rolled off him like heat from a furnace. It felt heavy, dangerous, and made my knees weak. I had never felt anything like it before.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled, his voice low and terrifying.
The entire training field went dead silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing. I heard gasps and whispers spreading like fire.
“I… I was just thirsty,” I stammered, my voice shaking. “I didn’t know—”
“You didn’t know?” he cut me off, leaning closer. His face was inches from mine. “D-Rank trash drinking from the S-Rank cooler like you own the place? Who the hell do you think you are, little human?”
I couldn’t breathe. Black spots danced in my vision. My lungs burned. I tried to speak but only a weak choking sound came out.
“Please…” I managed, tears spilling down my cheeks. “I didn’t… know…”
The entire training field had gone silent. I could hear people whispering in fear.
“Oh gods, that’s Draven Terrak…”
“He’s going to kill her…”
“Someone stop him!”
Lirien’s voice cracked. “Draven, please! She’s new! She didn’t know the rules!”
Draven didn’t even look at her. His eyes stayed locked on mine. The pressure on my throat tightened. My head felt light. Life was slipping away. I was so scared. This was how I was going to die — on my second day, for drinking water.
A harsh voice cut through the air like a whip. “Let her go, Terrak. Now.”
At the corner of my eye, I saw him. An extremely beautiful boy with silver-white hair that moved like flowing water and piercing ice-blue eyes. He stood tall, radiating calm but deadly power.
Draven’s grip loosened just a little, but he didn’t release me. “Butt out, Marinus,” he growled. “This doesn’t concern you.”
The beautiful boy stepped closer. “It does when you’re choking a defenseless new student in front of the entire class. Let. Her. Go.”
Draven’s eyes flashed with rage. He finally dropped his hand. I crashed to the ground, gasping and coughing violently. My throat burned. I sucked in desperate breaths, tears streaming down my face.
“You think you can tell me what to do?” Draven roared.
The two of them faced each other. The air grew thick with power. Draven slammed his foot down. The ground cracked open with a deafening boom. Sharp stones and vines shot toward Marinus like spears.
Marinus moved like water. He flicked his wrist and a wall of swirling water appeared, smashing the stones apart. “You always were a brute, Terrak,” he said coldly. “No control.”
Draven laughed darkly. “And you’re all talk, fish boy.”
They exploded into a real fight. Draven raised his hands and the earth trembled. A massive golem of stone and crystal rose from the ground, swinging huge fists. Marinus summoned a crashing wave that slammed into the golem, breaking it apart. Water blades sliced through the air while Draven created gravity wells that tried to crush Marinus.
“You’re pathetic!” Draven shouted, throwing a seismic punch that shook the whole field.
Marinus dodged with fluid grace and countered with a high-pressure water whip that cracked like lightning. “And you’re still angry that I’m better than you.”
The fight was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. They seemed equally matched, moving like they knew each other’s moves perfectly. Students were pulling out their My-Phones, recording everything.
“Oh my gods, they’re really fighting again!”
“This is insane!”
“Someone get professor Lucian!”
Two students ran off. A few minutes later, they returned with a tall, handsome man in elegant professor robes. Silver-white hair with black streaks, golden eyes. He looked calm and powerful.
He flicked his hand once.
A wave of pure white light burst across the field. Both Draven and Marinus froze mid-attack, their powers vanishing instantly. The ground stopped shaking. The water disappeared.
“Enough,” Lucian said, his voice calm but carrying authority. “You two are seniors. Act like it. Or do I need to put you both in detention towers again?”
Draven glared at him but stepped back. “This isn’t over, Zale.”
Marinus smirked coldly. “Looking forward to finishing it.”
Lucian turned slowly. His eyes suddenly locked onto me. For a brief second, they glowed bright white. Something cold crawled down my spine. It felt… wrong. Like he was looking straight through me.
He smiled gently. “Are you alright, Miss Elowen?”
I nodded shakily, still on the ground, throat aching. “Y-yes… thank you.”
Lirien helped me stand up. “Come on, Aurelia. Let’s get you away from here.”
As we walked away, I kept feeling Lucian’s eyes on my back. That white glow… it lingered in my mind. Everyone else seemed to respect him, but something about him made my skin crawl.
Draven and Marinus were still glaring at each other behind us. The whole field buzzed with whispers.
Lirien squeezed my arm. “That was too close. You okay?”
I touched my sore throat. “I think so. Who were those two?”
“S-Ranks,” she whispered. “The most dangerous ones here. You really have bad luck, Aurelia.”
I looked back one last time. Draven was watching me with those intense golden eyes. Marinus too. And Professor Lucian… his eyes were normal again, but that brief white glow stayed burned in my memory.
This academy wasn’t just strange. It was dangerous. And I had already landed in the middle of something I didn’t understand.
