Mr. Starkridge was starting to feel anxious. It had been over an hour since his secret agent had called. He believed dealing with an unarmed woman would be straightforward, but Mr. Starkridge was aware that something had happened to him at that time.
As he strolled up and down his office, he thought to himself, "That stupid rat better not get caught." He reached for a tumbler of bourbon laying on his desk and took one last long swig before calling it a night.He reached for his overcoat, which was laying on the armrest of his office chair, and exclaimed, "That's it, I'm out of here." He had various paperwork on the table, including a passport, an identification card, and two aircraft tickets. He was on the verge of fleeing the realm. He hurriedly slung the overcoat over his back and stuffed the documents into his briefcase. He looked around the room for anything unusual. The papers strewn across the floor and the shards of broken glass didn't appear to concernUNDISCLOSED LOCATIONOutside the shack, Nelanian sat. He was trying to wring the water out of his soaked garments. The torrential rain that had poured all night had flooded through his ancient house and soaked up all he owned. His clothing were in a sac in one corner of the cabin, and they had spent the night sitting in a puddle of water. He awoke the next morning with an annoying cough and fully closed nose.He spent the remainder of the day trying to stay warm and salvage what he could from the rain. It was a miracle thathe managed to fall asleepduring the storm. Even in more affluent homes, the other people down the hill were unable to sleep. The sleeping infants would be awoken by thunderclaps and would scream at the top of their lungs for the rest of the night. Strong gusts would blow open their flimsy windows, letting in a cold, heavy breeze that no one would be able to ignore. Raindrops would collect on their rooftops and form a puddle, causing
Nelanian found it difficult to open his eyes. The sun shone brightly in the morning, and the birds outside the shanty couldn't stop singing. He finally succumbed to their annoying alarms and decided to get up. Over the last three days, his headaches had gotten worse, and his hand had gotten even worse. The twitching became more frequent and intense. Everything appeared to be going wrong for him at that point.When he went outside, he noticed that the weather was calmer than it had been on previous days. The trees hadnot been ripped out of theirtheir roots, and the sunrise was visible on the horizon, unlike the last days that were filled with violent storms. He noticed that the market had already been renovated and that most of the stalls were up and running as he glanced downwards towards the village. Nelanian beat off the dust on his trousers and
“Get up, the school director wants to meet with all of the candidates in his office before we speak to the media,” Lucy said, her palms resting on her hips and her gaze fixed on him. Nelanian appeared to be in a state of flux, with no response to her comments.“Hey, am I talking to a rock?” She queried," We have to leave right now, I'm not going to repeat it again,” she stated emphatically, gripping the armrest of the chair in which Nelanian had seated.“I... I can't go out there like this,” Nelanian replied, alluding to the food stains on his tie and his shaggy hair.“Of course, that's why I came down here, you moron. You should clean up and get ready because all of us are going to address the media ,”“I don’t want to address the media,”“I don't like it either, but I'm going to do it for the benefit of the school, and you s
"She's awake," Luciana heard a voice say from within her dream. she was coming to. Jalon had snuck close to her. She fought to open her eyes and could hear footsteps rushing tothe other side of the room as she did so. Someone was up to no good, she realised right away. She straightened her back and lowered her feet from the top of the bed to the ground, resting them over a pair of sandals next to it. She was blasted with an increasingly terrible headache as soon as she did so, and all she could do was clutch her head. On the other side of the room, she could hear Jalon's quiet giggles. "Can you tell me what happened?" "How did I end up here?" Luciana inquired, struggling to regain her balance.“You've been out for quite some time." Norval tried hard not to laugh as he stated, "The medical staff brought you here after your match with th
‘Nelanian'From within his dream, a voice resonated. He didn't think about it, and he didn't pay it the attention it deserved.‘Wake up, Nelanian!'Once more, the voice reverberated. Nelanian sprung from his bed and sucked in a huge gulp of breath. His nose could only detect the odors of latex gloves, floor cleaners, and hospital food. He appeared to be lost in thought for a time as if he was pondering how he ended himself in the ward in the first place. A soft touch finally settled over his right hand after a few moments of recognition, and he could feel the feminine tenderness that accompanied it. When he turned to his right, he saw Cecily yelling for a nurse and attempting to calm him down.“Are you OK, Nelanian?” You had been asleep since yesterday!” Cecily continued to clutch his hand. He returned to his bed and calmed himself, recalling how he had ended himself in the infirmary. The nurse dashed into the ward
“Get up, the school director wants to meet with all of the candidates in his office before we speak to the media,” Lucy said, her palms resting on her hips and her gaze fixed on him. Nelanian appeared to be in a state of flux, with no response to her comments.“Hey, am I talking to a rock?” She queried," We have to leave right now, I'm not going to repeat it again,” she stated emphatically, gripping the armrest of the chair in which Nelanian had seated.“I... I can't go out there like this,” Nelanian replied, alluding to the food stains on his tie and his shaggy hair.“Of course, that's why I came down here, you moron. You should clean up and get ready because all of us are going to address the media ,”“I don’t want to address the media,”“I don't like it either, but I'm going to do it for the benefit of the school, and you s
Luciana, Norval, and Jalon were all seated on the bench in front of the entrance to the sports complex's head office, where the manager normally sat. Their professors had summoned them to the office for an unscheduled meeting. Because the IAA had closed, the candidates needed to know what they should do after the trials. It was going to be a long, arduous month, and they had to be prepared since the school was closed indefinitely, which meant they could have to return home after the trials were through.It was going to be a long, arduous month, and they had to be prepared since the school was closed indefinitely, which meant they could have to return home after the trials were through.From inside the office, the secretary called to them. The door had been wide open, and there were two entries inside the office, one leading to the secretary's desk and the other, which had been locked, leading to the manager's office shortly after someone had been cleared to enter the offic
The interment was quick and uninteresting. Rhaizen Gale was laid to rest by drunkards who didn't give a damn about his body or his funeral. All they could think about was how quickly the ceremony would end so they could return to their normal lives and forget about that miserable excuse for a man. They wanted the trials to begin so that a new champion could be chosen, one who was descended from royalty and had noble blood coursing through her veins.Luciana was the one who was going to be chosen, as were the majority of IAA students and faculty thought. She had the numbers and the support to back it up. She had always been at the top of her class since her enrollment, and her grades had never slipped. She also showed remarkable promise on the battlefield, winning every tournament she participated in. She was occasionally beatenby Jalon Barr in combat tests and Cecily in alchemy tests, although overall she ranked higher than both when compared. Cecily's absence from