Chương 113: Chapter 106-Chosen Mail

The fresh wind of spring blows through the courtyard of Sylvian University. The snow is long gone, and winter is but a distant memory. Well, distant being about a week and a half ago, but that's just semantics. Anyway, an under-construction clock tower buzzes with construction noises. The sound of Hopper munching on a carrot annoys me.

"What a lovely day to start the Spring Quarter, isn't that right?" I turn to Baggy.

"That's right, CJ. It's a great way to start the Spring Quarter, but you know what would make this day even better?" Baggy asks.

"What, Baggy?"

"Crime… A lot of crime. First, steal that carrot from Hopper. Then you shove it up-""CJ, can you please stop talking to yourself. You look like a crazy person," Hopper pleads.

"Oh, please, crazy? I'm not crazy. I'm just bored. Bored… out of my mind, Hopper," I exaggerate as I slam my face on the table. Hopper takes a big bite out of his carrot.

"Is it because Penelope's not around?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"First off, drop that eyebrow, and no, it's not because she's not around. Who cares if that hard-headed arsonist isn't around anyway? What is she even doing? First, she skips Finals, and then what? Nothing! That's what. Not a single word from her since that day we fought the Wrathborn. What, she's got better things to do?" I ask with a hint of annoyance.

"She is a Princess," Hopper reminds me.

"Yeah… well, that doesn't excuse her from anything," I [Lie]. Hopper sighs as he takes a sip of his carrot tea. A small breeze passes the budding trees as I keep my head down. The chatter of the students and laughter of friends echoes through the courtyard. It truly is spring.

"She's fine, CJ. She didn't skip Finals; She took them at home while she's recuperating from overusing her Mana. Penelope will probably be back tomorrow or the day after," he says as he shakes his head.

"Of course she's fine. She's Penelope. You could throw her at a wall, and I'd be worried for the wall," I joke as I let out a sigh. Hopper's gaze lands on the clock tower or what's left of it.

"I can't believe they still had us do Finals after what happened."

"Of course they did. The people in charge of this school are working for the forces of evil. Well, I guess not anymore," I say as I think on the [System Message] that I got on my way back to the Capital.

"CJ, we're not supposed to talk about that," he reminds me. Peering up, I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. What's the official story the Empire came up with? Headmaster Vil passed away in his sleep, and Tyranus miraculously escaped by herself. Is that right?" I ask.

"Yes. A story that we need to stick to," Hopper says as he points his carrot at me.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful. Wouldn't want the Empire on my ass, plus this keeps Professor Stargazer out of trouble," I say as I munch on an apple fritter. A group of students rushes past us and towards the Main Hall.

"What's up with them?" Hopper looks over at where they're heading.

"The Rank Placements for the next quarter are in," he says nonchalantly.

"Oh, yeah, I guess those change every quarter. Weren't you at the bottom at the start of the quarter? Aren't you worried you might have fallen in the rankings and you know, out of the Advanced Class?" I ask as I let out a loud yawn.

"A bit, but I'm not so worried that I'm going to go check," he says with a carefree attitude. With a devilish smile, I watch him. Hopper adjusts his glasses as he tries not to look towards the Main Hall. Oh, come on. He is worried. He's just trying to act cool. Leaning back in my chair, I scratch my horn. A group of students passes by us as they whisper. Hopper strains to hear, but pretends not to.

"You know what, I'm curious to see if Penelope and I are still the same rank. Want to go check it out?" I [Lie].

"If you insist," Hopper says with a hint of relief.

"I do. I do insist. Come on! Let's go see if I have something to rub in Penelope's face when she gets back," I say half-jokingly. Wasting no time, we walk over to the crowd of students. Pushing our way through the crowd, we eventually see the top Rankings. Rank Placement 1. Carlos Juárez 2. Penelope Sylvian 3. Viola Violet 4. Garus Krait 5. Talon Sharpclaw 6. Clara Gehäuse 7. Axel Nightbane 8. Hopper Lightfoot 9. Ruby Aster 10. Clint Blud 11. William Dull 12. Julian Bordero"Holy shit! Hopper, you're Rank 8!

You jumped up sixteen spots!" I yell as I shake him by the shoulders. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I'm Rank 8!? I'm Rank 8!" he yells as we start to jump in unfiltered joy. The other students give us odd looks as the three of us continue to celebrate. Wait a minute! Three of us? Turning to my right, I watch as Julian jumps up and down with us in celebration.

"Julian? When did you get here?" I ask as we continue to jump.

"When you were pushing through the crowd. My elegant self thought it only right to celebrate elegantly with the two of you," Julian says as he elegantly jumps. Hopper shrugs his shoulders.

"Julian also made it into the Advanced Class. So… Julian, you're Rank 12!" Hopper begins to yell.

"Of course! How else could I call myself The Chosen Ones' rival?" he says elegantly. As we continue to jump, I look at the names. Specifically, Axel Nightbane and Clara Gehäuse. Those guys weren't in the Advanced Class before. I guess they clawed their way up the ranks like Julian, but still, Rank 6 and 7 is a pretty big jump. I wonder who they'll end up pairing up with. WAIT! I stop jumping and look at the rankings once more. A devilish smile grows across my face. That's the best gift I could have ever gotten.

I've officially surpassed Penelope in the rankings. No more sharing a rank. Guess taking down a Calamity and saving the school is just what I needed to push my ranking ahead of hers. … Isn't it kind of amazing that I needed to defeat a Calamity and save the school in order for me to eke out a win against her? Nah, I need to stop thinking and take the win when I can. Gods, I can't wait until I see her! The jumping duo stops jumping.

"Hey, CJ, we're going to go celebrate in the cafeteria. Want to join us?" Hopper asks.

"Ye-" A pulse of pain rips through me, causing me to wince.

"Are you okay?" Hopper asks.

"Yeah, just a bit tired from Finals. Think I'm going to head in for the day. Have fun," I [Lie].

"Okay. Try to get some rest," Hopper says with a hint of worry.

"Will do," I say as I start my walk back to the hall. Before long, I find myself at the door to my room. The moment I close the door, I lose my composure and fall to the ground. Pain pulses through me as all the strength in my body is sapped away. Crawling towards my bed, I barely find the strength to pull The Chosen Blade out from under the mattress.

"Finally, we've- It's happening again, isn't it?" Yellow asks. Pulling the blade to my chest, I struggle to breathe.

"Only a little bit," I say between breaths. The brown gem glows.

"This is why only The Chosen One is allowed to tap into that power."

"Yeah, I don't need another lecture. Just do the usual, Brown."

"Hmm. You are lucky that Blue likes you so much," she says as a pulse of healing energy runs through me. The pain disappears, my breathing settles, and weakness gives way to strength. Pulling myself off the ground, I wipe the sweat off my brow. That one was a bit worse than the last.

"Thanks, Brown. I'll be counting on you," I say as I sit on my bed.

"This is already the fifth time this has happened, and the amount of energy we have to put into The Chosen Blade is increasing with every iteration. This is not a sustainable solution," Brown says with her cold and uncaring tone.

"You said it would get better," I retort.

"She said it might get better. There are no guarantees with this, Vashrin. It could go away on its own or…," Yellow explains.

"You could die," Black states plainly. Leaning my head into the hilt, I sigh. Just my luck, death by weakness. Turns out tapping into Blue's [Skill] fucked both of us over. Blue is out of commission as he works on repairing the damage to his soul, and I'm… royally screwed. Blue was able to carry most of the burden, but the small amount he couldn't carry has messed with my soul a bit. Just a bit, though. An unforeseen consequence.

Apparently, this doesn't happen usually, but since Blue and I circumvented The Chosen Blade, we treaded in dangerous and uncharted waters. Yippee!

"What could fix the damage to my soul?" I ask.

"There's only one thing that is within your reach," Brown says.

"Stop being dramatic and just tell me already," I say with a hint of annoyance.

"You need to reinforce your soul, and for that you need a Unicorn's horn," Brown says, as serious as serious can be.

"A fucking Unicorn?! Aren't those all dead?" I ask with a tone of annoyance.

"Yes, they are, but you're in luck. I happen to know of the exact location of one of them. The Elven Kingdoms should still have one in their vaults," Yellow says proudly. …I give a long blink.

"The Elven Kingdoms?"

"Yes. Just pop on over and ask them for it. They should easily provide it. After all, you are, to the general public, The Chosen One," Yellow explains. I give a small nod as I remember the various History Classes I've gone through.

"You do know that the Elven Kingdoms aren't around anymore, right? The Nova Empire conquered them a good twenty years ago!" I yell in frustration. In my frustration, I hear a knocking on my door followed by the sliding of a wide variety of envelopes into the room. The mail, great. Walking over, I pick up the mail and fling the one's addressed to Hopper on his bed. Let's see. Coupons for baking supplies, keep those. Spam mail, chuck those. Ah, the information I asked for from Ilota, I'll look that over later. Hmm.

What's this fancy-looking letter? Turning the blue envelope in my hand, I catch a glimpse of the wax seal. A deer? Isn't that the crest of the Imperial Family? Ripping the letter open, I read the contents.

"To the honorable and courageous Chosen One. Empress Calliope Jademaker Sylvian sends her humble greetings. I have heard much of your feats from my daughter. To deepen our bonds, please join us for dinner tonight at the Imperial Palace before the sixth chime. You are encouraged to bring family and dress appropriately. May Relat bless your day," I say in a dramatic way. Huh. That's very-"Interesting. So, what ya think? Should I wear my red dress or the black one?"

Snapping to the familiar voice, I see my sister leaning on the door. Her cat ears twinge with annoyance, and based on the narrowness of her cat eyes… I'm fucked.

"Hey, Kat. How's it going? You weren't supposed to be back for a couple of months."

"Oh, CJ, ya have a lot of explaining to do. A lot," she says with barely hidden fury.