27 - Gates [4]

My team was star-studded.

Everyone, from the professor leading us — Kenivale "Kenny" Alucard — to the final years, was top talent or had the potential to be one.

There was Bran Livingston, the Warrior Class and the physically strongest among us.

Instinctively, Bran had placed himself between us and Professor Kenivale, who was still negotiating with Velham.

Whether that was his natural disposition or just his innate role of serving as a tank in combat formations manifesting, one could never know.

Even in the original story, it was hard to tell the difference.

Bran was indeed a noble character.

You know, the type of character that ends up becoming a royal knight, granted titles and lands by his King, with his name etched in the chronicles of time for eternity.

Even at such a young age, the will and fire to protect already burned brightly within his very being.

Then there were the remaining six of us who moved behind Bran and the professor.

...Eris DeLorentis.

Reading this, you already have some information on Eris since I’ve revealed a few things about her.

An elf of noble bloodline and master of ice Essence as well as a swordswoman.

I must say that Eris would be at the top for being the most balanced fighter on the team.

She could manifest defensive skills that rivaled Bran’s alongside offensive skills that were equally formidable.

A mistress of elegant swordplay and ice manipulation.

Then there was me and my girlfriend, Wendy Arclight.

Just like Eris, I was a dual-class fighter, sharing the same Caster and Sabre classes with her.

Wendy, on the other hand, was a Healer.

Nevertheless, I still believed Wendy had the potential of being dual-class as well, but this wasn’t confirmed in the original story.

There was only one reason for that.

Wendy refused to take the class assignment again.

Officially, she was a healer. Registered in the academy’s records as one.

Unofficially, and practically, she was also a caster, thanks to her ability to manipulate light and its particles.

There was also Cecilia Allison and her short term partner, Jeremy Rivers.

Then finally, the eerie Jasper Kenway.

Jasper was... I don’t know, but if I were to describe him in one word, I would say "weird".

He was always on his own, did his own things, and lived alone inside his small world.

Well, except for when Wendy felt like intruding into that small space of his.

I don’t know how Wendy managed to do that, but then, I wasn’t surprised.

Everything about her personality was akin to light.

Perhaps it was the same for Jasper.

Perhaps, she was a light in his melancholic world.

Slender... no, almost worryingly scrawny, with baggy eyes and sickly pale skin.

I could bet that underneath the cover of his attire, Jasper looked no different from a chronic disease patient who was having it real bad.

That was the team under Professor Kenivale, personally handpicked by him.

I wondered how the others felt knowing he’d chosen the best of us for himself.

****

The negotiation process was done, and Professor Kenivale turned to us.

With a gesture of his head, he instructed us to follow right behind him as a small group of Velham’s subordinates led the way.

Velham was the Awakener in charge of the academy’s craftsmen department.

He was the chief craftsman, responsible for overseeing everything construction and manufacturing related.

After handing us over to them, Velham returned to what he was doing as we continued toward where our assigned vehicle was located.

The place wasn’t far from where we had met Velham, just a couple of minutes’ walk and we were there.

It was a massive space like a warehouse, and a lot of vehicles were parked there, both old and new.

The group of craftsmen looked around with a glint of familiarity in their eyes as they made straight for our own vehicle.

Meanwhile, we were awestruck by what lay before our eyes.

Vehicles of wondrous and admirable designs that we could only imagine.

It felt surreal seeing this with my own two eyes.

Right then, I realized that what I’d imagined these vehicles to look like was far from what they were in reality.

They were simply incredible.

Regardless, that wasn’t far-fetched. After all, the academy wouldn’t contract with just any craftsman.

They would go for one of the best, and Velham and his team were on that list. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Just as you requested, Professor Kenivale."

Velham’s subordinates took off the cloth that covered our assigned vehicle, revealing what was nothing short of a marvel.

A peerless masterpiece that seemed to run on runes of Essence.

Its body was sleek and purple-colored, giving off an aura that was no different from high class.

"It’s... beautiful," Wendy purred beside me, clasping her hands as her eyes grew wide with admiration.

I shifted my attention between the vampire and the vehicle.

’He got it on request?’

That statement only meant one thing.

Professor Kenny had already planned this.

There was no way this was a personal request and he would allow us to use it for a practice test.

It was more believable that he’d made it for the mission or something much more formal.

"Does it work fine?"

One of the men nodded to the professor’s question. "Yes. Not perfectly yet, but it does well enough."

A smile formed on the vampire’s face, almost a self-satisfying one that confirms a person’s truth.

"I knew Velham could do it," the professor commented. "It would make travel easier and faster for awakeners now."

Wait a minute...

His statement just now made me realize something.

Somewhere in the middle of the story, a new transportation system was introduced that heavily impacted the arrival time of awakeners, and in a positive way.

They could travel between cities in almost half the time whenever they needed to use physical means of transport.

’This was it?’

It was clearer to me now who Velham was.

’So it was him and the vampire behind this project.’

Professor Kenivale had stepped away from the spotlight, allowing the chief craftsman to take all the glory.

’Fucking butterfly effect...’

I wasn’t supposed to meet the professor until later. That is if my actions hadn’t, even in the slightest, affected the story.

Who knows the extent this would go?

A sigh escaped my lips as I considered this.

It was a taxing thought to brood over... but an important one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​