Chapter 63: Unfair Karma

Done with inserting the books into their respective shelves, a smile appeared on Arlo’s face.

Now, he was a little more confident in his ability to ace the entrance examination.

The last thing he needed to do was give his Mana control one final round of practice, and the only place to do that was in the garden behind the castle.

"Finally feeling ready?" Queen Isadolla asked, noticing the confident aura around him.

"For the entrance examination theory, that is..." Arlo corrected with a smile as he walked over to pick up his coffee cup, placing it on the tray before taking it in his arms as they both headed toward the library exit.

"And what about the practical aspect? I thought Milliani had been helping you learn how to properly control your Dark Magic?" Queen Isadolla asked with furrowed brows.

"She has been doing a perfect job of helping. It was only because of her help that I have progressed this far in the first place."

"I just need some more practice before I finally gain that feeling of confidence, I think..." Arlo replied, quick to correct her thoughts about Miliani.

In truth, Miliani had really helped him a lot with learning Mana manipulation.

She had been there with him, even if only for an hour at a time, giving him additional pointers whenever she could.

He didn’t want Queen Isadolla to think that she hadn’t tried hard enough to help him.

"That said, you know you will be leaving with Miliani for the academy too, right?" she asked as Arlo nodded.

"Yes, I do..."

"And what do you think about that?" Queen Isadolla asked, Arlo’s eyes gleaming slightly before he responded.

"Judging from what I’ve heard, Cthulhu Academy is quite a big place, with members of royalty and talented Vorath attending."

"In such a place, it would be nice to know I’m not alone."

"I would feel more confident knowing there is someone who can help me if I get into some sort of trouble and hopefully help me avoid any freshman mistakes that could also get me into trouble."

"So yes, I am positive about attending the same academy as her..."

He replied, sounding rather naïve to Queen Isadolla, who looked at him with an interested expression.

"And how old are you now, Arlo?"

"Sixteen," he replied as they both arrived before the massive kitchen within the castle.

Arlo entered, rinsing his coffee cup before putting it back in its proper place, even under the stare of the maid who wanted to shoo him away from doing it herself.

But she could only stare, already used to Arlo refusing her every time she tried.

"Excuse me now, Queen Isadolla..." Arlo said and after receiving her nod of approval left for the garden.

______________

Arriving in the green garden, Arlo took a deep breath of the highly concentrated Mana before sitting down cross-legged.

He then closed his eyes, calming his turbulent heart.

"Mana Ball..." Arlo whispered as he stretched his hand forward, dark Mana seeping out of his palm before quickly forming a small ball of dark energy.

"Piercing Needle Technique..." he whispered, raising his left hand as dark Mana seeped from it as well.

Under his will, it took the shape of a ten-meter-long, dark, pointed needle that gleamed coldly.

"Needle and Mana Ball control..." he muttered, and with a change of his will, the ball of Mana and needle both rose into the air and began revolving around him.

Then Arlo proceeded to produce four more Mana Balls and four more needles, allowing all of them to float around him.

"Hmmm, quite the excellent work, you sleek neck."

The praise rang out from behind him as a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Arlo’s face.

He turned his head, locking his gaze onto Miliani before pointing his arm toward her.

"GO!!!"

SOOOOOAAR!

Immediately, the Mana Balls and needles shot toward Miliani, whose eyes widened in shock at the sudden attack.

She quickly tried to move away.

"EXPLODE!" Arlo ordered, followed by...

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

A series of loud explosions rang out as the Mana Balls detonated, and Arlo grinned as he waited for the smoke and dust to settle.

But once it did, the person he had been expecting wasn’t there at all...

"YOO HOOO..."

The voice rang out from directly behind him. Arlo rapidly turned around, only to be met with the sight of a large ball of Mana flying toward him.

Arlo reacted on instinct, throwing a punch at it.

"That’s a mistake..."

Miliani’s voice reached his ears just as his hand struck the ball, and then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion twice as large as the ones Arlo had created erupted, roughly blasting him from his stance.

He rolled across the ground several times before finally smashing hard against the castle wall.

"Tsk, another failure..."

Arlo grumbled as he rose from where he had crashed, cracking the ruby-red finger that had taken the attack before walking back toward Miliani with a slight limp.

"Well, well, karma is really fair, isn’t it?" Miliani asked with a mocking grin as Arlo scoffed.

"I doubt it’s ever even fair at all..." he replied.

Of course, it wasn’t his first time needing a practice dummy for his abilities.

He wanted to know just how destructive his Mana attacks were, and the only person available for that purpose was none other than Miliani.

Therefore, Arlo had always tried to sneak-attack her. Yet the result had been the same for the third time now.

He always lost, as Miliani easily avoided his attacks before sending him crashing away with one of her own Mana Balls.

"Hmph!"

With a fiery snort, Arlo ignored her as he walked back toward the spot where he had crashed, all under Miliani’s mocking grin.

"So, how’s it going? Tomorrow is the big day. Feeling the pressure?" she asked as Arlo let out a breath before nodding slightly.

"Yes, I am. I think I’ll be fine with the theory, as I’ve covered everything that will seemingly be asked."

"Still, I’m not sure about the manipulation..." he replied as he raised his arm, and with a thought, a rope of dark Mana circled around it like a snake before disappearing.

"Your level of Mana control is almost the same as mine. And you can imagine that I took the test around two years ago and still managed to pass."

"You’ll do more than fine," Miliani comforted him.

A sly grin appeared on Arlo’s face.

"So, you’re agreeing that I am far better than you were at the same age, huh? Strangely, that’s not surprising to me..." Arlo said, puffing out his chest.

A vein immediately appeared on Miliani’s forehead as she swiftly rose from the ground and pounced on him.

"I dare you to say that once more, you sleek neck!" Miliani roared as she pinned him to the ground, mercilessly punching away at his face.

"Hey! You!"

BAAAAM!

"Wait! Let me!"

BAAAAAM!

"Okay, okay, just give me a second, seriously!" Arlo screamed as she finally halted her fist in the air, her other hand still wrapped around his neck.

"What is it, you sleek neck?" she asked as Arlo let out a sigh of relief and prepared his automatic card of release.

"You know, it would really be weird if anyone caught the mighty Princess Royalsworth in such an, um, uncourtly position, don’t you think?"

Arlo delivered his saving trump card, waiting for her to scurry away like a rabbit.

Instead, he received the shock of his life when her fist landed fiercely against his right eyeball, causing the world around him to seem to turn upside down.

BAAAAM!

BAAAM!

BAAAAM!

"Hmph, that won’t work on me anymore, you sleek neck. I’m just giving a discipline class to my adopted brother. What’s wrong with that?"

"But..."

"Shut up!"

BAAAAM!

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" Arlo hurriedly surrendered before he could be pummeled to death.

She snorted coldly before finally leaving him alone, though not without giving one last knock to the large swelling around his eye.

"OUCH!"

The pain was like the sting of a bee as Arlo sucked in a large breath before willing Mana into his eye, causing the swelling to quickly subside.

Surprisingly, Arlo had discovered a strange way to quickly heal himself from injuries, and that was by flooding Mana into his wounds.

Unlike Mage-class Vorath, who could only pass Mana through specially designed pathways that were most concentrated around their arms, Arlo had discovered that his body was different.

He could pass Mana through any part of his body, just like a Warrior-class Vorath.

"Huuuuu..." Arlo let out a long sigh as he felt his eyelids slowly growing heavier.

He had been awake, reading and cultivating for the past five days without a single proper chance to rest.

His cultivation of Mana had also helped diminish his need for sleep, but now, his body couldn’t bear it any longer, and his eyelids grew heavier with every passing minute.

"I have a question for you, Arlo..." Miliani suddenly said, shaking away some of his sleepiness as Arlo’s eyebrows creased.

"What could that be, Princess Miliani?"

"For the last time, it’s Miliani. Putting Princess in front of it makes you sound like those old hags and smelly soldiers..." Miliani complained, earning an eye roll from Arlo.

"Do you even know how to fight?" she suddenly asked, causing Arlo to furrow his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"I mean, I saw you during that mission in Sector X with that squad."

"You were the target because you couldn’t even keep up with the natural Vorath speed and struggled to properly shoot a gun..." she said mockingly as Arlo scoffed.

"You better know how to fight, or you’ll be reduced to an errand boy in the academy," Miliani added, giggling evilly as Arlo raised an eyebrow.

"There are bullies among the students too?" Arlo asked, and Miliani gave him a matter-of-fact nod.

"Yes. Strength is greatly respected in the academy, and with more strength comes more honor and respect."

"If you are weak or don’t know how to fight, you’ll practically be asking to be dogged on, and there are more than enough people who want slaves among them." she said.

Arlo raised an eyebrow before scoffing.

"That won’t be a problem. I’ll just hide behind you all the time."

"Who would dare fight someone beloved by the mighty Princess Miliani of the Eboncrest family?"

Arlo said, snickering.