5|Obsessive Sister
"Ah, big sister," Zen smiled softly as Clara dropped him gently on the floor. "How were classes today?" She arranged his uniform. "Fine, Clara-oneesama." Zen was infuriated, but it was a burden he had to bear. He just wanted to go back to his shabby room, but he kept getting obstructed by unwanted obstacles—first the closing bell and now his obsessive sister.
"Here you go," she handed him a lunchbox. "You know, you have to eat healthy if you intend to train a strong body." She wasn't wrong; after all, the advice was coming from an honor student and rank no. 5 on the Parmadon Academy's leaderboard.
"She's strong. I could vividly feel the amount of training she had poured into herself from her firm yet well-defined arms," he thought. The leaderboard was created for students who were in year three and below. It takes four years to complete the Parmadon Academy regime, but the fourth years are excluded from the leaderboards because they were already established hunters who spent most of their time on the frontlines.
It was every student's wish to be on the leaderboard, which contained a total of a hundred names, but only a few dreamed of reaching the top five. Those spots were occupied by prodigies who stood above other prodigies—geniuses. Every student on the leaderboard is made eligible to live on the academy campus; hence, they were named honor students.
But the top five received the greatest privileges. Not only do they get customised weapons, but they are also given the opportunity to pick one fifth-tiered spell from the academy's spell vault.
"Thanks a lot, big sis." He bowed his head slightly.
"No, no, you don't need to do that. Anything, my little bro." She flushed; her cheeks turned red.
From the moment Zen was born, Clara loved him deeply. She always sparred with him, even though he didn't show any improvements. She did not care; all she wanted was to spend quality time with her brother. She fell unconscious one day while training. She started to show signs of being a cursed one.
Cursed ones were the descendants of the great hero Brian and the five legendary masters who fought alongside him to seal the evil primordial god Amargadon. The effects included rotting of body flesh and loss of self.
Zen was responsible for curing her, though it wasn't something his parents or sister spoke about often. He discovered that at the very center of the curse was loss of mana control, which led to the other effects. But Zen figured out that by bombarding a cursed one with mana, the effects could easily be reversed—well, at least it was easy for him, since he was a genius; for others, not so much.
He did something that few to none of the sages in the Magic Tower could do. Whether it was a rumour or not, Clara didn't care; instead, her love for her little brother only deepened. Because of her, Zen lived a peaceful academy life, totally free from bullying.
The academy bullies were well aware of what would happen if they touched the brother of the Maddened Knight. The Maddened Knight was the alias given to her based on her crazy and brutal fighting style.
"Hohohoho, if it isn't the Maddened Knight and her little brother," a green-haired elf walked up the stairs. He spoke calmly, eyes closed in a constant, unreadable expression. Clara's sweet and doting expression flipped in an instant. She turned her head backwards mechanically. "Zen, let's get going before he infects you with his stupidity." She dragged him forward.
"Hahaha, looks like someone is still afraid that I might take her rank in the upcoming festival," the elf taunted Clara.
She stopped abruptly and changed direction, rapidly charging towards him. "Pardon me, but I don't remember being the one that cursed you to be stuck at rank six for over what?... Two years." She grinned heavily.
Mori Jin, an elven noble from the Great Forest of Mitria, home of the legendary living artifact, the World Tree. Jin's parents and Clara's parents were classmates during their academy days, so Jin often came over with his parents when they came to visit Toran. From the first time Jin and Clara crossed paths, they had never been on good terms—most likely for the sole reason that he also took every chance he got to tease Zen.
Zen actually didn't care; he just brushed it off, but his big sister, on the other hand, made it her life's mission to torment Jin.
They started to attract the attention of the other students. "Isn't that the Maddened Knight and Havex Illusionist?" a female student shouted, attracting the attention of the crowd.
Clara's mana burned with a bright red, forming into a tiger shape, while Jin's burned green, forming into a snake. "This is a main character event. I don't want to get caught up in it." Zen stepped back and hurriedly left the scene. He was hell-bent on preserving his background character title.
"Zen, where's my brother?" Clara soon noticed that Zen was gone. "Tch, he ran away, huh?!..." Her mana subsided slowly. "You are lucky this time, stupid elf." She flicked her hair and walked out of the scene.
"I guess that was another failure," Jin thought. "Oh well, another time." He walked down the stairs.
"Arghhh, what a bummer, I wanted to actually see them fight," a male student sighed.
"Don't worry, the Muken Festival is just around the corner." A female student tapped him on his shoulders.
Zen walked outside the gate. He couldn't help but pause to take the whimsical view into memory. Horse carriages and steam-powered vehicles filled the road. By the roadside, food and vegetable stalls were stationed; buying and selling went on between individuals from different races.
"As expected of Skon, it really is lively here." He headed for the train station, where he boarded a train back to his shabby room.
"Finally, I'm back." He tossed his bag aside and fell onto his bed. "Ahhh, that's the stuff. It's quite comfy for a rundown place like this." He closed his eyes briefly. "Wait, I almost forgot, I have to test out some spells." He jumped from his bed.
He turned his gaze to the wall. "Aspilon, why the sudden visit?" A female figure with pointed ears and large breasts emerged from the wall.
"Lord Dark…" Her chest jiggled. "I came in regards to our findings on—"Zen grabbed her breasts before she could finish.
"I always wondered how her breasts would feel… they are quite soft, like a pillow," he thought. He pressed them a bit harder. "Ahhhhh, Lord Dark, have you decided to have me here and now?" She licked her lips, cheeks getting redder.