The Helios kingdom, in a nutshell, was just a small circular island. At its borders lay a dense forest, and beyond that forest stood several rundown villages, collectively known as the Outskirts. Toward the island's center, however, was where the true kingdom thrived: a vibrant city with streets of smooth cement and buildings of red and white marble.
The city brimmed with life—churches devoted to Helios, cozy coffee shops, bustling eateries, the royal palace, and, most importantly, the two great academies.
At that very moment, in the academy reserved for teenage highborn citizens, a dark-haired prince was doing his best to sneak into class unnoticed.
Damn it, damn it. For the second week in a row, I've been late, and I still haven't finished my assignment.
Lucius carefully peered through one of his classroom's tall windows. Inside, his desk sat empty among rows of students diligently taking notes. At the front, Mrs. Clemens droned from a textbook.
Slowly, he pushed the window open inch by inch. A few classmates noticed, but they were long used to their "shitty prince's" antics and said nothing. Luckily, Mrs. Clemens remained oblivious to the boy dangling from her windowsill.
Still… there was no way he could leap through the opening and reach his seat without being caught. His arms burned from holding on, and with a three-story drop below him, he decided to risk it.
Minor Glamour.
Lucius hated using his Loki abilities in public, as the risk rarely outweighed the reward. But this time, the reward of avoiding an enraged Mrs. Clemens was worth it.
Suddenly, an illusory spider appeared on her head. It was Huge and Black, with gleaming red eyes. So real, it almost looked more alive than life itself.
For a long moment, no one noticed. Then a girl looked up from her parchment, froze, and shrieked:
"AHHHHH—SPIDER!"
The classroom erupted into chaos. Students screamed, pelting the poor teacher with books and quills in a desperate attempt to crush the creature. Mrs. Clemens, unable to see the spider herself, shrieked and flailed wildly, as if she were dancing on hot coals.
Seizing the chaos, the prince slipped soundlessly through the window and into his seat. No one noticed.
Eventually, Mrs. Clemens managed to swat the spider with her textbook. At Lucius's command, the illusion toppled to the floor and scuttled out the window.
His teacher was a wreck. The neat bun she'd started the day with had unraveled, blonde hairs jutting out in every direction.
She coughed, raised her textbook to hide her flushed face, and muttered,
"All right, class. Let's… resume."
A wave of disbelief rippled through the room.
"She's really just going to continue like nothing happened?"
As Mrs. Clemens read, her voice was tight and brittle, showing her embarrassment. For the first time, Lucius actually felt a pang of guilt, and he made a mental note to make it up to her somehow.
When the bell finally rang, he slipped into the crowd of departing students, hoping to vanish unnoticed.
But Mrs. Clemens's voice cut through the shuffle.
"Where do you think you're going, Lucius?"
Freezing, Lucius turned to face his teacher with a nervous smile. Mrs. Clemens, however, didn't even glance up from her book.
"Oh, you know… out the door," he joked.
She calmly turned a page.
"Did you ever come through the door?"
"How else would I have gotten here, ma'am?" Lucius laughed. But her following words shattered his façade.
"Oh, I don't know, through the window, like the other six times?"
There were two types of people in the world. The first were fools who never knew when to abandon a lie, only digging themselves into deeper punishment. The second were smarter, able to weigh when lying was useful, and when admitting the truth was the better option.
Lucius sighed, scratching his head.
"Seven other times, actually. But yes, you caught me."
He clasped his wrists together and stuck his arms out toward her dramatically.
"Arrest me if you must."
This earned him no laughter from the stone-faced Mrs. Clemens. She did, however, finally look up from her book, adjusting her glasses with deliberate precision.
"I don't want to do that," she said evenly. "But I do want to know if you've picked your assignment yet."
"I, uh…"
"You haven't." She cut him off before he could finish. "Do you want to know how I know that?"
"Sure," Lucius said brightly.
"Because the King sent me a letter last night." Her tone was flat, but her eyes glinted with restrained irritation. "Imagine my excitement at receiving a letter from the king of our nation—your father—only to read an angry parent's writing, complaining that his son hasn't signed up for his end-of-year mission yet."
Lucius winced.
End-of-year missions were no joke. To graduate from the academy, students had to form groups of five, led by a full-fledged Scion, and embark on a government-sanctioned mission. Their performance determined future placements in the workforce. Others might worry about being late to sign up for a mission, but the Gods had already chosen a prince's future. He would be conscripted into the military, forced to fight in Helios' battles as a slave.
What would he need a placement mission for?
"I'm sorry my father called you." Lucius bowed.
"Rise." Mrs. Clemens handed him a large envelope. "Your father picked out a mission for you. The details are inside. You're dismissed."
…
Later that night, Lucius sat cross-legged atop his massive bed. The king-sized mattress was draped with red sheets and a white comforter, but spread across it were various cultivation resources, each one a Scion could absorb to advance through ranks and stages.
As a Gold Stage 3 Loki Scion, he was already close to breaking through the barrier into Stage 4. Unfortunately, his Helios Pathway lagged far behind. Resources could only be used once, and only in a single pathway. A prince could not cheat the system and advance two paths with the same materials.
Closing his eyes, Lucius gripped a pair of tusks taken from a Grade 2 Lava Boar. Dangerous creatures, capable of spewing molten fire from their mouths, but for a Stage 3 Scion, their mana wasn't especially potent.
One tusk after another dissolved into streams of energy, seeping into Lucius's body. His veins burned with mana until he could feel himself pressing against the wall of Stage 4—just a little more. Even the weakest beast fragment would push him over the edge.
But when he reached around his bed, his hand came up empty. Blinking, he opened his eyes and silently screamed.
Damn it! I'm out of tusks!
Reaching Stage 4 would have to wait for another night.
Collapsing backward into his sheets, he let out a long sigh. His body still buzzed with mana, so close to a breakthrough, yet the wall of Stage 4 refused to crumble. For now, it would have to wait.
His gaze drifted to the envelope sitting on his nightstand. Not the sealed letter his mother had entrusted him with, but the thick, ominous packet Mrs. Clemens had given him. Inside were the details of the mission his father had so generously "chosen" for him.
Lucius clenched his jaw.
So this is how my father wishes to test me… Or get rid of me. Either way, Sunday will be hell.