“COUGH! Let’s head out, guys, enough fooling around, we have a lot of ground to cover to make it to our Homeroom, and the clock is ticking.” As Benny crossed his arms over his chest and heaved a sigh, he looked like Cynrik. He coughed loud enough to get everyone’s attention and herded the couples to their first class, Basic and Practical Affinity Arts, with Professor Tessa Morningdale.
Under the pressured guidance of the impatient Benny, the other members of MyrkLys straightened up and headed off down the well-lit path leading out of the Cavern of Dorms and into the fresh open air outside.
Upon stepping into the bright triple morning suns, the temperature increased noticeably and the ambient sounds of birds, students, and people going about their morning activities were almost overwhelming.
After locking themselves in one of the dorms for nearly a week, this was the first time the party had emerged from the dimly lit caverns since arriving. It took a moment for everyone, especially the two Dark Affinity user’s eyes, to adjust.
“Lead the way, Benny, since you clearly want to take charge.” Then, smirking at the younger boy, who proudly lifted his chin towards the sky, Cynrik made a wisecrack at Benny’s expense, his hand casually snaking its way around the narrow waist of Selene.
Feeling Cynrik’s hand finding its way onto her body, Selene momentarily shivered but soon gave in and allowed him to do as he pleased. Though she appeared calm and refined with his advances, she was giggling gleefully in her head that Cynrik was finally making a move after being around each other for over a week.
As the group walked, they chatted about their morning routine, and to any random passerby, the members of MyrkLys looked like any other average teenage group of couples. In contrast, they stood out from the other first-years and second-years, migrating in similar directions. From the two large, muscular Warriors, Benny and Brance, to the two Dark Affinity users wearing hoods and gloves despite it being a hot morning, the only one left out was Gabby, who looked like a semi-normal yet overly pretty high school girl.
Occasionally, when a group of older students passed by them, they would whisper to each other after spotting the brilliantly shining platinum badges pinned to the group of five first-year’s chests.
Taking note of all the eyes landing on the party as they walked by, Cynrik was pleasantly surprised to find out that instead of making a flashy statement, it seemed to deter other students, who would clear a path for them upon noticing the unique accessories.
Unfortunately, this only worked against students above the first year since the new intake first years had yet to come into contact and receive an explanation about the Faction system.
[[So the first class up is the Affinities introduction, what does the rest of our schedule look like today?]] Holding Gabby’s hand, Brance asked while they walked in the morning suns.
[[Technically, it’s Homeroom first, with a Professor Morningdale, who also happens to be our Affinities teacher as well, as Benny stated already. But, God, Brancie, get your head out of your ass and stop flirting with Gabby. Aren’t you supposed to be the model student in our little dysfunctional family?]] Tracing the well-defined hips of Selene with his fingertips, giving the girl goosebumps, Cynrik rolled his eyes, not wanting to watch the disgusting display of his little brother swooning over Gabby.
“What are you doing, stepbrother?” Selene, unable to ignore the “dysfunctional family” remark from Cynrik, whispered in his ear an inappropriate comment of her own, causing Cynrik to frown and pinch her asscheek as punishment and causing her to nearly let out a moan in the process.
“Quiet woman, there are children around.” He angrily huffed into her ear. But not only did this not stop Selene, who was clearly in some kind of mood after the slap and subsequent pinch, biting her lip and making a decision, Selene slid her hand into Cynrik’s back pocket like nothing had happened and looked up at him with a “what did I do” expression.
[[Anyway, like I was saying, Homeroom is slated for 45 minutes, followed by Intro Affinities for 3 hours. After that, we split up, with you, Benny, and Selene heading to the Tank class while Gabby and I go to Year One World History. Both courses have a run time of two hours, and then we break for lunch for an hour.]] Ignoring Selene, Cynrik went back on topic and explained the first half of the day.
[[Then, after lunch, we all meet up again for Basic Combatives, which is you and Gabby’s final class for the day. Meanwhile, Selene, Benny, and I are stuck going to anger management for an hour before we are free to head home.]]
Brance nodded his understanding and glanced at how closely Cynrik and Selene were walking together before switching mind link channels and grilling his older brother.
[What’s up with the PDA(Public Display of Affection) today? I thought you were keeping her at arm’s length, yet here you are OPENLY flirting, grabbing her ass, and walking with your arm around her hip as if you two have been dating for years.] As he spoke, Brance unconsciously pulled Gabby closer and smiled at her. The act made her blush before resting her head on Brance’s shoulder while they walked.
[Give me a break; I just fought a LITERAL DEMI-GOD for crying out loud. If I wanna flirt with the chick who was CLEARLY sent here to be my soul mate, so be it. Fuck, im not a monk after all.] Cynrik snorted.
[Uh huh, sure, just admit you like her already. Doesn’t she checkmark like all of your boxes for taste? Wears all black, heavy eye makeup, daddy er…mommy issues; hell, if she was old enough, im sure she would be covered in tattoos and piercings. Why bother fighting it?] Brance rolled his eyes and chastised his brother.
[You forgot great ass and perky boobas. But you said it yourself; why bother fighting it. I am exhausted from constantly fighting against Odin and, I guess, Freya’s intentions. We click together well, so why not give it a shot and see where it goes. It’s not like we can do anything physically, right, anyway. The school policy explicitly forbids it, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if some kind of alarm would go off if I got TOO handsy. That doesn’t mean I can’t get some INTERESTING text messages, kuekue.] A lewd expression crept across Cynrik’s face; luckily, it was hidden under his hood, and the only one who could see it was Selene, who was close enough to peak in.
[Fucking gross, Cyn, get a fucking room.] Hearing his brother casually dropping the fact that he and Selene were exchanging pictures gave Brance a sour taste in his mouth, forcing him to spit on the ground.
[Hehe, would if I could, Brancie, would if I could.] Cynrik sighed ruefully while pinching Selene’s hip once again. He had to admit it was just the right amount of plump and very fun to play with, even if there was a layer of clothing between him and the flesh.
It didn’t take long for the party to traverse the mountain and arrive at the First Year Campus. However, they lost time navigating their peers’ frantic and noisy crowd, who largely seemed lost.
Going against the traffic flow, the Jetlensr brothers held their girls close. But it was at that moment that Benny, who acted as a substantial meaty wedge, cut a path through the other students until they eventually located a sizeable gothic building in the Elemental Wing, which was where their Homeroom was located.
Entering the building, Benny led them through a tight, winding hallway, where they were shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other students until they arrived at a large open classroom.
“EA 03, this is the one; let’s hurry and find our seats; we still have some time to settle before our professor arrives.” Benny narrated and pointed above everyone’s head to a golden placard with the classroom number on it.
Upon stepping through the doorway, the party was greeted by a big, open theater-style classroom, where at the front was a podium for the Professor and a wall-sized chalkboard facing stair-step-style platforms of tables. Each table had two chairs, and the rows had seven tables each, going up 14 layers.
Seeing as the tables were already half full, Cynrik walked passed Benny, Brance, and Gabby, who were looking around aimlessly, and dragged Selene to the top/back of the room, where he snagged an empty desk in the darkest corner.
Besides the fact that he didn’t like people sitting behind him, the arrangement also gave him a clear view of the entire classroom, allowing him to consider several exit strategies in case of an emergency while keeping an eye on his new classmates. It also gave him a comprehensive view of the chalkboard wall to avoid missing any potentially new information.
Noticing how quickly Cynrik found a seat for himself and Selene, the others quickly followed suit and found nearby desks, leaving only Benny sitting without a table buddy.
[[Can’t say im too excited about being in school again. After leaving that primary bullshit, I thought my days in a classroom had ended, but NOOOo, of course, I am stuck going to a college/high school combo.]] Selene complained as she traced circles on Cynrik’s leg under the table, making him frown and glare at her out of the corner of his eye. Still, this didn’t stop her as she smiled innocently back at him.
[[I won’t argue there. As much as I enjoyed being stuck with a bunch of snot-nosed brats for six years, I didn’t learn anything in primary school.]] Cynrik stated while swatting at Selene’s hand several times.
[[Oh, come on, guys, it wasn’t that bad. We did learn some valuable information back then, like Affinity Colors and some monster classifications….ok yeah, we didn’t really learn shit.]] Trying to be the optimist, Brance eventually gave up and joined in on making fun of the public school system for children.
Slowly but surely, the classroom filled up with students until finally, a loud bell chimed. A portly, dumpy, short middle-aged woman wearing a gaudy pink long-skirted business suit that went all the way to her ankles walked into the room and took her place at the podium.
“Hem hem.” The woman cleared her throat by making a strange noise, yet the students didn’t notice her presence and continued chatting loudly.
Only two people in the room noticed her; those two were Selene and Cynrik, who nearly jumped from their chairs with eyes bulging out of the sockets as they screamed in unison in the mind link.
[[HOLY FUCK, PROFESSOR UMBRIDGE, IS THAT YOU!!!]]
[[THAT’S FUCKING UMBRIDGE, RIGHT CYN, THAT’S TOTALLY HER HOLY SHIT. HAHAHA, SHE EVEN DID THE HEM HEM THING!]]
Brance cast a strange look at his brother and Selene and turned to face the dumpy woman at the front of the room, who was in the midst of adjusting her fluffy pink cardigan and a pink bow on top of her head.
Examining the woman thoroughly, Brance’s eyes shot wide open as he stared incredulously at the woman who resembled a toad, an ugly one at that.
“HEM…HEM!” Once again, the woman cleared her throat, only several decibels louder, nearly shaking the room’s walls and drawing the attention of every student, who swiftly sat straight and shut up.
“Welcome, First years; I am your Homeroom Professor; you may call me Professor Morningdale. I am a tenured professor here at the Academy and one of the foremost experts on Affinity Theory in the Country.” An incorporeal hand picked up some chalk and wrote her name and titles in a neat script on the board behind her as she spoke.
[[Ah fuck, guys…we got Umbridge as our Homeroom teacher…I do believe we are screwed.]] Watching the toad woman in pink give a speech, the realization of how bad a situation they had landed in dawned on Cynrik.
-This series is exclusively published on WebNovel if you are reading it anywhere else…You Wrong, Fam. PS Check out the discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg