Darksteel

Chapter 17; Monsters and magic spells.

It was later on that evening when Adar found himself doing one of the things he enjoyed most in this wretched world besides music and annoying his father, which was sleeping. In fact, he could have gone on sleeping all night if Mr.Potter hadn't started yelling at them to wake up.

Resisting the urge to possibly set the Guild master on fire, Adar groggily cracked open his eyes and managed a frightful glare before saying frostily, "Have you gone mad, Potter? It's the middle of the night!"

 "Yes, thank you, Adar. I'm quite aware of that." Mr. Potter replied as he attempted to drag Asta out of his bed by his feet, while boy himself was hanging on to his pillow for dear life. "Smithy wants all the boys up and down in the main lobby."

 Of course this madness was a result of Smithy, for who ELSE was balmy enough to hold class in the middle of the bloody night?

 Nevertheless, the entire situation was quite rediculous and Adar would not stand for it until he was given some answers, whether Potter wanted to give them or not.

"What does he want us FOR?" he asked then, springing nimbly up from his bed and going to rummage through the wardrobe for some suitable clothes.

Strange, what DOES one wear to an impromptu meeting in the middle of the night?

Yet for all his questions, Mr.Potter could only grunt out a reply as he continued the struggle of separating Asta from his tangle of sheets as the blond boy remaind half asleep.

Nico, conveiniently, was nowhere to be seen.

Quickly changing, Adar left Mr.Potter to deal with Asta and headed down the dim corridors to the main lobby of the mansion, his head already beginning to ache at the absolute stupidity of this entire ordeal.

 Already, there were throngs of boys milling about, yawning and tired eyed as they atrempted to figure out what was going on. And among them, looking for all the world as if he was ready to tackle a Monster with his bare hands, stood Kyrin, his two friends flanking him on either side and looking equally irritated.

 Yet even though they were on opposite ends of the room Adar couldn't help but shrink back slightly, his stomach clenching in knots that, in turn, made him feel ashamed for being afraid in the first place. Why, he was a PRINCE. An heir to a bloody kingdom, for the gods' sakes! He feared no one... or, at least, he tried not to.

It was rather difficult to do so when the other boy simply had a knack for hitting things.

Thankfully, however, the other boy never spotted him, for just then, Smithy's voice bounded around the room, providing a much needed distraction.

 "Good morning, lads!"

 Adar rolled his eyes, unable to help himself as he muttered. "You call this morning? It's barely night time." He hadn't meant to say that very loud, but Smithy heard him anyway.

The big man grinned, "Quite right, quite right! Yes, this is a SPECIAL training exercise for Monster Slaying. As most of you may know, Monsters are most active in the dark. So what better way to practice our skills than fighting the beasts in their element?"

 Adar was not sure he saw the logic, if there WAS any, in that statement. But, well, he SUPPOSED he could give it a go.

So long as he didn't end up dying.

Patting his ample stomach and grinning widely, Smithy rambled on. "I've hidden golden apples all over the campus-- some in more unexpected places than others. If you find one, you get a good grade, if not... you'll be cleaning the Stables for the next two weeks! Now get to it, lads!"