Project 7 the First: The Hero's Great Come Back

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"What's taking the adviser so long? And we're only six people here. I thought we were supposed to be seven," said a girl with a ribbon tied to her ponytail.
"Could you keep quiet? You're voice is annoying so as your face," said a guy with glasses holding a deck of cards. He sat on a couch in the middle of the rectangular room.
The room that they were staying in had a couch against the wall facing a whiteboard. The room had bookshelves and also fridge and a counter. The room was quite big. It looked like an appartment, but it had only one bed just in case one of them wanted to rest. It was weird because there were no windows.
There were already six people in the room. Other than the two who were arguing, there were two in front of the shelves reading books. They were both wearing glasses, so it seemed that they were meant for each other; however, they kept their distances. The other guy was sitting on a high chair cleaning his bow on the counter. The other guy was just sitting on the couch listening to the two people arguing about noise.

Suddenly...

Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened and revealed the last member, which is Lance. Everybody looked at him in silence.
"Hey!" greeted Lance as he entered the room with an awkward smile. "I guess I'm the last member, huh?"
"Oh, great," said the girl with the ribbon crossing her arms, "We get 'Mister Zero'. How are we going to get stronger with these lame-o's."
"Excuse me?" suddenly said the guy with an emo voice on the counter. "You're the one to talk! I guess you didn't pay attention to the awarding ceremony earlier."
"I don't care if you won first place. This weakling is the big question. I bet that he relied on his partner during the contest," said the girl with the ribbon.
"May I please have some silence around?" said the girl who was reading. "You've been blabbering for minutes already. Can't you just shut up?"
"QUIET!" shouted the guy sitting the other guy holding a deck of cards on the couch so loud that it might be heard from the other rooms. "Just accept the fact that he is our teammate now. I accept him and so should you."
"Thanks," said Lance. "You're Albert, right?"
"You bet it!" said the guy who defended him.
"Whatever. I don't care anymore," said the girl with the ribbon.
Then the door swung open revealing a man with a green headband around his forehead. His hair was black and his eyes were a shade of dark brown. He had this look of determination. He wore a green vest and a black shirt inside. His pants were regular fitted jeans. For shoes, he wore black leather boots.
"Good morning to you all!" he greeted.
"About time!" said the girl with the ribbon sighed deeply.
"Yeah, I really am sorry for being late. I'll make it up to you all, but not now," said the guy who came in. He got a chair beside the couch and moved it beside the whiteboard. He sat there and sighed. "Okay, people, gather here in the middle."
Three guys sat on the couch while Lance and the other girl who was reading a book sat on the floor. The girl with the ribbon leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, and the guy with the bow just stood beside the couch.
"All right! So, I'm Mr. McGuillon; and I will be your adviser/trainer/counselor. It's my pleasure to be here!" said Mr. McGuillon.
"Why were you late?" asked the guy on the couch who was reading earlier.
"Oh, I was talking to the president of the academy. She told me that I was a lucky adviser to have you," replied Mr. McGuillon.
"Are you blind? I don't see anything special with this group," said the girl with the ribbon.
"Don't say that, Marjorie!" calmed the advider. He looked at her with that I-know-everything-about-you look. "Everyone here has a history, and I know all of them. For example, you, Marjorie. You came from a very noble family in Japan. Your surname- Carmen- was only bought to prevent enemies from finding your family. However, your entire family was killed by a mysterious Sorcerer that despised your family's ability. So, it leaves you, the surviving child of your family, as the heir."
"Hey, how'd y-"
"Like what I told you," he interrupted Marjorie, "I know all of your pasts. You can't say that everybody is of no good use." He switched to the guy with the hunting bow behind him. "Gavin Striker over here is a really strategic person. He came from the Land of the Eagle's Blessing in Excalion. It is where all of the best hunters are, or so they say."
Gavin's jaw dropped with his eyes widening slowly saying, "Whoah."
Next, Mr. McGuillon turned to the guy sitting in the middle of the couch and started talking. "Over here we got Roderick Dynamo. Very good with barrier magic, but one thing you didn't know is that your barriers do not only function as defense. It can also act as offense, but we'll work on that. Anyway, your family played an important role during the final battle of the legendary frost mage Shimo and the fiery furnace Argos. Your great great great- whatever great grandfather sealed all the volcanic areas that Argus had set up long ago. If it weren't for your ancestor, this land might have been a solid rock that had been cooled from lava." Next he turned to the guy who shouted earlier sitting beside Roderick. "And who do we have here? A legend! Albert Arclight. By the way, I'm giving condolence to your dad. I know your dad has been the greatest warrior of all history. Anyway, your dad sacrificed himself to save something precious. Well, I don't wanna talk about it any further. You'll just get hurt."
"Thanks, but it's okay," said Albert with sorrow. Then, his heart filled with desperation, "I'll just keep training harder and beat my dad's record."
"Let's see, then!" With a smile, Mr. McGuillon turned to the girl who was reading earlier. "And, now, we have Shannelle Chase. You came from a family of sorcerers and wizards. I can tell that you're a bookworm."
"You're right!" Shannelle agreed.
Mr. McGuillon turned to the next person on the couch who was arguing with Marjorie earlier. "Oh, Bryan Sanders. Watch out for this dude, guys. Especially when he plays with his cards. He can be behaved at some point; but he is a clever person and a tricky one, too."
"Yeah, whatever," said Bryan with a deceiving smile.
Lastly, Mr. McGuillon turned to Lance.
Lance was nervous about what he could say about his history. He was especially nervous about everyone knowing his secret.
"Lastly, we have Lance Garen. Well, there's really nothing to say about you; but I do know that your dad was an excellent pyrotechnician, in a magical way of course. And, your mom is a mortal. But, that's not all. There is still one more thing that I read about that you still don't know yet. Do you want to know?"
"Well, I am a curious person," said Lance, pretending to act smooth.
"In front of your team? Are you sure?" asked Mr. McGuillon again, trying to make sure.
"Just get on with it," said Lance promptly.
"If you say so," Mr. McGuillon said. "But I hope you won't go on an outrage if you hear this. Now, listen closely. This is one of the most interesting topics that I have read in my study. Your mom is mortal; but she was a part of major history. She was the greatest empress of her clan. She was a terrific magical spearman and also a fast strategist. She always had the heart to win-the heart to crush people who gets in her way. She was also ruthless. Then, one day while she was sleeping in her room, a storm suddenly swirled in her room. It was time for her judgment. The gods robbed her of her powers and strength for her abusive tyranny. Then, here is what the gods said to her, 'You have been a horrible example to your people. For that, Your powers and your bloodlust will be taken away from you. And, if you were to have a family someday, your children will never get inherited powers from any side of the family. It is a punishment for your malevolence.'"
A deep sigh came out from Lance and said, "No wonder."
"But, if that's the case, then how will he survive battles?" asked Albert curiously.
"I don't really know," replied Mr. McGuillon. "Let's just see what we can do to turn the table."
"So, you've been cursed all this time, Mr. Powerless," Marjorie teased.
"Yes, he might be cursed; but there is always a solution for any curse," Mr. McGuillon brought up.
"But, isn't that impossible?" said Roderick. "I mean, it's a curse from the almighty gods."
"Doesn't mean it's from the gods it can't be broken," said Shannelle.
"That's right," said Mr. McGuillon. "According to the book I read, the only way to break the curse is to venture out to Zerkion and find the mystique eye of Uragawa and perform the Dance of a Million Blades."
Albert suddenly froze and said, " I-I know that form of magic."
"Really?" asked Bryan with a tone of lack of interest.
"It's a ritual done by people like my dad to break seals or curses. And..." Albert said, starting to hesitate, "it's a sacrificial spell."
"Exactly," said Mr. McGuillon.
"Wow, you sure know a lot about us," said Roderick in amazement.
"Of course, I do," Mr. McGuillon replied with a big smile. "Before I meet my team, I need to research about them."
"And, you did," said Shannelle.
"Now, let's talk about this system for the second semester," said Mr. McGuillon as he stood from the chair. "Every second semester of your first year, we have this system as a chance for you to get used to group attacks and tactics. Also, you need to learn how to find a way to make combos with your teammates during a battle. You will train hard to surpass other teams' abilities or your teammates; and, as your trainer, I will help you level up. We will have a one-week semestral break. I want you to use your time wisely to train and become even stronger than how you have become now."
Everybody remained awkwardly silent at first. Then, Shannelle asked a question that broke the silence.
"So, what's the point of this whole training thing?"
"I'm just about to get to that. You will be graded by how you improve yourself and your abilities. And, we will also have quests as a group which will serve as an exam. It will depend if you will be graded individually or as a group," explained Mr. McGuillon.
When everybody heard the grading part, they all looked at Lance like he did something wrong. Lance knew that he would be a burden to everyone in the group, but he had a fiery feeling deep inside of him that he wanted to push himself in his training.
"Now, on the last two weeks of the semester, there will be a battle of the teams. Each team will be paired to fight one another. During the battle, each team should have three representatives to fight in the duel. Don't skrew this up because it's your final exam which WILL be graded as a group. If you lose a fight even if you reach the last round, you fail. The final exam is the most important one of all your exams because it has the greatest amount of percentage. If you win that battle, you'll not only pass; but you will also have your own title, and your team will be titled as the deities of your batch," Mr. McGuillon explained further.
"Sounds exciting," said Gavin, feeling challenged.
"Well, like what I told you, use your time wisely. That's all for today. Good luck on your solo training. You are dismissed."
Everybody left the room with challenged hearts. Lance, on the other hand, was nervous. He wasn't sure if he could catch up with his other teammates. It's all up to him to make or break their team's reputation.

***End of Chapter 21***