Soon they arrived at the royal palace, a magnificent structure with golden domes and intricate carvings, there were hundreds of guards stationed at different positions all of whom bowed their heads in front of goddess Diana, as she led the group into the large hall of the castle.
As the group of teenagers and two women entered such a castle for the first time, they couldn't help but marvel at the lavish structure and decorations, everything seemed to be made of gold and silver with countless jewels adoring them.
At the front sat a man wearing majestic golden armor with long black beard and a beautiful crown on his head, it was the king, he seemed to be in his forties but in this world, age was truly a number as strong people could go on for hundreds and even thousands of years.
He had a robust body and possessed a royal aura, but his smile brought a calming feeling around him.
On either side of the king stood four guards with deadly presence in silver armours, holding spears.
There were more than twenty seats present on both side of the throne in the hall where ministers, generals and other people at high positions sat, all of them stood as one of the guards announced the arrival of the goddess.
"Welcome my dear guests to this humble kingdom called Dunshire, I know this is all too sudden and far too dangerous and we've just placed you all in danger; but we will help you all in any way we can and provide you with all the resources we possess so you have nothing to fear."
King Aldric spoke after bowing his head slightly towards the Goddess, his tone was quite amicable.
"Our young heroes have obtained marvellous abilities that will greatly help us in the fight against the demons, prepare all the basic necessities for them; they are my responsibility so don't upset them in any way." Diana spoke, her tone calm.
"Of course goddess, I will do my very best in aiding them. You don't have to worry about a thing, whether it be living spaces, teachers or guards to protect them everything will be handled personally by me." The king responded with a look of assurance.
Then King Aldric greeted the group warmly, his friendly demeanour putting them at ease. He spoke of the threats that plagued his kingdom and thanked them, then introduced a few figures of importance and continued to speak about different things for some time.
After listening for a while Vritra paid little attention to the king, instead he observed his status window and with just a thought he was able to conceal it from the gazes of all the others; this ability of his that seemed utterly useless at first sight might not be as simple if it was ranked so highly.
'Pain resistance, no one else possessed any such skills; at least not at such a high level. Even the ones who had obtained different bloodline and physique like Fiona, who obtained the phoenix's abilities only possessed fire resistance at level 1.
How strange, seems like I will have to check it all out later on.' Vritra pondered in his mind, his expressions as always were veiled by the curtain of his black hair falling over his face up to his nose.
Soon the king led the group towards a large dining area where a lot of different types of meals were prepared for them all, as they ate the goddess discussed the abilities of all the people with the king, she informed him about the ones he should cherish and the ones that were useless.
After the sumptuous meal in the palace dining area, all of them gathered in the garden right outside the palace; the king, goddess and a few guards stood in front of them.
Clearing her throat, Diana looked over the group and spoke in a melodic voice that made the hearts of many boys race.
"All of you must be tired after such big events both mentally and physically, we have already prepared rooms for you all; you can tell me or the king directly if there is anything that you need, if none of you have anything further to say then you can rest for today." After speaking Diana looked over them waiting for anyone to speak.
"Uh… Actually my bones are in pain and my old body would shiver with just the slightest activity and even the ability I received is quite useless so is there a chance that I can stay back and just enjo-" Ms. Mia held her knee as she spoke with a pained expression.
Diana glanced at her for a moment before turning her gaze away.
"Hmm since none of you have anything to say, then you can rest or look around the palace; but be careful not to use your abilities carelessly, a guard or two will always be protecting you, so you don't have to worry about your safety at all." Diana told them about a few more things and finally dismissed them all.
The guards brought the group to their new rooms inside the palace, all the rooms were present in close corridors and just as the king and the goddess had promised the rooms were quite luxurious.
All of them selected their rooms, Vritra and Vanessa chose rooms next to each other though he was sure his mother would spend most of her time in his room she was obsessed and overprotective of him.
Jack wanted to get the room next to Fiona hoping to somehow get her attention, he was quite happy to have received such great abilities maybe he would finally be able to impress her.
But Fiona was quite the opposite of the calm exterior she presented to everyone, she in fact was into bad boys; she had never been interested in Jack instead she had recently fallen for the famous bully and gangster of her school, Max.
Max and Fiona were aware of each other's feelings and towards her, Max always acted like the perfect gentleman so their love blossomed in secret, yet their relationship had barely developed.
Fiona hid one more secret from everyone, even Max—behind her composed facade, she was utterly consumed by lust.
Her thoughts were filled with unrestrained desires and urges, her body aching for pleasures she dared not speak of. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, the hunger only grew stronger but she could never let anyone know of this.
Everyone began to enter their rooms since they were really exhausted by this sudden journey, few students formed groups to chatter while some were too frightened by it all.
Max and Fiona briefly glanced at each other, a silent spark between their gazes as they entered their rooms, although Max wanted to deepen his relationship with her but since he truly loved her and planned to make her his wife so he was trying his best to go at a speed he believed suited her, not knowing of her true nature.
"My little darling, are you sure you are alright? Maybe I should stay with you?" Vanessa spoke, a rare expression of worry on her face, her overprotective nature surfacing.
"Don't worry mom, it is no big deal. It isn't as bad as it looks… probably, anyway you should rest too for now- oh right, what kind of ability did you receive?" Vritra asked curiously.
"Uh… That- Cough Well, this ability helps me cook delicious dishes, anyway you should rest now; call me if you need anything." After speaking and lovingly ruffling his hair she walked into her room.
'Looks like she is hiding something, I wonder what her ability really is. Hmm I am sure she will tell me later on her own, I hope it isn't anything troublesome.' Vritra thought as he walked into his own room.
The interior was more lavish than he expected, he was used to living in a luxurious house but the feel here was completely different; it gave off an antique feeling, everything was designed so differently.
There was a bed, a couple of shelves some food, clothes and many other necessities; it seemed they all were treated nicely in there at least.
Without looking around much he just fell back onto the bed, despite appearing calm all this while the whole situation was a bit too sudden for him too, especially the thing about his ability.
'Is this ability really as useless as it seems? But what about such a high rank then?' Vritra wondered as he stared at his status window.
He sat up and tried to use his ability, pointing his palm towards the floor he willed in his mind to use this ability and instantly saw dust starting to float, he tried to do more but it seemed that was all he could do for now.
But even after using his skill for a few minutes he barely saw much drop in his mana pool so at least that was an advantage.
Sighing he changed into the comfortable clothes of this world and soon drifted off to sleep.
******
Early in the next morning, all of them gathered for breakfast at a large table where the king and the Goddess were already waiting for them along with a lot of other important people from the castle.
Most of the students already seemed quite relaxed in this new environment in just a day, they talked and laughed and appeared as if they were on a picnic. They ate the food in silence and after the breakfast the goddess had something important to announce.
"It seems none of you had any problem with the accommodations and I am quite satisfied with your behaviour. Today, a team of our strong warriors will lead you all into a labyrinth, don't worry you are mostly going to just have a look around and see the demons so that you can get used to the sight and you can also try out your skills there without any worry there." Diana appeared as pure and majestic as ever in her white dress, her milky skin looked smooth and soft that could ignite one's appetite.
Like always, after hearing this news some students were worried and afraid while others were excited, they chatted for a while as the goddess observed their reactions then she added:
"You all will be divided into four groups, and each group will be led by one of the commander and a few other warriors. Their strength could be considered close to the top in this kingdom, with them present all of you will be completely safe. In any case you'll only be exploring the first level of the labyrinth, now king Aldric will divide you into groups."
Diana nodded towards the king and stood back, then the king took a scroll from one of the servant and called out the name; although the name seemed to be randomly arranged but Vritra sensed the arrangement was pre planned.
Jack was in the first group along with nine other students, in the second group were Vanessa, Fiona, Ms. Mia along with eight other students, in third group were students like Raino and others who were of above average talent and in the final group was Vritra along with Max and his entire group.
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