It had been five weeks since school had resumed and till now Harven had yet to figure out what mad him feel so uneasy when in Jarren's presence. For the most part Jarren had been playing by the rules, never once caught in any illicit acts or fights that went nowhere.
His composure began to grow more callous, his starry eyes always watching him like an insect under a microscope. It felt predatory and yet he was ranks higher than him. Now alone in his office it was then that it clicked. 'Rank, I haven't been able to gauge what rank he is since five weeks ago!'
He had commented his wariness to the rest of the board and a meeting followed to inspect Jarren and his strangeness ranging from his glyphs to his absurd acceleration in terms of growth. His jump from Iron Strider to Silver Vow was without a doubt remarkable as he had done it within the window of a single day.
He feigned luck at the time and with no concrete evidence to push with, they could only halt their investigations for now till something profound happened. And so far nothing happened, weeks blurring together in banality as Jarren went on with his play as the spoilt noble's son.
***
'Oh he finally found it. I knew he'd get there eventually.' Jarren mused, his breathes slowed as he looked at his body that was drenched in sweat. He was in the Training hall experimenting with his body for the mock tournaments that were two days away.
Rather than tunnel visioned with getting stronger, he was satisfied with his current level of rank. Silver Vow in Knighthood and Gravechant in the Maga path. 'I don't mind waiting for a couple of weeks for another breakthrough.'
Unlike his fellow students, he has the option of ascension at any time he pleased and yet he chose to fit into the crowd like a drop falling into the vast expanse of the ocean. He never did anything outstanding, his feats well within his range and as for his Gravechant rank, he masked it well with his shadow attribute.
His movements never lacking in grace and fluidity picked up haste till exceeding that of a person in his rank. Now his figure was nothing more than a hazy blur, his opponent his own shadow manipulated by a soul of a sovereign horror once reverend but now reduced to his test dummy.
The point was to test his body that held it's own. "Don't walk out of the ring." He instructed, his serpentine smile faintly flashing before the two figures disappeared.
*BAM*
A series of punches going head to head echoed throughout the empty hall. A privilege he siphoned out of Veriyal as training outdoors would reveal too much than he liked to show. Unlike Iron Strider, his movements were now greatly faster in comparison and his huge well of malcore added to this.
Overtime the fights started to cause ripples in the air, chaos started leaking through the seams of reality and now their movements studied felt unrealistic. Their bodies arched in ways that defied logic, their presence existing for no more than a second before escaping the fragile veil of reality and punches clashes beneath the realms of ruin and herald.
The fight persisted till his body could no longer handle the rules that restricted his presence onto the plane of reality. Unraveling ever so slowly as his match with his shadow dragged on, no side gaining the upper hand.
*Whoosh*
His bones now unraveled with every punch he manged to land onto the shadow and his mind fracturing with every blow dealt to him. It wasn't long before his entire existence was wiped off the fabric of reality by laws unseen.
As if time displaced his figure reappeared once more, without a scratch on him as his shadow melted back into his silhouette. The sovereign horror sent back to it's purgatory till he requested it's presence once more. His breathes heavy, he made his way towards his room only to run into Orissa.
As of late she had been keeping her distance but her wonder of him never faded. "Jarren!" She called out to him. He merely turned his head in response. "Hello Orissa, it's been a while since we last talked. I'm sure that things are going well for you."
His smile had now simmered down to a faint line. "I'm okay although I do have to ask..." Her voice trailed off into a mumble that he caught clearly. "What is it that you wish to know?" His clothes clinging onto his chest making her eyes toggle from his face to his abs.
"Right I wanted to know just what rank you are?" An awkward silence came about the two before he started to walk away. "Guess." That was her response before his figure vanished back to the dormitories. 'Guess? That's exactly what I've been doing for the past two weeks.'
So far she was still a Wrymkindled and in Silver Vow, most of her time dedicated to mastering her elementals. As for Jarren, she had seen him about with his callous demeanor as usual. Never once did he look serious but she had heard claims of how he was a prodigy unmatched in the Darkness Element.
And his glyphs were another mystery she had yet to decode. As for Jarren after a quick shower made his way towards the Arcane Archives not for enlightenment but for a specific individual.
***
"My, how time flew by." The sounds of giggles could be heard in the lavish halls of the Archives . A small posse of ladies sat in a cluster, brushing through their work as they reminisced about their holiday. "Callista, I heard that you had met the princess once again." Another commented shifting the attention towards the eye of the group.
Callista Vaewlyn, a lady of a profound background, notably one of the top three in the entire academy which had a fair share of nobles. Her life was a fairy tale, immense talent at birth, great parents and a endless support from those around her. Her social circle being those of the top elitists of society was a privilege that she grew bored off.
Because of it she grew callous to it all, opting to focus more on her development as a Mage and a Knight. She was one of the few students to be a Crimson Sigil in Knighthood and a Gravechant in Maga, most students barely reaching such a standard.
As for the friends she attracted, they were there to help her pass time. Live a life most normal students had and because of this she barely formed any meaningful relationships save for a few people.
"I guess I did." Her eyes still entranced in her book never once shifting to look at her comrades who had grown used to her demeanor. She had a lot of admirers, most of who dreamed of gaining her attention but never once bothered the concept as from previous examples resulted with shame or contempt.
Her short silver grey hair immaculate that swayed despite the absence of breeze, her ashen eyes half open as her pristine dark linen clothes made her seem cold and detached. "Is that who I think it is?" The topic suddenly shifted however she remained absorbed in her book.
"Why would a scoundrel like him even want to approach us? Just because he thinks he's a noble. Can't he take a hint?" The discourse that arose was because of Jarren's presence who made his way to the table in the reserved section of the Archives.
"Ladies, it's most certainly a pleasure to meet you all once more however I'm here to talk to Callista." Looks of disapproval flashed onto most of the faces present. As for the one addressed, she barely reacted. "Can you leave us Jarren? We're trying to study for the upcoming tournament."
One mused, her voice laced with malice as her eyes probed Jarren's figure with disgust. "I apologize for that however I'm here to apologize to Callista for my earlier faults. I truly shouldn't have tried to overreach and aim for a lady a league far superior in comparison to mine. I am truly sorry and I hope that she can forgive me."
The air fell silent, most confused with what they had just heard. "Did he just apologize?" A whisper rang. "To think that a spoilt noble was capable of accountability. It was about time." Another shot. However eyes now landed on Callista who was still entrenched in her book.
Sensing the eyes she looked up, a look of apathy plastered on her face. "I appreciate it Jarren." Her tone distant as she looked back down at her book. "Great, now since you're done you can leave." Jarren who still wore his smile like a favorite mask went on. "To show my sincerity, I'll give Miss Callista a private enlightenment on my glyphwork at any time she wishes."
The snarky brats ready to see his figure walk away paused once more. Callista's eye narrowed as she now looked up. She had heard the tale of Jarren's indecipherable glyphworks and grew mildly interested however that curiousity she had faded overtime.
And now here he was ready to prostrate his academic reverend work to her as a form of appeasement. Some would choke with jealousy however she merely looked nonchalant. "Just give me a quick demonstration of it and I'll think whether it's worth my time."
"Very well." Some of the girls cursed in their hearts how easy she had it, wondering as to why they didn't have the same level of privilege as she did. Jarren made a small bow of respect before opening his palm. The glyph started normal as always with a circle that broke down into smaller ones, each with their own orbital circuit.
However unlike before rather than spiralling into madness, he chose to add depth to it all. All glyphs came in two dimensional runes and for teases, he changed the concept a bit however to the girls it was something they had never seen before.
The circles cracked out of their maddening rotations and broke upwards forming a globe. The details of it all unfathomable regardless of experience as the glyph took on a small globe shape. New circles forming as others broke into ends and for shock it flickered.
Suspending the prototype, he reached his own hand in and pulled out a single gold shard. Wavering the glyph out of his hand, he placed the shard on the table and his smile shone through. "I hope it was worth your time however I understand any rejections that you give me."
Callista who had remained indifferent nearly her whole life was now in awe however he face betrayed it. Underneath that facade of calmness was a storm of questions that led nowhere, curiousity gnawing her existence as she even leaned in during his presentation.
"... It was passable. Though I do have questions of my own thus I'll have to trouble you after the tournament." And with that she rose to her feet and took her leave. Startled her party chased after her however Jarren merely let out an intriguing smile. "Curiousity us certainly an interesting thing that lead people to wonderfully bizzare places."