Descendants of Gibbous
Chapter 38: A game of tag

Chapter 38: A game of tag

"Woooah!"

Damien couldn’t believe his eyes.

A beautiful landscape that had a well-manicured lawn with benches, trees, and colorful flowers that adorned the stone walkways awaited him on the other side of the portal. Then there was the show stopper—a great castle right in front of him with windows glinting in the morning light. It had many turrets and towers that curved around into a large circle, with four rectangular flags flapping on opposite sides of the castle colored green, yellow, blue, and red.

Each had strange signs that looked like animals drawn on it, but when Damien squinted his eyes to see what they were, someone bumped him from behind.

"You’re standing in the way Damien," Ahara grabbed his shoulders as she said it, moving her brother from the entrance.

Once they were a good distance away from the portal, she too glanced at the castle and smiled.

"Beautiful isn’t it?" She mumbled.

"Yeah," Damien replied, blinking at the blinding sunlight that reflected on the castle’s windows.

"Still the same old enrollment drama I see," Kingston chuckled as he appeared from the portal, prompting Damien to draw his attention to his surroundings—the people this time.

The first to grab his attention were the students. They were dressed in complete uniforms that were different in colors—just like the flags atop the castle.

The girls were wearing sleeveless dresses that had pleated skirts, with a white shirt and a tie that matched the color of the dresses. As for the boys, well, black trousers with the blazers, jerseys, or vests being the color-coded uniforms on them. To complete the look was a white shirt and a tie that matched their blazers.

The students roamed around the grounds, approaching families and greeting them before taking them down a wide path that led to what looked like a stadium positioned next to the castle.

"Kingston Kapoor?" One of the students, a girl dressed in a red uniform with silvery hair and matching eyes, rushed towards the hero.

"Oh my goodness, it is you. I can’t believe I get to meet you live. You look even better in reality, with godly handsomeness, and cuteness too. I’ve only ever seen you on oblongs, wait—" a pause as she glanced at Damien, "—you have a son?!"

Damien noticed Kingston smile shyly as he shook her head at the girl in denial.

"Of course, you don’t, silly me—oh, excuse my manners, I’m Alicia Dice. I’ll be the usher who guides you. Who’s the student you came with?"

"That’ll be me," Damien replied, amazed she hadn’t slipped on any word with how fast she was speaking.

The girl outstretched her palm at him. "Can I have your ID please?"

Rummaging his pockets and producing the small plastic card, Damien handed it to the girl who pulled out her oblong and placed the ID on top. It flashed a blue color that buzzed as though it were a scanner, and when the buzzing stopped Alicia returned Damien’s card. Then her eyes widened and she flipped her head to stare at Damien.

"You’re Damien Amaris?"

"Yeah?"

She blinked, gazing at him up and down before her lips twitched and curved upwards into a smile.

"Two totally cute and popular men in one go? I can’t wait to brag about this in the dorms tonight."

Now it was Damien’s turn to smile shyly.

"Says here you’re one of the recommended students. Figures, your Dad’s a celebrity after all," Alicia added, scanning the contents on her oblong. "Well, let’s not waste any more time standing here. Please follow me to the stadium."

"They’re holding the event at the stadium this year?" Ahara asked, finally getting some attention from the girl.

Again, her eyes widened and she beamed, pushing past Damien towards Ahara. "Oh my goodness, why didn’t I notice you first?"

"Umm, because you were dazzled by handsomeness?"

Alicia cleared her throat, standing up straight. "Sorry, I haven’t quite mastered the sisters before assholes rule."

"You mean bros before hoes?" Damien corrected, but Alicia shook her head.

"We reversed it for girlhood’s sake," then she turned back to Ahara. "The event is quite lively this year so they chose the stadium as the venue."

"How lively?" Ahara asked, a worried expression on her face when she glanced at Damien.

"I don’t know. Professors never disclose the information and anyone who tries to peak at their plans or listen in on their conversation is bewitched so..." she shrugged.

Damien noticed the worry on his sister’s face increase. He touched her hands and gave them a little squeeze.

"I’ll be fine, Ahara. No need to worry."

That did the trick. Ahara stopped furrowing her brows and nodded at him.

"Good, now that everyone’s relaxed, let’s head over to the stadium. Oh, give me that, I’ll carry it for you," she took the lunch bags from Kingston before he even said no, and was leading the way the next moment, gesturing for them to follow her.

Damien sighed as they made their way down the walkway.

Alicia reminded him of Eden. A lot.

*****

"Damien!"

’Speak of the devil.’

Eden rushed towards the boy, pulling him into a hug.

"You two know each other?" Alicia asked, glancing between them.

"Wouldn’t it be a surprise if we didn’t?"

"Right...you’re both silver spoon brats."

"Shut up! Your Dad’s the Alpha wolf king!"

Alicia laughed whilst Damien glanced at her surprisedly, wondering if he had a magnet attached to him that attracted royal families.

"Okay, since you know each other, I’ll leave you to explain what I told you to him, Eden. There’s still a crowd waiting outside the stadium," Alicia spoke in a rather fast-paced voice, already heading in the other direction before Eden accepted her offer.

But the Vampire princess didn’t seem to mind. She grabbed Damien’s hand, pulling him along to the center of the stadium where a group of students who couldn’t have been more than forty were standing. Surrounding them was a red ribbon attached to gold bars that separated them from the rest of the students.

Ever since splitting from Ahara and Kingston at the entrance, Damien was afraid he’d be alone wherever Alicia was leading him. The last thing he expected was to meet with Eden, or better yet, Ambrose who was standing where Eden was headed.

Next to Ambrose was a boy dressed in robes Damien had only seen in Asian dramas. One look at him and the word royalty flashed in his head. However, to his surprise, when they arrived where the boy and Ambrose were standing, Eden ignored him and pushed Damien between herself and the boy.

He immediately flashed Damien a curious look.

’Does he like her?’ Damien wondered, looking around in a fit to ignore his glare.

He noticed the four large animal statues sitting on the stadium’s rooftops and facing each other, each a different color similar to the flags and student uniforms he had seen earlier.

To the right was a large yellow dragon holding what looked like a book, and to the left was a green serpent whose mouth was wide open, facing the stadium. Glancing behind, Damien noticed the blue wolf statue sitting on its hind legs and facing the sky with its head up. Then lastly, in the direction he was facing was a large red bird that was glaring inside the stadium.

"We’re standing in the recommended students’ circle," Eden began explaining, and he snapped his head to face her.

"The rest of the students filling the stadium received invitation letters from the teachers who saw potential in them as they hunted for rogues throughout Gibbous. They were scouted."

"Isn’t that the same as a recommendation?" Damien asked the princess.

"No," both Eden and the boy next to Damien replied.

Damien looked at him at the same time Eden glared at the boy, but he continued explaining anyway as if to annoy her.

"The recommended section is made up of skilled students whose power grabbed the attention of the popular X-ranked heroes or the council. Aside from them, it also contains kids from royal and rich families, or those whose parents have connections strong enough for a hero to appraise their name here. For example, that guy sucking up to the Wizard lords son," he pointed at a boy standing a few meters away, beaming at a guy dressed in a fancy fur robe.

Damien immediately recognized the boy. It was Ambrose’s half-brother. He glanced at her expecting to see some sort of reaction, but her face was stoic despite her brother being dissed. She was focused on the red bird Damien had been looking at earlier.

’Hmm. I like her no fucks given attitude.’

"So, does that mean we’re already accepted students?" Damien asked, looking away from Ambrose and glancing between the boy next to him and Eden.

"Why don’t you answer this question too, Yong Kim?"

"My pleasure me’ lady," Yong Kim, as Eden had called him, slightly bowed his head at the princess before turning to Damien, oblivious to the princess rolling her eyes at him.

"You see, under normal circumstances, we’d already be official students. But it seems this year they’ve changed the enrollment process."

"Oh," Damien replied, his eyes scanning around the students filling the stadium.

The teenage boys here in Gibbous provided serious competition for him in height, muscles, and looks, though he still thought he ranged somewhere in the top ten. Most of them weren’t much to look at, leaving for this Yong guy next to him. He was almost beautiful.

"Might I know how you got recommended? You’re clearly not royalty, but since you know Eden, I’d assume one of your parents works in Fangpeaks palace. Are they perhaps a servant, or trainer?" Yong asked tilting his head to face Damien.

’A beautiful blabbermouth.’ Damien noted.

"He’s Damien Amaris you idiot," Ambrose who had been quiet up until now fumed. "And what’s wrong with being a palace servant’s child?"

"Whoa now, easy there cat woman, I didn’t mean to offend you," Yong raised his hands in the air. "But I’ve got to ask, who’s Damien Amaris?"

"Me," Damien placed his palm on his chest.

"Yeah, I know but why did she say your name as if the whole world knows your name?"

"Oh my goodness," Eden slapped her forehead in frustration.

"Yet another idiot amongst the boys," Ambrose scanned him up and down, pulling Eden away from Damien. "Stay away, Eden, you’ll catch the dumbness."

"Hey! What did I do?!" Damien protested just when a loud echo akin to that of a microphone on a loudspeaker came from somewhere in the stadium.

"Attention new students and parents alike. The enrollment event is about to begin shortly," announced a voice that sounded too excited to belong to a grown-up, but the pitch and tone almost gave the man behind it away.

Just then, oblong pieces floated from one side of the stadium, aligning themselves right below the red bird statue and forming one large cube that everyone in the stadium could see. Then to Damien’s surprise, the statue moved.

It spread its wings as if to fly, but it didn’t. When its eyes flapped open, blue-colored hues glared at the students standing in the middle of the edifice, making Damien widen his eyes at the bird.

"I-it moved! The bird statue moved!" Damien stuttered, pointing at it.

"You mean the phoenix?" Yong asked sarcastically, making Eden laugh.

The boy looked pleased with himself. He smiled smugly, nudging Damien’s elbow and mouthing:

’She laughed at my joke.’

Damien was still fortifying the thought that Yong probably liked Eden when the oblong cube beeped loudly as a bright color flashed on it. Then to his surprise, he saw himself and the rest of the recommended students appear on the screen as if they were on TV.

’So the bird’s the camera.’ The boy noted in his head, wincing when the loud mic echo filled the stadium with its ear-piercing noise. Then the voice from before came again:

"Good, now that everyone’s here, why don’t we get to business? Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for Gibforge’s enrollment event for this year—"

A pause.

"—a game of tag!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.