Control

Knock! Knock!

"Come in," Elizabeth put down the papers in her hands. Her long hair almost touched the floor as she sat down on the chair. She looked up. Her nails glinted slightly as she stared at the door. Slam! The door burst open as a tall woman burst through. She wore a dark blue, tight fitting vest and a pair of black jeans pants with one holster on each side. Her brown hair was tied in a pony tail. Her eyes were golden- a shade that didn't match the slightly tanned colour of her skin. She had a wild look, as if she was a mercenary that risked her life everyday.

"Did you call me, boss?" A thin, sharp voice called out, harsh, yet full of respect. Elizabeth placed both of her hands on the desk. "As a matter of fact, I did, Anna. Please sit." Screech! Anna pulled out a chair as she sat down opposite to Elizabeth. She stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"How's Darius?" Anna frowned at the mention of Darius White. He was a blood supremacist who believed in the superiority of nobles. He was an extremely powerful individual who wielded immense influence, both inside and outside KGS. Darius was the perfect example of everything wrong with the teachers in Keystone.

"He's a pain." Anna didn't mince her words. "He's trying to bring second years into the first years' faction wars." Elizabeth's expression didn't change. Evidently, she wasn't surprised. Anna scowled. "If it was any other teacher, I'd have kicked them out of Keystone. But with Darius...."

Her eyes blazed in anger. "It's taking all I can to keep him from ruining this school. Any more than it has been, anyway." Tack...tack...tack. Elizabeth tapped the desk with her long nails. Any more than it has been, huh? She didn't speak for a moment.

"Try to keep him suppressed. The Quad is better off not having him." Tack...tack...tack. The Quad. A group of four teachers that made up the single most important group in KGS. The Quad was led by the principal of KGS. And the other three were elected by the teachers amongst themselves. Every two years, the members of the Quad could have their positions challenged. But the current Quad had stayed the same for the last 10 years. Nobody was as influential as these four members in KGS. At least for now.

David Chu was the youngest member of the Quad, having stayed in it for 10 years, ever since he retired from gatekeeping and joined KGS. Anna Weber, the woman in front of Elizabeth, was chosen twelve years ago, and was the second youngest member. She joined 12 years ago, shortly after Elizabeth became the principal.

Elizabeth Black was the head of the Quad. The principal of KGS. And the strongest human in KGS for the last fifteen years, ever since she joined the school as a principal. And finally, the oldest member in the Quad. The second strongest person in KGS who had stayed in this body for twenty long years. Edward Henrick.

"I didn't call you to talk about Darius today." Tack...tack...tack. Anna nodded slightly. Ever since Elizabeth started tapping the desk with her long, sharp nails, she knew that she'd been called here for something important. Tack...tack...tack. Elizabeth only did that when she was facing a problem.

"Take a look at this." Elizabeth slided the papers she had been going through across the desk. Crackle...crackle. Anna looked at the white sheets beneath her. "The recent attack on two two Pebble House kids. Yeah, I've heard about it." Crackle...crackle...crackle.

Anna's eyes widened as she flipped through the pages. She glanced at Elizabeth. "Are you sure they had stonographs?" She nodded silently. Tack...tack...tack. A shiver ran down Anna's spine. Each person was given a stonograph- a device that measured the levels of oppressive mana in the gates and calculated how close it was to crashing. But they also served another purpose.

Tack...tack...tack. Elizabeth knew sending G ranked kids into F ranked gates was suicide. Most awakeners had difficulty fighting monsters at their own rank. Killing a monster an entire rank above them was impossible for these kids. Well, most of them anyway. So, each stonograph was equipped with an emergency device that sent out signals when their carriers were about to die.

"A malfunction?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Then, this means it was sabotaged. But by whom?" Tack...tack...tack. "Haven." Elizabeth spoke in a grave voice. Haven? Anna touched her holster instinctively. If the stonographs hadn't malfunctioned, then the only reason why they hadn't sent a warning was because they were tampered with.

Crackle. She flipped a page. Right when the two students were attacked, their stonographs showed extremely high spikes in oppressive mana. She frowned deeply. This practically confirmed it. This was extremely characteristic of a Haven operative's attack.

"Looks like they failed their mission." Anna looked up. Tack...tack...tack. "Yes. Thanks to the fact that I didn't trust any teachers." Anna nodded slightly. She was one of those people Elizabeth hadn't trusted. TACK! Elizabeth's fingers slammed on the desk. "We seem to have a traitor in our midst. Stay alert. Inform me immediately if you see any suspicious activities." Anna stood up, a weird smile appearing on her face. This was strangely nostalgic. Well, as long as she got to kill some Haven operatives, she'd be happy.

Tack...tack...tack. "You may leave." Anna turned around, heading towards the door. She knew what she had to do. And she was looking forward t it. "Oh, and Anna?" Elizabeth called out to her. She looked behind. "Don't tell Edward about this." Tack...tack...tack. "And keep an eye on him for me, will you."

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Tap...tap...tap. Ethan stepped out of Dust House as his feet fell on the paved floor. Today was the last day in June. The day all the clubs were opening their doors to the first years. Ethan stared into the distance. He could see trees bordering the pathway leading up to the main building, where all of the missions were posted- Azure block.

He sighed. KGS was really cruel. The end of the first month was kind of like a mini festival in KGS, where all students from all grades and classes would get together and interact for the first time. Officially. But tomorrow, which was the first day of July, the classes would be reshuffled. People would either be promoted to higher classes or demoted to lower ones. And organising a festival right before that was, to be honest, dumb. Maybe Elizabeth had zero EQ.

Tap...tap...tap. Ethan tapped his foot lightly, staring Dust House as he waited impatiently. He wasn't worried about getting demoted though. He was already in the lowest class. He smiled wryly. Ironically, being in the worst class had made him less worried. Maybe he had finally learned how to appreciate the simple things in life.

Ethan clenched his fist. No. He had to get to a higher class. It was all so that he could fulfill his biggest dream, one that he had both as the boy and as Ethan Miller, ever since he was young. His dream of creating a harem.

"Hey Ethan! I hope you weren't waiting for me!" Suddenly, a voice jolted him out of his fantasies. "No." Ethan glanced at the girl in front of him- Luna. She stared at him weirdly. "What's that look on your face?" Ethan coughed. "N-nothing. Just a bit of a cold I caught."

Luna stared at him in confusion. Awakeners couldn't catch cold. "Anyways, where's Star. Wasn't he going to meet us here?" Ethan tried to change the topic. "Well, you told me that he was going to meet us in Azure Block. Right?"

"Uh...yeah. I forgot. Thanks for reminding me." "It's fine." She smiled at him. Tap...tap...tap. Ethan started walking ahead as he headed towards Azure Block. Tap...tap...tap. "So....what club are you going to join?" Luna glanced at him.

"I don't know." Tap...tap...tap. "I'll look around a bit and then decide. What about you?" Ethan looked at her blue hair. "Well...." She ran a hand through her hair. "I think I'll try to join the Spear Club."

The Spear Club was a good choice. Luna was really good at using a spear. He'd seen her absolutely decimating those goblins with her spear technique. Even if the way she fought looked extremely suicidal, ultimately, she managed to get through without a scratch. Ethan slid his hands into his pocket. Maybe her spear technique was too good for him to appreciate.

"Ethan! Luna! Over here!" Ethan could see a green blur waving at him from afar. "Star!" He called out loudly, waving back. "Hey Star!" Luna raised an arm, waving back as well. Tap...tap...tap. The green blur got closer and closer as Star started running towards them.

Tap...tap...skid! Star skidded on the ground, slowing down as he panted heavily. "Hahh...hahh...You guys are late. Most people are already here." Star's rested on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Why the hell were you running?" "Huff...huff...because we've got to hurry."

"You guys might not get the club you want if you're late. So let's go!" A gust of wind blew, pushing Ethan and Luna forward. Tap...tap...tap. He started walking forward, trying not to be knocked down. Crumple...crumple. His hands brushed against a piece of paper in his pocket.

Ethan had lied to Luna. He knew which club he was going to join. It was the best club in KGS. And unfortunately for her, she wasn't invited.