Styx

The address Valentine was given wasn't far from his home yet it took the full time he was given to reach it. He stood in front of a normal looking house. It looked like a textbook upper middle class home in an almost uncanny way. He approached the door and knocked thrice.

The door opened almost immediately and valentine was ushered in by a pair of mages. He couldn't judge how strong they were since he hadn't been taught how to, yet he expected them to be around his level judging by what he knew. The mages guided him through the movie-like interior of the house and left him in front of the basement door. A door that looked incredibly worn, especially considering the pristine condition the house was in.

"Enter." One of the mages said. It was the first time either one of them spoke.

Valentine knew that was the last chance he had to flee. If the two mages were also fourth circle like him he could catch them off guard with a silent spell and be able to flee. But he couldn't afford to do that.

"Fine." Valentine replied, opening the door and getting in.

The basement was huge, it spanned all across the width of the house up to its property line. It was a huge open space with just pillars going through to sustain the foundation of the building. The space was all used, from pool tables, to table soccer, a large lounge and even ping pong tables.

"Oh! You're here." a young man said from across the room. He was sitting next to one of the pool tables.

The young man started to approach Valentine. He had neon yellow hair and his eyes had a deep, black colour. He wasn't much older than Valentine being only 23. He was dressed in baggy black pants and an oversized white t-shirt. He was one of the captains, Styx.

"Oh come on. I know I'm just a bit older and you used to hang out with our boss and all that but come on. I'm not that lame. I'm a Captain, you know." Styx said with a disappointed look.

"What?" Valentine asked in confusion. He was supposed to die.

"What do you mean by that? You're here because you're part of my squad now. Didn't they tell you?" Styx replied.

"Wait. I wasn't told any of this." Valentine said.

"Really? Damn officials. Did you piss them off or something?" Styx asked.

"If drivers count then yes." Valentine replied.

Styx burst out in laughter, holding Valentine by the shoulder.

"DUDE. Those guys are the last you'd want to piss off. They will make any of your future car rides a living hell." Styx Said.

Valentine felt as if a large weight was lifted off his shoulders. His confidence started to come back step by step and the sheer ecstasy of not losing his life covered up his pain for a few moments. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hi, I'm Valentine." Valentine said.

"Call me Styx. Us captains get the privilege of having cool nicknames. Anyways. This is the 5th branch under the Rakshasa. We are the only ones left that do assassinations." Styx replied.

"Assassinations?" Valentine asked.

"Yeah. We are not a branch that focuses on raw strength but we do have a tradition. If you manage to beat me you get to become the captain. Or I'll recommend you to become a captain to the Rakshasa since we have some vacancies. What do you think?" Styx replied.

"I'd rather not get into any more trouble. I apologize." Valentine turned down the offer.

"Oh I'm sorry. I failed to explain that the first time isn't optional. Come on. I'll let you go first." Styx ordered, a devilish smile forming on his face for a split second.

Valentine wasn't sure about his next step. Attacking seemed like a poor choice but staying idle was an even worse one. He hated the idea of being a laughing stock yet again. And so he attacked.

He silently cast a razor thin magic missile aimed at the Styx's stomach. Styx saw it at the very last moment and barely made it out with a small gash on his side. He seemed to enjoy the situation as he let out a muffled chuckle.

"You can do that? You're pretty talented for a fourth circle. I'll give you that much but since you're silent casting I will also do the same thing." Styx said.

Styx threw a fireball at Valentine who blocked it with a barrier but seemed to have been shaken up by the power of the spell. Yet he retaliated with a fireball of his own. At that point a small group had formed around the two, eager to see what the newbie had to offer.

The two mages exchanged spells one after the other yet Valentine was the only one that was being worn out. His spells seemed to not impress Styx, yet each spell Styx launched felt like being hit by a sledgehammer. He was being toyed with and he knew it. But he didn't have the experience to fight back. With each exchange Valentine seemed to go more and more passive, focusing on defense.

"Going on the defensive doesn't help you and you're too weak to go on the offensive. We need to change that." Styx said and prepared to throw another spell, though he was cut short by one of the mages handing over a ringing phone.

"Hey boss." Styx answered the phone

"I can't come. Something came up." John said.

"Did something bad happen?" Styx asked.

"You'll see soon enough. Tell the kid he's not allowed to use magic for a month as punishment. Also give him his curriculum for the academy." John demanded

"Okay. I will." Styx said

*Click*

Styx turned to Valentine and gave him a look that signified the spar was over. Valentine nodded in agreement and dispelled his barrier.

"The boss isn't coming. Something came up." Styx stated

"John was supposed to come?" Valentine asked.

The group of people were taken aback by how casually Valentine spoke of John. To them their boss was a nigh omnipotent existence, a living legend.

"We don't call the boss that but yes. He said you're grounded. No magic for a month and you have to go to school. There isn't much of the school year left but you have to go. A car will be waiting outside your home at 6 in the morning and will bring you to the school. You'll be staying at the dormitory, so make sure to pack up before going to sleep. You're free to go back home now." Styx said, the tone of his voice making it seem like an order.

Valentine took the hint and exited the basement, leaving the house soon after and walking back to his home less burdened than he came. The fact that he had just become an official member slipped through the cracks due to Valentine's sheer relief over not being killed. He took his phone out of his pocket to call his mother but he was interrupted by a text from an unknown number.

"I know your relationship with the boss is different but if you slip up again you'll be alienated. Just a heads up."