Evil Abyss Mage

It had been two weeks since Kaido's big upset at the Training Courtyard. Since then, certain events had rocked the entire Academy once more. The first would be the situation inside The Forest, where two Mythical Class creatures had fought in the Core Layer. Their battle had spread and even enraged a Pseudo Emperor Manticore who killed the River Kokari and made the King Earth Gorilla run off.

Because of this, many monsters and beasts fled from the Core and Inner Layer and rushed to the Outer Layer out of fear. However, the Academy had put more effort into monitoring The Forest after the Jagged Snake's rampage. Thanks to their warning, they were able to get the majority of students out, only suffering a few casualties. Unfortunately, The Forest was off bounds for a whole week until the Academy could get the monsters and beasts to their respective Layer. Meanwhile during that time a new genius was born. Someone who had never been known until today, Zendrix.

During his travels to the Core Layer, from his own explanation, he told the tale of finding a never before seen treasure. A herb that when consumed, boosted his star generation from 40 all the way to a staggering 100. It had also almost doubled the amount of stars he had and healed him from the brink of death. Because of this, it was soon named the Rebirth Star Flower.

As for Kaido, a few things had happened. The first would be the threat of Zendrix catching up to him. His pride and ego wouldn't allow someone else to be equal or better than him in any capacity. And since he knew Zendrix was putting most of his time towards Star Cultivation, Kaido needed to double his efforts.

Instead of adding more hours to gathering stars, he had spent all of his built up points on buying potions from The Market. In particular Low-Grade Star Elixirs, which increases Star Generation by 10% at a low cost of 80 points a pop. Unfortunately, they only last for thirty minutes, meaning he has to buy a lot of them.

The upside to this has made it so he was extremely close to 3rd Star, being the fastest in history to accomplish such a feat. Besides this, he was also rapidly improving his spells by constantly trying them out at the Training Yard. He had even created multiple new ones as well. Like the Time Bubble, which either slows down or speeds up time in a small area. It was perfect for restricting an enemy's movements or accelerating an ally. 

The final thing Kaido had done was scour the Library for information on the strange oyster he had found in the lake. After many days of reading though dozens of books, he had at last found it in a one called 'Below the Surface'. It was about a wide variety treasures and herbs which were underground or underwater.

According to 'Below the Surface', the official name was called The Dreamweaving Singing Oyster. There were multiple ways to use the Oyster and because of it's rarity, made it expensive. The melody which it constantly plays is not only a lovely tune, but it also gives the person listening their greatest dreams and what they truly desire. Sometimes, this would lead to certain users never waking up again. Willingly.

Because the Oyster's shell was extremely hard, one use it had was breaking it down and creating armor out of it. A special property it contains is a great resistance to any Water or Fire attack and bolsters the user's own attacks if using the Element of Water. Besides that, it also has a few other miscellaneous qualities like enhanced swimming and underwater breathing.

However, the most sought-after part of the Oyster was the pearl inside. It was gorgeous looking, perfect for placing on a stand inside of one's room or creating jewelry out of it. It was as if there was an ocean within the pearl, constantly moving slowly. Even the scent it gave off smelled like the sea. 

The use the pearl had was of great importance to Water Mages and Knights who used that Element. It would increase their Mastery immensely, saving two or more decades of effort. They would become more in tune with Water and all sources of it. Even monsters and beasts with that Element would become more friendly to them.

What most people did when they bought the Oyster was softly remove the pearl, then sell if off. After a period of time, the Oyster would eventually regrow the pearl inside, creating an infinite money farm. However, Kaido didn't have much use for the pearl. His allowance was more than what most would see in a lifetime, so there was no point in selling it. He also didn't need the Mastery increase for Water as he had no plans for using it as of now. Because of this, he was at a slight loss on what to do with the Oyster.

For now, he decided to keep it safely hidden within his Storage Room and use it's melody while he slept. The dreams he had changed ever night and were quite soothing to him. 

As of the present, Kaido was sitting inside of Gloria's classroom, listening to her drone on and on with her lecture.

"Now we'll talk about the various Continents, which number five in total. First is the Myriad Continent, which I'm sure you're familiar with." She said jokingly before continuing.

"The reason for it's name is because it holds nearly every single race within it. Whether it be the Demons inside the Demon Kingdom, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and a whole slew of Beastmen and monsters. However the most populated are the Humans and Demons."

"There are also a number of restricted areas and zones which are extremely dangerous. But these places are known to have the best kinds of treasures, like our very own Forest which is ranked eighth in the Continent. Unlike us though, most of the others are not under the control of any force besides two of them. Well, not officially anyway."

"Next up, I want to move on to something I'm sure a few of you have already started, Jobs. There are a good number to choose from, so I suggest going to the Library and doing some research. It'd also be a good chance to learn about the forbidden ones so you don't accidentally touch them and get arrested. I'll also mention their Ranks which from lowest to highest go:

★ Novice - Low-Grade items

★ Apprentice - Mid-Grade items

★ Expert - High-Grade items

★ Master - Ultimate-Grade items

★ Supreme - Mythical-Grade items.

Also, each job is even further ranked 1 through 6. For example, 4th Rank Apprentice Alchemist. Any questions?"

"Miss Gloria? Why-"

Kaido soon zoned out as they started drifting into something boring once more. Instead, he opted to look at his beautiful companion who was taking down notes with a somewhat serious face.

"What?" Her icy cold voice echoed out, yet her eyes never left her paper.

"Nothing much. It's just that your face is so distractingly gorgeous. You should take responsibility!" Caerwyn ignored the playboy, but couldn't help but enjoy his attention. Three weeks of such a thing would do that to any woman.

"Oh come my Ice Princess, what shall it take to thaw your frozen heart?" Kaido said elegantly, ticking her off. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, slight anger in her voice.

"I told you to stop calling me that. And I am not yours." The term Ice Princess was a nickname given by the annoyance sitting beside her almost a week ago. Yet no matter how many times she asked, he would never stop. Like right now, when he grinned teasingly.

"Nope~! And you're right. You are not mine. Not yet at least." While Kaido kept messing with his Ice Princess, his eyes wandered towards Riener.

He noticed how distracted the blue and cloud-like eyed teenager was. Something was on his mind and prevented him from focusing on his work. In fact, he had noticed his strange state a few days ago, but wanted to let him stew in his desperation for a bit longer. Now though, he was ripe for the picking.

When class ended and Caerwyn quickly left to his disappointment, Kaido walked over to Riener who was fumbling with his stuff. They fell to the ground and scattered everywhere. Unfortunately, everyone else had already left by then.

"Need some help?" Riener heard the familiar voice and looked up, noticing the black eyed Kaido smiling at him.

"If it wouldn't be bother?" Kaido waved his hand nonchalantly before getting down on one knee.

"No problem at all. Happy to help a friend in need." His terminology stunned Riener a bit. He had no idea they were friends, but only a moron would say otherwise. Why would he miss such an opportunity to get close to not only a perfect genius of their time, but a nobleman apart of one of the strongest families in the world?

"Thank you. I owe you a favor." As they picked up the last of it and started walking out of the classroom, Kaido spoke up.

"May I ask why you've seemed so distracted as of late? If you want to of course." Riener shook his head and sighed, deciding to confide in the wrong person.

"My family. More specifically, my father and eldest brother. They've not only been placing roadblocks in my way, but my father has stopped me from participating in the throne. Do I not deserve a chance at the very least?" Kaido didn't miss the hatred in his voice, despite his best to conceal it. He smiled and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Of course you deserve a shot. You seem like an outstanding young man who has a firm goal in mind. What have they been doing?" At first Riener felt some relief and gratitude from his words, but that all turned into anger at the end.

"All my supporters from before I left have been getting demoted or transferred one after another into other, lesser parts of the Kingdom. Basically, they've become useless and resent me for that. You know-" He sighed deeply before continuing.

"-I wouldn't have minded if they allowed the other Princes and Princesses to compete. Like my younger sister. Intelligent, wise, and mature despite her age who also puts the Kingdom first. She would make a great ruler and I would be proud if she beat me to the throne. Yet 'His Majesty' only supports the Crown Prince due to some tradition nonsense." He shook his head, finding it to be ridiculous. Shouldn't the most competent of them be the Crown Prince or Princess instead of the oldest?

"You know, I might be able to give you a hand with your situation." Kaido's words stunned Riener, who stopped in place and turned to him.

"Truly?"

"Of course. My family has a branch very close to the Capital of your Kingdom, in the Wailing Valley. A word from me would guarantee you their support. Though, nothing too extreme like killing the innocent." Riener was shocked for a moment.

If this was true, it would give him the foothold he needed. His previous supporters would flock back to him in mass and his power within the Kingdom would increase greatly. He could even give a couple of the more influential supporters their positions back. As for his father and eldest brother? Would they dare mess with the Vairathul Family who was stronger than their entire Kingdom?

'The Wailing Valley though? Not an easy place to find...'

"Brother Kaido, are you serious about this?" Riener spoke seriously as he held his lifeline's shoulders.

"Quite serious. Although you won't have the support of the Main Family, you will have the loyalty of the Branch."

Kaido had already thought about this before and had gotten into contact with that Branch. They were more than willing to help him out since he was apart of their family and the son of the current Patriarch. Their power was good as well, having a decent number of 10th and 11th Stars. Unfortunately, there was no Demi-God in their midst.

'It's a good thing Riener has a decent reputation within the Kingdom as a kind prince, or else this wouldn't have worked.' No matter how influential he was in the family now, they wouldn't support someone evil for his sake.

"I can't thank you enough for your help. If there's anything I can do for you in the future, just say the word." Kaido smiled and patted him on the shoulder, never revealing the hidden darkness in his eyes.

"Of course, we're friends after all. Aren't we?"