The Flower of Soline

The Royal Academy was just as grand as it was described in the novel. It stood in the center of a large field surrounded by a vast forest that stretched to the outskirts of the kingdom. In all honesty the placement of the Academy was one of pure genius, but also pure idiocy.

The forest surrounding the Academy was used as hunting grounds for not only the students, but the nobles as well. It was the perfect place to demonstrate ones abilities and determine their worth. Oftentimes competitions would be held for students to demonstrate their strength to those of higher standing. Killing one or two beasts was no small feat, and the students who had the chance to catch a demonic beast were often awarded a title on the spot.

Yet the forest also had an obvious flaw. It brushed the borders of the Gelani Empire. The King of the Soline Empire didn think too much about this small problem. His pride consumed him and he assumed that the Gelani Empire wouldn think twice about invading their lands again, but the King would soon find out he was wrong. In the novel, it stated ,

[The Gelani Empire took the opportunity of the numerous hunting tournaments to infiltrate the Royal Academys grounds. With too many servants walking around, it was easy for their ranks to take out the unexpected servants and take their spot.]

It was the main way that the Gelani Empire was able to infiltrate the Soline Empire. One that could have easily been avoided if the nobels weren dumb enough to not notice when their servants had changed.

”Get out! ” The footman grumbled as he banged on the carriage window. He scowled, but nonetheless stepped out of the carriage and into the hell that awaited him.

Immediately he found that all eyes were on him. The students who were roaming around huddled together in what seemed like a mock version of bullying. They whispered to one another with cruel smiles as they eyed him up and down. A sick feeling of nausea overcame him and he found himself wanting nothing more than to leave.

Is this the previous owner warning me? he wondered. He placed a hand over his heart, feeling how it was speeding up just enough to cause him slight panic. He had no reason to be worried, but now he wasn so sure about that.

As soon as the glares came, they also disappeared. The students around him went about their daily lives as if they hadn just stopped to openly glare at him. He thought that perhaps this would calm him down, but to his surprise this only made his heart beat faster. Ignoring the feeling of dread that was climbing up his spine, he gripped his run down bag and made his way to the entrance of the Royal Academy. He really shouldn have been surprised when he didn make it far.

The sudden gust of wind that cut his cheek was the only warning he got before he was sent flying back to the ground with a loud thud and crack. He groaned in pain as he tried to get off the ground. He had made the mistake of putting one of his hands behind him, just enough to where he could feel that one of his fingers had definitely broken when he landed.

He really should have seen this coming. The bruises and scratches were a good enough warning for him, he should have prepared more before making his way to this Academy.

”Whats this? I didn think you would actually survive to see the sun rise. ” A mocking voice rang out. A man with short dark red hair and brown eyes was standing in front of him. He was smirking with his hand raised in front of him. A small tornado swirled in his hand.

He knew better than to speak. From the looks of it, this boy was the one that had caused the injuries on his body. And by his words, it seemed like he had no intention of letting the previous owner of this body survive.

Did he successfully kill the previous owner of this body? Was that why he wasn in the novel before? He lowered his gaze. This person must be shocked to see that the person he wanted to kill is still very much alive.

He squinted his eyes as he observed the people before him. The boy with red hair was obviously the leader of the small group. Two girls and two boys, all dull in appearance stood by his side smirking at his pain. They must have not been as important in the novel as the kid in the middle, but who was he? He didn have any recollection of a boy with red hair and brown eyes being at the Royal Academy. Was he an extra? A background character?

”You never learn, do you? ” The boy stood to his full height, his smirk long gone and a deadly gleam sparked in his eyes. The tornado in his hand swirled faster and faster, ”You should have died when you were supposed to Aether. ”

Aether? Was that my name? He didn have long to think about it as the red haired boy threw the tornado in his hand straight at him. The once small tornado grew in size as it surrounded him The rocks around him, once harmless were now being thrown around like projectiles. Hitting him and cutting him all at once. He held his bag over his head to lessen any impacts on his head, but that did little to help him overall.

He felt something cold drip down his cheek. It took him a moment to realize that he was crying. Was it because of the pain? Or the feelings of despair and hate growing in him with every passing second?

He fell to the floor and covered his head with his arms and his bag. He stayed that way until the wind died down and a hand harshly grabbed onto his hair, pulling him up to face the red haireds menacing face.

The boy opened his mouth, but clicked his tongue when a loud bell went off. He roughly threw Aether to the ground and walked away. Making sure to step on his broken finger in the process.

He cried out in pain and pulled his finger to his chest. His tears hadn stopped falling and he found himself not caring in the slightest that they were falling. Instead his mind was stopped in an endless cycle of whys.

Why did he transmigrate into this novel? Why did he have to transmigrate into this character? Why were they treating him like this? Wasn he the son of a high ranking family? Shouldn they be scared of him? Bowing down to him like their lives depended on it?

”You better hurry Aether! ” one of the dull girls chidded, ”you don want to be late to class again, do you? ” Her voice was coaxed into one of mocking worry and the other girls around her started to giggle and join in with the taunts of fake worry.

”Hurry Aether! ”

”The door is closing soon. ”

”Don want to miss class, our Professor is very unforgiving after all. ”

”Hope you can make it in time! ” They waved one after another, disappearing behind the door with a loud thunk. And all at once, Aether was left alone with only his thoughts to accompany him.

At this point, a normal person would have wished for some miracle to happen. To discover a miracle cheat that only their character possessed. Or find an object that would help them gain a miraculous power that would change their position, but he wasn in that type of story. No, he was in the Flower of Soline. A world where only the strong survive and the weak perish at the hands of others. If he wanted to change his fate, then he would have to change it himself.

His eyes darkened as he looked at the closed door. When he saw that red hairs face he saw a flash of what looked like his mocking face as he poured a bottle of a potion down his throat as he screamed and kicked.

His heart was still hammering against his chest. At that moment, he realized that not only was he going to change his life in this miserable world, but he would also be getting revenge for the poor soul that had died before him. He lifted his body off the ground and limped his way to the door. Placing a hand over his chest he made a silent promise to a soul long gone.

Those bastards will pay for everything they did to you.