Artifact of Divinity

The man with the monocle introduces himself, taking off his top hat. "I am the vice principal of Kane Academy; my name is Harlibue. I'll make this very short; I want to admit your son to Kane Academy." 

"N-No way, a direct invite from the vice principal himself? This can't be!" Shannon's jaw was dropped, absolutely stunned at what he was hearing.

"Yes, indeed. We've deemed your son a perfect fit for the Gold class."

It was a great proposal, but something felt off for Harold. "The Gold class, huh? It is one of the highest ranks you can get at Kane Academy. Your skills determine your rank at the Academy, split off into three tiers: Gold, Silver, and Bronze." Harold stared into the eyes of Harlibue, yet he could not read him through his never-changing smile. "So I get to enter for free, skip the admissions test, and get placed in one of the top classes at the academy? There has to be some catch here. This guy also gives me the creeps..."

Harlibue stood up; giving a sudden request. "I'd like to speak with Harold for a moment, please." His face smile is still as solid as ever. "Oh, go ahead, please discuss whatever you want with my son!" Shannon said, watching Harlibue go by the entrance door. "Come, this needs to be private."

Exiting his household, they stand in the alleyway to the side of the house. "I know you're the cause of the mass destruction that happened yesterday."

Harold gulped. "It's over, he knows." Harold could attempt to lie out of this situation, but Harlibue's methods of how he found out were completely anonymous. "How do you know if it was really me? I'm just some poor dude who recently lost his girlfriend."

"A large light, enormous explosion; obviously we would look into the incident. And it just so happens that you were caught on a security camera as the primary cause."

"Okay, well, what do you want from me then?" 

"Normally, you'd be arrested right away as your identity is clear as day. Especially with security footage; you would be on the run by now. But, you're lucky that the principal of Kane Academy is a huge fanboy of Artifacts. If you were to help the principal document your mysterious unknown Artifact, we'll help you from facing charges while also giving you special treatment at Kane Academy. There is no loss in this situation."

Harlibue lets out his hand to shake. "So, what do you say?" 

Inside the house, Shannon anxiously fiddles his fingers while Mina takes a small nap on the sofa. Coming inside, Harold gleefully gives his father amazing news. "Father, I'm going to enter Kane Academy!" 

Shannon jumps in joy, his cheers startling Mina awake. "Oh, that's great, son! I'm so happy for you!" 

Mina groggily rubs her eyes, saying, "Congratulations..." She lets out a short yawn right after.

Shannon immediately stops and gets on his knees in front of Harlibue. "I have one more request; please allow Mina to enter the academy as well!"

"Father, what are you doing?!" Harold asked, witnessing the sudden change.

"Mina needs a great opportunity like this as well. Please, give her a chance!" 

Harlibue looked down on Shannon. "Well, I'm afraid that I only came here for your son, Mr. Etton." He averts his gaze to Mina, dumbfoundedly looking at him. "Your daughter appears to have no special traits to allow such an opportunity." In his eyes, Mina was just a weak runt with no potential at all. Even a wild goblin would probably have better potential than her. 

"Let me show you then, Harlibue. I can show you her true capabilities. I bet I'm a better teacher than yours at that academy!" Harold's bold statement raised Harlibue's curiosity. Harold's cocky face wasn't something that went unnoticed; it was the brightest thing in that room.

"Oh, is that so? Then prove it in this year's admissions test. I'll allow free entry into the admissions test, and if she manages to pass, she'll be taken into Gold class alongside you."

Harold's grin widened as if he already had this in the bag, to begin with. "That's easy. You better watch and learn! I'll train her to defeat people even in the Gold class!"

Amusing as it was, he didn't expect much. Even if Harold shows great potential, that doesn't mean his ability to teach trash would also have that same potential. "I'll give them a chance. The principal always gave out opportunities whenever he saw fit, so I must not break that rule." He stood up and began walking out of the house.

Harlibue, exiting the house, says one final thing before stepping out. "Well then, I'll hope to see what kind of results you may produce with her. But just to warn you, the admissions test is quite dangerous. She may even die. The admissions test begins one week from today at the entrance gates of Kane Academy, so good luck."

As the door shuts, Harold looks out the window to check when the coast was clear. When Harlibue goes out of sight, he turns to Shannon and Mina. "There, I managed to weasel in a free entry pass for the admissions test for Mina."

Shannon cheered in delight. "Amazing, son, that truly was amazing! "

"Oh, but I pulled the teaching stuff out of my ass; I got no clue on how to make Mina immensely stronger within 1 week."

"T-Then why would you say such a statement?! He said she could really die from the admissions test!"

"Well, I had to make some sort of bluff to tempt him."

Harold approached Mina, lifted her with one arm, and carried her along with him. Lifted like a pet cat, Mina thrashed her arms and legs. "P-Put me down!" Mina shouted desperately. 

"Anyway, I'll try my best to make her strong." He says, reassuring his father. "I know you wanted her to get into the academy as well, so just sit back and wait for results." 

"Are you even fit to train people?!" Shannon asked. 

"No." Harold said, dramatically exiting the house.

"Someone, save me!" Mina screams, still flailing her limbs in his grasp.