Grayfield: Gears

Within the cold confines of the interrogation room, William was busy recounting the events that transpired during the train and his clash with Nyx.

“And then he suddenly jumped.” William told the person right in front of him. “And I tried to stop him, but if I didn’t cut off my magic, I would have also fallen as well.”

Theperson in front of William furrowed his eyes as he thought about things more. “He… jump, am I correct?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah he did.” William said.

“Where did he fall?” He asked.

“I dunno, maybe he fell down in the river.” William said. “Maybe you and your group can find him there.”

He shakes his head as he looks at William. “I don’t think you're from around here. Because if you were, you would know what that river would be.” he said

“And what is that river?” William asked.

“You're not the one who's performing the interrogation. I am.” He said as he looked at William. “And that river is called the Hydra River. And let's say that he survived the fall from that height. The strong currents of that river would still be able to consume someone like Nyx.” he said.

Behind Wiliam’s interrogator the door opened behind him, his interrogator clicked his tongue in frustration.

The new strange visitor had pure white hair, golden eyes, a stunning beard and was wearing glasses. Also, he was wearing sleek aristocratic attire.

But sadly due to the fact that the darkness of the interrogation room, William was unable to see anything besides the person that was interrogating him.

“Now, let us not underestimate one of the continent's infamous criminals. Someone like him could have survived the Hydra river. Remember what happened when the other Kingdoms sent their best men against him.” he said.

“What are you doing here?” He asked the new person that entered the interrogation room.

“Now that is not how you greet your seniors now, is it Wilhelm.” The visitor said as he stepped forward and looked at him.

Wilhelm sighed as he rubbed his head. “Yes yes, I’m sorry Headmaster Eisen.”

William suddenly looked at Headmaster Eisen in shock. “Wait! you're the headmaster of Grayfield Academy! What are you doing here?”

Eisen chuckled as he looked at William. “That I am.” He said as he looked down at a shocked and bewildered William. “It was nice meeting you, William. Now for introductions, I am Headmaster Eisen Von Blut. And would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to Wilhelm?” He said.

Wilhelm sighed as he was called out, “I am Wilhelm Von Alfhild, and I am his bodyguard should someone dare to get near him, I shall cut them down.” He said as he looked at William then he looked at Eisen. "Are you happy now headmaster?”

Eisen nodded as he chucked and clapped his hands. “Very happy.” He said as he looked at Wilhelm.

Then Eisen looked at William as he was listening at the two of them. walking forward he asked William an important question.

“Did Nyx say something important?” Eisen asked.

William shakes his head as he looks at Eisen, “Not that I could think of. All he talked about was that I am somehow familiar, and that the two of us would meet again later.” he said.

Eisen looked surprised for a moment before he furrowed his brows.

“Did you do something that would make him call you familiar?’ Eisen asked.

William shakes his head. “No, he said nothing,” he asked.

Wilhelm held onto his chin as he thought to himself. “ Maybe you fought similarly to someone he knew. Who taught you?” he said.

“I was actually self taught.” William answered.

“Dammit!” Wilhelm said to himself as he looked at William. “Well there goes that route.”

Eisen thought to himself by the fact that Nyx called Wiliam familiar. “But why would he call you familiar?” he pondered.

William shakes his head. “Your question is as good as mine,” he said.

“But regardless, the fact of the matter is, this attack, it’s not normal.” Wilhelm said.

“Normal? How is he not attacking people, not normal? I thought he was a criminal.” William asked.

Wilhelm looked at him, “He is a criminal, but all of the people that he targets are rich and influential. Why would he attack some random strangers that he sees… It's not normal for him.” he said.

“I agree.” Eisen stated.

William looked at Wilhelm and Eisen as he tilted his head and asked them.

“Sorry if this makes me sound stupid but, what kind of crimes did this Nyx commit? All I know is that he is a murderer but that’s about it.” Willim said.

Wilhelm looked at him for a moment before sighing to himself and deciding to explain to him about the crimes that Nyx committed.

“You're from Albion, right?” Wilhelm asked as William nodded to his question. “Ok listen kid, since Albion rarely gets involved in the continent's geopolitics let me tell you a condensed version of what he did, Nyx was responsible for more than 50 murders, massie property damage, and total destruction of an entire kingdom. There's a reason as to why he was so famous on the continent.”

William looked down when he learned why Nyx was so infamous in the continent.

“Wait! If he was so famous then why haven’t I known about him? I only knew that he was a criminal when he attacked the train?” William asked.

Wilhelm sighed as he looked at WIlliam, “The reason as to why you didn’t know about him is because the Albion government doesn't want you to know about Nyx. The only place in Albion that made people aware of Nyx are the Academies in Albion, the ones that are under Grayfield’s influence.” he said.

William sighed as he processed what he heard. “Then why would they hide information about Nyx, the moment that he comes to Albion then they're all screwed.” he said.

“Maybe because they don’t want to have their populace panic like with the incident.” Eisen said as he looked at William. “Am I right, Wiliam, you were from Albion so you would know what happened during that incident.”

William shrugged, “Yeah probably.” he said as for a moment his face was saddened when the incident was mentioned to him.

Eisen and Wilhelm noticed his moment of sadness as they both decided to not mention it to him. For now.

Wilhelm shakes his head as he looks at WIlliam. “Moving on. Since the interrogation was about to be completed, we would have to decide a way for you to be compensated.” Wilhelm said as he looked at William. ”And judging from your age and your skills when you fought Nyx, you must be one of many people that are going to attend Grayfield, am I wrong.”

William quickly nods his head as he looks at Wilhelm. “Uh, yeah I am actually going to attend Grayfield Academy as a student in the Hunter course.”

Eisen nods, “And why do you want to be a hunter? One of the most challenging and dangerous occupations in the whole world.” he asks.

William looks at him before looking at the table as he thought to himself further. “I… want to be a hunter because that was my older brother’s dream.”

“You want to be a hunter so that you could lie out the dream that your older brother was unable to? Why?” Wilhelm asked.

Wiliam sighed as he explained. “You see… My older brother has always told me that he wanted to become a hunter and that he wanted to attend Grayfield Academy. The academy that has raised and nurtured so many heroes all over the world. Whenever I listen to my older brother telling me his dreams, I want to be just like him.” William said, “But one day, my older brother died, because of me.”

“So you blame yourself.”

“No!” William denied, “I mean, somewhat. Yeah because I was too young at the time I got my older brother killed. He died in that Incident.” he said.

“So that’s why you are sad so early.” Wilhelm said as he looked at him.” Wilhelm said as he looked at William with sadness in his eyes.

“Yeah.’ William said.

“I am sorry for asking you that question.” Wilhelm stated as he looked at William.

William shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. I understand, as teachers you should know about your students so that you can help them grow.”

Wilhelm smiled for the first time as he nodded and stood up. “Well, since this interview is up, I've already decided on a proper apology for you. Here catch!” He said as he threw William a small card that had his name.

William grabbed the card that was tossed at him and looked at it very carefully.

“What’s this?” William asked.

“Go to the east valley street of Kailin, there you can find a hotel that I own. Show them that card and they will provide you with the rest.” Wilhelm stated as he looked at William before he left him.

Eisen looked back at William before smiling at him, “I like you child, I hope you pass the entrance exam tomorrow morning.” He said as he left the interrogation room, leaving William as the only person inside of the room.

William sat there looking at the card in his hands before nodding to himself. Eventually the guards that were there entered and eventually discharged him from his temporary jail.

As William was led to the office of the police captain of the police station as the hand cuffs that were on his hands and legs were removed.

William stretched his arms and legs as they were finally free from being shackled.

“Thank you very much officer.” William said thankfully to the officer.

“No problem kid.” The head officer replied to him.

“Now,” William said, “where are my bags?” William asked.the officer.

“There at the reception area waiting for you,” he replied.

William nodded as he went to the police station and grabbed his bags. As William went outside of the police station, William smiled to himself.

“Ah, it feels so good to be free.” William said as he breathed in the air outside.

William then looked at the card that Wilhelm gave to him and quickly went to the nearest map board and went to the East valley street at kailin and saw that there was a single hotel there.

William entered the hotel all by himself, as he entered he walked towards the reception area. One of the employees in the hotel greeted him.

‘Hello good sir, can I help you.” One of the employees asked.

William nodded, “Yeah, I was sent here by someone, he told me to give this to one of the staff and he told me you all would do the rest.” He explained as he handed the employee the card tha Wilhelm gave him.

The employee grabbed the card and looked at it before looking at him in surprise.

“Everyone!” The employee called out . “We have a Vip guess here!” The employee called out.

“What?” William said as employees crowded him and grabbed his bags and guided him to his room.

William looked at the room and was stunned by what he saw. The room was absolutely stunning, it was lined with finely made stone and marble, cleaned to the point that there was absolutely no dust inside of the room.

The room also has a door that leads to a stunning pool that overlooks the city.

William internally sweat drops as he looks at the entire room he was in. ‘And to think this is personally owned by Him!?!’ William internally shouted inside of his head.

William sighed as he decided to make the most of his stay in the room as he laid down in his room. Eventually one of the employees came and knocked at his door.

William quickly opened the door and he was greeted with a stunning eggs benedict and a plate of beautiful lobster rolls.

“Here you are good sir.” The employee said to William as he gave him the plates to eat. “Is there anything you would like to request?”

‘I am certainly never going to get used to this.’ William thought to himself.

“Actually there is something I would like to ask.” William said.

“What is it sir?” The employee aske.

“When will my bags come?” He asked as he looked at the employee.

The employee nodded as he bowed to William andresponded.

“Your bags will arrive shortly at your room.” He responded.

William nodded as he heard what the hotel employee said. The employee staff left Wiliam’s room as he quickly ate the food that was served to him.

Eventually, one of the employee staff knocked on his door to give him his bags. William opened it and grabbed his bags, but not before thanking the employee.

William quickly checked his bag as he opened it, he sighed in relief as he saw that there was nothing missing in all of his bags.

Closing his bag, William laid down at his bed and sighed to himself. Since it was about sunset and the fact that the exam was going to occur very early tomorrow, William decided to sleep early.

As William slowly fell asleep, he thought to himself.

‘Hey big bro, I’m going to Grayfield. I hope you're proud of me.’ he thought to himself as he drifted to sleep in his bed.

————————————————————————————

Across the city, to a particularly beautiful building that was built to house one of the most important people in the continent.

Inside of this particular building was Headmaster Eisen Von Blut as he was working on some paper in his office.

His office was neatly organized as all of the necessary papers were on his desk and all of the things that he would need were in the drawer to grab.

his head perked up slightly as he looked up from where he was, as the knocking on his door.

“Enter.” Was all the Headmaster said as Wilhelm entered his office.

“Goodafternoon Headmaster Eisen.” Wilhelm greeted as he entered the headmasters office with two cups of coffee. “Would you like some coffee, Headmaster? he asked.

“What is it? Wilhelm?” Eisen said as he got straight to the point. “And yes, I would like the coffee,” he said.

Wilhelm gave Eisen the cup of coffee as he asked. “... I came here to ask about the entrance exam tomorrow.” he said as he looked at his headmaster.

“And what is wrong with me choosing that particular type of exam?” Eisen asked as he looked at his former student/son. “And didn’t you already ask me about my choice about the entrance exam last month,” he said.

Wilhelm nodded as he looked at his student, “I know I already complained last month when you decided on that type of exam… But I would also like to also remind you that that type of exam in the entrance exam has not been used since your generation.” he said.

“I am well aware.” Eisen said.

“But why the sudden shift in policy?” Wilhelm asked.

“I have two reasons why I chose to implement those old exams back. The first reason is the fact that I have grown confident that this current generation of hunters would do well with the type of challenges that I have faced during my youth. ”Headmaster Eisen said as he looked at Wilhelm.

“And what is the second one?” Wilhelm asked.

“The second one is because of Nyx.” Eisen said.

Wilhelm shakes his head. “I can understand the first one, but why the second one? Nyx is slowly growing as a threat to the continent, but why now?”

“When news of Nyx got out that he was slowly heading up north to Grayfield, knew then that our students might get involved willingly or unwillingly in our battles. And they must be prepared.” Eisen said as he looked at his Wilhelm.

Wilhelm sighed, “Vey well, I understand.” He stated as he looked at his teacher. “Who will manage the entrance exam this year?’ he asked.

Eisen hummed, “Why that you, Wilhelm.” he stated.

Wilhelm nodded as he sighed and looked at all of the papers that the Headmaster would have to deal with, he asked.

“Very well, is there anything you would like me to do? I would hate to interrupt you when you are doing your tasks.” Wilhelm asked.

“None at the moment.” Eisen said.

Wilhelm bowed slightly at his teacher as he quickly left the room. And into the hallways of the building. He sighed.

Wilhelm went to his office as he grabbed a pen and began writing in a journal. When he was finished writing his journal, WIlhelm grabbed a sword that was in his office and went outside of the building to begin to prepare for the entrance exam.

Wilhelm sighed as he prayed that he would be able to at least form a class of students this year. He knew that this year’s entrance exam was going to be extremely difficult, and there was likely going to be a lot of disappointed students and parents.

Wilhelm shrugged as he began walking towards the meeting place of the entrance exam.

Besides, dealing with disappointed and furious parents isn't his job, it was Headmaster Eisen’s job.

He was glad that he does not have to deal with all of the issues with the parents.

————————————————————————————

William woke up extremely early in the morning, looking at the clock he saw that it was 3 Am in the morning. And since the entrance exam starts at 6 am, it was enough time for him to prepare.

William quickly went to a table that had some papers there, William quickly ordered down what he wanted to have for breakfast.

An employee entered his room and grabbed his order and left. Although he would never get used to being in a luxurious place, he might as well make the most of his stay in the hotel.

William returned to his bed as he looked through all of his bags and began to prepare for the entrance exam. William looked through his bags as he took out his dua blades and checked whether there was something wrong with it.

Luckily there was nothing wrong with his blade. William nodded in satisfaction as he went on to prepare his equipment on his bed.

An employee from the hotel came to his room and knocked on his door. William turned and stood up and opened the door.

He was greeted by the employee who gave him his ordered food. Willim thanked him as he grabbed the food and placed it inside of his room.

William placed the food on his table and quickly ate it. After that William returned to his equipment and made some last minute check ups.

After making sure that all of his equipment is sure and ready, William went on to have a shower and change into his hunter uniform.

William looked at himself in the mirror. He was now currently wearing a shirt and pants followed by some armored plates on him, and a brown jacket to cover himself. On his hips are his two dual blades that were there to allow him to quickly draw them out and hide them from people if necessary.

His brown hair and emerald green eyes complemented his looks greatly. William smiled to himself as he made sure that there was nothing wrong with what he was wearing.

When he was done, William went to the door and opened it. Wiliam left his room, but not before making sure that the room was clean and tidy as a thank you to the staff.

As William left the hotel, all of his bags with him, William went to the place where the entrance exam was going to take place, William went there and saw that there were many people already there.

As he got there he quickly registered his name and gave them all of the needed requirements to take the entrance exam.

One of the guards there took his other bags as they were not necessary to the entrance exam, William began walking around the place and looking at all of the scenery.

The person in front of him then gave him a small necklace and told him to wear it during the entrance exam.

“Um… Why do we have to wear this during the entrance exam?” William asked.

The person in front of William shrugged. “I dunno, I don’t get paid to solve questions like this kid, sorry.” he said.

William nodded in understanding. “No, it's alright, sorry for asking.” he said.

William checked at the time from his pocket watch and saw that there was still an hour until the entrance exam starts.

William sweat drops as he looks at the watch, ‘Wow, if the watch was right then more than I still have an hour until the entrance exam starts.’ he thought to himself as he thought about what to do.

Willam then shrugged, ‘Well whatever, since I have a lot of time, might as well look around for a bit.’ he thought.

William walked around and saw that the place they were staying was the Kailin city railway. This railway was specifically built to bring people from here to Beowulf city and Grayfield Academy.

William looked at all of the trams that he and all of the other students were going to be using to get to Grayfield.

William checked the time as there was about thirty more minutes before the entrance exam starts.

William went to one of the trams that were in front of the station and entered it. William went to one of the seats, right at the back and sat down.

William laid down at his seat as he decided to rest because he was sure that the entrance exam was not going to give him some rest, that’s for sure.

As William rested someone also came on to the train and walked towards him.

“Hey, Is the seat taken?” The new person asked.

William opened his eyes and saw that there was a person in front of him.

He had silver gray hair, purple eyes, he was currently wearing a pure white T-shirt with straps and jeans, and was also wearing a backpack behind him.

Looking behind him, William saw that there was something to him, that was most likely his weapon. Williams' eyes also looked at his height, but… he was quite short. Now that doesn't mean he’s that short, just a head shorter than William.

“No, as far as I was aware.” William replied.

‘Cool!” The silver haired boy said as he took the seat next to William and looked at him. “Nice to meet you, I’m Theodore.” He introduced himself to him.

“I’m William, nice to meet you too.” William said as he introduced himself to Theodore.

As the two of them were now seated next to each other, William looked at the window outside and saw that some students were now beginning to enter the primary trams.

Some of them entered their tram, but others went to the other ones. The ones that entered his tram don’t look all that important, other than the blonde student with a sword and the black haired student with wolf ears.

Eventually the trams began moving again, as they went to Grayfield to take their entrance exam.

Theodore turned to William as he asked him, “Say, what do you think this entrance exam was going to be about?” he asked.

William shakes his head. “I Dunno, and I doubt that the grayfield staff is going to tell students how their exams work.” William said.

“Well there goes that plan.” Theodore said as he looked somewhat sod.

“Come on, it’s not going to be that bad.” William reassured him.

Theodore looked at him for a moment, “Why do I feel like you just Jinxed us.” he said as the tram stopped. “Oh, you just did.”

“My bad.” William said as he looked around the tram.

His hands were already at his dual blades, while Theodore’s were on his weapon. In fact everyone inside of the trams had their weapons on their hands as they all looked around in confusion.

Eventually at the front of the tram, a projection of Wilhelm appeared as he looked at all of them before he spoke.

“It’s nice seeing you all, I am Wilhelm VOn Alfhild, and I will be one of your teachers in Grayfield," he said. “But right now, I am responsible for overseeing your entrance exam.

The Wilhelm in the projection then smiled. “I hope some of you are able to rise above the rest, because a lot of you are going to fail this exam,” he said.

Explosion!

As a loud and powerful explosion erupted knocked the trams off their tracks.

Wilhelm who was watching as the trams were currently crashing down to the ground, he then smiled.

“Good luck.”