33 Risen#re

Almost everyone had heard of the numerous mood changes Lirian had, one moment he was serious and the next moment he was aloof.

But this was the first time they had all experienced it first-hand, one second he was threatening them with unbridled intensity and the next second he chuckled and told them that he could punish them with his authority alone.

The students of class, 5 – A, felt a wave of sympathy coming to them from all the other students.

'We are no longer alone in our suffering,' Mordred felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, the load was now shared amongst 3000 instead of the measly 20 in class 5-A.

Lirian released his control of the energy and it quickly dispersed back into the air.

He made his point loud and clear, so there was no need to push any further, this was all a part of the procedure he had come up with, with the other candidate's, he was playing bad cop and they were going to play good cop, to keep the students under control.

Lirian walked down from the higher ground that he was standing on to address the students and meet with the other candidates.

"Don't you think you overdid it a little," Cole complained as soon as Lirian arrived.

"The worse I come off the easier it will be for you guys to take control and coax them into your groups," Lirian replied.

"Media from here on out the rest is up to you, distribute the equipment and make sure that every scouting group has a cartographer."

The cartographers were the most important part of the expedition, most of their points would come from mapping the areas unless they were able to find ancient relics, but the odds weren't too great, it was less than 1 in a million.

In the current age cartography was one of the extra classes students could take, it wasn't exactly important but it had its merits, most students would focus on star mapping in their studies as it was one of the best professions to get into.

All ships needed a licenced Star Finder (someone that maps the stars) on board, or they would not be allowed to dock in any hangar, on any of the worlds, with so many ships and crews in existence there was always someone looking to get a Star Finder.

As Lirian walked away he heard the student's new boots squeaking on the ground, as they lined up to collect their equipment, he heard Tobias shouting and ordering the crowds to move in an orderly manner.

The weapons and the digging tools were all going to be carried by the students individually, while the tents, food and all other items were placed inside the two storage rings.

It wasn't long before Karen came to him she was assigned to act as his secretary as well as relay all his commands as a mental psychic it played into her strengths.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked as soon as she reached Lirian.

"Keep me posted on how things go during the distribution of equipment and tasks… also tell the other candidates, to select three people they can depend on to act as guards for them," he added the last part suddenly.

He had forgotten that they were just ordinary people that couldn't defeat a single cultivator, without completely exhausting themselves, so they needed guards to protect them.

Karen nodded, "Shall I arrange a guard for you as well?" she asked hesitantly, she knew that he didn't need any, but appearances do leave a certain impression.

Lirian thought about it in silence and came up with an idea, 'Telamon is bound to make a move against me here, and the easiest way to keep track of me would be through the students.'

Karen waited in silent trepidation for Lirians answer, she had honestly thought that he would say no instantly, 'What was there to think so deeply about?' she wondered, when Lirian surprised her by saying "yes."

Lirian wore a strange grin that she felt spelt bad news for the unluck chosen person, "Bring me, Pollock, Hinata and Eido."

Karen sighed and began relaying his orders, she didn't exactly get along with the poor students, they were always far too timid and it annoyed her, the way they always seemed to have something to say, but they would hold it in and bounce on their feet and feign ignorance as they hesitated to speak what was on their mind.

It was also no secret that the orphans in their class seemed to hold some stupid grudge against Lirian, that Karen couldn't wrap her head around no matter how hard she tried to see things from their point of view.

In fact, it seemed even harder for her to see what they had to complain about when she looked from their point of view, as far as she had seen Lirian treated them exactly the same as he did with everyone he knew, he was simply an asshole.

While Karen was lost in her thoughts Lirian was in a similar frame of mind.

'If Telamon wants to use someone to act against me, it would have to be Hinata, so all that I have to do is keep her close, and it will be much easier to figure out her plan.'

'And judging from the gazes she's been throwing at me, this plan is definitely to kill me or worse,' he huffed a heavy breath as his thoughts reached there, it wasn't that he was afraid of Hinata, it was that this plan definitely had something to do with the conflux but he no idea how it played into things.

The sound of footsteps pulled him from his thoughts, he turned around to greet his new guards.

"We heard that you want us to act as your guards?" Hinata asked hesitantly, but she couldn't hide the slight tremble of excitement in her voice, one of her tasks was to stay as close to Lirian as possible and this chance fell into her lap.

She couldn't help but think that fate was on her side, it was her destiny to get rid of Lirian once and for all, this was proof of her divine destiny to become empress in the future.

"Yes," Lirian answered with a derisive tone as if he couldn't believe that he had to confirm the obvious.

"But why?" Pollock asked through gritted teeth, ", there are plenty of other people who are more qualified for this task than us," he said with a strained look on his face.

"Lirian is giving us an opportunity, it's an honour for us to be given such a task, so we should take it," Hinata whispered furiously while stomping on his foot.

Hinata wanted to scream at them, she had just been given the best position to fulfil her task, and Pollock was trying to blow it.

Eido, Pollock and even Karen all looked at Hinata strangely, the last person they expected to willingly agree to stay close to Lirian was Hinata, 'and what the hell was that nonsense she spouted about it being an honour,' they all thought.

For Lirian it was simply a confirmation of his thoughts, he wasn't even surprised to find out that one of her tasks was to stay as close to him as possible.

Pollock shoved Hinata's strange behaviour to the back of his head as he turned back to Lirian for an explanation.

"I thought the reason would be obvious," Lirian said thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Hinata's breathing stilled but as she remembered that what the headmaster had told her was between just the two of them, she calmed herself.

This was the thing about Lirian that allows put Pollock off, it was just a simple question but Lirian had to be condescending about it.

"It's because of you," Lirian said pointing a finger at Pollock.

"Me?" Pollock muttered stupidly.

Lirian nodded slowly, "Yes you, because you'll be an absolute waste and liability to whatever squad you land yourself in," Lirian said with a cold edge to his voice, taking everyone by surprise.

Karen sighed from the side, 'Why does his mood swing so suddenly all the time, he is worse than a girl, there should be some medical explanation, maybe when I'm stronger I'll be able to use psychic waves to diagnose his condition,' she thought silently as the mood grew tense.