Secret Society: Raising Calamity Class Disciples

I am in the midst of my exams, and the exam tomorrow is prolly the most important one of my life. Hence, I could barely publish for the last few days. Sorry for the inconvenience. Stay tuned.

Xavier and Eulene, after realising that they were on the verge of reaching Aramon, stopped their fist wars—their record? 466 consecutive draws.

Chrysa, who was covered in cold sweats, let out a sigh of relief.

"Oi!" Eulene, who was sitting beside the cabin door, attracted Xavier's attention. "Let me have the window seat."

Xavier shrugged and leaned back, giving her way. Eulene crossed Xavier's legs while Xavier slid to her spot.

Eulene sat beside the window, on the seat warmed by Xavier. She stuck her neck out of the window and looked ahead. Though her spiritual sense had a super-long range, she held back. She wanted to witness Aramon, 'the city of everything possible by mankind', with her own two eyes.

The steamliner was travelling fast, rattling through the tracks. The wind kissed Eulene's face, blowing her silky black hair. There was a bright smile on her face and twinkle on her eyes.

Even Chrysa was mesmerised by the scene. Xavier could not let go of this opportunity. He secretly brought out his camera, used lumomancy to bend the lights and get the perfect angle of the scene, before taking a snap. There was no flash, no click, no nothing.

Even the distracted Chrysa's kinetic senses could not sense anything. All the evidence there was of the photo being taken was the photo itself.

[You better have taken a good shot] Of course his actions did not escape Eulene's senses.

[You can see it later.] Xavier did not have the intention to hide it from her anyway. He was a gentleman through and through.

Glowing lights appeared in Eulene's vision. Even though the night was not the darkest thanks to the full silver moon above, the bright lights in the distance stood out.

Aramon was ahead. And it looked as bright as if it trapped the sun within. The steamliner slowed down. The smoke from the cylindrical engine began to thwart her view.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew away the smoke, clearing the scene. The smile on her face widened. The snap of Xavier's fingers did not escape her ears.

The train whistled, entering the vicinity of the grand city. The fields that surrounded the tracks reminded Eulene of the cornfields at Derbury, and the tens of one storied wooden houses remind her of Miss Maisel of Sarah.

Eulene grimaced in her mind. Now, she was feeling double the homesickness—missing her home world and the home back at Derbury at once.

But the excitement of entering Aramon overshadowed those negative feelings. Soon, the green fields that swayed under the silver moonlight were replaced by tens of one storeyed houses—big and small.

The train slowed even further, letting out a whistle once again. The scenery turned brighter as tens of lined lamp posts lit up everything.

Soon, an arched building came into her sight. The structure reminded her of the station back in Derbury. But the construction before her was much larger and grander. Her sensitive ears could discern the voices of hundreds of people of chattering within.

The temperature rose as the train screeched to a halt. The wind stopped blowing and the smoke clouded above.

Tens of people stared at her—with curiosity, intrigue and awe. But Eulene's thick skin ignored them all.

"Let's go," Xavier's voice interrupted her sightseeing session.

But she did not mind at all. She was more than ready to step foot on Aramon.

Chrysa slid the door open like the good escort she was. Xavier got out and led Eulene outside. Chrysa followed.

Half the gazes locked on her disappeared when they discovered that Xavier was right beside her. She let out a giggle and scanned the scenery.

The whole station was lit with lamps and chandeliers. The marbled floor underneath reminded her of the haunted gallery. This station was leagues beyond the one back in Derbury.

Even the people were dressed better, having a more refined appearance and aura. She turned to Xavier and scanned him hat to toe.

Xavier raised a brow.

"Now that I look at you again, you have that Aramonian vibe." Eulene nodded.

Xavier shook his head at her childishness.

He turned to Chrysa. "Is this it?" He smiled. "Or are you visiting my home tonight?"

The blonde's face turned red, but she composed herself in a second. "I will take my leave." She then gave Eulene a glance before turning back to Xavier. "We will expect you to visit the Thirteenth soon. I am sure you have the address."

"May we meet soon. Thank you for your hard work." Xavier did a gentleman's bow.

Chrysa did not say anything and left the scene.

[There are still sharp eyes fixed on us] Eulene transmitted.

[That's customary] Xavier replied. [Detective Ashdown is a top gun, at the Thirteenth. And according to him, we are high profile subjects]

"Sight-seen enough?" He asked.

Eulene turned to the monument not far away from her. There were black and white photos of the Steamliner, along with some well dressed people.

"Were they the ones who created the steamliner?" She asked.

"Yes." Xavier nodded. "They are from our neighbouring nation—Visgoth. When it comes to machinery and technology, nothing comes close to the crafts of the Visgothics."

Eulene nodded. She had heard of Visgoth from her geography lessons. Aunt Maisel said that every seven out of ten inventors hailed from Visgoth.

"Let's go," she said. She had seen enough of the station. It was time to see the rest.

Xavier led Eulene outside the station. There, tens of grand carriages—each at least as the expensive as the posh coach Wilbur drove back in Derbury—were parked, with the seasoned coachmen standing straight beside their powerful steeds.

Fuck! Eulene was shocked. Aramon was rich. Such carriages were a luxury back in Derbury, but here, it seemed normal.

"Don't be too impressed," Xavier interrupted her thoughts. "We used the VIP exit." He pointed up.

Eulene craned her neck up. He was right. There was a huge board with 'VIP' calligraphed on it. She looked back at the scene. Now that she knew it was VIP, even the grass looked expensive.

Xavier searched around and found what he wanted. He led Eulene to a particular carriage. Unlike the other carriages, its roof looked different.

The coachman opened the door.

"Convert," Xavier ordered.

The stern looking coachman nodded and pulled a lever beside his seat. The roof split into two and slid apart, one falling to the front while the other falling to the back. The carriage was now open.

Eulene's eyes twinkled from the sight. She turned to Xavier, "Visgoth?"

Xavier shook his head. "Avarynth." [It's my invention]

Eulene raised a brow. She turned to the board on the exit that said 'VIP'. She suddenly remembered how rich that bastard was, and how much of an expert he was at different fields. Not that she thought of it, it was not that surprising.

That bastard WAS a mechanist.

Eulene hopped on the carriage and sat down. Xavier sat opposite her.

"Edenhelm," Xavier said to the coachman.

The professional chauffeur could not hold his poker face anymore. His lips twitched and it broke into a slight smile.

Without any further ado, the coachman whipped the reins, accelerating the carriage forward. Soon, it was outside the vicinity of the station.

Eulene looked at the grand piece of architecture one last time before focusing ahead. It was already past 1 AM. But the whole city was alive.

Unlike the scenes at Derbury, every one of the buildings were at least two-storeyed tall and were made completely of bricks, while most of them were three-storeyed or above. And majority of the floors were emanating light through the windows, brightening the entire city.

"Does the city even sleep?" She muttered.

Xavier's lips curved up a bit. "It's only past one. It's still day here."

The carriage wheeled on for about ten minutes before they reached a landmark. Eulene found the structure awfully familiar.

The Zeitmann's tower here was way taller than the one back at Derbury. Even the gigantic clock on top was giving out light, showing the time to an entire cardinal direction.

The architecture was simply marvellous. Eulene was not an expert at this world's history, but even she could feel the illusory ageing of the tower with its height. The base looked modern, but the tip looked ancient. As the tower here was higher, the difference of time was expressed more vividly.

Indeed, this Zeitmann's tower was the embodiment of time itself.

"Is this the tallest in the world?" Eulene asked, her eyes still stuck to the tower in veneration.

"The one at Konigsberg is even taller," Xavier said.

"The capital of Visgoth?" Eulene asked. She was not that surprised. After all, Hans Zietmann hailed from Visgoth.

Xavier nodded. "It was also the first Zeitmann's tower in the world."

Soon, the carriage passed through the tower and drove onwards.

After another ten minutes of journey, Eulene's eyes twinkled. Gigantic trees entered her sight. A road passed under those green umbrellas, flanked by colourful gardens.

After the carriage passed through the trees, exclusive mansions and bungalows—each artistically designed and surrounded by planned greeneries—appeared. Each of the buildings were separated by dozens of meters.

Eulene did not need to think twice. It was a place for the ultra rich. She gave Xavier a glance.

"How are you so rich?" She asked bluntly.

"How are you so poor after living that long?" Xavier replied.

Eulene's lips twitched. She resisted her urge to bring out her sword.

Xavier guided the coachman, and soon, they reached their destination.