How I Became the Strongest Sovereign

A week passed and the camp had evolved into a stricter and harder place to stay in. Training hours took from 9am to 9pm where each school had a different routine every day. We would have 6 sessions of different activities. 

"ZEREF!" a cold, hard pillow slammed into my face as I shot up. Allefin stood over me, the light seeping through the tent's fabric behind him.

"Get up you fools!" 

I groaned as he started to whack Taejun and Jace. The smell of freshly cut grass filled my nose and it made me feel sick. The constant stench of wet mud and grass had become numb to everyone's nostrils but mine. I could still smell it no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I could only imagine how the were men felt.

Taejun got up quietly, moving around my bed and swinging the flap open with his toothbrush and towel. Surprisingly, he didn't cause any trouble and kept quiet. I was still suspicious of him though. He spent most of his time lurking behind us and inspecting the other schools. In the night, he would sneak out and sit at the gates where he would meet his sister and they'd briefly discuss something. It seemed secretive and they would whisper as quietly as they could, both of them holding up barriers to block eavesdroppers.

I followed after him, looking over the fence to see Malia sitting on a log with a mug in her hands and her hair in a bun. Her eyes automatically connected to mine and my heart burned as I saw her pale face. All the were men in the camp were gathered and taken for a run which was essential to keep healthy. However, since Malia couldn't tell anyone she was a spirit wolf, she couldn't go.

I could tell it was getting to her as she slightly shivered from the urge to shift right there and then. I gave her my most reassuring eyes, smiling. I have to find a way to help her.

"Zeref! Get in!" the instructor yelled as he pushed me into the toilets.

**

The mud squelched under my boots as I ran through the course. Jace groaned behind me, struggling to keep up.

"Faster! Faster!" the instructor blew his whistle, rushing us.

I jogged, rolling my eyes. 

"Zeref is the only one who is at a fast speed! He's in the lead! Catch up! Come on! Come on!" he fiddled for his whistle before blowing it again.

"B-But he's Zeref! He's not even- trying!" a boy from the back of the running crowd yelled out, taking gasps of air between his justification.

"That's no excuse! Zeref is trying unlike all of you!" Spurts of spit expelled out of the instructor's mouth.

I feigned fatigue, gasping for air while everyone behind me struggled to keep their feet standing up straight.

Soon the mud started to feel like it was sucking at my feet and it felt harder to lift my foot off the ground.

"Ahhhh!" One by one, people's voices started to disappear behind me.

"ZEREF!!!" Jace yelled out to me in a panicked voice, causing me to halt and turn around.

It took a few seconds of searching before the mud started to suck in my feet like quick sand.

I spotted Jaces arm waving as his head started to sink into the mud along with everyone else. Some people had fully gone under but the only one still running was Taejun.

I was knee deep in it as I shot ice out of my fingers, helping me to leap out of it. I flash stepped on my toes towards Jace and yanked him out by his hand. The instructor's jaw dropped while I created a thick pathway of ice and slid Jace across it like a slippery bag.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed as he slid down the ice and onto the hard cemented ground. I ran after him, also arriving at the safe ground. Taejun kissed his teeth at us, shaking his head as everyone else magically teleported next to us with mud all over them.

"This place is hell," one of them said with mud in between the gaps of his teeth. 

"I can't wait to get the hell out and sue it into oblivion" a royal spat, brown spit shooting out of his mouth.

"Good luck with that." a familiar voice spoke up from behind us, heels being clicked in the distance.

"This place has been running for centuries and your parents probably signed a contract agreeing to its existence." 

Everyone turned around, searching for the gentle but cunning voice. It was a feminine voice carrying a powerful presence. The familiar scent of camomile filled my nose after I also turned around.

Miss Elena smirked as soon as our eyes met; she strutted towards us with two guards following behind her.

Her hair was pulled up into a perfectly tied, neat high ponytail and she wore formal attire- black trousers and a white dress shirt matched with a black tie. It wasn't tight over her figure, it was actually quite loose, but she made it look strict and composed. 

"And who are you?" the royal scoffed before the instructor whacked his head as a warning.

His eyes widened as he caught Miss Elena's attention and he quickly kneeled in her presence, looking to the floor.

"General," he fumbled around with his collar, straightening his shirt and posture.

"Instructor…" she acknowledged him before scanning the crowd with piercing eyes.

"I'm inspecting the progress of all schools and of course, I left the best for last," she smirked.

The feud between her and Xanxus was definitely going to affect our school's privileges now.

"I want both sides to meet me at the front in an hour. Get clean." She barked out instructions before spinning around and leaving.

"Zeref follow me." she added on while walking away.

The guards turned to the crowd and I stepped forward. They both looked at me with unchanged expressions as I followed Miss Elena closely.

I caught up to her, glancing at her side profile while she continued to walk.

"How is your time here?" she smiled gently. I kicked my feet at the grass, looking around before we slowed down the pace of our walk.

"It is not bad but I do have a request." I stopped. She turned around, facing me with questioning eyes.

"Can Malia leave the grounds for an hour with me?" I asked, pleading with her with a desperate tone. I never asked Miss Elena for anything let alone pleaded so when I said it, her face contorted into an expression of shock. She looked at me puzzled for a moment before her eyes sunk to the ground in guilt.

"Sorry Zeref, I want to but no one is allowed off grounds. It is vital to keep everyone behind the fences for their own protection-"

"I do not need protection." I scoffed.

"I know but the rules are there for a reason and I can't just break them on my first year of leading this camp. It'll look bad on me and I have great plans for this place." she sighed.

I nodded in defeat.

Nothing I say would be able to change her mind and she was right. She was put in charge and she had to make sure everything was in order.

BOOM!

The earth quivered beneath us and the fences surrounding the camp trembled. Miss Elena gasped, holding her arms out to balance herself from falling over. The force field around the camp started to crack and I could feel a powerful presence in the air. 

The familiar but foreign type of mana filled the air once again and this time, I clicked onto what it was.

Spirit magic.

Which means…

Malia. Crap.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach while the ground started to spin under me.

"Get the kids underground," Miss Elena's voice shook as she sensed the danger and foreign mana. 

"NOW!" she screamed at the guards, sprinting off to the gates of the camp. I ran after her, scanning my eyes around for a sign of Malia. 

Not soon after, teenagers ran out of their activities with their instructor herding them towards the underground passage.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" I yelled but she didn't stop running.

"I need to check the gates. Something shattered our whole triple security system!!" her hair strands flew near my nose before I pushed myself to pace with her.

"Zeref, stay safe and follow everyone else!"

"No! I am going to help!" I needed to find Malia before anyone else did. Her secret and life was at risk.

"I am not Xanxus who will allow you to put your life at risk! Go!" she pushed my shoulder to leave so I stopped.

I watched her sprint, not bothering to turn around and look at me. If she didn't let me help, i had to find another way.. I looked around, looking for any strong traces of mana.