Inside the house, somebody was looking over Adam through a window
"He used to do that back on the first floor too." Eve says while rubbing her sleepy eyes
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Elaine asks Eve with a smile
"I'm already used to it." Eve answers. "Back in the orphanage, we used to all sleep together and Adam would always do this. Because of that I got used to waking up in the middle of the night."
Elaine looks at Adam through the window while she pats Eve's head
"Do you know why he does this?" Elaine asks with worry
"We spent two years with Adam but ever since the first day he got to the orphanage, Adam never opened up to anyone." Eve explains
"I see...." Elaine says as she looks at Adam. "The only thing we can do is wait for him to open up."
As Adam looked at the moon, Elaine noticed something strange. Adam's left eye had black smoke coming out of it but after she blinked, it was gone
"There is one that thing that everyone in the orphanage knew about him." Eve starts
"What's that?" Elaine asks while looking at Adam with confusion concerning what she had just seen
"His obsession with the tower's seventh floor." Eve finishes
Elaine's eyes widened in surprise. The night passed and the sun rose bringing a new day with it
"So, this is a sausage!" Seleph says with tears running down his face. "IT'S SO TASTY!"
Kenzo chuckled at Seleph's emotional response at his first sausage and eggs breakfast. Everyone was at the table eating breakfast, but Elaine was focused on something else, on someone else to be exact
"The seventh floor?" Elaine thought while looking at Adam. "How does he know about the seventh floor? Even among the entire tower only the Noble Lions, the 4 King Knights, and the King himself know about it."
"Hrm Hrm!" Kenzo does while looking at Eve. "When are you going to tell them!?"
"Tell us what?" Eve asks confused
Adam stops eating to look at Elaine while Seleph kept stuffing his mouth with food as he tried his best to listen
"In a year and 6 months you will get to chance to enter the Leo Academy." Elaine says with worry
"REALLY!?" Eve yells as she jumps from her seat. "WE MIGHT GET THE CHANCE TO GO THE ADACEMY!?"
Elaine nods. She managed to get a promise from her father. That every child from the first floor would get the chance to go through the test for the Leo Academy. Something that would change the children from down there lives in an instant
"...I pray that you have a chance."
Adam closes his eyes and starts to eat again
"Even if you fail, we can always get you into another school." Elaine says with a smile
"BUT graduating from the Academy is the only way to become a knight and join an Order. If you pass the Arcanet there is nothing to worry about" Kenzo says seriously. "There are some special cases but those rarely happen."
"That Arcanet you talked about, is there something we need to study about?" Eve asks with determination. "What do we need to study? Are there some questions harder than others?"
"The Arcanet is not something you can study for." Kenzo says with a amused smile. "The test is about measuring the amount of arcane energy has in their body."
"Abfane emnefy?" Seleph asks with his mouth full of food. "Whabfs batfh?"
"You don't know arcane energy?" Kenzo asks surprised
Seleph and Eve shake their heads. While Elaine looked at them with pity
"It's normal." Elaine says while drinking some coffee. "Even you didn't know about it until you joined the academy, and you are from this floor."
"What about you, Adam?" Kenzo asks
He shakes his head
"I never was allowed to go out back when I lived on the third floor. I managed to sneak out a few times but that's all" Adam explains while eating. "My father didn't allow me to go outside, and he wasn't the type to talk a lot."
Elaine and Kenzo look at Adam with worry
"Was he isolated from others?" Elaine thought to herself. "He lived on the third floor and was isolated from others then abandoned on the first floor.... The only thing I can think of is an illegitimate child."
"Then I'll explain what arcane energy is." Kenzo starts as he attempts to brighten the mood. "When humans were pushed near extinction, we evolved into arch humans. Our physical, intellectual, and mental abilities were greatly enhanced when we evolved thus, we became able to live longer, age slower and gained many other benefits."
The kid's attention was absorbed by Kenzo's explanation
"However, the most important thing that we earned was arcane energy." Kenzo says with a smile as he starts to emit a blue flame like aura from his hand. "An energy that exists within our body but also outside of it, in the nature. While everybody has arcane energy, the amount that we hold within our body is determined at birth and cannot be changed. Arch Humans can wield arcane energy within their body in diverse ways to achieve diverse feats."
"WHOOAAAA!!!" Seleph makes as he looks at the arcane energy Kenzo emits from his hand
With a smile Kenzo continues his explanation
"Arcane energy is something that every arch human has from birth, however, it's held within the heart until one reaches the age of 10. At that age, the arcane energy is expulsed from the heart and then held within the body. Until that happens, it's impossible for one to use that arcane energy."
"That's why I can't use arcane energy, huh?" Eve says while looking at the palm of her hand
Kenzo nods
"Every child aged 10 are obligated to go through the Arcanet." Kenzo continues. "A test where your arcane quantity, the amount of arcane energy within your body, will be determined alongside other factors. Depending on the test result, you might get accepted in the Leo Academy."
Elaine and Kenzo pick up the plates on the table and head to the sink where they start washing them. While the kids start cleaning up the table
"I hope they don't feel obligated to do that because we took them in." Elaine thought as she looked upon the kids with inner conflict
Kenzo throws water at Seleph who starts to chase after him and just like that chaos spreads within the house. It was chaotic but anyone witnessing the scene would think that they are a beautiful family simply having fun. Normal children without a painful past haunting them and parents with normal worry towards their kids. After their fun and games, the small family leave the house and head into the city. Unlike the first floor, the second floor held a few farms where animals were raised, gardens growing different fruits and vegetables a little farther from the city. They reach a small wooden house which was not only far from the city but also far from the villages
"Where are we?" Seleph says while looking around
Elaine pushes the door open as she sighs at the same time
"Hey, Lanarian." Elaine says as she walks into the house
"Hey, Elaine." Lanarian replies while she approaches the group standing at the doorway. "Come in."
Lanarian is woman in her mid-twenties with brown hair that reaches her waist and brown eyes. A woman with a slender and beautiful body that that stood at 5'9
"Yo, Lana!" Kenzo says with a smile
"Who are they?" Lana asks while patting Seleph on the head
Seleph's head and ears become red in embarrassment
"Things happened and I'm taking care of them for now." Elaine explains
Lana exhales with a smile while looking at her friend
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" She replies after. "I'm guessing your here for clothes?"
Adam and the others had changed clothes which obviously were too big for them. Kenzo looks at Seleph with a smirk as he realized the young boy was experiencing his first love. At the same time, a young girl who closely resembled Lana enters the house. Her hair was shorter and darker than Lana's
"Say hi, Nala." Lana says to her sister. "They're kids that Elaine is taking care of."
"You're becoming more beautiful, aren't you Nalaria." Elaine says with a smile
"Thanks, Big sis Elaine." Nala answers with a smile
Lana starts measuring the kids and once they're done, the kids head outside led by Nala. That very girl suddenly turns around and punches Adam in the stomach, but he dodges by backing away. She punches Seleph in the face and Eve, she throws to the ground
"What the hell are you doing?" Adam asks with a frown
"These two are weak." Nala says with an excited smile. "But you're not bad at all. That means your number 2."
Adam tilts his head to the side
"What are you talking about?" Adam asks confused
"We need to figure out our ranks, don't we?" Nala says with an innocent smile
"What the hell is she talking about?" Seleph asks while getting up
"Don't ask me." Eve says as she also gets up
"She's crazy." Adam says
"Since I beat you two that means I'm number 1 and you two are my servants." Nala says while blushing with her face hidden in her palms
Adam turns around and walks back to the house with Eve and Seleph who just got up
"I'm out of here." Adam says while heading back to the house
"She's completely lost it." Seleph says while following Adam
"This time, I completely agree with you two." Eve says while following the boys
When they went back into the house, Elaine and Kenzo were already getting ready to leave
"Are you done playing?" Kenzo asks
"Definitely." Seleph quickly answers
The family heads back home and after more fun and games, night falls and just like the night before, Adam heads to the rooftop and stares at the moon for a bit. He then goes back inside to sleep. While he was out there, just like the night before, Elaine was watching over him. She then decided that there was something she needed to do about this. So, she decides to investigate Adam's past and his family. Just like that, 6 eventful months passed by. Unfortunately, Elaine couldn't locate Father Langton or find anything about Adam so after a talk she formally adopted the three kids and have been living with them and Kenzo ever since. During those past 6 months, Elaine and Kenzo drilled knowledge into their heads so that wouldn't be behind when school started. Kenzo, who noticed how insistent Elaine was in checking other schools out, ended up learning the truth from her. Nala, who's a year older than the three kids, turned 10 and went through the Arcanet and was admitted to the Leo Academy. Before she left for the academy, the kids went to play at her house one more time before they possibly reunite in the Academy a year from now. The kids headed to the backyard where Nala was waiting with her arm crossed and a giant smile
"Again?" Adam says with an annoyed expression
Eve and Seleph sighs tiredly
"We're going into the forest." Nala says with a giant smile. "Let's go for an adventure!"