HP: The Arcane Thief (LitRPG)

While complaining and groaning, the students dragged their bodies back to the castle for bathing and breakfast.

This physical training had a mixed reaction from the students. Some of them, who were fitness enthusiasts, were all too happy to show off their physical ability and improve themselves. But, a majority of students would agree that they'd rather sleep in their warm and comfy beds than toil away on the grounds like that.

Though, some were simply happy to be able to see their crushes in something other than Hogwarts' bulky robes.

For example, a photo of Martina in track suit quickly went viral on the forums with hundreds of students simping over it. A photo of Axel was also uploaded by a girl where he was doing pushups and the muscles he had gained due to his training were showing due to his sleeveless t-shirt.

The caption said, "Who is this cutie? Can someone give me his Hooter?"

A discussion had broken out in the comment section.

"Holy Morgana! My heart!"

"Who is he? Look at those muscles!"

"Oh Merlin! He looks like a prince!"

"Isn't he the one who Martina picked?"

"Really? Damn it!"

It was something like that. Most of the accounts on this forum are annonymous so the girls had no shame drooling over a younger guy.

And nonchalant from all the fuss, Axel had different thoughts in his head as he headed for the next class, the Hand Seal magic.

After the last time, he hadn't bothered trying to do this magic on his own since he felt that it could be dangerous. Hence, he'd been waiting for this class ever since.

The class was held in the huge dueling arena. The second years of all four houses were gathered, looking around curiously. Soon, their sensei arrived. It was a beautiful woman in a kimono whose age could not be determined by her appearance. She had a small beauty mark above her lips which were arched into a small smile.

"Good morning and nice to meet you, little ones. I'm Sayako Sensei and I'll be teaching you a new way of doing magic, which is done by forming hand seals." She said with a gentle smile.

"So pretty…"

"She's beautiful."

Sayako Sensei seemed used to the students' reaction as she began her class.

"So, let's begin with the question, what are hand seals? They are specific actions, which aid in summoning and molding magic according to your will and performing a Jutsu or a spell. There are quite of lot of handseals in existence, but usually, only 12 handseals are used in most Jutsus: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Earth, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar." She said, her hands forming the 12 handseals in quick succession, her each and every moment appearing perfectly smooth and clean.

'Her hands…' thought Axel. They were very stable and dextrous. 'Perfect for stealing. Or for forming Hand Seals, I guess,' he thought wryly.

"Now, before we get started, there's one thing I'd like for you to test," said Sayako Sensei. "We have to check your elemental affinity."

"Elemental Affinity?"

"What the heck is that?"

"I've heard about it."

Sayako Sensei smiled at the students, "Yes, elemental affinity. Like all of you have your specialities in various fields, like transfiguration, charms, etc. Similarly, you have aptitudes for specific elements as well. You'll find yourself learning the techniques of these elements much faster than any other."

"But of course, you can learn techniques of other elements as well, though you'll have a much harder time mastering them," saying so, she produced a transparent crystal from her waist pouch and put it on the table in front of her.

"This crystal will tell you your affinities by lighting up in that colour. The brighter the glow, the stronger the affinity."

"There are four affinities that are common in wizards: Fire(Red), Water(Blue), Wind(light Green) and Earth(brown). Aside from this there are other affinities which are much rarer to find. Some lucky people just have them while some are able to awaken them later. These rare affinities have some features that can be quite desirable under certain circumstances. Also, one person can have multiple affinities."

Hearing this, everyone wondered if they'll be able to draw a rare affinity or if they'll have multiple affinities. After all, everyone thought that they were a main character, especially Draco Malfoy.

Seeing this, Sayako Sensei's tone turned a bit strict.

"But, you can awaken new affinities or strengthen your existing affinities through training. And the common affinities are no worse than the rare affinities if you strengthen them properly.

So, don't be discouraged or too excited no matter what affinities you draw. Because in the long run, only hard work matters."

"Now, please form up a line and come one by one to check your elemental affinity."

The excited students at once begin to scramble to be ahead in the line, even pushing one another. After all, this was like a lucky draw. Who knows if they'd get a rare affinity.

Axel, on the other hand, had no real enthusiasm over this. He already knew his luck. If he seriously want something, all the stars will allign in order to prevent him from getting it. So, he's just decided he'll make do with whatever he gets. After all, the sensei has already mentioned that he can get other affinities and strengthen the existing ones through hard work. And in his view, if it can be done through hard work, it's easy.

Besides,

[Fire Affinity: Unlocked

Proficiency: 4%]

4% is quite low. Everyone must have atleast this much proficiency already, so it's no big deal. But the big deal is, he has also unlocked some knowledge on how to raise this proficiency.

So theoretically, he should also be able to unlock the other affinities and increase their proficiencies! Just thinking about it makes him excited.

While Axel was lost in thought, the students quickly realized that their fantasies weren't necessarily going to be fulfilled. For most students, the crystal just gave out a weak light of one of the four common elements. Only a few people had two elements, one of whom was Susan Bones. The other person was a guy who Axel didn't know but the glow of crystal in his case was quite weak.

The next was Neville, who had a strong brown glow, signifying Earth. But, Sayako Sensei's eyes widened a little seeing something.

"You also have a bit of Nature Affinity. See the dark green specs? Though, it's a pity that it's too low," she said, disappointment clearly written all over her face.

"What is nature affinity?" Asked Neville in confusion.

"The Nature Affinity was the affinity of the strongest Ninja in history. It's incredibly rare. Even Mahoutokoro has no one left with this affinity."

Hearing that, Neville puffed out his chest. He couldn't wait to tell this to his dad. Even the students were impressed.

Since Neville and Susan were done, the next one in their group was Rose. Everyone paid attention to what kind of affinity the Girl-who-lived had.

Frowning, Rose placed her hand on the crystal. At once, a red glow was emitted from the crystal, brightest of all of the students.

"!"

Though, that's not what was surprising. What was surprising was the pitch black color that dominated around 70% of the crystal.

"Uh… Congratulations! You have a very strong Fire Affinity," said Sayako Sensei with a stiff smile.

Though even Rose could tell that something wasn't right, "Why is it Black?" .

Sayako Sensei shook her head and regained her composure, "It's darkness affinity. It can be very…powerful." That's all she said before calling out the next one.

Aside from Axel, almost everyone else was fully focused on seeing the attributes of other students. Sometimes they even Oh-ed and Ah-ed at the results of some students.

Though, there was one other person who did not seem interested.

"Damn it, these bitches! Motherfu*!"

Axel frowned as he turned to look at Daphne who was cursing while scrolling through her Magi-mirror.

"What's up with you this time?"

Daphne sighed. "It's… it's nothing," she muttered as she looked at Axel's photo which had gone viral with a lot of girls typing naughty and indecent comments. She couldn't care less about checking out other people's affinities right now. Can't these hungry bitches find someone else to lust after? Why did they have to come after Axel?

Soon, it was Axel's turn and Daphne put away her phone as she thumped his back in encouragement. "Good luck!"

'Luck? That bitch has long forsaken me,' thought Axel cynically as he put his hand on the crystal. Though his luck didn't seem too shabby this time since as soon as he put his hand on the crystal, he felt a pull from the Crystal and a brilliant blue light began to be emitted from it, making him squint. The light seemed strong enough to rival Rose's Fire Affinity.

'Water, huh?' Thought Axel, looking at the blue glow.

He couldn't quite figure out why he'd have Water Affinity though. He hated water because rain is the bane of homeless people and for thieves. The streets are empty and once you're soaked, chances are, you don't have another pair of clothes to change into. He still remembers the time it rained continuously for three days. It was a nightmare.

Well, he'll get the other affinities through hard work. At least the other basic ones since it was possible to learn them according to sensei. It would just be a bit difficult. Shrugging, he was about to remove his hand but a hand pressed onto his own, preventing him from doing so.

Sayako Sensei's reaction was quite different from his. "Lightning! Lightning Affinity! You have a Lightning affinity along with Water. See those sparks traveling through the Crystal? That's a sign of Lightning Affinity."

It was only then did he notice that. Blue sparks were traveling through the surface of the crystal. Damn, now that would make sense. He liked thunder.

Though he was glad he didn't raise his other affinities yet, or he'd have drawn too much attention. Satisfied, he removed his hand and began to walk away.

?

But he paused since a cerulean light was suddenly shining behind him, casting a shadow in front of him.

"Ice Element! Congratulations!" said Sayako Sensei, happily Patting Daphne on the back.

Daphne nodded calmly, still looking at the crystal, "Though, why is more than half of it empty?" she asked.

Axel looked at the crystal, and sure enough, more than half of the crystal wasn't glowing at all. It just stayed transparent.

Sayako Sensei shook her head helplessly as she knocked the crystal a few times, "That, I also don't know."

...

...

.

.

"You really don't know anything else?" demanded Bellatrix Black, looking down at the man lying weakly on a chair.

"Minister Black, I've already told you everything. Do you really think I'd have anything left to hide after you've overdosed me with so much Veritaserum?"

They were currently in a dimly lit cell and the man was bound by shackles. Bellatrix sighed, "Not about the Organization. Tell me more about Tristan Hunt and this Princess."

"I already told you. Tristan was a part of the Organization. But he found out that the Organization's actual goals weren't something that some of us would like to support. He had gotten dragged in because his late father was a member and he had no choice. As for the princess, I don't know much about her except that she was beautiful and her Royal family bloodline was powerful. How that man managed to woo her, I have no idea."

Bellatrix frowned.

"Once he had escaped, why did he go back? And what exactly happened?"

"Well he had only managed to steal the research and one key. The organization was going to use the other one so he was going to come. He had this strong sense of justice. Couldn't see anything bad happening without interfering," said the man as he paused. There was a mockery in his voice but there was also a hint of admiration.

"That's just like him," muttered Bellatrix helplessly, feeling bittersweet . "Continue." She said in a sterner tone.

"So, he came back along with the princess. The two of them also stole the second key as well, but they were discovered and surrounded. Turns out, the higher ups were waiting for him all along. The two of them were powerful, exceedingly so. But in the end, both were badly hurt. Tristan then cast a shield on the princess and destroyed the key."

"Then? What happened next?" Asked Bellatrix anxiously.

The man shook his head, "The explosion was just too powerful. Both of them, along with a dozen members who were nearby directly disappeared. Those further away either died with a mangled body or got seriously injured. I thanked the two of them for their sacrifice and finally managed to escape that place."

There was a silence after that. After which Bellatrix sighed, "You're quite different from the other member I caught. That man committed suicide as soon as I broke through his mental defenses," said Bellatrix with a sigh. The only thing she could find out from that person was that Tristan was dead. For so many years she had been obsessing over what exactly happened and if he suffered before he died. And now, she can finally get some closure.

The man chuckled in amusement, "Yes, minister. I'm different. I had joined the organization purely for the research. I'm mentally and morally quite stable, if I do say so myself. But, you are also quite different from what I'd imagined, considering that you still haven't used the Cruciatus or Legilimency on me yet," said the man, feeling grateful. After all, the minister was infamous for her vicious means.

Bellatrix's delicate eyebrows creased at the mention of that.

"Cruciatus and Legilimency… you're just lucky that I no longer enjoy using them." She muttered as she turned to leave.

'Not after Axel...' she thought. She no longer found it amusing to torture someone or break into their minds. It made her remember the pain Axel must have gone through, making her hate herself even more. Though, it would be alright if Axel cast those things on her for what she did in the past.

Just as she was about to leave, the man called out to her.

"Minister, will I ever be allowed to leave? I haven't done anything wrong and I genuinely enjoy my job."

Bellatrix looked back as she shrugged casually, "Maybe. Just be obedient and I might let you leave, Professor Jacub Gorski."

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A.N.: MC with Lightning affinity. Where did the Water Affinity come from? the answer should be easy.

Next chapter: Dueling between Schools.