A couple of weeks later, the Academy came up with a new directive for the second years. The current first year class had twelve students, and all of the second year groups would each take on three of them on a Quest.

  And to make sure we wouldn't skip out on it, they made it mandatory, anyone who avoided it would be given a negative five point disadvantage during the written exam. I always passed the written exams at the Academy with the narrowest of margins, so I couldn't afford a disadvantage like that.

  Az had opted to sit this one out, he usually did fairly well on the written exam, and didn't care about his final score so long as he passed, so he didn't mind the penalty.

  So Rai, Persia, Key and I had to babysit three first years on some randomly assigned Quest. Actually, it wasn't random……since each group was to be assigned to a different location, the Academy had already decided that Group D would be the ones heading north, on the basis that we were the strongest group of the second years. I mean, that was true and all, but……I'm kinda sick of that snowy hellzone.

  The three first years that would be tagging along included those two twins who passed my entrance exam, and a guy with glasses who had passed Instructor Dile's entrance exam. It was around 8 AM, and we were currently at the north gate, waiting for them to arrive.

  "This sucks……why do we have to."

  "You say 'this sucks' a lot," Remarked Key, stifling a yawn.

  Rai looked like he hadn't slept much either.

  "……you two had a fun night, didn't you?" I inquired with a teasing smirk.

  "I-I don't know what y-you're trying to imply!" Spluttered Key, as they both blushed fiercely.

  "Oh, looks like the first years are here," Persia spoke up, nodding towards three approaching figures.

  They had already introduced themselves to us beforehand, after they had been paired up with our group.

  The twins were named Necola and Poderl Witniar. They both had straight orange hair with eyebrow-length bangs, the girl Necola grew it down to her shoulders while the boy Poderl grew it halfway down his neck, they both had silky dark brown horse tails and both used Fire Magic.

  She carried a triangle-shaped dark maroon shield on her right arm, with one of the edges extending past the back of her hand and knuckles, and the width of the widest point was about half a meter, while he carried a narrow short-sword on his right hip. The both wore dark green thick leather armor.

  The other guy was named Lusk Cotuid. had dark blue hair in a bowl-cut style, with light green eyes and glasses with a black rectangular frame. He wore regular brown light-armored leather gear and had eight octopus tentacles growing out of his lower back. He had Water Magic.

  "Alright, now that everyone's here……let's head out," I suggested, as we headed out the north gate.

  The spells I had on me included Store and Extract, Hotbox, Switch, Counter Barrier and a safety barrier.

  Since the snowy area was so dangerous now, the Quest was a relatively simple one, head in for about two hours, and then head back. Any further than that, and it'd be impossible to avoid the stronger monsters like the Abominable Snowmen and Ice Wyverns.

  We soon ran into a group of four Snow Imps and three Devilpenguins.

  "Alright, you three try and take out all seven of them……we'll step in if it's too much for you," I instructed to the first years.

  They nodded and stepped forward.

  They had decent skills, they wouldn't have been able to pass the entrance exams if they didn't……but applying those skills in a real life situation was where it truly counts.

  The twins stayed close to each other, as a Devilpenguin rapidly slid towards them on the snow, before springing up with its sharp beak pointed at them.

  Necola blocked it with her shield, which was impressively sturdy, before Poderl drove his blade into its head with his left hand from over Necola's shoulder. Two Snow Imps sprang at them from either side of them……I began to ready a couple of lightning bolts just in case, but I didn't need to use them.

  Necola extended her left hand towards the Imp to their left, while Poderl extended his right hand towards the one on their right, before they both simultaneously shot out powerful continuous blasts of flames at the monsters, burning them to ash. Impressive coordination, timing and sync.

  Lusk waited for the two remaining Devilpenguins to spring at him, the moment they did, he caught them with his octopus tentacles and slammed them into each other, their beaks piercing and killing each other.

  He then fired a powerful gust of steam at the last two Snow Imps, burning and causing them to stumble back, before shooting small but rapid water bullets at their heads from his fingertips, killing them.

  Hey, not bad at all, he was pretty strong……

  "Wow, you're all really strong!" Exclaimed Rai with an encouraging grin, as they gathered around.

  We had been instructed to be encouraging and motivating towards the first years in order to help them build confidence.

  "Agreed, your skills are impressive, and you have plenty of untapped potential as well," Said Key with a nod.

  "Y-yeah, what they said," Persia chimed in awkwardly.

  Just being encouraging could lead to overconfidence though, if people keep telling you how strong you are, you'll most likely end up believing that you're stronger than you really are, along with overlooking your weaknesses. In that case……

  "Alright, now that we've got the compliments out of the way, it's time for some constructive critism……I'll start with you two," I remarked, turning to the twins, "Your teamwork is impressive and it's clear to see that you two are so in-sync with each other that it's almost scary. But I have to wonder, how good are each of you on your own. In a real fight, things don't always work out as planned, can you two defend yourselves if you get separated? To work on that, no helping each other with the next group of monsters we run into."

  "Y-yes, sir," They both said at the same time, a bit nervously……

  oh, right, given the way that I had ended their entrance exam after passing them, it's no surprise that they're kinda afraid.

  I then turned to Lusk.

  "As for you……well, I don't really have any criticism, you dealt with the monsters that came at you with some pretty good efficiency. I am curious, though……does your Elemental Magic not have a high level of output?"

  He nodded.

  "Indeed, that is correct. You see, my Water Magic is rather weak……this is the most I can output in a single discharge," He explained, adjusting his glasses as he formed a small ball of water in his hand……it was about the size of a ping-pong ball, "Therefore, I use it with pressurized Steam Magic attacks and small yet piercing water shots."

  "What's your Mana capacity like, and can you use Ice Magic? And how much stamina does using your Anima consume?"

  "I believe my Mana levels are around average or slightly below. And I am unable to use Ice Magic. As for my Anima……moving these tentacles feels quite similar to moving my limbs, so it it not all that draining."

  Interesting. At any rate, it looked like this guy had a strong grasp and understanding of his abilities, how to best use them, and their limitations. I didn't really need to add any input.

  "In your case, I'd say just keep doing what you're doing……you have a solid understanding of your skills, so you know your weaknesses better than anyone else would, therefore……try to focus on working on those weaknesses where possible. Oh, and……this is just a little suggestion from my part, you can ignore it if it doesn't fit your style. You don't have a weapon and it's clear that your tentacles are very dexterous and your control over them is quite high……you could wield, say, daggers with each of them. That's eight daggers, giving you a solid edge in a close range fight, and if you also equip your hands with them, that'll make a total of ten daggers."

  "Oh……I have never considered that……yes……that could elevate my advantage in a close range fight quite significantly," He muttered with intrigue, more to himself than me.

  Okay, now that that's taken care of……

  "Alright, let's keep moving," I declared, as we continued to move forward……

  Half an hour later, we ran into four Lesser Cyclops and three Snow Serpents. I quickly fried the snakes with Lightning Reign in one shot, we had only brought a limited amount of antidote with us, so better not risk it. Well, I could also share my Healing Factor using Soul-Eater Mode, but healing another person used up my stamina, and if I had to heal multiple people, I'd wear myself out in no time.

  "Alright, these monsters' biggest weakness are their eyes, smash that and they're as good as dead. You twins take one Lesser Cyclops each, and Lusk, you take two. Any objections?"

  They all shook their heads before charging at their targets.

  Necola ducked under the swing of her target's claws, before blasting flames at its feet, bringing it to its knees. As it did, she drove her right arm towards its eye, the tip of her shield piercing into its eye, killing it.

  Poderl parried the thrust of the claws of the monster he was fighting with his short-sword, before using that momentum to slash upwards at its eye. The monster stumbled back before disappearing into dust.

  Lusk rushed towards his two targets and blasted continuous, powerful gusts of steam at their eyes, scorching their eyeballs and blinding them. As they stumbled back, he fired rapid bullets of water at their steam-burnt eyes, piercing them and killing them.

  He refrained from using his tentacles……looks like he had decided to work on his Water Magic by giving himself a handicap by shelving his Anima. Impressive temperament, and he had decent agility and moved pretty fluidly, he definitely had a lot of potential.

  As the three first years began to head back towards the rest of us, Key suddenly yelled out.

  "Hey, up ahead of us!"

  I quickly turned my attention towards the line of her sight, and……spotted two Ice Wyverns flying towards us.

  Not good……we could definitely take them out, but we couldn't afford to let them spew their ice breath, it'd be hard to prevent all seven of us from getting struck by it, which meant……we needed to take them out in a matter of seconds.

  I sighed……looks like I don't have a choice. I still couldn't use this properly, but I could maintain it for about five seconds……and that was more than enough time.

  "Alright, here goes……"

  I took off my top and unstrapped my blades and scrolls.

  "Uh……what are you doing, dude?" Inquired Rai in confusion, as all the others watched me in bewilderment.

  Persia knew about it, but probably didn't realize what I was doing yet. I then closed my eyes and focused……triggering and activating Vampire Mode.

  The whites of my eyes turned black, as my pupils turned red. Jet black bat-like wings grew out from my back, as a sharp black tail grew out from my lower back. My canines grew into fangs while my nails grew into claws, and red streaks appeared in my hair. I felt my body becoming drastically stronger, as my eyes grew incredibly more perceptive.

  Now, then……

  I shot up into the sky using two flaps of my wings, before rapidly flapping them and shooting towards the Wyverns.

  One second……

  They almost looked like they were frozen, as I closed half the gap. I began charging up lightning in my left fist and right palm. In this form, my lightning was blood red in hue.

  Two seconds……

  I reached the first one, it looked like it was beginning to open its mouth, but it also still appeared to be almost perfectly still in my eyes.

  Three seconds

  I slammed my left fist into it, incinerating and blowing it apart into tiny pieces in the blink of an eye, creating a powerful shockwave in the air and leaving almost no trace of the monster left. Since my lightning is red……Scarlet Shocker Punch!

  Four seconds……

  I then aimed the lightning charged in my right hand at the second one and fired. The blast was massive, a large powerful beam of red lightning with the width of a boulder, wiping out the monster in a instant……

  Scarlet Lightning Incineration Cannon!

  The sky crackled and shimmered for a while after the blast petered out, the intense blast had created a powerful electromagnetic field in the air that it shot through.

  I began to glide down using my wings, but I lost my hold on Vampire Mode as I reached the time limit of my control over it, my mutations receding as I reverted to my normal state.

  I plummeted down, crashing onto the snow. I broke a couple of ribs, but the snow broke most of my fall. I stood up as I healed my bones, heading back to the others and putting my top back on, and strapping my weapons back on.

  So, yeah……that was Vampire Mode.

  On foot, I was fifteen times faster than normal, and my speed, strength, agility, eyesight and Lightning Magic also had a x15 boost. As for my wings, my flight speed was eighteen times faster than my normal speed. The biggest positive is the x15 boost to my eyesight, my level of perception in this form was a good five times higher that I could manage with using Lightning Boost on my eyes.

  Oh, and I can discharge lightning but I can't channel it inside me, so I can't use Lightning Boost……but I don't really need it with this level speed. Also, if I lose my hold over it, I can't trigger it again for at least an hour. It doesn't put any physical strain on my body like Karma does, but the longer you use it, the harder it becomes to maintain, it's like……uh, let's see, what's a good example……oh, like riding those mechanical bulls, with every passing second it moves faster and more jerkily, making it harder and harder to avoid falling off……it was kinda like that, maintaining my grip on Vampire Mode becomes more and more difficult with every passing second.

  Oh, and it does consume a lot of stamina, those five seconds had eaten up nearly a tenth of my total stamina. It was totally worth the power boost though, I can't imagine there's too many people out there who could even put up a fight against me while I'm in this form. And like I said, my eyesight also got a x15 boost, meaning that I could keep up with the increase in speed with no problem whatsoever. I had to admit……this might have been worth losing three quarters of my Karma for.

  Oh, and just to clarify, the reason I took off my top was because otherwise my wings and tail would tear and rip through it when they grow out.

  Now comes the difficult part……

  "What……was that?" Key remarked in bewilderment.

  "Damn……," Mumbled Rai with wide eyes.

  The first years were also staring at me in shock. I let out a sigh. I hate explaining.

  "Alright, fine……don't tell anyone else about this. Basically……"

  I briefly summarized an explanation of my Vampire Mode form.

  "Duuude……that is so badass!"

  "Wh-whatever, that aside……I'm serious, don't tell anyone else about it. Mainly because I want to keep it as a secret trump card for as long as possible, but also because it'll attract way too much unwanted attention. Got it?" I stated, as I shifted my gaze to the three first years.

  "W-we won't tell a soul!" The twins promised simultaneously, looking nervous as I stared at them.

  "Indeed, I believe it would quite unwise to cross you, I shall not speak a word of it," Added Lusk, adjusting his glasses while trying to act calm.

  They were all clearly afraid and cautious of me. Good, that makes it unlikely that they'll break their word.

  "Now that that's settled……let's keep moving."……

  By now, about an hour and a half had passed since we first set out, and things had been relatively easy-going since I took out those two Ice Wyverns. We had run in to a few groups of weaker monsters since then, and disposed of them with relative ease.

  We were close to halfway done with this Quest now.

  The next monsters to show up were a group of three Abominable Snowmen. The Wyverns and Snowmen today had appeared even earlier than they did last time……it had taken a couple more hours for them to appear during the Quest to meet and escort the Silvland group than it had taken today.

  We probably shouldn't head in much further after this……

  But first, we need to take out the monsters approaching us. I quickly delegated and assigned each of us to the monsters. Persia and I would take one, Rai and Key would take another, and the three first years would take the third one.

  "Well, since you revealed yours, I might as well too……," Said Persia, using half of the full extent of her Retractable Anima, which more than tripled her abilities.

  The only difference between half of the full extent of her Retractable Anima and a quarter of the full extent of her Retractable Anima in terms of physical mutations was that jet-black fur sprouted on her hands and feet, as her fingers and toes grew a bit longer more flexible. As her claws grew out and her teeth grew sharper, she crouched down on all fours before rapidly sprinting towards one of the monsters.

  I activated Lightning Boost at x3 and extracted forty percent Karma, which was a x1.5 boost, making my total speed boost x4.5, slightly faster than Persia in her current state. I can handle this much Karma for over two minutes, which was way more than enough time.

  She formed a rotating wind sphere in her right palm, before slipping past the swipe of its hand as she reached it, and then shot past the monster's right leg, slamming the ball of spinning wind onto the back of its heel, immediately blowing away a chunk of it upon contact.

  As the monster's right leg buckled and collapsed down onto one knee, she leapt up onto its back and began using her claws to rip into the thick hide of the monster.

  While it was distracted by her and tried to shake her off, I sprang onto its knee and then jumped up towards its head, jamming my fists into its eyes and rapidly funneling black lightning into its head through its eye sockets. I let out a tortured roar, before the entire head exploded, the body disappearing into dust as it began to fall down.

  Meanwhile, Rai was distracting the Abominable Snowman he was taking on while Key held her sword above her, converging and intensifying the flames around it.

  Looks like she was going for her most powerful Fire Magic attack, and Rai was buying her time to charge it up.

  He had gotten really good at leaping across trees and branches while also using his tail as a limb, and right now, he was slinking across the body of the monster by using its thick white fur to hold onto. He was holding onto its torso, and as it tried to grab him, he swung himself up using his tail and sprang onto its shoulder, slashing at its eyes with his scythe. It quickly closed its eyes, the blade leaving just a shallow scratch on the eyelids.

  It then jumped up and slammed its feet onto the ground, causing him to lose his balance and fall off. Before he hit the ground, he fired a bolt of lightning from his mouth at the monster's crotch, causing it to stumble back. Based on the goofy look on his face, he had aimed there on purpose……idiot.

  "Now!" Called out Key, as the flames around her raised sword grew so intense that the air around her was shimmering like crazy, and the snow beneath her had turned into a large puddle of water, as she sweated like crazy.

  Rai rolled out of the way as she swiftly swung her flaming blade downwards, unleashing a massive, powerful vertical slash of blazing flames rapidly barreling towards the monster.

  It began to evade it, but the fiery slash slammed into its left side, scorching and incinerating through the vertical line of impact, severing the monster's left limbs and a chunk of its left side, killing it.

  That attack used up over half her Mana, so she looked pretty tired……or maybe it was just all the sweat she'd lost thanks to the heat resulting from charging up the slash.

  The snow in the distance between where she was standing and where the monster had died had completely melted.

  I began charging up my Incineration Cannon as I watched the first years deal with the last remaining Snowman.

  They weren't doing very well. They were dodging and evading just fine, but none of their attacks were effective. Necola and Poderl's flames didn't have the, well, firepower to hurt the monster, and their weapons were useless against its tough hide.

  Lusk tried his Steam Magic, but it was fairly ineffective as well, and his water bullets were too small to do much damage even if they could pierce its hide.

  Looks like this monster is a bit much for them.

  I'll have to step it……Lightning Incineration Cannon Noir!

  I fired at the monster's head, it began to react and shift its position, but it was too slow, my blast taking off the top right chunk of its head. That takes care of that.

  "Alright, we'll stop our advance here. Rest up for fifteen minutes and we'll head back after."

  Before I could finish, the first years had swarmed me.

  "Was there any way for us to have been able to defeat that monster with our current abilities?" The twins inquired in unison.

  Damn, how do they do that, it was always in perfect sync. Lusk was also looking at me expectantly……well, I guess it is kinda my job to advise them on this Quest……the others didn't really seem to know how to give constructive feedback.

  "Hm, let's see……well their most vulnerable spot is their eyes, but their eyelids are pretty tough and they're quick to shut their eyes when targeted. Oh, hey……how strong is the grip strength of your tentacles? Strangling it to death could be an option if they've got a powerful hold."

  "Hm, I suppose that might be possible……," He responded, mulling it over.

  "As for you two……sorry to say, but I can't see any way for the two of you to take down a monster of this level with your current abilities. Hey, Key……as a Fire Magic user, got any advice?" I deflected to Key as I couldn't think of anything.

  Her Fire Magic may be pretty weak to the point where she couldn't even discharge flames larger than a small tinder without her sword, but she used it really well within its limits.

  "I, er……well, I suppose there is something. You two always discharge your flames normally……try concentrating and compressing the flames into a thinner yet denser and more intense ray, that should make it more penetrative and intensify the heat as well……if that's not enough with one person, try combining your flames to double the overall penetration and intensity. Um……does that help?"

  "Yes, thank you very much, Miss Angor!" They thanked her at the same time.

  "Er……just call me Key, you're just a year younger than me anyway," She said, shifting a bit uncomfortably.

  Did the mention of her last name remind her of her worsening relationship with her parents?

  "Anyway, we'll head back after resting up a bit, so use this break to replenish your energy if you're feeling especially tired," I instructed, as I plopped down onto the snow and activated Hotbox around me, "Oh, and since we're leaving a bit earlier than planned, once we head back and get to the start of the snowy area……we'll be testing you first years in duels, I brought along a safety barrier, so rest easy."

  They immediately looked alarmed.

  "Um, who will……," Began Poderl nervously.

  "……we have to fight?" Finished Necola, gulping.

  Huh, so when they don't talk in unison, they finish each other's sentences.

  "Don't worry, I won't be taking part in it, I'll just be observing……you'll each duel against one of these three," I replied, nodding towards Persia, Rai and Key.

  The three first years let out sighs of relief. Looks like they really didn't want to fight me, even with a safety barrier.

  "I really don't see the big deal, even if I was the one you'd be fighting, it's not like I'd go all out……and besides, you two already fought me during the entrance exam."

  "That's true, but……," Began Necola.

  "……you had a bunch of handicaps back then and were still able to shatter the barrier," Finished Poderl with a sigh.

  "I must admit, I was quite relieved that I did not have to take your entrance exam……if I'm not mistaken, the first forty plus of the applicants you tested all failed," Added Lusk, pushing up his glasses while folding his arms.

  "Fair point, but that was because the cocky and overconfident ones volunteered first……five out of the last twenty or so of the applicants I tested passed," I countered, as Persia joined me inside the warmth of my Hotbox barrier.

  "……exactly how difficult did you make your entrance exam, dude?" Inquired Rai curiously.

  Well, it was all a moot point because I still wasn't planning on taking part in these duels, I currently had no interest in fighting these three, not as they are now anyway……

  After we rested up, we got up and headed back. We didn't run into any of the stronger monster types on the way back, and a relatively smooth hour or so passed by.

  It was now about a half hour walk left before we'd reach the north gate of the Rustlands, guess now's a good time as any.

  "Alright, let's have the practice duels here. Oh, and uh……it's technically against the rules for first years to duel, so officially speaking……this never happened, got it? Anyway, I'll randomly assign the match ups."

  The first duel was Key against Poderl.

  She let him make the first move, staying on the defense and letting him attack. She wasn't using her Retractable Anima, but her sword skills in her normal state were still a lot better than his. He didn't seem to be able to use Stream and coat his blade in flames like she could, but even if he could, when it comes to Fire Magic, Stream is many times more intense with a Fire Steel weapon than a weapon made of anything else.

  Not to mention that being compatible with a Fire Steel weapon is rare, so in a close range fight against someone else with Fire Magic, with the intensity of her Stream technique and high level swordsmanship, she was near unbeatable.

  Once he began to run out of steam and his attacks slowed down, she swiftly countered and thrust her blade at his chest after making an opening, teleporting him out.

  The second bout was between Persia and Necola.

  I told Persia not to use Propulsion or her Anima, and like Key, to let her opponent attack first for a bit before countering.

  The fight began with Necola dashing towards her, throwing a right punch at her as she reached her, aiming to strike with the front edge of her shield.

  Persia sidestepped to avoid it, and tapped her opponent on the back as her momentum carried her past Persia, causing her to lose her balance a bit.

  She quickly regained her balance and unfurled a series of punches and kicks at Persia, who evaded them fairly easily. She had a decent technique, but considering how many times Persia had sparred against my dynamic fighting technique, reading the moves of a simpler fighting style was child's play for her.

  Necola then blew out a fireball at Persia, who leapt forward and over it, before rapidly twisting her body in mid-air and unfurling a powerful kick down at Necola, who blocked with her shield, but the force of the kick caused her to lose balance. Since this wasn't a serious fight and she was going easy on her opponent, Persia didn't press further into the opening, instead using her opponent's shield as a stepping stone to backflip off of and spring back a few paces.

  Necola then took a deep breath and began charging up flames between her hands, before firing it at Persia. Her aim was quite a ways off, so Persia didn't really have to move. But that last blast of flames……she had compressed and intensified a lot more than I'd seen either of the twins do till this point……she was taking Key's advice and applying it here.

  However, you can't just pull off a new technique without a significant amount of practice first, which is why she couldn't aim it properly at the moment.

  Persia shot forward while forming a wind sphere in her right hand, as Necola fired another blast of blazing flames at her, her aim once again way off.

  Persia rapidly closed the gap before driving the ball of wind towards Necola's throat, the barrier teleporting her out before her neck was blasted into oblivion.

  And finally, it was Rai against Lusk.

  This could be an interesting match-up……Rai was strongest at close range since he couldn't fire long range lightning blasts except from his mouth, which would leave him vulnerable. However, Lusk had his water bullets for long range and steam blasts for short or mid range……and then there were his tentacles. If Rai used his Lightning Boost at x3 or over, he would win pretty easily……but I told him to limit himself to x2.

  As I activated the barrier around them and the fight started, Rai made the first move after Lusk showed no signs of rushing in.

  He activated Lightning Boost at x2 while using Stream to electrify and extend the blade of his scythe.

  As Rai neared his opponent, Lusk quickly sprang back and flung snow at Rai's face using his tentacles, blinding him for a moment.

  He then fired a barrage of water bullets at Rai, who got grazed by a few of them, but managed to evade the rest. Thanks to his low Mana capacity and Elemental Magic output, he wasn't able to keep up the barrage for long.

  The moment he ceased his attack, Rai held his scythe by the very end of the handle and then flung it towards Lusk, the scythe rapidly spinning towards his head. He ducked under it as the blunt side of the weapon slammed onto the barrier wall, before dropping onto the snow. Rai then shot forward while charging up lightning around his fist. Wait, is he……?

  "Alright, here goes……Shocker Pun- agh!" He began, before Lusk dodged out of the way of his punch at the last possible second, and then grabbing onto Rai with his tentacles, restricting his limbs and torso using seven of the tentacles, before wrapping the eight one around his neck. He began to squeeze, and a couple of seconds later, Rai was teleported out before his throat was crushed.

  "That was pretty careless, man……heh, you look like you have a bunch of hickeys on your neck," I snorted with laughter at the marks left by the tentacle suction cups, before adding, "Throwing your weapon was kinda dumb when you don't have a backup or secondary weapon, and when he grabbed you, you could have just discharged a bunch of lightning to electrocute him and weaken his grip."

  "Sh-shut up, dude! I was holding back a lot, you know! I didn't even use my Lightning Reaper!"

  His wha- oh, right……he wanted a named attack so he came up with that……I won't point out that he couldn't have used it anyway since he flung his scythe. Anyway, I should probably give the first years some feedback.

  "Excuses, excuses. Now, then, as for you three……Poderl, work on your sword technique's complexity, at the moment it's a solid foundation but a bit too simple. Necola, same thing but with your hand-to-hand combat skills. Also, both of you work on your Fire Magic using Key's advice. And Lusk……use your imagination to make full use of your tentacles in a fight, you utilize it excellently at the moment, but there's still plenty of room for improvement, there always is."

  "Thank you for the advice, Mr Black!" Said the twins.

  "Indeed, it has only been a handful of hours but I feel as though I have made some rather significant progress. You have my gratitude, Mr Bl."

  "You know what, just call me Kuro……like Key said, we're just a year older than you guys, that's barely any difference. Anyway, the Quest is over now……let's all head back," I declared, as I put away the barrier scroll.

  As we began to head back, Key suddenly spoke up……

  "Rai……you were about to yell out a name for your attack just then, weren't you?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

  "Yeah, it's not my own original move or anything, but-," He began, before trailing off as I glared at him and he remembered that I told him not to tell anyone that I name my attacks, "I mean, uh……never mind!"

  "What are you, ten years old? It's so embarrassing," Sighed Key.

  "It's totally not! It's cool-!" He argued back.

  As they began to go back and forth over the subject, Persia sidled up next to me.

  "Hey……"

  "Uh, what is it?"

  "You're the one who came up with that attack name, aren't you?" She inquired with a teasing smirk. Crap, she figured it out.

  "No, I have no idea what you're talking about," I shrugged in response.

  "Hehe……what did you call that one attack again, you know, during our first Quest……Lightning something Cannon……?" She whispered teasingly.

  I felt a twinge of embarrassment run down my spine.

  "H-hey, look! The gate is in sight, let's hurry up and get back!" I declared, picking up my pace with a sigh……

  she wasn't going to forget this anytime soon, was she?

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism! Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.