The Guardian

Chapter 19: Going easy

In the private teachers’ box, whoever was leading the group of Merlin Academy students was watching a young woman.

“That young lady looks familiar,” Cécile said as she watched Alice eating her chips.

“That’s the A-Rank student I told you about,” Professor Miller reported.

They had both been talking about it when Cecile came over.

“Is that so?” Cecile asked and inspected Alice.

Alice was a beautiful young woman, and even though she was in the arena close to starting a fight, she was still eating her chips as if the outside world couldn’t affect her.

She looked familiar to Cecile, but not because Professor Miller had reported her, but because she was sure she had seen her elsewhere.

“Surely you’ve seen her before. She’s a Rank A mercenary based in Zerzura City in Africa,” Director Vincent commented as he saw that Cécile was still looking.

“Oh!” Cécile exclaimed, and nodded without making a big deal out of it.

Although she worked as a teacher, she was an S-Rank Summoning Archmage, so she might have seen her before when she took other jobs.

While her work area was not in Africa, where Zerzura City was, it was possible to have seen her.

“So Isaac, you wanted to truly test her?” Cécile asked her former friend who worked as a teacher just like her when he nodded, asked. “Do you know her weaknesses?”

“Well... Actually, during classes, she hasn’t showed her abilities and I only have the video I passed you earlier,” Replied Professor Miller, looking away.

Cecile looked at her friend, who had dropped her severe and solemn expression she always gave her students, and narrowed her eyes.

In the video of the battle, Alice, that young woman, was just pulling arms out of the shadow attached to her back... It was hard to tell what her particular limit and traits were.

It was even more complicated to pinpoint whether her abilities came from magic, was a talent, or a psionic quality.

When her thinking got to that point, Cécile looked at Director Vincent, who was watching the arena where Alice was eating her second bag of chips.

“The mercenary guild classified her power as the ‘Dominion of Darkness’. Its Rank and manner of use is unknown, but it appears to be an innate ability related to magic,” reported Director Vincent before Cécile could speak.

How did someone like her get into the Academy?

Cécile swallowed her question and looked at the young woman in surprise.

Like any official organization, the mercenary guild, in granting ranks to its mercenaries, had to vet and rank those who wished to join, so it made sense that they would know about the skill.

Her surprise came from the fact that this young woman seemed to have a rather strong, innate ability.

In the test video, the young woman drew black arms from the shadow attached to her back, allowing her to attack or defend with them.

The curiosity of an archmage aroused in Cecile, and she gave a charming smile.

“I’ll take care of her,” said Cecile, informing her students that they were summoning, and without waiting for a response, she made use of her magical energy without needing to follow the process of a spell.

In the center of the arena, a portal opened, and a creature appeared.

“GRrr!” a huge black-furred wolf growled at Alice.

This black wolf released a dark spectral aura that shadowed its surroundings, generating an innate terror to all who observed it, but...

*Crack*

The crunching sound of potato chips rang out, and Alice looked at the spectral wolf.

A-Rank creature, which was quite strong within its rank because it could move in the shadows, it had an aura of terror and could partially turn into a wraith in which it would not take typical physical damage.

Only sword aura, combat aura, magic arrows, or magic spells could damage spectral wolf in its wraith form.

That was the major reason why it was a tough enemy.

Cécile’s eyebrows twitched as she saw that Alice didn’t seem concerned, but her concentration remained on the young woman’s back.

On her back, a shadow began to spread.

At first, just covering her back sticking to her, but then the shadow grew more prominent, and Cécile felt for a moment that she was watched from that shadow.

“Grrr...” With a growl, the combat began.

The spectral wolf growled and attacked Alice, but she just kept eating her chips.

Only at her back appeared six black arms that made the wolf retreat at high speed.

Four arms held her on the ground, lifting her in the air, and the other two were in charge of fighting the spectral wolf.

It was hard to classify the battle, as Alice just watched while her two black arms pushed the wolf away and the other four arms guided her body to dodge and move.

One could tell that Alice was not in danger, nor did she feel pressured.

“Tch.” Cecile clicked her tongue, and the spectral wolf let out a howl infused with a powerful aura of terror.

Regular students, even an experienced Rank A, would tremble, but Alice was only enveloped by dozens of black arms like a small cocoon.

When the howl disappeared, the arms returned to her back, leaving only those needed to fight, and she continued to eat her chips.

Cecile was quite annoyed, as she herself had summoned the spectral wolf, and it seemed that the creature was a weak foe against Alice’s abilities.

“Cecile, don’t overdo it,” Director Vincent warned, but Cécile was already excited.

Alice was a Rank A, but she seemed to be one of the strongest of that rank; after all, she was on equal footing with a Rank A creature that generally had to be faced by a small group because of her strong spectral abilities.

Watching as the spectral wolf leapt through the shadows, trying to attack Alice by surprise, but being stopped and knocked back by the young woman’s arms, Cecile couldn’t help but smile.

With her smile, the spectral wolf trembled, and the next moment its speed increased, dodging Alice’s arms.

The young woman just kept eating her chips, and the arms increased in quantity to push the spectral wolf away.

When a dozen black arms attacked the spectral wolf covering its entire path, the spectral wolf became intangible and pierced through the black arms, trying to cut Alice with its claws.

A look of surprise passed over Alice’s face, but she only stepped back a little and managed to dodge the wolf’s paw; unfortunately, there were losses.

“...” The bag of chips was torn open, and dozens of chips fell on the ground.

A big smile appeared on Cécile’s face as she saw Alice’s lost expression.

She had actually helped the summoned creature by boosting its strength, hoping to threaten the young lady a little... But the spectral wolf had torn Alice’s bag of chips and had exceeded her expectations.

As the chips fell to the ground, a cold expression appeared on Alice’s face, and the next moment, the cameras went black.

“What happened?” asked Cécile, annoyed by the video cameras that had gone completely black.

She could hear a sound, seeming that the ‘interference’ was about just the video.

“Although she is a student, Alice is still an A-Rank mercenary,” Director Vincent commented, and snapped his fingers.

Cécile could see how a blast of air ‘blew’ the darkness away from the camera and brought the stage into view.

In the middle of the arena stood Alice, staring coldly at the spectral wolf huddled in the center, surrounded by dozens of black spears.

The former black arms became black spears that surrounded the poor spectral wolf as it howled.

This time the spears were not only coming out of Alice’s back, but the shadow had descended at her feet and spread around her.

From that place, dark as the abyss, the arms came out to become sharp spears the next moment, and they all pointed at the spectral wolf.

“This is why I was going easy on you,” Alice muttered with an angry tone while sighing at the sight of the fallen chips in ‘action’.

“Student Alice, you passed the test. Excellent work,” Reported Professor Miller before the young woman turned the spectral wolf into a porcupine.

When Alice left the arena grumbling about her chips, Cecile couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Vincent. how about transferring that student to Merlin Academy? I assure you that in two years... No, just one year I’ll make her an S-Rank!” Cécile declared with an expression full of confidence.

Alice was as strong as an A-Rank, and her control and management of her ability were simply brilliant.

Let alone the potential, Cécile found it made sense to her that the mercenary guild called Alice’s skill, the ‘Darkness Mastery’, as it was a true at-will domain.

Defend, attack, and with enough versatility to protect against ambushes.

Someone with that potential could become an S-Rank if they had the right teaching and teacher.

A-Rank and S-Rank were extremely different and were separated by a great chasm.

Those who made it across that chasm turned out to be quite a few when compared to all those who made it to A-Rank.

Director Vincent looked at Cécile with a slightly strange expression, but in the end, giving a sigh, he said. “If you want to, try it.”

Cécile was thrilled to hear those words.

That Director Vincent didn’t object to ‘stealing’ a student was the most crucial step in taking Alice as one of her students.

No matter how her abilities were different, Cecile, as an S-Rank, could help her to improve and even help her to harness every part of her ability.

After all, as a Summoning Archmage, and as a magic lover and great connoisseur, she could help her.

“I guess now that you’ve broken her bag of chips, I don’t think she’ll let you take her back,” Director Vincent muttered, with an expression that looked funny.

Cécile remembered the test and how the ‘terror’ of the students had begun... She also remembered how that duo that awakened the ‘calamity’ were dragged all over the academy, just for a bag of chips.

Cécile’s expression changed, not knowing how to react.

******

Professor Miller could not hide his smile as he saw the famous Cécile Leroux, a powerful S-Rank Archmage, grumbling in the room's corner.

She looked depressed, and the reason for that was that after Director Vincent’s approval, she turned to the student Alice and... She was rejected outright before she could even ask.

Professor Miller watched through the cameras as Alice, the moment she saw Cecile, looked at her in a cautious and cold way.

Alice appeared to be simple, but she had immediately recognized that this spectral wolf was summoned by Cecile.

Cécile could do nothing but retreat and return here.

“As expected of the Haillet’s daughter, she shows all the ability of a ‘mechanic’.” Director Vincent commented, looking at the current combat.

Professor Miller turned his attention back to the combat.

Leslie Haillet was a mechanic with a talent over the mastery of firearms and was now showing the mechanic’s ability and talent.

*Bang*

*Bang*

Leslie was shooting with her two guns at a stone boar, only this one was a little bigger, and its stone skin was harder and tougher than the others.

But Leslie was shooting with great accuracy at the boar’s eyes.

The bullets could damage the boar’s eyes, and Leslie quickly put her pistols side by side as a glow covered her.

In an instant, the two pistols fused together, creating a small shotgun, and after inserting a special ammunition, Leslie fired it aiming for the boar’s head.

*Bang!

A minor explosion caused the stone acting as a defence on the boar’s head to be sent flying.

*Bang*

The second shot collapsed the entire defense and...

*Bang*

The third shot caused the boar’s head to explode due to the special ammunition.

The Taranis Company created both the guns and the ammunition. Although Leslie increased the power of the weapon, those guns in themselves were deadly weapons.

Firearms had become less important because of magic, but the mechanics were proving that firearms were still as lethal as any mage or psionic.

“After the ‘Great Cataclysm’ firearms could barely hurt some C-Rank creatures, and now the weapons can shatter the defense of B-Rank creatures and more,” Cécile commented with a sigh, as if time had passed too quickly.

“As long as it helps humanity for me, they can develop more powerful weapons,” Professor Miller pointed out casually.

All input for the protection of humanity was valuable; that was what Professor Miller thought.

“The problem is that those weapons they won’t just be used for protection,” Cécile muttered in disagreement with Professor Miller’s words.

It was too idealistic to think that the technology would only be used in favor of humanity; after all, when the mages, fighters, and psionics appeared, it didn’t take long for these to turn against themselves.

It was true that the Taranis Company had the upper hand in the production of weapons and that their only goal was to support humanity, but other companies created weapons for the sole purpose of gaining wealth... And they didn’t care if those weapons ended up in the hands of criminals.

“Instead of thinking about the evil they can create, it’s better to think about the good they can do,” Director Vincent interrupted, and pointed to the next fight.

Andrés was being surrounded by three drones with a spherical design that hovered around him like guards, while he himself carried a high-tech gun.

The ground glowed and from the center of the arena appeared a dog-sized horned rabbit.

Andrés did not have a defined combat style, and his flaws were many, but having selected his style, his biggest flaw was the time it took him to react.

It was difficult for him to mobilize the drones with his talent and control it as if it were an extension of his own body; that was why his enemy was a rabbit that had high mobility and could present a big problem.

The rabbit was the first to move.

This skittish rabbit started running around Andrés, and when it was on its back away from the human’s field of vision, it jumped using its horn as its biggest weapon.

That horn could pierce a human’s body and even seriously wound a Rank C, like Andrés.

One of the drones moved and created a barrier around Andrés’ body.

The rabbit collided with the barrier, and before it could retreat, another drone moved, releasing an electric wave that paralyzed the rabbit for a second.

The third drone used that second and fired several bullets at the rabbit, causing, in some cases, serious injuries.

It could be noted that the weapons were powerful for wounding a rabbit.

The last to move was Andrés, who fired his gun, only this time the rabbit could dodge it, although it was wounded.

The combat continued swiftly, and Andrés used his three drones to corner the rabbit until he could finish his opponent.

“I think this test went pretty badly,” Said Cécile, who had recovered from the rejection, looked at the dead rabbit and commented. “Most of the summoned creatures are C-Rank beasts, but the students seem to be mediocre B-Ranks.”

Although she called them ‘mediocre’, she wasn’t really insulting, just commenting on a fact.

Most of the students lacked the experience to become experienced B-Ranks and were deficient in some aspects, but in overall strength, they could get into B-Rank... Albeit on the lowest scale and only by a little.

“True, but if I asked your students to summon B-Rank creatures for everyone, they could be in grave danger and would usually lose without learning anything,” Professor Miller stated at length.

The creatures summoned by Cecile’s students were wild creatures, which were not controlled by the summoners.

Although the arena had some protection for emergencies, Professor Miller wanted to be sure.

Of course, the biggest reason was that the difference in ranks between the creatures was not about experience and ability like humans, but that they were naturally stronger because of their physique and qualities.

After all, it was known that creatures were stronger than humans, with the most powerful humans of their rank being what could beat a creature of equal rank in single combat.

If all the fights were held with a Rank B elemental like the one they had summoned for Clémentine, many of the students would have lost before they could show their progress and skill.

Besides, there was a fundamental reason why Professor Miller didn’t take them to the limit.

“Didn’t you say you would stay for a week?” Professor Miller asked with a smile and then muttered. “That’s enough time to make the students gain experience.”