COI C117
A long while back, Haw and the girl were sometimes meet at her parents’ restaurant during the swarm. To continue her pursuit on finding and discovering of new and bizarre cuisines and spices, they were both got into serious argument in one time and other is for laughs. The girl said to him
“Are you sure you can’t go hunting in the middle of the swarm?”
“I only understand that your people don’t like bugs infesting inside your city. It should’ve been a great opportunity to find even rarer delicacies”
“Then why not take me outside?”
“I have work, why not I’ll teach how to make your own special catcher, what do you say?”
The girl took her time to make it, especially most of her time during the siege. The long wait was boring for her so she decided to make it now. She owed a lot most of her friends and family to get the materials done. She got extremely lucky to hear that the other Enders to come by and help too. Now with two trapped perfectly fine eels in her inventory, this is her greatest achievement. The only problem inside her catcher is . . . ‘max’ and the rest will be more trouble to getting the other monsters alive, if the fishes are sushi material.
Tired from their first catch, others didn’t bother sip their stamina potions as their mind is exhausted to fight against a fast moving, bullet hell, and in massive grouping eels. They review their situation as the place they pulled them out were supposed to be a handful. Yet, those other schools of eels were coming out of nowhere in high speed. The students won’t bother to know where they came from. Tabitha checks her surrounding and sees why the monsters are not pulled out what they exactly thought. The realm has flaws, and it felt the same atmosphere where they are in the ruin. Random interference, from what she heard among the workers in Taiyou Industries.
“Breathe* Is there a chance we have to fight a big massive group of monsters like this? Miyusuki? You were that hero who rescue Joanne and her sister, right?”
The students spoke about it with their breathless words, and the shield student spokes out with honest intention
“Going into their center of operation, yeah it would be difficult. The big difference was that the Dexter Guild gave me a monocle to guide us the way. That small little eye piece was the main center of information when I got inside. Too well detailed with words I don’t understand”
Tabitha heard him said about a monocle. That would be R-cord, but why would he? Then she quick to remind herself of her own involvement with the Enders, they were connected by their works. She still has her telepathy connected on his monocle, but he is out of range. Big difference with her telepathy when connecting with Circoston ritual than her own will power. Even the guildmember himself lost his connection with her when they both got inside the train. When she was inside the train, she still able to reach Kiege herself. Such powerful ritual, and until now she is finally realizing it.
After their harvest they go to a safe place where the other school students passed by and even amazed how they pull it off. They want to reach out then they hesitated. They look really exhausted from the fight, and decided to join along with them. Tabitha sees them and asks their teacher.
“Are they supposed to enjoy the realm?”
The teacher sees them as lazy students as ever, but keep on losing is one of their discomforts, he responds
“Imagine if we were you and failed multiple times, is it time to admit defeat and ask others for help?”
Both students from different schools don’t mind it, but they look rather wanting to make business. The girl is starting to think like a businesswoman while her friends expect her intuition to open up the big pictures. Either they earn some money or paid by food, this is her mindset to get business booming. The other school students also know too well from her intention. The social media website shows a lot of demands to find a specific seller they have to get. The dwarves’ alcohol, the goblins’ hunted games, and the Agathean’s luxurious drinks. This realm has the exceptional fishes, why not have an opportunity of it. To whom to where they get their information, or was it being rich was all in their heads.
Both teachers talk about the market regarding to this realm. Isekai City is trying to become the hub or centralized in trading. According from the teacher, still bothered about the condition of this city, yet he said
“I have no idea that they still want to continue living this world’s affairs. Many people who didn’t have that such opportunity is now developing so well now. It makes me remind ourselves in our country’s economy in the near 80s. Do you think many people would gladly stay after having reaching golden age here?”
Tabitha couldn’t believe what this teacher is saying. The city is indeed trying to bring back from the dangerous attacks. Now it is about making this city as the center of attention of this world. A world of magic, and this city will become rich during this harsh time, she admits
“Yeah, our ancestors did miraculously to bring themselves out of poverty after World War 2. Then again it was the US are trying to take advantage of having close alliances just to deal with communism”
“Ah man, that could be debatable. Let’s not ignore that we are building up the city under more than six months. Now that we are getting the resources we needed. Restoring the factories will be the greatest assets to our economy”
They turn to their students. When only 30 minutes have passed, they are still trembling by their experiences. Doubting as they watch from afar, many students are struggling while the others get their loots with an impactful price. This is only the beginning, and Tabitha has the same experience from her training being the leader. The start was overwhelming and it was nothing about against her people but the coordination the Enders have like they already known each other. Hearing about it that took days and months to perfect it. Archivist reached her. It was good timing for him to use it. These students need to be inspired from person who is weaker than them.
The other teacher is a bit worried after seeing the others getting less morale than they have since the beginning “What are we going to do now? I’m looking at the others that separating them won’t do . . .”
“What about inside the realm? Deep inside at the center”
“Now that’s too much for both of our students . . .”
He checks his device for any updates from his school who ventured deep inside the realm “. . . Dang it, they are not out yet. Does the signal inside the realm jammed like that?”
“I don’t know, but I have someone who can”
Tabitha brings them faraway from the realm as she sets up her UI for them to see. She hears Archivist loud and clear and transmit her mind on screen. She imagines the screen like a video game, the screen starts to give view where Archivist have some features, and icons only through his eyes or his aura as the third person view. The students never knew someone can use this kind of ability. Carefully and spitefully in her head where she mixes her mind with his, Archivist able to take control her screen as the panel opens up a dialogue box both hearing and saying around him. The show begins.
Archivist and Coral are together who supervise the ‘best’ students they have, alongside with the other schools’ top achievers as adventurers. Inside within the most dangerous parts of this realm, Coral is the first to opens up Tabitha’s dialogue box
“What shit we got ourselves into?”
“I am maybe a foreigner, but I know that is a profanity”
“Sorry, at least I swear only to you and not the students. But . . .”
The students in their groups and they’re not so well behave at the moment. She is amazed how they get in this far with his help. “. . . Should’ve reconsidered what Haw said to us. You’re the real son of a bitch along with U’ecin and Rusic”
Archivist kept to himself, but he let the connection with Tabitha as it is. The wild voices coming out from her is steering to high levels, breaking the basic rules of teachings. In Archivist’s teachings, this is as strict you can get to be a soldier. Tabitha slips out to his rock blank head
“THIS IS NOT A MILITARY SCHOOL!”
Then it stops, both Archivist and Coral are grouping up with the other school teachers as they have ready to go deep inside to face more monster like creatures within the deep. All students have taken their plans and pick the monsters to be their challengers . . . all of them.
“Sister’s Hope Highschool’s teachers, just the two of you? I am intrigue to see you two can group about 50 students in your end. I couldn’t expect any less for the first school who venture out from the city. After so many things have happened, this is our first time here. Please take care of us”
They look at them as they are the same number of teachers, but they have 10, more or less, students and they are sure well behave. Given away that they were from a well establish schools. Coral turns to her own students, still strong and destructive as ever. Their numbers where the cost of their victories and Archivist is guiding them like in squads, thanks to Tabitha’s help.
Coral gazes at his gauntlet where it is the prime source of his magic supporting them, manipulating their strengths, and not overwhelmed the realms or empowering the monsters. They look at the other teachers in respond
“You could say that, and how far will you guys to achieve your goals?”
“We already done it. We learn so much about it before hand from our new employees from Agatheus City. Sadly, they are not that strong to train with our students, or better yet impossible to measure in strengths”
Coral smirks secretly to the side of her face saying to herself “It’s because they already being paid with minimal effort. Just give them a mana battery and a magic item made from Isekai City, you could see how much of an adventurer they are in years of experience than barely a year with you guys. (Stomach rumbling*) Oh Secius, to this moment, why are you the first person I think about? I need to keep myself together, damn it. I missed his food”
Archivist takes in charge with the big group, ironically that Flourance is with him being his ‘teacher’s pet’ or worse. There is no hesitation for this man’s motives along with the students. Experienced with dialogues spoken by past guild masters or mistresses through Archivist’s ears by memory. The students shout
“Speech x3”
They open an emoji from their spells after cheering the word ‘speech’ it was entertaining to them. Thankfully, he didn’t turn his mask on to replicate that expression. Other teachers come along with him while the other school students joined in. Three schools he had to mention, to make this group as a whole army or company militaristically.
“Ahem* High Borne Knights of Mihayara District, International Private from South Shore Bay, and Sister’s Hope Highschool from Chojima District are here today trapped inside the realm filled nothing with the best monsters they could find. We are all here to test everything of your best abilities as underdogs, facing threats that you don’t know, daring future adventurers to face the apocalyptic world. Wield your runes and your spirits at your side, those are the testaments of your new skills. Your mana, neutral mana, is now in the stepping stones of your stages in magic. All of these are your weapon, weapons shared in this realm. Don’t hesitate as you act and don’t cry if you fail . . .”
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“. . . This will be a reminder for all of you, that these monsters are alike from the monsters from the northern region of Kinteinnou or weaker version to the east region. I have honestly convinced, that I made a mistake of bringing you here . . .”
The students were flustered from him just said, they raised their voices as he stops them with his gauntlet slapping on to the air. A gong sounds spread around them. He continues
“. . . That’s why these monsters will be the one to kick you all out in this protective barrier . . .”
The teachers see the barrier is being reinforced by Archivist’s gauntlet, the energy was converted into mana since the very beginning. Absorbing the monsters’ and the realm’s mana to strengthen the barrier, as the barrier slowly clearing up to see what lies outside. There is one huge sea creature swimming above them. Size of a whale, its teeth are showing and its eyes are in pure color. A dark depths sea creature, can’t see well when the lights shine upon them. They gaze on the monstrosity in fright whereas Archivist is the only one knew it can’t see them. Unless soak by its extraction from its mouth. The monster spews it out, his expression hid from what he saw.
“There goes my scare tactics”
“. . . Let’s all face these monsters now” Flourance speaks out from all his nonsense
“Do you think those sea monsters able to penetrate the barrier? Teacher Archivist have already taught us how to deal with it in ease. You think that speech of yours can . . .”
He stops and sees him bending the waters where the sea monsters trapped inside, they wildly swim around inside the bending waters as he pulled them out one by one into the barrier. Archivist is bringing the toughest and the aggressive monsters he could remember by the books. The teachers went nuts and said to Coral.
“Your colleague just turned rogue, why is he doing this? The realm only gives us one failsafe”
“She’s right, this is their first opportunity and these are the best students trapped with him”
“Hey! Are you listening? You should deal with that . . .”
Coral shuts her up, this act of surprised events remind herself that incident. These students are definitely destined to be S ranks, something like this occurred made her think that much as she stops out of shock. Archivist didn’t react yet, made her think and realized as a soldier. A former police officer had been trained to be discipline and prepare against the unexpected, but for him.
She grins and understands now “Then let the students fight him for a change”
“What!?”
The International Private teacher stops himself for a bit and sees Archivist for the moment, he is just waiting and then realized it too.
“I retract what I just said, this is genius”
“What? I thought you were on my side. I am your co-worker god damnit”
“We have only S ranks here, and they need the experience that is better for their schoolmates. We’re been slowing down because of previous scenarios. Why not let’s just watch it for now?”
Meanwhile Tabitha is growing insane of what he did in front of all the schools. Even on screen, they watch it closely as they going to see Archivist beating down their own schoolmates. They picked up their snacks and drinks from their inventory as they watch the show. The other teacher laughs beside her
“I hope your co-workers won’t mind to have that kind of mischief. Do you think he is stronger them in numbers?”
“No, he has the OP item advantage . . .”
“Oh, you hear that, kids . . .”
Tabitha knows what to expect as she gives up and watches alongside with them.
Archivist have provoked in large numbers of students before him. The teachers let him as they already figure out what his intentions were. He has the gauntlet of endless magic, the sash for his survival, and the coin for manipulating their magic as terrain. His magic is under controlled through the gauntlet. He can now able to use rare techniques that requires powerful control to bent on so many magic around him. The flawed, it has a reach in arm’s length, and it won’t let him use range magic as it released loses its quality.
Meanwhile the students are bickering themselves “I thought he was kind of cool to help us get through here, but your teacher is a wacko”
“Hey, hey! We’re not to blame here, he is just new”
“It’s probably what this world called as teaching”
“And I thought our new teachers were lazy, but this man had gone anticlimactic”
“I don’t want to deal with this, Hey! Sister’s Hope groups. Care to regain our respect to knock some sense to him?”
“I guess, someone should be able to use their ultimate on him”
Archivist finally reacts as the first barrage of ultimate is coming his way. He pulls out his potion and drinks it, the effects delayed, and his set the barrier to bring all the monsters inside. The blasts of their ultimate overwhelmed him as the potion reacts and forced him into stasis. The students look around as the monsters are all jumping into them, they released their own abilities and setting up their RAP to fill their roles. The monsters were easily blown away by their numbers and their prowess. Once it clears, they look at Archivist.
He walks out unscathed, and his gauntlet shaken and brightens up showing the overcharge. The monsters are coming back in droves as he raised his finger at them, using his other hand to his lips, then he whistles. The new waves of monsters are charging at them. They use their magic again, as they prepared for another wave. The grounds are crumbling and a massive sea creature erupted from the ground. Tentacle like arms burst up and starts swinging around them. Their formation broke and regroup to a safer location.
Archivist rushes inside, bringing the monsters with him. The magic they left makes him able to agile like a terrain. Taking his first counterattack to the separated individuals, the student retaliates as he surprised him with a trap. His sash pulled him out and the coin turns it into a terrain. The student couldn’t react quickly as he got hit in one punch with Archivist’s gauntlet, pushed into the torrent of waters with the monsters. They got pulled in and pushed out to the other groups. Pinballed like dominoes, each group being switch after the other. As they tried to save them, Archivist comes in to follow the rippled effects.
The International Private teacher watches the fight with his UI opens to share with his partner. The data was too phenomenal for being him this strong.
“Do you see that?”
“The gauntlet is already overloading, but he is able to control that tentacle monster to maintain it from exploding”
“Laugh* Tentacle creature? It only swings and not gobbled up with its suctions. Look closely . . .”
“Those are sea kelps, looks like it, did he bend it on his own?”
“Yeah and no, he releasing so much mana as it forms of sonar waves . . . to make it move naturally. What kind of man is he?”
The waves inside of the torrent helps him sense his surrounding, he kept his gauntlet on the ground. A strong slam on the ground to see what happened around him in seismic waves. He uses his coin to form the terrain and go after the students who are near to use their failsafe. Saving them as mean beating them out from their lock in place torture, the students were forced to use their ultimate to break free from the encirclement. The mass used of mana destroys the aquatic monsters without a trace. Even how successful they break free, the mana left behind are from the monsters. Archivist is absorbing it and shifting into a more dangerous approached.
Changing the ground where the sea bed could touch, he placed soil as he slides his way in around the students. They tried their best to stop him, there surrounding becoming a mess where stray flow of torrent and floating water all around are blocking their spells. The scatters of war leaving them in a mess, others trying to wipe it off and clear away all debris. Archivist intervenes using the monsters’ mana to cause a bearing among two magic together. Yet, the students able to overpower him. Then another wave of monsters coming again to save him once more.
They have enough and unleashed hell with the sea creatures. Once they tried one more time, the floating water had turned into orbs, forged together with their magic and the monsters. The International Private teacher’s eyes are in awe and found out what he is doing.
“He is battle forging”
“What?!”
Others trying gather around him and looking at the stats. Coral remembers this type of drag on fights. Archivist is delaying his inevitable fate against the students just to make those orbs.
They look at the orb first as it now cycling through around the barrier, one stray orb hurdles at the teachers. Coral brings out her sword and slashes it, it didn’t cut, and it batted back to the fight. The students were being hurdled down by the orbs, continue to hit each other as it is getting painful with each retaliation. The orbs are getting smaller and smaller, while Archivist takes his time to get away using the orb as his terrain. The teachers had figure it out, through their UI as they fully conclude what he is doing.
The teacher said to them “For some unknown reason, Archivist can’t be hit with any magic. His sash prevents him to get hit, always got hit my bad, but only from severe damage. Another unknown reason he is able to move across their magic like a terrain, like everything he climbs on are made out of earth magic. The orb is filled with magic that is slowly building up the strength to harm anyone in contact. Then those monsters before him was a distraction . . . No, he keeps bringing them back in”
The students have watched their classmates getting maw out of existence from the distraction being hauled around them. Hitting by orbs causing them to be stunned, and the monsters hitting them only disrupt their channeling of spells. But other students found out that Archivist is handling them very well as they are supposed to be using their failsafe. One of them wants to give up, then Archivist appeared behind her then knocks her out then swing her out from the fight. Now it begins, the finisher.
“This is impossible, I knew something was up from him when he got Miyusuki’s gauntlet. It is as op as fuck”
“You already think about that, he even used it to save the abductees. What do you expect from a gauntlet made by Dexter Guild?”
“Why not stop this training and go to where the teachers are? Look! They just observing us in this bad environment”
“No . . .”
They look at him when he is about to object. Beating someone with OP magic against an all-purpose magic user, they said to him at the same time
“Go there and fight it yourself you dipshit!”
The teachers see the students are retreating towards them. Some students were pulled back in are from Sister’s Hope Highschool, Coral took shock to see them being brought back to fight. Then after a closer look who were taken in, she just stood there silently and kept her evil grin wider at their backs. Troublemaking students saw Coral’s smile clearly, they know what’s up. They turn around and there is fish with a gauntlet reaching out, they try to dodge it but a predictable move was able to get them easily then pulled back in. Coral keeps smiling through and through.
Archivist went deep inside their groups as he phases through the terrain he made and accidentally collides with the monsters. He barely made it out as his sash instinctively blocks a secret attack around him, a magic circle, and almost pulverize him. He was taken damage for the first time and the sash quickly torn to shred, he picks up what cloth left from it and continue to go deep. He found one girl who is stationary and her friends are trying to protect her. With only his gauntlet active, he swiftly takes them out seriously. Those were International Private students.
To the first time, they tried to block his attacks and their nervous system reacted from the pressure. Archivist didn’t hold back at the moment, knowing well that the girl is channeling her ultimate. A difficult ultimate, she didn’t know how powerful it is and detrimental for him. Through his own pride and his soul going into his mind, the break is coming and he had to end this quick. She breaks what inside of him, but he was able to take her down as he lost his mana control. The gauntlet is forced to use all its mana to maintain his mana flow before they will be using their failsafe.
After it is done, the monsters were pushed out from the barrier, the waves are soothed, the orbs lose its strength, and all that is happened wipes off to nothingness. Only one student left, she is from International Private, she kneels down as she is the most exhausted girl among the students. She is the mastermind to fend off so much powerful monsters before her. She has a special S rank ability that Archivist already know now, they didn’t know that she was able to break his sash and his coin momentarily blocked.
She looks up and see the status window that she doesn’t know how to break. It is the gauntlet, and it is a mana drain item that can convert into any forms of mana. However, the gauntlet is not fully complete and the main drive is still her struggle to deal with. The girl never would have thought they were defeated in their numbers, but admit from one of her friends that they are actually trapped. Out of spite, she thought to beat him is with her secret ultimate. Archivist is now before her. He raises his gauntlet and hits her. During that moment, her teacher comes in and stops him. She was saved
“Big brother?”
The students see it well that the teacher was able to resist against the powerful gauntlet, the teacher brings up his student and takes her out from that mess. Archivist stood still and watch them go. The students cheered at the teacher for being the savior for a moment. After that experience, they are in deep stress after that fight. They give it all and the teachers thought this would be enough for them. An hour left before lunch, they have enough fun in this world and they head back.
The International Private teacher, who is with the student, turns around and said “We should learn more about each other during lunch. I mean, we’re having lunch later on. I would be glad to have you to be with us”
Archivist looks at Coral, as she has to decide on this. She shakes her head, not by disapproval, but she would be the one who will deciding for him.
“I decline”
Coral smacks her own head, she whispers to herself
“Lunch is not part of your quest, you idiot”
In Tabitha’s side, on screen, it was some frightening views. The other teacher couldn’t believe there is an ultimate that exist. He sees the status effects when that ability is activated. While the other students were trying to make sense out from the battle, they are just watching Archivist’s point of view and well, it was hard to watch.
“Where did his eyes go? During that cluster fight, I can’t tell when looking it on first person view”
“Thankfully, the third person view was there. I think he is looking around to fight, he is fighting blind”
“Whoa, I would love to have it when I got blinded. Sister’s Hope Highschool has one interesting teacher”
The shield student and Joanne were both engaged such a sight when Archivist uses his gauntlet, to the best of its limits and to the betterment to know such mana circulating nonstop. Both of them were not able to understand what’s going on during the fight, Joanne said to him
“Are you going to meet him in the weekends?”
“I am more worried about the training, to use it in such a heavy fight like that. Uhm Miss Tabitha, I know we are guild members, would you mind talk about our guild during lunch? You know, I want to know more about them”
Tabitha hears him says that, as she echoes it through Kiege. Kiege softly laughs, out loud, but kept the tone smoothly through her telepathy
“The boy belongs to Sanquin. Knowing about us, well it’s better some of us will visit him. Even you let Archivist trained him, the roles are too different unless the boy have special traits”
Tabitha can’t express it back to him from what Kiege said. However, from Sanquin, she is curious of why she chose him.
“I might talk about it, but first let me listen about yourself. I heard from Sanquin about you. Personally, I know you didn’t join for the experience and she knows you want to survive”
The shield student had already told them about it, Tabitha still wants to know, and he slowly becomes nervous. Tabitha stops there as she only says it as a friendly conversation. He was expecting she would say something more, and he gladly let that topic out. The shield student is glad that the situation back home is secured, and he doesn’t want to know what happened there beside the secret realm being ceased. Also, he is relief that something did not happen inside his neighborhood.