Audie: Those who didn’t make A-rank, I wish you the best of luck next year. I thank everyone for coming today, have a good rest of your day. This concludes this year’s A-Rank Exams.

--- Chapter 131 ---

Everyone begins to leave, and the participants meet up with their guildmates. Once everyone left the building, they get in their carts and leave. However, before Elune departs, Kota goes up to Red.

Kota: Red, I’m not sure yet, but your life may be changing soon.

Red: Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?

Kota: I, I’m not exactly sure myself. But I need to tell you something.

Red: What is it?

Kota: The way you fight. It’s not right.

Red: What?

Kota: You always try to harm your opponent, and kill them.

Red: What?! I don’t always try and kill my opponent. Look at the fights I was in back there. I didn’t kill anyone or even seriously wound anyone.

Kota: In your fight against Leo, you used your Dragon Fire: Comet. If that boy didn’t disconnect from the ribcage, he could have died. If it would have hit him, he would gain frostbite, then completely freeze over before falling apart. And yes, the mage association has ways to revive people, however, there are limits. It needs its original body intact, meaning if he got hit with that, it would have been irreversible. In your fight against Levi, you used Wrath Blade. Yes, I taught you it, but we don’t know how it works yet. Using an untested attack was plain reckless! It could have had the same result as the fight against Leo, burning him to ash, an irreversible death. While this one is reversible, you used the Insignia Godspeed technique on Geno. If he wasn’t an insignia user capable of stabilizing wounds, he would have bled out.

Red stands there processing what Kota is saying.

Kota: While I understand self-defense, and it happens. You need to have other plans than to always use your trump cards, at the expense of the opponent. Understand?

Red: Y-yeah. I never thought about that.

Kota: And I imagine as a mage, you have killed others on missions.

Red: I have.

Kota: Only use those moves if your opponent is truly giving you no other option. And I don’t mean they’re just stronger than you. I mean when there are larger stakes, to where you cannot allow them to triumph, or else more will suffer.

Red: I understand.

Kota: Good. If I’m correct, you will need to learn this fundamental rule of combat soon.

Kota begins to walk towards his cart, with Geno standing at the door.

Kota: I told you not to use that technique.

Geno: I’m sorry master. But, is Red a vassal as well?

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Kota: I’m not sure yet.

They get in their carts and leave.

***

The proctor walks up to Audie.

Proctor: So, why did you give that Red kid more special words? I know he was strong but I don’t get it.

Audie: It’s simple. He’s a lot like me.

Proctor: How so?

Audie: We both bear the burden of sin incarnate.

He says in a low tone with his head facing the ground. Insignia can be seen on the back of his neck.

***

Kota, and the rest of Elune return to their guild base. Kota walks into the guildhall. He looks a Red and nods to him. He looks to master Taizawa.

Kota: I thank you for your hospitality Master Taizawa. But it’s time I return home in preparation.

Taizawa: Right, I understand.

Kota: Before I go, I will send the message to the others.

The guild looks confused at this exchange.

Taizawa: Right.

Kota moves his hands, creating symbols, and speaks a chant. The guild knows this as Archaic magic. Kota leans down and places his hand on the floor. From his shadow, seven black shadow-like birds fly out. six of them leave the guildhall, and one lands on the master’s shoulder. It then deforms into a black mist and leaves a scroll behind.

Kota: I’ll be on my way then. See you soon master Taizawa.

Taizawa: See you soon young Kota.

Kota leaves the hall and gets in his cart. The cart drives away.

Red: Uh, master? What was that all about?

Master: My secret.

He says with a sly grin.

Red: Ah come on you old geezer, just tell me!

Master: Who are you calling and old geezer!

Red’s eyes go wide, as he takes a big gulp. The master punches him right in the face, and he goes flying, crashing out a window. A muscular-looking man watches and nods with satisfaction. And woman holds up two signs, written on the first is a one, and on the other a zero, forming a ten.

***

The birds fly through the air, all heading to a different location. One flies up a volcano, and into the window of a small stone hut. A muscular man in cargo shorts and a tank top sits on a creaky wooden chair, eating what resembles a ham sandwich but the ham doesn't look right. The bird lands on the table, and disperses, leaving a scroll behind. He grabs it and opens it up.

Man: A meeting huh? Haven’t had one of those in a while-

He says with his mouthful and is cut off by a coughing fit. The second bird flies into the cold mountains near Camelot. Up in the mountains is a small ramshackle village and it flies its way through, and lands on a makeshift mailbox. It begins to caw before converting into the scroll. A beautiful black-haired girl who looks to be in her early 20s, late teens, with long eyelashes and light blue ocean-like eyes grabs the scroll. She brings it inside and hands it to a middle-aged gentleman. The man is built physically, he has a thick red beard about an inch long and looks like the definition of the word “Hearty”.

Girl: Master, it’s an invitation from the water saint.

Man: Oh! I see! It will be nice to see the other saints again!

He says in a loud booming voice. The third flies into a war-torn battlefield, full of fallen soldiers. A hulking set of armor sits on a rock. It slowly lifts its arm, as the bird lands in its palm. To its right, a younger girl with tan skin, and brown hair sits in her armor, head resting atop the back of her hand which sits on the hilt of her blade.

Girl: Is that an invitation from the saints?

The helmet piece of the armor scrapes as it nods.

Girl: I see, then we better head to extraction.

The fourth flies over a dark city street, before turns and flies into an alleyway. A man with white hair, red eyes, a purple shirt, and a large black overcoat with white fur around the hood stands with an annoyed expression. The bird transforms, and the scroll lands in his hand. He squeezes the scroll and crumbles it.

Man: First they don’t want me there, now they want me to attend their lame-ass meetings. How annoying.

The fifth flies into a cave, and turns into a scroll. A man in a black cloak catches it, he back looks into the cave and nods to six other people in black cloaks. Lastly, the sixth flies over the ocean, and approaches a ship from behind. The ship has a low-hanging cloud above it. A girl around Kota’s age, wearing green clothing and has a reddish-brown hair color, curls her pointer finger as the bird lands on it. She smiles, and the bird turns into a scroll. She quickly runs down the steps onto the main deck and climbs up to the crow’s nest. The crow’s nest lies above the clouds, and when she gets to the top, she hears an acoustic tune from a lute. She looks over at a man in his mid-twenties, laying on the clouds, strumming his lute solemnly.

Girl: Uh, Kai?

Kai: Yah?

Girl: A summit has been called.

Kai: Sigh. By who?

Girl: Kota.

Kai gives a slight smile.

Kai: It’s been a while since we saw Kota.

It seems the topic of Kota brought emotion to Kai’s rather expressionless demeanor.

Girl: It has, I cant wait to see him again.

Kai sinks into the cloud and falls through, flipping through the air before landing on the boat. He goes to walk to the upper deck but two of his crew are fighting. Their hands are interlocked trying to push the other. The one is a built man with black hair, the other is a woman with long bright red hair.

Kai: Crow, Raven, do you two ever stop fighting?

They look over at him, wait a few seconds, then they go right back to fighting. Kai lets out a sigh before telling a member of his crew they need to head toward, the Eastern Alliance, the island Elune is located on.