"Don't worry," Maria said, as she placed her hands over Rin's legs. "The poison inside of you is weak enough to where even I can cure it. You're going to be fine."
Maria's hands glowed white after she drew a slightly complicated spellsign involving a few circles. Then, quickly, Rin felt blood rushing down her legs and the numbness going away. Beside them, Elisa was staring down at the body of the wraith Maria had just killed.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" Rin asked.
"I was keeping my eyes on this side of the mountain," Maria explained. "Just in case any students got off-track. It turns out I was right to do that. You fought well, by the way," she said, turning toward Rin's partner. "Honestly, with another month or two of training, you'll get to the point where you can beat these things on your own."
"You think so?" Elisa asked quietly, without taking her eyes off the dead wraith.
"Indeed. I still would not recommend that you fight monsters on your own level, though. It's okay to punch down at the start of your career. Most adventurers tend to do that. There," she said, taking her hands off Rin. "Done."
"Thanks," Rin muttered as Maria helped her get to her feet. Standing on her own again after a while of being carried felt uncomfortable, but Rin was happy to be able to once more. "Did anyone else make it to the top yet?"
"Seth and Alea," Maria replied. "They were the first. I did expect it, to be honest. One talented mage paired up with one talented fighter should make short work of the Rank D monsters on this mountain. I saw you both fighting down here a little after they arrived. We might see a few more teams upon heading up there, though. Come on, let's get out of this area."
The three of them moved up through the snow and, soon enough, they reached the summit. As Maria mentioned, Seth and Alea were there, conversing with Eli. One other team, however, had arrived as well. Cara and Eve moved through a different path, reaching the top just as Elisa and Rin came.
"Rin!" Eve said, flying over to Rin. "You made it!"
"Just barely," Rin muttered, though she did smile back at her friend. "How did things go on your end?"
"Cara said I did great," Eve replied, giggling. "Ah, I'm so excited to start my career now!"
As the fairy said this, Rin saw Maria approach Cara from the corner of her eye. She heard her teacher ask:
"I hope you didn't make things too easy for her."
It always surprised Rin how different Maria's tone was whenever she spoke to Cara, as opposed to when she talked to anyone else.
"Of course not," Cara responded with a sigh. "You should give her more credit."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
That actually managed to get a reaction out of Maria.
"You- I-, of course, I know Eve is perfectly capable," she replied. Cara cut her off before she could say anything else.
"Great."
And, with that, she turned around and walked away.
"That... Agh!" Maria groaned before stomping in the other direction.
Rin sighed.
[They really can't just get along?]
Soon, the remaining teams showed up. With all of them being here, the final mission before the end of the semester officially came to a close.
Maria shook off whatever strange resentment she displayed toward Cara and turned toward the students with her hands behind her back and a proud smile on her face.
"Well done, everyone. Making it this far is proof enough of your ability. I am sure the path here was arduous, but, congratulations. Whether you struggled or you made it effortlessly, the point stands. You are ready to become an adventurer. Only Rank D adventurers, but adventurers nonetheless. Now, let's head back to Libera."
---
"Hey!" Eve said as she flew up into the air to get all of the students' attention while they walked along the road leading back to the city. "How about we head downtown later and celebrate the mission?"
"I'm down," Rin quickly said. Mainly, because she really needed a drink. This was a good enough excuse to go and get some.
"Yeah? I'll head with you then," Elisa said to both the fairy and her roommate. This next part was only intended for Rin's ears, though. "We could keep talking about what I told you up there. If you want to, anyway."
"Later," Rin whispered back. "At night. After I've had some wine or beer or whatever."
"Sounds good," Elisa replied.
"I think that sounds nice," Lisa said to Eve and Dylan agreed with her.
One by one, the students slowly affirmed that they were willing to celebrate. All of them except for Seth and Alea, which Rin saw coming. That meant that, as they headed back to the city, many of them didn't walk straight back to the academy, and, instead, walked elsewhere to prepare for their nighttime plans.
As for Rin, Maria pulled her aside.
"Do you have a moment?" Her teacher asked. "I would like to speak with you."
"Oh, uh, yeah. Where do you wanna go?"
"How about we just go to the Meditation Center?"
"Sure."
---
"Ah, so that's what happened," Maria muttered as Rin finished telling her everything that had happened.
"I... I guess I should have been more careful," Rin said, as she sat in front of her teacher, legs crossed.
"You lost one fight but you performed well in the others, did you not?" Maria asked.
"The others were just against undead, though," Rin replied, shrugging. "If those are the only kinds of enemies I can take down, is that really enough to make a career out of this?"
"It is," Maria responded confidently.
"What?"
"There is such a thing as specialists, Rin. Adventurers who are excellent when it comes to dealing with specific enemies. I myself am one," Maria stated.
"What do you mean? You're strong enough to fight anything," Rin said.
"I am. However, I specialize in dealing with humans and humanoid monsters. Remember, Rin, part of the reason you're taking dueling-focused classes is that on occasion, you'll have to face enemies like bandits. Criminals who prey on travelers. Not just that, but some of the more powerful kinds of undead still remember how to fight like they did when they were human. These kinds of missions are what I excel at."
Rin looked away.
[... Is that really an option?]
A warm hand fell on Rin's shoulder. She looked back up and found Maria looking back at her with a sympathetic face.
"I am not saying you should give up on fighting anything that isn't undead, Rin. I am simply pointing out that if you feel the most comfortable facing undead monsters, you can choose to take those kinds of missions more than you choose others. As an adventurer, you can take that path."
"... I'll consider it," Rin muttered. "For now, though, I want to get better."
Maria smiled proudly.
"Luckily for you, it is my intention to help you with that."