While it was hard to distract my focus from the monster beside me, I still wanted to find out exactly what each new type could do.

Arthur had been impressive. I hoped Aaron would be the same.

Not to mention the other two that were still back up in the room, the General had sent another of his aides up to check on them, but so far, they still hadn't returned.

That left all the focus on Aaron.

Who tried his best to use mental activation. He spent a few moments in concentrated silence.

Like both of us before, it was clear that his efforts were in vain. It was still a skill that was outside of our reach.

He kept at it for a little longer than Arthur had, clear that he still wanted to make his mark in front of the General.

While I hadn't gotten Aaron's second name, it was clear that he looked up to Arthur.

So, I could only imagine the opportunity of impressing the General was worthwhile.

My chat with Aunty Amy had put impressing the other General far from my mind.

Finally, Aaron spoke the faithful word.

"Activate."

Orange armour began encasing his entire body. Unlike my own, it was clear that his armour could take some damage.

What was even more impressive was the weapons he had manifested alongside it.

It had surprised me a little that neither I nor Arthur had manifested weapons.

It was only Support and Commander Types that manifested weapons later. Some not receiving any until B rank.

Most still had a shield or weapon of some kind at C rank. The fact that neither of us had any could be good or bad.

Aaron didn't have to worry about that.

A menacing tower shield appeared on his back. While in his hands, a heavy battleaxe that looked like it could deal severe damage.

While shields were far from rare, most Heavies and even a few Light types sport one in one fashion or another.

Axes were much more so. Especially ones so large.

It looked nearly impossible to lift with my E-rank spec—a monster of manasteel and some other material I couldn't recognize.

Along with Aaron's size, I didn't think I had seen a more dangerous-looking C ranker my entire life.

Aaron swung the battleaxe around like it weighed nothing. Which, to him, it probably didn't.

It was clear what the Vanguard was immediately.

Defence close to that of a Heavy, with the offensive ability of the Light type.

He might even be more powerful than the vast majority of Light types. Who were more focused on continuous assault. From the looks of things. Aaron would be slow-moving but would hit with an immense amount of power.

It was also clear why the colour of his armour was like the base types.

Me and Arthur were quite different from any other types.

While Aaron put on a display that could be replicated in some fashion by the other types.

He was also missing a skill.

He was the only one of us three not to receive a new, unique skill so far. Once he got that, he could set himself further apart from the base types.

What he did have was rapt attention from the General.

While I didn't know what type he was, it was clear it was one of the two melee-focused types.

He was as interested in the tower shield and axe as he had been with my tamed monster.

He attacked Aaron several times. Even without his armour called, he was making Dents in the manasteel.

An incredible display of power from the General. A level I could only hope to be at one day.

He spent longer working with Aaron than he had with either of us.

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I didn't mind the change of focus.

I was still trying to get my head around the monster by my side.

Even as time went on, the bond was still clear. I had worried it would wane as time passed, but that wasn't the case.

The golden rune was still shining bright on its forehead.

I would still have to do a lot of testing in the future.

But for the first time since the binding. I felt more confident about the future.

That was when one of the General's other aides returned—this time with two girls trailing behind.

The taller, a stunning brunette with steely brown eyes.

While the shorter blonde beside her almost took my breath away.

She seemed to glow like sunshine with sky-blue eyes that sparkled as she walked.

Her smile distracted me from everything else in the room.

Both girls looked around the training area with a glint in their eyes. That was until they saw the monster sitting beside me. After that, their eyes both went wide. Their conversation came to a halt.

From their quiet conversation, It looked like they, too, knew each other.

I wanted to know if the Sage's Will had left me out for some reason. But it seemed like I was the only one without a friend.

The General had only wrapped up his experimenting with Aaron when he turned around and saw the new arrivals.

"Perfect, the real stars of the show have arrived."

The smile that lit up his face had me rethinking everything I knew about the man.

"Emilia, Sarah. It's good for you both to join us. I hope everything was okay."

Okay, it was clear that the General knew who both of the young women were. That and the fact he treated them with some respect had me worried.

The General hadn't treated Arthur with any respect at all.

If either or both of these women were from stronger families than the Stonehearts. Then, he wasn't sure what he had gotten involved with.

At first, he had thought that the Will had chosen him because he was an orphan.

It wouldn't matter much if anything were to go wrong.

He was disposable to humanity as a whole

Now, it seemed like the opposite was true.

Everyone around him seemed to be the child of an influential clan. Clans that I would assume wouldn't be happy with their children being experimented with.

I turned to look at Arthur and Aaron to see if they would react. While Arthur had kept a calm face, it was clear he was still surprised.

Aaron, meanwhile, couldn't stop staring.

While both women were beautiful, I didn't think that warranted that reaction alone.

The taller of the two girls was the first to step forward.

"Thank you, Uncle Drake. It was fine. I understand why it needed to happen."

I was glad to find out the name of the General. I was also glad his name wasn't on my parent's list of people to be careful of.

It had been the last thing I had received from them. I had memorized it several times over.

There hadn't been anyone on there with the name of Drake.

I had been on edge ever since I had got to the Capital. But I had yet to meet anyone from the list.

"Of course, Emilia, These are the other new types that have appeared. Arthur Stoneheart, the Paladin; Aaron Stewart, the Vanguard; and Kajus Everett, the Tamer. They have put on quite the display."

She seemed to ignore that as she walked by the General straight towards us.

Sarah followed only a step behind.

While Emilia was beautiful, she was more than a little intimidating as she approached.

"Arthur, Aaron. It's good to see you both again. Nice to meet you, Kajus. Is this the monster you managed to tame?"

It was clear that she was far more interested in the monster than she was with any of us.

I couldn't blame her either. I doubted many people could claim to have seen a peaceful monster, let alone get close to one.

After a few moments of looking at the wolf, she turned to look at me once again.

"You can control it?"

I could only nod in response. I had no idea what else I could do. It was clear that almost everyone else in the room was hanging on her every word.

Whoever she was, I was sure I didn't want to mess with her.

"Oh, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Emilia Roman, and this is my cousin Sarah Rocha."

I hoped that I kept some measure of calm on my face. Inside, I was going insane.

If Stoneheart was an old noble name. Then Roman was the name of royality, the ruling family of the former Magocracy.

Four of the twelve Sages who sacrificed themselves were from the Roman family.

Even now, they are the most powerful human family.

If there was a member of the Roman family in a binding ceremony. Then, there was no chance for anyone else to become a Commander.

There were even rumours that a few of the Roman family had awakened as B rankers. I had no idea if that was true.

But what was true was that half of the names on my parent's list included the Roman surname.

That was one thing that had been very clear. My parents were not friendly with the Romans.

While I didn't want to be at odds with the most powerful family in the Collective, I had no idea if that ship had already sailed.

While Emilia seemed friendly enough, I wasn't too keen on how intense she was staring at me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Emilia smiled for the first time at that.

Turning from me, she looked back towards the General.

"You have already tested the new types. What do you think?"

The General looked pensive for a few moments.

"They will be able to change the course of the war given enough time. That, along with both of your abilities, will be a major shift in any battle."

It was clear that the General already knew what the two women could do.

That left us in the dark.

Fortunately, Arthur took the lead in the questioning this time around.

"Will we be working as a squad in the academy?"

That had not been the question at the top of my mind. But it was a good one regardless.

The academy was to prepare us for war—three years of intensive instruction. Groups were an essential part of that forging. While there was some change, for the most part, the group you started with was the one you stayed with.

I wasn't sure if it was the right idea to throw all the new types together or to try and mix us into other teams.

I knew that either way would prove difficult.

"The plan is to have each of you in two teams. Rotating between working together as new types. As well as you working to mesh with a group of the base types."

Now, that was something. I hadn't heard much about the academy. But from the reactions of the others, It was clear that this was far from the norm.

Even Emilia and Sarah seemed surprised.

Emilia was quick to return to her neutral smile. But it was clear that she hadn't known about that. The annoyance that had flashed briefly on her face had been clear to everyone.

Seeing the reaction from Emilia, the General didn't continue speaking. Giving her a chance to turn to us once again.

"Well, if we are to work together in the future, we should reveal our types. My type is Sentry. While Sarah's is Shaper, I think we will give a small demonstration of our powers."