This was what I had been looking forward to. Finally, I would gain some understanding of every other new Type.

The news that we would be teammates for the next three years hadn't been too unexpected. But I still wanted to learn as much information as I could.

I couldn't discern much from their names alone.

So I watched with interest as Emilia went to the centre of the training area.

She had a confidence that even put Arthur to shame.

I had little doubt about who would be the leader for the next few years. Whether we would like it or not.

Unlike the rest of us, she seemed to have no problems using mental activation.

That was when the purple of her bracelet began to expand.

I hadn't even realised she had enough control to reduce the base size.

I had been far too distracted by other things.

It was clear that her level of skill was far ahead of anyone else who had gone through a recent soul-binding.

I couldn't help but look at Sarah's hands. I had tried my best to avoid looking at her. But the simple white bracelet around her wrist proved that she, too, was proficient.

The appearance of the Sentry in front of me distracted me from the fact that Sarah's type colour was white.

The exact opposite of mine.

Emilia the Sentry began to put on a show that put that to the back of my mind.

Her armour started much the same as any Ranged Type.

A cloth-like material that was lined with manasteel, a material far stronger than it looked.

That was when it began to change. The heavy manasteel armour appearing around her shoulders was a surprise to me.

It was rare for any Ranged type to receive the protection of heavy manasteel their entire career.

I quickly felt miffed that I was the least defended of the new types.

I imagined that having monsters under my control would be putting a large target on my back.

I would be easy pickings anywhere out on the front.

As more armour appeared around her waist and upper thighs, the same could not be said for the Sentry.

Her shoulder armour joined in front of her chest, protecting her upper body.

Her legs were left bare, only the cloth as protection.

I was more likely to keep my legs at the very least.

On either side of her shoulder armour and the front and back of her chest plate, a circle of manasteel began to detach from her body.

Another rune I didn't understand was on display, clear on the metallic orbs floating around Emilia.

Four different pieces of manasteel began to rotate slowly around her.

I wasn't entirely sure what I was seeing.

I hadn't heard of anyone ever being able to detach their soul armor.

My taming rune detaching from my soul armour had been a big enough shock.

Now, there was another.

I wasn't sure if it was a skill or an innate ability of the Sentry type, like the Ranged Type's mana bolt. Something that anyone of their Type could instinctively use.

Emilia turned towards the target range on the other side of the training area.

Something that we hadn't used with any of the other testings.

The runes on the four circling orbs all turned to face the same direction.

There was a small flash, and before I could react, the targets had exploded, sending debris and dust into the air.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I had been impressed with the other types thus far. But this was on an entirely different level.

Explosion bolt was a high-class Ranged type skill. That alone would be enough to put you at the peak of whatever rank you happened to be.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The fact that she could shoot four at once was even more terrifying.

She turned around to the rest of us with a flourish.

It was clear that she was satisfied with her display.

I could understand why. If I had thought that Aaron had looked like the most dangerous C ranker, then I was quick to admit I was wrong. He had far from the raw power that she had displayed.

Any slight worry I did have about being in a team with the new types was quick to go away.

With that display, it was clear that any team she was a part of would do well.

Her face had gone slightly pale as well.

So, it had still been some form of struggle. No matter how well she tried to mask it.

Even with the close to B-rank Spirit I imagine she had, four explosion bolts simultaneously was difficult.

I doubted she would be able to do the same again too many times over.

But even once would be enough to take out a number of the same rank.

For the next few moments, I watched as the runic orbs began to fly around the rest of the room.

It was an impressive display as they moved out from each other. Each moving to circle above our heads before returning to her side.

As her armour faded away, I had to be impressed. It was clear that she had some time to practice before she joined us.

I could only imagine the same was true for Sarah.

I had no idea what a Shaper could be.

She took to the area with the same confidence as Emilia. For the first time, she seemed happy coming out from her shadow.

I found it hard not to stare.

Thankfully, her white soul armour was enough of a distraction.

The white cloth spreading all over her body was shining brightly.

I didn't have to feel too annoyed about my lack of armour anymore as Sarah had a similar armour to that of a Ranged type. All cloth and no metal.

While the cloth was still a durable material and could take a few blows, it was far from the defensive prowess of the manasteel.

"May I ask one of you to activate your soul armour?"

As much as I wanted to be the one to step up, it was clear that she was talking to the aides of the General.

The one who had brought the girls over was the first to step forward. Activating his soul armour with a mental command.

I couldn't tell his exact rank. But it was clear he was above B rank as he was a fully armoured Light type with a longsword in his hand.

He stopped in front of Sarah, waiting for her to move.

She approached his weapon with confidence. Unlike Emilia, Sarah didn't have complete command over mental control.

While she had managed to activate mentally, she had to say her skill out loud.

"Shape"

The only one other than me with a skill named after our Type.

I watched in rapt interest as she placed her hand on the sword.

I was even more amazed when the sword began to bend under her touch.

She moulded the blade to become longer and thinner. Turning the longsword into an absurdly long rapier. That was when she began folding the blade in on itself.

Turning the blade into a spear in front of our eyes.

She left it as it was for a few moments before she began to revert the changes she had made.

Skillfully turning the spear back into a sword.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

For a day with many earth-shattering events, this might take the top spot.

I couldn't believe that there was someone who could shape others' Soul armour.

While it didn't seem that she had any combat-related skills, that skill alone would give teams a considerable amount of versatility. Who knew what other effects it could have?

The ability to change people's soul armour would cause a massive ripple. Probably even more so than my ability to tame monsters.

The ability to redesign your soul armour the way you wanted. Rather than the way the sages willed it, it would be a huge draw for thousands.

I stood gaping even as the aide's soul armor retreated. Sarah looked more than a little pleased at our reaction.

After a moment, her face returned to its previous neutral affair, nodding at Emilia.

As Sarah returned to the group, the General took that moment to march in front of us again. Giving us no chance to question Sarah about her skills and Type.

"Sarah, your ability will be of great use to the front. Now that you have all introduced yourselves, it's time for you to prepare to enter the academy. You will be reporting in five days. You will be monitored and protected throughout the next five days. Until such a time as we allow, you will not mention anything about your or anyone else's new Type. Do I make myself clear?"

After hearing the affirmative from everyone, three of the aides took us aside.

The girls went off on their own. Either they had already signed and agreed to everything, or they didn't need to.

The time seemed to disappear as I followed the aide through the building. Giving me no time to think about everything I had seen.

After signing what felt like a mountain of documents, I was free to go.

My two new bodyguards flanked me. At the very least, they didn't seem like powerful soul users. While they wouldn't stand out in a crowd, I had little doubt they were anything less than A rank.

They had told me to refer to them by their first names at all times as they didn't want to raise suspicions.

Olivia was a shorter woman with a kind smile that put me at ease almost immediately. Her partner Frank was considerably less friendly but far more fit the look of a bodyguard.

While he was the same height as me, he was far more muscled. I didn't fancy my chances in hand-to-hand combat.

Walking through the Capital, I was still shocked about what had happened over the past few days.

Returning to the familiar streets near my home didn't make me feel much better.

The continued presence of the two bodyguards behind me became more worrying than comforting.

I now had the attention of some very powerful people. Not only that, I probably had the attention of humanity as a whole.

While the appearance of the other types might help distract people, it was clear that I would spend most of my time in the future around monsters.

My single tamed beast had been kept in the bastion where it was to be moved to the academy ahead of my arrival.

It was to test the limit of distance with my skill. Or so they said.

I wasn't going to argue with them. I doubted walking through the Capital with a monster beside me would do me much good.

Even now, I could feel the bond between us.

It was one of the few things that gave me the confidence to move forward. The other two were resting behind the door in front of me.

I had been surprised when I had stepped outdoors into darkness, several hours had passed while we had been testing the new types. That, along with all the procedures, had meant that my siblings would have long since gone to sleep.

My neighbours had been great at keeping an eye on them over the years. But they had never been comfortable sleeping anywhere outside of our home.

One of the few remaining assets my parents had left was a small place half an hour's walk away from the academy. They bought it so we didn't need to stay in the dormitories. Unfortunately, I didn't have that choice for the next three years. Every person with a new type would be under strict supervision for the foreseeable future.

My parents never could have foreseen how it would help us. Without it, we would have been in a much worse situation.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, I stepped into my home.