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Odin idly flicked through visions his ravens had brought him, as if changing channels on a TV. He'd ordered Huginn and Muninn to look into the issue the Recordkeeper had informed him of. Mostly he was doing it out of curiosity, and because if the Recordkeeper called for him again, he could honestly claim to have made an effort to do something about the whole thing. Even if he had nothing to show for his efforts, just the fact that he had tried should be enough to alleviate any repercussions. He knew he wasn’t the only one looking into it, though most of the others were only very slightly interested, just like him. No one cared about a random Champion of some puny god that wasn’t even strong enough to announce their participation, and they were even less interested in any problems the Recordkeeper might face, for as long as they were not blamed.

He'd started looking into it over a year ago. His already limited interest had faded even further since then. Now he was mostly looking through the crystallized vision because he'd started something and didn't want all that effort to go to waste. Besides, even if he didn't find his quarry, some of the visions were somewhat interesting and a good way to pass the time. Huginn and Muninn had taken very different paths to finding him visions.

Huginn had decided to fly into the conflict areas of the universe, trying to locate anyone that stood out. Such conflicts were abundant, and a good source of levels and power. Also, a way to test their powers if they were new. Champions were usually the type to get involved in such things for multiple reasons. Standard Champions were either heroes or villains. Heroes would be attracted to such conflicts just to save people. Especially if their own people or race were involved. Villains on the other hand would be attracted by the power that could be gained in such places. Or just the chance to let loose and express their villainy in various ways. Heck, some villains would even want to build a heroic image by doing good. There was never a shortage for Huginn of interesting targets, but none of them had quite fit the bill so far.

Muninn on the other hand decided to tour all sorts of competitions. The most obvious ones were those between Champions, which had become grand entertainment for gods and mortals alike. However, if the new Champion had taken part, they wouldn't have stayed hidden for very long. So Muninn had purposefully aimed for slightly smaller competitions. There were those beyond the Champions who wanted to display their power and prowess to others. The rewards were also relatively grand. There were people involved who could rival some of the less powerful Champions if they got to a high enough level. Odin had actually had great hope for Muninn's strategy and had gotten quite a bit of information and entertainment from the whole thing, but so far, no missing Champion. Now Muninn was all the way down to the fights between academies.

It was highly unlikely for a Champion to participate in battles between students. It wasn't entirely unheard of. Some Champions had been summoned while young due to the potential they held, but even in those cases the Champions rarely spent a lot of time as students. Some did work as teachers on occasion, but it was rare for them to be students. Still, watching fights between youngsters was quite fun, even if the fights were low-level. There was a certain amount of honesty in fights between low-level people. Fights between Champions and high-level individuals often became dick-waving contests between the most powerful Skills and highest stats. They could be spectacular, but often they were over in seconds due to compatibility.

As he watched the fights between academies, he suddenly stumbled on a fight between intermediate students. Usually, even Muninn wouldn't bother, so he looked at the crow questioningly. The crow just cawed, but the meaning was clear. Something odd happened in the fight.

With a small “Hmmm.” He returned to the vision, and as soon as the fight started, he realized that Muninn had been right. Something odd was definitely going on. One of the teams was blatantly cheating, and he recognized people from THAT universe. The same place where some of the more annoying Gods came from. Tzeentch was an annoying but useful god if you could get the bastard to answer a question. The bastard had also been both unusually active and unusually quiet lately, as paradoxical as that combination seemed. Definitely up to something. The other two were annoying and useless. He got a shiver when thinking about the so-called Emperor though. There was a troublemaker. A god that insisted on acting like they were mortal.

The cheaters were dealt with quickly. In fact, the first one was dealt with too quickly for the levels involved. He stopped the vision while it was focused on a young girl slamming her fist through the helmet and head of a stealthy assassin that was causing all the psykers issues. The girl had used a very powerful combination of Skills just a moment before. Both the movement Skill and fucking [Chronomancy] of all things were not something someone of that level should have access to. The more interesting thing was that the girl slammed her fist through a rather sturdy helmet and the assassin's head with pure physical power as far as he could tell. Yes, she likely had some martial arts-related Skill, but that wasn't what made it possible. The target had a fair bit of defense, and the girl didn't seem like a pure Strength type. If she'd just killed the man with pure power, that would've been one thing, but to completely splatter the assassin's head like that required a lot of power.

The most important part was what he wasn’t seeing. He’d long ago traded his eye for knowledge. Part of that trade was the ability to see through almost any Skills obscuring people’s Status menus. Now, the fact that he wasn’t physically present with the girl diminished his ability somewhat, but he should still be able to see most of her Status. He was able to see through even the Status protection of most Champions. Yet here, he was only seeing an obviously fake Status. Considering the obvious difference in power and levels, which should make up for the fact that they were not face-to-face, her Status protection had to be on a similar level of power to his ability to see through them. That almost certainly suggested interference by a very powerful god or the System itself, which almost certainly meant the presence of a Champion.

The girl was also in the guise of a Draenei. She could’ve very well been a Draenei, but he seriously doubted that. Which meant she was most likely an Angel. The gods were all quite aware of the Angels’ habit of masquerading as Draenei. Which suggested that the Angels had a new Champion. One that no one knew about.

“Interesting. Very interesting.” He leaned forward on his throne made of gold. This had serious implications.

The girl was also young. Why would a Champion be summoned as a teen? Wait. Hadn’t the Recordkeeper mentioned that the secret Champion had been summoned over a decade ago? So this one had been summoned as a child? And as someone so obviously low-level? Normally he would've chalked it up to a weak summoner, but the identity protection Skill suggested something entirely different. And obviously, the girl had more than just that Skill. Yet the Recordkeeper had claimed that there was no summoner. Clearly, that wasn't true. So who had the power and skill to hide from the Recordkeeper? The girl had a major supporter of some sort, and he needed more information.

"Huginn, Muninn. I want you both to keep an eye on her and anyone she comes into contact with. Constant surveillance. Hmm, and keep a very safe distance. I smell a secret protector of some sort. We don't want to make any enemies if we don't have to." He decided. Information was power, and he had a hunch that betting on this particular horse might become quite profitable in the future. Unlike most, he wasn’t afraid of a little stiff competition. A bit of chaos could be useful in many ways.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

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"Ow, ow, ow," Seraphiel complained a little bit as Beatrice helped peel off the dented and twisted armor she was wearing.

“I’m sorry but the buckles are stuck. I need to use more power than is maybe advisable.” The team’s strategist and captain winced as well as she tried to yank a part loose without causing too much pain.

Seraphiel could heal the damage done to herself, but when the armor was twisted in all the wrong ways, healing didn't fix that. "You know, Saen'Cunis would be much better at this." Beatrice pointed out, once again failing to jiggle the buckle loose. "He'd also have the right tools for this."

"He would enjoy the process too much," Seraphiel grunted. The male team members had also been banished to find another locker room as the ladies got out of their battle attire.

“While true, I think we’ll need someone with a bit more Strength, or the right tools to deal with this. None of us is really investing in the stat, and these buckles are just busted.” Beatrice made another failed attempt. “We might be able to cut this open, but even that’s questionable since your Vitality and armor Skill affect the armor. We’d hurt you in the process.”

“What prompted you to take a direct hit from a rock thrown by a giant anyway?” Nodoka asked curiously, already almost done changing, as she only needed to remove her robe and slip into something more practical.

"Sa'violi was standing right behind me," Seraphiel grunted.

“And I appreciate the sacrifice.” The Asari added emphatically. “I was focused elsewhere and wouldn’t have been able to deflect the strike. And unlike you, I wouldn’t have been able to take the hit.”

"She wasn't really able to take the hit either," Beatrice grumbled. Another failed attempt.

She was right as well. Even for Seraphiel, taking the full brunt of a massive stone tossed by a giant was a bit much, even with all her protective Skills and Vitality. Skills and stats weren’t enough to remove the effects of mass and momentum entirely. It hadn’t been enough to take her out, but it had been enough to slow her down. One of the reasons they had not won the event.

"You've been doing that a fair bit lately." Nodoka suddenly said in a teasing tone, looking at Sa'violi with a small smile.

“What? Focusing elsewhere?” Sa’violi asked with a small frown.

“Oh, that too. But I meant standing behind Seraphiel.” Nodoka’s smile turned into a playful grin.

“What? It’s the safest place.” Sa’violi argued reasonably.

"I'm not saying it isn't, but are you sure that's all? Sure it has nothing to do with the view thanks to her new armor?" Nodoka cackled a bit.

"I mean, the view does make things even better," Sa'violi admitted shamelessly. "You've obviously also noted the view to tease me like this."

"Get it together you two," Beatrice said firmly while making another try at the buckle before giving up. "Yeah, it's completely stuck. I can't help. You're going to have to get either Saen'Cunis to do it, or at least someone like your brother to help. Or the arena staff. They are another option now that the fights are over.”

Seraphiel gave a small sigh. “I was afraid of that.” Her new armor was a small concession to wearing armor that was more attractive without being completely indecent. In fact, it showed relatively little skin all things considered. She might have been the most covered out of their entire team, aside from Sa’violi, who preferred high coverage but almost skintight outfits.

Her armor was a black and gold mix of leather and metal reinforcements. The main part of the armor was shaped almost like a sleeveless leotard or a one-piece swimsuit, with golden metal pauldrons, vambraces that came up to her elbow over under armor that came to her shoulder but left her hands free, and greaves that came to mid-thigh. She sometimes even wore helmets, which meant the only skin showing was on her hips, thighs, and hands. And yet the whole thing was form-fitting enough to be relatively attractive and a little sexy. Enough to trigger the related armor Skill benefits. Her [Boring Armor] had even evolved into [Juicy Armor].

The rock thrown by the giant had been enchanted, and while her shield had taken most of the damage, the waist portion of her armor was now squeezing her lower ribs in a way that made heavy breaths difficult. She also couldn’t turn at her midsection without the twisted part digging in deeper.

The whole event had been against simulated enemies, facing progressively more difficult waves, but some of the other academies had insisted on keeping things realistic by making sure any damage received was real. There were many reasons for the request. Some academies wanted to keep training as realistic as possible and were not such sticklers when it came to student safety. They were not doing it out of pure callousness. The realism helped the students get used to real situations and to not treat injuries as something that would just go away. The students would need to learn when they were too beat up to continue and actively avoid taking fatal or debilitating attacks. The realism and danger also increased the experience gained. Real danger made arrays and simulated fights much more effective, and even Mahora turned their arrays more dangerous as the students got older. Some academies simply skipped the safe portion of their training.

"Well, that injury meant that we came in third instead of being first, so we'll have to workshop some ideas against similar situations," Beatrice concluded. "But not now. Go get your armor removed and then fixed. I want us to take some time watching the older students go through the same fights before going over what went wrong. We should learn from them.”

As she limped towards the general maintenance area where some of the faculty could resolve issues that students themselves could not deal with, Seraphiel allowed her Draenei form to slip away when no one was looking. The armor was enchanted to automatically adjust, and while it was still damaged, it didn’t press on her ribs the same way. Her body shape was almost the same as a Celestial as a Draenei, but her Draenei form was just a tad lusher and sturdier, which made all the difference for her current dilemma. It also left her barefoot, as she had hooves in her Draenei form, and thus no actual boots for her greaves.

“Ah, much better.” She released a sigh. With the pressure off her lungs now, she could even stop to look at some of the older teams preparing.

“You know, I always like it more when you’re in this form.” Charlotte’s voice came from next to her, and the Goddess leaned her back against the railing overlooking the gathering area below. She’d appeared from nowhere, as she always seemed to nowadays. “It somehow feels bad to see you hiding yourself. This one is getting closer to your real form as well.”

"And I suppose you and the System might have something to do with it," Seraphiel responded. "Don't think I haven't noticed how much faster I'm growing up. I've already caught up and passed my brother, and he was far from a late bloomer. Angels were supposed to mature slower than Humans, not faster.”

The Goddess of all Creation smiled easily. “We may have given things a bit of a push. Besides, you’re not an Angel anymore, but a Celestial. As the first of your kind in this universe, who can say what’s the normal way of growing up? There’s no point in having you stay a child. We both know you, and by extension us, will have much more fun when you’ve grown up. Look at this.” She playfully poked her bare hip. “You wouldn’t have shown this much skin just a year ago. And just admit it. You enjoy it!”

"I never said I didn't." Seraphiel shook her head but couldn't help the small smile on her face. "I'm proud of myself and not ashamed to show it. You and Father did a good job in creating me. It just wasn't the time before. It's still not completely the time yet, but I'm getting there."

"How very prudish of you," Charlotte stated in a mock-serious tone.

“Haven’t seen you for a few weeks.” Seraphiel pointed out, changing the subject.

“Ah, that’s because someone finally discovered you and has been keeping you under surveillance. They just can’t do it all the time.” Charlotte revealed.

“Huh. I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not entirely. I haven’t been able to spot anyone, but…” She looked around her carefully.

“Sharp instincts as always.” Charlotte commended. “You always did have sharper instincts than the rest of our family, and your ordeals likely haven’t helped in that regard.”

“Wait. Have they been spying on me constantly? Like while I sleep and bathe as well?” Seraphiel just realized.

“Well, I’ll leave that to your imagination, but the gods can get a bit voyeuristic. That said, one of the reasons they can’t keep constant surveillance is because even you would notice them watching in enclosed enough spaces.” Charlotte knew leaving things vague might actually excite Seraphiel instead of horrifying her.

“So at least not baths most likely.” She hummed in thought.

“Oh. I have to go. You’re about to have a guest.” Charlotte stated and just disappeared.

Seraphiel only had enough time to make a very intelligent “Huh?” sound before she heard a voice behind her.

"Seraphiel? Is that you?" A rather raspy female voice came from behind her. A voice that she recognized well. Before she responded, a pair of armored hands wrapped around her waist. "It is you. I'd recognize you anywhere." The voice sounded a little choked and relieved.

"Shepard." Seraphiel smiled, not looking back. "It's been a while. Also, would you mind not squeezing too hard? My armor is busted and you're hurting me quite a bit."