Thoughts and opinions appreciated.
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The scolding we got on Friday wasn't too bad. They couldn't really blame us for taking a mission with false information. The guild was pretty apologetic about it and paid us for a D-rank mission. Miss Ein came and took thirty percent and told us that the rest is for our use. I expected as much, funding has to come from somewhere, even if it's F-rank missions.
I didn't really need the money so I tossed it over to blue hair. She looked at me and demanded that I take half, it was the first time she was so assertive so I yielded.
The weekend passed by without much happening, I went around the town during my shift and saved a little boy and his older brother from some thugs. They were thankful and asked for my name, I simply told them that they could call me whatever they wanted.
During the day I would visit the library and get some more books on seals and demons. I found out that the seal on me is around the ninth tier, saint/expert magic. I've also started to look into books about oddities, nothing much. The only notable things were that they were very very rare, only two others have been recorded.
Their stories didn't end well, tragedy seemed to befall them in the end. One was an elven boy, he wielded wind and earth magic with unparalleled strength. He was executed by his country after he lost control and killed a visiting royal.
The second one was a human beastman mix. The half human half beastman boy went berserk as a child and was killed to prevent the destruction of the village.
Those two were unable to control their powers and were killed for the people around them. After reading that I'm glad that my powers are lacking compared to theirs. The book on demons leads me to think that the one inside me is pretty powerful, strong enough to warrant a ninth tier seal.
Monday is today. The classroom is as noisy as ever, the students with adventurer fantasies are grasping their chests and praying to be picked.
"Everyone, please be seated."
The noise in the room dies down instantly, the people scurry away to their desks. Following Miss Ein is a beautiful blonde woman. She wears pieces of armor, not a full set, a breastplate, gauntlets, and boots. The skin of her legs are showing, the upper part of her body is slightly covered by the cloak that she wears. On her waist she holds a longsword.
Her eyes look around the room, starting from the left. They stop for a second over there but she continues.
The moment she reaches my row her eyes widen, oh shit. She points at me.
"You there, the boy with the black hair, come here."
I climb down the stairs and stand in front of her. She's surprisingly well toned, her muscles are tightly packed. she's not bulky at all, in fact, she's very slender. Her height is around 5'6, she should have a decent reach.
Her eyes look at me, though they don't seem to be actually focused on me. It's like if a mom was holding some sweets, the child would look at the mother but only because of the treats.
"I choose this boy here." some students sigh. "What's your name and who's your partner."
"I'm Rainen."
Blue hair stands up.
"And I'm Ellar."
A smile spreads across the adventurer's face.
"That's good, you were my second choice. We will take you two on a mission two weeks from now. Please be prepared by that time."
She nods and leaves the classroom.
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The swordswoman was slightly disappointed by the power of the students at Renard Academy. She had been told by the scary old man that it housed very talented and powerful people. When she went in the students she had first met were only about 6.5s, okay so these guys are first years, she thought.
The magic swordswoman was able to see those numbers because of her ability which allowed her to see their combat potential, like how powerful their magic is or how skilled they are at the sword. It isn't entirely accurate though. She had once challenged a man who numbered in the single digits but he defeated her. He then proceeded to laugh and tell her not to rely on her ability too much.
(NOTE: HER ABILITY IS RATING THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAN THE GUILD'S STRENGTH RATING)
Yet she could not trust the man.
As she walked around the numbers only went down. The only impressive people were some of the teachers who were rated by her ability at around the upper tens. The max it could see was 20.
The swordswoman went to the room that the headmaster had told her to. The woman standing outside was numbered at 16, a powerful person.
"Ah. You're here." the woman said. "Come with me into my classroom."
The swordswoman followed the teacher inside, bored that no one of interest had come up so far.
She waited until the teacher told the students to sit down. She allowed her eyes to wander the room, scanning each and every individual, a number appearing above each of their heads.
Nope, nope, nope, not him, nope. she thought.
Then her eyes rested on a blue haired girl, an 18 was above her head. Her gaze lingered there for a moment, I will choose this one. But she didn't think it would be fair if she didn't look at the others so she shifted her gaze. She had started to feel like she was wasting her time, she had already found the one that the headmaster had told her to be on the look out for.
Then she looked at Rainen. No clear number was displayed on his head, it just kept fluctuating.
She remembered the headmaster's words.
"There is someone interesting in that class, please go and identify them with your ability."
She knew immediately that this boy was the one he was talking about. She didn't hesitate and chose the boy on the spot, his partner was the blue haired girl. Her heart lept, they were both people she wanted to know more of.
After she left the room she went to inform her other party members.
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The week went by quickly. There wasn't much change in the school, except that for the rest of the Monday almost every first year was wearing a bleak expression. I couldn't sympathize because I got picked, not that I'm particularly happy about it.
When Tuesday hit my first thought was about the letter I sent. My sister should've gotten it by now. I wonder how she's doing, recently I've been a bit afraid. What if she reads the letter and doesn't remember me? What if she doesn't even care about me anymore.
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As kids our relationship wasn't the best, I'd pick on her and she'd go crying to mom and dad. Our tension only grew when she got her powers before I did. She'd brag about it all day, calling me a loser who couldn't use magic, I'd push her to the ground and she'd go crying to mom and dad again.
My older brother would show up and give me a talk, not that it really did anything, I was five at the time. He really had a future back then. He was bright, athletic, and his magic was by far the strongest in the village.
Dad was a good guy, my hero at one point. He used to be an adventurer but fell in love with my mom and married her. Mom was the third daughter of the noble family that my sister lives with now. Her cooking wasn't very good but dad would always come back from his guard duty to help her cook.
That fire really did take away everything.
.
.
.
.
Wednesday and Thursday were nothing special. Axel and I just went to get some ice cream. He told me a bit about himself. After being the only one to display signs of magic in his family they saved up and sent him here. His face really looked hurt when he told me those things, it contrasted with the smile he forced after. They must've missed a few meals for him to come here, maybe they had to do some dirtier work too.
On Friday the plans were explained, today I'm supposed to go to the warehouse tonight at eight. There, we'll decide on groups and then we'll split up and complete our objectives.
The other members of the twelve still remain elusive.
The time is seven at night.
I'm grabbing my gear and making final preparations. I've repaired my knives with the money I got from the mission. My staff is laid on the wall. I haven't used it in a while, it's a pretty versatile object.
I absorb the weapons back into my bracers and grab the clothing from the closet, I pause. Under my thirteenth clothing and next to my uniform is the black sword. If one were to look at it they wouldn't notice anything, if one used the [Analyze] spell on it they'd freeze up. Should I take it with me? I shake my head and reach for the black clothing.
I can't bring myself to use it after all.
The warehouse was livelier than usual, and by that I mean they were all huddled over the table talking about the plan.
Carlyle spots me and waves me over.
"The groups will be Garret, Hannah and Adrian. Anne, Henry and you. And the last group will consist of Allan and me." He took a breath. "The first group will enter under the guise of bodyguards. You guys will be protecting Francis."
"Who's that?" I ask.
"Another member. He's been building connections with the underground for some time now, thanks to our information he was able to get invited to the auction." Henry says with a grin.
"Now for your group." He goes back to the map. "You three will be infiltrating from the back, there should be a fair number of guards patrolling there. Take them out quietly then find the "goods" and lead them out the way you guys came. There should be around thirty human slaves there. Allan and I will be with the raiding force and storm the building once we get the signal from the first group or when the slaves escape. Any questions?"
No one says anything.
"Alright, let's begin."
The auction's on the other side of the city, it took a while to get there.
The auction building was rather large, something like a miniature castle, a tall fence covered the perimeter of the area. From the outside one would think that the people gathering here were a bunch of wealthy people gathering for a party. I have no doubt that some of them were low ranking nobles. Official looking knights stood outside guarding the entrance to the building, their hands were always on their swords.
For people like us the fence was a cake walk and the guards weren't that tough either. Anne and Henry both hit the two guards in the back with stuns. They were tied, gagged, and hidden in a bush. The back entrance was a stairway that lead to the deeper parts of the building, I went first.
Henry handed me an item and a summoning scroll.
"Put on the ring. It'll help detect traps and use the scroll to summon a wisp, it'll light our way."
"Got it."
I put the ring on then place the scroll on the wall.
After releasing small amounts of magic into it a little wisp comes out, the light it emits depends on the amount of magic put in. Right now I have it just bright enough to see where I'm walking.
It's so quiet that I can even hear my muffled footsteps. The walk down is long and the walls only allow for single file. As we get closer to reaching something that isn't another step I start hearing the whimpers of people. I find it hard to believe that they could be heard through these solid brick walls or even a door. They must be in cells.
I lower the power to the wisp, it's light isn't even comparable to a fireflies anymore. I send it down the stairs.
"Cover your eyes guys." I whisper behind me.
I close my eyes and send mana to the wisp. Through my eyelids I can see the light shining through.
"AAAHHH!"
I hear a yell from below and the clang of a metal object.
I lower the output and rush down the remaining flight of stairs. The wisp illuminates enough of the room, two guards stand holding their hands over their eyes. I punch the one still holding onto his sword and his face makes a low crunch sound, he falls to the floor.
With the other I grip the lower part of his face with my right hand and push him against the wall.
"Where are the slaves? If you yell I'll kill you, got it?"
He nods vigorously.
Anne and Henry walk in.
I move my knife up to his throat and remove my right hand.
"T-there..."
Henry moves in.
"There where?!"
"I-I can't tell you guys..." he starts sliding down the wall.
"Why not?" Henry grabs his neck and pulls him up again.
"B-because they'll kill me if I do." he's breathing heavily.
"We'll kill you if you don't." Henry says threateningly.
"T-they'll t-torture me first."
"This is getting nowhere."
Anne walks up and hits him with a stun.
"Let's get going. The auction will be starting soon. I'll head down this way, meet up in twenty minutes."
"Alright I'll go this way." Henry walks through the door the guards were by.
"Guess I'll take the right."
And so we split up.